Photograph: Etienne Laurent/EPA

US fossil fuel companies have taken at least $50m in taxpayer money they probably wont have to pay back, according to a review of coronavirus aid meant for struggling small businesses by the investigative research group Documented and the Guardian.

A total of $28m is going to three coal mining companies, all with ties to Trump officials, bolstering a dying American industry and a fuel that scientists insist world leaders must shift away from to avoid the worst of the climate crisis.

Related: Covid-19 crisis will wipe out demand for fossil fuels, says IEA

The other $22m is being paid out to oil and gas services and equipment providers and other firms that work with drillers and coal miners.

Melinda Pierce, the legislative director for the Sierra Club, said: The federal money Congress appropriated should be going to help small businesses and frontline workers struggling as a result of the pandemic, not the corporate polluters whose struggles are a result of failing business practices and existed long before Covid-19 entered the public lexicon.

More than 40 Democratic lawmakers have argued that fossil fuel companies should not get any assistance under the coronavirus aid package.

Some Democrats have also warned the forgivable loans being made under Congress Paycheck Protection Program could be a transparency disaster.

Banks and lending institutions are distributing the money, so the government says it cannot track recipients in real time. The loans revealed have been made public only through news reports and securities filings by publicly-traded companies, although the Federal Reserve has committed to issuing monthly reports.

So far, its clear the program is not working as intended. The funds are aimed at helping small businesses to keep paying their employees and covering other recurring expenses during the economic downturn. But they have been exploited by large companies forced to return the money amid a public outcry, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Shake Shack and Ruths Chris Steak House.

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The industry aid comes as the Trump administration is reportedly considering a broader bailout for oil and gas corporations, which were already under pressure before the coronavirus and have watched oil prices nosedive because of a global price war and low demand for gasoline. The US government could make loans to oil and gas companies, essentially making taxpayers investors in the industry.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday also announced changes to its lending rules that could help indebted petroleum firms.

The idea that oil workers are getting a paycheck is great, said Jamie Henn, a spokesman for the Stop the Money Pipeline campaign who co-founded the environment group 350.org. The worry is that the moneys going to the top and not going to filter down.

The $50m already paid to fossil fuel companies is a small fraction of the the $2.1tn Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, known as the Cares Act. But the total assistance to the industry is likely much larger than can currently be tallied and will continue to grow.

Environmental advocates and oversight experts tracking the funds say its impossible to count how much of the money will assist fossil fuels, including because some firms provide services across multiple industries.

All of this is voluntary disclosures by the companies, said Jesse Coleman, a senior researcher with Documented. No matter what, its going to be an incomplete picture of whats going on.

Coleman said in many cases the fossil fuel companies getting aid have made bad investments and now theyre going to come crawling hat in hand and say: look at what the coronavirus did to us.

Its both a bad financial proposition of the Fed and for taxpayers, and a bad situation for the planet Graham Steele

Among the coronavirus aid recipients is Hallador Coal, an Indiana-based coal mining company that hired Donald Trumps former environment chief Scott Pruitt as a lobbyist. The companys former government relations director now works at the energy department. Hallador is taking $10m to fund two months of payroll and other expenses.

Coal mining company Rhino Resources, which was formerly run by Trumps Mine Safety and Health Administration head, David Zatezalo, is receiving $10m.

Coal firm Ramaco Resources, whose CEO, Randy Atkins, is on the energy departments National Coal Council, is getting $8.4m.

The US coal industry has been in steep decline, driven out of the market by cheap natural gas and environmental concerns. Trump campaigned on putting coal miners back to work, and his agencies have unsuccessfully explored ways to bail out coal companies, which are seeing their lowest employment levels in modern history. The Trump administration has also rescinded nearly all of the environment and climate protections the fossil fuel industry has opposed.

Fossil fuel companies can also take advantage of tax benefits under the coronavirus legislation, including deferring payment of social security and medicare taxes.

The Missouri-based Peabody Energy coal company has said it will speed up collecting an alternative minimum tax refund of $24m to 2020 and defer $18m of owed taxes.

US taxpayers already subsidize the fossil fuel industry at roughly $20bn a year, according to conservative estimates.

The Center for International Environmental Law has accused the oil, gas and plastics industries of exploiting the crisis by aggressively lobbying for massive bailouts and special privileges in a desperate attempt to revive an oil and gas industry already in decline.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis argues that federal lending to the oil and gas sector would be a complete waste of money, because it wouldnt fix the industrys underlying financial problems.

Oil industry lobbyists have pushed for changes at the Federal Reserve to let companies with large amounts of debt use its Main Street Lending Program and borrow to pay off existing loans.

In an 15 April letter to the Federal Reserve, the oil trade group the Independent Petroleum Association of America asked for the new provisions, saying oil and natural gas producers are not looking for a government handout; they are seeking a bridge to help survive this economic disruption.

Environmental advocates say the move would disproportionately benefit small and mid-sized oil and gas companies, such as Occidental Petroleum, which has nearly $80bn in liabilities on its balance sheet.

Related: California closes Orange county beaches over Covid-19 fears  but how risky is a beach day?

Graham Steele, who directs the corporations and society initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business, called the situation the classic disaster scenario where an opportunistic administration and industry is taking advantage of a crisis.

And by the way, these are industries driving climate change. Its both a bad financial proposition of the Fed and for taxpayers and a bad situation for the planet.
* New solar-powered hydrogen plant to be built near Sines port

* Solar auctions to restart from June, minister says

* Portugal looks to greener "post-coronavirus future"

By Sergio Goncalves

LISBON, April 30 (Reuters) - Looking to a more environmentally-friendly future after the coronavirus, Portugal is preparing a handful of multi-billion projects including a new hydrogen plant and will revive a delayed solar auction in June, a minister said.

Work to build the solar-powered hydrogen plant near the port of Sines will start within a year and could attract up to 5 billion euros ($5.43 billion) in private investment, Environment Minister Joao Matos Fernandes told Reuters.

The plant could start producing "green" hydrogen, a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels, by 2023 via electrolysis - a process using electricity to split water - and the aim is for one gigawatt by 2030, he said in the telephone interview late on Wednesday.

"The economy cannot grow along the lines of the past and our post-coronavirus vision is to create wealth from projects that reduce carbon emissions and promote energy transition and sustainable mobility," Fernandes said.

The Dutch government and firms such as utility EDP-Energias de Portugal and oil group Galp Energia have already shown interest in the project, he added, saying the plant was one of the nation's biggest industrial projects.

Fernandes, 52, who used to chair a water board and run a ports' association, also said Portugal will launch its second solar energy licensing auction on June 8 after it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SOLAR, LITHIUM PROJECTS

Spared the calamitous outbreaks of other European nations including neighbouring Spain, Portugal has suffered 973 confirmed deaths and 24,505 infections from COVID-19. It plans to gradually lift a lockdown from early May.

Initially scheduled to kick off in April, the licensing auction for 700 megawatts (MW) of new solar energy capacity would help Portugal - one of Europe's sunniest nations - towards its ambition of 7,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030.

It will auction up to 16 potential sites for investors to build solar plants in the southern Algarve and Alentejo regions.

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Final bidding is scheduled for the end of August.

Portugal's first mega auction of 1,150 MW of solar energy capacity last June attracted mainly international players, such as Spain's Iberdrola, France's Akuo Energy, Britain's Aura Power and Germany's Enerpac Projects.

It set a record minimum price per megawatt-hour of 14.8 euros, while the average auction price was 20 euros MWh, less than half the base price.

Fernandes said the government will also launch its delayed international licensing tender for lithium exploration as soon as it approves "within some months" a new mining law to tighten environmental rules.

Without giving further details, he said the tender would cover seven lithium-rich locations dotted across the country, which is already Europe's biggest lithium producer.

Portugal's miners sell almost exclusively to the ceramics industry and are only now preparing to produce higher-grade lithium used in electric cars and electronic appliances.

Anti-lithium protest movements have emerged across the country, expressing concern about irreversible environmental damage such as soil pollution to destruction of the natural habitat of various endangered species.

"Whenever the local negative impacts are greater than the global gain from decarbonisation, there will be no exploitation of lithium", Fernandes said.

($1 = 0.9204 euros) (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Catarina Demony and Andrew Cawthorne)
* Airplane maintenance groups modify cabins for cargo

* More than 40 airlines have expressed interest -Lufthansa

* Passengers and cargo could share space in future -analyst

By Allison Lampert and Jamie Freed

MONTREAL/SYDNEY, April 30 (Reuters) - Once the airline industry's ugly ducklings, air freighters are now flying high as some of the only airplanes still criss-crossing the skies during the global coronavirus crisis.

While these aerial juggernauts hauled freight for low margins, airlines lavished advertising on business travellers and tourists. But with these customers grounded, airlines are rushing to turn passenger planes into temporary cargo carriers.

Half of air cargo normally travels in the belly of passenger jets rather than dedicated freighters. But the grounding of two-thirds of the world's fleet has led to a scramble for cargo capacity for medical supplies and other goods.

Airlines saddled with the cost of unused planes are looking to modify cabin interiors to adjust to the new reality. And that is providing a surprise windfall for aircraft maintenance companies deprived of their normal trade of keeping passenger jets flying, industry executives told Reuters.

Germany's Lufthansa Technik AG, Canada's Avianor, Hong Kong's HAECO Group and Belgium's Akka Technologies are among those stripping out seats or adding nets and storage devices to cabins to cram in cargo instead of tourists.

"We have great demand. We have more than 40 airlines requesting a proposal," said Jens Weinreich, product manager at Lufthansa Technik, which has converted 18 cabins for various carriers and expects to modify 100 more.

Lufthansa-owned Austrian Airlines has begun to remove most passenger seats in some 777s, while Polish LOT and Delta Air Lines are also examining freight makeovers.

Leeham analyst Bjorn Fehrm said airlines could keep running mixed cabins with passengers and cargo sharing the space even after the crisis, like a flying station-wagon.

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"Freight prices can go back down quite a bit and it still makes sense," Fehrm said of the conversions.

But while freight Investor Services said China-U.S. freight rates rose 22% last week due to demand for protective gear, cargo demand has been fickle in the past and the outlook for trade is uncertain in the wake of the pandemic.

"We have seen a real resurgence of freight in the past month ... but we are on the edge of a global recession and the normal pattern of recession should start to take hold," Stuart Hatcher, chief operating officer of IBA Aero, told a webinar

CARGO MINDSET

Avianor, which specializes in maintenance and cabins, said demand from Air Canada has helped overcome the slowdown, while European planemaker Airbus has come up with a scheme to turn cabins into temporary bays for freight pallets.

This is a change of mindset for airlines, who focus obsessively on cabin layouts to promote their customer brands.

Some previous Boeing 737s operated by specialists like France's ASL Airlines allow three people to do a "Quick Change" in just 20 minutes, with rows of seats taken out through a side door to allow passengers to fly by day and cargo by night.

Newer jets tend to be optimised for passenger service and it takes a week to prepare one for cargo.

But there could be other benefits to a mixture of cargo and people. HAECO said its product allows for a mix of passenger seats and freight, which would help with social distancing.

The surge in demand for cargo conversions has led airlines to appeal for a global set of rules from aviation authorities.

Akka Technologies is helping Franco-Italian ATR turn turboprops into medical equipment vehicles. It is also working on plans approved by EU regulators for A330s and Boeing 777s.

"For the time being, this will generate business for engineering houses such as ourselves. In the mid-term, the traffic will take time to recover," board member Charles Champion, a former Airbus engineering head, said.

Cabin modifications will not compensate entirely for the crisis that has caused widespread jobs cuts and forced airlines like Lufthansa to seek help, but will deliver some work, Lufthansa Technik modifications chief Henning Jochmann said.

"That will not save our lives ... but we do what we have to do." (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Jamie Freed in Sydney and Tim Hepher in Paris; Additional reporting by Julie Rimbert in Toulouse; Editing by Alexander Smith)
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day after the Centre allowed movement of migrant workers and directed states and Union territories to use sanitised buses to transport them, many states including Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana have demanded that special trains be deployed as it is very difficult to operate buses for long-distance travel.

Telangana Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav went a step ahead and asked the Centre to bear the full cost of transportation of migrant workers. The Maharashtra government, too, made similar suggestions saying the travel cost should be either borne by the central government or by the native states of the migrant workers.

According to sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is supervising the Covid-19 shutdown across the country, is likely to take a call on this soon.

Meanwhile, sources also said the railway ministry has already lined up a plan to operate 400 special trains, if necessary.

Railway officials said the number of trains can be scaled up to even 1,000 and that the same has been communicated to the MHA.

To ensure social distancing, only 1,000 people would be carried in each trip against the usual 1,950 persons.

Railway officials said the plan was drafted soon after the Centre relaxed lockdown rules to allow stranded people to reach their homes.

The officials also shared the view that sending such large numbers of people by buses for long-distance travel may not be a good option though it can prove to be a temporary relief.

Rajasthan has transported around 26,000 people to the borders of Madhya Pradesh by buses, as per MHAs directive. And another 2,000 to the Haryana border. Migrants from Gujarat will also be sent back. Most labourers had come looking for work during the harvest season, officials said.

While Punjab and Rajasthan CMs Amarinder Singh and Ashok Gehlot wrote to the PM requesting operation of trains, Bihars deputy CM Sushil Modi made an appeal through Twitter.

The Bihar Deputy CM said approximately 27 lakh migrants, students and other people from the state are estimated stranded in different parts of the country and it wont be easy to bring them back in a very short period.

He appealed the Centre to run some pairs of special non-stop trains to bring migrants and others home amid the lockdown.

He said, Bihar will welcome all of them upon their homecoming but it would not be practical to bring them back from distant places by buses because of both the distances between Bihar and those places and safety seasons like social distancing, he said.

According to sources in the Bihar government, around 5 lakh students, migrants and others are stuck in Delhi alone. Similarly, 2.68 lakh people are stuck in Maharashtra, over 1 lakh in Karnataka,1.88 lakh in UP, 2.96 lakh in Haryana, over 2 lakh in Gujarat among others. Till date, 1.80 lakh migrants and others have already returned in Bihar.

On Thursday, the Punjab CM directed all Deputy Commissioners to prepare state-wise data of migrant labourers to coordinate their movement, even as he urged PM Modi to arrange for point-to-point special trains for the transportation of such workforce.

Ludhiana alone had over 7 lakh migrant labourers, with the whole of Punjab having over a million of them, he said.

In Maharashtra, over 5L migrant are currently stranded in the state. A minister said it will cost the state exchequer not less than Rs 200 crore to transport the migrants. The UP government issued directives to officials to keep the quarantine centres and shelter homes ready to accommodate at least 10 lakh people.

With inputs from Patna/Mumbai/Lucknow/Chandigarh/Hyderabad/Jaipur
Two tourists walk along the Valongo Wharf in Rio de Janeiro. (Terrence McCoy/The Post)

Prosecutors in Brazil accuse the government of neglecting to preserve and develop the Valongo Wharf, which has been called the most important site associated with the arrival of enslaved Africans in the Americas.
Canadas prime minister announced Friday a ban on 1,500 guns that borrow features of military assault rifles, including the Mini-14 sold by Sturm Ruger based in Fairfield.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted two weeks after a gunman killed 22 people in Nova Scotia, the worst mass shooting incident in Canadian history. The ban includes the Bushmaster series of guns made by Remington Outdoors, which was used in the 2012 massacre in Newtown.

The ban covers assault-style rifles sold by Hartford-based Colt Manufacturing, Mossberg in North Haven and Stag Arms, with the latter company having moved its headquarters last year from New Britain to Cheyenne, Wyo. after Connecticut stiffened its gun laws.

Their inherent deadliness makes them unsuitable for civilian use and a serious threat to public safety given the degree to which they can increase the severity of mass shootings, the government wrote in the Canada Gazette.

Ruger has its headquarters in Southport along the Fairfield-Westport line, making its rifle lines at factories in Newport, N.H. and Mayodan, N.C. Ruger has put some of its manufacturing to work producing face shields for hospitals and emergency responders, while donating 700 Tyvek suits and thousands of face masks.

Ruger sales dropped 17 percent last year to $411 million, as bankruptcies at outdoors outfitter Gander Mountain and gun distributor United Sporting Cos. resulted in heavy discounting of existing inventories that cut into new sales. The company markets its Mini-14 as rugged, reliable and durable on the farm, ranch or in the deep woods.

Ruger is scheduled to release its first-quarter results next week, with the company having yet to state any impact of the coronavirus pandemic on sales. Connecticut gun and ammunition sales in the weeks following Gov. Ned Lamonts public health emergency declaration on March 10, even as Lamont imposed on gun stores a restriction requiring them to schedule appointments in advance of buyers coming to their premises.

Includes prior reporting by Kaitlyn Krasselt and Ben Lambert.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Coronavirus has hit 47 Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities and 20 regional re-entry centers across the country, with 1,692 inmates who have tested positive and 33 inmates who have died, according to the bureau.

Yet the numbers dont tell the full story.

They dont include the 12 privately run prisons where 28,000 federal inmates are housed, including nearly three dozen from Oregon.

Seven weeks after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, spokeswoman Sue Allison for the Federal Bureau of Prisons says it is still working on getting those numbers posted to our public website.

Another spokesperson declined to provide an explanation for the delay, saying by email Thursday: We appreciate your patience as we work to constantly improve our reporting technologies and keep up with a very fluid situation.

The Bureau of Prisons uses private contractors to hold adult offenders, a majority who are facing deportation at the completion of their sentences.

Lisa Hay, Oregons federal public defender, said 34 of her offices clients -- offenders sentenced for federal crimes in Oregon -- are scattered in eight private prisons in Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Im concerned about our clients being held in private prisons because there seems to be no reporting on the level of coronavirus infections in those facilities, Hay said.

I dont know if they are even testing inmates.

The coronavirus, Hay said, has exposed how detention in private prisons may result in unequal and inadequate treatment of inmates.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter

Hay and other defense lawyers have filed multiple motions on behalf of federal defendants in Oregon cases, seeking early release because of their health and fears that theyll become infected in prison.

Federal lawmakers, including Oregons U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, have sent letters to the three largest private prison operators  Geo Group, CoreCivic and Management & Training Corp.  to learn about their procedures to manage the spread of the coronavirus.

For the thousands of incarcerated people living in close proximity to one another, as well as their family, friends, and the correctional staff that move in and out of federal prisons every day, a thorough safety plan is critical, their initial letter March 9 letter said.

When lawmakers didnt receive a response from at least one of the companies, they followed up with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The failure of the private companies to understand their contractual obligations to federal taxpayers underscores the urgency with which BOP must confront this crisis in order to protect incarcerated individuals, correctional staff, and their families," the lawmakers wrote in their second letter.

The Bureau of Prisons is supposed to have contract monitors assigned to each of the privately-run prisons that houses federal inmates.

Public health officials reported in North Carolina that one inmate and at least three staff members have tested positive for the virus at one of those privately-run prisons that holds federal inmates, Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, N.C. But those positive test results arent reflected anywhere on the Federal Bureau of Prisons COVID-19 tracking page.

The Geo Groups website also doesnt mention the positive test results. It says only that its facilities are equipped with airborne infection isolation rooms, inmates have access to clean water and soap for hand washing, non-essential visits have been suspended and staff receive temperature checks.

Issa Arnita, a spokesman for Management & Training Corp., said the private prison it runs in Post, Texas, Giles W. Dalby Correctional Institution, has no confirmed COVID-19 cases. It houses 1,643 inmates. He said the facility shares information with the Federal Bureau of Prisons through a contract monitor the Bureau has assigned to it.

"The health and safety of our staff and inmates is our top priority. We are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for prisons and detention centers as well as any state health departments,'' he said.

CoreCivic says its prisons have a coronavirus medical action plan, that movement around them has been limited, that meals are being served in the housing units instead of the cafeterias and masks are being provided to detainees, inmates and employees. Staff also are screened prior to entering the facilities.

Its unclear if federal inmates or staff in CoreCivic-run prisons have tested positive, but other CoreCivic-run detention centers have experienced coronavirus outbreaks. The CoreCivic-run Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, for example, has reported 167 inmates who have tested positive. Two detention officers there have filed lawsuits against CoreCivic, alleging it failed to take reasonable steps to protect their health amid the pandemic.

Federal Bureau of Prisons officials say they have limited inmate transfers between the facilities it manages, placed its prisons on lockdown and restricted visits. As for private prisons, the bureaus website notes only that the federal agency has shared its coronavirus guidance so similar protocols can be implemented.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Sri Lanka on Friday extended the lockdown in the coronavirus high risk zones of the country, including capital district Colombo, till May 11, saying steps were being made to bring life and institutions back to normalcy.

"The curfew in the capital district of Colombo and three other high risk zones for COVID-19 was due to be lifted on 4 May. This has now been extended till 11 May," an official statement said.

Sri Lanka has recorded 690 confirmed COVID 19 cases with 7 deaths so far.

"Steps are underway to bring life and institutions back to normalcy from May 11," the statement issued from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office said.

All essential services in these areas are to be re-opened by opening the state and private institutions while adhering to health guidelines.

Dr Anil Jasinghe, the country's top health official, said they have taken control of preventing the COVID-19 from spreading in the western province to a large extent.

He said efforts are underway to double the current daily PCR test capacity.

Sri Lanka has registered a major fall in tourist arrivals due to the coronavirus outbreak, with an over 70 per cent decline in footfalls in March compared to the same period last year.

The island nation stopped all passenger flights and ship services on March 18 in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak

Till then in March, 71,370 international tourists visited Sri Lanka, according to Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority's Tourist Arrivals Report for March 2020.




PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwas administration is expected to ease further the Covid-19 lockdown measures as from Monday next week, senior government officials have revealed.





However, most of the restrictions will remain.This follows a cabinet resolution on Tuesday to re-open the economy following a five-week freeze.

Mnangagwa extended the initial three-week-long lockdown on April 19.





He is expected to unveil a detailed plan, that includes the country re-opening some sectors of the economy, before the expiry of the lockdown at midnight on Sunday.





Official sources said cabinet, at its Tuesday meeting, asked the National Covid-19 Taskforce chaired by Vice-President Kembo Mohadi to come up, by the end of today, with a detailed programme on the easing of the lockdown.





Mnangagwa, who is expected to address the nation on Workers Day on May 1, is said to have given in to demands by the military and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which warned him against extending the stringent lockdown measures further given the state of the economy.





As the Zimbabwe Independent reported last week, Mnangagwa also buckled under pressure and disregarded the advice of health experts who had recommended a 21-day Covid-19 lockdown extension, preferring instead to listen to his Zanu PF and Cabinet colleagues who argued that a prolonged shutdown could spark civil unrest on account of the fragile economy and a restless population.





Government officials told the Independent that ministers unanimously agreed to significantly ease the lockdown beginning Monday with the main consideration being that the current arrangement was not economically sustainable. Fears of civil unrest were also raised in the meeting.





This is despite the fact that confirmed coronavirus cases had as of yesterday increased to 32 from the 25 total recorded when Mnangagwa announced the extension. The virus has also spread to rural parts of the country like Mhondoro and Murehwa during the same period.





Mohadi reportedly assured the meeting that the country is now better prepared to deal with an upsurge of cases because it has more admission facilities and has increased its testing capacity.





The vice-president said his taskforce had evaluated the countrys state of preparedness and was satisfied by the progress made so far as most provinces and districts now have admission facilities while sufficient quarantine centres had been identified, an official said.





It was then unanimously agreed that the lockdown should be significantly eased to jumpstart the economy which is already in a very bad state. The taskforce was then asked to come up with a polished programme through which the easing will be conducted but what I can tell you is that the manufacturing, construction, and other industries where there is a low risk of contagion will be allowed to re-open from May 4, the source said.





Retailers will be allowed to re-open during the course of the coming week while restaurants and bars, which are considered high-risk areas, will remain closed and can only be allowed to open after a week or so under strict health measures. These were proposals given to the taskforce by Cabinet members during the discussions.





It was also proposed that schools and tertiary institutions will stay closed until satisfactory levels of containment were achieved. It was also resolved that all schools and tertiary institutions have to be thoroughly disinfected before they open and this will certainly take a long time.





Another official said Cabinet also decided that all of the countrys ports of entry will remain closed while Mnangagwa engages his counterparts in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique, with which Zimbabwe shares borders, to agree on a common position regarding the re-opening of ports of entry.





The government, sources said, will maintain restrictions on public gatherings of people exceeding 50 while encouraging the continuation of other control measures such as social distancing, self-isolation of confirmed cases and quarantine of returning citizens.





What this means is that the lockdown remains very much in place but with relaxed conditions. For instance, large gatherings will remain banned and social distancing will be observed while those coming from outside the country will be subjected to the mandatory 21-day quarantine period, the official said. It was also agreed in the meeting that as part of the measures to contain the virus, all security sector and health workers operating on the frontline will be compulsorily tested along with members of their families. This includes those in the army, the police, the intelligence and municipal police officers in addition to nurses, doctors and everyone working on the Covid-19 frontline.





Addressing a gathering at State House, where he was receiving Covid-19 donations from various corporates yesterday, Mnangagwa ruled out the possibility of an outright lifting of the lockdown, saying he preferred a cautious approach whereby a delicate balance is struck between saving lives and opening the economy.





We had the first lockdown, which I extended by 14 days. When you came, I was thinking about what happens after the lockdown ends. We had been with this challenge, what do we do? Balancing the need for economic growth or saving the lives of the people? Mnangagwa said.





I came to the conclusion that if citizens die, if our people die, we cannot resuscitate them. Economy can die, it can be resuscitated, now or in the future, as long as people are alive. There can always be conferences on how we can resuscitate our economy, but I have never seen a conference where people will be discussing how they could resuscitate the dead. So, our bias is towards preservation of life.





I have been studying the events worldwide, how governments handled the pandemic, some border on the lines of carelessness, some on over-cautiousness. So, we must find a way, a way, in my view, to err on the side of caution than err on the side of carelessness, he added.





The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been urging countries to carefully consider their lockdown, easing strategies to prevent the possibility of fresh outbreaks, as was the case with Ghana which, according to media reports, recorded a total of 271 new coronavirus infections just 24 hours after lifting the lockdown in the capital Accra and Kumasi on Tuesday.





In total, the West African country had as of Tuesday recorded 506 new cases in the week the lockdown was lifted.




Former Air Force base in Gettysburg on market for $4.5 M

A former air force base near Gettysburg is up for sale. The base is listed as having 50 beds and 15 bathrooms on a 42-acre parcel of land.
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A mass testing scheme which will swab 100,000 people for coronavirus will have a 'huge impact' on when and how the UK comes out of lockdown.

In a nationwide effort to work out how fast the virus is spreading in Britain, scientists have embarked on an attempt to test tens of thousands of people and to begin long-term surveillance of COVID-19 cases and local outbreaks.

Doing so will help them to calculate the reproduction number of the virus - known as the R value - which will then influence when lockdown measures can begin to lift.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday confirmed that the R is now lower than 1, meaning the virus is spreading slower than one-to-one and the outbreak is on course to come to a natural end.

At the start of the outbreak in the UK the R rate had been between 2.4 and 4, scientists say, but the dramatic stay-at-home measures that came into place on March 23 have cut it by at least two thirds.

The virus cannot survive if the R remains below one, and the Government must now scale up its testing and surveillance to make sure it is never allowed to rise above that number again.

Carrying out hundreds of thousands of tests on people all over the country, regardless of whether they could have COVID-19, will now be vital moving forward.

Lord Ara Darzi, director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, said a scheme to swab test 100,000 people across 315 different areas of the country is now 'up and running' and early results are expected within 'a couple of weeks'.

This will be combined with routine testing on a randomly selected group of at least 25,000 people who will submit to regular swab tests to be analysed by the University of Oxford over the next year so scientists can track the virus over time.

The Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, which has been advising the Government, estimated in March that the global average R0 of the coronavirus was 3.87. As social distancing and lockdown took effect that number has now plummeted to below 1, potentially as low as 0.5, meaning the virus will die out naturally if this continues

Lord Darzi said on BBC Radio 4 this morning that the mass testing project would provide a 'snapshot' of the current situation in the UK which could then be tracked.

He said: 'We'll be testing 100,000 people in 315 local authorities, randomly selected, and the snapshot will give us not just the R value on a national level but also a local community level, which is also critical.

'We are up and running, we've sent nearly 2,000 and it will take about a couple of weeks to get them all out and back.

'And obviously we need to analyse these and inform policymakers because this will have a significant impact in terms of easing the lockdown.

'There's another study going on at Oxford in 20,000 households which will be repeat tests... so the combination of these two studies will be very informative in terms of moving into the next phase.'

HOW TESTING WILL TRACK THE VIRUS'S R VALUE AND MONITOR COVID-19 As it steps up surveillance of COVID-19 the Government is now moving into four major population testing schemes: 100,000 RANDOM TESTS Imperial College London will oversee the two-part REACT programme (Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission). The first part of this will be the 100,000 tests of random people in 315 different areas of the UK, to see how many of them are currently infected. RANDOM ANTIBODY HOME TESTS Part two will be a rollout of at-home antibody tests, which can tell whether people have already had the disease and recovered. These will be given to 300 people for an initial trial and then rolled out to 10,000 people and then to 100,000 if it is successful. The antibody tests will create a picture of how many people have had the virus already and may have immunity to it, meaning they won't catch it again, at least in the short-term. REGULAR SWAB TESTS FOR 25,000 These two testing phases will run alongside two other long-term programmes announced last week as part of the Government's 'test, track, trace' plan. At least 25,000 people will be enrolled into a scheme in which they will have regular swab tests taken at monthly intervals to see if they are infected at the time. This will continue for the next year and will be scaled up to include 300,000 people if it is found to be useful. REGULAR ANTIBODY TESTING And further antibody testing will be rolled out to 1,000 households across the country in which people will give blood samples for analysis to test whether they have developed immunity to the virus. Sir Patrick Vallance, Britain's chief scientific adviser, yesterday confirmed officials are using population testing and data on official cases of coronavirus to work out how fast the virus is spreading, signified by its R, or R0, value. He said: 'At the moment were using a calculated R looking at all sorts of things including contacts, looking at genomics, looking at data from ambulances, hospital admissions, and so on, to calculate the R.' Lord Ara Darzi, director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, explained on BBC Radio 4 this morning: '[This] will be a snapshot of the R value across the country. We'll be testing 100,000 people in 315 local authorities, randomly selected, and the snapshot will give us not just the R value on a national level, but also a local community level, which is also critical. 'We are up and running, we've sent nearly 2,000 and it will take about a couple of weeks to get them all out and back, and obviously we need to analyse these and inform policymakers, because this will have a significant impact in terms of easing the lockdown. 'There's another study going on at Oxford in 20,000 households which will be repeat tests... so the combination of these two studies will be very informative in terms of moving into the next phase.' CONTACT TRACING As well as stepping up testing the Government will also employ an army of 18,000 contact tracers - likely to be repurposed civil servants - by mid-May. These will be tasked with contacting people who have tested positive for the coronavirus and gathering details about the social networks around them, enabling them to isolate people who might have it and stop them spreading it further. Advertisement

Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the R value at the heart of Britain's coronavirus battle at his Downing Street press conference yesterday when he revealed the Government's dedication to keeping it below 1.

It is currently estimated to be between 0.6 and 0.9, meaning every 10 people who get infected with the virus can be expected to transmit it to six to nine others.

This means that, as long as the reproduction number can be kept below 1, the outbreak will eventually run out of road and come to an end naturally.

Lifting lockdown measures, however, will cause it to rise and politicians are now under pressure to juggle the damage being caused by an economic shutdown with the damage that would be caused by a second outbreak and second lockdown.

Because so few people have had the disease and developed immunity, it is vital that the number of people currently infected drops as low as possible before lockdown lifts, to avoid those patients triggering another outbreak.

Dr Kit Yates, senior lecturer in mathematical biology at the University of Bath and author of The Maths of Life and Death, told MailOnline: 'The reason we are holding on to complete lockdown for so long is because we want to bring cases down to a very low level and the quickest way to do that is to keep R as low as possible.'

He added: 'Until we actually go through the experiment of lifting the different restrictions we will not really know the effect on R.

'You can expect a great deal of caution in the measures the government start to relax. Expect it to be conservative initially.'

As it steps up surveillance of COVID-19 the Government is now moving into four major population testing schemes.

Imperial College London will oversee the two-part REACT programme (Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission).

The first part of this will be the 100,000 tests of random people in 315 different areas of the UK, to see how many of them are currently infected - this is the scheme Lord Darzi referred to.

Part two will be a rollout of at-home antibody tests, which can tell whether people have already had the disease and recovered. These will be given to 300 people for an initial trial and then rolled out to 10,000 people and then to 100,000 if it is successful.

The antibody tests will create a picture of how many people have had the virus already and may have immunity to it, meaning they won't catch it again, at least in the short-term.

These two testing phases will run alongside two other long-term programmes announced last week as part of the Government's 'test, track, trace' plan.

At least 25,000 people will be enrolled into a scheme in which they will have regular swab tests taken at monthly intervals to see if they are infected at the time.

This will continue for the next year and will be scaled up to include 300,000 people if it is found to be useful.

And further antibody testing will be rolled out to 1,000 households across the country in which people will give blood samples for analysis to test whether they have developed immunity to the virus.

The University of Bath's Dr Yates added: 'Looking at how numbers of cases are changing can give us a handle on the current value of R.

'If we see cases are decreasing then this strongly suggests R is less than one.

'Modellers can fit their models to the data on cases (or perhaps more reliably deaths) in order to reverse engineer the value of R that fits best. Hospital admission data can also give us an idea and are perhaps a little more reliable than testing figures.'

How Britain's R number plummeted when the lockdown was introduced and what it means for emerging from the other side

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night put detailed science at the heart of Britain's coronavirus crisis and said the status of the lockdown now depends on the virus's reproduction number - known as the R.

Watching the number of new patients and the rate at which it goes up or down will be the best way officials can monitor how quickly the virus is spreading, which will in turn guide which risks the Government feels it can take in lifting lockdown.

The data that lays out Britain's R value will shape the lives of everyone in the UK over the coming weeks and months, and MailOnline here explains how:

What is the R number?

Every infectious disease is given a reproduction number, which is known as R0 - pronounced 'R nought' - or simply R.

It is a value that represents how many people one sick person will, on average, infect.

Most epidemiologists - scientists who track disease outbreaks - believe the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, has an R value of around 3.

But some experts analysing outbreaks across the world have estimated it could be closer to the 6.6 mark.

Estimates of the R vary because the true size of the pandemic remains a mystery, and how fast the virus spreads depends on the environment.

As an outbreak progress the R may simply be referred to as R, which means the effective rate of infection - the nought works on the premise that nobody in the population is protected, which becomes outdated as more people recover.

How does the reproductive rate compare to other infections?

SARS-CoV-2 is thought to be at three times more contagious than the coronavirus that causes MERS (0.3 - 0.8).

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases, and has an R0 value of between 12 and 18 if left uncontrolled. Widespread vaccination keeps it suppressed in most developed countries.

Chickenpox's R0 is estimated to be between 10 and 12, but this is controlled in the UK by herd immunity. So many people catch it as children and become immune to reinfection that it is unable to spread among adults.

Seasonal flu has an R value of around 1.5 but it mutates so often - there are often one or more new strains each year - that people cannot develop total immunity to it. Recovering from one strain of flu does not protect someone from others.

Ebola has an R0 of between 1.4 and 1.8 - this is low but it has so far only spread in countries with poor health facilities and its extremely high death rate (50 per cent) makes it a threat.

Mumps has an R0 of between 10 and 12, making it highly infectious, but the measles vaccine (MMR) protects most people in Britain from catching it.

The R0 for whooping cough, known medically as pertussis, is estimated to be 5.5. The NHS urges mothers to have the pertussis vaccine during pregnancy because they are able to pass immunity on to their baby naturally.

How is it calculated? And can scientists ever be sure of the number?

The R is not a set number and scientists calculate it by studying how fast the virus spreads in its perfect environment and also in society.

While the biology of the virus and the way it spreads - whether through coughs or blood, for example - will have some influence, but human behaviour is a bigger factor.

Tracking the rise in numbers of new cases, and how quickly the number of patients is doubling, are two of the best ways to estimate the R, according to senior lecturer in mathematical biology at the University of Bath, and author of the Maths of Life and Death, Dr Kit Yates.

He told MailOnline: 'Most modellers will give uncertainty ranges with their estimates suggesting R could be as high as this or as low as that.

'The R0 is not a fundamental property of the virus. It will change depending on the community through which the disease is passing.

'[It] depends on three factors: the transmissibility (how easily the disease passes between people); the infectious period (the longer it is, the more chances there are for an infectious person to pass on the disease); and the population through which the disease is passing.

'The more people there are and the more densely packed they are the easier it will be for the disease to spread, so we can't just take the R0 measured in one country and use it in another.'

Dr Jennifer Cole, a biological anthropologist at the Royal Holloway university in London said: 'It's incredibly difficult to calculate [the R0] without doing it in retrospect.

She explained that detailed data can show how fast the virus has spread but they are most accurate when you're looking back in time, not at the present day.

'At the moment we don't have exact numbers but we have a rough idea,' Dr Cole added.

'As long as you can say the R0 is between one and two, or between three and four, that's broadly enough to make the decisions you need to on social distancing.'

Did Britain's R number plummet when the lockdown was introduced?

Imperial College London's COVID-19 Response Team estimated the R0 value for the coronavirus was 2.4 in the UK before lockdown started.

This meant that, before Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the national shutdown on March 23, every 10 people who caught the virus would infect 24 others.

But scientists have since calculated that the rate has fallen below 1, meaning the crisis will peter out if the situation stays the same.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine researchers said in a paper published at the start of April that they thought the number was 0.62.

They surveyed 1,300 people about their movements and contacts and to judge how many people they were likely to have infected if they were carrying with the virus.

And England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty told MPs in a Science and Technology Committee meeting last week the R was between 0.5 and 1.

His counterpart - the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance - has also claimed it was at a similar rate, saying it is now between 0.6 and 0.9 across the UK.

In last night's Downing Street press conference, he suggested it was lower in London and added: 'It's not exactly uniform across the country'.

If the number is dropping, why are we still in lockdown?

Substantial drops in the virus's reproduction rate and the number of people infected are vital for the UK to even consider moving out of lockdown.

Number three on the Government's list of five criteria that must be met before lockdown can end is: 'Reliable data to show the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels across the board'.

While Sir Patrick and Professor Whitty say they believe the R is now below one, the Government is, arguably, lacking the 'reliable data' to prove it.

COVID-19 testing had, until last week, been restricted to only hospital patients and medical staff, meaning the true scale of the outbreak was unclear.

Tests are being rolled out more widely now to people who think they might have the virus and also to more than 100,000 random people across the population.

A landmark report published by Imperial College London on March 30 showed politicians in the UK how the virus's reproduction rate could change as the country progressed through lockdown, using models from other countries that had introduced strict social distancing measures earlier (pictured in series). That report came after one by the same team that estimated up to half a million people could die if the Government didn't act, which was credited with persuading Boris Johnson to order the nation to stay at home on March 23

Officials will now want to see the number of new cases being diagnosed stay low even as they scale up testing, which would show the virus is on its way out. If numbers continue to stay low and even to fall for weeks that would demonstrate the illness is spreading slowly.

Because so few people have had the disease and developed immunity, it is vital that the number of people currently infected drops as low as possible before lockdown lifts, to avoid those patients triggering another outbreak.

Bath's Dr Yates said: 'If the UK relaxes social distancing now, while most of the population is still susceptible, it runs the very real risk of a second wave.

'At the moment suggestions are that R0 might be around 0.7 which means we have a bit of room for manoeuvre in letting up on complete lockdown.

DENMARK'S RATE OF INFECTION ROSE AFTER SCHOOLS REOPENED Authorities in Denmark sent children back to schools two weeks ago and, since then the rate of coronavirus spread has increased, officials say. The country has had a relatively small outbreak, with just 9,356 officially diagnosed cases and 452 deaths. As a result, it has endured a shorter lockdown and already started to ease restrictions. However, the country's infectious diseases agency Status for Smittetrykket I Danmark (SSI), has found that the reproduction rate of the virus has risen to close to 1 - which could trigger another outbreak - since schools were reopened on April 20. It has risen to 0.6 to 0.9 in that time, The Local reported. Research published earlier this week will cause governments to think twice before reopening schools after it revealed that children appear to be just as likely to catch and spread COVID-19 as adults. In its status report the SSI said: 'There is no indication that there is an actual acceleration of the epidemic'. Advertisement

'Provided we keep R0 below 1 then the disease will continue to die out. The reason we are holding on to complete lockdown for so long is because we want to bring cases down to a very low level and the quickest way to do that is to keep R as low as possible.

'To some degree the impact of various different measures is quantifiable and modellers are running through a range of different scenarios in order to advise the government on the best policy.

'But until we actually go through the experiment of lifting the different restrictions we will not really know the effect on R. You can expect a great deal of caution in the measures the government start to relax. Expect it to be conservative initially.'

Movements in Government suggest the lockdown in its current state is likely to continue until June, after Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, yesterday said she thought it would still be too soon for change at next week's three-weekly review, due to be held on May 7.

Professor Whitty did, however, offer a glimmer of hope in a science and technology committee meeting last week when he said the R being below one 'gives a 'little bit of scope for manoeuvre and ticking some things off while still keeping it below 1'.

How will testing 100,000 people track the R value after lockdown?

Sir Patrick Vallance, Britain's chief scientific adviser, yesterday confirmed officials will move forward by using random population testing and numbers of official cases to work out how the R value changes in future.

He said at the Downing Street briefing: 'At the moment were using a calculated R looking at all sorts of things including contacts, looking at genomics, looking at data from ambulances, hospital admissions, and so on, to calculate the R.'

As part of its three-point 'test, track, trace' plan, at least 25,000 people are being enrolled into a plan to test a sample of the population each month for a year to see if they are currently ill with the virus, tracking it over time.

Germany's Robert Koch Institute is publishing the government's daily best estimates of the country's R0, showing it dropped by almost during April's lockdown

WHAT IS R0? Every infectious disease is given a reproduction number, which is known as R0 - pronounced 'R nought'. It is a value that represents how many people one sick person will, on average, infect. WHAT IS THE R0 FOR COVID-19? The R0 value for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was estimated by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team to be 2.4 in the UK before lockdown started. But some experts analysing outbreaks across the world have estimated it could be closer to the 6.6 mark. Estimates of the R0 vary because the true size of the pandemic remains a mystery, and how fast the virus spreads depends on the environment. It will spread faster in a densely-populated city where people travel on the subway than it will in a rural community where people drive everywhere. HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OTHER VIRUSES? It is thought to be at least three times more contagious than the coronavirus that causes MERS (0.3 - 0.8). Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases, and has an R0 value of 12 to 18 if left uncontrolled. Widespread vaccination keeps it suppressed in most developed countries. Chickenpox's R0 is estimated to be between 10 and 12, while seasonal flu has a value of around 1.5. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A LOW R0? The higher the R0 value, the harder it is for health officials control the spread of the disease. A number lower than one means the outbreak will run out of steam and be forced to an end. This is because the infectious disease will quickly run out of new victims to strike. HOW DOES A LOCKDOWN BRING DOWN THE R0? The UK's draconian lockdown, imposed on March 23 has slowed Britain's coronavirus crisis, studies show. Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine last month analysed the virus in the UK. They estimated each infected patient may now only be passing COVID-19 on to 0.62 others, down from 2.6. The team said the virus was struggling to spread because people were having less contact with others. They used a survey of 1,300 people who were asked to list what human contact they had in the past 24 hours. This was compared to a similar survey done in 2005 to give an idea of how it had changed because of lockdown. Advertisement

In a second branch of the tracking project, people in 1,000 households across the country will submit to monthly blood testing to see if they have immunity to the coronavirus from being infected with it in the past.

The Government will also test 100,000 random people in a one-off swab testing scheme, to get an idea of what proportion of the population is infected at present.

Public Health England is carrying out ongoing antibody testing in its Porton Down laboratory to build up an idea of how many people have had the virus in the past and how they have developed immunity to it, and up to 10,000 people will be sent home antibody testing kits to add to this data.

Early results from these nationwide surveys are expected early this month and will help gather a picture of how many people are getting infected with the virus and how fast it's spreading.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is also trying to estimate how much the virus is spreading by surveying people about their movements and social contacts in recent days and weeks.

It estimated in April that the R had dropped from 2.6 to 0.62 in the first month of the UK's lockdown.

Will health chiefs publish the R number every day?

Health chiefs have yet to reveal whether they will publish the R number each day, despite the Prime Minister putting the number at the heart of the battle in his speech yesterday.

But ministers in Germany - which has been widely praised for its rigorous approach to halting the outbreak - do provide a daily update.

Situation reports published by the Robert Koch Institute, the country's centre for disease control, show the R0 dropped below one on April 15.

The number fluctuates on a daily basis - it was 0.9 on Tuesday and 0.75 yesterday, meaning it may not be a reliable day-by-day measure, but could be useful to track over time.

Watching the R number as the country comes out of lockdown would be useful because it could reveal exactly how different measures affect the rate of infection.

The lockdown happened all at once but will be lifted piece by piece, meaning calculating how each restriction affects the number cannot truly be known until it is taken away.

Dr Robin Thompson, a mathematical epidemiology researcher at University of Oxford, said: 'A key challenge now is to identify measures that can be relaxed that have only limited impacts on the value of R.

'One of the reasons that this is particularly challenging is that interventions were first introduced in the UK within a few days of each other. As a result, it is hard to disentangle the relative effects of different interventions on the reproduction number.'
Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co on Friday said it has appointed Atsushi Ogata as new president, chief executive officer and managing director of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) with immediate effect.

Ogata replaces Minoru Kato, who after a three year stint at HMSI returns to Japan as the operating executive & chief officer life creation operation, Honda Motor Co, it said.

The company said it has elevated V Sridhar(earlier GVP & Director Manufacturing, HMSI) as senior director purchase, HMSI.

Besides, Yadvinder Singh Guleriaand Vinay Dhingra are now elevated to the board of directors at HMSI, the company said.

Guleriaas the newdirector, HMSI, now has greater responsibilities with additional charge of customer service, logistics planning and control, premium motorcycle business, brand and communication along with sales and marketing.

He was previously the senior vice - president sales & marketing, HMSI.

Dhingra, who is also elevated as director, now has additional responsibilities of various verticals like strategic information system (SIS) along with general and corporate affairs.

A veteran at Honda, Dhingra was previously the senior vice-president, general & corporate affairs in the company.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Wande on release of first major EP Exit amid COVID-19 pandemic: It reminds us were not in control

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Reach Records' first female hip-hop artist and rapper Wande officially made her label debut with the release of her highly-anticipated album, Exit, and says the timing of her release aligning with a national lockdown is Gods timing.

Wande, who's of Nigeria descent, was born to a Christian mother and Muslim father. She grew up in Austin, Texas, and has been working behind the scenes for Lecrae's Atlanta-based Christian label for some time. She's now introducing her rapping talents to the world with her EP, Exit. Her singles Happy and Be The Light'' are already generating buzz with fans and have been added to Hot AC and CHR Radio formats.

Wande was dubbed the top Christian hip-hop rapper to know in 2019 by USA Today, and has already had music placements on ESPN and BET.

In a previous interview with The Christian Post, the young rapper described herself as a multifaceted" and "energetic" artist who likes to have fun. Like everyone else at the label, the new signee is a devoted Christian and unashamedly shares her faith.

The following is an edited transcript of Wandes interview with The Christian Post where she discusses her new EP, her religious background, and how shes navigating life as people worldwide make it through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christian Post: Whats behind the title EXIT for your first release on Reach Records?

Wande: My project is titled "Exit" because ironically, in this season, God taught me that every exit is an entrance. In life we have seasons and you must exit this current season in order to move on to the next phase of who God is calling you to be.

Exit fear, exit the infancy stage of your walk with God. Being aware of that opens your eyes to actively being present and learning the lessons that God is trying to teach you in this current season so youll be prepared for the next. This album walks through every lesson I learned before each exit point in my journey of growth with God.

CP: How was it for you coming to your own faith in Jesus in a family where your parents believed different things?

Wande: The first few years of when I was saved it was very difficult and there was a lot of tension in our home.

I had to wake up at 5 a.m. to read my Bible in secret, go to work with my mom every other Sunday so my uncle could take me to church, and even had to keep my baptism a secret with only my mom knowing.

Throughout my life, however, God has been faithful, so it left my family to have no choice but to respect the God I serve and know Hes powerful.

CP: How are you managing life during the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus outbreak?

Wande: I am processing everything through the lens of the word of God. Fear and anxiety are natural things that might arrive in times like these. But as I remember Gods word and how He tells me not to fear and reminds me Hes my provider, I am able to move forward in peace.

CP: How has releasing an album during a pandemic impacted your music release?

Wande: I think releasing during a pandemic definitely affected things post-release, such as a release party and a celebration. However, it also alternatively put many people in a mindset that is searching for hope. With my music being filled with encouragement and the word of God, it definitely made it very timely.

Its been great to see the response of the album. Many people have loved it and it debuted as No. 5 on iTunes Hip Hop albums chart.

CP: What do you think is the spiritual message behind a worldwide pandemic?

Wande: I think a spiritual message in a worldwide pandemic is that we are not in control. Many times as we grow and accomplish things we fall into the illusion that we were the ones that made these things happen. A worldwide pandemic puts us back into the mindset that we truly need God and Hes the only one who never changes.

CP: What's it like being the first female artist at Reach Records?

Wande: Its an awesome experience and Im grateful that Gods given me the grace to fulfill this role. Its been great to hear feedback from many women feeling like I have inspired them to pursue life with God and follow their dreams. I am also grateful that Im able to speak on certain topics that affect women. Overall, Ive been intentional on working with many talented women as well and bringing more opportunities for them into our space.

CP: You are so creative and vibrant, where do you draw your inspiration from?

Wande: Ultimately, I derive my inspiration from God. He truly made me a creative person and Hes the ultimate example of creativity. I also surround myself with people who are like-minded, so were always having conversations on how to grow and our eyes are catching things that bring us new ideas. It flows naturally.

CP: How would you like to influence this generation?

Wande: I would like to influence this generation to be on fire for God and to live out the purpose Hes called them to do.

Im grateful for God choosing me to do this career and I want to show the world what can happen when you seek God and live a life of excellence. I want to be unashamed and bring the Gospel into untraditional spaces. This has started with ESPN playing "Exit" almost every day on various shows. People get to hear the glory of God proclaimed in a nontraditional setting.
An 18-year-old man facing a murder allegation for running over a skateboarder in a central Vancouver parking lot told police he didnt mean to hit the man. He said he had intended to scare him, court records say.

The victim, identified as 45-year-old William Miller, died of his injuries shortly after the Wednesday incident.

Joshua Lamont Jones of Vancouver appeared Thursday morning via video in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree murder.

The prosecution asked that bail be set at $1 million, based on the grave nature of the allegations. However, Jones court-appointed attorney, Sean Downs, argued that his client is facing an incorrect charge. He said court records indicate that Jones was driving recklessly through the parking lot and accidentally hit the skateboarder. Downs added that Jones has no prior criminal history, in asking for reasonable bail to be set.

Judge Jennifer Snider set Jones bail at $100,000. He will be arraigned May 11.

Vancouver police were dispatched shortly after 1 p.m. to a shopping center parking lot at 5000 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., for a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian.

Dispatch notes indicated that the pedestrian had thrown an object at a passing car in the parking lot. The vehicle drove around the parking lot a second time, before making a U-turn and striking the pedestrian, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Witnesses reported that the car was driving aggressively through the parking lot and appeared to have intentionally struck the pedestrian, the affidavit says.

Arriving officers found Miller pinned underneath a maroon 2013 Hyundai Sonata. A citizen had used a car jack to try to free him but was unsuccessful, according to court records and first responders.

Vancouver firefighters stabilized and lifted the car off of the man, who was unconscious and unresponsive. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, court documents state.

Police identified the driver as Jones. He told officers he was driving east through the parking lot from General Anderson to avoid traffic lights on Fourth Plain. As he drove past Miller, who was on a skateboard, the man punched his drivers-side window, he said.

Joshua admitted that he was not in fear of being hurt or assaulted by William. Joshua instead stated that he felt angry that William struck his window, the affidavit reads.

Jones allegedly told police that he turned his car around and accelerated toward Miller, intending to scare him. But when Jones swerved away, Miller jumped in the same direction, he said. The Hyundai struck Miller, dragging him beneath it, according to the affidavit.

 The Columbian
SEYMOUR  Teachers and administrators from the towns four schools are coming to a neighborhood near you.

Starting at 1 p.m. May 4, more than 180 elementary, middle and high school teachers, along with school administrators, will hop in their cars and drive through various neighborhoods to say hi to the students theyve been missing so much since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools nearly eight weeks ago.

The Team Seymour Car Caravan was suggested by Seymour Middle School guidance counselor Jennifer Severino, and staff across the district immediately jumped onboard.

Teachers and administrators from our other schools had also expressed interest, and that is why we decided to plan this event as a Team Seymour event since we are all one team, said Superintendent of Schools Michael Wilson.

The districts Director of Security Richard Kearns volunteered to oversee the event, and recruited police, fire and EMS personnel to take part in the caravan, as well.

Wilson said based on initial sign-up sheets, approximately 180 teachers in grades K-12 will be participating, accompanied by about eight to 10 emergency vehicles.

While teachers have seen students online via distance learning, its not the same as seeing them in person.

It has been almost eight weeks since we have physically seen them and that they have physically seen us, and we all miss our students very much, Wilson said. This is just one small way for us to safely get out into the community and to wave to our wonderful students and parentsand help to continue to give hope for our return together whenever it is safe to do so.

Bungay School Principal Mary Sue Feige said she was excited to take part in the caravan.

This is an opportunity to connect with our kids and to show them that we truly care about them, Feige said. We love them, we miss them, and we look forward to when we can all be back in school together again.

Feige said she misses so many things from the sounds of childrens laughter and learning to the smiles, the warm hugs and the lunchroom chatter.

Seymour Middle School Principal Jodie Roden said she wouldnt miss being part of the care-a-van for anything.

The bottom line is we all miss each other, she said. Every day I wake up, I miss not seeing the staff who takes time out to pop in to say good morning to the front office every day. I miss talking with the children about what they are learning in their physical classrooms, as well as just talking with them during the lunch waves. I miss seeing my parents at drop-off in the morning. I miss the entire package of being in the building with my Seymour Middle School family.

Kearns said there will be two caravans, one starting at Seymour Middle School and ending at Bungay School, and the other starting from Chatfield-LoPresti School and ending on South Main Street.

All cars will assemble at 12:30 p.m., and begin the route at 1 p.m. Kearns said its logistically impossible to get to every neighborhood, due to resources, time of day, number of cars involved and traffic concerns, but encouraged folks to look online for the posted routes where the caravan will be traveling. Those who live on streets that the caravan cant get to are encouraged to walk or drive a short distance to catch the action.

The routes can be found on the districts Facebook page.

jean.sos@snet.net
(TNS)  Many rural parts of the country have avoided the toll of cases and deaths that have haunted cities such as New York  but it may not stay that way.These areas tend to have an older population that typically has higher rates of chronic illnesses and is concentrated in close living institutions, according to federal data.Don Taylor, a public policy professor at Duke University, said that combination makes rural populations vulnerable to the virus and practically invites the pandemic into nursing homes.The rural places are probably likely to see these hot spots in these institutions, Taylor said. Most people end up living in a nursing home because they are chronically ill, and these people are at much much higher risk than average. These are all reasons why it is worrisome.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that the 15% of the U.S. population that live in rural areas have higher rates of preventable death from heart disease, stroke and other ailments, as well as higher rates of underlying conditions such as smoking and obesity.Nancy Krieger, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said preexisting chronic conditions pose additional risks for people who catch the coronavirus.It is not like people suddenly stop having diabetes just because they have COVID. This is COVID on top of other systems that are already not equipped to handle the conditions they have, Krieger said.So far, the virus has mostly struck urban population centers  only a few states with less than 5 million people, such as Mississippi, have surpassed 5 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people.But signs of the pandemic spreading in rural areas have emerged in pockets around the country. In some North Carolina counties, cases from state prisons, nursing homes and other institutions dwarf other areas.Wayne Countys Neuse Correctional Institution has reported more than 400 cases  more than two-thirds of all cases in the county. To the west in the states Henderson County, the coronavirus has shown up mostly in long-term care facilities where more than half the patients are over 60 years old, according to county data.Even as things get more controlled in the cities, these institution-driven rural outbreaks are likely to come out, Taylor said.Agricultural work, like that at meat processing plants that President Donald Trump ordered to reopen Tuesday, also presents an opportunity for the virus to spread. For plants in rural areas, many of their employees return home to crowded living conditions.You can have a lot of open space, but if people are living crowded because there are not great housing options and low wages, it takes only one person to set off a household, Krieger said.People who get sick in rural areas may have fewer health care resources to turn to during the pandemic. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last week found a notable discrepancy between hospital resources in urban and rural areas nationwide, according to Matthew Rae, the foundations assistant director for health care marketplaces.There is not a huge discrepancy of hospital beds, but there is a huge discrepancy in ICU beds, Rae said. The capacity is going to be hit a lot harder there in rural areas.According to the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina, rural hospitals have long faced declines that have spurred closures and consolidations. According to the center, 170 rural hospitals have closed since 2005, including 10 so far in 2020.Krieger said rural hospitals may soon face staffing issues if administrative issues and cases surpass their staffs capacity.It is not just whether there are adequate ventilators, it is who is going to be running those ventilators, she said.The roughly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package cleared by Congress included $100 billion in aid for hospitals nationwide, which includes $10 billion carved out for rural hospitals, health care centers and other clinics. Advocates and some members of Congress argue it wont be enough.West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III pushed for the Department of Health and Human Services to increase the proportion to 20% of the funds in a statement Monday.West Virginians have buckled down and our COVID-19 rates are lower than expected but make no mistake, our hospitals are hurting and this does not do enough. The next round of funding must include my formula to ensure rural hospitals are not left behind, Manchin said.West Virginias population has shrunk and gotten older over the years, declining by an estimated 70,000 residents over the decade, with a median age thats now the fourth highest in the country, at more than 42 years old.National groups such as the American Hospital Association worry that rural hospitals may still founder even with the cash injection, said Erika Rogan, the groups senior associate director for payment policy.Resources are still very much needed for rural hospitals. They are seeing many of the similar challenges from COVID that we have seen across the country but those can be exacerbated by a low level of resources, Rogan said.Rural hospitals have comparatively fewer beds and rely heavily on outpatient elective procedures for their cash flow. Rogan said the nationwide slowdown of those treatments have hurt rural hospitals that rely on them for revenue.They are really experiencing cash flow issues to such an extent there is a concern about how some will keep their doors open, she said. Given the limited resources they have and small size, we know it is tough for them to weather the current situation.Smaller health care providers such as rural health clinics have felt a pinch, too, according to the National Association of Rural Health Clinics director of government relations, Nathan Baugh.Like pretty much all outpatient office care and primary care, you are seeing a massive voluntary decline from patients not wanting to go to the doctor, he said.The rural health clinics are more akin to primary care doctors offices, Baugh said, which are more involved in testing patients than treating critical cases. Theyre facing the same drought as other facilities and dont know how long they can keep their doors open.Is it enough money? Who is to say. It certainly will help, and it depends on how long patients are afraid of going to the doctor for their normal sort of services, Baugh said.Places such as Cabell County in West Virginia have limited confirmed coronavirus cases, just 40 in a county of 91,000, which Dr. Michael Kilkenny said means we did such a good job flattening the curve it looks like a bumpy baseline.But Kilkenny, medical director for the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, said that means a need for caution when reopening areas like his for business.The fact that we have had a small number of cases means there has been very little change in our baseline vulnerability from three months ago, he said.Kilkenny said his West Virginia community is lucky, as it has access to a 300-bed hospital in Huntington. Still, the focus remains on protecting vulnerable people in the first place.After 50-some days at home, any hint at reopening is good news and you want to burst out, but we have to crawl before we walk and walk before we run as we reopen, he said.2020 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights ReservedVisit CQ Roll Call at www.rollcall.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): Joe Manchin
They should have been enjoying the thanks of a grateful nation.

Instead, the wartime generation must celebrate Fridays 75th anniversary of VE Day, like everyone else, locked away in their own homes.

However, that will not stop the whole country honouring Victory in Europe on this special Bank Holiday.

Just as we will all join in with Dame Vera Lynns Well Meet Again singalong, after the Queens speech at 9pm, so there will be another great moment courtesy of this newspaper.

As we announced last weekend, the Mail has been granted special permission to send a Spitfire across the country to salute our veterans  along with those who are looking after them.

Our Spitfire Mk IX (pictured), donated by the Goodwood-based Boultbee Spitfire Academy, will take to the skies in tribute to the lot of them. We asked for suggestions for a flypast  to include a care home and an NHS hospital

There will be one for the Care For Veterans home in Worthing, West Sussex, which received more nominations than any other. Among its residents are several war veterans including 96-year-old Len Gibbon (pictured)

Our Spitfire Mk IX, donated by the Goodwood-based Boultbee Spitfire Academy, will take to the skies in tribute to the lot of them. We asked for suggestions for a flypast  to include a care home and an NHS hospital.

There will be one for the Care For Veterans home in Worthing, West Sussex, which received more nominations than any other.

Among its residents are several war veterans including 96-year-old Len Gibbon. Originally from London, he joined the Royal Army Service Corps as a Despatch Rider when he was just 20.

Who needs a street party? With hundreds of street parties and local events cancelled, many communities have turned to the internet to mark VE Day. Thousands of Britons will enjoy virtual street parties  decorating their homes before joining their neighbours online to tuck into picnics and listen to music. Fiona Simpson, who runs childrens art business ARTventurers, had planned family festivals across the UK  but will now do an online event, with 19,000 people saying they want to take part. She told the Mail: We had some great plans for VE Day 75 but like the official celebrations, we had to shelve these plans. She said they will now be streaming a whole festival line-up full of VE Day-themed family sessions, from vintage dance classes and music, to magic and circus skills. In Kings Lynn, Norfolk, a tea party has been replaced by online workshops to make flags and bunting, plus a 1940s dance class. In Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, locals can stream live performances from all the acts originally booked for the celebrations. A Facebook group called Stay At Home Street Party: Cheshire has gathered support from 2,000 people and is encouraging them to decorate their homes in red, white and blue. Advertisement

He remembers landing in Normandy in 1944, climbing off his ship and jumping on to a smaller landing craft to take him ashore.

Mr Gibbon had followed his unit to Germany by the end of the war. After hearing news of the Salute The Heroes flypast, he said: The last time I saw a Spitfire, I was in Hamburg, Germany.

'I was pulling the throttle down hard on my motorbike riding fast, the road ablaze with fire, and I saw a Spitfire coming towards me flying low. From my side, I saw someone waving at me, I knew then the war had ended.

'I stood on my saddle and celebrated. I will wear my jacket, whisky in hand, and wave back once more to celebrate this day.

As with care homes, we received an incredible number of hospital recommendations. Our choice, proposed by nearly 100 readers, is the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

The hospital played a pivotal part in the war as a centre for reconstructive surgery for injured pilots.

And how could our Spitfire take to the skies without a nod to Colonel Tom Moore? Our pilot, Matt Jones, will be flying over Bedfordshire and tipping his wings to the man who has now raised over 31million for NHS charities.

Last night, Civil Aviation Authority chairman, Dame Deirdre Hutton, voiced her full support for the flight.

It is absolutely right that we mark VE Day across the UKs hospitals and care homes, she said.

Colonel Tom is an inspiring example and his efforts to support the National Health Service have been rousing.

'The UK Civil Aviation Authority salutes our veterans and key workers and we continue to work closely with the aviation sector on a restart and recovery programme for the industry.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is expected today to publish key data which informed the government's decision to put the UK into coronavirus lockdown.

The government's top group of scientific experts has been shrouded in secrecy throughout the outbreak with scant detail available about its deliberations.

But it is thought the group will this afternoon release a tranche of information, including modelling and behavioural science data, which was discussed before social distancing restrictions were imposed by Boris Johnson.

There have also been suggestions that a membership list could be published after weeks of critics arguing SAGE needs to be more transparent.

The expected publication of the data comes as it emerged that a senior executive at a technology company who is the brother of a Number 10 adviser was invited to a pre-lockdown SAGE meeting.

Marc Warner from the artificial intelligence company Faculty has been helping Downing Street on coronavirus data and according to The Times he attended the group.

It emerged last week that Ben Warner, a data scientist who was part of the Vote Leave team in 2016 and is currently advising Number 10 on data, and the PM's top aide Dominic Cummings had also attended the SAGE meeting.

The government's SAGE committee of experts will publish secret data today which was used by Boris Johnson to decide on coronavirus lockdown

Dominic Cummings, pictured in Downing Street today, attended a pre-lockdown SAGE meeting, a revelation which sparked a storm of controversy

Mr Cummings' presence at the meeting of independent scientific experts sparked a storm of controversy as it was claimed he had been 'more than a bystander' during proceedings and had pushed for lockdown to be imposed more quickly.

Number 10 insisted he had attended in order to be informed of the latest scientific information on the outbreak.

The new revelation that Ben Warner's brother Marc also attended the meeting is likely to only increase scrutiny of SAGE.

The government has rejected accusations from critics who have questioned how impartial the advice provided by SAGE actually is.

Writing for The Times, Marc Warner said his company had already been working with the NHS before the crisis hit.

It is helping the NHS 'understand the epidemic and use its resources as effectively as possible'.

'The result of this work has been a real-time dashboard about what is going on around the country,' he said.

The latest row over who has been attending SAGE comes after advisers said they fear ministers are trying to 'pass the buck' over the response to coronavirus by constantly insisting decisions are driven by expert advice.

Members of the group are thought to be concerned ministers have gone too far in always referring to guidance because ultimately it is 'political decisions' which have dictated the approach to the outbreak.

Many senior figures in Whitehall now have one eye on the inevitable public inquiry into the government's handling of the current crisis.

That probe is likely to focus heavily on the substance of the advice handed to ministers, when it was made available to them, how the government responded to it and when it did so.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Congress on Friday slammed the government over interstate movement of migrant labourers, saying it's a cruel joke that the Union government has asked the migrants to move by buses though trains would have been easier to move them to their native places.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that only two days ago, a "tughlaqi farmaan" was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs "which is very quaint and funny". "It is as if it was issued by an ignorant and uncaring person." The party said the MHA order said that "you are now allowed to return to your state, but you can do it only by buses, the receiving and sending states must have nodal officers and they must consult each other before you reach. There must be a screening at the receiving point." The Congress said it's a cruel joke that the migrants are distressed and told to travel by buses. "How can a large number of buses be arranged to ferry such a huge number of migrants?" "The Central government has abandoned mercilessly, and without second thoughts, an entire category of people known as migrant labour. Let me remind you that migrant labour is most vulnerable and the weakest section of our informal sector," said Singhvi.

He said every state has migrants, even Assam has 1.5 lakh people who want to return to the state. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have around 50 lakh people living in other states, he added.

The Congress said the government should allow trains to start from designated points to send the migrants back home.

"They need food, water, place to sleep, and observe hygiene," said Singhvi.
RJD founding president Lalu Prasad on Friday took potshots at his arch rival, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is facing the heat over his government's failure to arrange for the return of migrant workers and students from the state, who are stranded elsewhere because of the nationwide lockdown.

A couple of stinging tweets appeared during the day on the official Twitter handle of the ailing septuagenarian, who is serving sentences in fodder scam cases in Ranchi and lodged at a hospital there because of poor health.

In the first tweet, Prasad shared a post by his son Tejashwi Yadav dated April 15, in which his heir apparent can be heard, in a video clip, appealing to Kumar to broach with the Centre the possibility of bringing back the stranded Biharis through special trains.

Notably, in the wake of the Centre's decision to run special trains for facilitating inter-state travel, a train from Jaipur is scheduled to leave the Rajasthan capital late Friday night and reach Danapur on the outskirts of Patna Saturday afternoon, according to a release issued by the railways.

The ruling JD(U)-BJP combine in Bihar has been insisting that it had been following the chief minister's insistence that the Union home ministry ought to revise, for the purpose, its lockdown guidelines and that on Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's request, trains are now being run to help people stranded elsewhere to return to their native states.

Prasad's tweet could be seen as an attempt by the wily leader to take the sheen off his rival's claims while projecting his son, who has been taunting the government with an offer of arranging 2,000 buses if it is incapable of marshalling resources, ahead of the state Assembly polls due in a few months.

"Chhota bhai (little brother) seems to be totally confused," remarked Prasad, whose Twitter handle is operated by his close aides.

In Bihar politics, Prasad and Kumar are popularly known as "bada bhai" (elder brother) and "chhota bhai".

In yet another tweet, the former Bihar chief minister shared a message from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh, who berated Kumar for being short on money and asked him to tell them the amount needed, so that he would urge Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make arrangements with the resources available with his government.

A master of puns, Prasad said in the tweet, "Be-bas (helpless/one without buses) Nitish Kumar, do you understand the import of this statement?"



Although Kejriwal and Prasad have not been on the best of terms, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo choosing the AAP leader's utterances to belittle his arch rival could be seen in the backdrop of the acrimony Kumar shared with the ruling party in Delhi ever since thousands of migrants returned to Bihar at the end of March.

Barely a few days after the lockdown was clamped, thousands had thronged the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, many of them from Bihar, and the Yogi Adityanath government in the adjoining state ferried them by buses to their intended destinations notwithstanding protestations by the Nitish Kumar government that it could aggravate the coronavirus outbreak.

Kumar's Janata Dal (United) was understandably restrained in its criticism of the Adityanath government, given its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but went all out after the AAP government in Delhi, accusing it of driving migrants out of the city by taking recourse to rumours.

Although the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is formidably placed in Bihar vis-a-vis the RJD-led Grand Alliance, which got decimated in last year's Lok Sabha polls, a sense of unease has grown in the ruling coalition over the unexpected crisis thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown.

In addition to migrant workers, the issue of students trapped in places like Rajasthan's Kota has gained much traction, drawing the attention of the Patna High Court as well as the Supreme Court.

BJP leader Sanjay Paswan had remarked a couple of days ago that the state government's reluctance to bring back Bihari students from Kota could affect the NDA in the Assembly polls.

Paswan is a known baiter of the chief minister and often dismissed as a stormy petrel by his party colleagues.

Nonetheless, sources in both the JD(U) and the BJP agree that the government's woes may not end with the return of the migrants, most of whom were breadwinners for their families but would now have to depend on the state's meagre resources for survival.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Some statements in Nigeria have over time become very annoying and frustrating to the average Nigerian on the streets. Although, these statements are sent out from the highest levels of governance, the cetizenry do not resonate with such assertions. The fluctuate from believing the statements are blatant lies, to believing that government are not serious with implementation, to thinking we can never reach such a state of sophistication, as a nation.

Some of these statements include;

i. Police is your friend

ii. Bail is free

iii. One Nigeria

iv. Children are Leaders of tommorow

v. Education is the best gift to give to a child.

Since Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901, to gaining independence in 1960, becoming a republic in 1963, much have been left desired.

The country is fragmented along lines of ethnicity, tribalism, religion, socioeconomic status, politics, gender, job description. This process are seen manifesting daily in our interactions with the populace. The is a general mistrust in the country. Many countrymen and women, tend to believe that 'man no man' is the surest way to making it big in our country.

So many make frantic efforts to connive with their cronies to smuggle their way into having test of the National Goodies.

Merit is seen as a foul word, even by those in the highest echelons of governance. Mediocrity can be observed even with a hand-lens at many government and private owned establishments. The three major ethnic groups seem to be more self serving than patriotic, we constantly hear of indigens of one community being slaughtered in cold blood in the places the stay to do business, at the slightest provocation, even in peace time. Bigotry tend to supercede our love for nationhood. The founding fathers of our nation believed in one indivisible, strong, prosperous and great country. The mandate was simple, 'ONE NIGERIA' a place where all citizens could travel, do business, marry, and represent any part of the country without fear or bias. The current political system, do not seem to support this thoughts.

We need a high degree of reorientation, to grow discipline and love for nationhood in us. Patriotism should be taught on the streets to help eradicate this negative trend and put us in the main of good success. Building trust and confidence in our institutions would be of immersed help, this will help us build 'ONE NIGERIA', sooner than later, else we may be sitting on a dynamite.

Ubong Usoro writes for www.thenigerianVoice.com He lives in Uyo .... [email protected]
By Express News Service

JAIPUR: A Congress MLA in Rajasthan has demanded re-opening of liquor shops and has written a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for the same. Interestingly, Bharat Singh, the MLA from Kota's Sangod seat, has claimed that drinking alcohol will kill the coronavirus.

In his letter, Bharat Singh said that when alcohol-based sanitizers can kill the virus then drinking alcohol is also likely to do the same.

Besides pointing out that the state government is incurring massive revenue losses due to closure of liquor shops, Singh provided a "scientific" argument to re-open liquor outlets. "When coronavirus can be removed by washing hands with alcohol, then drinking alcohol will surely remove virus from the throat," Singh asserted in his letter to the CM.

Echoing a similar thought, Balwant Singh Punia, the CPI(M) MLA for Bhadra had also written to Gehlot in early April. He had argued for reopening of liquor shops by pointing out the risk of the liquor mafia spreading its influence in the state given the current ban on sales.

In a largely similar vein, a former BJP MLA from Kota , Bhavani Singh Rajawat, had also said that the ban on opening of liquor shops should be removed as the revenue generation in the state is getting affected and the economy is incurring a heavy loss. More interestingly, Rajawat had claimed, "Alcohol has been used as 'Somaras' since the Golden Age of India. Since ancient times, everyone including gods, kings and warriors used to consume it and therefore the tradition should continue. Similarly, consuming alcohol will not only kill coronavirus but will also generate revenue for the government."

As leaders in Rajasthan cutting across party lines are now demanding the re-opening of liquor outlets and providing novel arguments for the same, how soon the CM, who prides in being a Gandhian, will oblige is now being closely watched by tipplers across Rajasthan!!
It's scary out there right now for investors, with wild market swings and a lot of negative news coming out of quarterly reports. There is one sector, however, that will survive and likely thrive despite the coronavirus pandemic shutdown -- healthcare. That said, investors shouldn't head for just any healthcare stock; some have been hit harder than others by the shutdown. Look for big, consistent healthcare companies with long-term growth and solid dividends. Here are three that I like.

If you don't know about McKesson, you should

McKesson Corp. (NYSE:MCK), a healthcare services company headquartered in Irving, Texas, with more than 80,000 employees, was founded in 1833. The company actually thrived during the Great Depression, so a little pandemic looks like no big deal.

The company's third-quarter revenue was $59.2 billion, up 5% from a year ago; yearly revenue totaled $214.3 billion, an increase of 2.9%. McKesson has been the prime pharmaceutical vendor for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for 15 years, and it's sitting on $2.1 billion in cash, so it is protected against any short-term market headwinds. The stock is trading well below its 52-week high of $172.18, set on Feb. 21, so it's still a good time to buy.

The company says it delivered one-third of all prescription medicine in the United States last year, and it's been a favored partner with federal agencies in delivering medical supplies during the pandemic. The only downside for me is its annualized yield, which is currently just 1.17%, well below the S&P 500 average of 2%, but its impressive history and cash hoard make up for it.

Cardinal Health is a big ship to ride out the storm

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), a healthcare services company with 50,000 employees that's headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, is one of the most successful companies you may not have heard of. Last year, Cardinal pulled in revenue of $145.5 billion, up 6% over the prior year. The company's second-quarter earnings, reported Feb. 6, showed a 5% rise in revenue compared with the same quarter in 2019; most of that increase came from the company's pharmaceutical division.

Its overall profit did take a hit last quarter because of recalls involving its surgical gowns, something the company addressed in detail in its second-quarter report. It bounced back quickly from its 52-week low of $39.05 in March but is still priced well below its 52-week high of $60.69 in February. Like McKesson, Cardinal has benefited as a favored partner with federal agencies during the pandemic. That's on top of a $2.25 billion, 30-month contract with the Department of Defense that it landed in November.

Cardinal Health's growth is steady, and with an annualized dividend yield of 3.74%, it's particularly attractive for long-term investors. The company has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years, to a current level of $0.48 per share.

Bristol Myers Squibb is poised to keep climbing

Many, many companies are looking to cut dividends because of falling profits due to the shutdown. Rest assured that Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) isn't one of them. The company's payout ratio is a healthy 29.5%, with a yield of 2.8%.

That's sustainable because the New York-based pharmaceutical company is a profit machine. It earned $26.1 billion last year, a jump of 16% over the previous year. The results were made even stronger by its $74 billion purchase of Celgene, which deepened Bristol Myers Squibb's oncology pipeline.

The company's biggest seller is Eliquis, a drug which treats atrial fibrillation. Eliquis earned the company $7.9 billion in sales last year, a year-over-year increase of 23%. Close behind is Hodgkin lymphoma drug Opdivo, which earned $7.2 billion, 7% better than last year. The fastest riser in the pipeline is Empliciti, used to treat relapsed multiple myeloma (a form of blood cancer), which saw sales rise 45% year-over-year to $357 million.

The first new drug to come out of the Celgene deal is Zeposia, which received approval from the Food and Drug Administration on March 26 to be used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

They might all fit your portfolio, but which one makes the most sense?

As usual, it depends on what you're looking for. If it's purely safety, McKesson is a good bet because it is too big and too well-connected to struggle for long. The yield on its dividend is the lowest of the group, however.

Cardinal Health has the best yield, and like McKesson, it may be strongly positioned to come out of the pandemic with few problems.

Bristol Myers Squibb is another solid choice, both for its yield and its upside, which may be the greatest of the three over the next year thanks to its promising pipeline.
Mumbai, May 1 : Edelweiss-Gallagher, a composite insurance broker in India, has facilitated a Pandemic Group Insurance product for informal sector and frontline workers across industries in India.

This initiative was launched recently with a comprehensive COVID-19 indemnity cover solution and is backed by India's top insurers.

This Group level insurance solution will provide an insurance cover to food delivery agents, informal sector workers employed by companies in factories as well as frontline workers of hospitals, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, who now find themselves especially vulnerable.

Edelweiss Gallagher has collaborated with four leading general insurance companies and assisted over 50 corporates to protect their workforce and restart their operations, by incentivizing workers to return from their villages and rejoin work.

Overall, Edelweiss-Gallagher Insurance Brokers (EGIB) has spread awareness about this product among over 1.5 lakh SMEs & MSMEs across India.

"During these uncertain times, insurers have a critical role in ensuring that business owners are able to safeguard the wellbeing of their people and their families. This collaboration with corporates and insurance companies will help fill a critical gap and benefit companies facing cash flow problems, low demand and disruption in operations," said Vinay Sohani, CEO at Edelweiss-Gallagher Insurance Brokers.

The Insurance policies can be customized for corporates to provide coverage from Rs 50,000 to Rs 50 lakh towards hospitalization cover, at private as well as government hospitals. The coverage will include ICU treatment, road ambulance and access to a secondary medical opinion.

The product is exclusive to the Indian market and requires a positive test report for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) conducted at an ICMR Authorized Test Centre in India, a statement from the company said.

To allow operations of factories and essential services during the lockdown, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in a circular dated April 15, 2020 released revised guidelines mandating health insurance cover for all workers. This has been followed by a circular from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) advising insurers to provide group and individual insurance cover, with simple wordings and conditions.

Edelweiss-Gallagher was formed through a minority stake acquisition in Edelweiss Insurance Brokers Limited (EIBL) by Gallagher, in May 2019.
Pompeo Says US Rights Under UNSCR 2231 Separate From Iran Nuclear Agreement

Radio Farda 30 April 2020

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said the rights of the United States under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are separate from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Our rights under UNSCR 2231 are separate from the JCPOA. But I'll put you down for Chinese arms sales to Iran on October 18. Which weapons is it okay with you if they send? A couple of divisions of VT-4 tanks good?," Pompeo wrote in a tweet addressed to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Thursday.

In a Fox News program on Wednesday, Pompeo also declared that President Donald Trump is committed to using "every tool" to prevent Iran from buying more conventional arms. He added that the United States is working with the European countries party to the nuclear agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining more weapons.

A ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran ends in October under a 2015 the Security Council resolution that blessed the denuclearization accord negotiated by former President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump officially left the accord in May 2018 while the other participants  France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia  have remained committed to it.

Secretary Pompeo is currently preparing a legal argument to prove that the United States is still a participant in the nuclear agreement. According to the JCPOA, any of the parties to the agreement can call for the resumption of UN sanctions on Iran and Security Council members cannot veto such a move.

In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL on Thursday, the EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said the United States can no longer be considered as a participating member of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

"It's clear that in the statement by President Trump and the U.S. presidential memorandum of last May, they announced that he was ending his participation in JCPOA," the EU Foreign Policy Chief said.

Borrell, however, said the United States has a right to call for an arms embargo, like any other U.N. member, if they wish.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/pompeo-says- us-rights-under-unscr-2231-separate-from- iran-nuclear-agreement/30586083.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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AJ_Watt

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a spike in demand for digital health services that many experts hope are here to stay. With lockdown measures in place around the globe, going to see your local physician if you're unwell isn't an option for the vast majority of people. That's meant a much larger volume of patients getting triaged by telephone or online and consulting their doctors remotely. There are now plenty of apps that can check your symptoms and connect you with a doctor if you're feeling unwell. "Patients have always liked it," Clare Gerada, a family doctor in London, told CNBC. "It's been doctors that have been resistant to introducing it." Gerada, co-founder of digital consultation platform eConsult, said she found it "odd" physicians were so opposed to going digital when "almost 100% of them will use online banking or online ways of booking their holiday."

Now attitudes are changing as phone and video appointments become more commonplace. Patients are advised not to visit their doctor physically unless absolutely necessary to prevent the virus from spreading. That's led to increased uptake of telemedicine services from the likes of Teladoc, MDLIVE and American Well, as well as international competitors such as Britain's Babylon, Sweden's Kry and France's Doctolib. Ali Parsa, CEO of Babylon, says a long-time skeptic of smartphone-based health care recently turned around and asked him if they should use remote consultation software. "Huge critics turned around because, when the need came and the old way of doing stuff was so inadequate, all of these nonsense objections went away," he told CNBC. Babylon said it attracted more than 140,000 new registrations in the U.K. since March 8  the country went into lockdown a couple weeks later. The firm has facilitated 2.5 million digital consultations to date globally.

Human cost

Online symptom assessment providers like Germany's Ada are also gaining traction. Claire Novorol, Ada's co-founder and chief medical officer, says the company built a screening tool for Covid-19 due to the "tremendous pressure" faced by health workers. "There's really a strong need for online tools that can help people self-assess," Novorol told CNBC. "I think digital health offerings will continue to be extremely necessary. And my expectation is that, even beyond this period ... this will accelerate a permanent change"

That need to reduce strain on primary care facilities could highlight an opportunity for technologies like artificial intelligence. But there's skepticism over how it could be applied. Babylon found itself in hot water in 2018 over claims that its AI chatbot was able to diagnose medical conditions as accurately as a doctor. The description drew criticisms from general practitioners in the U.K., who labeled the claim "dubious." Still, Parsa believes that the use of AI will be crucial to driving down costs in primary care and complimenting telehealth services. He said a combination of the two could also better serve people with chronic conditions like diabetes and mental health disorders. The tech entrepreneur, whose father recently passed away after contracting the virus, said a "huge price" had been paid because of the health crisis. "I lost my own wonderful father to Covid-19," Parsa said. "We can't carry on having paid the price we paid  to go back to doing things the way we used to. It's just criminal to sacrifice so much and not learn from it."
The Presbyterian minister Francis Grimke was born in 1850. His father was a slaveholder and his mother was enslaved. While Grimke was still young, his father died of the yellow fever epidemic, and although his father had tried to preventatively take care of his family before he passed, the death catapulted Grimke and his siblings childhoods into hardship and mistreatment.

After the Civil War concluded in 1865, an academic mentor helped him relocate to Philadelphia, where Grimke began pursuing ministry. A staunch proponent of Reformed theology, Grimke also spent much of his ministry involved in the battle for civil rights for African Americans.

On this episode of Prayer amid Pandemic, Eric Washington, an associate professor of history and the director of African and African Diaspora Studies Program at Calvin University, shared how Grimke spoke out about the evils and folly of American racism during the Spanish flu pandemic.

This weeks prayer is from Amanda Jackson, the executive director of the Womens Commission at the World Evangelical Alliance.

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Music by Urban Nerd Beats, Prod. Riddiman, and Oliver Duvel

Prayer amid Pandemic is produced by Morgan Lee, Mike Cosper, and Erik Petrik
Islamabad, May 1 : Pakistan's National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and went into self-isolation, he confirmed in a tweet.

"I tested positive for coronavirus and quarantined myself in my house. I urge the entire nation to take preventive measures," he wrote on Twitter on Thursday after he received his test report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad.

Qaiser's brother, Abdul Wahid confirmed to The Express Tribune that the NA speaker's son and daughter were also tested positive for the contagious disease and have been quarantined.

Earlier, Qaiser's brother-in-law and sister were diagnosed with the disease.

In violation of the government's policy of social distancing, Qaiser had reportedly hosted Iftar-dinner at his residence on Monday.

He has joined the list of politicians who have contracted the deadly disease that has so far infected 16,353 people and claimed 361 lives across the country.

Just three days ago, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had also tested positive.

On April 21, Prime Minister Imran Khan was tested after Edhi Foundation Chairman Faisal Edhi, who met him a few days ago, was diagnosed positive for the respiratory illness.

Fortunately, the premier was reported negative a day after the test.
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: Two pilgrims, who returned to Sirsa from Maharashtra's Nanded, are among 18 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Haryana on Friday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the state to 357.

Sirsa district officials said both pilgrims had returned from the Hazur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded and were admitted to hospital. With people returning from Nanded testing positive for the infection in Punjab, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said all pilgrims would be tested.

He added that 16 other pilgrims have been quarantined for two weeks. In addition to Sirsa, eight fresh cases were reported from Faridabad, three from Gurgaon, four from Jhajjar and one from Sonipat, as per a state Health Department bulletin.

Haryana has maintained that many of the coronavirus cases in its NCR districts have their origins in infections emanating from the national capital and the authorities had ordered sealing of the districts with Delhi to check the spread of the infection.

FOLLOW COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES HERE

The worst-affected districts of the state are Faridabad (61), Nuh (58), Gurgaon (57), Palwal (34), Sonipat (26), Jhajjar (28) and Panchkula (18). According to the health bulletin, the number of active cases in the state is 112 while 241 patients have been discharged so far.

The rate of doubling of cases in the state is 20 days. The state has recorded four COVID-related deaths, it said. The number of samples sent for testing stands at 30,191, out of which reports of 2,050 are awaited.

Among the 24 foreign nationals who tested positive, 14 were the Italian tourists and later 13 of them were discharged while one elderly woman in the group had passed away last month even though she had recovered from the coronavirus infection.

The other 10 foreign nationals found positive are from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesia while 64 are from other states, the bulletin stated.
Hundreds of migrant workers from



Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have started their journey back home from Surat.

After the lockdown to contain coroanvirus outbreak was announced in March and extended in April, the city had witnessed violent protests by stranded workers who wanted to return to their native states.

The administration has now allowed workers from Odisha, MP and Rajasthan to leave.

Since Thursday, hundreds of migrants from these states have left Surat after obtaining on-the-spot permission at three check posts, said city police commissioner R B Brahmbhatt.

"Till now, hundreds of workers have left for their native places in private vehicles. Several buses also left from check posts today," he said.

On Friday, 30 private buses carrying stranded workers and their families left, said another official.

Instead of asking migrant workers to apply online for permission to leave the city, Surat administration has asked them to reach any of the three check posts with necessary documents.

"People from Odisha, MP and Rajasthan can go to their native places in private vehicles and buses. They need to provide personal details as well as vehicle details at the check posts.

"Migrants from other states will have to wait for some time as we are in talks with those states," said Surat Collector Dhaval Patel.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Courtesy Zeqway Clarke

Zeqway Clarke was in the back pew in the upstairs chapel at the Andrew D. Cleckley Funeral Home in Brooklyn when he chanced to gaze under the coffin and see what looked like a bare foot.

You could see it, he later told The Daily Beast. You could actually look under the casket and see it. I asked somebody else, Is that a foot?

Clarke was there on April 9 with his wife and daughters and a small number of relatives in masks and gloves, bidding farewell to her grandfather, 88-year-old Francois Jules. The pastor continued conducting the service as Clarke gazed at what was indeed a bare foot visible beneath the hem of the cloth backdrop closing off the front of the room.

At the end of the service, Clarke went up for a final parting moment with Jules, a military veteran and retired graveyard security guard, who was recovering from a stroke in Kings County Hospital when he was fatally struck by COVID-19. Clarke used the moment by the coffin to raise his cellphone above the cord on which the backdrop hung.

I stuck the phone up and took a picture, the 39-year-old entrepreneur recalled.

He did not see the result until he returned to his seat and checked his phone.

It was just bodies, bodies on the floor, people on top of each other, he said.

The picture, which he later shared with The Daily Beast, showed at least eight bodies had been left haphazardly on the floor. They were only partly covered by sheets or quilts and appeared to be unclothed. Three of the faces were visible.

Horrified, Clarke said of his reaction.

Zeqway Clarke was attending the funeral of a relative who died of coronavirus when he spotted what looked like a bare foot behind a curtain. Courtesy Zeqway Clarke

Twenty days later, the whole city was horrified when police responded to complaints of a foul odor coming from two trucks parked in front of this same funeral home. They discovered dozens of bodies decomposing inside.

The owner, 41-year-old Andrew Cleckley, told police that he had been unable to get cemeteries and crematories to accept enough bodies to keep his facility from overflowing.

I am out of space, he was quoted telling The New York Times. Bodies are coming out of our ears.

Story continues

Clarke lives in the neighborhood, and he had walked past the funeral home with his daughters, aged 15 and 16, as the pandemic was intensifying. He noticed that the usual hearse and men in suits and ties had been replaced by rental trucks and men in work clothes.

It looked like they just picked up some winos off the street: Yo, well give you some money, Clarke recalled. I said to my kids, It looks like theyre bringing these bodies in U-Haul trucks. It looked like they were bringing in more and more bodies and the place is not even that big.

Its Never Been Like This: Coronavirus Deaths Overwhelm New York Funeral Workers

The daughters now saw their fathers cellphone photo of what lay just beyond the backdrop behind the coffin.

My daughters said, What? Clarke reported. Thats the first time my children actually seen something like that.

As a parent you want them to know thats not right, he later said. You want them to know people should be treated with respect.

He noted to himself that there was no air conditioning in the chapel.

Not cool, he said in more than one sense. In regular room temperature like that, whats going to happen?

As he and his family resumed sheltering in place, Clarke considered reporting to the authorities what he had photographed.

[But] there was so much going on with the pandemic, social distancing, I figured it hell or high water to get in contact with somebody, he recalled.

He decided just to post the photographic evidence on Facebook. Some commenters noted that funeral homes were overwhelmed. Most comments were unalloyed outrage.

Then came the discovery of the decomposing bodies in the trucks outside the funeral home.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams responded to the scene. He later said that much the same is happening throughout New York as the usual progression from hospital and morgue to funeral parlor to cemetery and crematorium has backed up.

We have an emergency going on right now, Adams told The Daily Beast. Im surprised we dont have cars stuffed with bodies.

He added, There is so much more we could do to better move this situation forward.

To that end, he is establishing a Bereavement Task Force that will begin meeting next week.

Were going to bring people in the room in every aspect of this industry and sit down and hear directly from them what we should be doing to coordinate this operation, he said.

Cleckley hung up twice when The Daily Beast sought comment, the second time suggesting the reporter ask crematories why they are not taking more bodies from funeral directors.

Cleckley no doubt was facing problems the death industry could not have imagined before COVID-19 turned the city into the global epicenter. But he could have been more easily forgiven were it not for the photo Clarke blindly took of what was going on behind the backdrop.

NYC Is Taking Hundreds of Body Bags Out of Housesand Soon They Will Be Counted

No matter how inundated the funeral home may have been, and no matter how frightened the workers may have been of catching the virus themselves, there is no excuse for just leaving bodies every which way. Only a moment would have been needed to pull a sheet up over a face or cover bare limbs.

I BEEN TELLING YALL ABOUT THIS PLACE AND WHAT THEY DOING, Clarke declared on Facebook after the Wednesday raid. IM HAPPY ITS FINALLY ALL OVER THE NEWS!!!!!...RESPECT PEOPLE FAMILY...SAD SAD SAD.

And the photo he blindly took with his upraised phone now teaches us what his daughters learned regarding the importance of simple respect even when overwhelmed at the global epicenter of the pandemic.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A former bookkeeper for a Monmouth County health club admitted Tuesday to stealing over $223,000 from the business over the course of over five years, authorities said.

Jennifer Ambrosino, 42, of Point Pleasant pleaded guilty to theft by unlawful taking for embezzling the funds from the Atlantic Club in Wall Township for her personal use between January 2012 and June 2017, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office announced Thursday.

An investigation by the prosecutors office, Wall Township Police and New Jersey Department of Treasury determined that Ambrosino concealed the theft by altering bank statements, initiating fraudulent wire transfers and submitting erroneous reconciliation documents, the office said.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, she will face five years in prison when she returns for sentencing on August 28, prosecutors said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
Go to China!, a woman in Denver, Colorado, shouts at two hospital workers standing in front of her car to prevent her from taking part in a protest against the coronavirus lockdown. Her cry is a sign that President Trump is having some success in demonising China: he says that that he has a high degree of confidence that the deadly virus emanated from a laboratory in Wuhan, though he cannot reveal the source of his information.

The level of Trumps mendacity is far grosser than that used to sell the Iraq War by claiming that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Then too there were stories of secret laboratories developing biological weapons. Though Trump is purging US intelligence chiefs and replacing them with Trump loyalists, even they could not stomach his latest conspiracy theory. The intelligence also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified, said a statement from the office of the director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell.

The purpose of Trumps lies is not to convince by rational argument but to dominate the news agenda by outrageous allegations. This simple PR trick has previously worked well for him, but scapegoating China may not be enough to divert attention away from the price Americans have paid for his calamitous mishandling of the pandemic. The casualty figures tell their own grim story: in China there have been 84,373 cases of the illness and 4,643 deaths while in the US there have been just over 1.1 million cases and 64,460 deaths. Trump loyalists will claim that the Chinese are lying, but then they must also explain away the lower loss of life in South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

The strategy is crude, but demonising China as The Yellow Peril might just work on election day. Dont defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban  attack China, says a 57-page memo sent out by the National Republican Senatorial Committee to Republican candidates, advising them on how to rebut criticism of the presidents actions. Joe Biden, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is already being pilloried by the Republicans as Beijing Biden. In an epidemic, people are frightened and seek a scapegoat, foreigners at home and abroad being an obvious target. Probably only a hate-driven conspiracy theory can keep Trump in the White House when 30 million Americans are unemployed.

Many of those who used WMD to deliver a hot war against Iraq in 2003, are the same people who promote a cold war against China today. This approach requires an extraordinary degree of irresponsibility: Trump is launching his cold war against China just when a global medical and economic response is needed to counter a virus that has spread from Tajikistan to the upper Amazon and can only be suppressed or contained by international action.

It is surely disastrous historical bad luck that this unprecedented global threat is occurring just as independent nation states are re-emerging, in so far as they ever disappeared, as the essential players on the international stage at the expense of international institutions: the UN and EU were losing influence pre-epidemic and have been marginalised since in the last six months. Nation states are not only very much back in business, but they are increasingly run by far-right nativist populist leaders, of whom Trump is only one of the more crazed examples. Most of these are proving highly incompetent in dealing with the pandemic and none are likely to favour international cooperation.

The real problem here is the US: international organisations like the UN and agencies like the World Health Organisation only exerted real influence when backed by Washington. Often accused of being American puppets, they enjoyed a degree of autonomy and effectiveness because the US needed to outsource some of its power in order to maintain its global hegemony. Trump is abandoning this calculation.

The new cold war against China was already gathering momentum before the pandemic. Western political establishments have long been wobbling between opposing China as a rival superpower and cultivating it as an economic powerhouse whose explosive if debt-fuelled expansion helped drag the rest of the world out of the post-2008 recession.

The post-1945 Cold War was fought by the US and its allies against the Soviet Union until it collapsed in 1991; this coincided after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 with a cold war against Iran and Iraq which were alternately portrayed as the source of all evil. Trump is unlikely to demote Iran from its present demonic status but he is clearly intent on portraying China as equally evil. Many politically palatable reasons for this will be advanced in the coming months, but the real charge against China is one of effectiveness. It has shown itself more competent than other powerful states in dealing with two world crises: the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic of 2019-20.

The decline of the US as a superpower is not total: it plays a hegemonic role in the world financial system. But its post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan showed that, despite vast expenditure, its armed forces could not deliver victory and the pandemic is demonstrating that its equally expensive health system is appallingly unequal and inadequate.

Trump is a symptom as well as a cause of the polarisation of the US political system, more divided now than at any time since the Civil War ended in 1865. Yet the decline of the US is much greater than the rise of China, significant though that may be, and it is naive to imagine that Beijing will simply displace Washington at the top table.

In reality, nobody is going to replace the US, but there will be a rush of other countries moving to fill the vacuum left by its absence. Much of this would have happened anyway as US economic and political primacy eroded. But the process by which this is happening has been speeded up by two wild cards that nobody even knew were in the pack: the election of Trump as president in 2016 and the Covid-19 pandemic. The world is currently full of nation states, and not just China, who see threats and opportunities all around them. The result will be ever-increasing turmoil.
Local churches continue to offer services to their congregants via alternative service options. Some have taken to online streaming, others are offering services hosted in the parking lots of churches and others have been called off completely for the time being.

Here's a list of where and when they're hosting services:
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK home builder Barratt Developments Plc. (BDEV.L) announced Friday plans for a phased reopening of its construction sites, which were closed on March 27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said the work on its construction sites will recommence from May 11, initially to implement the changes required under new working practices and protocols. Following this, the company will start a phased return to construction, with 180 sites, around 50 percent of the total, in the first phase. A nominated Social Distancing Marshal will be present on all sites to ensure policy compliance. Further, the company will provide induction, training and support for employees and sub-contractors. With the phased reopening of sites, a significant proportion of workforce is expected to return to work during May. The company on April 16 had announced that it was in the process of furloughing around 85 percent of employees, at their normal pay, until at least the end of May. Further, the company said it does not plan to restart work on sites in Scotland at this time. In line with the lockdown retail regulations, the company is not reopening sales centres or show homes at this time, but continue to look after our customers remotely. The company said it expects a limited number of additional completions this financial year. As of April 26, it has completed 11,776 homes, higher than 11,723 homes last year, including JVs. Total forward sales are 12,271 homes at a value of 2.85 billion pounds. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The local governments of Zamboanga City, La Union province, and towns in Albay province appealed to the national government on Friday to continue the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in their areas due to the continuing threat of COVID-19.

Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco cited the projections of Zamboanga City Medical Center epidemiologists that there will be a spike of COVID-19 cases in their city from May 8-11.

She also appealed for mass testing in Zamboanga City as an outbreak of the disease emerged in the citys reformatory center, resulting in two deaths and possible increase in infections.

Local chief executives that must be on top of the situation really need the expert advice and data from our medical professionals, said Climaco.

The mayor mentioned there are 334 suspected patients in the city, with 11 confirmed cases.

She also emphasized that Zamboanga City is the only place with a tertiary hospital, which caters to the needs of communities in Zamboanga Peninsula and nearby provinces Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Climaco added their city is a center of transshipment and passenger arrivals, raising the need for arriving persons in the city to undergo a strict 14-day quarantine and mass testing.

She also appealed to the national government to establish a COVID-19 testing laboratory in the city that will also serve nearby provinces in the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regions.

We still do not have that and I am expecting Sec. (Carlito) Galvez to come over in the City of Zamboanga to expedite the facility because we are undergoing evaluation, Climaco said.

The Zamboanga City chief executive said they partnered with private hospitals in the country for the medical care of COVID-19 patients in the city and for providing them testing capacity similar to Metro Manila.

She lamented the COVID-19 test results coming from Metro Manila take three to four days to reach Zamboanga City.

Climaco said they are expecting today a response from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on their recommendation to continue the ECQ in Zamboanga City.

La Union Governor Pacoy Ortega also appealed to the IATF-EID to extend the ECQ in their province.

Even as he awaits for IATF-EID response, Ortega placed La Union under general community quarantine (GCQ) effective today in compliance with the national governments directive.

Town mayors in Albay province, led by Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal and Daraga Mayor Victor Perete, made similar appeals.

Albay provincial board member Raul Rosal expressed disappointment over the provincial governments failure to pass a resolution requesting the IATF-EID to place the whole province under ECQ.

We had a special session requested by all board members to pass a resolution requesting IATF-EID to place the entire province of Albay under ECQ until May 15," Rosal stated in his social media account. "Then when I moved for its approval, nobody seconded my motion."

Albay second district Rep. Joey Salceda believes the province is not yet ready for GCQ because the country has not yet met its minimum health standards in solving the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example in the case of Albay, we're 1.3 million. Now they're allowed to go out and essentially once they go home we have 140,000 senior citizens, said Salceda.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he was surprised with the huge number of requests from LGUs to extend the ECQ in their areas of jurisdiction.

Under the guidelines released Thursday by the IATF-EID, the national government extended the ECQ in Metro Manila, Central Luzon (except Aurora), and CALABARZON regions up to May 15.

Also covered by the ECQ extension are Pangasinan province, Benguet province (including Baguio City), Iloilo province (including Iloilo City), Cebu province (including Cebu City), Davao City, and Bacolod City.

Roque reminded that rules for extending ECQ in LGUs should be concurred by the IATF-EID.

He explained that provincial governors can declare ECQ in their municipalities and component cities, with the concurrence of their local IATF-EID.

Wala pong probinsya na pwedeng mag-ECQ or GCQ para sa buong probinsya na wala pong abiso ang IATF, said Roque.

[Translation: No provincial government can impose ECQ or GCQ in their whole province without the advice of the IATF.]

Roque added that mayors of highly urbanized cities can impose ECQ in their barangays, as approved by their local IATF-EID.

Meanwhile, Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said the province will implement a gradual re-opening of businesses under the GCQ set-up.

Mamba mentioned that businesses in the province must start their operations by just ten percent. He said businesses can slowly increase their working capacity, but reminded them to not exceed the 50% minimum standard set by the national government in business operations in GCQ areas.

We will follow the guidelines from the government," he said. "Although we have to do it very gradually, cautiously."

The governor also urged businessmen in the province to submit their plans on how they will facilitate mass testing of their employees before reporting for work.

Cagayan Province broke its three-week streak of no confirmed COVID-19 cases this week, as three new infections were recorded bringing the infected toll in the province to 17.

Mamba said two of the three new cases in the province are employees of the Cagayan Valley Medical Center.

We are taking extra precautions because we are afraid of the virus, said Mamba.

The provincial capital, Tuguegarao City, was placed under ECQ for a week to prepare for its transition into GCQ.

Tuguegarao Mayor Jefferson Soriano said despite the city still being under ECQ, they will allow the operation of tricycles and the re-opening of establishments starting today.

Our guideline is, except for the new establishment that will open, our area will still be under ECQ but the operation of tricycles is also an exception, said Soriano.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Singson, Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap, and Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo also issued their respective provincial executive orders to place their provinces under GCQ starting today.
Hotels

What's new: Most hotels worldwide are closed this spring during shelter-in-place orders. Like airlines, they are using this time to develop deep-cleaning disinfection practices that follow guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that directly address coronavirus. From market behemoths like Marriott International to boutique chain Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, newly issued cleaning guidelines call for more frequent cleaning of public areas such as lobbies and fitness centers, the use of electrostatic spray technology that better spreads cleansers, and the availability of hand sanitizers throughout hotels.

The sales pitch: I think every single hotel out there will be holding sales, says Pauline Frommer, the editorial director of Frommer's, the guidebook, and publisher of frommers.com. There will be pent-up demand, and hotels will be in a big world of hurt economically."

Even before they reopen, she points out, many hotels are holding sales at sites such as Buy Now, Stay Later, which sells hotel bonds or discounted gift cards for $100, redeemable for $150 after 60 days. This makes eparticipating hotels such as the Greydon House in Nantucket, for instance, about one-third off. In March, Hopper found hotel rates down between 9 and 25 percent across the country. Rates at hotels in San Francisco averaged $218 after March 1 and $292 before.

Before you jump, consider: Hotels normally have generous cancellation policies unless you buy a prepaid, nonrefundable rate, which tends to be lower. Though some hotels will refund even the nonrefundable prepaid rates through June, the best advice is to avoid them (use the AARP member rate instead, which is usually similar).

Also realize that your favorite hotel may not come back the same as you remember, if it even comes back. For the near future, hotel offerings may change a bit, Frommer says, indicating some hotels may not reopen and at others amenities like spas may lag in returning to service.

Cruises

What's new: After the drama of quarantined and virus-stricken passengers unable to disembark from ships such as the Diamond Princess, the cruise industry is stepping up its hygiene protocols to convince travelers to book their ships again. Michelle Fee, CEO of Cruise Planners, a travel agency based in Coral Springs, Florida, forecasts a sea of changes: Elevator buttons will be wiped down several times an hour. Buffet dishes will not be self-serve but spooned onto plates by dining servers. Passengers and crew will be checked for temperature. Larger ships will beef up their onboard clinics, and there will be social distancing seating in theaters.

The sales pitch: Except for small-ship expedition cruises, the industry has always been a good place to look for deals, and now is no exception. Royal Caribbean is offering three-night cruises to the Bahamas from $189 a person. It and many cruise lines are offering free cancellations up to 48 hours before sailing. But beware: In that case, you'll get a credit for a future cruise, not a refund.

Before you jump, consider: Most cruise lines have set June or July dates to resume sailings, but that depends on government restrictions, and the CDC's current no-sail order could extend to July 24. Both Canada and Alaska have deferred cruises to July 1, subject to governmental approvals.

When travel bans are lifted, not every ship and itinerary will be available compared with prepandemic schedules. Once they get the OK from the CDC, cruise lines will roll out ships, says Fee. Lines that had 22 ships might start with five and add on. Most won't get to full capacity until toward the end of the year."

Tours

What's new: Group trips, where it's harder to maintain social distancing standards, may be slower to rebound than other forms of travel. Intrepid Travel, one of the largest small-group operators, has suspended all but a few tours scheduled globally until at least Sept. 30. Tauck, a luxury tour company offering group and private trips, has canceled departures through June and has relaxed cancellations penalties through July.

The sales pitch: TravelZoo recently advertised a five-night all-inclusive resort stay in Jamaica with airfare for $499. It also had an eight-night South Africa safari with airfare from $1,699.

Before you jump, consider: Read the terms and conditions carefully, as they may vary based on when you booked and when you plan to travel. For example, G Adventures offers free cancellations and rebookings up to 14 days prior to departure before Dec. 31, 2020. That window stretches to 30 days for trips departing between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2021.
Malaysia will reopen nearly all businesses under strict controls next week, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced Friday, as the country looks to start bouncing back from almost U.S. $15 billion in lost revenue tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an address to the nation marking Labor Day, Muhyiddin did not lift the movement control order (MCO) set to expire May 12. Schools are to remain closed, mass gatherings including religious and sporting events will not be allowed as will travel across states for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

We have to find ways to balance our needs to revive the countrys economy and the importance of curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, the prime minister said.

[T]he government has decided to reopen economic sectors with caution by enforcing a strict health standard operating procedure (SOP), Muhyiddin said, citing advice from the Health Ministry based on data and best practices set by the World Health Organization. Beginning May 4, 2020, almost all economic sectors and business activities will be allowed to operate based on the terms and SOP set by the authorities.

On Friday, Malaysia reported 69 new COVID-19 cases and one new death, bringing the totals to 6,071 and 103. Globally, more than 3.2 million have been infected by COVID-19 and nearly 234,000 have died, according to data compiled by disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia had absorbed losses of 2.4 billion ringgit ($558 million) each day during the MCO, adding that accumulated losses already totaled about 63 billion ringgit ($14.6 billion). The movement control order began on March 18.

If the MCO continues for another month, our country will face an additional 35 billion ringgit ($8.1 billion) in losses, making it a total of 98 billion ringgit ($22.8 billion), he said earlier in his speech.

In late March, the World Bank sharply revised its GDP growth projection for Malaysia from 4.5 percent to -0.1 percent, compared to 4.3 percent growth in 2019. The last time Malaysias economy contracted was in 2009.

On April 23, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research reported that job losses could total 2.4 million, of which two-thirds or 1.6 million would be unskilled workers.

Muhyiddins announcement led former Prime Minister Najib Razak to question whether it was too soon to open the country. Just last week, Muhyiddin had extended the MCO until May 12 and hinted that another extension could affect Eid, set for May 24.

We wonder, what is the need for the mass relaxation that is being granted all at once next Monday when the fourth phase of MCO is only slated to end on May 12? Najib asked in a Facebook post.

Slow and steady, sector by sector, one by one, theres no need to rush. Not all at once, later it will be hard to control, said Najib, whose corruption trials linked to the financial scandal around the 1MDB state fund were delayed because of the lockdown.

We shall see

A medical doctor said he supported Muhyiddins announcement, because the governments plan for beginning to resume business activity had built-in public health safeguards such as social distancing, the wearing of masks and washing of hands.

[T]here is always a possibility  like aftershocks following a major earthquake  but I think if we strictly follow the guidelines given by the Health Ministry, we are ready to handle those subsequent [coronavirus] spikes accordingly, Daud Sulaiman, a cardiologist at KPJ Damansara Hospital, told BenarNews.

We have to remain vigilant and resilient as the war is not over yet, but our lives have to go on.

Razak Kechik, the former director of Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, also responded positively to the announcement.

It is possible, but social distancing must be observed, mass gatherings avoided and the wearing of face masks must be compulsory, he told BenarNews.

On the economic front, economist Nazari Ismail of the Universiti Malaya said the government was considering the lockdowns economic costs in taking a risk to reopen businesses.

I think the government realizes the economic costs are too high. Scores of hotels are closing for example, and while full data is not yet available, most likely many are facing bankruptcies, he told BenarNews.

Therefore unemployment is going to rise, maybe in the millions and tax revenue for government will also go down. Companies suffering losses will not pay taxes and revenue from sales tax will go down because people will be cautious about spending.

Meanwhile, some citizens were not sold on easing restrictions, starting Monday.

Yoges Raman, 47, said she relied on the rail service to go to work in Kuala Lumpur.

Its clear that the government ministers have no idea what it is like for us to go to work by train, it is always packed. If they reduce the occupancy of the trains, then it would take us hours to get on board and to work. I will not work, Yoges told BenarNews.

Shop clerk Pomela Lian, 30, said she was marking May 18 on her calendar to see how many positive COVID-19 cases would be recorded by then.

May 18 is 14 days after May 4. They say the virus takes that long to incubate, so we shall see, Lian said.

Immigrants detained

Also on Friday, the Malaysian Immigration Department, joined by Royal Malaysia Police and other enforcement agencies, detained hundreds of refugees and migrant workers in a Kuala Lumpur neighborhood.

When contacted by BenarNews, an Immigration Department source who asked not to be named because he did not have permission to speak to the media said no official statement had been released explaining the reason for the operation because it was still ongoing.

This is not a raid, just a routine inspection, the source said.

Previously, officials had said they would not take such action during the COVID-19 pandemic against the migrants from countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar.

Rights groups including Tenaganita, a local human rights NGO that deals with issue of migrants workers, challenged the government action.

While it is understandable that steps are needed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak in the future, to target and hold these individuals  is unreasonable, and not the only solution available, Tenaganita director Glorene Das said in a statement.

The Malaysian government cannot take the easy approach and consider that an authoritarian stance is the ideal response.



Nisha David in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
The most senior judge in England and Wales has said judges and magistrates must consider how the coronavirus crisis is affecting conditions in prisons when deciding whether to jail offenders after nearly 350 prisoners tested positive for coronavirus.

The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett believes that those in charge of passing sentences should take into account that the impact of a custodial stint may now be greater on an offender due to the pandemic.

Lord Burnett stressed that prisoners and their families are likely to be anxious about contracting the virus, because they spend the majority of the day in their cells and are unable to receive visits.

The warning comes after the Ministry of Justice said that 345 prisoners tested positive for coronavirus in 73 jails.

371 prison staff and 11 prisoner escort and custody services staff have also contracted the virus.

Judges and magistrates must consider how the coronavirus crisis is affecting conditions in prisons when deciding whether to jail offenders, Lord Burnett has said

It was also revealed that 18 inmates and six staff have died from coronavirus across the nation.

These latest figures from the Ministry of Justice reflect the total number of recorded positive cases, meaning those who currently have the virus and those who have recovered.

Cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in more than half of prisons in England and Wales, with staff also running short on personal protective equipment.

And amid increasing concern over the state of the ongoing health emergency in jails, Lord Burnett said on Thursday: 'The current conditions in prisons represent a factor which can properly be taken into account in deciding whether to suspend a sentence.

'Judges and magistrates can therefore, and in our judgment should, keep in mind that the impact of a custodial sentence at the moment is likely to be greater during the current emergency than it would otherwise be.'

A total of 293 prison workers and 321 inmates, as of 5pm last Saturday, had contracted coronavirus - and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC also highlighted dwindling supplies after revealing the figures.

Cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in more than half of prisons in England and Wales and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC has also highlighted dwindling supplies for staff

He told the House of Commons justice question time that stocks of protective bodysuits are running low, but eyemasks, eye shields and hand sanitisers remain in plentiful supply.

Last month, approximately 3,500 prison staff were believed to be in self-isolation due to suspected Covid-19. This figure represents around a tenth of the workforce.

Three of the deaths among inmates were at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, with others being held at Birmingham, Manchester, Altcourse in Merseyside, Belmarsh in South East London, Whatton in Nottinghamshire and a female prisoner at Low Newton, County Durham.

The government announced in April that 4,000 low-risk prisoners, who have less than two months to serve of their sentence, will be eligible for early release in order to attempt to control the spread of the killer disease.

LABOUR CALLS FOR TRIALS TO TAKE PLACE IN EMPTY LECTURE HALLS AND SCHOOLS Court trials should take place in empty university lecture halls, schools and leisure centres to help the 'incapacitated justice system' during the Covid-19 outbreak, according to Labour. The Government needs an emergency action plan to maintain open justice during the pandemic and ensure there are lasting improvements afterwards, the opposition party has claimed. The calls have been made in a letter to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland from the shadow justice secretary David Lammy and shadow attorney general Lord Falconer. Online streaming of court cases should become the norm so the justice system is more open, transparent and fair, they said. Advertisement

The Probation Service later revealed that all those freed early, on temporarily licence, will be electronically monitored before they are allowed to leave prison.

Mr Buckland confirmed on Thursday that 'about 40' prisoners have been freed from jail early.

The number of criminals behind bars across England Wales was 81,124 on Friday, with the overall figure having fallen by roughly 1,000 in the last fortnight.

It has also been revealed that juries may be reduced in size for the only time since the Second World War - and trials may also be carried out online to maintain social distancing even when the lockdown is lifted.

Lord Burnett is considering cutting the number of jurors from 12 to as low as seven, and conceded that trials could take place in lecture theatres or halls to keep adequate distance between people.

Traditional courts, such as The Old Bailey in London, would be too small.

In yet another day of coronavirus developments:

Ministers were warned the 'stay at home' messaging may have worked too well amid fears 'coronaphobia' could stop the UK getting back up and running;

It was revealed Boris Johnson will unveil his 'comprehensive' lockdown exit plan next Thursday amid fears 'coronaphobia' could stop the country getting back up and running;

An interactive map has broken down exactly how many coronavirus deaths have been recorded across England and Wales;

A top midwife warned coronavirus could lead to a surge in baby deaths because women enduring a difficult pregnancy are afraid to go to hospitals;

Ministers faced demands to push for South Korea-style contact tracing amid signs that the 100,000 a day target for coronavirus tests has been met;

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being 'slow at every turn' in the response to the crisis;

Ryanair announced 3,000 job cuts as it revealed it expects to operate under 1 per cent of its schedule between April and June.

The UK announced 739 more coronavirus deaths on Friday evening, taking Britain's official fatality toll to 27,180

Lord Burnett is also considering reducing juries in size for the only time since the Second World War, with the number of jurors potentially being cut from 12 to as low as seven

Trials may also take place in lecture theatres or halls with traditional courts, such as The Old Bailey in London (pictured) deemed too small to enforce social distancing

A senior lawyer has suggested that all criminal trials held during the lockdown should be heard without juries.

Jury trials in the UK have ground to a halt since March, but the move has caused an increasing backlog of 37,434 cases, as of April 30, awaiting trial.

Sir Richard Henriques said juries should be scrapped during the pandemic, with judges hearing cases alone instead.

The QC wrote in The Times: 'Our crown courts cannot remain closed when domestic violence is escalating, prisons are overcrowded with people awaiting trial, fraudsters exploit Covid-19 opportunities and the existing backlog of cases grows ever longer,' he wrote.

'Judges recognise a bad officer when they see one, can assess credibility, reject unreliable identification evidence, avoid bias and accurately apply the burden and standard of proof.'
Lauding India's response to novel coronavirus, an influential Republican lawmaker, George Holding, recently said that the country has emerged as a leader in the fight against the pandemic. He also thanked New Delhi for providing the US with vital supplies like the anti-malarial drug such as hydroxychloroquine. This comes as India has reported a total of 35,043 cases whereas the US has reported 10,95,304 cases as of now.

Holding, the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said in a statement "The Republic of India is one of Americas closest and most important allies, and our relationship has always enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington I am thankful that India has stepped up as a leader in the fight against coronavirus, and am glad that our special partnership remains strong during this pandemic."

He also added that various Indian-American non-profit organisations like Seva International have been working tirelessly to donate masks, provide meals to essential workers as well as provide accommodation to students. On the US soil, Sewa International (an India-based service organisation) has been working tirelessly to donate masks, provide meals to first responders, and ensure vulnerable populations have access to food and medicine throughout the country, Holding said.

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India Sees Sharpest One Day Rise With 1993 Cases; Total At 35043

'Committed to supply chain'

Calling it "amazing", he lauded the PM Modi led government saying that they have been working hard in both the nations to help international community battle COVID-19. He further said that India had shown that it is committed to keeping the supply and logistics chain open for pharmaceutical and medical products adding that it has benefitted both US and Indias neighbours.

Read: Ultimate Goal Is To Beat India In Their Backyard: Langer After Australia Reclaim Top Rank

In early April, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President Trump worked together to overcome the challenges that international trade faces amidst national lockdowns. Since then, India has provided the United States with vital supplies such as mass quantities of hydroxychloroquine, said the Republican lawmaker.

The senior republican from Noth Carolina also lauded the Indian government for facilitating the evacuation of Americans from the Indian mainland. He added that as of April 16, more than 1500 American citizens have returned back to the US from India. "It prides me to see that the sense of community supersedes borders and cultures during a time of international crisis", he added.

Read: US: Protesters Turn Violent In Michigan, Reiterate Demand For Lifting Lockdown

Read: India Calls On G20 Nations For Concrete Digital Action Plan To Deal With COVID-19 Crisis

(With inputs from PTI)
The federal government says it will work to ensure that there are no job losses arising from the extreme effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy.

The Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, said this on Thursday in his May Day message released by his media aide, Emmanuel Nzomiwu.

Mr Ngige said the federal government would look at the four-pillar plan of policy responses to the pandemic laid out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

He said that such policies were intended to be human-centered and built on global solidarity.

He said all relevant factors to the nation's workforce would be identified, analysed and solidified to ensure job retention and continued realisation of decent work agenda.

The minister said the federal government would be guided by labour standards as benchmarks for social and employment protection at this time of vulnerabilities.

He stated that the government would not encourage employers to disengage any member of their staff without the prerequisite social dialogue and clearance from the ministry.

Mr Ngige commended workers in the health sector for being in the frontline of ensuring that the raging pandemic was contained.

"Over the years, May 1 has been a unique day in the world of work. It is a day dedicated to workers as partners in socio - economic development of nations," he said.

The minister, however, said the 2020 May Day celebration was different "because we are all taking refuge in our respective homes, staying off the streets in a bid to stay alive and beat an invisible enemy.

"The covid-19 outbreak has affected modes of work and the utilisation of teleworking is on the increase.

"As you work from home, I urge you to do your best in that regard and to endeavour to demarcate your personal life from work," he said.

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Mr Ngige said the federal government was not unmindful of the fact that businesses in both the private and public sectors had suffered.

"Sustainability of the enterprise has become a subject of concern. The worries precipitated by the COVID-19 crisis are further compounded by worries of maintaining a source of livelihood.

"In this regard, the government and social partners will have a look at the four-pillar plan of policy responses to COVID-19 crisis laid out by ILO.

"These are intended to be human-centered and built on global solidarity and it will be in addition to the Federal Government evolving plan of action to sustain the economy in the context of the current global crisis," he said.

He urged workers to imbibe the ILO laid out workers' response options to COVID-19 which include efficient social dialogue at all levels.

Others are mobilisation and allocation of human and financial resources without exacerbating the national debt crisis and promotion of solidarity and non-discrimination/stigmatisation of workers and sick persons among others.

NAN
We have, right from the start, tried to ensure quality at Moneycontrol Pro.

Dear Readers,

This is not a time to celebrate. When a deadly virus is wreaking havoc across the world, taking lives and destroying livelihoods, the only celebrations in these desperate times should be of victories against the virus and the heroism of frontline workers fighting the pandemic.

And yet, we believe that Moneycontrol Pro is all the more necessary for investors now. It is now, more than ever, that investors need credible and timely information that will allow them to take decisions in the midst of this extraordinary uncertainty. As the dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht wrote:

In the dark times

Will there also be singing?

Yes, there will also be singing

About the dark times.

That is why we mark our first anniversary, to shine a light in the dark, to reaffirm to our readers our commitment to provide you reliable information and insightful analyses, based on the values and principles that have guided us in our journey over the past year.

And what a ride it has been! It featured the Sino-US trade war, general elections in India, market euphoria, Brexit, a faltering Indian economy, a crisis in the non-banking financial sector, a bank collapse and rescue, a U-turn by the US Fed and the virus attack, a meltdown in the markets and a lockdown.

We have been beside the investor at every step of the journey, guiding her, whispering words of advice, cautioning her and dancing with her till the music stopped. We have since been calming her, listening to her worries, holding her hand, picking up diamonds in the dust and preparing her for the next dance.

If I were to single out one value that we prize above all else, it is, simply put, an unflinching commitment to the unvarnished truth. We have always called a spade a spade, often preferring to call it a bloody shovel.

There are numerous examples --- we had, for instance, consistently raised red flags about the bubble that had formed in the equity markets before the virus hit, a bubble that was in search of a pin. We had at an early date pointed out the weakness in the Indian economy and how the equity markets were increasingly divorced from fundamentals. And we were one of the first to warn that the virus could lead to a financial crisis.

In short, we call it as we see it. And the reason we can do that is because we are completely independent. Our team of research professionals is not in the business of selling stocks and our opinion writers have no political axe to grind.

That is why we havent just recommended stocks, we have also told you which stocks and sectors and asset classes you should avoid. We have criticised the powers that be when they goof up, but we have also praised them for a job well done.

We have, right from the start, tried to ensure quality at Moneycontrol Pro. That is why we decided to completely avoid hot tips. Instead, we bring you deeply researched stock picks after crunching the numbers, after weighing all the pros and cons.

In our Learn series we have laid bare investment principles, styles and financial ratios that will help you form an opinion about companies and stocks by yourself.

Our opinion pieces analyse the economic environment and policy actions, to enable you to get a clear idea of the broader context in which businesses operate.

Our technical analysts identify the short-term trades you may want to put through.

GuruSpeak brings to you the distilled wisdom of successful professionals in the markets.

Our Personal Finance section has tried to answer the questions investors have about mutual funds and asset allocations.

In this age when capital knows no borders, limiting ourselves to analysing domestic economic conditions is not enough. That is why we have spared no effort in bringing you the gist of reports brought out by international agencies and analysed the policies of central banks in the developed countries that have an impact on fund flows to India and emerging markets.

To take one important instance, we have always pointed out the role central banks in the developed world have played in boosting the asset markets.

And finally, we have endeavoured to say all these things in simple, sharp, direct, jargon-free language, for your reading pleasure.

We are passing through a painful time, but it is also a historic one. There is great uncertainty. Which businesses will thrive after the virus passes, which will go under?

Will there be a wave of bankruptcies? Will globalisation, already under threat before the virus reared its ugly head, go into reverse? What will be the impact of the tsunami of debt and liquidity that central banks and governments have unleashed?

Will it create an even bigger asset bubble? If central banks in the developed nations were riding the tiger of ultra-loose monetary policy before the virus came, they are riding a Godzilla now.

We hope you will continue to accompany us on this fascinating journey.

P.S.: On the occasion of Moneycontrol Pros 1st Anniversary, as a token of gratitude to its readers, Pro has introduced a range of exciting exclusive benefits worth Rs. 20,000 for existing users. Potential users who subscribe by May 7 too can avail these benefits.

Cheers,

Manas Chakravarty
Datex logo This strategic investment in an operation in Bulgaria will help us to scale our business and provide a higher level of support and care to our clients explained Michael Armanious, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

In selecting a European base of operations, supply chain software developer Datex Inc. selected Sofia, Bulgaria. As Datex already has clients in both the Middle East and Europe, the choice of Bulgaria aligned well with company objectives and the existing WMS software user community.

Since opening an operation in Bulgaria, Datex has continued to expand gradually, adding more team members. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Datex is highly focused on software development excellence and client-centric care. Having an operation in Bulgaria extends the reach of Datex, enabling responsive support to clients in time zones outside of the United States.

This strategic investment in an operation in Bulgaria will help us to scale our business and provide a higher level of support and care to our clients, explained Michael Armanious, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

An end-to-end supply chain technology solutions provider, Datex provides software, hardware, EDI, integrations, implementation and project management services to its clients. Datex FootPrint WMS is used in 3PL and cold storage warehouses, distribution centers and fulfillment centers and can be used for any kind of inventory including regulated goods such as food, medical devices, precious metals and pharmaceuticals. Used across the world, Datex relies on its employees rather than third parties for software development, implementation, project management, EDI, integrations and sales. Specialists in white glove concierge care, Datex concentrates on providing personalized service and attention to its clients.

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Vice President Mike Pence's office has threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence's office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence's visit to the Mayo Clinic - a requirement Pence himself did not follow.

Pence's trip to the clinic on Tuesday generated criticism after he was photographed without a surgical mask - the only person in the room not wearing one. The Minnesota clinic requires visitors to wear masks as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus.

RELATED: Grocery store workers are beginning to die from COVID-19

Pence's wife, Karen Pence, said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that he was unaware of the mask policy until his visit was over.

But Steve Herman, who covers the White House for Voice of America, suggested that there was more to the story after Karen Pence's interview.

"All of us who traveled with [Pence] were notified by the office of @VP the day before the trip that wearing of masks was required by the @MayoClinic and to prepare accordingly," tweeted Herman, who covered the trip as part of his rotation as one of the pool reporters, who share information with other reporters in limited-space situations.

The tweet apparently enraged Pence's staff, which told Herman that he had violated the off-the-record terms of a planning memo that had been sent to him and other reporters in advance of Pence's trip.

RELATED: This time, Pence wears mask as he tours Indiana plant

Herman said he was notified by the White House Correspondents' Association that Pence's office had banned him from further travel on Air Force Two, although a spokesperson in Pence's office later told VOA managers than any punishment was still under discussion, pending an apology from Herman or VOA.

The VOA is continuing to talk with Pence's staff, said Yolanda Lopez, the director of VOA's news center. She said it wasn't clear how the vice president intended to proceed.

Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, declined to comment.

The issue, according to people involved, is whether Herman's tweet violated the off-the-record terms of a planning document sent via email Monday evening by the vice president's office to reporters who planned to travel with Pence to the clinic.

RELATED: Trump retweets Fauci meme that appears to be making fun of him

A copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post explicitly stated that masks are required for the visit and instructed reporters to wear them. "Please note, the Mayo Clinic is requiring all individuals traveling with the VP wear masks," the document said. "Please bring one to wear while on the trip."

The directive confirms that Pence's staff was well aware of the need for masks, raising the possibility that none of his aides alerted him to the requirement or that Pence had intentionally flouted it, perhaps to avoid being photographed in one. (Pence himself told reporters after the visit that since he doesn't have the coronavirus - he is tested frequently - he decided he could "speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you.")

However, the planning document is marked: "OFF THE RECORD AND FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY." The off-the-record designation is standard for such logistical memos, indicating reporters are obligated not to publish or report the information. The White House typically keeps planning information confidential to maintain security for official trips.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

But there's some question about how long the obligation lasts - whether it is permanent or only applies to the period before and during the trip.

Herman's tweet came nearly 48 hours after the vice president's trip had ended, suggesting the vice president's staff was more embarrassed by the disclosure than concerned about security.

"My tweet speaks for itself," Herman said in a statement. "We always have and will strictly adhere to keeping off the record any White House communications to reporters for planning purposes involving logistics that have security implications prior to events. . . . All White House pool reporters, including myself and my VOA colleagues, take this very seriously."

As is, the vice president's office took no action against another reporter, Gordon Lubold of the Wall Street Journal, who traveled with Pence and tweeted something similar to Herman's tweet on Thursday. "Everyone in the entire Mayo Clinic had a mask on, everyone, and we were all told the day before we had to wear a mask if we entered the clinic," Lubold tweeted.

In a now-deleted tweet, the clinic said it had alerted Pence to its mask policy before his visit. A later statement from the clinic said only that it had informed Pence's office of the policy, not Pence personally.

Herman's employer, Voice of America, is a government-funded but independent news agency that has lately been the object of White House criticism. The Trump administration accused VOA earlier this month of promoting Chinese government propaganda in its reporting about the coronavirus. The VOA's director, Amanda Bennett, has defended its independence.

On Thursday, Pence wore a mask as he toured a General Motors auto plant in Indiana that has been converted into a factory making ventilators for hospitals around the country.
As we start off with a new month, this is usually the time when we would be tracking the sales numbers achieved by different automakers across India. We would be taking those numbers and understanding the division of it, like how many of these were exports and how has a particular company performed against itself as compared to the month that had gone by before this, and as compared to the same month last year. Then we would also try to understand whether there has been an impact of their newly introduced launches and even compare the sales numbers achieved by products belonging in the same category that compete against each other and see how their performance has been.

This month was going to be extra special as from April 1, 2020, BS-VI emission norms became mandatory across India. This was meant to kick start the sales for the automotive industry towards positive growth as it was predicted that a lot of people were waiting to get their hands on the BS-VI emission-norm compliant model and were hence, holding back their purchase till April 1, 2020.

This, however, was not meant to be. From the 22 March 2020, the entire country was put under lockdown which meant people were no longer commuting to anywhere as, well, everywhere was closed in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. This also meant that vehicle dealerships, be it of two-wheelers, four-wheelers, commercial or passenger, were shut down. Same for the manufacturing plants as well as the employees were no longer coming to the production facilities.

For the entire month of April 2020, Indias automotive sector closed.

And as a result, April 2020 will go down in the history of the Indian automotive sector as the month when the industry stood still, and zero vehicles were sold.

Now, as we start off with the new month, most of the automakers are not even coming out with the report of their monthly sales as they deem it to be better to not release anything at all instead of saying they did not sell anything. Zac Hollis, Director, Skoda Auto India, even took to Twitter saying that for the first time in 30 years being in the motor industry, he will be officially saying that the sales have been zero for a month.

Well after 30 years in the Motor Industry this will be the first time in my career that I will have officially sold zero cars in a month. I know the business will return soon, in the meantime stay safe everyone and follow the Government guidelines wherever you are. Zac Hollis (@Zac_Hollis_) April 24, 2020

There are a couple of exceptions, however, as Maruti Suzuki  Indias largest carmaker  did issue a statement saying that the sales for the month stood at zero. However, following the resumption of port operations, they did manage to export a shipment of 632 units which was undertaken from the Mundra port. MG Motor India too issued a statement citing zero retail sales across India but went on to say that, (MG) hopes that the production will ramp-up in the month of May and is (currently) working on the local supply-chain support.

To give you an idea of how the industry used to be just a couple of months back, we can take a look at the numbers that were racked up in February. The passenger vehicle sales had registered a Year-on-Year decline (YoY) decline of 1.17 per cent, selling a total of 2,26,271 units, as per the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Two-wheeler retail sales stood at 12,85,398 units, registering a YoY growth of 1.52 per cent and Commercial vehicle retail sales had grown by 13 per cent clocking 92,805 unit sales. FADA had said that three-wheeler sales were up 20.7 per cent at 65,752 units, Tractor retail sales stood at 41,485 units, a growth of 13.52 per cent.

Retail sales of total vehicles across categories stood at 17,11,711 units in February 2020. And even if we take these numbers as an example, then that means there were 17 lakh vehicles that were not sold in April 2020. And perhaps, thats the right way at looking at the current scenario. Yes, zero sales are bad, but for the companies, its lakhs and thousands of units that they could not sell during last month.

(With PTI inputs)

Also Watch:

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
T ower Bridge was cordoned off at around midday on Friday while police investigated reports of a "suspicious package."

A City of London police spokesman told the Standard the road was closed to traffic and pedestrians as a precaution while officers looked into the incident.

The force earlier tweeted that people should find alternative routes.

Around an hour later, Met Police issued a statement confirming the bridge had reopened.

Police rushed to the scene to investigate / Paul Roberts

They tweeted: "Police attended Tower Bridge at 12:18hrs to reports of a possible suspicious package.

"The bridge was closed while the package was examined and was found to be non suspicious. The bridge has now re-opened."

Witnesses shared footage on social media of the landmark taped off with several police vehicles at the scene.

A number of Twitter users expressed relief that the incident was not terror related, with one earlier commenting: "Please dont let there be a terrorist attack in the midst of a global pandemic."
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Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin has at least two children enrolled at the elite Brentwood School in West Los Angeles, according to multiple people with knowledge of the school. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Brentwood School, the elite K-12 institution in West Los Angeles, has received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, according to an April 24 newsletter it sent to parents, joining a number of exclusive schools throughout the country that have secured government financial aid due to coronavirus disruptions.

The private school, which has more than 1,100 students spread across two campuses, said that the loan, approved and funded in mid-April, would help us enormously as we move forward into a financially ambiguous future brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the letter obtained by The Times.

Many private schools in Southern California and beyond are grappling with financial hardships, but the federal loans offered via the $660-billion PPP are designed to help pay for workers' salaries. At Brentwood, though, the optics are unique.

Founded in 1972, Brentwood counts among its students at least two of Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin's children, according to multiple people with knowledge of the school. Board members include actress Calista Flockhart and investor Lance Milken, son of billionaire Michael Milken, the former junk bond king.

Mnuchin has been critical of another well-heeled L.A. organization that received a PPP loan. In a CNBC interview Tuesday, he called it "outrageous" that the Los Angeles Lakers received a now-returned $4.6-million PPP loan.

Monica Crowley, assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs, said in a statement to The Times that the Secretary has no knowledge if the school has taken out a PPP loan. He saw in the press today that private schools with endowments have taken out these loans and he does not think its appropriate."

Following the publication of this article, Mnuchin doubled down on his criticism of private schools on Friday morning, saying in a tweet:

It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments have taken #PPP loans. They should return them. @SBAgov #CARESAct #PPPLoans  Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) May 1, 2020

According to an Internal Revenue Service filing, Brentwood's endowment was about $17.4 million in 2017, the most recent year for which data were available.

Story continues

The letter from Brentwood officials did not disclose the size of the loan the school received. In a statement to The Times, the school said that its PPP loan would help it navigate a future that could include a potential decline in enrollment and charitable giving, accompanied by increased demand for financial assistance and other escalating expenses.

Tuition at Brentwood ranges from $37,500 a year for K-5 students to $44,000 for sixth through 12th grades.

The dramatic and enduring impacts of COVID-19 will continue to affect our school financially, and in other ways, over the course of at least the next year, the statement said.

The issue of private schools accepting PPP loans has been a touchy one in recent days; a Wednesday article in the New York Times listed several elite institutions that have gotten the funding, including St. Andrews Episcopal School in Potomac, Md., which counts Barron Trump, one of the president's sons, as a student.

Allocations of PPP funding  a component of the federal CARES Act that was signed into law March 27  have come under intense scrutiny, with several high-profile businesses and organizations, including Shake Shack Inc., saying they would give their loan back after facing public pressure. Mnuchin has threatened to hold participating companies criminally liable if they do not meet criteria for the program.

Private prep schools may not be the first entity that comes to mind when considering aid for small businesses. But thats what they are, and times are tough for many of them, said Mary Menacho, interim executive director for the California Assn. of Independent Schools, the organization for 224 private schools in the state.

All of these schools are small businesses when it comes down to it  [and] have really bent over backwards to keep their programs going and their people employed, Menacho said. All of them are highly committed to keeping their teachers, their janitorial staff  everybody that works for them  on payroll as long as they can.

Menacho said she was aware of California private schools that had received PPP loans, but said she could not name them and did not know whether any had opted to return funds they received.

Officials at five other exclusive Los Angeles-area private schools either did not respond to interview requests or declined to comment Thursday. One sought to make clear that it hadnt taken the federal funding.

Ari Engelberg, a spokesman for Harvard-Westlake School, said in a statement that the school has tapped into its financial reserves "to provide security and continuity to faculty, staff, students and their families," and had done so without accessing federal funding programs.

The first round of Small Business Administration-backed PPP loans, which totaled $349 billion and were offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, was quickly exhausted. A second round of funding amounting to $310 billion was made available on April 27.

Questions have been raised about the programs fairness, with many small-business owners saying their operations have been imperiled after failing to secure a loan from the fund. And there is evidence that bigger  and in some cases more sophisticated  banking clients are the ones who have been able to get the loans, which are forgivable if certain parameters are met.

Amid the mounting economic turmoil, even Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., which has educated the children of several presidents, has taken a loan under the PPP. The school said in an April 29 letter to its community that it had been approved for a $5.2-million PPP loan.

The Board determined that accepting the loan was appropriate and fully consistent with its fiduciary responsibilities, as well as our Quaker values, the letter said. We need to protect people  teachers and staff members  who provide the foundation for our community.

But not all private schools, including those that educate many low-income and minority students, have been so fortunate.

The Diocese of San Bernardino, which comprises 26 schools, applied for a PPP loan but has not yet received one. Officials remain hopeful. Like many entities that have applied, the diocese does not know whether its application will be approved or where it stands in the queue for limited available funding.

These schools are responsible for their own budgets, and some were financially at risk even before the pandemic, said diocese spokesman John Andrews. Twenty of the 26 schools already are reporting a revenue drop for the current year, with grimmer prospects anticipated for next year.

Overall, 110 employees out of 741 already have been laid off or have taken salary reductions, including part-time employees, instructional aides, support staff and even some teachers. Schooling continues via distance learning, but some families are no longer able to pay tuition, Andrews said.

Before the pandemic, about half of enrolled families at the Diocese of San Bernardino schools received discounted tuition. Depending on the school, full annual tuition fees range from about $4,500 to $7,500 for the lower grades and from about $8,000 to $12,000 for high school.

The federal support would be a major help for those schools struggling to pay their staff and meet the expenses of providing education, Andrews said.

The predicament those Catholic schools face is not unique. Menacho said that a 2019 survey of California private schools found that 60% of those that participated were not at their optimal enrollment.

She said that the perspective of elitism around independent or private schools does not necessarily square with the economic realities of many of these institutions.

Because a school has a certain history or a certain reputation  that doesnt really speak to its financial standing or what its needs are, Menacho said. Whats their debt? Their deferred maintenance? What costs are they carrying? Those are things that  are very real.

Those are questions that now are being considered by Brentwood School, which counts among its alumni a slew of show business players, including actor Jonah Hill, producer Ryan Kavanaugh and X-Men writer and producer Simon Kinberg. Before becoming Treasury secretary, Mnuchin had been a film financier and Wall Street executive.

The April 24 letter to the Brentwood community was signed by Mike Riera, the head of the school, and Lance Milken, chairman of the board of trustees. Milken is the son of Michael Milken, the Wall Street investor who was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his 1989 indictment on racketeering and securities fraud charges. He was pardoned by President Trump in February.

In the letter, the Brentwood officials said the school, which has 305 full-time employees and more than 100 part-time employees, is now facing some tough realities. It said that as part of cost-saving efforts, it already has begun to efficiently reduce expenditures.

In its statement to The Times, Brentwood said that with the PPP loan, the school can avoid layoffs that could compromise a successful return to school for our students.

The statement from the school also laid out some of its financials. It said that salaries and benefits for faculty and staff are the schools largest operating expense, and it noted that its endowment does not contribute interest income to our operating budget.

We rely on donations beyond tuition revenue each year to balance our budget, the school said.

Several elite universities have opted to not take advantage of money available to them under the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, which is separate from the PPP. Harvard and Stanford said that they would not accept money from the fund.

In a series of messages on Twitter, Stanford said April 22 that its leadership understands that this crisis represents an existential threat for many of the smaller colleges and universities that are such a critical part of the fabric of higher learning in the United States and therefore was rescinding its request for funds.

The university said that it was taking such a step even though it faces significant financial pressures during this time of unprecedented uncertainty.
NASSAU, The Bahamas  The Ministry of Health has recognized that a number of persons in quarantine and isolation were reported to not be staying at home as prescribed, Minister of Health the Hon. Dr. Duane Sands stated. We are working with our partners in law enforcement and the information technology agencies to find solutions to further monitor compliance, Dr. Sands said during the COVID-19 update press conference at the Ministry of Health, Thursday, April 30, 2020.

He stressed that this is a matter of concern. As you are aware, the latest Emergency Orders focused, in part, on the movement of those directed to quarantine and isolation. Going forward, people violating quarantine protocols could face up a $20,000 fine or up to five years imprisonment, or both.

Dr. Sands also noted that at the COVID-19 update press conference on April 23, 2020, he advised the public that the Ministry of Health would expand testing to include:

healthcare workers;

caregivers; and

those in vulnerable population groups.

He said On Saturday, April 25, 2020, a swab testing exercise was conducted for healthcare workers who may have been exposed at the Male Surgical Ward at Princess Margaret Hospital, and the Robert Smith Unit of Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.

Dr. Sands explained that approximately 225 and swabs were taken that day from healthcare workers and the test results are in.

Of the healthcare workers potentially exposed to COVID-19 patients at the Male Surgical Ward and the Robert Smith Unit, only one has tested positive to date.

The case is currently in isolation at home. Aggressive contact tracing has begun.

He also announced that along with these healthcare workers, the Ministry has been concerned about the island of Bimini.

After reporting five cases of COVID-19 on April 25, 2020, Bimini is considered a hotspot. A surveillance team was sent to the island. The teams objectives are to:

meet with medical personnel to get an overview of COVID-19 activities;

identify contacts of the COVID-19 confirmed cases;

assess the identified isolation facility;

conduct a walkabout to determine the potential level of infection and control strategies in place;

enforce infection and control strategies;

host a town hall meeting via Zoom on Friday; and

to perform tests on contacts of confirmed cases on the island.

Dr. Sands said, When our testing is concluded we will be able to provide you with our full assessment of Bimini, and the various mitigation measures taken to limit the spread of the virus.

By Llonella Gilbert
The total number of coronavirus cases in Punjab has reached 480 on Thursday after 76 of 300 returnees from Gurdwara Hazur Sahib test positive. Punjab Medical Education and Research Minister Om Parkash Soni said that they didnt expect such a large number of cases for coronavirus. Further, 300 more people will be tested. Earlier this week, eight returnees from Gurdwara Hazur Sahib were also tested COVID-19 out of which five were from Tarn Taran and three from Kapurthala.

Moreover, 4000 pilgrims are expected to return back to Punjab from Nanded in the next few days. Soni added that earlier there were only five coronavirus cases in Amritsar and one out of them has also been recovered. He hopes that all these returnees will also recover in the same way. He added that the government is taking all the precautionary measures by spraying disinfectants and the work of sanitization is also being practiced at regular intervals in different corners.

Gurudwara superintendent also revealed that all of them are maintaining social distancing and they have also arranged quarantine facilities here. According to health ministry Punjab has recorded total of 357 cases with 90 patients are cured and discharged, with the toll at 19.

Also Read: COVID-19: Karnataka government announces relaxation in lockdown for Industries, tells IT firms to work from home May 4 onwards

Among the devotees who have returned from Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra to Amritsar, around 300 have been tested out of which 76 are COVID-19 positive, said Punjab Medical Education and Research Minister. Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/duUEKyPPoA pic.twitter.com/4h3kPvta1B  ANI Digital (@ani_digital) May 1, 2020

The total number of coronavirus cases has now reached 35,043 in the country which includes 25,007 active cases and 8888 patients have been recovered and discharged from the hospital. Indias toll is at 1,147 as per the latest data shared by the health ministry. To control the spread of COVID-19, the government also imposed a nationwide lockdown which is supposed to end on Sunday, May 3.

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A woman left with 'bare and red raw' eyes after botched extensions has told how a 'wonder' serum restored her lashes within just three months.

Nadia Hallett, 23, a make-up artist from Hertfordshire, was devastated when the individual lash extensions, which she'd had done the day before her 21st birthday, ripped away her natural hairs when she tried to remove them after they became irritable and uncomfortable.

After looking online for a solution for her painful, bald lash line, she discovered RevitaLash, a serum which sells one every 33 seconds in the UK and is a beauty bag favourite among celebrities including Meghan Markle and Vogue Williams.

Nadia claims her lashes grew back within a couple of weeks of using it, though not as long or full as they were before.

Nadia Hallett, 23, a make-up artist from Hertfordshire, had individual lash extensions the day before her 21st birthday

Nadia said she was left with 'bare and red raw' eyes after the botched extensions ripped out her natural lashes

But after three months she said they were 'thick and glossy' and a year on they are now so long they're 'touching her eyebrows'.

Since lockdown was imposed, RevitaLash (revitalash.co.uk) has reported a 40 per cent increase in sales as people embrace their natural lashes while salon treatments are unavailable.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Nadia said she decided to try out individual lash extensions as a treat for her milestone birthday.

'Sadly the day after on my actual birthday they started to become so irritated and uncomfortable, so much so I could barely keep them open,' she recalled.

'I examined the lashes carefully in my magnifying mirror and realised why the technician only took 40 minutes to do my lashes. Instead of placing one lash extension per one eyelash, she had grouped a few of my lashes together and stuck a lash extension to them.

Nadia claims her lashes grew back within a couple of weeks of using RevitaLash. Pictured left after three months (and an LVL treatment) and right after a year of using the serum

Nadia said she was thrilled with the results, adding: 'Now I regularly find people are shocked when I tell them that my lashes are my own, and then I tell them about RevitaLash'

'Because of the tension from grouping the lashes they were slowly being pulled out from the root. The odd lash extension was already falling out, with three or four eyelashes attached.'

Nadia decided to remove them the following day before anymore damage could be done.

'I contacted the technician to ask her how to remove them and if I needed to book back in to do so,' she said.

'She assured me that this could be done at home using an oil such as coconut oil, with some cotton buds and cotton pads. So abiding by the instructions given, I removed the lashes at home.

Nadia, pictured recently, said she's been using the product ever since and her lashes are long enough to touch her eyebrows

'To my absolute horror I was watching the extensions come off, with my lashes attached. Ten minutes later, my lash line was pretty much bare, and red raw. You can imagine how traumatic that was, especially seeing as I was still celebrating a big birthday.

'I went to show my mum and my boyfriend who were both downstairs at the time and they were both in shock about the state of my eyes.'

Nadia tried using strip lashes to conceal her bare lash line, but struggled to apply them as there wasn't a lot for them to grip online.

'I had very few lashes remaining and sore, swollen eyelids,' she explained. 'I went online and did some research on how to grow my lashes back fast, and that was when I came across RevitaLash.'

Nadia claimed she has recommended RevitaLash to friends and family who were also blown away with the results

The brand was founded by Dr. Michael Brinkenhoff and his late wife Gayle, who were looking for a solution to help her feel beautiful during her courageous fight against breast cancer.

RevitaLash eyelash conditioner contains a blend of natural botanicals and its Signature BioPeptin Complex designed to addresses the visual signs of eyelash ageing and stress and protect against breakage and brittleness to improve flexibility, moisture, and shine, for more dramatic-looking lashes.

The serum, which currently costs 45 for a four to six week supply, 89 for three months or 125 for a six-month vial, has developed a cult following among celebs, including Dani Dyer and Sam Faiers, and even royalty.

The serum, which costs 89 for a three month supply or 125 for a six-month vial, has developed a cult following among celebs, including Dani Dyer and Vogue Williams

Speaking about her love of the product in 2014, the Duchess of Sussex said: '[I use] RevitaLash on my eyelashes, and I swear they are as long as they could ever be.'

Nadia said she was thrilled with the results, adding: 'Now I regularly find people are shocked when I tell them that my lashes are my own, and then I tell them about RevitaLash.

'I have been using it for two years now and its something I won't do without. I have since recommended it to friends and family who are also blown away with the results.'
A San Mateo County judge says more than 4,100 women working at Oracle can proceed with a class-action suit accusing the Redwood City tech giant of violating California law by paying them $13,000 a year less than men with similar jobs.

The suit was filed in 2017 by women with jobs in product development, technological support and customer support. They said Oracle kept their salaries below those of men primarily by relying on what they had been paid in their previous jobs. California has now forbidden that practice, with a law that took effect in 2017, and a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled recently that it also violates the federal Equal Pay Act.

Oracle denied pay discrimination, saying the women worked in different jobs than men who were paid more, and also argued that individual differences in their skills and responsibilities made the case inappropriate for a class action that would impact all employees. But Superior Court Judge V. Raymond Swope ruled this week that the women could sue on behalf of all females who had held similar jobs since June 2013.

Oracle already classifies its jobs by the skills, responsibilities and effort they require, Swope said. He said the women could use those criteria to try to prove they were paid less than men in similar positions  ultimately a question of fact for a jury  even if the jobs were not identical.

The plaintiffs have offered evidence from an economist and an industrial psychologist who concluded the womens jobs were substantially similar to those held by higher-paid men, Swope said. Oracle says its experts disagree.

The judge also cited a statement by Lisa Gordon, who was then Oracles director of compensation, about the companys payment policy, quoted by the plaintiffs: We try to match what they made at the previous company.

One of the lead plaintiffs, Marilyn Clark of Pleasanton, a former Oracle product development employee, said Friday the ruling is a step forward for equal treatment of women in technology.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

I hope that it will set a precedent for future cases and perhaps spark these companies to make decisions before they have to go to court, she said.

Oracle downplayed the ruling.

This is just a procedural step unrelated to the merits of the case, and we look forward to trying those in court, said Deborah Hellinger, a spokeswoman for the company.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Membership triples as Ascotts loyalty programme turns one



(TRAVPR.COM) SINGAPORE - April 30th, 2020 - As The Ascott Limiteds (Ascott) loyalty programme, Ascott Star Rewards (ASR), turns one this month, it is offering its members more value and flexibility in the midst of the COVID-19 situation.

Bonus points: ASR members will receive 20% more points if they choose to receive refund in ASR points for cancellation of their bookings. This is valid for bookings made before 20 April 2020.

Extending ASR tier status and points: Guests can continue to use their ASR points for future stays and earn points towards their current tier status for an additional year until 2021. The expiry of their current balance of ASR points has been extended until April 2021.

Extending ASR global benefits to corporate travellers: Besides making accommodation arrangements with Ascott through their companys corporate bookers, corporate travellers now have the flexibility of booking online directly with Ascott and start earning ASR points towards their Ascott Business Travel account.

In his message to ASR members, Mr Kevin Goh, Ascotts Chief Executive Officer, said: ASR turns one this month. As one of the first loyalty programmes in the serviced residence space, we will continue to get our members further with no cap to points earned, and no minimum or blackout dates when you choose to redeem your points across our growing portfolio of serviced apartments and hotels. We would like to thank you for sticking with us through this period of uncertainty, with a little gesture of our own. We hope these additional boosts will help you go further for your future stays, whether it is to stay longer, to travel farther, or simply to upgrade to a better room.

ASR continues to expand its reach globally: Since its launch in April 2019, direct bookings online and revenue from ASR members have quadrupled. ASR membership has also tripled. ASR is the first loyalty programme in the serviced residence industry to offer full flexibility to earn and redeem points. Members can earn and redeem points across over 180 participating properties in more than 80 cities and 27 countries. Today, most of the ASR members are from China, Australia, Singapore, France, Philippines and Malaysia. 90% of bookings through Ascotts websites are made by ASR members. ASR members will continue to have a growing choice of properties across the globe as Ascott further expands its global footprint.

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About The Ascott Limited

The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Ascott's portfolio spans more than 180 cities across over 30 countries in Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.

Ascott has about 70,000 operating units and over 44,000 units under development, making a total of about 114,000 units in over 700 properties.

The companys serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott The Residence, The Crest Collection, Somerset, Quest, Citadines, lyf, Preference, Vertu, Harris, Citadines Connect, Fox, Yello and POP!.

Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacifics first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

Ascotts achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include DestinAsian Readers' Choice Awards 2020 for 'Best Serviced Residence Brand'; World Travel Awards 2019 for Leading Serviced Apartment Brand in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2019 for 'Best Serviced Residence Brand'; Business Traveller China Awards 2019 for 'Best Luxury Serviced Residence Brand'; and TTG China Travel Awards 2019 for Best Serviced Residence Operator in China.

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The creation of Sydney's city-based multi-billion dollar technology precinct has moved a step closer with the partnership between Dexus and Frasers Property Australia poised to gain approval.

The $2.5 billion Central Place Sydney project is seen as one of the most significant Sydney CBD developments in a decade and will add to the major upgrade of the Central train station underneath.

Once completed, the entire area will be billed as Sydney's form of silicon valley. The new planned towers will sit next to $1 billion-plus concrete and timber tower slated to be tech giant Atlassian's new home.

An artist's impression of the proposed Central Place project in Sydney. Credit:

There have been suggestions that Google could be interested in the area for its main headquarters. It would give the internet giant easy access, via the light rail, to its three offices at Pyrmont which cover about 50,000 square metres.
A UMass Lowell researcher investigating how to identify damage in wind turbines before they fail has received $1.4 million to develop a solution.

Murat Inalpolat, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has devised a way to assess the integrity of wind turbine blades by using sound. The new grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will support these efforts.

Wind power is projected to become a more than $170 billion industry over the next four years, according to a study by Global Market Insights Inc. There are nearly 60,000 wind turbines in the country and more than 341,000 around the world, according to figures from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Global Wind Energy Council.

Commercial wind turbine blades, which are made of fiberglass composite, can measure 200 feet or more in length and weigh many tons. Given their exposure to the elements, blades can split, crack or develop holes along their edges. Currently, this damage cannot be detected until after a blade has failed, according to Inalpolat.

"There is no other technology in today's market that can monitor the condition and safety of turbine blades while they are operating," said Inalpolat, a Merrimack, N.H., resident. "Our proposed system is low-cost, reliable, robust and it can be installed on both new and existing wind turbines."

His invention uses wireless microphones mounted inside blades, wireless speakers inside the turbine's cavity and a microphone placed near the structure to monitor the sounds emanating from inside of it. Any changes in audio frequencies would signal blade damage, according to Inalpolat.

In addition to the grant from the DOE, Inalpolat has received support for his research from the National Science Foundation and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, along with UMass Lowell's WindSTAR research center and other areas of the university.

Conducting research alongside Inalpolat are UMass Lowell Ph.D. candidates Jaclyn Solimine from Haverhill and Caleb Traylor from Beeville, Texas. They are analyzing acoustic data they collect from full-size wind turbine blades being tested at the state Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown to determine which characteristics of sounds will be most useful in detecting damage, Solimine said.

Provided by University of Massachusetts Lowell
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Rep. Max Rose and Borough President James Oddo are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to send Staten Islands two private hospitals military medical personnel to help them in their response to the coronavirus pandemic on Staten Island.

Over the course of the pandemic, the city has deployed hundreds of medical military personnel to the citys 11 public hospitals in the four boroughs, but Staten Island, the only borough not part of New York Citys Health + Hospitals Corporation has not received any medical military personnel to date.

De Blasio previously said he has only sent specialized military medical staff to the citys public hospitals because by and large they had bore the brunt of the coronavirus crisis.

On Friday, de Blasio said he had deployed almost 700 military medical personnel to the citys public hospitals.

Our doctors, nurses, and other medical staff have worked around the clock during this crisis, even while their colleagues and relatives have gotten sick and shown up in their wards, Oddo and Rose said in a letter to de Blasio. They deserve the same support and relief afforded to other hospital staff around the city, regardless of their hospitals ownership status.

The lawmakers said the pandemic has made it harder for the Island to generate the necessary medical personnel to meet the needs of the boroughs hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

The need for personnel is clear, which is why leaving Staten Island out of the deployment is inexplicable, they said. Staten Island hospitals, while not public hospitals under the H+H banner, serve as safety-net hospitals for Staten Islands low-income and Medicaid recipients in the absence of a public option.

[Health + Hospitals Corporation] hospitals are simply out of reach of most Staten Islanders, who for lack of transit options face upwards of an hour commute by bus if they cant drive by car. Lastly, there is the question of inclusion, in that once again Staten Island is left out of a deployment intended to benefit of all New Yorkers.

Instead, Staten Islands two private hospitals Richmond University Medical Center and Staten Island University hospital have received just 29 volunteers from the citys Medical Volunteer Corps combined despite both hospitals calling for more medical staff to help them during the pandemic.

City Hall said 100 medical reserve volunteers have been sent to Northwell Health, the parent company of SIUH, who in turn supplies medical staff to hospitals within its network like SIUH.

The city has also sent additional staff to the six Island nursing homes.

Weve continually surged staff and resources to our Staten Island hospitals to ensure they have the tools they need to save lives, and will continue to do so for the duration of the crisis," said City Hall spokeswoman Avery Cohen.

The Islands private hospitals was also left out of the citys surge planning for the coronavirus outbreak because it is not part of the citys public hospital network.

The citys recent omissions of the Island from coronavirus planning prompted the Islands political delegation to slam the mayor for leaving Staten Island out.

Borough President James Oddo has also been a vocal critic of the citys treatment of the borough during the coronavirus outbreak.

Like you, we hope that the peak of the pandemic is behind us. Yet we know that even as the number of coronavirus cases subside, the stress on our hospital workers will continue as non-coronavirus cases return in overwhelming numbers to seek treatment that has been deferred during the crisis, Oddo and Rose said.

While military medical personnel may be deployed elsewhere as other hotspots appear around the country, many will remain in our city for the weeks to come. We therefore request that you consider the need of independent and private hospitals on Staten Island whose staff and patients could benefit from reinforcement. Lastly, as the need in hospitals decreases, we ask that you consider deploying personnel to nursing homes around the city, who have continued to struggle with staffing shortages as well as severe outbreaks of coronavirus, which all too often prove fatal.

Though Staten Island has the lowest number of cases citywide, accounting for just 7% of the citys 164,505 total cases as of April 30, the borough has one of the highest numbers of cases per capita in the city after the Bronx.

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the most up to date number of medical staff the city has provided Staten Islands hospitals.

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On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law with a stated goal of addressing the "crushing cost of health care a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds."

A decade later, the law, otherwise known as Obamacare, appears to be accomplishing that goal, leading not only to millions more insured individuals but also to a sharp decline in bankruptcy risk among those with on-and-off coverage, new University of Colorado Boulder and University of Denver research suggests.

"The big picture finding is that the ACA is doing what it is supposed to be doing, providing more people with health coverage and buffering them from crushing debt that can play out in financial ruin," said co-author Tim Wadsworth, an associate professor of sociology at CU Boulder.

The study, forthcoming in the Brooklyn Law Review, comes as the controversial law continues to be challenged in federal courts and a global pandemic is poised to leave tens of thousands of people unemployed and uninsured, testing its ability to serve as a health and financial safety net.

"A lot of people who are losing their paycheck right now are also going to lose their health coverage," said Wadsworth. "There will be bankruptcies but we are likely better off than we would have been in this situation several years ago."

For the study, Wadsworth and co-author Michael D. Sousa, an associate professor at DU's Sturm College of Law, examined Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data from 8,000 middle-aged men and women across three time periods between 2004 and 2016.

Their over-arching research questions were: Does having health insurance lower your risk of bankruptcy, and how did the ACAwhich expanded Medicaid coverage and insurance tax credits and mandated all citizens to possess coverageaffect U.S. bankruptcy filings?

Not surprisingly, they found that more people were insured after the ACA was enacted. The percentage of fully insured individuals rose from 72% to 80%, while those with no coverage dipped from a high of 12.6% to 7.4%. On-and-off coverage declined from 17% to 13%. In all, about 20 million Americans gained access to health insurance as a result of the ACA.

Some results, however, surprised them.

Unexpected results

The researchers found no evidence that people without insurance are more likely to file bankruptcy than people with full coverage.

In contrast, prior to the implementation of the law, people with intermittent coverage were twice as likely to file for bankruptcy as the fully insured.

"We found that it is not lack of insurance that is predictive of bankruptcy, but rather going on and off of it," said Sousa, who is also a Ph.D. candidate in the CU Boulder Department of Sociology.

After the passage of the ACA, however, that added risk disappeared.

The study didn't specifically examine why that is, but Sousa and Wadsworth have theories.

Bankruptcy, which impacts approximately 1 million families each year, tends to be most common among lower-middle-income people or those who earn enough money to qualify for debt to purchase things like cars and homes. When these individuals lose their health insurance, often due to divorce or loss of a job, an unexpected medical emergency can swiftly throw them into a financial crisis in which they can't pay those debts. Many people who file bankruptcy cite medical bills as a factor.

Post-ACA, such individuals have new options for getting insurance and those periods of going without coverage have grown shorter, previous research shows.

Few prior studies have looked at the link between health insurance and bankruptcy, and results have been mixed. This is the first study to use individual data, rather than broader trends, to ask the question.

"Our study suggests that the Affordable Care Act is in fact playing an important role in decreasing the reliance upon bankruptcy in this country," Sousa said.

Wadsworth believes the ongoing pandemic may reveal just how great a role the ACA will play and may also highlight shortfalls in a system that ties health insurance to employment, as those who lose coverage rush to apply for Medicaid or coverage through a local exchange. Due to the coronavirus, numerous states, including Colorado, have launched special open enrollment periods for people to sign up for ACA plans.

"I think the ACA will help buffer the blow but there is still a lot of fine-tuning to be done with it," he said. "This time we are in will either serve as evidence that we should not dismantle it or that it is not nearly enough."

Explore further Americans bankrupted by health care costs: 4 questions answered
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A suspect in the fatal shooting of a man in an East Cleveland convenience store in November has been taken into custody, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Dwight Harris, 39, was arrested Wednesday in a small town in northwest Tennessee, officials say. He is awaiting extradition to Cleveland, where he has been charged with aggravated murder for the Nov. 19 shooting death of Reginald Harris.

A news release from the Marshals Service says investigators learned Harris was staying at a home in the unspecified town in Tennessee. Harris tried to escape from marshals, but authorities tracked him down using a K9.

Harris is accused of shooting Smith, 61, at Khans Food Mart on Euclid Avenue near Doan Avenue on Nov. 19. Smith died after an ambulance took him to University Hospitals. Police have not released a motive for the shooting.

Harris is the third homicide suspect taken into custody by U.S. marshals in 48 hours. On Tuesday, Dorian Lynch, 23, was arrested at an apartment complex in Cleveland in connection with the March 20 shooting of Kevin Boyd, 24.

Also on Tuesday, marshals arrested Eric Roberts, 43, who is charged with aggravated murder in the Dec. 18 death of Charles G. Edwards, 32.

More crime-related content on cleveland.com:

Man found dead in grocery store air ducts was missing for eight days, family says

Man charged in accidental shooting that killed uncle during 25th birthday party in Cleveland

Woman was getaway driver in deadly shooting of 15-year-old boy in Cleveland, police say

Two brothers -- one naked -- attack older brother outside Berea home

Off-duty Mogadore officer struck on motorcycle, assaulted, police say
Mobile-based shipbuilder Austal has missed out on a $5.5 billion U.S. Navy contract to build a new class of frigate.

The U.S. Navy awarded the $795 million-per ship contract to Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilder out of Wisconsin. The contract initially allows for one of the guided-missile ships in the 2020 U.S. defense budget but could add 9 more ships if the contract is fully exercised, potentially providing work for around 10 years.

Despite our extreme disappointment over this outcome, we have a portfolio of other opportunities that we continue to pursue, said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. In addition to our backlog of EPF and LCS work that extends through 2024 including EPF variants and unmanned surface vessels. We have great facilities and an even greater workforce and we are committed to continuing to build highly capable and cost effective ships for the U.S. Navy.

Fincantieris was considered by military leaders as offering the best value, according to reporting from military publications. Aside from Austal, the company also beat out offers from Huntington Ingalls Industries and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. Any of the three can contest the decision for several weeks.

Austal had been a frontrunner for the contract given its low cost, high performance approach to shipbuilding, but there were concerns about using aluminum on a ship meant for combat, noted reports. Austal uses aluminum to build its Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and Expeditionary Fast Transports (EFT), but neither are designed for heavy sea-going combat.

While a much lighter metal, aluminum has lower melting point and ignition temperature than steel, meaning fires can devastate the ships superstructure. The U.S. and U.K. navies abandoned the use of the aluminum after fires on ships in the 1970s and the loss of ships in the Falklands War.

To date, Austal currently has six LCS ships under construction, adding to the 11 is has already delivered to the U.S. Navy. Two more are awaiting construction. It has also delivered 11 Expeditionary Fast Transports and has a further two under construction.
BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday rebuked Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for presumptuously claiming that the mainland "covered up the COVID-19 outbreak."

Such a claim was entirely calling white black, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

The mainland's information concerning the epidemic and measures to battle the epidemic have been open and transparent. Mainland authorities have shared information and experience concerning the epidemic with Taiwan and also invited medical experts from the island to the mainland for field trips on multiple occasions, Zhu said.

The DPP's recent blatant attempts to conspire with certain Western anti-China politicians further exposed to the world its vile purpose of "taking advantage of the epidemic to seek independence," according to Zhu. Enditem
The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell has denied the EU has caved to Chinese pressure - JURE MAKOVEC/AFP

The EU 's chief diplomat today angrily denied that Brussels caved to Beijing pressure by watering down a report accusing China of spreading disinformation about coronavirus.

"There was no watering down of our findings,  Josep Borrell said, We see China as a key partner, but also a competitor, and a systemic rival.

The row comes as China takes a more aggressive diplomatic stance on the global stage amid the pandemic. Chinese embassies and diplomats around the world have started opening social media accounts in recent months to tout Beijings new brand of wolf warrior diplomacy.

After it was revealed EU officials softened some of the language condemning China after repeated calls by Chinese officials, MEPs demanded an explanation from Mr Borell, the head of the EUs foreign affairs service.

We have not bowed to anyone, he told MEPs in the European Parliaments foreign affairs committee.

We are a diplomatic service. This includes listening to [countries] views. This cannot be presented as bowing to political pressure.

Mr Borrell said he had not expected the battle of the narrative that broke out after the publication of the report, which he said clearly named China as behind disinformation, especially on the internet.

After the scandal broke, China deployed some of its wolf warriors, which references a patriotic Chinese action trilogy. One of the films released in 2017, which follows a soldier who saves the day in a trek across Africa, was so popular it became the highest-grossing non-English film ever.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman this week accused US politicians of barefaced lies while Chinas ambassador to the EU insisted Beijing was the victim, not the originator of any coronavirus disinformation.

"The Chinese will react strongly to any criticism around disinformation. They have a network of Twitter warriors and to a much greater extent some diplomats are allowed to shoot from the hip, a senior EU diplomat said.

Story continues

"The fundamental priority of the Chinese leadership is to stay in power. International relations tend to flow from that."

The diplomat added, "There has been a more assertive approach by China over last seven to eight years. After the financial crisis, they saw the Westerners had feet of clay."

Its a marked departure from the low-profile approach favoured by the late Communist leader Deng Xiaoping, who famously recommended China hide our capacities and bide our time.

The days when China can be put in a submissive position are long gone, read a recent Chinese state media piece. Chinas rising status in the world, requires it to safeguard its national interests in an unequivocal way.

The Twitter warriors and diplomats can go much further in their attacks, without directly implicating the government. There was a feeling that the foreign ministry was being too nice to foreigners. Nobody loses from being fairly aggressive, the senior EU diplomat said.

A whole cottage industry around this has sprung up in China. And in a way they have to respond to manage a very nationalistic online public opinion.

Beijings increased swagger comes as it broadcasts a new message: That China, having contained the outbreak, is the world leader of virus response and a global saviour helping nations embroiled in the pandemic.

This is a nationalist narrative that sits well with the audience at home, and distracts from lingering anger and criticism over the governments cover-up, botched handling of the outbreak, suppression of whistleblowers, and skepticism over reported infections and deaths.

And social media channels, like Twitter  ironically blocked by government censors ////making them inaccessible///// inside China  are a new way to spread propaganda.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that he had no information about the health of Kim Jong Un, amid unconfirmed reports that the North Korean leader is unwell.

Guterres was responding to a question on whether any UN official had spoken to any North Korean official about the health and whereabouts of Kim.

We have no information about the situation of Kim Jong Un, Guterres said during a virtual press briefing.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Kim is not in good health. The rumours began after he missed the April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim II Sung.

Also read: Knowledge about North Koreas Kim Jong Un is limited, but crucial

North Korea has not dispelled the rumours of ill health of its ruler.

According to reports, citing satellite images, a train likely belonging to Kim has been parked in his compound on the countrys east coast for a week.

US President Donald Trump has said he has a very good idea about the status of Kim but he cannot talk about it.

I cant tell you exactly - yes, I do have a very good idea but I cant talk about it now. I just wish him well, Trump told reporters at a White House news conference Monday.

The UN chief also said the US and China were absolutely vital countries in the international community and their contribution to fight the Covid-19 as well as in development of international relations was absolutely essential, amid mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing in the wake of the pandemic.

Also read: Havent seen him, no report today, says Mike Pompeo on Kim Jong Uns health

It is clear for me that the US and China are two extremely important elements in the international community both from the economic dimension, from the political dimension, from the military dimension. These are two absolutely vital countries, he said The contribution of China and the United States to fight the Covid-19, and all other aspects in the development of international relations is absolutely essential, he said.

Trump has lashed out at China over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far killed 229,447 people across the world and infected more than three million people.

In a interview on Wednesday, Trump said he believed Chinas handling of the coronavirus pandemic was proof that Beijing will do anything they can to make him lose his re-election bid in November.

Slamming Beijing for failing to contain the novel coronavirus at its origin, Trump said the virus outbreak should have been stopped at the source, which was China. It should have been stopped very much at the source, but it wasnt. And now we have 184 countries going through hell. The US has also accused China of covering up the extent of its coronavirus outbreak.

Also read: With Kim Jong Uns health status unclear, his uncle suddenly relevant after 40 yrs abroad

China has denied it and accused the US of attempting to divert the public attention by insinuating that the virus originated from a Wuhan lab.
A health official holds a blood sample of a person to test for the novel coronavirus in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

The Health Ministry confirmed no fresh coronavirus cases Friday evening, keeping the national count of active infections at 51.

The last infection was recorded seven days ago. Of the 270 Covid-19 cases to date, 51 remain active and 219 have been discharged from hospitals. The 51 active cases include 12 relapsed patients.

Vietnam has gone 15 days without community transmission. Most of the 51 active patients are in stable health, and 16 have tested negative for the virus at least once.

Ho Chi Minh City Friday shut down its Can Gio Covid-19 treatment facility. The city has five active coronavirus patients, four at the Cu Chi field hospital in Cu Chi District, all relapsed cases, and one at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases in District 5.

Over 47,000 people are currently quarantined across the country - 272 in hospitals, over 12,000 at quarantine facilities and the rest at home.

The Health Ministry Friday called for public caution, saying the risk of contagion still exists in factories, industrial areas and pharmaceutical establishments.

The pandemic has spread to 212 countries and territories so far, claiming over 234,400 lives.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (May 1) held a meeting to deliberate on the issues and reforms required in the education sector including National Education Policy(NEP), said a Prime Minister's Office statement. The meeting decided to usher in education reforms to create a vibrant knowledge society by ensuring higher quality education to all thereby making India a Global knowledge Super Power.

"Special emphasis was given on the use of technology in the education sector and enhancing learning and adapting by the use of technology such as online classes, education portal and class-wise broadcast on dedicated education channels," it said.

The focus of the meeting was to bring "uniformity in education providing universal access to quality education, improving the quality of elementary education, through a new national curriculum framework that focuses on multi-linguistic, 21st-century skills, integration of sport and art, environmental issues etc."

PM @narendramodi holds a review meeting to discuss education Sector Special emphasis was given on the use of technology in the education sector and enhancing learning and adapting by the use of technology Details here: https://t.co/AQKx5BETpR pic.twitter.com/4lNxZWq8pS  PIB India #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) May 1, 2020

Today's meeting also discussed in detail the use and promotion of technology--online mode, TV channels, radio, podcasts, etc--in various modes for education at school and higher levels.

"Reforming the higher education scenario by making Indian Education System at par with the highest global standards making education effective, inclusive, contemporary rooted in the Indian culture and ethos," it said.

Emphasis was, however, given on early childhood care and education, foundational literacy, and numeracy, adapting contemporary pedagogy, preserving the cultural and linguistic diversity of India with a special focus on early vocationalization of education.

To achieve all these goals and to ensure efficient educational governance extensive use of technology including Artificial Intelligence will be promoted, it added.
Former reality star Matty 'J' Johnson has issued a chilling warning to young people who are selling raunchy content on the subscription-based website OnlyFans.

The 32-year-old, who starred on The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, said that OnlyFans could become a pathway into hardcore pornography for impressionable young people.

'I think the problem here is that OnlyFans could become a stepping stone into the porn industry,' Matty said on his Nova podcast, The Babble.

Warning: Former reality star Matty 'J' Johnson has issued a chilling warning to young people who are selling raunchy content on the subscription-based website OnlyFans

'Which, hey, if that's your jam and if that's how you want to make money - then that's absolutely fine,' he clarified.

'But for younger people who are 18, 19, who are less aware... Taking a photo with your nipple out, you do that for long enough it doesn't seem like a big deal, you then can progress to doing more and more porn-type content.

'And over the space of 12 months you become quite desensitised to the content that youre putting out there.'

'It could be a stepping stone': The 32-year-old, who starred on The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, said that OnlyFans could become a pathway into hardcore pornography

A number of Australian reality stars have signed up for OnlyFans in recent months.

Some of the biggest names on the platform include Love Island Australia's Vanessa Sierra and Edyn Mackney, Bachelor In Paradise's Paddy Colliar, and Married At First Sight's Rhyce Power.

Rhyce is one of the top creators on OnlyFans, raking in $55,000 each month before tax.

Raunchy: Some of the biggest names on the platform include Love Island Australia's Edyn Mackney (pictured), Bachelor In Paradise's Paddy Colliar and Married At First Sight's Rhyce Power

The hunk recently revealed that he was paid over $1000 by one of his fans just for a photo of his feet.

'This is a very strange thing, but a lot of people are into feet,' he revealed on Triple M this week when asked to reveal the 'worst' request he had ever received from a fan.

'Yesterday I had someone ask me to send a picture of my feet. I made $800 U.S. (AU $1,220).'

When asked if it was mostly men or women who wanted to see his feet, Rhyce admitted: 'It's mostly blokes, to be honest.'
Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week?
Boris Johnson has announced that England will enter a four-week lockdown as of Thursday 5 November to help prevent the further spread of coronavirus.

On Saturday 31 October, the prime minister announced the new measures - which will remain in place until 2 December - during a press conference at Downing Street alongside chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty.

While many of the rules for the second lockdown are the same as the first, with pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops being forced to close, there are some notable differences.

In March, only vulnerable pupils and children of key workers were permitted to attend school in person, with A-levels and GCSE exams being cancelled nationwide.

However this time, schools, colleges and universities will be allowed to stay open.

During his speech, Mr Johnson said: My priority, our priority, remains keeping people in education - so childcare, early years settings, schools, colleges and universities will all remain open.

We cannot let this virus damage our children's futures even more than it has already. I urge parents to continue taking their children to school and I am extremely grateful to teachers across the country for their dedication in enabling schools to remain open.

But, is it safe for children to be at school and can they spread the virus to adults?

On 28 August, a BMJ study found the need for children to have hospital treatment for Covid-19 was "tiny" and critical care "even tinier".

It said parents should be "reassured" Covid-19 has not caused the deaths of any otherwise healthy schoolchildren in the UK. However, black children, obese children and very young babies have a slightly higher risk.

Deputy chief medical officer, Jennie Harries previously said that the risk of seasonal flu or a car accident to students was "probably higher" than the current risk presented by coronavirus.

And prime minister Boris Johnson said the risk of contracting Covid-19 at school was "very small". He said "it is far more damaging for a child's development and their health...to be away from school any longer."

On 24 April, Great Ormond Street Hospital said: The evidence to date suggests that although children do develop Covid-19, very few children develop severe symptoms, even if they have an underlying health condition."

In Switzerland, authorities said on 29 April it was safe for children under the age of 10 to hug their grandparents because young children do not transmit the virus. But German virologist Christian Drosten conducted a study in May, which found children may be just as infectious as adults.

As understanding has developed - what is the current understanding about how coronavirus impacts children? And is it different between primary and secondary age children? Here is everything you need to know.

Can children pass coronavirus onto adults?

On 23 August, Professor Chris Witty cited evidence of children "much less commonly" needing hospital treatment or becoming severely ill with coronavirus than adults.

According to the Office for National Statistics data on ages there were 10 recorded deaths as "due to Covid-19" among those age 19 or under in England and Wales between March and June 2020.

A Public Health England study found of the one million children who went into pre-school and primary school before the summer holiday, in June, 70 children and 128 members of staff were infected in outbreaks.

It said of the 30 outbreaks detected in that time, most had likely been caused by staff members infecting other staff members, with only two instances thought to involve students infecting other students.

In April, a report published on the Dont Forget the Bubbles blog, in partnership with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, outlined findings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which could not recall episodes during contact tracing where transmission occurred from a child to an adult.

Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Show all 12 1 /12 Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Marc Lyons ICU Consultant, East Cheshire NHS Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Emma Kelly Critical Care Nurse, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Laura Arrowsmith COVID-19 Ward Cleaner, Leighton Hospital, Crewe PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Stuart Brookfield Paramedic, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Claudia Anghel Midwife, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Sarah Jensen Chief Information Officer, Barts Health NHS Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Anne Roberts District Nurse, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Ali Abdi Porter, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Jack Hannay Manikum 111 call handler, West Midlands Ambulance Service PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Ade Williams Superintendent Pharmacist, Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Farzana Hussain GP, Project Surgery, Newham PA Rankin unveils portraits of NHS workers on the coronavirus frontline Roopak Khara General Adult Psychiatrist, West London NHS Trust PA

But it did warn there was no certainty. The role of children in transmission is unclear, but it seems likely they do not play a significant role, it stated.

Speaking to The Independent, Dr Alasdair Munro, who compiled the research said that studies have shown that children have a lower attack rate than adults, that children are less likely to acquire it from a household contact than adults are and that children are less often the people bringing it into the household than adults.

A UCL study, published in May, found children "appear half as likely to catch Covid-19 as adults" but warned that "evidence remains weak on how likely they are to transmit the virus". It was the largest study of its kind, including a systematic review of more than 6,000 international studies into Covid-19 spread.

"Susceptibility is a key part of the chain of infection, and this supports the view that children are likely to play a smaller role in transmitting the virus and proliferating the pandemic, although considerable uncertainty remains," it said.

A study published in The Lancet in June, concluded: "Covid-19 is generally a mild disease in children, including infants. However a small proportion develop severe disease requiring ICU admission and prolonged ventilation, although fatal outcome is overall rare."

Should we still express caution about children's ability to pass on the virus?

Much of the research on children has focused on young primary-age children, not on those of a secondary school age.

In August the World Health Organisation warned that young people could be driving spikes in coronavirus across Europe.

There was also concern closer to home with Preston Council warned young people "Don't kill granny" after it discovered that half of new cases were occurring in people aged under 30.

A study by French epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet at a school in France found that although younger age groups do not "transmit to the same extent", "teenagers are just as contagious as adults".

Labour shadow education secretary Kate Green has said that the government policy of not making children wear face masks in secondary school, is something that should be kept under review.

She says this is because we don't yet know how best to manage safely returning to school from next week: "I think it's really right that it's kept under very close watch as to where they might be appropriate in school [and] whether they might be appropriate in school."

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, says it is important to err on the side of caution when discussing whether the coronavirus can be transmitted to adults by children.

Given that not many pieces of work have been done on it, its very difficult to judge, Dr Clarke told The Independent in April. Theres not a mountain of evidence on both sides. The fact is we know very little about this, precious little.
And the rules give all schools room to move. The first advance is worth 12.5 per cent of next year's funding for schools that have a plan to fully re-open classrooms by June 1. The key word is "plan"  because nobody can be sure what might happen with COVID-19 four weeks from now. The second advance is worth another 12.5 per cent and has been described as requiring schools to have half their students in classrooms by June 1. Yet the federal government fact sheet merely asks for schools to "commit to a target of at least 50 per cent of students" in class by that date. The key word is "target"  because nobody will be inspecting schools on June 1 to count the students. In fact, the plans do not even need to be lodged with the Department of Education. They just need to be available in case an official asks for them later. So the financial reward is complex. The government is not being as generous as it first seemed, but it is not being as aggressive, either. The offer is optional and the rules are not too strict.

This leads to a logical question. Does Morrison want the outcomes, or just the headlines? The policy result will never be clear because we will never know how many more students will be sitting in classrooms, due to this offer, four weeks from now. The government may be able to claim a certain number of schools have signed up, but this will not show how many students are actually at their desks. Nor will it show how many would have been there anyway. Loading The political outcome is simpler. Morrison has left families in no doubt that he wants children back in class faster than any other political leader. He challenges state teachers' unions and emphasises education when there is strong academic evidence about the inadequacy of online learning. Morrison has played the politics hard but his message appeals to parents who are frustrated with the restrictions on public schools when it seems the health crisis is being brought under control.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is restarting school even if there is frustration with her chosen model. In Queensland and Victoria, however, state Labor leaders are holding out against a Liberal message from Canberra that puts a higher priority on classroom teaching. This might not matter if there was a correlation between case numbers and school restrictions in each jurisdiction, but there is not. Political power, including union power, is a bigger factor. The Labor stronghold of the Australian Capital Territory has the toughest school restrictions but the best COVID-19 results, with no active cases. The number of active coronavirus cases in Queensland fell from 280 to 94 over the seven days to Wednesday afternoon, with no increase in deaths. The number in Victoria fell from 78 to 49 over the same period, with one additional death. Victoria has no active cases among school-age children from 5 to 19. The number of active cases in NSW fell from 1185 to 711 over the same week, with eight deaths. Loading Parents can see the situation improving while Labor leaders act as if there has been no change. It is only a matter of time before Andrews and Palaszczuk adjust: the Victorian Premier is hinting at changes after the state of emergency ends on May 11, while the Queensland Premier is waiting until May 15 to reveal whether schools will welcome students other than those who are vulnerable or those whose parents are essential workers.
The Internet was sent into overdrive on Wednesday when rumours began circulating that Gigi Hadid was pregnant with on-off boyfriend, Zayn Malik.

Putting everyone out of their misery, the 25-year-old model appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (which is being filmed virtually) on Thursday night and confirmed the news.

Hadid, the daughter of former model Yolanda and property developer Mohammed, has been a firm fixture on the fashion scene since her first runway appearance for Desigual in 2014, when she was just 18 years old.

The Dutch-Palestinian model has almost broken the record for the most Vogue covers ever, with 35 under her belt to date; this brings her in a close second to Lauren Hutton, who currently holds the title with 40.

Getty Images

She's become a regular runway fixture for brands including Dior, Burberry and Chanel, and even took to escort a trespasser off the runway at the latter's Spring 2020 show.

In keeping with her American roots, Hadid also became an ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger in 2015 and has collaborated with the designer on collections since. She most recently walked for the American brand in February 2018 during Milan Fashion Week.

And the brand ambassador offerings didn't stop there. Hadid became the face of the Reebok Classic trainer in 2018 and remains in partnership with the brand, designing regular capsule collections for the sportswear behemoth.

When she first burst on to the fashion scene, Hadid's style was intrinsically all-American, California girl. Her bleached locks, perma-tan and sunny disposition were firm fixtures of her look before her rise to the dizzying heights of fame she now enjoys (she is the forty-fourth most followed person on Instagram, with 53.2 million followers.) She would regularly accompany her mum Yolanda and Yolanda's then-husband, David Foster, to events on the red carpet, where her look comprised of floaty, bohemian all-in-one's and her hair pared-back and minimal.

Hadid with her former model mum Yolanda in 2013 (Getty Images ) / Getty Images

In the years since, Hadid's style has kept its wholesome roots, but taken on a slightly more grown-up edge. When she's off-duty, her look comprises comfy cashmere ensembles and athleisure, which she wears with the grace of couture. In fact, when one fan criticised her pared-back style last year on Twitter, Hadid's defended her right to wear what she pleases. "I like what I wear and I wear it for that reason," she responded to the remark.

For events, Hadid relies on the services of New York-based stylist Mimi Cuttrell, who also styles her sister Bella. Cuttrell has been credited as the person responsible for elevating Hadid's style, having professed in an interview with Vogue that she's obsessed with "denim" and "funky sunglasses" - two of Hadid's apparent go-to's.

The model is also a regular fixture on the fashion party scene and has made many a statement appearance at fashion's biggest night out, the annual Met Gala. For last year's event, she wore a futuristic Michael Kors headpiece, jumpsuit and coat and, not one to shy away from making a statement, looked every inch the princess in Versace back in 2018.

Her baby is, according to her mum, due in September so, as she continues to hunker down in lockdown, we hope to catch a glimmer of how she styles out her pregnancy.
The Fremont Board of Health will allow its Community Directed Health Measure to expire on May 6.

Gyms and fitness centers will be allowed to reopen on May 7. Beauty salons, nail salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and massage therapist establishments must remain closed until May 10 under the State of Nebraskas Directed Health Measure.

The City of Fremont, Three Rivers Public Health Department, Methodist Fremont Health, Fremont Public Schools, Midland University, Archbishop Bergan Catholic Schools, Trinity Lutheran School, Metropolitan Community College, Fremont Family YMCA, Dodge County and Senator Lynne Walz met to discuss the local response to Gov. Pete Rickettss most recent Directed Health Measure.

We all have a deep commitment to our community, and doing everything that we can to keep individuals healthy and safe our collaborative work here is an example of that, Terra Uhing, executive director at Three Rivers Public Health Department, said.

Following are updates from the local entities:

Fremont Public Schools  Learning will continue through the districts Continuation of Learning Plan for the remainder of the school year. All FPS buildings will remain closed to the public. Staff will be notified of their schedule through May. All activities are canceled through May 31 and all FPS facilities remain closed indefinitely for all outside use. The Grab-N-Go feeding program will continue serving two days a week. On Mondays and Thursdays multi-day meals will be available at Bell Field Elementary, Linden Elementary and Washington Elementary between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Meadowbrook meals will be available on Mondays and Thursdays between 11 a.m. and noon. All FPS playground equipment remains closed for public use through May 31. All FPS play fields are open for use at your own risk as long as social distancing is maintained.

Midland University  The university will continue to teach and learn online through the end of the semester at both the Fremont and Omaha locations. Midland will host a Celebration of Graduates at 10 a.m. May 16 with a virtual commencement ceremony. The ceremony can be viewed live at: https://www.youtube.com/user/MidlandUniversity1. Midland plans to reopen and resume in-person classes and co-curricular activities as scheduled this fall. Details about how this will be done safely are being discussed and will be communicated at a later date.

Metropolitan Community College  Credit classes have been moved to e-learning and alternate delivery methods for the spring quarter. Noncredit classes have been canceled through May. Student and public access to the Fremont Area Center is suspended.

Archbishop Bergan Catholic Schools  The remainder of the school year will be completed via remote learning. Bergan Early Childhood Education Center remains open for day care services for families. All Bergan facilities are closed for student, parent and non-essential staff usage. Access to the buildings can be made by appointment by calling the elementary at 402-721-9766 or the middle/high school at 402-721-9683. Graduation has been postponed until 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25, at St. Patrick Catholic Church. The academic year will end on May 21. Bergan Elementarys playground equipment will be closed for public use through May 31.

Trinity Lutheran School  Online distance learning will continue through the end of the school year. The eighth-grade graduation service will take place virtually at 6 p.m. May 14. All Trinity facilities remain closed for student and non-essential staff usage. The Trinity playground equipment will be closed for public use through May 31. Trinitys Early Childhood Center remains open.

Fremont Family YMCA  The Fremont Family YMCA will continue to offer emergency childcare for first responders, medical personnel along with families who are working. The YMCA is closed until May 6 and staff will re-evaluate an opening date depending on health directives. The YMCA will open up in phases to allow the YMCA to follow the health directives. More information will follow in the next few days.

City of Fremont  City offices are still open, but precautions are in place for the safety of city employees and the public. Sneeze guards have been installed at counters for customer interactions. All city playground equipment will be closed for public use through May 31. All city play fields are open for use at your own risk as long as social distancing is maintained.

Dodge County  The Dodge County Courthouse remains open, with services available by appointment only. The primary election will take place as scheduled on May 12.
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On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that he would not extend federal social distancing guidelines to combat the coronavirus once they expire on Thursday. The end to the administrations Slow the Spread campaign, which had been extended after an initial 15-day run that began in March, will leave states to decide how to proceed on their own. Theyll be fading out because now the governors are doing it, Trump said in a meeting with Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana on Wednesday. The guidelines were incorporated into new recommendations for responsibly reopening states that the White House issued earlier this month, Vice President Mike Pence said, but critics have noted that these arent specific or binding.

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The loss of a national social-distancing campaign comes as the U.S. is seeing daily rises in the death tollmore than 1,000 additional deaths have been confirmed every day since April 2and as the country has recorded 61,288 deaths and more than 1 million cases of COVID-19.

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The social distancing campaign is also ending amid insufficient testing. In order to lift restrictions safely, the U.S. will need millions of tests per week, according to separate reports released this week by the Rockefeller Foundation and Harvards Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. While the U.S. has ramped up testing in recent weeks, Adm. Brett Giroir, the official leading the federal governments testing response, said there is absolutely no way the country will have the minimum of 5 million tests per day that the Harvard study cites, despite Trumps promises to the contrary. (The most tests the country has done in a single day were 314,182, on April 22, according to the COVID Tracking Project.)

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Yet Trump continues to share overly rosy predictions about the pandemic and the countrys ability to reopen safely. When asked why he expects COVID-19 to go away without a vaccine at a White House roundtable on Wednesday, Trump replied, Its going to be gone. Its going to leave. Its going to be eradicated. That same day, Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, lauded the administrations response to the pandemic as a great success story. Kushner added that he hopes the country will be really rocking again by July.

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The lack of a cohesive federal response, compounded by Trumps mixed signals on reopening individual states, has led to what Politico has called an inconsistent patchwork of state, local and business decision-making, which may lead to a second wave of COVID-19 cases or exacerbate the current outbreak. So far, states plans to reopen have diverged largely along partisan lines. Some states with Republican governors, including Alaska, Georgia, and Tennessee, have already started loosening restrictions, while others with Democratic governors, including Louisiana, Michigan, and North Carolina, have extended their lockdowns for at least another week. California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to order the closure of all state parks and beaches starting Friday, CNN reported. Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas will allow businesses in the state to start reopening the same day.

Despite the administrations unfounded optimism and the varying state-by-state responses, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released on April 19 showed that 58 percent of registered voters are most concerned the country could move too quickly on lifting distancing restrictions, and a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll published on Wednesday showed that 65 percent of Americans think its too early to have people return to work.
The facility was the home of the universitys astronomy and astrophysics department from its opening until the department began relocating to Hyde Park in the 1960s. In addition to Sagan and Hubble, two Nobel laureates worked there: Gerhard Herzberg, who received the 1971 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his study of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who received the 1983 prize in physics for his studies of the structure and evolution of the stars. Albert Einstein also visited Yerkes.
Matt Hancock has said he has achieved his target of conducting 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April.

The health secretary announced there were 122,347 COVID-19 tests on Thursday. However, the government was immediately accused of massaging the statistics.

Speaking at the governments daily coronavirus press conference on Friday, Hancock said: I knew it was an audacious goal but we needed an audacious goal because testing is so important for getting Britain back on her feet.

I can announce we have met our goal. The number of tests yesterday, the last day of April, was 122,347.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

6 charts and maps that explain how COVID-19 is spreading

Hancock said the unprecedented expansion was not my achievement but a national achievement.

He said the UKs bigger testing capacity will help every single person in this country.

Testing is crucial to suppressing the virus and will help us unlock the lockdown, Hancock added.

Health secretary Matt Hancock, pictured in Downing Street on Friday, said he achieved his target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests. (PA)

Responding to the announcement, Liberal Democrat acting leader Sir Ed Davey accused the government of massaging the metrics.

He said: It's deeply regrettable but we're still miles off the large-scale testing programme that will be an essential part of any plan to ease out of lockdown through a test, trace and isolate approach.

It follows a Health Service Journal report which claimed tests that are sent to peoples homes have been counted in the figures before the samples have been returned to a laboratory.

When questioned about this at Fridays press conference, Hancock said its not something I recognise.

Prof John Newton, coordinator of the national testing effort, insisted thats the way they have always been counted.

Of the 122,347 tests counted by the government, 27,497 were home kit deliveries, Prof Newton said.

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He added a further 12,872 tests were delivered through the governments satellite process, where test kits are delivered to centres such as hospitals and NHS sites.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labours shadow health secretary, said: Weve wanted to see more testing. But a big figure is not a strategy.

Hancock set the 100,000 target on 2 April, a day when 11,764 were carried out. On 23 April, 28,532 tests had been conducted.

A tester at a drive-through coronavirus testing site at Ikea in Wembley, north-west London, on Thursday. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)

The government was able to increase its testing capacity through measures such as setting up 96 mobile sites, 49 drive-through sites and sending the home testing kits.

On Tuesday, it also expanded the criteria for people who can be tested for coronavirus.

All those with coronavirus symptoms aged over 65 and members of their households, as well as workers who have to leave home and members of their households, became eligible for testing from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hancock announced the number of people in the UK who have died after being infected with coronavirus has risen by 739 to 27,510.

There are also 177,451 confirmed cases, a rise of 6,201 from Thursday.

Coronavirus: what happened today

Julie Graham, Dr Joseph Alsousou and Emma Blake chat to Kate Thornton on Up Close and Socially Distant
"Safety is our most important value at Alaska Airlines, and thanks to our employees we have an incredibly safe operation. In light of COVID-19, we're in a new era of air travel and are continually updating our safety standards to better protect our guests and employees. For now, this includes wearing masks, which is another layer of protection that can reduce the spread of the virus," said Max Tidwell, Alaska Airlines' vice president of safety.

Guests will be expected to bring their own mask and will be required to wear it throughout the airport and flight experience. Additional supplies will be available for anyone who forgets a face mask. Specific details about the face mask requirements will be shared with guests later next week and in pre-trip communications before their date of travel. The temporary policy will be reevaluated periodically as guidance evolves.

The face mask requirements are a few of several safety and social distancing measures Alaska Airlines is taking at the airport and in the air to support our employees and guests.

Other measures include:

Expanded enhanced cleaning on flights, which includes use of high-grade, EPA registered disinfectants to sanitize critical touchpoints like tray tables, seat belts, overhead bins, armrests and lavatories.

Expanded use of electrostatic sanitizing spray to disinfect aircraft interiors.

Limiting the number of passengers onboard and blocking middle seats on large aircraft and aisle seats on small aircraft through May 31, 2020 .

. Enhanced and more frequent cleaning of airport counters, lounges and high-traffic areas.

Social distancing floor decals rolled out this week at airports to remind guests and employees to remain separated by at least six feet.

Providing disposable surgical and re-usable fabric masks for employees.

Continued use of hospital-grade air filters on all planes. These HEPA filters are proven effective in removing airborne particles and cycle new air into the cabin every three minutes.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we fly. Safety is our number one priority and wearing masks will make air travel safer for everyone. We're all in this together," said Jeffrey Peterson, president of Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council, Association of Flight Attendants.

Learn more about Alaska's response to the coronavirus at https://blog.alaskaair.com/coronavirus/.

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 115 destinations across the United States and North America, providing essential air service for our guests along with moving crucial cargo shipments, such as food, medicine, mail and e-commerce deliveries. With hubs in Seattle; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska, the airline is known for low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. With Alaska and its Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 800 destinations worldwide. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

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Biden accuser slams Hillary's endorsement; more sources back Tara Reade's sexual assault claims

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Warning: This article contains sexually explicit content.

The woman who claims Joe Biden reached under her skirt in 1993 has slammed Hillary Clinton after the former first lady gave her endorsement to the presumptive 2020 nominee during a town hall Tuesday.

"I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. I voted for her in the primary. I'm a lifelong Democrat, Tara Reade, a former entry-level staffer for Biden when he served as Delaware senator, said in an interview Tuesday with Fox News.

But yet, what I see now is someone enabling a sexual predator and it was my former boss, Joe Biden, who raped me.

Reade claims that Biden not only reached under her skirt but penetrated her with his fingers in a 1993 encounter in a Capitol Hill corridor.

While the Biden campaign has denied the allegation, the former vice president has not personally addressed it. Some Biden supporters have dismissed Reades claim as unfounded. But new details have emerged in recent days that are causing at least some who were quick to overlook the claim to take a second look.

As the former Democratic nominees endorsement does not come as much of a shock, it comes as Biden looks to bolster his support among women as he faces allegations from at least seven other women who claim that he has made them feel uncomfortable by touching them over years.

Hillary Clinton has a history of enabling powerful men to cover up their sexual predatory behaviors and their inappropriate sexual misconduct, Reade said. We don't need that for this country. We don't need that for our new generation coming up that wants institutional rape culture to change."

Reades claims were first reported in an article published in a Northern California newspaper last year before Biden announced his candidacy against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement.

In her late 20s at the time, Reade claimed that Biden made her feel uncomfortable by touching her several times over the nine months that she worked for him.

She said he would often touch her on the neck. Reade claimed that she tried to share her concerns with superiors at the time. But looking to protect the senator, she said they told her to say nothing.

Reade also claimed that her hours were reduced after she refused to serve drinks at an event, adding that she was led to believe through conversations with other staffers that Biden liked her legs.

She stated that she felt pushed out and left Bidens office in August 1993. At the time, a confidant of Reade told The Union that Reade relayed the story about Bidens actions after the events occurred.

Although Reades claim received little attention during the Democratic Primary, it has gained more coverage in the mainstream media in recent weeks.

In a late March interview, Reade claimed that in the spring or summer of 1993, she was instructed to meet Biden in a semi-secluded corridor to deliver a duffel bag. When she did, she claimed that Biden pushed her up against a wall, reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers.

After resisting Bidens advancement, she claimed that the then-senator said: Aw man, I heard you liked me. Reade accused Biden of then telling her: "You're nothing to me."

The Biden campaign outright denies the allegations. A statement from the campaign stresses that the candidate has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women.



He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, the campaign asserts. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard  and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: It is untrue. This absolutely did not happen.



In April, several mainstream news outlets investigated the claims and published reports on the matter. While The New York Times, a left-leaning publication, spoke to over two dozen people that worked with Biden in the early 1990s, it reports that none of them were able to corroborate the details of Reades claims. The New York Times concluded that there was no pattern of sexual misconduct."

The Washington Post interviewed more than six former Biden staffers and people whom Reade told about the incident. The chief of staff and deputy chief of staff for Bidens office at the time told The Washington Post they had no recollection or memory of such a complaint.

But anonymously, a friend and cousin of Reade confirmed to the newspaper that they were told of Bidens actions by Reade after the incident.

This week, Business Insider published two on-the-record conversations with Reades friends who say they remember Reade telling them in the 1990s about the actions of the senator.

"This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it," Reades next-door neighbor during the 1990s, Lynda LaCasse, told Business Insider.

Lorraine Sanchez, a friend who worked with Reade in the office of a California state senator during the mid-1990s, told the outlet that she remembers Reade complaining about how her former boss in Washington sexually harassed her.

On April 24, the Intercept reported that Reade's mother had called into the "Larry King Live" show on CNN on Aug. 11, 1993, during a segment titled Washington: The Cruelest City on Earth?

Im wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? Reades mother said during the call. My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.

Reade told The Washington Post that she filed a complaint with a congressional human resources office but could not remember the specific name. She said her complaint dealt with the alleged harassment, not the alleged sexual assault in the corridor.

The Washington Post was unable to find any record of the complaint but reported that Reade said she never received a copy.

Although Bidens official records from his 36 years serving in the Senate were donated to his alma mater, the University of Delaware, they are sealed from the public. Reade is now calling for the release of Bidens Senate records.

"I'm calling for the release of the documents being held by the University of Delaware that contain Biden's staff personnel records because I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," Reade told Fox News. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light. Why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"

Several potential vice presidential running mates, including Stacy Abrams, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar, have praised Biden when asked about Reades allegations, citing the claim made in The New York Times article that there was no pattern of sexual misconduct.

However, at least one staunch Democrat and Biden supporter, actress and activist Alyssa Milano, seems to be changing her tune on the issue in light of new developments.

Earlier this month, Milano was criticized by Reade for using quite different talking points in response to allegations against Biden than she did for the 2018 allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Im aware of the new developments in Tara Reades accusation against Joe Biden, Milano said in a tweet Tuesday. I want Tara, like every other survivor, to have the space to be heard and seen without being used as fodder. I hear and see you, Tara. #MeToo.
Cebu City (CNN Philippines, May 1) - Thirteen overseas Filipino workers who arrived in Cebu tested positive for COVID-19 after testing negative from rapid test in Manila, according to the provincial health office.

The 13 OFWs were among the 328 seafarers who were stranded in Manila and were allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force to travel back to their hometowns via mercy voyages.

Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, in a press conference, said 185 of the 328 seafarers are residents of the province and tested negative for coronavirus through a rapid diagnostic test back in Manila.

Garcia, however, said 13 of them showed positive results after undergoing polymerise chain reaction test in Cebu.

The Department of Health already pointed out that rapid diagnostic tests may show false negative results.

Garcia said the infected OFWs are now under a 14-day quarantine in a hotel and assured they have not yet returned to their families since arriving on Tuesday.

The provincial health office said eight of the infected OFWs are residents of Cebu City, but they have not yet identified their exact addresses. Meanwhile, five others are from Brgy. Poblacion in Liloan, Brgy. Looc in Danao City, Brgy. Sacsac in Consolacion, Brgy. Colon in the City of Naga, and Brgy. Maya in Daanbantayan.

Cebu stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report
Harris Teeter invites shoppers to continue earning funds for their school through its Together In Education (TIE) program while stocking up on their favorite Harris Teeter brand items.

For many families, school looks a little different these days. With the transition from classroom settings to remote learning at home, many parents are searching for creative ways to entertain and feed their kids. With affordable Harris Teeter brands, a little inspiration and Harris Teeters TIE program, its easy to create a tasty and fun option while supporting the local schools.

Harris Teeters Together in Education program is an easy way for anyone to support our local schools, said Danna Robinson, communication manager for Harris Teeter. Many children are eating an increased number of meals at home, and the TIE program allows parents to stock the pantry with affordable and delicious Harris Teeter items, while supporting the school or schools of their choice.

Since 1998, Harris Teeter has donated over $29.9 million to Together in Education schools.

Harris Teeter shoppers can earn funds for up to five schools of their choice through May 31. The TIE school year runs annually from Aug. 1  May 31.

To participate, shoppers must link their VIC card to the school or schools of their choice.

For more information about Together in Education, please click here.

http://www.harristeeter.com

Harris Teeter, with headquarters in Matthews, N.C., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR). The regional grocery chain employs approximately 30,000 associates and operates stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.


Bay City News Foundation

Antioch Mayor Steve Wright called for a special Friday evening meeting of the City Council to consider removing Ken Turnage II from his seat on the city's Planning Commission.

In an agenda statement posted Thursday, Wright noted Turnage's recent social media post apparently endorsing the idea that the coronavirus pandemic will cull the herd or in other words cull the population. Several council members called for his resignation at a meeting Tuesday night.

Turnage, a local contractor, wrote in his personal Facebook account recently that "the World has been introduced to a new phrase Herd Immunity which is a good one. In my opinion we need to adapt a Herd Mentality. A herd gathers it ranks, it allows the sick, the old, the injured to meet its natural course in nature."

He added, "then we have our other sectors such as our homeless and other people who just defile themselves by either choice or mental issues. This would run rampant through them and yes i am sorry but this would fix what is a significant burden on our Society and resources that can be used."

Turnage, the commission's chairman, insisted Wednesday that he has no intention of resigning or backing down from his comments. He also strongly objected to apparently being called racist saying his position was simply an issue of "ecological balance." He said he was "baffled" by the reaction to what he called his personal opinion.

During Tuesday evening's remote City Council meeting, three public comments called for his resignation or removal. Councilmember Monica Wilson, called the comments disgusting, inappropriate and reckless while asking for his immediate resignation or removal. Similar reactions came from Wright and other council members.

Turnage can be removed by a majority vote of the city council.

Wright stated Thursday, "In the city of Antioch, the City Council is committed to maintaining public confidence and trust in our city government. As public officials in one of the largest and most diverse cities in Contra Costa County, we are called to serve all residents of Antioch; whether young or old, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, housed or unhoused."

The City Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on a Zoom video call. Public comments can be submitted at: https://www.antiochca.gov/comment-forms/mayor-city-council/.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
The family of a Vancouver Island pilot presumed dead after a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece says he was a "an amazing young man" who left behind "30 years of incredible memories."

Capt. Kevin Hagen was among five crew members missing after a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter crashed Wednesday in the Ionian Sea while taking part in NATO exercises.

The Department of National Defence said Friday all missing crew members are presumed dead. The body of a sixth crew member  naval officer Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough  was recovered almost immediately after the crash.

Recovery efforts are underway for Hagen and the others  Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald, Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke and Master-Cpl. Matthew Cousins.

Hagen, a pilot, was 30 years old. He was born in Nanaimo, but family members said he spent time in many different communities off the coast of B.C., including Ladysmith, Victoria and Quadra Island.

He was a graduate of the 848 Royal Roads Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in Victoria.

Kevin Hagen/Facebook

"Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones today as we all process the grief of losing an alumni of our squadron," said the organization in a statement.

Steffen Hagen, his father, said the family is devastated.

"This is too early for us to tell Kevin's story," he said in a written statement. "For me, his story is 30 years of incredible memories and it is so heartbreaking that it has been cut this short. In the meantime, it goes without saying that everyone in our family will always remember Kevin as an amazing young man who gave unselfishly of himself to others."

Steffen said his son was caring and sensitive, and the loss will impact all those who got to know him.

"He accomplished so much in his life but was taken from us all far too soon. Telling the world how proud I am of Kevin doesn't even begin to scratch the surface for those feelings of admiration I have always felt for him," he said.

Story continues

Cpl. Simon Arcand/Canadian Armed Forces/Combat Camera

Kyrle Symons, a friend who was enrolled in cadets with Kevin Hagen, met him when the two of them were 14 years old.

"He always had a little smile on his face, and he was this really easy going guy," said Symons. "He had a lot of really close friends, and he was chummy. Everybody loved him."

Symons says Hagen was driven through his cadet school, chasing his dream to become a pilot.

"It was really fun watching him go through training ... Kevin's path was really exciting, and I'm glad he got to do what he wanted to do for his life."

Search continues

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Department of National Defence

The Department of National Defence says additional remains were discovered during the search but they "cannot be identified at this time."

Rear Admiral Craig Baines, commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, said Friday that the decision to declare the five "missing and presumed deceased" was not taken lightly.

CBC News

"While searches on the sea are never easy, these units have completely saturated the area for the duration of the search over a known crash location. So we are certain that if there were survivors, we would have found them within the past 48 hours," he said.

Baines said every effort will be made to identify the remains that were recovered, but that likely won't happen until they are returned to Canada.

The remains are expected to be flown back to Canada next week.

A Royal Canadian Air Force flight safety team was slated to depart on Friday to investigate the accident. It will begin work immediately upon arrival, a department statement said.

Watch | Capt. Kevin Hagen remembered as 'a perfect brother':
For the team from the Give My Head Peace TV 'family', so used to making the public laugh, yesterday the mood was strikingly sombre as they struggled to get their collective heads around the sudden death of one of their closest friends, the giant of a talent that was BJ Hogg.

The Hole in the Wall Gang who created the immensely popular BBC NI TV comedy were trying to come to terms with the sad reality that the passing of the Big Man with the big heart would leave a hole in their professional and personal lives that they could never fill.

The sorrow of the people who knew BJ best was shared by thousands of people who didn't know him at all but thought they did ... the TV viewers who loved his larger than life - and dopier than most - character, Big Mervyn, through 20 years of Give My Head Peace (GMHP) on television and in theatres.

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Trying to count the social media messages of stunned sympathy after the announcement of his death - on his 65th birthday on Thursday - was impossible, and among the stream of words about BJ there wasn't a bad one.

But, of course, nowhere was BJ's loss felt more keenly than in the bosom of his family: his wife Elish; two children, Nathan and Abigail; and grandchild Georgia.

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Yet amid the tears for the towering professional, BJ's friends couldn't resist the occasional smile as they wandered down the memory lane of their reminisces about the Lisburn man who approached his comedy just as seriously as the way he tackled the straight and often thought-provoking roles at which he excelled.

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One of the creators of GMHP, Tim McGarry, said BJ - his full name was William Henry Brian Hogg - had been an invaluable member of the show's team who had brought his experience and expertise to the series, and he added that his character Big Mervyn was hugely popular with audiences across Northern Ireland even though he was in essence a sectarian bigot.

Tim said he had been talking to BJ's wife Elish yesterday and his loved ones were "devastated".

He also said it was too early to think about how the GMHP writers would deal with the loss of BJ after the comedy show returns.

Tim continued: "That's for another day. We're all obviously in shock but it's been nice to think back on BJ's funniest moments in GMHP as Elvis or as the last Orangeman to walk down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown in record quick time - 15.2 seconds."

And even though BJ was and will forever be Big Mervyn in the minds of most people in Northern Ireland, one of his GMHP co-stars, Olivia Nash, said she hoped his "incredible" performances in serious plays, films and TV series would also be recognised and remembered.

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"I think some people have no idea just how marvellous an actor he was," she said. "He had a beautiful sensitivity and he was amazing in The Fall, for example. It didn't matter if he was Big Mervyn or Othello, he would have given both parts 100%.

"He was also a wonderful friend who was always looking out for others. He also used to give magnificent hugs and you could have trusted him with your innermost secrets."

BJ was also a gifted musician who could play a range of instruments and he had sung and danced in shows dating back to his early days in the Arts Theatre, Belfast.

Paddy Jenkins, who played Pastor Begbie in GMHP, was in awe of BJ as an actor and as a man. "I had the best time ever with him," he said. "I last saw him in Derry before the coronavirus lockdown on the final night of our aborted tour of Northern Ireland. And he was in great form.

In America he was a hoot after the authorities wouldn't allow him to fire blanks from a musket on stage

"He was a supreme actor who had so many levels to him. We were in the Bobby Sands movie Hunger together and his portrayal of a loyalist orderly in the Maze was terrifyingly ice-cold and brilliant.

"On stage, BJ liked everyone to get their lines right but he enjoyed a practical joke, too.

"BJ and I had toured the US and Holland together with the Ulster Scots musical On Eagle's Wing some years ago.

"In America he was a hoot after the authorities wouldn't allow him to fire blanks from a musket on stage.

"BJ told them to catch themselves on because thousands of people were running around the States with real guns."

In Holland, BJ and Paddy spent two months sharing a tiny log cabin and having to sit together on a tour bus. Paddy said: "We were like the Odd Couple living in each other's pockets and at times we were doing each other's heads in. We were both looking forward to coming home. But then that Icelandic volcano stranded us with its ash clouds."

Even so, their friendship survived.

Paddy said: "Brian would have done anything for anyone. And he lived for his family. He was always talking about them."

Dan Gordon, who played Big Mervyn's sidekick Red Hand Luke in GMHP, said BJ would be sorely missed by him and the rest of the cast as well as by the public.

Dan recalled how he and BJ first met on the set of Four Days In July, a 1984 Troubles TV drama in Belfast directed by the acclaimed Englishman Mike Leigh and which also starred Stephen Rea and Coronation Street veteran Charlie Lawson.

Dan and BJ were also in a large number of plays together at the Lyric Theatre and in a TV sitcom, Foreign Bodies.

"He was the kindest soul," said Dan, who remembered how BJ worked long hours as a taxi driver to supplement his earnings from the theatre. "He loved people, which made him a shoo-in as a taxi man because he had all the chat. And he knew Belfast like the back of his hand."

Dan recalled how there were fears for BJ's life after he fell seriously ill several years ago. "I went to the hospital but they wouldn't let me in to visit him because he was in such a critical condition. But thankfully he recovered."

Charlie Lawson said BJ Hogg was a gifted actor and a "dear friend". He added: "We hit it off the first time we met in 1984. We enjoyed each other's company very much and we rarely talked about the business. The conversation was usually about building houses or about cattle.

"Every time I was in Belfast we got together for a few jars and I worked with him on a TV series, My Mother And Other Strangers, a couple of years back. He had been through that serious illness and I sensed that he knew how lucky he had been and he was looking on every day as precious and that life was to be cherished.

"The last time I saw him was in February in the Duke of York pub in Belfast and he bought us a bottle of champagne and gave us a huge hug. It wasn't in any shape or form like a goodbye and he later sent me a video of his new home.

"He invited me over to see the house this month but everything changed with coronavirus and tragically he's now gone.

"He was one of life's good souls. He was a human being who did a bit of acting."
Doctors in Ireland have urged people to maintain social distancing guidelines and stay at home over the long weekend.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) warned the public to continue to keep their guard up because this Covid-19 virus has not been beaten.

Speaking ahead of the bank holiday weekend, Dr Padraig McGarry, president of the IMO, said healthcare workers had huge appreciation for the sacrifices the public were making.

IMO urges public to keep vigilant ahead of the long weekend https://t.co/IBDKcWo95R  Irish Medical Organisation (@IMO_IRL) May 1, 2020

He added: As tough as it is to be apart from loved ones and friends for such a long period of time, we must remember that we are doing the right thing by keeping our distance from each other and following the guidelines of the Government and public health experts.

The extraordinary sacrifices that the public have made have had a huge impact and will not be forgotten.

However, we must continue to keep our guard up because this virus has not been beaten yet.

Every decision we make can be the difference between life and death and will have significant repercussions down the line.

Whether those repercussions are positive or negative depends on us all.

Dr McGarry said the virus could be overcome by maintaining the solidarity across Ireland.

Dr McGarry added that life as we knew it had changed utterly in the past number of weeks.

Expand Close A guide to social distancing alongside a statue of Christ on the grounds of the Church of Sacred Heart in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A guide to social distancing alongside a statue of Christ on the grounds of the Church of Sacred Heart in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

The shockwaves from the virus will be felt in Ireland for a long time, and people need to prepare for the fact that a return to some kind of normality wont come overnight, but rather in planned phases, he added.

He urged people to stay at home over the long weekend, but also to seek medical help if they needed it.

He continued: Covid-19 has had a massive effect on us all, but other healthcare needs have not gone away because of it.

Our healthcare workers are still here providing assistance and treatment for a range of issues in a safe environment so make sure you get in touch with your GP or emergency services immediately if you experience any symptoms that concern you.
Mumbai, May 1 : The management at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, where Rishi Kapoor breathed his last, issued a statement on Friday saying they would investigate the leak and circulation of videos featuring the actors mortal.

A Facebook post on the hospital's official page reads: "A message from Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital's management. #RespectForLife.

"It has come to our attention that a video of one of our patients is surfacing on digital media platforms. At Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, patient confidentiality and privacy is of utmost importance to us and we strongly condemn such actions. The hospital management is investigating the incident and strict action will be taken against the perpetrators." Rishi Kapoor passed away on Thursday morning, and numerous videos featuring his mortal remains started doing the rounds on social media the afternoon onwards.

In one video, the late actor's son Ranbir Kapoor along with priests can be seen offering obeisance to his remains even as he lies in hospital bed. In another, the body is being taken out on a stretcher and boarded to a van for the crematorium. Many other similar videos have mushroomed.

While a section of the netizens is circulating these videos, many have accused the hospital of irresponsible behaviour, saying this amounts to invasion of privacy. Several netizens have questioned the morality of hospital staff, assuming they shot the videos since there is no question of outsiders amid the lockdown.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 01, 2020 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 01, 2020 | 12:44 PM | PADUCAH

The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce will host a webinar Tuesday for local business owners who have questions about preparing for the opening of their business.



The Zoom webinar, How to Prepare Now for the Opening of Your Business, will be held on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Purchase District Health Department Public Health Director Kent Koster will discuss the steps businesses can take now to be ready to reopen and answer general questions about the guidelines.



Governor Andy Beshear has outlined a phased approach for reopening businesses in the state starting on May 11. All individuals are required to wear masks. Businesses will need to meet guidelines for safety, including having the appropriate PPE and be ready for on-site health checks. The Governor has cautioned that in all cases businesses must adhere to the 10 Rules to Reopening outlined by the state, along with any industry specific requirements.



Businesses opening on May 11 include manufacturing, construction, vehicle and vessel dealerships, professional services (at 50% of pre-outbreak capacity), pet grooming and boarding. Retailers and houses of worship are allowed to open on May 20 and barbers, salons, cosmetology businesses and similar services on May 25.



We know businesses are getting ready to open and may have questions about some of the guidelines, said Paducah Chamber President Sandra Wilson. Securing the proper PPE, signage, and other equipment are some of the first steps businesses can take.



The Chamber says it is also creating a list of local businesses that can supply some of the personal protective equipment or other necessities needed such as signage in order to open. That list is available at the Chamber's website paducahchamber.org.



To join the meeting, go to Zoom and enter Meeting ID: 921 9011 3675, or join audio only by calling 312-626-6799 and use the same Meeting ID.


A directive from the state health department that ordered caskets during viewings to remain closed in New Jersey  regardless of whether the person died from the coronavirus or not  may soon be revised.

State Police Col. Patrick Callahan signaled Thursday that a portion of the executive directive regarding closed caskets may be changed. The directive was signed by state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on April 22.

To start with the open versus closed casket, we are, I think, close to having a revision  an amendment  now with regard to that directive, Callahan, superintendent of the State Police, said during the states daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton.

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association has been pushing for the directive to be revised. The group said it reached out to state officials and lawmakers over the past week about redefining the restrictions.

The closed casket directive made no sense to us the moment we saw it, said New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association CEO George Kelder.

We have more of a contagion spread risk with the survivors than we do with the dead, Kelder told NJ Advance Media. The dead are not breathing. The living are.

The group submitted suggested edits for the directive to state officials, Kelder said. The association recommended that less than 10 family members at a time should view their loved one in an open casket regardless of the cause of death.

Callahan on Thursday also referenced delays in funerals due to shortages in concrete burial vaults, which are required by some cemeteries because it prevents the grave from settling or monuments toppling over.

The State Police superintendent said he spoke to a family whose loved was taken to the temporary morgue site in Newark on Thursday, but was told by the cemetery the burial will not be until June 1.

You say why? The one thing were also struggling with is the concrete vaults that are used for the caskets when you bury are in short order too, Callahan said, adding that areas with fewer cases like South Jersey may soon have the same issue.

But Kelder said he has not heard of significant shortages or delays in the supply chain for concrete burial vaults.

Delays, he said, were coming more from the states 24 crematories rather than the thousands of cemeteries in New Jersey. The process of cremation cannot move faster since it takes up to three hours to fully cremate a person, Kelder said.

Theres only so many cremations that can take place at each crematory every day, he said. Theyve already reached capacity.

In April 2019, 5,922 people died in New Jersey. Provisional numbers from the New Jersey Center for Health Statistics and Informatics show that 11,029 people have died, both from the coronavirus and other causes, in the state between April 1 and 24 this year.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
NYPD officers salute the USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort as it is pushed out into the Hudson River by tugboats, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

About a month ago, with Los Angeles girding for a potentially crippling surge of coronavirus cases, a massive white Navy hospital ship chugged into port: a powerful symbol of the government's response to the pandemic.

The USNS Mercy, with 1,000 hospital beds and giant red crosses on its sides, was welcomed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Both officials were making grim predictions that LA could soon look like New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, and Garcetti noted the ship immediately became his city's largest hospital.

That day may have been the high-water mark for the Mercy, which suffered a virus outbreak among its crew and was the target of a train engineer who hijacked a locomotive and crashed it near the ship. He told investigators the vessel was part of a government plot.

Ultimately, Los Angeles hasn't been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy has not had to play its envisioned role of being a safety net in order to allow hospitals to focus on treating those infected with the virus.

The Mercy is not alone: As virus infections have slowed or fell short of worst-case predictions, the globe is dotted with unused or barely used temporary hospitals. The Navy's other hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, left New York on Thursday as the outlook improves there. It treated 182 patients.

In this March 27, 2020, file photo, a pedestrian takes a picture of the USNS Mercy as it docks at the Port of Los Angeles. Los Angeles hasn't been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy has not had to play its envisioned role of being a safety net in order to allow hospitals to focus on treating those infected with the virus. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Since arriving at the end of March, the Mercy has treated just over 70 non-coronavirus patients for everything from heart and lung conditions to gastrointestinal problems. On Thursday, it had just nine patients on board. Its 750 medical crew members cycle through to provide treatment but otherwise are staying at local hotels to avoid another outbreak.

Even with hundreds of empty beds, there are no plans to send the Mercy home to San Diego.

"We're encouraged by data which suggest the curve is flattening, but the threat remains," the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, said in a statement. "When appropriate, we will work with the city and state to determine if the mission is complete."

Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the California governor's Office of Emergency Services, said talks are ongoing about how the ship's medical workers can be used elsewhere.

In this March 29, 2020 file photo provided by the U.S. Navy, medical personnel assigned to the hospital ship USNS Mercy docked at the Port of Los Angeles treat a non-COVID-19 patient from a Los Angeles-area medical facility. Los Angeles hasn't been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy has not had to play its envisioned role of being a safety net in order to allow hospitals to focus on treating those infected with the virus. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Erwin Jacob Miciano/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

Officials around the world have offered similar assessments of other temporary hospitals: Their lack of use reflected the need to over-prepare, and they could still be used in a second wave.

But the longer the Mercy stays in port with few patients, the harder it will be to justify the costs, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a conservative-leaning Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

"There was a need to reassure people that something was being done, and hospital ships are very good for that," said Clark, a former special assistant to the chief of naval operations.

But he warned: "Once its need passes, it can turn from a symbol of commitment to a symbol of inefficiency.''

FEMA estimates the Mercy's mission will cost it about $7.5 million, though the final bill will not be known until the assignment's been completed, the agency said in an email to The Associated Press.

NYPD officers wearing masks to protect against cornavirus, salute the USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort as it is pushed out into the Hudson River by tugboats, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Military officials did not immediately provide a figure for costs on their end.

According to a military briefing document to the U.S. Northern Command obtained by the AP, the defense secretary approved $3.5 million for the Mercy to help cover expenses starting April 20 for the following month.

The Mercy's Capt. John Rotruck said the ship can accept more patients. But those decisions are up to federal, state and local officials, and the health care facilities.

"We just haven't had a request," he said.

And the Mercy does have limitations. It can accept only patients not infected with the coronavirus and who are mobile.

The Navy recently expanded its mission by sending 40 doctors, nurses and corpsmen, most of whom were on standby to serve on the ship, to a state-run, skilled nursing facility near Los Angeles, and more personnel are available, Rotruck said.

In this March 27, 2020, file photo California Governor Gavin Newsom, center, speaks next to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, in front of the hospital ship USNS Mercy that arrived into the Port of Los Angeles. Los Angeles hasn't been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy has not had to play its envisioned role of being a safety net in order to allow hospitals to focus on treating those infected with the virus. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death, and nursing homes have been hit hard.

This is not the first time Navy hospital ships have been criticized for being underused; the Comfort was when it was deployed in 2017 to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

In the pandemic, the Comfort also took flak because it was initially not allowed to treat virus patients, even as hospitals in New York City became overrun.

Following the outcry, the ship did end up treating COVID-19 patients.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week federal "protocol" also prevented the ship from accepting residents of a Brooklyn nursing home that lost 55 people to the virus.

United States Air Force General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, commander of the United States Northern Command, speaks to reporters before the departure of the USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Nonetheless, Cuomo said the ship had saved lives.

The 894-foot-long (272 meter-long) converted supertankers are the largest military hospital ships in the world. They were built in the 1980s to treat war casualties; they have assisted after major natural disasters.

While their capabilities run the gambit from treating bomb injuries to replacing pacemakers, the ships' wide-open treatment bays are not designed to handle highly infectious diseases that require keeping patients far apart.

Still, President Donald Trump said the ships were proving so valuable that the government was looking to build two more of a similar size. Experts believe smaller, faster ships would better serve today's needs.

The Mercy, meanwhile, has been reconfigured as nine crew members recovered from the outbreak.

About 300 to 400 crew members come on board daily to staff 250 beds, staggered over three shifts. While not on board, some crew drive vans to pick up doctors at hospitals or do in-take when new patients are transferred, Rotruck said.

The USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort is prepared to depart via the Husdon River, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort personnel line the decks as they depart via the Hudson River, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort departs via the Hudson River, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort is prepared to depart via the Husdon River, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The USS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort sits in the harbor before departing, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort departs via the Hudson River, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Some are taking time off, having worked long hours when the ship was treating about 20 patients a day, Rotruck said.

"We were able to be a relief valve in anticipation of something that didn't quite get as bad as anybody thought that it might," he said.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Despite factories and offices slowly returning to work, unemployment has risen sharply.

Shenzhen, China  The Sanhe Labour Market in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen normally swells with recruiters and job seekers in the two or three months following the Lunar New Year holiday, which this year ended in late January.

Yet Shenzhens largest magnet for those looking for work now stands empty, officially closed as a precaution during the COVID-19 outbreak to reduce crowds and limit possible person-to-person virus transmission.

A man near the market says he recently lost his job as a security guard.

There are short-term jobs and long-term ones, but theyre paying less than before because there are so many people competing for a small number of jobs, the man, who did not want to be identified, told Al Jazeera.

As the first country to experience the COVID-19 outbreak, China implemented severe restrictions on movement within the country from late January, leading most businesses to halt for weeks coming out of the holiday.

But since mid-February, as production began to restart, the tables have turned. From having orders but not being able to fill them, many companies are now operating again but have no demand for their products, as the rest of the world struggles to contain the virus.

In a study published on April 23, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimates that 22 million more urban workers will lose their jobs this year on top of the five million who became unemployed in the first quarter, while another 250 million could experience wage cuts ranging from 10-50 percent.

Chinas official unemployment rate dipped to 5.9 percent in March, from a record-high 6.2 percent in February.

Hitting the brakes

But as Chinas economy experiences a sudden deceleration in its growth rate  gross domestic product (GDP) shrank in the first quarter for the first time since at least 1992 when quarterly records began  analysts say joblessness could become much worse.

Queues of people applying for jobs have formed in recent weeks at places like this labour arbitration office in the Chinese capital, Beijing [April 9, 2020: Cheng Leng/Reuters]

The EIU estimates the official unemployment rate is likely to peak at about 10 percent. But this does not take into account approximately 300 million internal migrant workers who go uncounted in official statistics.

If GDP growth is 1 percent [for the whole of 2020], then this is the lowest and no one has seen this before, Dan Wang, EIU China analyst, told Al Jazeera by phone.

For the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the Chinese Academy of Sciences had an unemployment rate estimate at 9.4 percent, so this is pretty close, she said. Now of course, it is worse than 2008.

Some estimates put real urban and rural unemployment, with those migrant workers factored in, even higher.

Societe Generale, a French investment bank and financial services company, estimates that about 70 million to 80 million people have become unemployed, raising the urban unemployment rate to about 17 percent, according to a report released this week.

Even though supply disruptions have mostly disappeared, the recovery will not take place quickly due to the export shock and the lagging impact of a sharp fall in income and profits, Michelle Lam, an economist with Societe Generale in Hong Kong told Al Jazeera.

The six ensures

Meanwhile, the man near Shenzhens biggest job market says the only readily available work at the moment is in factories making surgical masks, but most of the facilities already have enough workers. Without a job for a month now, he pays 15 yuan ($2.13) a night for a bunk-bed in a room with several other people and he is running low on money for food.

There are many people like me who are struggling to find a job, and the more people there are, the harder it gets to find one, the man, originally from nearby Jiangxi province, said.

With most unemployment likely to be concentrated in the private sector  small and medium-sized companies in service industries, exports, and informal business  Chinas leadership faces a severe test with how to address these areas of the economy which it has not had a great influence on in the past.

That leadership began pushing a new set of policies in mid-April, termed the six ensures, with ensure employment topping a list of key concerns. But it remains to be seen how authorities will deal with a surge in unemployment, particularly among rural migrants.

Chinas Premier Li Keqiang has floated the idea of direct unemployment payments to migrant workers, which would be a first if it comes to fruition. No detailed plans for how such payouts would work have been released.

China does have a large state fund of unemployment insurance available, though this is mainly for urban workers and those employed by state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Most migrant workers do not qualify because of contractual issues, residence requirements, or are restricted from accessing these funds due to complicated bureaucracy.

The other point is that the benefits themselves are very, very low, Geoffrey Crothall, communications director for China Labour Bulletin told Al Jazeera. Were talking about, at the most, 2,000 yuan ($284), which is not much when you have a family to support or rent to pay.

Reinforcing the net

Sebastian Eckardt, the World Banks lead economist for China, says the crisis may increase demands for a more robust social safety net.

Some economists say China needs to improve protection for workers who lose their jobs [April 16, 2020: Thomas Peter/Reuters]

Ultimately, the crisis showed clearly how fragile our economies are, Eckardt told Al Jazeera.

There is an opportunity here in China to rethink and accelerate reforms of its social safety nets especially for those that fall outside the formal systems, like migrant workers. This is smart social policy but it also makes economic sense, he added.

It would not only help protect workers and households from the distress caused by job and income losses but also mitigate lasting weakness in private consumption thereby boosting domestic demand which is critical for Chinas recovery.

Housing costs, particularly in the big cities those workers once flocked to have also risen and cheaper rents are restricted to the outskirts.

In the first three months of 2020, only 2.3 million people in China received unemployment benefits  around 0.5 percent of the entire urban workforce  according to data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on April 10.

This class of workers [migrants] is more likely to be exposed to new-economy costs for housing and not benefit from legacy housing awarded or sold to SOE workers or swapped to farmers in return for land, Anne Stevenson-Yang, co-founder and research director of investment advisory firm J Capital Research Ltd, told Al Jazeera.

Stevenson-Yang said many migrant workers had already returned to their hometowns in recent waves in 2012 and 2015, with local service-sector jobs in their provinces often absorbing these returnees.

The question now is where can these people work in their home provinces after the latest wave of job losses?

These jobs must be gone or disappearing now.

And as jobs go, so does hope in many instances, raising the possibility of social unrest. Avoiding that has become a key driver of the governments six ensures policy prescription, analysts say.

I have never been a fan of the argument that social unrest will follow economic pain in China, Stevenson-Yang said. These young people with middling educations and no iron rice bowl have no ready networks for social organising or even for articulating discontent. But one does have to feel that the new, white-collar, lumpenproletariat has to become a pressure cooker.

More than 460,000 businesses closed, went bankrupt or had operating licenses revoked in the first quarter, including more than 26,000 export-oriented companies, corporate registration database Tianyancha reported in an early April report. New business registrations dropped by 29 percent for the quarter, year-on-year.

Uncertainty for the future

Besides migrant workers, the other key vulnerable group is new graduates, Wang of the EIU said.

An estimated 8.7 million students will graduate this June, approximately 400,000 more than the previous year. Students usually start their job search around March, but this year they may have to wait much longer.

With new job creation tanking  companies only reported 2.3 million new hires in the first quarter, down 41.2 percent year-on-year  this years graduating class faces a lost generation moment if the situation does not improve quickly.

In the first two months of the year, new job openings on the recruitment website Zhaopin were down 30 percent over the previous period a year before.

Chinas leadership has told state-owned enterprises to hire more new graduates, but with profits down 60 percent for those companies in the first quarter, according to State Council figures released earlier this month, it is not clear what kinds of jobs they will have to offer.

University students are the policy priority, Wang said.

With additional reporting by Jonathan Zhong.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump declined to comment on the health of Kim Jung Un Friday as North Korea's state news agency claimed the country's leader made his first public appearance in weeks.

North Korea's state-controlled news agency reported that Kim attended a public ceremony at a fertilizer plant on Saturday, North Korean time, amid rampant speculation that he was ill and possibly even near death.

Independent news agencies could not confirm the North Korean report. The news outlet later released photos from the event, but the images could not be independently verified.

Asked about Kim's health on Friday, Trump said: "I'd rather not comment on it yet. ... We'll have something to say about it at the appropriate time."

When asked if he knew whether Kim was alive, Trump responded: "I don't want to talk about it."

Pandemic related?: South Korean official says Kim Jong Un may be avoiding public due to 'coronavirus concerns'

Kim did not attend an April 15 celebration of his grandfather's birthday, an important national holiday that he had not previously missed since his rise to power in 2011.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a fertilizer factory in South Pyongan, near Pyongyang, North Korea, on Saturday, May 2, 2020. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) ORG XMIT: KNS801

Last week, a Seoul-based website called Daily NK reported that the North Korean leader had undergone heart surgery on April 12 and was recuperating at a villa outside the capital, Pyongyang. The Daily NK's story was based on a single source inside North Korea. Other media outlets, including CNN, have reported that Kim's health may be in "grave danger."

South Korean government officials dismissed those accounts, and one minister suggested Kim might be isolating himself to avoid infection amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Other North Korea experts echoed that assessment amid the news of Kim's reported reemergence. 

"He most likely was taking steps to ensure his health or may have been impacted in some way personally by the virus," said Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest, a foreign policy think tank.

Story continues

Trump has teased reporters in recent weeks amid reports that Kim was near death, but has never publicly declared what his intelligence services are saying about the situation.

On Monday, Trump told reporters he knew how Kim was doing but couldn't divulge that information: "I do have a very good idea, but I can't talk about it now. I just wish him well."

'A near impossibility': Experts doubt North Korea's claim of zero coronavirus cases

Told by a reporter that Kim made some kind of statement last Saturday, Trump replied: "He didn't say anything last Saturday. Nobody knows where he is so he obviously couldn't have said it. This is breaking news that Kim Jong Un made a statement on Saturday. I don't think so."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has suggested the U.S. was preparing for a transition in case Kim's health was in jeopardy.

"We know weve not been able to identify a public appearance of his for now a little over two weeks  not unheard of, but unusual," Pompeo told a radio interviewer on Thursday. "But beyond that, I dont have much that I can share. ... We are working to make sure were prepared for whatever eventuality there is."

Where is he?: Kim Jong Un 'alive and well,' South Korean official says amid new reports North Korean leader is ill

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Korea's state media says Kim Jong Un makes public appearance
An experimental antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences has been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration as an emergency treatment for coronavirus patients.

Donald Trump and White House officials announced on Friday that 1 million vials of remdesivir will be sent to hospitals beginning next week.

The FDA's emergency use authorisation does not meet the same standards of review as a formal approval. The intravenous drug is approved for use in patients who have been hospitalised.

This week, Dr Anthony Fauci reported that early remdesivir trials showed "quite good news" following the release of results from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that showed patients who used the drug recovered four days faster than patients who didn't use the drug. The study has not been peer-reviewed.

"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery," Dr Fauci said on Wednesday.

Gilead had initially developed the drug to treat Ebola patients but it was shown to be ineffective.

The company's CEO Daniel O'Day has said that remdesivir could be administered through an injection or an inhaler, but those methods could take months or years to develop.

Remdesivir is currently only administered through an IV, though Gilead predicts it could treat up to 1 million patients by the end of the year.

The president has hailed the drug as a "game changer" though health officials are wary of declaring it a success just yet.

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the drug is a "beginning" but more trial results and reports will determine its efficacy.

He said: "Evolutionary, not revolutionary. Remdesivir appears active, may help some patients. ... We'll need better drugs and ultimately a vaccine. But this could help if used appropriately, especially if we also have antibody drugs by fall."

Controversial anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine  which were touted by the president for several weeks as a coronavirus treatment  had previously received similar emergency use authorisation to treat Covid-19 patients, though the agency later warned against patients using the drug outside a clinical trial setting following reports that it could cause "serious heart rhythm problems" in some patients.

Nearly 65,000 people have died from illness related to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University data, and the nation's positive diagnoses have reached more than 1 million, roughly one-third of global cases of Covid-19.
Hours after the demise of legendary superstar Rishi Kapoor on Thursday, Shah Rukh Khan penned down a heartfelt note for the departed actor. Khan took to Twitter and posted a throwback picture featuring himself and Rishi Kapoor along with the note.

As a young man entering the daunting world of films, I was insecure about the way I looked and afraid that I was not talented enough. The thought of failing meant nothing though, because even if I failed, I would have worked with the greatest actor I knew of - Rishi Sahib, read the first a few lines of the note.

Sharing a memory from the film Deewana shoot with the actor, Khan wrote: On the first day of the shoot, he sat for my scene to finish after pack up, then with that famously radiant smile on his face he said, yaar tujhme energy bahut hai That day in my head I became an actor.

A few months ago I met him and thanked him for accepting me in that movie, he had no idea how he had encouraged me, he added.

He further went on to talk about the grace that the charismatic actor carried and how he always enjoyed the success of his loved ones. Few men have the capacity for grace as he did, fewer still have the large-heartedness of feeling genuine happiness for the success of others. I will miss him for many things, but more than all of them, I will miss him for his gentle pat on my head every time we met, the Jab Tak Hai Jaan actor said.

I will keep it in my heart always, as the Ashirwaad that made me who I am today. Will miss you, Sir, with love, gratitude and immense respect...forever, he added.

Heartfelt condolences to the Kapoor khandaan. May Allah give you all the strength to deal with your loss, he tweeted along with the note.

Also read: Alia Bhatt hugs a sobbing Neetu Kapoor as family, friends pay last respects to Rishi Kapoor, see pics

The two superstars have worked together in several films including the hits Om Shanti Om, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Deewana.

Rishi Kapoor was admitted to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai earlier on Wednesday. He passed away peacefully at 8:45 am this morning after a two-year-long battle with leukaemia, his family said in a statement. In September 2019, the veteran actor returned to Mumbai after staying in New York for almost a year for cancer treatment.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
NEW YORK, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (NYCWFF) announced today it has launched NYCWFF at Home presented by Bank of America, an ongoing, virtual, live cooking and educational series that will bring consumers into the kitchens and living rooms of their favorite chefs, cooks, mixologists and food personalities. Each digital event will be powered by Zoom and co-hosted by Andrew Kaplan, a close friend of the Festival and host of the popular podcasts "Beyond the Plate," and "CookTracks." The series launches on May 4 and will air three times per week.

The initial NYCWFF At Home presented by Bank of America lineup includes personalities such as:

Mexican Fiesta with David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris ( May 4 );

and ( ); Home Cooking with Alex and Ava Guaurnaschelli ( May 6 );

); Classic Carbona with Chef and Healthy Lifestyle Crusader, Rocco DiSpirito ( May 20 )

( ) Cookbook author and TV personality, Gail Simmons ( May 27 );

( ); Michael Chernow and Daniel Holzman of The Meatball Shop (Details and Date to Come);

and of The Meatball Shop (Details and Date to Come); Rachael Ray (Details and Date to Come);

(Details and Date to Come); Katie Lee (Details and Date to Come);

(Details and Date to Come); Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto (Details and Date to Come);

of Barbuto (Details and Date to Come); Amirah Kassem of Flour Shop (Details and Date to Come);

of Flour Shop (Details and Date to Come); Josh and Amanda Capon , Lure Fishbar (Details and Date to Come);

, Lure Fishbar (Details and Date to Come); The Zakarian Family (Details and Date to Come) and

Chloe Coscarelli , Vegan Chef (Details and Date to Come)

Hosts will broadcast live from their homes and connect with participants during interactive cooking demonstrations and question and answer sessions. Hosts will also be giving away one complimentary annual subscription to the Food Network Kitchen app during each class. Proceeds from these ticketed online events, which sell for $20 per person, will support the newly established NYCWFF Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, a campaign to support the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's (NRAEF) Restaurant Employee Relief Fund to help restaurant workers hit hard financially by the COVID-19 crisis. NYCWFF is partnering with the NRAEF to raise funds specifically for restaurant workers throughout the state of New York.

"Bringing our Festival into the homes of our fans is the natural progression of our commitment to create entertaining culinary experiences while supporting a great cause," said Lee Brian Schrager, Founder and Director, NYCWFF. "This new virtual platform helps us keep NYCWFF top of mind at a time of great uncertainty and provides a way to give back to the incredible New York restaurant community that has been there for us during the past twelve years, supporting our Festival and also our beneficiaries No Kid Hungry and Food Bank For New York City."

Specific dates for the series, along with additional guest hosts, will be announced on NYCWFF.org/atHome. The NYCWFF Restaurant Employee Relief Fund complements the efforts of its sister festival, the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One, which launched the SOBEWFF & FIU Chaplin School Hospitality Relief Fund in March. The SOBEWFF & FIU Chaplin School Hospitality Relief Fund has raised $1.5 million to date and has already issued more than 400 grants to restaurants in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, Florida counties.

To make a tax-deductible donation directly to the NYCWFF Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, please visit NYCWFF.ORG/Relief.

About the Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One

The Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One is hosted by and benefits the No Kid Hungry campaign and Food Bank For New York City, with 100% of the Festival's net proceeds helping fight hunger. The Festival has raised more than $12 million to date for these hunger-relief organizations. Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits is the exclusive provider of wine and spirits at the Festival. In September 2018, BizBash named the Festival the #3 Food & Restaurant Industry event in the United States for the sixth year in a row. More information on the Festival can be found at nycwff.org .

About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF):

As the philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's mission of service to the public is dedicated to enhancing the industry's training and education, career development and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower and Advance today's and tomorrow's restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include:

ProStart  a high-school career and technical education program

Restaurant Ready  partnering with community-based organizations to provide opportunity youth and justice-involved individuals with skills training and job opportunities

Military  helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers

Scholarships  financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees

Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship project  a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association providing a hospitality apprenticeship program for the industry

For more information on the NRAEF, visit ChooseRestaurants.org .

SOURCE Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival
There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. But while the successes are well known, investors should not ignore the very many unprofitable companies that simply burn through all their cash and collapse.

Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether Vonex (ASX:VN8) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. Let's start with an examination of the business's cash, relative to its cash burn.

See our latest analysis for Vonex

How Long Is Vonex's Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Vonex last reported its balance sheet in December 2019, it had zero debt and cash worth AU$2.6m. In the last year, its cash burn was AU$1.2m. So it had a cash runway of about 2.2 years from December 2019. That's decent, giving the company a couple years to develop its business. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

ASX:VN8 Historical Debt May 1st 2020

How Well Is Vonex Growing?

We reckon the fact that Vonex managed to shrink its cash burn by 53% over the last year is rather encouraging. Revenue also improved during the period, increasing by 13%. We think it is growing rather well, upon reflection. In reality, this article only makes a short study of the company's growth data. This graph of historic earnings and revenue shows how Vonex is building its business over time.

How Hard Would It Be For Vonex To Raise More Cash For Growth?

While Vonex seems to be in a decent position, we reckon it is still worth thinking about how easily it could raise more cash, if that proved desirable. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash to drive growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.

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Vonex has a market capitalisation of AU$18m and burnt through AU$1.2m last year, which is 6.4% of the company's market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.

Is Vonex's Cash Burn A Worry?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Vonex's cash burn. In particular, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap stands out as evidence that the company is well on top of its spending. And even though its revenue growth wasn't quite as impressive, it was still a positive. Considering all the factors discussed in this article, we're not overly concerned about the company's cash burn, although we do think shareholders should keep an eye on how it develops. Readers need to have a sound understanding of business risks before investing in a stock, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Vonex that potential shareholders should take into account before putting money into a stock.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced a ban on some 1,500 makes and models of military-grade "assault-style" weapons in Canada, effective immediately.

Starting today, licensed gun owners will no longer be allowed to sell, transport, import or use these sorts of weapons in this country.

"As of today, the market for assault weapons in Canada is closed," Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said. "Enough is enough. Banning these firearms will save Canadian lives."

Watch: Federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on banning assault weapons in Canada:

Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty period to allow people who already own these firearms to comply with the ban. Trudeau promised to pass legislation in the coming months to provide "fair compensation" to people who own these firearms.

The Liberal Party promised some sort of buyback program in the last election, something that could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

A full list of the firearms that have been banned is available through the Canada Gazette.

The ban will be enacted through regulations approved by an order-in-council from cabinet  not through legislation. Trudeau said the government was ready to enact this campaign promise months ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the legislative agenda.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time," Trudeau said. "There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada."

While he acknowledged that most firearms owners are law-abiding citizens, he said hunters don't need this sort of firepower.

Watch: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer reacts to Liberal government's new gun regulations:

"You don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer," he said.

The term "assault-style" has no legal definition in Canada. The Firearms Act also does not currently classify firearms as "military-style"  that term would have to be defined in the new regulations.

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Generally speaking, an assault-style weapon is a semi-automatic firearm with an ammunition magazine, built to fire quickly. There is already a legal limit  five rounds  on the maximum size of a magazine.

Criminal sanctions

All Canadians must be in compliance with the law by April 2022, Justice Minister David Lametti said, adding that gun owners who have not disposed of their banned firearms by that point could face sanctions under the Criminal Code.

While there is an amnesty period, the firearms cannot be used anywhere as of today. Lametti said firearms owners may return the firearms to the manufacturer or export them as part of a sale between now and 2022.

A government official speaking on background at a technical briefing for journalists said the number of these now-banned firearms currently in circulation is unknown.

There are 105,000 firearms currently classified as "restricted" that will now be classified as "prohibited."

The principal models being prohibited:

M16, AR-10, AR-15 rifles and M4 carbine

Ruger Mini-14 rifle

US Rifle M14

Vz58 rifle and CZ858 rifle

Robinson Armament XCR rifle

CZ Scorpion EVO 3 carbine and pistol

Beretta Cx4 Storm carbine

SIG Sauer SIG MCX and SIG Sauer SIG MPX carbines and pistols

Swiss Arms Classic Green and Four Seasons series rifles

The government official said that, at the end of the two-year amnesty, gun owners must dispose of the firearm or they may be able apply for the firearm to be "grandfathered." Details on the grandfather process would be released at a later date, the official said.

Today's ban does not cover handguns, the weapon of choice for gang members. Blair promised Friday to enact legislation down the line to give municipalities the power to ban these firearms.

The firearms ban comes less than two weeks after the Nova Scotia gun massacre, an incident Trudeau called "the deadliest rampage in our country's history."

"These tragedies reverberate still. They shape our identity, they stain our conscience, they make adults out of children and the heartbreaking truth is they're happening more often than they once did," Trudeau said of such mass shootings.

"Their families deserve more than thoughts and prayers. Canadians deserve more than thoughts and prayers."

Heidi Rathjen is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal  scene of the Montreal massacre of 1989  and coordinator of Poly Remembers, a gun control group. She applauded the government's ban.

"The Liberal government is finally delivering on its top gun control promise," she said. "The ban is comprehensive. The circulation and use of these weapons will be severely restricted during the two-year amnesty.

"We hope the Trudeau government will display the same political courage when it proceeds with the reform of the current flawed classification system in order to make such a ban permanent."

Coalition for Gun Control president Wendy Cukier said a ban like this has been a long time coming. She said many Canadians have lost their lives to gun violence while the country waited for this sort of prohibition to be enacted.

"It's been a long wait. This is a milestone for Canada and an important step forward. We are counting on all parliamentarians to support a mandatory buy back program and to keep this ban permanent," she said.

Nova Scotia shooter used illegal firearms

The RCMP has confirmed that the Nova Scotia shooter used firearms obtained illegally in Canada and from U.S. sources to carry out his crimes. He was not licensed to own firearms.

Eyewitnesses have said he used a number of weapons during his attacks, including some sort of a long-barrelled rifle and a handgun. The RCMP has described at least one of his firearms as an "assault-style" weapon.

Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

Critics maintain that these sort of bans target licensed gun owners rather than criminals, who often turn to the black market to procure firearms to commit crimes.

Rod Giltaca, CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, said the firearms community is "devastated" by Friday's development.

"The only people that will lose their guns in this action are licensed gun owners. No criminals will register or turn in a single rifle," he said in a statement. "This move is viewed as entirely political."

Illegal firearms from U.S. sources are used in 70 to 90 per cent of all gun-related crimes.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer dismissed the government's ban as "symbolism over substance," saying it does nothing to target smugglers or those who illegally modify firearms.

"We know the Liberal approach is to ask law-abiding firearms owners to follow more laws  that's lazy and ineffective," Scheer said in an interview. "It's easy but lazy."

"Doing this at a time when Canadians are very concerned about this pandemic is completely unacceptable. Now is not the time to make these major policy changes, especially when they've proven so ineffective."

When asked if the government would do more to police the border, Trudeau said other measures were in the works. Blair sidestepped the question when asked about CBC's reporting on the low number of firearms seized at the border.

The M16, M4, AR-10 and AR-15 rifles were used in the Sandy Hook, New Zealand, Las Vegas and Orlando mass shootings. There are an estimated 83,572 of them in Canada.

The Ruger Mini-14, the type of firearm used in the Ecole Polytechnique shooting, is also on the list. There are an estimated 16,859 of them in Canada.

The M14 rifle, used in the Moncton shooting, is also expected to be banned. There are an estimated 5,229 of those in Canada.
This has been an unusual Ramadan for Alaa Elsayed.

For the resident scholar with the Islamic Centre of Canada (ICC), Ramadan  a month when Muslims are obligated to fast from dawn to dusk, work on self-improvement and increase charitable acts  is usually the busiest time of the year at the Mississauga-based mosque.

This year, the forced closure of religious centres to curb the spread of coronavirus means worshippers have been missing out on the special traditions of the holy month, which began last Friday: attending day and night prayers, breaking fast together with friends and community members, and donating generously to causes locally and abroad.

But now the buildings are empty. And, just as concerning for some mosques, so are the donation boxes.

Elsayed says Ramadan is the time when mosques collect the bulk of their donations for the year. And with the building expected to remain closed until further notice, there is growing concern that some mosques may struggle to open their doors even when restrictions finally ease.

This is the make it or break it time for every masjid (mosque), said Elsayed, who says the ICC collects up to 75 per cent of its revenue for the year during these 30 days.

The month of Ramadan is the most generous time where people are constantly giving, he said, including when they come to Friday prayers, which can bring in up to $5,000 a week during the holy month.

The mosque being closed is a huge hit for us, I cant lie.

Like many others in the charitable sector, mosques, churches and synagogues are feeling the pinch as closure of their facilities has forced their congregations, sermons and fundraising drives online. And while some congregants donate online, many are moved to do more in-person. With centres empty, coffers are quickly drying up.

Many synagogues and other Jewish community institutions are facing significant financial strain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Noah Shack, vice-president, GTA, at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). Social distancing and mandatory closures have limited the ability of faith-based institutions to secure much-needed funds at a time when their services are needed more than ever.

Peter Noteboom, the general secretary, with the Canadian Council of Churches said, Many churches are struggling financially because they arent getting in-person donations, he said. For faith communities that carry large building costs or maintenance costs who just get by with their weekly contributions, I think this (extended closure) will make it hard to survive.

For mosques, the closures couldnt have happened at a worse time, said Fareed Amin, the chairman of the board of the Islamic Institute of Toronto, a mosque in Torontos east end.

Ramadan is the prime time for all of us. This is the anchor. And without this month, who knows the kind of services we will be able to provide  later in the year, he said.

For many Muslims, charity is a core tenet of the faith and obligatory on every adult who has the means to donate. Many Muslims wait until Ramadan to give, said Amin, hoping they can earn extra blessings during the month. Amin said that during Ramadan, IIT raises between $350,000 and $400,000, which accounts for 75 per cent of what they raise all year.

He said many community members may not understand the gravity of the situation that mosques are facing: Every month, you have certain expenditures and you budget based on how much money you expect to come in. But if that tap is completely turned off, and we still have the expenses (like heating, security, internet)we will eventually have to make some serious decisions, he said.

Last week, the federal government unveiled a $350-million package to help the struggling charity sector working with seniors, homeless and those facing food insecurity. Moreover, they launched other assistance measures including emergency wage subsidy, rent relief measures and government loans. Places of worship, alongside other charities, are now scrambling to see what they will be eligible for, said Noteboom.

While they plan to make use of the wage subsidy program to keep office staff employed, Amin said it wont help to make up for funds the centre was hoping to raise.

Many mosques have moved their programming online to engage and connect the community during Ramadan  and to remind them to donate. Amin said they recently launched their fundraising campaign online to get 1,000 people to donate $300 each by the end of the month.

But we realize that some of our community members may have lost their jobs or are surviving on diminishing income, so while we are hoping for the best, we know that we may not be able to replicate actually in-person contributions, he said.

Growing concern from mosques across the GTA spurred Talha Ahmed, the interim CEO of the charity Penny Appeal Canada to launch a social media campaign called Save our Masjidsto inform people of the dire situation many mosques are facing, and to remind them to donate to their local mosque every Friday, as they would have in person.

The one thing we heard from many mosques is: we are closed and we have no donations coming in, said Ahmed, as even recurring donations have slowed down. He said many mosques have had to lay off staff and imams. And others have expressed concerns that expenses are still high, and the reserves will only last a month or two and then they will have to shut down completely.

The online platform, called Jummah (Friday) Connect, allows congregants to donate to any mosque in the GTA  including some who may not have an online platform. Ahmed said as he spoke to mosques around the city, one recurring theme influenced his decision to launch the initiative.

The one thing that stuck with me is that a lot of people who gave to charity last year are on the receiving end of the charity this year because they lost their jobs, and are now turning to the mosque for help, he said.

We have to figure out a way to help the masjid, because it is a place we all turn to for comfort in our lives, whether its good times or bad times, he said.

Unfortunately, I think despite our efforts and government funding, a few of these masjids will end up closing their doorswe are just trying to minimize that number.
Infrared spectra at different points of time (0-79 min) after the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation reaction started due to the addition of PARP1 substrate NAD+. The following can be observed: the dynamic formation of the biopolymer poly(ADP-ribose) (absorption bands at 1236 cm-1 and 1074 cm-1) and the detachment of PARP1 from the DNA strand break (absorption bands at 1645 cm-1 and 1548 cm-1). Credit: Modified from Kruger et al.,

DNA damage in general and DNA strand breaks in particular occur every day in all cells of the human body. This is due to internal influences such as free radicals, which are produced during inflammatory processes and cellular respiration, and external ones, such as cosmic background radiation or X-rays in the course of medical diagnostic measures. DNA strand breaks can lead to cell death or to mutations and thus contribute in the long term to cancer development or the aging process.

DNA repair by PARP1

Cells possess molecular tools to repair such DNA strand breaks very efficiently. One of them is the enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), which detects DNA strand breaks and thereby initiates downstream repair processes. By binding to a DNA strand break, PARP1 is (catalytically) activated and uses the substrate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to produce poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR), a chain-shaped biopolymer. This serves as a signal transmitter in the cell and coordinates the further DNA damage response. In the further course of the process, PARP1 detaches from the site of damage again, thus clearing the way for subsequent steps in DNA repair. This process is of medical importance, even more so as pharmacological inhibitors of PARP1 have recently been introduced into cancer therapy.

Scientists at the University of Konstanz (working groups of Professor Aswin Mangerich and Professor Alexander Burkle, Department of Biology, and working group of Professor Karin Hauser, Department of Chemistry) have now been able to visualize in detail the biochemical processes which PARP1 fulfills at a DNA strand break. To this end, they used a special method of infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), which had also been successfully used in a previous, recently published study on the interactions of the tumor suppressor protein p53 with DNA and PAR.

Real-time observations using infrared spectroscopy

"What is special about our new study is that we can now investigate the molecular processes that PARP1 undergoes at DNA strand breaks in real time. This enabled us to unveil dynamic changes in the protein structure and thus gain further insights into the underlying mechanisms", said Dr. Annika Kruger, who worked on the project as part of herby now successfully completeddoctoral thesis. During the work on her doctoral thesis, Kruger was supported by the Research School Chemical Biology, the Zukunftskolleg of the University of Konstanz and the Konstanz Collaborative Research Centre 969 "Chemical and Biological Principles of Cellular Proteostasis". She is now pursuing research at the renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

As a matter of principle, this spectroscopic method can be used to investigate also other enzymatic processes that take place at the DNA, in detail and with molecular resolution. In the long term, this may contribute to better understanding of the mechanisms of cancer development and aging, as well as of the mode of action of anticancer drugs. The study was published in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature Communications.

More information: A. Kruger, A. Burkle, K. Hauser and A. Mangerich, "Real-time monitoring of PARP1-dependent PARylation by ATR-FTIR-spectroscopy", Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications A. Kruger, A. Burkle, K. Hauser and A. Mangerich, "Real-time monitoring of PARP1-dependent PARylation by ATR-FTIR-spectroscopy",(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15858-w
From Western Wyoming Community College

Western Wyoming Community College has worked diligently to adapt to virtual function amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Westerns faculty have come up with innovative new ways to teach their previously in-person courses and labs.

This transition saw 272 credit courses, and their respective labs, converted to an online modality. Many labs required the purchase of additional simulation-based software or recording hardware to create effective labs. Like many colleges, Western uses a learning management program called Canvas, which the College relies on now more than ever. Most of this transition took place over Westerns extended spring break.

Westerns Assistant Professor of Dance and Artistic Director of the Mustang Dance Company, Rebecca Mayer, has migrated Forth-Semester Ballet and the Mustang Dance Company Spring Concert to a virtual format. Mayer faces the challenge of creating lessons that can be executed by all students given the differences in their home environments.

To accommodate her students, Mayer is recording video lessons and posting them to Canvas. To give her students hands-on feedback, students self-record projects which are discussed during a one-to-one Zoom meeting or by recording comments over the submitted videos. Mayer is also working with students to create a lab-like experience where dancers experiment with digital technology and choreography.

Westerns Nursing Department has faced a number of challenges, as much of the students work is hands-on in clinical exercises and laboratory classes.

The Department implemented new technology and is using realistic virtual clinic simulations which are done online through programs iHuman and NurseTim Inc, such as in a diabetes clinic or trauma simulation.

The students assess and determine plans and evaluate patients as they would in a clinical setting, complete with the sounds and interruptions they would experience in a real hospital.

The nursing faculty have come together to record numerous videos for the students, and collaborate with one another to write patient scenarios for students, which include problems they may run into in order to make the scenarios as lifelike as possible.

In addition to Dance and Nursing, Biology instructors like Dr. David Tanner, Assistant Professor of Biology at Western, face challenges in the migration of General and Animal Biology laboratory classes to virtual delivery.

Since the primary challenge of virtual coursework is student engagement, Dr. Tanner and his colleagues are now delivering lecture content by recording dissections and experiments using a GoPro, then adding them to Canvas and interacting with their students with the help of Zoom meetings.

Dr. Tanners Canvas lectures are recorded to accommodate students schedules, and the platform allows students to submit time-stamped questions regarding the content of the videos. His Zoom lectures are live and interactive, so students can communicate with him in real-time and ask questions as he is presenting.

The migration of in-person courses to a virtual delivery would not have been possible without the staff in Westerns Center for Teaching Learning and Innovation (CTLI) and the Information and Technology (IT) Department.

CTLI and IT Departments have been instrumental in helping faculty and students overcome technical difficulties with programs and facilitating online teaching and learning.
A worker at a foreign-owned factory in Juarez, Mexico, is detained April 20 after protesting safety conditions. (Herika Martinez / AFP/Getty Images)

Even as COVID-19 deaths soar at factories in Mexico, the United States is sending a clear message: It's time for plants that have stopped production to get back to work.

The U.S. government has mounted a campaign to persuade Mexico to reopen many factories that were closed because of the country's social distancing guidelines, warning that the supply chain of the North American free-trade zone could be permanently crippled if factories don't resume production soon.

The destruction of the economy is also a health threat, Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, tweeted last week. There are risks everywhere, but we dont all stay at home for fear we are going to get in a car accident."

Pressure has also come from American corporate chief executives  more than 300 of whom sent a letter to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador saying they were "deeply concerned" about the closing of factories  and from the U.S. Department of Defense, which has implored Mexico to reopen plants that make parts for defense contractors.

Mexican officials have begun to cave, despite warnings from health authorities here that reopening factories too soon could lead to widespread death.

Federal officials have agreed to allow automotive plants to reopen. And authorities in the border state of Baja California have lifted closure orders on at least 12 factories. Dozens of other plants that were supposed to shut down but never did have escaped serious sanctions from labor officials.

The debate underscores the increasingly global nature of modern manufacturing  materials might cross the border multiple times before a final product is assembled and sold  as well as the often conflicting approaches of governments in the face of the pandemic.

Businesses deemed nonessential have been ordered closed in Mexico and in the U.S., but the two countries have different definitions of what is considered essential, with Mexico embracing a more restrictive set of criteria.

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That has left some factories still humming in the U.S. in need of crucial components because the plants that make them in Mexico have been forced to close.

"For some companies, the border might as well be shut down," said Paola Avila, vice president of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Avila said 390 businesses that her group represents have asked Mexican officials to deem the work of their suppliers in Mexico essential. About a dozen of those factories, most of which provide parts that are exported to the U.S. for use in the manufacturing of medical supplies, have been allowed to reopen.

Workers at a foreign-owned border factory, or maquiladora, in Juarez. (Jesus Alcazar / AFP/Getty Images)

But the push has sparked anger in Mexico, especially in large foreign-owned factories along the northern border known as maquiladoras, whose finished products are all for export.

Workers at multiple plants have held protests in recent weeks over a rise in outbreaks and worker deaths.

"They are criminals who are only interested in their capital," said a worker at a factory owned by Wisconsin-based Regal Beloit Corp. that has been closed since employees walked off the job April 15 after several of their colleagues died.

An April 18 letter from the company to employees confirmed three suspected COVID-19 deaths at the Juarez factory. Workers say five others have died since.

"They don't care about us," said the worker, who did not give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The company, which produces motors for appliances, ignored signs of an outbreak for weeks, he said, and failed to provide even basic protective material such as sanitizing gel.

A spokesman for Regal Beloit lamented "the passing of our associates" but said the company does not know whether they contracted the disease at its plant.

Other factories where outbreaks occurred are preparing to reopen, including European Schneider Electric, a factory in Tijuana where at least three people have died, according to Baja California government officials.

A spokesman for the company, Venancio Figueroa, said it is deemed an essential business because it provides electrical products for hospitals. He emphasized that under new safety measures, workstations will be cleaned every two hours and employees will have their temperature taken before each shift.

Employees of an auto parts factory in Juarez where at least 14 workers have died say the plant is preparing to reopen and has erected partitions around workstations.

A spokesman for the company, Michigan-based Lear Corp., said that it is enacting "comprehensive health and safety measures" and that "any facility reopening date will be at the determination of government regulations."

Health officials here have cautioned against reopening the manufacturing industry too soon.

"No matter how much they need our maquiladoras, our industries, our businesses  we must avoid opening nonessential activities because we are in the most difficult part of the pandemic," said Dr. Arturo Valenzuela Zorrilla, the state medical director in the Juarez area.

Mexico has 19,224 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,859 deaths, according to federal officials, who predict that the most severe phase of the crisis is yet to come.

A coffin-maker works Thursday in southern Mexico. (Hugo Borges / AFP/Getty Images)

Governments around the world have had to weigh the economic costs of keeping businesses closed against the risks of the coronavirus spreading further.

That question is particularly knotty in northern Mexico, where maquiladoras are largely tax exempt and cheap factory labor largely benefits companies and consumers in other countries. The production of medical supplies, for example, has been deemed essential by the Mexican government, even though most of those supplies are ultimately shipped to the U.S.

"It's an interesting question," said Christopher Wilson, an economist at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. "Should Mexican workers be putting their lives on the line to save people in the United States?"

One worker, 39-year-old Gustavo Morales, said he recently quit his job at a Tijuana factory after dozens of co-workers started falling ill. At least four died, he said.

The company, Ontex, which makes diapers and feminine hygiene products for export, did not respond to requests for comment. The factory is considered essential by the Mexican government.

Morales said he was terrified that he would bring the virus home to his family.

"They keep selling even though they know  that they are causing people to die," he said. "But they don't want to stop profits."

Linthicum, a Times staff writer, reported from Mexico City. Fry, a staff writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune, reported from Tijuana, and Minjares, a special correspondent, from Juarez.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS)has expressed worry over sharp decline in hand washing with soap and use of hand sanitizers, and reminded Ghanaians the fight against Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) remains unabated.



So far, the country has recorded 2,074 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 with 17 deaths and 212 recoveries.



The GHS noted the countrys confirmed cases of the COVID-19 was disturbing as figures continued surging and admonished the public to continue to adhere to health and safety protocols and personal hygiene to stem the spread of the virus disease.



Dr. John Ekow Otoo, the Deputy Bono Regional Director in-charge of Public Health raised the concerns when the Bono Regional office of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) presented some items to the GHS in its fight against the COVID-19 at a short ceremony in Sunyani.



The items comprised; 300 packs of bottled water, 150 packs of tissue paper and three containers of liquid soap worth GHC4,000.00.



Dr. Otoo said it would be suicidal, if Ghanaians relaxed and failed to adhere to health and safety protocols put in place to protect themselves and others around them.



He called on the media to scale-up public education on the use of nose masks and handwashing with soap under running water and social and physical distancing.



Mrs Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson, the Bono Regional Minister, thanked the GWCL for the support, and appealed to other institutions to emulate that patriotic effort.



She said so far the region had not recorded any confirmed case, and hoped citizens would comply with governments directives against the COVID-19.



Mr. Abraham Adjei-Kwarteng, the Bono Regional Chief Manager of the GWCL said the water company was also contributing to stem its spread.

Source: GNA









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It will, in deed, be a smaller world after all  as mentioned in a story Wednesday from the New York Post.

Officials in Florida said Disney World could reopen the Magic Kingdom as early as June. But what will the park experience be like when it reopens? It will probably have half as much glitter and magic, as stated by the 44-member, Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force after meeting earlier this week.

The guidelines state that the park would only run at 50 percent capacity with strict social distancing rules. The restrictions will make Main Street USA a lot less crowded and keep Mickey and his friends at arms length from kids and their families.

As noted in the reopening guidelines, staff at the Disney World Resorts hotels will have to follow new contactless protocols, such as visitors parking their own cars and checking themselves into the hotels, and less amenities in the rooms, among other directives.

Of note, according to information posted April 17 on wdwnt.com, Thomas Mazloum, senior vice president of Walt Disney World Resort & Transportation, was appointed to the Orange County COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force.

The task force laid out guidelines for the countys businesses, as well as the Orlando resort, on re-opening after being shut down last month due to COVID-19.

The Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force met once again early Wednesday with Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings to discuss further parameters for each business sector, including a brief conversation on how to move forward with theme parks and large public facilities.

Stated in a report by WDW News Today, the Mayor had previously commented on how Disneys closure was responsibly done, given that no outbreaks have been traced back to Walt Disney World.

After conversations with Mazloum, Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp, proposed an all-encompassing statement for theme park reopenings by saying the best way to approach businesses which may very well include Amway, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Disney, Universal and SeaWorld Orlando, is to put out something like this, said Whittall before providing the following statement.

Theme parks and other venues of that magnitude shall each develop their own specific and unique set of guidelines following the CDC recommendations and using best practices that will protect the life, health, and safety of their employees and guests. They will be permitted to open at their own discretion with their internally determined level of safe capacities throughout the various phases.

Ultimately, theyre going to be judged by the marketplace. If guests feel safe, theyll show up. If they dont, theyre not, said Whittall in his remarks to the Mayor. He also emphasized the effects of social media, claiming that the parks will be judged heavily based on what people see and talk about on social media.

Check out the theme park portion of Wednesdays meeting on YouTube. (It begins at the 30: 26 mark.)

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(CNN)  Apple warned earlier this year that it would experience a slump in iPhone sales as the coronavirus upends its supply chain and its biggest markets. But so far the impact appears muted.

The tech giant said Thursday that its revenue reached $58.3 billion in the quarter ended in March, a 1% increase from a year earlier. That beat analyst estimates, but fell far short of Apple's pre-coronavirus guidance of between $63 and $67 billion.

"Despite COVID-19's unprecedented global impact, we're proud to report that Apple grew for the quarter," CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. The jump was driven by an all-time record for revenues from Apple's services such as Apple Music, Apple TV+ and iCloud, Cook said. Sales from that business line rose nearly 17% from a year earlier to $13.3 billion. Apple also said it set a new quarterly record for sales of its wearable devices.

Apple stock initially jumped 2% in after-hours trading following the earnings report, but then dropped to around 1.5% below its Thursday closing price.

The company began facing the fallout from the coronavirus early on, as the pandemic spread through China, where the bulk of iPhone manufacturing takes place. Apple warned in February that it would miss its previous revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2020. China is also one of the company's biggest markets, accounting for roughly 15% of its overall revenue.

Apple said sales in the greater China region fell around 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. International sales accounted for 62% of its revenue for the quarter, it added.

The results come right after the company posted record earnings in the last three months of 2019, spurred by the resurgence of iPhone sales thanks to its latest flagship device, the iPhone 11. And the pandemic hasn't stopped Apple from continuing to roll out new devices  it launched a new version of its low-cost iPhone SE earlier this month, as well as new models of the iPad and Macbook Air in March.

But investors and users will be watching for updates on the company's latest flagship line of smartphones, anticipated to be launched this fall and expected to include the first 5G-enabled iPhone.

Apple is also rolling out several new products and features geared specifically at dealing with the pandemic. In March, it rolled out an app for users to screen themselves for coronavirus symptoms, which Cook said has been installed nearly 2 million times. The company is also working with rival Google to develop a contact tracing system that will notify users if they've encountered someone who tested positive for the virus.

"This is something Apple has been contending with since January, and I think how we have responded, what we have been inspired to do, tells an important story about Apple's great durability as a business and the enduring importance of our products," Cook said, adding that Apple was on track for another record quarter five weeks into the year before the pandemic spread.

He also touted the company's efforts to source and distribute medical equipment, including more than 30 million respirator masks and more than 7.5 million face shields. Apple continues to distribute more than a million face shields every week.

"This may not have been the quarter it could have been absent this pandemic, but I don't think I can recall a quarter where I've been prouder of what we do or how we do it," Cook added.

Apple acknowledged that a lot of uncertainty remains, saying it will not release earnings guidance for the next quarter. But Cook said the company's production was "back at typical levels" by the end of March.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Apple is holding steady despite the coronavirus pandemic"
The Chinese embassy in Germany has posted to its website a 4,600-word rebuttal of 16 common criticisms of China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, depicting Beijing itself as a victim of disinformation.

Why it matters: The rebuttal comes amid a "global battle of narratives" between China and western governments over blame for the pandemic.

Written in a "true or false" fact-checking style, the German-language post seamlessly blends fact with propaganda in a sophisticated attempt to persuade German audiences that China's response to the coronavirus was blameless.

What they're saying: The 16 statements  or as the post calls them, "myths"  include a mix of conspiracy theories about the virus's origins, racist stereotypes against Chinese people, and factual reporting that the Chinese government casts as flawed.

"Many uncertainties have crept into the discussion about the origin and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Lies, myths and conspiracy theories are spreading on social media  but not only there," the post states.

"China is particularly affected by this 'infodemic.'"

Between the lines: The Chinese embassy's message utilizes three strategies to blur the nature of truth.

It intersperses obvious conspiracy theories with accurate factual reporting in the list of claims it seeks to debunk. It cites both highly reputable sources, such as scientific journals and European research institutes, and highly disreputable sources, such as conspiracy websites. It equates Chinese laws and policies with on-the-ground reality.

The Chinese embassy in Germany did not respond to a request for comment.

Some examples:

"Myth # 1: China created the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in a lab."

The embassy's take: "Fact: The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is of natural origin."

"Fact: The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is of natural origin." Axios fact-check: The list starts off with what is indeed a widely debunked conspiracy theory, citing the prestigious science journal Nature in its rebuttal.

"Myth # 6: China arrested doctors who warned the world about the virus early on to cover up the outbreak."

The embassy's take: "Fact: No doctor in China has been arrested for warning of an epidemic. Doctors who have reported a possible outbreak have been recognized by the government."

"Fact: No doctor in China has been arrested for warning of an epidemic. Doctors who have reported a possible outbreak have been recognized by the government." Axios fact-check: Eight Chinese doctors were detained and interrogated by the Wuhan security bureau on Jan. 1 after they shared information about the new virus and warned colleagues of its dangers. It is technically true that detention and interrogation are not arrest.

Eight Chinese doctors were detained and interrogated by the Wuhan security bureau on Jan. 1 after they shared information about the new virus and warned colleagues of its dangers. It is technically true that detention and interrogation are not arrest. Three months after this incident occurred  and after the coronavirus-related death of the one of the doctors, which spurred intense national anger and demands for freedom of speech  the central government changed course and recognized the doctor as a national hero.

"Myth No. 9: China is preventing Taiwan from joining the WHO, which endangers the health of the people of Taiwan."

The embassy's take: "Fact: Taiwan is part of China and not a member of the United Nations. It is therefore not legally permitted to join the WHO."

"Fact: Taiwan is part of China and not a member of the United Nations. It is therefore not legally permitted to join the WHO." Axios fact-check: This equates a Chinese foreign policy position with fact. It also fails to mention that Taiwan lost its membership in the UN, and thus its membership in the WHO, only because of Beijing's lobbying.

Context: China is currently waging a major diplomatic campaign to refute western government attempts to hold the country accountable for the coronavirus's global spread.

Chinese diplomats and state media have repeated information criticizing the U.S. response and suggesting the virus may have originated outside China.

The People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, published an article on May 1 implying the coronavirus may somehow be linked to a U.S. army lab in Maryland or a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services virus outbreak simulation.

They also suggested the U.S. was intentionally underreporting the number of coronavirus deaths.

The bottom line: The embassy's fact-check is part of a global strategy to improve China's image, a strategy which at times has involved disinformation.

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Class consciousness does not flow automatically out of class identity. Being a worker does not necessarily mean you will come to identify as a worker. Instead, you can think of class consciousness as a process of discovery, of insights derived from events that put the relationships of class into stark relief.

Or as political theorist Cedric J. Robinson observed about the Civil War and emancipation:

Groups moved to the logic of immediate self-interest and to historical paradox. Consciousness, when it did develop, had come later in the process of the events. The revolution had caused the formation of revolutionary consciousness and had not been caused by it. The revolution was spontaneous.

We arent yet living through a revolution. But we are seeing how self-interest and paradox are shaping the consciousness of an entire class of people. The coronavirus pandemic has forced all but the most essential workers to either leave their jobs or work from home. And who are those essential workers? They work in hospitals and grocery stores, warehouses and meatpacking plants. They tend to patients and cash out customers, clean floors and stock shelves. They drive trucks, deliver packages and help sustain this country as it tries to fight off a deadly virus.

The close-quarters, public-facing nature of this work mean these workers are also more likely to be exposed to disease, and many of them are furious with their employers for not doing enough to protect them. To protect themselves, theyve begun to speak out. Some have even decided to strike.

At the start of the crisis, in mid-March, bus drivers in Detroit refused to drive, citing safety concerns. The drivers didnt feel safe going on the bus, spreading their germs and getting germs from anybody, Glenn Tolbert, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, said in an interview with the Detroit News. We are on the front lines and picking up more sick people than doctors see. This was a last resort, but drivers didnt feel safe. Their actions prompted officials to increase cleaning, provide masks to passengers and drivers, and eliminate fares to keep person-to-person interactions to a minimum.

That same month, at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, N.Y., a group of workers walked out over safety concerns, chanting, How many cases we got? Ten! in reference to workers there who had tested positive for the coronavirus. Amazon fired Chris Smalls, the worker who led the demonstration, supposedly for violating the warehouses social-distancing policy, but this didnt stop other workers at other warehouses from organizing walkouts to protest a lack of protective equipment.

Workers at Whole Foods, owned by Amazon, went on strike to demand paid leave and free coronavirus testing, as did workers for grocery-delivery service Instacart, who demanded protective supplies and hazard pay. Sanitation workers in Pittsburgh staged a similar strike over a lack of protective gear.

Its true these actions have been limited in scope and scale. But if they continue, and if they increase, they may come to represent the first stirrings of something much larger. The consequential strike wave of 1934  which paved the way for the National Labor Relations Act and created new political space for serious government action on behalf of labor  was presaged by a year of unrest in workplaces across the country, from factories and farms to newspaper offices and Hollywood sets.

These workers werent just discontented. They were also coming into their own as workers, beginning to see themselves as a class that when organized properly can work its will on the nations economy and political system.

American labor is at its lowest point since the New Deal era. Private-sector unionization is at a historic low, and entire segments of the economy are unorganized. Depression-era labor leaders could look to President Franklin Roosevelt as an ally  or at least someone open to negotiation and bargaining  but labor today must face off against the relentlessly anti-union Donald Trump. Organized capital, working through the Republican Party, has a powerful grip on the nations legal institutions, including the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority appears ready to make the entire United States an open shop.

The inequities and inequalities of capitalist society remain. American workers continue to face deprivation and exploitation, realities the coronavirus crisis has made abundantly clear.

The strikes and protests of the past month have been small, but they arent inconsequential. The militancy born of immediate self-protection and self-interest can grow into calls for deeper, broader transformation. And if the United States continues to stumble its way into yet another generation-defining economic catastrophe, we may find that even more of its working class comes to understand itself as an agent of change  and action.

@jbouie
He just keeps pushing down on liberty, said Bailey. Tell me, what has happened to the American people, that theyve become so afraid to stand up? People are still free to protest, arent we? Our protest message is that Pritzker acted unconstitutionally. You cant trample on liberty without some of us standing up. Its that simple.
About 70 per cent of Vietnams export revenues comes from foreign-invested enterprises. Photo: Le Toan

According to a fresh forecast from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Vietnams current account balance is expected to fall into a deficit equal to 0.2 per cent of GDP this year, recovering to a 1 per cent surplus in 2021.

Previously the ADB predicted that the rate would be 2 per cent of GDP in 2020 thanks to a high trade surplus, foreign direct investment (FDI), and big remittances. However, the grave impacts of COVID-19 have prompted the bank to revise its forecast.

Vietnams GDP last year hit $255 billion  thus if GDP grows by 5 per cent this year, it will be $267.8 billion, and the current account deficit will be about $535.6 million, or 0.2 per cent of GDP.

Vietnam has continuously earned a current account surplus since 2011. It reached 2.9 per cent in 2017, 3 per cent in 2018, and 3 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, the World Bank also stated that Vietnams external position is projected to deteriorate in 2021, mainly as the result of the fall in exports of tourism services and lower FDI inflows, both results of the current pandemic.

Fitch Ratings also expected the economys current account to shift to a modest deficit in 2020, from a surplus of around 3 per cent in 2019, as exports, tourism, and remittances decline. However, it should return to a surplus next year as the global economy recovers.

FDI inflow and disbursement have already slowed. In the first quarter of this year newly-registered, newly-added, and stake acquisition-based capital hit $8.55 billion, down 20.9 per cent on-year, while disbursement touched $3.85 billion, down 6.6 per cent on-year.

Currently, FDI accounts for about one-fifth of Vietnams GDP, contributing to a quarter of tax revenues, and have created millions of direct and indirect jobs. It also represents about 70 per cent of the countrys exports, with over half of them from electronics and a quarter from Samsung Electronics Vietnam.

Meanwhile, also in the first three months of 2020, the increase of the economys export-import turnover declined sharply due to the pandemics strong expansion in Vietnams largest trade partners including China, South Korea, Japan, the EU, and the US. Total export turnover hit nearly $60 billion, up 0.5 per cent against the same period last year, when the on-year increase was 4.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, total import turnover sat at $56.26 billion, down 1.9 per cent against $58 billion in the corresponding period last year, when the on-year rise was 8.9 per cent.

With the sharp contraction in global trade, export growth is therefore forecast to ease to 5.3 per cent in 2020, and import growth to 4.7 per cent, an ADB economist told VIR. This will also affect Vietnams external position this year.

While the coronavirus maintains a global grip, the government has stopped issuing visas and imposed temporary travel bans on tourist arrivals from all countries, severely curtailing tourism. The International Air Transport Association estimates that the current extensive spread of the pandemic will cost Vietnam 23 per cent of its arriving passengers. Growth in services was halved to 3.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, from 6.5 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

A Ministry of Planning and Investment report showed that in the first quarter of 2020, total international tourist arrivals to Vietnam reached 3.69 million, down 18.1 per cent on-year.

A survey from the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Council also noted that COVID-19 will cause an estimated loss of between $5.9-7 billion for Vietnamese tourism over the next three months.

According to the World Bank, the country will likely see a reduction from remittances this year due to the pandemic, thereby affecting its external position.

Statistics from the bank showed that remittance inflows into Vietnam increased from $13 billion in 2015 to $16 billion in 2018, and $17 billion last year, accounting for 6.5 per cent of GDP.

In addition to impacts on household earnings, domestic and international remittances are expected to decline as a result of the measures to contain COVID-19, said a World Bank report recently released on East Asia and the Pacific. Across the region, many households rely on transfers from migrant family members for their subsistence. For many of the small Pacific Islands countries, remittances represent a sizeable share of their economies; and larger countries such as China, the Philippines, and Vietnam are among the top recipients of remittances worldwide.
The next generation of powerful Earth- and space-based telescopes will be able to hunt distant solar systems for evidence of life on Earth-like exoplanets - particularly those that chaperone burned-out stars known as white dwarfs.

The chemical properties of those far-off worlds could indicate that life exists there. To help future scientists make sense of what their telescopes are showing them, Cornell University astronomers have developed a spectral field guide for these rocky worlds.

"We show what the spectral fingerprints could be and what forthcoming space-based and large terrestrial telescopes can look out for," said Thea Kozakis, doctoral candidate in astronomy, who conducts her research at Cornell's Carl Sagan Institute. Kozakis is lead author of "High-resolution Spectra and Biosignatures of Earth-like Planets Transiting White Dwarfs," published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

In just a few years, astronomers - using tools such as the Extremely Large Telescope, currently under construction in northern Chile's Atacama Desert, and the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2021 - will be able to search for life on exoplanets.

"Rocky planets around white dwarfs are intriguing candidates to characterize because their hosts are not much bigger than Earth-size planets," said Lisa Kaltenegger, associate professor of astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Carl Sagan Institute.

The trick is to catch an exoplanet's quick crossing in front of a white dwarf, a small, dense star that has exhausted its energy.

"We are hoping for and looking for that kind of transit," Kozakis said. "If we observe a transit of that kind of planet, scientists can find out what is in its atmosphere, refer back to this paper, match it to spectral fingerprints and look for signs of life. Publishing this kind of guide allows observers to know what to look for."

Kozakis, Kaltenegger and Zifan Lin assembled the spectral models for different atmospheres at different temperatures to create a template for possible biosignatures.

Chasing down these planets in the habitable zone of white dwarf systems is challenging, the researchers said.

"We wanted to know if light from a white dwarf - a long-dead star - would allow us to spot life in a planet's atmosphere if it were there," Kaltenegger said.

This paper indicates that astronomers should be able to see spectral biosignatures - such as methane in combination with ozone or nitrous oxide - "if those signs of life are present," said Kaltenegger, who said this research expands scientific databases for finding spectral signs of life on exoplanets to forgotten star systems.

"If we would find signs of life on planets orbiting under the light of long-dead stars," she said, "the next intriguing question would be whether life survived the star's death or started all over again - a second genesis, if you will."

Funding for this research was provided by Cornell and the Carl Sagan Institute.

Astrobiology

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Like untold numbers of other events in our country and around the world, Commemoration Weekend May 4, 2020, organized to remember the horrific killing and wounding of Kent State University students, was reluctantly canceled.

I had planned to attend. As a graduate student in comparative literature that spring in 1970, I arrived on campus for an afternoon class about 90 minutes after the shootings. My former creative writing teacher and good friend, Barbara Child, told me later that when she heard the first M1 rifle fire, she looked at her watch: 12:24 pm.

Here is what I remember:

I was teaching 11 students special education in the Ravenna School District my second year. I was given permission to take a graduate class on Monday afternoons so I could finish the degree that summer. When I arrived on campus, parked and entered Satterfield Hall, the English Department building, I knew something was wrong  no students or faculty were in the halls. Usually crowded, it was now deserted.

Disoriented, I was questioning my own reality when an English professor ran down the hall toward me. I stopped him and demanded: Where is everyone? His terrified response: They are killing our students. He broke free from me and ran out a side door.

Dumbfounded, I headed out the same door, up a rise of grass heading to the Commons area. There, in complete silence, were some 2,000 people lining the rim of what was called Blanket Hill, which sloped down to the Commons area. All were simply standing, frozen in place; no one was talking.

I approached small clusters of Ohio National Guardsmen, facing out with their bayoneted rifles; when I looked into their grim faces, I saw terror in their eyes. I did not know that just a short time earlier, they had indiscriminately opened fire on the masses of students and faculty who had gathered to demonstrate against the escalating Vietnam war and the recent Cambodian invasion by the United States.

I was to learn subsequently that students had been killed and wounded. The four killed were Allison Krause, Sandra Scheuer, William Knox Schroeder and Jeffrey Miller; their names are part of a memorial on campus that took 20 years of court battles to finally erect. They, as well as nine wounded students, had already been taken off campus. I had entered the drama and the trauma at a lull, a moment of paralysis and disbelief, that had stunned everyone into silence; but it was not to last much longer. It was now a little after 2 p.m.

As we all looked, transfixed, down to the Commons area, we could see numerous police officers in riot gear begin to assemble in pairs and move resolutely toward the top of the rim where we stood. In an instant, 2,000 people scattered  into buildings, behind cars, across and behind other buildings  fearing another burst of bullets aimed at them. As the chaos intensified, a car with a loudspeaker boomed from below: By order of Governor James Rhodes, this campus is officially closed.

We were told that all inhabitants must leave the campus within hours. With that, thousands of the 20,000 students enrolled that quarter began to gather their belongings; everyone living in dorms hastily packed and left the campus.

Stunned and frightened, I rushed back to my car and drove home. A decree went out in the city of Kent that anyone could leave, but if one did not have a drivers license with a current Kent address or could not show proof of living there, they would not be allowed access to the city. The closest conditions to a fully militarized police state were immediately put in place and lasted at least two weeks, as I recall.

My wife and I had Kent addresses on our licenses, so we were able to continue to teach in our schools in Ravenna, some 13 miles east, but we were stopped at the city limit to show proof of residency when driving home. Small tanks and unmarked black cars patrolled the streets around the clock.

The numerous events so carefully planned, some of which I had tickets to attend, may happen in other formats, but I doubt it. Coming to the place where it happened cannot be substituted: to walk the Commons where the guards and police gathered, to see the pockmarks in the Liberty Bell from rifle bullets fired at random into the crowds of students, and to pay homage at the memorial in memory of the dead cannot be experienced from afar.

While none of us can be there, onsite, we can remember that fateful day, May 4, which again falls on a Monday, when the war in Vietnam came to our campus.

Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D. is emeritus faculty in mythological studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, Calif., and a resident of New Braunfels.
LONDON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities today announced 3 million of support to advance scientific initiatives at two of London's leading medical institutions. The work will focus on immunology research to accelerate COVID-19 treatment and prevention. These are among the highest-impact medical initiatives in the UK and have the potential to increase the international scientific community's understanding of the virus and materially reduce the time and cost of developing and producing a vaccine at scale. With this UK donation, the Partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities have mobilized $20 million in support of COVID-19 relief efforts globally since mid-January.

"We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the doctors, nurses and researchers battling COVID-19 both on the frontlines and in the laboratory," said Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel. "My partners and I are proud to support these heroes who are working tirelessly to protect our communities and bring us out of this pandemic."

Specifically, these UK initiatives will aim to:

Build a cutting-edge and scalable vaccine development platform for COVID-19 and beyond

The 2 million donation will advance Imperial College London's initiative focused on rapidly developing a highly scalable, low-dose self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine for COVID-19 at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional vaccine development efforts. An saRNA vaccine makes multiple copies of itself once injected, making it possible to induce immunity with very low doses. By capitalizing on this innovative vaccine platform, this initiative aims to develop a COVID-19 vaccine that could be scaled to millions of doses in 2020. Learn about opportunities to support Imperial's COVID-19 response.

"Citadel's generous support will accelerate Professor Robin Shattock and his group's crucial research to develop a novel vaccine for rapid and affordable deployment," said Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London. "From virology and epidemiology to testing, tracking and tracing, this multinational, multidisciplinary struggle needs visionary donors like Ken Griffin and his partners. Philanthropy is critical in accelerating our efforts to defeat coronavirus."

Scale a bioresource repository at NHS Nightingale field hospital for international research to advance COVID-19 treatments and vaccine development

The 1 million donation will enable Barts Health NHS Trust's initiative, in partnership with University College London and Queen Mary University of London, to create one of the world's largest bioresource repositories for COVID-19 before, during, and post-exposure. Researchers are collecting biosamples weekly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from 1,000 frontline healthcare workers at the new NHS Nightingale field hospital. This serial data and sample collection in a high-exposure population will enable researchers to answer critical questions about immune response and risk factors, and will inform treatment and vaccine development efforts for scientists in the UK and across the globe. Learn about opportunities to support Barts' COVID-19 response.

"The funding from Citadel will enable us to expand our library of data to encompass the whole spectrum of COVID-19, from asymptomatic to severe disease," said Professor Charles Knight, Chief Executive of NHS Nightingale Hospital London. "This data will enable the group of researchers led by Professor James Moon to understand more about disease severity and will help scientists around the world answer questions related to COVID-19. In this pandemic environment, collaborative science is essential, and the COVID-sortium Healthcare Worker Bioresource provides an exemplar of such an approach."

About Citadel

Citadel is one of the world's leading alternative investment managers. Citadel manages the capital of prominent investors from around the world including retirement programs, endowments and foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. For more information, visit www.Citadel.com.

About Citadel Securities

Citadel Securities is a leading global market maker, delivering a broad array of fixed income and equity products to banks, broker-dealers, government agencies, corporations, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds. For more information, visit www.CitadelSecurities.com.

COVID-19 Relief Efforts

The Partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities have deployed a multifaceted COVID-19 philanthropic program across the spectrum of relief, ranging from PPE and humanitarian aid, to supporting funding gaps to help those most affected, and accelerating scientific initiatives. The relief efforts began in mid-January and with this announcement total $20 million, including to:

- Provide humanitarian aid and physical supplies in Wuhan, China

- Support the U.S. State Department's COVID-19 relief efforts that delivered over 17 tons of aid to and repatriated over 800 Americans from Wuhan, China

- Fund vaccine development through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

- Establish temporary food distribution sites at 500 Chicago Public Schools making food available for 355,000 students and their families

- Support Chicago's emergency food distribution plan by providing an additional 4.5 million meals for those facing food insecurity

- Provide personal protective equipment and supplies for first responders in Chicago

- Partner with the New York Community Trust, Bloomberg Philanthropies and others to establish a $75 million fund to support NYC nonprofit organizations

- Develop a rapid-response testing program with the goal of nationally scaling testing capabilities to 100,000 people per day with a target of 500,000 tests per day at Weill Cornell Medicine

- Utilize antibody testing to understand the scope of prior infection and immunity and triage staffing for the NYC workforce at NYU Langone Health

- Scale a serology testing initiative to identify people with COVID-19 immunity and enable previously affected healthcare workers to redeploy at Mount Sinai Health System

- Develop and use immune therapies to prevent infection in frontline healthcare workers and help stop disease progression in the critically ill at The Rockefeller University

- Determine the efficacy of prophylactic drugs, focusing first on preventing infection in frontline healthcare workers at Weill Cornell Medicine

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Biden denies sexual assault claims, calls for complaint to be released if it exists Biden campaign 'inaccurately' claims NYT report shows sexual assault 'did not happen'

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UPDATE: 8:30 a.m. Friday: Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday publicly denied the allegations of sexual assault leveled against him by former staffer Tara Reade. The allegations surfaced over a month ago but Biden hasn't been asked to respond until today. He also issued a lengthy statement on Medium before going on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" where he said the National Archives should release the document showing her complaint if it exists. However, the National Archives told Business Insider that it doesn't keep such records but the Senate does.

Original:

The New York Times says the Biden campaign misrepresented its reporting on the presumptive 2020 Democrat presidential nominees sexual assault accuser, Tara Reade, refuting claims that the newspaper reported that the allegation didnt happen.

On Wednesday, a New York Times spokesperson told Fox News that the reported talking points circulated by the Biden campaign on the former senate staffers accusation that the former Delaware senator reached under her skirt in 1993 inaccurately suggest that the newspapers reporting found that the allegation did not happen.

Our investigation made no conclusion either way," the spokesperson explained. "As Buzzfeed correctly reported, our story found three former Senate aides whom Reade said she complained to contemporaneously, all of whom either did not remember the incident or said that it did not happen."

The newspapers statement comes after prominent Democrat politicians thought to be potential vice presidential selections defended former Vice President Joe Biden in the media in recent days, relying on The New York Times reporting to imply that Reades allegation is unfounded.

The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden, Stacy Abrams, a former Georgia gubernatorial and lawmaker, said on CNN Tuesday night, adding that she believes that the incident did not happen.

Although the former vice president himself has remained silent on the allegations, BuzzFeed reports that his campaign circulated talking points shortly after The New York Times published its investigation into Reades allegation earlier this month.

The newspaper reportedly spoke to over two dozen people who worked with Biden in the early 1990s. The article reports that none of the people The New York Times spoke with were able to corroborate Reades claims.

Although there are at least eight women who have accused Biden of being too handsy and violating their personal space over the years, the newspaper reported that it found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden because no other allegation about sexual assault surfaced during its investigation.

According to talking points distributed by the campaign and reviewed by BuzzFeed, the campaign claimed: a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen.

Heres the bottom line. Vice President Joe Biden has spent over 40 years in public life: 36 years in the Senate; 7 Senate campaigns, 2 previous presidential runs, two vice presidential campaigns, and 8 years in the White House, the talking points added. There has never been a complaint, allegation, hint or rumor of any impropriety or inappropriate conduct like this regarding him  ever.

Although the former staffers who spoke with The New York Times could not corroborate Reades accusations, people Reade said she told about the incident at the time recalled in media interviews that they remember Reade telling them about the incident with Biden.



Reade claims that Biden reached under her skirt and penetrated her when she met him in the corridor in which she was to deliver the senator a duffle bag.



The New York Times spokesperson also said in his statement that the article also explained that former interns interviewed for the article remember Reade suddenly changing roles and that she no longer oversaw their work.

According to the spokesperson, Reades change in roles took place during the same time period that Reade said she was abruptly reassigned.

The Times also spoke to a friend who said Reade told her the details of the allegation at the time; another friend and Reades brother say she told them of a traumatic sexual incident involving Biden," the spokesperson said.

Last week, The Intercept unearthed a recording from CNNs Larry King Live from August 1993 that shows Reades mother anonymously calling in to the show to voice her frustrations with a certain senator and asked King who her daughter could turn to besides media to hold the senator accountable.

Since publishing the article in mid-April, The New York Times made edits to change the wording of the article.



The newspaper originally reported that it found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable." The reference to beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable has been removed.

New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet admitted that the edit was made at the request of the Biden campaign.

Even though a lot of us, including me, had looked at it before the story went into the paper, I think that the campaign thought that the phrasing was awkward and made it look like there were other instances in which he had been accused of sexual misconduct, Baquet told columnist Ben Smith. And thats not what the sentence was intended to say.

Baquet said he didnt note the change in the article because he believed it was not a factual mistake.

I thought it was an awkward phrasing issue that could be read different ways and that it wasnt something factual we were correcting, Baquet said. So I didnt think that was necessary.

Reade said she file a complaint against Biden at the time with a congressional human resources office. However, The Washington Post reports that it was unable to find any record of the complaint.

Reade has called for the release of Bidens senate records, which were donated to the University of Delaware and are sealed from the public.

Members of Biden's campaign "rifled through" the documents on "at least one occasion," University of Delaware spokeswoman Andrea Boyle Tippett said in a statement to Business Insider. The campaign officials went to the university's library to search through the documents after Biden announced the launch of his campaign in April 2019 and returned to the university in March to conduct a subsequent search.

I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," Reade told Fox News. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light. Why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"
By Trend





Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 25 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces were using sniper rifles and mortars of different calibers.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Contributed photo

When Sarah Huo decided to move to Greenwich from Manhattan more than 10 years ago, she became fast friends with her real estate agent, Richard Breglia. It was Breglia who suggested that Huo consider a new career in real estate. The two forged a real estate partnership, which has since grown to a formidable team at the Greenwich office of William Raveis. She maintains licenses in both Connecticut and New York.

Looking back, it was a wise leap of faith for Huo, who said that helping people find the right homes makes her feel as though her professional life is both challenging and meaningful.
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
The editor-in-chief of a Chinese state-run newspaper has launched an astonishing attack on Donald Trump, accusing the US president of 'publicly lying about China'.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken head of Communist propaganda outlet the Global Times, branded the American public as being 'easily fooled' because, as he said, Trump had managed to 'boost himself in the US and shirk his responsibility for failing to fight the epidemic'.

Hu's explosive criticism comes after Trump claimed to have seen evidence that the virus started in a virology laboratory in Wuhan and threatened new tariffs on China.

Beijing insists the WHO has found no evidence that the novel coronavirus was man-made.

Hu Xijin, 60, has been one of the frontmen of China's media propaganda campaigns to the West. The editor (pictured in 2019) sharpened his rhetoric against Trump in an op-ed today

Trump (pictured on April 30) yesterday made the explosive charge that the coronavirus - which has killed more than 233,000 worldwide and wreaked havoc on the global economy - might have been created in a Chinese lab. He also threatened to impose new tariffs on China

Hu, 60, has been one of the frontmen of China's media propaganda campaigns to the West.

His newspaper dishes out critiques towards the Trump administration nearly every day amid the global outbreak.

Hu himself is an avid user of Twitter, one of the many Western social media platforms banned in China due to their uncensored nature.

The editor sharpened his rhetoric against Trump in his latest op-ed published today.

He first hailed Beijing for making 'right decisions' in its handling of the outbreak and then expressed his 'surprise' at Washington's 'failure'.

He wrote: 'Isn't the US a democratic society? How come American lives are so much "cheaper" than Chinese lives?

'China would not accept high death tolls from the epidemic, but in the US 1,000 to 2,000 people die every day. US President Donald Trump really doesn't seem to be taking people's lives seriously  all for the sake of an election.'

The US has become the country worst-hit by the deadly disease, with over 63,000 deaths

More than one million American people have tested positive as the disease sweeps the country

Coronaviruses are so named because their structure has jagged edges which look like a royal crown  corona is crown in Latin (Pictured, an illustration of the COVID-19 virus released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The US has become the country worst-hit by the deadly disease. More than 63,000 Americans have died, and over one million are now infected.

China has reported just 4,633 deaths and 82,874 confirmed cases. These figures, however, have sparked wide-spread doubts, with critics and politicians accusing the Communist party of fudging numbers to conceal its real losses.

Hu admitted that 'some Chinese experts made some misjudgments at the early stage of the outbreak' before quickly pointing his finger at Trump, saying that the US President 'had repeatedly downplayed the risk of the outbreak and brushed aside warnings'.

He continued: 'Then there is the fact that Trump can boost himself in the US and shirk his responsibility for failing to fight the epidemic by publicly lying about China.

'Why is the American public so easily fooled?'

Despite bragging about his great relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the pandemic, Donald Trump yesterday threatened more sanctions against Beijing. The two leaders are pictured shaking hands during a meeting at the G20 Summit in Osaka in 2019

Hu concluded his column by urging the Chinese public to stay alert to prevent another outbreak  but not without highlighting America's 'poor' performance.

He said: 'Although the US has done very poorly in its fight against the epidemic, [the epidemic's] endurance is unmatched.

'If the outbreak goes on like this for a few years, and the US keeps losing a lot of people, that country will probably still be able to adapt to the situation.

'But imagine if something similar happened in China; could Chinese society accept it?'

Beijing and Washington have been locking horns in a tit-for-tat diplomatic dispute over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US accuses China of covering up the outbreak, hiding its real origin and taking advantage of the crisis to push its territorial ambitions.

China accuses the US of carrying out 'smear campaigns' and avoiding its responsibilities in containing the disease. A spokesperson has also suggested that the virus might have been brought to Wuhan by US troops.

Trump insisted that he had seen evidence that the virus originated in an institute in Wuhan. Shi Zhengli (pictured in 2017), a lead researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, said she 'guaranteed with her own life' that the outbreak was not related to her workplace

The Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured) is affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Trump yesterday made the explosive charge that the coronavirus - which has killed more than 233,000 worldwide and wreaked havoc on the global economy - might have been created in a Chinese lab.

He insisted that he had seen evidence that the virus originated in an institute in Wuhan. He also warned that he could impose tariffs of $1trillion on China in retribution for the pandemic.

Trump suggested the federal government was exploring ways to punish China for triggering the outbreak by imposing tariffs, but he stopped short of saying he would refuse to pay back US debts.

CCTV released a report in 2018 showing scientists in the Wuhan Institute of Virology studying 'a novel coronavirus from bats'. Shi Zhengli, a lead researcher from the institute, said the pathogen was different from the strain of coronavirus that has triggered the pandemic

Researchers at the Wuhan lab identified and separated the strain of novel coronavirus, SADS-CoV, from Chinese rufous horseshoe bats, which are native to East and South Asia

Trump's announcement came hours after US intelligence agencies concluded that the new coronavirus was 'not man-made or genetically modified'.

The agencies said they were still examining whether the origins of the pandemic had anything to do with infected animals or an accident at the Chinese lab.

Geng Shuang, a spokesperson at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yesterday denied the allegation that the virus came from the Wuhan lab. He called the claim 'rumour' at the daily press briefing.

'There is not any evidence to show that the novel coronavirus was artificially modified. The claim that the virus was synthesised by the Wuhan Institute of Virology is baseless and spun out of thin air,' Geng said.

He highlighted once more that the origin of the virus was a 'scientific problem' before urging American politicians to 'stop shifting their responsibilities on China and diverting the world's attention'.

'[US politicians' should spend their time and energy on controlling their own country's epidemic,' he concluded.
A police officer inspects a body at the crime scene following a stabbing incident in Melbourne on November 9, 2018. (William WEST / AFP)

Man Shot Dead by Western Australia Police, Five Stabbed

A man has been shot dead by police after five people were stabbed at a shopping centre in Western Australias Pilbara region.

Police confirmed the man was shot by officers responding to an incident at South Hedland Square on May 1.

Five people are being treated for stab wounds at Hedland Health Campus. Three are in a stable condition and two in a serious but stable condition.

Port Hedland Commissioner Fred Riebeling says one of the victims is a council employee who works at a local theatre.

Its all really upsetting, he told AAP.

If theres five or half a dozen people injured, half the town will probably know someone involved.

Its understood one of the victims whose condition is more serious was stabbed in the neck.

A shop owner, known only as George, said the Taser seemed to have no effect on the man.

This guy pushed a police lady against the window and then she fell over, he told 6PR radio.

The cops tried to tell him to stop. He wouldnt stop.

They tasered him four or five times. Nothing happened. It didnt have any effect whatsoever on him.

A St John Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed multiple people were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.

WA Police said in a statement the circumstances surrounding how people were injured would be investigated.

As per normal protocols, Major Crime Division and Professional Standards Division will investigate the circumstances surrounding the police shooting, the statement said.

There is no ongoing concern regarding public safety in South Hedland.

WA Police Union president Harry Arnott said a team had been deployed to assist members involved in the incident and their colleagues.

Our information indicates our members acted to protect the community and themselves, and without their intervention this incident would be significantly more tragic for the Hedland community, he said in a statement.

This incident again highlights the unique and dangerous job that police officers do.

By Michael Ramsey
During this time of Covid 19, some of Dublins most iconic actors including Gangs of London star Colm Meaney; Game of Thrones actor Aidan Gillen, Adrian Dunbar and social influencers like Enya Martin and Darren Conway, and the ever funny Brendan OCarroll aka Mrs Brown have joined forces in a video produced by Dublin City Council/Community Call to support the HSE and our frontline workers. The video has launched today to ask everyone in Dublin City - especially those living in the city centre to keep social distancing over the coming week or two- as hard as it may be! The call is simple #StayatHome
The latest opinion polls indicate that Joe Biden, the Democrats likely candidate, is leading the race for the White House. Photo: Jim Watson/Getty Images

President Trump has dismissed opinion polls that show his likely Democratic presidential opponent, Joe Biden, leading in the 2020 race for the White House.

The Republican president said he did not expect the election to be a referendum on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and added he was surprised the former vice-president was doing well.

"I don't believe the polls," Mr Trump said. "I believe the people of this country are smart. And I don't think that they will put a man in who's incompetent."

Mr Trump has criticised Mr Biden's decades-long record as a US senator and as Barack Obama's vice-president.

"And I don't mean incompetent because of a condition that he's got now. I mean he has been incompetent for 30 years. Everything he ever did was bad. His foreign policy was a disaster," Mr Trump said.

Polls conducted this week by Reuters/Ipsos about the general election showed that 44pc of registered voters said they would back Mr Biden in the November 3 election, while 40pc said they would support Mr Trump.

More critical for Mr Trump, a recent poll by Reuters/Ipsos of the three key battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, had Mr Biden with a 45pc-39pc edge over the president. Mr Trump's victories in those states in the 2016 election helped propel him to the White House.

Mr Trump closely questioned his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, and other political advisers after they showed him poll numbers that would have seen him lose the re-election race to Mr Biden, according to a source.

The president was told he was behind Mr Biden in many key states and would have lost the Electoral College if the election had taken place in April.

Mr Trump, in a tweet yesterday, said he supported Parscale. "Actually, he is doing a great job. I never shouted at him (been with me for years, including the 2016 win), & have no intention to do so," he said.

Mr Trump added that he did not view the election as a test of how he did with the pandemic.

"No, I don't think so. I think it's a referendum on a lot of things," he said.

"I think it's going to be a referendum on all the things we've done and this will be a part of it."

Mr Biden has criticised Mr Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Asked if he would debate with Mr Biden in the autumn, Mr Trump responded: "Of course."

The president has sought to stir up discord in Democratic Party ranks about Senator Bernie Sanders, who dropped out of the Democratic presidential race and endorsed Mr Biden earlier this month.

The president has suggested that if fellow progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren had dropped out of the contest earlier, Mr Sanders would have prevailed over Mr Biden.

"He should never have won the primary, ever in a million years, because those votes were taken away.

"They were taken away from Bernie Sanders. And I think I'm going to get a lot of Bernie Sanders voters," he said.
A second attack on Mexican troops was reported Thursday in Nuevo Laredo, authorities said.

Officials said nobody was harmed.

The shootout was reported in Colonia Villas de San Miguel. Consequently, several vehicles were used to block nearby roads, authorities said.

One blockade allegedly occurred at Carretera A Anahuac and Bulevar Carlos Cantu Rosas.

This gun battle came a day after seven suspected cartel members died in a clash with the Mexican army.

Suspected gunmen allegedly attacked a military convoy at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Colonia Francisco Villa in a west part of town.

Seven assailants died. Soldiers seized one vehicle and firearms, according to authorities.
The Prospect New Orleans art triennial in October has been postponed to next year. So has the Liverpool Biennial. Sao Paulos Bienal is delayed by at least a month. The Dakar Biennale has yet to set new dates. Front International, in Cleveland, has decided to skip 2021 altogether and return in 2022.

The coronavirus crisis has thrown into question the post-pandemic future of contemporary art biennials (and their cousins, triennials and quadrennials). Of an estimated such 43 exhibitions in 2020, some 20 have been postponed so far, according to a tally by the Biennial Foundation, with further changes near certain. The Biennale of Sydney opened in March for a three-month run  and had to close after 10 days.

The biennial is a testing ground, said Defne Ayas, co-artistic director, with Natasha Ginwala, of the Gwangju Biennale, in South Korea, which is still preparing to open in September.But the testing ground is itself being tested.

The idea of the international art exhibition has flourished at least since the Venice Biennale was founded in 1895, but they have proliferated in the last two decades as the contemporary art field has gone global. Now their fate is linked to the big question of how culture industries, and cultural habits, will emerge from the pandemic. The crisis also threatens art fairs, which are driven by the market, itself facing great uncertainty, and the global ecosystem of workshops and residencies that have become vital to the careers of artists.
The Capitol's attending physician told senior Republican staff in a conference call Thursday that he doesn't have the equipment to do either rapid or widespread testing of the 100 senators who return to work Monday, per two sources familiar with the call.

Driving the news: Congressional doctor, Brian Monahan, told the staff he didn't have access to the 15-minute tests the White House has been using. And he said he didn't have enough supply to test asymptomatic senators  he would only be testing people who are ill or show symptoms of the coronavirus.

Monahan said his tests would take as long as seven business days to get results back. "My test result can take between two and seven business days to resolve," he said, per the sources. He said the senator would need to be "in a quarantine or isolated situation" until the test result came back.

Politico first reported some of the details of this call.

Behind the scenes: The topic of testing arose when one of the Republican chiefs of staff mentioned to Monahan that most senators were in the high-risk category for the virus, and would he be able to offer the testing that is being done at the White House.

Monahan said he couldn't offer that kind of testing due to the lack of supply of the high-speed tests used for people visiting with the president.

"We don't have the capability to do a large-scale test," Monahan told the staff, per the sources.

The questioner followed up by asking Monahan whether he could see if the White House had any extra capacity to test some of the more elderly senators such as Dianne Feinstein, Richard Shelby and Lamar Alexander. Monahan said he'd look into it.

Another questioner asked Monahan whether Senate offices would have to report to neighboring offices, who share hallways, if one of their staff gets the virus.

Monahan said he couldn't require senate offices to notify him of positive diagnoses because of patient privacy. But he added he hoped senate offices would tell him anyway so he could do contact tracing.

Between the lines: A number of Democrats  including Feinstein  have publicly expressed their concern about Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to bring the senate back into session. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to keep the House home, citing advice from Monahan.

A staffer familiar with the Senate GOP call with Monahan told Axios: "This so-called safety plan is literally a house of cards. So much has to go right in order for one thing not to bring it all down."

On the Thursday call, McConnell's chief of staff, Sharon Soderstrom, listed a number of measures they'll be recommending for virus safety. She said they'll have three senators to a table at senate lunches and that staff will be encouraged to strictly enforce social distancing including avoiding moving between rooms in their offices.

Why this matters: This question of testing  and the disappointing answer  is a microcosm of the national flaws in testing and the risks of opening up.

The Senate is a high-risk, high-priority group within one of the country's biggest cities. And even they can't get access to Abbott's rapid testing; apparently no one in Washington can, outside of the White House.

The inability to identify asymptomatic patients is one of the country's biggest shortcomings. Until we can do that, we can never execute a system of identifying new patients early enough to limit the number of people they will infect.

But that problem persists, nationwide and even in the Senate. Long turnaround times compound that risk.

The bottom line: Members of Congress skew older. They work in close quarters, with a lot of other people coming and going.
Mumbai, May 1 : Late Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa, along with sons Babil and Ayaan, has issued a statement expressing gratitude to his doctors and fans. The family also believes the actor's death is not a loss, because now they will learn to implement things in life that he had taught them over the years.

"How can I write this as a family statement when the whole world is taking it as a personal loss? How can I begin to feel alone when millions are grieving with us at the moment? I want to assure everyone that this is not a loss, it is a gain. It's a gain of the things he taught us, and now we shall finally begin to truly implement it and evolve. Yet I want to try to fill in the things that people don't already know," the statement said.

Talking about the actor's strive for perfection, the statement added: "It's unbelievable for us but I would put it in Irrfan's words, 'it's magical' whether he is there or not there, and that's what he loved, he never loved one dimensional reality. The only thing I have a grudge against him is; he has spoiled me for life. His strive for perfection doesn't let me settle for ordinary in any thing. There was a rhythm which he always saw in everything, even in cacophony and chaos, so I have learnt to sing and dance to the music of that rhythm, even with my tone-deaf voice and two left feet." The family also expressed gratitude to doctors who stood by them.

"Funnily, our life was a masterclass in acting, so when the dramatic entry of the 'uninvited guests' happened, I had by then learnt, to see a harmony in the cacophony. The doctor's reports were like scripts which I wanted to perfect, so I never miss any detail that he sought for in his performance. We met some amazing people in this journey and the list is endless, but there are some whom I have to mention, our oncologist Dr. Nitesh Rohtogi (Max hospital Saket) who held our hand in the beginning, Dr. Dan Krell (UK), Dr. Shidravi (UK), my heartbeat and my lantern in the dark Dr. Sevanti Limaye (Kokilaben hospital)." "It's difficult to explain what a wondrous, beautiful, overwhelming, painful and exciting this journey has been. I find this 2 and 1/2 years to have been an interlude, which had it's own beginning, middle and culmination with Irrfan helming the role of the orchestra conductor, separate from the 35 years of our companionship, ours was not a marriage, it was a union," the statement added.

The family now wants to sail through the journey of life with what Irrfan had taught all of them. He is not there but he continues to be with them in the form of their guiding light.

"I see my little family, in a boat, with both my sons Babil and Ayaan, paddling it forward, with Irrfan guiding them 'wahan nahi, yahan se modo' but since life is not cinema and there are no retakes, I sincerely wish my children sail this boat safely with their father's guidance in mind and rockabye through the storm. I asked my children, if possible, they could sum up a lesson taught by their father that has been important to them; Babil: Learn to surrender to the dance of uncertainty and trust your faith in the universe. Ayaan: Learn to control your mind and to not let it control you." Sharing a message for Irrfan's fans, the family said they are not ready to address them as fans anymore but as family from now on.

"Tears will flow as we will plant a raat ki rani tree, his favourite, to the place where you have put him to rest after a victorious journey. It takes time but it will bloom and the fragrance will spread and touch all the souls whom I won't call them fans but family for years to come," the statement said.
With Gen Naravane as frontrunner, CCS meet next week to pick new CDS

Four names in contention for next Chief of Defence Staff

India may get its new CDS only by April

Next CDS of India: Rajnath Singh to receive list of probables soon

India tells France, have the political will, ability to counter misadventure by China

Chief of Defence Staff, 3 service chiefs to address media at 6 pm today

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: The Chief of Defence Staff, Bipin Rawat along with the three service chiefs will address the press at 6 pm today.

It is still unclear what the address is about, but it is likely to focus on the coronavirus situation. The chiefs are likely to speak about the way forward following the end of the lockdown on May 3.

Earlier this week, the Army had issued an advisory to its personnel warning them against the possibility of their phones being hacked. It was learnt by the Intelligence Bureau that Pakistan agencies were using a malware carrying an application similar to the Aarogya Setu.

The advisory has recommended to the personnel that they should only download the 'Aarogya Setu' app from authorised links from the 'mygov.in' website.

"The fake app during installation asks the user to permit use of internet and installation of additional application packages.

"Thereafter, it installs malicious links like face.apk, imo.apk, normal.apk, trueC.apk, snap.apk and viber.apk," the advisory, accesed by , said.

These viruses then look into a user's smartphone and enable a hacker to track and monitor the content and activity of the phone. The data extracted from the user is saved at the command and control server of the app that is reported to be located in the Netherlands, a senior official said.

The troops have been asked to exercise caution while opening suspicious links over social media platforms and e-mail over their phones and apply up-to-date security patches and anti-virus guard, he said.

The Aarogya Setu application developed by the government helps people assess themselves on the risk of their catching the coronavirus infection.

The app detects other devices having the same facility in its GPS or bluetooth range and captures information regarding COVID-19 positive or linked cases.

The central government on Wednesday also made it mandatory for government officials to download and use the app in their personal phones.
The chaplain to Corks Traveller community has encouraged its members to follow public health advice after almost 200 people attended a burial in the city.

Fr Oscar O'Leary, who has ministered to Travellers for almost 25-years, made his comments last night after the funeral at St Catherines Cemetery in Kilcully.

Only a handful of the immediate family attended the Reqiuem Mass, sitting apart. But despite pleas from the family for people to stay away from the cemetery, an estimated 200 people went to the cemetery.

Fr Oscar said Travellers are people of great faith and added: "They did the very best they could. But I would encourage them to follow the public health advice and the guidelines."

Its understood that the family has lost several family members in sudden and tragic circumstances in recent days and face another funeral soon.

Green Party Cllr Oliver Moran, who chairs the city councils Traveller Accommodation Committee, said its immensely difficult for people to grieve at this time - especially for a family experiencing tragedy at this scale.

"Its natural that people will want to show their respects. The family asked that the funeral be family only and that mourners practice social distancing. There was a message on social media from the family to keep numbers down and respect HSE guidelines," he said.

"We have to find new ways to do show respect at this time. The best way, I believe, to honour the family and the deceased is to honour that request."

Following the Covid-19 outbreak, the HSE has had very strict guidelines in place for funerals since the end of March.

Funeral masses are restricted to a maximum of 10 people, apart from the priest and undertakers.

Social distancing must be maintained with no handshaking or hugging and numbers in cemeteries must be limited.

A spokesperson for the diocese of Cork and Ross said Bishop Fintan Gavin and the clergy realise that such restrictions are "burdensome".

"The diocese is happy to cooperate with statutory and local authorities to find ways to support grieving families while also attending to keeping safe all who are involved by ensuring that social distancing and other requirements are met," he said.
<! Betta Edu: alleges people in Cross River state being offered bribes to claim they are COVID-19 positive >

Dr. Betta Edu, commissioner for health in Cross River State said some people in her state have received text messages to claim they are COVID-19 positive.

Edu, who is also the Chairman, COVID-19 task force team described the trend as worrisome.

In an interview on TVC Thursday night, she said the state is probing the source of the messages.

Recipients of the messages were promised some monetary inducements to claims COVID-19 status.

Cross River is the only state in southern Nigeria without a single case of the virus.

And Betta Edu vowed that the state wants to keep the status.

On Wednesday, she appealed to the Federal authorities for more kits and funds.

Up till date, the state has received only 50 test kits from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

That, she said, is grossly inadequate for the 4.5million people in the state.

According to her, with the release of funds and more test kits, samples will be taken across the state.

They will then be sent to Irrua Teaching Hospital in Edo State for laboratory testing.

She also said the NCDC staff that are expected in the state to commence collection of samples would be quarantined for 14 days.

She noted that the state was more interested in the prevention of the virus than its management.

As a state, we have shut down borders and all land entrances to prevent the spread of the virus. It is not compulsory that all states will be affected.

The state government is doing all it can to ensure that it remains COVID-19 free. The no mask, no movement policy had helped a lot in achieving the fight against the pandemic, she said.

On Thursday, First Bank and Olam Farms supported the state with cash and materials.

First Bank donated N30m to the state, while Olam brought 5,000 facemasks, 1,000 bottles of hand sanitisers and 3,200 cartons of noodles.
Singapore's contact tracing app, TraceTogether, which is being used as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus in the city-state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a new document this week, outlining what it views as the critical features of contact tracing apps. The recommendations appear to be good news for the Apple-Google partnership.

Millions of people are expected to download contact tracing apps in the coming months to slow the spread of the coronavirus. CDC guidance is important because public health organizations often refer to it when they decide what technology to support.

In the latest CDC publication, the group cites the "PACT protocol" as a an example of the recommended method for using "Bluetooth enabled proximity tracking" while maintaining privacy. As CNBC reported earlier this week, Apple and Google, in developing a contact tracing system, took several ideas from PACT, an open-source protocol developed under the leadership of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The companies will unveil sample apps using their system early next week, company representatives said, and released beta software for developers on Wednesday. Apple and Google have said they're leaving it to public health authorities to decide what system to make and how to implement it.

At their most basic, contact tracing apps, like those currently deployed in Singapore and Australia, use signals from smartphones to trace who an infected person has been in contact with, so those people can be isolated or tested.

Two broad approaches to digital contact tracing apps have been used. One, often called "decentralized," is anonymous and doesn't require a phone number or email address to use. The other approach, often called a "centralized system," feeds infection data to public health authorities so they can reach out manually to people who may have been infected.

Apple and Google are among those who support the decentralized approach, saying that it's a more private way to do contact tracing, and that it can get faster and more widespread adoption because users remain anonymous and are contacted through automation if they're at risk.
Moving himself, his wife and their two young boys to Lyon, Buford sets out, with characteristically self-deprecating humor, not merely to learn the techniques of French cuisine, but to understand its essence. The quest will see him consuming with Rabelaisian enthusiasm the regions cheeses and quenelles and poulets en vessie, and playing bemused supplicant and interrogator to a cadre of beatified chefs, including  holiest of holies  Paul Bocuse himself. But most enjoyable (for us, if not for him) are the apprenticeships in which he sets out to master the five mother sauces, bake the perfect baguette and construct the same misleadingly named duck pie by which one years candidates for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (a kind of culinary knighthood) were judged. Along the way he tangles with the betes noires of every Anglophone in France  the language, the bureaucracy, the arrogance  and embarks, to the great nationalistic dismay of all around him, on a quixotic investigation to prove an Italian origin theory for pot au feu and other French classics. The books dust jacket breathlessly proclaims it as the definitive account of one of the worlds great culinary cultures, but Dirt is something better: a delightful, highly idiosyncratic exploration of how, as Buford puts it, a dish is arrived at not by following a set of instructions but by discovering everything about it: the behavior of its ingredients, its history and a quality that some chefs think of as its soul.

Image

REBEL CHEF

In Search of What Matters

By Dominique Crenn with Emma Brockes

244 pp. Penguin Press. $28.

Im French, so I already know how to cook.

Buford would appreciate such Gallic confidence, but so, apparently, did Jeremiah Tower, the chef of San Franciscos Stars, which was one of the most exciting restaurants in America when Crenn applied for a job there. Despite her utter lack of professional training, she got it, launching a career that would culminate 20-odd years later with her own San Francisco restaurant, Atelier Crenn, where she won first two and then three Michelin stars for dishes that were inspired by childhood holidays in Brittany.

But the story here is less about food than about Crenns confidence: where it came from and what it has allowed her to achieve. Adopted from an orphanage when she was a year old, the future chef grew up in a loving family but with a strong sense that she didnt quite fit in. The feeling left her free, she writes, to reinvent herself, leaving hidebound France for the United States when she was in her 20s, and pursuing an unconventional path to culinary stardom that included a stint at the helm of an all-womens kitchen in Indonesia and a winning turn on Iron Chef.

By the end of this cleanly written (thanks to her co-author Brockes) and satisfying work, Crenn has confronted various obstacles, gender discrimination and health problems among them, to win a place in the pantheon of French chefs  on her own terms.
COVID-19 has been called the novel coronavirus, but there is nothing novel about social distancing and quarantine. Societies historically have resorted to such measures for public safety. But what about biblical prophecy? Is this the end of the world? Are we in the tribulation period? Is Revelation 13 unfolding before usa world in panic yielding authority to a ruler who will exercise massive control over the worlds populations?

Probably not. We may have the right chapter but the wrong book! Rather than this being a Revelation 13 moment, consider it more of a Leviticus 13 moment requiring Romans 13 compliance, prompted by 1 Corinthians 13 motivation.

Quarantine is biblical

Israel had a long history of self-isolation, beginning in Exodus. Moses, in a sense, was the first public health official, instructing the people in Gods protocols for community well-being. Though Gods people were designed for life together in proximity, sometimes, for health or safety purposes, separation was required.

Every year Jews around the world observe Passover, a commemoration of a stay-at-home order from God. The Lord confined the Hebrews to their homes as death passed them over (Ex. 12:23). The nations obedience readied them to leave Egypt for their new homeland.

While en route, God gave Israel laws for managing life together, including what can be read as personal hygiene regulations to ensure public sanitizationall predicated on the premise in the Torah of loving ones neighbor as oneself (Lev. 19:18). Leviticus 13:18 lays out the law concerning leprosy (a large grouping of infectious skin diseases of varying severity). It consists of a 14-day quarantine, divided by two seven-day examinations to determine if the disease is a threat to the greater community. If someone tested positive, he or she had to publicly declare themselves unclean. Sounds eerily familiar, doesnt it?

In ancient Israel, though priests had clear, well-defined sacerdotal functions, they also operated as custodians of public health, assessing the threat level for the greater community (a fairly progressive policy for 1500 B.C.). Even King Uzziah had to live out his days in isolation once he was confirmed to have leprosy (2 Chron. 26:21).

God mandated these laws well before medical science could explain the reasons behind them. The Mishnah added rules for triaging cases of leprosy and STDshow and when to quarantine, how to confirm positive cases, and how and when to declare someone clean and reintegrate them back into society.

Even in the New Testament, lepers practiced a form of social distancing. A group of ten stood afar off (Luke 17:12, KJV) as Jesus approached their village and cleansed them. No holy kisses (Rom. 16:16), embraces, or high fives could be exchanged (Matthew 8 excepted). However, Jesus approach signaled a way to mitigate an infectious disease. He had compassion on those who were suffering and insisted they go through the established health system of priestly examinations as outlined in Leviticus 13.

Rather than Revelation 13 conclusions, think Leviticus 13 obligations with 1 Corinthians 13 motives.

This is where 1 Corinthians 13 pertains. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way (1 Cor. 13:45, NLT). Love is expressed in patience, kindness, forbearance, humility, courtesy, selflessness, empathy, and perseverance. It means giving up certain freedoms temporarily to ensure others can thrive. In this pandemic, rather than jumping to Revelation 13 conclusions, consider our Leviticus 13 obligations prompted by a 1 Corinthians 13 motivation.

Moreover, we have another 13th chapter for guidance. In Romans 13, we read that the governing authorities were appointed by God (v. 1, NKJV). One of the main responsibilities of government is the protection of its people. Though governments sometimes overstep their bounds, our general response as citizens is clear: Let every soul be subject to governing authorities. A good Christian should be a good citizen unless being a good citizen means being a bad Christian. God is honored when his earthly representatives are seen as preservers of peace (Matt. 5:9).

With the coronavirus, a simple equation applies: The flatter the rate of viral infection, the smaller the number of people who die. That doesnt mean we cant protest draconian governmental measures, nor does it mean we wont disobey ungodly laws imposed by unrighteous leaders. But it does mean we should, to the best of our ability, live at peace with all people (Rom. 12:18).

Quarantine is beneficial too

Having more time and solitude on your hands isnt a bad thing. Why not treat it as blessing? Church tradition has long encouraged the practice of certain spiritual disciplines, whether disciplines of engagementprayer, study, and serviceor disciplines of abstinencefasting, chastity, and solitude. For those of us accustomed to the pedal-to-the-metalbusyness of everyday lifeperhaps even addicted to itsolitude is challenging, even cumbersome. But it is desperately needed. Dallas Willard put it this way in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines: Of all the disciplines of abstinence, solitude is generally the most fundamental in the beginning of the spiritual life, and it must be returned to again and again as that life develops.

Solitude is the foundation of our quiet times, those periods when we get alone with God to hear his voice speaking to us and when we pour out our hearts to him. Maybe youve longed for such time, but your busy schedule interfered. Well, nows your chance. Given our crowded quarters these days, you might very well end up in the closetand thats okay (Matt. 6:6)!

However, getting alone with God may force you into harsh self-assessment. Solitude is a terrible trial, writes Louis Bouyer in The Spirituality of the New Testament and the Fathers, for it serves to crack open and burst apart the shell of our superficial securities. It opens out to us the unknown abyss that we all carry within us  [and] discloses the fact that these abysses are haunted.

There are a host of benefits to being quarantined or sheltering in place:

Physical restoration: When we are shut down, we are renewed (see Mark 6). God sometimes makes us lie down (Ps. 23:2).

When we are shut down, we are renewed (see Mark 6). God sometimes makes us lie down (Ps. 23:2). Spiritual edification: When in solitude, we can enjoy the presence of God more, getting into his word (Ps. 46:10; Mark 1:35; Lam. 3:25).

When in solitude, we can enjoy the presence of God more, getting into his word (Ps. 46:10; Mark 1:35; Lam. 3:25). Self-evaluation: When we are quiet before the Lord, we allow God to examine us without distractions or competition from others (Heb. 4:13; Ps. 139:13, 2324; and Luke 6:1213).

When we are quiet before the Lord, we allow God to examine us without distractions or competition from others (Heb. 4:13; Ps. 139:13, 2324; and Luke 6:1213). Inner Consolation: You may be grieving the loss of a friend or relative due to the coronavirus. Perhaps youre one of the millions who are unemployed. When you are alone, you can deal with grief at the deepest level (see Matt. 14:1213 and Luke 22:3943).

Take advantage of this strange season imposed on us all. The quarantined life has its challenges. But the Bible tells us that within every adversity lies an opportunity, a buried seed waiting for living water and light to bring it to fruition. Make yourself available to God and see what he does in these strange but potential-filled times.

Skip Heitzig, author of The Bible from 30,000 Feet, is pastor-teacher of Calvary Church and adjunct professor of Biblical Studies at Veritas International University.

[ This article is also available in espanol. ]
On May 1st every year, Labour Day or May Day (International Workers Day) is celebrated in India with a public holiday in all states and Union Territories to recognise the contribution of the working class across the country. Other countries like Cuba and China also celebrate Labours day on May 1.

May Day is also refered as Workers Day or International Workers Day. May Day has different origin stories in different countries. However, the common theme in all countries is the labour class taking a stand against the exploitation they were subjected to.

In Hindi, Labour Day is also known as Kamgar Din or Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas, Kamgar Divas in Marathi and Uzhaipalar Naal in Tamil.

During the era of industrialisation, US industrialists exploited the working class by making them work 15 hours a day. It was only on May 1, 1886, that the labour class came together and revolted against this unjust system and asked for paid leaves, good wages and proper breaks. This is the reason why May Day is celebrated every year.

In Canada and the United States, Labour day celebrated on the first Monday of September and it is considered as the official end of the summer holiday for most of the respective countries, as public school and university students return to school that week or the following week.

Origin of May Day in India

Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement wherein the fight was to advocate for eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. In India, the first formal celebration of Labour Day was initiated by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan in the present-day Chennai on 1 May 1923. It is observed as a holiday all over India as a mark of respect to Indias workforce.

The red flag, which symbolizes Labour Day, was used for the first time in India on this day. Prominent communist leader Malayapuram Singaravelu Chettiar raised the flag and arranged meetings to celebrate the occasion. The day is linked to labour movements for communist and socialist political parties. I

May 1 is also Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day - on this day in 1960 the two states attained statehood after Bombay had been divided into linguistic lines.
The coronavirus outbreak in France was not caused by cases imported from China, but from a locally circulating strain of unknown origin, according to a new study reported by local media.

The study, published by virologists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, said the French strain may have been circulating locally and unrecognised before the global outbreak accelerated, French public radio network RFI said in a report on its website.

Tests on samples from 97 French and three Algerians infected with Sars-CoV-2 suggest that the virus may have been around in France before the pandemic started, it said.

Genetic analysis of the samples revealed that the dominant types of viral strains in France belonged to a group with a common ancestor that did not come from either China or Italy, it said, citing the 16-page study that was first reported by South China Morning Post newspaper.

The French outbreak has been mainly seeded by one or several variants of this clade (group)  we can infer that the virus was silently circulating in France in February, the SCMP quoted researchers led by Dr Sylvie van der Werf and Etienne Simon-Loriere as saying.

The research was published in a non-peer reviewed paper released on bioRxiv.org.

The earliest sample in the French clade was collected on 19 February from a patient who had no travel history and no known contact with returned travellers.

However, current sampling clearly prevents reliable inference for the timing of introduction in France, making it impossible to conclude that the virus existed in France even before it was discovered in China, the researchers said.

France detected the virus in late January, before any other country in Europe.
U.S. spy plane spotted southwest of Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

04/30/2020 10:15 PM

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) An American EP-3E electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft flew southwest of Taiwan Thursday afternoon, the 13th time a U.S. military aircraft has appeared in that area in April, according to a military air movement tracker.

The EP-3E, which exploits a wide range of electronic emissions from deep within targeted territory, was detected in the area between the southern part of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, after flying over the Bashi Channel westward, a flight chart posted on Twitter by Aircraft Spots showed.

The U.S. plane had its transponder switched on, allowing itself to be detected by aircraft tracking sites such as Aircraft Spots.

Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Shih Shun-wen (), told reporters that Taiwan's armed forces closely monitor the country's surrounding waters and airspace, without directly confirming the aircraft sighting.

Based on a compilation of the MND and Aircraft Spots' public records, this was the 13th appearance of U.S. military aircraft in the area in this month. Previous sightings involved RC-135U Combat Sents, P-3 Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft other than EP-3Es.

Su Tzu-yun , an analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, speculated that U.S. reconnaissance aircraft were in the area to check on the movements of Chinese People's Liberation Army submarines.

The South China Sea, the Bashi Strait and the Philippine Sea form a corridor where the ocean is deep and suitable for submarine operations, Su said.

The Philippine Sea, located east of the Philippine archipelago, is one of the two ideal missile-launching points for Chinese submarines, as submarine-launched missiles fired in that area are capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, he added.

The other location seen as an optimal point for Chinese submarines to launch a missile attack is the Bohai Sea, on the east coast of China close to the Korean Peninsula, Su said.

(By Matt Yu and Emerson Lim)

Enditem/AW

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TDT | Manama

The Information and Communication Technology Governance Committee (ICTGC) held its 34th meeting, chaired by the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed.

The discussions were conducted via Microsoft Teams in line with current remote working and preventive measures aimed at maintaining public safety as recommended by the National Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The chairman praised the efforts of Team Bahrain, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister, towards ensuring the continuity of work at government entities and the uninterrupted provision of high-quality public services during the current exceptional circumstances.

He reaffirmed iGAs commitment to offering technical support to government entities so that they can transition to remote working as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

The committee discussed recent project developments as well as the operational expenses of government entities, which were revised following a decision issued from the 53rd meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance aimed at limiting operational expenses to necessary purchase orders that cannot be delayed.

ICTGC also reviewed a number of suggested criteria for evaluating purchase orders to support the aforementioned decision. Several projects and strategic purchase requests from government entities were discussed, most notably the development of security readiness and a firewall system to support the governments transition to remote working, critically important under the current circumstances, and the provision of necessary IT human resources to certain government entities.

The committee continues to hold its meetings remotely, utilising advanced technologies that have proven efficient in supporting the continuity of work in the government sector, reducing costs, saving time, and streamlining document sharing.
The Delhi government on Friday suspended an order that asked medical directors of all its hospitals to seek a written explanation from health care workers who get infected or come in contact with Covid-19 positive patients, after attracting fierce criticism.

All Medical Directors are directed to obtain written explanation  as how these persons got infected or become a contact in spite of wearing required protective gears, maintaining safe distance and following precautions prescribed for healthcare workers, the order read.

This was done as medical directors of non-Covid hospitals were indiscriminately sending doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff members to quarantine either at hotels or their homes for 14 days, leading to a shortage of staff, according to the order.

It seems, it is happening because either hospitals are not following standard SOPs [standard operating procedures] or such persons are not following guidelines prescribed for healthcare workers, according to the order.

So far, at least 293 health care workers  doctors, nurses, technicians, ambulance staff, sanitation workers, and hospital security  in the city have tested positive for Covid-19. Most of them worked either in non-Covid-19 hospitals or areas of hospitals that accept Covid-19 patients.

At Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial hospital in Jahangirpuri, at least 75 staff members have tested positive for the infection. At the nearby Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital around 45 staff have tested positive, with the medical director also having to go into quarantine.

Delhi government should stop issuing ill-advised circulars targeting health care workers. Stop victim-blaming when hospitals are not ensuring the availability of appropriate PPE [personal protective equipment] despite a Supreme Court order, said Dr Srinivas Rajkumar T, general secretary of the Resident Doctors Association of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

It is the hospitals not adhering to safety guidelines, not designating separate areas for Covid and non-Covid patients, and poor planning and execution that has resulted in the infection spreading to health care workers. The government should stop blaming health care workers as a cover for its deficiencies. If every hospital is asked to declare its PPE utilisation per health care worker and the status of stock, along with the quality of PPE, it will be evident who is at fault, he said.

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Mining billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest has sought to put an end to a week of controversy, rejecting claims he was attempting to blindside the Morrison government by inviting a Chinese diplomat to speak alongside Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Mr Forrest has faced accusations of orchestrating a stunt against the government after Australia's calls for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus triggered tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest is the chairman and biggest shareholder of iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. Credit:Trevor Collens

Describing the claims as "misleading and inaccurate", Mr Forrest said Mr Hunt had agreed to allow China's Victorian Consul General, Zhou Long, to speak at the official press conference on Wednesday. Multiple government sources strongly dispute Mr Forrest's version of events.

"I will not be cowed by those who choose to misrepresent me, from acting in the best of my ability for the good of Australia and Australians, leveraging relationships forged in America, China and all around the world," Mr Forrest said on Friday.
Television presenter Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh is suing her employers RTE, the Irish Independent has learned.

The 'Nationwide' presenter has initiated personal injury proceedings against the national broadcaster, where she has worked in a variety of roles over the past three decades.

Ms Ni Chofaigh (49) declined to comment on the High Court action, but it is thought to relate to grievances spanning a considerable period of time.

RTE previously held an internal inquiry following complaints from the presenter that she had been sexually harassed by another staff member in the 1990s.

It is understood human resources issues raised by Ms Ni Chofaigh more recently have also been the subject of investigation.

The proceedings were initiated on Wednesday and Ms Ni Chofaigh is being represented by Daniel Spring and Company, a solicitors firm specialising in employment law and personal injury matters.

It is understood a personal injuries summons has yet to be received by RTE.

Available records indicate the matter has already been considered by the Injuries Board, which exercised its discretion not to arrange for the making of an assessment of damages.

Among other reasons, this can happen in cases where there are particularly complex issues, where the injuries sustained are wholly or in part psychological, or where aggravated or exemplary damages are sought.

Contacted by the Irish Independent, Ms Ni Chofaigh said: "I can't comment, sorry."

A spokesperson for RTE said it did not comment on legal matters.

In a radio interview several years ago, Ms Ni Chofaigh said she was sexually harassed by another staff member after she landed her first job at RTE at the age of 18. She revealed how this had a devastating effect on her life.

"Sexual harassment then, nobody understood it," she said in the interview on radio station Newstalk.

"I understood it as a feeling, what it made you feel, but I didn't have the words to articulate it. I didn't even understand that is what you called it.

"But somebody trying to undermine you by making you feel dirty and making sexual innuendos, that is the only definition I have of it because I have been there.

"I found myself in quite a serious situation with an internal inquiry instigated by myself because of the stuff I had gone through."

The person against whom she made the complaints is no longer alive.

RTE later confirmed an internal inquiry took place regarding incidents described by Ms Ni Chofaigh. However, it declined to reveal the outcome or confirm the identity of the alleged perpetrator.

It is understood other work-related issues have been raised by Ms Ni Chofaigh with RTE management in more recent times.

She joined 'Nationwide' earlier this year as a replacement for the departing Mary Kennedy. Ms Ni Chofaigh previously co-presented 'The Afternoon Show' between 2003 and 2009, but left due to health problems.

The mother-of-four was a judge in 'The All Ireland Talent Show' and took part in the reality television show 'Celebrity Bainisteoir'.

She has also worked as an actor, featuring in the Irish language comedy 'Crisis Eile'.
(Courtesy Big Storm Brewing)

Back in January, L.J. Govoni started to hear the rumblings. He had a cousin who was teaching English in China, and word was starting to filter out that a new virus was starting to have a dramatic impact on day-to-day life.

Govoni, the president of Big Storm Brewing in Clearwater, Florida, then began hearing that the federal government might just start relaxing rules on the creation of alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Putting those two strands together, he got on the phone with local and elected officials to see what Big Storm could do to help in what was clearly a growing crisis.

Fast forward to the end of March, right when panic-buying of toilet paper and hand sanitizer was at its peak. Store shelves were bare, with little hope for quick replenishment. At that point, breweries and distilleries began to realize they had a unique skillset that could address a pressing local and national need.

On a normal day, the tap room at Big Storm Brewing  just like those at craft breweries like Yellowhammer Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama; SanTan Brewing in Chandler, Arizona; and Creature Comforts in Athens, Georgia  would be packed, aficionados and day drinkers alike enjoying beers with names like Trampoline Dream, Moon Juice, and Tropicalia.

But in these days of lockdown and fear, breweries and distilleries across the United States have pivoted away from beer and spirits, turning their alcohol acumen to blending hand sanitizer. The breweries share some common characteristics  theyre deeply connected to their local communities, theyre creative, and theyve got people on the payroll ready and willing to work  and theyve put all these to use. The switch may not be as dramatic as car manufacturers switching over to build planes and tanks during World War II, but in a national crisis, every bit of ingenuity helps.

We felt we had the ability to make hand sanitizer, because of our experience handling alcohol, which is a key ingredient in the product, says Robert Hall, CEO of Ole Smoky Moonshine in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and after closing our distilleries to visitors, we also had Ole Smoky employees that were available to assist with production.

Story continues

(Courtesy Ole Smoky Distillery)

On a broad scale, the processes necessary to brew beer and create hand sanitizer are roughly the same, with different elements such as hydrogen peroxide and glycerol blended into the alcohol at different points in the process. Some breweries started from scratch, sourcing out the necessary materials and firing up the production line with few of their usual concerns.

Flavor and taste is no consideration, says Govoni. Its all about efficiently extracting as much alcohol as possible. Hand sanitizers are 80 percent to 95 percent alcohol, far more than beer or spirits.

Others, including SanTan Spirits, recalled much of its unsold beer and blended it into sanitizer. SanTan keeps a strict sell-by policy on its beer, and as much of its IPA stock was nearing that 90-day sell-by date, the brewery recalled 16,000 gallons, to be blended into 400 gallons of SanTanitizer. The IPA base gives the sanitizer what the company called a pleasant tropical hop aroma.

(We cannot stress this enough  do not drink hand sanitizer, not even if it comes from a craft brewery. The federal government requires the addition of a denaturing agent to make the hand sanitizer bitter and unfit for drinking, no matter how good it smells.)

As the scope of the coronavirus crisis grew more clear, breweries across the country began picking up on the need for hand sanitizer, and on March 18, the federal government formally waved the green flag to allow breweries and distilleries to ramp up production. The Bureau of Alcohol and Tobaccos Tax and Trade Bureau waived taxes and permitting requirements for the production of hand sanitizer, and facilities all over the country began repurposing their operations to meet the vast need.

Within the industry, we saw a couple of distilleries start producing sanitizer and, when we saw a need for it in our community as well, we challenged ourselves to utilize our existing resources to begin offering it from the brewery, says Chris Herron, CEO of Creature Comforts in Athens. We were able to re-pivot to start making hand sanitizer in about three weeks.

SanTan's distillery is now being repurposed for hand sanitizer. (Courtesy SanTan Brewing)

It hasnt gone entirely smoothly. Maui Brewing ran afoul of county officials zealously prosecuting a no-gifts-with-alcohol regulation when it began giving away hand sanitizer. But for the most part, local governments have welcomed the unexpected influx of assistance.

Switching over manufacturing processes from brewing/distilling to hand sanitizer production takes anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks, depending on the size of the operation. Sourcing materials and finding necessary packaging was a challenge, but ingenuity runs in the bloodstream of brewers and distillers.

Ole Smoky, for instance, repurposed the five-gallon pails that it receives filled with cherries  for their Moonshine Cherries, of course  into containers for large-scale distribution. The company sells personal quantities of hand sanitizer in 50ml glass mason jars once meant for moonshine. Big Storm used some old tap towers left over from its earliest days to fill multiple jugs at once.

Most of the first batches from breweries went to the places that needed it the most  first responders, hospitals and the like. Others provided sanitizer for their own employees and their families. With production now largely ahead of demand, many breweries are looking at ways to sell to the public; some are selling curbside, while others ship online orders.

The hospitality industry has been hit pretty hard, says Ethan Couch, co-founder and general manager of Yellowhammer Brewing. Now that weve got first responders taken care of, were reaching out to our former clients for beer and spirits and getting them sanitizer. Were all in the same boat right now.

As a side benefit, keeping the breweries in operation has allowed companies to keep their employees  almost always referred to as team members or even family  employed. Many of these are small operations, with less than 100 employees, and the ability to keep members of the family working and on the payroll cant be overstated.

We thought we could sell a couple hundred gallons a week, Big Storms Govoni says. Were up to thousands of gallons. Were keeping the team together as we come out the back side of this. I feel better about our business today than I did last year.

(Courtesy Yellowhammer Brewing)

_____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him with tips and story ideas at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

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The Trump administration is moving to take a more aggressive stand against China on economic, diplomatic and scientific issues at the heart of the relationship between the worlds two superpowers, further fraying ties that have reached their lowest point in decades.

White House aides this week have prodded President Trump to issue an executive order that would block a government pension fund from investing in Chinese companies, officials said  a move that could upend capital flows across the Pacific. Mr. Trump announced on Friday that he was restricting the use of electrical equipment in the domestic grid system with links to a foreign adversary  an unspoken reference to China.

The administration is cutting off grants that would help support virology laboratories in Wuhan, China, the city where the coronavirus outbreak began, and is looking into scientific collaborations undertaken there by the University of Texas.

Senior aides, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have asked intelligence agencies to continue looking for any evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory that the pandemic might be the result of an accidental lab leak, even though analysts have said they most likely will not find proof.

The open rivalry between the two nations has taken on a harder and much darker shading in the months since the new coronavirus spread from a metropolis on the Yangtze River across the globe, speeding up efforts by hard-liners in both Washington and Beijing to execute a so-called decoupling of important elements of the relationship.

The bitter information war over the virus has become a core part of the competition, but the Trump administrations efforts to counter China have sharpened across the board. That is partly in response to what administration officials say are Chinas own aggressive moves, including the pushing of anti-America disinformation worldwide, increased military activity in the South China Sea and clampdowns on freedoms in the semiautonomous global financial city of Hong Kong.

Mr. Trumps campaign aides and Republican lawmakers also aim to amplify criticism of China partly to deflect from the administrations own record on the pandemic, especially as the general election in November approaches.
Meghalaya government on Friday



decided to allow mining activities to resume from next week, though the ongoing nationwide lockdown has been extended by two weeks from May 4.

Cement industries are also directed to submit their working plan like materials required to be transported from outside the state, the number of trucks needed in a week or day, Deputy Chief Minister Pretone Tynsong said.

"After thorough deliberations, it was decided that mining activities duly licensed by the government will resume their activities with effect from May 4," Tynsong told reporters here.

He said major mining companies like LafargeHolcim, which operates a limestone mine in East Khasi Hills district, have been granted permission to resume their operational activities.

The government has also decided to allow the EPIP Byrnihat, Umiam Industrial Estate, Industrial units in West Khasi Hills, Jaintia and Garo Hills to resume their activities from May 4, Tynsong said.

The deputy chief minister said public transport will be allowed to resume by Monday in the entire state barring Shillong, an orange zone, where restrictions are still in force, he said.

"The government has instructed all deputy commissioners and district transport officers to work out modalities to put in place arrangments for public transportation," Tynsong said, adding that only 25 per cent of public transportation will be allowed.

Meghalaya currently has one active Covid-19 case. It has reported 12 cases so far, of which one died and 10 recovered.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A select cohort of businesses across Casper will share grand reopenings Friday, when the states new public health order takes effect. But it wont be business as usual.

Open for business in the time of coronavirus means social distancing. It means appointment only. It means rigorous sanitation and masks.

Its not going to be anything close to what it was before, Brandy Thomas, owner of Nicks Barber Stylist, told the Star-Tribune on Tuesday.

Indeed, the new public health order issued by Gov. Mark Gordon and state health officer Dr. Alexia Harrist allows personal care establishments, like salons, tattoo parlors and gyms, to reopen Friday with limitations.

Barbershops and salons, tattoo parlors and nail salons can provide service by appointment only and face coverings must be worn by staff and clients. Both staff and clients have to be screened for symptoms and no more than nine people can be in one area at a time. Social distancing is also still required.

Gyms also have to limit the number of people inside, they cant offer fitness classes or personal training, and staff must wear face masks.

All businesses have to keep records of who comes and goes to make contact tracing easier if new cases do emerge.

David Andersons Rootz Salon and Spa is one of the Casper businesses reopening Friday.

Anderson has redesigned the salons entire layout to meet social distancing guidelines, and he is implementing rigorous sanitizing practices. Rootz stylists will wear masks in the shop, as required by the new public health order, and clients will be asked to wear masks as well.

Clients wont be allowed to bring guests, and rather than waiting for their appointments inside, they will have to wait in their car and wait for a phone call inviting them in.

Many salons across Casper that have announced plans to reopen Friday have shared similar procedures for their own businesses.

Andersons staff has all earned online certificates in salon infection control, offered by the salon disinfectant products company Barbicide. The company also has a back-to-work plan for salons to reopen and observe proper safety protocols.

The certification course went through disinfectant protocols, how to protect guests who are immunocompromised and proper disinfecting protocols.

We dont just want to do good enough; we want to do better, Anderson said of the safety measures.

And he doesnt say it as a platitude. Anderson himself is immunocompromised and a single father of two boys under the age of 10.

So its definitely something I thought about and weighed in my mind, but I do believe with the precautions that are set, we will be able to conduct business safely, he said. Otherwise we wouldnt open; it wouldnt be worth it.

Hes also comforted by the fact experts are telling him hes allowed to conduct business, pointing to directives from the Natrona County Health Department.

So Im trusting that, he said.

Business owners throughout the city are trusting the new guidelines. More than a dozen businesses have posted on social media to invite customers to make appointments for May 1 and beyond.

Across town, Westy Guill is making some drastic changes to his gym, Oil City CrossFit, to prepare for his own reopening.

Guill wont be open right away on Friday, but he plans to be ready to go Monday morning.

Its not that the space isnt ready. Hes deep-cleaned it twice a week since the shutdown began. Hes taped off social-distance-appropriate exercise zones for his patrons.

His problem is that all of his equipment is scattered around home gyms across Casper. Hes been lending workout gear to patrons and non-patrons alike to try to help people maintain their routines as best they can while gyms have been closed.

Now that hes able to open back up, its time for that equipment to come home. But he didnt want to force anyone out of their Friday workouts, so hell open Monday to give his equipment a little more time to find its way back to him.

Guill has had to rethink his entire operation. His gym, and CrossFit generally, is class based. Under the new public health order, gyms can open but they cant offer fitness classes.

So Guill will instead write some exercises on a large whiteboard and let his patrons do their own thing.

Hes going to have the gym open for nine hours a day, and nine people will be allowed inside each hour. Theyll have to sign up for times through the gyms Facebook page.

He has 84 members, he said, so most of his clients will be able to access the facility each day.

Hes also taped 10x10-foot squares on the gym floor to ensure patrons maintain social distancing.

Guill isnt thrilled about the changes hes had to make, but thats what were going to do because it allows people to come through the door, he said. Im hoping come May 15 when they decide to pull back a little more on the restrictions we can go back to doing classes or even possibly just personal training.

The next few weeks will at least allow him to keep up with rent payment for the space he leases for the gym, but he wont be earning any money for himself. Guill makes his money through personal training. That isnt allowed either under the new order. Without it, he has no income.

Me, personally, I have not made a penny in six weeks, he said.

He was able to work something out with his landlord to postpone the gyms April rent to the end of the year. Because he wasnt paying rent on the gym in April, he also didnt charge his clients their monthly membership fees.

With clients able to return, Guill can now collect membership fees for May, but that money goes toward paying the gyms rent. Personal training is how Guill pays for everything else.

Oil City CrossFit is only 15 months old. Guill had been dreaming it up for nearly a decade when he finally decided to pull the trigger.

This has been a dream of mine for the last seven years, he said. Here I am happy as can be, living my dream, and now were navigating through this situation that kind of put a halt to the business, and its just  its just weird.

Follow local government reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @morganhwrites

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Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says Nigeria may ask Madagascar to send a plane load of herbal so...





Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says Nigeria may ask Madagascar to send a plane load of herbal solutions to treat COVID-19.





Madagascar President Andry Rajolina had a week ago launched a herbal medicine believed to cure the novel coronavirus.





Branded COVID-organics, the medicine which contains artemisa, a plant used in treating malaria, was developed by the the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research.





At a briefing on Tuesday, Mustapha who is the chairman of the presidential task force on COVID-19, spoke on the response of Madagascar to COVID-19.

I want to assure you that whatever is happening in the world, we are mindful of it and we are keeping tab, he said.





I was reading of the experiences in Madagascar of why everybody is drinking some solutions that have been prepared. This morning I was sharing with my wife, and I told her that probably I would request that Mr President to allow us import a plane load for a trial.





Because, we are all navigating an unchartered cause. Nobody has ever been on this road. So, every attempt to find solution that would bring succour to our people, be rest assure that this task force is very responsible and we would do everything to ensure that we get what will benefit our people, what will help them in the processes that we find ourselves today.





Although, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has continually warned that there is no cure yet for the virus, some vaccines have been used in clinical trials.




(Newser)  After what the New York Times says were "intensive discussions" within Joe Biden's campaign on how he should best address former aide Tara Reade's sexual assault allegations against him, the former vice president appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe program Friday morning to directly speak to the issue. When MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski asked Biden directly to go on the record on whether he'd sexually assaulted Reade, who says Biden did so in a Senate building in 1993, Biden answered succinctly. "No, it is not true," he responded. "I'm saying unequivocally: It never, never happened." Biden says he doesn't remember any complaint filed by Reade and adds his team hadn't reached out to Reade.

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The Times notes that before Biden's MSNBC appearance, he hadn't been asked about the allegations in any interviews. Top Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are using the accusation in attacks against Biden, but President Trump, who himself has dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against him, wasn't quite as aggressive when asked about it Thursday. "I think he should respond," he said of Biden, though he added, "It could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations, I've been falsely charged numerous timesand there is such a thing." More on Biden's response:



Brzezinski cited a statement Biden put out shortly before the interview noting if any complaint by Reade had been filed, it would be in the National Archives. "I'm confident there's nothing [there]," Biden said, per the Guardian, adding that he's requesting the National Archives search for any related documents. "There's nothing for me to hide. Nothing at all."

Reade says she thinks her complaint, as well as her separation letter and other files, can be found in Biden's Senate records, which are sealed at the University of Delaware until at least two years after he leaves public office. She wants those records released, but Biden insists that's not where any complaints will be found. When Brzezinski pressed Biden on why he wouldn't support searching for Reade-related documents in the university's files, he said over and over, "They're not there," per the New York Times.

The subject of Christine Blasey Ford's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh also came up, with Brzezinski noting, "Why is it real for Dr. Ford, but not for Tara Reade?" Biden's answer: "I'm not suggesting [Reade] had no right to come forward. [Women] should come forward. They should be heard. And then it should be investigated. ... And if there's anything that is consistent with what's being said ... then it should be believed. But ultimately, the truth matters."

Biden expanded on this philosophy in his statement: "Two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny."

When asked by Brzezinski what he would say to Reade, he repeated: "This never, ever happened. I don't know what is motivating her. I don't know what's behind any of it. But it's irrelevant. ... It never happened. Period. I'm not going to start questioning her motive. ... I'm not going to go after Tara Reade for saying these things." But, he added, "what are the facts? Do any of the things she said ... add up?"

(Read more Joe Biden stories.)
Over the following weeks, she said, she pressed the seriousness of the issue with the countys 32,000 residents in a public information campaign through local newspapers and radio, as well as her departments Facebook page. So far, there has been only one recorded COVID-19 death in her county, according to state figures. However, in adjacent Monroe County, which also has a population of 32,000, there have been 10 deaths among just 69 recorded cases of infection, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The devastating impact of the multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade has never been more acute than in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Illegal wildlife trafficking, worth an estimated $23bn annually, has threatened nearly 9,000 species with extinction and for decades served as a low-risk source of income for criminal organisations and terrorist groups.

The Covid-19 outbreak, which has led to more than 221,000 deaths, 3m infections and economic collapse, has focused global attention on the labyrinthine enterprise of wildlife trafficking and how to bring those networks down.

The virus likely originated at a wet market in Wuhan, China and early research suggests a pangolin was the intermediate host in the transmission of the zoonotic disease from bats to humans. Pangolins, or scaly ant-eaters, are the worlds most trafficked animal. Their scales are used in traditional medicine and their meat is prized as a delicacy, primarily in China and Vietnam.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated in 2016 that 1m pangolins have been taken from the wild.

UN leaders, hundreds of animal welfare campaigners, conservation groups, along with The Independent , have called for an international effort to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.

It may be a historically opportune moment. Travel bans, dwindling resources and a reduction in global and cross-border trade has traffickers on the back foot, according to conversations documented by undercover investigators in a Wildlife Justice report this month.

But the window of opportunity is narrowing as trade opens up and impoverished people are drawn into trafficking and poaching as a means of survival.

Organised environmental criminal networks increasingly operate like global multinational businesses, connecting local resources to global markets through complex and interlinked networks often embedded in the business community and in government, sometimes including those tasked with protecting wildlife, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Interpols 2016 assessment.

Janjaweed, the Sudanese militia which carried out genocidal rape and mass murder during the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s, has reportedly butchered thousands of elephants in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic to make money from selling ivory, according to Brookings.

Ivory elephant tusks displayed during a press conference in Hong Kong on 1 February 2019. Ivory is another leading import in criminal wildlife trade (AFP/Getty Images)

The Lords Resistance Army in central Africa, which has abducted tens of thousands of children as child soldiers and sex slaves, profits from the poaching of elephants in Uganda, South Sudan and the Congo.

The policing of wildlife crimes has in the past relied on tip-offs and catching traffickers in the act. However, criminal networks are adapting.

Traditional methods of wildlife trafficking are now much more difficult. Partly because the world is in lockdown and partly because that lockdown makes it easier for law enforcement and others to spot the illegal trafficking," Steve Elliot, managing director of Global Data Analytics firm LexisNexis Risk Solutions and a former detective inspector with the Hong Kong police, told The Independent.

Theres a real opportunity for markets to become more effective at spotting illicit wildlife trade because an increasing proportion of the selling and distribution is going to take place online.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tech innovations offer a creative solution to fight traffickers shifting into the digital realm.

AI applies machine learning to vast quantities of data attributes, those with specific characteristics, to build data sets that can spot patterns of suspicious activity across a wider network.

A Chinese customs officer stands in front of sacks of seized endangered pangolin scales during a press conference in Hong Kong on 1 February 2019 (AFP/Getty Images)

To combat wildlife trafficking, data attributes could include information on criminal history, geolocations, market patterns and key words from online advertising of animal products.

Mr Elliot said: You can very quickly build complex data profiles for the wildlife trade and reverse-engineer it using known outcomes from existing cases to look for the suspicious and the unusual.

AI is going to provide the market with the ability to become much more proactive and effective at finding the illicit activity and therefore will allow organisations to try and disrupt it without waiting for that tip-off that theyve been reliant on for so long.

AI has been used by financial institutions to target corruption. Combatting this illicit activity also previously relied on tip-offs along with screening lists of names from accounts and policies to look for politically-exposed individuals, their relatives and associates.

Recommended The company changing farming to save wildlife and the planet

Mr Elliot said: What weve done in the corruption sector for NTOs (tax organisations) is look at confirmed corruption cases and then reverse-engineer across the market for early indicators.

Separately, data matching across vast swaths of records has had a real-world effect on human trafficking and could be similarly applied to the illegal trade of animals.

Mr Elliot pointed to one example of his companys work with a British bank, when a phone number was flagged from an Eastern European online newspaper ad which promised au-pair work to local women if they travelled to the UK.

The mobile phone number from Eastern Europe matched with the same number in an online prostitution advert in the UK and on one of [the banks] customer accounts. Its a very simple form of data matching, using a mobile phone attribute gathered from multiple sources, that told [the bank] one of their customers was trafficking humans.

The technology to track the traffickers exists - but it comes at a cost.

Mr Elliot added: LexisNexis has approached wildlife trafficking monitoring agencies and offered to help support behind the scenes because we try to drive some social good from what we do.

But what doesnt exist at the moment is that central, non-commercial organisation that is prepared to invest to do it.

Illegal trade is also hidden in plain sight at overextended ports of entry. In the US, about 130 Fish and Wildlife Service officers are tasked with inspecting several hundred thousand shipments each year and must sift through reams of complex customs paperwork on species that are difficult to identify in shipment boxes.

Trafficked animals can be hidden in legally-documented shipments because no system analyses "species per box" in real-time.

The trade is so voluminous, only a small percentage of boxes are opened up and inspected by hand, by sniffer dogs or X-ray making it easier for illegal trade to slip under the radar. It not only poses a huge risk to species, but dishonest exporters have been found to undervalue products meaning shipping taxes go uncollected.

Nature Intelligence System (NIS) is a platform that automatically analyses shipping documents sent to port authorities and determines the probability of illegal trade. It raises red flags to quickly alert customs officers to which shipping boxes need closer inspection.

The project began by looking at the trade in marine aquarium fish and found the government had little information on the species coming into the US.

Their online dashboard of shipment information lets customs agents see how often an importer uses a port of entry, for example, if species are correctly identified and actually from the country that's claimed. Other details include the length of relationship between importers and exporters and even which day of the week shipments are most likely to arrive.

The platform provides a foundation where tech like AI and environmental DNA - using traces of genetic material to monitor endanger species that are difficult to track by traditional methods - will improve chances of detecting illegally shipped wildlife.

NIS, a collaboration between Roger Williams University, University of Massachusetts Boston and Conservation International, sprouted from the federally-sponsored Wildlife Crime Tech Prize in 2016 and has start-up support from Microsoft to develop a cloud-based platform for different countries.

Dr Andrew Rhyne, an associate professor of marine biology who co-created the system, told The Independent that the idea was to take away the noise from the high volumes of legal trade and target illicit activity.

There are good actors who know whats in their shipments, take care of their animals and pay employees a living wage, he said. Then you have people who dont care about the animals, cheat on taxes and they are competing in the same marketplace. How is a consumer supposed to differentiate between the two?

Rooting out wildlife traffickers is possible but punishing their crimes has had limited success. In 2014, law firm DLA Piper investigated legislation, prosecution and penalties facing the illegal wildlife trade in 11 countries and found an overall host of weaknesses.

The only consistent theme in the country reports is that significant work needs to be done in every country in order to effectively tackle the illegal wildlife trade, they said.
Empty meat cases and grocery store shelves are the first hint most people get that the coronavirus is impacting farmers. Those who guess the laws of supply and demand are in farmers favor would be wrong.

COVID-19 is closing processing plants that cant stop their workers from getting ill. Supply chains cannot switch overnight from getting milk into small cartons for schoolchildren to putting it in plastic jugs for the supermarket. Pork and beef destined for restaurant plates cant be easily diverted into deli cases.

Nearly all commodity prices are in negative territory from a year ago, with corn down about 20%, cattle more than 30%, milk down more than one-third and hogs at nearly half what they were.

Im in the tractor now and just planted 11 acres while we were talking, state Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville said. If I only lose $100 an acre on this corn, it will be a miracle.

Not planting isnt an option, because he already locked into seed, fertilizer and chemical contracts before the pandemic. He raises grain and livestock on land farmed by his family for more than 100 years. His grandma in 1905 drove a team of mules to haul the logs for his house and barn.

He also expects to lose money on his cattle. He can usually sell quarters or halves of beef to families and have them processed within a few weeks, but now the soonest processing appointment is nine weeks away and thats another nine weeks of feed.

But his real sympathy is with the dairy farmers. He never played sports, because there was milking to do for the first 43 years of his life.

On a dairy farm everything is booked around the cows: weddings, funerals, parties. The cows are part of your family, like a pet. And you treat them that well because thats your livelihood, Meier said.

But from his childhood when his and every farm had dairy cattle, to 1985 when there were still nearly 4,000 dairy farms in Illinois, to now with fewer than 800 left and dropping fast, things can only get bleaker as a result of the virus. He said dairy farmers saw years of low milk prices, then had a few months in which they made money before the coronavirus hit, then prices dropped and his neighbors were again losing money.

Farming is one of the most dangerous professions and has one of the highest suicide rates, Meier said. Youre going to see a lot of bankruptcies, just like with small business owners. You have a lot of these folks who inherited what their parents built through tough times for 80 years, and they are proud and cant lose the family legacy. Youll see many more bankruptcies if this thing goes into July. And suicides.

COVID-19 relief through the federal CARES Act includes $16 billion in payments to farmers and $3 billion in commodity purchases for food aid programs. Meier has his doubts that the money will make it past food processors and into the hands of farmers, especially with markets being depressed. He saw the same dynamic with the small business loans, which he said saw 12,000 bars and restaurants applying in Illinois with 700 getting funds  and only one of those in the legislative district he represents.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker just extended the state lockdown until May 30. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it could be well into June.

Meier said Illinois economy cant wait that long. He said a regional approach is needed, meaning whats happening in cities that are virus hot spots should not dictate whats happening in rural communities. He noted there are a lot of smart business leaders available to help decide what can open safely, when and how.

But hiking the minimum wage in July and then potentially adding billions in extra progressive state income taxes on Illinois more than 100,000 small businesses will make the economic pain even worse.

Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert opposes the progressive tax for the harm it can do to the states 72,000 farms, arguing the only fair tax is one that treats everyone the same instead of imposing arbitrary government standards. Meier said the double punch of wage and tax hikes will turn southern Illinois into a desert of bankrupt farms and shuttered storefronts.

Farmers have always proven resilient and ultimately will survive the virus and anything state government lobs at them. There just may be fewer of them, with the results visible at a supermarket near you.

Brad Weisenstein is editor at the Illinois Policy Institute. Before that he spent more than 30 years as an editor at his hometown newspaper. He wrote this column for The Center Square.
Now, just as with Captain Crozier, Admiral Gildays fate is up in the air, current and former officials say, as the Pentagon tries to divine what, exactly, President Trump wants it to do. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper declined to endorse Admiral Gildays recommendations, and a final decision was kicked down the road when James E. McPherson, the new acting Navy secretary, ordered up another investigation. The Navy said Thursday it would be completed by May 27.

No one has suggested that Admiral Gilday will lose his job, too  the president has both criticized and praised Captain Crozier regarding the Roosevelt case. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump was again sounding like an undecided voter on the issue, saying that he thought Captain Crozier was a very good man who had a very bad day.

And then he wanted to be Ernest Hemingway, Mr. Trump said in remarks at the White House with the governor of Louisiana. He said the captain started writing these long memos, and you cant do that when youre the captain of a ship. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump said, he plans to see Captain Crozier soon  but did not elaborate.

Admiral Gilday, friends and associates said, was determined that his recommendations on the case would be made based on Navy principles and not on fears of what Mr. Trump might want. He went through the preliminary review, decided that Thomas B. Modly, the acting Navy secretary at the time, should not have fired Captain Crozier, and last Friday briefed Mr. Esper. Mr. Modly has resigned.

Admiral Gilday has told colleagues and friends in private conversations that his decisions about the Roosevelt, and specifically his recommendation to reinstate Captain Crozier, not only mark the first major test of his tenure as the Navys top officer, but also will probably define his term as chief of naval operations. The admiral declined to be interviewed for this article.
TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (14,780.74, down 447.37 points.)

Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Up one cent, or 2.08 per cent, to 49 cents on 19.8 million shares.

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE). Energy. Up half a cent, or 1.14 per cent, to 44.5 cents on 15.1 million shares.

Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Up five cents, or one per cent, to $5.05 on 14.9 million shares.

Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSX:WCP). Energy. Up 26 cents, or 16.56 per cent, to $1.83 on 11.4 million shares.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down $1.65, or 6.23 per cent, to $24.82 on 11.4 million shares.

Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO). Financials. Down $4.07, or 5.44 per cent, to $70.77 on 10 million shares.

Companies in the news:

Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TSX:TPX.B). Down $5.87, or 8.6 per cent, to $62.38. Molson Coors Beverage Co. said it expects a challenging second quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Gavin Hattersley says the first quarter was unlike any in its companys long history. He noted two significant events that occurred as the company came out of a restructuring: a deadly shooting at its Milwaukee brewery in February and the coronavirus. The company is no longer measuring its progress against the five components of its revitalization plan, but rather two new metrics that involve protecting employees and mitigating short-term impacts, and positioning the business to succeed in what the new normal looks like after the pandemic subsides.

Whitecap Resources Inc.  Oil producer Whitecap Resources Inc. says it is planning for involuntary shut-ins of production as North American crude storage levels threaten to exceed capacity and commodity prices remain at low levels. The Calgary-based company announced Thursday it has decided to shut down low profitability wells producing about 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day but is confident it can pull as much as 50,000 boe/d off the market if buyers can no longer be found for it.

Precision Drilling Corp. (TSX:PD). Up nine cents, or 13.6 per cent, to 75 cents. The deep downturn in North American oil and gas drilling has resulted in nearly 3,000 fewer employees working for Precision Drilling Corp. now than at the same time last year, its CEO said Thursday. The company has about 1,800 fewer employees on its U.S. rigs, with just 35 rigs working now versus about 80 last year, CEO Kevin Neveu estimated on a conference call to discuss first-quarter results. In Canada, where only 11 rigs are currently operating, the head count is down about 1,000 employees, he added. Drilling is an industry where workers are frequently laid off for seasonal and cyclical reasons, but Neveu said this downturn is worse than most.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2020.
By Emma Thomasson

BERLIN (Reuters) - The eyes of the retail world are on Germany, the first major Western economy to start reopening bigger stores.

Companies large and small, which have been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic the world over, are eager to see how consumers respond as they emerge from lockdown. Are they too worried to go out shopping, or primed to unleash pent-up demand?

Global chains including H&M <HMb.ST>, Adidas <ADSGn.DE>, IKEA [IKEA.UL] and Puma are trialling pandemic procedures which will also be used in other markets.

Issues include how to keep customers at a safe distance apart, with changing rooms a particular headache. Also how best to protect staff and disinfect surfaces, among other questions.

Early signs show some cause for optimism in Europe's biggest economy, which allowed stores of up to 800 square metres (8,600 sq feet) to open again last week provided they adhere to social distancing and hygiene rules.

Germany's IfW economic institute said within days shopper traffic in major cities bounced back to about half of what was usual for this time of year but the HDE retailers association said stores only made up to 40% of their normal turnover.

"The customers are not in a buying mood. Uncertainties on the job market are too great, many are afraid of losing their jobs," HDE Chief Executive Stefan Genth said on Thursday.

Most customers are respecting distancing rules, according to HDE, which is lobbying for all stores to be allowed to reopen next week. Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding on Thursday to review lockdown restrictions.

"I think they should open many more of the shops," said Marius Fahner, shopping at Berlin's central Alexanderplatz. "You need to give people the chance to live their lives and that can only happen if the shops are open again."

Tesfom Ghebreab, manager of German sportswear brand Puma's flagship Berlin store, said he was pleased to be back at work but it was hard to get used to wearing a paper face mask all day, changing it every few hours, and plastic gloves.

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The store saw more than half its usual daily number of shoppers in its first few days open, he said, reinforcing the IfW findings.

"We definitely miss the tourists but it has been better than expected so far. Loyal customers are saying it is nice to be able to shop again and have been buying more," Ghebreab told Reuters as a steady stream of customers tried on sneakers.

RUN ON YOGA LEGGINGS

Running and training gear is proving especially popular as customers try to keep fit during the lockdown, which is still partially in force, with yoga leggings almost sold out, Ghebreab said.

The store has moved clothes rails further apart and staff are disinfecting handles and rails every two hours.

They are encouraging people to pay by card if possible to minimise handling cash and physical contact, and giving customers shoes from the storeroom to try on rather than from the display.

Customers are offered masks and gloves. Only a handful of people are allowed to enter the store at a time, with others asked to wait outside or move to an upstairs floor.

Sportswear rival Adidas, which has reopened 20 stores so far in Europe and is in the process of opening another 20, said it would be influenced by what it learns in its home market Germany as it gets back to business around the world.

On Monday, Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said customers have been returning to its reopened stores in China but they have not been buying as much as before the crisis. He declined to comment on trade so far in Germany.

'NECESSITY CREATES CREATIVITY'

Swedish clothing giant H&M <HMb.ST>, which saw global sales plunge 46% in March after it closed most of its stores, is gradually reopening in Germany, its largest market, but said the environment remained challenging.

It has kept changing rooms open, but is cleaning them more often and does not have staff handing out tags for numbers of garments. It is also offering an extended return period to discourage too many customers from trying clothes on in-store.

IKEA is benefiting from North Rhine Westphalia state's exemption to the store-size rule for furniture chains. The outlet there is counting people as they come in and out to make sure no more than 640 shoppers are in the building, to comply with the government limit of one customer per 20 square metres.

It has also put up protection screens for staff and closed childcare and restaurant areas.

Media Markt, part of Europe's biggest consumer electronics group Ceconomy, has only opened one floor of its three-floor Berlin store so it can comply with the 800 square-metre rule.

"For the rest you tell the shop assistant what you want and they bring you what you want," said shopper Richard Breitengraser. "Necessity creates creativity."

(Additional reporting by Reuters TV and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm; Editing by Pravin Char)
Counterpoint Research posted its analysis of the global smartphone market for Q1 2020, and the numbers do not look good at all. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shipments fell 13% on a yearly basis, with the total being under 300 million - a number that was last reported in 2014.

There were only two major companies that did not suffer a yearly decline in shipments - Xiaomi and Realme. All the others saw a decrease, but the overall picture remained the same - Samsung and Huawei are top sellers, Apple is comfortably third, and then plenty of China-based companies are in a battle for the last two spots on the Top 5 roster.

According to Counterpoint, the effect of the pandemic will worsen in Q2 2020, with some markets struggling more than others. The Chinese market is already recovering, so companies that are strong there, like Huawei or Oppo, will see a lesser impact of their sales, compared with Samsung - all major markets of the Korean company are under lockdown.

People with lower income and tendency to purchase devices offline wont be able to match the consumer behavior from before the pandemic, so the entry-level segment will be hit the most in emerging economies. The midrange segment will keep driving volumes, while the premium segment is least likely to be directly affected - sales are expected to rebound once all this situation is over.

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A man shot and killed a postal worker, after she refused to deliver his stimulus check because of his aggressive Chihuahua.

Tony Cushingberry from Indiana, confronted postal worker, Angela Summers, on Monday, when she didnt deliver his stimulus check.

Mr Cushingberry had been waiting for his check, which provides $1,200 to every American who earns under $75,000 per year, whose work has been affected due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indy Star reported that Ms Summers was refusing to deliver mail to the 21-year-old because she was struggling with his Chihuahua.

After Ms Summers failed to deliver the cheque on Monday, he confronted her on a neighbours porch and repeatedly asked for his mail, reported the outlet.



Ms Summers, the mother of a 14-year-old girl, then sprayed him with mace, before Mr Cushingberry shot her, he admitted in court documents on Tuesday.

In the documents, he revealed that he suffers from asthma and felt discomfort with the mace, but did not mean to kill the letter carrier, but wanted to scare her, he said.

National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Brance 39 president, Paul Toms, told Fox59 that the dispute over mail was not new.

The mail had been curtailed from what I was told very recently. On April 12 or 13, the curtailment of mail letter was sent to them, he said.

There was a history on this for quite a while, as I understand it. Dog letters had been sent. Thats a form to the patron when a dog is a nuisance or a danger or vicious.

Three dog letters, one to warn them, a second one a second warning, and then a curtailment of mail. Thats what they had proceeded to there, he added.

Mr Cushingberry has been charged with second-degree murder, assaulting a federal employee and discharging a firearm during a crime, according to court documents.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now upwards of one million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 61,288.
India Coronavirus and lockdown latest news: The government has announced lockdown extension for two weeks till May 17. The Union Home Ministry has also come out with the new lockdown guidelines in this regard. This has been discussed at a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday with key Union ministers and top government functionaries. PM Modi discussed the lockdown relaxation action plan during the meeting. Several ministers and top government functionaries were a part of this meet. Those in attendance were Union Ministers Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, CDS Bipin Rawat and Prime Minister's Principal Secretary PK Mishra also joined the review meeting chaired by PM Modi. India recorded 1,755 COVID-19 cases and 77 deaths in 24 hours, the highest 1-day jump in death toll. The total tally of confirmed cases by 5PM on May 1 reached 35,365, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. These cases include 25,148 active cases, 9,064 cured/discharged patients, 1 migrated patient and 1,152 deaths.

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: What's now mandatory in public places, offices

Also Read: Lockdown 3.0: What activities are allowed in red zones? Check out full guidelines

The Centre on Thursday claimed that India has "gone quite ahead" in its fight against novel coronavirus. Union Health minister Harsh Vardhan said that the country's recovery rate has reached 25% with just 3.2% mortality rate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation before the lockdown 2.0 ends on May 3 (Sunday). Meanwhile, Gurugram district administration has issued notification to seal Gurugram-Delhi border from 10 am on May 1. Only the vehicles on essential services duty and those with curfew passes issued by the government will be permitted to cross the border.

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Govt identifies Delhi, Mumbai, all metros as red zones post May 3

Also Read: Coronavirus crisis: Total COVID-19 cases cross 35,000; Mumbai past 10,000; Check out state-wise tally

Follow BusinessToday.in for live updates on coronavirus in India and world:

11.03 pm: Coronavirus in Delhi

Delhi government removes 4 areas from list of containment zones. The total number of containment zones in the national capital is now 97.

4 zones have been removed from the #COVID19 containment zones list in Delhi, the total number of containment zones in the national capital is now at 97. pic.twitter.com/H7cKvDlRTu ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 10.34 pm: IN PICTURES: People arrive at railway station to board Shramik special train from Jaipur to Patna Rajasthan: A 'Shramik Special Train' carrying migrant labourers to leave from Jaipur for Bihar's Patna today, amid COVID19 lockdown pic.twitter.com/itG8AueNHM ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 10.00 pm: Coroavirus lockdown impact PM Narendra Modi reviewed the status of education services and deliberated on reforms required in the sector. Special emphasis was given on use of technology in education sector and enhancing learning and adapting by use of technology such as online classes, education portal and class-wise broadcast on dedicated education channels. 9.37 pm: Lockdown 3.0: What's allowed and what's not in red, green and orange zones Click here to Enlarge 9.27 pm: Lockdown 3.0: Use of Aarogya Setu App Use of Aarogya Setu app has been made compulsory for all employees, both private and public. "It shall be the responsibility of respective organisations to ensure 100 per cent coverage of the app among employees," Home Ministry said in its guidelines for Lockdown 3.0. 9.20 pm: Maharashtra coroanvirus cases Maharashtra reported 1,008 new coronavirus cases today. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 11,506, according to data by State Health Department. 1008 new #COVID19 positive cases reported in Maharashtra today, taking the total number of cases to 11506: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/FHxp4KXExT ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 9.12 pm: Lockdown 3.0: Trains remain cancelled till May 17 All passenger train services will remain cancelled till May 17, stated Ministry of Railways. Movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and others stranded at different places will be carried out by Shramik special trains. Freight and parcel train operations will continue as usual. 8.57 pm: Coronavirus news Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has allowed schools to schools give provisional admission to the ICSE (class 10) students into class 11, subject to Board results. The schools may also begin or continue online classes for them, while awaiting the conduct of remaining papers, an order from the board said. Schools may give provisional admission to the ICSE (class 10) students into class 11, subject to Board results. The schools may also begin/continue online classes for them, while awaiting the conduct of remaining papers: Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations pic.twitter.com/A26OwpM5py ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 8.47 pm: Coronavirus updates Health Ministry has issued additional guidelines on rational use of Personal Protective Equipment. It directs the approach for health workers and others working in non-COVIDhospitals and non-COVID treatment areas of a hospital which has a COVID block. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued additional guidelines on rational use of Personal Protective Equipment (setting approach for Health functionaries working in non-COVID areas). pic.twitter.com/BAbXhjKp3e ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 8.05 pm: Coronavirus pandemic "We have a large diaspora in the Gulf. We were asked to be ready for evacuation (of our citizens from Gulf countries). So we have readied our ships and will go for the evacuation as soon as we get the go-ahead." said Indian Navy Chief Karambir Singh. 7.50 pm: Coronavirus news Union Home Ministry has reconstituted Empowered Groups under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 for planning and ensuring implementation of COVID-19 response activities. Ministry of Home Affairs has reconstituted Empowered Groups, for planning and ensuring implementation of #COVID19 response activities. pic.twitter.com/FYxzxfVDu5 ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 7.40 pm: IN PICTURES: Food and water brought to Aluva railway station from where a Shramik Train will ferry migrant workers to Bhubaneshwar Kerala: Food and water brought to Aluva railway station from where a 'Shramik Special Train' will leave for Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, today. Around 1140 migrant labourers from here will board the special train to Odisha pic.twitter.com/XxjoihlKlU ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 7.28 pm: Lockdown 3.0 movement restriction Movement of individuals in all zones, red, oraneg and green, for all non-essential activities, shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am, Ministry of Home Affairs stated in its guidelines. 7.28 pm: Liquor sales in Lockdown 3.0 Liquor stores and paan shops will be allowed to function in green zones where customers will have to maintain at least six-feet distance from each other. Shopkeepers will have to ensure that not more 5 persons are present at any time in the shop. 7.09 pm: Red, orange, green districts in Lockdown 3.0 Centre will share the list of districts classified into red, green and orange zones with states and union territories (UTs) on a weekly basis. While states and UTs can include additional districts as red and orange zones, they cannot lower the classification of a district marked in red or orange zones by the Centre. 6.58 pm: Taxis in Lockdown 3.0 Union Home Ministry amends Para 11 of the lockdown extension order stating in Orange Zones, in addition to activities permitted in Red Zones, taxis and cab aggregators will be permitted to operate with 1 driver and 2 passengers only. 6.51 pm: Lockdown 3.0 in Orange Zones In Orange Zones, inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only. Four-wheelers will have a maximum of two passengers besides the driver, and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers, said Home Ministry. 6.47 pm: Lockdown 3.0 A limited number of activities will remain prohibited across India, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions, Union Home Ministry said in its guidelines. 6.30 pm: Activities allowed in red zones during Lockdown 3.0 Activities allowed inside Red Zones include all industrial and construction activities in rural areas, including MNREGA works, food-processing units and brick-kilns, Home Ministry said in its guidelines. 6.25 PM: Lockdown extended for two weeks to May 17 Ministry of Home Affairs issues order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to further extend the Lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4: MHA pic.twitter.com/Cw4bkdMTFU ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 5.58 pm: Coronvirus cases in India According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of coronavirus cases as on 5 PM on May 1 reached 35,365. This includes 25,148 active cases, 1,152 deaths, 9,064 cured and discharged patients and 1 migrated patient. India saw 1,755 new COVID-19 cases and 77 deaths in the past 24 hours. 5.49 pm: Karnataka COVID-19 cases Karnataka reported 24 new coronavirus cases today. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 589, including 251 patients recoveries and 22 deaths, informed State Health Department. 24 new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Karnataka today, taking the total number of cases to 589 out of which 251 patients have been cured/discharged while 22 others have lost their lives: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/w0Qmv7f0W9 ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020 5.45 pm: UP coronavirus outbreak Department of Posts has delvier more thab 6 tonnes of medicines in Uttar Pradesh during the coronavirus lockdown. Big companies like Cipla and Torrent contacted us after which we ran intra-circle vehicles and connected with big cities and then other places, UP's Chief Post Master General, Kaushlendra Kumar Sinha told PTI-Bhasha. 5.41 pm: Coronavirus cases in Bihar Bihar has reported 16 more cases of coronavirus, informed State Principal Secretary (Health) Sanjay Kumar. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 466. 5.33 pm: Mumbai, Pune lockdown Coronavirus lockdown may be extended in the red zones of Mumbai-Pune belt and parts of Nagpur after May 3 as coronavirus cases have been rising in these regions, said Maharashtra CMM Uddhav Thackeray. economic activities may begin in orange and green zones but not in red zones of Mumbai and Pune, he added. 5.31 pm: Lockdown exit strategy Prime Minister Narendra Modi Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss a strategy for exiting coronavirus lockdown. The lockdown is scheduled to end on May 3. 5.26 pm: Coronavirus cases in West Bengal As per the state government, 105 people died due to #COVID19 in West Bengal but this number is more than that, said Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. "Why do we want to hide the actual number of deaths? People will be more careful when they would realise that situation is grim," he added. 5.24 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases West Bengal is the only state where Inter-Ministerial Central Team faced problems in carrying out their work, ANI quoted West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as saying. When the entire country is fighting against COVID-19 and IMCT team came to assess the situation, we should have received it with red carpet, Dhankar said. 5.22 pm: J&K coronavirus news Jammu and Kashmir has reported 25 new COVID-19 cases and 31 recoveries today. This takes the the total number of coronavirus cases to 639, out of which 384 cases are active, including 6 from Jammu and 378 from Kashmir. 5.10 pm: Coronavirus in Delhi Two police personnel from Khajoori Khas police station, North-East district have tested positive for novel coronavirus. Four constables who were staying in the same barracks with them have been quarantined immediately and will be tested, said Dr Muktesh Chander, Special Commissioner of Police, Operations, Delhi. 5.00 pm: Special trains for migrants, students Special trains will be operated for migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons today from Lingampalli to Hatia, Aluva to Bhubaneswar, Nasik to Lucknow, Nasik to Bhopal, Jaipur to Patna and Kota to Hatia, informed Ministry of Railways. Special trains for migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons planned to run today from Lingampalli to Hatia, Aluva to Bhubaneswar, Nasik to Lucknow, Nasik to Bhopal, Jaipur to Patna and Kota to Hatia: Ministry of Railways https://t.co/rrIQXVQSgO ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

4:55 pm: Empowered Group-3 corona press conference

PD Vaghela, Chairman, Empowered Group-3 said that there is a demand for 35 lakh RT-PCR kits. He said that ICMR has placed an order for 21.35 lakh kits. More than 4 lakh oxygen cylinders are available and orders for more than 1 lakh oxygen cylinders have been placed. He said that industrial oxygen is also being converted into medical oxygen.

4.50 pm: Empowered Group-3 press conference on coronavirus

PD Vaghela, Chairman, Empowered Group-3 said during the press conference that there is a demand for around 75,000 ventilators but only 19,398 are currently available. Around 60,884 ventilators have been ordered. He added that India requires around 2.01 crore PPEs and an order for 2.22 crore kits have been placed. Out of the orders, 1.42 crore kits are being procured in the domestic market. He said that 1.87 lakh kits are being produced daily in the country. Vaghela further added that 2.49 crore N95 masks have been ordered.

4.45 pm: Corona special trains to Jharkhand

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has said that two special trains will embark for the state from Rajasthan's Kota with students. The CM thanked the Central government and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on behalf of the citizens of Jharkhand.

4.40 pm: Coronavirus impact: Special train for stranded people

The Indian Railways has said that the passengers will be screened at their departure states and only the ones who are asymptomatic will be allowed to board the trains. Passengers will be brought in by batches to the designated railway station in sanitised buses. Other measures such as social distancing will also be strictly followed. Once the passengers arrive at their destination, they will be received by the destination state's government. They will then be screened and quarantined if necessary.

4.37 pm: Coronavirus lockdown: GoM meeting on Saturday morning

The Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting will be held on Saturday morning. This will be 6th such meeting. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Ram Vilas Paswan, Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar, etc will attend the meet.

4.35 pm: Coronavirus cure in India

PD Vaghela, Chairman, Empowered Group-3 said that 30 crore hydroxychloroquine tablets are being produced as of now, out of which 16 crore tablets have been released in the market.

4.31 pm: Home Ministry issues guidelines on special trains for migrants

Ministry of Home Affairs allows the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places, by special trains.

Ministry of Home Affairs allows the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places, by special trains. pic.twitter.com/cYFRCvTBLj - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

4.26 pm: Coronavirus cases in India

Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said on Friday that India recorded 1,993 COVID-19 positive cases in last 24 hours. The total count now stands at 35,043.

In the last 24 hours, 1993 positive cases reported; the total number of positive cases is now 35,043: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secy, Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/F2oP1zpTEM - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

4.23 pm: Corona live updates India

Special Trains will run For movement of stranded migrant workers, Students: Home Ministry.

4.19 pm: Govt daily briefing on coronavirus

No separate passes required for trucks and goods carriers, including empty trucks etc, says Home Ministry.

4.15 pm: Coronavirus live updates

Union Home Ministry on Friday allowed movement of stranded students, migrant workers, tourists, pilgrims, etc. via rail as well. States and Railway Board will make necessary arrangements, said Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

4.11 pm: Coronavirus live India

The Health Ministry has begun its daily briefing on COVID-19.

4.09 pm: India lockdown news: Relaxations likely post May 3, MHA's new guidelines soon

The government is likely to announce lockdown relaxations post May 3 in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak across the country. The Union Home Ministry is also expected to come out with the new lockdown guidelines soon. This has been discussed at a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday with key Union ministers and top government functionaries. PM Modi discussed the lockdown relaxation action plan during the meeting.

3.56 pm: Haryana lockdown news: State CM approves revised guidelines to ease lockdown curbs with immediate effect

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the issue the state's consolidated revised guidelines for easing the lockdown restrictions with immediate effect. An official spokesman said that as per the revised state guidelines, industrial activities will be allowed but in line with the standard operating procedures (SoPs) as provided by the Union Home Ministry. The official added that approvals will be given in the 14 districts of Haryana namely Ambala, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Mahendergarh, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa and Yamunanagar after obtaining the self-declaration from the industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects, online.

3.47 pm: 2 ITBP Jawans test COVID-19 positive in Delhi

2 Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) personnel tested positive for novel coronavirus in Delhi on Friday. They were deployed at Jamia Millia Islamia University to assist Delhi Police. 45 personnel who came in contact with these Jawans of the battalion have been quarantined. These personnel are from 50 battalion of ITBP.

3.39 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases: 25 more people tested COVID-19 positive

Rajasthan reported 25 fresh novel coronavirus cases on Friday including 17 from Jodhpur and 8 from Jaipur. Friday's total tally till 2 pm stands at 58 and the cumulative count stands at 2,642.

3.34 pm: Lockdown 2.0 latest updates: Delhi HC decides not to use ACs in its buildings

Delhi High Court has decided not to use air conditions in Delhi HC buildings and said there is no mathematical solution to the problems in use of ACs as far as spread of COVID-19 is concerned. In the meantime, normal fans and ventilations and other measures for proper ventilation will be used in Delhi High Court. The special committee of Judges examined the issues and showed serious concerns for the use of ACs and would further consider permanent solution and other necessary equipment as may be required.

3.28 pm: Lockdown in Delhi

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Friday distributed the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) collected by Kendriya Bhandar in collaboration with Department of Personnel & Training to senior doctors of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today distributed the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) collected by Kendriya Bhandar in collaboration with Department of Personnel & Training to senior doctors of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. pic.twitter.com/DfmpyCB9Ft - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

3.20 pm: Coronavirus lockdown updates: More state govts urge Indian Railways to arrange special trains for migrant workers

More state governments have appealed to the Indian Railways to arrange special trains for transport of migrant workers stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown. Railway Board Executive Director RD Vajpayee confirmed the development to ANI.

3.15 pm: Coronavirus India live updates

Prices of non-subsidised LPG cylinders reduced by Rs 162.50 per unit in Delhi, Rs 190 in Kolkata, Rs 135.5 in Mumbai and Rs 192 in Chennai. (Inputs from ANI)

3.08 pm: West Bengal lockdown: Mamata Banerjee government takes on Centre on Red Zone classification

The West Bengal government has objected to the zone list released by the Centre. State Health Secretary has written to Union Health Secretary stating that there were errors in the presentation and red zones were raised to 10 by mistake.

2.59 pm: Coronavirus Red Zones in India reduced from 170 to 130; check full list here

Andaman and Nicobar Island: South Andaman

Andhra Pradesh: Kurnool, Guntur, Nellore, Prakasham, Krishna, YSR, West Godavari, Chittor, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Anantapur

Bihar: Anantapur

Chandigarh: Chandigarh

Chhattisgarh: Korba

Delhi: South, South East, Shahdara, West, North, Central, New Delhi, East, South West

Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Rajkot

Haryana: Noah, Gurugram, Parval, Faridabad

Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar, Bandipora, Baramulla, Jammu, Udhampur, Kupwada

Karnataka: Bengaluru Urban, Mussoorie, Belagavi

Kerala: Kannur, Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Malapuram, Pathanamthitta

Madhya Pradesh: Indore, Bhopal, Khargaon, Ujjain, Hoshangabad

Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Buldhana, Mumbai Suburban, Nashik

Odisha: Khordha

Punjab: SAS Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Jalandhar, Pathankot

Rajasthan: Jaipur, Tonk, Jodhpur, Banswara, Kota, Jhunjhunu, Jaisalmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Jalwar, Bharatpur

Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Dindigul, Villupuram, Tirupur, Thani, Namakkal, Chengalpattu, Madurai, Tatikoran, Karur, Virudhunaru, Kanarukuru

Telangana: Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Wrangal Urban, Ranga Reddy, Jogulamba Gadwal, Machhal-Malkarjagiri, Karimnagar, Nirmal

Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Shaharanpur, Shamli, Firozabad, Moradabad

Uttarakhand: Dehradun

West Bengal: Kolkata, Howrah, Madinapur East, 24 Parganas North

2.54 pm: Lockdown live updates: What is a Red Zone?

According to Union Health Ministry, Red Zones include areas with major outbreaks of COVID-19. Extremely strict containment measures are being taken in these zones including strict exit/entry rules, door-to-door screening of residents etc.

2.47pm: Lockdown live updates: What is an Orange Zone?

As per the Union Health Ministry, districts that do not have enough confirmed COVID-19 cases to meet the requirements of being identified under the 'red zone', but are being seen as potential hotspots are called Orange zones.

2.41 pm: Lockdown extension news: What is a Green Zone?

According to the Union Health Ministry, a district will be identified as a Green Zone if it doesn't have any confirmed COVID-19 case so far or there is no reported case for the last 21 days in the district (earlier it was 28 days).

2.35 pm: India coronavirus containment zones: Red zones to be revised weekly, Centre tells states

The Centre has told states that the list of red zones will be revised weekly depending upon the recovery rates. "The districts were earlier designated as hotspots or red-zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate. Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria. This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration the incidence of cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts," Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan wrote to Chief Secretaries of states. She wrote the letter to the states after a video conference was chaired by Rajiv Gauba with chief secretaries and secretaries of health.

2.29 pm: Corona live updates: Navy Ships, Air India flights on standby to help Indians stuck abroad

3 Indian Navy ships and several Air India flights are presently on standby, waiting for orders to evacuate lakhs of Indian stuck overseas. The central government is reportedly preparing a list of Indian nationals wanting to come back to the country and subsequently position the ships and flights for bringing them back home.

2.22 pm: India lockdown news: Details of PM Modi's meeting with top ministers

Prime Minister in his meeting with top minister and government functionaries on Friday discussed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines lockdown relaxation post May 3. The Prime Minister also held discussions on the way ahead post May 3.

2.16 pm: Coronavirus live updates: COVID-19 impact may bite Bollywood for at least 2 years, says report

Bollywood will take at least 2 years to recover financially from the impact of novel coronavirus pandemic as the lockdown due to COVID-19 has deadlocked big-ticket projects besides putting millions of jobs at risk, according to a report by Reuters. It added that the box-office collections are likely to drop sharply and big-budget movies may see a significant trimming of funds even after the lockdown is lifted.

2.08 pm: Karnataka lockdown updates: State govt urges migrant workers to stay back

The Karnataka government has appealed to the migrant workers in the state to stay back and cooperate in the wake of coronavirus lockdown. The state government said that is contemplating resuming economic activities soon and has convened a key meeting with representatives of associations of commerce and industries.

1.59 pm: Delhi coronavirus news: CM Kejriwal says plasma therapy showing good results

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday that the plasma therapy is showing good results as the first patient cured using the technology was discharged on Thursday. "The 1,100 cured people are being contacted for plasma donation and most are willing to donate their plasma to help in the cure of positive patients," he said. CM Kejriwal added that "we are permitted by the Centre for trial of plasma therapy at LNJP hospital and have administered plasma therapy to a few patients." He further stated that the first one among the patients was discharged after recovering. The patient was critical and in ICU, but recovered well.

1.55 pm: Bihar coronavirus cases: 6 more people test COVID-19 positive, total count rises to 432

Bihar Principal Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar said that 6 more people tested COVID-19 positive on Friday, taking the total tally of the state to 432.

1.47 pm: Maharashtra lockdown news

In Pics: Migrant workers reached Nagpur on foot from Telangana amid COVID-19 lockdown. They say, "We contacted govt helplines but received no help from any govt. If some helpline answered they said nothing can be done. We had no food and shelter there. We want to meet our families."

Maharashtra: Migrant workers reached Nagpur on foot from Telangana amid #COVID19 lockdown. They say,"We contacted govt helplines but received no help from any govt. If some helpline answered they said nothing can be done.We had no food&shelter there. We want to meet our families" pic.twitter.com/mVaZOMzd4B - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

1.40 pm: Goa coronavirus lockdown: State may see liberal easing of restrictions with no red and orange zones

Goa government may ease the lockdown rules liberally after May 3 as the state has no red or orange containment zones. Presently, there are 2 such areas listed as green zones in the state.

1.36 pm: J&K lockdown updates

Floating vegetable market of Dal Lake in Srinagar, continues to provide vegetables to locals amid coronavirus lockdown. Gulzar, one of the vegetable sellers says, "This mandi opens from 5 AM to 7 PM. This has never closed but people come here less these days due to COVID-19."

J&K: Floating vegetable market of Dal Lake in Srinagar, continues to provide vegetables to locals amid #CoronavirusLockdown. Gulzar, one of the vegetable seller says, "This mandi opens from 5 AM to 7 PM. This has never closed but people come here less these days due to #COVID19." pic.twitter.com/74hLUPfgaZ - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

1.28 pm: Coronavirus India updates: Pending 12th Board exams to start once situation normalises, says HRD Minister

The Union minister for human resource development (HRD), Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank told India Today TV in interview that the decision to reopen the schools will depend upon the situation and recommendation by the task force. He added that the pending board exams for class 12 will be held once the situation normalises. The task force has set up by his ministry to deliberate on the academic calendar and examinations. The HRD minister added that for higher education, the new academic calendar has already been released and the final exams will be held in July. He further said that the task force will take a call on the reopening of schools. Nishank stated that "we have an alternate plan for red zones and badly affected areas." He also said that the 1st to 8th, 9th and 11th class students have already been promoted on the basis of their internal assessment adding that the HRD ministry has issued instructions to begin the evaluation work of class 10 papers.

1.16 pm: Kerala lockdown updates: Another train for migrant laborers from Kochi, Kerala to Bhubaneswar, Odisha to start today (Friday)

Train with over 1,000 migrant workers is scheduled to depart from Aluva in Eranakulam, Kochi to Bhuvaneshwar. Odisha on Friday. Labourers from Alappuzha district will be sent in the train.

1.06 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases: 12 more CRPF personnel test COVID-19 positive

12 more CRPF personnel testes positive for novel coronavirus on Friday. The total number of COVID-19 positive Jawaans now stands at 65 out of 285 tested. All personnel are from 31 Battalion of CRPF.

12.59 pm: Karnataka lockdown news

Former MLA and Congress leader K Venkatesh from Piriyapatna distributed groceries in Bettadahalli area in the Mysore district on Thursday amid coronavirus lockdown.

Karnataka: Former MLA and Congress leader K Venkatesh from Piriyapatna distributed groceries in Bettadahalli area in the Mysore district. (30.04.20) #CoronavirusLockdown pic.twitter.com/gAZcKivkrx - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

12.52 pm: Odisha coronavirus cases

2 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Bolangir on Friday, taking the total count of novel coronavirus positive cases in Odisha to 145, said the state health department. (Inputs from ANI)

12.47 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases

11 fresh COVID-19 cases have been reported in Karnataka from April 30, 5 pm till noon on Friday, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 576, including 22 deaths and 235 discharges, according to state health department. (Inputs from ANI)

12.38 pm: Coronavirus India cases jump with nearly 2,000 fresh cases in 24 hours as lockdown 2.0 nears end: Major highlights

India witnessed the highest single day jump in novel coronavirus cases with nearly 2,000 fresh cases being reported across states, taking the total count of confirmed cases in India to over 35,000.

Here the top highlights of COVID-19 cases and situation so far:

India recorded, 1,993 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the highest 1-day jump, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 35,043 on Friday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

The total number of COVID-19 deaths crossed the 1,100 mark to jump to 1,147 on Friday. The toll stood at 41 on april 1, when the first update was put up officially by the Union Health Ministry.

Maharashtra reported 583 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total tally of confirmed cases in the state to 10,498. The state recorded over 2,500 cases in the last 4 days.

Gujarat follows suit with 4.395 cases and 214 deaths

Delhi is the third worst-hit state with 3,515 cases and 59 deaths.

Mumbai which is the worst-hit city in the state accounts for over 7,000 cases. Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in India accounts for 30% of overall cases in the country.

The jump in cases comes even as the Centre's countrywide lockdown ends on May 3. While, majority of states have proposed further extension of the lockdown, the central government is yet to take a decision on the same.

The central government has prepared a list of containment zones across states. All metro cities, comprising Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, have been declared red zones.

The central government has demarcated all districts across the country into different zones according to the severity of the COVID-19 situation. The districts have been categorised as Red Zone, Orange Zone and Green Zone.

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Will you're area fall in 'red zone' post May 3? Check out district-wise full list

12.29 pm: Karnataka coronavirus updates: Doctors cry foul, low stipend, high hostel fee

Karnataka's resident doctors have sought relief from the government to pay them the stipend as per the Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines. The doctors allege that the they are getting Rs 30,000 as stipend while, the MCI guidelines stipulate Rs 85,000 stipend a month. Junior resident doctors pay Rs 1.3 lakh as hostel fee per annum, while Senior resident doctors pay Rs 2.3 lakh per annum and a meagre Rs 30,000 as stipend. They have been protesting since 2015 with assurances from the government but to no avail.

12.24 pm: Delhi lockdown news: CM Kejriwal urges citizens to follow guidelines, stay calm

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in his address to the residents in national capital on Friday urged them to stay calm and follow lockdown guidelines. He announced a slew of steps to assist citizens but appealed to them to not be restless if the lockdown is extended in Delhi. CM Kejriwal hinted at the lockdown extension beyond May 3 as Delhi has over 100 hotspots with over 3,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 59 deaths.

12.16 pm: Coronavirus cases in Dharavi, Mumbai

Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum, located in Mumbai, Maharashtra reported 25 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, confirmed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The total count of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Dharavi have jumped to 369.

12.09 pm: Mumbai coronavirus cases: Worst-hit city not only in Maharashtra, but in India

Mumbai, the financial capital of India, is not only the worst-affected in Maharashtra which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, but is the hardest-hit city in India. The city accounts for around 70% of Maharashtra's total novel coronavirus cases. Mumbai reported over 400 fresh cases in last 24 hours. The city has witnessed around 7,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 300 deaths so far.

12.04 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: 60 more people infected, 2 deaths in 24 hours

Andhra Pradesh reported 60 fresh COVID-19 cases and 2 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally of positive cases in the state to 1,463. The death in Andhra Pradesh stands at 33 as of date, said the state health department.

60 new #COVID19 cases & 2 deaths reported in Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 1463. The death toll stands at 33: Andhra Pradesh Health Department pic.twitter.com/uoxhJo0K8d - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

11.56: Lockdown 3.0: PM Modi's review meet attended by Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman among others

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing a key review meeting to take stock of the way ahead in the government's lockdown strategy. The meeting takes place before May 3 when the countrywide lockdown ends. Several ministers and top government functionaries are part of this meet. Those in attendance are Union Ministers Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, CDS Bipin Rawat and Prime Minister's Principal Secretary PK Mishra also joined the review meeting chaired by PM Modi.

11.48 am: Coronavirus news worldwide: Highlights

Global confirmed COVID-19 cases- 3.2 million, total deaths- 2.27 lakh, total recoveries- 9.82 lakh.

US economy posts biggest contraction since 2008.

The UK now has Europe's second-highest death toll.

No new domestic cases reported in South Korea for first time since February.

Yemem reports first coronavirus death amid ongoing civil war.

11.40 am: US coronavirus cases

The total count of COVID-19 cases in United States have crossed 1.09 million as of date with death toll past 60,000. The country is the worst-affected nation in the world with the highest count of novel coronavirus cases.

11.35 am: India lockdown news: First train with migrant workers from Telangana to reach Jharkhand's Hatia today

A special 24-coach train with migrant workers from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand began its journey on Friday at 5 am. The train will arrive at Hatia at 11 pm tonight.

11.27 am: Lockdown 3.0! PM Modi holds key meet on coronavirus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing a key meet on COVID-19. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Cabinet Sectretary Raijiv Gauba are attending the meet chaired by the Prime Minister.

11.19 am: Gurugram border shut at Sikandarpur

Gurugram administration has closed the Sikandarpur border from May 1. People reaching the border have been asked to turn back. Only those with passes/IDs are allowed to enter Gurugram.

11.15 am: Gurugram lockdown updates

Gurugram administration issues additional restrictions on public movement.

11.05 am: Coronavirus live updates: PM Modi wishes Russian Prime Minister speedy recovery from COVID-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter on Friday to wish Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin speedy recovery from novel coronavirus infection. "My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health," PM Modi tweeted in Russian and English.

My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health. We stand with our close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. @GovernmentRF - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2020

10.57am: Punjab coronavirus news: After Tablighi Jamaat Sikh pilgrims pose new COVID-19 threat in the state

After novel coronavirus cases exploded due to the Tablighi Jamaat assembly in Delhi's Nizamuddin in early March, Sikh pilgrims now pose a new threat in Punjab, where 167 fresh cases were reported on Thursday. 148 out of 542 pilgrims cases reported in the state are Sikh pilgrims, who returned from Nanded in Maharashtra. Out of these 148 pilgrims, 76 tested COVID-19 positive in Amritsar, 38 in Ludhiana and 10 in Mohali. 3,500 such pilgrims reached Punjab from Nanded during the past 3 days.

10.46 am: Coronavirus lockdown: Maruti Suzuki reports zero domestic sales in April

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, has reported zero domestic sales for the first time ever in April. This development is unprecedented in the wake the countrywide lockdown in India to contain he spread of COVID-19. Maruti had suspended its operations in the country completely from March 22.

10.39 am: Coronavirus map live updates: Check BusinessToday.In tracker to get state-wise tally of COVID-19 cases

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic

10.29 am: Maharashtra coronavirus news: BJP leader accuses Uddhav Thackeray govt of fudging Mumbai's COVID-19 numbers

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya says he has a list 26 COVID-19 patients in Nanavati hospital. He accused the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the management raising several questions such as "when were the test results obtained?" "Were they still working?" He said that there could be more coronavirus positive patients but the government is supressing real numbers.

10.21 am: Maharashtra lockdown extension: Mumbai, Pune curfew may be extended till 18 May, says state health minister

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope recently said that the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune may be extended till May 18 as the coronavirus cases continue to rise in the 2 cities. "The main objective of implementing the lockdown was to stop the spread of covid-19 pandemic and if the spread is not getting contained, we will have to extend the lockdown," he told Mint last Saturday.

10.16 am: Will Mumbai Pune lockdown end?

With the increasing number of novel coronavirus cases in Mumbai and Pune, which are the hotspots in Maharashtra, the government may extend the lockdown beyond May 3. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope recently said that the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune may be extended till May 18 as the coronavirus cases continue to rise in the 2 cities. Meanwhile, media reports claim that the lockdown in Mumbai may well extend beyond May till June. Both the cities are the backbone of the state's economy.

10.10 am: Containment zones in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad

In Delhi, all 11 districts fall under the Red Zone, while Gurugram is in orange zone and Faridabad in Red Zone. As per the Union Health Ministry, states may demarcate additional red or orange zones based on field feedback and additional analysis at the state level.

10.07 am: Containment areas in India- Green zones

The states with maximum green zones are- Assam with 30 districts, Chhattisgarh with 25 districts, Arunachal with 25 such areas, Madhya Pradesh with 24 districts, Odisha with 21 districts, Uttar Pradesh with 20 districts, and Uttarakhand with 10 districts.

10.03 am: India containment areas: Orange zones

21 districts have been declared as orange zones in Bihar; 36 in UP, 24 in Tamil Nadu; 19 in Rajasthan; 15 in Punjab; 19 in MP; and 16 in Maharashtra.

9.59 am: Coronavirus containment areas finalised- State-wise list with Red Zones

The Health Ministry said on Thursday that all metro zones, comprising Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been declared as Red Zones. 14 districts in Maharashtra, 11 in Delhi; 12 in Tamil Nadu; 19 in UP; 10 in West Bengal, 9 each in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh; and 8 districts in Rajasthan have been declared as containment zones.

9.54 am: India coronavirus hotspots

The Health Ministry has finalised the criteria for containment zones across the country basis multi-factorial information and the incidence of cases, doubling rate, surveillance feedback and extent of testing. According to new classification, a district will be identified as a green zone if there are no confirmed coronavirus cases so far or no reported cases since last 21 days (instead of earlier 28 days). The government, as per this new list, has declared a total of 130 districts as red zones, 284 orange areas and 319 green zones.

9.47 am: Coronavirus in India cases: States and UTs with less than 300 cases

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 33 cases, 0 deaths

Arunachal Pradesh- 1 case, 0 deaths

Assam- 42 cases, 1 death

Chandigarh- 56 cases, 0 deaths

Chhattisgarh- 40 cases, 0 deaths

Goa- 7 cases, 0 deaths

Himachal Pradesh- 40 cases, 1 death

Jharkhand- 109 cases, 3 deaths

Ladakh- 22 cases, 0 deaths

Manipur- 2 cases, 0 deaths

Meghalaya- 12 cases, 1 death

Mizoram- 1 cases, o deaths

Odisha- 142 cases, 1 death

Pudducherry- 8 cases, 0 deaths

Tripura- 2 cases, 0 deaths

Uttarakhand- 57 cases, 0 deaths

9.38 am: Coronavirus India cases: State-wise tally; check here

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with 10,498 COVID-19 cases and 459 deaths

Gujarat follows suit with 4,395 cases and 214 deaths

Delhi is the third worst-hit state with 3,515 cases and 59 deaths.

Other states with high COVID-19 cases include:

Madhya Pradesh with 2,660 cases, 137 deaths

Rajasthan 2,584 cases, 58 deaths

Tamil Nadu 2,323 cases, 27 deaths

Uttar Pradesh (UP)-2,203 cases, 39 deaths

Andhra Pradesh-1,403 cases, 31 deaths

Telangana 1,038 cases, 26 deaths

West Bengal 795 cases, 33 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 614 cases, 8 deaths

Karnataka- 565 cases, 21 deaths

Kerala- 497 cases, 4 deaths

Bihar 418 cases, 2 deaths

Punjab-357 cases, 19 deaths

Haryana-313 cases, 3 deaths

9.28 am: Coronavirus emerged from a virology lab in Wuhan, China: Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the novel coronavirus emerged from a virology lab in the Wuhan city of China. "Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump told reporters at the East Room of the White House when asked if he is confident that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where the virus originated. Trump however, refused to provide any details, but he said that the investigations are on and it would be out soon.

9.18 am: Punjab lockdown relaxation: Curfew extended till May 17; State govt allows local shops to open in rural areas

Punjab government has allowed the local shops to open in the rural areas with 50% staff capacity. State CM Captain Amarinder Singh announced last Wednesday that the lockdown in the state has been extended by 2 more weeks till May 17. He added that the lockdown will be lifted from 7 am to 11 am every day during which the shops will be open and people can come of their houses to shop.

9.13 am: Containment zones in Delhi

Delhi has 98 hotspots (red zones) at present. The Kejriwal governemt has said that every person will be screened in these areas. "Screening of all residents of containment zones must be carried out at least three times within 14 days of issuance of notification of the containment zones," Delhi government's order issued on Thursday stated. The order issued by Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, also said that every person living in red zones will be encouraged to download 'Aarogya Setu' app.

9.07 am: Maharashtra coronavirus news: State sweats at 10,498; death toll at 459

Maharashtra reported 583 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total tally of confirmed cases in the state to 10,498. The state recorded over 2,500 cases in the last 4 days. Mumbai which is the worst-hit city in the state accounts for over 7,000 cases. Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in India accounts for 30% of overall cases in the country.

8.57 am: Total coronavirus deaths in India cross 1,100-mark; 73 fatalities reported in 24 hours

The total number of COVID-19 deaths crossed the 1,100 mark to jump to 1,147 on Friday. The toll stood at 41 on april 1, when the first update was put up officially by the Union Health Ministry.

8.50 am: 1,993 cornavirus cases in 24 hours, biggest jump

India recorded, 1,993 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 35,043 on Friday, according to latest update by the Health Ministry. Theses cases include 25,007 active cases, 8,888 cured/discharged, 1 migrated and 1,147 deaths.

8.45 am: Coronavirus India cases rise past 35,000, death toll cross 1,100-mark

The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country jumped to 35,043 on Friday, according to latest data by the Union Health Ministry. These include, 25,007 active cases, 8,888 cured/discharged, 1 migrated and 1,147 deaths.

8.36 am: Corona live updates: Donald Trump hints at imposing tariffs on China for damages

US President on Thursday hinted at imposing tariffs on China. He however, ruled out considering the cancellation of US debt obligations to the country as a punishment for COVID-19.

Read more here: Coronavirus: Donald Trump may impose tariff on China for damages

8.29 am West Bengal coronavirus cases

West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said on Thursday that out of 105 COVID-19 deaths in the state, 72 were due to co-morbidities. "The expert committee has examined altogether 105 cases. Of that, 33 were found to have died due to Covid-19 infection. And the rest 72 deaths were attributed to comorbidities, where Covid-19 was incidental. The committee submitted its report today and these figures are not of a single day," Sinha told reporters at the state secretariat.

8.25 am: Coronavirus lockdown news: Delhi-Gurugram border sealed from May 1

Gurugram district administration has issued notification to seal Gurugram-Delhi border from 10 am on May 1. Only the vehicles on essential services duty and those with curfew passes issued by the government will be permitted to cross the border.

8.15 am: Coronavirus map live updates: Check BusinessToday.In tracker to get state-wise tally of COVID-19 cases

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic
Two men have been arrested for allegedly robbing a mobile phone from the minor son of a vegetable shop owner at knife point in southwest Delhi's Chhawla area, police said on Friday.

The incident occurred when the vegetable seller left his eight-year-old son at the shop on Tuesday to go home for lunch. On returning to the shop, his son told him that two men had arrived in a motorcycle and snatched the mobile phone from him at knife-point, they said.

Following investigation, Ashish (27) and Gaurav (24), both residents of Qutub Vihar in Chhawla were arrested and the mobile phone was recovered from them, police said.

The accused were involved in 11 criminal cases, including attempt to murder, robbery, snatching and rape. A car, a bike and four mobile phones were seized from them, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A medicinal chemist who found a cure for the viral disease hepatitis C has received a prestigious award from the University of Edinburgh.

Dr Michael J Sofia, who devised the drug sofosbuvir, is the winner of this year's Cameron Prize for Therapeutics.

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease that primarily affects the liver. Without intervention, it can progress into a life-long chronic disease that causes extreme liver damage and liver cancer. Around 71 million people worldwide are affected.

Sofusbuvir works by stopping the virus from reproducing, by blocking a key protein that the virus needs to reproduce its genetic material.

The drug does not have the same harsh side effects as older, less effective therapies and has slashed treatment times from one year to just 12 weeks.

Dr Sofia created sofosbuvir in 2007 and the drug was approved for use in 2013. Greater than 95 percent of patients with the most common form of hepatitis C can now be cured by the treatment. With sofosbuvir as the backbone of combination therapies, all forms of hepatitis C can now be cured.

More recently, researchers have begun exploring whether drugs based on sofosbuvir could also be used to treat Covid-19.

Professor Moira Whyte, Vice Principal and Head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Sofosbuvir is widely regarded as one of the greatest medical advances in our lifetime and I am delighted Dr Sofia has accepted this prize in recognition of his discovery."

Dr Sofia is currently Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Arbutus Biopharma, a US-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing a cure for patients suffering from chronic hepatitis B infection.

Dr Michael Sofia, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Arbutus Biopharma, said: "I am deeply honored to have been selected to receive the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics from the University of Edinburgh. The Cameron Prize has a long and distinguished history and past winners represent the very best of those who have made important contributions to medicine. It is humbling to be counted among those who have transformed medicine over the years. Today, as we are faced with the specter of a global pandemic, we are reminded that we must continue to commit ourselves to the advancement of medicine on every front. The Cameron Prize for Therapeutics recognizes how science has been able to solve critical medical challenges for the betterment of mankind, and it is for this recognition that I am truly appreciative."

Dr Sofia studied chemistry at Cornell University, received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois and was a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. He has received numerous awards for his work on the hepatitis C virus including the 2015 Economist Innovation Award, the 2016 IUPAC-Richter Prize, and the 2016 Lasker-DeBakey Award in Clinical Medical Research.

The Cameron Prize for Therapeutics is awarded every two years by the University of Edinburgh to a person who has made a highly important and valuable addition to the treatment of illnesses. The Prize was first awarded in 1879 and lists numerous Nobel and Lasker prize winners amongst its subsequent awardees. The list of winners includes a truly diverse array of innovations from the 20th century: from transplant surgery, bone marrow transplants, and haemodialysis, to ground-breaking vaccines, antimicrobials and novel medicines.

Winners are invited to deliver a lecture about their work at the University of Edinburgh. Owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this year's award lecture has been postponed until further notice.

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The government has warned employers against sending their workers on unpaid leave as part of desperate measures to reduce the impact brought to their businesses by the Covid-19 induced job lockdown.

In a statement to coincide with Workers Day this Friday, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima said it was illegal for employers to take the drastic steps.

"I wish to reiterate that it is illegal to force workers to go on unpaid leave during the lockdown period," said the minister.

"Any consideration of such should be through collective bargaining and also subject to an agreement with workers concerned."

Minister Mavima said any measures contrary to the agreed terms of employment should be mutually agreed between the parties.

Added the minister, "There should be no unlawful terminations or unprocedural retrenchments during the lockdown period.

"My Ministry stands ready to provide technical advice on issues regarding workplace measures to cope with COVID-19."

The minister reminded partners within the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) on the need to preserve jobs, protect the right of workers and ensure the viability of enterprises as the country and the rest of the world battle the worst threat against humanity in decades.

"I have accordingly instructed my officers to upscale joint inspections across the nation with representatives of the workers and employers to ensure that fair labour standards are observed during the lockdown and that general compliance to COVID-19 measures are adhered to at all workplaces operating during the lockdown period," the Minister said.

"We welcome information from stakeholders on specific establishments, sectors and issues that our inspectorate should focus on as they perform their duties."

"The stakeholders have a role to perform by being "ears and eyes" of our inspectorate and we will respond swiftly to any such reports.

"I also expect my Officers to execute their duties professionally, any acts of corruption must be reported for the law to take its course."
A Harvard math professor was placed on administrative leave Friday after a damning new report claimed he had continued to maintain an office on campus for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, even after the deceased financier's 2008 sex crimes conviction.

Martin Nowak, the lead on Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, provided Epstein with a campus key card which allowed him to visit more than 40 times between 2010 and 2018, the report states.

A room in the department was established as 'Jeffrey's office' and Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019, even had his own Harvard phone line.

The report added that Nowak also signed off on false, flattering statements about Epstein for the school's website as the deceased financier attempted to rehabilitate his image after his 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from an underage girl.

The professor's alleged actions came after the then-Harvard president had barred the school from accepting any further donations from Epstein in 2008.

Harvard math professor Martin Nowak was place on administrative leave on Friday after a damning new report claimed he has allowed convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein access to the university campus after his 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from an underage girl

A report released Friday by Harvard University found that Jeffrey Epstein visited its campus more than 40 times after his 2008 sex crimes conviction and still was given his own office. The school accepted $9million from Epstein before his conviction but barred additional donations

Jeffrey Epstein was granted unprecedented access to the Harvard University campus following his 2008 conviction, a new report from the university revealed on Friday

Epstein pumped $9.2million in donations into the university between 1998 and 2007, according to the month-long investigation carried out by Harvard's general counsel and an outside law firm.

He was known for using his money to gain access to academics, professing an interest in science, and he earned a reputation for funding some of America's most prestigious institutions such as MIT and Harvard.

In return, Epstein was welcomed onto campuses and given the opportunity to meet with faculty. He would also invite academics to visit his private Caribbean island.

The report published Friday expanded on what was already known about Epstein's link with Harvard, claiming that his presence on campus continued even after the university's then-president Drew Gilpin Faust barred any more donations from the financier.

About $200,000 of the funding provided by Epstein before the cut off in 2008 remains unspent, the school said, and will be given to groups that support victims of sexual violence.

The report found that while Harvard's top leaders cut ties with Epstein in 2008, he maintained close ties with Nowak, a math professor and director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, a research center created in 2003 with $6.5 million from Epstein.

Nowak gave Epstein an office at the program's building in Harvard Square, the review found, and circumvented campus security rules to grant the financier a key card and 'unlimited' access to the facility.

A report released Friday, May 1, 2020, by Harvard University found that Epstein visited its campus more than 40 times after his 2008 sex crimes conviction and was given his own office. The school accepted $9 million from Epstein before his conviction but barred additional donations after that. Picture provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry

Jeff Epstein is pictured in a Harvard sweatshirt talking to MIT Professor Marvin Minsky known as 'the father' of Artificial Intelligence. Epstein invested heavily in some of America's most prestigious institutions such as MIT and Harvard and had an interest in science

Epstein frequently visited Office 610, which was known as 'Jeffrey's Office,' and met with scholars to hear about their work, the review found. He brought his own rug and hung his own photos on the wall.

Nowak argued that the office was Epstein's in name only, the report says, but others in the building said it was commonly known to be reserved for the financier.

'We do not take this step lightly, but the seriousness of the matter leads us to believe it is not appropriate for Professor Nowak to continue in his role,' wrote Claudine Gay, dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the decision to place Nowak on leave.

Harvard's report urges the university to develop clearer procedures for reviewing 'potentially controversial gifts,' and for enforcing bans on certain donors. Bacow said he has instructed top officials to implement the suggestions as soon as possible.

'We will always do our best to improve,' Bacow said in a campus message on Friday.

'The report issued today describes principled decision-making but also reveals institutional and individual shortcomings that must be addressed - not only for the sake of the university but also in recognition of the courageous individuals who sought to bring Epstein to justice.'

A statement released by Harvard University following the release of a report into links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein released on Friday. The university has placed math professor Martin Nowak on administrative leave after the report revealed the unprecedented access that the academic gave Epstein to campus following his 2008 sex crime conviction

Epstein killed himself in his New York City prison cell in August after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s. In lawsuits, women say the abuse spanned decades.

Among other allegations against Nowak, the report alleged that he allowed his program's website to be used to burnish Epstein's reputation after his 2008 conviction.

In 2013, at the request of Epstein's publicist, Nowak agreed to post links to the financier's websites, which had flattering descriptions of Epstein and made false claims about his level of giving to Harvard, the review found.

Nowak is also accused of devoting a page on the program's website to Epstein, also at the request of the financier's publicist.

There's no evidence that Harvard's top officials knew about the postings, the report says. Epstein's page on the website was removed in 2014 after Harvard received complaints from a sexual assault survivors group.

The report concludes that Harvard's senior leaders acted appropriately in their dealings with Epstein.

Harvard President Lawrence Bacow, pictures, called for the review published Friday in September 2019 amid public outcry over the university's relationship with Epstein

Former President Drew Faust decided to bar donations from Epstein after his conviction, the review says, and a university dean rejected a 2013 request from some faculty to reconsider the decision, saying it would be inconsistent with Harvard's values.

But some faculty enjoyed close ties with Epstein. The report says 'a number' of faculty members visited Epstein at his homes in New York, Florida, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.

Some said they visited him in jail or took trips on his planes. The visits were done in a personal capacity, the report said, and do not appear to violate Harvard rules.

In total, Epstein made more than 20 donations to Harvard, the largest of which was the $6.5 million to Nowak's research group. Smaller donations supported faculty research in psychology, economics, art and education.

Although his gifts were blocked after 2008, the report found that Harvard accepted $736,000 between his arrest and conviction.

Most went to Harvard's medical school, while $150,000 went to its Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Harvard President Lawrence Bacow called for the review in September 2019 amid public outcry over the university's relationship with Epstein.

Other schools have faced similar scrutiny, including nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which revealed in January that Epstein donated $750,000 and visited the campus at least nine times after his conviction.

The former director of MIT's famed Media Lab, Joi Ito, resigned last year amid uproar over his ties to Epstein. He issued a public apology and vowed to raise money for victims of trafficking.
Israelis and Zionists around the world marked Yom HaZikaron this year starting on the evening of April 27. Yom HaZikaron LeHalalei Maarakhot Israel ulNifgeei Peulot HaEivah, literally: Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism is Israels Memorial Day, and it is not celebrated with barbecues, but with tears of ultimate grief. And as so many Israelis mourn for their precious fallen fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, and friends and comrades, it is not the same for Jews outside of Israel.

We may all mourn together on Tisha BAv and at Yizkor on Yom Kippur but, tragically, it is not the same observing Yom HaZikaron inside the Jewish State as it is anywhere else.

It is our task in the Diaspora to bridge the miles and other differences and mourn along with our fellow Jews in Israel.

One book to read that may assist you to feel the depth of the loss that so many Israelis feel on Yom HaZikaron is Letters to Talia.

Even though the words in Letters to Talia were penned decades ago, starting in 1971, it is a must-read human document. The Hebrew edition of the book was originally published in 2005 and became hugely popular, but somehow the book never achieved the status it so richly deserves outside of Israel.

Letters to Talia is eerily reminiscent of Self-Portrait of a Hero: From the Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu 19631976. Both reveal the tragic loss that Israel has suffered by sacrificing its best and brightest on the fields of battle for generations: nearly 24,000 soldiers were remembered on Yom Hazikaron this year. Letters to Talia is a collection of correspondence between a kibbutz born secular Israeli high school girl and a religious Israeli soldier named Dov Indig, one of Israels fallen heroes.

Indig fell in combat in the Yom Kippur War on Oct. 7, 1973, 11 Tishrei 5734, fighting the Syrian army on the Golan Heights. Indig was a dedicated yeshiva student and part of the Religious Zionist movement. Dov attended the hesder yeshiva program at Yeshivat Kerem BYavneh, near Ashdod, in which soldiers combine Israels requirement for military service with advanced yeshiva based Talmud / Torah study. Kerem BYavneh was the first hesder program, today there are nearly 70 such yeshivot.

In early October 2012, a book release event was held in the Knesset for the English edition and Prime Minister Netanyahu and other notables attended. Hagi Ben-Artzi, Sara Netanyahus brother, edited the book and figures prominently in numerous letters from both writers.

Many of the letters center around Talias desire to put the Jewish religion in proper context in her life as a modern, thinking young woman and Dovs answers to her questions plus descriptions of his army experiences.

What makes the book so moving is not just the emotion that each writer attaches to their search for truth but the commitment they demonstrate to the Jewish People, their love of the Land of Israel, and their faith in the State of Israel.

The topics tackled encompass an entire range of issues from a then potential Israeli surrender of Sinai to womens rights and from Israeli emigration to the Diaspora to a critique of Western culture. The lands liberated in 1967 feature prominently in the book. Deeply moving trips to these areas are discussed. The reader is left to ponder how these young developed such a profound closeness to these regions so quickly and will gain a better understanding of the pain these withdrawals have caused many Israelis.

Subjects such as religious coercion and the importance of Israeli settlements are discussed at length. The depiction of their visits to Sinai are vivid and leave the reader with a better sense of what Israel lost when this vast area was surrendered to Egypt at Camp David.

Here are a few random quotes that give a sense of the patriotism of these young Israelis:

Dov: I am happy to hear from you that most of the kids hold that it is forbidden to give up Sinai and it is forbidden to be tempted by the promises of the Arabs, who until today have broken all of them.

Talia: I really envy you that you were on the Golan Heights. I love hiking there more than anywhere else in Israel.

Dov: How fortunate we are that we are privileged to be soldiers in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], which defends the lives of Jews in Israel and throughout the world.

Talia: We thought that our amazing victory in the Six-Day War would put an end to wars, and that the Arabs would resign themselves to our existence, but it turns out that we made a mistake.

Read the book for yourself, you will be moved by the experience. Grow close to Israel and thank G-d for the blessing of Israeli soldiers.

Moshe Phillips is national director of Herut North Americas U.S. division. Herut is an international movement for Zionist pride and education and is dedicated to the ideals of pre-World War Two Zionist leader Zeev Jabotinsky. Heruts website is https://herutna.org.
Are you tired of being cooped up at home? Are you yearning to get out and see the world? How about a trip to Egypt during 20-30 November 2020? At this stage, of course, we dont know whether it will actually go. (Lets hope that normal life can begin again, at least more or less, by that time!) But weve already filled one bus, and now its been decided to run a second bus. So you still have an opportunity. A really great opportunity, if I may say so. If you dont get on the list, you may miss it:

Ultimate Egypt Interpreter Foundation Tour

The Interpreter Foundation and Cruise Lady are pleased to present this ULTIMATE EGYPT tour! It includes Old Cairo and the magnificent temples of Abu Simbel as well all the main highlights of Egypt. We have THE top Egyptian guide, HANY TAWFEEK to provide the history of Egypt and elaborate on all the sites. He has a masters degree in Archaeology. When President Obama was visiting Egypt, Hany was the guide picked to escort his group. In addition to Hany, we have the added benefit of touring with BYU Egyptologist JOHN GEE and Interpreter Foundation President and BYU professor of Islamic Studies DANIEL PETERSON. This opportunity to travel with John, Dan and Hany to these UNFORGETTABLE sites only comes once in a lifetime!

My wife and I spent our first four years of married life living in Egypt, and we love the area and its people. Egypt is inexhaustibly fascinating. There isnt a square foot of the Nile Valley without interest, without history.

Late November will be an unusually good time to go because the temperatures will be moderate  which (trust me!) isnt always the case. And the crowds at some of the more popular sites will be much smaller.

When my wife and I lived there decades ago while I was doing graduate study, we were impoverished. One of our dreams was to someday take a cruise on the Nile. After all, that was the way the pharaohs traveled through their country, and, well, if it was good enough for Pharaoh it would surely be good enough for us. One of the high points of this tour is that we will spend four nights on a Nile cruise boat, traveling between Luxor and Aswan. Among other things, that will allow us to visit the great ancient temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo, which are right on the Nile but are otherwise rather difficult to reach.

Im pleased to report that Steve Densley, executive vice president of the Interpreter Foundation and, of late, chief operating officer and general counsel for the Cruise Lady company, is still expected to come along with us. He knows Egypt quite well himself, and it will be good to have him along.
Press Release

1 May 2020

NEW YORK - To help jumpstart leisure travel, the hospitality industry has united to launch Buy One, Give One, a "vacay layaway" program designed to generate immediate revenue for hotels, while simultaneously providing a "thank you" to healthcare workers who have been tirelessly working on the front lines.

Advertisements

Available at BuyOneGiveOneStay.com through June 30, the initiative incentivizes consumers to purchase future travel now with special offers ranging from discounted stays to gift cards to loyalty points for redemption prior to travel. In return, participating hospitality brands/hotels will donate room nights, gift cards, or loyalty points to organizations, including the American Nurses Association and NewYork-Presbyterian, among others of their choice, to distribute to medical professionals who can use them toward future leisure stays. MMGY Global, the largest integrated marketing company specializing in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry, and the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) partnered to launch the effort.

"In these unprecedented times, it is more important than ever for all of us to join together to fuel recovery," said Bob Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, President & CEO of HSMAI. "With Buy One, Give One, we offer a collective charitable response to the pandemic across the hospitality industry, providing immediate funds to hotels in addition to a much-deserved respite in the future for those who have put their lives on the line to care for the sick."

Hospitality has been one of the industries most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic with 70% of hotel employees laid off or furloughed and eight in 10 hotel rooms empty, according to data released by the Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).

"The COVID-19 crisis has been devastating to the hospitality industry, with countless hotels currently closed globally and hospitality employees out of work," added Katie Briscoe, President of MMGY Global. "But our research indicates that leisure travel will lead out recovery in the travel industry. Consumers are already dreaming about their next getaway, and we hope this program helps kick start their decision to travel again once restrictions are lifted, whether it's near home or beyond."

From the comfort of their homes, travelers can explore enticing offers from more than 30 participating hospitality brands and hotels and counting. They can also take comfort in knowing that their purchases will result in meaningful donations by the participants.

To learn more about the program and to purchase stays, gift cards or loyalty points from participating hotels, please visit www.BuyOneGiveOneStay.com and follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Participants include (in alphabetical order):
Hagens Berman: Boston University and Brown University Latest Hit by Student Class-Action Lawsuits Demanding Refunded Costs Lost Due to COVID-19

Students from Boston University and Brown University have filed class-action lawsuits against the universities demanding repayment for tuition, room and board and other costs amid COVID-19-related campus closures and residence hall shutdowns, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman.

If you are paying for college tuition, and/or room and board at a college or university closed due to COVID-19, find out more about the lawsuit and your rights.

Both lawsuits were filed Apr. 30, 2020, one in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the other in the District of Rhode Island, both accusing the universities of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

The law firm behind the cases, Hagens Berman, also filed a similar lawsuit against Vanderbilt University for its failure to repay students for their losses.

"College students enrolled in classes when the COVID-19 outbreak struck were left with no access to their dorms, to classrooms, campus cafeterias or other facilities they paid to use," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and attorney for students in the class action. "We believe there's absolutely no reason why they should continue to be stuck holding the bill for tens of thousands of dollars, only to be kicked off campus."

College Students Seeking Repayment

The students bringing the lawsuits claim that both universities broke federal laws in continuing to charge for tuition, fees and room and board, reaping financial benefit of millions of dollars from students, despite sending studens home and closing campuses.







Both complaints read, "So while students enrolled and paid Defendant for a comprehensive academic experience, Defendant instead offers Plaintiff and the Class Members something far less: a limited online experience presented by Google (News - Alert) or Zoom, void of face-to-face faculty and peer interaction, separated from program resources, and barred from facilities vital to study."

Boston University is being sued by a graduate student enrolled in the university's School of Social Work. She had only days to transition entirely to online learning, including group projects, internship requirements and other normally in-person components. For the spring term 2020, Boston University charged students $27,360 for general tuition, $2,740 for a dining plan and $5,360 for housing, for a total of $35,440 per semester.

The lawsuit against Brown University was brought by a full-time student who was likewise left without access to regularly on-campus course components, including access to labs and teaching assistants. Brown University charged spring 2020 students $28,556 for tuition. Brown saw its largest fundraising year ever in 2019, with more than 31,000 individual donors giving $420.6 million. Along with Hagens Berman, local Providence firm McIntyre Tate LLP is representing the Brown University student.

"Both Boston University and Brown offer online courses regularly, and there's a reason why students still choose in-person, on-campus classes and experiences over them," Berman said. "Both universities also tout their incredibly low student-to-professor ratio and ability to offer a quintessential New England college experience for students, yet neither of these benefits, among many others, are obtainable now."

Other Affected Universities

Hagens Berman is investigating the rights of those who are currently paying for room and board, and/or tuition at colleges and universities that have been forced to close due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This may include parents, guardians or college students who are paying for their own costs of college.

Despite orders from colleges and universities sending home students and closing campuses, these institutions of higher learning continue to charge for tuition and room and board. Collectively, these institutions are continuing to receive millions from students despite their inability to continue school as normal, or occupy campus buildings and dorms.

Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against colleges and universities for tuition, room and board and other costs incurred during the outbreak of COVID-19.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with nine offices across the country. The firm's tenacious drive for plaintiffs' rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of "Most Feared Plaintiff's Firm," and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200430006072/en/
Whenever the calendar lands on the fifth month of the year, countries around the world celebrate a holiday called Labor Day or International Workers' Day, lesser-known as May Day -- almost all, except one where the holiday originated: The United States.

Many Americans don't even have the slightest idea what May 1 signifies in their country's history.



Haymarket Riot: The Origin of Labor Day

According to an article, Labor Day is a commemoration of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, where workers organized a massive walkout as part of an effort to fight for an eight-hour workday. A stipulation in which they legally were supposed to have, but was not implemented by their employers who forced them to either work longer or not work at all; better pay and improved working conditions.

The strike took a violent turn when a bomb exploded in the middle of a demonstration and killed at least eight people.

The Haymarket Riot and its aftermath sparked a global outrage among working people and their allies. They started May Day in remembrance to the Haymarket martyrs and their aspirations for the working masses.

Today, over 80 countries across the world celebrate Labor Day or International Workers' Day every May 1, where workers typically get the day off while some organize mass rallies to commemorate the workers' struggle for fair wages and an eight-hour workday.



The Whitewashing of Labor Day

So why is May 1 not a big deal in the United States?

For years, the United States has intentionally whitewashed May Day from its culture and consciousness.

In 1894, after the Pullman Strike in Chicago, President Grover Cleveland declared the first Monday in September a national holiday to celebrate Labor Day. An article says Labor Day was chosen to intentionally co-opt May Day out of fear that commemorating the Haymarket Riot would spark communism and other radical causes.

Other administrations also took action to make sure Americans wouldn't think of May Day. In 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law making May 1 Loyalty Day, while in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan declared May 1 as "Law Day."

Finding Haymarket Square where the riot once took place could even be tricky because it no longer exists. Even if protesters plan to wage massive May Day rallies today, they will have a fundamental problem as most Americans have never heard of May Day. Today, most of them go about their day as usual. Sure, some may be encouraged to protest due to their economic woes but never because of some unknown workers and history they never learned about in school.

Although Labor Day is celebrated in the U.S., most people don't think about that aspect of the holiday and use it as an excuse to take a day off and party.

This May 1, while the rest of the world commemorates Labor Day or International Workers' Day, it is worthy of remembering the Haymarket Riot as a piece of U.S. history that gave rise to a global workers' movement.
Chinese solar manufacturers Seraphim and Lu'An Solar will invest around $565 million in the new factory.Solar manufacturers Seraphim and Lu'An Solar have announced that they will open a 5 GW PV panel manufacturing facility in the Jiangsu Yixing Economic Development Zone, in China's Jiangsu province. The companies said they have now signed a contract for the RMB4 billion ($566.4 million) project with the Jiangsu Yixing Economic Development Zone committee. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the groundbreaking ceremony was performed via an online streaming session. The factory will be part of the 2020 ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The world is inching towards a new phase in the coronavirus crisis as some countries like Vietnam and New Zealand with few new cases move to end their shutdowns while others like Singapore and Japan are tightening measures to prevent a surge in infections.

Many countries are moving from crisis mode to figuring out how to live with the virus by modifying pre-pandemic routines with precautions, more testing and containment of flare-ups, mindful of the potential for future waves of the virus.

Authorities in the capital of Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim majority nation, extended to May 22 strict disease-fighting restrictions with the approach of Ramadan, which begins with the new moon this week.

Disinfecting in Jakarta (Dita Alangkara/AP)

With traditional, communal meals for the poor, large fast-breaking dinners with family and friends and cultural events after sunset cancelled, the worlds 1.8 billion Muslims find themselves cut off from much of what makes the month special.

Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan bowed to the countrys religious clerics, refusing to close mosques despite an appeal from the Pakistan Medical Association warning such gatherings are like a petri dish for the spread of the virus in a country with a fragile health care system.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres urged Muslims to focus on our common enemy  the virus, and repeated an earlier appeal for an immediate ceasefire for all conflicts.

In a separate message, he urged countries to provide equitable help to all, saying the pandemic was a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.

Some leaders are using the crisis as a pretext for repressive measures, Mr Guterres said, adding: The message is clear: People  and their rights  must be front and centre.

#COVID19 is a public health emergency  that is fast becoming a human rights crisis. People  and their rights  must be front and centre. My new report on how human rights can and must guide #coronavirus response & recovery: https://t.co/CmYirKbsci pic.twitter.com/rssMV0MPBg  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 23, 2020

The UN has warned that tens of millions of people risk starvation as the pandemic, a plague of locusts in Africa and other disruptions prevent food from reaching the worlds most vulnerable populations in places like Yemen and South Sudan.

Story continues

A report released on Wednesday estimated that at least 135 million people are at acute risk of starvation due to conflicts and other factors. The report was compiled before shutdowns, border closures and freezes on transport activities began disrupting food supplies.

In response, the EU pledged 20 billion euros (17 billion) for helping bridge such disruptions to provide help to vulnerable communities globally.

While some parts of the world are just beginning to grapple with the pandemic, in China authorities reported no new deaths and just 10 new cases on Thursday. The number of people in hospital dropped to 959, with 63 considered serious.

Residents queue to get temperature checks before entering an office building in Beijing (Andy Wong/AP)

China has reopened many businesses, and school pupils are returning to classes, but a ban on foreign arrivals and strict quarantine measures remain in place to prevent an influx of new cases from abroad or fresh infections among those thought to have recovered or who had no symptoms but could still be spreading the virus.

Neighbouring Vietnam, which moved quickly to close its borders and trace cases, has reported no new infections in the past three days and is preparing to loosen restrictions.

New Zealand, which announced just three new cases on Thursday, remained on strict lockdown, with 1,451 confirmed cases and 16 deaths, but was preparing to ease limits next week.

But the virus continues to pop up unexpectedly.

(PA Graphics)

Singapore has been reporting hundreds of new cases daily, exceeding 10,000 in total, with the vast majority of new infections traced to crowded migrant worker dormitories.

Japanese officials said more crew members on a cruise ship docked in Nagasaki have tested positive, raising the total on board to 48.

The Italian-operated Costa Atlantica has been docked since late January for repairs and maintenance and has no passengers. Officials plan to test all the remaining crew, and are investigating how the virus got on board since the crew has stayed on the ship since mid-March.

The coronavirus has infected more than 2.6 million people and killed about 183,000, according to a tally compiled by John Hopkins University from official government figures.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1) - Despite having more relaxed quarantine measures, the province of Bohol does not hide the fact from its people that they have to adapt with the new norm of living brought by the pandemic.

What we are doing right now is we are getting all sectors of Bohol together, to consider the new normal and we are not sugarcoating anything. We are not telling them that we can go back to the old way of doing things, Bohol Governor Arthur Yap told CNN Philippines The Final Word.

As part of the new normal, people in Bohol are expected to always have a hand sanitizer, wear face masks, and consider online payment. Meanwhile, establishments in the province like restaurants would have reduced number of seats and passengers in public transportations would be limited.

All of these will be the new norm right now and thats the reason why we feel confident. Because we are priming everybody that this is how we are going to do things, said Yap.

Places under the general community quarantine (GCQ), which include Bohol, are those which have low to moderate number of COVID-19 cases.

Unlike in areas under enhanced community quarantine, several non-essential businesses will be allowed to reopen in GCQ areas.

READ: Govt finalizes rules for areas under enhanced, general community quarantine

Yap said that provincial government is trying to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) like salons, barbershops, small eateries, and other small retail stores to transition into the new normal.

That means helping them maintain social distancing as for their workplaces or to accommodate their patrons or their clients. What will it mean to serve their clients in this new norm? What will be the protocol? How are they going to receive their needs? How can they customize their services for these new clients?, he said.

However, Yap said that helping MSMEs to transit into the new norm will take time and money.

All of these are going to take time and funds and money right now, he said.

That's the reason why we've been asking for support also from Land Bank, DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines), and other government financial institutions to, at least, support the governors and the mayors right now to be trained to re-adapt and to give the grants that are going to be needed by these MSMEs to transition into the new regime, the new economic regime, he added.
Twenty-five people have died and 51 were injured in clashes in the northeast of the perennially unstable Central African Republic, the communications minister said Thursday.

Fighting between armed groups in Ndele led to the deaths of 21 civilians, Ange-Maxime Kazigui said, adding: "The situation remains confused."

Humanitarian workers, however, said that members of the Popular Front for CAR's Rebirth (FPRC) had clashed in Ndele on Wednesday.

The FPRC last year split into two factions: the Runga ethnic group on one side, including FPRC's military chief Abdoulaye Hissene, and rival fighters from the Gula and Kara ethnic communities.

They are fighting for control of the region's resources including its vast diamond deposits.

CAR struggles with violence despite a peace deal signed between the government and 14 armed groups. Rival militias battling over resources control more than two thirds of the country.

There have been clashes between Runga and Gula in Ndele, which is under FPRC control, since the start of March.

"The Gula wing of the FPRC attacked the Runga faction" in Ndele on Wednesday, an official from the UN mission in CAR, known by its French acronym MINUSCA, told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"There were about 100 Gulas who entered the town wearing civilian clothes," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official added there exchanges of fire with MINUSCA troops before the Gula pulled back.

Tensions between the ethnic groups had spilled over last September in the town of Birao on the Sudanese border and then again in Bria, a diamond centre in the east of the country, last January.

Thirteen people -- most of them fighters -- were killed in further clashes at Ndele on March 11.

One of the world's poorest and most unstable nations, the former French colony has suffered several crises since 2003 when former president Francois Bozize seized power in a coup.

The country spiralled into bloodshed after Bozize was overthrown in 2013 by the mainly Muslim rebel Seleka alliance.

Seven years of fighting since then has forced nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people to flee their homes.

After the latest unrest a government spokesperson noted it was "only a few days ago that there was a meeting between the different protagonists with the prime minister in the presence of Mr Hissene in order to find a means of restoring calm."

The FPRC for its part issued a statement saying Gula fighters had joined up with other armed groups with government support.

The FPRC's spokesman Aboubakar Silick Ali said the group is calling for an international investigation as well as for the resignation of two ministers it accuses of complicity with Gula rebels.
The employees also say that because the factory is so small, they are unable to keep six feet of distance between themselves and other workers while performing their jobs, Gomez said.
Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Benin Friday confirmed 26 new cases of Covid-19 infections, taking the total cases to 90, sources at the ministry of Health told PANA here
Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden on Friday categorically denied the sexual assault allegation levelled against him by a former Senate aide 27 years ago, saying this never happened.

This is the first time that the 77-year-old former US vice president has commented publicly on the allegations which threatened to disrupt his presidential bid against President Donald Trump, a Republican.

His former Senate aide Tara Reade has claimed that Biden assaulted her 1993 when she worked in his office.

Citing the full and growing record of inconsistencies in the accusations, Biden, in a statement, said: They aren't true. This never happened, the CNBC reported.

The statement was released ahead of an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe programme where Biden was expected to address the accusations personally for the first time.

"While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.

"Responsible organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways, Biden said.

He said he has not reached out to Reade, and does not remember her making any complaint.

"This never happened, and when she first made the claim, we made it clear that it never happened, and it's as simple as that," Biden added.

Biden is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party. He is likely to be formally nominated by the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin in August.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mikheil Saakashvili will not be appointed as a Vice PM in Ukraine - GeorgianJournal
(Photo : Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash) COVD-19 Next Epicentres Are Care-Homes According To NHS: Death Rate Increased To 30% (Photo : Eberharti Grossgasteiger on Unsplash) COVD-19 Next Epicentres Are Care-Homes According To NHS: Death Rate Increased To 30%

According to medical experts, if the trend continues, the next target of the novel coronavirus could be care-homes.

In a report in The Independent, a senior NHS England director warned the public that the next route of COVID-19 would be senior care-homes and their vulnerable residents, which can then spread back into the community.

Professor Keith Willet, NHS England's senior incident director for coronavirus, said in a private online briefing conducted by NHS chiefs on Thursday, April 30, that the extent of the coronavirus has shifted since COVID-19 is now spreading between patients and staff in many care-homes.

Willet confirmed that the death rate of care-home residents had increased from a quarter to 30%.

"The expectation is that for the next few weeks . . . those care homes will be the epicenters of transmission back into society and feeding the endemic problem that we will have going forward," Willet said in the report.

The comments given by the senior NHS director came as the NHS was being criticized as the one who introduced the viral virus into care-homes from the start of the pandemic when an order was released that care-homes should take COVID-19 patients from hospitals to decrease the number of patients to help free up beds.

COVD-19 next epicenters are care-homes according to NHS: Death rate increased to 30%

According to the report of The Independent, health services are still in a precarious state and could go back to the height of the coronavirus surge within weeks or even days, warned Professor Willet to NHS bosses.

NHS chiefs were also cautioned against assuming the health service is now out of danger since the care-homes had come through the peak of the infection. Some hospitals in London are still being overwhelmed by a large number of infected individuals.

"We did ride that first wave with some spare capacity, but boy was it tight in some parts of the country, and you know that. London got very close to not having sufficient capacity. And I think we need to be very careful that we aren't making an assumption that somehow we're on a downward trajectory that's not going to change," said Willet.

Professor Willet told in a regular meeting with the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies or SAGE, that although they managed to handle a large number of infections by going into lockdown, the status of the community can also rapidly climb back in just a matter of weeks and possibly even days.

He also clarified that although there's a discussion spreading in the media that the senior leaders are planning to lift the lockdown, the community is nowhere near the level of activity it was in before the lockdown was conducted.

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, warned the public against coming out of the lockdown quickly, although the UK had already passed through the peak of the pandemic.

A plan was expected to be published that will be set out to relax the lockdown restrictions next week. Professor Willet said that situation now is more manageable compared to their status a few weeks ago, but it doesn't mean that the pandemic is over.

He clarified that the situation is still critical since 400 to 700 people are still dying every day because of COVID-19.

The Public Health England reported that there have been more than 4,500 care-homes affected by the COVID-19 outbreak which is about a third of all care homes.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Manny Maceda, Bain & Company's worldwide managing partner, has been named to Gold House's annual A100 list, which honors the most impactful Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islanders across industries every May in celebration of AAPI Heritage month.

"It is an honor to be included in this celebration of AAPI Heritage month," said Mr. Maceda. "I am humbled to be recognized along with such an illustrious group of my peers. Moments like these are important in acknowledging and paying respect to both Asian and Pacific Islander heritage and community."

Mr. Maceda is Bain & Company's first worldwide managing partner of Asian descent. He assumed his current role in 2018 and, since that time, has overseen double-digit revenue growth globally.

He leads the firm in its mission to deliver the best client results while remaining the best place to work in the management consulting industry. He is also responsible for all aspects of the firm's strategy, team and operations across its global network of 58 offices.

Mr. Maceda joined Bain & Company in 1988 and has more than three decades of management consulting experience. In his cross-industry client work, he has focused on large corporate transformations involving strategy, growth, cost reduction and organizational effectiveness. Prior to taking the helm at Bain & Company, he served as the firm's chairman for the Asia-Pacific region and global leader of its Full Potential Transformation and Performance Improvement practices.

Mr. Maceda was born in the U.S. and raised in the Philippines, before returning to the U.S. to attend university. He earned his MS from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he currently serves on the advisory board.

Gold House is a nonprofit collective of diverse leaders dedicated to forging stronger bonds that empower Asians to have more authentic, more successful, and healthier lives to, in turn, advance all of society. It produces the A100 List every May, to celebrate historic Asian achievements.

Editor's Note : To arrange an interview with Mr. Maceda, please contact Dan Pinkney at [email protected] or +1 646 562 8102.

About Bain & Company

Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world's most ambitious change makers define the future. Across 58 offices in 37 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster and more enduring outcomes. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients. We proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry, and our clients have outperformed the stock market 4-to-1. Learn more at www.bain.com and follow us on Twitter @BainAlerts.

Media Contact:

Dan Pinkney

Bain & Company

Tel: +1 646 562 8102

[email protected]

SOURCE Bain & Company

Related Links

http://www.bain.com


S amara Weaving has made the transition from small screen to  well, a slightly bigger small screen  as she carves a name for herself in Tinseltown in Ryan Murphys new Netflix series, Hollywood.

While she has featured in massive blockbuster hits, such as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, until now Weaving has mostly played smaller parts - aside from her turn in last year's horror Ready Or Not.

However, she has now landed a major role in what is set to be one of the biggest television events of the year.

As Hollywood arrives on the streaming platform, we take a closer look at her career.

Samara Weaving is starring in Ryan Murphy's new Netflix series, Hollywood / Getty Images

Who is Samara Weaving?

The 28-year-old Australian actress and model was born in Adelaide in 1992, but grew up between Singapore, Fiji and Indonesia.

She got her first acting gig in the TV series Out of the Blue, but her first major role was in the daytime soap, Home & Away - which is massively popular in the UK, too.

Since March last year, Samara has been engaged to creative producer Jimmy Warden.

Home & Away (2009-2013)

Samara's first major role was in Home & Away, in which she played Indi Walker / Home and Away

Weaving played rebellious teen Indi Walker, who arrived in Summer Bay with her parents and little brother Dex.

The actress spent the majority of the time on Home & Away on the beach, as her character was a pro surfer.

Some of Weaving's biggest storylines in the soap centred around Indi's relationship with Romeo (Luke Mitchell), who also had a thing with Ruby (played by Rebecca Breeds, who, coincidentally, is his wife in real life).

Romeo then developed skin cancer and left Summer Bay without telling Indi, to spare her the pain. She later learned about his death, when she was in a new relationship - but the memory of Romeo made her feel so guilty she decided to leave town, too, to start a new life in Copenhagen, Denmark.

SMILF (2017-2019)

Weaving played Rose Nelson in the hit HBO series / HBO

SMILF marked Weaving's first role in an American production.

In the comedy series - which is about a young, bright single mother named Bridgett, who is trying to cope with her unconventional family - Samara played Nelson Rose.

However, in 2019 the series was cancelled after two seasons.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Although she only played a minor role, Weaving also featured in Three Billboards / Searchlight Pictures

Although a minor role, Weaving did feature in the Oscar-award-winning feature film starring Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson.

She played Penelope, the new girlfriend of Mildred's (McDormand) ex-husband.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)

Picnic at Hanging Rock: Irma Leopold (SAMARA WEAVING), Miranda Reid (LILY SULLIVAN), Marion Quade (MADELEINE MADDEN) / BBC/Fremantle Media/Sarah Enticknap

In the six-part Australian mystery drama, Weaving played Irma Leopold.

The show, which also starred Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer, saw a group of young girls go on a day trip to Hanging Rock, Victoria.

Things take a turn for the worse, however, when their teacher goes missing.

Ready Or Not (2019)

Eric Zachanowich

Weaving made waves in Hollywood in 2019 with a lead performance that allowed her to exercise her extraordinary range as an actress: horror movie Ready or Not.

Hollywood (2020)

Samara plays Claire Wood in Ryan Murphy's Hollywood / Netflix

Ryan Murphy's new star-studded Netflix series could be Weaving's big break.

In the show, Weaving stars as Claire Wood, who is the (rather spoilt) daughter of the owners of Ace movie studios.

She's also an aspiring actress, who goes up against Camille (Laura Harrier) in auditions for the role of Peg.

Hollywood is available to stream on Netflix now
For more than a month, customers at Vancouvers Little Conejo have been able to pair their to-go tacos with margarita kits, including fresh citrus juice, handmade syrups, mango-pineapple purees and full bottles of tequila or mezcal.

The taqueria, one of the metro areas 10 best new restaurants in 2018, sits less than a 10 minute drive from North Portland, where it ran a sister food cart before the coronavirus pandemic struck. Along with hundreds of other Washington state restaurants, Little Conejo has used the extra revenue from selling spirits to stay afloat until Gov. Jay Inslee allows restaurants to reopen their dining rooms.

I think its something that just should be done everywhere, just to keep everybody in business, said Michael Dynes, Little Conejos co-owner and a former bartender at Northeast Portlands Noble Rot.

South of the Columbia River, calls continue to mount for Oregon to follow the lead of dozens of other states that have allowed restaurants and bars to sell cocktails to-go. Those states, which include Oregons neighbors to the north, south and east, will soon be joined by Pennsylvania, a state widely considered to have some of Americas strictest liquor laws. Meanwhile, a change.org petition requesting the additional privilege organized by the gin-focused Pearl District cocktail bar Botanist House had gathered more than 1,600 signatures by Thursday.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which manages the sale and distribution of alcohol within the state, relaxed rules around the sale of beer, wine and marijuana shortly after Gov. Kate Brown ban on-premises dining March 17. Last week, the agency allowed Oregon distilleries to start offering their own products for home delivery, including both spirits and some canned and bottled cocktails already approved for sale. But adjusting the statute that limits hard alcohol to on-premises consumption would require a special legislative session, and could draw concerns from temperance groups, the OLCC has said.

So far, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board has granted licensed bars and restaurants the right to sell spirits, as long as theyre kept in their factory-sealed containers and sold with food. Businesses from Seattle to Spokane have rolled out cocktail kits, using the revenue from their sale to retain employees and keep their businesses open.

Back in Vancouver, Amaros Table beverage director Sara Newton makes cocktail mixers with berries, stone fruit and herbs from dandelion to catnip to lemon balm that appear each day on the restaurants Instagram page -- in addition to being an expert on the Italian liqueurs known as amari, Newton is studying to be an herbalist. Newton sells each 32-ounce jar for $17.50, with customers paying extra for bottled spirits or takeout orders of the restaurants fried chicken.

Amaros Table keeps its liquor prices close to retail levels, so margins are slim, especially compared to the markup that bars typically charge for cocktails. Still, the added revenue offers a way for Amaros Tables to continue offering a version of the elevated craft cocktails its known for. Newton thinks Oregon should follow Washingtons lead.

For the service industry, this is devastating, Newton said. Anything we can do as a state to employ more people who are pretty close to being destitute is something I think we should capitalize on.

On Vancouvers east side, Rally Pizza is selling boozy ice cream floats with blackberry sauce and cans of gin and tonic from Portlands Freeland Spirits  a product Portland restaurants are barred from selling. The restaurant, run by longtime Kens Artisan Pizza chef Alan Maniscalco and pastry whiz Shan Wickham, plans to roll out margarita kits in time for Cinco de Mayo. The restaurant has seen a run on its own selection of amari.

Washington did a really good job of opening these things up to small businesses, Maniscalco said. They were really smart, and really fast.

Still, Washington State business owners hope to join businesses in states such as California, Idaho and New York in selling pre-mixed cocktails. Right now, restaurants might be charging one and a half or two times what they pay for bottles of tequila, whiskey or gin, a far cry from the usual four-or five-time multiplier added to ingredients in pre-mixed cocktails -- the profit engine for most modern restaurants. At Little Conejo, Dynes sold a rare bottle of Mezcalosfera de Mezcaloteca mezcal to a loyal customer for $185; on their regular menu, that same spirit goes for $32 an ounce.

I think its kind of cool that people are making drinks in their house again," Dynes said. "But 80% to 90% of the people that come in are like, Cant you just make it for me?

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
This new requirement is part of the airlines' ongoing commitment to prioritizing customers' and team members' well-being in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,

Washington: Several commercial airlines in the US including the American Airlines, the Delta Airlines and the United Airlines on Thursday announced that they have made it mandatory for passengers and crew members to wear masks in their flights.

The announcement comes days after three European airlines  Lufthansa Airlines, Swiss Airlines and Austrian Airlines  made masks mandatory for their passengers during their flights.

The Jet Blue and the Frontier Airlines from the US had also made similar announcement early this week.

The Southwest Airlines, which is the only major airlines left in the US to do so, on Thursday said that an announcement in this regard is coming.

The American Airlines said that starting 11 May, it will require all customers travelling to wear a face-covering (or mask) while on board the aircraft.

This new requirement is part of the airline's ongoing commitment to prioritizing customers' and team members' well-being in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it said.

Flight attendants would be required to wear masks from 1 May. "We ask customers to bring their own masks or face-coverings they're comfortable with when they travel. American is working to procure face masks and hand sanitizer as a supplement," said Kurt Stache, senior vice president of Customer Experience, American Airlines.

Delta said that starting 4 May, all customers are required to wear a face mask or appropriate face covering when travelling with it. "We believe this change will give customers and employees some additional comfort when travelling with us," said Bill Lentsch, the Chief Customer Experience Officer of Delta Airlines.

The United Airlines said that it will provide masks to all its passengers. "Our flight attendants are required to wear masks on board and, beginning in early May, we will make face masks available to our customers as well," it said.

A union for flight attendants welcomed the move. "We're happy to see airlines taking action to require masks or face coverings for passengers, crew and other frontline employees," said Sara Nelson, the head of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

Congressman Oeter DeFazio Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Thursday urged the FAA to require masks or other face-coverings for all crew-members and passengers on US flights.

"I further urged him to require airlines to adopt reasonable, sound procedures for ensuring that passengers are spaced at safe distances from one another, given new medical findings regarding the transmissibility of this insidious disease," he said.

"I believe, these measures are not only well within the FAA's jurisdiction, but are also essential to protect frontline airline employees as well as the members of the flying public who still must travel during the pandemic," DeFazio said.
In hindsight, the delay turned out to be a blessing, because the COVID-19 health crisis forced organizers to scrap art festivals and street fairs scheduled to take place in the Chicago area in May, June and beyond. But while she saved money by not creating new shirts, Kelly said shes anxious about what those cancellations will mean for her income. Kelly teaches high school art at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, but makes about 70% of her income selling her work at art festivals.
San Jose police have arrested five San Jose residents in connection with the downtown killing of a 67-year-old man in October, authorities said Thursday.

All suspects were taken into custody over the last seven months  the last arrest occurred Thursday  after the Oct. 26 shooting of Wilmar Spikes, according to the San Jose Police Department. The San Jose resident was gunned down, as was another man who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, at North Fifth Street at East Santa Clara Street.
As the weeks of lockdown tick by, even the most dedicated homebodies must be fantasising about a far-flung foreign break. Virtual travel is all very well, but the tantalising closeness of online adventure can seem almost mocking, an unwelcome reminder of everything you cant currently have.

As an antidote to this worldwide FOMO, weve rounded up locations that are, at least in one sense, the opposite. These remarkable places were off-limits anyway, coronavirus aside

(iStock/PA)

In the film The Beach, a secretive island utopia is ruined by the arrival of foreign visitors, who upset the balance of the ecosystem and tear the fledgling community apart. So it is for the real-life paradise where the movie was filmed  the almost incomprehensibly beautiful Maya Bay in Thailand.

The beach was closed indefinitely in 2018, after an unpluggable stream of litter, sewage, and footfall decimated corals, scared off wildlife and muddied the pristine, azure sea. A grand re-opening is planned for 2021, though tentative reports suggest that date is under review.

Large parts of the natural world need protecting from human hands, but were quite capable of ruining our own creations too. The Lascaux Caves in France feature some of the finest prehistoric paintings anywhere on Earth, depicting Palaeolithic practices like taming horses and hunting wild aurochs.

Only discovered in 1940, a toxic cocktail of humidity, carbon dioxide, lichen, and the exhalations of visitors quickly caused the ancient pigments to degrade, some beyond recognition or repair. In 1963 Lascaux was closed permanently, but public interest remained high, so authorities built a giant replica of the caves nearby for tourists to visit instead.

Some forbidden places are awash with scandal and intrigue; others are just plain dark. The phrase troubled past doesnt even begin to describe Poveglia, an islet in the Venice Lagoon twice used to quarantine plague victims.

During the Black Death at least 100,000 people were shipped off to the island to die, and the giant plague pits are said to have permanently altered the soil. When finally disease-free, the island was transformed into a psychiatric hospital, which was dogged by accusations of botched lobotomies and torture.

To complete this unholy trinity, the abandoned island is reputedly now haunted. The list of apparent apparitions is endless, chief among them the villainous Dr. Fell, a physician who allegedly committed suicide.

(iStock/PA)

Some forbidden places have been closed for generations, but Surtsey has only existed since 1963. For three years the Vestmannaeyjar volcanic vents bubbled at the bottom of the ocean, issuing an eruption column that started 130 metres below sea level, and ended more than 150 metres above.

Intensively studied during and since its creation, Surtseys unique properties saw it declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, and today its accessible only to a select few scientists. Everyone else must make do with flyovers in a small plane.

Probably the deadliest island in the world, you would do well to heed the many warning signs that dot the beaches of Ilha da Queimada Grande, a short way off Brazils Atlantic coast. Widely nicknamed Snake Island, this small outcrop is the only place on Earth you can find the golden lancehead pit viper, and 4,000 of the creatures are crammed into the islands 100-odd acres.

Extremely venomous, the snake is an adept tree-climber, and feeds mostly on birds. The area is out-of-bounds to all but the Brazilian navy  partly for the snakes protection, but mostly for yours.

The Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island are one of a handful of tribes in the world still virtually untouched by mainstream society  and theyve made it abundantly clear that theyd like it to stay that way.

Little is known about the native culture except that they violently reject any and all outsiders, even shooting at low-flying aircraft with bows and arrows. In 2018, an American evangelist was killed after he was smuggled ashore by local fisherman  a tragic but effective cautionary tale.

Landing on the island is illegal under Indian law, and as ever the threat runs both ways. The islanders lack even the most basic immunities, and exposure to the common cold could decimate the tribe virtually overnight.

(iStock/PA)

A large collection of seeds in the middle of nowhere doesnt scream excitement and intrigue , except that its purpose is to prepare for the end of days. The Doomsday Vault, as it is known, is a converted coal mine beneath the frozen wastes of Svalbard, containing samples of seeds and crops from across the world to safeguard future food sources in case of catastrophe.

The interior is kept at -18C, often even colder than the Arctic conditions outside, to ensure the seeds age as slowly as possible. We cant imagine there are many apocalypse planning centres that would welcome Joe Public, and the Global Seed Vault is not one of them.
By Libby George and Nneka Chile

LAGOS(Reuters) - Tech startup founder Ebun Okubanjo watched with dismay as his home city of Lagos entered a coronavirus-containment lockdown, knowing well that millions of Nigerians on the margins could be left with nothing.

So he and his team used their expertise to create a crowdfunding site, "We Are Together", to distribute cash to those in difficulty who apply for help.

Others in Nigeria's flourishing tech sector have also put their skills to use to help cushion the economic fallout of the coronavirus.

"The reality is to tell people to stay home, and not work .. you have to give them something," Okubanjo told Reuters.

Africa's informal sector accounts for more than 85% of employment across the continent and has been largely bypassed by limited support measures from cash-strapped governments.

An African Union study warned that the pandemic puts some 20 million jobs at risk in Africa, with the continent's economies projected to shrink this year.

While Nigeria said the lockdowns will begin to gradually ease from May 4, it is not yet clear who will be able to go back to work, and the economic impact will be lasting.

Okubajo said his site, and others like it, are effectively a DIY economic stimulus, allowing those with cash to prevent people from falling into destitution.

Emmanuel Onyeahiolam, 30, an electrical equipment contractor, got 10,000 naira ($27.78) from We Are Together.

He said he was abruptly unable to work when Lagos locked down, and his last client was not able to pay him immediately.

"It's not too convenient for me to stay for a long time without working," he said, adding that food costs had gone up fivefold. "It's just scary."

We Are Together raised more than 17 million naira ($47,222) and distributed it to 1,739 recipients.

Justin Irabor, a tech worker with Nigerian startup Eden Life Inc, founded "Angels Among Us" with a team of volunteer software engineers. The site matches donors directly with recipients, and has enabled more than 2 million naira in donations.

Story continues

Both platforms are primarily online  a fact that puts them out of reach to the poorest Nigerians.

Both sites must also to an extent take applicants at their word, although Angels Among Us tries to vet its recipients and volunteers call to verify their stories. The site tries to use bank-issued biometric identification numbers to prevent graft.

We Are Together uses location technology to ensure that recipients are in the parts of the country under federally mandated lockdown, and not in wealthy parts of those states.

Okubanjo conceded the system is not perfect - and that some who do not need cash could get it. But it is a risk worth taking.

"For now, hope is our strategy," Okubanjo said. "The point is to avoid utter destitution  hunger, desperation and chaos."

(Reporting By Libby George and Nneka Chile; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 30, 2020) - Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO) ("Lion One" or the "Company") announces that three diamond drill rigs are being mobilized in preparation for the Company's aggressive 2020 dry season exploration campaign at Lion One's 100% controlled, fully permitted Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project, Fiji. At least 10,000 meters of drilling is planned.

Key Points:

Three drill rigs to focus on exciting new targets, new potentially mineralized structural zones, and depth extensions of known gold lode mineralization

Drill Rig One: this Company-owned rig has been operational throughout the latest seasonal wet season in Fiji, and is currently drill testing down dip extensions at Tuvatu West; 1500m depth capability drilling NQ-sized core

Drill Rig Two: this Company-owned rig has been reconditioned and is currently ready for mobilization to the Kingston-Biliwi prospect 2km north of Tuvatu in the newly acquired tenements covering the northern half of the Navilawa caldera; 250m depth capability drilling NQ-sized core

Drill Rig Three: recently purchased rig (anticipated 6-week delivery from South Korea) designated for new targets within the new Navilawa tenements including Banana Creek, a Tuvatu-style target displaying multiple high-grade outcropping lodes; 1500m depth capability drilling NQ-sized core

Exciting pipeline of drill targets to further confirm large-scale alkaline gold system within the Navilawa Caldera High-resolution subsurface controlled-source audio magnetotelluric ("CSAMT") survey data generates detailed interpreted structural network underlying the Navilawa Caldera to depths beyond 1,200m Such structures are potential pathways for mineralizing fluids that ascended from the underlying magma chamber beneath the Navilawa Caldera Potassium radiometric signature reveals 7km diameter surface footprint of interpreted hydrothermal alteration suggesting potential to expand the mineralized system by multiples above its currently defined limits



Story continues

Lion One CEO Walter Berukoff commented "We believe that Tuvatu is part of a massive gold system inside the Navilawa Caldera. Results from our recent CSAMT survey reinforce that view. We're excited about our upcoming aggressive drilling campaign, in our efforts to find similarities with the world class Vatukoula deposit located approximately 40 km northeast of Tuvatu."

"We're very excited to have to consolidated ownership of the entire Navilawa Caldera and be the first team to apply modern exploration techniques across the entire mineralized system. All evidence points to a large high-grade alkaline gold system of which Tuvatu forms a small part", commented Dr. Quinton Hennigh, technical advisor to Lion One. "With more drilling we hope to gain a better understanding of the underlying plumbing system that allowed gold-rich fluids to ascend from the underlying magma chamber and ultimately discover the root feeder or feeders that gave rise to this lode complex. Alkaline gold deposits are known to extend to great depths, so we have plenty of room to explore. And thanks to our recent encouraging BLEG results, we now know we have an extensive anomalous area within the northern part of the Navilawa caldera to explore for extensions of this robust gold system".







Figure 1: Interpreted CSAMT NE Section across existing Tuvatu resource highlighting (in yellow) the drill target area beneath Tuvatu West and situated on an untested CSAMT structural anomaly.

(maximum depth of survey readings 1,200m)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/55222_6b1ab5f4a437a9d8_001full.jpg







Figure 2: Potassium radiometric survey highlighting (in red) the distribution of anomalous concentrations of alkaline elements in host rock, across the 7km diameter Navilawa Caldera.

(Tuvatu resource area outlined in white).

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/55222_6b1ab5f4a437a9d8_003full.jpg

Recent Results

The Company has completed three out of the four planned holes with one rig active during this 2019-2020 wet season. The program targeted deeper extensions of the Tuvatu resource at depths from 500-1,000m below surface, and to further test the broader alkaline gold system geological model.

TUDDH493: intersected 33.22 g/t Au over 4.29m from 422.53m, including 322 g/t Au over 0.31m from 423.41m, interpreted to be 70m below current resource. Other notable intercepts included 21 g/t Au over 3.83m from 322.17m, including 56.70 g/t Au over 0.12m, and 105 g/t Au over 0.35m from 177.25m. This drill hole confirmed a deep extension of high grade mineralization 70m below the limits of the current resource, encountering hydrothermal breccia unlike any mineralization previously observed at Tuvatu, but closely resembling that seen in some lodes at the Vatukoula Gold Mine approximately 40 km to the northeast. In this area, several lode structures appear to be converging, potentially forming a root feeder. (see the Company's news release dated December 18, 2019)

TUDDH494: intersected 13.12 g/t Au over 3.60m from 188.8m in the upper part of the hole, drilling was halted at 748.60m due to the depth capacity of the rig to drill HQ-size core but will be extended to fully test the deeper target zone at approximately 850-1,000m depth once smaller NQ-sized drill rods arrive in Fiji later this month.

TUDDH495: also stopped above target depth (800-1,000m) due to rig capacity to drill HQ-size core. This hole, currently at a depth of 768.70m, will be continued when new NQ-sized drill rods arrive. Notable hydrothermal alteration is evident in both TUDDH494 and TUDDH495 near their current ends.

Current Hole TUDDH496: targeting a depth of approximately 600m, should further highlight high-grade potential of the Tuvatu West area, targeting mineralisation 100-250m below previously identified high-grade intersections. The current drill hole, TUDDH496, targets open areas along the high-grade east-west trending Murau and Snake lodes, both of which have previously returned spectacular high-grade intersections. Planned drill holes targeting the high-grade Tuvatu West zone are oriented to intersect these structures at depth.

High-Grade Tuvatu West Lodes

The east-west striking Tuvatu West Lodes pose an exciting target because of numerous high-grade intersections returned to date. Some of these are included in Table 1 below.

Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) True Width (m) Au (g/t) Lode TUDDH 341 148.54 150.86 2.32 1.49 62.81 Snake incl 149.50 149.85 0.35

420.00 Snake TUDDH347 121.99 125.77 3.78 2.51 16.15 Murau 1 incl 124.00 124.09 0.09 0.06 248.00 Murau 1 TUDDH348 155.05 162.54 7.49 4.97 23.03 Murau1 incl 161.37 161.54 0.17 0.11 855.00 Murau 1 TUDDH 349 130.92 138.75 7.83 6.57 17.69 Murau1 TUDDH 350 78.99 81.24 2.25 1.70 25.53 Murau Flat incl 79.96 80.43 0.47

20.00 Murau Flat incl 80.68 81.24 0.56

72.20 Murau Flat

89.43 90.82 1.39 1.00 10.56 Murau 2

142.00 145.66 3.66 2.76 15.68 Murau 1 incl 142.00 142.44 0.44

27.50 Murau 1 incl 143.84 144.55 0.61

49.70 Murau 1 TUDDH 356 89.70 93.29 3.59 2.44 15.43 Snake FW TUDDH 359 130.69 133.80 3.11 2.50 14.31 Murau 1 TUDDH 364 202.93 209.36 6.43 5.52 12.74 Murau 2 FW incl 202.93 207.32 4.39 3.77 18.34 Murau 2 FW TUDDH 365 164.55 168.86 4.31 3.10 14.95 Murau1 HW TUDDH 371 185.69 200.68 14.99 9.95 14.28 West 2 HW

203.68 205.31 1.63 1.09 38.38 West 2 TUDDH373 99.55 100.40 0.85 0.52 26.23 West 2

105.46 106.68 1.22 0.75 28.27 West 2 TUDDH374 26.27 27.00 0.73 0.52 14.90 West 2

Table 1: Previous select high grade drill intersections from Tuvatu West Lodes











Figure 3: Section 1875860E highlighting the location of TUDDH496 beneath existing drilling including historical reverse circulation and diamond drill holes, and Lion One's TUDDH371

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/55222_6b1ab5f4a437a9d8_004full.jpg

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, prepared, and approved by Mr. Stephen Mann, P. Geo, Managing Director of Lion One, who is a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI-43-101).

About Tuvatu

The Tuvatu gold deposit is located in on the island of Viti Levu in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. The mineral resource for Tuvatu as disclosed in the technical report "Tuvatu Gold Project PEA", dated June 1, 2015, and prepared by Mining Associates Pty Ltd of Brisbane Qld, comprises 1,120,000 tonnes indicated at 8.17 g/t Au (294,000 oz. Au) and 1,300,000 tonnes inferred at 10.60 g/t Au (445,000 oz. Au) at a cut-off grade of 3 g/t Au. The technical report is available on the Lion One website at www.liononemetals.com and on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

About Lion One Metals Limited

Lion One's flagship asset is 100% owned, fully permitted high grade Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project, located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Lion One envisions a low-cost high-grade underground gold mining operation at Tuvatu coupled with exciting exploration upside inside its tenements covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, an underexplored yet highly prospective 7km diameter alkaline gold system. Lion One's CEO Walter Berukoff leads an experienced team of explorers and mine builders and has owned or operated over 20 mines in 7 countries. As the founder and former CEO of Miramar Mines, Northern Orion, and La Mancha Resources, Walter is credited with building over $3 billion of value for shareholders.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Lion One Metals Limited

"Walter Berukoff"

Chairman and CEO

For further information

Contact Investor Relations

Toll Free (North America) Tel: 1-855-805-1250

Email: info@liononemetals.com

Website: www.liononemetals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to work actively on the release of Ukrainian prisoners held in in the Russian Federation and the occupied Crimea.

Kuleba said this during an online briefing on Thursday, April 30, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Of course, we paid attention to the issue of detainee exchanges and welcomed the exchanges that had already taken place. But we are still far from implementing the "all-for-all" format, so we need to move forward. Russia and Ukraine should continue to interact on this issue. Taking advantage of the Normandy format conversation, I emphasized the need to release the Ukrainians held in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the occupied Crimea, and urged my Russian colleague to work actively with the aim of releasing them, he said.

Kuleba added that for his part he confirmed his readiness for cooperation so that Ukrainians would return home not only from the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but also from the Russian Federation and the occupied Crimea.

As reported, 20 Ukrainian citizens, who were held in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, returned to government-controlled areas as a result of a mutual release on April 16. Instead, 14 citizens left for the occupied territories.

ish
New Delhi: All of us have been waiting that the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 will open after three days on May 4, but the government has extended it for two more weeks till May 17. The country will now stay in the lockdown for 54 days as it was first announced for 21 days, then extended for 19 days, and now will continue for 14 more days after May 3.

Although some concessions will be given in Red, Orange, and Green Zones during this period, the government took this decision because of the following reasons:

The first reason is that the country has attained success in the fight against coronavirus in the past 6 weeks but if the lockdown is removed on May 3, the possibility is that the COVID-19 cases could surge rapidly.

The second reason is that majority of chief ministers in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 27 had suggested extending the lockdown, while some states had insisted on continuing the same with little concessions.

The third reason is that the coronavirus cases are still increasing in the country. In Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, 2 to 10 thousand cases of COVID-19 cases have been reported.

The fourth reason is that the government does not want the novel coronavirus to reach the third stage, which spreads among communities and termed as Community Transmission. Since 1500 to 2000 fresh cases of coronavirus are coming every day in the past week, the government has to take this decision.

The fifth reason is that the removal of lockdown would start the movement of people on a large scale, increasing the chances of infected people to reach from one state to another where the situation is under control. Therefore, the government will run trains only for pilgrims, laborers, and tourists, but for the rest of the people, the rail traffic will remain suspended and the ban on air travel will continue.

Further, the government wants to take care of people's health and bring the economy back on track, the reason, it has issued fresh guidelines for different rules for Red, Orange, and Green Zones. The Prime Minister had earlier stated that life has to be saved along with running the world.

For the past few days, Prime Minister Modi has been continuously holding meetings on this issue. After talking to the Chief Ministers on April 27, and then deliberating with senior ministers and taking the opinion of experts, he decided to extend the lockdown.

Notably, 733 districts in the country have been divided into Red, Orange, and Green Zones after witnessing the rising cases of coronavirus. Of these, 130 districts are in the Red Zone, 284 districts are in the Orange Zone, while 319 districts are in the Green Zone.

Green Zone are those districts where no case has come in the last 21 days.

Red Zone is where cases are constantly coming up. Red Zones are determined by how many active cases are in those areas, how many cases are doubling in how many days, how much testing is happening, and what is the feedback.

The areas that are neither in the Green Zone nor in the Red Zone are placed in the Orange Zone.
Contagion across the financial sector remains a possibility unless the lockdown is lifted soon and the economy gets back on rails fast, Deepak Jasani, Head of Research at HDFC Securities, tells in an interview to Moneycontrol's Sunil Shankar Matkar.

Q: The government and the RBI have been quick to react during the coronavirus crisis and the same was seen in terms of help to the mutual fund industry after Franklin Templeton fiasco. Given the prolonged lockdown and weak global environment, do you expect more such problems?

Under the circumstances, the government and the RBI are doing a good job. Although the government can exceed the projected fiscal deficit by a wide margin as it has sufficient justification, it is going slow and being prudent, being aware of the risk of sovereign rating downgrades. So far understandably, the focus has largely been on monetary stimulus and less on fiscal stimulus. Some innovative methods to speed up the growth in the economy are warranted.

As far as lifting of lockdown due to COVID-19 is concerned, the government has to take a tough decision between health versus economic concerns. It will be very challenging to resolve the conflict between social isolation and economic recovery.

One hopes that Franklin is a one-off case and we will not see more such cases even though the economy is yet to come out of this difficult phase. Contagion across the financial sector (due to delay in repayment, downgrades etc) remains a possibility unless the lockdown is lifted soon and the economy gets back on rails fast.

Q: Do you expect the lockdown to continue beyond May 3 or will it be extended only for red zones/states? Has the market priced in an extended lockdown?

We think that the lockdown will be lifted across most parts of the nation w.e.f. May 04. However, red-zone areas may see a small extension. Also, in all areas social distancing will be implemented rigorously and hence, some services may be partially available and some businesses will run at below rated capacity for some time.

Q: The pharma sector has been the outperformer with over 18 percent rally so far in CY20. Do you expect the outperformance to continue during the year or is it highly valued now?

After underperforming for the past several years, the defensive nature of the sector and easing out of most concerns (USFDA issues, generic pricing war in US, fall in rate of new drug launch etc) may lead to the pharma sector remaining in the limelight for some more months. Valuation wise, though, they are not cheap. Going by historical earnings, their growth going forward may accelerate, resulting in the valuations seeming better.

Q: The market has been in a tight range after a strong recovery of 21 percent from March lows. Will the market turn stronger or remain rangebound in May?

In anticipation/hope of post lockdown scenario, markets have done well, aided by limited redemptions from FPIs and domestic investors. However, we could see a sell-on-news scenario once the lockdown is lifted and the grim realities in terms of economic growth and micro performance come to the fore.

Q: There are expectations that the government will come out with a bigger relief package (or second stimulus) in the coming days but some experts say the government has limited leeway and may support only troubled sectors. What are your thoughts? What are the sectors that should get help from the government?

This government has believed in prudence and may not announce large fiscal stimulus. Also the two stimulus packages announced in the past two months have not done much to improve the economy or capital-market sentiments. Also, the various strata of society may keep wishing for more and more reliefs. Such largesse, although necessary for the most vulnerable sections of society, often creates a wrong precedence and punishes the genuine law-abiding diligent businessmen and such other strata of society.

Blanket packages will only postpone pain in several businesses (all inefficient and outdated businesses must be allowed to die) and we will have to face it in a few quarters again. The government can instead focus on healthcare and education spend for the next few years, speed up legal processes and reduce spending money in other infra sectors, which can prove to be a burden on future generations given the sufficient alternatives available and unwillingness on the part of Indians to pay for infra services.

Q: Banks were the leaders in the past bull runs, especially after 2008's global financial crisis. Do you expect the same to continue or will the leadership get changed? If it changes, which would be the leading sector and why?

In a country like India, where capital is scarce and aspirations are rising, the financial sector can never lie low for long. However, for till the ill effects of the COVID-19 and economic slowdown is out, this sector may underperform and see some shakeouts. Consumer discretionary, staples and healthcare could be back in favour for some time.

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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London markets opened down by 2.2 per cent this morning as data showed a slump in the UK housing market.

The FTSE 100 index of Britain's biggest firms was down by 144 to 5757 points, wiping out much of the strong gains it had seen this week after signs of several countries easing lockdown measures.

It comes after Boris Johnson said he would outline a 'comprehensive plan' next week on how to get the economy moving, but lockdown restrictions currently remain in place.

Newly released figures by building society Nationwide today showed that house prices were on the up, but the pandemic has brought the industry to a shuddering halt.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, told Property Reporter: 'In the opening months of 2020, before the pandemic struck the UK, the housing market had been steadily gathering momentum.

The FTSE 100 index of Britain's biggest firms was down by 144 to 5757 points, wiping out much of the strong gains it had seen this week after signs of several countries easing lockdown measures

'Activity levels and price growth were edging up thanks to continued robust labour market conditions, low borrowing costs and a more stable political backdrop following the general election.

'But housing market activity is now grinding to a halt as a result of the measures implemented to control the spread of the virus, and where the government has recommended not entering into housing transactions during this period.

'Indeed, a lack of transactions will make gauging house price trends difficult in the coming months. Our ability to produce the index in the months ahead will depend on there being sufficient transactions which are representative of the wider housing market.

Oil prices jumped on Friday, extending the previous session's gains, buoyed by a lower-than-expected gain in U.S. crude inventories and the start of output cuts in a bid to offset a slump in fuel demand triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a board at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today

The domestically focussed mid-cap index fell 1.3%, as President Trump said late on Thursday his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the pandemic, with his administration crafting retaliatory measures over the outbreak.

British Airways operator IAG shed another 2.6% as details of its plans to cut staffing, including a quarter of its pilots, and weather the collapse in air travel under the coronavirus continued to seep out.

Europe's stock markets sank further on Friday on mounting evidence that the global economy is reeling from the devastating coronavirus crisis, dealers said.

Frankfurt's DAX lost 2.2 percent 10,861.64 and the Paris CAC 40 shed 2.1 percent to 4,572.18, compared with the closing levels on Thursday.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: The phase three clinical trial of the antiviral drug Remdesivir, led by a team of investigators including an Indian-American physician, for the treatment of the coronavirus patients has shown positive results, an American pharma company announced on Wednesday.

The California-based pharma company Gilead Sciences said that the preliminary results showed that 50 per cent of the COVID-19 patients treated with a 5-day dosage of Remdesivir improved and more than half were discharged from the hospital within two weeks.

A phase three clinical trial is said to be the final step in the process of drug approval.

"Certainly, it's a positive it's a very positive event," Trump told reporters in response to a question on the latest result of the clinical trial of Remdesivir.

The White House described the development as "quite good news".

The pharma company also said that it is also aware of positive data emerging from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' (NIAID) study of the investigational antiviral Remdesivir for the treatment of the COVID-19.

"We understand that the trial has met its primary endpoint and that NIAID will provide detailed information at an upcoming briefing," it said.

Remdesivir is not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally and has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for the treatment of the COVID-19.

The study sought to determine whether a shorter, five-day course of Remdesivir would achieve similar efficacy results as the 10-day treatment regimen used in multiple ongoing studies of Remdesivir, the company said.

"These data are encouraging as they indicate that patients who received a shorter, 5-day course of Remdesivir experienced similar clinical improvement as patients who received a 10-day treatment course," said Aruna Subramanian, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Chief, Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases, Stanford University School of Medicine, and one of the lead investigators of the study.

ALSO READ | Remdesivir shows 'clear-cut' effect against COVID-19: Top US health advisor contradicts China study

"While additional data are still needed, these results help to bring a clearer understanding of how treatment with Remdesivir may be optimised, if proven safe and effective," Subramanian said.

The company said it will share additional Remdesivir data from the company's open-label Phase three SIMPLE trial in patients with severe COVID-19 disease shortly.

Dr Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, told reporters at a media briefing with Trump that Gilead results from the Remdesivir clinical trial for treating the disease showed "quite good news".

"So that's something that will go with 31 per cent improvement, doesn't seem like a knockout, 100 per cent, it is a very important proof of concept," Fauci said.

"This is very optimistic, the mortality rate trended towards being better in the sense of less deaths in the REM designate group. Eight per cent versus 11 per cent in the placebo group. So bottom line. You're going to hear more details about this will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal and will be peer-reviewed appropriately," said Fauci.

In an earlier interview to Stanford Medicine, Subramanian said that during normal times, a phase three clinical trial typically takes months of planning, after years of research before it is underway.

"But these aren't normal times. With a fast-moving pandemic bearing down and no approved treatments available, researchers are, like everyone else, desperate for answers, and they have ramped up their efforts to find solutions.

Remdesivir jumped to the top of the list of potential treatments in part because it was farthest along in the approval process," Subramanian said.

By the end of February, as the virus spread in the United States, there were at least five clinical trials of Remdesivir underway.

China initiated the first two studies in February, followed later that month by the Gilead trials for severe and moderate patients and the NIH trial.

By the end of March, Gilead had expanded to 100 testing sites both in the United States and abroad, and the NIH trial had expanded to 60 sites, 50 of those in the United States, Stanford Medicine reported.

A coronavirus infection occurs when the germ enters the body's airways through the nose, mouth or eyes, then lodges in the cells in the lining of the lung's airways, where it quickly starts to make millions of copies of itself, wreaking havoc on the lungs, Subramanian told the Medical publication.

The virus makes copies of itself by inserting its own genes into the human cell's genetic machinery, basically hijacking the replication process of the human cell.

Remdesivir, like other anti-virals, is designed to target the system the virus uses to replicate, acting as a cap that prevents the virus from making new copies of itself or infecting other cells, she said.
Hyderabad, May 1 : The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Telangana, on Friday welcomed the state government's move to gradually resume industrial activity.

It hailed the government's directions to district collectors to permit the operations of the industries located in rural areas, industrial estates, SEZs and export oriented units.

Krishna Bodanapu, Chairman, CII Telangana said that industry is committed to work closely with the state government and mentioned that as per guidelines all industries would follow social distancing norms and ensure the accessibility and usage of masks and hand wash facilities.

He also said that there is a strong need for a fiscal package for MSMEs so as to get back to business after the lockdown period is over.

"Public health and safety is of utmost importance. As the threat of coronavirus will remain for some time, forcing us to make changes in the way we live and work. It is also essential to prevent public frustration, instill confidence, ensure that the industries are operational to reduce impact on the economy and provide livelihood to many," the CII noted.

Sameer Goel, Vice Chairman, CII Telangana appreciated the Ministry of Home Affairs' order to allow the free movement of trucks across the country. The production lines could function only when the supply chain is 100 per cent in place. This move will not only help to restart the business operations but also makes the essential items available to the public.

The move to gradually resume industrial activities comes even as chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had declared that lockdown in Telangana would be in place till May 7.
French unions call for virtual demonstrations and workers' protection on May Day

May 01,2020 | Source: Morning Star

French trade unions are calling for virtual demonstrations on May 1, demanding the protection of workers who are on the front line during the coronavirus pandemic.



The General Confederation of Labour, United Federation of Trade Unions, Union Syndicale Solidaires, National Union of Students of France, Union Nationale Lyceenne and others are calling for people to be creative in expressing their solidarity on International Workers Day tomorrow.



Lets all demonstrate on May 1 with signs, banners, or by flooding social networks  and lets give this day real collective strength, a joint statement said.



On Tuesday the UN International Labour Organisation insisted that businesses and other workplaces must take measures to ensure safety and prevent another wave of Covid-19 cases as some countries start to relax lockdown conditions.



The French unions said that workers must be protected, warning: To sacrifice workers health is not admissible.



On May 1 we will be present, we will be decisive and in solidarity, we will not pay for the crisis generated by the political choices of a deadly capitalist system.

Theme(s): Others.
Every day, Harpreet Jawanda stares at the faces of the people he loves most through his phone screen and feels helpless to bring them home.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every day, Harpreet Jawanda stares at the faces of the people he loves most through his phone screen and feels helpless to bring them home.

Jawandas wife and 11- and 18-year-old daughters travelled to India to visit family at the end of February, still weeks before the Canadian government issued a travel advisory warning against non-essential travel on March 13.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jawandas wife and 11- and 18-year-old daughters travelled to India to visit family at the end of February.

Originally, the familys plan had been to remain in the state of Punjab for about a month, but by the time their return flight, scheduled for March 25, rolled around the world had changed with domestic and international flights grounded, and borders slammed shut to try and stymie the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"I've talked to probably 100 families, and 90 per cent of them, they are stressed that they are not able to buy these pricey tickets, especially if they have more than two members."  Nirmal Hari

"Every time we speak, my daughters say, Dad we want to come home. But I have no answers," Jawanda said. "Every time I speak to somebody, they say, Dont worry, we are doing our best."

Jawanda is a Winnipeg real estate agent and permanent resident in Canada. His wife and oldest daughter are also permanent residents, and his younger daughter is a Canadian citizen. For weeks theyve been registered on the repatriation flight waitlist administered by Global Affairs Canada, but theyve been unable to book tickets.

Even if they're able, Jawanda worries about the price tag since tickets run around $3,000 per seat. But when he contacted the company his family had flown with originally, Lufthansa, he says he was told rebookings were unlikely to be available until August.

The cooler winter months are a popular time for people to visit India, Jawanda explains, and as such his situation is far from unusual. Local community and political leaders estimate that between 250 and 280 people who call Winnipeg home (from approximately 100 families) are struggling to get out of Indias Punjab region alone.

"My commitment to my constituents, is that I wont stop advocating for additional flights  of which, Canada is doing better than any other country in the world, from what I understand  until everyone  including permanent residents  has been returned home," said the Liberal member of parliament for Winnipeg North, Kevin Lamoureux. Most of the Winnipeggers trying to return home from India live in his riding.

Eight repatriation flights will be flying out of Amritsar and Delhi in the next week, and Lamoureux hopes these flights will help clear the backlog of Canadian citizens stuck in India  who are being prioritized  so that efforts can progress to help permanent residents, and others who are on work visas and students.

The cost to get home is significantly higher than a normal ticket would be at approximately $3,000 just to get to Vancouver or Toronto, additional connections not included. Lamoureux said this inflated cost is due to a flat rate being charged across seats (economy for everyone) and the fact that additional precautions must be taken, and the flights are flown to India empty.

Citizens have qualified for emergency loans from the federal government of up to $5,000 for return flights, and Lamoureux said he expects that offer will be extended to permanent residents too once the focus shifts to bringing them back to Canada. But most Winnipeg family units have two to four members stranded, in two instances there are seven and eight people looking to get home from a single-family, respectively  so, $5,000 doesnt begin to cover the cost for them.

Nirmal Haris parents-in-law returned to Winnipeg earlier this month after being stranded for several weeks, but he has taken it upon himself to track the progress of other families trying to get loved ones home.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"I've talked to probably 100 families, and 90 per cent of them, they are stressed that they are not able to buy these pricey tickets, especially if they have more than two members," Hari said.

Jawanda is frustrated, but he also knows many of those who are trying to get their family members home are in worse situations than he is. Some have lost their jobs while all of this has been happening, others are in need of medications, he said.

Lamoureux said he empathizes with these plights and he is trying to tackle this issue, but people must be patient.

"We are not going to be able to help 100 per cent of people, it doesnt matter what program youre talking about," Lamoureux said. "But were doing the best we can to help the most, to get as close to 100 per cent as we can."

sarah.lawrynuik@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @SarahLawrynuik
C Shivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Will the State let industries in red zones, which arent under containment, reopen as per the guidelines set by the Centre? Or, will it come up with a new benchmark? Industries are pushing aggressively for a positive decision in this direction, for the officials to allow reopening of industries even in red zones, as long as they arent in containment areas. The expert panel chaired by Finance Secretary S Krishnan, which held a second meeting with industry members recently, has submitted a detailed 50-page report to the government, says CIIs K Hari Thiagarajan. The committee was formed by the government to formulate guidelines for a phased exit for industries from the lockdown.

The report, which was submitted on Thursday, has noted that there will be a labour shortage. However, most industries will begin operations with 50 per cent workforce, says Thiagarajan. Neighbouring States of Kerala and Karnataka have staggered the opening of industries. State chairman for builders association CREDAI, S Sridharan says, the body has made a representation seeking permission to restart works in non-containment zones.

Auto major Hyundai is positive the State would restart the economy soon. Without our dealers opening up, it will be difficult to source the components. And our units are all located outside the city, said its vice-president B C Datta.

Official sources confirmed that the state is looking at opening industries, going beyond the zonal classification. We are looking at a broader perspective to open up industries, official sources told Express. While officials refused to provide details on what the broader classification would include, it is learnt that non-containment zones in the red zone could be considered.

According to a classification by the Centre, green zones are those which does not have a single case of COVID-19. The Orange Zones have less number of patients and the Red Zones have higher number of COVID-19 patients. A hotspot can be categorised as a non-hotspot area if no new confirmed case is reported there for 14 consecutive days. And the same goes for a non-hotspot area to be categorised as a green zone.

TN announces reissue of 7.75pc

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has announced the re-issue of 7.75 per cent State Development Loan 2030 for `1,000 crore and 5.76 per cent Tamil Nadu State Development Loan 2024 for `1,000 crore in the form of stocks to the public by auction for an aggregate amount of `2,000 crore. The auction will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India at its Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai, on May 5. Bids shall be submitted on RBIs E-Kuber system, a release said.

Governor, CM extend May Day greetings

Chennai: Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Thursday extended May Day greetings to the working class in the State. Other leaders including DMK president MK Stalin, PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan also greeted the people.

Ensure NREGA workers wear masks

Chennai: All the district administration authorities must ensure labourers employed under the 100 days MGNREGA scheme maintain social distancing during work, Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani said. It must also be ensured that the workers wear masks and are properly sanitised, he added.

Govt portal to help NRI Tamils return

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has created a web portal - www.nonresidenttamil.org to facilitate the return of NRI Tamils, including students, tourists and workers, back home. An official release said the web portal was created with a view to know the number of such NRI Tamils who wish to return immediately, and to create isolation facilities.
When Elon Musk is not making rockets, electric cars, or flamethrowers, he's tweeting away dank memes and unpopular opinions that make him stick out like a sore thumb on the microblogging website.

A couple of days ago Musk expressed his displeasure with the coronavirus lockdown restrictions laid down in the USA. He wants to FREE AMERICA NOW.

Musk also said that people should be given back their freedom citing a report which said that the lockdown hasnt helped America save lives. He tweeted several news items and infographics to show that the lockdown wasnt needed. Meanwhile, the USA has recorded over a million COVID-19 positive cases with more than 63,000 deaths to date - miles ahead of other countries in the world.

FREE AMERICA NOW  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2020

But guess what? Musk doesn't care. The multi-billionaire Tesla chief doesn't care about losing followers or respect from his loyal fanbase on Twitter.

Bon voyage  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2020

True  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2020

Musk has also retweeted tweets that are against the lockdown restrictions put in place to break the chain of the deadly disease.

Both @pmarca and @elonmusk have said we should go build/get back to work and have been met with harsh criticism. Im with them. Time to free us for the sake of progress.  Adam Draper (@AdamDraper) April 30, 2020

On Wednesday, Musk also called the coronavirus confinement a "fascist" action and "an outrage" that infringed on personal freedom and would damage the economy. The billionaire entrepreneur, speaking on an earnings update for Tesla, lashed out at the orders which forced the shutdown of production in California.

While his concerns for the plunging economy are fair and very real for the entire world, it is a no-brainer to have citizens maintaining social distancing to rein in on COVID-19.

So should you take Musk's cry for freedom seriously?

Based on current trends, probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2020

The coronavirus panic is dumb  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2020

Musk's tweet from 2017 should answer your question.

And for everything else, this doctor fighting coronavirus pandemic and replying to Musk with sincere concern has you covered.
The Tripura government has



launched an 'Agro-Entrepreneur Facilitation Desk' to help the entrepreneurs of the state to get subsidies and incentives from Central government funding agencies.

A proposal for setting up the facilitation desk was approved by the council of ministers in its recently held meeting, senior minister and Cabinet spokesperson, Ratan Lal Nath told reporters on Friday.

"Our state is predominantly agrarian in nature. We are trying to boost agriculture and other primary sector activities. We have noticed that entrepreneurs, who want to set up agro-based industries here, dont know about the subsidies and incentives provided by state and central governments, National Horticulture Board or NABARD.

"The new desk would help them about availing the facilities", Nath said.

The desk would be set up at the Directorate of Horticulture and Soil Conservation and would incur an annual expenditure of Rs 24 lakh on salaries of MBA and agricultural science graduates, who would be recruited and other official expenditure.

The funds would be sourced from Technical Support Group Funds of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture.

The government plans include a target of encouraging 2,000 youths in joining agro-based business in the next one year.

Initiatives are being given to facilitate 400 people start business in the sector right away.

Ten among them would be able to set up new industrial units and a target of organizing four buyer-sellers meet in next one year is afoot, the minister said.

Tripura produces huge quantities of tropical fruit like jackfruit, lemon, pineapples and vegetables like white radish, pumpkin, and gourd.

Doubling agricultural income was part of BJPs Vision Document in the 2018 assembly elections.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had said last month that primary sector activities like agriculture, horticulture, dairy industries would help in reviving the states economy which suffered losses due to the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, May 1 : Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Friday announced that Atsushi Ogata will become the President, CEO and the Managing Director of the company.

"Ogata shall be the successor of Minoru Kato, who after spearheading Honda's Indian two-wheeler operations for three years, returns to Japan with effect from 1st May 2020; elevated as the Operating Executive & Chief Officer, Life creation operation, Honda Motor Co., Japan," the company said in a statement.

Besides, the company has further strengthened its senior leadership team to strategically steward the brand towards market leadership in the disruptive future.

"As part of this move, V. Sridhar is now further elevated as the Senior Director - Purchase, HMSI," the statement said.

"Additionally, Yadvinder Singh Guleria and Vinay Dhingra are now elevated to the Board of Directors of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd."
An initial investigation found the man was driving a 2007 Ford Crown Victoria when he and a female passenger got into a physical fight in the car, according to police. He lost control of the car. It overturned and crashed into a pole. He was trapped in the car, and officials said he died at the scene.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Heffernan Insurance Brokers, one of the largest full-service, independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States, has acquired Contractors Insurance NW (CINW). The firm has purchased the assets of the Olympia, Washington  based CINW to join HeffDirect, a division of Heffernan Insurance Brokers, effective May 1, 2020.

Founded in 2011, CINW has a strong understanding of commercial insurance for contractors in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Texas, which will be a pronounced enhancement to Heffernan's construction niche practice.

"We're confident that the team's deep understanding of the construction industry coupled with the high standard of customer service they're known for, will be great compliments to our team," said F. Michael Heffernan, President and CEO of Heffernan Insurance Brokers. "We're delighted to have them on board and look forward to an exciting future together."

"We are very pleased that the company we have worked hard to build will be merging with a company that has the same values we have always carried within our organization: hard work, well thought out systems and processes, doing right by clients and staff and making sure that even the little things are done correctly," said Abraham and Roshena Boling, founders of CINW. "We are excited about the expanded opportunities that will be afforded to both our clients and our staff as a result of this merger."

About Heffernan Insurance Brokers

Heffernan Insurance Brokers, formed in 1988, is one of the largest independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States. Heffernan provides insurance and financial services products to a range of businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., Heffernan has offices in San Francisco, Petaluma, Menlo Park, Los Angeles and Irvine, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA, St. Louis, MO; and London UK.

Employee-owned, Heffernan Insurance Brokers was named the Top Mid-Sized Broker in the United States to work for in 2009 by Business Insurance Magazine. The firm has been among the Top Greater Bay Area Philanthropists since 2003.

For more information, visit www.heffins.com. License #0564249

SOURCE Heffernan Insurance Brokers

Related Links

http://www.heffins.com


Va. church teams with oil company to give away 2,000 gallons of gas

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A Virginia church partnered with an oil company to give away around 2,000 gallons of gasoline to drivers to help relieve economic hardships created by government shutdowns in response to the coronavirus.

Light of Life Church, a congregation based in Manassas, partnered with Wine Energy to do the giveaway last Saturday, with over 150 drivers coming to a local gas station where the event was held.

Light of Life Pastor Tony Lewis told The Christian Post in an interview Wednesday that his congregation wanted to help those in need because of current events.

The reason we did it is because of all of the things that are going around in the country and in our city, especially with COVID-19 and a lot of people are desperate and resources are scarce, said Lewis.

So we thought it would be a great way to give back to the community, with being a blessing with 10 gallons worth of gas that they didnt have to pay for.

Lewis described the Saturday morning event as going very well and extremely well, noting that nobody ran out of gas while waiting in line.

In past years, the church has overseen similar charitable giveaways, including a free oil change event for women whose husbands were serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Our church is still functioning, he continued, noting that while Light of Life has suspended in-person worship, they continue to meet online for services, Bible studies, and times of prayer.

We hope people took away that the church is still active and still alive. There are churches in the community that are still doing things like this; certainly, were not the only ones.

Across the United States, many congregations and Christian nonprofits have looked to provide charity for those affected by the coronavirus shutdowns and stay-at-home orders.

During Easter weekend, for example, the New Jersey-based Liquid Church partnered with Convoy of Hope to give approximately 26,000 pounds of relief supplies for those in need.

These relief supplies, which were stored at Liquids Parsippany campus, included bleach, bottled water, food, hygiene kits, paper towels, and toilet paper.

As people who love Christ, its our joy to serve our neighbors across New Jersey in any way we can during this crisis. When it seems like everything is driving us to isolation, we still get to unite as the Church, said Brooke LeMunyon, spokeswoman for Liquid Church, in an earlier interview with CP.

While our weekly new normal is virtual community, we are also committed to loving and caring for the various needs of our church and neighbors during this time.
A month after they were sent to a makeshift railway COVID-19 quarantine centre in southeast Delhi, people who attended a Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin have finally struck a rapport with the staff, officials said.

Earlier there were complaints of misbehaviour by the inmates, but there is some understanding now between them and the staff at the quarantine centre, which is under constant CCTV camera surveillance and guarded by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, they said.

Initially they were averse to the idea of being quarantined. Over the days, they are now communicating with us and we have struck a rapport, Dr A N Jha, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, told PTI.

They know we will not provide them certain things and we have tried to meet some of their demands. However, they are centrally monitored through CCTV cameras and there are RPF personnel in plainclothes around, so the security is tight," he said.

On March 31, 167 attendees of a religious congregation held at the Tablighi Jamaat's headquarters at Nizamuddin were brought to the railway facility in Tughlakabad from the event's venue that has been declared a novel coronavirus hotspot.

Soon after, there were reports of misbehaviour by the inmates, which had forced the railways to lodge a complaint with the district administration.

While 70 of the event's attendees were kept at the RPF Barrack Quarantine Centre, 97 are at the Diesel Shed Training School Hostel Quarantine Centre.

At the RPF centre, a 150-bed barrack was converted into a two-storey facility with around 17 rooms. It is run by the force's personnel.

There are currently 42 men who attended the Nizamuddin event; the others, who tested positive, have been sent to isolation centres run by hospitals.

Officials said that before opening the barrack, it was converted into a quarantine centre as per specified standards. It has multi-layered security round-the-clock and sixteen IP-based CCTV cameras have been installed to provide feed to a control room for 24X7 monitoring, they said.

Upon their arrival, they were given an 18-item starter kit, including basic toiletries, hygiene products and mosquito repellents.

"Nominated officers have been in regular touch with the residents to take feedback and deal with complaints, if any. A 24X7 phone number of the control room has been provided to the residents to report any case of emergency, Jha said.

Harish Papola, Security Commissioner-II, Delhi Division, said, "We have set up a good communication system with them. They respond to our roll calls and all our protocols, and we have also agreed to some of their demands.

He said most of those at the centre are from Assam, Odisha and Haryana.

While some of their demands, such as those for cigarettes and meat, have been denied for health reasons, others like paneer bhurji twice a week, curd, buttered-chapatis instead of plain ones, more rice per plate has been provided.

For breakfast, they have two different menus and snacks, twice a day.

During Ramzan, the attendees are being provided fruits like apples and dates along with bottles of mineral water three times a day.

"The only thing we have requested them is not to hold prayers in a group. They pray sitting on their beds and individually. We keep track over them on the control system and if they are found in groups, we make announcements alerting them of the need for distancing. So far, it has worked out well," Jha said.

After the Nizamuddin event, several attendees tested positive for coronavirus, which according to the health ministry led to severe spike in cases of the disease in several parts of the country.

Recently, the Tablighi Jamaat appealed to those members who got cured to donate their plasma for treatment of other coronavirus-infected patients, a move that the outfit thinks will help it shed its villain' tag.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Xiaomi phones are sending an uncomfortable amount of user data to remote servers belonging to outsourced Chinese partners, according to a report by Forbes. The issue appears intrinsic to Xiaomi's own apps, such as its default browser or the Mi Music app that make up Xiaomi's proprietary MIUI interface. The type of data collected include a user's browsing history and accessed services, app usage behaviour and even music listening preferences. The data set also includes unique device identification numbers, all in a traceable package that can be decrypted while transmitting to the remote servers. Hence, these can be used by malicious attackers to breach user identities, leading to acts of cyber espionage, blackmailing, data and identity theft, and more.

The biggest issue here is the lacklustre encryption standard of the data being transmitted, as well as the fact that the data is not particularly anonymised. According to the Forbes report, cyber security researchers Gabi Cirlig and Andrew Tierney both verified that Xiaomi's in-house web browsers, which are also available for download by non-Xiaomi users through the Google Play Store, were sending a startling amount of user data to company-backed remote servers, even when the browsers were set to incognito mode. The issue was spotted on popular Xiaomi devices such as the Redmi Note 8, Redmi K20, Mi 10 and others. A company spokesperson that Forbes spoke to has denied such a claim.

The remote servers in question are said to be owned by Chinese internet operations giant Alibaba, and are leased by Xiaomi. The user data that is being collected is reportedly used to generate user behaviour patterns, presumably to sell more in-house Xiaomi products by showing targeted ads. But, while this is a common practice, it so appears that Xiaomi is seeding the sensitive user data to a third party service, Sensors Analytics. However, Xiaomi has claimed that it does not store any data with Sensors Analytics, and only seeds them anonymised user data in order to gain analytical inputs. The latter is now a standard practice among practically all technology companies.

Another cause of concern is the lack of a stringent encryption standard in the data that is sent. According to Forbes, Xiaomi's relaying of user data is done using the very rudimentary base64 encoding, which can be intercepted and cracked by malicious users into plain, readable text format. This can seemingly allow attackers to cash in on a sizeable pool of data, and target Xiaomi users with frauds and scams.

Xiaomi is India's largest smartphone vendor by market share, shipping over 10 million units in the first three months of 2020. With its steady popularity in the country, such privacy gaffes can really hurt the company in its long term ambitions to hold on to its lead in one of the largest smartphone markets in the world. News18 has independently reached out to Xiaomi India for their inputs on the matter. The company was yet to issue an official response acknowledging or denying the issues, at the time of publishing of the report.
A team of researchers from Penn State University this week released a report on a February 2018 storm in Argentina that could be one for the record books. The hail likely measured between 7.4 and 9.3 inches across, according a Penn State report, which would contend with the largest hailstone ever recorded of eight inches across near Vivian, S.D.

The size of the hailstones has prompted researchers to suggest a new category to describe hail larger than six inches across: Gargantuan. A hailstone as large as a quarter is capable of denting a car, so the damage from gargantuan hail has the potential to be significant.

Anything larger than about a quarter in size can start putting dents into your car, said Matthew Kumjian, associate professor in Penn States Department of Meteorology and Atmosphere Science. In some rare cases, 6-inch hail has actually gone through roofs and multiple floors in houses. Wed like to help mitigate the impacts on life and property, to help anticipate these kinds of events.

The hailstones came from a 2018 storm in Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina. Researchers followed up on reports and social media posts, visited sites where damage occurred, collected photogrammetric data, and analyzed radar observations. Based on that data, scientists estimated the hail might have set a world record, according to Penn State.

Such a well-observed case is an important step forward in understanding environments and storms that produce gargantuan hail, and ultimately how to anticipate and detect such extreme events, Kumjian said.

The opportunity to collect such data is rare, said Rachel Gutierrez, a graduate student who co-authored the paper. Gutierrez found a connection between a storm updrafts rotational velocity larger hail size, but said there is still much unknown between the relationship.

There typically isnt a lot of data from storms outside the U.S., Gutierrez said. Having this shows us these crazy, high-impact events can happen all over the world.
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FILE PHOTO: An Embraer E195-2 performs during the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris

By Tim Hepher and Marcelo Rochabrun

PARIS/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The head of Embraer's commercial aircraft unit defended the benefits of a $4.2 billion tie-up abandoned by Boeing Co last week, but said the Brazilian aerospace group was focusing on its future as a re-united company.

Commercial Aviation Chief Executive John Slattery said Embraer had incurred pain and costs in separating jetliners from defence and business-jet activities in preparation for the merger, including a loss of deliveries in January.

He declined to comment on an arbitration process Embraer launched after Boeing abruptly cancelled the deal on Saturday.

Speaking in a webinar hosted by Aviation Week, Slattery said he was convinced the commercial aerospace partnership with Boeing would have provided "extraordinary benefits" to airline customers who had expressed disappointment at its collapse.

Boeing has said Embraer failed to meet conditions for closing the deal.

Slattery said Embraer was burning cash but had capacity to raise more if needed. "I am not concerned about liquidity."

It was the first public appearance by the company's commercial boss since the deal collapsed in acrimony.

The breakdown, first reported by Reuters, has captured the attention of an industry already facing its worst crisis over the drop in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with 2,000 people tuning into the previously arranged webinar.

Slattery quipped that the audience was dominated by lawyers from each side as the two companies head for what is widely expected to be a bitter divorce case.

Embraer carved out its commercial unit and shut activities for 40 days in preparation for folding it into a new venture to be 80% owned by Boeing.

It also invested $30 million on a new headquarters for the remaining core of the Brazilian aerospace champion.

Slattery said the carve-out had resulted in some duplication between core Embraer and its commercial spin-off, but that the world's third largest plane-maker would rebound as "one Embraer".

ARBITRATION ROW

Story continues

The arbitration is expected to involve fierce debate over Brazilian claims that a tie-up cost Embraer spin-off costs and lost sales for its E2 against the Airbus A220, a Canadian-designed jet acquired from Embraer's historic rival, Bombardier.

Analysts say Boeing is expected to argue that Embraer needed to carry out reorganisation to prepare for potential alliances and that it failed to invest enough in the commercial arm.

Neither company agreed to comment on the case.

Slattery played up future demand for the E2, a regional jet sitting below the Boeing 737 MAX, as airlines turn post-crisis to smaller, less financially risky models.

Southeast Asia, one of the top markets for giants Boeing and Airbus, could see a move to such jets, he said.

Top aircraft buyers had backed the Boeing tie-up, saying Embraer lacked deep enough pockets to compete alone with Airbus, which can discount other jets to win A220 sales.

Brazil's government, which used to own Embraer and is its top military client, has suggested China could be a potential new partner for Embraer, even though several senior Brazilian government figures have attacked Beijing over the pandemic.

Slattery said Embraer had not initiated talks with anyone, but that he could not "legislate for the inbound calls that could come". The board will study next moves "in a very thoughtful way," he added.

Tentative plans for a new regional turboprop to compete with Europe's ATR, half-owned by Airbus, are no longer a priority because of the current crisis, Slattery said.

While the airliner's business case looked strong, he said, "it is hard to consider a new programme in this environment".

The prop plane joins other planemaker projects on the back-burner as the health crisis dents balance sheets.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Marcelo Rochabrun; editing by Alison Williams, Jan Harvey and Barbara Lewis)
By Nqobile Dludla, Emma Rumney and Promit Mukherjee

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa took its first shaky steps towards rolling back one of the world's strictest COVID-19 lockdowns on Friday as it sought to strike a delicate balance between containing the disease and reviving its battered economy.

President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered most citizens to remain indoors and shuttered all but essential businesses five weeks ago as part of a response to the pandemic that has won praise from the World Health Organization.

South Africa has recorded 5,647 cases of the disease and 103 deaths out of a population of 58 million.

With its economy already in a recession before the pandemic, however, and unemployment rampant, the government has been under intense pressure to ease restrictions.

But reopening the economy is proving to be harder than closing it down.

Returning to work, Sizo Henna, owner of the upmarket Blaque Bistro in Johannesburg, knows he is facing a new reality.

"Every time I walked in, there were customers waiting and sitting outside," the 36-year-old said, reflecting on better times.

His 50-seat boutique restaurant will remain empty for now and prepare food for delivery only in compliance with the authorities' phased-in easing of restrictions.

He has tied up with Uber's <UBER.N> food delivery service Uber Eats and hired two drivers of his own. Still, the future worries him.

"Honest truth is it is very difficult to sleep with this problem we have," he said.

Ramaphosa announced last week that, from May 1, South Africa would implement a flexible system allowing restrictions to be eased or reintroduced based on the disease's progression.

Final details of the plan were not released until Wednesday however, breeding confusion. And many businesses permitted to operate under the first phase of easing are still weighing whether it is worth doing so.

McDonald's <MCD.N> South Africa is reopening a limited number of restaurants. Famous Brands <FBRJ.J> said it would trial delivery-only service at its Steers, Wimpy, Debonairs Pizza, Fishaways and Mugg & Bean restaurant chains.

Story continues

But Nando's, South Africa's iconic spicy chicken chain, said late on Thursday it would remain closed during the first phase of lockdown easing.

"Opening for delivery only will lose Nando's and our franchise partners more money than being closed," says Nando's South Africa CEO Mike Cathie.

The new rules allow industries including mining, steel production and clothing retail to gradually ramp up to 50% employment while other forms of manufacturing are limited to 30%.

The aim is to stem the disease's spread while allowing companies to survive.

But workers in South Africa's important mining sector are reluctant to return underground, fearing measures are not yet in place to protect them from infection.

And manufacturing executives worry the regulations will undermine the efficiency and scale they require to turn a profit.

"Re-opening to any degree comes with a big uptick in costs," said Ken Manners, chief executive of SP Metal Forgings, a supplier to South Africa's auto industry, which itself expects demand to drop by 12% to 15% this year.

Crucially, most of the South African economy, including all but a fraction of retail activity, still must wait for further signs the disease has been contained before they get back to work.

Industry organisations worry many businesses can't hold out much longer.

"I get calls daily from workers pleading for assistance and members who have lost their businesses and houses," said Johann Baard, executive director of the South African Apparel Association.

(Additional reporting by Sisipho Skweyiya; Editing by Joe Bavier and Chizu Nomiyama)
Lady Monica Chidinma Ada Eze, President and Founder of one of the most popular, vibrant and focused Non-Governmental Organisations operating in Ebonyi State, the David Umahi Nweze Akubaraoha Ebonyi Transformation Agenda (DUNAETA) has described as unfortunate, unacceptable the gang up aimed at smearing, maligning the image and political future of her principal, Apostle David Nweze Umahi (FNATE, FNSE), the Governor of Ebonyi State, the lion of South East and Chairman of South East Governors Forum.

In a statement made available to Media Houses in Abakaliki, the state capital, Lady Chidinma Ada Eze, lamented over the campaign of calumny executed with renewed sense of vigour by those she said do not mean well for the state and country.

According to this influential lady of Ebonyi extraction, "I have observed with utmost dismay the upsurge on negative reports and write ups, even Editorial Opinions against my Principal and the award winning Governor of Ebonyi State based on the recent misunderstanding he had with some Journalists working in Ebonyi State and seems to me that most of these actions and reactions, though not justifiable are borne out of malice, envy and jealousy in a grand plot to undermine and destroy the rising star of the present political clime."

Leadership Newspaper, one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria, in its Editorial opinion of 25th April, 2020 titled "Umahis Onslaught On Journalism", made some unfounded and uncomplimentary remarks on the Governor to the effect that, "Umahi is probably trying to gag the press because what he sought to achieve by this feeble, intolerable and absurd ban is to instill fear in the journalists, whip other journalists into line to do his bidding."

Far from it. Governor Umahi believes in press freedom and the incontrovertible role of journalists as watchdogs to ensure compliance with the social contract between government and the people. The governor is a seasoned democrat and therefore has no such in his agenda as his inputs and assistance to Journalists in the State is very visible even to the blind and so tagging the Governor with such unfavorable insinuation is both unfounded and unacceptable.

I have read the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), and the ridiculous suggestion and petition to Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) by two Lagos-based media support organizations, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the International Press Centre (IPC) calling for the removal of the governor duly elected by the people of Ebonyi State because of the alleged attacks on journalists.

The Nigeria League of Veteran Journalists (NALVEJ) described him as the Hitler while some other funny groups stated that he is an Emperor and Nebuchadnezzar.

Most despicable of all these reactions is the one that came from people who claimed to be Ebonyians in Diaspora; the

Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) asking PDP to sanction the Governor. Such reaction is saddening, emanating from people who for the past ten years or more have refused to visit their homes because if they do they would have been of much praises for the Governor having turned the once abandoned State into a construction Haven and one of the most developed States in Nigeria and the fastest growing economy in the whole of South East today.

One May Ask Why All These Attacks on Umahi?

In answer to this question, my aunt and senior colleague in the Pen business provided an answer in her recent article titled, "Why Gov. Umahi Should Never Be Nigeria's President."

The rationale behind these attacks on Governor Umahi may be easily fathomed; it is simply that he has distinguished himself as one of the greatest leaders of this generation and a potential leader of this country so the enemies of progress set in motion machineries for his decimation and destruction before the time. According to Lady Comfort Obi, the Publisher of the Source Magazine,

I once listened to money man, Chief Arthur Eze, lobby president Muhammudu Buhari to look no further than the Ebonyi State Governor for a Nigerian President of the Igbo extraction- if, and when the time comes. As you know, Umahi is a Buharist, even though he is a PDP governor. He never hides that.

Last Obi has only succeeded to expose this planned gangup to ridicule and destroy Umahi and if I may ask, when has it become a crime to aim for a higher position in Nigeria and when has it become a crime to be associated with President Buhari whom Umahi sees as both his political father and boss?

But Is Umahi Qualified For A Higher Position In Nigeria?

To every right thinking Nigerian who is alive to happenings in the country and who has the interest of the country at heart, the answer is in the affirmative. However, I will still rely on my aunt and senior colleague Lady Comfort Obi to build on my answer. According to this powerful Pen Pusher, "In fairness to Umahi, he has so far, done well as Ebonyi Governor. He has encouraged Agriculture, especially, in the area of rice production. Ebonyi rice ranks amongst the best in the country. I don't know much about what he did in the area of yam production, but I proudly ask for Abakailiki yams from my yam customer. But where Umahi has definitely excelled most is in the provision of Physical Infrastructure, especially roads. Aside from Anambra State where Peter Obi excelled in the construction of roads, no other governor in the south east compares to Umahi in that area. Gradually, Umahi has bequeathed Ebonyi with quality roads. Umahi has also excelled in the area of education, granting scholarships to hundreds of Ebonyians in relevant areas of study. Thanks to him, Abakailiki, which, as the state capital looked worse than a local government headquarters, has had a complete turn- around. It looks bam."

If all these feats do not qualify this man described as the David of Ebonyi, the wisest Governor In Nigeria according to Governor Ikepazu of Abia State, this Zik Awardee for Leadership for higher position in Nigeria, I will like to know who else will be qualified.

Today, due to the foresight of this visionary leader of our time, Ebonyi State is the only State in the entire south- south and East that has a virology centre, where the blood samples of the dreaded COVID- 19 victims are tested and possibly treated in these two regions. It is a fact that the results of those that tested positive in Imo and Abia including Bayelsa States were all done at Abakaliki.

Not satisfied with all his giant strides in Ebonyi State the innovative and wonder working Governor have concluded arrangements to construct an ultra- mordern and state of the art Hospital Complex at Alex Ekwueme which shall be a Centre of Excellence for the treatment of positive cases of Corona virus and related virus.

Gov. Umahi is a magician and your visit to Ebonyi will convince you.

Unbanning the Operations of Okada and Reabsorption of the Two Journalists

Lady Monica Ada Eze who also doubles as the Technical Assistant on Media to the Governor describes the unbanning of Okada operations in the State as timely and demonstration that Governor Umahi is truly a caring leader.

Monica Aka Ada Ebonyi highlighted that

"Ebonyi State will soon commence the distribution of palliatives to her people as over 90,000 facemasks and sanitisers have been shared to our people. Some pastors earlier arrested for violating the laws on COVID-19 by the Anti-Corona Virus team have been released.

On the two controversial Journalists, Ada Ebonyi quoted her boss as saying,

I have directed that The SUN and Vanguard reporters be invited to join us. The unfortunate incident with the press was not intentional. But I am asking everybody to disregard what has happened. Because we are all partners in progress and let us work together. But I will advise that you, please crosscheck your information before publication. There are some certain write-ups that people are not happy about. But I have said please let everybody down tools in love and work together. I specifically asked that The SUN and Vanguard reporters be invited because as a father when you beat a child with one hand, you bring the child back with another hand. I believe strongly that if anybody wants to intentionally bring you down he cant pull you down standing, he will certainly go down with you. And you may even rise above him. But the single way to be happy in life is to be happy with success. I want to invite the press for partnership and also ask them to also please help us build the State. Umahi has demonstrated by this act that he is not only humane but a true Statesman.

In conjunction with my principal, I appeal to all and sundry to join hands with us to build the Ebonyi State of our dream. Monica Ada Eze submitted.

Signed,

Monica Ada Chidinma Eze, Aka Ada Ebonyi

President DUNAETA & TA on Media to Gov Umahi
Levels of violence between prison inmates, attacks against staff and force used against prisoners have reportedly reached 'record highs'. (Getty)

A shocking new report has lifted the lid on the deep crisis inside male prisons in the UK, where violence, drug problems and overcrowding are rife.

The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) said that the "infliction of unjustified violence by staff on prisoners" was particularly "deeply concerning.

The "evolution" of an informal practice of preventive strikes  where prisoners who are behaving are punched so they do not become a threat in future  was of "utmost concern", according to the report.

"Alarmingly high levels of substance use" were also of "deep concern.

The committee inspected Doncaster, Liverpool and Wormwood Scrubs prisons as well as Feltham A and Cookham Wood young offender institutions in May last year.

Although there had been some progress since 2016, the committee found problems remained.

Wormwood Scrubs was one of the prisons inspected for the report. (PA)

The report said: "There is now a clear acknowledgement at the highest political level that the lack of safety in prisons and the persistently high levels of violence are unacceptable and urgently need to be tackled.

"Nevertheless, the ineluctable fact remains that the prison system is in deep crisis.

Inmates were "enduring restricted and isolating regimes and/or long periods of segregation.

Levels of violence between inmates, attacks against staff and force used against prisoners had reached "record highs.

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The report added: "A new and deeply concerning finding was the infliction of unjustified violence by staff on prisoners in namely Liverpool and Wormwood Scrubs; of utmost concern was the evolution of an informal practice of 'preventive strikes'  ie: preventively punching compliant prisoners whom staff perceived might, at some point in the future, become a threat.

"For a prisoner officer to strike a fully compliant prisoner is totally unjustified.

Story continues

In young offender institutions, episodes of violence were being tackled "by a very frequent resort to the use of force and restrictions on the movements" with some officers on occasion resorting to "pain-inducing techniques which should be abolished in law and practice.

Drug taking was "omnipresent" in the establishments visited, most notably in Doncaster where the "smell of drugs wafted along the corridors even in plain daylight.

The Ministry of Justice said it would not hesitate to instigate disciplinary proceedings. (Getty)

The prison system in England and Wales "continues to suffer from chronic overcrowding", the CPT said, with the population more than doubling since 1990 and most adult jails operating well above normal capacity.

The committee said the solution "is clearly not for the United Kingdom to build its way out" as it called on the government to take action to address the problem.

Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "This is a deeply shaming report. It shows how far below the standards of a civilised country our prison system has fallen.

The Ministry of Justice said it would not hesitate to instigate disciplinary proceedings for the inappropriate use of force or report the matter to police where appropriate, adding that any unlawful force against a prisoner was unacceptable.

A spokesman added: "This government has made its commitment to safe, secure and decent prisons very clear."

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Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 2, 2020 12:23 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56d6c5 1 National ruangguru,pre-employment-card,COVID-19,training Free

Journalist and entrepreneur Agustinus Edy Kristianto has slammed the governments flagship preemployment card skill training program for missing the target and serving only as a business gimmick as he tried the program in late April.

Edy managed to sign up for cash assistance despite the program objective having shifted from upgrading worker skills and reducing unemployment to supporting laid-off and furloughed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the founder and CEO of online news portal Gressnew, he does not meet the criteria.

The system accepted a shareholder like me. I indicated that I was an entrepreneur. Im not someone who has lost their job nor a small entrepreneur who has lost customers, Edy wrote as his Facebook status on Thursday.

He went on to share how the program worked by buying courses.

The cash went directly to the account of the online platform, mine was Skill Academy by education startup Ruangguru, he told The Jakarta Post as he also showed the invoice via text message.

The program involves as many as 223 training institutions, providing more than 2,000 courses through eight online platforms including Skill Academy, Tokopedia, Bukalapak and Sisnaker.

He added that he received an email notification suggesting that he buy another course on Skill Academy to get Rp 100,000 (US$6.70) worth of benefits and a free subscription to Ruangguru.

Read also: Preemployment card management defends program amid criticism

The government has allocated Rp 20 trillion to cover around 5.6 million people in the program. Eligible participants will each receive Rp 1 million to cover online training costs, Rp 2.4 million in incentives for four months that will only be disbursed if a participant has completed a course and Rp 150,000 if they have completed a survey.

Many have criticized the government for allocating budgetary funds to online training courses, which experts have slammed as being similar to those available for free on the internet, while the COVID-19 crisis is hitting people hard.

Furthermore, Edy said the program let him obtain a certificate without completing the materials first.

As he took a journalism course, he also questioned how the certificate on a course titled writing news like an expert journalist was not given by a journalism institution accountable for conducting competency tests. The certificate is only signed by the Skill Academy CEO.

There are 27 institutions verified by the Press Council to conduct journalism competency tests, the Alliance of Independent Journalist's (AJI) head of education, ethics and profession, Dandy Koswara, said.

Certificates that are issued by institutions other than those appointed by the Press Council do not reflect the competence of the holder in journalism, he said.

The director of communication, partnership and ecosystem development for the preemployment card program, Panji Ruky, brushed off complaints that the certificate was not meant as a certification of a profession but only as evidence that the participant had completed the course.

Panji admitted that the management did not determine a specified standard for courses but they ensured the online trainers had a curriculum and all the infrastructure needed.

We leave the curriculum to the course providers. We give the consumers cash assistance and many options so they have a wide variety of courses to choose from. Let the market put the spotlight on the good quality providers, Panji told the Post.

Read also: Sewing masks to silky pudding making: Training available with preemployment card

Skill Academy claimed it had developed its courses with experts in the respective fields, Ruangguru spokesperson Sekar Krisnauli said in a written statement.

She also explained that the platform issued two kinds of certificates, one for passing the exam above the passing grade and the other for completing the course material. Therefore, a participant could get a certificate for passing an exam without completing the material first, as in Edys case.

As for Edys successful enrollment in the program despite him being an entrepreneur, Panji said the program was open to anyone aged 18 years or above who is currently not attending university, including entrepreneurs.

He further mentioned there were two categories of applicants. The first group comprises those whom the government has recorded as COVID-19 affected workers, and who are the managements priority. He claimed the majority of applicants were in the first group, without specifying the number.

The second group, he added, were members of the public yet to be identified. Panji said applicants must declare that they have either been laid-off or economically affected by indicating if they are currently experiencing a lower income or fewer customers.

Edy, however, denied there was such a process during registration.

Yes, I said I was an entrepreneur who has been affected by COVID-19 because its true. However, Im not severely affected and theres no further question asking the details of how I am affected, Edy said.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Delhi government universities are planning to hold online examinations, Vice Chancellors of these varsities informed Chief Minister Arivnd Kejriwal on Friday.

Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia held a review meeting with the VCs regarding the academic matters, the government said in a statement.

The meeting was attended by the Vice Chancellors of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University; Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology; Delhi Technological University; Ambedkar University, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women; National Law University; Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University; and the Director of IIIT Delhi.

"The VCs, during the meeting, have apprised the CM that they are planning to conduct the remaining examinations online," the statement said.

The Chief Minister inquired about the admission status of the new session, placement situation of the current students and the effect of COVID-19 on the placement of the students.

"The CM and the Dy CM focused on three key issues in this meeting pertaining to the academics and the effect of COVID-19 outbreak. Firstly, they discussed how the universities are planning the admission process of the upcoming academic session. Secondly, they discussed the action plan of the universities to conduct the pending examinations and how they will conduct the next academic session," the statement said.

Thirdly, they discussed the issue of the final-year students who have already got placement but some examinations are pending.

"In such cases, if the students do not get any degree certificate from the universities they will face problems in joining the new companies. The possibility of universities providing a provisional degree certificate to these students so that they do not face any problem in joining their companies was also discussed." "In this situation, the universities should use the technology more proactively in the academics to recover the academic losses due to the pandemic. Social distancing is the key to fight this pandemic, therefore, every university should plan the academic sessions and running of the universities keeping in mind the social distancing norms," Kejriwal said.

Sisodia said that many universities have a business faculty and department.

"These universities should suggest to the Delhi government what steps should be taken to revive Delhi's economy in the post-COVID-19 lockdown phase."
Relax to the soothing sounds of Native American flute during a performance by Marlon Magdalena.

The show at 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, is part of Our Fair New Mexico  A Virtual Concert Series. The series is presented by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs in collaboration with Museum of International Folk Art. People can watch the concert at facebook.com/InternationalFolkArt.

Magdalena is a Native American artist, educator and performer from the Pueblo of Jemez. He plays Native American-style flutes that he makes or flutes made by other artists. Magdalena began playing flute in 2007 and started making the instruments in 2008.

Back in 07, I was going to a powwow here in Jemez, he said. We always have a powwow Memorial weekend or Memorial Day, and I heard flute music coming from a vendor from his booth. So I went over, heard the sound, I saw it and played it, and I bought one. I became very interested then.

Magdalena has continued to learn about different types of Native American flutes as well as how to make them and play them. He is self-taught.

Theres a lot of flute makers out there that have put up guides and how to videos on YouTube, and I did most of this on YouTube, he said. A lot of the sources are on the internet on the websites  that explain sources of their own too. Theyre good sources. So its mostly been from that.

Magdalena will share his skills and knowledge during his May 1 performance, which was recently filmed inside the San Jose de los Jemez Mission Church.

I start off introducing myself, who I am, what I do, where Im at or filming from, he said of the concert. I do talk a little bit about my flutes, who made them. I made some of them, but some of them are from other makers.  And I talk about some of the songs that I play, their inspiration. There are two songs that I did (from) another person. All the rest are songs I composed myself. I give a short description of the songs before I start playing.

Songs composed by Magdalena touch on his pueblo traditions and prayer.

I guess it goes back to the philosophy of the Jemez people or as pueblo people, he said. These instruments are not just things. They have a life, and I breathe life back into them through my own throat, and I give them a voice, a sound. Through any song we hear, we listen to, we believe theyre very powerful things, these songs made from a flute from a voice thats singing it. Each song has a message that were praying. It is a form of prayer coming from the songs from the flute or from the voice. Theyre prayers for all the good things in life that we all want  prosperity, good health and strength.

Magdalenas research of Native American-style flute music enlightened him about the role flutes play in his culture.

It was eye-opening, because I knew they were flutes, ceremonially we play flutes, but theyre very secretive about a lot of things, and flutes, Ive never seen them being used, but Ive heard them, he said. So I know theres flutes, but it wasnt until I started doing research that I started finding out that flutes have a long history here in the Southwest. Among the pueblos, theres some flutes that are really old that still continue here into the modern times and flutes that have changed that may have been traded with other tribes that use certain types of flutes that may have been traded here at some of the pueblos. Ive found out a lot about even with our own pueblo in our use of the flutes.

OUR FAIR NEW MEXICO  A VIRTUAL CONCERT SERIES

Presented by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs in collaboration with Museum of International Folk Art

WHO: Marlon Magdalena

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, May 1

WHERE: MOIFAs Facebook page, facebook.com/InternationalFolkArt and other DCA-affiliated Facebook pages
FP Trending

Registrations for Microsoft Build 2020 are now open and absolutely free for all developers. Build is Microsofts annual developer conference, which is slated to begin on 19 May, and will be a 48-hour virtual event.

This year, the OS maker has decided to take to virtual mode to hold the conference in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will kick off the event with a small keynote speech. Nadellas speech will be followed by a session hosted by Microsoft Principal Program Manager Scott Hanselman.

The 48-hour virtual event will bring in developers to learn, connect and code together.

Developers will get to attend sessions, talks and demos carefully chosen to help them become productive wherever they work, and drive innovation and transformation.

The company has said, Were committed to support developers with cost-effective, efficient innovations that make peoples lives easier and better, especially in uncertain times. Last year, Build was held between 6 May and 8 May at the Washington State Convention Center.

Build is a developer focused event and we should see details on expected updates to Windows 10, Azure cloud, and maybe even Xbox Cloud.

Registrations for Build 2020 can be done in three ways  using a Microsoft account, a Microsoft employee account, or through a work or school account.
Since her mum moved into a care home three years ago, Cathy Topping has visited her every other day.

It is a routine that both mum and daughter are missing a lot, since the care home was closed to visitors a week before the nation went into lockdown.

Cathy (59), a retired medical secretary from Lurgan, hasn't been able to visit her mum Jean Peters (89) in Belvedere Care Home in Lurgan for almost five weeks - however she says she is comforted by the knowledge that her mum is safe.

Despite Covid-19's deadly spread among many care homes in the UK and in Northern Ireland, Cathy is confident that her mum is being protected as much as possible, and staying away as a family is one of the those measures keeping her safe.

"As hard as it is, I would hate to be the person to bring the virus in to my mum," Cathy says.

"It has been nearly five weeks since visits stopped and mum has dementia and doesn't really understand why we can't come and see her which is hard.

"The home has done everything they possibly can to protect the residents and thankfully no one has taken ill so far.

"We have to do as we are told, as it is the only thing that will get us all through this."

Cathy, who is married to Rob (60), an engineer, has three grown-up children and five grandchildren.

Her youngest granddaughter, Elsie, is just 20 weeks old and is also being shielded for her own protection - and Cathy hasn't seen or cuddled her yet.

That, and not being able to visit her mum, are the toughest parts of lockdown for her.

Care home staff have been trying to keep families in touch with loved ones via online video calls, although for Cathy the good old fashioned phone has proven easier for her mum to understand.

"We can ring mum any time of the day or night and as often as we like and the staff are brilliant, they will take the phone to her," she says.

"Mum doesn't understand the video calls. She can see us but she just looks at me and doesn't speak, as I think technically it is too much for her.

"We have found it is easier to just talk by phone.

"Someone from the family would have visited her every day and she doesn't understand why we aren't visiting anymore and keeps asking why we haven't been up to see her.

"Her short term memory is bad, so every time we ring her we have to explain that there is a virus making everyone sick and the girls in the home have also explained it to her over and over."

News of the virus spreading through other care homes has caused Cathy alarm and she is concerned for both staff and residents.

She adds: "It is always in the back of your mind but thankfully Belvedere is free of it and stopping us all going in has no doubt helped.

"The staff members wear full PPE gear including goggles and gloves and they are also practising social distancing among the residents in the main lounges. We are all missing mum but as tough as it is we have to stick with it until things are relaxed."

Im worried sick, but the staff are wearing full protective gear and are very careful

Deborah McCorry from Magheralin was brought up an only child by her single mum Dorothy Banks and lived with her all her life until Dorothy had to go into a nursing home a year ago.

Expand Close Tough going: Deborah McCorry and her mum Dorothy Banks / Facebook

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Whatsapp Tough going: Deborah McCorry and her mum Dorothy Banks





A health trust care worker who looks after elderly people in the community, she had also been caring for her mum at home for many years.

Deborah (47), who is married to Mark (49), a factory worker, says she has struggled to cope with her mum being in a nursing home and, now that she can't see her at all, she is completely heartbroken.

"Mum is in Mountvale Nursing Home in Dromore and I visited her every day, usually twice a day, and would have sat with her for a couple of hours every night," she says.

"I haven't seen her since March 13 and it is horrendous, especially dropping stuff off for her and knowing you can't go in and see her.

"The fact that I can't hug her or give her a kiss or chat and laugh with her is so hard.

"Mum was upset at the start that I couldn't visit but she is doing fine now and is actually coping better than I am.

"She does wish it was all over as she misses me terribly.

"I looked after my mum for years until she had to go into a nursing home because she can't walk now and the pain she is in can be horrendous and needs to be managed.

"I still haven't got used to her being in a home and even though it is a fantastic home and the staff are amazing, it is breaking my heart not being able to see her."

Dorothy has a number of health issues and in addition is diabetic, which makes her especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The death toll in homes here has understandably added to Deborah's distress.

"What is happening in care homes is horrendous," she says. "I am sick with worry. Thankfully there is no sign of the virus in mum's home and I do ask about it often. All the staff are very careful.

"Because of mum's underlying health issues I dread to think what would happen if the virus went into her home.

"I even worry about when lockdown is lifted, if it will still be about."

As a carer in the community herself, Deborah is risking her own health every day to look after elderly and vulnerable people in their own homes.

She knows the steps she has to take to keep herself and her clients safe and appreciates how care workers in her mum's nursing home are taking similar precautions.

"At first it really frightened the life out of me and I was a bundle of nerves going to work," she says.

"I still feel nervous - but not quite so much - as we have masks, visors, gloves and aprons now and I just keep washing my hands and my uniform.

"I know the care staff in mum's home are also wearing full protective gear and are being very careful.

"As much as I miss my mum, there is no way I would go near her at the minute and I think it is right we need to stay away to protect our loved ones."

Ive never gone five days in my life without seeing mum and its been five weeks now

Beverley Wilson works as a home care assistant for the Southern Trust and hasn't seen her 73-year-old mum Margaret Wilson since Mother's Day. Beverley's mum has vascular dementia and can't walk.

Expand Close Fond memory: Beverley Wilson, mum Margaret and daughter Rebekka last year / Facebook

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Whatsapp Fond memory: Beverley Wilson, mum Margaret and daughter Rebekka last year





As an only child and single mum to Rebekka, Beverley (52) from Lurgan has always been very close to her mum - and visited her up to three times daily. Missing her mum has become so difficult that this week she stood in the grounds of Aughnacloy Nursing Home and shouted a greeting up to her mum whose room is on the second floor.

When staff became aware of what she was doing they rushed to her mum's room and got her out of bed into her wheelchair so that she could see her from the window.

"It has been really hard because we are so close and I have never gone five days in my life, never mind five weeks, without seeing mum," Beverley says.

"She has an idea of what is going on but sometimes she forgets and when I call her she asks if I am coming up to see her.

"The other day I just stopped at the home and shouted up to her window 'hello mum' and the care assistants came out and told me to wait.

"They hoisted her into her wheelchair and brought her to the window and I was able to chat to her for about 15 minutes which was really good of them.

"I video call her every other day and she is in good form. She would see herself on the screen and complain that her hair needs done!"

With concerns over the spread of the virus in care homes, Beverley is grateful for a weekly "situation report" from Aughnacloy which is sent to the relatives of all their residents. It is a document detailing if there are any signs of Covid-19 symptoms among staff or residents.

Beverley admits: "So far there has been no one in the home with the virus, which is such a relief.

"I do have worries but I try to keep them at bay. I know the staff are doing their best and they are wearing full protective gear and getting the report each week is reassuring.

"What is happening in nursing homes is heartbreaking and you just have to switch off from the news and not dwell on it."

As a care worker in the community, Beverley is grateful that she too has full PPE to protect her and the vulnerable people she looks after.

"It is something I have to do and most of the people I go into have no visitors anymore - we are the only people they are seeing each day and they are finding it very hard," she says.

"The risk is always there in the back of your mind and I just take every precaution I can with washing my hands and my clothes every day when I finish work. If I have a day off I don't leave the house."
Ireland's premier Leo Varadkar has announced an extension of the country's coronavirus restrictions to May 18 with two exceptions.

Mr Varadkar announced the easing of two restrictions: extending an exercise travel limit from 2km to 5km from home and advising over-70s they can leave home for isolated exercise from Tuesday.

The Taoiseach said there would be five stages, three weeks apart, with the fifth phase commencing on August 10 if everything goes to plan.

Another 34 people in Ireland have died due to coronavirus, with 221 more cases diagnosed, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has confirmed.

The total number of people who have died from Covid-19 in Ireland is now 1,265. The latest confirmed coronavirus cases bring the total to 20,833 cases in Ireland.

Leo Varadkar on the steps of the Government Buildings Dublin, addressing the public on the state of the coronavirus lockdown in Ireland

On May 18, outdoor work, like construction and landscaping, will resume. Some outdoor sporting and fitness activities in small groups will also be allowed.

Mr Varadkar said that schools and colleges will reopen next term in September or October.

The plans were agreed by Cabinet after medical experts on the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) provided advice to the Government earlier on Friday. The current lockdown period had been due to expire on Monday 11th May.

Mr Varadkar said 70% of people diagnosed with the virus had made a full recovery. He said the figure would have been so much lower if the health service had been overwhelmed.

Mr Varadkar has said the last few weeks have transformed people's lives 'in so many different ways and ways that we could not have imagined'.

Speaking from Government Buildings in Dublin, he said: 'I know it's been difficult. The uncertainty about when things will get back to normal and the fear of the virus itself.

'As a nation, our physical health has been attacked, our mental health eroded. Our economy battered and our society put to the ultimate test.

'Many people are lonely during the pain of isolation. Many people are grieving in silence and many have lost their jobs.'

Mr Varadkar added: 'Unfortunately the risk of a second wave of the virus is present. So we could only move to the next stage if the virus stays under control between each phase and there is a risk that we'd have to go back a phase if that happens.

'In any scenario, at least until we have a vaccine, or an effective treatment, there will be a long-term need for physical distancing, good hygiene, respiratory hygiene, regular cleaning and for people to stay at home and isolate if they're sick.

'It will take some time for our lives to get back to normal, to a new normal, but it will happen. So on the 18th of May, Ireland begins to reopen and begins that journey to a new normal.

During his address, Mr Varadkar read excerpts from some of the 10,000 pieces of correspondence he has received from members of the public since the crisis began.

He spoke of Jessica, a wheelchair user, who feels an enormous cloud of loneliness around her; Anne Marie, a healthcare worker who contracted Covid-19 who described her patients as like family; Phil, a pensioner who lives alone who is struggling with isolation; and Rachel, 13, who is worried about her grandparents.

'We're doing this for Jessica, for Anne Marie, for Phil, for Rachel and for everyone else who are struggling as best they can to come through this crisis,' said Mr Varadkar.

'We're doing this for each other. The coronavirus is cruel and inhuman however the stories I am hearing every day are stories of human kindness.'

'Many regular health services will resume operating and it will be possible to meet small groups of friends and family outdoors,' he added.

'Not long from now, some summer night, we will see our friends again.

'In later phases other workplaces, businesses, childcare, preschools, restaurants, cafes, bars, cinemas and gyms will reopen.

Irish police officers, or Garda officers, talk with members of the public as they conduct checks on pedestrians and motorists in Dublin city centre on April 8, 2020

'Schools and colleges will reopen in September/October at the start of the new academic year.

'So tomorrow morning Cabinet will meet again to agree further actions to help our businesses to restart, reconnect and rehire staff who've been laid off or furloughed.'

Mr Varadkar added: 'Separately, a national protocol is being developed by Government, employers and trade unions with the assistance of the Health and Safety Authority of the HSE.

'This will enable a gradual restart of economic activity as restrictions are eased while protecting the health and safety of all workers as they return to work.

'We will do everything possible to get enterprises back and running so you can get your job back.

'While it will take some time before we get to enjoy again things we are missing, from the comfort of our families, to a night out with friends, those days will come again.'
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:

President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has held a video conversation with President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen on May 1, Trend reports with reference to Georgian presidents press service.

The presidents spoke about the difficulties caused by the spread of coronavirus in Georgia and Austria and the plans to reopen economies of the two countries. It was noted that the pandemic has created problems in the tourism sector in both countries, which has a negative impact on the economies.

During the conversation, the sides expressed hope that Zourabichvili 's postponed visit to Austria will be arranged after the end of the pandemic.

Alexander Van der Bellen said that Austria is interested in the development of tourism in Georgia. In turn, the president of Georgia provided her Austrian counterpart with detailed information on the spheres of the tourism industry in the country and its potential.

"The heads of state agreed that Georgia and Austria will actively cooperate in creating a safe tourism strategy, which will contribute to the active development of the tourism sector in the post-crisis period," said the president's administration.

The parties also touched upon the new world order after the crisis and the role of Georgia as a trade and transport hub during the post-crisis period.

The presidents also spoke about Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration process. Zourabichvili emphasized that the severe crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic will not hinder the development of the European Union.

"European integration is Georgia's only way," she pointed out.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
The federal Liberal party is expected to follow through on a campaign promise to ban certain military-style firearms, possibly as soon as today.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The federal Liberal party is expected to follow through on a campaign promise to ban certain "military-style" firearms, possibly as soon as today.

For some, the proposal would mark the end of a long wait for stricter gun control legislation.

"The ban on semi-automatic assault weapons is something that Canadians have wanted for 30 years," said Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control. "It brings Canada in line with most industrialized countries, who do not allow civilians to have access to military weapons."

The proposed changes come in the wake of the recent mass shooting centred in Portapique, N.S., during which an armed man killed 22 people using weapons he had illegally stockpiled.

The tragedy appears to have pushed the minority government Liberals to move ahead on a ban on "military-style assault weapons," establish a buy-back program for all existing weapons fitting the description, and work with provinces to allow municipalities to further restrict or ban handguns.

Dr. Najma Ahmed, a Toronto trauma surgeon and co-chairwoman of Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns, said her organization has long been calling for a multi-tiered approach to addressing gun violence in Canada.

"The banning of the most lethal weapons is among the elements that would be important in a comprehensive approach," Ahmed said Thursday.

For some, it is an argument full of holes.

A ban on "military-style" semi-automatic firearms wont go a long way to addressing the root causes of gun violence in the country, Wolverine Supplies co-owner Matthew Hipwell said Thursday.

The Virden-based company is one of Canadas largest independent firearms retailers.

"Banning guns isnt the answer  it goes back to people again," Hipwell said. "We need to look at mental health, we need to look at the sources of crime, we need to look at social and economic conditions."

For rural gun owners, Hipwell said, the kinds of firearms the government is looking to ban are used for big-game hunting and varmint control, and have become "a way of life" for many hunters and ranchers.

Moving away from "assault-style" firearms, Ahmed agreed, may require a significant culture shift.

"The majority of hunters would not have any use for the kinds of weapons that are on this list of weapons being banned," she said, acknowledging many such firearms are used for sport and competition in urban centres.

Some debate has mounted surrounding the term "military-style assault weapon," which has no legal definition in Canada as of yet, and stems from American firearm terminology.

The lack of clarity poses a problem for retailers such as Hipwell, who are faced with uncertainty about which of their products may be affected, but for gun control advocates such as Ahmed, the issue is beside the point.

"What this means is a weapon that can kill a lot of people or maim a lot of people in a short period of time," she said.

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The issue of naming becomes a concern, however, when it comes to implementing any kind of ban. So far, the Canadian government has opted to mark certain specific weapons  such as the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14 rifles  as prohibited, but this approach leaves room for manufacturers to make slight modifications to existing models in order to bypass legal restrictions.

A more robust approach, according to Cukier, would be a permissive model, where available firearms come from a pre-approved list, and new models would have to be approved by government before being put to market.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not confirm reports about what types of weapons may be banned, and instead said his government would put forward measures imminently.

"We will have more to say on this when we make an announcement. around what we are doing to strengthen gun control in the coming days," Trudeau told reporters Thursday, reiterating legislation was almost ready before coronavirus pandemic suspended Parliament.

 with files from Dylan Robertson

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca
WSU Offers Community Education Course on Pandemics

May 1, 2020

OGDEN, Utah  To help understand past and present pandemics, Weber State University Community Education and the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences is offering a free online summer course titled Pandemics and People, beginning May 18 and running through July 1.

The course will provide the community with a broad understanding of the issues and effects of a global pandemic such as COVID-19. It will cover a variety of topics intended to help participants engage with all aspects of how a pandemic changes daily life.

We decided to offer Pandemics and People because we wanted to enrich our own  and our students'  understanding of the dramatic changes we are living through, said Susan Matt, WSU history professor. COVID-19 is reshaping our personal lives, but it is also altering our towns, states, nations and globe. This course will help us all place our individual experiences into a larger context.

The course will be taught virtually using Zoom and Google Meet video conferencing platforms. Although there is no cost associated with the course, participants are required to register at continue.weber.edu/communityed/Class. Everyone who enrolls in the course can earn one free credit in Short Courses, Workshops, Institutes and Special Programs (Sociology 2920).

During the seven-week course, faculty from various disciplines in Weber State's College of Social & Behavioral Sciences will examine how COVID-19 is reshaping daily life around the world, including national and international politics, social interactions, and even emotions and cognition.

Experts in various fields will help participants see this pandemic in a new light, Matt said. Psychologists will explain how pandemics change the way we think and feel; sociologists will show how social class influences experience; political scientists will help us understand how politics shape responses.

Historians will outline how past generations dealt with illnesses. Criminal justice scholars will examine how viruses affect incarcerated populations. Geographers will explain the effects on climate; and social workers will explore how it is reshaping grief.

Weber States continuing education department offers various courses throughout the year to encourage life-long learning, professional development and community engagement. For summer 2020, WSU will move its community education courses online. Courses will be available for registration by May 4. Visit weber.edu/communityed for course listings and more information.

For graphics, visit the following links.

photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2020-photos/May-2020/i-z3mrCt6/0/31974d3b/XL/image%20%281%29-XL.png

photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2020-photos/May-2020/i-M2RsFvH/0/65453801/Th/PandemicsCourse%20%281%29-Th.jpg

photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2020-photos/May-2020/i-WcKNgXs/0/14dcd296/XL/PandemicsCourse-XL.jpg

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NEW DELHI: After Uttar Pradesh, the Delhi government has also appointed a riots claim commissioner to evaluate damage to public property during the north-east Delhi riots and the recovery process.

According to reports, former Delhi High Court judge N Gaur has been appointed the Claim Commissioner. The high court appointed Gaur after Delhi government wrote a letter to the court registrar general seeking the appointment of a claims commissioner.

N Gaur along with his team will identify and evaluate the cost of damages done to public and private property during the riots in north-east Delhi from people identified by the police as rioters.

He will then initiate legal proceedings to recover the cost from those identified a rioters by Delhi Police.

On March 9, the Delhi government had written to the high court to appoint the claims commissioner after the Delhi Police had decided to recover the cost of damages to public and private property during the riots in north-east Delhi from people identified by the police as rioters.

The initiative is similar to one in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where, in December 2019, the state government had sent notices to at least 400 people identified as rioters to recover damages to properties during anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in the state.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly introduced a new law through an ordinance to back the action.
I came to London for my play Daddy, which closed at the start of the outbreak, and decided to wait it outI didnt want to get on an airplane. Im staying in Finsbury Park, near an amazing community of artists. I speak through the window with my next-door neighbor Benjamin, a jewelry designer. Like little mice, I can see into his cage and he can see into mine; I would open up the window, and he would be making something or having a conversation with his roomie, and wed all start talking. Hes the only person Ive broken quarantine with; we watched the Satoshi Kon film Paprika.

I took these pictures in my kitchen, which is where I do a lot of my work. Id been going through a bunch of art books from the Serpentine Gallery because Im working on a movie that takes place in the future, and I was trying to get some inspiration. So I was looking at books about Cao Fei, this amazing artist who does detailed work about the electronics industry in China. It was interesting to be thinking about Chinas relation to globalism during this whole thing. I was also eating this really yummy cheesecake, and drinking Pellegrino, which is my favorite thing to drink when Im working. Like tequila, orange wine is impossible to find in London, but my favorite local restaurant, Top Cuvee, delivers it.

Arriving in London, Id thought, what would Tennessee Williams do if he was working on his first play abroad? Hed take it seriously. So I wanted to get dressed up. I planned on wearing these Thom Browne looks every day for rehearsal; now, Im just wearing them in my apartment. But this is a onesie that Emily Bode made for me before I went to Sundance, and those are Schiaparelli earrings from Daniel Roseberrywhen Im at home, I like to have an accessory. Im wearing a durag because during Fashion Week, I was like, the next piece of black culture thats due to have a high-fashion moment is the durag. Im going to start wearing my durag. And then Edward Enninful put Rihanna in a durag on the cover of British Vogue. It was like the first time Ive ever fashion trend-spotted. And who doesn't love a Telfar bag? You have to keep two or three Telfars with you at all times.

Story continues

Im an extroverted personIm very social, and usually so ready to go outbut whats been nice is discovering that Im an indoor cat, a lapdog. This time is a gift. Its time that can stop things from getting worse. Its time to bolster ourselves during a moment of significant loss for our country.

In my own industry, Ive seen entire careers derailed by thisan entire ecosystem disrupted that I dont see getting fixedand Im worried about my family in Virginia. But, instead of existential dread, Im looking toward the future with a sense of potentiality.

This interview took place at the start of April and has been edited and condensed.

Originally Appeared on Vogue
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Batangas is banking on its pristine beaches, breathtaking scenery, old churches, delectable food and rich culture to help the entire province back on its feet with its people still reeling from the devastation wrought by the eruption of Taal Volcano in January followed by the COVID-19 outbreak in March.

Batangas Vice Governor Mark Leviste, in a Laging Handa virtual press briefing, said the entire province is hoping that local tourism will flourish once again after suffering from a double whammy.

"Tatandaan po natin, halos di pa po kami tapos o nagsisimula pa lang po kami bumangon mula sa krisis dulot ng pagsabog ng Bulkang Taal," said Leviste.

[Translation: Let us remember, we have not yet recovered from the crisis brought by the Taal Volcano eruption (when the pandemic happened).]

Taal Volcano, one of the main tourist attractions in the province, erupted on January 12, destroying livelihood and properties leading to the forced evacuation of thousands and the declaration of a lockdown in 15 municipalities and cities in Batangas and nearby Cavite province.

The eruption reached Level 4, meaning a "hazardous explosive eruption" was imminent then.

The alert level was eventually lowered to Level 2 (or decreased unrest) on March 19. This was a few days after Batangas confirmed its first case of COVID-19, along with the national government's imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on the entire Luzon in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

Tourism, trade, and business operations have been halted due to the ECQ, which only allows the operation of firms offering essential services.

Batangas remains under ECQ with the rest of Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Central Luzon except Aurora, Pangasinan, and Benguet, including Baguio City until May 15. Iloilo (including Iloilo City), Cebu (including Cebu City), Bacolod City, and Davao City have also been placed under ECQ until mid-May.

Meanwhile, general community quarantine (GCQ) is imposed on all other provinces.

"Ito po sana ang panahon, yung summer season, kung saan kami ay dinadagsa ng maraming turista hindi lamang sa buong Pilipinas kundi kahit mula sa ibayong dagat," said Leviste.

[Translation: This period, which is summer season, would have been the time when many tourists are coming not only from around the Philippines but also overseas.]

"[K]ami ay umaasa na tatangkilikin po tayo ng ating kababayan pag pinag-usapan ang domestic tourism," he added.

[Translation: We are hoping our fellow countrymen will support us when it comes to domestic tourism.]

Leviste also said the provincial government will focus on its "economic rehabilitation" along with ensuring the safety and well-being of its residents post-lockdown.

In the same briefing, Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said that domestic travel shall stimulate Philippine tourism for the rest of the year, provided that ECQ and GCQ are lifted and tourism enterprises are allowed to operate again.

READ: DOT: Domestic travels to 'trigger' PH tourism activities for the rest of 2020

Batangas currently has 92 confirmed cases of COVID-19. A total of 34 have recovered from the virus, while 17 have died.
MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Allianz Group expects a shareholder's net income for the first-quarter to be 1.4 billion euros compared to 2.0 billion euros reported last year. The company projects an operating profit for the first-quarter of 2.3 billion euros, compared to 3.0 billion euros reported last year. The company said it could not achieve the target range for the operating profit for 2020 in the amount of 12 billion euros plus or minus 500 million euros, due to the uncertainties for the macroeconomic development caused by the current pandemic. The company said it will announce a new profit target for 2020 upon completion of the revised planning. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
B eing leader of the Labour Party is not quite panning out the way Keir Starmer thought it would. Coronavirus has changed our way of life and how we do politics. Its been such a strange three months. I started the campaign dashing round the country trying to see as many people in a day as possible. We ended it with instructions to meet no one. You couldnt have had a more dramatic shift.

Then there was the announcement itself. I had this image in my head that were I to win it, I would be in some massive conference centre with thousands of Labour Party members and supporters. It would have been the moment to turn and face the country. What I didnt imagine was facing the country standing in my own living room with a camera and microphone for company.

He heard the news of his win on a Zoom call in the less than glamorous surroundings of his attic, which is now his study. The children are now in charge of the house and Im in the loft.

Was there champagne? Not at that time of the morning, but there certainly was later.

Strong start: Starmer at his office in Portcullis House. / Matt Writtle

Home is in Kentish Town, where he lives with his wife, Vic Alexander, an NHS worker in occupational health, and two children, aged 9 and 11. During the leadership contest his mother-in-law died. He told us we had our own experience of 17 days in intensive care with her and then her sad passing, which meant I had to stop campaigning twice, because that was a very difficult time for my wife and family.

Since the pandemic began Alexander has been very busy with her NHS work so he now picks up the children from school every day. This is the most important daily appointment in his diary for the foreseeable future.

It is much rumoured that Bridget Joness Mr Darcy is based on Starmer. He says he has no idea if its true

We are sure he has had a haircut while in lockdown, but he assures us that is not the case, and asks us for advice. His aide jokes that his hair could be the first major personal crisis of his leadership.

Starmer grew up in Oxted on the Surrey/Kent border and attended a local grammar school before going to read law at Leeds University, and then on to Oxford. He became a barrister, specialising in human rights issues, including the death penalty, and advising the Northern Ireland Policing Board. He was appointed director of public prosecutions in 2008.

It is much rumoured that Mr Darcy, the dashing, clean-cut human rights lawyer love interest in Bridget Joness Diary, is based on him. He says he has no idea whether this is true, and the author Helen Fielding has neither confirmed or denied it.

His father Rodney was a toolmaker in a factory, and his mother Josephine a nurse. She suffered from a rare degenerative condition, Stills disease, and was in and out of hospital, later becoming severely disabled. Starmer often cared for her when he was growing up. His parents were staunch Labour supporters and named him after the partys first parliamentary leader, James Keir Hardie.

We meet  while social distancing  in his new, very large and very empty suite of opposition offices in Parliament. He tells us that preparing for PMQs was a challenge this week as he thought he would face the Prime Minister, then found out it was Dominic Raab, and then came the news about the arrival of the Downing Street baby.

Starmer began PMQs by making a warm, generous statement congratulating the new parents, which drew praise for its decency. If there is any emerging theme of his very early leadership, it is being a decent, constructive grown-up opposition.

But is he being too decent to the Government about its handling of coronavirus? Some of his critics on the Left think so. I think the test is whether the points we are making are landing and whether we are seeing any change as a result of it. He lists areas where he believes his interventions have pushed the Government  such as calls for a scheme for self-employed people, using his first PMQs to ask about testing and PPE, and asking for an exit strateg

Does adding our challenge and our voice make a difference? I think the answer is yes. When you are trying to get the balance right between constructive opposition  you know, support where we can, challenge where we must  people will always take a slightly different view, but I think weve got it right.

He is also clear that he will not call for Matt Hancocks resignation if he fails to hit the target he set for 100k tests a day. No. It was a staging post to get to a bigger number. I dont think calling for resignations is constructive opposition at this stage.

Given that Britain is likely to end up having one of the worst death rates in Europe, has the Government been negligent or incompetent? I wouldnt say that. But they have been slow at every turn. Thats why they cant allow themselves to now be slow about a discussion about the exit strategy.

I want people in my meetings who disagree with me. This is not a rally. This is not talking to the party faithful

Three weeks into being Labour leader, Starmer had hoped to be zooming round the country meeting people face to face, but circumstances mean hes now Zooming from screen to screen. He has just launched a national listening exercise, Call Keir, where he wants to face the public to have tough conversations to hear why Labour lost their trust and how he can win them back.

Im not here to preach. Im here to listen. This is where its going to be different. I want people in my meetings who disagree with me. This is not a rally. This is not talking to the party faithful. His predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, was famed for events where adoring fans chanted his name.

We listen into his first Call Keir session with callers from Bury, one of the Red Wall Labour seats that went Tory at the last election. As well as people telling him of their dismay at the previous leaderships failure on anti-Semitism, he also took calls from Leave voters who had left Labour  Weve left now and we have to look forward.

Another caller asked him about whether Labour was patriotic, and did he believe Brexiteers were racist? I love my country. For me, being Labour and being patriotic should be two sides of the same coin. On Brexit was careful to say he didnt think the majority of Brexit voters were racist but wanted more control and wanted decisions to be made closer to home, which he sympathises with, even as an ardent Remainer.

Starmer is keen to listen to peoples concerns about immigration and not to demonise them, but is a passionate advocate of freedom of movement. I want people in this country to study abroad and I want people abroad to study here. I want families to be able to live together. And I want us to honour our obligations under the refugee convention. Thats the framework within which I think we should operate.

Would that mean a new treaty with the EU to have those reciprocal rights or would he allow the European Court of Justice to invigilate? Well were going to have to discuss this with the EU, we dont yet know what deal were leaving with, so were going to have to deal with that when we see what the position is in four years time. Does he worry that the Tories will frame the question at the next election as unlimited immigration with Starmer or limited immigration with a points-based system under Johnson? Again, he throws ahead. There are four years until the election, and I want to listen. But there are very few people who say nobody should be able to come to work in this country, or study, or be with their families. Its more nuanced than that.

Hes clearly determined to try and win the bigger argument with the country, but by giving himself time to listen to the public, he could also hedge his bets.

He is also determined to tame the wild factions with a Labour Party that has been mired in anti-Semitism, bullying and brutal infighting. A noble ambition  is it possible? Its not just noble, its necessary. If we spend time taking lumps out of each other, were going to lose the next general election.

Now by unity, I dont mean that the Labour Party is all going to think as one. What I mean by unity is finding a way to have our discussions, resolve our disputes and then coalesce around an agreed way forward, which is what any grown-up organisation does every day.

Its the opposite of what weve seen recently, which is factionalism  which is only asking what part of the party youre in, not listening to what you have to say. Factionalism will destroy the Labour Party if we dont unify.

His mission to deal with factionalism is why he and his deputy, Angela Rayner, immediately established an independent investigation into an explosive leaked internal memo. I was shocked by what I read. It was very damaging to the party and for members of staff. Would I have preferred to not have this headache? Yes. Now that Ive got it, Im determined that we will take the opportunity to use this to start that culture change within the organisation that we need.

He is also clear that he can and will be tough on issues like anti-Semitism and unacceptable behaviour. Having been DPP for five years and run an organisation of around 8,000 people, I know you have to take tough decisions and Ive taken them repeatedly. Im not going to duck them now.

As a new leader, he is inundated with advice, but he himself reached out immediately to every previous Labour leader and called them within hours of being elected, although he quips they didnt do a group Zoom call. They all gave me very different advice, as you can imagine.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

But seeking counsel doesnt mean dancing to their tune. Im not going to be defined by past Labour leaders. I am the current Labour leader and I am going to define myself.

And with that, he zooms off for another Zoom call.

@ayeshahazarika

@JoeMurphyLondon
Joe Biden will publicly address an allegation of sexual assault for the first time in an appearance on morning television on Friday, after weeks of silence on the issue that had prompted frustration from Democrats and attacks from Republicans seeking to weaken him for a general election contest against Donald Trump.

Mr Biden will discuss the allegation on Morning Joe on MSNBC, according to a Twitter post from the network. The decision followed intensive discussions in the Biden campaign about how to more forcefully confront the allegation.

The planned appearance came as scrutiny of the allegation intensified along partisan lines on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker and the Democratic Partys highest-ranking member of Congress, expressed support for Mr Bidens presidential bid while Republicans weaponised the accusation to attack congressional Democrats as hypocritical.

The allegation Mr Biden will address was made by a former aide in his Senate office, Tara Reade, who has said Mr Biden assaulted her in a Senate building in 1993. Mr Bidens campaign has said the accusation is not true, but the former vice president himself had not addressed the issue publicly. His silence has raised questions among some Democrats about the agility of his campaign operation and its ability to navigate what is widely expected to be a heated and deeply divisive presidential campaign this fall.

As the clamour around the allegations rose Thursday, Ms Pelosi sought to calm anxious Democrats during her weekly news conference, calling Mr Biden a person of great integrity and saying that there were no records or additional witnesses corroborating the account.

Her comments came as Republicans expanded their attacks against Mr Biden, the partys presumptive nominee, calling the party hypocritical on issues of sexual violence, harassment and gender inequality. They also compared the way Democrats have responded to Ms Reades allegation with their response to accusations of sexual assault in 2018 against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Already, the Trump campaign has signalled that it plans to make the allegation against Mr Biden a central part of its campaign narrative, accusing him in a memo sent on Wednesday of misrepresenting news reports and his own past positions in an effort to put controversies to bed or to level charges against the president.

The New York Times
Most older Americans favor additional stimulus payments

While it is too soon to know whether any stimulus payments will become part of the next stimulus package, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi this week told MSNBC that lawmakers have to think in terms of some different ways to put money in people's pockets. She said that some type of ongoing payments from the government may be one of those options.

According to a new AARP coronavirus poll, 83 percent of adults age 50 and older support the inclusion of additional stimulus payments in the next round of legislation. The survey question did not ask respondents specifically about the EMP or other legislative proposals, but rather asked about additional stimulus payments in general.

Another choice the next round of stimulus legislation will have to address is whether to include assistance for state governments. Each state is responsible for maintaining its own trust fund to pay unemployment benefits to workers who have lost their jobs. The unanticipated and unprecedented demand for these benefits because of the temporary shutdowns has strained state budgets at the same time they are losing revenue.

The National Governors Association (NGA) has asked Congress to include $500 billion in assistance to the states in the next round of legislation. In a letter to lawmakers, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who are chair and vice chair of the NGA, respectively, said states need the money to replenish depleted state unemployment trust funds and to fund technological improvements and staffing capacity increases for state unemployment agencies.

"States and local governments need robust support from the federal government as we navigate the response to this pandemic and to help foster the economic recovery that is ahead, they said.
CHMP positive opinion advances efforts to provide first-in-class LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for patients whose asthma is uncontrolled with LABA/ICS standard-of-care treatment in the EU.



Digital companion with app and sensor that provide inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data to better support therapeutic decisions also covered by positive opinion for Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF).



Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF). Decision supported by robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 patients with asthma in Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which once-daily IND/GLY/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with once-daily IND/MF (QMF149). 1



In secondary analyses of the Phase III IRIDIUM study, statistically significant improvements in lung function and reductions in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates were observed with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose Sal/Flu.1

Basel, May 1, 2020 - Novartis today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. If approved, this will be the first once-daily LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination for these patients. The European Commission (EC) reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision in approximately two months.

"This is an important development for patients with uncontrolled asthma because IND/GLY/MF has been shown to improve lung function and symptoms versus a LABA/ICS standard-of-care," said Professor Huib Kerstjens, Head, Department of Pulmonology at the University Medical Center Groningen. "In secondary analyses of the Phase III IRIDIUM study statistically significant reductions in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates were observed with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate."

IND/GLY/MF will be administered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, which enables once-daily inhalation using a single inhaler. If approved, IND/GLY/MF will be the first asthma treatment in the EU that can be prescribed together with a digital companion; a Propeller Health sensor and app custom-built for the Breezhaler device. This companion will provide patients with inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data that can be shared with their physician in order to help them make better therapeutic decisions.

"Today's news is a key milestone in our journey to reimagine asthma care by bringing innovative medicines and a digital companion to patients with uncontrolled asthma," said Linda Armstrong, MD, Respiratory Development Unit Head, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "Once-daily IND/GLY/MF has the potential to improve asthma control for patients whose lives are still impacted by their disease, despite existing inhaled therapies. Additionally, we are pleased to bring an innovative sensor and app companion supplied with IND/GLY/MF to patients to help support enhanced adherence."

The CHMP recommendation is based on robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 patients with asthma from the Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which IND/GLY/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with indacaterol acetate/mometasone furoate (IND/MF).1

In the IRIDIUM study, the key secondary endpoint was improvement in Asthma Control Questionnaire score (ACQ-7) for IND/GLY/MF versus IND/MF. Both treatments delivered clinically meaningful improvements in this measure of symptoms from baseline at Week 26, but the key secondary endpoint was not met. Among other secondary analyses, IRIDIUM explored asthma exacerbation rates, where statistically significant reductions were observed in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates with IND/GLY/MF compared with an established LABA/ICS standard-of-care (twice-daily salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate). Safety findings were consistent with the known safety profiles of the monocomponents.1

Last month the CHMP also recommended the approval of Atectura Breezhaler (IND/MF) as a maintenance treatment of asthma for adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older not adequately controlled with inhaled corticosteroids and inhaled short-acting beta-agonists . 2 Novartis is committed to bringing IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF to patients, with additional regulatory filings currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Japan and Canada.

In keeping with the Novartis commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our asthma combinations, IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF will both be available in the Breezhaler device which is hydrofluoroalkane/chlorofluorocarbon (HFA/CFC)-free.

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled.3,4 Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled.5,6 Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death.7,8,9 Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma.10,11

About Enerzair Breezhaler

Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF) is intended as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. This formulation combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) and the antimuscarinic effects of glycopyrronium bromide (a LAMA) with mometasone furoate (high-dose ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Glycopyrronium bromide certain use and formulation intellectual property were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/GLY/MF (worldwide excluding the U.S.).

The sensor for the Breezhaler device was developed by Propeller Health and is a CE marked Medical Device, designed and licensed to Novartis exclusively for use with the Breezhaler inhaler worldwide. The sensor includes a microchip, a microphone, Bluetooth capabilities, an antenna and a battery. The sensor does not alter the drug delivery characteristics of the Breezhaler inhaler itself but produces a recording of each administered dose. Based on the patient's recorded medication usage, personalized content is presented within the app to help the patient better self-manage their asthma.

About Atectura Breezhaler

Atectura Breezhaler (QMF149; IND/MF) is the combination of indacaterol acetate and mometasone furoate intended as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older not adequately controlled with ICS and inhaled short-acting beta-agonists. IND/MF combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) with the anti-inflammatory mometasone furoate (an ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/MF.

About the PLATINUM Clinical Development Program

The PLATINUM program, containing over 7,500 patients worldwide, is the Novartis Phase III clinical development program supporting the development of IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF. It includes four studies: the QUARTZ study, which compared a low-dose of IND/MF with MF alone; the PALLADIUM study, which compared IND/MF with MF and salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu); the IRIDIUM study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF and Sal/Flu; and the ARGON study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with a combination of Sal/Flu and tiotropium.

About the IRIDIUM study1,12

IRIDIUM was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, designed to compare the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF in patients with asthma.

The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two different doses of IND/GLY/MF (High: 150/50/160 g and Medium:150/50/80 g), versus two respective IND/MF doses (High: 150/320 g and Medium: 150/160 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma, as determined by pulmonary function testing and effects on asthma control.

All patients were required to be symptomatic at screening despite being on treatment with medium or high stable doses of LABA/ICS. Approximately 3,092 male and female adult patients with asthma were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 (approximately 618 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

IND/MF 150/160 g (once-daily)

IND/MF 150/320 g (once-daily)

Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily, via Accuhaler)

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate superiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF versus high-dose IND/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF versus medium-dose IND/MF, all delivered once-daily, in improving trough FEV 1 (volume of air that can be forced out in the first second of expiration approximately 24 hours post-administration of study drug) after 26 weeks of treatment in patients with asthma.

The key secondary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of both doses of IND/GLY/MF versus respective doses of IND/MF, in improving Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score after 26 weeks of treatment in patients with asthma.

Other secondary analyses also included reduction of exacerbation rate, comparing high-dose IND/GLY/MF with high-dose IND/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF with medium-dose IND/MF. Secondary analyses included efficacy comparisons for both doses of IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu (50/500 g).

The study showed that IND/GLY/MF was superior to IND/MF in improving trough FEV 1 after 26 weeks, meeting the primary endpoint. The key secondary endpoint, improvement in ACQ-7 score for IND/GLY/MF versus IND/MF was not met but tested treatments showed clinically meaningful improvements in this measure of symptoms from baseline at Week 26. Among other secondary analyses, a substantial reduction was observed in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates with IND/GLY/MF compared with twice-daily Sal/Flu (50/500 g).

IND/GLY/MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

Full information on all of the endpoints measured in the study can be accessed at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02571777).

About the PALLADIUM study13

PALLADIUM (NCT02554786) was a multicenter, randomized, 52-week treatment, double-blind, triple-dummy, parallel-group study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of IND/MF compared with MF alone in patients with asthma.



PALLADIUM included 2,216 male and female patients (including 107 adolescents, aged =12 to <18 years old) with medium or high-dose ICS or low-dose ICS/LABA use 3 months prior to screening, a pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 of =50% and less than 80% of the predicted normal value for the patient and an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score of greater than 1.5.

Patients were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 to receive either high-dose IND/MF (150/320 g) once-daily delivered via Breezhaler (n=445); medium-dose IND/MF (150/160 g) once-daily delivered via Breezhaler (n=439); MF 400 g once-daily delivered via Twisthaler (n=444); MF 800 g administered as 400 g twice-daily delivered via Twisthaler (n=442); or salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) 50/500 g twice-daily delivered via Accuhaler (n=446).

The study showed that medium and high doses of IND/MF demonstrated significant improvements compared with MF in trough FEV 1 at Week 26 (Medium: 0.211 L; p<0.001) (High: 0.132 L; p<0.001). The key secondary endpoint of improvement in ACQ-7 at Week 26 was also met for combined doses of IND/MF compared with combined doses of MF (-0.209; p<0.001). These positive results were also observed at Week 52.

Analyses of other lung function endpoints showed greater improvements for IND/MF compared with MF in both morning and evening Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF). Reductions in daily rescue medication use and exacerbation rates were also observed. Patients demonstrated a 12% increase in FEV 1 and 200 mL within 30 minutes following administration of 400 g salbutamol/360 g albuterol (or equivalent dose) at the first visit or from historical data.

In the secondary analyses of comparison to Sal/Flu, high-dose IND/MF showed improvements in trough FEV 1 (0.048 L; p=0.040) at 52 weeks. In asthma control, high-dose IND/MF and Sal/Flu were comparable with a difference in ACQ-7 score of 0.010 (p=0.824). Improvements were observed in both morning and evening PEF (Morning: 13.8 L/min; p<0.001) (Evening: 9.1 L/min; p=0.002), and percentage of rescue medication free days over 52 weeks (4.3; p=0.034) in patients treated with high-dose IND/MF versus Sal/Flu. High-dose IND/MF also showed faster onset of action over Sal/Flu as demonstrated by FEV 1 measurement at 5 minutes on Day 1 (0.055 L; p<0.001).

IND/MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

About the QUARTZ study14

The QUARTZ Study (NCT02892344) was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, 12-week treatment, double-blind study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of IND/MF (150/80g) compared with MF (200 g) delivered via the Twisthaler device in adult and adolescent patients with asthma.

All patients were required to be on a stable low dose of ICS (with or without LABA) for at least one month prior to entering the run-in period. During the run-in period, all patients received open-label fluticasone propionate 100 g twice-daily delivered via Accuhaler. Patients meeting the eligibility criteria at the end of the run-in period were equally randomized (1:1) to one of the two treatment groups IND/MF 150/80 g once-daily delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, or MF 200 g once-daily, delivered via Twisthaler.

802 male and female patients (including 64 adolescents, aged = 12 to < 18 years old) were randomized to receive IND/MF (n=398) or MF (n=404). The mean age was 45.6 years with a mean asthma duration of 14.0 years.

Mean pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 (% predicted of normal) was 75.1% at baseline and the mean FEV 1 reversibility after inhalation of short acting beta agonist was 20.7%. The majority of patients were treated with low-dose ICS (42.9%) or low-dose LABA/ICS (56.0%) prior to the study.

Spirometry was performed at the end of the treatment period. The primary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of IND/MF 150/80 g once-daily (in the evening) compared with MF 200 g once-daily in terms of trough FEV 1 after 12 weeks of treatment in adults and adolescents. The key secondary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of IND/MF 150/80 g to MF 200 g (once-daily) in terms of Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) after 12 weeks of treatment.

IND/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in trough FEV 1 compared with MF after 12 weeks of treatment in adult and adolescent patients with inadequately controlled asthma (least squares [LS] mean treatment difference: 0.182 L, 95% CI: 0.148, 0.217; p<0.001). In addition, clinically meaningful lung function benefit for IND/MF was supported by improvements in evening PEF of 26.1 L/min compared with MF alone (95% CI, 21.0, 31.2).

IND/MF also demonstrated statistically significant improvements in asthma control compared with MF, as measured by ACQ-7 after 12 weeks of treatment (LS mean treatment difference: -0.218, 95% CI: -0.293, -0.143; p<0.001). In addition, a clinically meaningful improvement in ACQ-7 was supported by a responder analysis, in which the IND/MF group had a greater proportion of responders (improvement in ACQ-7 >=0.5) compared with the MF group (74.7% vs 64.9%, respectively (odd ratio: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.33).

IND//MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

About the ARGON study15

ARGON (NCT03158311) is a Phase IIIb, multicenter, randomized, 24-week, parallel-group, non-inferiority, open-label (blinded for the two IND/GLY/MF tested strengths), active-controlled study comparing the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with a free combination of salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) plus tiotropium in patients with uncontrolled asthma. The ARGON study has completed in the field and its Clinical Study Report is currently being finalized.

The purpose of this trial was to demonstrate that the efficacy of two strengths of the fixed-dose combination product IND/GLY/MF (High: 150/50/160 g and Medium: 150/50/80 g) is non-inferior to the efficacy of the free combination of Sal/Flu (50/500 g) plus tiotropium (5 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

All patients were symptomatic at screening despite treatment with medium or high stable doses of LABA/ICS as defined by Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score = 1.5.

Approximately 1,251 male and female patients with uncontrolled asthma (aged 18 and above) were randomized 1:1:1 (approximately 417 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

Open label Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily) delivered via Diskus plus tiotropium delivered via Respimat

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate non-inferiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF and low-dose IND/GLY/MF to comparator Sal/Flu plus tiotropium after 24 weeks of treatment based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Secondary objectives included:

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on trough FEV 1 after 24 weeks of treatment

after 24 weeks of treatment To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on ACQ-7 over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on lung function over 24 weeks of treatment.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "seek," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at

https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com).

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References

1 Data on file

2 Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 23-26 March 2020 (updated) Share. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-committee-medicinal-products-human-use-chmp-23-26-march-2020-updated (https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-committee-medicinal-products-human-use-chmp-23-26-march-2020-updated). Last accessed April 2020

3 GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X

4 AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf. Accessed April 2020.

5 Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

6 Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

7 Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

8 Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

9 Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

10 Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

11 Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

12 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02571777 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02571777). Last accessed April 2020.

13 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02554786 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02554786). Last accessed April 2020.

14 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02892344 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02892344). Last accessed April 2020.

15 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03158311 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03158311). Last accessed April 2020.

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CHMP positive opinion advances efforts to provide first-in-class LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for patients whose asthma is uncontrolled with LABA/ICS standard-of-care treatment in the EU.



Digital companion with app and sensor that provide inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data to better support therapeutic decisions also covered by positive opinion for Enerzair  Breezhaler  (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF).



Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF). Decision supported by robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 patients with asthma in Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which once-daily IND/GLY/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with once-daily IND/MF (QMF149). 1



In secondary analyses of the Phase III IRIDIUM study, statistically significant improvements in lung function and reductions in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates were observed with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose Sal/Flu.1

Basel, May 1, 2020  Novartis today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a longacting beta 2 agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. If approved, this will be the first once-daily LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination for these patients. The European Commission (EC) reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision in approximately two months.

This is an important development for patients with uncontrolled asthma because IND/GLY/MF has been shown to improve lung function and symptoms versus a LABA/ICS standard-of-care, said Professor Huib Kerstjens, Head, Department of Pulmonology at the University Medical Center Groningen. In secondary analyses of the Phase III IRIDIUM study statistically significant reductions in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates were observed with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate.

IND/GLY/MF will be administered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, which enables once-daily inhalation using a single inhaler. If approved, IND/GLY/MF will be the first asthma treatment in the EU that can be prescribed together with a digital companion; a Propeller Health sensor and app custom-built for the Breezhaler device. This companion will provide patients with inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data that can be shared with their physician in order to help them make better therapeutic decisions.

Todays news is a key milestone in our journey to reimagine asthma care by bringing innovative medicines and a digital companion to patients with uncontrolled asthma, said Linda Armstrong, MD, Respiratory Development Unit Head, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Once-daily IND/GLY/MF has the potential to improve asthma control for patients whose lives are still impacted by their disease, despite existing inhaled therapies. Additionally, we are pleased to bring an innovative sensor and app companion supplied with IND/GLY/MF to patients to help support enhanced adherence.

The CHMP recommendation is based on robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 patients with asthma from the Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which IND/GLY/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with indacaterol acetate/mometasone furoate (IND/MF).1

In the IRIDIUM study, the key secondary endpoint was improvement in Asthma Control Questionnaire score (ACQ-7) for IND/GLY/MF versus IND/MF. Both treatments delivered clinically meaningful improvements in this measure of symptoms from baseline at Week 26, but the key secondary endpoint was not met. Among other secondary analyses, IRIDIUM explored asthma exacerbation rates, where statistically significant reductions were observed in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates with IND/GLY/MF compared with an established LABA/ICS standard-of-care (twice-daily salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate). Safety findings were consistent with the known safety profiles of the monocomponents.1

Last month the CHMP also recommended the approval of Atectura Breezhaler (IND/MF) as a maintenance treatment of asthma for adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older not adequately controlled with inhaled corticosteroids and inhaled short-acting beta-agonists . 2 Novartis is committed to bringing IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF to patients, with additional regulatory filings currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Japan and Canada.

In keeping with the Novartis commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our asthma combinations, IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF will both be available in the Breezhaler device which is hydrofluoroalkane/chlorofluorocarbon (HFA/CFC)-free.

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled.3,4 Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled.5,6 Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death.7,8,9 Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma.10,11

About Enerzair Breezhaler

Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF) is intended as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a longacting beta 2 agonist and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. This formulation combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) and the antimuscarinic effects of glycopyrronium bromide (a LAMA) with mometasone furoate (high-dose ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Glycopyrronium bromide certain use and formulation intellectual property were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/GLY/MF (worldwide excluding the U.S.).

The sensor for the Breezhaler device was developed by Propeller Health and is a CE marked Medical Device, designed and licensed to Novartis exclusively for use with the Breezhaler inhaler worldwide. The sensor includes a microchip, a microphone, Bluetooth capabilities, an antenna and a battery. The sensor does not alter the drug delivery characteristics of the Breezhaler inhaler itself but produces a recording of each administered dose. Based on the patients recorded medication usage, personalized content is presented within the app to help the patient better self-manage their asthma.

About Atectura Breezhaler

Atectura Breezhaler (QMF149; IND/MF) is the combination of indacaterol acetate and mometasone furoate intended as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older not adequately controlled with ICS and inhaled short-acting beta-agonists. IND/MF combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) with the anti-inflammatory mometasone furoate (an ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/MF.

About the PLATINUM Clinical Development Program

The PLATINUM program, containing over 7,500 patients worldwide, is the Novartis Phase III clinical development program supporting the development of IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF. It includes four studies: the QUARTZ study, which compared a low-dose of IND/MF with MF alone; the PALLADIUM study, which compared IND/MF with MF and salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu); the IRIDIUM study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF and Sal/Flu; and the ARGON study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with a combination of Sal/Flu and tiotropium.

About the IRIDIUM study 1,12

IRIDIUM was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, designed to compare the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF in patients with asthma.

The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two different doses of IND/GLY/MF (High: 150/50/160 g and Medium:150/50/80 g), versus two respective IND/MF doses (High: 150/320 g and Medium: 150/160 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma, as determined by pulmonary function testing and effects on asthma control.

All patients were required to be symptomatic at screening despite being on treatment with medium or high stable doses of LABA/ICS. Approximately 3,092 male and female adult patients with asthma were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 (approximately 618 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

IND/MF 150/160 g (once-daily)

IND/MF 150/320 g (once-daily)

Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily, via Accuhaler)

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate superiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF versus high-dose IND/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF versus medium-dose IND/MF, all delivered once-daily, in improving trough FEV 1 (volume of air that can be forced out in the first second of expiration approximately 24 hours post-administration of study drug) after 26 weeks of treatment in patients with asthma.

The key secondary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of both doses of IND/GLY/MF versus respective doses of IND/MF, in improving Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score after 26 weeks of treatment in patients with asthma.

Other secondary analyses also included reduction of exacerbation rate, comparing high-dose IND/GLY/MF with high-dose IND/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF with medium-dose IND/MF. Secondary analyses included efficacy comparisons for both doses of IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu (50/500 g).

The study showed that IND/GLY/MF was superior to IND/MF in improving trough FEV 1 after 26 weeks, meeting the primary endpoint. The key secondary endpoint, improvement in ACQ-7 score for IND/GLY/MF versus IND/MF was not met but tested treatments showed clinically meaningful improvements in this measure of symptoms from baseline at Week 26. Among other secondary analyses, a substantial reduction was observed in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates with IND/GLY/MF compared with twice-daily Sal/Flu (50/500 g).

IND/GLY/MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

Full information on all of the endpoints measured in the study can be accessed at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02571777).

About the PALLADIUM study13

PALLADIUM (NCT02554786) was a multicenter, randomized, 52-week treatment, double-blind, triple-dummy, parallel-group study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of IND/MF compared with MF alone in patients with asthma.



PALLADIUM included 2,216 male and female patients (including 107 adolescents, aged 12 to <18 years old) with medium or high-dose ICS or low-dose ICS/LABA use 3 months prior to screening, a pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 of 50% and less than 80% of the predicted normal value for the patient and an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score of greater than 1.5.

Patients were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 to receive either high-dose IND/MF (150/320 g) once-daily delivered via Breezhaler (n=445); medium-dose IND/MF (150/160 g) once-daily delivered via Breezhaler (n=439); MF 400 g once-daily delivered via Twisthaler (n=444); MF 800 g administered as 400 g twice-daily delivered via Twisthaler (n=442); or salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) 50/500 g twice-daily delivered via Accuhaler (n=446).

The study showed that medium and high doses of IND/MF demonstrated significant improvements compared with MF in trough FEV 1 at Week 26 (Medium: 0.211 L; p<0.001) (High: 0.132 L; p<0.001). The key secondary endpoint of improvement in ACQ-7 at Week 26 was also met for combined doses of IND/MF compared with combined doses of MF (-0.209; p<0.001). These positive results were also observed at Week 52.

Analyses of other lung function endpoints showed greater improvements for IND/MF compared with MF in both morning and evening Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF). Reductions in daily rescue medication use and exacerbation rates were also observed. Patients demonstrated a 12% increase in FEV 1 and 200 mL within 30 minutes following administration of 400 g salbutamol/360 g albuterol (or equivalent dose) at the first visit or from historical data.

In the secondary analyses of comparison to Sal/Flu, high-dose IND/MF showed improvements in trough FEV 1 (0.048 L; p=0.040) at 52 weeks. In asthma control, high-dose IND/MF and Sal/Flu were comparable with a difference in ACQ-7 score of 0.010 (p=0.824). Improvements were observed in both morning and evening PEF (Morning: 13.8 L/min; p<0.001) (Evening: 9.1 L/min; p=0.002), and percentage of rescue medication free days over 52 weeks (4.3; p=0.034) in patients treated with high-dose IND/MF versus Sal/Flu. High-dose IND/MF also showed faster onset of action over Sal/Flu as demonstrated by FEV 1 measurement at 5 minutes on Day 1 (0.055 L; p<0.001).

IND/MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

About the QUARTZ study14

The QUARTZ Study (NCT02892344) was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, 12-week treatment, double-blind study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of IND/MF (150/80g) compared with MF (200 g) delivered via the Twisthaler device in adult and adolescent patients with asthma.

All patients were required to be on a stable low dose of ICS (with or without LABA) for at least one month prior to entering the run-in period. During the run-in period, all patients received open-label fluticasone propionate 100 g twice-daily delivered via Accuhaler. Patients meeting the eligibility criteria at the end of the run-in period were equally randomized (1:1) to one of the two treatment groups IND/MF 150/80 g once-daily delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, or MF 200 g once-daily, delivered via Twisthaler.

802 male and female patients (including 64 adolescents, aged  12 to < 18 years old) were randomized to receive IND/MF (n=398) or MF (n=404). The mean age was 45.6 years with a mean asthma duration of 14.0 years.

Mean pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 (% predicted of normal) was 75.1% at baseline and the mean FEV 1 reversibility after inhalation of short acting beta agonist was 20.7%. The majority of patients were treated with low-dose ICS (42.9%) or low-dose LABA/ICS (56.0%) prior to the study.

Spirometry was performed at the end of the treatment period. The primary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of IND/MF 150/80 g once-daily (in the evening) compared with MF 200 g once-daily in terms of trough FEV 1 after 12 weeks of treatment in adults and adolescents. The key secondary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of IND/MF 150/80 g to MF 200 g (once-daily) in terms of Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) after 12 weeks of treatment.

IND/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in trough FEV 1 compared with MF after 12 weeks of treatment in adult and adolescent patients with inadequately controlled asthma (least squares [LS] mean treatment difference: 0.182 L, 95% CI: 0.148, 0.217; p<0.001). In addition, clinically meaningful lung function benefit for IND/MF was supported by improvements in evening PEF of 26.1 L/min compared with MF alone (95% CI, 21.0, 31.2).

IND/MF also demonstrated statistically significant improvements in asthma control compared with MF, as measured by ACQ-7 after 12 weeks of treatment (LS mean treatment difference: -0.218, 95% CI: -0.293, -0.143; p<0.001). In addition, a clinically meaningful improvement in ACQ-7 was supported by a responder analysis, in which the IND/MF group had a greater proportion of responders (improvement in ACQ-7 >=0.5) compared with the MF group (74.7% vs 64.9%, respectively (odd ratio: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.33).

IND//MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

About the ARGON study15

ARGON (NCT03158311) is a Phase IIIb, multicenter, randomized, 24-week, parallel-group, non-inferiority, open-label (blinded for the two IND/GLY/MF tested strengths), active-controlled study comparing the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with a free combination of salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) plus tiotropium in patients with uncontrolled asthma. The ARGON study has completed in the field and its Clinical Study Report is currently being finalized.

The purpose of this trial was to demonstrate that the efficacy of two strengths of the fixed-dose combination product IND/GLY/MF (High: 150/50/160 g and Medium: 150/50/80 g) is non-inferior to the efficacy of the free combination of Sal/Flu (50/500 g) plus tiotropium (5 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

All patients were symptomatic at screening despite treatment with medium or high stable doses of LABA/ICS as defined by Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score  1.5.

Approximately 1,251 male and female patients with uncontrolled asthma (aged 18 and above) were randomized 1:1:1 (approximately 417 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

Open label Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily) delivered via Diskus plus tiotropium delivered via Respimat

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate non-inferiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF and low-dose IND/GLY/MF to comparator Sal/Flu plus tiotropium after 24 weeks of treatment based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Secondary objectives included:

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on trough FEV 1 after 24 weeks of treatment

after 24 weeks of treatment To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on ACQ-7 over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on lung function over 24 weeks of treatment.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as potential, can, will, plan, may, could, would, expect, anticipate, seek, look forward, believe, committed, investigational, pipeline, launch, or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AGs current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend peoples lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the worlds top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at

https://www.novartis.com.

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References

1 Data on file

2 Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 23-26 March 2020 (updated) Share. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-committee-medicinal-products-human-use-chmp-23-26-march-2020-updated. Last accessed April 2020

3 GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X

4 AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf. Accessed April 2020.

5 Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

6 Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

7 Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

8 Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

9 Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

10 Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

11 Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

12 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02571777. Last accessed April 2020.

13 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02554786. Last accessed April 2020.

14 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02892344. Last accessed April 2020.

15 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03158311. Last accessed April 2020.

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As Mumbai link surfacing in some



COVID-19 cases in Mandya district in Karnataka, JDS leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday blamed the district administration for the situation, accusing it of not quarantining 7,000 labourers who 'returned' from the Maharashtra capital.

"The information we have is that there are about 16,000 labourers from Mandya were working in Mumbai of which 7,000 people reached the district. None of them were quarantined properly," Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru.

He claimed the district, a stronghold of JDS, was staring at a major spurt in cases due to the careless attitude of the district administration.

"Government should initiate action against those who are responsible for the laxity," he said.

However, he did not specify when the 7,000 workers returned to Mandya.

When asked about Kumaraswamy's claim, officials said they have to verify it.

Of the eight cases reported from Mandya on Friday, three had travel history to Mumbai, a major COVID-19 hotspot in the country, officials said.

A Health department official said four of the fresh cases were contacts of a patient who tested positive on April 8 and admitted to a hospital.

After weeks of coming in contact with him, the four were confirmed for COVID-19, official said.

The Three people with travel history to Mumbai had in fact brought the body of a man who died of heart attack there on April 24, the official added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a fresh wave of criticism against U.S. law enforcement agents as lawyers for his former national-security adviser, Michael Flynn, disclosed internal FBI documents in their attempt to have Flynns criminal conviction overturned.

Flynn was among the first individuals swept up in the U.S. investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump election campaign team in 2016.

He was fired by Trump in February 2017, having served as national-security adviser for only 24 days, after it emerged that hed lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty on charges of lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

But Trump says the FBI documents disclosed by Flynn's lawyers have led him to believe that Flynn should be cleared in court.

If that doesn't happen, Trump suggested he could use his presidential powers to pardon Flynn.

It looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated based on everything I see, Trump told reporters in Washington on April 30. "Im not the judge, but I have a different type of power. But I dont know that anybody would have to use that power. I think hes exonerated.

Trump has long said he is considering a presidential pardon for Flynn.

On April 29-30, Trump retweeted a series of supportive statements about Flynn and condemned the FBI's investigation of his former adviser.

What happened to General Michael Flynn, a war hero, should never be allowed to happen to a citizen of the United States again, Trump tweeted.

Pence said on April 30 that he was now inclined to believe that the false statements Flynn had made to him were unintentional.

Flynns lawyers on April 30 accused the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department of misconduct during their investigation.

The lawyers cited newly unsealed documents that they claim show the FBI tried to intentionally frame Flynn during their investigation of Russias interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

With reporting by The New York Times, Bloomberg Business News, Politico, AP, and Reuters
COLOMBO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Hu Wei, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka, has handed over a list of medical supplies donation from China to Sri Lanka.

Hu, during his courtesy call to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday, discussed with the president on collaboration between the two countries on fighting COVID-19 and enhancing bilateral economic and commercial relations after the pandemic.

The charge d'affaires reiterated that China will continue to provide all possible assistance within its capacity to Sri Lanka to fight the pandemic, and announced that soon will arrive the next batch of China aid, including test kits, personal protective equipments (PPEs), N95 masks, protective goggles and surgical masks.

Hu also presented to the Sri Lankan president an experience report, titled "China's Fight Against COVID-19."

Rajapaksa, during the talk, applauded China's remarkable achievement in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, assured Sri Lanka's firm support to the WHO's leadership, and opposed any acts of politicization or stigmatization in the anti-pandemic battle.

Underlining that a friend in need is a friend indeed, the president said Sri Lanka will never forget all the enormous help from China during its hard times including the civil conflict, post-war development and reconstruction after the tsunami disaster.

The president said Sri Lanka expects further cooperation with China in combating the coronavirus and looks forward to China's further assistance in Sri Lanka's economy revival and a comprehensive development of the island nation in the post-pandemic era.
In order to request either ballot type, you must be registered to vote . Check Your Registration Status to review your registration information.

Missed the deadline? If you have an emergency (such as an unexpected illness or disability or last-minute absence from your municipality) you may still be able to get a ballot after the deadline. Find information about how to get an emergency absentee ballot .

The Department of State is committed to increasing accessibility for voters with disabilities. Pennsylvania voters with disabilities now have the opportunity to mark their absentee or mail-in ballot electronically. Learn more about the accessible remote ballot marking solution .

If you have a disability that prevents you from applying in person for your mail ballot or delivering your mail ballot, you may designate an agent to deliver your ballot materials for you. You must designate the agent in writing using this form or a form provided by your county.

You now have the option to request to be added to the annual mail-in ballot request list where you'll receive an application to renew your mail-in ballot request each year . Once your request is approved, you will automatically receive ballots for the remainder of the year, and you do not need to submit an application for each election.

Military and overseas voters should visit the information for military and overseas voters web page for information on how they can obtain an absentee ballot.

Send your mail-in or absentee ballot application to the county election office . The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is one week before the election. Applications must be received by the county election board by 5 pm, May 10, 2022 (one week before the election).

Voters who plan to be out of the municipality on election day or have a disability or illness that prevents them from going to their polling place on election day can use the Absentee Ballot Application:

Military and overseas voters should visit the information for military and overseas voters web page for information on how they can obtain an absentee ballot.

Registered voters can apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot online with a valid PA driver's license or photo I.D. from the PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number.

Any registered voter may request a mail-in ballot . Absentee ballots can be requested by voters with disabilities or an illness that prevents them from going to their polling place on election day, or those who will be absent from their municipality on Election Day. Request forms must be received by your county election board by 5 pm on May 10, 2022 .

Below are general steps on how to vote, prepare, and return your mail ballot. Be sure to follow the instructions included with your ballot. Contact your county election office if you have any questions.

Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot.

Read the instructions carefully and mark your ballot. Be sure to complete the front and back of each page.

Seal your ballot in the inner secrecy envelope that indicates "official election ballot." Do not make any marks on the inner secrecy envelope. Your ballot must be enclosed and sealed in the inner secrecy envelope that indicates "official election ballot" or it will not be counted.

Seal the inner secrecy envelope in the pre-addressed outer return envelope. Complete, sign and date the voters declaration on the outside of the outer return envelope. If you do not sign and date below the declaration on the return envelope your ballot will not be counted.

Using the return envelope supplied with your ballot, make sure you use the proper postage (if needed) and that it arrives to your county election board by 8 pm on election day. Postmarks do not count. If your ballot is not received by the county election board by 8 pm on election day, it will not be counted

Voters may return their voted mail-in or absentee ballot to their county election board of election office during that office's business hours, or another officially designated location. Ballots must be received by your county election board before 8 pm on Election Day.

Voting early in-person by mail-in or absentee ballot

If you are a registered Pennsylvania voter, you can use the early in-person voting option.

As soon as ballots are ready, you can request, receive, vote and cast your mail-in or absentee ballot all in one visit to your county election board or other officially designated site.

With this option, there is no need for mail at all, and you can cast your vote at your convenience. Learn more about voting early in-person by mail-in or absentee ballot.











Identification for Mail Voting



In order to apply for an absentee or mail-in ballot, you must supply proof of identification. Uniformed and overseas citizens and voters who qualify under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped ACT do not need to show ID. All other voters must use one of the following options.

Option 1 Include one of these ID numbers on your absentee or mail-in ballot form:

Current and valid Pennsylvania driver's license

PennDOT photo ID card

Option 2

If you don't have one of the documents listed under option 1, you can include the last 4 digits of your Social Security number on your absentee or mail-in ballot form.



Option 3 If you don't have one of the documents listed under option 1 or a Social Security number, you can provide a photocopy of one of the following IDs with your absentee or mail-in ballot application. The photocopy must show name, a photo, and an expiration date that is current.

U.S. Passport

U.S. Military ID (active duty and retired military ID may designate an expiration date that is indefinite). Military dependents' ID must contain a current expiration date.

Employee photo identification issued by Federal, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania county, or Pennsylvania municipal government.

Photo identification issued by an accredited Pennsylvania public or private institution of higher learning.

Photo identification issued by a Pennsylvania care facility, including long-term care facilities, assisted living residences and personal care homes.









Frequently Asked Questions



What if I requested a mail-in or absentee ballot but I didn't receive a ballot, lost my ballot, or changed my mind and want to vote in-person? If you already submitted a mail-in or absentee ballot, you cannot vote at your polling place on Election Day.

If you did not return your mail-in or absentee ballot and you want to vote in person, you have two options: Bring your ballot and the pre-addressed outer return envelope to your polling place to be voided. After you surrender your ballot and envelope and sign a declaration, you can then vote a regular ballot. If you don't surrender your ballot and return envelope, you can only vote by provisional ballot at your polling place. Your county election board will then verify that you did not vote by mail before counting your provisional ballot.



How do I know if my ballot was accepted and counted? Under current Pennsylvania law, your mail-in ballot can't be opened until Election Day. Therefore, if there's a problem with your mail-in ballot, you won't have the opportunity to correct it before the election. Still, as long as you followed all the instructions and mailed your completed, signed, dated, and sealed in the inner secrecy envelope, ballot by Election Day, you don't have to worry.



Why are there two envelopes with my mail-in ballot? The smaller secrecy envelope is intended to protect the anonymity of your vote. After you fill out your ballot, you must place it in the secrecy envelope and seal it. Do not make any marks on this envelope. If you fail to place and seal your ballot in this envelope or if you make marks on this envelope, your ballot will not be counted. The second, larger envelope is the mailing and declaration envelope. You must use it, even if you are dropping your ballot off at a drop box. Place your secrecy envelope (with your ballot inside) into the mailing and declaration envelope. You must seal it and sign and date the declaration before you can return your ballot. Both of these envelopes must be used in order for your vote to count.





Find more Election FAQs






HONG KONG, May 1 (Reuters) - Hong Kong hit back on Friday at Washington and London for condemning the arrests in April of 15 pro-democracy activists, saying that their criticism was "unfounded" and "grossly irresponsible."

Police arrested the activists, including Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, 81, and millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, on 18 April, in the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year.

Foreign governments and human rights groups condemned the arrests, with Britain's Foreign Office saying at the time that the right to peaceful protest was "fundamental to Hong Kong's way of life" and authorities should avoid "actions that inflame tensions".

In its strongest response to the criticism so far, the Hong Kong government said the remarks by the United States, Britain and the European Parliament were "totally unfounded and amounted to a serious intervention in Hong Kong's affairs".

"The allegation by some that those arrests amounted to an attack on Hong Kong's freedoms ... is absurd and can hardly stand the test of any law-abiding jurisdiction," a spokesman for the government said.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" style of governance that grants it broad freedoms, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary, not seen in the mainland.

Critics say Beijing is increasingly encroaching on those freedoms, which the central government rejects.

The 15 activists were arrested on charges of organising and participating in anti-government protests last year that crippled parts of the city and posed the gravest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus and measures adopted to curb its spread have seen a relative lull in protests this year, although smaller demonstrations have emerged in the past week amid renewed concerns over Beijing's tightening grip on the city.

Fuelling those worries, questions have been raised in recent weeks over the role of Beijing's institutions overseeing the city's affairs - the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and Liaison Office.

The government said criticism over remarks by the offices "only illustrates an ignorance of the constitutional order" of Hong Kong. (Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Ever since early March, when the nation went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, independent booksellers have been tweaking their business models in an attempt to remain solvent. And in doing so, a growing number have turned to hosting virtual author events.

There is a consensus among several indie booksellers contacted by PW that virtual events are more time intensive than in-store events, when factoring in how long it takes to set up the event as well as process and ship orders. And all of these booksellers noted that though virtual events pull in viewers and increase visibility for stores, it can be difficult to convert those viewers into paying customers.

Weekend programming at Book Passage

Book Passages weekend programmingwhich debuted on April 4 with Anne Lamott being interviewed by her son Sam Lamott about her life as a writeris pulling in both audiences and sales, according to Elaine Petrocelli, co-owner of the Northern California indie. The interviews are filmed on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and livestreamed on the stores website, then archived for subsequent viewing. Registration is free but required. The seven interviews to date have drawn a live audience of 2,500 each, on average, with more tuning in to watch the events later. So far, 13,000 people have registered for the series.

Most of the Book Passage events have featured an A-list author in conversation with another A-list author, such as one with Colum McCann in conversation with Dave Eggers. Eight more interviews are scheduled for May, beginning with Erik Larsen and Michael Krasny on May 2, followed the next day by Lisa See and Kathryn Belden.

Two tech-savvy customers came to us and offered to guide us through this for free, explained Petrocelli, who films a brief introduction to each event alone in the store and asks viewers to purchase the titles discussed from Book Passage. If we had to hire someone to do this for us, we couldnt afford it, she said.

Without disclosing figures, Petrocelli said that online sales are up across the board and that on Saturdays and Sundays they go wild. Not only are viewers purchasing spotlighted new releases, she said, but they are also snapping up other books the authors recommend during their discussions.

One participating author, Cara Black, lives in San Francisco and drove to Book Passage to sign copies of her new book, Three Hours in Paris, as well as some backlist titles before her April 11 event. For most authors, publishers have sent presigned books and signed bookplates. We sold a healthy number of Three Hours in Paris, Petrocelli said. I dont know if its the same number wed have sold if wed had her in the store, but it was great.

Facebook Live at Left Bank

Left Bank Books in St. Louis was one of the first indies to launch a virtual author event series when it hosted TaraShea Nesbit on March 19 through Facebook Live. Events coordinator Shane Mullen interviewed Nesbit about her new release, Beheld, and he has since interviewed as many as three authors in a week. Videos of each event remain accessible on Left Banks Facebook page after their initial streams.

Mullen said Left Bank established the virtual author events because it wanted to do something akin to our normal programming, and he believes the formal structure raises the event above being just another author appearing live on their Facebook. It gives us the ability to moderate the conversation and incorporate questions from the virtual audience much like a normal event. He explained that viewers can post questions and comments as the interview is livestreamed.

As for monetizing the 14 virtual author appearances that Left Bank has hosted to date, Mullen said that the store is still working on converting views into sales by increasing our ask more. Audience numbers are high, but sales remain static. Though 600 people engaged with Nesbits appearance (meaning that they commented on, shared, or clicked on it while livestreaming), only 10 copies of Beheld were sold immediately following the event. (There have been 1,500 views of the video to date.) More than 600 people engaged with Cara Blacks April 8 event at Left Bank, but the store sold only 12 copies of Three Hours in Paris immediately after. (There have been 3,500 views to date.)

But, Mullen said, now that Left Bank is hitting its stride in terms of how to go about setting up such events, were being less reactive and doing more planning regarding marketing. For instance, to promote All I Ever Wanted by Kathy Valentine, the bassist for the 1980s rock band the Go-Gos, Left Bank offered guitar picks with each copy of the memoirwhich were presigned and sent to the store by her publisher, University of Texas Press. The swag may have helped: the store sold 48 copies immediately following the April 27 event, which engaged 1,300 viewers.

For Left Bank owner Kris Kleindienst, virtual author events are more than just a vehicle to sell books by authors whose tours were canceled. They provide an important service for authors, publishers, and our home-bound community, she explained. Its something we absolutely want to do, to make sure that authors get the attention they deserve.

Rediscovered and Next Chapter experiment

Rediscovered Books in Boise, Idaho, was also an early organizer of virtual author events an has been hosting authors on various platforms since March 30, when 157 people engaged with TJ Klune on Facebook Live to discuss his new release, The House in the Cerulean Sea. The store sold 25 copies of the book following the event. The interview has since generated another 2,000 views on Facebook.

Rediscovered has since hosted six more events, the most recent of which was on Instagram Live, while the next is set to take place on Zoom, with further events scheduled throughout May and June. Its event with local author Mary Pauline Lowry drew 47 engagements and 700 views during the launch of The Roxy Letters, which the store sold 43 copies of following the event. Were experimenting with various platforms and different types of events, said events coordinator Rebeeca Gottberg. The store also has been reaching out to a number of prominent authors and plans to post short videos of them talking up their current bedside reads on its social media accounts.

As the pandemic moved into the Midwest, Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul, Minn., postponed all author events. On April 13, it hosted its first virtual event on Zoom, featuring Minneapolis author Kawai Strong Washburn in conversation about his novel, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, with fellow local author Marlon James. The store has organized four virtual events to date, with audiences ranging from 35 to 100 people at each.

Zoom can be a little wonky when we transmit it, admitted events coordinator Riley Davis. So weve been recording them and posting them on Facebook, too. Registration is required in order to prevent trolls from bombing Zoom eventswhich some booksellers and authors have reported.

We are getting people to buy books, Davis said. A quarter of our total sales of The Glass Hotel were attributed to Emily St. John Mandels virtual event. The event engaged 91 people, and 10 presigned copies were sold that evening.

Just as important as sales, Davis noted, is maintaining contact with the stores customers while Minnesotas nonessential businesses are shut down. If nothing else, these virtual events remind people that were still here.

Readers are adaptable, said Paul Bogaards, deputy publisher of Knopf and Pantheon. They are eager for connection. He noted that St. John Mandel has drawn audiences of up to 400 people at each of the dozen virtual events she has done to promote The Glass Hotel, and that sales of her 2014 novel Station Eleven, about a flu pandemic, are way up.

What you lose in a virtual setting is that intimacy and electricity, the collective intake of breath when an author takes the stage, Bogaards said. What you gain, potentially, is an ability to scale up, as well as ease of use. From a publishing perspective, the economics of virtual tours are pretty compelling. That said, we are looking forward to the moment when we are able to resume physical tours.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Flexibility in payment of dues to the government, railways and banks can help steel players overcome the liquidity crisis in the steel sector triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a top Tata Steel executive has said.

Also some relief in the duty on steel making raw materials can help Indian steel industry become more competitive, Tata Steel CEO and Managing Director T V Narendran said in an interview to PTI.

"The industry has already represented to the government on a number of issues including some flexibility on payment of dues to the government, railways, banks etc. so that we can tide over the liquidity crisis.

This also includes some support on exports as we are more dependent on export markets than domestic markets.

"The government had been engaging very closely with the industry on the support required to tide over this COVID-19 crisis," he said while replying to a question about the steps required to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector. The MSME sector is struggling.

The standalone downstream units did not get the permission to operate for the first three weeks of the lockdown as they were not seen as continuous process plants and remained shut, he said adding the government spending on infrastructure is required soon and all dues to industry that are stuck should be released to help the flow of money through the economy.

There is also a need to work aggressively to attract foreign investment into India and focus once again on the Make in India programme.

This crisis can and should be converted into an opportunity, he said. When asked whether players also expect some relief in duty cut on raw materials, Narendran said the government can play a vital role in helping the industry as import duties on any raw material particularly metallurgical coal, which is not available in India and has to be imported, just add to the cost of doing business and reduces the competitiveness of the Indian industry.

Speaking on the impact of the lockdown, the CEO further said in the initial days, the challenge was to keep the plants running even at lower utilisation levels.

The construction industry, which is a steel consuming sector, was also significantly impacted. The steel industry was dependent on export markets for orders.

"However, over the last few days we are starting to see some pick-up in domestic consumption as some of our customers have got permissions to start work. I can see a revival of some activity as more contracts are being awarded and more sites are getting permission to operate."

Also, the best thing the government can do to revive the economy is to accelerate the spending on infrastructure.

It not only allows money to flow back into the economy, but also creates employment opportunities for semi-skilled workers across the country and also helps bring down the cost of doing business through better infrastructure.

"We are a capital-intensive industry with significant fixed costs and so operating at less than optimal capacity is not ideal for us. I expect the steel demand to pick up post lockdown as construction and industrial activities will pick up. It may take two or three quarters to come back to normal," he said.

The industry veteran also cautioned that there will be a need to check imports in post lockdown period as some countries may try to dump in their products into India taking the undue advantage of the situation.

"We need to be watchful on imports so that we don't become a dumping ground for other countries. To be fair to China, so far, we have not had a problem and in fact India is now exporting steel to China. But we are also watchful about Japan and Korea as over the last few years the problem has been of exports from Japan and Korea to India rather than from China to India," the CEO said.

To a question related to the impact of COVID-19 on steel companies' expansion plans, he said "while in the long run India can and should have a large and healthy steel industry because it is blessed with raw materials and a growing market, in the short and medium term the focus should be to restore the financial health of the industry."

"So, I would assume for the next two to three years the focus will be more on deleveraging over growth and then as the financial health of the industry improves, we can look at growth again," he added.

Another steel consuming sector auto has also been impacted due to the lockdown. He said the auto industry has been significantly impacted and all auto customers of the company were closed till recently.

Some of them have now got permission to operate their plants but they are also struggling to get their inbound supply chain and vendor ecosystem to operate.

"They also need to see their dealerships open and liquidate inventories already in the system. On the one hand, they may get impacted by people postponing discretionary purchases but on the other hand we may have people moving from public transport and shared vehicles to own vehicles to reduce the risk of exposure to the pandemic," he added.

As the government focuses on construction and infrastructure, a pick-up in demand for commercial vehicles may be seen. "But I think we are in for a few challenging quarters," he said.

Speaking on the company's Europe operations, he said Europe is not under a complete lockdown and hence Tata Steel has been operating at about 70 per cent of the normal levels there.

"We see the activity starting to pick up again after Easter. In South East Asia, till recently we did not have a lockdown in Singapore and so were fairly normal apart from the usual slowdown due to the current context.

Thailand plants are still operating but demand conditions are weak due to the pandemic," Narendran added.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC), on Friday made a cheque donation of GH 70,000.00 to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund.



Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast who is the Vice President of the GCBC, did the presentation on behalf of the Conference at its Secretariat in Accra.



He was supported by Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee, Secretary General of the GCBC, an official statement copied to the GNA said.



The statement said Archbishop Palmer-Buckle noted that the donation was the Catholic Churchs widows mite to support the government, so that collectively Ghana could fight the novel Coronavirus disease.



He said GCBCs nine-month National Response Plan for Covid-19 aimed at providing Protective Personal Equipments for all Catholic frontline health workers as well as provide relief items to the elderly and the vulnerable.



He expressed his gratitude to all, especially the frontline workers for their sacrifices and prayed for Gods protection and intervention.



Mr. Jude Kofi Bucknor, a Member the Board of Trustees, received the cheque on behalf of the Trust.



He was supported by the Administrator of the Fund, Dr. Collins Asare.



Mr. Bucknor thanked the Catholic Church on behalf of the Trustees for the generous donation and gave the assurance that the money would be used judiciously and accounted for by the Trust.

Source: GNA









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Groups of people defied government rules by gathering for an anti-lockdown 'protest', sparking fury from NHS workers.

The protesters held a demonstration in a children's park and have vowed to meet every week to take a stand against lockdown measures, claiming coronavirus deaths have been exaggerated.

One idiot protester, at the demo in Basingstoke, Hampshire, claimed: 'We want to save our rights. We believe the number of people dead from Covid is exemplified (sic).

'Extra numbers are being added into Covid. We don't want to be unlawfully rejected or kept inside.'

Groups of people defied government rules by gathering for an anti-lockdown 'protest' in Basingstoke - leading to heavy criticism from angry NHS workers

Hampshire Constabulary attended the protest which involved more than 10 people, however no arrests were made.

One NHS worker blasted the protesters. He said: 'Why aren't these people being arrested? It's out of order for people who have lost someone and NHS workers like me who leave their kids and families to work.

'This is outrageous to me and my colleagues.'

Those taking part in the playground gathering appeared to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

An anti-lockdown protest was also held at Trafalgar Square in London last week, but just seven people turned up.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Thursday evening that the country has passed the peak of the pandemic, and once again urged the public to remain at home with the lockdown now in its sixth week.

He said: '(Britain) is rising to a challenge we have never seen in our life times.

'Staying in forced confinement, not seeing family not seeing friends or grandchildren, worrying about their jobs, and the future.

'My message to everyone again today is your effort, and your sacrifice is working, and has been proved to work.'

Public Health England Medical Director Yvonne Doyle revealed earlier this week that the number of people using their cars is now at its highest since the government introduced the sweeping draconian measures.

She said: 'Up to now there have been very dramatic falls in most modes of transport but there has been an uptick in motor vehicles... we really have to be vigilant that most people are making huge efforts to stay at home.

'This is slightly worrying so please do stay at home and only go out for necessities.'

Parts of the country, including beaches and parks, have become notably busier with the people having been told to remain at home since March 23.
When it comes to running a business during this time of isolation, there are two types of leaders: Those who become frazzled and put extra pressure on their team to perform, or those who use this time to support, motivate and inspire their team.

Lindsay Mattick and Amada Alvaro, are co-founders of Toronto-based PR firm Pomp & Circumstance, known for their big ideas, creative chops and unapologetic hustle. They decided to do the latter by launching the #solobucketlist project when COVID-19 hit.

In a call with the Star, Mattick said the solo part is intentional. Most of our team are young and in many cases arent married, or they live alone, and so its a time where people are literally solo. We just wanted it to be something that is in the nature of self-isolation and social-isolation, Mattick said.

They asked their employees: During this time whats something you can do that doesnt require you to be social while you do it? What is something you have wanted to do on your own, but you havent taken the time to do? It could be as simple or intense as they choose. She said she and Alvaro werent prescriptive about what employees can do, but they wanted to encourage their team to use this time since they are no longer commuting and hosting client events, to instead do something from their solo bucket list that keeps them creative, learning and positive.

I think that in times of crisis or uncertainty, the first thing you need to do as a leader is make sure your team is as strong and focused as possible on doing what they need to do. In our case, thats being creative, Mattick said.

She says one person on her team is starting to write the novel that shes had in her head for over a decade, another is learning French and another is reimagining old pieces of clothing to give them new life and Alvaro is learning to knit.

To me it means learning a language Ive always wanted to master, said Erika Ceddia, 24. She has been dedicating 20 minutes per day to learning French via Duolingo. Having a personal goal to achieve helps us stay motivated and gives us the creative energy to be our best selves at home and at work, Ceddia said.

Mattick says that to be good at this job you cant just be in PR, you have to be of the world. When she and Alvaro launched Pomp, they created the bucket list bursary fund, where they give employees $500 on their one year anniversary with the company, to knock something off their bucket list. Often its travel or a course and so, the solo bucket list is rooted in that value.

At the onset of Covid self-isolation, we asked ourselves  how can we ensure our team feels positive and inspired during this unusual time? Challenging them to do something on their #solobucketlist is our take on turning lemons into lemonade - if we can do that for ourselves, we can also do that for our clients, Mattick said.

Her challenge? Cooking clam chowder. Her young family loves road trips and says they call themselves road warriors because they put so many kilometres on the car. She went on a road trip to Maine with her husband Mike and son Cole when he was just two years old (hes now seven). She says she loves clam chowder, but on that trip they made it a mission to find which spot had the best chowders and ordered it at every restaurant they went to. I thought about this trip and decided that making a clam chowder should be on my solo bucket list, Mattick said.

Because of current circumstances she couldnt procure fresh clams, so she opted for a seafood chowder instead.

After looking up recipes online and combining a few, she enjoyed a big bowl with her husband. Making a great dish makes you feel like you are going on a journey, so making and eating that chowder brought me back to a happy adventure and memory, said Mattick.

The firm is showcasing their teams #solobucketlist challenge and results under the companys Instagram handle @Pompandcirc.

I also think its an illustration of our creativity even in these difficult times, said Mattick. This is the time to lean into what you believe in to get through it, Mattick said.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Garage Gurus, the industry-leading training and support platform from DRiV, has announced an extension for submissions for its Garage Gurus Automotive Technician Scholarship Program to May 31, 2020, from the original deadline of April 30, 2020. Applications are still available for the opportunity to receive one of 12 $2,500 Garage Gurus scholarships for the 2020-2021 school year (visit www.garagegurus.tech). All materials must now be submitted by May 31, and winners will be announced on or about July 1. Garage Gurus will award up to $30,000 in scholarships to future automotive technicians who are accepted or currently enrolled in accredited, U.S.-based automotive technical schools, colleges, and universities, or enrolled full-time at a U.S. high school.

In addition to the application, students are also required to submit 2 letters of recommendation from non-family members as well as a typed essay or video indicating "Why I Want to Be a Top Technician." All applications and related materials will be reviewed by Garage Gurus' team of ASE Master-certified technicians and other team members.

"For us, everything begins with the service technician, so we remain committed to help provide them with the skills, training and knowledge they need to ensure quality repairs," said Dennis Sheran, director, channel engagement, DRiV. "Given the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown of high schools, colleges and other learning institutions, we thought that it was important to extend the deadline for submissions another month so that students have the chance and resources to fully complete their applications."

Offering onsite, online and on-demand instruction, Garage Gurus is a first-of-its-kind national training platform designed to help front-line automotive service professionals keep pace with the latest vehicle technologies. State-of-the-art Garage Gurus technical education centers are operational in 12 U.S. markets  Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Houston; New Hyde Park, N.Y.; Rancho Dominguez, Calif.; South Florida; St. Louis; Suburban Detroit; and Van Nuys, Calif.

To learn more about the Automotive Technician Scholarship Program, to apply, and to read the full set of rules and eligibility requirements, visit www.garagegurus.tech.



About DRiV - the future Aftermarket and Ride Performance Company

Following Tenneco Inc.'s (NYSE: TEN) expected separation to form two independent companies, an Aftermarket and Ride Performance company (DRiV) as well as a new Powertrain Technology company, DRiV will be one of the largest global multi-line, multi-brand aftermarket companies, and one of the largest global OE ride performance and braking companies. DRiV's principal product brands will feature Monroe, Ohlins, Walker, Clevite Elastomers, MOOG, Fel-Pro, Wagner, Ferodo, Champion and others. DRiV would have 2019 revenues of $5.9 billion, with 53% of those revenues from aftermarket and 47% from original equipment customers.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to our strategies and plans to separate into two independent public companies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, including the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on general economic, business and market conditions, our ability (or inability) to execute on our plans to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and our previously announced Accelerate plan and to realize the anticipated benefits of these actions, our financial flexibility in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility that Tenneco may not complete the separation of the Aftermarket & Ride Performance business from the Powertrain Technology business (or achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of such a separation); the possibility that the separation may have an adverse impact on existing arrangements with Tenneco, including those related to transition, manufacturing and supply services and tax matters; the ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers or other business partners; the risk that the benefits of the separation may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the risk that the separation may not advance Tenneco's business strategy; the potential diversion of Tenneco management's attention resulting from the separation; as well as the risk factors and cautionary statements included in Tenneco's periodic and current reports (Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K) filed from time to time with the SEC. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date of this communication, and, except as required by law, Tenneco does not undertake any obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to publicly disclose revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements. Additional information regarding these risk factors and uncertainties is detailed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

CONTACT:

Bill Dawson (DRiV)  847.482.5807

[email protected]

Karen Shulhan (DRiV)  248.354.4383

[email protected]

SOURCE DRiV
Airlines for America declined to say whether it would support such a policy, saying only in a statement: The safety and well-being of passengers and employees is the top priority of U.S. airlines. U.S. carriers have worked since the early stages of this outbreak to increase communications with passengers and implement travel policies to provide flexibility for customers. U.S. airlines remain committed to making accommodations that are responsive to travelers needs during this unprecedented time.
A man wanted in a double murder at an Alabama motorcycle club was busted Thursday after police found him with a cache of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition at a Tennessee home, authorities said.

Tyrone Johnson, 37, is the second suspect to be arrested in connection with the March 27 fatal shootings of two men in Huntsville, more than 100 miles south of his home in Nashville.

The deadly shooting was the culmination of an ongoing dispute between two notorious motorcycle gangs in the Huntsville area, police told local news outlets at the time.

At least four people were shot that day and two of them died, 45-year-old Kelcey Smith and 53-year-old Bernard Griffin.

The other suspect, 31-year-old Albert Vinson, was already in custody when investigators determined Johnson was also involved.

During a search of Johnsons home on Thursday, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said they found 17 guns, thousands of rounds of ammo and gang paraphernalia.

He was expected to be extradited to Tennessee on Friday to face murder charges.

The investigation is ongoing.



2020 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Madhya Pradesh government has



appointed seven senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers to ensure the safe return of people from the state, who are currently stranded in other parts of the country due the lockdown.

These officers, who have been assigned different states, have also been tasked with sending back the people from other states, who are stuck in Madhya Pradesh.

"The Union Home Department has given permission for the transportation of the people, stranded in other states, with certain conditions," a state public relations department official said on Friday.

"Seven IAS officers have been entrusted with the task of facilitating the smooth movement of people from Madhya Pradesh, who are stranded in various states," he said.

Additional Chief Secretary I C P Keshari, who is in- charge of state-level control room, said that these officers will coordinate with the administration of the states allotted to them.

"These officers will ensure the transportation of the people stranded in other states. Besides, they will also coordinate with the administration of other states to send back their people stuck in MP by following all the protocols," he said.

All these nodal officers will submit their reports daily to Principal Secretary Sanjay Dubey about the work done, Keshari said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

At the New York City Fire Departments training academy, lessons can last as long as six hours and trainees will tell you its not uncommon for people to doze off during class. But one instructor stood out in keeping students on their toes: Idris Bey.

He was spontaneous, charismatic and hilarious, said Sasha Gomez, a former student who became a fellow instructor. Everyone wanted to be in Mr. Beys group. We would fight over him.

Beneath that engaging personality was some hardcore experience: he served in the United States Marine Corps and as an E.M.T. responded to the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11.
The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the state government and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to ensure that Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machines are made available for Covid-19 tests at the earliest.

Justice Manish Pitale, issued the direction after being informed that some RT-PCR machines in Vidarbha are not being used for Covid-19 tests as they are awaiting ICMRs approval.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Nagpur resident CH Sharma in 2000, raising concerns about the healthcare quality at the four government medical colleges in Vidarbha region.

Sharma had complained that the colleges did not have enough medical seats for imparting education to students, lacked proper equipment for treatment and they lacked adequate staff, expert teachers and suffered from a paucity of funds.

This year on March 18, he moved the HC again pointing out that the medical colleges were ill-equipped to handle the Covid-19 patients and create isolation facilities.

During the course of hearing, the states counsel informed the court that at present RT-PCR test is only reliable in case of diagnosis of Covid-19 and rapid antibody test can at best be used for surveillance purposes. Assistant government pleader Dipak Thakare also said that the state has received 71,000 rapid antibody test kits for distribution in hot-spot areas, but the director of health services has issued instructions to all centres not to use the kits, as informed by ICMR. Distribution of the kits has been stopped from April 20.

Assistant solicitor general Ulhas Aurangabadkar, however, maintained that the ICMR has not taken any decision to do away with rapid antibody tests and has merely asked not to use kits purchased from two particular Chinese manufacturers. He said the tests could certainly be undertaken for surveillance, although the best test for diagnosis of Covid-19 continues to be the RT-PCR swab test.

Justice Pitale then directed the state authorities to make available RT-PCR tests for use and undertake rapid antibody tests for surveillance as suggested by ICMR. This becomes all the more significant, considering that the results of the rapid antibody tests are said to be quick and hence of assistance to the state government in deciding its strategy to deal with areas where there is rapid spread of Covid-19, he said.
North Dakota schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year, with teachers continuing instruction through distance learning, Gov. Doug Burgum announced Friday, the same day the state allowed so-called "high contact" businesses to reopen.

Department of Health officials on Friday also announced four more deaths from COVID-19, the most deaths from the coronavirus disease reported in a single day.

Burgum on March 15 ordered schools closed to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, four days after the state identified its first case of COVID-19. Schools began online learning programs in earnest in late March and early April.

Allowing students and teachers to return to the classroom would put 135,000 people directly at risk, according to Burgum.

"There's nothing that puts more people together in closer spaces for more hours of a day than our K-12 school system," he said.

Food and drink businesses, fitness centers, and personal care services such as hair salons were reopening Friday after being severely restricted or shut down by state order in mid-March to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. The businesses are operating under new standards developed by the state and industry groups. Burgum on Thursday called it "a milestone day."

The governor on Friday contrasted the opening with the prospect of reopening schools.

"Opening up businesses also involved risk, but there is economic risk to leaving them closed," he said. "Through distance learning, all teachers and administrators are all still being paid, and the funding is in place, and so there is almost no economic risk."

Burgum also said that reopening schools would require a week of preparation, and that some districts close out their academic year as early as May 13.

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said she supports the decision to keep schools closed.

"Certainty matters to our young people, and security matters," she said. "As we think about transitioning, the fewer transitions that you can make a young person's mind go through, the more (likely) they are to learn."

Guidance on high school graduation ceremonies is pending, Burgum and Baesler said.

Separately, Light of Christ Catholic Schools announced this week that its schools also will continue with distance learning for the rest of the academic year.

New cases

The four new deaths reported Friday were in Cass County -- women in their 80s and 90s and men in their 70s and 90s, all with underlying health conditions. The county that's home to Fargo now has a total of 16 deaths related to the coronavirus -- the bulk of the state's 23 deaths -- and a state-high 542 total cases, up 29 from the previous day.

Only one of the four deaths actually occurred on Thursday, according to Burgum. Some occurred earlier but were counted in Thursday's total due to a reporting lag, he said.

The county's new cases accounted for more than half of the 40 new cases reported statewide Friday, which raised the state total to 1,107. Burleigh County, home to Bismarck, had two new cases, raising its total to 79. Other new cases were reported in Grand Forks, Stutsman, Stark and Renville counties. It's the first case in Renville County, in north central North Dakota. Stark County, home to Dickinson, now has 52 cases.

A total of 86 people statewide have been hospitalized due to COVID-19; 27 remained so, down three from the previous day. There were 24 new recoveries, raising that total to 482. Active cases rose by 12, to 602.

State and private labs have tested 29,525 people for COVID-19, with 28,418 being negative. There were 2,065 tests conducted Thursday, a daily high and the first time the 2,000 mark has been surpassed. The state's goal is to work toward 4,000 tests per day this month and 6,000 daily in June.

Bismarck mass testing

Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health plans to conduct a free COVID-19 mass testing event at the Bismarck Event Center on Saturday, similar to events that have been held around the state in recent weeks, including the Fargodome parking lot last weekend.

Numerous agencies will be involved, including state and local health agencies, city departments, the University of North Dakota Center for Family Medicine and the National Guard.

Our hope with this mass testing event is to help give a better snapshot in time of the status of members of our community, Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health Director Renae Moch said. Our goal is to conduct this testing event quickly, but more importantly, safely for staff at this event, as well as the individuals tested.

The testing event will be separated into two categories:

 Retailers providing essential services will be tested from 9-11 a.m.

 Symptomatic individuals over the age of 12 will be tested from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until testing supplies run out.

People are asked to enter Parking Lot D, next to Seventh Street. Testing will be conducted inside the Event Center, and people will exit the building via Parking Lot B, traveling away from the area by way of Bowen Avenue or Fifth Street. People not participating in the event are asked to avoid the area.

People who test positive will be notified within about 72 hours. People who test negative also will be notified, but it might take longer than 72 hours.

More information can be found on the city website, at: www.bismarcknd.gov.

Reach Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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To the Editor:

Re Truly in the Trenches, Doctor Dies by Suicide (news article, April 28), about an emergency room doctor at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital:

A decade ago, via a mutual friend, I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Lorna Breen, a day I remember vividly. I witnessed Dr. Breen at her best, when a patient arrived in cardiac arrest. Her command was inspiring. That day Dr. Breen encouraged me to go to medical school, which I was not even considering.

I hope her death is a wake-up call to all physicians: We do not have superhuman abilities. We need to care for one another and ourselves. We must demand that our institutions protect us. Our failure to do so may have cost us Dr. Breen. It seems that her last days were focused on those she could not save, but in the eight hours I knew Dr. Breen I saw her rescue and alter lives, including my own.

Saba Afshar

Louisville, Ky.

The writer is a resident physician at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

To the Editor:

I am a palliative medicine physician and serve as the wellness officer for my institution. My most heartfelt sympathies go out to everyone touched by Dr. Lorna Breen.
Protests broke out across opposition-held parts of northwest Syria Friday against an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group after it opened a trade crossing into regime territory, an AFP correspondent and a war monitor said. "Mass protests broke out in several towns and villages in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo to denounce the practises of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance" said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor. In particular, the demonstrators "voiced their refusal to open any crossing with regime forces in the area," it said. Led by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate, HTS and allied rebel groups dominate large swathes of Idlib province and slivers of neighbouring Aleppo. Despite being sworn opponents of the regime, the jihadist group on Thursday opened a crossing into government-held territory in Aleppo's western countryside, near Idlib's provincial borders, according to the Observatory. An AFP correspondent said that HTS was hoping to charge fees on vehicles passing through, but the jihadist group on Friday said it would walk-back on its decision because of popular pressure. "We have decided to suspend our decision to open a new crossing... for the public good of the liberated north," it said in a statement. Earlier, hundreds had taken to the streets across opposition-held parts of Idlib and Aleppo, brandishing Syrian revolution flags and chanting anti-HTS slogans, the correspondent said. Vehicles and motorbikes bearing posters and flags packed roads. "Death and not humilation," demonstrators chanted in unison. Among them, Nizar Hamadi said that the opening of the crossing showed HTS has little concern for the fate of the region's population. "How can they gamble with lives of millions," he told AFP. Syria's last major rebel bastion in the country's northwest is home to three million people, half of whom have been displaced from other parts of the country following successive regime offensives. The latest government assault on the northwest has displaced nearly a million people since December, although fighting has slowed since a ceasefire took hold in March. Many are now returning to their homes, but residents fear that the regime may renew its attacks at any moment. "This is a criminal regime that killed us and killed our children," said Alaa, another protester. "Why would we open a crossing with them?" he asked rhetorically. A drone images shows Syrian demonstrators gathering during a protest in the village of Maaret al-Naasan in Syria's Idlib province to protests against a reported attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate A drone images shows Syrian demonstrators gatheringin the village of Maaret al-Naasan in Syria's Idlib province on May 1, 2020, to protest against a reported attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on a protest the previous day Syrian demonstrators gather on May 1, 2020, to protest against a reported attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, on a protest the previous day
China and Russia unite against the US labs in former Soviet countries - GeorgianJournal
Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.

Maya Angelou, from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

An engineer is trained through university and in the workforce to apply failure modes and safety factors into their designs. It doesnt matter if its a structure, a circuit, a chemical or even mechanical equipment.

Running a business is no different.

Restaurants that only offered dine-in service quickly learned that revenue stream was dust during this shutdown post virus quarantine.

Only those that were ready with online takeout and delivery options continued earning revenue.

The stoic philosopher Seneca wrote, What catches us by surprise hurts us double.

And if your favourite mining stock has significant production in what I call negative swap nations, it could be at serious risk.

Ive talked to several gold company CEOs and gold fund managers.

Not one knew what a SWAP Line was nor the difference between a +SWAP Line Nation vs. a SWAP Line nation. As I walked them through my concept, all agreed the risk factors will soon become impossible to ignore.

Are there built-in risk premiums to the prices of certain stocks?

Yes. But not at the cost of creeping government ownership and eventual nationalization.

The Latin phrase Premeditatio Malorum tells you to prepare for all evils.

And today Im going to get you up to speed on the overlooked risks to some of your biggest gold holdings.

Im not making any friends with this theory. But I have to prepare my portfolio for the risks.

If you have a producing asset in a Negative SWAP Line (SWAP) country, you must prepare for potential setbacks and for things to go wrong.



Its about properly understanding and pricing in risk.

Something that has become overlooked in the resource sector.

I detail these risks in my latest briefing on The War on Gold.

The Importance of Dollar SWAP Lines

A SWAP line provides temporary U.S. Dollar relief to the Central Banks of certain nations (pre-approved by the U.S.) who need these financial lifelines to ease the stress caused by a lack of U.S. dollars in their own nation.

SWAP lines are increasing weekly and more nations will be added.

And theyll be added only if the Nation needing the SWAP Line agrees to the terms of the U.S. governmentboth financially and geopolitically.

Make no mistake and dont listen to the dollar demise crowd. The world still needs more U.S. dollars right now.

Well see countries declare bankruptcies and well see nationalization of assets.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) came out in March stating the global U.S. dollar shortage could be crippling to many emerging markets.

The IMF will be giving unsecured loans (in U.S. dollars) to their most reliable members.

Below is a list of countries where U.S. Federal Reserve SWAP Lines exist (think of them as lifelines by the U.S. Federal Reserve).

I call these Positive SWAP Line Nations (+SWAP):

Is it just coincidence these are good standing allies of the U.S.?

No.

Which Countries Do Not Have SWAP Lines?

Every other country in the world thats not listed above.

So, why am I focusing on SWAP lines?

Because I believe nations who do have existing SWAP lines wont screw with foreign operating entities (American companies) to the extent of the SWAP Line Nations.

I still expect higher taxes in all countries as its the only thing politicians across the world have executed effectively throughout time.

This means mining assets in +SWAP Line Nations wont nationalize their gold mines, copper mines etc. Those nations wont screw with America.

Nations with existing U.S. SWAP lines wont put Forex (FX) restrictions on the foreign (American) companies operating there. SWAP Line nations may do so, and many have already.

This will cause less and in some cases prevent those U.S. dollars in SWAP lines from being sent back home as dividends to the owners of the company.

Basically, the SWAP lines are monetary lifelines to ease the need for U.S. dollars in their own economies.

So, they wont mess with Uncle Sam by screwing around and nationalizing foreign (American) companies assets on their soil.

The SWAP lines have worked in alleviating the near term desperation for U.S. dollars.

But nothing has changed fundamentally as eventually, the SWAP lines will have to be paid back.

Barrick Gold Just Got the First Threat

Barrick Gold is one of the worlds largest gold companies and produces just over 5 million ounces of gold per year.

A few hours after my emergency alert went live, one of their projects was put on notice.

Papua New Guinea threatened to nationalize Barrick Golds Porgera gold mine.

Approximately 50% of Barricks gold production is in countries that do not have access to U.S. dollar SWAP lines. Hence are in SWAP Line Nations.

I want us all to be prepared for anything that can happen over the next few months. Thats Alligator Investing 101.

Now, things I expect to happen over the next 12 months in SWAP Line Nations that DO NOT have SWAP lines with the U.S. is for those governments to:

Increase taxes,



Increase royalties,



Increase government ownership of the mine and/or



Slap on FX controls on the foreign gold, silver and base metal producers.

These would be big negatives. It has already started in some SWAP Line Nations and I expect a lot more to follow. This is something we have front and center on our watchlists.

I think many investors in SWAP Line Nations will find this to be the case, even with precious metal and base metal producers.

The American government will use SWAP lines as geopolitical leverage. Expect the unexpected in this new normal we now live in.

That means the whole benefit of a weakening foreign currency that attracts investors to mines in emerging market nations may be negated by the governments need to increase their take of a foreign owned and operated asset on their soil.

The Most Important Gold M&A Chart in the World

Earlier in this article, I mentioned countries in terms of

Existing US SWAP Lines ( +SWAP ), and

), and

No US SWAP Lines (SWAP).

Let me explain why this is important.

The U.S. Government will only give SWAP lines to countries that are allies. Thats countries the U.S. government trusts and works closely with.

And most importantly, countries that accept and obey the terms and conditions set by the U.S.

When Russia and China get U.S. SWAP lines, then Ill change my tune.

Until then, Im pretty sure Im spot on with this framework and its implications.

Let me give you a real-world gold producer example

Ive shared this with some of the bigger fund managers in the business and they had no idea. This is not a well-known concept.

It doesnt matter whether we use places like Argentina or Turkey as our example  this will become the norm over the next few years in all SWAP nations.

A SWAP country like Turkey doesnt allow you (as a company) to sell the gold youve produced easily into the international markets (for example a foreign owned smelter).

This would allow the USDs to go back home to their owners without any meddling of the Turkish government.

Heres what actually happens

The company sells their gold to the government in local currency (Turkish Lira in this case) at the governments exchange rate (not the real-world rate). This means the foreign company gets screwed on the exchange rate.

The government takes the gold (which is valued in USD globally).

The company converts that Turkish Lira into USD through the government at the governments conversion rate (again, the company gets screwed financially by the government).

Its very difficult for the company to take those USDs out of the country and theyll most likely have to pay a higher tax to do so. It also takes time to move the money out of the country. You cant just move the gold dore bars out of the country.

The government of Turkey will clip both sides of that sale (steps 1 and 3).

You can see its not a good deal for the foreign producer, but what else can they do?

Turkey is a pro mining nation. But that doesnt mean that they will not increase taxes etc on foreign owned mining and energy assets.

Expect Turkey to do so until the point they are forced to choose between accepting the U.S. terms and conditions to be a +SWAP Line Nation, or if they refuse and go with the EMSP (Emerging Market Super Powers) led by China and Russia.

In places like Argentina, the company has strict foreign controls on the money. Its very difficult to move those USDs outside of Argentina without getting clipped by the unreasonable government exchange rates.

Shockingly  I have spoken to many CEOs of producing gold companies and not one knew what a SWAP line was.

When I walked them through my framework, each were shocked and had a new perspective on M&A over the next 12 months.

Now this next chart below is a FIRST of its kind EVER produced.

The chart shows the top 10 gold producers and what % of each producers gold is produced in US +SWAP Line Nations (green) and No US -SWAP Line Nations (red).

Green is good. Red is bad, as it implies higher risk.

The black box is the % of the companys gold production in +SWAP nations.

The higher the % of exposure of their gold production to +SWAP nations, the better

This chart will eventually be the driving force of the coming M&A rush I see happening in the gold sector.

Right now, many analysts across the board in almost every research outfit give the same financial discounts to gold producers regardless of location.

When the NPV5 (Net Present Value at a 5% discount) financial models are created by these analysts, whether the project is in a +SWAP or SWAP nation is irrelevant to most analysts.

This is just wrong.

Not all jurisdictions are the same. Nor should the discount rates be the same.

I think were going to see a major change much faster than anyone expects with regards to gold majors building assets in SWAP nations.

Indiana Jones Speculation: Now You Know the Risks

Ive been to over 100 countries so far in my career.

Between 2004-2010 I literally wore bulletproof vests to visit some projects.

I drove across Iraq with former French Foreign Legion soldiers who were our escorts and bodyguards for me to appraise the potential of an oil well.

Back in 2007, I spent a week in the ICU due to bat dung exposure because I went into an underground mine.

In the rush to be the first to see the potential of a massive silver deposit in Mexico, I went underground unprepared (in this case I was right and was the first to publish and finance the +300M ounce silver depositand our subscribers made a killingbut that was really stupid on my part).

Ive done some exciting, stupid and dangerous things and travelled to some crazy places to find the next Big Score.

But after truly becoming one of the few in the industry who can say been there, done that, I learned a major lesson I want to share

Yes, its true some big scores are waiting for those who are first to an exotic or war-torn place with a massive tier 1 mining deposit.

It makes for a sexy story that sells newsletters, and people love to read about it (Indiana Jones Speculation, I like to call it).

But those success stories are so rare.

The reality is, just as big of a score (and in many cases even bigger scores) can be made when you are patient in major sell offs in politically stable jurisdictions like the U.S.

Yes, its not as sexy.

Yes, it doesnt sell newsletters.

But we should only care about making the most amount of money with the least possible amount of risk.

Maximum upside with minimal downside risk  thats my strategy in this market. Ive talked about it for years now.

And for that reason, I want to prepare everyone for this potential scenario in the gold market.

Know the plan.

Read the playbook and be prepared.

Be prepared both mentally and financially for what to do if gold prices take a big hit to the downside.

Luck is being prepared when the opportunity arises.

Regards,
Boeing has conducted a successful first flight of the second 777X airplane, which flew for two hours and 58 minutes over the US state of Washington state landing at Seattle's Boeing Field.



Designated WH002, this airplane is the second of four in a dedicated flight test fleet and will test handling characteristics and other aspects of airplane performance. An array of equipment, sensors and monitoring devices throughout the cabin allows the onboard team to document and evaluate the airplane's response to test conditions in real time.



The 777X test plan lays out a comprehensive series of tests and conditions on the ground and in the air to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the design. To date, crews have flown the first airplane nearly 100 hours at a variety of flap settings, speeds, altitudes and system settings as part of the initial evaluation of the flight envelope.



With initial airworthiness now demonstrated, the team can safely add personnel to monitor testing onboard instead of relying solely on a ground-based telemetry station, unlocking testing at greater distances.  TradeArabia News Service
A rmed protesters descended on Michigan's state capitol building last night as they called for an end to the state's coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Hundreds of protesters, some carrying rifles, were seen chanting "Let us in! Let us work!" as they demonstrated against stay-at-home orders.

They also carried signs bearing the slogans "Tryants get the rope" and "Stay free".

Some were seen attempting to enter the floor of the legislative chamber, and were held back by a line of state police and staff.

Democrat and Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended her lockdown mandate earlier this month until May 15.

The stay-at-home order has been met with multiple protests from residents calling for their businesses to reopen today instead of in two weeks' time.

The protest, entitled the American Patriot Rally, was organised by Michigan United for Liberty.

Armed protesters demonstrate against Coronavirus lockdown in Michigan 1 /26 Armed protesters demonstrate against Coronavirus lockdown in Michigan AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images Reuters AP AP REUTERS AP AP REUTERS AP AFP via Getty Images AP AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images

One of the protesters, Joni George, said: "The virus is here. It's going to be here.

"It's time to let people go back to work. That's all there is to it."

State senator Dayna Polehanki tweeted a picture of men with rifles in the gallery above, adding that several of her colleagues wore bulletproof vests.

"I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today," she said.

More than 3,700 people have died after contracting Covid-19 in Michigan and more than 41,000 infections have been recorded against the Midwestern state.

According to the Guardian, police made one arrest at the demonstration. A Michigan state police spokesman said a 35-year-old male protester was arrested for assaulting another protester outside of the capitol building.

Protesters carry signs as they demonstrate against stay-at-home orders / Reuters

The mayor of Lansing Andy Schor, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was "disappointed" demonstrators would put themselves and others at risk

He also acknowledged that the Governor's order still allowed people to "exercise their first amendment right to freedom of speech."

Five state residents tried to take the Governor to court over her lockdown orders, but on Wednesday a Michigan court ruled the stay-at-home orders were not unconstitutional.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christoper M Murray wrote in his ruling: "Although the Court if painfully aware of the difficulties of living under the restrictions of these executive orders, those difficulties are temporary, while to those who contract the virus and cannot recover (and to their family members and friends), it is all too permanent."
LaPorte County, which also has been releasing data independently, reported 224 confirmed cases.

More than half of LaPorte County's positive cases have been reported at Westville Correctional Center, where a second death was reported Thursday, according to county and state officials.

In addition to a second death, 45 staff members at the Westville prison and 150 inmates have tested positive for the virus, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. A total of 170 inmates were in isolation and 1,460 were in quarantine as of Thursday.

At Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, eight staff have tested positive and two inmates were in isolation, the Department of Correction said.

The number of positive cases in Newton County increased by 14 to a total of 60.

In Jasper County, health officials removed 13 cases, bringing the total number to 33. Cases can be removed for various reasons, including if the patient is determined to live outside the county and if information is duplicated.

The number of Hoosiers tested for coronavirus rose by 4,660, or about 5%, to 99,639. About 18.7% of those tested received positive results, officials said.
His time in prison left him more subdued. Mr. Goldberg was separated from his nonwhite comrades, who were imprisoned on Robben Island, an Alcatraz-like compound where they were forced to labor at a limestone quarry. He was sent instead to a whites-only wing for political prisoners at a penitentiary in Pretoria, where he found himself isolated and increasingly depressed, with a nagging sense that he might die behind bars, even as apartheid seemed increasingly on the verge of collapse.
Remember when you used to cruise the square in your hometown?

Or if you lived in a small town like Scribner, you just motored up and down Main Street.

Now, you can go cruising in Scribner.

The public is invited to an event called Hittin the Bricks. It starts at 6 p.m. May 2 in downtown Scribner.

Those who attend can get out of the house, while practicing social distancing.

Saturdays kickoff event also provides a way for the public to honor nine seniors from Scribner-Snyder High School.

The seniors are asked to line up their vehicles by the school at about 5:30 p.m.

Police Chief Jake Brainard will lead the seniors, who will be the first to go down Main Street.

We really want to recognize and honor our seniors with all the hard work theyve done through the years. They stuck with it and made it, and we dont want to overlook that accomplishment, said Elizabeth Valla, economic development director for the City of Scribner.

Valla knows that with all the social distancing thats accompanied the coronavirus pandemic, lots of people have had to stay indoors.

This is definitely an odd time were living in right now. Some of us are having a hard time adjusting to the isolation, she said.

But the Scribner event gives people an opportunity to get out.

The event is called Hittin the Bricks, because Scribners Main Street is made of bricks. Hitting the Bricks will continue from 6-6:45 p.m. each Saturday in May.

Valla said other towns have had similar events and folks from Fremont and other communities are invited to participate.

We want people to see how amazing our town is, Valla said. We want people to come into our community and see what we have to offer.

Scribner Express will offer $1 ice cream cones. Zs Bar and Grill will offer to-go orders. Mels Bar will sell popcorn and beverages to-go.

Bring out your convertibles, show off your cars, trucks and motorcycles, Valla said. Even if your car isnt something you want to show off, bring it out anyway and come wave at fellow social distancers on Main Street. You can be with your family or you can come alone; our cruise night does not discriminate.

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DECATUR  Police say a Decatur man repeatedly punched and kicked his girlfriend's mother after taking away her walker.

Police wrote in a sworn affidavit that the 28-year-old man had swiped the 64-year-old woman's walker in a fit of drunken rage around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of South Jasper Street. Moments earlier, he had bitten his girlfriend's daughter, 7, on the thigh while "rough housing," leaving a circular bruising mark on the child, the affidavit said.

Court documents say the man became furious after the 64-year-old woman yelled at him "telling him that he could not bite the children," causing him to start screaming and throwing items around the living room at her. Police said the suspect later grabbed the woman's walker and threw it onto the porch, causing her to fall to the ground.

The woman could not walk without her walker, according to the documents.

She then attempted to crawl to her bedroom and call for help using an emergency receiver, but the suspect cut her off, stood over her and punched and kicked her repeatedly "all over her body" causing "deep red discoloration on the right side of her abdomen," the affidavit said.

The suspect resisted officers as they attempted to take him into custody, including kicking and pulling away multiple times, according to police.

He was arrested and booked into Macon County Jail on Wednesday night on preliminary charges of aggravated battery to a child under 13, aggravated battery to a senior over 60, aggravated battery to a peace officer, two counts of domestic battery and aggravated resisting a peace officer.

All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state attorney's office.

A check of jail records show he remains held on $20,000 bail, meaning $2,000 is required for release.

2020 mug shots from the Herald & Review

Contact Garrett Karsten at (217) 421-6949. Follow him on Twitter: @GarrettKarsten

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30.04.2020 LISTEN

Brief

The Africa Centre of Excellence in Innovative and Transformative STEM Education (ACEITSE) of the Lagos State University has resorted to training its students through online models following the COVID 19 pandemic. The centre, is an initiative of the World Bank, co-funded by the Bank and Agence Francaise de Developpement. The Association of African Universities is the Regional Facilitation Unit while the National Universities Commission of Nigeria is the coordinating Unit for the centre. In 2019, Lagos State University was approved to host the centre, which is among the World Bank centres of excellence in 12 West and Central African countries. Within the period 21th to 25th April 2020, different academics have suggested how Africa can claim the 21st century.

Positions of African academic on winning the 21st century

Claiming the 21st century by Africa will entail being original in drawing up research instruments that will lead to gathering African - specific research data for the continent. In a lecture to graduate students of the Lagos State University (ACEITSE) as part of the online programme to fill the gap of the COVIP 19 lockdown, Dr. Michael Ahove of the Lagos State University encouraged teaching, learning and research in African universities to be Africa centred. He argues that, it is the surest way to gaining understanding of the continent and solving its developmental challenges. He suggest this can start with Afrocentric questionnaire designs for all research conducted by Africans. His idea of the Afrocentric questionnaire, draws from the culture and contexts of the African environment in soliciting data for research; an opinion that takes roots from the Culturo-Techno-Conceptual Approach invented by Professor Peter Okebukola - a core course for all doctorants on the LASU ACEITSE programme.

In a separate lecture, Professor Idowu Olaynka suggests that, for Africa to claim the 21st century, Africa must back everything African with scientific proofs. He argues that, it is not enough for instance to suspect there is always a supernatural cause for the death of the elderly while scientific measures like autopsies avail. Professor Rasheed Sannis opinion did not depart from those of Dr. Michael Ahove. He agrees that Afrocentric questionnaires would inure to the good of the continent. Professor Jomo Mutegi in another lecture puts it differently we need completely self-determination . the ability to live with nobody holding anything over you.

African diaspora support the online training

Although a cursory scan of the news media reports challenges of online training across the continent on the wheels of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Lagos State University (ACEITSE) has been an exception to the trend. Attracting large support from the African diaspora academic community, the university has been able to line up a number of experts from different fields of study to compliment the efforts of home grown staff. Amongst these diaspora experts are Olusola Adesope, a Boeing Distinguished Professor of STEM Education at Washington State University-Pullman, Professor Femi Jaiyeola of the Washington State University, and Professor Jomo W. Mutegi an Associate Professor of science education at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Others are Dr. Gallard Alejandro of the Georgia Southern University and Bill Kyle a E. Desmond Lee Family Professor of Science Education at the University of Missouri (both friends of the continent). Two of the diasporans, Professor Adesope and Professor Jomo have started with their interactions with students - engagements that promise to be more educating in coming weeks. In his first online lecture, Adesope encouraged students to tailor the knowledge gained to solving African problems while Professor Jomo, agreed that, Africas challenges are not isolated  with collective efforts, Africa can be the continent of the future.

Other beneficiaries of the training

Within the framework of this diaspora support is a local partnership which is witnessing the doctoral students of the University of Burundi taking part in this training. Largely drawn from Burundi, Nigeria, Congo and Ghana, this would be the second time such an academic partnership is enhanced under the leadership of Professor Peter Okebukola and Professor Juma Shabani.

The establishment of the University of Burundi doctoral school is part of the implementation process of the "Bachelor-Master-Doctorate" (BMD) reform adopted by the Government of Burundi from the 2011-2012 academic year. The University of Burundi doctoral school was officially opened on 20 July 2017, following the accreditation of the school and its programmes by the National Commission for Higher Education in February 2017.

Conclusion

To truly own the 21st century, there is the need for a complete reorientation of the African educational curriculum to reflect Africas needs and aspirations. This would not be achieved through political statements. It would be a conscious effort by all stakeholders with the bulging youth constituting over 65% of the continents population (AU) taking the lead in self-determination, Afrocentric pride and promoting the dignity of the black race.

Further, the quest for Africas development in the educational sector is a shared responsibility of Africans at home and abroad. To achieve the aspirations of the African Unions Continental Education Strategy for Africa, the role of the African diaspora is crucial. In line with this, the initiative of the LASU ACEITSE in attracting Afro diaspora academics and sharing their expertise with the University of Burundi is commendable and worth replicating by other institutions. It is worth inviting African academics abroad, to take up similar initiatives and invitations for sabbaticals, online adjunct lectureship, joint research and related academic activities to encourage cross fertilisation of knowledge for the mutual benefits of the globe.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 2)  The administration has a new deputy chief implementer of the national policy against COVID-19.

Vince Dizon was appointed on Friday.

In compliance with the instruction of the president and in order to ensure the continuous and effective delivery of public service, please be informed that Vivencio B. Dizon..., is hereby designated as Deputy Chief Implementer of the Philippines declared national policy against COVID-19, effective immediately, stated the memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Dizon is also Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief operating officer. BCDA is a government corporation that develops former base lands such as the New Clark City in Tarlac.

He is concurrent Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs and Projects, which spearheads the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday announced a national initiative to speed research into how the coronavirus was spreading around the country, bringing together at least 75 public health, academic and commercial institutions studying its genome.

As the virus replicates, tiny mutations accumulate in its genetic code. Those differences help scientists trace patterns of transmission and investigate outbreaks. They also provide an understanding of how the virus is evolving, which can affect the accuracy of diagnostic tests and the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines.

Historically, laboratories studying the genomes of pathogens released only general information about them, often in academic journals. Patient privacy laws in some states also limited the details they could provide. But that began to change in recent years with food-borne illnesses, as officials realized that publicly sharing gene sequences allowed scientists to find links with greater speed and react to save lives.

Gene sequences are also shared to help track influenza, and officials used them to respond to Ebola outbreaks in West Africa several years ago and, more recently, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Five more people, including two with recent travel history to Tamil Nadu, tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 147, officials said.

Bolangir district, in the western part of Odisha, which was till now untouched by the novel coronavirus, reported two COVID-19 cases. Both returned from Tamil Nadu, a senior official said.

While two other new patients were detected in COVID-19 hotspot Jajpur district, another with recent travel history to Kolkata, tested positive in Balasore district, the officials said.

The Jajpur patients were identified as a 75-year-old woman of Katikata and a 55-year-old man of Birajpur. Katikata and Birajpur are in containment zones where aggressive surveillance and contact tracing are under way with largescale testing.

The two cases in Bolangir, detected in Lekharia village, are men aged 22 and 18 years, a senior Information and Public Relations Department official said, adding that contact tracing and follow up action has been launched in the area.

With COVID-19 spreading its tentacles to Bolangir, 15 of the 30 districts of Odisha have so far reported coronavirus cases.

With the fresh cases, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases climbed to 38 in Jajpur district and 20 in Balasore. All were asymptomatic and contact tracing of the new patients and follow up action is underway, health department officials said.

Two patients in Bhubaneswar have recovered from COVID-19, the health department said.

Of the 47 cases in Khurda district, 27 persons have so far recovered, they said, adding that one person from state capital Bhubaneswar had died of the coronavirus on April 6.

The total number of cases in the state has mounted to 147, of which 105 are active and 41 have recovered and one has died of the disease.

Of the total 147 COVID-19 cases, Bhubaneswar tops the list with 47, followed by 38 in Jajpur, 20 in Balasore district, 19 in Bhadrak district, 10 in Sundergarh district, two each in Kendrapara, Kalahandi and Bolangir districts, one each case in Cuttack, Puri, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Keonjhar and Koraput districts.

As more than 90 per cent of cases in Balasore, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts have West Bengal link, the health



department appealed to people not to hide their travel history.

The people who have returned from West Bengal recently must come forward for COVID-19 testing. They may seem healthy but they could be infected and also spread infection, the department said, adding that they are advised to contact local BDOs, tehsildars, sarpanchs and remain in isolation at home.

Testing is free, the department added.

A total of 2,437 samples were tested for COVID-19 on Thursday.

Altogether 34,133 samples have so far been tested in the state since the outbreak of the highly infectious disease.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following some other states and a recommendation from the American Bar Association, Sosin said he is working on a proposal that would give law school graduates expanded privileges to work as licensed attorneys under the supervision of experienced lawyers during the pandemic. Sosin said his organization is drafting the proposal with deans at the states nine law schools. But in the end, the Illinois Supreme Court will have to sign off any changes.
[May 01, 2020] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Bank Hapoalim B.M. (BKHYY) on Behalf of Investors

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, today announced that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Bank Hapoalim B.M. ("Hapoalim" or the "Company") (OTC: BHKYY) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Hapoalim investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information here or contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, via email [email protected] or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On March 7, 2019, Hapoalim issued a press release announcing that the bank was increasing its provision "in relation to the expsure stemming from the investigations of the U.S. authorities, by approximately USD 246 million" for an aggregate total provision of $611 million.



On this news, the price of the Company's American depositary receipts ("ADR") fell $1.09 per ADR, or over 3%, to close at $33.16 per ADR on March 11, 2019, thereby injuring investors. Then, on April 30, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced that the Company "agreed to pay approximately $874.27 million" as part of its deferred prosecution agreement for criminal misconduct.

On this news, Hapoalim's ADR price fell during intraday trading. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Hapoalim should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email [email protected]. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters (News - Alert), the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005469/en/

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A coronavirus outbreak among workers at a Siberian oil field owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom sparked angry protests this week, with employees demanding safe working conditions and proper care for those who have fallen ill. Where are the masks?! Where is the quarantine?! We are not pigs! yelled workers, as they demanded that management appear and answer their charges.

The demonstrations took place as the countrys official number of COVID-19 infections rose to more than 106,000 on Thursday (after the countrys highest single-day increase, 7,099 new infections) and Russias prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, was hospitalized with the illness. Medical workers in the country are struggling to treat patients and contain the virus without adequate equipment.

On Monday, hundreds at the Chayandinsky oil field in Yakutia gathered to denounce Gazprom for quarantining them en masse without separating the healthy from the ill, giving them any protective gear, or reporting data on the actual number of infections. They give us animal feed and keep us like pigs, workers can be heard yelling on the video that has now spread widely over the Internet. The same day, protesters used logs to block the road to a nearby town, refusing to reopen it to traffic until the company responded to their demands.

A Gazprom oil producing facility situated in the Yamal region, Russia.(AP Photo/Petr Shelomovskiy)

Operations at the oil field, which employs 10,500, have been shut down since mid-April, when the company claims the first coronavirus cases were uncovered. Relatives of the workers insist that infections first appeared in late March. Once it shuttered operations, Gazprom refused to let anyone leave the location and to isolate the sick. Oil workers describe being held captive for weeks on end without any information about the results of COVID-19 tests administered by the company or indication as to when or how they might be sent home.

By mid-week, Gazprom authorities announced they had made arrangements to begin transferring workers off the field and back to their home cities, where they will be either placed under observation in self-isolation or sent to hospitals for treatment. Bashkiria, a western Siberian region with the capital city Ufa, announced 1,800 residents would be returning there from the Gazprom operations.

However, despite official proclamations welcoming the workers back home, returning COVID-19 patients will find themselves in overstretched hospitals unable to provide proper medical care. A doctor at Ufas main regional hospital issued a video appeal on Thursday to President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin leaders asking for an investigation into the hospitals top administrator. For weeks he and his colleagues have been without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) or any means to wash themselves. Conditions at the hospital were nightmarish even before the pandemic. Now they work essentially without sleep.

Across Russia, reports are surfacing of medical workers becoming ill and dying from coronavirus. In Saint Petersburg, officials report that 250 health care personnel are being treated for COVID-19. At the Botkinsky Hospital in Moscow, 121 have become infected. According to the Ministry of Health, 70 health care personnel across the country have died thus far from the disease. The Russian news media carried stories this week of two separate incidences of medical workers involved in battling coronavirus falling from windows, one resulting in death. Some regional governments have promised families of the dead that they will receive 1 million rubles (US$13,430) as compensation for their loss.

A major driver of high rates of infection among health care personnel is the widespread shortage of PPE. At Kommunarka hospital in Moscow, one of the capital citys centers for treating the infectious disease, the entire nursing staff quit this week over poor working conditions and low wages. In addition to not having PPE, they said they had been denied adequate food and accommodations. They had yet to receive bonuses promised to doctors and nurses involved in the fight against COVID-19. Hospital administrators told them that since Putin made the promise, the nurses should call and write him.

Tensions over the virus and its impact are spreading, with Russian social media flooded with commentary protesting the miserable state of the countrys health care system and the governments response. On Tuesday, the leader of the political party Just Russia, Sergei Mironov, warned the Duma that the country would soon be facing hunger protests if measures were not taken to provide more aid to the population.

Two days later, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov noted that a recent remark he made indicating that the government could issue payments to citizens to help offset the economic effects of the crisis had been misinterpreted. There are no plans to provide any sort of direct support. Meanwhile, unemployment and wage arrears continue to grow in Russia, where the official stay-at-home order has been extended through May 11.
The U.S. Army will soon reopen the recruiting stations it was forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic, but its main efforts to find and enlist prospective soldiers will remain virtual, the general in charge of Army recruiting said.

Maj. Gen. Frank Muth is once again in a fight to make up lost ground to meet the Army's recruiting goal by the end of the fiscal year, but he doesn't regret his recommendation to begin shuttering recruiting stations on March 18.

"We were the first service to come out of the stations and go 100% virtual; we called it early because ... I did not want to put our force and our force's families at risk," Muth told Military.com in an interview.

Shifting from traditional face-to-face recruiting, however, did not come without a cost, Muth admits.

Related: Army Shutters Recruiting Stations as 6 Recruits Show COVID-19 Symptoms at Basic Training

"Don't get me wrong, we lost a good three weeks to even a month. And so does that put us behind, yes. But do we think we can make it up? Yes," Muth said. "Things are really starting to pick up now in the virtual world and I am sure that we are getting better at it."

The Army plans to begin reopening its recruiting stations in mid-May, but the service will no longer depend on them like it did in the past, Muth said.

"We are going to utilize the stations, but are we going to be physically tied to the stations like we used to be? No," Muth said.

The decision to close the recruiting stations came as the Army had just begun to recover from a recruiting shortfall. After missing its goal for fiscal 2018 by 6,500 soldiers, the service surpassed its recruiting goal for fiscal 2019, aided by a broad recruiting strategy that targeted 22 major cities and began to embrace social media to connect with Generation Z.

The Army began its fiscal 2020 recruiting mission "about 4,000 or 5,000 ahead," Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville told defense reporters at an April 30 Pentagon briefing.

"There is a slight dip, but so far our recruiters think they are going to make that up."

Currently, the Army is targeting a 485,000 end-strength for the active force, but the recruiting mission is only part of that number.

"With Recruiting Command, we always give a much higher mission than we actually think we need, because we always plan for the worst case: if our attrition was higher. So we don't get to the end of the year and find out that attrition was much higher than we expected," McConville said. "And then as we get through the year, we start to look at it and we get a sense of who is staying or who is going."

Retaining More Soldiers

And it's likely that the effects of the novel coronavirus on the economy and unemployment are causing more and more soldiers to stay in the Army, officials say.

"We have seen an increase in retention; we are over 100 percent," Sgt. Major of the Army Michael Grinston said, explaining that the Army recently decided to increase its retention goal by 2,000 soldiers.

"So, I said can we get 2,000 more quality soldiers that were going to [separate] to stay, and two weeks ago we had already had 500."

The Army met its original retention goal of 50,200 by early March and was soon at 51,000 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States, Sgt. Maj. Stuart Morgan, senior Army career counselor told Military.com.

"Some of the opportunities that our soldiers thought they were moving into on the outside -- some of those opportunities started to disappear whether that be employment opportunities or even going to school," Morgan said.

Many Army offices that are needed to clear soldiers out of the Army have closed, forcing many officials to work at home, which has complicated the process, Morgan said.

About three weeks ago, the Army then decided to increase its retention goal by 2,000 soldiers out of a pool of 8,000 that were eligible for reenlistment, Morgan said.

"We have already ... retained an additional 849 soldiers against that 2K goal," Morgan said. "When we accomplish this goal that would put us at ... right around 53,000 that we retain."

Meanwhile, Grinston said "virtual recruiting is actually going well; we are learning as we go through this."

"I think what really helped is we kind of gravitated to this digital side of recruiting starting when ... I came on board in July of 2018," added Muth, who is set to leave the command in mid-July.

"If we were not positioned where we were, we would still be in discovery, learning right now eight weeks into it, and we are not."

Recruiting Through the Night

Army Recruiters are now getting potential recruits through online job-search sites.

"What we are finding is that there is a greater interest on Indeed and on Google advertising and I would just say generally on the job sites and we are finding that they are coming to us," Muth said.

Recruiters are also working at night to reach youth participating in Call of Duty and other eSports gaming tournaments, he said.

"What is really getting us a ton of leads is, we have a lot of recruiters doing what we call reverse cycle, so they are recruiting at night from 2200 to 0200," Muth said. "Because they are going in and joining these different eSports tournaments -- whether it's Call of Duty, League of Legends, Apex Legends, Fortnight, Overwatch -- and you meet people and you go in there and you just start talking."

The Army has also changed some policies that required a face-to-face meeting at the recruiting station to start initial paperwork; to reserve a military occupational specialty; and to schedule a tentative shipping date to Basic Combat Training.

"For example, they used to have to come into the recruiting station because you would have to witness the signature of the application; we got authorization to witness that signature over Facetime," Muth said.

"We are allowed to do the interview over Facetime now, because it used to be you couldn't do that you had to do it face-to-face."

By mid-May, Muth predicts the command will be in roughly the same spot it was last May.

"I think we will be behind by about 3,000 ... last year we were 2,800 shy when we came out of May," Muth said. "This is unprecedented; there are no models that we have in the 47 years of United States Army Recruiting that we have a model to go to -- and we use models all the time to anticipate what the requirements are."

The Army still hasn't zeroed in on an exact recruiting goal; it's too early, Muth said.

"Last year, it was 68,000, so the mechanisms are in place to go for something like that," Muth said. "At one point in the year, they were talking about 69,000 ... I just think it is going to be lower just because retention is definitely on the increase."

"I feel very confident in the recruiters that when we give them this mission, they are going to be able to step up to the plate, and they are going to work night and day until we meet our number requirement."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Read More: Army Surpasses Recruiting Goal, Attracts More Women to Sign Up
France Announces Extra COVID-19 Tax Support For Hit Industries

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

01 May 2020

On April 24, 2020, the French Government announced that it has decided to extend tax and other financial support to companies in sectors most affected by the COVID-19 lockdown measures, including catering, tourism, events, sports, and cultural activities.

Specific tax measures include that small and very small enterprises in these sectors will receive an automatic deferral of social tax payments for the period from March to June 2020.

Medium-sized and large enterprises in these sectors will not benefit from an automatic deferral of their social contributions. However, they will be able to request to spread social tax payments over a longer period, as well as apply for tax debt cancellation. These applications will be considered by the tax authorities on a case-by-case basis.

The Government also intends to discuss with local authorities the possibility that the real estate contribution for companies (CFE) can be deferred, and tourist tax payments can be suspended for 2020.
ITBP personnel wearing protective suits patrol a street during a nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic, in New Delhi. (PTI)

New Delhi: Five personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and at least 90 have been quarantined over the last few days, officials said on Friday.

These are the first cases of the viral infection in the border-guarding force, which is trained in mountain warfare.

Three personnel, involved in essential services at a base of the paramilitary force in the Tigri area of the national capital, have tested positive for coronavirus and have been isolated at a facility in Delhi, the officials said.

In another case, an infected sub-inspector and a head constable-rank official of the 50th battalion of the force were sent to the AIIMS in Jhajjar (Haryana) for isolation two days ago.

The 50th battalion was deployed in Delhi for rendering law-and-order duties alongside the Delhi Police, the officials said.

The entire company of at least 90 personnel has been quarantined, they added.

The ITBP is a 90,000-personnel-strong force that is primarily tasked with guarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, apart from rendering other internal security duties in the country.
TORONTO, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toromont Industries Ltd. (TSX:TIH) (Toromont) is pleased to announce that on May 1, 2020, at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders, all the nominees listed in its Management Information Circular dated February 28, 2020 were elected as Directors of Toromont. The detailed results of the vote are as follows:



Nominee Total

Votes For Percentage of

Votes In Favour Total Votes

Withheld Percentage of

Votes Withheld



Total Votes 1. Peter J. Blake 65,212,585 99.97% 20,939 0.03% 65,233,524 2. Jeffery S. Chisholm 64,738,996 99.24% 494,528 0.76% 65,233,524 3. Cathryn E. Cranston 64,625,338 99.07% 608,186 0.93% 65,233,524 4. James W. Gill 65,214,686 99.97% 18,838 0.03% 65,233,524 5. Wayne S. Hill 64,302,912 98.57% 930,612 1.43% 65,233,524 6. Sharon L. Hodgson 64,811,081 99.35% 422,443 0.65% 65,233,524 7. Scott J. Medhurst 65,214,715 99.97% 18,809 0.03% 65,233,524 8. Robert M. Ogilvie 62,430,773 95.70% 2,802,751 4.30% 65,233,524 9. Katherine A. Rethy 64,795,179 99.33% 438,345 0.67% 65,233,524 10. Richard G. Roy 64,184,450 98.39% 1,049,074 1.61% 65,233,524

About Toromont

Toromont Industries Ltd. operates through two business segments: The Equipment Group and CIMCO. The Equipment Group includes one of the larger Caterpillar dealerships by revenue and geographic territory - spanning the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba in addition to most of the territory of Nunavut. In addition, the Group includes industry leading rental operations, a complementary material handling business and an agricultural equipment business. CIMCO is a market leader in the design, engineering, fabrication and installation of industrial and recreational refrigeration systems. Both segments offer comprehensive product support capabilities. This press release and more information about Toromont Industries can be found at www.toromont.com.

For more information contact:
There are calls for the courts to only commit serious criminals to prison during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Irish Prison Service says none of the nearly 3,800 inmates in jail have tested positive for coronavirus.
Indigenous antibody-based rapid test (blood test) kits and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab-based kits for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) developed by laboratories running under the ministry of science and technology will be ready around the middle of May, said health miniser Dr Harsh Vardhan.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crucial as we will get to see results of some of our research and development work by scientists working under the ministry of science and technology. Around mid May we will have indigenous development of good quality antibody test kits, and also kits for detection of the virus (RT-PCR kits). All of this will come in May; thanks to our scientists, said Union health minister Harsh Vardhan.

The institutes and companies collaborating on these projects include Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, Sri Ramchandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Porur, Chennai, Central University of Kerala, and Dhiti Life Sciences Pvt.Ltd.

The minister, along with Amitabh Kant from Niti Aayog, reviewed the work of various non-government organisations (NGOs) and civil society members involved in helping the government in managing the Covid-19 situation in the country on Thursday.

The science and technology ministry is working on a number of other projects in the field of diagnostics, therapeutics or vaccine against the novel viral infection.

There is a varied range of projects, be it discovery of the new drugs or repurposing of the old or existing drug molecules for finding out solutions to Covid-19, or even looking at vaccine development, which our scientists are working on. We already have half a dozen vaccine candidates, of which four candidates are in a significantly advanced stage, said Harsh Vardhan.

Harsh Vardhan is also the minister for science and technology in the government.

There are various laboratories under the department of biotechnology and council of scientific and industrial research that are into genetic sequencing of the Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

The viral sequencing is happening at about 1000 labs across the country functioning under the department of biotechnology and at about 500 labs under the council of scientific and industrial research. A lot of things are happening; we are also supporting many new start-ups who have shown promise in the field, said Harsh Vardhan.

The virus is going to stay with us for long, so we need to prepare accordingly, he added.

Experts feel it is high time India starts focusing on make in India products by encouraging domestic manufacturers.

why should we depend on Chinese or products from any other country when we have the capability to manufacture indigenously? We should encourage Indian manufacturers by protecting their investments and creating a market for them. India has the capability. All we need is help in scaling up our capacity. This is the time to consolidate our resources and work like a single unit. It should be a consortium approach and not a competitive approach then we might even be able to export stuff, says Dr T Jacob John, former head of virology department, Christian Medical College, Vellore.

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CHICO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTCQB:AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction and forestry conservation, announced that it has received an order totaling $200,000.

The order was for a new Taylor Machine Works forklift from a customer in Northern California and is expected to ship in the September/October 2020 timeframe. AmeraMex CEO Lee Hamre commented, "This is the third Taylor forklift sold in the past two weeks. Our sawmill customers are beginning to see an increase in orders and require forklifts to handle the loading of lumber for shipment to its customers.

Hamre continued, "We are beginning to see business pick-up again as California and other states and countries begin to lift restrictions. Some potential orders were delayed, and we lost a large order because our long-time customer lost a contract and we were fortunate enough to work with the equipment manufacturer to obtain a refund of the deposit. With the current situation we are working closely with both our customers, equipment manufacturers and vendors."

AmeraMex CEO Lee Hamre will be hosting the Company's first quarter conference call Monday, May 4, 2020. The conference call dial-in number for both U.S. and international callers is 1.201.689.8560. Please dial in to the conference center five minutes before the call begins and ask the operator for the AmeraMex conference call. An audio replay of the call will be available from May 4, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time until May 18, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The replay is accessible by dialing 1.412.317.6671 and entering pin number 13702846.

About AmeraMex International

AmeraMex International sells, leases and rents heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, logistics, mining, and lumber. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional corporate information, online heavy equipment inventory/pricing and videos.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Investor and Media Relations

McCloud Communications, LLC

Marty Tullio, Managing Member

Office: 949.632.1900 or Marty@McCloudCommunications.com

SOURCE: AmeraMex International, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/587898/AmeraMex-International-Receives-an-Order-Totaling-200000
Shirley Ballas has shared a health update six months after removing her breast implants over cancer fears.

In a new interview, the Strictly judge, 59, claimed her enhanced chest left her 'ill with the flu or a cold', but insists she's been 'feeling fine' ever since she underwent surgery.

The dance expert said: 'This was the first time I have not been sick all winter. On last years tour I was really poorly but, touch wood, I have been fine.'

'I have been fine': Shirley Ballas has shared a health update six months after removing her breast implants over cancer fears (pictured earlier this month)

The former Latin dance champion ignored doctor's orders when she appeared on the BBC competition series just days after her procedure.

As well as having her implants taken out, the choreographer also underwent a breast lift and was discharged just 18 hours after having the surgery.

Shirley first announced her decision to go under the knife in September 2019 after suffering a cancer scare as well as learning there was a history of the disease in her family.

'I was always ill with the flu or a cold': In a interview, the Strictly star, 59, claimed her enhanced chest left her 'ill with the flu or a cold' (pictured in September 2019 before the surgery)

'This was the first time I have not been sick all winter': As well as having her implants taken out, the choreographer also underwent a breast lift (before and after images above)

The TV star told The Mirror: 'I was always ill with the flu or a cold. A lady who did my book said it could be the breast implants. Then I got that job on Strictly and did Who Do You Think You Are? and I realised I had cancer going back in my family.

'At the mammogram the nurse said they could not see behind the implants. What people dont know is that it is not the implant but what grows around it. I have all the photos of what grew around my chest.'

Shirley, who has been isolating with her boyfriend Danny Taylor, 47, amid UK's coronavirus lockdown, admitted she's had to adjust from seeing the actor weekly to being 'confined' with him '24/7', insisting she's 'a bit set in my ways'.

The ballroom dancing champion recently told the Loose Women panel she wouldn't rule out expanding her family with her hunky beau.

She said: 'We have talked about that. It's quite important. It doesn't matter who has the home. If you can give a home to someone who's been in care, that's quite important.'

'He's been a massive support. I couldn't have done this journey [referencing breast implant removal] without him.

'It's quite a tough decision to make and it took me a few years to do it. It's definitely something that's running through the family.'
The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday allowed opening of betel mandis (wholesale market) in 21 districts, Hindustan Times Hindi language publication Live Hindustan reported. The decision was taken in view of losses suffered by the betel industry due to Covid-19 lockdown.

The order by the state food department said that the advisory issued by the Centre has allowed horticultural crops, and so, the production and distribution of betel leaves is being allowed, Live Hindustan reported.

The order, however, asked district authorities to ensure social distancing norms are followed at the wholesale market.

Unnao, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Balliah, Ghazipur, Lalitpur, Banda, Azamgarh, Hardoi, Lucknow, Kanpur Urban, Amethi, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Mahoba are districts where betel leaves are produced.

As many as 77 new Covid-19 cases were detected in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, taking the states count to 2,211, the state health department said.

The Union health ministry has, however, confirmed 2,203 cases in its update posted in the website on Friday morning.

Out of the total cases, 551 patients have been cured while 40 others lost their lives due to the infection, the state health department said.

The Centre has, meanwhile, issued orders to states and union territories to facilitate inter-state movement of stranded people, as per guidelines laid down by the Union Home Ministry.

Uttar Pradesh announced its own plans to transport a million workers on Tuesday itself, a day before the guidelines were issued. And on Thursday, state officials said they will try to bring back most of the workers within a week. UP, Indias most populous state, has already brought back 2,70,000 workers from Delhi and Haryana.
Press release

Paris La Defense, 30 April 2020

Availability of 2019 Universal Registration Document (French version)

Albioma announces that the French version of its Universal Registration Document for the 2019 financial year has been made available to the public. It has been filed with the French Financial Market Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers) on 30 April 2020, under number D-20.0417.

The 2019 Universal Registration Document includes:

the Annual Financial Report for the 2019 financial year;

the report of the Board of Directors on corporate governance for the 2019 financial year;

the description of the share buy-back programme submitted for approval at the General Meeting of shareholders of 29 May 2020.

The Universal Registration Document may be consulted on Albiomas website, www.albioma.com (Financial publications tab) and is available upon simple request at the Companys head office at the following address: Albioma, Company Secretariat, Tour Opus 12, 77 esplanade du General de Gaulle, 92914 La Defense Cedex, France.

The English version of the Universal Registration Document shall be available shortly.

Next on the agenda: annual General Meeting of shareholders, on 29 May 2020 at 3 pm (CET).

About Albioma Contacts An independent renewable energy producer, Albioma is committed to the energy transition thanks to biomass and photovoltaics.



The Group, which is established in Overseas France, Mauritius and Brazil, has developed a unique partnership for 25 years with the sugar industry, to produce renewable energy from bagasse, a fibrous residue from sugar cane.



Albioma is also the leading generator of photovoltaic power overseas where it constructs and operates innovative projects with integrated storage capabilities. Investor

Julien Gauthier

+33 (0)1 47 76 67 00



Media

Charlotte Neuvy

+33 (0)1 47 76 66 65

presse@albioma.com Albioma shares are listed on EURONEXT PARIS (sub B) and eligible for the deferred settlement service (SRD) and PEA-PME plans (ISIN FR0000060402  ticker: ABIO). www.albioma.com





Attachment
Actor Rishi Kapoors son-in-law, Bharat Sahni, has written a condolence message for him on social media. Rishi died on Thursday, after a two-year-long battle with cancer.

Bharat, who is married to Rishis daughter Riddhima, wrote on Instagram, Will never forget the love you gave me. You taught me so much in the little time I had with you. Simply broken today. Lost for words. Love you and will miss you a lot. R.I.P. Papa. He also added several pictures of Rishi posing with the family, particularly his granddaughter, Samara.

Riddhima couldnt make it to the funeral, because of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. She was granted permission to travel to Mumbai by road. Riddhima also took to Instagram to post messages for her father. Papa I love you I will always love you - RIP my strongest warrior I will miss you everyday I will miss your FaceTime calls everyday! I wish I could be there to say goodbye to you ! Until we meet again papa I love you - your Mushk forever, she wrote.

Also read: Amitabh Bachchan says Rishi Kapoor never lamented his condition, would say routine visit to hospital, Ill be back shortly

Rishis niece, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan also shared messages on social media. Kareena posted a video of Rishi singing a classic song from Bobby, that was recreated for Saif Ali Khans Hum Tum. She also posted pictures of her father Randhir Kapoor, posing with Rishi when they were both children. She captioned it, The best boys I know... Papa and Chintu uncle. Kareenas sister, Karisma Kapoor shared a video from the film D-Day, and honoured both her uncle and actor Irrfan Khan, who died on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, brothers Armaan Jain and Aadar Jain shared the familys statement on Instagram stories. Rishi was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018, and spent a year getting treatment in New York City.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Jamaka Cottingham lost the energy to get out of his bunk in the Harris County Jail.

Dizzy and fatigued, his condition had deteriorated. He didnt have an appetite and felt glued to his bed.

After nearly two months inside  mostly confined to his dorm with around 50 other men  Cottingham faced a nightmare scenario: catching coronavirus in jail when prosecutors agreed that the original conviction keeping him locked up was questionable and he should get a new trial. Cottinghams original attorney did not use evidence that could have exonerated him, court records say.

I felt angry, he said. This case has been affecting me for over 20 years.

Cottingham had been convicted at 17 on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. He served his sentence but on Feb. 20 was booked on a parole violation.

Cottinghams new attorney, Josh Schaffer, had been working for years to prove his innocence. But by the time he and prosecutors reached an agreement and filed paperwork laying out the issues in the case  and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice agreed to drop the parole violation warrant  it was too late.

Cottingham, now 40, tested positive for COVID-19 on April 15 at Ben Taub Hospital, days before his release.

The Harris County District Attorneys office said it offered to sign off on an agreement in December; Schaffer was seeking a declaration of actual innocence and continued to negotiate for that.

Schaffer said the case shows how the pandemic complicates the process of fighting a conviction, an already time-intensive legal struggle aimed at securing an inmates release.

Even with a favorable outcome for Cottingham, he couldnt avoid the virus.

I did almost 16 years in prison, and that two months was worse than anything Ive experienced, Cottingham told the Houston Chronicle. Im looking at people laying in a bunk like they were dying, and then youre looking at the news and you see people dying. Ive never experiencing anything like that. Its scary.

A new drug charge on Feb. 6 triggered Cottinghams parole violation. He was accused of possessing more than 400 grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

In the original case, he was identified as one of two suspects who on Jan. 13, 1997 robbed Kenneth Brown, a 39-year-old construction worker, at gunpoint in a convenience store parking lot in Houston. A third person drove a getaway car, but Brown could not identify the driver.

A month after the robbery, Brown said he spotted Cottingham riding a bike within a mile of the crime scene. At the time, Cottingham was wearing a dark blue sweatshirt that Brown said was probably the same one worn by the second robber. Brown identified him as the second robber at trial.

This has all the classic characteristics of a mistaken identification it wasnt even a physical description of him or his face, Schaffer said.

Cottingham pleaded not guilty, but a jury sentenced him to 30 years in prison. He was released on parole in 2012. By that point, Schaffer had already asked for a review of the robbery and uncovered details in the original police reports that Cottinghams attorney did not use at trial.

Schaffer learned that police had lifted fingerprints from the car used in the robbery. One matched the left middle finger of Marty Richard Duran, according to court records. Duran later pleaded guilty to charges of murder and aggravated assault, crimes committed during the same time period as the robbery in which Cottingham was charged.

Schaffer interviewed Duran in 2007. Duran admitted to the robbery and said he did not know Cottingham. A crime lab excluded Cottingham as a source of the prints on the stolen car, court documents say.

Duran and an accomplice were not charged because the statute of limitations had expired, Schaffer said.

Scaeffers new evidence led prosecutors to conclude that Cottingham should get a new trial.

There is a reasonable probability that, but for counsels deficient performance, (Cottingham) would not have been convicted, according to an agreed order, signed by prosecutors, requesting a new trial.

When Cottingham landed in jail in February on the parole violation, Schaffer hustled to finalize an agreement with prosecutors to get him out.

I can tell you that the (order) was filed as soon as there was a joint agreement, said Dane Schiller, a spokesman with the Harris County District Attorneys Office. We had told defense counsel last December that wed agree to filing a joint motion for a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel.

The 19-page formal agreement was filed April 13. After some back-and-forth with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice parole division, the state agency agreed to allow his release.

In jail, Cottingham complained every day about the tight living quarters. He said he couldnt avoid brushing against the man next to him while talking on the phone. Inmates slept so close to each other he could reach over and nearly touch the bunk next to his, he said.

Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

There was no way we could social distance from each other, he said.

By Thursday, more than 390 jail inmates had tested positive.

Cottingham is now recovering in his South Park-area home. He remains on parole while his case makes its way to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to give him a new trial.

Cottinghams release could be viewed as a success story, Schaffer said, but even then it took weeks.

His other clients in state custody have a much more difficult road ahead, he said.

I cant move their cases fast enough, he said. Because the law doesnt allow for it.

julian.gill@chron.com
Local authorities sealed Nanded's Hazur Sahib gurdwara on Friday, hours before Punjab reported that 91 more people who returned from the shrine in Maharashtra had tested positive for coronavirus.

So far, 197 pilgrims out of the 3,500 rought back from the Maharashtra gurdwara, among the holiest sites in Sikhism, have contracted the infection, according to authorities in Punjab.

The returning pilgrims formed the bulk of 105 fresh cases reported in Punjab on Friday.

The 197 Nanded pilgrims are a third of the 585 confirmed coronavirus cases reported so far in Punjab. Taking into account the 20 deaths and people who have recovered, they represent about 40 per cent of the active cases in the state.

In neighbouring Haryana, 18 Nanded pilgrims are in quarantine, officials said.

About 4,000 pilgrims from Punjab had remained stranded for about a month at Hazur Sahib gurdwara in Nanded due to the nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Gurdwara Langar Sahib on the same premises, which serves food to all visitors, has also been closed, officials said in Nanded.

"District and civic officials reached the gurdwara in the morning on Friday and directed that it be closed and the langar service be stopped," gurdwara superintendent Gurvinder Singh Wadhwa said.

The pilgrims heading back to Punjab had made halts at Indore, one of the country's worst coronavirus-affected cities, Bhilwara and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and Bhatinda, according to gurdwara functionaries.

Baba Balwinder Singh of Langar Sahib said there are still about 175 people from different states in the complex.

In a video clip, Akal Takht jathedar Harpreet Singh on Friday claimed there was a conspiracy to malign the Sikhs just as the Muslims were after the Tablighi Jamaat episode.

The reference by the Amritsar-based jathedar was to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi in March. Hundreds of people who participated and then returned to their homes across the country had tested positive.

It is being propagated as if Takht Sri Hazur Sahib was the home to coronavirus and these people carried it with them to Punjab, he alleged.

It is a very big conspiracy, the jathedar said.

He said the pilgrims stayed at the Nanded gurdwara's sarai for over a month, volunteering for the langar sewa.

How come they turned coronavirus positive after they reached Punjab? This question comes to the mind of everyone, the religious leader claimed.

Harpreet Singh said there were complaints about the quarantine arrangements made for them and urged Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to set things right.

A video surfaced in Amritsar where some women are complaining that they are not getting water to drink. Some are being kept in 'deras' which is against their sentiments. It appears to be the irresponsibility on the part of the government, he said.

He said the state government should have contacted the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for arranging the stay and meals for the quarantined pilgrims.

Amarinder Singh has asked people not to be worried about the sudden spike in cases, saying most of the new cases are people coming from other states.

The state government had already ordered a 21-day quarantine for people coming from outside.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
About 400 migrant workers belonging to West Bengal on Friday began their journey back home from Jharkhand's Pakur district, officials said here.

The workers completed the 28-day quarantine period, they said.

All of them underwent thermal screening and other health checks before boarding buses, officials said.

The migrant workers, who hail from Bardhaman, Birbhum, Murshidabad and Malda districts, would be handed over to the nodal officers of West Bengal at the border, from where transport would be arranged to their destinations, the officials added.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday had said that stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists and students would be allowed to move with conditions during the lockdown.

The Railways on Friday ran its first special train to ferry 1,200 stranded migrants from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand since its services were suspended due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Marking the second demonstration in the month, dozens of protesters, some of them armed, entered the Capitol building in the US state of Michigan on April 30. The furious 'Michiganders' demanded the state governor to lift strict lockdown orders imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus. According to international media reports, the demonstrators crowded the lobby of the building asking to be allowed inside the House chamber but were eventually blocked by the police.

Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today. #mileg pic.twitter.com/voOZpPYWOs  Senator Dayna Polehanki (@SenPolehanki) April 30, 2020

The protest was organized by a group called Michigan United for Liberty who dubbed the rally as 'American Patriot rally.' Adding to the people inside the building, there were hundreds waiting outside with signboards which showed Governor Gretchen Whitmer as Adolf Hitler. This comes just a day after the Michigan court ruled in favour of the democrat governor saying that the 'stay at home' directive issued by her did not infringe on the citizen's constitutional rights.

Read: Michigans Gov Defends Stay-at-home Extension As 41 New Deaths Reported

'Operation Gridlock'

Previously, on April 16, nearly 3,000 protestors descended into the building for 'Operation Gridlock' causing a major roadblock in and around the Capitol building. The demonstrators were later reinforced by the country's President Donald Trump, who took to Twitter to extend his support. Gov. Whitmer, who has emerged as a potential running mate for Joe Biden shrugged the protests and defended the state saying that millions of 'Michiganders' were doing their part to 'slow the virus' every day which she reiterated again after yesterdays protest.

Read: Michigan Consumers Buy Meat Amid Shortage Fears

LIBERATE MICHIGAN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020

Ive said it before, and Ill say it again  Michigan is an extraordinary place to live because of the people who call it home. There are millions of Michiganders doing their part to slow the spread of #COVID19 every single day. We are going to get through this together.  Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) April 30, 2020

Read: Anti-shutdown Protesters Enter Michigan Capitol

Read: University Of Michigan Hopes To Settle Doctor Abuse Lawsuits

(Image credits: SenPolehanki)


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Macy's Inc. plans to re-open its stores in a phased manner, with 68 of its stores to function again from next week.



The department store chain will re-open these stores on Monday, May 4 in states such as Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and South Carolina, where social distancing restrictions are being eased.



The company aims to re-open all 775 of its stores within the next six to eight weeks, provided coronavirus infection rates continue to fall and stores get permission from the governments to reopen.



In order to enhance the safety of its customers and employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Macy's said it will enforce social distancing as well as reduce contact between customers and its employees at its stores.



The company will perform wellness checks for employees before they report to work and also provide them safety equipment. Prior to a store's opening, employees will go through additional training on health and safety standards.



Macy's said that social distancing guidelines, requiring customers and colleagues to remain six feet apart, will be visible throughout its stores. Key reminders will be placed in queue lines, and occupancy guidelines will be enforced.



The company will install sanitizer depots in frequently visited locations throughout the store such as entrances, escalators, elevators, and points of sale. Protective plexiglass will be installed at points of sale within all stores.



Frequently visited locations at the stores, including elevators, escalators, bathrooms, and fitting rooms will be cleaned more regularly.



Macy's will also suspend spa-like services as well as alteration services and temporarily pause trying on intimate apparel in stores. Customers will be required to use hand sanitizers prior to trying on jewelry or watches. There will also be fewer fitting rooms available for use.



Returned clothing, as well as clothing items that have been tried on and rejected, will be kept off the sales floor for 24 hours.



Macy's said in March that it will furlough a majority of employees, joining other retailers in the U.S. announcing layoffs as the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the temporary closure of retail stores nationwide.



In February, Macy's announced its plan to close 125 stores over the next three years and to cut around 2,000 jobs as it struggled to boost its sales amid a weakening retail climate.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 23:19:59|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday denied an allegation that he had sexually assaulted a former Senate staffer 27 years ago, saying "this never happened."

In his first detailed response to the allegation from Tara Reade, the former U.S. vice president said that while "women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced," their allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault "should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny."

Urging media to "examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies" of Reade's claims, Biden said news organizations that interviewed former staffers of his office found no one "who corroborated her allegations in any way," adding that his office and he himself "would not have tolerated harassment in any way."

Speaking of the allegation against him during an interview with MSNBC on Friday morning, Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said, "No, it is not true. I'm saying unequivocally it never, never happened."

At the center of the scandal is an allegation made in March by Reade, a former aide in Biden's Senate office, that she was sexually assaulted in 1993 on Capitol Hill by Biden, who was a senator from Delaware at that time.

Biden, who is to take on President Donald Trump -- who has also faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct but denied all of them -- in the general election later this year, has been under mounting pressure from several women's right groups to address the issue. His slow response has even frustrated some Democrats.

"I think he should respond," Trump said of Biden on Thursday. "It could be false accusations."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, told reporters on the same day that she has "a great comfort level of the situation with the situation as I see it, with all due respect in the world for any woman who comes forward, with all the highest regard for Joe Biden."

Biden's direct response to the matter came as he formally began selecting his running mates. Among his potential running mates are Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kamala Harris of California, as well as former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams, who have voiced support for him despite the allegation. Enditem
New Delhi, May 1 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said Delhi will continue plasma therapy trial as it has the Central approval and also the trial has shown positive results in critically ill patients.

Addressing the media, Kejriwal said out of 3,515 coronavirus cases in Delhi, 1,100 patients have recovered and are discharged from hospitals.

Kejriwal said 59 people have lost their lives and there are 2,362 active cases in Delhi.

"The testing rate in Delhi has increased and 2,300 tests per 1 million people are conducted, as against the national average of 500 tests per million people," the Chief Minister said.

He said common perception would be that there is a sudden and steady rise in the number of COVID cases in Delhi, but "we have also decided that we will increase testing in Delhi to monitor those who have been infected and treat them thereafter".

He said this would also ensure the prevention of coronavirus spread from infected people.

"We are taking all possible steps to stop the spread of coronavirus. We have created containment zones, which are now getting de-contained because of our measures. We have also deployed machines for sanitisation," he added.

Kejriwal said the initial results of plasma therapy are positive.

"We got permission for a plasma therapy trial by the Central government in the Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi. The patient who was given the first trial and was admitted to an ICU in a critical condition recovered and was discharged from the hospital on Thursday because of the therapy," he said.

Kejriwal said a few statements on behalf of the Union government caused the people to believe that plasma therapy will be halted in Delhi.

"The Union government said that only those states permitted by it should conduct the plasma therapy trials. The results of the plasma therapy are not final, these results are just based on trials. Initial results are satisfactory and we hope that this technique can be treated as a sustainable solution for the future. We will continue the trial of the therapy." Kejriwal said the government is contacting the people who have recovered, and almost every person is ready to donate their plasma.

The Chief Minister said that the Delhi government is trying its best to provide relief to the people who have been majorly affected by the COVID lockdown.

He said the quantity of ration provided will be doubled and kits having essential items will be given to all the PDS cardholders and non-cardholders.

"This month, we will double the free ration i.e., 10 kg ration per person per month. Besides, we will also be providing kits containing necessary items such as soap and spices." On the movement of students and migrants, Kejriwal said many students from Delhi were studying in Kota, and they had been waiting to come back to their city.

"But, we could not take any action without any approval from the Central government. The Central government has allowed the movement now, and around 40 private buses will be leaving for Kota. I am glad that students will reach Delhi and will be able to meet their parents tomorrow." However, he advised them to quarantine themselves for the next 14 days so that their family members are safe.

Kejriwal said that he is in talks with other states on the status of migrant workers.

"I have been getting calls and messages asking how people from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar would travel back to their native places. We are regularly communicating with these state governments, and the final plan will be shared soon," he said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
THE health secretary Matt Hancock has said a case could be made for easing lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland ahead of other UK regions.

Mr Hancock made the comments to the Belfast Telegraph at the Downing Street briefing, but declined to say if he would support calls for an all-island approach to fighting the pandemic.

The thing is that across the UK the level of the virus has been different in different parts of the country, he said.

We saw it (earlier) that in London the level has been much higher than in other parts of the country.

But whats interesting is that the shape of the curve, the rise and then the fall in the virus thats just started has been basically the same throughout the country.

That means that moving together was the right approach at the start. I can see the case that could be made and of course we respect the devolution settlement.

But ultimately if you look at the shape of the curve, getting R down (the rate at which the virus spreads) and getting the level of new cases right down, thats happened in the UK together.

Asked about an all-island approach on dealing with Covid-19, he said: Of course the relationship with the Republic is important as well. We have good relations in terms of a political level but also at a medical level in conversations with the Republic on the decisions that they take.

But we have very intensive conversations within the UK about the timing of changes within the country.

Earlier, the First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill were also asked about an all Ireland dimension to any lockdown exit strategy.

This followed an Executive meeting this week with the Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney and the Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis.

Mrs Foster commented: I think Ive always been clear that this is not a political issue . This an issue about saving lives. Thats always been the modus operandi of the Executive, and certainly for me, in terms of the way forward.

She said it was critically important to share information with the Irish Republic, but Stormont would continue to take advice from Northern Irelands Chief Medical Officer.

Read More

She added: There is a need not just to have a north-south approach, to what is going on, but also an east-west approach Ive always believed that the totality of relationships are important in relation to tackling this virus - and that will continue to be my view.

Ms ONeill added: We talked about exit and recovery and how we can move at similar times given that the disease is obviously spreading at a similar way across the island...I think its just common sense, what happens in Derry and Donegal, theyre going to have knock on impact on each other

I think its important that where we can, we actually work in tandem and work our way through this.. as joint up as we possibly can.
Secretary of Health says state of Quintana Roo is not overwhelmed

Chetumal, Q.R.  The Ministry of Health of Quintana Roo denies that the state is overwhelmed by the coronavirus health contingency, as quoted by her counterpart from Nuevo Leon.

Manuel Enrique de la O Cavazos, the Secretary of Health for Nuevo Leon, made the comment to Alejandra Aguirre Crespo, the Secretary of Health for Quintana Roo who has rejected the statement that Quintana Roo is near collapse.

In a statement, Aguirre Crespo regretted the comments of Manuel Enrique de la O Cavazos and assured that they are totally removed from reality.

I regret the recent comments of the Secretary of Health of Nuevo Leon, Manuel Enrique de la O Cavazos as they differ from reality. In Quintana Roo, we are not overwhelmed by the contingency, she remarked.

Aguirre Crespo did however recognized that in Quintana Roo, as has been happening throughout the country, there is a shortage of trained doctors to care for those who fall ill with COVID-19, but that in no way means that we are overwhelmed, on the contrary, we have unused installed capacity, she clarified adding we have more beds and fans than we do sick.

But given the shortage of specialist doctors, we are acting. We are recruiting health professionals and training them, she explained.

She clarified that her conversation with Dr. De la O Cavazos was to learn about the experience of his state in telemedicine, a modality that can help us at this stage of the pandemic and which, in Nuevo Leon, has been effective.

Talking with health officials in other states is a daily practice that allows us to exchange information, points of view and experiences to offer the best answers to citizens and, above all, to those with affected health, she said.

She reiterated that in Quintana Roo we have worked to face the contingency in accordance with the specific conditions of each of our municipalities. It has been a broad and responsible approach, supported by scientific evidence and respectful of the rights of those who inhabit this state.

On May 1, the first of three mobile hospital units began operating in a Cancun General Hospital parking lot to help detect patients with coronavirus.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:18:37|Editor: huaxia

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People work at a construction site of a utility tunnel in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China is getting the world's largest workforce back to work as the nationwide battle against COVID-19 has secured major strategic achievements.

The unprecedented fight has nurtured new trends in the workplace. For example, more attention is being paid to public health and e-commerce to boost consumption and emerging sectors brought by new applications based on the country's rapid new infrastructure development of 5G networks and data centers.

In this aerial photo taken on April 29, 2020, representatives of frontline health workers fighting COVID-19 attend a bell-ringing ceremony at the Yellow Crane Tower, or Huanghelou, a landmark in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

ANGELS OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Ye Man, head nurse of gastrointestinal department of Hubei General Hospital East District, one of the five remaining COVID-19 designated hospitals in Wuhan, is taking her first weeklong vacation since January.

The 34-year-old mother of two started to take a week off on Monday, one day after her hospital cleared all remaining confirmed COVID-19 patients. The nine ICU wards in her hospital had been kept occupied over the past several months.

Friday marked International Workers' Day, and the start of China's five-day public holiday. Ye said she planned to visit urban parks with her family during the holiday.

At her busiest point, she and her colleagues took care of a ward filled with 40 COVID-19 patients.

"It was a really tough time," she recalled. She had to wear a protective gown and a mask for nine hours a day and be separated from her family to avoid possible cross-infections.

Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province and once hard hit by COVID-19, cleared all confirmed cases in hospitals on April 26. Over 42,000 medical workers mobilized nationwide to aid Hubei have contributed to achieving a decisive outcome in the fight to defend Hubei and Wuhan.

In an inspection tour to Wuhan on March 10, President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, lauded medical workers as "the most beautiful angels" and "messengers of light and hope."

To reward brave and dedicated medics, major tourist sites in Hubei are offering free entry to medical staff over the following two years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about development of the black fungus industry in Jinmi Village of Xiaoling Township in Zhashui County, Shangluo City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

LIVESTREAMING ANCHORS

"We have a new batch of supplies today. Those who did not get the goods should hurry to buy now," said Li Xuying, a livestreaming anchorwoman selling agaric mushrooms in Zhashui, a small county deep in the Qinling Mountains in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Li has been prepared for a boom of online shopping in the holiday, because online buyers rushed to her livestreaming website to place orders, after Xi inspected the county and chatted with her in the village of Jinmi during a recent tour to Shaanxi.

"I used to sell goods worth about 50,000 yuan (7,070 U.S. dollars) on average after a six-hour livestreaming session. Now the sales are 10 times that," she said.

Li was one of the 10 sales staff sent by the local agricultural e-commerce firm to Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao's headquarters for livestreaming training. She said livestreaming is effective in bridging buyers and farmers, through which viewers can watch planting and harvesting online.

With the number of netizens in China reaching 904 million in March, e-commerce has been one of the popular means of promoting the sale of farm produce and helping farmers shake off poverty. Despite the impact of COVID-19, the country is determined to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of this year.

Workers work at the construction site of a 5G base station at Chongqing Hi-tech Zone in Chongqing, southwest China, April 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

HI-TECH WORKERS IN "NEW INFRASTRUCTURE" BUILDING

As an elasticity calculation engineer of Alibaba Cloud, Zhao Kun and his colleagues always stay on alert for high data flow, for example, brought by the anticipated online shopping spike during the holiday.

"The profession, which may sound obscure, is actually closely connected to everyone's life, as cloud computing is the infrastructure supporting high-tech applications of artificial intelligence and blockchain," said Zhao.

The Chinese leadership has underscored expediting "new infrastructure" development to boost industrial and consumption upgrading and catalyze new growth drivers.

Seizing the opportunities of industrial digitization and digital industrialization, China needs to expedite the construction of "new infrastructure" projects such as 5G networks and data centers, and deploy strategic emerging sectors and industries of the future including the digital economy, life health services and new materials, President Xi has said.

During the epidemic, Zhao and his colleagues expanded more than 100,000 cloud servers to ensure the stable operation of "cloud classrooms" and "cloud offices" for millions of people working and studying from home.

In the "new infrastructure" building, people like Zhao contribute to constructing the virtual infrastructure of an ecosystem, which enables e-commerce, e-payment, online teaching and the digital transformation of manufacturing and supply chain management.

In early April, China released a plan on promoting the transformation of enterprises toward digitalization and intelligence by further expanding the application of cloud and data technologies, to nurture new business models of the digital economy. 
New Delhi, May 1 : Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the city's healthcare professionls will continue to use plasma therapy on coronavirus patients in Delhi as it has approval from the Centre and also it had showed positive results in several critical patients.

Kejriwal said a few statements on behalf of the Union government had led the people to believe that the plasma therapy will be halted in Delhi.

"The Union government said that only the states permitted by it should conduct the plasma therapy trials. The results of the therapy are not final; these results are just based on trials. Initial results are satisfactory and we hope that this technique can be treated as a sustainable solution for the future. We will continue trial of plasma therapy." Addressing the media, Kejriwal said that of the 3,515 coronavirus cases in Delhi, 1,100 patients have recovered and since discharged from hospitals. Kejriwal said 59 people have lost their lives, whereas there are 2,362 active cases in Delhi.

"The testing rate in Delhi has increased and 2,300 tests per million people conducted, as against a national average of 500 tests per million people," the Chief Minister said.

He said: "We have decided to increase corona tests in Delhi to monitor those who have been infected and treat them thereafter." It will ensure prevention of the spread of coronavirus from infected people, the Chief Minister added.

"We are taking all possible steps to stop the spread of coronavirus. We have created containment zones, where we have taken specific measures to redress the situation. We have also deployed machinery for sanitisation," he added.

Kejriwal said that the initial results of plasma therapy are positive.

"We got permission for plasma therapy trial by the central government in the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital. The first patient given the therapy was in the ICU but has since recovered and discharged on Thursday because of the therapy," he said.

Kejriwal said the government is contacting recovered patients, and almost everyone of these is ready to donate their plasma.

The Chief Minister said that the Delhi government is trying its best to provide relief to the people who have been majorly affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

He said that the quantity of ration provided per month will be doubled and kits with essential items will be given to all PDS cardholders and non-cardholders.

"This month, we will provide them twice for free, i.e., 10 kg ration per person, as against 5 kg ration per month. Along with the ration, we will also be providing kits which will have all the necessary items like soaps and spices." On the movement of stuck students and migrants, Kejriwal said many students from Delhi were studying in Kota in Rajasthan, and they had been waiting to return to their city.

"But we could not take any action without Centre's approval. Since the Centre has now allowed the movement, around 40 private buses will be leaving for Kota. Students will reach Delhi and meet their parents tomorrow." However, he advised the students to quarantine themselves for 14 days once they are back in Delhi so that their family members are safe.

Kejriwal said that he is in talks with other states on the status of hundreds of migrant workers stranded in Delhi.

"I have been getting calls and messages asking how people from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar will travel back to their native places. We are regularly communicating with their states' governments, and the final plan will be shared soon. Please be patient till then, and stay at home for your own safety and the safety of your family members," he said.
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The coverage on this live blog has ended  but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus, visit the live blog from CNBC's U.S. team. Global cases: More than 3.27 million

Global deaths: More than 233,704 The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 7:15 p.m. Beijing time. All times below are in Beijing time.

7:15 pm: China's Hubei province, where Covid-19 was first detected, set to relax lockdown measures

China's central province of Hubei, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is reportedly poised to ease lockdown restrictions from Saturday. Hubei's health commission posted on its official WeChat account on Friday that it would move to lower its emergency response level to the second-highest grade from May 2, according to Reuters. It marks a major milestone in China's fight against the coronavirus outbreak. World health officials believe the coronavirus likely emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital, in December. To date, more than 3.27 million people have contracted Covid-19 worldwide, with 233,704 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.  Sam Meredith

Travelers walk to the exit of the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Wednesday, April 08, 2020, after 76 days of lockdown of the city due to Covid-19. Barcroft Media | Getty Images

6:45 pm: Iran reports 63 further deaths as a result of the coronavirus, death toll at 6,091

Iran reported the number of Covid-19 cases had reached 95,646 on Friday, a spokesperson for the health ministry said, according to Reuters. The health ministry also confirmed a further 63 deaths as a result of the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the country up to 6,091. The Islamic Republic is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in the Middle East.  Sam Meredith

6 pm: Spain's virus death toll climbs to 24,824

Spain on Friday reported a further 281 fatalities as a result of the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, the health ministry said, taking the nationwide death toll up to 24,824. The number of new coronavirus cases rose to 215,216 on Friday, up from 213,435 the day before. Spain has reported the second-highest number of Covid-19 infections worldwide. The U.S. has recorded the most coronavirus cases to date, accounting for roughly one-third the global total after surpassing the 1 million milestone earlier this week.  Sam Meredith

A woman wearing a sanitary mask as a preventive measure, leaving the train during the first day of work for non-essential sectors. Barcelona faces its 31st day of house confinement due to the contagion of Covid-19. Paco Freire | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

5:20 pm: How the gas that gave the world Viagra could help treat coronavirus patients

A range of studies and clinical trials underway at Massachusetts General Hospital aims to find out whether inhaled nitric oxide could help treat patients with the coronavirus. Nitric oxide is a colorless, tasteless and short-acting gas which widens blood vessels in the lungs when inhaled. Preliminary data has suggested that inhaled nitric oxide could have a virus-killing effect on the coronavirus, Massachusetts General Hospital says in an online statement. It is due to the genomic similarities between Covid-19 and those that caused the SARS and MERS outbreaks. Studies during the SARS outbreak in 2004 to 2005 demonstrated that nitric oxide was effective in killing that virus. To be sure, the effectiveness of nitric oxide in treating the new coronavirus has not been studied before. There are no known vaccines or specific antiviral medicines against Covid-19. In the 90s, nitric oxide played a central role in the development of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.  Sam Meredith

A Cataldo EMS team transports a suspected Covid-19 patient from Chelsea to Massachusetts General Hospital on April 23, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts United States. David Degner | Getty Images

4:55 pm: Russia reports record daily increase in Covid-19 cases

Russia's coronavirus crisis response center on Friday reported a record daily rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases. The country recorded an additional 7,933 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of reported coronavirus infections up to 114,431. The nationwide death toll rose to 1,169 on Friday, the crisis response center said, after 96 further fatalities since Thursday.  Sam Meredith

Physicians Tatyana Lesnykh (L) and Denis Medvedev put on protective gear ahead of entering the Red Zone of the COVID-19 treatment facility at Vinogradov City Clinical Hospital No 64. Valery Sharifulin

3:50 pm: Singapore adds another 932 new cases in preliminary update

Singapore reported an additional 932 new cases as on May 1, the health ministry said in its preliminary update. Most of the latest cases were foreign workers living in dormitories, and five of them were Singaporeans or permanent residents, official data showed. The latest addition will take the country's total confirmed cases to more than 17,000. Singapore has the highest number of reported cases in Southeast Asia, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.  Joanna Tan

3:30 pm: Ryanair grounds nearly all of its planes until July

Low-cost airline Ryanair said Friday it will ground 99% of its planes until July due to the impact of the coronavirus. It also stated it had begun talks with Boeing about cutting the number of product deliveries over the next two years, Reuters reported. Matt Clinch

2:45 pm: Malaysia eases some restrictions, most businesses set to reopen next week

Malaysia will allow most businesses to restart operations from May 4, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address the country was ready to start a controlled and careful reopening of economic activity, according to the news wire. Still, religious activities, large gatherings and businesses that involve close contacts  such as cinemas and night clubs  will not be allowed to reopen, Reuters said. Schools and universities will also remain closed.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

2:15 pm: How traders are adapting to life off the trading floor

Traders have had to rapidly adjust their day-to-day routine as the pandemic forced many around the world to work from home. Some are using software that lets them remotely log in to their work computers, while others have been given company PCs with specific programs installed. But it's not necessarily been a flawless transition, and wild volatility in the financial markets hasn't helped. A big complaint from traders is having to adapt from as many as six computer screens to just one or two in their home setup.  Ryan Browne, Elliot Smith

2:08 pm: Restaurant owners in Britain call on Deliveroo to drop commission fees

Restaurant owners across the U.K. want Deliveroo to lower the amount of commission they take on each delivery as they struggle to stay afloat. Deliveroo takes up to 35% commission plus VAT (a value-added tax which is like a goods and services tax) on some orders, leaving restaurant owners with relatively little to cover their costs. Restaurants were told to close in March but were able to carry on offering takeouts. To increase their orders, they raced to sign up to Deliveroo, UberEats and Just Eat.  Sam Shead

1:25 pm: EU chief backs investigation into virus origin and says China should be involved

The president of the European Commission backed calls for an investigation into the origin of the new coronavirus and said China should be involved in the process. Speaking to CNBC, Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU's executive arm, said she would like to see China work together with her organization, and others, to get to the bottom of exactly how it emerged.

Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Philipp von Ditfurth | picture alliance | Getty Images

"I think this is for all of us important, I mean for the whole world it is important. You never know when the next virus is starting, so we all want for the next time, we have learned our lesson and we've established a system of early warning that really functions and the whole world has to contribute to that," she told Geoff Cutmore in an exclusive interview Thursday. She called for more transparency in the future and said governments needed to learn lessons from the current crisis.  Silvia Amaro

12:39 pm: US report warns Afghanistan could face a 'health disaster'

The Covid-19 outbreak in Afghanistan could push the country to confront an approaching health crisis, a report sent to the U.S. Congress warned. The report was released Thursday by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko. "Afghanistan's numerous and, in some cases, unique vulnerabilitiesa weak health-care system, widespread malnutrition, porous borders, massive internal displacement, contiguity with Iran, and ongoing conflictmake it likely the country will confront a health disaster in the coming months," the report said. It added that there were concerns the virus outbreak could complicate peace talks, warning "intra-Afghan negotiations could be significantly hindered if a large number of prisoners on either side contract or die of the virus while in captivity." Afghanistan reported 2,171 cases of infection and 64 deaths so far, according to Johns Hopkins University data.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

11:26 am: Meatpacking plant in Colorado sees uptick in cases as operations restart

The number of reported coronavirus cases more than doubled over a few days at a JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado after reopening nearly a week ago, Reuters reported citing a union official. The plant in Greeley began operations again last Friday after two weeks of closure as the company sought to stem an outbreak among workers, Reuters reported. The number of confirmed cases at the plant spiked to 245 on Wednesday  from 120 on Sunday, a union spokesperson told Reuters. "The uptick in cases in a matter of days shows how serious this crisis is and the dangers that workers are facing every day just trying to do their jobs," Kim Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers, told Reuters. It comes as President Donald Trump this week invoked the Defense Production Act to mandate that meatpacking plants should remain open, as "closures threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain."  Joanna Tan

10:23 am: Major US airlines to require face masks on flights

Major carriers in the U.S. will start requiring passengers and employees who meet customers to wear cloth face coverings throughout the flight, announced trade group Airlines for America. This includes check-in, boarding, in-flight and deplaning, the statement said. "The requirement to wear a cloth face covering during air travel is just one of the ways carriers are working to protect passengers and employees throughout this crisis," said the trade group representing the largest U.S. airlines. "Carriers are working around the clock to sanitize cockpits, cabins and key touchpoints  like tray tables, arm rests, seatbelts, buttons, vents, handles and lavatories  with CDC-approved disinfectants." Members of the trade group include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.  Joanna Tan

An art installation depicting dozens of pink aircraft is seen at a parking garage at the San Diego International Airport (SAN) in San Diego, California, U.S., on April 27, 2020. Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

9:37 am: China reports 12 new cases, says half of them were 'imported'

China's National Health Commission said there were 12 new confirmed cases of infection and that six of them were attributed to travelers from overseas. No new deaths were reported but there were 25 additional asymptomatic cases. Cumulatively, there have been 82,874 confirmed cases of infection reported on the mainland and 4,633 people have died. On April 17, the cumulative death toll rose substantially after an investigation in the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak was first reported, added 1,290 deaths.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

9:14 am: California will allow marriage licenses to be obtained via video conferences

Adults in California would be able to obtain marriage licenses via videoconferencing for the next 60 days, Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted. Tweet: NEW: CA will now allow adults to obtain marriage licenses via videoconferencing for the next 60 days. The state has 48,917 confirmed cases of Covid-19, of which 3,497 people are in hospitals, Newsom tweeted.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

9:03 am: Walmart announced new delivery service under two hours

Walmart said its new express delivery service will deliver to customers in less than two hours. The service is already available across 100 Walmart stores since mid-April. It will be expanded to almost 1,000 stores in early May, according to Walmart. In the weeks after, the service will be rolled out to nearly 2,000 total stores. Customers can order across more than 160,000 items that Walmart carries, including food, groceries and everyday essentials. The service will cost $10 on top of existing delivery charges, but Walmart's Delivery Unlimited customers will pay a flat fee of $10 per express delivery.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

8:47 am: Australia reportedly planning how to restart sporting activities again

The Australian government will meet on Friday to discuss how sporting activities can restart now that daily reported cases in the country dwindle, Reuters reported citing two sources familiar with the details. "The agenda includes the principles for sport and other recreational activities," one source told the news agency. Australia's National Rugby League said it will resume a 20-round competition on May 28 but it still requires government permission to restart, according to Reuters. The health ministry said as of 6 a.m. local time Friday, there were 16 new cases. Australia has 6,762 total cases and 92 people have died.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

8:26 am: Smartphone shipments suffer largest on-year decline, IDC says

Global smartphone shipments fell 11.7% on-year in the first three months of 2020, preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed. Phone-makers shipped 275.8 million smartphones for the quarter. IDC said that while the first quarter usually experiences a "sequential (quarter-over-quarter) decline in shipments," this is the largest year-over-year decline ever. China experienced the largest regional decline for the quarter as shipments dropped 20.3% compared to a year ago. Most of China was shut in February for an extended period as part of the country's efforts to contain the outbreak. "The global dependency on China for its smartphone supply chain also caused major issues as the quarter progressed," IDC said. Research firm Counterpoint said its analysis showed the global smartphone market declined 13% on-year in the quarter.  Saheli Roy Choudhury

7:42 am: Tons of fruit and flowers are at risk of spoiling as virus disrupts supply chains

Farmers globally are grappling with excess supplies of their products as their harvests cannot get to their intended customers due to disruptions from lockdowns and movement restrictions. Some have turned to creative ways to get rid of excess supplies. Belgians have been asked to eat more fries, as more than 750,000 tons of potatoes are at risk of being thrown away; Indian farmers are feeding their cows strawberries, which are normally meant for tourists and ice-cream producers; while companies in the Netherlands are buying up flowers to give away to employees. "The lockdowns that we are all experiencing across the globe are causing a disruption of labor, so we are not getting people into the fields to produce on farms," said Michael Strano, a lead principal investigator for disruptive and sustainable technology in agriculture at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. "It's a disruption of worldwide transport and supply chains that is causing this unusual phenomenon of shortages in some areas and excess in others," he added.  Huileng Tan

7:30 am: Global cases exceed 3.2 million, death toll over 233,000

Over 3.2 million people have been infected worldwide by the coronavirus and more than 233,000 people have died from the respiratory disease Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

A man wearing a mask tries to catch a taxi at Times Square amid the Covid-19 pandemic on April 30, 2020 in New York City. Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images

The United States reported the most number of cases, with over 1 million infections and more than 62,000 people deaths, Hopkins data showed. Earlier this week, the death toll surpassed American fatalities from the Vietnam War. Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Germany remain some of the worst-affected countries after the U.S. The virus outbreak was reported in China's Hubei province late last year before it spread rapidly to the rest of the world in just four months.  Saheli Roy Choudhury All times below are in Eastern time.

6:39 pm: Ex-TARP watchdog says Washington is to blame for large companies receiving small business loans

6:23 pm: Trump suspects coronavirus outbreak came from China lab, doesn't cite evidence
The Federal Reserve revamped its Main Street Lending Program in ways that will allow battered oil companies to qualify for the aid after industry allies lobbied the Trump administration for changes.

Larger, more heavily indebted companies can now qualify and use the money to pay off prior loans under the changes the central bank announced Thursday.

The move opens the door to more oil and gas producers, said Senator Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, who had pressed the administration on the issue as energy companies struggle to survive an epic collapse in fuel demand and crude prices.

With the decrease in demand and oversupply due to the global oil price war creating a valley for these highly leveraged companies, this expansion will help them bridge the gap as we look to reopen America, Cramer said in an emailed statement Thursday.

RELATED: Fed opens door for oil company loans

Environmentalists blasted the shifts they said rewarded oil companies that took on too much debt and were overproducing crude even before the coronavirus pandemic caused demand to plunge.

These changes directly reflect demands from polluters and their favorite members of Congress, said Lukas Ross with the environmental group Friends of the Earth. Long before the coronavirus, the drillers were in deep trouble. Now frackers want to pay back their debts with our money. Trumps big oil bailout must be stopped.

For weeks, oil industry advocates have warned the original program structure would prevent beleaguered drillers from accessing capital under the program.

Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America argued oil companies needed more flexibility to use Main Street loans to repay existing debt -- something that was previously off limits but will now be allowed under some conditions.

Maximum loan totals under the Main Street program are also being hiked to $200 million -- from an earlier $150 million cap viewed as too low to help oil producers.

Great news out of the Fed today in support of struggling U.S. energy companies, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in a tweet Thursday. He added that he would continue his work with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to provide other relief to the industry.

The Fed said the changes were not targeted to the oil and gas industry or any industry in particular but followed additional research into what slice of U.S. companies dont have ready access to capital markets.

HEADING IN: Saudi oil flotilla heading to U.S. to worsen port congestion

Nevertheless, the new terms are likely to open it up to a wider group of energy firms, and overseers worried the Fed was bending to pressure.

The major changes announced today mirror the top requests of the oil and gas industry, said Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the congressional panel appointed to scrutinize implementation of the Feds and part of the Treasurys virus-relief programs.

That raises questions about how the changes promote the broader public interest -- especially when these companies will still have no real obligation to retain or rehire their workers, Ramamurti said on Twitter.

Credit Ratings

Even before the changes, oil and gas companies with investment-grade credit ratings could secure funding through a separate program, the Feds Primary and Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facilities.

However, under term sheets released April 9, funding was restricted to firms that had credit ratings of at least BBB-/Baa3 as of March 22 -- a cutoff date that could come too late for some oil producers, such as Occidental Petroleum Corp., which had its debt cut to junk by Moodys on March 18, with Fitch and S&P following on March 20 and March 25, respectively.

Republicans have argued that funding should be available to oil companies with credit ratings that slipped amid the coronavirus pandemic and a surge in crude unleashed by a Russia-Saudi Arabia battle for market share.

On Thursday, the Fed said lenders now will be able to apply their industry-specific expertise and underwriting standards to best measure a borrowers income.

Highly leveraged companies also can take advantage of a new, third loan option that comes with increased risk sharing by lenders.

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It was not clear Thursday whether the changes would allow Occidental to qualify for aid -- or whether potentially newly eligible oil companies would seek it. Occidental declined to comment on the matter.

The Feds approach to tweaking the Main Street loan program avoids creating an oil industry-specific initiative that could be unpopular with the public or require approval from Congress, where Democrats are deeply opposed.

Fed emergency facilities are by law required to be broad-based, which in the central banks view prohibits lending aid to specific industries.

The oil industry itself has been split over government aid targeted to the sector. While some smaller, independent producers and their trade groups have clamored for government loans, the idea of industry-targeted aid has drawn resistance from larger, multinational oil companies better able to ride the rout as well as their top lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute.

Industry opponents of targeted loans are concerned that taking taxpayer money now could cost them political capital in Washington and be used by drilling foes against the sector later.

You cant have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down, said American Petroleum Institute Senior Vice President Frank Mariachi. The role of the government is to provide appropriate economic stabilization across the economy. We do not think the role of the government is to become the private economy.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
A volunteer lifeboat crew this morning came to the aid of two people who got into difficulty on a kayak in Dublin.

Following an initial report from the Irish Coast Guard that two men were in difficulty on a kayak between Dalkey Island and Coliemore Harbour, the RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew were paged at 8.21am.

The two men used a mobile phone to raise the alarm when the kayak they were on began to drift out to sea.

The all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Mark McGibney and with four crew members onboard launched immediately and made its way to the scene. Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard shore unit also attended.

Weather conditions at the time were described as good with a calm sea, light wind and good visibility.

On arrival south of Dalkey Island, the lifeboat crew saw that a fishing trawler that had arrived on scene first had taken the kayak in tow.

The two kayakers, who were safe and well, were transferred onto the lifeboat and brought back to Dun Laoghaire where no further medical attention was required.

"The casualties did the right thing this morning and called for help once they knew they were in difficulty and that the vessel was drifting out to sea," said Stephen Wynne, Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat operations manager.

We would like to wish them well and thank the fishing crew that was first on scene for their assistance this morning.

"Dun Laoghaire RNLI remains on call and is fully operational during the Coronavirus pandemic. While there is no crew training or exercises taking place, our volunteers are here if people need us."

The RNLI and the Irish Coast Guard have asked people to avoid using the water for exercise while restrictions are in place. This is to minimise the risk to search and rescue volunteer crews, helicopter crew and other frontline emergency services, through being unintentionally exposed to the coronavirus.

The charity meanwhile, has today launched its annual Mayday fundraising appeal. The RNLI is asking people to consider fundraising at home to help save lives at sea.

rnli.org/Mayday
JAKARTA, April 30 (Reuters) -

* Indonesia will keep its export tax for crude palm oil at zero for a second month in May while the export levy will remain at $50 a tonne, a Trade Ministry document released on Thursday showed.

* The reference price for CPO is set at $635.15 a tonne for May, the document showed, below a $750 a tonne threshold for export tax to be imposed. The export levy of $50 is imposed on CPO when prices are above $619 a tonne

* Meanwhile, export tax for cocoa beans in May will also remain unchanged at 5% (Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe Writing by Fransiska Nangoy Editing by David Goodman )
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a ban on 1,500 types of firearms designated as assault weapons by Canadas federal government, following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in late April.

Effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country, Trudeau said at a press conference. Trudeau added that Canada was effectively closing the market on certain firearms and categorized several mass shootings that have occurred in Canada as a stain our conscience.

The ban will classify various firearms that have been used in mass shootings in Canada and around the world as prohibited, including the AR-15 rifle, M14 semi-automatic rifle, Ruger Mini-14, and others.

From this moment forward, the number of these guns will only decrease in Canada, Public Safety minister Bill Blair said at the briefing alongside Trudeau. Blair emphasized that the vast majority of Canadian gun owners are law-abiding and use their firearms safely.

Canadas government will implement a buyback program for current legal owners of one or more of the 1,500 types of firearms covered by the ban. Owners will be granted a two-year amnesty during which time they must participate in the buyback program.

Trudeaus announcement follows the deadliest mass shooting in Canadas history, during which suspect Gabriel Wortman, 51, killed 22 people in Nova Scotia. Wortman killed nine of the victims by setting their houses on fire, before he was shot dead by police.

Wortmans motive for the rampage is unclear.

It appears as if he was just targeting individuals that either he knew or individuals, for whatever reason, that I dont think any of us will ever understand or comprehend, that when he came across those individuals that he killed them, Nova Scotia superintendent Darren Campbell said.

More from National Review
A moon rock that tips the scales at nearly 30 pounds is up for sale at famed Christies auction house. The lunar meteorite, which is known as NWA 12691, is valued in the neighborhood of $2.5 million and is available for purchase at Christies Private Sales, according to a news release from the auction house.

The lunar rock was part of a large meteorite shower over the Western Saharan, Algerian and Mauritanian borders. It was one of approximately 30 collected from the event, where were all analyzed, classified and assigned NWA numbers. NWA 12691 is the fifth-largest piece of of the moon on Earth, which explains the lofty price tag.

Ive been lucky enough to handle a few lunar meteorites at Christies over the years, but every time I see this specimen in the warehouse the sheer size of it bowls me over, said James Hyslop, Christies Head of Science & Natural History. Weighing over 13.5kg, it is so much larger than anything else that has ever been offered before. The experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is something you never forget.

Those who are interested and have a couple extra million dollars can check out the lunar rock and other private sales from Christies here.
(Photo : Yves Herman on Reuters ) Coronavirus Death May Happen Once Hospitals Use Chinese Ventilators, Accuse U.K Doctors (Photo : GIORGOS MOUTAFIS on Reuters ) Coronavirus Death May Happen Once Hospitals Use Chinese Ventilators, Accuse U.K Doctors

After the United Kingdom (U.K.) receives packages of medical ventilators from China, British doctors are now warning hospitals that some Chinese ventilators were found defective. Hundreds of delivered ventilators have reported a lack of oxygen supply, cannot be cleaned properly, and have a confusing instruction manual. Worse, this could even cause coronavirus death once hospitals don't notice the errors in the machines.

Fake ventilators?: The U.K. sends back Chinese ventilators after found defective

In an exclusive report of NBC News, senior British doctors have seen terrible performance out of the 250 medical ventilators received and purchased from China.

The doctors said that the ventilators have errors in instruction manuals, had an unfamiliar design, cannot be adequately cleaned, devices look like only built for ambulances-- not for hospitals, and even had defectivity in its contained oxygen supply.

The equipment also has missing parts for it to be accessible in hospitals like the 'non-E.U.' oxygen connection hose. Nurses reportedly have to create their own connection hose in order to use the said Chinese ventilators properly.

The ventilator called Shangrila 510 model came from the Chinese firm Beijing Aeonmed Co. Ltd. According to the doctors at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, hundreds of these ventilator models from China were found with the same problems.

Worse, once other hospitals that use the same ventilators don't find the errors, this may lead to "significant patient harm, including death" amid the pandemic.

The hospital doctors have expressed their dismay with the Chinese brand and said that hospitals must withdraw and replace these devices immediately before a patient gets his life dangerous with its defective system.

"We look forward to the withdrawal and replacement of these ventilators with devices better able to provide intensive care ventilation for our patients," said on the five-page document sent to NBC News.

Chinese firm still has no opinion regarding the complaint

NBC News reached out to the officials of the Chinese firm Beijing Aeonmed Co. Ltd. in order to ask them regarding the complaints made by British doctors.

However, the international sales manager of the firm did not comment on the said issue but only said that they are not aware that there were complaints with their ventilators.

Hospitals now lack functional medical ventilators

Since the U.K. has reported a lack of medical equipment like ventilators due to the increasing rate of Coronavirus cases in the country, China became one of the main producers of medical gears and devices like a ventilator.

On Apr. 4, British Cabinet ministers expressed their gratitude with China after it had delivered an additional 300 ventilators.

"I'd like to thank the Chinese government for their support in securing that capacity," Michael Gove, a senior member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, said at a briefing that day.

As of now, it is still unidentified whether how many of the said ventilators were sold and distributed all over the U.K.









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New Delhi, May 1 : The Supreme Court on Friday sought Delhi government's response over a petition filed by JNU scholar Sharjeel Imam to get all FIRs against him clubbed and probed by a single agency. The apex court has asks the state government to reply within 10 days.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Police invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Sharjeel, who was arrested for allegedly giving a seditious speech and abetting violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Sharjeel, contended before a bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna that five FIRs have been registered based on the same speech in Delhi, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Moreover, the Delhi police have also invoked UAPA.

Dave sought clubbing of FIRs and cited relief given by the top court in the matter of Arnab Goswami. "Give me relief like Arnab Goswami", submitted Sharjeel's counsel seeking clubbing of FIRs.

The apex court had stayed numerous FIRs against Goswami in different states for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Sonia Gandhi. The court allowed the probe in one FIR by Mumbai police.

"There is nothing wrong in police registering FIRs. If they come to know about some cognizable offence," said the bench and queried whether there is a counsel representing Delhi government. The court fixed the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

The court asked Sharjeel's lawyer to serve a copy of the petition to the Delhi government, and sought its reply on the matter.

Sharjeel was arrested on January 28 from his hometown Jehanabad in Bihar by Delhi Police for allegedly making the controversial "cut off Assam" statement, leading to sedition charges.

On April 18, the Delhi Police had filed a supplementary chargesheet against him.

"On December 15 last year, serious riots had broken out in consequence of the protest march organized by Jamia students against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) in the area of PS New Friends Colony and Jamia. The mob indulged in large scale rioting, stone-pelting and arson, and in the process destroyed many public and private properties. Cases of rioting, arson and damage to public properties were registered in both the police stations. Many policemen and public persons were injured in the riots," the Delhi Police had said in a statement.
Mumbai, May 1 : On International Labour Day on Friday, a slew of TV actors, including Debina Bonnerjee, Siddharth Nigam and Pavitra Punia took out time to appreciate the hard work of all the workers out there.

Thanking her make-up dada, spot dadas, Debina said: "I cannot emphasise the importance of our spot dadas, make-up dada, light men and every other person who makes any shoot a success. This day I would like to thank them for their relentless contribution to our industry. Behind the seamless work we see on our screens, it is because of these heroes who help us execute the content.

"Even on the sets of 'Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga' I always witness the punctuality and the hard work that the production workers put in.

As an artist, I want to thank everyone who puts in so much effort to make us feel comfortable and take care of anything and everything. I want to salute them for their dedication and hard work." She also shared that she follows a "ritual of ordering a healthy meal for everyone on the sets so that every worker on the set can have a change and the much-needed break before they go back to their tedious work".

"It gives me great joy to contribute in any way I can and I would continue to follow this ritual on my part to celebrate them," Debina added.

Actress Pavitra Punia, who plays a pivotal role in Sony SAB's "Baalveer Returns", considers all workers on her show's set like her family "After my family, if there's anyone who takes care of me is the entire crew on the set, especially spot dada. I have been fortunate to be around such people who have spoiled me with their love by taking care of each and every need of mine. This day, I want to thank them with all my heart for their selfless care and love.

As actors we are the final piece of any setup, the main work goes by the entire team that works day and night to set up the stage for us. It is the commendable teamwork and hard work that these people include in our daily lives is what makes us," Pavitra said.

She added: "I have been in the industry since 2009 and I have always been close to the spot dada, settings dada, make-up and the production crew. We forget to appreciate their contribution and this is the day we should take a moment to make them feel special and continue to do that every day." Actor Siddharth Nigam urged everyone to show love and compassion for workers.

"On the sets of 'Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga', they take such good care of me and I believe in giving back to with the same compassion. It is because how they look after every actor on the set is why any artist is able to focus better on the work because their needs are instantly taken care of.

" I huge salute to everyone on this day. It is only because of you all that the industry runs smoothly."
Acclaimed period drama My Brilliant Friend has been renewed for a third season by HBO and Italian broadcast network Rai.

The series, based on Elena Ferrantes Neapolitan novels, tells the story of an enduring friendship between two women, played by Gaia Girace and Margherita Mazzucco, amongst others.

The third season will be based on the third book in the series, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay.

Bringing Elena Ferrantes exquisite work to life has been such a joy and privilege, Francesca Orsi, executive vice president HBO Programming, said Thursday in a statement. The fact that viewers and critics alike have continued to embrace Elena and Lilas story makes it all the more gratifying, and we thank the entire team led by Saverio Costanzo for their outstanding work on the second season. We cannot wait to tell the next chapter of Elena and Lilas lives and friendship.

Rai head of drama Eleonora Andreatta added, Meeting with success among the Italian and international audience, the great challenge of My Brilliant Friend continues with Rai and HBO announcing the third season, fortifying the ambition to create a complex story and bring the Italian imagination to the world, always keeping the lived experience of our country at the center of the narrative. The success of the second series has confirmed the power of Elena Ferrantes story and its capacity to become a compelling serial loved worldwide with the richness and charm of Saverio Costanzos direction.

My Brilliant Friend screens in Australia on FOX Showcase.

Source: Hollywood Reporter
WASHINGTON  Senate Democrats assailed Senator Mitch McConnell on Thursday for insisting on bringing the Senate back to Washington in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it could imperil not only senators and their aides, but also large numbers of low-level employees, including racial minorities at higher risk of infection and death from Covid-19.

With coronavirus cases in the District of Columbia and neighboring Maryland and Virginia continuing to rise, and the region still on lockdown, senators in both parties are grappling with how to respond to the decision by Mr. McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, to put them back to work on Monday.

A number of Republican senators  including Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is a medical doctor, and Mitt Romney of Utah, the partys 2012 presidential nominee  are planning for their staffs to continue to work from home, as they have done for the last month.

Democrats expressed concern for themselves, their aides and others who work in and around the Capitol. They have been particularly critical of the decision to return given that Mr. McConnell has not scheduled any coronavirus-related work, but is instead planning to move ahead on nominations, including of a conservative judge nominated by President Trump for a federal appeals court.
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Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, has said that there is enough food in the country to feed all persons affected and displaced by the current floods.

Mr Wamalwa on Wednesday said the government has already dispatched over 40,000 bags of rice including other food and none food items to 24 counties.

"As the ministry in charge of special programmes we have put measures in place to ensure we give support to all families affected. As of today we have been able to dispatch over 40,000 bags of rice and other food and none food items, to over 24 counties affected by floods," Mr Wamalwa said.

Covid-19, he says, is not the only disaster that the government is dealing with.

Flooding and landslides are also causing havoc to Kenyans. Hundreds have been displaced while some have lost their lives.

"Though we have the Covid-19 situation in our country and we are dealing with it, we also in the same breadth dealing with another disaster of floods," Wamalwa said.

The Devolution CS said that since last year the country has been going through a number of calamities including drought, flooding and locust invasion.

"As you remember last year we started with drought, then we had floods, towards the end of the year we had locusts indeed our nation is a resilient nation. The counties that have been affected are up to 29, those who have lost lives due to floods as we speak is 116 persons. Over 100,000 households have been displaced," Mr Wamalwa explained.
A LAW which allows the Government to temporarily introduce national regulations without following the usual legislative process will continue to be used until the end of May.





The Emergency Powers Ordinance was designed to be brought in rapidly during a declared state of emergency  and provides the governor with overriding powers for a month at a time.





"The use of emergency powers is exceptional and only apply in extreme circumstances like we are faced with by this Covid-19 pandemic, Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson said.





She spoke about the ordinance during her address to the nation on Thursday evening (April 30) in which she announced an ease of lockdown rules alongside Governor Nigel Dakin.





The premier explained that the powers permit the administration to take action without complying with statutory duties that would normally apply, she said.





"Emergency powers allow the Government to introduce measures that may affect fundamental rights, such as the right to liberty.





"These measures can only be introduced in exceptional circumstances and are temporary in nature.





Governor Nigel Dakin declared a state of emergency in the TCI on March 24 triggering the use of the Emergency Powers Ordinance.





He made the announcement in a national address along with the premier following a Cabinet meeting in which they discussed the pros and cons of the decision.





Cartwright Robinson stressed that all major announcements had taken place collectively and following decisions taken by the Cabinet.





"It is important to note that the governor is required to seek advice from the Cabinet, before making a proclamation, the premier said.





"Section two of that ordinance defines the term governor to mean the governor acting with the advice of the Cabinet, but not necessarily in accordance with such advice.





The decision to declare a state of public emergency was made to ensure that the Cabinet could make timely decisions, she said.





This included the making of legal provisions - through emergency powers regulations - to implement measures to address issues confronting the Islands.





"Through regulations, like other Commonwealth jurisdictions and overseas territories, such as Bermuda, we have addressed a wide range of topics.





The TCI Emergency Powers (Covid-19) (no. 3) Regulations 2020 were introduced on March 25.





They included public health measures, the imposition of a national curfew, the creation of economic relief measures, the creation of stimulus and the continuity of the courts.





Cartwright Robinson said a decision had been taken to extend the use of the Emergency Powers Ordinance to June 1.





Justified powers

Joining the premier on Thursday evening to address the nation was Governor Nigel Dakin who give his perspective on the use of the Emergency Powers Ordinance.





He said that elected representatives realised early on the "extraordinary nature of what the territory faced and recognised they had to move rapidly and decisively.





The decisive use of the emergency powers was necessary, "justified and achieved the intended results, he continued.





"The TCI is fortunate amongst the overseas territories that it has a modern constitution which bounds emergency powers within an accountable and democratic framework.





He said an example of this is that the powers expire after a month and must be renewed  and any regulations made expire after 21 days if they are not put before the parliament.





"Its that part of the constitution that I believe gave your elected Government confidence that these powers could be used on your behalf - on the nations behalf.





"Worth saying we have just revisited whether those powers are still required and, at the elected Governments request, we have collectively agreed to extend them to June 1 when we will review again.





"Our intention is that these powers lapse as soon as is possible.





He said it was "particularly important that the Government asked to use the powers on behalf of the people, rather than have them imposed on them.





"because it was obvious from the very onset of this pandemic that this was going to be a slow burn and long term crisis and that it would have very serious impacts on the people of these Islands.





"The democratic legitimacy of the Government of the day, who are accountable to their electorate, seemed to me to be essential if the public were to be involved as serious partners in this great challenge we face.





He stressed that as a result, since the introduction of the powers, there has been no deviation in the way normal Cabinet and ministerial government has functioned.





"Theres been no need to change the way we govern because Cabinet remains the best possible way to make decisions during this time.





He concluded: "My chairing of Cabinet has been exactly that - as it has been from my first day - a facilitating role to help the Government of the day achieve their lawful objectives. (By Rebecca Bird)




- The ministry said a total of KSh 1.3 billion had so far been used in combating the coronavirus pandemic

- Other expenses included leasing ambulances (KSh 42 million), communications (KSh 70 million), stationery (KSh 6.5 million) and printing of forms (KSh 9 million)

- The department also allocated Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) KSh 150 million to provide additional bed capacity at Mbagathi Hospital isolation centre

The Ministry of Health has spent KSh 2 million on airtime and KSh 4 million on tea and snacks since the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Kenya.

In a statement, the ministry said a total of KSh 1.3 billion had so far been used in combating the killer disease.

READ ALSO: Photo of Funny Faces baby mama drops; their new relationship on fire

The ministry's budget breakdown seen by yen.com.gh on Thursday, April 30, indicated the expenditure was tabled before National Assembly's health committee chaired by Muranga woman representative Sabina Chege.

According to the document, some of the expenses incurred included leasing ambulances (KSh 42 million), communications (KSh 70 million), airtime (KSh 2 million), tea and snacks (KSh 4 million), stationery (KSh 6.5 million) and printing of forms (KSh 9 million).

READ ALSO: Obofour doesnt sleep at night - Former friend and colleague pastor spills secrets

Printing of forms gobbled 10 times more money that it had been budgeted for as the initial approved proposal was KSh 900,000.

The ministry also allocated Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) KSh 150 million to provide additional bed capacity at Mbagathi Hospital isolation centre, and KSh 10 million to the National Youth Service (NYS) for security services in isolation and quarantine facilities.

A file photo of Health CS Mutahi Kagwe. Photo: KMPDU.

Source: Facebook

KSh 5 million was allocated to the broadcasting department to facilitate community outreaches and media tours across region.

Here were some of the reaction by Kenyans on the expenditure:

"It's ironical that GoK spent 4 million on tea and snacks in a period of one month while it's citizens have nothing to eat evidently after a woman cooked stones for supper," Lesterweed Junior said.

"It's no longer funny when the MoH spends a whopping 4 million on tea and snacks when such huge amounts of money should be invested in PPEs, testing kits and ventilators," Mwangi Maina opined.

"Four million on tea and snacks. And then there are Kenyans citizens who cannot afford a meal,leave alone two square meals a day," Saru wondered.

Meanwhile, Ghana's coronavirus cases have skyrocketed to 2,074 as of Thursday, April 30, 2020.

READ ALSO: Kennedy Agyapong shatters hope of Menzgold customers in new video; says nothing can be done"

Ghanaian landlady cancels rent for 3 months due to coronavirus | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
New York, April 29, 2020; The New York USA and Owerri, Imo State based Mbaise Policy Roundtable (MPR), has, following the successful completion of training of 200 COVID 19 informants, launched its aggressive but innovative, grassroots MPR Coronavirus Prevention Awareness Program (MCPAP). The organization reported, during a teleconference, that the program has been enthusiastically embraced by Mbaise monarchs and their communities in general. Dr Jude Iheoma, Chief Program Director said, as the traditional prime minister of my community in Ezinihitte, I have receive lots of positive feedbacks from both my Traditional Ruler and community, on the efficacy of the door-to-door, person-to-person, MCPAP strategy.

According to the MPR Coordinator for Ezinihitte LGA, Mr Bright Ugochukwu who met with His Royal Highness Professor B.A. Nwachukwu, the Traditional Ruler of Ife Kingdom, in Ezinihitte, said the Royal Father heartily welcomed us with some takeaway edibles and poured royal blessings on MPR donors. All the Royal Fathers we have communicated with in this LGA have been very generous and complimentary. The MPR Coordinator for Aboh LGA, Ms Esther Nwahiri said the Royal Fathers so far have welcomed us enthusiastically. A true representation of their welcoming attitude toward us was reflected in our meeting with His Royal Highness, Eze Athanasius Ezekwe of Ezenachigwe, in Aboh LGA. He verbally declared that God blessed Mbaise Nation, with men and women of honor. He was very happy with our mission, and promised to contribute his own quota towards the success of our program. Mr Chijioke Njoku, the MPR Coordinator for Ahiazu reported similar positive embrace by the Royal Fathers of the Ahiazu LGA. Mr Njoku said, their welcoming spirit was typically demonstrated during our visit with His Royal Highness, Eze Dr Enyeribe Onuoha, at his palace at Umonomo/Umuchieze. He appreciated the wonderful gestures of MPR and encouraged people to take the necessary precautions in combating COVID-19.

Other notable Monarchs visited who demonstrated great appreciation for the MPR field teams and their mission and would hope government embarks of similar strategy, were, HRH Eze Nnanna Nwosu of Chokoneze, Eze Ifeanyi Uwahemu of Onicha Nwenkwo, Eze S.U. Ugochukwu of Mbutu Nwenkwo, Eze Leo Nwokocha of Umunneato and Eze Charles Iroegbu of Umuezie, among others.

The MCPAP initiative is designed to take COVID-19 education, prevention strategies and rationale to the grassroots. Concerns have been widely reported that in Mbaise and other rural communities in Imo State, people still go to markets and about their businesses as in normal times, in disregard of the request by government for people to stay at home, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The goal of the MCPAP strategy is to accomplish what other conventional messaging interventions, such as radio and television advertisements, town criers, jingles, bill boards, comedies and others had failed to accomplish, which is to change behavior. The COVID-19 Informants after being lectured on the origin, mission and vision of MPR, overview of Coronavirus, and specific dos and donts of COVID 19 prevention, were deployed to all the 36 political Wards in the three Local Government Areas(LGAs) of Mbaise, namely Aboh, Ahiazu and Ezinihitte LGAs. The informants who have healthcare background, have, as part of the strategy been meeting with people in their natural environments, such as their homes, businesses, farms, market and recreational places, and others, to deliver their messages.

Regarding the choice of this communication strategy, Dr. Iheoma, who is a psychologist and endorsed this method said, This messaging approach is referred to Behavior Change Communication (BCC), which is an approach to behavior change focused on communication. The assumptions is that through communication of some kind, individuals and communities can somehow be persuaded to behave in ways that will make their lives safer and healthier. BCC was first employed in HIV and TB prevention projects. More recently, its ambit has grown to encompass any communication activity whose goal is to help individuals and communities select and practice behavior that will positively impact their health.

Assessing progress of the initiative, after second day, the MPR Vice Chairman Dr. Law Osondu said, while it is still early to draw any conclusions, early reactions, from the people, at the markets, farms, residences, the streets and other places, indicate that we probably chose the right communication strategy.

MPR is the premier pre-eminent Mbaise Public Policy and Business Advisory Council in the World, focused entirely on the development of Mbaise and Imo State, through the facilitation of financial and in-kind resources, private investments and private public partnerships.

MPR is situated to liaise, partner, and/or collaborate with international entities, the Imo State Government and agencies, and the private sector to produce and advance policies that will fast track Mbaise and Imo State development to a first world status.

Signed:

Casca Ohanele

Chief Press Secretary

MPR Inc; 447 broadway, 2nd floor #380

NY NY 10013
EDMONTONIn the Prairie town of Lloydminster, which straddles the Alberta and Saskatchewan border, the provincial boundary running through the middle of the town is clear cut. The rules surrounding coronavirus? Less so.

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, many have been forced to contend with different rules in different regions. But those who live and work in Lloydminster  sometimes crossing the provincial boundary multiple times a day  may have it harder than most.

When effects of the pandemic were first felt here, the town had to deal with social distancing and quarantine instructions from officials in two different provinces. And now, the same is true as Saskatchewan and Alberta unveil plans to reopen their economies. Instructions have sometimes been contradictory and come at different times, leaving Lloydminster locals to figure out which rules apply when.

Its challenging, certainly, for myself, and city council and administration, trying to disseminate the information, Mayor Gerald Aalbers told the Star.

The oil and gas town was settled in 1903. In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan were formally established and so were their boundaries. Residents of Lloydminster suddenly found themselves with divided loyalties.

The town has a unique charter  provincial legislation adopted by both provinces which dictates when it follows Albertas laws and when it follows Saskatchewans.

Residents are no strangers to life under two different sets of rules  RCMP officers on patrol must know two sets of provincial driving laws, the legal drinking age changes depending on where you are, a provincial sales tax isnt collected on the Saskatchewan side because Alberta doesnt collect one anywhere, and gas stations try to keep the prices about equal, even if they differ wildly between Edmonton and Saskatoon.

We live with those differences, Aalbers told the Star. At the same time, it is challenging because we have two provincial governments that have the ability to have some influence to our municipality.

Then came coronavirus.

Alberta declared a state of public health emergency on March 17, and a day later, Saskatchewan declared a slightly broader state of emergency. Lloydminster declared a state of local emergency that allowed the town to be in lockstep with Saskatchewan.

And when Saskatchewan announced it would allow some medical services to begin reopening on May 4, Lloydminster began making plans to follow suit.

That dim light was extinguished quickly when Saskatchewan revealed Wednesday that the Lloydminster hospital was dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.

There are 13 cases  five health-care workers and eight patients  linked to the hospital, which serves about 75,000 people in the region.

When the numbers are as large as they are, it has raised some real concerns in the community, Aalbers said.

As a result, Saskatchewan announced Lloydminster would not reopen along with the rest of the province as it deals with the new cases.

Alberta has since announced plans to take its first tentative steps toward reopening, also on May 4, when it will allow some medical services to reopen their doors.

But all the announcements about opening dates and rules have left confusion in their wake.

For example, Dr. Nekky Jamal is a dentist who owns Wayside Dental Centre on the Alberta side of town. Though the town of Lloydminster said it would, as a whole, follow Saskatchewans lead in reopening, Jamal explained that he has to follow the Albertan regulatory body.

Lloydminster has always been a challenging community for, I think, provincial governments, he said.

We want to be responsible, as dentists, he added. We play a huge role in health and we want to play a role in public safety as well.

Restaurant owners in Lloydminster also want to reopen as soon as its safe, but theres uncertainty about which set of rules they should follow.

Svitlana Hotsul, who immigrated from Ukraine, started Eats and Treats by Hotsuls three years ago. While her restaurant is on the Alberta side of town, she believes she has to defer to the Saskatchewan Health Authority since shes in Lloydminster.

All food businesses in Lloydminster will go with Saskatchewan reopening, she said.

Meanwhile, down the road from Hotsul, the owner of a restaurant also on the Alberta side couldnt say for sure which provincial reopening rules he would have to follow.

We are under Saskatchewan a little bit and we are under Alberta, said Spiro Kokonas, owner of Spiros Family Restaurant, which serves Greek food.

Its very hard to say that were 100 per cent Alberta and we are regulated by both.

The mayor says hes working to address any gaps in communication.

There is some confusion, Aalbers said. Theres a whole bunch of information being transferred. Is it getting to everybody as well as wed like? This is a challenge, and so we continuously strive to be better.

But what unites both halves of Lloydminster is a shared reliance on oil and gas, and the collective concern about the future, as oil prices plummet to a historic low.

For Bill Foster, who has lived in the city since 1961 and owns some real estate there, the problems now facing the town are much more dire than differences in the rules on either side.

Its extremely tough right now, he said. Extremely tough for Lloydminster, because were in the heart of the oilpatch, as well. Of course, the downturn in the economy is very traumatic.

Foster says he doesnt see oil making a comeback and that Lloydminster could be fated for the same future, adding that he still thinks the lockdown is needed to keep people safe from COVID-19.

(Lloydminster is) not going to get wiped off the map, but I dont know, he said. I dont know how these cities are going to function. I mean, good God.

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Apple's profit dipped slightly while revenues rose in the January-March quarter, reflecting early fallout from a coronavirus pandemic that shut down its factories and then forced hundreds of Apple retail stores to close.The results released Thursday give the first sign of how one of the world's best-known companies is faring as the US economy plunges into its first recession in more than a decade.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the current downturn could be harder on the company than what it experienced during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, when consumers were still captivated by the then-new iPhone. The current conditions represent "the most challenging global environment in which we've ever operated our business," Cook said.

Apple's revenue edged up by 1% from the same time last year to $58.3 billion during the company's fiscal second quarter. To no one's surprise, the iPhone was the company's hardest hit segment, with sales for the device falling 7% from the same time last year. Apple's profits fell to $11.2 billion, a 2% decline from last year. The company told investors Thursday that iPhone sales will deteriorate even further during the April-June quarter.

The numbers were far better than analysts, who were braced for a 6% revenue decline, had feared. "Investors were expecting a Friday the 13th like quarter," Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said. Those worries appeared well founded. That's because Apple's supply chain was already constrained by the pandemic's early outbreak in China, which forced the company to temporarily close local factories that make most of its iPhones and other products.

The factories in China are open and operating at normal levels again, but the closures created ripple effects that are expected to delay the fall release of Apple's next iPhone models by at least a month. Apple's stores still remain closed in many parts of the world as part of efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. The numbers offered a sobering reminder of how much the world has changed in just three months. In late January, Apple's stock price had just hit its all-time high $327.81 and management had forecast its revenue for the first three months of the year might reach as high as $67 billion.

Now, everything remains so uncertain that Apple isn't making any forecasts for the coming quarter, although it's clear the next quarterly report will be worse than this one. Overall, Apple remains in an enviable position. It is bolstered by a strong brand, $94 billion in cash and a loyal customer base.

That's a big reason why Apple's stock still remains above its levels of just five months ago, though it probably will be awhile before it approaches its late January peak again. The shares shed 2% to $288.10 in Thursday's extended trading after the quarterly numbers came out. To help prop up the stock during the downturn, Apple plans to spend $90 billion buying back its own shares and also announced a 6% increase in its quarterly dividend to 82 cents per share.

Apple might be hurting even more had the company not spent the past few years developing paid-subscription services for the owners of more than one billion iPhones and other products that are still in use. The services division, which includes Apple Music and the company's recently launched video streaming service, Apple TV Plus, generated revenue of $13.3 billion, up 17% from last year.

A recently released cheaper iPhone could also help insulate the company. The second-generation iPhone SE starts at almost $400, a relative bargain given that other models sell for $700 to $1,000. The lower price could appeal to consumers who need a new phone during tough times. Whenever the next line-up of new iPhones comes out, it's expected to include at least one model capable of connecting to new, ultrafast wireless networks known as "5G" that are still under construction around the world. Those state-of-the-art iPhones are expected to a be a hot commodity for consumers who can still afford to splurge on the latest in tech gadgets.

Also read: Coronavirus fallout: Samsung Electronics expects profits to decline in Q2

Also read: Coronavirus effect: Google ad sales steady; Alphabet leads tech share rally
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is advising travelers that travel restrictions across the border will continue until May 20, authorities said Thursday.

Although individual states are phasing in reopening efforts, U.S. Customs and Border Protection advises the traveling public that restrictions on non-essential cross border travel continue to remain in effect through at least (May 20), CBP said in a statement.
By looking at the economic calendars, we observe scheduled central bank events.

What should traders look out for during this week in regards to the central banks?

Following Mondays BoJ, the FED and ECB are in action.

The FEDs unlikely to drop rates to 0% just yet, which is Trumps desire. Expect Trump to give his 10 cents worth following the FOMC press conference

The FED will be promising support in a bid to avoid shocking the markets. They will be talking about doom and gloom in order to prepare the markets ahead of 1st quarter GDP numbers on Thursday. 2nd quarter GDP numbers will garner more attention, however, following the April lockdown.

We then have the ECB on Thursday. We have seen the EU project come under fire, so it will be an interesting one.

It will come down to the FED, however, when it comes down to the global financial markets.

Central banks have been easing their policies since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, how is oil doing after the last weeks negative prices?

We have seen oil prices continue to struggle, with WTI seeing deep red once more.

Output has been in decline providing support but expect pressure on crude oil prices to remain. Concerns over the economy and the economic outlook remain negatives for crude oil near-term.

Will we see sub-$10, probably not, so expect more chatter on supply cuts. Much will depend on U.S output. OPEC will want to see the U.S chip in before delivering a more material cut in output.

It appears that in the current environment most prior correlations between asset prices are no longer valid.

How about macroeconomic data? Are statistics releases still influencing exchange rates?

We need to get passed March and April figures to see the bottom of the Abyss in the respective economies.

1st quarter GDP numbers out of the U.S and private sector PMI numbers out of China will garner some attention.

The weekly jobless claims figures will also need to slide back from the recent levels seen over the last couple of weeks.

Story continues

Overall, however, the stats are not having a material impact on the markets. Coronavirus updates, including the number of new cases and plans to ease lockdown measures, remain the key drivers.

We will need to start seeing May and June economic data for influence on the markets to resume.

Since we mention New Zealand, the country recently announced that it is free from the coronavirus.

How did that impact the countrys currency?

Great news from NZ as we see some more positive news on the coronavirus front.

New Zealand being free of new cases is certainly positive. When we look at economic data out of NZ, it hasnt been as bad as the markets had anticipated.

Even March trade data this morning impressed, with exports rising by a record amount.

Is the Kiwi Dollar heading for a slide and is the RBNZ going to deliver negative rates?

Theyve talked about it. With a reopening in the NZ economy, a pickup in activity is expected. Other economies reopening, including China, should also provide further support.

One downside is obviously tourism, which will be one negative that the RBNZ will need to consider. And obviously consumption.

Weve seen the Kiwi Dollar trail the Aussie Dollar this week. Thats largely down to the markets still expecting the RBNZ to deliver negative rates.

Despite good fundamental news, the exchange rate is still set by the central bank.

Could you comment more on the situation in the EU and the pressure from the ECB on EU member states?

In terms of the ECB, Lagarde may be miffed that EU member states were not able to deliver the EUR1tn stimulus package.

Thats likely to come up in Thursdays press conference. She will want to put pressure on the likes of the Netherlands, Germany, and other northern EU member states.

Even within the ECB, Lagardes hands are tied with EU member state representation.

Will the ECB deliver more support, they will have to. There is a sizeable contraction expected, particularly in the 2nd quarter.

Lagarde may want to drag her feet a little, however, to see how far EU member states are willing to go

We can expect further progress on this in the coming few weeks.

We then look at the EU project itself. If the EU fails to deliver, the likes of Italy and Spain will question the lack of support at a time of dire straits

Last but not least. Is there anything else geopolitical happening?

Weve got the EU project and how the ECB and EU member states step up to support more adversely affected member states. That is one to monitor.

Theres also Brexit. Boris Johnson was looking for a framework to be in place by June. Thats highly unlikely with the British PM only just returning to office. So, will there be an extension to the transition period?

The big one to look out for is the rising tension between the U.S and Iran. Trump will be looking at some sort of raid or an attack on Iran. That would be a great distraction as Joe Biden eats into his lead

We have also heard the news of the U.S administration going to the UN Security Council stating that they had never actually left the Iran nuclear agreement.

Thats quite a statement considering the fanfare behind the U.S withdrawal.

It does suggest that the U.S is looking to sever the supply of arms from the likes of China and Russia. This could mean that the U.S is preparing for some sort of move against Iran

That would also be quite a boost for oil prices

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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As you know, travel restrictions and closed borders have asphyxiated commercial aviation; airlines have slashed routes and schedules. As of last month, airlines still owed passengers $35 billion for flights that could not or cannot take place, according to the International Air Transport Association, an industry group.

In an emailed statement, a British Airways spokeswoman said that you are, in fact, entitled to a refund; the airlines customer service team has reached out to you to resolve the issue. If a customers flight has been canceled, they should call us to discuss their options. They can rebook, refund or choose to take a voucher to fly at a later date, she said.

The fact that you called and were initially told the exact opposite tracks with scores of other readers who feel that refunds have been turned into an all-out game of Frogger.

At best, airlines are just hiding the fact that customers are owed refunds if they want one, said Scott Keyes, an aviation industry expert and the founder of the website Scotts Cheap Flights. At worst, theyre actively not giving those refunds even when theyre asked. The thinking is: Right now we are in such a cash crunch that we want to maintain as much cash as possible  we can deal with the reputation ramifications and legal ramifications down the road.

Micky, another reader, got an email from Delta Air Lines with the subject line: Your Trip Has Been Canceled. The body of the message stated that a canceled plane ticket had been turned into an eCredit; there were zero mentions of refunds.
As American Airlines reported a staggering $2.24 billion loss for the first quarter of 2020 due to the sharp drop in travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it announced that it is getting rid of five different aircraft types. American says that it is fine-tuning its schedules and aircraft needs "during this period of record low demand."

An American spokesperson told SFGATE, "As of Jan. 1, 2020, we had 942 mainline aircraft. Since then, we've accepted seven new aircraft and retired 80 with today's announcement. That leaves 869 mainline aircraft in our fleet." That's just the start of what American's CEO foresees as a smaller airline, post COVID-19.

American says that it has officially retired all its Embraer E190 and Boeing 767 jets. The carrier says it will also accelerate the disposal of its Boeing 757s, Airbus A330-300 and Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft.

Moving forward, the only American narrow-bodies will be the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 family, including the new A321neo and the currently maligned Boeing 737 MAX. For widebodies, it will fly only the Boeing 787 and 777.

Here's a snapshot of the aircraft leaving American's fleet, and a few that are sticking around:
An Instagram star who shares terrifying videos of himself playing with lions is being investigated for alleged animal cruelty after he was filmed punching one of his cubs.

Dean Schneider, 27, who quit his job as a financier in Switzerland to look after a pride of lions at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa, uploaded a clip of himself striking a cub after it used its claws to scratch his shoulder.

The footage, taken last year, has now been shared with South Africa's national animal welfare agency which said it had been 'inundated' with complaints.

Schneider, who runs the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis reserve, has been compared to Joe Exotic, the anti-hero of Netflix documentary series Tiger King, after attracting almost seven million followers on Instagram by sharing pictures and videos of himself frolicking about with the supposedly dangerous wild animals.

But what goes on at his park is shrouded in secrecy, according to Douglas Wolhunter of the national society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

'My main mission is to bring animals into people's hearts to inspire and educate people globally about the animal kingdom.

Dean Schneider, 27, who quit his job as a financier in Switzerland to look after a pride of lions at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa, uploaded a clip of himself striking a cub after it used its claws to scratch his shoulder

He told The Times it had been difficult to investigate Schneider due to a 'lack of transparency at the park'.

Defending Schneider, a spokesman said that as he was in close contact with wild animals he 'needs to communicate his boundaries'.

He added: 'Dean has a deep love for his animals and wildlife in general and would never use unnecessary force of any kind.'

In March, Schneider - who was not trained before building his private zoo - spoke of what life was like working with lions.

'I wouldn't call it playing with lions,' he said. 'Because it's more living with lions, and being part of their pride.

'And yes, one part of it is, of course, playing  the same as we humans also like to play with one another. But there are a lot of other serious situations that I'm also part of and this is why I actually don't like to promote what I'm doing as just playing with lions.

'It's definitely not a good idea to play with lions!'

Defending Schneider, a spokesman said that as he was in close contact with wild animals he 'needs to communicate his boundaries'

Despite the fact he spends much of his days since moving to South Africa frolicking with strong, toothsome beasts, Schneider says he's never scared.

'The moment I would start to be scared of them is the moment I would stop walking in there,' he says.

'Because fear is the last thing you should show when you're around them. It's anyway a fact that we only fear what we don't know. As soon as you know something or you're aware of a situation, even though the situation can be dangerous, you're not scared of it.

'With lions, I know exactly how they think and how they work. I'm communicating constantly with them when I'm spending time with them. So there was never a situation where I was scared, even when they hurt me.

'Getting hurt by a lion while spending time with them is totally normal.'

However, even Schneider would stop short of interacting with really wild animals.

'You can definitely not pull it off in the wild and this will never be possible because hyenas live also in clans and if something could be a threat to them or there is something to eat around them, they are going to kill you.

'Same as with the lions and even with my animals, no matter if they are out of captivity or not.

'If you would just walk in there to Dexter and the pride or Chuckie the hyena by yourself, they would most probably kill you. '

'It doesn't matter if they are in the wild or captivity'

'You can't just go to a hyena clan or a lion pride simply with some talking and movements trying to get part of it.

'You have to grow into it, you have to know them from small on and then you can do things like that. Otherwise this will never work.'

In March, Schneider - who was not trained before building his private zoo - spoke of what life was like working with lions

Schneider has previously pointed out his role is not that of an authority figure in the animal's eyes

Amazingly, Schneider never trained or even practised before getting stuck in with his animals.

'It is hundred percent natural. They look at me like a brother, like a part of their family.'

Schneider was quick to point out his role is not that of an authority figure in the animal's eyes.

'They don't look at me like a teacher or a boss. There is no chance I could tell Dexter or one of my animals to walk there or to sit down or to do this and that. They will look at me and think like what is this guy talking about.

'I'm not training these animals, I'm just basically living with them.'

Communication, according to Schneider, is key: 'I learn their language and I speak in their language.

'Most of it is based on body language of course because every movement you do is like a word or a sentence.

'So even when you move your eyeballs or your head into a certain direction whilst the rest of your body doesn't move, that means already something and that is already a sign to them.

And it's actually the body language which makes the magic.

'The more you understand them, the more you can communicate with them clearly. I think that's the secret.'

'In my opinion, they are even cleverer or more intelligent than we humans are, because our superintelligence makes us stupid.'

Schneider has put a lot of thought into how his lions perceive the world.

'Lions break everything down into a simple picture and this makes them often very wise as they think situations.

'They build incredible strategies. You can see the way they try to approach something when they have a goal, when they want to get to a place, when they want to jump on you or when they want to do something else.

'Lions set up a certain strategy and you can see that. You can see the entire process of how they are getting to their goal. And this is just amazingly intelligent for me.'

His reserve has however proved to be a costly enterprise.

'Maintaining the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis is combined with high costs. This includes building camps, feeding animals, paying vet bills and much more.

'I also have a specific project called the "Live Wild" project. My property is in total 360 hectares big and I want to contribute the main part of my property (300 hectares), which would be the back of the farm, to the lion pride so that they can live and hunt by themselves and live as wild as possible.

'But to do that, I need to build a second fence around the permit fence. Otherwise, I wouldn't get permission to do that.'
Description

GIS  01 May, 2020 st June 2020 and schools will remain closed till 1st August 2020. As from 15 May 2020, more businesses will be allowed to operate, namely bakeries, hardware stores and fish markets and the opening hours of supermarkets will be exte : The ongoing Covid-19 curfew will be extended to 1June 2020 and schools will remain closed till 1August 2020. As from 15 May 2020, more businesses will be allowed to operate, namely bakeries, hardware stores and fish markets and the opening hours of supermarkets will be exte nded to 20 00 hrs. Banks will continue to operate under strict hygiene protocol.





The new measures were announced, this evening, by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, during a televised address, on the occasion of Labour Day. The reopening of our airspace will depend both on the local and global situation, he pointed out.

Government will soon present the Covid-19 Bill in Parliament and the Prime Minister encouraged citizens to send their suggestions through the platform BeSafeMoris. While pointing out the measures taken by Government to curtail the propagation of the virus, he stressed that the health of the population remains the priority of Government.

Recalling that 332 positive cases have been registered in Mauritius, Mr Jugnauth stated that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue with the mass testing for the Covid-19 and the setting up of flu clinics.

According to the Prime Minister, a new digital system for Work Access Permit (WAP) will be set up and the self-employed will need to apply for a WAP to be allowed to work. Moreover, Work from Home will also be encouraged for officers. Dentists, opticians, vegetable planters and fishermen, amongst others, can also return to their normal activities while respecting strict hygiene measures.

With regard to the payment of pensions, he indicated that home to home payment for pensioners will continue and added that provision has also been made for the setting up of special counters in banks. Seniors, he stated, will be allowed to travel in public transport in an alphabetical order and during off-peak hours.

Taxis, he underlined, will be allowed a maximum of three passengers and motorcyclists will only be allowed to carry their spouse or children. Moreover, the metro will operate with restricted capacity and travelers will need to abide by social distancing.

Speaking about the Labour Day, Mr Jugnauth said that the pandemic has muted the marking of this significant day. He wished a good and blessed Labour Day to the population while recalling that since the independence of Mauritius, the country has never witnessed such an unprecedented situation. He appealed to each and everyone to act with courage, sincerity and conviction and to unite their efforts so as to meet the challenge of winning over the pandemic. He also paid a warm tribute to front liners for their tremendous dedication and work during this difficult time.

#ResOuLakaz #BeSafeMoris
WASHINGTON - A 42-year-old man from Texas who police said used an assault-style rifle to open fire on the Cuban Embassy here early Thursday is being detained on several criminal charges.

Police said the suspect, Alexander Alazo, is from Aubrey, about 50 miles north of Dallas. Public records show he has connections to Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida.

No one was injured in the shooting, which occurred about 2:10 a.m. at the secured building on 16th Street in Adams Morgan. But the embassy said on its Twitter account that the building suffered "material damage," and it posted photos showing damaged walls, columns and a broken lamp.

Authorities did not comment on a possible motive.

The embassy tweet said that the Cuban government was awaiting word from authorities here about the "identity and motivations" of the suspect and that it expects local authorities to protect the diplomatic mission "against any intrusion or damage."

The Secret Service said Alazo is charged with assault with intent to kill and possession of an unregistered firearm, among other counts. An initial court hearing in his case was postponed early Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court. It was not immediately known when it would be rescheduled.

The early morning gunfire unnerved many residents in the northwest neighborhood, which is unaccustomed to violence. Several used the Nextdoor app to report hearing a barrage of gunfire and screams.

Police would not say how many shots were fired. A report filed Thursday describes the firearm as a Century Arms semiautomatic AK-47-style weapon. The report says multiple shots were fired.

After the incident, about a dozen cruisers from D.C. police and the Secret Service surrounded the embassy and blocked off 16th Street from Fuller to Euclid streets, and a police dog sniffed its way around the building's perimeter.

A maroon Nissan Pathfinder with a small decorative American flag affixed to the back that was parked outside the embassy was the subject of intense police scrutiny.

Officers draped yellow caution tape around it and photographed the interior. Police said it appears to be connected to Alazo. A black jacket and what appeared to be a blanket, along with a white face mask, were on the ground outside the Nissan.

Efforts on Thursday to reach Alazo's relatives were not successful. Online databases list affiliated addresses for him in Texas, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania. People reached at those addresses denied any connection to him.

- - -

The Washington Post's Luz Lazo, Magda Jean-Louis and Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.
U.S. airline passengers will soon be required to don a new accessory: face masks.

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines will start requiring face masks this month, establishing a new standard as the industry fights to win back customers during a pandemic. The larger carriers are following JetBlue Airways Corp., which said April 27 that travelers would have to cover their nose and mouth throughout trips starting May 4.

The new rules are meant to soothe customer concerns that aircraft cabins foster the spread of covid-19, with some of the airlines citing guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in implementing the change. The coverings could help prevent anyone who may be unknowingly infected from spreading the new coronavirus in a confined space such as the inside of a plane.

"We're in a new era of air travel and are continually updating our safety standards," Max Tidwell, vice president of safety at Alaska Air Group Inc., said in a statement Friday. "For now, this includes wearing masks, which is another layer of protection that can reduce the spread of the virus."

Delta and United will join JetBlue in mandating face coverings for passengers starting May 4. Frontier Airlines, a discounter, said it would begin requiring masks soon May 8. The rule for customers of American and Alaska kicks in May 11.

Southwest Airlines remains the outlier among the largest carriers. It said it will provide masks to those who want them, but hasn't made them mandatory. The other airlines will give masks for passengers who lack them. Small children are exempt.

The union representing flight attendants from 20 airlines welcomed the new policy, and urged its expansion.

The Association of Flight Attendants wants the federal government to mandate "masks for crew, front line employees and all passengers," said Sara Nelson, president of the group.

The airlines generally require some employees to wear face masks, or will do so soon. Carriers have also adopted extensive new cleaning regimens for both airport areas like ticket counters and gates and in aircraft cabins. Some are using high-tech methods like electrostatic sprayers onboard during overnight stops.

Masks will be compulsory just on board American and United flights, while Delta, JetBlue and Alaska are requiring them in the airport as well as during flights.

American will begin providing masks and hand sanitizing wipes or gel to some passengers on Friday, expanding to all flights as it's able. Coverings made at home from cloth or other household items can be used, said the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier.
IT'S taken Massachusetts Financial Services Company nine months to formally notify Ryanair and the Central Bank of Ireland that it owns a more than 3pc stake in the carrier.

The investment giant, more commonly known now as MFS Investment Management, has notified the airline and the Central Bank that its holding exceeded the 3pc mark where stakes must be notified to the stock market on July 9 last year. But Ryanair was only formally notified of the stake on Wednesday of this week.

MFS owns 3.04pc of Ryanair, or almost 34.2m shares in the airline. The stake is currently valued at 357.4m.

MFS acquired its holding in Ryanair last year via the carrier's American depository receipts.

The US company was established almost a century ago and has more than $500bn (457bn)of assets under management.

It has been a subsidiary of Canada's Sun Life Financial for almost 40 years.

Ryanair's shares have fallen from a high of almost 17 during the past 52 weeks to their current 10.45 level.

The budget airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary said last week that Ryanair's fleet wouldn't be back in the air if social distancing rules were introduced that prevented the use of middle seats on jets in efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

He's hoping that 40pc of the airline's flights could be operational by July.

He anticipates that flights that month could be between 50pc and 60pc full.

EU transport ministers held a video conference on Wednesday to discuss the pandemic's impact on the sector and the challenges to arise on the relaxation of restrictions.
A Hercules company has received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an antibody test that could help determine who has been infected by the coronavirus.

Bio-Rad Laboratories is the first Bay Area company to receive such an authorization for an antibody test from the FDA, according to the agencys website. Nine antibody tests have been granted similar authorizations. In a letter to Bio-Rad, the FDA said emergency use of its test is limited to authorized laboratories.

The serological, or blood-based, tests are designed to detect antibodies produced by the body in response to coronavirus infection. They are seen as key to eventually determining the extent of previous infection in communities, which could help determine the risk of future outbreaks.

However, it is not yet clear how long coronavirus antibodies remain in the body after infection or whether the antibodies can prevent reinfection and provide possible immunity to the virus. Experts have said it may still be too early to fully interpret the results of antibody testing.

Bio-Rad said in a news release that it produced a total antibody test, which checks for several major antibodies that can appear at different stages of response to infection. One other total antibody test has received emergency use approval from the FDA, per its website. Four tests that have received an emergency authorization test for only the antibody IgG, which can take time to form after an infection.

The total antibody test approach enables detection of antibodies in the majority of patients eight days after the onset of symptoms, versus an IgG-only approach, Dara Wright, executive vice president of Bio-Rads clinical diagnostics group, said in a statement.

Bio-Rad said its test showed diagnostic sensitivity (ability to correctly diagnose the presence of the virus) of 98% and specificity (accuracy of negative results) of 99% in clinical evaluation.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

In its letter to Bio-Rad, the FDA wrote that based on evidence, it is reasonable to believe that your product may be effective in diagnosing recent or prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 by identifying individuals with an adaptive immune response to the virus that causes COVID-19.

The letter also specifies the test has not been FDA-approved. The authorization will be effective until the end of the declared public health emergency.

On its website, the FDA states it may allow non-approved products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions ... when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives.

Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara
President Cyril Ramaphosa will today receive -- on behalf of government -- a R1 billion consignment of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) donated by global internet group Naspers South Africa.

The handover will take place at the Takealot Distribution Centre in Kempton Park, Gauteng.

The Naspers donation is a significant contribution to healthcare and to the partnership between government, the private sector and civil society at large in the fight against COVID-19.

Naspers procured the PPE and other medical supplies at great speed through its logistics and warehousing capability in Takealot and the group's Tencent enterprise in the People's Republic of China.

The group's overall aid in response to the pandemic in South Africa is R1. 5 billion, consisting of R1 billion in PPE and R500 million to the Solidarity Fund.

While visiting the Takealot Distribution Centre to receive the medical supplies, President Ramaphosa will also be taken through a state-of-the art, high-tech distribution process of the PPE to various parts of the country.
W&M professor teaches religion at intersection of politics and gender identity

Anthropology and religion: Jessica Johnson, visiting assistant professor of religious studies at William & Mary, has covered quite a bit in her two courses this spring: new religious movements in America and a new one  gender, sexuality and religion in America. Courtesy photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

Jessica Johnson is an anthropologist who studies and teaches at the intersection of religion and politics, and emphasizes that those domains of inquiry cant be divested from gender and sexuality.

So the visiting assistant professor of religious studies at William & Mary has covered quite a bit in her two courses this spring: new religious movements in America and a new one  gender, sexuality and religion in America.

That lens also informs her research, which unfolds along the continuum of American culture, politics and religion.

I dont approach religion and politics as separate domains, Johnson said. As a cultural anthropologist, I'm invested in examining not only what is being said, but how doctrine is communicated. I investigate how conservative Christian churches and white evangelical leaders invite embodied participation from audiences through rhetorical, performative and media-based means, including social media and webcasting.

Her 2018 book, Biblical Porn: Affect, Labor, and Pastor Mark Driscoll's Evangelical Empire, is about the cultural politics of Mars Hill Church in Seattle under the leadership of Pastor Mark Driscoll. It examines the mega-churchs rise to enormous popularity and eventual fall.

In looking at ways that religion also can exist outside the realm of churches or what would be considered institutionalized spaces of religion, Johnson is currently examining the spread and amplification of online conspiracy theories, as well as their harmful effects.

My current research investigates how conspiracy theories and forms of disinformation circulating online incite feelings of conviction such that offline forms of violence and acts of domestic terrorism are perpetrated by white men against religious, racialized, gendered and sexualized threats, Johnson said. Its a different way of thinking about what religious studies looks like or means.

The COVID-19 pandemic this spring has brought attention to some religious institutions and their practices of gathering in person.

In Johnsons new religious movements course, she discussed with students how the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in South Korea is considered a cult among more established churches in the area and was blamed for the spread of COVID-19 in its locality, according to reporting by The New York Times.

In the new religious movements class, we think through the political ramifications of the concept of cult, the concept of brainwashing, as well as how those terms came into being, what they connote derogatorily and how they other religious groups, Johnson said. We examine how such language hierarchically separates religions that are considered mainstream or traditional from religions that are couched as radical or potentially threatening.

For example, the class studies the Nation of Islam because its a rich example of a new religious movement that has been designated a cult in a way that intersects with other kinds of derogatory associations such as violence, foreignness and criminality, according to Johnson.

We look at how the Nation of Islam and other new religious movements labeled cults are framed that way by the government, the media and religious groups deemed more traditional or mainstream, such as Christians, to examine how that process of classification happens and the politics of that, Johnson said.

I'm interested in questions of power, authority and the political and how these dynamics are inflected through religion, and open up the category of religion, in some way, shape or form. The new religious movements course asks students to rethink what religion means and how groups come to be designated as religious, or consider themselves religious. From the feedback that Ive received, it seems that students get a lot out of our class readings and discussions.

Her course on gender, sexuality and religion in America started off with theoretical readings in queer theory, followed by readings on American religious history and ethnographic studies that examine how religious, gender and sexual identities intersect and are constituted in relation to other categories of identity such as race, nationality and class.

Students were asked to think about how the politics of gender and sexuality are embedded and enacted in religious practices, worship, doctrine and instruction. They then moved on to ethnographic fieldwork, which usually includes interviews and participant observation, but that final project had to be significantly redesigned in these days of social distancing.

The project was changed so that students had a choice of three options for their final paper  a research paper; a life history with a more personal take on the ethnographic assignment, including the possibility of interviewing a friend or family member; and an online ethnography centered on analyzing the media production of a religious organization.

Current events have continued to be part of class discussions. News articles posted on course discussion boards by students and Johnson include those pertaining to legislation on conversion therapy for minors in Virginia and Liberty University opening up for residential students during the spread of COVID-19.

Johnson is paying attention to which church congregations are choosing to gather in person during statewide shelter-in-place ordinances, and how decisions to gather offline are defended through First Amendment claims to religious freedom by Christian ministers, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, as part of her current research, she said.
According to intelligence data, two members of Russia-led forces were killed and another three were wounded.

Russia's hybrid military forces on April 30 mounted 15 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation's armed groups violated the ceasefire 15 times in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on April 30, 2020.

Read alsoUkrainian troops hit and destroy Russian-led forces commanders' SUV (Video)

Russia-led forces opened fire from proscribed 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, an anti-aircraft gun, grenade launchers of various types, weapons installed on infantry fighting vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rifles.

Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the towns of Avdiyivka and Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Pavlopil, Pisky, Kamianka, Taramchuk, Novotoshkivske, Novo-Oleksandrivka, Novozvanivka, Orikhove, Khutir Vilny, and Novhorodske.

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling. According to intelligence data, two members of Russia-led forces were killed and another three were wounded.

"Since Friday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions nine times near the villages of Bohdanivka, Vodiane, Krymske, and Pivdenne, using 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and sniper and small arms," the update said.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded as a result of enemy shelling on Friday. Losses among enemy forces are being verified.
While there was never a good chance that schools would reopen this academic year, the shape of summer instruction and next school year remain murky. Though schools have continued their instruction online, many students are falling behind academically.

The city has not yet released a plan for online summer school. Though the mayor has said he expects schools to reopen in September, schools chancellor Richard A. Carranza has said the city is planning for any eventuality this fall.

Mr. Cuomo said the states summer school plans will be determined by the end of May.

He also gave the states daily virus statistics:

Another 289 people died, the first time the states one-day death toll fell below 300 since March 30.

New hospitalizations for the virus remained in the mid-900s for a fourth day, a plateau that Mr. Cuomo said he found troubling. That is still too high a number of new cases to have every day, he said.

New Jersey is now reporting more virus deaths per day than New York.

Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey reported another 311 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday.

It was a drop from Thursday, when the state reported 460 deaths. State health officials explained on Friday that the number of deaths reported on any given day includes many deaths that can go back weeks and are newly classified as virus-related.

But Friday was the second straight day that New Jersey reported more daily deaths than New York, which has more than twice as many people.
Each week, the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters holds a meeting where its 40 members can catch each other up on the status of its 50 shelters, including on occupancy numbers and crisis line calls.

But executive director Jan Reimer says that lately, it's been scary quiet.

"Our big worry is  as things start loosening up, and this is what we've seen in other countries, is that you're going to start seeing that surge of calls for help," she said. "More and more women reaching out. We're anticipating a very, very busy time."

The combination of COVID-19 physical distancing measures and domestic violence was described as a "powder keg" by Canada's minister for women and gender equality earlier this week.

"What the pandemic has done with the self-isolation measures, with the closures of some of the support systems, is create a powder keg," Maryam Monsef said in an interview with CBC News.

Crystal Boys knows what it's like to live in fear of an abuser. As a survivor of domestic violence, she said she can't imagine what victims are going through in the middle of a global pandemic.

"They're getting locked up with their abuser, who is now stressed and who is potentially drinking or doing drugs more than normal," Boys said. "And they're locked in [all day], so they have become in danger all of the time."

Crystal Boys

Boys is in the process of establishing a day shelter for women and children in Airdrie, a safe place to come and access resources while preparing to leave a violent situation.

She said though many shelters are remaining open, it's much harder now for victims to reach out.

"You're stuck in a home with these people with very little opportunity to reach out for help," Boys said. "And when you reach out for help, you are in more danger than you've ever been.

"So when you're locked in with this person, the likelihood of a woman actually reaching out when he's sitting right beside her in the house is very, very low."

Story continues

Additional services

It's something Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter is trying to address.

Last month, the shelter started offering access to its services through e-mail and text messaging.

Colleen Underwood/CBC

Kim Ruse, the shelter's executive director, said they are not as full as normal, and she's worried by what she's seeing with the shelter's risk assessment tool.

"We've already seen over the past year and a half those danger assessment scores increasing, but we're seeing them during the pandemic increase even more, which is really concerning," Ruse said.

"Because that means that the level of danger that women are living in is exponentially higher right now than it was previous to the pandemic."

Ruse said there has also been a 34 per cent increase in the amount of men accessing the organization's men's program.

Emergency shelter for Muslim women

At the Calgary chapter of Nisa Homes, which provides emergency shelter for Muslim women across Canada, there has been a drop in calls.

Saima Mafat with Nisa Homes said they have had to limit the amount of people coming in as the space is set up as more of a communal living area with shared kitchens and bathrooms.

"Unless it's an emergency, we're definitely open and we're definitely taking clients in, but we are also looking at other options whether we can help them remotely," Mafat said. "So if we can do the case management remotely, we're trying to do that as well."

Mafat said one of the unique challenges in addition to COVID-19 is the fact that it is the month of Ramadan, when fasting is practiced.

"You don't have any food in your system and you know, that frustration or the temperament that comes down from just that can be an added layer," Mafat said.

"I haven't seen anything of that sort, but I won't be surprised if it does come through that way."

'Don't forget about the children'

Monique Auffrey is the CEO of Discovery House in Calgary, an organization that helps women and children flee domestic violence.

She said it's important not to overlook the trauma children are facing in a violent household.

"Research tells us that a fetus in utero is negatively impacted by the stress borne by the mother in a domestic violence situation," Auffrey said. "So in a family home, whether or not children witness it with their eyes, they're certainly experiencing it in other ways and are very much aware of what's happening."

Monique Auffrey

Organizations are constantly developing new ways for women and children in domestic abuse situations to communicate a call for help. The latest, called the Signal for Help campaign, was launched by the Canadian Women's Foundation last week.

Signal for Help is a one-handed gesture women can use while on a video call to alert the person they are talking to that they feel threatened.

According to the Calgary Domestic Violence Collective, Alberta has the third highest rate of domestic violence in Canada.

In many cases, Auffrey said the public can play a vital role in stopping domestic abuse.

"It is really incumbent upon our communities to ensure that if they are witness to violence or they suspect violence is happening in their neighborhood, next door, in their family member's homes, et cetera, that they are calling 911," Auffrey said.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan posted a video of citizens of Armenia recovering from the coronavirus in a hospital and wrote the following:

Course of recovery of our compatriots: a look from inside a hospital.

In the video, one of the patients says he was transferred to the hospital in critical condition, but feels well after seven days since the doctors are so generous that he feels at home.

Another patient stated that he was in the reanimation unit for five days. Everyone thinks they wont catch the virus, but look, I caught it, he said.

One of the patients is a nurse who said the following: I was very careful and was always wearing gloves, but when youre on duty for 24 hours, you get very tired. I must have made a mistake, and I caught the virus. I still think I can recover and continue to help people.

One of the nurses, who hasnt been home for 20 days, urged all citizens to follow doctors words of advice. I understand its hard to stay at home all the time, but doctors and nurses also want to go home and see their relatives whom they have missed.

Every smile and recovery is a victory for us, the deputy director of the hospital Anna Karapetyan stated.
Q: My West Orange, N.J., house is on the quiet side of a narrow traffic island. Two families have been treating it like a park. Their children play on the island and the street in front of my house, while the parents crowd around. No one wears masks. The space gets so crowded that my children cannot safely play on our lawn. Today, I came home to find the neighbors children playing on my front lawn. How do I ask them to respect social-distancing rules?

A: You are living in a moment when social-distancing rules are quickly evolving, and your sense of safety is dependent on how people around you interpret those rules.

New Jersey does not require masks outdoors, though they are mandated in stores, and the state is enforcing strict rules against social gatherings. So you need to have a conversation with these families, particularly since they are literally stepping into your personal space.

The key is how you approach the conversation. To increase the chances of a productive one, check your anxiety and emotions before you start it. Take five deep breaths, said Gloria Lopez-Henriquez, a couples and family therapist on the teaching faculty of the Ackerman Institute for the Family, in Manhattan. Calm yourself so you feel like your mind is returning to your body.
Hyderabad/New Delhi, May 1 : A special non-stop train with 1,200 migrants left Telangana for Jharkhand's Hatia on May Day, officials said on Friday.

According to railway officials, the train was operated as a one-off service on Friday morning from Telangana's Lingampalli station at 5 a.m.

Speaking to IANS, Railway Protection Force (RPF) Director General Arun Kumar said "A non stop train from Telangana to Jharkhand started this morning with 1,200 migrants." The train will reach Hatia around 11 p.m. the same day.

According to officials in Jharkhand, the state government has made adequate arrangements for the testing and quarantine of the migrants returning to the state on board the special train.

Friday's development comes in the wake of protests on Wednesday by hundreds of migrant workers at the IIT (Hyderabad) campus located in Sangareddy district of Telangana.

Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and other states, are employed as construction workers at the IIT campus. The migrants had resorted to stone-pelting on Wednesday as they had allegedly been not paid and were asked to resume work at the site.

They have been demanding with the authorities to send them back to their homes.

Officials arranged buses for transporting the workers from IIT, Hyderabad to Lingampally station on Friday.

Ever since the national lockdown on March 24, the railways have suspended the passenger, mail and express train services in a bid to combat the spread of novel coronavirus.

Railways authorities initially remained tight-lipped about the train as last month, hundreds of migrants had reached Bandra terminus railway station after rumours spread that train services were resuming.
A study reported in the journal Cell Metabolism on April 30 adds to the evidence that people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at greater risk of a poor outcome should they become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But there is some encouraging news: people with T2D whose blood sugar is well controlled fare much better than those with more poorly controlled blood sugar.

"We were surprised to see such favourable outcomes in well-controlled blood glucose group among patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing type 2 diabetes," says senior author Hongliang Li of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. "Considering that people with diabetes had much higher risk for death and various complications, and there are no specific drugs for COVID-19, our findings indicate that controlling blood glucose well may act as an effective auxiliary approach to improve the prognosis of patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing diabetes."

More than 500 million people around the world have T2D. While it was clear that people with this condition fare worse with COVID-19, Li and colleagues wondered what role a person's blood glucose control might have on those outcomes.

To find out, they conducted a retrospective longitudinal multi-centered study including 7,337 confirmed COVID-19 cases enrolled among 19 hospitals in Hubei Province, China. Of those, 952 people had T2D and the other 6,385 did not. Among those with diabetes, 282 had well-controlled blood glucose; the other 528 did not.

The data showed that people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and T2D required more medical interventions. Despite those interventions, they also had significantly higher mortality (7.8% vs. 2.7%) as well as a greater incidence of multiple organ injury.

However, those with well-controlled blood sugar and COVID-19 were less likely to die than those whose blood glucose was poorly controlled. Meanwhile, those with well-managed T2D also received less of other medical interventions including supplemental oxygen and/or ventilation, and had fewer health complications.

The researchers say the new findings offer three main messages for people with diabetes:

People with diabetes have a higher risk to die from COVID-19 and develop more severe complications after infection. Therefore, they should take extra precautions to avoid becoming infected.

People with diabetes should take extra care to keep their blood sugar under good control during the pandemic.

Once infected, patients with diabetes should have their blood glucose level controlled to maintain it in the right range, in addition to any other needed treatments.

The researchers say they will continue to study the relationship between T2D and COVID-19 outcomes. The hope is to learn more about the underlying biology that is leading to poorer outcomes for people with T2D and high blood sugar.

This work was supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Science Foundation of China, the Major Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Hubei Science and Technology Support Project, and Medical Flight Plan of Wuhan University.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged universities to use technology more proactively to make up for the academic losses due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia held a review meeting with vice-chancellors of the universities under the Delhi government through video-conferencing.

They inquired about the admission status of the new session and the effect of coronavirus outbreak on the placement of students.

In the review meeting, the plans of the universities to complete the pending examinations which could not take place due to the outbreak of COVID-19 were discussed, a statement said.

There was a discussion on how the universities are planning the admission process of the upcoming academic session. The action plan of the universities to conduct the pending examinations and how they will conduct the next academic session was discussed.

The vice chancellors raised the issue of final year students who have got placement but some of their exams are pending.

If the students do not get any degree certificate from the universities then they will face difficulties in joining new companies.

The possibility of universities providing a provisional degree certificate to these students so that they do not face any problem in joining their companies was discussed in meeting.

The VCs apprised the chief minister that they are planning to conduct the remaining examinations online.

"The government will provide all possible help to the universities in this extraordinary time. In this situation, the universities should use the technology more proactively in the academics to recover the academic losses due to the pandemic," Kejriwal said.

"Social distancing is the key to fight this pandemic, therefore, every university should plan the academic sessions and running of the universities keeping in mind the social distancing norms," he said.

Sisodia said many universities have a business faculty and department.

"These universities should suggest the Delhi government what steps should be taken to revive Delhi's economy in the post-COVID-19 lockdown phase," he said.

The meeting was attended by the vice-chancellors of Indraprastha University, Delhi Technological University, Netaji Subhas University of Technology and Ambedkar University, and the director of IIIT Delhi, etc.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Universal Music Group

No time for losers, Queen + Adam Lambert are the champions...of turning a classic record into a quarantine anthem.

The band, which is a collaboration between the active members of the British band Queen -- guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor -- and American Idol alum Adam Lambert, have recorded a new version of the 1977 timeless hit "We Are the Champions" to honor those on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle.

The idea came about when the trio virtually jammed out to the recognizable throwback on Instagram and Lambert changed the lyrics mid-song to "You are the champions." The performance garnered so much attention that it prompted them to record the new, inspiring track with some additional help from bass player Neil Fairclough.

"It is with the deepest gratitude to all those on the frontline all over the world that we dedicate our performance," Lambert says. "Thank you for keeping us safe, we are in awe of your bravery and strength."

The band adds, "During this time our thoughts and thanks are with those dedicated medical heroes standing up to the battle daily on our behalf. They are the champions. You are the champions."

Proceeds raised from the record will go to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization powered by the United Nations Foundation to support frontline workers.

"You Are the Champions" is available for streaming and downloading on all platforms now, while a video for tune has been posted at Queen's official YouTube channel.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Ackerman + Gruber

Jacque Waugh, 56

Registered nurse, has worked since 2012 in the emergency room at Abbott Northwestern, an urban hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to that, she was an EMT with the hospital for 18 years.



"It has been a steep learning curve for us. The first week or so that we were trying to navigate this, we didn't have a good solid plan on how to handle symptomatic patients. We didn't know exactly how the virus was spread.

Because of a limited number of testing supplies, the only patients getting tested are those who are symptomatic and going to be hospitalized or symptomatic health care workers. If patients with symptoms are stable, they're likely to be sent home and advised to quarantine.

When I'm working in triage, we immediately escort a symptomatic patient back to one of our negative pressure rooms, if one is open, where the air gets pulled out of the room and goes through our ventilation system and is filtered. These rooms make the air safer for us to breathe.

I'm somewhat concerned for myself, my husband and our two daughters. We're pretty healthy. If we do come down with it, I think we would come out okay, though there are still a lot of unknowns, such as long-term repercussions: Could there be lung scarring since it attacks the lungs pretty hard?

Before this crisis, in a busy ER, it was starting to feel like an assembly line: Let's get these people through as fast and efficiently as we can. Currently, it feels more like I can step in and be of use. With the extremes of where this job can take you, it challenges me to engage my faith daily.

I had a teenager a week and a half ago who appeared very anxious. He was there for another health issue, but had asthma and there was concern that he could have COVID-19. This young man said at least three or four times  even as he was vomiting at one point  Thank you so much. It was remarkable for a someone this age to show that sort of appreciation.

That's the stuff that feeds the soul: when you're able to touch someone else's life and you've had this bonding moment when they're feeling vulnerable."
Friday, May 1, 2020

Is correct provenance of documents important for obtaining a correct opinion in a forensic document examination analysis?

Forensic document examiners are asked to authenticate documents. Often this authentication requires examination of signatures and handwriting to determine whether the writer of the known documents also wrote the document in question.

An issue arises whether it is important to know the source, or provenance, of the documents being examined. Is there a difference in knowing the provenance of known documents versus the provenance of the questioned documents?

On page 51 of the book The Hunt for History author Nathan Raab wrote, But ironclad provenance isnt necessary for authentication of documents, which can prove themselves. This statement got me thinking about the necessity of knowing the provenance of our questioned documents. How can a document prove itself?

A forensic document examiner may start with a hypothesis that a document is authentic. The document examiner seeks to falsify that hypothesis by seeking evidence for the alternate hypothesis document is not authentic. When evidence supporting the alternate hypothesis cannot be found, the document examiner fails to reject the no hypothesis, and thus document proves itself.

For signature identification document examiner may extend the examination to include validity of the ink and paper on which the signature appears. The document examiner may determine whether the fonts used on the paper existed when the document was allegedly printed. More important, the document examiner will compare this signature (questioned signature) with signatures known to have been written by the person (known signatures) who allegedly wrote the questioned signature.

The question of provenance is whether the origin of the document in question matters and the origin of the known documents matters.

Origin of the questioned document

For a document examiner, the provenance of a questioned document is not important. The document examiner is retained to determine the authenticity of a document. Knowledge about the provenance of the questioned document can induce cognitive bias into the document examiners work. Cognitive Bias is bias at the subconscious level. Often a person does not realize these biases. If a document examiner is told a person found a relatives will at the bottom of the pile of papers, the document examiner may be inclined to discount this will as being authentic. If the will is notarized and lodged at the courthouse, the document examiner may be inclined to give credence to the authenticity of the will.

An example where this occurred is several years ago I was retained to determine whether a holographic will was signed by the decedent. The decedents son found the will in the back of a book while he was going through his fathers belongings after his death. His sister challenged the authenticity of the will. After a thorough analysis, I showed that the handwriting in the signature were authentic.

In another case they will was notarized and lodged with the court. The will allegedly contained an original ink signature. Upon visual inspection the signature appeared to be legitimate. Upon inspection with a microscope the signature was exposed to be a photocopy. There was no way to authenticate the will because it is so easy to lift a signature from one document and place it onto another. The created document is then printed and passed off as an original. Here, my client was surprised to learn the signature was not an ink signature.

In both cases, the source of this document was not important. The ability to authenticate the document was important.

Origin of the known documents

Knowing the provenance of the known documents is necessary. Where the subject is alive, a good way to know the provenance of the known documents is to show the documents to the person and ask whether they are authentic. As the person whether they signed the document if it is a signature case. If it is a handwriting case ask the person whether they wrote the document. Where a person is suspected of having altered a document, ask them whether they made the changes on the document.

In a recent criminal case a question arose whether the judge signed a wiretap order. The signature looked highly unusual relative to the known signatures of the judge. Then I was given additional exemplars that did not comport with the known signatures of the judge. To learn whether all the signatures were legitimate signatures of the judge I approached him at a location where he was giving a talk. Without telling him which signatures were allegedly legitimate and which were questioned, I asked him whether the signatures are all legitimately his. He answered affirmatively that they are all his signatures. Based upon this I had to inform my client that the questioned signature was a legitimate signature.

In another case, I showed all the documents used for examination to the attorneys client. The purpose was to learn which documents are questionable and which are legitimate. For each document I asked him, is this your signature? Had he answered, no to any of the exemplars or yes to any of the questioned documents, this would have changed the focus of my analysis and opinion.

This also goes to the concept of hearsay. An opposing attorney could challenge the documents and using as exemplars if there is no way to authenticate those documents.

An example is Estate of Zahau v. Shacknai Case No. 13-cv-1624-W(NLS), (S.D. Cal. Mar. 13, 2014). After the first day of my testimony for the plaintiff, the defense challenged the foundation of the exemplars used. The reason was I was comparing printing by Rebecca Zahau on documents. That evening I had to compare the known signatures of Rebecca Zahau with the signature on each document containing the printing. The next day during redirect, plaintiffs attorney Keith Greer asked me to authenticate the signature on each document. The known signatures of Rebecca Zahau were authenticated by her sister. Her sister was familiar with Rebeccas signature. California Evidence Code 1416 states, a witness who is not otherwise qualified to testify as an expert may state his opinion whether a writing is in the handwriting of the supposed writer if the court finds that he has personal knowledge of the writing of the supposed writer. Rebecca Zahaus sister personally knew of Rebeccas signature. This evidence laid the foundation for admitting the known documents. The provenance of the known documents allowed my testimony to continue.

In the early nineteen eighties diaries were found allegedly handwritten by Adolf Hitler. Two highly respected document examiners compared exemplars allegedly written by Hitler with the handwriting of diaries. Both document examiners authenticated the diaries. The exemplars were written by the same person who forged the diaries. The examiners were correct in their opinion they were written by the same person. The problem was the exemplars were not written by Hitler. The provenance of the known writing was incorrect.

Summary

Similar to the signature and document collector, knowledge of the provenance of a questioned document is unimportant to determining its authenticity in a forensic questioned document case. There is a possibility that a document lodged with the court and notarized is not an authentic document.

The provenance of exemplars is imperative to ensure the questioned writing is being compared with the writing of the person who allegedly wrote it. Therefore, a document examiner may arrive at an incorrect opinion regarding the author of questioned document.

The signature and document collector can save the document prove itself because of their familiarity with other documents of the subject. Just because a document has been allegedly the handed down through generations of the family does not in itself authenticate a document. It is possible a family member could fabricate a document for financial gain. In a similar manner document in signature collectors knowledge of the subjects handwriting, type of paper, and ink used in documents of the era when the documents allegedly written, the forensic document examiner becomes intimately familiar with the intricacies of the subjects handwriting.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The state Public Education Department is anticipating that roughly $130 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, will be available for New Mexico schools.

Education Secretary Ryan Stewart told the Journal that the PED is seeking money from two funds in the act.

New Mexico has applied for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and is expecting a $108 million appropriation.

Stewart said 90% of this money would go to school districts and charter schools and could be used for a range of needs, including personal protective equipment for staff or technology.

Its designed to be pretty broad, Stewart said.

Districts will apply for this money, but its not a traditional competitive grant process.

Funding will be distributed based on Title I status, which is a federal funding stream for students who are from low-income families.

Some of New Mexicos Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding would also go to administrative costs, and the rest would be distributed by the PED, with a focus on digital resources and the needs of students who are at-risk or have special needs, among other priorities.

The PED is also expecting $22 million from the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund.

The vast majority of it will go out to districts and charter schools, institutes of higher education and support for work in early childhood education, Stewart said.

This money will be distributed at the discretion of the Governors Office, and schools in most need will be given priority, Stewart said.
(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating two additional confirmed COVID-19 cases that involve a 34-year-old male and 16-year-old female.

Both are Hong Kong residents who returned from Pakistan on a chartered flight yesterday.

Centre for Health Protection Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan called on people to stay vigilant even though the number of confirmed cases has dropped recently.

Whether these strict social distancing measures can be relaxed, as I mentioned before, the World Health Organization uses a number of factors for consideration. The number of cases is one of the factors and there are other factors that guide our decision.

She noted that experts for the Government will also discuss social distancing measures and if they make any new decisions, an announcement will be made.

For the boundary control measures, I think the relevant bureaus and departments will release details when they are ready. Of course, advice from the CHP has been sought.

For government offices, because the disease (number of new COVID-19 cases) has come down a bit, many services by the Government have to be provided. So I am sure they will take infection control measures, such as spacing out lunchtimes and also infection control measures in the offices.

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority reported that there are currently 194 patients under isolation and that 859 patients have been discharged upon recovery.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.
Up to 3,000 jobs across pilots and cabin crew could be cut at Ryanair.

The budget airline group announced that a restructuring programme could also involve unpaid leave and pay slashed by up to 20%, as well as the closure of a number of aircraft bases across Europe until demand for air travel recovers.

Chief executive Michael OLeary, whose pay was cut by 50% for April and May, has agreed to extend the reduction for the remainder of the financial year to March 2021.

Ryanair said its flights will remain grounded until at least July and passenger numbers will not return to 2019 levels until summer 2022 at the earliest.

The airline said it is "as a direct result of the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, the grounding of all flights from mid-March until at least July, and the distorted State Aid landscape in Europe."

They said they will notify trade unions shortly about the restructuring and job loss program, which will start in July.

Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said the airline industry has never face a period like this.

Well carry less than 150,000 passengers in the three months to June compared to a budget of 42 million, he said. We are 99.5% behind our original traffic projections.

We do expect to be back flying a limited programme by July, August and into September.

The airline said it expects to carry no more than half its original target of passenger in the second quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, it expects to carry 33.5% fewer passengers than planned over the coming 12 months.

Mr OLeary said the airline would now start a process on consultation with staff unions.

If we are going to carry a third less passengers this year, I am afraid we are going to need fewer pilots and fewer cabin crew, he said.

We are going to have to lose about 3,00 pilots and cabin crew- that is about 15% of our workforce.

The remainder will be facing pay cuts for the next two years of up to 20%.

The airline has also hit out at what it calls unlawful and discriminatory State Aid offered to a number of legacy airlines by their governments.
Mumbai - The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday gave three more months, till June 30, for liquid funds to comply with the requirement of holding at least 20 per cent of their assets in liquid assets like cash and government securities.



The new norm for improving risk management and ensuring adequate liquidity, was to come into effect from April 1. Last September, SEBI made it mandatory for liquid funds to hold at least 20 per cent of their net assets in liquid assets.



In a circular, SEBI said that the existing open ended mutual fund schemes need to comply with the revised limits for sector exposure by June 30.



Further, the timelines for submission of cyber-security audit reports, as mandated in SEBI circular dated January 10, 2019, is extended by two months, till August 31.



The security market regulator has also extended the timelines for filing scheme annual reports for the year 2019-20 by one month till August 31.
Treasury minister John Glen said the Lifetime Isa penalty would be reduced to 20%

The Treasury announced today that first-time buyers who run into financial difficulty would no longer be charged their own money to raid their future house deposits.

In a major victory for This is Money - we raised the issue with the Treasury on Monday - economic secretary John Glen said those who needed the money would no longer be charged a 25 per cent withdrawal penalty until next April.

Instead the fee would be dropped to 20 per cent, meaning savers would have to pay back the Government top-up of up to 1,000 a year but would not be charged on their own savings.

A saver who had the annual allowance of 4,000 saved in their Lifetime Isa would have been charged 250 of their own money if they needed to make a withdrawal at short notice.

But despite the Government saying people should not be using their Lifetime Isa as an easy-access savings account, the fact people were expected to raid those savings before they could get Universal Credit meant it was effectively classed as one, albeit one with a punitive withdrawal charge.

The Treasury refused to comment on the issue when This is Money raised it on Monday but has changed tack just days after we published the story.

Treasury minister John Glen said: 'The Treasury will legislate for a temporary reduction in the Lifetime Isa withdrawal charge to 20 per cent between 6 March 2020 and 5 April 2021.

'This will mean account holders will only have to pay back any government bonus they have received but will not pay the additional withdrawal charge of 5 per cent.

'The rule change will be backdated to 6 March, so anyone who has withdrawn their money early since that date and paid a 25 per cent charge will have the difference refunded.'

Campaigners including former pensions minister Steve Webb had previously called on the Government to review the issue 'as a matter of urgency', while Lifetime Isa providers including AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Moneybox have long called for the penalty to be reduced to 20 per cent.

We raised the issue of the Lifetime Isa penalty and the fact savings are factored into Universal Credit calculations on Monday. The Treasury didn't respond to us, but has now changed tack

Webb told This is Money: 'The Lifetime Isa was designed exclusively to help younger people do one of two things  save for the deposit on a first home or save for retirement. It was never supposed to be a way of saving for day-to-day living expenses.

'By including Lifetime Isa savings in the means test for Universal Credit, the government is saying to young people on a low income or out of work that they have to raid money locked up for long-term savings in order to meet day-to-day bills, and to face a withdrawal penalty if they do so.'

A Freedom of Information request by insurer Royal London found savers had been charged more than 9million in Lifetime Isa withdrawal penalties since the product was launched three years' ago.

The Lifetime Isa can be opened by those aged between 18 and 40 and offers a government bonus of 25 per cent of the amount saved up to 1,000 a year.

Cash and stocks and shares versions are available.

Money withdrawn for any other reason than to buy a first home or for retirement after the age of 60 is subject to a 25 per cent penalty.

But fortunately those who are forced to turn to their house deposit or retirement if they find themselves in financial difficulty due to the coronavirus will now no longer be charged their own money to do so, at least for now.
TORONTO, ON  The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) announced today that nominations are now being accepted, from the public, as part of the process to select the 2020 class of inductees. The CMHF honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to Canadian motorsport as drivers, owners, team members, motorsport builders, and significant contributors, as well as those who have distinguished themselves in a new Media category.

I look forward to seeing the nominations for this year. I do not envy the selection committee which always has difficult choices to make, said CMHF Chairman Dr. Hugh Scully.

I urge everyone involved in motorsport  from team owners to drivers to fans  to nominate anyone who you feel has made a major contribution to motorsport in Canada, whether behind the wheel, from the owners box, on a timing stand, turning a wrench, or holding a microphone.

As a general rule, inductees must be retired from competition for at least three years or, if still active, have been involved in motorsport for at least 25 years. Information about the nomination process and submission requirements are available at CMHF.ca.

Made up of experts from the motorsport community, the CMHF Nomination Committee will select the inductees for 2020.

Successful candidates will be honoured in an induction ceremony that takes place during the Canadian International AutoShow, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, in February 2021.

Since it inducted its first members in 1993, the CMHF has honoured more than 220 men, women and companies, who were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to Canadian motorsports.

ABOUT THE CMHF: The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) exists to honour and recognize the efforts, achievements and contributions that Canadians have made in the realm of Canadian Motorsports. The CMHF was officially opened in 1993 and began inducting honourable members in that year. The Hall of Fame now has inducted over 200 individuals and organizations, who have been recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to Canadian motorsports. These men, women and companies have earned the privilege to be a part of the Hall. Categories for induction include: Competitors, Motorsport Builders, Team Members, Significant Contributors and the Media. The CMHF hosts an annual induction ceremony that has become a popular and important event to the Canadian motorsport industry. The Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation operates as a not-for-profit charitable institution. For info, visit CMHF.ca or email info@cmhf.ca.
As Ireland enters a crucial phase in the fight against Covid 19, the three principal response agencies that make up the North West interagency Regional Steering Group (An Garda Siochana, the HSE and the Local Authorities) have thanked people for their work on stopping the spread of the virus.

Ahead of the May Bank Holiday weekend, representatives of, An Garda Siochana, the HSE and Leitrim County Council are appealing to everyone in Co Leitrim to continue their impressive efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.

In an effort to deter people from travelling more than the designated distance, local authorities have closed car parks at many amenities and attractions. Lar Power, Chief Executive of Leitrim County Council has urged people not to allow everyones hard work to be undermined and to #StaySafe and, where possible, #StayatHome.

The HSE Community Healthcare Organisation has acknowledged that the collective actions of communities in the region are clearly making a difference but it is crucial that everyone keeps up those efforts:

We know its hard, especially in terms of being apart from families and friends but it is helping to protect and keep our communities - especially vulnerable people and healthcare workers - safe. I want to particularly appeal to young people - we in the healthcare community need you to keep that effort going for another while.

Aidan Glacken, Garda Chief Superintendent for the Sligo/Leitrim area, highlights that there will be a very visible Garda presence across the county of Leitrim this weekend:

Our members will operate an extensive network of checkpoints across both counties this weekend, checking public compliance with the travel restrictions in place as part of Covid-19 public health guidelines. There has been very good compliance with the travel restrictions and we want to thank the public for this. However, it is vital that this continues over the coming days and weeks. It will save lives. In particular, we would ask people who are thinking of travelling to parks, tourist locations or holiday homes outside of the designated distance limit this weekend not to do so. If you are stopped at a checkpoint, please cooperate with the advice and requests from the Gardai

The North West Regional Steering Group urges everyone to please play their part and #StaySafe, #StoptheSpread this May Bank Holiday weekend.
Shortly after sexual harassment allegations were first made public about film producer Harvey Weinstein, model Cameron Russell took on the fashion industry.

Turning her Instagram feed into a safe haven where other models could anonymously share their own accounts of sexual harassment, Russells actions helped to raise awareness on a global scale.

That was in October 2017. Over two years later, model Nadine Leopold has come forward with a new horror story that proves theres still much progress to be made. But shes still hopeful there can be change.

Model Nadine Leopold / Getty Images

Last weekend, the Austrian model announced she is suing German magazine, MADAME, following a photoshoot that resulted in nude photos being published that Leopold says she did not consent to or even know were being taken.

It was supposed to be a very beautiful fashion story - nothing out of the ordinary, it had all been discussed with my agency before, Leopold told us earlier this week of the shoot that took place last year.

When I went on set, we had a look at some inspiration photos for the first story that we were shooting, and some of the photos showed some semi-nudity. Thats not that unusual because a lot of times photographers just want to show you a vibe or a mood, explained Leopold, who has worked professionally as a model for the past 10 years.

Leopold at the 2018 Victoria's Secret viewing party / Getty Images

Her portfolio includes editorial spreads and international covers for magazines like Glamour and Harpers Bazaar, as well as walking in the Victorias Secret Fashion Show.

For me, though, it was very important that we stay away from any kind of nudity. I made it very clear at the beginning of the shoot to the editor that Im not approving any form of nudity, Leopold said, noting that the editor was responsible for choosing the photos from the shoot, and was, therefore, the appropriate person to speak with on set.

She assured me that the magazine was a very conservative magazine and they would never show anything of that sort, so there was nothing for me to worry about. She was my person of trust on set, she said.

Because of windy weather conditions that Leopold explained made it tricky to shoot the lightweight summer clothing she had been styled in, she sought the help of the magazines editor again.

I wanted to make sure that we were still on the same page and that she was watching my clothing. I kept telling her, I dont want any slips, I dont want any of that to happen. And she kept reassuring me, Theres nothing to worry about. She even told me that she has two daughters, and so as a mother, she can totally understand where Im coming from.

Getty Images

As the photographer shot with film, Leopold noted that there were no preview images for her to see on a computer during the shoot.

But to reassure me that everything was the way we discussed it, they kept taking photos with a Polaroid camera from similar angles to show me what the photos would look like. And those photos were beautiful, there was nothing showing, she said, adding, I left the shoot and I had no worries because Ive had many of those conversations on other shoots before and it was never a problem.

Approximately four months after the shoot, Leopold said she was in complete shock to see MADAME had published photos of her exposed breasts.

Getty Images

I got a call from my parents, and when I got the photos sent, the opening page of the story, was me lying on the side and my breasts were out, Leopold recalled.

It wasnt just a little nip-slip, it was properly visible, she said. I just couldnt believe that I had those photos in front of me. Im 26 years old. If Im on set and I say, No, theres no misunderstanding, Leopold said of the published photos.

There are so many people who are like, But if you didnt want any of those photos, why do they exist? But the fact is that for every one photo you see in the magazine, there are a hundred photos or a hundred clicks that the photographer takes in order to get that image, she explained.

In the photos, you can clearly see that Im moving. Its not a beautiful, static image. You can see the wind in my hair, you can see my eyes are closed. Its a photo that was clearly taken while I was not aware, and on the other photos, they cropped out my head, Leopold said, noting that the photos shouldn't exist.

I have done semi-nudity in the past, about four or five years ago. It was something that I did when I was a lot younger, and I decided to not do it again. And the fact that, years later, people think because Ive done it once they can just assume they have the right to make that decision for me is really, really wrong. You dont lose the right to say no in a future shoot.

Taking action

Model Sara Sampaio / Getty Images

Before posting about her experience on her Instagram account (she currently has almost 800,000 followers), Leopold reached out to her friend and fellow model, Sara Sampaio, for advice.

Sampaio had posted about a similar experience she had with French magazine, Lui, when Cameron Russell first helped to shine a light on sexual harassment in the fashion industry in 2017.

I think when youre a bit more established in this industry, you have a bit less fear, Leopold said.

I really looked up to Sara for speaking up, and I called her straight away and said, I need your advice. Youve done this, and youve done a great job, and I need to try to do the same. If everyone stays quiet because of the name of the magazine or the photographer on set, then you are also a bit responsible for that maybe happening to the girl after you, she said.

Obviously, with everything thats going on in the world right now with coronavirus, you dont want to distract from that. I was trying to find the right time and the right way to share it, but with all of these photographers doing FaceTime shoots at the moment, I just felt like its so important to raise awareness about people trying to take advantage of young girls still, Leopold explained of her decision to come forward now.

I also decided to start a podcast about mental health for young girls. Its all about shining a light on these darker experiences that young girls might have, including abuse - whether its sexual abuse, physical abuse or abuse in the workplace, she said of her recently-launched podcast, I Choose Me.

Its really important for me to go deeper into the subject so that there is more awareness and understanding about it, and I thought that I needed to be honest about what was going on in my life, she said.

Protecting young models

I think its important for girls to know that there are organizations out there to help. For models, there is Humans of Fashion and also The Model Alliance, Leopold said, noting that after seeing the published photos from MADAME, she reached out to Humans of Fashion, who put her in touch with a lawyer.

And its just really good to do your research, she stressed. Dont just trust anyone on set. Youre your own person, and you need to look out for yourself and protect yourself.

Regardless of the outcome of her legal actions, Leopold said that she hopes her story can serve as a lesson to other young models. At the end of the day, it can happen to anyone, and it does happen so often still, she said, noting that her agency, IMG, has been supportive of her during this entire process.

People might tell you, Stay quiet, or Dont be difficult because no one will want to book you. But I feel like I need to protect all of the young girls because Im in a place where Im just not scared, she said.

Getty Images

I also think that from my case, I hope that it raises awareness that it isnt always men doing this. Theres so much attention around what men do, but it does happen [at the hands of] women as well, Leopold added.

But I think the most important thing for girls to take from my story is that you can always say no. Its not a sign of weakness, but of strength. Because if you dont say no and you just give in, then its so much harder to protect yourself, she explained.

You should go to work knowing that everyone has respect for you and knowing that you can comfortably do your job without having to worry about people violating you in that way, Leopold said, adding, Who knows what will happen with the lawsuit. But at the end of the day, the only way to have any win in this is to speak about it. Even though it doesnt change the whole industry, it does make a difference and it makes people listen and it brings about awareness.

After being contacted by Insider, MADAME issued the following statement from its editor-in-chief, Petra Winter:

MADAME is a magazine with sophisticated content and high-quality, aesthetic fashion photography: for grown-up and clever women - made by women. It has never been our intention to expose or exploit anyone. We always coordinate photo shoots closely and in detail with all protagonists. It is very important to us that the protagonists feel good in front of the camera, because otherwise no first-class pictures can be created. During the shoot with Nadine Leopold, we never had any doubts that she agreed to the shoot. Unfortunately, she seems to rate it differently and we are sorry for this misunderstanding. We very much regret that we are currently in a legal dispute with Nadine Leopold and ask for your understanding that we will not comment on ongoing proceedings. As soon as this is completed, we are very happy to talk about the background in more detail. Because the integrity of MADAME is a matter close to our heart!
Operations of gas and oil in the Permian Basin, America's largest oil-producing area, are reportedly emitting more than double the amount of the emissions of methane into the atmosphere compared to the formerly thought- "enough wasted energy" to provide electricity to seven million Texan households for one year.

This, according to CBS News, is a result of new research by the Environmental Defense Fund and Harvard University researchers. Incidentally, the Permian Basin stretches through southeastern New Mexico and West Texas's area, equivalent to 250-mile by 250-mile.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D0F450ESHP8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The said area accounts for ten percent of the natural gas and more than one-third of crude oil in the United States. The study, which the journal, Science Advances published this week, also found that the methane gas leak's rate makes up 3.7 percent of all the gas taken out from the basin.

The said figure is roughly 60 percent higher than the rate of the national average leak rate. Essentially, methane is considered as a "potent greenhouse gas." And, since the said area is large, the excess waste is a considerable contribution to the world's already-warm climate.



The Highest Emissions Ever Measured

According to Dr. Steven Hamburg, the co-author of the study, and the EDF chief scientist, the said figures "are the highest emissions ever gauged from the major gas and oil basin in the US."

To map the emissions of methane, the team of researchers employed a space-borne sensor on Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument or TROPOMI, a European Space Agency satellite, which lasted from May 2018 to March 2019.

Since the year 2005, a swift rise in natural gas and oil production in the US has been primarily driven by fracking or more commonly known as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. And while some see the leaking of the methane gas as a big wastage of natural resources, others are more concentrated in the hazard the methane has posed.

Methane is an excessively powerful "heat-trapping greenhouse gas," which is quite stronger than its more popular carbon dioxide or CO2 counter.

Also, according to the research, there are over 220 times less methane in the atmosphere than there is carbon dioxide. However, due to methane's powerful heat-trapping characteristics, it contributes roughly 25 percent of the present global warming rate.



The Major Concern

Global methane concentrations have reportedly doubled since the Industrial Revolution, and this is mostly because of the activities of humans, such as burning fossil fuels, livestock farming, and decay from landfills.

A methane expert from Cornell University and a biochemist, Dr. Robert Howarth, said he is very concerned about the rising emissions of methane. He added, "Methane is 120 times more powerful" compared to CO2 "as a greenhouse gas," comparing mass-to-mass during the time the two gases are in the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Hamburg said, the methane gas that escapes the Permian Basin is over excessive that it has become thrice the usual heating effect "it would have otherwise had through burning the gas."

More so, proof of this massive leakage weakens the condition made by the natural gas's proponents, which increase its cleaner-burning characteristic over that of its dirtier-burning cousin, coal.



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As of Tuesday night in Wahkiakum County, the number of positive cases of covid-19 remained unchanged at two, with the first person testing positive on April 3 and the second testing positive on April 4. So far, 50 residents have been tested for covid-19.

In Pacific County, four people have tested positive for covid-19. Across the river in Clatsop County, there have been six positive cases, and in Columbia County, there are 14. In neighboring Cowlitz County, they stand at 39, while in Clark County, their numbers continue to rise daily reaching 313 positive cases on Tuesday, including 18 deaths.

Chris Bischoff, the Director for Wahkiakum Health and Human Services has been providing updates for department heads three times a week. This week he spoke about several issues including household pets, food processing plants, safe food handling procedures, and took some time to advise against ingesting cleaning products.

According to Bischoff, two cats in New York state were confirmed to have covid-19. They not only had the virus in their nostrils, they were symptomatic, he said.

A dog in Hong Kong tested positive, and it was confirmed that four tigers and three lions at the Bronx Zoo had the diseasemeaning like the aforementioned cats, they not only tested positive, they were symptomatic.

That brings up questions about whether this is spreading from pets to humans, and humans to pets, Bischoff said. There is very little likelihood that pets are infecting people, its more likely that people are infecting their pets.

Bischoff reported what the CDC is advising:

There is no evidence that pets play a role in spreading the virus in the United States. Therefore there is no justification in taking measures against companion animals that may compromise their welfare, Bischoff said. Treat your pets well.

The CDC recommends that you dont let pets interact with people outside your family. Keep your cats indoors when possible. If you are going to walk your dog on a leash, try to keep six feet away from other people and animals. Avoid dog parks and public places where a lot of people and dogs gather.

Also, he noted, it has been suggested that anyone who tests positive for covid-19 should find someone else to take care of their pets for the time being.

This is novel, this is new, Bischoff said. We are learning. So what we say, what the CDC says today, may change as more evidence comes in, so caution!

Talk turned to the Foster Farms chicken processing plant in Kelso where nine people have tested positive for covid-19.

They do a pretty high volume of chicken, Bischoff said. If you buy Foster Farms chicken or many of the local grocery store generic chickens you are buying from that Kelso plant.

Bischoff said that last week, the Cowlitz County Health Department had tested 70-100 employees at Foster Farms. As of Friday, they were still awaiting the results.

Bischoff became curious about food processing plants after learning about the situation in Kelso, and began to do more research.

In Walla Walla, he said, the Tyson beef packing plant had 100 covid-19 cases. Everyone that had been tested was symptomatic.

They have now shut that plant down to test all 1400 employees, Bischoff said. The Tyson plant is capable of producing enough beef to feed 4 million people a day.

According to his research, there are now 12 meat packing plants and three food processing plants across the US that have shut down due to covid-19. There have been 17 fatalities from covid-19 in these sort of plants, and lots of positive tests.

Foster Farms so far isnt shut down. All those people that were tested are still working to my knowledge, Bischoff said. We need these things to stay open now. They are essential, but the more risk you put on society, the more likely you end up with places like this having to close down.

The people staying home from construction jobs and other jobs, thinking I can easily socially distance, why cant I just go out? The more people we put out there working, the bigger danger there is of the disease continuing to move and hitting places like this that we need to stay open, where its hard to avoid that close contact with each other, Bischoff said.

As for whether the meat coming from any of these facilities is safe, Bischoff advises to continue to use safe food handling practices.

Wash your hands and any utensils or cutting boards, etc., immediately after handling raw meat, he said. Cooking your chicken or steak or pot roast or pork to appropriate temperatures is going to kill off the virus very quickly. All the virus would be on the surface of those, so normal cooking to get them done is easily going to wipe that virus out.

Bischoff has more concerns with ground meat, and suggests cooking to the point where there is no pink left.

He admits that there is not a zero risk, but he believes the risk is low.

These are standards you should be using anyway, Bischoff said.

He also tackled an issue that had been much in the news lately.

Dont drink bleach or inhale it, Bischoff said. You cant cure yourself of covid-19 by walking out in the sun. Sanitizers are extremely poisonous. I would not share this normally, but multiple states have reported increased calls to their poison control center in the last few days. I know weve heard from people locally who buy into gargling bleach ideas or taking a bath in bleach. No. Thats extremely toxic and will destroy as many things that you need as you dont need.

You begin to damage things. If you inhale a bleach mist you will burn and scar the cells in your epithelial lining, which is in your lungs, making them less resistant to invasion. You may make yourself more prone to serious infections, deaths, by doing that, Bischoff said. Sanitizers, bleach, UV, theyre great for keeping your surfaces clean, which means less chance of getting covid-19 or any other disease that way, but they are not intended for your body.
VANCOUVER, Wash., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Onboard Systems International, LLC, a leading provider of innovative helicopter cargo hook equipment, today announced that it has developed a keeperless version of its 6,000 lb./2,722 kg capacity TALON 6K Remote Cargo Hook, as well as a retrofit kit that will allow operators to convert existing keepered 6K Remote Cargo Hooks to a keeperless configuration as needed. Both the TALON 6K Keeperless Remote Cargo Hook and the retrofit kit are now available for purchase.

P/N 212-058-00 - TALON 6K Keeperless Remote Hook Retrofit Kit P/N 528-018-09 - TALON 6K Keeperless Remote Cargo Hook

According to Karsten Lemmon, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Onboard Systems, "We launched our keeperless 3.3K Remote Cargo Hook last August to assist our U.S. operators working under contract with the United States Forest Service (USFS) or the Department of the Interior (DOI). The load rings and swivel assemblies received for these missions are often larger than specified in our remote hook owner's manual, but because keeperless hooks are able to work with a wide variety of load ring sizes and styles, they enable our customers to safely use the agency-issued equipment. Many customers also wanted a keeperless option for their 6K Remote Cargo Hooks, and so these new products will provide even greater flexibility."

The TALON Keeperless Retrofit Kit for the 6K Half Cage Remote Hook (P/N 212-058-00) allows operators to convert their existing TALON 6K Remote Cargo Hooks into keeperless hooks as needed in the field. Operators can switch back to the original keepered version at any time by following the instructions in the documentation. In addition, operators who purchase the new TALON 6K Remote Cargo Hook (P/N 528-019-07) can convert it to the keepered version by contacting their sales rep to order the necessary parts. Finally, these hooks can be reconfigured into either the keepered or keeperless version by the factory during the standard overhaul or repair process. Please contact us for more information.

About Onboard Systems

Onboard Systems International, LLC designs and manufactures innovative helicopter lift equipment for the worldwide aerospace industry, including belly hooks, cargo hook suspension systems, Onboard Weighing Systems, and remote hook equipment. Its low-weight, high quality products provide operators with increased safety and cost efficiencies through customer-driven designs, responsive service and support, and low on-going maintenance costs. Onboard Systems maintains a rigorous quality management system (QMS) designed to meet or exceed the strict requirements of AS9100 Revision D, ISO 9001:2015, helicopter airframe manufacturers, and aviation regulatory agencies. Founded in 1975, Onboard Systems was acquired in 2019 by Liberty Hall Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry. Onboard Systems is based in Vancouver, Washington; visit our website, OnboardSystems.com, for more information.

Media Contact:

Sheri Gormley

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360-546-3072

SOURCE Onboard Systems
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Friday said that from now on, coronavirus sampling and testing data will be collected at the level of chief district medical officer under the supervision of the concerned district magistrate.

The move is aimed at reducing "difficulty in reconciling the data of samples collected, number of tests carried out and the pendency in various labs and institutions, which is hampering effective management of the pandemic," Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, who is also the DDMA chairman, said in an order.

He said heads of the concerned hospitals, testing facilities and labs will be responsible for furnishing the requisite information to the respective district magistrates through the chief district medical officer (CDMO).

The CDMO will be responsible for submitting reports to the health department on a daily basis and the district magistrates should ensure that correct and authentic reports are submitted and updated every day without fail, the order said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When antagonist countries are at odds on everything else, swapping prisoners can be a low-cost way of easing tension while scoring small successes for the respective leaders. Iran and the United States managed one such win-win prisoner swap in early December. Arrangements are largely worked out for another, but will require both sides to take yes for an answer.

On Dec. 7, Princeton doctoral student Xiyue Wang was released from his 3-year-long imprisonment in Iran in exchange for the US release of Iranian stem-cell scientist Masoud Soleimani. The latter had been arrested for a failing to obtain the required licenses to export human growth products for medical research, a minor violation of sanctions regulations.

Three elements made the December swap possible. Firstly, both sides had to be convinced that it was in their interest. For the United States, this should be a no-brainer. President Donald Trump has placed a high priority on winning the freedom of Americans imprisoned abroad, and he is quick to boast of those who have come back on his watch, especially if can contrast it, however incorrectly, with the record of his predecessor, Barack Obama. In this case, the Trump administration was able to boast that no cash was involved in the exchange.

Trump and his allies contrasted the moneyless Wang-Soleimani swap with the $1.5 billion in cash transferred to Iran in January 2016 coinciding with the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and the release of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and four other dual US-Iranian nationals in January 2016. Those five were released in exchange for the US dropping charges against seven Iranians, mostly dual nationals, arrested for sanctions violations. The cash transfer was the settlement of a three-decade-long financial dispute in which Iran received its own money back plus a small fraction of the accrued interest.

For Iran, the December swap was a face-saving way to remove a public relations embarrassment. In the eyes of most foreign observers, Wang had done nothing to warrant Irans charge of espionage. He had simply been doing archival research on the administrative and cultural history of the Qajar dynasty, which ruled Persia a century ago. Iran may also have wanted to deflect global attention from its deadly crackdown on widespread domestic protests.

A second necessary ingredient for the successful swap was that it involved like for like. Iran typically insists on symmetry in diplomatic dealings, so to release scholar Wang, they needed to obtain in return an imprisoned Iranian scholar. Soleimani was not important in his own right, and would have been released soon anyway in a plea bargain, since the charges against him were not watertight. But he fit the bill. So once the Iranian government determined that a swap would be beneficial, it inflated the importance of winning the release of Soleimani (no relation to the late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani).

A third key to the December swap was the sharing of credit. Common wisdom has it that the swap was worked out between US and Iranian diplomats through the good offices of Switzerland, which represents both countries interests in the absence of their mutual recognition. The story is true to an extent. But as explained in an Al-Monitor story from Dec. 19, the heavy lifting in persuading Iran and the US Department of Justice to take the necessary steps was done by the nonprofit Richardson Center for Global Engagement in New Mexico, run by former Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson, and former Kansas Democratic Rep. James Slattery.

The US State Department had opposed a prisoner swap, on grounds that it would be seen as a relaxation of the campaign of maximum pressure on Iran. Once the Department of Justice agreed to release Soleimani, however, and the State Department realized that Wang also would be released, the US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, stepped in. He revised the final arrangements and flew to Geneva to and take the handover of Wang. The Richardson Center said it did not care who got credit, the important thing was the prisoner release.

Immediately after the December swap, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Iran was ready for a further comprehensive prisoner exchange with the United States. An aide of his said the government sought the release of around 20 Iranians in US custody. He did not name them, but VOA Persian compiled a list of 13 Iranians who are in US prisons or on conditional release.

Four American citizens were known to be jailed in Iran on charges that seemed spurious: Navy veteran Michael White, detained since last summer after visiting his girlfriend in Iran; Siamak Namazi, a business consultant, and his 83-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF diplomat, detained in 2015 and 2016 respectively; and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, arrested in January 2018. The case of a fifth American often thought to be imprisoned in Iran, former FBI and CIA contractor Robert Levinson, was less clear. In March, US intelligence agencies concluded that he most likely died in Iranian custody some time ago.

The least complicated exchange would be one involving White, both because of his medical complications and because he holds no other passport. The Namazis and Tahbaz are dual Iran-US nationals. On the symmetry principle, releasing them would require the US release of dual nationals, who, like some others who have been granted clemency, may well not want to be expatriated to Iran. Their staying in the US would significantly dilute the political benefit for Iran.

The Jan. 3 assassination of Soleimani and Irans vow to extract revenge put a damper on discussions to release White. The Richardson Center continued its efforts, however, and, according to knowledgeable parties, arrangements are nearly in place. When White exhibited coronavirus symptoms in March, Iranian authorities furloughed him from prison. If he is in danger of dying from COVID-19, it would be to their advantage for him to leave Iran altogether. But they would like to get one of their own citizens released in exchange.

The citizen Iran wants released is Sirous Asgari, a materials science and engineering professor. Asgari was originally arrested over an alleged sanctions violation, for which he was acquitted in November. Today he is in an isolation cell in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jail in Louisiana. ICE has refused to release him for reasons that make no sense: because he no longer has a valid visa. It is not a stretch to think he is being held as trade bait.

Having now contracted COVID-19, Asgari should be released quickly on humanitarian grounds. Iran should then allow White to return home.

Why the exchange has not happened yet is unclear. Involved sources say there are unresolved issues, but will not say what those issues are. An Iranian official said the ball is in the US court. Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center, suggested that the Trump administration is again torn between wanting Americans released and not wanting to be seen as letting up on its maximum pressure campaign or setting a precedent that might create incentives for Iran to take more prisoners.

Other sources say Iran has its own reasons for ambivalence. Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group said, The insensitivity of the US during the COVID crisis has further poisoned the well in Iran. There is currently no appetite to enter into any kind of dealing with the Trump administration.

Other politically involved Iranians said that despite the disinclination to deal with the Trump team, a prisoner swap is a different story. There are signs of ambivalence, however. On April 28, Voice of America reported a lack of public or private support by Iran for the Iranian citizens under prosecution or convicted of crimes in the United States.

Zarif did show interest in Asgari, however, tweeting March 27 a news article about the scientist, claiming the United States had taken several Iranian scientists hostage without charge or on spurious sanctions charges and calling for their release. Meanwhile, a State Department official said US authorities are "working with the Swiss on a daily basis to ensure the health, safety, and release of US citizens currently imprisoned in Iran."

At a time when prisons in both countries are incubators for the coronavirus, there is a strong humanitarian case for furloughing those who pose no danger to society such as White, Asgari and the Namazis and granting them freedom to repatriate. Trump and Zarif could both claim a small victory. Given the heightened animosity between Iran and the United States, the prospect for military escalation in the Gulf and the absence of any diplomatic channels, small breakthroughs are probably the most that can be achieved for the time being.
(Natural News) The number of confirmed coronavirus infections aboard the destroyer vessel USS Kidd is now at 64, authorities said.

The vessel, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is currently docked in San Diego after being recalled to port from its operations off the Pacific coast of Central America, where it was part of a fleet of warships conducting counter-narcotic operations against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

In a statement, the U.S. Navy said that 63% of the Kidds crew had been tested for the coronavirus as of Tuesday.

According to the Navy, fifteen of the Kidds crew members have been transferred to the amphibious wasp-class warship USS Makin Island, where they will be put under close observation due to recurring symptoms.

The sailors ashore, meanwhile, will be isolated off-ship with twice-daily medical screenings, the U.S. Surface Forces Pacific said in a statement, adding that crew members who have tested negative will enter quarantine for a period of observation, which will include daily visits from military health professionals who will monitor for the development of any symptoms.

A small contingent of negative tested sailors will remain on the ship for essential services and deep-cleaning. These sailors will be outfitted with appropriate personal protective equipment, and will maintain social distancing in accordance with the Center for Disease Controls guidance, the U.S. Surface Forces Pacific said.

According to a report posted by the United States Naval Institute (USNI), the Navy Bureau of Medicine and the CDC will undertake a voluntary serology study of the crew to learn more about the spread of the virus. This study, the report said, will involve collecting blood samples and swabs from the Kidds crew members. (Related: Government says theres now a coronavirus outbreak on the U.S. Navys Mercy Hospital Ship near L.A.)

Sailors have called San Diego home for many years, and were especially thankful for that relationship now, Vice Adm. Richard Brown, commander of Naval Surface Forces, said.

Taking care of our sailors and cleaning this ship is a team effort, and were fortunate that the partnership between the Navy and the city of San Diego is allowing us to focus on that mission, Brown added.

In addition to medical professionals, the Navy will also be providing a resiliency counselor, a team of chaplains, and a psychologist for the sailors and crew members who will be in isolation and quarantine. Aside from that, the Navy said that it has also established a 24-hour roving patrol to ensure that sailors who are sequestered off-ship are adhering to all public health and safety policies.

The USS Kidd sailors have also been instructed to immediately report the development of any influenza-like symptoms to help prevent the spread of the virus.

The USS Kidd is the second U.S. Navy vessel to have an outbreak of the potentially life-threatening coronavirus, the first being the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

A Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Theodore Roosevelt reported its first few cases of COVID-19  the disease caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus  on March 24. According to official records, this was followed by an explosion of cases within the following weeks, which caused the ship to be forced into port in Guam.

As of this writing, 969 crew members or almost 20% of Roosevelts 4,800-crew workforce, have tested positive for the coronavirus, a significant number of whom are asymptomatic. One sailor has been confirmed to have died of the disease.

Sources include:

News.Trust.org

News.USNI.org

NavyLive.DODLive.mil

NBCSanDiego.com
A Missoula District Court judge has denied a pro-cannabis legalization group's proposal to gather petition signatures by electronic means, ruling the integrity and security of the election process outweighed the group's burden caused by COVID-19.

Judge John Larson issued the ruling Thursday against New Approach Montana, which argued social distancing guidelines imposed by Gov. Steve Bullock hampered their efforts to collect signatures for a ballot initiative and constitutional amendment aimed at legalizing marijuana use in Montana.

"We are obviously disappointed in the outcome of the case," Pepper Petersen, political director of New Approach, said in an email. "We are considering an appeal and are assessing all of our options on how to move forward."
The Author.

01.05.2020 LISTEN

According to David Patterson and David Killingray (The Influenza epidemic of 1918-19 in the Gold Coast, and The New Imperial Disease: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 and its impact on the British Empire) the Gold Coast was totally unprepared for the influenza epidemic. On August 28, 1918, the Governor of Sierra Leone sent a wire message to his counterpart in Ghana, (then Gold Coast) that influenza was ravaging Freetown and advised that all ships from England and Sierra Leone to Ghana should be considered infected. The American vessel, S.S. Shonga, arrived in Cape Coast on August 31 and when it reached Accra September 3, all crew members were sick. Within two weeks after the ship landed in Accra, the disease was widespread as dock workers, hospital workers, students were infected and Accra was declared a no go area for troops. As the infection propagated with raging aggression, schools closed, no public meetings were held, and businesses came to a standstill.

It was termed the worst demographic disaster in the history of Gold Coast as close to 80-100,000 people died out of an estimated 2,213,000 people (3.6% to 4.5% mortality rate) in a short period with the northern and upper regions struck hardest. No village, clan, extended family system was spared by the virus and the infection seemed unresponsive to the prayers of Christians and Muslims or traditional religions.

The virus did not linger long but it left a lasting mark on its survivors with untold hardships.

As of April 28, 2020, there have been 1,671 confirmed cases and 16 deaths attributable to COVID 19 cases. On Sunday April 19,,2020, the President of the Republic of Ghana, President Nana Akuffo Addo lifted the three weeks lockdown of Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi, the four hotbeds of the COVID- 19 epidemic in Ghana. There have been calls for government to increase the duration of the lockdown with some professionals and individuals saying the president prematurely ended the lockdown. Without timely and publicly available data, most healthcare professionals are unable to make sense of what prompted the lockdown to be lifted. Was it economic or political reasons or was the decision driven by scientific data? That debate will continue to play out in the public for a long time to come.

As a country we seem to be missing the boat every time in our reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We delayed in closing our borders, entry points and unwittingly brought imported cases to the country and allowed horizontal transmission to take place.

When the government initiated partial lockdown (even though a country-wide lock down was

preferable), the implementation was wrongfully carried out. Prior to the lockdown the Chiefs of Avatime and Kwahu Traditional Areas appealed to their citizens living in Accra and Kumasi to stay put in their areas. Ideally, our government should have "locked down" the four cities with immediate effect rather, our government gave people 48 hours notice. Just as we expected, people travelled to their villages and now we have the virus throughout most of the regions. If fighting the virus in 2 or 3 major cities is daunting one can imagine fighting it in all corners of Ghana. Yes, the horse left the barn and the government started trying to put a padlock on.too late.

Now the lockdown has been lifted and some are rejoicing, and the lorry stations and markets are packed. Social or physical distancing is now almost difficult to enforce. Are we drawing lessons from other countries as to what they did wrong and the devastating consequences? Much as we try, there is a massive shortcoming in our contact tracing. Let us assume Kwadzo is positive in Accra and travels to Aflao in a Toyota Hiace car with 14 other people. How is the contact tracing going to be done? Who has the contacts of the other passengers who also assuming they get infected also infect others? That is just our reality. The Ghana reality.

According to an interview published by JoyFM, on April 21, 2020 Dr. Anthony Nsiah -Asare, former Director General of Ghana Health Service, and currently Presidential advisor on

COVID-19 stated that 10% of the population is likely to test positive. That is 3 million in a population of 30 million with about 15,000 deaths out of 150,000 critically ill.

Another example of how one can be suspicious of the quality of data of our contact tracing relates to a recent incident of a friend who arrived in Ghana from USA few days before we closed our borders. They called him and was told he would be called back. They never called him back. As an academician he called back after many days. The number that was used to call him was a number you could not call. Talk about scientific contact tracing!!!!!

There may be asymptomatic cases, mild cases and moderate cases who may continue to infect others. Thus what we have as cases may be the tip of the iceberg. In the concept of the iceberg phenomenon of disease control, an infectious one like COVID-19, there are strategies to use for the above drivers of undercounting.

Some have argued that with the removal of the lockdown people would be infected and we could develop herd immunity. So far the science does not point to that. Evidence from China shows that people can be reinfected by COVID-19. The science of herd immunity indicates that its success in controlling the disease depends on the proportion of subjects with immunity. In a population, immunity can be from immunization or infection. Before herd immunity can be a success, one standard question is what is the proportion of people in Ghana with the immunity? Sure one develops immunity either through infection or vaccination at what is known as critical immunization threshold only then can that infectious disease be eliminated or not spread. For some diseases this can be 94% (measles for example) and 90% for mumps. Generally the more infectious the organism the higher the threshold.

Currently Ghanas COVID-19 seems to be present in almost all the regions of the country. The most recent mortality is around 16 deaths. Our current data may not be reliable because we are yet to revamp testing efforts. Until we are able to increase our testing capacity, we may not know the true prevalence of the virus in our communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic should be a wakeup call for the authorities in Ghana to take a second look at our healthcare system as a whole. It is possible that COVID-19 may follow this current trajectory with manageable cases and deaths. However, there is also the possibility of increase in the number of cases as seen elsewhere and that can easily overwhelm our already inadequate healthcare system. The question is are we ready?

Suggestions to Government

Government should equip our current hospitals/health centers/CHIPS compounds with adequate PPEs. My checks on the ground reveal inadequate numbers of N95 masks, face masks, face shields, protective gowns in the towns and villages across the country. Every patient with a respiratory symptom that requires medical care should be treated as COVID-19 until this infection is ruled out with a negative test. We should aim at protecting the lives of our healthcare staff at this time.

Testing of COVID-19 should be decentralized within the shortest possible time. Noguchi in Accra, KATH in Kumasi and most recently UHAS in Ho are not enough to test the whole country. Keeping patients as possible COVID-19 cases for 3-4 days and as long as two weeks depending on distance before test results are released, is totally unacceptable during a pandemic. The delays in getting results can be very frustrating and lots of anxious moments and periods for those tested.

Instead of planning to build 88 new hospitals by December 2020, Government should rather pay all NHIS arrears to hospitals in the country so that they can purchase drugs, equipment and items needed to fully operate. Some hospitals have not been reimbursed for services rendered in August 2019 !! Building hospitals without efficiently managing our current system will not solve our healthcare crisis. Our problem is not from inadequate hospital beds alone but rather as a result of systemic failures in healthcare system management.

To those who are arguing that we should not copy from the advanced countries, what have we not copied from them? Their system of government? Dont we drive cars? Dont we fly in planes? Are these modes of transportation African made? What about their religion and franchising churches as business entities as is done in USA? How many Ghanaians will prefer holding Euros, Dollars, or Pound Sterling to the Cedi and all of a sudden we dont want to copy from outside?

Why is the Minister of Information the spokesperson on COVID- 19? Is this not a health issue? Dont we have bureaucrats at the Ministry of Health or Ghana Health Service who are well versed in Health Communication which is relevant in this case? For starters the way health matters are communicated is totally different from other communication sectors. Why cant we have the same health communicators at the regional and district levels constantly giving out information at the local level? The citizens are more likely to receive these messages differently than when given by politicians. Our fellow citizens who are taking this virus as childs play need to be informed by health communicators. For example, some of those who recover say the virus is a monster, it feels like someone is drilling a screw into your joints and you have sleepless nights and incessant coughs with high fevers and chills. Coming from a health professional is more likely to be accepted than from a NADMO Coordinator or a politician they have known in the community and has all of a sudden become a health expert!!!!!!

Scaling up of communication on how the virus is spread. There should be incessant preventive measures across all media, country, hourly, daily etc. This is critical as the message not sinking home. It is business as usual in some places in the nation.

Government use some of the millions of dollars of its funding to give free nose masks in vulnerable communities and of course PPEs to health facilities especially in areas of high prevalence.

Let the citizens know it is the responsibility of each person not to be infected and NOT to infect any other human being. That should be the core message to "not infect the other person". In Tamale a suspected case was in the market selling. She was invited because the health officials did not want to go there and create a scene. They had to eventually go and pick her. I believe this individual does not know the implications of her actions

In conclusion if this situation is not managed well, as I pointed out in the opening paragraphs we may live to regret what happened in Gold Coast in 1918-1919 when everybody, every household, every community was touched by the flu pandemic some 100 years ago. We still have time to reverse the course of history

Professor Anthony Mawuli Sallar, PhD

The writer has a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada. He is currently a Professor at GIMPA where he teaches Epidemiology, Global Health, Maternal and Child Health, Research Methods and Ethics. He can be reached on [email protected]
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC on Friday that the United States would hold China accountable for the coronavirus pandemic.

"On the China business, it's up in the air. They are going to be held accountable for it. There's no question about that. How, when, where and why  I'm going to leave that up to the president," Kudlow said on "Squawk on the Street."

China has been criticized by the U.S. and other countries for a lack of transparency about the coronavirus outbreak. Trump said Thursday that he was considering slapping new tariffs on China due to the country's handling of the outbreak.

The president also said he thought the virus came from a Chinese lab, but didn't cite evidence to support the claim.

Kudlow said that it would be Trump's decision whether to add more tariffs.

"With respect to future tariff decisions and other measures, that's going to be up to the president," Kudlow said Friday.

The U.S. has already imposed tariffs on Chinese imports as the two countries have been negotiating a multiphase trade deal. Kudlow said that China is still working to implement the first phase of the deal, but that the commodity purchases are moving slower than planned due to the pandemic.
Boris Johnson's apparent U-turn on face masks has been criticised by experts. (PA Images)

Boris Johnson's apparent U-turn on face coverings does not follow sensible advice, scientists have warned.

In a press conference on Thursday, the prime minister said coverings will be useful as the country looks to move past governments restrictions on movement to slow the coronaviruss spread.

What I think (the scientific advice body) Sage is saying, and what I certainly agree with, is that as part of coming out of the lockdown, I do think that face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also for giving people confidence they can go back to work, Johnson said.

His remarks seemed to run against past Public Health England advice, which said masks play a very important role in clinical settings, such as hospitals, but theres very little evidence of widespread benefit from their use outside of these clinical settings.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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Sir Patrick Vallance previously said a review into wearing masks was under way and there may be benefits in stopping an infected person from spreading it to others.

Earlier this week, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said her administration was recommending the public start wearing a covering in certain situations.

We are recommending that you do wear a cloth face covering if you are in an enclosed space with others where social distancing is difficult, for example, public transport or in a shop, she said.

Let me emphasise the key point here which is that you should not really be in situations very often like that right now, if you are complying with the stay-at-home rules.

In a joint statement, professor Robert West, of the Department of Behavioural Science and Health at University College London, and prof Susan Michie, director of the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change, said: Some health experts are using the it stands to reason argument that face masks will confer a benefit but in community settings there are genuine risks that have to be considered.

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One of these is false reassurance which may lead people to fail to adhere to other personal protective behaviours (like) physical distancing, using tissues to catch coughs and sneezes, hand-cleansing, disinfecting surfaces and objects, not touching eyes, nose or mouth.

Johnsons remarks about face masks giving people confidence they can go back to work goes against sensible scientific advice and are unhelpful in potentially fostering precisely the false reassurance we need to avoid.

And prof Robert Dingwall, professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University, said: This is not following the science in any sense that it would be commonly understood, even if we think that that claim is more problematic than ministers allow.

Face coverings are more likely to amplify fear than promote confidence.

But prof Trish Greenhalgh, professor of primary care health sciences at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, said: The prime ministers hint that the government may be about to recommend face coverings as the country begins to come out of lockdown comes not a moment too soon.

Face masks have become more common in the UK since the outbreak began. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Importantly, a culture of wearing face coverings in public will convey some important societal messages: were taking collective responsibility for stamping out this pandemic, my mask protects you; yours protects me.

Face masks had been an uncommon site on public transport in the UK prior to the pandemic, but public health professor Linda Bauld, of the University of Edinburgh, believes it could become the new normal.

She said: Face coverings provide modest protection to others when the person wearing the covering has the virus and no symptoms, or some symptoms but not enough to recognise that they need to stay at home.

Wearing a mask or a scarf on public transport, in a shop or in other indoor settings where it is difficult to stay two metres away from others will, I think, become part of the new normal we all need to get used to.

Coronavirus: what happened today
Doctors are cautioning that using hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus may be dangerous after more than 90 percent of COVID-19 patients in two studies of the drug developed signs of dangerous heart arrhythmias.

If heart rhythms remain irregular for too long, it can trigger heart attack and stroke.

Heart arrhythmias are a known and potentially life-threatening side effect of the malaria and lupus drug touted by Trump, so researchers in the US and France carefully monitored 90 and 40 patients, respectively, for them.

Each found that more than 90 percent of coronavirus patients in ICUs showed longer-than-normal delays between heartbeats, a worrisome sign that the drug might be disrupting their cardiac function.

In an accompanying editorial in JAMA Cardiology, Northwestern University cardiologist Dr Robert Bonow warned that once these signs emerge, 'allowing treatment beyond these limits...in patients with COVID-10 should not be recommended unless there are clear benefits associated with anti-inflammatory or antiviral effects that are yet to be clinically demonstrated.'

Hydroxychloroquine may raise the risks of dangerous arrhythmias that can trigger heart attacks in more than 90% of coronavirus patients treated with the drug, two studies suggest (file)

Although early studies suggested it could help coronavirus patients, heart arrhythmias are a known and dangerous side effect of the malaria and lupus drug

Doctors, patients and President Trump looked to hydroxychloroquine with optimism after a French study suggested it had drastically improved survival rates and recovery times for coronavirus patients.

The FDA gave emergency use authorization for doctors to try the drug for US coronavirus patients, although the journal that published the French study later said the research did not meet the publication's standards.

Nonetheless, trials, off-label uses, hoarding and internet searches for hydroxychloroquine surged in the US and around the world.

'Among possible therapies, hydroxychloroquine has been advocated and even politicized as a promising therapy because of its anti-inflammatory and potential antiviral properties,' Dr Bonow noted in his editorial.

'The drug, known for its immunosuppressive and antimalarial effects, has risen to the top of many treatment algorithms alone or in combination with azithromycin.'

In lab studies, the drug, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1955, appeared to have antiviral qualities, and the possible ability to bat back out of control inflammation thought responsible for the deaths of many coronavirus patients.

But the drug is not without its own dangers.

QT intervals measure the time between when the heart's ventricular muscle contracts then relaxes. Prolonged QT intervals are a sign of dangerous heart arrhythmias. Many coronavirus patients in the Boston trial had longer QT intervals after staring the drug especially in combination with azithromycin, graphs from the study show

Although it's used to treat malaria and autoimmune conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, hydroxychloroquine may throw off the process that makes the heart beat in time.

One trial in Brazil was stopped short because so many of the enrolled coronavirus patients being treated with the drug developed these arrhythmias.

In order to try to quantify when, why and how frequently this was happening, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US and the University of Lyon in France closely monitored so-called QT intervals in critical coronavirus patients treated with hydroxychloroquine.

The QT interval measures, in effect, the time that passes between when the heart's ventricular muscle contracts and then relaxes.

When this interval becomes too long, the patient has developed a dangerous form of heart arrhythmia, called atrial fibrillation - the same condition that Apple Watches have been hailed for catching, saving the lives of their wearers.

It's also one of the leading reasons that patients are advised to stop taking a given medication.

A normal QT interval lasts between 400 and 440 milliseconds (men have shorter QT intervals than women).

In the French study, a quarter of the patients had QT intervals that lasted 60 milliseconds too long or more and 18 percent had intervals lasting 500 milliseconds or longer.

Out of the 40 patients in the study, 37, or 93 percent, experienced prolonged QT levels.

In the Mass Gen study, 20% of the 90 patients treated developed QT levels that lasted or exceeded 500 milliseconds. Of those, 30 were being treated in ICUs, suggesting they were already in fragile conditions.

Taken together, more than 90 percent of the combined 130 patients had longer-than-normal QT intervals. Some developed such dangerous heart arrhythmias that treatment was stopped early.

It's particularly worrisome now that doctors think coronavirus may attack the heart and cardiovascular system, either by infecting the tissue (called cardiomopathy), triggering clots by damaging blood vessels or via the inflammation the virus causes.

Dr Bonow notes that acutely ill patients like most of those treated in the two studies may be at greater risk of heart arrythmias due to other factors.

He also writes that it's possible that in some scenarios the potential benefit of hydroxychloroquine - once established by further studies - may outweigh the risk of arrhythmias.

That sentiment is reflected on the American College of Cardiology's website about the experimental use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients: 'While QT-prolonging medication use has been associated with increased risk of death, this risk may be smaller than the potential benefit from treatment of COVID-19 for some patients.

'Currently, there is hope for benefit from hydroxychloroquine, yet there is little evidence. That is likely to rapidly change, given many pending clinical studies.'

In his editorial, Dr Bonow does not advise that clinical trials of the drug stop, but warns they should proceed with caution.

'Understanding whether this risk is worth taking in the absence of evidence of therapeutic efficacy creates a knowledge gap that needs to be addressed,' he writes.

'Whether signals of potential benefit outweigh signals of harm is unknown until well controlled clinical trials are completed for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 infections.'

He adds that availability of alternative potential treatments will also play into this calculus, which may be altered by the encouraging early results of trials of remdesivir announced this week.

HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE DISAPPOINTS IN NEW YORK TRIAL OF 600 CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS

It comes after further disappointing preliminary data from a hydroxychloroquine trial in New York.

Patients treated with hydroxychloroquine have no better chance of survival than those who don't receive the drug hailed by Trump as a 'game-changer,' results of the trial suggested.

'I think from the review that I heard basically it was not seen as a positive, not seen as a negative,' said Governor Andrew Cuomo during CNN's coronavirus town hall.

Ultimately, the study, conducted by SUNY at Albany, is intended to involved some 4,000 coronavirus patients, but the preliminary results are from a sample of 600 patients.

Survival rates were no better among the group treated with the experimental drug than among those who got the standard supportive care, including oxygen, IV fluids and, if necessary, mechanical ventilation.

President Trump has touted hydroxychloroquine as a 'game-changer' for treating COVID-19 - despite the fact the drug hasn't been proven effective

Last Friday, shortly after preliminary results were reported, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally warned against using the drug outside of hospitals due to the risk that it could cause heart arrhythmias.

It wasa major blow to President Trump, who has sung the praises of the drug, as well as to the global search for an effective treatment for coronavirus.

More than 50,000 Americans have died of coronavirus, and 890,000 have been infected.

Officials and doctors alike have hoped that hydroxychloroquine, a drug developed nearly half a century ago to treat malaria, might improve coronavirus patients' odds by combating severe inflammation resulting from the viral infection.

In lab tests, the drug showed promise, appearing to quell the 'cytokine storm' of immune signalling cells that causes inflammation to run wild in the body, overwhelming the lungs.

Hydroxychloroquine interacts with the human immune response, making it useful in treating autoimmune diseases like lupus.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on CNN last week that the review had shown no positive or negative effect

It was even added the official lists of treatments to try for doctors treating COVID-19 patients in China and South Korea, a French study suggested a near 100 percent recovery rate for those treated with hydroxychloroquine, and it was voted the most 'effective' treatment (anecdotally) in an international survey of doctors.

But the latest early results suggest that there's no objective benefit from using the drug.

Of the 600-some coronavirus patients treated at 22 New York City area hospitals, some were treated with hydroxychloroquine alone, others were treated with the malaria drug plus the antibiotic azithromycin, and a third group got only the typical supportive care.

'We don't see a statistically significant difference between patients who took the drugs and those who did not,' Dr David Holtgrave, who led the SUNY Albany study told CNN.

Notably, there were not higher rates of heart problems among the patients given hydroxychloroquine, despite the potential for dangerous arrhythmias as a side effect.

It comes after a Veteran Affairs study found that more COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine died than did those who didn't receive the drug.

Dr Holtgrave stressed, however, that the results of his stud are preliminary findings of an ongoing study that have not been peer-reviewed or published.

Dr Holtgrave and his team expect the full research, inclusive of 1,200 patients, will be ready for release as early as next week.

'Hopefully what we've done here is to start collecting data and evidence and learning lessons as we go forward about effects and side effects,' he told CNN.

Echoing Dr Holtgrave's sentiments during CNN's round table, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn said: 'Obviously you need to wait for the entire cohort of individuals to have been treated with the complete course of treatment to get a full read on that.'

So far, the researchers have only revealed a hint at comparative survival rates, but the full study will also detail differing hospital stay lengths and whether patients treated or not treated with hydroxychloroquine had to be put in ICUs on ventilators, according to CNN.
Prince Andrew's friend Ghislaine Maxwell was 'abusive' towards Princess Diana and made her cry, an alleged sex abuse victim has said.

Maxwell, 58, who is accused of procuring underage girls for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is said to have found it 'really funny' to tease the Duke of York's sister-in-law, according to Maria Farmer, who alleges both Maxwell and Epstein sexually abused her in the 1990s.

Ms Farmer, who is in her 50s, claims Maxwell 'hated' Diana and took every opportunity to bully her.

Former British socialite Maxwell, who is said to be in hiding following the Epstein allegations and his subsequent suicide in prison last summer, is even said to have boasted about belittling the Princess while flicking through photos of herself with various royals.

It comes as Maxwell, who has not been seen for months, continues to be investigated by the FBI over allegations she acted as a pimp for Epstein and participated in abuse.

Prince Andrew with Ghislaine Maxwell at Royal Ascot Ladies Day in June 2010. The pair were good friends prior to the Jeffrey Epstein allegations

Maxwell, 58, who is accused of procuring underage girls for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is said to have found it 'really funny' to tease Princess Diana

According to The Sun, Ms Farmer said: 'Ghislaines like, "Look, there we made her (Diana) cry, isnt that funny? We hated Diana".

'Thats what she said. I was like, "Oh my god, thats horrible". They were very mean to her, like abusive, but they thought it was really funny. Very, very sick.'

Maxwell was a close friend of Prince Andrew's and is alleged to have recruited girls for US financier Epstein, who was also friends with the Prince.

The former British socialite is said to have enjoyed afternoons at Buckingham Palace with the Prince, in view of the Queen's bedroom window.

Ms Farmer also said Maxwell's New York apartment had relics stolen from the British Museum by her tycoon father.

Robert Maxwell was a Czech-born British media mogul whose financial fraud in raiding the Mirror Group pension fund was discovered after his death in 1991.

Maxwell was a close friend of Prince Andrew's and is alleged to have recruited girls for US financier Epstein (pictured), who was also friends with the Prince

His daughter Ghislaine has fallen off the grid since Epstein was found dead in his jail cell aged 66 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

After Epstein took a sweetheart plea deal in 2008 to state charges of procuring for prostitution and served a one-year jail sentence in Florida, Maxwell and Epstein were no longer spotted together at public events.

She remained active on the New York social scene for several years, however, until mounting lawsuits and allegations began to draw harsher scrutiny.

In April of 2016, the New York townhouse where she had lived was sold for $15 million, and around the fall of 2016, she was no longer seen or photographed publicly.

She was last spotted publicly at a social event in Geneva, Switzerland on June 8, less than a month prior to Epstein's re-arrest in the US.

Maxwell, 58, who is accused of procuring underage girls for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is said to have found it 'really funny' to tease the Duke of York's sister-in-law, according to Maria Farmer (pictured), who alleges both Maxwell and Epstein sexually abused her in the 1990s

Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts - who has also claimed she was trafficked to Prince Andrew - called for Maxwell to be brought forward to face the justice system.

The Duke of York has has vehemently denied any allegations against him and said that he cannot remember ever meeting her.

Ms Roberts earlier this week set up a a GoFundMe account for fellow Epstein accuser Maria Farmer, who has cancer.

Farmer, who is in her 50s, has Hodgkin's Lymphoma, according to the fundraising page set up by Roberts Wednesday.

Both Roberts and Farmer are among women who have come forward to say they were sexually abused by the now-deceased, convicted pedophile.

Doctors want to do additional medical scans to determine the stage of her cancer so t she can begin chemotherapy, writes Roberts on the GoFundMe page, which has a goal of raising $75,000.

She also tweeted that she had set up the fundraiser with 'Epstein's Survivor Sisterhood'.

'Help Maria Farmer Beat Cancer- please RT and spread on other social media platforms- she needs our help!!' she wrote in the tweet.
HOUSTON -- (April 30, 2020) -- Rice University researchers have discovered a hidden symmetry in the chemical kinetic equations scientists have long used to model and study many of the chemical processes essential for life.

The find has implications for drug design, genetics and biomedical research and is described in a study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To illustrate the biological ramifications, study co-authors Oleg Igoshin, Anatoly Kolomeisky and Joel Mallory of Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP) used three wide-ranging examples: protein folding, enzyme catalysis and motor protein efficiency.

In each case, the researchers demonstrated that a simple mathematical ratio shows that the likelihood of errors is controlled by kinetics rather than thermodynamics.

"It could be a protein folding into the correct versus the incorrect conformation, an enzyme incorporating the right versus the wrong amino acid into the polypeptide chain, or a motor protein mistakenly stepping backward instead of going forward," said Igoshin, a CTBP investigator and professor of bioengineering at Rice. "All of those properties can be expressed as a ratio of two steady-state fluxes, and we found that biological properties expressed in these terms are under kinetic control."

The protein-folding example illustrates the implications for drug design. All proteins fold into a characteristic shape, and a fraction misfold into the wrong shape. Protein misfolding has been implicated in some heritable genetic disorders and diseases, and drugmakers are interested in making drugs that can reduce the chances of proteins misfolding.

Before it folds, a protein has energy, like a ball sitting atop a hill. Folding is the downhill run from this high-energy starting point to the place where the ball stops rolling. Chemists often use a visual aid called a "free-energy landscape" to chart energy levels in chemical reactions. The landscape looks like a mountain range with peaks and valleys, and the downhill run from a protein's unfolded starting point to its fully folded finishing point can look like a mountain road that winds through a series of valleys. Even if one town along the road is lower in elevation, a traveler might have to climb hills to get from one valley to the next on the way downhill.

"We've shown it's the barriers, the high points between valleys, that determine these ratios," Igoshin said. "The depths of the valleys don't matter.

"If you want to get a drug that will help a protein fold correctly, for example, our prediction is that the drug must be able to reduce a barrier along the folding pathway," he said. "If it only affects the valleys, say by improving the stability of some intermediate conformations along the folding pathway, it won't change the ratio of times the protein folds correctly versus incorrectly."

Igoshin said the work stemmed from a 2017 study where he, Kolomeisky and former CTBP postdoctoral researcher Kinshuk Banerjee showed that the accuracy of enzymatic catalysis was kinetically controlled. Igoshin described the discovery as a "kind of underlying symmetry of equations."

"If you look at the ratios of fluxes, you get this interesting cancellation, and all the terms that have to do with these values cancel out, and you get the invariance," he said. "When we first got this result, it seemed counterintuitive to us. Then, we were not sure if it was a coincidence, because in the previous paper we showed it for only two particular kinetic schemes. Now Joel's work has shown it can be generalized to this wide range of systems."

Igoshin said the symmetry "wasn't that hard to prove, but no one noticed it before."

"I think it is a very interesting physical result that has big implications in biology," he said. "It could help define the limits on what is possible in terms of controlling and optimizing system-level properties in many biological processes."

###

Kolomeisky is a CTBP investigator, a professor of chemistry and of chemical and biomolecular engineering and chair of Rice's Department of Chemistry. Mallory is a postdoctoral research associate at CTBP.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (PHY-1427654, CHE-1664218, MCB-1941106) and the Welch Foundation (C-1559, C-1995).

Links and resources:

The DOI of the PNAS paper is: 10.1073/pnas.1920873117

A copy of the paper is available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920873117

High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/04/0504_OPTIM-oiak-lg.jpg

CAPTION: Anatoly Kolomeisky, left, and Oleg Igoshin. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/04/0504_OPTIM-fig-lg.jpg

CAPTION: An artist's representation of a free-energy landscape and two possible paths a protein might follow (left) to fold correctly and a third path (right) that leads to a misfolded state. (Image courtesy of O. Igoshin/Rice University)

This release can be found online at news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
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Brian OReilly no longer thinks he is a foreigner, but considers himself a local, just like many other Vietnamese.

An Irish and Australian passport holder, OReilly has lived in Vietnam for almost 20 years.

He is the coordinator for the MBA program at Vietnamese-German University (VGU) and director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

OReilly lived in Australia for 18 years before he moved to Vietnam in 2001 to work in the field of management consulting and, later, as an educator at an international university in Ho Chi Minh City.

Over a Skype interview with Tuoi Tre News before Vietnam eased its extensive social distancing measures to slow novel coronavirus infections, O'Reilly reflected on how Vietnam has changed since he first arrived, and how he knows he is lucky to feel totally safe in the Southeast Asian country.

Recalling the tragic incident of September 11, when the World Trade Center in New York was attacked by terrorists, he remembered how his mother called to ask if he was safe in Vietnam.

Im very safe in Vietnam, he told her at the time.

It's one of the safest countries in the world.

Now with the novel coronavirus 18 years later, he knows he would say the same thing.

Looking back on his two decades in Vietnam, OReilly said Vietnam has changed a lot and living in Vietnam has changed him as well.

He no longer feels like a foreigner, which can be seen on many occasions when he meets new visitors in Vietnam.

They are often excited and curious about many things that are now normal to him.

Most of the time, OReilly eats Vietnamese food and considers going to a Western restaurant as a novelty.

In the last twenty years, the longest trip he has taken outside of Vietnam was to visit his home country, Australia, for six weeks.

Surprisingly, he found driving in a quiet town in Australia way more stressful than driving at rush hour in Vietnam.

The fact that his son loves visiting him in the Southeast Asian country also reduces his trips to Australia.

OReilly has embraced a lot of what he calls a social society in Vietnam.

In his normal week, before he started to self-isolate in accordance with the enhanced social distancing order, he would go to lunch with his colleagues, and even meet them after work on the weekend.

As someone who was born in Ireland and lived in Australia, Vietnam had a very different culture than what he was accustomed to, but OReilly now finds himself comfortable here.

Thanks to his teaching job, he gets a lot of exposure to young Vietnamese people, who constantly introduce him to Vietnamese life and culture.

In turn, OReilly has helped students to overcome their typical Asian shyness, to answer without fear of right or wrong, to think creatively, and to approach problems critically since the first semester.

Through this exchange, OReilly has come to accept a lot of things in Vietnam as they are.

Brian OReilly (L) and his student (M) are seen in this photo he provided Tuoi Tre News.

Technology matters

OReilly said that when he first arrived, he did not see the established difference in technology between Vietnam and Australia, apart from the fact that far fewer people in Vietnam could afford to have personal computers compared to his home country.

Now he believes that todays younger generation, who have grown up with technology and are thus quite tech-savvy, will help the country to make a difference in the age of Industry 4.0.

There are great opportunities for Vietnam to grow as an IT home, OReilly remarked.

In his field as an educator, since Vietnam applied social distancing measures in mid-March, he has started to teach two online classes without any problems.

In part, this is due to the fairly competitive and strong Internet infrastructure in Vietnam, against many developing countries around the world.

As an educator for 17 years, OReilly has seen many examples of the changes technology can bring, and he believes there will be many more in the future.

During his time here, he has seen students move from relying a lot on the knowledge of the lecturer, classes, and textbooks in the library to attending online classes at a coffee shop with digital books and e-libraries.

These changes come with new challenges.

Due to having a lot of resources, todays students have to learn how to use all of them effectively.

Applying the traditional way of learning will now get someone left behind.

Students have to take a lot more responsibility for their own learning, and be able to know where to find information if they do not know the answer or understand a subject.

Brian OReilly (L) and his student (M) are seen in this photo he provided Tuoi Tre News.

Positive change in Vietnam

Using the Pareto Principle, or the 80-20 rule, OReilly said that roughly 80 percent of things have improved in Vietnam since he first landed.

The street has moved from a lot of bicycles and motorbikes to many motorbikes and cars.

A Sunday brunch at Caravelle Hotel or Riverside Renaissance Hotel used to only have foreigners or foreigners with their Vietnamese partners, but now both places are mostly frequentled by Vietnamese with some foreigners.

BMWs and Mercedes owned by successful Vietnamese are not uncommon in some areas.

In 2003, the international university where OReilly worked had only a couple hundred students, now it has a few thousand students.

However, the biggest changes are among the middle class, those who do not necessarily have a BMW, but who can still live a reasonably good life, due in part to Vietnams stable economic growth.

As for what has not changed for the better, traffic jams and pollution would be big problems, according to OReilly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been unfortunate for everyone, but the fact that the air was quite clean in Ho Chi Minh, and many other places around the world, while people self-isolated was amazing.

Afraid that once people go back to their routines, traffic jams and smog will spring up again, OReilly expressed his hope that Vietnam will move toward more smart cities, protect the environment, make better lives for the younger generation, and use technology to help solve problems.

If somebody told me 10 years ago that the xe om  a motorbike taxi service  was going to become high tech, I would have laughed at them, he said.

But now technology has changed that.

In my life, I don't have to worry too much about the future.

But for younger people, you don't want the cities to get worse and worse.

Each and every one of us can do something, like working from home a bit more to reduce traffic or using public transport more often.

We do not need a pandemic to realize what's important is actually just having a reasonably good life with family and friends.

There is a need for a balancing act for a country that's developing.

We don't want to destroy the future to make the present.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
New York, May 1 : A "Master Chef: India" finalist whose restaurant had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and her husband have died "in an apparent murder-suicide," according to a prosecutor in New Jersey.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said that police found Garima Kothari, 35, who was five-months pregnant, dead in her residence in Jersey City on Sunday morning with injuries to the upper body and her husband, Man Mohan Mall, 37, in the Hudson River.

Both were declared dead at the scene.

"While it remains at this time that these deaths are the result of a murder-suicide, the final determination is still pending the complete findings of the Regional Medical Examiner's Office," Suarez said in a statement.

She said that the medical examiner has determined after a postmortem that Kothari's death was a homicide while the cause of Mall's death was still pending.

Kothari's restaurant, Nukkad, which opened in February in Jersey City, was closed a month later because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

She re-opened it partially in April for only pick-up and delivery orders and delivered donated meals to healthcare workers at the Jersey City Medical Centre, New Jersey magazine reported.

A week before her death, she gave an indication in a Facebook post about the financial difficulties of small restaurants and complained about large restaurant chains grabbing federal loans meant for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She wrote, "Yet another tough decision "Nukkad is up and running" even on Sundays now. I would so appreciate the support of the community at this point of time! Existence in silo is not possible, hence I feel compelled to stay open & support my skeletal staff & be able to pay some fixed expenses (now that small biz fed loans have been lapped up by the Ruths & Shake shacks!!)" Later, Shake Shack chain that operates nearly 250 restaurants and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse with about 80 locations agreed to return the Paycheck Protection Programme loans meant for small businesses that they had taken.

When the restaurant opened, New Jersey magazine wrote that Nukkad "is an elegant-looking fast-casual Indian restaurant doing "Indian Soul Food" from chef Garima Kothari, one of the top 15 finalists from 'Master Chef: India'." It said that Kothari had started as an investment banker in India but switched careers after her performance on the "Master Chef" show.

The magazine said that she studied pastry and baking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and after working as a pastry chef she opened a catering company, Breaking Bread Co, in Jersey City before starting Nukkad with her husband.

Mall described himself on Facebook as an IIT Kharagpur graduate with an advanced degree in financial engineering from Columbia University in New York.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 04:20:20|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, April 30 (Xinhua) -- That large-scale testing can help to discover virus carriers early, especially to prevent those who are asymptomatic from spreading the virus, has become the consensus of scientists and proved by the practice of anti-pandemic in various countries.

Many European countries have recently expanded the testing scale of the novel coronavirus in an effort to further block its transmissions, and also to ensure the functions of key sectors such as medical care.

The small town of Vo Euganeo in northern Italy attracted the world's attention due to its success in controlling the spread of the coronavirus earlier.

At the beginning of the outbreak in Vo Euganeo, Andrea Crisanti, director of the Molecular-Microbiology Department of the Padua University Hospital and a leading scientific consultant on the coronavirus in Italy's Veneto region immediately proposed to the Veneto region to conduct testing on all the town's population. Such a method greatly reduced the pandemic in the Veneto region and saved Vo Euganeo. The town controlled the pandemic in less than a month, setting a model not only for Italy but also for Europe.

Many experts believe that for Italy and many other European countries, large-scale testing, contact tracing and isolation of the infected are necessary to lift the restrictions.

Crisanti believed that due to the limitations of resources and labor costs, the Vo Euganeo model is unlikely to be extended to all regions of Italy, but it can detect and reduce "high-risk groups" such as medical staff, supermarket employees, and public service personnel, and reduce the speed of the virus.

He also said that the most important thing is to find asymptomatic carriers, who are not ill but can nonetheless spread the virus. In Vo Euganeo, through large-scale testing, many asymptomatic were found.

The rapid creation of three new Lighthouse Labs in Milton Keynes, Glasgow and Alderley Park in Cheshire is increasing the UK's capacity to test for coronavirus, with each site scaling up to test tens of thousands of patient samples each day, according to the UK's Department of Health and Social Care on Wednesday.

British National Testing Coordinator, Professor John Newton said: "Every day across the country we are increasing our coronavirus testing capacity. Just a few weeks ago we launched the first Lighthouse Lab in Milton Keynes, and now it is part of the biggest network of diagnostic labs in British history."

According to British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, the UK plans to significantly increase the nation's virus testing capacity to 100,000 times a day by the end of April.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, in presenting the government's plan on Tuesday, emphasized that after May 11, protecting, testing and isolation measures were more critical, and maintaining social distancing would become more important.

France will step up virus testing and conduct at least 700,000 tests every week. People with symptoms will also be tested on a large scale and their contacts will be tracked. Philippe said that once tested positive, all its contacts would be tested and asked to be quarantined. The purpose was to isolate the carrier as soon as possible and block the virus transmission chain. France would set up a "virus tracking" department to trace the patient's activity route and contacts.

Sweden, which has "taken its own path" combating the pandemic, has received the world's attention when it previously announced that it would no longer test mild-symptomatic and suspected personnel. Although it insisted on implementing a "loose and voluntary" anti-pandemic strategy, it has recently undergone a radical change in its strategies towards large scale testing.

Sweden has a test capacity of about 15,000-20,000 tests per week, according to previous data from the Public Health Agency, and Sweden will further expand its testing, using testing materials purchased from China and the United States, to increase testing capacity to 35,000 tests per week.

The Swedish Public Health Agency also regards the expansion of testing capabilities as a national strategy to prevent employees working in important fields such as health care from staying at home for too long, and urges those deemed able to work to return to work as soon as possible, to ensure normal functioning of medical institutions and other key sectors.

Sweden plans significantly to scale up testing for the coronavirus and will carry out, with the introduction of drive-in test stations and home-testing kits, 100,000 tests per week by mid-May, Lena Hallengren, minister of health and social affairs said at a press conference on Thursday.

"The fact that we are now investing significantly in testing is also a result of us drawing the conclusion that this is not over. We are potentially seeing the beginning of the end. We have a long way to go still when it comes to COVID-19," said Johan Carlson, director-general of the Swedish Public Health Agency, on Thursday. Enditem
Pledging to report unauthorized entries into the United States  and shame any state leaders who welcome them  about 20 border security supporters assembled Saturday morning near Jamul.

The group, including members of the Minuteman patrol movement, coordinated volunteers to watch designated border regions for 24 hours.

Their vigil, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, was meant to help federal officers, Minuteman leader Tim Donnelly said.

By reporting unauthorized border crossings, the observers hope to help outnumbered border officers, Donnelly said. He is a Republican candidate for the 8th congressional district, which covers much of the desert area north of Imperial County.

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The border-watching exercise was in part a reaction to the caravan of Central Americans who traveled through Mexico to enter the U.S. at the border between San Diego and Tijuana, said Donnelly, a former assemblyman.

1 / 18 A group of border security supporters put on their gear in preparation for heading to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 18 A border security supporter loads a shotgun into a vehicle before he and fellow supporters head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 18 A helmet and other gear is placed on a table as a group of border security supporters prepare to go to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 18 A group of border security supporters gather for a briefing before they head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 18 A border security supporter put on his gear in preparation for heading to the U.S. - Mexican border. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 18 One member, center, speaks during a briefing before he and a group of border security supporters head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 18 One member speaks during a briefing before he and a group of border security supporters head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 18 A group of border security supporters gather for a briefing before they head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 18 Tim Donnelly, who is a congressional candidate for the 8th Congressional District, speaks to a group of border security supporters as they gather for a briefing before heading to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 18 A group of border security supporters gather for a briefing before they head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 18 Food and medical first aid items sit at the medics table as a group of border security supporters prepare to go to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 18 First aid items at the medics table as a group of border security supporters prepare to go to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 18 A group of border security supporters gather for a briefing before they head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 18 Tim Donnelly, right, who is a congressional candidate for the 8th Congressional District, talks to a border security supporter before he and a group of other border security supporters head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 18 Tim Donnelly, center, who is a congressional candidate for the 8th Congressional District, poses for pictures with a group of border security supporters before they head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 18 A group of border security supporters carry their gear to their vehicles before heading to the U.S. - Mexican border. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 18 A border security supporter stands next to his vehicle before he and fellow supporters head to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 18 The lead driver signals to fellow border security supporters as they line up their vehicles on Otay Lakes Road before heading to the U.S. - Mexican border to observe and report any signs of illegal immigration to the U.S. Border Patrol. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

It was also meant as a warning to Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed the California Values Act, which limits law enforcement in the state from certain kinds of cooperation with federal immigration officials. The law has been criticized as an effort to make California a sanctuary for unauthorized immigrants.

My hope is that we will reignite the (Minuteman) movement and that people will again be aiding (border agents) for longer periods of time, longer musters, Donnelly said.

The camouflage-dressed volunteers, wearing boots, bringing backpacks and other wilderness gear, were instructed on safety such as avoiding rattlesnakes before heading out from Pio Pico campground.

Volunteers were told to avoid confrontations with border crossers if possible, and to help those in distress.

There is no animus toward those who are crossing desperate, you know, to escape oppression, Donnelly said. But at the same time, among those people come through wolves, people who mean harm people like Luis Bracamontes, who was just recently sentenced to death here in California for executing two sheriffs deputies up in Sacramento.

While expressing sympathy for plight of border crossers, Donnelly and others blasted Brown, who they said has violated his oath of office.

This is not about waving American flags, Donnelly said. This is about actually securing the border and sending a message to the political authorities, to Jerry Brown.

I dare Jerry Brown to come down and arrest me, because you might get arrested down here for being a tyrant, for being a traitor, for aiding and abetting illegal aliens and harboring them in violation of federal law, which is the supreme law of the land when it comes to immigration.

Lisa Collins of Orange County said she had been a member of the Minuteman group since 2005, when illegal immigration surged.

There were so many illegals that were coming across the border, and Im one that believes you cant complain about a subject unless youre willing to do something about it, Collins said.

Supporter Ben Bergquam said he was there to show solidarity with the group, although not taking part in the border watch. He is co-founder and spokeman for the Fight Sanctuary State Movement.

I represent the angel parents whove lost their loved ones to criminal illegal aliens that are protected by the lawless politicians like Jerry Brown, Berqguam said.

The group is preparing to launch a statewide initiative to repeal Californias sanctuary state legislation, Bergquam said.

Related reading

All members of Central American caravan now in U.S.

Posada without borders gets more meaning with refugee crisis

Parents of woman shot at pier support strict immigration law
Unconfirmed reports indicating Iggy Azalea welcomed a baby with rapper Playboi Carti had many of the beauty's fans speculating online Thursday.

Artist DJ Akademiks told his 2.5 million Instagram followers that he'd heard word that the Australian artist, 29, whose real name is Amethyst Kelly, had a baby over the weekend with the rapper, 23.

DJ Akademiks posted a pic of the pair with a caption that read 'Congrats to Iggy Azalea and Playboi Carti on the birth [of] their son this weekend.'

The latest: Unconfirmed reports indicating Iggy Azalea, 29, welcomed a baby with rapper Playboi Carti, 23, had many of the beauty's fans speculating online Thursday

He added in his own caption, 'Talked to some ppl.... allegedly this is true. Congrats to #playboicarti and #iggyazalea if it is.'

The item caught the attention of fans of the artists, as some implied they were caught off guard by the news that the Fancy songstress was in a romantic relationship.

The couple, first linked in the summer of 2018, had an on-and-off relationship in the late months of 2019, with a brief breakup in December - Azalea declared 'I'm single' in an Instagram post - followed by a rekindled romance.

'Iggy Azalea was pregnant and just had a baby?' one wrote.

Details: DJ Akademiks posted a pic of the pair with a caption that read, 'Congrats to Iggy Azalea and Playboi Carti on the birth [of] their son this weekend'

Relaxed: Iggy watched her beau take the stage in her native Australia earlier this year

Another said, 'iggy azalea and playboi carti had a baby together?? i didn't even know they were dating.'

Playboi Carti, whose full name is Jordan Terrell Carter, was arrested earlier this month in Clayton County, Georgia in connection with weapons and drug possession.

Police told TMZ that officers initially pulled the artist over in his Lamborghini Huracan because the registration on the vehicle was expired. Police said the the rapper had marijuana, multiple types of prescription medication and weapons.

Dailymail.com has reached out to Azalea and Carti's reps for confirmation of the baby news.
Workers are seen next to a cage with mice inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

US Probes University of Texas Links to Wuhan Lab in Spotlight Over CCP Virus

The U.S. Department of Education has asked the University of Texas (UT) to supply documentation on its relationship with the China-based infectious-disease lab at the heart of the controversy surrounding the origin of the CCP virus, the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

Though scientists suggest the likeliest origin of the pandemic remains natural, investigators are looking into whether there is evidence to support a theory that the virus was the subject of scientific work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and somehow escaped.

President Donald Trump, in remarks on Thursday, claimed to have seen evidence to support the theory that the virus had been in the lab and that the United States now is finding how it came out.

Its a terrible thing that happened, the president said. Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, said it agrees with the scientific consensus that the virus is not man-made but was still investigating the precise source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.

The intel statement said the federal agencies concur with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.

The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, the statement said.

The Education Departments letter (pdf), dated April 24, 2020, asks UT to share documents related to potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), along with dozens of Chinese universities and firms, including ones with links to the regime.

Between June 6, 2014, and June 3, 2019, UT reported approximately twenty-four contracts with various Chinese state-owned universities and ten contracts with Huawei Technologies, all purportedly worth a reported total of $12,987,896, the letter reads.

It is not clear, however, whether UT has in fact reported all gifts from or contracts with or relating to the Wuhan MCL, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and/or all other foreign sources, including agents and instrumentalities of the government of the Peoples Republic of China, it adds.

The Education Department said it is requesting a series of records from UT, including copies of gift or donation agreements and staff contact information, so that the department can assess whether UT is in compliance with federal laws that require higher education institutions to report things like gifts and contracts from foreign sources.

The request for records of gifts or contracts from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its researcher Shi Zhengli, known for her work on bats, is part of a broader department investigation into possible faulty financial disclosures of foreign money by the Texas group of universities.

A UT official told The Wall Street Journal that the institution plans to respond to the department and declined to provide information about any potential links to the entities identified in the letter.

Canadian Links

It follows earlier reports that the Canadian government was funding a COVID-19 research project that involved collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

A University of Alberta professor received a grant worth more than 828,000 Canadian dollars ($590,000) to work with the Wuhan lab to develop COVID-19 tests, according to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a government agency.

The project aims to develop rapid and inexpensive tests for COVID-19.

The recipient of the Canadian government grant is professor Xiaochun Le, an analytical and environmental toxicology researcher at the University of Alberta. His project is one of dozens that Canadian authorities have recently funded that pertain to COVID-19.

Canadian authorities have not said why the Wuhan lab was chosen but a spokesman for federal Health Minister Patty Hadju told the Globe and Mail, a Canadian news outlet, that this and other state-funded research projects undergo rigorous peer review by experts independent of the government.

Speaking to the same outlet, a spokeswoman for the University of Alberta said the Wuhan lab was chosen because researchers there have considerable experience with COVID-19 testing.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology surged into the spotlight amid mounting efforts to determine exactly how the outbreak began.

In 2018, American officials visited the Wuhan facility multiple times and sent two official warnings back to Washington about inadequate safety at the lab, which was researching coronaviruses from bats, according to the Washington Post.

Those cables warned about safety and management weaknesses at the lab and proposed more attention and help.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
OCEANA COUNTY, MI  Krieger, the Oceana County Sheriffs K-9, is so good at what he does, hes had to back off a bit on his duties.

The German shepherds roles included sniffing out illegal drugs. The trouble is marijuana is no longer illegal  but Kriegers nose still thinks it is.

We just cant turn that off, said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

Enter Laz, a Belgian Malinois, who will be joining the sheriffs office next month as its new drug-sniffing K-9. Laz has no problem with pot, and so he will take over drug enforcement duties from Krieger, Mast said.

Having drug K-9s that are trained to alert on marijuana has become a liability for law enforcement agencies throughout Michigan, Mast said.

The trouble comes when law enforcement uses a drug dogs actions to secure a search warrant, Mast said. He said his biggest concern is if force becomes necessary to execute a search warrant, and then officers discover that marijuana is the only illegal substance present.

Thats a huge liability, Mast said. Its a risk that were not willing to take.

Krieger, who is age 4, will remain with the department as a tracking dog. His fantastic nose tracked down a domestic violence suspect just last week, Mast said.

Krieger, an Oceana County Sheriff's K-9, cannot be used for drug detection anymore because he's trained to sniff out marijuana, which is legal in Michigan. He's pictured here during a "shop with a cop" event.

His kind mentality has also made Krieger a favored guest in schools. libraries and the like where hes one of the Oceana County Sheriffs Departments best ambassadors, Mast said.

Hes got a bit of a following around here, he said. We just cant employ him during a drug investigation.

Krieger will continue to live with his handler, Sgt. Cam Hanson. Laz will move in with them when he arrives in mid-May, Mast said.

Laz, who is 2, is coming from Magnum K9 in Quincy, where he is being trained to search for narcotics (not marijuana) and other articles, find lost people and protect fellow officers.

Magnum K9, which is familiar with Hanson and the liability Krieger presented as a drug dog, offered Laz to the sheriffs office for $6,000, which is half what he normally would cost, Mast said.

This is a tool we very much need, he said. The drug scene has not gotten any better in Michigan, West Michigan or Oceana County. Methamphetamine is crazy  theres meth everywhere. Theres heroin everywhere. Theres opiates everywhere.

Also on MLive:

Muskegon Township approves 2 more marijuana dispensaries, bringing total to 7

Two killed, one airlifted from fiery crash in West Michigan

Michigan marijuana shops to remain open with essential businesses amid coronavirus
London's Tower Bridge has been reopened after it was shut down by armed police over reports of a suspicious package.

Officers cordoned off the bridge shortly after arriving at around 12.20pm today.

But police confirmed around 1.20pm this afternoon that the bridge had been reopened and the package was found to be non-suspicious.

London's Tower Bridge has been reopened after it was shut down by armed police, pictured, over reports of a suspicious package around 12.20pm today

Police cars and a van pictured at Tower Bridge earlier today in an image posted to Twitter

Social media users shared images and footage of the scene on Twitter.

One earlier posted: 'Anyone know what's happening on Tower Bridge?'

Another said: 'Tried to go for my first isolation run and ended up on the middle of the marked off zone during an incident at Tower Bridge.'

A policeman pictured with a dog at Tower Bridge, left, and two vehicles near the underneath of the bridge, right. Met Police confirmed the package was found to be non-suspicious

A third added: 'Does anyone know what's happened on Tower Bridge? It's all taped off by police'.

Met Police issued a statement on Twitter, posting: 'Police attended Tower Bridge at 12:18hrs to reports of a possible suspicious package.

'The bridge was closed while the package was examined and was found to be non-suspicious.

'The bridge has now re-opened.'
(Newser)  A man armed with an assault rifle was arrested after opening fire outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC, early Thursday, his bullets tearing holes into the walls and pillars near the front entrance in what authorities suspect was a hate crime. The gunfire broke out around 2am. outside the embassy in northwest Washington. Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the scene after neighbors reported hearing gunshots, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Officers found the man, Alexander Alazo, 42, of Aubrey, Texas, armed with an assault rifle, and they took him into custody without incident, police said.

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A police report obtained by the AP describes the shooting as a "suspected hate crime and says Alazo "knowingly discharged multiple rounds from an AK-47 rifle into the Cuban Embassy." But the report also says Alazos motivation is unknown. Officers recovered the rifle, ammunition, and a white powdery substance that was found in a small baggie after Alazo's arrest, according to the report. Alazo was arrested on charges of possessing an unregistered firearm and ammunition, assault with intent to kill, and possessing a high-capacity magazine, a Secret Service spokeswoman said. Cubas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that embassy staff members were "safe and protected but that the shooting caused "material damage" to the building.

(Read more Washington DC stories.)
Rishi Kapoors Funeral To Be Held At Chandanwadi Crematorium, Daughter Riddhima Kapoor Would Not Be Able To Attend
DONT expect any new government any day soon

Thats the warning from local Green Party TD Brian Leddin, with talks between his own party and Fine Gael and Fianna Fail still not under way more than 11 weeks after the general election.

The leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan has put out a list of 17 questions he is asking of the big-two parties ahead of any coalition talks.

But there has been some confusion over whether these equate to red-line issues, or simple asks with party members contradicting one another.

For his part, Mr Leddin, who became Limerick Citys newest TD as part of the Green surge, said: They are not so much preconditions, but questions requiring clarification from Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. It's about establishing a baseline so we are all on the same page. If we do go into negotiations, it would be around our respective manifestoes.

One thing that the party will not move on is the proposed seven percent cut on greenhouse gasses  something that has caused opposition from many quarters.

Fianna Fail TD Niall Collins said he cannot see how this magic figure is achievable

The Green Party has raised the bar extraordinarily high in relation to the emissions reduction. Theres a lot of concern among the different sectors, the agricultural industry and construction. People have been contacting me since last Thursday. Theres a job of work to be done by the three leaders to demonstrate how a 7% cut can be achieved, he told the Limerick Leader.

But Mr Leddin said: It can be done, it would require huge changes in how we manage our society. The number comes from the EU target of 50% reduction by 2030. If you work it out, it's essentially 7% per year. It might be the case certain things we do now such as as planting trees or planning rail infrastructure, if we do these things now, we might not get the reductions to down the line. But what's important is we do do the things now.

There have been suggestions in some quarters that a grand coalition  eight seats short of the magic majority  could seek to be propped up by a number of Independents.

Mr Leddin feels this would lack legitimacy.

I don't think the public would be too happy if two parties who didn't do particularly well in the election would reach out to very locally-focused Independent TDs from around the country who have very special local interests, he said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously said it will take until at least June to form a new government.

Mr Leddin  who made his maiden Dail speech this week  said: It could be played out in all number of ways over the next few weeks. We are not in ordinary times. There is the very real challenge of meeting each other and discussing all these policy points. But also the other thing about the pandemic is that the finances have completely changed. In this climate of financial uncertainty, it's going to be very difficult to move quickly. A lot of research is needed. It could certainly drag on. It's better to get it right rather than hastily jump into anything.

Mr Collins  who has been tipped for the role of chief whip in the 33rd Dails administration  added: The whole process is very much in its infancy.
Global smartphone shipments have fallen by 16.8 percent due to worldwide lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus, reports analyst firm Omdia.

Phone vendors such as Apple, Samsung and Huawei are feeling the pinch from production shutdowns at factories, product launch delays and stunted consumer demand.

In the first quarter of the year  from January 1 to April 30  there were 274.4 smartphone units shipped to customers  down from 329.9 million for the first quarter of 2019, the firm said.

Nine of the worlds top 10 equipment manufacturers suffered declines in device shipments  Samsung, Huawei, Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Motorola, LG and Chinese seller Tecno.

The global smartphone market is now set to fall by 13.1 per cent this year, with around 1.2 billion units sold in 2020 compared with 1.39 in 2019, Omdia said.

IDC, another independent analyst firm, has said that this quarter's global decline in smartphone shipments is the biggest ever.

Apple's budget-friendly iPhone SE (pictured), which launched last month, may have saved the company from a more dramatic decline in shipments

Omdia said the most severe impact on smartphone shipments was the shutdown of production and supply chain facilities in China early in the first quarter.

This shutdown affected smartphone makers based outside of the country, including Apple, which pays Chinese company Foxconn to construct its iPhones and other devices.

However, signs point to economic activity in China ramping up as the spread of the virus slows in the country, according to Omdia.

Smartphone makers also had to call of their plans to launch new products at the Mobile World Congress, one of the worlds biggest consumer technology tradeshows.

This years MWC event was due to take place in Barcelona at the end of February before companies attending dropped out one by one due to safety concerns  until it was eventually cancelled by the organisers.

An operator at the entry of the Fira Barcelona Montjuic centre in Barcelona, Catalonia, where the Mobile World Congress (MWC) was supposed to take place from 24 to 27 February

Other reasons for a global decline in the market are restricted access to bricks and mortar shops during lockdowns and an economic downturn that means consumers are less able to shell out on a new phone.

Early in the first quarter, the smartphone market was sent reeling by the shutdown of production at facilities in China, which halted the manufacturing of phones and their key components, said Jusy Hong, smartphone research and analysis director at Omdia.

While concerns about this situation have been alleviated, the smartphone brands also faced new challenges, including disrupted launch schedules for new phones.

Even more troubling for smartphone makers is a major decline in global demand due to government lockdown mandates.

Omdia revealed that Samsung was the top smartphone maker in the first quarter of this year with 58.9 million shipments and 21 per cent of the market.

Chinas Huawei was runner-up for Q1 with 49 million shipments and 18 per cent share, followed by US giant Apple with 38.5 million shipments and only a 14 per cent share of the global market.

All three of the top sellers for the quarter  Samsung, Huawei and Apple  saw reduced shipments compared with Q1 2019 (drops of 17 per cent, 17.1 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively).

The Galaxy S20 (pictured) and Samsung's other big offering of the year, the foldable Galaxy Z Flip, were launched just before the lockdown hit Britain

In Q1 2019, Samsung sold 71 million smartphone units, Huawei sold 59.1 million units and Apple sold 43.8 million.

Of the top 10 sellers, LG and Motorola had the most dramatic falls in shipments over the year, while China-based manufacturers Xiaomi and Tecno experienced the smallest drops (8.2 per cent and 7.6 per cent).

US maker Motorola, in eighth place, saw shipments decline 35.4 per cent from 8.5 million units to 5.5 million units.

Despite finally launching its rebooted Razr flip-phone with a foldable display, the publicity surrounding the high-profile device was not enough, Omdia said.

South Korean manufacturer LG, meanwhile is also struggling with its mobile division, seeing smartphone shipments fall 37.4 per cent from 8.6 million units a year ago to 5.4 million this year.

Bucking the trend was Chinese manufacturer Realme, which was the only seller in Q1 to achieve growth over the year.

Realme shipped 6.1 million phones in Q1 2020 compared with 3.2 million in Q1 2019  a rise of 88 per cent.

Omdia expects the global smartphone market to recover in the second half of the year as lockdowns are likely to lift  however, there will be a far reduced demand than what big sellers like Apple and Samsung are used to.

Although handsets can be produced at nearly normal levels, the markets for these handsets are mostly in some state of shutdown, Hong said.

Some countries have made more progress in dealing with the outbreak, while others are still in the midst of fighting the pandemic, and still others wont feel the full effects of the pandemic until later in the year.

In the US, only the last few weeks of the quarter were impacted by stay-at-home orders, Omdia said, due to more relaxed federal and state government restrictions.

This meant US consumer behaviour had remained unrestricted until then and that the country as a whole contributed less to the global decline.

According to the IDC report, which described Q1 2020 as the largest annual smartphone shipment decline ever, the largest regional decline for the quarter was in China.

Apple saw a dip in both iPhone sales and profits as its struggled to deal with fallout created by an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

IDC said in a blog post on Friday that smartphone shipments to China dropped 20.3 per cent over the year.

'Since China constitutes almost a quarter of worldwide shipments, this had a huge impact on the overall market,' IDC said.

IDC's preliminary data put the global smartphone shipment decline as slightly lower than Omdia, at 11.7 per cent, but both had the same top three smartphone suppliers ranked by shipments.

Apple itself announced this week that iPhone sales dropped 7 per cent over the year, with profits also declining 2 per cent to $11.2 billion.

Despite the decline, Apple's sales were far better than analysts had feared in part due to the release of its more budget-friendly iPhone SE last month.

Rival Samsung, which managed to stage its launch event for its new Galaxy S20 and foldable Galaxy Z Flip smartphones before lockdowns took hold in the UK and US, also reported declines in smartphone shipments due to COVID-19 despite overall profits.

'In the second quarter, the company expects demand to contract owing to fading effects of launches of flagship smartphones and weak consumer sentiment due to COVID-19,' Samsung said in a blog post this week.
A Pfizer logo in Toluca, Mexico.

Reuters

The US and German pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech have partnered to develop a coronavirus vaccine that they hope could be available for emergency use by the fall, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The companies said they had already given the vaccine to 12 healthy people in Germany and were preparing to scale testing up to 200 people in the next phase.

Pfizer said the companies could begin testing in the US as soon as next week, The Journal reported. They said on Wednesday that they expected approval "shortly."

The companies join at least 70 other groups racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine on vastly accelerated schedules.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and the German company BioNTech could be ready for emergency use by this fall, Pfizer's CEO told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The two companies said in a statement on Wednesday that they began giving the experimental shot to 12 people in Germany on Thursday. The data from this trial is expected "as early as June this year," a BioNTech representative told Business Insider.

They are now waiting on approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin testing in the US, which they said they expected "shortly." The Journal reported that Pfizer said it could begin as early as next week.

In the next phase, the companies plan to try different doses of the vaccine in 200 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 55, BioNTech said.

Read more: There are more than 70 potential coronavirus vaccines in the works. Here are the top efforts to watch, including the 16 vaccines set to be tested in people this year.

Though it usually takes years for a vaccine to be tested and fully approved, the FDA can grant emergency-use authorizations for experimental use of a treatment or equipment during a public-health emergency. It has already issued EUAs for different forms of personal protective equipment and ventilators.

Story continues

"We are leaving no stone unturned as we explore every option to help provide society with a treatment or cure," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement earlier this month about the company's work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pfizer and BioNTech are among several companies that have joined a vastly accelerated race to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

By mid-April, the World Health Organization had documented 70 efforts to create a vaccine. The drugmakers CanSino, Moderna, and Inovio have each announced the beginning of human trials for their experimental vaccines.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Pfizer and BioNTech are not the only ones hoping to have a vaccine ready for emergency use by fall. The US biotech Moderna has said its vaccine could be ready then as well.

On Thursday, Oxford University's Oxford Vaccine Group announced it had injected a trial vaccine into two human subjects and raised the possibility that it could be ready for emergency use in coronavirus patients by September.

Johnson & Johnson also hopes to have a vaccine ready for emergency use in early 2021.

Read more: Here's how 13 top drugmakers are sprinting to develop a coronavirus vaccine or treatment that can halt this pandemic

Extraordinary efforts are being made to shave time off a process that normally takes years. In early March, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious-disease expert on the White House's coronavirus task force, said it could take at least 18 months to develop a vaccine. And experts have warned of the risks of skipping steps such as animal testing.

Some groups have found other ways to shorten the process. The Serum Institute of India is preparing 40 million units of the vaccine being used in the Oxford trial despite not knowing whether it will work, Business Insider's Bill Bostock reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Hyderabad, May 1 : Telangana has urged the Centre to come to the rescue of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the information technology (IT) sector to prevent lay-offs due to the outbreak of coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown.

It has sought a series of measures to ensure enough cash flow to the SMEs to avoid layoffs.

Telangana Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao has written to Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, suggesting a series of measures to help the SMEs in the IT sector.

The state minister wrote that it is for the Centre to come to the rescue of SMEs in the IT sector. Pointing out that Hyderabad has six lakh employees in the IT sector, Rama Rao said they were affected either directly or indirectly by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the small companies are likely to be hit hard, he called for giving them certain exemptions.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, demanded that the borrowing capacity of SMEs should be raised by 50 per cent, so that they can pay salaries to their employees on time for the next three to four months and thus avoid layoffs.

He said the loans should be interest free for three to four months and at least 12 months should be given to the companies to repay these loans.

He also suggested that the Centre should immediately pay Income Tax (I-T) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds to the SMEs. If the refund amount is Rs 25 lakh, it should be released fully. If the amount is above Rs 25 lakh, at least 50 per cent of the amount should be released immediately.

KTR said that due to the uncertainty with regard to some GST exemptions announced by the Centre, several companies fully paid their taxes. He demanded that the Centre should immediately release the amount towards the refund. He suggested that a help-desk be set up in IT department of the Centre to help such companies.

Pointing out that the deadline to get the direct benefits by the SEZs ended on March 31, 2020, the minister demanded that the same be extended by a year.

He called for a standard health code with special guidelines for IT parks and SEZs and said that it should be made compulsory like fire safety norms.

Noting that the density of employees in various companies was more than the office space, he suggested that each employee be allocated 100 to 125 feet space in view of the social distancing norms to check the spread of Covid-19.

Hyderabad, a key IT hub of the country, registered Rs 109 lakh crore exports during 2018-19. According to the 2018-19 figures, it has 1,500 companies employing 5,43,033 people.
Launched in 2019, the first international watch photo competition open to the public will, for its third edition, select, publish and exhibit 40 photos of watches to the tune of four different themes. While there will be one winner per theme, the main aim is to share your passion for watches and have your work exhibited in a museum and a watch fair for the most talented amongst you. In 2018 and 2019, the people behind each selected photo did indeed see their work exhibited at Baselworld, Dubai Watch Week, and Miami Watches & Wonders. What an honour!

Theme: sport  Henry Cookson

For May, the theme is #stayhome: its all about taking a picture of your watch (mechanical watch for men) at home, with your interior in the background or from your window.

Theme: vacances  Stephane Perin

The Watch Photo Awards jury will select the 10 best photos of each theme according to the subject, creativity and technicality of the photo. They will be published in several media outlets and will be exhibited in Switzerland and abroad (notably during the exhibition for the Grand Prix dHorlogerie de Geneve at the Geneva Musee dArt de dHistoire). The author of the winning photo will receive a weekend for two in a five-star hotel in Geneva. Three other themes will be announced for June, July and August following the same process with three new winners announced. The public will then elect amongst those four winners the overall winner for 2020, who will be part of the jury in 2021, as is the case this year of the 2019 winner, Erick Rangel (pictured on the cover).

Theme: bleu  Christophe Musy

Thank you to the Fairmont, President Wilson, Richemont and Ritz-Carlton, all five-star hotels in Geneva, who with their sponsorships make it possible to reward our winners.

 Fairmont, President Wilson, Richemond and Ritz-Carlton

Upload or send your photo in high resolution to watch-photo-awards.com, where you will receive a confirmation and an invitation to join the Fine Watch Club as a gift, and maybe win a weekend for two in a five-star hotel in Geneva.

Send or upload your watch photo in high definition to www.watch-photo-awards.com
Actor-director Nandita Das was among the many Bollywood celebrities who expressed grief at the passing away of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. Taking to Instagram, she spoke of the time when Rishi and she made Manto together and spoke of his generosity at accepting a guest appearance in her film.

Expressing her feelings, Nandita wrote, I am still unable to fathom, let alone express the loss I feel at the sudden demise of Irrfan and Rishiji. Just too shocking and sad.

She mentioned how Rishis humour and warmth were still fresh in her mind. She also quoted a few lines on Rishi, she had written in her book on Manto. She said: And Rishijis generosity, humour and warmth are still so fresh in my mind. I am sharing a short excerpt about him that I wrote in my book, Manto and I.

I have enjoyed many performances by Rishi Kapoor over the years, but while casting, there was no character that I instinctively felt would befit him. I reached out to him at the behest of one of the producers, as they felt his presence would attract more audiences. So, they fixed a meeting with Rishiji. It was strange to meet him without knowing which role I was going to request him to do. The minute I entered, he warned me, I dont do guest appearances anymore, she had continued.

Nandita wrote how she had only a guest appearance for him to play. But I only had a guest appearance to offer. I candidly confessed that my reason for wanting his support was that his talent and popularity would help the film reach a wider audience. As I began reading out part after part, I was hoping to find the one that would be the right fit. He must have been shocked by my audacity, she wrote.

Also read: Karan Johar replaces Rishi Kapoor in iconic Bobby song with face-mapping, his daughter Riddhima Kapoor reacts. Watch

She then mentioned how he agreed to play the role of a sleazy producer, the kinds he must have seen in his long career. To my surprise, he generously agreed to do the guest appearance of a sleazy producer. He had seen many of them in his earlier days and was happy to recreate the character with me. So, there he was on the sets of Manto. A seasoned actor, he gave his all, even for the six-hour shoot.

She expressed her regret about how she had hoped to do a film with him one day, but that was never to be. I hope to do more justice to his talent and stature in a future film. When I wrote that, I didnt imagine that there would never be another film with him. I will treasure both their messages, and of course their memories.

They may have come from different schools of cinema, but when it came to talent each acknowledged the other. Nanditas note only reaffirms that reality.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
On the morning after hundreds of protesters gathered at the Michigan Capitol  with chants and signs berating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer  President Donald Trump joined in the criticism of Michigans governor.

"The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire," Trump tweeted at 8:42 a.m. on Friday, May 1. "These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal."

The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2020

Whitmer did not directly respond to the tweet, but 38 minutes later posted a GIF of Michelle Obama saying "When they go low we go high."

Trump and Whitmer have been at odds throughout the coronavirus pandemic about Whitmer's restrictions, which she said is helping flatten the curve of COVID-19 spread in Michigan. The latest debate is about the state of emergency.

Whitmer extended the state of emergency Thursday night through May 28, but the state legislature says the state of emergency has ended  claiming the House and Senate must approve an extension.

Lawmakers met on Thursday, as protesters relegated to the hall urged them to vote no. Neither chamber took up the vote  instead voting to give leadership the green light to sue Whitmer regarding the state of emergency.

The state of emergency is not the same as the stay-at-home order  which expires May 15. A state of emergency allows Whitmer to unilaterally make orders  like the stay-at-home order  and direct certain resources as she sees fit.

Michigan ranks third in the nation with 3,789 COVID-19 deaths and seventh in the U.S. with 41,379 confirmed cases of the virus.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

Friday, May 1: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Day of angry protests, political maneuvers sets stage for likely legal battle in Michigan

Whats the difference between Michigans stay-at-home order and state of emergency?

Whitmer issues orders extending state of emergency without support of legislature

Protesters brave the rain to send message to Michigan leaders as coronavirus state of emergency debate rages
He returned to Instagram last month after a four-year absence.

And Jamie Dornan showed he is making up for lost time as he shared his unusual birthday celebrations on Friday.

The actor, who is celebrating his 38th birthday, posted a photo of himself spread across a Twister mat at his home as he partied alone.

In a twist: Jamie Dornan celebrated his 38th birthday on Friday with a game of Twister during lockdown

The Fifty Shades star uploaded the photo with the caption: 'Birthday party for 1.'

The hunk looked focused as he placed his feet on the coloured circles while wearing a novelty hat.

The Fall actor opted for a white tee and black joggers as he celebrated his special day in isolation.

It comes after the Northern Irish actor was forced to defend Gal Gadot's 'cringeworthy' Imagine video that featured several celebrities singing the John Lennon hit.

The Wonder Woman actress, 34, recruited A-list stars including Jamie, Will Ferrell, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig and Amy Adams to take part in the video which was deemed out of touch by social media users.

Blackout: The Northern Irish actor took a four-year break from Instagram but returned to the photo-sharing app in the early weeks of lockdown

Speaking on the Tea With Me podcast, Jamie admitted he was roped into the video by his friend and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar co-star Kristen Wiig but insisted Gal was 'trying to do a good thing'.

He said: 'Kristen and I did a movie together last summer thats meant to be coming out on July 31 but who knows what will happen.

'We got on brilliantly. I would do anything for her - thats how highly I think of her. I was the biggest fan of her before anyway.

'Not being on social media, I wasnt aware of the reaction  but was made aware by mates,' he added.

Speaking out: Jamie recently defended Gal Gadot's Imagine video that featured several celebrities singing the John Lennon hit and was widely deemed out of touch

'Kristen texted, "Gal and I are trying to organise this thing to lift spirits."

Jamie agreed to do the video and admitted he received a text message from Kristen several days after its release apologising for getting him involved.

He said: 'So I was like: "Of course I'll do it". Then she texted days later saying, "Sorry".'

Jamie filmed his segment from his toilet 'to make it normal' and insisted Gal was 'trying to do a good thing', adding: 'I just got dragged along with it'.

The video was an attempt to lift people's spirits during the coronavirus lockdowns taking place in several countries around the world.

Star-studded: Gal recruited several A-list stars to take part in the video which was widely criticised as the celebrities were all isolating in their luxurious homes

However, social media users quickly condemned the video after its release, saying the stars were all isolating in luxury.

Although he has not seen any of the online criticism himself, Jamie said he could understand why some people were unimpressed with the video.

He said: 'I'll tell you what the problem was. I literally did mine in the toilet of my house. Quite clearly, some people had escaped to their second home.

'Theres too much acreage in the background, too many beautiful trees swaying in the background, clearly in front of an ocean, that sort of craic. I was quite aware of that whenever I was doing it, to make it normal.'
New Delhi, May 1 : As the country witnesses lockdown and Indians search for favourite street food and other recipes to satisfy their cravings, Google India saw 107 per cent increase in searches for 'panipuri' recipe and ayurvedic home remedies like 'kadha' (medicinal decoction) saw more than 90 per cent rise after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to drink it to boost the immune system.

With the closure of restaurants, clubs and food stalls, there has been a 56 per cent growth in searches for '5-minute recipes' on Internet.

The Google India report showed that overall recipe-related searches grew by 20 per cent on YouTube in the past few months.

The data revealed that searches for vitamin C surged by over 150 per cent in recent weeks, as have queries for herbs with medicinal properties like 'Giloy' (380 per cent) and searches on ayurvedic home remedies like 'Kadha' saw more than 90 per cent rise.

With social distancing becoming the norm and cash transactions taking a backseat, searches for queries like "how to pay electric bill online" grew over 180 per cent.

Interestingly, "near me" searches have seen a massive uptick since March 2020.

Queries like "pharmacy near me" saw over 58 per cent rise, searching for "grocery delivery near me" increased over 550 per cent and "ration dukaan" over 300 per cent.

"The report provides early insights on how people's needs and behaviours might evolve as they seek to regain a sense of balance. Some of the trends are likely temporary, but as people are forced to adopt new behaviors, they may begin to see the value of sticking with them even after the pandemic is over," said Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director, Google India and Southeast Asia at Google.

One can clearly see a pattern that demonstrates an evolution in behaviour that was already taking place and is accelerated by the crisis.

"We hope these insights will help marketers find the answers to what's important here now and what is here to stay," she added.

According to the report, Google saw more than 93 per cent increase in questions like "gym at home" in India.

There has also been high growth in queries like "learn online" over 85 per cent, "teach online" over (148 per cent), and "at-home learning" (78 per cent).

There is a growing curiosity about cashless transactions and mobile payments in India.

As a result, searches like "QR code payment" increased over 66 per cent and "how to change UPI pin" increased by over 200 per cent.

Indians are using the latest in streaming and video conferencing technology to consult with doctors and therapists, go on online dates, and host virtual streaming parties.

In 2020, search interest for overall video streaming platforms surged between 40 per cent to 120 per cent as Indians clocked almost four hours per week per person on video on demand, the report said.
Former President John Mahama has said long before President Akufo-Addos recent promise to build 88 district hospitals and six regional hospitals, he (Mr Mahama) had already, in 2019, made that promise.

In his latest Facebook Live session on Thursday evening, the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said: The reaction of the public to the Presidents promise to construct 94 new hospitals in one year is understandable, considering his rather tall list of unfulfilled or poorly-implemented promises from yesteryears.

I believe, Mr Mahama said: In a well-thought-out and forward-looking agenda, which ensures further strategic investments in our health sector meet contemporary and future challenges, adding: This must take into consideration the grave threat posed by global pandemics like COVID-19, SARS, MERS, EBOLA among others.

He said: It is in furtherance of this vision that I announced on my visit to the Western North and Bono East Regions in July 2019 that if elected, God-willing in December 2020, I will establish a regional hospital in each of the six newly-created regions.

I also indicated that I will ensure the provision of a modern health facility in each district that currently does not have one as part of my health for all agenda, Mr Mahama recalled.

He explained: All districts would receive a modern health facility. These facilities would range from polyclinics to district hospitals, noting: Proper planning requires that we take into consideration location, demography, population and health needs of the area.

There are, for instance, currently districts with well-functioning hospitals owned by faith-based organisations. In such cases, we will partner with the organisations to upgrade their hospitals to improve their services rather than duplicate it with a public hospital.

In districts where there already exists polyclinics or health centres that are overstretched by population growth, we will upgrade them to the status of hospitals. I reiterated these in my Facebook Live sessions late last year.

Furthermore, I re-emphasised this commitment in two public engagements since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana.

First, was when I donated PPE and other medical supplies to several hospitals across the country in a bid to save health workers from being infected.

Similarly, I reiterated my vision to build a robust health system when I presented food items to 20,000 households during the lockdown period.

On these two occasions, I stated the need for greater investments in healthcare to ensure a total state of readiness at all times to respond to pandemics of the nature we currently face and other disaster situations.

And I promised to start and complete phase 2 of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge); expand and double the capacity of the 37 Military Hospital; construct two (2) international-standard Infectious Diseases Centres; and

establish two additional international research centres, with capacity like the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in tropical Medicine.

I have also proposed to establish a National Infectious Disease Response Plan that will enable us prevent the entry of such diseases into our country as we did in the case of Ebola.

In all these, let us not forget the ultimate goal is to build a health system, which is ready and able to protect our citizens and health workers, against current and emerging threats.

This is the reason why protective equipment and related logistics will become a permanent feature of our response plan and will form a significant part of our strategic medical supply stock, Mr Mahama said, adding: These projects will be carried out using contemporary financing models that bring down costs such as equipment leasing, which has proven cost-effective and is in use in a number of advanced healthcare jurisdictions.

Mr Mahama, thus, said: In his [Akufo-Addos] last broadcast, and, indeed, in previous ones, the President echoed many of the ideas and policies I have previously outlined. It is gratifying to note that he is listening.

According to the former President: Any addition to our health infrastructure is ordinarily welcome. But it is regrettable that it had to take COVID-19 to jolt him into reality about the importance of such critical investments in healthcare.

That said, the fundamental difference between our two respective positions is that I come to the table with an established track record of actually delivering many of such projects with less resources than he has had in the last three-and-a-half years.

Fellow Ghanaians, the NDC comes to the table with a clear plan of modernisation of our healthcare system.

This plan considers global best practices and will have features that guarantee equitable access to quality healthcare for all Ghanaians.

I have taken due notice of concerns expressed by the Ghana Medical Association about the availability of health personnel to man new health facilities.

Here, too, the NDC has a plan. I announced in my interaction with you last December, that we have concluded a public sector Human Resource Gap analysis to guide our employment policy going forward.

The analysis shows that for Ghana to reach the universally accepted optimal levels of health delivery and bridge the yawning gap between health professionals and our population, the Ghana Health Service would require an additional 86,000 health personnel.

If we prioritise properly and reduce the large army of ministers and other political appointees, we could probably make more space to accommodate our nurses and doctors who are sitting idly at home.

We have done it before. With the limited resources available to us, my administration employed the largest number of health professionals in recent times.

Under my watch, forty-one thousand four hundred and eighty nurses were employed by the Ghana Health Service  we increased the number of nurses from 11,125 in 2012 to 52,605 in 2016.

This can be verified from the Facts and Figures publication on the website of the Ghana Health Service.

Let me assure health workers one more time. You deserve better because the gains of the single spine pay policy have been eroded.

My brothers and sisters, a major plank of our health plan will also be far-reaching reforms in health care financing.

We shall remove all obstacles, which prevent citizens from accessing primary health care, and relieve the NHIS of pressure from the recurring and widening financing gap, which threatens its sustainability going forward.

This only represents a snapshot of my vision of a modern and responsive health system for Ghana.

As I have said before, the next NDC government will prioritise government spending in favour of the wellbeing and welfare of Ghanaians as opposed to the comfort of the upper echelons of society.

Healthcare will be one of the major priorities of my government. Through healthcare, we shall employ more people both in the health sector and in the manufacturing sector  COVID-19 has proven that we cannot continue to rely on imports, Mr Mahama said.

---Classfmonline
Kerala: Harbours to ensure smooth trade by small-scale fishers

May 01,2020 | Source: The Hindu

The functioning of all the four fishing harbours in Kozhikode district has been rearranged to make them beneficial to small-scale fishers and ensure their smooth trade with buyers by maintaining the special protocol laid down by the Health Department to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Though the entry of public will be restricted in harbour areas till the end of the lockdown period, there will not be any ban on the entry of fish merchants who have special tokens.



The Chombal harbour, which remained shut, too is functional now. The harbour was thrown open for business on Thursday following a meeting chaired by District Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao with fishermens representatives and local body leaders in the area. Boats carrying not more than five fishers will be allowed to be operated from the harbours during the lockdown period.



Harbour management societies are now functioning in Koyilandy, Puthiyappa, Beypore and Chombal harbours to ensure healthy business. Since the conventional style of auctioning has remained suspended due to the lockdown, the management societies will be primarily responsible for fixing the wholesale price in consultation with the district-level authorities. The price will be displayed at the entrance of the harbours to comply with the district administrations order.



In Beypore, about 200 small fishing boats are back on track. The daily catch is sold here in a healthy way under the supervision of the harbour management societies and Fisheries Department staff, says K. Preman, a member of the Beypore Harbour Management Society. He adds that the committee is also getting the support of the police to ensure trouble-free trade in the area. Fishers who reach the harbours have also been asked to maintain social distancing. In some harbours, barriers have been provided to manage the rush of wholesale buyers who reach the spot from 6 a.m. The support of trade unions have also been sought to control the rush and ensure better coordination with the Harbour Engineering and Fisheries Department.



According to Fisheries Department officials, a special monitoring committee is now functional in the district to closely watch the price fluctuation of available stock in the market. Traders will not be allowed to determine the price on their own as it will be treated as a direct violation of the district-level guidelines and the price fixing mechanism. Helpline numbers have also been given for registering public complaints on unfair fish price.
The entwined tree-branch canopy over Johns Island's rural roads offers a shady break from the Southeast's blistering sun. Its another world from Charlestons bustling, tourist-flocked downtown peninsula.

The 10 miles between the Ashley River's twin bridges and the massive Angel Oak tree can take an hour's drive.

But it didn't always take that long. People remember the quiet woodlands, now replaced by rooftops.

Underlying tensions are stirring  a push from government officials saying they have a plan to make sure these problems don't get worse and a pull from residents seeking autonomy.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg admits there's some needed catch-up work on Johns Island but said the pieces are falling into place. New City Councilman Karl Brady, a five-year city resident, thinks Johns Islanders' quality of life should be improving.

Marvin Wagner, who represented those residents on Charleston City Council until December, said recently he could "almost guarantee" the number of people living on Johns Island has doubled in the past decade. He was spot on.

'Growth spurt'

Charleston County estimates at least 20,000 people live on Johns Island today, twice the population there 10 years ago. It took Daniel Island and Johns Island 10 years to double in size  it took the rest of the state 50.

The boom on Johns Island doesn't surprise longtime resident Tom Legare. There was a "growth spurt" on the island after the 2008 recession.

"The city's letting them build houses left and right in swaths," Legare said.

Twenty years ago  when city leaders expected an extension of the controversial Interstate 526 onto Johns Island  there was a rush to annex property, Wagner said. That annexed property turned into proposals for subdivisions, some only now popping up.

There were nearly 6,000 homes on Johns Island in 2010, another 2,000 have been added since.

Elizabeth Todd has lived on Johns Island near the Stono River for at least 16 years. When she drives her daughters to school on James Island, it takes half and hour to travel 10 miles.

"I decided to move because I was living in Mount Pleasant and wanted to get away from the traffic," Todd said. "It was very quiet."

Now, she said, the traffic is horrible, grand trees get chopped regularly and there's no one keeping watch over questionable building practices.

Sprawling West Ashley, not far from where Todd lives, has seen the most new single-family homes over the past 10 years  just over 3,000. On Johns Island, 600 fewer homes than in West Ashley were built.

But the difference between West Ashley, Daniel Island and Johns Island is the amount of space that can be built up.

"Johns Island today, it's unique," Legare said. "We still have the rural in some parts of the island, and you see a lot of new things come along Maybank that have some advantages. You don't have to go downtown for fine dining anymore."

Even though the coronavirus pandemic has closed restaurants and slowed the normal hustle and bustle citywide, Johns Island has seen recent openings of a new wine bar and breakfast spots. There's the French restaurant Fat Hen and Wild Olive. The highly anticipated opening of The Royal Tern in January 2019 proved to be too much for the restaurants parking. Owners asked people to carpool to save on space.

In the late 1990s, city and county officials agreed to preserve just under 80 percent of Johns Island by establishing where development can and can't take place and dubbed it the urban growth boundary.

City Planner Jacob Lindsey described it as "the single biggest win for land conservation in our state."

Charleston County Director of Planning Joel Evans said the majority of development on Johns Island has been within the urban growth boundary by design. He said the largest housing project in the county's portion of Johns Island is owned by mega-developer the Beach Co. near Kiawah. The Beach Co. has also built in Summerville, Columbia, Nashville and is working on The Jasper 12-story luxury apartments on Charleston's peninsula.

But it takes more than an OK from city and county officials for new development to pop. People need water.

"If you have water and sewer, you're desirable," Wagner said. "If you have septic tanks and wells, you're not so desirable."

The two water companies on Johns Island, Charleston Water Systems and St. Johns Water Co., saw a combined 71 percent increase in customers in the past 10 years.

Some infrastructure didn't keep up, contributing to the feeling for Johns Islanders that they've been left behind.

Growing desire for independence

Johns Islanders are nostalgic for the quiet, country community they moved to years ago and are now fighting to form a town.

Legare and Johns Island resident Randall Horres spearheaded that effort two months ago, but the coronavirus pandemic's halt on everyday life has stalled that effort, too, Legare said. There's still mapping that needs to be done, and 2020 census numbers, too.

Their concerns center on the booming population and the need to feel like island residents interests are being met.

Residents there have been critical about a controversial practice called "fill and build" in which developers truck in soil  most of the time clay material that doesn't drain well  and fill in an area so that the home they build doesn't flood. The water has to go somewhere, and ends up on draining onto properties that never saw flooding before.

They blamed the city for allowing the practice on Johns Island, adding to the feeling islanders' interests aren't considered.

The way City Council districts are carved up, Johns Island doesn't have its own representative. Brady, the area's new councilman, represents residents in a part of West Ashley, too. The County Council seat includes nearly all of Johns Island and outer parts of West Ashley.

After 2020 census data is released, Tecklenburg said, its likely the city will have a council seat solely representing Johns Island interests.

Brady, who lives in West Ashley's Carolina Bay neighborhood about 6 miles from the closest point on Johns Island, isn't a stranger to traffic. He's near the Glenn McConnell Parkway, another area that's often congested.

Having lived in Atlanta and experienced traffic issues there, he doesn't want urban sprawl from a I-526 extension either.

He envisions Maybank Highway as the hub, with space for biking and walking, especially in the area off Limehouse Bridge connecting to West Ashley's Greenway.

"I understand those feelings that they have because people have felt like the city hasn't lived up to its promises when it annexed onto Johns Island," Brady said. "I think people looked at the growth and infrastructure wasn't keeping up and thought the city was just trying to get the tax revenue without turning around and providing for it in the same way that other areas of the city may have been."

Future of Johns Island

Brady said he's advocating for a stronger police presence on the island and thinks the county's road projects should alleviate longstanding traffic issues. He wants the line marking where urban development can take place to become a city law.

That line drawn in the late 1990s to preserve 80 percent of the island, according to City Planning Manager Christopher Morgan, ushered in the "modern era" of Johns Island. It spurred a plan in 2007 outlining where, how much and what kind of commercial development should take place.

The development focuses on three areas of Maybank Highway: the River Road intersection; the area from Walter Drive and Zelasko Drive; and the Main and Bohicket roads intersection.

The county is working on zoning for the upper part of Main Road to further outline the type of commercial development that can be done along that corridor.

"Each one of our geographic areas has their own separate character, so you wouldn't see large hotels, necessarily, on Johns Island," Evans said.

Tecklenburg said the county's plans to improve Main Road, as well as the intersection at Savannah Highway, is just what the island will require to address transportation needs.

He also said future development will be more sensitive to drainage and flooding. He pointed to stormwater laws going into effect in July that limit how developers use fill and handle water runoff on new projects.

"We've got a new mindset about the impact on watersheds that, frankly, we didn't have before," Tecklenburg said, noting the city's collaboration with flooding experts the last few years. "I think that bodes well for future development."

Tecklenburg said the city is planning for another fire and police station on the island, as well as other city services. There's an application going for more park space, too.

"I know we're not there yet, but we're heading in the right direction," the mayor said.

The city and county are working on an plan for more two-lane roads to be run parallel to Maybank Highway. Construction of a nearly mile-long two-lane road from Maybank Highway to River Road, known as the northern pitchfork, will hopefully take place this year. Lindsey said funding for a southern pitchfork should be secured in the "near future."

Both city planners agreed that the solution to traffic is the extension of I-526, though Johns Islanders disagree, arguing it will bring more residential development. City planners say that won't happen and it'll alleviate traffic.

Charleston Water System is working on its final sewer system extension, expected to end at the airport on River Road.

Boom and Balance Watch for the next Boom & Balance article in June, a look at the Summerville area. Is it trying to expand too fast?

"Once that is complete, most of our infrastructure needs will be satisfied," said Russell Huggins, Charleston Water Systems Capital Projects Officer.

Johns Island remains a place that offers a lot: proximity to the city, beaches, peace and quiet and cheaper real estate prices for working families. That makes it desirable for developers, too. In the next several years at least a thousand more homes could sprout, but how city and county leaders address traffic needs has yet to be seen.
As workers worldwide observe the 1st of May, as the day set aside to honour the contribution of workers to nation building; leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Central Region, salutes all Workers and appreciate the collective as well as the enormous contribution to helping build a Better Ghana even in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

In spite of the many challenges that continue to confront us as a Nation under the leadership of the non-performing NPP Govt; workers from all facets of the workforce remain relentless and undaunted, and we say a big Ayekoo to all workers particularly our fisherfolks, farmers, traders, drivers, staff of our public universities who have been or are being victimized as a result of the attack on academic freedom by this Govt, public servants, private sector workers who are mostly affected by this pandemic, our miners, our security personnel and all workers.

We in CR-NDC share the deep concern embedded in the recent call by Labour to the Government to pay a close attention to the creeping unacceptable practice of some employers deliberately keeping workers as casual employees and therefore denying them the stable mindset to operate at the workplace and solemnly call on workers to continue having faith with us because the NDC Govt of John Mahama will never shy away from the genuine and legitimate concerns of Labour.

However, we call on Government not shirk its responsibilities towards Labour hence the need for a swift response to the concerns of Labour especially during these harsh economic times occasioned by the handling of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Ayekoo once again to all Workers on this special day, and there is no gainsaying the fact that the NDC remains stoically committed to broadening and deepening the frontiers of Labour in Ghana.

Ghana is the only country we have: and we must all put our shoulders to the wheel and strive continuously towards building a Better Ghana.

May God continue to hold us together as a Nation; and may we never waiver from our civic duties particularly workers at the independent constitutional bodies.

Cde Kwesi Dawood,

(Regional Comm Officer).

01/05/2020
By John Revill and John Miller

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland said on Thursday it would let hairdressers, beauty salons and some other businesses reopen from April 27 to start a gradual relaxation of restrictions following a slowdown in new coronavirus infections.

The announcement came the same day that the World Health Organization's regional director said European countries should move with extreme caution when considering easing lockdowns.

But neighbouring Austria and Germany have begun their own tentative steps out of their shutdowns. Business groups have also been pressing the Swiss government to east restrictions to lessen the blow on the economy.

Hospitals will be allowed to perform all procedures, even elective surgeries from April 27, and hairdressers, massage parlours and beauty salons will allowed to reopen, the government said in a statement.

Most shops, schools and food markets will follow suit from May 11, it added. Currently, only grocery stores, chemists and other "essential" businesses are open.

In a third stage, it said it would reopen vocational schools and universities from June 8. One stage would only move onto the next if there was no significant increase in COVID-19 cases, the government said.

"The spread of the coronavirus was slowed, and our hospitals are not stretched to the limit," Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga told a news conference.

"We want to make sure there isn't a resurgence in infections, and we don't want to endanger the gains we've made. That's why we ask people to stick to our social distancing and hygiene measures."

Switzerland, which imposed its restrictions last month, has reported 26,732 infections and 1,017 deaths as of Thursday.

But the rate of infections has slowed in recent days, after peaking at the end of March with nearly 1,500 new cases per day. The figure has slowed to around 200 daily.

Swiss business groups welcomed the easing, although some said they would have liked the government to have gone further.

Story continues

"With today's decision, many companies and employees finally have a renewed vision of what's ahead," said Monika Ruehl, the CEO of business lobby economiesuisse. "However, we regret that the way out of the crisis outlined today will take such a long time."

The country's export-reliant economy faces major challenges, despite a 62 billion Swiss franc ($64 billion) aid package, the largest in Swiss history.

One scenario set out by government economists has shown the economy shrinking by 10% this year, which would be the deepest recession on record.

Emergency loans have been extended to companies and the scheme which covers most of the wages of furloughed workers has been extended.

"We have proven during the last weeks and days that together we are strong, despite these very difficult times," said Economic Affairs Minister Guy Parmelin said. "From today, we're planning a new future. Let's help each other, let's stay innovative, because together, we'll find solutions."

(Reporting by John Revill, Silke Koltrowitz and John Miller, Editing by Michael Shields and Andrew Heavens)
PORT JEFFERSON, NY  Mather Matters, a Facebook group created to show support for front-line health care workers at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson who are battling the new coronavirus, organized the "Front Porch Photography Project." The project will serve as a fundraiser to benefit Mather Hospital workers by providing them food and equipment.

For a donation, with the amount up to the participant, a photographer will swing by and shoot some portrait shots of the family on their front porch. Once a donation is made, email the photographer of the area you live in to make an appointment. Don Longo covers the Port Jefferson area, and he can be reached at donlongo@outlook.com, while Courtney Oates is snapping photos in the Setauket area; she can be emailed at courtneyoatesphotography@gmail.com. Photo sessions are also available in Coram, Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Rocky Point, Selden, Middle Island, Ridge and Wading River.

Information on the Mather Matters Front Porch Photography Project is above. Donations will go towards food and equipment for health care workers at Mather Hospital who are battling the coronavirus. (Credit: Don Longo)

PayPal donations can be made to MatherMatters2020@gmail.com, while the Venmo account is MatherMatters.



The steps are: make the donation, email the photographer to schedule an appointment, do the front porch photo shoot and receive your photos via email, all while helping heroes at Mather Hospital. Photo shoots will be limited to 15 minutes per household, and the photographer will provide details when making the appointment.

The Mather Matters Facebook group was created April 7 "with the intention of reaching out to the staff at Mather Hospital to show our love and heartfelt appreciation for all they do, and will continue to do, for us and our loved ones, during these horrific days," according to its about info.

Longo said he's volunteering on behalf of the page by doing the photography and publicity. Mather Matters is organized and ran by Roseann Passiatore.

This article originally appeared on the Port Jefferson Patch
Gravitational waves could prove the existence of the quark-gluon plasma

Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the universe. If our Sun, with its radius of 700,000 kilometres were a neutron star, its mass would be condensed into an almost perfect sphere with a radius of around 12 kilometres. When two neutron stars collide and merge into a hyper-massive neutron star, the matter in the core of the new object becomes incredibly hot and dense. According to physical calculations, these conditions could result in hadrons such as neutrons and protons, which are the particles normally found in our daily experience, dissolving into their components of quarks and gluons and thus producing a quark-gluon plasma.

In 2017 it was discovered for the first time that merging neutron stars send out a gravitational wave signal that can be detected on Earth. The signal not only provides information on the nature of gravity, but also on the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions. When these gravitational waves were first discovered in 2017, however, they were not recorded beyond the merging point.

This is where the work of the Frankfurt physicists begins. They simulated merging neutron stars and the product of the merger to explore the conditions under which a transition from hadrons to a quark-gluon plasma would take place and how this would affect the corresponding gravitational wave. The result: in a specific, late phase of the life of the merged object a phase transition to the quark-gluon plasma took place and left a clear and characteristic signature on the gravitational-wave signal.

Professor Luciano Rezzolla from Goethe University is convinced: "Compared to previous simulations, we have discovered a new signature in the gravitational waves that is significantly clearer to detect. If this signature occurs in the gravitational waves that we will receive from future neutron-star mergers, we would have a clear evidence for the creation of quark-gluon plasma in the present universe."

###

Publication: Post-merger gravitational wave signatures of phase transitions in binary mergers Lukas R. Weih, Matthias Hanauske, Luciano Rezzolla, Physical Review Letters DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.171103 https:/ / journals. aps. org/ prl/

Video: Visualisation of merging neutron stars: https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v= rj-r-YA9d6E&t= 1s This simulation shows the density of the ordinary matter (mostly neutrons) in red-yellow. Shortly after the two stars merge the extremely dense centre turns green, depicting the formation of the quark-gluon plasma.

Pictures may be downloaded here: http://www. uni-frankfurt. de/ 87973606

Caption Montage: Montage of the computer simulation of two merging neutron stars that blends over with an image from heavy-ion collisions to highlight the connection of astrophysics with nuclear physics. Credit: Lukas R. Weih & Luciano Rezzolla (Goethe University Frankfurt) (right half of the image from cms.cern)

Caption Simulation: Shortly after two neutron stars merge a quark gluon plasma forms in the centre of the new object. Red yellow: ordinary matter, mostly neutrons. Credit: Lukas R. Weih & Luciano Rezzolla (Goethe University Frankfurt)

Further information:

Goethe University Frankfurt

Prof. Dr. Luciano Rezzolla

Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics

Institute for Theoretical Physics

+49-69-79847871/47879

rezzolla@itp.uni-frankfurt.de

https:/ / astro. uni-frankfurt. de/ rezzolla/

Current news about science, teaching, and society can be found on GOETHE-UNI online (http://www. aktuelles. uni-frankfurt. de )

Goethe University is a research-oriented university in the European financial centre Frankfurt am Main. The university was founded in 1914 through private funding, primarily from Jewish sponsors, and has since produced pioneering achievements in the areas of social sciences, sociology and economics, medicine, quantum physics, brain research, and labour law. It gained a unique level of autonomy on 1 January 2008 by returning to its historic roots as a "foundation university". Today, it is one of the three largest universities in Germany. Together with the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Mainz, it is a partner in the inter-state strategic Rhine-Main University Alliance. Internet: http://www. uni-frankfurt. de

Publisher: The President of Goethe University Editor: Dr. Markus Bernards, Science Editor, PR & Communication Department, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Tel: -49 (0) 69 798-12498, Fax: +49 (0) 69 798-763 12531, bernards@em.uni-frankfurt.de.

This story has been published on: 2020-04-30. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ridge Ventures, a San Francisco, CA-based early-stage venture capital firm, added Head of Investor Relations Susan Stella and Principal Kamil Saeid to its team.

At Ridge, Stella will lead marketing and communications strategy with limited partners. Saeid will source new investment opportunities and work alongside Ridge Ventures portfolio companies that have collectively raised more than $1 billion in each of the last two years. As Ridges Head of Investor Relations Stella brings 20 years of LP communications experience, including her work for multi-billion dollar private equity funds, emerging venture funds and industry associations. She was previously a Principal and Director of Investor Relations at Knightsbridge, as well as a Director at Thunderbird Global Private Equity Center.

Before joining Ridge Ventures, Saeid was an Investor and the first outside hire at Aspect Ventures, where he worked with companies like Chime, Exabeam and Gusto. Prior to this, Saeid was a consultant at Bain & Company, supporting both hyper-growth and large incumbent technology companies, legacy companies undergoing a generational shift, as well as serving on the Private Equity Group.

Founded in 2007, Ridge Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund investing in companies delivering advanced technologies, new distribution models and enhanced incredible user experiences.

FinSMEs

01/05/2020
When Philip IV of Spain died in 1665, his heir, Carlos II, was three years old. In addition to this looming dynastic crisis, decades of enormous military commitments had left Spain a virtually bankrupt state with vulnerable frontiers and a depleted army. In Silvia Z. Mitchells revisionist account,, Queen Regent Mariana of Austria emerges as a towering figure at court and on the international stage, while her key collaboratorsthe secretaries, ministers, and diplomats who have previously been ignored or undervaluedtake their rightful place in history.

Mitchell provides a nuanced account of Mariana of Austrias ten-year regency (166575) of the global Spanish Empire and examines her subsequent role as queen mother. Drawing from previously unmined primary sources, including Council of State deliberations, diplomatic correspondence, Marianas and Carloss letters, royal household papers, manuscripts, and legal documents, Mitchell describes how, over the course of her regency, Mariana led the monarchy out of danger and helped redefine the military and diplomatic blocs of Europe in Spains favor. She follows Marianas exile from court and recounts how the dowager queen used her extensive connections and diplomatic experience to move the negotiations for her sons marriage forward, effectively exploiting the process to regain her position.

A new narrative of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy in the later seventeenth century, this volume advances our knowledge of womens legitimate political entitlement in the early modern period. It will be welcomed by scholars and students of queenship, womens studies, and early modern Spain.
This piece is reprinted with permission from the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

Senator Mitt Romneys role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he leads a subcommittee on the Middle East, places the Utah Republican in the middle of debates over the modern clash between democracy and authoritarianism. Of course, his role as the 2012 GOP presidential nominee also gave him a prominent platform to discuss Americas role in the world.

During a 40-minute interview, the senator spoke with the Bush Institutes Lindsay Lloyd, Chris Walsh, and Bill McKenzie about the reasons America should play a leading role in global affairs, especially as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes that stepping back from leadership roles in international organizations like the World Health Organization only creates risks for our own country. And he contends that America should avoid isolationism as authoritarians gain power and China poses a threat to political freedom.

What impact, if any, do you see the coronavirus having on the cause of democracy?

Romney: At this stage, we have an opportunity for liberal democracies to come together, especially with regards to China and their objectives and aggression, their obfuscation and disinformation during the pandemic. Many European governments were skeptical in the past on the need to push back against China, but we may see some attitudes change by virtue of this pandemic.

[British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson, for example, is extremely critical of China now. A number of Western European countries welcomed the supply of masks and tests coming from China only to find that in many cases they were faulty. That has resulted in anger and re-thinking of the relationship that ought to exist with China.

At the same time, authoritarian regimes will attempt to exploit the pandemic and use it to extend the tentacles of authoritarianism. In Hungary, Viktor Orban has jailed journalists if they publish anything about the pandemic that he says is incorrect. These are the actions of a person trying to tighten his grip in an authoritarian regime.

China and perhaps other authoritarian regimes will try to draw a distinction between the death rate from the virus in the West and compare it with China. China has produced highly unreliable data but that doesn't keep them from trying to push their propaganda. If you look at the top 20 countries with the highest mortality rate from COVID-19, 19 of the 20 are western democracies. The exception is Iran, and all have much higher mortality rates than China.

China will be using information like this to suggest they have a superior model to confronting COVID-19. So will other authoritarian regimes. But this pandemic originated in China, and by China keeping a lid on it publicly, the virus spread around the world. They have been dishonest in reporting the cases there and have provided dangerously faulty tests and masks around the world.

The West and America in particular need to be as aggressive in our communication efforts as China will be in their propaganda efforts.

Is there something about the messiness of democracy that makes it tougher for societies like ours to deal with a pandemic? Or do you feel we are generally doing okay?

Romney: China and other authoritarian regimes will draw on the data I just described to promote the idea that they are better prepared to deal with the challenges of the modern world, including pandemics. But that is a faulty analysis. China didn't do any better job than South Korea, Singapore, or Taiwan. Those democracies did every bit as well as China.

Even if you believe the data coming out of China, it had dealt with SARS in the past and had put in place safeguards, systems, and supplies to deal with an emerging pandemic. Many nations in the West, ours included, imagined pandemics were a feature of far-off places. That was simply wrong.

There's also been more variation among liberal democracies in dealing with the pandemic. Some western nations were prepared and took swift action, while others were unprepared and didnt see the pandemic coming. They have suffered far more dramatically than others.

A growing hypothesis on my part is that countries with the highest rate of COVID infections and deaths have extensive air travel. Countries that don't have a lot of air travel are not going to see the kind of same kind of spread. You are going to see more spread than in a place where very few people are able to get on an airplane, like in China.

As a former presidential nominee, how do you think this pandemic might affect our campaign and the actual election? How might it affect elections around the world?

Romney: A crisis typically helps the incumbent, in part because the incumbent gets more time on TV. That includes incumbents like myself. We have more airtime and visibility in our respective states or districts. I'm sure that's true in countries around the world. The challenger has a very difficult time getting the message out.

That, of course, assumes the incumbent does an acceptable job managing the crisis. If the incumbent does a terrible job, then the incumbent is going to suffer.

By and large, most nations work through the kinds of disasters that confront us from time-to-time. It's my expectation that the long tradition of incumbents holding onto the job unless they do something very wrong would continue to play out in 2020. It's been 28 years since an incumbent president lost an election in this country, and the trend is more likely to continue, not less likely, as a result of this pandemic.

Your own state of Utah has a mail-in voting system. Is that a good model for other states?

Romney: My experience is that mail-in balloting is a plus all the way around. I'm sure it means that more people will vote and that's a good thing. It also means that older people will be more likely to vote. There are many older people, whether in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, or perhaps just shut in their own home, that find it difficult to get out and vote. Voting by mail will allow them to participate.

I don't know that mail-in ballots help or hurt one party or the other. But it is a better tool than relying solely on people trying to find a place to vote, encountering long lines, or finding it hard to get childcare so they can vote.

Lets shift to the international side of things. We've seen a rise in isolationism in recent years. How do we get to a place where we can get the U.S. to be engaged internationally?

Romney: Our number of COVID infections and death rate per capita will open us to propaganda and criticism by China and certain autocracies. There also will be a measure of resentment that America didn't do very much, at least in the public perception, to help the poorest countries.

China also took advantage of the fact that they are the manufacturing power in the world to send masks and tests to hard-hit countries like Italy. Even though some of those masks were faulty, China gained credibility through so-called mask diplomacy by doing their best to help other countries. We were seen as hoarding what supplies we could and were not seen as being active on the global stage. So this pandemic has probably not helped our cause from that standpoint.

The decision to defund the World Health Organization (WHO) also could be seen in a negative light by other countries. I would have preferred having us use our power to reshape the World Health Organization to make it more effective, more transparent, and more honest as opposed to taking our marbles and going home. That only makes WHO more susceptible to the influence of malign actors like China.

The rise of populism in our country on the left and right as well as populism in other western democracies, particularly in Western Europe, tends to encourage a degree of isolationism that is counter to our interests. We're involved in the world because it's good for America -- and for other people. When we are not involved in the world, bad things happen that ultimately can drive us inward.

The WHO is just one example. If we are not paying too much attention there, or are not countering the Chinese voice, then the WHO doesn't perform the role that it should. In this case, giving us a warning that would have been in our national interest.

We should be actively involved in international organizations and in world affairs to promote our interests. We should be involved to foster the conditions in the world that are good for our economic vitality, jobs, innovation, climate, and those things Americans enjoy.

Beyond the COVID pandemic, how do you assess the threat that China poses to the global order and our values of freedom, human rights, and free enterprise?

Romney: I see China as the champion of an entirely different model and the geopolitical competitor on the world stage. At this point, they are advancing their cause and we are not. China's objective is to replace the United States and the West as the global superpower militarily, economically, and geopolitically. Their economic efforts are robust and effective and their geopolitical and military efforts are also highly effective.

Geopolitically, we see their efforts to play a larger role in international bodies, like the WHO. We see them bribe and threaten other nations to get them to ignore the human rights abuses in their own country among the Uyghurs, the Tibetans, and religious minorities. They use the same tactics to convince other countries to isolate Taiwan. All these efforts are designed to strengthen their geopolitical hand.

Militarily, many Americans unfortunately fall for the easy calculation that, because we spend so much more than anyone else, we must have by far the biggest investment going into military weaponry. That is not necessarily the case. Chinas procurement of weapons and systems is as great as ours. And they can concentrate their fire power in the Pacific. If we allow this to continue, they will have a position of relative strength in the Pacific.

Economically, China's strategy is to dominate one industry after another so western companies wither and die, and China moves on step-by-step. The prime example is steel, where they had a 5 percent share of the global steel market before they were a member of the World Trade Organization. Now they have a 53 percent share of steel production. And they are successful in other areas, particularly related to medicines, medical devices, and personal protection equipment.

We are now painfully aware that we didn't have the mask-making capacity we needed, and we don't have the medicines we need. Americans were shocked to learn that all our penicillin comes from China. This puts us in an extraordinary strategic disadvantage. It also strengthens their hand.

In light of China's ambition, and its success in pursuing that ambition, it is essential that free nations and all nations that abide by the global order come together and present China with a choice: Either abide by the economic rules that the rest of us follow or no longer have free access to all of our markets. This effort is overdue but essential if we're going to prevent further spread of Chinas authoritarian reach.

Drawing from your work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as with organizations like the International Republican Institute, what countries do you see taking their obligations of freedom and human rights seriously? What was the impact?

Romney: Iraq. Many Iraqi leaders genuinely want to be a strong independent nation that plays by the worlds economic and geopolitical rules. It does not want Iran as the puppet master nor does it want to be beholden to the West as the dominant force in its politics.

Those leaders are under extraordinary pressure from Iranian influences as well as from other malign actors. They are working valiantly to retain their independence and to emerge as a stable strong global player. A great deal is at stake in Iraq's success.

I have met with the president, the speaker of the house, and the former prime minister. Each of them expressed a desire to remain independent of foreign influence, but they also said "Where is America?" Iran is investing in our country, putting money into our institutions, making an enormous effort to expand their economic reach, but the West is not.

They noted that Saudi Arabia, which is Iran's competitor in the region, has made almost no effort to help build their economy. And they were concerned that the United States had not made the economic investments to help balance what was coming from Iran.

If you look around the world, it's fair to say that freedom is not on the ascendancy. Various institutions that track the progress of freedom say it is in decline. One reason is that people who are in power want to stay in power. And they have learned how to repress the voices of freedom.

They have learned that a direct blatant attack may be unsuccessful, and that more subtle methods can tighten the grip of their power. For example, they can repress the media by minimizing it, criticizing it, and removing hostile reporters. And they can weaken the rule of law in a way that Orban has done in Hungary by closing the lower courts or stacking them with friends.

They also can repress religions as you're seeing in Russia and China. Religion presents a dual loyalty. People have a loyalty to God but also to the state. Repressing religion helps take away those loyalties.

Of course, the rise of nationalism and populism calls for a degree of isolationism, which is conducive to tightening the hand of authoritarians. I get concerned that we in the West are playing right into the hands of authoritarians and that our more populist rhetoric and campaigns will provide some of the very slogans that will be used by authoritarians to repress their media and weaken the rule of law. Those institutions are essential to the establishment and preservation of democracy.

I'm concerned with trends I see going on, but I am encouraged by a nation like Iraq that is fighting so hard to maintain its independence and democratic potential. I'm also very encouraged by NGOs, including the International Republican Institute, that advocate for freedom.

What threats do non-state actors pose to freedom? You could say the pandemic has knocked ISIS off the front pages.

Romney: Thats a fair point. We are in competition for geopolitical leadership with autocracies such as China and Russia, but there is another competitor -- radical Islam -- and perhaps I minimized it at my peril. Radical Islam has an entirely different view, and that is neither China nor the West will succeed. Instead radical Islam will be the planets dominant player, or at least in major portions of it.

Radical Islam has different shapes and flavors in different places. But, in each case, it is theocratic in its orientation and uses violence and terror to obtain power. Since it has not been as overt in the United States of late, I think many of us, myself included, are not as intent on watching its tentacles expand as we should be.

But, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East, I certainly see it throughout the Middle East, whether its the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon, or the Houthis in Yemen. And, of course, what is going on in Syria is horrific. The jihadists have not laid down their weapons and are ever more assertive. The Middle East and North Africa remain up for grabs.

If we don't pay attention and remain involved in those parts of the world, very bad developments could draw us in and cost American lives and treasure in another dramatic and horrific way.

As we wrap up, lets talk about our own hemisphere. Whenever we get past this coronavirus situation, what role should the United States have in our hemisphere?

Romney: There is an ongoing debate politically about whether we should be involved in our hemisphere or the world generally, or whether we are better off walling ourselves off -- perhaps literally as well as figuratively -- from other nations and focusing entirely on our own nation.

There is great political attractiveness to an inward focus. People want more help from government and want to see our country doing better. As a politician, you say I'm going to focus on helping Americans and stop worrying about other people. It's a pretty compelling political argument.

But if you look at history, turning inward will ultimately inure to our detriment. I subscribe to the foreign policy view that was fashioned by [President Harry] Truman and [Secretary of State Dean] Acheson following the Second World War, which is that we should remain involved in the world. If we are not, bad things could draw us in, such as a world war. This view says we should be strong and that we are stronger by linking with our friends and allies. It also says that we should promote our values, particularly in our own hemisphere.

We have made a strong effort to promote those values in Venezuela and to a degree in Cuba. So far not successfully, but I applaud the fact that this administration, prior administrations, and people on both sides of the aisle have made numerous efforts to move Venezuela to a more sustainable posture.

Its hard to convince people in a sound-bite why that makes sense, but the reality is that many American jobs are linked to the production of goods and services that go to other countries. If we want higher incomes and better jobs in America, we need good trade relations with other countries so they'll buy goods and services from us. If they don't, they will ultimately buy them from other nations, and those nations will obtain an advantage. They will produce better products at lower costs, and American products will become too expensive and not competitive. Then, we will find ourselves weaker with fewer and less high-paying jobs.

Some of these things take time to play out, but this is why involvement in the world economically and geopolitically is in America's interest. Unfortunately, in making a populist appeal, we ignore that our self-interest coincides with having genuine concern for people around the world and trying to make the condition of the world better for all of us.

Ever since the Second World War, we have traded with the world in a generally open manner and that has propelled America to be the worlds economic powerhouse. Our income per person is well above the autocratic nations of the world and it's even well above our western counterparts.

Do we have problems? Absolutely. And is the disparity in income in America a problem? It is. Can we do better? Absolutely. But withdrawing from the world would not be in the interest of the American people.
The families of three hearing and speech impaired Kashmiris who are stranded in Mohali remain worried as they are uncertain about their return to the Valley due to the coronavirus curfew.

The trio from South Kashmir had arrived in Mohali in February to pursue a three-month skill development programme under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana at the Mentor Skills India LLP in Mohali.

Aquib Gull, 23, hails from Qazigund in Anantnag, Anamullah Rather, 24, is from Larkipora in Anantnag, and Basit Showkat, 19, is from South Kashmirs Kulgam district. The families of the three have made several attempts but havent been able to find any way to bring them back.

Showkat Ahmad Padder, father of Basit, said, I am perturbed as I do not know when my son will be back home. As he cannot speak or hear, I contact him through video call every day to find out what he is doing.

We had hired a vehicle to bring all three of them back, but we were not given permission for movement. It is hard for us and we await their evacuation from Mohali, said Padder.

Harminder Singh, who is the interpreter of the three stranded persons, said, They came here in February to pursue a three-month course in customer relationship management (non-voice) and their exams were due on April 17. They are lodged in hostels at present, and we are providing them every help possible.

Umaisar Gull, brother of Aquib, said, We have contacted the Mohali administration for their evacuation, and we are ready to quarantine them if they will be returned home.

Manager of JK House, Chandigarh, and liaison officer for students in the region, Dr Inderjot Singh, said, I came to know about the situation only today, and I have contacted the institution as well. They are being provided all help and I will also get in touch with the authorities to send them back home.

Nasir Khuehami of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) said, We demand their immediate evacuation as they cannot even communicate. We have spoken to the government officials, too.
CHI St. Alexius Health staff pushed Gery and Betty DeGreef out through the hospital doors in wheelchairs Monday afternoon, marking their official release following a 32-day stay battling the new coronavirus.

Im just happy Im still alive, said Betty, whose condition improved after she received a plasma transfusion nine days earlier as part of a new clinical trial.

Dozens of other hospital staff cheered and watched from a distance as the husband and wife, both wearing face masks and shirts that read I survived COVID-19, recounted the past few weeks to reporters.

There were quite a few times we felt we werent going to leave here, Gery said.

As part of their treatment, the Mandan residents both received convalescent plasma, a component of blood that came from recovered coronavirus patients in New York. Along with one other CHI St. Alexius patient, the husband and wife are the first people in western North Dakota to receive plasma under a nationwide clinical trial led by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to test its effectiveness in fighting COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus.

The DeGreefs tried to get tested for the virus well over a month ago, but they couldn't because testing supplies were in short supply.

Gery, 58, said he had experienced body aches and a fever, and that the couple stayed at home, self-quarantining for probably longer than we should have.

It was something Id never felt before, he said. If there were tests available, we probably would have been in and out a lot sooner.

After their worsening symptoms forced them to be hospitalized, both were placed on ventilators during the course of their care.

They were touch and go for a long period of time, said Kristen Renner, clinical supervisor of the intensive care unit.

Gery had already shown some signs of improvement by the time of the plasma transfusions. But Betty, 64, was still in poor condition. She spent three weeks total intubated with a ventilator helping her breathe.

I only remember about five days being in there, Betty said.

The plasma they received contains antibodies to COVID-19 that potentially can help coronavirus patients fight the disease.

Within 24 hours of receiving the plasma, both of these patients took a turn for the better, Renner said.

Dr. Jan Levora, an intensivist at the hospital, said it made sense to give Gery the plasma as well despite his speedier recovery because in some patients, there is another bout of the disease.

He added that the other patient who received plasma remains hospitalized but is showing signs of recovery.

Its too soon yet to know for sure what impact plasma has in treating the virus, Levora said.

We need to wait on the results of the study, he said. From three patients, it is too small a number to derive conclusions.

Its also unclear whether the DeGreefs will experience any lasting health problems because of the virus, which can impact the function of a patients lungs even after they leave the hospital, he said.

Gery, already, noted one obvious change.

Im 30 pounds lighter than when I went in there, he said.

The couple thanked the hospital staff for saving their lives, as well as their loved ones for their prayers. They look forward to spending time with their children and grandchildren.

Gery said he advises anyone who thinks they might have the virus to find out for sure as soon as they can.

Get tested, he said. Time is of the essence.

Sanford Health, which has a hospital in Bismarck, also is part of Mayo Clinic trial. Sanfords first patient receiving the therapy is in Fargo.

Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com.

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Breach-of-contract suits target biggest names in higher education and could involve billions of dollars in claims.

College students, kicked off campus by the coronavirus, have a new extracurricular activity: litigation.

U.S. undergraduates have sued more than 50 schools, demanding partial tuition, room-and-board and fee refunds after they shut down.

The proliferating breach-of-contract suits, many of them filed over the last week, target some of the biggest names in higher education: state systems including the University of California and Arizona State, as well as private institutions such as Columbia, Cornell and New York University.

The students lawyers, advertising on sites such as Collegerefund2020.com, are seeking class-action status on behalf of hundreds of thousands of students. While legal experts say the suits face high hurdles, they could potentially involve billions of dollars in claims.

To justify annual prices that can top $70,000 a year, colleges have long advertised their on-campus experience, including close contact with professors and peers who will become a lifelong network.

Now, millions of students are instead studying online. Many of the suits are seeking compensation for the difference in value between the virtual and in-person experience. Plaintiffs include Grainger Rickenbaker, a freshman majoring in real estate management and development at Philadelphias Drexel University, which charges more than $50,000 in tuition and another $16,000 in room, board and other fees.

I am missing out on everything that Drexels campus has to offer  from libraries, the gym, computer labs, study rooms and lounges, dining halls, said Rickenbaker, 21, who is suing for a partial refund as he works remotely from his home in Charleston, South Carolina.

Most colleges declined to comment on the suits. The California State System said it would defend itself against a complaint that understates the services its still providing. Arizona State said it was giving a $1,500 credit to all students who moved out of university housing by April 15.

Peter McDonough, general counsel for American Council on Education, a college trade group, said schools are battling circumstances outside their control. Theyre putting tremendous time and resources into supporting remote learning, while still paying professors and bearing other costs, he said.

Faculty and staff are literally working around the clock, McDonough said. Were in the middle of a catastrophe. Schools are doing their best to work their way through it.

Some colleges, including Harvard, Columbia, Middlebury and Swarthmore, have agreed to refund unused room and board. Others are offering credits or havent decided what to do, according to Jim Hundrieser, a vice president at the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

Payments can add up. Small residential institutions, for instance, may be refunding $2 million to $3 million, while large schools with several thousand on-campus students are likely to return $8 million to $20 million or more, Hundrieser said.

For individual students, the funds can be quite a boon in an economic crisis. A college charging about $8,000 for a semesters room and board that canceled midway might be sending students a check of about $4,000.

The federal suits vary in their demands. The Anastopoulo Law Firm in Charleston represents students at roughly a dozen schools, including Drexel, and is seeking a partial return of all unreimbursed payments.

In its suits on behalf of California public college students, Chicago-based DiCello Levitt Gutzler is asking only for the return of student fees for such items as transportation and student organizations, which can nevertheless total thousands of dollars a year.

Both the University of California and the California State systems have already agreed to return unused room-and-board. Cal State said its still providing services, such as counseling, and will refund fees that have been unearned by the campus.

However the complaints are decided, they highlight the stakes for the $600 billion-plus a year higher education industry. Public universities rely on tuition and fees for 20% of their total revenues; private non-profit colleges, 30%, according to the most recent federal data.

In the fall, if many schools open only online, they would forfeit room and board fees and face pressure to charge less tuition. Many are predicting that the pandemic will put financially fragile institutions out of business.

Colleges can expect to see more suits soon, threatening what attorney Anthony Pierce called an economic tsunami. On Thursday alone, students filed complaints against Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pennsylvania and Brown.

The plaintiffs bar sees an opportunity here, said Pierce, a partner heading the Washington office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP who recently alerted colleges about the suits risks.

The outcome may depend on the paperwork both parties signed. Students are more likely to prevail if they can point to contract terms requiring specific services, according to Joe Brennan, a Vermont Law School professor who is tracking the litigation.

Students generally have housing contracts, just like renters of an apartment, said Barry Burgdorf, a former general counsel for the University of Texas system who is now at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Families typically dont have written agreements spelling out exactly what tuition covers.

Colleges will likely argue that theyre excused from past obligations because the pandemic and government shutdown orders made the regular delivery of services impossible.

Even if students cant point to particular contract provisions, theyre making claims of unjust enrichment, arguing that its unfair for the schools to profit from services they didnt provide.

Some of the suits are seeking compensation for what is known as diminution of value, or the difference between the worth of an on-campus education and one delivered online.

Depending on how courts view any disparity, the sums could surpass housing refunds. (Many students, however, pay far less than those published tuition prices because of scholarships.)

Still, courts have been reluctant to try to value one type of degree over another, according to Burgdorf. Another challenge: If judges dont grant class-action status, most students wouldnt find it worthwhile to pursue claims on their own.

Some students, like Cornell senior Joshua Zhu, havent signed on to a lawsuit but are cheering from the sidelines and could ultimately benefit. The 22-year-old information science major is logging on to classes from an off-campus apartment in Ithaca, New York, where he battles spotty Wi-Fi and misses working in an artificial intelligence lab.

The tuition we paid to come to Cornell was with the expectation that we would have in-person classes and everything that came along with that, Zhu said. It almost seems like a breach of contract.
The Indian armed forces will conduct fly-pasts, light up ships at sea, display military bands and shower flower petals on hospitals on Sunday in a grand display of gratitude to lakhs of "corona warriors" like doctors, paramedics and police personnel.

The announcement was made by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat at a press conference in presence of Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

"The nation stood together and showed resilience in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. On behalf of the armed forces, we want to thank all the corona warriors -- doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, home guards, delivery boys and media," Gen Rawat said.

"On May 3, there will be some special activities as a gesture of special gratitude by all three forces," he said, addressing his first press conference after assuming charge of India's first Chief of Defence Staff in January.

Gen Rawat's announcement of the special activities came shortly before the Union Home Ministry said the current spell of the lockdown will be extended by another two weeks from Monday. The lockdown came into force on March 25 and was scheduled to end on May 3.

He said the fixed wing and fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force will conduct fly-pasts from Srinagar to Thiruvananthapuram and from Dibrugarh to Kutch on Sunday evening as a mark of respect to all front-line workers battling the pandemic.

Gen Rawat said Indian Navy helicopters will shower flower petals on leading hospitals treating coronavirus patients. Navy will also deploy its warships in formations in coastal areas and the vessels will be lit up as part of the "thanksgiving" exercise on Sunday evening.

The Army will conduct mountain band displays along some COVID-19 hospitals in almost every district besides laying wreaths at police memorials across the country.

"The corona warriors -- be it the doctors, nurses, hygiene and sanitation staff, police personnel or media personnel -- they have ensured that India keeps on fighting this pandemic. We salute these warriors and their efforts and wish them the best of health," Gen Rawat said.

"We are grateful for their sacrifice and their efforts in fighting COVID-19, knowing fully well the dangers that they face," he added.

Replying to a query, Gen Rawat added that not even one soldier, sailor or airman in the frontline is affected by the infection and that armed forces are fully prepared for all challenges.

He also said that there was no let-up in anti-terror operations against cross border terrorism.

The Air Chief Marshal said that not even one case of COVID-19 has been reported in the force.

While talking of the contribution of the police personnel, the Chief of Defence Staff said wreaths will be laid at the police memorial on Sunday morning on behalf of the three service chiefs.

Army Chief Gen Naravane too said there was no let-up in India's counter-terror operations due to the pandemic. "Our operations are going on. There is no let-up in counter-terrorist operations due to COVID19."



He also said that there has been an increase in number of infiltration attempts from the Pakistani side along the LoC.

The Army has recorded 14 cases of coronavirus out of which five have recovered, he said.

The decision to go for the thanks-giving activities was taken at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the three service chiefs.

In the press conference, Gen Rawat also asserted that no operational task has been affected or will be affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said it is not proper to conclude that the novel coronavirus outbreak is a result of biological warfare.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that seeks to protect the US electricity system from cyber and other attacks, the Energy Department said in a release.

"It is imperative the bulk-power system be secured against exploitation and attacks by foreign threats," Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in the release. The order will "greatly diminish the ability of foreign adversaries to target our critical electric infrastructure, he said. A senior Energy Department official said that the order was not directed at any new threat, but the result of a process to bolster the power system.

The 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment issued by then-US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said that China and Russia and other countries were using cyber techniques to spy on US infrastructure.

The power system not only delivers electricity to homes and businesses, but supports the military and emergency systems.

The Energy Department said that government rules about buying equipment for the power grid "often result in contracts being awarded to the lowest-cost bids, a vulnerability that can be exploited by those with malicious intent."

The order authorizes Brouillette to work with Trump's Cabinet and the energy industry on protecting the electricity system.

An Energy Department official said the order determines that the unrestricted foreign supply of electrical power equipment represents an extraordinary threat to US national security. The order prohibits future buying, imports, or transfer of power equipment if the Energy Secretary and other US officials determine that a "transactions to be subject to the influence of a foreign adversary," the official said.
Two meat processing plants have now confirmed that some staff members have tested positive for Covid-19.

It comes after agriculture minister Michael Creed confirmed on Thursday that his department was aware of six virus clusters in the industry - five in processing plants and one in a deboning plant.

Rosderra Meats confirmed that all of its staff at its Roscrea processing plant had been tested for Covid-19 and that "a number of employees had a positive result from that testing and they are self-isolating per HSE protocols".

The company said that it has "implemented stringent and detailed control measures" to ensure the safety of its staff and Department of Agriculture staff on site, which is still operational.

"We have reconfigured the process with the remaining staff who have been tested and are clear of Covid- 19 and are continuing with a scaled down process in the short-term until the staff return. We expect those staff will be returning over the next number of weeks having adhered to HSE protocols.

"We will remain vigilant and continue to maintain our robust procedures while Covid-19 remains an issue within Ireland," said a statement.

Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley claimed in the Dail on Thursday that some 120 staff at the plant returned positive tests. However, Rosderra Meats has declined to offer a figure.

Separately,

Read More:

The company said the cases reflect less than 2% of its total workforce and that the decision was taken "out of an abundance of caution".

In a statement, it said that no production was scheduled on Friday or over the Bank Holiday Weekend and that no decision has yet been taken with regards to deferring any scheduled activity next week.

Meat Industry Ireland (MII) said meat processors have prioritised the safety and wellbeing of staff, farmer suppliers and service providers by implementing "a wide range of protective measures and protocols at each of their sites" in line with government advice and guidelines.

Trade union SIPTU has called for mandatory temperature testing and the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all workers in meat and dairy processing plants following the confirmation of clusters in the sector.

SIPTU manufacturing division organiser Greg Ennis said that, without such measures, the entire sector was under threat.

Failure to do so will put further workers, their families and the wider community at risk. Action must be taken if we are to avert the possibility of the closure of the entire meat and dairy processing industry due to the threat of Covid-19," he said.
A week ago, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) came out with a strong set of first-quarter numbers that could potentially lead to a re-rate of the stock. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 5.7% to hit US$12b. Pfizer also reported a statutory profit of US$0.61, which was an impressive 29% above what the analysts had forecast. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Pfizer

NYSE:PFE Past and Future Earnings May 1st 2020

Following the recent earnings report, the consensus from 14 analysts covering Pfizer is for revenues of US$46.5b in 2020, implying an uncomfortable 8.3% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to crater 31% to US$1.98 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$47.0b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.10 in 2020. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the minor downgrade to their earnings per share numbers for next year.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$42.50, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Pfizer, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$55.00 and the most bearish at US$36.00 per share. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

Story continues

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with the forecast 8.3% revenue decline a notable change from historical growth of 1.5% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 6.1% next year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Pfizer is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Pfizer. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that Pfizer's revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Pfizer analysts - going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.

However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Pfizer that you should be aware of.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
A month ago a similar vote came close at the AGM of another Australian giant, Santos. The shareholder resolutions were supported by prominent proxy advisers  firms that advise institutional investors on how to vote at companies' annual meetings. "We believe the requested targets would provide an opportunity for the company to add additional rigour to its target-setting process to further assure investors that the company is prepared to meet the challenges of a decarbonising economy," proxy adviser CGI Glass Lewis said in a report on the Santos resolution. The motions won the support of large institutional shareholders, notably in the superannuation sector. "This is a breakthrough moment for investor action on climate change in Australia," said Dan Gocher, climate and environment director at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, which organised the resolutions.

Loading The company, he said, would remain in open conflict with the majority of its shareholders until it moved to set meaningful targets. This might be true, but the votes highlight more than that. They are more evidence that climate scientists and activists and the investors who align with them now view gas in the same light as they view coal: as a dangerous greenhouse emitter that has no place in the economy of a world determined to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. As that message is being heeded in other parts of the world, Australian institutions are once again fighting a rearguard action in defence of fossil fuels.

Diversify or die Over recent months European oil and gas majors have made a series of startling announcements. On April 16 the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, Ben van Beurden, announced plans to eliminate net emissions from its own operations and the bulk of greenhouse gases from fuel it sells to customers - scope three emissions - by 2050. Santos' Moomba petroleum and natural gas plant in South Australia's Cooper Basin. Credit:Brendan Esposito Societys expectations have shifted quickly in the debate around climate change. Shell now needs to go further with our own ambitions, he said in a statement. Shell plans to have net zero emissions in the scope one and two categories and reduce its scope three emissions by around 30 per cent by 2035 and 65 per cent by 2050 by increasing the amount of green energy it sells.

Its announcement follows similar declarations by Repsol, Total and BP, whose new boss Bernard Looney made climate change the single focus of his first public address in February. Loading We have got to change and change profoundly because the world is changing fast and so are societys expectations of us, he said, announcing the largest shake-up of the company in its 111-year history. Many observers are naturally sceptical about declarations from an industry with a history of greenwashing, but investment patterns suggest a revolution is underway. A recent analysis by business research outfit BloombergNEF found that of 480 green energy deals it tracked since 2010, seven oil and gas companies were behind 75 per cent of the deals closed, with 15 of them finalised over the past three years. Those seven firms were Shell, Total and BP, along with Chevron, Repsol, Equinor and Saudi Aramco.

These companies are transforming themselves from petrochemical companies into diversified energy companies via investments in solar, wind, biofuels, and hydrogen, as well as in related digital smart-energy technologies and energy storage, the analysis said. The contrast with the big Australians is stark. At one point on Thursday, Woodside's Goyder was asked if there were any plans to follow the diversification lead of the Europeans in order to reduce climate risk and provide long-term value for investors. One of the things we are pretty clear on as a board is that Woodside is a very good LNG company, a gas company, with some assets in oil, he began. We have got a strong balance sheet and we have got a capacity to look for new opportunities, but I wouldnt overestimate that in terms of changing what we do.

However as Zoe Whitton, the head of environmental, social and governance research at Citi, explains, investors are increasingly considering the fact that there actually isnt a future for an energy industry with the same type of profile it had in the past. Yes, the Europeans are transferring into industries with lower returns, but they are actually moving into industries where they are going to be able to make money, because the one that theyre in now just wont exist, she says. When you say, 'Why cant we stay here? ... Here is a burning platform. Investors views on gas are moving very quickly, says Whitton, as the argument for gas displacing coal in Asian nations is losing ground to the question why not switch to renewables?. It's a gas gas gas (war)

This year Australia overtook Qatar for the first time as the world's biggest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), shipping 77.5 million tonnes in 2019 with an export value of $49 billion. Between 2009 and 2015, the oil and gas industry spent $273 billion on development projects in Australia, mostly in LNG. Woodside is planning to dramatically increase gas production in the years to come, as it edges closer to reaching a final decision on its $20.5 billion Browse project and $11 billion Scarborough project off the coast of WA. Woodside Petroleum's Pluto LNG plant in Western Australia. Credit:Woodside Petroleum This staggering expansion is enthusiastically backed by the federal government, which hopes it will play a central role in driving our recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Asked by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last month if the economic rebuilding necessitated by the crisis presented Australia with a chance to set even more ambitious emissions targets, Angus Taylor, who serves as both energy and emissions reductions minister, responded: I think the opening is that we're seeing low gas prices. I think that's the thing that has really changed.

Countries that have access to low gas prices are able to reduce their emissions faster. That is clear. That's been true in the UK. It's been true in the US energy system. The low gas prices provide an extraordinary opportunity to reduce emissions. And that's a good thing. And, you know, we need to make most of it." It was a response that infuriated climate activists on both economic and scientific grounds. Australia may not be taking up electric cars, but Europeans and Chinese are. Credit: Traditionally oil and gas prices were linked, in part because gas was once seen by the industry as an almost valueless byproduct of oil extraction. Today the price of both is at historic lows, in part due to a demand collapse linked to COVID-19 and in part due to a price war precipitated by oil giants Russia and Saudi Arabia, who flooded the pre-pandemic market in the hopes of driving down prices and crippling the American fracking industry, a move that some believe has worked. According to Bruce Robertson, a gas and LNG analyst with the climate advisory body Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the low prices - or at least associated instability - might linger long after the crisis due to the huge glut of product and the rapid electrification of the transport system. Even if Australians arent buying electric cars in large numbers yet, he notes, Chinese and Europeans are.

In his view it makes no sense to tie Australias economic future to gas. But the investments by companies like Woodside and Santos suggest they see a long-term future in gas. As one gas industry figure who asked not to be named told the Herald and Age this week: "Any project you are committing to now is a long-term investment, it won't pay back in a year or two. If you are investing now, you're locking into gas for several decades. So the question is: does it make sense that we are committing to new fossil fuel projects today?" Gas was adopted as a transition fuel to a low-carbon economy because it was understood to release between 15 and 50 per cent less greenhouse gases compared to coal, depending on how the two were captured and burnt. Loading But there is a growing - and increasingly overwhelming - body of evidence showing that during the production of oil and gas, small fugitive emissions of methane escape into the atmosphere. Because methane is about 30 times more potent in warming the planet than gases produced by coal, if more than around 3 per cent of the methane escapes, the product becomes more destructive than coal.

Fugitive emissions have been known about for some time, but it has been hard to pin down how much methane was escaping. But new satellite technology recently allowed Harvard University scientists to undertake a comprehensive study. They showed that in one of the worlds largest productive fields, America's Permian Basin, fugitive methane emissions were 3.7 per cent, about 60 per cent more than first estimated, and enough to render the fuel the basin produces worse for the atmosphere than coal. Robertson calls this the industrys Volkswagen moment, referring to the scandal in which the worlds largest car manufacturer was revealed to have falsified emissions from its diesel engines. He insists the industry has known for years how destructive LNG is to the climate but has been able to sidestep the growing concerns of scientists. Loading The publication of the Harvard study in the journal Science last month changes the debate, says Robertson. It is lamentable that in Australia we have an emissions reduction minister who is out there advocating for emissions increases, he says of Taylor's support for gas expansion.
British Airways' parent company has signed agreements for 900 million of loans backed by the Spanish government, but the money cannot be used to help its UK airline which is cutting up to 12,000 jobs.

IAG said the money can be used to help its Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

There are 'restrictions on the upstream of cash to the rest of the IAG companies', the firm added.

International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways, has secured a 900m loan from the Spanish government to secure jobs at Iberia and Vueling. Under the terms of the loan, the cash can only be used on its Spanish airlines

IAG has not requested a loan from the UK Government.

It announced this week that up to 12,000 jobs will be lost at BA, representing more than a quarter of the workforce.

On Thursday it emerged that the airline may not resume operations at Gatwick, the UK's second busiest airport.

In a letter to staff, BA chief executive Alex Cruz wrote: 'There is no Government bailout standing by for BA.'

Trade union Unite's national officer for aviation Oliver Richardson said: 'The fact that Iberia is seeking support from the Spanish government should be welcomed and is a common sense approach to preserving jobs and services, following the immense damage the Covid-19 pandemic is causing to the aviation sector.

'What is concerning is that the parent company IAG is not seeking a similar solution for British Airways.

How coronavirus has affected airlines in the UK over the past month Flybe: Europe's largest regional airline collapsed on March 5 after months on the brink, triggering 2,400 job losses and left around 15,000 passengers stranded across the UK and Europe. Flybe's owners, a consortium including Virgin Atlantic, the Stobart Group and hedge fund firm Cyrus Capital, blamed coronavirus for hastening the ailing airline's collapse. Flybe operated up to 50 UK routes, accounting for 40 per cent of all domestic flights, and was used by 9.5million passengers a year. British Airways: The International Airlines Group, which also includes Iberia and Aer Lingus, said on March 16 that there would be a 75 per cent reduction in passenger capacity for two months, with boss Willie Walsh admitting there was 'no guarantee that many European airlines would survive'. The company has since said it wants to reduce the number of staff by 12,000. easyJet: The airline with 9,000 UK-based staff including 4,000 cabin crew grounded its entire fleet of 344 planes on March 30. The Luton-based carrier said parking all of its planes 'removes significant cost' as the aviation industry struggles to cope with a collapse in demand. Loganair: The Scottish regional airline said on March 30 that it expects to ask the Government for a bailout to cope with the impact of the pandemic. Loganair will go to the government despite being told by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak last week that airlines should exhaust all other options for funding, before asking for help. Jet2: The budget holiday airline has suspended all of its flights departing from Britain until April 30. A number of Jet2 flights turned around mid-air last month while travelling to Spain when a lockdown was announced in the country. Virgin Atlantic: The airline said on March 16 that it would have reduced its lights by 80 per cent by March 26, and this will go up to 85 per cent by April. It has also urged the Government to offer carriers emergency credit facilities worth up to 7.5billion. Ryanair: More than 90 per cent of the Irish-based airline's planes are now grounded, with the rest of the aircraft providing repatriation and rescue flights. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said his airline would be forced to shed 3,000 jobs while seeking pay reductions of up to 20 per cent by those who remain. Advertisement

'Rather than seeking to preserve jobs and workers' terms and conditions, and act for the good of the aviation sector, British Airways is guilty of an act of smash and grab opportunism which is designed to boost their profits in the future and to try to force other operators out of the UK aviation sector.'

The British government has turned to Morgan Stanley for advice on a package of measures to keep its airlines in business during the coronavirus crisis, after warnings that the industry might implode, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Wall Street investment bank, originally drafted in to handle a possible bailout of Virgin Atlantic, has been awarded a broader mandate to examine ways to support the entire airline sector in Britain, the sources said.

'The situation was more complicated than expected,' the second source said, adding that any bailout of Virgin Atlantic might prompt other airlines to request state aid.

Morgan Stanley's expanded role comes as British Airways-owner IAG began a sweeping restructuring and the boss of London Heathrow Airport's boss warned that Britain risks destroying its aviation sector by not propping up airlines as countries such as the United States and France have done.

Airlines around the world are struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, with some such as Germany's Lufthansa seeking urgent state assistance as air travel has been brought to a virtual standstill, threatening thousands of jobs.

'We have been clear that we are prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort,' a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of British airlines which have exhausted other funding measures to cope with the crisis.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment, while Treasury representatives were not immediately available to comment on the investment bank's appointment.

Global airline losses from the coronavirus pandemic are estimated at $314 billion, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates.

Virgin Atlantic, which is 51 per cent owned by billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group and 49 per cent by U.S. airline Delta, has warned it will only survive if it gets state aid, while its staff have taken a temporary wage reduction.

Johnson's government has so far been wary of bailing out travel companies and in March let regional carrier Flybe collapse, marking one of the first big corporate casualties of the coronavirus outbreak.

Morgan Stanley is working closely with Rothschild, which won a similar government mandate earlier this year to handle talks with airlines and other British companies bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, the sources said.

Any bailout of Virgin Atlantic would only come after all other possibilities, including a sale, had been fully explored, one of the sources said.

Unions have asked why IAG is cutting jobs at British Airways while leaving other airlines that form part of the group untouched

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said it was exploring all available options to obtain additional external credit, adding it was working with Houlihan Lokey on private sector funding and ongoing discussions with stakeholders were 'constructive'.

Meanwhile, Branson and the Virgin Group were committed to the airline and were not looking to sell it, a representative for the group said on Friday.

But if no bailout is granted and Virgin Atlantic ends up collapsing, then the government will need to review the competitive landscape on transatlantic flights as British Airways would emerge as a winner, another source said.

Virgin Atlantic has increased its routes between London and North America over the past few years to win more U.S. customers and boost profitability.

British Airways' parent company IAG warned it may cut up to 12,000 jobs after reporting an operating loss before exceptional items of 535 million euros for the first quarter, but ruled out any plan to ask the British Treasury for state support.

However, IAG's Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling have taken a different path and on Friday secured 1 billion euros of government-backed loans.
The one true purpose of science is to furnish humans with an effective hangover cure.

After centuries of beating around the bush, it appears one team from Germany are finally on the right track.

Scientists from the Institute of Molecular Physiology at the Johannes Gutenberg-University, in Mainz, have revealed it is not a full English breakfast composed of various fried goods which is best set to relieve hangover symptoms, but instead, a combination of extracts from fruits, leaves and roots.

The research, published in the British Medical Journal, also suggests current theories for the existence of hangovers  such as dehydration and loss of electrolytes  may be wrong.

The team used some 214 healthy drinkers aged 18-65, split them into three groups, gave them alcoholic drinks, then fed one group water soluble plant extracts along with vitamins and minerals, the second group had the vitamins and minerals alone, and the third group was given a placebo.

The results indicate consumption of the plant extracts resulted in a significant improvement in how drinkers felt after consuming alcohol.

The plant extracts included: Barbados cherry (Acerola), prickly pear, ginkgo biloba, willow and ginger root.

The vitamins and minerals included: magnesium, potassium, sodium bicarbonate, zinc, riboflavin, thiamin and folic acid.

The number and type of drinks consumed was recorded as was how many times they emptied their bladder between 1700 and 2100 hours.

Blood and urine samples and blood pressure measurements were taken before and after the start of this four-hour period, after which the participants were sent home to sober up.

Twelve hours later the same samples and blood pressure measurements were taken, and participants filled in a questionnaire about the type and intensity of perceived hangover symptoms, which were ranked on a zero to 10 scale.

The average amount of alcohol consumed was virtually the same in all three groups: 0.62 ml/minute.

Analysis of all the data showed symptom intensity varied widely among the participants.

But compared with the glucose only supplement, those taking the full supplement of plant extracts, minerals/vitamins, and antioxidants reported less severe symptoms.

Average headache intensity was 34 per cent less, nausea 42 per cent less, while feelings of indifference fell by an average of 27 per cent and restlessness by 41 per cent.

No significant differences or reductions were reported for any of the other symptoms.

Polyphenol and flavonoid compounds in each of the five plant extracts have been associated with curbing the physiological impact of alcohol in previously published experimental studies, the researchers said. But its not clear how.

The underlying mechanisms remain to be unravelled and surely need further investigation, the authors wrote.

No significant difference in any symptom was reported by those taking the supplement minus the plant extracts, indicating the plant extracts were largely responsible for the observed changes, the researchers said.

Furthermore, the absence of any observed impact for vitamins and minerals on their own suggests that alcohol might not affect electrolyte and mineral balance, as is commonly thought, they said.

The analysis also showed levels of water content in the body werent significantly associated with the amount of alcohol drunk.

Our results suggest that alcohol-induced increased fluid excretion does not necessarily lead to a significant dehydration process, they said.

It seems to be clear that hangover symptoms are predominantly caused by alcohol and its metabolites, they conclude.
By Rosanna Xia | Los Angeles Times

Every day, millions of Americans could be flushing critical coronavirus data down the toilet.

With the nation growing ever more weary of sweeping stay-at-home orders and a worsening economy, some scientists say our poop could be the key to determining when a community might consider easing health restrictions.

From Stanford to the University of Arizona, from Australia to Paris, teams of researchers have been ramping up wastewater analyses to track the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Initial studies show that sewage monitoring, or wastewater-based-epidemiology, could not only tell us how much the virus might actually be spreading in a community  but also when the virus has finally gone away.

Understanding the true scale of COVID-19 has been a major stumbling block across the country, as officials struggle with testing shortages, false negatives, and people who are infected but have no symptoms. Sewage data could potentially help fill these gaps by capturing critical information in the aggregate.

With wastewater, you can very quickly get a snapshot of an entire population, said Mariana Matus, who co-founded Biobot Analytics, a wastewater epidemiology startup inspired by her Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The closest approach to replicating the data from wastewater would be to literally test every single person in a community and then take the average of that. It is very powerful.

The amount of virus detected in the sewage can, in essence, mirror the timing and scale of an outbreak in ways that more delayed (and more expensive) in-person testing cannot, experts say. All this information, when pieced together, is critical to informing and validating public health decisions  such as where to allocate medical supplies and when to reopen schools, restaurants and other public gathering spaces.

And as cities start loosening stay-at-home orders in the coming weeks and months, some say monitoring sewage could also provide early warnings if the virus suddenly makes a comeback.

Americans might find the idea gross, but wastewater early warning systems have helped catch norovirus, Hepatitis A and other diseases around the world for decades.

In Israel in 2013, a polio epidemic was detected in the sewage before any clinics had reported cases. This heads-up gave the government enough time to launch a vaccination campaign and contain the virus. Not a single case of paralysis was ultimately reported.

The monitoring program, set up in 1989 by the Israeli health department, had previously detected at least four other silent episodes of poliovirus before clinical cases were reported. Similarly, in Mumbai, India, researchers were able to detect poliovirus in sewage three months before any cases were observed.

In Australia, sewage monitoring is already in place to better understand patterns of illicit drug use  cocaine, methamphetamine and other substances that would otherwise be difficult to test and track. Researchers are now looking into this approach to monitor for SARS-CoV-2.

Similar work is happening in France, where public utility officials sampled sewage across greater Paris and confirmed a rise and fall in SARS-CoV-2 concentrations that corresponded to the shape of the outbreak. In the Netherlands, a research team was able to detect the virus in one citys sewage before local officials had even reported any cases of COVID-19.

As for the United States, using wastewater data to inform public health remains relatively uncharted. A research team at Stanford University just recently received a rapid grant from the National Science Foundation to analyze wastewater samples in the Bay Area and study whether monitoring for coronavirus in treatment facilities can be used to spot early outbreaks in a community.

Back at Biobot Analytics, which spun out of MIT with the goal of scaling this approach to every city in the country, researchers started out by tracking and tracing the opioid crisis  but recently pivoted to the coronavirus.

During a one-week period in March, Matus and her team carefully identified and quantified virus particles in sewage samples from a wastewater treatment plant in Massachusetts. (Evidence so far suggests that the virus is fairly inactive by the time its in fecal matter, but as an extra precaution, the scientists boiled each sewage sample at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes.)

In a study released this month and awaiting peer review, Matus  along with researchers from MIT, Harvard Universitys T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston  reported their wastewater analysis showed a much higher number of infected people in the region than what individual clinical confirmations had shown.

Compared with the 446 reported cases in the area, the sewage samples revealed that even by conservative estimates, at least 2,300  and as many as 115,000  people could have actually been infected and shedding the virus during that period in March.

There are still some kinks to work out  how much virus does each person actually shed per trip to the toilet, for example, and how do you account for rain and snow and other factors that might impact sample dilution? But so far, Matus said, the study shows that a more routine wastewater monitoring system across the country could help cities and states be more proactive in preventing future outbreaks.

Since this pilot study in Massachusetts, hundreds of wastewater treatment facilities across the country  including more than a dozen in California  have asked Biobot to analyze their sewage. The researchers, doing the weekly (sometimes biweekly) analysis pro bono, hope to work with as many as 10,000 facilities to create a more comprehensive picture of how the virus is spreading or flattening in different parts of the United States.

To preserve the natural anonymity of sewage data, Matus said that her team has only been sampling areas that represent at least several thousand people.

Theyve started sharing their findings with local public health officials and other scientists to fine-tune these methods. Combined with clinical tests and the random antibody tests that cities have increasingly been conducting, routine wastewater analysis could help piece together a puzzle that everyone is still trying to figure out, Matus said.

Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona who has been doing similar research in his lab, said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the potential for this largely untapped  but critical  form of epidemiology in the United States.

Everything ends up in the sewer, he said. Even herpes virus you can detect by molecular methods.

Gerba, who has been studying coronaviruses in wastewater since the SARS outbreak, said that molecular technology today has made sewage testing much faster and relatively inexpensive  compared to traditional cell cultures from decades past that could take weeks to process.

Now with SARS-CoV-2, Gerba noticed that viral concentrations started dropping in sewage samples taken from a community that embraced stay-at-home orders. Analyzing the sewage right now is helping officials and scientists better understand the true level of outbreak and how successfully the virus is being contained, he said. In the coming weeks, perhaps it could help inform when social distancing measures can be relaxed.

Ultimately, any fine-tuning now could help alert cities in the future if the virus returns for round two. Working groups, he said, are starting to form with wastewater researchers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Were having discussions on how to best do this in the future, how to organize it, how do we look at our preserved samples, Gerba said. Everything we learn from this will probably benefit us in the future  maybe in the fall  everyone is worried about the virus coming back in the fall.


A man walks pass the nearly empty street outside Times Square subway station in New York on April 15, 2020. (Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times)

NYC Subway Halting Overnight Service for Virus Cleaning

NEW YORKNew York Citys subway system will shut down each day from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to increase cleaning of trains and stations during the CCP virus crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on April 30, two days after he called conditions in the subway disgusting.

The closures, slated to start next week, will mark a rare instance of subways not running 24/7.

Meanwhile, a Navy hospital ship sent a month ago to relieve stress on city hospitals has left the city, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg is backing a state effort to trace the spread of the disease, and the city said it would hand out free face coverings while increasing enforcement of social-distancing measures.

A Daunting Challenge

Subway trains, which had been disinfected at least once every 72 hours, will be cleaned once every 24 hours starting May 6, Cuomo said. Buses, vans, and other alternative transportation will be provided for essential workers at no charge while the system is closed, he said.

Cuomo said while the increased cleaning is a daunting challenge, its vital to keeping subways safe. The trains and stations have continued to see high density while much of the rest of society practices social distancing. Images posted on social media in recent weeks have shown packed subway cars.

Dozens of transit employees have died of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, and the system has become a haven for homeless people during the crisis. Globally, making public transit safe is seen as a major hurdle in potentially easing lockdowns.

You have to disinfect every place a hand could touch on a subway car. Every rail, every pole, every door, Cuomo said. Or, coughing, sneezing, wherever droplets could land.

Cuomo highlighted a front-page report on April 28 in the New York Daily News chronicling incidents of indecent exposure, filth, people stretching out on seats, and other problems.

He said the situation is disrespectful to essential workers who need the subway to commute and unsafe for homeless people who are congregating in trains without face masks or other protections.

Subway ridership has plunged 92 percent since the start of the pandemic, and the shutdown is planned for the part of the day when its lowest. During the crisis, around 11,000 people usually use the subway during the anticipated closures.

Commuter trains serving Long Island and the citys northern suburbs also will be disinfected every 24 hours, he said. City buses will continue to run around-the-clock but will be rotated out of service for cleaning.

Think about it, the entire public transit system in downstate New York will be disinfected every 24 hours, Cuomo said. Were doing a lot of things here that weve never done before.

The citys subway system has operated continuously, 24 hours per day since October 1904, with scattered interruptions caused by weather, blackouts, and labor disputes.

A strike in 1966 knocked out service for 12 days, the longest stoppage in the systems history, according to the state agency that runs it, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. A 1980 strike closed service for 11 days, while one in 2005 lasted 3 days.

Trains were halted by massive power outages in 1965, 1977 and 2003; by storms, including Superstorm Sandy in 2015 and a blizzard in 2015; and for a few hours in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman said hell push legislation requiring the MTA to resume 24/7 service as soon as the pandemic is over.

The city that never sleeps needs a 24/7 subway system. Its the lifeblood of our citya public utility that keeps New York City moving at all hours of the day and night, the Manhattan Democrat said in a statement.

The homeless have long taken refuge on the citys subways, but the problems that their plight posesfor them and other ridershas become more visible during the pandemic.

Advocates for the homeless say some are taking to trains because they worry about contracting the virus in shelters. Some advocates have called on the city to provide hotel rooms to people living on the streets.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would send more outreach workers to end-of-the-line stations to try to persuade homeless people to go to shelters. Police have increased enforcement, removing more than 100 homeless people from trains on April 27 alone.

Giselle Routhier, the policy director of advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless, said people are sleeping in the subway because the city and state are steadfastly refusing to offer them somewhere better to go.

Punitively closing the subways and sending in more police will only make things worse, Routhier said in a statement. What is actually needed are safe, private spaces where maintaining social distancing is possible.

Navy Ship Sails Off

The 1,000-bed USNS Comfort hospital ship left New York City for its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, on April 30 having treated just 182 CCP virus patients. A surge in cases in the hard-hit city fell short of worst-case projections.

Eleven people being treated on the ship died from the CCP virus and several ship personnel came down with the disease, the Defense Department said.

The situation has changed, but were not done, Gen. Terrence OShaughnessy, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said as he saw the ship off.

Cuomo said last week that he and President Donald Trump agreed the Comfort was no longer needed in New York City.

I believe Comfort not only brought comfort but also saved lives, Cuomo said.

Improving Numbers

The Comforts arrival in March came amid projections showing the state needing to double hospital capacity to 110,000 beds by the end of April.

Hospitalizations peaked far below that, at 18,825 on April 12, falling considerably since. The tally of new hospital admissions fell on April 29 to 933, lowest since March 24.

More than 18,300 people in the state have died from the CCP virus, although the total doesnt include more than 5,300 deaths in the city that were attributed to the virus on death certificates but werent confirmed by a lab test.

On April 29, 306 people died from the disease, the lowest daily total since March 29, when there were 253 fatalities. The state peaked with 799 deaths in one day on April 9.

Former Mayor to Spearhead Tracing Program

New York Citys billionaire former mayor is putting up $10.5 million to help the state track and stem the spread of the CCP virus through whats known as contact tracing.

Michael Bloomberg said on April 30 his Bloomberg Philanthropies charitable foundation will help hire and train thousands of investigators and provide technological assistance, including developing apps to aid their work.

Contact tracing involves tracking down people whove been around someone with the virus so they can get tested and quarantine themselves if they test positive.

When social distancing is relaxed, contact tracing is our best hope for isolating the virus when it appears and keeping it isolated, Bloomberg said.

City to Distribute Free Masks

New York City is assigning more than 1,000 employees to enforce social distancing guidelines and distribute 275,000 face coverings at parks and other public spaces as the CCP virus pandemic stretches toward summer, de Blasio said.

The city is also ramping up CCP virus testing and production of gowns for health care workers. De Blasio said 11 CCP virus testing sites will perform 14,000 tests this week, increasing to 43,000 tests at 30 sites by the week of May 18.

City businesses that werent making any surgical gowns before the pandemic are now producing 125,000 per week, de Blasio said. Millions more are being flown in from Vietnam, providing enough supply to last through mid-May, he said.

By Michael R. Sisak & Jennifer Peltz

The Epoch Times has contributed to this report.
Failure to execute duty cannot be used to justify delayed response: PM
Columbia police has announced it will build a levee to help them comb a river for the body of a missing Chinese woman.

Detectives' search for Mengqi Ji, 28, has been ramped up after cadaver dogs caught scent of human decomposition in the Lamine River near Boonville.

She has been missing since October 10 and her husband Joseph Elledge has been charged with her first-degree murder.

Divers have searched the river before without success but the police are determined to press ahead.

Detectives' search for Mengqi Ji, 28, (right) has been ramped up after cadaver dogs caught scent of human decomposition in the Lamine River near Boonville. She has been missing since October 10 and her husband Joseph Elledge (left) has been charged with her first-degree murder

Mengqi Ji (right) went missing October. Elledge (left) was charged with child endangerment and abuse of a child in November and their one-year-old's (pictured) maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents now share custody

Assistant Chief Police Chief Jeremiah Hunter said: 'We're continuing this search not only for the evidentiary need, but also the moral and ethical obligation we have to her, her family and friends.'

He said the levee will give searchers access to a key part of the river where cadaver dogs detected human decomposition.

Asst. Chief Hunter braced the public for a fruitless search, but said building the levee gives their operation the 'best chance' of success.

The construction will begin next week and will be coordinated by 'local and state partners', including volunteers.

Police claim the levee will allow for the movement of heavy excavation machinery into the deepest parts of the river.

It will cost $50,000 and will be paid for by the city, Boone County and the Missing Person Support Center.

Elledge visited rural areas where he could dispose of a body in the hours after his wife vanished. Authorities have been searching for Ji's body in the Lamine River near Boonville. Two police cadaver dogs alerted to the presence of human decomposition in the river

Elledge has pleaded not guilty to child abuse and domestic assault charges related to the case but has not entered a plea to the murder charge. His trial is scheduled for June.

Elledge did not report his 28-year-old wife missing for more than 36 hours after she was last seen at their Columbia, Missouri, home on the evening of October 8 and prosecutors say in the hours after he visited rural areas where he could have disposed of a body.

Ji's parents said they had been trying to get in touch with Elledge and his mother since October 8 when their daughter stopped responding to them. They usually had daily conversations on the phone.

Elledge says he last saw his wife around 11.30pm on October 8. He had given her a massage with her lying on her stomach and him on her back. A probable cause statement filed Wednesday suggested he may have intentionally strangled or suffocated her.

Authorities have found no blood from the victim in Elledge's home or vehicle but note the methods of killing are 'relatively bloodless, silent'.

In one of four audio tapes played in court of the couple arguing, the University of Missouri student was heard saying he wanted a divorce 'the sooner the better'. At one point, he told her, 'I know you want me to hit you,' and, 'This, it's not abusive'

Elledge claims on October 9 he woke up and found her gone. He spent time playing video games and contacted his mother and a friend without mentioning that she was missing, even though her disappearance was unusual, according to a statement.

He didn't mention he didn't know where she was until one of her friends came to the house the next day at the request of her parents.

At that point, he put his wife's mother on a video call and told her Ji was missing and then began contacting her friends to see if they knew where she was.

None of her family or friends have had contact with Ji since she went missing and there has been no activity on her financial accounts.

During the hours after his wife disappeared, Elledge took two drives with the couple's one-year-old daughter to rural areas and to a popular biking and hiking trail with access to the Lamine River near Boonville.
Apple announced its financial results for Q2 of the fiscal year 2020, and the company said that it experienced record revenue from services. While revenue from iPhones and Apple Watches declined, sales of iPads and Macs improved due to the COVID-19 crisis and people staying at their homes. Later, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed more information during the companys earnings call with investors.

During Apples earnings call for the quarter ending March 2020, Tim Cook revealed that the company is seeing positive demand for the 2020 iPhone SE from customers as well as reviewers. He said that the device offers more value and faster than the fastest Android phones.

Cook said that he expects the new low-cost iPhone to do well in markets with lower median income and that he expects a lot of Android phone users to switch over to the 2020 iPhone SE. When asked if Apple plans to change its pricing structure with the launch of the new iPhone SE, Cook said that Apple always wants to give people the best deal that we can while making the best product.

The Cupertino-based firm also revealed during the Q&A session that it is planning to offer Apple Card-based interest-free financing options to more products similar to what it did with the iPhone last year. Although the company allowed users to defer payments for their Apple Card bills for the past two months, Cook said that Apple doesnt have plans to allow deferred payments right now.

The company announced that it plans to reopen Apple Stores in Australia and Austria 1-2 weeks. A few stores in the US will be opened in May 2020. Even when the company reopens its stores, it will have safeguarding measures such as health screening, social distancing, hand sanitizers, and reduced operating hours.

Regarding the development process of upcoming products, Cook told investors that everyone in the company is working hard. He said that due to work-from-home rules, some employees have seen higher productivity, while others have noticed reduced productivity, depending on the type of role. Its a mixed bag, he said.

When asked about additional health products, the company said that it is looking at other areas. Tim Cook went on to say, As you can tell from what we did this quarter despite the environment, we have our head down and are working because we know our customers want the products that weve got. Theyre even more important in these times.

Demand for iPads and MacBooks has increased since the COVID-19 lockdown, and the company said that it is in the process of delivering significant orders of iPads in the US. According to the company, it is about to deliver tens of thousands to Ontario, 100,000 iPads to Los Angeles, and 50,000 iPads to New York City. Apple has also seen record levels of usage for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro after the 90-day free offer.

Apple appears to have a gross margin of a whopping 65.4 percent in its Services business. The company has 515 million paid subscribers across all services, which is 125 million more compared to last year. Tim Cook expects to double the revenue from the Services business by the end of 2020 when compared to 2016. Third-party subscriptions grew 40 percent year-over-year and are currently at an all-time high.

[Via AppleInsider
Job losses: Protests in support of Debenhams workers outside the Four Courts yesterday

The High Court has confirmed the appointment of joint liquidators to the Irish arm of Debenhams.

Debenhams Retail Ireland had operated 11 stores in the Republic of Ireland, directly employing 950 people.

An additional 500 people had worked at the 26 in-store concession stands operated by other retailers.

Earlier this month the company announced it was closing its Irish stores permanently due to its UK-based parent entering administration and ceasing funding to its Irish subsidiary.

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said yesterday he was satisfied to confirm the appointment of insolvency practitioners Kieran Wallace and Andrew O'Leary of KPMG as joint liquidators.

The judge said that the evidence before the court was that the Irish company had been in financial difficulties "for some time", and before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Debenhams Retail Ireland incurred losses of over 40m in the years 2018 and 2019, and was being "propped up" by its UK parent, he said.

The "last straw" of its UK parent ending financial support left the directors of the Irish subsidiary no alternative other than to seek the appointment of the liquidators and have the firm wound up, he said.

The judge said he hoped that the liquidators would treat Debenhams' workers and the company's creditors "with sensitivity".

There were no objections to the application to confirm the liquidators' appointment.

A small number of people supporting the Debenhams workers held a peaceful protest outside the Four Court complex yesterday morning.

In response to the judge's concerns about the employees James Doherty SC for the liquidators said the workers' concerns were "to the forefront" of their efforts to date and they have entered a 30-day consultation period with them over redundancies.

Counsel said that the liquidators believe that it is unlikely the business will be acquired by another party and unfortunately all the employees will be made redundant.

The Irish firm's creditors include Revenue - which is owed 3.8m - and the landlords of their premises.
The US streaming giant Netflix has bowed to Turkish regulators demands that it take down an episode of its show "Designated Survivor," ostensibly over its portrayal of a fictional Turkish president as a bullying and venal dictator.

Episode 7 of season two, titled Family Ties, will only be yanked in Turkey and continue to be available in the rest of the world. Variety, which broke the story, said that Netflix had complied with censors in different countries nine times before.

The most recent instance was in January 2019, when Saudi Arabia threatened legal action over an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj which mocked Saudi Arabias clumsy attempts to whitewash the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It is unsurprising that Turkeys broadcasting watchdog RTUK pressed the censorship button for "Designated Survivor." The Turkish president character is unmistakably inspired by Turkeys authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In the show, fictional Turkish President Fatih Turan threatens to pull Turkey out of NATO and befriend Russia unless his US counterpart, played by Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland, coughs up $6 billion for renewing leases of Turkish airfields.

That would give the bastard oxygen, Sutherland remarks to his aides.

Turan also demands that Sutherland extradite a Turkish opposition leader accused of seeking to overthrow him, echoing the ongoing battle between Ankara and Washington over the Pennsylvania-based Sunni preacher Fethullah Gulen. Turkey accuses Gulen of masterminding the 2016 coup attempt and is seeking his extradition from the United States. Turkeys demand is spurned in the show, as it has been in real life.

"Anything the Turkish authorities find 'sensitive' or objectionable will be removed from the platform. What is next @netflixturkiye? asked Turkish law professor Yaman Akdeniz on Twitter.

Netflix Turkiye did not respond to Al-Monitors request for comment.

Ceren Sozeri, an associate professor at Galatasaray University who focuses on freedom of the press, reckons that many in Turkey had not heard of the show until the news broke of its censorship. The ban has had the Barbara Streisand effect. Now everybody knows and they can view the episode using VPNs, she told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview. She was referring to the social phenomenon whereby suppressing information can have the unintended effect of amplifying it.

Sozeri argued, however, it was unrealistic to expect Netflix and other media giants not to roll over for governments. These are commercial enterprises and there are billions of dollars of profit involved, she said. This is especially true for Netflix, which has benefitted tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic.

Netflix landed itself in trouble already last month over "Love 101," a Turkish production it's backing based on a high school drama set in the 1990s. Netflix provoked conservative fury and calls for a boycott when it suggested in a tweet that one of the main characters in the show was gay. The tweet has since been deleted. But the debate took a further homophobic turn when Turkeys Religious Affairs director declared in a Friday sermon marking the start of the Ramadan that Islam curses homosexuality.

Censorship is the norm in Turkey, which over recent years has topped the list of the worlds biggest jailers of journalists. Insulting the president is a criminal offense for which hundreds have been prosecuted and jailed. According to the Justice Ministry, between 1986 and 2018 around 91% of all such cases were filed after Erdogan became president in 2014. The largest number of convictions occurred under Erdogan with 5,683 individuals found guilty as charged.

Ankara routinely tells social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to remove content for being offensive or harmful to its national security.

In August 2019, Turkey gave RTUK sweeping oversight over all online content including video streaming platforms and online news outlets. The regulation mandates that all online content providers obtain broadcasting licenses and allows RTUK to supervise their content. Content providers that fail to comply with RTUKs guidelines could have their licenses suspended or canceled.

Last month the government submitted a draft law requiring all platforms accessed by over one million users daily to appoint a legal representative in Turkey, allowing courts to serve them with orders to remove content or block access to accounts. Any platform that refuses would see its bandwidth reduced by 50% and then 95%, effectively paralyzing it in Turkey. The bill prompted an outcry. Comply or die is the message, said Human Rights Watch in an alert.

The amendment was shelved.
FAIRFAX, Va., May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (PLYA) (the Company) today announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with a third party to sell the Jewel Dunns River Beach Resort & Spa and the Jewel Runaway Bay Beach Resort & Waterpark for a total consideration of $60 million in cash.



We are extremely proud of the team and the performance of these two spectacular resorts and the ability to execute this sale during such unprecedented times is a testament to their hard work and the attractiveness of the Jamaican market, said Bruce Wardinski, Chairman and CEO of Playa Hotels & Resorts. The sale of these two resorts will enhance our liquidity at a superb cost of capital for our shareholders. The Company will continue to maintain a significant presence in Jamaica and we remain committed to being a leader in the Jamaican community as we move beyond this pandemic.

The sale of the two resorts is subject to customary closing conditions, and the Company offers no assurances that this sale will be completed. The Company expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2020 and will provide an update on its liquidity position on its upcoming Q1 2020 earnings conference call.

About Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V.

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (Playa) is a leading owner, operator and developer of all-inclusive resorts in prime beachfront locations in popular vacation destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. Playa owns and/or manages a total portfolio consisting of 23 resorts (8,690 rooms) located in Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. In Mexico, Playa owns and manages Hyatt Zilara Cancun, Hyatt Ziva Cancun, Panama Jack Resorts Cancun, Panama Jack Resorts Playa del Carmen, Hilton Playa del Carmen, Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos. In Jamaica, Playa owns and manages Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall and Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Jewel Dunns River Beach Resort & Spa, Jewel Grande Montego Bay, Jewel Runaway Bay Beach Resort & Waterpark and Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort & Spa. In the Dominican Republic, Playa owns and manages the Hilton La Romana, Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana. Playa also owns four resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic that are managed by a third party and Playa manages the Sanctuary Cap Cana, in the Dominican Republic.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect Playas current expectations and projections about future events at the time, and thus involve uncertainty and risk. The words believe, expect, anticipate, will, could, would, should, may, plan, estimate, intend, predict, potential, continue, and the negatives of these words and other similar expressions generally identify forward looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. including the risks described under the section entitled Risk Factors in Playas Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 27, 2020 and Form 8-K filed April 2, 2020, as such factors may be updated from time to time in Playas periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SECs website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in Playas filings with the SEC. Currently, one of the most significant factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from our forward-looking statements is the adverse effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the financial condition, operating results and cash flows of Playa, the airlines that service the locations where Playa owns resorts, the short and longer-term demand for travel, the global economy and the local economies where Playa owns its resorts, and the financial markets. While forward-looking statements reflect Playas good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. Playa disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, data or methods, future events or other changes after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based only on information currently available to Playa (or to third parties making the forward-looking statements).

Contact:

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V.

Pedram Saif, VP, IR & Strategy

571-529-6014

psaif@playaresorts.com
JUNEAU, Alaska - Organizers of the Southeast Alaska State Fair said Friday that the summer event in Haines has been cancelled this year due to COVID-19.

In a statement, fair officials said it was a difficult decision but the right one to make.

For us and many across Southeast Alaska and the Yukon, the Fair is something to look forward to at the end of the summer, a moment of congregation and fun separate from the rest of the year, the statement reads. 2020 has instead united us with the common goal of preserving the health and safety of loved ones and strangers alike.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Public Safety said it will not hold a ceremony next week to honour law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty, citing the coronavirus. The ceremony previously has taken place during a memorial week.

The department said a remembrance, however, would be recorded and shared.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a release, encouraged Alaskans to visit local memorials, while practicing social distancing.
As protesters gathered shoulder-to-shoulder inside and outside the Michigan Capitol on Thursday, the Republican-majority legislature opted not to extend the states COVID-19 state of emergency.

That means legislative approval for the governors authority to issue executive orders and marshal resources to respond to the global pandemic expired at 11:59 p.m. April 30. But before that, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared the state of emergency wasnt over, issuing a trio of new executive orders that would extend the state of emergency through May 28.

Whitmer also moved to extend an order banning in-person dining at restaurants and bars and the opening of theaters, gyms, salons, casinos and other businesses through May 28.

So where does that put the state of Michigan, where 41,379 people have had confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 3,789 have died?

The court system will likely have the final say.

Both the House and Senate gave its leadership the go-ahead to sue Whitmer if she continues issuing emergency executive orders after April 30.

If she does not recognize the end of the emergency declaration, we have no other choice but to act for our constituents, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, said in a Senate floor speech Thursday evening.

Republicans in both legislative chambers argued Whitmer has gone too far with her emergency authority. Some alluded to Whitmers office releasing an email exchange outlining Shirkeys initial proposal for two one-week emergencies in exchange for requiring the legislature approve any future stay-at-home orders, calling her interactions with the legislature during the COVID-19 outbreak improper.

But legislative Democrats sided with Whitmer, who said the governor needs flexibility to respond to the outbreak as the death toll continues to rise.

Now is not the time to limit the tools available to our state, said state Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, a coronavirus survivor.

In a statement, Whitmer said the crisis isnt over, regardless of what lawmakers believe.

By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk, she said. "Im not going to let that happen.

Whitmers office also indicated she would not sign Senate Bill 858, legislation passed along partisan lines in both chambers that laid out extension dates for certain executive orders issued by the governor.

Notably, one of the provisions in the bill would allow restaurants, bars, gyms and other public-facing businesses to open May 15, albeit with some social distancing restrictions.

The bill does not comply with constitutional requirements and the governor wont sign bills that constrain her ability to protect Michigan residents from COVID-19, Whitmers office said in a statement.

Throughout the daylong legislative session, several hundred protesters took to the Capitol lawn and the building itself in an ultimately successful effort to convince the legislative majority not to side with Whitmer.

Protesters from all over the state began gathering around 8 a.m. By 10:30, Michigan State Police estimated that between 600 and 700 people were outside the Capitol. Few wore masks. Some carried firearms, others carried flags or signs.

Shortly after speakers wrapped up addressing the crowd from the Capitol steps, protesters piled into the Capitol building, causing a backup in the lobby. A line formed outside the doors as people crowded next to each other, disregarding CDC recommendations that people stand six feet apart.

Protesters were allowed in the Senate gallery, but not the House gallery, where some lawmakers were seated to help maintain social distancing on the floor. The decision to close the House gallery to the public resulted in a confrontation between staff and three protesters a day earlier.

On Thursday, a crowd gathered around the entrance to the House floor  an area thats always off-limits to the general public  and chanted, Let us in.

To abide with executive orders, only 275 people are allowed inside the Capitol building at a time, Michigan State Police Lt. Brian Oleksyk said. Once that numbers was hit, officers enforced the rule and would not allow anyone in until more people left the building.

One arrest had been made as of 2 p.m. after one protester assaulted another, Oleksyk said.

More:

Many Pennsylvania counties can look forward to starting to reopen come May 8. How close are you?

Millions of coronavirus vaccines available by January? Dr. Anthony Fauci says it could happen

Wall Streets best month in 33 years closes with whimper
Some of the country's well-known publicans are telling the Government they don't want to charge extra for pints or introduce cover charges - but they need urgent State help.

Charlie Chawke, who owns nine bars and employs 400 staff, said his premises, including Searsons in Ballsbridge, Dublin, were "well capable" of operating social distancing measures.

"But the Government has to set out the requirements and open the pubs up," Mr Chawke added.

"People are getting very worried. The pubs across Ireland have no revenue.

"A lot of them are in trouble. They want to get back to work and get staff working again, otherwise if it goes on too long people will not open anymore," he told the Irish Independent.

"We need help from the Government. We have to get back to work and put in the restrictions and need the Government to set that out."

Mr Chawke said he wouldn't consider charging the customer extra on a pint or entry to any of his bars as a way to claw back lost revenue.

"I wouldn't even discuss that," he said. "It's not on the agenda."

His pubs serve food and thus he expects when the restaurants are reopened, his bars will be too.

"And we'll abide by the Government restrictions. Everyone will have to take this very seriously," he said.

"All of my pubs are big and they can handle the social distancing well and that's what we intend to do.

"People need this social outlet, the pub is a way of life for people. We want to get back to work, we will put safety as our priority and our customers' happiness and safety will be number one."

He said they needed Health Minister Simon Harris to set out the conditions and to allow pubs to comply with them.

"People will have to stay the required two metres away, we understand," he said. "But let's sort this out, get on with it, let the restaurants and pubs associations sit down and sort this with Minister Harris.

"Get pubs back open for people to have somewhere to go.

"Please God, let us have better days soon."

Tom Cleary has run the famous Temple Bar in Dublin since 1993. For him, charging the customer for lost revenue is also a no-go area.

"We haven't considered charging extra," he said.

"Our priority is to make sure the customer is happy they're coming to us.

"This is consumer-led. In Temple Bar today, if you opened up there would be no customers, so you have to make it attractive for people to return to the pub.

"But we want to know as soon as possible, when the virus is under control, when the hospitals are running smoothly and when the health workers are looked after - just what plan is going to take place for the industry.

"There have to be strict hygiene measures, staff tested for the virus, customers might have to wear masks and keep to their own small groups.

"It's difficult to operate social distancing in pubs, as when drink is had people are more relaxed, but if we are allowed to open up we would get a system everyone is happy to work with and ensure social distancing is adhered to."

It comes as six in 10 Dublin pubs said they would be forced to permanently shut down if restrictions did not allow them to reopen until 2021.

A survey by the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) found that 60pc of the capital's pub owners said their businesses would not reopen if it must remain closed until next year.

In the survey, 76pc of respondents also said they would not support a scenario where restaurants were allowed to reopen but not bars.
Year of Vindication, Part 3: Svetlana Lokhova

Commentary

Before the year 2020 is over, I believe six people targeted and smeared as traitors by the Russiagate hoax will have been completely vindicated.

The first column in this continuing series focused on President Donald Trump, how he insisted that Russiagate was a hoax and how much evidence has been brought to light that has proven him right.

In the second column, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynns long-running case was discussed, and how he was targeted by dirty cops inside the DOJ/FBI.

This third installment covers Svetlana Lokhova, who was an Intelligence Historian at Cambridge University specializing in Soviet-era espionage.

That is, she was until some anonymous person began feeding stories to the media about how a Russian agent at Cambridge overtly attempted to compromise General Flynn back in 2014, when he was still the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). As a direct result of these false stories circulating in the media, Lokhova lost her position at Cambridge as well as a book contract.

Lokhova strongly suspects the anonymous source for these accusations was former Cambridge professor and FBI informant Stefan Halper, something he has denied.

According to Lokhova, the goal was to place Trumps former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn under suspicion of being a Russian agent through a series of targeted leaks to the news media.

It is because of these leaks that this innocent academic at Cambridge ended up losing her job and was dragged into the middle of the biggest political scandal in history.

Ms. Lokhova has a forthcoming book about Halper, The Spider: Stefan A. Halper and the Dark Web of a Coup, that is due to be released in August.

In February 2014, when Flynn was still DIA director, he was invited to attend the annual Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, which included a private dinner. Also attending the dinner were Sir Richard Dearlove and Christopher Andrew, former top MI6 officials, and the UKs DIA liaison Dan OBrien. In other words, this room was filled with longtime intelligence professionals. Keep that in mind as you hear the story unfold.

The anonymous source told reporters that all these guests at the dinner were looking with growing concern as Lokhova began to try to compromise the DIA director (which I guess means she was avidly trying to seduce him in a very crowded room).

It is then claimed that Flynn and Lokhovawho had just met for the first timeleft the dinner together, much to the consternation of the other guests.

So concerned were these onlookers about Lokhovas blatant attempts to compromise the DIA director that no one told this ludicrous tale to the media until three years later, in March of 2017, after the election and after Flynn had already resigned as Trumps National Security Adviser.

Now, if this story told by this anonymous source strikes you as being completely absurd, you are not alone.

Breaking Down the Fiction

The first iteration of this Flynn-Lokhova narrative appeared in The Wall Street Journal on March 17, 2017, headlined Mike Flynn Didnt Report 2014 Interaction With Russian-British National.

The very first paragraph of this story contains a glaring falsehood:

Former national security adviser Mike Flynn interacted with a graduate student with dual Russian and British nationalities at a 2014 UK security conference, a contact that came to the notice of U.S. intelligence but that Mr. Flynn, then the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, didnt disclose, according to people familiar with the matter.

As I have previously mentioned, the DIAs UK liaison, Dan OBrien, was present and would have observed Flynns interactions with Lokhova.

The article claims that Flynn and Lokhova sat next to each other. According to Lokhova, this is not true, as they sat on opposite sides of the table.

The story also claims that Flynn and Lokhova left the Cambridge dinner together. In fact, Flynn left the dinner in the company of OBrien, and Lokhova left with her partner.

Halper, the alleged source for the claims, was himself not even present for this 2014 dinner. So if he turns out to have been the source for this WSJ article and similar stories, outlets who published these allegations will have some explaining to do.

The sad truth is, this fake story about Flynn and Lokhova worked. Concurrent with other fake stories being circulated in the media at the time, a strong narrative was launched and sustained that it had been proven that Flynn was a Russian agent.

Presently, U.S. Attorney John Durham is investigating the origins of the Spygate scandal. From what I have learned of Ms. Lokhova through my research and interactions with her, if evidence does eventually surface to establish that Stefan Halper was behind these fake stories about her, he is going to truly regret picking her to play the Russian Mata Hari.

If he doesnt already.

Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion  But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Twitter @drawandstrike.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Joe Biden is most comfortable running as an aw-shucks populist. But he has considerable expertise on health and economic issues that will serve him well today. (Steve Helber / Associated Press)

There are many ways to analyze American political divisions, but one that may be especially germane to this period and to the coming presidential election is the persistent tension between the electorates longing for expertise and the appeal of authenticity. Recognizing that tension, modern presidential candidates tend to gravitate toward one camp or the other. Call them the experts vs. the authentics.

Hilary Clinton was an expert. I was editor of the L.A. Times editorial pages in 2008 when Clinton visited with the board to solicit its endorsement in that year's Democratic primary. Never have I seen a candidate more fluent in more subjects than Clinton was that day. And yet, on the campaign trail, she often appeared stiff and relentlessly on message. Supporters would often lament that they rarely saw the Clinton they knew privately during the campaign.

Donald Trump, of course, is an authentic. He muffs easy questions so often and is so often wrong on facts that its ludicrous to think of him as an expert. Still, he projects a sort of feral frankness that dismays anyone in search of the actual truth, but also has an appeal  or at least did to the 46% of Americans who voted for him in 2016.

Its tempting to think of this divide as one that mirrors party lines, but thats not the case. Mitt Romney is an expert, conversant in facts, principled and yet stiff and removed. Bernie Sanders is an authentic, true to his vision of America, whether it lands him on the side of Fidel Castro or in pursuit of healthcare reform that could bring lasting relief to millions of Americans. One may agree or disagree with Sanders policy prescriptions, but no one thinks of him as poll-driven or insincere.

Nor are these categories new. Harry Truman was an authentic. Dwight Eisenhower was an expert. Bill Clinton was an expert, with feints of homespun authenticity; George H.W. Bush was an expert; George W. Bush was an authentic, though he recruited experts to his administration. In California, Gavin Newsom is an expert  smart, disciplined and polished, sometimes to a fault.

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Every once in a while, a politician comes along who combines elements of expertise and authenticity. Californias last governor, Jerry Brown, for example, was a shrewd calculator of political opportunity, but also a freelancer who spoke without notes and enjoyed defying convention. He served four terms and would still be in office were in not for term limits.

Similarly, Barack Obama was a hybrid. He could seem to some, in the words of his admiring former CIA chief and Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, as relying on the logic of a law professor rather than the passion of a leader. His critics saw him as aloof and superior. But Obama could muster an earthiness and sense of humor that gave him authenticity credentials as well. It is no wonder that he left office as a popular president and that esteem for him has only grown since.

And now we face a moment  an election amid a crisis that will make some qualities more attractive and others less so. Seen through this prism, the coming campaign will pit a full-blown authentic, Trump, against the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, accustomed to running as an authentic but this time perhaps better advised to present himself as an expert.

Biden has run previously as a sort of aw-shucks populist who appeals to working people with his blue-collar, Delaware roots. That approach has made him popular but, until this race, never secured him so much as a single presidential primary victory, much less the nomination. But eight years with Obama have bolstered his expert credentials, and it is those that may prove most useful now. His early ads tout his expertise on health and economic issues, implicitly in contrast with Trump. Thats the right approach.

During a crisis of this magnitude, expertise is essential, and authenticity seems superfluous. It was one thing to take a flier on Donald Trump in 2016, when the economy was strong, American prestige solid and the prospects for the future bright. None of that is true today.

A reliance on science is needed to combat the coronavirus, and clumsy attempts at authenticity seem bizarre at best and dangerous at worst. Few people want a president who recommends experimenting with injecting disinfectants.

If modern American politics is a continuing test of authenticity vs. expertise, the coming election seems likely to favor expertise. Biden is well positioned to make the most of that.

Jim Newton, former editor of The Times' editorial pages and now editor of UCLAs Blueprint magazine, is the author of Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown, to be released on May 12.
North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un has been missing from the limelight for weeks now fuelling speculations of him being severely ill or even dead. Recently, a North Korean defector has thrown weight behind these rumours by stating that he is sure that the North Korean leader is dead. Ji Seong-ho, who defected from North Korea to the South in 2009, has told media that he had been informed that Kim Jong Un died last week after cardiovascular surgery.

Seong-Ho who was elected to the South Korean parliament earlier this year told the state's news agency that he wondered how long could Kim endured cardiovascular surgery. He added that he is not 100 per cent certain but the possibility is 99 per cent. Seong-Ho also claimed that North Korea is believed to be grappling with a complicated succession issue.

READ | Kim Jong Un's Sudden Disappearance Brings Spotlight To North Korea

The North Korean leadership has never publicly disclosed any succession plans. However, Kim's sister is believed to be the successor owing to her visible presence around the dictator. She was named an alternate member of the ruling Workers Partys powerful Central Committee Politburo last month.

READ | UN Chief Says 'we Have No Information' About Kim Jong Un's Health And Whereabouts

Last public appearance on April 11

The North Korean supreme has not made a public appearance since April 11 and was even absent at the Day of the Ceremony honouring his grandfather Kim II-Sung. However, South Korea's minister in charge of North Korean affairs believes that the Coronavirus outbreak might have kept Kim from making a public appearance. Global leadership including Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and American President Donald Trump have also been following the situation closely. While Trump stated that he 'understood' what's going on with the Korean leader, Shinzo Abe stated that he has been following the situation closely.

READ | Kim Jong Un's Uncle Gains Relevance Amid Speculations About North Korean Leader's Health

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on April 30 that they have no information regarding the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. During a virtual press briefing, Guterres was asked whether any UN official had been in touch with any North Korean official on the medical condition and whereabouts of Norths Supreme Leader. "We have no information about the situation of Kim Jong Un, said Guterres. The last reported presence of Kim was during a Politburo meeting on April 11.

READ | Trump Won't Say Kim Jong-un's Okay; Waffles On North Korean Supreme Leader's Health Again
Albany, N.Y.  While its true that the number of new people entering hospitals in New York due to coronavirus has dropped sharply, the total still isnt low enough, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today.

Its a lot better than where we were, for sure, Cuomo said during a press briefing in Albany. Its still a burden on the hospital system.

The running three-day average of new hospitalizations due to the virus was 954 on Thursday. The average has been relatively flat for the last five days.

At its peak in early April, the three-day average reached over 3,000 several times and spent more than two weeks straight over 2,000.

Cuomo said he wants to lower the number further. To get there, the Health Department will begin seeking more information on new cases from hospitals.

The data will help the state better target its efforts to control the virus. The additional information sought from hospitals on new cases will include:

Addresses of patients

Whether they are essential workers

Where they work and live

How they commute

Whether theyre from a nursing home

Demographic information including sex, age and health status

"We need more specific information to have a specific battle plan," Cuomo said.

He said he plans to speak with hospitals today about gathering the new statistics.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America reported total April sales of 33,968 units, a 39% decrease compared with April 2019. Retail sales declined 28%, while fleet sales were down 74% and represented 10% of total volume. Monthly sales results were better than early industry predictions that forecasted an 80% decline in April.

Hyundai sold 30,468 retail units in April, up 6% compared with March 2020. Hyundai's SUVs represented 67% of the total retail mix. Tucson was the strongest performing Hyundai model with retail sales increasing 7% year-over-year.

Tucson achieved a significant milestone in April, exceeding 1 million total sales in the U.S. First introduced in 2004, Tucson has gone on to be one of Hyundai's most popular vehicles and was the second highest selling model in 2019. Now in its third generation, Tucson continues to attract buyers with its refreshed designed and extensive comfort, safety and technology features.

April Sales Summary



Apr-20 Apr-19 2020 YTD 2019 YTD Hyundai 33,968 55,420 164,843 203,005

"The COVID-19 global pandemic significantly disrupted the U.S. auto industry in April, but Hyundai sales showed some resiliency thanks to the ingenuity of our dealers and being first to market with robust customer assistance programs," said Randy Parker, vice president, National Sales, Hyundai Motor America. "Sales varied significantly across regions. We focused on supporting sales in areas that transitioned from showroom retail to digital and contactless retail sales and service. We look forward to supporting our dealers and customers as cities, counties and states slowly re-open and we begin returning to work after this tragic pandemic."

Hyundai Assurance Job Loss Protection Extension

Hyundai is providing peace of mind by extending the Assurance Job Loss Protection program through May 17. The industry-first program covers up to six months of payments for Hyundai owners who purchased or leased a Hyundai vehicle between March 14 and May 17, 2020 if they lose their job due to COVID-19 this year. The program is executed in partnership with Insurian and for more details visit HyundaiUSA.com. Hyundai customers can also depend on other Assurance programs, including Hyundai Complimentary Maintenance and America's Best Warranty.

Hyundai's Retail Operations and Safety Practices

Hyundai dealers across the country enhanced their safety measures and adapted their businesses to comply with social distancing guidelines by leveraging Shopper Assurance and Hyundai's Click to Buy capability.

Hyundai dealers have implemented thorough cleaning and disinfection practices for all facilities and vehicles going to customers, while increasing digital communication between the customer and dealer staff. More than 95% of all Hyundai dealers offer digital retailing and most will deliver new vehicles to customers' homes. For service or repair, almost all of Hyundai dealers will pick up and drop off the customers' vehicles.

Hyundai also salutes its dealers who have helped their hometowns and communities by providing complimentary maintenance for first responders, loaning service vehicles, and delivering critical supplies.

April Product and Corporate Activities

Model Sales

Vehicle Apr-20 Apr-19 2020 YTD 2019 YTD Accent 736 2,834 5,543 9,615 Elantra 7,536 16,586 33,281 52,698 Ioniq 422 1,211 3,944 4,521 Kona 3,114 5,154 18,288 23,551 Nexo 3 19 54 79 Palisade 3,331 0 20,420 0 Santa Fe 5,602 10,746 25,504 39,429 Sonata 3,428 8,634 19,030 30,154 Tucson 8,438 8,682 32,173 37,513 Veloster 541 1,554 2,623 5,445 Venue 817 0 3,983 0

Hyundai Motor America

At Hyundai Motor America, we believe everyone deserves better. From the way we design and build our cars to the way we treat the people who drive them, making things better is at the heart of everything we do. Hyundai's technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assuranceour promise to create a better experience for customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide and nearly half of those sold in the U.S. are built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.

Please visit our media website at www.HyundaiNews.com

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SOURCE Hyundai Motor America

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New Delhi, May 1 : The CRPF has been at the forefront in helping out people from the national capital to Maoist-hit Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh in fight against Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday.

Lauding the efforts of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Ministry said the largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPFs) with over three lakh personnel helped the people across the country through its national helpline "CRPF Madadgaar", a round the clock helplinefor those in distress.

"Mail your queries and requests to crpfmadadgaar@gmail.com, madadgaar@crpf.gov.in, ring 14411 or SMS 7082814411," the helpline says.

The Ministry mentioned how one battalion of the CRPF ensured supply of one lakh kg rice in Raipur.

It also mentioned that other CAPFs -- including CISF, BSF, ITBP, SSB and NSG -- have been frontline warriors in the fight against the pandemic.

"They have assisted local administration in several areas, run quarantine centres, ensured supply of essentials and created awareness on Covid-19 in people," said the Ministry.

"A total of 32 hospitals run by CAPFs are treating 1,900 patients." The Ministry said that the Director General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has done commendable service and helped many Nepali citizens struck at the India-Nepal border.

"Personnel of SSB on leave have assisted local administration in their respective areas." The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been instrumental in screening and early detection of Covid-19 cases at airports, along with the Airport Health Organisation, it said.

"A total of 103 units of CISF's fire wing are helping out local administration with sanitisation of areas." "On eastern borders, over 300 villages have received basic items and medical checkups from Border Security Force (BSF).

"It (BSF) has helped harvesting farmers along the 573 km long international border with Pakistan, ensured cattle feed in Meghalaya and increased patrolling to stop cross-border COVID-19 cases." The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials established and operated India's first quarantine facility and adopted several orphanages and old age homes. "It (ITBP) has also helped with the procurement of produce in the remote areas of north-east." By creating a Hubless Satellite Terminal, the 'Black Cat' commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) have strengthened the communication backbone in the times of this crisis, the MHA said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has generated Covid-19 awareness in over 61,000 people and has also trained over 8,000 Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) volunteers to assist the force with operations, it said.

The Ministry also mentioned that its control rooms are continuously monitoring the availability and supply of essential goods. Over 62 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice have been procured from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) by states and Railways has supplied over 13 lakh wagons of essential commodities through 26,900 rakes, it said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Given that it is unclear precisely how many children Boris Johnson has had  it is, after all, something that is difficult to keep track of  one wag suggested his new baby be called "Enth". As the British Prime Minister returned to No.10, again a father, and newly recovered from the coronavirus that has killed almost 27,000 of his country-fellows, bottles of Dom Perignon were delivered to his doorstep.

Would we be so quick to toast a female leader doing the same in the thick of a global emergency? While Johnsons struggles with fidelity arent inspiring, I do, on one level, applaud the mans sheer pluck and energy. Onwards, to the next woman, the next child, the next whatever, like a mop in perpetual motion, although perhaps more likely to create than clean up mess.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving back at Downing Street from hospital after the birth of his baby son. Credit:AP

Id hazard a guess that the majority of us wouldnt care how many offspring someone has if they could control a global pandemic and prevent too deep a recession. One who could ensure the economy can roar back into life without leading to a corresponding surge in carbon emissions.

But the double standard is blinding isnt it? Can you even imagine a woman leader, Beverley Johnson, lurching from one relationship to marriage to affair to another, popping out children along the way and not being savagely slut-shamed? (Or, as the US President has, weathering multiple rape and sexual assault allegations? Just shrugging them off, impervious and indignant that someone might even ask the question?)
Georgia will be one of the first to open tourist corridors, Economy minister vows - GeorgianJournal
Every major American art museum is sitting on assets that, from the outside, look enviable. They're called works of art. If they're by Vincent van Gogh or Frida Kahlo or Jackson Pollock, they may be worth tens, or even hundreds, of millions of dollars.

Even if they're by less famous artists and consigned to storage - along with perhaps 90 percent of any given museum's collection - they can still be valued at eye-watering amounts. Set beside, say, a scary budget deficit or the prospect of having to lay off employees, this knowledge can take on an almost voluptuous glow.

To counter the constant temptation to regard art works as a way to get quick cash, the museum world heavily polices the sale of works from permanent collections - otherwise known as deaccessioning. The powerful Association of Art Museum Directors, made up of directors of museums in the United States, Mexico and Canada, has long frowned on any museum that sells off art for purposes other than acquiring new art.

AAMD's frowns have an effect. Museums that dare to ignore its guidelines - as the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, did in 2018, ultimately selling more than 20 works from its collection to raise money for a renovation - are censured, sanctioned and publicly shamed. For a renegade - or perhaps simply desperate - museum director, a decision to sell works from the collection, even if it's to raise money deemed necessary for survival, might mean career death.

However, in an unprecedented move, and as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, the AAMD has recently relaxed its guidelines. It's too soon to gauge the effect, but it is already big news in the art world. Once unthinkable, the notion of selling off a Claude Monet or two to plug a budgetary hole - or to fend off a total financial meltdown - is suddenly something to contemplate.

The only problem, of course, is that once you've sold a Monet, or a Norman Rockwell, or an Albert Bierstadt, it's very hard to get it back.

"There are many members of the association who think that this is way too much, and others who think it's way too little," Brent Benjamin, the AAMD president and the director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, told the Art Newspaper.

No one doubts that they're a sign of how bad the picture is looking for museums now.

Since mid-March, when museums began closing because of the coronavirus outbreak, income from admissions and retail has evaporated. Turmoil in financial markets has caused endowments to plummet. Fundraising has been severely constrained. And for many museums, it has quickly become a question of figuring out how to survive.

The revised guidelines touch on two areas. First, they state that any museum that "decides to use restricted endowment funds, trusts, or donations for general operating expenses" will not be censured or sanctioned. The idea here is to allow museums the financial flexibility they need in an uncertain economic environment.

The more striking announcement concerns deaccessioning. According to AAMD, museums may now "use the proceeds from deaccessioned works of art ... to support the direct care" of their collection.

The language here is careful. But there's no doubt: This represents a major departure, and a recognition that many art museums are in financial free fall.

AAMD says it recognizes "the extensive negative effects of the current crisis on the operations and balance sheets of many art museums." It acknowledges, too, the impossibility of knowing when revenue streams might return to normal.

The new guidelines are temporary, and are "not intended to incentivize ... the sale of art." But their effect may do just that.

Conscious of the significance of its about-face, AAMD has tried to look as though it is still walking calmly in the same direction. The organization's "long-standing principle" - that money raised from the sale of art from a permanent collection may not be used for general operating expenses - remains in place, according to the announcement in mid-April. Museums that choose to deaccession must maintain records of how money was raised and how it was used. They must have in place "a board-approved policy outlining what expenses it considers direct care, and the policy must be publicly accessible."

All this caution and qualification make sense. But in reality, almost any museum expense - from the salaries of curators, conservators and other staff members to costs associated with building maintenance and utilities - could conceivably fit the description of "direct care of the museum's collection."

And let's be honest: It's very theoretical. At a practical level - especially during a crisis - money inside big institutions such as art museums is fairly fungible. If a work of art is sold, the money raised is difficult to silo.

In normal times, and despite the strict guidelines, deaccessioning goes on all the time. The results can be transformative, restorative or alarming - sometimes all three at once. In 2011, for instance, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston sold eight works from its permanent collection to raise the money it needed to buy a single painting, "Man at His Bath," by Gustave Caillebotte. The paintings it auctioned off included canvases by Monet, Paul Gauguin, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

At the time, it seemed an extraordinary exchange. But after taking into account that the MFA has one of the world's greatest Impressionist collections; that most of the works it chose to sell tended to languish in storage; and that paintings by Caillebotte - an artist regarded as increasingly important - rarely come on the market, the decision began to look rational (if still controversial).

More recently, the Baltimore Museum of Art selected work by white men whose art they own in abundance - such as Andy Warhol and Franz Kline - to raise money for the acquisition of new work by underrepresented groups, especially women and African Americans, including Amy Sherald, Charles Gaines, Faith Ringgold and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Here, too, the thinking was sound, and only mildly controversial. "I don't think it's reasonable or appropriate for a museum like the BMA to speak to a city that is 64 percent black unless we reflect our constituents," Chris Bedford, the museum's director, told Artnet in 2018.

And yet the practicalities of deaccessioning are rarely straightforward.

To begin with, there is a tension inherent in any decision by a museum to raise money by selling art. To justify selling the works, museums must play down their importance. But to get top dollar at auction, they must talk up their value.

This awkwardness can be managed. But the assumption that there are endless riches in a museum's storage rooms just waiting to be tapped is unrealistic.

In 2018, Michael O'Hare, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, argued in the San Francisco Chronicle that the Art Institute of Chicago could offer free admission in perpetuity by selling 1 percent (by value) of its collection and putting the resulting money in an endowment. The interest on the endowment alone, O'Hare said, would cover the cost.

His argument rested on dubious premises. Attempts to assign credible value to the works in a museum's permanent collection are notoriously fraught. The vast majority of the financial value of a museum's collection often resides in a very limited number of works, almost all of them on permanent display. So if a museum wants to avoid selling its most precious works, selling off 1 percent by value probably would mean selling vast amounts of art.

Logistically, that would be challenging, as Martin Gammon, the founder of Pergamon Art Group, pointed out in a 2018 response to O'Hare in the Art Newspaper. The museum probably would face lawsuits from donors who gave works with conditions attached. The market, too, may not cooperate with such a scheme.

Museums, after all, guarantee scarcity, because when they own works, it's understood that they won't come back on the market. This is a crucial factor in keeping prices high. Once undone, such a reliable assumption could trigger a market collapse. The bad publicity generated by a prestigious museum's desperate-looking fire sale also would be likely to affect prices.

Then there are the administrative costs. Deaccessioning involves time-consuming research. Museums that want to sell works have an obligation to look into restrictions and secure necessary approval from donors and their heirs. There also are costs involved in selling at auction.

So the potential gains from any kind of large-scale deaccessioning are almost invariably less than simple market valuations may suggest.

What museums need now is a combination of direct help and the flexibility to act in their own best interests. The new guidelines are an effort to provide the latter. But I believe the old principles remain sound. Even in these unprecedented circumstances, museum directors should not panic or be drawn into overly short-term thinking.

The choices they face aren't simple. In some cases, they may have to act to ensure their very survival (if they fail at that existential level, their entire collections may hit the market). But they have been entrusted with the care of things that are, collectively as well as individually, of profound and lasting importance. It is their job to safeguard these collections for the future, not to sift them with a view to finding parts of them wanting, expendable and convertible to cash.
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading on Friday:

Tesla  Shares of Tesla dropped more than 11% after CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company's shares are priced "too high." After Musk's famous tweet in August 2018 saying he wanted to take Tesla private at $420 per share, he has agreed to submit his public statements about Tesla's finances and other topics to vetting by its legal counsel. It's unclear if Musk had that approval for his tweets Friday.

Amazon  Shares of the e-commerce giant sunk more than 7% on Friday after CEO Jeff Bezos said Amazon will spend all of its second-quarter profit on coronavirus response. The company did beat Wall Street estimates for revenue for its first quarter but missed on profits.

United, American and Delta airlines  Airline stocks fell on Friday as investors digested the first wave of earnings reports since the coronavirus pandemic hit global travel. Evercore ISI cut its price target on American Airlines to $1 per share from $10 share, citing concern about the level of debt the company will need to survive the crisis. Shares of Delta Airlines dropped 7.8%, while shares of United and American fell double-digits.

Clorox  Clorox shares gained 4.5% after the company reported a 15% sales jump for the previous quarter. The company's cleaning segment, which includes bleach and Pine-Sol, saw sales grow by 32% amid strong demand for cleaning supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.

MGM Resorts  Shares of the casino stock fell more than 10% on news that gambling revenue in the Chinese territory of Macau dropped more than 96% in April. Wynn resorts fell 6% and Las Vegas Sands lost more than 5%. Investors also worried the economy may not reopen as soon as expected.

Exxon Mobil  Shares of the energy giant slid more than 6% after the company reported its first quarterly loss in decades. In the first quarter, Exxon lost $610 million after writing down $2.9 billion due to falling oil prices.

Chevron  Chevron dropped more than 5% after the company said it was further reducing its 2020 capital spending plan, and announced plans to cut production in May and June on the heels of the coronavirus-induced slowdown in demand. For the first quarter, Chevron reported earnings per share of $1.93, which included $680 million in one-time favorable items, and $31.5 billion in revenue, helped by downstream margins and increased production in the Permian Basin.

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian  Shares of all three major cruise lines fell more than 10% on Friday as some of the stocks hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis struggled. The Miami Herald reported on Thursday that Norwegian was furloughing 20% of its land-based staff.

 CNBC's Pippa Stevens, Maggie Fitzgerald, Fred Imbert, Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.
The Council of Europe has conducted a legal assessment of the decisions adopted by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the continuation of judicial reform, emphasized the importance of the reform's not contradicting the Constitution and considering the leading European standards in this area, the communications and legal monitoring department of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has reported.

According to the court, a letter was received from Head of the Justice and Legal Cooperation Department of the Council of Europe Hanne Juncher. In it, the court was informed that, in the framework of ongoing cooperation between the Council of Europe and Ukraine in the field of judicial reform, the Justice and Legal Cooperation Department under the Directorate-General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, two recent decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine were assessed, namely No. 2-r/2020 dated February 18, 2020 and No. 4-r/2020 dated March 11, 2020.

The specified assessment was developed by an international expert involved in the department, who studies the decisions of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court and their compliance with European standards regarding the functioning and organization of the judiciary, as well as the recommendations set out in the Venice Commission's conclusion CDL-AD (2019) 027-e on the legal framework in Ukraine, which regulates activities of the Supreme Court and judicial authorities, adopted on December 9, 2019.

The said document, in particular, states that both decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine concern some key issues raised by the European Commission for Democracy through Law and emphasize the importance of its conclusion. It is also indicated that the decisions of the Constitutional Court clearly indicate that judicial reform can continue only if it does not contradict the Constitution and takes into account the leading European standards in this field. Therefore, in the future of the current judicial reform, the decisions of the Constitutional Court require the government to have a clear vision of the direction, priority and further steps that should be taken.
A court battle is set to take place between Ofsted and a Christian fostering agency over the company's policy of only working with straight married couples.

Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service is taking the watchdog to court claiming it is being forced to abandon its religious ethos.

It comes after Ofsted said in a yet unpublished report that the agency, which operates in the North East of England, discriminates by only working with evangelical Christian carers in man-woman marriages.

Chairwoman of Cornerstone's trustees, the Reverend Sheila Bamber, said the watchdog's judgment was 'seriously flawed and discriminatory'.

The two sides are now set to do battle in the High Court next week.

Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service is taking the watchdog to court claiming it is being forced to abandon its religious ethos. Pictured: Chairwoman of Cornerstone's trustees, the Reverend Sheila Bamber

Lawyers for Cornerstone, a small independent fostering and post-adoption support agency, say Ofsted's requirements are 'disproportionate interference' in Cornerstone's rights under the Human Rights Act 1998.

They also say the policy is 'incompatible' with provisions in the Equality Act 2010, which establish that religious charities may restrict 'the provision of benefits' to fellow believers.

Lawyers will also debate if it breaches the European Convention on Human Rights, including freedom of thought, expression and religion.

It comes after the agency was inspected by Ofsted last year.

Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service is a small independent fostering and post-adoption support agency which operates in the North East of England. Pictured: The agency's logo

The agency's fostering work was subsequently downgraded from 'good' to 'requires improvement'.

Chairwoman of Cornerstone's trustees, the Reverend Sheila Bamber, said: 'Ofsted is not a judicial body and is not equipped to make definitive legal statements about Cornerstone's compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998.

'In so doing, Ofsted has acted beyond its remit and has misapplied the law.

'We maintain that this judgment displays a seriously flawed and discriminatory approach to our service.'

Cornerstone chief executive Pam Birtle said that, although it is a small agency, it plays a vital role, especially with hard-to-place children.

She said the agency has facilitated the transition to adoption for about 80 per cent of the children it has placed and there have been no adoption breakdowns during the organisation's 20-year history.

'Cornerstone is a small, much-loved Christian agency that achieves excellent results for children and families,' said Simon Calvert, who is deputy director of The Christian Institute, which is supporting the legal action.

Lawyers for Cornerstone, a small independent fostering and post-adoption support agency, say Ofsted's requirements are 'disproportionate interference' in Cornerstone's rights under the Human Rights Act 1998. Pictured: The High Court, where the hearing will take place

'Its existence relies on exceptions to equality law passed by Parliament in 2010 precisely to protect the ethos of faith-based agencies like Cornerstone.

'Ofsted is seeking to deny Cornerstone's right to rely on these exceptions, which are used every day by many thousands of religious bodies and places of worship.'

Mr Calvert said: 'There are 306 independent fostering agencies in England. Why is Ofsted insisting that non-evangelicals must also be able to use England's only evangelical fostering agency?

'The staff and trustees are effectively being ordered to go against their faith by a government body.'

A judicial review of Ofsted's actions will be heard in the High Court in Leeds, starting on Wednesday.

Ofsted declined to comment ahead of the court case.
Zach Braff is hosting best friend Nick Cordero's wife Amanda Kloots and their baby son Elvis Eduardo with his family at his Los Angeles home as Cordero fights for his life against the coronavirus.

The Scrubs star, 45, told The Hollywood Reporter about his heartache for his friend Cordero, as the Tony-nominated actor's right leg has been amputated amid the harrowing health battle.

Cordero's health crisis has been 'worse than anyone I've heard of who hasn't passed away,' Braff told the outlet Thursday.

The latest: Zach Braff, 45, is hosting best friend Nick Cordero's wife Amanda Kloots, 38, and their baby son Elvis Eduardo, 10 months, with his family at his Los Angeles home as Cordero, 41, fights for his life against the coronavirus

Said the Alex, Inc. actor: 'I am OK, but I'm very close to this because one of my best friends in the world, Nick Cordero, and his wife and baby have been living in my guest house for seven months as they were house-shopping in L.A. to make the move out here.'

Braff opened up about the tragic health crisis surrounding his friend Cordero.

'He's 41 and he's unconscious at [Cedars-Sinai Hospital] - he's on a ventilator,' Braff said. 'He's lost his leg due to complications and every day we don't know what will happen.

'So, his wife and baby are living in my guest house, and thank God they've been joined by her amazing brother and sister who are taking care of her and helping her with the baby.'

Shocking: Braff said that Cordero's fight for his life illustrates how deadly the virus can be in virtually anyone. He was snapped at the Oscars in February

Tragic: Cordero's health crisis has been 'worse than anyone I've heard of who hasn't passed away,' Braff said Thursday

The South Orange, New Jersey native lives at the abode with girlfriend Florence Pugh.

'We obviously stay social distanced from them, but we bring them food and wine and flowers,' he said of their interactions.

He called Kloot 'amazing' and praised her efforts in keeping his fans and friends updated on his daily health battle via social media.

'She's a motivation trainer, so she's gone into full-on bad-ass crisis dealing mode,' he said. 'If you look at her Instagram, she tells stories about him and she motivates other people; she's literally trying to motivate other people.'

Braff said that Cordero's fight for his life illustrates how deadly the virus can be in virtually anyone.

Lauded: Braff called Kloot 'amazing' and praised her efforts in keeping his fans and friends updated on his daily health battle via social media

'I think a lot of people are still under the impression that this is only really dire for seniors,' he said, 'but I'm here to tell you that a very, very healthy 41-year-old friend of mine is fighting for his life.'

Medics initially believed the Bullets Over Broadway star had been dealing with pneumonia, Kloots said earlier this month on social media.

Cordero initially tested negative for coronavirus, then tested positive in a later test, his wife said.

In addition to Cordero's heartbreaking health battle, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on Broadway, darkening the famed street amid the shutdown in New York City, as playwright Terrence McNally died March 24 at 81 due to complications from the coronavirus.

As of Thursday, the death total for COVID-19 was at 57,266 people in the U.S., with 1,061,101 total positive diagnoses, The COVID Tracking Project reported.

On a global level, 233,363 people have died amid 3,256,570 positive diagnoses worldwide, Johns Hopkins University reported.
"I have never seen such an influx of death ever in my life, said LeRoy Wooster, owner of the Wooster Funeral Home & Crematory in Atco, NJ. Read more

Since early March, a stream of mourners has coursed through the doors of Alison Perinchiefs Mount Holly funeral home looking to honor a loved one who has died from the coronavirus.

But late last week, Perinchief had to struggle with a first as a funeral director: Tell a grieving daughter she could not say goodbye to her mom, who died in a Burlington County nursing home from the coronavirus, nor honor her mothers last wishes.

Her mom wanted her hair done, wanted to be in a particular dress, wanted to have her makeup done, Perinchief said. I said that were not allowed to have an open casket funeral at this time. She just started crying.  She wanted to see mom, because mom always had talked about being in a particular dress."

As the coronavirus rages across New Jersey  already claiming more than 7,000 lives  state Health Department officials last week barred New Jersey funeral homes from holding open-casket ceremonies. The directive landed at the same time as South Jersey funeral homes were already feeling the growing impact of the pandemic, thanks to both a spike in local cases and the need for them to assist with a crush of bodies from the north.

Camden County funeral home owner LeRoy Wooster said he has accepted more than 150 bodies for cremation from North Jersey in the last month. That was in addition to nearly 500 bodies his three cremation units processed.

In my 35 years, I have never seen such an influx of death ever in my life, he said. We have been working seven days a week, 12-hour days."

Late Thursday, state officials said they were reconsidering the open-casket ban. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people are not at risk of getting infected by the coronavirus from a dead body, but urge viewings to be limited to no more than 10 people  or ideally, livestreamed  while keeping social distance.

Health officials across the country pushed funeral homes to follow the new CDC directives, but New Jersey is one of the only states to bar open-casket ceremonies, according to industry representatives.

You have to come face to face with death to understand it, and then you can move on, George Kelder, CEO of New Jerseys funeral directors association, said in an interview. So what does the closed casket have to do with anything? If were all acknowledging were not fearful of the dead, but were fearful of the living that are in the room with us, its not very clear what you did.

 READ MORE: In the wake of coronavirus, families and funeral homes are livestreaming services

Others understand the times call for unpleasant measures, and believe the directives are ultimately a positive for the industry, though the closed-casket ruling is the toughest.

We understand that as you put more people into a room, thats more chances of exposure, Wooster said. I want to keep my staff protected. I want to keep myself protected. And you also want to keep everyone who comes to the funeral home protected. But the fact that the casket must be closed does not allow family members to have their final goodbyes.

In fact, funeral homes in Pennsylvania had been trying to lure New Jersey families by offering open-casket services, saying, "WE CAN HELP YOU.

Those concerns had made their way to the New Jersey Department of Health, and the Department is examining whether additional clarification is necessary to this order, spokesperson Dawn Thomas said Thursday.

But theres no simple answer for the toll of bodies.

Typically, New Jerseys last responders, as the funeral directors call themselves, can bury and cremate 6,100 people per month, according to the states funeral directors association. In the pandemic, theyve been forced to more than double their capacity.

Health officials have directed funeral homes and crematoriums to expand their hours of operation and remain open on weekends and holidays. Theyve also required mortuaries to contact facilities in other counties if they are at maximum capacity and cant process any more bodies.

This has allowed North Jersey funeral homes, in an epicenter of the pandemic, to lean on South Jersey homes. And now directors are worried that as the pace of deaths quickens in the south  Gov. Phil Murphy this week acknowledged a spike in coronavirus cases in South Jersey  some worry they will become stretched too thin.

What will happen in the South is youll get sort of a double hit, Kelder said. Southern funeral directors may find themselves in a reversal, where they will end up having to send their cremations northward.

State officials agree with the prediction that funeral homes in the southern part of the state will be taxed in the coming weeks, but are still unsure how to solve the issue.

 READ MORE: Wawa donates refrigerated truck to help New Jersey store bodies of coronavirus victims

Will the North and Central funeral homes be there to help ... unburden them?  Yes, Murphy said Thursday. I cant tell you exactly what that looks like.

And while the virus has taxed the states funeral homes and crematoriums, it has also laid bare a reality about an overlooked aspect of the states health-care system.

Death care is part of health care, Kelder said. We are touching the dead. We need gloves and we need masks and gowns and shoe covers. We acknowledge you have to protect the first responders and the police and the emergency rooms and the medical profession  however, youre failing to recognize that were part of it."
A few good boys and girls are tackling a very important job: Eight dogs are training to see if they can sniff out the coronavirus. And if they succeed, they could help find asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19.

We should be mindful of the fact that right now we dont know if the dogs have any sort of inherent ability to detect COVID-19, Cynthia Otto, director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, told TODAY. So the first thing with COVID-19 is: Can dogs detect a unique odor associated with infections?

Miss M is one of the eight Labrador retrievers being trained to potentially be COVID-19-detecting dogs. If dogs are able to identify a scent associated with the virus, they could help identify asymptomatic carriers. (Courtesy Pat Nolan for Penn Vet)

To understand this, the yellow, black and brown Labrador retrievers will be smelling urine, saliva and breath samples from people who had COVID-19 (at the same time chemists will be trying to identify a scent associated with the virus).

Its going to be interesting because we dont know what the chemical is and we dont know if its likely to be in the urine or if its more likely to be in the breath, Otto explained. Dogs are just so amazingly sensitive that we feel like if there is an odor, the dogs are going to find it.

If the pups identify a scent, then they will be tasked with distinguishing the difference between samples from people with COVID-19 and some without it. When they correctly identify samples with the COVID-19 odor theyll receive treats and praise  exactly what every dog craves.

We can do lots of repetitions, Otto said. If they put their nose in it and we go Hey, yeah! Good job! Or we use a clicker which makes a clicking noise and they associate that with like Oh I'm getting my reward now. And so then they get food.

When they realize they dont get enthusiastic words, clicks and food when they point out samples without COVID-19, they understand the rules of the game.

The dogs are so fast at picking this up, Otto said.

Cynthia Otto's team at the Center for Working Dogs at Penn Vet have worked with dogs to train them to detect other illnesses, such as ovarian cancer. (Courtesy Sabina Louise)

Dogs can detect other illnesses in humans. Some specially trained dogs can tell when a diabetic persons blood sugar changes dangerously and sound an alert. And, the Working Dog Center helped dogs detect ovarian cancer.

Story continues

If dogs do detect a certain odor in people with the coronavirus and are able to distinguish it from non-COVID-19 samples, the training will move to humans carrying samples, which makes it much harder. The dogs have to correctly identify the moving person holding the viral sample.

(We can) start really drilling down and making sure that we're looking at the sensitivity and specificity that they're telling us: Is this actually associated with COVID-19 and not with influenza and not with allergies? Otto said. Can the dog actually recognize (coronavirus)? That changes the picture.

Poncho will also try to discover if COVID-19 has a unique detectable odor. People respond well to floppy-eared dogs like Labs, which makes them perfect for working in crowds. (Courtesy Pat Nolan for Penn Vet)

If dogs can detect the coronavirus by smell, there will be still be challenges to overcome.

First, they need to figure out the best way to keep the dog handlers safe from the virus. The dogs will need to be close to humans to detect it, putting handlers within 6 feet of infected people. Otto is not overly concerned that the dogs could contract or carry COVID-19, despite recent reports of a pug in North Carolina testing positive for COVID-19. Though they will take extra precautions.

"We (will) monitor the dogs," she said, adding they would check their noses and fur for traces of the virus. "We would want to see their antibody response so that we have a good sense of what that risk is."

Sadly, theres a shortage of screening dogs so its unclear how this program could be scaled.

The center is collaborating with a group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine thats also training dogs to detect the virus.

One of our goals in this process is to determine the safest way to train these dogs  We are working with virologists and were working with infectious disease specialists and chemists and really trying to put all this together," Otto said.

She cautions people against believing their dogs can detect if theyre sick with coronavirus. Often when pups act differently toward their people its simply that they notice a difference and it could be a positive thing, such as a pregnancy.

If your dog is maybe being extra clingy or sniffing a lot that doesnt necessarily mean anything in relation to coronavirus, she said. Knowing the human animal bond  they know if there's something going on that's different. They're picking it up but they often don't know that it's a problem.
The coronaviruss economic wreckage is poised to boost the dominance of tech giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon  and their risks of an antitrust collision with Washington.

The pandemic has hit the biggest tech companies too, of course, with both Google and Facebook reporting this week that their digital ad revenue plunged as the economy began shutting down in March. But their smaller tech rivals are suffering far worse  as are the ad-dependent media companies that have shed tens of thousands of jobs and the vast numbers of brick-and-mortar retailers that may never reopen.

The result is a looming economic imbalance that could provide even more fuel for antitrust hawks from both parties, who say the leading tech companies have spent years abusing their power by bullying and buying up rivals. And that was before the outbreak reinforced societys growing dependence on the tech industry, leaving millions more Americans buying essential supplies from Amazon while using apps from Facebook, Google and Microsoft to communicate, attend school or conduct business.

My nightmare scenario is an economic shock that leaves every Main Street firm without Wall Street connections, and every tech startup that is trying to compete with the big guys, starved for cash and vulnerable to predatory acquisition, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a statement to POLITICO. We cant stand by and let Amazon, Facebook, Google, and all the rest gobble up all the innovators in our economy.

The virus has unmasked how big and powerful these companies are, said Rachel Bovard, a senior adviser to the Internet Accountability Project, a conservative group partially funded by Oracle that is pushing for antitrust tech probes. Its proving that the antitrust scrutiny is either warranted or should be enhanced. ... It will be especially true when we get on the other side and look at the wreckage of small businesses.

The companies see their roles in the crisis in a much more positive light. "What we do as a company can make a big difference in peoples lives, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in an April 16 letter to shareholders.

Story continues

For now, though, these are just some of the ways that Facebook, Google and Amazon  along with fellow tech A-listers Apple and Microsoft  could emerge from the crisis even larger:

They are rich enough to weather the storm

Google and Facebook both say their ad revenue is likely to remain depressed as retail, hospitality, travel and other companies scale back their spending. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg even expressed worries about the wider economy, telling investors on an earnings call Wednesday that I remain very concerned that this health emergency and the economic fallout will last longer than people are expecting.

But Facebook and its fellow internet titans have a huge advantage over most other companies: piles of cash.

Googles parent Alphabet had $117 billion on hand at the end of March, while Facebook had more than $60 billion  greater than the gross domestic products of Lebanon, Slovenia or Tanzania. Amazon reported $24.3 billion in free cash flow. That money will help the companies to stave off the layoffs and closures that have sent unemployment soaring to Great Depression levels.

Google and Facebook could have revenue decline 20 or 25 percent year-over-year, and not have to worry about going out of business, said Mark Mahaney, managing director at RBC Capital Markets. More than any other ad-driven business model, Google and Facebook can afford whatever comes out of Covid.



Their competitors are shrinking or vanishing

Yelp  a longtime critic of Google with antitrust regulators  laid off one-third of its workforce and furloughed another 1,100 employees this month as its revenue from small-business ads shriveled. TripAdvisor, another Google detractor, said it will lay off 900 employees and furlough many of its remaining U.S. workers. Uber, which competes with Google sibling Waymo in developing self-driving cars, is also considering steep layoffs, The Information reported this week.

The plight is even worse for media companies whose ad dollars were already dwindling amid competition from Google and Facebook. Some estimates place the number of U.S. journalists laid off because of the pandemic at more than 33,000. News Corp.  one of the most vocal anti-Google publishers  suspended print editions of 60 of its newspapers in Australia, though U.S. operations and the flagship Wall Street Journal have yet to see cuts.

Startups are also aching, with roughly 30,000 of their workers laid off across the country since the beginning of March. In a note Monday, the National Venture Capital Association said investments in fledgling companies is likely to drop significantly, adding that companies will shut down  at a higher rate than what is inherent to this risky industry.

And Amazon is poised to have many fewer competitors when the outbreak ends: As many as 100,000 retail outlets are likely to close in the next five years, UBS research analysts suggested in a note last week, as the coast-to-coast shutdowns hasten the trend of shoppers moving online. Some long-established retail names may never recover from the pandemic: The Gap, the San Francisco clothing chain that owns Old Navy and Banana Republic, said last week that it expects to shutter some locations permanently, while J.C. Penney skipped paying interest on bonds this month  the first step toward a bankruptcy filing.

Even when the economy recovers, the big guys will be the first to reap the benefits.

Facebook and Google are poised to bounce back faster than other ad-supported businesses, said Jasmine Enberg, senior analyst at eMarketer. Their platforms allow marketers to essentially flip a switch on online ads, so as easily as they could halt them, they can get them running again. The two companies already control 60 percent of the online advertising market, eMarketer estimates.

Whenever there's economic uncertainty, advertisers tend to turn to these tried-and-true platforms and they're less likely to be experimental, she said. Facebook and Google, at this point, are considered to be essential platforms for advertisers.

The crisis may set the stage for buying sprees

Amid the last recession, tech companies used their reserves to buy up businesses at a higher clip than normal, with Google scooping up a record 36 companies, according to an analysis by CIO Dive.

Now, the big tech companies will once again have a chance to go bargain hunting  scarfing up talent, intellectual property and rival businesses at much reduced prices. Both Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said during an earnings calls this week that they would look to invest throughout the downturn, even while slowing hiring in areas other than engineering and product management.

One of the harder issues for antitrust will be how to manage mergers and acquisitions coming out of this crisis, said Gene Kimmelman, a senior adviser for the advocacy group Public Knowledge. Certainly, the big tech firms are sitting on boatloads of cash and they could buy if they thought it made sense. There may be a lot of floundering smaller players.

Many of these deals could fly under regulators radar, even though mergers exceeding $94 million in value usually have to undergo reviews by the Justice Department or Federal Trade Commission. The law contains exemptions, including one that Bloomberg says allowed Google to avoid scrutiny of a 2010 acquisition that helped it cement its dominance in advertising technology.

Public Knowledge has suggested that Congress lower the dollar amounts on deals that require reviews, while Democrats including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House antitrust chairman David Cicilline of Rhode Island are pushing to halt almost all corporate mergers during the outbreak.



We need to stop the big tech companies from bulldozing the competition during this pandemic  and we need to break up big tech, Warren told POLITICO in a statement.



Some Republicans have rejected that idea, including FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips, who has said data shows merger-and-acquisition activity is actually down. This is a very odd time to be calling to shut down M&A entirely, in particular because of the important role that it can help in the economy, Phillips told CNBC this week.

The big players can change the rules  for their own benefit

For the many businesses that have grown to depend on the giants, the biggest frustration is how readily the big players change the rules as they go.

Thats especially apparent with Amazon, which has spent years encouraging third-party sellers to store and move their products through its own warehouses and logistics network. The Fulfilled by Amazon program offered the sellers higher ratings, access to Amazon Prime customers and more prominent placement under Amazons algorithms.

Then, in mid-March, Amazon cut them off, saying priority for warehouse space would go to essential goods such as groceries and sanitation supplies needed during the pandemic. That left many sellers without their biggest sales channel or, in some cases, no way to do business, said Shaoul Sussman, a lawyer representing an Amazon seller in a House Judiciary Committee probe of tech platforms.

Even for sellers that could fulfill orders themselves, Amazons algorithm still gave its own products preference over those of rivals that could ship more quickly, due to what the company called an error. And at a time of soaring demand for products, Amazon downgraded the listings and ratings for sellers whose products sold out at the warehouse, Sussman said.

People stand in the lobby for Amazon offices in New York

Amazon has said it is working on reopening its warehouses to the sellers and correcting their ratings. Meanwhile, the company has taken steps to assist sellers by waiving certain fees and pausing loan repayments, a spokesperson said.

"The temporary changes to our logistics network to meet increased demand resulting from Covid-19 were not designed to advantage Amazon brands, retail vendors or sellers  they have been based on how to best serve customers during the outbreak while helping ensure the health and safety of our employees," the Amazon spokesperson said.

Google has also faced criticism over how it implemented advertising bans related to the coronavirus, under a policy on sensitive topics that ended up blocking government public service announcements and left news videos about the pandemic without ad revenue.

Both Google and Facebook declined to comment for this story.

We all need online services more

The coronavirus lockdowns have introduced millions of people to videoconferencing, streaming and online grocery delivery services  building habits that may last long after the pandemic fades.

Amazon, with its vast network of distribution centers and Whole Foods grocery stores, is adding 175,000 workers to keep pace with consumer demand. Facebook says a record 3 billion people have used its main social network plus Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger to connect online, while Amazon, Google and Apple own video-streaming services that have helped take the place of movie theaters, concerts and live sports.





Thats on top of all the businesses that have shifted their operations online, relying on cloud services and workplace productivity tools as employees are forced to work from home.

All this is a bright spot for society, said Matt Schruers, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, adding that tech companies are providing services that consumers highly value during the pandemic.

"We're reaping the benefits of decades of smart tech policy which has fostered a competitive industry," said Schruers, whose group counts Amazon, Facebook and Google as members.

Can they win over the regulators?

That means the tech giants have a new opportunity to amass goodwill.



Some recent polls suggest the reputations of big tech companies are improving, and policymakers in the U.S. and Europe who once maligned the industry are now seeking tech companies help to track coronavirus cases, supply essential equipment or crunch data in the search for a vaccine. The CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook were among the dozens of corporate leaders tapped to advise the Trump administration as it plans to reopen the economy.

Industry supporters hope the halo effect will erode Washingtons appetite for new regulations once the crisis ends. And they say now is not the time to threaten companies that are helping keep smaller businesses alive.

"I would caution that now, particularly now, is not the time to create more uncertainty in the small business community, said Jake Ward, president of the Connected Commerce Council, which represents 5,400 digitally enabled small businesses and counts Amazon, Google and Facebook among its supporters.

Others doubt that the glow will last. Public Knowledges Kimmelman noted that AT&T was massively popular with consumers before the Justice Department broke it up in the 1980s.

We have a history of challenging even the most popular companies if they are violating the law, he said. Post-coronavirus, we are going to have a few dominant retailers and a few dominant online distributors of news, information and content. Thats what we need to address."
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has called for a Victorian public health official to be sacked after she likened COVID-19 to Captain Cook's voyage to Australia in response to the 250th anniversary of his arrival.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen compared the famous voyage to the current pandemic that has claimed more than 90 lives across Australia in a tweet on Wednesday.

'Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID-19 or Cook 1770?'

Mr Dutton has since told the Nine network he strongly disapproves of the comment and has called for a drastic response.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has called for a Victorian public health official to be sacked after she likened COVID-19 to Captain Cook's voyage to Australia in response to the 250th anniversary of his arrival

Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen (pictured) compared the famous voyage to the current pandemic that has claimed more than 90 lives across Australia in a tweet on Wednesday

He claims Dr van Diemen has been running 'culture war debates', and declared: 'She is unfit for that office and she should go.'

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews stepped in to defend Dr van Diemen and said his entire public health team had been doing an 'absolutely amazing job' and that he had far more significant things to be concerned about than tweets.

'I am far more focused on the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs. People have died. This is a once-in-a-century event and we're by no means at the end of it,' he told reporters on Friday.

'I've got no comment to make about any member of the public health team, other than to say on behalf of all Victorians, thank you for the work you're doing, because it is making a massive difference.'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told 2GB's Alan Jones on Friday he did not doubt Dr van Diemen's efforts as medical officer, but he still found her comments 'very disappointing'.

'She clearly wouldn't get the job as chief historian.

'I applaud the work she is doing as a medical officer in Victoria, that's her expertise, I would strongly suggest she keep to that, because those sort of comments don't inspire confidence.

'People should stick to their day jobs.'

Mr Morrison went on to tell Jones he had every intention of pushing ahead with a global inquiry into the source of the COVID-19 outbreak, and rubbished claims by mining magnate Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest that the virus could have started anywhere.

'I don't think anybody is in any fantasy land about where it started  it started in China,' he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has told a Victorian public health official to stick to her day job after she likened COVID-19 to Captain Cook's voyage to Australia in response to the 250th anniversary of his arrival

'What the world over needs to know  and there's a lot of support for this  is how did it start and what are the lessons to be learned. That needs to be done independently. And why do we want to know that? Because it could happen again.'

China has repeatedly refused to welcome an international investigation into the outbreak, and has described the demands of Australia as 'political manoeuvring'.

Forrest sparked outrage on Thursday by 'hijacking' a press conference with Health Minister Greg Hunt by inviting Chinese spy turned Victorian consul-general Long Zhou, who made a speech praising China.

Earlier this month the billionaire said Australia should take 'positive steps' instead of looking for who is to blame for the pandemic.

'Because it [the origin of the virus] just might be Australia, it just might be Britain, it just might be China,' Forrest told told the West Australian's podcast on April 2.

Dr van Diemen posted this to Twitter on Wednesday, the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival at Botany Bay, Sydney, in 1770

Dr van Diemen's comments were labelled as 'disgraceful' by opposition politician Tim Smith on Twitter (pictured), who also pointed out that Captain Cook had not settled in Australia

The deadly respiratory virus has infected more than three million people globally, including 6,729 Australians. So far, 212,000 people have died worldwide.

Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-run Global Times, on Tuesday shared a post on Weibo saying ties between Australia and China would continue to deteriorate, as a bitter war of words threatened to escalate into a diplomatic disaster.

'After the epidemic, we need to have more risk awareness when doing business with Australia and also when we send our children to study there,' he wrote.

'Australia is always there, making trouble. It is a bit like chewing gum stuck on the sole of China's shoes. Sometimes you have to find a stone to rub it off.'

James Cook was a British explorer, surveyor, navigator and cartographer who mapped large parts of the world including Australia's east coast and New Zealand. He was the first white European to set foot on Australia's mainland at Botany Bay, Sydney, on 29 April 1770O
Would you return to work as a server and risk your health, or stay home and potentially lose your unemployment benefits?

How would you return to work if you cant place your children in child care?

These are the types of questions many Texans suddenly found themselves grappling with after Gov. Greg Abbott chose to reopen Texas for business this week. In response, the Texas Workforce Commission has issued new guidance to answer many of these questions, particularly around the lack of child care. But the guidance should have been developed before Abbotts order, and it is strangely silent on restaurant workers.

Traditionally, a person who chooses not to return to work would be ineligible for continued unemployment benefits. But this is not a traditional time.

The new guidance would allow Texans to retain their unemployment if they refuse to return to work for a variety of reasons. These include people who are 65 and older, as well as those with household members who are 65 and older. Anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 and is not recovered, quarantined due to possible exposure or caring for a family member with COVID-19 would also be able to retain unemployment benefits while refusing to return to work. And those who cant place their children in child care could also refuse employment while retaining their unemployment benefits.

Other situations would be reviewed on a case-by-case manner.

Weve heard concern expressed by some about the possibility of workers choosing to stay unemployed. That is a possibility, but we cant blame any worker, especially those in restaurants or retail, who might not be in a rush to head back only to catch or spread COVID-19.

A restaurant at 25 percent capacity still requires cooks and servers, and waiting tables means handling dishes, food and coming into contact with customers who, obviously, wont be wearing masks.

Theres a little bit of fear as people come in and eat, Davin Hohhertz, a server at Joes Crab Shack on the River Walk, told the Texas Tribune . And if theres someone asymptomatic whos prepping all the crab dip, that could very easily create a new wave, a new hot spot.

To be clear, we want to see the states economy reopen as soon as possible, but in a way that prioritizes the health and safety of all Texans. There are aspects of Abbotts order that reflect a measured approach. He has limited capacity for restaurants, retail establishments, malls and movie theaters to 25 percent. Hes held off on reopening businesses such as hair salons, barbershops, bars and gyms (we fail to see why movie theaters are somehow OK, but we digress). He has said data will guide this reopening.

But hes also chosen to reopen businesses at a time when the state has lagged in testing, has inadequate tracing abilities and has yet to see a sustained decline in infections. Yes, he plans to boost testing and tracing, but that should have happened before reopening. By the measures of Abbotts own outside medical adviser, Texas does not meet the mark for three of four indicators for reopening.

As far as the decision to reopen, time will tell. But if whats past is often prologue, we cant help but think of a recent study from the Federal Reserve and MIT that found the more aggressive cities were in responding to the 1918 flu  maintaining social distancing, closing businesses and schools earlier and longer  the better they fared in their economic recoveries compared with cities with more relaxed responses.

In other words, we need not choose between health and the economy. But many Texans will have to.
For the first time since the nationwide lockdown that began on March 24, not a single Covid-19 case has been reported on Friday, said Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In his Facebook post, the CM said although it is a big relief, the state will continue its vigil in coming days.

Though two districts, Kannur in north Kerala and Kottayam in central Kerala, are in red zone, the state has been showing a steady progress in last few days. On Thursday, it had reported only two cases. The CM Vijayan said out of 497 positive cases, 392 were discharged, leaving 102 people in the hospitals still recovering. The state had reported four deaths, but it is yet to include the death of a man from Mahe in the state list. Mahe falls between Kannur and Kozhikode districts, and is part of Pondicherry.

The number of people under observation also came down to 21,499. It is a good for day for the state. Besides reporting zero cases nine persons have discharged from the hospital. We hope things will improve in coming days. But it is too early to lower our guard, said state health minister K K Shailaja.

State chief secretary Tom Jose earlier in the day said the state has no plan to resume public transport. We will go only step by step. The states progress is not permanent as of now. It can change any day. We have no plan to start public transport. We will go by a staggered opening, he said.

Kerala was the first state in the country to report a coronavirus case in January last, who was a China-returned medical student. Cases increased in March first week when people started returning from middle-eastern countries and Europe. At one point , the state was leading in cases but after Nizamuddin conference imbroglio, numbers in other states shot up. In terms of mortality and recovery rates, the state is showing a good progress, statistics tell. But its fingers are crossed as more than 2 lakh immigrant people from the state are expected to return after May 3.

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India committing war crimes in Kashmir under cover of coronavirus pandemic: PM Imran Khan

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 3:31 PM

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused New Delhi of committing war crimes against Muslims in the Indian-administered Kashmir under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a post on his Twitter account on Thursday, Khan said the administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attempting to change the demography of Kashmir and continued massacre across the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

He urged the international community to take notice of the crimes in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and international humanitarian laws.

"Under cover of COVID19 global pandemic, the Modi Govt with its fascist ... ideology continues its war crimes in IOJK," Khan said in reference to Indian controlled Kashmir.

Khan added that India "violates the Fourth Geneva Convention by continuing its genocide of Kashmiris: & by attempting to change the demography in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir," he added.

Khan also stated that Kashmir is recognized as a disputed territory by the United Nations and the world has a responsibility to take note of Indian war crimes there.

Last year, Khan had warned in a speech that the issue of Kashmir could lead to a nuclear war between Islamabad and New Delhi if the international community failed to intervene.

Tensions have been soaring for months in the wake of Modi's move to strip India's portion of Kashmir of its autonomy and bring it under direct rule.

Paramilitary soldiers question a motorist at a checkpoint during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown in Srinagar on March 30, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

After the decision on the special status in August last year, New Delhi dispatched thousands of additional troops to the Himalayan region, declared a strict curfew, shut down telecommunications and internet services, and arrested political leaders and pro-independence campaigners.

India's behavior has drawn criticism from the people of Kashmir and Pakistan as well as human rights groups and the UN.

Earlier this month, India introduced a new law that would make its citizens eligible to become permanent residents of the Indian-controlled Kashmir, raising fears of demographic change in the Himalayan region.

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, which have fought three of their four wars over the disputed Himalayan territory. Both countries rule parts of Kashmir while claiming it in full.

India and Pakistan frequently exchange heavy fire across the militarized de facto border in the disputed Kashmir valley.

In addition, India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has blamed the spread of the coronavirus on a Muslim group meeting in New Delhi in mid-March, but similar gatherings within Hindu communities have escaped criticism.

The country's Muslim minority population has since witnessed a string of attacks by Hindu extremists.

Muslim leaders say the event should not be used as an excuse to target the community as a whole.

Inter-communal tension has risen in India since Prime Minister Modi was re-elected for a second term in 2019.

Modi's government is accused of encouraging religious intolerance and seeking to transform India into a Hindu state.

As part of its discriminatory policies against Muslims last year, India's parliament passed a new citizenship law under which migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan will be allowed to claim Indian citizenship  but not if they are Muslim.

The act has led to protests in which at least 50 people have died in attacks on Muslims by Hindu nationalist mobs.

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As part of its corporate social responsibility and helping the country to fight the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has disinfected the Regional Maritime University, Nungua, Accra and the headquarters of Action Chapel International, Accra.

The exercise, which was carried out by Vectorpes Company Limited of Zoomlion, came off on May Day (Friday, May 1, 2020).

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the exercise on the campus of Regional Maritime University, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Elvis Anku, praised Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the initiative.

He intimated that Zoomlion Ghana Limited has helped to assuage the fears of his students in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In this regard, he gave an assurance that the university will ensure that all the students observe all the COVID-19 safety protocols when school re-opens.

Earlier, the company disinfected the headquarters of the Action Chapel International on the Spintex Road, Accra. At the church, Zoomlion sprayed the youth block, childrens block, main auditorium, cafeteria among others.

Addressing a cross-section of journalists, Bishop Ebenezer Obodai of Action Chapel International said that in the wake of the pandemic, it was important that everybody takes precautions and put in the right practices to ensure the safety not only of our members but families as well.

He averred that the disinfection exercise will help make the church premises comfortable and safe for members.

Asked what measures the church would have in place if the ban on public gathering is lifted, Rev Obodai said even before the partial lockdown in parts of Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi, the church was seriously educating members on the need to wash their hands regularly, apply alcohol-based hand sanitisers, avoid handshakes and observe social/physical distancing, in addition to the wearing of masks to help limit the spread of the virus.

if you go round the church we have a whole lot of charts, Veronica buckets, hand sanitisers and even thermometers at every entrance of the church to check temperatures of members. And all these we put in place even before the lockdown to help fight the pandemic. So we are very conversant with what is going on and we will leave no stone unturned in terms of getting the place ready when the ban is lifted. he assured.

For her part, the Project Coordinator, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ZGL, Lola Asiseh Ashitey, disclosed that her outfit has completed the disinfection of all the public tertiary institutions across the country, with the Regional Maritime University being the last one.

She said the exercise, which was a collaboration with Citi TV, formed part of her companys CSR.

Against that backdrop, she urged corporate Ghana and other private institutions to take advantage of her companys 50% discount on its disinfection service.

Since the virus made its way into the country, Zoomlion has been at the forefront, helping with the disinfection of state institutions and agencies, public tertiary institutions, churches among many others.
Gilead Sciences, the US-drug maker said it is open to collaborate with governments, pharmaceutical companies, including from India, and is even considering proposals of patent-pooling to expand capacity and provide access to its antiviral drug Remesdesivir for COVID-19 patients across the world.

"On the supply side, we are working to build a global consortium of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers to expand global capacity and production and have pledged to donate all our existing supply for patients in need," Gilead spokesperson told Moneycontrol in an email interview.

"It will be essential for countries to work together to create enough supply for people all over the world and we look forward to these collaborative efforts. In the event of regulatory action, we are in discussions with various groups about how we might bring remdesivir to the developing world," Gilead said.

Also Read | Why Gilead's Remdesivir trial data is significant in fight against COVID-19

Gilead didn't provide any timeframe about its launch in India.

The company didn't specify if there are any Indian generic drug companies in the consortium. However, there is a possibility of Indian companies becoming part of the consortium, in the past Gilead used voluntary licenses to rope in Indian companies to manufacture and launch HIV and hepatitis-C medications in low-middle-income countries (LMICs).

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

In Pics | All you need to know about Gilead's experimental antiviral drug Remdesivir

Remdesivir has shown positive results in two clinical trials, one conducted by the company and another by US government in treating patients with severe COVID-19 disease. The results were announced on April 29. The drug maker said the latest data allows a shorter treatment time which allows more patients to get access to the potential treatment. Remdesivir is yet to be approved by USFDA. But the regulatory agency is reviewing clinical trial data and is expected to issue an emergency use authorisation anytime soon.

Also Read | Gilead's Remdesivir meets main goal of trial in COVID-19 patients

Globally there are about 3.24 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, around 230,615 people have died due to pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. India reported about 34,780 cases and 1151 deaths so far.

Exploring potential new formulations & combinations

Gilead said the newly released trial results will open up many opportunities to explore the utility and potential of remdesivir.

"Our teams will look at ways to potentially bring the treatment to a broader patient population by investigating other formulations and means of delivery. We will also engage with partners to explore how remdesivir might work with other therapies," the company said.

Patent pooling

Gilead said it is aware of proposals for manufacturers to license their intellectual property under various pooled arrangements.

"We will carefully consider whether these proposals would benefit the amount of supply or the speed at which it is made available once we understand the details of such proposals," the company said.

A patent pooling allows for voluntary licenses on medicines patents that enable generic competition and facilitate the development of new formulations. Gilead in the past used patent pool to provide access to its life saving patented anti-HIV and hepatitis-C medicines to patients living in low-and-middle-income countries at affordable prices.

Compulsory licensing

Gilead expressed concern over compulsory licensing, and said it is open to have dialogue with countries.

"Compulsory licensing is a concern  not because of intellectual property rights but because there is a real risk that it could create chaos in the supply chain for scarce raw materials and other manufacturing inputs that could reduce the amount of remdesivir that could be produced and increase the time it takes to do so," Gilead said.

"We would hope that before any country issues a compulsory license that they first speak to us about how they can be a part of a coordinated supply solution," the company added.

Gilead said Remdesivir is a result of a decade of research.

The company has patented the drug in US, China and other parts of the world. Gilead filed additional patent applications for remdesivir for its uses against coronavirus globally, including China, in 2016. The patent application for the uses against coronavirus is still pending in China.

India access

Gilead said India is not on the Compassionate Use program for Remdesivir.

A compassionate use is the use of a new, unapproved drug to treat a seriously ill patient when no other treatments are available. Currently Gilead is providing the drug on compassionate use and expanded access criteria in US and certain other countries.

The company said for patients in India, they have enroll in the Solidarity trial of WHO.

"India is part of the large global study designed by the WHO - the Solidarity trial. This trial is the best way for patients to access remdesivir, enabling access to remdesivir and collecting data to inform the use of this investigational compound and support potential regulatory approvals that can enable broader use of remdesivir," the company said.
On the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, all of the Bishops of the Philippines will join in consecrating the country to Mary in their own respective cathedrals.

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

As the coronavirus continues to claim lives in the Philippines, the Bishops will consecrate the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, 13 May.

The consecration was announced by the President of the Philippine Episcopal Conference (CBCP) in a letter sent to all the dioceses on April 27. In it, Archbishop Romulo Valles says that this is a wonderful initiative.

This consecration is reminiscent of previous consecrations of the Philippines to Mary. During the Year of Faith, the CBCP consecrated the Philippines to Marys Immaculate Heart.

Details of consecration in Manila

In the Archdiocese of Manila, the consecration will be preceded by instructions regarding the meaning of the consecration. A triduum of penance and the recitation of the Rosary will begin on 10 May. This preparation will then culminate on 13 May with the actual communal consecration.

It will be Bishop Broderick Pabillo who will lead the consecration in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which is also a Minor Basilica. Bishop Pabillo is an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese. He currently serves as Apostolic Administrator since Cardinal Tagles appointment as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples earlier this year. The mayors of five neighbouring cities will join him.

It will be beautiful when all the people God, led by their civil and religious leaders, put themselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin, Pabillo said.

Asking for Marys help

We do this to implore the protection of the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother in this difficult time, especially as we move to the transition to a new way of life after the quarantine, Pabillo added. We need strength from above, and we have a powerful intercessor in Mama Mary to get that heavenly help, he also said.

Coronavirus in the Philippines

As of Friday, the Philippines had registered 8,488 coronavirus cases. 568 people had died from it, and 1,043 people had recovered. The Philippines recorded its first case on 5 March. The first death outside of China, a person who had traveled to the Philippines, took place there at the beginning of February.
The American president threatened the Saudi prince with the withdrawal of troops from the country if OPEC does not agree to reduce production, according to media reports

Associated Press

US President Donald Trump threatened Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud with the withdrawal of US troops in the event that OPEC+ countries do not reduce oil production. This was reported by Reuters with reference to its sources.

As the United States pressed Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, President Donald Trump gave Saudi leaders an ultimatum.

In an April 2 phone call, Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that unless the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) started cutting oil production, he would be powerless to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw U.S. troops from the kingdom, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Related: Price of American WTI oil for the first time in history fell below zero

Trump delivered the message to the crown prince 10 days before the announcement of production cuts. The kingdoms de facto leader was so taken aback by the threat that he ordered his aides out of the room so he could continue the discussion in private, according to a U.S. source who was briefed on the discussion by senior administration officials.

The effort illustrated Trumps strong desire to protect the U.S. oil industry from a historic price meltdown as governments shut down economies worldwide to fight the virus. It also reflected a telling reversal of Trumps longstanding criticism of the oil cartel, which he has blasted for raising energy costs for Americans with supply cuts that usually lead to higher gasoline prices. Now, Trump was asking OPEC to slash output.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters that the administration notified Saudi leaders that, without production cuts, there would be no way to stop the U.S. Congress from imposing restrictions that could lead to a withdrawal of U.S. forces. The official summed up the argument, made through various diplomatic channels, as telling Saudi leaders: We are defending your industry while youre destroying ours.
We were on a busy street in Washington, D.C., waiting for the light to change, when my teenage daughter asked, out of nowhere, "Dad, what are you afraid of?" That might have been a cue for a heartwarming father-daughter conversation about overcoming life's challenges. Nope. From my lizard brain, or from the primordial soup in my guts, came an answer I didn't even consider, out of my mouth before I had a conscious thought of it.

"Being poor. That's what I'm afraid of." Then we crossed the street.

I keep returning to that exchange over the past few weeks, as my inbox fills with coronavirus-driven bad news. A paid speaking engagement in Texas? Canceled. Several days of work at an international conference? The organizers decided not to take the risk. A gig moderating a climate change conference in Chicago? Postponed, maybe until October. When I traveled as a reporter to health crises in Africa and Latin America in recent years, exposed to malaria, tuberculosis and pneumonia, I knew that if I got sick my health-care costs would be paid by my employer, as would any days I needed to recover. In 2010, covering the devastating Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti for PBS, I caught something that lingered when I got home, so I called in sick.

Now that I'm a gig worker over 60, "sick days" are simply salary-free days off. Even if work dries up, that $2,800-a-month health insurance bill still comes due on the first of the month. The electric company won't take a podcast, a column or a television documentary as in-kind payment for kilowatt hours.

In the first two decades of this century, wages declined for working men over 55 with bachelor's degrees. When men over 50 who are displaced from their job finally get another one, they can expect their wages to fall 20 percent. Such declines signal the decreasing bargaining power of older men. In a downturn, older men do hold on to their jobs more regularly than younger ones, but when they lose work it takes them considerably longer to find their next position.

Men older than 55 can't command higher salaries in the marketplace, but they also can't walk away and rely on their savings, which, for millions, are inadequate. Northwestern Mutual has reported that one on three baby boomers, knocking at the door of retirement, have less than $25,000 saved. A study from the New School estimates that 8.5 million older workers over 55 would fall into poverty or near-poverty if they retired at 62 and began taking Social Security payments. It is, the researchers found, the end point of more than 20 years of lagging behind younger men in wage increases, both among college-educated and non-degree-holding men.

An eye blink ago, I was anchoring a nightly program for the cable news network Al Jazeera America. Before that, I had long tenures with "PBS NewsHour" and NPR. When I read warnings that workers could face sudden and catastrophic losses of income in their final years of employment, I was empathetic but concluded it could never happen to me. After all, I had worked hard to build in bumpers around my life, and my career, to avoid that. I climbed the ladder in a very competitive business to jobs of greater renown, greater responsibility and higher pay. I did all the things that would have made me the hero of a financial advice column: got married and stayed married, paid off my mortgage years early, fully covered three college educations so my kids wouldn't have to borrow. Then the wheels came off. After Al Jazeera pulled the plug on its young network, I headed to Amherst College as a visiting professor while beating the bushes for jobs in radio, television and print. I shoved down the rising panic, kept one eye on my bank balance as I started freelancing, and kept the other eye out for the next big thing. Like hundreds of thousands of men in their early 60s across the country, I had to get used to the idea that the marketplace might have already decided I was "done." Many men my age are "job bound," more convinced than their young co-workers that they couldn't find a comparable position, even in a tight labor market.

"What's this about? Corporate greed. Greed has a lot to do with it," says Nick Corcodilos, the author of the Ask the Headhunter blog and an employment consultant. "I'll get a guy in my office who'll tell me: 'I was making $150,000. I'm scrambling to get jobs at $115 or $100. I just need a job.' " Corcodilos knows what companies say. "You'll hear explanations like, 'They cost more, their benefits cost more, they're out more often because they're sicker.' It turns out, it's all BS."

For me, the financial strain arrived quickly. As my COBRA health coverage reached its time limit, my wife and I had a long talk about how to lower our enormous monthly health-care costs. One quick fix was to drop dental coverage, so we did it. Two weeks later, I was riding my bike on D.C. streets when I hit an enormous, and unexpectedly deep, pothole. The shock slammed my jaw shut, but I shook it off and continued to pedal. Then the pain began - first searing, then a steady, throbbing ache radiating from my jaw to my eyes to the top of my head. It felt as if my teeth were misaligned. I was having trouble chewing food. In just a few weeks I had moved from being a guy who had top-drawer health coverage to being one of the guys I read about, one of the guys I covered, who deferred health care for fear of the cost.

The pain eventually subsided, but the complications that allowed it to persist are still with me. I am years away from what I had thought of as the age when I could transition to part-time work. I have worked hard to avoid raiding my retirement savings to cover current expenses. Home repairs I would have had done without a second thought have to wait until there's money: The front steps need to be re-mortared and reset. A dying tree in the yard needs to be cut down and carted away.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

These past few weeks indicate that I'll soon have plenty of company. Take the predicament of men my age at a time of 3.7% unemployment and add the army of people now filing unemployment claims - 4.4 million in one recent week alone. It's unclear at the moment just what federal and state government emergency programs will do for millions of self-employed and gig economy workers, many already hustling in the best of times, who've been watching their work dry up and disappear.

If my own experiences are any indication, what comes next for many of them is insecurity about self-worth, status and place in the world. My name appears on mailing lists from my days as the old me. I'm asked to make generous contributions to organizations for which I had written big checks in the past; today, that's out of the question. I feel sheepish talking publicly about all this, because I know how many live a lot closer to the edge than I do. But I'm not whining when I say my life is different now. Even before social distancing rendered the outside world strange, I would do a walk-through at the supermarket with my wife's list in hand, to see if items close enough to what was specified were on sale. A pair of old shoes is resoled for a second time instead of being replaced. There will be no vacations for my family when this crisis ends.

And that doesn't change the fact that I have some serious decisions to make about what these years of my life, and what's left of my working years, can be. If I for once don't follow the rules, take my Social Security early and start drawing from my 401(k) accounts, I will be poorer in retirement than all my planning and saving ever assumed. I can swallow hard and realize that a chapter in my life may be over. That would mean proceeding on the theory that a cratered annual income is now the reality, rather than just an aberration. I have to scratch together the dough for my property tax, my homeowner's insurance and my monthly premium. I'll keep an eye on the calendar and cross the line to Medicare as so many friends have begun to do.

One thing I don't ask is, "Why me?" Given my age, given the numbers, given the realities of work in America for those who are displaced, I could well ask, "Why not me?"

- - -

Suarez co-hosts the program and podcast "WorldAffairs" for KQED-FM and the World Affairs Council. He was a senior correspondent for "PBS NewsHour" and host of the public radio show "America Abroad." This article was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
FILM REVIEW Rob Morgan plays an ex-bull rider in BULL

Bull marks director Annie Silversteins debut. Its set in

Houston and follows Kris, a troubled 14-year old-girl (Amber Harvard) whose mother is in the state penitentiary, and Abe, an ex-bull rider (Rob Morgan) way past-his-prime who is barely making his living working the weekly rodeo circuits. Both damaged beings are at a crossroads in their livesvery different but none the less the form an unlikely bond and attempt self-discovery before it is too late for them both.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Its a theme loosely explored in the film as it pushes deeper into the story.

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We first meet Kris taking care of the family dog, giving her grandmother (Keeli Wheeler) an insulin shot and making the best of economic hardships. Kris is shouldering more than a child her age should. Her mother is in prison, and shes forced to help raise her little sister (Keira Bennett). No surprise that she fights at school.

One boring, lonely night, trying to impress classmates, Kris breaks into the home of Abe, a hard-drinking and painkiller using former rodeo star whose been relegated him to now just wrangling bulls rather than riding them.

Furious Abe calls the police but takes pity on Kris who later helps him clean up.

Over the start of their journey, the two begin to form a silent bond. An unspoken understanding that they both need someone. She begins to tag along with him meeting other black rodeo workers and their families.

She quickly forms a bond and decides that she wants to ride, starting with riding the barrel, a mechanical device that simulates the experience of riding a wild, bucking bull. Kris is hooked. A lifeline to cling to a necessary break from her bleak routine.

When she attends her first rodeo, she falls in love and starts hammering Abe with questions about life as a bull-rider.

Slowly he responds to her curiosity and gives her a few lessons and its here that the friendship (and the story) begins to develop.

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There is no mutual rehabilitation by a supernatural negro like seen in Oscar-winning Green Book, here the films approach toward race is

is rarely addressed. The casual racism that swirls around these characters is a copy-cat (almost) of how racism envelopes Americans. Its like air  always there.

At its heart Bull is about the necessary work that is needed by every human being that has decided to change their life. Yes, its daunting. Growth is often unpleasant but it makes space for the unexpected.

The acting is solid with young Havard delivering an even and believable performance. Necessary since the magnetic Morgan fills every frame with his characters presence.

All-in-all Bull draws the viewer into the heart of the story where they can cherish the tender moments. We feel when Kris visits her dysfunctional mother (Sara Albright) in jail. We connect when shes bonding with her sister and confiding with new friends. We cheer her new connection with rodeo buddies watching her slowly grow. These moments are necessary to bring the full story of Bull to life.

One of the jewels in Bull is the simple, straight forward way that the director, Silverstein, has decided to tell the story. Raising the question of what can a 14-year-old white girl learn from a middle-aged black ex-bull-rider?

Much like cowboys who work the circuit, the film approaches the story with the same methodical slow build with each trying to find their footing, so to speak.

There is inherent suspense in the film as the larger questions loom which are will they find love and mutual respect? Is that even a possibility given their age and race differences?

Director Silversteins story has managed to sidestep several cliches keeping her pacing strong allowing the film to patiently enfold. Bull is not a perfect film but its smart and made with tenderness.

Bull directed by Annie Silverstein. Screenplay by Annie Silverstein, Johnny McAllister. Starring Rob Morgan, Amber Havard, Yolonda Ross, Sara Albright, Keeli Wheeler, Keira Bennett, Steven Boyd.

On-demand and digital- May 1, 2020.

http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/bull/
London, May 1 : Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, on Friday lost the opening round of her legal battle against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for publishing a confidential letter to her estranged father last year, with the High Court judge dismissing major parts of her suit, reports said.

The former American actress, who is married to Prince Harry, was seeking damages from Associated Newspapers Ltd for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

However, the judge dismissed as "irrelevant" most of her case, including her claims that the reports were part of a media "agenda" against her.

Justice Warby also "struck out" her allegations that journalists had acted dishonestly and had caused the rift between her and her estranged father Thomas by "digging up dirt" to portray Meghan in a "negative light".

The article had reproduced parts of a handwritten note she sent to her father in August 2018, three months after he was unable to walk her down the aisle following a heart attack, and was made public by him in February 2019.

A preliminary hearing in the case, in which lawyers for Associated Newspapers asked for parts of the Duchess's case to be struck out, was conducted remotely last week.

During the hearing, the judge was told the letter had been published by Associated Newspapers to satisfy the "curiosity" of readers, which it had "deliberately generated", according to British media reports.

Lawyers representing Meghan said the publisher had, through the articles, "stirred up" the dispute between her and her father, with David Sherborne contending that the publisher had "harassed" the elder Markle, and "finally manipulated this vulnerable man into giving interviews", which he had later described as "lies".

But counsel for the publisher argued allegations by Meghan that the articles were responsible for "causing" the dispute between them are "objectionable" with Antony White arguing that Meghan's contention that her "vulnerable" father was "harassed and humiliated", "manipulated" and "exploited" should not form part of her case.

Delivered his ruling on Friday, Justice Warby favoured the newspaper publisher.

"Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded.

"Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed.

"I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.

"I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018." Justice Warby, however, said: "Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form." In a statement issued after the ruling, a spokesperson for law firm Schillings, which is representing Meghan, said: "Today's ruling makes very clear that the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward.

"The duchess' rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed.

"As part of this process, the extremes to which The Mail on Sunday used distortive, manipulative, and dishonest tactics to target The Duchess of Sussex have been put on full display," The statement also said: "Whilst the judge recognises that there is a claim for breach of privacy and copyright, we are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behaviour is not relevant." According to the Mail, the Associated Newspapers will also ask the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to pay their costs of in excess of 50,000 pounds after the couple refused their offer to deal with the issue out of court to save the High Court having to set up an online hearing during the coronavirus crisis.

Prince Harry and Meghan, who have relinquished their royal duties, are currently living in Los Angeles.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-01 18:22:02

F+L Webcast: New Fuels & Lubricant Industry Podcast Examines ILSAC GF-6A, GF-6B and API SP First Licensing

Vicky Villena-Denton

F&L Asia Ltd.

http://www.fuelsandlubes.com/flweek

Email: conference@fuelsandlubes.com

22/F., 3 Lockhart Road

Wanchai, Hong Kong

Phone (Hong Kong): +852 3183 4143

First licensing of the new ILSAC passenger car engine oil standards GF-6A and GF-6B, and APIs latest engine oil performance standard, API SP, commence today, 1 May 2020. The release of these new specifications, to meet the performance needs of current and next-generation engines, marks the conclusion of a seven-year journey. Products certified under the EOLCS program are authorised to display two marks, the API Service Symbol (aka Donut) and the Certification Marks (aka Starburst and Shield). The new mark, the API Shield, is for ILSAC GF-6B, SAE 0W-16 viscosity grade oils meeting API SN.

Jeff Harmening of the American Petroleum Institute (API) joined Vicky Denton, Editor-in-Chief of F&L Asia Ltd, on the inaugural episode of F+L Webcast to discuss the new release. Harmening is Manager of APIs Engine Oil Licensing Certification System (EOLCS), and also oversees APIs Diesel Exhaust Fluid Certification Program and the Motor Oil Matters (MOM) program.

F+L Webcast is an offshoot of F+L Week, the gold standard for the fuels and lubricants industry's conference circle. This year, for the first time in its 26-year history, F+L Week had to be rescheduled to 1-4 September 2020 due to concerns around the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We developed F+L Webcast to keep the conversation going as many parts of the world have been forced into lockdown, says Denton. F+L Webcast will continue our tradition of being First with the Latest and will provide news and opinion on a wide variety of industry themes via podcast, starting with GF-6 first licensing, she says.

API has been inundated with licensing requests prior to the 1st of May deadline, says Harmening. Over 100 countries and more than 1,000 products have been pre-approved for the new specifications. Marketers have been permitted to apply for pre-approval since February 2020 - to allow sufficient time for API to review applications before first licensing. Harmening expects strong application volumes will continue over the following few weeks. Asia Pacific comprises a significant share of total applications, with 37 countries and requests for over 250 products. In China, 21 individual companies have applied for licensing of at least 163 individual products.

Harmening told F+L Webcast he anticipates new GF-6A, GF-6B and API SP licensed engine oil products will appear on the shelf almost immediately. A high number of companies have completed provisional licensing due to the backlog at independent test labs for the ROBO oxidation bench test(ASTM D7528), and in such a competitive industry many companies are ready to go, he says.

While OEMs will no doubt welcome the arrival of the new standards, it has taken a substantial period to get these specifications into API 1509, which describes the voluntary EOLCS program, as well as methods for developing new engine oil performance standards. GF-6 includes an unprecedented number of new engine tests developed for a category (seven), causing a bottleneck in the test development process. The Lubricants Standards Development Review Group (LSDRG) was convened by API to review the process - to eliminate waste and enable faster development in the future. LSDRG is beginning to wrap up work and compile its summary of recommendations, says Harmening. Though, the API representative would not be drawn on the timing of an announcement on the new process.

ILSAC GF-5 first licensing occurred on October 1, 2010. How long these new specifications will remain relevant remains to be seen, particularly when you consider recent changes to soften vehicle fuel economy standards in the United States. There will always be companies developing technology that will change the engine as we know it. This will be a driver for new specifications, says Harmening. While API doesnt anticipate a new ILSAC specification in the near term, we will need to address GF-7 in the future, he says.

ABOUT F+L WEBCAST

F+L Webcast is a brand-new fuel and lubricant industry podcast by F&L Asia Ltd. You can listen to the entire podcast episode with Jeff Harmening at https://www.flweek.fuelsandlubes.com/fl-webcast. Subscribe to F+L Webcast to ensure you never miss an episode.

ABOUT F+L WEEK

F+L Week is the premier fuels, lubricants, additives and base oils conference in Asia-Pacific and the convergence of the Annual Fuels & Lubes Asia Conference and the Asia-Pacific Base Oil Conference.

F+L Week has announced new dates for this years conference following the earlier postponement of the meeting due to concerns around the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). F+L Week 2020 will be held on 1-4 September 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand. For further details visit https://www.flweek.fuelsandlubes.com/

F+L Week 2020 will continue to offer a comprehensive series of education courses - the perfect opportunity to increase your or your employees knowledge and understanding of metalworking fluids, the lubrication challenges of electric vehicles, and marine fuels and lubricants against the backdrop of IMO 2020. For more details visit https://www.flweek.fuelsandlubes.com/educationcour

F+L DAILY EXECUTIVE BRIEF

In today's constantly changing competitive environment, staying on top of technological breakthroughs, innovations, industry news and trends is critical for business success. At F&L Asia Ltd we are doing the leg work for you. Our brand-new Executive Brief summarises leading F+L stories of the past month and providing your business with a valuable competitive edge as well as saving you precious time and effort. Subscribe now at https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/subscribe-to-newslet

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005

F+L Webcast: New Fuels & Lubricant Industry podcast examines ILSAC GF-6A, GF-6B and API SP first licensing
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Putin has promised a more spectacular than usual air parade. The Immortal Regiment (Bessmertniy Polk) association will hold an online march. The solemn inauguration of the Great Church of the Armed Forces has been postponed to either 24 June or 3 September. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The May Day, Labour Day, starts Russias most important period of civic holidays, which ends with the Victory parade on 9 May, marking the end of the Second World War and the triumph of the Soviet Union under Stalin. This year, great outdoor displays will not be possible because of the coronavirus outbreak, but President Vladimir Putin has promised a more spectacular than usual air parade.

In addition to the Orthodox liturgical calendar, Russias national identity is centred on these "patriotic" anniversaries that mark great victories and the various periods of the countrys history. For this reason, groups dedicated to national remembrance have organised "virtual" celebrations. The Immortal Regiment (Bessmertniy Polk) association is organising an "online march" similar to those held in previous years (picture 4: a march in Rome).

The association was founded in Tomsk, Siberia, in 2012, by journalists Sergey Lapenkov, Sergey Kolotovkin and Igor Dmitriev. The first march was held with pictures of relatives who took part in past wars; in particular, the victors of the fight against Nazism. Today the association is active across Russia and is represented in over 80 countries around the world, where Russian children of victory are present. Other groups of this kind have appeared in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The Immortal Regiments website carries family wartime stories and other material. From 1 to 9 May, family pictures will also "parade" on social media, in front of their home, with the special hashtag #Bessmertnyjpolkdoma, linked to the shared homepage.

The children and grandchildren of Victors are invited to highlight their veteran parents photo material, tell their story, which will remain available to visitors. Several specialists can help people find information about their glorious forebears.

A patriotic festival titled All faces of memory will be held online. Special fireworks will be held on Victory Day, visible from home, with online toasting.

The solemn inauguration of the Great Church of the Armed Forces  built to mark the great victories in Russian history, from those against the Mongols to the annexation of Crimea in 2014  has been postponed. The church, which looks like a nuclear rocket from the outside, contains mosaics depicting Russias holy victors, including Stalin and Putin, although the latter will probably be kept in showrooms until they are canonised in the future.

The diameter of the church dome, dedicated to the Resurrection (of Christ and Russia) is 19.45 metres (a reminder of 1945, the year of victory over Nazism); the bell tower is 75 metres (like the years since the Victory); the lower dome is 14.18, in memory of the 1,418 days of war, which for the Soviets went from 1941 to 1945, since they initially stayed out of the war after signing a non-aggression pact with Hitler in 1939. Pieces of German weapons will be mounted on the entrance steps, if Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu gets his way,

Meanwhile, COVID-19 is spreading across the country, with more than 100,000 cases. Yesterday Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported that he tested positive for the coronavirus and is now in self-confinement.

Depending on how the coronavirus crisis develops, the church marking Russias Victory will be publicly inaugurated on a new date, either 24 June (day of the first parade in 1945, led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the legendary chief of the armys general staff), or 3 September (Russias Victory Day over Japan).
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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 1, 2020 18:52 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56a8b5 1 National May-Day,May-Day-commemoration,online-rallies,labor-union,said-iqbal,labor-rights,labor-rally,omnibus-bill,job-creation,RUU-cilaka,RUU-cipta-kerja Free

Many Indonesian workers went online to celebrate Labor Day, also known as or May Day, on Friday to avoid spreading and contracting the coronavirus, reiterating their rejection of the job creation bill and demanding protection during the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Since Friday morning, hashtags to commemorate the day, created by workers and unions, have taken up the Twitter world: #TolakOmnibusLaw (RejectOmnibusBill), demanding an end to the deliberation of the omnibus bill on job creation and #BacotanBuruh (WorkersSpeak), which voices the need for labor rights, job protection amid the COVID-19 pandemics.



Workers also participated in the #TuntutanChallenge (DemandsChallenge), which adopts the new TikTok trend known as the "pass the brush challenge." Instead of "passing" the brush, the workers pass banners bearing their demands to the government and the employers, such as to stop massive layoffs, and to pay full Idul Fitri holiday bonuses (THR) and wages.



The latest Manpower Ministry data show that more than 1.9 million workers in both the formal and informal sectors had either been furloughed or laid off as of April 19, as companies temporarily halt operations to comply with large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

Selamat Hari Buruh Internasional #Mayday2020. Buruh adalah penopang sistem,akan tetapi justru yg pertama diabaikan ketika krisis.



Stop segala bentuk kekerasan berbasis gender di tempat kerja, karena setiap perempuan adalah pekerja! #TolakOmnibusLaw #HariBuruh #GerakPerempuan pic.twitter.com/MeLXfsuCs9  Perempuan Mahardhika (@MahardhikaKita) May 1, 2020



The workers also demand better protections for workers on the front line in the battle against COVID-19, especially essential workers at hospitals.

Workers take part in a protest on May Day, or International Workers' Day, in Tangerang, Banten on May 1 to call on lawmakers to drop omnibus law discussions and focus on handling the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (AFP/Fajrin Raharjo)



A coalition of three major labor unions in the country calling itself the Indonesian Labor Workers Assembly (MPBI), which previously planned to hold the rally on the streets, on Friday distributed protective equipment and hand sanitizer to hospitals in Greater Jakarta and other regions across the country.



"We pitched in our money for them, the frontliners working in the hospital," said Prihanani, deputy chairwoman of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and a MPBI member.

Other labor groups under the Labor with the People Movement (Gebrak), which includes various organizations such as farmers and media workers, voiced their demands via YouTube broadcast.



To fuel the digital rally, the workers from Gebrak also called on fellow workers to send texts to the leaders of the House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg) containing messages against the controversial bill, also known as the omnibus bill.



A similar initiative was carried out in early April following a closed-door meeting held by lawmakers to discuss the bill, causing some politicians cell phones to stop working.

Baleg chairman Willy Aditya of the NasDem Party told the Post that he had received thousands of texts from the workers since Friday morning. "I've received WhatsApp messages and missed calls."



The NasDem Party and the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) pushed the government to drop labor provisions from the omnibus bill on job creation following growing public opposition.



The workers later agreed to cancel the street protests after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced last Friday that the government had reached a deal with the House to delay deliberation of the labor provisions within the bill.



In Medan, North Sumatra several workers celebrated May Day by holding a "social distancing rally" to the provinces Legislative Council building, guarded by the police. The protesters maintained their distance and wore masks during the 30-minute rally.



Rallies involving a small number of people also took place in several factories in some regions across the country.



In Central Java, hundreds of workers worked with the government to distribute staple food packages to laid-off and furloughed workers on Friday.



Said Iqbal, president of the KSPI demanded the government require public audits of companies that claimed losses. He believed not all sectors had been equally hit by the pandemic.



We want public audits for companies that claim losses. For those that survive, we demand they pay full THR and wages so that their purchasing power can be maintained and the economy can grow positively," he said on Friday.



"And the most important thing is to stop the pandemic so the economy can actively move.



Iqbal said the MPBI leaders had also asked the government to issue a presidential decree to allow trade unions to join the drafting team of the omnibus bill so that it could accommodate the publics interests.

Suherdjoko in Semarang and Apriadi Gunawan in Medan contributed to this story.
In a bid to maintain regular water supply in Dadar, Dharavi and Mahim (G-North ward), the civic hydraulic department has roped 18 non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers and civic staffers from neighbouring G-South wards to help and maintain regular water supply in the ward.

The civic body fears that the water supply in the region could be affected as 30 workers and civic water supply department have been quarantined after a junior engineer of the ward was tested Covid-19 positive.

Water supply in the areas like 90 Feet Road, Matunga Labour Camp, Senapati Bapat Marg Junction, Kumbharwada and Dharavi could be affected. However civic officials claimed no water cuts will be imposed.

On Friday, the civic hydraulic department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has hired 18 NGO workers with a minimum daily wage of 450 per day to maintain water supply the ward.

Ajay Rathore, chief engineer, hydraulics department of BMC, said, The issue is only related to operations. We have enough water stock and there is no problem related to maintenance. Hence, with the help of the respective ward officer, we have decided to help from NGO workers to smoothen water supply.

Assistant commissioner Kiran Dighavkar said, As we have limited staff, we decided to hire workers from private NGOs on daily minimum wages. Initially, we have to train them.

He further told that all the quarantined staffers did not show any symptoms and hence there is need not to worry about them.

Earlier on April 28, a junior engineer from the water supply department was tested positive. Around 30 workers from the same department who came in contact with junior engineer were quarantined on April 30. These 30 workers were deployed at 30 different locations in the region to open and close water pipeline valves.
Just within one year of being in office as a democratically elected governor, Dave Umahi is already power drunk. He thinks to be a state governor is a herculean task in our corruption infested brand of democracy.

Recently, as journalists, we got a taste of the corrupt and nonsensical leadership that we have to always endure for decades.

It was on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, when the power-drunk Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state had the guts and audacity to ban for life two journalists  Chijoke Agwu and Peter Okutu  working for The Sun and Vanguard newspapers from Ebonyi State Government House and all government facilities in the state because of their unfavorable reports on his poor performance and crudity. After banning the two journalists, the almighty Umahi proceeded to tacitly and tactfully threatened them with mob violence if they dare violate his unlawful ban.

The journalists were accused by the governor of reporting a case on Lassa fever and a military invasion of a community in Ohaukwu council area of the state.

Umahi never wanted the world to know that there was Lassa fever outbreak in Ebonyi state and he never wanted the press to report the military invasion of a defenseless community for fear of offending the military authority. Umahi still wants the public to see him as the Chief Security Officer of Ebonyi State.

After announcing his ban, Umahi went on to state: If you think you have the pen, we have the koboko. Lets leave the court alone. Ebonyi people are very angry with the press and let me warn that I wont be able to control them or know when they unleash mayhem on you if you continue to write to create panic in the state. But he never stated the written panics that compelled him to issue the illegal directive.

Umahi should at this juncture be quickly reminded that he does not have the power from anywhere to ban journalists or any other person for that matter from residing or entering Ebonyi State or from accessing any government property, facilities or institutions provided with public funds. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the rights of citizens including journalists to Freedom of Movement in and out of any part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (section 41). The Constitution also guarantees the right of the media to cover all affairs of government including investigative reports as well as the right of citizens and the press to obtain relevant public information from government/public officers, offices and institutions (sections 22 and 39(1) & (2) of the Constitution and sections 1-4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

How then can a governor who is supposedly the Chief Executive Officer and highest ranking public official of the state, be so ignorant of the basic tenets of the law and of the Constitution he swore to protect? Umahi must be one of those misfits in responsible positions! Or is it the case that he knows the law but does not give a damn about the dictates of the law and the structures imposed on his powers by the Constitution he claims to uphold?

Why was the governor so angry about some reporting by the two largely unknown journalists? Is he trying to cover up anything untoward he wants to hide in the dark while occupying a public office on oath?

If the reports were false and misleading as the almighty governor seems to suggest by his prompt but hurried action. Why didnt he seek the usual judicial redress in the courts of law?

My reading of the entire drama is that the governor is not ignorant of the law as he portrayed in his action. He simply has no use or regard for the very Constitution that brought him to power, the courts, the press and the rights of the people he loves to govern. This explains why the governor, within a few hours of banning the journalists, hurriedly issued (in the full glare of TV cameras), an unlawful directive to local government officials authorizing them to flog any person-big or small- found not wearing face masks in public with canes. That is a typical case of a drunken sailor!

The governors directive to beat any person caught without a face mask in public with a cane flies in the face of section 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which guarantees the rights of citizens to respect for dignity for their persons and provides that no person should be subjected to torture or to inhuman and degrading treatment by any person including security agents. Aside being a Constitutional aberration, the governors directive to beat citizens with canes is callous, degrading, inhuman and highly irresponsible and barbaric.

The fact that the governor issued such a barbaric and unlawful directive in the face of widespread of complaints of police/soldier brutality and highhandedness speaks volumes of the governors contemptuous disregard for the fundamental rights of the people as well as lack of empathy, circumspection and sense of justice. Even worse, the unlawful directive, which is in itself an abuse, is susceptible to abuse by all manner of people; the directive will surely be interpreted by security and government officials as well as unscrupulous elements in the community as a license to trample or further trample upon the rights of long suffering people of Ebonyi state particularly.

If the governor fancies himself a military administrator who is unanswerable to the Constitution, untrammeled by law and unaccountable to the people, he must be awakened from his fantasy and day dream by the people. There is neither a place for the rule of man nor for the rule of force anywhere in independent Nigeria. Governance in accordance with the rule of law is the only permissible mode of governance in the Nigeria we know and the governor must abide by the laws of the land. The rule of law gave birth to and sustains the office of a state governor which Dave Umahi occupies today.

If Umahi does not appreciate this simple and elementary fact, then perhaps he is not medically fit to be a public officer. Nobody forced him to be a state governor anywhere in Nigeria. He should realize the simple fact that he is not the most qualified to be the governor of Ebonyi state at this material time. He should realize the simple fact that of the two journalists he banned for life from covering government activities in Ebonyi state, by providence, any of them can be a state governor tomorrow. It is not a big deal to be a state governor in Nigeria. It is a matter of good calculation, assembling the right propaganda machinery, heartless gang of political thugs, shameless deceivers and liars that can deceive even the dead as a marketing strategy of their product. What is there then in being a state governor that is more like a house wife that waits for monthly, weekly or daily family feeding allowance? A secondary school dropout can be a state governor in Nigeria with good sponsorship from a wealthy investor in the polity. Dave Umahi has missed the point! The media should zoom, its searchlight on the activities of Governor Dave Umahi and publish reports before Ebonyi State is forced on its knees from inept and cluelessness combined. Umahi must be one of those governors that force the administering of Oath of Secrecy on public servants for cover of deals and subsequent escape route. But the battle line is drawn. We have been invited for a war to sanitize Ebonyi State Government by His Excellency Dave Umahi and we have most sincerely accepted his executive invitation with due respect. We love to have his promised koboko for publishing the truth and exposing the heap of lapses bedeviling steady development of Ebonyi State. The challenge is for journalists to professionally prove the maxim that says the Pen is mightier than the Sword. We live to see who blinks first. Many were governors. Many will still be governors. A journalist can be a governor but I doubt much if Dave Umahi can ever be a journalist. If he happens to be one by accident, the profession will surely suffer.

Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
Burglars are still targeting homes and cars despite the ongoing lockdown, gardai have warned.

And there has been a slight increase in Cork city in recent weeks in the rate of opportunistic burglaries from cars - most of which were left unlocked - by criminals out for easy-pickings.

Gardai have now urged homeowners to follow a few simple crime prevention routines to thwart and deter these thieves, to remain vigilant especially over the bank holiday weekend, and to report any unusual or suspicious activity to their local garda station.

We have a lot more gardai out and about now than we have ever had, said Detective Supt Michael Comyns, head of the Serious Crime Investigation Unit in Cork City.

Despite the fact that more people are staying at home and taking fewer journeys, burglars have not been deterred from targeting homes and cars parked outside.

One resident of a suburb west of Cork city said members of their local neighbourhood WhatsApp group have reported to gardai the suspicious movements of a white van in and around their area near Ballincollig in recent days.

Two hooded men were later captured on a private CCTV system testing car door handles in the area.

Its believed the criminals are casing estates by day to identify potential targets and are returning under the cover of darkness.

They can sweep through an estate in a matter of minutes, moving quickly from house to house, testing front and back door handles and car door handles to see if theyve been left unlocked.

Supt Comyns said in most cases, the thieves wont smash car or house windows to break-in - they will only target unlocked property, with mobile phones, wallets or cash the most likely items to be taken from unlocked cars.

The superintendent said homeowners can protect themselves from becoming the victims of such crime.

Its the simple things like checking that your front and back doors are locked, that all the windows are locked, before going to bed, and checking that the car is locked and valuables arent left in it overnight, he said.

The criminals are out for easy-pickings and if people make it difficult for them, theyll move on.

While some suburbs have been targeted in recent days, Supt Comyns said those involved in this type of crime can target any area at any time.

Two men were arrested and charged recently in connection with five burglaries on city properties between midnight and 5am one morning, which in one case involved two males gaining access to a property by pretending to be gardai.

Supt Comyns advised people to exercise caution when answering the door to callers identifying themselves as plain-clothes gardai.

Plain-clothes gardai have no reason to be calling to homes like this - it will almost always be uniformed gardai who will produce identification. I would advise homeowners to just keep their door closed and contact their local garda station, he said.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit Friday against Gov. Kay Ivey and Secretary of State John Merrill over voting laws they say will stop some people from voting in the July 14 runoff or jeopardize their health because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, asks the court to prohibit the state from enforcing a law requiring voters to sign absentee ballots before a notary or two witnesses, as well as a law requiring a photo ID to apply for an absentee ballot.

The plaintiffs also asked the court to order Ivey and Merrill to direct county officials to set up curb-side or drive-through voting.

The plaintiffs include four people with medical conditions that put them at risk of serious illness from COVID-19, the lawsuit says. The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and People First of Alabama, a group of people with developmental disabilities, are also plaintiffs. The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program is a co-counsel for the plaintiffs.

No one should have to choose between their life or their vote, NAACP Legal Defense Fund Senior Counsel Deuel Ross said in a news release. These burdensome voting requirements weigh heavily on Alabamians during all elections. But requiring voters to comply with these restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic needlessly endangers lives. We strongly encourage Governor Ivey and Secretary Merrill to protect voters by adopting procedures that limit voters potential exposure to COVID-19.

Merrill issued a statement when asked about the lawsuit.

In typical Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) fashion, SPLC has notified the media prior to notifying the intended recipient of this information," Merrill said. "Because we have not yet been served, we cannot speak to this information. Additionally, we cannot speak to ongoing litigation, if this is indeed pending litigation.

The plaintiffs said they sent letters to Merrill about the issues on March 19 and April 17 but received no response.

Ivey Press Secretary Gina Maiola said she was not aware that the governors office had been served with the lawsuit. Maiola said any initial response to the lawsuit would not come through the media.

Ivey postponed the runoff from March 31 to July 14 because of the pandemic. Merrill has said voters who dont want to vote in-person because of the COVID-19 risk can vote absentee. Voters must give a reason when they apply for an absentee ballot. Merrill said they should check the box on the application that says: I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls.

The lawsuit says the witness requirement for absentee voting is an obstacle for tens of thousands of Alabamians who live alone and have a disability.

In the current environment, this poses an unreasonable obstacle to many thousands of vulnerable Alabamians ... who live alone and cannotand should not have torisk the threat of contagion in order to vote, the lawsuit says.

As for the requirement to include a photo ID with the absentee ballot application, the lawsuit says many Alabamians dont have a way to photocopy their ID or dont have a photo ID.

The state should allow curb-side voting so people who are at most risk from COVID-19 could vote without leaving their vehicles, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says the witness and photo ID requirements and the prohibition on curb-side voting violate the Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Voting Rights Act.

Edited at 6:06 p.m. to change headline. Edited at 10:06 a.m. to say the lawsuit has been filed and to say that the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program is a co-counsel, not a plaintiff. Edited at 1:06 p.m. May 4 to correct name of NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
LUCKNOW, India - India on Friday ran the first train service for thousands of migrant workers desperate to return home since it imposed a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Relieved and smiling, 1,200 people clapped as they boarded the train at Lingampally in southern Telangana state for Hatia in the eastern state of Jharkhand  a 19-hour journey.

However, railroad authorities said Fridays service was only a one-off special train and a decision on running more trains will be taken soon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to announce on Sunday his decision whether to extend the 40-day-old lockdown or gradually ease it to resume economic activity. Earlier this week, the government allowed some shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming to resume.

On Friday, India registered another daily high of nearly 2,000 infections, bringing totals to 35,043 with 1,147 deaths.

Several states, including Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana have demanded special trains for returning workers because they couldnt arrange enough buses.

The Uttar Pradesh government in northern India has announced distribution of free food grains, but a majority of the migrant workers do not have cards issued by the state government to avail of the facility.

The situation is aggravated because first these people do not have work and secondly there are more mouths to feed than the food available in the village, said Nomita P. Kumar of Giri Institute of Development Studies in Lucknow, the state capital.

State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered that those who do not have the government ration cards should not be denied food grains and should be given a provisional card.

The state government spokesman, Awanish Awasthi, said more than 12,000 workers and students had returned from northern Haryana and western Rajasthan states after the lockdown was announced on April 25 using more than 600 buses.

Around 1 million migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh are still stranded in other Indian states, he said.
After taking a stand against Gov. Greg Abbott, Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough was backing down on his stance that the governors plan to reopen Texas was vague and said he will follow the order after the Texas Attorney Generals Office issued guidance on all nonessential businesses.

Attorney General Ken Paxtons office released the guidance letter late Thursday, making it clear all nonessential businesses are to remained closed.

ON HOUSTONCHRONCILE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: AG's office calls Harris vote-by-mail statements 'misleading'

On Tuesday, Keough maintained the order was confusing adding the it only told Texans to avoid those businesses, not that they were closed. Keough, along with fellow court members, asked Abbott to clarify his plan.

Keough applauded Abbott Friday for clarifying the orders but sent a message to local legislative leaders.

I would ask they work with me to move the governor which ever way we need to go to open up as quickly as possible keeping the people of our county the most safe, Keough said.

Written by Deputy Attorney General Ryan Vassar, who states Abbotts plan is not vague, the AGs office states nonessential businesses are not reopened and does note business owners and customers could face criminal penalties if they violate the order.

Some services are neither essential nor reopened services for purposes of GA-18, Vassar states. These include bars, gyms, public swimming pools, interactive amusement venues such as bowling alleys and video arcades, massage establishments, tattoo studios, piercing studios, or cosmetology salons. GA-18 prohibits people from visiting these businesses.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Montgomery County commissioners call Abbotts plan to reopen Texas economy vague

News reports have suggested that GA-18 does not prohibit these businesses from opening their doors to the public. We disagree.

According to Vasser, under Abbotts GA-18 order, all Texans must minimize in-person contact with people who do not live in the same household, except where necessary to provide or obtain essential services or reopened services. He adds, services provided by bars, gyms, public swimming pools, interactive amusement venues , massage establishments, tattoo studios, piercing studios, or cosmetology salons are not defined as either essential or reopened services under GA-18.

The nature of these services requires in-person contact between customers and service providers, Vasser states. Those customer-to-employee contacts are affirmatively precluded by GA-18, which instructs that people shall avoid visiting those establishments for such business purposes. A local order purporting to allow establishments providing these services to open for business, therefore, would conflict with the Governors order.

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Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said there is clear criminal culpability in the order.

I appreciated Judge Keoughs position and I understood without a clarification there was not clear culpability on (businesses) owners, Ligon said. However, we did receive clarification last night and businesses are to remain closed. The governors order is enforceable with a criminal sanction of 180 days up to six months in jail.

However, Ligon urged local legislators, such as Brandon Creighton, Robert Nichols, Will Metcalf Cecil Bell and Steve Toth to push Abbott to remove criminal penalties.

It is my fervent hope that Senators Creighton and Nichols along with representatives Metcalf, Bell and Toth will be able to persuade Governor Abbott to rescind the criminal sanctions portion of his current orders, Ligon said. He has injunctive remedies and administrative sanctions that he can use to impose his will without diverting resources of the men and women of law enforcement. This would allow them to return to their primary function of ensuring public safety instead of becoming public health enforcers. Nonetheless, his orders are enforceable and carry that sanction.

As for Keoughs stance on the order, Ligon didnt disagree.

TWO-PART PLAN: Abbott announces which Texas businesses can and can't open May 1

Montgomery County Judge Keough was correct in aggressively seeking clarification on behalf of business owners who were being sent mixed messages at the state level about whether they could currently open, he said. That clarification came from the Office of Attorney General last night advising that those businesses must stay closed. Law enforcement personnel in Montgomery County has done a great job continuing to educate the public and businesses about the constantly evolving rules and literally hundreds of thousands of Montgomery county residents continue to comply.

Sheriff Rand Henderson spoke to commissioners during the courts regular meeting Tuesday reiterating enforcement issues.

Our plan during this whole was notice and compliance, Henderson said. We have put some people in jail for curfew, but it was ancillary to other crimes they committed. We arent going to go in and make a mass arrest at a barbershop, but for public health purposes, I would discourage it. We are still dealing with this crisis and we dont want to make it worse by inviting people to go violate the order because its not enforceable. I certainly dont want to fill the jail with people getting haircuts.

For Keough, getting all businesses open is critical for the county economy.

I have worked hard and will continue to work hard to get these businesses open as fast as we can; I believe it is essential for us as a county and the future of the state of Texas, Keough said in a video statement Friday morning. Weve got to get back rolling our businesses as safely as possible and make sure we protect those who are most vulnerable. Thats my plan.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Derided by many economists for insisting on a balanced budget, and criticised for a health care system seen as bloated and overly expensive, Germany has found itself well equipped now to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

Already applauded for early actions such as social-distancing regulations and aggressive testing seen as helping keep the death toll comparatively low, Europes largest economy has had the financial flexibility to launch a massive rescue plan to help businesses and keep workers paid.

As the country moves to relax some restrictions this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel is pointing to the example of South Korea, which relied on its experience fighting a different coronavirus five years ago to combat Covid-19, as the way forward.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin on Wednesday (Hannibal Hanschke/pool via AP)

Meanwhile, in the US, some protesters have taken to the streets  supported by President Donald Trumps tweets  to demand an end to virus-related shutdowns to help the faltering economy, even if it could lead to an increase in deaths as the health care system struggles.

This is a crisis which, on the one hand, has probably hit the US where it is most vulnerable, namely health care, said Carsten Brzeski, ING banks chief Eurozone economist.

While at the same time it has hit the German economy where its the strongest.

Mr Brzeski was among those who argued for Germany to spend more to stimulate the economy as growth ground toward stagnation, but concedes now the country is in a fortunate position.

For years, balanced budget proponents argued it was prudent during good economic times to bring Germanys house in order to be prepared for a crisis.

So in announcing a 1 trillion euro (880 billion) rescue plan for the countrys 83 million people last month, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was able to assure there was more money available, if needed.

And while Italy and Spain were faced at the height of the crisis with the choice of allocating precious ICU beds to elderly patients or younger patients with better chances of survival, Germany has never had a shortage, and has even taken in patients from other European countries.

Story continues

They had the means, but then they also had the political will, and also the very good analytical insights to use the means, Mr Brzeski said, noting Mrs Merkel was a scientist before entering politics.

I cant imagine any government better than Angela Merkels to deal with this.

Germany is now taking cautious steps to ease restrictions, allowing smaller shops to reopen this week while sticking to strict social-distancing guidelines and requiring face masks on public transport and in stores.

The effect will be analysed after two weeks to see whether infections have again started to significantly climb.

We must not overwhelm our health care system, Mrs Merkel said, warning restrictions could be snapped back.

The best path is one that is careful, and not taken light-heartedly.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party has criticised Mrs Merkels go-slow approach as ruining our country, but the chancellors popularity has been steadily rising and Germans overwhelmingly see her governments crisis management positively.

As restrictions are eased, Mrs Merkel has pointed to South Korea as an example of how Germany will have to improve measures to get ahead of the pandemic with more testing and tracking of cases to slow the infection rate.

Experts say one reason South Korea has managed to avoid lockdowns or business bans was because of its aggressive testing and contact-tracing program that draws from its experience of fighting a different coronavirus  MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome  in 2015.

Following that outbreak, which killed 36 people and sickened around 200, South Korea rewrote its infectious disease law to allow health authorities quick access to a broad range of personal information to fight infectious diseases.

Amid criticism from privacy advocates, authorities have fully exercised such powers during the COVID-19 pandemic, aggressively tracing virus carriers contacts with tools such as smartphone GPS tracking, credit card records and surveillance video. Peoples movements before they were diagnosed are published on websites and relayed via smartphone alerts to inform others whether they have crossed paths with a carrier.

The approach has meant South Korea has managed to slow the spread of the virus without imposing massive lockdowns or banning nonessential businesses, so there has never been any debate over reopening its economy.
SAVING FACE (2005) Rent on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. In a recent interview with The Times, the filmmaker Alice Wu described her intention when she made her first feature. I was trying to make the biggest romantic comedy I could on a tiny budget, she said, with all Asian-American actors, and half of it in Mandarin Chinese. The result? Saving Face, which revolves around a young Chinese-American surgeon, Wil (Michelle Krusiec). Set primarily in Flushing, Queens, the plot involves a romance between Wil and Vivian (Lynn Chen), a dancer. Wil hasnt come out to her mother (Joan Chen), which complicates her relationship  as does the discovery that her mother is pregnant. While Saving Face proved influential (Last year, The Los Angeles Times named it one of the 20 best Asian-American films of the last 20 years), Wus new movie, The Half of It, out this week, is her first film since.

Whats on TV

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953) 10:15 p.m. on TCM. An alien spaceship slams to Earth at the beginning of this sci-fi horror movie, based on material by Ray Bradbury. The story that follows may be less frightening to contemporary cable viewers than it was to the films original movie-theater audiences, who got to experience it with early 3-D effects.
Philadelphia Police congregate in the 1600 block of Annin Street in Point Breeze after a man was fatally shot there Thursday, April 30, 2020. Read more

Philadelphia homicide detectives began May by adding two more slayings to their caseload: one from Thursday night, the other from early Friday.

As of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, the city had reported 125 homicides this year, a 20% increase from the same period a year ago, according to the Police Department.

Over the last five years, Philadelphia has had 870 unsolved homicides  a sharp increase from the end of March, when the number stood at 755, according to the departments Philly Unsolved Murders website.

The most recent slaying victim was gunned down about an hour into the new month. Police were called at 1:03 a.m. Friday to investigate a report of a person with a gun in the 2600 block of North Sartain Street, in the Hartranft section of North Philadelphia.

They found a 43-year-old man inside a white Dodge minivan with a gunshot wound to the left side of his head. The man, whose name was not released, was taken by police to Temple University Hospital, where he died at 4:36 a.m., police said.

A few hours earlier, at 8:50 p.m. Thursday, officers responding to the 1600 block of Annin Street in Point Breeze found a 45-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. They took him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died at 9:06 p.m. They identified him as Christopher Thomas, a resident of the block where he was shot.

No arrests were made in either slaying, and no details about suspects were released.

Police also were investigating two stabbings and a shooting Friday morning in which the victims were hospitalized in stable condition:
A new artificial intelligence hub will be built in the heart of Brisbane to help teach more businesses how to harness the technology.

The Queensland government is throwing $5.5 million at decking out an entire floor of its start-up precinct in the Fortitude Valley that it hopes will lead the state's economic recovery from COVID-19.

The new hub will be built in the Fortitude Valley. Credit:iStock

Innovation Minister Kate Jones said the hub would give a leg-up to struggling start-ups.

"Queensland has a shortage of talent in the artificial intelligence space," she said.
During the day, 12 residents of this region recovered from the disease; their test results proved negative twice

Open source

On April 30, doctors of Chernivtsi region, western Ukraine, reported 96 new cases of Covid-19. Serhiy Osachuk, the head of regional state administration reported that on his Facebook page.

According to him, 28 of these cases occurred in the region's capital city, Chernivtsi.

The overall number of the infected in this area makes 1,667.

During the day, 12 residents of this region recovered from the disease; their test results proved negative twice.

Osachuk added that since the disease reached Chernivtsi region, the regional lab centre processed 7,027 PCR tests. This particular region remains among the "leaders" in Ukraine, in terms of the amount of Covid-19 patients.

On April 30, the overall number of the infected in Ukraine grew by 540 people. The current official number makes 10,406.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 09:15:18|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly Asad Qaiser confirmed late on Thursday night that he had tested positive for the COVID-19 and quarantined himself at his house after the test result.

The speaker of the lower house of the country's parliament announced it at twitter saying, "My coronavirus test resulted positive. I have quarantined myself at my house." The custodian of the lower house requested the whole nation to take precautionary measures without revealing his health condition.

Local Urdu TV channel Geo quoted Qaiser's brother as saying that the speaker's son and a daughter have also been tested positive.

There are no reports about the possible links which caused his infection because he had conducted meetings with several officials and parliamentarians during the past week over the issue to summon a session of the house.

The speaker met Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 24. A video shared by the Prime Minister Office on the day with Xinhua showed the two have a meeting without any protective gear, but with a wide table between them.

Two other parliamentarians, a member of the provincial assembly and several officials of the country have already been tested positive during the last two weeks.

Earlier on Monday, Governor of the country's southern Sindh province Imran Ismail announced to quarantine himself after he was tested positive for the COVID-19.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has been continuously increasing amid fears that the country might face a peak of the pandemic in May.

According to the data available on the website of Pakistan's health ministry on Thursday night, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 16,117 with 358 deaths in the country. Enditem
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on Beijing as a retaliatory measure for the coronavirus outbreak. Bleak U.S. data released overnight and coronavirus worries helped to limit the downside to some extent. Spot gold dropped 0.7 percent to $1,682.40 per ounce, after having declined nearly 2 percent on Thursday. U.S. gold futures were down 0.8 percent at $1,680.70 per ounce. Trump said on Thursday that his concerns about China's role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing. As global coronavirus infections passed 3.25 million, Trump said at a White House event that he has seen evidence to substantiate the theory that the deadly virus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The president of the European Commission backed calls for an investigation into the origin of the new coronavirus and said China should be involved in the process. The global cases of the Covid -19 disease have surged to 32,57,996, and a total of 2,33,416 have succumbed from the deadly virus. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought a status report from the Maharashtra police in four weeks on a PIL questioning the role of police in permitting assembly of a large number of people at Palghar during lockdown, leading to lynching of two sadhus and their driver.

A bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Sanjiv Khanna sought the status report from the police and listed the matter for further hearing after four weeks. The top court issued notice to the Maharashtra government seeking its reply on the matter. The investigation into the case would continue.

A PIL was filed in the apex court through advocate Rashi Bansal in connection with lynching of two sadhus and their driver in Palghar, Maharashtra, on April 16.

The plea sought direction for top court-monitored probe by the CBI into the matter, and also sought to constitute a judicial commission headed by a retired judge of the top court or an SIT monitored by the court. The incident occurred on April 16, when the sadhus and along with their driver were travelling from Mumbai to Surat, Gujarat, to attend the funeral of Guru Mahant Ram Giriji in a car.

The plea contended that in front of the police, a mob started beating the sadhus, Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (35) and their driver Nilesh Telgare (30) with sticks, rods and knives.

The three were brutally murdered and the mob also snatched their money.

"During this whole incident, the police didn't take any concrete step to protect these innocent men which could be proved by the fact that they didn't use any force to disperse the crowd. One of the videos shows one of the police personnel actually pushing the saints to the crowd when they were asking for protection", said the plea.

The counsel argued that the incident occurred despite the fact that the whole country was under lockdown since March 25, where no person was allowed to go outside, and "everyone has been asked to follow social distancing, which raises huge suspicion on part of local police."

The plea also sought direction from the top court to transfer the trial from Palghar, Maharashtra, to a fast-track court of Saket court, Delhi, or any other such court in Delhi.
New Delhi: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Friday said it did not sell a single unit in the domestic market last month due to coronavirus-led nationwide lockdown.

The company had zero sales in the domestic market in April 2020, MSI said in a statement.

This was because in compliance with the Government orders all production facilities were closed, it added

The company, however, exported 632 units from Mundra port following resumption of port operations.

The company said the units were dispatched ensuring all safety guidelines.

R C Bhargava, Chairman at Maruti Suzuki, also pointed out that sales figures would fail to open account in April. "There would be some unusual things which would happen. For example, it has never happened that there is a month in the year when there would be zero sales of automobiles. April is going to be such a month," he said.

Meanwhile, Zac Hollis, director of Skoda India tweeted:
Washington  Joe Biden denied a former Senate staffers allegation of sexual assault on Friday, saying this never happened.

It's the presumptive Democratic nominee's first public comment on an accusation of sexual assault by his former Senate staffer, Tara Reade.

Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened, Biden said in an interview on MSNBCs Morning Joe.

Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine whether there is any record of such a complaint being filed.

The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993, Biden said. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files.

Biden said, There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept.

BREAKING: Joe Biden reacts to Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Allegations for the first time: "It is not true.. it never never happened." pic.twitter.com/PyJjtwTdbV  Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 1, 2020

From earlier:

Washington  Joe Biden on Friday was expected to give his first public comments on a sexual assault allegation that has roiled his presidential campaign.

The presumptive Democratic nominee will appear on MSNBC's Morning Joe to address the allegation by his former Senate staffer Tara Reade that he assaulted her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the 1990s. His campaign issued a statement in early April denying the allegation, and a number of former Biden staffers have defended their boss in interviews.

Biden himself has yet to face any questions or weigh in on the accusation, even as it's taken on fresh attention this week after two of Reades associates said she previously told them about elements of her allegations.

Republicans worried about President Donald Trump's increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

Some in the party have been urging Biden to mount a more forceful response to the allegation.

The campaign has issued statements, but he hasnt issued any statements in his own voice, said former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile. Its not helping, its just damaging  not only to the person who has come forward, but its also damaging the candidate.

Lis Smith, a top strategist on Pete Buttigiegs presidential campaign, also called on the Biden campaign to speak up.

These accusations have not been found to be credible, so its in the Biden campaigns interest to nip this in the bud directly and do it quickly, she said.

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hill's Senate testimony in the 1990s. Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior for which he apologized.

Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, said, I believe Joe Biden, citing a New York Times investigation that she said exonerated him.

Women deserve to be heard," she said, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. They pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Biden. Speaking on CNN, she said she was satisfied with how he has responded," even as she acknowledged it's a matter that he has to deal with.

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clintons private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some, most notably women, say they are paying close attention to the allegations, which gave them pause.

Alex Sink, a donor and former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, said she was not happy to read about the allegations against Biden. While she still plans to vote for him, she worried his campaign was too quick to categorically deny Reade's story.

They put themselves immediately out on a limb by saying, It didnt happen, we categorically deny it, its not true, Sink said.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because its an indictment of Bidens central campaign rationale: that he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a battle for the soul of America.

The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump  but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign, said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders organizing director.

The silence from the Biden campaign has given Republicans an opening on an issue that was, in 2016, more fraught for the GOP, when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who alleged varying levels of sexual assault and harassment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that Biden will have to participate in releasing all the information related to the allegation, a stance he didn't take when Trump faced misconduct accusations.

The GOP argues Democrats aren't being consistent, pointing to aggressive questioning and coverage of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced an allegation of sexual assault.

Speaking about the allegation for the first time on Friday, Trump said Biden should respond before proceeding to criticize the treatment of Kavanaugh as an absolute disgrace to our country.

Steve Guest, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said the left, and their media allies, has one standard for Republicans and another standard for Democrats like Joe Biden.

The double standard, he said, is appalling.
Just like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton has also shown her vulnerable side as a royal and talked about her struggles.

In February, the Duchess of Cambridge appeared on "Happy Mum, Happy Birthday" podcast and talked about the struggles she faced as a mother.

When Giovanna Fletcher asked her if she ever felt "mom guilt," Kate Middleton responded, "Yes, absolutely. And anyone who doesn't like a mother is actually lying."

Though they have a nanny, the Duchess of Cambridge feels guilty for choosing her royal duties than her children.

"There's such a pull, but I am such a hands-on mom, and whatever you're doing, you want to make sure you're doing the uttermost best job you can for your children."

In the podcast, she also joked about her two eldest, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, chastising her over her priorities as a mother.

She shared how she was questioned, "'Mommy, how could you possibly not be dropping us off at school this morning?'"

Kate Middleton also spoke candidly about not being the happiest when pregnant, saying, "It's definitely a challenge. William didn't feel he could do much to help, and it's hard for everyone to see you suffering without actually being able to do anything about it."

As she spoke openly about her true feelings on being a mother to three children, the 38-year-old duchess received praise from fans, with one royal expert saying that an important person in Kate Middleton's life could have inspired this new honesty and openness.

Speaking to Express UK,Carroll said, "Perhaps the duchess was inspired by Harry's candid guest podcast appearance discussing his 20-year struggle to cope with the death of his mother."

It is a known fact that the Duke of Sussex suffered for years after the death of Princess Diana, before finally getting help at the urging of his elder brother, Prince William.

"And the mental health issues that dog him to this day when he's in large crowds such as walkabouts."

It's also a fact that Prince Harry's fears about the paparazzi had led him to be so protective of his wife, Meghan Markle, and their one-year-old son, Archie Harrison because when the Duke of Sussex was younger, he wasn't able to protect his mother.

Carroll also mentioned that maybe Kate Middleton's podcast appearance is part of the royal family's "new normal," a decision that was taken higher within Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace to use new methods to communicate with the people while remaining within their brief.

Until recently, Kate Middleton was often snapped attending formal royal engagements, but royal watchers have never seen her acting candid, care-free, and comfortable in front of the camera.

Since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have decided to leave the UK to be in Los Angeles, it made Prince William and Kate Middleton step up and add more responsibilities to their royal duties.

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping down in January, fans have expressed their concern over Kate Middleton, who appeared to look tired and sad in several royal appearances.

However, it is worth noting that Kate Middleton revealed how her royal duties are some of the important priorities in her life that she won't ever pull a "Meghan Markle move" because she loves what she's doing.

Even though the Duchess of Cambridge's responsibility is heavier than regular people because she is running a country, she balances out her time by taking care of herself, like meditating, cooking, and other things to de-stress.

Kate Middleton and her husband are also big mental health advocates. Mental health is such an essential part of her advocate. Recently, she and Prince William launched a mental health helpline to help NHS and other frontline people keep on top of their mental well-being in this time of coronavirus pandemic.

READ MORE: Dominating Prince Harry: Body Language Experts Suggest Meghan Markle Is STILL Controlling Him in LA
The number of daily coronavirus deaths registered in Spain was 281 on Friday, according to the latest figures provided by the Health Ministry. This is the second consecutive day that Spain has reported fewer than 300 daily fatalities, but a slight rise from Thursday, when the number of overnight fatalities was 268.

The official death toll in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic now stands at 24,824.

On Friday, there were 1,175 new infections, compared to 1,309 on Thursday. The number of new infections only represents coronavirus cases that have been confirmed via PCR tests, which identify people with an active infection at the time of testing.

Since Sunday, the government has only reported infections confirmed via PCR testing, and not serological tests, which measure antibodies in the blood  i.e. detecting those who have had the coronavirus and recovered. Up until two weeks ago, new cases were only being measured with PCR tests. The total number of infections confirmed via PCR tests is 215,216.

There is, however, a discrepancy in the figures. The number of new cases is actually 1,781, but the Health Ministry has only counted 1,175. This is due to an adjustment with the figures reported by Madrid regional authorities, which included on Friday cases that had been confirmed with several weeks of delays.

Health authorities also reported that a total of 114,678 patients have recovered from the Covid-19 disease and have been discharged from hospital, a daily rise of 2,628. The fatality figures in Spain have remained stable over the last week with 325 on Wednesday, 301 on Tuesday, 331 on Monday, and 288 on Sunday.

Speaking at the governments daily press conference on Friday, Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts, said the number of daily recoveries was particularly positive.

A figure that clearly shows the improvement is the situation of new recoveries, an increase of 2.5% compared to the day before, he said.

The health official also spoke about the ministerial order that will allow adults to go out for a walk or for exercise starting on Saturday. We have to be sensible and understand our joint responsibility, he explained. If a person leaves in the morning to do exercise, I understand that there is no problem if they later go out for a walk with their child. None of [the confinement rules] are made or proposed with the intention of trapping people breaking the rules.

Madrid parks to remain closed

The closed gate to El Retiro park in Madrid. Oscar Canas (Europa Press)

Starting on Saturday, May 2, adults will be allowed to go out for a walk or for exercise as part of Spains deescalation measures. But the mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, said on Thursday that parks in the city will remain closed until at least May 9, when the current state of alarm will come to an end. This means that residents in Madrid will not be able to visit parks such as El Retiro, Casa del Campo, Madrid Rio and Dehesa de la Villa, according to municipal sources.

Speaking at a press conference, the Popular Party (PP) politician said that he wanted to see the conditions of the next extension of the state of alarm before opening the citys green areas. We are taking small steps forward, seeing the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down, Martinez-Almeida said on Thursday. We are going to see what happens from May 9, what situation the deescalation is in, in order to make a decision on parks.

Madrid authorities have expressed concern that opening parks this weekend could lead to large crowds. The leftist opposition group Mas Madrid, however, has argued for parks to be opened to allow children and adults to have more space when they go outside.

Spanish economy forecast to shed 9.2%

The central supply market in Seville, on Thursday. PACO PUENTES

The Spanish economy is expected to shrink by 9.2% in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to the governments 2020-2022 Stability Plan, which was sent to the European Union on Friday. This is worse than the 8% fall in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but better than the 13% calculated by the Bank of Spain, in the worst-case scenario.

Speaking to the press on Friday, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said that the plan forecast a very intense fall in economic activity in the second quarter followed by a gradual recovery in the second half of the year and a strong growth rate in 2021. But she added: Our forecasts are prudent, given that we are making forecasts in a context of great uncertainty.

According to estimates in the Stability Plan, the medical sector of the Spanish economy will represent 10.3% of public debt of GDP this year, public debt will reach 115% of GDP, and the unemployment rate will hit 19% in 2020 before falling to 17.2% next year. During the Great Recession, unemployment in Spain was more than 26%.

Spains confinement measures, introduced on March 14 in a bid to slow the coronavirus outbreak, have led to a serious downturn in economic activity. On Thursday, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that Spains GDP fell 5.2% in the first quarter of 2020  the largest quarterly drop in nearly a century.

Ifema field hospital closes

Health workers and patients celebrate the closure of the Ifema field hospital on Friday. Daniel Gonzalez (GTRES)

The temporary field hospital at Madrids Ifema convention center closed on Friday after treating 4,000 coronavirus patients. The center  the largest field hospital in Spain  was opened on March 21 at the height of the crisis in a bid to reduce the pressure on the regions major hospitals. The hospital was closed with a solemn act in tribute to Spains health workers.

Traffic authority increase security

Spains DGT traffic authority announced on Friday that it will strengthen highway checkpoints ahead of the May long weekend. The extra control is aimed at ensuring Spaniards do not attempt to travel to their second residences during the holiday break.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
Artists can now integrate major streaming platforms into their own sites for COVID-19 era shows; Its just one more feature the DIY site-creator offers to give artists more control and more time for creativity

Onescreener has added a game-changing new feature to its DIY site-creator: integration for the most popular livestream platforms. Now artists and bands can send their fans to one simple spot with their own domain name. The Swiss startup was built by DJ scene veterans and wants to give musicians more control in the business.

Onescreener has added a game-changing new feature to its DIY site-creator: integration for the most popular livestream platforms. Now artists and bands can send their fans to one simple spot with their own domain name. The Swiss startup was built by DJ scene veterans and wants to give musicians more control in the business.

The Onescreener-built site Freyasound.com, the Swiss TV presenter Annina Freya's home for her life as a DJ. Onescreener is the easiest, most cost efficient, way for artists and bands to take control over their marketing, promotion and fan access to livestream concerts.

The Onescreener-built site Freyasound.com, the Swiss TV presenter Annina Freya's home for her life as a DJ. Onescreener is the easiest, most cost efficient, way for artists and bands to take control over their marketing, promotion and fan access to livestream concerts.

Zurich, Switzerland, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oscillate AG announced today that the Onescreener platform has added a gamechanging new feature to its artist website offerings--incredibly simple livestream integration. Inspired by artists and fans who want to participate in streaming concerts but are confused by the wide array of options, Onescreener has made it possible to host shows from the most popular platforms on an artists own site, with their own domain name. Try Onescreener now or watch a short demo video.

Livestreaming music is up 47%, but only 12% of fans say they are able to find the shows they want easily (according to PwC). No fumbling with new registrations or downloads or other confusion. Just let your fans know to go to your site and theyll be able to watch.

Onescreeners mission is to take the need to be everywhere and put it all in one place, said co-founder and CEO Tobias Horka, an experienced promoter and manager of DJs. Now weve adapted quickly to the rise in lockdown live treams to make sure concerts are getting to audiences in the easiest, most direct way possible.

The feature is just one of many reasons Onescreener is becoming a favored way for an artist or band to create its own site. WIth many specially tailored tools--but nothing you dont need--Onescreener is a streamlined, turn-key solution. It even allows seamless integrations to Oscillates OpTuNe platform, where you can manage your entire tour from booking to soundcheck to billing, and manage your team and venue payment as well.

Story continues

Onescreener was co-founded by Hork afte he commissioned a study finding that very few bands and artists had a solid online presence of their own, and that those who did rarely visited or updated their sites. (And many were too reliant on Facebook despite growing concerns about trust in that company).

Theres no excuse anymore: Onescreener allows anyone to make a Google- and mobile-optimized site with their own URL in ten minutes--even from a smartphone. The resulting site displays all essential information including integrations with Bandcamp and Soundcloud and links to all social media channels for an intuiive user experience.

Try onescreener: https://www.onescreener.com/

For media enquiries contact: owen@thoughtgangmedia.com

Photos: https://www.optune.me/publications

For business enquiries contact: tobias@oscillate.ch

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

Learn about booking management system Optune: https://optune.me/artist

About Onescreener: Onescreener is part of the Oscillate AG group dedicated to revolutionizing music industry booking and simplifying self-marketing for artists. Fast, easy, and cost-efficient: Onescreener enables anyone, regardless of any experience in web design, to construct a google- and mobile-optimized online presence using their own personalized domain name within ten minutes  and even makes it possible to create a page using only a smartphone. Onescreener is the modern business card, readily presenting everything from contact details for bookings, artist info and press kits. Onescreener is based at Oscillate AGs headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. For more information go to onescreener.com.

Attachments

CONTACT: Oscillate AG /Onescreener / OpTuNes 41 44 586 42 27 owen@thoughtgangmedia.com
ATLANTIC CITY  A Gloucester County man was charged Wednesday after police found heroin and a loaded gun in his car.

At 2:25 p.m., Lt. Daniel Corcoran saw Stefano Santiago, 24, driving on Pacific Avenue, police said in a news release. Santiago, who doesnt have a valid drivers license, police said, parked his car in the first block of South Bellevue Avenue.

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As Corcoran, along with Lt. Andrew Leonard, got to the car, Santiago was in the process of ripping open a bag of heroin, police said.

Upon Santiagos arrest, Corcoran found a loaded handgun in the center console of the car, police said.

Santiago was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, certain person not to possess a weapon, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and a motor vehicle offense.

He was taken to the Atlantic County jail.

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Two sets of explosions occurred in Syria today and there are conflicting reports on Israels possible involvement.

One set of explosions took place at a military warehouse in the central Syrian city of Homs. Ten civilians were injured and the Israeli military declined to comment on the incident, The Associated Press reported.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported that the explosion on the city's outskirts was caused by human error and took place at an ammunition depot. The explosion occurred during the movement of ammunition, a military source told SANA. Some people were injured due to shrapnel from the explosion and the incident is under investigation by local authorities, the outlet reported.

However, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli shelling of ammunition and missile storage facilities in Homs caused the explosion, citing unidentified sources.

Also today, Israel reportedly fired missiles into the Syrian Golan Heights in the south of the country. Syria activated its air defense systems and the missiles came from the Israeli part of the Golan Heights, according to SANA.

Irans Lebanese ally Hezbollah has a presence in the Golan Heights. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike, but a regional intelligence source told Reuters that Israel is increasing its attacks in Syria during the worldwide coronavirus crisis.

Israel frequently strikes Iranian and allied targets in Syria. Israel and Hezbollah have had a long-standing conflict near the Israel-Lebanon border. Iran is Hezbollahs main backer, and Hezbollah fights with Iran alongside the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war.

Though Israel did not comment on either of todays incidents, Israels defense minister recently said the country is taking action against Iran in Syria.

We have moved from blocking Irans entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there, and we will not stop, Defense Minister Naftali Bennet said in a statement reported by The Times of Israel. We will not allow more strategic threats to grow just across our borders without taking action.

He added, We will continue to take the fight to the enemys territory.
The Senegalese navy seized off the coasts of the African country this week 5.1 tons of cocaine, the largest seizure in the history of the West African nation used as transit by global traffickers.

Fouladou, the coast guard, on April 28 at dawn, Le360.ma reports, intercepted a vessel; Ainez, carrying 5.145 tons of cocaine.

They also arrested the occupants; two Columbians and a Spanish drogue traffickers, the online media said.

The vessel and the shipment were brought back to the navy base at the Dakar harbor. The three foreigners were convicted for drug trafficking and were handed to scientific police, customs, gendarmerie and Central Office for Illicit Drug Traffic for further investigation.

The seizure is unprecedented as it amounts five times last year confiscation; 1,027 kg.

The West African country is major transit route for Latino Americans to reach Europe where have established networks to sell the drogue. The mostly use commercial flights to depart from the African country.
DALLAS, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Populus Financial Group announced that on May 6, 2020, it will provide financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 to TMI Trust Company, the trustee under the Indenture dated as of December 15, 2017 governing the Company's 12% Senior Secured Notes due 2022. The Company also announced it will host a conference call for Noteholders on Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. CT to discuss the financial results.

Noteholders should contact David Sternblitz, Vice President, Treasurer of Populus Financial Group to obtain access to the Company's financial statements and information concerning the conference call.

About Populus Financial Group

Populus Financial Group provides financial services through its family of brands including ACE Cash Express, ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Debit Card and ACE Flare Account by MetaBank. Populus Financial Group delivers a broad range of financial products and services including short-term consumer loans, card services, check cashing, money transfers, bill payments and money orders. Visit PopulusFinancial.com for more information.

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By Rod Nickel

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Alberta on Friday launched the country's first phone app to trace contacts of people infected with the coronavirus, as the country slowly restarts its economy.

Increased testing and contact tracing are key parts of plans to reopen economies that have largely closed to slow the pandemic's spread, with no proven vaccine or treatment available.

Currently, contact tracing is done manually, by asking infected patients to recall with whom they have interacted.

Alberta's voluntary app, called ABTraceTogether, uses Bluetooth wireless technology to identify phones, which also have the app installed, that have come into 2-metre contact with an infected person for at least 15 minutes within a 24-hour period.

Once a person with the app becomes infected, Alberta Health Services will ask the person to upload encrypted data that will allow tracing workers to reach others who have been in close contact.

No geo-location data is collected, and data about encounters are stored encrypted on phones.

"The faster Alberta Health Services contact tracers can inform exposed people who were close contacts, the quicker we will be able to prevent potential outbreaks," Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.

Alberta became the latest province this week to announce a phased plan to reopen services and businesses.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said it would be important to ensure privacy and data security are balanced with the need for more information on the virus' spread. He said there are multiple proposals in development that might apply to Canada.

Privacy advocates in Britain have urged the government to prevent a soon-to-be-launched app from turning into a form of state surveillance.

Alberta has the third-highest case count in Canada - 10% of the national total - and one of Canada's most aggressive testing programs. Many of its cases are due to outbreaks in meat plants and nursing homes.

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Ontario, the most populous province, is looking at options for apps, provincial Health Minister Christine Elliot told reporters.

Canada's death toll rose less than 5% on Friday to 3,223 deaths, while cases climbed to nearly 54,000, as daily numbers continue to flatten.

The province of Quebec, the countrys virus epicenter, said it has started ramping up testing ahead of a plan to begin reopening businesses and schools this month. Testing will prioritize hospital patients with symptoms, health-care workers, nursing home staff and residents, Quebec public health director Horacio Arruda said.

The more we test, the more we find, he told reporters.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)
Irving Oil, the operator of the country's largest refinery, is aiming to begin receiving more crude from Western Canada  delivered to New Brunswick in tanker ships  starting this summer.

The privately held refiner applied last month to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to use foreign tankers in order to increase the amount of domestic crude it gets from offshore Newfoundland and Western Canada.

Iriving Oil's application included a proposal for the tankers to transport oil from a terminal in Burnaby, B.C., through the Panama Canal and on to Irving Oil's refinery in Saint John, N.B.

On Friday, a company official confirmed the applications had received regulatory approval and it is now working through the details of the federal process for approving individual vessels.

"Over the ... next few weeks here, we'll be acquiring crude oil, organizing shipping and then finalizing the approvals for those ships to transport the crude oil," said Kevin Scott, chief refining and supply officer for Irving Oil.

Scott said they hope to receive their first barrels from Western Canada by ship in late June or early July.

The company wants to increase the mix of Canadian crude it uses, which is currently in the range of 20 per cent.

"We'd love to see that get much higher and get above the majority  if technically it works and from a logistics perspective all of that works out," he said.

Increasing the amount of Canadian oil the refinery uses would displace the crude imports the company gets from around the world, but it's not clear which shipments might be affected.

Scott said the refinery uses a "significant" amount of oil from the United States.

CBC

"Part of this is really opening up the option for us to run more Canadian crude," Scott said.

"We have limited options today. And, really, when we're being challenged to be creative in terms of Canadians helping Canadians, this was one way that we said it was possible for us to do that.

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"And, of course, all of the approvals and issues around the ships is really what we're working to get in place ... so that we have that option to buy Canadian crude as easily as we buy crudes from anywhere else in the world."

That could be welcome news for a sector that has been hit hard by a steep plunge in demand for fuel as both consumers and businesses throttle back activity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said, in the short term, the Irving proposal offers a "desperately needed" expansion of the domestic market.

Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said Friday she is glad Irving Oil will begin using more Western Canadian crude, adding that Alberta produces enough to supply the country.

"However, it is unfortunate that Irving is forced to use complicated marine shipping routes either around the entire continent or up from the Gulf of Mexico," she said in a statement.

"The proposed Energy East Pipeline would have provided a safe and faster route."

In its application to the CTA, Irving Oil said it recognized recent events had caused the economy, and the energy sector in particular, to be in a state of crises, and that "it is a time for Canada to come together."

The application stated that it is the company's intent to enter into long-term agreements with Canadian crude suppliers for the nomination of barrels over a one-year timeframe.

Irving Oil's plan is to use foreign oil tankers to ship Canadian crude from three key points, including from the West Coast, down through the Panama Canal and on to Saint John.

It also wants to take delivery of Canadian oil from suppliers in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as terminals on the U.S. Gulf Coast, where crude from Western Canada can be delivered by pipeline.

Irving Oil currently receives some oil from offshore Newfoundland as a routine part of its mix, Scott said, as well as a "small amount" of Western Canadian crude by rail.

"This would increase our capability to get access to Western Canadian crude, either from Vancouver or from the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is a slightly shorter route," he said.

Asked if the company's refinery could use Alberta's heavy grade of oil, Scott said it can use "some amount" and that it has been doing modelling and testing.

"Today we run some synthetic crude oil, which is lighter, from from Western Canada," he said.

"This will allow us to access the heavier crude by marine [transportation]. But we would expect that it will be a mixture of crudes. Much like our refinery today, we would run a mixture of different types of crudes from different locations, ultimately to get the right mix to make the products that we're looking for."
The Uttarakhand government will on Saturday start the process to bring back people stranded in different parts of the country, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Friday.

Over 86,000 people have registered in the last 24 hours, expressing their desire to come back, he said, adding that 26,000 of them are in Delhi.

"Bringing such a large number of people home while strictly maintaining social distancing norms and following the COVID-19 protocol is a huge exercise which can be carried out only in a phased manner," he said.

"Initially, the migrants will be brought in buses but buses cannot be enough to transport such a large population. So we are also in talks with the Centre to start running special trains for the purpose," he said.

The state government has requested railway minister Piyush Goyal to start at least 12 special trains to ferry the migrants.

Special trains have been demanded for Delhi-Dehradun, Delhi-Haldwani, Chandigarh-Dehradun, Lucknow-Dehradun, Jaipur-Dehradun, Jaipur-Haldwani, Mumbai-Dehradun, Mumbai-Haldwani, Bhopal-Dehradun, Bangalore-Dehradun and Ahmedabad-Dehradun routes, Rawat said.

However, the chief minister made it clear that the migrants will be properly screened before the start of their journey and after their arrival here.

Those found infected will not be allowed to proceed to their homes straight away, he said.

"Such people will be stopped in Dehradun, Haridwar, Rudrapur and Haldwani and permitted to proceed to their homes only after recovery," Rawat said.

From May 4, all districts in Uttarakhand except Haridwar, which falls in the red zone, will be free of curbs but malls, gyms, cinema halls swimming pools etc will remain closed as earlier.

Government offices will also start functioning with 50 per cent staff in the first phase from May 4.

The chief minister has also appealed to private medical practitioners to open their OPDs for the convenience of people.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cold War of Trump/Navarro vs China By Andre Vltchek April 30, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - It is getting ugly, extremely ugly. It is increasingly looking like a war  at least a new cold, ideological war. But in the shadow of COVID-19, it goes almost unnoticed. The blind horseman, who hates China intuitively, without knowing hardly anything about it, is leading the pack, pushing his president into a confrontation with the most populous country on Earth. His name is Peter Navarro. Not that the president is innocent. Under him, the White House has become a haven of bigotry, of anti-Chinese racist sentiments. It was already converted into the global headquarters of the combat against the much more logical and humane, socialist, systems. Red warning lights are blinking. All indicators are pointing downwards; economic ones, social ones, as well as medical. US warships are repeatedly being deployed, near Taiwan and the South China Sea. And the insults, terrible insults, are flying. Trump and Navarro are insulting China publicly, with no shame. They are smearing the nation which just a few months ago stood alone, facing an unknown enemy, battling and at great cost, but rapidly defeated the pandemic, all over its vast territory. All this is being done shamelessly and arrogantly. The world is watching. Part of it in disbelief and outrage, and the other part lethargically and submissively, as always. On April 19, 2020, the New York Post reported: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday called on China to prove that a Wuhan laboratory played no role in the coronavirus pandemic  and accused the nation of hoarding personal protective equipment and profiting off the outbreak. Navarro took aim at China on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, accusing the country of taking several actions that worsened the ongoing crisis and led to the deaths of many people worldwide. First of all, the virus was spawned in China. Second of all, they hid the virus behind the shield of the World Health Organization. The third thing they did was basically hoard personal protective equipment and now theyre profiteering from it, Navarro said. US President Trump, perhaps taking Navarros advice, has already cut all funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), something unimaginable, considering that the world is in the middle of a war with the virus, and the WHO is at the frontline of it. But the WHO is being accused of colluding with China, which this administration increasingly sees as its greatest adversary. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter One day later, on 20th April, 2020, Reuters carried a report about Peter Navarros accusation of China for withholding data on COVID-19: One of the reasons that they may not have let us in and given us the data on this virus early, is theyre racing to get a vaccine and they think this is just a competitive business race, its a business proposition so that they can sell the vaccines to the world, Navarro told Fox Business Network. But were going to beat them. Were going to beat them because of President Trumps leadership. Were going to beat them because HHS has already got a five-company horse race, said Navarro, referring to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The attacks against China are bordering on hysteria. Trump and his advisors appear to be thoroughly desperate. This extreme desperation, this fear of losing a grip on power, all over the world, is extremely dangerous for the survival of humanity. China, but also Russia, have been extremely patient. They use diplomacy, instead of threats and insults. They are observing the behavior of the US leaders with certain amusement, as if it was the behavior of a spoiled child who is throwing a tantrum. But their patience has boundaries. Once the US attitude begins harming the lives of Chinese or Russian citizens, they will be forced to act. And the US is pushing, as if, paradoxically, the confrontation was the only chance for its survival. And it is pushing, provoking, on all fronts: from the South China Sea and Taiwan to Hong Kong, from Venezuela to Iran, from insulting China and Russia, to a bizarre battle already being fought on the COVID-19 front. One scratch, one tiny error in the Iranian territorial waters, or in the South China Sea, and the fragile peace may go up in flames. The world had been tolerating, uneasily but tolerating, the aggressive behavior of Washington, for years and decades. But now, with the COVID-19 confusion, and with the imminent global economic and financial collapse, almost all countries are now extremely edgy. This is not the same world as we knew it to be just a year ago. Trump, Navarro and the others in their camp should pay close attention, if they want to avoid a global tragedy. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be trying to avoid a conflict. They are trying to provoke one, by all means! *** You cannot call China, a country which was first attacked by the coronavirus, and which defeated it, alone and with great determination and sacrifice, a country which infected the world, or a country which is profiteering from the crisis. That would be insane, incorrect, and thoroughly vulgar. If anything, China has helped almost the entire world to fight this pandemic. It also quickly shared expertise, and helped those nations which have been hit the most, with both advice and invaluable medical equipment. Statements such as those of the White House trade adviser Peter Navarro calling on China to prove that a Wuhan laboratory played no role in the coronavirus pandemic, are extremely irresponsible and dangerous, and could easily backfire. Many experts worldwide, actually believe that it was the US that brought the virus to China. Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted one of the theories, which says that it was the US military that brought the new coronavirus to the central city of Wuhan. But in the end, the Chinese officials decided not to point fingers in the direction of Washington, at least for now, as these are extremely explosive topics and exceptionally dangerous times. But the United States has misread these wise and conciliatory moves of the Chinese government and the Communist Party, as weakness. It has turned the tables around, and began the lowest imaginable set of ideological attacks, obviously convinced of its invincibility. Eventually, Washington crossed all the lines. And it has become almost certain that its propaganda salvos will not go unanswered. *** The attacks against China are unjust and racist. They are also tremendously arrogant, smell of cultural supremacy and of a superiority complex. The Western world in general, and the United States in particular, have brought death and destruction to hundreds of millions of human beings, all over the world. Washington has no moral mandate to lecture any country on our planet, particularly not China, which has no history of imperialism or harming humanity. Hiding facts, or using chemical and biological warfare is something that is in line with Washington and its foreign policy. China has no history of such behavior. One should just recall Indochina, Iraq, Cuba and many other places, to see what Washington is capable of. Both Trump and Navarro are thoroughly ignorant about China. Navarros lack of knowledge about the country he keeps smearing and provoking, has been exposed even by countless members of the (otherwise obedient) US academia. For both Trump and Navarro, China is the most convenient political and economic punch bag. It is governed by the Communist Party, it is greatly successful, both economically and socially. And it owes its success to the enthusiasm and hard work of its people, not to colonialism or imperialism, not to the plundering of other nations. Therefore, it is offering a totally new alternative model to our planet. In summary: to the neocons and Western supremacists, China is the greatest nightmare. *** The old fundamentalist ideological theology of the West reads: If you cannot compete with it, smear it; destroy it! By now, it is all way beyond even pretending there is something like fairness and objectivity. How Washington behaves, has nothing to do with the concern for our world, and for the people inhabiting it. It is all raw, brutal and bad-mannered. It all about dominance; about not losing that dominance. Trump, Bolton, Pompeo, Navarro, Bannon many others. They are present-day crusaders. Fighters for the white race, and the Western culture of expansionism. Their deeds are not often defined in this manner. But there is hardly any more honest way to describe those individuals. *** What is happening around us is predominantly not about saving lives. The fight against COVID-19 has become an ideological war, not a war for the survival of millions of human beings. Again, and again, China, Russia as well as Cuba have clearly demonstrated where they stand. Their airplanes brought hope and desperately needed help. Grateful Italians sung the Chinese national anthem. Many in the US began paying attention to Russian humanitarian airlifts. Cuba sent its legendary medical brigades to some of the hardest hit areas of the world. The response from the West? Ungrateful, repulsive cynicism. Even some Italian reporters opted for writing sarcastic pieces questioning the Russian and Chinese altruism. US politicians were quick to begin disputing the fact that Russian aid to New York was fully free, or at least half free, in some cases. While Trump was snatching the deliveries of Chinese medical equipment bound for Germany and other countries, from transit airports in Thailand and elsewhere; while he was trying to literally bribe a German pharmaceutical company, so it would produce COVID-19 vaccine exclusively for the United States, while the EU showed no solidarity with Italy and other members when the solidarity was most needed, China, Russia and Cuba displayed grace under pressure, behaving like human beings, like responsible members of the international community. That, precisely that; this tremendous contrast between two world systems, during the hour of great global crises, had to be covered up by Washington, so, god forbid, the world would not notice that there is something essentially wrong with the North American and European imperialist regime, and its extreme, fundamentalist capitalism. But people like Mr. Navarro or Mr. Trump cannot see the world in any other way, anymore; only through the paradigm of profits, control and superiority. Instead of cleaning their own house, and improving their regime, they rather smear and attack those who are building a much better world. *** We are still not sure, what real danger COVID-19 represents. We cannot precisely calculate the mortality rate, or spread of the pandemic. We can only guess how many millions of lives will be ruined by the global economic downfall. But we know what a confrontation between US and China or between US and Russia would bring. We also know what Washingtons novel Cold War combatants are counting on: that Beijing and Moscow (but also Teheran, and others) will accept anything; that in order to save the planet, they will always back up, trying to de-escalate tensions with the West. After all, it has been like that, up to now. But lines are being crossed. The recent statements, insults uttered by Trump and Navarro, accusing China of spreading the virus, or even manufacturing it in its labs, are pushing Beijing too far. It is like defying logic, and then spitting in the faces of the true victims, and those heroes who fought and died at the frontline in Wuhan, for their city, their country, and the world. Such lies, such insults can never be forgiven. What next? Washington may now impose more of the insane sanctions, then bring its NAVY to the South China Sea, or near Taiwan, and keep funding rioters in Hong Kong And watch out! Trump and his people are playing with fire. They are not almighty, not anymore. A few weeks more of this, and they may inherit the storm, such a terrible storm, that it could make even COVID-19 look like a breeze. Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Five of his latest books are  China Belt and Road Initiative,  China and Ecological Civil ization with John B. Cobb, Jr.,  Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, a revolutionary novel Aurora and a bestselling work of political non - fiction:  Exposing Lies Of The Empire . View his other books here . Watch Rwanda Gambit , his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky On Western Terrorism . Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and Latin America, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website , his Twitter and h is Patreon . - " Source " Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here
Sandstone formations surround the town of Sedona, Ariz. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Seriously? One letter writer from Sedona, Ariz., thinks her town is a secret that the wealthy hordes will now descend upon because of an article in the L.A. Times? I know I've been visiting Sedona since the 1980s and clearly remember when my friend Lisa Dahl, who was featured prominently in the article, decided to move there to open her first restaurant in the 1990s.

Yes, the very wealthy live entitled lives, but no one is running to Sedona to hide from the virus in any greater number than they're running to my resort town of Palm Springs or any of the other small resort towns where the rich own vacation properties. The whole idea seems to be to try and get out of large, congested cities.

Just recently, a friend mentioned that her son and his girlfriend were fleeing the East Coast to hole up in her vacation home here in Palm Springs.

Oops, I may have outed Palm Springs.

Barb Kaplan, Palm Springs
Army spokesman says casualties include an officer but did not provide details on the number of those killed or wounded.

Ten soldiers have been killed or wounded in a blast targeting an armoured vehicle in the restive northern Sinai on Thursday, Egypts army said.

Army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said the casualties from the incident in the southern city of Bir al-Abed included an officer but did not provide a breakdown on the numbers killed or wounded.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

For years, security forces have been battling to contain the fighting in the turbulent North Sinai which intensified following the removal of President Mohamed Morsi by the military in 2013.

200418200113754

Many soldiers and police were killed in fighter attacks, especially in the turbulent region over the years.

In February 2018, Egyptian security forces launched a nationwide operation against fighters, mainly focused on the North Sinai region.

More than 845 suspected fighters have been killed in the region along with more than 60 security personnel, according to army figures.

An Egyptian policeman and seven suspected fighters were killed on April 14 in an exchange of fire after the interior ministry received information about potential Easter attacks against Coptic Christians, the ministry said, adding that three other policemen had also been wounded.
- The KFCB boss was not spared after meddling with the life of Aderson Cooper who welcomed a son three days ago

- According to Mutua, there was no logic of one being gay if they needed a woman for them to have a child

- The CNN reporter welcomed his son a few days ago through surrogacy

- Netizens felt Mutua had overstepped by judging the gay couple and decided to call him out for his action

Kenya Film and Classification Board's boss, Ezekiel Mutua, has angered a section of netizens after launching an attack on CNN's reporter, Anderson Cooper.

Mutua who is commonly referred to as Kenya's moral police decided to take it too far after the gay anchor introduced his three-day-old son to the public.

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Taking to Twitter, Mutua attacked the gay couple for opting for surrogacy for them to have a child.

According to his post, the KFCB boss added the only way the two could get a child was by using a woman to carry the baby and termed that "warped logic".

"CNN's Anderson Cooper and his husband yesterday broke the news of their firstborn son Wyatt Morgan Cooper. But they had to get a normal woman to get pregnant using his normal seed and carry the child in a normal womb and give birth in a normal way. See the warped logic? wrote Mutua.

READ ALSO: Babu Owino asema DJ Evolve amepata nafuu ila hawezi ondoka hospitalini kufuatia COVID-19

Netizens felt that the KFCB boss had overstepped his mandate by attacking the couple and decided to call him out.

Many defended gay unions saying there was more in love than being 'normal'.

Media personality Patricia Kihoro said there was hope that human beings would never be extinct thanks to surrogacy, calling Mutua an "unkind and heartless human".

"The logic is clear that humanity is not in danger of going extinct. This is how surrogacy works unless you want to say that heterosexual barren couples who choose to go this route are abominations going against Gods will? They are not. You are just an unkind and heartless human," she wrote.

Recently, Mutua praised Akothee and Senator Johnson Sakaja, saying the two were doing well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The KFCB boss sent the two KSh 50,000 each as an appreciation for whatever they were doing.

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Keroche CEO Tabitha Karanja makes a bold proposal to treasury CS Ukur Yattani | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
As most businesses adopt online business platforms and cashless transitions to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has warned traders against evading taxes.

Through a public notice, Domestic Taxes Commissioner Elizabeth Meyo directed business owners trading on digital platforms to charge Value Added Tax (VAT) on their transactions and remit the taxes to the KRA.

While noting that the authority had learnt of an increasing number of tax evaders, Ms Meyo warned of criminal proceedings against all culprits.

"Some of the digital market place owners and the persons trading through such platforms have been found not to honour their tax obligations. We would like to inform such persons that they are obliged, under VAT Act, 2013, to charge and remit VAT on all sales and commission charged," she said in the notice.

The commissioner noted that failure to comply results in penalties and interest on outstanding taxes which may be determined during compliance checks.

ONLINE TRADE

Online retail businesses became the subject of taxation in 2019, following amendments to the Finance Act, which sought to clarify that income from digital transactions attracts VAT.

In recent months, there has been an increase in online trading involving the importation and local distribution of products such as electronics and kitchenware.

The idea has been well accepted due to its convenience following restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

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Businesses including supermarkets have joined online trading platforms and have been promoting delivery services.

BOOST

The business got a boost in March after the Central Bank of Kenya announced a raft of measures to facilitate increased use of mobile money transactions instead of cash.

This came after President Uhuru Kenyatta appealed to Kenyans to use mobile money and card payments instead of hard currency as part of efforts to contain Covid-19.

To facilitate this, the apex bank removed charges on transactions of up to Sh1,000 and increased the transaction limit for mobile money to Sh150,000/

The CBK increased the daily limit for mobile money transactions to Sh300,000 while the monthly total limit was eliminated.
Fillmore, Hayes Valley, SoMa

Photos: Sebastian L./Hoodline Tipline

Recently, an "available for lease" sign popped up on the Hayes Valley location of comfort-food eatery The Grove (301 Hayes St.)

At the time, the restaurant's executive vice president, Steve Ring, said that the company was trying "to test the waters of the market by posting the signage ... as of now, we are planning to reopen."

But in just the space of a few days, things have changed. Via email, the Grove's owners, Kenneth Zankel and Anna Veyna Zankel, told Hoodline that they now plan to close the location.

Two days ago, the Zankels said, they learned that Bank of America (BofA) had not yet submitted their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application for the Hayes Valley location Small Business Administration (SBA). That's despite the fact that the application was completed nearly a month ago, on April 4, they say.

With weeks of waiting for the loan behind them, the business couldn't wait out another weeks-long wait once the application was actually submitted, the Zankels said.

"The clincher was BofA," they wrote. "We could not continue to live with the uncertainty and pressure."

They'd already had a phone conversation with their Hayes Street landlord, and decided to list the space "so that if we decided ultimately not to stay, there would hopefully be others already interested," they wrote. It will now remain on the market.

In their email, the Zankels were exceptionally transparent about their restaurants' finances.

They said that they lost $210,000 in March alone across their four Grove locations  Hayes Valley, Pacific Heights, SoMa and in the Design District. Business in Hayes Valley, specifically, declined as soon as the SF Symphony and other performance venues closed.

None of the Grove's restaurants has gotten a PPP loan so far, even though their applications were also submitted in early April. The Zankels say they've received a $10,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the SBA for each restaurant  but that's just a drop in the bucket.

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The couple says the four restaurants' basic monthly expenses  rent, cams, insurance and utilities  run almost $100,000. And with 170 employees across the restaurant's four locations, the payroll bill for the first two weeks of March comes to $240,000.

It's still somewhat unclear if the Grove's three remaining PPP loan applications have been submitted by Bank of America. Despite multiple calls and emails, the pair have received conflicting reports.

"If we again miss out due to this and the SBA fund again runs out, this would make it significantly more difficult to reopen these other three restaurants and to hire back our staff, which is why the PPP was created in the first place," the Zankels wrote.

With the missing checks, other Grove locations are also facing an uncertain future.

The most vulnerable location, they say, is the one on Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights. With social distancing requirements, its indoor capacity would decline from 60 to 25 seats, and the lease is up in 18 months. Unless they can work out an agreement with the landlord, they say, they won't be able to afford their plan to renew it.

"The landlord is a good guy we have a nice relationship with, and we are having an amicable conversation," they wrote. "We would like to re-open Fillmore and be there for another 20 years, if that can work for all involved."

The Grove's Pacific Heights location, on Fillmore Street, could be in jeopardy. | Photo: Andrew D./Yelp

The Design District location is currently expected to be the first to return. Starting around May 15, the Grove will relaunch takeout and delivery service exclusively from there, starting with an abbreviated menu and expanding into "family meals, weekend packages, some other ideas that we think our audience will love," the two owners wrote.

As for the SoMa location at 690 Mission St., Kenneth Zankel says that he's working to finalize some details with the landlord. A lack of business travelers, conventions and shoppers will be difficult to withstand, and while reopening is "not a sure thing," he said, "it's one I'd bet on."

"It is okay, because we think that location will be the slowest to come back  for us, Pizzeria Delfina, Oren's Hummus, everyone [in the building]," he said. But especially with Salesforces Dreamforce event canceled, this "could be a slog."

In the meantime, the Zankels say, they're giving away meals to employees once or twice a week, and helping them navigate the unemployment system as much as they can.

"Its a surreal and terrifying shock to watch your lifes work crushed in the course of a week or two, as restaurateurs across the country did," the Zankels' email concludes. "We want our work-family back. Our regulars know a lot of their faces and stories far more than ours."
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to be hospitalized for treatment of neck pain

Lockdown-like restrictions to return in Maharashtra? Here's what CM Uddhav Thackeray has to say

Relief for Uddhav Thackeray as EC agrees to hold council polls in Maharashtra on May 21

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 01: In a major relief for chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the Election Commission on Friday decided to hold polls for the nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the upper house of the state on May 21 in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari had on Thursday requested the Election Commission on Thursday to declare polls for nine vacant seats to the state Legislative Council.

Polls are due to be held for nine council seats. These elections would give Maharashtra Chief Minster, Uddhav Thackeray an opportunity to get elected to the council. His six month deadline of being elected to the council ends on May 27.

A minimum 21 day period is required between the announcement and the date of elections.

The decision of the EC to deliberate on the subject was taken after requests from the Shiv Sena and NCP to hold the elections.

Earlier the two parties had requested the Governor to nominate Thackeray, but he remained noncommittal.

Thackeray then called Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and appraised him about the situation. Following this the Governor called on the Election Commission and sought that the polls be held.
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A Look Back At How Alia Bhatt Stood By Ranbir Kapoors Side As His Pillar Of Strength, Through Thick And Thin
If Donald Trump is hoping to get a vote from Amazon chief Jeff Bezos in November, he should be prepared for disappointment.

This week, the Trump Administration said five overseas Amazon markets in the UK, Germany, France, India, and Canada are now considered "notorious markets" because they sell counterfeit and pirated products. While the designation won't impact Amazon's standing those marketplaces, it's a black mark on the company and one it certainly doesn't like having.

In response, Amazon pulled no punches. The company told Business Insider that it sees the move as a "political act" and another example of the Trump Administration's "personal vendetta against Amazon."

It was the latest in a string of alleged attacks the Trump Administration has taken against Amazon. President Donald Trump has consistently sounded off on his issues with Jeff Bezos and his affiliation with the Washington Post. Most notably, the U.S. government awarded Microsoft and not Amazon a massive JEDI contract for cloud services. Amazon called the decision a political maneuver aimed at harming the company.
When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. For example, the Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) share price is up 80% in the last 5 years, clearly besting the market return of around 35% (ignoring dividends).

See our latest analysis for Agilent Technologies

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over half a decade, Agilent Technologies managed to grow its earnings per share at 32% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 13% over the same period. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

NYSE:A Past and Future Earnings May 1st 2020

This free interactive report on Agilent Technologies's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Agilent Technologies, it has a TSR of 89% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Agilent Technologies had a tough year, with a total loss of 2.4% (including dividends) , against a market gain of about 1.4%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 14%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Agilent Technologies that you should be aware of.

Story continues

Of course Agilent Technologies may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Experts predict baby boom next year, the headlines screeched at the end of March. We were just one week into lockdown, and the assumption was that couples stuck at home with each other would be at it like rabbits. After all, what else was there to do? But to many, it soon became clear that life under the shadow of a global pandemic was not actually the aphrodisiac they were promised.

Almost half of couples isolating together said they were having less sex since lockdown began, according to a research conducted by OnBuy. The survey of 1,360 18 to 45-year-olds also found that 41 per cent of women were currently unhappy with their sex life, while 60 per cent believed it needed spicing up.

Meanwhile, condom sales have dropped dramatically due to fewer people having sex during lockdown, according to Durex. Social distancing is negatively affecting intimate occasions, said Laxman Narasimhan, chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, the company that owns the condom brand. Narasimhan claimed that people in the UK were having significantly less sex than before lockdown, adding that the number of people having intercourse in Italy had also gone down a lot.

Narasimhan added that even established couples seemed to be having less sex due to increased anxiety.

Its a theory that holds up, according to psychosexual therapist Janice Hiller. Its a neurochemical thing, she tells The Independent. When we feel fear and anxiety, our nervous system prepares us for a fight, flight or freeze response  we go into protection mode. We need a different part of the nervous system to engage for us to feel aroused and want to have sex.

Then theres the familiarity aspect  the fact that couples isolating together have no space or time apart in which to miss and desire one another. Theres not enough distance, says Hiller, and on top of that, were missing out on the feel-good aspects of going out and seeing friends. We feel happier and more motivated, and then we bring that feeling back and want to share it with our partner. Feeling sexual has a lot to do with how we feel about ourselves as well as our relationships  and we dont feel as good when we havent had those experiences.

Sex expert Alix Fox, a writer and broadcaster who acts as a script consultant for Netflix series Sex Education, agrees that many have found their sex drives taking a nosedive during quarantine due to stress. Worrying about the health and wellbeing of loved ones, financial instability, job insecurity, and... well, total global upheaval and pandemic panic is not exactly an aphrodisiac, she says.

Contraceptive concerns could well be having an impact, too. Women have reported to me that theyre worried about not being able to get supplies of their usual contraceptive pill, or are concerned that their implant or coil is coming to the end of its recommended lifespan but theyre struggling to get an appointment to replace it  so theyre either using condoms as back-up, or avoiding penetrative sex altogether because they dont want to risk pregnancy, says Fox.

The good news is that many sexual health clinics and GPs are still offering online, telephone and postal pill renewal services to avoid people having to visit clinics, while some pharmacy chains, for example Superdrug, are offering several common pill brands for direct delivery.

But contraception issues aside, how can we jumpstart our love-lives under lockdown?

The 17 worst sex scenes in film Show all 17 1 /17 The 17 worst sex scenes in film The 17 worst sex scenes in film Gigli Name a more iconic movie line than "It's turkey time! Gobble, gobble  well wait. They are the bonkers words uttered by Jennifer Lopezs Gigli character, a lesbian assassin who apparently finds herself unable to resist the masculine allure of wait for it Ben Affleck. Its an invitation for oral sex and, well, youll have to watch the film to find out if he accepts. EH. Sony Pictures The 17 worst sex scenes in film Howard the Duck Cross-species coitus is, admittedly, a tricky concept to make sexy  something the traumatised viewers of Howard the Duck discovered when Lea Thompson canoodled with her so incredibly soft and cuddly feathered friend. EH. Universal The 17 worst sex scenes in film Killing Me Softly There are few things less titillating than Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes getting tangled in a selection of silk ropes. All made more excruciating by Grahams whispered voiceover: I gave up all control, I loved it. Fifty Shades of Grey, eat your heart out. EH. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The 17 worst sex scenes in film Bad Teacher Its tough to name the thing thats most wrong with the dry humping scene in Bad Teacher. Is it the grunting? The chafing of denim? Justin Timberlakes gyrating hips? Justin Timberlakes face on climax? Justin Timberlakes wet jeans? Please just make it stop. If not for Cameron Diaz then for all of us. EH. Columbia Pictures The 17 worst sex scenes in film Maps to the Stars Julianne Moore literally asks Robert Pattinson: Do you want to f*** my holes? And, dear reader, it turns out that he does want to. He wants to very much. So they have very stressful-looking sex in a car on the side of a the road. And then somehow it gets even worse  she disembarks from the vehicle and wipes his semen off her leg with a scarf. EH. Focus Features The 17 worst sex scenes in film Body of Evidence One of the most infamous sex scenes of all time is Madonna and Willem Dafoes experimentation with hot wax in Body of Evidence. My way, murmurs the Queen of Pop, straddling Dafoe and pouring molten wax and champagne over his body, before proceeding to lick it up. Its not a Mary Berry recipe, we can tell you that much. EH. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The 17 worst sex scenes in film Showgirls A lot of things arent really OK about Showgirls, but the filmmakers really outdid themselves with Elizabeth Berkley and Kyle MacLachlans special splish-splash in the pool. The combination of thrashing, bubbling water, fountain fondling and ecstatic yelping is the stuff of nightmares. EH. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The 17 worst sex scenes in film Avatar A couple of towering blue humanoids having sex doesnt exactly scream erotica  and James Camerons attempts to mix it up further by having a strange dreadlock-interlocking display certainly didnt help. EH. 20th Century Fox The 17 worst sex scenes in film The Room The Room is widely known as one of the worst films ever made  and its sex scene between Tommy Wiseau and Juliette Danielle is a big contributing factor. Why does he appear to be thrusting into her belly button? Why? EH. Wiseau-Films The 17 worst sex scenes in film Fifty Shades of Grey There are lots of shades of bad in the sex scenes of this S&M franchise. But the worst has to be when Christian ties her up, blindfolds her with his shirt and then runs down an ice cube all over her body. What misguided womens magazine did he get this advice from? AL. Universal Studios The 17 worst sex scenes in film Basic Instinct 2 This much-maligned sequel begins with Stan Collymore and Sharon Stone speeding at 100mph through Canary Wharf. The two moan and giggle as she fumbles around for his gearstick, that is until they crash the car and he dies. Not quite the happy ending he was hoping for. AL. Sony Pictures The 17 worst sex scenes in film Wet Hot American Summer Bradley Cooper and Michael Ian Black's sex faces are so over-exaggerated they look like emojis. Its difficult to understand how the campers are reaching these heights of pleasure given that theres about a foot of air between their crotches. More lukewarm American summer than hot and wet. AL. Focus Features The 17 worst sex scenes in film Damage You shouldnt have sex with your sons fiance. But you definitely shouldnt if you end up making it look this bad. Jeremy Irons pounces on Juliette Binoche like a hulking bear before pulling her along the carpet (think of the burns). No wonder she said she didnt enjoy having his dangly bits touching her. AL. New Line Cinema The 17 worst sex scenes in film If These Walls Could Talk 2 If these walls could talk they would say please stop having sex to Dido. They would also have something to say about the endless gooey shots of hands drifting over skin, pulling at hair and disappearing under sheets. Its so soppy, Im surprised Ellen DeGeneres and Sharon Stone dont drip off the bed and onto the floor. AL. HBO The 17 worst sex scenes in film What Women Want What a lot of women dont want is a sex scene with Mel Gibson. What women want even less is to watch a scene with so many cliches: a man talking to his penis in the bathroom. A light that turns on when you clap. A woman that wails so loud you cant tell if shes been run over by a truck or is mid-orgasm. AL. Paramount Pictures The 17 worst sex scenes in film Watchmen Leonard Cohens Hallelujah is a great song, but its certainly not sexy. Watchmens widely ridiculed sex scene sees Malin Akerman unzipping a latex chest piece to the lyrics: Now Ive heard there was a secret chord, that David played, and it pleased the Lord. Unfortunately, no one will be pleased by this display. AL. Warner Bros The 17 worst sex scenes in film Gone Girl This is horribly bad, but not because its a bad scene. More because you have to watch Rosamund Pike's crazed killer slit the throat of a guy while hes still inside her. And then you have to watch the blood from his throat soak her red. And then you have to watch her continue to gyrate for another couple of seconds before realising necrophilia is a little too niche even for a psychopath such as herself. AL. 20th Century Fox

Dont stop making an effort

It may sound obvious, but completely giving up on your personal appearance is not exactly a turn on. And yet it can be very tempting when were not leaving the house for days at a time. Stop hanging around in pyjamas or exercise clothes all day, advises Hiller.

Dont get into a habit of not bothering. It can be quite unappealing if you stop making any effort at all. Grooming, appearance, hygiene  it may sound superficial but these things do matter, and you want to reduce the number of turnoffs as much as possible.

Its also about you  the better we feel about ourselves, the more likely we are to feel good about sex.

Start talking

If youre not in a good place with your partner emotionally, thats likely to be reflected in your sex life. Fox advises starting with a compassionate conversation to get things back into more positive, connected and comfortable territory. Excellent sex therapist Sarah Berry taught me how useful it can be for couples to separate different emotions into jugs, to help them pour out their feelings in a calm, structured way thats less likely to end in tears or yet another blazing row, she says. First, discuss the things you respectively feel scared about. Next, empty the jug of all the stuff thats making you mad; then sad; and finally, glad.

The better we feel about ourselves, the more likely we are to feel good about sex

Pragmatically categorising your feelings, and the reasons behind them, like this can help you get your head straight, and make it easier to avoid accidentally taking out your fear about lack of vaccines or ventilators, for example, on your partner.

Fox recommends always finishing with a discussion of things youre glad about to finish on a high and leave both parties feeling soothed and hopeful.

Forget penetration

Well, you dont have to forget it completely. But its important to remember that theres far more to sex than genitals, according to Fox. Exchanging massages can be relaxing, sensual and bonding, but for a playful twist, try a texture tour. Blindfold your partner, then gently stroke, roll, tap and press the skin all over their body with items youve gathered from around the house that have different textures: a chilly metal fork; a velvet cushion; the tie from a silky robe; a leather glove; a spiked tumble drier ball; one of those frothy shower puffs...

 Sex Education star says she thought masturbation was only a boy thing

The blindfold heightens the other senses and creates an element of anticipation, plus takes the pressure off you to perform. This is a cost-free way to bring an element of curious exploration back to your love life, and to have a much-needed tension-breaking giggle, adds Ms Fox. Its OK to laugh during sex! Its OK not to actually have sex, but to enjoy some other physical fun instead!

Surprise each other

Its easier than ever to get stuck in a rut under lockdown. Days blur into weeks, which blur into months. According to Hiller, injecting some surprise into your relationship with curated date nights can help reignite the magic.

One of the couples I see for therapy has decided to take it in turns to surprise each other with a meal. They cook it, set the scene and even officially invite their partner, she says.

Get playful

Sales of sex toys have gone through the roof according to Fox: For example, German brand Womanizer  famous for inventing a type of clitoral stimulator that uses pulses of air rather than traditional vibration to create sensation  tell me theyve seen an 88 per cent surge in UK trade compared to their projections.

In particular, toys that can be controlled remotely via an app, which could appeal to couples who are separated from one another during quarantine, have seen a sales boost. Items connected to role play and BDSM, which speak to bored couples looking for something fresh or couples finally crossing off adventures that have long been on their F*** it bucket list, have also experienced a popularity spike. Sales of a 10-piece beginners bondage set from online sex shop Bondara, for example, have skyrocketed by 4,541 per cent.

Its never too late to invest in your own accessories to help get things going.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:54:28|Editor: huaxia

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A person walks towards the U.S. Capital building in Washington D.C., the United States on April 30, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

-- As many have pointed out, scapegoating China does no good whatsoever in helping the U.S. fight against the pandemic.

-- On the contrary, the unreserved attacks on China only mean that these shortsighted politicians prioritize their own interests over protecting people from the lethal virus.

-- Refusing to accept reality and shifting blame to others spell more disasters down the road.

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China-bashing is one of the most favorite campaign strategies used by U.S. politicians during presidential elections, perhaps even more so this year than before.

With the continuous spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 60,000 people and induced a deepening recession in the United States, there are plenty of incentives for some U.S. politicians to shift blame to China, a convenient scapegoat in an election year.

A man wearing a mask walks on the side walk near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States on April 30, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The high-volume attacks against China, including absurd and ill-disposed calls for inquiry, lawsuits and compensation to hold China liable for coronavirus damage, all stem from the desperate effort to divert domestic attention and shield their own incompetence and mistakes from scrutiny.

The U.S. administration might thought it had a strong hand in this year's election before the outbreak of COVID-19, with an ostensibly strong economy and a booming stock market.

Such confidence may explain some of the reluctance for the current administration to take the virus head on, which opted instead to sit on its hands, hoping the virus would blow over.

Discarded hospital beds are seen at Brookdale Hospital in New York, the United States, on April 28, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Unfortunately, false hope is as dangerous as it is paralyzing. Over 1 million people have been infected with the virus in the country so far, and more than 30 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits since the epidemic forced widespread business closures.

As reality sank in, that aloofness turned into panic, prompting absurd suggestions that COVID-19 is similar to the flu, or that injecting disinfectant may be a cure for the disease.

In a desperate attempt to shift blame for its clumsy handling of the pandemic, Washington has also decided to suspend funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), at a time when the institution needs to be strengthened with more resources and the most effective "vaccine" against the virus is international cooperation.

Medical workers carry a patient from an ambulance to George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 27, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Trade experts have also warned that Washington's additional tariffs on Chinese medical products may contribute to shortages and higher costs of vital equipment, thus impeding the U.S. response to the pandemic. But Washington has shown no signs of rethinking its doctrine of unilateral trade protectionism, and even threatened to impose more tariffs on China.

As many have pointed out, scapegoating China does no good whatsoever in helping the United States fight against the pandemic. On the contrary, the unreserved attacks on China only mean that these shortsighted politicians prioritize their own interests over protecting people from the lethal virus.

Refusing to accept reality and shifting blame to others spell more disasters down the road. The world needs to watch out. 
Enhanced support from city staff and coordination with planning, building and redevelopment departments would lead to more positive results for buildings that are architecturally significant and economically feasible to rehabilitate. Increased cooperation could help identify solutions for some of the citys other endangered landmarks, including Theodore Roosevelt High School, the North Gleason Park Community Building, Miller Town Hall, and the Gary Heat, Light, and Water Building. Garys U.S. Post Office and Palace Theater are both seriously deteriorated, but creative redevelopment strategies could certainly include their historic facades.
Team member Adam Martin collects coffee root samples. Credit: Roberta Fulthorpe

For most people, coffee is a necessary start to the day. For three scientists based in Toronto, coffee is a good research subject in a world with a changing climate.

These scientists explored the tissues of coffee roots to look for signs of a "core microbiome," or for signs of microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, that form partnerships with the coffee plant.

The existence of consistent microbes within a certain plant microbiome is strongly indicative of beneficial relationships and a better understanding of coffee microbial partnerships is helpful in determining best management practices and predicting coffee responses to changing conditions.

To enhance our knowledge of the coffee plant microbiomes, these ecologists used next generation sequencing methods on samples from a number of Central American farms that differed drastically in environmental conditions and management systems. They discovered 26 bacterial and 31 fungal species that met their criteria for belonging to the core microbiome. Some of these species are known to have plant-beneficial properties and should be investigated in more detail.

"The bacterial core microbiome is much stronger and consistent, while the fungal microbiome is more sensitive to environmental conditions that are expected to expand in range with climate change," said Roberta Fulthorpe, one of the scientists behind this research. "We also found that fungi appear to be related to coffee root characteristics while bacteria are not."

The finding that a number of highly abundant microbial species consistently persist in coffee is a remarkable one. As team member Adam Martin explains: "That the same species are found across a huge range of temperatures, precipitation, soil conditions, and light availability, is novel evidence of a core microbiome that actually exists in real-world conditions."

"Our results open the door for understanding if or how microbiomes can be managed in real-world cropping systems. Our work also leads to interesting questions on whether or not the flavor of our morning cup of coffee is influenced by the plant's microbes."

Explore further Could more coffee bring a healthier microbiome?

More information: Roberta Fulthorpe et al, Root Endophytes of Coffee (Coffea arabica): Variation Across Climatic Gradients and Relationships with Functional Traits, Phytobiomes Journal (2019). Roberta Fulthorpe et al, Root Endophytes of Coffee (Coffea arabica): Variation Across Climatic Gradients and Relationships with Functional Traits,(2019). DOI: 10.1094/PBIOMES-04-19-0021-R

Provided by American Phytopathological Society
By Ayya Lmahamad

It is unlikely that classes at educational institutions in Azerbaijan will resume before the end of the current academic year on June 15, Deputy Minister of Education Mahabbat Valiyeva said on April 30.

"Opening of schools by the end of this academic year probably does not seem realistic. It will be difficult to maintain social distancing between students in schools," M.Veliyeva said in an interview with Yeni TV channel.

In the meantime, Education Minister's Advisor Elnura Mammadova has warned against spreading misinformation and speculation about the date when schools will open. Misinformation on these issues has been disseminated several times, including screenshots from the official website of the Cabinet of Ministers and Ministry of Education. Each time the Ministry of Education has repeatedly stressed that the information is incorrect and that these actions create legal responsibility, Mammadova said.

Classes in all educational institutions in Azerbaijan were suspended from 3 March to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The country introduced nationwide quarantine regime on March 24.

___

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Why Michael Flynn Was Set Up

Commentary

The more we learn about the evils done to Michael Flynn, and they increase day by day, the more the FBI comes to resemble the KGB.

Or is it the earlier version, the NKVD, whose leader, Lavrentiy Beria, famously declared, Show me the man and Ill find you the crime.

James Comeythe head of the FBI during this period of extraordinary moral turpitudenever said anything anywhere near that pithy or memorable, but he did Beria one better. He, with then-agent Peter Strzok, whose feckless emails to his paramour continue to amaze, and various other bit players of this sorry sagasome revealed others yet to be revealeddidnt just find a crime, they invented one.

In all fairness, the Soviets, pre and post-Beria, often did the same, putting the darkness in Darkness at Noon, with forced confessions as in the Metro-Vickers Affair (1933), when innocent Brits took the hit for the failure of Stalins five-year plan.

What was really going on with what was essentially the forced confession of Flynn?

Former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy said on Tucker Carlson on April 30 that Flynn wasnt the target; it was Trump. Flynn was just a seasoned intelligence professional (McCarthys words) who had to be implicated and put out of the way in order to reach the president, the real bullseye.

Thats likely true, but its also likely that wasnt the only reason. Flynn was by himself a target.

During the transition, its said that Barack Obama gave incoming President Donald Trump two pieces of advice on whom he considered to be the current greatest threats to the United States, so the new president could be forearmedKim Jong Un and Flynn.

Michael Flynn? (Id add several exclamation points and question marks, but its tacky.) Why would he be of anywhere near that importance to be put in the same conversation as the nuclear-armed dictator of North Korea?

The answer, I believe, is a four-letter word: Iran.

The Iran deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA) was, with the Affordable Care Act, one of the twin pillars of Obamas presidency on which he wanted to base his legacy.

Im not going into here the many theories of why, beyond that legacy, Obama was so attached to the JCPOA, but, by the time Trump was elected, it was already under heavy criticism due to the Islamic Republics violent activities in the Syrian civil war and elsewhere, arming Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and other proxies with money that came via America andnaive as it now soundswere supposed to be for the improvement of the lives of the Iranian people.

Flynn was known to have been one of the most adamant opponents of the Iran deal within the Obama administration and, with his military record as a three-star general plus aforementioned intelligence expertise, perhaps the most powerful one.

So bringing down Flynn was a twofer, striking a blow at the new president while hopefully helping to preserve the Iran deal. The second part didnt work, but the first did  for a while.

Its therefore not totally surprisingwhat is these days?that the newly revealed documents have SCO (special counsels office) scrawled on them, among other incriminating notes indicating a setup was in the cards for Flynn.

That means these statements exculpating Trumps newly appointed national security adviser went to Muellers office, where someone (Mueller? Weissman?) ignored them and continued with what Trump has colloquially, and I think too loosely, branded a hoax. It was far more than that. It was a form of defenestration.

When we look for the Mr. Big in all this, as we are tempted to do aswe can be more confident nowmore rolls out, we shouldnt settle for Comey, as culpable as he may be. This bizarre character who self-identified on Twitter as the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr isnt the end to the story.

We are looking at a Netflix series with a plot that gets increasingly complicated. It goes past Comey and into the intelligence agencies and the State Departmenta real-life version of Scandal with, I regret to tell showrunner Shonda Rhimes, the liberals and progressives almost always the villains.

When it reaches then-CIA Director Brennan and Obama, it may not even end there. Maybe even U.S. Attorney John Durham doesnt know. (Kidding. I hope.)

Roger L. Simon is The Epoch Times senior political columnist. He is also the co-founder of PJ Media, a novelist, and a screenwriter.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong attend a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Peace House at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018.

The United States does not know where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is and is monitoring reports about his health, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week, while warning that there was a high risk of famine in the isolated country if the coronavirus situation gets worse.

We havent seen him. We dont have any information to report today, the secretary told Fox News Wednesday in response to a question about differing accounts regarding the 36-year-old Supreme Leaders health after a long period in which Kim was not seen in public.

Pompeo said that the U.S. is not only looking into Kims health, but is keeping an eye out on the entire country during the global COVID-19 epidemic.

They also have the risk of COVID there and there is a real risk that there will be a famine, a food shortage inside of North Korea, too. Were watching each of those things closely, as they have a real impact on our mission set, which is to ultimately denuclearize North Korea, said Pompeo.

Though Pompeo said the U.S. hasnt recorded any Kim sightings, journalists have speculated, based on satellite imagery and sightings of specific vehicles, that he might be in or near Wonsan, a port city on the countrys east coast.

A diplomat in Pyongyang who asked not to be named told RFAs Korean Service Wednesday that he assumed that based on South Korean reports, including an announcement from the Blue House, that Kim was in Wonsan. He added that he also heard that Kims luxury yacht had been spotted off Wonsans coast earlier this month.

The diplomat was unable to confirm if people are aware of the news regarding Kim Jong Uns health, because diplomats in North Korea have limited contact with the North Korean people, and it would be impossible to directly discuss Kim Jong Uns personal affairs with them.

But North Koreas security department has launched a strong crackdown in the country against the spreading of rumors related to Kims health, according to the Japan-based Asia Press, a media outlet that focuses on North Korea news.

Kim Jong Un has not been seen, and North Korean state media is not denying it, Jiro Ishimaru, head of Asia Press, told RFA Wednesday.

As rumors of Kim Jong Uns health problems continue to spread from China, more and more people believe it. Maybe thats why the North Korean security department suddenly launched a very serious crackdown, saying it is a groundless rumor, he said.

According to Ishimaru, a source in the northern part of Ryanggang Province said that rumors that Kim suffered a botched surgery and died are also spreading among women in the local marketplaces. In response, the security department began searching for people who spread the rumors, labeling them fear mongers, and the situation there is tense.

Despite the lack of confirmed public information about Kim, during a plenary session of South Koreas National Assembly Defense Committee on Wednesday, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said that the U.S. and South Korean intelligence communities are sharing information on Kim Jong Uns health. Information is also shared with U.S. Forces Korea.

Again, please firmly believe in the position of the South Korean government. Based on the information we have now, Im telling you that there is no abnormality or special movement, Jeong said after the session.

As the Minister of National Defense, I have the greatest awareness and interest in this matter, and I am trying to figure out everything in detail, he said.

Who would replace Kim?

Though no concrete evidence regarding Kims allegedly ailing health has surfaced, North Korea watchers have speculated at length as far as who might replace him in the event of his death.

Two names appear most frequently in these discussions: Kim Jong Uns younger sister Kim Yo Jong, 32, and his uncle and fathers half-brother, Kim Pyong Il, 65.

Kim Yo Jong is said to have been getting a major push of late, as she has been given more responsibilities in the government.

If [Kim] dies or becomes incapacitated, it is uncertain who would succeed him. His younger sister and confidante, Kim Yo Jong, is among the most likely, said a U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) report updated Wednesday.

She played a prominent role in summit diplomacy, but analysts wonder whether a woman could become the leader, particularly if not designated as successor by her brother, the report said.

South Koreas National Assembly Research Service noted that Kim Yo-Jong, who is the First Deputy Director of the Workers Party of Korea, was recently reappointed as an alternate member of the political bureau, and that it expected her to take a more active role in government to strengthen the foundation for the so-called Mount Baekdu bloodline.

Mount Baekdu is a sacred mountain in Korean culture, located on the Sino-Korean border. According to mythology Baekdu was the birthplace of Dangun, the first Korean. A myth is also taught in North Korea that Kim Jong Uns father and predecessor Kim Jong Il was born there, meaning that all of his descendants would be of the Mount Baekdu bloodline.

The National Assembly Research Service also said it believed that Kim Yo-Jong has been an independent political entity since the beginning of this year, pointing out that she began issuing statements to the U.S. and South Korea in her name, signaling the possibility that she could take the role as the successor to the Baekdu bloodline.

First Deputy Director Kim Yo-Jung served as an alternate member of the political bureau, but it is possible that her status may now be much stronger than before, given that she appeared as a alternate member of the political bureau shortly after issuing statements to the U.S. and South Korea, Cho Han Bum of the Seoul-based Korea Institute of National Unification told RFA.

The case for Kim Pyong-Il

Experts are reluctant to say that Kim Yo Jong is the most likely to be her brother's successor however. They point out that authoritarian, patriarchal North Korea may not be ready to fall in line behind a woman.

The other name that has surfaced in speculation about Kims successor is Kim Pyong Il, who is the half brother of Kim Jong Il and the last surviving child of Kim Il Sung. He served as North Koreas ambassador to Poland and several other European countries between 1988 and 2019.

But even with Kim Pyong Ils high profile, experts said that his chances of becoming the next leader of North Korea are not high.

I consider that Kim Pyong Il cannot be the next leader of North Korea. He has no network, in North Korea, of people who are able to support him in being the leader, Nicolas Levi of the Polish Academy of Sciences told RFA Thursday.

Levi and other experts on North Koreas elite met with Kim Pyong Il when he was the ambassador to Poland.

He was removed from the DPRK already in the very late 70s. We must take into account that he spent more than 60 percent of his life being abroad, said Levi, adding, All his friends were all killed or are deceased or committed suicide, and thats why he cannot be the next leader.

Kim Pyong Il cannot have a good understanding of internal affairs, said Levi, pointing out that the former ambassador only returned to North Korea one month out of every year while he was in Europe.

Ishimaru was doubtful about Kim Pyong Ils prospects because of his lack of connection to the Mount Baekdu line.

I think the possibility of Kim Pyong Il becoming the successor of Kim Jong Un is zero, not one percent, he said.

Under Kim Jong Un's rule, in June 2013, North Korea revised the '10 Principles on the Establishing of the Monolithic Ideology of the Party'. These principles are above the North Korean constitution, the party regulations in North Korea, Ishimaru said.

The revision included an addition of a sentence which emphasized the importance of keeping the spirit of the Party and Revolution forever with the bloodline of Mt. Baekdu, and stick to the purity of the bloodline. Kim Pyong Il [as Kim Jong Ils half-brother] is what they call an 'offshoot', not the main trunk, he added.

Whomever is chosen to succeed Kim Jong Un, must be a member of the Kim family with close ties to the Supreme Leader according to Ken Gause of the Virginia based-CNA Corporation.

Because thats where power exists right now. You cant just be on the outside and say Im going to take power. Whos going to support you? he told RFA.

Gause said that he believes that the Kim family is currently solidifying its power at least in a contingency plan.

Start from the fact that there was no continuance of governance plan and now there seems to be one being put in place, which would try to enhance the power of the Kim family vs. other powerful institutions and individuals within the regime, he said.

You would assume that it would have to be another Kim family member, unless there is going to be a complete reprobation on how the system works. In order to have legitimacy most likely it has to be a Kim family member, he added.

Gause said the three most likely candidates were Kim Pyong Il, Kim Yo Jong and Kim Jong Uns older brother Kim Jong Chol.

The CRS report said that if a power struggle were to erupt in North Korea, there would be major implications for U.S. interests, including questions about control of the DPRKs nuclear arsenal, the potential for a humanitarian crisis, and the possibility of a confrontation with China that could alter the fundamental security structure of the region.

Additional reporting by Hee Jung Yang, Yewon Ji, Seungwook Hong, and Jeong Eun Lee for RFAs Korean Service. Translation by Leejin Jun.
Cargo containers of coronavirus tests being unloaded from a Korean Air flight.

Maryland Governors office/Press release

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told The Washington Post Thursday that National Guard troops and state police were guarding coronavirus tests that the state purchased from South Korea at a secret location to prevent the federal government from seizing them.

He said the plane carrying the tests was met by National Guard troops and state police to prevent the tests from being intercepted, adding that the protection mission is ongoing.

"The National Guard and state police are both guarding these tests at an undisclosed location," Hogan said.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Maryland has National Guard troops and state police guarding coronavirus tests at a secret location because of concerns that they might be seized, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told The Washington Post Thursday.

In response to testing shortages, Maryland recently purchased half a million tests from LabGenomics, a South Korean company, for $9 million.

The Washington Post previously reported that Hogan was worried the federal government might seize the shipment, but it was unclear at that time which steps were taken to protect the tests. On Thursday, he acknowledged there was some concern.

"We spent about 22 days and nights dealing with this whole transaction with Korea. We dealt with the Korean embassy, folks at the State Department, and our scientists on both sides trying to figure out these tests," Hogan said. "And then at the last moment, I think 24 hours before, we got the sign-off from the FDA and Border and Customs to try to make sure that we landed this plane safely."

The Maryland governor said when the Korean Air jet carrying the 500,000 tests flew into Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, it was met by National Guard troops and state police.

Hogan said it landed there "with a large contingent of Maryland National Guard and Maryland state police because this was an enormously valuable payload. It was like Fort Knox to us because it's going to save the lives of thousands of our citizens."

Story continues

Washington Post Live (@postlive) April 30, 2020

Hogan, who is a Republican, said he had heard reports from other states of the federal government confiscating supplies. He specifically pointed to an incident in Massachusetts.

After 3 million masks purchased for the state were confiscated in New York, state leaders in Massachusetts turned to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to help bring in coveted N95 masks from China on a private plane.

"There were a couple of other states that had similar stories," Hogan said.

He said the tests were "so important to us that we wanted to make sure that plane took off from Korea safely, landed here in America safely, and that we guarded that cargo from whoever might interfere with us getting that to our folks that needed it."

The governor added that the test protection was ongoing, saying that "the National Guard and state police are both guarding these tests at an undisclosed location."

Maryland's decision to purchase coronavirus tests from South Korea drew criticism from President Donald Trump, who said the governor could have made use of available labs to help boost testing capacity. "I don't think he needed to go to South Korea. I think he needed to get a little knowledge, would have been helpful," the president said at a recent briefing.

Hogan later responded on MSNBC, saying that if there had been "an easier way" to get the necessary tests, "we certainly would have taken it."

Maryland has more than 20,000 coronavirus cases, and the state has reported over 1,000 related deaths.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The increase in violence comes as U.S. officials struggle to keep the Taliban peace deal on track. The February agreement ended offensive operations between U.S. forces and the militant group and set a deadline of March 10 for the beginning of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Those talks have yet to begin, and some fear the violence could be sapping what little momentum followed the signing of the deal.
The first confirmed coronavirus infection in Yemen was identified in a 60-year-old man on Good Friday. No additional cases have been reported since then, but that can hardly be for lack of transmission, for its difficult to imagine a country more ill-equipped to fight COVID-19s spread. This small Middle Eastern nation has endured five years of violence, blockade, starvation, and epidemic, and its medical system was ravaged before the pandemic began. The United Nations considers Yemens condition the worlds worst humanitarian crisisand its a crisis to which our government contributes.

Located at the southern edge of Saudi Arabia and bordering the Red Sea, Yemen is thought to be the home of the biblical queen of Sheba, and perhaps only biblical language can adequately convey its confluence of miseries. The prophets mournful condemnations of violence and oppression all find expression in Yemen: The combatants feet run to evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation and destruction are in their highways.The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths (Isa. 59:78, NRSV). Yemen illustrates all too well the way sin flows from sin (Ps. 7:1416) and how human and natural evil can conspire in our fallen world.

Yemen illustrates all too well the way sin flows from sin and how human and natural evil can conspire in our fallen world.

When Yemens civil war began in 2015, it was little noticed in the United States. Widely ignored too was the Obama administrations decision to support a coalition intervention led by Saudi Arabia to back the Yemeni government and oppose the Houthi rebels challenging its power. Then-President Barack Obama never obtained congressional authorization for US involvement in this war, as required by the Constitution, and President Donald Trump vetoed a bipartisan congressional resolution to end American involvement last year.

While neither administration permanently planted any significant number of US boots on the ground in Yemen, both backed the coalition even as it racked up credible accusations of war crimes. Washington sold the Saudi coalition weapons, including a bomb used in the Saudi school bus strike that killed 40 children. Our militarys intelligence sharing informed the coalitions air campaign as it bombed civilian targets like hospitals, schools, markets, refugee camps, weddings, funerals, food factories, and water treatment plants.

That damage to clean water sources fueled in Yemen the largest cholera outbreak on record in world history. Cholera is a waterborne disease in which diarrhea and vomiting cause catastrophic dehydration, and Yemeni cholera cases are estimated at more than 2 million in a population of 28 million. The same poor hygiene conditions that help cholera spread will spread COVID-19 too.

But the US-backed coalitions single most harmful tactic is its ongoing blockade of Yemens airports and seaports. Ostensibly intended to prevent the Houthis from obtaining weapons from Iran, it has produced famine conditions and severe shortages of medical supplies. Yemen is a desert nation that must import 90 percent of its food, so under siege, Yemen is starving. Photos of malnourished Yemeni children call to mind Holocaust victims. A Yemeni child of five years or younger dies of starvation and other preventable causes every 12 minutes.

Between war casualties, cholera, and starvation, Yemens medical system has long been overwhelmed. Only half its hospitals are functioning normally. Medicine and equipment are in short supply, and many doctors and nurses worked without pay until outside aid groups began to cover some salaries. There is no scenario in which Yemen can be prepared for the coronavirus. There is no scenario in which Yemeni COVID-19 patients will receive the care they need.

Article continues below

But there is a scenario in which the United States could stop adding to Yemens suffering: We could stop assisting the Saudi coalition. Politically, this should be an easy sell: It has bipartisan support in Congress and among Americans aware of the war. It would not jeopardize US securitythe Houthis have only local ambitions, and the power vacuum of civil war helps terrorist organizations rather than curbing them, most notably al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). (AQAP-linked fighters have even obtained American weapons and armored vehicles flowing into Yemen via coalition forces.)

US military withdrawal from Yemens conflict is no guarantor of peace. It will not rebuild hospitals or control epidemics. But it would make the coalition intervention impossible to continue, at least at its current scale. That could push Saudi Arabia and its allies to reach a peace deal or long-term ceasefire with the rebels after multiple failed negotiations. And it could well break the blockade, allowing in vital food and medical aid.

Open ports and a decline in violence in Yemen would give Christians an opportunity to serve the Yemeni people in ways that are now all but impossible. A NGO worker in Yemen told me few of the aid organizations that have managed to stay active in the country are affiliated with churches. That is partly because Yemen is a dangerous place for Christians, this worker emphasized. A mass shooting in 2016 included four nuns and a priest among its victims; international Christian aid workers were kidnapped and killed in 2009; and three Southern Baptist missionaries were martyred in Yemen in 2003. The Yemeni Christian population is extremely small and subject to persecution (conversion from Islam is prohibited). That likely wont change however the civil war concludes, as neither the Yemeni government nor the Houthi rebels respect religious freedom. Yemen needs spiritual care as much medical and economic aid.

In this pandemic and after, amid civil war and after, Yemen desperately needs the church. It needs Christians to imitate our God who will incline [his] ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more (Ps. 10:1718, NRSV). It needs us to embody Gods self-sacrificial care for the helpless. Yemen needs peace, and it needs our prayers.

Bonnie Kristian is a columnist at Christianity Today, a contributing editor at The Week, a fellow at Defense Priorities, and the author of A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (Hachette).




The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that there are 102 potential COVID-19 vaccines being developed around the world while eight have already been approved for clinical trials.

The world health body disclosed this on Thursday in a document posted on its website.

It added that four of the vaccines approved are from China, one is from England, one is American and another is a combined American and European group.

However, WHO declared that no vaccine has been approved in Nigeria or any part of Africa for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Naija News recalls the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi has insisted that a local cure is available for the coronavirus infection and would soon be made available to the public.

The Ooni made the declaration on Wednesday while speaking at Oke  Mosan Governors Office, Abeokuta, Ogun State, while handing over two motorized modular fumigators to Governor Dapo Abiodun as his donation to the Ogun State Government in support of its battle against the spread of the COVID  19 in the state.

It will be recalled the monarch had about four weeks ago, listed some herbs, leaves, and vegetables found in Africa as capable of treating the coronavirus.

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Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said he understands why the Rice Lake City Council approved a resolution Tuesday to invite businesses to re-open head of the states May 26 timeline, but he isnt pushing for a similar measure here.

Weve thought about it, Hoffman said. We had discussions with public health and police, and we are going to continue to follow guidelines.

He added: I think (Rice Lake) is going to run into trouble with the state.

Hoffman said he hasnt brought any proposals to the council, and no council members have suggested one to him.

I can appreciate it, Hoffman said of the Rice Lake resolution. Ive talked to the business owners, the restaurants. They all have a genuine concern of what this would look like. Were all being cautious about it.

Hoffman said he understands the temptation to open now. Chippewa County has had 21 positive COVID-19 cases, but 18 of those people are now showing no symptoms, no one is hospitalized, and there havent been any deaths.

I know a lot of citizens are getting tired of it, but that doesnt mean we can run out and do what we want, Hoffman said. Now is not the time to throw caution to the wind. Weve been successful in northwest Wisconsin in minimizing this.

Eau Claire city manager Dale Peters didnt want to comment on the Rice Lake resolution.

Its not our place to comment on actions taken by other communities, Peters said.

It is unlikely a similar measure would come forward in Eau Claire, he said.

There are no proposals to take action that would be inconsistent with the law, Peters said. As weve done from the beginning of this crisis, we will continue to follow the orders issued by Gov. Evers. Its the law  its not optional or voluntary.

Peters added: Everyone would like to return to normal, but it should be done applying data and metrics in a uniform manner.

No Rice Lake businesses opened Thursday

The Rice Lake resolution passed on a 5-4 vote with Mayor Mike Diercks casting the tie-breaking vote. Diercks didnt return calls for comment Thursday. The resolution appears to allow all businesses to reopen and advises city police to enforce state laws at their own discretion. The plan doesnt have support from the Barron County Public Health Department or the Sheriffs Department.

However, Barron County sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said hes been in close contact with the Rice Lake Police Department, and no businesses attempted to open Thursday that would have been in violation of the states stay-at-home orders.

We have no issues, Fitzgerald said. Everyone is still compliant. Its business as usual here.

Like Hoffman, Fitzgerald said he understands the temptation to open. Barron County has had just six positive COVID-19 cases.

All six are recovered, and none were hospitalized, Fitzgerald said. We havent had a new case in 2  weeks.

Barron County public health director Laura Sauve didnt return calls for comment.

No resolutions planned in Menomonie

Menomonie Mayor Randy Knaack and City Manager Lowell Prange both said they have no plans to seek to open the city earlier than the state guidelines.

At this point, the administration and mayor will continue to support the guidelines set by DHS, Prange said. I dont think well change course right now.

Prange noted the city has allowed for curbside pickup at the public library this week, and the plan is for the farmers market to open May 16 with some social distancing plans.

Knaack said he liked the idea of opening some businesses  with some requirements  but I dont agree with head-butting the sheriff and human services and health departments.

Knaack said if businesses were to open, he thinks rules must be implemented that including reduced capacity, social distancing, and mandatory masks at indoor public places.

Mike Jordan, Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce director, said he is hopeful that proposals will head to the governor or other state officials that will allow for reopening businesses in northwest Wisconsin early.

I cant speak for Rice Lake, but from our perspective, the May 26 date that is out there is not what we want to see. We want to see it sooner, Jordan said. The situation in Chippewa County does not match the situation in Milwaukee County. We should be getting back to business before May 26.

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TORRINGTON  Torrington Savings Bank recently named two new corporators, elected at the banks annual meeting in February.

Lesa A. Vanotti: TSBs President & Chief Operating Officer, is a Torrington native and has held various positions with TSB since joining the Bank in 1996 with her most recent role held as the SVP, Treasurer & CFO.

Maria Gonzalez, New Opportunities, Inc., Director of Community Service, is a native of the Dominican Republic and a champion for Latino community striving to provide access to essential services, education, training & job placement.

The Corporators represent the founding members of Torrington Savings Bank when it was incorporated in 1868. New Corporators are nominated by the Banks Board of Trustees at the semi-annual meetings.

Board chairman Edwin G. Booth, Jr., said, Lesa and Maria add a wealth of experience and local presence to our Board of Corporators. I look forward to their contributions to the banks success.

Savings foundation opens COVID-19 response grant cycle

TORRINGTON  The Torrington Savings Foundation is responding to the immediate needs of those directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and opening a special grant cycle, according to a statement.

Grants of up to $10,000 are available to those organizations working on the front lines of the pandemic. Grants will be awarded for basic needs such as rent, food, infant supplies (diapers and formula) utilities (heat, gas), counseling, medication, child care.

Grant priority will be given to essential personnel and vulnerable populations (e.g. seniors, low-income individuals and families, persons with disabilities, persons without health insurance and/or access to paid sick days).

Grants are limited to organizations that operate within the Torrington Savings Foundation catchment area: Avon, Barkhamsted, Bristol, Burlington, Canaan, Canton, Colebrook, Cornwall, East Granby, Farmington, Goshen, Granby, Hartland, Harwinton, Litchfield, New Hartford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Simsbury, Torrington, Winchester.

Nonprofits are encouraged to visit TorringtonSavings.Bank/foundation/ to learn more regarding this special grant program, to check eligibility and to apply for a grant.

Program receives Covid-19 Rapid Response funding

TORRINGTON  The Sullivan Senior Center, which provides Assisted Medical Transportation to the citys most vulnerable population, received an $1,800 Covid-19 Rapid Respond Grant from the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation and through the Draper Foundation fund, the Marion Wm. and Alice Edwards Fund, the Nolan Selby Fund, the Women and Girls Fund and in Partnership with the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and Northwest Corner Gives.

During the pandemic, Assisted Medical Transportation program continues to provide lifesaving rides to our elderly population who do not have the means or ability to drive due to age related or illness issues.

The grant will allow the center to continue to provide these critical rides in Torrington, Harwinton and parts of Litchfield.

Community rallies during Give Local

WATERBURYGive Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills, an online giving event hosted by Connecticut Community Foundation for the eighth year, concluded a 36-hour time of giving at 7 p.m. April 22, raising a record-breaking $1.8 million, according to a statement. The money is earmarked for over 250 nonprofit organizations serving the Foundations 21-town service area, and will ultimately provide benefits to organizations reeling from decreased revenue streams caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given our current landscape, we really did not know how donors would respond this year. Clearly, they rose to the occasion and jumped at the opportunity to support local organizations in this unprecedented time of need, said Julie Loughran, president and CEO of Connecticut Community Foundation. The campaign will help organizations make up recent shortfalls to maintain staffing, meet fixed expenses, meet new and emerging demand for services as a result of COVID-19, and be prepared to resume normal operations when the crisis passes.

More than 6,400 individuals throughout the region and beyond contributed during the campaign. Donors were able to fill their shopping carts with priceless things such as job training, mental health services, meals for the homebound, safer recreational trails, future theatre performances, and so much more that local organizations provide to the community, Loughran said.

Connecticut Community Foundation, presenting sponsor Ion Bank Foundation and many other sponsors provided more than $128,000 in bonus funds to boost all donations during the event. Non-profits vied for $40,000 in cash prizes from sponsors during Give Local.

Total dollars raised for each of the participating nonprofits can be viewed on the leaderboard of the Give Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills website at www.GiveLocalCCF.org. Grand prizes were awarded through the generosity of the Ion Bank Foundation.

Leading organizations by the end of the campaign included: Wellmore Behavioral Health, 360 donors; Southbury Food Bank, 275 donors; Washington Ambulance Association, 209 donors; KidsPlay Museum, Torrington, 202 donors; and Landmark Community Theatre, Thomaston, 205 donors.

Top five nonprofit organizations: Dollars raised

Wellspring, $63,698; Lake Quassapaug Association, $59,850; Roxbury Land Trust, $47,410; Holy Cross High School of Waterbury, $44,165; and Washington Montessori Association, $39,640.

The foundation serves Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Cheshire, Goshen, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, New Milford, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Southbury, Thomaston, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott and Woodbury. Learn more at www.conncf.org .
HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England  Long before the River Thames reaches Londons cosmopolitan center, it wends its way through the bucolic county of Oxfordshire, home to the affluent market town of Henley-on-Thames. Henley is known for its steep house prices, its riverside pubs and its annual high-society rowing regatta, first held in 1839.

Increasingly, it is also known for watches.

In the 18th century, British inventors like Thomas Mudge and John Harrison helped shape modern watchmaking. But, as years passed, the countrys role in horology faded. As recently as 20 years ago, there were few British watchmakers  and no watchmaking culture at all in Henley, other than perhaps that provided by the weekend influx of gold-watch-wearing City financiers.

Yet in recent years, this small town of around 12,000 has become the de facto epicenter of a revived British industry.

The countrys largest watch companies have clustered in the area. Bremont, Christopher Ward and Farer are all based nearby, companies founded in, respectively, 2002, 2004 and 2015. (Pinion, a small company founded in 2013 that makes about 100 watches a year, also is based here.)
Hong Kong police used pepper spray on Friday to disperse over a hundred protesters in a shopping mall who were singing and chanting pro-democracy slogans.

The demonstrators sang the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong and chanted Glory to Hong Kong, revolution of our times in the New Town Plaza mall in Hong Kongs New Territories.

As protesters gathered in the mall, riot police stopped and searched some and later told them to leave, saying they were violating social-distancing rules. The police then sprayed tear gas to disperse the crowd before cordoning off the atrium of the mall.

The protest was one of several that went ahead on May 1, Labor Day, despite rules that forbid public gatherings of more than four people.

Small groups of protesters also gathered near Kowloons Mong Kok and Kwun Tong subway stations.

Organizers initially planned citywide protests but many were canceled, with the organizers urging people to support pro-democracy restaurants instead.

Fridays protests were the latest in a string of demonstrations over the past week in which protesters gathered in shopping malls. They follow the arrest of 15 pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers last Saturday.

The demonstrations are a continuation of a movement that began last June to protest an extradition bill that would have allowed detainees in Hong Kong to be transferred to mainland China. Although the bill was later withdrawn, the demonstrations continued for months before a lull starting in January as the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




The Philadelphia school board voted to nonrenew two charter schools run by Universal Companies Inc. at its April 30 meeting, held remotely because of the pandemic. It was the last board meeting for departing members Christopher McGinley and Wayne Walker. Pictured are (L-R, top to bottom): board members Angela McIver, President Joyce Wilkerson, Maria McColgan, Lee Huang; Julia Danzy, Mallory Fix Lopez, the sign-language interpreter translating the meeting, board general counsel Lynn Rauch; Leticia Egea-Hinton, McGinley, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and Walker. Read more

The Philadelphia school board on Thursday night voted against renewing the charters of two schools run by Universal Companies Inc., an organization that educates thousands across the city.

The two elementary schools, Universal Bluford and Universal Daroff, were district schools that struggled for years before being given to Universal, the nonprofit run by music impresario Kenny Gamble, to turn around.

But both were cited for deficiencies in finance and organizational compliance. Universal Daroff failed to meet academic standards. Universal Bluford fared better, approaching the districts K-8 academic standards, but still was generally underperforming when compared with peer schools, according to a district report.

Daroffs nonrenewal passed unanimously; Blufords was approved by 8-1, with Julia Danzy the lone negative vote. The boards actions are the first steps in a process that could see Universals charters revoked and the schools returning to district control.

Penny Nixon, Universals superintendent, urged the board to hold off on its vote, saying the district gave Universal just five days to respond to its nonrenewal report.

Given the current conditions, a response of five days is not feasible or fair, Nixon said, adding that she believed that the districts report was biased. Supporters of both schools also came to their defense.

Bluford is a story of progress, said Crystal Gary-Nelson, the schools principal.

Devon Allen, a spokesperson for Universal, blasted the boards move after the vote was taken, noted that Bluford has been singled out by the district as a leader among its peers, and said that both schools fared well compared to other charters and district schools.

We will address and defend vigorously our academic growth and improvement, organizational compliance, viability and finances as an education management organization against the boards vote of non-renewal for Universal Bluford and Universal Daroff, Allen said in a statement.

But Tomea Sippio-Smith, education director for the nonprofit Public Citizens for Children and Youth, said the boards move was the right one.

The charter offices reports point out glaring concerns with both charter schools as to student performance and in their management, Sippio-Smith said in testimony submitted to the board. Now more than ever, the district must consider whether the investments it makes are wise, given its projected $1 billion deficit. And considering the effort, tools, and resources it will take to get students learning back on track, the district cannot afford to pay tuition bills for schools that consistently fail its students.

The board also approved a resolution calling for Pennsylvania to pass meaningful charter reform, saying that charter costs are growing much faster than charter enrollment, squeezing school systems unfairly, and that districts are overpaying charters and reimbursing them for costs they do not incur.

The need for significant charter school funding reform is urgent, the resolution says, and school districts are struggling to keep up with growing charter costs, and are forced to raise taxes and cut staffing, programs, and services in order to pay increased costs to charter schools.

That resolution, similar to ones passed by dozens of districts state-wide, drew ire from members of the charter community, including Ana Meyers, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown the need for officials from both public charter schools and school districts to work together to ensure our children receive an education, Meyers said in a statement. That is why it is disappointing that the Philadelphia school board would consider a divisive resolution supporting drastic funding cuts for thousands of children in public charter schools.

Later, the board voted to allow Laboratory Charter to consolidate its three campuses across the city into two locations, one in North Philadelphia and one in East Falls. It previously asked to simply relocate to the East Falls location, but was denied over community concerns.

 HELP US REPORT: Are you a health care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker or other expert? We want to hear from you.

East Falls residents still said the proposal still fell short, saying that the school would compete with Mifflin, the public school in the area, that they worried about traffic, and that they believed the school had done no real community engagement around its proposal.

Its insulting to individuals who live, work, and go to school in this neighborhood," said Mary Alice Duff, who sends her child to Mifflin.

The meeting represented the final time board members Christopher McGinley and Wayne Walker, the vice president, would be in attendance. Both have resigned from the panel.

City Council will have its say on Mayor Jim Kenneys second-term board on Friday.
A popular radio host has opened up about why he was abruptly fired from his breakfast show after a trip to deliver medicine and food to his wife and daughter.

Dave Dunlay, who hosted the morning drive slot for the last two-and-half years on The Breeze radio network in Canterbury, New Zealand, took to Facebook on Friday to tell his version of events.

Before this, the only explanation given to listeners was a brief statement from the station owner MediaWorks, on Tuesday at 7am saying; 'Dave is no longer with The Breeze'.

'It's a strange feeling when you wake up one morning and don't have a job to go to,' Mr Dunlay wrote.

Dave Dunlay who hosted the morning drive slot for the last two-and-half years on The Breeze radio network in Canterbury, New Zealand (pictured with co-host and 80s pop star Rick Astley) took to Facebook on Friday to tell his version of events

Squeaky the dog who was at the centre of Mr Dunlay's trip to visit his wife and daughter

Mr Dunlay posted to Facebook on Friday about his departure from the radio network

'I'm not alone, as a lot of people are experiencing this right now. You feel embarrassed and frustrated, there's feelings of shock, no control over circumstances and a perceived loss of respect as we see ourselves through the work we do.'

Mr Dunlay explained that for his own mental health he has decided to open up about the circumstances of his departure from the station.

He said he was told a trip to deliver food and medicine to his wife, daughter, and pet dog 'squeaky' in the midst of strict coronavirus lockdown had risked 'damage to MediaWorks' reputation' and his contract was torn up.

'The Wednesday before Easter, I drove to our lifestyle property at French Farm where my wife and daughter were spending lockdown. My daughter has just returned from overseas and initially spent time alone in order to self-isolate,' he said.

He explained that his wife had gone to join her and take food after the 14-day isolation but forgot to take medicine for the 14-year-old family dog 'Squeaky'.

After speaking to a vet, who he said told him delivering the medicine was essential travel, he drove to the farm to drop off the prescription along with food supplies.

'My two colleagues knew where I was going and what I'd done and expressed their concerns to our manager, who told senior management. They went through a process and decided my reasons for making the choices I did weren't good enough to retain my job,' he said.

People commenting on the post appeared to be outraged saying the reaction seemed very heavy-handed.

Commenters semmed outraged at the departure of Mr Dunlay from the station

Others questioned he had indeed broken the lockdown rules

'Wow!! I hope you fight this Dave. This is absolute rubbish and totaly over the top,' on person wrote.

'I'm sorry to hear that Dave! That seems extremely unjustified to me! Good on you for speaking out on this,' another person added.

The New Zealand government brought in heavy Level 4 restrictions in April which included orders that gatherings are not allowed and only essential businesses are to open.

Another of the main restrictions being that people should stay at home 'in their bubble' and only travel for essential reasons.

Mr Dunlay said now that the anger and frustration has subsided he is quite enjoying being off-air and working on some of his own projects.

'I am really loving being off air - I have lots of projects on the go, along with working with my team at Tandem Studios. BTW - Squeaky is all good - she is 14 and needs constant medication!'

'I will remember my time spent with the Breeze Canterbury audience fondly, and the great people I have worked with in radio. Stay safe and be kind.'
Ryanair has announced plans to slash as many as 3,000 jobs and close bases in Europe amid the collapse of travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group announced a restructuring program Friday that included plans for unpaid leave and pay cuts of as much as 20 per cent.

The budget airline says will operate less than 1 per cent of its flights from April to June and that passenger numbers will not return to 2019 levels "until summer 2022 at the earliest."



The airline group also says it is "active negotiations" with Boeing to cut the number of planned aircraft deliveries over the next 24 months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Healthcare workers around the country have opened up about what COVID-19 means to them and their families as they share their fears surrounding the novel virus.

As part of Cut.com's One Word video series, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals were asked to name the first word they think of when they hear 'COVID-19.'

'The first thing that pops into my mind is fear  even though I don't really want it to be,' a travel RN from New York admitted.

Scroll down for video

Thoughts: Medical professionals around the country around the country were asked to name the first word they think of when they hear 'COVID-19' as part of Cut.com's One Word series

Horrifying: A respiratory therapist in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, shared that someone threatened to shoot one of her co-workers over the illness

An EMT from Staten Island, New York, said the illness makes her think of the word 'difficult' while sharing what it has been like for her to treat coronavirus-positive patients.

'I get minimum three COVID possible or positive patients a day,' she explained. 'It's just become the normal now. I've been getting them every day for the last two months.'

She lives with her mother and brother who has autism, and while she doesn't want to get them sick, she admitted that self-isolating away from them has taken a toll on her family.

'They stay upstairs. I stay in my basement. If I get it, I get it. You know, I don't care. It's just I don't want my family getting it,' she said. 'My brother has autism. He's in such a routine where he knows he sees me every day, and it's heartbreaking because I am breaking that routine.'

Honest: 'The first thing that pops into my mind is fear  even though I don't really want it to be,' a travel RN from New York admitted

Candid: An EMT from Staten Island, New York, said the illness makes her think of the word 'difficult' while sharing what it has been like for her treat coronavirus-positive patients

Hard to handle: A NICU nurse in Seattle, Washington, admitted she is 'nervous' because she is supposed to go to her 'dream' grad school in the fall

A patient access representative in Seattle, Washington, said that COVID-19 is 'unpredictable' while noting that she may actually have the illness and not know it.

'I was sent home from work today because I actually had a low-grade fever and I had no idea,' she explained. 'I felt completely fine, but they turned me away and told me to go home.

She said if her fever persists for more than four days, she will have to get tested.

'I'm not looking forward to that,' she confessed.

A hospital nurse in Seattle bluntly said COVID-19 is 's****y,' explaining her grandfather recently died from the novel virus.

Global crisis: A radiology resident from Providence. Rhode Island, said COVID-19 makes her think of 'chaos'

Life-changing pandemic: A hospice nurse from Grand Rapids, Michigan, said coronavirus is 'unprecedented'

'I lost my grandpa to COVID-19 just a few weeks ago, and it was probably one of the worst experiences of my family's life...not being able to be there for him,' she said. 'For him to just go out like that was pretty damn s****y.'

The death of her grandfather has made her even more aware of the fact that she could possibly be spreading the deadly illness without knowing it.

'As a nurse who has to do my job, we could potentially be the cause or be carrying the cause of someone's death,' she said. 'We're weapons. We're walking biological weapons.'

An anesthesiology resident in Los Angeles, California, admitted that COVID-19 is simply 'overwhelming' for him as he navigates the best ways to treat patients.

'This has completely changed the paradigm,' he said. '[I am] learning on the fly what works and what doesn't. And at the same time, people are losing their lives quickly. It's been a challenge.'

Worried: A patient access representative in Seattle, Washington, feared that she has COVID-19 after being sent home from work with a low-grade fever

Mourning: A hospital nurse in Seattle bluntly said COVID-19 is 's****y,' explaining her grandfather recently died from the novel virus.

Will it end: 'The world will go back to normal, but I think people will still continue to die from this virus, unfortunately,' a CNA in Valrico, Florida, said

In addition to the stress of treating patients and trying to keep their families safe, healthcare workers  like everyone else  are faced with having to put their lives on hold amid the pandemic.

'On a selfish level I'm nervous because I'm supposed to go to grad school in the fall at my dream school,' a NICU nurse in Seattle said. 'It feels like this is never going to end, and the changes are just so constant that it's tumultuous right now.'

Meanwhile, a respiratory therapist in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, shared that someone threatened to shoot one of her co-workers over the illness.

'I work in the emergency room, so we're the frontlines,' she explained. 'We actually had someone who is a healthcare worker threatened to be shot at because we were the reasons why COVID is a thing.'

Stats: As for Friday, there have been more than one million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and over 63,000 deaths

She said the woman was in her scrubs at the time, and after the incident, hospital employees were advised to come to work in their street clothes for their 'safety.'

A few people who were interviewed admitted that they aren't sure what's going to happen when and if the pandemic ends.

'Are we gonna go back to being our normal lives? Are we gonna still be very precautious about what we touch and how we interact with each other?' a CNA in Los Angeles asked.

Meanwhile, a CNA in Valrico, Florida, admitted that she doesn't see the coronavirus just going away.

'Is it ever really over? Is the real question, is it really ever over?' she asked. 'Yeah, the world will go back to normal, but I think people will still continue to die from this virus, unfortunately.'
Allianz SE withdrew its forecast for the year as Europes biggest insurer struggles with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Given the economic uncertainty, the board does not assume that Allianz can achieve the target range for operating profit for 2020, the German company said in a statement Thursday. Allianz said it will announce a new profit target after revising its planning.

The coronavirus hit the industry like a meteorite, Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete warned in an interview on April 16. Many insurers face an increased volume of claims, while their investment portfolios are at risk because of the market rout. Allianz follows Munich Re in withdrawing its guidance.

Allianz said it expects first-quarter operating profit of 2.3 billion euros, a decline of almost 25%, and net income of 1.4 billion euros, down 30%. It had previously forecast operating profit of 12 billion euros ($13.1 billion) for the year, plus or minus 500 million euros, after earning 11.9 billion euros on that basis in 2019.

Insurers are facing crushing losses as the virus wreaks havoc with economies and markets around the globe. Swiss Re AG on Thursday joined the swelling chorus of firms pushing for governments to backstop potential losses as the industry gets overwhelmed. Countries including Germany and Belgium have already offered guarantees for credit insurance markets amid an expected flood of claims.

S&P Global Ratings said in late March that for insurers, financial-market risks currently outweigh insurance risks. Companies in the industry typically invest the premiums they earn in assets such as bonds and stocks. Fitch Ratings on April 30 confirmed some of Allianzs ratings in light of the pandemic, saying the company is well-capitalized and has diversified business lines, geographical exposure and distribution channels.

Despite European regulators calling on insurers to preserve capital, Allianz earlier this month repeated its intention to propose a dividend, while suspending part of a buyback program. BaFin, the German regulator, has said its against a blanket dividend ban.

With assistance from Patrick Henry.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics COVID-19 Profit Loss Allianz Germany
Members of the House Judiciary Committee have asked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify before Congress and clarify statements from the company they say may be "criminally false."

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that although Amazon says it does not use data from third-party sellers to develop competing products, interviews with more than 20 former employees "reveal that employees did just that."

Amazon said this practice violates its policies and that "we strictly prohibit our employees from using nonpublic, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch." The Journal noted that Amazon associate general counsel Nate Sutton said in congressional testimony last year that "we don't use individual seller data directly to compete" with third-party sellers.

Following the Journal's report, seven members of the House Judiciary Committee have written a letter to Bezos asking him to testify, saying the report suggested Amazon "exploited its role" as the country's largest online marketplace, CNBC reports. The lawmakers go on to note that the reporting seems to contradict previous testimony from Amazon.

"If the reporting in the Wall Street Journal article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the committee about the company's business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious," the letter says.

The committee tells Bezos that they expect him to testify voluntarily, but "we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary."

More stories from theweek.com

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A brown bear that roamed northern Italy for months after escaping from an alpine enclosure last year has been captured, bringing an end to an eventful saga and prompting outrage from animal welfare groups.

Three year old Papillon - named after the 1973 Steve McQueen prison-break film - had escaped into the wild last July after scaling an electric-fence charged with thousands of volts.

After leaving the enclosure near the city of Trento, the bear was later spotted raiding bee hives and farms several times in the surrounding area.

While roaming about, he also shook a caravan with two terrified shepherds in it as he tried to empty the bin attached to it.

Amid fears Papillon posed a possible danger to humans, Trento Province President Maurizio Fugatti made the bear the target of a shoot-to-kill order in a move that attracted scorn from conservation groups.

Bear cub nursed back to health

Avoiding such an outcome, he was finally recaptured on Tuesday after being lured into a trap by forest rangers in the Dolomites.

Papillon was in "good physical condition" and transported to the nature park from which he had originally escaped, where he was put into a fenced-off area also occupied by a female bear, local officials said.

Coldiretti, a farmers group, said the capture came as a sigh of relief" to local residents who felt vulnerable because of the bear.

But his rounding up was met with sharp criticism from other quarters, with LAV, an Italian animal welfare group, threatening to sue the local authority to get Papillon released.

He was never a threat to Man and will now be given a life sentence, a spokesman for the group said, adding the bear being put behind bars was doubly cruel given it had shown exceptional talent for adapting and surviving.

Bears at Whipsnade Zoo celebrate the end of winter

The World Wildlife Fund also weighed in, saying the development was a "defeat for us all".

"It is terrible, sad news for nature conservation and for this country," it said.

Italian Environment Minster Sergio Costa meanwhile said officials were now looking for another European country with a suitable national park for brown bears to take in Papillon.

"We are sounding out European parks, contacting countries where this type of bear could live well and without risks, also activating diplomatic channels," he said.

"The goal is to give this bear, which we love, the best home possible."
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat on Friday said it was not proper to conclude that the coronavirus is the result of a biological warfare and there was a need to wait for finding the answer about its origin.

He made the comments while replying to a question on the issue at a press conference in presence of the three service chiefs.

"It is not proper to conclude that the novel coronavirus outbreak is the result of a biological warfare. The whole world is trying to find out the answer," the Chief of Defence Staff said.

US President Donald Trump had earlier said that the deadly virus originated from a virology lab in China's Wuhan city before it spread across the world and claimed over 2,33,000 lives and shattered global economies.

But Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community, which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

Ever since the virus outbreak came to light in Wuhan in December, speculation has been rife on whether the viral strain originated from China's premier Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or from its nearby Huanan Seafood Market. The US has launched an investigation into whether the deadly virus "escaped" from the WIV.

China has strongly rejected the allegations.

On whether India was looking for an investigation into the origin of coronavirus amid allegations of China's culpability over it, government sources said: "India is focusing on battling the pandemic at this point. We can always revisit this question once this pandemic is behind us."



In his media interaction, Gen Rawat exuded confidence that India will soon be able to come out with a vaccine against the virus.

"We are very confident about capability of our scientists," he said.

Gen Rawat held the press conference to announce that the Indian armed forces will conduct fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and play military bands on Sunday to display gratitude to lakhs of people like doctors and paramedics engaged in the country's fight against the pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India will extend its nationwide lockdown by two weeks from May 4 but will ease restrictions in some areas to revive economic activity that's been stalled since the stringent stay-at-home orders were put in place across the country on March 25.

Movement between states won't allowed during the lockdown, although authorities will partially relax measures in areas where there's been no new reports of coronavirus infections, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

Industrial establishments in urban areas, including special economic zones, will be allowed to operate, as well as manufacturing units for essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals and medical devices and IT hardware production, the ministry said. Private offices and government departments can operate with 33% capacity.

The number of new infections being reported in the country has not fallen despite the 40-day lockdown. India had reported just over 600 infections and 10 deaths on March 25 when the strict curbs came into effect. Those numbers now stand at over 35,000 infections and more than 1,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, India's defense forces are finalizing plans to evacuate stranded Indians from foreign countries. Naval ships and the air force's transport planes are on standby to bring millions of Indian workers from the Gulf countries, defense chiefs told reporters in New Delhi.

The government will also run special trains from Friday to help move migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other people stranded across the country due to the lockdown. Local authorities will screen the passengers and only those found asymptomatic would be allowed to travel, the home ministry said.

India's easing of restrictions is primarily aimed at reviving its economy, which could be heading for its first full-year contraction in more than four decades, as the world's biggest lockdown has crippled business activity and put a lid on consumption. It has also resulted in widespread job losses and pay cuts.

The country had eased some restrictions on April 20 to allow farmers and some industries to resume operations in rural areas and in districts that were free of infections.
The daily rate for chartering an oil tanker from Saudi Arabia to China has plunged by over 50 percent in one week to $100,000 as OPEC+ begins on Friday the collective cut to remove 9.7 million bpd from the oversupplied market, Bloomberg reports, citing the Baltic Exchange.

Although tanker owners and operators will see reduced volumes of oil to transport from oil producers to oil-importing countries, the oil shipping industry expects its business to be supported through the end of the year by the most sought-after commodity these daysstorage space.

Floating storage around the world is at an all-time high as traders have been booking tankers to use as floating storage to take advantage of the contango market structure and sell the crude oil at a later date when prices are higher.

According to shipping sources who spoke to Reuters, there were a record 160 million barrels of oil stashed on floating storage in mid-April, double the volume of oil stored on ships at the start of the month.

Supertanker owners were the early winners in the Saudi price war, the demand destruction, and the following record-high global oil glut. Shipping companies had a field day with Saudi Aramco booking tankers en masse to flood the market with oil, and with traders scrambling to charter tankers for floating storage to sell at higher prices later.

The OPEC+ deal to cut production by 9.7 million bpd in May and June, and then ease those cuts to a total of 7.7 million bpd until December 2020, is set to lower demand for crude oil transportation until the end of the year, according to Lloyd's List.

The frantic hunt for storage is currently supporting tanker rates, but the oil tanker demand outlook from second half of this year until 2022 has deteriorated significantly from lowered oil supply and an upcoming destocking cycle, Joakim Hannisdahl, analyst at Norwegian investment bank Cleaves Securities, said, as quoted by Lloyds.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
When Apple reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday, company executives didn't provide financial guidance for the quarter ending in June. CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with CNBC's Josh Lipton that the company made that decision because "it's hard to see out the windshield to know what the next 60 days look like." But both Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri gave quite a bit of color on a call with analysts about what they've seen economically in response to Covid-19 and how Apple has fared so far, as world economies brace for a lockdown-related slowdown and China starts to economically recover from its period of quarantine.

An 'uptick across the board'

Apple executives discussed how the timing of lockdowns around the world affected demand for Apple products. "If you look at what happened in China, we were having a really good January, the lockdown started there toward the end of January, as you know. February we saw steep decline in demand. We closed our stores in February. As the lockdown completed in mid-February, towards the second half of February, we began to open stores," Cook said. Cook said store traffic in China was up from February but not to where it was before the lockdown started there. When the lockdowns started in the rest of the world in mid-March, Apple saw a sharp decline in demand outside of China, Cook said. But he struck an optimistic note about impending recovery, noting that things started looking a lot better in the second half of April. "The real thing for the rest of the world happened in March when the shelter in place orders went in and the work from home began. For those two, three-week period, at the end of the quarter we saw a sharp decline in demand," Cook said. "If you now step out until April and look at that, early April started like the end of March, but in the second half of April we've seen an uptick across the board." Cook also gave two possible reasons why: Stimulus packages and a shift to working from home. "A part of it is due to the stimulus programs taking effect in April. And then a part of it is probably the consumer behavior of knowing this is going to go on for a little while longer and getting some devices and so forth lined up to work at home more," Cook said.

iPads and laptops are in, headphones and iPhones will be hurt

Some of Apple's products will fare better in the marketplace than others during the pandemic, executives said. Apple's more powerful computers, which include the Mac and iPad lines, could have a strong quarter as people need computers at home. "We believe that iPad and Mac are going to improve on a year-over-year basis during this quarter and that's customers that are either taking online education or working remotely," Cook said. However, sales of mobile devices like iPhones, headphones, and Apple Watches will likely take a hit, executives said. "On iPhone and Wearables, we expect a year-over-year revenue performance to worsen in the June quarter, relative to the March quarter," Maestri said. "During the last three weeks of the quarter, as the virus spread globally and social distancing measures were put in place worldwide including the closure of all our retail stores outside of Greater China on March 13, and many channel partner sales around the world, we saw downward pressure on demand, particularly for iPhone and Wearables," Cook said. Maestri said that people were holding onto their older iPhones for longer. "While we did see a slight elongation in our replacement cycle towards the end of the quarter which we attribute to the widespread point of sale closures, our active installed base of iPhones has reached an all-time high." Cook said on the call he doesn't see Apple's customers trading down to less expensive devices with less storage or power. Other product lines likely to be hurt by the pandemic include Apple's warranty program, AppleCare, which is often sold at stores along with new computers and phone; and Apple's relatively small ad business, which includes search ads in the Apple App Store, ads inside the Apple News App, and "third party agreements," Maestri said.

Remote work and school could be big

Apple executives repeatedly talked up the company's education and enterprise sales and software, suggesting that it sees significant opportunity as people around the world work and go to school from home. "I think many people are finding that they can learn remotely and so I suspect that trend will accelerate some," Cook said. "I think that's probably also true about working remotely in some areas, in some jobs." Maestri discussed some of Apple's enterprise clients like IBM and SAP and what they've done to enable work from home, including being able to manage company machines remotely and deploying new machines easily. "We've seen countless examples of new products and deployments implemented in just a few hours. For instance worked with our New York teams. Peloton, for instance, worked with our New York teams to deploy an entire fleet of Macs overnight so their team could work remotely," Maestri said. Apple said that it's delivering large orders of iPads to school systems, including 100,000 in Los Angles and 350,000 in New York. Cook says that as Apple works from home, some of his employees are more productive, but it's not across the board. "Everybody's getting used to the work at home," Cook said. "In some areas of the company people may be even more productive, in some other areas they're not as productive. So it's mixed, depending upon what the roles are."

Manufacturing in China is back at 'typical levels'
One Southeast Texas county judge is referring questions about Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts plan to reopen Texas to his office after a number of emails to his office have gone unanswered.

Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel just minutes after the Abbott's new executive order went into effect Friday morning issued a news release saying multiple emails submitted by him and other judges to an email address created by Abbott for elected officials to send COVID-19 comments and questions have not been returned.
The coronavirus outbreak has contributed to a deepening rift between the Trump administration and China, with Beijing suggesting the U.S. military might have brought the coronavirus to China and Trump saying China failed to alert the world to coronavirus risks in a timely and transparent fashion.

Trump also said on Thursday it was possible that China either could not stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread. He declined to say whether he held Chinese President Xi Jinping responsible for what he feels is misinformation about the emergence of the coronavirus.

Trump said of China's efforts to get to the bottom of how the virus emerged: "At least they seem to be trying to be somewhat transparent with us."

"But we're going to find out. You'll be learning in the not-too-distant future. But it's a terrible thing that happened  whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one. Or did somebody do something on purpose?" he said.

Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that he was looking at different options in terms of consequences for Beijing over the virus. "I can do a lot," he said.
Twenty-nine more people have been arrested in the past two weeks for crimes related to burglaries at Gauteng schools, bringing the total number of arrests for school burglaries in the province to 95.

According to provincial police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo, the latest arrests were effected on Wednesday in Mabopane, Tshwane, where four people were allegedly found in possession of a music system and band instruments that were believed to be stolen from Mabopane High School.

"Two more suspects were arrested in Loate, Tshwane, on Tuesday. They were found with doors, chairs, lights and an electric fan. All these items were allegedly stolen during the burglary at HM Baloyi Secondary School in Winterveld."

The breakdown of the arrests per district is as follows: Johannesburg (including Soweto) - 36; Tshwane - 32; Sedibeng - 11; Ekurhuleni - 10; and the West Rand - six.

The basic education department said at least 962 schools across the country were vandalised and robbed since the start of the national lockdown, News24 reported.

In all of the incidents, administration blocks and laboratories were targeted, and ICT (information and communications technology) equipment stolen, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Thursday.

She added that vandals also set alight classrooms.

Motshekga was briefing the media to outline the department's Covid-19 plan to ensure that schools are ready to resume teaching and learning in a safe space.

"I will be failing my duty if I don't express my deep concern about what is happening to our schools during the lockdown," the minister said.

Motshekga also welcomed the work police had done to ensure that those behind the vandalism and robberies were brought to book.

Source: News24
Mark Addison says, "NO! A Quarantini should be as unique as your personal quarantine experience and as creative as some of the way we entertain ourselves and our families. I'd like to challenge you... a Quarantini Challenge: to create a unique cocktail using what you have at home, post it online with a picture or a video and share it with the world!"

We are taking the Quarantini Challenge to the next level and hosting the Quarantini Challenge Contest for the most creative and unique Quarantini! We have assembled a distinguished panel to judge the competition, all of whom just happened to be self-quarantined along with Mark in the majestic Green Mountains of Vermont.

"However, this IS a worldwide competition for the most inventive Quarantini in the world we just happen to live near each other!", says Addison.

QUARANTINI CHALLENGE JUDGES

Chef Will Dodson , Barnard Inn & Max's Tavern in Barnard, VT .

, Barnard Inn & Max's Tavern in . Anne Marie Delaney , SILO Distillery in Windsor, VT .

, SILO Distillery in . Mark Addison , Author of the "Best in the World" award-winning book Cocktail Chameleon.

The judges are looking for entrants to create an innovative cocktail recipe: consisting of 3 or more ingredients that you have at home, give it a creative name (other than Quarantini), and a unique presentation (i.e. unique glassware and garnishes). The Grand Prize winner be announced LIVE on Mark Addison's new web series "Shaking Things Up!" live streaming on the Cocktail Chameleon Facebook page on Friday, May 15th, 2020 at 3:30 pm.

Mark Addison shares all of the contest information and his Quarantini Cocktail in his latest segment of "Shaking Things Up!"  Click here to watch.

"Shaking Things Up! with Mark Addison" live streams weekly on Fridays at 3:30 pm on Facebook.com/CocktailChameleon with replays on Instagram.com/CocktailChameleon and YouTube.com/MarkAddison.

LINKS:

Full Contest Details

Contest Video

Contest Assets

Contact: Mikado Darns

Mark Addison | Cocktail Chameleon

Phone: 646-830-1601

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Mark Addison | Cocktail Chameleon
Tara Reade, the former staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, said the complaint she filed with the Senate at the time of the incident in the 1990s did not contain the assault allegation.

Reade claims that in 1993, when she worked in Biden's Senate office, he pinned her to a wall in a Senate building, reached under her clothing and penetrated her with his fingers.

She has told multiple news outlets she complained to others in Biden's Senate office at the time, filed a report to a Senate personnel office, and said she was demoted after the incident. She did not keep a copy of the report and one has not been located.

But she told ABC News this week that her complaint to the Senate personnel office was about her 'being made to feel uncomfortable' at work.

She 'did not, at the time, report anything about an alleged assault' and she has no record of the complaint, the network reported.

Tara Reade,who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, said the complaint she filed with the Senate did not contain the assault allegation

Joe Biden has denied the assault allegation

Reade was one of several women who came forward last year to say Biden's touching, hugging and kissing made them uncomfortable.

She told The New York Times at the time that Biden had publicly stroked her neck, wrapped his fingers in her hair and touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable.

She made her allegation of sexual assault on March 25, in a podcast interview.

Biden has denied the charge.

'It is not true. I'm saying unequivocally it never happened and it didn't,' he told MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski on Friday morning.

Biden's campaign has also been questioned on why it won't open up his Senate archives, which are at the University of Delaware. Originally scheduled to be released two years after he left the Senate, they will now become public two years after he leaves public life.

There have been questions as to whether those archives would contain personal records from his Senate office.

Biden said the archives would not contain any relevant information.

'There is a clear, critical part of this story that can be verified. The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files. It is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document their public record: speeches, policy proposals, positions taken, and the writing of bills,' he said in a lengthy statement Friday addressing Reade's allegation.

Brzezinski, during Biden's interview on 'Morning Joe,' pressed him repeatedly on why he wouldn't open up his personal papers.

'Why not just do a search for Tara Reade's name?' she asked.

'Who does that search?' Biden replied.

'The University of Delaware? Perhaps you set up a commission that can do it? I don't know. Whatever is the fairest way to create the most transparency,' Brzezinski noted.

'Look, Mika, she said she filed a report,' Biden said. 'She has her employment records still. She said she filed a report with the only office that would have a report in the United States senate at the time. If a report was ever filed, it was filed there, period.'

Biden said the National Archives would hold employee records of the Senate and he requested the national depository search for any such record.

'There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there,' he said in his statement.

But a spokesperson for the National Archives told Business Insider that Senate employment records, which, in the 1990s, were in the Office of Fair Employment Practices, are not with them but were subject to a Senate resolution that requires 'records containing personal privacy, information closed by statute, and records of executive nomination are closed for 50 years.'

So, if Reade's complaint was filed to the Office of Fair Employment Practices, the record will remain closed until 2043  more than two decades from now.

The National Archives spokesperson also said that, in the 1990s, the process of filing a complaint was long and difficult, involving multiple steps and that could have discouraged an investigation. Capitol Hill is still dealing with how complaints are filed and handled after several lawmakers were accused of harassment in the wake of the #metoo movement.

And the University of Delaware said Biden's Senate files were still being curated.

'The University of Delaware received the Biden Senatorial Papers as a gift from Vice President Biden. We are currently curating the collection, a process that we estimate will carry at least into the spring of 2021,' spokeswoman Andrea Boyle told CNN. 'As the curating process is not complete, the papers are not yet available to the public, and we are not able to identify what documents or files can be found within the collection.'

Around the time Biden launched his presidential campaign, several women came forward to say they felt uncomfortable when the former vice president would do things like squeeze their shoulders or touch their hair. Biden eventually apologized for his behavior and vowed to be more mindful in the future.

But Reade is the only woman to detail an assault allegation against Biden, who has emphasized his work for women's issues.

Biden, in his first public remarks on the allegation Friday, emphasized Reade has a right to be heard and her charge should be investigated.

'Any woman should come forward and be heard and then it should be investigated. If there is anything that is consistent with what is being said and she makes the case or the case is made, then it should be believed,' he said. 'At the end of the day, it has to be looked at. These claims are not true. They are not true.'

But he also pointed out her story as inconsistencies.

'Women are to be believed given the benefit of the doubt. If they come forward and say something that they said happened to them, they should start off with the presumption that they are telling the truth, then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts. The facts in this case never happened. There are so many inconsistencies in this case. Look at the fact. I can assure you it did not happen, period, period,' he added.

He declined to attack Reade personally.

'I'm not going to start questioning her motive. I'm not going to get into that. I'm not going to go after Tara Reade for saying these things. It is the facts? Do any of the things she said, do they add up? It never happened,' he said.

Tara Reade posted this phoot on Twitter in April writing: In honor of April Sexual Assault awareness month, I will continue to stand and speak up. 1993 was the year I was sexually harassed and assaulted by Joe Biden, my then boss. The smears and mistruths about me will not take my dignity or change what happened. This was me 1993

Joe Biden said any records of a complain Reade filed would be with the National Archives

The National Archives said they do not have Senate employment records

The Times, in its lengthy piece about the incident published in early April, talked to multiple former Biden Senate staffers and interns in that office about the allegation along with supporters of Reade.

A friend of Reade's told The Times Reade told her the details of the allegation at the time. Another friend and Reade's brother said she told them over the years about a traumatic sexual incident involving Biden.

But the article did not conclude either way on whether or not the assault happened.

Reade first told her story journalist Katie Halper for her 'Katie Halper Show' podcast on March 25.

Since then, Business Insider has produced reporting that corroborates Reade's claims.

A neighbor of Reade told Business Insider that she recalled hearing about the alleged assault during the era in which Reade said the incident occurred.

'This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it,' she told the publication.

Another source, a woman named Lorraine Sanchez who worked with Reade in the office of a state senator in the mid 1990s, told the publication that she recalled Reade saying she was fired after raising concerns about sexual harassment from her former boss.

These women came forward after a clip came out that allegedly includes the voice of Reade's mother phoning into 'Larry King Live' in 1993 and asking if her daughter should go to the press about a 'prominent senator' behaving badly.

In her initial interview with Halper, Reade said the assault occurred after she was told to deliver a gym bag to the then-senator. Reade said she tracked down Biden on Capitol Hill and he remembered her name.

'And then we were alone. And it was the strangest thing. There was no, like, exchange really, he just had me up against the wall,' she said.

She said she was wearing a work skirt, but no pantyhose.

'He just had me up against the wall and the wall was cold,' she said. 'His hands were on me and underneath my clothes. He went down my skirt and then up inside it and he penetrated me with his fingers. He was kissing me at the same time,' she said.

She said that when she 'pulled back,' Biden 'looked annoyed.'

Reade said Biden said to her, 'Come on man, I heard you liked me.'

'He implied that I had done this,' she told the podcast host.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  To help cover the transit shortage and help keep the citys yellow school bus drivers employed, Assemblyman Michael Reilly and Rep. Max Rose asked the city and state to consider a proposal they say benefits all.

Reilly (R-South Shore) and Rose (D-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) said the city is considering terminating a contract between the city Department of Education and yellow school bus companies to save costs.

Those contract terminations would leave approximately 16,000 yellow school bus drivers and staff without a job and health care.

In a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Rose and Reilly said putting these workers out of a jobs would take away their health care and leave them reliant on unemployment insurance, two systems that have already been sorely stretched by the public health emergency.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

They are proposing that both the city and state coordinate emergency funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to repurposes the buses, therefore keeping those 16,0000 workers employed.

The buses would be used to transport displaced passengers who will no longer be able to travel on the New York City Transit subway system between the hours of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

The MTA announced the system closure on April 30, which would allow for massive cleaning and disinfection every 24 hours. Cuomo said a supplemental program using buses, vans, and other for-hire vehicles would be used to transport essential workers.

De Blasio said the approach will be disruptive, but important in keeping those on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19, like healthcare workers and first responders, safe.

By assigning yellow school bus driver this duty, their contract would not need to be terminated, and the City of New York would be recompensated for those costs through the CARES Act. We can also prevent the yellow school bus system from collapsing due to massive layoffs, thus reducing its readiness for when school inevitably resumes, the joint letter said.

Congress passed and the President signed into law billions of dollars in stimulus funding for New York City so that we could avoid problems like this. The last people who should be being punished are the hardworking union members who were going to need in a few months when schools re-open. Instead, theyre being pushed onto unemployment and kicked off their healthcare at a time when they need it the most because the Mayor wouldnt sign a new contract. This is short-sighted decision making at its worst," Rose said.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
Church sues Ill. governor over stay-at-home order, accuses state of discriminatory hostility

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A congregation in Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the governor and local officials, claiming that their orders to stop in-person worship conveyed discriminatory hostility to churches.

The Beloved Church of Lena and Pastor Stephen Cassell filed the complaint on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Rockford.

Beloved Church plans to hold in-person worship on Sunday, despite being told by officials in the past that they are not allowed to hold services during the coronavirus shutdown.

The suit claims that Gov. Jay Pritzker and officials with Lena and Stephenson County unlawfully declared houses of worship non-essential when enacting stay-at-home orders.

On the eve of Easter, the holiest day on the Christian calendar, Pritzker expressly prohibited even no-contact, drive-in services in Illinois church parking lots. At the same time, he declared a laundry list of businesses to be essential, from liquor stores to lawyers to landscapers, the complaint says.

[Pritzker] has flagrantly violated the fundamental religious liberties of Illinoisans, in violation of the First Amendments Free Exercise clause and parallel provisions of the Illinois Constitution and statute.

The church also took issue with the governors reported intentions to extend a strict stay-at-home order for the state until the end of May, if not longer.

Defendants have no compelling justification for their discriminatory treatment of churches and pastors and people of faith, nor have they attempted in any way to tailor their regulations to the least restrictive means necessary to meet any arguable compelling interest, the church argued.

Plaintiffs seek temporary and permanent injunctive relief against Pritzkers orders shuttering their church, church ministries, and pastoral activities, as illegal and unconstitutional on their face and as applied to Plaintiffs.

Beloved Church and Cassell are being represented by the Thomas More Society, a conservative law firm based in Chicago.

The spiritual well-being of the people of Illinois is just as important as their temporal well-being during these dark times, said Society Vice President and Senior Counsel Peter Breen in a statement released Thursday.

Keeping liquor stores open but indefinitely shutting down churches and religious ministries violates our constitution and our most basic liberties. If liquor stores are essential, so are churches.

As states issue shutdown orders for gatherings of more than 10 people, much debate and litigation has centered on whether houses of worship should be exempted.

The vast majority of churches in the United States have agreed to shut down in-person services to help curb the spread of COVID-19, with many switching to online worship.

Some churches have argued that states cannot lawfully order them to shut down, and they continue to hold services, often with social distancing measures put in place.

In March, several members of an Illinois-based Pentecostal church fell ill after a worship service, with many testing positive for the coronavirus.

The Life Church of Glenview reported at the time that over 40 attendees of a March 15 service became sick, with several testing positive for COVID-19.

They all havent tested but whoever gets a test done ends up being positive, and we all have the same symptoms, wrote Layna LoCascio, wife of the pastor of the Glenview church, in a Facebook post at the time.

Its just not easy. Its especially not easy when youre a leader and a pastor of a precious church and we all got infected together.
A child walks through a camp for internally displaced people in the Afghan capital, Kabul, July 2019.  UNHCR/Claire Thomas

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented social and economic impact globally. Economies are grinding to a halt, jobs and livelihoods are lost on scales never seen before. Entire societies are affected by this public health crisis. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is alarmed at the increasingly desperate situation of those forcibly displaced by conflicts and violence, particularly in low and middle-income countries, which currently shelter more than 85 per cent of the worlds refugees.

The evidence of deep and hard-hitting economic impact of the crisis on refugees is overwhelming. Across the Middle East and North Africa alone, UNHCR and its partners have received over 350,000 calls from refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) since lockdowns and other public health measures came into force in many countries in March. The majority asked for urgent financial assistance to cover their daily existential needs.

Countries neighbouring Syria host more than 5.6 million Syrian refugees and there are over 6 million IDPs in Syria. Many need urgent support. In Lebanon, which faced an economic downturn prior to the pandemic, over half of the refugees surveyed by UNHCR in late April reported having lost livelihoods such as daily labour. Among the refugees consulted, 70% reported that they had to skip meals. In other countries in the region, such as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, large number of refugees have also reported having lost their main source of income. In Jordan, the impact on refugee women is profound, with almost all who were working saying they had seen their income source disrupted.

Groups at a particular risk of poverty and exploitation include female heads of households, unaccompanied and separated children, elderly persons, and LGBTI persons. Their situation can be improved through emergency assistance, notably through cash grants.

Across this region many are at risk losing their shelters as they are running out of means to support themselves. There has been a reported increase in evictions or threats of evictions in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia.

UNHCR is worried that the loss of jobs can result in psycho-social hardship. In Jordan, UNHCR partners report a significant rise in mental health and psycho-social consultations by over 50 per cent.

In the neighboring South West Asia region, Afghan refugees and vulnerable members amongst the host communities, who were already struggling to make ends meet due to economic pressures, are finding it harder and harder to cope. In Iran, the nearly one million Afghan refugees, the majority of whom live and work side by side with their hosts, find themselves under immense economic hardships.

Children were already particularly at risk, with every fourth Afghan refugee reporting being compelled to take children out of school and every fifth having to send children to work due to increased economic precarity. The impact on the future of Afghan refugee children is already being acutely felt and will likely worsen without much-needed further international support and responsibility-sharing, despite commendable and enhanced efforts by the Government of Iran, UNHCR and other humanitarian actors on the ground.

The overwhelming majority of Afghans in Iran, which also includes some 1.5-2 million undocumented individuals, rely on precarious and unstable sources for their main income, making them highly vulnerable to economic downturns. According to local reports, some two million people in Iran have lost their jobs because of COVID-19. Our helplines are receiving more and more calls as more refugees are losing their jobs and incomes. Whilst resilience remains a distinct feature of the refugee community during this challenging phase, most report being unable to afford enough food for their families. Others ask for help to pay rent, medical treatments and internet services to allow their children to continue learning remotely.

In Pakistan - the second largest refugee-hosting country in the world - Afghans have lost their only source of income as daily wage earners due to the general lockdown. Tens of thousands of refugees are also particularly vulnerable given the challenges that they face as older people at risk, individuals with disabilities, individuals with serious medical conditions, single parents, and women and children at risk. Pakistan not only hosts 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees but is also home to 880,000 registered Afghan migrants and an estimated 500,000 undocumented Afghan nationals.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, Afghanistan faces the prospect of overwhelmed medical and social services, with an increase in Afghans returning home, hundreds of thousands of people living in displacement sites and rising poverty levels

Meanwhile, Latin America faces several of the worlds largest displacement crises. More than five million Venezuelans have fled their country. There are close to eight million internally displaced Colombians, 340,000 internally displaced people in the North of Central America, and more than 100,000 Nicaraguan refugees and asylum-seekers.

Most refugees and asylum-seekers in Latin America live in urban areas or along borders. Many work in the informal sector, often without social safety nets. Confinement measures have left them with a sudden loss of income. According to our 2019 data, 80 per cent of Venezuelan refugees and migrants interviewed at the time said they were working without any contractual arrangements, with many depending on the informal economy for survival.

Now unable to pay rent and buy food or medicine, many are at risk of homelessness or are already being evicted from their shelters. The numbers of homeless and destitute Venezuelans are increasing by the day in Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Some are now resorting to survival sex, begging or hawking on the streets. Others are at risk of being prey to smugglers and illegal armed groups.

With growing fear and social unrest, xenophobia and discrimination across the region are also on the rise. Refugees who are trying to make ends meet on the streets or in the informal sector are often unable to comply with quarantine measures and are being scapegoated, stigmatized or at risk of detention.

In the past few weeks, we have also seen a number of Venezuelans attempting to return to their country, as they cannot cover basic needs such as shelter, food and health care. UNHCR is scaling up the response to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on this population, providing additional cash support, increasing the capacity of shelters, and working with governments and partners on the inclusion of refugees and migrants in social protection programmes.

In the North of Central America, the consequences of the lockdown coupled with increased violence and extortion from armed gangs are bearing heavily on internally displaced people and at-risk communities, many who survive on informal work and day jobs. In Mexico, where 7,588 refugees participate in an integration programme that helps them find jobs in the formal economy, mass layoffs have put them at risk of slipping into poverty.

Across all major refugee operations and despite challenges, UNHCR is working to provide emergency assistance including cash-based assistance, secure shelter spaces and to ensure the inclusion of refugees in national public health responses, in social safety nets and any assistance plans. Urgent action is required to help the most vulnerable refugees and internally displaced persons, especially where they have no access to state-run social protection schemes. The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated already dire humanitarian needs globally. Timely and flexible support from governments, private sector and individuals for ongoing humanitarian operations remains critical.

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Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post) Probolinggo, East Java  Fri, May 1, 2020 21:33 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56ccb1 1 National jellyfish,Paiton,coal-fired-power-plant,East-Java,Probolinggo,Situbondo,PLN Free

Employees of the Paiton coal-fired power plant and local fishermen in Probolinggo, East Java, have been rushing over the past few days to catch millions of jellyfish swarming the waters alongside the power plant and release them safely further into the ocean.

The sea creatures, which have been thronging nearshore waters since last week, were seen along a 70 kilometer stretch of coastline in Probolinggo and Stiubondo regencies on Friday.

More than 40 technicians from PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (PJB), the subsidiary of state-owned electricity firm PLN that operates the facility, and 20 fishermen worked together to install three layers of nets in the area to prevent jellyfish from entering the facility's water intake canal and water pumps.

"Based on our observations, the swarms of jellyfish have been seen from Grati beach in Probolinggo to Banyu Glugur beach in Situbondo. There are more of them now than when they first started swarming here about six days ago." PT PJB head of stakeholder management Wildan Doddy told The Jakarta Post on Friday. We're still trying to remove them [from the canals]."

Mustofa Abdullah, the PJB general manager for units 1 and 2 of the plant, said that the three layers of nets consisted of a 300-meter-long fishing net set up in the canal entrance as the first layer, a second fishing net near the water pumps and a third in front of the water intake machines. The nets sought to prevent jellyfish from getting sucked into the power plants machinery.

Wildan said jellyfish caught in the nets were released into open waters at night.

"We're a little bit overwhelmed since the appearance of the jellyfish swarm is unpredictable. They usually disappear during the day, but they throng again to the surface at night," Wildan said, "Sometimes there are only a few of them, but at other times there are so many they almost cover the whole surface [of the water]."

This is not the first time the phenomenon has occurred at the Paiton plant, one of the largest coal plants in Southeast Asia. There was similar occurrence in 2016, Mustofa said.

"Since we experienced it in 2016, we have prepared necessary measures to handle the swarms," he said.

Tanjung Perak Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head Taufik Hermawan said the salinity of the seawater and the onshore breeze might have contributed to the phenomenon.

Rosek Nursahid, an animal observer from ProFauna Indonesia, said further study was necessary to determine the exact cause of the jellyfish swarm near the power plant.



"My ProFauna colleagues said [the phenomenon] might be caused by various factors such as temperature changes, storms, large amounts of garbage [in the ocean], which could interfere with jellyfish migration, or even the decreasing population of turtles, which are natural predators of jellyfish," Rosek said.

"But we need research to determine the exact cause." (nal)
NASA has selected a Blue Origin-led team, Dynetics and SpaceX's Starship to develop new moon landers for astronauts for the agency's Artemis lunar program.

The moon landers that three commercial teams are developing to ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface for NASA are a diverse bunch.

On Thursday (April 30), NASA announced that it had awarded contracts to three commercial teams , each of which will develop a human landing system for use by the space agency's Artemis program . Artemis aims to put two astronauts down near the moon's south pole in 2024 and establish a sustainable presence on and around Earth's natural satellite by the late 2020s.

SpaceX , Dynetics and a team led by Blue Origin will split a total pot of $967 million, which will fund 10 months of development work. NASA will then tab one or more of these teams to mature their systems. In the end, the space agency will procure crewed lunar transportation services from the options that are left on the table.

Related: NASA unveils plan for Artemis 'base camp' on the moon beyond 2024

The options are, at this early stage anyway, quite varied, for the commercial teams are taking very different approaches to their landers. SpaceX, for example, will continue developing its Starship deep-space transportation system, which Elon Musk's company envisions making Mars colonization and other bold exploration feats economically feasible.

SpaceX's Starship megarocket

The 165-foot-tall (50 meters) Starship will launch off Earth atop a giant rocket called Super Heavy . Both of these elements will be reusable; each Super Heavy will come back down for a vertical landing shortly after liftoff, and each Starship will fly many missions once it's aloft, Musk has said. (Starship needs Super Heavy only to get off our planet; the spacecraft will be powerful enough to launch itself off the surface of the moon or Mars.)

Starship will be capable of carrying up to 100 people at a time, Musk has said. NASA wouldn't come close to filling the possible seats on each Artemis flight  the 2024 landing mission , for example, will carry just two astronauts  but the agency would doubtless find a use for all of the vehicle's space and power. (Starship will be able to haul 100 tons of payload to the lunar surface.)

This SpaceX concept shows the company's massive Starship vehicle on the moon as a lunar lander for NASA Artemis astronauts. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Thursday's announcement deepens SpaceX's involvement with NASA's moon-exploration plans, which was already extensive. For example, the company is eligible to deliver robotic NASA payloads to the lunar surface using Starship, work the space agency says will help pave the way for crewed Artemis visits.

And last month, SpaceX secured a contract to supply Gateway , the small space station that NASA plans to build in lunar orbit as a jumping-off point for surface missions, using an extra-large version of its Dragon cargo capsule. Gateway is an important part of the agency's long-term moon plans but will probably not be involved in the 2024 landing, agency officials have said.

Related: What is NASA's Artemis program?

Dynetics' 2-person lander

Whereas Starship represents a single-stage approach to lunar landing, Alabama-based Dynetics will develop "a two-stage architecture, with a common ascent and descent element and anytime abort capability," Lisa Watson-Morgan, Human Landing System program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a teleconference with reporters on Thursday.

"It has a unique low-slung crew module, putting the crew very close to the lunar surface for safe access," Watson-Morgan added.

Image 1 of 2 A moon lander concept from Dynetics, one of three U.S. contractors selected by NASA to develop Artemis lunar landers for astronauts. (Image credit: Dynetics) Image 2 of 2 A moon lander concept from Dynetics, one of three U.S. contractors selected by NASA to develop Artemis lunar landers for astronauts. (Image credit: Dynetics)

The Dynetics lander's crew module is designed to accommodate two astronauts on trips to and from lunar orbit, including stays on the moon's surface of about a week, representatives of the company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, said in a statement . But that's the nominal use case; the lander could also fit four fully suited astronauts on brief trips to or from the lunar surface if need be.

Blue Origin's 'National Team'

The third team is led by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, with participation from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper. This group will develop a three-stage architecture, which features descent, ascent and transfer elements.

The descent stage will be based on Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander and BE-7 engine, which the company has been working on for a few years now. The ascent stage will leverage Lockheed's experience developing the Orion crew capsule. (Lockheed is prime contractor for Orion, NASA's next crewed vehicle, which will carry agency astronauts toward the moon and other deep-space destinations.)

This Artemis moon lander concept from Blue Origin's National Team includes systems by team partners Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

The transfer element will be based on Northrop Grumman's Cygnus freighter , which flies robotic cargo missions to the International Space Station under a separate NASA contract. Draper, meanwhile, will lead descent guidance and provide flight avionics, Blue Origin representatives said in a statement.

NASA solicited proposals for human landing systems in late September 2019, and submissions were due in early November. At the time, the agency was hoping the call would inspire innovative concepts, Watson-Morgan said.

"And boy did they deliver," she said Thursday of the three awardees.

Watson-Morgan also highlighted the diversity of architectures, saying it achieves the "dissimilar redundancy of approaches that we wanted."
Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari has gone in for a complicated solution to an issue that he could have been solved easily. He has requested the Election Commission to hold elections to the nine vacant seats in the Legislative Council soon, and if Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray wins a seat in these elections, he can continue as chief minister beyond May 28. Thackeray has to become a member of the Assembly or the Council before that date if he has to continue in office. The state cabinet had requested the Governor to nominate Thackeray to one of the vacant seats under the Governor's quota. But the Governor wrongly refused to do so. Instead, he has passed the buck to the EC at a time when the commission has held all elections in abeyance in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor could instead have nominated Thackeray to the seat and ended all uncertainty and recrimination.

It is strange that the Governor took this course because he has no discretion to nominate a person of his choice or to reject the cabinets recommendation. The Calcutta High Court has ruled in a similar case that the Governor has to go by the aid and advice of the cabinet in the case of nominations. Moreover, this is an extraordinary situation as the EC has decided not to hold any election for the time being. By refusing to nominate Thackeray to the Council, the Governor was pushing the state into a constitutional and political crisis. It may be argued that the coalition can elect another leader, but the Governor has no right to create such a situation. It is tantamount to attempting to dismiss a ministry, or staging a coup.

The Election Commissions response is not known. It can still stick to its decision of not holding the elections, in which case Maharashtra will be subject to further political uncertainty. The state cannot afford such uncertainty or a leadership change now when it is in the midst of its fight against COVID-19. It is the worst-hit state in the country and needs political stability and uninterrupted leadership to sustain the campaign. It is unlikely that the Governor was acting on his own. He could only have been acting at the behest of the Centre. Thackeray had to seek the Prime Ministers intervention in the matter. But there is still no satisfactory solution to the issue. Is all this political drama necessary in the midst of a raging pandemic?
For over a decade Russia has been trying to create equivalents of the most famous American UAVs; Predator, Reaper and Avenger. All these UAVs have another thing in common, they were all developed and are manufactured the same firm; General Atomics. The Russian equivalents of these UAVs are the one ton Inokhodets, the five ton Altair/Altius-M and the 15 ton jet-powered Okhotnik (Hunter).

The Inokhodets have been flying for several years but the flight testing phase of development is still not over. This indicates some problems getting the Predator clone to work properly. The first version of the Russian Reaper-type UAV, the Altair, flew in 2016. That design needed a lot of changes that produced the six ton, twin-engine Altius-M. Russia appears more interested in its version of Reaper than its earlier Predator-type aircraft.

Russia decided it needed its own Predator and Reaper UAVs about a decade ago. At that point, the two originals had established impressive records. By 2011 the U.S. Air Force had decided to replace its MQ-1 Predators with MQ-9 Reapers. At that point, new Reapers cost about $6.2 million each. The price more than doubled, as sensors, fire control and communications gear were added. This is typical with combat aircraft, and that's what the air force considers the Reaper.

At the time the air force had over 60 Reapers in service. The air force wanted to buy another 250 Reapers before starting to replace MQ-9 with the MQ-X. Meanwhile, the last air force Predator was built in 2010. At that time the total air force fleet of Reapers and Predators consisted of nearly 250 UAVs. By 2020, the army and air force planned to have over a thousand of these large, armed, UAVs. That did not happen because most American troops were gone from Iraq and Afghanistan by 2014 and there was less demand for these UAVs and less procurement cash to pay for them.

Up until 2011 about 20 percent of the 500 air force and CIA (a major operator of UAVs over Pakistan, and other places) Predators and Reapers built or on order had been lost. But the troops couldn't get enough of this aircraft overhead, and in 2011 Predators and Reapers spent over 400,000 hours in the air over Iraq and (mostly) Afghanistan. That's compared to 300,000 hours in 2010, 185,000 hours in 2009 and 151,000 hours in 2008. It took 12 years of service (1995-2007, including development) for the Predator to reach its first 250,000 hours. It took another two years (2007-2009) to fly an additional 250,000 hours (500,000 total). It took less than a year to reach another 250,000 hour milestone (Spring 2010).

The Predator evolved into a family of three aircraft. The original is a one ton aircraft that is 8.7 meters (27 feet) long with a wingspan of 15.8 meters (49 feet). It has a hard point under each wing, which usually carry one (47 kg/107 pound) Hellfire each. Each hardpoint can also carry a Stinger air-to-air missile. Max speed of the Predator is 215 kilometers an hour, max cruising speed is 160 kilometers an hour. Max altitude is 8,000 m (25,000 feet). Typical sorties are 12-20 hours each.

In contrast, the Reaper is a 4.7 ton, 11.6 meters (36 foot) long aircraft with a 21.3 meters (66 foot) wingspan that looks like a larger Predator. It has six hardpoints and can carry 682 kg (1,500 pounds) of weapons. These include Hellfire missiles (up to eight), two Sidewinder or two AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, two Maverick missiles, two 227 kg (500 pound) smart bombs (laser or GPS guided.) Max speed is 400 kilometers an hour, and max endurance is 15 hours. The Reaper is considered a combat aircraft, to replace F-16s or A-10s on many missions.

The third Predator variation is the U.S. Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle. This one is a slightly larger Predator that weighs 1.5 tons, carries 136 kg (300 pounds) of sensors internally, and up to 227 kg of sensors or weapons externally. It has an endurance of up to 36 hours and a top speed of 270 kilometers an hour. Gray Eagle has a wingspan of 18 meters (56 feet) and is 9 meters (28 feet) long. The MQ-1C can land and take off automatically, and carry four Hellfire missiles (compared to two on the Predator). MQ-1C initially cost $8-25 million each in 2011, depending on the sensor package.

About the same time MQ-1C showed up, China was trying to export UAVs nearly identical to the Predator, but about 20 percent lighter. China eventually succeeded, big time, mainly because they had no restrictions on who they would sell to and provided their own version of the Hellfire missile.

The MQ-9 replacement, MQ-X, never got out of the design stage because budget cuts and improved sensors (multiple cameras on one aircraft) forced the air force to just "evolve" the MQ-9. That eventually meant adding electronic warfare and missile defense equipment so it could survive in areas where the enemy has better anti-aircraft weapons. There is also a need for better flight control software, and improved ability to handle cold weather operations (as in places like Afghanistan), where wing icing is a constant problem.

The air force worked hard to improve the reliability of its UAVs, and reduce the loss rate (an accident causing destruction, or at least a million dollars of damage), per 100,000 flight hours. As of 2010 the rate for its MQ-1 Predators was down to about 7. Although this is twice the rate of manned fighter aircraft (like the F-15 or F-16), and five times the rate of the old, but very reliable, B-52, it was about the same rate as single-engine private aircraft (8.2). Within five years the Predator loss rate was under 4 per 100,000 hours and continued to decline.

In 2008 the loss rate for the 1.1 ton MQ-1 was 30 per 100,000 hours. The 4.7 ton MQ-9 Reaper had a loss rate of about 15 in 2010, after four years in service. The MQ-9 made its first flight in 2001. The Predator has been in action since the late 1990s. The design and operation of the MQ-9 learned much from the experience of the MQ-1.

Unmanned aircraft have always had a much higher loss rate, which is largely the result of not having a pilot on board, and not doing all that could be done to compensate for that. Older model UAVs had much higher rates. The 1980s era RQ-2A Pioneer had an annual rate of up to 363 per 100,000 hours. Despite that, the RQ-2 proved very useful during the 1991 Gulf war.

Finally, there is the General Atomics large UAV that did not see wide acceptance. The development of the jet-propelled Avenger began after September 11, 2001. The first flight was supposed to have been in 2007 but technical problems kept coming up. Apparently it was worth the wait, as the U.S. Navy was impressed and particularly interested in using Avenger to replace the soon-to-be-retired EA-6Bs in their most dangerous attack missions. The air force liked the ability to arm Avenger with a smart bomb, including the 900 kg (2,000 pound) GBU-34 penetrator version.

Avenger looked like a larger jet-powered version of the five ton Reaper. Avenger is 13.2 meters (41 feet) long, with a 20.1 meter (66 foot) wingspan, and built to be stealthy. The V-shaped tail and smooth lines of the swept-wing aircraft will make it difficult to detect by radar. There is a humpbacked structure on top of the aircraft for the engine air intake. There is an internal bomb bay holding about a ton of weapons, sensors, or additional fuel to provide another two hours of flying time (in addition to the standard 20 hours endurance). The 4,800 pound thrust engine is designed to minimize the heat signature that sensors can pick up. Total payload is 1.36 tons (3,000 pounds) and total weight of the aircraft is nine tons. Cruising speed is 740 kilometers an hour. The Avenger is designed to fly high (up to 20,000 meters/60,000 feet) and cross oceans. Avenger took its first flight in early 2009. Until 2009 the Avenger didn't officially exist and was a "black" (secret) program. Avenger is, like Reaper, a combat UAV that will often carry weapons as well as sensors. Each Avenger costs about $15 million.

All this attention to stealth should be no surprise. General Atomics has a division devoted to building stealth features into aircraft. This includes the world's largest indoor radar cross-section testing facility. Despite its internal bomb bay, the Avenger was expected to be used primarily to carry ground surveillance radar, which could be mounted on the bottom of the aircraft in an aerodynamically smooth enclosure.

The U.S. Navy was interested in Avenger since the beginning of development. Thus the Avenger wings can be built to fold for use on carriers and have a tailhook needed for carrier landings. The Avenger uses landing gear from the F-5, an aircraft of the same weight class. The naval version came to be called the Sea Avenger. The navy did not buy Avenger and turned to new designs.

The navy, and several air forces, also considered using Avenger as an ELINT (electronic intelligence) aircraft. The ability to carry a ton of sensors and stay in the air for twenty hours per sortie has a lot of appeal for an aircraft that is already stealthy and doesn't carry a pilot. Moreover, the Avenger can perform ELINT missions entirely autonomously, making it more difficult to detect. General Atomics believes it can get the Avenger to operate (takeoff and land) from a carrier before any of the other contenders (mainly the 19 ton X-47). The Avenger weighs less than half as much and has an exemplary track record.

In 2011 the U.S. Air Force decided to take a shortcut in developing its next-generation tactical reconnaissance UAV (MQ-X) and simply adopt a beefed-up version of the existing Avenger ("Predator C"). This jet-powered aircraft was developed privately by General Atomics as its candidate for MQ-X. The air force bought one Avenger and sent it to Afghanistan. Several years of Avenger test flights were encouraging enough for the air force to adopt Avenger as the base design for MQ-X. This was supposed to lead to Avenger B which would probably be a little larger and more expensive than the original. The air force never revealed their wish list of changes for Avenger B and air force interest did not last as the air force decided to put off jet-powered UAV development. That did not last and the air force turned to the establishment of warplane manufacturers (Lockheed and Northrop Grumman) for stealthy, jet-powered UAVs. In 2016 Avenger was used, apparently by the CIA, in Syria to drop pamphlets. But since then there has been little to report other than the 2018 Russian announcement that it was designing its own version of Avenger. At this point, Russia may be paying more attention to China than the United States. China is a major exporter of Predator and Reaper clones and is also working on jet-propelled models. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force is ending Reaper purchases at 337 aircraft because Reaper is considered too vulnerable in a conventional war. The Reaper replacement has not been selected yet. China continues to sell lots of Predator and Reaper clones, as are Israel, Russia and Turkey. Israel was the pioneer in this area and General Atomics was the only American firm to pay close attention and adopt Israeli UAV concepts. Israel has not yet put any jet-powered UAVs into service.
It was an unusual fiscal second quarter for Appleand for basically everyone else on Earth, too, of course. But on Thursday we got a little bit of a sense of how Apple has weathered the storm so far and what might be in the companys future, as Apple reported its quarterly results and spent an hour talking to financial analysts.

As always, these federally mandated disclosures are unlikely to generate major newsthough analysts often try to use the Jedi Mind Trick on Apple CEO Tim Cook to get him to preannounce new products. (It never works.) Still, theres usually something useful to be gleaned from Apples executives, and this quarter was no exception.

Optimism, but no promises

Cook said that the quarter was actually shaping up to be a good one, headed toward the top end of Apples initial projections made in late January. We all know what happened next, but Cook indicated that Apples business in Chinawhich entered lockdown before the rest of the world and is now emerging from itis now rebounding. From a demand point of view, we saw an improvement in March over February, Cook said. And if you look at kind of where we are today, weve seen further improvement in April as compared to March. And Apple Retail did well in China during the quarter despite closing its stores for a month, with a lot of demand just shifting over to online orders, in a move Cook called really phenomenal.

As for the rest of the world, Cook offered a little bit of optimism there, but of a different sort. He said that Apple saw some improvements in the second half of April in the rest of the world, but suggested that they were probably due to people realizing that the pandemic would be going on for the long haul and that they might want to invest in some new Apple equipment to use while working at home.

Apple Apple and CEO Tim Cook did not provide guidance for the next fiscal quarter.

Still, the big news from Thursday was that Apple was refusing to provide guidance, a fairly standard procedure in which the company provides its best guess about how well it will do during the current quarter. Apples often accused of being overly conservative with its guidance, so that it can impress investors when it beats the prediction. Lately, though, the company has been more accurate with its predictions. But this time? No guidance at all.

Given the lack of visibility and certainty in the near-term, we will not be issuing guidance for the coming quarter, Cook said. Over the long term, though, we have a high degree of confidence in the enduring strength of our business. Its a message of overall stability and confidence, but the refusal to even make a prediction about what numbers the company will release in late July shows just how uncertain it is about how the COVID-19 crisis will play out.

Apple is still chugging away

Another major theme Cook hit on during Thursdays call was Apples own resilience as a company. The supply chain is back up in full force, Cook said. He pointed out that during trying times, the company managed to ship the iPhone SE, the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard, and a revision of the MacBook Air.

Apple Times are tough, but Apple still managed to ship products such as the new iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard.

And so business continues, Cook said. Were continuing to work, everybody is getting used to the work-at-home. In some areas of the company, people may be even more productivein some other areas theyre not as productive. Its mixed, depending upon what the roles are. But as you can tell from what we did this quarter, despite the environment, we have our head down and are working because we know that our customers want the products that weve got. Theyre even more important in these times.

Im really curious what areas of Apple have been found to be more productive in a work-from-home setting, and which ones are seeing productivity declines. Im even more curious if that will lead Apple to make some changes to its corporate policies over time, to allow more employees to work remotely rather than being clustered in Cupertino and other Apple product centers. I also have been around Apple long enough to know that well probably never get the answer to either of those questions.

Services goes two ways

The weird quarter did nothing to stop the growth of Apples Services business, which grew 17 percent versus the year-ago quarter, the latest in a years-long streak of impressive growth. However, Apple CFO Luca Maestri made it clear that there are two different aspects to the Services businessone of which is largely unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis, and one of which is.

Our ecosystem is very strong, Maestri said, citing double-digit growth in the number of paid accounts. Apple expects the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, and iCloud to continue growing at the same level of performance that we have seen during the March quarter. we expect all those businesses to grow very strongly.

Apple AppleCare took a hit this past quarter.

Then theres the other part, which includes AppleCare and advertising. You may not think of AppleCare as a service, but its in the categoryand in an era where retail stores are closed, its not doing very well. As for advertising, thats a category thats among the first to go during a global economic slowdown, and Apple does make some money from advertisingvia search results in the App Store, in the Apple News app, and via other third-party agreements. That part of Apples Services business is not expected to soldier on through the crisisitll fall. Whether it can do enough to slow the overall growth of the Services line remains to be seen.

Products buoyed by the crisis

In these times of crisis, some Apple products may see more success than others. Specifically, Cook and Maestri mentioned the iPad and Mac as products that will do well over the next fiscal quarter. Thats customers that are either taking online education or working remotely, Cook said. Maestris opening statement mentioned how businesses everywhere have been making the transition to working remotely, and cited the example of connected exercise-bike company Pelaton deploying an entire fleet of Macs overnight so their team could work remotely.

Cook also said that some of Apples services, most notably FaceTime and Messages, set new all-time records for daily volume during this quarter, which isnt surprising given that weve all been trying to find new ways to stay connected to friends and family while being isolated.

Xiaomi/Apple Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Apple Watch is being used for telemedicine.

Theres also some opportunity for Apple on the health front. Cook pointed out that the ECG function on the Apple Watch is increasingly being used for telemedicine, to reduce the amount of contact between health care providers and their patients. You can bet that were looking at other areas in this, Cook said. We were already doing that, because that area was a huge opportunity for the company and a way for us to help a lot of people. And so you will see us continue on that. I wouldnt say that the health door opened wider, I would say it was already opened fairly wide.

Rumors have swirled for years that Apples been toying with the idea of adding a pulse oximeter to the Apple Watchs collection of sensors. Measuring the amount of oxygen in the blood has become a major diagnostic tool for COVID-19. Youve got to wonder if Apples perfectly positioned to roll out new features like that in the near future, due to their long-term focus on health features.

The international supply chain is doing fine

When analyst Amit Daryanani of Evercore suggested that perhaps Apples manufacturing strategy could use a little bit of geographic diversity, with the implication that Apples too reliant on China. Cook pushed back, surprisingly hard.

Our supply chain is global, he said. And so our products are truly made everywhere. And I would focus on that, versus focus on one element of the manufacturing process, which tends to get more visibility, which is the final assembly. Thats not to say that Apple might not learn some things from this crisis and make changes to how it does business. Were always looking at tweaks as we get out of this totally, we will look to see what we learned and what we should change, Cook said.

Apple invests through the downturn

We are living through perhaps the biggest economic event of our lifetimes. Hard times can ruin some fortunes while building others. As of the end of March, Apple was sitting on a net cash hoard of $83 billion. It continues to buy back stock and provide cash dividends for its investors. And youve got to imagine that, if Apple finds ways to use that cash to buy key companies or technologies that are struggling during the downturn, it will do so.

Nothing has changed on our approach for mergers and acquisitions, Maestri said. Weve been quite active over the last several years. We purchase companies on a very regular basis. Were always looking for ways to accelerate our product roadmaps or fill gaps in our portfolio, both on the hardware side, on the software side, on the services side. So we will continue to do that.

More broadly, Maestri said that the company feels its got a strategic advantage to continue to invest in innovation, products, and the development of its services portfolio. We will continue to invest in our pipeline, he said. We will try to balance the need to continue to invest during difficult circumstances, and the fact that we like to manage the business wisely.

Apple invested through the 2007 recession and ended up more powerful than ever before at the end of it. Having $83 billion saved away for a rainy day certainly does wonders for ones confidence during trying times, doesnt it? Id imagine Apple will emerge into a post-COVID-19 world as an even bigger player on the scene.
NEW YORKTensions between police and members of New York Citys Hasidic Jewish community flared again Thursday as officers interrupted a crowded funeral procession to crack down on social-distancing violators.

Video posted on social media showed officers in protective masks chasing a minivan through Brooklyns Borough Park neighbourhood as it carried the body of a deceased rabbi. The officers can be heard shouting at dozens of people marching behind the van to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk.

A 17-year-old boy was taken into custody and issued a summons for disorderly conduct after he was accused of pushing a police official, according to a police spokeswoman, Sgt. Mary Frances ODonnell.

Thursdays confrontation came two days after Mayor Bill de Blasio stoked divisions with a series of tweets after he went to Brooklyn to oversee the dispersal of thousands of people who crowded the streets of Williamsburg for the funeral of another rabbi.

New York has banned any gatherings, of any size, for any purpose as the coronavirus has been linked to at least 18,000 deaths in the city in just a few weeks.

De Blasio called the large gathering absolutely unacceptable in one tweet and wrote in another: My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed.

Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Thursday urging the U.S. Justice Department to closely monitor New York City for potential religious discrimination in the wake of de Blasios tweets.

State Sen. Simcha Felder, who represents Borough Park, posted a tweet after Thursdays confrontation saying terrorizing people by sending in armies of cops during such stressful times is not helpful at all. @NYCMayor  we need real leadership. Stop the chaos now.

Dov Hikind, a former state assemblyman whos the founder of a group fighting anti-Semitism, said hes been assured that de Blasio ordered the police department to crack down on social-distancing violations across the city, not just in the Jewish community.

He said hes requested data from city hall to make sure thats true.

Still, the former lawmaker said de Blasios singling out of Jews in his tweets crossed every line.

It encourages anti-Semitism and scapegoating of the Jewish community, Hikind said. The mayor played right into the hands of the anti-Semites. I know that was not his intention. I know hes a decent guy. He didnt have the decency to just say the simple words, Im sorry I made a mistake.

Borough Park, where Thursdays funeral was held, has had at least 2,300 people test positive for the virus, according to city data. Thats the sixth-most of any ZIP code in the city.

Hikind said people violating social-distancing rules in Brooklyn are relatively small in number and are behaving in ways that go against Judaisms central tenant of preserving life.

Ive begged and pleaded with the minority that exists within our community that dont give a darn  dont give a damn  about themselves, their families or the community, Hikind said.

You cant have funerals with hundreds of people. You cant have people praying in synagogues. You cant do those things when peoples lives are on the line. It violates everything in Judaism.
[April 30, 2020] UBS Announces Extension of Final Expiration Date for Five ETRACS ETN Exchange Offers

UBS AG announced today that it will extend the Final Expiration Date for the previously announced voluntary exchange offers ("Exchange Offers") for five ETRACS Series A ETNs (collectively the "Series A ETNs") for corresponding ETRACS Series B ETNs (collectively, the "Series B ETNs"), as set forth in Table-1 below. The updated Final Expiration Date for each Exchange Offer will be August 5, 2020, unless further extended by UBS AG in its sole discretion. The full schedule of additional exchange dates and exchange offer settlement dates is listed in Table-2 below. Except as described in this press release, all other terms of the Exchange Offers remain unchanged. Table-1







ETRACS Series A ETN

(Ticker | Name) ? ETRACS Series B ETN

(Ticker | Name) AMU ETRACS Alerian MLP Index ETN due July 18, 2042 ? AMUB ETRACS Alerian MLP Index ETN, Series B due July 18, 2042 BDCS ETRACS Linked to the Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Business Development Company Index due April 26, 2041 ? BDCZ ETRACS Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index ETN Series B due April 26, 2041 DJCI ETRACS Linked to the Bloomberg (News - Alert) Commodity Index Total Return due October 31, 2039 ? DJCB ETRACS Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return ETN Series B due October 31, 2039 MLPI ETRACS Linked to the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index due April 2, 2040 ? MLPB ETRACS Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index ETN Series B due April 2, 2040 UCI ETRACS linked to the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index (CMCI) Total Return due April 5, 2038 ? UCIB ETRACS UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index (CMCI) Total Return ETN Series B due April 5, 2038

As previously announced, the voluntary exchange offers with respect to UBS AG's 2Leveraged Long ETRACS Linked to the Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index due May 24, 2041 (Ticker: BDCL) (CUSIP: 90267B765) and ETRACS Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Mortgage REIT ETN due October 16, 2042 (Ticker: MORL) (CUSIP: 90269A302) were each terminated effective as of March 16, 2020, as a result of the mandatory redemption of those securities following the occurrence of an "Acceleration Upon Minimum Indicative Value" on March 16, 2020, each pursuant to its terms. The voluntary exchange offer with respect to the ETRACS Monthly Pay 2xLeveraged Closed-End Fund ETN due December 10, 2043 (Ticker: CEFL) (CUSIP: 90270L842), was terminated effective as of March 18, 2020, as a result of its mandatory redemption following the occurrence of an "Acceleration Upon Minimum Indicative Value" on March 18, 2020, pursuant to its terms. Table-2 Exchange Period Exchange Period

Begins[1] Exchange Period Ends

(the "Exchange Date")[2] Settlement Date Ninth Exchange Period 5/1/2020 5/19/2020 5/21/2020 Tenth Exchange Period 5/19/2020 6/4/2020 6/8/2020 Eleventh Exchange Period 6/4/2020 6/19/2020 6/23/2020 Twelfth Exchange Period 6/19/2020 7/7/2020 7/9/2020 Thirteenth Exchange Period 7/7/2020 7/21/2020 7/23/2020 Final Exchange Period 7/21/2020 8/5/2020 8/7/2020 [1] Exchange Periods begin at 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on each date set forth in the table above. [2] Exchange Periods end at 4:59 p.m. (New York City time) on each date set forth in the table above. The Settlement Date applicable to each holder of Series A ETNs will be determined by reference to the date upon which such holder validly tenders its Series A ETNs. Tenders of Series A ETNs in connection with any Exchange Offer may be withdrawn at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Exchange Date immediately following the date on which such Series A ETNs are validly tendered. Following each Exchange Date, Series A ETNs that were tendered in the preceding Exchange Period may not be validly withdrawn unless UBS AG is otherwise required by law to permit withdrawal. In the event of termination of an Exchange Offer, the Series A ETNs tendered pursuant to that Exchange Offer will be promptly returned to the tendering holders. For example, Series A ETNs validly tendered in the Ninth Exchange Period may be withdrawn at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Ninth Exchange Date (5/19/2020). Following the Ninth Exchange Date, any Series A ETNs validly tendered in the Ninth Exchange Period but not withdrawn prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Ninth Exchange Date may no longer be validly withdrawn, unless UBS AG is otherwise required by law to permit such withdrawal. Similarly, Series A ETNs validly tendered in the Tenth Exchange Period may be withdrawn at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Tenth Exchange Date (6/4/2020). Following the Tenth Exchange Date, any Series A ETNs validly tendered in the Tenth Exchange Period but not withdrawn prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Tenth Exchange Date may not be validly withdrawn, unless UBS AG is otherwise required by law to permit such withdrawal. Each Series B ETN offered in the Exchange Offers is intended to provide the same economic exposure as the corresponding Series A ETN, including identical underlying indices, daily Closing Indicative Values (CIV), investor fees, coupon amounts (if applicable) and payment formulas, in each case as set forth in the Prospectus and applicable annex related to the Exchange Offers, dated December 9, 2019 (the "Prospectus"). The key difference between the Series A ETNs and the Series B ETNs is that UBS AG and UBS Switzerland AG are each co-obligors on all Series A ETNs, while UBS AG is the sole issuer and obligor on all Series B ETNs. UBS Switzerland AG has no obligations with respect to the Series B ETNs. UBS AG is conducting the Exchange Offers in order to reduce the intercompany exposures of UBS Switzerland AG to UBS AG in line with regulatory recovery and resolution guidance. UBS AG has a contractual right to redeem all Series A ETNs and, within a few months after the Final Expiration Date of the Exchange Offers, UBS AG intends to exercise its contractual call right for any non-tendered Series A ETNs that were subject to the Exchange Offers. Following the completion of such redemptions, no Series A ETNs are expected to remain outstanding. For more information on the ETNs included in the Exchange Offers, please see the Prospectus. Table-3 below includes the CUSIPs for each ETN involved in the Exchange Offers. Table-3 ETRACS Series A ETN

(Ticker | CUSIP) ? ETRACS Series B ETN

(Ticker | CUSIP) AMU 90267B682 ? AMUB 90274D374 BDCS 902641588 ? BDCZ 90274D416 DJCI 902641679 ? DJCB 90269A450 MLPI 902641646 ? MLPB 90274D382 UCI 902641778 ? UCIB 90274D390 The Exchange Offers are being made pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in UBS AG's Prospectus related to the Exchange Offers, dated December 9, 2019, which form a part of the Registration Statement (as defined below), and the related Letter of Instruction (the "Letter of Instruction"). A Registration Statement on Form F-4 (Registration No. 333-234705) (the "Registration Statement") relating to the offer of the Series B ETNs was filed with the SEC (News - Alert) on November 14, 2019 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement filed with the SEC on December 5, 2019) and declared effective by the SEC on December 9, 2019. Copies of the Prospectus, the Letter of Instruction and other documents filed with the SEC by UBS AG are available to holders free of charge through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Copies of the Prospectus and the Letter of Instruction are available to holders free of charge through the information agent, D.F. King & Co. Inc., by calling (800) 591-8269 (toll free) or (212) 269-5550 (for banks and brokers) or by emailing [email protected]. Holders may also obtain copies of the Prospectus and the Letter of Instruction, free of charge, by contacting UBS AG by calling 1-877-387 2275 or by emailing [email protected]. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities that are part of the Exchange Offers. The Exchange Offers are being made solely pursuant to the terms and conditions described in the Prospectus and related annexes and Letter of Instruction. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in UBS AG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the Registration Statement related to the Exchange Offers and there is no assurance that UBS AG will actually complete the Exchange Offers on the terms described herein or at all or that it will subsequently redeem the Series A ETNs. UBS disclaims any obligation to update or revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise. In the U.S., securities underwriting, trading and brokerage activities and M&A advisor activities are provided by UBS Securities LLC, a registered broker/dealer that is a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS AG, a member of the New York Stock Exchange and other principal exchanges, and a member of SIPC. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a registered broker/dealer and affiliate of UBS Securities LLC. The securities related to the offerings are not deposit liabilities and are not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency of the United States, Switzerland or any other jurisdiction. About ETRACS ETRACS ETNs are senior unsecured notes issued by UBS AG, are traded on NYSE Arca (News - Alert), and can be bought and sold through a broker or financial advisor. An investment in ETRACS ETNs is subject to a number of risks, including the risk of loss of some or all of the investor's principal, and is subject to the creditworthiness of UBS AG. Investors are not guaranteed any coupon or distribution amount under the ETNs. Prior to making an investment in the ETRACS ETNs, investors should take into account whether or not the market price is tracking the intraday indicative value of the ETNs. We urge you to read the more detailed explanation of risks described under "Risk Factors" in the applicable prospectus supplement, or product supplement and pricing supplement, for the ETRACS ETN. About UBS UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. UBS's strategy is centered on our leading global wealth management business and our premier universal bank in Switzerland, enhanced by Asset Management and the Investment Bank. The bank focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their targeted markets, are capital efficient, and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, with about 31% of its employees working in the Americas, 32% in Switzerland, 19% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 18% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs over 67,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This material is issued by UBS AG and/or any of its subsidiaries and/or any of its affiliates ("UBS"). Products and services mentioned in this material may not be available for residents of certain jurisdictions. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Please consult the restrictions relating to the product or service in question for further information. Activities with respect to US securities are conducted through UBS Securities LLC, a US broker/dealer. Member of SIPC (http://www.sipc.org/). Alerian MLP Index, Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index, AMZ and AMZI are trademarks of Alerian and their use is granted under a license from Alerian. Wells Fargo Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index are trademarks of Wells Fargo & Company and have been licensed for use by UBS AG. The ETRACS Linked to the Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index and the ETRACS Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index ETN Series B are not issued, guaranteed, sponsored, or advised by Wells Fargo & Company, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC or their subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, "Wells Fargo"). Wells Fargo makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to investors in the ETRACS ETNs or any member of the public regarding the ability of any data supplied by Wells Fargo or any Index to track financial instruments comprising the Index or any trading market and no guarantee of performance of the ETRACS Linked to the Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index or the ETRACS Wells Fargo Business Development Company Index ETN Series B. Wells Fargo & Company does not guarantee that the Index referenced by the ETRACS ETNs has been accurately calculated and shall not have any liability for any error in the calculation. 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Workers joined May Day protests across the globe on Friday, in the midst of nationwide lockdowns aimed at fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Zoom in: In the U.S., employees at Amazon, Instacart, Target, Whole Foods and FedEx  many of whom are acting as "essential workers" and facing heightened risk from the virus  planned walk-outs on Friday to call for more personal protective gear and hazard pay.

People protest working conditions outside of an Amazon warehouse fulfillment center on May 1 in Staten Island, N.Y. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Riot police arrest demonstrators in Santiago, Chile, on May 1. Photo: Marcelo Hernandez/Aton Chile/AFP via Getty Images

Demonstrators in Kreuzberg, Berlin, on May 1. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

Members of Argentina's Workers' Party march towards Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires on May 1. Photo: Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images

Demonstrators in Athens, Greece, on May 1. Photo: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Communist labor union P.A.M.E members demonstrate in Thessaloniki, Greece, on May 1. Photo: Achilleas Chiras/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Protestors in Cologne, Germany, on May 1. Photo: Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Protestors remain in vehicles in a May 1 demonstration in Washington. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Protestors call for the Swiss health minister to "give the money back" on May 1 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Police push a demonstrator to the ground in Berlin, Germany, on May 1. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

Go deeper: The coronavirus is inspiring a new labor movement
It is a waiting game for governments and populations around the world until a vaccine against the Covid-19 can be found, writes Manal Lotfy in London

Governments around the world are desperate to deliver good news about easing the lockdowns imposed on economic and social activities to limit the spread of the Covid-19. But good news has become rare these days.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said this week that there was no evidence that people who had developed antibodies after recovering from Covid-19 were protected against a second infection. Therefore, the idea of an immunity passport to allow people who have tested positive for antibodies to have fewer restrictions would be a very risky one, it said.

The immunity passport or risk-free certificate is one of the ways governments around the world are considering to ease some of the restrictions on populations to restart their economies. As a result, the WHO verdict is a major blow.

The assumption of immunity has not been proven, and thus easing restrictions on people who have been infected could increase virus transmission and lead to a second wave.

People who assumed they were immune might stop taking precautions, which could actually increase virus transmission, the WHO said.

There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection, it said.

Most studies carried out so far have showed that people who have recovered from the coronavirus infection have antibodies in their blood, but some of these people have very low levels of antibodies, so the recurrence of infection may be possible.

At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an immunity passport or risk-free certificate, the WHO said.

It said that laboratory tests to detect antibodies needed further validation to determine their accuracy and also needed to distinguish between previous infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, and the six other known coronaviruses in circulation.

The assessment will only make it harder for countries around the world to lift some of the restriction on citizens based on the immunity passport concept.

Some governments have already considered permitting people who have recovered from Covid-19 to travel or return to work. Chile, for example, said it would begin issuing health passports to people deemed to have recuperated from the illness. Once screened for the presence of antibodies, they could rejoin the workforce, officials in Chile said this week. Many European countries including Germany, Italy and the UK are also beginning to test samples of their populations for antibodies.

While the WHO warning will make it difficult for many countries to ease restrictions on population movement, the antibody tests will continue in order to help to understand how the immune system reacts to the coronavirus.

In the UK, 25,000 people will be tested every month for the next year, both for antibodies and to check if they currently have the virus. This could provide more information about whether, and for how long, the disease confers immunity on those who have recovered. That would give a clearer idea about whether testing individuals and giving them some kind of immunity status might be an option in the future.

The WHOs briefing came at the same time that UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that a coronavirus vaccine was unlikely to come this year, a U-turn after he said it was likely that a vaccine could be available later his year.

Developing a successful vaccine is one of the hardest tasks in medicine, and it is much harder than developing medications and drugs.

TOWARDS A VACCINE: Vaccine development is often a long, highly regulated and complex process, usually lasting between 10 and 15 years and involving lengthy trials and big budgets, with no guarantee of success.

For example, the world has failed to develop a vaccine for the SARS virus despite its best efforts since 2003.

The idea of fast-tracking a new coronavirus vaccine has been met with doubts from scientists who believe in the traditional approach as a result. Only two of the 76 coronavirus vaccine candidates that the WHO follows closely have opted for the traditional scientific approach.

Traditional vaccines work by creating a weakened version of a virus, similar enough to the original that the immune system will be forearmed if a person is exposed to a full infection in future, helping to prevent actual illness.

Laboratory tests begin with small groups of individuals, and then tests extend to several thousand, then tens of thousands and finally hundreds of thousands of people.

According to the Philadelphia College of Physicians in the US, for a vaccine to be developed, tested and approved it must follow certain standard steps. The first stages are exploratory in nature. Then, there is regulation and oversight as the candidate vaccine makes its way through the process.

The exploratory stage involves basic laboratory research and often lasts from two to four years. Academic and government scientists identify natural or synthetic antigens that might help prevent or treat a disease.

The pre-clinical stage uses tissue-culture or cell-culture systems and animal testing to assess the safety of the candidate vaccine and its immunogenicity, or ability to provoke an immune response. These studies give researchers an idea of the cellular responses they might expect to see in humans.

They may also suggest a safe starting dose for the next phase of the research, as well as a safe method of administering the vaccine. The pre-clinical stages often last from one to two years and usually involve researchers in private industry.

An IND application then involves applying for Investigational New Drug (IND) status, where the labs and organisations involved describe the manufacturing and testing processes, summarise the laboratory reports, and describe the proposed study. An institutional review board, representing an institution where the clinical trial will be conducted, must approve the clinical protocol.

Once the IND application has been approved, the vaccine is subject to three phases of testing.

Phase I aims to assess the candidate vaccine in humans and involves a small group of adults. If the vaccine is intended for children, researchers will first test adults, and then gradually step down the age of the test subjects until they reach their target.

A promising phase I trial will progress to the next stage.

A larger group of several hundred individuals participates in phase II testing. Some of the individuals may belong to groups at risk of acquiring the disease. These trials are randomised and well controlled. The goals of phase II testing are to study the candidate vaccines safety, immunogenicity, proposed doses, schedule of immunisations and method of delivery.

Successful phase II candidate vaccines move on to larger trials involving thousands to tens of thousands of people. These phase III trials are randomised and double blind. After a successful phase III trial, the vaccine developer will submit a Biologics License Application to the medical regulatory authority, then this will inspect the factory where the vaccine will be made and approve its labelling.

With no prospect of a vaccine being developed soon and the doubt over the immunity passports, governments around the world have few options to end the lockdowns. No wonder many world leaders are preparing their populations to cope with the new normal, i.e. to continue living in social bubbles.

UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson, who returned this week to his office after recovering from coronavirus, is considering a blueprint to loosen the coronavirus lockdown that could allow Britons to choose 10 people they can mix with in social bubbles.

Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was considering expanding the definition of households to allow small gatherings of people. The possible changes come as Englands chief medical officer Chris Whitty said that some socially disruptive measures, including social-distancing, would have to be in place until the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Belgium are also considering allowing residents to gather with 10 other people of their choice every weekend. New Zealand, one of the earliest adopters of the lockdown measures, has also settled on an expansion policy. From next week, New Zealanders will be free to slightly extend their bubbles of contact to include close family, caregivers and those living in isolation, so long as they are living in the same town or city.

The enlarged social bubbles may be an important coping mechanism for people around the world while the search for a vaccine continues. It is an unprecedented measure at an unprecedented time.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 30 April, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under headline: United we stand

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Hyundai Motor America Reports April 2020 Sales and Extends Consumer Benefits







Tucson Retail Sales up 7% in April; Nameplate Surpasses 1 Million Total U.S. Sales

Hyundai Extends Assurance Job Loss Protection Through May 17

Over 95% of Hyundai Dealers Offer Digital Retail and Pick Up and Drop Off Service





FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., May 1, 2020  Hyundai Motor America reported total April sales of 33,968 units, a 39% decrease compared with April 2019. Retail sales declined 28%, while fleet sales were down 74% and represented 10% of total volume. Monthly sales results were better than early industry predictions that forecasted an 80% decline in April.

Hyundai sold 30,468 retail units in April, up 6% compared with March 2020. Hyundais SUVs represented 67% of the total retail mix. Tucson was the strongest performing Hyundai model with retail sales increasing 7% year-over-year.

Tucson achieved a significant milestone in April, exceeding 1 million total sales in the U.S. First introduced in 2004, Tucson has gone on to be one of Hyundais most popular vehicles and was the second highest selling model in 2019. Now in its third generation, Tucson continues to attract buyers with its refreshed designed and extensive comfort, safety and technology features.

April Sales Summary

Apr-20 Apr-19 2020 YTD 2019 YTD Hyundai 33,968 55,420 164,843 203,005

The COVID-19 global pandemic significantly disrupted the U.S. auto industry in April, but Hyundai sales showed some resiliency thanks to the ingenuity of our dealers and being first to market with robust customer assistance programs, said Randy Parker, vice president, National Sales, Hyundai Motor America. Sales varied significantly across regions. We focused on supporting sales in areas that transitioned from showroom retail to digital and contactless retail sales and service. We look forward to supporting our dealers and customers as cities, counties and states slowly re-open and we begin returning to work after this tragic pandemic.

Hyundai Assurance Job Loss Protection Extension

Hyundai is providing peace of mind by extending the Assurance Job Loss Protection program through May 17. The industry-first program covers up to six months of payments for Hyundai owners who purchased or leased a Hyundai vehicle between March 14 and May 17, 2020 if they lose their job due to COVID-19 this year. The program is executed in partnership with Insurian and for more details visit HyundaiUSA.com. Hyundai customers can also depend on other Assurance programs, including Hyundai Complimentary Maintenance and Americas Best Warranty.

Hyundais Retail Operations and Safety Practices

Hyundai dealers across the country enhanced their safety measures and adapted their businesses to comply with social distancing guidelines by leveraging Shopper Assurance and Hyundais Click to Buy capability.

Hyundai dealers have implemented thorough cleaning and disinfection practices for all facilities and vehicles going to customers, while increasing digital communication between the customer and dealer staff. More than 95% of all Hyundai dealers offer digital retailing and most will deliver new vehicles to customers homes. For service or repair, almost all of Hyundai dealers will pick up and drop off the customers vehicles.

Hyundai also salutes its dealers who have helped their hometowns and communities by providing complimentary maintenance for first responders, loaning service vehicles, and delivering critical supplies.

April Product and Corporate Activities

Model Sales

Vehicle Apr-20 Apr-19 2020 YTD 2019 YTD Accent 736 2,834 5,543 9,615 Elantra 7,536 16,586 33,281 52,698 Ioniq 422 1,211 3,944 4,521 Kona 3,114 5,154 18,288 23,551 Nexo 3 19 54 79 Palisade 3,331 0 20,420 0 Santa Fe 5,602 10,746 25,504 39,429 Sonata 3,428 8,634 19,030 30,154 Tucson 8,438 8,682 32,173 37,513 Veloster 541 1,554 2,623 5,445 Venue 817 0 3,983 0

Hyundai Motor America

At Hyundai Motor America, we believe everyone deserves better. From the way we design and build our cars to the way we treat the people who drive them, making things better is at the heart of everything we do. Hyundais technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assuranceour promise to create a better experience for customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide and nearly half of those sold in the U.S. are built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.
STAGE

A group of young comedians who had planned to perform as part of Up Next Comedy at this year's comedy festival is instead

heading online. LOL Squad has created a web series of sketches featuring, among other things, hardcore parkour, an unusual

Pierre Dalpe, Wigstock, 1992 (Head On Photo Festival).

heist and a ghost with low self-esteem.
Donna was born in Madison, Wis. to Ray and Mildred (nee Hermanson) Domini. She was preceded in death by her former husband, Michael. She was a beloved mother to her five children, Bridget (Randy) Rhode of Portage, Wis., Maura (Jim) Daniels of LaValle, Wis., Thomas (Melissa) Hughes of Shorewood, Wis., Kara (Ryrie) Pellaton of Wilmette, Ill., and William (Kim) Hughes of Pewaukee, Wis.. She was a loving grandmother to Tara Rhode, Megan Harris, Carly and Patrick Mattefs, Isabelle and Ava Hughes, Finola, Delaney, Brigid, and Liam Hughes, Rhys and Thomas Pellaton. She adored her two great grandsons, Henrik and Rody Harris. She will be greatly missed by her sister, Darlene Felicijan of Rio, Wis., her many nieces and nephews and her good friends.

Donna was a vivacious woman who had more strength than her small frame could contain. She was a loaded spring, full of love and energy. Zoom was her nickname to her good friends. To attempt to sum her up in a few paragraphs as impossible, she was the best mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother as she wrapped all in her love. Anyone who spent time in her home felt welcome and comfortable. She supported her family in every possible way; a cheerleader attending every event, a babysitter at a moments notice, a mender of clothing, a giver of pep talks, and a baker and bringer of cookies and pies. Donna loved to host holiday dinners for her large family and their friends. She loved a dirty joke and a brandy old fashioned press with two olives. She liked playing cards, especially euchre for small stakes, and thoroughly enjoyed winning. She was proud of her Norwegian heritage, making lefse for annual lutefisk dinners with good friends and neighbors, Jan and Bob Bostad.
MEXICO CITY - For years, the United States outfitted its armed forces and hospitals with products made partially in Mexican factories, trusting that the world's busiest cross-border supply chain could withstand any crisis.

Then came the novel coronavirus, and a new question: Would Mexico keep its workers on the line to continue producing goods considered "essential" to the United States?

Within weeks of the World Health Organization's declaration of a pandemic, major U.S. manufacturers were complaining that their Mexican factories were being shuttered without notice.

Mexico's federal government said it would leave open "businesses necessary to confront the emergency," but left the implementation to individual state governors, whose approaches have been mixed. In many cases, companies deemed essential in the United States have had their operations shuttered in Mexico. Mexican state officials have broadcast unannounced visits to factories live on social media, ordering them closed as workers looked on.

After decades of increasing economic interdependence, the pandemic is challenging the premise of globalization, leaving countries more clearly prioritizing their own interests. Governments around the world are reopening their economies on different timelines and under disparate policies, threatening longtime trade relationships.

The supply chains linking the United States, Mexico and Canada have grown so robust and sophisticated in the decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed that they have come to feel almost borderless. The interiors of many Boeing airplanes are now made in Tijuana, the city where Lockheed Martin does some of its electrical work. Both military and civilian aircraft are constructed using components sourced across North America.

But as the first coronavirus cases hit Mexico, workers here began raising concerns that they were risking their lives to provide for the U.S. defense and health-care industries, along with other sectors north of the Rio Grande. Demonstrators fanned out to factories across Mexico's industrial corridor.

As the United States seeks to reopen its economy, U.S. companies want their Mexican factories to come back to life - but Mexico's coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen. The country has reported more than 17,799 cases and 1,732 deaths, but officials say that's probably a significant undercount. The trade relationship between the United States and Mexico faces one of its most uncertain moments in years.

In April, the Pentagon said Mexico's supply chain was "somewhat problematic for us." On Thursday, Ellen Lord, the Defense Department's undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters there had been some improvement. Mexico, she said, "has taken great strides to evaluate firms and their contribution to U.S. national security requirements." She declined to provide details.

In a statement to The Washington Post, the Mexican government said it was aiming "to strike a balance between the measures necessary to mitigate the health crisis and seek to maintain essential economic activities in operation."

"The three countries are jointly planning the gradual reopening of the economies of North America, always in the safest and most efficient way possible," the ministries of health and foreign affairs said in the joint statement.

U.S. health-care companies have already been affected. In mid-April, the governor of Baja California closed a factory belonging to Smiths Medical Inc., where ventilator components were produced, because the Minneapolis-based company said its products were made for export.

Smiths did not respond to a request for comment.

A company that produces air conditioning units for U.S. hospitals was also shuttered, as was a firm that makes water heaters for hospitals. In some cases, the production of medical devices was permitted, but the production of the cardboard boxes in which those devices were transported was halted.

"These companies don't support or contribute to the state," Baja California governor Jaime Bonilla Valdez said. During "the health emergency, they are considered [to be performing] nonessential activities."

The closures have shaken major U.S. government contractors, whose work is deemed essential north of the border, but not south of it. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has not clarified whether U.S. defense or health-care manufacturers should remain open.

"Companies are left scratching their heads when they learn that their partners in Mexico don't see what they do as an essential service, even as they're called to do pandemic response," said Dak Hardwick, the assistant vice president for international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association.

The National Association of Manufacturers wrote to Lopez Obrador that his government's lack of clarity "has resulted in the shuttering of essential manufacturing facilities across Mexico, including those that serve as the backbone to critical infrastructure across our continent, potentially weakening our response to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Few events have raised such pressing questions about the mechanics of the international supply chain. In the 26 years since NAFTA was signed, the trends for manufacturing here were mostly positive: hundreds of thousands of new jobs created in Mexico; inexpensive, efficient production for the United States.

Even after both countries elected populist presidents wary of a frictionless North American supply chain, the concept of a continental free-trade zone endured: The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to NAFTA signed by the three countries last year, is due to take effect July 1. Before the coronavirus, that felt like a codification of the region's commercial ties.

The NAFTA bylaws allow its members to act in their own interests "in times of war or other emergency in international relations." But until now, that contingency has rarely been tested.

Luis de la Calle, who helped craft NAFTA as Mexico's undersecretary for international trade negotiations in the 1990s, said the countries did not coordinate ahead of the pandemic "in a joint fashion."

"They should have agreed that if one country deems a sector to be essential, the two other countries should deem suppliers essential," de la Calle said. "But that's not what happened here."

In Ciudad Juarez, where Lear Corp. produces car seat covers, workers began falling ill in March. By April, as many as 13 had died of the coronavirus, according to employees. Lear declined to confirm numbers.

"Due to COVID-19, we have seen a tragic situation of fatalities in the city of Juarez including our Rio Bravo facility, which we closed on March 27, prior to government orders," Lear said in a statement. "These deaths have occurred despite the early implementation at Rio Bravo of COVID-19 protocols, the same protocols that have been successful in limiting the impact of the virus within our facilities globally, including those in China, Italy, Spain and U.S."

Protesters began arriving at Lear's factory and others where workers were said to have become sick. They held signs and chanted through megaphones.

"These companies are worried about their supply chains, but it's the workers who are dying," said Susana Prieto Terrazas, a labor activist in Ciudad Juarez. "And if all they do is export, how is that essential to Mexico?"

Workers in a Tijuana factory that produces diapers for export told The Washington Post that social distancing was impossible. They said employees have been told to stand in their usual positions along a conveyor belt, a foot from each other.

"We handle the diapers without gloves, and we touch our faces. They did not give us masks, so those diapers can be contaminated and go to the United States," said Maria, 28, who declined to give her last name because she worried she would be fired.

She said she became sick last week with several coronavirus symptoms. She went to a doctor, she said, but was not tested for covid-19. She's now recovering at home.

U.S. and Mexican industry groups say they believe most production can continue safely with more shifts and fewer workers per shift, and additional health measures.

"The work conditions of these factories are safer than the conditions outside for many workers," said Carlos Higuera, president of Tijuana's economic development corporation. "When they are outside, many of them are congregating in markets; they are in small spaces with many people, where they are more likely to get sick."

But in the state of Baja California, where Tijuana is located, politicians have been vocal in their opposition to companies operating through the pandemic.

"Employers do not want to stop earning money, and prefer to sacrifice their workers before their profits," Bonilla said.

The state labor ministry has posted photos and videos of officials forcing factories to shut down. In one series of images, officials visit Sensata, a U.S. company that produces sensors used by the automobile, aerospace and health-care industries. Its Tijuana factory produces material for ventilators used in U.S. hospitals.

The state officials said they were responding to workers' complaints about a lack of social distancing and other health and safety concerns. They asked Sensata executives to "fulfill the mandate of closing nonessential activities," the labor secretary posted on Facebook.

"We respectfully disagree with the implication that the working conditions in the Tijuana facility are unsafe," said Alexia Taxiarchos, a company spokeswoman. "We have taken all necessary measures to keep our people safe. We have 22,000 employees globally and fewer than five confirmed cases currently, which is a testament to how seriously we are taking this."

The company wrote to the government explaining why its work should be deemed essential, and officials allowed it to reopen.

Across the manufacturing industry, the closures have left U.S. suppliers deeply worried.

"We get reports of more shutdowns and reopenings every day," said Hardwick, of the aerospace industry group. "The guidelines keep changing. It feels like it depends on individual health inspectors and factories. Our companies play by the rules. It's that the rules are inconsistent."

Many U.S. production facilities in industries deemed essential have continued to operate during the country's outbreak. Others closed temporarily and are now reopening.

Mexico is several weeks or more behind the U.S. epidemiological curve. U.S. companies worry that what initially appeared to be a temporary setback could be a long-term one, threatening the future of the North American supply line.

But if the supply problems can be solved, analysts say, there's reason to hope for a more prosperous future.

"If North American supply chains prove to be reliable during the pandemic," said de la Calle, "the amount of investment that would shift here from Asia would be enormous."
HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Although it has been 25 years since the tragic event that marked the life of Steven Odzer and his family, he remembers the worry and sorrow as if it were yesterday. Steven Odzer has always been close to his family -- he has seven children and nine grandchildren. While he cherishes every moment with his immediate family, he is also extremely close to his extended family. "I have a lot of family in Israel who I'm close to," Steven Odzer says.

Steven Odzer opened up about what happened 25 years ago that changed his family forever. On October 14, 1994, Steven's Cousin, Nachston Wachsman, died in the hands of Hamas militants after being kidnapped.

As a dual citizen of Israel in the United States, Nachson Wachsman grew up in Jerusalem with his seven brothers. At the age of 19, while has was on leave, the military instructed him to attend a one-day training in northern Israel. Nachshon Wachsman followed the instructions and left on Saturday night for his training. His family would expect him back on Sunday night, October 9, 1994.

After he completed the training, Nachson began his journey back to Jerusalem were his family expected him. As a standard practice by many Israeli Soldiers, Nachshon Wachsman attempted to either hitchhike or catch a bus at the Bnai Atarot junction. Nachshon Wachsman got a ride and boarded a vehicle with four men, the men overpowered him and drove off to the Palestinian town of Bir Nabala. Bir Nabala is only six miles northwest of Jerusalem.

Although his cousin lived far away in Israel, Steven Odzer and Nachshon visited each other for ten years. "We were buddies," said Steven Odzer. Since they were so close, his kidnapping and death was a shock. On the day he received the tragic news that marked him forever, Steven Odzer had made a stop in Borough Park, Brooklyn, to ask a rabbi for a blessing for his cousin Nachshon.

"We had asked Hashem for Nachshon's safe release from his captors," Steven said. Unfortunately, the rescue mission didn't go as planned. The Hamas, who had captured Nachshon, demanded 200 Arab prisoners were released to make the exchange. Two days after the kidnapping, the Hammas militants responsible for the kidnapping released a video. In the video, the militants identified the kidnapped man as Nachshon Wachsman by reading out loud his identity number and his home address.

Story continues

The Israeli military was able to capture the driver of the car that kidnapped Nachshon Wachsman and question him about his location. When the military learned the exact location, they orchestrated a rescue mission. The rescue mission failed due to faulty explosives and other technical difficulties, and they lost the element of surprise. Wachsman was behind a solid steel door, which the explosives couldn't open. The failed explosion resulted in a heavy open fire. When they finally made it to the chamber, they discover Nachshon Wachsman had been shot by his kidnappers.

The void Nachshon left in all of their lives will never be able to get filled. To honor his departed cousin, Steven Odzer named his son Nachshon. Many other children also were named Nachshon and a Hebrew middle name. "In Israel, you can't just name a son Nachshon Wachsman. It's too painful," says Steven Odzer. Aside from children honoring Nachshon by naming their children after him, the family took other steps. They called an educational center in Jerusalem for children with special needs after Nachshon.

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New Delhi, May 1 : Hours after issuing an order directing the Medical Directors to seek written explanation from Covid positive health workers as to how they were infected, the Delhi government on Friday suspended the order till further notice.

Firstly, in an order, Health and Family Welfare Secretary Padmini Singla said the health workers should explain how they became a contact in spite of wearing the required protective gear, maintaining safe distance and following precautions prescribed for healthcare workers.

The order said it is reported that many doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff in non-COVID hospitals are either getting infected or reported as a contact of infected persons. "Medical Directors are indiscriminately sending them in quarantine either at hotels or their homes for 14 days. This practice is causing an unnecessary shortage of doctors and staff in hospitals." The order said it seems the situation is so because either hospitals are not following standard SOPs or such persons are not following guidelines prescribed for healthcare workers. It said a Medical Director is also required to constitute a team of doctors to ascertain whether a contact fulfils the Central government's guidelines to be declared as the contact of a positive patient.

Within hours, Singla issued another order saying the previous order "is hereby kept in abeyance till further orders".

More than 200 health professionals from non-COVID facilities across the national capital have tested positive for coronavirus.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Traffic police in the north-central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa have fined the operator of a 46-seater long-haul bus for letting the vehicle carry up to 80 passengers.

The municipal Department of Police confirmed it had imposed a VND51 million (US$2,190) penalty upon Van Thanh Passenger Transport Company on Thursday.

Traffic policers were patrolling in Bac Son Ward, Bim Son Town on the morning of the same day when they decided to pull over a long-haul bus of Van Thanh Company for an inspection.

The bus, No. 34B-024.21, was only designed to have 46 seats but it was actually carrying a total of 80 passengers.

The driver of the vehicle was Bui Anh Tuan, 35, who resides in the northern province of Hai Duong.

A traffic police officer works with the driver of the passenger bus in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam on April 30, 2020. Photo: Binh An / Tuoi Tre

The passenger bus plies a fixed route between Hai Duong and Thanh Hoa Provinces.

After the violation was booked, Van Thanh Company was required to mobilize an extra vehicle to transport the passengers to their destination.

All passengers had their body temperature measured and did not show any sign of abnormal health conditions.

Aside from the fine, the transport firm also had its badge, which is needed to run transport services, revoked.

The driver also had his license taken away for two months.

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The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of a Tarn Taran cop, who is accused of promising curfew passes during Covid-19 outbreak in lieu of bribe.

The HC bench of justice Anil Kshetarpal observed that the cop at the time of the alleged incident was a member of a disciplined force.

The HC was dealing with the petition of constable Harjinder Singh, who had sought anticipatory bail upon registration of FIR by the Patti police against him.

The FIR was lodged upon internal probe by Tarn Taran SSP after a video of a cop demanding and taking bribe in exchange of curfew passes was circulated on the social media. The FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered on April 4. The internal probe had identified the cop as a petitioner. And as per FIR, he has been dismissed.
By Clara Denina and Pamela Barbaglia

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has turned to Morgan Stanley for advice on a package of measures to keep its airlines in business during the coronavirus crisis, after warnings that the industry might implode, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Wall Street investment bank, originally drafted in to handle a possible bailout of Virgin Atlantic, has been awarded a broader mandate to examine ways to support the entire airline sector in Britain, the sources said.

"The situation was more complicated than expected," the second source said, adding that any bailout of Virgin Atlantic might prompt other airlines to request state aid.

Morgan Stanley's expanded role comes as British Airways-owner IAG began a sweeping restructuring and the boss of London Heathrow Airport's boss warned that Britain risks destroying its aviation sector by not propping up airlines as countries such as the United States and France have done.

Airlines around the world are struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, with some such as Germany's Lufthansa seeking urgent state assistance as air travel has been brought to a virtual standstill, threatening thousands of jobs.

"We have been clear that we are prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort," a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of British airlines which have exhausted other funding measures to cope with the crisis.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment, while Treasury representatives were not immediately available to comment on the investment bank's appointment.

Global airline losses from the coronavirus pandemic are estimated at $314 billion, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates.

Virgin Atlantic, which is 51% owned by billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group and 49% by U.S. airline Delta, has warned it will only survive if it gets state aid, while its staff have taken a temporary wage reduction.

Johnson's government has so far been wary of bailing out travel companies and in March let regional carrier Flybe collapse, marking one of the first big corporate casualties of the coronavirus outbreak.

Story continues

'CONSTRUCTIVE' TALKS

Morgan Stanley is working closely with Rothschild, which won a similar government mandate earlier this year to handle talks with airlines and other British companies bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, the sources said.

Any bailout of Virgin Atlantic would only come after all other possibilities, including a sale, had been fully explored, one of the sources said.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said it was exploring all available options to obtain additional external credit, adding it was working with Houlihan Lokey on private sector funding and ongoing discussions with stakeholders were "constructive".

Meanwhile, Branson and the Virgin Group were committed to the airline and were not looking to sell it, a representative for the group said on Friday.

But if no bailout is granted and Virgin Atlantic ends up collapsing, then the government will need to review the competitive landscape on transatlantic flights as British Airways would emerge as a winner, another source said.

Virgin Atlantic has increased its routes between London and North America over the past few years to win more U.S. customers and boost profitability.

British Airways' parent company IAG warned it may cut up to 12,000 jobs after reporting an operating loss before exceptional items of 535 million euros for the first quarter, but ruled out any plan to ask the British Treasury for state support.

However, IAG's Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling have taken a different path and on Friday secured 1 billion euros of government-backed loans.

(Reporting by Clara Denina and Pamela Barbaglia; Additional reporting by Alistair Smout and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Protesters from the communist party-affiliated PAME union practise social distancing during a May Day rally (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

The pandemic has muted the marking of May Day, with celebrations of the worlds workers having to be balanced by safety considerations.

Social distancing was in evidence at many of the events although in some countries the stringent lockdown measures presented different challenges for protesters and police alike.

Arrests were made in Turkey, while the Guy Fawkes masks favoured at previous demonstrations had been superseded by medical masks in light of the threat to public health.

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Automotive companies have started FY21 on a luckless note, reporting zero sales in April as manufacturing facilities remained closed following full lockdown orders from the central government.

For the first time, over 100 factories of automotive companies that make scooters, motorcycles, cars, electric vehicles, trucks and buses did not produce even a single vehicle during the entire month of April. Until mid-March, these factories were buzzing with activity producing over 1.44 million units before lockdown was announced.

Maruti Suzuki (MSIL), Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Toyota Kirloskar and MG Motor informed through individual press statements that following the compliance orders from the government there was zero sales in April.

"Maruti Suzuki had zero sales in the domestic market, (including sales to OEM), in April 2020. This was because in compliance with the Government orders all production facilities were closed. Meanwhile, following resumption of port operations, the first export shipment of 632 units was undertaken from the Mundra port, ensuring that all guidelines for safety were followed," MSIL said.

Also Read | Lockdown impact: Maruti Suzuki sells zero units in domestic market in April

The companies are now gearing up to restart operations for which discussions with factory heads, parts vendors, state administration, dealers, services centres, supply distribution and retail customers have begun.

"At Mahindra, we are working hand in hand with all stakeholders, especially our dealer and supplier partners, to get our ecosystem started, once the lockdown is lifted. The safety of all our employees will be of paramount importance to us while resuming our operations. We are hopeful that our dealerships will open soon and have stocks to cover the first few weeks of sale. In the export market we have sold 733 vehicles during April," said Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Also Read | Bumpy ride ahead for auto sector: Expect a double-digit drop in FY21 sales; Maruti, Eicher better placed

Automakers are hoping to cash in on some pent-up demand coupled with demand expected to arise due to aversion from using public transport.

A survey done by Cars24 covering 3,600 respondents showed that 42 percent felt that they now need to buy a car for the family while 53 percent of the respondents were thinking of buying one within next 6 months. Several auto companies have thus made the vehicle buying process more convenient by allowing customers to not just select vehicles but purchase them using the online medium.

"There has been some movement in the market as dealers are receiving some enquiries. We have made provisions to entirely digitize the sales process wherein we have a 360-degree product views offering a virtual tour of the vehicle, select financing options and even receive a quotation online. We have also made provisions for delivering the vehicle to the customer's doorstep upon the completion of purchase," said Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales & Services, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

SAIC-owned MG Motor India, which also recorded zero retail sales for April said it started limited operations at its facility in Halol, Gujarat, in the last week of April. The company hopes that the production will ramp-up in the month of May and is working on the local supply-chain support.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Stroke researchers at the University of Cincinnati have released a new report recommending the proper protocol for delivering lifesaving treatment to stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report, published in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart and American Stroke associations, is timely as more data emerges that patients with COVID-19, even young, otherwise healthy patients, are experiencing strokes. The authors emphasize that diagnosis with COVID-19 should not prevent patients from receiving this time-sensitive treatment.

Endovascular treatment for stroke involves the use of small catheters inserted from the groin or the arm into the blood vessels of the brain to remove a clot and restore blood flow to the brain. Opening a brain artery can reverse the effects of the stroke, and for some patients, leads to a quicker recovery time. In this current climate, the treatment presents challenges that doctors never previously needed to consider." Dr. Aaron Grossman, assistant professor in the department of neurology and rehabilitative medicine, UC Health physician, corresponding author on the report

"We needed to find a process for treating patients using endovascular therapy in the COVID-19 era that would keep our staff safe while we cared for these patients as quickly as possible," says Dr. Matthew Smith, a neurocritical care fellow and UC Health physician who is the first author on the report.

Researchers reviewed published and real-time anecdotal experiences of providers caring for COVID-19 patients nationally and internationally. As the first patients with COVID-19 were arriving to UC's Comprehensive Stroke Center, members of every team who cared for these patients met via video to establish recommendations for care.

"We highlighted three populations of potential patients: patients with suspected COVID-19 who come into the emergency department; patients with COVID-19 who are already in the hospital and then develop stroke; and stroke patients without COVID-19 who are cared for at a hospital with constrained resources due to COVID-19, including access to [personal protective equipment], ventilators, ICU beds and staff, " Grossman explains. "Our proposed algorithm helped us decide recommended points of care. It considers the American Heart/American Stroke associations endovascular treatment guidelines, the safety of patients and staff, predictors of death in COVID-19 patients and the appropriate use of scarce resources."

The working group concluded that a COVID-19 diagnosis should not prevent doctors from using endovascular therapy to treat a patient's severe stroke.

"However, we have to use extreme caution when preparing the patient, to keep staff safe," Smith adds, "and during this time of extreme resource limitation, we have to be prepared to modify our current protocols to provide the best stroke care possible for all patients in the Tristate."

In publishing these recommendations, Grossman says the UC/UC Health Stroke Team researchers demonstrate how "adapting an existing and evolving workflow requires input, coordination and engagement across hospital units and disciplines and believe a multidisciplinary approach that is proactive rather than reactive will best serve patients with stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic."
The Health Minister has expressed hope for a close alignment of coronavirus recovery strategies north and south of the border.

Simon Harris said it made sense from a scientific point of view to have similar plans for easing lockdown measures in the North and Ireland.

Mr Harriss comments came as UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he could see the case that could be made for Northern Ireland moving at a different pace than the rest of the UK, given the virus has not impacted the region as severely.

Mr Hancock said the relationship with Ireland was important, though he highlighted that the shape of the virus curve  its decrease and fall  had broadly been the same across the UK.

Mr Harris was asked about the position in Northern Ireland as Ireland unveiled its

Read More:

From an epidemiological point of view, it makes sense for the island of Ireland to be as closely aligned as possible as we can in relation to this, he said.

My understanding, and its not to speak for the north, theyll be drawing up their own plans and well be continuing at CMO (chief medical officer) level to keep in very close contact with them.

I would certainly like to see as close an alignment as possible. And let me be very clear on this  not for any political reasons in relation to northern politics but purely from a public health point of view.

This virus doesnt differentiate between jurisdictions nor does it care about political tradition. What it does do is spread and spread in a very virulent way and make an awful lot of people sick and take an awful lot of lives, so the closer we can co-operate the better.

Earlier, Mr Hancock was asked at the daily Covid-19 briefing whether there was a case for Northern Ireland exiting lockdown at a different pace than the rest of the UK and potentially following an all-Ireland approach.

He said that while the level of the virus had been higher in certain parts of the UK, such as London, the general shape of the diseases spread (the curve) had been similar throughout.

That means moving together was the right approach at the start, he said.

Matt Hancock

I can see the case that could be made and of course the decisions that are devolved we respect the devolution settlement, but ultimately if you look at the shape of the curve getting R (reproduction number) down and getting the level of new cases right down, thats happened as the UK together.

Of course the relationship with the Republic is important as well and we have good relations in terms of both at political level but also at medical level in conversations with the Republic with the decisions that they take, but we have very intensive discussions within the UK about the timing of changes within the country.

At the daily briefing at Stormont, First Minister Arlene Foster said she never viewed the issue as political.

This is an issue about saving lives, said the DUP leader.

She said there was a need for a joined-up approach across both islands.

Ive always believed that the totality of relationships are important in relation to tackling this virus and that will continue to be my view  that its not just about north-south, its also about east-west, she said.

Arlene Foster

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said the two jurisdictions had a geographic advantage being on one island.

I think it just makes common sense that what happens in Derry and Donegal, theyre going to have a knock-on impact on each other, said the Sinn Fein vice president.

So I think its important that where we can, we actually work in tandem and actually work our way through this and work our way out of it as joined up as we possibly can.
Senate president Ahmed Lawan has felicitated with Nigerian workers as they join their counterparts all over the world to celebrate the workers day.

Speaking via his official Twitter handle, he congratulated them for their heroic struggle for the liberation of the country from poverty.

Today, I felicitate with Nigerian workers as they join their counterparts the world over to mark the Workers Day.

I congratulate them for sustaining their heroic struggle for the liberation of the country from poverty and underdevelopment even in the face of the daunting challenges at various workplaces.

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The best way to appreciate the enormous contributions of the Nigerian workers is to always consider their welfare as of utmost importance.

Read Also: Nigeria Will Overcome Economic Woes From Dwindling Oil Prices: Lawan

As a legislature, we are ever ready to work in collaboration with the organised labour Unions to rid our statute books of any anti-labour laws.

As part of the effort of the ninth National Assembly to strengthen the economy and improve the standard of living of the people, it is determined to make the countrys financial year predictable and this we have begun to do with the timely passage of the 2020 budget.

We have in the same respect made critical amendments to some laws to ensure smooth implementation of the budget. The Legislature would continue to move relentlessly in that direction, despite the unforeseen challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This years celebration of Workers Day comes at a time the entire world is facing the health emergency brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic, but the resilience and never-die spirit of the Nigerian people will boost the efforts of the government to overcome the pandemic.

I urge the Nigerian workers, as they mark their day, to adhere strictly to all the prescribed public health protocols of social distancing, wearing of face mask, use of hand sanitizer, observance of personal hygiene, and to endeavour to stay at home and stay safe.

Today, I felicitate with Nigerian workers as they join their counterparts the world over to mark the Workers' Day. pic.twitter.com/6kCa34SHm2  Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (@DrAhmadLawan) May 1, 2020

I congratulate them for sustaining their heroic struggle for the liberation of the country from poverty and underdevelopment even in the face of the daunting challenges at various work places.  Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (@DrAhmadLawan) May 1, 2020

The best way to appreciate the enormous contributions of the Nigerian workers is to always consider their welfare as of utmost importance.  Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (@DrAhmadLawan) May 1, 2020

As a legislature, we are ever ready to work in collaboration with the organised labour Unions to rid our statute books of any anti-labour laws.  Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (@DrAhmadLawan) May 1, 2020

As part of the effort of the ninth National Assembly to strengthen the economy and improve the standard of living of the people, it is determined to make the country's financial year predictable and this we have began to do with the timely passage of the 2020 budget.  Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (@DrAhmadLawan) May 1, 2020

We have in the same respect made critical amendments to some laws to ensure smooth implementation of the budget. The Legislature would continue to move relentlessly in that direction, despite the unforeseen challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (@DrAhmadLawan) May 1, 2020
Students in Houston ISD could start their school year several days earlier beginning in 2021-22, joining peers in other districts who return to class in mid-August, under a plan in the early stages of development.

HISD officials this week said they want to seek a District of Innovation status that would grant them flexibility on four state education laws, including one that requires schools to begin their academic year no earlier than the fourth Monday in August. All of the regions largest traditional public school districts, with the exception of Cy-Fair ISD and Lamar CISD, sought the status in the past few years and changed their start dates to mid-August.

In a presentation to board members Monday, HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said her administration wanted to request two exemptions, which would allow HISD to start its year earlier and hire more non-certified teachers in hard-to-staff vocational and technical fields.

The switch to a mid-August start date would create a more balanced schedule between the first semester, which runs 77 days from August until winter break, and the second semester, which lasts 96 days.

HISD students also stand at a disadvantage on state standardized tests, as well as some college-centered tests, such as the SAT and Advanced Placement exams, because they spend fewer days in the classroom before the tests are administered, Lathan said.

Theyre already 10 days ahead of us academically and structurally because theyre starting 10 days in advance, but were all required to take the state assessments at the same time, Lathan said.

WHEN WILL SCHOOL RE-OPEN?: Its still too early to say. Heres why.

In an interview Friday, Lathan said she also wants to explore two other exemptions that were not discussed at length during this weeks board meeting.

The first would allow HISD to award credit to students who spend less than 90 percent of their school days on-campus, which would better accommodate those who quickly complete their required coursework or attend off-campus programs. The second would waive a state requirement that each instructional day last at least 7 hours, allowing the district to craft more flexible schedules for students and staff.

HISD trustees are expected to vote May 14 on whether to initiate a months-long process of creating a District of Innovation plan. If approved, trustees would outline the exemptions they want to request and appoint a committee to draft a plan. The committee likely would include administrators, teachers, support staff and community members.

Trustees could vote on such a plan as early as October. Under state law, the plan only passes if at least six of nine board members vote in favor.

Monica Ruiz, the mother of three children attending HISD schools on the districts northwest side, said she would welcome the change as long as she had time to plan her summer in advance.

I just dont want any surprises, Ruiz said. If its only a week or two earlier, it doesnt make much of a difference for us. Especially if everyone else already does it that way and theres no problem.

Some board members voiced support for starting the process, though the districts largest teachers union has raised concerns about the idea.

In a message to its members this week, Houston Federation of Teachers leaders warned that the District of Innovation process could be used to seek other exemptions from state law that would be detrimental to educators, such as regulations for teacher planning time. Lathan has said her administration does not plan to request waivers that would impact planning time.

HFT President Zeph Capo said his organization could support changes to the start date and certification process for vocational and technical education teachers, calling the tweaks fairly innocuous. However, the union likely would oppose some additional requests or unfair implementation plans, he said.

We need to be going into this with eyes wide open and watching this process, Capo said.

In response to the HFTs message, Lathan said Friday that she would urge employees to look at the resolution and request before people panic and start putting out information that is not correct.

HISD AND CORONAVIRUS: District still aiming for small raises despite financial uncertainty ahead

Among the 10 largest Houston-area districts with innovation plans, most have sought waivers the same four waivers Lathan identified, plus an exemption to state-mandated reporting requirements triggered when class sizes exceed 22-to-1 in some lower grades.

Lathan referenced the class size exemption during Mondays board meeting, but said Friday that she does not plan to recommend pursuing it.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com
When the 2020 calendar flips to June, up to 300,000 adults in Massachusetts will commence interstate travel, thousands of Massachusetts small businesses will be brought to their knees, and the Commonwealth will send over $230 million in desperately needed tax revenue to our New England neighbors. June 1 is when Massachusetts becomes the first, and only, state in the country to make the sale of menthol, mint and wintergreen cigarettes and smokeless tobacco illegal.

Despite dire warnings of social and economic consequences, particularly in urban communities, the legislature passed and Governor Baker signed the retail ban into law late last year. While some considered these admonitions debatable six months ago, the realities of a post COVID-19 world make them undeniable, more ominous and broader reaching.

At a time when health experts and Governors are strongly discouraging travel and recommending 14-day self-quarantining for those crossing state lines, Massachusetts adults who prefer menthol cigarettes and mint/wintergreen smokeless tobacco will have little choice but to travel out of state or tap the black market to obtain these products. The idea that these people will quit on June 1, is unrealistic anti-tobacco propaganda. Instead it is far more likely they will drive to Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and especially New Hampshire where border retailers have already seen 1,000% increases in vape sales since a Sept. 25 ban went into effect. For those unable to travel, rest assured the unregulated, untaxed black market, sourced from states as far away as New York and Virginia and run by criminals, stands at the ready. With over 56,000 confirmed COVID cases, one of the highest in the country, and hospitals at peak capacity, now is not the time to be sending people on interstate tobacco runs or to city alleyways.

Losing these customers, along with current COVID-related financial wreckage, will mean the end for many convenience stores across the Commonwealth, particularly independent stores serving urban and racially diverse communities where menthol cigarette sales represent 35% of revenue or more. Forty percent of all small format tobacco licensees, over 2,200 stores, operate in Gateway cities and sell a disproportionate share of menthol cigarettes. If these stores were to close, it would mean more than just vacant storefronts and jobs, it would mean food deserts and fewer retailers accepting SNAP and EBT benefits at a time when the Department of Transitional Assistance is searching for ways to support their clients. Some may casually dismiss convenience stores among all the commercial carnage, but these small businesses have persevered over the past several weeks, at great risk to their own personal health and financial detriment, so that they could continue serving their communities.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts will lose over $230 million in sales and excise tax revenue, not including other sales taxed items bought in concert with tobacco. Experts project a $4.4 billion revenue shortfall in Massachusetts in FY21 and unemployment over 18%. We no longer have the luxury of being cavalier with critical tax revenue, particularly when it represents close to a quarter billion dollars that can be used toward pressing health care issues, education, social services and general economic recovery.

Needless to say, there wasnt any way the Governor could have foreseen the current situation when he signed the law that made menthol, mint and wintergreen illegal to sell. Fortunately, the prohibition doesnt go into effect for a few more weeks providing Governor Baker, and legislative leadership, time to delay the implementation of the ban until such time it is safe to travel and thousands of convenience stores have their financial feet under them once again.

Jonathan Shaer is director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

We want the monies to be properly used in the quest of fighting against COVID-19. We expect the assemblies to use the money to support and educate our people, Mr Abu Kasangabata, Executive Director of the Think Tank, has said.

He said many MMDCEs have failed to put to use an amount of GHC 166,000 allocated to each Metropolitan Municipal and District Assembly in the country to carry out public education on the pandemic.

He said preliminary investigations by the organisation revealed that various assemblies across the board have refused to involve the National Commission and Civic Education (NCCE) in any public education drive.

Those who even come close to the use of the money so far, as the fight against the Covid-19 is concerned resorted to the use of Veronica Buckets and some tissues in some selected communities within their jurisdictions, he added.

The Executive Director suggested some of the money could have been used to engage local radio stations within their jurisdictions to prepare jingles on COVID-19 in their local languages for effective and efficient dissemination of messages.

He urged the Assemblies to engage the NCCEs to mount aggressive public education to fight the deadly virus that has already infected 44 persons in four regions in north Ghana, excluding the Savannah region.

The best approach would have been the active involvement of the NCCE as a constitutionally mandated body to be mounting public education in communities against the pandemic, he said.

The latest reports by the Ghana Health Service [website dedicated for providing an update on the coronavirus] show that Upper East has confirmed 19 cases, Northern 13, Upper West 10, and North East two. There is no case in the Savannah region.

Mr Kasangabata said there is an imperative need for public education on the preventive protocols of the virus to reach out to every community in each of the assemblies.

We are appealing to the Assemblies to use the money well. The money allocated is meant for public education against the COVID-19 pandemic for the benefit of the people, he said. It is not meant for inspection of projects or any other purpose.

He said the Savannah Development Policy Think Tank would demand proper accountability of every pesewa given out by the Government to all MMDECs across the country in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He called on stakeholders including civil society organisations and individuals to also demand accountability from duty-bearers as far as the GH166,000 COVID-19 allocations to the assemblies are concerned.

---GNA
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May is usually my favorite time of year. It means I get to dust off my costumes and wigs for RuPaul's DragCon and sashay across its iconic pink carpet.

The popular annual event typically brings tens of thousands of people from all over the world to the L.A. Convention Center to meet drag stars and hang with other fans (some of whom come dressed in the most outrageous and fabulous outfits I've ever seen).

But in early March of this year, organizers called off the in-person gathering due to concerns about large events spreading coronavirus.

All is not lost! The annual convention is still happening and it's taking over the internet (like drag and meme queen Jasmine "and I oop" Masters).

Drag queen James Majesty poses at RuPaul's Dragcon 2018 (Leo Duran)

DragCon 2020 will be free and accessible via a 3-hour live YouTube stream on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 - 3, from noon to 3 p.m. each day.

The organizers of DragCon online hope to replicate many of the confab's usual events. Approximately 70 artists will take part in virtual panel discussions, Q&As, performances and more.

"They have been busy creating awesome content that will be available for folks to enjoy in the comfort of their home," said Randy Barbato, co-founder of World of Wonder, the production company behind RuPaul's Drag Race and DragCon.

"We are encouraging folks to still drag up their homes and take photos and post them to their social media," said Barbato.

Farrah Moan greets an attendee at the 2017 DragCon at the L.A. Convention Center. (Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)

Event organizers also hope to generate financial support for drag queens, who often rely on in-person appearances to make a living.

"There will be ways for folks to support their favorite queens via tipping and stocking up on merch," Barbato said.

The shift to virtual event streaming is becoming the new norm for many fan conventions. Comic-Con cancelled this year's event while WonderCon has become WonderCon@Home with panels happening online.

It's unclear how this weekend's "turning lemons into lemonade" DragCon will affect the New York version of the event, which typically happens in the fall. "Stay tuned," Barbato said.

Fans tuning in this weekend should know one thing: Dressing up is still important!

Pro Tip: Past Halloween costumes make great DragCon attire and who doesn't want to look fabulous, even if you're just sprawled on your couch?

via GIPHY

For more at-home events check out our handy weekend guide:
A man riding a bicycle for food delivery service Deliveroo pauses at an intersection on March 9, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Sean Gallup | Getty Images

Restaurant owners across the U.K. want Deliveroo to lower the amount of commission they take on each delivery as they struggle to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Deliveroo takes up to 35% commission plus VAT (a value-added tax which is like a goods and services tax) on some orders, leaving restaurant owners with relatively little to cover their outgoings. Mohsen Seify, who owns Crust Trust Pizza in Kingston near central London, told CNBC that Deliveroo's commission works out at 42% per order when VAT is factored in. "It's too high," he said, adding that in the last two months, the $2 billion-plus start-up has charged him between 4,000 ($4,973) and 5,000 with a 506 signup fee. A Deliveroo spokesperson said: "We are here to deliver for restaurants who want to carry on offering their amazing food to families at home during this difficult time. We are working with restaurants to optimize their operations for delivery, and we are doing everything we can to make sure people still have access to the food they want and need." U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told restaurants to close on March 20 as part of an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Restaurants were, however, able to carry on offering takeouts. In a bid to increase their orders, restaurants across the country raced to sign up to Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat. The latter offers some of the fairest rates, according to restaurant owners. U.K. Hospitality, an organization that represents restaurants across the U.K. said deliveries are helping to safely feed the nation at the moment. "They are also helping to ease the pressure and queues at supermarkets as well as providing employment, while helping provide revenue for restaurants," according to Kate Nicholls, CEO of U.K. Hospitality. "People will want to get back to restaurants once it is safe to do so, so this is a way of allowing them to stay afloat."

Unfair fees?

One restaurant owner said he signed up to Deliveroo last week purely because of the coronavirus. "Whatever they charge, we can't say nothing about it because it's better than staying home," he said. To help restaurants through the crisis, Deliveroo and Uber Eats have temporarily removed onboarding fees and set up teams to assist new restaurants. They've also introduced a same-day payment feature that allows restaurants to request a payout any day of the week for food that they've sold. The companies say this should help ease any cash-flow issues. Uber Eats has also waived the additional delivery fees that are levied on customers and can cost anywhere between 1 and 5. But the measures aren't enough for many restaurants. Kadir Tuluk, who owns the Sunshine Cafe in Surbiton in London, said: "If Deliveroo take 42%, how do we make money?" He added: "They make the money, not us."

Tong Soklee, who owns nearby Asian restaurant Yoriya, agreed that Deliveroo's fees are problematic in the current climate. "Personally, I think it's a little high but we cannot do anything," she said. The rate of commission is slightly better for restaurants with Uber Eats, but only marginally. Uber Eats charges different levels of commission depending on the package that the restaurant goes for. For the full package  where restaurants list on the app and use Uber Eats riders for the delivery  there's a variable commission fee that is capped at 30%. If restaurants use their own riders then it's 13%, and if they only offer collection, then it's free. Deliveroo also has variable fees but the company refused to disclose them. "We are committed to supporting restaurants and the thousands of people who rely on them for work and as an essential service during this difficult time," said an Uber Eats spokesperson. "At the beginning of the crisis, we put in place a range of initiatives to help restaurant partners, particularly small business owners, as they keep their kitchens firing to feed people across the country." To try to minimize the chance of infection, Deliveroo and Uber Eats have introduced a contact-free delivery option in their apps, but not everyone feels safe. "We are the most exposed people to the risk now," said Kassem, who owns a fish and chip shop. "We touch the table, they touch the same table. It's impossible to be contact free." Trade union Unite condemned the way restaurants are being treated by food delivery companies. "Most of our chef members, who are risking public transport to go into workplace kitchens to prepare meals for delivery, are not being paid anything extra," said Unite officer with national responsibility for the hospitality industry, Dave Turnbull. "We want to protect jobs for when the lockdown is lifted, so placing an increased fee on restaurants who currently have no public footfall isn't helpful in any way." Uber Eats and Deliveroo have told riders they can apply for free masks and hand sanitizer, but some Deliveroo riders claim they have been waiting weeks for the safety packages to arrive. "I am a rider and have yet to receive any mask or hand sanitizer from Deliveroo," said Roxana Cojocariu. Deliveroo did not immediately confirm whether Cojocariu is a rider for the company. Last week, U.K. couriers told CNBC that they're making significantly less than they normally do as a result of the pandemic. The main reason is because many of the biggest and most popular restaurants on the food delivery apps have chosen to close entirely. McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC have all closed in the U.K., as have thousands of other restaurants.

Amazon to the rescue
The first special train from Kerala



carrying 1,200 migrant workers to Bhubaneswar in Odisha will leave from the Aluva railway station near here on Friday evening, state Minister V S Sunil Kumar said.

The migrant workers from Odisha accommodated in camps in Ernakulam District since the COVID-19 lockdown will be brought to the station in state-run corporation buses as per the protocol announced by the government, he said.

Official sources said the train was scheduled for 6 pm departure.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COVID-19 or not - we secure the skies

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Apr 30 2020

RAMSTEIN, Germany - NATO aircraft have been busy over the past two days intercepting Russian aircraft flying close to NATO airspace.

On 28 April Polish fighters were scrambled under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission from Estonia to identify two Russian Tu-160 long range bombers, escorted by several fighters and supported by an Airborne Early Warning aircraft. The formation was later intercepted again by fighters of the Royal Danish Air Force.

On the same day a Russian Airborne Early Warning aircraft as well as two Russian Tu-22 long range bombers with fighter escorts approached NATO airspace off the coast of Norway and were intercepted by Norwegian fighter jets.

On 29 April Norwegian fighters were scrambled twice more against two Russian Maritime Patrol aircraft, approaching NATO airspace close to Norway. After the first intercept by Norwegian F-16 aircraft, the Royal Air Force launched their Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth to meet and escort the Russian planes as they tracked south towards the North Sea. They operated around the North Sea and turned north where Norwegian F-35 fighters met them and escorted them out of NATO's area of interest.

All intercepts were conducted in a professional manner, demonstrating that NATO fighters across the Alliance remain ready and poised to protect Allied skies 24/7.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office

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As the whole country celebrated VE Day with joy and relief, the upper classes seemed to carry on as if Hitler had never existed. The lights were now blazing and the curtains left undrawn at Londons Savoy Hotel, while evening dress again became obligatory at its restaurant.

Glittering balls were held once more as they always had been at the great stately homes, and before long Princess Elizabeth would marry Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, while a group of eligible aristocrats would form around her vivacious younger sister Margaret.

In a world where over 1m could be fluttered on a summers day out at the first post-war running of the Derby, all seemed well with the world bar the prospect of even tighter rationing and a few rats...

Now thats Rotten luck: On 28 September it was announced that the Guards Club had taken over 16 Charles Street (pictured), the lavish home of the late Mrs Ronnie Greville (right), a bosom friend of the Royal Family. The interior boasted 18-carat gold scrollwork in the drawing room  yet dry rot was discovered. Sadly, all that glisters...

I do, mein sweetheart! The marriage of George Mansfield on 30 July in the village of Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, created much excitement. Firstly because his bride was Lady Brigid Guinness, daughter of the Earl of Iveagh, and secondly because George was actually the Kaisers grandson, Prince Frederick of Prussia. Interned in Canada for part of the war, he had been returned to England in 1941 and was released to do agricultural work. He was now farming in Hertfordshire under an English name

Evelyn's in the waughs: One of the last rocket-bombs to fall on London landed near Marble Arch on 25 March. The blast blew out the window of the Hyde Park Hotel suite occupied by Evelyn Waugh (pictured), recently returned from serving with the British Military Mission in Yugoslavia. At the end of May, his new novel Brideshead Revisited sent ripples of excitement through high society. It is widely believed the story was based on the family of the late Earl Beauchamp and their home Madresfield Court, near Malvern.

A bugged bedroom: Winston Churchill arrived in Yalta on the Black Sea coast on 3 February for high-powered discussions with Stalin and Roosevelt (left). That night Churchill, his valet Saw yers and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden were badly bitten by bedbugs. Lord Moran, Churchills devoted doctor, went round squirting the insecticide DDT into all the beds.

Lady with a ritzy lifestyle: She may have been jumping the gun a touch, but Mrs George Keppel, former mistress of Edward VII, gave a dinner party at the Ritz Hotel on 4 May. Alice Keppel (left), who would become great-grandmother to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had been living at the Ritz since her flight from her villa in Florence in 1940. News of the German capitulation in Holland, Denmark and northwest Germany came through during the evening and was celebrated with glasses of the caraway seed liqueur kummel

Oh, what a lovely war! The Duke of Windsor had tendered his resignation as governor of the Bahamas in March 1945, and on 14 September, he and his wife Wallis (pictured) set sail from New York for Europe, after an absence of five years. En route their ship called at Plymouth, where pressmen poured aboard. The duchess was wearing a coral-red outfit, beige stockings, black snakeskin shoes, sapphire and emerald earrings, and a gold bracelet with a medallion of her husbands head. Speaking with a slight American accent, the duke, 51, said, Ive no definite plans for setting up a permanent home in England, but theres no reason why I should not. He visited England in October and was reunited with Queen Mary, whom he had not seen since December 1936. Three days later he saw his brother, the king. The duchess stayed in Paris where it was reported that, oddly, the couples house in the Boulevard Suchet had been untouched under Nazi occupation.

One bust of Hitler - Going, going, gone: At the end of November, the contents of the German Embassy in Carlton House Terrace (pictured) were auctioned by Messrs Knight, Frank and Rutley. Theatre and opera impresario Jay Pomeroy, a one-time pork pie salesman, paid 590 for a mahogany desk at which Hitlers Foreign Minister, von Ribbentrop  then on trial with his colleagues at Nuremberg  was said to have worked. In the same sale, a granite bust of Hitler was sold for 500 to Robert Gordon-Canning, who was best man of fascist leader Oswald Mosley.

Canalettos? She's giving them away! There was great excitement in December at the news that Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton (right) had presented her London home, Winfield House (left), in a 12-acre estate in Regents Park, to the US government as a home for their ambassador. It was described as a Christmas gift. Hutton, who divorced Cary Grant in 1945  the couple were known as Cash and Cary  also gave her collection of Canaletto paintings to the US National Gallery. She was not quite sure what she paid for them

You're only as good as your last war - ask Winston! Seven weeks after VE Day, on 25 June, Churchill set off from Chequers to start an election tour in a special train in which he slept.

On leaving, he told his doctor Lord Moran,I feel very lonely without a war. The shock defeat for the Conservatives in the poll on 5 July left Churchill without a London home.

As a temporary measure, Hugh Wontner invited him to share his penthouse suite at Claridges  while he remained there too, in a room next to the ousted PM.

A rat in the kitchen: The stately townhouse in St Jamess Square owned by Nancy and Waldorf Astor, where they had held dinner parties for 50 and glittering balls for 600 guests, had been requisitioned earlier in the war for use as a service canteen. On 14 April, it was revealed that the house had been overrun by rats.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

Fellow Ghanaians,

I come your way today on behalf of HE Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo to render an unreserved apology to HE John Dramani Mahama, Former President, Republic of Ghana. This has become necessary at this point that Mahamas Demonic IMF has come in handy; in fact, it has come at a time Nana Addo/Bawumia's robust economy needed financial oxygen to survive a kick.

Before I proceed, I want to make this point forcefully, that, it is not entirely true that the IMF Poverty Reduction Growth Trust (PRGT) program President Nana Addo and his finance minister have decided to enter into does not come with ex-post conditionality. What I can argue for them is that Ghana has not entered into an extended program; that this Rapid Credit Facility comes with zero interest (concessionary in nature) and the one-of-disbursement formula is applied (ie disbursements are not made periodically after an agreed period of assessments).

In this case, HE Nana Addos decision to run to the IMF with a cap-in-hand for a GHC 3.145bn to be drawn from the IMFs Rapid Credit Facility which is designed under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) was approved for specific expenditure lines. So that, once the government cannot apply the same funds to for instance pay workers of STC or use the GHC 3.145bn borrowed cash to build roads or extend water to my own town, Damongo, that implies there are conditions within which the funds would be applied.

Precisely, the funds are supposed to be utilized strictly to:

1. Support Balance of Payment which is already worse before the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

2. Support fiscal management

3. Support small scale businesses

4. Stimulus packages to vulnerable families

5. Specific expenditures on COVID-19 (health related)

Anything outside of these wont and cant be a legitimate expenditure within the brackets of the Rapid Credit Facility.

All in all, Nana Addo/Bawumias NPP government is back to the IMF to borrow GHC 3.145bn to be paid by the taxpayer in the future with or without interest. This was same IMF President Nana Addo and Dr Bawumia made look demonic in the eye of the Ghanaian when Mahamas administration entered into an extended program with. What has changed?

Covid-19 pandemic has come to expose the worldly touted robust economy. At the same time, this pandemic has created the room for the already milked coffers of mother Ghana to be milked to death. Already, from 2017 budget year to 2020, funds have been redirected to the Presidency for the purposes of consumption related expenditure and not for major capital investment related expenditures. The over 1000 staffers draw down on these bloated allocations.

These funds were mostly taken from MMDAs as a result of the capping and realignment policy of Nana Addo and his Finance Minister. An agency like the NHIS which already has funding gaps has had to grapple with the capping policy so that, about GHC 900m is taking from the NHIS every year to the Central Government.

The about 126 ministers and 1000s of Presidential Staffers and special/private auditors all feed from the limited milk from the starved but molested cow (Ghana). That is why you would see a single appointee doing so well financially than a government agency like the NHIS which will be looking for money to pay its service providers for more than 2 quarters but cannot raise and wont get because government wont pay its subventions. Indeed, the hungry cow is being milked to death.

Although the Covid-19 strong winds have come to blow the anus of the pregnant hen, it has equally created the space for the government and its allies to siphon funds and redirect expenditure. With the rapid responses from world organizations like WHO, The World Bank, IMF and other giant economies, Ghana has the flexibility to creat a fiscal space by realigning proposed expenditure lines, reallocation of funds and spending from accumulated funds from the stabilization fund, proposing and getting all set to spend from the about $579.61m Heritage Fund.

When the first news came blowing, Mr Akufo-Addo addressed the nation for the first time with an announcement of seed money of GHC 100m to tackle the deadly virus. All came hailing the King and a lot was said about his preparedness as the amount supposed to be set aside was even more than the WHO threshold as set out. Swiftly to follow was the Finance Ministers address to Parliament in which we were told a different story; after all the money was not there to be set aside but we were still going to look for (borrow, beg, take from future savings, etc).

The Finance Ministers address revealed that GHANA WAS GOING BACK TO THE IMF and the World Bank to actually BORROW in order to keep our economy on ventilators. HE Nana Addo and Hon Ken Ofori Attah borrowed a whopping GHC 4.861bn from the IMF and the World Bank (GHC 1.716bn and GHC 3.145bn respectively).

Aside these GHC 4.861bn borrowed, the following are the proposed realigned/adjusted expenditures from governments 2020 budget to all Ministries and agencies and other giveaways from other institutions:

1. Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and goods and services cut down by GHC 1.248bn in order to create room for spending on Covid-19.

2. Reduction of the Net carried and participation interest of GNPC from 30% to 15% so that the remainder will be utilized for Covid-19 related expenditure.

3. A proposed Amendment to the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 (Act 815) to withdraw from the Heritage Fund which is estimated at about $591.1m as at the end of 2019.

4. A capping on the stabilization fund to create space for government to spend up to about GHC 1.250bn in accordance with section 23(3) of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA).

5. A GHC 3bn stimulus package designed by the Commercial Banks under the auspices of the Association of Bankers for the purposes of revitalizing the Ghanaian industry especially the pharmaceutical industries.

6. Beginning May 2020 to December 2020, Ghana as a member of the International Development Association will have about $500m from World Bank as debt relief to tailor into Covid-19 related expenditure.

Aside the above giveaways, the President set up a Covid-19 Fund with his yet-to-be-earned three months salary to bait and attract funds from individuals and institutions. So far the fund is doing well with donations from individuals, private institutions and even state institutions that cant pay their bills, for instance the NHIS. Interestingly, rumors have it that the cash realized from these donations have been paid to political heads in various regions to manage instead of the Covid-19 technical team and the experts on the ground.

With all the above funds and reliefs within the control of the Finance Minister and President Nana Addo, Ghanaians can judge whether we have a feel of them by deeds or by words. With the accumulated funds:

-The GHC 280m allocated to the ministry of gender and social protection for just food to the vulnerable families during the lock down. What was the results from the GHC 2m allocated for just daily meals?

-We are told about GHC 600m out of this accumulated cash has been allocated to support small scale businesses, as we speak we are yet to feel anything of a sort.

-most health facilities and critical health workers are yet to receive PPE at their various working places, so they risk their lives while we have a budget for PPE.

-our testing regime is one of the weakest in the sub region and contact tracing is one of the poorest in Africa if not in the world.

-we have lost the containment battle and we are now having to battle with community spread of the virus.

As a taxpayer, are you satisfied with the way government is handling this pandemic with the loads of cash and fiscal space it has created? Aside the promises and some tax reliefs, cant the government start mass testing to get the horizontal infections contained? With all these huge amounts and reliefs to the government, what exactly are the returns as far as the fight against Covid-19 is concerned? Are you safe? Do you have confidence in the governments approach to issues?

Remember we have recorded over 2000 positive cases even without mass testing. Are you able to ask the question what will be the results if Ghana were to go for mass testing? Where is the money Mr President? Do you wonder why some MCEs and Regional Ministers went to the Flag Staff House to negotiate for lockdowns in their respective regions and municipalities even without recorded or limited cases? Something might be leaking somewhere.

Stay safe! Stay home! Stop the spread!
By Gabriel Stargardter, Pedro Fonseca and Natalia A. Ramos Miranda RIO DE JANEIRO/SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Last week, a mall in southern Brazil laid out a red carpet and welcomed back a stream of masked customers after the state loosened coronavirus lockdowns for commercial businesses. A saxophone player serenaded clients as they filed in.

By Gabriel Stargardter, Pedro Fonseca and Natalia A. Ramos Miranda

RIO DE JANEIRO/SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Last week, a mall in southern Brazil laid out a red carpet and welcomed back a stream of masked customers after the state loosened coronavirus lockdowns for commercial businesses. A saxophone player serenaded clients as they filed in.

The images of the newly packed Neumarkt Shopping mall in the city of Blumenau reverberated across Brazil. Some people applauded the decision and others criticized a potentially lethal move just as the outbreak was gathering steam. One Twitter user even added a tongue-in-cheek soundtrack to the video: music from the movie "Titanic."

The incident revealed a fragile fault line across Latin America over how and when to re-open the region's largely shuttered economies - despite the fact that the worst of the outbreak has yet to hit countries including Brazil and Mexico.

The increasingly acrimonious debate comes as data collected by Reuters showed coronavirus cases in Latin America accelerating much faster than in other parts of the world. The region surpassed a grim milestone on Wednesday: 10,000 deaths and 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

On April 22, the day of the mall's reopening, Blumenau had 98 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to city hall data. Just four days later, the tally had jumped more than 70% to 167 cases.

"The reopening of the mall was a very bad act, at a very bad time, done in the wrong way," Blumenau's Mayor Mario Hildebrandt told Reuters.

The mall operator, Almeida Junior, said it followed all state regulations.

Hildebrandt said the jump in cases could not be directly linked to the mall opening. Instead, he attributed it to an earlier decree relaxing commercial shutdowns, and ramped up testing. Nonetheless, he said reopenings must prioritize lives.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the highest-profile member of the back-to-business brigade, has taken a different tack. A longtime critic of stay-at-home measures, the far-right former army captain says the economic cost outweighs the dangers of what he has called a "little flu." He has advocated isolating older people and letting younger people work.

"I'm sorry, some people will die, they will die, that's life," he said last month. "You can't stop a car factory because of traffic deaths."

On Wednesday, the day after Brazil's official death toll passed China's, the health ministry reported a total of 5,466 deaths, and 78,162 confirmed cases. The steady increases have sparked fears that Latin America's biggest economy could soon become the world's newest coronavirus hotspot.

"So what?" Bolsonaro told reporters when asked about the deaths on Tuesday. "I'm sorry, but what do you want me to do?"

Although public approval of Bolsonaro's handling of the crisis has waned, support for lockdowns is also slipping.

Just 52% of Brazilians back broad lockdown measures, down from 60% at the start of April, a poll published by Datafolha on Wednesday showed.

For those itching to return, the Blumenau case may serve as a cautionary tale.

"The vast majority of those infected are aged between 20 and 59, or in other words, those who are economically active," Mayor Hildebrandt said, referring to those who recently fell ill. "That means that whoever went back to work ... has a higher chance of infection."

MEXICO MOTORS

The debate in Brazil is playing out across Latin America, most of which is facing its steepest recession since the 1930s.

Mexico has 17,799 confirmed cases, which authorities admit is a fraction of the true total. The peak of infections is expected in the first half of May, and the strain is already beginning to show in Mexico City, with some private hospitals out of space.

Despite concerns about rising infections, the government is facing calls to loosen restrictions on industry. More than 300 U.S. CEOs wrote to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador last week lobbying for a fast reopening of their suppliers in Mexico.

With North American economies tightly integrated, an extended shutdown in Mexico would crimp the ability of U.S. factories to reopen. Mexico is drawing up a calendar to permit automakers and their suppliers to return to work in time for the reopening of the U.S. auto industry, which may come after May 4.

Lopez Obrador, who like Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for playing down the coronavirus, has signaled that any opening could be gradual and will take into consideration health risks.

"We are going to look for the best moment, it is a matter of achieving the balance between health and economics," he said on Monday.

In contrast with Brazil and Mexico, Chile has won praise for its mass testing regime, limited pressure on hospitals and low death toll. By Wednesday, Chile had 14,365 confirmed cases, and just 207 deaths, government data showed.

Last week, President Sebastian Pinera said he would begin gradually defrosting the economy. The government has started recalling civil servants, announced the end of school closures and gave tacit backing to the reopening of smaller malls.

Yet the government's plans have also faced criticism - not least from major mall operators. Last week, Horst Paulmann, CEO of Chile's biggest mall operator, Cencosud, said reopening malls would be "a grave mistake."

"Malls are like cities, with 200 stores or more than anyone can control," he told a Chilean newspaper.

At a recently reopened mall in the Santiago suburb of Patronato, clothes shop owner Miriam Dababneh, 51, was relieved to be back at work.

"This (outbreak) was a very hard blow," she said through her mask. "This is not a sign of normality, just a measure to stopping us going bankrupt. For us to open is to breathe again."

(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro, Natalia Ramos and Aislinn Laing in Santiago, Frank Jack Daniels in Mexico City; Editing by Brad Haynes and Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Bahk Eun-ji



The brutality of Japan's sex slavery came to light when late former sex slave Kim Hak-soon, then 67, publicly testified about her experience for the first time in 1991. Lee Na-young, a professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University and the new head of The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council) said Kim Hak-soon was the trailblazer of the #MeToo movement in Korea.



The group organizes the famous weekly vigil in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and Lee has replaced former head Yoon Mee-hyung who is starting a new career as a lawmaker from June.



"Kim's testimony was the beginning of the #MeToo Movement in Korea as it led people to recognize the responsibility of the perpetrators, and structural problems in society," Lee said during a recent interview with Yonhap.



Born in 1924, Kim was forced into sexual slavery, to be a so-called "comfort woman" for Japanese troops between 1941 and 1942. In 1991, she came forward to describe her harrowing experience and filed a suit against the Japanese government.



There are no accurate statistics, but it's estimated that almost 200,000 women from Korea, China and other countries, were held captive and forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers.





Lee Na-young, a professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University and head of The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan. Yonhap
Even as airlines in India prepare to resume operations post the lockdown, the next big test for them lies in the possible Supreme Court ruling on passenger refunds, said advisory firm CAPA India in a report.

If the Apex Court does rule against them, airlines may need to shell out $500 million in refunds; $300 million for domestic tickets, and the rest for international.

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court in late April against airlines' decision to offer a credit shell instead of refunds, to passengers whose flights were cancelled because of the lockdown. Though passengers could use the credit shell over the next year, there are conditions attached to it.

Even though the government later asked airlines to refund the tickets, these were limited to bookings done during the lockdown period.

While reiterating that airlines are being unfair on customers, CAPA India said this is in "contravention of the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on the refund of airline tickets."

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

The crunch

While refunds would add to the financial crunch of the airlines, the problems will not get over even as they resume operations.





"Even if social distancing is not in place, demand conditions are expected to be so weak that passenger loads are in any case unlikely to be any higher than that. This will naturally increase the average break-even fare," CAPA India said.









"Furthermore, if the fixed costs associated with the sizeable proportion of the fleet that is initially likely to remain on the ground due to weak demand, are allocated to the operational aircraft, the break-even fare will increase further," said the advisory firm. CAPA India has done an analysis on the break-even fare that airlines will need to have, and it has estimated that the rate will have to increase by 40 percent to 100 percent. For instance, an average Delhi-Mumbai fare needed to meet variable costs, during normal operations, is Rs 2,700. This increases to Rs 3,900 if social distancing is followed, and further to Rs 5,300 if fleet utilisation goes down. To meet total costs, the average fare on the route has to be, Rs 5,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 9,700, respectively. By all means, it's unlikely that airlines will get this rate given the subdued projection in passenger traffic. "The second quarter is always an acid test for the sector, with the most difficult trading conditions. This year it will be a make-or-break period," says CAPA India.



The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has proposed that airlines keep the middle seat in flights vacant, to ensure social distancing. The airlines have voiced against the proposal.There are more challenges. Increased need for cleaning the aircraft means that turnaround time will go up.
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Wee Hur Holdings Ltd. (SGX:E3B), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

Check out our latest analysis for Wee Hur Holdings

Wee Hur Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Co-Founder & Executive Director Yeo Hwa Goh for S$487k worth of shares, at about S$0.21 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of S$0.18. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

While Wee Hur Holdings insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Story continues

SGX:E3B Recent Insider Trading April 30th 2020

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership of Wee Hur Holdings

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 26% of Wee Hur Holdings shares, worth about S$44m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Wee Hur Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Wee Hur Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders do have a stake in Wee Hur Holdings and their transactions don't cause us concern. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Wee Hur Holdings (including 2 which are potentially serious).

But note: Wee Hur Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
The number of racist incidents reported across the country has more than doubled in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures released by the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR).

A total of 276 racists incidents, ranging from racist hate speech, hate crime, to discriminatory incidents, were reported to INAR in the first three months of 2020 compared to 132 in the first quarter of 2019.

The network, which uses an online reporting system to capture the scale of racist incidents, said an almost four-fold increase in online racism accounts for the significant rise in reports so far this year. The number of online incidents increased from 44 in the first quarter of 2019 to 167 in the same period in 2020.

A significant number of reports were made in relation to Coronavirus-related comments against minorities and the circulation of memes derisory to Chinese people, the network said, adding that it will publish a dedicated Covid-19 themed report in May. Other reports of online racism stemmed from election literature and social media posts by far-right candidates and supporters during the General Election; online commentary following Ryanair boss Michael OLearys assertions about Muslims; and an online video stereotyping Romanians.

Dr Lucy Michael said: We are seeing a significant rise in online racism, even before the coronavirus encouraged people to stay home. The data shows clearly that this is driven by the ease with which racist materials circulate on major social media platforms.

The network is also concerned about an increase in assaults reported, rising from 12 in the first three months of 2019 to 16 in the first quarter of 2020. Dr Michael said: A total of 50 physical assaults were reported last year and that was high. ..if reports continue at the same pace we will have 64 by the end of the year, which would be a significant increase."

INAR said the reporting of racist crimes to An Garda Siochana is still low overall but that twice as many assault victims reported to Gardai in the first quarter of the year compared to last year.

An iReport App and a Responding to Racism Guide is available at inar.ie
The federal government has launched "Operation Warp Speed" to deliver a covid-19 vaccine by January, months ahead of standard vaccine timelines.

The last time the government tried that, it was a total fiasco.

Gerald Ford was president. It was 1976. Early that year, a mysterious new strain of swine flu turned up at Fort Dix, New Jersey. One Army private died. Many others became severely ill. The nation's top infectious disease doctors were shaken.

"They were well aware of the ravages of the 1918 flu, and this virus appeared to be closely related," political scientist Max Skidmore wrote in his book, "Presidents, Pandemics, and Politics." "The officials were concerned about a repetition of the tragedy, or the threat of perhaps an even more virulent pandemic."

Ford raced to come up with a response, consulting with Jonas Salk and Alfred Sabin, the scientists behind the polio vaccine, and in late March he announced an audacious plan for the federal government to both produce the vaccine and organize its distribution.

"No one knows exactly how serious this threat could be," Ford said, with Salk and Sabin by his side, a shocking sight given the two scientists had become enemies over who should get credit for the polio vaccine. "Nevertheless we cannot afford to take a chance with the health of our nation."

Every American, Ford said, would be vaccinated.

The government had never attempted such an endeavor - both in its breadth and speed.

Almost immediately, there was chaos.

According to Skidmore, a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, insurers were concerned about liability and balked at covering the costs. Manufacturers the government wanted to partner with had similar concerns, prompting Congress to pass a law waiving liability.

One manufacturer produced two million doses with the wrong strain. As tests progressed, more scientific problems emerged - even as there were few, if any, signs that a pandemic was materializing. In June, tests showed the vaccine was not effective in children, prompting a public squabble between Salk and Sabin over who should be vaccinated.

But Ford was undeterred. He directed the vaccination program to proceed, announcing plans to inoculate one million people per day by the fall - an unprecedented timeline the government struggled to meet.

By mid-October, vaccinations were underway. Ford was injected by the White House doctor.

And then more problems emerged. There were reports of sporadic deaths possibly connected to the vaccine. Cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome also emerged, and are still cited today by the anti-vaccine movement. Panic emerged, with dozens of states pausing vaccinations.

By December, following 94 reports of paralysis, the entire program was shut down.

Almost immediately, in grand Washington fashion, fingers were pointed. Scientists and government officials turned on each other, with allegations that Ford acted recklessly for political gain without knowing for sure whether a pandemic would emerge - an impossible predictive game, his defenders argued.

The recriminations were fueled by the fact that the swine flu pandemic hadn't materialized.

"Had it done so," Skidmore wrote, "the swine flu vaccination program would immediately have been reinstituted." The risk-benefit analysis - a relatively small number of cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome vs. widespread death from the flu - would have appeared differently.

Despite the problems, Skidmore and other historians have given the program credit for its swiftness in the face of typical government red tape. The infrastructure Ford's team set up was able to quickly identify the side effects. And in the end, Ford had the backing of the world's foremost vaccine experts -- Salk and Sabin.

The program "appears clearly to have been based on concern for the public good," Skidmore wrote, "not to achieve political advantage."
Paving the way for Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to enter the state legislature as a member, the Election Commission on Friday announced holding polls to nine seats of the state legislative council on May 21.

The polls were deferred on April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Thackeray, who was sworn in on November 28 last year, has time till May 27 to get elected to the state legislature, failing which he will have to step down.

Maharashtra governor B S Koshyari had requested the Election Commission on Thursday to declare polls for nine vacant seats to the state legislative council.

These seats fell vacant on April 24.

The decision to hold the polls on May 21 was taken by the "full Commission" with Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra in Delhi being joined by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora over video from the US.

While a notification will be issued on May 4, nominations can be filed till May 11.

The counting of votes will be held on May 21 evening, an hour after the conclusion of polls at 4 pm as per usual practice adopted for Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls.

In a statement, the poll panel said in cases of former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao in 1991 and HD Deve Gowda in 1996; and several chief ministers including Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan in 1991), Rabri Devi (Bihar in 1997), Vijay Bhaskar Reddy (Andhra Pradesh in 1993), it had conducted by-elections to fulfil similar constitutional requirement.

"The commission noted that this has been the consistent practice in the past," the statement said.

The poll panel also decided that the Union Home Secretary, who is chairperson of National Executive Committee in ex-officio capacity under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, should depute an officer of suitable seniority to ensure that the preventive measures are put in place in keeping with the provisions of the Act for the smooth conduct of the electoral process.

The statement said the EC had received a letter on Thursday from the state chief secretary in which the official pointed out the various measures taken to control pandemic and that in the state government's assessment, elections to the nine seats of MLCs by MLAs could be held in a safe environment.

The state government assured the Commission that it is fully committed to ensuring that the elections are held in total hygienic conditions with social distancing measures and other conditions imposed by the competent authorities.

Citing Union home ministry's order on permitting the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded due to the lockdown, the state government said it will facilitate and ensure that the elections are conducted by following all directions.

Referring to the governor's letter, the poll panel said he mentioned that Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister on November 28, 2019 and pointed out that according to constitutional provisions he has to become a member of either the Maharashtra legislative assembly or legislative council within a period of six months -- on or before May 27, 2020.

The governor said the ground situation is contained and as of now appears to be improving with several relaxations being made by the government.

The commission also took note of representations from various political parties requesting it to hold the election.
Malaysian authorities detained large numbers of migrants Friday in a series of raids, according to media reports, that a rights group says could trigger a 'massive' disease outbreak. The Southeast Asian nation has imposed stringent nationwide restrictions on movement as its government seeks to contain the spread of the virus, which has infected over 6,000 people and killed more than a hundred. A few places with high infection concentrations are under total lockdown, with thousands of people confined to their homes and areas sealed off to non-residents. Local news portal Malaysiakini reported that hundreds of enforcement agents entered several buildings in the capital that were under stringent restrictions, leading people believed to be undocumented migrants into waiting trucks. Neither the immigration department or police could be reached for comment. State news agency Bernama reported Wednesday that migrants found in areas under total lockdown would be sent to detention centres, or even to temporary prisons if the former couldn't take them. Deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, warned the mass detainment of migrant workers might cause the virus to spread further. "The Malaysian government seems foolishly intent on repeating the mistakes of Singapore by concentrating migrants together in a way that will ensure a massive spread of Covid-19," he said. Reports of the raids spread fear among migrants, deterring them "from coming forward to be tested for Covid-19 and to seek further treatment," said the head of rights group Tenaganita Glorene Das. Malaysia has about two million migrant workers from various countries around Asia, with millions more said to be working without valid documents. They arrive from across Asia, seeking employment in difficult jobs that often require hard manual labour.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In the first three weeks after the UK government introduced the 'lockdown', an estimated 7 million householdsa quarter of all households in the UKhad lost either a substantial part or all of their earned income as a consequence of the Coronavirus pandemic.

This included people who had either been laid off temporarily and received no way, become unemployed or lost all of their self-employed income, or had seen a big drop in earned income. Some had been hit in more than one way.

These are the findings from a national COVID-19 financial impact tracker published today by Standard Life Foundation, which shows that 50 percent of UK households believe they will struggle to meet their financial commitments over the next three months. Researchers also found that, for many, their financial situations were not in a good state prior to the pandemic, with the crisis understandably causing widespread financial anxiety.

Each month, researchers question 6,500 people across the UK on how their personal and household finances have been affected by the crisis and the likely impact it will have over the coming months.

The findings were analysed by a team from the University of Bristol, led by Emeritus Professor Elaine Kempson, who is an honorary member of the University's Personal Finance Research Centre.

Professor Kempson will be leading the series of monthly surveys, designed to track the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 crisis on household economies. The analysis and reporting is being undertaken by Bristol in collaboration with other researchers, including academics at Oslo Metropolitan University.

Government support will go some way to mitigating income losses. Around four in ten of those who had lost a substantial part of their income as a result of the crisis said that they expected to have some of their (or their partner's) earned income replaced by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (employee furlough). And two in ten thought that they might be eligible for the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (the grant to self-employed people).

7.9 million households (28 percent of the UK) are currently experiencing financial difficulties. This includes around 3.1 million households in 'serious financial difficulty' and a further 4.8 million households who were identified as clearly 'struggling to make ends meet'. A further 10.4 million households were found to have little financial resilience and were potentially exposed to financial shocks. The remaining 10 million households (35 percent) were relatively financially secure.

Looking to the near future, 28 percent of households anticipate some fall in income over the next three months. One in five have used credit to pay for food and other essentials during the crisis. But just 1 in 10 have sought financial or money advice.

The tracker found stark differences between different age groups; six percent of those in serious financial difficulty were retired, but this age group made up 44 percent of all those who were financially secure. There were also differences between family types: those with dependent children (especially lone parents) and single adults were more likely to be in financial difficulties; and couples with no children or adult children living with them were less likely to be in financial difficulties.

Despite the early announcement of mortgage holidays to help households, it was found that those who rent were at greater risk with 64 percent of those in serious financial difficulty being renters compared with 31 percent of home owners. 86 percent of those who were financially secure were home owners. Disabled people were disproportionately affectedmore than twice as likely to be in 'serious financial difficulties'. Those working in the private sector were more likely to be facing 'serious financial difficulties'.

Professor Kempson, the report's lead author, said: "The pandemic is hitting people's finances harder and faster than the last economic downturn. Unlike previous economic downturns it is affecting people in all parts of the country equally. The swathe of people hit by this recession is going to be larger than we've seen before, and affect groups who have not been hit by previous recessions."

Alistair Darling, Chair of Standard Life Foundation, said: "We know that whilst everyone will be affected by the virus we will not all be affected equally. This is shown by the disproportionate number of renters, disabled people, the self-employed, and those with dependent children in serious financial difficulty. Not only do we need to ensure that the inequalities which existed before the pandemic are not made worse by it, the government needs to take action to deal with this growing problem by putting appropriate policies in place."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 8

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 24 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on Apr. 8.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
They came by boat, silently and under the cover of night. All the intruders were armed; all had undergone specialist weapons training.

Using only information available on the internet or other public sources, each had studied the external and internal layout of the Palace of Westminster. Now they intended to strike at the very heart of the British Establishment.

No one saw or heard their approach on the Thames during the summer recess of 2016. Being waterborne, the approach was similar to that of the devastating attack on Mumbai eight years earlier. Similarly no one knew they were coming.

But this was the Mother of Parliaments. In a time of heightened terror threats, surely the world-famous landmark would be among the most closely guarded of potential jihadist targets? Certainly there were, as always, armed officers from the Metropolitan Polices Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection branch on duty inside the complex that night. To no avail.

Gaining entry from the river, the attackers moved quickly, stealthily, along the warren of corridors and passageways. They penetrated the defences without detection; indeed, so successfully that they were able to reach the chamber of the House of Commons itself, undisturbed.

Armed only with a baton and pepper spray, PC Kieth Palmer (left) was stabbed to death while guarding the main vehicle entrance  Carriage Gates  by terrorist Khalid Masood on March 22, 2017. He was awarded a posthumous George Medal for his bravery in confronting the killer (right, PC Keith Palmer pictured with his wife Michelle)

More than three years after the brutal attack, no one at Met HQ has been held to account for exposing an unarmed police officer to a long-feared murderous assault (pictured, the aftermath of the attack on PC Keith Palmer)

And that is when the exercise  for an exercise it was, thankfully  came to an end: total victory to the intruders who were, in fact, officers from CO19, the Mets firearms squad.

They had been told by the exercise organisers to identify themselves only if seen and challenged by their unsuspecting Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG) colleagues. They werent.

The until now secret Operation Kiri, of which the armed break-in was a part, had been arranged to test the palaces defences. The exercise took place amid growing fears among an outspoken few at New Scotland Yard that security at Parliament was unacceptably slack. Operation Kiri brutally confirmed this assessment. But little or nothing was done. Forty recommendations were made as a result of the embarrassingly easy infiltration. None were made public.

According to one of several sources who have spoken to the Mail, only a handful were ever acted upon. The only ones implemented were that our shirt colour be changed from white to blue, as it is less noticeable, (the guards in the palace were seen by the intruders but not vice versa) and that the signpost which had been used as a foothold [for the intruders] to gain access from the Thames was removed, one source said. And that was that.

The source said at least one colleague had quit in disgust at the lack of improvement.

This is only one of several damning revelations uncovered by a Mail investigation into the security failures at the Palace of Westminster which contributed, little more than six months after Kiri, to the horrific murder of PC Keith Palmer.

Armed only with a baton and pepper spray, he was stabbed to death while guarding the main vehicle entrance  Carriage Gates  by terrorist Khalid Masood on March 22, 2017. He was awarded a posthumous George Medal for his bravery in confronting the killer.

Khalid Masood (pictured left) murdered five people (including PC Palmer, right) and injured 50 others when he drove his car into pedestrians outside the Houses of Parliament in March 2017

Seconds before, Masood, 52, had killed four pedestrians and injured around 40 on Westminster Bridge by ramming a car into them. It was the first of a number of fatal Islamist attacks carried out on or close to bridges over the Thames between 2017 and 2019.

At PC Palmers inquest in October 2018, Chief Coroner Mark Lucraft QC said had armed officers been stationed at the gates, it is possible they may have been able to prevent PC Palmer suffering fatal injuries. He added: Due to shortcomings in the system . . . the armed officers were not aware of a requirement to remain in close proximity to the gates.

His analysis was born of several testimonies. But the inquest did not hear every useful account.

One eyewitness who, infamously, did not give evidence at the officers inquest  for which no explanation has been given  was Sir Craig Mackey, who was acting Met Commissioner at the time of the death. Sitting in a car inside the palace gates, Sir Craig watched as PC Palmer, 48, was stabbed to death only yards away. And he did not intervene. Later he would be accused of cowardice, prompting a string of senior colleagues to come out in his defence.

He did give evidence at the Masood inquest. PC Palmers widow was not represented so Sir Craig could not be questioned on her behalf. Nor did PC Palmers inquest hear what the Mail has been told by Scotland Yard and Police Federation sources, outraged at what else wasnt done that day  or before  which might have prevented his death.

More than three years after the brutal attack, no one at Met HQ has been held to account for exposing an unarmed police officer to a long-feared murderous assault.

Then last week came a potentially game-changing development. It was revealed that the PCs widow, Michelle, is suing the Met for having placed her husband in a situation of unnecessary danger.

The hardest part of her ordeal was having to tell the couples six-year-old daughter, Amy, that her daddy was gone, she said.

Her decision to pursue legal proceedings has encouraged multiple sources to reveal what they believe to be as yet unpublished salient facts behind the failure to adequately protect officers on guard at the gates of Parliament.

One of the abiding images of the aftermath was the Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood (pictured) trying to help revive the dying policeman

Blunders and uncertainty, complacency, power struggles and under-manning had informed their masters strategy, it is claimed.

After what we have learned, it is hard to see how the Met can defend itself against Mrs Palmer.

So what happened that fatal day? Masood was known to security services. Born Adrian Elms, he was brought up in East Sussex and schooled in Kent. A drug user with convictions for violence, he converted to Islam while in prison and was radicalised thereafter.

He had been known to MI5 for 13 years, after his phone number was found on a list belonging to a member of an Al Qaeda-linked plot to build a number of bombs using fertiliser. Five conspirators were given life sentences but Masoods ties to them were not followed up.

Shortly before his attack, Masood sent a text claiming his actions were revenge for Western military intervention in Muslim countries. Driving a hired Hyundai, he sped onto Westminster Bridge at more than 70mph, striking dozens of pedestrians and killing Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Andreea Cristea, 31.

Masood then leapt from the vehicle and, armed with two large knives, ran into Parliament Square and through Carriage Gates  which were open  where he was confronted by PC Palmer. The Commons was sitting at the time.

In the struggle which followed the policeman was stabbed multiple times. No armed member of the Palace of Westminster security detail was close enough to intervene. The attack ended when an armed protection officer, who had been guarding the then Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, ran towards the commotion.

Being approached by Masood wielding a knife covered with PC Palmers blood, the officer shot him dead. The entire attack, from start to finish, had lasted only 82 seconds. One of the abiding images of the aftermath was the Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood trying to help revive the dying policeman.

But not everyone ran to help. Where were the two armed police guards on duty at the Palace of Westminster at that time?

And how to explain the actions of Mackey, who was later knighted for his services to the police?

Having just visited a Government minister, he was sitting in a car with a number of similarly unarmed colleagues. He was to tell the Masood inquest that his instinct had been to intervene when he saw him attacking PC Palmer.

First and foremost I was a police officer, so I went to open the door to get out, he told the jury. One of the PCs [in the car] quite rightfully, said: Get out (of the Palace of Westminster) make safe, go, shut the door, and it was the right thing to do. Thats when I thought: Ive got to start putting everything we need in place. We have no protective equipment and I have two colleagues who are traumatised, so we moved out. The court heard Sir Craig and his colleagues drove away around 30 seconds after Masood was shot dead.

Massod, 52, who ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before crashing his car and entering the Palace of Westminster, was shot by two close protection officers

A doctored image of Sir Craig holding his knighthood in which a white feather  a Great War symbol of cowardice  had replaced the medal, later went viral and there were calls for him to be stripped of his knighthood.

He retired in late 2018 with, according to reports, a pension pot at least 12 times larger than that of widowed Michelle Palmer.

That is the kind of statistic which enrages those more junior officers who had noticed security failings before the tragedy happened.

Multiple sources told the Mail that in the months leading up to the attack there had been tension between the police and the civilian authorities at the Palace of Westminster responsible for security.

The police were there only to assist the civilian Parliamentary Security Team which ran a control room in the palace. The Met provided the civilian security guards who, among other duties, search the bags of visitors.

But according to sources the PST took over the recruitment of these personnel, diluting the Mets role in keeping Parliament safe. There was also antagonism from MPs. The attitude from many was that we were an inconvenience and the sight of firearms undermined the notion of the British bobby, said one source.

Comments were made when overt firearms officers were at the Carriage Gates. The rule around the gates was that [when Parliament was sitting] they were to be kept open. This was clearly for the benefit of MPs, to save them having to wait. They went ballistic if the gates were ever shut and the Met management just capitulated. The actual threat was never properly appreciated.

At the time of Operation Kiri, the parliamentary estate was divided into a number of sectors. Each had a static post, to which a pair of armed officers was assigned to stand guard or patrol along with their unarmed colleagues.

But some sectors were too large for two Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) to cover adequately said one source. The police post on the terrace facing the Thames  where the Kiri intruders came ashore  had even been removed altogether. So too had the static post at the Carriage Gates, according to one source.

The Mail was told that at the time of the attack the policy for armed policing at the Palace of Westminster had been moving from static posts to patrolling.

This was to be formalised shortly after PC Palmers murder, but was already being implemented on the day with tragic consequences.

The two armed officers assigned to the Carriage Gates sector were 80 yards from the attack when it happened and took no part in the apprehension of Masood. The policy was then reversed, but too late for the dead officer.

The Mail has been told that the armed police presence at Westminster was already inadequate.

We were told that the armed team would need to expand to make the working hours legal, said another well-placed source.

In the new shift pattern 47 police per day were required. But it actually needed 68 on the permanent team to make it work properly.

So we were back to using officers on overtime from other parts of the Met [firearm teams] to fill vacant posts. This meant officers with possibly little or no experience of working at Parliament.

The source added: I remember a tabletop exercise where the scenario was that a male armed with a knife gets in to the visitor search area and attacks people, making his way in to New Palace Yard and the Carriage Gates causing multiple casualties.

It was to demonstrate the weakness to everyone, and was for the benefit of [police] management, but nothing was done.

An independent review of security in the Palace of Westminster since PC Palmers murder has not been published, although it is patently obvious the firearms footprint has been increased after the attack, to what it should have been during the attack, said a source.

It was only by chance an armed protection officer stopped the terrorist. Had he not been there the terrorist would have had unfettered access to the palace.

The source added: The whole episode is just embarrassing and an example of where real security threats have been overlooked time and again for the vanity of the MPs, by spineless senior officers who were more concerned about not blighting their copybook rather than actual security, and ultimately the safety of the public and their officers.

Mrs Palmer must now hope that Met Commissioner Cressida Dick recognises the follies of the past and acts accordingly.

Last night Scotland Yard declined to answer a series of questions from the Daily Mail about security concerns at the Palace of Westminster in the run up to PC Palmers murder. It said in a statement: The Metropolitan Police Service unreservedly accepted the Chief Coroners findings of shortcomings in the security system at the Palace of Westminster.

Security arrangements have substantially changed since the attack and the Met continues to work closely with the Palace of Westminster, local authority and other agencies to strengthen security measures.

However, we are not able to discuss what changes have been made, as to do so would only serve to undermine the measures in place.
News and Movies continue to drive TV viewership growth in Week 16, even though their share started to taper from Week 12. Both the genres still continue to operate at 2x share, compared to the pre-COVID-19 times.

According to the 6th edition of BARC-Nielsens report on TV & Smartphone Consumption During Crisis, the News genre recorded a growth of 164 per cent.

BARCs PrimaVu data shows that at 29 per cent, News enjoys a higher share in Megacities in Week 16 in the Premium Panel. News viewership during prime time across Megacities is at higher  in the rural market, the 8-9 pm time-band is at significantly higher levels than the pre-COVID-19 period. The drop in news viewership post 9 pm in rural market is due to movement of viewers to Ramayan on DD National and then early wrap up of the day.

In the morning time band, viewers tuned into News, Kids and Music. In the prime time, viewers preferred more GEC and Movies. Most viewers who shifted to other GEC channels, preferred Mythological dramas.

As per the BARC-Nielsen report, marginal decline is seen in Hindi and English News in Week 16.

Hindi News

As per BARC data for Week 16 [Saturday, 18th April 2020 to Friday, 24th April 2020], Aaj Tak continues to lead the Hindi News genre, recording a gross viewership of 295,700(000) [HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : 15+ Individuals].

Republic Bharat becomes the No. 2 channel this week, garnering a gross viewership of 244,354(000). The channels prime show Poochta Hai Bharat has been gaining in traction ever since its launch. In week, the show garnered a 20.92 per cent share and saw the highest growth with 12,366(000) weekly GVTs [NCCS ABC M 15+ | HSM | Wk1620 | Weekdays | 1900-2000]. Poochta Hai Bharat has got the largest market share compared to any leading show in their respective time band.

Placed in the third spot is India TV, which has recorded a gross viewership of 233,017(000), followed by ABP News at No. 4 with a gross viewership of 211,859(000), while Zee News is placed in the fifth spot with a gross viewership of 211,294(000).

English News

Republic TVs run as the numero uno English News channel continues unbroken in Week 16 as well. The channel has garnered a gross viewership of 1,884(000). Republic TV captured a 67 per cent market share in Super Prime Time viewership, well ahead of other channels in this genre [NCCS AB M 22+ | India | Wk 1620 | Week Days | 2100-2300].

Placed in the second spot is Times Now with a gross viewership of 861(000). In Super Prime Time viewership, the channels share stands at 11.1 per cent in Week 15.

Following close behind is India Today Television, which has recorded a gross viewership of 837(000). The channels market share in terms of Super Prime Time viewership stands at 10.1 per cent this week.

CNN News18 is placed at No. 4 in Week 16 with a gross viewership of 508(000) and a market share of 8.8 per cent in Super Prime Time viewership.
Some lab-based college students at Lamar State College Orange could return to their classrooms in small groups as soon as May 11, with seven institutions across Texas announcing tentative plans to return to face-to-face classes next fall.

Currently, we will continue online courses throughout the summer but are making small strides to resume very specific technical hands-on courses to allow students to complete the Spring semester, LSCO spokesperson Amy Moore said in a statement. Beginning Monday, May 11, a limited number of technical, hands-on courses will resume on campus with a maximum of nine students per one instructor.

Students will be screened prior to entering the classrooms, and will be required to wear some form of face covering. While in class, students will be required to maintain social distancing.

The Texas State University System announced Friday that all of their members  including Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College Orange and Lamar State College Port Arthur  are slated to return for the fall semester.

Presidents at each TSUS institution will have flexibility to establish health and safety protocols based on local needs, the Chancellor of TSUS Brian McCall said in a statement. We have an obligation to accommodate students who want to continue their studies on campus this fall, but also a responsibility to keep our communities as safe as possible while the state and federal governments continue their work to manage the spread of COVID-19.

Officials with TSUS and the colleges stressed that the plans are tentative.

LSCO is cautiously optimistic about returning to face-to-face classes for the fall 2020 semester, Moore said. The phased process will be slow and steady to ensure the utmost safety for our students and employees. Our leadership team is working diligently to develop the best plan to move forward. The details of the plan will be finalized in the coming weeks.

Other degrees and certificates can be completed entirely online, including communication, sociology, business, entrepreneurship and more.

Lamar State College Port Arthur also is formulating plans for the fall semester, but will not return to campus for the remainder of this semester.

With all the uncertainty that has existed the past two months, it is encouraging to consider a fall 2020 semester with students returning to campus, LSCPA President Betty Reynard said in a statement. Obviously, the culture of face-to-face instruction will be much different than in years past. As always, the safety of students and employees is our first priority.

LSPCA will consider a variety of options that will provide our students with an optimal educational experience while taking every precaution possible against the coronavirus.

As we move into the summer months and state and national health officials offer updated guidelines, we will make more definite plans on how in-person classes will look at Lamar State College Port Arthur this fall, she said.

Lamar University also is finalizing their plans for a return to campus in the fall.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
Turkey accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting coup plotters and destabilizing the region after the Gulf country renewed its backing for General Khalifa Haftar, who leads an army based in eastern Libya thats set siege to the capital, Tripoli.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement late Thursday that the U.A.E.s criticism of Turkey was an attempt to cover up its hypocritical policies.

For years, the U.A.E. has been providing putschists in Libya with weapons, military equipment and mercenaries, Aksoy said. He accused the country of also disturbing peace and stability in Yemen, Syria, and the wider region.

Ankara has been backing the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli against the onslaught by Haftar, an eastern commander backed by the U.A.E., Egypt, and Russian mercenaries.

We invite the U.A.E. government to renounce its hostile attitude toward Turkey and to know its place, Aksoy said. He said stability and security could be achieved by supporting a Libyan political agreement and the Government of National Accord.

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YEREVAN.  Gurgen Khachatryan, the son of ex-Minister of Finance and State Revenue Committee former chairman Gagik Khachatryan, together with his advisers, recently had a private meeting with the ambassador of a key European country friendly to Armenia, on the initiative of the ambassador, according to Hraparak.am of Armenia. The meeting took place at the ambassador's residence and they discussed issues related to the Galaxy Group company.

Ambassadors of a number of other countries also expressed a wish to meet with Gurgen Khachatryan. The meetings took place until midnight.

As per Hraparak.am, such wishes of the ambassadors are due to the fact that concerns have been formed at the level of various countries in connection with the situation in Armenia and the repressions being applied to businesses in the country.

The ambassadors listened in detail to the circumstances presented by Khachatryan and, most likely, they will prepare respective reports for their leaders.

Hraparak.am added that there is already a decision to arrest Gurgen Khachatryan, but he has not been arrested yet.
YEREVAN.  The key issue when adopting measures of assistance was to locate the people who need assistance in the payment of utility bills. Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this live on Facebook on Thursday evening.

And he called on the financially secure citizens of the country to become the allies of the government in this matter.

"Become an ally of the government so that we can close this matter 100 percent," he said. "I conventionally call this 'communal solidarity.' If you have used electricity for the amount of 25,000 drams in February, 7,500 drams will be transferred to your account on Monday or Tuesday. But if you don't need it, see who there is, for example, in your building, in your court yard, among your acquaintances and relatives who need that 7,500-dram utility expense, take it, pay for him. 

Pashinyan called to "pay the acquaintance's utility on behalf of the government."
A double rainbow appeared in the skies above the UK just in time for the nation coming together to clap for health workers on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis.

People spotted the rainbow, an unofficial symbol for the NHS during the pandemic, as they stepped out on their doorsteps for the weekly applause at 8pm on Thursday.

Witnesses shared their incredible images of the rare sight on social media, with many saying the spectacular sight arrived right on time.

Actress Emily Atack was among them, saying: "Double rainbow this evening just before we clap for our heroes. Unbelievable."

Peterborough Police officers also spotted the rainbow, with the force tweeting: What incredible timing... Mother Nature sending us these rainbows over Peterborough right in time.

Keith Wall, who took a video of the clapping along with a rainbow in Bourne, Lincolnshire, said: A great rainbow appeared at 8pm tonight just in time for Clap the Carers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the sixth national applause for frontline workers as his fiancee Carrie Symonds tweeted she had "another wonderful reason to thank the NHS this week too".

Ms Symonds said she was joining in the clap for carers again, a day after giving birth to a baby boy.

Mr Johnson tweeted: Tonight I proudly clapped outside 10 Downing Street for our fantastic NHS and carers. Thank you all for everything you are doing.

Senior politicians from Chancellor Rishi Sunak to First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon also stood on their doorsteps to honour the work of the NHS.

Mr Sunak said: "We're past the peak, it's Captain Tom's birthday and we have the best carers of anywhere in the world.

"So much to clap for tonight #ClapForOurCarers."
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro of Jersey Shore has made a plea deal in his domestic violence case.

The Jersey Shore star, 34, will not face jail time after pleading no contest to one count of domestic battery and one count of resisting arrest, according to TMZ.

Instead of doing time, he will have to complete 36-months of probation and follow several other orders.

Deal: Jersey Shore's Ronnie Ortiz-Magro will not serve jail time after making a plea deal in his domestic violence case. He's seen in July 2019 above

Ronnie has also been ordered to do 30 days of community labor in Nevada, where he is residing.

Additionally, the reality star will donate $20k to the Jewish Family Services of LA, a shelter for battered women.

To deal with his anger issues Ortiz-Magro will have to complete a 52-week domestic violence program at a court-approved agency in Nevada.

He will also have to follow the guidelines of a three-year protective order with ex Jen Harley during which time they can only have 'peaceful' contact.'

Terms: He will have to complete three years of probation, 30 days of community service, a year-long domestic violence program, and donate money to a women's shelter

Rough: Ronnie's legal trouble stem from a 2019 incident where he attacked the mother of his child, threatening her with a knife before taking their daughter Ariana and locking himself in an AirBnB

Ronnie's legal trouble stem from a 2019 incident where he attacked the mother of his child, threatening her with a knife before taking their daughter Ariana and locking himself in an AirBnB.

When police arrived they had to knock down the door, as Ortiz-Magro had barricaded himself inside.

Afterwards Harley was seen out with severe bruises on her body.

Though he denied allegations of wrongdoing he plead to avoid more charges.

He was originally facing charges for domestic violence, child endangerment, brandishing a weapon, criminal threats, false imprisonment, and 2 counts of resisting arrest.

Misses her: The Jersey boy recently said that it's been 'months' since he saw his daughter or Harley,' due to the emergency protective order she filed against him in October when they split

Moving on: Jen said that if Ronnie is 'sober and making the efforts to be with [her]' they should be able to move on.

Ronnie is hoping he can start things fresh with Jen.

The Jersey boy recently said that it's been 'months' since he saw his daughter or Harley,' due to the emergency protective order she filed against him in October when they split.

Currently Ariana is being cared for by Magro's 32-year-old estranged ex-girlfriend at her Las Vegas home.

Jen, likewise, is hoping the former couple can 'co-parent peacefully.'

Talking to InTouch, she said that if Ronnie is 'sober and making the efforts to be with [her]' they should be able to move on.

Ronnie and Jen began their relationship in 2017. She has an older child from a previous relationship.
Wearing a face mask has become a fixture of the daily routine for residents across Massachusetts, much like checking for your wallet and car keys before walking outside.

Those who have avoided face coverings wont have much of a choice in the matter starting Wednesday. Governor Charlie Bakers latest executive order will take effect in five days, requiring residents to wear face masks or coverings in public, including in grocery stores and at parks.

What began as a recommendation to wear face coverings three weeks ago, now expands the steps some Massachusetts cities have taken to mandate the practice, and makes all residents who violate the order subject to fines of $300.

As we continue to think about a future where we return to the new normal, covering our faces when we cannot practice social distancing is an easy, critically important and essential step that everyone can and should take to stop or slow the spread," Baker said Friday afternoon during a news conference at the Massachusetts State House.

Massachusetts has recorded 64,311 coronavirus cases, including 3,716 deaths as of Friday. Baker suggests at least some of those who test positive show no symptoms, citing recent research on coronavirus transmissions.

In the weeks since Baker issued an advisory recommending face masks, residents have raised concerns about unmasked visitors crowding parks, beaches and essential businesses that remain open but may not allow enough room for social distancing.

Jim Evers, president of the Boston Carmens Union, said the order will better protect MBTA employees and passengers.

We know how difficult it is to maintain social distancing on public transportation," Evers said in a statement. "This was the right decision for all of us.

Massachusetts joins Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and other states in mandating the use of face masks in public. Most states with mandates rolled out the requirements two weeks ago. New Jersey announced it would require face coverings on April 8, more than three weeks ago.

When asked why the state was mandating face masks now, Baker said his order offers specific requirements for cities and towns to help them better enforce it and recognize and understand that this is going to be, for all intents and purposes, a big part of the way we operate as part of the reopening.

Several cities and towns rolled out their own requirements in the weeks before Bakers latest executive order. Medford ordered customers and employees of essential businesses to wear masks but did not impose a fine for violators.

Worcester required employees at essential businesses to wear face masks in mid-April, imposing fines for repeat offenders. The mask requirements were extended to patrons days later.

Boston and Brookline also issued face mask requirements in mid-April. Brookline said it would issue fines of $50 to violators.

Bakers executive order introduces one set of parameters for employees and customers at essential businesses to follow. They also require people to wear masks in places where some have avoided doing so, such as parks and beaches.

I think most people should carry it with them and anticipate that they will," Baker said. "When my wife and I go for a walk in Swampscott, we carry it.

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Five more persons were arrested on Friday in the Palghar lynching case by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Maharashtra Police, an official said.

It took the number of persons arrested in connection with the lynching of three men including two monks in neighbouring Palghar district to 115, including nine minors, he said.

The incident took place at Gadchinchle village on April 16 when the two monks were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral.

A mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were thieves, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot.

Some of the accused later fled into the dense forest around the village. The police used drones to hunt them, the official said.

The five accused persons were produced before a court on Friday and remanded in the CID's custody till May 13, he said, adding that probe was on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Express News Service

PATNA: A 54-year-old patient suffering from throat cancer from Bihar's Motihari district, who was admitted and tested positive for Covid-19 at Patna based Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), died due to cardiac arrest on Friday.

This is the third death of a Covid-19 positive patient in the state after the first death of a 38-year old youth from Munger with a travel history to Oman and the second death of a woman in Vaishali district with no travel history outside the state recently.

According to principal secretary of health department Sanjay Kumar, the 54-year old deceased was admitted at NMCH on April 27 from Banjaria village in East Champaran.

Kumar said that the deceased had returned from Mumbai on April 20.

"He has a serious case of terminal oropharyngeal malignancy (mouth and throat cancer) and the cause of his death was cardiac arrest", Kumar said.

The deceased was brought to NMCH when he started developing respiratory illnesses. Meanwhile, the health department through a statement, said that a total of 98 positive cases have recovered in the state while three people have died. The total count of Covid-19 positive cases has reached 466.
Canada is banning assault weapons following the countrys worst-ever mass-shooting last month.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement on Friday morning: Effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country.

These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only  to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada.

A two-year amnesty period will allow those who already own firearms from the list of 1,500 banned weapons, to comply with the new rules. Legislation will be set out to provide them with "fair compensation" for turning in their weapons.

During the amnesty the listed firearms cannot be used, but may be returned to the manufacturer or sold via export.

Legally, the ban will be enacted through regulations approved by an order-in-council from cabinet, and not through parliamentary legislation.

The Liberal Party had promised a buy-back program at the last election and Mr Trudeau said that the government was ready to act on the promise before the coronavirus pandemic.

Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, commented: "Todays initiative is the first step in a broader firearms strategy that will address illegal activities, violence, and self-harm. Our government is also committed to protecting public safety, while ensuring hunters, farmers, and law-abiding recreational firearms owners are also treated respectfully and fairly.

Other countries have had great success in banning assault weapons and other firearms. Australia is often held us a model. Following the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, the government instituted a ban on, and a mass, compulsory buy-back of guns, destroying 660,000 rapid-fire weapons in two years. There hasn't been a mass-shooting since.

Similarly, New Zealand banned assault weapons within six days of the massacre of 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019. Owners handed in 51,000 guns over the next six months.

April's mass shooting in Nova Scotia shocked Canadians. Over the course of 12 hours beginning on 18 April, 22 people were killed by Gabriel Wortman, who posed as a police officer. Nine died in house fires he set, and 13 were shot. Wortman died in a shoot-out with police.

"These tragedies reverberate still. They shape our identity, they stain our conscience, they make adults out of children and the heartbreaking truth is they're happening more often than they once did," Mr Trudeau said. "Their families deserve more than thoughts and prayers. Canadians deserve more than thoughts and prayers."
OTTAWA  Nearly two weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in Canadas history, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday introduced an immediate ban on what he described as military-style assault weapons.

These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time, Mr. Trudeau said. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada.

The ban means that Canadians will no longer be able to own rifles like the AR-15, the military-style weapon used in several mass shootings in the United States including those in Newtown, Conn.; Orlando, Fla.; and Parkland, Fla.

By introducing the ban, Mr. Trudeau partly fulfills a gun control promise he made during last years federal elections. He said the government had been in the process of introducing an assault weapons ban when its agenda was overturned by the coronavirus pandemic.
A Northumberland brewery is giving away its supplies after being left with a surplus due to pubs being shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic.

Alnwick Brewery Company asked local residents to take home cask beer in their own containers, in exchange for making a donation to the NHS.

Brewery Manager Phil Bell said the scheme had to date raised nearly 1,000 for healthcare workers battling the Covid-19 crisis after giveaways at the brewery on two previous Fridays and its shop in Alnwick town centre today.

"We must have had 100 people through the door today," he told the Evening Standard.

"The amount of people who have been generously donating has been amazing.

"It's not a very affluent area in the first place and a lot of it has been hit, and hit hard, by the coronavirus outbreak.

"But everyone has been so generous... and we are so thankful to them."

Postboxes painted blue as 'thank-you' to NHS - in pictures 1 /8 Postboxes painted blue as 'thank-you' to NHS - in pictures A blue postbox in support of the NHS outside St Thomas's Hospital in central London PA A postbox in Belfast decorated in tribute to the NHS PA A postbox in Cardiff decorated in tribute to the NHS PA A postbox in Edinburgh decorated in tribute to the NHS PA A postbox in London decorated in tribute to the NHS. PA A postbox in Manchester decorated in tribute to the NHS PA

The brewery, which now faces an uncertain future after seeing "95 per cent of its business disappear overnight" amid the Covid-19 crisis, has limited each person to taking away a maximum of five litres as supplies from the 72-pint casks dwindle.

But, stock permitting, it plans to keep the scheme going for at least two more Fridays.

Most of the beer being given away had been brewed in anticipation of high demand over Easter, but was left without anywhere to go after pubs were closed in line with an ongoing nationwide lockdown rolled out in late March.

"It was either pour it down the drain or pour it down the gullets of our local residents," Mr Bell said.

Rainbow Appears During Clap For Carers In Lincolnshire

He added the initiative had put smiles on the faces of the brewery's staff and beer-lovers alike during an otherwise difficult moment for the local community, and country at large.

"It just gets funnier and funnier every time," Mr Bell said.

"Someone turned up today with a cereal box and another came with a jerry can; that was a new one.

"It gets people laughing and talking... and every little helps."
Donald Trump says Joe Biden should "respond" and "answer" to allegations that he sexually assaulted a staffer when the Democratic presidential candidate was a senator.

The president, who has denied accusations of sexual assault and harassment by more than 20 women over the last several decades, said he knows "all about false accusations" and defended conservative Supreme Court Justice Bret Kavanaugh, who has also denied allegations of sexual assault.

When asked about the allegations facing his Democratic opponent, the president said: "I don't know anything about it. I don't know exactly. I think he should respond. It could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations. I've been falsely charged numerous times."

The former vice president is expected to break his silence over the accusation on 1 May.

Mr Trump also called the Supreme Court Justice "an outstanding man" and said that "what happened with him"  likely referring to confirmation hearings that detailed the accusations against him  was "an absolute disgrace to our country" in 2018.

The president also falsely claimed that three of the four women who have accused the Supreme Court Justice of assault have "admitted that".

He said: "I guess three of the four woman have now admitted that. And the fourth, give me a break. I mean, take a look. ... I've saw a man suffering so unfairly."

Several prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have defended the former vice president, who has denied assaulting Tara Reade in 1993, and his campaign has said her claims are "untrue" and "did not happen".

The candidate's campaign has also said that "he firmly believes that women have a right to be heard  and heard respectfully" and that those claims should be "diligently reviewed by an independent press".

Throughout April, which is also Sexual Assault Survivors' Month, progressive groups and many Democrats have urged the candidate to address the allegations, as more women emerge to corroborate the claims against him.

He is expected to discuss the accusation during a Friday appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, as networks are faced with criticism and claims that they have diminished the accusation.

Asked by reporters on Thursday to address her support for the candidate while joining calls from Democrats to investigate Justice Kavanaugh, Speaker Pelosi said: "I respect your question, and I don't need a lecture or speech. ... There is a lot of excitement around the idea that women will be heard and will be listened to. There is also due process, and the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden ... There have been statements from his former [Senate] office that there was never any record of this. Nobody ever came forward about it other than the principal involved."
The Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) has appealed to the President to urgently help the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to acquire enough crude stock to operate with.



The TDCL said government must urgently help the only refinery in the country to take advantage of the drastic drop in crude oil prices on the international market to acquire enough for its processing.



This was contained in an open letter made available to the Ghana News Agency from the TDCL to the President and signed by Mr Ebenezer Kodwo Taylor, and Mr Emmanuel Addo-Kumi, Chairman and Secretary respectively.



The Council noted that acquiring enough crude at this time would help reduce the prices of petroleum products as well as make TOR profitable.



This will go a long way to help reduce the prices of petroleum products and sell at realistic prices, make TOR profitable and ensure that there is adequate supply of the petroleum products on the market.



Touching on the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authoritys (GPHA) and Meridian Ports Services (MPS) contract, the TDCL thanked the President and the GPHAs Chief Executive for the release of the 20 percent consignment from the MPS to the port managers.



They prayed that the industrial harmony between GPHA and MPS would continue to exist to ensure productivity within the industrial hub and harbour city.



They however appealed to the shipping agencies in and outside Ghana, to respect the presidential and the Ministry of Transports directives to offset the demurrage charges during the lockdown period to lessen the burden on business men and women.



They commended the President for the excellent leadership role you have exhibited and continue to exhibit so far while urging him to empower the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to effectively and efficiently enforce the various directives including nose mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing to help the country win the battle against the COVID-19.

Source: GNA









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FARMINGTON HILLS, MI - Their little boys month-long nightmare is finally almost over. A Michigan toddler, who spiked a 107.1 fever while battling COVID-19, is finally virus free. His mother, also fighting coronavirus for much of the month of April, has tested negative, too. But they still arent 100 percent.

Amanda May and Ryan Schreiber of Farmington Hills want the world to know this virus can hit healthy kids hard and their 22-month-old son Luke is a prime example. They say he had no health issues before the virus hit him on March 31 when he registered a fever of 107.1.

He had no pre-existing conditions, Amanda May Schreiber told MLive. His liver and kidneys were fully functional after they tested them at the hospital. There was nothing other than a virus his body was fighting. For people to believe this only affects vulnerable people, I mean, every single person should be vigilant.

Amanda May says Lukes temperature is finally almost normal after he had been fighting a fever of about 101 to 102 nearly every single day since returning from the hospital about a month ago.

His naps are back to normal and hes finally sleeping about 12 hours a night, what he was before the virus. His temperature has been under 100 since last weekend."

While trying to take care of Luke and her 4-month old, Amanda may, who is a triathlete, says breathing and fatigue have been the biggest issues for her. She said while just sitting and laying around, it felt like she was huffing and puffing, like she was going up and down stairs.

My pulse oximetry is back up to 98. It had been as low as 82. It was terrifying. I still had a fever earlier this week and I still have tightness in my chest. I walked mostly last week before I started running this week. I cant run at full-pace yet. Im mostly just jogging.

Amanda May and Luke Schreiber of Farmington Hills, Michigan, tested COVID-19 free after fighting the virus for nearly a month. (Selfie by Amanda May Schreiber)

Ryan says its been very tough watching his wife and kids battle the virus. He dealt with some chest tightness and kept working full-time from home.

I would classify the last month as a month of exhausting vigilance, Ryan Schreiber told MLive. Youre having to constantly deal with sickness in the household. I was also trying to manage updates for friends and family and make sure that we were all taken care of while trying to work from home. In the end, were really lucky compared to some other people, but it has been overwhelming at points.

The Schreibers say it upsets them to see protests like the one in Lansing yesterday against the governors emergency declaration.

If people think that their quarantine is bad, try doing it with two sick kids and youre sick yourself," said Amanda May. Theres kids at these protests. It made me cry seeing it. Walking into the hospital pediatric ward changes your view. They are no longer numbers. Theyre kids.

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Narendra Modi reviewed the state of investments, the defence and aerospace sector and the mine and mineral sector.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a series of meetings to discuss strategies to boost the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and attract more foreign investments into India as well as promote local investments.

He reviewed the state of investments, the defence and aerospace sector and the mine and mineral sector.

An official statement said various strategies to bring investments into India on a fast-track mode and to promote Indian domestic sectors were discussed in the first meeting.

The high-level meetings come amid the ongoing global backlash against China.

Several companies are now looking for new bases to set up their businesses, according to reports.

Detailed discussions were also held on guiding states to evolve their strategies and to be more proactive in attracting investments, the statement said.

Reform initiatives undertaken by the various ministries should continue unabated and action should be taken in a time-bound manner to remove any obstacles which impede promotion of investment and industrial growth, the statement said, citing the discussions.

The meeting also discussed that a scheme should be developed to promote more "plug and play" infrastructure in the existing industrial lands, plots or estates in the country and provide necessary financing support.

During the meeting, Modi directed all concerned that action should be taken for a more proactive approach to "handhold" the investors, to look into their problems and help them in getting all the necessary central and state clearances in a time-bound manner.

Given the increasingly worrying economic uncertainty, the government has moved to reassure both global and local investor community with focus on encouraging infrastructure and manufacturing sector investments.

While chairing the meet on defence and aerospace, he said India should reduce dependence on imports and take forward the "Make in India" initiative to build its domestic capabilities for designing, developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art defence equipment.

The meeting also discussed the potential reforms to ensure a robust and self-reliant defence industry in India that caters to short and long term needs of the armed forces.

The meet also discussed initiatives to give a boost to the economy in the backdrop of COVID-19, an official statement said.

The discussions involved reforming of the functioning of the ordnance factories, streamlining procurement procedures, focused resource allocation and encouraging research and development.

Attracting investment in critical defence technologies and promotion of exports also came up in the meet.

The prime minister laid emphasis on positioning India among the top countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, from design to production, with active participation of public and private sector fulfilling the twin objectives of self-reliance and exports.

He reviewed the proposed reforms for attracting domestic and foreign investment in defence sector.

It was discussed that defence expenditure be "economised" and the savings be channelised for strategic defence capital acquisition.

Reviewing the mines and mineral sector, Modi laid special focus on improving the country's self-reliance in production of minerals and their in-country processing.

Auctioning of additional blocks, encouraging wider participation in auctions, increasing the production of mineral resources, reducing the cost of mining and cost of transporting formed part of the discussion.

The deliberations also focussed on increasing ease of doing business while also reducing carbon footprint with environmentally sustainable development.
The 21st National Assembly will open on May 30 following the outgoing Assembly, seen in this photo. Analysts have assessed the new National Assembly will have fewer-than-expected economic experts. Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo



The new National Assembly will have fewer-than-expected lawmakers with economic expertise, say analysts, fueling concerns the parliament may fall short of helping the country overcome the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.



With consumer spending and industrial output hit by the pandemic, the country's economy shrank 1.4 percent in the first quarter from the last three months of 2019.



The 21st National Assembly will need to consider the economic circumstances of the country but only 10 out of the 300 lawmakers-elect have been categorized as "economic experts" by analysts.



The 10 were formerly economic policymakers, entrepreneurs, financial executives or senior members of business lobby groups.



From the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are former Mirae Asset Daewoo chief executive Hong Sung-guk and former co-chief executive Lee Yong-woo of the country's largest online bank Kakao Bank.



From the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) are former Statistics Korea Commissioner Yoo Gyeong-joon and former Korea Development Institute (KDI) professor Yun Hee-suk.



Oh Jung-geun, chairman of the Korea ICT Financial Convergence Association, said the rival parties had sought to increase the number of legislators with economic expertise for the new Assembly, which will open on May 30.



But he said many of those candidates lost in the April 15 general election because they were political rookies or had to run in highly contested constituencies under the camp strategy.



"Many rookies were assigned to compete in the districts that are the home turf of their rival party," Oh said. "To make things worse, they did not even have the skills to woo voters and failed to win their parliamentary seats."



He referred to the case of former Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-jin.



Kim made his parliamentary bid as a ruling DPK candidate in Incheon, Gyenoggi Province. But he lost to the UFP's Song Seong-jun, who won his second straight parliamentary term with 51.9 percent of the votes to Kim's 45.6 percent.



Professor Shin said he is especially worried about the lack of economic experts from the main opposition.



He referred to the ruling party winning 180 parliamentary seats, which accounts for 60 percent of the lawmakers.



"Considering the DPK is on the government's side, the UFP will struggle to hold back the government in case its economic drive goes in the wrong direction," Shin said. "And such tasks will be even tougher because there are not many economic experts who can fully understand the economic policies and discern why they are right or wrong."


Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Call it the revenge of the invisible.

Singapore, heralded by many for its quick and effective response to COVID-19, is now suffering through a second significant outbreak of the virus. In many ways, that's disheartening news for the entire world.

Using a combination of rapid, widespread testing, intensive case tracing and early clampdowns on international travel, Singapore was held up as an example of how the coronavirus could be contained and extinguished without the suffocating economic lockdowns used in other countries around the world. However, by early April, Singapore's success had been revealed as a mirage.

At present, with 15,000 confirmed cases in a population of just 5.7 million people, Singapore has what global public health officials believe is the highest rate of infection in Southeast Asia.

ORE HUIYING FOR THE WASHINGTON POST There are anywhere from 300,000 to 400,000 migrants working in Singapore at any given time. They are mostly men from various south Asian nations who make very low wages and live in extremely cramped and squalid dormitories.

Where did Singapore go wrong? Many believe the prosperous island nation ignored what should have been the most obvious source of resurgence: migrant worker camps.

There are anywhere from 300,000 to 400,000 migrants working in Singapore at any given time. They are mostly men from various south Asian nations who make very low wages and live in extremely cramped and squalid dormitories on the outskirts of this generally gleaming city state. In the past, these camps have been the sources of outbreaks of tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. Now, these camps have been identified as the source of more than 80 per cent of Singapore's COVID-19 infections.

How exactly could a potential public health threat like this have been ignored by a nation that was so lauded for its initial response to the outbreak? Richard Coker, the former head of the infectious-disease program at the National University of Singapores Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, had a simple explanation.

"COVID-19 highlights those that are the most invisible," Coker told Marketwatch.com

Invisible constituencies -- which include the most socially and economically vulnerable people within our societies -- will, in all likelihood, start to play an increasingly important role in the future course of the pandemic. Already we have seen how some of the invisible and vulnerable populations have driven the spread of the virus despite our better efforts.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadian national public health officer, confirmed in mid-April that fully half of all the COVID-19 cases in this country involved residents of seniors' homes. The stories of individual facilities and their death tolls are harrowing: squalid and sometimes inhumane living conditions; a chronic lack of proper hygiene and nutrition; a shortage of supervising medical professionals to see to the needs of residents. In some extreme cases, staff fled their posts once COVID-19 outbreaks were confirmed.

COVID19 highlights those that are the most invisible.  Richard Coker, former head of the infectiousdisease program at the National University of Singapores School of Public Health

Concern over the horrendous rate of infection and deaths among seniors has been most acute in Quebec which, thanks to a substantial provincial subsidy program, has the highest rate among provinces of seniors in long-term care. In Quebec, 70 per cent of all deaths from COVID-19 involved seniors in long-term care.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault has promised increased inspections of his province's 2,600 long-term care facilities. Although that is an admirable gesture, we should be asking why those inspections were not happening pre-pandemic as a matter of course? The awful reality is that all provinces have known for many years now that standards in long-term care have been lacking in many facilities. And that the long-term care industry has become very competitive and lucrative for private firms that do not always put health and safety standards before profits.

But seniors' care is not the only place where "the invisibles" could come back to haunt us. How about the homeless and those who live in tent cities or shelters? Or adults and children living in group care? And then there is the matter of Indigenous communities.

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam has raised concerns about the devastation that even a small outbreak in an Indigenous community would cause because of the combination of poverty, poor living conditions and underlying health problems. (Adrian Wyld / Canadian Press files)

On April 25, there were 95 confirmed COVID-19 cases in First Nations and another 14 in Nunavik Inuit communities. That may not seem like much when there are nearly 55,000 confirmed infections nationally. But as the number of new infections in most provinces is slowing, it's picking up pace in Indigenous communities. Tam has raised concerns about how even a small outbreak in an Indigenous community could be devastating because of the combination of poverty, poor living conditions and underlying health problems.

Ottawa has responded by offering Indigenous communities medical supplies and support to help them isolate and stop the spread of infection. But Tam's concerns about pre-existing poverty, living conditions and poor health are a reminder that if these communities are ravaged by the virus and spark a second surge in infections, we are only getting what we deserve for ignoring their plight for so long.

It may be too much to ask government in this country to devote resources to fixing chronic societal problems like poverty, family dysfunction and income inequality in the wake of the largest general economic stimulus package in Canadian history. But the nature of a pandemic means that an outbreak anywhere puts everyone at risk.

COVID-19 has brought so much misery to Canada. However, it would be an important stroke of irony if this virus can help us see "the invisibles" that are so easy to ignore and finally do something to ease their suffering, which existed long before the pandemic arrived.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Prostate cancer is one of the top four most common cancers globally. The increased use of testing has led to a greater number of cases being detected and requiring treatment. New treatment shows promising outcomes for men diagnosed with low or immediate-risk prostate cancer.

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Using Gold Nanoparticles to Treat Prostate Cancer

A novel pilot clinical trial using a nanoparticle-based photothermal cancer therapy has been produced by a team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of non-skin cancers after lung, breast, and colorectal cancer, affecting approximately 1 in 10 men across their lifetime.

Due to being located next to several vital structures such as the urethra, blood vessels, and nerves, treating prostate cancer and avoiding inflicting harm to such structures can be difficult.

Based on this, the researchers aimed to explore alternative treatments that would be efficacious in treating cancer while causing minimal harm to the surrounding structures.

Therefore, they devised a treatment of gold-silica nanoparticles which, when provided as a localized treatment to the prostate cancer, could absorb near-infrared light at wavelengths that can penetrate biological tissues.

The gold nanoparticles are well renowned for their ability to absorb light, a property known as plasmon resonance, and can help reduce the side effects experienced by the therapy.

How Does it Work?

The researchers noted that biocompatible nanoparticles can turn the light absorbed into heat. This localized generation of heat can then help kill the targeted tumor cells, decreasing the tumors overall size without damaging adjacent healthy cells.

Additional beneficial effects were noted. Patients who underwent the nanoparticle therapy in addition to magnetic resonance-ultrasound fusion imaging were shown to have longer remission.

To test the effectiveness of the therapy, the researchers recruited 16 males aged between 58 and 79-years old who were diagnosed with either a low or immediate-risk prostate cancer.

All patients were administered intravenous infusions of the gold nanoparticles alongside a course of laser ablation. The growth of the prostate tumor was analyzed using a multiparametric MRI at two intervals: 48 and 72 hours following the initiation of the therapy.

Biopsies were also collected from the patients at 3-and 12-months post-therapy, in addition to the participants undergoing a 12-core systematic biopsy 12 months post-therapy.

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Results

The researchers found that in 94% of the patients, administration of the gold silica nanoparticle therapy resulted in a more effective local reduction of the tumor.

In terms of practicality and safety, the treatment was considered a safe and feasible therapeutic option for males diagnosed with low or immediate-risk prostate cancer that had not yet spread to other organs. No adverse complications or genito-urinary side effects were observed.

Implications

The researchers noted that the pilot provides evidence that the use of GSN-directed laser excitation and ablation is a technically feasible and safe therapeutic option to treat localized prostate tumors.

What is Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is the cancer of the prostate - a gland located in the pelvis of men between the bladder and the penis. Its typical function includes synthesizing the fluid that, when mixed with sperm from the testicles, forms semen.

Signs and Symptoms

Prostate cancer symptoms may not develop until later in the progression of the disease when the size of the prostate begins to affect the urethra.

Some men may visit their doctor with complaints of genito-urinary symptoms or urinary tract symptoms which results in tests to rule out or confirm prostate cancer. However, in some cases, men may be asymptomatic.

Those that are symptomatic may experience the following signs and symptoms:

Feeling the increased urge to urinate.

Persistent feeling that the bladder is not entirely empty despite urinating.

Straining during urination.

Several gentio-urinary symptoms are either indicative of prostate cancer or associated with the disease. Erectile dysfunction, which increases in prevalence as men age, has been linked to prostate cancer.

The presence of blood in the urine is also considered to be a significant symptom for both prostate cancer and urological cancer.

Risk Factors

The two main risk factors associated with the development of prostate cancer are age and family history. Age-related prevalence rates drastically increase from the age of 50 and peak at 90 years old.

Furthermore, men who have a family history of prostate cancer are more likely to develop the disease. For example, estimates show that if a man has a brother or father with a positive diagnosis, their risk is 2.48 which increases to 4.39 if the man has more than two first-degree family members with the disease.

Epidemiological studies have also shown that black men are significantly more likely to develop the disease compared to men from Asian or Caucasian ethnic backgrounds.

Alternative Prostate Cancer Treatment

If diagnosed with prostate cancer, treatment may not necessarily begin straightaway. Men in the early stages of the disease without symptoms may be advised to attend regular checkups to monitor for any signs of progression.

The two main types of treatment include radiotherapy and the surgical removal of the prostate.

If the disease is caught in the early stages, then in some men it can be cured. Conversely, in instances where cancer has been detected in its late-stage and has spread to other areas of the body, treatment may focus on relieving symptoms and prolonging life.

Sources Rastinehad, A.R., Anastos, H., Wajswol, E., Winoker, J.S., Sfakianos, J.P., Doppalapudi, S.K., Carrick, M.R., Knauer, C.J., Taouli, B., Lewis, S.C. and Tewari, A.K., 2019. Gold nanoshell-localized photothermal ablation of prostate tumors in a clinical pilot device study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(37), pp.18590-18596. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1906929116

Merriel, S.W., Funston, G., and Hamilton, W., 2018. Prostate cancer in primary care. Advances in therapy, 35(9), pp.1285-1294.

Gan, J.H., Harris, A.C., and Green, J.S.A., 2015. Quantifying the risk of malignancy in patients with visible haematuria presenting to the emergency department. Journal of Clinical Urology, 8(2), pp.132-138.

Lin, W.Y., Chang, Y.H., Lin, C.L., Kao, C.H., and Wu, H.C., 2017. Erectile dysfunction and the risk of prostate cancer. Oncotarget, 8(32), p.52690.

NHS (2018). Prostate Cancer: Overview. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/

Further Reading
Thousands Of Flamingos Take Over Indias Largest City Amid Coronavirus Lockdown HuffPo

Penguin Meets Up With Orangutan During Excursion In Empty San Diego Zoo HuffPo

Searching for the Birthplace of Sharks Maritime Executive

High microplastic concentration found on ocean floor BBC (Re SIlc).

Oils Collapse Is a Geopolitical Reset In Disguise Bloomberg

Federal Reserve extends $600bn main street lending programme FT

Over 275 Days Since Equifaxs Data Breach Settlement and No One Has Been Paid Interest

ICANN Board Withholds Consent for a Change of Control of the Public Interest Registry (PIR) ICANN. After completing extensive due diligence, the ICANN Board finds that withholding consent of the transfer of PIR from the Internet Society (ISOC) to Ethos Capital is reasonable, and the right thing to do. Some good news!

#COVID19

The science:

An analysis of SARS-CoV-2 viral load by patient age (PDF) Terry C. Jones, Barbara Muhlemann, Talitha Veith, Marta Zuchowski, Jorg Hofmann, Angela Stein, Anke Edelmann, Victor Max Corman, and Christian Drosten. From the abstract: Analysis of variance of viral loads in patients of different age categories found no significant difference between any pair of age categories including children. In particular, these data indicate that viral loads in the very young do not differ significantly from those of adults.

Estimation of SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality rate by real-time antibody screening of blood donors medarXiv. Danish study.

The problem with the Covid-19 death numbers Newsweek (Furzy Mouse).

NIHs axing of bat coronavirus grant a horrible precedent and might break rules, critics say Science

* * *

Spread:

The Memo: The surprising popularity of the Great Lockdown The Hill

How Coronavirus Mutates and Spreads NYT

CLUSTER BOMBS Coronavirus map shows the 22 hotspots where cases could explode as eight states lift lockdowns The U.S. Sun (Re Silc). Based on social media chatter.

COVID-19: How can airports help in the fight against future pandemics? World Economic Forum. Deep clean everything, for starters.

Cuomos Density Dodge: Pandemics Arent Anti-City, Failure to Act Early Is Gothamist

* * *

Masks:

Fashion industry turns to face masks Bangkok Post. As Ive been saying.

Dont Drive Whilst Wearing a Face Mask  Heres Why DriveTribe (Re Silc).

* * *

Treatment:

NIH Clinical Trial Shows Remdesivir Accelerates Recovery from Advanced COVID-19 NIH. More detailed information about the trial results, including more comprehensive data, will be available in a forthcoming report. A report, presumably published in a peer-reviewed journal. Not that Im foily, but my spidey sense is really twitching on this one.

Remdesivir Now Standard of Care for COVID-19, Fauci Says MedScape. Fauci unilaterally declares a standard of care based on a Gilead press release. A trial attorney firm writes:

The standard of care is developed by a complex network of doctors, medical researchers, government regulators, and writers for medical journals [S]tandards organically grow from research studies, current doctor practices, and technological developments.

With the caveat that I Am Not A Doctor Or A Lawyer, Fauci is saying that doctors who dont use remdesivir could get sued (as my citing to a trial lawyer above would imply). From The Standard of Care: Legal History and Definitions: the Bad and Good News, Western Journal of Emergency Medicine:

Negligence, in general, is legally defined as the standard of conduct to which one must conform [and] is that of a reasonable man under like circumstances. In law, medical malpractice is considered a specific area within the general domain of negligence. It requires four conditions (elements) be met for the plaintiff to recover damages. These conditions are: duty; breach of duty; harm; and causation. The second element, breach of duty, is synonymous with the standard of care.

Unless Fauci has unilaterally appointed himself a one-man empowered council while I wasnt looking, I dont see how he gets to make this call.

Is remdesivir a miracle drug to cure coronavirus? Dont get your hopes up yet The Conversation. A data and safety panel has looked at the initial results, but they havent been peer-reviewed.

Appendix A, Table 2. Panel on COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Financial Disclosure for Companies Related to COVID-19 Treatment or Diagnostics (Reporting Period: May 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020 NIH. By my hasty calculation, of the persons disclosing interests, 36/50 (72%) had none. There were 14 (28%) diclosures of at least one interest. Of those 14, nine (64%) disclosed an interest in Gilead.

Twitter transcription of interview with Gilead executives. Thread:

$GILD CEO: Looking to have enough remdesivir doses for 1 million patients by end of year. Donating entire existing supply, because right thing to do amid pandemic. Ramping up production since January. As additional raw materials become avail, will produce more.  Anjalee Khemlani (@AnjKhem) April 30, 2020

* * *

Vaccine:

The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide Nature

* * *

Testing:

Dual-Functional Plasmonic Photothermal Biosensors for Highly Accurate Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Detection American Chemical Society. From the abstract: The routinely used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is currently the reference method for COVID-19 diagnosis. However, it also reported a number of false-positive or -negative cases, especially in the early stages of the novel virus outbreak. In this work, a dual-functional plasmonic biosensor combining the plasmonic photothermal (PPT) effect and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing transduction provides an alternative and promising solution for the clinical COVID-19 diagnosis.

* * *

Tracing:

How Do You Do Contact Tracing? Poor Countries Have Plenty Of Advice NPR

We Asked All 50 States About Their Contact Tracing Capacity. Heres What We Learned NPR

We Need An Army Of Contact Tracers To Safely Reopen The Country. We Might Get Apps Instead. Buzzfeed

* * *

Economic effects:

Analyst: 4 Billion Bu. Ending Stock Possible if Big Crop, Less Ethanol Farm Journal

As slaughterhouses close, farmers may have to cull thousands of hogs a day. Those carcasses need to go somewhereand there are no good options The Counter

Op-ed: Dont Blame Farmers Who Have to Euthanize Their Animals. Blame the Companies They Work For. Civil Eats

Nearly 900 at Tyson Foods plant test positive for coronavirus WISH

U.S. Small Business and Coronavirus: What you need to know Bloomberg

BA may not reopen at Gatwick once pandemic passes BBC

* * *

Materiel shortages:

An FAQ on China PPE China Law Blog

* * *

Political response:

Hundreds of protesters, some carrying guns in the state Capitol, demonstrate against Michigans emergency measures NBC. The right to infect others shall not be infringed.

Trump contradicts US intel community by claiming hes seen evidence coronavirus originated in Chinese lab CNN. Contradicts intel community [fans self, clutches pearls, heads for fainting couch]. Not that I agree with Trump, but holy cow.

Pelosi puts $1 trillion price tag on state and local virus needs Roll Call

The Inevitable Coronavirus Censorship Crisis is Here Matt Taibbi

Capitol physician says he doesnt have enough tests for all senators Axios

Timeline of the Coronavirus Pandemic and U.S. Response Just Security

* * *

Exit strategy:

Germanys Covid-19 expert: For many, Im the evil guy crippling the economy (interview) Guardian. Christian Drosten, who directs the Institute of Virology at the Charite Hospital in Berlin Now, what I call the prevention paradox has set in. People are claiming we over-reacted, there is political and economic pressure to return to normal. Handy diagram:

Admit It: You Are Willing to Let People Die to End the Shutdown Politico

No, Sweden Isnt a Miracle Coronavirus Model Bloomberg v. Swedish official Anders Tegnell says herd immunity in Sweden might be a few weeks away USA Today

Cholera and coronavirus: why we must not repeat the same mistakes Guardian

* * *

Remedies and ameliorations:

Time to Check Your Pandemic-Abandoned Car for Rats NYT. Not a lot of amelioration today. Sorry.

Depression cake is the all-star chocolate cake you can make with pantry staples Salon. Come on, man. Depression cake is an empty plate and no fork.

Coronavirus: Kenyans moved by widow cooking stones for children BBC
The Governors Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives released guidance for faith communities on gathering together in houses of worship.

Tennessees faith leaders have been incredibly innovative in finding alternative ways to worship that incorporate social distancing so they can continue to provide spiritual guidance, fellowship, and service to their neighbors during these challenging times, said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Religious liberty is important and must be protected, and thats why the State has always deemed religious services as essential gatherings throughout this pandemic. As we look to reopen our economy in a safe fashion, the decision on in-person gatherings will be up to each individual faith community. Were confident in their ability to determine the proper time and how to incorporate these guidelines to worship in a way that protects the health of their congregation.

The full guidelines can be found here and include:

A phased approach to resuming in-person gatherings is recommended. Vulnerable populations (everyone 65 years and older, people with disabilities, people with serious respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, people who are immunocompromised, and others) and childrens activities/nursery programs should not gather in person until a later time.

Consider solutions to minimize close personal contact that may be part of your services, such as handshakes or sharing food and drink.

As the phased approach begins, limit the size of attendance in your sanctuary and other confined spaces to create seating arrangements that provide at least 6-foot distancing between families. It is recommended not to exceed 50% of maximum capacity of the room and should enable full compliance with CDC recommendations for social distancing and hygiene.

Wear face coverings.

Encourage members of the community to stay at home if they are symptomatic, have a fever, have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, or have traveled internationally or to a domestic hot spot in the past two weeks.

If a member of the congregation has tested positive for COVID-19, consult CDC guidelines and local health department recommendations to determine whether in-person gatherings should cease immediately, the building should close for additional cleaning, or other protocol changes are required.

View the full guidelines here.
Mirriam Kaliza, Deutsche Welle's correspondent in Malawi: "Every morning when I come into the office, before I interact with anyone, I need to wash my hands with soap. The secretary also has to give me a face mask and gloves. It's so difficult to type on the keyboard wearing gloves."

press release

Two-thirds of staff and freelance journalists have also suffered pay cuts, lost revenue, job losses, cancelled commissions or worsening working conditions, according to the survey carried out by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) between 26-28 April.

The IFJ is the world's largest organisation of professional journalists representing 600,000 journalists in 146 countries.

The survey of 1308 journalists also revealed that as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic:

Nearly every freelance journalist has lost revenue or work opportunities

More than half of all journalists are suffering from stress and anxiety

More than a quarter lack essential equipment to enable them to work safely from home, while one in four lack any protective equipment to work in the field.

Dozens of journalists have been arrested, faced lawsuits or been assaulted.

More than a third of journalists have shifted their focus to covering Covid-19 related stories.

When asked about the state of media freedom in their countries the vast majority said it had got worse. From Greece to Indonesia and from Chad to Peru journalists used words such as precarious, problematic, terrible, worse, declining and restricted to assess the media freedom environment.

Respondents also exposed the toll on journalists with many citing job losses, longer hours and fewer resources as obstacles to proper coverage of the pandemic. In many countries the lack of social protection networks and fair employment practices are driving journalists to desperation.

One female Peruvian freelance told the IFJ: "The state is unprepared for this pandemic, there are sectors in total abandonment by the authorities, corruption continues, while at the same time media companies have shown they do not have institutional policies to alleviate our despair, such as the lack of income. Many families are on the edge of poverty".

A Greek women journalist added:I work more but earn less money and the newspaper owner I work for owes me and my colleague over 7 months pay but the government does nothing about this.

Many journalists complained of increasing attacks on media freedom. Almost one in four journalists said they had faced growing difficulties accessing information from government or official sources. Many reported being verbally attacked by politicians. Others complained of restrictions on asking questions at press conferences and restrictions being imposed on the movement of journalists during the crisis, including the withdrawal of recognition of press cards. Some worried that the total focus on Covid-related stories meant other important issues were being ignored.

One female Brazilian journalist said: "The federal government despises journalists. It attacks the press every day for the information it publishes and discredits and humiliates journalists".

A male journalist in India added: "Press freedom has become increasingly restrictive. Journalists have been arrested for reporting stories highlighting the government's shortcomings.

But respondents also praised journalists for risking their own safety to report on the pandemic and for trying to seek out independent sources and counter disinformation.

A Portuguese journalist responded: "There are bad situations - more press release, less real reporting, press conferences without questions, we work more hours, a lot more hours, cell phones don't stop, we are confined, always working, it's bad for our health. Yet there's also a sense that we are going through extraordinary times and journalists are responding, there's more motivation to report. Like with doctors and health staff, this is also a time for journalism".

The survey's findings back up calls made by the IFJ and representatives of more than 200 million working people across the globe for urgent action to save jobs, protect independent media and fund quality journalism.

The Global Platform for Quality Journalism , a call by journalists' unions in 146 countries, demands urgent measures to protect and reinforce public interest journalism including:

A tax on the revenues of tech giants such as Facebook and Google to create a global fund to support independent media

The use of tax and fiscal policy to reduce the burden on journalists and media

Health and public advertising campaigns to support local media

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Legal Affairs Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "These results show a worrying trend of declining media freedom and cuts to journalism at the very time when access to information and quality journalism is so crucial. Journalism is a public good and it deserves public support and an end to political obstruction and interference.

1308 journalists took part in the survey from 77 countries/territories - Angola, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Luxemburg, Macau, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam

42% of respondents were female, 58% male.

57% were employed, 43% were freelance.
Recently, a friend, colleague and mentor, the cultural historian and critic Maurice Berger, died at 63 of complications from the coronavirus.

Every day that passes, particularly as I hear the wail of ambulance sirens going by on the West Side Highway near my window, I think of Maurice. I think of the conversations about images we might have had regarding this moment.

Much of what I know and teach about how images structure and shape issues of race and justice I learned from his scholarship and life experience. Visualization is a powerful tool  it can help us more deeply understand the severity of the situation as we work to curb the virus. But the visuals we need most in this time are difficult to come by.

I thought of Maurice when a friend living in Milan, who was among Italys earliest diagnosed coronavirus cases, sent me this text message in March: If people could only see what it is like in the hospitals, they would stay at home. He was admitted to the hospital earlier that month, but with his doctors agreement quickly left, feeling that his bed could be better allocated to others experiencing far worse symptoms.
There was one outright tearjerker in the Queens broadcast to the nation last month. Who couldnt be moved by the photograph of her, aged 14, in the very same spot at Windsor Castle 80 years ago, making another address to the country next to her little sister Margaret?

What other head of state can refer to a speech they gave 80 years ago? And what other head of state can refer to the Second World War, having served in the Forces during it? In February 1945 she became a mechanic and driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Then three months later, on 8 May, 1945, she joined in one of the greatest celebrations in our history  VE Day.

VE Day was the only known occasion when she escaped the royal cocoon and partied among her future subjects. Pictured, the celebrations as imagined in the film A Royal Night Out which depicts Elizabeth (left) and Margaret kicking up their heels on VE Day

George VI and Queen Elizabeth, let their daughters leave the palace in a group of 16 including the Hon Margaret Rhodes, the Queens first cousin, and Jean Woodroffe, her lady-in-waiting. Pictured, Elizabeth (left), the Queen, King George VI and Princess Margaret on VE Day

That night was particularly remarkable for the 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth. It was the only known occasion when she escaped the royal cocoon and partied among her future subjects. Her parents, George VI and Queen Elizabeth, let the girls leave the palace in a group of 16 including the Hon Margaret Rhodes, the Queens first cousin, and Jean Woodroffe, her lady-in-waiting.

The group also included Lord Porchester, later to become the Queens racing manager, and Peter Townsend, the kings equerry who caused a national crisis a decade later when, as a divorce, he won the heart of Princess Margaret.

The two princesses slipped easily into the crowd  Princess Elizabeth was in her ATS uniform, like so many others, and Margaret, then just 14, was in smart civilian clothes. HARRY MOUNT spoke to some of those involved that night...

COUSIN WHO JOINED THE FUTURE QUEEN IN A CONGA

With the princesses on their outing was the Queens cousin, the Hon Margaret Rhodes, 19, daughter of the Queen Mothers elder sister Mary. She was just under a year older than the Queen, and the pair (pictured) remained friends until Margaret died in 2016, aged 91

With the princesses on their outing was the Queens cousin, the Hon Margaret Rhodes, 19, daughter of the Queen Mothers elder sister Mary. She was just under a year older than the Queen, and the pair remained friends until Margaret died in 2016, aged 91.

She served as Woman of the Bedchamber to her aunt, the Queen Mother, and in 1980 when her husband Denys was ill, the Queen asked them if theyd like to leave their Devon home and move into one of the Queens houses in Windsor Great Park, if they could bear to live in suburbia, which they duly did.

In 2015 on the 70th anniversary of VE Day Margaret was interviewed by Channel 4 about the celebrations. She told the programme how the royal party slipped out of Buckingham Palace at 9pm.

...AND HOW IT MADE IT INTO THE MOVIES By Brian Viner for Weekend Magazine Unlike Dunkirk and D-Day, VE Day has had little attention from film-makers. But one picture that does make a virtue of the celebrations is 2015s A Royal Night Out, which tells the beguiling true story of princesses Elizabeth and Margaret mingling with the crowds. During the war their father King George VI had remarked, Poor darlings, they have never had any fun yet, but that night they were allowed to go in search of it. Sarah Gadon as Elizabeth with the young airman she befriends The film, with Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley as Elizabeth and Margaret, and Rupert Everett and Emily Watson as their parents, portrays the queen as firmly against the idea of them joining the throng  Ebsolutely not!  and Margaret is distraught. Well be walled up in this ghastly mausoleum for the rest of our blooming lives, she wails. Happily the king relents, as long as the girls are assigned chaperones, a hapless pair of Army officers. The wretched duo are shrugged off, whereupon Elizabeth hooks up with an airman played by Jack Reynor, whom she meets on the No 14 bus and who ends up back at the palace with her for breakfast. VE Day film The Last Time I Saw Paris, starred Van Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor (pictured) In reality, of course, nothing of the sort occurred, but when the film came out it was validation for Ronald Thomas, 85, who had often tried to convince his family that as a callow 15-year-old he had danced with the future Queen in Trafalgar Square that night. When he asked her if she was the princess she first denied it, then admitted she was, begging Ronald not to tell anyone. For years no one believed him, but when the film came out, everyone did. Other VE Day films include 1954s The Last Time I Saw Paris, with Van Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor at her most radiant and a young Roger Moore, and 1955s Mister Roberts, with Henry Fonda as a sailor feuding with his captain, played by James Cagney. Advertisement

We crossed the forecourt at Buckingham Palace and got to the railings and there were these masses and masses of people, she recalled.

There was a general thing of, We want the king and queen!, which we all frantically joined in with and were amazed when, five or ten minutes later, the windows opened and they came out on to the balcony.

'It was like a wonderful escape for the girls. I dont think theyd ever been out among millions of people. It was just freedom  to be an ordinary person.

In a very rare interview for the BBC in 1985 for the 40th anniversary of VE Day, the Queen herself remembered that hallowed evening, saying, I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life.

We were terrified of being recognised, so I pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes.

A Grenadier officer among our party of about 16 people said he refused to be seen in the company of another officer improperly dressed, so I had to put my cap on normally.

The royal party didnt stop outside Buckingham Palace, they decided to make a proper night of it. So at 10pm they all swept down The Mall  on the left hand side, remembered Princess Elizabeths 22-year-old lady-in-waiting Jean Woodroffe, also with the party  and onto Horse Guards Parade, and then down Whitehall.

The Queen said in 1985, I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief. I also remember when someone exchanged hats with a Dutch sailor; the poor man coming along with us in order to get his hat back.

The royal party headed up towards Trafalgar Square, which they reached at 10.30pm. Margaret Rhodes recalled that, Trafalgar Square was jammed. It was a scene of joyful whoopee  full of people kissing policemen and other people. It was complete mayhem but rather nice mayhem.

Even as a 19-year-old, the Queen had decorum. So the royal partys next move  to the Ritz  produced partying which shed never seen before.

At 11.30pm, said Margaret Rhodes, For some reason, we decided to go in the front door of the Ritz and do the conga. The Ritz was so stuffy and formal  we rather electrified the stuffy individuals inside.

'I dont think people realised who was among the party  I think they thought it was just a group of drunk young people. I remember old ladies looking faintly shocked. As one congaed through, eyebrows were raised.

By now it was time to head home to the palace where, by a lovely accident of timing, the king and queen came out on the balcony for a second time, just as the royal party animals got there at midnight.

Well, it wasnt quite accidental, the Queen admitted in 1985. We were successful in seeing my parents on the balcony, having cheated slightly by sending a message into the house, to say we were waiting outside, she revealed.

BLETCHLEY PARK CODEBREAKER WHO SPIED THE ROYAL PARTY

Jean Campbell-Harris (pictured) spent VE Day at the centre of London and Buckingham Palace

Also out on the streets that night was Baroness Trumpington, then 22-year-old Jean Campbell-Harris. She would later become a Minister under Margaret Thatcher.

On the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2015 (three years before she died, aged 96), Lady Trumpington told me about her riotous night on VE Day, over a drink in the Savoy.

SAVOY BARMAN WHO WAS TOO YOUNG TO LET HIS HAIR DOWN On the day I spoke to Lady Trumpington at the Savoy Victor Gower, who had worked there on VE Day at the age of 17, was also in attendance. He spent 61 years at the hotel, 41 of them behind the American Bar. Everything was going mad that day, Victor told me. We started at half past nine in the morning and finished at three the next day. Special meals were laid on. We had to be back on duty at 9.30 the next morning. Management were very understanding. I had a drink but not too much. During the war and after there was strict food rationing, but there were fewer restrictions on drink, particularly in Londons finest hotels. There was lots of Champagne and a lot of drunks, but the Savoy was tolerant, Victor remembered. No one crossed the line. Customers accepted shortages, but they could always get something in the Savoy they couldnt get anywhere else. The chefs were very good at disguising rabbit as chicken. Fish wasnt rationed, or offal. There was powdered egg  it wasnt too bad. A lot of people had a lot of fun on VE Day  but not me. I was too young! Advertisement

At that time she was working at Bletchley Park, home to the Allied codebreakers during the war. We sort of knew the end was coming, and we guessed VE Day was going to be a big do, she said.

Me and my five pals went to London on the train. Peace was declared not long after we arrived. It had been very dim during the blackout  with only searchlights in the sky and very tiny traffic lights  and suddenly there was this sudden blaze of light.

'It was so exciting! Everything had been so dim, dim, dim. And now it was splurge, splurge, splurge!

It was instinct that led young Jean to the centre of London and Buckingham Palace. Among those she saw was jazz musician Humphrey Lyttelton, later famous for chairing the Radio 4 panel game Im Sorry I Havent A Clue.

Lady Trumpington remembered him blowing his trumpet like mad on the back of a lorry.

She was also one of the few to spot the royals. I had a friend who was a bodyguard of the Queen, so I noticed her and Princess Margaret as they walked the streets, she recalled.

But they were people like anyone else  we didnt take any notice of them. 

She then followed the route of the crowd that also included the royal party. We did the conga around Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square and jumped into a car owned by the Duke of Norfolk. He was madly in love with one of my Bletchley friends.

'He thought hed have a ride with her in his small open top car. He didnt count on 15 of us squeezing in too! At one point she was picked up by a naval officer.

He just kissed me  and then it was bye-bye. Im sure he was married. We never met again.

It didnt matter a damn what you did that night, she said. None of us came to any harm  we all enjoyed it. We were alive, and we were going to go on being alive. Nothing could ever be quite the same again.

Harry is author of How England Made The English (Penguin).
By Sofia Menchu

QUETZALTENANGO, Guatemala (Reuters) - Guatemala's indigenous Maya towns are spurning returned migrants, threatening some with burning their homes or lynching as fear spreads about more than 100 deportees from the United States who tested positive for the new coronavirus.

In one city in the Guatemalan highlands, home to a large indigenous population, residents tried to burn down a migrant shelter. In some villages, locals are rebuffing the recently returned and threatening relatives of the deportees with expulsion from their homes.

To date, Guatemalan health officials have said that nearly one fifth of the 585 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Central American country can be traced to people deported from the United States, most of them on two flights in a single day.

That has fueled an angry backlash against migrants as they make their way home.

Carlos Cumes, an 19-year-old whose American dream ended a few weeks ago with his deportation, saw his luck sour again when he returned to the village of Santa Catarina Palopo, hoping to reunite with his family. The village, on the shore of the volcanic Lake Atitlan, is a center for the Kaqchikel Maya whose women wear traditional blue and purple dress.

Walking the final leg to his parents' home, Cumes was confronted by an angry group of locals who had seen televised footage of him being transported toward the village in an ambulance earlier in the day.

He was showered with insults and accused of bringing the disease with him, despite having undergone four days of medical observations in the capital and carrying a document from the health ministry pronouncing him symptom-free of coronavirus.

But none of that allayed the mob's worst fears.

"They threatened to set my family on fire," said Cumes. "I was really afraid and I could only think about leaving the village so that I wouldn't cause any more trouble."

"If I had stayed, they would have burnt my house down and who knows what else," Cumes said in a telephone interview from Guatemala City, where he is observing a mandatory 15-day period of isolation.

Story continues

Some of his own relatives, he said, also turned their back on him.

Biting poverty has made Guatemala one of the main sources of migrants to the United States in recent years, along with neighboring El Salvador and Honduras.

The confirmation by President Alejandro Giammattei that 103 Guatemalans deported from the United States on three flights since late March have tested positive for the virus has fostered popular anxiety and the volatile mood in the impoverished highlands, home to many migrants.

Until recently Guatemalans looked favorably on migrants, due in part to the vital remittances they provide to many families, fear of them has grown dramatically in just a short time.

"Only a few months ago, most people were very happy (with migrants) because they came bringing remittance checks, but now they treat them like criminals," Giammattei said in a national broadcast on April 19.

Mob justice is not uncommon in the mostly indigenous region and although Guatemala suspended most flights from the United States in mid-April in response to the infections, deportations from Mexico continue apace, stoking residents' fears.

The U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Agency (ICE) has said deportees were screened before the flights for elevated temperatures and symptoms associated with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Yet migrants returned by the United States to Colombia, Mexico, Haiti and Jamaica have also tested positive for the virus in recent weeks, raising broader concerns over the deportation program.

Following reports of infected deportees, the agency said it would acquire 2,000 coronavirus tests per month to screen migrants on outgoing flights, even though it likely would not have enough tests for all deportees.

The United States has sent three "humanitarian" flights carrying children since Guatemala imposed its ban, as Central American countries are under pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to continue receiving flights.

A plane with 89 Guatemalans, a dozen of them minors, arrived in the country on April 30, according to the Guatemalan government. An ICE spokeswoman said all the passengers on board were tested for COVID-19 prior to removal and all the tests were negative.

Two Democratic U.S. Senators, Richard Durbin from Illinois and Bob Menendez from New Jersey, said they would be sending a letter to the Trump administration on Friday demanding testing for all migrants before they are deported.

'MAKE THEM LEAVE!'

This month, in the highland capital of Quetzaltenango, a couple of buses carrying 80 migrants deported from Mexico had barely arrived at a make-shift shelter when a rumor began circulating that some sick migrants had fled the shelter and were at large in the community.

Upset residents descended upon the shelter demanding that the deportees be taken away, and the local governor rushed to the scene in an effort to ease the tension.

He publicly confirmed all the deportees had been accounted for and none were on the loose.

The crowd, nonetheless, continued to shout: "Make them leave!"

"'Mr. Governor, think about our kids,'" Governor Julio Queme recalled the residents pleading, speaking to Reuters in a later interview. He said some of the outraged locals were brandishing sticks.

Still others threatened to burn down the shelter, and only dispersed after Queme warned they could be detained for violating Guatemala's curfew, which starts at 6:00 p.m.

But the worry remains among many that returned migrants will infect more locals unless aggressive measures are taken.

"It's scary if any migrants were to escape (the shelter) or if the people who work there were to get infected and go back to their homes and infect everyone else," said Roberto Gomez, a 60-year-old local who says he rarely leaves home due to the risk of contracting the coronavirus.

In another nearby, mostly Maya town called Paxtoca, local officials have prohibited the entry of deported migrants, after a neighboring village last month saw two deportees returned from the United States who later tested positive for coronavirus.

"This decision was made to protect the health of all our neighbors," said Paxtoca Mayor Santiago Perez.

Prior to the pandemic, many deported Guatemalans could expect to be welcomed back home by balloon-toting family members at an air force base in the capital where most would arrive.

Today, that scene is a distant memory.

"I don't know if I should go back to my village or not," said Cumes, who celebrated his birthday on Friday and added that he has faithfully complied with his mandatory isolation.

"I'm really scared," he said. "I'm confused and I don't know what to do."

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Additional reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Dan Flynn and Daniel Wallis)
WESTFIELD  Kate Phelon announced this week that she plans to retire as executive director of the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 15 after nearly 10 years with the organization.

I cant say enough about Westfield, she said. We have such a great community.

All chambers of commerce and the businesses they serve are under strain now because of the novel coronavirus and the shutdown orders intended to stop its spread. The Westfield Chamber has had to cancel its normal roster of mixers and breakfasts, get-togethers that make up a significant portion of what the chambers do.

Chambers rely on that cash flow, Phelon said. Its very challenging times. Some money does come in if someone renews their membership. But thats it.

The Westfield Chamber has laid off its staff, she said.

Chambers of commerce are not eligible for federal programs including Paycheck Protection Program loans that charities  which are also nonprofits but classified differently  can use, she said.

These days chambers of commerce are busy disseminating information about coronavirus to the business community and communicating business concerns to state officials, Phelon said.

Westfield Chamber board president Dino Gravanis, general manager of the Springfield Country Club, will be coordinating the search for the next executive director, Phelon said. Shes planning to stay on with the chamber to help the new executive director.

In her time as executive director, Phelon has grown membership in the chamber from 210 in 2011 to 260 today.

Phelon said she established public-private relationships that led to her appointment by Gov. Charlie Baker to the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative in 2016.

Also in 2016, she began a collaboration with Stefan Czaporowski, superintendent of the Westfield Public Schools, and created the Westfield Education 2 Business Alliance. The alliance links the business community with education through a mentoring program, Adopt-A-Classroom initiative and high school career fair.

Phelon sits on the Economic Development Partners committee, working with economic development professionals from Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, as well as regional employment boards, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Massachusetts Office of Business Development, MassDevelopment and other chambers of commerce.

She created Chamber Chatter in 2017 and still hosts the monthly radio show on WSKB 89.5 FM.

She is a corporator at Westfield State University and the Westfield Athenaeum, as well as an ex-officio board member of the Friends of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail and a member of the Rotary Club of Westfield.
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The official number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia rose above 100,000, with deaths exceeding 1,000, and the prime minister tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putins Syria headache persisted and a bitter dispute with the Czech Republic took a dramatic turn.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

Prague Spring Chill

Russia has problems in the Middle East and Central Europe. The problems are vastly different in the two regions and from country to country, in terms of both nature and scale.

In Syria, for instance, Moscow is struggling with what may be the inability to exert substantial influence over a leader it has strongly and unflinchingly supported in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

In the Czech Republic, Russia has watched its image worsen amid bitter disputes over a statue in an out-of-the-way park and the name of the leafy square outside its sprawling embassy complex in Prague.

Arguably, though, these problems share a common root: President Vladimir Putins drive to increase Moscows influence on the global stage after its clout contracted substantially when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Aleksandr Baunov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center and editor in chief of its website, argued that the desire to boost Russias role  and ensure that any gains made over his 20-plus years in power do not slip away  were a major factor in Putins decision to give himself the option of seeking to stay in the Kremlin until 2036.

In our opinion, one of the main reasons that prompted him to take this step was his fear of repeating the mistakes of perestroika, the fear of perestroika-2 that reigns among those in the Russian elite who consider the geopolitical defeat of Russia to be the main result of the change in the 1980s-'90s, Baunov wrote in an editorial published on April 29.

Putin sees the global status of Russia as his primary area of responsibility, and its restoration as his highest achievement, he wrote.

Lately, though, those efforts have suffered setbacks.

In the Czech Republic, Putins perceived thirst for the restoration of Russias influence in the present and future seems to have run up against Moscows demands that Prague pay homage to the Soviet role in Nazi Germanys World War II defeat  and against the Kremlins own reluctance to reckon with the fact that many people in the Czech Republic, and the wider region, see the postwar decades through a different, darker prism.

A bronze statue of Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev was removed from its pedestal in a small park far from the heart of Prague on April 3, months after the local district assembly voted to take it down.

Troops under Konevs command retook most of Czechoslovakia from Nazi forces and entered Prague on May 9, 1945, after it had been at least partly liberated by resistance and anti-Soviet forces. He also commanded the troops that crushed the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising in Hungary and helped build the Berlin Wall, and some historians say he helped plan the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia that crushed the Prague Spring in 1968.

Many Czechs view him a symbol of the decades of Soviet dominance after the war. Putin has at times acknowledged that millions of people in the former Warsaw Pact countries see the Soviet Union more as an occupier than as a liberator.

But in recent years and particularly ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat, he and other officials in Moscow have seemed determined not to let that bull  or elephant, as the Russian phrase has it  into the china shop of their narrative of the war and its aftermath.

Following the monuments removal, masked assailants threw smoke bombs at the Czech Embassy in Moscow and Russia took or threatened symbolic reciprocal moves, opening a criminal case that has no force outside Russia and mulling naming a southern Moscow subway station after Konev instead of Prague.

Narratives And Nemtsov

Russia argues that dismantling the statue  erected in 1980, when Soviet dominance over Eastern Europe seemed fairly secure  violates a 1993 friendship treaty between Russia and the Czech Republic. As recently as April 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is awaiting a response from the Czech government on a proposal to begin a dialogue about the matter.

But the tension goes beyond the fate of a 40-year-old monument. On February 27, authorities in the same Prague district where the Konev monument stood renamed the square outside the Russian Embassy after Boris Nemtsov, the vocal Putin foe and former Russian first deputy prime minister who was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin on that date in 2015.

That raised the Kremlins ire and resulted in some geographical gymnastics by the embassy, which shifted its main address to a building far from the stately entrance on Boris Nemtsov Square  a gate with a display case featuring portraits of Putin, Lavrov, and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

And the story of the countries suddenly more sour relationship took a dramatic turn when the Czech weekly Respekt reported that Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and the district mayor who backed dismantling the Konev statue, Ondrej Kolar, had been singled out by Russian intelligence for poisoning with a deadly toxin.

Respekt cited security sources it did not identify as saying a suspected Russian intelligence officer had arrived in the Czech capital three weeks earlier on a diplomatic passport and with a suitcase containing ricin.

Russian officials have repeatedly ridiculed the report and dismissed it-- but have done so in ways that seem to fall short of a direct denial.

Lavrov, for example, described the overall thrust of the claim set out in the Respekt report, but added details that it did not include, and then asked: Who in their right mind would agree and believe all these inventions?

The answer to the question of who would believe the Respekt report might be different if not for incidents such as the fatal radioactive-polonium poisoning of Kremlin critic Aleksandr Litvinenko in London in 2006 and the nerve-agent poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England in 2018.

Putins Assad Problem

In the Middle East, Putin has raised Russias profile in recent years by pursuing warmer ties with Saudi Arabia and providing powerful diplomatic and military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government in the nine-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and forced millions from their homes.

But Russia jeopardized the relationship with Riyadh in early March when it rejected a Saudi proposal for top oil producers in the OPEC+ group to cut output in a bid to push crude prices higher.

Putin then blamed Riyadh on the failure to agree, drawing a reprimand from the Saudi foreign minister, who said his statement was fully devoid of truth -- possibly the first time a senior official or diplomat from a non-Western country has publicly accused Putin of lying.

Russias military intervention in Syria, where it launched a campaign of air strikes against Assads foes in 2015 and stepped up its presence on the ground, helping avert what might have been the Syrian presidents ouster, has doubtless made Moscow more of a force to be reckoned with the region.

But that clout has been clouded by persistent questions of how much influence Russia holds over Assad and whether it will ever be able  if it is willing  to push him into a political settlement.

Doing so would be a big win for Putin, easing strains the military campaign has put on the Russian budget and showing the world and the West that Russia can be what it has claimed to be in several wars: a peacemaker.

An April 28 report from Bloomberg News emphasized what one Russia analyst of Mideast affairs called the Kremlins Syria headache.

Citing several reports in Kremlin-linked publications that featured criticism of Assad, the Bloomberg article said that Putin was showing his impatience with a Syrian president who isnt proving as grateful for being kept in power by Russian intervention in his countrys brutal civil war as the Kremlin leader needs him to be.

Consumed at home by the twin shocks of collapsing oil prices and the coronavirus epidemic, and eager to wrap up his Syrian military adventure by declaring victory, Putin is insisting that Assad show more flexibility in talks with the Syrian opposition on a political settlement to end the nearly decade-long conflict, it said.

The article cited four unnamed people it said were familiar with Kremlin deliberations on the matter.

The Kremlin needs to get rid of the Syrian headache, it quoted Aleksandr Shumilin, a former Russian diplomat who runs the Europe-Middle East Center at the Russian Academy of Sciences, as saying. The problem is with one person -- Assad -- and his entourage.

COVID In The Cabinet

One way that Putin may have hoped to raise Moscows global profile was to avoid severe consequences from the coronavirus pandemic: As it spread around the world and hard in countries such as Spain and Italy, there were signs that the Kremlin may have believed Russia would largely be spared.

That did not work out, and a pair of developments that occurred on April 30 seemed to drive that fact home.

In the morning, when Russia updates its COVID-19 tallies, the official number of confirmed cases pushed past 100,000 and deaths from the disease exceeded 1,000  even as questions about the accuracy of the states figures persist.

On that evening, Prime Minister Mishustin announced that he had tested positive and would self-isolate. A spokesman said he would be hospitalized.

Worldwide, Mishustin, 54, is one of the highest officials to contract COVID-19. In Russia, his positive test is a reminder of the big plans that Putin had for this spring  and that have been put on hold by the coronavirus.

Putin appointed Mishustin to replace longtime Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, whom he dismissed hours after a January 15 state-of-the-nation speech in which he announced plans for constitutional amendments changing the power structure in Russia. The timing means that Mishustins name, not widely known until that day, is associated with those plans.

On March 10, eight days after Russia recorded its first coronavirus case and nine days before the first reported death, Putin gave his backing to a newly revealed proposed amendment that would allow him to run for president in 2024 and again in 2030, potentially extending his time in office until 2036.

The constitutional amendments were to have been given a seal of public approval in a nationwide vote on April 22. But that vote  and a May 9 military parade in Red Square  have been postponed due to COVID-19.
(CNN)  Sudan's government has criminalized female genital mutilation (FGM), a government spokesperson told CNN on Friday, clamping down on a practice that most of the country's women and girls have endured.

An amendment of the country's criminal code was passed outlawing FGM, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the action fell under the government's commitment to international human rights agreements.

According to United Nations data around 88% of the female population in Sudan have suffered FGM, making it one of the world's most-affected nations.

"No doubt this article will contribute in addressing one of the most dangerous social practices, which constitutes a clear violation against women and a crime against women's rights," the Sudanese Foreign Ministry statement says.

The ministry called the move "an advanced step in order to terminate this predominant socially-rooted trend." It added that it "trusts the competence of the designated Sudanese authorities and their capacity and professionalism protecting and respecting women and enhancing their rights at a general level and particularly their health and social rights."

The Foreign Ministry highlighted that for this law to be successfully enforced, there needs to be a community effort and coordination between "all parties" in raising awareness of the issue through community outreach.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry "indicates that the amendment of this law is a positive mark in creating a society where women enjoy all their rights including exercising their rights and duties," the statement adds.

The news was welcomed by UNICEF, which cautioned in a statement that midwives, health service providers, fathers, mothers, and young people need to be informed about the new legislation.

"This practice is not only a violation of the rights of every child, it is a harmful practice and has serious consequences for the physical and mental health of the girl," Abdullah Fadel," a UNICEF representative in Sudan, said in a statement. "Therefore, governments and societies alike should take immediate action to end this."

This story was first published on CNN.com "Sudanese government bans female genital mutilation."
Posted on April 30, 2020

We are collaborating with FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, in an effort to identify misinformation and to ensure news consumers get the facts.

The White House is not selling coins related to the novel coronavirus pandemic, as some on social media have wrongly suggested.

But a COVID-19 themed coin is being sold by the White House Gift Shop  a private business that is not part of the federal government, although its origins decades ago are tied to the White House.

The company garnered attention when it began offering the coin for $125 (though its currently on sale for $100) as part of its Historic Moments in History Series.

WORLD vs VIRUS, reads a mock-up with a novel coronavirus graphic. Together We FOUGHT The UNSEEN Enemy. The back shows a White House lectern and celebrates the COVID-19 Task Force and includes President Donald Trumps name, as well as those of Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the White House coronavirus task force.

The company says it will donate proceeds from the coin to COVID-19 medical research.

Headlines about the coin began circulating on social media on April 29, causing confusion by virtue of the companys name  and prompting posts of outrage on left-leaning accounts.

On Twitter and Facebook, Sen. Bernie Sanders official Senate accounts suggested the coin was a product of the White House while sharing a link to a Daily Beast story (which does indicate that the company is privately run).

If the White House Gift Shop is going to produce $100 COVID-19 coins, Trump can sure as hell utilize the Defense Production Act to manufacture the gloves, gowns, and masks our medical workers desperately need, the Sanders posts said.

The Occupy Democrats Facebook group also shared the Daily Beast story and misleadingly wrote, WHAT IS WRONG WITH TRUMP? Who would want these?

Other headlines also falsely indicated the coin was coming from the actual White House, or that Trump somehow stood to profit from it.

Trumps New Idea To Profit: $100 COVID-19 Commemorative Coins,' read one from dailyboulder.com. Politicalflare.com asserted: White House Sells COVID-19 Commemorative Coins That Celebrate the Genius Level Thinking of Trump. (That website later updated its story and apologized.)

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show that the White House Gift Shop and White House Gift Shop, Est. 1946 are trademarks owned by Giannini Strategic Enterprises, a limited liability corporation formed in 2010 in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

In 2018, when the company sold a coin celebrating the meeting between Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, the website Talking Points Memo published a report looking into the history of the shop. It pointed to documents filed in connection with the trademark applications showing that the companys current CEO, Anthony Giannini, officially acquired the operation in 2013 from the now-defunct United States Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefit Fund.

An archived version of the shops website from May 2000 describes the funds origins as dating back to 1946, with the start of the White House Police Benefit Fund. That fund provided flowers for officers who had a death in their immediate family and offered retiring members a departing gift from the force. The effort expanded, however, following the 1950 killing of a White House police officer during an assassination attempt on President Harry Truman.

In the years that followed, the websites history noted, the Uniformed Division Benefit Fund was formed and revenue was generated through the sale of various commemorative items. Its gift shop operated in the Old Executive Office Building, and later moved to a nearby space to make it publicly accessible. The Uniformed Division Benefit Fund filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

The gift shop now operates online and no longer has a physical space in Washington, D.C. The company today says it continues to actively support Law Enforcement Departments or Agencies by funding special advanced firearms training and by purchasing safe and effective arms for departments often in smaller jurisdictions with limited advanced training budgets.

We reached out to the company but didnt hear back. But Giannini, the CEO, also confirmed to the fact-checking website Snopes that the business is not affiliated with The White House, nor is The White House involved in any of our decisions, products, or operations.

Editors note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.




Lansing: Hundreds of protesters, some armed, gathered at Michigan's state Capitol in Lansing on Thursday objecting to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's request to extend emergency powers to combat COVID-19, an appeal Republican lawmakers ignored.

The protest appeared to be the largest in the state since April 15, when supporters of President Donald Trump organised thousands of people for "Operation Gridlock," jamming the streets of Lansing with their cars to call out what they said was the overreach of Whitmer's strict stay-at-home order.

People protest outside the entrance of the Michigan House of Representatives in Lansing, Michigan. Credit:AP

The slow reopening of state economies around the country has taken on political overtones, as Republican politicians and individuals affiliated with Trump's re-election promoted such protests in electoral swing states, such as Michigan.

Many people at Thursday's "American Patriot Rally", including militia group members carrying firearms and people with pro-Trump signs, appeared to be ignoring state social-distancing guidelines as they clustered together within two metres of each other.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

During a Friday press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he is "very close" to modifying the state's shelter-in-place order, but hinted those modifications may be contingent on the behavior of beach-goers.

"We're getting very close to making very meaningful augmentations to that stay-at-home order," he said. "We said 'weeks, not months' about four or five days ago. I want to say 'many days, not weeks.' As long as we continue to be prudent and thoughtful in certain modifications, I think we'll be making some announcements."

It is not entirely clear what exactly those announcements will be, but the governor seemed to hint towards moving to Stage 2 of the state's reopening plan, stating, "Were getting very close to making some announcements that will be meaningful to people in the retail sector, the hospitality sector, and yes, that second phase includes restaurants."

However, when fielding a question on his mandated closure of Orange County beaches and parks, the governor seemed to suggest the beginning of the reopening may depend on the size of crowds he sees this weekend.

"Look, well see what happens over the course of this weekend," he said. "If we have the kind of weekend that I hope and expect we will where we dont see those huge crowds descend, then were going be in a position as early as Monday, Tuesday I hope to make some announcements on new strategies and partnerships that were working on in real time to address those large crowds."

Tens of thousands of people were seen on Orange County beaches over the weekend, prompting Newsom to order a hard closure. The governor was reportedly considering a statewide closure of beaches and parks, but later denied knowledge of a memo sent Wednesday evening to police chiefs around the state informing them of the upcoming order.

"The only thing thats going to hold us back is spread of this virus, and the only thing that is assured to advance the spread of the virus is thousands of people congregating together not practicing social distancing or physical distancing," Newsom said Friday. "If we avoid that, then were going to get to other side of this with modifications a lot quicker. So I just hope people will consider that."

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Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting
You have a toddler at home. You perhaps regularly but a particular brand of diapers from a particular online or offline store. If that store becomes unavailable to you for some reason, you will most likely shift to buying from another store or outlet. The toddlers requirements remain consistent, irrespective of the world order at the time. What does a store or business owner need to doensure that they are available to you, in one way or the other. Indian startup Superbottoms is just one of the many businesses across the country which are relying on tech platforms more than ever to give them all the tools they need during these tough times. Diapers are just one examplethe definition of essentials is much wider than you may have ever imagined or even though about, till the scenario of a lockdown became a very real thing. It has not been easy for businesses either way .

The lockdown in India because of the COVID pandemic, has particularly hit smaller businesses and startups hard. Technology and digital platforms have provided some respite . And a prime example of that certainly is WhatsApp, the WhatsApp Business Platform.

WhatsApp Business has more than 1 million businesses active on the app, in India.

A million strong, and counting

For you, WhatsApp may be all about chatting with friends and family and hyperactive work groups, but businesses are relying on the Facebook-owned platform more than ever. Launched back in January 2018, it took a year before the Android-only app at the time was also made available for the Apple iPhones as well. Now, WhatsApp Business has more than 1 million businesses active on the app, in India. And it is 5 million globally. Those are massive numbers, whichever way you look at them, for a platform launched with a focus on small businesses. The current lockdown reinforces more than ever how important local businesses are in connecting communities and providing a backbone to our economy. Its very important to us at WhatsApp that we give businesses tools to help them achieve success and grow. Thats especially important right now when digital tools can serve as a lifeline for businesses and customers to stay connected, says Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp India, while speaking with News18.

Reaching out for customers

We were doing an average of 300 orders per month, but during the lockdown period, our business has increased sales 10 times the usual average, Sonusingh Kartarsingh Choudhary, Founder of Wheatmart India, tells News18. They sell a range of food grains and millets that are ground in stone-based mills, and home-delivered directly from their store to homes in Pune. The reason is, they have stayed connected with their existing customers through the lockdown phase to ensure they deliver whatever each household requires. Choudhary points out that this has also helped spread a good word about them, which has seen the customer base widen. WhatsApp has played a very important role in helping us reach out to our customers and, in turn, their friends and family, he says.

"Its very important to us at WhatsApp that we give businesses tools to help them achieve success and grow. Thats especially important right now when digital tools can serve as a lifeline for businesses and customers to stay connected - Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp India

Building the bond with your customers

This has been a particularly challenging time for Superbottoms founder Pallavi Utagi. Not only do they have a new concept that requires some amount of communication as part of the education process, but also sees customers come back with queries. Our concept is new to the Indian market and requires a concerted push to educate parents on cloth diapers, both pre and post-purchase. Since most of our customers are to-be or new parents, theyre occupied all the time and prefer reaching out on a medium that is most convenient and immediate. Thats why WhatsApp has been our go-to channel to connect since day 1, Utagi tells News18. The stats make for a rather interesting reading. Superbottoms is now handling as many as 500 queries a day on WhatsApp Business alone , despite what the company admits is a dip because of the COVID lockdown, and yet also do close to 100 video demos through WhatsApp video calls to help parents with any challenge they may face with Superbottoms.

Then there is the very aspect of building a bond as you communicate, something that most product literature and business schools educational literature dont necessarily talk about. What is great is that due to the conversational nature of WhatsApp, our team of mothers who handle the queries eventually develop a personal connection with these new parents and often the discussions go beyond diapers to other areas of baby care too, she says.

"Our team of mothers who handle the queries eventually develop a personal connection with these new parents and often the discussions go beyond diapers to other areas of baby care too - Pallavi Utagi, Founder, Superbottoms

Giving a voice to everyone possible

WhatsApp is proud of the fact that the WhatsApp Business platform has been able to cater to the requirements of businesses across the spectrum. It is never easy to tailor a solution or a platform that works for just about everyone . Businesses across the board, from retail to services, are leveraging WhatsApp to keep in touch with their customers and deliver essential services and goods. WhatsApp usage has hit our highest levels with kirana stores taking orders from local families, students keeping up their studies with teachers, volunteer organizations mobilizing communities, suppliers selling perishable inventory and much more, says WhatsApps Bose.

Businesses like Akshayakalpa, Kriger Campus and Happy Milk have witnessed an increase of 25%, 55% and 43% respectively in their business interactions during the lockdown period, says the company.

Akshayakalpa, an organic milk company, only uses WhatsApp Business as a communication platform, and the sound reasoning behind that is pretty much everyone uses WhatsApp these days. Not only does it save on costs for businesses, but also allows them to focus on communication on one platform. During the lockdown period, we saw a 25% increase in our interactions with consumers over WhatsApp, says Zakir Sunasara, Lead of Digital Marketing at Akshayakalpa. There is definitely the convenience for users who dont have to shift to another app to get in touch with the brand. But, Sunsara does point out a rather interesting observation, there's an element of authenticity that comes through with WhatsApp and it's easier to assure our customers that we're listening and acting on feedback.

It is a state of tools aplenty

WhatsApp, on its part, had provided multiple tools for businesses in India. There is the Business Profile, which helps businesses create an identity for themselvesdetails about what they do, how to contact them and so on. Then there are Greeting Messages, quick replies and more to help businesses immediately reply to consumers, which helps to build consumer confidence as well. Last but not least are labels for businesses to keep chats and contacts organized. Previously businesses had to send product photos one at a time and repeatedly provide information. Now customers can see their full catalog right within WhatsApp, just like walking through a store, says WhatsApps Bose.

Not having to download another app to connect with a brand you regularly rely on for purchases, has its own advantages. Consumers dont need to do anything, except reach out to these brands using WhatsApp on their phone. And theyll get a response there itself.

"Every client is super comfortable with communicating their concerns and feedback on WhatsApp" - Mehal Kejriwal, Founder, Happy Milk

Bengaluru based Happy Milk has continued to produce and deliver at full capacity, even during the lockdown. That is full 7000 liters of milk, every day, as they did pre-lockdown. Every client is super comfortable with communicating their concerns and feedback on WhatsApp. The team uses WhatsApp Business app to share pictures, videos and live locations with customers, says Mehal Kejriwal, Founder of Happy Milk. They use WhatsApp to share all the information that potential new customers would want, including e-kits that have pricing details. Post purchase interactions happen over WhatsApp as well, as we like to tap our customers for feedback on the products taste, quality, delivery and more, says Kejriwal.

JioMart on WhatsApp Pushes for digital inclusion

Supplies of essentials, including the range of products that you can buy from nearby Kirana stores and departmental stores, is the next big focus for WhatsApp, with the JioMart integration . As of July, last year, there were more than 400 million active WhatsApp users in India. And counting. The vision for this project which sees Facebook's investment in Reliance Jio, is to bring the nearby stores to consumers on WhatsApp, where they can browse the listings of what is in stock and what is available and place the orders on the platform itself. The nearby Kirana shops will get access to a platform they probably would have never had access to before, with a massive demographic of users potentially tapped in one fine swoop. And there are millions of these small merchants and Kirana stores across India.

It is not just essentials, but virtual classrooms too

Online education, virtual classrooms and digital learning have become more popular over the past few weeks, as students and teachers around the country are using digital platforms to continue the melding of teaching and learning processes. That has given the education network and marketplace Kriger Campus a big boost as well. The proposition that they offer itself is uniquethey connect educators and students in what is a one-of-its-kind marketplace with on-demand services available for access. For instance, a teacher can list books, counselling services, study material, test paper guidance and training sessions and students can sign up as per requirement. Pre-lockdown we attended to about 500 business enquiries every week. During the lockdown, the number has soared to 1000+ enquiries per week, Suraj Satyarthi, Founder of Kriger campus, tells News18. WhatsApp Business has been an integral part of their business from the outset, and that focus is now paying dividendsa 55 percent increase in interactions on the platform during the lockdown. There are increased interactions across the board, which means students, parents, teachers and institutes are all using the platform more than ever .

In a way, the COVID pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have ensured that the digital platforms have received an even bigger push, as consumer habits change. Online purchases, customer interactions using WhatsApp and digital payments are all part of the larger scheme which talks about digital-first.
Australians' interest in solar panels is so far defying the disruption of the coronavirus, with registrations in April running at the second-highest monthly rate on record.

Data on small-scale solar systems show about 237 megawatts of new photovoltaic capacity were added to the nation's roofs last month, a jump of 56 per cent from April 2019, according to Green Energy Markets. Only March was bigger at 248MW.

Solar demand is holding up so far - but future demand trends remain unclear. Credit: Supplied

"It's particularly impressive given April tends to be a lower month due to smaller number of working days," director of analysis at the consultancy Tristan Edis said.

"Weve already passed 900MW of rooftop solar for the year and its only April."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

Trend:

The current period for us is a time when we must increase spending and help vulnerable citizens and entrepreneurs, said Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev during a videoconference with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti, Trend reports.

Mr. President, thank you and senior representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for this meeting. This is evidence that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is a close and reliable partner of Azerbaijan. Therefore, you have come up with such an initiative in difficult times. This will allow us the opportunity to review the ongoing projects, discuss upcoming work and outline plans for further cooperation. Regarding the question on the virus, we began to take measures based on the real situation from the very beginning, said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state pointed out that it was very important for us to assess the situation correctly and set up an effective team to deal with this crisis.

This virus came to Azerbaijan from outside, we took appropriate steps to prevent it and closed the borders on the basis of an agreement and joint decision with neighboring states. I believe that we made that decision in a timely manner and earlier than similar decisions were taken by other countries. As a result, we gained some time. We see that time is the most important factor in the fight against this virus, because the health system of no country is capable of treating such a large number of infected people. Therefore, our main goals were to gain time, prepare the healthcare system, mobilize specialists and doctors, and build management correctly. Then we started witnessing the spread of the virus in the country and began to apply restrictive measures in March. We are in constant contact with the World Health Organization, and these contacts are ongoing. We asked the World Health Organization to send specialists to the country to evaluate the situation. They did that and then made a statement that Azerbaijan was taking the necessary measures. They also provided certain recommendations. Later, the World Health Organization issued a statement citing Azerbaijan as an example in the fight against coronavirus, said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that the decision to introduce restrictive measures was not an easy one.

We understood perfectly well that it would create inconveniences for people, a major blow would be dealt to our economic development despite the fact that this year's indicators were quite reassuring. But we had two options. The first option is to protect the life and health of our people and the second is to prioritize the saving of the economy. Therefore, we chose the protection of people's lives from the very beginning. This is the goal of all our work, and we fully mobilized our efforts in this direction. We conducted more than 120,000 tests and are in one of the leading places for their number per capita. We have set up additional laboratories, which are currently 18. Patients infected with coronavirus are being treated in 22 public hospitals, including the recently commissioned modern hospital with 575 beds. Currently, about 2,000 of our citizens are in quarantine, and this figure is decreasing. These are the people who came from abroad and those who were in contact with them. They have been placed in four- and five-star hotels and have the conditions that meet high standards, said President Ilham Aliyev.

The result of the restrictive measures being occasionally tightened was positive, and we have been observing positive dynamics for two weeks now, i.e. more people are recovering than become infected. The relatively low mortality rate suggests that the work is being done right. We started to relax restrictive measures yesterday. As for the impact on our economy, it will be negative, of course. At the beginning of the year, we had positive prospects. If you look at the first quarter of the year, growth was still at 1 percent, growth in the non-oil sector was 3 percent and in the non-energy sector 23 percent, noted the head of state.

The head of state pointed out that a large package of support for the areas of the private sector worst affected by coronavirus has been provided.

The state has paid a large share of the salaries of 600,000 citizens and micro businesses working in the service and other sectors. Along with this, money was paid to 600,000 low-income, unemployed and unofficially employed citizens in accordance with the minimum criterion. Of course, this is a huge expense for us. If we also consider tax benefits, this figure exceeds 3.5 billion manats, or 2 billion dollars, today. This is a large burden for our budget, because the sharp drop in the oil price will have an adverse impact on our foreign exchange reserves. However, the current period for us is a time when we must increase spending and help vulnerable citizens and entrepreneurs. At the same time, we have doubled the number of paid public jobs this year, said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that minimum wages are paid here as well, and these are jobs usually related to the public sector.

This year the number of such jobs will be 90,000. We have also increased the number of citizens receiving social assistance. Each such family receives 222 manats every month, and their number has reached 80,000. Along with this, self-employment opportunities have been created for 12,000 people  there is also growth of 70 percent here. So this is the information about the economic and social package presented to our citizens working in areas that have been adversely affected and also have lost their jobs, said President Ilham Aliyev.
Today we celebrate the efforts and aspirations of all Ghanaian workers, particularly the frontline healthcare and essential workers who have in the wake of COVID-19, sacrificially dedicated their time and efforts to fight this deadly pandemic.

As Ghana has been engaged in an all-out fight against COVID-19 for the past several weeks, we have learnt one thing of our frontline workers; that they have a big heart for people, are caring, committed and giving!

On the occasion of the 2020 May Day celebrations, unlike any other year, we are faced with a global public health crisis. The celebration is being marked against the backdrop of a pandemic which threatens the physical, psychological, social and economic wellbeing of Ghana and its workers.

However, at the fore of the fight against this virus are our frontline healthcare and essential workers who have fervently and remarkably served the nation so that we can have a strong chance at winning this battle.

As we mark Workers Day 2020, we at Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all healthcare workers in the public and private sector for their sacrifice, zeal, and commitment in the fight against this pandemic. We acknowledge your efforts and that is why in keeping with our brand promise Here for good, we are taking action by donating Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to frontline health workers in selected hospitals across the country.

As a Bank with a history of over 120 years serving the people of Ghana and contributing to the financial development of the nation, we fully support and recognize the hard work and aspirations of all Ghanaian workers, as we mark this important worldwide celebration.

To all the essential workers including our valuable frontline banking staff, supermarket and shop attendants, food vendors and fuel station attendants we say well done. Youve played a vital role in keeping the country running.

We also commend all workers in the security agencies who have helped maintain peace, order and security while we manage and control the spread of the deadly virus.

In addition, we recognize those workers who have continued performing their daily duties while working from home. Your commitment to your work is the reason many businesses will continue thriving and meeting their obligations despite these trying times.

In solidarity with the citizenry, Standard Chartered Ghana extends its warmest regards and compliments to all Ghanaian workers, whose toil and sweat continues to keep the wheels of our economy moving.

COVID-19 has impacted all of us in profound ways. However, there is one thing that remains true for all Ghanaian workers, their resilience!

Ghanaian workers have proved to be descendants of the great men and women who through their hard work decades ago made and defended the good name of Ghana.

We at Standard Chartered Bank doff our hats to all Ghanaian workers. You are the heroes and heroines of our time and today more than ever, we are inspired and proud to serve you.

To all Ghanaian workers, we say, Ny bo moden!

To all our frontline workers, we say, Ayekoo!

Your endless sacrifices, passion, and commitment will always be remembered!

Standard Chartered is Here for good! God bless you and our homeland Ghana.
With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way Americans live their daily lives, many organizations have had to adapt their business models, shuttering their physical workplaces and moving their businesses online.

But while the COVID-19 outbreak may have accelerated the switch to a digital model, its a transition that mortgage brokers will have to make eventually. As customers change the way they interact with businesses, originators need to keep up. Thats why MPA is presenting Digitally Growing Your Mortgage Business, a free webinar by Podium that will show originators how to make the most of their digital presence.

The bottom line is, consumer behaviors have changed and continue to change, said Darin Brooks, regional director of sales at podium. [The COVID-19 outbreak] is rapidly making that change more inevitable. Customers interact with businesses like Amazon and DoorDash  these one-click, one-swipe websites that make things incredibly simple. Youre competing with so many businesses today that give them that experience. Moving your business to be as digital as possible makes customers lives easier  and makes you their preferred lender.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday told residents from his state who are stranded in other parts of the country that his government will bring them back even as more than 1000 migrant workers took a train back home from Telangana.

A special train was operated by the ministry of railways for the migrant labourers from Jharkhand who have been stranded in Telangana amid the Covid-19 lockdown. The one-off special train was run early on Friday morning on the request of the Telangana government, South Central Railway chief spokesperson Ch Rakesh said.

I assure all students, migrant workers and other people stranded in other states amid COVID-19 lockdown that our administration will soon contact you and help you in coming back to the state. Dont panic, Hemant Soren said, according to news agency ANI.

The train, which left from Lingampalli in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand at 4:50am is ferrying nearly 1,200 migrants, all residents of Jharkhand. They were stranded at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Hyderabad campus at Kandi in Sangareddy district due to the lockdown.

India is under a nation-wide lockdown, which was imposed on March 25 and later extended on April 14 to May 3, to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) had on Wednesday allowed the movement of the stranded people, including migrant labourers, workers, students, tourists, and issued guidelines for their travel.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) director-general Arun Kumar said that a decision on more such trains could be taken later on Friday.

The Centre has been under pressure from states for deploying special trains to ferry migrants and students stranded across the nation due to the lockdown.

According to state estimates, about 10 million migrant labourers are stranded across the country.

Other states such as opposition-ruled Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Kerala have also asked the Centre to deploy special trains. Bihar, where the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) are in the ruling coalition, has also put in a similar request.
Citywide, Oakland

Photo: BATS Improv

The Bay Area's shelter-in-place order has brought countless events usually held as in-person gatherings online. We're aiming to support local businesses in San Francisco and Oakland by highlighting five of these events each day.

Got a suggestion for an online event based in SF or Oakland? Email our events reporter, Teresa Hammerl.

Here's your SF and Oakland event calendar for Friday, May 1. Join a trivia contest, tune in to a comedy show or learn about the stars  all from the comfort of your couch.

Innerspace Virtuality  A joint benefit party for CounterPulse & The Stud

Photo: CounterPulse

CounterPulse and The Stud are coming together to host an online gala with DJs, drag, and "brilliantly-isolated" performance art. Organizers promise a "triumph" that will "resonate throughout the galaxy!" All proceeds from the fundraiser go directly to supporting working artists.

When: Friday, May 1, 6 p.m.

How to join: Via Twitch

Price: Free, donations are welcome or bid in the online auction

Bob's Burgers Online Trivia Night - San Francisco

Photo: Bob's Burgers Online Trivia Night/Facebook

Join contestants in San Francisco and beyond for the Bob's Burgers online trivia night. The event features two rounds of 35 questions each, with a $100 cash prize for the first-place winner. Questions can cover any episode from all 10 seasons, and players score points based on how fast they answer the question.

When: Friday, May 1, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via Eventbrite

Price: $7

IL PIRATA Comedy All Stars

Photo: Local Folks SF/Facebook

From the comfort of your own home, enjoy this lineup of San Francisco comedians, all veterans of the local scene and the festival circuit: Ivy Vasquez (SF Sketchfest), Shanti Charan (Clusterfrest) and Chris Riggins (opened for Dave Chappelle). The event will be hosted on Zoom, so un-mute yourself for laughter, which is always welcome.

When: Friday, May 1, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via Eventbrite

Price: $10

BATS Improv Soap Opera

Photo: BATS Improv

BATS is doing shows online weekly to bring a little improv magic into your home no matter where you are. This Friday, tune into a Soap Opera episode. Expect long takes to the camera, over-dramatic face acting, playful costumes and the best part of a daytime soap, commercial breaks.

Story continues

When: Friday, May 1, 7:30 p.m.

How to join: Via Zoom

Price: Free

Star Stories

Photo: Chabot Space & Science Center/Facebook

Join a Facebook Live stream with Doug Olsen, expert stargazer and storyteller, explaining the mythology behind the constellations. He will tell ancient stories from the night sky as seen throughout history, and look for planets and other clues to help orient you to the night sky.

When: Friday, May 1, 8 p.m.

How to join: Via Facebook Live

Price: Free

Midday break

Watch The Nanny cast stage a pandemic table read or enjoy some sketches of San Francisco's boarded-up storefronts.
UW Helps Parents Teach Young Children During Pandemic

UW student Sarina Ruby connects with Hannah Robinson and her 3-year-old daughter, Darci, during a FaceTime visit as part of Rubys UW course in early childhood education. (UW Photo)

When Hannah Robinson spotted her 3-year-old daughter, Darci, looking through a rolled-up piece of paper like a spyglass, she snapped a cellphone photo and sent it to University of Wyoming student Sarina Ruby.

Ruby, of Rozet, is taking the class Observing Young Children in the UW College of Education. She would normally be in the toddler room at the Early Childhood and Education Center in Laramie, pencil and notebook in hand; Robinson, also in Laramie, would be running Darci and her older sister to preschool and kindergarten.

Robinson and Ruby have met up via FaceTime since Rubys class moved online in March in response to the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

Parents observe for us, Ruby says. The difference is were getting to see early childhood learning not specifically through the child, but through the family.

UW Associate Lecturer Nikki Baldwin explains, From birth to age 5 is such a unique phase of human development -- assessment requires a distinctive set of skills that is different from assessment of older children.

Baldwins students observe childrens daily routines and play, then use what they learn to plan curriculum.

The first week, Robinson sent pictures of her daughter playing with Play-Doh, digging for rocks and playing with puppies. When Ruby called the second week, Robinson said, Darci, your friend is here to talk with you.

Darci says her favorite thing to do at home is play with Hatchimals.

Those are little eggs you put in water, Ruby says. Shes really smart and talks well for a 3-year-old.

Sarina is reteaching what shes learning in class, Robinson says. This week, its book appreciation. She tells me what to watch for and gives examples. She says, Does Darci associate the sounds with the letters? Can she retell the story?

Robinson says working with Ruby has given her new perspective.

As a mom, Ill never take that class. Now, Ive come to appreciate all the little things my girls do as part of their development, Robinson says. Im learning and growing with Darci.

Community Linkages Lead to Opportunities

What science tells us is children need supportive relationships with responsive adults to be resilient, says Becca Steinhoff, executive director of the Casper-based Ellbogen Foundation, home of the Wyoming Kids First initiative.

When Gov. Mark Gordon ordered the closure of child care facilities in March, parents began asking providers for resources to help them teach at home.

Early childhood programs have never been asked to do this, Baldwin says. Its a challenge. Many of the providers also are working from home, caring for their own children.

The Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network was poised to address the need. WYECON, as it is known, was established last year in the UW College of Education with the support of the UW Trustees Education Initiative. The program provides early childhood educators with a source for vetted, research-based learning. As important, it brought previously isolated providers together in elevating their field.

While laying the groundwork for WYECON, Steinhoff and Baldwin learned other entities were exploring possibilities for partnership. Joining forces in 2019, seven state agencies, UW organizations and Wyoming nonprofits formed the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative. By July, the collaborative had placed nine early childhood professional learning facilitators in seven regions covering the state.

After the coronavirus closures, the collaborative reached out to ask early childhood educators what they most needed. Within a day, it received 92 responses, Baldwin says. More followed. A key gap the collaborative found was support for parents.

Parents are feeling enormous stress, Baldwin says. We want them to know they are not alone, and they have everything they need for learning with their children at home.

According to Steinhoff -- herself the mother of a 5-year-old daughter, Lydia -- the importance for WYECON is to stay true to the science of how children grow, learn and develop.

That means communicating that families dont need to create new materials but to harness the power of the ordinary, she says. We get caught up thinking we need to create a learning invitation. Learning can happen while were doing the laundry.

That was the message when 120 parents and educators joined Baldwin on a recent Zoom session offered by UW Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a partner in the early childhood collaborative.

That turnout was unheard of, Baldwin says.

Regional facilitators will share more ideas and practical solutions in upcoming sessions. Baldwin also expedited development of the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative website, featuring scores of science-backed learning activities for parents and educators.

What Next?

In Wyoming, there are approximately 37,900 babies and toddlers under age 5 -- and 650 licensed early childhood care and education providers. The states rural nature -- low population and remote communities -- makes access to quality care and education more challenging.

Those needs led the UW trustees in November 2019 to approve a notice of intent to establish a UW early childhood education degree. Students will be able to access the program via distance as well as on campus, and practicum experiences will be available throughout the state.

Under a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Governors Early Childhood Advisory Council has been working since January to conduct a statewide birth-age 5 needs assessment. With broad involvement, the council will develop a B-5 strategic plan that takes in a wide view of what families want and need -- such as different learning approaches, child care sites closer to work, and operating hours that align with work schedules such as those of nurses and firefighters.

WYECON is taking the lead on sharing best practices through the Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative website. The goal is to elevate the early childhood workforce and improve overall program quality, Steinhoff says.

She acknowledges the task ahead looks different from how it did a couple of months ago. Weaknesses are more apparent. So, too, have early childhood care and education gained awareness for being critical business infrastructure, essential for families and communities.

We knew that but, now, the lens has changed entirely, she says.

Steinhoff says she appreciates the rich learning environment her daughter enjoyed at an early childhood center in Casper. After weeks of working from home, she readily admits, We consider the educators there an extension of our family. We cant wait to walk back through the front door.

Where to learn more:

-- Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative -- www.wyecplc.org.

-- Facebook -- www.facebook.com/wyecplc.

-- Instagram -- www.instagram.com/wyecplc.

-- UW Trustees Education Initiative and WYECON -- www.uwyo.edu/tei.

-- UW Project ECHO -- www.uwyo.edu/wind/echo/early-childhood.

-- Ellbogen Foundation Kids First Initiative -- www.ellbogenfoundation.org.
The states fiscal response to Covid-19 has been a story of big headline numbers.

Weve heard about 330bn in government-backed loans, 20bn in tax cuts and grants, and 225bn in new debt issuance by the government over just three months.

But where is that money going?
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 10:41:10|Editor: huaxia

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RIO DE JANEIRO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Palmeiras have confirmed their interest in signing Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani, but admit the Uruguayan's wage demands may be beyond them.

Cavani's contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires in June and the 33-year-old is now free to sign a pre-contract with any club as a free agent.

Palmeiras president Mauricio Galiotte met with Cavani's half-brother, Walter Guglielmone, last year for preliminary talks about a possible contract with the Brazilian club.

"He [Guglielmone] obviously asked if Palmeiras were interested, and all clubs are interested in a player of this size, with that potential," Galiotte was quoted as saying by Brazilian news service Globo Esporte.

"Obviously we know the complexity of hiring a player of his caliber. He commands a significant salary, by merit. We had a conversation and then we left it there. We didn't negotiate but I think it's very difficult right now for any Brazilian or South American team to sign a player like that, especially in the current situation."

Galiotte ruled out a bid to sign Shanghai SIPG forward Hulk, who has previously expressed a desire to play for the Sao Paulo-based club. Enditem
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Duchess of Sussex has lost an early round in her privacy case against the Mail on Sunday newspaper over its publication of a letter to her estranged father.

Meghan is suing for invasion of privacy over a 2018 article that included portions of the letter she had written to Thomas Markle.

In a ruling on Friday, Judge Mark Warby struck out parts of Meghans case, but said they may be revived at a later stage if they are put on a proper legal basis.

Thomas Markle was scheduled to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018, but pulled out at the last minute, citing heart problems. The former television lighting director has given occasional interviews to the media, complaining in December 2018 that hed been ghosted by Meghan after the wedding.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has saluted workers in the country as Ghana joins the rest of the world today, May 1, to mark International Workers' Day in silence.

The 2020 May Day would not be observed with the usual parades, merrymaking and physical solidarity due to strict social distancing protocols, however, it is absolutely important that all Ghanaian workers, particularly, health care workers, utility workers, security agencies, media personnel and essential service providers  they must all know that this august House accords them our highest respect and that they are most deserving of our glowing tribute on this auspicious occasion. They indeed occupy a special place in our hearts and the hearts of the people we represent in this Chamber, he said in a statement.

Mayday is marked across the world to celebrate labour and the working class.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, the North Tongu lawmaker dedicated hid speech to the frontline health care workers, utility workers, security agencies, media personnel and all essential service providers putting their lives at risk and sacrificing their all in combating that teeny-weeny marauding virus which has caused so much global damage in its wake.

Mr Ablakwa also called on government to prioritise the needs of essential service providers as the country battles the novel coronavirus.

Mr. Speaker, the 2020 May Day must definitely salute and celebrate all essential service providers in this time of Armageddon. As we honour these true patriots, it is important that we urge authorities to provide them with all the tools they need to work. There must be no reports of inadequate personal protective equipment. We must do all in our power to ensure that our frontline medical staff are better equipped to win this war. That is the least we can do.

In delivering the speech to commemorate the day, Mr Ablakwa called on the government to quickly put forward an economic recovery program that will cushion all workers against the economic impact of the pandemic.

It is my hope Mr. Speaker, that considering the harsh effects of the pandemic on workers leading to massive job losses, pay cuts and psychological trauma; this nation will soon put out a bold economic recovery programme to restore the pride and joy of workers.

Mr. Speaker, I will be remiss if I do not highlight the astounding contributions our scientists, medical professionals and innovators have been making in the fight against COVID-19. The successful genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 by scientists of the University of Ghana's Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens deserve high praise. The great news of a made in Ghana COVID-19 Rapid Diagnostic Test Kit developed by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Incas Diagnostics, a Ghanaian company must come up for worthy commendation. The College of Engineering at KNUST must be loudly applauded for also developing an automated ventilator to help us win this war. Prof. Fred McBagonluri and his team at the Academic City University College deserve the limelight and our recognition for developing a mechanical ventilator he added.

Mr Ablakwa also applauded the efforts of the gentleman who has developed a solar-powered touchless handwashing system but added that there was the need for government and corporate entities to reach out to institutions and individuals who have made efforts to come up with inventions that will help the fight against COVID-19 and support them with funding and incentives to enable them become giant industries in the near future that will create jobs and assist our post-pandemic economic recovery programme.
Gardai man a checkpoint in the Phoenix Park as restrictions on movement continue

Just 54 of the health staff who answered the 'Be On Call for Ireland' recruitment drive in the battle against coronavirus have taken up their posts so far, the Herald can reveal.

Concern has been raised about the "startling" low number of staff that have been put in place after a campaign that saw 73,000 people apply.

The high-profile recruitment campaign was launched on St Patrick's Day to bolster the capacity of the health service to tackle the Covid-19 crisis.

But while more than 1,600 candidates have been successful at interview, the HSE has confirmed that just 54 people have been placed in jobs.

Aontu leader Peadar Toibin raised concern over the numbers who have been placed in jobs, six weeks after the recruitment drive began.

The Meath West TD said the campaign was "a wonderful example of the goodwill and community solidarity of Ireland being harnessed in this critical battle against Covid-19."

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He said it's a "startling revelation" that out of 73,000 applicants, just 54 people are "actually operating as staff in the health service".

Challenges

Mr Toibin added: "Granted, not all of the 73,000 people were suitable to work in the health service but this initiative was launched over 40 days ago."

He listed challenges facing the health system, including ramping up coronavirus testing and the "heavy toll" lockdown is having on people in terms of mental health.

"Because of this, it's pivotal that we fully sweat our health service capacity," he said.

The HSE said that 'Be On Call For Ireland' is one element of a large recruitment campaign taking place across the health service that has resulted in more than 1,000 clinical and other staff being recruited.

A statement said that almost 1,000 of these have been hired by the HSE's national recruitment service, since the declaration of a national health emergency.

It said that as of Wednesday evening 1,617 candidates from the 'Be On Call for Ireland' initiative have been successful at interview.

A total of 470 have so far completed the recruitment process, including garda-vetting and reference-checking, and 54 individuals have taken up their posts.

The HSE said the initiative was aimed at creating "an additional reserve pool of 'job ready' staff to support the health service during the pandemic".

The campaign was said to be targeted at qualified healthcare workers who were not already working in the sector.

It said 31,000 applicants did not identify as having relevant health care skills and they have been advised to register with the various volunteer initiatives that have been set up. A further 13,000 were management or administration candidates.

But any such roles that arise in the HSE are being filled by redeployment from elsewhere in the public and civil services.

This allows enhanced support to the health service by staff already being paid by the exchequer.

Routes

Around 29,000 applicants registered as health workers but 10,000 were already working in healthcare. The HSE does not want to divert such staff from the work they are already doing.

The HSE said around 3,000 applicants are being appointed into the health service through other routes.

That left the possible applicant pool with 14,000 candidates.

The HSE said it is the 14,000 that it is focussing on to bring to a 'job ready' status as a reserve to be deployed "as needed".
HONOLULU (AP)  Face masks made with the same colorful prints used for aloha shirts  known as Hawaiian shirts elsewhere in the United States  are the latest fashion trend in Hawaii as islanders try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Disposable surgical masks are in short supply, and people want to preserve whats available for nurses and doctors working with COVID-19 patients.

So those who know how to sew are digging fabric scraps out of their closets or cutting up old aloha shirts to make masks at home. Local designers are offering some for sale online, but are struggling to keep up with a surge in demand as people scramble to adhere to new public health guidelines to cover their mouth and nose.

The aloha prints are serving as a cheerful expression of Hawaii as people persevere through the sometimes dreary days of staying indoors, avoiding other people and eschewing customary hugs and kisses.

Its another way of really showing the love and aloha spirit for each other, said Candy Suiso, a high school teacher who wears masks made by her sister. Especially in these times right now, when we cant see our family, we cant see our friends, we cant see our co-workers.

As of Tuesday, Hawaii reported 517 people had tested positive for the coronavirus and nine people had died.

Aloha shirts first emerged in Hawaii in the 1930s and became accepted business wear locally in the 1960s. They often come in bright colors, featuring island motifs such as hibiscus flowers, seashells and palm trees. Or they might show Chinese calligraphy or Japanese carp, reflecting the myriad cultures of immigrants who have shaped Hawaiis modern culture.

Some of todays most sought-after designers use fabric drawn with native plants that play a prominent role in Native Hawaiian legends and hula chants.

Suiso wore a bright bird of paradise mask recently when she went to pick up something at her office. Everyone serving free grab-and-go lunches so students can eat while school is closed was wearing masks, most with aloha prints.

Story continues

Her husband Mark, who works at a bank and thus is still going out daily, wears one with mangos, in reflection of the mango farm the family runs in the town of Makaha.

Hes known as the Mango Man, so when he wears his mango mask, its a nice topic of conversation, she said.

Waikiki resident Ricardo Lay said his mother made him an aloha print mask because its hard to find protective gear for sale. He likes it because its an expression of where hes from. People know that Im from here, right? Thats the primary reason.

On Monday, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell declared fabric stores an essential business, allowing them to sell to an onslaught of people wanting to make their own masks.

Hawaii designer Kini Zamoras foray into masks started with YouTube videos he made to show people how to make their own. Then he began making masks to donate to hospitals, school food servers and people who deliver Meals on Wheels to seniors.

Zamora found many wanted to buy masks from him because they dont sew, didnt have fabric or wanted to contribute to his donation efforts. So he started selling masks online, pledging to donate two masks for each one sold. His first batch of 50 to 100 sold out within a day. His latest batch of 50 sold out in a few hours.

Everyone just flooded our emails wanting more. I was like, Oh my gosh, everybody just needs it right now, I guess, Zamora said. It just came super quick. So far, he's donated more than 600 masks and sold about 300.

Nurse practitioner Coty George generally wears a surgical mask while working, or an N95 respirator mask like when she recently took swabs from patients to test them for COVID-19.

But at home she wears a cloth mask to protect her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter just in case she may have contracted the disease at work. She doesnt want to infect them, and then have them infect her parents who babysit. She recently posted on social media a photo of her modeling one of her cloth masks, from the designer Ari South, over a surgical mask. It has yellow and orange puakenikeni flowers on a green background.

George said the locally made aloha print masks harken back to the long-ago days when people in Hawaii would make clothes out of rice sacks.

It reminds you that we can do this, we can be sustainable, we can be resourceful, she said. Plus, the aloha prints are more personal.

You have to wear it anyway, why not be proud to wear it and to feel somehow supported by the community, she said.

____

Associated Press journalist Caleb Jones in Honolulu contributed to this report.
With pressure heating up from residents, San Mateo County officials have begun reporting coronavirus cases by ZIP code to provide a more granular picture of how the disease has spread throughout the community.

Public health officials and politicians had previously been reluctant to show this level of data, fearing it would lead residents to underestimate the magnitude of the coronavirus, county Supervisor Dave Pine said.

Given that testing is still inadequate and many infected people display no symptoms, he said, the number of reported cases represents only a segment of whats probably a much larger total.

The issue was discussed internally for weeks, Pine said, adding that county leaders value transparency, but they were worried people might draw the false conclusion that the number of infections is quite low if they saw a small number reported in their own neighborhood.

But arguments against releasing the information by ZIP codes lost ground as the virus escalated in San Mateo County. Its now logged 1,197 cases and 51 deaths.

ZIP code data show the highest number of infections  159  in greater Daly City, or the 94015 area.

Supervisor David Canepa, whose district includes Daly City, said he was shocked when he saw the numbers.

It just blew me away, he said. This is an absolute game changer.

He hopes that more precise data will show the county where to steer resources and ramp up testing to avoid the racial and socioeconomic disparities that are popping up throughout the country.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Daly City is a mostly working-class area with a diverse population, including large Filipino, Burmese and Brazilian communities, Canepa said.

The countys small towns, such as Pescadero and Moss Beach, report the lowest number of cases, with fewer than 10 each.

San Francisco and Alameda counties already release ZIP code data, while Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties break down cases by city. Marin County has mapped out cases by geographic region.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Williams College Geosciences Professor Wins NSF Grant

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Jose Constantine, associate professor of geosciences at Williams College, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation.

The two-year grant, in collaboration with Claire Masteller, assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, totals $299,000, with $135,000 to support Constantine's research on why rivers move, jump, and reshape the landscape and the impact that has on communities.

Constantine's project, titled "Invisible Floods on the Mississippi River Floodplain: Unravelling the Causes of Urban Flooding in a Community-Centered Approach to Geomorphology," aims to demonstrate how community-centered research applied to managed and inhabited landscapes can lead to novel and impactful insights into landscape evolution. Working also with Jay Racela, supervisor of the Williams College Environmental Analysis Lab, along with efforts from Equity Legal Services and the St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, the NSF-funded project will specifically focus on constraining mechanisms for flooding in Centreville, Ill., where residents have suffered years of flooding.

"We are attempting to apply a new model in the practice of geomorphologythe study of the physical features of the surface of the earth and their relation to its geological structuresthat has been described as the civic engagement paradigm, in which scientists and community members collaborate in inquiry and data collection," Constantine said. "We'll focus on the the area of the Mississippi River Floodplain known as the American Bottom, where widespread flooding is harming residents of some of the most economically vulnerable communities in the country."

Stretching for more than 130 kilometers along the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River, the American Bottom is home to more than 130,000 people who depend on infrastructure that controls and curtails flooding. Although the Mississippi River is the most significant threat to communities in the American Bottom, a system of floodplain channels has triggered some of the most widespread and damaging incidents of flooding. Working with community leaders in Centreville, Constantines project will examine the natural functioning and evolution of these floodplain channels to provide science-based mitigation strategies to alleviate short- and long-term flood risk.

Aiming to empower communities suffering from environmental injustice, the project will also include summer internships for undergraduates at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis. Students will undertake independent research projects related to the environmental issues impacting Centreville and participate in structured training in civic engagement and professional development activities at Washington University.

"Providing students with the experiences and skills in this area will uniquely enable them to enter the earth and environmental science workforce," Constantine said. "Students will also develop a deeper understanding of the local environmental challenges facing the Greater St. Louis region."

Constantine joined the faculty at Williams in 2016. With interests in geomorphology and hydrology, his research aims to understand the controls on geomorphic processes. He teaches such courses as Global Warming and Environmental Change and Mastering GIS, and he is currently a thesis and research mentor to several Williams seniors. A first-generation college student, he received his B.S. from the College of William and Mary, his M.S. from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
It is one of the main parts of a sweeping economic plan the government says will help save Lebanon from bankruptcy, but that was not enough to satisfy angry protesters.

Lebanon has officially signed a request for assistance from the International Monetary Fund to help fix the countrys crippling financial problems.

It is one of the main parts of a sweeping economic plan the government says will help save Lebanon from bankruptcy.

But as Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut, that was not enough to satisfy angry protesters.
Planned resealing work on State Highway 2, between Moffat Road and Parau Drive in Bethlehem, will start this weekend.

The work will be completed overnight from Sunday, May 2, to Thursday, May 7, between 6pm and 6am.

During the works one northbound lane will be closed to traffic, the other northbound lane will remain open and a 30km/h temporary speed limit will be in place.

During the day all lanes will be open as usual. No work is planned for the southbound lanes.

Nearby surface treatment works on SH2 between the Wairoa River Bridge and Taniwha Place that had been due to take place overnight tonight have been postponed. Those works are now likely to take place early next week and may coincide with these resealing works.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Bay of Plenty System Manager Rob Campbell reminds motorists that work at Alert Level 3 does not look like pre-pandemic work.

A range of new measures are in place to ensure this work can be done safety, to protect our people, the people in their bubbles, and road users.

He asks people to be patient and respectful to roadworkers and look out for their safety and wellbeing.

These people are stepping out of their bubbles to do work that keeps us all safe.

Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience as it completes one of the final sections of scheduled maintenance in the Bay of Plenty for the season.

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Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)
All stations under the Mumbai Police on Thursday started the exercise of updating the list of migrant labourers, pilgrims, pilgrims, tourists, students and other stranded people under their jurisdiction, excluding those who have tested positive for Covid 19, to send them back to their hometowns.

However, police sources said, apart from creating a list there is no clarity on which mode of transport will be used. Police are also asking the stranded people if they have personal means of transport that can be used. Pranaya Ashok, DCP (operations) and Mumbai Police spokesperson did not respond to calls and messages.

As testing is not possible, a mandatory screening will be done for all migrant labourers. They will also be asked to produce a certificate from a registered medical practitioner, stating they are not showing any symptom of the novel coronavirus disease. The procedure will take at least three to four days to complete, said police sources.

Police have released an application form for migrants to fill in their name, Aadhaar details, mobile number, address and medical certificate.

The list is being prepared under the guidance of 13 zonal deputy police commissioners (DCPs) in Mumbai Police. Each zonal DCP will forward the records to a nodal officer appointed by the collectors office. The officer will verify them and send the reports back to the local DCPs office.

A police officer, posted in Malad (East) area, said, We have been asked to get in touch with migrant labourers and make a list of them. We know about 850 migrant labourers live under our jurisdiction and are further updating our list. We are also verifying who is a migrant labourer and who is not.

Once the list with their details--name, age, village, state, mobile number, photo identity card and the medical certificate -- is collected, a police officer will conduct a verification process and update the zonal DCP with a list of such labourers.

To ensure social distancing during the exercise, a senior police officer from the central region, which is worst hit by the virus, said they are taking details of only 25 labourers per day.

We have migrants in jurisdictions of every police station. A majority of them are settled in Nagpada, Wadala, Dharavi, Byculla, Sewri and Reay Road. Every police station has been assigned a job of gathering details of 25 migrants daily. The list will be submitted to the DCP of the zone. This will not result in any chaos, he said.

Crime branch asked to supplement force

After police personnel above 55 years of age were sent on leave along with officials suffering major ailments, the Mumbai Police commissioner on Thursday directed 15 units of the crime branch, including anti-extortion cell (AEC), criminal intelligence unit (CIU) and property cell to assist the local police stations in handing critical containment zones in their respective zones.

Joint commissioner of police Santosh Rastogi confirmed that around 150 officials from the crime branch have been deployed for Covid 19 bandobast. The crime branch officials were deployed for bandobast which require extra force, said Rastogi.

The crime branch is an investigation agency and is ordinarily not deployed on such duties, but due to shortage of staff in the police stations, around 150 crime branch officials from all units were deployed in most affected areas under their zone, said a senior official on condition of anonymity.

(Inputs from Manish K Pathak, Suraj Ojha and Faisal Tandel)
The Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to apologise to the Sikh community for "mismanaging" the repatriation of pilgrims from Nanded in Maharashtra and demanded that the state health minister be sacked.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said "it was unfortunate that the chief minister had failed to give the needed leadership in this hour of crisis and had botched up the entire repatriation operation".

"The manner in which the government has failed the Sri Hazur Sahib pilgrims is symptomatic of the way in which it has dealt with each section of society since curfew was imposed in the state," Badal said in a statement.

He said the chief minister should immediately sack Health Minister Balbir Sidhu for "failing" to take necessary steps to ensure safety of pilgrims.

He alleged that the government did not follow social distancing norms while transporting pilgrims.

"They (pilgrims) were not brought to one place but were instead dropped off at various places without following established norms. The government alone is to blame for this state of affairs. It appears that instead of admitting its mistake an attempt is being made to turn the pilgrims into scapegoats," Badal said.

"The SAD will not allow this to happen. The pilgrims followed all procedures and have been subjected to testing in Nanded also before starting their journey to Punjab. If a large number of them have tested COVID positive now it is only because of mismanagement on part of the state government. No one should try to defame the pilgrims or Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in any manner whatsoever," he added.

Punjab has seen the steepest rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the past two days with many pilgrims returning from Nanded testing positive for COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
JERUSALEM (JTA)An Israeli falafel shop owner broke down in tears in a television interview on Sunday that resonated across the country as a symbolic encapsulation of the economic toll that the coronavirus is taking on small businesses.

Look at my wallet, its empty, said the shop owner, Yuval Carmi, pulling out his wallet during the Channel 13 interview. I dont have a shekel in my pocket.

He added: Im embarrassed to face my children, to tell them I have nothing I can buy for you. I have nothing to give them. I have nothing to give them to eat. I dont know what to do.

Carmi had reopened his shop on Sunday, believing the relaxing of some regulations to control the coronavirus crisis allowed him to do so. But he was soon shut down by police, who said he could only offer delivery service.

But as a one-man operation, Carmi said he had no ability to make deliveries. And besides, he said: Its falafel. Falafel has to be eaten hot and fresh.

He said he had not been able to reach any government official to discuss a possible small business loan from the government, saying it is impossible to reach anybody. Carmi said anyone following the news would think weve been given millions. Not a shekel. Nothing. Nothing.

Its not nice for me to be seen crying like this, he told reporter Noga Nir-Neeman. I love this country. Im 56 years old and I still do reserve duty.

My whole life, Ive paid national insurance, income tax. Everything, everything on time.

Nir-Neeman was later caught by her own camera crew wiping away tears as she stood in the store, as Carmi, also wiping tears, prepared her a falafel.

I cant, she says, her voice trailing off from under a pink facemask as she runs from the store.

Since the interview was widely shared, strangers have reached out offering Carmi assistance. The day after, he also received a phone call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

I saw you yesterday and you touched my heart, Netanyahu said. And Ill help you. Were going to help everyone.

Netanyahu posted video of the call on Twitter.

Carmi responded gratefully and said he did not blame the prime minister for the economic struggle. He suggested that Netanyahus advisers are not telling you whats going on with the people.

In a follow-up interview with Channel 13, Carmi said that he received a call from a stranger who had seen him give free falafels to a group of soldiers at his store a couple months ago. The caller asked if he could at least pay for their meals in an effort to help him. Carmi declined, saying it was his mitzvah, or good deed.

I thank the people of Israel. But I did not turn to the people of Israel for money, Carmi said. I dont want donations. I just want to make an honorable living.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 11:54:59|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China is getting the world's largest workforce back to work as the nationwide battle against COVID-19 has secured major strategic achievements.

The unprecedented fight has nurtured new trends in the workplace. For example, more attention is being paid to public health and e-commerce to boost consumption and emerging sectors brought by new applications based on the country's rapid new infrastructure development of 5G networks and data centers.

ANGELS OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Ye Man, head nurse of gastrointestinal department of Hubei General Hospital East District, one of the five remaining COVID-19 designated hospitals in Wuhan, is taking her first weeklong vacation since January.

The 34-year-old mother of two started to take a week off on Monday, one day after her hospital cleared all remaining confirmed COVID-19 patients. The nine ICU wards in her hospital had been kept occupied over the past several months.

Friday marked International Workers' Day, and the start of China's five-day public holiday. Ye said she planned to visit urban parks with her family during the holiday.

At her busiest point, she and her colleagues took care of a ward filled with 40 COVID-19 patients.

"It was a really tough time," she recalled. She had to wear a protective gown and a mask for nine hours a day and be separated from her family to avoid possible cross-infections.

Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province and once hard hit by COVID-19, cleared all confirmed cases in hospitals on April 26. Over 42,000 medical workers mobilized nationwide to aid Hubei have contributed to achieving a decisive outcome in the fight to defend Hubei and Wuhan.

In an inspection tour to Wuhan on March 10, President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, lauded medical workers as "the most beautiful angels" and "messengers of light and hope."

To reward brave and dedicated medics, major tourist sites in Hubei are offering free entry to medical staff over the following two years.

LIVESTREAMING ANCHORS

"We have a new batch of supplies today. Those who did not get the goods should hurry to buy now," said Li Xuying, a livestreaming anchorwoman selling agaric mushrooms in Zhashui, a small county deep in the Qinling Mountains in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Li has been prepared for a boom of online shopping in the holiday, because online buyers rushed to her livestreaming website to place orders, after Xi inspected the county and chatted with her in the village of Jinmi during a recent tour to Shaanxi.

"I used to sell goods worth about 50,000 yuan (7,070 U.S. dollars) on average after a six-hour livestreaming session. Now the sales are 10 times that," she said.

Li was one of the 10 sales staff sent by the local agricultural e-commerce firm to Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao's headquarters for livestreaming training. She said livestreaming is effective in bridging buyers and farmers, through which viewers can watch planting and harvesting online.

With the number of netizens in China reaching 904 million in March, e-commerce has been one of the popular means of promoting the sale of farm produce and helping farmers shake off poverty. Despite the impact of COVID-19, the country is determined to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of this year.

HI-TECH WORKERS IN "NEW INFRASTRUCTURE" BUILDING

As an elasticity calculation engineer of Alibaba Cloud, Zhao Kun and his colleagues always stay on alert for high data flow, for example, brought by the anticipated online shopping spike during the holiday.

"The profession, which may sound obscure, is actually closely connected to everyone's life, as cloud computing is the infrastructure supporting high-tech applications of artificial intelligence and blockchain," said Zhao.

The Chinese leadership has underscored expediting "new infrastructure" development to boost industrial and consumption upgrading and catalyze new growth drivers.

Seizing the opportunities of industrial digitization and digital industrialization, China needs to expedite the construction of "new infrastructure" projects such as 5G networks and data centers, and deploy strategic emerging sectors and industries of the future including the digital economy, life health services and new materials, President Xi has said.

During the epidemic, Zhao and his colleagues expanded more than 100,000 cloud servers to ensure the stable operation of "cloud classrooms" and "cloud offices" for millions of people working and studying from home.

In the "new infrastructure" building, people like Zhao contribute to constructing the virtual infrastructure of an ecosystem, which enables e-commerce, e-payment, online teaching and the digital transformation of manufacturing and supply chain management.

In early April, China released a plan on promoting the transformation of enterprises toward digitalization and intelligence by further expanding the application of cloud and data technologies, to nurture new business models of the digital economy. Enditem
Graffiti painted on a wall at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, on April 10, 2020.

Julie Jammot/AFP via Getty Images

Housing organizers and tenants across the United States plan to hold rent strike Friday, May 1.

Landlords say a rent strike would disrupt "the entire financial ecosystem."

But renters say they have no choice: Since the pandemic began, tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs, leaving them without a steady income.

Without government intervention, "we're looking at a huge wave of evictions coming down the road," said economist J.W. Mason.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Before the COVID-19 virus, 70% of our income went toward rent," said Vanessa Bulnes, 61, her voice crackling over a Zoom call with housing organizers and media on Thursday.

Like tens of millions of tenants around the country, Bulnes and her 71-year-old husband, who live in Oakland, California, are out of work.

Even before the crisis, housing was not affordable, she said. Her husband suffered a stroke just before the 2009 financial crisis, and she's been the sole breadwinner ever since.

Related: And an Economist Predicts It Could Be Far Worse Than the Great Recession

"We've always been on the edge of homelessness," Bulnes, an organizer with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, said.

On Friday, May 1, Bulnes will join the legion of tenants unable to pay rent. It's not clear exactly how many renters will go on strike, but organized efforts in New York, Pennsylvania, California, Missouri, Washington state, and elsewhere point to the largest rent strike in decades.

"We need our rent canceled," Bulnes said. "We need forgiveness. We need it gone."

Millions of Americans face 'economically devastating' bills and costs

This week, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) announced that although some 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the crisis began  a number that rose to 30 million since its study was published  that number drastically understates the economic devastation in the US.

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In a survey published on Tuesday, the think tank found that up to 13.9 million other Americans were eligible for the benefits. A portion of those people applied but never had their documents processed. Others "did not try to apply because it was too difficult to do so."

In other words, only around half of Americans who are eligible for benefits actually received them. EPI's research signals looming economic pain for millions, according to Elise Gould, an EPI economist who co-wrote the study.

"People are going to have to pay their rent and their mortgage and all of their other bills," Gould told Business Insider. "And these weights are economically devastating for them."

Already, an enormous number of people haven't paid rent on time. Nearly one-in-three tenants did not pay April rent in the first week of the month.

Tenants end a three-day hunger strike outside City Hall, New York City, New York, on June 1, 2018.

Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Landlords, however, say that a rent strike would just worsen economic conditions. A nationwide rent strike is "counterproductive," Bob Pinnegar, CEO of the National Apartment Association, told NBC News.

"There's definitely growing concerns," he said. "Everyone anticipates that there's going to be distress, and it's going to be more pronounced than April."

Doug Bibby, head of the National Multifamily Housing Council, which represents apartment owners and managers, called a rent strike "reckless."

"These people don't think through who they're hurting, and they're disrupting the entire financial ecosystem in doing this," Bibby told NBC News. "They think they're hurting the big, bad landlord, and what they're really hurting are all kinds of people just like themselves, and they are spreading the economic malaise more broadly in the economy."

Advocates and tenants say they have no choice

But advocates and tenants see it differently disagree. They don't have a choice of whether to pay rent, said Winsome Pendegrass, a housing organizer with New York Communities for Change.

"Since the 18th of March, I am not working," Pendegrass said on the Zoom call, organized by a group of grassroots organizations representing working-class people, led by the Action Center for Race and the Economy.

Pendegrass said she managed to pay her landlord that month. But "in May, they're not going to get it  not because I don't want to pay, but because I can't pay," she said.

Policymakers need to help tenants, J.W. Mason, an economist at CUNY's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Business Insider.

"Otherwise we're looking at a huge wave of evictions coming down the road," Mason said, praising Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's recent rent cancellation bill proposal. "And that's an incredibly socially disruptive process."

A person walks past the words "Rent Strike" written in large letters on the side of the Compton Hill Reservoir wall Thursday, April 2, 2020, in St. Louis. With millions of people suddenly out of work some are advocating going on a rent strike until the new coronavirus pandemic subsides.

AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

The economic devastation will be most acute for black and brown communities, the ACLU has warned.

"Evictions and utility shut-offs will disproportionately harm communities of color, and particularly, women of color. All residents  regardless of their circumstances or background  should have access to safe and stable housing throughout the course of this ongoing public health crisis," said Sandra Park, senior staff attorney at the ACLU.

Seventeen states, plus Washington, D.C., Guam, and the Virgin Islands, have fully suspended eviction cases and enforcement, according to researchers at Columbia University Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Organizers and tenants praise the moratoria. And they also fear the day they're gone.

"My landlord may not be able to evict my right now," Tiana Caldwell, a KC Tenants Union organizer in Kansas City, Missouri, said on the media call. "But what's stopping him from evicting us as soon as the moratorium lifts?"

"I can't pay rent and it's not my fault," she added. "I need my governor and my federal government to use their extended power in this crisis to do their job: Protect tenants and cancel rent."

Business Insider
Islamabad: The Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly said late on Thursday that he had tested positive for Covid-19, after hosting an iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan, and meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan and other high officials earlier in the week.

It is not immediately known if Khan will be tested, but he was checked in April, and tested negative, after meeting with the head of Pakistans biggest charity organisation, who was subsequently confirmed to have caught the disease.

Faisal Edhi had met Khan in the prime minister's office.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, is currently in recess, though opposition parties have been calling for it to convene to discuss the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, where the number of cases has risen to 16,817, including 385 deaths.

The decision on whether to convene rested with Speaker of the Assembly, Asad Qaiser, who on Thursday night revealed he had tested positive in the capital, Islamabad.

"I have quarantined myself at home," Qaiser, who is also a close aide to Khan, said on Twitter. Qaiser met with the prime minister on Monday, and has met several other leading figures during the past few days.

The Speaker had hosted an Iftar, the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan, attended by politicians and dignitaries on Monday.

Daily detection of the virus has hit record highs on each of the last three days as the country ramps up its testing. On Thursday, 990 people tested positive. Daily testing is still around 8,000 in the country, which has over 207 million people.

The government says infections are well below projections and that it plans to further ease precautionary curbs after already opening dozens of industries and commercial activities, as well as mosque congregations.

Qaiser is the second high official to be infected in Pakistan after the Governor of the southern province of Sindh, Imran Ismail, tested positive on Monday.

Pakistans government agreed to allow mosque congregations after senior clerics and religious leaders threatened to violate restrictions during Ramadan.

The two sides worked out safety protocols for the mosque gatherings, but a social research organization earlier this week reported that protocols were not being followed.

Prominent doctors pleaded with the government to reconsider the decision, warning that mosque congregations, which are typically larger in Ramadan, could lead to a spike in infections, with hospitals already nearing capacity.
As foreshadowed by the Prime Minister and Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy, delivering a multiple uplift in COVID-19 testing capacity, combined with the government's COVIDSafe app, is critical to help all Australians return to their normal lives in the shortest possible time.

I welcome the national cabinet's decisions on Friday and the progress being made. I am proud of Minderoo Foundation's efforts towards this achievement.

Andrew Forrest, left, with Health Minister Greg Hunt at a press conference announcing the Minderoo Foundation had secured 10 million coronavirus tests from China. Credit:AAP

When on April 5 the federal Health Minister Greg Hunt became aware the critical COVID-19 testing equipment and vital reagents could be sourced by Minderoo Foundation, he emphasised the extreme national urgency and importance that this be achieved immediately, warning strongly that we would be in aggressive competition with the rest of the world.

The minister advised we had weeks, not months, to prepare Australia's technical and medical defences to biologic threats like COVID-19, in a national program that would normally take years. Minderoo undertook this under extremely challenging conditions of sovereign competition in three weeks.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) today reported its first quarter 2020 financial results and filed its first quarter 2020 Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing provides condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The following documents are now available on Fannie Mae's web site at www.fanniemae.com .

Fannie Mae will host a conference call to discuss the company's results today at 8:00 a.m., ET. Participants may join the conference call in listen-only mode in one of the following formats:

Listen-only webcast instructions

https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1307289&tp_key=18592dc8eb

Click on the link above to attend the presentation from your laptop, tablet, or mobile device. Audio will stream through your selected device. If you have difficulty accessing the webcast, please click the "Listen by Phone" button on the webcast player and dial the number provided.

Listen-only phone line instructions

It is not necessary to dial into the audio conference unless you are unable to join the webcast via the URL above.

United States: 1-888-965-8995

Passcode: 19684949#

About Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae helps make the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and affordable rental housing possible for millions of Americans. We partner with lenders to create housing opportunities for families across the country. We are driving positive changes in housing finance to make the home buying process easier, while reducing costs and risk. To learn more, visit:

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Jewish Academy of Orlando observed its annual Holocaust remembrance day remotely. Fourth and fifth grade students participated in a morning of music, prayer, and remembrance.

Head of School Alan Rusonik said, "It was important to us to deliver a developmentally appropriate program that was meaningful to our students."

The morning began with, "Eli, Eli," a song based on the poem written by Holocaust hero, Hannah Senesh.

Fourth grade parent, Heidi Zissman stated, "I appreciated that the program was not only meaningful for my son, but also left him with a message of hope and heroism, especially during these hard times."

Later on in the service, the assembly lit candles remotely in memory of the lives lost during the Holocaust.

"By lighting the candles, we ensure that the memory of those departed will remain with us forever," said, Judaics and Hebrew instructor Fanny Sernik.

The students participated in a special yizkor prayer and mourners' kaddish. As each line of the prayer was read, each one of the locations of massacre (such as concentration camps) was mentioned.

The program ended with a story of hope and heroism. The students listened to the book, "The Whispering Town," which was a story not only about the destruction but also about the brave souls, including Righteous Gentiles, who resisted the Nazis.

Rusonik added, "It was important for us to not only remember the lives that were lost, but also to ensure that the destruction of any people will never happen again. Now, more than ever, it was also important for us to remember the heroes that exhibited bravery in dark times."

Jewish Academy of Orlando serves central Florida students of all faiths from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade. The school delivers a whole-child education fostering academic excellence and character education rooted in Jewish values. Jewish Academy of Orlando is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools.

To learn more about Jewish Academy of Orlando, please visit: jewishacademyorlando.org or follow the school on Facebook facebook.com/JewishAcademyOrlando.
FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective masks are seen in an Apple Store in Shanghai

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple Inc and Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] each captured a higher share of China's smartphone market in the first quarter, according to data from research firm Canalys released on Friday.

Total smartphone shipments in the country in the three months ended March fell 18% from a year earlier to 72.6 million, the data showed, as the coronavirus outbreak took a toll on Chinese supply chains and consumer demand.

China's Huawei, the No.2 smartphone seller in the world by volume, grabbed 41.4% of the domestic market, up from 33.9% a year earlier. Its overall unit shipments rose about 1% to 30.1 million.

That growth came at the expense of Android rivals Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi Corp. The three companies saw shipments plunge by 26%, 19%, and 26%, respectively.

All four companies rely significantly on overseas sales for revenue, although Huawei will depend on the domestic market increasingly as its latest devices do not run the complete suite of Google Mobile Services due to restrictions placed on it by the U.S. government.

Apple shipments sank more than 4%, marking a significant dip but below the industry average. However, its share of the market grew, hitting 8.5% from 7.3% last year.

Apple reported sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations on Thursday, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook saying China sales were "headed in the right direction" as the country reopens from restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Apple is expected to release its first 5G phone later this year. Online retailers in China recently slashed prices of the iPhone 11, and analysts said the company's new, mid-range iPhone SE was selling better than expected in the country.

After enduring years of market contraction, Chinese Android smartphone players were hoping that releasing new 5G models would prompt consumers to purchase new devices.

But analysts now expect consumers will delay purchasing 5G phones, opting instead for cheaper, still serviceable 4G devices as a coronavirus-induced recession looms.

Looking ahead, we remain cautious about the speed of recovery in Chinas smartphone market this year, and maintain our best-case scenario of 326 million shipments for 2020, including 137 million 5G smartphones," said Nicole Peng, vice president of mobility at Canalys.

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"The macroeconomic situation is a huge red flag for Chinas market players this year."

Market research firm TrendForce said on Thursday it expects 2020 smartphone output globally to slump 11.3% to 1.24 billion.

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Additional reporting by Shanti S Nair; Editing by Aditya Soni)
Turkish police officers, wearing face masks for protection against coronavirus, stand behind carnations left by demonstrators (Emrah Gurel/AP)

Millions of workers worldwide marked international labour day trapped between hunger and fear on Friday, as more countries and states reopen for business even though Covid-19 is far from vanquished.

Beijings Forbidden City, the imperial palace turned museum that is one the countrys biggest tourist attractions, opened its doors, and shopping centres around the US were set to do the same, while world leaders try to salvage their battered economies without unleashing new waves of infections.

With traditional May Day labour marches curtailed by strict limits on public gatherings, Turkish protesters attempted to stage a wildcat demonstration.

California activists planned strikes, and Parisians sang from balconies to plead their causes: workplace masks, health insurance or more government aid for the jobless.

Expand Close Demonstrators practice social distancing due to coronavirus restrictions, at a Labour Day rally in Duisberg, Germany (Caroline Seidel/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Demonstrators practice social distancing due to coronavirus restrictions, at a Labour Day rally in Duisberg, Germany (Caroline Seidel/AP)

It was a melancholy International Workers Day for garment workers across Southeast Asia such as Wiryono, a father of two in Indonesias capital, Jakarta, who was laid off last month as retailers slashed orders.

His side job delivering coffee dried up, too, amid a virus lockdown.

So he set up a clothing repair business to make ends meet.

I dont earn as much as I got from the clothing factory. But I have to feed my wife and kids every day, said Wiryono.

In Bangladesh, production is starting back up despite a rising number of new cases of the virus that has killed at least 230,000 people worldwide.

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A government-ordered lockdown could not extinguish the May Day protest spirit in Greece, where demonstrators lined up two metres apart in careful rows in Athens Syntagma Square.

Organisers in masks and gloves used tape measures and large colored squares to set out exact positions for the protesters.

Greeks who work by making deliveries staged a motorised protest, driving through Athens on their motorbikes, and police were out in force to ensure residents didnt head from cities to the countryside, another May Day tradition.

We are praying for all workers, so that no one will lack work and all will be fairly paid and can enjoy the dignity of work and the beauty of rest, Pope Francis said at a private morning mass.

May Day labour protests started in the 19th century in the United States, where this week the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surpassed a staggering 30 million  and joblessness in April could hit numbers not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
N igel Farage has become the butt of mocking jokes online after sharing his Clap for Carers effort.

The Brexit Party leader posted a video on Twitter of him tapping a saucepan on a driveway with a giant grin, for the sixth weekly salute to NHS and social care staff.

The footage of Mr Farages regimented banging of steel on steel, viewed nearly 750,000 times, is heard against a backdrop of neighbours clashing kitchen utensils for the 8pm Thursday night tribute.

But it was not long before 3,000 comments flooded in, many of them admiring his technique and bright pink sweater-beige chinos outfit.

Why is he dressed like a handful of liquorice all sorts, one commented.

Sue Perkins, the TV presenter, said the half-hearted banging with a ladle was like morse code.

Took me a while to get it, but hes actually using morse code here. privatise....privatise....American style system... privatise, she tweeted.

One Twitter user jibed: That looks like the street Alan Partridge's stalker lives in!.

Another replied: Bet that saucepan hasnt seen any Brussels in it Nigel.

One remarked: This is like when the murderer does the police appeal for witnesses to come forward, while another asked: Could you put any less effort into doing that?

Boris Johnson was back clapping for carers on Thursday night / PA

Thousands turned out across the country for the sixth edition of the Clap for Carers, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in his second applause on the steps of Downing Street after overcoming coronavirus.

His fiancee Carrie Symonds, who gave birth to their first child earlier this week, clapped from indoors for the NHS while wishing national treasure Captain Tom Moore a happy 100th birthday.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: In a major turn of events, the Allahabad High Court has rejected allegations of bias and harassment against UP government's Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing Swami Chinmayanand sexual abuse case. The allegations were raised in a complaint filed in the court by the Shahjahanpur law student, who has charged Swami Chinmayanand with sexual harassment.

Consequently, the court, on Thursday, directed the concerned trial court to pass any order which it may deem fit and proper in accordance with law after taking cognizance on the police report.

Hearing an application filed by the law student, who has accused former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand of sexual harassment, a division bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Deepak Verma observed that they were satisfied with the SIT probe as it had duly investigated all aspects and after a thorough investigation, had submitted a police report. Hence no further action is required, said the bench.

In her application moved before this division bench of Allahabad HC, which is monitoring the trial on SCs directive, the law student had demanded setting up of a fresh investigation team and sought action against the officials of the existing SIT for allegedly harassing and assaulting her family members. She claimed that the SIT was partial and that Chinmayanand had been offered special treatment through the course of the investigation as if he were a state guest.

The court accepted the SITs contention that it could not be labelled as biased, as it had strongly opposed Chinmayanands bail application, which resulted in a lower court refusing to grant him bail at one stage. However, the court also rejected the girls allegations of her familys harassment at the hands of SIT.

Notably, the LLM student of SS Law College, run by Mumukshu Ashram of Chinmayanand, had accused the Swami of rape and harassment for over a year. Following her complaint, Chinmayanand was booked under Sections 376 C (sexual intercourse by a person in authority), 342 (Wrongful Confinement), 354 D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC. He was arrested on September 20, 2019 and languished in Shajahanpur district jail till he got a bail from High Court on February 3, this year.

The law student and three of her accomplices were booked in the extortion case by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the basis of the complaint filed by Chinmayanand. All the four were accused of demanding Rs 5 crore from the former Union minister while threatening him with the release of his objectionable videos.

The law student was booked under Sections 385 (Putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 507 (Criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC and Section 67 (A) of IT Act.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday approved new guidelines giving conditional relaxations to industry to spur economic activities in the state with immediate effect amid the lockdown.

As per the revised state guidelines, activities shall be allowed after obtaining a self-declaration from the industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects, online. However, these units will need to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as provided by the Union Home Affairs Ministry, a statement issued by the state government here said.

These guidelines would be applicable only to units not falling in a containment zone.

In 14 districts of Haryana -- Ambala, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Mahendergarh, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa and Yamunanagar, immediate approvals would be accorded after application is submitted on the state government portal as per the norms.

For industries, industrial establishments, and commercial and private establishments other than IT and ITeS units, if the workforce requirement is up to 20 people, 100 per cent of the requirement would be allowed whereas, in case there is requirement of more than 20 people, 50 per cent of the workforce or 20 people, whichever is higher, would be allowed.

For IT and ITes units, in case of workforce requirement of up to 20 people, 50 per cent of the requirement would be allowed whereas, in case of requirement of more than 20 people, 33 per cent of the workforce or 10 people, whichever is higher, would be allowed, the statement said.

For construction projects, in every case of in-situ construction projects where employer can retain workforce at the site, operations would be allowed with 100 per cent of the total workforce.

However, in case of non-in-situ projects, operations would be allowed with only 50 per cent of the total workforce.

In case the number of COVID-19 active cases in any of these 14 districts reaches 15, all industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects, would have to shut down their operations.

In the remaining eight districts of Faridabad, Gurugram, Sonipat, Panipat, Nuh, Palwal, Jhajjar and Panchkula, which have maximum number of active cases, permissions would be granted on the basis of development block/town or zone.

If the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the last 28 days in any block/ town or zone reaches 10, then, no industrial unit except essential goods and services would be allowed to operate.

Industries, commercial establishments and construction projects employing less than 10 workers in any of the 22 districts of Haryana need not apply to the state government and may resume operations subject to the social distancing norms and other requirements as per the Union Home Ministry guidelines.

Also, in all 22 districts, industrial units, commercial establishments and construction projects having in-situ labour would be allowed to operate, with all the workers present in their premises.

In all districts in respect of every unit that does not begin functioning within 7 days of approval, the approval would be liable to be cancelled without notice.

The district administration would continuously assess the on-ground situation and if new COVID-19 cases arise in the district, the respective deputy commissioners shall review the guidelines.

In any district, 100 per cent export-oriented units and those units with 100 per cent in-situ labour would be given preference in issuance of passes and other necessary facilitation required to commence operations.

In case the industrial unit or commercial establishment makes arrangement for the labour force to stay in a building near the factory premises or project site, such cases would be treated similar to in-situ labour projects.

The statement said that as MHA guidelines lay emphasis on expediting the resumption of industrial operations in rural areas, all officials concerned including the district administration have been encouraged to give preference to units in rural areas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Reuters) - Fashion house Prada <1913.HK> said on Thursday it had restarted production at several sites across Italy after almost two months of strict lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The company said it reopened its industrial sites in Tuscany on April 20 and those in the central regions of Umbria, Marche and the northern region of Veneto - one of the hardest-hit areas - after that.

It added some workshops in its Milan headquarters were also back at work.

The group said it was implementing a full-range of security measures for staff, including antibody and viral tests.

Other luxury groups, including Kering's <PRTP.PA> Gucci, Ferragamo <SFER.MI> and Valentino, have partially reopened activities in Italy since April 20, with more businesses in the country due to restart from May 4.

Prada said the safety measures at its sites also included reduced working hours or staggered shifts, as well as temperature testing and the supply of protective kits.

From April 28, the company is carrying out antibody testing for all employees who have returned to work and those testing positive will also receive a viral test. Both tests are done on site.

"The company's entire workforce will receive serological testing on a monthly basis, with no end date currently set for the screening programme," it said in a statement.

The company, which is paying for all tests conducted on its staff, will also extend the screening process to the family members of any employee testing positive, it said.

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, editing by Giulia Segreti and Mark Potter)
Germany on Thursday banned all Hezbollah activity on its soil, as police raided mosques and venues linked to the Iran-backed group. The much-anticipated move was long urged by Israel and the United States but has been sped up by the Covid-19 crisis.

Germany had until now only outlawed Hezbollah's military wing while tolerating its political wing, like much of the European Union.

Not anymore. On Thursday, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer banned all of the group's activities and designated the entire movement a terrorist organisation.

The activities of Hezbollah violate criminal law and the organisation opposes the concept of international understanding, the interior ministry said in a statement.

"Even in times of crisis the rule of law is upheld," the ministry's spokesman tweeted.

Raids took place at several association buildings across the country even before authorities announced the group's total ban.

Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of the morning, German media reported.

The associations under investigation are suspected of forming part of Hezbollah due to their financial support and propaganda for the organisation said the interior ministry, which estimates that the group has as many as 1,050 members.

They are thought to use Germany as a safe haven to make plans, recruit sympathisers and raise funds, including through criminal activities.

What the ban does

By implementing a total ban on all of Hezbollah, authorities have effectively made it easier to take action against the Lebanese group, allowing Berlin to confiscate its assets.

Residents of Germany can now be criminally prosecuted for displaying symbols or other expressions of the Hezbollah movement.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said the ban was necessary because the group's "criminal activities and plannings for attacks are also taking place on German soil," he told the daily paper Bild.

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In 2018, security officials foiled a suspected Hezbollah attack on several Jewish sites across the country.

Pressure had been mounting from Israel and the United States for Angela Merkel's government to ban all arms of the organisation since 2013. Today, it has "nothing to lose," reckons Mitchell Belfer, Director of the Euro-Gulf Information Centre in Rome.

"Previously, Germany's relationship with Iran and access to the Iranian market prevented it from taking decisive action against Hezbollah, a proxy of Iran," he explains.

"Iranians were very clear in the past that if you target Hezbollah youll lose your market share in Iran," Belfer told RFI.

The Covid-19 crisis has shifted the dynamics.

"Iran's relationship with Europe is in decline, its business transactions have all but dried up," continues Belfer.

"Germany did a cost-benefitting analysis and concluded there were more benefits in suspending Hezbollah activities than losing potential trade with Iran, considering that the market place is now dried up," he said.

'Significant step'

The legacy of the Holocaust also motivated Germany's decision to fully ban Hezbollah.

Interior Minister Seehofer recalled that the group had openly called for "the violent destruction" of the Israeli state.

"It's part of our historic responsibility that we use all means under the rule of law to act against this," he said, in a nod to Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust during World War II.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised what he called "a significant step in the global fight against terrorism," urging the European Union "to do the same."

The American Jewish Committee also hailed Germany's move.

Last year, Britain outlawed Hezbollah's political wing, making membership of the Shiite movement or inviting support for it a crime.
Mountains frame the skyline of Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., on on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the governing body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, told the Senate Finance Committee this week he opposes limiting tax deductions for charitable contributions to churches. "Private educational institutions, hospitals, social welfare agencies and innumerable other organizations" would be impacted according to Oaks. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Following an explosive report about the dark past of its founder and CEO Damien Patton, Utah-based company Banjo is facing a backlash in its own backyard. After revelations of Patton's former ties to a branch of the KKK came to light, Utah's attorney general and the University of Utah froze their relationships with the company. Now, the company will suspend all of its contracts in the state.

Following the actions by the state AG's office, Banjo announced that it would suspend all of its state contracts in Utah, "not ingesting any government data or providing any services to government entities" until an audit could be conducted. Banjo signed a $20.7 million contract with the state of Utah in 2019, a relationship set to span five years.

The Utah Attorney Generals office is shocked and dismayed at reports that Banjos founder had any affiliation with any hate group or groups in his youth," Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes' office said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. "Neither the AG nor anyone in the AGs office were aware of these affiliations or actions. They are indefensible. He has said so himself. "

In the investigation on Patton, OneZero revealed that not only did Patton have ties to active KKK members at the age of 17, but that in 1990 he drove a car past a synagogue in a Nashville suburb while a KKK member shot at the building. Following the incident, he reportedly went into hiding at a white supremacist training camp. According to the reporting, Patton's affiliation with white supremacists continued into his adulthood after he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, though Patton frames those ties as solely during his youth, after he "was taken in" by white supremacists while living on the street.

In a statement to TechCrunch and published on the company's blog, Patton expressed remorse for his actions while not directly addressing how his violent, extremist past never came up when telling his own story as a founder:

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I have worked every day to be a responsible member of society. Ive built companies, employed hundreds and have worked to treat everyone around me equally. In recent years, Ive sought to create technologies that stop human suffering and save lives without violating privacy. I know that I will never be able to erase my past but I work hard every day to make up for mistakes. This is something I will never stop doing.

Once a proximity social networking app, Banjo pivoted in recent years to become a real-time intelligence platform for police departments and public officials. Its core product, Live Time, purports to provide "life-saving information in seconds" in order to mobilize emergency responses, but has faced criticism for its surveillance-driven mission. As Vice recently observed, the company's desire to conduct real-time AI-powered monitoring on public surveillance camera feeds is "something that has terrified security and civil liberties experts for years."

Reyes noted that while he "believe[s] Mr. Pattons remorse is sincere," the Utah AG's office would suspend its use of Banjo while a third-party investigates the state's implementation for "issues like data privacy and possible bias," suggesting that other state agencies using Banjo should follow suit.

"Banjos mission is to save lives and minimize human suffering to help first responders in emergency situations while not invading peoples civil liberties and rights," the company wrote in a blog post announcing plans to pause state contracts. "We are looking forward to the audit to show that we can build technology to help save lives and protect peoples rights."
MG Motor India has donated a retrofitted Hector ambulance version to healthcare authorities in Vadodara. The model is fitted with an auto-loading stretcher, oxygen system with cylinder, jump seat for attendant, fire extinguisher, medicine cabinet with five parameter monitor, internal lighting and top light bar with siren and amplifier, inverter with battery and sockets and additional medical equipment.

MG recently provided 100 units of the Hector for frontline warriors. The company is also looking at cabin sterilization technology for its cars. The carmaker is also working on a 100 member womens hostel to provide living spaces for its female associates near the manufacturing plant in Halol.

Looking at the immediate need for support, the MG Hector ambulance conversion was completed within a span of 10 days. The model has been developed by MG Indias engineering team at Halol, in partnership with Ahmedabad-based Natraj Motor Body Builders.

MG Hector  13.95 Lakh Onwards

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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Bangli, Bali  Sat, May 2, 2020 12:25 626 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd568dd1 1 National COVID-19-bali,COVID-19,coronavirus,migrant-workers Free

Serokadan hamlet in Abuan village, Bangli regency, located in the central part of Bali, was put under lockdown on Thursday after rapid tests indicated it was probable that hundreds of its residents were infected by the coronavirus.

The Bali provincial COVID 19 task force team took 1,200 blood samples from residents of the hamlet on Thursday, of which more than 400 returned "reactive" results after rapid testing.

"We have followed up the rapid test results by taking swab samples for further PCR [polymerase chain reaction] tests to get accurate results on whether they are positive for COVID-19 or not. Of course, we will use the swab test results as the final results," the task forces executive chairman, Dewa Made Indra, said.

Bangli regency subsequently decided to put the hamlet under lockdown to prevent the virus from further spreading. With residents no longer allowed to leave the area, authorities prepared on Friday public kitchens within the hamlet to serve food.

"Starting Thursday, Serokadan hamlet in Abuan village is isolated, closed. No one is allowed to enter or leave the hamlet," he said.

The rapid tests in Abuan village took place following findings that eight of the village's residents contracted the virus through local transmission after reportedly coming into contact with a migrant worker who had just returned from abroad but ignored self-quarantine protocol.

Medical workers were set to continue with more rapid testing on Friday, targeting tests on more than 2,600 residents in the village.

Some 200 residents of Padang Kerta village in Karangasem regency also took part in COVID-19 rapid testing after authorities found that six villagers tested positive for the coronavirus.

The infected villagers were identified following contact tracing of a migrant worker who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from overseas.

We have conducted rapid tests in Padang Kerta village. So far, we found 12 people with reactive results, Dewa Made Indra said.

Read also: Indonesia's strategy to end COVID-19 outbreak lacks effectiveness: Study

Bali, which has seen its tourism plummet due to the pandemic, has thus far recorded at least 235 coronavirus cases with four fatalities, according to the central government's official tally on Friday.

At least eight of the infected people on the resort island are foreigners, while some 137 cases were imported. The province recorded 57 cases as a result of local transmission.

Concerns have been raised over Balinese migrant workers who returned home from abroad, including those employed on international cruise liners, as 134 out of 137 imported cases were those of migrant workers who returned to Bali.

More than 10,000 migrant workers have reportedly returned to the island since March. Authorities said thousands more workers might come home soon.

It is estimated that around 20,000 Balinese are working abroad, mostly in tourism as crew members of cruise ships.

Bali has implemented special protocol in handling the influx of migrant workers, including by providing special quarantine facilities in hotels and government compounds.

Before the new protocol was implemented, the government allowed migrant workers from overseas to return home provided they self-quarantine. Several migrant workers, however, reportedly ignored health protocols, putting local residents at risk.
Everest Re Group has announced the appointment of Stephanie Merkel as vice president of marketing and communications. In her new role, Merkel will lead the day-to-day operations of the marketing and communications team toward the implementation of Everests global marketing plan. She will be based in Philadelphia and report to Dane Lopes, head of marketing and communications for Everest Re Group.

Prior to joining Everest, Merkel served in a variety of senior marketing capacities for Chubbs North America operation. She has also held various marketing and communications positions at AIG.
Also listed as donation recipients are the Hong Kong Red Cross, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, the Philippine Red Cross and the Lung Center of the Philippines, as well as Caritas Diocesana in Spain and Switzerlands Gluckskette and Swiss Philanthropy. In the UK, donations will go to NHS Charities Together, Age UK, and PPE for NHS.

Meanwhile the US beneficiaries are First Responders Childrens Foundation, Direct Relief, Red Cross Coronavirus Outbreak Fund, MBA Opens Doors Foundation, PPE for UConn Healthcare, Jersey Battered Womens Services, Sage Elder Care, Holy Name Medical Center, One Simple Wish, Guilford Education Alliance  Laptop Project, No Kid Hungry North Carolina, and Frisco Fast Pacs.

The scale and speed of this pandemic has been devastating around the globe, said Arch president and chief executive Marc Grandisson. Striving to make a difference and investing in our communities are part of our corporate values, and we are committed to supporting those affected by this crisis.

The company has also established Arch Cares: COVID-19 Employee Assistance Fund for Financial Hardships, which will provide monetary support to eligible staff. In addition, Arch is temporarily enhancing its corporate match for employees charitable contributions from 1:1 to 2:1.
Chevron is complying with the U.S. Administrations requirements, but it is not winding down all activities in Venezuela preparing to leave the country, the U.S. supermajors chief executive officer Michael Wirth told CNBC on Friday.

We intend to comply, obviously, with the requirements of the government, but were not actually winding down or leaving the country, Wirth said in an interview with CNBC today. Were winding down certain activities, he added.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered Chevron to start winding down activities in Venezuela in the latest increase in pressure against the Nicolas Maduro government in Caracas.

The U.S. government has granted Chevron a series of three-month sanction waivers to continue operating in Venezuela since it started to increase pressure on Maduros regime at the beginning of 2019. Chevrons last extension for its Venezuela operations expired on April 22. On that date, the Trump Administration told Chevron it had to start winding down operations in Venezuela by the beginning of December 2020.

Commenting on the license to operate in Venezuela, Chevrons Wirth told CNBC: We dont actually operate any assets in Venezuela, we are partner in two operations that are operated by another company.

The 90-day licenses to operate in Venezuela have gradually limited what Chevron can do in Venezuela, the companys top executive said.

The current license until December doesnt require Chevron to leave Venezuelait just restricts activity to a smaller set of allowed operations, Wirth said.

Chevron operates a joint venture with Venezuelas PDVSA in the country that is home to the world's most abundant oil resources. Petroboscan, the joint venture, produced around 200,000 bpd as of October, with Chevron's share of this at 34,000 bpd. The U.S. supermajor holds a 30-percent stake in the venture. In March, the output of Petroboscan fell by more than 50 percent to 50,000 bpd from as much as 120,000 bpd just three months later.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
(Natural News) President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (April 28) that his administration is heavily considering conducting COVID-19 tests on passengers on international flights. The country would focus on flights that are coming out of areas that are heavily infected, he said at a White House event. His administration is said to be working with airlines to execute this plan, which could begin in the very near future.

Trump further said that they havent determined whether the testing would be done by the federal government or by the airlines themselves. Maybe its a combination of both, he said.

Trump also suggested that Brazil might be one of the countries getting to that category of being a coronavirus hot spot.

New safety measures for airports

Gary Kelly, chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, said that his company is in talks with the Trump administration, as well as members of Congress, about protocols that their airline can set up. He added that an industry trade group was leading the effort to advocate for coronavirus screenings at airports.

Some kind of screening makes sense, said Kelly, and I think to get people flying again, they need to be comfortable, and I think thats one way to provide additional comfort.

Earlier this year, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, airports began screening passengers arriving from China. However, only a handful of passengers were quarantined. (Related: The coronavirus is likely 56 to 100 times MORE DEADLY than the flu; any attempt to end the lockdowns without precautions will result in catastrophe.)

As of press time, five officers from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have succumbed to COVID-19, with 500 more officers testing positive at airports across the United States. The fact that so many TSA officers are contracting coronavirus shows the dire need for airports around the world to begin rolling out strong coronavirus measures before considering reopening all businesses.

To avoid further deaths from COVID-19, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of airlines all over the world, is urging for new safety measures to be implemented to help restart global air travel while allowing airlines to remain economically viable.

Alexandre de Juniac, Director General of the IATA, is working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, to develop a new set of safety guidelines that can help boost international travel once coronavirus restrictions begin easing up. Their new policies would follow guidelines set by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stipulates that everybody on the plane must wear a face mask.

Airlines and airports already working to implement coronavirus measures

Other airlines are planning to implement coronavirus measures as well. Emirates, the state-owned airline of the United Arab Emirates, is planning to give its passengers blood tests to check for antibodies that will reveal whether or not a passenger has been exposed to the virus. Etihad Airways, another airline of the UAE, has begun setting up kiosks in airports that can monitor passengers temperatures, heart rates and respiratory rates.

Hong Kong International Airport became the worlds first airport to introduce mandatory testing for COVID-19. Passengers from high-risk areas such as the U.K. and the Hubei province in China  the epicenter of the global pandemic  have to take rapid tests, the results from which are made available after eight hours.

Passengers arriving from areas with less catastrophic coronavirus outbreaks will also be tested, but afterward can be sent home to wait for the results there. Furthermore, even if these passengers test negative, they will still be required to self-quarantine for two weeks.

Air traffic around the world is down by more than 90 percent. Many airlines and airports have started losing a lot of money since the start of the pandemic. It is likely that they will continue to do so until they figure out ways to get passengers to start flying again.

These screening measures being rolled out by airlines and airports all over the world are a step in the right direction, but more still needs to be done, especially since scientists have casted doubts on several measures, such as thermal screening, which is found to be inaccurate.

Jeanine Pommier of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has argued that, instead of thermal or symptom screening, airports should require passengers to go through rapid testing, as well as identifying and monitoring anyone who has come into close contact with them.

Furthermore, quarantine measures must be established, as self-isolating is proven to be very effective. Along with that, providing people with basic health information is also useful. If passengers were to receive a pamphlet warning them about the symptoms of COVID-19, it could help people who feel like they contracted the virus to figure out what to do next.

The global coronavirus pandemic is a serious concern. As of press time, there are over 3.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world, with over a million of those cases coming from the United States.

With strong and scientifically backed health screening measures, airports may be able to start back up again once the period of heavy lockdowns and restrictions ends.

Sources include:

JPost.com

VOANews.com

USAToday.com

AlJazeera.com

QZ.com

Airport-Technology.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu
OTTAWAConservative MP Derek Sloans controversial attack on Canadas top public health official has moved from an internal party skirmish into a proxy war between leadership candidates Erin OToole and Peter MacKay.

On the surface, the controversy about Sloan questioning Dr. Theresa Tams loyalty to Canada raises questions of race, political propriety and criticism of the governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But it doesnt take too much scratching to see the bare-knuckle leadership politics underneath.

When the partys Ontario caucus voted Tuesday to demand an apology from the rookie MP and leadership hopeful, only two of the 36 MPs voted against the motion  Sloan himself, and OToole. The OToole campaign declined to confirm that fact, first reported by the CBC, but two Conservative Party sources have.

So why would OToole vote against asking Sloan to apologize?

The thinking within Conservative circles goes like this: MacKay has enough of an advantage in fundraising, endorsements, and name recognition that OToole cant secure a first-ballot win against him. Instead, OTooles strategy will focus on cobbling together support from the corners of the Conservative tent, where MacKay is not so popular.

Enter Sloan, the socially conservative MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington.

OToole is not a social conservative, but his campaign has put emphasis on welcoming all the disparate factions that make up the Conservative movement. OToole needs social conservatives to make him their second or third choice in the partys ranked ballot system, after Sloan and Leslyn Lewis, in order to upset MacKay.

An OToole supporter, who spoke on the condition they not be named to discuss internal party politics, described the situation as fraught.

I think were getting into a dangerous place where were talking about party unity, here. We could be splitting the party in half, the supporter said, adding that kicking Sloan out would drive huge numbers of the party out.

MacKay, meanwhile, is trying to steamroll his way to a first-ballot win. Sloan and Lewis could complicate that  both are running as social conservatives, and while social conservatives are only one faction within the party, they excel at organization and fundraising.

MacKay drew the ire of social conservatives when he said after the 2019 election that their issues hung like a stinking albatross around the neck of outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. That was a reference to Scheers difficulty fielding questions about his personal positions on same-sex marriage and abortion.

If Sloan is ejected from the Conservative caucus and the leadership race, he would be the third candidate with social conservative views disqualified from seeking the partys top job. If the social conservatives are frustrated enough not to cast a ballot by Aug. 21, that would likely work to MacKays advantage.

Which brings us to the emergency caucus meeting on Tuesday, where Ontario Conservatives  many of them MacKay supporters  voted to demand Sloan apologize or face a vote to expel him from caucus.

Someone has been leaking detailed information on what happened in the CPCs Ontario caucus earlier this week, wrote longtime MP Scott Reid on Twitter Wednesday, referring to the Stars reporting on the meeting.

Forcing Sloan out of caucus means hes out of the leadership race. But since he wont win anyway, why bother? Answer: a finalist who cant capture the (second) ballot support of Sloan voters benefits if there are no (first) ballot Sloan votes.

Reid can hardly be described as a MacKay supporter  the two men have a history of bad blood going back to the merger of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance, when there was a tense disagreement about how the newly formed Conservative Partys leader should be chosen. But he also suggested that he brought forward to motion to demand Sloan apologize.

After all, it was (purportedly) my motion, demanding the retraction of his rhetoric that was leaked. But whether we like the form of his retraction or not, he has retracted. The bigger issue is the leak itself, Reid wrote.

The Ontario caucus includes at least 12 members who have endorsed MacKay, and only two who have endorsed OToole. While that is not the only consideration in voting to reprimand Sloan  non-aligned MPs like Reid, Michael Chong and Peter Kent have already made their objections to Sloans comments public  the leadership race undoubtedly played a factor.

The Conservative national caucus met Friday afternoon, just two days after Sloan refused the call by Ontario caucus to apologize for his attack on Tam. Sloans campaign told the Star Friday night that he remains a Conservative MP after that meeting.

Whatever the outcome, the leak about confidential caucus discussions that preceded it will remain a grave offence for Reid.

If an MP leaked this, then that MP  not Derek Sloan  should be the one facing expulsion, wrote Reid, whos known as a stickler for parliamentary procedure and precedent.

And if a leadership candidate authorized his team to make the leak, then he should be reconsidering whether he is fit to lead the party.

Read more about:
A coalition of 16 states led by California and New York sued the Trump administration Friday over a law that eliminated Obama-era protections for wetlands and streams across the United States.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, accuses President Trump and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of illegally exposing waterways to pollution and development by rolling back a key provision of the Clean Water Act.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and New York Attorney General Letitia James called the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which became law April 21, a reckless violation of the Clean Water Act, Supreme Court precedent and the EPAs own scientific findings.

The Trump Administration is once again on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of science and the wrong side of the law, Becerra said. Clean water is a fundamental right. It is essential to preserving Californias biodiversity and protecting the health of our children and communities.

The new rule, called a recodification, is essentially a rewrite of the Waters of the United States guidelines, known as WOTUS, which were enacted by President Barack Obama in 2015 in an attempt to clarify ambiguities under the Clean Water Act.

Obamas rule protected all bodies of water that feed larger rivers and lakes, including small tributaries that sometimes contain no water but might, when full, impact downstream water quality. These ephemeral channels and basins make up the majority of the nations waterways.

The Obama rule infuriated businesses and some farmers, who feared having to seek costly permits for projects like building a barn on land next to a protected pond or slough. Andrew Wheeler, the EPA administrator, called the law an egregious power grab that left landowners at the mercy of distant unelected bureaucrats.

In response, Trump streamlined the regulations, excluding ponds, ephemeral streams, many wetlands, sloughs unconnected to larger flows and other non-navigable bodies of water from EPA jurisdiction.

Becerra and James accused the president of endangering the health and safety of Americans by needlessly opening up thousands of miles of streams and wetlands to polluted discharges and development, including pipeline construction.

The lawsuit claims the decision was unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act because it arbitrarily ignored extensive analysis by EPA researchers and dismantled pollution controls under the Clean Water Act.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Clearly, allowing water pollution to occur upstream will result in polluted drinking water and water for agriculture, and degraded habitat for fish and wildlife downstream, said Jared Blumenfeld, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Streams impacted by this rule provide drinking water sources, protect wildlife refuges and promote sustainable agricultural and even recreational opportunities to millions of residents and visitors to this state.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Joining Becerra and James were the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

The District of Columbia, the California State Water Resources Control Board, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the city of New York also joined the suit.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite
Britain confident of EU deal this year but EU says UK must budge - sources An official removes the EU flag from Britain's Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels

By Elizabeth Piper and Michel Rose

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Britain is confident it can get a deal on its future ties with the European Union if Brussels starts treating it as an independent negotiator, a source close to the British negotiating team said on Thursday.

But, underlining what sources in Brussels say is an impasse at talks since Britain left the EU in January, French officials later reiterated the 27-nation bloc's position that London must make concessions for a deal to be reached this year.

The two sides have been unable to find any compromise on three main areas - the so-called level playing field guarantees of fair competition, governance and fisheries policy, according to the sources in Brussels and London.

Despite the coronavirus outbreak, Britain has said it will not ask for an extension to this year's transition period.

Negotiators have until the end of the year to negotiate a trade deal and agreements on everything from fishing to transport, to replace more than 40 years of closely aligned relations. The EU wants one single overarching deal.

"I am quite positive ... I believe that in the core areas of this there is actually good understanding between negotiators," the source said. "If we can get over the EU's insistence on not treating us as a fully independent negotiator, I think we can make progress quite quickly.

"I am confident we will get over that ... but probably a bit more noise has to happen before we get to that point."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a figurehead of the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, has shown no desire to prolong the talks despite officials in Brussels saying there is little time to negotiate a deal for a future relationship.

But London's negotiators suggest that the EU is complicating matters by refusing to base the talks on deals already struck with other countries, such as Canada, and instead asking for additional provisions.

"FLAWED" POSITION

Story continues

A French official said Britain's insistence on framing the issue as one of sovereignty was flawed, as it did not recognise that the EU could not offer access to its market while leaving Britain free to undercut European companies by deregulating.

"It can't work if British negotiators continue to say they won't accept any rules and that they need the Canada deal," the official told Reuters.

The French official said the EU always struck customised deals with trade partners, and never applied a pre-defined model.

"When we talk of a Canadian model, that doesn't mean reproducing the deal with Canada with every single trade partner," the French official said.

After talks last week, which were held virtually because of the coronavirus crisis, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said London must budge for a deal to be sealed in the time available.

"We agree with Barnier that there is little time, there is the need to make progress. What is very clear to me is that if we were agreeing a standard Canada-style trade agreement, we could do it quite quickly," the source close to the British negotiating team said.

"If they continue to insist on their position on the so-called level playing field and continuing the common fisheries policy, we're never going to accept that ... but I hope they will move on from it."

The French officials who spoke to Reuters said EU negotiators would not budge on the issue of the level playing field, which they said was crucial to any deal being signed, and expected British negotiators to make concessions.

"There can't be a deal with no level-playing field. That's not possible," the official said.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper in London and Michel Rose in Paris; editing by Stephen Addison and Timothy Heritage)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an immediate ban Friday on the sale and use of assault-style weapons in Canada, two weeks after a gunman killed 22 people in Nova Scotia.

'Canadians need more than thoughts and prayers,' he said, rejecting the reaction of many politicians after mass shootings.

Trudeau cited numerous mass shootings in the country, including the rampage that killed 22 in Nova Scotia April 18 and 19.

He announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, including two guns used by the gunman as well as the AR-15 and other weapons that have been used in a number of mass shootings in the United States.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces the ban on military-style assault weapons during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday, effective immediately

'You do not need an AR-15 to take down a deer,' Trudeau said. 'So, effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade, assault weapons in this country.'

There is a two-year amnesty period while the government creates a program that will allow current owners to receive compensation for turning in the designated firearms or keep them through a grandfathering process yet to be worked out.

Under the amnesty, the newly prohibited firearms can only be transferred or transported within Canada for specific purposes. Owners must keep the guns securely stored until there is more information on the buyback program.

Trudeau's ban includes more than 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms. A salesman is shown demonstrating an AR-15 at a Utah gunshow (file image)

Trudeau noted that 'You do not need an AR-15 to take down a deer' while he announced the ban. An AR-15 is shown here at a gun store in Florida (file image)

Mary-Liz Power, a spokeswoman for Canada's public safety minister, said details of how the buyback program will work will be determined by the government and the other parties in Parliament.

'We cant prejudge what the result of the parliamentary process will be. That is when details about grandfathering would be determined,' Power said.

Trudeau said at a daily media briefing in Ottawa that, 'These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time.'

He added: 'There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada.'

'Today we are closing the market for military-grade assault weapons in Canada,' he said.

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada, but Trudeau said they are happening more often.

Trudeau noted he was nearby when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college in 1989, due to radical anti-feminist sentiments. The Ruger Mini-14 Lepine used is among weapons included in the ban.

Trudeau has said his government would introduce further gun control legislation prohibiting military-style assault weapons, a measure that had already been planned before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the current parliamentary session.

'Enough is enough,' Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said. 'Banning assault-style firearms will save Canadian lives. These guns have no legitimate civilian purpose.'

The gunman in Nova Scotia, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, shot 13 people dead and set fires that killed nine others in one of the worst mass shootings in the country's history.

Police have said he used a handgun that was obtained in Canada and long guns that he obtained in the U.S., but they have not specifically said what guns he used.

Trudeau's ban comes two weeks after Gabriel Wortman, 51 (pictured), went on a mass shooting spree in Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19, leaving 22 people dead

RCMP officers are seen here as they prepared to arrest Wortman at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield, Nova Scotia on April 19

RCMP investigators search for evidence at the location where RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson was killed along the highway in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia

A woman pays her respects for the victims of the mass shooting, the deadliest in Canada

Among the 22 victims was RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson, who died while responding to Wortman's shooting rampage

Mourners were seen here on April 24 wearing red in honor of Stevenson in Nova Scotia

The rampage started with an assault on his girlfriend and it ended with 22 people dead in communities across central and northern Nova Scotia. A number of people had disputes with the gunman.

Blair said two of the illegal long guns that Wortman used are now on the list of weapons banned. He declined to identify them.

Opposition Conservative leader Andrew Scheer accused Trudeau of using the 'immediate emotion of the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push the Liberals' ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes.'

Scheer said the Nova Scotia shooter did not have a firearms licence, so all of his guns were illegal.

'Taking firearms away from law-abiding citizens does nothing to stop dangerous criminals who obtain their guns illegally,' Scheer said in a statement.

But Blair said making such guns illegal in Canada will make it harder for criminals to obtain them.

'Every firearm begins legally and then moves into an illegal market,' Blair said.

Canadian pollster Angus Reid released a survey on Friday which found that 78% of Canadians support a ban on military-grade assault weapons.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Some returning overseas Filipino workers are still being denied entry back to their hometowns  and the national government has decided to do something about their plight.

In a statement on Friday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said it ordered the creation of assistance desks nationwide to help OFWs return home after completing their mandatory 14-day quarantine.

We have been receiving reports that some OFWs are being barred from entering their communities or otherwise prevented to go to their designated health facilities to undergo their mandatory 14-day quarantine, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said.

All OFWs are required to complete the isolation period in Metro Manila before leaving for their provinces to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease which has infected more than 3.2 million worldwide. If the local government unit concerned still wants OFWs to undergo another period of quarantine, the DILG said they should be allowed to do so at home.

Miscommunication and misinformation should both be out of the question. Kaya magkakaroon ang kagawaran ng mga OFW desk sa regional offices pati ang pagtatalaga ng desk officer sa bawat rehiyon, lalawigan, at lungsod, Ano added.

[Translation: Miscommunication and misinformation should both be out of the question. That's why the department will have OFW desks in regional offices and a designated desk officer in ever region, municipality, and city.]

Under DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2020-075, the Local Government Operations Officer of every city and municipality will be the designated OFW Desk Officer. They will be tasked to immediately coordinate with the local chief executive and provide the necessary information about the returning OFWs.

"They must ensure that local government units (LGUs), including the BARMM, provide all the necessary assistance to the OFWs," the DILG said, on top of monitoring the health of all OFWs with the help of city or municipal health workers.

COVID-19 response chief implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr. said 16,000 OFWs are now in quarantine facilities while the government is expecting 150,000 more inbound Filipinos.

Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases reached 8,488 on Thursday, with 1,043 recoveries and 568 deaths. The entire country is under general community quarantine, while high-risk areas like Metro Manila are under a stricter enhanced community quarantine, marked by stay-at-home orders and suspension of most work and public transport.
Even as Himachal inches towards becoming free of the deadly novel coronavirus, around three lakh people are waiting to return home.

No new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the last eight days in Himachal Pradesh, said the ministry of home affairs. There are no red zones in Himachal. There are six orange and six green zones.

The Himachal government has set new health surveillance protocols for people entering Himachal Pradesh. Those wanting to return home will be allowed to travel only on e-passes.

Government data says that over three lakh residents were stranded in different parts of the country and are keen to return to their native places. Principal secretary revenue and agriculture Onkar Chand Sharma will facilitate the return of the stranded people.

The states borders had been choked with traffic after the ministry of home affairs lifted travel restrictions on people stranded outside the state, including students and migrant labourers.

Around 50,000 people have entered the state from different interstate borders in the last three days. All returnees have been asked to quarantine themselves at home.

We are coordinating with other state governments to facilitate the return of people stranded in different states. said Sharma.

FRESH SURVEILLANCE GUIDELINES

The Jai Ram Thakur-led government has issued fresh guidelines to strengthen surveillance to prevent Covid-19 from spreading.

As per the order issued by chief secretary Anil Khachi, concerned district magistrates shall appoint the heads of urban local bodies (ULBs) and gram panchayats (GP) in the territorial limits of the respective districts as surveillance personnel.

Government has directed all the local urban bodies and panchayats to have a registration facility for returnees.

Family members or relatives of returnees will register themselves at the facility immediately after their arrival or surveillance personnel may register such names suo-moto, on receiving information from any other source.

Registration is mandatory and any violation will invite action. The gram panchayat secretary will be the nodal officer for registration of returnees. Similarly, the SDM will appoint a nodal officer for a ward or cluster of wards in the ULBs.

Designated surveillance personnel shall ensure that no returnee in their respective area remains unregistered. They will record returnees in the prescribed format and will duly inform the ASHA worker or local health worker in case of such an arrival.

Every person arriving in Himachal shall have to stay in home or institutional quarantine facility at gram panchayat level for 14 days and any violation will warrant action.

If a person is allowed to home quarantine, the surveillance officer will affix a sticker on front of such house.

The ASHA worker will mandatorily visit the house on receiving the information from the surveillance personnel and shall ascertain that there is proper space for home quarantine. If not, she will inform the surveillance officer who shall move the person to institutional quarantine.

The persons who will jump home quarantine will be moved to an institutional quarantine facility. Regular health checkups of the quarantined persons shall be conducted. Any person who is required to observe quarantine and is found violating the norms or deterring surveillance personnel from discharging their duty will be liable to be punished under the provisions of Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Act.

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Turkeys government is drawing up plans to reopen the pandemic-hit tourism sector, a vital source of hard-currency revenues for the ailing economy, but new normal formulas for travel and accommodation could fall short of salvaging the sector and premature timing risks prolonging the COVID-19 contagion.

A return to the old normal appears a distant prospect for the global tourism industry, which, along with aviation, has suffered the heaviest blows from the pandemic. While 2020 is widely regarded as a lost year for tourism, the prospects of full recovery thereafter remain murky. The global tourism turnover was nearly $1.5 trillion last year, with services sold to some 1.5 billion customers. Extensive damage is expected in related sectors such as transportation, food industries and agriculture as well as sub-sectors catering to travelers. European and Asian countries had the largest shares from global tourism revenues last year  39% and 30%, respectively  and they are now bound to lose the most.

In Turkey, accommodation and food services, which contribute 3% of gross domestic product, are expected to hit rock bottom, and losses in this field alone, including sectors closely related to tourism, are expected to shrink GDP by more than 5% this year. But instead of facing up to the realities and drawing up measures to salvage the future of the sector, Ankara has hastily proposed reopening formulas with dubious viability.

Almost all countries continue to enforce transnational and internal restrictions to curb the contagion, including suspension of domestic and international flights, full or partial closure of eating establishments and postponement of various tourism-related events such as fairs and conventions. Although some countries have partially eased restrictions, a return to the old normal to make up for the damage appears unlikely as long as the physical risks of the virus and its traumatic effects on consumers persist.

Strict control of international flights is likely to continue in the coming period, affecting global trade and tourism activities. Domestic demand alone can hardly be a remedy for Turkeys tourism industry as the size and capacity of its facilities are based largely on external demand. Moreover, domestic consumers have suffered job and income losses in the pandemic, meaning that their appetite for tourism spending will take time to perk.

Nearly 45 million foreigners visited Turkey in 2019, bringing in some $30 billion. Those crucial hard-currency revenues, which help reduce the countrys foreign trade deficit and balance the current account, are now endangered by the pandemic, atop an alarming drawdown in the central banks foreign reserves.

Europeans made up the largest group of foreigners visiting Turkey last year, accounting for 38% of the total. Given the severity of their pandemic experience, European countries are unlikely to easily relax travel restrictions for 2020. Similarly, Russians and nationals of other former Soviet republics, who made the second largest group at 23% of foreign visitors, are unlikely to quickly return to Turkey for holidays. And visitors from Iran, one of the epicenters of the pandemic, and other Middle Eastern countries, which accounted for some 23% of foreign visitors in 2019, are expected to travel only in small numbers to Turkey this year.

In March, only about one million foreigners visited Turkey, a 48% drop from February under the impact of travel restrictions introduced in the second half of the month, according to Culture and Tourism Ministry data released April 30. In the first quarter of the year, foreign visitors numbered 5.6 million, a 15% decrease from the same period in 2019, while tourism revenues declined 11% to $4 billion. Sharper slumps could be seen in ensuing months.

Turkeys tourism industry employed nearly two million people, or 6% of the countrys total employment count, before the pandemic left large numbers out of work. The governments sole assistance for those left jobless has been a payment of approximately minimum wage from the Unemployment Insurance Fund over three months. And to distressed enterprises, Ankara has offered little more than tax deferrals and loan facilities.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy says domestic tourism could resume in late May, barring an unexpected resurgence of the pandemic in the country, which, according to the health minister, is currently in its peak period, with the rate of new infections falling.

If things go on like this and no challenge arises down the road, internal traffic will resume in late May. The tourism season will begin with controlled domestic flights, Ersoy said last week. He explained that comprehensive new rules have been outlined for accommodation and a newly created board would certify establishments that commit to comply with the rules. The certificates would mean a green light for holidaymakers. We might mutually reopen the gates with countries with zero cases, Ersoy added.

According to the ministrys road map, hotels could begin to reopen in late May, provided they take certain precautions. Hotels would be required to remove open buffets, fill only half of their capacities and abandon all-inclusive packages in favor of boutique services. Reducing sunbeds by half and limiting the number of voyagers on daily cruises are among other measures planned as part of the new normal.

Yet one question remains: Can companies stay afloat at only part of their capacities to ensure social distancing?
The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, says the reopening date of educational institutions will depend on the expert advice of health professionals managing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.



That, he said, was to ensure that we have a safe back-to-school process.



I can assure you that the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the universities are in close and regular contact with the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health, Dr Prempeh said in a widely publicised letter to students in the country.



Letter



The letter, published in the Thursday, April 30, 2020 edition of the Daily Graphic, is the second to be issued by the minister in a week. The first letter, also published in the April 27, 2020 edition of the Daily Graphic, was addressed to parents.



Schools in Ghana have been closed since Monday, March 16 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Closure



Over the past five weeks, the letter said your academic work has been disrupted because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in our country. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took the bold and necessary decision to close down our educational institutions to protect you and the nation from this deadly disease which has claimed many lives across the world.



I am concerned about your continuous learning, particularly as we near the end of the academic year. I can imagine the uncertainties about reopening dates and examination timetables weighing on your mind and perhaps affecting your preparations, especially for those of you in your final year, it said.



Platforms



In the meantime, the letter said, the Ministry of Education and the GES had created various platforms for pre-tertiary education on television and online to enable students to continue with structured and self-guided learning activities. For TV, we are currently broadcasting content for senior high school (SHS) core subjects on the Ghana Learning TV. It is available on free-to-air TV, as well as on DStv channel 315, GOtv channel 150 and StarTimes channel 312. Very soon, we will be broadcasting content for kindergarten (KG) to junior high school (JHS) as well.



Additionally, we are producing learning content for radio to be broadcast across the country. For online, we have resources available for SHS students on iCampus Ghana which can be accessed via www.icampus. In the near future, content for KG to JHS pupils and students will also be made available on this platform, it said.



For tertiary students, the letter said various universities were deploying learning systems to help students continue their education remotely, adding that the ministry was aware of the challenges students were facing with the cost of data and had agreed with telecommunications networks (Vodafone and MTN) to zero-rate educational content online on platforms.



Stay home



For the time being, I encourage you to stay at home and adhere to all safety regulations during these difficult times. I also encourage you to draw up personal daily timetables to engage in learning through the platforms we have provided.



Pick up new healthy hobbies, read widely (free e-books available on the Ghana Library Authority app) and exchange learning ideas with your peers, the letter added.

Source: Daily Graphic









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The COVID19 pandemic has become a global concern and governments around the world are fighting it in different ways. On April 8, 2020, a State of Emergency was declared by the Liberian Government to stop the spread of the virus which includes a STAY-AT-HOME order. I woke up this morning going through a long To Do List, yet I decided to write an article.

While thinking about a topic to develop, I got reminded that I am a conservationist who has been busy over the years sending out conservation messages in Liberia with little or no attention being paid to us. Based on my experiences as a conservationist, I decided to write on "Climate change efforts and messages in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic". Based on the decision to write on the above topic, I then asked myself these few questions:

How is the world responding to fighting COVID-19?

Is climate change really a concern to the world today?

Had epidemiologists and infectious disease experts predicted COVID-19, would the world listen and act?

Can the world learn lessons from COVID-19 in addressing climate change before it gets too late?

These are the burning questions on my mind that I want to share my opinions on while staying home and observing the government STAY-AT-HOME order. It is important to note that I have always wondered about the world's response to the issue of climate change. I am writing at this time comparing climate change with COVID-19 because I believe that the climate change issue can lead to a more devastating situation than COVID-19. Anyway, in order to reserve my verdict, below are my opinions on the four questions asked as follow:

1. How is the world responding to COVID-19? There is no doubt the current COVID-19 situation is the concern of the entire world. Every country on the planet (Earth) is focused on fighting this deadly disease which has claimed and continues to claim thousands of lives. Every country affected has declared either a State of Emergency or STAY-AT-HOME orders as a means of fighting this hidden enemy which I think is in the right direction. It would be an understatement to mention how massive resources (Human & Capital) have been mobilized to fight this disease.

While it is true that actions by affected countries at the moment is massive, it is also important to mention some countries delayed to take early action in the name of protecting/maintaining their economy. Don't get me wrong, the economy is important but life is more important than anything. Today, the story has changed because the effect of the virus is seen. Well, with the level of attention given to this virus, I believe it will soon be a history.

It will also be a disservice to the men and women (Doctors, Nurses, Etc.) who are on the frontline fighting this unseen enemy if I did not recognize them. Many thanks to all our front liners and wish you all the best as you sacrifice to save the world from COVID-19. May God protect you and your families as you strive to save the lives of others.

In this section, I think you should get to the point quicker. I think you want to say that the COVID19 pandemic is a global catastrophe and that therefore we are seeing massive resources mobilized to deal with the catastrophe. All the other things you are saying detract from making the main point.

2. Is climate change really a concern to the world today?

I think there are some efforts being made world-wide to address the issue of climate change. However, I also believe that the world does not really see climate change as a global catastrophe at the moment.

You may agree with me that the effects (wild fire, flood, storm, tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, etc.) of climate change are being experienced by countries all around the world. Conservationists and climate experts have warned and continue to warn of our (Human) actions but we are yet to listen as world. Hey, don't get me wrong here. My point here is to compare the global fight against COVID-19 in relation to the fight against climate. Some countries have done tremendously well in the fight against climate change. However, to win this fight, it requires a holistic global effort in mobilizing resources (Human & Capital) just like we are doing in the fight against COVID19. In the case of this pandemic, I see a collective fight ranging from declaring State of Emergency, mobilization of resources, exchange of experts and many more. This is the kind of effort I will wish to see in the fight against climate change. Climate change is real and requires a collective global actions and the time is NOW before it is too late. If nothing is done, it effect will be 100+ times the effect of the COVID-19

3. Had epidemiologists and infectious disease experts predicted COVID-19, would the world listen and act? In my opinion, if the epidemiologists and infectious experts had predicted and warned that there would be a COVID-19 back in 2018, the world would not have listened and acted as it is today. In fact, at the beginning of the outbreak, world leaders were warned but refused to act in the name of protecting their economy. I then wonder, economy for what or who?

Let's assume that we keep the economy open and running in our various countries and the entire population is infected by COVID-19, what becomes of the economy then? I strongly believe that the spread of the virus to about 210 countries is due to great countries' refusal to act early in the fight due to the fear of economic downturn. Today, the economy has fallen yet with many lives lost. This is a double (Lives & Economy) effect, it could have been single (Economy) had the world acted earlier. On the other hand, weaker countries particularly African nations fail to act because they are always depended on those great nations. The world needs to listen to experts' opinions and act on issues that will affect human existence and climate change is just one of those issues that will have global effect if nothing is done. I mean RIGHT NOW

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Climate Coronavirus Liberia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

4. Can the world learn lessons from COVID-19 in addressing climate change before it is too late? Reflecting on the current fight against COVID-19 pandemic, I strongly believe that we (WORLD) can learn some basic lessons which can be used in the fight against climate change. Below are a few lessons that can be learned from the fight against COVID-19 which I think can be used to tackle climate change:

About 210 countries are affected and more than 100,000 lives lost to COVID-19 today because the world did not act early. If the world does not act soon in addressing the issue of climate change, there might be a global effect as big as or bigger than that of COVID19 in a not too distance future

The curves are flattening in some countries due to a holistic effort from the government and citizens in general. Climate change is everyone's business and requires a holistic effort from all to address it

Early response in the time of crisis is very important in the mitigation of any crisis. A clear example is China early response which saw the virus contained considerably. The earlier the world responds to the fight against climate change, the better it will be for humankind

The initial model in the United States predicted between 100,000-200,000 deaths without actions. With the US taking actions even though late, the new model shows around 60,000 deaths which could even be less. Climate change is real - holistic global actions taken NOW can avert further and worst future effects

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It is rare for Donald Trump to credit other countries with world records, but at a press briefing last month the US president unveiled a list that put Belgium at the top. Unfortunately for Belgium, it was a ranking of deaths from the coronavirus. According to numbers collated by the Johns Hopkins University, Belgium leads the world in deaths per head of population, with the latest count on Friday showing the country at 665 per million. By comparison, Britains rate is 394, the USs is 193, Spains is 525, and Italys is 463. So why is Belgiums relative death toll so high?

In many ways, Belgium was well protected to weather the virus storm: it moved relatively swiftly to impose lockdown restrictions and its healthcare system is recognised as one of the best in the world. Yet as of Friday, it has recorded a total of 7,703 coronavirus deaths and 49,032 cases. In absolute fatalities, Belgium is in sixth place worldwide. Germany, next door, has registered just 6,632 deaths, but it has a population of 83 million, compared to Belgiums 11.5 million.

But Belgiums high numbers have less to do with the spread of the disease and more to do with the way it counts fatalities. Its figures include all the deaths in the countrys more than 1,500 nursing homes, even those untested for the virus. These numbers add up to more than half of the overall figure.

According to Belgiums Federal Public Service for Health, just 46 per cent of the countrys total official deaths were in hospitals where coronavirus cases were confirmed. But 53 per cent of the Belgian tally, or 4,100 people, were from care homes, and of these, 84 per cent are suspected but unconfirmed coronavirus deaths.

Belgium moved relatively swiftly to impose lockdown restrictions (EPA)

Sophie Wilmes, the prime minister of Belgium, says the government chose full transparency when communicating deaths linked to Covid-19, even if it leads to numbers that are sometimes overestimated. The health minister, Maggie De Block, says Belgium is setting an example in diagnosing the disease: In Europe, no country counts like the others. We have the most detailed method.

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) points out, measuring mortality is tricky as clinicians have to determine if Covid-19 is a contributing or an underlying cause of death, and countries have different ways of issuing death certificates. But other countries are now adding care home deaths to their overall tally, including Britain  although the UK does not go as far as including those not confirmed by tests.

Steven Van Gucht, the head of the viral disease division at the Sciensano public health institute, says he is not bothered by charts showing Belgium at the top. If you want to compare our numbers with other countries, then you have to divide it by two, he says. Van Gucht, who is also a virology professor at Ghent University, says the measure also helped increase political pressure to do more in care homes. We do this because we want to save lives. In that way, the system worked, he says.

But the system is controversial, as it means deaths from diabetes, heart failure, hypertension and other problems are included in the Covid-19 tally. Virologist Marc Van Ranst, from Leuven University (KUL), has described it as stupid because it gives the impression that the coronavirus is the only cause of death in care homes.

Belgiums decision also showed how exposed elderly people are. Vincent Fredericq, the director-general of care home federation Femarbel, says the elderly were left behind in the rush to prepare hospitals. They saw what happened in Italy and how their hospitals were overwhelmed. So there were instructions to hospitalise people from care homes as little as possible, he says. We were treated like the second class. And in the end, the hospitals were not overwhelmed  they actually had spare beds available in the intensive care units. Indeed, even at the diseases peak in Belgium, in early April, ICUs were only at 57 per cent capacity.

Belgium is now testing more than 240,000 residents and staff at nursing homes, and the early figures show a 9 per cent infection rate for care home residents and 4 per cent for personnel. But Fredericq admits that it is hard to predict how many people died from the coronavirus in care homes. The average age of residents is 85-86, and their average stay is just 16 months. There is an inevitable high mortality, so they could have died anyway, he says.

Belgium also benefits from relative political calm, and firm popular backing for the prime minister: Wilmes is widely praised for her calm, clear and reassuring leadership. Scientists, like Van Gucht, lead the daily briefings, not politicians. And Belgians generally comply with the restrictions, despite the occasional lockdown parties.

Van Gucht says that Belgiums measured response was even helped by the countrys notoriously fractious party politics. Yes, the political landscape is divided and diverse, but that made the politicians more willing to listen to expert scientific advice, he says. But he does believe that geography may have raised the numbers: not only is Belgium densely populated, but it is at the crossroads of Europe and its capital Brussels is a very international city.

Officials now believe that the main wave of infections came from Italy in the last week of February. We were hit hard and suddenly in the carnival holidays, says Van Gucht. Italy is very popular with Belgians at that time of the year: the food is good, the ski is good, and you can go by car. We know it came from there because when we checked the genetic sequences, there were multiple interactions in Italy.

Belgium now seems to have flattened the curve: on Friday, it reported 130 fatalities overall (83 in care homes), and 513 new cases. The first phase of Belgiums exit from the lockdown will begin on Monday, with certain shops re-opening, and if the numbers stay low, schools will restart later this month.

As for the charts, Belgium may stay at the top for a while. But Van Gucht insists the method was the only honest way to do it. History will show that Belgium got its numbers straight  that is the only thing the charts show, he says.
From small family gatherings to neighbours and friends catching up for a meal, NSW residents on Friday began taking their first steps out from under the strict confines of a six-week coronavirus lockdown. Social distancing restrictions that forced residents to stay at home except for the most urgent tasks have been eased slightly, allowing two people, and their dependent children if they have them, to travel across the state for home visits under care provisions. National Mental Health Commission chief Christine Morgan with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen While other restrictions remain, Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the visiting provisions will be applied sympathetically. The first steps back to normality are in no small part due to the mental health issues of isolation, loneliness, anxiety and fear felt over the past few months.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Scott Morrison put mental health centre stage in the move towards lifting restrictions, inviting National Mental Health Commission CEO Christine Morgan and the PM's National Suicide Prevention adviser to join him in his post-national cabinet public briefing. Morgan immediately warned of the "pressure cooker" of life in lockdown. "People are finding it challenging living in confined spaces," she said at the time. "We are living with our loved ones. That doesn't mean it is easy." And she highlighted the loneliness for those living by themselves. But with efforts to contain the virus working, the NSW and federal governments are working on plans to ease restrictions further to ease the mental health burden of the lockdown and kickstart the economy.

Berejiklian has made it clear she wants a further easing of restrictions on outdoor gatherings later this month, including removing the limit of two people, and a lifting of bans on outdoor gym equipment and playgrounds. Morrison, who has repeatedly emphasised lives and livelihoods, says the national cabinet will next Friday consider easing restrictions further in a bid to help boost economic activity. "Australians deserve an early mark," he says. While the Prime Minister this week spoke of a freer way of life "not too far away", he says "it won't be exactly like it was before". For example, international travel remains a long way off. "I look forward to the time where [people] can sit down to a meal at a restaurant or a cafe or in a pub again. I look forward to the time where they can see, whether it is the AFL, the netball, or the NRL, or  and being able to watch that again." A new normal

As restrictions ease, the reality of the state of the economy that people are returning to is stark. The fear, anxiety and distress once held about the virus may be easing as infections fall but the shock of an economy facing 10 per cent unemployment, joblessness and business failures has barely begun. How long will people receive JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments? How long will banks hold off on mortgage payments? Will I have to keep schooling my children? Can I pay my rent? The Prime Minister acknowledged the impact of isolation on mental health, drawing a line between the success of the government's COVIDSafe mobile phone app and a possible easing of restrictions. "That is why it is important that we get these COVIDSafe arrangements in place, so people won't be constrained, as they have been; they won't be under as much anxiety as they have been as a result of the isolation restrictions that have been necessary," Morrison says. Downloading the app "is the ticket" to opening the economy and one of the last hurdles before restrictions can be lifted, he says.

Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman. Credit:Joe Armao Morgan highlighted the ongoing "worry" about job, housing and employment security. Beyond Blue, for example, has had a 40 per cent jump in calls since the start of the pandemic. Its chief Georgie Harman says there has been a shift in the fears expressed by those contacting the organisation's helpline. "What we were seeing very early on was a profound sense of distress, anxiety and fear. In the early days it was a fear of catching the virus, dying; a fear for loved ones," she says. "Now we're seeing those sentiments change. It's the aftershocks we need to turn mind to ... such as mental distress for sustained periods, the ability to bounce back, economic and financial distress, job insecurity, job loss on our mental wellbeing."

Record numbers of people are reaching out to Beyond Blue, she says, and most with no history of contact with the organisation or of having mental health issues. "The kinds of trends we are seeing and the major issues people are talking to us about first and foremost are isolation and loneliness, people feeling very disconnected," Morgan says. "Initial trends of that elevated health anxiety have subsided but been replaced by feelings of helplessness, uncertainty, boredom, exhaustion, a lot more family stress. "People are stressed about jobs and money ... being able to pay bills, if they're ever going to be able to find a job again." It means mental health is a huge part of managing an easing of restrictions, she says.

"The evidence would point from previous natural disasters, sustained emergencies, things like that, that resilience and mental health and an ability to cope is a foundational part of any response," she says. "If we get this right, even if the economic situation takes a long time to recover, if people are equipped to be able to manage with profound distress and uncertainty and stress that the economic uncertainty will bring many of us, we'll be in a better position." A natural reaction It didn't take long for the online memes to start. No sooner had Berejiklian announced a relaxation of some of the social distancing provisions than expectations of how it would play out began appearing online: house parties pumping with music, plans for large family catch-ups or beers with mates. It came just days after rugby league players were photographed on camping trips, shooting firearms and having multiple house visitors. And memories of crowds on Bondi Beach disregarding social distancing laws remain fresh.

NSW Premier Gladys Berijiklian. Credit:Daniel Munoz With numbers of reported cases consistently low, the Premier had raised hopes the lockdown was easing when she announced changes to restrictions on visiting those for care purposes. "The reason we're allowing people to do this, to reduce isolation, to improve mental health and give people that bit of contact which they haven't had  for some people, if you're working for home  for a very long time." But the changes were interpreted more broadly as signalling a possible end to strict lockdown, forcing the Premier to clarify they related only to providing care and that restrictions on leaving home remained. "This is not a holiday," she says, warning freedoms could be wound back if not adhered to or if breakouts occurred.

The Premier was rebuked by former Australian Medical Association head and former independent MP Professor Kerryn Phelps. Loading "Unfortunately the earlier announcement  sounded like an invitation for unlimited play-dates," Phelps says. Harman says it's understandable people are bursting to get out. "I think that's a perfectly natural human reaction to have," she says. "We are all antsy and desperate to get back and hug each other and go to a restaurant but the situation is so fragile from a public health perspective," she says.

"We've seen what can happen when you take your foot off slightly. "A very careful, considered, well-planned exit and easing of restrictions is what is absolutely necessary and critical and psychologically we have to find a way to accept that." The relaxation of restrictions led to questions on why schools, which will begin welcoming children back one day a week later this month, aren't going back full-time. While Morrison is keen for schools to return, Berejiklian will monitor changes this month before announcing further decisions. How strong can we be?

Last Tuesday, a new user signed up to the Beyond Blue online forum on coping with life during the pandemic lockdown to tell her story. Six weeks in, she was struggling and reached out, hoping for a day not too far away when restrictions would begin to ease. "Today has been a challenging day," wrote the user, Kitaa213. "I am currently homeschooling three children aged 5, 4 and 2 and just feeling slightly defeated. "My children's behaviour has also worsened slightly as they too are feeling the effects of being cooped up and not able to see family. "Being in isolation is taking me back to a time when my family had zero support and I had minimal to no contact with people other than my kids and hubby for weeks on end.

"I was lonely, depressed and suicidal then, my absolute lowest point in life. "I do hope life normalises soon and restrictions ease, as I have been battling with making the 40-minute drive to see my mum for my mental health and honouring and obeying the laws of the land." Loading Other users quickly rallied around her, expressing support and offering tips and help. Beyond Blue's dedicated coronavirus site has more than 100,000 users in the three weeks since launch, many from those who have never had reason to reach out before.
A new Facebook group is connecting Massachusetts residents to high school seniors, allowing people to give gift baskets, advice and mentorship.

The class of 2020s school year was abruptly cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many proms, graduations and senior weeks have been canceled or postponed.

I think everybody remembers their senior prom and graduation and senior trips, said Crystal Rondeau, who started the Facebook page.

Rondeau, who has three daughters with her oldest being a senior, originally tried posting on another group but she later found out it was made for Georgia residents.

I said, 'You know what, why am I putting it on here? Let me do something local, she said.

So, the Monson resident started the Facebook group, Adopt a High School Senior Tuesday night. Two days later, the group has more than 1,200 members, with people joining from all over New England, Rondeau said.

Everybody, I think, is just really feeling helpless" Rondeau said. "And its giving them something that they can do.

To get involved, students or family members can post photos and a bio. Then community members comment that they want to adopt that student.

But youll have to be quick if you want to adopt.

People are arguing over seniors, Rondeau said.

But its all in good fun.

This Facebook page is getting the community together to support seniors in high school. Crystal Rondeau started the Facebook page for her daughter and her friends.

Its also really helping many of the students feel a little bit better, Rondeau said. On Thursday, Rondeaus daughter found out Monson High Schools prom bad been officially canceled.

That news was very disappointing, she said.

She has gone to school with these same kids, since kindergarten, so they have a bond and a connection, Rondeau said. And theyre all leaving end of the summer to go different places and I dont even know that theyre going to have a summer to get together.

But this, she said, is something they can look forward to and feel supported by.

Rondeau is also encouraging people to shop local. Some businesses have even chimed in on the group.

Jay Demore from Demores Automotive in Palmer offered students a free vehicle safety check to make sure you are safe and ready for the road.

In addition we will discount any services or repairs your car needs, he wrote, adding that he also has connections in many states and can help find seniors good auto repair shops where theyre going to college.

Its these kinds of gifts that were most unexpected.

Others have offered to help with resumes and mentorships or offering to photograph students who cant afford senior photos.

Somebody posted that they couldnt afford to do senior photos, Rondeau said. And I instantly had three photographers say, I will adopt them and I will give them a free photo shoot as their gift.

Scrolling through the list of seniors, its easy to see how amazing Massachusetts students are, many taking on multiple extracurriculars, impressive GPAs and big plans for college.

It can also be intimidating.

One person messaged Rondeau that they were worried about posting themselves because they didnt have a high GPA, werent part of National Honor Society and werent planning on going to college.

She then posted a message asking more seniors taking other paths to not be afraid to post. This group is for them too.

We need all different types of people in this world, she said And thats not the path for everyone.

After posting about it in the group, multiple people gave their advice.

I went to college for 3 months and decided it wasnt for me. My husband didnt go to college either and we are both very successful in our trade jobs, one Facebook user wrote. We are proud of you all no matter what path you chose.

Because this group is about supporting all seniors during this difficult time, Rondeau said. And those who have joined the group seem to agree.

I want to adopt and support a senior, one Facebook user wrote. And by support I mean spoil.

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On a recent pre-pandemic night in February, Mindys HotChocolate in Chicago was buzzing for a unique Flavor Trip tasting event. Industry folks and influencers mingled between exquisite stations, each offering a distinct, fruit-forward pairing. At the setup near the entrance, a rich black-cherry cobbler with fresh cream mirrored the burst of poached cherries and hint of vanilla found in a Lush Black Cherry gummy. Nearby, a refreshing sorbet enhanced a Botanical White Grapefruit gummy, with its juicy, sweet-tart citrus notes and touches of gin reminiscent of a summer cocktail. Flanking the bar, an array of Segals chocolate brittles, speckled with shortbread, marshmallow and nuts, overflowed on a self-serve tray to sample.

Mindy Segal, the restaurants owner, presided over that nights proceedings, her no-nonsense reputation displayed as she moved between the kitchen, directing staff, mixing in some friendly hobnobbing. That kind of orchestration comes second nature to the chef, who opened her namesake restaurant in 2005, after working at several of Chicagos lauded restaurants including the now shuttered Charlie Trotters  for decades, the citys haute-cuisine standard. But the event was also a peek behind the curtain of how the celebrated chef crafts her new marijuana-infused concoctions. In the year Illinois medical marijuana bill took effect (the bill was signed in August 2013 and took effect in January 2014), Segal partnered with Cresco Labs. On the intentionally selected date of April 20th, 2016, Mindys Chef Led Artisanal Edibles, as the line is now known, was officially launched and available in medical dispensaries throughout Illinois. As a pioneer in the medical marijuana edibles field, Segal is well-established as a leader in Chicagos newly legalized recreational edibles scene.

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Im an advocate for cannabis, always have been, Segal tells Rolling Stone. In my mind, I have a skill: Im a chef. And I really wanted to change the way people thought about edibles. I wanted to normalize the industry, make it comfortable for people to experiment.

In a city with passion for all types of food  from heated debates about pizza styles and hot dog condiments, to three-star Michelin restaurants like Alinea  Chicagos culinary scene is as diverse as it is experimental. So its no surprise that the first James Beard Award-winning chef to enter the legal edibles market would hail from the Windy City. Segal is a renegade in the field, entering at a time when the cannabis industry, while then-legal medically in Illinois, was still viewed as a risky decision, particularly for a chef who had a prestigious award under her belt. I definitely had hesitations, Segal says of her decision to craft edibles. She consulted her parents about it. We sat and we talked about it ethically and morally, she added. Ultimately, with her parents approval, Segal went for it.

Segal sought to elevate edibles, where the flavor components are as important as the medicinal properties. And unlike the weed brownies we might make at home, her gourmet confections are devoid of the taste of marijuana, which she felt would be important for medical patients. If you look at the wide range of people that are partaking in edibles, the majority in Illinois were medical patients that needed to have this and the flavorless and odorless [taste] of the candies are better that way.

The recipes that we use are the recipes I use in my restaurant, she explains. Were just adding oil, and were adding distillate  its flavorless and its odorless. So, its without terpenes. So, its just straight THC. Segal acknowledges that this type of infusion isnt for everyone. You know its a divided world. Some people like terpines and some people dont. It just depends, she says. Hopefully as we work all these products and we rework them, well have something for everybody.

Segals edibles are being reformulated, beginning with the newly redeveloped gummies, which are now available in microdoses ranging from two to five milligrams of THC, allowing for a more precisely controlled experience, and come in six new flavors. Her reformulated taffy line will be launched in Illinois in June, with plans to roll out the brittles that launched the line, as well as hard sweets and baked goods in the near future. Mirroring her event in February, Segals development process begins in the kitchen, where she creates desserts and sweets that are later encompassed in the flavor profiles of her edibles. In addition to fresh fruit, she includes ingredients like aromatic brown butter and infused sugar she creates herself.

I like brown [butter] for the intensity of the flavor, where that flavor would enhance whatever Im making, she explains. And I never throw away my tea leaves  I actually dry them out in sugar and then I make sugar. And I have to tell you, I have these sugars and Ive made stuff with them and its like you can taste the tea in the product. So its really, really, really intense and interesting, its a trick of my trade. I kind of made that up myself, I didnt really learn that from anybody. She makes tea syrup as well. Im a real firm believer in making it yourself, she adds. I do this with the flavor that Im trying to bring out and how it will enhance it the most. So I guess Im always thinking about that and thats why Im always thinking about the process.

Next, she invites her food and beverage team made up of around 10 people, including Cresco Director of Food Science Stephanie Gorecki, to her restaurant to eat her desserts because its the only way that I can explain to people how intense I want the flavors, Segal explains. Then, Segal teams with Gorecki, who works to capture the flavor profiles and recreate them into the respective edible forms. Segal will then taste them, give feedback, and theyll continue to tweak until the final product accurately reflects the nuances of the dessert that inspired the flavor.

Even though I am an advocate for cannabis, and I partake in cannabis, it wasnt like I was doing it for that sort of reason, she explains. I was doing it for the business aspect of it, for the learning opportunity and for the chance to get my brand to other people. And to have them have flavors that they never thought they could have in the cannabis industry.

While others may follow Segal into the legal cannabis-infused food scene, its not an easy endeavor with the learning curve and navigating legal hoops. We have a good culinary community, Segal says. Chicago is very vibrant and theres a lot of young chefs popping up  I think its exciting. Everything has to have a change, everything has to have growth and Im excited to see whats going to happen in the culinary community and who is going to get involved in the cannabis. [But] its a very hard process, its not like you wake up one day and then you decide that you want to be in the cannabis industry.

And theres reason to believe that Chicago may be at the forefront of the edibles food scene. In addition to Segals early foray in the then nascent edibles industry, theres also programs like Cresco Labs Social Equity & Educational Development Program (SEED), which assists social equity applicants by providing resources and guidance towards applying for Illinois dispensary licenses. Plus, the edibles industry continues to skyrocket. Cannabis analytics firm Headset Inc. reported that the edibles share of the cannabis market grew from 10.5 percent to 12 percent in 2019. In the wake of COVID-19, Headset compared the daily sales of cannabis products pre-pandemic (January 1st through March 6th) to the increase in sales during the crisis (March 7th through March 31st). It found that average daily sales of cannabis products across the board increased by 10 percent, but of the categories that had average daily sales that surpassed the market at large  edibles, beverages, and flower  edibles were the clear frontrunner with 28 percent growth. Mindys Chef Led Artisanal Edibles gummies popularity have also increased, selling 8.5 times more gummies in the past year than in 2016, the year they launched.

Before recreational cannabis sales became legal in Illinois on January 1st, Chicago area supper club events, such as those hosted by Herbal Notes or members-only A Table for Twenty, were already taking place around the city. But now that any stigma that may have existed around cannabis is dissipating and the legality in Illinois and elsewhere has opened to the general public, the opportunity for more culinary innovation is ripe in Chicago. I do think theres gonna be more dinners and chef collaborations and I can tell you that I am looking forward to helping with that, Segal says. I havent done any dinners yet, so Im looking forward to that.

Segals edibles reach goes beyond Illinois, too  theyre currently available in Nevada, California Massachusetts and Michigan, with plans to expand to Arizona soon. As Segal grows her brand, shes excited for whats to come, including her hope of exploring the use of terpines in her future edibles formulations.

I think that were in a renaissance period right now, where it has to do with general, medicinal qualities of cannabis. I mean even though its been hundreds of years that weve known about cannabis, I think now we have the technology to do research and understand all of the medical benefits, not only THC/CBD and then the two combined. And specifically from not only the hemp plant but the cannabis plant, she says. And I think we have a lot to learn about terpines and a lot to learn about where it comes from, because terpines are everywhere. So, learning this, I think is a great. I think it will be great for us in the future, and especially what we can do and how we can utilize the plant.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Mindys Artisanal Edibles gummies became available in Michigan last week.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 04:27:07|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 30, 2020 shows the empty Pantheon in Rome, Italy. Italy on Thursday recorded the highest daily number of coronavirus recoveries since the emergency started in late February, the country's Civil Protection Department said. The death toll on Thursday was 285, bringing the total to 27,967 in the country. The new infections on the day were 1,872, bringing the total number of cases, combining infections, fatalities and recoveries, in Italy to 205,463. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

ROME, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Italy on Thursday recorded the highest daily number of coronavirus recoveries since the emergency started in late February, the country's Civil Protection Department said.

"Today we recorded the highest number of recoveries since the beginning of the emergency, with 4,693 new recoveries compared to yesterday, bringing the total to 75,945 recoveries," Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli told a televised press conference.

The death toll on Thursday was 285, bringing the total to 27,967 in the country. The new infections on the day were 1,872, bringing the total number of cases -- combining infections, fatalities and recoveries -- in Italy to 205,463.

Of those 101,551 now infected, 1,694 are in intensive care, down by 101 patients compared to Wednesday, and 18,149 are hospitalized in normal wards, down by 1,061. The rest, or 80 percent of those who tested positive, is in isolation at home.

LAST PRESS CONFERENCE

Borrelli, who also serves as extraordinary commissioner for the coronavirus emergency, announced that this would be the last such press conference since the country is heading towards a partial relaxation of the national lockdown beginning on May 4, and he took the opportunity to thank the foreign countries that stepped in to help Italy in its time of need.

"I wish to remember the great generosity of the European and non-European countries that have helped by sending doctors and medical equipment," Borrelli said. "I want to thank them all, because their support was decisive for us at a time when our country was experiencing objective difficulties."

Borrelli went on to praise the thousands of men and women who joined his Department as volunteers during the coronavirus emergency, peaking at 21,624 volunteers on April 24, as well as the hundreds of doctors and nurses who volunteered to be redeployed to Italy's most stricken regions.

"I also want to remember the generosity of the Italian people, who since the beginning of the emergency have donated over 142 million euros (156 million U.S. dollars) for the purchase of medical equipment and individual protection kits, plus over six million euros for the relatives of medical personnel who lost their lives in the frontlines of the battle against the virus," said Borrelli.

Also at the press conference was Dr. Luca Richeldi, who heads the Pulmonology Department at Rome's Policlinico Gemelli Hospital and who sits on the Technical and Scientific Committee advising the government on how to fight the pandemic.

"Today's data is very comforting," said Richeldi in reference to the drop in positive cases and the rise in recoveries.

"We have six regions reporting no COVID-19 deaths and nine regions with under 10 deaths," he added.

"This means we have a clear confirmation that the adopted measures have led to a drastic reduction of the extraordinary pressure on our national health service that we saw in the past," Richeldi said.

"Over the past 15 days under lockdown, we have halved the number of deaths and of ICU patients, we have doubled the recoveries, and we have significantly reduced the number of hospitalizations," he said.

"The spread of the virus has slowed down," Richeldi said.

ANALYZING DATA

At a press conference earlier in the day, National Institute of Health (ISS, in its Italian acronym) President Silvio Brusaferro said that "the (epidemiological) curve continues to decrease, both in terms of numbers of symptomatic people and in terms of the number of cases, which are decreasing across all of (Italy's 20) regions."

The number of regions with limited cases is also growing, Brusaferro added.

"This confirms the positive impact of the (lockdown) measures and also the extent to which citizens have adhered to the measures," he said.

"But we are still in a phase of epidemy," he warned.

Brusaferro also said that there have been 6,395 confirmed cases of infection from the new coronavirus among immigrants in Italy.

He cited ISTAT national statistics institute data showing that as of Jan. 1, 2019, there were just over 5.25 million immigrants in Italy, making up 8.7 percent of the country's total population of about 60 million people.

"The epidemiological curve among foreign citizens is very similar to ours," Brusaferro said.

As far as the lethality of the virus, Brusaferro called Italy's death toll "a highly significant number of fatalities."

He confirmed that the new coronavirus is most dangerous for the elderly and for people affected by other diseases -- the average age of the deceased is 81 years and the average age of those infected is 62 years.

"A great portion of the deceased, or 63 percent, had three or more co-morbidities," said Brusaferro in reference to other diseases or chronic conditions.

Also present at the press conference was Stefano Merler, a researcher from the Bruno Kessler Foundation, a non-profit research institute.

He said that in the northern Lombardy region where the pandemic first broke out, studies have confirmed that it takes an average of 6.6 days for the symptoms from the new coronavirus infection to arise.

Merler also said that studies have shown that children under 15 years of age are 66 percent less susceptible to the infection than people aged 15-64, and that adults aged over 65 years are 47 percent more susceptible (meaning at higher risk of infection) than people in the 15-64 age group.

He also said that of the patients who end up in intensive care, 66.6 percent either die or recover within 10 days, while 33.3 percent remain in the ICU for 21 days on average before recovering.

Italy entered into a national lockdown on March 10 to contain the pandemic. The lockdown, expected to last until May 3, will be followed by a so-called "Phase Two," which involves the gradual resumption of social, economic and productive activities.

Beginning May 4, the manufacturing, construction, and wholesale sectors can resume work. Following them are retailers, museums, galleries, and libraries on May 18, and bars, restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons on June 1. All businesses will have to follow rigorous workplace safety protocols.
Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister has said that a "pathway to recovery" from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will be published next week.

But both Michelle O'Neill and First Minister Arlene Foster have played down hopes for an early relaxation of the lockdown restrictions.

Speaking at the daily Stormont press conference, Mrs Foster and Ms ONeill stressed that, while the lockdown restrictions are being kept under constant review, there was little prospect of an end to social distancing until a vaccine for the virus is found.

There will be no single turning point. there will be no sweeping changes to the regulations

We are not yet in the space where we can afford for people to be moving around any more than is absolutely necessary, Ms ONeill said.



"There will be no single turning point. there will be no sweeping changes to the regulations - but people want to have some hope for a post-Covid world."

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But she added: Trust us, whenever we say we will come out the other side of this.

Expand Close Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill during the daily media broadcast in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings, Stormont on Friday, May 1 , 2020 Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E / Facebook

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Whatsapp Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill during the daily media broadcast in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings, Stormont on Friday, May 1 , 2020 Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.





Next week we will publish our pathway to recovery. We will publish how we will be not calendar-led, but criteria led, as to how and where we can change the current situation.



They also acknowledged there was concern about the increasing number of deaths in the care home sector - a pattern which was being replicated throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland.



Mrs Foster said: In terms of hospital deaths, the number is continuing to fall, but in terms of care home deaths, the figure is rising. That does concern us greatly.



While the figures are alarming for us here in Northern Ireland, it unfortunately is the case right across the British Isles.



If you look at our figures ( for care home deaths) they are 40,2 per cent, in the Republic of Ireland the figure is 45 per cent, in Scotland, 52 per cent and in Wales 48 per cent. . So it is a similar picture - and not a picture that we like.



Mrs Foster also welcomed the fact that health trust employees are now working in the independent sector.

"The Chief Executives of the Health Trusts have a corporate and indeed a moral responsibility to look after those patients in care homes," she said:

"We are pleased to see that a relationship is now developing that wasn't there in the past between the health trusts and the private sector.

Asked about cross border cooperation on plans to end the lockdown, the First Minister said sharing information was critically important. She also emphasised the need for east-west co-operation between the UK and Ireland.
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US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said on Thursday that the situation in Venezuela is expected to worsen and a political transition needs to take place in the country in the next several months

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2020) US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said on Thursday that the situation in Venezuela is expected to worsen and a political transition needs to take place in the country in the next several months.

"I think the situation in the short run - short run meaning the next couple of months - is going to get worse internally," Abrams said. "I think you'll see more and more pressure from outside the country and more importantly from inside that he [President Nicolas Maduro] needs to go in the transition, really does need to begin, and it really needs to begin in the next few months."

In March, the United States voiced a proposal to establish an interim government in Venezuela as part of a broader plan to resolve the Venezuelan crisis through what US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called a peaceful democratic transition.

Under the United States' plan called Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela, an interim Venezuelan government would consist of National Assembly members agreed by both the incumbent Venezuelan government and the opposition.

The Us government said it would lift sanctions imposed on Venezuela if the plan is observed, including holding presidential and general elections within 6-12 months.

However, the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro rejected the US plan.

The political situation in Venezuela worsened in January 2019 after opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself to be the country's interim president. The United States and its allies recognized Guaido and urged - as well as threatened - Maduro to step down.

In addition, the United States imposed several rounds of sanctions against Venezuelan officials and entities, including blocking $7 billion in assets belonging to Venezuela's national oil and gas company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and its subsidiaries.

Maduro, whose presidency was supported by Russia and China among numerous other states, has denounced the sanctions as an illegal attempt to seize Venezuela's sovereign assets and accused the United States of attempting to conduct a coup in the country to topple the legitimate government.
Bengaluru, May 1 : Karnataka has reported 11 more COVID-19 positive cases, taking the state's total tally to 576, a health official said on Friday.

"Till date, 576 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 22 deaths and 235 discharges," the official said.

Six more coronavirus patients got discharged, rising from 229 to 236.

Of the new cases, seven are men and five women, including two Mandy boys below 13.

Eight of the new cases are contacts of earlier cases, while four Mandya youngsters in their mid-20s had a travel history to Mumbai, the official added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Do you need to get your appliances fixed right now? Here's what you need to know. Read more

A fridge on the fritz or a dead dryer can be annoying on a good day, but in the midst of a global pandemic, appliance issues can be much more stressful. Especially considering that with most of us stuck at home, items like stoves, fridges, and washers and dryers may be getting even more use than normal.

Ive seen it even more in my house, says Rodger Delaney, vice president of Ace Appliance Service in Lafayette Hill. Im certain a lot more people are cooking way more than they used to. Washers and dryers are getting more use.

With that increased burden, some may be experiencing more appliance problems as the COVID-19 outbreak wears on. But if your dishwasher or fridge goes down, dont panic  you should be able to get it repaired. Here is what you need to know:

 READ MORE: How to get stuff done now: Getting your car fixed, going to a vet, getting your bike tuned up and more

Can you get appliances repaired right now?

In Gov. Tom Wolfs essential business order, personal and household goods repair and maintenance businesses are considered life-sustaining in Pennsylvania, meaning appliance repair companies can operate in Pennsylvania during the coronavirus pandemic. Ditto for Philadelphia, where emergency or urgent household repairs are considered essential, according to the citys emergency order. New Jersey repair shops also continue to do business.

As a result, many local appliance repair companies that service the Philadelphia area are still operating, such as Daves Appliance Repair, Ace Appliance Service, Appliance Doctor, and Mr. Appliance of the Delaware Valley. Some larger, national companies, like Sears Home Services and GE Appliances Factory Service, are working, too. So if you have a preferred repair service, check with them to see if they are able to help.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters

Do you need to get it fixed right now?

Not all fixes are necessarily an emergency. With that in mind, some repair companies are prioritizing jobs according to the appliance. Daves Appliance Repair, which services the Delaware Valley from its home in Horsham, for example, is prioritizing requests to fix items like broken refrigerators and other large appliances, manager Julie Rishel says.

Some customers are looking for outdoor grills and kitchen fans to be repaired. That stuff can wait until everything has settled down, she says. If it is something that can wait, we request that you wait.

Ace Appliance Service is also focusing on refrigerators first, Delaney says, because people need to be able to safely store food and some medications.

Both companies can provide same- or next-day service on fridges, and may schedule other, less essential fixes for later.

If you cant or dont want to wait for a repair on something like an outdoor grill or dishwasher, and you have the ability, you may consider going the DIY route. Consumer Reports recommends checking with online resources like Repair Clinic, which provides parts and instruction. You can also contact your appliance manufacturer for help, or check with your local hardware store or repair experts.

Is it safe to have a repair person in my home?

Most repair companies are taking steps to protect their workers and customers from the coronavirus, based on recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The main thing is to keep customers and staff healthy, Rishel says.

Technicians at Ace and Daves, for example, wear masks, gloves, and carry hand sanitizer, and sanitize their trucks regularly.

And, when a repair person comes into your home, you may be asked to wait in another room while work is being done  often as far as 10 feet away or more. Daves, Rishel says, checks to see if there is a door close to your appliance so that technicians dont have to walk all the way through your home.

Payment, meanwhile, can often be done over the phone or with a credit card, so you dont have to handle cash or checks.

Generally, when you schedule a repair, companies will also check to see that no one in your home is sick or showing signs of being infected with the coronavirus. Sears Home Services, for example, says online that in the case that someone is sick or has traveled abroad in the past two weeks, technicians will not be able to provide service.

What to ask when booking a repair

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, an industry trade group, notes online that bringing anyone into your home increases your chance of exposure to the coronavirus. With that in mind, you should ask some questions before scheduling an appointment.

Specifically, AHAM says, you should ask whether the technicians have protective gear like gloves and masks, how payment is handled, and about their policies are on social distancing and handwashing. And you should provide a sink so that technicians can wash their hands.

Aces Delaney, meanwhile, asks that you be honest about your health when scheduling a repair to help keep everyone safe. And after the repair you should clean your appliance, as well as the area in which the technician worked.

Take out the Lysol spray and use it on everything the guy might have touched, he says. Wipe everything down when were done.

What if you need to buy a new appliance?

While appliance repair services are considered essential in Pennsylvania, electronics and appliance stores are not, so you may have limited options when it comes to shopping in person right now, unless you visit major retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes, which, as hardware stores, are considered essential.

But another option: you can buy appliances online. Both big box stores  as well as locals like Gerhards Appliances  are selling appliances online, though delivery and in-home installation may take longer to schedule or be limited, depending on your area. Some manufacturers, such as LG and Whirlpool, are also offering direct sales online.
Hundred of protestors, some of them armed with guns, swarmed Michigan states assembly building in Lansing Thursday demanding removal of stay-at-home Covid-19 restrictions.

Michigan is among the hardest hit by the virus with more than 3,700 fatalities till Thursday, and upwards of 41,000 infections.

The states Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer has been under pressure from protestors, mostly conservatives, to lift the restrictions. President Donald Trump has publicly backed the protestors weighed in again Friday asking her in a tweet to give a little, and put out the fire.

She extended the restrictions to May 15, after the Republican-controlled legislature refused.

Arms are allowed in the Michigan statehouse. Some legislators wore bulletproof vests to the floor fo the House.

An increasing number of states are reopening and have allowed selected businesses to resume operation with strict social-distancing guidelines as the number of news cases have continued to drop countrywide.

Daily fatalities have dropped significantly, for instance, from the peak of over 4,000 around April 16. On Friday, the toll went up more than 63,019 with 2,029 death in the last 24 hours and the number of infections was up by 29,515 to 1.07 million.

Signalling further continuing improvement in the situation, President Trump will leave the White House for the time since late March. He is scheduled to leave for Camp David - the presidential retreat in the adjoining state of Maryland.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Sweetest Smiles Photography will host a porch photography fundraiser to benefit the Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Centers Families in Need, a special COVID-19 emergency fund, Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5.

The fundraiser, which is in conjunction with Giving Tuesday Now, a national campaign to raise emergency funds for non-profit organizations, will support the JCCs social service programs.

Any Staten Islander who signs up and donates to the JCC will receive a brief family photography session on their front porch.

Time slots for Monday and Tuesday afternoons, are available to book here: https://sijcc.formstack.com/forms/frontporchpictures

To date, Sweetest Smiles Photography has raised more than $1,000 for the JCC over the past few weeks through their unique front porch photography campaign.

Sweetest Smiles Photography is no stranger to doing good deeds.

Their past donations have included donating funds from more than 75 photo sessions: $1,000 direct donation to JCC, $1,000 to Richmond University Medical Center, $2,000 used to purchase food for front line workers at Staten Island University Hospital, RUMC, and Raritan Bay Medical Center. Also to Deserios Trattoria in New Jersey, Marks Bake Shoppe, La Rosa Chicken & Grill and Santinos Gourmet Deli.

We are incredibly grateful to Sweetest Smiles Photography and all of the families who participated in this fundraiser so far, noted JCC CEO, David Sorkin. This is a great way to get a beautiful family photo taken while also helping families in need across our community.

Since the coronavirus crisis began, the Joan and Alan Bernikow JCC of Staten Island has stepped up to the plate to ensure that Staten Islanders in need have resources and support during this most difficult time.

Following the closure of JCC facilities to the public, staff members have been distributing thousands of meals to seniors, as well as to others in need through its Kosher Food Pantry.

The JCC recently established grab-and-go meal pickup sites, including the Gerard Carter Center in Stapleton.

In addition to providing meals, the JCC continues to provide social services to those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. The JCC social services have gone completely virtual, with staffers providing health insurance navigation, mental health services, legal support resources, and other COVID-19 resources over the phone and via email.

JCC staff members have also reached out to 300 seniors each day by phone, including those who attend the JCCs three senior centers and individuals enrolled in the JCCs Family Solutions to Memory Loss Programs.

In addition to food, staff members began providing resources and supplies to seniors isolated in their homes.

Other community services, including ESL classes and community after school programs, have also gone virtual, with activities taking place over Zoom.

The JCC now also offers free classes and lectures on its social media pages to entertain and educate those who arent able leave their homes.

For further information on the JCCs social services and the Families in Need fund, kindly visit sijcc.org.
There was much sadness across south Wexford following the death of Mary Kate O'Donoghue.

Affectionately known as Kate or Katie, Mary Kate was born on December 2, 1953. The second of four daughters, to Maisie and Ned in Rathimney, Gusserane, she was named after her mother, Mary Kate (nee Doran) and her maternal grandmother, Mary Kate (Nee Whitty).

Katie was born with a physical deformity but still attended mainstream schools - primary school in Gusserane and secondary school in St Louis, Ramsgrange, followed by the St Louis School of Home Economics, which was also in Ramsgrange.

She was a very honest, reliable and trustworthy person. When annoyed about something or with someone she just went deathly quiet, and you just knew something wasn't right.

She was very industrious and could turn her hand to anything and kept herself busy child-minding, washing, ironing, cleaning, baking, making jams and marmalade and cooking at home and for others.

And if that wasn't enough to keep her busy, being a skilled crafter, she'd make rugs, embroidery and tapestry. Then, after working at someone else's house all day, she'd come home and start again as her mother was doing the 'outside work'.

Her 'mode of transport' for her earlier years was her an ordinary push bike and she travelled far and wide on it.

She would often be seen in places as far apart as Adamstown on one side or Duncannon, on the other.

Later on, Katie was able to extend her boundaries when she progressed to an electrically propelled bike which took her even further afield - even as far as Wexford and Waterford.

Some said she showed special 'skills' whilst biking and might have considered a career as a stunt cyclist!

All her family agree that she was a 'gas character'.

'She loved the bit of banter and craic, always carrying a loving smirk. She had a sharp wit and was easily coerced into fits of laughter.'

As her mother grew older, Kate was effectively, if not officially, her carer, and did all that was needed in spite of the fact that she suffered ill-health for quite a lot of her own life. That remained the case until about 2008 when Kate's health deteriorated and, following an operation, she was confined to a wheelchair and needed care herself.

Almost seven years ago, she secured a place in Cherry Grove Nursing Home at Priesthaggard, Campile, and that was her home ever after.

Some of her visitors to the nursing home would bring her 'racing' down the corridor and she'd be in knots laughing, with that familiar vein throbbing in her right temple.

When her nephews and nieces were in her house 'on holiday' she'd sometimes treat them to a picnic and, if it was raining, the picnic would be held in the cow-house.

She loved to travel - be it to Italy, Spain and other European locations with family or to Lourdes with the Ferns Diocesan Pilgrimage or Knock, Co Mayo, with the ICA.

Katie was an active member of the ICA for quite a few years and loved going on their outings and activities and was partial to a bottle of West Coast Cooler on special occasions.

Katie settled into Cherry Grove Nursing Home quite quickly and loved it there. She loved going outside into the fresh air and availed of every opportunity, be it to do crosswords or knitting, weather depending, of course.

'She had great praise for Tom and Siobhan Cummins and the staff in Cherry Grove, and yes, she had her share of arguments with them too, but that's life! She lived for her twice-weekly visits the day care centre in Ramsgrange and often regaled her family with the stories of what went on, particularly with those at "her table" - but, as they say, "what happens at the day care centre stays at the day care centre".'

She had 'an eye' for 'the men', too, but, unfortunately, never managed to capture one for herself.

'Unfortunately, the cruel Covid-19 caught up with her and took her from us on the evening of Saturday, April 18, whilst in the tender care of the staff in Cherry Grove, just 141 days after her own mother died.'

Kate was a sister, aunt and friend, was well loved and respected by all who knew her, the proof of which could be gauged by the number of people who lined the funeral route from Wellingtonbridge to Gusserane Cemetery.

As is not unusual in these unprecedented times, the cortege went straight to the cemetery in Gusserane, bypassing the Church, but a memorial Mass will be said at a later date.

Thanks to modern technology, friends and relations from USA, Canada and the UK were able to join the family in the ceremonies at Wellingtonbridge and Gusserane.

Kate will be sadly missed by her sisters Margaret (O'Leary), Bridget (Kennedy) and Geraldine (Sutton); her brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, grand nephews, grand nieces, extended family, neighbours and friends.

'We love you, Katie. Rest in peace.'

Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam dilis.
Muslim activist Yassmin Adbel-Magied has compared the backlash she received for her Anzac Day tweet to the criticism of a health officer who linked the COVID-19 outbreak to Captain Cook.

There have been calls to sack Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Annaliese van Diemen after her tweet.

Dr van Diemen is under investigation by Victoria's Public Sector Commission over accusations she breached the Public Administration Act.

The second highest ranking health official in Victoria compared Cook's famous voyage to the current pandemic that has claimed 91 lives across Australia.

'Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror,' she tweeted on Wednesday. 'Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID-19 or Cook 1770.'

Her comments were slammed by leading government officials including Prime Minister Scott Morrison who told her to 'stick to her day job' and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton who called for her resignation.

But Ms Magied has leapt to the defence of Dr van Diemen, likening the backlash over her Twitter comments to the attacks she faced three years ago for a controversial ANZAC Day tweet.

Muslim activist Yassmin Adbel-Magied (pictured) is warning the fiery attack over one of Australia's highest-ranking health officials is a case of history repeating itself

But Ms Magied has leapt to the defence of Dr van Diemen, likening the backlash over her Twitter comments to the attacks she faced three years ago for a controversial ANZAC Day tweet

Dr van Diemen posted this to Twitter on Wednesday, the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival at Botany Bay, Sydney, in 1770

Ms Abdel-Magied left Australia in 2017 after being slammed for using ANZAC Day to make a political point about detention centres on Twitter.

Ms Abdel-Magied said the backlash against Dr van Diemen echoed the criticism she faced.

'I've spoken ad nauseam about the price I paid for a social media post and the betrayal felt when folks in power said nothing,' she wrote.

'Folks have since said they're sorry, they wouldn't want that to happen again.

'History needn't repeat.'

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is refusing to dismiss the health official, saying the comments were made on a day off and authorities have more pressing issues to focus on.

'I think the fact that people have died and, so many people are out of work, we've got the biggest testing blitz at the moment that the state's ever seen, we're a long way from the end of this,' he said.

'That's what's dominating my thinking, not tweets, and if people want to find fault with that, fine. My priorities are very clear, and they will not be changing.'

The Freedom of Information Opposition Spokesman James Newbury received confirmation on Friday the Public Sector Commission would be investigating the matter, reported the Australian.

Dr Annaliese van Diemen (pictured) is under investigation by Victoria's Public Sector Commission over accusations she breached the Public Administration Act

'The commission will consider the matters you have raised in accordance with the objectives, functions and powers of the Victorian Public Sector Commission under the Public Administration Act 2004,' Acting Public Sector Commissioner Julia Griffith wrote.

There have been calls to sack Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Annaliese van Diemen (pictured) after she compared the outbreak of COVID-19 to the arrival of Captain Cook

The investigation was prompted after widespread condemnation from members of the Liberal National Party in Victoria, including MP Tim Smith, who said it was not the 'time' for such comparisons.

'What's with the culture wars crap from a state health bureaucrat at a time like this?' Mr Smith said.

'Comparing the extraordinary first voyage of Captain Cook where he charted the East Coast of Australia for the first time to a deadly virus is disgraceful.

'You've lost the plot.'

Captain Cook first set foot in Australia on the shores of Botany Bay on April 29, 1770.

It would be another 18 years before English settlers returned on the First Fleet, which the Liberal frontbencher pointed out to Dr van Diemen.

'Cook's voyages were an extraordinary achievement and helped scientific discovery enormously,' he tweeted.

'You do realise the settlement of Australia wasn't decided by Captain Cook  he died in 1779  and the Colony of New South Wales was founded nine years after his death by Captain Arthur Phillip?'

James Cook was a British explorer, surveyor, navigator and cartographer who mapped large parts of the world including Australia's east coast and New Zealand. He was the first white European to set foot on Australia's mainland at Botany Bay, Sydney, on 29 April 1770
Gardai have released four people arrested as part of an ongoing operation targeting the sale and supply of illegal drugs and anti-social behaviour in Ballymun without charge pending further investigation.

Drugs and motorbikes were also seized as part of the operation.

Four arrests as drugs and motorbikes seized in Dublin search

Four people have been arrested, while drugs and motorbikes have been seized by gardai in Dublin.

Three properties were searched today as part of an ongoing operation targeting the sale and supply of illegal drugs and anti-social behaviour in the Ballymun area.

Gardai said that the searches were carried out by members of the DMR North Divisional Crime Task Force assisted by members from Ballymun, the Armed Support Unit and Public Order Unit.

In a statement, gardai said that three residential properties in the St Josephs Way area were searched as part of this operation.

They said that around 1,000 worth of cannabis - pending analysis - was discovered and seized along with drug paraphernalia and a burner phone.

Four motorbikes were also seized from all three premises.

Gardai said: They are suspected as being used in transportation for the sale and supply of drugs in the Ballymun area.

A Taser disguised as a mobile phone was also seized form one of the properties.

Gardai said one woman in her late 50s, and three men - two in their 20s and one in his 50s - were arrested. They are all detained at Ballymun Garda Station.

Gardai added: A fourth man, aged in his 20s, was dealt with by way of court summons after being found to be in a possession of a small quantity of cannabis (pending analysis).

They said that investigations are continuing.
CORK, Ireland, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE: JCI) announced its fiscal second quarter results, including a set of immediate actions in response to the evolving conditions and unprecedented uncertainty related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

"The health and wellness of our employees and their families will continue to be our priority. In an effort to protect our employees, including those on the front lines supporting customers and in all facilities, we have taken extra precautions to ensure this priority is met. I would like to thank each of our 105,000 employees for their continuous efforts in the battle against COVID-19, and for going the extra mile for our customers and stakeholders," said George Oliver, chairman and CEO.

"We have also taken decisive actions to control operating costs and further enhance our liquidity position. Given our strong balance sheet and the improved fundamentals built over the past two years, I believe we are in an excellent position to weather the economic uncertainty and capitalize on the recovery," Oliver said. "Since the start of this crisis, our goal as a company has been twofold  first and foremost, to protect the health and safety of all of our employees and their families. Second, to work diligently with our customers and partners to ensure the continued functionality of critical infrastructure and essential facilities around the world. I am proud to say that our teams have exceled on both fronts."

"Our position as the leader in intelligent and sustainable building solutions enables Johnson Controls to deliver the outcomes that matter most to our customers. The depth and breadth of our product portfolio, combined with proven expertise and expansive global footprint provides us with a unique advantage as the evolution of the built environment accelerates," Oliver added.

Johnson Controls financial position remains strong, with access to liquidity including two senior revolving credit facilities  a one-year $500 million facility and a five-year $2.5 billion facility. Given the increasingly uncertain environment, the Company has taken proactive measures to increase near-term financial flexibility, electing to opportunistically raise $675 million via European financing arrangements and $575 million in bank term loans. In addition, as planned the Company repaid with existing cash a $500 million bond that matured in March 2020.

The Company reported fiscal second quarter 2020 GAAP earnings per share ("EPS") from continuing operations, including special items, of $0.28. Excluding these items, adjusted EPS from continuing operations was $0.42, up 31% versus the prior year period (see attached footnotes for non-GAAP reconciliation).

Sales of $5.4 billion decreased 6% compared to the prior year and declined 5% organically. This includes a 6 to 7 percentage point headwind related to the estimated impact of COVID-19.

GAAP earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT") was $308 million and EBIT margin was 5.7%. Adjusted EBIT was $440 million and adjusted EBIT margin was 8.1%, in-line with prior year results. Adjusted EBIT was negatively impacted by approximately $80 to $100 million attributable to the estimated net impact of COVID-19.

Income and EPS amounts attributable to Johnson Controls ordinary shareholders

($ millions, except per-share amounts)

The financial highlights presented in the tables below are in accordance with GAAP, unless otherwise indicated. All comparisons are to the fiscal second quarter of 2019. The results of Power Solutions are reported as discontinued operations in all periods presented.

Organic sales growth, organic EBITA growth, segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA, EBIT, adjusted EBIT, adjusted EPS from continuing operations and adjusted free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures and detail of the special items, refer to the attached footnotes. A slide presentation to accompany the results can be found in the Investor Relations section of Johnson Controls' website at http://investors.johnsoncontrols.com.



GAAP GAAP

Adjusted Adjusted



Q2 2019 Q2 2020

Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Change Sales $5,779 $5,444

$5,779 $5,444 (6%) Segment EBITA 664 617

671 619 (8%) EBIT 419 308

469 440 (6%) Net income from continuing operations 240 213

287 317 +10% Diluted EPS from continuing operations $0.26 $0.28

$0.32 $0.42 +31%

The adjusted results include the estimated net impact attributable to COVID-19 which is summarized below.

Sales ($350  390M) Segment EBITA ($90  110M) EBIT ($80  100M) Net income from continuing operations ($49  62M) Diluted EPS from continuing operations ($0.05  0.07)

BUSINESS RESULTS

Building Solutions North America



GAAP GAAP

Adjusted Adjusted



Q2 2019 Q2 2020

Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Change Sales $2,187 $2,175

$2,187 $2,175 (1%) Segment EBITA $257 $251

$259 $253 (2%) Segment EBITA margin % 11.8% 11.5%

11.8% 11.6% (20bps)

Sales in the quarter of $2.2 billion, decreased approximately 1% versus the prior year. Organic sales were flat versus the prior year. Growth in Performance Solutions was offset by a decline in Fire & Security and HVAC & Controls was consistent with the prior year.

Orders in the quarter, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, decreased 7% year-over-year. Backlog at the end of the quarter of $5.8 billion increased 4% year-over-year, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $253 million, down 2% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 11.6% declined 20 basis points versus the prior year as productivity savings and cost synergies, were more than offset by the volume decline.

Building Solutions EMEA/LA (Europe, Middle East, Africa/Latin America)



GAAP GAAP

Adjusted Adjusted



Q2 2019 Q2 2020

Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Change Sales $878 $850

$878 $850 (3%) Segment EBITA $80 $85

$81 $85 5% Segment EBITA margin % 9.1% 10.0%

9.2% 10.0% 80bps

Sales in the quarter of $850 million decreased 3% versus the prior year. Organic sales declined nearly 1% versus the prior year as growth in service was more than offset by a decline in project installations. Growth in Industrial Refrigeration was more than offset by a decline in HVAC & Controls and Fire & Security.

Orders in the quarter, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, decreased 4% year-over-year. Backlog at the end of the quarter of $1.7 billion increased 6% year-over-year, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $85 million, up 5% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 10.0% expanded 80 basis points over the prior year, including a 30 basis point headwind related to foreign currency. Adjusting for foreign currency, the underlying margin improved 110 basis points driven by the benefit from productivity savings and cost synergies.

Building Solutions Asia Pacific



GAAP GAAP

Adjusted Adjusted



Q2 2019 Q2 2020

Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Change Sales $628 $525

$628 $525 (16%) Segment EBITA $76 $65

$76 $65 (15%) Segment EBITA margin % 12.1% 12.4%

12.1% 12.4% 30bps

Sales in the quarter of $525 million decreased 16% versus the prior year. Organic sales declined 14% versus the prior year primarily driven by a decline in project installations and, to a lesser extent, service. The sharp decline in China was predominately within HVAC & Controls.

Orders in the quarter, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, decreased 11% year-over-year. Backlog at the end of the quarter of $1.5 billion increased 3% year-over-year, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $65 million, down 15% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 12.4% expanded 30 basis points over the prior year as favorable mix and the benefit of productivity savings and cost synergies more than offset the volume decline.

Global Products



GAAP GAAP

Adjusted Adjusted



Q2 2019 Q2 2020

Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Change Sales $2,086 $1,894

$2,086 $1,894 (9%) Segment EBITA $251 $216

$255 $216 (15%) Segment EBITA margin % 12.0% 11.4%

12.2% 11.4% (80bps)

Sales in the quarter of $1.9 billion decreased 9% versus the prior year. Organic sales declined 8% versus the prior year. Sales within Building Management Systems were consistent with the prior year while sales within HVAC & Refrigeration Equipment and Specialty Products declined versus the prior year.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $216 million, down 15% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 11.4% contracted 80 basis points over the prior year as positive price/cost as well as the benefit of productivity savings and cost synergies was more than offset by the volume decline.

Corporate



GAAP GAAP

Adjusted Adjusted



Q2 2019 Q2 2020

Q2 2019 Q2 2020 Change Corporate expense ($167) ($118)

($104) ($82) (21%)

Adjusted Corporate expense was $82 million in the quarter, a decrease of 21% compared to the prior year, driven primarily by continued productivity savings and cost synergies, COVID-19 mitigating actions, and cost reductions related to the Power Solutions sale.

OTHER ITEMS

Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $0.2 billion and capital expenditures were $0.1 billion in the quarter, resulting in free cash flow from continuing operations of less than $0.1 billion . Adjusted free cash flow was $0.2 billion , which excludes net cash outflows of $0.1 billion primarily related to restructuring and integration costs.

and capital expenditures were in the quarter, resulting in free cash flow from continuing operations of less than . Adjusted free cash flow was , which excludes net cash outflows of primarily related to restructuring and integration costs. During the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 21 million shares for $816 million . The Company suspended its share repurchase program in mid-March.

. The Company suspended its share repurchase program in mid-March. During the quarter, the Company recorded a pre-tax impairment charge of $62 million related to indefinite lived intangible assets.

related to indefinite lived intangible assets. During the quarter, the Company repaid a $500 million bond which matured in March 2020 .

bond which matured in . In April, the Company raised $675 million via European financing arrangements, with an average interest rate of 1.0% and a 6-month term.

via European financing arrangements, with an average interest rate of 1.0% and a 6-month term. In April, the Company raised $575 million in bank term loans, with an average interest rate of 2.7% and a 1-year term.

SECOND HALF FRAMEWORK

As a result of the challenging and uncertain macro environment attributable to the impact of COVID-19, the Company is withdrawing its previously communicated fiscal year 2020 guidance and has provided the below framework related to the second half of the fiscal year.

Organic Revenue Decline (15  20%) Mitigating Cost Actions $400  450M Net Decrementals on Revenue Low 20s

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls, we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort, we drive the outcomes that matter most. We deliver our promise in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers, and manufacturing. With a global team of 105,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the power behind our customers' mission. Our leading portfolio of building technology and solutions includes some of the most trusted names in the industry, such as Tyco, YORK, Metasys, Ruskin, Titus, Frick, PENN, Sabroe, Simplex, Ansul and Grinnell. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter

Johnson Controls International plc Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Johnson Controls International plc has made statements in this communication that are forward-looking and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are, or could be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this communication, statements regarding Johnson Controls' future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, synergies and integration opportunities, capital expenditures and debt levels are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "forecast," "project" or "plan" and terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Johnson Controls cautions that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond Johnson Controls' control, that could cause Johnson Controls' actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: Johnson Controls' ability to manage general economic, business and geopolitical conditions, including the impacts of natural disasters, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, any delay or inability of Johnson Controls to realize the expected benefits and synergies of recent portfolio transactions such as the merger with Tyco and the disposition of the Power Solutions business, changes in tax laws (including but not limited to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017), regulations, rates, policies or interpretations, the loss of key senior management, the tax treatment of recent portfolio transactions, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities associated with such transactions, the outcome of actual or potential litigation relating to such transactions, the risk that disruptions from recent transactions will harm Johnson Controls' business, the strength of the U.S. or other economies, changes to laws or policies governing foreign trade, including increased tariffs or trade restrictions, energy and commodity prices, the availability of raw materials and component products, currency exchange rates, maintaining the capacity, reliability and security of our information technology infrastructure, the risk of infringement or expiration of intellectual property rights, work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with the labor force, the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings and cancellation of or changes to commercial arrangements. A detailed discussion of risks related to Johnson Controls' business is included in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Johnson Controls' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2019 fiscal year filed with the SEC on November 21, 2019, which is available at www.sec.gov and www.johnsoncontrols.com under the "Investors" tab. The description of certain of these risks is supplemented in Item 1A of Part II of Johnson Controls' subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Shareholders, potential investors and others should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date of this document, unless otherwise specified, and, except as required by law, Johnson Controls assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this communication.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

The Company's press release contains financial information regarding adjusted earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP performance measure. The adjusting items include restructuring and impairment costs, transaction costs, integration costs, net mark-to-market adjustments, and discrete tax items. Financial information regarding organic sales, EBIT, EBIT margin, segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA, adjusted organic segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA margin, free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow, are also presented, which are non-GAAP performance measures. Adjusted segment EBITA excludes special items such as transaction costs and integration costs because these costs are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of its business units. Management believes that, when considered together with unadjusted amounts, these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in understanding period-over-period operating results and business trends of the Company. Management may also use these metrics as guides in forecasting, budgeting and long-term planning processes and for compensation purposes. These metrics should be considered in addition to, and not as replacements for, the most comparable GAAP measure. For further information on the calculation of thee non-GAAP measures and a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures, refer to the attached footnotes.

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC









CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (in millions, except per share data; unaudited)























Three Months Ended March 31,



2020

2019









Net sales $ 5,444

$ 5,779 Cost of sales 3,643

3,935

Gross profit 1,801

1,844









Selling, general and administrative expenses (1,451)

(1,458) Restructuring and impairment costs (62)

- Net financing charges (59)

(98) Equity income 20

33









Income from continuing operations before income taxes 249

321









Income tax provision 13

47









Income from continuing operations 236

274









Income from discontinued operations, net of tax -

284









Net income 236

558









Less: Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests 23

34









Less: Income from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interests -

9









Net income attributable to JCI $ 213

$ 515









Income from continuing operations $ 213

$ 240 Income from discontinued operations -

275









Net income attributable to JCI $ 213

$ 515









Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.28

$ 0.26 Diluted earnings per share from discontinued operations -

0.30 Diluted earnings per share* $ 0.28

$ 0.57









Diluted weighted average shares 757.1

905.9 Shares outstanding at period end 743.9

898.1



* May not sum due to rounding.

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC









CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (in millions, except per share data; unaudited)























Six Months Ended March 31,



2020

2019









Net sales $ 11,020

$ 11,243 Cost of sales 7,416

7,674

Gross profit 3,604

3,569









Selling, general and administrative expenses (2,878)

(2,896) Restructuring and impairment costs (173)

- Net financing charges (111)

(183) Equity income 63

75









Income from continuing operations before income taxes 505

565









Income tax provision 78

155









Income from continuing operations 427

410









Income from discontinued operations, net of tax -

547









Net income 427

957









Less: Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests 55

63









Less: Income from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interests -

24



















Net income attributable to JCI $ 372

$ 870









Income from continuing operations $ 372

$ 347 Income from discontinued operations -

523









Net income attributable to JCI $ 372

$ 870









Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations $ 0.49

$ 0.38 Diluted earnings per share from discontinued operations -

0.57 Diluted earnings per share $ 0.49

$ 0.95









Diluted weighted average shares 765.6

915.6 Shares outstanding at period end 743.9

898.1

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC









CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (in millions; unaudited)























March 31,

September 30,



2020

2019 ASSETS







Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,006

$ 2,805 Accounts receivable - net 5,492

5,770 Inventories 2,030

1,814 Assets held for sale 91

98 Other current assets 1,336

1,906

Current assets 9,955

12,393









Property, plant and equipment - net 3,274

3,348 Goodwill

18,072

18,178 Other intangible assets - net 5,391

5,632 Investments in partially-owned affiliates 869

853 Noncurrent assets held for sale 46

60 Other noncurrent assets 2,795

1,823

Total assets $ 40,402

$ 42,287









LIABILITIES AND EQUITY





Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt $ 1,430

$ 511 Accounts payable and accrued expenses 3,813

4,535 Liabilities held for sale 39

44 Other current liabilities 4,227

3,980

Current liabilities 9,509

9,070









Long-term debt 5,640

6,708 Other noncurrent liabilities 6,165

5,680 Shareholders' equity attributable to JCI 18,084

19,766 Noncontrolling interests 1,004

1,063

Total liabilities and equity $ 40,402

$ 42,287

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC













CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in millions; unaudited)



































Three Months Ended March 31,







2020

2019 Operating Activities





Net income attributable to JCI from continuing operations $ 213

$ 240 Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests 23

34













Net income from continuing operations 236

274













Adjustments to reconcile net income from continuing operations to cash provided by operating activities:













Depreciation and amortization 207

211

Pension and postretirement benefit income (40)

(28)

Pension and postretirement contributions (15)

(16)

Equity in earnings of partially-owned affiliates, net of dividends received (19)

(31)

Deferred income taxes (58)

460

Non-cash restructuring and impairment costs 62

-

Other - net 40

5

Changes in assets and liabilities, excluding acquisitions and divestitures:









Accounts receivable 7

(285)



Inventories (147)

(99)



Other assets (58)

34



Restructuring reserves (71)

(34)



Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (107)

209



Accrued income taxes 118

(518)





Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations 155

182













Investing Activities





Capital expenditures (124)

(125) Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired (10)

- Other - net 19

2





Cash used by investing activities from continuing operations (115)

(123)













Financing Activities





Increase (decrease) in short and long-term debt - net (177)

530 Stock repurchases (816)

(533) Payment of cash dividends (199)

(239) Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests -

(89) Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 18

38 Employee equity-based compensation withholding (12)

(2)





Cash used by financing activities from continuing operations (1,186)

(295)













Discontinued Operations





Net cash provided (used) by operating activities (14)

309 Net cash used by investing activities -

(87) Net cash used by financing activities -

(17)





Net cash flows provided (used) by discontinued operations (14)

205













Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 7

5 Changes in cash held for sale -

(28) Decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $(1,153)

$ (54)

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATIONAL PLC













CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in millions; unaudited)



































Six Months Ended March 31,







2020

2019 Operating Activities





Net income attributable to JCI from continuing operations $ 372

$ 347 Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests 55

63













Net income from continuing operations 427

410













Adjustments to reconcile net income from continuing operations to cash provided by operating activities:













Depreciation and amortization 414

422

Pension and postretirement benefit income (80)

(57)

Pension and postretirement contributions (27)

(37)

Equity in earnings of partially-owned affiliates, net of dividends received (11)

(67)

Deferred income taxes (61)

503

Non-cash restructuring and impairment costs 116

-

Other - net 56

33

Changes in assets and liabilities, excluding acquisitions and divestitures:









Accounts receivable 244

(139)



Inventories (261)

(321)



Other assets (150)

(29)



Restructuring reserves (38)

(59)



Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (605)

(17)



Accrued income taxes 642

(539)





Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations 666

103













Investing Activities





Capital expenditures (250)

(278) Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired (58)

(13) Business divestitures, net of cash divested -

6 Other - net 20

26





Cash used by investing activities from continuing operations (288)

(259)













Financing Activities





Increase (decrease) in short and long-term debt - net (167)

1,544 Stock repurchases (1,467)

(1,000) Payment of cash dividends (402)

(479) Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 39

51 Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests (5)

(132) Employee equity-based compensation withholding (32)

(23) Other - net (2)

-





Cash used by financing activities from continuing operations (2,036)

(39)













Discontinued Operations





Net cash provided (used) by operating activities (208)

502 Net cash used by investing activities -

(153) Net cash used by financing activities -

(28)





Net cash flows provided (used) by discontinued operations (208)

321













Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 64

(38) Changes in cash held for sale -

(30) Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $(1,802)

$ 58

FOOTNOTES 1. Financial Summary



























































The Company evaluates the performance of its business units primarily on segment earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA), which represents income from continuing operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests, excluding general corporate expenses, intangible asset amortization, net financing charges, restructuring and impairment costs, and the net mark-to-market adjustments related to restricted asbestos investments and pension and postretirement plans. The financial results shown below are for continuing operations and exclude the Power Solutions business.

























































(in millions; unaudited)

Three Months Ended March 31,

Six Months Ended March 31,

























2020

2019

2020

2019

























Actual

Adjusted

Non-GAAP

Actual

Adjusted

Non-GAAP

Actual

Adjusted

Non-GAAP

Actual

Adjusted

Non-GAAP





















Net sales





















































Building Solutions North America

$ 2,175

$ 2,175

$ 2,187

$ 2,187

$ 4,342

$ 4,342

$ 4,303

$ 4,303





















Building Solutions EMEA/LA

850

850

878

878

1,778

1,778

1,785

1,785





















Building Solutions Asia Pacific

525

525

628

628

1,154

1,154

1,241

1,241





















Global Products

1,894

1,894

2,086

2,086

3,746

3,746

3,914

3,914





















Net sales

$ 5,444

$ 5,444

$ 5,779

$ 5,779

$ 11,020

$ 11,020

$ 11,243

$ 11,243













































































Segment EBITA (1)





















































Building Solutions North America

$ 251

$ 253

$ 257

$ 259

$ 509

$ 512

$ 507

$ 512





















Building Solutions EMEA/LA

85

85

80

81

175

175

157

158





















Building Solutions Asia Pacific

65

65

76

76

137

137

142

142





















Global Products

216

216

251

255

419

420

441

449





















Segment EBITA

617

619

664

671

1,240

1,244

1,247

1,261





















Corporate expenses (2)

(118)

(82)

(167)

(104)

(236)

(163)

(303)

(197)





















Amortization of intangible assets

(97)

(97)

(98)

(98)

(193)

(193)

(195)

(195)





















Net mark-to-market adjustments (3)

(32)

-

20

-

(22)

-

(1)

-





















Restructuring and impairment costs (4)

(62)

-

-

-

(173)

-

-

-





















EBIT (5)

308

440

419

469

616

888

748

869





















EBIT margin

5.7%

8.1%

7.3%

8.1%

5.6%

8.1%

6.7%

7.7%





















Net financing charges

(59)

(59)

(98)

(98)

(111)

(111)

(183)

(183)





















Income from continuing operations before income taxes

249

381

321

371

505

777

565

686





















Income tax provision (6)

(13)

(52)

(47)

(50)

(78)

(105)

(155)

(93)





















Income from continuing operations

236

329

274

321

427

672

410

593





















Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests

(23)

(12)

(34)

(34)

(55)

(49)

(63)

(63)





















Net income from continuing operations attributable to JCI

$ 213

$ 317

$ 240

$ 287

$ 372

$ 623

$ 347

$ 530













































































(1) The Company's press release contains financial information regarding segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA and adjusted segment EBITA margins, which are non-GAAP performance measures. The Company's definition of adjusted segment EBITA excludes special items because these costs are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of its businesses. Management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in understanding the ongoing operations and business trends of the Company.



























































A reconciliation of segment EBITA to income from continuing operations is shown earlier within this footnote. The following is the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 reconciliation of segment EBITA and segment EBITA margin as reported to adjusted segment EBITA and adjusted segment EBITA margin (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Building Solutions

North America

Building Solutions

EMEA/LA

Building Solutions

Asia Pacific

Global Products

Consolidated

JCI plc











2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

















Segment EBITA as reported $ 251

$ 257

$ 85

$ 80

$ 65

$ 76

$ 216

$ 251

$ 617

$ 664

















Segment EBITA margin as reported 11.5%

11.8%

10.0%

9.1%

12.4%

12.1%

11.4%

12.0%

11.3%

11.5%











































































Adjusting items:























































Integration costs 2

2

-

1

-

-

-

4

2

7











































































Adjusted segment EBITA $ 253

$ 259

$ 85

$ 81

$ 65

$ 76

$ 216

$ 255

$ 619

$ 671

















Adjusted segment EBITA margin 11.6%

11.8%

10.0%

9.2%

12.4%

12.1%

11.4%

12.2%

11.4%

11.6%











































































The following is the six months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 reconciliation of segment EBITA and segment EBITA margin as reported to adjusted segment EBITA and adjusted segment EBITA margin (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Building Solutions

North America

Building Solutions

EMEA/LA

Building Solutions

Asia Pacific

Global Products

Consolidated

JCI plc



















2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

















Segment EBITA as reported $ 509

$ 507

$ 175

$ 157

$ 137

$ 142

$ 419

$ 441

$ 1,240

$ 1,247

















Segment EBITA margin as reported 11.7%

11.8%

9.8%

8.8%

11.9%

11.4%

11.2%

11.3%

11.3%

11.1%











































































Adjusting items:























































Integration costs 3

5

-

1

-

-

1

8

4

14











































































Adjusted segment EBITA $ 512

$ 512

$ 175

$ 158

$ 137

$ 142

$ 420

$ 449

$ 1,244

$ 1,261

















Adjusted segment EBITA margin 11.8%

11.9%

9.8%

8.9%

11.9%

11.4%

11.2%

11.5%

11.3%

11.2%











































































(2) Adjusted Corporate expenses excludes special items because these costs are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of the Company's business. Adjusted Corporate expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2020 excludes $36 million of integration costs. Adjusted Corporate expenses for the six months ended March 31, 2020 excludes $73 million of integration costs. Adjusted Corporate expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2019 excludes $61 million of integration costs and $2 million of transaction costs. Adjusted Corporate expenses for the six months ended March 31, 2019 excludes $102 million of integration costs and $4 million of transaction costs.



























































(3) The three months ended March 31, 2020 exclude the net mark-to-market adjustments on restricted investments of $32 million. The six months ended March 31, 2020 exclude the net mark-to-market adjustments on restricted investments of $22 million. The three months ended March 31, 2019 exclude the net mark-to-market adjustments on restricted investments of $20 million. The six months ended March 31, 2019 exclude the net mark-to-market adjustments on restricted investments of $1 million.



























































(4) Restructuring and impairment costs for the three months ended March 31, 2020 of $62 million are excluded from the adjusted non-GAAP results. Restructuring and impairment costs for the six months ended March 31, 2020 of $173 million are excluded from the adjusted non-GAAP results. The restructuring actions and impairment costs related primarily to workforce reductions, plant closures and asset impairments.



























































(5) Management defines earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) as income from continuing operations before net financing charges, income taxes and noncontrolling interests. EBIT is a non-GAAP performance measure. Management believes this non-GAAP measure is useful to investors in understanding the ongoing operations and business trends of the Company. A reconciliation of EBIT to income from continuing operations is shown earlier within this footnote.



























































(6) Adjusted income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2020 excludes tax benefits from tax audit reserve adjustments of $22 million, net mark-to-market adjustments of $7 million, integration costs of $6 million, and restructuring and impairment costs of $4 million. Adjusted income tax provision for the six months ended March 31, 2020 excludes tax benefits from tax audit reserve adjustments of $22 million, restructuring and impairment costs of $20 million, integration costs of $11 million and net mark-to-market adjustments of $4 million, partially offset by tax provisions related to Switzerland tax reform of $30 million. Adjusted income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2019 excludes the tax benefits of integration costs of $7 million and transaction costs of $1 million, partially offset by the tax provision for net mark-to-market adjustments of $5 million. Adjusted income tax provision for the six months ended March 31, 2019 excludes the tax provision for valuation allowance adjustments of $76 million as a result of changes in U.S. tax law, partially offset by the tax benefits for integration costs of $13 million and transaction costs of $1 million.

























































2. Diluted Earnings Per Share Reconciliation



























































The Company's press release contains financial information regarding adjusted earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP performance measure. The adjusting items include transaction/integration costs, net mark-to-market adjustments, restructuring and impairment costs, impact of ceasing the depreciation and amortization expense for the Power Solutions business as the business is held for sale, and discrete tax items. The Company excludes these items because they are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of the Company. Management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in understanding the ongoing operations and business trends of the Company.



























































A reconciliation of diluted earnings per share as reported to adjusted diluted earnings per share for the respective periods is shown below (unaudited):





























































Net Income Attributable

to JCI plc

Net Income Attributable

to JCI plc from

Continuing Operations

Net Income Attributable

to JCI plc

Net Income Attributable

to JCI plc from

Continuing Operations



























Three Months Ended

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

Six Months Ended



























March 31,

March 31,

March 31,

March 31,



























2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019



















































































Earnings per share as reported for JCI plc $ 0.28

$ 0.57

$ 0.28

$ 0.26

$ 0.49

$ 0.95

$ 0.49

$ 0.38



















































































Adjusting items:























































Transaction costs -

0.02

-

-

-

0.05

-

-

























Related tax impact -

-

-

-

-

(0.01)

-

-

























Integration costs 0.05

0.08

0.05

0.08

0.10

0.13

0.10

0.13

























Related tax impact (0.01)

(0.01)

(0.01)

(0.01)

(0.01)

(0.01)

(0.01)

(0.01)

























Net mark-to-market adjustments 0.04

(0.02)

0.04

(0.02)

0.03

-

0.03

-

























Related tax impact (0.01)

0.01

(0.01)

0.01

(0.01)

-

(0.01)

-

























Restructuring and impairment costs 0.08

-

0.08

-

0.23

-

0.23

-

























Related tax impact (0.01)

-

(0.01)

-

(0.03)

-

(0.03)

-

























NCI impact of restructuring and impairment -

-

-

-

(0.01)

-

(0.01)

-

























Cease of Power Solutions depreciation / amortization expense -

(0.07)

-

-

-

(0.10)

-

-

























Related tax impact -

0.02

-

-

-

0.03

-

-

























Discrete tax items (0.03)

-

(0.03)

-

0.01

0.16

0.01

0.08

























NCI impact of discrete tax items 0.01

-

0.01

-

0.01

-

0.01

-



















































































Adjusted earnings per share for JCI plc* $ 0.42

$ 0.59

$ 0.42

$ 0.32

$ 0.81

$ 1.20

$ 0.81

$ 0.58



















































































* May not sum due to rounding



















































































The following table reconciles the denominators used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share for JCI plc (in millions; unaudited):





























































Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended











































March 31,

March 31,











































2020

2019

2020

2019









































Weighted average shares outstanding for JCI plc























































Basic weighted average shares outstanding 754.8

902.5

762.4

912.1









































Effect of dilutive securities:























































Stock options, unvested restricted stock and unvested performance share awards 2.3

3.4

3.2

3.5









































Diluted weighted average shares outstanding 757.1

905.9

765.6

915.6



































































































The Company has presented forward-looking statements regarding organic net sales, net decrementals and adjusted free cash flow conversion, which are non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are derived by excluding certain amounts, expenses, income or cash flows from the corresponding financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The determination of the amounts that are excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures are a matter of management judgment and depends upon, among other factors, the nature of the underlying expense or income amounts recognized in a given period, including but not limited to the high variability of the net mark-to-market adjustments and the effect of foreign currency exchange fluctuations. Our fiscal 2020 framework for organic net sales also excludes the effect of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency. We are unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of the aforementioned forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because such information is not available and management cannot reliably predict all of the necessary components of such GAAP measures without unreasonable effort or expense. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on the Company's full year 2020 GAAP financial results.

























































3. Organic Growth Reconciliation



























































The components of the changes in net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2020 versus the three months ended March 31, 2019, including organic growth, is shown below (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Net Sales for the

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Base Year Adjustments -

Divestitures and Other

Adjusted Base Net

Sales for the Three

Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Acquisitions

Foreign Currency

Organic Growth

Net Sales for the Three

Months Ended

March 31, 2020

Building Solutions North America $ 2,187

$ -

-

$ 2,187

$ -

-

$ (2)

-

$ (10)

-

$ 2,175

-1%

Building Solutions EMEA/LA 878

2

-

880

10

1%

(33)

-4%

(7)

-1%

850

-3%

Building Solutions Asia Pacific 628

-

-

628

2

-

(15)

-2%

(90)

-14%

525

-16%

Total field 3,693

2

-

3,695

12

-

(50)

-1%

(107)

-3%

3,550

-4%

Global Products 2,086

(7)

-

2,079

2

-

(13)

-1%

(174)

-8%

1,894

-9%

Total net sales $ 5,779

$ (5)

-

$ 5,774

$ 14

-

$ (63)

-1%

$ (281)

-5%

$ 5,444

-6%



























































The components of the changes in net sales for the six months ended March 31, 2020 versus the six months ended March 31, 2019, including organic growth, is shown below (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Net Sales for the Six

Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Base Year Adjustments -

Divestitures and Other

Adjusted Base Net

Sales for the

Six Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Acquisitions

Foreign Currency

Organic Growth

Net Sales for the Six

Months Ended

March 31, 2020

Building Solutions North America $ 4,303

$ (2)

-

$ 4,301

$ -

-

$ (2)

-

$ 43

1%

$ 4,342

1%

Building Solutions EMEA/LA 1,785

(23)

-1%

1,762

15

1%

(58)

-3%

59

3%

1,778

-

Building Solutions Asia Pacific 1,241

-

-

1,241

4

-

(20)

-2%

(71)

-6%

1,154

-7%

Total field 7,329

(25)

-

7,304

19

-

(80)

-1%

31

-

7,274

-

Global Products 3,914

(15)

-

3,899

3

-

(10)

-

(146)

-4%

3,746

-4%

Total net sales $ 11,243

$ (40)

-

$ 11,203

$ 22

-

$ (90)

-1%

$ (115)

-1%

$11,020

-2%



























































The components of the changes in segment EBITA and EBIT for the three months ended March 31, 2020 versus the three months ended March 31, 2019, including organic growth, is shown below (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Adjusted Segment

EBITA / EBIT for the

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Base Year Adjustments -

Divestitures and Other

Adjusted Base Segment

EBITA / EBIT for the

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Acquisitions

Foreign Currency

Organic Growth

Adjusted Segment

EBITA / EBIT for

the Three

Months Ended

March 31, 2020

Building Solutions North America $ 259

$ -

-

$ 259

$ -

-

$ -

-

$ (6)

-2%

$ 253

-2%

Building Solutions EMEA/LA 81

-

-

81

2

2%

(6)

-7%

8

10%

85

5%

Building Solutions Asia Pacific 76

-

-

76

-

-

(1)

-1%

(10)

-13%

65

-14%

Total field 416

-

-

416

2

-

(7)

-2%

(8)

-2%

403

-3%

Global Products 255

(1)

-

254

-

-

(2)

-1%

(36)

-14%

216

-15%

Total adjusted segment EBITA 671

(1)

-

670

$ 2

-

$ (9)

-1%

$ (44)

-7%

619

-8%



























































Corporate expenses (104)

-





(104)

























(82)

21%

Amortization of intangible assets (98)

-





(98)

























(97)

1%

Total adjusted EBIT $ 469

$ (1)





$ 468

























$ 440

-6%



























































The components of the changes in segment EBITA and EBIT for the six months ended March 31, 2020 versus the six months ended March 31, 2019, including organic growth, is shown below (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Adjusted Segment

EBITA / EBIT for the

Six Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Base Year Adjustments -

Divestitures and Other

Adjusted Base Segment

EBITA / EBIT for the

Six Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Acquisitions

Foreign Currency

Organic Growth

Adjusted Segment

EBITA / EBIT for

the Six Months Ended

March 31, 2020

Building Solutions North America $ 512

$ -

-

$ 512

$ -

-

$ -

-

$ -

-

$ 512

-

Building Solutions EMEA/LA 158

(1)

-1%

157

3

2%

(9)

-6%

24

15%

175

11%

Building Solutions Asia Pacific 142

-

-

142

1

1%

(1)

-1%

(5)

-4%

137

-4%

Total field 812

(1)

-

811

4

-

(10)

-1%

19

2%

824

2%

Global Products 449

(1)

-

448

(1)

-

(3)

-1%

(24)

-5%

420

-6%

Total adjusted segment EBITA 1,261

(2)

-

1,259

$ 3

-

$ (13)

-1%

$ (5)

-

1,244

-1%



























































Corporate expenses (197)

-





(197)

























(163)

17%

Amortization of intangible assets (195)

-





(195)

























(193)

1%

Total adjusted EBIT $ 869

$ (2)





$ 867

























$ 888

2%

























































4. Adjusted Free Cash Flow Reconciliation



























































The Company's press release contains financial information regarding free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow conversion, which are non-GAAP performance measures. Free cash flow is defined as cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. Adjusted free cash flow excludes special items, as included in the table below, because these cash flows are not considered to be directly related to its underlying businesses. Adjusted free cash flow conversion is defined as adjusted free cash flow divided by adjusted net income. Management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in understanding the strength of the Company and its ability to generate cash.



























































The following is the three months and six months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 reconciliation of free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow conversion for continuing operations (unaudited):



























































(in billions) Three Months Ended

March 31, 2020

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2019

Six Months Ended

March 31, 2020

Six Months Ended

March 31, 2019

























Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations $ 0.2

$ 0.2

$ 0.7

$ 0.1

























Capital expenditures (0.1)

(0.1)

(0.3)

(0.3)

























Reported free cash flow * -

0.1

0.4

(0.2)



































































Adjusting items:























































Transaction/integration costs -

0.1

0.2

0.1

























Restructuring payments 0.1

-

0.1

0.1

























Nonrecurring tax refunds -

-

(0.6)

-

























Total adjusting items 0.1

0.1

(0.3)

0.2

























Adjusted free cash flow * $ 0.2

$ 0.2

$ 0.1

$ -



















































































Adjusted net income from continuing operations attributable to JCI $ 0.3

$ 0.3

$ 0.6

$ 0.5

























Adjusted free cash flow conversion



67%





67%





17%





0%



















































































* May not sum due to rounding















































































































5. Net Debt to EBITDA



























































The Company provides financial information regarding net debt to adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP performance measure. The Company believes the total net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio is useful to understanding the Company's financial condition as it provides a review of the extent to which the Company relies on external debt financing for its funding and is a measure of risk to its shareholders. The following is the March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 calculation of net debt to adjusted EBITDA (unaudited):



























































(in millions) March 31, 2020

December 31, 2019









































Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt $ 1,430

$ 1,362









































Long-term debt 5,640

5,920









































Total debt 7,070

7,282









































Less: cash and cash equivalents 1,006

2,160









































Total net debt $ 6,064

$ 5,122



































































































Last twelve months adjusted EBITDA $ 3,326

$ 3,359



































































































Total net debt to adjusted EBITDA 1.8x

1.5x



































































































The following is the last twelve months ended March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 reconciliation of income from continuing operations to adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP performance measures (unaudited):



























































(in millions) Last Twelve Months

Ended

March 31, 2020

Last Twelve Months

Ended

December 31, 2019









































Income from continuing operations $ 1,306

$ 1,344









































Income tax benefit (310)

(276)









































Net financing charges 278

317









































EBIT 1,274

1,385









































Adjusting items:















































Transaction costs 7

9









































Integration costs 267

297









































Net mark-to-market adjustments 639

587









































Restructuring and impairment costs 408

346









































Tax indemnification reserve release (226)

(226)









































Environmental reserve 140

140









































Adjusted EBIT (1) 2,509

2,538









































Depreciation and amortization 817

821









































Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 3,326

$ 3,359



































































































(1) The Company's definition of adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA excludes special items because these costs are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of its businesses. Management believes this non-GAAP measure is useful to investors in understanding the ongoing operations and business trends of the Company.

























































6. Income Taxes



























































The Company's effective tax rate from continuing operations before consideration of transaction/integration costs, net mark-to-market adjustments, restructuring and impairment costs, and discrete tax items for the three and six months ending March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 is approximately 13.5%.

























































7. Restructuring and Impairment Costs



























































The three months ended March 31, 2020 include restructuring and impairment costs of $62 million related to indefinite-lived intangible asset impairments primarily related to the Company's retail business. The six months ended March 31, 2020 include restructuring and impairment costs of $173 million related primarily to workforce reductions, plant closures and asset impairments.

























































8. Leases



























































On October 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)," which requires recognition of operating leases as a lease asset and liabilities on the balance sheet. The adoption of the new guidance resulted in recognition of a right-of-use asset and related lease liabilities of $1.1 billion.

SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc

Related Links

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com


L ord Sugar has been criticised for sharing a conspiracy theory on social media which stated that Covid-19 was man-made.

The Apprentice star tweeted a claim purported to be from a Japanese scientist which said the strain was "not natural".

Independent fact-checking charity Full Fact debunked the claims.

Lord Sugar later tweeted to say that he believed his earlier tweet to be "fake news", but defended his decision to share it.

The news comes as a minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee warned against celebrities spreading misinformation.

Full Fact said in a statement: "Various posts on Facebook claim that the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Professor Tasuku Honjo has said that coronavirus is not natural.

The claim was also shared on Twitter, including by Lord Sugar.

Weve been asked to check this by lots of readers.

This claim is false.

Facing criticism, Lord Sugar defended his decision to share the tweet.

He wrote: I just passed it on. I didnt write it.

When Lord Sugar was asked by one Twitter user what the source of the information in his original tweet was, he replied who knows?

In a separate post addressing someone who had told him to concentrate on removing fake news from your feed, he said: Shut your face.

Earlier this week, Professor Honjo released a statement via Kyoto University about him being used to spread unfounded conspiracy theories.

It said: In the wake of the pain, economic loss, and unprecedented global suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, I am greatly saddened that my name and that of Kyoto University have been used to spread false accusations and misinformation.

Celebrity photographers raise funds against Coronavirus 1 /10 Celebrity photographers raise funds against Coronavirus David Bowie, 1973 Live in Freddie Burretti Paisley Outfit Mick Rock via Giveworld Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell The Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas, February 6th, 1967 Walter Iooss via Giveworld Ascend Los Angeles, 2016 Kobes last Nike ad as a Laker/NBA player Michael Muller via Giveworld Leo and Charlize Bar Marmont, 1997 Randall Slavin via Giveworld Kurt Cobain; Looking Up NYC 1993 Jesse Frohman via Giveworld Rest: September 2017: LES Coleman Skatepark, New York Charlotte Gainsbourg via Giveworld David Hallberg Brooklyn, NY, 2013 Bjorn Iooss via Giveworld Iceland, Rainbow Chris Burkard via Giveworld

On Wednesday, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport minister Baroness Barran urged celebrities not to fan the flames around coronavirus by spreading misinformation.

She also stated the need for people to follow public health guidance as members of the House of Lords warned of a rise in fake news.

On Monday, Conservative MP Julian Knight, who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee suggested that Twitter should remove the verified blue tick status for accounts that shared misinformation about the pandemic.

He told the Commons: Some of the most pernicious pieces of disinformation  such as 5G and, lets be frank, the lie about the Governments fake NHS accounts  have been amplified by blue tick verified users on Twitter.
Photo: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Thursday to his new Brooklyn federal-court indictment, which includes allegations that he knowingly exposed two people to herpes during sex. Kellys arraignment took place via telephone conference, as coronavirus concerns have prompted many court proceedings across the U.S. to be held remotely. Kelly called into the proceeding from the Chicago federal jail where he is presently detained. (He also faces federal and state charges in Illinois.) Shortly after Kelly joined the call, Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak said, I take it, sir, you do understand English, to which he replied, Yes, maam. One of Kellys lawyers said they enter a plea of not guilty to all of the charges. One member of Kellys legal team also said the jail has an additional new medical report relating to him, and that they hope to get a copy.

The nine-count indictment for alleged racketeering and sexual abuse, filed on March 12, said one of the people exposed to herpes was a minor female, and the other was an adult female. Kelly allegedly engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse with these two accusers, who are referred to as Jane Doe #5 and Jane Doe #6 in court papers. Kelly allegedly did so without first informing them that he had contracted herpes and obtaining her consent to sexual intercourse in these circumstances  The adult partner, Jane Doe #6, ultimately learned that she had contracted herpes during the course of her relationship with the defendant, according to court papers filed on March 23. Kelly was arrested on federal racketeering and sex-abuse charges in July and has since been jailed. His New York trial, which was delayed due to COVID-19, is scheduled for September.

Update, May 1, 2020: R. Kelly asked for bail yet again on Friday because of coronavirus concerns. This time, his lawyers claimed that he was likely diabetic. It is a fact that people who are diabetic are at a much higher risk for serious complications should they be infected with Covid 19, wrote Steve Greenberg, one of Kellys attorneys, in a letter to Judge Ann M. Donnelly. On Thursday, Kelly told his lawyers that he had just received results from medical tests conducted in March; those tests revealed that he was just below the threshold for diabetes, Greenberg claimed. He also suffers from high blood pressure and cholesterol issues, Greenberg said in his letter Friday. In the current environment they are not taking any medical action to mitigate any of these conditions. They let a month pass before sharing the results. It only makes sense that given the absence of any knowledge on his part, or any mitigation, that he is likely now diabetic. On April 21, Donnelly denied Kellys request for bail. Donnelly had also denied the request for bail they made one week prior.

Update, May 5, 2020: Prosecutors fought R. Kellys diabetes-related bail application in new court papers and revealed that jail health officials told the rapper to avoid eating simple carbs such as chips. Kelly allegedly complained about the food in lockup, according to the court filing. The detail on Kellys junk-food consumption was part of prosecutors argument that there was in fact adequate medical care in jail, in order to undermine Kellys claims that poor health qualified him for bail. During an April 29 medical appointment, the nurse practitioner treating Kelly discussed ways to reduce cholesterol including smaller portions, especially simple carbs such as chips, sweets from commissary and to increase activity with him. Kelly was also counseled regarding exercises he could do despite being restricted to his cell during the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as ways to calm [the defendants] mind, [and] breathing exercises  During a May 1 doctors appointment, Kelly was also told to exercise regularly in his room, and lose weight. Kelly allegedly complained that he cant exercise in the small room and cant have the diet he needs or wants. This doctor also told Kelly to avoid sweets & fatty food and said he would give Kelly a calorie count chart, prosecutors said.
The agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed the device for coronavirus patients with rapid production in mind. The license is being offered for free to manufacturers.

A new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA engineers and tailored to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients today was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use under the FDA's March 24 ventilator Emergency Use Authorization.



Called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), the device was developed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California to free up the nation's limited supply of traditional ventilators so they may be used on patients with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms.



"This FDA authorization is a key milestone in a process that exemplifies the best of what government can do in a time of crisis," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "This ventilator is one of countless examples of how taxpayer investments in space exploration -- the skills, expertise and knowledge collected over decades of pushing boundaries and achieving firsts for humanity -- translate into advancements that improve life on Earth."



The Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA, is offering a free license for VITAL and is reaching out to the commercial medical industry to find manufacturers for the device.



"Now that we have a design, we're working to pass the baton to the medical community, and ultimately patients, as quickly as possible," said Fred Farina, chief innovation and corporate partnerships officer at Caltech. "To that end, we are offering the designs for licensing on a royalty-free basis during the time of the pandemic."



The Emergency Use Authorization allows for use of the device specifically for COVID-19 patients, with the aim of addressing the acute demand for ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic. Like all ventilators, VITAL requires patients to be sedated and have an oxygen tube inserted into their airway to breathe.



"Fighting the virus and treating patients during this unprecedented global pandemic requires innovative approaches and action. It also takes an all-hands-on-deck approach, as demonstrated by the NASA engineers who used their expertise in spacecraft to design a ventilator tailored for very ill coronavirus patients. This example shows what we can do when everyone works together to fight COVID-19," said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. "We believe today's action will increase availability of these life-saving medical devices. The FDA will continue to add products to this emergency use authorization, as appropriate, during this pandemic to facilitate an increase in ventilator inventory."



Prior to the FDA's review, the VITAL prototype passed a critical test April 21 at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. VITAL poses several benefits in the national response to COVID-19. It can be built faster and maintained more easily than a traditional ventilator, and is composed of far fewer parts, many of which are currently available to potential manufacturers through existing supply chains. Its flexible design means it also can be modified for use in field hospitals being set up in convention centers, hotels and other high-capacity facilities across the country and around the globe. Intended to last three or four months, the new device wouldn't replace current hospital ventilators, which can last years and are built to address a broader range of medical issues.



"It's been exhilarating coming up with VITAL's design," said Michelle Easter, a mechatronics engineer at JPL who worked on developing the device. "Now that we have FDA approval, we're looking forward to seeing companies license this technology and share it with the rest of the world."



To learn more about how NASA is helping in the national response to COVID-19, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/coronavirus

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
This article is from Thrillist

Credit: PR Image Factory/Shutterstock

Grocery shopping in the time of coronavirus is a whole new world of one-way aisles, masks, meticulous planning, and massive shopping lists. Its stressful. But one way to ease the stress and support local food business is to switch up your routine and opt for smaller, locally owned grocers. These stores tend to be less crowded, and shopping here puts your dollars directly back into our local economy. Plus, many of the spots on this list carry tons of Colorado-made foods, so its a double shot of doing good.





Credit: Leevers Locavore

Sunnyside

This grocery store and community hub is new to the Mile High -- it just opened in November, and its a new kind of grocery store. Though it was started by two brothers with plenty of grocery experience, this location is employee-owned. And along with the typical grocery staples, there are tons of local products including River Bear meats from chef Justin Brunson and MouCo cheeses. Plus theyve also got on-site food stalls, which are still open and serving prepared foods like Basil Docs pizza and One Two Three Sushi. And yes, theyve got toilet paper and eggs too.

Park Hill

Not only does this Park Hill staple have some of the best deli sandwiches in town, theyve also got a ton of specialty Italian grocery items and local products. Need pasta, meats, or cheese? This is your go-to. And they also do take and bake specials like lasagna and mac & cheese for those nights you just cant deal with washing any more pots and pans. And if you do grab a sandwich during your visit (and you definitely should), dont forget to ask for a pickle spear.

North Capitol Hill & Hale

Marczyks has been a staple in Denver for nearly two decades. The original location on 17th just turned 18 years old in April 2020, and they just keep getting better year after year as more local products and new culinary treats join their lineup. Theyre currently offering in-store shopping during new limited hours, curbside pickup, and delivery through Instacart. That means you can score all your regular grocery staples plus favorites like Rosenbergs bagels, Niman Ranch meats, and Marczyks own line of prepared foods which includes everything from pizza dough to salads and chicken noodle soup in whatever way you feel most comfortable.





Story continues

Credit: Tony's Meats and Market

Littleton, Dry Creek, and Castle Pines

If youre in the South metro area, Tonys Market is a haven for high quality and locally sourced groceries. The original Dry Creek location has been around since 1978, and today, theres a trio of locations serving the southern suburbs. From fish, seafood, and meats to produce, cheese, and prepared food, theyve got everything you need to eat well in your quarantine kitchen. They also make some of the best-prepared foods in town so if you want to stock up on chef-quality frozen and refrigerated meals, do it here.

Platt Park

Never heard of Rubys Market? Thats likely, since they were set to open just after the stay-at-home order went into place. Once theyre able to have their grand opening, this will be a market where refugee, immigrant, and indigenous entrepreneurs can share their culinary creations. But in the meantime, theyve partnered with the South Pearl Street Farmers Market to bring you market boxes, to-go. Order from a selection of farmers market favorites like Colorado-made honey, pickles, cheese, hot sauces, bread, produce, pasta, and more. Build your custom box online, then swing by Rubys on Sundays from 12pm-2pm for pickup.

Central Business District

This family-owned Asian grocer in downtowns Sakura Square has been a staple in the Mile Highs former Japantown for over 70 years. From produce and seafood to specialty Asian ingredients, theres a bit of seemingly everything here. Plus the on-site store has all kinds of knives, mandolins, sake sets, and tons of other goodies for your kitchen. Yes, you should get a new teapot and some matcha Kit-Kats on your next run for rice and ramen. And this is the spot to do just that.





Credit: Denver Milk Market

Ballpark

Restaurateur Frank Bonannos food hall is typically buzzing with people perched at the bar or grabbing lunch from one of the 16 concepts inside. But now, theyve transformed into a neighborhood go-to for prepared foods to go and groceries -- not to mention a massive booze selection. The prepared food menu and some rotating family meal kids are available via delivery from UberEats, GrubHub, and DoorDash. You can also pre-order directly from Milk Market for pickup. But for the full grocery selection which includes fresh and dried pasta, produce, meats, and sides, its best to stop by. Theyre currently open 11am-8pm daily.

Hilltop

Owner Pete Moutzouris opened this small grocer in 1974 and he still works the register regularly today. Like the name says, theyve got fruits and vegetables aplenty. But theres also a wonderful deli selection, baked goodies, cheeses (including a variety of imported feta), and much more. There are culinary treats waiting to be discovered in every corner. Bonus: Petes is right across the street from High Point Creamery, so you can pick up something for your ice cream fix too.



Sign up here for our daily Denver email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun in town.




opinion

It starts with song and dance.

The mood in stadiums across the country is ecstatic. Workers from all walks of life march into venues in matching attire, full of expectation.

The day always comes to an end with the promise of a pay rise -- at least for the lowest paid employees -- since it is the day the government announces the new minimum wage.

But after the dark cloud of Covid-19 visited the country and the world, Kenya will today mark a Labour Day like no other.

For the first time, most union officials were -- by 4pm Thursday -- still in the dark, not knowing how the day would be marked. Normally, they would have receive printed invitation cards well in advance.

Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, who plays host to the event, said whereas all meetings had been put off, he will be addressing workers through the media from his Solidarity Building headquarters in Nairobi.

"All meetings have been put off, but we will be addressing workers. All media houses will be at Solidarity Building," he told the Nation.

MOU SIGNED

In an earlier briefing, he said he had asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to grace the event as the guest of honour.

"We have written to him, asking him to indicate a suitable venue for him to address workers and employers. This is not happening just in Kenya, but the world over. All activities have been put off, including the International Labour Conference in Geneva because of this dangerous virus," he said.

The Federation of Kenya Employers chief executive Jacqueline Mugo was holed up in a meeting Thursday.

During the meeting attended by Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui, his Principal Secretary Peter Tum and Cotu officials, led by Mr Atwoli, they signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on addressing effects of Covid-19 on the labour and employment sector.

Without giving details, Mr Chelugui said that the MoU covers agreements made between the government, workers' unions and employers' representatives.

But today, 18 million workers, who previously went to the fete with demands for pay rises and better working conditions will be at pains.

THOUSANDS JOBLESS

They will mark the day praying and clinging onto hope that they will not be the next victims of job cuts.

A report from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection indicates that the virus has already rendered at least 133,657 Kenyans jobless in the last 50 days alone.

This number excludes employees who are on unpaid leave and those who have taken pay cuts.

A majority of those affected are in the manufacturing sector, one of the pillars of the Jubilee administration's Big Four Agenda, where 500 workers have been laid off. The security sector has sent home 300 workers.

The report notes that the numbers are likely to rise because most companies are yet to notify the ministry of redundancies as required under the Employment Act, 2017.

Before the virus hit Kenya, several companies were already on this path. These include Tuskys supermarket, which restructured its operations rendering a number of staff jobless.

Shoprite supermarket also fired 104 staff after closing its Waterfront branch in Karen.

JOB CREATION

Other firms that have announced retrenchment plans in the recent past include Tullow Oil, Stanbic Bank, East African Portland Cement Company, Telkom Kenya, betting firms Sportpesa and Betin, East African Breweries Limited, Finlays, Sanlam Kenya (formerly Pan Africa Insurance Holdings) and Mumias Sugar Company.

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Other firms that retrenched employees last year include the National Bank of Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank and insurer Britam.

The firms sent home thousands of Kenyans. But when Covid 19 struck, things only moved from bad to worse.

The Economic Survey 2020 estimates that total employment, excluding those engaged in small-scale farming and pastoralist activities, increased from 17.3 million in 2018 to 18.1 million in 2019.

The total number of new jobs generated in the economy was 846,300, with the informal sector estimated to have created the bulk of these new jobs.

The Central Bank of Kenya on Thursday revealed that that debt-stressed borrowers approached banks to have loans amounting to Sh9.9 billion restructured within two weeks after it announced emergency measures to minimise the impact of Covid-19 pandemic last month.
Mauzy Heating, Air & Solar is giving back by offering a $100 Amazon gift card to essential workers who purchase their whole home disinfection package. Mauzy is doing their part to keep families safe at home during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. This whole-home solution helps to kill bacteria and viruses both in the air and on surfaces. This money saving package includes sanitization of the ducts to remove any biological contamination, plus the installation of a new air purifier, which attaches to the homeowner's existing HVAC system, all for only $27 a month if financed. The additional $100 Amazon gift card offer is simply a gesture of their appreciation to employees bravely working on the frontlines.

Consult today with San Diegos premier residential heating and air experts at Mauzy. Its more important than ever to improve home air quality and theyre here to help San Diego County. Plus, theyre also offering free virtual estimates for new installations through Duo or FaceTime - see mauzy.com/covid-19 for details.

Mauzy Heating, Air & Solar has been serving the San Diego community for over 50 years. In addition to providing customers with heating and air services, they also offer solar energy solutions and artificial turf. Mauzy is open and continuing to operate under normal business hours to accommodate their customers needs.

Visit them at mauzy.com for more details about the whole home disinfection package and $100 Amazon gift card offer.
YEREVAN, MAY 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian addressed a congratulatory message on the occasion of the Labor Day, the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The message says:

Dear compatriots,

Today is Labor Day.

This year it is being celebrated under the emergency situation, for some  medical personnel, taxi and ambulance drivers, policemen, rescuers, and their colleagues - in a non-stop working regime. First of all, I would like to congratulate, to express gratitude and send congratulations to the people working in the mentioned areas, especially to doctors and other medical workers for whom hospitals have become homes and families. They deserve the greatest commendation, also special attitude and praise from the state.

I also thank all those individuals who work these days on a tight schedule with no complains. They understand that their extra efforts can save a life, bring bread to our families, uphold the security of the country and our citizens.

Dear Compatriots,

Because of the coronavirus pandemic some of you have temporarily been out of job, some lost their jobs, the only means of their daily living. I understand the situation your families are going through and I share your concerns. I also understand what it means to be out of job in this situation. I know that many of you at this time are looking for a rescue buoy. There is a need for assistance, there is also a need to hold each others hand tight, because we cannot move forward without helping each other, especially in the emergency situation. All of you are hard workers, work loving people. And it doesnt matter where you are because of this emergency situation  on a construction site, surgery room, working on your thesis, in a service, or waiting for a call from your employer.

Today serious social problems exist even in the most developed and wealthy countries. We are in a difficult situation too. On one hand, the pandemic and its consequences, on the other, financial and economic problems, and also social and human problems. In any case, we all and primarily the state, have things to do.

The solution of the problem is in the state-employer-employee triangle which should become a solid entity. But first and foremost the solution is in responsibility, discipline, vigilance, and care for the working people so that we are able to defeat the pandemic as soon as possible and return to our normal lives.

We are used to overcoming difficulties, and today too, we have to do it together. Overcoming is work too, which cannot be done unilaterally.

Be strong and be resolute.

Health, fortitude and tenacity to your mind, body, and soul.

All the best to you and your families.
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Instagram on Tuesday announced a slew of new capabilities to combat misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, along with a co-watching feature that helps users feel less isolated while sheltering at home.

Efforts to clamp down on misinformation include the following:

Removing COVID-19 accounts from recommendations unless they are posted by a credible health organization;

Downranking feed and Stories content that third-party checkers have flagged as false;

Removing false posts from Explore and hashtag pages and false claims or conspiracy theories that could cause harm;

Prohibiting misleading ads for products referring to COVID-19;

Temporarily banning ads and branded content promoting certain medical supplies including face masks;

Adding stickers to promote accurate information; and

Including more educational resources in Instagram Search.

Additionally, Instagram has created a shared story to help make social distancing more bearable, through a Stay Home sticker, and it launched the co-watching capability it began testing last year.

Wrangling Facts

We work with third-party fact-checkers, who rate content across Facebook (Instagrams parent company) and Instagram, a Facebook spokesperson said, in a response company rep Raki Wane provided to TechNewsWorld.

Instagram applies a label to content deemed false or partially false, and adds a link to a fact-check explaining why the information may be incorrect, the spokesperson said.

Instagram has not set a time limit on its temporary ban on ads and branded content because of the evolving timeline of this health emergency, the spokesperson noted.

The new stickers, which include reminders to users to wash their hands and distance themselves from others, will be available over the next few days.

A search for information relating to coronavirus or COVID-19 will trigger a message connecting searchers to resources from the World Health Organization and local health agencies. It will be available globally in the coming weeks.

Assessing Instagrams Effort

This is an incredibly positive and much needed move by Instagram, remarked Liz Miller, principal analyst at Constellation Research. It not only addresses issues around misinformation and fraudsters looking to prey on chaos, but it also does more to better connect people who may feel more socially isolated than distant.

Instagram is uniquely positioned to give people an outlet  one where they can connect with friends and family, and see the positive stories out there to add a bit of sunshine, she told TechNewsWorld.

That said, Instagram will have to decide whether misinformation is an issue only at the apex of a crisis, Miller noted.

If it decides misinformation is a problem only during a crisis, Instagram will need to define what a crisis is, who calls it, what experts get pulled onto the assessment and response team  and communicate this intention now, she said.

This effort is pretty impressive if they execute to plan, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

If they can, Instagram has set the new bar for what can and should be done with social media, he told TechNewsWorld.

Instagrams Co-Watching Capability

Instagrams co-sharing feature lets users view Instagram posts with their friends over video chat.

This is the best shot it has to get people to use tools like this, with large numbers of people locked in their homes, Enderle observed.

CrossFit trainer Tyson Stoll was among the first users to give it a spin.

Just used it with my CrossFit friends. So easy!! pic.twitter.com/RrfNIdrs4F

 Tyson Stoll (@tjsjeep) March 24, 2020

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This co-watching feature turns a passive action into a shared event, Constellations Miller said, but I just asked two teens, one 14 and the other 18, about it via Instagram and the universal answer I got was Why?'

Instagram began testing the co-watching feature in March of last year.

Big Techs Efforts to Fight Misinformation

Social media platforms have taken unprecedented steps to stop the spread of coronavirus-related misinformation, noted Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at eMarketer.

Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube last week announced they would collaborate to combat misinformation about coronavirus.

However, their efforts might not be enough, suggested Miller. Just today, on Facebook, I was served a sponsored ad for childrens protective hats with a clear face guard guaranteed to stop droplets of spit which could contain a virus.'

Lawmakers should be approached for help, said Enderle.

You cant win by playing whack-a-mole. You have to be able to go after the criminals, and law enforcement can do that, he said. Put a few of them in jail with impressive fines that exceed their profits, and youll cut back significantly on this behavior.

Criminals With a Conscience

Various United States law enforcement agencies have warned about the ever-increasing number of coronavirus-related scams.

Some ransomware gangs reportedly have pledged to stop attacking health organizations during the pandemic.

However, at least two have not refrained.

Weve seen documented cases of cybercriminal rings continuing to attack even after pledging not to, said Chris Clements, VP of Solutions Architecture at Cerberus Sentinel.

That could be because they are geographically distant from their victims, Clements told TechNewsWorld. Other possibilities are that they see their pledge as a way to get potential victims to lower their guard, or they might fear other cybercriminals will beat them to the punch.

Such a pledge is meaningless because cybercriminals really have nothing to lose by breaking the promise not to attack, observed Erich Kron, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4. Further, there is also no indicator of when they will resume the attacks.

Healthcare organizations need to maintain vigilance because the stakes are so high, Kron told TechNewsWorld.

Today, the gold star goes to Instagram for tackling two issues: misinformation and combating the feeling of isolation, Constellations Miller said. The real test will be what happens tomorrow, when COVID-19 is not the primary headline causing misinformation to hurl across the Internet.

Its easier to rally resources to fight misinformation about a pandemic than it is about political or socially debatable issues, eMarketers Enberg noted. Thats likely one reason why Facebook has stuck by its refusal to fact-check posts and ads from politicians, even as it has expanded its fact-checking programs for other types of content.
The publisher of the Mail on Sunday has won the first High Court skirmish in the Duchess of Sussex's claim against it over publication of a "private and confidential" letter to her estranged father.

Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers over five articles, two in the Mail on Sunday and three on MailOnline, which were published in February 2019 and reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to Thomas Markle, 75, in August 2018.

A preliminary hearing, in which lawyers for the publisher asked for parts of the duchess's case to be struck out, was held last week, with the judge sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in London and lawyers and reporters attending remotely.

In a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Warby struck out parts of Meghan's claim against the publisher, including allegations that it acted "dishonestly" by leaving out certain passages of the letter.

The judge also struck out allegations that the publisher deliberately "stirred up" issues between Meghan and her father, and that it had an "agenda" of publishing intrusive or offensive stories about her.

Read More

Mr Justice Warby said those allegations should not form part of her case at this stage, because they were "irrelevant" to her claim for misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

However, he said those parts of her case may be revived at a later stage, if they are put on a proper legal basis.

The judge said: "Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded.

"Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed. I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.

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"I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018.

"Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form."

The duchess is seeking damages from Associated Newspapers for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

Meghan has previously said any damages she may be awarded if she wins her case will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.

Associated Newspapers wholly denies the allegations, particularly the claim that the letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning, and says it will hotly contest the case.

It is understood that the Duke of Sussex and Meghan listened online to the parts of last week's hearing conducted by her lawyers.

Sections of the letter were published in the newspaper and online in February last year, and it was announced in October that the duchess would be taking legal action.

The headline on the main article read: "Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghan's rift with a father she says has 'broken her heart into a million pieces'".

No date has been set for any further hearing in the case and it is not known when a full trial of the issues is expected to take place.
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has been brutally frank about his stance against the coronavirus-forced lockdown in the U.S., as he urges various states to end the shelter-in-place orders.

The 48-year-old Tesla founder took to Twitter to voice his dismay about the government-mandated policy amid the pandemic.

Elon Musk Rants About Shelter-In Place Orders

In his lengthy rant, Musk described it as " forcibly imprisoning people in their homes." He also called COVID-19 lockdowns "fascist" for stripping off U.S. citizens of their constitutional rights.

"To say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom!" Musk furthered.

This came after California -- America's most populous state -- was put under shelter-in-place policy effective March 19. It was then followed by other major and rural cities.

With a population of 39.6 million, California was the first state to implement the lockdown.

Moreover, the health crisis has greatly impacted Tesla's operation since January after their Shanghai factory was shut down due to the pandemic.

In addition, Alameda County has ordered Tesla'sFremont factory to stop its operation because it is considered as "nonessential" business.

With that said, Musk announced that this implies a "serious risk" not just for their multi-billion company but for the citizens being forced to lose their livelihoods as the lockdown continues.

"It will cause great harm, not just to Tesla but to many firms. While Tesla will weather the storm, there are many small companies that will not. And all of people's - everything they've worked for their whole lives has been destroyed in real-time," Elon added.

Mark Zuckerberg Warns About Second Wave Of COVID-19

Meanwhile, social media tycoon Mark Zuckerberg fears that reopening some parts of the U.S. could "almost guarantee" a second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

"While there are massive societal costs from the current shelter in place restrictions, I worry that reopening certain places too quickly, before infection rates have been reduced to very minimal levels, will almost guarantee future outbreaks and even worse economic outcomes," Zuckerberg said.

This might be easy to say for the 35-year-old Silicon Valley billionaire though, especially since his company has gained an 18 percent increase in first-quarter revenue (per The Washington Post).

The Facebook founder also expressed his concern over reopening businessez early, as the "economic fallout will last longer than people are currently anticipating."

Furthermore, in a bid to find a cure for virus, the tech mogul and his wife Priscilla Chan have teamed up with Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates to fund research for the coronavirus vaccine.

Their foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced that they are donating $25 million to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator which was launched by Gates last March.

Along with the World Health Organization (WHO), the main goal is to provide affordable treatments by evaluating or repurposing existing drugs to treat coronavirus patients.
This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow)also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab.
Representational Image

Arvind Kejriwal said plasma therapy trials will continue as allowed by the Centre, encouraged by the recovery of a "serious" COVID-19 patient in the national capital. The patient, who was serious and in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was discharged from the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital on Friday and sent home. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:

1) To Ensure People Follow Covid-19 Lockdown, Police Deploys Robots In Chennai's Containment Zones

Twitter/ @pibchennai

Chennai police has been making a good use of the technology during the coronavirus pandemic. After geo-tagging the locations of those in quarantine, they are now using robots for surveillance. Read more

2) Uttar Pradesh Man Cycles Alone For 150 Kilometres To Marry, Returns Home With Bride

Representational Image/iStock

In one such case, a 23-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh - undeterred by the nationwide lockdown over coronavirus - cycled about 100 km to reach his bride's home, all alone. Read more

3) Snapdeal Calls USTR's Counterfeiting & Piracy Report As Unverified & Defamatory In Nature

Reuters

Snapdeal, one of Indias largest e-commerce companies, has hit back at US trade representatives that placed it on 2020 edition of the Notorious Markets List for counterfeiting and piracy. Read more

4) 'Green Zone' Goa Government Decides To Not Give Ration Or Fuel To People Not Wearing Masks

(Representative Image: BCCL)

While the war against COVID-19 is far from over, Goa was today classified in 'Green Zone' amid the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown across the country. Read more

5) Rajasthan MLA Wants Liquor Shops To Open As Drinking Alcohol Will Kill Corona, Like A Sanitiser

AFP

An MLA from Rajasthan wants liquor shops to open because he believes that alcohol will kill coronavirus. Just that the one that kills is used in sanitisers and isn't for drinking purposes. Read more
If Stark Industries were to design a compact SUV, fans would expect an over-the-top rendition. It would look and feel impressive at every turn and touchpoint. After all, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) doesnt do anything in a small way.

Robert Downey Jr. attends the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming | Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Hyundai joined the roster of automakers looking to tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe by designing such an SUV. Its the Iron Man edition of the Kona, and it explodes with personality and confidence, much like that of the superhero it intends to embody. And Tony Stark even puts his seal of approval, in the form of his signature, right there on the dash.

The Iron Man Hyundais Konas debut at Comic-Con

The 2019 @Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition is super detailed: https://t.co/oSRsMyGJUD pic.twitter.com/pulGjHV20q  Car and Driver (@CARandDRIVER) May 10, 2019

Hyundai unveiled this epic SUV at Comic-con in San Diego and is only offering a limited global production run of this model.

Its not the first time the Korean automaker has dabbled in comics. Its Veloster hatchback was featured in Ant-Man and the Wasp, in 2018.

Its not the first time the name Iron Man has been showcased on a vehicle, either. Isuzu once dedicated an Ironman Triathlon Edition of its SUV, the VehiCROSS, back in 1999. But neither of these other variations compares to this latest homage the MCU blockbuster.

What makes it cool at first glance

What do you think of the 2019 @Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition? https://t.co/HIxniSH1L2 pic.twitter.com/SsaAMSZeLb  Car and Driver (@CARandDRIVER) May 13, 2019

For starters, the matte gray finish, paired with the glossy red accent flares, makes the Kona feel like its suited up for battle in Iron Mans own suit. Theres LED lighting and front fender decals of the famed superheros emblem.

Stark Industries has its name on this beauty, too, with decals on the rear liftgate and front bumper. Anyone flying overhead will see the giant Iron Man mask, encompassing the roof.

This edition is powered by a 1.6L turbocharged four-cylinder engine, offering a peppy 175 horses. Its married to a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox, as well. The metal meets the road with 18-inch wheels, complete with Iron Man center caps. The aggressive, dark-chromed front grill seems to grin, just like a confident Tony Stark.

Plenty of Iron Man feels on the inside

The #Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition goes under thorough testing from @JRRBatchelor. Although the real question is, can he get out of the car to do the Carbuyer suitcase test? Watch here:https://t.co/iGW21PCLgQ pic.twitter.com/zhWlEhaygx  Carbuyer (@CarbuyerUK) February 2, 2019

Climbing into the Iron Man Kona will feel like youre suiting up for an encounter with Thanos. There are matching red accents, an entirely unique shift lever, and custom gauges that resemble the Arc Reactor.

Stark Industries has its name on the front seats, and youll see Iron Man masks and inspired graphics throughout the cabin. Youll even feel like youre powering up the suit as the tech that loads in the heads-up display.

You wont be able to fly, and the Kona doesnt come with artificial intelligence, but it does come well-equipped. Youll enjoy the best in connectivity, driver assistance features, and safety, much like the available Ultimate trim package on the everyday version of the Kona.

Buying one will cost a little extra, but is totally worth it

#IronMan takes a day off from Stark Industries as he tours Bristol in the New Hyundai KONA Iron Man edition. https://t.co/wqiBBuS5sS pic.twitter.com/dxYRBwYtE8  Hyundai Motor UK (@Hyundai_UK) January 28, 2019

You can buy one of these Iron Man Kona SUVs from a few Hyundai dealerships. Youll pay a little extra, though, to drive the superhero crossover. The price tag is a little less for the front-wheel-drive versions, at $31,595.

The all-wheel-drive variant will set you back $32,995, which is roughly $3,050 more than the premium Kona Ultimate. Other available trims for the 2020 Hyundai Kona include the base-level SE, SEL, SEL Plus, Limited, and the upscale Ultimate. The average MSRP range for these more civilian level trims is $20,300 to $29,350.

MCU fans can drive a little piece of their favorite leading hero. The Iron Man Kona is about as intelligent as Tony Stark himself and will make a statement at every turn and traffic light. Enthusiasts will feel like their part of The Avengers, suiting up with every experience behind the wheel.
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Matt Hancock was tonight accused of blatantly fiddling the figures to hit his much-vaunted target for 100,000 coronavirus tests in a day.

The Health Secretary faced claims he used postal tests yet to be completed and multiple checks on the same people to hit his six-figure milestone.

He used an appearance at the Downing Street briefing this evening to bullishly claim success after setting the significant target a month ago, when tests were running at just 10,000 a day.

Appearing live on television tonight he emotionally told the watching nation there were 122,347 tests in the 24 hours to 9am, branding it an 'incredible achievement' for the whole medical and scientific community.

But he faced a wave of condemnation as it became clear that the number appeared to only tell half the story.

Figures posted online by the Government itself show that his questionable calculation included tens of thousands of tests kits that have been sent out to homes and hospitals - even though they have yet to be used, returned and processed.

The head of the testing programme, Professor John Newton, confirmed tonight that around 40,000 of the total were kits that have been mailed out - suggesting 100,000 tests have not in fact been completed.

In addition to this, just 73,191 people were tested, some more than once. They include brave medical staff who are often tested multiple times per day as they work in high-risk settings to save as many lives as possible. Others are tested more than once to avoid false negative tests.

Mr Hancock dodged questions about whether the figures had been cooked this evening, saying the allegation was 'not something I recognise'.

But Boris Johnson told the Downing Street briefing last night that the figures covered tests 'carried out', rather than merely posted.

A tweet sent from the No10 account earlier this month stated: 'We'll test 100,000 people a day by the end of this month.'

It prompted Labour to accuse ministers of 'moving the goalposts to hit their own arbitrary target', and the Lib Dems to claim they acted to 'massage the metrics rather than admit they fell short'.

On another rollercoaster day of coronavirus developments:

The UK has today announced 739 more coronavirus deaths, taking Britain's official fatality toll to 27,180.

A top midwife has warned coronavirus could lead to a surge in baby deaths because women enduring a difficult pregnancy are afraid to go to hospitals;

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Mr Johnson of being 'slow at every turn' in the response to the crisis and demanded an exit strategy from lockdown as soon as possible;

Experts said it was 'perfectly reasonable' for the UK to start easing lockdown before a contact tracing regime is fully in place';

Ryanair has announced 3,000 job cuts as it revealed it expects to operate under 1 per cent of its schedule between April and June;

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye has warned that social distancing at airports is 'physically impossible';

The ONS has published local breakdowns of coronavirus-related deaths suggesting deprived areas with high BAME populations are most at risk.

Matt Hancock told the Downing Street briefing tonight that the testing target had been hit with 122,000 yesterday

Piers Morgan pointed out that a tweet posted from the No10 account on April 5 stated that the target was to test 100,000 people a day - which has not been met. When Mr Hancock set the target he said he wanted 100,000 tests per day - but the number of people checked has always been significantly lower, as many need to be screened more than once for clinical reasons, often to avoid false negatives

The UK has today announced 739 more coronavirus deaths, taking Britain's official fatality toll to 27,180

Boris Johnson will reveal lockdown exit plan on Thursday amid fears 'coronaphobia' will sabotage recovery Boris Johnson will unveil his 'comprehensive' lockdown exit plan next Thursday amid fears 'coronaphobia' could stop the country getting back up and running. Frantic work is under way in Whitehall on how businesses can resume activities, with every day on hold estimated to wipe around 2billion from GDP. Staff working every other week, wearing PPE in canteens, and face coverings on public transport are all being mooted to help reduce the risks. But polling has suggested 61 per cent of Britons would be nervous about going out to bars and restaurants even if the draconian restrictions are loosened. The UK population appears to be among the most anxious in the world, with more than a quarter saying lockdown should not be eased even if the PM's 'five tests' are met. There are reports that some people who have returned to work have been getting abuse from neighbours who believe they are threatening their safety. Ministers have admitted they must win over the public to a more 'nuanced' message, with advisers saying the stark 'stay at home' warning might have been too successful over the past six weeks. Advertisement

When Mr Hancock set the target he said he wanted 100,000 tests per day - but the number of people checked has always been significantly lower.

A jubilant Mr Hancock said tonight: 'I can announce that we have met our goal... Setting stretching, ambitious goals in a crisis has a galvanising effect on everybody involved. It is a mission.'

But it came after a source told the Health Service Journal that Mr Hancock was 'obsessed' with reaching the target - which has been dismissed as a PR stunt by some experts.

'They are trying every trick in the book,' the source said. 'They had to get the permanent secretary (Chris Wormald) to agree to a change in the counting process.

'We're now counting a home test as tests which have been sent to people's homes.'

The DoH denied that there had been any change to the counting rules.

Notes added to the DoH testing website yesterday state that the number of tests includes 'tests processed through our labs', but also 'tests sent to individuals at home or to satellite testing locations'.

The position seems to contrast with the PM's words at the briefing last night, when he gave information about tests that have been 'carried out'.

Mr Johnson said: '901,905 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 81,611 tests yesterday.'

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: 'Labour has repeatedly called for more testing, and increasing testing is an important milestone.

'But many would have expected the 100,000 promise to have been met by actually carrying out testing, not simply because 39,000 kits had been mailed out.

'Tonight's headline figure shouldn't count tests that hadn't been used, or indeed, might never be used as a completed test. Ministers promised transparency - the public and NHS staff deserve clarity.

'In any event, this figure was never a strategy. We need a fully resourced testing, isolation and tracing programme and ministers should be using this lockdown time to put the fundamentals of infectious disease control in place.'

Mr Hancock batted questions about the breakdown of the testing numbers across to the scientists at the briefing tonight.

He said: 'We set out on gov.uk exactly how we count the different types of tests for different reasons because obviously home tests are produced in a different way to the tests at drive-through centres.'

Asked by Mr Hancock to respond, Prof Newton said tests were counted when they 'go outside of the the control of the programme' by being mailed out.

Despite the notes being updated on the DoH website only yesterday, Prof Newton said: 'There has been no change to the way that tests are counted. As we've developed new ways of delivering tests we've taken advice from officials as to how this should be counted.

'So, the tests that are within the control of the programme, which is the great majority, are counted when the tests are undertaken in our laboratories.

'But any test which goes outside the control of the programme, they're counted when they leave the programme, so that is the tests that are mailed out to people at home and the tests which go out in the satellite.

'So that is the way they are counted, have always been counted, and the way we were advised to count them by officials.'

Brushing away the doubts, Mr Hancock heralded the expansion in testing beyond 100,000 a day as an 'incredible achievement'.

He said: 'I knew that it was an audacious goal, but we needed an audacious goal, because testing is so important for getting Britain back on her feet...

'This unprecedented expansion in British testing capability is an incredible achievement, but it is not my achievement, it is a national achievement.'

Boris Johnson told the Downing Street briefing last night that the figures covered tests 'carried out', rather than merely posted

The numbers of deaths per day in England compared to inside and outside of hospital

He said the testing capacity built would 'help every single person in this country' and would 'help us to unlock the lockdown'.

Mr Hancock said the next phase will allow the Government 'to reassert, as much as is safely possible, the liberty of us all'.

Mr Hancock said: 'In recent weeks we've had to impinge on historic liberties to protect our NHS and our loved ones and yet our goal must be freedom. Freedom from the virus, yes, and we will not lift measures until it is safe to do so.

'But also we care about the restoration of social freedom and economic freedom too - each citizen's right to do as they please.

'For now, we're working together to stay home, we're impinging on the freedom of all for the safety of all.

'With this next mission of test, track and trace, I'm seeking a solution that allows us, by each of us participating, to target the measures that are needed with much more precision and so to reassert, as much as is safely possible, the liberty of us all.

'That is our next mission. But for now the most important thing for everyone to do to keep R down and to get us all through is to retain the spirit and resolve that has had such an impact thus far.'

HEALTH SECRETARY MATT HANCOCK'S FULL SPEECH FROM TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS PRESS CONFERENCE Good afternoon and welcome once again to the Downing Street daily coronavirus briefing. I'm joined by professor John Newton who coordinates our work on testing and by professor Steve Powis who's the medical director of the NHS. Every day, we're working through our plan to protect life and protect the NHS, by slowing the spread and building the capacity, so at all times, the NHS has got the capacity to give the very best care to everybody who needs it. In today's briefing, after setting out the daily statistics, I want to talk about testing. But beforehand, I'd like to share some really good news. Earlier this week I said that we are now able to begin the restoration of NHS services. Now that we're past the peak, I can tell you about the next step. The restoration of fertility services. Few families have been untouched by the amazing advances in fertility treatments over the past generation. And I know just how time-sensitive fertility treatment can be, and how important it is for the families affected. And I know that this treatment can change lives for the better, for ever. So when I say thank you to all of you, everybody watching, for staying at home to protect the NHS, of course I'm saying thank you on behalf of the lives that you're saving. But I am also saying thanks on behalf of the lives that the NHS can now, once again, help to create, because together we've protected the NHS and we are now restoring the NHS and restoring the chance for so many couples to start a family. Turning to the figures, 177,454 people have tested positive for coronavirus, an increase of 6,201 since yesterday. 15,111 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, and 27,510 people have now sadly died, across all settings, an increase of 739. As one, we'll remember them and treasure their memories. This is a virus that has a devastating impact on families, on friends, on local communities. Right across government, we are working day and night to defeat it. At the beginning of last month, at this podium, I set a goal, that anyone who needs a test should get a test. And that, as a nation, we should achieve 100,000 tests per-day by the end of the month. I knew that it was an audacious goal but we needed an audacious goal, because testing is so important for getting Britain back on her feet. I can announce that we have met our goal. Tee number of tests yesterday, on the last day of April, was 122,347. This unprecedented expansion in British testing capability is an incredible achievement. But it is not my achievement. It is a national achievement, achieved by a huge team of people working together. And I tell you this, the testing capacity that we've built together will help every single person in this country. Testing is crucial to suppress the virus. I know from personal experience, too, just how much people with symptoms want to know if they've got the disease. I know that I did. It helps remove the worry, it helps keep people safe, and it will help us to unlock the lockdown. So many people have tragically died, and the challenge that we still face is vast, but we're making real progress. I want to take a moment to thank and pay tribute to the incredible team who did this together, and who joined in one of the greatest national mobilisations that we've seen. We brought together the best civil servants, the best minds from the private sector, the best scientists, the best lab technicians and the best of the best in the armed forces. Setting stretching, ambitious goals in a crisis has a galvanising effect on everybody involved, it is a mission. If we haven't been so bold, if we had chosen a safer, easier path, I just can't see how we would have built the capacity that we need. In a few short weeks, we've created a new test for the virus in PHE. We've built a network of regional testing centres. We've put a fleet of mobile testing units on the road, and created home testing kits so if you can't get to the test, we can get the test to you. We've more than doubled the capacity of NHS and Public Health England labs, and created three brand-new mega-labs to analyse the results. So many people have played a part in this work. British diagnosis companies like Randox, Oxford Nanopore, Medical wire, DNAnudge and Samba. Logistics companies like the Royal Mail and Yodle who were brilliant and got us out of a real hole this week. Academics like Professor Derrick Crook and and Sir John Bell from Oxford and Professor Ara Darzi from Imperial. Deloitte and Boots who've delivered our drive-through centres. Astrazenica, GSK and Novasite whose labs go on-stream next week. Public Health England and the NHS of course, who've pulled out all the stops. Professor Sharron Peackock, Professor John Newton, and the UK biocentre and The Crick who set up high-tech laboratories. And also it wasn't just a national effort, people from across the world including Thermo Fisher, Hologic, Abbott and Amazon from the U.S, Qiagen from Germany and Roche from Switzerland. And this is how we did it, because everybody worked together with grit and determination to reach a shared goal, and they thrived because the team contained diversity of perspectives, of backgrounds and critically a diversity of thought. When things went wrong, which they did every single day, believe me, we didn't ask who we could blame, we asked how we could fix it. So to my team, I want to say you toiled tirelessly night and day, and I'm so proud of what you have achieved. And to all of you, on behalf of government, on behalf of the whole country, thank you. As the Prime Minister said, a big increase in testing provides a way to unlock the puzzle of coronavirus. And testing forms the first element of our plan to test, track and trace. By mid-May we'll have an initial 18,000 contact traces in place. That work is underway as we speak, and if it needs to be bigger, we'll scale it as required. The combination of contact tracers, and new technology through our new Covid-19 NHS app, will help tell us where the virus is spreading, and help everyone to control new infections. People will be able to know if they've been in close contact with someone who's transmitting the disease, and take the action that they need to. Our full scale test, track and trace model will drive the infection rate down, and the lower the R, and the lower the number of new infections, the more effective the track and trace system will be. Tracking and tracing will allow us to get R down, and hold R down, and so it will allow us to lift lockdown measures. Now, this disease affects us all indiscriminately, we've seen that. In recent weeks, we've had to impinge on historic liberties to protect our NHS and our loved ones, and yet our goal must be freedom. Freedom from the virus, yes, and we will not lift measures until it is safe to do so. But also, we care about the restoration of social freedom and economic freedom too - each citizen's right to do as they please. For now, we're working together to stay home. We're impinging on the freedom of all, for the safety of all. With this next mission of test, track and trace, I'm seeking a solution that allows us, by each of us participating, to target the measures that are needed with much more precision. And so, to reassert, as much as is safely possible, the liberty of us all. That is our next mission, but for now the most important thing for everyone to do, to keep R down and to get us all through this, is to maintain the spirit and the resolve that's had such an impact thus far. So please, stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives. Advertisement

The latest slides released at the daily Downing Street briefing show the number of hospital cases easing slowly again

Earlier, Health Select Committee chair Jeremy Hunt, one of the foremost critics of the testing regime, said Mr Hancock deserved credit for the 'enormous achievement'.

However, Mr Hunt, a former health secretary himself, insisted it is now crucial to use the capacity to introduce South Korea-style mass screening.

He said that would enable the lockdown to be 'targeted' on those who are infected rather than crippling the whole UK economy.

The government is setting another target for having full-scale contact tracing in place by the end of the month - although previously ministers had indicated the hoped it would up and running by mid-May.

Mr Hancock said the next phase of the Government's coronavirus strategy will allow the Government 'to reassert, as much as is safely possible, the liberty of us all'. Pictured: A sign on the Bakerloo Line on the London Underground enforcing social distancing rules

David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation's special envoy on Covid-19, said it would be 'perfectly reasonable' for the UK to start easing the lockdown before a full contact tracing system is up and running. Pictured: A policeman on the London Underground on Friday

Labour leader Keir Starmer has added to the pressure by demanding a timetable for reaching Boris Johnson's ambition of 250,000 tests a day, saying the UK also needs 50,000 contact tracers.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, Sir Keir said the government had been 'slow at every turn'. 'Almost every country that has managed to get to the next stage has had testing and tracing as part of the strategy. The UK needs to do that too,' he said.

'That means hitting the 100,000 tests a day target, but then going further. The Prime Minister previously promised 250,000 tests a day. The Government's advisers will know whether that is precisely the right target. But I do believe the Government should recommit to such an ambition.'

Earlier, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist branded the Government's target a 'PR stunt', saying the number had only been chosen because it 'sounds good'.

Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of biomedical research centre the Francis Crick Institute, said on Question Time that the increase was welcome but the figure itself 'makes absolutely no sense'.

Figures published last night showed 81,611 tests were conducted on Wednesday, a major jump from 52,429 on Tuesday and 43,453 on Monday.

The significant jump gave renewed hope that Mr Hancock could possibly scrape past his self-imposed target, announced on April 2 when figures were running at around 10,000 a day.

In the event he announced tonight that it had been comfortably cleared - albeit with many of the tests seemingly not having been 'carried out'.

Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think more than a pat on the back, it is an enormous achievement... it is an absolutely huge transformation of our testing capacity and Matt Hancock deserves enormous credit.

Pressure on critical care beds is reducing but the number of deaths per day is only coming down relatively slowly

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured earlier this month) said the increase in testing over the past month was an enormous achievement - but insisted it must be used properly

'Of course 100,000 is in some ways an arbitrary number but setting a target like that is how you get things done in a big bureaucracy like the NHS - it galvanises the system, It looks like that is what he's done.'

He added: 'The first thing they do which we now will be able to do at the right moment is be able to test not just for coronavirus cases in hospitals and care homes, but actually when people start going back to work to test them in the community.'

Mr Hunt went on: 'That has meant that they are able to stop the virus in its track, so it's much more targeted.

'It's locking down the people who have the virus or might have the virus, but not locking down the whole economy.'

David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation's special envoy on Covid-19, said it would be 'perfectly reasonable' for the UK to start easing the lockdown before a full contact tracing system is up and running.

'Every government is having to make a choice and I understand that the contact tracing process is now well advanced and so that's a reasonable time to be thinking through how lockdown can be eased, and it won't be eased all at once, it will be eased bit by bit,' he told Today.

He added: 'You don't need to have 100 per cent contact tracing in order to get the R-number down. The contact tracing is an absolutely essential part of reducing transmission, and getting that capacity as widely spread as possible is key to getting the transmission as low as you can.

'But you certainly can release the lockdown while you're building up the case finding and contact tracing capacity - that's what most other countries are doing.

'They don't wait until everything is ready and so it's perfectly reasonable for Britain to be thinking through these options and working our how it's going to do the next steps.'

Sir Paul said lives had been put at risk because NHS frontline workers were treating patients without being tested.

'The 100,000 target is just a figure with a lot of noughts in it. It was a bit of a PR stunt, which has gone a bit wrong. Why 100,000? Where was the strategy? It just sounded good,' Sir Paul said.

'The reality is... If we had had local testing connected to hospitals, we could have made hospitals a safe place. But what we had was the potential for care workers on the words, working with sick patients, who were carrying the disease and weren't being tested.

'They didn't make the decision we want to test everybody who is a frontline worker and wouldn't test anybody who had no symptoms. We know you can be infected but have no symptoms. This makes absolutely no sense. Testing was absolutely critical. It hasn't been handled properly'.

Who is Nobel Prize winner Sir Paul Nurse? Chief executive Sir Paul Nurse pictured at the Francis Crick Institute in King's Cross Sir Paul Nurse was born in Norfolk and raised in London, where he attended Harrow County Grammar School. In 1970 he received a degree in biology at the University of Birmingham and a PhD in 1973 from the University of East Anglia. He went on to spend several months in a laboratory in Bern, Switzerland, then moved on to the laboratory of Murdoch Mitchison at the University of Edinburgh for postdoctoral studies on the cell cycle. In 1979 he set up his own laboratory at the University of Sussex then in 1984, he joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF, which became Cancer Research UK in 2002), leaving in 1988 to chair the Department of Microbiology at the University of Oxford. Sir Paul's contributions to cell biology and cancer research were recognised with a knighthood in 1999. Sir Paul was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Leland Hartwell and Tim Hunt for their discoveries of protein molecules that control the division (duplication) of cells in the cell cycle. In 2002 Sir Paul became Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK. In 2003, Sir Paul became President of Rockefeller University in New York City where he continued to work on the cell cycle, cell form and genomics of fission yeast. In 2010, he became the first Director and Chief Executive of the Francis Crick Institute in London and in addition for 5 years was President of the Royal Society. When he was 57, Sir Paul discovered he had been raised by his grandmother, thinking she was his mother. He wrote in a blog, 'I discovered my parents were not my parents'. He found out after the US Department of Homeland Security rejecting his Green Card application on the grounds that the details given on his birth certificate were insufficient. He later learnt his mother had given birth at the age of 18 and his grandmother had raised him. Sources: NobelPrize.org,Crick.ac Advertisement

'Even if we don't hit it, and it's probable that we won't, we will in the next few days hit that target,' Mr Buckland told Sky News.

'I think it was right to set an ambitious target.

'And you know, sometimes even if you don't hit the target on the due date the direction of travel is the most im-portant thing.

'I believe we're going to get there and then move beyond it, because we need more.'

The number of tests completed was massively boosted by the expansion of eligibility to all key workers with coro-navirus symptoms last week and then again to all over-65s this Tuesday.

Previously only NHS and care staff and those sick in hospital had been eligible for tests.

The Department of Health carried out a major publicity drive on social media this week in a bid to get people to take up the offer of tests, which are available either delivered to homes or at drive-in centres.

Mr Hancock is said to have told his team this week that they had achieved their aims - even if they miss the target.

In a speech to civil servants this week, reported by Buzzfeed News, he said: 'Whatever happens tomorrow, we've done what we needed to do - we've ramped up our testing capacity more than anyone believed we could, and given the UK the testing capacity it needs to beat this virus.'

Experts believe the huge expansion in testing is key to getting the country ready for a 'contact tracing' programme that will be key to avoiding a second wave of the virus when ministers eventually decide to lift lockdown measures.

Mr Hancock has asked that contact tracing is ready by the middle of May.

Officials are hiring 18,000 call centre staff to run the programme - which will trace every person exposed to the vi-rus over the coming weeks.

But testing is essential to such a programme - because every person with symptoms will have to test positive for the virus to trigger a labour-intensive contract tracing effort.

And anyone who is found to have been exposed to the initial patient will then also be tested, which will involve even more tests.

Mr Hancock pledged at the beginning of April to test 100,000 people by the end of the month.

When he made the pledge Britain was only testing 10,000 people a day.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said yesterday: 'You can chart the progress that we've made towards hit-ting that target and that we are working hard today to ensure that people who need tests get them.'

But NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and ambulance trusts in England, described the target as a 'red herring' which has distracted attention from failings in the long-term Covid-19 strategy.

NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said as many as 120,000 tests would be needed daily for NHS workers once the UK comes out of lockdown, to stave off a second wave of the virus.

He said staff and patients would need to be tested regularly to control the spread of the virus once lockdown measures are eased.

With 800,000 people working for the NHS, Mr Hopson said there would need to be between 110,00 and 120,000 tests a day for them to be tested once a week.

He pointed to mass testing capabilities in Germany and South Korea, saying: 'If you look at the international expe-rience, having the right testing regime is absolutely crucial in conquering this virus.

'We are in a new phase, we are about to try and exit lockdown. If we are going to control the spread of the virus it's really important we test all staff and patients regularly in healthcare settings.

'What we are missing is we haven't got the strategy in terms of what the next phase looks like.'

How many people have died of coronavirus in your area? Interactive map reveals fatalities by postcode - and reveals deaths are TWICE as high in poor areas of England and Wales

An interactive map which reveals coronavirus deaths by postcode shows that people living in the poorest parts of England and Wales are dying at more than double the rate of those in affluent areas.

The map, included in the latest Office for National Statistics report, found that the most deprived regions suffered 55 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 25 fatalities in the wealthiest areas.

The report analysed 20,283 virus deaths registered in England and Wales from March 1 to April 17, which means it is two weeks out of date and thousands of fatalities have not been included.

London - the epicentre of Britain's outbreak - had the highest mortality rate, with 85.7 deaths per 100,000 people - more than double the national average of 36.2 fatalities. One in four of all coronavirus victims live in the capital.

The London boroughs of Newham, Brent and Hackney were the three worst-hit regions in all of the country, suffering 144, 142 and 127 deaths per 100,000, respectively.

Boroughs in the capital accounted for all of the top ten local authorities with the highest COVID-19 death rates, the report showed.

Hastings, in affluent East Sussex, and Norwich had the lowest COVID-19 death rates  suffering six and five deaths per 100,000, respectively.

Charities said today the news that the poorest in society were being hit the hardest by the crisis was 'worrying, but unfortunately not surprising'.

Ethnic minority groups - who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 - make up the majority of residents in Newham (71 per cent) and Brent (64 per cent).

Whereas the overwhelming majority of residents in Hastings and Norwich are white, with just 9 per cent and 6 per cent coming from minority backgrounds.

A separate report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) released today found black and Asian Britons are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from COVID-19 than whites.

The interactive map breaks down the number of COVID-19 deaths by so-called 'Middle Layer Super Output Areas' (MSOAs) which have an average population of 7,500. The ONS uses MSOAs to get a more accurate local breakdown of statistics. Some MSOAs may include more than one postcode

A second interactive map breaks down the number of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people for every local authority in England and Wales

Death rates from all causes are higher in poorer areas, the ONS said, but the pandemic appears to be pushing the rates even higher

Boroughs in London accounted for all of the top ten worst hit local authorities, the report showed
By Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen



Since the end of World War II and more importantly following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has led the world in many ways as a generous nation and/or as a policeman.



While it remains the world's most powerful country in terms of economy and military, it apparently is losing or waning its long-standing socioeconomic and political influence and presence across the world in recent years.



While there are several other factors responsible for the decline of its global image, undoubtedly one of the most important reasons is its people. By people, I mean political or government leaders, party leaders and even the public although this does not entirely come down to one individual or political party or even one single administration.



In recent times, America's leadership and inherent partisan divide over the COVID-19 pandemic are a bad example for America and the world at large.



Over the past several weeks, both the federal and state governments have taken several measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus following the confirmation of the first positive case on Jan. 21.



On Jan. 31, the Trump administration announced that it would deny entry to any foreign national who had visited China in the last 14 days, for which the Chinese government accused Washington of spreading fear by enforcing travel restrictions.



President Donald Trump put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the government's response to the pandemic on Feb. 26.



On March 11, the White House restricted travel from Europe for 30 days in an attempt to fight the coronavirus. And on March 13, the government declared a national emergency to free up $50 billion to combat the virus.



Subsequently on March 18, Trump signed a coronavirus relief package including free testing and paid emergency leave. And on March 27, Trump signed a stimulus package of $2 trillion, one of the most expensive relief measures passed in the history of the U.S. Congress.



While the authorities have taken several measures, arguably one of the most worrying developments is over the lockdown and social distancing issues. To combat the spread of the virus, many states have ordered different restrictions at varying levels of severity.



What has surprised many around the world is the largely perceived law-abiding citizens have taken to the streets and other places in small or large groups to protest the restrictive measures announced by their state administrations. Some protesters, who are mostly Trump's supporters, argue that emergency declarations by Democratic governors violate their constitutional right to assemble.



The unfortunate development is the manner in which the entire situation becomes more of a partisan issue at a time when the United States has surpassed all other countries, including China (at least per official data), in terms of both total infections and deaths.



The Democratic governors have asked the White House to urge citizens to stay at home during the lockdown and maintain social distancing. On the other hand, Trump has directly or indirectly incited or encouraged his supporters to protest the orders of state governments.



Instead of urging them to stay indoors, Trump at a press briefing on April 19 said, "some governors have gone too far" and the protesters were "great people  their life was taken away from them  these people love our country, they want to get back to work."



While the U.S. Constitution grants the states power over public order and safety, the president's opinion and statements from the White House undoubtedly have a strong influence on the American people.



The partisan divide over the coronavirus pandemic was evident when some Republican governors started easing lockdowns in their states in the past several days. For example, on April 21, governors in three southern states  Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina  announced their plans to ease coronavirus lockdowns.



Subsequently, restaurants, hair salons, gyms, bowling alleys and some cinemas were allowed to reopen in Georgia. The Tennessee governor said most of the businesses will be allowed to reopen by May 1. And South Carolina allowed people to return to beaches and also permitted the reopening of non-essential retail businesses.



Though it is entirely up to the states concerned to decide when to relax or reopen their businesses, it is concerning that the issue has become so partisan among politicians and their supporters.



While there is no doubt that the lockdowns are definitely hurting the U.S. economy, it is disheartening to see protesters with Trump 2020 flags, hats and shirts in states ruled by Democratic governors.



As per the BBC News report of April 21, one militia leader in the state of Illinois said, "Reopen my state or we will reopen it ourselves." Such a development is particularly disturbing in a so-called democratic country where there is easy access to arms and ammunitions.



Some Trump supporters believe or hold the view that the pandemic and the wide criticism of his administration's handling of the virus in its early stages, combined with the deteriorating economy could hurt his chances for reelection in November.



This can be construed as one important reason why Trump has put the blame on his predecessor Barack Obama, the Chinese and the World Health Organization for the spread of the deadly virus and its socio-economic impacts on America and its people.



While the lockdown may be as draconian or deadly as the virus itself, the protesters' behavior and the entrenchment of partisan politics are an alarming sign for the future of American democracy and polity.



While the November presidential election is still months away, it is clear that the politics of the coronavirus and its economic impact will affect the election outcome and whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will sit next at the White House.





Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen (nehginpao@gmail.com) is a political scientist, associate professor, assistant dean and executive director at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University.


The Madras High Court on Friday



dismissed a petition seeking to disinter mortal remains of a 55-year-old doctor, who died of COVID19 here, and bury it in another cemetery in the city as per his religious rights and customs.

A division bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and M Nirmal Kumar dismissed the petition by Sathiyanarayanan Selvanthan, a social activist, when it came up for hearing through video conference mode.

The bench in its order said the plea was not maintainable for the reason that a similar request made by the wife of the deceased has been rejected by the state government.

"In the result, the writ petition stands dismissed at the admission stage itself.

However, if the family members of the deceased Medical Practitioner approach this Court by making a challenge to the said rejection order, this court would take a call in the said litigation," it said.

The Chennai corporation authorities had turned down the plea by the wife of the deceased for exhuming his body and burying it in another cemetery, citing health experts' view that it was unsafe to do so.

Earlier, the court took note of the violent protests by a mob against the burial of Simon Hercules, the neurosurgeon, in Kilpauk here and observed that a decent inter was a right under the Constitution and issued notices to the Tamil Nadu government and the DGP.

The doctor had succumbed to COVID -19 on April 19.

The ambulance in which his body was carried was vandalized by some people, who falsely feared that the burial in Kilpauk cemetery may lead to the spread of contagion in that area.

The mob had attacked the corporation health employees and associates of the deceased doctor.

The doctor's wife and son also had to leave the burial ground in view of the violence.

Later, the body was taken to another crematorium and buried amid police security.

Over a dozen men involved allegedly in violence were arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

Referring to the violent protests during the burial of the doctor's body, the petitioner said it was "very distressing" and such acts by certain people amount to obstruction of right for a decent burial.

The petitioner submitted that as per our tradition and culture, dignity should be extended to the dead.

Observing that late Simon Hercules deserved a dignified burial, he alleged that the burial was done at Velangadu crematorium indecently and in a hasty manner.

He further submitted that the morale of the doctors and healthcare workers, who are on the frontline in the fight against COVID19 should never be put down.

Hence, he sought a direction from the court to take necessary steps to ensure the decent burial of Simon Hercules by disinterring his mortal remains from Velangadu crematorium and interring it in Kilpauk cemetery as per his religious rights and customs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In order for our business to survive, we had to keep our fully-trained and trusted staff so that when this crisis is over and our customers return, we can still have the same cleaners they have grown to know and request by name.

Because maid services have slowed down during COVID-19, AllyMaids has worked toward a solution that doesnt involve laying off their employees. The company has found a way to serve its community while maintaining job security by paying its staff to volunteer at LifeLine.

In early March, at the beginning of Americas response to COVID-19, AllyMaids implemented safety protocols in their daily operations. Each team member was required to have their temperature taken before starting their workday, and were provided with face masks, alcohol wipes, hand sanitizer, and gloves. This ensured the safety of both staff and customers. Despite these precautions, AllyMaids experienced over 50% decrease in its business.

We had a moral obligation to our staff, says AllyMaids co-owner, Wayne Bedenbender. We couldnt let them lose the steady income needed to support their families. In order for our business to survive, we had to keep our fully-trained and trusted staff so that when this crisis is over and our customers return, we can still have the same cleaners they have grown to know and request by name.

AllyMaids employees are now assisting with the cleaning of this local Atlanta nonprofit animal shelter. During COVID-19, all three shelter locations managed by LifeLine Animal Project are still open and operational with social distancing strategies in place. Both LifeLine Animal Project and AllyMaids are deemed essential businesses, as the animals still need proper care and clean facilities.

To protect employees and potential adopters, LifeLines strict cleaning protocol was enhanced during the COVID-19 outbreak and extended to public areas. Since LifeLine employees were still busy caring for animals, working with adopters and fosters, and treating animals at the centers low-cost veterinary clinic, AllyMaids employees provided much-needed cleaning assistance.

As an essential business providing janitorial service, we are happy to keep our employees paid while helping a local organization in need, states Ben Blair, co-owner of AllyMaids. While we as a company are not benefitting financially, we are benefiting in this act of service as doing so meets with our companys goal, which is: to survive this uncertain time by keeping our staff happy, safe, engaged, and employed. LifeLine Animal Project is one of our favorite nonprofit organizations, and keeping the facility clean keeps the animals safe. Like it is for humans, a clean living-space is essential for keeping the animals happy & healthy. We plan to continue to assist LifeLine as we are available for the near future. However, we look forward to returning to our customers homes, but we will be busy serving the community in the meantime.

LifeLine is currently taking steps to ensure that all volunteers are practicing safety regulations while keeping the facility clean. Tracy Thompson, the shelters Director, expressed her relief over the help provided by AllyMaids: We are grateful to AllyMaids for stepping up and thrilled they are helping us keep the center clean, sanitized, and open for business, which ultimately helps more animals get adopted into loving homes.

About AllyMaids

AllyMaids, a locally owned and operated company, has provided maid services to the greater Metro Atlanta area since August 1995. Their services include a general cleaning and tidying of all areas in the home, with supplies provided by the company itself. AllyMaids routine cleaning services can be performed on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. To learn more about AllyMaids, visit: https://www.allymaids.com/

About LifeLine Animal Project

A nonprofit founded in 2002, LifeLine Animal Project provides lifesaving solutions to end the euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals in county shelters. LifeLine manages DeKalb and Fulton County Animal Services, where it has increased adoptions by 300 percent, and operates two LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics. LifeLine provides services to over 40,000 animals annually and has performed nearly 140,000 free and low-cost spay/neuter surgeries to date, including 40,000 stray/feral cats through its Community Cat program, Metro Atlantas first and largest trap-neuter-return assistance program. LifeLines community outreach improves the quality of life for animals in the area and helps prevent pet overpopulation. LifeLines Community Animal Center features an adoption center and a full-service, low-cost veterinary clinic to help make pet care accessible to all. For more information, please visit LifeLineAnimal.org or follow LifeLine on Facebook and Twitter.


Politics is a visual art. During a crisis, elected officials can be wrong, reckless or foolish. They can be clowns, bullies or punchlines for late-night comedians. They just cant be absent. They have to be in public view. They cant be in hiding.

Thats good news for Donald Trump, a clown and bully who seems to have a natural gift for being wrong, reckless and foolish on his way to becoming a punchline. And it is bad news for Joe Biden, who appears to have enrolled in the U.S. Federal Witness Protection Program.

Never mind, Waldo. Wheres Joe?

When youre putting on a mask and gloves in order to brave a trip to the grocery store, youre not going to look fondly upon those who are safely tucked away. When you have to ride the New York subway to get to your job, or venture into the dusty fields of Central California to pick melons, youre not going to have a lot of patience for those who play it safe by not showing up for work.

Look, I understand that a 77-year-old former vice president is in the high-risk group for COVID-19. We all want to protect our elderly from a virus that seems to target senior citizens like a heat-seeking missile.

But my parents are 77 and 78, and do you know another way that I protect them? I dont let them run for president.

Trumps daily White House briefings are regular trips to Crazytown. But at least the president boarded the train. A lot of voters will give him credit for being out in front, being decisive, and being on top of the war against the virus.

This may include Latinos, who surely win the prize for the most unlikely group of Trump supporters in America. Latinos represent one of the first groups that Trump ever insulted when he entered politics. In June 2015, when Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower and declared that he was running for president, he jazzed up his base of mostly white voters by telling them that Mexico is not sending their best but instead purging those who are bringing drugs ... bringing crime. What followed was one slight and slap after another intended to put Latinos  Americas largest minority  in their place.

The 2020 Election was supposed to be a chance to get even. Part of the narrative that drove the historic presidential bid of Julian Castro was that the former San Antonio mayor and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development was perfectly cast to play the Latino Avenger. But Castros candidacy never took hold with Latinos, who preferred Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. And when Sanders dropped out of the race, Latinos found themselves saddled with the one 2020 Democratic hopeful that they never warmed up to: Joe Biden.

That was the interesting dynamic during the final innings of the Sanders-Biden matchup: Sanders did well with Latinos, but poorly with African Americans. Biden flipped that.

Its no wonder Latinos dont like Biden. The former vice president never dealt fully and honestly with the fact that he spent eight years as the right hand of President Barack Obama, who divided thousands of families and deported a record number of people  most of them Latino. During the campaign, when a young Latino activist recited that record back to Biden, the Democrat essentially told the kid to buzz off and go vote for Trump.

As you wish. In a national survey by Latino Decisions, just 49 percent of Latino registered voters would cast their ballot for Biden. Another 10 percent say they are undecided but leaning toward backing the former vice president. Only 17 percent say they back Trump, with another 6 percent undecided but leaning toward backing the president. Eighteen percent are flat-out undecided, not leaning either way.

As the dominant issue in this election, COVID-19 has to be a factor. The same poll found that among Latinos  who are getting infected and dying in disproportionate numbers  more than 65 percent have lost their jobs or suffered a significant drop in income as a result of the virus.

The poll also found that 45 percent of Latinos think Trump has done a good job of handling the crisis, and 47 percent believe he provides clear and helpful information.

At first glance, these figures would seem to be nothing to brag about. But, in politics, when someone is carving this deep into a group of voters that the other party sees as a core constituency, strange things can happen.

Like a bunch of previously anti-Trump voters helping to re-elect Trump.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
Across the country, dozens of private schools have applied to the $660 billion assistance effort, formally known as the Paycheck Protection Program. While some smaller schools came up empty in the first round of funding, several schools that received money have large endowments.

Sidwell Friends, which received a $5.2 million loan, has an endowment of roughly $50 million. John Burroughs School near St. Louis, which qualified for a $2.55 million loan, has an endowment of more than $50 million.

The Pingry School, with campuses in Short Hills and Basking Ridge, N.J., and a roughly $80 million endowment, confirmed that it qualified for the program but did not disclose a loan amount. Nor did St. Andrews Episcopal, which indicated in a 2017 tax filing that its endowment was about $9 million.

Ginger Imster, the director of advancement and external affairs at John Burroughs, said on Friday that having been approved and in receipt of the loan, it is our belief that were using the funds as intended.

She said that large portions of the schools investment income was restricted from being used for staff salaries  a concern echoed by some other institutions  and that the loan would also help the school meet the financial aid needs of students.

Until there is a vaccine, this is our new normal, she said. Were doing our level best to make use of the resources available to us, including low-interest loans.

Many of the schools that intend to keep the money argue that they need it to continue paying teachers and staff. Some private schools are the largest employer in their towns.
The Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said efforts will be made to make sure people don't cross the border over the long weekend.

Minister Charlie Flanagan had a phone call last night with the North's Justice Minister, Naomi Long, on the need for co-operation between the gardai and the PSNI.
LOS ANGELESEmily Tokes summarizes her free-wheeling approach to her MyFreeCams shows with two words: Wing It.

As a chatroom we usually decide in which direction my shows go and what I do that night, Tokes explains. Its carefree, fun and silly! You can usually expect some drinking, too

Shes not kidding.

In fact the Canadian model remembers a few occasions when she downed more than a dozen shots of vodka during a single broadcast.

Those were toilet-hugging days! she admits.

A former bartender who is kind of a perfectionist, but who doesnt take herself too seriously, Tokes threw herself a little party with balloons and loot bags on her five-year camiversary this past January.

In this exclusive Q&A for CAMStar accompanied by 12 pages of photography by Keith Ryan, Tokes reveals her favorite activity to do on cam, the kind of weed she likes, her No. 1 video game franchise and her first tattoo, among other things.

Click here for the digital edition.

For a video interview with Emily from her CAMStar photoshoot, click here.

For some bonus questions, see below:

Where were you bartending/waitressing at and for about how long?

I was a bartender at a small privately owned pub for about two years. I loved working there; everyone was a regular and everyone was friendly with one another and I made good money! Unfortunately, there was a change of management and ultimately a change of staff and I found I had to leave and enter the world of chain restaurants which did NOT pay as well. I found myself looking for new options quickly!

How did you hear about MyFreeCams?

An acquaintance mentioned it to me and I figured I could make a few extra bucks! I honestly wish I had done a little bit more research before I hit broadcast for the first time. I kind of just jumped in feet first and have been building my brand ever since!

How long did it take for you to become comfortable talking, performing/getting naked on cam?

When I first started to cam and make clips I tried my best to keep my face out of the picture because I was scared of who would recognize me, but after a month when I decided to make cam modeling my full-time job I thought who cares and havent looked back since!

Why are you sweet, sassy molassey?

Someone said that in my chatroom once and I thought it was very fitting as Im known for having quite the sassy mouth at times.

What were you doing on cam when you got your current highest tip of 100,000 tokens from EfinWanaTokes?



It was October 3rd of 2018; I had just spent about a month-and-a-half off cam so I could pack/move & unpack from an apartment into a house and I was SO nervous to come back to cam thinking what if everyone has forgotten about me?!  Clearly, that wasnt the case!

What is your dick face for 166 tokens?



My dick face tip is a pair of glasses with a penis as the nose! Its hilarious fun and everyone seems to love it! Best two dollars I ever spent.

Whats a show tune or pop song that youve sung on cam before?

Pick ANY Disney song Ive probably yelled it at the top of my lungs.

On your Fun/Goofy Tip Menu, its 125 tokens for a naked stormtrooper dancehow would you describe that dance?

My stormtrooper dance is when I put on my stormtrooper helmet and do a little dance of your choice (Im a Little Teapot, Gangnam Style, The Macarena).

What advice would you give a new cam model trying to establish herself?



STICK TO YOUR GUNS!! My personal number 1 rule. The cammunity is a great place but theres always a couple bad apples trying to take advantage of us. Dont lower your prices! Dont let people cross boundaries for the sake of tokens! Dont be lenient if people blatantly break your rules! YOURE IN CHARGEmake it known!

What are your hobbies or interests outside of camming?



Although I dont consider myself having great skill, I really enjoy video games! Third-person RPGs are what I like to play most. Assassins Creed is my FAVORITE game franchise! I love it so much even my close regulars have sent me Assassins Creed-themed gifts that I hold so dear!



About how many tattoos do you have? What do some of your favorite ones mean to you?

I have a total of 17 tattoossome small, some large. One of my favorite tattoos is an orange moth with eyes on my inner arm. It doesnt really represent anything I just love the way it looks! Another favorite is a pair of Cymbidium orchids on my left shoulder; theyre for my mom (shes still around!)

Shes my favorite person in this world and shes always been my rock, having a little piece of her with me makes getting through tough times a little easier.

Can you tell us about the flying saucer tattoo on your left forearm? What inspired that one?

The flying saucer tattoo was a random flash tattoo drawn out by my tattoo artist (Kieran of Black Dog Tattoo in Orillia, Ontario) that I thought was really neat so I got it.

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

CHEEEEEESE! Some mushrooms, pepperoni & green peppers are welcome as well.

Who is one person youve always wanted to meet and why?



Keanu Reeves for personal reasons

Name three things that you love



CatsI have three! Their names are Wade Wilson, The Indestructible Mushu and Thackery Binx!

PizzaYou can have it so many ways and you cant fuck it up!

Harry Potterno comment needed. Its Harry Potter.

Whats next for you?

When I graduated high school I really had no direction and no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Thankfully I had understanding parents who didnt push me into school when I didnt want to go, and realized it would be a huge waste of their money if they did make me go when I wasnt ready (and like me, they LOVE their money). Now that Ive had time to figure out my passions and wants Im ready for school! LETS GO!

Photography by Keith Ryan
Hundreds of people have shared anecdotes describing the linguistic faux pas they have made or encountered over the years.

A man who said he is still trying to convince his colleague that 'specific' should not be said as 'Pacific' is among those who admitted their embarrassing errors in a hilarious Reddit thread.

An American woman said she spent her early childhood pronouncing Parmesan cheese as 'Farmer John'.

Words deriving from French caused the most confusion, with one grown man saying he used 'touche' - a word which acknowledges a clever point made by one person at another's expense - as an alternative way of saying 'hello' until recently.

An Australian woman said she still cringes about pronouncing the word 'lingerie' as 'linger-y' until she was 19.

Another said her younger sister spent years telling their parents how much she wanted to visit Monaco to watch the 'Grand Pricks' - the Grand Prix, the annual Formula One racing event.

Scroll down for video

Hundreds of people shared anecdotes describing the linguistic faux pas they have made or encountered over the years, including an American woman who she spent her early childhood pronouncing 'Parmesan' as 'Farmer John' cheese (stock image)

'I made 'double entendre' 'double ahnt-ten-dan-dre.' Quite where those extra syllables came from, I don't know,' a woman said.

One man was confused by the term 'lactose intolerant', a digestive condition which reduces the body's ability to break down milk and dairy products, and pronounced it 'lack toast and tolerant'.

'I had no idea what the hell it had to do with dairy until I was corrected,' he said.

His little brother once asked their father what was meant by the term 'reptile dysfunction' - a hilarious mishearing of 'erectile dysfunction'.

A British man confessed to thinking the word 'hyperbole' - which refers to exaggerated statements or claims that should not be taken literally - was the name of a major American sporting event, similar to the Super Bowl, when he heard it first.

Another said his wife still pronounces 'so many things wrong', including 'from the gecko' (instead of 'from the get go'), 'right off the bag' (rather than 'right off the bat') and 'Bleshoo' after someone sneezes, instead of the usual 'Bless you'.

A woman said she mispronounced the word 'bequeathed' - the act of leaving property to someone in your will - for longer than she cared to admit.

'I always said it as 'bequeefed',' she said.

One person had a family friend who was convinced 'ultraviolet lights' were actually 'ultra violent lights' well into adulthood.

A Canadian man who struggled with the concept of 'silent' letters pronounced the word 'subtle' with a strong 'B' until a colleague corrected him.

Another spent years telling people you should 'never kick a gift horse in the mouth'.

The correct adage is to 'never look a gift horse in the mouth', which comes from the practice of evaluating the age of a horse by examining its teeth and means you should never question the value of a gift.

Commonly misspoken phrases Scotch free  the correct expression is 'Scot free'. A 'Scot' is an old English term for a tax. The modern phrase means you got off without paying anything or paying extra for something you should have. You've got another thing coming  the correct phrase is actually 'you've got another think coming'. The original expression is another way of saying, 'if you think that, you're wrong and you'll have to reconsider'. Slight of hand  the correct expression if 'sleight of hand'. Sleight is another word for trickery or cunning. Wet your appetite  this is an incorrect spelling of the phrase 'whet your appetite'. The term 'whet' means to sharpen or define your interest in something, so 'whetting' your appetite indicates an increased desire for food. Sneak peak  another misspelling, this time of the phrase 'sneak peek'. A 'peak' is the top of a mountain while a 'peek' means a quick look. When someone offers you a 'sneak peek', they are giving you a chance to catch a glimpse of something. Peaked my interest  an incorrect spelling of the phrase 'piqued my interest'. The word 'pique' means to arouse, stimulate or excite. To all intensive purposes  the original expression is actually 'to all intents and purposes', meaning to assess things by their outcome irrespective of other plans or goals. Nip it in the butt  the correct phrase is 'nip it in the bud'. When someone says they will 'nip it in the bud', they mean they are going to resolve a problem while it is still small and relatively inconsequential. It is rooted in the gardening practice of preventing a bud developing into a flower. Escape goat  a mishearing of the expression 'a scapegoat', which is someone who is being unfairly punished for the wrongs of others. Advertisement

One woman who grew up in South Carolina in the United States thought the word 'big' was a shortened version of the phrase 'big ole' - a southern slang term which describes something as being exceptionally large - until her late teens.

'Raised in a southern family, I thought 'big' was short for 'big ole', so I thought that I was being smart by pronouncing the full word. Until the end of high school, everything was 'big ole' unless I was feeling lazy,' she said.

'I have no idea how anyone was able to stand it for as long as they did. It was ridiculous.'

An amused man replied, saying: 'I really hope you wrote this on English essays. They probably didn't correct you because it was hilarious.'

Another American said they spent years mistakenly saying 'in this dang age' instead of the phrase 'in this day and age'.

A woman said she grew up believing electrical cables were called 'extension cords' outside the house and 'intension cords' when they were used indoors.

'I was very mad when I found out my parents had led me astray because they thought it was cute,' she said.
The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama says there is no use in naming a running mate to contest with him in the general elections as the nation fights the novel coronavirus.

The conduct of the December 7, 2020 polls remains uncertain given the fact that many of the electoral activities in the build-up to the polls have been put on hold until further notice as a result of the pandemic.

Due to the disease, a ban on public gatherings has been imposed on Ghanaians, thereby making it impossible to conduct the elections and run other political activities in the way it has been done over the years.

Already, the Electoral Commission (EC) has suspended its planned compilation of a new voters' register which was initially scheduled for April 18, 2020 because of COVID-19.

John Maham was elected as flagbearer of the NDC in February 2019. He is yet to name a running mate over a year on despite intense political pressure on him.

During a live Facebook session to interact with the public on Thursday, April 30, the former president indicated that the NDC will announce his partner at the appropriate time.

We are on track. We are not behind time. The party is working assiduously. I have a firm idea who I want my running mate to be and we would name him at the appropriate time. We have timelines that we are working on. We have to build up our national campaign team. We have to name and outdoor our running mate. We have to publish and inaugurate our manifesto. These are all timelines that the party is working on. We are not late at all. The deadline for naming our running mate will be when the Electoral Commission opens nominations somewhere in September and so we do have enough time, he said.

He continued, But in the midst of COVID-19, what is the use of naming a running mate? You cant even outdoor him. The President is encouraging all of us to stay at home and this is not the most opportune time to come out and name your running mate. After Ive done consultation at the appropriate time with the National Executive Committee and the Council of Elders, we will bring the person; the person who will be worthy of being the NDCs running mate and who will a significant contribution to the progress and prosperity of this country.

Rumours of an NDC running mate

In past years, there has been speculation about prominent NDC members being selected as Mahamas running mate.

A number of names have popped up for the position but the party is yet to make an official announcement.

Just a few weeks ago, Mahama, debunked reports suggesting he has selected a running mate for the 2020 general elections.

For this year only, there have been reports making rounds indicating that the former president had selected the Member of Parliament for Asunafo South, Eric Opoku as his running mate.

Late in 2019, rumours had it that Ghana's longest-serving Finance Minister, Professor Kwesi Botchwey had been chosen as a running mate to Mr. Mahama.

Prior to the NDC internal election in 2018, people were speculating that John Mahama has named Dr. Zanetor Rawlings, daughter of former president and NDC founder, Jerry John Rawlings as his running mate to snatch power from the NPP government.

But the spokesperson for John Mahama, James Agyenim Boateng, in a statement copied to citinewsroom.com said the reports are false and has called on Ghanaians to disregard it.

But amidst all these rumours and expectations, the party's National Chairman says the absence of a running mate for the party's flagbearer is not a cause for concern .

The last time the NDC spoke on the issue, Ofosu Ampofo said, In previous elections, we always selected the running mate about six months to the election.

---citinewsroom
Posted on May 1, 2020

We are collaborating with FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, in an effort to identify misinformation and to ensure news consumers get the facts.

The coronavirus pandemic reached the grim milestone of more than 1 million people in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 by late April, as some states slowly began easing rules on businesses and stay-at-home restrictions.

But as protests against state restrictions on businesses increase, a misleading social media post falsely claims some big-box stores  which have been allowed to stay open throughout the pandemic  have reported no cases of the disease among their employees. It questions why smaller businesses are still not allowed to open.

The content of the post, which has been shared widely on Facebook, is wrong on several points.

First, it claims that even with hundreds of thousands of employees, interacting with thousands of customers, at Walmart, Amazon, Kroger (misspelled Kroeger in the post), Target, and Costco (misspelled Cosco in the post), these companies have not had any reported cases in the news.

This is false. There have been news reports about infections and deaths from COVID-19 at stores in these chains throughout the U.S.

Two employees at a Walmart in Chicago died from the disease, according to an April 6 article in the Washington Post. A Walmart in Colorado had eight employees with confirmed cases, including two who died, when it was closed by local authorities on April 24, Bloomberg reported. Four employees at a Walmart in North Las Vegas tested positive, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on April 8.

Video: 23 workers test positive for COVID-19 at Walmart in Massachusetts

Amazon announced on April 14 that one of its employees had died from the disease, Forbes reported. And at least 74 Amazon warehouses had reported infected workers by mid-April, the Washington Post reported.

Employees at Target stores in Illinois and Michigan have tested positive for coronavirus, according to local news outlets.

A Costco employee in Texas died from COVID-19, Fox Business reported on April 10, and two employees at Costco stores in Henderson, Nevada, tested positive, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on March 31.

The viral post also claims that none of these companies have closed stores because of COVID-19  but that is also false. As noted above, a Walmart in Colorado was forced to close by local authorities after multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19. Amazon also shut down a warehouse indefinitely in Kentucky after three workers tested positive in March.

The post then claims that despite the purported lack of closures at the large retail chains, all of a sudden all the meat packing plants are closing and small business are still not allowed to open. None of this makes any sense at all

This characterization is not accurate, either.

Of the nations 2,700 slaughterhouses, 13 meatpacking and food processing plants ceased operations over the past two months after employees tested positive for COVID-19. Some of these closures were temporary to clean facilities and test employees. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on April 28 designating meat processing plants critical infrastructure in order to reopen or keep the facilities operating.

In addition, as some states gradually lift restrictions implemented to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, they have permitted some small businesses to reopen. Its also worth noting that essential small businesses like local grocery stores, hardware stores and daycare centers have been permitted to remain open even during stay-at-home orders.

Editors note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.




Published on 2020/04/30 | Source

Actor Park Hoon successfully managed to transform into the great villain Baek Sang-ho.

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Park Hoon played Baek Sang-ho, chairman of the Han Life Foundation and CEO of the Millennium Hotel in the recently ended SBS drama "Nobody Knows". Although he is an unknown person, it was revealed that Baek Sang-ho was at the center of the sex murder case, revealing his tyranny and facing a disastrous end. He left the most powerful impression among the villains in recent dramas, being undefeated to Kim Seo-hyung and Ryu Deok-hwan.

Park Hoon, who conducted a telephone interview in the aftermath of the COVID-19, said, "Thank you for the compliment. I did my best as I could, but personally, I feel very sorry for my acting", he said. "I regret not being able to express it in more detail. However, I can say proudly that I didn't want to express myself as a typical villain. I wanted to express it as a more three-dimensional character. If I were to be a villain, I'd think I'd have to appear more serious and tone down my voice, but I ruled out anything typical", he said.

As a result, a springy three-dimensional villain was born as if in Hollywood movies. Park Hoon went on to say, "The reason Baek Sang-ho was born was based on a detailed script. I thought it could get more and more eerie because of the character's fall if the truth was later revealed", he said, adding that he wanted to express it like a beast. "I wanted to express a lot of movements. I was able to finish it well thanks to the dedicated help of the staff. A good scene was born by allowing me to do whatever I wanted to do. I started the character Baek Sang-ho, but the completion was done by the staff", he added.

Park Hoon has gained more than 10 kilograms physically for Baek Sang-ho, who is like a beast of prey. He said, "It's for my satisfaction". During "Memories of the Alhambra", he lost a lot of weight to express his haggard appearance and deficiency. "This time, I wanted to feel like an animal. Every time I work, I make a body that suits me. It's not a big deal. It's natural as an actor", he said modestly.

Delicate production, dense scripts and outstanding performances by actors created a well-made drama. The ratings also remained in the 10% range (Nielsen Korea, national standard) and achieved a successful conclusion. Park Hoon said, "I think I can be proud of it as a well-made drama. It maintained a high quality and even had a good ending. In terms of ratings, I am grateful that it received more love than expected. I was worried about the popularity because of its genre characteristics, but much more people liked it. I'm also proud of myself as an actor who appeared in something like that", he said.

Park Hoon, who was recognized early in the performing world, made a splash with KBS2's "Descendants of the Sun" and later successfully led the villain and lead role in "Nobody Knows" after tvN's "Memories of the Alhambra" and SBS's "Haechi". Recently, he also made a surprise appearance on SBS's "The King: Eternal Monarch". He said, "I've been working a lot with famous writers and good directors in popular dramas. I think I'm lucky. It's actually just a process for me. I don't think this is the result. I think the next step is important as to what character I will continue to find new sides and talk about", he said cautiously.

Finally, Park Hoon said, "I hope it would mean anything to those who watched the drama at a serious time, but I'm grateful to the viewers because it seems to have received a lot of love more than I expected", and added, "I'll make sure to find another meaningful work and come back with a better look".

___________

"Nobody Knows" is directed by Lee Jeong-heum, written by Kim Eun-hyang, and features Kim Seo-hyung, Ryu Deok-hwan, Park Hoon, Ahn Ji-ho, Moon Sung-geun, Min Jin-woong. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2020/03/02~2020/04/21, Mon, Tue 21:40 on SBS.
Experts in the United States have warned that the coronavirus pandemic could last as long as two years in a worst-case scenario.

The paper, published on Thursday, said the spread of Covid-19 had created the worst global public health crisis in over 100 years as it warned that the pandemic could continue beyond current forecasts.

Citing how the virus can spread from people who do not present symptoms  or are asymptomatic  the study warns that coronavirus will be harder to control in comparison to past pandemics.

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, who published the report on Thursday, said Americans should expect the pandemic to continue until about two-thirds of the worlds population is immune.

The reports lead author, CIDRAP director Michael Osterholm, told MSNBC News on Thursday that the US would see many more infections before a possible second wave hits.

Theres no question were going to see many many more infections, said Osterholm. Today probably five to fifteen per cent of the United States  depending on where youre at  have been infected by this virus, and thats not very many considering what weve been through.

Echoing the reports conclusions, the CIDRAP director said that transmission of the virus between Americans would not stop until almost 70 per cent of the population had contracted the disease.

Osterholm, who made reference to the contested concept of herd-immunity, added on Thursday that it was not clear not clear how the US would get to that point.

As governments around the world assess how to end lockdown measures in the coming weeks and months, two scenarios presented in the CIDRAP study suggested that social distancing would need to continue.

Two possible scenarios based on past pandemics suggest that Covid-19 will continue to spread in either a series of small waves of infection, or one larger wave later this year that would likely overwhelm health services.

The report added that The occurrence of these waves may vary geographically and may depend on what mitigation measures are in place and how they are eased.

In the long term, the report recommended that authorities needed to prepare for the worst case scenario whilst continuing to develop messaging and mitigation measures whilst sourcing protection equipment for healthcare workers.

President Donald Trump, who has supported demonstrations against his own social distancing guidelines, said last month that herd-immunity was a "catastrophic" idea.

"If you remember, they were looking at that concept - I guess it's a concept if you don't mind death, a lot of death - but they were looking at that in the UK, remember," Trump said.

This week the number of confirmed cases of the virus in the US passed the one million mark, with more than 60,000 deaths.
Press Release

May 1, 2020 Sen. Nancy Binay's

LABOR DAY STATEMENT

Bracing for the New Normal On Labor Day, we pay a grand tribute to all our frontliners for their unwavering service and sacrifice. We say thank you and salute all of you. As we continue to fight and go through this pandemic, every breadwinner painfully deals with the prospects of being out of work. In the coming weeks, few businesses would be allowed to operate, some still hanging by a thread, while many will be clinging to hope. The new normal will have an impact on the most vulnerable, disrupt the labor market and disengage millions more from the informal sector without means to continue with their livelihood. The shift to the "new normal" will determine which industries could get back to work. Uncertainty may grip the labor sector, but it is critical that that we in government--together with movers in the private sector--support the Filipino workforce as they face new challenges in this trying time. We must be enablers, not disablers, who will strengthen our workers' competitive edge. We, in Senate, are ready to help temporarily displaced Filipino workers by issuing measures to supplement government's existing funds, and help open windows for jobs and investments. We urge the Department of Labor and Employment to continue and improve its programs for displaced workers; its emergency fund for OFWs; and its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) for those in the informal sector. Tulungan natin ang mga nasa impormal na sektor dahil sila ang saligan ng muling pagbangon ng ekonomiya. We commend industry leaders and entrepreneurs who are willing to create and provide jobs to those who have been displaced here and abroad. Captains of industry and entrepreneurs who understand our workers and give hope to those who are dispossessed, abandoned and vulnerable; and we salute the private corporations for their big hearts especially to employers who continue to help and keep their employees during this emergency. Together, we will get through this. We shall overcome. MABUHAY ANG MANGGAGAWANG PILIPINO.
Putting an end to speculations, smartphone manufacturer Samsung has confirmed its plans of releasing Galaxy Note 20 series and Galaxy Fold 2 in the second half of 2020. The company has said that release would happen as planned and it will not be hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, it was being speculated that the two phones by Samsung will be launched in August 2020 but the new report states that the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Fold 2 will arrive in the second half of the year.

"We are preparing our new Note as well as the foldable launch as scheduled and we are looking forward to providing the market with even a more competitive product," Jong-min Lee, Electronics director, Samsung was quoted by 91Mobiles as saying. The next-gen Galaxy phones are touted to release with a host of new features including the 5G support and upgraded chipsets.

So let us have a look at the speculated specifications and prices of Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 specifications and price

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 will be the third foldable device by Samsung. As per the new leaks, the Galaxy Fold 2 will flaunt the same design as its predecessor but will be slightly bigger than the Galaxy Fold. The phone will feature a 7.59-inch screen with 2213x1689 resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. However, in terms of weight, the Galaxy Fold 2 will be 15% lighter than its elder sibling. It will weight around 229 grams while the Fold is slightly clunky at 263 grams.

There have been new claims about its camera. Tipster Ross Young claimed the phone will feature a triple camera setup on the rear. The camera island would comprise of 64-megapixel primary sensor along with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and another 12-megapixel lens -- which could be a telephoto lens.

Interestingly, despite the bigger screen and advanced features, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 will be $100 cheaper than the predecessor, which could mean that the phone will be priced around Rs 1, 42,000 in India. The phone will also not come with support for the S-Pen contrary to previous claims.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series specifications

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is rumored to feature a 6.9 punch-hole Dynamic AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. The phone will be powered by Snapdragon 865+/ Exynos 992 SoCs. The phone might feature a triple-camera setup on the rear which could comprise of a 108-megapixel camera along with a 48 megapixel and a 12-megapixel camera. It might feature a 40-megapixel front camera.
LONDON  To some, Thomas Harvey may have come across as macho. But for those who knew him best, it was his quirks and idiosyncrasies that stood out.

Like the fact that he used to build miniature trucks or liked electronic music, as well as reggae. Or else, it was that time he turned up to a party wearing a kilt.

"Id never ever in my lifetime seen a black man wear a kilt to a party," his sister, Sonia, told NBC News by phone. "When I saw him, I said, 'Bloody hell, it could only be Tommy.'"

That was the thing about Harvey. He could light up a room.

Always the first up dancing and cracking jokes. And in quieter moments, the person to whom his family felt they could turn  a ready ear for whoever might need it.

On March 29, Harvey, 57, a health care assistant at Goodmayes Hospital in London, died at home after having suffered from coronavirus-related symptoms for 18 days. He left behind his wife, Marcia, a care worker at a home for the elderly, and seven children, ages 11 to 32.

Harveys family said they called the emergency services three times over the course of his worsening illness, but he was never taken to a hospital or officially tested despite being told by paramedics that he likely had the disease.

As he neared the end, his 19-year-old daughter, Tamira, said she could hear him downstairs, from her bedroom upstairs, as he struggled to breathe. On the day he died, his family had to kick, punch and stab their way through the door of the bathroom where he had collapsed.

Behind the news last month that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was released from a London hospital where he was treated for coronavirus  and where, he says, his time in intensive care saved his life  are the stories of those who didnt make it.

Some say their loved ones died because the country wasnt locked down soon enough, which allowed the infection to spread more widely  the decision on timing having been made by Johnsons government.

Story continues

From a lack of testing to shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers, Harveys daughter, like thousands of others bereaved by the coronavirus, said her family was frustrated by the British governments apparent lack of preparedness.

As of Thursday 901,905 tests for coronavirus have been carried out in the U.K., according to U.K. government figures, with 171,253 people found positive.

Britains government pledged to undertake 100,000 tests per day by the end of April but it was touch and go Friday whether the target would be met. The government has come under criticism for a slow and patchy rollout of tests, citing huge international demand for materials such as swabs and chemical reagents.

"Given that finite capacity, weve had to prioritize," the health minister, Matt Hancock, said in a report published in April. "My overriding goal is to protect life and I stand by that decision."

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Currently, tests are mostly being given to hospitalized patients suspected of having the virus, as well as front-line health and social care workers and their families and other essential workers, according to the government.

As of Thursday 48 regional testing sites, 21 satellite testing sites and 50 mobile testing units were also in operation across the country. But thousands of ordinary people with corona-like symptoms are frustrated at not being able to establish definitively whether or not they carry the virus.

A month after his death, Harveys family had yet to receive his death certificate, however, Tamira said the coroner had told the family he had died of COVID-19.

This week, the government announced a scheme to financially compensate families of those who die from the coronavirus in the course of front-line work, with each to receive a payment of around 60,000 pounds ($74,600).

So far 85 NHS staff and 23 care worker deaths have been reported in England, as of Wednesday, according to the government, which this week said the country had overcome the peak of the crisis.

"Nothing can make up for the tragic loss of a loved one during this pandemic. We owe a huge debt to those who die in service to our nation and are doing everything we can to protect them," Hancock said in a statement.

The grim U.K. coronavirus death toll breached 26,700 people Thursday. Figures included for the first time this week those who died while hospitalized and elsewhere such as in nursing homes.

The latest figures make Britain's death toll among the highest in Europe.

Other European capitals are beginning to ease social restrictions, with countries such as Germany thought to owe a relatively low death toll to massive national testing programs.

Image: Level 1 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, in London. (Dylan Martinez / Reuters file)

Those perhaps most at risk in Britain, as elsewhere, are front-line workers.

In the weeks before his death, Tamira said, Harvey was concerned about the quality of his PPE at the hospital where he worked, in the northeast of the city.

"He more so expressed that to my mother, so that we wouldnt worry," Tamira said referring to herself and her siblings. "But he did just say that everything was sort of flimsy and not intact, low-quality plastic aprons.  Everything just wasnt up to standard in a sense."

A spokesperson for the North East London NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital where Harvey worked, said it was following national PPE guidelines and that at the time he went off sick, there were no symptomatic patients in the ward.

"Thomas was a longstanding dedicated member of our intermediate care team. This is a huge loss to both NELFT and the wider NHS," the trusts chief executive, Oliver Shanley, said in a statement, referring to Britains beloved National Health Service.

Tamira said her family was frustrated with the government for not being prepared and not having enough protective equipment for those on the front line.

"Were not only pushing for our dad but were pushing for everybody else who is still on the front line, and essential workers within society," she said.

The apparent lack of protective equipment has also become a source of concern for the public, with the British Medical Association, which represents doctors, warning last month that NHS staff had reported dangerously low levels of PPE, putting medics and patients increasingly in harms way. Meanwhile, some hospital workers protested Tuesday against inadequate PPE supplies.

A spokesperson for Britain's Department of Health and Social care told NBC News it was "working around the clock" to support health and social care workers with the equipment they needed to tackle the virus. Last week, it also announced a plan to widen testing to include the families of essential workers in England, who are showing coronavirus symptoms.

"Since the start of the outbreak, weve delivered over 1 billion pieces of PPE to the frontline and have published clear guidance setting out the safest levels of PPE to protect healthcare workers in different settings, in line with WHO advice," a spokesperson for the department said by email, referring to the World Health Organization.

"We are working hard to increase testing capacity and have now tested over 170,000 essential workers or members of their household."

IMage: Barbara Wells

Away from hospitals, Britains nursing homes have long felt underfunded and overlooked; and the pandemic appears to have only exacerbated this sense of neglect.

"I am bitter," said Elys Poppy, who lost her 96-year-old grandmother, Barbara Wells, to suspected coronavirus on April 13. "I think the elderly are taking the brunt force and my personal opinion would be that, yeah, the government thinks thats fine."

Her grandmother was one of 17 residents of the Stanley Park Care Home in northeast England to die after displaying symptoms of the virus since the outbreak began, making it one of the worst-affected care facilities in the country.

Few residents have been officially tested for the virus, according to the care home, leaving grieving families with unanswered questions. The government has recently promised to test social care workers and residents in care homes, whether or not they show symptoms of COVID-19.

"Its absolutely crazy. No one could get tested," Poppy said. "In fact, Grandma still hasn't been tested. On her death certificate is suspected Covid-19 because the government arent doing anything with them  they are forgotten."

Poppys anger is not directed at the staff, whom she hails as "angels" for the love they showed her grandmother in her final hours, but rather at the Conservative lawmakers whom she accuses of abandoning the vulnerable residents and those  often on the lowest wages  who look after them.

"They are completely second class as far as the government is concerned," she said, criticizing the lack of PPE offered to front-line carers.

"The NHS workers, they're getting a lot of press at the moment and thats excellent and Im chuffed to bits for them. But what the government have to realize is that care workers are equally as important. I'm sure they feel second class, but not in my eyes."

Other families bereaved by COVID-19 also feel frustrated at both the governmental and the public response to the pandemic.

Neil Hames 75-year-old father, Walter, known as Wally, died of the coronavirus March 22 in a hospital in Birmingham, one of the U.K.s largest cities.

Watching his father from a distance rushed into an ambulance, struggling to breathe, Hames didn't know it would be the last time he'd ever see him.

Hames, 48, said he was angry at the "slow" implementation of lockdown measures by the government and at those still recklessly defying the bans.

"This virus doesn't transport itself," he said. "It's moved by people, and these people are making horrendous decisions to go and socialize."

He said that while he had been a Johnson supporter, he now believed the government had wasted critical time in shutting down the country.

"If we went into lockdown quickly, people didn't need to die," he said as he cried on the phone. "I do think the government got this wrong and it probably has cost my dad his life."

Hames said he hoped Johnsons personal battle with the virus would "open his eyes" to the urgency of getting the right equipment, from ventilators to masks, to those who need it the most.

Meanwhile, questions about whether his father would have survived had he been taken to the hospital sooner play on his mind.

Following national guidelines, Walter Hames called emergency health hotlines on multiple occasions, his son said, each time being advised to stay home and told he would not be tested, as the tests were primarily reserved for those admitted to hospital.

After several days, his breathing deteriorated and he was rushed to the emergency room, dying two hours after arrival  and one day before his wifes birthday.

NHS England said they could not comment but a spokesperson for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said the trust had launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the care provided to him.

"We would like to pass on our deepest condolences to his family at such a sad time," the service added.

Hames attended his fathers funeral, with only six people allowed. He traveled in a car separate from his mother and sister, and they were forced to stand apart at the cremation  in keeping with social distancing rules to limit the transmission of the virus.

"I can't even give my mum a hug. I have to stand and keep my distance," Hames said the day before the funeral. "It's the most horrendous of situations."

The niggling question  what if  is familiar to Harveys daughter, Tamira, as well.

She said part of her felt that the National Health Service  the organization under whose umbrella her father worked for 20 years  had let him down to some extent.

"I understand the workload theyre currently facing, but in a sense, I feel his death could have been prevented," she said.

The first time paramedics came to the house March 22, Tamira said, they diagnosed her father with the virus but did not test him and told the family to self-isolate at home.

The second time the family called, on March 26, she said they were told to follow guidelines on the health service website.

The third time they called March 29, the paramedics who arrived and tried to save her fathers life instead pronounced him dead.

The London Ambulance Service confirmed they had sent a crew to an address in Shoreditch on March 22 and then again March 29, the latter in response to reports that the same patient was in cardiac arrest.

They said they did not have a record of another call, on March 26, but were checking other triaging systems to try and track it.

"Sadly, despite the best efforts of our staff, the patient died at the scene," a spokesperson for the service said of the March 29 call.

"One of the paramedics came upstairs and I remember the exact words, Ill never forget," Tamira recalled.

"He said, 'the virus has got him and were going to have to stop.'"
Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli on Friday hit out at his political opponents for creating instability when the country was tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

Reports of conflict within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (CPN) have surfaced in the local media.

CPN chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar are reportedly exerting pressure on Oli to vacate the prime minister's post, amidst China's efforts to patch up the differences.

In his address to the nation on International Labour Day, Oli said, "Some media and people are attempting to drag the country back to instability and backwardness when we are fighting the coronavirus outbreak."



He said Nepal had made progress in recent years due to the sacrifices and struggles of the people guided by strong ideology.

"Stability, peace and prosperity have alarmed some media houses and they are doing everything to foil the success," said Oli, who is the co-chairperson of the CPN.

Oli warned that efforts to create instability would not be tolerated by the government and the CPN.

The CPN's standing committee members have urged the two chairpersons -- Dahal and Oli -- to review the government's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Republica newspaper reported.

Factions led by Oli and Dahal have started signature campaigns among lawmakers in the party to show their strength in the parliamentary party, the daily reported quoting high-level party sources.

Chief Minister of Gandaki Pradesh and NCP standing committee member Prithvi Subba Gurung, in an interview to a private channel, said the party may split if 'unnecessary' pressure is exerted on Oli.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has been holding discussions with top CPN leaders, including former prime ministers, even as the political dispute intensifies.

China, which has been investing heavily in Nepal in recent years, is said to be playing an active role in ensuring that infighting will not destabilise the communist government.

Hou met the CPN's foreign department chief Madhav and Dahal at their respective residences in Kathmandu on Friday morning.

Hou and Madhav discussed different aspects of the close relation between the two countries, according to a source.

The Chinese envoy earlier met Prachanda for about an hour. She also met Oli a couple of days ago.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The fiancee of the UK's prime minister, Boris Johnson, has given birth to a baby boy. According to the statement released by Johnson and Carrie Symonds, they had a healthy baby boy at a London hospital.

Johnson, 55, and Symonds, 32, welcomed a baby boy on Wednesday morning, declared by a spokesperson for the "thrilled" couple.

Johnson is then set for an unusually busy few months as he returned to office.

Symonds tweeted her support for the amazing National Health Service (NHS) workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was her first statement since giving birth to the baby boy.

The woman engaged to Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote, "Clapping again for our tremendous carers tonight and wishing hero @captaintommoore. A very happy birthday. I also have another wonderful reason to thank the NHS this week too. Thank you so, so much!"

Symonds is a regular user on Twitter who often shares messages and pictures but is yet to share a picture or an update of the newborn.

The newborn son is yet to be named.

A third of punters are betting that the engaged couple will name their baby boy after the prime minster's political idol Winston Churchill.

The latest odds after the announcement reveal that 33 percent of bets placed so far are in favor of Winston on 20/1.

A spokeswoman for Johnson and his partner remarked that both the mother and her baby are "doing very well."

Also Read: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Has Recovered from COVID-19

The PM, newly-recovered from the novel coronavirus, was present throughout Symonds' birth at an NHS hospital in London.

He now has 6 children -- 3 girls and 3 boys following the birth of his son.

Upon the innocent son's birth, he unknowingly now has a membership at a very exclusive club. The baby boy is only the third baby born to a serving prime minister in recent memory.

Downing Street has released a photograph of Prime Minister Johnson beaming on his return to Number 10 after the arrival of his child.

"The PM and Ms. Symonds would like to thank the fantastic NHS maternity team," the couple's spokeswoman remarked.

The announcement arrived as speculation heightened as to whether the newborn's father will be going to take prime minister's questions on Wednesday.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will take the session facing Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, at the dispatch box for the consecutive week.

British political figures congratulated the couple following the emergence of the news.

"Great to hear Downing Street is getting a new resident," Chancellor Rishi Sunak wrote on Twitter.

Also, the Queen immediately congratulated the happy couple, sending them a private message.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted the same day to honor the birth of the pair's first child and revealed that he and his wife had inadvertently left behind a gift for the newborn child.

Downing Street declined to release information on whether the baby was born prematurely and did not provide details of the little boy's location of birth, weight, timing, and nature.

Johnson and Symonds declared in March that they were anticipating a baby in "early summer" and that they had become engaged in late 2019.

Related Article: Boris Johnson Stable in ICU: What COVID-19 Drug is Used to Treat Him?

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The U.K. government invited DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis to attend a meeting of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) on March 18, around the time officials were considering a lockdown.

DeepMind is an artificial intelligence (AI) lab that was acquired by Google in 2014 for a reported 400 million ($500 million). Today it sits under parent company Alphabet and is a sister company to Google.

Hassabis was invited to the Sage meeting by Patrick Vallance, who is also the government's chief scientific advisor. His attendance, reported by The Guardian, has got people asking questions. Namely, what was the leader of an American-owned AI firm doing at a top-secret government meeting on the coronavirus?

Sage provides guidance to the Cabinet Office during emergencies. It relies on external science advice and on advice from expert groups. But the group's largely secretive cohort, which includes the prime minister's chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, is being probed amid concerns that the government got Britain's response to the pandemic wrong while insisting it is following the "best science."

Hassabis, who founded DeepMind in 2010 with childhood friend Mustafa Suleyman and New Zealand scientist Shane Legg, is a polymath and widely regarded as one of the brightest minds in Britain.

A former child chess prodigy, Hassabis took his school exams two years ahead of everyone else. He went on to take his advanced-level math exam when he was 15, followed by tests in further math, physics and chemistry when he was 16. He had to defer his place at the University of Cambridge because he was too young to attend. On his gap year, he co-created the video game "Theme Park," before going on to take up his place at Cambridge, where he was awarded a double first class degree in computer science.

It's not hard to see why those behind Sage might want to hear his thoughts about how the U.K. should move forward. CNBC understands that Hassabis used his time at the meeting to analyze the publicly available international data from countries ahead of the U.K. on the pandemic curve, such as Italy.
[May 01, 2020] FCA Dealers Embrace Online Retailing Experience

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than one-third of FCA U.S. dealers now using Online Retailing Experience (ORE) to sell vehicles

More than 90 percent of U.S. dealer network has implemented web-based tools to sell cars and trucks

Online tools generating about 20 percent of new sales leads More than one-third of FCA U.S. dealers and all of the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, FIAT and Alfa Romeo brand websites are now giving consumers the option to shop and purchase new vehicles in the comfort of their own homes through the Online Retailing Experience (ORE).

ORE  launched a month ago  has been implemented by 1,000 dealers stretching from Maine to California. Based on the quick adoption of ORE, more than 90% of the FCA U.S. dealer network now uses web-based tools to sell cars and trucks via the Internet.

"We accelerated the introduction of ORE to help our dealers who were hampered by state mandates to shut down their new vehicle sales operations and showrooms amid the COVID-19 outbreak," U.S. Head of Sales Jeff Kommor said. "The response has been phenomenal. Dealers are reaching new consumers while developing a different set of customer-relations skills since many of the transactions are now being completed in a customer's driveway rather than showroom."

Kommor estimates about 20 percent of new sales leads now come from online retailing compared with about 1 percent a year earlier.

"ORE and other third-party applications have proven to be robust, reliable and trustworthy," Kommor said. "It has been a journey, but we have finally reached that point where customers and dealers alike have embraced buying and selling vehicles through cyberspace."

FCA developed ORE as a one-stop platform to help dealers handle the entire purchase process from trade-in to final signatures. ORE is accessible through the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT and Alfa Romeo websites, participating dealer sites and a variety of social media applications. Customers simply click on the link to begin the process.

How it works: Customers select a make and model from a brand website.

Once a choice is made, the transaction seamlessly moves to the corresponding dealership offering the selection. Different features allow customers to determine trade-in value for their older vehicle, financing and incentive availability.

Customers are provided a total cost which is also broken into monthly payment estimates.

The credit application, title, loan and all other paperwork is completed online using e-signature technology.

The new vehicle is delivered and the trade-in is taken away.





"We recently sold a new Jeep to a woman who lives 65 miles away from the dealership," said Garrett Guest , vice president of South Oak Jeep Dodge Chrysler Ram based in Matteson, Illinois . "We are connecting with our customer base that is engaged and excited about buying online."

Kommor added that he expects the number of participating dealers to continue to grow over the next few months.



"We are only at the beginning of what can be accomplished with ORE," Kommor said.

About FCA US LLC

FCA US LLC is a North American automaker based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It designs, manufactures, and sells or distributes vehicles under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT and Alfa Romeo brands, as well as the SRT performance designation. The Company also distributes Mopar and Alfa Romeo parts and accessories. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler Corp., established in 1925 by industry visionary Walter P. Chrysler and Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (F.I.A.T.), founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli. FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA).

FCA is an international automotive group listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."

Follow FCA US news and video on:

Company blog: blog.fcanorthamerica.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter (Spanish): www.twitter.com/fcausespanol

YouTube: www.youtube.com/fcanorthamerica

Media website: media.fcanorthamerica.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fca-dealers-embrace-online-retailing-experience-301050975.html SOURCE FCA US LLC

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Shell has cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War in a 'devastating' blow to savers with pensions and other investments.

The energy supermajor will slash its first-quarter payout by two-thirds to 12.6p per share after the coronavirus crisis triggered a slump in oil prices.

It will hand shareholders 934million, down from 2.9billion in the same period of 2019. The company raised fears this could become the norm after it said the 'prudent' move was part of a plan to 'reset' the dividend.

Shell will slash its first-quarter payout by two-thirds to 12.6p per share after the coronavirus crisis triggered a slump in oil prices

Last year Shell was the most generous dividend payer in the UK, handing pension funds and investors 11.6billion.

That amounted to 15.5 per cent of all payments made by FTSE 100 firms.

If all four of its quarterly payouts were cut by 66 per cent this year, investors would lose out on a whopping 8billion compared with 2019.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said it had been 'quite a monumental decision' for him to introduce the first cut to the 'iconic' dividend since 1945.

But he said it reflects the fact that the company has 'no idea really what could happen' in the coming months.

Shares fell 11.4 per cent, or 165p, to 1286.4p after the announcement.

The unexpected cut flies in the face of the 'never sell Shell' adage taught to generations of stockbrokers.

And it suggests the company is preparing for the oil price slump to be a lot worse than it previously expected.

Shell has already announced plans to cut costs by 8billion this year. Profits at the Anglo-Dutch group almost halved to 2.3billion between January and March  down from 4.3billion a year ago  though it was not as bad as analysts feared.

Earnings from its oil production and exploration arm fell 82 per cent in the quarter.

And it has cut activity at its refining business by up to 40 per cent as demand for oil has plunged.

Oil companies are in crisis as governments all over the world have brought in lockdown measures that have disrupted transport and industry, grounding planes, taking cars off the road and closing factories.

Brent crude hit a 21-year low last week and is now trading at around $24 a barrel, down from almost $70 at the start of this year.

Many pension funds, stock market-linked savings accounts and investment trusts all over the world invest in Shell. Earlier this year, van Beurden said lowering the dividend is 'not a good lever to pull if you want to be a world-class investment case'.

The decision means the company has ruled out using debt to pay the dividend.

But it flies in the face of predictions by analysts that Shell would not need to cut the dividend in the first quarter.

Goldman Sachs had predicted it would be safe for at least a year, while others had expected it to come under more scrutiny in the second quarter.

But Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'Shell's actions will affect so many people who are trying to earn a good return on their hard-earned savings.'

JP Morgan analyst Christyan Malek said: 'The 66 per cent dividend cut is a necessary evil to reinforce Shell's capital frame and position it for the offence on the energy transition.'
Global equity markets posted strong gains during April with the strongest monthly advance on record despite a retreat on Thursday.

Stronger risk appetite has been a key ingredient in triggering Australian dollar gains with the AUD/USD exchange rate strengthening to highs above 0.6550.

AUD/USD has, however, registered a sharp setback on Friday with Australian dollar/US dollar just below 0.6450 as changes in risk appetite have dominated currency markets.

Euro/Australian dollar has rallied to 1-week highs above 1.7000 with Sterling/Australian dollar also at 1-week highs near 1.9500.

US-China war of words undermines risk appetite

The portents for risk appetite are potentially less encouraging, especially given geo-political tensions, and equity markets have retreated sharply on Friday.

One particular concerns will be the threat of a new trade spat between the US and China.

President Trump and the US Administration have increased its rhetoric against China, effectively blaming China for the coronavirus outbreak.

In comments on Thursday, President Trump that the trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus outbreak and also threatened to impose fresh tariffs on China.

There has inevitably been an angry response from China with the ratcheting of verbal attacks undermining increasing diplomatic strains.

There has also been floating an idea that Chinese holdings of treasury debt could be cancelled. This is liable to be rejected quickly, but there will still be damage to confidence.

There will also be major concerns that tensions between the two sides will undermine trade and further undermine the global economic recovery.

Marc-Andre Fongern, head of research at MAF Global Forex, commented; The global economy is currently experiencing an unprecedented recession, while bilateral relations between China and the U.S. may deteriorate significantly again within the coming months. A potential ''COVID-19 trade war'' would be a toxic cocktail.

The Chinese yuan weakened to a 1-month low on Friday which will also unsettle risk conditions.

Marshall Gittler, Head of Investment Research at BDSwiss Group commented; China does control its currency and has been known to use it as a signal. A move like this outside its recent trading range may well be such a signal. If sustained, it bodes ill for other emerging market currencies, which often take their cue from China. Weaker emerging currencies would also tend to be negative for the Australian dollar.

Defensive demand for the US dollar has faded amid recovery hopes, but a resumption of trade wars would tend to trigger renewed defensive demand for the US dollar and hurt the Australian dollar.

Derek Halpenny, head of research at MUFG commented; Given the scale of the COVID-19 impact there is certainly a high risk of geopolitical tensions escalating considerably as lockdowns reverse. This would clearly be another hit to global trade that would add a layer of dollar support going forward.

Economy remains under threat despite coronavirus success

The Australian government has had significant success in containing the coronavirus outbreak. The country has already started to relax restrictions and the next review has been brought forward to May 8th from May 11th due to confidence in a decisive flattening of the coronavirus outbreak.

There are still important risks to the outlook given global stresses.

The Australian AIG manufacturing index declined to a 28-year low of 35.8 for April from 53.7 previously. Orders declined sharply while input prices increased sharply.

If the global economy fails to secure a significant recovery, the Australian economy and currency will remain vulnerable.

TD Securities are bullish on the Australian dollar over the medium term; but are cautious at current levels; We prefer to buy in a [AUD/USD] washout towards 0.62.

ING likes the Australian dollar in a recovery phase, but here will inevitably be setbacks. That story may occasionally be challenged, however, should the US retaliate against China over the virus. The White House is discouraging US investment in Chinese equities & looking at more sanctions.
Hundreds of foreign firms are actively procuring components taking advantage of regulation gaps, according to a study.

Hundreds of foreign companies are actively procuring components for India and Pakistans nuclear programmes, taking advantage of gaps in the global regulation of the industry, according to a report by a US-based research group.

Using open-source data, the nonprofit Centre For Advance Defense Studies (C4ADS) report provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of networks supplying the rivals, in a region regarded as one of the worlds most dangerous nuclear flashpoints.

India and Pakistan are taking advantage of gaps in global non-proliferation regimes and export controls to get what they need, said Jack Margolin, a C4ADS analyst and co-author of the report.

It is seldom possible to determine whether individual transactions are illegal by using publicly available data, Margolin said, and the report does not suggest that companies mentioned broke national or international laws or regulations.

But past reports by the think-tank, whose financial backers include the Carnegie Corporation and the Wyss Foundation, have often led to action by law enforcement agencies.

Indias AGNI -V missile is capable of delivering nuclear weapons [File: Harish Tyagi/EPA]

The offices of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan did not respond to requests for comment.

Pakistans military, which plays a major role in decision-making for the nuclear weapons programme, also declined to comment.

To identify companies involved, C4ADS analysed more than 125 million records of public trade and tender data and documents, and then checked them against already-identified entities listed by export control authorities in the United States and Japan.

Pakistan, which is subject to strict international export controls on its programme, has 113 suspected foreign suppliers listed by the US and Japan. But the C4ADS report found an additional 46, many in shipment hubs like Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

In Pakistans case, they have a lot more stringent controls, and they get around these by using transnational networks  and exploiting opaque jurisdictions, Margolin said.

The father of Pakistans atomic bomb, AQ Khan, admitted in 2004 to selling nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya. He was pardoned a day later by Pakistani authorities, which have refused requests from international investigators to question him.

India has a waiver that allows it to buy nuclear technology from international markets. The Indian government allows inspection of some nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but not all of them.

A Pakistani-made Shaheen-III missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, loaded on a trailer rolls down during a military parade to mark Pakistans Republic Day in Islamabad [File: Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]

Neither India nor Pakistan has signed the international Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, adhered to by most nuclear powers. Consequently, they are not obliged to submit to IAEA oversight over all of their facilities.

C4ADS identified 222 companies that did business with the nuclear facilities in India that had no IAEA oversight. Of these, 86 companies did business with more than one such nuclear facility in India.

Its evidence that more needs to be done, and that there needs to be a more sophisticated approach taken to India, Margolin said. Just because the product is not explicitly bound for a military facility, that doesnt mean that the due diligence process ends there.

India and Pakistan have gone to war three times  twice over the disputed Kashmir region  since they won independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Having for years secretly developed nuclear weapons capability, the two declared themselves nuclear powers following tit-for-tat atomic tests in 1998.

A few years later, in 2002, the two foes almost went to war for a fourth time, following an attack by Pakistan-based armed groups on the Parliament in New Delhi. And a year ago, a suicide attack by a Pakistan-based armed group in Indian-administered Kashmir sparked another flare-up in tensions.

Both countries are estimated to have about 150 useable nuclear warheads apiece, according to the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit group tracking stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
The Congress in Goa on Friday



appealed Governor Satya Pal Malik to intervene after two ministers in the Pramod Sawant-led government traded accusations of corruption.

State Congress chief Girish Chodankar said the governor should seek explanation from the chief minister about recent statements of Deputy CM Manohar Ajgaonkar and minister Michel Lobo.

Lobo accused Ajgaonkar of shielding illegalities, while the latter alleged that all the 40 MLAs in the Goa Assembly were corrupt.

Chodankar said the governor should send relevant videos and media reports to the President and exercise his Constitutional powers to dismiss the BJP-led state government.

"The Congress Party had time and again brought to the chief minister's notice various cases of gross corruption by ministers," he said.

"The governor is the Constitutional head of the state and the administration is run by the chief minister and his cabinet. The utterances of the two cabinet ministers have brought disrepute to the Constitutional position of the Governor," the Congress leader said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Untimely rains accompanied by gusty



winds on Friday in Pune in Maharashtra dismantled a mobile transmission tower on top of a building while a hoarding fell to the ground near a hospital, officials said.

While the mobile tower was erected atop a building in Mangalwar Peth, the hoarding fell near Sancheti Hospital on JM Road, blocking traffic for some time, an official said.

"Both incidents were attended to by Pune Municipal Corporation staff and the situation normalized," he said.

Fire brigade officials said there were calls about trees getting uprooted due to the wind and rains.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(CNN)  The World Health Organization said it still considers the coronavirus pandemic a public health emergency of international concern, WHO's highest level of alarm for the world.

"Covid-19 pandemic is not finished," committee member Dr. Didier Houssin said during a media briefing on Friday.

Houssin added that there is still much to learn about the transmission of the coronavirus.Currently, there is no vaccine nor licensed therapeutics for the treatment of Covid-19.

Assessing the response: On Thursday, WHO reconvened the committee of independent international experts to assess the state of the coronavirus pandemic and review WHO's recommendations on how to respond.

Officials said the committee would meet again in 90 days, or sooner, if needed.

Additionally, earlier today, WHO confirmed to CNN that it has not been involved in China's investigations of the origins of the novel coronavirus  but it "would be keen" to participate in such studies.
A mother who took her 11-year-old son to a Greek island because she thought he would be at less risk of catching coronavirus has become embroiled in a legal battle with her estranged husband.

The boy's father has asked judges in Greece and London to order his return to England.

He says the boy was wrongly taken from London to Paros without his permission.

Detail of the dispute emerged on Friday in a ruling published by a judge overseeing family court litigation in London.

A legal battle is underway after a mother took her 11-year-old son to Paros, Greece (pictured) without the permission of her estranged husband to reduce the risk of catching coronavirus

Mr Justice Mostyn, who oversaw a recent private hearing, said the man and woman are both Greek but had lived in London for more than two years.

The judge said the family could not be identified in media reports of the case.

He has adjourned the London litigation and says a judge in Greece should hear evidence from the woman and make decisions.

The woman left London with the boy on March 20, three days before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown, and travelled to her mother's home on Paros, Mr Justice Mostyn said in his ruling.

'She did so in the belief that she and (the boy) would be much safer from the virus there,' he said.

'That may well have been a valid view, it being common knowledge that by virtue of pre-emptive action, Greece has a much lower rate of infection and mortality than this country.

'However that does not justify in the slightest what was a wrongful removal of (the boy) from the place of his habitual residence and, more importantly, from his father.'

The woman had emailed her estranged husband's lawyers to explain why she left, Mr Justice Mostyn said.

'I do not intend to stay in Greece permanently,' she had said. 'The main reason that I have come to Greece is that I am very afraid of the coronavirus and I want to do whatever I can to keep (my son and me) safe from it.

'The small Greek island where my mother lives, where (we) are now staying with her, is naturally isolated from the mainland and has its own medical facilities.

She made the trip with her son to Paros, where her mother resides, three days before lockdown was initiated by Boris Johnson in the UK and now Greece is under strict restrictions

'It is absolutely safe for until now there were zero incidents of coronavirus contamination.

'I believe that it is a much safer place to be for us... given the numbers of people (who are) affected and die in London on a daily basis.

'I do not know exactly when we will return, but that is because the whole situation is moving so quickly and no-one knows what things will be like in two weeks let alone a month.

'When I arrived in Greece it was not in complete lockdown, since we got here they have closed the borders and travelling is banned completely and I don't think that I could even return now to England if I wanted to - which I do not at this time as I believe staying in Greece gives (my son) a much better chance in this pandemic.'
New Delhi: A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that all those who have been stranded in other states will be brought back, the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar shared a link for students stuck due to coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown.

The students can click on the link and fill details about themselves and a mode of transport will be arranged for the person to drop them to their given address.

The DM in his tweet said: Dear Students, Upon the directions of UP government, GBN administration is making efforts to enable home movement of stranded students. Pl click on link below n fill the form https://tinyurl.com/GBN-Student-Migration. You will be contacted soon via email/SMS."

Dear Students Upon the directions of UP government, GBN administration is making efforts to enable home movement of stranded students Pl click on link below n fill the formhttps://t.co/InTwcSx65v You will be contacted soon via email/SMS  DM G.B. Nagar (@dmgbnagar) April 30, 2020

On Thursday, CM Adityanath had appealed to those stranded in other states to be patient and not start walking towards their homes. "Maintain the patience that you have shown till now. A detailed plan is being prepared after contacting the concerned states to ensure that everyone returns to their homes safely," he had said.

He had further ordered officials to keep quarantine centres, shelter homes and community kitchens ready for about six lakh people. An official spokesman said the UP government has written letters to several states seeking detailed data on migrant labourers and workers of UP along with their names, mobile numbers and addresses as well as medical reports.

Earlier the state government had brought back 11,500 students from Rajasthan's Kota and ensured that 15,000 students from Prayagraj return safely to their homes in different districts of the state, the spokesman informed.
Shinhan Financial Group Chief Sustainability Officer Park Sung-hyun





By Park Jae-hyuk







Shinhan Bank aims to become the nation's first commercial bank to join the Equator Principles Association within the second half of this year, as part of efforts to fight climate change, according the chief sustainability officer of Shinhan Financial Group.







Park Sung-hyun, who also serves as the group's chief strategy officer, told The Korea Times that the banking unit will reduce its investment in the coal industry and adopt the risk management framework of other financial institutions for determining, assessing and managing environmental risks in project finance.







Shinhan Bank announced in May 2019 it kicked off procedures for the voluntary guidelines to fulfill the social responsibility of financial institutions.







Park confirmed the bank has continued its efforts, despite difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic.







"We will enhance our climate-related risk management system, reviewing the impact of large-scale development projects on the environment and society," he said. "We will manage the financial impact of climate change, so we expect our investments in the coal industry will decline gradually."







The executive has directed Shinhan's management regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors since December last year when the banking group declared the principles to counteract climate change.







Back then, Shinhan appointed the group chief sustainability officer and executives who would play the role in each of its subsidiaries.







Unlike other financial holding companies that ordered their PR departments to take charge of ESG strategies, Shinhan assigned the duty to its strategy department.







"This indicates sustainable management is one of important pillars of our group's strategy," Park said. "Given that our strategy department directs the group's overall businesses, direct communications are available when the group pursues sustainable management."







Amid the growing concerns over the impact of climate change on the financial sector, the executive noted Shinhan has made efforts for the "climate finance," which refers to financial institutions' lending, investments and products that can contribute to the transformation into the low-carbon economy.







"During the first quarter of 2020, our group newly handled eco-friendly lending and investments collectively worth 449.4 billion won ($366 million)," he said. "After we became the first Korean financial group to support the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in 2018, we've analyzed how the climate change scenarios will affect our group's portfolio."







According to the chief sustainability officer, such efforts helped Shinhan continue its sustainable management amid the COVID-19 pandemic.







"We have explained our achievements in ESG strategies to asset management companies, rating agencies and international organizations via teleconferences, monitoring the global trends in ESG," he said. "We also started disclosing our performances in ESG from our first-quarter regulatory filing to satisfy the needs of our investors."


Mr. Wheeler said that bottom-line concerns remain at the fore of residents minds.

Being upstate, I think everyone wants to open and get back to business, he said. Some of that impact has been mitigated by several large employers who have been deemed essential  including Corning plants in the Southern Tier  but he said small businesses and farms have been hard-hit, especially dairies, because milk prices have plummeted. I dont think its going to be a short recovery, he said.

Further west, in Erie County, home to Buffalo, the impact of the outbreak has been more acute, with the rising death toll now exceeding 200. The local economy has been dented by the temporary closure of plants by two big employers  General Motors and Ford  and other businesses, which has intensified stress on low-income families.

You combine the sickness with the crisis of poverty we have in Buffalo, and thats made it that much worse, said Assemblyman Sean Ryan, a Democrat, adding many of the jobs in Erie County pay less than $15 an hour. So you have very little cushion.

More affluent towns, of course, are also suffering. In Lake Placid, the home of two Winter Olympics and a mecca for winter sports, there are almost no cases. Its county, Essex County, has had only 28 confirmed cases, according to the state, and no deaths. But Lake Placid has also come to a standstill, with many hotels closed and the Adirondack Mountains largely devoid of visitors.

Even so, residents here seemed in no hurry to reopen.

Im for the restrictions. We dont need to get this thing spreading around here, said Julie Blair, an employee of Critters, an animal-themed gift shop on Main Street. Were dependent on a lot of people around the state, dependent on people from pretty much all over the world.

In Herkimer County, after bracing for the worst, some store owners say it's time for Albany to loosen its grip, particularly as many large retailers have remained open and they remain closed.

Ive even seen cars with floor covering sticking out the back coming from Lowes, noted David Teachout, owner of Johns Floorcovering. Wal-Mart sells clothes, but our small boutiques cant open.
New Delhi, May 1 : Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi on Friday highlighted the plight of migrants due to continued lockdown as they greeted labourers on May Day, also called Labour Day, and said workers are the backbone of the nation, if they stopped India will come to a standstill.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Greetings to crores of sisters and brothers on labour day. This country has been build on your struggle and bravery. We salute and support you at this time of crisis." Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi also tweeted: "Lakhs of labourers have to migrate as crores of them are in crisis. The labourrs are backbone of this country if they stop the country will stop. Please help them." The Congress also highlighted the plight of the migrants who are stuck in different part of the country and wants to go home. The party urged the government to start plying trains immediately. The MHA has allowed interstate movement of migrants on April 29.

The party has been criticising the Prime Minister on the way the plight of the migrants have been handled by the government. The CWC has also in its resolutions highlighted the issue on April 23.
The first batch of migrant workers stuck due to the lockdown have left southern Indian city of Hyderabad for the eastern state of Jharkhand days after the government allowed their return, local media reported.

Millions of rural migrant workers lost their jobs after factories and businesses were shut in the wake of the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.

The lockdown, scheduled to end on May 3, was on Friday extended for two more weeks with considerable restrictions in low-risk districts.

The central government said on Wednesday migrants as well as others including stranded students and tourists, would be allowed to board specially designated interstate buses if they do not exhibit coronavirus symptoms.

A one-off special train was run today from Lingampalli (Hyderabad) to Hatia (Jharkhand) on request of the Telangana Government & as per the directions of Union Railway Ministry. pic.twitter.com/9YptotxcbV  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

It has also allowed some shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming to resume.

In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs asked all states to designate nodal authorities and develop standard protocols for receiving and sending such stranded people.

The special train carrying 1,200 people left Lingampally railway station at 4.30am local time for Hatia station in the Jharkhand capital, Ranchi, the NDTV website reported.

Each train compartment will accommodate only 54 people instead of the usual capacity of 72 to maintain social distancing. Each passenger was screened for coronavirus symptoms before being allowed to board the train.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday instructed officials in his state to receive the workers and facilitate their movement to their respective districts.

Soren also tweeted saying two special trains will bring back students from Jharkhand from Kota city in the western state of Rajasthan on Friday.

NDTV reported that a train carrying about 1,000 workers will leave the southern state of Kerala later on Friday for the eastern city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha state.

Many migrants, penniless and hungry, had walked hundreds of miles from cities to their villages after the lockdown was imposed in late March, while others were stranded in makeshift camps in cities after all interstate public transport was cancelled.

India has registered another daily high in coronavirus cases, with nearly 2,000 recorded in the past 24 hours.

The countrys Ministry of Health said on Friday the 1,993 new cases and 73 more deaths brought the countrys total to 35,043, including 1,147 deaths.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Modi earlier this week, chief ministers of at least six states had pitched for an extension in the nationwide restrictions.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at a news conference in Annapolis, Md. on April 20, 2020, with his wife, Yumi Hogan (R), where the governor announced Maryland has received a shipment from a South Korean company to boost the state's ability to conduct tests for COVID-19 by 500,000. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

Maryland Governor Orders National Guard to Protect 500,000 CCP Virus Tests

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday that hundreds of thousands of CCP virus tests that were bought from South Korea are being protected by the states National Guard in an unnamed location.

We spent about 22 days and nights dealing with this whole transaction with Korea. We dealt with the Korean Embassy, folks at the State Department  and our scientists on both sides trying to, you know, figure out these tests, Hogan told the Washington Post on Thursday. And then at the last moment, I think 24 hours before, we got the sign-off from the FDA and Border and Customs, to try to make sure that we landed this plane safely, he continued, referring to the Food and Drug Administration.

He noted that the federal government seized about 3 million N95 masks that were purchased by the state of Massachusetts in March. Thats why, Hogan asserted, Maryland took extra steps to secure the states order of 500,000 testing kits.

That was so important to us that we wanted to make sure that plane took off from Korea safely, landed here in America safely and that we guarded that cargo from whoever might interfere with us getting that to our folks that need it, he said in the interview.

Customers wear face masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus as they line up to enter a Costco in Wheaton, Maryland, on April 16, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Elaborating further, the governor said state officials landed at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport rather than Dulles Airport, adding that this was an enormously valuable payload. It was like Fort Knox to us, because its going to save the lives of thousands of our citizens.

When he was asked by the Washington Post interviewer about whether the National Guard is deployed to protect the tests, Hogan replied: They are.

The National Guard and the State Police are both guarding these tests at an undisclosed location. These things are being distributed; theyre helping us distribute the tests, he said.

His comments come as the FDA on Friday approved the states use of the 500,000 South Korean-made CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus tets.

The FDAs chief scientist gave the emergency approval to the South Korean firm LabGenomics Co in a letter Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

Spokesman Mike Ricci said Thursday that Maryland was increasing its supply of such materials. He said the state was set to receive about 34,000 swabs from a national stockpile and had an adequate supply of reagent, a mixture used for chemical analysis in the testing.

He added that LabGenomics was given preliminary approval to use the tests last week and some have been since been deployed to high-priority hot spots including nursing homes, drive-thru sites, and a testing site for poultry plant workers in Salisbury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A cemetery holding the victims of the 1993 Ahmici massacre in Bosnia, an atrocity that pushed Graham Bamford to take his own life - Haris Badzic/ Anadolu Agency

A British man who set himself on fire to protest Western inaction over war crimes in Bosnia should be honoured with a statue in Sarajevo, campaigners have said.

Graham Bamford died on April 29, 1993 after pouring petrol over himself and flicking a cigarette lighter on Parliament Square while MPs were debating Bosnia in the House of Commons.

The father of one from Macclesfield, who was 48 when he died, had no connection to the Balkans but had become increasingly agitated by television reports first from Croatia and then from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He wrote in a note found after his death: The British people must stop the war in Bosnia, using force if necessary. The British army must not only be a guardian of honor at mass funerals. Bosnian babies, children and women are patiently waiting for the politicians to do what they should do  provide military protection. They must not stand aside and observe.

The Bosnian sculptor Mustafa Skopljak created a statue to Mr Bamford eight years ago, but authorities have never granted a location to place the monument. It is currently stored in Sarajevos Academy of Arts.

Now, the Canadian Institute for Research of Genocide has called on Bosnian authorities to find a public place for the sculpture.

Isnt the way he appealed for helping Bosnia during the war enough for countrys political, academic and other leaders to recognise this man as a hero, the officials of the Institute wrote in an open letter published in media in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Graham Bamford, the man, we will never forget you and your humanity, the letter went on.

The City of Sarajevo in 2009 established an annual award for humanity named after Graham Bamford. He is the subject of a documentary by the Croatian director Nenad Puhovski called Graham and I - A True Story."

Bamford is believed to have become particularly depressed after seeing reports about a massacre of Muslim civilians by Bosnian Croat forces two weeks before he killed himself.

Story continues

At least 116 people, including children and a three month old baby, were killed in the village of Ahmici in central Bosnia on April 16, 1993.

Graphic images from the site filmed by an ITN team travelling with the British peacekeeping troops who discovered the massacre were broadcast around the world, and the site was later visited by representatives of the UN Security Council.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was formed the following month.

Colonel Bob Stewart, who led the unit that discovered the massacre, said: "As soon as I got back I spoke to my second in command and we felt the world ought to know what we had witnessed that day. We felt it was incumbent on us. "

"We were fully aware that the images were graphic. A lot of good came from that broadcast. But what do I say when I find out someone was impacted by that? I really regret that."
Allowing e-commerce companies to sell all items, including non-essential items like laptops and refrigerators, in orange and green zones will provide relief to people and help millions of small and medium businesses and traders to jump-start their businesses amid the lockdown, industry executives said.

Traders' body CAIT, however, argued that e-commerce companies were misinterpreting MHA guidelines and "twisting (them) in their favour to misguide the various state governments and authorities and to create unnecessary confusion".

The government has now extended the lockdown till May 17 with a ban on air travel, trains and inter-state road transport. It, however, gave some relaxations for various business activities and people's movement within areas with limited or no COVID-19 cases. Under the latest rules, e-commerce activities in red zones are permitted only for essential goods during the third phase of lockdown.

"We welcome the government's decision to allow e-commerce in orange and green zones to serve people safely with products that they need and have not been able to access due to the lockdown. Millions of small and medium businesses and traders will now be able to jump-start their businesses and livelihoods across their workforce," an Amazon India spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the company will focus on maintaining the "sanctity of the new guidelines around the red zones".

The company urged the government to consider the positive role e-commerce can play to get customers all priority products they need in the red zones as well, enabling a stronger economic support for the small businesses while prioritising safety.

However, traders' body CAIT argued that e-commerce companies were misinterpreting MHA guidelines.

"It is unfortunate that the e-commerce companies have become habitual offenders in misinterpreting MHA guidelines and twisting it in their favour to misguide the various state governments and authorities and to create unnecessary confusion," the Confederation of All India Traders Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said.

He added that while it is quite clear that e-commerce will be allowed to operate in red zones for essential goods, there is no mention of allowing e-commerce to deliver non-essentials in orange or green zones.

"Therefore, the sinister campaign of certain e-commerce companies for allowing them to deal in non-essential commodities is ill-founded and not withstand with the guidelines of MHA. The intention of the government is very clear to allow e-commerce to deliver essential goods only and nowhere in the guidelines, there is any provision which allows them to deliver non-essential commodities in other zones," he said.

The latest rules allow all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential.

All major urban centres, including Delhi and Mumbai, have been identified as 'red zones' or areas with large numbers of cases and, therefore, not much relaxations would be applicable to them beyond already permitted ones for those involved in essential services.

Under the first phase of the nationwide lockdown between March 24 and April 14, the government had only allowed delivery of essential goods through e-commerce platforms. On April 16, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued fresh guidelines for the current lockdown, allowing e-commerce deliveries and movement of trucks, followed by some states such as Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan also issuing similar notifications.

However, on April 19, the home ministry issued an order saying the following clause -- "E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" -- is excluded from the guidelines issued. This meant that online commerce companies could only deliver essential items.

E-commerce companies as well as industry bodies like Nasscom and IAMAI had been requesting the government to expand the list of essential items.

"The government has taken an insightful decision by opening e-commerce deliveries of non-essential items in green and orange zones," Paytm Mall Senior Vice-President Srinivas Mothey said.

He said customers have been eagerly waiting for some relief in lockdown guidelines to buy products like air conditioners, refrigerators and even summer clothing. People are also keen on purchasing items like laptops, mobile phones, computer hardware and stationery to continue work and study from home.

"This move will give a major relief to citizens... Paytm Mall's offline merchant and shopkeeper base will now be able to get back to running their businesses and safely sell to their customers maintaining all lockdown and social distancing norms," Mothey said.

A Snapdeal spokesperson said the announcement by the home ministry paves the way for a "calibrated" resumption of various economic activities, including e-commerce, in various parts of the country.

"This will help start a gradual process of economic recovery by enabling lakhs of sellers and MSMEs to cater to the demand of users through online and offline channels. At Snapdeal, we are ready and committed to play our role in enabling India to exit this lockdown safely and efficiently," the spokesperson said.

Earlier in the day, the Union health ministry listed 130 districts in the country in red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone.

This classification of districts is to be followed by states and Union territories till May 10 and then will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier if required. Major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been designated as red zones in the new classification.

Districts that are neither defined as a red or green zone, would be considered as an orange zone.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Chinese diplomat was reporting with some satisfaction on his countrys action in containing the Wuhan outbreak. My diary records our meeting as being on February 6, early in the crisis. Yes, thats fine as it goes, I remember saying, but there is the question of how it all started. And beyond a full accounting for its early management, Chinas role is clear: it must close every last remnant of the trade in wild animal meat.

A wet market in Macau, China. Live animals, including wildlife, are often sold in such markets. Credit:Getty Images

Wet markets are a misnomer. It's the wild meats that are the most likely villain. Getting to the origins and early management of the crisis  and insisting that Beijing enforce bans on wild meat in every last county and city  is an entirely legitimate goal of Australian diplomacy. But every diplomatic goal presents us a spectrum of means to advance it. Once again we have settled on the clumsiest and find ourselves out in front of every Western country.

Once again we look like diplomatic amateurs with only one international personality: not a roaring lion, but a puppy rolling over to have our tummy tickled by our great ally, after being sent yapping around the yard to return with the rubber bone.
We are six weeks into our stay home and stay safe routines. Many of us have adapted with a compassionate understanding of the many complexities of our coronavirus situation. State legislators, along with the governor, continue to monitor this situation daily. We continually contact many affected organizations  hospitals, nursing homes, Departments of Labor, Banking and others.

Heres what we know and what we are discussing at the state level regarding the health and economic impact of this virus.

Public health

Our local hospitals planned well and have handled patient hospitalization needs. Stay home and stay safe has slowed the spread of the virus, and kept our hospitals from being overwhelmed. More and better information and testing for the virus is becoming available. For those infected with the virus, we know the vast majority have mild to moderate cases and are able to fully recover at home.

Key medical tests/treatments are now in development and include: a predictable test to diagnose the virus within minutes; an antibody test that may help determine potential immunity; and an antiviral treatment for those ill with the virus.

Data that helps determine who is most vulnerable to die from coronavirus is critical. Were learning the most vulnerable are those aged 80 and over, those with obesity/diabetes, and those living in nursing homes. Fifty-six percent of all coronavirus deaths occur in nursing homes. For those under 50 who get sick, they likely wont die. Relevant data is essential as we consider reopening our state economy.

With knowledge of who is most vulnerable, we can forge a common-sense plan to get people back to work. In the words of a constituent, The state should gather and publish all causes of hospitalization and death, along with those associated with coronavirus, so that we can see a risk comparison. We live with risks on a daily basis. Weve done so before Covid-19, and we will need to do so after this current out-break.

Our economy

Im hearing from many people that it is time to open up our states economy. Just since March 13, 392,000 workers filed for unemployment claims, the equivalent of two years of claims. In 2008, job losses were felt most among upper-income workers. Today, most unemployed are minimum wage workers who have little savings and yet greater emotional stress.

With a job, people have a purpose and a confidence that they can take care of themselves and their families. And, with an extended shut down, many small business owners may be forced out of business permanently, despite the Federal Paycheck Protection Program. We cannot dismiss the emotional and mental health impact of sequestering everyone without a reasonable and definitive date on when to go back to work. Its essential we find a rational balance between health and economy.

In response to these concerns, Gov. Ned Lamont formed the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Board. This highly qualified group will consider both economic and public health policies as they create recommendations to reopen our states economy. The reopening, for example, may be made in stages and by industry. As I hear from you and from others, I will provide more detail over the coming weeks.

Loss of tax revenue from the shutdown is estimated at $500 million to $1.5 billion for FY 20. This loss of revenue requires significant spending cuts, coupled with the Rainy Day Fund. To balance our budget, we simply cannot follow the path of more tax increases in a state that is already so deeply in debt. The longer we stay in lockdown, the bigger the fiscal hole.

Yet, we find ourselves with a rare opportunity  to finally set our state on a path of sustained fiscal prudence  that most of us practice at home and in our small businesses. Out of this crisis, we will discover new thinking regarding how we will work together to meet the great challenges facing us all.

In closing

Our community has great can-do spirit. We offer help to one another and, when able, volunteer with time, talent or treasure. Together, we must remain vigilant, focus on getting the facts and keep a pragmatic perspective  because working together works.

I close with words from an email I received, Soap and Hope  Stay positive and keep a sense of humor  we all have the power to do this. Together we can and we will!

Please let me know your thoughts and perspective at terrie.wood@cga.ct.gov and FB @Terrie Wood.

State Rep. Terrie Wood represents the 141st District, which includes parts of Norwalk and Darien.
Canada Day has been cancelled, or at least the many City of Toronto events where Torontonians normally celebrate the July 1 holiday have.

The announcement Friday marks the citys first major COVID-19 cancellation for July. Other summer event cancellations, including the Pride parade and Caribbean Carnival, have been made by private organizers, and more expected to come.

Based on the recommendations of the medical officer of health, to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, the City of Toronto will join other municipalities across Canada in celebrating a national virtual Canada Day on July 1, 2020, the City said in a news release.

Cancelled events include:

Fireworks at Ashbridges Bay, Centennial Park, Milliken Park, Stan Wadlow Park and Weston Lions Park

Canada Day celebrations on Mel Lastman Square

Scarboroughs annual Canada Day event

Centennial Park Canada Day Celebration

East York Canada Day parade and festival.

Ontario and Toronto leaders are working on co-ordinated plans to ease a lockdown on gatherings and businesses in place since March, when each declared a state of emergency to deal with the growing pandemic crisis.

Mayor John Tory has said that, if Torontonians continue to stay home as much as possible and the rate of new COVID-19 infections continues to slow, rules on business closures and physical distance could start to relax as early as late May.

Regardless, Toronto appears set to have a mostly eventless summer like no other.

I would like nothing more than to celebrate Canada Day as we usually do, with friends and family and enjoying our neighbourhoods together, but we just cant this year, out of caution and an overriding concern for public health, Tory said.

I look forward to celebrating with Toronto residents virtually on July 1, but, even more, I look forward to the day when we can safely resume our celebrations in person.

Infection fears earlier prompted Toronto to scrap City recreation programs until the end of June. Tory said no decision has been made about July and August classes and camps. He has asked City staff to see if there is a way they could proceed with physical distancing, possibly with fewer participants or more instructors.

One of the few bright spots in the civic shutdown is the opportunity to get roadwork done faster on mostly empty roads, Tory said, adding the city will do many projects simultaneously as possible.

Work is planned for more than 550 streets across Toronto, including resurfacing 147 local roads. Sewers will be upgraded on more than 100 streets to protect basements from flooding. A list of major projects is on the City website.

At the same briefing Dr. Eileen de Villa, Torontos public health chief, told reporters that her office mistakenly failed to trace the contacts of 52 people who tested positive for COVID-19 between March 31 and April 6.

All 52 people knew they were infected and isolated themselves, so nobody else was infected because of the oversight, said de Villa, who added people with whom they had contact are being notified and she is ensuring the mistake wont happen again.

Among all the summer cancellations, a question mark hangs over one big Toronto tradition: the Canadian National Exhibition. No decision has been made yet about the fate of the CNE, said chair, John Kiru.

Directors of the late-August event, held since 1879 with a pause only for The Second World War, are set to consider the question Thursday. Staff will brief them on issues including vendor contracts and border issues for those who come from abroad.

We still have some heavy lifting, but well be making a decision soon, based on the best available advice, Kiru said Friday.

The CNEs equivalents in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton have all been cancelled over COVID-19 concerns.

David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in 20 days amid rumours about his health, state media said.

The Korean Central News Agency said that he attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertiliser factory in Suncheon, near the capital Pyongyang, with other senior officials including his sister Kim Yo Jong.
Stewart expressed grave concern about the possible growth in property tax delinquency rates indicated by these numbers  a trend aggravated by the significant weakening of the Vancouver labour market once the COVID-19 outbreak took hold.

The only way we can stay afloat is with the help of the federal and provincial governments, Stewart told CTV News. Otherwise, local governments will be forced to take drastic measures that will hurt residents and businesses and significantly slow any post-pandemic economic recovery.

A report to Vancouver City Council estimated that the citys funds could lose anywhere from $61 million, should the economy restart by May 31, to $189 million, if social distancing policies last until the end of the year.

Stewarts own predictions point to a grimmer outcome, however.

If 25% of home owners do end up defaulting on their property taxes, we could shed up to an additional $325 million in revenues, Stewart said. Losing more than half-a-billion dollars in operating funds in 2020 would devastate the City's financial position, forcing us to liquefy assets and exhaust every reserve fund we have  just to avoid insolvency.
TDT| Manama

Bahrain yesterday strongly condemned Israeli plan to annex the West Bank or parts of it to the Israeli entity as a flagrant violation of the UN resolutions and principles of international law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in announcing a deal to form a unity government, has said cabinet discussions will start on July 1 on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and annexing the areas Jordan Valley outright.

Palestinians have expressed outrage at Israels plans to cement its hold further on land it seized in the 1967 Middle East war, territory they are seeking for a state. In an extraordinary session of the Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani called the move a violation of all agreements signed between the Palestinian brothers and Israel. The minister, during the video conference hosted by Oman, affirmed the Kingdoms steadfast stance towards the Palestinian issue saying, Israeli plan threatens international peace and security and endangers the region. He said a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East region can only be achieved with the complete withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab lands.

The minister called on the international community to shoulder their full responsibilities towards Israels arrogance and release Palestinian prisoners in Israel prisons. He also stressed Bahrains support of the measures taken by the Palestinian government to combat the pandemic. The meeting was held at the request of Palestine to discuss the steps and procedures the Arab countries could take to counter the Israeli plan to annex the West Bank. The Council of the League of Arab States, in a statement, said the Israeli plan to de facto annexe parts of the occupied West Bank as a new war crime against Palestinians and flagrant violations of the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations and international law. Implementing such plans represents a new war crime added to the Israeli record full of brutal crimes against the Palestinian people, the Arab foreign ministers said in a statement after their emergency meeting, which was held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit accused Israel of taking advantage of the global preoccupation with confronting the coronavirus epidemic to impose a new reality on the ground. This step, if taken, would eliminate the possibility of embodying an independent, sovereign, geographically connected and viable Palestinian state. This step, if completed, would end the two-state solution, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said during the meeting. Netanyahu said on April 26 that the United States would give Israel the nod within two months to move ahead with de facto annexation of parts of the occupied lands.
An Indian-origin man has pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a commercial centre in the city of Leicester in central England and will be sentenced for the crime at a hearing in June.

Parvinder Singh, 28, admitted "arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered" when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court last week following the blaze at the Belgrave Commercial Centre in January 2019.

Businesses were destroyed in the fire leaving owners, staff and the community devastated, Leicestershire Police said.

"This was a devastating incident for residents, business owners and workers in the community. Businesses were completely destroyed and it is extremely fortunate that there were no injuries in the fire. Lives could have been lost on that night because of the actions of one man," said Detective Constable Gemma Allen from the force.

"I am pleased that a guilty plea has been entered and hope this helps those affected by Singh's actions as they continue to rebuild from the devastation that was caused that night, she said.

Singh, from the city of Nottingham in central England, was remanded into custody after entering the guilty plea on April 24 and will be sentenced on June 12.

Police had been called to the fire just after 10 pm on January 6 last year, where the fire service were also in attendance tackling the blaze.

Initial enquiries involving police and fire investigators quickly determined that the fire had been started deliberately and an investigation was launched.

"While people were inside premises affected at the time of the fire being started, fortunately no-one was injured in the incident, Leicestershire Police said.

Witnesses were spoken to in the area, CCTV was analysed and public appeals were made.

CCTV obtained showed a man with a bag on some crates in the area prior to the fire.

The man was then seen to crouch over before standing up and walking off noticing a flame coming from where he had been as he left.

The fire was then seen to ignite on the CCTV as the man left the area.

The image of the suspect was issued in a public appeal and through leaflets which were handed out in the area asking for information.

The enquiries led to Singh being identified as the man in the CCTV and work was then carried out to locate the defendant leading to his arrest in October last year, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The outgoing mayor of Gallup has asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to put the city on lockdown to help stem the tide of rising coronavirus infection rates.

In a letter sent Thursday to the governor, Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney said the spread of COVID-19 has already caused many deaths in the area and stretched the citys medical facilities and resources to their capacity.

Our community is unable to adequately address the outbreak without the imposition of certain restrictions necessary to regulate social distancing, public gatherings, sales of goods and the use of public streets, McKinney wrote.

He also requested support from state law enforcement agencies, the New Mexico National Guard and the state Department of Transportation in enforcing any order issued by the governor.

Lujan Grisham told a Thursday news conference that she is still evaluating the request but suggested she plans to issue the emergency order.

It seems to me that those localities are looking at ways for us to be more assertive in restricting access into those communities, the governor said in response to a question.

She also said that relaxed business restrictions scheduled to take effect Friday in most parts of the state will not be enacted in the states northwestern corner.

Weve got areas in the state that just arent ready for that relaxing, Lujan Grisham said.

Under the state Riot Control Act, local leaders, including mayors and sheriffs, can ask the governor to proclaim a state of emergency in an affected area.

If the governor decides to do so, she can issue a proclamation either banning people from being in public streets and parks, or limiting how many people can be in such settings.

Other actions allowed under the law include prohibiting the sale of alcohol, closing certain streets or highways and banning the possession of guns or other weapons outside personal residences.

Any such emergency proclamations issued by the governor under the law last for three days, but a new order can be issued upon their expiration.

Gallup is the seat of McKinley County, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, with 1,027 confirmed cases and 19 deaths, as of Thursday.

That means more than 1 out of every 100 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19, based on 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Meanwhile, Gallup is also near the Navajo Nation, and some tribal members drive long distances to buy essential supplies in the city and in other nearby towns.

Already, roughly 50 New Mexico National Guard members were deployed to Gallup this month to help grocery stores enforce state social distancing guidelines, which include only allowing 20% of a stores maximum capacity to be inside at any time.

State Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, recently said some individuals have flouted instructions to keep distance between themselves and others.

He also called for more restrictive measures, saying, We need to be locked down  people are not listening.

Gallups mayor made the request on his last day in office. Mayor-elect Louis Bonaguidi was sworn into office Thursday afternoon and officially takes over as mayor Friday.
The federal government is considering the option of home-care treatment for COVID-19 patients as some states are running out of bed spaces, an official has said.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday.

Mr Ihekweazu said the country has about 3,500-bed spaces identified as available for COVID-19 patients.

He, however, said more bed spaces will be needed as the number of COVID-19 cases increases in the country

"Concerning the availability of bed spaces for the management of patients, there is no doubt that we are struggling in certain places especially in Lagos State, and to an extent Kano and Abuja. But the biggest challenge right now is in Lagos where bed spaces are really tight.

"Across the country we have about 3,500 bed spaces identified as available for coronavirus but in Lagos, we are already struggling.

"So, we are going to work with them to keep trying to make more spaces available," he said.

As of April 30, a total of 1,728 persons have been confirmed to have COVID-19 in Nigeria. Although 307 persons have been successfully treated and discharged, 51 deaths have been recorded.

Nigeria's COVID-19 cases have increased rapidly in the past week with the country recording its highest daily figure (196) on Wednesday.

New strategy

The NCDC boss said there are considerations of home treatment in certain circumstances.

"But ultimately, we might have to change that strategy a little bit and start considering homecare in certain circumstances where - firstly you are able to provide a room where a patient can be managed sufficiently and secondly, we are able to support the care by enabling healthcare workers to come there.

"We will always be honest with Nigerians. We are struggling at the moment and we might have to adapt our strategies because of the realities we face.

"Over the next few days and weeks, and as we do that, we will make that clear to Nigerians.

"Our policy hasn't changed but the pressure is there and that might have to change in the next few days," he said.

Adequate facilities

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, appealed to individuals and group of persons who own properties, especially hotels, to make them available for use in cases of an emergency.

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He said the country needs adequate facilities to isolate and treat persons confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 virus.

He also said additional manpower has been brought in from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), to assist in containing the community transmission of the virus.

"Bed spaces and isolation centres at state level need to match the increase and necessitates an appeal to all citizens, especially property and hotel owners, to recognize the imminent needs and the social responsibility of working with state governments to make facilities available for temporary use in emergency situations.

"It is of concern to us all that everything should not be left to government alone. We must all take collective ownership of the health and wellbeing of our citizens," he said.

Mr Ehanire noted that primary health care workers and community mobilisers would be trained to identify new cases and drive demand for COVID-19 testing.

"This ensures that health services provision does not suffer at the primary health care level, but also that health workforce remains safe. NPHCDA will anchor community engagement and mobilisation for COVID-19," he said.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa has eulogized all workers on the occasion of the international day of workers celebrated globally.

In a statement signed by the communication officer for the party, Denis Andaban, he indicated "an empowered labour is a catalyst for the social and economic development of the people" and explained the need for providing an enabling environment for all workers. "A congenial environment is needed to motivate all workers to give out their best".

Below is the full statement.

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS

DAFFIAMA-BUSSIE-ISSA

For Immediate Release

1st May, 2020

*SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO ALL WORKERS*

On behalf of the Member of Parliament, Hon Sebastian Sandaare and the Constituency Executive Committee, the Communication Bureau of the National Democratic Congress in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa wishes to convey its sincerest felicitation and unfaded solidarity to all workers, both in the formal and non-formal sector, in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa and beyond, on the occasion of the commemoration of this special day, set aside to celebrate our gallant workers, who toil day in and out to keep our economy alive.

We appreciate the contributions of farmers, market women, security officers, teachers, health workers, and many others whose sacrifices have added directly and indirectly to the growth of our district and Ghana. May God continue to give you enough strength to impart the larger society.

The National Democratic Congress believes that an empowered labour is a catalyst for the social and economic development of the people and as such, a congenial environment is needed to motivate all workers to give out their best. We shall always lead the needed advocacy to motivate cherished workers whose sacrifices for development are virtually immeasurable.

Even in the midst of this global pandemic (covid-19) some workers especially our health workers still risk their lives just to ensure the safety of the entire populace. In the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa in particular, we are not unaware that our health workers are doing their best even in the absence of Personal Protective Equipment to ensure their own safety. Whilst we demand that duty bearers are proactive and make PPEs available to these hard-working but vulnerable health workers, we wish to assure all that the NDC has the welfare of all workers at heart and appreciates the patriotism, commitment, and dedication so much demonstrated even under very hostile working conditions.

Hon Sebastian Sandaare still insists that every constituent takes the preventive measures against covid-19 seriously as the number of confirmed cases in our country continue to increase. He also urges all stakeholders to intensify public education on Covid-19 and CSM.

Once again, we wish all gallant workers a joyous day as we celebrate them in our various homes and pray that God will deliver this country from the numerous challenges that have made lives virtually unbearable.

#StopTheSpread#

#StayHome#

Thank you.

...Signed...

Denis Andaban

(Communication Officer)

Evans Naa Gandiibu

(Deputy Communication Officer)
The long journey to the hilly



Model Veng in Aizawl, the capital of the northeastern state of Mizoram, carrying the body of a 28-year-old-man, has turned two private ambulance drivers from Chennai into instant heroes, their selfless service being commended by that state's Chief Minister and people.

It was a road trip they had not imagined even in their dreams as they drove over 3,000 km across the country to take the mortal remains of Vivian Lalremsanga all the way to Aizawl.

"The sudden trip, the arduous journey and spontaneous commendation from the people of Mizoram, their chief minister (Zoramthanga), the rousing reception from the people and IAS and IPS officers are unforgettable moments in our lives,"said P Jeyanthiran and S Chinnathambi, drivers of Annai Kasturi Ambulance Service, Purasawakkam, here.

"We never expected to arrive to a hero's welcome. Little did we realise that we would get such royal treatment," they told PTI.

They commenced their jounrey on the midnight of April 24 and reached the destination at 4 pm on April 27.

Earlier, the duo set out on the arduos roadtrip after they volunteered to move the mortal remains of Lalremsanga a student, who died of a heart attack, to his home in Model Veng.

As the Chennai Mizo Welfare Association was getting ready to bury him here due to lack of means to transport the body during the lockdown, Nandakumar, owner of the Ambulance Service received a call from the Royapettah Government hospital to help shift the body to Mizoram.

Immediately, he asked his drivers if they were prepared for the tough road ahead.

Jeyanthiran, with a two decade experience and having travelled in the past to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, volunteered, and was joined by Chinnathambi.

"This is a great humane gesture to shift the body of Vivian Lalremsanga, during the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown, putting their lives at peril," said R Lalvena, President of Chennai Mizo Welfare Association.

The state government, police and medical officials responded with good intention and helped them, he added.

Traversing hitherto unknown roads, cruising through the high security gates on the highways and inter-state borders during the lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus, they reached their destination after three and a half days of backbreaking driving.

"This is our first trip to Mizoram and also the first successful attempt to hand over the mortal remains after traversing non-stop for 3,345 km from Chennai.

We were told that we have to cover about 3,100 km, but we had to travel the extra 200 km to reach Model Veng," Jeyanthiran, who hails from Thanjavur said.

Of the entire distance, they had to cover about 550 km in the hilly region where the roads are mostly one-way.

The duo took turns to man the vehicle, cruising at about 90 km per hour speed throughout, before slowing down to 40 to 50 km per hour to cover the last leg of 550 km in the hilly terrain, Jeyanthiran, and Chinnathambi, a Villupuram native said.

"We survived on bread or bun till we reached Model Veng. Now we are relaxed. The people have given us enough goodies to eat on our way back home.

After the tedious journey, we are now resting in Kolkata. We will reach Chennai by tomorrow morning or evening," Chinnathambi said.

With the task completed, they have sacrificed speed during their return home, besides ensuring the occasional breaks.

Not only that, they were also presented with a cash award by Mizoram Minister of Social Welfare, K Beichhua, who represented the state Chief Minister.

The Mizoram CM acknowledged the gesture in his tweet, expressing gratitude to his Tamil Nadu counterpart K Palaniswami for clearing the way for the ambulance to cut through the security nets.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On a recent Sunday afternoon, I found a new way to experience food in a coronavirus-stricken world: a cooking class, conducted via Zoom, where I could smell and taste the dish along with the hosts every step of the way. Before the class began, I was sent a vacuum-packed rib eye, wild mushrooms, a jar of truffle carpaccio and other measured-out ingredients by Truffle Shuffle, whose founders would teach us how to make perfect steak with a Madeira-cream sauce loaded with fancy fungi.

As it turns out, the classes have been a lifeline, not only for the company, but for a vast network of food workers and local purveyors.

Eighteen months ago, Truffle Shuffle began as a direct-from-the-source importer of truffles, the rare, aromatic fungi whose shavings, purees and oils command high prices at many fine dining restaurants. Founded by a group of restaurant veterans who met while working at Yountvilles the French Laundry, the company quickly found a niche in serving high-end restaurants in the Bay Area. But when the novel coronavirus seemingly collapsed the restaurant business overnight, the company found itself with a ton of premium truffles with nowhere to sell them. At the same time, it had connections to chefs and purveyors who needed help.

So Truffle Shuffle launched an online cooking class on March 29, which turned out to be a win-win situation. The companys first class on truffled risotto was a hit, with its cook-along kits of Carnaroli rice and black Perigord truffles selling out. Depending on the type of dish cooked in the class, kits can range from $26 to $115. According to a spokesperson, the company sells 100 to 250 kits per class, with attendance bolstered by the hundred-or-so folks who tune in via Instagram Live. For each kit sold, the company pledges to provide one meal for a frontline health care worker; it has already established partnerships with Kaiser Permanente, Highland Hospital and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, among others.

While its possible to tune in on Instagram or Youtube without buying anything, the sensory pleasure of cooking along with the class is hard to deny. As I unscrewed a squat jar of the companys Balinese sea salt mixed with dried summer truffles, its rich, loamy aroma practically billowed out  a genie escaping from a magic lamp. Basting a steak with thyme- and garlic-infused butter as 70 other people do the exact same thing feels like the opposite of social distancing.

Brett Nagy Media

During the class, co-founders Jason McKinney and Tyler Vorce cracked corny jokes, interviewed onscreen culinary experts like author Harold McGee and talked possible wine pairings with Sarah McKinney, another co-founder and the companys design director. Students used the Zoom chatroom to ask questions  cast iron or stainless steel? Medium or medium-low heat? Canola or olive oil?  and Jason McKinney and Vorce answered in real time. As the class concluded, students proudly held their finished work up to the camera: plate after plate of beautifully browned steaks crowned with clusters of mushrooms.

The classes give us the same feeling wed get from a good night of (dine-in) service, says Sarah McKinney, who has worked front-of-house at the French Laundry and Benu in San Francisco. One bit of feedback we keep getting is, Please keep this going after coronavirus is over.

The McKinneys say that, while keeping things fun for students is an important part of this work, their main focus is on supporting the restaurants and producers in their network. When Suzette Gresham, chef of Acquerello, taught a gnocchi class with them, it was an opportunity to raise more money for the restaurants GoFundMe: Half of the ingredient kits profits went to that. The classes themselves are free for all, but the ingredient kits are the key to Truffle Shuffles support network. Local purveyors like Snake River Farms and Far West Fungi can sell extra meat and produce, and out-of-work chefs can get work making deliveries and conducting classes.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Anyone who wants to work with us, we want to be a benefit, says Jason McKinney. If there are any purveyors or chefs out there who need help, Truffle Shuffle wants to hear from them.

See what classes are on offer and order a recipe kit online at www.truffleshufflesf.com/pages/live-cooking-class/. $55-$95.

Soleil Ho is The San Francisco Chronicles restaurant critic. Email: soleil@sfchronicle.com
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, who are the most admired people in America?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The line of cars snaking down a quiet Lebanon County street wouldve appeared to be leaving a funeral on a normal day.

And in a way, they were.

Workers from the Bell & Evans poultry processing plant in Fredericksburg and supporters came out by the dozens on Friday to mourn two people with connections to the facility who recently died from the coronavirus.

The protesters taped signs saying funeral procession to their cars, and the names of the two men theyd lost. Dozens of other co-workers have been infected with the coronavirus, they said.

Employees of the Bell & Evans poultry processing plants in Fredericksburg, Lebanon County are holding a funeral procession for two people with connections to the facilities who died of the coronavirus. Theyre calling for stricter safety precautions to protect more workers from getting infected. Posted by PennLive.com on Friday, May 1, 2020

Bell & Evans is a family-owned company which specializes in organic, antibiotic-free chicken sold at Whole Foods.

Their employees, with the help of Make the Road Pennsylvania  one of the largest Latino organizations in the state  staged the demonstration with the hope of convincing Bell & Evans that stricter safety measures are necessary to protect other employees from getting sick.

The procession of about 30 cars made its way slowly past Bell & Evans facilities on West Main Street and Blue Mountain Road late Friday morning before dispersing.

We need full pay because we are not getting money from anywhere else, one employee said via Make the Road. We want to get to our job safe and clean without being infected and return home the same way.

Maegan Llerena, Make the Road Pennsylvanias executive director, said the organization started speaking out on their behalf because the employees who died were members. People had become frustrated and believed there was a lack of effort to keep the virus from spreading, she said.

The company had done nothing to protect the workers, Llerena said.

Bell & Evans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Three employees told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Bell & Evans was slow to hand out face masks and take their temperatures.

Management has encouraged employees to practice social distancing, but they argued its challenging to do that while working on a production line. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the employees were made more upset by the companys refusal to close the plant for cleaning after one employee died of the coronavirus two weeks ago.

Making matters worse, many commute to the plant from Berks County, where the number of coronavirus cases skyrocketed from 369 to 2,600 over the last three weeks.

Since the coronavirus took hold, more than a dozen meat-processing plants across the country  including four in Pennsylvania  have closed for some period of time because so many employees were infected, according to the Inquirer.

Llerena said workers want to wait and see what impact the protest has before taking further action. They hope to see the Bell & Evans facilities shut down for deep cleanings, and fully compensate employees while theyre out of work.

There have been many people who have been hospitalized and have recovered but it is not fair that one must go to a job that is not sanitized, the plant worker said. We want to return to work alive and without the virus. We want to be in a clean and virus-free company. We want our jobs.

READ MORE:

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Pa. tax revenues plummet $2.2 billion as top state official warns reopening wont end economic pain
Something to look forward to: Are you missing your local Apple store? It could reopen later this month. CEO Tim Cook has said that a few of the outlets in the US could open in the first half of May, with stores in Australia and Austria set to reopen in the next two weeks.

Apple closed all of its China stores in early February over Covid-19 concerns. In early March, when the country recorded its first single-digit rise in infections since it started recording numbers, the company reopened all 42 of its branded stores in China.

In mid-March, Apple said it would be closing all of its retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27 as a response to Covid-19s spread around the world, but that date was changed to until further notice. It did reopen a single store in South Korea but never said anything about its plans for other outlets.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Cook said Apple intends to open retail stores in Australia, where it has more than 20 outlets, and its single store in Austria within the next one to two weeks. The CEO also believes just a few, not a large number of stores will reopen in the US in the first half of May.

Cook said Apple is going to look at the data and make a decision city by city, county by county, depending on the circumstances in that particular place.

Cooks comments echo those of Apple retail chief Deirdre OBrien, who previously informed staff that she is aiming to reopen many outlets in May.

The Apple boss added that the companys main Cupertino campus wouldnt open until at least early June, and it would be on a staggered basis. It will use temperature checks, social distancing, and masks to protect workers. The company is also looking into Covid-19 testing for employees.

The news that Apple stores could soon be open will be welcomed by those who handed devices in for repair and never picked them up in time; they have to wait until the outlets reopen to retrieve them.
The government is betting on a biotech company to come up with a coronavirus vaccine in 'weeks' or 'months' after its CEO undercut others at a round-table with President Trump and caught his attention by promising to deliver doses in an unprecedented time scale.

Moderna Inc has been greenlit by the FDA to conduct a trial of its vaccine. The company has received $483million in funding from the government to carry it out.

It came after CEO Stephane Bancel stole President Trump's attention during an early March meeting with other biotech executives.

He promised to deliver a vaccine in the shortest time of anyone there, which caught the attention of the president, whose eagerness to overcome the pandemic and restart the economy at all costs has been well-documented and criticized by health experts.

Moderna Inc has never brought a vaccine to market before, nor has it completed trials for any, according to an investigation by CNN.

Stephane Bancel is shown pitching to President Trump Moderna Inc's vaccine during a meeting at the White House on March 2

But at the round-table in early March, Bancel told the president he had already started working with the National Institute of Health.

Moderna Inc CEO Stephane Bancel

'[We are] very proud to be working with the US government and to have already sent, in only 42 days from the sequence of the virus, our vaccine to Dr. Fauci's team at the NIH,' he said, adding that he would be able to start phase two of the trial in 'just a few months'.

Trump replied: 'So you're talking over the next few months, you think you could have a vaccine?'

Bancel replied: 'Correct. Correct. With phase two.'

Dr. Fauci then clarified to the president: 'You won't have a vaccine. You'll have a vaccine to go into testing.'

The company was developing a vaccine for MERS when the COVID-19 pandemic exploded. It then set to work on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Janssen Research & Development, which is part of Johnson & Johnson, has also received $456 million to develop a vaccine and Sanofi has received up to $30 million.

But Moderna Inc has received the largest slice of funding, making it the front-runner.

Dr. Joseph Bolen, who was the company's chief medical officer between 2013 and 2015, said he was baffled by the government's enthusiasm for the product.

'I don't know what their thinking was. Why so much? ... I just don't know. When I read that, I was pretty amazed,' he said.

Moderna was founded in 2010 but has never brought a vaccine to market

Dr. Tal Zaks, the current chief medical officer, said the company had lots to offer.

'We're a young company with an emerging technology and for that reason we have not yet brought anything to full licensure.

'But if you look at the building blocks of what we have been able to demonstrate over time -- from preclinical through our early clinical data -- this is a very promising technology,' he said.

There is a global race to develop a vaccine.

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said earlier this week that the US had to 'win' the race and that it could not rely on other countries to get there first.

Health experts have been trying to urge caution and say rushing to produce a vaccine could result in one that is unreliable or even unsafe.

Dr. Fauci said on Thursday that the country could expect to see hundreds of millions of doses as soon as January.

He had been advising that it would take between 12 and 18 months to produce a vaccine.
One-time grants to provide financial assistance to workers across Canada

TORONTO, April 28, 2020 /CNW/ - Canadian Chefs Vikram Vij, Victor Barry, and Dan Geltner announced today the creation of the Canadian Hospitality Worker Relief Fund (CHWRF) to support restaurant and hospitality workers financially impacted by COVID-19. Chef Vikram is an author, entrepreneur, and co-owner of Vij's Restaurant, Rangoli Restaurant and My Shanti in BC; Barry is the chef-owner of PianoPiano and Cafe CanCan in Toronto; and Geltner chef-owner of Le Kitchen, Le Catering, Wonderburger, and works as a Chef consultant in Montreal.

The Fund, which will start accepting applications on Wednesday, May 6, will provide one-time $500 grants to restaurant and hospitality workers including cooks, servers, dishwashers, bartenders, delivery people and others who suddenly find themselves in distress and in urgent need of items such as groceries, medication, and/or other health products.

"$500 grants are a welcome support for hospitality workers," said Vij. "These additional funds will be an immense help for front-of-house and back-of-house staff, especially those who work in minimum-wage, entry-level positions like international and local students."

"The hospitality community is my extended family," said Barry. "Since I was 11 years old, I've had the privilege of working side-by-side with the exceptional people who make, serve, and deliver your food. And now more than ever these hardworking people need our help, which is why I am proud to support the Canadian Hospitality Worker Relief Fund initiative."



"The Canadian restaurant industry is suffering as many restaurant and hospitality workers find themselves without work and in need of financial assistance," said Geltner. "I am proud to join the CHWRF in supporting workers and their families here in Quebec and the rest of the country."

The Fund will be administered by the Design Exchange , a Canadian registered charity that also serves as an event venue in Toronto, and promoted across Canada with the help of community partners: Elevate , Staffy , La Tablee des Chefs , and Spiffy . CHWRF Founding Partners including Uber Eats, Garland and Welbilt Canada have pledged over $1 million to launch the fund.

"The restaurant industry has rallied around this health crisis to feed Canadians and help keep our country safe," said Lola Kassim, General Manager, Uber Eats Canada. "We welcome the opportunity to be a founding partner of the Canadian Hospitality Worker Relief Fund, and the contributions it will make to impacted workers, including delivery people."

"The foodservice industry & its workers are facing unprecedented challenges and need support for the most basic needs. It is at times like these that we believe it is our obligation to give back to the industry that has done so much for Garland, the Welbilt brands and our employees for over 60 years," said Mary Chiarot, Vice President, General Manager, Garland  Welbilt Canada. "As an industry leader, Garland stands behind and supports the Canadian Hospitality Workers Relief Fund in its efforts towards making a positive impact on workers in our industry. We challenge all foodservice suppliers to join Garland in giving back. #TogetherWeCanOvercome."

For more information about the Fund or how eligible workers can apply, visit dx.org/Fund.

SOURCE Media Profile

For further information: For more information, please contact: Ashley McGuire, Media Profile, [email protected]; For BC-related inquiries: Matt MacInnis, National, [email protected]

Related Links

www.mediaprofile.com


By Allison Lampert and Jamie Freed MONTREAL/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Once the airline industry's ugly ducklings, air freighters are now flying high as some of the only airplanes still criss-crossing the skies during the global coronavirus crisis. While these aerial juggernauts hauled freight for low margins, airlines lavished advertising on business travellers and tourists. But with these customers grounded, airlines are rushing to turn passenger planes into temporary cargo carriers.

By Allison Lampert and Jamie Freed

MONTREAL/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Once the airline industry's ugly ducklings, air freighters are now flying high as some of the only airplanes still criss-crossing the skies during the global coronavirus crisis.

While these aerial juggernauts hauled freight for low margins, airlines lavished advertising on business travellers and tourists. But with these customers grounded, airlines are rushing to turn passenger planes into temporary cargo carriers.

Half of air cargo normally travels in the belly of passenger jets rather than dedicated freighters. But the grounding of two-thirds of the world's fleet has led to a scramble for cargo capacity for medical supplies and other goods.

Airlines saddled with the cost of unused planes are looking to modify cabin interiors to adjust to the new reality. And that is providing a surprise windfall for aircraft maintenance companies deprived of their normal trade of keeping passenger jets flying, industry executives told Reuters.

Germany's Lufthansa Technik AG , Canada's Avianor, Hong Kong's HAECO Group and Belgium's Akka Technologies are among those stripping out seats or adding nets and storage devices to cabins to cram in cargo instead of tourists.

"We have great demand. We have more than 40 airlines requesting a proposal," said Jens Weinreich, product manager at Lufthansa Technik , which has converted 18 cabins for various carriers and expects to modify 100 more.

Lufthansa-owned Austrian Airlines has begun to remove most passenger seats in some 777s, while Polish LOT and Delta Air Lines are also examining freight makeovers.

But while Freight Investor Services said China-U.S. freight rates rose 22% last week due to demand for protective gear, cargo demand has been fickle in the past. And the outlook for trade is uncertain in the wake of the pandemic.

"We have seen a real resurgence of freight in the past month... but we are on the edge of a global recession and the normal pattern of recession should start to take hold," Stuart Hatcher, chief operating officer of IBA Group, told a webinar.

CARGO MINDSET

Avianor, which specialises in maintenance and cabins, said demand from Air Canada has helped overcome the slowdown, while European planemaker Airbus has come up with a scheme to turn cabins into temporary bays for freight pallets.

Some 20 carriers are studying plans to carry freight on a temporary basis in A330 and A350 cabins, it said on Thursday.

This is a change of mindset for airlines, who focus obsessively on cabin layouts to promote their customer brands.

Some previous Boeing 737s operated by specialists like France's ASL Airlines allow three people to do a "Quick Change" in just 20 minutes, with rows of seats taken out through a side door to allow passengers to fly by day and cargo by night.

Newer jets tend to be optimised for passenger service and it takes a week to prepare one for cargo.

The surge in demand for cargo conversions has led airlines to appeal for a global set of rules from aviation authorities.

HAECO said its product allows mixed passenger and freight cabins, arguing it would help social distancing. Leeham analyst Bjorn Fehrm said this could make sense even after the crisis.

But airlines body IATA does not see this as the new normal for flying. And regulators have said passenger cabins are not designed for cargo and special temporary permission is needed.

Akka Technologies is helping Franco-Italian ATR turn turboprops into medical equipment vehicles. It is also working on plans approved by regulators for A330s and Boeing 777s.

"For the time being, this will generate business for engineering houses such as ourselves. In the mid-term, the traffic will take time to recover," board member Charles Champion, a former Airbus engineering head, said.

Cabin modifications will not compensate entirely for the crisis that has caused widespread jobs cuts and forced airlines like Lufthansa to seek help, but will deliver some work, Lufthansa Technik modifications chief Henning Jochmann said.

"That will not save our lives... but we do what we have to do."

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Jamie Freed in Sydney and Tim Hepher in Paris; Additional reporting by Julie Rimbert in Toulouse; Editing by Alexander Smith and Ken Ferris)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police probing the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz funding learnt that crores of rupees have been transacted from Gulf countries into the bank accounts of people associated with Nizamuddin Markaz. According to the investigative agency, money was both sent and received between Gulf nations and these account holders.

The Crime Branch submitted all the information related to transactions to the Enforcement Directorate on Friday (May 1). It revealed that those involved in these transactions, are associated with Nizamuddin Markaz and are close to Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad.

However, the agency stated that names of Saad's three sons and his nephew, who enjoy a key position at the Markaz and are liable for the financial accounts of the Tablighi Jamaat, are not involved in the list of those who were involved in these transactions.

Earlier, the agency had suspected Maulana Saad of collecting assets and properties worth Rs 2 crore from international funding. The recent raid by the Crime Branch team on Saad's Kandhala (Shamli) farmhouse was conducted in a bid to recover documents related to the funding of his properties.

The Enforcement Directorate is planning to look into whether donation received by Markaz was part of money laundering and whether hawala channels were utilised.

Earlier in the day, Saad's lawyer Advocate Fuzail Ayyubi said in a statement that the Tablighi Jamaat chief in the last few days has replied to several questions of Crime Branch. Ayyubi added that the Crime Branch had also sought a few documents from Saad which have been handed over to the officials.

The Tablighi Jamaat Markaz, an Islamic organisation, has come under the scanner for flouting the nationwide lockdown to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.

A case has been registered against Maulana Saad of the Nizamuddin headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat under relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and Indian Penal Code for allegedly violating government orders with regard to the management of the centre pertaining to holding social, political or religious gatherings.
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas have had quite the blossoming romance over the past few weeks.

The A-list couple was spotted taking some tropical getaways after starring together in the upcoming film Deep Water.

They made their relationship Instagram official Thursday with some gorgeous Polaroids as they enjoyed a romantic desert retreat to celebrate her 32nd birthday.

Instagram official: Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas made their relationship Instagram official Thursday with some gorgeous Polaroids as they enjoyed a romantic desert retreat to celebrate her 32nd birthday

De Armas, 32, and Affleck, 47, packed on the PDA, wrapping their arms around each other in a desert selfie.

Another snap shows her snuggled up to the shirtless Good Will Hunting star, as they gazed at the sunset.

She captioned the photos: 'Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and love! Cheers to another great year.'

The Knives Out star was beaming as she blew out the candles on her chocolate cake while sporting a birthday headband.

Romantic moment: De Armas, 32, and Affleck, 47, packed on the PDA, wrapping their arms around each other as they watched the sunset

Birthday girl: The Knives Out star was beaming as she blew out the candles on her chocolate cake while sporting a birthday headband

Desert vibes: The couple enjoyed the cake with some wine on their patio before heading out for a desert hike

The couple enjoyed the cake with some wine on their patio before heading out for a desert hike.

They decorated their abode with some colorful balloons, including a gold mylar '32' and a mermaid.

Affleck and de Armas were spotted last month vacationing together in her hometown of Havana, Cuba.

They were seen sharing some sweet moments on the beaches of Costa Rica shortly after.

Sweet tooth: De Armas and Affleck celebrated with a chocolate cake on their patio

Party time: They decorated their abode with some colorful balloons, including a gold mylar '32' and a mermaid

The lovebirds met in the fall while filming Deep Water in New Orleans, in which Affleck plays a man suspected of murdering his wife's (de Arma) lovers.

They've since been isolating together at the Gone Girl actor's house in Los Angeles since returning from Costa Rica.

A source told People: 'They seem to have a great time together. They order delivery food and groceries and only leave the house for walks around the neighborhood with their dogs.

'Ben looks incredible happy. They are flirty and goofy. Ana always has a huge smile around him.'






Auto supplier BorgWarner plans to resume limited production at a South Carolina plant that supplies a critical transmission component for several highly profitable Ford trucks and SUVs after it sustained heavy damage from a tornado last month.

For its part, Ford believes it has dodged a bullet, having warned in an SEC filing of possible disruption to its own production plans. The plant in Seneca, S.C. makes transfer cases for vehicles including the best-selling F-150 and Super Duty pickups, and four- and all-wheel drive versions of the Expedition and Explorer SUVs and the Lincoln Navigator. The April 13 tornado ripped the roof off the plant, caused a partial collapse and killed a 77-year-old overnight security guard.

Ford told Automotive News it had repair teams onsite 12 hours after the tornado struck to aid in damage assessment and recovery efforts. They helped retrofit the plant, rebuild and roof and computer rooms, and the automaker now expects no disruption to its own production plans. Im extremely confident that when we start up our systems in the U.S. and North America, BorgWarner will support them. The risk is dropping every day, Gary Johnson, Fords chief manufacturing and labor affairs officer, told AN.

BorgWarner said only that it planned to resume production at the plant in early May. We have teams onsite working on necessary repairs to the facility to make this happen in a safe and efficient way, spokeswoman Michelle Collins told The Greenville News.

Meanwhile, Ford on Thursday said its ready to resume production at its shuttered North American plants as soon as government leaders give the OK. Ford did not set any hard dates for re-opening plants, but it said it would follow health and safety practices already employed at Ford plants in China and at its U.S. facilities that are currently making coronavirus medical supplies. The protocols include conducting no-touch temperature scans of each employee upon arrival and requiring face masks for every worker. A limited number of hourly and salaried workers have already returned to work this week installing equipment and safety protocols.

Ford has said it will begin reopening plants in Europe on May 4.
As the state prepared to reopen more this weekend, U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady met with members of the Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce April 28 on Zoom to talk with them about how Congress has been handling the pandemic.

Brady, the highest ranking Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee, said he thought Congress had responded well putting together three bipartisan bills in three weeks, addressing more money for Medicaid, more money helping people who were laid off or had to stay home because they were sick, and also a third package dealing with tax incentive payments and deferring payroll taxes to get more money in peoples pocketbooks.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: LSC-Tomball library hosting workshops for local businesses through partnership with Google

We knew our top priority had to be to push cash into business hands, small and large, to try to keep those workers on your payroll and help you ride this out so when we did reopen it would be easier to rebound, Brady said.

Economic activity will resurface in the coming weeks due to states like Texas cautiously reopening, Brady said. In the meantime, programs like the Payroll Protection Program have been helping create cash flow for small businesses; providing loans that are forgivable as long as 75% of the loan is used for workers, and the rest on rent, utilities and interest payments.

Small businesses ran through that loan money fast, Brady said, with Texas businesses getting more than 134,000 loans totaling $28 billion dollars.

The Small Business Administration told us they did more loans in 14 days than they have in 14 years, Brady said.

SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES: Chambers offering resources to help northwest Houston businesses

Another $310 billion has been added to the program, Brady said, and applications opened earlier this week. Brady said the SBA processed 100,000 loans on the first day they reopened and is hopeful Congress can replenish the fund again should it run out.

As for when the country can reopen safely, Brady didnt give an exact time frame, but said if the country doesnt reopen the economy safely while flattening the curve, it could extend the recession from months into years.

Brady said he was optimistic schools will be able to reopen in the fall as the country learns more about the virus.

I think thats gonna be crucial to normalcy for the economy and others, Brady said. I also think between now and then, as the businesses reopen an as we learn more about the virus, I think were going to get dramatically better at flattening that curve.

One chamber member, Rebecca Ramsey, asked Brady if he thought things would go back to normal, or if there would have to be a new normal that continues social distancing moving forward. Brady said he didnt think so for the long-term, but that social distancing would continue for the mid-term.

My guess is well keep all the social distancing measures in place until weve really driven that curve down, but you cant wait to reopen until there are no cases, Brady said. I think most businesses and organizations are already rethinking how they reopen safely but also long-term what changes theyll be making in how they operate as businesses.

Brady said he thought the country would be better off economically by August or September, while some industries like energy may take longer to recover.

Because were learning more each day, were getting stronger each day, Brady said.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
Two oil giants, Eni and Shell, have argued to stop or stay proceedings in a $1 billion lawsuit brought by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN).

Virtual hearings in the case took place between Tuesday and Thursday during which the companies argued to halt the $1 billion English suit as duplicating the ongoing criminal trial and parallel civil claim being brought by Nigeria in Italy over the controversial OPL 245.

The defendants  Eni, Shell and others  are asking for the court to decline jurisdiction under article 29 of the recast Brussels Regulation, as the Italian case against the companies is still ongoing.

In March, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Nigerian government lost out in its bid to postpone the massive claim against oil giants, Eni and Shell, in a London court. Mark Pelling, a judge at the London court, ruled that it should not wait for a connected Italian ruling.

Nigeria wanted the April court date postponed until January 2021, when a connected criminal case in Milan is expected to have concluded.

The oil companies and former and current executives face corruption charges linked to the Malabu scandal, a 2011 deal involving a Nigerian oil block known as OPL 245.

Officials affected in the scandal have denied wrongdoing.

Between Tuesday and Thursday, parties in the lawsuit presented their arguments in the court.

Day 1

On Tuesday, the first day of the hearing, Richard Handyside, acting for Eni, outlined the similarities between the Italian criminal charges and civil claim based on international bribery charges and the English claim based on allegations of bribery, dishonest assistance and conspiracy.

Enis lawyer noted that the companies have made no profit on the deal as the FRN has declined to grant a mining license without which no oil can be produced and no profits made. He argued further that the FRN has brought two duplicative claims in Italy and England within months of each other and that the FRN acknowledged that they might have to choose between them down the road. They were hoping to have a one way bet, according to Eni.

Eni argued that Nigeria is wrong to say the Italian claim is different because the Public Prosecutor of Milan (PPM) is involved, adding that the PPM is not involved in civil claim in Italy and the FRN is the sole plaintiff for harms suffered as an injured person. The FRNs point that the Milanese prosecutor could chose to end the case in Italy whenever they want, without the FRN having a say in that scenario, is not relevant, the lawyer added.

After a short break, Enis lawyer resumed to argue that while the FRN is asking the court to rescind the 2011 deal for the license, neither the company nor Shell were parties to the contract because their subsidiaries were. The oil giant argued further that President Muhammadu Buhari has ruled against issuance of licence.

President Muhammadu Buhari [PHOTO: Presidency]

In his submission, Justice Butcher noted that he could not bind the court to the length of any stay as the parties could apply to start the English case or extend it if they wanted. Eni, on its part, argued that no further money should have to be spent on an overlapping case. The company argued that permission to serve out of jurisdiction should not be allowed as there is no prospect of FRN winning its claim for an entitlement to rescind the OPL245 deal. It added that the NNPC would have to be joined as a party.

Afterwards, Shells lawyer took over and denied wrongdoing in all allegations levelled against the company. The oil giant argued further that FRNs lawyers statement that the facts of the case became apparent after the Italian case was wrong and that they failed to explain what Nigerian law enforcements agent at the EFCC found.

The court finally called it a day.

Day 2

On Wednesday, virtual hearing resumed and, speaking on behalf of Shell, Peter Goldsmith argued that the FRN failed to bring the contents of two 2012 reports by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to the attention of the judge who oversaw their application.

EFCC Officials

Mr Goldsmith explained that Nigeria has not presented evidence of what it knew about the EFCC 2012 reports. Shell is alleging that the FRN failed to give Justice Cockerill full and frank disclosure when she was asked to give them permission to serve out of jurisdiction. Shell argued that the FRN should have fairly presented the potential defence and evidence that the FRN did know about wrongdoing earlier.

The lawyer, on behalf of Shell, claimed that the FRN seriously misled Justice Cockerill by saying that evidence of alleged wrongdoing in the OPL 245 did not become apparent until it came out of the Italian investigation. According to him, it took many weeks of chasing for the FRN to disclose the EFCC reports with little explanation of why the FRN failed to inquire into the existence of these reports earlier, adding that responses to Shells letters on the EFCC report were evasive. They also point to 2012 articles by Sahara Reporters who quoted the 2012 EFCC report, adding that the FRN should have seen the Sahara Reporters article and made inquiries.

Mr Goldsmith explained that the EFCC investigation was initially triggered by a complaint made by people claiming to be shareholders of Malabu Oil and Gas but the investigation went much wider, identifying that Malabu made payments to companies controlled by Aliyu Abubakar. He claimed that the FRNs point that the scheme only started to emerge with the Italian investigation is not true, adding that they should have recognised that what the court was told was false because the FRN had not told its lawyers what the EFCC investigations had discovered

He made clear that the FRN lawyers stated themselves that the EFCC investigation was in relation to bribery and corruption in the OPL 245 deal, not solely into a spat between shareholders. He thereafter went through the 2012 interviews the EFCC conducted with bureau de change operators showing details of large cash transfers from Malabu, adding that this shows the EFCC and by extension the FRN should have known about these allegations back then.

The lawyer outlined that in 2012, EFCC followed payments from Malabu to former Attorney General Bayo Ojo, Arcadia Petroleum and its CEO and a company belonging to Richard Granier-Deferrre. So the FRN had evidence of this scheme back then, he said. It was, therefore, a serious failing for the FRN to have not presented these earlier suspicions and EFCC investigations into the OPL 245 deal in what they told Justice Cockerill, he argued.

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He accused the FRN of misleading statements, a serious lack of candour and that in failing to apologise, they are attempting to brazen this out, adding that the FRNs reason for making the claim when it did was to avoid the claim being time-barred, and if they were allowed to make the claim without proper disclosure about the limitation issues then they received an unfair advantage.

Charles Fussell QC, representing Energy Venture Partners (EVP) took over from Lord Goldsmith and Shell. He emphasised that EVP and its owner, Emeka Obi, like Shell and Eni deny wrongdoing and Mr Obi is appealing his conviction in the Italian proceedings.

According to the lawyer, EVP shares the arguments made by Shell and Eni because EVP does not have the resources of Shell and Eni. Except for Mr Obi as its sole director and shareholder, it has no employees and no activities since the Italian proceedings, he argued.

Mr Fussell said Mr Obi appealed his conviction in March 2019 on several issues of facts and law. Mr Obis appeal hearing was to take place early this year, but it hasnt because of the Coronavirus outbreak.

FRNs barrister, Roger Masefield, responding to the allegation by Shell that they did not make full and frank disclosure, argued that Shells serious allegation is in danger of Island hopping, skipping over the FRNs submission without context.

Mr Masefield explained that the court was told that in 2012 the EFCC was investigating, was told about the House of Representatives investigation, but the alleged wrongdoers were in control of the FRN at the time, so time should not run on limitation at that time. The EFCC discovery in 2012 is irrelevant because the wrongdoers were in control of the Nigerian government in 2015, he said. He explained further that the FRN also did not have enough credible evidence to plead the claim of fraud at that time.

Mr Masefield said the 2012 EFCC had only investigated the money flows part of the way. Even putting aside that President Jonathan was in power, the EFCC could not have pleaded then that President Jonathan was bribed based only on the link between Dan Etete and Aliyu Abubakar, he said. Mr Masefield added that in 2012, evidence of Shell and Enis involvement with the alleged bribes to Goodluck Jonathan and other public officials was not available to the EFCC instead they were looking at roles of Mr Etete and Mohammed Abacha at that point.

Former Nigerian oil Minister Dan Etete, involved in the Malabu Scandal. [Photo credit: THE REPUBLICAN NEWS]

The lawyer explained that the duty of full and frank disclosure is to not mislead the court in any material respect on its jurisdiction and discretion, but does not extend to every matter that might be raised by the defence to a claim. The lawyer showed how the FRNs law expert set out the law on limitations which allows 6 years for a claim to be brought with a provision to allow the clock to start on claims involving fraud only when the fraud is discovered or when it could have reasonably been found.

The lawyer noted that the point about the law on wrongdoers being in control was made in the without notice hearing before Justice Cockerill to deal with the possible defence argument on the knowledge of the FRN before 2015 about the OPL 245 deal and alleged scheme.

The first point, the lawyer noted, was that the FRN made their claim in December 2018, so the cut off point was December 2012. The OPL 245 agreements were signed in April 2011, when alleged wrongdoers were in control point.

The second point, he argued, was that until the Italian investigation, the FRN did not have enough evidence of alleged bribes to Nigerian public officials including President Jonathan, ex-attorney general Adoke, ex-petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and a retired general Gusau. The EFCC was investigating a different alleged fraud in 2012, between Mohammed Abacha and Mr Etete, so the FRN would not have had a solid basis for alleging bribery of Nigerian officials or that Shell and Eni knew about that and participated in that scheme.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke

The lawyer explained that the Sahara Reporters article on the 2012 EFCC investigation was mentioned in the FRNs filings in the wrongdoers in control argument, saying that the president had got wind of the investigation and the report was gathering dust on the presidents desk. Mr Masefield argued that in 2012 the EFCC found money flowing to Aliyu Abubakar but did not identify any payments to Mr Jonathan or other public officials at the time. According to him, there was not sufficient evidence until years later to claim Eni or Shell were aware of bribes or that Aliyu Abubakar might have paid money to Nigerian public officials whatever his public reputation.

On the judgement against Mr Obi where Justice Barbara found that it was proven that former Eni manager Vincenzo Armanna had received a kickback of $1.2 million through Nigerias former attorney-general, Bayo Ojo, the lawyer noted that the allegation of a kickback scheme would be used at trial to argue that the executives had a motive to take part in an illicit scheme.

Day 3

On Thursday, the third and final day of hearing, Mr Masefield resumed addressing the defendants argument that the FRN didnt make a fair presentation to the court in the hearing with notice before Justice Cockerill, adding that the evidence from the Italian investigation was very different to the EFCC 2012 probe.

The lawyer said that it would be unfair to read one line from the FRNs solicitors witness statement out of context, instead he did flag to the court a few lines earlier that the EFCC had begun investigations. He then said it was in the Italian investigation that the scheme emerged.

Mr Masefield explained that the FRNs solicitor, Mr Cary, did set out the evidence emerging from the Italian investigation into the OPL 245 deal with FBI interviews with participants in the deal, money flows, wiretaps, evidence of a kickback scheme etc. The lawyer said that Mr Cary explained that it was only with this new credible evidence that the scheme was revealed involving alleged bribes to then current Nigerian public officials including Messrs Jonathan and Adoke, ex-petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and a retired general, Aliyu Gusau.

The lawyer said that there was certainly no material misrepresentation, that they did raise the time limitation defence about when the FRN had reason to know about the alleged fraud and wrongdoers in control point which would have to be decided at trial.

Mr Masefield argued further that the money flows to Aliyu Abubakar and cash could not prove that bribes were going to Goodluck Jonathan, at most it could have been understood that Dan Etete, a convicted money launderer, was trying to launder money from the deal. He explained that the 2012 investigation was not into Shell and Eni or what they may have known about bribes, so there was no way the FRN could have argued a case against them at that time.

According to him, the EFCCs knowledge in 2012 would not have been sufficient to argue there was this case of fraud, adding that the FRN legal team strongly disputes any allegation that they deliberately withheld the 2012 EFCC reports.

The lawyer moved further to say that if the FRN did prove at trial that Shell and Eni secured the 2011 deal through bribery, then the court should consider whether they would not allow the deal to be cancelled. If the FRN decided to rescind the 2011 deal the NNPC would not stand in the way, the NNPC could be joined to the case or could write to the court saying they do not object, he said.

NNPC Towers

The NNPC is state controlled, he noted, disputing the argument that the NNPC might stand in the way of rescinding the OPL 245 deal, they especially would not if it was proven at trial that the deal was obtained by bribery.

Mr Masefield said that the objects of the proceedings are different as they have different ends in view. In Italy, Nigeria can only ask for monetary damages, he said, but in the English case, Nigeria is asking for the OPL 245 deal to be rescinded.

In his response, Lord Goldsmith emphasised that the alleged facts and evidence brought by the FRN inferring bribes in the OPL 245 deal that he was discussing on Wednesday are not allegations that Shell accepts. He argued that despite Shells lawyers Debevoise and Plimpton repeatedly raising the lack of evidence from EFCC and FRN, the FRN has not provided evidence about what the FRN knew about the early EFCC investigation.

Richard Handyside, speaking for Eni, claimed as incorrect Mr Masefields statement where he said Justice Barbara ruled in the fast tracked Milan case that there were kickbacks to Eni executives. The lawyer wants the NNPC be joined to the case, adding that pre-2011 cases was being appealed, not just shut down.

In his submission, Justice Butcher asked for hard copies of authorities and transcripts from the hearing. He, however, said that he will reserve his judgement for a later date.

Scandal

The controversial Malabu deal was struck in 2011 under former President Goodluck Jonathan. The arrangement saw the Nigerian government stand as a negotiator in the controversial sale of the oil block in offshore Nigerian waters.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan [Photo Credit: Ikenga Chronicles]

Two international oil firms, Shell and Eni, paid out about $1.1 billion to Nigerian government accounts in the UK which then transferred most of the money to Malabu, a company then controlled by Nigerias former petroleum minister, Dan Etete.

It was Mr Etetes Malabu that transferred the over $500 million to accounts controlled by Abubakar Aiyu, who is also being prosecuted in Nigeria for his role in the scandal.

The payout immediately became a subject of cross-border investigation spanning over six countries. Several Nigerian government officials were believed to have received several millions of dollars in bribes for the enabling roles they played.

A larger trial including Shell, Eni and 13 other defendants is ongoing in Italy.

The London claim centers on the licensing rights for OPL 245 block, for which the oil majors purchased extraction rights in 2011. It is alleged that most of the $1.1 billion was used for bribes and kickbacks to government officials.

Nigerian officials involved in the alleged scheme have all denied wrongdoing.
For many years, the only modern novel translated from Arabic published in the prestigious Penguin Classics series of international literary works in English translation was Season of Migration to the North by the Sudanese writer Tayeb Salih.



Today, however, a new title has joined the list with a revised English translation by US academic William Hutchins of Egyptian writer Tawfik Al-Hakims 1933 novel Return of the Spirit, a reworking of a translation first published in a more limited series. Its appearance in the Penguin Classics means that Al-Hakims novel, undoubtedly a classic of Egypts modern literature, can now be enjoyed by a far wider English-language audience.



In his introduction to the new edition, Hutchins says that Return of the Spirit is at once a portrait of an Egyptian as a young artist and therefore an apprenticeship novel; the narrative of a failed romance that transforms everything; a political novel that celebrates the 1919 Revolution in Egypt and calls for national solidarity; a work of Arab Muslim literature; and a novel that presents its blended family as a model for Egyptian society and its characters as symbols for tendencies and ideas.



Another way of putting this would be to say that the novel is a gloriously mixed bag, with several different novels fighting to get out. First, there is the story of the protagonist, Muhsin, a young man living with his extended family in Cairo and occasionally returning to the countryside while exploring what life and the future have to offer. This novel, an often highly comic one of growing up and early love, is the story of an aspiring writer and is based on Al-Hakims own experience living with his family in Cairo in the years immediately before and after Egypts 1919 Revolution.



Then there is the political novel that Hutchins refers to, perhaps most in evidence when Muhsin visits his family in the Delta town of Damanhur in part two of Return of the Spirit. In addition to reflections on the differences between town and country life and the underdeveloped condition of local villages, this novel introduces characters who explicitly discuss political ideas and tendencies.



There are the characters on the train that Muhsin encounters between Cairo and Damanhur, for example, who discuss the differences between Egypt and Europe. One comments on how those present have made room for a new passenger. If this had happened in Europe, not one of the passengers would have moved, even if he was acquainted with the newcomer and his friend. No one [in Europe] will decrease his own comfort for the sake of another, no matter who he is, he says to general agreement. These discussions may reflect Al-Hakims own thoughts, since the relationship between Egypt and Europe, perhaps more broadly Europe and the Arab world, he returned to in a subsequent novel called Bird from the East.



There are also the foreign characters Muhsin encounters while in the Delta, with these being national stereotypes as well as vehicles for the expression of ideas. A French archaeologist lectures Muhsin on the achievements of European culture while also holding out the hope of a cultural renaissance in Egypt. The farmers of the Delta, for example, though presently uneducated, have a force within them theyre not conscious of. This is an ancient people. If you take one of the peasants and remove his heart, youll find in it the residue of ten thousand years of experiential knowledge, one layer on top of the other, though hes not conscious of it, he says.



Dont disdain those people who are poor today. The force lies buried in them. They lack only one thing a man from among them who will manifest all their emotions and beliefs and be for them a symbol of the ultimate. When that occurs, dont be surprised if these people, who stand together as one and relish sacrifice, bring forth another miracle besides the Pyramids.



A British irrigation inspector, more pragmatic, is inclined to dismiss the Frenchmans ideas. You Frenchmen think nothing of sacrificing facts to eloquence, he says. However, the Frenchmans point is born out in the final sections of the novel, which record the atmosphere in Cairo during the 1919 Revolution in Egypt, a national revolt against British colonial rule and the protectorate imposed on Egypt.



The Revolution both vindicates the French archaeologists predictions and serves as a powerful expression of national feeling and solidarity. A person looking at Cairo and its streets during that time would have seen in the midst of the demonstrations and chants Egyptian flags that showed the crescent moon [of Islam] cradling the cross. Egypt had perceived in a single moment that the crescent and the cross were the two arms of a single body with one heart: Egypt!







RETURN TO THE SPIRIT: Al-Hakim wrote Return of the Spirit while he was living in Paris in 1927, having been sent there by his family ostensibly to study law, but in fact spending as much time as possible absorbing the French and European cultural scene, particularly its theatre.



His return to Egypt some years later marked the beginning of an extraordinarily productive period for this still young author  he was born in 1898 in Alexandria  with Return of the Spirit, a first novel, being consigned to a drawer until 1933 when it was first published in Cairo. Meanwhile, Al-Hakim was spending his time writing theatre plays, while at the same time also experimenting with essays and memoirs.

People of the Cave, one of his best-known plays from the 70 or so he wrote during an exceptionally long writing career stretching into the 1980s, appeared in the same year as Return of the Spirit. There was also a novel-memoir reminiscent in its sometimes biting humour to parts of the earlier novel, though this time drawing not on Al-Hakims student days in Cairo but on his early career as a lawyer in the Delta. This work, Diary of a Country Prosecutor, was translated into English as long ago as 1947, indicating a strange time-lapse between its publication in English and the much later appearance of other works from the same decade in translation.Perhaps the mixed character of Return of the Spirit  part novel of apprenticeship, part political novel, part memoir, and part manifesto piece for future novels  should also be seen as part of this extraordinarily productive period. Al-Hakim had decided while in Paris that he could never follow his father in a legal career, at least not with any enthusiasm, and he had decided that he wanted to become a writer.But what sort of writer should he be? As he explains in The Prison of Life, a later memoir, some of his contemporaries had been tempted by journalism, then flourishing in Egypt and offering the prospect of a respectable career if not one that was as secure as the law. Others were experimenting with writing works of prose fiction, sometimes by Egyptianising, or half translating and half adapting, works in European languages. Still others were writing short stories, or autobiographies, biographies, and memoirs. There was a range of possibilities, perhaps explaining why Al-Hakim felt happy to try most of them, sometimes in hybrid works that are part fiction, part memoir, part political tract, and part adaptation from a range of models.But what he really wanted to be, he explains in The Prison of Life, was a dramatist. However, here too there was uncertainty. Part of him seemed to be drawn towards material exploring societal themes in a trend towards realist drama. But another part was drawn to exploring abstract issues that touched only tangentially on immediate societal issues and were less likely to find popular audiences.People of the Cave, a reworking of the Quranic and Christian story of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, was like that, as were Al-Hakims plays from the 1960s that have reminded some of the theatre of the absurd of the time in Europe. Plays like The Sultans Dilemma, The Tree Climber, and the Fate of a Cockroach used absurd situations to ask questions about the foundations of political authority, the character of belief systems, and the extent and limits of human striving.He writes in The Prison of Life that the problem was how to find an audience for what he wanted to write, perhaps by smuggling questions of law and justice into a murder mystery/comic memoir in the manner of Diary of a Country Prosecutor or by blending his gift for comic dialogue, written in the vernacular, with politics and essayistic speculation in the manner of Return of the Spirit. He was torn, he says, between a desire for popularity and one for solitude, for reaching a wider audience and for retreating into an ivory tower of philosophical and aesthetic investigation.The Sultans Dilemma asks to what extent power should be subject to law. The dilemma in The Prison of Life is between imprisonment and freedom, rather like in the People of the Cave. The prison that I live in, made of wall-like inherited traits was something imposed by early life and upbringing, Al-Hakim says in his memoir. My freedom is my thinking. I am a prisoner in what I have inherited, free in what I have acquired. The intellectual and cultural edifice I have erected for myself is my own, he writes.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 30 April, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Aer Lingus will negotiate with unions about staff cuts of up to 900 jobs at the airline.

It comes as Ryanair announced up to 3,000 jobs across pilots and cabin crew could be cut as a direct result of the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis.

An Aer Lingus spokesman said: Aer Lingus is continuing to communicate directly with our employees and engage with their representative bodies.

Labour TD Duncan Smith has called on Aer Lingus to do everything it can to retain jobs and for urgent government intervention.

It is clear that the government need to take urgent action to address the potential torrent of job losses that could occur at Dublin Airport between Aer Lingus and Ryanair Labour TD Duncan Smith

The news today that Aer Lingus are in talks with unions to cut over 900 jobs at the company is extremely concerning. This follows speculation from Ryanair that job losses of over 3,000 people could also happen in the next year.

The overall goal here has to be to retain as many jobs in our aviation sector as possible. We are a small open economy, we need a vibrant aviation sector to help encourage trade and tourism.

My thoughts today are with the workers who face uncertainty. The Government need to extend the temporary wage subsidy scheme for industries that are going to be key for getting us back on track such as Aer Lingus.

It is clear that the government need to take urgent action to address the potential torrent of job losses that could occur at Dublin Airport between Aer Lingus and Ryanair.
Chennai, May 1 : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) said on Friday that its faculty and Padma Shri awardee T. Pradeep has been chosen for the Nikkei Asia Prizes 2020 in the 'Science and Technology' category.

The IITM professor has been selected for this honour in recognition of his pioneering work in nanotechnology-based water purification.

Pradeep is credited with developing nanotechnology-enabled water filters, which have helped deliver clean water at a cost of just 2 paise per litre in India.

In a statement issued here, IITM said more than one crore Indians have benefitted from the research undertaken by the group led by Pradeep, and Deepak Parekh, chair professor, Department of Chemistry at IITM.

The Nikkei Asia Prizes are conferred on individuals who have contributed to the region's sustainable development and for the creation of a better future in Asia.

They are awarded annually in three areas -- Economic and Business Innovation, Science and Technology and Culture and Community.

"Pradeep has brought laurels to himself, his research team, the institute and the country. Apart from the excellent scientific research pursued by the group led by him, Pradeep is making a huge contribution in the very critical area of clean water. The institute is proud of the excellent work done by him and his team," Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IITM, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The prize includes a cash component of 3 million yen and an award certificate and is scheduled to be awarded in Tokyo later this year. First presented in 1996, the Nikkei Asia Prizes has entered its 25th edition.

Thanking the institute for nominating him, Pradeep said, "My work is because of the intense devotion of my students, the environment we have at IIT Madras, my funding agencies and my country. It has been my dream to do something for my country." Pradeep and his team have developed affordable and safe drinking water solutions using nanomaterials, from bench scale science to commercial products, creating knowledge, technology and wealth for social good, simultaneously.

He has demonstrated that completely home-grown nanotechnology, from excellent science to relevant technology is possible in our institutions, with limited resources available from research grants, in the process transforming students to entrepreneurs.

To expand the reach of these technologies globally and to conduct additional research, multiple companies have been incubated, which secured venture funding, the IITM said.

Besides these activities, Pradeep is an outstanding researcher and has won many of the coveted recognitions of the country and abroad for contributions to science. The most recent one is The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in chemistry for 2018.

He is an author of over 470 scientific papers and is an inventor of 110 patents or patent applications.

According to IITM, Pradeep's pesticide removal technology is estimated to have reached about 9 million people. Along with his associates, he has incubated five companies and three of them have production units. His arsenic removal technology, approved for national implementation, is delivering arsenic free water to about one million people every day.
Xiaomi's gaming-oriented sub-brand Black Shark launched its latest devices in China in March, and now it's finally ready to bring them to Europe. Both the Black Shark 3 and the Black Shark 3 Pro will go on sale in Europe on May 8.

Prices haven't been unveiled yet, but given Black Shark's past antics, expect them to be very competitive for the innards you are getting. And those innards are indeed nothing to scoff at.



Black Shark 3 (left) and Black Shark 3 Pro (right)

The Black Shark 3 has a 6.67" 1080x2400 AMOLED touchscreen with 90Hz refresh rate, the Snapdragon 865 SoC at the helm, 8 or 12GB of RAM, 128 or 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage, a triple rear camera system (64 MP main, 13 MP ultrawide, 5 MP depth sensor), a 20 MP selfie snapper, stereo speakers, and a 4,720 mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging (which takes it from 0 to 100 in 38 minutes). It runs Android 10.

The Pro model ups the ante with a humongous 7.1" 1440x3120 AMOLED display with the same refresh rate, introduces a 512GB storage version (but starts at 256GB), and has a slightly larger 5,000 mAh battery, that somehow also charges from 0 to 100 in 38 minutes through the same 65W charger.

If you enter Black Shark's contest that's hosted at its site linked as the Source below, you can randomly win prizes including 10, 30, or 50 vouchers towards a purchase of either of the new handsets, a 25% coupon towards a purchase of one of the phones plus an accessory, and a half-off coupon for the FunCooler Pro CPU fan.

Source | Via
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eldorado Gold Corporation (Eldorado or the Company) today reports the Companys financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2020.



First Quarter 2020 and Subsequent Period Highlights

Proactive steps taken to manage the impact of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic; operations maintained in Turkey and Greece: The Company's mines in Turkey and Greece remained operational throughout Q1. Measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure safe working environments were implemented across Eldorado's global sites.



Lamaque placed back into operations after temporary suspension, permit for increased underground production received : On March 25, 2020 in accordance with the Quebec government-mandated restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the province, the Company temporarily ceased mining and processing operations at Lamaque. Operations were restarted on April 15, 2020, however, exploration drilling activities continue to be curtailed in accordance with the mandated restrictions. The Company also received a Certificate of Authorization from the Quebec Ministry of Environment to allow for the expansion of Triangle underground mine production at Lamaque from 1,800 tonnes per day ("tpd") to 2,650 tpd.



Supporting our communities in response to COVID-19 pandemic : The Company has allocated an initial $500,000 of financial and in-kind support to local communities in Turkey, Canada, Greece, Romania and Brazil so that they may better respond to impacts of the pandemic. Donations include: personal protective equipment and sanitizing products, medical equipment for local hospitals, and food and other supplies for vulnerable populations.



Partial draw-down of credit facility as proactive measure: On March 30, 2020, the Company drew $150 million under its revolving credit facility as a proactive measure in light of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company has no immediate need for the funds, however proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, as required.



Steady production and 2020 annual guidance maintained: Gold production totalled 115,950 ounces in Q1 2020, an increase of 40% from Q1 2019 production of 82,977 ounces. Eldorado is maintaining its 2020 annual guidance of 520,000 - 550,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $850 - 950 per ounce sold.



All-in sustaining costs lower quarter-on-quarter: Q1 2020 all-in-sustaining costs of $952 per ounce sold were lower than Q1 2019 ($1,132 per ounce sold).



Strong financial liquidity: The Company currently has $363.6 million of cash, cash equivalents and term deposits and approximately $36 million available under the remaining $100 million of the revolving credit facility, with $64 million of capacity on the facility allocated to secure certain reclamation obligations in connection with its operations.



Net loss and adjusted net earnings attributable to shareholders: Q1 2020 net loss attributable to shareholders of the Company was $4.9 million or $0.03 loss per share (Q1 2019: net loss attributable to shareholders of the Company of $27.0 million, or $0.17 loss per share). Adjusted net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Company in Q1 2020 was $12.5 million, or $0.08 per share (Q1 2019: adjusted net loss attributable to shareholders of the Company of $21.1 million, or $0.13 loss per share).



Increased EBITDA: Q1 2020 EBITDA was $84.7 million ($4.9 million in Q1 2019) and Q1 2020 adjusted EBITDA was $90.0 million ($12.5 million in Q1 2019). Adjustments in both periods included, among other things, share based compensation and losses on asset disposals.

Story continues

Operational performance in the first quarter of 2020 was exceptional under extraordinary conditions as we effectively responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to recognize the efforts of all of our employees who have worked tirelessly and implemented the necessary controls to minimize risks to our people, families, neighbouring communities and our business, said George Burns, President and CEO.

The Company has been agile in its decision making, including implementing proactive measures to protect its balance sheet. With approximately $400 million in total liquidity at quarter end, Eldorado is well capitalized and positioned to maintain its strategic goals as we begin paying down our term loan in June of this year. "

At this time, we are maintaining our guidance for 2020 and we will continue to evaluate capital allocation, operational profitability and monitor the potential impacts of COVID-19, including staffing levels. The sites are operating at approximately 75% of normal levels as staff considered to be high-risk have been asked to stay at home. We do not expect this to affect production in the near term but we are reviewing the potential longer term impact as certain discretionary activities such as waste stripping, underground development and drilling are temporarily reduced. We continue to track this situation closely and are actively working with sites to transition back to normal staffing levels.

Consolidated Financial and Operational Highlights

3 months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Revenue (1) $ 204.7 $ 80.0 Gold revenue (1) $ 183.7 $ 54.5 Gold produced (oz) (2) 115,950 82,977 Gold sold (oz) (1) 116,219 43,074 Average realized gold price ($/oz sold) (6) $ 1,580 $ 1,265 Cash operating costs ($/oz sold) (3,6) 627 625 Total cash costs ($/oz sold) (3,6) 678 652 All-in sustaining costs ($/oz sold) (3,6) 952 1,132 Net loss for the period (4) (4.9 ) (27.0 ) Net loss per share  basic ($/share) (4) (0.03 ) (0.17 ) Adjusted net earnings (loss) (4,5,6,7) 12.5 (21.1 ) Adjusted net earnings (loss) per share ($/share) (4,5,6,7) 0.08 (0.13 ) Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital (6,8) 69.4 8.2 Free cash flow (6) 7.2 (64.0 ) Cash, cash equivalents and term deposits $ 363.6 $ 227.5

Excludes sales of inventory mined at Lamaque during the pre-commercial production period (Q1 2019). Includes pre-commercial production at Lamaque (Q1 2019). By-product revenues are off-set against cash operating costs. Attributable to shareholders of the Company. See reconciliation of net earnings (loss) to adjusted net earnings (loss) in the MD&A section 'Non-IFRS Measures'. These measures are non-IFRS measures. See the MD&A section 'Non-IFRS Measures' for explanations and discussion of these non-IFRS measures. Q1 2019 has been adjusted to conform with 2020 presentation. See the MD&A section 'Non-IFRS Measures' for detail. Q1 2019 amount has been adjusted to reflect reclassifications in cash flow from operating activities in the current period.

Gold production of 115,950 ounces increased from 82,977 ounces in the first quarter of 2019. Gold sales in Q1 2020 totalled 116,219 ounces, compared with 43,074 ounces sold in Q1 2019. The higher sales volume compared with the prior year reflected increases at all mines, primarily 26,728 ounces sold from Lamaque following its commencement of commercial operations in April 2019, an additional 24,345 ounces sold from Kisladag following the resumption of mining activities in April 2019 and an additional 17,403 ounces sold from Efemcukuru due to delays in sales in Q1 2019.

Total revenue was $204.7 million in Q1 2020, an increase of 156% from total revenue of $80.0 million in Q1 2019. The increase was due to increased sales volumes combined with higher gold prices and included $42.8 million of revenue contributed by Lamaque following the commencement of commercial operations in April 2019.

Cash operating costs in Q1 2020 averaged $627 per ounce sold, a slight increase from $625 per ounce sold in Q1 2019. The increase was primarily due to cash operating costs per ounce sold at Efemcukuru and Lamaque being negatively impacted by mining and processing lower-grade ore in the quarter, resulting in fewer ounces produced. Cash operating costs per ounce sold at Olympias were also negatively impacted by lower silver and base metal prices, which reduce cash operating costs as by-product credits. These increases were almost fully offset by a decrease in cash operating costs per ounce sold at Kisladag in Q1 2020 as a result of the partial reallocation of processing costs to ounces in leach pad inventory following the resumption of mining in April 2019.

We reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of $4.9 million ($0.03 loss per share) in Q1 2020, compared to a net loss of $27.0 million ($0.17 loss per share) in Q1 2019. Net loss in Q1 2020 is primarily attributable to increased finance costs and increased tax expense in line with higher sales volumes and the weakening of local currencies in which income tax is determined.

Adjusted net earnings were $12.5 million ($0.08 per share) in Q1 2020, compared to adjusted net loss of $21.1 million ($0.13 loss per share) in Q1 2019. Adjusted net earnings in Q1 2020 removes, among other things, a $12.2 million loss on foreign exchange due to translation of deferred tax balances and the $4.4 million loss on the non-cash revaluation of the derivative related to redemption options in our debt.

Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. In response, governments in numerous jurisdictions, including those where we operate, implemented emergency measures including travel restrictions, suspension of non-essential operations and changes to behaviour intended to reduce the spread of the virus.

We have taken steps and implemented global preventative measures to ensure a safe working environment for our employees and contractors and to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These include:

Task observations to ensure that workplace controls in place are effective in maintaining physical distance. Procedures will be modified where necessary to create safe distance. Tasks that cannot be effectively modified are discontinued until an appropriate change can be implemented.

Pre-emptive measures such as temperature screening before accessing sites, encouraging increased hand-washing and physical-distancing and limiting all non-essential travel.

Advising employees to stay at home if they are at risk or have family members at home at risk.

Following recommendations of the World Health Organization, local health authorities and advice of jurisdictional governments. We have taken precautionary steps to educate our employees about the symptoms and transmission of the virus with clear instructions on what to do if they feel unwell.

Isolation procedures, should an employee or contractor test positive for COVID-19.

Limiting access to our offices and sites to essential people only to reduce unnecessary exposure. We have also implemented controls during delivery of supplies and materials to our offices and sites.

Working with local communities to distribute hygiene supplies and to educate them on preventative measures to reduce the spread of the virus.

We have been prudent in preparing for the uncertainty around COVID-19 and how it will affect our business. We implemented a crisis management plan in early March and are continuing to optimize and improve our approach to this situation through observations and learning, sharing information across our sites and across our industry. We continue to monitor our operating environments closely and are continuing to take proactive steps to protect the health and safety of our workforce, their families and our neighbouring communities.

Operations Update

Gold Operations

3 months ended March 31, 2020 2019 Total Ounces produced (1) 115,950 82,977 Ounces sold (2, 4) 116,219 43,074 Cash operating costs ($/oz sold) (4,5) $ 627 $ 625 All-in sustaining costs ($/oz sold) (4,5) $ 952 $ 1,132 Sustaining capital expenditures (5) $ 19.4 $ 10.8 Kisladag Ounces produced (3) 50,176 27,247 Ounces sold 51,600 27,255 Cash operating costs ($/oz sold) (5) $ 451 $ 558 All-in sustaining costs ($/oz sold) (5) $ 578 $ 703 Sustaining capital expenditures (5) $ 3.0 $ 3.1 Lamaque Ounces produced (1) 27,353 19,678 Ounces sold (2) 26,728 n/a Cash operating costs ($/oz sold) (5) $ 641 n/a All-in sustaining costs ($/oz sold) (5) $ 1,042 n/a Sustaining capital expenditures (5) $ 8.3 n/a Efemcukuru Ounces produced 23,239 26,124 Ounces sold (4) 23,221 5,818 Cash operating costs ($/oz sold) (4,5) $ 642 $ 636 All-in sustaining costs ($/oz sold) (4,5) $ 864 $ 1,394 Sustaining capital expenditures (5) $ 3.1 $ 3.6 Olympias Ounces produced 15,182 9,928 Ounces sold 14,670 10,001 Cash operating costs ($/oz sold) (5) $ 1,196 $ 800 All-in sustaining costs ($/oz sold) (5) $ 1,646 $ 1,284 Sustaining capital expenditures (5) $ 5.0 $ 4.1

Includes pre-commercial production at Lamaque (Q1 2019). Excludes sales of inventory produced at Lamaque during the pre-commercial production period (Q1 2019). Kisladag resumed mining, crushing and placing ore on the heap leach pad on April 1, 2019. This activity had been suspended since April 2018. Efemcukuru unit costs in Q1 2019 were impacted by lower ounces sold resulting from delayed shipments in Q1 2019 that were completed in Q2 2019. These measures are non-IFRS measures. See the MD&A section 'Non-IFRS Measures' for explanations and discussion of these non-IFRS measures.

Conference Call

A conference call to discuss the details of the Companys Q1 2020 results will be held by senior management on Friday, May 1, 2020 at 8:30 AM PT (11:30 AM ET). The call will be webcast and can be accessed at Eldorado Golds website: www.eldoradogold.com and via this link: http://services.choruscall.ca/links/eldoradogold20200501.html .

Conference Call Details Replay (available until June 5, 2020) Date: May 1, 2020 Vancouver: +1 604 638 9010 Time: 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET) Toll Free: +1 800 319 6413 Dial in: +1 604 638 5340 Access code: 4286 Toll free: +1 800 319 4610

About Eldorado Gold

Eldorado is a gold and base metals producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, Canada, Greece, Romania, and Brazil. The Company has a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, safe and responsible operations, a portfolio of high-quality assets, and long-term partnerships with local communities. Eldorado's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (ELD.TO) and the New York Stock Exchange (EGO).

Contacts

Investor Relations

Peter Lekich, Manager Investor Relations

604.687.4018 or 1.888.353.8166 peter.lekich@eldoradogold.com

Media

Louise Burgess, Director Communications & Government Relations

604.687.4018 or 1.888.353.8166 louise.burgess@eldoradogold.com

Non-IFRS Measures

Certain non-IFRS measures are included in this press release, including average realized gold price per ounce sold, cash operating costs and cash operating costs per ounce sold, total cash costs and total cash costs per ounce sold, all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") and AISC per ounce sold, adjusted net earnings/(loss), adjusted net earnings/(loss) per share, working capital, cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital, earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA"), free cash flow and sustaining capital. Please see the March 31, 2020 MD&A for explanations and discussion of these non-IFRS measures. The Company believes that these measures, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), provide investors an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The non-IFRS measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers.

Cautionary Note about Forward-looking Statements and Information

Certain of the statements made and information provided in this press release are forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", continue, projected, "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

Forward-looking statements or information contained in this release include, but are not limited to, statements or information with respect to: the duration, extent and other implications of COVID-19 and any restrictions and suspensions with respect to our operations, our guidance and outlook, including expected production, cost guidance and recoveries of gold, favourable economics for our heap leaching plan and the ability to extend mine life at our projects, including at Kisladag through further metallurgical tests on deeper material, completion and results of waste stripping at Kisladag, improved production at Olympias, completion and results of construction and the PEA at Lamaque, completion of construction at Skouries, planned capital and exploration expenditures; our expectation as to our future financial and operating performance, expected metallurgical recoveries, gold price outlook and the global concentrate market; and our strategy, plans and goals, including our proposed exploration, development, construction, permitting and operating plans and priorities and related timelines and schedules and results of litigation and arbitration proceedings.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, market uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information.

We have made certain assumptions about the forward-looking statements and information, including assumptions about how the world-wide economic and social impact of COVID-19 is managed and the duration and extent of the COVID 19 pandemic, geopolitical, economic, permitting and legal climate that we operate in; the future price of gold and other commodities; the global concentrate market; exchange rates; anticipated costs and expenses; production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries, the impact of acquisitions, dispositions, suspensions or delays on our business and the ability to achieve our goals. In particular, except where otherwise stated, we have assumed a continuation of existing business operations on substantially the same basis as exists at the time of this release.

Even though our management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statement or information will prove to be accurate. Many assumptions may be difficult to predict and are beyond our control.

Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the following: global outbreaks of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, results of further testwork, recoveries of gold and other metals; geopolitical and economic climate (global and local), risks related to mineral tenure and permits; gold and other commodity price volatility; continued softening of the global concentrate market; risks regarding potential and pending litigation and arbitration proceedings relating to the Companys, business, properties and operations; expected impact on reserves and the carrying value; the updating of the reserve and resource models and life of mine plans; mining operational and development risk; financing risks, foreign country operational risks; risks of sovereign investment; regulatory risks and liabilities including, environmental regulatory restrictions and liability; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical testing and recoveries; additional funding requirements; currency fluctuations; community and non-governmental organization actions; speculative nature of gold exploration; dilution; share price volatility and the price of the common shares of the Company; competition; loss of key employees; and defective title to mineral claims or properties, as well as those risk factors discussed in the sections titled Forward-Looking Statements and "Risk factors in our business" in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form & Form 40-F. The reader is directed to carefully review the detailed risk discussion in our most recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR and EDGAR under our Company name, which discussion is incorporated by reference in this release, for a fuller understanding of the risks and uncertainties that affect the Companys business and operations.

Forward-looking statements and information is designed to help you understand managements current views of our near and longer term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update forward-looking statements and information continually as conditions change.

Financial Information and condensed statements contained herein or attached hereto may not be suitable for readers that are unfamiliar with the Company and is not a substitute for reading the Companys financial statements and related MD&A available on our website and on SEDAR and EDGAR under our Company name. The reader is directed to carefully review such document for a full understanding of the financial information summarized herein.

Except as otherwise noted, scientific and technical information contained in this press release was reviewed and approved by Paul Skayman, FAusIMM, Special Advisor to the Chief Operating Officer for Eldorado Gold Corporation, and a "qualified person" under NI 43-101.





Eldorado Gold Corporation

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position

(Unaudited  in thousands of U.S. dollars) As at Note March 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 308,780 $ 177,742 Term deposits 54,800 3,275 Marketable securities 2,889 3,828 Accounts receivable and other 4 71,506 75,310 Inventories 5 165,579 163,234 Current portion of employee benefit plan assets 5,777  Assets held for sale 11,956 12,471 621,287 435,860 Restricted cash 1,906 3,080 Other assets 29,145 22,943 Employee benefit plan assets  6,244 Property, plant and equipment 4,067,082 4,088,202 Goodwill 92,591 92,591 $ 4,812,011 $ 4,648,920 LIABILITIES & EQUITY Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 131,067 $ 139,104 Current portion of lease liabilities 9,409 9,913 Current portion of debt 6 216,667 66,667 Current portion of asset retirement obligations 1,783 1,782 Current portion of employee benefit plan obligations 1,080  Liabilities associated with assets held for sale 4,219 4,257 364,225 221,723 Debt 6 418,458 413,065 Lease liabilities 13,148 15,143 Employee benefit plan obligations 17,084 18,224 Asset retirement obligations 94,175 94,235 Deferred income tax liabilities 415,413 412,717 1,322,503 1,175,107 Equity Share capital 10 3,075,100 3,054,563 Treasury stock (8,314 ) (8,662 ) Contributed surplus 2,628,820 2,627,441 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (30,062 ) (28,966 ) Deficit (2,234,747 ) (2,229,867 ) Total equity attributable to shareholders of the Company 3,430,797 3,414,509 Attributable to non-controlling interests 58,711 59,304 3,489,508 3,473,813 $ 4,812,011 $ 4,648,920

Approved on behalf of the Board of Directors

(Signed) John Webster Director (Signed) George Burns Director



Date of approval: April 30, 2020





Eldorado Gold Corporation

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Operations

For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

(Unaudited  in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts) Note Three months ended March 31, 2020 Three months ended March 31, 2019 Revenue Metal sales 7 $ 204,655 $ 80,024 Cost of sales Production costs 101,362 51,921 Depreciation and amortization 52,363 20,161 153,725 72,082 Earnings from mine operations 50,930 7,942 Exploration and evaluation expenses 3,227 5,365 Mine standby costs 8 4,030 7,993 General and administrative expenses 8,287 6,953 Employee benefit plan expense 691 599 Share-based payments expense 11 1,795 2,902 Write-down of assets 203 17 Foreign exchange gain (762 ) (245 ) Earnings (loss) from operations 33,459 (15,642 ) Other (loss) income 9 (1,320 ) 1,633 Finance costs 9 (16,207 ) (7,331 ) Earnings (loss) from operations before income tax 15,932 (21,340 ) Income tax expense 21,405 6,032 Net loss for the period $ (5,473 ) $ (27,372 ) Attributable to: Shareholders of the Company (4,880 ) (26,965 ) Non-controlling interests (593 ) (407 ) Net loss for the period $ (5,473 ) $ (27,372 ) Weighted average number of shares outstanding (thousands) Basic 165,211 158,318 Diluted 165,211 158,318 Net loss per share attributable to shareholders of the Company: Basic loss per share $ (0.03 ) $ (0.17 ) Diluted loss per share $ (0.03 ) $ (0.17 )





Eldorado Gold Corporation

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Comprehensive Loss

For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019(Unaudited  in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three months ended March 31, 2020 Three months ended March 31, 2019 Net loss for the period $ (5,473 ) $ (27,372 ) Other comprehensive (loss) income: Items that will not be reclassified to earnings or loss: Change in fair value of investments in equity securities, net of tax (868 ) 147 Actuarial losses on employee benefit plans, net of tax (228 ) (346 ) Total other comprehensive loss for the period (1,096 ) (199 ) Total comprehensive loss for the period $ (6,569 ) $ (27,571 ) Attributable to: Shareholders of the Company (5,976 ) (27,164 ) Non-controlling interests (593 ) (407 ) $ (6,569 ) $ (27,571 )





Eldorado Gold Corporation

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flows

For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

(Unaudited  in thousands of U.S. dollars) Note Three months ended March 31, 2020 Three months ended March 31, 2019 Cash flows generated from (used in): Operating activities Net loss for the period $ (5,473 ) $ (27,372 ) Items not affecting cash: Depreciation and amortization 52,927 19,942 Finance costs 16,224 7,331 Interest income (389 ) (1,215 ) Unrealized foreign exchange gain (2,538 ) (173 ) Income tax expense 21,405 6,032 Write-down of assets 203 17 Loss on disposal of assets 2,454 62 Share-based payments expense 11 1,795 2,902 Employee benefit plan expense 691 599 87,299 8,125 Property reclamation payments (526 ) (900 ) Employee benefit plan payments (236 )  Income taxes paid (14,719 )  Interest paid (2,770 ) (250 ) Interest received 389 1,215 Changes in non-cash working capital 12 (16,170 ) (8,818 ) Net cash generated from (used in) operating activities 53,267 (628 ) Investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment (40,482 ) (65,920 ) Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment 22 380 Proceeds on pre-commercial production sales, net  4,553 Value added taxes related to mineral property expenditures, net (5,651 ) (2,371 ) Increase in term deposits (51,525 ) (26 ) Decrease (increase) in restricted cash 1,174 (446 ) Net cash used in investing activities (96,462 ) (63,830 ) Financing activities Cash received for issuance of common shares 26,836  Proceeds from borrowings 6 150,000  Principal portion of lease liabilities (2,534 ) (1,074 ) Net cash generated from (used in) financing activities 174,302 (1,074 ) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 131,107 (65,532 ) Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period 177,742 286,312 Cash decrease in disposal group held for sale (69 )  Cash and cash equivalents - end of period $ 308,780 $ 220,780





Eldorado Gold Corporation

Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Changes in Equity

For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019

(Unaudited  in thousands of U.S. dollars) Note Three months ended March 31, 2020 Three months ended March 31, 2019 Share capital Balance beginning of period $ 3,054,563 $ 3,007,924 Shares issued upon exercise of share options, for cash 424  Transfer of contributed surplus on exercise of options 170  Shares issued to the public, net of share issuance costs 19,943  Balance end of period 10 $ 3,075,100 $ 3,007,924 Treasury stock Balance beginning of period $ (8,662 ) $ (10,104 ) Shares redeemed upon exercise of restricted share units 348 835 Balance end of period $ (8,314 ) $ (9,269 ) Contributed surplus Balance beginning of period $ 2,627,441 $ 2,620,799 Share-based payments 1,897 1,902 Shares redeemed upon exercise of restricted share units (348 ) (835 ) Transfers to share capital on exercise of options (170 )  Balance end of period $ 2,628,820 $ 2,621,866 Accumulated other comprehensive loss Balance beginning of period $ (28,966 ) $ (24,494 ) Other comprehensive loss for the period (1,096 ) (199 ) Balance end of period $ (30,062 ) $ (24,693 ) Deficit Balance beginning of period $ (2,229,867 ) $ (2,310,453 ) Loss attributable to shareholders of the Company (4,880 ) (26,965 ) Balance end of period $ (2,234,747 ) $ (2,337,418 ) Total equity attributable to shareholders of the Company $ 3,430,797 $ 3,258,410 Non-controlling interests Balance beginning of period $ 59,304 $ 63,414 Loss attributable to non-controlling interests (593 ) (407 ) Balance end of period $ 58,711 $ 63,007 Total equity $ 3,489,508 $ 3,321,417




Pamela Oakley left her wheelchair behind and took a step forward, to a boom of cheers.

The curving hallway ahead of her was lined with doctors, nurses and other staffers from Northeast Baptist Hospital, who were eager to celebrate the unlikely recovery of one of their sickest coronavirus patients.

Oakley, 52, had been hospitalized since March 20, when she began to gasp for air. After she became the first COVID-19 patient at Northeast Baptist to require the assistance of a mechanical ventilator, her situation looked grim. As one week stretched into the next, it seemed like she wouldnt make it.

Somehow, she managed to turn the corner. On Friday, after a week of inpatient rehabilitation, she walked out of the hospital on her own.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

On ExpressNews.com: A last resort against COVID-19: When a ventilator wasnt enough for this 30-year-old patient, San Antonio doctors improvised

Medically speaking, I should not have lived, Oakley said. It was nothing but God that brought me through this.

Oakley suspects she was exposed to the virus when she traveled to California in March. Her 17-year-old daughter, Jenna Faith Oakley, who has a burgeoning Christian country music career, had been invited to sing at a movie premiere in Hollywood.

Days after returning to her home in Wilson County, outside Floresville, Oakley began feeling unwell. Her symptoms felt at first like allergies but escalated to those of a head cold, then the flu.

When she began struggling to breathe, she ended up at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, where she was tested for the novel coronavirus.

When her test results came back positive two days later, Oakleys mind immediately went to her children.

A year earlier, Oakleys 26-year-old son, Dual Harroff, had been killed in a car crash. Jenna, who was close to him, took his death particularly hard.

Oakleys thinking went like this: If she got better, she would go back to her daughter. If she didnt, at least she would be with her son.

On ExpressNews.com: His COVID-19 patient got better after a plasma transfusion. To know if it worked, a San Antonio doctor is encouraging more donations.

Oakley was transferred to Northeast Baptist, where the hospital system has centralized the medical care of critically ill coronavirus patients.

Dr. Duane Hospenthal, an infectious disease physician and medical director of infection control for Baptist Health System, knew only so much could be done for a patient like Oakley.

At the time, treatment options were limited for COVID-19 patients. Convalescent plasma from recovered donors was not yet available, and the hospital wasnt a site for experimental drugs like remdesivir. Even those options werent proven, as data on what worked against the coronavirus remained scant.

Supportive care  in Oakleys case, a ventilator and off-label use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine  was all they could offer.

Hospenthals hopes werent high. Many COVID-19 patients who went on ventilators were not surviving.

On ExpressNews.com: A fever that comes and goes, or almost no symptoms at all: San Antonians troubled by milder forms of COVID-19

For almost three weeks, Oakley remained sedated, oblivious to how serious her illness had become.

In that haze, it sometimes felt like she could hear her daughters voice. It wasnt until later that she learned nurses had played her daughters music while she was being intubated.

After 20 days, Oakley improved enough to come off the ventilator. When she woke up, she was shocked to learn how much time had passed. While she was under, she had missed her daughters 18th birthday.

Weeks of immobility left Oakley unable to walk very far without having to catch her breath. She could not be transferred to the rehabilitation floor until she had tested negative twice for the virus, so she did what exercises she could from her hospital bed, stretching her arms with the bands nurses used to measure her blood pressure.

When Oakley entered inpatient rehabilitation, she was told it could be weeks before she was back on her feet. She was determined to recover faster than that.

A week later, she was ready to be discharged.

This is great, to see somebody struggle through this, Hospenthal said.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio coronavirus patients enrolled in trial of promising antiviral drug

On Friday morning, as Oakley made her way down the hall at Northeast Baptist, she hugged her family members and beamed at the line of health care workers stretching before her.

They all wore face masks, but some also had party hats, pompoms, balloons. One cradled a bouquet of flowers.

Tears sprung into Oakleys eyes. She kept going.

When Oakley reached a pair of sliding doors with apparent ease, a woman in scrubs remarked: Oh wow, she walked right out of here.

Outside, Oakley paused to marvel at the fact that, just days earlier, she would have been too weak to make such a trek.

Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News

Im excited to go home, she said. God is good.

She turned and was handed a bunch of balloons.

She stepped into the morning sun and released them into the sky.

Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Lauren, become a subscriber. lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba
Amazon said that India's lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic has been the biggest impact to the company's international business segment. In the quarterly results call Amazon Brian CFO Olsavsky said, "We're now only fulfilling our essential goods such as grocery. So that's cut back a lot on our offering, and we will further expand when the Indian government announces that were allowed to resume operations." He further said that the company was in a 'bit of a holding pattern' except for grocery fulfillment, the only operations that the company is currently carrying out due to government restrictions.

Amazon's operating losses for international business segment galloped to $398 million dollars in Q1 2020 compared to $90 million in Q1 of 2019. The company said that it incurred over $600 million in COVID-19 related costs in first quarter, and expects these costs to grow to $4 billion or more the coming quarter. Globally across its operations , the headwinds for the company include costs in procuring personal protective equipment for employees, enhanced cleaning of the facilities, and also productivity could take a dip in their facilities where social distancing will have to be maintained even as they begin ramping up number of employees.

ALSO READ:Coronavirus update: Amazon profit falls as pandemic-related costs rise

Amit Agarwal, Amazon's India head, posted on Twitter, "E-commerce offers the safest way to ensure social distancing, saving lives and livelihoods. We urge the government to allow us to deliver all products (not just essentials) that citizens need over a prolonged period so that they can stay safe while simultaneously jump-starting MSME."

Amazon India recently launched 'Local Shops on Amazon' aimed at bringing e-commerce to local shopkeepers and retailers of all sizes to leverage Amazon's platform to sell online and can also choose to expand their serviceable areas using Amazon's fulfilment services. Gopal Pillai, VP, Seller Services - Amazon India, said "We focused all our efforts to only serve products that are essential to our customers during this time. It was heartening to see hundreds of retailers from the Local Shops program play an important role to help people across India practice social distancing while addressing their needs for essential products."

ALSO READ:Amazon sees heavy earnings hit, forecasts $4 billion in COVID-19-related costs
"The Code of Banking Practice is clear that communication must be timely and useful. Notifying consumers after the event of closing access to what consumers believe is their money is insulting.

Alexandra Kelly, a director of casework at Financial Rights Legal Centre, described the bank's conduct as abhorrent. She said she was concerned that a bank subject to the Code of Banking Practice had unilaterally taken away or reduced a customers access to their redraw facilities. "The communication has not been fair, timely or appropriate," she said.

The decision by ME to plunder customer accounts has prompted speculation among industry experts that it wanted to shrink the size of its loan book and reduce the risk of defaults.

ME Bank was set up in 1994 by industry super funds with the aim of competing with the big four banks and helping Australians buy homes. According to its annual report, its home loan portfolio is $26 billion, representing almost 2 per cent of the home loan market.

"This is further compounded by not having sufficient numbers of staff available to answer the frantic calls and no notice on their website. Given all the problems identified in the royal commission with banks  this behaviour is frankly a disgrace."

One customer, scientist Monica Genova, said on Monday the bank removed $24,000 from her redraw facility and transferred it to her home loan without notice. She said most of her loan had been repaid. "It came as a huge shock as the money was considered savings to be used for urgent home repairs. The timing of this, given the uncertainty of jobs during the pandemic is despicable to say the least," she said. "Instead of ME Bank, I now use the catchphrase Despicable ME."

Another customer said $10,000 was transferred from her facility to her loan at a time when her hours of work and that of her husbands had been dramatically reduced. "And they do this now! No warning no notification, no explanation."

Another ME customer who works in financial services, Carolyn White, said her redraw facility had been reduced by one-third and $35,000 transferred to reduce her mortgage. "I can't believe after Hayne [royal commission] that they took this course of action then have such poor execution," she said. "The promise of a call never happened."

ME Bank failed to respond to a series of detailed questions including how many customers were affected, the amount of money transferred to mortgages, why it failed to notify customers and why it failed to have the infrastructure in place related to the impact of falling property prices on the value of its loan book or due to capital requirements.
Mumbai, May 1 : Actress Rati Agnihotri, who worked with Rishi Kapoor in films like "Tawaif" and "Yeh Hai Jalwa", says the late actor will be greatly missed.

"(It's) A huge loss. (He used to be) So alive. I will miss him a lot. He was a wonderful person. Rest in peace Rishi, " Rati, who currently lives in Poland, told IANS.

Rishi, who died on Thursday in Mumbai after a two-year battle with leukemia, had featured in several iconic films in his career of over four decades. And in his Bollywood journey, he had been a partof several women-oriented films. "Tawaif", in which Rati has the starring role, is one such film.

In the movie, Dawood (Rishi) accepts Sultana (Rati), a courtesan, as his wife in spite of being in love with an author, Kaynat (Poonam Dhillion).

Rishi had even once shared his happiness to be part of such films.

"Since the olden time whenever there were films made on the idea of women empowerment, I was part of those films, like 'Prem Rog', 'Damini', 'Tawaif', 'Chandni', and many more. I have done many films that reflect the future way of thinking. I have always played my part. I have always helped and encouraged women empowerment," he once said.

"No one can say that I haven't done anything; you can blame other actors who have always done macho films and actions films. I am the one who has supported and made such films I can't think of anyone else who has," Rishi had said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A Camp Pendleton Marine who joined the Corps in 1942, retired earlier this month from his civilian job at Camp Pendleton.

Sgt. Maj. Walter Valentine, 89, served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam over three decades with the Marines and then spent another three decades helping comrades make a smooth transition into civilian life when they retire.

After Valentine finished boot camp at Camp Lejeune, NC in 1942, he joined the 3rd Marine Division and headed for combat in the Pacific as a scout sniper.

He was in the assault landing of Bougainville, now Papua New Guinea, in November 1943, then headed to Guadalcanal for more combat training. Later he participated in the assault landing that recaptured the island of Guam and fought in the battle of Iwo Jima, where he earned a Purple Heart.

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I will never forget the flag rising at Iwo Jima, Valentine said.

His combat duties continued during the Korean War in 1950 when he fought in the battle of Chosin Reservoir after communist forces attacked Koreas southern peninsula.

Valentine was in the battlefield in Vietnam conflict during the 1960s, earning his combat crew wings as a door gunner.

Roughly 31 years after boot camp, Valentine retired from active duty at Camp Pendleton in 1973.

I served with many fine and heroic men and women during some of our countrys major combat missions, Valentine said. The friendships and respect we have for one another has lasted through the years.

He enrolled at MiraCosta College and completed an associate degree in business administration and supervision on the GI Bill.

Valentine was back on base in 1980 as a civilian employee running retirement seminars for Marines and sailors and helping them find jobs.

When I retired from active duty I wanted to continue to serve the men and women in the Marine Corps. Its been an honor to help the younger generation, Valentine said.

He estimates that hes helped 20,000 transitioning service members over 30 years. Valentine retired from his post as special programs coordinator with the Personal and Professional Development Program on Feb. 14.
More than 3.8 million workers in the US filed for unemployment benefits last week as the country faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. More than 30 million American workers have filed unemployment claims since the beginning of statewide lockdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic in March. That number far exceeds the 22.4 million new jobs created since November 2009 at the end of the last recession.

The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to spiral upwards even as deaths related to the deadly virus are still averaging well over 2,000 a day. To date some 62,000 people have died in the US because of the pandemic, about 27 percent of the global total.

The crisis has seen the largest number of workers filing unemployment claims in US history, about one sixth of the total workforce. Millions more workers have lost their employment but have not filed claims because of their immigration status or because they were self-employed, contract workers or others who typically are not eligible. In addition, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimated 12 million workers did not file claims because state unemployment claims systems were overwhelmed making it too difficult.

A man checks information in front of Illinois Department of Employment Security in Chicago, Thursday, April 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A childcare worker in Washington state who had her hours cut and applied for benefits was denied after weeks of futile attempts. When I called, there was a voice recording stating that they were experiencing extremely high call volumes and I had to call back later, she told the WSWS. I heard that same voice recording for three weeks straight, during which I called the technical support number and the claims number at least four times per week. She added, without unemployment benefits, Im not sure we will be able to make it past May.

Her friend said he had not been able to collect benefits because of a lack of sufficient hours. There is a pressure for me to go back to work, but I have been terrified to go back because of the risk to my health and those around me.

A Ford worker in Michigan who was laid off in March said, So far I have only gotten one check. The month is almost up, and I have to make decisions about rent.

Economists believe the real jobless rate is rapidly nearing the record 25.6 percent reached during the height of the Great Depression.

Underscoring the irrationality of the capitalist profit system, health systems across the US have furloughed tens of thousands of medical workers, including doctors and nurses in the midst of the massive health crisis.

According to a US government estimate, the economy shrank by a 4.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter of this year. According to one estimate it may shrink at a 40 percent annual rate in the second quarter, a collapse without precedent.

Of those who have applied for benefits, only 18 million claims have been approved, meaning millions face destitution. Consumer spending fell 7.5 percent in March, the worst monthly figure ever recorded. Aprils fall will likely be far worse.

In California alone, 3.78 million workers or 19.6 percent of the workforce have submitted unemployment claims. This week the state for the first time allowed so-called gig workers, independent contractors and the self-employed to file as well.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, more than 131,000 workers filed a claim in the week ending April 25. That brings the states total in six weeks to more than 1.6 million, 24.7 percent of the states workforce.

Michigan has been one of the states hardest hit by layoffs in proportion to the size of its workforce. There have been well over 1.2 million claims for unemployment benefits, representing almost a quarter of the states workers.

Compounding the crisis, EPI estimates 12.7 million workers have lost employer-paid medical insurance in the midst of the pandemic, the worst health crisis in 100 years. Countless families face the impossible choice of forgoing treatment or facing crippling debts.

Corporations are using the pandemic to carry out further downsizing. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing, beset by crisis over the 737 MAX, has announced the layoff of 10 percent of its workforce. The company restarted production at its Seattle, Washington area factories last week. Ride hailing service Lyft says it will lay off 1,000 employees, 17 percent of its workforce.

In an effort to blackmail workers to return to work even as the deadly disease continues to spread, several states are announcing measures to deny unemployment benefits to those who refuse to return because of health concerns. The state of Tennessee said it may potentially disqualify claimants from receiving unemployment insurance benefits if they refuse to return to a job where they have been temporarily laid off. In Iowa, where more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases are tied to one Tyson pork processing plant in Waterloo, state officials posted a notice saying: ATTENTION EMPLOYERS: If you have offered work to employees and your employee refuses to return to work, you must notify Iowa Workforce Development.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration issued an executive order forcing meat processing facilities to stay open, including the Smithfield Foods pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were at least two workers have died. The administration is also moving to protect the giant food processing companies from any legal liabilities for sickening and killing workers.

The US Labor Department also declared, Barring unusual circumstances a request that a furloughed employee return to his or her job very likely constitutes an offer of suitable employment that the employee must accept.

Archaic state unemployment filing systems have been overwhelmed by the mass of claimants.

Florida had the largest increase in new claims this month, a 7,330 percent increase over April 2019. During the week of April 20, 432,465 filed for unemployment benefits in Florida compared to 5,900 for the same week last year. Overall there have been 1,592,236 new claims since the start of the lockdowns compared to 35,215 in the same period last year, a 4,521 percent increase

The states website has been unable to handle the huge increase, forcing those seeking assistance to try again and again to process their claims. Some give up. Last week, according to a report in the Associated Press, 7 of 8 Florida claimants from mid-March to early April were waiting to have their unemployment applications processed. California had two-thirds of its claims waiting and New York, 30 percent.

Tens of millions have not gotten the meager $1,200 federal stimulus payments authorized by Congress. Only a little over half of the money allocated has been disbursed, and there appears to be little explanation of what is holding up the rest of money needed by desperate households. According to the House Ways and Means Committee the government began doling out paper checks on April 20 to 5 million households a week to be spread over the next 20 weeks. Nothing in the stimulus bill prevents creditors from garnishing the payments, though a few states have said they will block that.

Meanwhile, many family-owned small businesses have found themselves shut out from receiving loans under the Paycheck Protection Program as big businesses gobble up the money. Many who do get help find out it comes with multiple strings attached.

Capitalism has demonstrated its inability to respond in a rational and humane manner to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of providing the billions needed to meet the health care crisis and provide relief for the unemployed and small businesses, virtually unlimited resources have been made available for Wall Street. The corporations have seized on the pandemic to force through a further restructuring of social relations in the interests of the wealthy, including demands for the slashing of public pensions and a further driving down of wages.

As the death toll rose and unemployment levels reached depression levels, the stock market continued its unprecedented rise this week, assured by the Federal Reserve that it will continue to receive injections of trillions of dollars, and by the concert efforted by both parties to force workers back into the factories and other workplaces.

The only answer to the reckless and homicidal policies of the ruling class is the independent mobilization of the working class against capitalism. This requires that workers break with the political parties of big business and the pro-corporate unions and advance a socialist program based on the reorganization of society in the interests of the working class.
TICKERS: GRB; GEBRF

Source: Streetwise Reports (4/30/20)

Greenbriar Capital has signed an agreement for the design and construction of the Caribbean's largest solar project.



The economic downturn and the coronavirus pandemic aren't slowing down Greenbriar Capital Corp.'s (GRB:TSX.V; GEBRF:OTC) massive Montalva solar project in Puerto Rico, the largest renewable energy project in the Caribbean.

The project, which according to the company has the highest solar PV contract price in the U.S., took one step closer to realization when Greenbriar announced in early April that it had signed an agreement with the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to design, build, equip and construct the project. CMEC is part of the $40 billion China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach) group of companies.

This follows last August's announcement of the signing of a $195 million financing mandate with Voya Investment Management. "The purpose of this Mandate is to structure, arrange, and provide key capital requirements for the Montalva Solar Project," the company noted.

Puerto Rico's power generation capabilities were severely battered by hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, and a strong earthquake in January 2020 severely damaged the Costa Sur oil-powered electric generation plant, which will not reopen.

The Montalva plant will be built on Puerto Rico's southwest coast, an area that is generally protected from hurricanes. The area features the island's highest solar insolation and solar radiation. Montalva, which initially will be an 80 MW AC photovoltaic project, will have the capability to expand up to 165 MW AC.

The property also has the advantage that it is home to a Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) power line that connects to the island's electrical grid.

Greenbriar believes the project will save the people of Puerto Rico up to $2 billion in fuel and operating costs over the 35 years of the power purchase agreement.

A valuation report, ordered by a judge and released publicly in 2018, valued the Montalva project at a net present value of $191 million. Greenbriar estimates that, in 2021, the project will produce annual recurring revenues of $36 million and cash flow of $13 million.

Technical analyst Clive Maund wrote on April 18, "the company itself will pay for all development expenses and has the funds to do so. It's a winwin situation, because once the project is complete and starts to generate electricity, it will be able to sell it for considerably less to the island government than the cost of other sources of power. The reason that the company should be able to make a lot of money from this project is that (after the initial capital buildup) sunlight is actually free, and there is plenty of it in Puerto Rico.

"The key point to grasp with solar is that the costs of implementation have fallen dramatically in recent years, due to improvements in the technology, making it a serious contributor in the energy field, and this is the reason why Greenbriar can undertake such a mammoth project using just its own funds."

Greenbriar has around 21 million shares outstanding and 26 million shares fully diluted, with around 24% owned by insiders. The company's current market cap is CA$25 million.

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

1) Patrice Fusillo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

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3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Greenbriar Capital, a company mentioned in this article.

Additional Disclosures

CliveMaund.com

Clive Maund does not own shares of Greenbriar Capital, and neither he nor his company has a financial relationship with the company.
Measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the Middle East were amped up in March, but did little to limit the damage done to the region's hotel industry, which was simultaneously thumped by an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, which required international intervention, Hotstats summarizes

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Naia Freeman, a senior at Wahkiakum High School, has been selected as a semifinalist in the US Presidential Scholars Program, which was established in 1964 to recognize and honor some of our nations most distinguished graduating high school seniors.

Thousands of students throughout the United States were nominated for the prestigious award this year and about 600 were selected to advance this month.

No more than 161 students are named US Presidential Scholars each year. The winners will be announced in early May.

Traditionally, students chosen as US Presidential Scholars receive an expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. in June and are presented medallions at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  U.S. Rep. Justin Amash knows the challenges third-party presidential candidates face.

But if the fifth-term congressman from Cascade Township secures the Libertarian Partys presidential nomination and earns a spot on the November ballot, he says hes confident he could pull off a historic upset and defeat President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

I do believe I can win, said Amash, who on Tuesday, April 27 announced that he had launched a presidential exploratory committee.

Im well-aware of the history of third-parties and independent campaigns. The key is to get the message out there. Im in a position where I have a significant platform to talk about these ideas, talk about what my campaign means for the people and to contrast my approach to the approaches of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Amashs potential presidential-bid is the latest career twist for the independent-minded lawmaker, who over his nine-years representing West Michigan in Congress, has made a habit out of bucking the party line and going his own way. He left the Republican Party in July and became an independent after calling for impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Now that hes formed his exploratory committee, Amash says hes turning his attention toward the Libertarian Partys national convention, which is scheduled to take place on May 21-25 in Austin, Texas.

Between now and then, Amash said hes going to spend his time talking to delegates and party officials to ensure they have a good understanding of who I am, what Im about, and what qualities I can bring to the presidential race.

Hes also granting dozens of interviews with local and national media to get out his message. Because of the coronavirus pandemic and Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home order, hes doing it all from his residence in Cascade Township.

Its created a new dynamic at home where people are a bit quieter because we have to do so many interviews, said Amash, a 40-year-old married father of three. Some of the noises in the house have to be toned down a little bit.

Speculation has swirled for months that Amash was considering a presidential run.

In a Thursday, April 30 interview with MLive.com, Amash said he had heard from people over the past many months about running for president. But it wasnt until mid-February, when he paused his congressional campaign, that he began to think about it carefully, he said.

Ultimately, I decided that we needed someone running for the presidency who would bring honesty and practicality to the job, and right now we dont really have that in the candidates, he said.

You have candidates from the two parties who are pushing a lot of the same ideas that weve seen in the past.

Whats needed, he said, is someone who can challenge the two-party system.

Ive been willing to challenge the system in the past, and I think at the presidential level I can present a voice of reason and principle that will unite people and help us get back to our constitutional system, Amash said.

He faces big odds.

The strongest performance in recent history by a third-party candidate came in 1992, when Texas businessman Ross Perot ran as an independent and captured 19 percent of the popular vote, according to the news website FiveThirtyEight. However, Perot did not earn a single electoral vote.

Amashs slim odds have Trump and Biden supporters alike fearing the West Michigan congressman will spoil their candidates chance of winning. Many have lashed out at Amash on social media because of those concerns.

That was fully expected, he said. The reason it was expected is because Ive seen the worst of partisanship having served in Congress, and I know what its like, and I know how single-minded some people can become about ensuring that their person wins.

He added, But most Americans are open-minded. Most Americans want to see alternatives and want someone who will shakeup the current system and give us an alternative that is not just red or blue.

Given his presidential ambitions, Amash is no longer seeking reelection to Michigans 3rd Congressional District.

He said giving up his plans for reelection to focus on joining the presidential race has been one of the hardest decisions of my life.

He said that while he was very confident he could have won reelection as an independent, he needed a broader platform from which he could push for lasting political change.

It became clear to me that if I want to address the major concerns I have and the concerns millions of Americans have about our system, I needed to take it head on in a more substantial way and run a national campaign that talks about these issues and works to win so that we can actually make a change, he said.

Read more:

What West Michigan residents are saying about Justin Amashs potential presidential run

Meet Justin Amash: Michigan congressman exploring presidential bid as Libertarian

Trump blasts Amash following presidential exploratory announcement
Ryanair announced thousands of staff could lose their jobs. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Ryanair (RYA.L) has warned up to 3,000 mainly cabin crew and pilot staff could lose their josses as it battles to survive the coronavirus crisis.

It comes just days after British Airways owner IAG (IAG.L) announced 12,000 staff could face redundancy, in a grim week for a sector struggling to cope as air travel has plummeted.

Europes largest budget airline said some head and back office teams also faced job losses, while group CEO Michael OLeary agreed to extend his 50% pay cut until March next year.

The Irish airline used a market update on Friday to launch an attack on its European rivals and governments supporting them through the crisis through state aid.

It vowed to take legal action in the European courts after warning such state aid distorted the market in Europe, calling it unlawful and discriminatory.

Ryanair continues to call on EU governments to cut passenger taxes, airport taxes, and departure taxes on an industry wide basis as a better alternative to selective state aid doping for flag carriers, the statement said.

READ MORE: BA job losses dubbed heartless as fears of more airline job cuts grow

The market update even included a list of rival airlines as examples of state aid doping to date. The airline warns unprecedented state aid levels would prevent a level playing field for many years across the continent, disadvantaging well-run airlines not in receipt of such support.

It claimed such state aid would enable rival airlines to maintain prices below cost levels for months after the crisis had passed.

Ryanair expects a recovery in passenger levels and prices to take at least two years, by summer 2022 at the earliest. It expects a net loss of more than 100m (87.2m, $109.5m) in the first quarter and further losses in the second quarter, its peak summer season.

Other staff will face unpaid leave and pay cuts of up to 20% as the airline looks to save cash. But the statement said Ryanair had entered the crisis with almost 4bn in cash.

Story continues

The bleak tone of the announcement appeared to disappoint investors expectations, sending Ryanair shares down 3.6% in early trading in London on Friday.

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EC may give nod to council polls in Maharashtra

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to allow the polls to the legislative council in Maharashtra.

Polls are due to be held for nine council seats. These elections would give Maharashtra Chief Minster, Uddhav Thackeray an opportunity to get elected to the council. His six month deadline of being elected to the council ends on May 27.

Uddhav Thackeray has less than a month to save his job

A meeting of the Election Commission of India is scheduled to be held later today. The meeting would discuss the elections in Maharashtra. A minimum 21 day period is required between the announcement and the date of elections. The EC is likely to announce the schedule as soon as possible since the polls need to be completed by May 27.

The decision of the EC to deliberate on the subject was taken after requests from the Shiv Sena and NCP to hold the elections. Earlier the two parties had requested the Governor to nominate Thackeray, but he remained noncommittal. Thackeray then called Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and appraised him about the situation. Following this, the Governor called on the Election Commission and sought that the polls be held.

Constitutional crisis looms large in Maharashtra: Can Uddhav Thackeray hold on to CMs seat?

The polls were postponed due to the COVID-19 situation. On Thursday, the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra in a letter to the EC put his stamp of approval over holding the MLC elections.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, nurses still must go to work. But are the nurses in Houston seeing the proper protections to ensure their safety?

Serena Bumpus, director of practice at the Texas Nurses Association, said that most facilities are doing a good job streamlining the use of personal protective equipment, and have other precautions put in place such as showers set up for nurses to use before leaving their shift to prevent cross-contamination.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Pandemic a defining moment in healthcare, ER nurse says

Other benefits include a free seven-night stay at any local Hilton hotel for nurses who have concerns about bringing the virus home to their families.

Nurses have settled down a little bit from that perspective, Bumpus said about protections for nurses. Now, were being faced with hospital volumes being extremely low, and nurses concerned about getting their hours.

Because some other areas of hospitals have been shut down, Bumpus said, some nurses are being affected financially because they are not able to work as much. Some facilities are providing benefits for this, including 70% of base pay for hours not worked due to the pandemic. Some are also providing childcare stipends to help pay for childcare for children at home.

Our stance is that we would hope that everyone is following the lead of other organizations like that, Bumpus said. Paid time off is something nurses should be able to take even though their employers arent required to allow them to do that, but many have done that for them.

Texas hospitals havent necessarily been overwhelmed during the pandemic, she said, so nurses arent seeing benefits like hazard pay right now because the volume of patients diagnosed with coronavirus hasnt been large enough.

COVID-19 UPDATES: What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

There had been some nurses protesting HCA hospitals in early April due to a lack of preparation to keep nurses safe, a National Nurses United press release stated. Bumpus said HCA has been one of the more responsive organizations as far as taking care of their staff. She said it isnt a hospital organizations fault they dont have protective equipment, but that they are looking for government officials to help with the national stockpile.

Kim Mathes, the community engagement director with HCA Houston Healthcare, said HCA Houston Healthcare Tomballs goal has been to protect their front line clinicians and caregivers since the start of the pandemic so they are able to continue caring for their patients and the community.

The hospitals efforts to protect their colleagues while at work include a universal masking policy implemented in March, and a screening for all patients, visitors and staff before entering the facilities.

For colleagues with reduced hours due to the pandemic, Mathes said HCA Houston Healthcare instituted a pandemic pay program that continues to pay employees with reduced hours 70% of their pay for up to seven weeks.

HCA Houston Healthcare also provides cleaned hospital scrubs each shift for employees who care for patients with coronavirus to help prevent carrying the disease home on their clothing, and are working with major hotel chains to provide housing for those who care for COVID-19 patients and dont want to risk infecting their family members at home.

While our hospital currently has adequate supplies of PPE, we continue to provide safeguards that are consistent with CDC guidelines and help ensure the protection of our colleagues, not only today, but into the future as the pandemic continues to evolve, Mathes said

Vicki Brownewell, vice president and chief nursing officer at Houston Methodist West Hospital, said they expect all their employees to wear masks in public and patient care areas. Many employees have their own masks, but the hospital also provides them for those who dont.

Nurses get other protective equipment depending on their jobsome need a surgical mask or an N95, and oftentimes theyll need a face shield so that theres no splattering, Brownewell said. Theyll get gowns to protect themselves and gloves to protect themselves.

Patients have been cohorted into different units, some who need testing to see if they have the coronavirus and some who have tested positive for the virus. Those who have tested positive and need to stay longer are transferred to another campus where the nurses who watch them volunteered for the position.

All of those nurses, from the beginning we asked for volunteers, and theyve done an awesome job, Brownewell said.

The hospital also implemented a new policy called HR94, which Brownewell said is intended to keep their staff whole. For nurses who must have their hours cut back, they are offered into a labor pool of nurses that can be used by other departments. If those hours cannot be used in another department, then the hospital supplements those cut hours.

Were all a family here, she said. Theres 26,000 staff here and even at that size we consider everybody a family and we dont want anyone to suffer at all if we can.

Nurses have also been redeployed to other areas, she said. Some nurses were redeployed to the hospital in Sugarland where they needed intensive care unit nurses, and this has also been done at the Woodlands hospital.

Nurses are very flexible and have lots of different skills, so weve been able to redeploy them to different things, even being screeners as patients come into the ER, Brownewell said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbotts April 27 executive order eased some health care related restrictions and amended hospital capacity requirements. As more areas within hospitals begin reopening, Brownewell said many nurses who work in procedural areas and operating rooms would be coming back gradually as more people start returning to hospitals.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
As a CEO, Amira Yahyaoui always strives to be first. First in her industry. First in getting customers. First in finding solutions. But since the pandemic hit, shes made the decision to be last.

Yahyaoui, who runs the San Francisco financial aid startup Mos, told her employees that even after shelter-in-place orders lift, she wants them to wait at least two weeks before coming back to work, to give space to those who need to return to their jobs and take public transportation, to the ones who dont have a choice.

While Californians argue about the big decisions of getting the economy rolling again, weighed against fears that the coronavirus is not yet conquered, Yahyaoui is in the camp that takes a very long view.

I think the guiding question here, after a pandemic like this, is: What side of history do you want to be on? said Yahyaoui, who is 35 and lives in San Francisco. Ive had endless debates about this very macabre choice which is: Is the life of hundreds of thousands worth the jobs of tens of millions?

For her, the best moral contribution she can make is to wait at the end of the line, no matter how frustrating and isolating it is. Yahyaoui has had experience with difficult decisions; she was born into a family of human rights activists, and at 17, she was exiled from Tunisia and ended up homeless in France. Concerned about how other countries are handling the pandemic, she feels the Bay Area has made the right choices.

Not everyone feels the same.

Courtesy of Amira Yahyaoui

In the weeks since the Bay Area imposed stay-at-home rules, and even more so since the extension through May, the discussion surrounding containment has reached beyond the surface-level logistics of homeschooling and haircuts and Zoom exhaustion. Its prompting people to grapple with the more complicated  and unsolvable  moral questions about what it all means, not just for the Bay Area, but for all of humanity. Theres a sense that heeding the order is not a clear-cut line anymore, but a complicated swirl of unending ambivalence about whats at stake.

Despite partial relaxation of some restrictions on employment and outdoor activities beginning Monday, some say the stay-at-home rules do more harm than good.

Tens of millions of our citizens are suffering a fate worse than getting sick, said Barbara Kirk, 52, a technical recruiter in Los Gatos. People need their jobs back.  Kids and teens especially need their mental health stabilized.

The debate seems to center on what matters more, peoples finances or their health, but even thats not a clean distinction. People are worried that long-term sheltering in place could result in even worse health outcomes, from the rise in anxiety to effects of less sunlight and more alcohol, and that it could spur entirely different kinds of deaths than COVID-19.

In California, 16.5% of people want the economy opened in two weeks, according to a April 17-26 survey by the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Publics Policy Preferences Across States, a project of Northeastern, Harvard and Rutgers universities.

In the Bay Area, where the number of intensive care patients has dropped in recent weeks, some people feel theyve done their part to flatten the curve on coronavirus cases, and now  as a vaccine could be years away  its time to go back to work.

Christian Vasquez, a clinical researcher in Larkspur, is on the fence but feels exhausted from being forced to stay at home. People all over the Bay Area are in dire need to get back to work, said Vasquez, 37. Many things have already been taken away from us for long enough.  To keep extending this brings more frustration.

Melissa Jenkins, 42, a consultant for community health centers who lives in East Oakland, is particularly worried that the extended shelter-in-place order will exacerbate the economic inequality gap.

I dont see how this extension will make any changes to communities like East Oakland, the area of the city with the most cases and perhaps the least compliance with the order, Jenkins said. She fears most people will just bend or ignore the rules as the order wears on and the summer sets in.

Other residents are infuriated by protests against the extension, and feel comforted  and proud of  the actions California has taken to steady the curve. Even though the shelter-in-place directive cost Pawel Dlugosz a job, he said he knows its the best thing to do. Stephanie Wells, a professor in Oakland, also feels protected by Bay Area leaders  and for her, its about saving lives above all else. Wells, 54, recognizes that the economic toll will be difficult and people want to go back to work, but she cant help but wonder whose lives theyre willing to sacrifice in the process.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Even if the order lifts, life wont be the same for those who have health conditions and are at high risk. Some, like Oakland resident Nancy Record, 81, have resigned to just stay put out of ultra-caution. Until theres a vaccine, Record, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a recently discovered heart ailment, has decided she will continue to shelter in place.

Others are resolving to do whatever they can to protect the most vulnerable and are grieving for hard-hit places like New York and for whats about to happen in the states that have reopened.

Karen Zachary, a real estate office manager who lives in Oakland, said shell shelter in place for a year if it means protecting the most vulnerable. Its the least we can do to save lives, said Zachary, 46. I dont mind giving up in-person hangouts, knowing this is for the greater good. I can cook my own food and pour my own beer as long as it takes.

Some parts of the internet have turned, as they inevitably do, to a darker place, with growing propagation of conspiracy theories about the virus.

I personally am freaking out about what this is doing to other people, said Livermore accountant Brendan McClain. He and his wife were shocked when a woman at his kids day care shared a conspiracy video with them that claimed the coronavirus was a hoax created by Bill Gates. Some people just cant handle this, he said. McClain also said his wife, an X-ray technician, still has to ask many of her high-risk patients to wear masks, despite signs outside instructing them to do so. She feels anxious going into work.

Mark Hill, a senior analyst who lives in San Francisco, observes the liberate protests and the online push by Elon Musk and others to reopen states and says hes letting history  and the facts  lead the way. He sees Singapores recent ground lost to the coronavirus as a cautionary tale for the Bay Area. Looking back further, to the Anti-Mask League during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic in San Francisco, he doesnt want history to repeat itself.

If we feel we did too much in hindsight, then we likely did the right thing at the time, said Hill, 27. I think were at that point now. To throw it away would be stupid and shortsighted.

Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter @annievain
A day after giving the nod for



their one-time movement towards their destination, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday appealed to migrant workers to stay back in the state and co-operate with the government to resume economic activities.

"It is my sincere request to all the migrant workers to stay back in the state and co-operate with us to resume the economic activities once we receive directions from the Union government," he said in a statement.

Extending greetings on the occasion of May Day, he said, we intend to resume economic activities soon and the government has already held meeting with representatives of associations of commerce and industries in this regard.

"The government has appealed to the employers to protect the interest of their workers and pay salaries," he added.

The Karnataka government on Thursday had decided to allow migrant workers, tourists, students and others stranded in different parts of the state due to the ongoing lockdown to return to their native places.

Stating that due to COVID-19 pandemic economic activities had almost come to a standstill across the country, Yediyurappa said the worst affected were the labourers.

"The government has stood by you during this time of crisis. COVID-19 situation in India is much better than other countries because of your cooperation," he said.

The government has also decided to allow industrial activities across the state barring in coronavirus containment zones from May 4.

The Chief Minister on Thursday evening had held a meeting with members of various associations of commerce and industries and suggested them to be prepared for resuming industrial operations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For more than a decade as a correctional officer at Cumberland County Correctional Facility, Donald Carter tried to not bring his work home.

The grueling 12 or 16-hour shifts could take a toll, but Carter said he took pride in how he went about his business  rarely missing a day of work and doing his part to be a family man when he returned home.

On Thursday, March 26, Carter said he had to leave work early after he started coughing uncontrollably and throwing up. At that point, the coronavirus had already sickened thousands of New Jerseyans, and Carter decided to isolate himself from his family.

Despite his precautions, more than a week after Carter began showing symptoms, he said he watched from a window as his wife was taken out their home on a stretcher and put into an ambulance. She would spend nearly a week at the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, he said. She is now home recovering at home with an oxygen tank.

Then, his 23-year-old son developed a nasty cough. He also tested positive for the virus. Carters 19-year-old daughter is still isolating in her room after developing symptoms, even though she learned earlier this week her test came back negative.

Carter, who said he did test positive for the virus, is not alone among his co-workers. More than 10 percent of the officers who work at the Cumberland County jail have tested positive for COVID-19, while others continue to get sick, according to the unions attorney and four correctional officers.

The situation has prompted PBA Local 231, which represents around 120 correctional officers at the South Jersey jail, to file a lawsuit against the county calling for a special master to be appointed over the jail to take over all decision-making concerning the Cumberland County Correctional Facility as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike New Jersey prisons, which are overseen by a single state agency, the Department of Corrections (DOC), county correctional facilities are overseen by leadership in each county. The union is alleging that the public was aware of the coronavirus as early as mid-January and Cumberland County officials failed to develop effective policies and procedures to combat the threat of the pandemic and failed to order the equipment necessary to adequately protect the employees, the lawsuit says.

Its an absolute nightmare at the jail, Stuart Alterman, the union attorney, said.

Jails and prisons across the state have been heavily impacted by coronavirus because of the confined spaces that employees work in and inmates live in. County jails began releasing inmates at the end of March to reduce the risk, but with the lack of social distancing and widespread testing not being available, inmates and employees at correctional facilities have continued to test positive for the virus.

Although there is no widespread testing going on in county jails, New Jersey prisons will soon begin testing thousands of corrections officers and all of the approximately 18,000 state inmates for the coronavirus, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday.

But because correctional officers are essential workers, they have to go to work every day and put others in the community at risk.

I might have gotten some other people sick and it could have been avoided if we would have been proactive from the beginning, Carter said. A handful of officers who worked on the same side of the jail as he did got sick, he said.

The lawsuit is asking a judge to appoint a special master to have the power to promulgate policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and order equipment and other materials necessary to protect the health and well-being of the members of PBA Local 231.

Alterman said the ideal special master would be a retired judge or an attorney with medical expertise to oversee the jail during the pandemic.

The leadership has done nothing and did nothing in the beginning to prevent it, Alterman said. It is too little, too late and the incompetence is overflowing. That is why we would want a special master who would be knowledgeable, educated and concerned.

Theodore Baker, the Cumberland County solicitor, said the county and its freeholders have gone to great lengths and expense to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that everything we can and should be doing during this unprecedented health crisis is being done at the jail. County officials said none of the inmates have tested positive for the virus, though it is unclear how many have been tested.

Any allegations to the contrary are just plain wrong and unsubstantiated, Baker said.

But Cumberland County Freeholder Jack Surrency has called for immediate reform at the correctional facility, citing the high rate of officers who have contracted the virus and a need to pay the officers hazard pay, which the union requested on Tuesday.

Leadership starts at the top, Surrency said in a statement. The warden and deputy warden are on notice.

Warden Richard Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The biggest concern for the union leadership and their attorney is the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) the jail has provided to its workers, which health experts have stressed are vital for those who work in environments where direct contact with others is inevitable, like a correctional facility.

Im pissed on behalf of my clients. Alterman said. When I talk to them on the phone and they cant catch their breath, it is a problem.

Officers had been given masks by the jail administration in March, but were only required to wear them in certain parts of the jail, according to several officers. Carter said he had not been wearing a mask when he got sick.

It wasnt until April 6 that officers were required to wear masks for the entirety of their shifts, according to an internal memo obtained by NJ Advance Media. They were only given one blue surgical mask per week to use, according to several officers. One officer, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, described them as flimsy and highly irritable to wear for shifts that can stretch to up to 16 hours.

Now, the jail is authorizing officers to use their own PPE, including any N95 respirator, surgical masks or cloth face coverings they are able to obtain, according to an April 20 memo. The union has ordered a number of KN95 masks for officers to use because of the lack of equipment provided by the jail, Alterman said, but has still not received approval from the county to use them once the masks arrive.

Is that not contradictory or what? asked officer Ian Gross, who said he tested positive for coronavirus after first being sick on April 9.

An officer, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, said morale is low at the jail and officers are scared," though she has no option but to continue working her shifts.

I am continuing to work because I have to, she said. Im a single mom. I have no choice but to go to work and then come home and do schoolwork with my child.

Gross, who is slated to return to work May 4, said the jail is rushing people back to work since there are staffing shortages. He said he dreads the day he has to go back, but he knows he has no option.

Because I need the money, Ill have to go back, he said.

More than a month later, Carter said he is still not feeling 100 percent and is concerned about returning to work, while the rest of his family battles their own sicknesses. For now, his phone keeps buzzing, as other officers continue to get sick and fear for their safety, Carter said..

People are constantly getting sick, he said. Every time I turn around, I am constantly getting phone calls. He just went out positive. He just went out positive. He just went out positive. Im like what the freak is going on? Whats going on?

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Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com.
Pharmacy experts at the University of Huddersfield are urging caution over claims that widely-available antimalarial drugs could be a "magic bullet" to prevent and cure COVID-19. And the medicines can - if used rashly - have serious side effects.

Although there have been some encouraging signs from small-scale preliminary trials of the drugs chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) when administered to coronavirus patients, the results are preliminary and should be treated with care, argue Dr Syed Shahzad Hasan and Dr Hamid Merchant.

They are co-authors - in collaboration with a pharmacist from Malaysia, Chia Siang Kow, of the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur - of a new article in the British Journal of Pharmacy. It is freely available for all to read online.

The authors chart the excitement in press and social media over claims that CQ and HCQ could be effective COVID-19 treatments. But they also report how this had led to hoarding and therefore shortages of the drugs - available over the counter in some countries.

There have been reports of deaths in some parts of the world because of inappropriate self-use of CQ. And while the drugs have a good safety record, they can have seriously adverse side-effects, including loss of vision and fatal cardiovascular problems.

"It is the duty of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to monitor the proper usage of these antimalarial drugs," states the British Journal of Pharmacy article.

As the evidence currently stands, write the authors, CQ/HCQ cannot be used as a general treatment for all COVID-19 patients.

"Its use should be restricted for the treatment of COVID-19-associated pneumonia in severely-ill patients only under a trial or clinical supervision of a licensed practitioner and close cardiac monitoring."

The article - titled Is it worth the wait? Should Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine be allowed for immediate use in COVID-19? - includes a bullet point list of key points and recommendations.

It is stated that "there is no evidence to support the mass use of CQ/HCQ to prevent the infection in public at large, therefore these drugs cannot be recommended for general use by the public to protect from acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection. Social isolation and quarantine measures are still appropriate to control the infection until a reliable preventive option becomes available, for instance a vaccine".

The authors also point out that there had been only limited use of CQ/HCQ in clinical settings and no conclusive, randomly-controlled trials are yet available.

It is argued that "there is a need for an open-access central repository where clinicians can record the use/outcomes of CQ/HCQ or other pharmacological interventions for the thorough scrutiny of the data by the global scientific community".

The warnings sounded in the British Journal of Pharmacy article have since been reinforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a webpage that cautions against use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19. outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems.

Meanwhile, Dr Merchant, who is the Subject Leader at the University of Huddersfield's Department of Pharmacy, and Dr Hasan, who is a Senior Research Fellow, continue to research and write about the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysis of potential treatments for COVID-19

Another article by Dr Merchant published in the British Medical Journal analyses a World Health Organisation trial of four potential treatments for COVID-19.

The article - also freely available online - is an 11-point analysis of the project. Dr Merchant acknowledges that "the launch of WHO's Solidarity Trial came as good news for many, the public in general and clinicians in particular who are at the frontline to manage these crises".

But he provides a detailed critique of the drugs that are and are not included in the WHO trial.
The president has swiftly denied all of these allegations that were raised four years ago, she said, not mentioning that another woman, E. Jean Carroll, accused him of rape last summer. He has always told the truth on these issues. Hes denied them immediately and bringing up issues . . . from four years ago that were asked and answered when the American people had their say in the matter when they elected President Trump as president of the United States. Leave it to the media to really take an issue about the former vice president and turn it on the president.
Canada is banning military-style assault weapons after the country's deadliest mass-shooting in history, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada," Trudeau said in a briefing where he announced the decision.

The ban is effective immediately and includes 1,500 models of military-style assault weapons.

"It is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country," he said.

MORE: Nova Scotia shooting may have begun as a domestic violence dispute: Investigators

There will be a two-year amnesty period for law-abiding gun owners and the prime minister said "fair compensation" would be given.

Trudeau spoke about the issue on Thursday, but only said a decision would be made in the coming days.

"We have long committed to strengthening gun control in this country, including banning military-style assault weapons," he said. "There is no need in Canada for guns designed to kill the largest amount of people, in the shortest amount of time."

PHOTO: AR-15 semi-automatic guns are on display for sale, June 17, 2016, in Springville, Utah. (George Frey/Getty Images)

He said measures to strengthen gun control were ready to go before parliament was suspended on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"[It's] something on which there is a large consensus by Canadians who want to see less violence and fewer deaths from gun violence in this country," Trudeau said.

MORE: El Paso shooting victim dies nearly 9 months after attack

The announcement comes nearly two weeks after the deadliest shooting rampage in Canadian history.

On April 18 and 19, at least 22 people were killed in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia. Canadian law enforcement officials said 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman allegedly targeted his former partner during the killing spree, which took place at six sites and destroyed several properties. Investigators said some of the other victims, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Heidi Stevenson, were randomly killed.

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PHOTO: Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers prepare to take a suspect into custody at a gas station in Enfield, Nova Scotia, April 19, 2020. (Tim Krochak/The Canadian Press via AP)

Last year New Zealand banned all military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles after a deadly shooting killed more than 50.

ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Canada bans assault weapons after mass shooting in Nova Scotia originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Even under normal circumstances, keeping a roof over your head is a top financial priority. But the coronavirus has complicated the situation for both homeowners and renters. Millions of Americans are worried about whether or not they'll be able to make their rent or mortgage payments, and they also have logistical questions around whether state stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines will make it difficult to obtain a mortgage, sell their home, or move. To get some answers, Grow talked to Chris Salviati, a housing economist at rental marketplace Apartment List, and Ben Mizes, the founder and CEO of Clever Real Estate, a service that connects prospective buyers with real estate agents. Mizes is also a Missouri-based real estate agent. Below, they offer their advice on some frequently asked questions about Covid-19's impact on real estate, renters, and the housing market.

1. How could the pandemic affect the real estate market?

Video by Jason Armesto Once the crisis subsides, Salviati says, the housing market should bounce back quickly. "The economic instability occurring right now is not rooted in the housing market, and the long-run fundamentals of the housing market have not changed in a substantial way," he says. But younger, lower-income folks could see more negative effects in the form of "greater competition for affordable housing in both the rental and for-sale markets," Salviati says. And ongoing "economic uncertainty is also likely to put homeownership further out of reach for many younger millennial and Gen Z renters."

2. Is buying a home a smart money move right now?

Whether or not it's wise to purchase a home given the circumstances will depend completely on your individual circumstances, experts say. "If you have enough in savings to cover a down payment and still be comfortable if you were to lose your job or take a pay cut, buying in the next few months might be worth the investment as prices are dropping," says Mizes. The housing market should bounce back within 24 months, at worst, he expects, "so buying when prices are low is a good idea if you can afford it." Although prices might fall in the short term, it's only smart for you to buy if you're secure, moneywise, Salviati says: "It could be best to delay any homebuying plans until you have more confidence in your financial stability." If you decide to delay your purchase, keep padding your savings and stay on top of your credit score, as both will help you later on when you do decide to search again.

3. How could the pandemic affect my ability to qualify for a mortgage?

The experts say that the coronavirus outbreak could make it more difficult to get a mortgage. "Some lenders have tightened their standards by increasing required FICO scores and issuing fewer mortgages overall," Mizes says. People who have lost their jobs or seen a disruption in their income could see their odds of securing a home loan decrease.

It could be best to delay any homebuying plans until you have more confidence in your financial stability. Christopher Salviati Housing economist, Apartment List

Salviati says that those who may have had their down payments invested in the market may have taken a substantial hit, too, making it harder to secure a mortgage. "Anyone who had their down payment savings invested in the stock market has learned a hard lesson about investing money that needs to be accessed in the short term," he says.

4. I can't make my rent or mortgage payment. What should I do?

The experts agree: If you are having trouble making your monthly housing payment, the best thing to do is to get in touch with either your mortgage issuer or your landlord. "Many landlords and lenders have still been willing to negotiate with their tenants," says Salviati. "If you think you'll have difficulty paying your housing bills, it's best to reach out to your landlord or lender as soon as possible to try and work out a solution." For homeowners, it's possible that you may be eligible for forbearance or payment deferrals, which can buy you some time. Renters may be protected from evictions for a few months, but again, it's best to reach out to your landlord to see what they can do. "The best advice is to get in touch with your landlord or property manager as soon as possible," says Mizes. "It's a tough time for everyone, and many landlords are willing to make changes in payment agreements to help out their tenants, even if they're not required to."

5. Am I protected from threats of eviction or foreclosure?

The short answer: Maybe. "If your mortgage is backed by the federal government (e.g., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac), you're exempt from foreclosure for now under the CARES Act. You're exempt from evictions if your landlord's mortgage is federally backed or you live in federally designated low-income housing through the Act as well," says Mizes.

Video by David Fang Many cities and states have also put in eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, but you'll need to check with your local government to see what applies to you. And don't forget, says Salviati, you may have to pay up eventually. "While many are protected by these moratoriums, any missed payments will still be owed once the moratoriums are lifted," Salviati says. "So, if you're still financially capable of making your rent or mortgage payment, it's best to continue doing so."

6. What should I keep in mind if I have to move during the pandemic?
A top Russian researcher has claimed that 'faster and more accurate' robots will replace their soldier 'brothers' in combat on the battlefield.

'Living fighters will gradually begin to be replaced by their robotic brothers who can act faster, more accurately and more selectively than people,' Vitaly Davydov told local media in April. Davydov is the deputy director of Russia's Advanced Research Foundation.

Davydov has said robotics will be the future of military conflict due to their increased speed and because they can be more accurate in target selection.

Russia will begin testing their newly developed robot, the Marker UGV, towards the end of this year.

Pictured: An undated photo of Russia's newly developed Marker UGV - fully autonomous tank

In July last year, the country also sent an humanoid droid into space.

'There is a still-classified Russia's military robotics road-map that sketches out various stages of Russian unnamed military developments, which undoubtedly has been influenced by Russian military actions and experience in Syria,' Samuel Bendett, an adviser at the Center for Naval Analyses, told Forbes.

Some of the robots have underperformed during tests, but the Russian Ministry of Defence has pinned its hopes on the Marker UGV, which is a battle tank that would not need a crew.

Bendett added that Russia is discussing the use of 'robotic swarms', launching a large number of autonomous vehicles at once.

A handout photo made available by the official website of the Russian State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS shows Russian anthropomorphous robot Fedor (Skybot F-850) being tested ahead of its flight on board Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, 28 July 2019

The Pentagon is also developing robot military capabilities and has settled on a method similar to Russia's.

There are ethical considerations in handing over the decision to kill to an autonomous machine, ensuring that they adhere to the international law, and the technology is not quite up to scratch to deploy a robotic army quite yet.

Meanwhile, China has been using its robots to provide assistance to infected patients during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The droids began to deliver medicine and food to patients as well as collecting bed sheets and medical rubbish yesterday in Guangdong, according to the provincial health commission

A Chinese hospital started to use two robots powered by artificial intelligence that were capable of disinfecting themselves to help treat coronavirus patients.

The pair of droids began to deliver medicine and food to sufferers as well as collecting bed sheets and medical rubbish yesterday in the province of Guangdong, said the local health commission.

The use of the self-driving and self-charging machines cuts down the workload of medics and reduce the risks of cross-infection, according to officials.
With North Korea saying nothing so far about outside media reports that leader Kim Jong Un may be unwell, there is renewed worry about who is next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that has been ruled by the same family for seven decades.

Questions about Mr Kims health flared after he skipped an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.

The annual commemoration is North Koreas most important event, and Mr Kim, 36, had not missed it since inheriting power from his father in late 2011.

North Koreas state media on Wednesday said Mr Kim sent a message thanking Syrias president for conveying greetings on his grandfathers birthday, but did not report any other activities.

Rival South Korea repeated no unusual developments had been detected in the North.

Kim Jong Un, seen with his sister Kim Yo Jong, in 2018 (Korea Summit Press Pool/AP)

Mr Kim has been out of the public eye for extended periods in the past, and North Koreas secretive nature allows few outsiders to assert confidently whether he might be unwell, let alone incapacitated.

Still, questions about the Norths political future are likely to grow if he fails to attend forthcoming public events.

Mr Kim is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and a strong personality cult has been built around him, his father and grandfather.

The familys mythical Paektu bloodline, named after the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, is said to give only direct family members the right to rule the nation.

That makes Mr Kims younger sister, senior ruling party official Kim Yo Jong, the most likely candidate to step in if her brother is gravely ill, incapacitated or dies.

But some experts say a collective leadership, which could end the familys dynastic rule, could also be possible.

Among the Norths power elite, Kim Yo Jong has the highest chance to inherit power, and I think that possibility is more than 90%, said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.

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North Korea is like a dynasty, and we can view the Paektu descent as royal blood so its unlikely for anyone to raise any issue over Kim Yo Jong taking power.

Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo Jong is in charge of North Koreas propaganda affairs, and earlier this month was made an alternate member of the powerful Politburo.

She has frequently appeared with her brother at public activities, standing out among elderly male officials.

She accompanied Kim Jong Un on his high-stakes summits with President Donald Trump and other world leaders. Her proximity to him during those summits led many outsiders to believe she is essentially North Koreas No.2 official.

People at a Seoul train station watch news about Kim Jong Uns health rumours on Tuesday (Lee Jin-man/AP)

I think the basic assumption would be that maybe it would be someone in the family to replace Kim Jong Un, US national security adviser Robert OBrien told reporters on Tuesday.

But again, its too early to talk about that because we just dont know, you know, what condition Chairman Kim is in and well have to see how it plays out.

The fact North Korea is an extremely patriarchal society has led some to wonder if Kim Yo Jong would only serve as a temporary figurehead and then be replaced by a collective leadership similar to ones established after the deaths of other Communist dictators.

North Korean politics and the three hereditary power transfers have been male-centred. I wonder whether she can really overcome bloody socialist power struggles and exercise her power, said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University in South Korea.

A collective leadership would likely be headed by Choe Ryong Hae, North Koreas ceremonial head of state who officially ranks No.2 in the countrys current power hierarchy, Mr Nam said.

But Mr Choe is still not a Mr Kim family member, and that could raise questions about his legitimacy and put North Korea into deeper political chaos, according to other observers.

Other Kim family members who might take over include Kim Pyong Il, the 65-year-old half-brother of Kim Jong Il, who reportedly returned home in November after decades in Europe as a diplomat.
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The vice-dean of Cairo Universitys Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Hisham El-Saket, passed away on Friday morning due to the coronavirus, according to the president of Cairo University, Othman El-Khosht.

E-Saket, the vice dean for society and environmental affairs, passed away due to complications of COVID-19 at Ain Shams Universitys El-Obour quarantine hospital, said El-Khosht.

El-Saket was a renowned paediatric and plastic surgeon. Two weeks ago, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Hala Salah El-Din, announced that at least 17 staff members of the Kasr El-Aini university hospital had contracted the coronavirus, including El-Saket, and were being treated at a quarantine hospital in Cairo.

She did not say how they contracted the virus. El-Sakets wife has also tested positive for the virus and iscurrently receiving treatment at a quarantine hospital.

Officials from the Doctors Syndicate told the media this week that at least 90 doctors had contracted the virus so far, and five had died.

Egypt has recorded 5,537 cases of the virus to date, including 392 fatalities.

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Recent comments by Green Party leadership candidate Glen Murray about discrimination in Canada are being called offensive, misinformed and dangerous.

Murray, a former Winnipeg mayor and Ontario Liberal cabinet minister, is being called out for comments he made to a newspaper that his opponents are calling discriminatory and privileged. Murray said he's being quoted out of context.

"I don't think age or race or skin colour should matter, frankly. I think we're past sexism, ageism and racism," Murray was quoted as telling The Winnipeg Free Press after announcing his candidacy on Thursday.

Fellow leadership contender Amita Kuttner seized on Murray's comments, saying they go against the Green Party's culture of diversity.

"I was really surprised," Kuttner told CBC. "I really don't expect to hear someone say that nowadays."

Kuttner is a non-binary mixed-raced person who identifies with the pronouns they/them. Kuttner expressed surprise at Murray's comments because he is a gay man who has been out for many years.

Kuttner said Murray's statement suggests that sexism, ageism and racism no longer exist in Canadian politics.

Quotes out of context: Murray

Murray quickly responded to the accusations, tweeting that his comments were being taken out of context.

Murray, 62, told CBC News he was responding to a question about his age and whether it will be an issue in a campaign against a slate of younger candidates.

Murray said that he has been a victim of discrimination and, as a Toronto MPP, he defended new Canadians from systemic discrimination.

"How can I possibly suggest, given my life experience, that we don't live in a world with systemic racism?" Murray said.

Murray added he was trying to say that skin colour, gender and age should not disqualify him or anyone else from running for office, and he was not implying that these things are no longer issues.

"The answer was framed as if I was commenting on the general state of the world," Murray said. "I wasn't."

Story continues

Annamie Paul, a black woman also in the race for the Green Party leadership, said that although identity shouldn't matter when people vote, representation does. Canadian politics lacks diversity, Paul said.

"I don't think (Murray's comments) reflect an understanding of the continued barriers to participation," Paul said. "The comments display a profound misunderstanding about this issue.

"It's a level of understanding that is a dangerous one, considering the position he hopes to hold."

Murray said he regrets the way his words were received, and he will reach out to each of his fellow candidates in the following days.

"What will I say to Annamie and Anita? 'I agree with you. I can understand how you interpreted it that way. Not only do I share your views, I will work very hard as a candidate alongside you to make sure that everything I am doing is making you and anyone else in the party feel welcomed.'"
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Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, May 2 2020

Walk away: A worker places a no pedestrian traffic sign at the entrance of the Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in East Jakarta on Monday. Transportation services at the terminal were suspended after the government banned this years Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) as part of an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. (JP/P.J.Leo)

The Transportation Ministry has temporarily restricted passenger travel during the period of April 24 until May 31 in an effort to prevent an Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) as the country struggles to contain the spread of COVID-19 across the archipelago.

The mudik ban, which is based on Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 25/2020 signed by acting minister Luhut Pandjaitan on April 23, applies to all types of mass transportation as well as to private vehicles and is seen as crucial to prevent the coronavirus from spreading from the epicenter of Jakarta and West Java to other regions of the country. The mudik is an important annual tradition for most people in the Muslim-majority country to celebrate Ramadan and Idul Fitri, which falls in late May this year.

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Journalist Hambys Soul Full of Coal Dust (Little, Brown, Aug.) examines the resurgence of black lung disease.

Did growing up in the South encourage your interest in this story of Appalachia?

Not directly, but the fact that my fathers family has lived in the rural South for generations laid a foundation for my interest, so I was receptive to the story when I encountered it. At the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity, I was on a team covering stories about the environment, labor, and public health. When I came across this one, I couldnt look away.

What made you decide to expand your original reporting on coal miner Gary Foxs fight to receive compensation and health benefits for advanced-stage black lung disease into a book?

I felt lucky to be given 28,000 words for this story at the Center, but felt I had told just a small sliver of it, and welcomed the opportunity to present the longer history. When the articles were published, the story wasnt done; Garys benefits decision had been reversed, [his lawyer] John Cline was appealing the decision, and Johns Hopkins Hospitals radiologists were still reading X-rays for coal companies.

Why do you think some radiologists at Hopkins were so willing to help coal companies avoid paying benefits to miners?

The issue was with a small unit whose activities were unknown to most hospital employees, but which was able to have an outsize impact on the cases of thousands of miners, due to the volume of X-rays it read. In this group, individual personalitiessuch as that of its leader, Dr. Paul Wheeler, who had worked there for four decadescame to the fore. Its work reflected his approach to reading X-rays.

What is the main thing you hope readers will take away from the book?

Americans owe a deep debt to people doing some of the hardest work imaginable, work that powered the U.S., and we have a duty of care to them. We need to have a serious and realistic conversation about what the future might look like for ex-industrial communitiesthis cant be just a small initiative like teaching former miners to code. Its easy to lose faith in people and institutions, but I saw remarkable change occur because of a small number of ordinary peoples activity over the long term. Most people who work in public service are in it for the right reasons, and can do things that help average people.

Have you stayed in contact with the people you met in the course of your research?

Yes. Having an excuse to keep in touch was one of the best parts of writing the book.
The Karnataka government on



Friday said migrant workers, tourists, students and others who were stranded due to the COVID-19 lockdown will have to submit an online application to enter or exit the state.

According to the standard operating procedure (SOP)issued by the state government those who want to leave or come back to Karnataka will have submit an online application at sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in.

The online applications can also be submitted through BangaloreOne centres and BBMP (civic body) ward offices in Bengaluru and in other districts as decided by the deputy commissioners.

The applicants will be screened by health department authorities, it said, adding that all applications will be sorted state-wise, and once the receiving state concurs, permission will be given to travel.

Karnataka state transport corporations will arrange for bus in consultation with nodal officers for the movement, which will be sanitized and where social distancing will be maintained.

"The passengers will pay for the travel," it said.

The government on Thursday had decided to allow one-time movement of those stranded due to lockdown, and appointed senior IAS and IPS officers as the nodal officers to facilitate it in a smooth and orderly way across state borders, as per SOPs.

The district administrations in consultation with the labour department will identify those wanting to avail train services by paying the ticket charge, the government said.

After it gives the go ahead for the train travel, fare will be collected and advance ticket issued to the person wanting to go.

The local administration will arrange bus to ferry them to the railway station, it said.

Noting that the applications of those wanting to return to Karnataka will be examined by nodal officers, the government said, only asymptomatic people are allowed to undertake travel.

"Returnees should be medically screened and then allowed to move."



Each district will have only one entry point, which may be different from the exit point to avoid people- entering and exiting from getting mixed up.

A checkpost with facilities for screening, medical checkup, water supply, food, temporary shelter and adequate toilet facilities will be set up near all entry points.

All returnees will be compulsorily registered and assessed by the health authorities.

Further, after entry, they will be kept under watch with periodic health checkups, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Passengers will be forced to wear face masks to stem the spread of coronavirus on three of the largest US airlines - and they'll only be allowed to take them off to eat.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have announced they will be asking travelers to wear facial coverings on board flights from May 4.

While Delta have warned passengers will be expected to wear masks from the check-in desks, United and American will be ensuring crewmembers and passengers onboard their planes have their faces covered.

JetBlue Airways Corp has already taken the step in an effort to convince reluctant passengers to resume flying and Frontier Airlines, owned by private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC, has also pledged to enforce facemask-use.

While Delta and United will be checking for face masks from May 4, American will be from May 11 and Frontier's from May 8.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have announced they will be asking travelers to wear facial coverings from May 4 (file image)

The policies exempt young children or 'people who are unable to keep a face covering in place'.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the use of a face covering slows the spread of the virus and helps people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.

Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials can be used as long as they cover the nose and mouth.

Many US airlines are also requiring pilots and flight attendants to use facial coverings while on board aircraft.

Airlines in the United States have seen a nearly 95 per cent drop in US passengers and have slashed flight schedules.

They are now working to reassure customers about the safety of air travel by instituting new cleaning and social distancing procedures.

JetBlue Airways Corp has already taken the step in an effort to convince reluctant passengers to resume flying and Frontier Airlines, owned by private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC, has also pledged to enforce the rules

Some airline unions and US lawmakers have urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require facial coverings for all passengers and crew.

United said it will provide complimentary masks to passengers. Southwest Airlines Co, one of the largest US airlines, has not required facial coverings.

A spokesman for United said: 'United will make face coverings mandatory for passengers effective 4 May.

'Face coverings are already mandatory for all 25,000 of our flight attendants, and have been since 24 April (we were the first major US air carrier to announce this).

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have announced they will be asking travelers to wear facial coverings from May 4

'Starting 4 May face coverings will be mandatory for all passengers - we will provide masks to passengers for free.

'Face coverings will be mandatory for all United employees while onboard an aircraft, including front-line workers like pilots, customer service agents and ramp workers, along with other United employees while traveling and using their flight benefits.'

The FAA has declined to implement the requirement, and it is not clear if the agency has the authority to compel passengers to wear face masks.

The FAA said Wednesday it is 'working with air carriers to ensure they have processes in place for addressing public health risks for their crews and passengers.'

While Delta and United will be checking for face masks from May 4, American will be from May 11 and Frontier's from May 8

Representative Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, called on the FAA Wednesday to 'require masks or other face coverings for all crewmembers and passengers on US flights' and to require airlines 'adopt reasonable, sound procedures for ensuring that passengers are spaced at safe distances from one another.'

Delta said the airline will require face coverings 'starting in the check-in lobby' and at 'Delta Sky Clubs, boarding gate areas, jet bridges and on board the aircraft for the duration of the flight - except during meal service.'

United said it will provide complimentary masks to passengers. Southwest Airlines Co, one of the largest US airlines, has not required facial coverings

Delta added their use 'is also strongly encouraged in high-traffic areas, including security lines and restrooms. People unable to keep a face covering in place, including children, are exempt.'

American said the rules will prioritize 'customer and team member well-being.'

Frontier will also ask customers to wear coverings while at ticket counters and gate areas as well as onboard.

A spokesman said: 'This effort is yet another action we are taking to help you feel more comfortable when flying with Frontier and follows the guidance of the CDC and local authorities.

'Frontier airport employees and flight crews are already required to wear face coverings at work.'

German airline group Lufthansa also said this week it would require facial coverings for all passengers starting May 4.

Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants union, praised the carriers adopting the requirements and added 'absent federal action, we need every airline to require passengers wear face coverings to keep everyone safe in aviation.'
The news of Deepak Lals death at his home in London reached me early on the morning of May 1. His wife, the reputed sociologist Barbara Ballis Lal had kept his Delhi friends advised of Deepaks respiratory difficulties for the last couple of weeks. With some difficulty he had agreed to be admitted to hospital and the last news I had was that he had been discharged.

He and Barbara would normally have been in Delhi at this time, but they missed the travel window from London to Delhi by one day. Such is fate. Deepak was half a generation older than me and I was aware of his ...
With many pilgrims returning from Nanded testing positive for COVID-19, Akal Takht Jathedar Harpreet Singh on Friday claimed there was conspiracy to malign the Sikhs over it just as the Muslims were after the Tablighi Jamaat episode.

At least 115 of the over 3,000 pilgrims who have returned from the Hazur Sahib shrine in Maharashtra in recent days have tested positive for coronavirus, according to state government figures.

The jathedar who heads the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs has now compared this to the maligning of the Muslim community after people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi were found carrying the virus on returning to their homes across the country.

He claimed there was a race to malign the entire Muslim community over the Tablighi Jamaat episode and the same kind of propaganda is being carried out now.

It is a very big conspiracy, the religious leader said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Long Island landlord was caught offering free rent in exchange for sexual favors from tenants after he shared an advertisement for 'submissive females.'

The landlord, identified as 'Eddie', made the unsavory post on Craigslist in a post titled 'Room Share for Submissive Female,' Inside Edition reports.

'During these hard times Covid-19 has thrown many in a tail spin,' he wrote.

'If you are a submissive female and wanting to barter session/playtime once per week in lieu of rent we should talk,' he added.

Inside Edition reports man identified as 'Eddie' (pictured) offered women free rent in exchange for sexual favors during the pandemic

Eddie specified that he was looking for women between the ages of 20 and 50-years-old.

The landlord's reported attempt to take advantage of potential tenants comes as millions of Americans are struggling to pay rent due the coronavirus pandemic.

In April, a third of tenants across the country were unable to pay their landlords and the number is expected to go up with May's check due today.

An untold number of those who have been laid off or furloughed are still waiting to receive federal stimulus checks or unemployment benefits from overtaxed state labor departments with antiquated systems.

Federal data released this week show the U.S. economy contracted at a 4.8 percent annual rate last quarter as the pandemic put the nation into a recession.

Economists expect January-March to be just a taste of the widespread pain being recorded for April-June.

And while a record number of people have applied for unemployment insurance payments, there are many other out-of-work people who don't qualify or couldn't get through the states' overwhelmed systems.

When Inside Edition producer Alycia Powers responded to the ad, Eddie reportedly told her he wanted try out the 'arrangement' first and suggested they meet at a local Days Inn in Long Island.

'He says to wear my hair down, no jewelry and minimal makeup,' said Powers.

'And then meet him in the room, undress and put on a pair of stilettos he got me.'

Inside Edition producer Alycia Powers (pictured) was told by Eddie to met him at a local Days Inn to try out the 'arrangement'

Powers, along with a crew of producers hidden around the hotel parking lot, arrived to learn that Eddie had already checked in and asked her to meet him at his room.

Powers convinced Eddie to instead meet her in the parking lot first, where he was met by a camera crew and probing questions about his reported ad.

Eddie told producers he wasn't trying to take advantage of women amid the pandemic.

'No. She had the choice, you know to take up on the offer,' he said.

'So you were willing to give her a place to stay for free in exchange for sex?' an Inside Edition reporter asked.

'No, I never said sex,' Eddie said, before driving away.

Eddie (left), pictured with Powers (right), said he wasn't taking advantage of women amid the pandemic and 'she had the choice'

Eddie (pictured) later apologized to Powers and said he was a 'decent guy'

He later called Powers to apologize and insist that he's a 'decent guy.'

This latest report comes amid others that have exposed landlords for exchanging sex for financial compensation during the pandemic.

Millions of Americans have struggled to stay afloat as the outbreak shuttered businesses, halted jobs and dealt difficult blows to the economy.

More than 30 million residents have lost their jobs during the pandemic and 3.8 new unemployment benefits claims were filed last week.

In the United States, 1,097,415 have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 63,849 died.

When one victim, who was unable to pay her April rent, reportedly asked he landlord about a more affordable property, but Buzzfeed News reports he answered with a picture of his genitals.

Another said her landlord suggested she com over and spoon him as compensation for rent.

Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, said they've received an overwhelming number of calls.

'Weve received more cases at our office in the last two days than we have in the last two years,' said Jabola-Carolus.

Sheryl Ring, the legal director at Open Communities, added that such practices are illegal.

'We have seen an uptick in sexual harassment,' said Ring.

'Since this started, they [landlords] have been taking advantage of the financial hardships many of their tenants have in order to coerce their tenants into a sex-for-rent agreement  which is absolutely illegal.'

Last week, AG William Barr directed US attorneys across the United States to tackle cases involving corrupt landlords asking for sex in place of rent.

'Such behavior is despicable and it is illegal,' said Barr in a memo. '

And the Department of Justice has not hesitated to intervene when clear misconduct occurs. This behavior is not tolerated in normal times, and certainly will not be tolerated now.'

US attorney Christina Nolan (center) will oversee the coordinated effort to stop housing staff from pushing sex-for-rent agreements

US attorney Christina Nolan was chosen to oversee and coordinate these efforts.

'It is always despicable to exploit vulnerabilities by sexually harassing those in need of housing,' she said in a press release.

'Doing so during a global pandemic, when so many are struggling just to make ends meet, is particularly abhorrent.'

The Justice Department's Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative was launched in 2017 and has filed 14 lawsuits alleging misconduct among housing staff.
As much as 83 per cent of



coronavirus patients in Maharashtra are asymptomatic, and 20 per cent ofthem have recovered, health minister Rajesh Tope said here on Friday.

The mortality rate of the epidemic has come down to 3.5 per cent in the state, while the doubling rate of patients is more than the national average, he said in a press release here.

Of the 36 districts of Maharashtra,14 are in red zone (signifying high rate of spread of infection), 16 in the orange and six in the green zone, he told reporters in Jalna.

In Mumbai, a special 2,000-beds facility has been created where senior citizens with comorbidities (existing health conditions) living in densely populated areas could be quarantined after screening, if needed, Tope said.

The state has 733 containment zones at present, he said.

The number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra has risen to more than 10,000.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Canadian couple who have spent the last three years traveling the world in their van have revealed that they had to leave their vehicle in Africa and take a rescue flight home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

YouTube stars Eamon Fitzgerald, 28, and Rebecca 'Bec' Moroney, 29, were living out of their cargo van in Morocco with their friend Lee MacMillan, 27, when the health crisis started, forcing them to make a last-minute decision to flee the country.

The couple chronicled their experience in a video shared on their 'Eamon and Bec' YouTube channel in late March, and by the time they got to the airport, they were confident they had made the right decision.

Scroll down for video

Living the life: YouTube stars Eamon Fitzgerald, 28, and Rebecca 'Bec' Moroney, 29, have spent the past three years traveling the world in their cargo van

Abroad: The Canadian couple was living out of their van in Morocco with their friend Lee MacMillan, 27, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic

At the start of the clip, they admitted that every morning they woke up bombarded with information about the spread of the coronavirus, but they still weren't sure what they were going to do.

'We wake up feeling grateful of our situation There is an instinct of like, 'Wow, this is amazing. We are at a beautiful isolated beach. There is literally no one here,' Eamon explained. 'We couldn't be in a more productive place  and then you start getting online and followers start messaging you and your mom messages you...'

Bec said her biggest concern at the moment was that all the flights to Canada were canceled. She feared that if they didn't act immediately, they would be stuck in Morocco without any resources.

However, they were hesitant to abandon their van  the only home they've known for the past three years. '

'Where are we going to go in Canada?' Bec asked. 'We don't have a house.'

Should we stay? They initially contemplated staying in Morocco during the global crisis

Difficult decision: They were basically isolated on the beach, but they were afraid of running out of resources

Eamon, Bec, and Lee were basically isolated on the beach, but they were forced to drive into the town of Tamrat Tezdane because they were running out of produce and water.

While most stores were closed, they found a small shop selling produce, and they noted that some people were wearing face masks.

On March 20, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Air Canada would send a plane to rescue Canadians in Morocco, but passengers would have to pay for a seat as if it were a commercial flight with one ticket going for $1,272 plus tax.

Eamon admitted that they still weren't sure what they were going to do because there wasn't any information on how they should go about booking the flights home.

'We are registered with the Canadian government as Canadians abroad, so hopefully we will get an email saying, "Hey, jump on the plane,"' he said. 'And if we do get that email, then I think we might kick ourselves in the teeth if we don't listen.'

Concerns: When they drove into the town of Tamrat Tezdane to get produce and water, most of the stores and restaurants were closed

Emergency: They made the last-minute decision to book tickets home on a commercial flight for Canadians in Morocco

Hurry: Eamon, Bec, and Lee rushed to pack up their clothes and personal belongings before waking up in the early hours of the morning to drive to Casablanca for their flight

Bec explained that the 'best case scenario' is that they are back in Morocco in two months to pick up their van. The worst would be if they were stuck there without speaking the language or having the support of their community back home.

The three of them were understandably panicked when they learned the plane had 450 seats, but there were 4,500 Canadians trying to get home.

To make matters worse, they never received an email about the flight. Luckily, a friend of a friend passed on the email, and Eamon insisted that they book their flights as soon as possible.

'My opinion is that we didn't get this email because we didn't register quick enough,' he said. 'So if we can get a ticket on this plane, this might be the only chance.'

Eamon, Bec, and Lee rushed to pack up their clothes and personal belongings before waking up in the early hours of the morning to drive to Casablanca for their flight.

Ready to go: They spent their last moments in Morocco giving away their food and ridding the vehicle of water and perishables before their flight

Hard to handle: Eamon and Bec were understandably upset to have to leave their home on wheels

Good choice: When the got into the airport, they were confident they had made the right decision by going back to Canada

They found a place where they could park their van for 40 UAE dirham ($10.89) per day, and they spent their last moments in Morocco giving away their food and ridding the vehicle of water and perishables.

The airport was filled with people who were trying to get tickets onto their flight, and they were feeling lucky that they made the decision that they did.

'We are just feeling very, very grateful that we took action when we had the chance,' Bec said. 'There have been a lot of signs that this is the right move.'

Right before they boarded their flight, they got an email saying their insurance company was no longer going to cover them if they remained abroad because they were urged to return to Canada.

'I know we aren't on the plane yet, but I want to reiterate how grateful I'm feeling to be in this position to be able to go home,' Eamon said.

Happy: Eamon said he was 'so grateful' to be able go home during the pandemic

Safety first: After they arrived in Canada, Eamon and Bec spent two weeks quarantined with Lee at her parents' home

After flying back to Canada and spending the night in Montreal, they boarded a second flight to Toronto.

Eamon and Bec explained that they would be spending two weeks quarantined with Lee at her parents' home.

He joked that they are 'not a throuple yet,' but there have been some 'conspiracy theories.'

Bec noted that they will be staying in the basement, separated from Lee's parents to keep them safe.

'We know how important it is [to quarantine],' she said. 'We've probably come into contact with the virus, and anyone that we see, we could potentially spread it.'

The video ended with them toasting to their new temporary home in the basement, which was filled with food and toiletries for them to use.

After their two weeks in quarantine, Eamon and Bec left Lee and started on their next adventure  building a tiny home.
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Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson on Friday estimated general insurance losses between $32 billion and $80 billion across key classes in the United States and UK from the novel coronavirus, surpassing claims from the 9/11 attacks.

A report by the broker showed early estimates for U.S. and UK business interruption, contingency, U.S. directors & officers, U.S. employment practices, liability, U.S. general liability, U.S. mortgage, trade credit and surety and U.S. workers compensation.

An optimistic scenario or a return to a pre-COVID-19 state following 3 months of social distancing, would mean $11 billion of insured losses, while a moderate scenario, a gradual return following 6 months of social distancing, would mean a bill of $32 billion to insurers.

[Editors note: The report is Scenario Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic.]

Social distancing for a year under a severe scenario  a health impact approaching the scale of the 1918 flu pandemic  will mean $80 billion in COVID-19 insured losses, Willis said.

Willis also said it has modeled an extreme pandemic scenario, which could result in $140 billion of losses.

Beyond its devastating human cost, the COVID-19 pandemic has swiftly upended economic activity around the world, said Alice Underwood, global leader, insurance consulting and technology, at Willis.

At this point, it appears that the industrywide level of general insurance loss could exceed that resulting from the 2001 World Trade Centre event.

Given the potential scale and systemic nature of pandemic loss, talks about the need for some sort of government backstop to address future pandemic risks have already begun, Underwood said.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

Topics COVID-19 Claims USA Willis Towers Watson
Applying to the Finance Committee, the Government made claims which it knew or should have known were false and misleading. It was either lying or reckless. Webb-site tells you the truth.

Government misled LegCo over COVID-19 broker handout



The HKSAR Government (HSKARG) has misled LegCo with false and misleading statements to justify a handout to stockbroking firms as part of its bumper HK$137.5bn "Anti-Epidemic Fund" announced on 8-Apr-2020. That package had something for each of the rotten-borough "Functional Constituencies". There is an election coming up, you see.

Background

The so-called "Financial Services" seat in the Legislative Council (LegCo) is, in reality, the small-brokers' seat. The eligible electorate comprises each firm which is a participant in The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd (SEHK), Hong Kong Futures Exchange Ltd (HKFE) or The Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society. Each firm has 1 vote, regardless of size. Apart from electing the legislator, they also elect 18 members of the 1200-member Chief Executive Election Committee (EC, see our article Getting to 601, 28-Jan-2020). In the 2016 EC election, 622 firms were registered to vote.

Following demutualisation in 1999, both SEHK and HKFE are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX, 0388). Prior to that, they were owned by their trading members, with each of 929 SEHK shares providing one seat on the trading floor (some firms held more than 1 share, of course). There were only 230 shares in HKFE. The governing Council of SEHK had 31 members, of which 18 were divided into 3 quotas based on the ranking of firms by market share. The top 14 firms elected 4 seats for Category A, the next 51 firms elected 5 seats for Category B, and the remainder elected 9 seats for Category C.

Although the Council was abolished when HKEX was formed, the combined market shares of the 3 broker categories are still published monthly. Currently, categories A, B and C have market shares of about 60%, 33% and 7%, but of course, Category A only has 14 votes in the "Financial Services" elections. So it is Category B and C firms who decide the outcome of the LegCo seat and EC seats election. Asset managers have no votes.

The handout

The Government submitted a 141 page paper to the LegCo Finance Committee meeting on 17-Apr-2020. It told them in enclosure D15 (p69):

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the business opportunities and hence income of small and medium-sized intermediaries and licensed individuals of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (i.e. brokerage firms and their responsible officers/representatives) have been adversely affected. Small and medium-sized intermediaries serving primarily retail clients are particularly hard-hit by the adverse business environment. The reduced face-to-face contact and the recent market volatility have impeded the businesses of these small and medium-sized intermediaries, notwithstanding the recent surge in market turnover. (our bold)

Accordingly, they proposed to give HK$50,000 to each Category B and C firm (790 firms, implying 51 in Category B and 739 in Category C). They've also introduced de facto negative licensing fees at the SFC, with each SFC-licensed individual receiving HK$2k on top of an earlier waiver of licence fees, although those fees are normally paid by their employers.

Turnover increases during volatility

First, market volatility (a measure of the movement in prices) is a product of uncertainty, which tends to increase turnover, not reduce it, for the simple reason that when the value of a stock is less certain, there will be more participants who think it is either overvalued or undervalued and therefore willing to sell or buy it.

Here is our analysis of the turnover by Category, straight from HKEX data:

As you can see, average daily market turnover has jumped 54.5% in the first quarter of 2020 to HK$112.7bn versus $72.9bn in the last quarter of 2019. Category B and C brokers have seen a 58.4% and 48.1% jump respectively. They haven't been "particularly hard-hit" as the FSTB claims. Their revenues have shot up correspondingly, and their profits too. Their income has not been "adversely affected" as the HKSARG claims.

Retail investors

Second, the vast majority of retail investors don't deal "face-to-face", or even mask-to-mask. They either deal online or pick up the phone. According to a survey by the Government-backed Investor and Financial Education Council in Jun-2019, only 1% of individual investors most often dealt "physically at the brokerage", while 65% most often dealt online and 33% most often dealt by phone to their bank or broker. In a 12-month period, only 5% of retail investors dealt face-to-face even once - and most of them would be at a bank, not a broker:

You have to wonder who in the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) made up these false reasons and who told them to mislead LegCo in this way. The claims are easy to check, and the FSTB either knew or should have known that the statements were false. That is, they were either lying or reckless to the truth. Did they really think we wouldn't notice?

Legislators should demand to know how these false and misleading reasons were put together, and the HKSARG should apologise to LegCo for misleading its members into approving this part of the package. The only saving grace is that the broker handout totals only about HK$39.5m, but there is a principle at stake.

Incidentally, each firm, assuming it makes no net layoffs during this lucrative period, can also benefit from the up-to HK$54k per-job entitlement to the crazy-but-take-it Employment Subsidy Scheme (see Employers must eat this free lunch, 9-Apr-2020).

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A health official talks to a quarantined student at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City in Thu Duc District. Photo by Phuong Phuong.

With students told to stay at home, the university has been used as one of the citys 12 quarantines with around 15,700 beds since March 19.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has branded virus lockdown measures 'fascist' and warned they pose a 'serious risk' to his company.

The electric car maker's factory in Fremont, California, has been closed since March 24 as part of a government clampdown, requiring people to stay indoors to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

But Musk claimed the move was 'not democratic' and called on authorities to 'give people back their goddamn freedom'.

Tesla boss Elon Musk claims US lockdown measures are 'not democratic' and called on authorities to 'give people back their goddamn freedom'

The 48-year-old said Tesla  and a host of other businesses  would suffer 'great harm' if they were not allowed to resume production soon.

The billionaire accused authorities of 'breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America or built this country'.

He added: 'To say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist.'

Tesla said it made a 13million profit after revenues of 4.8billion, up from 3.6billion a year previously, in the first three months of 2020, the third quarter in a row it remained in the black.




Joe Biden on Friday categorically denied the sexual assault allegation threatening to disrupt his presidential campaign, breaking weeks of silence on the issue.

"I'm saying unequivocally that it never, never happened," Biden said in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Tara Reade, a former Senate aide, claims that Biden assaulted her in 1993 when she worked in his office.

Biden's campaign had previously denied the allegation, but pressure had been mounting for the candidate to address the claim himself. In a statement released just before the interview, Biden cited "the full and growing record of inconsistencies" in the accusations and said: "They aren't true. This never happened."

Reade shook up Biden's presidential campaign in March when she claimed on a podcast that Biden pinned her to a wall and used his fingers to penetrate her in an office building on Capitol Hill when he was a senator from Delaware.

Reade's brother and a former neighbor have said that Reade discussed details of the alleged assault with them in the 1990s. Several individuals who worked in the Senate office at the time have said that Reade's allegations do not square with their experience working for Biden.

Reade, who did not respond to requests for comment Friday, has said she filed a written complaint at the time, though it has not been located. Many of the records from Biden's senate office remain under seal at the University of Delaware until Biden retires from public life. In his Friday statement, Biden said the archive does not contain personnel files.

MSNBC tweet

"There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices," the statement said.

Biden said he had requested that the "Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there."

MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski pressed Biden on whether he would approve a search for Reade's name in the University of Delaware records. Biden did not agree to do so.

"There is nothing. They wouldn't  they're not there. I don't understand the point that you're trying to make," Biden said, growing exasperated. "Look, who does that search?" he added.

The allegation has roiled Biden's campaign even as it struggles to connect with voters while Biden is stuck at home as a health precaution in the face of the spreading coronavirus.

Biden addressed Covid-19 in the MSNBC interview, calling on Trump to name a "supply officer" to oversee materials like personal protective equipment and criticizing his handling of the crisis as too slow.

Amid Biden's silence on the sexual assault allegation, a number of his potential running mates, including Sens. Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar, as well as Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, have expressed support for him.

Conservatives have accused Democrats of a double standard when it comes to assault allegations, pointing to the different reaction allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh received when the Trump appointee was accused of sexual assault during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 2018. Kavanaugh denied those allegations.

At the time, Biden said that womens' allegations should be presumed to be essentially true. He said, "for a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you've got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts, whether or not it's been made worse or better over time."

Asked about those comments on Friday, Biden said that "from the very beginning I've said that believing women means taking the woman's claims seriously when she steps forward, then vet it, look into it."

"In this case, the truth is, the claims are false," he said.

President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault by a number of women, told reporters on Thursday that Biden should address Reade's claim, but noted that "it could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations."

Trump has been caught on tape bragging about grabbing women between their legs.

Biden has faced scrutiny over his interactions with women throughout his campaign.

In April 2019, just before he officially launched his bid, Biden released a two-minute video pledging to be "more mindful and respectful of people's personal space" after several women said he touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable.

Reade was among those women  her first accusation against Biden, of harassment, was published by a California newspaper that month. Her assault allegations, however, were not made public until March. Reade has said she felt discouraged from discussing the assault in the initial interview.

The full statement from Biden is below.
India's tally of COVID-19 positive cases has reached 35,347, including 1,152 deaths, as per the Union Health Ministry's latest update.

Of these, 25,148 are active cases while 9,064 have been cured or discharged.

The data was updated at 8 am on May 1 on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's website.

Follow LIVE updates on the COVID-19 pandemic here

With 10,498 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state, followed by Gujarat (4,395) and Delhi (3,515).

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

In Maharashtra, the first COVID-19 patient to undergo plasma therapy passed away on April 29, The Indian Express reported.

Karnataka has suggested use of antiviral drug remdesivir as a trial for COVID-19 patients. the drug has been found to aid recovery of COVID-19 patients.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on April 30 said India is doing better than other countries in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We have gone quite ahead towards winning this war against COVID-19," Vardhan said, as quoted by PTI.

1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 33 16 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 1463 403 33 3 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0 4 Assam 42 29 1 5 Bihar 426 82 2 6 Chandigarh 56 17 0 7 Chhattisgarh 40 36 0 8 Delhi 3515 1094 59 9 Goa 7 7 0 10 Gujarat 4395 613 214 11 Haryana 313 209 3 12 Himachal Pradesh 40 28 1 13 Jammu and Kashmir 614 216 8 14 Jharkhand 111 20 3 15 Karnataka 576 235 22 16 Kerala 497 383 4 17 Ladakh 22 16 0 18 Madhya Pradesh 2719 482 137 19 Maharashtra 10498 1773 459 20 Manipur 2 2 0 21 Meghalaya 12 0 1 22 Mizoram 1 0 0 23 Odisha 143 41 1 24 Puducherry 8 5 0 25 Punjab 357 90 19 26 Rajasthan 2584 836 58 27 Tamil Nadu 2323 1258 27 28 Telengana 1039 441 26 29 Tripura 2 2 0 30 Uttarakhand 57 36 0 31 Uttar Pradesh 2281 555 41 32 West Bengal 795 139 33 Total number of confirmed cases in India 35365* 9065 1152

Globally, over 32.5 lakh cases and more than 2.3 lakh deaths have been reported during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Follow our full coverage here
Detail of the pictures of police officers as a tribute at the front gate of the Victoria Police Academy ahead of the funeral of Constable Glen Humphris on May 01, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Victoria Cops Killed on Duty to Be Farewelled

Two Victorian police officers killed in the line of duty will be farewelled at funerals on May 1.

Constable Glen Humphris and Senior Constable Kevin King will be farewelled at separate services at the Police Academy in Glen Waverley at 10am and 1pm on Friday.

The two officers were killed along with colleagues Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Josh Prestney when a truck crashed into them on the Eastern Freeway on April 22.

Sen Const Taylor was farewell at the academy on Thursday.

The service was followed by a minutes silence by Victoria Police members.

Const Humphris joined Victoria Police in 2019, shortly after moving to Melbourne with his partner of four years, Todd Robinson, who described him as bubbly, outgoing and loving.

At the time of the accident, he was on placement as part of his probationary constable extended training.

Sen Const King, meanwhile, had been with Victoria Police for six years, and was described by his family as a caring, considerate, gentle and kind-hearted person.

The 50-year-old is survived by his wife, Sharron Mackenzie and their three children William, James and Henry.

After the two officers funerals, their colleagues will form a guard of honour at police stations across the state.

Police Minister Lisa Neville, Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam and the secretary of the police union Wayne Gatt will then lay a wreath at the Airlie Conference Centre, which was once a police training college.

Const Prestney will be farewelled at Xavier College, where he graduated in 2009, on Monday.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a maximum of 10 people can attend each funeral, with the services live-streamed to family, friends and colleagues who cannot attend.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton will assist in officiating at each of the services.

He said a public state memorial service will be held once restrictions are lifted.

Melbourne
PM orders investigation of Covid-19 testing equipment procurement

Health workers in Haiphong City work on a Realtime PCR machine for Covid-19 testing. The Health Ministry and local authorities have been urged to review and investigate the procurement of medical equipment to combat Covid-19  PHOTO: VNA

The Health Ministry and local authorities have been urged to review and investigate the procurement of equipment used for testing Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued the order following a Ministry of Public Security proposal to probe the alleged fraud in the use of funding earmarked for Covid-19 prevention and control efforts, reported Thanh Nien newspaper.

PM Phuc asked the Health Ministry and provincial and municipal governments nationwide to quickly review the purchases of medical supplies, especially ventilators, face masks and coronavirus testing machines, to assist in the fight against Covid-19.

Also, they were told to transfer cases of violations to the investigation agencies, who will review them and impose sanctions in line with prevailing regulations, said the Government leader.

Earlier, it was noted that some localities had bought reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines for Covid-19 testing at inflated prices.

The Ministry of Public Securitys investigators found that the head and other employees of Hanoi Center for Disease Control and Prevention were in collusion with medical equipment companies to inflate the price of the bidding package for the purchase of RT-PCR machines.

Overseas Vietnamese in Ukraine present face masks to Odessa's military hospital

Vietnamese in the Ukrainian city of Odessa present 1,200 masks to Ovidiopol districts fire and health agencies

The Vietnamese Association in the Ukrainian city of Odessa on April 28 handed over 1,000 medical face masks as gifts to the citys Military Hospital to help it fight COVID-19.

The hospital's director Colonel Roman Kalchuk sent a letter to the association's chairman Nguyen Nhu Manh thanking the organisation for the donation and its support for improving the hospitals facilities for COVID-19 diagnoses and treatment.

Earlier, the Vietnamese Association in Odessa also donated 3,000 face masks to the citys department of public security on April 24.

Garment workshops of overseas Vietnamese in the city also presented 1,200 masks to Ovidiopol districts fire and health agencies.

So far, overseas Vietnamese in Odessa have donated about 12,000 face masks to the Ukrainian city.

The local Vietnamese community has also taken measures to raise public awareness about the danger of the pandemic.

As of April 29, Odessa had 261 cases of COVID-19, none of whom are Vietnamese./.

Thailand to increase COVID-19 tests on at-risk groups

The number of COVID-19 tests on at-risk groups, such as healthcare workers, migrants and new prisoners, is expected to double next month, in line with the Thai government's efforts to contain the virus, according to the Department of Disease Control (CDC).

The departments chief Suwannachai Watanayingcharoenchai said the board decided that increasing the number of laboratory tests is necessary as the government plans to relax emergency measures. The department expects to be able to conduct at least 5,000 tests per one million people by next month.

He said target places include Samut Sakhon, Bangkok and three provinces in the south of the kingdom.

Suwannachai said CDC board members during the meeting discussed what steps other agencies can take to allow some businesses to reopen.

These include markets, restaurants, department stores, massage shops, gyms, spas and production houses, he added. Owners will still have to abide by social distancing rules and personal hygiene.

Suwannachai said the board will submit a plan to the Centre for the COVID-19 Situation Administration, which is chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Thailand recorded seven new COVID-19 cases on April 30, with no new deaths. The country has to date reported 2,954 patients, of whom 54 had died of the disease./.

Reuters hails Vietnams response to COVID-19 pandemic

Checking body temprature at a Vietnamese hospital

The UKs Reuters news agency on April 30 run an article praising the Vietnamese governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reuters wrote: It was late January, just after the Lunar New Year. Vietnam had detected its first two cases of the new coronavirus days earlier, and the government was contacting companies with experience of medical testing for urgent help.

Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of Viet A Corp, said: "The official said Vietnam needed to act quickly." The company later successfully produced the test kit LightPower iVA SARS-CoV-2 1st RT-rPCR which was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).

As early as January 23, Vietnam suspended flights to and from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak started, immediately after discovering its first two cases. It acted even though the WHO was at that point advising against travel restrictions. A week after that, Vietnam effectively closed its 1,400-km (870-mile) border with China to all but essential trade.

By mid-March, Vietnam made the wearing of masks in public places mandatory nationwide, well ahead of most other countries and not heeding the WHO's advice that only people with symptoms should wear them. Some of Vietnam's garment factories turned to making surgical and cloth masks to meet demand.

Vietnam, a country of 96 million people which shares a border with China, is signalling that it has succeeded where many wealthier and more developed countries have not by containing the new coronavirus.

The government is officially reporting a relatively small 270 cases and zero deaths. That puts the country on course to revive its economy much sooner than most others, according to several public health experts interviewed by Reuters.

These public health experts say Vietnam was successful because it made early, decisive moves to restrict travel into the country, put tens of thousands of people into quarantine and quickly scaled up the use of tests and a system to track down people who might have been exposed to the virus.

"The steps are easy to describe but difficult to implement, yet they've been very successful at implementing them over and over again," said Matthew Moore, a Hanoi-based official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who has been liaising with Vietnam's government on the outbreak since early January. He added that the CDC has "great confidence" in the Vietnamese government's response to the crisis.

Vietnam increased the number of laboratories that can test for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, from three at the beginning of the outbreak in January, to 112 by April.

As of April 29, 213,743 tests had been conducted in Vietnam, of which 270 were positive, according to health ministry data.

"It is organised, it can make country-wide policy decisions that get enacted quickly and efficiently and without too much controversy," said Guy Thwaites, director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City. Thwaites's laboratory has been helping to process tests.

Thwaites said the number of positive tests processed by his organisation's lab was in line with government data.

Todd Pollack, a Hanoi-based infectious diseases specialist at Harvard Medical School, said that less than 10 percent of the people who tested positive for the virus in Vietnam were over 60  the age group most likely to die from COVID-19. All patients, he added, were closely monitored in health facilities and given good medical care.

Russian news agency praises Vietnams fight against COVID-19

A woman in a quarantine centre has her body temperature checked.

RIA Novosti, one of Russias biggest news agencies, ran an article on April 29 saying Vietnams response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been amazing.

While many countries have struggled, Vietnam has contained the disease and had zero fatalities, the article said.

The reason lies in the effective preventive measures the Vietnamese Government has taken throughout the two waves of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the country: Each factory, each neighbourhood, and each citizen must become a fortress in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency wrote.

The article also quoted Associate Professor Peter Tsvetov from the Moscow diplomatic academy as saying Vietnamese people understand and respect their citizen rights while the Government knows how to mobilise public support.

A Russian woman in Ho Chi Minh City was quoted as saying that everyone observed regulations and stayed at home.

Recent events have reflected Vietnams sound organisational capacity and peoples confidence in the Government, she added.

There is no discrimination against Europeans, which has been seen in some countries. On the contrary, Vietnamese are friendly, she said, noting that its secret in the fight is public awareness and prompt responses from authorities.

The article also spoke of Vietnams international cooperation in this regard, saying the US Centers for Disease Control sent a delegation to the country in late February to learn from its experience in pandemic response.

Vietnam now helps other countries in the fight, the agency wrote, by presenting them with hundreds of thousands of medical face masks./.

COVID-19 case number remains at 270

Vietnam recorded no new case of COVID-19 for the past 12 hours, with the number of cases remain at 270 as of 6 am on May 1, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

An apartment building was put under quarantine. Illustrative image

The country has had no infections in the community for a full 15 days as from 6am on April 16.

A total of 47,735 people are under quarantine or health monitoring across the country. They are people who returned from epidemic-hit countries or had close contact with COVID-19 patients.

Among patients under treatment at hospitals, 10 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, and five negative for at least twice.

On April 30, Standing Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long signed a document asking hospitals and health departments of provinces and cities to implement telemedical checkup to help with epidemic prevention.

Medical institutions can continue using software they have used until now, or use IT platforms in accordance with guidance of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Information and Communication.

One relapsed COVID-19 patient reported on April 30

A COVID-19 patient who had been previously given the all-clear has tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 again, the Ministry of Health reported on April 30 afternoon.

Patient 92 is a student returning from France who had been declared to have recovered by the Cu Chi COVID-19 treatment hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on April 14. After being discharged from hospital, he has been under quarantine and medical monitoring at home.

However, his test result turned positive on April 29. The student is being treated at the Cu Chi hospital.

Also on April 30, the 268th patient, who was quarantined and treated at the Dong Van General Hospital in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, was declared to have fully recovered from the disease

The patient, a HMong ethnic minority girl in Dong Van districts Pho La commune, was confirmed as Ha Giangs first COVID-19 infection on April 16. She will be quarantined and monitored for the next 14 days at the hospital.

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on April 30, marking 14 days in a row the country has recorded no infections in the community.

Of the 270 confirmed patients, 130 are imported cases who were quarantined upon their arrival, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

A total of 34,836 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or coming from pandemic-hit regions have been quarantined across the country, including 316 at hospitals, 6,700 at concentrated quarantine areas and 27,820 at home.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed with the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Controls proposal to suspend the purchase of medicines under a scenario the country has 10,000 COVID-19 patients.

Overseas Vietnamese in Voronezh support locals in COVID-19 fight

The Vietnamese association in Voronezh hands over medical face masks and gloves to a social protection agency of the city

The Vietnamese association in Voronezh hands over medical face masks and gloves to a social protection agency of the city

The Vietnamese community in Voronezh city has organised some charitable activities to support local residents as the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading in Russia.

Pham Ngoc Trung, chairman of the Vietnamese association in Voronezh, on April 28 led a delegation to present medical face masks and gloves to a social protection agency of the city, and gift packages to 70 local households with difficult circumstances.

Amid impacts caused by the pandemic, the association has had activities to joint hands with the municipal authority to share difficulties with locals, especially poor households, Trung said.

Members of the association always contribute to the city's social and cultural activities every year, and have been appreciated by the municipal authority, he added.

According to Trung, about 1,000 Vietnamese people are living, working and studying in Voronezh. They have strictly implemented disease prevention measures as recommended by local health authorities. No Vietnamese people in Voronezh have to date infected with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2./.

COVID-19 still spreads in Southeast Asia

The Philippine Health Ministry on April 29 announced that the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country has surpassed 8,200, including 558 deaths.

In the past 24 hours, the country recorded 254 more cases and 28 fatalities.

Singapore still posted the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia with 15,641 cases. In the past 24 hours, the country recorded 690 new cases, most of them are immigrant workers living in dormitories.

Also on April 29, Indonesia announced additional 260 cases, bringing the total to 9,771 with 784 deaths.

Malaysia has so far confirmed 5,945 cases and 100 deaths.

Meanwhile, Thailand reported single-digit COVID-19 cases for the third successive day with nine new cases confirmed over a 24-hour period. The country has to date recorded 2,947 cases, including 54 deaths. Up to 2,665 of them fully recovered and 228 others under treatment./.

Vietnam Red Cross Society presents medical supplies to US people

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink receives the donations (Photo: US Embassy in Vietnam)

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) on April 29 handed over face masks and other medical supplies to help the US people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

These include 120,000 medical masks donated by the VRCS, and 300,000 masks donated by the Vietnam-US Alumni Club (VUSAC)-Hanoi.

In her speech at the ceremony, Chairwoman of the VRCS Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said the donations are a very small number compared to what is needed in the US, but there is so much love behind every one of those masks.

The gifts show the solidarity and friendship between the Vietnamese people and their US counterparts, she added.

In accepting the donations, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink thanked the VRCS and individuals and organisations who contributed to these donations through VUSAC-Hanoi.

He expressed his belief that people-to-people relations are the most solid foundation for close and lasting ties between nations.

I am so honored to be witnessing this outpouring of love and support, he said.

The diplomat also praised the Vietnamese Government for successfully responding to COVID-19 with a spirit of initiative, cooperation and transparency, adding that Vietnamese people have joined hands with their high determination to contain the disease.

Fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic together has spotlighted the nature of strength, flexibility and multifaceted cooperation in the Vietnam-US relationship, he said./.

Vietnam donates medical supplies to help Russia fight COVID-19

The Vietnam-Russia Friendship Parliamentarians Group (VRFPG) and a group of Vietnamese alumni who had studied in Russia and are now working at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources on April 29 handed over medical supplies and cash worth over 1 billion VND (42,600 USD) to the Russian Embassy in Vietnam to help the Russian people in the fight against COVID-19.

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Phan Xuan Dung, who is also head of the VRFPG, said the Vietnamese people, including many Vietnamese alumni who had studied in Russia, have eagerly responded to the campaign calling for support to the Russian people to overcome the difficult time.

The gift is consider as a thank from the Vietnamese people in general and Vietnamese alumni in particular to Russia and its people, and shows Vietnams solidarity with the country, he stressed.

Dung expressed his belief that Russia will be successful in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

For his part, Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov thanked the Vietnamese people in general, the VRFPG and Vietnamese alumni in particular for their assistance, affirming that this is a valuable help for the Russian people at present.

He also praised professional and effective response measures taken by Vietnam in the fight against the epidemic, saying that those have been recognised and appreciated by the international community.

With the solidarity and unity, countries will soon push back the epidemic, the ambassador said./.

Australian newspaper spotlights Vietnams incredible achievements in COVID-19 fight

An article run by the Australian newspaper "The Sydney Morning Herald" has highly evaluated Vietnam's extraordinary results in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the nation recorded only 270 cases of infection and no fatalities since the outbreak began in January.

As an increasingly important strategic partner of Australia, Vietnam implemented a sweeping set of measures that significantly slowed down the spread of COVID-19.

The country has just gone 12 days in a row without reporting any new community-transmitted infections, it noted.

While other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia enjoyed similar successes initially before being hit by a second wave of cases, Vietnam has managed to keep its infection rate remarkably low.

The Herald highlighted measures Vietnam has applied to contain the spread of the virus, including regulations on temperature screenings and health declarations at airports as well as banning entry to foreigners from March 22 and public gatherings of 20 or more people.

The country has put in place strict rules that have seen festivals, religious ceremonies, and sporting events suspended, it added.

Vietnam, it wrote, has so far conducted 133,000 tests, one of the highest figures in the region, citing the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)'s COVID-19 tracking website./.

Vietnam Red Cross donates medical supplies to Cambodia

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRC) has donated 60,000 medical masks and 300 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) to its Cambodian counterpart to help the Cambodian people fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation was handed over by Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh to the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) Society in Phnom Penh on the morning of April 29.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, head of the CRCs Financial Committee Ouk Maly expressed her deep gratitude for the aid, adding that the medical supplies will be distributed to hospitals around Cambodia.

She spoke highly of relations between the Red Cross Societies of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, particularly given the three have signed an agreement to enhance the exchange of experience and expand cooperation.

She went on to say that the CRC has also received donations from many Vietnamese enterprises in Cambodia to assist the countrys COVID-19 relief efforts, for example the Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia, a subsidy of the Vietnam-based BIDV, and Viettels Metfone.

The donations, including rice, hand sanitiser, medical masks, and soap, have been given to people throughout Cambodia, she said.

She expressed her appreciation towards the VRC and Vietnamese people at large for sharing with and supporting Cambodia in times of difficulty, preserving long-standing ties between the two countries' people.

Ambassador Minh, for his part, said he is proud to see many Vietnamese firms contributing to the CRCs efforts. He also took the occasion to thank the CRC for providing regular assistance to Vietnamese-born Cambodians facing difficulties, particularly those hurt by the pandemic.

On April 8, on behalf of the Vietnamese Government, he presented medical supplies worth 7 billion VND (298,200 USD) to the Cambodian Government and people to aid their fight against COVID-19. The aid included PPE, medical and anti-bacterial masks, and coronavirus testing kits./.
Trump administration keeps up pressure despite calls from world leaders to ease sanctions during coronavirus pandemic.

The United States has kept up its maximum pressure campaign against Iran, unleashing a fresh round of sanctions  this time targeting a dual citizen of Iran and Iraq and his mining company.

Amir Dianat and Taif Mining Services LLC, a company the US Treasury says is owned, controlled, or directed by Dianat, are the latest entities to be placed on the Trump administrations blacklist on Friday.

In its statement, the US Treasury accused Dianat of being a longtime associate of senior officials with Irans Quds Force and being involved in efforts to help it to generate revenue and smuggling weapons from Iran to Yemen. Taif Mining is accused of being a front company for the Quds Force.

The sanctions freeze any US-held assets of Dianat or his firm. The Treasury also said the US Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia has filed criminal charges against him and one of his business associates for violations of sanctions and money laundering laws, as well as a related action alleging that approximately $12m is subject to forfeiture as funds involved in these crimes and as assets of a foreign terrorist organization.

The announcement is the latest indication that Washington is not easing its campaign to cripple Irans economy, despite appeals from United Nations officials and others to do so on humanitarian grounds as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak.

Iran has been hit hard by the virus with the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country surpassing 95,000 and the number of deaths exceeding 6,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Tehran asked the International Monetary Fund for $5bn in emergency funding to fight the outbreak, but the international lender has not followed through on the request.

The Iranian government and its supporters continue to prioritise the funding of international terrorist organisations over the health and wellbeing of the Iranian people, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

The US maximum pressure campaign of successive rounds of sanctions kicked off in 2018 after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal Iran struck with major world powers. Washington is trying to force Tehran back to the negotiation table by squeezing it economically.
A week after the bodies of two transgender women were found in a badly burned car in Puerto Rico, the police said Thursday that they had arrested two men in connection with the killings and had turned them over to the F.B.I.

The men, Juan Carlos Pagan Bonilla, 21, and Sean Diaz de Leon, 19, were taken into custody on Wednesday but have not been charged, according to Capt. Teddy Morales, the chief of criminal investigations for the police in Humacao, on Puerto Ricos eastern coast, where the womens remains were found on April 22.

He said the F.B.I. had taken over the case and was investigating Mr. Pagan Bonilla and Mr. Diaz de Leon for possible civil rights violations.

We are classifying it as a hate crime because they were socializing with the victims, and once they found out they were transgender women, they decided to kill them, Captain Morales said on Thursday.
Labor and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta on Friday endorsed Joe Biden for president, giving him the backing of one of the nation's most prominent Latino leaders.

The endorsement comes as the campaign says it's ramping up Latino outreach, expanding some of the efforts it launched in key states during the primary in an effort to strengthen Biden's support with a voting bloc it acknowledges could be pivotal to his success in November.

The former vice president initially struggled to win over Latino voters during the primary after facing criticism for the Obama administration's record on immigration.

Huerta will appear on Sunday at an online Todos Con Biden, or Everyone with Biden, event and said in an interview with The Associated Press she plans to do whatever I possibly, humanly can to make sure that Joe Biden gets elected.

Our community has just been under constant, constant attack by the current administration, said Huerta, who is based in Los Angeles.

We need somebody who is going to bring everybody together and end the racism and hostility that has been created.

Huerta co-founded the organization that eventually became the United Farm Workers of America, a national union for farm laborers. The Biden campaign noted her endorsement came on International Workers Day, and Huerta said Biden will really support strong labor unions.

During the primary, however, Huerta endorsed California Sen. Kamala Harris and criticized Biden for his comments during a primary debate on immigration, accusing him of speaking just like the Republicans when he expressed opposition to the idea of decriminalizing border crossings during a Democratic primary debate.

But she told the AP on Friday that she trusts Biden to prioritize the challenges confronting Latinos and noted that immigration reform is something the president can't do, noting big reforms require congressional action.

I don't think we'll have to pressure him on immigration reform, she said.

I think he realizes what the issues are. It's a notable shift for a key voice in the Latino community, one that suggests Biden is making inroads with a community in which he initially faced challenges.

Primary opponent Bernie Sanders' strength among Latinos helped him build early momentum over Biden, who faced immigration protesters and criticism from opponents over the Obama administration's record number of deportations.

Biden senior adviser Cristobal Alex said in an interview that the campaign's initial struggles with the Latino community were due to a lack of resources that made it tougher for him to get his message out.

Alex noted that the candidate's support among Latinos got stronger in some of the earlier primary states and said that the Biden campaign plans to expand a number of its Latino-focused outreach efforts for the general election.

Our campaign manager is committed to the Latino vote, the vice president is committed to the Latino vote, and so you're going to see significant investment in the weeks and months to come, he said.

Alex predicted record Latino turnout for Biden. The voters in that bloc, Alex said, are poised to be the difference-makers in this year's election, noting the fast-growing Latino populations in swing states including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

We're not taking any vote for granted. We have to compete for Latino voters, not just in places like Arizona and Florida, which people think automatically are Latino states, or Colorado and Nevada, but places like Ohio, where there's a large Puerto Rican population, or there's a large Dominican population in Pennsylvania, he said. So we're going to be very attuned to the community in each state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday emphatically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, declaring flatly that this never happened.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This video framegrab image from MSNBC's Morning Joe, shows Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaking to co-host Mika Brzezinski, Friday, May 1, 2020. (MSNBC's Morning Joe via AP)

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday emphatically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, declaring flatly that this never happened.

Bidens first public remarks on the accusation by a former employee, Tara Reade, come at a critical moment for the presumptive Democratic nominee as he tries to relieve mounting pressure after weeks of leaving denials to his campaign.

Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened, the former vice-president and senator said in an interview on MSNBCs Morning Joe.

Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine whether there is any record of a complaint being filed, as Reade has claimed. Later Friday, Biden asked the secretary of the Senate via letter to assist in the search, though he told MSNBC that the Archives was the only possible place a complaint would be. He said his Senate papers held under seal at the University of Delaware do not contain personnel records.

The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993, Biden said. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint.

Reade did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The Archives deflected inquiries to Capitol Hill, saying any complaint "would have remained under the control of the Senate. A spokeswoman for the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights said confidentiality rules bar the office from commenting on whether specific claims may or may not have been filed.

Biden, in his TV interview, said there are so many inconsistencies in Reade's various accounts. But he said he does not question her motive. He said over his five decades in public life, none of his employees was asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Republicans worried about President Donald Trumps increasingly precarious political standing are casting Democrats as only defending women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. Theyre digging in despite the possibility of renewed attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump, who denies the accusations.

In light of his own situation, Trump is stepping delicately around the Biden controversy.

This video framegrab image from MSNBC's Morning Joe, shows Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaking to co-host Mika Brzezinski, Friday, May 1, 2020. (MSNBC's Morning Joe via AP)

Hes going to have to make his own decision, Trump said in a podcast interview Friday with Dan Bongino. Im not going to be telling him what to do. The president added that it would be a great thing if Biden had records that could dispose of Reades allegation.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of validating women who come forward with their stories while defending their standard-bearer ahead of an expected competitive election.

Former Democratic Party chairwoman Donna Brazile said before Biden's interview that his silence was damaging, but afterward said he handled the matter well.

"He responded, he denied it, and there's nothing more to be added, Brazile said, before alluding to Reade's repeated public statements. If you add to the story the way Tara Reade has, it only brings more confusion.

Karen Finney, who worked for Hillary Clinton in 2016, described Biden as very clear and consistent and sincere, but said it should have come a little bit sooner.

The November presidential election will be the first of the #MeToo era, during which numerous women have publicly disclosed experiences of sexual harassment and assault.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats. Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator but came under criticism for his handling of Anita Hills 1991 Senate testimony against now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, Biden apologized after several women said he'd made them uncomfortable with unwanted touching.

He has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the Reade allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Some of them have echoed talking points the Biden campaign issued to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. The campaign pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault against Biden and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

Some Democratic donors say the matter hasn't come up in recent strategy calls. Others worry it'll be used against Biden, much as Republicans harped in 2016 on Clintons private email server and Clinton Foundation activities.

We know they're going to try elements of the same playbook, said Finney, pointing to calls for Biden to release his Senate papers.

Other Democratic operatives expressed concern the allegation complicates a central Biden pitch: that he provides a moral counter to Trump.

I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations, said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders organizing director.

Republicans have seized on the prospects of scouring Biden's records, showing aggressiveness that was harder for them four years ago while Trump was having to deny varying levels of sexual assault and harassment.

Trump joined fellow Republicans in arguing Friday that Democrats arent being consistent, pointing again to the aggressive questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced a sexual assault allegation.

Biden pushed back on those notions Friday during the interview and, later, during a virtual campaign fundraiser. He told 2,200 donors, many of them veterans of the Obama administration, that his position has always been to take women's claims seriously. It isn't enough just to simply take my word for it and dismiss it out of hand, he said, because that sort of approach is how the culture of abuse has been allowed to fester for so long.

Trump's reelection campaign quickly released a digital ad featuring prominent Democrats, including Biden and Clinton, saying, Believe women and similar sentiments.

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Ladies and gentleman, we just can't have it both ways, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway said. We cannot decide which women were included in 'believe all women.'

Hill, long critical of how Biden handled her accusations against Thomas, issued a statement highlighting the complexities across the political spectrum. Noting Reade, Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, and Trump's many accusers, Hill called for an investigation of outstanding claims of sexual misconduct against Trump and Biden, warning that otherwise the public is left to figure out the truth on its own.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Darlene Superville and Brian Slodysko in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.
From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, it has been obvious that the fates of public health and the economy were tied together. Weeks before formalized lockdown policies began appearing, as news about the danger of the coronavirus spread, economic activity dramatically slowed. And it obviously wont speed up again until the public in general has confidence that going back out into the world is as relatively safe as it was before.

So now we face a serious dilemma. It goes something like this: We dont have enough money to stay idle, but we dont have enough confidence in testing to go out and spend again. The COVID-19 social contract was cobbled together at alarming speed. Everyone quickly adopted three assumptions: First, that the government would compensate  and, as much as possible, make whole  those men and women who, for the sake of public health, lost income, business, or their livelihoods; second, that we would in due course build the kind of mass testing-and-contact-tracing system that would allow us to isolate the sick, rather than locking down everybody; and third, that we would adopt clear benchmark conditions for re-opening, and clear, universal guidelines on masks, handshakes, hygiene, and the like to be followed until we had a vaccine.

None of those assumptions has held up. Congress accepted and arguably exacerbated the mass unemployment the pandemic immediately left in its wake. Its limits on paycheck protection loans and other small-business aid turned its relief program into a lottery. Talk of increasing test capacity to millions per day has turned out to be just that  talk. Guidelines for re-opening at the state level have proposed hopelessly vague metrics. And federal guidelines, while more sound upon examination, have not been publicized.

Perhaps it was inevitable that all those hopes would be dashed.

Elsewhere, even our successes have come with unanticipated downsides. The lockdown policies were justified by the imperative of flattening the curve. That meant slowing the transmission of the disease to avoid the catastrophic medical-system collapses that sent death rates into truly scary territory in Wuhan, China and Northern Italy. And for the most part, weve done this. New York needed fewer ventilators than estimated. The naval-ship hospital has already left citys waters. The curve is flattened so much that stories of New York emergency rooms filling to the brim have been crowded out by stories of hospitals that are eerily empty. People fearful of contracting the virus have delayed seeking medical attention for other problems. With elective surgeries cancelled, hospitals are actually laying off staff to balance the books. Weve flattened the curve so much to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed that theyre now in greater danger of being underwhelmed.

Story continues

It is, of course, a good thing that New York didnt become Northern Italy, and that although there have been scary weeks in Seattle, Detroit, and New Orleans, none of those cities became New York. But when is the conversation going to change to reflect as much?

The lockdowns began with both suspicion and trust. The suspicion was that China wouldnt shut down its industrial heartland and Italians wouldnt give up their lives as free citizens for nothing. The trust was that our scientists were right. That Americans have cooperated so widely and readily with social-distancing directives is astonishing. But they have done so based on the conviction that COVID-19 was roughly twice as transmissible as the flu, and possibly ten times as deadly. Is that true in every environment? Every region? Every climate? Does avoiding a doubling and redoubling of the awful American death toll require this sustained and intrusive lockdown? Or can masks and a little more care and circumspection do the trick?

We havent gotten consistent answers to such questions, and it has left us unsure. In some cases, this confusion was understandable; there is no good science on a new virus. But if they expect continued compliance, authorities have to be clear, consistent, and honest about what their experts are telling them, and about how confident they are in its accuracy. In the absence of sounder science more soundly communicated, the public will act upon its own understandable anxiety and take signs of abatement as signs of hope, or even invitations to begin rebuilding their lives, livelihoods, and businesses. If the authorities find this behavior foolish, then they must persuade us through intelligent legislative acts, provision, and publicity.

If they cant  if government institutions cannot tie public health and the economy together in a collective national effort  then Americans can, must, and will begin to divide and make their own arrangements. Non-essential workers who can will work illicitly. People will get into screaming matches over masks and personal space in grocery stores until new social norms emerge.

Nature is not obliged to cooperate with our civilization, however much we might wish it were. A disease could always come along that wrecks our arrangements for good. A previous civilization on the American continent was destroyed by plague. But humans have a nature too, and the present lockdowns cannot be sustained without the proper combination of hope for sufficient federal aid and fear of the virus that satisfies it.

Both of those things are diminishing, and so the lockdowns are not long for this world. Theyll end just as they began: with the American people taking the lead because their elected officials cant or wont, muddling their way through an impossible dilemma.

More from National Review
Read about Donbas conflict, coronavirus, Normandy Four meeting, land market, and Chornobyl fire in the main news of this week

About Donbas

On April 30, Joint Forces Commander said that Russia may grant citizenship to 300,000 Donbas residents this year. He also reported that General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia in Donbas had formed and maintained the army corps of over 35,000 people, including over 2,000 regular Russian officers.

It was also reported that authorities of occupied Donbas hide information about Covid-19 incidence.

Whereas, next negotiations on Donbas are due to take place on May 14.

About coronavirus

The city mayor of Dnipro Borys Filatov loosened quarantine measures in Dnipro city starting from April 30. Pharmacies, supermarkets, hardware shops, gas stations, banks, car service stations and dry-cleaners will be opened in the city.

This week, Ukraines government allowed the opening of food markets while meeting requirements.

As of April 30, there are 10,406 cases of coronavirus infection in Ukraine. And as of May 1, the number is 10,861.

About Normandy four meeting

On April 28, Ukraines MFA spoke about the upcoming meeting in Normandy format, saying that a video conference between the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia (Normandy format) would take place on Thursday, April 30.

Heiko Maas, the German Foreign Minister said there was a need to urgently improve humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, since the closure of disengagement line due to the Covid-19 pandemic causes locals a trouble.

About land sale

This week, Zelensky signed the law on opening of land market. On April, 30, the law on land sale market was officially published in parliamentary agency.

According to the law, ordinary Ukrainians can become land market participants. Legal entities, directly founded by citizens of Ukraine, the state and territorial communities shall become land sale market participants only from 2024.

About gas

Polish State Oil and Gas Company reported that Gazprom continued to set Poland inflated price for gas, despite decision of Stockholm court.

This week, Executive Director of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine Serhiy Makohon noted that Ukraine may provide Poland with gas after end of contract with Russia.

It was reported that Ukraine was also ready to provide its gas storage facilities to Gazprom.

About Chornobyl fire

Last week, Zelensky awarded Ukrainian rescuers who extinguished fires in Chornobyl zone.

And on April 28, the fire in Chornobyl exclusion zone was completely localized. Rescuers continue to extinguish individual fires in Chornobyl zone and Zhytomyr region.
This reflect as you read book on Amazon comes at a time when most of the world is in lockdown and e-commerce is the go-to option for your daily needs. But readers in India, largely dependent on neighbourhood stores during the current phase, may beg to differ with the writers while rating Amazon, because the American major hasnt been able to keep pace with orders for a variety of reasons.

Even so, this is an informative and easy read for businesses as well as management students on how to be different and spectacularly big. Unlike many management books, this one is ...
(Photo : ALY SONG on Reuters) Apple's Tim Cook Poses Threat to ALL Android Phone Brands: 'iPhone SE is Faster Than the Fastest Android Phone' (Photo : Screenshot from: Apple ) Apple's Tim Cook Poses Threat to ALL Android Phone Brands: 'iPhone SE is Faster Than the Fastest Android Phone'

On Apr. 15, Apple's new budget iPhone called iPhone SE was revealed in the market worldwide despite the danger of Coronavirus. Today, Apple CEO Tim Cook poses a threat to all phone brands-- especially for Android phones-- to enhance their devices or else iPhone SE may steal Android users to switch to iPhone. He even boasted that iPhone SE is faster than any of the fastest Android phones out there, which means Samsung Galaxy S20.

Apple CEO: 'iPhone SE is faster than the fastest Android phone'

In a recent report of 9to5mac, Apple CEO believes that the launching of iPhone SE will make a huge difference to their company. The device was only released a few weeks from now, but the positive response of reviewers on the model is going tremendously great.

iPhone SE model was one of the surprising model brands launched by the company this year. Aside from its unanticipated released date, iPhone SE is also the cheapest iPhone model, that's why most people call it as Apple's new budget iPhone.

Not only that, but the specs of the device are also extremely marvelous compared to the older models. This device features the A13 Bionic chip, which is the fastest chip in a smartphone and has the best-single camera system in an iPhone, according to the official announcement.

With its great specs and lower prices, is it better than a normal Android phone?

Apple CEO thinks so.

iPhone SE can beat all other Android phones out there, says CEO

According to the report, Cook expects the device to attract more Android users to switch with iOS. Calling iPhone SE as 'faster than the fastest Android phone.'

"It plays in every geo, but I would expect to see it doing even better where the median incomes are less. I'd expect some fair number of people switching over to iOS. It's an incredible offer. It's the engine of our top phones in a very affordable package, and it's faster than the fastest Android phones. It's an exceptional value," said him.

If we will base the fastest Android phone of 2020 through a Tech Radar post, the number one spot goes to the latest Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphones. Interestingly, the Samsung smartphones are way costly compared to the Apple iPhone SE with only $399, then $800 to $1,000 base prices of S20.

Apple bounces back to charts

Cook also boasted that Apple is now returning to its higher sales at the beginning of April. Unknowingly whether its due to iPhone SE or not, Apple CEO said that the company is now thinking optimistic about the success of their recent sales worldwide.

After all the physical stores of Apple went offline due to Coronavirus, the company's sales also went to a 'very depressing' month, according to Cook.

Maybe iPhone SE really saves the day.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
With the White House's social distancing guidelines expiring Thursday, leaving states largely in charge of deciding how to move forward, Anthony Fauci warned local leaders to avoid "leapfrogging" critical milestones in an effort to reopen their economies amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"Obviously you could get away with that, but you're making a really significant risk," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday evening on CNN.

IN HOUSTON: Hidalgo announces fourth step in mitigation plan to restart Houston's economy

Fauci, who has repeatedly cautioned against prematurely easing restrictions, said he already noticed that some states and cities are not adhering to the steps laid out in the White House's recently issued guidance on reopening - a plan that administration officials say will now replace the expired federal social distancing measures.

"If you follow the guidelines, there's a continuity that's safe, that's prudent and that's careful," he said.

DON'T GO TO FLORIDA: NASA begs spectators for astronaut launch - please stay home!

But if governors rush to reopen when they aren't ready, Fauci cautioned that the move would likely only set back the progress their states have made.

"There's no doubt in my mind that when you pull back mitigation, you're going to start seeing cases crop up here and there," he said. "If you're not able to handle them, you're going to see another peak, a spike, and then you almost have to turn the clock back to go back to mitigation."

Fauci's comments come as dozens of states have unveiled plans to begin easing stay-at-home orders, with some changes already taking effect despite the number of coronavirus cases and related deaths continuing to rise nationwide. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, for example, weathered intense criticism, including from President Donald Trump, after announcing that he would lift restrictions on a wide range of businesses ranging from tattoo parlors to bowling alleys, allowing them to open their doors a week ago.

The patchwork effort to return to some semblance of normalcy coupled with the absence of stringent social distancing recommendations has left health experts worried, The Washington Post's Yasmeen Abutaleb and Rachel Weiner reported. Attempts to reopen states too soon at a time when social distancing remains the most effective way to stem the spread of the virus could increase the risk of new outbreaks, experts say. According to most recent figures, the United States has more than 1 million cases of covid-19 and nearly 63,000 deaths.

On Thursday, Fauci appeared to echo those concerns, but stressed that major problems could be avoided so long as states adhere to the federal government's reopening guidelines, which he described as "very well thought out and very well delineated."

"I keep trying to articulate to the public and to the leaders, 'Take a look at the guidelines,' " Fauci said on CNN. "They don't tell you because you've reached the end of the 30-day mitigation period that, all of a sudden, you switch a light on and you just go for it. That's not the way to do it. Each state, each city, each region is going to be a little different."

Citing the guidelines, Fauci reiterated that states need to report a steady decrease in coronavirus cases within a 14-day period in addition to meeting other requirements before even thinking about moving on to the first phase of reopening.

"The discretion is given to the governors, they know their states. The mayors know their cities, so you want to give them a little wiggle room," he said. "But my recommendation is don't wiggle too much."

While Fauci acknowledged that some local leaders are following the guidance, he said "others are taking a bit of a chance."

"I hope they can actually handle any rebound that they see," he added.

Later in the segment, Fauci was asked by CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta about whether the rise in cases in states that are reopening would be incremental or exponential. In response, Fauci said that though he doesn't know for sure, he doubted that any area would see "something as explosive as we saw in New York." New York, which has yet to lift restrictions, is the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak with more than 300,000 confirmed cases and roughly 23,600 deaths.

But he warned that states could really find themselves in trouble if infections managed to "spill over into the general community," similar to the way the virus spread in New York.

"If you can't stop that from happening, then I think you're really going to see the sharp peak," Fauci said. "That is going to be very disturbing when that happens because it's really going to take awhile to get it back down."
By Douglas Busvine and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has chosen a home-grown technology for smartphone-based tracing of coronavirus infections, putting it at odds with Apple which has refused on privacy grounds to support the necessary short-range communication on iPhones.

The government has told lawmakers it has chosen a design developed for the Robert Koch Institute - the agency leading Germany's coronavirus health response - that would hold personal data on a central server.

Countries around the world are rushing to launch digital contact tracing apps to identify who an infected person has had contact with as part of efforts to slow the spread of the pandemic.

In Europe, governments want to use Bluetooth 'handshakes' between devices as a way to measure the risk of infection, but approaches differ as to whether such contacts should be logged on devices or on a central server.

Germany, lawmakers told Reuters, has backed the centralised platform developed by the Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) consortium and an app built by one of its members, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute.

"This solution requires the central storage of anonymised data, but represents a workable approach in terms of data protection and security," said Tankred Schipanski, digital affairs spokesman of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

Apple has, however, refused to allow such apps to monitor Bluetooth while running in the background. Apple and Alphabet's Google have proposed tweaks that would best support device-based, decentralised apps.

"The chancellery is in talks with Apple but so far no solution is in sight," opposition lawmaker Anke Domscheit-Berg said after parliament's digital affairs committee was briefed by a government representative on Wednesday.

EUROPEAN SCHISM

Ideally, such national contact tracing apps would be interoperable, enabling them to 'talk' to each other across borders and making it possible to lift restrictions on travel that have crushed economic activity.

Story continues

But Europe has split into two camps with Germany, France, Italy and Britain backing centralised solutions.

France has clashed with Apple over Bluetooth tracking while Thierry Breton, the European Union's industry chief, has told Apple CEO Tim Cook that apps being developed by governments should work on its devices.

Leaders of the expert community have, meanwhile, come out strongly against a centralised approach, with 300 scientists signing an open letter this week that said it "would allow unprecedented surveillance of society at large".

An alternative, decentralised protocol developed called Decentralised Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (DP-3T https://github.com/DP-3T/documents/blob/master/DP3T%20White%20Paper.pdf) will be used for a Swiss app and may be adopted by Austria, whose Stopp Corona app has been downloaded 400,000 times.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Small businesses should apply to multiple banks in order to boost their chances of receiving a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban told CNBC on Friday.

"If you're a small business and you happen to bank at a big bank, it's OK to go find a small community bank and apply there as well," the billionaire entrepreneur said on "Squawk Box." "There's no rules against having multiple applications. You just can't take multiple loans."

He also said the only fair way to operate the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, is through a lottery.

Cuban previously been critical of the roll out of the PPP, warning that some banks were leaving small businesses "out in the cold."

Banks of all sizes have said the government's loan-entry portal has caused delays in dispersing loans through the program. Some banks have said they will prioritize PPP applications from existing customers.

The program, established in March as part of the government's $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package, has seen overwhelming demand and many small businesses have said they've been unable to receive funds. The initial $349 billion allocated for the program was used up, but Congress has since approved an extra $310 billion.

Cuban, who owns parts of many small businesses through "Shark Tank," suggested on Friday that all applications go into a repository at the Treasury Department, which would randomly select a certain quantity of loans to approve. "They see what the total is, and however much money left they have, they go to the next 50,000 until the money is gone," he added. "That's the only way to be objective and fair."

Always-outspoken Cuban has been particularly vocal during the coronavirus crisis, arguing that workers must be a priority in government relief efforts.

Cuban, also owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, is a member of President Donald Trump's advisory council on how to help the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic-related shutdowns.

 Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank," on which Mark Cuban is a co-host.
As demand for an inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus outbreak gained momentum, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reportedly said that it is hoping to get an invite from China to take part in its investigations. According to media reports, the UN health agency said that it is not involved in the studies that are currently underway in China to understand the source of the virus outbreak.

The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is not known but preliminary studies suggested that the bats could be the source since the coronavirus present in bats has a genome that is 96 per cent identical to the novel coronavirus. It is believed that pangolin was the immediate host because the bat coronavirus cannot bind to receptors in human cells, however, there has not been any concrete evidence.

The United States and Australia have been demanding an independent investigation into the origins of coronavirus outbreak, especially after French Nobel Laureate Luc Montagnier claimed that it originated from a Wuhan laboratory. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said that all the members of the WHO should cooperate with the proposed independent inquiry into the spread of coronavirus.

Read: COVID-19: WHO Chief Says UN Agency Has 'no Power Or Force To Reinforce Its Advice'

Morrison had been talking to several world leaders including US President Donald Trump to gather support for an inquiry into the origins of the virus. During a press conference on April 23, Morrison said that the inquiry into the virus outbreak is necessary so that the world can learn the lessons.

Read: WHO Launches Global Collaboration To Ensure Equitable Access To COVID-19 Vaccine

'Obligations on WHO members'

The Australian Prime Minister had said that though the world is in the middle of the pandemic, Australia would have cooperated with such an inquiry irrespective of its timing. Morrison added that any member of the WHO should understand its responsibility in participating in such an organisation.

If you're going to be a member of a club like the World Health Organization, there should be obligations and responsibilities attached to that, said the Australian PM.

Read: UN Labour Agency Urges Countries To Protect Workers During And After COVID-19 Lockdown

Read: COVID-19 Vaccine Must Be Affordable, Effective & Universally Available, Says UN Chief

(With agency inputs | Image: AP)
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark Workers Day, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has commended health workers leading the battle to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

Workers Day is celebrated on May 1 every year.

Abubakar, in a statement said this years Workers Day was coming at a time when Nigeria was in the middle of a ravaging health pandemic.

He said he believed it was more appropriate to use the opportunity to express utmost gratitude to health workers who had been leading the battle to contain the spread of the deadly virus.



According to him, we cannot thank such workers enough.

Since December last year when the novel coronavirus reared its ugly head in China, it has expanded to nearly every corner of the world. Nigeria has not been spared of this scourge.

From our index case in February, the plague has spread to 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with 1,728 confirmed cases and 51 deaths, according to information from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as at April 29.

The good news, however, is that thanks to our heroic healthcare workers, 307 persons were successfully treated and discharged.

One of those is my son, Mohammed. I remain eternally grateful to the medical personnel for their services.

Abubakar expressed optimism that after the pandemic, governments would see the need to increase spending on healthcare and human capital development.

He said they should also work toward a better standard of living for the people and other topical issues being demanded by the Labour.

Abubakar said no one ever envisaged that the global economy could afford to shut down for several weeks with heavy consequences on businesses  both public and private sector.

But even the greater casualties of the current lockdowns are the workers.

Abubakar said there were abundant reports about how companies and corporations were laying off staff and cutting wages.

According to him, some state governments are finding it difficult to pay salary, while others are slashing workers salary on account of the COVID-19 situation.

It will be wrong of us as a society to say that the weakest of us should bear the pain of this affliction. The reverse should be the case.

It will not be asking for too much to urge the National Assembly to forbid any employer of Labour from penalising workers in the effect of the pandemic.

The grim reality of the situation that we are in today calls for greater understanding between government and Labour. It is, therefore, time that both entities see each other as partners in progress.

On the occasion of this years Workers Day, I join many across the world in solidarity with the Nigerian workers in particular who have been making great sacrifices to keep our frontiers firm.

I want to however take solace in the can-do Nigerian spirit. We shall not give up. We shall not give in. It will take more than Covid-19 and the consequential lockdown to knock us down.

It will not be easy, but standing united, we can rebuild our country because it is the place we call home, he said.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
CHMP positive opinion advances efforts to provide first-in-class LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for patients whose asthma is uncontrolled with LABA/ICS standard-of-care treatment in the EU.



Digital companion with app and sensor that provide inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data to better support therapeutic decisions also covered by positive opinion for EnerzairBreezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF).



Decision supported by robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 patients with asthma in Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which once-daily IND/GLY/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with once-daily IND/MF (QMF149).1



In secondary analyses of the Phase III IRIDIUM study, statistically significant improvements in lung function and reductions in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates were observed with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose Sal/Flu.1

Basel, May 1, 2020 - Novartis today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. If approved, this will be the first once-daily LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination for these patients. The European Commission (EC) reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision in approximately two months.

"This is an important development for patients with uncontrolled asthma because IND/GLY/MF has been shown to improve lung function and symptoms versus a LABA/ICS standard-of-care," said Professor Huib Kerstjens, Head, Department of Pulmonology at the University Medical Center Groningen. "In secondary analyses of the Phase III IRIDIUM study statistically significant reductions in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates were observed with high-dose IND/GLY/MF compared to high-dose salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate."

IND/GLY/MF will be administered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, which enables once-daily inhalation using a single inhaler. If approved, IND/GLY/MF will be the first asthma treatment in the EU that can be prescribed together with a digital companion; a Propeller Health sensor and app custom-built for the Breezhaler device. This companion will provide patients with inhalation confirmation, medication reminders and access to objective data that can be shared with their physician in order to help them make better therapeutic decisions.

"Today's news is a key milestone in our journey to reimagine asthma care by bringing innovative medicines and a digital companion to patients with uncontrolled asthma," said Linda Armstrong, MD, Respiratory Development Unit Head, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "Once-daily IND/GLY/MF has the potential to improve asthma control for patients whose lives are still impacted by their disease, despite existing inhaled therapies. Additionally, we are pleased to bring an innovative sensor and app companion supplied with IND/GLY/MF to patients to help support enhanced adherence."

The CHMP recommendation is based on robust efficacy and safety data from over 3,000 patients with asthma from the Phase III IRIDIUM study, in which IND/GLY/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with indacaterol acetate/mometasone furoate (IND/MF).1

In the IRIDIUM study, the key secondary endpoint was improvement in Asthma Control Questionnaire score (ACQ-7) for IND/GLY/MF versus IND/MF. Both treatments delivered clinically meaningful improvements in this measure of symptoms from baseline at Week 26, but the key secondary endpoint was not met. Among other secondary analyses, IRIDIUM explored asthma exacerbation rates, where statistically significant reductions were observed in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates with IND/GLY/MF compared with an established LABA/ICS standard-of-care (twice-daily salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate). Safety findings were consistent with the known safety profiles of the monocomponents.1

Last month the CHMP also recommended the approval of Atectura Breezhaler (IND/MF) as a maintenance treatment of asthma for adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older not adequately controlled with inhaled corticosteroids and inhaled short-acting beta-agonists . 2 Novartis is committed to bringing IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF to patients, with additional regulatory filings currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Japan and Canada.

In keeping with the Novartis commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our asthma combinations, IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF will both be available in the Breezhaler device which is hydrofluoroalkane/chlorofluorocarbon (HFA/CFC)-free.

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled.3,4 Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled.5,6 Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death.7,8,9 Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma.10,11

About Enerzair Breezhaler

Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; IND/GLY/MF) is intended as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta 2 -agonist and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. This formulation combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) and the antimuscarinic effects of glycopyrronium bromide (a LAMA) with mometasone furoate (high-dose ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Glycopyrronium bromide certain use and formulation intellectual property were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/GLY/MF (worldwide excluding the U.S.).

The sensor for the Breezhaler device was developed by Propeller Health and is a CE marked Medical Device, designed and licensed to Novartis exclusively for use with the Breezhaler inhaler worldwide. The sensor includes a microchip, a microphone, Bluetooth capabilities, an antenna and a battery. The sensor does not alter the drug delivery characteristics of the Breezhaler inhaler itself but produces a recording of each administered dose. Based on the patient's recorded medication usage, personalized content is presented within the app to help the patient better self-manage their asthma.

About Atectura Breezhaler

Atectura Breezhaler (QMF149; IND/MF) is the combination of indacaterol acetate and mometasone furoate intended as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older not adequately controlled with ICS and inhaled short-acting beta-agonists. IND/MF combines the bronchodilation of indacaterol acetate (a LABA) with the anti-inflammatory mometasone furoate (an ICS) in a precise once-daily formulation, delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device. Mometasone furoate is exclusively licensed to Novartis from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, for use in IND/MF.

About the PLATINUM Clinical Development Program

The PLATINUM program, containing over 7,500 patients worldwide, is the Novartis Phase III clinical development program supporting the development of IND/GLY/MF and IND/MF. It includes four studies: the QUARTZ study, which compared a low-dose of IND/MF with MF alone; the PALLADIUM study, which compared IND/MF with MF and salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu); the IRIDIUM study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF and Sal/Flu; and the ARGON study, which compared IND/GLY/MF with a combination of Sal/Flu and tiotropium.

About the IRIDIUM study 1,12

IRIDIUM was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, designed to compare the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with IND/MF in patients with asthma.

The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two different doses of IND/GLY/MF (High: 150/50/160 g and Medium:150/50/80 g), versus two respective IND/MF doses (High: 150/320 g and Medium: 150/160 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma, as determined by pulmonary function testing and effects on asthma control.

All patients were required to be symptomatic at screening despite being on treatment with medium or high stable doses of LABA/ICS. Approximately 3,092 male and female adult patients with asthma were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 (approximately 618 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

IND/MF 150/160 g (once-daily)

IND/MF 150/320 g (once-daily)

Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily, via Accuhaler)

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate superiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF versus high-dose IND/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF versus medium-dose IND/MF, all delivered once-daily, in improving trough FEV 1 (volume of air that can be forced out in the first second of expiration approximately 24 hours post-administration of study drug) after 26 weeks of treatment in patients with asthma.

The key secondary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of both doses of IND/GLY/MF versus respective doses of IND/MF, in improving Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score after 26 weeks of treatment in patients with asthma.

Other secondary analyses also included reduction of exacerbation rate, comparing high-dose IND/GLY/MF with high-dose IND/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF with medium-dose IND/MF. Secondary analyses included efficacy comparisons for both doses of IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu (50/500 g).

The study showed that IND/GLY/MF was superior to IND/MF in improving trough FEV 1 after 26 weeks, meeting the primary endpoint. The key secondary endpoint, improvement in ACQ-7 score for IND/GLY/MF versus IND/MF was not met but tested treatments showed clinically meaningful improvements in this measure of symptoms from baseline at Week 26. Among other secondary analyses, a substantial reduction was observed in moderate-to-severe and severe asthma exacerbation rates with IND/GLY/MF compared with twice-daily Sal/Flu (50/500 g).

IND/GLY/MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

Full information on all of the endpoints measured in the study can be accessed at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02571777).

About the PALLADIUM study13

PALLADIUM (NCT02554786) was a multicenter, randomized, 52-week treatment, double-blind, triple-dummy, parallel-group study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of IND/MF compared with MF alone in patients with asthma.



PALLADIUM included 2,216 male and female patients (including 107 adolescents, aged =12 to <18 years old) with medium or high-dose ICS or low-dose ICS/LABA use 3 months prior to screening, a pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 of =50% and less than 80% of the predicted normal value for the patient and an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score of greater than 1.5.

Patients were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 to receive either high-dose IND/MF (150/320 g) once-daily delivered via Breezhaler (n=445); medium-dose IND/MF (150/160 g) once-daily delivered via Breezhaler (n=439); MF 400 g once-daily delivered via Twisthaler (n=444); MF 800 g administered as 400 g twice-daily delivered via Twisthaler (n=442); or salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) 50/500 g twice-daily delivered via Accuhaler (n=446).

The study showed that medium and high doses of IND/MF demonstrated significant improvements compared with MF in trough FEV 1 at Week 26 (Medium: 0.211 L; p<0.001) (High: 0.132 L; p<0.001). The key secondary endpoint of improvement in ACQ-7 at Week 26 was also met for combined doses of IND/MF compared with combined doses of MF (-0.209; p<0.001). These positive results were also observed at Week 52.

Analyses of other lung function endpoints showed greater improvements for IND/MF compared with MF in both morning and evening Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF). Reductions in daily rescue medication use and exacerbation rates were also observed. Patients demonstrated a 12% increase in FEV 1 and 200 mL within 30 minutes following administration of 400 g salbutamol/360 g albuterol (or equivalent dose) at the first visit or from historical data.

In the secondary analyses of comparison to Sal/Flu, high-dose IND/MF showed improvements in trough FEV 1 (0.048 L; p=0.040) at 52 weeks. In asthma control, high-dose IND/MF and Sal/Flu were comparable with a difference in ACQ-7 score of 0.010 (p=0.824). Improvements were observed in both morning and evening PEF (Morning: 13.8 L/min; p<0.001) (Evening: 9.1 L/min; p=0.002), and percentage of rescue medication free days over 52 weeks (4.3; p=0.034) in patients treated with high-dose IND/MF versus Sal/Flu. High-dose IND/MF also showed faster onset of action over Sal/Flu as demonstrated by FEV 1 measurement at 5 minutes on Day 1 (0.055 L; p<0.001).

IND/MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

About the QUARTZ study14

The QUARTZ Study (NCT02892344) was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, 12-week treatment, double-blind study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of IND/MF (150/80g) compared with MF (200 g) delivered via the Twisthaler device in adult and adolescent patients with asthma.

All patients were required to be on a stable low dose of ICS (with or without LABA) for at least one month prior to entering the run-in period. During the run-in period, all patients received open-label fluticasone propionate 100 g twice-daily delivered via Accuhaler. Patients meeting the eligibility criteria at the end of the run-in period were equally randomized (1:1) to one of the two treatment groups IND/MF 150/80 g once-daily delivered via the dose-confirming Breezhaler device, or MF 200 g once-daily, delivered via Twisthaler.

802 male and female patients (including 64 adolescents, aged = 12 to < 18 years old) were randomized to receive IND/MF (n=398) or MF (n=404). The mean age was 45.6 years with a mean asthma duration of 14.0 years.

Mean pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 (% predicted of normal) was 75.1% at baseline and the mean FEV 1 reversibility after inhalation of short acting beta agonist was 20.7%. The majority of patients were treated with low-dose ICS (42.9%) or low-dose LABA/ICS (56.0%) prior to the study.

Spirometry was performed at the end of the treatment period. The primary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of IND/MF 150/80 g once-daily (in the evening) compared with MF 200 g once-daily in terms of trough FEV 1 after 12 weeks of treatment in adults and adolescents. The key secondary objective was to demonstrate the superiority of IND/MF 150/80 g to MF 200 g (once-daily) in terms of Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) after 12 weeks of treatment.

IND/MF demonstrated statistically significant improvements in trough FEV 1 compared with MF after 12 weeks of treatment in adult and adolescent patients with inadequately controlled asthma (least squares [LS] mean treatment difference: 0.182 L, 95% CI: 0.148, 0.217; p<0.001). In addition, clinically meaningful lung function benefit for IND/MF was supported by improvements in evening PEF of 26.1 L/min compared with MF alone (95% CI, 21.0, 31.2).

IND/MF also demonstrated statistically significant improvements in asthma control compared with MF, as measured by ACQ-7 after 12 weeks of treatment (LS mean treatment difference: -0.218, 95% CI: -0.293, -0.143; p<0.001). In addition, a clinically meaningful improvement in ACQ-7 was supported by a responder analysis, in which the IND/MF group had a greater proportion of responders (improvement in ACQ-7 >=0.5) compared with the MF group (74.7% vs 64.9%, respectively (odd ratio: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.33).

IND//MF was generally well tolerated, and safety was comparable across treatment arms.

About the ARGON study15

ARGON (NCT03158311) is a Phase IIIb, multicenter, randomized, 24-week, parallel-group, non-inferiority, open-label (blinded for the two IND/GLY/MF tested strengths), active-controlled study comparing the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY/MF with a free combination of salmeterol xinafoate/fluticasone propionate (Sal/Flu) plus tiotropium in patients with uncontrolled asthma. The ARGON study has completed in the field and its Clinical Study Report is currently being finalized.

The purpose of this trial was to demonstrate that the efficacy of two strengths of the fixed-dose combination product IND/GLY/MF (High: 150/50/160 g and Medium: 150/50/80 g) is non-inferior to the efficacy of the free combination of Sal/Flu (50/500 g) plus tiotropium (5 g) in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

All patients were symptomatic at screening despite treatment with medium or high stable doses of LABA/ICS as defined by Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-7) score = 1.5.

Approximately 1,251 male and female patients with uncontrolled asthma (aged 18 and above) were randomized 1:1:1 (approximately 417 patients in each of the treatment groups) to receive either:

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/80 g (once-daily)

IND/GLY/MF 150/50/160 g (once-daily)

Open label Sal/Flu 50/500 g (twice-daily) delivered via Diskus plus tiotropium delivered via Respimat

The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate non-inferiority of both high-dose IND/GLY/MF and low-dose IND/GLY/MF to comparator Sal/Flu plus tiotropium after 24 weeks of treatment based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Secondary objectives included:

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on trough FEV 1 after 24 weeks of treatment

after 24 weeks of treatment To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on ACQ-7 over 24 weeks of treatment.

To evaluate efficacy of high-dose IND/GLY/MF and medium-dose IND/GLY/MF compared with Sal/Flu plus tiotropium based on lung function over 24 weeks of treatment.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "seek," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at

https://www.novartis.com.

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References

1 Data on file

2 Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 23-26 March 2020 (updated) Share. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-committee-medicinal-products-human-use-chmp-23-26-march-2020-updated. Last accessed April 2020

3 GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X

4 AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf. Accessed April 2020.

5 Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

6 Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

7 Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

8 Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

9 Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

10 Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

11 Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

12 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02571777. Last accessed April 2020.

13 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02554786. Last accessed April 2020.

14 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02892344. Last accessed April 2020.

15 ClinicalTrials.gov. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03158311. Last accessed April 2020.

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So why the fuss over the past day by Mr. Trump, echoed by his usual enablers in Congress and on Fox News? I have spent years observing Mr. Trumps abuse of power and attempts to obstruct investigations  a recurring pattern that resulted in his impeachment  and to me the answer is clear: He cant help it. Abuse and obstruction is his standard operating procedure. He is also returning to form to distract from his latest blunder, his botched response to Covid-19, and to provide red meat to his base as part of his re-election strategy.

By this point in the Trump presidency, we can anticipate some of the specific threats that lie ahead.

First, we should look no further than Mr. Trumps attorney general, Bill Barr. He recently said that the Russia investigation was one of the greatest travesties in American history. Never shy about responding to dog whistles, Mr. Barrs powers include filing or joining in a motion to set aside the guilty plea and for dismissal of the charges against Mr. Flynn. True, it is baseless, but so was Mr. Barrs conclusion that the president had not obstructed justice when the Mueller Report established multiple instances of that offense.

Unfortunately, Mr. Barr has found company in doing Mr. Trumps bidding, including the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, John Durham, who is conducting a review of the origins of the Russia investigation. Mr. Durham has already shown his fealty to Mr. Trumps alternative facts, startling observers when he attacked the conclusion by his own departments inspector general that early F.B.I. steps in the Trump-Russia investigation were properly predicated. Mr. Durhams continuing review and eventual report is a second vehicle for Flynn-related mischief.

But perhaps the greatest looming rule-of-law risk with respect to Mr. Flynn comes from the president himself. The Mueller Report suggested Mr. Trumps willingness to dangle pardons to those who do his bidding. In Mr. Flynns case the president has since said he is strongly considering a pardon. The president has limbered up with a series of dubious pardons and commutations for malefactors or allies ranging from Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Scooter Libby to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Indeed, it is fair to ask whether Mr. Flynns abandonment of cooperation with the government was motivated by the hope of obtaining similar relief.

So we can expect that the Flynn drama will continue. At this point in the Trump presidency, who can believe that the president will resist the temptation to put his personal interests above those of the public? He did that when he said Russia would be rewarded for interfering in U.S. elections. He did it again when he fired the F.B.I. director James Comey, obstructed the Mueller investigation and pressured another foreign nation, Ukraine, to interfere in our elections. Indeed, his initial refusal to admit the seriousness of the coronavirus demonstrates that same elevation of his selfish interests in avoiding obstacles to his re-election.

The good news is that in every prior example, both our institutions and individual patriots stepped forward to respond to the harms that came out of the presidents pathological selfishness and disdain for the public interest. As the president continues his attacks on the rule of law in the Flynn case, here too there is a remedy. It is one that every American has the power to administer come November.

Norman Eisen (@normeisen) is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment and trial of President Trump.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Cara Connor was a vision in purple. Last Monday (or was it Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Blursday?) she dabbed on bright purple lipstick and swept on a dramatic cat eye in a lighter shade. She slipped into a purple-and-white striped tee, high-waisted Levis and purple Doc Martens. Ouija planchette earrings inlaid with dried lavender dangled from her ears.

She was all dressed up with nowhere to go  and loved it. Never mind that no one saw her, other than her two roommates in her apartment near the Presidio, and the neighbors on her walk; these days, Connor dresses to please herself. It just brings me a lot of joy, says Connor, 26, who coordinates a peer mentorship program for college students.

For many people in the Bay Area, shelter in place is a time to grow out their roots, give themselves bad bangs, ditch the makeup, wear the same pair of beloved jeans until the seat rips and/or dispense with pants entirely. But a small minority, including Connor, are still making an effort to look good, and not just for Zoom. While others might dismiss their habits as vain or superficial, especially in the midst of a global health crisis, these beauty stalwarts turn to hair, makeup and wardrobe as a form of self-care and coping.

From a sartorial standpoint, sheltering-in-place has been freeing, says Connor. Early on in the lockdown, she hewed to her usual work uniform: minimal makeup and a straitlaced, all-black wardrobe. Now she experiments with pastel makeup, crop tops and elements of kink fashion, like collars and chains. It feels empowering, she says. Its also something to look forward to when every day feels the same.

For Julie Shin Choi, maintaining a 15-minute version of her usual grooming routine helps her recharge for a long, grueling day of full-time work and child care. Though shes traded in her cardigans, black pants and heels for athleisure, Choi still blow-dries her hair and applies mascara and eyeshadow. I am a mother and a wife, and I manage a team of people, says the Palo Alto tech exec. Getting ready in the morning is a part of filling myself up so I can take care of others.

Some see their grooming routine as a means of imposing order on a world come undone.

Nearly every morning, Eleanor Vincent, 71, and author of Swimming With Maya: A Mothers Story, walks to the neatly organized array of Lancome products on the bathroom vanity in her Walnut Creek home. She puts on concealer, blush, mascara and sienna lipstick, topped with lip gloss.

I dont know when its going to get back to normal, but this is one thing in my control, she says. This is one thing I know how to do, which is put on a face and put myself out there.

Shes relied on her beauty routine to cope since she was girl.

As an abuse survivor who also suffers from depression, she knows looking unkempt can take her to a dark place. I cant let myself go there. Even while visiting her coma-stricken daughter in the hospital 25 years ago, Vincent applied makeup  even more elaborately. It calmed her. I just feel like in times of crisis, its even more important to take care of yourself.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

While the pandemic has dealt a serious blow to apparel  Neiman Marcus is expected to declare bankruptcy and other department stores and apparel companies are struggling  beauty has proven a little more resilient. Some segments, like online luxury beauty sales and sales of spa products (serums, scrubs and oils) reported more sales during the week ending April 18 than at the same time last year, according to NPD Group. Its really focused on self-care, says Larissa Jensen, vice president and industry advisor.

Women arent the only ones primping and preening. Roberto Lovato, 56, a resident of the Outer Mission and author of the forthcoming Unforgetting: A Memoir of Revolution and Redemption, still shaves, trims his goatee and slathers on lavender cream. Its a ritual thats carried him through other dark times and reminds him of his resilience. Its a reminder of who I was before all this, who I am, and who I aspire to be.

Is it frivolous or tone-deaf to try to look good in a time like this? The question has crossed Connors mind, and she has an answer: She can acknowledge the sorrows of the pandemic and at the same time, I can take of myself and love myself.

Plus, Connor says, she can imagine her newfound wardrobe possibilities, outside of work at least, when this all ends. Maybe I wont feel as inhibited, she says. Ill make some risky choices  just put myself out there a little more.

Melissa Pandika is a Berkeley freelance writer. Email: culture@sfchronicle.com




The Federal Government says it is working to ensure that there are no job losses or mass sack in Nigeria due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This was stated by the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, yesterday in his May Day message signed by his spokesman, Emmanuel Nzomiwu.

Ngige assured that the government would look at the four-pillar plan of policy responses to the pandemic laid out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

He further disclosed that all relevant factors to the nations workforce would be identified, analysed and solidified to ensure job retention.

Ngige said the government would not encourage employers to disengage any member of their staff without the prerequisite social dialogue and clearance from the ministry.

Ngige commended workers in the health sector for being in the frontline of ensuring that the raging pandemic was contained.

Over the years, May 1 has been a unique day in the world of work. It is a day dedicated to workers as partners in socio-economic development of nations, he said.

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected modes of work and the utilisation of teleworking is on the increase. As you work from home, I urge you to do your best in that regard and to endeavour to demarcate your personal life from work, he said.

Ngige said that the Federal Government was not unmindful of the fact that businesses in both the private and public sectors had suffered.

Sustainability of the enterprise has become a subject of concern. The worries precipitated by the COVID-19 crisis are further compounded by worries of maintaining a source of livelihood., he added.

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[May 01, 2020] Phillips 66 Recommends Rejection of Mini-Tender Offer by TRC Capital Corporation

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) today announced that it has been notified of an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer dated April 27, 2020, made by TRC Capital Investment Corporation (TRC Capital), a private Canadian investment company, to purchase up to 2 million shares of Phillips 66 common stock. TRC Capital's unsolicited "mini-tender" offer price of $57.50 per share is approximately 5% below the $60.53 per share closing price of Phillips 66's common stock on April 24, 2020, the last trading day prior to the commencement of the offer. Phillips 66 is not affiliated in any way with TRC Capital, the offer, or the offer documentation. Phillips 66 recommends against shareholders tendering shares in response to this unsolicited offer, for the reasons described below. TRC Capital has made many similar "mini-tender" offers for the shares of other companies. "Mini-tender" offers are designed to seek less than five percent of a company's outstanding shares, thereby avoiding many disclosure and procedural requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)) because they are below the SEC's threshold to provide such disclosure and procedural protections for investors. The SEC has cautioned investors about "mini-tender" offers in an investor alert. The alert is available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/minitend.htm.



Shareholders should consult their financial advisors and should exercise caution with respect to TRC Capital's offer. Shareholders who have already tendered are advised that they may withdraw their shares as described in TRC Capital's offer documentation prior to the expiration of the offer, which is currently scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT on May 27, 2020. Phillips 66 requests that a copy of this news release be included with all distributions of materials relating to TRC Capital's mini-tender offer related to shares of Phillips 66's common stock.

About Phillips 66 Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, the company's master limited partnership, is integral to the portfolio. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,600 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had $53 billion of assets as of March 31, 2020. For more information, visit www.phillips66.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @Phillips66Co. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005491/en/

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The owner of the Brooklyn funeral home which piled dozens of rotting bodies in unrefrigerated trucks has said his capacity had been stretched to breaking point by coronavirus.

Andrew Cleckley admitted he was drowning under the unrelenting flow of requests and revealed: 'I ran out of space. Bodies are coming out of our ears.'

After filling his chapel with more than 100 corpses, the funeral director hired four U-Haul trucks as overflow storage space.

Police were called on Wednesday after a foul-smelling stench seeped out onto the street, leading to the Andrew T Cleckley Funeral Home to be cited for failing to control the odors.

But now it faces fines and license suspensions after state officials have lined up behind appalled families in condemning the business's practice.

Health Commissioner Dr Howard Zucker said he would not tolerate 'any of that kind of behavior' while Governor Andrew Cuomo added: 'Obviously the funeral home shouldn't have done that.'

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the actions of funeral home officials 'unconscionable' and said: 'I have no idea in the world how any funeral home could let this happen.'

Funeral homes are creaking under the pressure of America's pandemic and Cleckley explained that he had taken on too much work to cope.

He told the New York Times in an interview he had been bombarded with more requests this April than he had in the whole of last year.

Cleckley told the paper 'we're jammed up' and that five other funeral homes in charge of up to 40 bodies each use his space, and so when the epidemic hit his capacity was overwhelmed.

New Yorkers saw sobering scenes on this week as dozens of the decomposing bodies were transferred from the U-Haul trucks to refrigerated alternatives after cops intervened.

Bosses at U-Haul on Thursday slammed the use of their trucks as 'wrongful, egregious and inhumane'. They told TMZ: 'Our trucks are designed for household moves. Properly caring for the remains of people's loved ones requires vehicles suited specifically for that purpose. Our trucks absolutely cannot be rented for this reason.'

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A body sits on the street outside the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home which piled dozens of rotting bodies in unrefrigerated trucks

Workers roll a casket down a city street outside the Andrew T Cleckley Funeral Services funeral home, where it was found to be storing dead bodies in unrefrigerated U-Haul vehicles

Andrew Cleckley (left) admitted he was drowning under the unrelenting flow of requests and revealed: 'I ran out of space. Bodies are coming out of our ears. Tamisha Covington (right) said she was charged $15,000 for her mother's body to be kept 'in a U-Haul truck for however long' following her death from a heart attack related to COVID 19, aged 60, on April 9

The home faces fines and license suspensions after state officials have lined up behind appalled families in condemning the business's practice

People in Hazmat suits transport a deceased body on a stretcher outside the funeral home in Brooklyn following the outrage over the use of the U-Haul trucks

Police found the bodies in the trucks in various stages of decomposition; locals said 'you could smell the death'. Now they are being loaded into refrigerated trucks

There were as many as 50 corpses being stored in each truck, according to ABC News, as the facility struggled to keep up with the overwhelming surge of bodies due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The owner told city officials that its freezer had stopped working and they were forced to use the trucks as storage while bodies awaited burial or cremation.

Grieving relative Tamisha Covington said she was charged $15,000 for her mother's body to be kept 'in a U-Haul truck for however long' following her death from a heart attack related to COVID 19, aged 60, on April 9.

Breaking down in tears she said she got 'no responses, no answers' from Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Flatlands following the grim discovery by officers on Wednesday. She told The New York Post: 'This is too much on humanity. I'm really hurt. I don't even know what I'm looking for other than the fact that I expect to lay my mother down properly with respect and at a reasonable time.'

Authorities found two unrefrigerated U-Haul box trucks being used to store the bodies after police responded to 911 complaints from neighbors who had filmed body bags being dragged into the trucks.

Police found the bodies in various stages of decomposition; locals said 'you could smell the death'.

One grieving relative said he was told 'the refrigerators were filled and they were going to embalm' his late ex wife.

The man, known only as Paul, said his deceased relative came to the funeral parlor on Friday. He added: 'And now they are saying she was in the refrigerator as soon as they brought her here on Friday, so I don't know.

'I'm frustrated. This is ridiculous.'

A casket covered in a sheet is transported by men wearing hazmat suits outside the funeral home

New York's Department of Environmental Protection issued the home with two summonses after residents reported the morbid storage of the bodies that U-Haul has described as 'inhumane'

The funeral industry in New York has been overwhelmed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Another body is seen on the street at Andrew Cleckley's Funeral Home in Brooklyn

'For weeks already, there have been trucks constantly outside unloading bodies. You could smell the death,' Jay Fredo told New York Daily News. 'Some of them have been dropped. I know it's a pandemic, but this is crazy. It's sick.'

No criminal charges were brought but the home was cited for failing to control the odors.

The facility was able to obtain a larger, refrigerated truck later in the day, the official said, and workers suited up in protective gear could be seen in the afternoon transferring bodies.

'I saw 15 bodies in the U-Haul box truck stacked up on one another, and more in the other,' one officer told the New York Daily News. 'They stored them right out on the street.'

Authorities found two unrefrigerated U-Haul box trucks being used to store the bodies after police responded to 911 complaints from neighbors who had filmed body bags being dragged into the trucks

A man sticks his head out from a truck holding dozens of bodies outside the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home

One grieving relative said he was told 'the refrigerators were filled and they were going to embalm' his late ex wife

Cops in masks were seen maintaining a cordon around the funeral home on Thursday as their investigation continued

A member of staff told ABC that there were a further 30 to 40 bodies inside and some were being kept on the floor.

'This funeral home is over-capacitated with human remains and that is true,' said Dr. David Penepent, a funeral director who teaches at SUNY Canton and was brought in by the state to help.

'He got overwhelmed with the number of remains that he had and he didn't know what to do and I'm here to assist him in this operation.'

John DiPietro, who owns the neighboring property, told the New York Post that cadavers had been mounting up at the funeral home for weeks.

'You don't respect the dead that way. That could have been my father, my brother,' said DiPietro.

According to the Post, the funeral home told police officers that the bodies were due to go to the crematorium, but nobody had come to collect them.

In contrast, ABC News reports that the funeral homeowner told city officials that their freezer was broken.

Funeral homes across New York City have been overwhelmed in recent weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn Wednesday after authorities found that the facility was storing up to 100 bodies in two unrefrigerated U-Haul storage vans

Pictured here, workers secure a van full of bodies of deceased people during the outbreak of coronavirus disease at the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn om Wednesday. The owner of the home said that its freezer broke and overwhelmed with the surge of bodies caused by the coronavirus outbreak, they used these vans as storage for weeks

After neighbors complained for weeks about the smell coming from U-Haul vans being used to store bodies at the funeral home, the NYPD investigated Wednesday and discovered 100 bodies in various stages of decomposition

Police responded to a report of human bodies in vehicles in Brooklyn on Wednesday which they determined were connected to the nearby funeral home. They discovered 100 decomposing bodies in two U-Haul truck. A freezer truck was brought in by officials who helped workers transfer the corpses which had been wrapped in body bags

The homes are required to store bodies awaiting burial or cremation in appropriate conditions that prevent infection.

The city was forced to obtain freezer trucks this month to temporarily hold bodies as funeral homes reached capacity and no space remained to store bodies properly.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said Wednesday night that he was going to Flatlands to investigate the complaint as he called for an urgent reform of the city's burial process.

'This is exactly what I spoke about over the weekend regarding the urgent need for reform in the handling of bodies and burial processes,' Adams tweeted.

'We demand decent treatment of our deceased.

'While this situation is under investigation, we should not have what we have right now, with trucks lining the streets filled with bodies.

'It was people who walked by who saw some leakage and detected an odor coming from a truck.'

Neighbors took these videos of the bodies being unceremoniously stacked into the back of the trucks in recent days. They had complained for weeks about the smell coming from the trucks

The bodies were packed in body bags inside the U-Haul trucks for weeks as they awaited cremation or burial. Neighbors had made complaints to the authorities after they filmed the decomposing corpses being stacked into the trucks

NYPD officers secure trucks full of bodies in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Officers made the gruesome discovery of as many as 100 bodies stored in two U-Haul vans outside of the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home

It is reported that as many as 100 bodies were being kept in unrefrigerated storage trucks outside the funeral home

Aerial footage showed the bodies being taken from the U-Haul vehicles and transferred to a refrigerated truck

Police cordoned off the area around the funeral home and the trucks on Wednesday night as the complaints about piles of bodies was investigated

The funeral home workers were pictured coming in and out of the building wearing protective gear on Wednesday

The smell from the bodies being stored in the trucks was reaching the surrounding buildings pictured here. The owner told officials that the freezer in the home broke. The city brought in a freezer truck Wednesday to store the bodies

Local residents told New York Daily News of the increasingly foul smell coming from the funeral home and that trucks were seen for weeks constantly unloading bodies.

'I've seen bodies stacked up on top of one another inside the trucks with both doors open,' said Abdul Kamara, 40.

'They've been storing bodies in the trucks. It's been going on since the beginning of COVID. These people have passed. This is not the way they should be treated on the way out.'

The Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home on Utica Ave. and Ave. M in the Flatlands has been cited for not controlling the smell of dead bodies after they used unrefrigerated rental U-Haul trucks as storage for weeks after their freezer broke

The New York Times reports that the state Department of Health, which regulates funeral homes, was called to the scene to determine whether the home was handling human remains appropriately.

Cleckley is not a member of the New York Funeral Directors Association, the organization said.

Wednesday's terrible discovery came after city officials declared last week that they would freeze bodies temporarily rather than burying them on Hart Island.

The city says that freezer trucks will be used that can keep human remains frozen for up to a year.

Adams has said that he wishes to form a bereavement committee from next Monday to help the city deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and the large number of deaths it has experienced in the past few weeks.

'This community is going to be traumatized by this long after COVID-19,' the borough president said.

'It's gonna take coordination between funeral directors, cemeteries and the city to address this situation.'

Nearly half of all New York City residents say they know somebody who has died of coronavirus, a new poll finds, shedding a stunning light on just how deeply the pandemic has hit the Big Apple.

The state-wide survey, carried out by Siena College and released this week, discovered that 46 percent of New York City residents personally knew someone killed by COVID-19, as do 36 percent of respondents living in the suburbs, and 13 percent of those living upstate.

The deadly virus has had a particularly large impact on New York's minority communities, with 52 percent of Latino voters and 48 percent of black voters confirming they know someone who has died, compared to just 25 percent of white respondents.

In total, around one in three people across New York State know a fatality of the outbreak.
The US Government has maintained its position on the diplomatic immunity granted to Harry Dunn's alleged killer.

The teenager's parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn wrote to them urging them to change their minds.

Downing Street backed Harry Dunn's parents in their plea to US President Donald Trump to review the decision to block an extradition request for their son's alleged killer.

The letter, addressed to Mr Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, comes after it was reported that lawyers acting on behalf of 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas had opened up a dialogue with the Foreign Office earlier this year to work towards a 'resolution'.

A spokeswoman for the State Department reiterated its position that at the time of the accident, and for the duration of her time in the UK, Anne Sacoolas had immunity from criminal jurisdiction.

The US Government has maintained its position on the diplomatic immunity granted to Harry Dunn's alleged killer, Anne Sacoolas (pictured back in the US)

She said the Foreign Secretary had made that clear in Parliament on October 21, 2019.

She added that since the accident occurred, the US had been closely engaged with the UK government and have been transparent about their positions on legal and diplomatic matters.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn urged Mr Trump and Mr Pompeo to reconsider the decision to refuse the Home Office's request to extradite Mrs Sacoolas, saying that the UK justice system has 'fairness at its heart'.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn have written to President Donald Trump to ask him to review the decision to block an extradition request for their son's alleged killer, Anne Sacoolas

Asked if the UK backed the Dunns' efforts to lobby the US president, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman said: 'Yes, we are very clear that we want Harry's family to get the justice they deserve.'

The move was revealed after it was reported that lawyers acting on behalf of 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas had opened up a dialogue with the Foreign Office earlier this year to work towards a 'resolution'.

Mr Dunn's parents urged Mr Trump and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to reconsider the decision to refuse the Home Office's request to extradite Mrs Sacoolas, saying that facing the UK justice system would have 'fairness at its heart'.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn met the president at the White House six months ago, where he had hoped they would meet the suspect, who was waiting in a room next door, but they declined to see her.

They took their campaign for justice to the US in October, two months after Mr Dunn was killed when his motorbike collided with a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire.

Mrs Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy.

Asked if the UK Government back the call from the parents of Harry Dunn (pictured), Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesperson said they support them getting 'the justice they deserve'

She was charged with causing the death by dangerous driving of the 19-year-old in December but an extradition request was rejected by Mr Pompeo in January.

The Foreign Office has since come under fire after documents revealed a senior diplomat sent a text message to their US Embassy counterpart saying there was 'not much mileage' in Mrs Sacoolas and her family staying in the UK, adding: 'I think you should feel able to put them on the next flight out.'

Urging Mr Trump to reconsider the decision to refuse the extradition request, the teenager's parents said: 'It is now six months since we met with you, Mr President, in the Oval Office. We hope you are as well as can be in the current difficult circumstances.

'When we parted last October, you kindly mentioned that you would take a different look at the case and we have not heard from you since.

'Of course, since then, the UK have sought Mrs Sacoolas' extradition which has been rejected by Secretary Pompeo.

'We note from the British press that Mrs Sacoolas' lawyer has reached out to the Foreign Office here in London and that she is attempting to seek a resolution to the problem. We understand that Mrs Sacoolas must be suffering too.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn met the president at the White House six months ago, where he had hoped they would meet the suspect, who was waiting in a room next door, but they declined to see her

'The purpose of this letter is to ask you please to review your decision to not allow her to return to face the justice system, which as you know has fairness at its heart.

'As we are sure you can appreciate, it is really the only way forward in the interests of both families and of relations between our two nations which have suffered as a result of the decision.

'If you allow her to return, we are sure only good can come from it. Otherwise, the problem will never go away. No one is above the law.'

The State Department spokeswoman said the US Government again expresses its sincere condolences and sympathy to the Dunn family for the loss of their son.
Giovanni Ribisi has been taking the recommended precautions by wearing a protective mask and gloves when he heads out to stock up on essentials and groceries during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

And on Thursday he and partner Emily Ward practiced social distancing when they went out for a walk with their 15-month-old fraternal twins-- Enzo and Maude -- near their home in Los Angeles.

For the seemingly daily excursion, the Sneaky Pete star took the lead and pushed a stroller carrying his son and daughter as his ladylove got in her exercise alongside them.

Daily walk: Giovanni Ribisi and partner Emily Ward took a break from self-quarantine and went on a walk with their 15-month-old fraternal twins in Los Angeles on Saturday

With the Southern California sun shining down, the 45-year-old actor donned baggy military-green pants and a brown t-shirt.

The Avatar star completed the outfit with a pair of black New Balance sneakers and dark sunglasses.

Ward, who's an interior designer, opted for cream-colored pants with a blue, spaghetti-strap blouse, sneakers and dark sunglasses.

She also had a blue and white plaid shirt tied around her waist and wore a red bandanna to keep her back off her face.

Cabin fever remedy: The couple have been going out on seemingly daily walks with fraternal twins Enzo and Maude since in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis

Pack leader: The Avatar star, 45, took the lead and pushed the twins for much of the walk

As the walk progressed and the temperatures began to rise, Ward took off her bandanna, allowing her blonde tresses to fall past her shoulders.

Ribisi also has a daughter, Lucia, that he shares with his first wife Mariah O'Brien, whom he divorced in 2001 after about four years of marriage.

He also had a second marriage to English model Agyness Deyn from 2012 to 2015.

Safety first: The couple practiced proper social distancing during their stroll

Versatile actor: Ribisi is best known for roles in Avatar, Saving Private Ryan, The Gift and Sneaky Pete, among many others

Over the last couple of years, Ribisi has been filming the two upcoming sequels to the 2009 mega-hit, Avatar, which are being shot simultaneously.

But the production in New Zealand has been postponed indefinitely in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Along with the original Avatar, his stellar Hollywood film resume also includes That Thing You Do! (1996), Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Gift (2000), LostIn Translation (2003), Cold Mountain (2003), Public Enemies (2009), Ted (2012), A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014) and Meadowland (2015).
CNNs Jake Tapper was brutally direct in his question to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who recently lifted his states stay-at-home order, in favor of a gradual reopening of business. Are you worried, Tapper asked, that a premature move could cost your constituents their lives?

Polis was blandly indirect in his answer. While he might wish to have next weeks information and next months information available to me today, the Democratic governor said, thats not the world we live in. During a pandemic that likely will continue for months, hes looking for a path forward in an ongoing sustainable way, one that takes into account citizens interests psychologically, economically, and from a health perspective.

The murkiness of Polis reply requires translation. To my ear, he was saying something like this: Yes, some people are going to die of Covid-19 who wouldnt if I keep a full lockdown in place. I hope not too many or too fast. But keeping the risk of death as low as possible imposes other costs that are too high, and my job is to balance competing goals.

Lets suppose this is a reasonably fair interpretation. You could call Polis argument provocative: No wonder he speaks so circuitously when what he really thinks is so cruel. Alternatively, you could call his argument banal: There is no one on any side of the shutdown debate who has not made saving lives a top priority, but also no one in a position of authority who has made this the exclusive priority.

The real question is less philosophical (Are you willing to cost your constituents their lives?) than practical (What is your tolerance for some uncertain number of additional deaths against some certain benefits of resuming regular life?).

Like Polis, I am willing to accept that some people must die in order to accommodate the return to whatever the post-pandemic version of normal is. Perhaps unlike Polis, I have a strong preference that some people doesnt end up including me. Ill extend the same wish for anyone who happens to be reading this column. The fact that the governorlike his Republican counterpart in Georgia, Brian Kemp, like Nancy Pelosi or Donald Trumpdoesnt know specifically who will die of coronavirus makes their choice of how fast to open less excruciating but no less profound in its moral implications.

Story continues

Colorado Governor Jared Polis speaks during a news conference to update the state's efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, April 22, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Thats why I found Polis foggy words in their own way brilliantly illuminating of how the pandemic is a signal moment in Americas ideological wars.

For most of the past several decades, denunciation of moral relativism was a mainstay of conservative attacks on liberalism. A moral relativist, by these lights, is someone who thinks that if it feels good, do it; who believes that values are no more than personal preference; who does not believe in fixed notions of right and wrong. Moral relativism, to conservatives, was an engine of American decline, and attacks on this flawed way of living were an engine of Republican electoral success.

The pandemic highlights a different way of understanding relativism. It is not that values are no more than a matter of taste, in the way that you like pistachio but I like vanilla. It is to acknowledgein a way our politics usually does notthat any important value is inevitably, at key moments, in competition with other important values. Individual liberties are in tension with public order. Respect for tradition is in tension with tolerance for diversity. And, yes, averting some number of tragic deaths from coronavirus is in tension with the need for a much larger number of people to resume lifesometime after it is no longer reckless to do so but sometime before it is perfectly safe.

An honest brand of politics, which we urgently need, admits the tension and tries in good faithwith reference to evolving evidence and with acknowledgment of uncertaintyto resolve it in the public interest. A dishonest brand of politics, of which we are wearily familiar, assumes a pose of superiority and certitude, and cares about evidence mostly as it can be deployed as a weapon or shield in a partisan argument that began long before the issue at hand and will continue long after.

Its worth noting the shift in worldviews. During the pandemic, conservatives are much more likely to be relativistseveryone dies of something eventually so lets keep this disease in perspectivewhile liberals generally are quicker to assume the absolutist stancelets stay shut down for as long as health experts tell us we need to save lives.

Is this getting a bit too philosophical? Who cares about moral relativism when what we really need are more masks, more gloves, more wipes, and, above all, more coronavirus tests?

One answer is that skill in navigating conflicting values, as we all are clumsily learning to do during the shutdown, is going to be in high demand in other great issues shadowing the next several decades. Combating climate change requires balancing one compelling value, the freedom of individual people and companies to pursue their interests, against the value of protecting the long-term health of the planet. Humane use of artificial intelligence pits attractive goals (public safety, market demand) against other imperatives (privacy, the economic security of workers). The Pandemic Generation has seen its future.

Another answer is that philosophical debates often drive events in much more consequential ways than first meet the eye.

Denunciations of cultural drift caused by moral relativism drove Newt Gingrichs vault to power in the 1990s. Author James Mann in his book Rise of the Vulcans showed how many of the neoconservative architects and promoters of the Iraq War, such as Paul Wolfowitz and William Kristol, had been in or around the orbit of thinkers associated with University of Chicago philosopher Leo Strauss and his disciple Allan Bloom, who wrote the 1987 bestseller, The Closing of the American Mind.

Strauss and Bloom believed in absolutes of right and wrong, and that a highly educated class of elites should have self-confidence in imposing their standards. Years after their deaths, some of their intellectual descendants proved in a war that was far longer and messier than they envisioned that Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was right in noting that certitude is not the test of certainty.

In the current context, I did not hear Polisor for that matter most governors of either partyspeaking with the kind of brazen self-assurance that we associate with George W. Bushs Mission Accomplished banner during Iraq or Trumps Feb. 26 boast that within days the number of U.S. coronavirus infections would be close to zero. Although he is lifting legal prohibitions earlier than many health experts recommend, Polis still backs extensive social distancing, is urging people who can still work at home to do so, and pledged he would reevaluate the states policy regularly in the face of new evidence in coming months.

Is he acting too soon? Maybe. Tapper seemed a bit incredulous, as he ended the interview, Alright, governor, I hope it goes well. But whether too soon or just right, Polis is navigating a zone of uncertainty and competing goals that is precisely the one 49 other governors are navigating, too, not to mention every worker heading back to the job sooner or later.

"We have to make the best informed decisions, Polis said, based on data and science with the information we have."


Under the golden, late afternoon South African sun, an elephant emerges from around the curve in a dusty path. Disturbed, the imposing animal raises its trunk to sniff out the four-wheeled intruder. "If he passes along the vehicle, just relax, nothing will happen," whispers guide Gert Kruger. The pachyderm calmly approaches, feels the body of the car, briefly glances inside, before realising there's nothing to worry about. With a slow, disdainful U-turn, it walks back to its snack, majestically showing off its wrinkly, muddied backside. "It's absolutely beautiful to see," says a smiling Kruger, the 49-year-old owner of Kruger Bush Lodge in Balule Game Reserve, some 500 kilometres (about 310 miles) northeast of Johannesburg. "By far we are in the best place to be locked down." For five weeks, South Africa has been in coronavirus lockdown. For the 17 years that Kruger has taken clients through the thick bushes of Balule private reserve, bordering the famous Kruger Park, he has never grown tired of the charm of such encounters. Stories of roaring lions and grunting rhinos spill from the pockets of his khaki shorts. And until a few weeks ago, he planned to add a few more, just to burst the seams. But then the global pandemic torpedoed his plans. No sooner had President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of international borders in mid-March than foreign tourists deserted the camp's tents, in panic. The confinement order that followed two weeks later left Kruger distraught, with no one to show around. Clients "had to evacuate in a couple of days," he said. "The coronavirus gave us all a big shock... in the tourism business, it's all our bread and butter," he said. - War on poaching - His camp was fully booked for the peak summer vacation season by tourists from the northern hemisphere. Last year, Kruger and his six employees hosted 700 safari enthusiasts. "We had a lot of bookings for the rest of the year," Kruger said. But he is now counting his losses ahead of the 2021 season following "a lot of cancellations". Within a few days, all the rooms in the wildlife-rich area were empty and souvenir shops had pulled their shutters. The all-terrain vehicles -- usually loaded with sunscreen-smeared Europeans or Americans, with cameras slung from their necks -- had to be parked away in garages. Only patrol vehicles still crisscross the trails of the 55,000-hectare (136,000-acre) Balule reserve. The patrols have even been intensified now as animal protection remains an absolute priority despite the lockdown. "We cannot afford to scale down anything when it comes to security," said the reserve's general manager Ian Nowak. "Our commitment is to be a nature reserve first," he said. There's no question of sending the rangers home -- they are confined on the reserve, continuing the war against poachers. "As far as rhino poaching is concerned, I don't see any reason for a decrease, I don't see a change in that threat," Nowak said. Rhino horn is still "a high-value item, so we just keep the fight as it was before the lockdown." And the evidence is there. Police in neighbouring Mpumalanga province on Sunday reported the arrest of three people found in possession of six horns. - 'Hunting to eat' - The lockdown has produced another threat too. Beyond the gangs killing to feed an insatiable appetite on the traditional Asian market for rhino horn, the virus confinement has spawned survival poaching. "What I call bushmeat poaching is quite different," Nowak said. People "are not working anymore with the lockdown, they are hungry, they hunt for raw food. They don't care about conservation, they just want to survive." State veterinarian Christiaan Steinmann said the trend was on the rise. "There is definitely an increase in poaching, people poaching to survive, they are poaching to eat the meat," he said. "A lot of the reserves in the area want to cull the animals and give the meat to the communities but there is a problem with the meat safety act... so they don't do that," he added. Threats such as these keep Balule's dozens of rangers busy. Chief ranger Rian Ahlers and two colleagues board a small helicopter for their daily patrol. "Basically we are doing everything that we have been doing but more than before the lockdown," the 39-year-old said, just before take-off. - Shut the doors - Nothing is left to chance. In addition to the regular aerial surveillance by helicopter or plane, high electric fences enclosing the reserve are also checked to ensure they haven't been tampered with. Dozens of special intervention unit rangers are on patrols. From a hilltop, ranger Sam Hlungwani uses binoculars to scan the vast expanse of green forest. Although he hasn't seen his family for a month, he's happy to be here. "I really don't want to go out of the park, I'm so scared of the virus," the ranger, in his 60s, said. "I'm protecting the park... and I'm waiting for all this to be over. I hope it won't last too long," he added, "otherwise I'll end up losing my job. We'll see." A few kilometres away, Juan Geerts is also worried. His 100-bed camp is desolate. He has done and re-done his accounts, but they stubbornly remain in the red. In one month, he already lost 6.5 million rand (US$358,000), or a quarter of his annual turnover, in cancelled bookings. He shudders at the thought that he may soon have to lay off his 94 employees, most of whom he sent home for the lockdown. "We have been paying the salaries so far but we have taken the decision to shut down all operations until the 30 of June," sighs the boss of Nyati Lodge. "But obviously no company can hold up so long to keep all these people employed, the only thing you can do is to retrench," he added. Trying to ward off bouts of depression that sometimes grip him in his warthog-invaded lodge, Geerts has begun drafting his staff rosters for July onwards. "Further than July, I don't think that many businesses will survive," he warned. He's got planning in place for when he can start welcoming his first post-coronavirus guests. Mandatory wearing of masks for everyone, quarantine cabins and fewer passengers per vehicle are just some of the measures. - 'Keeping the trust' - "Keeping the trust of our guests will be a major part of our recovery efforts," Geerts said, adding "safety and comfort will be a major factor for months and months... to come." "It's not gonna be a quick fix," agreed Sharon Haussmann, chairwoman of Balule Game Reserve. "We are looking at a six- to12-months recovery time, even 18 months to get back to the occupancies that we were used to." Moreover, there will be a budget shortfall from continued overhead costs, such as levies owed to property owners. "With the travel ban there is a huge hurdle for us," Haussmann, 50, said. "To make up for the deficit will probably be the biggest challenge we have ever faced and one we were not prepared for in any way." Under the shade of trees covering his camp from the autumn sun, Kruger is hopeful that the government will not let him down. Ramaphosa has set aside an unprecedented 200-billion-rand (US$11 billion) relief package for distressed companies, including those in tourism, a key sector which contributes 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has promised that "fiscal" and other stimulus packages for the industry, including payment holidays and tax incentives, will be announced "by the end of the week". Balule has applied for government relief, "but so far we didn't get any feedback from them", Kruger said. "I think in the tourism industry we will be the last... to resume," he added. "If things don't get back to normal within the next three months or so, I have to start... closing some doors." But that does not mean Balule shutting or Kruger abandoning his passion of spending time in the vast wild outdoors. "No! I can't imagine myself doing something else," he said, with a smile.
Ramadan is upon us, and many Americans -- not least the millions who were denied church access during Easter -- are wondering: will mosques experience the same ban or will the usual double standard prevail?

Among those wondering is Americas president, Donald Trump. Recently asked at a press briefing why he retweeted a tweet by author Paul Sperry -- Let's see if authorities enforce the social-distancing orders for mosques during Ramadan (April 23-May 23) like they did churches during Easter -- Trump said:

I would like to see that I would say there could be a difference. But well have to see what will happen. Because Ive seen a great disparity in this country; Ive seen a great disparity. I mean, Ive seen a very strong anti-Israel bent in Congress with Democrats The things they say about Israel are so bad, and I cant believe it. So I would be interested to see that, because they go after Christian churches, but they dont tend to go after mosques. And I dont want to see them go after mosques, but I do want to see what their bent is Our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently; and they seem to think -- I dont know what happened to our country -- but the Christian faith is treated much differently than it was, and I think its treated very unfairly.

Needless to say -- and despite the fact that at least some mosques, including in NYC, Americas coronavirus epicenter, were reported as open for Ramadan -- Trumps otherwise accurate observations were lambasted by politically active Muslims and their American allies/dupes. The terrorist-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) did what it does best -- accuse Trump and his administration of being insulting Islamophobic, white supremacist and racist. All the Daily Beast could do was throw its hands up in the air and appeal to the Islamic deity in an article titled, Allah Willing, Let This Be Donald Trumps Last Ramadan in Office.

Meanwhile, back in the real word, the concerns Trump raised -- particularly of the great disparity in this country concerning how Islam is treated on the one hand, and how Israel and Christianity are on the other -- have been validated over and over again, and often in more insidious ways.

Thus, in August 2019, after the Consortium for Middle East Studies (CMES), a program run by Duke University and the University of North Carolina, hosted what was described as a Three-Day Anti-Israel Hate-Fest, the U.S. Dept. of Education warned it in a letter to stop misusing federal grants by advancing ideological priorities.

The letter further accused the consortium of lack[ing] balance as it offers very few, if any, programs focused on the historic discrimination faced by, and current circumstances of, religious minorities in the Middle East, including Christians, Jews, Bahais, Yazidis, Kurds, Druze, and others. Instead, there is a considerable emphasis placed on understanding the positive aspects of Islam, while there is an absolute absence of any similar focus on the positive aspects of Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion or belief system in the Middle East. This lack of balance of perspectives is troubling

While the Dept. of Education letter was directed at CMES, virtually every other Middle East Studies department in America -- whence so many Middle East experts, analysts, and policymakers emerge -- can be accused of the same exact things, including whitewashing and promoting Islam, while ignoring its victims.

Nor is this double standard limited to higher education; basic indoctrination begins in public schools. For example, Caleigh Wood, an eleventh grade Christian student in a Maryland high school received a failing grade because she refused to compromise her faith by making a written profession of the Muslim creed or shahada -- There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

School officials denied her fathers request that she be allowed to be given an alternative assignment. She was, moreover, forced to view a series of pro-Islamic PowerPoint slides, which included the following statements: Most Muslims faith is stronger than the average Christian; Men are the managers of the affairs of women and Righteous women are therefore obedient.

Responding to the Supreme Courts refusal to review Woods case, her lawyer, Richard Thompson, echoed Trump:

Im not aware of any public school which has forced a Muslim student to write the Lords Prayer or John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Yet, under the pretext of teaching history or social studies, public schools across America are promoting the religion of Islam in ways that would never be tolerated for Christianity or any other religion. Its disappointing that the Supreme Court did not take this opportunity to clarify the test which lower courts should use when ruling on establishment clause and free speech challenges to public school classes on religion Many public schools have become hot beds of Islamic propaganda. Teaching Islam in schools has gone far beyond a basic history lesson. Prompted by zealous Islamic activism and emboldened by confusing court decisions, schools are now bending over backwards to promote Islam while at the same time denigrating Christianity.

In short, Trump is right: there is a great disparity in this country; there is a very strong anti-Israel bent; and the Christian faith is treated very unfairly.

Worse, the many disparities in the public education system -- those mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg -- are insidiously dangerous in ways than the very visible disparity of having mosques open for Ramadan during COVID-19 are not. For it is through schools -- to say nothing of media, Hollywood, and the newsrooms -- that the worldview of young Americans is forged: hence the often inexplicable admiration and/or sympathy for Islam; hence the often inexplicable contempt and worse for Christianity and Israel.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of the recent book, Sword and Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, and Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Cristina Cuomo, wife of CNN journalist Chris Cuomo, has defended her use of holistic remedies such as bleach baths as a treatment for Covid-19.

The 'wellness worshiper' used her blog, The Purist, to share homeopathic tips on how she recovered from Covid-19, recommending bathing in one half of a cup of Clorox bleach twice a week.

Speaking to People magazine Cristina, 50, said that she is 'feeling well' and hit back against critics: 'There's a huge opposition against holistic medicine, I get that. We are all trying to find tools to help beat this.

Cristina Cuomo took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a snap of herself enjoying a walk on the beach with the caption: 'I am so grateful to be feeling well again'

'The fact is, there are no standardized treatments for this virus. My hope is to share information and alternatives that many might not have access to and are interested in hearing about.

'Access to healthcare and medicine is not a privilege, it is a human right. Regardless of accessibility, I wanted to give my immune system a fighting chance.'

In the now deleted blog post Cristina, who lives in Southampton, New York, incorrectly shared that the bleach is 'technically salt' and claimed she used it to 'combat the radiation and metals in my system', in direct contrast to warnings given by Clorox that contact with skin should be avoided.

The blogger also wrote about boosting immunity to the virus through a $300 vitamin C intravenous drip.

Cristina, center, Chris, top left, and Mario Cuomo, bottom right, have all tested positive for coronavirus but their two daughters remain healthy. Chris and Cristina have recovered

She claims the advice was provided by Dr. Linda Lancaster, who describes herself as an energy medicine and homeopathic physician and lists high-profile names such as Robert Redford among her clients.

Cristina, Chris, 49, and their son Mario Cuomo, 14, all tested positive for coronavirus although she and her husband have since recovered.

The home-trialed remedies were met with a large wave of criticism, coming just days before President Donald Trump caused uproar by suggesting that cleaning agents injected into the body could be used as a coronavirus cure, along with the use of ultraviolet lights.

Magazine editor Cristina Cuomo hits back at critics after admitting she poured bleach in her bath twice a week as she battled against coronavirus on the advice of an 'energy doctor'

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday to share a snap of herself enjoying a walk on the beach with the caption: 'I am so grateful to be feeling well again' Cristina was inundated with comments regarding the article.

One reader commented: 'There is nothing holistic about using bleach. I'm glad you're well again and I admire your husband, but using bleach in your bath water is seriously unhealthy and publishing this story is irresponsible.'

While another added: 'Glad your feeling well. However your misrepresentation of what's natural, is negligent.'

Cristina Cuomo shared the advice from Dr. Linda Lancaster on her lifestyle blog

The blog post read: 'At the direction of my doctor, Dr. Linda Lancaster, who reminded me that this is an oxygen-depleting virus, she suggested I take a bath and add a nominal amount of bleach. Yes, bleach.

Those who opposed Cristina's 'holistic' suggestions took to Instagram to criticize her 'irresponsible' actions

'So, I add a small amount  cup ONLYof Clorox to a full bath of warm waterwhy? To combat the radiation and metals in my system and oxygenate it.'

Mario Cuomo, the couple's 14-year-old son, has also had the virus but their two daughters have not shown symptoms.

On April 22, Cristina shared a heartfelt Instagram post dedicated her son and his recovery from the virus, writing: 'After 10 days of ups and downs, feeling good one-day and terrible the next, I am now working hard to get my son, Mario, through the virus.

'My heart hurts more than my head over his infection. This virus does not discriminate. While kids are more resilient, they can suffer same severity of symptoms.'

Mario Cuomo, 14, (pictured with mother Cristina Cuomo) was also diagnosed with COVID-19, with his mother using 'modified remedies' on him as treatment

Clorox lists a warning on its site that users should not bath in bleach water

Cristina added that she was more afraid of the virus before she got it and said a lot of the anxiety people have surrounds the lack of treatments and vaccine.

DailyMail.com reached out to Dr Lancaster's practice Light Harmonic who said they could not comment on specific recommendations given to any patient but did not recommend the use of Clorox.

'There is no known cure for the COVID-19 illness and we do not recommend Clorox Baths as a treatment or cure for any virus including the novel coronavirus,' they said in an email.
A day after higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) listed its recommendations to mitigate the academic crisis due to the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, three central universities in the capitalDelhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and Jamia Millia Islamiabegan deliberations on how to implement them in their institutions.

While Jamia and JNU have decided upon a tentative arrangement for conducting their semester or annual examinations, Delhi University (DU)which has over 90 colleges affiliated to itis yet to come out with a plan. The UGC, while providing a basic framework, has allowed universities to modify and adapt the recommendations as per their need.

Jamias media coordinator Ahmad Azeem said, The university has decided to hold the examination of our final-year students as per UGC recommendation during July 1-15. The exams will be conducted at the varsity while following proper social distancing measures. However, if the situation demands, we are also ready to hold the exams online. For the intermediate students, who will spend another year or semester at the varsity, we will mark them on multiple internal assessments. HT had earlier reported how the varsity was asking its students to submit five 20-mark online assessments and pick the best of three among them for their final score.

JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on Thursday said that the administration has forwarded the UGC guidelines to all its schools and centres. The schools and centres have decided to follow a suitable model relevant to their specific needs so that students can complete their academic requirements without delay, he said.

Last week, JNU had already allowed all its schools and special centres to hold midterm and semester examination via the mode of their choice. Of 13 schools, five decided to go for the online mode. The rest will hold offline exams after the lockdown. The School of Environment Studies started conducting its midterm exams online this week.

Members of the DUs task forceconstituted to look into the academic situation during the pandemicheld a meeting on Thursday to discuss the implementation of UGC recommendations. The UGC recommendations are well thought out, keeping the current scenario in mind wherein nothing is certain. We have already extended our teaching session till May 15 and will work on the new academic calendar as well. So far, the focus is on exams and admissions, and we will make a decision soon after fulfilling necessary statutory requirements, Payal Mago, joint dean of colleges and a member of the task force, said.

Several principals of DU colleges have also expressed concern about conducting the academic sessions since the upcoming ones will also see an increase in the number of seats for the 10% reservation for candidates belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category. The university had planned to increase its intake by 25% to facilitate the quota in two phases: 10% during the 2019-20 academic session and 15% for the 2020-21 session.

Manoj Khanna, principal of Ramjas College, said, The entire trajectory of the academic session needs to be redefined. Since we have to conduct classes keeping social distancing measures in mind, we have to devise ways to do so. The increase in seats after the implementation of the second phase of the EWS quota will make things more difficult. In my opinion, we could have an option for both online and offline classes with relaxation in attendance. Those willing to come to college, while following necessary precautions, should be allowed to do so. Mechanisms for those who cannot do so should be made. For instance, the university could come up with its own platform to conduct online classes.

Admissions

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the Class 12 board exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) being postponed. A delay in the board exams means an immediate impact on the admission process of several universities.

Anju Shrivastava, principal of Hindu college, said, While we are hoping that the UGC put together a timeline considering the CBSE exams, the reality will only unfold in the days to come. If board exams dont happen in the stipulated time, admissions can be pushed further. We are waiting for the universitys directions on the matter.

An official from the DUs admission branch said the university had been contemplating this issue. There are many factors to consider. For instance, with CBSE announcing that it wont hold exams for languages, the marking is likely to be based on internal assessment, which is done by schools. A mechanism has to be put in place to ensure uniformity across the country. We are working on a tentative schedule and may open the admission portal for entrance-based courses towards mid-May. 

A senior university official from Jamia said the varsity already has a mechanism in place to allow provisional admission for students who do not get have their mark sheets at the time of admission. The same is likely to be implemented for this period since our admissions are entrance-test based. Students can submit their mark sheets when they get them, the official said.

The JNU VC said the varsity will follow the UGC calendar for the admission process. The National Testing Agency, which conducts the JNU Entrance Exam (JNUEE), on Thursday extended the date of registration till May 15. Last year, the JNU Entrance Exam was held between May 27 and May 30, and the results were declared in the second week of June. This year we are expected to hold the entrance exam in July so that the admission process can be completed by August as recommended by the UGC, a JNU official said.

Students Union Elections

The students union election is an integral part of both JNU and DU. The elections are conducted in September every year. Last year, while JNU Students Union (JNUSU) elections were held on September 7, Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls were held on September 13. However, uncertainty looms over the students body elections this year due to the change in the academic calendar.

DS Rawat, former Delhi University chief election officer, said that as per the Lyngdoh Committee Guidelines, the students union election shall be conducted six to eight weeks after the commencement of the academic session. Normally the academic session begins in July and we conduct elections in September. But now when the academic session is set to begin in August for second and third-year students and in September for first-year students, the elections cannot be held before November, he said.

Officials in the JNU also cited the Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations and said that any decision about the students union election will be taken after consulting with the MHRD and the UGC. The elections lead to huge gatherings. We do not know what the situation will be post-lockdown. Anything related to elections will only be decided after the beginning of the academic session, a senior official said.
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Construction resumed for all projects on Friday in Pennsylvania.

On March 19, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all non-life sustaining businesses to close the next evening leaving most construction sites in the state empty. For the last month and a half only a select few projects were permitted to continue: emergency repairs, healthcare related construction and those companies and/or projects that received waivers.

Lemoyne-based Pyramid Construction resumed work on around two dozen projects on Friday including phase two of the Neighbors & Smith retail and office center on Market Street in Camp Hill. Construction resumed at the site early in the morning on Friday. A salon, a fitness studio, a womens apparel store and a childrens apparel store are all expected to join Neighbors & Smith after the second phase is completed.

As construction resumes for all projects, the state has issued some new guidelines. Some of them include:

Require social distancing (6-feet minimum distance between workers) unless the safety of the public or workers require deviation (drywalling, team lifting).

Provide hand wash stations at appropriate locations on the site such as building entrances, break areas, food truck areas, offices, trailers, and job site egress areas.

Implement cleaning or sanitizing protocols at all construction sites and projects. Identify and regularly clean and disinfect areas that are at high risk for transmission.

Limit tool sharing and sanitize tools if they must be shared.

Employ job site screening based on CDC guidance to determine if employees should work. Prohibit from working any employees with any symptoms of COVID-19. Encourage sick employees to stay home.

Identify a Pandemic Safety Officer for each project or work site, or, if a large-scale construction project, then for each contractor at the site. The primary responsibility of the Pandemic Safety Officer will be to convey, implement, and enforce the social distancing and other requirements of this guidance for the protection of employees, suppliers, and other personnel at the site.

All residential construction projects including new construction, renovation, and repair are authorized to conduct in-person operations; however, such projects may not permit more than four persons on the job site at any time not including people who require temporary access to the site and are not directly engaged in the construction activity.

All commercial construction projects including new construction, renovation, and repair are authorized to conduct in-person operations; however, enclosed projects or portions of enclosed projects, may not permit more than four persons on job sites of 2,000 square feet or less, and one additional person is allowed for each additional 500 square feet of enclosed area over 2,000 square feet.

This week PennLive talked with officials from a number of construction companies in the midstate to get their perspective on reopening. You can read that article by clicking here.

Numerous construction projects in the state are expected to resume. PennLive took a look at 13 midstate projects that are expected to resume soon, you can see them by clicking here.

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China's warning of trade repercussions from Australia's campaign for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus has rattled Australian business leaders as President Donald Trump's administration urges other governments to back such a probe.

China has accused Australia of parroting the United States in its call for an inquiry independent of the World Health Organization to determine the origins of COVID-19 and how the world responded to the emerging pandemic.

Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye used an Australian newspaper interview this week to warn that pursuing an inquiry could spark a Chinese consumer boycott of students and tourists visiting Australia as well as of sales of major exports including beef and wine.

When senior Australian diplomat Frances Adamson raised concerns about the interview, Cheng took the extraordinary step of making public his account of their telephone conversation. Cheng said he told Adamson to put aside ideological bias and stop political games.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attacked China's coercion and urged US partner countries to also demand transparency and answers.

I saw some comments from the Chinese foreign ministry talking about coercive activity with respect to Australia, who had the temerity to ask for an investigation. Who in the world wouldn't want an investigation of how this happened to the world? Pompeo told reporters in Washington.

The Chinese foreign ministry has said the allegation of economic coercion was unfounded.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday stood firm on his call for an inquiry and denied any motivation other than to prevent such a pandemic happening again.

I don't think anybody's in any fantasy land about where it started. It started in China and what the world over needs to know -- and there's a lot of support for this -- is how did it start and what are the lessons that can be learned, Morrison told Sydney Radio 2GB.

That needs to be done independently and why do we want to know that? Because it could happen again."



Some Australian business leaders have warned of economic damage from a boycott by Australia's biggest trading partner. Corporate leaders have advised against any inquiry until after U.S. presidential elections in November to avoid political blame-shifting.

Australian media magnate Kerry Stokes used the front page of The West Australian newspaper to urge Morrison to appease China.

If we're going to go into the biggest debt we've had in our life and then simultaneously poke our biggest provider of income in the eye, it's not necessarily the smartest thing you can do, his newspaper quoted Stokes as saying, referring to billions of dollars in debt the government has run up trying to keep the economy afloat.

Relations between China and Australia have been strained by Australia's outlawing of covert foreign interference in and institutions.

China is particularly angry that Australia has banned Chinese communications giant Huawei from involvement in critical infrastructure on security grounds.

Long delays in moving Australian wine from Chinese wharfs and in offloading shipments of Australian coal with little or vague explanation have been linked to the bilateral dispute.

But the coronavirus has brought a new intensity to the rift.

The Chinese foreign ministry has repeatedly scolded Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton when they argued for more transparency.

Payne has accused Ambassador Cheng of economic coercion, government lawmaker Trent Zimmer has condemned his boycott comments as downright despicable and menacing, while former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says the ambassador has gone rogue.

Chinese diplomat Long Shou, a state consular-general, has been accused of gatecrashing Health Minister Greg Hunt's coronavirus conference on Tuesday by turning up without a government invitation and speaking about China-Australia relations.

Beijing's message around the world today is: tremble and obey, and we will reward you with goodies if you do, The Australian newspaper's Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan wrote.

Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former Australian prime minister and student of China, said that whether China carried out economic retaliation against Australia would be very much a wait-and-see process.

The bottom line is, put megaphones away and use private lines of communication to solve very complex, very difficult and very hard questions, Rudd said. That's the best way for all parties into the future.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ali Amin-Javaheri grew up in the chemicals business.

His father had worked for Iran's state-owned chemical company and when the family fled the country in the nineteen eighties during the Iran-Iraq war, they first settled in Houston where employers welcomed the senior Amin-Jahaveri's experience.

Houston in the 80s was dominated by the petrochemicals industry and by the time the family later relocated to Washington State, Amin-Jahaveri was already deeply steeped in a world of covalent bonds, chemical cracking, and the molecular coupling and decoupling of matter.

For the former Texas chemical kid, moving to tech-heavy, rain-soaked Washington, dominated at the time by Microsoft, was a bit of a shock, the founder recalled. But it was the 2000s and everyone was in tech so Amin-Jahaveri figured that'd be his path too.

Those two worlds collided for the young University of Washington graduate in his very first job -- his only job before launching his first startup -- as a programmer and developer at Chempoint.

"Completely through happenstance I was walking around a certain part of Seattle and I walked by this building and it had all these logos outside the office. I saw this logo for a company called Chempoint and I was instantly intrigued," Amin-Jahaveri said. "I walked up to the receptionist and asked what they were doing."

In the summer of 2001, Amazon was an online bookseller a little over seven years old, the dot-com boom hadn't gone completely bust quite yet and business-to-business marketplaces were a hot investment.

"It was a startup with just a handful of folks," said Amin-Jahaveri. "There wasn't a business model in place, but the intent was to build a marketplace for chemicals... The dot-com boom was happening and everything was moving on line and the chemicals industry likely will as well."

Fifteen years later, Chempoint is one of the last remaining companies in a market that once boasted at least fifteen competitors -- and the chemicals industry still doesn't have a true online marketplace. Until (potentially) now, with the launch of Amin-Jahaveri's first startup -- Knowde.

Story continues

A volumetric flask, used during the process of determining phosphorus content in crude edible oil, sits in a laboratory of the quality assurance department at the Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. edible oil refinery plant in Patalganga, India, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images

For the vast majority of Americans, the chemicals industry remains a ubiquitous abstraction. Consumers have a direct relationship with the energy business through the movements of prices at the pump, but the ways in which barrels of oil get converted into the plastics, coatings, films, flavors, fillings, soaps, toothpastes, enamels and unguents that touch everyone's daily life are a little bit less obvious.

It's a massive industry. The U.S. accounted for 17% of the global chemicals market in 2017 and that percentage amounted to a staggering $765 billion in sales. Worldwide there are thousands of chemicals companies selling hundreds of different specialty chemicals each and all contributing to a total market worth trillions of dollars.

"The market is $5 trillion," said Amin-Jahaveri. "Just to be super clear about that.. Its $5 trillion worth of transactions happening every year."

It's no secret that venture capitalists love marketplaces. Replacing physical middlemen with electronic ones offers efficiencies and economies of scale that have a cold logic and avoid the messiness of human contact. For the past twenty years, different entrepreneurs have cropped to tackle creating systems that could connect buyers on one side with sellers on another -- and the chemicals industry has been investors' holy grail since Chempoint made its pitch to the market in 2001.

"The chemicals industry is the most interesting of all of them. Its the biggest. Its also the most fragmented," said Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire. "There were three companies in the world that all did about $90 billion in sales and none of those three companies did more than 1.6% of sales of the entire industry."

Those kinds of numbers would make any investor's jaw drop. And several firms tried to make a pitch for the hotly contested financing round for Knowde. Maguire first heard that there was a company looking for funds to pursue the creation of the first true marketplace business for the chemicals industry through a finance associate at Sequoia, Spencer Hemphill.

Hemphill knew an early Knowde investor named Ian Rountree at Cantos Ventures and had heard Rountree talk about the new company. He flagged the potential deal to Maguire and another Sequoia partner. It only took one hour for Maguire to be blown away by Amin-Jahaveri's pedigree in the industry and his vision for Knowde.

From that initial meeting in September to the close of the company's $14 million Series A round on March 11 (the day the markets suffered their worst COVID-19-related losses), Maguire was tracking the company's progress. Other firms in the running for the Knowde deal included big names like General Catalyst, according to people with knowledge of the process.

Sequoia wound up leading the Series A deal for Knowde, which also included previous investors Refactor Capital, Bee Partners, and Cantos Ventures.*

The tipping point for Maguire was the rapid adoption and buy-in from the industry when Knowde flipped the switch on sales in early January.

An employee of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) picks up perfume components on December 8, 2016 at the company's laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. / AFP / PATRICK KOVARIK (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images)

For at least the past fifty years, the modern chemicals industry has been defined -- and in some ways constrained -- by its sales pitches. There are specialty manufacturers who have hundreds of chemicals that they've made, but the knowledge of what those chemicals can do is often locked inside research labs. The companies rely on distributors, middlemen, and internal sales teams to get the word out, according to Maguire and Amin-Jahaveri.

"The way that things are done is still through field sales teams and product catalogs and brochures and face to face meetings and all that stuff," said Amin-Jahaveri. "This industry has not evolved as quickly as the rest of the world And we always knew that something has got to give."

One selling point for Knowde is that it breaks that logjam, according to investors like Maguire.

"One of the references said that they had a bunch of legacy flavors from the seventies," Maguire said. "It was a Madagascar Vanilla that none of their sales people had tried to sell for 25 years... By putting them on Knowde the sales numbers had gone up over 1,000%... That company does over $5 billion a year in sales through flavors."

The change happened as the old guard of executives began aging out of the business, according to Amin-Jahaveri. "Between 2002 and 2012 nothing happened.. There was no VC money thrown at any type chemical company and then it started changing a little bit," he said. "The first domino was the changing age demographic these consumer product companies kept getting younger."

Amin-Jahaveri's previous company grew to $400 million in revenue selling technology and services to the chemicals industry. It was back-end software and customer relationship tools that the industry had never had and needed if it were to begin the process of joining the digital world. Knowde, according to Amin-Jahaveri, is the next phase of that transition.

"Our plan is to connect the chemical producers directly with the buyers," Amin-Jahaveri said. "And provide all the plumbing and storefronts necessary to manage these things themselves."

All that Knowde needed to do was collate the disparate data about what chemicals small manufacturers were making and had in stock and begin listing that information online. That transparency of information used to be more difficult to capture, since companies viewed their product catalog as an extension of their intellectual property -- almost a trade secret, according to Amin-Jahaveri.

Once companies began listing products online, Amin-Jahaveri and his team could go to work creating a single, searchable taxonomy that would allow outsiders to find the materials they needed without having to worry about differences in descriptions.

Knowde has broken down the chemicals industry into ten different verticals including: food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, houseware goods, industrial chemicals. The company currently operates in three different verticals and plans to extend into all ten within the year.

Amin-Jahaveri knows that he's not going to get a meaningful chunk of business from the huge chemical manufacturers like BASF or Dow Chemical that pump out thousands of tons of commodity chemicals, those deals only represent $2 trillion of the total addressable market.

That means another $3 trillion in sales are up for grabs for the company Amin-Jahaveri founded with his partner Wojciech Krupa.

While the opportunity is huge, the company -- like every other new business launching in 2020 -- is still trying to do business in the middle of the worst economic collapse in American history. However, Amin-Jahaveri thinks the new economic reality could actually work in Knowde's favor.

"It's going to be one more trigger event for these chemical companies that they have to go online," he said. The personal relationships that drove much of the sales for the chemicals business before have dried up. No more conferences and events means no more opportunities to glad-hand, backslap, and chat over drinks at the hotel bar. So these companies need to find a new way to sell.

Maguire sees another benefit to the movement of chemical catalogs into an online marketplace, and that's internal transparency within chemical companies.

"Even the biggest companies in the world do not have an internal search feature even for their own chemicals," said Maguire. "I talked to two of the biggest companies in the world. In the case of one chemist who is a friend of mine. If you are trying to formulate some new concoction how do you find what chemicals you have in the company? If its in my division its pretty easy.. If I need chemicals from another division theres no way to search it right now."

*This article has been updated to indicate that Bee Partners, a previous investor in Knowde, participated in the company's Series A round. 8VC, another seed investor, did not.
(Natural News) Japans northern island of Hokkaido is experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections after it ended its lockdown far too early. Kazuto Suzuki, vice dean of international politics at Hokkaido University, told reporters that the prefectures story should serve as a wake-up call for leaders of other nations who are considering loosening lockdown restrictions too soon.

Even if you control the first wave, he said, you cant relax.

Hokkaido too eager to reopen

The Hokkaido Prefecture, which governs the whole island, identified its first case of COVID-19 on January 28. A month later, Hokkaidos government declared a three-week state of emergency. Schools were shut down, events with large gatherings were canceled and Hokkaidos residents were strongly urged to stay home. The prefectural government, led by Gov. Naomichi Suzuki, pursued aggressive contract tracing tactics and isolated everybody their tracers found to have been in contact with COVID-19 patients.

The policy resulted in a steep drop in new COVID-19 cases, sometimes just one or two per day, according to Yoko Tsukamoto, a professor specializing in infection control at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido. The prefecture and Suzuki were praised for quickly and decisively acting against the virus.

However, on March 19, Hokkaido promptly lifted its state of emergency and rolled back its lockdown restrictions on freedom of movement. This led to a second wave of infections hitting the prefecture hard. (Related: Model shows ending coronavirus lockdown prematurely could cause a devastating explosion of cases.)

The region was forced to declare a second state of emergency several weeks  and several hundred infections  after the first state of emergency was lifted.

We are facing a crisis of a second wave in the spread of [the coronavirus] infections, said Governor Suzuki to reporters on April 13. The second lockdown closed primary and secondary schools until May 6. Prefectural residents have also been asked to not engage in nonessential trips outside their home.

As of press time, Hokkaido has 762 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 29 deaths. Japan, as a whole, has 14,088 confirmed cases and 247 deaths. By prefecture, Hokkaido has the sixth highest number of cases in the country.

Hokkaidos case should serve as an example for the rest of the world

Hokkaidos story shows how, if governments acted quickly to curb the spread of the virus, it could be brought under control.

Kenji Shibuya of Kings College London said that, should governments follow medical advice, it should be fairly easy to contact trace, isolate and to tackle infection clusters. The prefectural government met tremendous amounts of success in their cluster control strategy. As the rest of Japan was struggling to fight back against the coronavirus, Hokkaido was a local success story.

However, Shibuya noted that part of Hokkaidos difficulties stemmed from Japans reluctance to ramp up coronavirus testing. While containment would have been effective, especially if the prefectures lockdown restrictions were kept in place, it wont be that way for long. According to Shibuya, it is difficult to maintain tracing and isolation strategies for too long if testing capacity doesnt expand.

Shibuya also points out that even if Hokkaido could successfully contain its local outbreak, it may still be unsuccessful if Japans national coronavirus efforts dont match up to what is being done in Hokkaido. The prefectures lockdown measures are more stringent than Prime Minister Shinzo Abes own lockdown directives; schools may be closed, but many commercial establishments, including bars, remain open.

On April 7, Abe finally declared a month-long state of emergency  but only for seven prefectures: Tokyo, Saitama, Osaka, Kanagawa, Hyogo, Fukuoka and Chiba. Abes state of emergency declaration ends on May 6  the same day Hokkaidos lockdown ends. However, reports are suggesting that Abes government is planning to extend the lockdown to until the end of May.

It remains to be seen how effective Hokkaidos second lockdown will be. However, if Prime Minister Abe does not enforce stronger lockdown restrictions over the whole country, Japan may soon experience a surge in COVID-19 cases.

These lockdowns and states of emergency will have to be lifted eventually, but the lesson is to wait as long as possible, to get accurate data on infection numbers and to be very, very cautious when the rules are relaxed, said Tsukamoto to reporters.

And the authorities have to be ready to move quickly and put the restrictions back in place at the first sign of another surge.

Pandemic.news has the latest updates on the coronavirus lockdown policies being implemented by countries across the globe.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

Pref.Hokkaido.lg.jp

ABCNews.go.com

BBC.com

DailyMail.co.uk

NPR.org

Statista.com

WHO.int [PDF]

JapanTimes.co.jp
Theatre director and actor Danish Husain who is known for his performances in films such as Peepli Live (2010), Dhobi Ghat (2010) and Newton (2017), has been instrumental in reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling, Dastangoi.

Husain who recently performed Qissebaazi, a new format of storytelling, virtually, says, I was intimately involved with the revival of the lost art form of Urdu storytelling, Dastangoi, between 2006-2015. And then a break came for a year for various reasons including my shift to Mumbai from Delhi. But when I decided to return to storytelling, I felt why just Urdu. I saw in big cities a kind of visual, urban culture drowning our Indian languages, especially their literature. I thought if people had less time to read them, they wont find it tedious if the stories are performed to them in an entertaining, and engaging way. And thus germinated the idea of Qissebaazi  a platform where we perform stories from Indian literary and oral traditions.

Asked about the effectiveness of virtual performances, he says, I guess these are early days. If the lockdown extends and become a way of life, people will innovate, and we will see more quality performances. Those with resources might even invest in better sound, light, recording technologies. And may even turn a corner in their homes as a permanent performance space.

The actor who went to the United States to open a musical storytelling concert with Ustad Hidayat Hussain Khan and TM Krishna got stuck there. He says, I came a fortnight earlier so that I could spend some time with my sister who lives here but then the lockdown happened and I got stuck here. Not that I am complaining. I am fortunate to be with her in these trying times, and get guilty pangs when I see all the hardships around, especially in India. I spend most of my time reading, and memorising new poetry. Often, I go out for long walks if the weather permits.

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Tim Fischer, Photographer / Midland Reporter-Telegram

The U.S. rig count fell for the eighth consecutive weeks, plunging to levels not seen since the bottom of the previous oil bust.

The number of operating drilling rigs fell by 57 to 408, according to the Houston oil field services company Baker Hughes, slightly above the lowest point of last oil bust, which stretched roughly from 2014 to 2016. The rig count bottomed out at 404 in May 2016.
Greenberg Traurig is acting as legal advisor for the Polsat Group in the acquisition of the Interia Group.

As part of the deal, Telewizja Polsat sp. z o.o. entered into a preliminary agreement with Bauer Media Invest GmbH and Bauer Polen Invest GmbH for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Grupa Interia.pl sp. z o.o. and all the rights and obligations of the limited partner in Grupa Interia.pl Media sp. z o.o. sp. k. Other parties to the preliminary agreement are: Cyfrowy Polsat S.A, as a guarantor for obligations of Telewizja Polsat under the preliminary agreement and Heinrich Bauer Verlag Beteiligungs GmbH, as a guarantor for sellers obligations under the preliminary agreement.

In accordance with the preliminary agreement the value of the transaction amounts to PLN 422 million and will be financed from Telewizja Polsats own funds. The final price will be subject to an adjustment mechanism and interest set out in the preliminary agreement. The completion of the deal is subject to Telewizja Polsat obtaining clearance for the concentration from the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The acquisition of the Interia Group is another milestone in the strategic growth of the Polsat Group with Greenberg Traurigs support. However, this transaction is of a particular nature given the unprecedented external circumstances which accompany its completion. Nevertheless, we continue to work for our Client in accordance with the original timeline, despite the numerous restrictions related to COVID-19, while maintaining the highest safety standards. This allows us to conclude that with appropriate technological support and experience, it is possible to complete an M&A transaction of this scale in the current situation  and this should be read as a positive sign for the market, said Jarosaw Grzesiak, Managing Partner of the Greenberg Traurig Warsaw Office.

The transaction is led by Partner Daniel Kaczorowski, supported by Senior Associates Agnieszka Stopinska and Marek Keczek.

Managing Partner Jarosaw Grzesiak is supervising the transaction.

Additionally, Partner Micha Fereniec, is responsible for the IT aspects of the deal. The multidisciplinary due diligence team, supported by Local Partner Micha Bobrzynski, consists of Associate Natalia Wokowycka, and Senior Associates Paulina Kimla-Kaczorowska, Magdalena Bachleda-Ksiedzularz and Magdalena Medynska.

Greenberg Traurig is providing comprehensive legal advice with respect to the transaction.

Grupa Polsat is the largest media and telecommunication group in Poland. The Group provides its 5.7 million customers with access to 16.9 million services: mobile phone services, pay digital TV and the Internet. The Group includes the following companies and brands: Cyfrowy Polsat, Polkomtel, Telewizja Polsat, Netia and IPLA.

The Interia Group is a leading player on the Polish market of new generation media, reaching nearly 60% of Internet users in Poland. Its services are used by over 16 million real users every month, and the number of page views of the Interia Group's websites exceeds 1.3 billion per month.

Attorneys from the Warsaw office of Greenberg Traurig have recently represented the Polsat Group, among others, with respect to Polands first issuance of corporate green bonds, the acquisition of approximately 22% of shares in Asseco Poland, a majority stake in Netia, negotiation and execution of a joint venture agreement with Discovery Communications Europe Limited and TVN for a joint project involving the launch of an OTT streaming platform, as well as in soliciting innovative financing in the form of an additional credit facility of PLN 1 billion.

Greenberg Traurig LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2200 attorneys serving clients from 41 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Greenberg Traurig Grzesiak sp.k. was named the 2019 and 2018 Most Innovative Law Firm of the Year Award for Poland by International Financial Law Review (IFLR) and the 2017 Law Firm of the Year in Poland by Chambers and Partners. The Warsaw office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP provides legal services to clients in Central Europe and beyond and consists of approximately 100 lawyers. Team members are regularly recognized as leaders in numerous practice areas. Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, IFLR1000 and EMEA Legal 500 consistently rank them among the top tiers the areas of Corporate/M&A, Capital Markets, Real Estate, Private Equity, Tax, Banking and Finance, Project Finance, Energy, Dispute Resolution and TMT.

For additional information, please visit http://www.gtlaw.com.
A report claimed that Angelina Jolie is furious at Brad Pitt's spending on expensive building projects.

An article on the latest issue of the National Enquirer is asserting that Pitt has been pouring a huge sum of money into renovating and building on a number of his properties, with a source saying that this caused Jolie to be upset.

The source added that Jolie is making attempts to ask Pitt for money and that she is in need of cash right now. The "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" actress allegedly thinks that her former husband's money should be primarily allocated to her and their 6 children as support.

The "One Upon A Time In Hollywood" actor reportedly "wants to add a couple of mini-properties onto the compound in LA" along with building a lake house in Missouri which his children will inherit someday.

According to the insider, Jolie is currently "hemorrhaging cash" and is demanding cash urgently from her former "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-star.

The source clarified that Jolie's funds are apparently in her retirement savings and are tied up with legal bills in the ongoing divorce proceedings with the "Ad Astra actor." It was also indicated that Jolie finds it "reasonable that Brad helps her out." She figures that it is Pitt's fault that their family split up in the first place.

The same insider affirmed to know Pitt's side of the dramatic story. He believes that he has been providing monetary support to his former wife's lifestyle for more than 5 years.

Also Read: Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston About to Announce Relationship in Tell-Tale Interview?

The insider concludes by alleging that Jolie thinks his projects are "a waste of money" that could be allocated to the children's college funds and daily living expenses.

However, Gossip Cop found the tale to be suspicious.

Upon the publishing of the storylines by the tabloids, they immediately confirmed that the narratives are 100 percent false. Both parties are not fighting over money.

Previously, the fact-checking website had already investigated a different phony claim from the "Enquirer" that the actor was building a Missouri lake house as a love nest for himself and former flame Jennifer Aniston. The news outlet also asserted that Pitt and Aniston are in a relationship (which was proven to be false). Tabloids on most occasions tend to assert that Jolie is jealous over Pitt and Aniston's far-fetched relationship.

Published in the same issue, the article insisted that Pitt is investing in building projects for the security of his children's future.

The article also said that Jolie is in dire need of the money to cover her legal fees.

Gossip Cop said it is also improbable for Jolie to demand her former husband to financially support her lavish lifestyle.

The rumor-debunking website found the tabloid to be remarkably inconsistent both from article to article and within this narrative.

Furthermore, it reached out to a close figure to Pitt and discovered that no other news outlet has reported information about him renovating or building properties.

Jolie was lauded as among the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2018. While it is a possibility that she is taking payments from Pitt for child support, there is no reason to think she is "struggling."

Related Article: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Split: The Dark Side of Their Separation

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"Tough and awkward choices will have to be made [by policymakers] about where you kick start an economy in a local area and which areas are picked. Politicians are often about trying to give every kid a lolly, but there needs to be tough choices about who to give them to." Among the areas struggling most is the Gold Coast, where tourism accounts for 40 per cent of the local economy. Destination Gold Coast chief executive Annaliese Battista says the area's tourism economy is expecting a $1.8 billion loss this financial year, with visitors down 25 per cent. Loading "[The] city's entire economy has more or less ground to a halt over the past two months." Coronavirus will take "many years to recover from", she says, though there are marketing plans in place to drive tourism activity once the worst of the pandemic passes. More than 90 per cent of visitors to the Gold Coast are domestic tourists.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate is talking to regional tourism bodies about ways to encourage Australians to holiday in northern NSW and the Gold Coast Hinterland when restrictions lift. He also wants to foster growth in education and development, IT, film, start-ups and online businesses. "I will be asking the federal government to look closely at what incentives they can offer the film industry in the way of further tax relief while working closely with the state to ensure our international students come back in numbers better than before," he says. Central Coast mayor Lisa Matthews, who is also the owner of a beauty therapy business and has had to close her doors during the pandemic, says trading was down at 90 per cent of local businesses last month. "It pained me over the Easter long weekend to tell people they weren't welcome here on the Central Coast for the first time ever. That was hard," Matthews says. "We don't even know when we'll be able to say we're open and you're welcome again, we're at the mercy of the state and the federal [governments].

"For the Central Coast, our communities had fires that started in October and floods in March and now a pandemic. We were already hurting." Loading 'The sad truth is many businesses will not survive' The summer bushfires hit the Blue Mountains hard, with more than 2500 jobs lost and a reduction in gross turnover of about $560 million even before the coronavirus outbreak, local mayor Mark Greenhill says. "We have experienced trying times before, but never so many, so close together and for such a long period of time," Greenhill says.

"The effects on local businesses are devastating ... we are a small council and we will need further assistance from other levels of government to address the significant impacts. "Without increased funding, the sad truth is many businesses will not survive in the Blue Mountains." 10 tourist areas facing major declines in local economic activity The Whitsundays: -14%

Port Douglas - Daintree: -13%

Augusta - Margaret River - Busselton: -13%

Broadbeach - Burleigh: -11%

Noosa: -10%

Gold Coast - North: -10%

Blue Mountains: -9%

Maroochy: -9%

Surfers Paradise: -9%

Gosford: -6% Source: SGS Economics & Planning. Uses Selected Statistical Area, forecast for 2019-20. The federal government has set aside a $1 billion war chest to help the tourism industry recover. Government sources with knowledge of the survival plan, who do not wish to be named as the final details are yet to be determined, say it will include geographically targeted initiatives to attract visitors back to the worst-hit areas once restrictions are eased. But there is still no indication of when this might be, Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway says, adding the government's wage subsidies and the $18 billion in support for small and medium businesses are keeping many afloat in the meantime.

Domestic tourism-led recovery He is advocating for a domestic tourism-led recovery across all states and territories as restrictions are relaxed, with a focus on the caravan industry, the passenger rail and bus sectors and road trips. He is also urging the government to reallocate funds earmarked for international advertising campaigns to encourage locals to travel around the country, and hopes border restrictions between Australia and New Zealand will be lifted. "The stark reality is that only New Zealand within our top six international inbound markets has any realistic hope of seeing visitors return to our shores anytime soon in the post-COVID economy," Westaway says.
[May 01, 2020] CPI Card Group Inc. to Release First Quarter 2020 Results on May 6, 2020

CPI Card Group Inc. (OTCQX: PMTS) (TSX: PMTS) ("CPI Card Group" or the "Company"), a payment technology company and leading provider of credit, debit and prepaid solutions, today announced it will issue a press release reporting financial results for the first quarter of 2020 before the market opens on May 6, 2020. Beginning with the release of its first quarter 2020 results, in lieu of an earnings call, the Company plans to provide written commentary regarding its quarterly performance and other business matters. Such commentary will be generally consistent with information historically discussed on the Company's earnings calls and will be provided concurrently with the issuance of the Company's quarterly earnings press release. The earnings press release and additional written commentary will be made available at http://investor.cpicardgroup.com.



About CPI Card Group Inc. CPI Card Group is a payment technology company and leading provider of credit, debit and prepaid solutions delivered physically, digitally and on-demand. CPI helps our customers foster connections and build their brands through innovative and reliable solutions, including financial payment cards, personalization, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) instant issuance. CPI has more than 20 years of experience in the payments market and is a trusted partner to financial institutions and payments services providers. Serving customers from locations throughout the United States, CPI has a large network of high security facilities, each of which is registered as PCI (News - Alert) compliant by one or more of the payment brands: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Learn more at www.cpicardgroup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005119/en/

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Doctors in Britain, Italy and Spain have been warned to look out for a rare inflammatory condition in children. The condition is possibly linked to the new coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Britains Paediatric Intensive Care Society sent a notice to the countrys doctors. It said that in the past three weeks, there has been an increase in the number of children with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care.

The group said there was growing concern that the condition is related to COVID 19, the disease caused by the virus. However, the group also suggested a different, unidentified disease might be responsible.

Russell Viner is the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He told the Associated Press: We already know that a very small number of children can become severely ill with COVID-19 but this is very rare.

Viner added that the condition was likely caused by an overreaction of the bodys natural defenses, or immune system. And he noted similar symptoms had been seen in some adults infected with the coronavirus. The cases were also reported to have qualities similar to a rare blood vessel disorder known as Kawasaki disease. Symptoms of Kawasaki disease include a high body temperature that lasts for five days or more. They also include skin conditions and swollen parts of the neck.

Only some of the children tested positive for COVID-19. So scientists are unsure if these rare symptoms are caused by the new coronavirus or by something else. Health officials estimate there have been about ten to 20 such cases in Britain and NHS England said it is urgently investigating the reports.

Viner said that doctors were considering other possible causes for the syndrome, including other viruses or new medicines. But they are treating the cases as if they are COVID-related.



Spains Association of Pediatrics recently made a similar warning. It told doctors that in recent weeks, there had been a number of school-age children suffering from unusual stomach pain, along with other stomach issues. These issues could lead within hours to shock, low blood pressure and heart problems, the group noted.

The group urged doctors to recognize the symptoms and send these patients to a hospital.

In Italy, Angelo Ravelli of Gaslini Hospital and a member of the Italian Pediatrics Society, sent a note to 10,000 medical experts raising his concerns. Ravelli and his team reported an unusual increase in the number of patients with Kawasaki disease in parts of Italy hit hard by the coronavirus. He noted some children had COVID-19 or had contacts with confirmed virus cases.

These children do not respond to traditional treatment, he said, adding that some were given a large amount of the drug known as steroids.

James Gill is with Warwick Medical School. He said while the reports were concerning, there was still no hard evidence that the rare syndrome was caused by COVID-19.

Regardless of source, multi-system inflammatory diseases are  serious for children and  intensive care teams, so keeping an extra eye out for new symptoms arising in the patients we see is always a good thing, he said.

Some possible cases have also been reported in France and Belgium.

To date, children have been among the least affected group by the coronavirus. Data from more than 75,000 cases in China showed they represented 2.4 percent of all cases and mostly suffered only mild symptoms.

The World Health Organization said it was attempting to gather more information on any new, coronavirus-related syndrome in children. But it had not received any official reports about it so far.

Im Pete Musto.

Maria Cheng, Aritz Parra, Andrea Foa and Lindsey Tanner reported on this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

inflammatory  adj. medical : causing or having inflammation

symptom(s)  n. a condition in which a part of your body becomes red, swollen, and painful

swollen  adj. the state of being larger than normal

syndrome  n. a disease or disorder that involves a particular group of signs and symptoms

respond  v. to have a good or desired reaction to something

mild  adj. not harsh or severe
A healthcare worker takes a patient's temperature before she undergoes testing for COVID-19 at the Camarena Health Center in Madera, Calif., on April 8. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: There has been talk here in the U.S. as well as Israel about using herd immunity developed by intentionally infecting healthy volunteers to stop COVID-19 from wreaking havoc on economies.

Problem is, we don't know enough about this virus. There is no natural herd immunity for some harmful viruses, which is why vaccines are the only safeguard against them. That's why we have a measles vaccine.

It's important to respect these viruses and protect lives. Otherwise, trying to develop untested herd immunity by intentionally infecting volunteers may just be another way of culling the herd.

Barbara Snider, Huntington Beach

..

To the editor: Israeli researchers propose recruiting waves of volunteers in their 20s, 30s and 40s to be deliberately infected with COVID-19, creating a "controlled avalanche" to achieve herd immunity. Johns Hopkins University bioethicist Jeffrey Kahn objects, saying there is insufficient data to analyze the risk-benefit balance necessary to justify such an experiment.

The U.S. is incurring trillions of dollars in costs in an experiment to reduce COVID-19 deaths. Presumably there is sufficient data to analyze the risk-benefit balance justifying that experiment.

Why isn't that data sufficient to justify the much smaller Israeli test?

Gerry Swider, Sherman Oaks
[May 01, 2020] Three Companies Offering Multicloud Management Solutions Named IDC Innovators

International Data Corporation (IDC) today published an IDC (News - Alert) Innovators report profiling three multicloud management solution providers. IDC Innovators are companies that have introduced innovative new technologies or groundbreaking business models. The three companies are CoreStack, LogicMonitor, and Pulumi. Cloud environments, whether public or private, typically share compute resources using defined, self-service, on-demand approaches to resource provisioning and governance, so as to enable dynamic and elastic scaling and sharing of resources. Multicloud management software and SaaS (News - Alert) offerings cover a wide range of functional capabilities required to provision, configure, manage, automate, monitor, and control enterprise compute and application environments that rely on a mix of two or more clouds. Meanwhile, the rising use of microservices, containers, Kubernetes, and CI/CD tool chains drives new applications and updates to market quickly, but also creates high levels of operational complexity. Keeping up with these distributed and dynamic environments requires IT and CloudOps teams to improve the ways they govern, monitor, and automate all aspects of multicloud management and operations. "Multicloud architectures that include private and public clouds are the new normal for most enterprises. Multicloud environments frequently encompass multiple generations of bare metal, virtualized, and container-based platforms and both traditional and cloud-native applications," said Mary Johnston Turner, research vice president for Cloud Management at IDC. "As use of multicloud architectures scales, and applications become more dynamic and distributed, enterprises require comprehensive automation and analytics solutions to help reduce costs, maintain performance, and reduce business risk." The report, IDC Innovators: Multicloud Management, 2020 (IDC #US44895219), profiles three companies that offer enterprise customers innovative analytics and automation solutions to help streamline, standardize, and scale multicloud environments.



CoreStack offers enterprise customers and managed service provider (MSP) partners a unified, SaaS-delivered automation platform to apply and enforce compliance, security, cost, operational policies, and rules across multiple clouds in a highly consistent and automated manner.

offers enterprise customers and managed service provider (MSP) partners a unified, SaaS-delivered automation platform to apply and enforce compliance, security, cost, operational policies, and rules across multiple clouds in a highly consistent and automated manner. LogicMonitor provides proactive, integrated multicloud monitoring, analytics, and automation via a SaaS-delivered AIOps platform featuring predictive failure alerts, anomaly detection, and root cause analysis using machine-learning models.

provides proactive, integrated multicloud monitoring, analytics, and automation via a SaaS-delivered AIOps platform featuring predictive failure alerts, anomaly detection, and root cause analysis using machine-learning models. Pulumi offers distributed cloud engineering teams a scalable platform for defining, maintaining, and reusing policy-driven cloud automation to ensure consistent configuration policy across clouds. About IDC Innovators IDC Innovators reports present a set of vendors - under $100 million in revenue at time of selection - chosen by an IDC analyst within a specific market that offer an innovative new technology, a groundbreaking approach to an existing issue, and/or an interesting new business model. It is not an exhaustive evaluation of all companies in a segment or a comparative ranking of the companies. Vendors in the process of being acquired by a larger company may be included in the report provided the acquisition is not finalized at the time of publication of the report. Vendors funded by venture capital firms may also be included in the report even if the venture capital firm has a financial stake in the vendor's company. IDC INNOVATOR and IDC INNOVATORS are trademarks of International Data Group, Inc.

For more information about IDC Innovators research, please contact Karen Moser at [email protected]. About IDC International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter (News - Alert) at @IDC and LinkedIn (News - Alert). Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights: http://bit.ly/IDCBlog_Subscribe. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005329/en/

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The lockdown regulations were relaxed today after South Africa moved from level 5 to level 4 on the new COVID-19 alert system.

One of the biggest changes is that restaurants and fast food outlets are now allowed to operate.

There are, however, restrictions. Only deliveries are allowed, and operating hours are restricted to 09:00 to 19:00.

The new regulations for alert level 4 highlight that no sit-down dining or collection of food is allowed at restaurants.

These restrictions mean food delivery services like Mr D Food and Uber Eats will be in high demand.

Mr D Food returned to full operation today. Restaurants will be able to return to Mr D Food along with safe, contactless delivery and financial support, it said.

Many restaurants will open

Many restaurants told MyBroadband they are excited to start operating again and are now open for business.

Danielle Wallace, marketing manager at Hudsons Burger Joint, said they have opened all seven branches across Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

We have developed a new and limited menu geared specifically for deliveries. Our customers can find us on Uber Eats, Mr D, and OrderIn, she said.

Del Fornos Lizelle Wolhuter said they have opened their restaurants for delivery and offer a variety of pizza and pasta, steaks, and selected chef meals.

Customers will also be able to order directly off our app, and will receive 10% off their first order with us, Wolhuter said.

Doppio Zero also opened for deliveries via various food delivery partners and its own options.

Other restaurants which are now offering food to clients include Pizza Hut, Pizza Perfect, Andiccio24, and Anat.

Not all restaurants will open

Not all restaurants have been able to open, however.

Ocean Basket executive Jaime de Abreu told MyBroadband they will not open their restaurants immediately as it is would be a high-risk move.

He added that the national curfew which begins at 20:00 each evening means they would need to shut down at 18:00 to clean and allow staff to return home on time.

De Abreu explained that 18:00 to 20:00 is the highest trading period for Ocean Basket, which makes shutting down at 18:00 a problem.

ColCacchio told MyBroadband that as its restaurants are primarily sit-down, it is not viable for all of its outlets to open.

Nandos will also not open their restaurants to the public.

Being restricted by the government to delivery only, in hours limited by a curfew, means they will have to remain closed, the company said.

A list of restaurants which are now open

The table below provides an overview of the restaurants which are now open for deliveries.

Restaurants in South Africa Restaurant Open Steers Yes Chicken Licken Yes Debonairs Yes Pizza Perfect Yes Burger Perfect Yes Pizza Hut Yes Andiccio24 Yes Del Forno Yes Hudsons  The Burger Joint Yes Mochachos Yes Simply Asia Yes Rocomamas Yes (selected restaurants) ColCacchio Yes (selected restaurants) Doppio Zero Yes (selected restaurants) Romans Pizza Yes (selected restaurants) Salsa Yes (selected restaurants) Fish & Chips Co. Yes (selected restaurants) KFC Yes (selected restaurants from 2 May) McDonalds Yes (selected restaurants from 2 May) Anat Yes (selected restaurants from 2 May) Burger King Yes (selected restaurants from 6 May) Spur Yes (selected restaurants, opening date not known) Wimpy Yes (selected restaurants, opening date not known) Fishaways Yes (selected restaurants this coming week) Considering Turn n Tender Yet to confirm Tashas Yet to confirm Mugg & Bean Yet to confirm Remain closed to the public Nandos No Ocean Basket No

What restaurants say about opening during lockdown

Here is a summary of what prominent restaurants said about opening during lockdown and offering deliveries to clients.

KFC  We will be back in action on 2 May serving up South Africas most loved fried chicken.

 We will be back in action on 2 May serving up South Africas most loved fried chicken. McDonalds  We return with delivery from 2 May. While we are excited to serve you, we are only able to open selected restaurants with delivery at this time.

 We return with delivery from 2 May. While we are excited to serve you, we are only able to open selected restaurants with delivery at this time. Steers  Delivery will be limited to selected areas as not all restaurants will be opening.

 Delivery will be limited to selected areas as not all restaurants will be opening. Burger King  We will be opening select restaurants around the country to deliver its full menu locally as of Wednesday, 6 May 2020.

 We will be opening select restaurants around the country to deliver its full menu locally as of Wednesday, 6 May 2020. Nandos  We will not be opening our restaurants to the public because of the governments requirement of delivery only and operating during limited hours.

 We will not be opening our restaurants to the public because of the governments requirement of delivery only and operating during limited hours. Chicken Licken  Our restaurants will only be open for orders placed on Uber Eats and Mr. D Food.

 Our restaurants will only be open for orders placed on Uber Eats and Mr. D Food. Debonairs Pizza  We are open for deliveries. Were excited to be able to deliver our amazing pizza to our customers once again.

 We are open for deliveries. Were excited to be able to deliver our amazing pizza to our customers once again. Pizza Perfect  We are firing up our pizza ovens again on 1 May for delivery only.

 We are firing up our pizza ovens again on 1 May for delivery only. Spur  We will be opening for deliveries during lockdown level 4. Please keep checking our social pages and website for updates.

 We will be opening for deliveries during lockdown level 4. Please keep checking our social pages and website for updates. Pizza Hut  South Africa, were open and ready to serve you our famous pan pizza and full menu via delivery.

 South Africa, were open and ready to serve you our famous pan pizza and full menu via delivery. Andiccio24  Well be opening for deliveries 1 May. Avoid curfew queues due to limited trading hours  order any time during the day.

 Well be opening for deliveries 1 May. Avoid curfew queues due to limited trading hours  order any time during the day. Ocean Basket  We will not open restaurants immediately as it is currently a high-risk move.

 We will not open restaurants immediately as it is currently a high-risk move. Del Forno  We have opened our restaurants for delivery and offer a variety of pizza and pasta, steaks, and selected chef meals.

 We have opened our restaurants for delivery and offer a variety of pizza and pasta, steaks, and selected chef meals. ColCacchio  Our restaurants are primarily sit-down, and it is not viable for all of our restaurants to open.

 Our restaurants are primarily sit-down, and it is not viable for all of our restaurants to open. Hudsons Burger Joint  We have opened all seven branches across Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

 We have opened all seven branches across Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town. Anat  Youre able to order your favourite Anat meals from Mr D Food, Uber Eats, OrderIn, and Delivery Extreme.

 Youre able to order your favourite Anat meals from Mr D Food, Uber Eats, OrderIn, and Delivery Extreme. Rocomamas  The majority of our stores are open.

 The majority of our stores are open. Doppio Zero  We are open for delivery via various partners, as well as our own options, from 1 May.

 We are open for delivery via various partners, as well as our own options, from 1 May. Wimpy  Well be back delivering a selection of your favourites from selected restaurants.

 Well be back delivering a selection of your favourites from selected restaurants. Fishaways  The delivery service will unfortunately only be available through select restaurants this coming week.

 The delivery service will unfortunately only be available through select restaurants this coming week. Salsa  Salsa Kyalami will be open for deliveries from today. We will keep you informed on our other stores and deliveries.

Now read: A simple guide to the new level 4 lockdown rules in South Africa
U.S has castigated Qatar after it welcomed Cuban doctors to help in the Gulf countrys efforts to curb the covid-19 pandemic, as it accuses Caribbean of exploiting its doctors, The New Arab reports.

Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo sent the tirade to the Gulf ally Wednesday to express Washingtons discomfort over the presence of Cuban doctors in Qatar.

Weve noticed how the regime in Havana has taken advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to continue its exploitation of Cuban medical workers, said Pompeo during a press briefing.

We applaud leaders in Brazil and in Ecuador and Bolivia and other countries which have refused to turn a blind eye to these abuses by the Cuban regime, and ask all countries to do the same, including places like South Africa and Qatar, he added.

Otherwise, when they pay the regime, they are helping the Cuban government turn a profit on human trafficking, he said.

Qatar early last month announced the arrival of a batch of the Cuban doctors after a request was made to Havana. Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, co-president of Qatars national pandemic response team, praised the excellent doctors from friendly Cuba, the London-based news outlet reports.

Cuba which has been under a decades-long US trade embargo, is global renowned as one the leading countries in healthcare. Present at the forefront during previous disasters, Havana amid the covid-19 also sent medical doctors to Italy, China including several other countries around the globe.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheeriodicals today announced the delivery of 500 Hospital Hero care packages to frontline healthcare workers as a thank you for their heroic efforts in support of COVID-19 patients. These deliveries were made possible through a donation by The Hanover Insurance Group, and were the first to be shipped by Cheeriodicals directly to frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic.

A group of UMass staff with their Hospital Heroes gifts made possible through a donation by The Hanover Insurance Group.

These gifts have been distributed to hospitals in Worcester and Boston, Massachusetts; Somerset, New Jersey; Rochester, New York; Howell, Michigan; and San Francisco, California  communities where The Hanover and its employees have a significant presence.

Cheeriodicals launched the new "Hospital Heroes Initiative" to help its corporate partners show appreciation to healthcare workers across the country for their selfless and tireless commitment to saving lives. Cheeriodicals' Hospital Heroes gift packages are delivered as random acts of kindness and include electrolyte powder packets, epsom salt, refresher towelettes, tea, honey, and other comfort items, packed in a Cheeriodicals tote bag.

"We have worked with The Hanover Insurance Group three times this year to deliver Cheeriodicals to those in need of encouragement," said Gary Parisher, President of Cheeriodicals. "Through our prior efforts with The Hanover, we delivered personalized cheer-up gifts to more than 400 hospitalized children and veterans in Massachusetts and California. Now, The Hanover was the first company to ask to deliver our new Hospital Heroes Cheeriodicals to dedicated healthcare workers. We are so appreciative of The Hanover's remarkable support to show these hospital heroes what their sacrifice means to all of us."

"Frontline healthcare workers are making tremendous sacrifices during this pandemic and we thought the Hospital Heroes Initiative would be a special way to say thank you," said Jennifer Luisa, vice president, corporate marketing at The Hanover. "We're proud to support Cheeriodicals in its effort to recognize healthcare workers across the country."

In this new Cheeriodicals delivery format, representatives from each hospital will distribute the Cheeriodicals gifts to their healthcare workers on behalf of The Hanover Insurance Group.

Kendra Frederick, Child Life Program Manager at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, personally delivered the gift bags to hospital staff in multiple departments including nursing, respiratory, cleaning and kitchen, endocrine, and Child Life. "As a UMass Memorial employee, it was a true pleasure to be the ambassador of these Cheeriodicals and Hanover Insurance Group gifts," she stated. "The kindness you have shown our medical center was clearly evident in the tearful eyes of the staff receiving this kind gesture. Thank you for your support during this challenging time in healthcare."

About Cheeriodicals

Cheeriodicals is a national corporate team building company that conducts philanthropic events benefiting children's hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, healthcare workers, Veterans hospitals, the American Cancer Society, and charity groups. For more information about Cheeriodicals' new Hospital Heroes Initiative, visit our website.

Media Contacts:

Mary Martha Parisher

General Counsel

205-677-2069

[email protected]

Related Images

umass-staff-with-hospital-heroes.jpg

UMass Staff with Hospital Heroes Bags

A group of UMass staff with their Hospital Heroes gifts made possible through a donation by The Hanover Insurance Group.

SOURCE Cheeriodicals

Related Links

http://www.cheeriodicals.com


If you are like me, you know that its smart to stay updated on everything going on; however, you also enjoy the times where everyone isnt talking about COVID-19. During these times, theres nothing wrong with going through the motions, but theres also no shame in spicing it up a bit, too.

Ill also readily admit that some of us dont have much time to spare on the farm this time of year, but theres something to be said for finding time to pursue a new project or hobby. Here are three ideas to do just that:

1. Learn a new language

The advantage of learning a new language is pretty obvious to those in the dairy industry, which is boosting your ability to converse with your fellow employees on the farm. According to the Eton Institute, learning a new language can also improve your memory, enhance decision-making, promote networking skills, and make you more conscious about the intricate areas of your first language.

Lately, Ive been completing more lessons on the Duolingo app to upgrade my Spanish-speaking skills. Duolingo also offers podcasts to help non-native speakers become more familiar with a language of their choice. No matter what method you choose to learn a new language, dont be afraid to make mistakes! This is what helps us learn and improve. Whether youre just getting started or have some experience, there is always a way to keep going.

2. Focus on you

To be transparent, these times are tough. I say that, but I truthfully cannot empathize with how tough they are for dairy producers. Ive experienced my own battles with mental health, but here are some strategies to concentrate on ourselves a little more:



Tell yourself something youre good at or give yourself a compliment. A positive mindset can go a long way.

Journal something youre grateful for. Whether its a bullet point or five pages, writing something down makes it more real.

Open up to someone. Obviously, this is a lot easier said than done, but start small and you might be surprised what it can do.

Do something for someone else. This may be completing a small task for a fellow employee or doing something for a family member.

Take a break without guilt. As dairy people, we feel obligated to go, go, go, but giving your mind a rest for five minutes can dramatically change the day.

3. Never stop telling the tale

As a Facebook user, I have been amazed at the rise of posts discussing our industry, where our food comes from, and the details behind it all. Whether its unveiling industry struggles or new ideas such as home delivery for creameries, we have to keep telling our story to be heard.

Sharing a post or bringing it up in the next phone conversation you have can initiate a deeper conversation. Yes, it might seem a little awkward at first to explain to our friends and family about what is going on right now, but dairy has one heck of a narrative and it deserves to be heard.

Sarah Thomas grew up in Pittsboro, N.C., showing and raising dairy heifers. Thomas attends Virginia Tech, majoring in dairy science with minors in agricultural economics, communication, and Spanish. On campus, shes involved with Dairy Club, Sigma Alpha, and has been a member of the Virginia Tech dairy judging team. Thomas was the 2019 Hoards Dairyman summer editorial intern.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has found a new pot of cash with which to pursue her school "choice" agenda: money from the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package Congress passed to boost the economy as it deals with the pandemic.

DeVos, who has made it her top priority as education secretary to find alternatives to traditional public school districts, announced this week that she is starting a competition for states to apply for "rethinking" education grants.

The current disruption to the normal model is reaffirming something I have said for years: We must rethink education to better match the realities of the 21st century, she said in the announcement. This is the time for local education leaders to unleash their creativity and ingenuity, and Im looking forward to seeing what they do to provide education freedom and economic opportunity for Americas students.

The Michigan billionaire has in the past been clear about her views of traditional public schools, referring to them as a monopoly and a dead end. She has advocated for decades for the expansion of charter schools  which are publicly funded but privately operated  as well as for voucher and similar programs that use taxpayer money for private and religious school education. She is also an enthusiast of virtual learning, and has supported online cyber charters, despite research showing that many enrolled students have poor educational outcomes.

Congress allocated $30.75 billion in its recent coronavirus relief legislation, known as the Cares Act, for an Education Stabilization Fund. It is intended to help states, K-12 school districts and higher education systems respond to the pandemic, which forced most schools to close and turn to remote education. Within that fund, it set aside $308 million in emergency education relief "for grants to states with the highest coronavirus burden."

DeVos is using $180 million of that money for her "Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant" program that invites states to find "new innovative ways for students to access K-12 education." (She is also spending an additional $127.5 million for a grant competition to reimagine workforce preparation.)

The "three absolute priorities" guiding the K-12 grant competition reflect the DeVos education agenda to expand alternatives to traditional public school districts.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., chairwoman of the House subcommittee that funds the Education Department, slammed DeVos for pursuing her agenda with coronavirus relief money.

"I am astonished to see Secretary DeVos use [her] invitation to applicants for this critical aid to fund divisive, ideologically-driven policy priorities, including voucherlike proposals," said DeLauro. "At best, the secretary is exploiting emergency relief legislation to insert secretarial priorities not outlined in this section of the Cares Act. At worst, the secretary is deliberately misreading the law to conjure up purposes for these resources that were not provided in . . . the law."

The first priority spelled out in the Rethink K-12 Education Model grant application notice are "Continued Learning Parent Microgrants," which, would give money to families so they can "access high-quality remote learning options."Those options can be public or private schools or providers.

The "microgrants" sound similar to vouchers, which DeVos and President Trump support. They have asked Congress for $5 billion to fund a tax-credit program that would benefit companies and individuals who contribute so that families can use tax dollars for private schools. Legislators have shown no interest in such a program.

The second "absolute priority" under which states can apply for a grant is to develop and/or expand a "high-quality" statewide virtual school or a course-access program that would let students choose courses from different providers. Those course providers can be from any public school or "third-party" providers, it says.

The third priority calls for states to "propose their own educational strategies . . . to address the specific educational needs of their states, as related to remote learning." It is unclear exactly what kind of strategies are acceptable.

The application notice describes a complicated process by which the department will decide which states have the highest coronavirus burden, which include an analysis of how the state has used its "assets and collaborative efforts" in its coronavirus response and a signed commitment from the governor that he/she supports the application.

The news release on the departments website has a headline that is a mouthful: Secretary DeVos Launches New Grant Competition to Spark Student-Centered, Agile Learning Opportunities to Support Recovery from National Emergency, but the message is simple: More alternatives to public school districts.
SPRINGFIELD  Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Wednesday asked the states highest court to consider arguments in a state representatives case challenging the governors authority to oversee the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the Illinois Supreme Court agrees, it would take over from the Fifth Appellate District which has not yet held a hearing on the lawsuit by state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia.
They dont represent us! Public healthcare! We want testing! Phony! Those were some of the chants from the dozens of medical workers who were at the closure today of the field hospital set up in the Ifema convention center to deal with the overflow of coronavirus patients from Madrids hospitals. The slogans were aimed at the Popular Party (PP) premier of the region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, as well as the other regional and local politicians who attended the event on Friday, including Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, who is also from the PP.

During a speech that was more sentimental than political, the Madrid premier  who contracted the coronavirus and has since recovered  stated that the hospital was being closed given that there are practically no infections now in the region. We still havent beaten the pandemic, added Almeida, albeit acknowledging the optimism that goes hand in hand with the closure of a site that has been a symbol of the health crisis in the Madrid region, the worst hit in all of Spain by the epidemic.

The most-applauded of the patients was Gloria, 52, who spent more than three weeks intubated and in intensive care

Around 4,000 people with the novel coronavirus have been treated at the Ifema convention center since it was opened, and Diaz Ayuso once again referred to the site as a miracle hospital. The installation was opened on March 21, and on Friday it saw its last five patients  four women and one man  discharged.

The most-applauded of these patients was Gloria, 52, who spent more than three weeks intubated and in intensive care. She left the hospital on Friday in a wheelchair, and still connected to an oxygen tank. Health workers clapped her and she even managed to stand for the minute of silence that the regional government observes every day in honor of the victims of the pandemic. The patient thanked all of those who applauded and managed to lift her arms and make a victory sign.

Another of the last patients to be discharged from the field hospital was Patrocinio, 73. Hidden behind a face mask adorned with large cartoonish red lips, as she began her journey home she expressed her best wishes for the staff who took care of her. I am sad for those youngsters around here who are on month-long contracts, she said. Lets hope that gets sorted out.

Madrid regional premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso at the closing ceremony today. Daniel Gonzalez (GTRES)

Not all of the health workers criticized the presence of the politicians, however. Some applauded as they passed by, or asked if they could have a photo together. It was very moving, said Patricia Abalos, an x-ray technician who has been working in Ifema since March 26, and on Monday will return to the Infanta Cristina Hospital.

The regional premier and the Madrid mayor spent some time on Friday behind the counter at one of the food trucks in the field hospital, which has become famous in recent days for its calamari sandwiches  a traditional Madrid snack. Ive spent all morning battering them, joked Ayuso, as she offered one of the sandwiches to the deputy mayor, Begona Villacis, of Ciudadanos (Citizens). Ayuso has been the object of much criticism this week for defending the menus that children whose families lack resources have been receiving in their homes since schools were closed, and are sourced from the Telepizza fast-food chain.

This is a fucking disaster, said a high-ranking official from Madrid City Hall as he entered the hall

The event was well attended, but the majority of medical staff did not enter hall number 7 at Ifema, which is where the official speeches took place. Dozens of people were trying to get into the area, prompting surprise among many that the social distancing of two meters recommended by the authorities was not being observed. This is a fucking disaster, said a high-ranking official from Madrid City Hall as he entered the hall, which had been used to house coronavirus patients.

A deputy for left-wing Mas Madrid, Monica Garcia, took to Twitter to voice her criticism of the Madrileno politicians for organizing an event with so many people, with her party calling it irresponsible. They have used Ifema and the hundreds of health staff who have worked their fingers to the bone as a propaganda tool, she wrote. Today was shameful. Today, Ayuso brought together a thousand people to bathe in the adoration of the public in the midst of the confinement, she added. Pablo Gomez Perpinya, spokesperson for Mas Madrid, used Twitter to call the event a shameful spectacle and a lack of respect for all Madrilenos.

English version by Simon Hunter.
White said he spends the bulk of his days focusing on the pandemic and that he has been advocating for his community for 17 years. Now is no different, he said. But he and his supporters also post photos and video of him distributing food and promote his campaign on social media under an #imwithtray hashtag.
Bhopal, May 2 : With 24 out of 52 districts placed in green zone, Madhya Pradesh hopes to witness a near normalcy in a large geographical area. The orange zone covers 19 districts.

Districts in which no new case has come up in 21 days are in the Green Zone. The districts where the number of cases is less than 10 and the number of positive patients are decreasing are placed in the orange zone. The list of districts will be updated weekly.

The nine Red Zone districts including capital Bhopal, the business capital Indore and a sizeable part of the west Madhya Pradesh and Jabalpur division would remain locked down.

Districts where corona infection is spreading and new patients are testing positive have been placed in the red zone.

The other districts in Red zone include Dhar, East Nimar, Barwani, Dewas and Gwalior.

Orange Zone - Khargone, Raisen, Hoshangabad, Ratlam, Agar Malwa, Mandsaur, Sagar, Shajapur, Chhindwara, Alirajpur, Tikamgarh, Shahdol, Sheopur, Dindori, Burhanpur, Harda, Betul, Vidisha and Morena. These districts can also join the green zone soon.

Khargone is a surprise inclusion in the zone as there has been as steady flow of positive cases through the past couple of weeks.

Green Zone - Rewa, Ashoknagar, Rajgarh, Shivpuri, Anuppur, Balaghat, Bhind, Chhatarpur, Damoh, Datia, Guna, Jhabua, Katni, Mandla, Narsinghpur, Neemuch, Panna, Satna, Sehore, Seoni, Sidhi, Umaria, Singrauli and Niwari.

The number of corona positive cases has continued to steadily rise in Indore. The confirmed cases touched the 1,513 mark in the city on Friday evening.

Four more died due to the virus till Friday evening taking the total to 72 so far. Health department authorities said 45 out of 72 patients who lost their lives were those who had various diseases including diabetes or blood pressure etc.

After the visit of the inter-ministerial Central Team, Indore has stepped up efforts to check the spread of the virus.

Principal Secretary of Medical Education Sanjay Shukla has asked the health department to conduct as many tests as possible.

In the review meeting, Shukla asked to work on medical infrastructure so that every kind of situation can be dealt with in future.

The 40 dead were aged between 50 and 70 years. The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology Pune to find out why there was a fatal spread of the disease.

The doctors felt the virus has mutated and has become more virulent raising fatalities. More than 60 per cent cases were asymptomatic.

They showed no primary symptoms like sneezing or coughing nor did they have a contact history. Eighty per cent of 1,485 did not show a serious effect of the disease. The average age of patients found in the city is around 57 years.

The high risk group was more vulnerable. This includes children younger than 5 years, pregnant women, the elderly and the sick.

According to CMHO Dr. Praveen Jadia, if the patient is suffering from another disease his immunity is compromised.
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Our original working knowledge was that this was a temporary thing, the chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, Janice Jackson, said at a Board of Education meeting last week. Its now been extended through the end of the year, and some of the models have us even planning  not planning, but realizing  the possibility that this may be the new normal even in the fall.
Well, looks like the reopening of Florida is going great, just great today.

Ron DeSantis opened Florida's beaches, and lifted other anti-COVID-19 restrictions throughout most of the state on Friday.

Friday is also the day Daniel W. Uhlfelder, a lawyer and resident in Walton County, launched his "Grim Reaper Beach Tour" of the state's beaches.

Here he is above, being interviewed on WMBB News 13.

Uhlfelder has been dressing up as The Grim Reaper in a hilariously shitty costume for a while now, and hanging out on beaches (social distancing!) to remind people that this shit is real.

Many of you have asked if I am willing to travel around Florida wearing Grim Reaper attire to the beaches and other areas of the state opening up prematurely. The answer is absolutely yes. Beginning May 1 we will hit the road here in state. Please retweet and spread the word. pic.twitter.com/UO7QKg161n  Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) April 22, 2020

He says he is doing this to draw attention to how dangerous coronavirus is, and how people aren't taking precautions seriously.

Uhlfelder says he is most worried about people from hard-hit areas of the South.

Uhlfelder launched a website where people can contribute to his tour.

Stay home Florida pic.twitter.com/MV4fyAXvwu  Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

More coverage from the Pensacola News-Journal, below.

How's reopening going in Florida, you ask? pic.twitter.com/PT6detKiYj  Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) May 1, 2020

[via @VeraMBergen]
"SatixFy has the privilege of being part of the change by designing innovative satellite communication terminals that will bring superior connectivity for airplane passengers, which will be similar to connectivity on the ground, as well as for ships, trains, and IoT applications.

An upcoming episode of Advancements with Ted Danson, scheduled to broadcast 3Q/2020, will focus on a complete ecosystem of satellite and communication technologies. Check local listings for more information.

In this episode of Advancements, audiences will learn about SatixFys next-generation satellite communication products and systems, which are based on in-house developed chipsets. With locations in Israel, UK and Bulgaria, the show will travel to learn how SatixFy develops its line of satellite communication modems with Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Electronically Steered Multi Beam Antennas (ESMA) to support the most advanced communication requirements.

Participating in Advancements is a great opportunity to educate different audiences about the evolving and exciting satellite communication industry, said Yoel Gat, the companys CEO. SatixFy has the privilege of being part of the change by designing innovative satellite communication terminals that will bring superior connectivity for airplane passengers, which will be similar to connectivity on the ground, as well as for ships, trains, and IoT applications.

The show will also explore how SatixFys Digital Beam Forming own-designed chip technology disrupts the satellite communication industry by creating the basis for digital electronically steered antennas, made for mobile platforms and for new and existing satellite constellations, both low orbit (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) satellites.

With satellite communication expertise and full development capabilities, SatixFy delivers cutting-edge terminals for a variety of mobile applications and services including its advanced multibeam electronically steered antenna arrays, said Will Mensch, producer for DMG Productions and the Advancements series. We are excited to explore this topic and share this information with our viewers.

About SatixFy:

SatixFy is the only vertically integrated company that provides products across the entire satellites communications (satcom) value chain. SatixFy designs its own silicon chips, builds its products, codes its software, and designs end-to-end systems for use in various applications and services, such as communication payloads, IoT, consumer broadband, in-flight connectivity, and more. The company leverages its research and development (R&D) and technical capabilities to design standard based communication products and systems with the most desirable qualities, such as higher capacity, lower power consumption, lower weight, and lower cost. For more information, visit: http://www.satixfy.com.

About Advancements and DMG Productions:

The Advancements series is an information-based educational show targeting recent advances across a number of industries and economies. Featuring state-of-the-art solutions and important issues facing todays consumers and business professionals, Advancements focuses on cutting-edge developments, and brings this information to the public with the vision to enlighten about how technology and innovation continue to transform our world.

Backed by experts in various fields, DMG Productions is dedicated to education and advancement, and to consistently producing commercial-free, educational programing on which both viewers and networks depend.

For more information, please visit: AdvancementsTV.com or call Will Mensch at 866-496-4065.
The latest:

President Donald Trump on Thursday outlined additional steps the administration will take to protect seniors from coronavirus.

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, the president said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will send supplemental shipments of personal protective equipment to all 15,400 Medicaid and Medicare certified nursing homes in America.

Trump also said that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will provide states with $81 million from the CARES Act to increase inspections of nursing homes.

Trump announced that a new rule will be finalized this week requiring information about coronavirus cases in nursing homes to be reported directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and testing data to be posted online. The new rule will also require nursing homes to report cases to residents and their family members.

The president also announced the formation of the Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes.

Trump said the commission will be made up of leading industry experts, doctors and scientists, resident and patient advocates and others. The commission will convene in May and issue recommendations for additional steps to protect seniors, he added.

Fauci says states have 'wiggle room' on reopening but notes each should be cautious

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, said Thursday evening it's important to give governors "wiggle room" on reopening their states, but cautioned they shouldn't "wiggle too much."

"The discretion is given to the governors. They know their states, the mayors know their cities, so you want to give them a little wiggle room. But my recommendation is, you know, don't wiggle too much. Try as best as you can to abide by the guidelines that were very well thought out, and very well delineated," Fauci said during CNN's coronavirus global town hall.

"Some of them are doing that, but others are taking a bit of a chance," he continued. "I hope they can actually handle any rebound that they see."

His comments come as more states plan phased reopenings of businesses and other gathering places. Over the next few days, at least 31 states will reopen and Americans will see a patchwork of approaches as the country attempts to move past the crisis phase of the pandemic.

Virus was 'not manmade or genetically modified,' intel community says



U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the novel coronavirus was not manmade or genetically modified" but say they are still examining whether the origins of the pandemic trace to contact with infected animals or an accident at a Chinese lab.

The statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, comes as Trump and his allies have touted the as-yet-unproven theory that an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak, was the source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.

In recent days the Trump administration has sharpened its rhetoric on China, accusing the geopolitical foe and vital trading partner of failing to act swiftly enough to sound the alarm to the world about the outbreak or to stop the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The new statement says, The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified."



Sobering jobless numbers released

Millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, as the coronavirus crisis continued to weigh on the U.S. economy.

First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 3.8 million in the week ending April 25, after factoring in seasonal adjustments, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

Without those adjustments  which economists use to account for seasonal hiring fluctuations  the raw number was 3.5 million.

That brings the total number of first-time claims to 30.3 million over the past six weeks  representing roughly 18.6% of the U.S. labor force  as businesses have laid off and furloughed workers during stay-at-home orders across the country.

After peaking at 6.9 million in the last week of March, claims have fallen each of the last four weeks  an encouraging sign that at least things aren't getting worse.



More than half of US states will begin reopening by end of the week

More than half of the United States will be partially reopened by the end of the week when many states' stay-at-home orders are set to expire.



Governors across the country have been announcing whether they will begin phased reopenings of their states when many of their orders expire this week or wait a few weeks more. At least 31 states will have loosened coronavirus restrictions by Friday.

Florida is among the states that will soon reopen. Its restaurants and retail shops can let customers inside, at reduced capacity, starting Monday. The change in restrictions will not apply to Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, home to about 6 million people.

"These counties have seen the lion share of the pandemic, but they are trending in a positive direction," Gov. Ron DeSantis said. "We are working with them and I do believe they will be able to move to phase one very soon."

West Virginia will allow dentists to go back to work Thursday. Restaurants, churches and professional services, like salons, can open on Monday, with restrictions, said Gov. Jim Justice.

But other states are waiting longer.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced in a news conference that he has extended the stay-at-home order for the state until May 15. And while California has a plan for a phased reopening, the state has no set end date for its stay-at-home order and Gov. Gavin Newsom said that reopening schools and businesses is still "weeks away."

Optimistic outlook on potential coronavirus treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to announce an emergency-use authorization for an investigational coronavirus treatment, remdesivir, the New York Times reported, citing a senior administration official.

The FDA said in a statement to CNN Wednesday it is in discussions with Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, about making the drug available to patients. Gilead's current supply of the drug could cover at least 140,000 treatment courses for coronavirus patients, CEO Daniel O'Day said Wednesday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, announced optimistic results of a remdesivir trial that began Feb. 21.

"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery," he said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Trump and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

But the researcher behind that trial told CNN that remdesivir is "not the end of the story" when it comes to treating the virus.

"We have work to do. We are looking for other therapies, this trial is going to continue," said Dr. Andre Kalil, the principal investigator for the clinical trial, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. "In medicine, it's never ending. We can always do better. And we want to do better."

The World Health Organization says 102 potential COVID-19 vaccines are in development around the world, according to documents posted on the organizations website.

Eight of the potential vaccines are approved for clinical trials. That is up from seven vaccines four days ago. The additional group is from China, but it is unclear if they have started trials on human study subjects. The other seven have.

Of the groups approved for clinical trials on humans, four are from China, one is from England, one is American and another is a combined American and European group.

The American National Institutes of Health trial was the first to start testing in human trial subjects on March 16.

Los Angeles offers free testing for residents

Health experts have said states should ramp up testing for coronavirus in order to safely reopen.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee referenced testing Wednesday when announcing that the state's stay-at-home order would remain in effect past May 4. Inslee said the state cannot reach its full potential of 22,000 tests per day.

"Unfortunately, because we don't have additional swabs in the viral transfer media ... we can only do about 4,600," he said.

The state's outbreak is disproportionately affecting the Hispanic community, which makes up 13% of the population, but represents 30% of coronavirus cases, Inslee said.

Meantime, Los Angeles began offering free coronavirus tests Wednesday night to all residents, Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a news conference. Los Angeles is now the first major U.S. city to make that offer to its residents.

There is no limit to the number of times an individual can request a test, and while symptomatic individuals are top priority, people can get tests without symptoms.

Garcetti initially said at the news conference that the testing would be open to city residents only, but according to a news release and the city's website, all Los Angeles County residents can sign up for a free test.

"We have the capacity, so don't wait, don't wander and don't risk infecting others," Garcetti said. "If you feel you need a test, get one. If you want to be safe, get one."

There are 34 testing sites across the city and county of Los Angeles, with a capacity to test 18,000 people per day. More than 140,000 people have been tested throughout those testing sites, according to Garcetti.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New Delhi, May 1 : Its been a month since Soni Gautam, who is expecting her first child, shifted to the government shelter camp near Anand Vihar. Now with the announcement by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ferry the migrant labourers back to their native places, she has gained hope.

Similar is the story of Guddu, a seven-year-old child, who is also stuck at the government shelter camp in Delhi along with his uncle. Now, he is happy that he shall be able to meet his father and mother back at home soon.

Seema Devi had arrived at the Ghazipur government shelter camp on March 29 along with her husband when rumour spread that buses were plying to ferry people back to their native place in Uttar Pradesh. However, they had to settle at the camp, set up in a government school.

Since then, she, and 365 other migrants, have been residing there.

Speaking to IANS, she said: "I am happy that finally we will be able to go to our home in Hardoi." Noting that the Delhi government had made adequate arrangements for them at the shelter camp and proper food is also being provided to them, she said: "Now I want to reach my home as soon as possible when the buses are arranged by the state government." Guddu said that he is happy that he shall meet his mother and father in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi.

His uncle Pramod Singh said: "His father and mother returned from the bus to Hardoi on March 26. We were also supposed to go back, but then suddenly all bus services were stopped and we were left stranded here." Asked how he spends his time at the government camp, Guddu said that he plays in the playground in the evening and during the day he spends time with other small kids in the camp.

Meanwhile, the migrants from Bihar urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to arrange buses for their return to the state.

Dharmendra Yadav, a resident of Darbhanga, who is also at the government shelter camp in Delhi, said: "We have heard that Yogi Adityanath is arranging for the return of their people from other states." "We also want to go back to our homes. We appeal to Nitish Kumarji to arrange for our return," he said.

Dharmendra said that he ran a rickshaw Delhi to earn his livelihood.

Dhananjay Yadav, a resident of Bhagalpur, said that they are waiting to go back to our homes.

He rued that many states have announced the transportation of their people from other states. "But we have not heard a single word from Nitish Kumar," he said.

Speaking to IANS, R Ravi Chandran, 56, who worked as an assistant scrutiny officer in the recruitment cell of the Delhi government's directorate of education (DoE) and is now currently the warden at the SKV school in Ghazipur, said: "As of date 365 people have been living at the shelter camp. And now these people have become homesick." Now with the announcement by the state governments, they are excited also to go back to their homes, he added.

Asked if any list is being prepared for the migrants' return, he said that they were not doing any such thing. "But we are getting calls from the Gram Pradhan and Sarpanches of the native villages of these people," he said.

Chandran, along with three other officials of the Delgi government has not taken a single day leave since March 24 after the lockdown was announced on March 23 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said that while the state government arranged for the stay of these people, "we arranged some small things for them by collecting money from fellow officers to meet their small demands like mobile recharges, face masks etc".

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)
China has no interest in interfering in US election, 'ready to deal with whoever in the White House'

Global Times

By Wang Qi Source:Global Times Published: 2020/4/30 21:07:31

After repeatedly scapegoating China for his administration's botched response to the coronavirus, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday took the finger-pointing game to a new level.

In an interview with Reuters, Trump said, "China will do anything they can to have me lose this race" and that making him lose to Joe Biden could ease trade and other pressures of Beijing.

The Chinese foreign ministry refuted the remarks, saying on Thursday that China has no interest in interfering in the US election. But Trump's statement indicated the growing tensions and how US politicians are fiercely competing in the "who's tougher on China" game to score points in the election.

Experts said Trump's strategy is to portray presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as "pro-China" to get more votes, and his tricks are "trite and corny." It's inevitable for US politicians - Republicans and Democrats - to play the China card in the election, given US anxiety over China's success in epidemic control and China's growing influence in the international community.

"Chinese people are very clear that both the Democrats and the Republicans have a strong stance and consistent strategies toward China, so there is not much a difference of who is the president. Trump just tried to stigmatize China to trap more voters," Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Li noted that the Democratic Party is also active in issues related to China. "China has mature strategies to deal with the US no matter who sits in the White House," Li said.

Trump has been actively blaming China amid the pandemic after the two countries have reached a historic agreement on a phase one trade deal, including accusing China of con-cealing the real infection numbers and smearing China's efforts in the epidemic control.

"For a long time, the US government has been trying to pass the buck and shift focus from their poor performance on handling its domestic COVID-19 outbreak. But the US' move will not erase China's achievement in combating the virus after arduous effort, and it only exposes the ulterior motives and problems of some US politicians," Geng Shuang, the spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

According to Li, some American elites feel threatened by China's growing power, especially its decisive ability and global impact in the fight against the pandemic.

Li predicted that American politicians would try even harder to contain China in the future given the short-sightedness of these American politicians.

A Shanghai-based international relations expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday that Trump's move serves his political interests rather than the interest of American people.

The strain of economic devastation caused by the epidemic far outweighed the cost of launching a trade war. The spat against both his election opponent and China was due to his incompetence and helplessness of saving people's life and economy, the expert said.

The US coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Tuesday, the first country in the world to pass the 1 million mark, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. CNN reported that the death toll in the US surpassed troop deaths in the Vietnam War.

As of April 20, China has provided the US with over 2.46 billion masks, nearly 5,000 ventilators, 29.2 million protective outfits, and 3.13 million pairs of goggles, media reported.

"Virus is the enemy of all human beings, and China is also the victim of the virus. We should work together, and some US politicians should know that their enemy is the virus, not China," Geng said.

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Warner RecordsAfter hearing a song called "Gotta Be Patient" written by Spanish artists Stay Homas while in quarantine, Michael Buble decided to put his own spin on the track with a little help from some friends.



He teamed up with Barenaked Ladies and Mexican artist Sofia Reyes on a new version of the song, with all of the proceeds going to various COVID-19 relief charities.



I couldnt get the song out of my head and the more I thought about it and despite the difficulties of putting it together with everyone isolating at home, I went for it, Michael says in a statement.



He adds, I reached out to Barenaked Ladies and Sofia, who agreed to come on board. The bilingual aspect, along with the songs message, was especially appealing since we are all in this together. Im reminded of that while going back and forth in English and Spanish with my kids daily. Seems like one big language.



Michael will donate his proceeds from "Gotta Be Patient" to the Red Cross in his native Canada and his wifes native Argentina. The Barenaked Ladies will donate their proceeds to Cultural Survival, which provides support to indigenous communities worldwide. Sofia will donate her proceeds to various Latin charities.



Stay Homas has been recording a new song each day from their Barcelona rooftop during quarantine.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Fri, May 1, 2020 13:08 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd55f8f3 2 Science & Tech Elon-Musk,jeff-bezos,NASA,moon,moon-landing,united-states,space Free

NASA on Thursday awarded almost $1 billion in contracts to three space companies including those owned by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to develop lunar landers as the United States seeks to return human beings to the Moon.

The human landing system contracts were given to Musk's SpaceX, Bezos' Blue Origin and Dynetics, who receive $967 million.

The three will compete against each other over the contract period, ending February 2021, when NASA will decide which of them will have an opportunity to perform demonstration missions.

"America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

"This is the first time since the Apollo era that NASA has direct funding for a human landing system, and now we have companies on contract to do the work for the Artemis program."

Read also: NASA sets launch date for SpaceX US manned mission to space station

The human landing system is one of the core elements of the Artemis mission, along with the Space Launch System rock, the Orion crew capsule headed by Lockheed Martin, and the Gateway, a small space station that will orbit the Moon.

The announcement comes as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 230,000 people since it first emerged in China late last year, and has ground the global economy to a halt.

Bridenstine said it was more important than ever for the mission to go forward.

"I want to say that it's important that this agency do this now, because our country, and in fact the whole world has been shaken by this coronavirus pandemic," said Bridenstine.

"And yet, we need to give people hope. We need to give them something that they can look up to, dream about, something that will inspire not just the nation but the entire world."
Shortly after lockdown began, two-year-old Bertie Brown developed a rash on his stomach and chest.

Over a video conference call, the toddlers GP concluded that it was a virus. But by the following day the rash had spread to Berties legs and was starting to go black. He also had a temperature of 42c.

Terrified, his mother Gemma, 38, a dental nurse from Droitwich Spa, Worcs, drove him to hospital, where Bertie had blood tests for sepsis and meningitis: they were negative.

Two-year-old Bertie Brown developed a rash on his chest after lockdown began and his mother Gemma rushed him to hospital when the rash started to go black on Bertie's legs

Bertie was the most poorly child in hospital, says Gemma. I tried to stay positive, but I thought at one point he was going to die.

Doctors in PPE kit said his condition wasnt related to coronavirus. I asked for him to be tested, as I had a gut feeling there was a connection, but they said they werent testing under-fives.

Instead, Bertie was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease  an illness that triggers inflammation in the walls of the blood vessels and is the main cause of acquired heart disease in children in the UK.

It made sense at the time, says Gemma. They also said there was no need to test Bertie because the treatment for Kawasaki was working.

Now, however, Gemma thinks differently.

In a highly concerning development for parents, this week NHS bosses wrote to GPs warning that children were falling ill with a combination of symptoms  many similar to Kawasaki and toxic shock (a bacterial infection)  including rashes, cardiac inflammation and gastrointestinal problems.

Bertie was first diagnosed with Kawasaki disease but now Gemma Brown thinks he has 'coronavirus-related inflammatory syndrome', but much of the syndrome remains unclear

Gemma Brown, pictured with Bertie and her other son George (right), was struck with the parallels between the syndrome and Bertie's illness after reading about it in the Mail

The significant alert  sent to GPs in North London by their clinical commissioning group and re-iterated by the Paediatric Intensive Care Society  said children with these symptoms should be referred as a matter of urgency.

Their illness has been called a coronavirus-related inflammatory syndrome.

Much about this syndrome is still unclear. But a number of children  at least 12  have become so ill over the past three weeks they have been admitted to intensive care.

Their blood tests have revealed severe inflammation similar to that seen in adult coronavirus sufferers.

Although children are believed to be largely unaffected by coronavirus  and, as such, are a low priority for testing  the syndrome is thought to be a post-infection inflammatory response to coronavirus, with gastrointestinal symptoms and cardiac inflammation caused by the immune system becoming overwhelmed.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock went so far as to say we have lost some children  although fatalities have not been confirmed  and described the syndrome as a new disease we think might be caused by coronavirus.

The Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, added: This is a very rare situation, but it is plausible that it is caused by the virus, at least in some cases.

It was only after reading about coronavirus-related syndrome in the Mail this week that Gemma was struck by the parallels to Berties illness, especially as she says her husband had been suffering from coronavirus symptoms before Bertie fell ill.

'I wish they'd tested Bertie': Doctors told Gemma his condition wasnt related to coronavirus and Bertie wasn't tested as 'they said they werent testing under-fives'

She also developed symptoms shortly after her son came home following five days in hospital.

I was shocked, says Gemma. I dont blame the hospital  they saved his life  but I wish theyd tested Bertie.

Doctors said Kawasaki Disease is your immune system attacking your body, and something happened for Berties immune system to go into overdrive: coronavirus could have triggered it.

Shes not the only mother convinced her child has had coronavirus-related inflammatory syndrome.

One-year-old George Cook was ill for five weeks from early March with symptoms, including red eyes, a rash, cough and fever, apparently baffling the doctors who saw him.

His mother, Melanie, 38, a part-time office administrator from Hull, says George was so poorly, her nine-year-old daughter, Suranne, feared for her brothers life, asking: Is he going to die?

Melanie Cook (pictured), 38, from Hull, believes her 21-month-old George showed signs of the syndrome in mid-March after he was diagnosed with conjunctivitis, cellulitis and scarlet fever

Different doctors told Melanie that her baby had conjunctivitis, then an infection called cellulitis and then scarlet fever.

But at the end of March, with a temperature of 39c, George was rushed to A&E at Hull Royal Infirmary, where he was monitored for eight hours.

I was relaying his history to the doctor there, and she said: I would say hes at the end of scarlet fever, says Melanie.

Hardly a conclusive diagnosis, and even after a fourth prescription of antibiotics, to which scarlet fever usually responds, it took another week for George to recover fully.

It was awful, says Melanie. He was diagnosed with so many different things. I am thinking about trying to get George tested to see if he has had Covid-19.

Yet tests arent always reliable. As was revealed this week, Lewis Greig, 14, tested negative three times for Covid-19 at Glasgows Royal Hospital for Children after developing a rash and red eyes last week.

A fourth test on Lewis, from Torry, Aberdeen, who was rushed to intensive care and has only recently been taken off a ventilator, finally proved positive on Sunday.

George was rushed to A&E where he took a week to recover. Melanie wants to try to get him tested for coronavirus as children have shown 'strange symptoms' that are not similar to adults

His worried mother, Karen Simpson, who says doctors werent initially concerned about coronavirus because Lewis didnt have a cough, stressed that children might show some strange symptoms which dont fit with the normal coronavirus symptoms.

Certainly, Sabrina and Steve Legge feel their GP should have helped their two symptomatic teenage sons, Dylan and Colston, get tested.

Last week, Dylan, 16, developed tummy pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and then chest pain. Six days later, Colston, 14, fell ill with similar symptoms.

After reading reports of a coronavirus-related syndrome, Sabrina, 42, a radiology assistant  a key worker  from Bath, called her GP at Comb Down Surgery on Monday.

She claims she was told: It doesnt matter what Matt Hancock says: we dont hand out tests willy-nilly.

Sabrina adds: Apparently the only way to get kids tested is if theyre admitted to hospital in intensive care.

She says that while Colstons symptoms were milder than Dylans, her elder son was doubled over in pain the majority of the time.

Two-year-old Jackson had been treated for Kawasaki disease in 2018 and as there are concerns coronavirus may trigger Kawasaki symptoms in those who have had the disease before

On Wednesday, Sabrina and Steve, 47, owner of a property maintenance firm, took matters into their own hands and ordered tests for their sons from the Governments website, which allows anyone with symptoms who lives with a key worker to apply.

I believe Dylan definitely had coronavirus, says Sabrina. Whether the tests we get will be too late, and whether it will show in his system, I dont know.

Sabrina believes her sons health should have been taken more seriously: I think the reason children arent being tested is because health officials believe theyre more resilient  but thats not the case. Kids are suffering.

A spokesperson for Combe Down Surgery wouldnt comment on the healthcare of individual patients, but wanted to reiterate the national guidance that any person with coronavirus-like symptoms must self-isolate for at least seven days, and should contact their GP if their symptoms persist for longer than a week.

They added: In most cases, children seem to be less susceptible to the effects of coronavirus than adults.

'However, we would encourage any parent who has a child suffering from an urgent or pressing health concern, such as chest pain and a persistent high temperature, to seek help by calling NHS 111 or  in the most serious cases  999.

Meanwhile, there are concerns that coronavirus may trigger Kawasaki symptoms in children who have already had the disease.

This is the belief of Kim Scott, whose two-year-old son, Jackson, began complaining of chronic tummy pain and developed a high temperature in mid-March.

The toddler had been treated for Kawasaki in 2018, so the familys GP said it sounded as though he had developed symptoms again.

Kim and Lewis Scott with their son Jackson and their daughter Rosie. Jackson started complaining of chronic tummy pain and a high temperature in mid-March

But Kims anxiety was exacerbated by the fear that Jackson might also have coronavirus, because of his combination of symptoms, including breathing problems. From day one I told my husband, Lewis, that I thought he had coronavirus, says Kim. It was a mothers instinct.

After two days Jacksons fever still raged at 38.9c, despite an antibiotic prescription. His eyes grew red as he gasped for breath at home in Congleton, Cheshire.

I sat by his bed, terrified, says Kim, 32, a carer for the elderly and disabled. After her third sleepless night, she dialled 999 at 5.30am.

When paramedics rushed Jackson to Macclesfield District Hospital, they also expressed concern he might have Covid-19.

But A&E staff said Jackson had mild tonsillitis, in addition to Kawasaki, and that there was no need to test him for coronavirus.

I thought my mothers instinct had been wrong, Kim says.

But since learning about coronavirus-related inflammatory syndrome, Kim says she is now 100 per cent sure coronavirus was to blame for Jacksons recent illness, even though, six weeks on, it could be too late to prove it.

Every child admitted to hospital with these symptoms needs to be tested, she says. We were so lucky Jackson recovered, but others have become seriously ill.

Jackson's GP said it sounded as though he developed Kawasaki symptoms again but Kim was worried he had coronavirus. A&E staff said he had tonsillitis and there was no need to test him

The UK Kawasaki Disease Foundation was this week keen to reassure parents, with founder Rachael McCormack stressing that, although this is clearly a very worrying time for families, the charitys Scientific Advisory Board has seen no evidence of any increased incidence or greater susceptibility to Covid-19 infection for children who have had Kawasaki disease in the past.

A disorder that affects around four in 100,000 children, Kawasaki has no simple diagnostic test like a blood test.

A diagnosis is normally suggested if children have at least four key symptoms, including a fever, red eyes and a rash, and is arrived at after tests have ruled out other conditions such as scarlet fever and meningitis.

Kims son Jackson was diagnosed with Kawasaki in September 2018, at 14 months old, after developing red eyes, a sore throat and fever. He was screaming in pain and then almost lifeless, says Kim.

In the childrens ward at Macclesfield District Hospital he was put on a 12-hour intravenous immunoglobulin drip  the most common treatment for Kawasaki  to inject healthy antibodies into his veins, reducing inflammation.

After a week, Jackson was discharged, although he was still reliant on daily aspirin to thin his blood and monthly heart scans to make sure there was no damage.

As Kawasaki affects the immune system, we were told it could reappear if Jackson caught an illness such as chicken pox or scarlet fever, says Kim.

The UK Kawasaki Disease Foundation was keen to reassure parents that the charity have seen no evidence of increased susceptibility to Covid-19 for children who have had the disease

So when the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK  the virus is also believed to attack the bodys immune system  Kim isolated her family as a precaution, prior to lockdown.

But in early March, Jackson had to attend Alder Hey hospital for a routine heart scan, which proved his heart was undamaged and he was signed off from hospital care. That evening Kim heard there was a Covid case at Alder Hey.

When Jackson began struggling to breathe ten days later, she remained at home with her daughter, Rosie, nine, while Lewis took Jackson to A&E, but he was sent home after four hours.

If a doctor tells you its not Covid, you accept that, says Lewis. But looking back, I think they should have tested him. I think he probably did have it, and it triggered his Kawasaki.

An East Cheshire NHS Trust spokesperson said they were unable to comment on individual patient cases due to confidentiality reasons, but added: Paediatric patients receiving treatment in A&E, but not requiring admission, are being tested for Covid-19 if they display symptoms. This approach has not changed since mid-March.

The UK has today announced 739 more coronavirus deaths, taking Britain's official fatality toll to 27,180

Dr Baylon Kamalarajan, a consultant paediatrician and Clinical Director for Paediatrics at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which treated Bertie Brown, told the Mail: Kawasaki disease is an uncommon but recognised complication of a number of different viral infections.

The treatment we give to a child with it would be the same whether it was the result of Covid-19 or another viral infection.

As for Bertie Brown, a month after his discharge from hospital, his rash has gone, but he still tires easily and is awaiting a heart scan to find out if there is permanent damage.

Gemma wants other parents to be cautious: If I can save one childs life by urging people to look out for symptoms such as a rash and a high temperature, it will be worth speaking out.

Certainly, if a child suffers such symptoms they should be taken very seriously whatever the cause.'
Detail from the Star Wars page on Disney+.

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Disney+ is getting a makeover in honour of Star Wars Day on May the Fourth.

The streaming platform is honouring the artistry of Star Wars with concept art takeovers on the service. Its the first design refresh for Disney+ since launch.

On Friday, 1 May, the services homepage carousel will feature Star Wars concept art from Ralph McQuarrie showing his 1975 painting of the droids in the desert. For the first time, fans will be able to navigate to a dedicated brand page directly from carousel art.

May the Fourth will see Disney+ honouring concept art from over four decades of the beloved saga. (Disney+)

On the Star Wars brand page itself youll find an adaption of character art from the Star Wars Celebration 2019 commemorative mural by Jason Palmer and other celebrated artists. Click the image below to enlarge.

May the Fourth will see Disney+ honouring concept art from over four decades of the beloved saga. (Disney+)

Michael Paull, President of Disney Streaming Services said: The unique brand-centric architecture of Disney+ gives us the opportunity to get creative with how we showcase and engage fans around the content.

Read more: Star Wars timeline explained

As part of the May the 4th celebration we partnered with the teams at Lucasfilm to honour the artistry of Star Wars and bring their vision to life on Disney+ by showcasing the incredible concept art from over four decades of the beloved saga.

May the Fourth will see Disney+ honouring concept art from over four decades of the beloved saga. (Disney+)

May the Fourth will see Disney+ honouring concept art from over four decades of the beloved saga. (Disney+)

The concept art takeover continues on May the Fourth with each film and series artwork updated to feature its original concept paintings. From Star Wars: A New Hope to The Mandalorian, the updated art will be available for the following titles:

May the Fourth will see Disney+ honouring concept art from over four decades of the beloved saga. (Disney+)

Skywalker Saga Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002 Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Rogue One

Solo

The Mandalorian

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (series)

Star Wars: Rebels

Star Wars: Resistance

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the ninth and final film in the Skywalker saga, will be available to stream in 4K on Disney+ on May The Fourth.

JJ Abrams film joins Disney+s May the Fourth line-up including the premiere of the eight-episode documentary series Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, and the series finale of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

The May 4th line-up follows the finale of the first season of The Mandalorian on Friday 1 May in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland.

Buy a Disney+ subscription

Disney+ subscription | 5.99 per month or 59.99 a year

UK consumers are also able to sign up for a seven-day trial to get a taste of the service.
The lowest paid lecturer is getting $19 000 and the highest who is the Vice Chancellor earns $55 000. Lecturers at most universities have a first degree and a Masters and these are qualifications that are common in many secondary and primary schools.
Hydroxychlorouquine, the malaria drug touted by Trump as a 'game-changer' for treating coronavirus, may impair the ability of patients' immune systems to fight off the infection, a new review suggests.

Harvard scientists analyzed a wide array of clinical trials as well as anecdotal reports from various doctors that suggested the drug could help coronavirus patient.

While early research documented the somewhat promising signs that the drug kept the virus from working its way into human cells in lab studies, the Harvard review found that many of the clinical trials were poorly conducted and anecdotal reports carried little weight.

It comes a week after preliminary results of a New York trial of hydroxychloroquine found that the drug has thus far failed to improve survival odds for the first 600 patients treated.

Harvard's review casts further doubt over the studies that generated such early excitement over hydroxychloroquine, but reserves the possibility that, with careful study and the right timing, the drug could help some patients.

A Harvard review of studies of hydroxychloroquine that generated excitement over the drug's potential for treating coronavirus found issues with each of the 10 trials - and its authors warn malaria treatment could suppress the immune system's ability to fight infection (file)

The Harvard team reviewed 10 studies of hydroxychloroquine and its relative chloroquine in humans that have been done so far.

Each of these has been referenced by other literature at least 34 times, although most have been small (the largest trial listed involved 181 patients).

Of these, four reported positive outcomes.

But the Harvard scientists found issues with each.

The first study involved more than 100 patients and deemed treatment with chloroquine 'superior' to the alternative (presumably, supportive care).

However, the study did not include information on the patients, such as their age, or details about their conditions.

One of these studies that first drew international attention and excitement was done in France, and found that people who were treated with hydroxychloroquine were able to clear the virus more quickly than those who didn't get the drug.

But the study's publisher, the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, later claimed it was not conducted well enough to meet the journal's standards.

The story was much the same for the other positive studies: One had as its metrics improving cough and fever - which don't necessarily mean that the infection has been cleared - the other did not meet its 'primary outcome,' and patients taking the drug showed signs of liver problems.

Other studies included had negative or neutral results, ranging from one simply showing that patients treated with the drug fared no better than those who didn't get hydroxychloroquine to another that was halted after patients developed dangerous side effects.

The study's lead author, Dr Mark Poznansky, a Harvard professor and Massachusetts General Hospital physician who treats coronavirus told DailyMail.com bluntly: 'There is no clear evidence that hydroxychloroquine helps in moderate to severe [coronavirus] disease.'

He explained that the 10 studies in his review were not conducted by the gold standard, making their results unreliable at best.

After endorsements from Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, searches for buying hydroxychloroquine were up 1,389% (above)

'The way forward is paved by carefully constructed trials with a clear rationale for doing them, as opposed to a widespread at-the-door use of hydroxychloroquine,' Dr Poznansky said, referring to the sense of urgency for all patients to be treated with the drug in case it might work following some of the more publicized trials.

There just haven't been any trials for hydoxychloroquine that follow this model, involving a control group and careful data collection from a sizeable patient group.

At least, 'not yet,' said Dr Poznansky.

One is underway in the US - the ORCHID trial - and involves at least 510 participants and is happening at multiple locations, including Mass Gen.

But more importantly, Dr Poznansky says the drug could actually be impairing the ability of coronavirus patients' immune systems to fight the infection.

'The bigger point is that hydroxychloroquine has been around for a while, for decades, and the immune effects are actually known and that's why it's used, other than malaria, in lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients - it's used as an immunosuppressive drug,' he said

'The literature suggests that hydroxychloroquine could actually reduce your immune antiviral response.'

Hydroxychloroquine's effects on the immune system could work for or against patients' ability to fight off the virus.

On one hand, if it blocks the activity of some immune cells, like T cells, it could make it harder for the body to rid itself of infection.

On the other, hydroxychloroquine might help quiet the 'cytokine storm,' an off the rails immune response that may trigger dangerous inflammation that ultimately kills patients.

'It's a push-pull for the immune system: doing enough damage to control the infection and not doing damage to your own tissues,' says Dr Poznansky.

'In more severe disease, you see concern about inflammatory disease which makes them potentially worse, so when you throw an immune modulator like hydroxychloroquine into the mix you're modulating what the virus might be doing to make you feel worse and what the immune system might be doing to make you feel worse.

'Down-regulating [the immune system] might actually release the virus from the control of your immune system, but if your immune system is more excited and doing more damage then an immune modulator like hydroxychloroquine might work.'

But the problem is that, right now, doctors don't know which category patients fall into, or when.

And careful study is needed to work that out, rather than beginning to use the drug 'based on opinion alone of a drug for a particular condition,' says Dr Poznansky.

'Medical history is littered with medication that people had an opinion about and considered to be revolutionary, but turned out to be problematic from the point of view of safety and efficacy.'
The Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) recently released its portfolio updates for the first quarter of 2020, which ended on March 31.





Founded in 1984, the fund has been investing globally in health care-related stocks with the aim of long-term capital appreciation for over 30 years. Portfolio manager Jean Hynes, who has been advising the fund since 2008, chooses stocks based primarily on balance sheet strength, good management teams and product pipelines that show high potential for consistent profitability and growth.

At the end of the quarter, the fund consisted of holdings in 89 stocks valued at $39.63 billion. The top holdings were UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) with 5.72%, AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) with 5.49% and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) with 5.28%.

Based on its investing criteria, the fund sold out of its holdings in CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE:TEVA) and Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE:TDOC) during the quarter. It also established new holdings in six stocks, the most significant of which were Penumbra Inc. (NYSE:PEN) and PPD Inc. (NASDAQ:PPD).

CVS Health

The Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) sold out of its 11,436,465-share position in CVS Health, which had a -1.82% impact on the equity portfolio. Shares traded at an average price of $67.09 during the quarter.

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CVS Health is a health care company that owns the CVS Pharmacy retail pharmacy chain, as well as Aetna (a health insurance provider), CVS Caremark (a pharmacy benefits manager) and several smaller operations. It is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

On May 1, shares of CVS Health traded around $59.35 for a market cap of $77.62 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 11.73. The Peter Lynch chart suggests that the stock is likely trading around its fair value.

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GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 5 out of 10, a profitability rating of 8 out of 10 and a business predictability rating of five out of five stars.

The cash-debt ratio of 0.09 is bottom-tier for the industry, and the Altman Z-Score of 1.9 suggests that the company could encounter financial difficulties.

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The operating margin of 4.87% is lower than the industry median of 5.5%. Return on invested capital surpassed weighted average cost of capital again in full-year 2019 after tax law changes negatively impacted 2018 results.

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

The fund exited its 62,898,811-share stake in Teva Pharmaceutical, impacting the equity portfolio by -1.32%. During the quarter, shares traded around an average price of $10.27.

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Teva Pharmaceutical is a multinational pharmaceutical company with dual headquarters in Israel and New Jersey. The company has a wide variety of drug research and development pipelines in the categories of generics, specialty therapeutics and biopharmaceuticals.

On May 1, shares of Teva Pharmaceuticals traded around $10.10 per share for a market cap of $11.33 billion. The company has reported net losses every year since 2017.

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The company has a GuruFocus financial strength rating of 3 out of 10, a profitability rating of 6 out of 10 and a business predictability rating of one out of five stars.

The cash-debt ratio of 0.07 is lower than 91% of competitors, and the current ratio of 0.98 also indicates a weak cash position. The Altman Z-Score of 0.27 suggests that the company could be in danger of bankruptcy within the next two years.

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Although the operating margin of 16.24% is higher than 76% of competitors, the number marks a decline from previous years. The ROIC and WACC have also declined, reflecting a downsizing in operations.

c186bd89f1717352c8e5a19f1db8ea72.png

Teladoc Health

The fund also sold all 1,462,938 of its shares of Teladoc Health, which had a -0.26% impact on the equity portfolio. Shares traded at an average price of $115.45 during the quarter.

f24e29d2fadc462ec7e9ff94b3d005e0.png

Teladoc Health is a multinational telemedicine and virtual health care company based in Harrison, New York. It allows users to connect with health care providers for online appointments, which can often be timelier and more convenient that going to see a doctor in person, especially for at-risk patients.

On May 1, shares of Teladoc traded around $167.13 for a market cap of $12.36 billion. Revenue has increased every year since the company went public, though it has yet to turn a net profit.

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GuruFocus gives Teladoc a financial strength rating of 5 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 3 out of 10.

The cash-debt ratio of 1.1 and equity-to-asset ratio of 0.63 are higher than the industry medians, while the Altman Z-Score of 12.88 suggests that the company is not likely to go bankrupt.

257c78b15d2f95a57e61ef93a884fb1e.png

The operating margin of -13.34% is lower than 81% of other companies in the industry. The ROIC is also in the negatives, with a gap of more than 10% between it and the WACC.

66204f5f9b256ffeb8b70026b0d5c8d7.png

Penumbra

The fund's biggest new buy was for 414,598 shares of Penumbra. The trade had a 0.17% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $168.63.

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Penumbra is a California-based medical devices company that focuses on innovative neuro and vascular therapies to address challenging medical conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and brain and body aneurysms.

On May 1, shares of Penumbra traded around $171.45 for a market cap of $6 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 129.5. According to the Peter Lynch chart, the company is trading higher than its intrinsic value but lower than the historical median valuation.

af943769f89023e277f0215c9dbdac0a.png

GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 7 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 7 out of 10.

The Altman Z-Score of 22.05 indicates that the company is in almost no danger of bankruptcy, and the equity-to-asset ratio of 0.73 is higher than 70% of competitors. The cash-debt ratio of 2.3 is above the industry median of 1.55.

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The ROIC of 14.55% exceeds the WACC of 5.52%. The company has shown strong growth in terms of revenue and net income in recent years.

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PPD

The fund also established a new holding of 3,307,722 shares in PPD, impacting the equity portfolio by 0.15%. During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $25.27.

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Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, PPD is a global contract-based research organization that provides drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services to help clients streamline every stage of getting medical products to market.

On May 5, PPD shares traded around $22.05 for a market cap of $7.62 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 138.74. The stock price is down approximately 6% from its initial public offering price of $27 in February of 2020.

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The cash-debt ratio of 0.06 is lower than 91% of competitors, while the equity-to-asset ratio of -0.49 and the current ratio of 0.86 also indicate potential financial weakness.

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The operating margin of 12.14% and return on capital of 36.23% place the company ahead of 66% of competitors. The company's brief history has produced a three-year revenue growth rate of 12.9% and a three-year earnings per share (without non-recurring items) decline rate of -34.2%.

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Disclosure: Author owns no shares in any of the stocks mentioned. The mention of stocks in this article does not at any point constitute an investment recommendation. Portfolio updates reflect only common stock positions as per the regulatory filings for the quarter in question and may not include changes made after the quarter ended.

Read more here:

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Caterpillar Loses Momentum as 1st-Quarter Volumes Decrease







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A man has been charged with the murder of a woman who went missing in January last year.

Susan Waring, 45, went missing from Darwen, Lancashire, and police confirmed in March last year her disappearance was a murder investigation.

A Lancashire police spokesman said Alan Edwards, 47, of Blackburn Road in Darwen, had been charged with her murder.

Alan Edwards, 47, has been charged with the murder of Susan Waring, 45, (pictured) who went missing from Darwen, Lancashire in January last year

He was initially arrested last March and released under investigation.

The force said Edwards, who was re-arrested on Wednesday, had also been charged with 12 offences of assault, two wounding offences, an indecent assault against a girl aged under 14, one offence of making threats to kill, four counts of rape and one offence of causing a female aged 13 or over to engage in a penetrative sexual activity.

Ms Waring's body has never been found and Edwards was due to appear before Preston Magistrates' Court on Friday May 1

The alleged offences relate to three women and one girl between 1998 and 2019, the force said.

Edwards was due to appear before Preston Magistrates Court on Friday May 1.

Ms Waring was initially thought to have last been seen at about 10pm on January 30 last year, leaving an address on Blackburn Road.

But police said the last corroborated sighting of her was at a doctors surgery on James Street West on January 16.

Her body has never been found.

She is described as being around 5ft 5in, of small build, with brown eyes and collar-length curly brown hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident reference 0359 of April 29.

You can also report online at mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020119E01-PO1 or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
WINCHESTER  Scott County will not prosecute those who were to violate the states stay-home order, States Attorney Michael Hill said Friday.

Although Hill acknowledged he does not have the authority to allow businesses to reopen and was not suggesting people ignore common-sense guidelines on social distancing, he said he would not prosecute anyone charged with violating the order.
Britains financial watchdog said on Friday it would urgently ask the courts to clarify uncertainty over whether businesses can claim compensation for disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also told all insurers to assess whether they should be giving partial policy refunds during the pandemic.

A national lockdown to fight the pandemic has forced many companies in the UK to temporarily suspend operations and furlough staff.

We have been clear that we believe in the majority of cases business interruption insurance was not purchased to, and is unlikely to, cover the current emergency, FCA interim chief executive Christopher Woolard said in a statement.

However, there remain a number of policies where it is clear that the firm has an obligation to pay out.

The FCA said it had written to a small number of firms to ask if they were declining business interruption claims. It said it would seek a response by May 15 and then consider which firms to ask to join the court process.

However, the FCA said the court action  which industry officials said was a first in insurance by the regulator and could save years of costly legal battles  would not determine how much could be payable under individual policies.

Lloyds of London insurer Hiscox is among firms that have come under pressure from small businesses to pay out for business interruption, along with, AXA, QBE and Zurich.

QBE said it had received a letter from the FCA on Friday. AXA said it would work closely with the FCA, while Zurich said the FCA move would provide clarity for customers. Hiscox and RSA did not respond to requests for comment.

Broker Willis Towers Watson estimates UK insured losses for business interruption, together with event cancellation, could total up to $14 billion in relation to the pandemic, depending on policy wordings.

Business interruption policies can be worded in 100 or more different ways, industry sources say.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said it would support any process that will provide clarity and certainty for the minority of customers who are disputing whether they should be covered.

The ABI said most policies did not cover pandemics and noted that the UK government had confirmed it would not seek to retrospectively change contracts.

Eight U.S. states have introduced legislation which would require insurers to pay claims, mainly to small businesses, despite exclusions.

Mel Stride, chair of the UK parliaments Treasury Committee, welcomed the FCAs move and urged insurers to pay businesses that should be paid, or risk damaging the sectors reputation.

Alistair Handyside, executive chair of The Professional Association of Self-Caterers, said many members believed they were covered and he would be sending a report to the FCA.

Premium Refunds

In guidance that will come into effect in mid-May, the FCA suggested insurers could help struggling customers with premium payment holidays or the waiving of administration, cancellation and missed payment charges.

Insurers will also have six months to check whether their products still deliver the benefits promised, the FCA said.

For example, it said boiler cover insurers may not be able to offer the annual service included in many policies, while liability insurance may not currently be relevant to businesses such as hairdressers, bars and restaurants that are closed.

Insurers could refund some premiums or suspend monthly payments for a certain period of time, the FCA said.

Motor insurer Admiral last week said it would refund 110 million pounds to customers, following rebates made by top U.S. motor insurers.

Allianz-owned LV= said on Friday it would refund 30 million pounds ($38 million) to car and motorbike insurance customers in financial difficulties.

Hastings said it had made price reductions and was considering more, while Direct Line said it was being flexible with customers, including offering payment holidays for those in financial difficulties.

($1 = 0.7997 pounds)

(Additional reporting by Muvija M., editing by Kirsten Donovan and Susan Fenton)

Related:

Topics Carriers
Beijing has hit back on world leaders like U.S. President Trump who with others have accused China of its complicity and demanding them paying for all the harm caused by the coronavirus.

In recent day, countries like Germany, Australia are asking for reparations and full admonition of China's misdeeds since the virus has ravaged many nationals all over the world.

Le Cheng, China's Executive Vice Foreign Minister, told NBC News in an interview, called the demands as "preposterous" and present a "political farce."

He defectively stated that China has no hand in the coronavirus, and reparations are not covered by any law. He added,"There is no international law that supports blaming a country for simply being the first to report a disease."

In one of his briefings, Trump demanded China on a Tuesday to pay the US for coronavirus damages, but said the final amount will be forthcoming and yet to be decided.

According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he stated that "other countries are also launching investigations into China's early handling of coronavirus and demanding compensations - and he dismissed Le's comments as 'classic communist disinformation."

He added in a Fox & Friends interview last Wednesday, "What the Chinese Communist Party did here and not preventing the spread of this around the world they're responsible for, America needs to hold them accountable." He stressed that Beijing is the culprit, no one else.

He mentioned Australia, other countries joining the US, demanding that China submit to an investigation and face consequences for its duplicity and aggressive disinformation to mislead the world.

Also read: Wuhan Lab Scientists Reportedly Created Coronavirus to Be Lethal to Humans, Russian Scientist Says

The U.S. state department made it clear the virus alleged to have originated from Wuhan, is deliberately homogenized to deflect Chinese involvement. He stressed the truth will help the situation from happening, but the Chinese are resistant to revealing the truth.

Le, in an interview, re-calibrated his initial tone in prior statements and said investigations will be welcome, but said to keep it free of conspiracy theories.

"We do not oppose normal communication and mutual learning between scientists," he said. "What we do oppose is arbitrary investigations based on the presumption of China's guilt. That is something we firmly oppose."

He then said that cooperation between scientists is acceptable (earlier foreign scientists were not allowed in China, except those connected with the WHO), the only objection is pointing fingers at China's secrecy over the coronavirus mess.

Trump's initial tone of praise has been changed as the coronavirus mess has killed many people, and that led to him chastising China for its negative actions. China's secrecy and the disappearance of those opposed to Beijing over the past few months were assailed, during the outbreak.

Le said that China has not covered anything up and did not cause any delays. He also added that Trump is merely politicizing the virus..

Another statement by Le said the pandemic is of natural causes, and Beijing has a right to object to paying damages at all. In other words, the Chinese government will not acknowledge these demands.

China's continues deflections and re-writing the narrative by crying 'blackmail' and denying a charge of making the pandemic, also paying for it is the current stance.

Related article: Fact Check: Did Coronavirus Begin at Wuhan Market with Pangolins as Intermediate Hosts?

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Member of Parliament for Krachi East constituency, honourable Michael Yaw Gyato, has donated over 60,000 cartons agrochemicals to farmers within the constituency.

The agrochemicals according to the member of parliament for the area have been procured through the one-district-one-million dollars initiated by the Akufo-Addo government.

According to the member of parliament, agriculture is the chief occupation in the constituency the need to present the farmers with the agrochemicals to boost farming activities adding that he has also used his common fund to purchase tractor for women in n agriculture in the Krachi East constituency

Presenting the items to some farmers at Kparekpare in the Krachi East Municipality, the member of parliament admonised the farmers not to politicize the gesture and also called on them to guard against vote buying in this electioneering year.

The farmers expressed joy after receiving the agrochemicals and promised to utilize them for their intended purpose.

In a related development, the member of parliament has also presented 200 dual desks and 129 white marker boards to the municipal director of education, madam Georgina Mensah for onward distribution to all basic schools in the constituency

According to him, all schools in the Krachi East constituency will soon move from chalkboard system to whiteboard system to facilitate academic activities.

He said the desks have been procured through GETFUND.

Director for education for Krachi east who received the items thanked the Member of Parliament for the gesture and said it has come at right time and it will go a long way to facilitate academic work in the constituency.

Present member of parliament was flanked by the Municipal Chief Executive for Krachi East, Patrick Gyirimah, director of education, madam Georgina Mensah and some dignitaries from the Krachi East constituency.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 13:57:16|Editor: huaxia

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KIGALI, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda said on Thursday that it will relax its full-day travel ban from May 4 as a way to revive its economy hit hard by the novel coronavirus.

"Our economy has been hit already and we are looking at mobilizing resources to inject into our economic system so that it returns to normal," Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on Monday.

The projected economic growth for this year has been downgraded to an estimated 3.5 percent, Kagame added.

From next week, the movement of individuals will only be prohibited from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time, according to a statement released by the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday.

Businesses can resume with necessary workers from next week, and markets can reopen for essential vendors not exceeding 50 percent of registered traders, said the statement.

Besides, hotels and restaurants will be permitted to run by 7 p.m. local time, and individual outdoor sporting activities will also be allowed next week, it said, adding that people should wear masks "in public at all times.

However, cross-province transportation will still be banned, and the country's borders will not be open, it said.

Rwanda, which imposed a strict lockdown on March 21, has reported 243 COVID-19 cases with 104 recoveries as of Thursday evening. Enditem
[May 01, 2020] Nuveen Closed-End Fund Online Resources

Nuveen announced today that its closed-end fund information and all other closed-end fund product updates can be found on its enhanced closed-end fund resource page on the Nuveen.com website. As previously announced on March 29, 2019, Nuveen has discontinued the practice of announcing routine closed end fund distributions via press release. Shareholders can access regular distribution information on the closed-end fund resource page on the first business day of each month. Nuveen continues its commitment to sharing timely and accurate information regarding closed-end funds with investors. Our enhanced resource page will streamline the communication and information sharing process by consolidating all important distribution and fund update information in one place. To ensure that our shareholders have access to the latest information, timely distribution and fund updates can be subscribed to at https://www.nuveen.com/subscriptions, under the closed end funds tab of the Product Documents section. You can also follow updates by navigating to the Closed-End Fund section of our Resource Center, located at https://www.nuveen.com/resource-center.



While Nuveen will continue to issue press releases for certain closed-end fund product actions, regular monthly and quarterly distribution information are no longer disseminated via press release. For more general closed-end fund information and education, please visit Nuveen's closed-end fund website.

About Nuveen Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1 trillion in assets under management as of 31 March 2020 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com. Nuveen Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC. The information contained on the Nuveen website is not a part of this press release. EPS-1170866PR-E0520X View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005476/en/

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Turkey deployed US-made HAWK missiles to Idlib: Syria's UN envoy

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 8:06 AM

Syria's UN ambassador has once again denounced Turkey for defying Damascus and intensifying its "illegitimate" military presence in the Arab country, saying Ankara's forces have deployed US-made missiles to Syria's militant-held Idlib Province in a flagrant violation of international law.

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session on the situation in Syria via a video link on Wednesday, Bashar al-Ja'afari said Ankara had deployed medium-range surface-to-air MIM-23 Hawk missiles to Idlib.

"The Turkish regime didn't stop at violating its obligations according to the understandings of Astana, Sochi and Moscow, and supporting the terrorist organizations, but it reinforced its illegitimate military presence on the Syrian territories through bringing in convoys loaded with weapons and heavy equipment every day," said Ja'afari.

He called on the 15-member UN body to oblige Ankara and other states that sponsor terrorist groups in Syria to end such support and instead help Damascus in its counter-terrorism efforts in order to complete the reconstruction process in the Arab country.

The Syrian diplomat added that any foreign military presence in Syria without authorization from the government in Damascus amounts to aggression and occupation.

He further urged the UN to support the Syrian government in its efforts to complete the reconstruction process, eradicate terrorist groups and reach a political solution to the ongoing conflict without any foreign meddling.

Syria is determined to adhere to its sovereignty and territorial integrity and will not abandon its firm resolve to liberate its occupied territories whether the occupiers are Americans, Turks, Israelis or terrorist organizations, stressed Ja'afari.

Ankara has recently beefed up its military presence in the militant-held Syrian region despite a ceasefire reached last month to halt an escalation.

On March 5, Russia and Turkey, which support opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, came to an agreement on the ceasefire regime in Idlib, where Turkish aggression against the Syrian government had earlier risked starting a war.

The ceasefire came a few months after the Syrian army launched an anti-terror operation against foreign-sponsored militants after they failed to honor a de-escalation agreement between Ankara and Moscow.

Ankara, which itself supports a number of anti-Damascus militant outfits in Idlib, claims that Syrian offensives there have killed dozens of its troops. It has threatened to attack the Syrian military unless government forces abandoned the liberated areas, and asked Moscow to "stop" Damascus.

Turkey has, meanwhile, sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Idlib in an unprecedented incursion to back the militants.

Damascus, though, has vowed to liberate entire Syria, including Idlib, which remains the last major bastion for foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists in the country.

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Marks & Spencer has re-stocked its hugely popular 9.50 NHS charity t-shirt beloved by Holly Willoughby and Amanda Holden after the first batch sold out within hours of its release.

The navy and white cotton t-shirts feature a colourful rainbow design or the 'All in this together' slogan, and are available in sizes from age two to fit the whole family.

It comes as the much-loved t-shirts sold out within hours of being released last week, with one purchased every second, making it the fastest-selling t-shirt in the retailer's 136-year history.

Those who missed out last week can now order the top online with the retailer re-stocking thousands on its website and more to come over the next few weeks.

Sweet: Holly Willoughby took to Instagram last Thursday to share a sweet snap with her son Chester, who she seldom features on social media

For every t-shirt sold, 3.55 profit plus VAT goes towards supporting frontline staff through NHS Charities Together.

Last week, This Morning presenter Holly donned a matching navy rainbow top with her son Chester, five, in an adorable Instagram snap.

Holly, 39, looked fresh-faced in the photographs as she beamed for the camera while showing just a hint of Chester's smile and their matching tops.

Adding a lengthy caption on the shot, the This Morning presenter penned: 'Me and Chester wearing our @marksandspencer "All In This Together" charity tshirt.

'All profits going to the NHS Charities Together, supporting the amazing NHS staff and volunteers who are working so tirelessly.

Britain's Got Talent judge and M&S ambassador Amanda Holden has been pictured in the white All In This Together rainbow t-shirt

'Show your appreciation and support too, I've put the link to it in my stories. I'm a proud M&S Ambassador so I am not posting this as an ad, but because it's lovely #allinthistogether #nhs'.

And joining Holly in showing her support for the frontline heroes, Britain's Got Talent judge and M&S ambassador Amanda Holden has also been pictured in the white All In This Together rainbow t-shirt.

The sustainable short-sleeved tees are priced at 9.50 for adult sizes and 8 for children's sizes.

The All In This Together design features the slogan in the colours of the rainbow across the whole t-shirt, with another a men's version bearing the motif on the left-hand side.

Reaching out: Adding a lengthy caption on the shot, she penned: 'Me and Chester wearing our @marksandspencer All In This Together charity tshirt'

It was created by the retailers womenswear and kidswear designer, Elizabeth Wilcox.

The other popular design named The Clapping Rainbow is also available on a navy or white background and and was created by M&S Menswear Designer, Miriam Sucis.

The rainbow clapping hands with the hashtag 'All in This Together' represents the weekly Clap for Our Carers which takes place across the country every Thursday.

Children's sizes can be found from age two to three up to age 11-to-12, and also feature the 'All in this Together' motif in navy and white.

The All In This Together design features the slogan in the colours of the rainbow across the whole t-shirt with a men's version bearing the motif on the left-hand side. The Clapping Rainbow, is also available on a navy or white background and and was created by M&S Menswear Designer, Miriam Sucis.

Children's sizes can be found from age two to three up to age 11 to 12 and also feature the 'All in this Together' motif in navy and white

Jill Stanton, Director of Womenswear & Kidswear at M&S said: 'Thank you to everyone in the M&S Family who has got involved in our fundraising efforts for our incredible NHS heroes.'

She added: 'We're really excited the T-shirts are back online now with more planned for the coming weeks as we continue to show our support for our NHS.

'We cannot wait to see thousands of customers taking part in #ClapForOurCarers in their 'All in this Together' T-shirts.'

Alongside the t-shirts, M&S has launched introduced a new specially-designed 10p bags for life with all proceeds going towards NHS Charities Together.

And the retailer has also donated thousands of branded T-shirts, 4,000 pyjamas to be used as scrubs and will start a free food delivery service for workers at the St Mary's Hospital, Paddington and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Womenswear and kidswear designer, Elizabeth Wilcox designed the All In This Together motif (left). M&S Menswear Designer, Miriam Sucis designed The Clapping Rainbow (right)
Hyderabad, May 1 : The issue of Covid-19 testing is building up to a political slugfight between the ruling TRS and the opposition BJP in Telangana.

Launching a counter attack, Telangana's Health Minister E. Rajender on Friday asked the BJP to explain why it permitted the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi to take place, in the first place.

He was responding to the BJP state President Bandi Sanjay's recent allegation that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government stopped Covid-19 tests in view of Ramzan.

Laying the blame at the BJP's doorstep for the spread of coronavirus to various parts of the country, the minister said the BJP acted irresponsibly to allow the meeting at Markaz or Tablighi Jamaat headquarters.

"The Delhi Police are in your control. The law and order is in your hands. Why did you allow people from other countries to gather at Markaz despite the fact that coronavirus was spreading in various parts of the world," asked Rajender at a news conference.

Pointing out that the visiting team from the centre, has praised the state for its efforts in containing coronavirus, the Health Minister said the BJP was unable to stomach the praise, and is raising doubts about the findings of the central team.

"Don't you want the state to come out of coronavirus situation? Do you want the lockdown to continue? Do you want to see people continue to suffer?" Rajender asked the BJP leader.

The minister said that neither the BJP's efforts to communalise the issue nor the Congress' attempts to politicise the issue, would succeed in Telangana.

Rubbishing the opposition allegations that Covid-19 tests are not being done, Rajender claimed the state is strictly following the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

He declared that the number of Covid-19 cases came down due to the effective steps taken by the state government.

Stating that the state successfully identified and tested 1,244 people who attended Markaz meet and traced 10,000 of their contacts, Rajender said if the state had not done this it would have the largest number of cases in the country.

"If lockdown was not implemented properly, we would have become another Kurnool or Guntur," he said referring to Andhra Pradesh districts which reported a large number of cases.

He claimed that it was Telangana which alerted the country about the Jamaat, when 10 Indonesians who had come to Telangana by train after visiting the Markaz, were identified and tested positive on March 16.

The Health Minister however conceded that 90 per cent of 1044 positive cases in the state are linked to Markaz attendees or their contacts.

He also revealed that when police and health personnel were trying to trace 1,244 Markaz attendees they came under attack. "Those people were saying that 'we don't have any symptoms' but we said 'Nothing. you have to cooperate'. Out of these 1,244 people, over 250 tested positive," he said.
The Electoral Commission of Ghana must inform Ghanaians about its preparedness for the 2020 general elections, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has said.



He told journalists on Thursday, 30 April 2020 that the election management body must also provide its roadmap for the elections amid the coronavirus pandemic.



The Constitution requires that presidential and parliamentary elections be held this year, even as we struggle with COVID, the Tamale South MP said, adding: The independent Electoral Commission created under Article 45 of this Constitution owes this country and Members of Parliament an explanation.



They have to be summoned to give us their roadmap as to their preparedness, he insisted.



The EC, he stressed, needs to appraise this House on their level of preparedness for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary election.



If we cannot get them to brief the Committee of the whole, they have to come to the Special Budget Committee, Mr Iddrisu noted.



The EC was supposed to have started its registration exercise for a new register of voters on 18 April 2020 but had to suspend it indefinitely as a result of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, which has, so far, killed 17 out of the 2,074 with 212 recoveries.



Last weekend, there was a controversy between the EC and opposition MP Sam Nartey George, who together with some supporters of the NDC, besieged an alleged workshop organised by the election body.

Source: classfmonline.com









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Government has expressed disappointment at rating agency S&P's decision to downgrade South Africa's sovereign rating amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on Wednesday night, government said it noted the decision by the rating agency to lower South Africa's long term foreign and local currency debt ratings further into non-investment grade to 'BB-' and 'BB' respectively.

"Government is disappointed by S&P's decision to downgrade the sovereign rating at a time when South Africa is facing one of its most challenging times. Government welcomes, however, the revision of the outlook to stable from negative, and considers this an indication that the agency at least recognizes some of government's fiscal and monetary policy measures as strong points," said government in a statement issued by National Treasury.

The agency revised the outlook to stable from negative.

According to S&P, the downgrade is a result of COVID-19 related pressures that will have significant adverse implications for South Africa's already deficient growth and fiscal outcomes.

The stable outlook reflects the balance between pressures related to very low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and high fiscal deficits against the country's deep financial markets and monetary flexibility.

In addition, government continues to prioritise measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, aimed at containing the spread of the virus and further acknowledges the negative impact COVID-19 has had on economic activity.

Treasury said government has announced a fiscal package amounting to R500 billion in responding to the pandemic.

In addition, on 23 April President Ramaphosa announced a gradual reopening of the economy from 1 May 2020, under strict conditions.

"This means that some businesses will be allowed to resume operations subject to extreme precautions to limit community transmissions and outbreaks. Now, more than ever, structural reforms need to be urgently implemented in order to get the economy moving in the right direction."

It added that tough decisions have to be made and collaboration between government, business, labour and civil society remains vital in order to contain the spread of the virus and ensure sustainable economic recovery.
The United States condemns Russia's militarization of the Crimean peninsula and its interference with navigational freedoms in the adjacent maritime areas.

U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE James S. Gilmore said this during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, April 30, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The United States condemns Russias militarization of the Crimean peninsula and its interference with navigational rights and freedoms in the adjacent maritime areas, including in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, which threaten our common security," he said.

During his speech, Ambassador Gilmore once again stated that the United States condemned Russias latest round of conscription in Crimea, which violates international law. "We call on Russia, we demand that Russia end immediately its campaign of forced conscription in occupied Crimea, as well as its other abuses, and return control of the peninsula to Ukraine," he said.

"The United States fully supports Ukraines sovereignty, its independence, and its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters. We do not, nor will we ever, recognize Russias purported annexation of Crimea," the ambassador added.

ish
Photo taken on April 30, 2020 shows flower beds to celebrate the upcoming International Labor Day at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping extended sincere greetings to the country's workers of all ethnic groups on Thursday, encouraging them to contribute more to combating COVID-19 as well as promoting economic and social development through their hard work.

Xi made the remark when writing back to the staff of a service-oriented private company in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, ahead of International Labor Day, which falls on Friday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the employees of Yuanfang Group, guided by the company's Party committee, have been committed to their posts as cleaners and doormen since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Many of them voluntarily asked to be sent to hospitals in Wuhan to provide assistance in the country's hardest-hit region, he said, praising their contributions for fighting the virus with actual deeds.

Faced with the sudden outbreak, millions upon millions of workers in China, from front-line medical workers to those participating in epidemic prevention of all sorts, from sanitation workers to delivery workers and those who produce epidemic prevention materials, have poured their efforts into fulfilling their tasks and remaining quietly dedicated, Xi said.

Noting that greatness and heroes come from the ordinary people, Xi encouraged the country's working people to maintain firm determination, stay motivated, overcome difficulties and continue to do extraordinary work in their positions.

Among the 60,000 employees of Yuanfang Group, there are more than 500 Party members. Recently, Xue Rong, the company's Party secretary and also a delegate of the 19th CPC National Congress, wrote a letter on behalf of the staff to report to Xi how they have stuck to their jobs and actively participated in epidemic prevention work.

They also expressed their resolution to share responsibility and overcome the current difficulties in the country.

By MO JINGXI
On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that his states economy will begin to reopen on Monday, May 4, excluding Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, where the rate of coronavirus infection is highest. The move comes as reports emerge that Florida officials are suppressing lists of COVID-19 deaths being compiled by medical examiners across the state.

A Tampa Bay Times report on April 11 showed that the Florida Department of Healths count of COVID-19 deaths was inaccurate and missing 10 percent of those recorded by medical examiners. This was due to the fact that the health department is only counting deaths of people who claim residency in Florida, which is well-known for having a regular population of snowbirds and other seasonal residents numbering in the hundreds of thousands who only live in the state for part of the year.

Shortly after this exposure, the Florida Department of Health said that the list being published in real time by the Medical Examiners Commission needed to be reviewed and possibly redacted. The medical examiners list has now been withheld by state officials for nearly two weeks.

Dr. Stephen Nelson, the chairperson of Floridas Medical Examiners Commission, told the Tampa Bay Times that state officials plan to remove causes of death and case descriptions. Without that information, the list is meaningless. This is no different than any other public record that we deal with. Its paid for by taxpayer dollars and the taxpayers have a right to know.

Under Florida law, all medical examiner officers in the state are required to investigate and certify all coronavirus-related deaths. Nelson told reporters that the commission has compiled lists of fatalities during every state emergency since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and that these have always been made public.

This is not the first time that state officials have tried to block information about COVID-19 deaths. In March, the Miami Herald reported that the medical examiners office in Miami-Dade County was asked to restrict access to its death records. The county ignored the request and released the records, which included the names of those who died. Last week, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner was directed by county attorneys to stop releasing a spreadsheet of its COVID-19-related deaths.

When asked why state and county officials are seeking to suppress such information, Albert Moscoso, a spokesperson for the state health department cited privacy concerns for the individuals that passed away related to COVID-19. This declaration of privacy concerns is being used to hide and falsify health statistics with a definite political aim: to underplay the severity of the pandemic and convince workers in Florida to put their lives and those of their loved ones in danger so that corporations and banks can continue to exploit their labor for profits.

Governor DeSantis is moving to reopen the state next week as part of the nationally-coordinated move to put workers in harms way spearheaded by President Donald Trump. Echoing the detestable platitudes of Trump, DeSantis stated: Florida will take a step. Small, deliberate, methodical, and based on consultation with some of our greatest physicians, towards a more helpful future.

Florida has seen a consistent number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported over the past two weeks, with daily peaks of over 1,200 each Thursday and over 11,000 total, which account for about a third of the 33,193 positive tests reported in the state so far this year. For Tuesday alone, the day before DeSantis announcement, 83 people were reported dead from COVID-19 in Florida, the largest daily number reported in the state so far.

Thomas Unnasch, co-director of the Center for Global Health Infectious Disease Research at the University of South Florida, told WUSF Public Radio that it is not possible at present to determine whether cases have peaked, due to the lack of testing data. We will really not know if were past it until we actually see a week or two of steadily declining case numbers across  the entire state before we can really say were on the downslope.

The bulk of the deaths in Florida have been among people aged 55 and older. The state health department reported that 1,313 residents in long-term-care facilities (LTC) have tested positive for coronavirus and that 1,263 staff members at such facilities have also tested positive.

During a recent press conference, DeSantis flagrantly stated that Florida is ground zero for the nursing home; I mean were Gods waiting room. This phrase is a decades-old derogatory joke about Florida due to its popularity with retirees that sums up DeSantis and the American ruling class attitude toward the COVID-19 pandemic in the state and nationwide.

Phase One, according to DeSantis, will be reopening retail stores and restaurants at 25 percent capacity, with eateries allowing people to sit outside and maintain social distancing, and resuming elective surgical procedures. Schools, bars, gyms, hair salons, nursing homes and long-term care facilities are to remain closed, but libraries and museums will be allowed to open at 25 percent capacity with local government approval.

DeSantis says that large gatherings of more than 10 people should be avoided, but were not going to fine people if theyre not doing it. This toothless directive means that churches and other organizations that have controversially tried to keep their doors open during the pandemic will be free to do so, despite the efforts of local and county officials to stop such gatherings from occurring.

Last week, Florida received the highest number of unemployment benefit claims of any US state. According to the US Department of Labor, 432,465 initial claims for jobless benefits were filed in Florida, slightly fewer than the half million claims submitted the previous week. Since the middle of March, more than 2 million jobless claims have been filed in the state, but only 835,000 have been verified and only 404,000 have been paid benefits.

Reports are emerging that many were denied unemployment benefits due to a glitch in the application process. Some workers who were deemed ineligible for state benefits but who are still eligible for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits were not able to submit their claims through the website. Rather than contacting those who were wrongly denied, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is forcing such applicants to reapply.

This means navigating the states website, which has caused a host of problems for Florida workers. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber has been openly critical about Floridas Unemployment Assistance Program, which he says was essentially set up, unfortunately, to be stingy, to be cumbersome and to not really give out employment checks. The State of Florida has been really unforgivable when it comes to unemployment benefits.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), James Oppong-Boanuh, has commended the courageous men and women of the Police Service for their relentless contribution towards national development.



Their dedication to maintaining peace and ensuring that the society was free from crime could not be overlooked on the special day for workers, he said.



The IGP was addressing personnel of the Service, on Friday, to commemorate International Workers' Day.



"I wish you a happy celebration, though with the nature of the work, you cannot stay home to enjoy the holiday," he stated, and assured them of the Administrations support to execute their duties efficiently.



IGP Oppong-Boanuh, therefore, encouraged them to continue to ensure that Ghanaians became free from COVID-19 and criminals.



He urged the citizenry to support the Police by staying indoors if they did not have anything important to do outside.



The IGP expressed his contentment with the continuous support from the citizenry, especially, from family and friends in the course of their work.



Ghana annually joins others around the globe to celebrate workers' achievements. This year's theme is "COVID-19 in Ghana: Impact on Employment and Working Conditions".



Also known as May Day or Labour Day, it is observed every May 1, by the working class to recognise their hardworking.



In the 19th Century when industrialisation was at its peak, employees were asked to work for 15 hours in a day; but on May 1, 1886, the United States Labour Union voted to go on strike and demanded that the hours be reduced to eight.



Members of the Union also asked for paid holidays, fair salaries and breaks during working hours.



The Day is, therefore, to also commemorate the continuous struggle for workers rights.

Source: GNA









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A growing number of new cancer drugs have come on the market in recent years, yet the cost of therapies in Europe and the United States have risen. This is driving up healthcare costs, which poses a challenge not only for the Swiss social insurance system, but for patients all over the world. But are the high prices of cancer drugs justified? Does the cost correspond to the particular drug's effectiveness in combating the disease? An international research team from the University of Zurich and Harvard Medical School carried out a study to examine these questions.

Cost comparison of 65 cancer drugs

The scientists -- led by Kerstin Noelle Vokinger, professor at UZH -- analyzed the costs of cancer drugs in Switzerland, Germany, England, France and the United States. The prices of 65 new oncology drugs to treat solid tumors and various types of blood cancer were adjusted to calculate the monthly treatment costs for a standard patient.

In a second stage, the researchers investigated whether there is a link between monthly treatment costs and the clinical benefit of cancer drugs for solid tumors. The effectiveness of the drugs, which had been approved by the US and European licensing authorities (the FDA and EMA, respectively), was calculated using two well-established systems for evaluating the clinical benefit of cancer therapies: the American Society of Clinical Oncology Value Framework, and the European Society of Medical Oncology Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale.

No correlation between cost and benefit

"Our study clearly shows that, in general, for Switzerland, Germany, England and the United States, there is no association between clinical benefit of a cancer drugs and their prices," explains lead author, Kerstin Vokinger. Only for France a correlation could be found based on one of the clinical benefit assessment systems. "It's also clear that the prices of cancer drugs in the US are significantly higher than in the four European countries, with Americans paying on average approximately twice as much for the same drug."

This is because drug pricing in the US is dictated by the free, unregulated market. In Europe, on the other hand, national authorities negotiate prices with manufacturers. From the European countries analyzed in the study, Switzerland has the second-highest prices after England, while the same drugs are cheaper in Germany and France. It must be kept in mind, however, that NHS England benefits from non-public discounts on certain drugs, so the actual prices may be lower than the official list prices.

Drug prices are not justified

"The pricing of cancer drugs is only partially justified. Drugs that are less effective should be cheaper than those with high efficacy," the UZH professor says. "National authorities should take greater account of the clinical benefits of drugs when negotiating prices, and therapies that provide high clinical benefit should be prioritized in price negotiations." Vokinger firmly believes that this is crucial in order to guarantee patients access to key cancer drugs since countries have only limited financial resources.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 17:36:49|Editor: huaxia

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WUHAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province will lower its novel coronavirus emergency response from the highest to the second-highest level starting May 2, a local official announced Friday.

Prevention and control measures against the epidemic will also be adjusted following the downgrading of the emergency response level, Yang Yunyan, deputy governor of Hubei, said at a press conference.

After more than three months of precise and tight prevention and control, the virus spread is "basically cut off" in Hubei, Yang said.

"The unprecedented emergency measures during the initial phase have basically cut off the spread of the novel coronavirus," Yang said. "In line with national regulations and the provincial contingency plan, Hubei has basically met the condition to lower the emergency response level."

No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Hubei Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday.

This marks that Hubei, the once hardest hit Chinese province, has had no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 27 consecutive days since April 4.

Hubei was cleared of confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday. Enditem
press release

Remarks by African Union Chairperson President Cyril Ramaphosa at the virtual meeting with AU Regional Executive Communities Chairs

Your Excellencies,

Allow me to express my deep gratitude to you, the Chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities of the AU, for availing yourselves to discuss the scourge of COVID-19 on the continent.

We are confronted with an unprecedented public health crisis, which poses a real existential threat, with far-reaching socio-economic consequences.

While the numbers of infections in Africa at this time is lower than elsewhere in the world, we expect that the peak of infections in Africa will come later, with devastating consequences.

We are concerned about the impact the virus will have on our societies, our economies and our public health systems.

To effectively protect our people against the coronavirus, we urgently need more health workers, medical supplies and equipment, including ventilators.

The AU has undertaken various measures to contain the spread of the virus and to mitigate the economic fallout that will be caused by the virus.

In my capacity as AU Chairperson, I have hosted two virtual meetings of the Bureau of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government.

Among other things, the Bureau agreed on the establishment of the AU COVID-19 Response Fund, a drive to raise additional funds for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and intensive lobbying of the international community, including the international financial institutions, for a comprehensive, robust economic stimulus package for Africa.

To date, we have managed to raise $25 million for the Response Fund and an additional $36.5 million to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

We have also appointed five African Union COVID-19 Special Envoys to follow up on pledges, mobilise further international support and campaign for international participation in the AU's COVID-19 economic intervention.

The five envoys are Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, Dr Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda, Mr Tidjane Thiam of Cote d'Ivoire, Mr Trevor Manuel of South Africa and Mr Benkhalfa Abderrahmane of Algeria.

I will soon be announcing the appointment of a special envoy from the Central African region.

We have addressed the virtual Summit of the G20 and a virtual joint meeting of the World Bank and IMF, underscoring the need for a comprehensive, robust economic stimulus package for Africa.

In these engagements we have called for, among other measures, the allocation of more Special Drawing Rights Allocations to Africa to provide much-needed liquidity to central banks, the corporate sector and SMEs.

We also argued for a waiver of all interest payments on multilateral and bilateral debt. This would provide the necessary fiscal space for African governments to devote all available resources to response and recovery.

This economic injection should support both the continent's immediate humanitarian needs and place the continent on a path towards economic recovery.

We further emphasised the need to ensure trade and investment flows are not further disrupted by measures inconsistent with WTO rules.

On Thursday last week, I chaired a successful video conference meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly with 21 African business leaders to obtain their support for the AU COVID-19 Strategy.

The meeting expressed its full support for a two-year debt standstill and a proposal to develop a plan for the restructuring of both private and bilateral debt. It was further stressed that grants from the World Bank to the poorest countries must be additional to what had already been planned.

In general, the response from the international community has been positive with various partners making pledges, offering debt relief measures and providing concrete support in the form of medical supplies.

We have been greatly assisted by the work of the World Health Organization.

We call on all African countries to unequivocally support the WHO and its Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

We should welcome the initiative by the WHO, together with many heads of state, to work together to accelerate the development of new vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19 and ensure equitable access worldwide.

I call on all African countries to support the pledging initiative that starts on 4 May and which is spearheaded by the European Union to mobilise significant resources towards this effort.

I would like to commend the work of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which is at the centre of the continent's health response to COVID-19 and which is doing great work to assist Member States.

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There is also an urgent need for economic sanctions against Sudan and Zimbabwe to be lifted, in order to provide the necessary space for these countries to devote their resources to the fight against COVID-19.

At this time, it is also vital that we intensify efforts to end all forms of violence, destabilisation and terrorism on the continent. If we are to be successful in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, we need to work even harder to silence the guns - and to ensure that they remain silent.

In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge the commendable efforts of African leaders in their respective countries to contain the virus and adopt measures to mitigate against its economic impact.

It is clear that this virus knows no borders or nationality.

In our response, it is therefore essential that we remain guided by the principles of unity, solidarity, collaboration and cooperation among African countries.

Working together - as leaders, as AU members states and as Regional Economic Communities - I have no doubt that our people will be spared from the worst effects of this global crisis and we will be able to place our continent on a path of recovery and reconstruction.

I thank you.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:19:39|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, May 1 (Xinhua) -- India's federal health ministry Friday evening said five new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 322 positive cases were reported since morning across the country, taking the number of deaths to 1,152 and total cases to 35,365.

"As on 5:00 p.m. (local time), today 1,152 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," reads information released by the ministry.

According to ministry officials, so far 9,065 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement. "The number of active cases in the country right now is 25,148," reads the information.

Friday marks the 38th straight day of ongoing lockdown across the country announced by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The Indian government has divided districts across the country into green, orange and red zones. As per government order, local governments and district administrations through focused efforts are required to ensure that the districts where cases have come up can break the chain of transmission through effective and stringent containment measures.

Meanwhile, home ministry has issued an order to allow the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons, stranded at different places across the country, by special trains to be operated by railways.

On Friday, the first special train carrying 1,200 migrant workers was allowed to ply from Telangana to Jharkhand amid nationwide lockdown. Enditem
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Half of all Americans have felt the economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic that has shut down much of the country, but a heavy majority want testing and remain wary of reopening restaurants, schools and sporting events, according to a National Public Radio/Marist University poll released Wednesday.

The survey found that twice as many Americans, 64%, approve the job done by their governors in dealing with the novel coronavirus than the job President Trump is doing, 32%.

A poll is a snapshot in time, but findings from Marist and other surveys indicate that President Trump is in serious political trouble six months out from the 2020 election.

The economic hurt was felt by just 18% when Marist polled a month ago. Now, 50 percent say they or household members have lost a job or found themselves with reduced work hours as a result of the pandemic. A total of 27 million Americans have applied for unemployment assistance in the past four weeks.

The pandemic is hitting hardest at people of color, young people, those without college degrees and low wage workers. Sixty percent of non-whites report impacts on themselves or household workers, versus 43% of whites.

"There are few households in the country that haven't been affected by the coronavirus, through health, through school, through jobs, from all walks of life, all backgrounds: No one has really gone untouched," said Barbara Carvarillo of Marist.

The pandemic has, Carvarillo added, shown the lack of safety net for many middle and low-income Americans.

The initial upward "bounce" of approval for President Trump, at the start of the pandemic, has receded. Forty-four percent of those polled approve of how the 45th President has handled the pandemic, while 55% disapprove -- the disapproval numbers up 6% from a month ago.

Trump does get 50% approval on his overall handling of the economy -- long seen as his ticket to reelection -- but that number is buttressed by approval from almost 9 of 10 Republicans. Solid majorities of Democratic and independent voters disapprove.

Back-to-work sentiment, even in a hurting America, is limited. Eighty percent or more want expanded testing before such gatherings of people as restaurant meals, school attendance, or major sporting events resume in America. Two thirds don't want the country to physically return to workplaces without widespread testing. Republicans do favor returning to work.

Men, 52%, are far more approving of how Trump has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty-three percent of women disapprove of the job being dome by the 45th president.

Sixty-four percent of college graduates disapprove of how Trump is handling the novel coronavirus, while 50% of those without a college degree give a thumbs up to the president's performance.

He may be operating out of a basement rec room in Wilmington, Delaware, but ex-Vice President Joe Biden is preferred over Trump -- by a 55-40% margin -- for handling the novel coronavirus, and by a 51-44% margin for handling the economy.

The NPR/Marist poll was taken April 21-26 and surveyed 1,008 voters. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

RELATED:
The long wait for going home got



over for 332 migrant labourers stranded in Nashik in Maharashtra with a special Bhopal-bound Shramik train leaving here at 9.30 pm, Central Railway officials said.

These labourers had been kept in various shelters in the district after lockdown to contain coronavirus came into effect.

District collector Suraj Mandhare, commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre-Patil and deputy collector (shelter management) Nitinkumar Mundaware were present to bid adieu to the laboures at Nashik Road station.

A Shramik special train from Nashik to Lucknow was also supposed to depart, butdue to issues related to permissions, its departure is still undecided, an official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Education is a merit good. Countries spend huge sums of their revenue on education. Research abound on the impact of education in relation to poverty alleviation. Empirically, education is the mechanism that is used to transform economies. It is therefore not surprising that most countries in the developing world are seriously pursuing the knowledge economy agenda. This scientifically explains the numerous interventions that governments over the years have made in the Ghanaian education sector. Paramount among them is the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy which sought to open access to thousands of students who would genuinely not have had access to secondary education due to financial constraints.

Though lots seem to have been carried out in the education sector, the advent of COVID-19 seems to have revealed some endemic problems in our educational system. The closure of schools in the country has affected close to 10 million students at all levels of the education ladder. To mitigate the impact of the closure of schools and ensure continuity in learning coupled with prior experience from previous pandemics in other countries, government through the Ministry of Education rolled out different forms of interventions. These include providing free online library services, online learning platform (icampusgh.com) and virtual learning being aired on various television and radio station in the country. Again, the Ministry has facilitated the zero-rating of most educational platforms for most of the tertiary institutions in the country. This intervention is meant to ensure that the cost of data does not serve as a hindrance to any student who would want to access online education in Ghana. These interventions are all geared towards the objective of ensure that, academic work is carried out during the period of the pandemic.

Despite these efforts by the Ministry, our development trajectory has made it practically impossible for all students to benefit fully from these interventions. This is because, the extent of digital divide in the country is so huge that, even the provision of zero-rated online educational platforms will mean nothing to majority of students who do not have access to any electronic device to benefit fully from this intervention. Also, most students and teachers are not technologically savvy to be able to utilize these platforms fully. This brings to the fore the concern that, as a people we have a penchant for policy sloganeering instead of policy robustness. A country with an ICT policy in education which also rolled out a policy of one laptop per child between 2009 and 2012 should not be struggling to reach the masses of students when it matters most. But characteristically of us, we politicized the distribution of the laptops and did not pursue the policy after some time. Consequently, in 2020, most of our students in sub-urban and rural Ghana are finding it difficult to join their colleagues to access various e-learning platforms.

Again, until recent developments, our educational system had been built solely on examinations. The 9 or 12 years of education of the child meant nothing if he/she fails the Basic Education Certificate Examination or the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) respectively. This mode of assessment has created a dilemma, I dare say, in the minds of all relevant stakeholders as to the way forward for our students since we are at the end of the academic year and students would still have to progress to the next level of their educational journey. Globally, three models have been adopted by various countries depending on their unique circumstances to circumvent the issue of school examination and progression during this period. These models are: Cancellation of examinations, Postponement of examinations and Reviewing of the examination format. Countries that philosophically place much emphasis on the total educational journey of the student have resorted mostly to Models 1 and 3 (Cancellation of examination and Reviewing of examination format). For instance, in Norway, examinations have been cancelled for students in both junior high and high school. This was made possible since written exams forms only 20% of the final grading of the student. In Northern India, students from grades 1  8 will be progress to the next level without any examination. In the USA, SAT has been cancelled leading to the review of the admission criteria for entering the universities whereas emphasis has been placed on the students course work and other relevant modalities.

In Ghana however, there is still uncertainty as to the way forward since we have adopted model 2. The question is; for how long would these examinations be postponed? It is true that, WASSCE is a sub-regional examination and hence a determination would have to be made by the examination body, however, one would want to ask, what proposals have the government and the Ministry in charge of education made to the relevant authorities as to the unique way we would want to handle this in our education sector. Clarity and a clear cut roadmap with feasible timelines would help students, parents and all relevant stakeholders plan accordingly (this should be carried out bearing in mind the challenges of the school placement process and various timelines in our educational system). There have been proposals to aggregate the 30% school-based assessment used by WAEC for grading students. I must say that, this proposal by all standards, violate the principles of assessment as espoused by experts because of issues of standardization, reliability, validity, clarity, significance etc. which mostly might lead to under-prediction of grades especially for students of disadvantaged backgrounds.

The proposal would therefore be to adopt Model 3 and review the examination format for BECE candidates focusing on the core subjects and resorting to an online examination well-structured to meet the needs of all candidates. Their scores coupled with the assessment from their schools can be used to place them for their secondary education. This can easily be done since the principal focus of that examination is for placement. For those writing WASSCE, the principal objective of that certificate is continuation to tertiary institutions. It will therefore be prudent for the universities to review their admission process and introduce an entrance examination for those who would want to continue their education. The certificate can be awarded when issues normalize for all students after they have sat for that comprehensive examination. The advantage will be that, students will be ready for the next level of their education and would not have to wait for their certificates. These are proposed to ensure that, the already distorted academic calendar does not exacerbate.

For tertiary education, the surest way is for the various tertiary institutions to revamp their online education platforms and reach their students who are residential and non-residential. The Ed-tech take off propelled by COVID-19 should be embraced by our institutions of higher learning. The Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) should be thinking of providing additional support to students to enable them own the digital devices needed for their learning. The proposal is to open up a request form for students who would need such digital devices (android phones, laptop, etc.) to apply for and be supplied with, as part of their student loan.

The educational sector is hit also from the front of the private schools setup. Most private schools have not been able to pay their staff and some have even resort to downsizing and termination of appointment of teachers. Recently, the private schools professional body appealed to government to assist them with a stimulus package to enable them meet their recurrent expenditure. Though this is a call in good faith, adherence to it is likely to open the flood gate for all others in the private sector to also seek for support from the already tight government revenue. It is therefore advocated that, government should facilitate so that these private schools can access financial support from both local and international institutions on the basis of their ability to repay within a reasonable timeframe. I would also appeal to parents who still owe fees to redeem themselves. One way that these private schools can continue to ask for an agreed school fees from parents would be to find ways of engaging the students online. This even though not novel, would help them come to some agreement for an amount to be paid for such services rendered.

Change is difficult. However, when the opportunity presents itself, authorities should gladly take advantage of the circumstances and effect the needed change. This is the time to redefine education in Ghana. We have lagged in our quest to use technology in our educational system. While most educational institutions globally were quickly switching to their various online platforms to enable them continue to deliver education to their students, we are yet to fully achieve same. A call to our policy makers to be guided by the principles of equity and fairness in rolling out policies bearing in mind the level of disparities in our society should never be in vain after life return to normalcy. Our social support systems are weak and that is what might lead to our total destruction and not a pandemic.

The writer is an education economist, researcher and curriculum expert and currently the Acting Executive Director of the Institute of Education Studies (IFEST), an education think tank in Ghana.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 18:49:19|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique's ambassador to China Maria Gustava praised the mutually beneficial aid between the two countries as a long-term symbol and a witness to brotherhood and friendship, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The brotherhood between China and Mozambique has been formed since the early days of Mozambique's liberation struggle. The two sides have never stopped helping each other and shared weal and woe in the 45 years," she said.

She said when the outbreak hit China, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi promptly sent a message of solidarity and consolation, and the Mozambican government and its people from all walks of life also responded to and participated in the initiatives to support China.

While the pandemic hit Africa, China spared no effort to assist its African "brothers" who have suffered from a shortage of health resources. In addition to the assistance from the Chinese government, Huaxi Village in eastern China's Jiangsu Province donated medical supplies. Many Chinese companies and individuals also helped.

"I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our special thanks to the Chinese government, Jack Ma Foundation, Huaxi Village, and several other Chinese enterprises, which have supported us with health materials," she added.

The support will greatly contribute to the Mozambican government's efforts to mitigate the devastating effects of COVID-19, she said, adding that Mozambique also faced multiple challenges related to the epidemic and needed help from abroad.

"I would like to pay tribute to China and its people for their efforts and determination against the pandemic, as well as their selfless assistance to people around the world," she said.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and also coincides with the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Mozambique and the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Mozambique.

In terms of the progress made in the relationship with China over the recent period, the ambassador described it as "joyful and festive." She said she hopes that the two countries can deepen and expand the cooperation between the governments and enterprises and promote exchanges between the peoples as well as training on human resources by implementing the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) under the framework of the FOCAC while delivering the agreements into concrete results.

On the matters relating to the epidemic control measures in south China's Guangdong Province concerning Africans, Gustava expressed appreciation for the high attention of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the prompt response of the local government to the concerns from the African side.

"These measures show the seriousness and transparency of China in dealing with the issue," she said, noting that China is an indispensable partner for Africa and their profound friendship is based on the principle of respect and equality.

The ambassador said she believes that on the basis of understanding and cooperation, China and Africa can well address the issue and avoid a few individual cases from affecting their traditional friendship and cooperation.

She also stressed equality and mutual respect in the fight against the pandemic. Enditem
Joe Biden's pre-campaign got off to a bad start, at least in his diagnosis of the problems in Cuba, Venezuela and Latin America. The veteran politician is proposing to return to the facile policies of the Bush Jr era; while for George W. the priority was to curtail remittances and trips, for Joe there is only one plan: to restore Obama's "normality". And his plan to lift sanctions against the Havana and Caracas regimes is disappointing for exiles who do not agree with Donald Trump's domestic policy.

For the record: I never opposed the reopening of embassies, or the facilitation of visas (except those that favored repressors and their families), or the presidential visit to Cuba (provided that it met certain requirements, and complied with them), among other reasonable measures.

The worst mistake of the Obama era was blindly believing that less hostility would mean a higher quality of life for Cubans. No, it did not. It takes two to tango.

How many technology companies managed to set up shop in Cuba? How many independent Cuban businesspeople managed to import/export from/to the US? How many private buildings, businesses and residences were built or renovated with US funding? In agriculture, how many tools and pieces of equipment reached private growers? How many subsurface Internet cables were connected to the island?

Not even Oggun was able to install its tractor factory in Mariel, because the Cuban government denied them permission.

That policy only brought tourism, which helped bolster small hospitality businesses; but, at the same time, easy money (abusive taxes, maintenance of the dollar tax, and new obstacles to the creation of wealth) thwarted any possible structural reform of the Cuban economy, and intensified repression. Havana's response quashed any hope: Castroism chose the most politically expedient measures, reinforced short-term approaches, and crushed any initiative for the empowerment of the private sector.

In its boundless, almost pathological optimism, the Obama Administration was unable to introduce correction mechanisms into the negotiations. As a Cuban might say, he gave everything for nothing. And his most enthusiastic supporters believe that he should have caved in even more, even going so far as to demand loan forgiveness, the dream of every parasite.

Trump: a mixed bag

Trump's chaotic internal policies, marked more by the inscrutable effects of his ego than by common sense, must not keep us from recognizing his partial successes in moving against the Cuban economic-military apparatus and the Chavista drug trafficking elite.

Individual sanctions, though still insufficient (in the case of Cuba), are a valuable instrument against the mafias entrenched in power in both countries. The activation of Section III of the Helms-Burton Act, meanwhile, seeks to check the still-unpunished trafficking of stolen goods by European business elites.

Where does Trump get it wrong? The United States urgently needs an ambassador in Havana with prerogatives similar to that of Cuba's in Washington. Jose Ramon Cabanas travels freely around the Union, lobbying and exerting political pressure, while the US charge d'affaires in Cuba, Mara Tekach, must muddle along as best she can. Far from being pulled back, US diplomacy should be deployed throughout the Island.

The reciprocal opening of consulates would not be a gift or a concession, but rather a rational response to the people's needs. Our views on restless travellers who come and go, after invoking a special immigration status, are irrelevant. The inhabitants of Florida, California and New York deserve an easing of the necessary red tape, as do those in Santiago de Cuba and Camaguey, just to mention a few examples.

And, although the investigation into acoustic attacks has not been completed, it is time to normalize ordinary immigration procedures in Havana. Living in Cuba will always be dangerous for US diplomats, but not as dangerous as in countries of the Far East, where the US's embassies remain operational.

Someone should tell him...

Candidate Biden is wrong to consider Cuba as a lesser evil as he seeks to revitalize US relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba is the problem, but also the solution. Appeasement policies only succeed in strengthening the monster.

Not that Trump has done better in this regard. His first measures were aimed at punishing Havana for its role in Caracas, and not for the appalling internal situation on the island. Some rectification has been seen since then.

Washington can pursue its regional agenda without sacrificing Cubans' democratic yearnings. Its involvement (and influence) in Latin America should hinge on the establishment of new alliances, based on economic cooperation, development aid, and orderly, fluid migration policies. Where was the United States while Chavez and Maduro practiced their oil-based diplomacy in the region, buying parties off?

On days like these, I think of the dilemma of the centrist Cuban-American voter when deciding between his two presidential options in November.
For second day no Onion auction at Nashik mandis

Maharashtra: This city is charging Rs 5 for entering markets for an hour amid COVID spike

Train with 332 migrant labourers leaves for Bhopal from Nashik

India

pti-PTI

Nashik, May 01: The long wait for going home got over for 332 migrant labourers stranded in Nashik in Maharashtra with a special Bhopal-bound Shramik train leaving here at 9.30 pm, Central Railway officials said.

These labourers had been kept in various shelters in the district after lockdown to contain coronavirus came into effect.

Maharashtra: A 'Shramik Special train' carrying migrant labourers leaves from Nashik railway station for Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. #COVID19Lockdown pic.twitter.com/cKS3s3WuzK  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

District collector Suraj Mandhare, commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre-Patil and deputy collector (shelter management) Nitinkumar Mundaware were present to bid adieu to the laboures at Nashik Road station.

A Shramik special train from Nashik to Lucknow was also supposed to depart, butdue to issues related to permissions, its departure is still undecided, an official said.




File photo

A house where a 26-year old single mother, Miss Blessing Okite, camps female and male sex workers for a fee of N500 has been busted by the police.

According to PM Express, the activities took place at Imodo compound, Ejigbo area of Lagos, where the lady, Blessing, resides with her 8-year old daughter.

Police intelligence officers at Ejigbo Division led by CSP Olabisi Okuwobi received information that the suspect, Blessing, was using her rented room and parlour apartment for women and men who wanted to have sex among themselves for a fee.

She was said to be making money from the business by collecting commission for each sex romp from both homosexuals and lesbians before the Police received information and busted the place.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the information leaked after the residents observed the dastardly act going by the influx of men and women both during the day and at night and then informed the Police who acted promptly.

The Police were said to have stormed the place at about 1.30am and caught some men and a pregnant lady, who were also harboured in the apartment and were smoking hard drugs suspected to be Indian hemp.

During interrogation, Blessing admitted that she was into the business and her involvement was to collect her commission, allow the partners to have sex in her apartment and leave.

She reportedly told the Police that she hails from Arochukwu in Abia State and came to Lagos some years back before she started the business.

When she was caught, she revealed that she came to Lagos and opened a brothel at Agbole area before it was demolished by the Ejigbo Local Government and she then started using her apartment for the business.

The residents told the Police that they do want the suspect, Blessing, in the area again because she was using the dirty business to bring robbers, who use her base as take off point and return after operations.

According residents, Blessing was bringing all manners of people especially men, who come to her apartment with other men for sex romp and constantly exposed the area to danger.

When P.M.EXPRESS correspondent visited the Police Division in Ejigbo, the DPO was said to have gone out for routine monitoring of the area.

However, Police sources confirmed the arrest of Blessing and some of the residents of Imodo compound were at the Police Station to bear witness over the activities of Blessing in the area.

Police sources said that the Police may likely shut the place and ask her to relocate elsewhere as the residents were insisting that they do not want her in their area.

She may also be charged before the Court for running a brothel which is a criminal offence under the State laws.
In a four-page letter written by former Chief Minister of Gujarat Shankersinh Vaghela, the former ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has questioned the latter on the preparedness for an economic crisis post-COVID-19.

In this strongly-worded letter, Vaghela has claimed that it is a need of the hour to focus on the economy or else India will witness "worse situation than what the Americans had faced in the severe economic crisis of 1929-30" - the crisis which is also referred to as 'The Great Depression' where the global unemployment rate had shot up to 24.9% and global GDP decline stood at 26.7%.

READ | PM Modi Chairs Top-level Meet On Covid Decisions Implementation; HM, CDS, Rail Min Present

READ | Punjab CM Requests PM Modi For Special Trains To Enable Return Of Migrants To Their Homes

Pointing out to the Prime Minister that May 1 is celebrated as both Gujarat and Maharashtra foundation day and 'Labour Day', he claimed that the highest contribution is of the labourers and that they should be kept in mind for any decision making in this lockdown. A seven-point agenda listed by the NCP leader includes water and electricity bill exemption, MGNREGA to be implemented across districts for creating jobs, assistance to farmers for fair market price. He also stated that farmers' loans can be waived off if several wilful defaulters like Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi were given such a huge leeway - an line of attack that has been rebutted by the government.

Throughout the letter, Vaghela is seen taking jibes at Narendra Modi alleging delayed government reaction to COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed that "China informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the first case of Coronavirus on December 31 2019, and several countries which are doing well now like Taiwan, Sweden, Germany, South Korea, etc had immediately started testing and checking people who were returning from abroad." This doesn't account for India faring well in terms of keeping the Covid curve under control at this point.

READ | PM Modi Chairs Meet To Discuss Reforms In Mines And Coal Sectors Hit By COVID-19

READ | PM Modi Holds Cabinet Meet To Discuss Strategies To Attract Foreign Investments Post COVID

Vaghela also lashed out at the Centre stating that the model of Kerala could also have been adopted across the country which would have lessened the loss of life and perils faced by Indians. "But the Government of India is silent and attaches more political importance to President of the United States than to its own citizens," the letter stated.

Citing this, he also said that 'Namaste Trump' event was an irresponsible move by the current dispensation and claimed that majority of the people believe it could have been avoided altogether since it has yielded no diplomatic victories. He also criticised the government alleging that the government played politics and delayed the lockdown because they wanted to overthrow the Congress Government for the formation of BJP's in Madhya Pradesh.

He claimed that the MSMEs form 75% of the population and they need to be brought out of this crisis at the earliest. That, 'government of India created a bountiful example of political-economic benefits such as the PM CARES fund which is a fund for the care of BJP only'. And that if the government refuses to show transparency even now, it is making fun of the emotions with which millionaires and common people contributed to it. In the seven-point agenda, the first 'advice' given by Vaghela is to shut off collections for PM-CARES funds and all the funds collected till now should be transferred to official funds under Disaster Management Act and it should also be audited by CAG.

He has, however, also belatedly given the government a benefit of doubt and stated that such a huge crisis in such a short notice is a big challenge and now the government must think about the future ahead and make sure that situation remains stable.

Shankersinh Vaghela's L... by ankit on Scribd
Press Release

1 May 2020

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee - Reflecting the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. hotel industry reported significant year-over-year declines in the three key performance metrics during the week of 19-25 April 2020, according to data from STR.

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In comparison with the week of 21-27 April 2019, the industry recorded the following:

Occupancy: -62.2% to 26.0%

Average daily rate (ADR): -42.9% to US$73.61

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -78.4% to US$19.13

Year-over-year declines were less steep than previous weeks due to a comparison with the time of Passover in 2019. Additionally, absolute occupancy rose slightly from the levels of the previous two weeks (23.4% and 21.0%).

"Demand has grown slightly across the country during the last two weeks, which could provide some hope that the levels seen in early April were indeed the bottomespecially with some states now moving to ease social distancing guidance," said Jan Freitag, STR's senior VP of lodging insights. "The 1.4 million additional room nights sold the last two weeks only represent around 100,000 new rooms occupied per night, but gains even that small are certainly better than further declines."

"Five statesCalifornia, Texas, New York, Florida and Georgiarepresent 40% of that demand gain from the last two weeks. The list of hotel demand generators is long, but in general, it is not unreasonable to assume that part of the increased business is coming from essential workers, homeless housing initiatives and government-contracted guests."

Aggregate data for the Top 25 Markets showed larger declines than the national averages: occupancy (-67.2% to 24.8%), ADR (-48.8% to US$80.46) and RevPAR (-83.2% to US$19.95).

Among those Top 25 Markets, Oahu Island, Hawaii, experienced the largest drop in occupancy (-87.5%) and the only single-digit absolute occupancy level (9.8%). The decline in occupancy resulted in the steepest decrease in RevPAR (-92.1% to US$13.95).

Miami/Hialeah, Florida, posted the largest decline in ADR (-62.0% to US$85.94).

Occupancy in New York, New York, was down 53.2% to 41.0%. The market's absolute occupancy came in at 33.3% the previous week.

In Seattle, Washington, occupancy dropped 69.0% to 22.4%.
Mumbai, May 1 : Hours after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's indications that lockdown from the Red Zones of Mumbai and Pune may not be lifted, the Centre issued an order extending the shutdown by another two weeks on Friday.

As per an earlier notification, Maharashtra has 14 Red Zone districts - the second highest in the country after Uttar Pradesh's 19.

These include: Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Pune, Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Nagpur, Solapur, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Satara, Dhule, Akola, Jalgaon.

Another 16 districts fall in the Orange Zone and only 6 are in the Green Zone.

The Mumbai-Pune belt - which is the country's biggest industrial belt - runs through six districts including Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban, Thane, parts of Palghar and Raigad and Pune, all in the Red Zone except Raigad which is in Orange Zone.

"The question is being asked, 'What after May 3?' I want to make it clear that we cannot lift the lockdown from Red Zones like the Mumbai-Pune belt, parts of Nagpur and other areas in the state," Thackeray said.

He was speaking in a web-address to the state on the occasion of Maharashtra's 60th anniversary or the Diamond Jubilee of its founding, and May Day this afternoon.

Thackeray said that the government has marked and mapped places on the basis of Red, Orange and Green zones.

"In the Green Zones, economic activities can resume gradually, in Orange Zones, barring the affected areas, commercial activities would be allowed to start slowly but with full precautions, but not in the Red Zones," the CM asserted.

"I am aware that people are facing hardships during lockdown. There are also economic losses, but the real wealth is health If you are safe, then all is well," Thackeray said.

He said lockdown was necessary as its acts like a 'circuit-breaker' - as described by the Singapore Prime Minister, and the CM said the situation we could have faced without lockdown could well be imagined.

Thackeray urged the people to emerge from what he described as the 'Corona Syndrome'.

"I have been saying this repeatedly corona is curable. We have cured infants to senior citizens as old as 85-plus. You must come forward. Don't worry if you have problems, but approach us in time," he exhorted.

He warned that while restrictions shall be lifted gradually, if there is overcrowding, then the relaxations would be withdrawn, since the state could forfeit whatever it has gained in the lockdown since March 25.

"We are also working out with other states on how to send back migrants in a smooth and systematic manner, but if there are crowds, we shall rethink on it," he cautioned.

The state is under a lockdown from March 25 to May 3, which has now been extended by another two weeks, in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Covid-19 continues its deadly prowl in the state with 459 casualties and nearly 10,500 cases till date, with Mumbai being the country's hotspot with 290 deaths followed by Pune's 96 victims.
State and territory leaders are rushing to overturn lockdown measures introduced in response to the pandemic, even though their own modelling indicates that this will result in the more rapid spread of the coronavirus.

The Northern Territory is today lifting a raft of restrictions, while South Australia and other states have outlined roadmaps out of the crisis. This is despite continuing deaths and illness linked to at least four active COVID-19 clusters across the country, and ongoing community transmission.

The aim of all the governments is to create the conditions for broad sections of the working class to be herded back onto the job, so as to resume the flow of corporate profits.

The dangerous implications of this policy have already been demonstrated in sectors that have remained open throughout the crisis. In the construction industry, for instance, the unions and property developers have forced tens of thousands of workers to continue production despite the impossibility of social distancing and have refused to shut sites even when infections have occurred.

The state and territory announcements have been timed to coincide with a meeting today of the expanded national cabinet, composed of the federal government, along with premiers and chief ministers. Each of these gatherings, followed by a press conference of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy have been markers in the escalating back to work campaign.

In the lead-up to the meeting, Morrison has pressed for the state governments to plan for the reopening of restaurants, bars and clubs. The sector is clearly not essential, but accounts for at least $20 billion in revenue per year.

At the same time, state and federal authorities are rapidly moving to resume face-to-face teaching in the schools, despite widespread opposition, as a precondition for workers returning to their jobs.

The Northern Territory Labor government has thus far gone the furthest in reversing lockdown measures, announcing that from today outdoor activities involving pools and childrens playgrounds will reopen, while weddings and funerals can proceed with an unlimited number of attendees.

Beginning on May 15, indoor activities at cafes, gyms and food courts will be permitted and on June 5, all restrictions on mass sporting events, TAB gambling venues and cinemas will be abolished.

The territory is being used as a test case for broader measures, because its small population and isolation appear to have buffered it from the worst effects of the pandemic.

That the NT cannot be shut off from broader developments, however, as was shown this morning with the announcement that four Australian Defence Force personnel had been hospitalised in Darwin after reportedly contracting COVID-19 in the Middle East.

The territory is a hub of the Australian military, with Darwin hosting a major marine base directed against China. Some 2,500 US marines are set to arrive at the base in July, while an unknown number of US intelligence assets come and go from the spy base in Pine Gap near the town of Alice Springs, all year long. The US is currently one of the epicentres of the pandemic and there have already been large-scale outbreaks on board its naval vessels.

The move in the NT is particularly reckless, given that fewer than 5,000 tests have been conducted out of a population of some 250,000.

More than a quarter of Territorians are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. They suffer the health consequences of centuries of oppression and many continue to live in communities that lack the most basic amenities. While for other demographics, individuals over the age of 60 are considered at risk of serious illness or death if they contract the coronavirus, among Aborigines, the warning age is just 50.

The South Australian state government is reportedly seeking to lift many of its restrictions within three weeks. The Victorian state of emergency concludes on May 11, which is the date that Morrison and state leaders have assigned for a review of all lockdown measures.

In New South Wales, the countrys most populous state and the largest centre of infections, government claims that the worst of the crisis is over have been dealt a blow by a spate of tragic deaths at the Newmarch House aged care home in western Sydney and by ongoing reports of community transmission.

This morning state authorities announced the thirteenth death at the Newmarch facility. Family members have protested over several weeks that they have been denied information about the plight of their relatives and their health status.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian also revealed that there had been nine new confirmed infections over the previous 24 hours. At least four of them are a result of community transmission in the Penrith area.

The state is nevertheless proceeding with back to work measures, including the reopening of the schools.

This week, the Daily Telegraph published details of a previously secret matrix, which the NSW government is using to plan the end of the lockdown. It appears to provide a cost versus health analysis of a series of measures.

For instance, it is noted that the removal of restrictions on large-scale outdoor gatherings would result in a medium risk of new COVID-19 infections, but this is counted against the high economic and well-being benefits that would result from such a measure. The reintroduction of widespread retail shopping would similarly result in a medium risk of a coronavirus outbreak, but would have high economic benefits.

According to the Telegraph, the NSW state government is hoping that its recently announced abolition of limits on family visits will have been normalised by mid-May, prior to the lifting of other restrictions.

The Murdoch press, however, claims that there is a group of cabinet ministers in NSW pushing for a faster relaxation of lockdown laws, including Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello. Two of those have portfolios that would receive a direct boost from a rapid reopening of the economy.

Similar calculations are being made nationally. This week the media revealed modelling by the Group of Eight universities, commissioned by the government to advise a route out of the crisis.

The academics presented two models. One would require the maintenance of most lockdown measures until at least June, aimed at the effective elimination of the spread of the virus. The other would involve the phased overturn of restrictions and a subsequent policy of controlled adaptation to COVID-19.

The proponents of the latter strategy bluntly stated that it would lead to a slightly higher number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths. All of their modelling is predicated on untested assertions that the health system will be capable of dealing with a rapid spike in infections. Nevertheless Morrison and other government representatives immediately declared that they were not seeking to eliminate the virus, because to do so would have too great an effect on the economy.

Governments are touting a decline in cases to justify the removal of lockdown measures. The reduction, however, is clearly the result of the policies they are seeking to overturn. Within the corridors of power, it is openly discussed that the abolition of the social distancing measures will result in a rapid spike in infections, and inevitably, in deaths.

The Murdoch-owned Australian has been among the most insistent advocates of a speedy return to work. Yesterday, its foreign editor Greg Sheridan spelt out what this would mean, declaring: [B]ased on everything we know about COVID-19 there will likely be a second and a third wave of the pandemic. They could easily be worse than the first. He concluded: Dont think the worst cannot come here.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused depredation across the globe. It has shaken the foundations of human life and cut a swathe through almost all sectors of the economy. And just like many economies, Ghana is not immune from the far reaching consequences of COVID-19.

Hospitals are stretched, schools remain shut and economic activities have slipped into the slow lane. Despite the debilitating impact, however, COVID-19 provides an opportunity for sweeping cross-sectorial reforms for economies like Ghana that when implemented will strengthen the national economy and improve the lives of citizens.

Theoretically, we knew our long-standing economic challenges. What COVID-19 has done is to expose us to the practical dimensions of these problems and how we can tackle them. We have outlined many of these meSasures below:

On health, we have been exposed to the myriad of problems in the health sector, including inadequate protective equipment and health facilities. We are clearly better off fundraising 100 million dollars to boost our healthcare facilities than we will ever be finding the same for a cathedral, and we applaud the government coming to its senses and prioritising investment in the health sector to promote quality and equitable health care delivery across Ghana's many districts.

Once there is an improved health sector, there will be no need for government functionaries to seek medical care abroad. Serious attention should also be given to medical research in the country. We need more scientists than we need lawyers.

On education, we have been exposed to the serious technological gaps, as well as the wide educational inequalities between poor/disability groups and the rich. Not long ago, universities themselves laughed at the idea of online education, and spent no mean amount of money building large lecture halls and halls of residence.

The Ministry of Education should put a premium on investing in technology such as E-learning and distance learning infrastructure, and provide tax-free data sim cards for all students of tertiary institutions to access their learning experiences. Implementation of inclusive education in Ghana should be prioritised with sustainable funding.

On social protection and welfare, we have seen the deep-cracked challenges that confront the sector. There is the need to resource and retool the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection and the Departments of Social Welfare across the country. Strong social protection and welfare systems should be developed to provide adequate support for the poor, the vulnerable and the unemployed in Ghana.

On environment, we have realised that smog caused by traffic fumes, as well as noise pollution can be reduced to check climate change and promote environmental regeneration. COVID-19 has been a good checker of climate change. We can encourage teleworking where applicable in this regard to reduce vehicular movement, in addition to mitigating heavy traffic on the streets.

On culture, we have noticed the critical role local languages play in the country's development. The local languages are roundly regarded as the most effective medium of reaching citizens and promoting increased awareness and understanding about COVID-19 and its related preventive measures and intervening services. It is not enough to encourage the reading of local languages in basic and secondary schools if English remains the official language in all formal levels of engagements.

On trade and industry, all importation of basic items such as protective equipment, toiletries, tooth pick among others can cease immediately. We have realised that indigenous companies can meet high quality standards and capacity demands. This will promote job creation, improve living standards and strengthen the national economy.

No community in Ghana should ever cry for water. If not COVID-19, many Ghanaians didn't know that our security agencies like the Ghana Police Service had water tankers that could supply water to the remotest communities that lack access to safe, readily available water. We need to seriously digitize our utility companies so that no one needs queue at ECG vendor shops manned by people without a teaspoon of customer service care in their hearts.

And we mean digitization by seasoned technological companies, not some Jack-Where-Are-You apologies of party affiliates building software off cheap open data and passing that around as innovation. We need to be able to pay water and electricity bills effortlessly, and there is no need for utility agents to come to our homes to upset our dogs when technology can read water consumption and bill accordingly.

On resource mobilisation, we have realised that is possible to generate funds locally to carry out development projects, provided domestic organisations and individuals have trust in the government that the funds will be utilised judiciously. There is therefore, hope for Ghana Beyond Aid if governments can justify the 'financial faith' citizens have reposed in them.

On media, we have seen that our media content can be improved by focusing on heightening awareness and helping to address critical social issues. There is the need to roll back the chronic monotonous hubbub of politicians and their social commentators who always see black as white and vice versa.

On politics, COVID-19 has already upended the foundation of human life and economies, compelling many organisations to halt their usual activities, restructure and adopt innovative measures to remain relevant and make impact. In the same way, we need to restructure the organisation of our national elections and to make way for safer, highly technological ways of voting. Lining up in long queues is not the only way citizens can cast their votes.

Relevant stakeholders can hold an olive branch to dialogue and agree on new and safe ways to fulfill constitutional requirements without endangering lives. Many will cite constitutional crises, but in our view, the constitution should not be treated as an ossified document which cannot be amended even if portions have overstayed their relevance. COVID-19 provides us with the unique opportunity to do a sober reflection on our political activism.

On religion, we have this one opportunity to cut out charlatans from employing religion as a tool to steal from the masses and as a license to practice mind-boggling human rights abuses. Since no religion can yet claim a cure for this virus, we need to stop religious leaders from peddling substances that they claim have healing properties. Especially should we safeguard the silence we have enjoyed over the past few weeks from the cacophony, the bedlam of noise that attend religious services. We absolutely should not bring that back, and when that happens, communities should take stands and sue churches for all they are worth.

To achieve all these however, we need to expunge and exterminate the long-standing economic enemy and the Frankenstein Monster of Ghanaian corruption and mismanagement of public resources. All corruption-related activities should cease with immediate effect and resources transfused into development projects vital for economic growth.

We are concerned that any attempt to develop the economy without first tackling corruption which is endemic and pervasive in Ghana will be rendered nugatory.
New Delhi, May 1 : Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey is among four key Central ministers who have been tasked to monitor the campaign against coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh. Pandey is looking after 20 districts of the state, including Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Etah.

Pandey is former chief of the UP BJP and is an MP from Chandauli constituency. In an interview to IANS, Pandey has profusely praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying the CM's management skills have earned him praise from his critics.

Asked how he evaluates the ongoing campaign against coronavirus in the state, he said: "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's leadership has drawn all-round praise. Even his critics are compelled to compliment him for his efforts".

"The state has gained a lot by the CM's prompt, tough and timely action to save the people from the pandemic. He has kept in mind the hotspots in the state and has taken strict measures against the spread of the virus infection. Every day thousands of workers and labourers have received essential goods and food. Eatables have been made available on call. All workers have received money in their bank accounts. The CM's work has been very praise-worthy," said Pandey.

On his experience of looking after 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh, Pandey said this has been a very challenging time. "We have to move forward with caution and cooperation. Along with the administration, we are ensuring at every level that the spread of coronavirus is contained as soon as possible. We are ensuring that the corona suspects are quickly traced and quarantined".

He said his efforts are focused on getting good medical treatment for corona patients so that they are cured quickly. "We also want that lockdown is observed sincerely across all districts. We have to see that food is available for the poor. Various teams of health department, civic authorities and police are engaged in making every service available to the people," said Pandey.

He said Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and other such bodies are contributing a lot in this hour of crisis. "They are researching, reinventing various ways to make people's life easier. I am sure we would make many districts corona-free and ultimately win this battle," said Pandey.
Back in 2012, when Deborah Feldman's memoir "Unorthodox" came out, several people recommended I read this tale about a young woman leaving the Hasidic Satmar sect.

I didn't follow the advice, but I should have. It's an important and engrossing autobiographical work.

"Unorthodox" has inspired an incredible new Netflix miniseries by the same name. Starring Shira Haas of "Shtisel," this is reverent and beautiful television.

Haas plays Esther "Esty" Shapiro, a woman struggling to find her place in the same Brooklyn Satmar community where Feldman grew up. Like Feldman, who wrote in secret, Esty has a secret passion: music. Like Feldman, her father is incapacitated, her mother has left the community and she is raised in part by her bubbe.

But Esty's story isn't a carbon copy of Feldman's. It's more of an amalgam of the many high-profile tales of those who left ultra-Orthodoxy, such as Shulem Deen, Jericho Vincent and Abby Stein, who has a small role in the show.

Haas brings a powerhouse performance, and Esty's character is powerful and specific. Yet it's a universal tale found in the stories of Hasids who have gone "off the path"-those who feel like a square peg in a round hole in their restrictive and tight-knit communities. In each instance, for every chunk of freedom sought, there is a price-ultimately, the dissolution of the relationship with your family and the only community you've ever known. That is a heavy and constant price to pay.

In the show, which came out last week, Esty keeps searching for her happiness-in clandestine piano lessons, in a marriage that she hopes will bring her freedom (spoiler: it does not), and then by escaping from Brooklyn to Berlin, where her ex-Hasid mother lives. While she finds a new community of musicians in the German capital, and a way to follow her love for music, it's safe to say there is no way to neatly tie this story in a happy-ever-after knot. There is no place in the world that will be a square hole for this square peg. Just a place that perhaps feels a little less painful, a little more right.

Many do find their place and happiness within ultra-Orthodoxy: It offers them faith, community and comforting rituals. But for those who grow to feel out of place, the exit is arduous and incredibly painful and, in some ways, never truly complete. "Unorthodox" portrays this journey with emotional eloquence.

If you are worried that this show contains a two-dimensional portrayal of ultra-Orthodoxy, let me assuage your fears. Sure, unlike "Shtisel," the Israeli show about haredi Jews, this show centers on someone who rejects their religious community. But the portrayal of Orthodoxy is handled with utmost sensitivity and care.

For a start, the show is partly in Yiddish-a novel choice that feels very respectful and very right. Both Haas and her co-star, Amit Rahav, learned the Jewish tongue spoken by the Satmar community for the show. It was difficult for both actors, entailing hours of lessons from Eli Rosen, the rabbi in the show and himself an ex-Hasid (Rosen and actor Jeff Wilbusch, who is also ex-Satmar, helped make sure every minute detail in the show was accurate, down to the length of the socks.)

It's striking to see a show in which Yiddish is front and center. I found myself admiring the show for its beauty, musicality and warmth. One scene that features a song in Yiddish is breathtaking. And the choice of Yiddish helped engross me in the community being portrayed-a complex one, like all communities, with villains and heroes and everything in between.

Esty's husband, Yanky, played by Rahav, is a particularly strong and complex character. His love and devotion-his desperation for her to remain with him-is heartwrenching.

Yanky offers to love Esty, quirks and all, and at first she is thrilled by the concept. On their wedding day, the exhilaration on Esty's face is intoxicating-you see that she truly believes that in marriage she will find freedom. But it all sours as the couple work to consummate their marriage. Esty feels oppressed by her husband's sexual desire and her physical inability to return it.

The marriage scenes are the most intimate. A journey to the mikvah before the wedding shows Esty dipping in the ritual bath, impatient and giddy with excitement. As a viewer, the scene felt even more shocking than the lovemaking scenes of the two-they entail no nudity but can be stomach-churning because of Esty's discomfort. But intimacy and sacredness are communicated in the show, and nothing feels salacious.

Yanky is distraught when Esty leaves him without saying a word. And he follows her to Berlin-a complex place for the Satmar community. For Esty it's where her mother sought freedom from her community, and where she comes looking for her own. But the Satmar community was started in Europe and re-established itself in New York in the wake of World War II, on the ashes and trauma of the Holocaust. The show really drives home that point-in a way that sometimes feels a bit didactic, but still powerful.

Motherhood is an important part of the show-both the void that Esty's absent mother created as well as Esty's fear that she will not know how to be a mother because of it. It is never addressed in the show, but undergoing the journey to find her own happiness is not only something that Esty does for herself, but for her future children and their well-being. She does not want them to grow up with an unrealized, angry or absent parent, as she did.

"Unorthodox" is a beautiful show, and Esty is a magnificent character. Her harrowing coming-of-age tale is universal, and I feel like many of us, religious and secular, will see ourselves in certain moments of the portrayal.

A show this profoundly human is exactly what we need now, in days where we all feel so lonely and so detached from our communities-and so scared that things will be this way forever. "Unorthodox" reminds us that life is a constant search, that happiness is not always the end goal, and that sometimes you just have to work through some-pardon my French-real tough shit before you come through on the other side.

This story originally appeared on Kveller.

Zoom discussion with Unorthodox author

On Sunday May 3, at 3 p.m., Deborah Feldman, the author of Unorthodox, the bestselling book and Netflix series, will be doing a special interactive Zoom discussion. Look for registration information next week on the Jewish Federations website and the link to watch the discussion. If you havent seen the series, its well worth watching and then joining the discussion with her.
D isney has said it will donate one million face masks to children in vulnerable communities to help fight the spread of coronavirus.

The company is also selling themed face masks featuring popular characters such as Yoda and Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc, to make them more appealing for children, to raise money to fight Covid-19.

Disney is donating the cloth masks for children and families in "undeserved and vulnerable" communities across the US.

The masks will be distributed by MedShare, a humanitarian aid organisation, and Disney said it would donate profits up to $1 million, from the sales in the US to MedShare from now until September 30, 2020.

A statement on Disney's Shop website reads: "Disney is committed to serving the communities where we live and work.

"During these challenging times, we're using the power of our timeless stories and beloved characters to address our guests' needs for family-friendly reusable cloth face masks."

The masks are available from June 29 / Disney

The masks are sold in four packs for $19.99 (15.88) and come in a variety of sizes.

They are currently only available for pre-order and are expected to be available from June 29.

Disney stressed that the masks are not surgical masks as they do not provide liquid barrier protection and should not be used in clinical settings.

The face masks come in a variety of sizes / Disney

It comes as politicians in the UK continue to debate how effective face masks are in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

Speaking at yesterday's daily coronavirus Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the facial coverings will give the nation "confidence" when returning to work and may be helpful for "epidemiological reasons".

The Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been looking into the effectiveness of wearing face masks.
Twelve Tablighi Jamaat members, including nine from Thailand, were sent to a temporary jail in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district after they completed their quarantine, police said on Friday.

The 12 people, including nine from Thailand and two from Tamil Nadu, were held on April 2 from a mosque where they were hiding. Their samples and that of a local were sent for testing, an officer said.

One of the persons from Thailand tested positive and was referred to Bareilly. He was later brought here after his report was negative, Superintendent of Police (City) Dinesh Tripathi told PTI.

After they completed 28 days in quarantine, they were sent to a temporary jail on Thursday. The passports of the foreigners were already seized and the Ministry of External Affairs has been informed, the officer added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Researchers from City University of Hong Kong, Texas A&M, and University of North Texas published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the effects of contract ambiguity on interorganizational governance.

The study forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing is titled "Effects of Contract Ambiguity in Interorganizational Governance" and is authored by Xu (Vivian) Zheng, David Griffith, Ling Ge, and Uri Benoliel.

Being sued damages the brand. There was no positive development for 7-Eleven in February 2020 when Mitoshi Matsumoto, who owned a 7-Eleven outlet in Higashiosaka, Japan received international press coverage by filing suit against the chain. Nor was there any joy at Domino's Pizza Australia in January 2020 when Australian fast-food veteran Frederick Aloysius Mario White filed suit against the chain. Franchisors want to minimize litigation in business relationships. A new study in the Journal of Marketing explores which steps can be taken to do that.

While best practice suggests business contracts should be written to be clear so that there are no misunderstandings (which could lead to contract disputes and litigation), franchise contracts often contain ambiguous terms. For example, contracts frequently use terms such as "good faith effort" and "reasonable costs." The fact that a term such as "good faith effort" is open to multiple interpretations might be cause for concern. Zheng says, however, that "Contract terms that are ambiguous in relation to the franchisor's obligations enhance collaboration, minimize franchisee-initiated litigation, and enhance franchisor financial performance."

Specifically, the researchers find that in a franchise setting, where the franchise agreement is written by the franchisor, contract ambiguity of franchisor obligations is used as a strategic tool to enhance joint problem solving and collaboration with franchisees as well as to deter franchisee-initiated litigation. The ultimate outcome for the franchisor is enhanced financial performance of the franchise system. For instance, the study's findings indicate that a one unit decrease in franchisee-initiated litigation leads to a 7% (i.e., $45,285.38) increase in franchisor net income. These findings extend beyond franchise systems because contracts predominate in interorganizational governance, often with similar power differences, where one party is the contract drafter and the other is the contract taker, such as a powerful manufacturer writing contracts offered to less powerful suppliers.

The written contract is only one aspect of interorganizational governance and the researchers point out two other significant aspects that managers should consider. As Griffith explains, "We find that franchisor training programs, when combined with contract ambiguity of franchisor obligations, serve as a buffer against franchisee-initiated litigation. Our results highlight the importance of franchisors not only viewing training programs as vehicles for increased franchisee efficiency, but also viewing investments in these efforts as important mechanisms that can aid in socializing franchisees, thereby facilitating the management of the franchise system." The study recommends that franchisors invest in building strong and expansive training programs that develop shared values with franchisees in order to enhance cohesion. This can be extended to the broader interorganizational governance context. For example, a powerful retailer should use supplier training programs to build esprit de corps and as a context for the clarification of misunderstandings that may arise from the contract, thus facilitating joint problem solving and collaboration.

Second, the study cautions franchisors about the potential negative consequences related to franchisee associations and the importance of carefully managing relations with an association. Consider the case of Denny's. In 1988 Denny's formed the Denny's Franchisee Council as a way for franchisees to communicate with the corporate office. However, in 1997 the Denny's Franchisee Council became independent from corporate sponsorship and reformed as the Denny's Franchisee Association. This may be an example wherein the franchisor-sponsored association stimulated bonding between franchisees (instead of bonding with the franchisor), thus creating a countervailing power to the detriment of the franchisor. Similar suggestions may extend to other network governance situations, cautioning that the increased connectivity and bonding among multiple business partners could work counter to a firm's governance efforts.

Explore further Are some franchises more likely to exploit their workers?

More information: Xu (Vivian) Zheng et al, Effects of Contract Ambiguity in Interorganizational Governance, Journal of Marketing (2020). Journal information: Journal of Marketing Xu (Vivian) Zheng et al, Effects of Contract Ambiguity in Interorganizational Governance,(2020). DOI: 10.1177/0022242920910096
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March 20 was a defining day for Adam Sanchez. He was two months away from finishing his first year at California State University Los Angeles, living the freshman life in the dorms.

That's the day he and the campus's 900 other dorm residents received an email telling them that the campus was shutting down and they had to leave for their own health and safety.

"Which I was really disappointed with, because they gave us three days to move out," Sanchez said.

He'd started his freshman year taking in the campus open mics and events that focused on African American and Latino culture. Even though he grew up less than two miles away in El Sereno, the campus felt a world away.

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"I think that living in the dorms helped me a lot in getting through the first semester," he said. "Because at home, I don't have access to the internet" -- and therefore, no access to the online classes that have replaced in-person instruction during the coronavirus outbreak.

Even if he did, he couldn't imagine how he'd get any studying done in his home, a one-bedroom apartment he shared with five other family members.

For students like Sanchez, dorms are not just a place to sleep. They provide vital connections to safety nets they may not have off-campus -- a place to study, access to technology, meals, health care, social supports, and much more.

Officials in the Cal State system and other public universities say they're offering as much support as they can to struggling students while being mindful of the health of the entire community. But for many there's still a wide gap.

Some students, like Sanchez, are falling through it.

He had thought about joining the Army after he earned his bachelors' degree in psychology -- but now he's flipped that around. He enlisted several weeks ago and is scheduled to report to a recruiting office in downtown L.A. on May 17.

Adam looks at a letter detailing his assignment in the military. Adam leaves to start basic training in mid May. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

NO PLACE TO GO

When the university sent its March 20 email saying "students must move out by Monday, March 23," it said exceptions would be made for international students and foster youth. But Sanchez was neither.

"In the email they did not make it seem like they were going to let anyone stay at all unless it was your only form of housing," he said.

Students facing other hardships could fill out a form requesting to stay. Sanchez said he filled the request form out and wrote that he needed to stay because the dorm was his primary residence, everything he owned was there, and he needed internet access.

Sanchez said he never got a reply.

"The student who is the subject of your inquiry did not respond to our March 20 survey," said Cal State LA spokesman Robert Lopez by email. Sanchez said he did fill out the request.

No student in the dorms who had no other place to live was asked to leave, Lopez said, adding that Cal State LA "staff has worked tirelessly to meet that need. Our primary concern is the health and safety of our students."

Adam points out the Martin Luther King building on the Cal State Los Angeles campus where most of his classes were held. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)

The university reached out to Sanchez this week after LAist's inquiry to offer emergency housing but Sanchez said he needed that help on March 20. "Their help is really [much later] than when I asked for it," he said by text.

He's currently sharing a two-bedroom, one-bathroom rental apartment near campus with three other people. The Wi-Fi is spotty. He eats twice a day to save money, and he doesn't like that online classes are so impersonal.

He had requested a $500 emergency grant from Cal State LA but said he was turned down because he'd received a refund for his housing.

"With the way Cal State LA has been doing everything, it's just ruined my whole perspective on college," he said.

This week, he emailed his professors to tell them he's dropping out.

ONE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, 23 APPROACHES

Mike Uhlenkamp, a spokesman for Cal State University Chancellor Tim White, said each of the system's 23 campuses sets its own policies on how best to help students through the crisis.

Cal State East Bay in Hayward, for example, "strongly encouraged" students to vacate their dorms, but allowed students "who have no other housing options or other concerns, such as limited access to technology" to remain on a case-by-case basis.

Some campuses are providing their students free laptops, others are setting up Wi-Fi hot spots in their parking lots, while others are creating drive-through food pantries. As for housing insecure students, "If there's a student out there who was asked to leave [a dorm] who has no other options, whatever campus, they're going to do something to fix that issue," Uhlenkamp said.

The efforts during this pandemic, CSU said, are another way the university is trying to meet the goals of the university's Graduation Initiative 2025, which seeks to double four-year graduation rates in a decade.

"Everyone continues to be dedicated to that singular mission of helping students get to a degree," Uhlenkamp said.

But student activists say some administrators don't fully understand how much their students rely on the campus for their basic needs.

"The student isn't a traditional student, and we have to make sure that we're a caring community and we have to think about the intention behind our message," said student activist and Cal State Dominguez Hills graduate student Carolyn Tinoco.
Other facilities in Illinois, including the former Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park and MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island also have been designated as alternate care sites. Pritzker said last week that those sites had not been turned on yet because it does not appear, at least at the moment, that we need them in the near future.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 10:08:37|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai reported five imported cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and zero increase in locally transmitted COVID-19 case on Thursday, the municipal health commission said Friday.

The confirmed cases were all Chinese nationals returning to Shanghai from Brazil and the United States, who have been sent to a designated medical institution for treatment. A total of 126 people in close contact with the confirmed patients on the flight have been put under quarantine.

The municipal health commission said a total of 313 imported cases had been reported in Shanghai by Thursday. Among them, 45 patients remain in hospital for treatment with two of them in critical condition.

On Thursday, no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported. The municipality had reported 339 locally transmitted confirmed cases by Thursday, including seven deaths. Enditem
A growing number of new cancer drugs have come on the market in recent years, yet the cost of therapies in Europe and the United States have risen. This is driving up healthcare costs, which poses a challenge not only for the Swiss social insurance system, but for patients all over the world. But are the high prices of cancer drugs justified? Does the cost correspond to the particular drug's effectiveness in combating the disease? An international research team from the University of Zurich and Harvard Medical School carried out a study to examine these questions.

Cost comparison of 65 cancer drugs

The scientists - led by Kerstin Noelle Vokinger, professor at UZH - analyzed the costs of cancer drugs in Switzerland, Germany, England, France and the United States. The prices of 65 new oncology drugs to treat solid tumors and various types of blood cancer were adjusted to calculate the monthly treatment costs for a standard patient.

In a second stage, the researchers investigated whether there is a link between monthly treatment costs and the clinical benefit of cancer drugs for solid tumors. The effectiveness of the drugs, which had been approved by the US and European licensing authorities (the FDA and EMA, respectively), was calculated using two well-established systems for evaluating the clinical benefit of cancer therapies: the American Society of Clinical Oncology Value Framework, and the European Society of Medical Oncology Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale.

No correlation between cost and benefit

"Our study clearly shows that, in general, for Switzerland, Germany, England and the United States, there is no association between clinical benefit of a cancer drugs and their prices," explains lead author, Kerstin Vokinger. Only for France a correlation could be found based on one of the clinical benefit assessment systems. "It's also clear that the prices of cancer drugs in the US are significantly higher than in the four European countries, with Americans paying on average approximately twice as much for the same drug."

This is because drug pricing in the US is dictated by the free, unregulated market. In Europe, on the other hand, national authorities negotiate prices with manufacturers. From the European countries analyzed in the study, Switzerland has the second-highest prices after England, while the same drugs are cheaper in Germany and France. It must be kept in mind, however, that NHS England benefits from non-public discounts on certain drugs, so the actual prices may be lower than the official list prices.

Drug prices are not justified

"The pricing of cancer drugs is only partially justified. Drugs that are less effective should be cheaper than those with high efficacy," the UZH professor says. "National authorities should take greater account of the clinical benefits of drugs when negotiating prices, and therapies that provide high clinical benefit should be prioritized in price negotiations." Vokinger firmly believes that this is crucial in order to guarantee patients access to key cancer drugs since countries have only limited financial resources.

###

Literature: Kerstin N Vokinger, Thomas J Hwang, Thomas Grischott, Sophie Reichert, Ariadna Tibau, Thomas J Rosemann, Aaron S Kesselheim: Prices and clinical benefit of cancer drugs in the USA and Europe: a cost-benefit analysis. The Lancet Oncology, 30 April 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30139-X
Photo: Courtesy of Hulu/Hulu

Like any good teenage romance, no matter how prestigious and literary, Hulus Normal People adaptation is full of dramatic and emotional connections to music. When Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), two teenagers from opposite sides of the class divide in a small Irish town, fall for each other, we hear the sound of Irish band Anna Mieke. When they start secretly having sex, theres Imogen Heaps Hide and Seek  a track thatll call to mind a big moment in another major teen drama  though the shows music supervisors admit they hesitated when director Lenny Abrahamson wanted to use it.

A lot of it was, Where do we pull out, what do we not use? says Maggie Phillips, an L.A.-based music supervisor who worked with fellow supervisor Juliet Martin, based in Ireland, to suggest and clear songs for the show. It was important not to have something that was really obvious, Martin said  a concern that prompted those initial doubts about the Imogen Heap track  but we didnt try to do something really out there. Wed have [Marianne] listen to things that other people would listen to, and quite a lot of Irish stuff. Now that Normal People is streaming, Phillips and Martin walked us through the shows 13 key needle drops and how the song selections track with Connell and Mariannes own taste and growth.

Episode 1: Anna Mieke, Warped Window

The scene: Connell invites Marianne to his house to have sex and then kisses her as the episode cuts to credits.

The song: Lenny Abrahamson wanted something fresh, and then we both went off and both came back with different tracks from Anna Mieke, Martin said. We wanted something that felt romantic but also wistful, Phillips added. Its anticipatory, but also theres a little bit of fear and trepidation moving into the relationship theyre about to start.

Episode 2: Imogen Heap, Hide and Seek

The scene: A montage that follows Marianne and Connells first time having sex, as they avoid each other at school but hook up in secret.

The song: That is one that Lenny and the editor put in. It was in there for a while, and I brought up The O.C. and the long list of places it had been used, Phillips said. I felt very strongly that song shouldnt be in there, and Juliet agreed, and we tried to get something he liked just as much. Ultimately, we just couldnt. Phillips admitted that the song brings up a lot of loaded feelings, but in the end, it served a purpose and was intimate and quiet and did what Lenny wanted it to do. Some people will find that it takes them away from it, or it will enhance their experience of watching it, Martin said. It was on the BBC [already], and 90 percent of the feedback was How brilliant! and 10 percent was How could you do that?

Episode 2: Elliott Smith, Angeles

The scene: As the episode ends, Connell and Marianne return from an abandoned house where shes (sort of) admitted her feelings for him.

The song: Phillips and Martin were hesitant about using a song that might evoke California more than Ireland, so they suggested other Elliott Smith songs when Abrahamson brought up Angeles, but they ended up going with this one in the final cut. Im a huge fan of his, and the second I hear his voice, Im in, Phillips said. It is a very L.A. song, but its also a universal story, Martin said. Why not have something thats from somewhere else?

Episode 3: Yazoo, Only You

The scene: The episode ends with Connell calling Marianne in tears, regretting taking someone else to a high school dance.

The song: We tried so many different songs out there, Phillips said. Originally they had something that was way too heavy-handed. Were definitely pushing the emotions, but that one was too much. She suggested Amen Duness cover of Song to the Siren, but eventually, on the editors suggestion, tried Only You. Music is so personal, and its just what hits right for enough people, Phillips said. If Lennys happy and the rest of the people involved are happy, thats what theyll run with, Martin said.

Episode 4: Lisa Hannigan, Undertow

The scene: Marianne decides to text Connell after seeing him again on their college campus, as the episode heads into its credits.

The song: Lisa Hannigan was one of many Irish artists that the supervisors wanted to include on the show. She was on almost every playlist we created, Phillips said. I love that we got her in. We tried so many different times.

Episode 5: Ane Brun, To Make You Feel My Love

The scene: By the end of the episode, Connell and Marianne reconnect and sleep together again. The song plays as they lie in bed naked.

The song: We had originally finished the episode by reprising a piece of music from earlier into the episode, Into Dust, Phillips said, with the Mazzy Star song playing over a sequence of Marianne and Connell going through college separately. That needle drop changed to La Lune by Billie Martin, and so this track also changed. Lenny had a few suggestions, and that was one of them, Phillips said. The thinking was to use a quiet, romantic piece to celebrate the couples reunion and not score the moment in a way that points to further heartbreak just yet.

Episode 6: Carly Rae Jepsen, Too Much

The scene: The Carly Rae track first appears diegetically in the background as Connell and Marianne flirt in an apartment, before playing over the Normal People title card.

The reasoning: That scene is a celebration of them together, Martin said, so they wanted a song that reflected the mood. Their goal for the diegetic songs was often to find music that college students like Connell and Marianne might reasonably listen to, finding the right mix between what would be popular, what they might play at a party (like this Carly track), or what theyd choose just to seem cool (like Frank Oceans Nikes in episode five). In their houses, theyre listening to a lot of soul and some emerging Irish acts, Martin said.

Episode 7: The Sei, Metroma

The scene: Connell gets mugged and goes to Marianne for help and then reveals that he has a girlfriend. The track plays as he takes a taxi home.

The song: I was really happy with that one, Martin said, and its great because these are small Irish acts. Its great to give them a platform on the BBC and Hulu, and they stand up to the more well-known tracks.

Episode 8: Jealous of the Birds, Dandelion

The scene: Connell and Marianne ride bikes from her boyfriends villa into a small Italian town.

The song: As it was one of the harder songs to select, Phillips and Martin remembered debating the scene until very late in the editing. Last minute, we changed it, and luckily we cleared it quickly, Phillips said. Its hard because theyre riding a bike, so you need it to be fun.

Episode 8: Nerina Pallot, Love Will Tear Us Apart

The scene: Connell takes the train to Venice after a fraught visit to Mariannes boyfriends Italian villa, heading to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice to see a painting shes recommended.

The song: This one was actually selected by the episodes editor, Stephen OConnell, who worked closely with director Hettie Macdonald as she helmed the last six episodes of the series. Hed heard it a few years ago and had always held back from using it, mainly because there only ever seemed to be a YouTube version and not an official release, Phillips said. OConnell suggested using the cover at the end of the episode, assuming it would never clear, but luckily it did. (The song was previously only up on YouTube before the show premiered, but has now made it to Spotify.)

Episode 9: Selena Gomez, Rare

The scene: Marianne talks to Lukas, the photographer who will later sexually degrade her, for the first time at a party in Sweden.

The reasoning: It was a choice around the specific scene, Martin said. Shes there, shes aloof, and then Lukas comes up. The overall choice was that we would have something that young adults would listen to.

Episode 11: David Byrne and Anna Calvi, Strange Weather

The scene: Connell drives Marianne home after rescuing her from her abusive brother. They sit in the car silently.

The reasoning: According to Phillips, the song was suggested by Normal People producer Emma Norton, who would listen to it as she walked home after work while they were finishing the final scripts. It really reminded her of Connell and Marianne, Phillips said.

Episode 12: Fionn Regan, Dogwood Blossoms

The scene: Connell and Marianne have sex and then sit together, fully nude, after reuniting again, in one of the moments where they get closest to relative happiness.

The reasoning: The song, again from a local Irish artist, also appears in episode four, when Marianne and Connell run into each other and Connell calls her beautiful. At first, Phillips and Martin were hesitant about reusing it near the end of the series. We initially had something there that we couldnt clear because of the content, Martin said, because, as it turned out, it was a song from a Christian artist who didnt want their work over a sex scene. Then Dogwood Blossom went in. We debated having it in twice. I dont think thats a problem. Its a connection through the episodes, and now theyre back together and its really warm and tender.

You can listen to the complete Normal People soundtrack below:

Want to stream Normal People? You can sign up for Hulu here or as part of a bundle with Disney+ here. (If you subscribe to a service through our links, Vulture may earn an affiliate commission.)
The news can be disheartening these days, but there are always good things happening too.

From coronavirus recoveries to community members doing good deeds and more, here are 12 pieces of news from this week in Connecticut that might lift your spirits.
The novel coronavirus, that has killed over 230,000 people globally so far and has shattered economies, emerged from a virology lab in the Wuhan city of China, US President Donald Trump claimed Thursday with a high degree of confidence.

"Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump told reporters at the East Room of the White House when asked if he has seen anything at this point that gives him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where the virus originated.

The president, however, refuse to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.

Asked what gave him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, he said, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."



The president, however, did not hold his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping responsible for this. "I don't want to say that, I don't want to say that, but certainly it could have been stopped. It came out of China and it could have been stopped and I wish they had stopped it and so does the whole world wish they had stopped it."



Reiterating that this is something that could have been contained at Wuhan ground zero, he said that China could have contained it. "They were either unable to, or they chose not to. And the world has suffered greatly."One of two things happened, he reasoned. "They either didn't do it and you know they couldn't do it from a competent standpoint or they let it spread and I would say probably it got out of control.""But there's another case that how come they stopped all of the planes and all of the traffic from going into China, but they didn't stop the planes and the traffic from coming into the United States and from coming into all over Europe," he said, citing the example of Italy, the hardest-hit European country.

"This country (the US) is very lucky and I'm very lucky that I put the ban on China, as you know, very early on. In January, we put the ban on China and that was a very early day. That wasn't a late day, that was an early day. Then, we later put the ban on in Europe," he said.

Before holding them accountable, Trump said he wants to find out what happened. "I think we'll be able to get a very good -- a very powerful definition of exactly what happened. We're working on it strongly now and I think it's going to be very powerful," he said.

"But they could have stopped it. They are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. It got loose, let's say, and they could have capped it. They could have stopped it, but they didn't. And they stopped the planes from going to China, but they didn't stop them from going to the rest of the world. What was that all about? he asked.

"We should have the answer to that in the not-too-distant future and that will determine a lot how I feel about China," Trump said.

When asked if President Xi misled him, Trump said, "Something happened. I don't say misleading or not. I'll let you know that. I mean, I'll be able to give you that answer at some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future."



The entire world has suffered as a result of this, he said.

"We have had tremendous death and tremendous sorrow, sadness, and nobody's ever seen anything like it. So, have most of the countries of the world. They've suffered tremendously. It's something that is going to have to be dealt with. We'll have to see," said the president.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
RICHMOND - Virginia is rapidly increasing its ability to test for the novel coronavirus after weeks of lagging behind other states, with officials on Friday announcing a doubling of daily testing and contracts with private labs to continue the expansion.

"We have made tremendous progress," said Gov. Ralph Northam, D, who has come under mounting criticism for the state's slow ramp-up of testing, which is tied to eventually loosening the social and business restrictions that have shut down the economy.

The state performed more than 5,800 tests Thursday, more than double the 2,600 per day Virginia was averaging just over a week ago. Northam has set a goal of reaching 10,000 tests per day to get a better handle on the pandemic's scope.

"Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for a sick person to get a test in a setting that they trust," Northam said.

The state has contracted with two private labs in Virginia and another in North Carolina to increase testing capacity by 3,000 tests per day, said Karen Remley, the former state health commissioner whom Northam appointed to head a testing task force. Officials also announced a change in the way Virginia counts coronavirus testing, saying the old method made the state's testing program appear smaller than it really is.

Pressure is mounting for Northam to loosen the state's restrictions aimed at slowing the disease's spread, with unemployment soaring and the state facing some $3 billion in costs and lost revenue from the pandemic. His order closing most nonessential businesses is set to expire May 8, and Northam said Friday that he will have guidance Monday on whether he intends to extend the ban.

"We are still working on a blueprint," he said, pointing out that he has begun loosening some restrictions. As of Friday, Northam had lifted a ban on non-emergency procedures for doctors, dentists and veterinarians.

The pace of testing has become a political issue in Virginia after weeks of relative unity in the face of the pandemic.

"We're pleased to see the number of tests being conducted in Virginia increase today, but the delays to date are inexcusable," said the House minority leader, Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said Friday in an emailed statement. "Virginia is home to some of the finest minds and institutions and we have the resources necessary to be a leader in fighting COVID-19. Lives and livelihoods are at risk every day we don't have a good picture of the COVID-19 footprint in our communities. We can and must do better."

Virginia has now logged 16,901 cases of covid-19 and 581 deaths from the disease.

As of Friday, Virginia had reported conducting 105,648 total tests for the coronavirus. The state had previously counted the total number of people tested, rather than the total number of tests administered. Friday's numbers now include tests that have been administered to the same patient over the course of infection.

About 10,000 more tests show up now because of the change in methodology. Virginia Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said the state decided to make the change to better reflect the resources consumed by testing. He noted that some other states also count that way. North Carolina, for instance, confirmed it counts tests, not patients.

"The problem is, there's no actual national standard," Oliver said.

The change elevates Virginia from near the bottom of state rankings for testing, but keeps it in the lower half. Of a population of more than 8.5 million, the total test numbers reported Friday by Virginia are a little more than 12,000 tests per million residents. Maryland, with a population of just over 6 million, had reported 120,983 total tests - or more than 20,000 per million residents.

Virginia officials have struggled for the past couple of weeks to explain the state's lag in testing.

In the early days of the crisis, Virginia - like most states - had little capacity for testing and faced severe shortages of the personal protective equipment (PPE) that health care providers need to interact with infected patients.

The state issued strict guidelines to limit testing to only the most vulnerable people who showed symptoms.

The state lab at first could process only 400 to 500 total tests. Today, the lab handles that many per day. Private and hospital-based labs had much longer turnaround times for test results - in some cases, as long as eight days.

Faced with those limitations, doctors sometimes told patients with symptoms to stay home and self-quarantine rather than test them for a disease that still has no set treatment, state officials said.

On Friday, Northam announced that the federal government was helping Virginia get three devices for sanitizing PPE, allowing each face mask to be reused up to 20 times. By next week, the devices will be able to decontaminate up to 240,000 masks per day, Northam said.

With resources building, Northam loosened testing criteria in mid-April. Officials said clinicians have been slow to adopt the new policy.

The pace has left some private labs around the state bewildered. At Aperiomics in Loudoun County, Chief Executive Crystal Icenhour said her team quickly developed covid-19 testing capacity in late March when the state seemed to need help.

Virginia never called, and Icenhour said her lab is currently running at about 10% of its coronavirus testing capacity.

"I expected to be turning business away," she said. "I was very much surprised."

- - -

The Washington Post's Steve Thompson and Erin Cox contributed to this report.
Traders' body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Friday said it will soon launch a national e-commerce marketplace 'bharatmarket' for all retail traders in collaboration with several technology partners.

The marketplace will integrate capabilities of various technology companies to provide end-to-end services in the logistics and supply chains from manufacturers to end consumers, including deliveries at home, CAIT said in a release.

The e-commerce portal will include a nationwide participation by retailers, it added.

This endeavour aims to bring 95 per cent of retail traders onboard the platform, who will be the shareholders and the portal will be run exclusively by the traders, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said.

"We have already started this programme as a pilot, initially with a limited number of essential commodities, in six cities -- Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur and Bengaluru, with tremendous response from retailers, distributors and even consumers.

"This has now grown to over 90 cities in a matter of two weeks. The learnings from the pilot will allow us to scale to many more locations and soon to categories beyond groceries," Khandelwal said.

He said the initiative has had active support and guidance of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as they see this as an effective way to get essential commodities to consumers during the lockdown period and within containment zones.

The traders body is looking to enrol about one crore retailers on this e-marketplace in 2020 and make it the world's largest and most-unique e-marketplace ever, CAIT National President B C Bhartia said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A fire broke out late Friday near a mountain in Goseong, Gangwon Province, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate and local authorities to call for help from nearby cities. Yonhap









Authorities said Saturday that fire fighters have put out most of the blaze on a mountain in Goseong, which forced hundreds of people to evacuate and local authorities to call for help from nearby cities.

The fire began at a house in the county located some 160 kilometers northeast of Seoul late Friday, and later spread to a nearby forest on gusts of wind.

No casualties were reported from the fire, but the fire fighters were frustrated by strong winds. The fire is estimated to have destroyed 85 hectares of forest.

Authorities said the fire is expected to be fully extinguished by noon.

Authorities issued a level-3 warning to call support from other areas, and dispatched 38 helicopters to the site earlier in the morning.

More than 300 residents have been evacuated due to the fire, along with some 1,800 military officials stationed in the region.

Goseong was the site of a catastrophic forest fire about a year earlier that also spread on strong gusts. The 2019 inferno destroyed more than 1,300 buildings, including 400 homes, while killing one person. (Yonhap)
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday sought Delhi government's reply on a plea by JNU student and anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs levelling sedition charges against him for allegedly making inflammatory speeches.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna, hearing the matter through video conferencing, sought response from the Delhi government within 10 days on Imam's plea.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Imam, said that there are five FIRs registered against him in different states in connection with two speeches given in Delhi and in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

The bench said that there is nothing wrong in the registration of FIR by police if they come to know about some cognizable offence.

Dave referred to the recent order of the apex court in the case of senior journalist Arnab Goswami in which court had stayed the multiple FIRs against him except for one and said that similar relief can be granted to him.

He said that FIRs are lodged against Imam in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and he has been booked under sedition charges.

Recently, Delhi Police has booked Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), he said.

The bench asked Dave to serve the copy of the petition on the standing counsel of the Delhi government and posted the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

Imam in his plea had sought clubbing of all five FIRs lodged in different states and transferring them to Delhi for a probe by a single agency.

ALSO READ | Anti-CAA protests at Jamia: UAPA invoked against former JNU student Sharjeel Imam

On April 24, the top court had stayed three FIRs and 11 complaints except for one lodged in different states against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami over his alleged defamatory statements against Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi during news shows on the recent Palghar lynching incident in Maharashtra.

On January 28, Imam was arrested by Delhi Police's crime branch from Bihar's Jehanabad in a sedition case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh.

The PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) Centre for Historical Studies has been booked on sedition and other charges after purported videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) were circulated on social media.

An FIR was registered against him by Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

"Two videos came to light, one was on December 13 at Jamia Milia Islamia and other was on January 16 at Aligarh, where it was noticed that Imam had delivered very inflammatory speeches in opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens and such comments can potentially affect religious harmony and weaken the unity and integrity of the country," police had said.

A graduate in computer science from IIT-Mumbai, Imam had shifted to Delhi for pursuing research at the Centre for Historical Studies at the JNU.
The researchers' work has made it possible to detail for the first time the spreading of the bacterium through lymph vessels and not just blood vessels, thus being able to invade the digestive system of infected animals through this new route.

Professor of Histology and Pathologic Anatomy of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University (CEU UCH) of Valencia, Juan Manual Corpa Arenas, is the co-author of the study that has described, for the first time, a new route of infection for bacterium Streptococcus equi subspecieszooepidemicus, whose transmission from horses to humans has been documented. In this new study conducted on alpacas, professor Corpa and researchers from the University of Davis, California, conclude that the spreading of this bacterium can take place not only through blood vessels, as was believed until now, but also through lymph vessels, and can invade the digestive system of some infected animals through this route.

This subspecies of the Streptococcus equi bacteria is typically found in the respiratory system of healthy horses and those with pneumonia, and has also been associated with numerous syndromes in different animal species such as dogs, camelids, ruminants, pigs and primates. Similarly, infections from this bacterium have also been documented in people that were in close contact with horses, which is why it is said to be zoonotic, in other words, that it can transfer from animals to humans." Juan Manual Corpa Arenas, Professor of Histology and Pathologic Anatomy of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University (CEU UCH) of Valencia

With alpacas, in California

Corpa has collaborated with researchers from the California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) System in this study, conducted on cases of alpacas who suffered from a natural infection caused by this subspecies of the Streptococcus equi bacterium, which causes in these South American camelids the so-called "alpaca fever". Alpacas with this disease can also infect people who come into contact with these animals. The study also describes that the injuries associated with "alpaca fever" are basically located on the serosal surfaces of these camelids: pleura and peritoneum.

As highlighted by professor Corpa, "when humans become infected with this bacterium, mainly due to the contact with horses, they can sometimes develop severe diseases such as meningitis, endocarditis, aortic aneurisms, thrombosis, spondylodiscitis, etc. In the most extreme cases, these infections can cause death. This is why the disease is considered a budding zoonosis, which can affect people who are in close contact with these animals."

International research team

Professor Juan Manuel Corpa Arenas, has conducted this study in collaboration with doctors Francisco Carvallo and Francisco A. Uzal, researcher and director, respectively, of the San Bernardino laboratory of the California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) System, from the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Davis, in California (USA), one of the most prestigious faculties internationally in the field of veterinary medicine.
Bulandshahr : , May 1 (IANS) Two separate cases were registered against former MLA Guddu Pandit and his supporters for violating lockdown in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district.

As per reports, Guddu Pandit a.k.a Bhagwan Sharma, accompanied by 20-25 supporters reached Pagona village in Anoopshahr on Thursday to express grief at the murder of two sadhus, violating lockdown norms.

He and his entourage also went to Kaser village where an elderly woman had died earlier.

The police have registered two separate cases against Pandit and his aides at Anoopshahr and Dibai police stations. They were charged under various sections pertaining to violation of lockdown.

Reacting to the cases against him, Pandit told reporters that he would always be ready for the people of his area and visit them in times of grief or joy, no matter how much he had to suffer in the name of compliance with law.

A two-term MLA, Guddu Pandit was earlier in the BSP and then joined the Samajwadi Party, he was later expelled from the Samajwadi Party when he cross voted in favour of the BJP candidate in a Rajya Sabha election.
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting every community throughout Wisconsin and around the nation.

People are out of work, small businesses need help and Wisconsinites are doing everything they can to stay healthy and safe during this public health crisis.

When Americans cant always trust what they hear from the White House podium, they are turning to their local newspapers, and radio and television stations to get accurate information on this pandemic.

In many rural communities, small newspapers and broadcast stations are the only form of accessible local information.

But these media outlets are facing financial challenges due to decreased advertising revenue and limited avenues for federal relief. Many Wisconsin newspapers have laid off or furloughed reporters and other staff  at a time when they have increased media coverage of daily news and alerts.

I strongly believe local newspapers and broadcasters are playing an essential role during this pandemic, which is why Im working to make sure they are able to continue operating during this time.

My Senate colleagues and I recently called on the Trump administration to support radio and television broadcasters and local newspapers during the COVID-19 pandemic. And I support federal relief for small and rural media outlets in the next coronavirus response legislation from Congress.

Local news is critical right now and we must support their mission to get the community the important information they need to get through this public health crisis.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin

Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, is a U.S. senator from Wisconsin.

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Chinese tech giant Sina set up a special room in its Beijing office for workers to be tested for the coronavirus. A school took swab samples from students before allowing them into classrooms. A traveller took the test before a trip to another province.

Companies, schools and individuals across China are lining up to be tested for the virus as the country rises back to normal life after largely taming the epidemic.

Biotech firms are ramping up production of test kits with demand growing despite lingering questions over their accuracy, while the government is pushing for more testing.

E-commerce titans Alibaba and JD have facilitated nucleic acid tests for individuals at a number of designated places -- including two Beijing hotels -- for prices ranging between 200 yuan ($28) and 260 yuan ($36).

JD said its reservation page has had more than three million views since the service was launched in mid-April.

And at Sina, the parent company of China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, employees can get tested whenever they want in a specially repurposed room.

Where most testing had previously focused on those with symptoms, especially in the central city of Wuhan where the virus first emerged, demand is now soaring across China.

Beijing has seen some of the most strident demand, with many taking the test before business trips, and a drive-through service set up in one of the capital's districts.

At a private school run by the Hailiang Group in Zhuji, eastern Zhejiang province, some 20,000 students and teachers have taken the test since April 13.

Samples were taken from students on the playground as they stood 1.5 metres (five feet) apart from each other. They were only authorised to go to class after getting a negative result.

"Although the epidemic in China has now been effectively controlled, we still have some concerns," said high school senior Tao Xiaxin.

But the school's policies have "completely reassured us", he added.

Shanghai writer Mao Li took the test on Saturday for her upcoming holiday in Zhejiang.

Her hotel required a nucleic acid test report because she had previously travelled to the southern city of Guangzhou, which was considered a relatively high-risk area a week ago.

"It's very convenient to do the test in Shanghai," Mao Li said. "I went to the test station and after lining up for 20 minutes it was my turn."

In Guangzhou, meanwhile, more than 30,000 taxi drivers were tested last week along with 208,000 teachers and students.

'BAD TESTS'

China had ramped up capacity to produce more than four million testing kits a day by early April, according to officials.

But the quality of tests has come under scrutiny.

There is a 50 to 70 percent chance the virus can be detected through nucleic acid tests, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China's Centre for Disease Control, told state broadcaster CCTV this week.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a strident critic of Beijing, angered China after accusing the country of sending "fake" and "bad" tests.

"There's a lot of these antibody tests coming in from China now that are low quality, false readings and things like that," Navarro told Fox News on Monday as the United States sought to ramp up its own testing capacity.

China's National Medical Products Administration told AFP that tests for antibodies meet safety requirements and quality controls but that such products must be used together with nucleic acid tests.

As other countries seek testing kits for the virus and antibodies, Chinese firms insist their products are reliable.

Shao Junbin, the chairman of Shanghai testing kit provider Liferiver, told AFP that his company's output capacity has increased 150 percent since starting production in January, to reach 500,000 per day.

Liferiver -- which claims a 90 percent accuracy rate -- has exported kits to European countries including France and Italy, two of the hardest-hit nations on the continent.

And the head of Australia's mining firm Fortescue announced a deal this week to import 10 million kits from Chinese genomics firm BGI Group at a lower price than rival providers.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The government's COVID-19 task force has allowed Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs to resume partial operations, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed on Friday.

Roque said online gambling services are part of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which are allowed to open under the new quarantine rules. A skeleton workforce, or only 30 percent of the total number of employees, are allowed to report for work.

"Ang BPOs po ay ina-allow. Ang POGO po talaga ay BPO," he said in a media briefing.

[Translation: BPOs are allowed to operate. POGOs are part of the BPO (sector).]

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairperson Andrea Domingo lobbied with government officials to allow POGOs to reopen, arguing that revenues from POGOs can be a significant source of funds for the governments COVID-19 response.

"Essential ito kasi we need revenues. Revenue-generating. Employment-generating. But with no threat in spreading COVID-19," she said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

[Translation: This is essential because we need revenues. POGOs generate revenues and employment, minus the threat of spreading the virus.]

"Lahat ng proceeds na kikitain ng BPOs na galing sa POGO ay lahat ilalaan, 100 percent, dito sa gastusin related sa COVID-19, " Roque added.

[Translation: All taxes from POGOs will be used, 100 percent, to fund the COVID-19 response.]

President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman clarified only compliant POGOs are allowed to go back to business. He said PAGCOR and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are tasked to verify if they have complied with their tax requirements before giving them permits to operate once again.

Domingo said PAGCOR and the BIR will be stringent with this crucial step.

"Kaya nga kami hindi namin papayagan mag-resume ng operation sinuman na hindi cinertify ng BIR na paid up lahat ng taxes nila as of March 2020 at sila ay registered sa BIR. So we are coordinating with BIR very closely. That is included in our requirements, Domingo said.

[Translation: We will not allow the resumption of those businesses without BIR certification.]

The gaming sector has faced several issues in the past few months.

The BIR earlier revealed that over 27-billion worth of tax liabilities remain uncollected from the POGO sector.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council also said POGOs generate only 7 billion in net inflows, a value the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee said only translates to a "negligible" 0.04 percent of the domestic economy. The committee has also opened inquiries into POGO-related crimes in the Philippines, including sex trafficking and the controversial money laundering scheme.

In March, PAGCOR admitted there are over 100 unlicensed POGO outlets under investigation.

Lawmakers against decision to reopen POGOs

Several lawmakers criticized the government's decision to ease the quarantine rules in favor of POGOs, despite their many violations.

Senate Labor Committee Chairman Joel Villanueva said there is no reasonable explanation for allowing POGOs to return to business.

"I don't see the logic for allowing POGO to operate. Even prior to the pandemic, we said that this industry has no positive net benefit to Filipino society. With the pandemic, they might just contribute to further spreading the disease," he said in a statement.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who recently signed a resolution blocking POGOs from returning in the country, said the government is undermining its efforts to curb the virus by allowing these workers to gather in their offices.

"Hindi na nga nagbabayad ng buwis, dawit pa sa mga kaso ng kurapsyon at money laundering, at sangkot pa sa sex at human trafficking. The resumption of POGO means mobility for at least 120,000 POGO workers, most of them in the NCR, the epicenter of the COVID-19 transmission," she tweeted.

[Translation: They are not paying taxes, they are involved in corrupt practices, in money laundering, and sex and human trafficking.]

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said authorities will likely encounter problems in ensuring that POGOs comply with social distancing rules as they restart operations. Citing news reports of police raids in cramped POGO offices and housing, he said authorities might have to go the extra mile in making sure that the new normal rules meant to prevent further infections are followed by these companies.

All POGO workers, including the 31,600 Filipinos employed by these companies, need to undergo COVID-19 swab or rapid testing before they can report back to work.
OnePlus is working on five new feature ideas as suggested by members of its community in the IDEAS program

OnePlus is working on five new feature ideas as suggested by members of its community in the IDEAS program that aims to gather as much feedback from users of OnePlus smartphones. The company has amassed a large following with which it interacts regularly by hosting open forums in order to hear out thoughts and issues faced by customers.

The company announced its IDEAS program back in March with an aim to gather users feedback on OxygenOS and suggestions for features that can be added to the OS to make it more efficient. In a span of eight weeks, the folks over at OnePlus have decided to work on five features suggested by its users. The selected ideas or as OnePlus calls it adopted ideas have been included in the companys roadmap and users whose feature ideas got selected will be joining the team of developers to further build upon the idea and help the company flesh out the final feature.

Heres a list of the five features OnePlus is set to develop in the coming months and has included in the roadmap for OxygesOS updates.

OxygenOS new features

OnePlus had started working on an Always-on display functionality for its smartphones and development could be finished by June with beta trails commencing from August.

Another feature suggested by a user to enable pass protection for hidden pictures in the gallery is also being worked on. This will practically allow users to set fingerprint security for accessing hidden pictures on the phone.

The developers are also working on a feature that will play a sound clip every time the battery is fully charged to 100%.

OxygenOS could soon support folders in the app drawer as currently its restricted to home screen only. The feature will allow users to group apps in folders and place them inside the app drawer.

Additionally, the devs are also working on adding more essential features to the Zen Mode and has included it in the update roadmap.

Notably, some of the features that OnePlus didnt adopt for its OxygenOS update roadmap include edge notification light, Samsung DeX-like mode for OnePlus, API support for GCam, custom fingerprint animations and more.

We could see these features being rolled out via the latest version of the OxygenOS as and when theyre ready for a public release.
Michelle Varnado used to stand in her formal dining room, folding laundry hot out of the dryer. Her two kids used to use it to spread out school projects, but it wasnt often used for dinner.

The formal living room was where she and her husband, Steve, used to meet their daughters boyfriends when they came to pick her up for dates. Other than that, the Varnados walked through the pretty room on their way somewhere else.

When they watched TV, they were crammed into a smaller space at the back of the house where they had fit some furniture and a modest TV. Their kitchen was filled with workspaces: an island with a cooktop and seating, a built-in desk that was a busy all-purpose drop zone, a niche for a breakfast table and a walk-in pantry.

When you have kids in the house, you need lots of spaces for everyone to go to, but once your kids leave, you need bigger spaces for everyone to come home to, Michelle said. We need bigger spaces to be a family now.

The Varnados, who came to Houston 20 years ago from Louisiana, knew their 3,500-square-foot home in The Woodlands didnt function well. Too much activity was crammed into too little space while other rooms went virtually unused. Most of the problem was a wide wall that closed off spaces and kept family members and friends from being together.

More Information >> See before and after pictures of this home at HoustonChronicle.com/VarnadoHome See More Collapse

The homes (in this area) were built in the 1980s and 90s and had compartmentalized rooms and a lot of rooms that were not used, said the Varnados interior designer, Nancy Charbonneau of Nancy Charbonneau Interiors of their Panther Creek neighborhood. Michelle said she wanted all of her dreams  her dream pantry and dream laundry room  but we had this little space.

They had this gigantic dining room that had laundry stacked on the table, and I noticed they had barstools at an island and a breakfast table, she continued. I asked, Do you really need a dining room? You have three places to eat within 20 steps of each other.

Their dreaming out loud became dreaming on paper, and eventually the Varnados moved out so Charbonneau and their contractor could reinvent much of it.

Michelle and Steve, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in June, have two children  son Bret and daughter Caroline  and in May 2019, they moved into Carolines Rice Military townhome for three to four months during construction.

Their daughter likely never thought her parents would be moving in with her, but the Varnados enjoyed their time in town, frequenting restaurants, finding new places to shop and, of course, reveling in Steves temporary, seven-minute drive to his job downtown.

The first step was acknowledging that the formal dining and living rooms were a waste of space. Even though thats what those rooms were supposed to be back when the home was built in 1990, life in 2020 marches to a different beat. Instead of small rooms with a single purpose, 21st-century living has us multitasking in multipurpose rooms.

To open up the main living area, a load-bearing wall had to be dealt with. The wall had a fireplace in the center and couple wanted to keep that, but a pair of French doors on one side and the wall space on the other came down. (New support beams were installed to keep the home structurally sound.)

That living room lost its formal side, and now its a comfortable space with a large sofa, a pair of pretty club chairs and a soft rug covering the wood floors. The fireplace got its own makeover, too, covered in the same brick that repeats as a kitchen backsplash and on the floor of the powder bathroom.

And Steve, a senior manager at Plains All American Pipeline, finally got a bigger and better TV, opting for the largest his wife would let him have  a 75-inch screen.

When we started the process, I really wanted to move the fireplace. I watch HGTV all the time, and theyll say, Just take the wall down. Who knew you really cant just take the wall down? Michelle said. Apparently, you cant just make a fireplace double sided either. Wed have to (do work) all the way up into the attic. Theres a reason why you hire professionals.

The new kitchen blends seamlessly with the living room, a feat accomplished when Michelle managed to talk her wood-flooring provider into coming out of retirement so he could match new hardwood in the kitchen to what they already had in the living room. (It replaced Daltiles French Quarter Mardi Gras ceramic tile  a rustic faux stone look laid in a Versailles pattern  that covered the kitchen, powder room, breakfast nook, TV room and laundry-room floors.)

A section with a built-in desk and overhead cabinet gave way to a bar with glass-front upper cabinets to display barware and lower cabinets that allow for a wine and beverage refrigerator.

Michelle liked being involved in selecting materials, finding some on her own and choosing from a selection Charbonneau offered for others.

I love to look and shop, but I dont necessarily like to pull the trigger. Nancy will say, Here are three things, what do you like? Michelle said. I was looking for a girlfriend to endorse what I like. Id say, Here are three I like, what do you think? I felt like I hit the lottery if she liked it, too.

The new island  with room for four barstools  has more storage space and, instead of holding a cooktop, it has a second sink plus a dishwasher. To add a little drama, they opted to paint it peacock blue, matching the color to velvet pillows in the living room.

Though the section with the bar has a mirrored backsplash, the wall space around cabinets and behind the range all are covered with brick, including a decorative element installed in a herringbone pattern behind the range.

A niche that once served as a breakfast nook with an octagonal, domed ceiling has been cleaned up and is now a comfortable sitting area, where the Varnados can sip their coffee in the morning. The ceiling treatment is gone, now matching the rest of the room.

Where they once watched TV is now their dining area, with the table that once sat in their more formal room. And the original formal dining room has become one of Michelles dream rooms, a pantry/moms office/prep room with one wall of cabinets and drawers for storage and two more with shelves for food and small appliances.

Theres even a mom desk where Michelle can sit to take care of things for the house, and until gyms reopen, its her exercise room, too.

The laundry rooms rustic ceramic tile floor was replaced by an on-trend black-and-white tile in a four-square design that feels a little French and reminds Michelle of New Orleans.

Finally, a small powder bath that never got much love has a new look with a charming brick floor, a quartzite-covered vanity  small but adorable  pretty wallpaper and a cylindrical pendant light that Michelle found in an antiques store.

Now all of the house is used, especially the downstairs. Thats really nice since we are stuck in this home, Michelle said of staying home during the coronavirus pandemic. Its the same square footage, but it feels more spacious because its more open.

diane.cowen@chron.com

Sign up for Cowens Access Design newsletter, delivered to your inbox Tuesdays, at houstonchronicle.com/accessdesign.
South Africa: SAs citrus shipment departs to China, Japan

South Africas fifth break-bulk vessel shipment of citrus is planned to depart to China and Japan during the course of the day, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development said this is the first break-bulk vessel shipment in the 2020 export season, adding to the four shipments that were exported in the 2019 season.

Citrus comprises oranges, lemons, grapefruit and soft citrus.

The year 2019 was a historical year as the South African citrus industry marked its maiden break-bulk shipment of citrus through a specialised reefer vessel to Japan and China.

The Baltic Patriot Vessel will leave South Africa with 4 521 tons of grape fruit and lemons destined for Japanese and Chinese export markets. The expected date of arrival in Japan is 18 May 2020 while for China it is 26 May 2020.

Loading of the vessel, which started on 25 April 2020 at the Maydon Wharf Fruit Terminal in Durban under thorough inspections, was concluded yesterday [Thursday].

The fruit harvesting, sorting, washing, transportation, inspection, loading and related aspects was conducted by essential workers during the lockdown, the department said.

The department has extended its appreciation to everyone who made this a success, and more importantly, the essential workers who continued to work tirelessly under trying conditions in pursuit of local and global food security.

The citrus industry continues to be one of the critical industries that creates 160 000 direct jobs and earns approximately R20 billion from exports only. South Africa exports two million tons of citrus annually, making it the second highest global exporter of citrus, the department said.

Given the challenges posed by COVID-19, the department said it continued to engage with trading partners to ensure that, where possible, export programmes proceed as planned.

The department also called upon all farmers, farmworkers, pack house workers, inspectors, drivers and everyone in the agriculture and food value chain to observe the COVID-19 hygiene and social distancing measures in the quest to grow the countrys economy and feed the people, both local and internationally.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:46:46|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the German government's decision to designate the Lebanese Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization."

"Certain countries in Europe are apparently adopting their stances without considering the realities in the West Asia region," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement.

The German government's blacklisting of Hezbollah "only serves the objectives of Israel and the United States," said Mousavi.

Besides, the decision "disrespects" the Lebanese government and nation, as Hezbollah is a "legitimate and official part of the country's government and parliament," he said.

On Thursday, Germany blacklisted the Hezbollah and banned all activities of the group in the country. Enditem
TWIN FALLS  The Idaho Foodbank has a new refrigerated food truck that will be dedicated to serving south-central Idaho and was purchased through a grant from Chobani.

The grant will allow the food bank to hire a part-time driver and use the truck to deliver food in this part of the state, a statement from the food bank said. The truck is expected to be operational in the South Central region by June.

The majority of The Idaho Foodbanks partner network have said they are experiencing up to a 50% increase in demand for food, driven by the impact of COVID-19 on the states economy, the food bank said. Food insecurity already affected 210,000 people across Idaho before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its about community especially in these trying times and we want to do our part by helping Idaho families  especially at a time when so many food banks are facing unprecedented demand, said Peter McGuinness, president of Chobani. Were honored to support our longtime partners at The Idaho Foodbank and our friends and neighbors in the Magic Valley and across Idaho.

As a statewide nonprofit we are proud to collaborate with Chobani to provide increased access to nutritious food, including Chobani products, in Twin Falls and throughout the South Central region of Idaho, said Karen Vauk, president and CEO of The Idaho Foodbank. This refrigerated truck will allow us to deliver essential dairy and perishable protein products to partners, churches, shelters, and schools throughout the region. We are grateful for Chobanis all in partnership to end hunger in Idaho providing food, funds and support during this crisis and year-round.

Chobani and The Idaho Foodbank have worked together since 2014. Over the course of the first five years of the partnership, Chobani has donated nearly 3 million pounds of food to The Idaho Foodbank.

Chobani also recently launched the Chobani Pantry, an initiative to send trucks regularly to food banks that need supplies across the U.S. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Chobani has donated over 2 million cups of yogurt (and counting) to communities across the U.S.

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US politicians investigating the market dominance of Big Tech are asking Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos to give evidence to address possible misleading statements by the company on its competition practices.

In a letter to Mr Bezos, leaders of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee are holding out the threat of a subpoena if he does not agree voluntarily to appear.

Amazon used sensitive information about sellers on its marketplace, their products and transactions to develop its own competing products, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.

An Amazon executive denied such a practice in statements at a committee hearing last July, saying the company has a formal policy against it.

Expand Close Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is being asked to give evidence (Charles Krupa/AP) / Facebook

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If the news report is accurate, Amazons statements to the committee appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or constituting perjury, said the letter to Mr Bezos signed by the committees chairman Jerrold Nadler and others.

Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary.

The Judiciary anti-trust subcommittee led by David Cicilline has been conducting a sweeping investigation of Big Tech companies and their impact on competition and consumers, focusing on Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are also pursuing anti-trust probes of the four companies, and state attorneys general from both parties have undertaken investigations of Google and Facebook.

Amazon has drawn unwanted exposure on several fronts in the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the e-commerce giant and Mr Bezos.

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He has accused Amazon of destroying the US Postal Service by swamping it with packages to deliver, at below-market rates charged by the postal service that are deepening its financial woes.

USPS is receiving a 10 billion dollar loan under the governments pandemic rescue package.

Mr Trump has called The Washington Post newspaper, owned by Mr Bezos, fake news. The Post has published critical reports about Mr Trump and his business dealings.

Amazon has sued the government over the Pentagon awarding a 10 billion dollar cloud computing contract to rival Microsoft, alleging that Mr Trumps frequently expressed animus toward the company and Mr Bezos caused the Pentagon to unfairly award the contract.

And on Wednesday, the Trump administrations trade office for the first time added five of Amazons overseas operations to its list of notorious markets where pirated goods are sold. Amazon dismissed the move as part of the administrations personal vendetta against it.
Willis Towers Watson has formed Financial Institutions Differentiated Broking Solutions (FI DBS), an expansion of the DBS program for general industry mid-market clients that launched in June 2019.

DBS utilizes Willis Towers Watsons technical expertise and market relationships with property/casualty insurers to deliver industry-specific insurance coverages.

FI DBS will include employers primarily in the following industries: commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds and asset managers; depository institutions; insurance carriers, agents, brokers and services; security and commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges and services; and non-depository credit institutions. It complements the core property and casualty insurance lines of business: property, general liability, business auto, workers compensation and umbrella.

According to Jim OConnor, head of Middle Market and Specialty Broking, Willis Towers Watson, carriers were chosen thorough a vetting process and include: Chubb, CNA, Hartford, Sompo, Travelers and Zurich.

Differentiated Broking Solutions will continue to build industry-specific options for industries requiring specialization, including real estate/hospitality, technology/media/telecommunications, construction, health care, not for profit/public sector, education, transportation, energy/utilities and agriculture.

Topics Willis Towers Watson
UNSC voices concern about secessionist bid in south Yemen

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 6:36 AM

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has expressed deep concern about a declaration of self-rule in Yemen's south by separatists allied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reaffirming the world body's strong commitment to Yemen's "unity and sovereignty."

On Sunday, the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC), a UAE-backed secessionist organization, declared "emergency rules" in Yemen's southern provinces.

The separatists, once part of the Saudi-led military coalition against Yemen and loyal to the Arab country's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, broke ties with Saudi-sponsored militants in Yemen and accused Hadi of corruption and mismanagement.

The Saudi-led coalition, comprised of a number of Saudi Arabia's allies, the most significant of them being the UAE, invaded Yemen in March 2015 to restore power to Hadi, who had fled to Riyadh earlier amid a popular uprising.

The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and pushed the entire country close to the brink of famine.

On Wednesday, members of the UNSC issued a statement expressing their concern that the STC's actions "could distract from the efforts of [UN] Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to secure a nationwide ceasefire, confidence-building measures, and the restart of a Yemeni-led and owned inclusive political process."

They also urged the self-proclaimed Hadi regime and the Houthi movement, whose members have helped establish a new government following Hadi's escape, to "reinforce their engagement with a view to reaching agreement on the Special Envoy's proposals as soon as possible."

The UNSC also called on the STC to expedite the implementation of an agreement that was signed by the UAE-backed separatists and Hadi's self-proclaimed regime in Riyadh last November with the aim of bringing about reconciliation between the two sides.

The agreement came after the separatists took over Aden  once declared by Hadi his regime's "temporary capital" in Yemen  and opened a chapter of months-long bloody clashes between the two sides.

The STC was founded in 2017 and has since been receiving full support from the UAE, largely due to Abu Dhabi's desire to exert control over southern Yemeni ports and through them over the maritime routes around the Arabian Peninsula.

A day after the STC declared the establishment of its so-called emergency rule in southern Yemen, the deeply-divided Saudi-led military coalition called on the separatists to return to the Riyadh agreement.

The clashes that preceded the Riyadh deal and the Emirati-backed forces' recent declaration expose wide gaps between Saudi Arabia and the Emirates concerning the direction of a war that has fallen short of all of its objectives.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 20:18:13|Editor: huaxia

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MACAO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Macao's cross-border vehicle traffic in March declined by 54.1 percent year-on-year to 203,451 trips, the special administrative region's statistic service said here Friday.

The latest report from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed that the vehicle trips passing through the Border Gate and the Cotai Checkpoint tumbled by 54.8 percent and 66.6 percent respectively to 130,427 and 42,973.

The DSEC report added that the trips crossing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge grew by 23.5 percent to 28,441.

In the first quarter of 2020, cross-border vehicle traffic dropped by 40.4 percent year-on-year to 758,977 trips.

Meanwhile, the arriving and departing commercial flights at the Macao International Airport in March plunged by 91.1 percent year-on-year to 527 trips, with only 178 trips to and from Chinese mainland, an obvious decline of by 92.3 percent.

In the first quarter, arriving and departing commercial flights fell by 51.3 percent year-on-year to 8,411 trips.

The licensed motor vehicles in Macao totaled 241,350 as at the end of March, an increase of 1.1 percent year-on-year. New registration of motor vehicles in March reduced by 14.3 percent year-on-year to 977.

In the first quarter of 2020, new registration of motor vehicles decreased by 24.8 percent year-on-year to 2,326.

The number of traffic accidents in March declined by 41.1 percent year-on-year to 646, and number of injuries totaled 237.

In the first quarter, there were 2,089 traffic accidents, involving 734 victims and three of them were killed. Enditem
Yves here. Even though the press and Vichy Left treatment of Tara Reades allegations of rape by Joe Biden1 has been predictably disgraceful, we would normally regard this as a purely political story and hence more suited to Links/Water Cooler coverage.

However, as Tom points out, laffaire Tara Reade has also become a media story, as in providing yet more evidence of how the press covers for favored interests. The Dems are all in for Biden, the mainstream press is all in for the Dems, ergo, the mainstream press is all in for Biden. So its noteworthy that despite the concerted effort to relegate the Tara Reade account to Hallins sphere of deviance, the New York Times clearing its throat and then the Washington Post editorial board calling for Biden to address Tara Reades account means that horse has finally left the barn.

I am nevertheless surprised that Biden is taking the bait. Hes set to discuss the matter on MSNBCs Morning Joe today, as in Friday. I hope some of you will watch in full, not only out of political or prurient interest, but also to see how severely cherry-picked the follow-on reports are.

On the one hand, I am sure that no matter what Biden says, operatives like Pelosi will say, Biden has discussed this already and I am satisfied with his answers. We need to put this behind us. In fact, as Tom points out, Pelosi is now satisfied with Bidens non-answers!

On the other, its hard to see how Biden can say anything that will make this controversy go away. If he makes a non-denial like I dont remember anything of the kind and Id never do anything like that, it opens him up to more jibes about his deteriorating mental state and replays of videos and other accounts of Biden getting way too hands-y with women and little girls.

And if he tries the smearing-the-victim route when Reade has nothing to gain from coming forward, let alone now, that has the potential to backfire. Perhaps hell try ducking the question by blathering on about how hes has the highest respect for women, had always had great relationships with the women working for him and how hes helped advance the careers of women working for and with him, but I dont see how not talking about Tara Reade works given that thats what he agreed to do.

And it goes without saying that this episode confirms my low opinion of #MeToo. Its adherents were never interested taking up the cause of non-privileged women who face abuse on a regular basis, like waitresses. Instead, they looked to often to be acting out of a widespread rage among careerist women of having to deal with predatory or merely openly sexist bosses, and attacking available targets, even when the evidence against them was thin.

By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at DownWithTyranny!

Big Media silence is breaking in the Tara Reade story

Is the Tara Reade story reaching critical mass, approaching a tipping point? It seems so.

The initial response to this story was silence from anyone with political or media power. The media in particular completely ignored it. Comparisons of CNN coverage of the Reade story with their coverage of the Blasey Ford story show a marked discrepancy. Reade told her full story first in a March 25 interview with Katie Halper. Yet CNN published no Tara Reade stories until April 25, and then, it seems, they published only in embarrassed response to The Intercepts revelation that Reades mother had called in to CNNs own show, Larry King Live, on August 11, 1993 to discuss in unspecific terms her daughters problem.

CNN finally broke silence on the Reade story less than a day after Ryan Grim and the Intercept published the Larry King show transcript and the Media Research Center located and tweeted a clip of it. Blasey Fords story, in contrast, went viral on all national media. including on CNN, as soon as it was available. Deservedly so, in her case. Not so much, in Reades.

To conclude that the media buried the story to help Biden remain the presumptive nominee is inescapable. The plan, apparently, was to starve the public of Reade news and wait out the indie-press storm until newer news drew their attention.

Once the wall of silence was breached, the indie press started asking why Democratic Party leaders and opinion makers, especially prominent #MeToo women, were either absent from the discussion or suddenly coming out in support of Biden. Kirstin Gillibrand and Hillary Clinton are the latest to announce support as of this writing, but the silence of many  Elizabeth Warren prominently among them  is still deafening. Note that I support Joe Biden and I believe Joe Biden are different statements.

Only Nancy Pelosi, speaking with Ari Melber on MSNBC, has been asked directly about Reades accusation and replied, Im satisfied with his answer. (Its very much to the point of this piece that the only sources I could find to link to for this quote are right-wing sources like Breitbart. Yet Melbers show is on MSNBC.)

Now the story itself, or the story about the story, is coming to mainstream pages and screens, thanks partly to the shaming of the indie press and partly to the recent report by Rich McHugh in Business Insider.

Michelle Goldberg tweeted this on April 27, three days prior to this writing:

This is the most persuasive corroborating evidence that has come out so far. What a nightmare. https://t.co/u4yPbEElaf  Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn) April 27, 2020

The New York Times now publicly acknowledges Bidens silence:

Democratic Frustration Mounts as Biden Remains Silent on Sexual Assault Allegation Activists and womens rights advocates have urged Mr. Biden to address a former aides allegation that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. His lack of response has angered them.

In an April 27 New Yorker story entitled The Biden Trap: As the candidate faces credible assault allegations, his progressive female colleagues are being offered a poisoned chalice, Rebecca Traister observes:

Bidens shaky past behavior around women and their bodies isnt staying in his past.

BuzzFeed weighs in with Democrats Will Have To Answer Questions About Tara Reade. The Biden Campaign Is Advising Them To Say Her Story Did Not Happen.

In which article we see this:

Democrats are in an increasingly precarious position as reporters assess Reades allegation. By any measure of the #MeToo movement that has seen the Democratic Party embrace believe women as a mantra, Reade, 56, has provided a serious account, disputed by Bidens campaign and former senior staffers who worked in his office in 1993 but corroborated in part by people she told about the incident in the 1990s.

Chris Cillizza add his bit with Joe Bidens campaign is twisting a New York Times story to defend against the Tara Reade allegation.

And the Daily Beast pursues responses from 10 prominent womens groups and notes their near universal silence (emphasis added):

Why Have Womens Groups Gone Dead Silent on Biden Sex-Assault Accusation? Womens groups and prominent feminist figures have remained almost universally silent over a former staffers accusation of sexual misconduct against former Vice President Joe Bidenincluding those individuals and groups who came to express regret for how the Democratic Party handled similar accusations made against President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. The collective non-response from mostly Democrat-aligned groups comes as potential female running mates struggle themselves in responding to the Biden allegation, which has the potential to upend his campaign against President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of womenin alleged incidents spanning decades. And it echoes the division among progressives when the #MeToo movement revived scrutiny of Clintons own alleged sexual misconduct. The Daily Beast contacted 10 top national pro-women organizations for this story, including Emilys List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the National Organization for Women. Most organizations did not respond to a detailed request for comment about the allegation by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Bidens Senate office who has accused the former vice president of forcibly penetrating her with his fingers in the early 1990s. Others replied and did not provide a statement.

In addition, according to the article, neither [attorney Patricia] Ireland [who presided over NOW during the whole of the Clinton administration] nor feminist icon [Gloria] Steinem responded to a request for comment about Reades accusations against Biden.

Finally, the Washington Posts editorial board writes on April 29: Biden himself should address the Tara Reade allegations and release relevant records.

Whats notable in all these reports isnt the story itself. Its that the story is being told in mainstream media outlets where people with mainstream lives can finally see them.

Whats Next?

The day may be almost here when Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Warren, and worse for Biden, all of the female VP candidates and hopefuls mentioned by Traister in her poisoned chalice New Yorker article will be asked on the record, not if they support Joe Biden, but if they believe him.

Thats a question few women with strong #MeToo credentials will want to answer, since it ties them, perhaps forever, to Bidens historical shortcomings (in Traisters delicate phrasing). They have to be concerned that, if another credible accuser comes forward, it could sink them all.

Will this explosion of coverage lead to a collapse of the Biden campaign and a DNC search for a new 2020 standard-bearer? We cant be sure it will. Every indication thats come to my ears suggests that DNC Democrats, those with real power, are certain the storm will be weathered, the story will pass into the background, spring will fade to summer, then to fall, and by November Party-leaning minds will think only of Trump and the wreckage he represents.

But critical mass brings tipping points. We also cant be sure that Reades story wont lead to Bidens collapse, now that the difficult questions are starting to be asked in places that give permission to ask them.

___

1 As reader Landrew pointed out, the Justice Department defines rape as The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. Many states use the term sexual assault with a functionally equivalent definition.
Jeff Bezos speaks after receiving the 2019 International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Excellence in Industry Award during the the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington, on Oct. 22, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Lawmakers Call on Amazon Chief to Testify Voluntarily or Face Compulsory Process

Members of the House Judiciary Committee called on Amazon chief Jeff Bezos to testify in an antitrust investigation of his company, threatening to subpoena him if he doesnt comply.

In a May 1 letter addressed to Bezos, seven lawmakers, including Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary Jerrold Nadler (D- N.Y.) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law David Cicilline (D-R.I.), allege Amazon may have made misleading, and possibly criminally false statements in a Congressional probe into some of the companys actions.

The lawmakers cited an April 23 investigative report by The Wall Street Journal that claims Amazon used sensitive information about third-party sellers on its marketplace to develop competing products.

If these allegations are true, then Amazon exploited its role as the largest online marketplace in the U.S. to appropriate the sensitive commercial data of individual marketplace sellers and then used that data to compete directly with those sellers, the lawmakers wrote.

Amazon responded to the claims in the report by saying that their employees actions were in violation of company policy, while the report claimed some staff said using competitors data as described above was standard operating procedure, others called it a common practice, and still others said policies werent uniformly enforced.

An Amazon executive denied such a practice in statements at a committee hearing last July, referring to the same company policies that prohibit such actions.

The lawmakers contend that in the event that the news report is true, then the statements made by the Amazon executive may amount to a crime.

If the reporting in the Wall Street Journal article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the Committee about the companys business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious, they wrote.

They then said it is vital to the Committee that Bezos come and testify, preferably of his own accord.

Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary, they wrote.

Amazon spokesmen had no immediate comment.

While the letter has bipartisan backing, the Committees top Republican, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), did not sign it. In a statement to Politico, a spokesperson from Jordans office questioned the motives of the Democrats on the panel.

Of course our Members have questions for Amazon and want to get answers for the American people. But we wonder what Judiciary Democrats true motivations are, said Russell Dye, according to Politico. Earlier this year, they said companies like Amazon should not exist and should be broken up simply because they are large successful businesses.

Earlier, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called on the Justice Department to open a criminal antitrust investigation into Amazon over revelations contained in the Wall Street Journal report.

These practices are alarming for Americas small businesses even under ordinary circumstances, Hawley wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr (pdf).

Amazons capacity for data collection is like a brick-and-mortar retailer attaching a camera to every customers forehead, he said, arguing that the data Amazon can access poses a severe competitive threat to traditional retailers.

The Judiciary antitrust subcommittee led by Cicilline has been conducting a sweeping investigation of Big Tech companies and their impact on competition and consumers, focusing on Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission also are pursuing antitrust probes of the four companies, and state attorneys general from both parties have undertaken investigations of Google and Facebook.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Despite getting the green light from the province, most Manitoba museums and art galleries won't be reopening to the public next week.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite getting the green light from the province, most Manitoba museums and art galleries won't be reopening to the public next week.

"That is going to be dependent on how quickly we can get hand sanitizer and gloves for staff and cleaning solutions," said Alanna Horejda, curator of the Transcona Museum. "Some of these items are very hard to come by at the moment."

On Wednesday, Premier Brian Pallister unveiled an ambitious plan for reopening some establishments shuttered by public health orders, beginning May 4.

Museums and galleries made the cut, but many need more time to sort out logistics and meet the guidelines  which include limiting visitation to 50 per cent of normal capacity, creating COVID-19 protocol signage, making hand sanitizer stations available, and closing high-touch displays.

For the Transcona Museum, this will mean closing the centre children's area, removing items without display cases, and figuring out how many people can safely occupy the 850-square-foot gallery. Admission is by donation, so staff aren't able to determine visitor numbers ahead of time with pre-sold tickets.

"Once we hit capacity... they would just have to wait to come in," Horejda said. "We're trying to figure all that out."

The Association of Manitoba Museums has roughly 200 members across the province; its executive director, Monique Brandt, wasn't aware of any museums that were on track to open Monday.

"Our museums are really pleased in some ways, because we want to be open," Brandt said Thursday. "But theyre a little bit scared, because its a big responsibility to make sure everything is following the proper safety protocols."

The association has been communicating with members about how to implement the province's guidelines, how to approach staffing and volunteer hours, and how to sanitize properly  a complicated task for centres with delicate artifacts.

"How do you clean things like historic handrails in a historic house?" Brandt said. "You cant just take your standard wipe and use it on these things because it might be potentially damaging."

The Canadian Conservation Institute has published a detailed list of cleaning and care tips for museum curators.

Andrea Reichert, curator of the Manitoba Craft Museum and Library  which shares space with the Manitoba Craft Council at the C2 Centre for Craft on Cumberland Avenue  said Wednesday's announcement came as a surprise.

"No one in the facility was prepared for it," she said. "I didnt think that museums and galleries would be that high on the list to reopen."

Spring and summer are the busiest times of the year for most museums and galleries. Reichert said the goal is to reopen the craft museum by late May, pending a shipment of hand sanitizer, but she isn't sure they'll be able to offer the usual slate of family programming and workshops this year.

"I guess it depends how the regulations are doing in July and August," she said. "Honestly, everything is really up in the air."

In Winnipeg, the Manitoba Museum, Manitoba Children's Museum and Canadian Museum for Human Rights confirmed with the Free Press they will not be reopening to the public next week.

While the CMHR has ample room to meet physical-distancing recommendations, staff are working out the best way to manage occupancy and deliver a worthwhile experience to guests, a spokesman said.

Outside of Winnipeg, the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre will not be reopening any time soon. The facility, which is home to Bruce, the Guinness World Record mosasaur, is owned by the City of Morden, and the local government hasn't authorized its reopening yet.

"I am taking advantage of this situation and doing some improvements in the exhibitions," Adolfo Cuetara, CFDC executive director, said via email, adding none of Manitoba's seven "Signature Museums," which includes the Mennonite Heritage Village and New Iceland Heritage Museum, have indicated they will be open next week.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery appears to be the lone facility ready to welcome visitors, beginning May 5.

"We anticipated (reopening) would happen sometime in the early summer, but all along we had a plan for the re-emergence of the art gallery," said Stephen Borys, WAG director and chief executive officer.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Visitors can expect to see extra signage and hand sanitizer stations throughout the gallery's 125,000 sq. ft. Capacity will be monitored during opening hours and the gallery plans to show work from its permanent collection over the next few months to fill gaps left by exhibits that have been postponed.

Into the Light, a show of 200 works by Manitoba Group of Seven member, Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald, will open next week.

The WAG is dedicating its first two days of operations to front-line workers, meaning health-care staff, food service employees and postal workers will be able to visit the gallery for free May 5-6, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The gallery will reopen to the general public May 7.

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney
President Donald Trump during a meeting about the coronavirus response with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy at the White House on April 30, 2020. Read more

The number of coronavirus-related deaths and the economic impact of the pandemic over the next two months will vary widely depending on how quickly the U.S. economy reopens, according to a new model, with even the best-case scenario exceeding the fatalities predicted by President Donald Trump.

Even with no changes to the current patchwork of state-mandated business closures and social distancing guidelines, the number of coronavirus cases in the United States could reach 2.3 million by the end of June, with 117,000 deaths, according to the new Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis released Friday.

And if state governments relax all business restrictions, throw open travel and commerce, and drop all social distancing guidelines, the Penn model predicts a worst-case scenario of 8 million cases and 350,000 deaths in the next two months.

If states fully reopen, that could be the worst-case number, using currently available models, Wharton professor Kent Smetters said.

As the death toll surpassed 56,000 on Monday, Trump said during a news briefing that while weve lost a lot of people... if you look at what original projections were, 2.2 million, we are probably heading to 60,000 to 70,000.

As of Thursday, there were more than one million confirmed cases in the U.S., and more than 62,000 deaths.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

Models that attempt to predict the spread of the virus have ranged widely in projections, and have shifted as states enact measures to slow the virus. With the rate of new infections slowing, public officials and business leaders are debating how widely and how quickly to reopen an economy that has been in free fall, with more than 30 million people losing their jobs.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model is a free online tool that examines the impact of social, government, and economic decisions and policies. Fridays report includes projected cases of the coronavirus, the number of deaths, and the potential impact of reopening the economy on gross domestic product.

Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The report examines almost every state, and shows that economic recovery depends less on government policy and more on peoples behavior.

The online simulator tool is available at the Penn Wharton Budget Model website here: https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2020/5/1/coronavirus-reopening-simulator.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model projects that partially relaxing lockdown orders would increase year-over-year U.S. GDP by about 1% in the second quarter 2020, and save about 4.4 million jobs by the end of the quarter. Fully reopening the economy would increase year-over-year GDP by about 1.5% in the second quarter of 2020 and eliminate almost all net job losses between May 1 and June 30.

Of course, reopening policies vary by state.

For example, Smetters said, virus deaths in Georgia are flattening, and so reopening causes a relatively smaller increase in deaths than it would in a state like Pennsylvania, which is still seeing a higher viral reproductive rate.

By the end of June, despite their comparable population sizes, fully reopening Georgia would cause about 6,000 additional deaths while reopening Pennsylvania would cause about 10,000 additional deaths, he estimated.

Day to day, workplace experts say, returning to work will never be the same as before the pandemic.

This has thrown everyone for a loop," said Todd Cohen, Philadelphia-based author of the business book Everyones in Sales. "Businesses must scramble, reinvent, pivot, and do whatever is necessary to survive and ensure a path forward.
Five out of 10 salaried workers have lost income due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to a survey. Low-income, temporary workers in the service industry were hit much harder than high-paid permanent employees in other industries.

The Public Workers Solidarity Foundation on Monday said that in a survey of 1,000 employees from April 14-20, 47.5 percent replied that their income has dropped since the epidemic erupted.

Six hundred were permanent employees and 400 on temporary contracts. Some 500 were office workers, 178 factory workers, 299 in the service industry and 23 in other sectors.

Among the contract workers, 66.3 percent suffered a decline in income compared to 35 percent of permanent staff.

By earnings bracket, 70.2 percent of workers making less than W1.5 million a month lost income, compared to only 24.1 percent of workers who earn more than W5 million (US$1=W1,219).

Some 19.5 percent of contract workers had been forced to accept unpaid leave as against only eight percent of permanent staff. More temporary workers also lost their job or suffered pay cuts with 8.5 percent and 13.8 percent, compared to 3.5 percent and 11.3 percent among permanent staff.


This is for all the men out there that I envy the most, those whose wives are beauticians, otherwise known as barbers to men. Because right now, if this goes another month or so, Im not going to need a barber, Ill need a beautician and my hair will be as long as my wifes. Now thats going to be something to see.
Los Angeles City Mayor Addresses Graduating Class of 2020; Announces Educational Resources to Guide Students During COVID-19

Thursday, April 30. Mayor Garcetti updated the City of Los Angeles with latest news surrounding COVID-19. Aligned with the principles laid out by the California State Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles prepares to take its first steps into opening low-risk businesses. There are anticipated spikes within the contracted cases as the economy prepares for a resurgence, the Mayor of Los Angeles addresses all of the pressing concerns as L.A. emerges out of the quarantine stages in the COVID-19 battle. Mayor Garcetti shared the latest numbers surrounded around testing and the Countys new protocol.

The Los Angeles City Mayor shared the latest update behind the COVID-19 outbreak in L.A. The elected Official shared as of Wednesday, April 30. there were 55 additional deaths. That accounts for a 5% increase since the report on April 29. This brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in the L.A. County to 1,111. The average death rate in a week has been 45 fatal cases per day. There were 733 new cases reported, bringing the total of positive COVID-19 cases to 23,182. There is a daily average of 836 new cases. Within the city of L.A., the new report reflects 10,863 COVID-19 cases.

Human life has changed drastically. The mission is to move forward, the mayor stressed that the need for assistance is urgent. His camp went to the All Peoples Christian Center in South L.A. and distributed Angeleno Cards to those families most in need. This crisis has set the city on a whole new course; there is a new aspect of living among Los Angeles. The foundation of higher education has also shifted, Mayor Garcetti announced a partnership with L.A. Compact to assist students to continue their path of education. LA Compact is a readily available resource to guide students through the adjustments that have been made through various academic systems due to COVID-19. The information collected will prepare future resources that will be needed in the upcoming school year.

Michelle Siqueiros is the president of The Campaign for College. Her role is to influence California policy makers and college leaders, so that more students have access to higher education. Michelle Siqueiros works to expand college access and opportunities for California students. Michelle looks to bring public attention to the critical inequality issues that work against students seeking a college education. The Campaign for College looks to increase college enrollment and completion rates. The future of economic success depends on the education received. Michelle stated,  The class of 2020 is facing this college decision with incredible uncertainty, she continued,  We cannot allow how the school year is ending to trump, twelve years of dedication and hard work the value of a college education has never been higher.

Eric Garcetti stated, The path to effective response, is our commitment to the Safe at Home Order. The public order has a heavy impact on the financial aspect of everyones livelihood. Mayor Garcetti explained that the collaborations with private and public sectors has been the citys saving grace. The collected donations are a source of relief for many people who are suffering. Over 15,000 people have been helped by the Angeleno Card. Mayor Eric Garcetti shared that five million dollars has been donated to the Mayors emergency relief fund. There will be an additional 20,000 Angeleno Cards available to distribute. This helps a total of 60,000 L.A. residents, this card works as a critical lifeline for each one. As Los Angeles looks towards the horizons of economic recovery, Eric Garcetti stated, You are not alone, we are here to help and to advise. He continued, We are not only here to help you survive, but also recover.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:50:32|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, May 1(Xinhua) -- The Nigerian health minister has urged state governments to expedite efforts in setting up isolation and treatment centers as the country continues to report large number of new COVID-19 cases.

Cases are expected to surge in the coming days as testing ramps up, Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, on Friday.

According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), 204 new cases were reported on Thursday, the highest recorded in a day since Feb. 27, when the country reported its first confirmed case, bringing the total to 1,932.

The minister appealed to members of the national assembly and their state counterparts to get involved in disease surveillance and notification efforts in their constituencies, and to actively support the drive to rapidly increase bed spaces for isolation and treatment.

The health ministry had completed plans to kick-start training and capacity-building of intensive care workforce for various parts of the country, Ehanire said.

He urged the public to adhere to health advisories and guidelines from the ministry to contain the epidemic.

Nigeria has only 3,500 bed spaces for COVID-19 patients nationwide and there is clear indication of community transmission in the country, NCDC head Chikwe Ihekweazu told the media in Abuja earlier this week. Enditem
In light of the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, automakers have, unsurprisingly, recorded zero sales in the month of April.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Friday said it did not sell a single unit in the domestic market last month due to coronavirus-led nationwide lockdown. The company had zero sales in the domestic market in April 2020, MSI said in a statement.

This was because in compliance with the Government orders all production facilities were closed, it added. The company, however, exported 632 units from Mundra port following the resumption of port operations. The company said the units were dispatched ensuring all safety guidelines.

Similarly, MG Motor India on Friday said it retailed zero units in April as dealerships remained closed due to the nationwide lockdown to contain coronavirus pandemic.

The company, which reports only retail sales figures, has recorded zero retail sales for the month of April 2020, as its showrooms were closed due to nationwide lockdown, MG Motor India said in a statement.

The carmaker, which began operations and manufacturing on a small scale at its facility in Halol in the last week of April 2020, hopes that production will ramp-up in the month of May and is working on the local supply-chain support.

The company is gearing up for working as per norms, including sanitisation and social distancing, the automaker said.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. also announced that the company sold 733 vehicles in the export market during April 2020. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, registered exports sales of 1341 units in the month of April 2020. All automakers have recorded zero sales, we are awaiting official confirmation from the brands.

(With inputs from PTI)

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NCDC Boss, Chikwe Ihekweazu

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has begged for help as it revealed it is struggling with lack of bed spaces for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Lagos state.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of NCDC, made this revelation at the briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19 on Thursday, April 30. Ihekweazu added that although there are about 3,500 bed spaces available across the country, this is insufficient and it leaves the infectious disease control agency to struggle.

He said: In response to the question about bed spaces. There is not doubt about that, we are struggling in certain places especially in Lagos. To an extent Kano and Abuja too but the biggest challenge right now is in Lagos where bad spaces are really tight.

Across the country, we have about 3500 bed spaces identified as available for COVID-19 but in Lagos we are really struggling. So, we are going to keep trying to work with them to make more spaces available.

He added: Lagos is the only place where we are struggling with bed spaces for now. We will always tell Nigerians the truth. We are struggling with bed spaces in Lagos for now.

There are 947 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lagos alone and 187 of these patients have been discharged after recovering from the disease.

The isolation centers in Lagos are at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and at Onikan Stadium.

Speaking at the briefing, Ihekweazu said efforts are being made to change strategy in order not to allow the inadequate bed spaces to affect the fight against coronavirus.

Ihekweazu also said the agency has adopted a new measure to make testing more effective, appealing to Nigerians for support.

He said: We are in the process of scaling up testing across the country and the key component that has changed in this is that in Lagos, Abuja and Kano, instead of waiting for people to call us, we are now going to where the patients are, so we have set up specific testing locations and of course in collaboration and under the leadership of the state in these three states to increase the samples collected from cases that actually do meet the case definition.

So, we are going into the communities, health centers to identify those with these case definition and bring them in. We are doing this because we are certain that we have ongoing community transmission, especially in these three cities. We have to adapt our response to this situation. We adapted to the circumstances in every state, every city where the nature of transmission changes.

These changes mean that more and more people will be going into the community. We really need Nigerians to support the work that they do and not stigmatize them. Currently, we are living with COVID-19, but not the way we thought about it during the HIV era. This is about communities. How can we as a country manage this as we transit into the next weeks? As we release the guidelines for implementing the non-pharmaceutical intervention that will be released very soon, we are doing this in the context of rising cases.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 16:48:38|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has decided to send teams of medical experts to Djibouti and Cote d'Ivoire to help the countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced Friday.

The teams are organized by the National Health Commission and selected by health commissions of Sichuan Province and Tianjin Municipality, respectively, according to the spokesperson. Enditem
Pivot Bio, a Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of microbial nitrogen tech for increasing crop yields, raised $100m in Series C funding.

The round was co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Temasek with participation from DCVC, Prelude Ventures, Spruce Capital Partners, Codon Capital, Bunge Ventures, Continental Grain Company, Tekfen Ventures, Pavilion Capital, and individual investors Alan Cohen and Roger Underwood.

The company, which has raised $186m in capital to date, intends to use the funds to scale its microbial nitrogen technology and expand internationally.

Led by Karsten Temme, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder, Pivot Bio leverages the crop microbiome to provide farmers with solutions to grow environmentally-responsible and sustainably focused food crops.

Pivot Bio PROVEN, the companys inaugural product for corn, delivers more nitrogen into the crop than synthetic nitrogen aiding in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and global energy use related to the $65 billion global synthetic nitrogen fertilizer market.

FinSMEs

30/04/2020
An 11-year-old has been fatally shot while hunting with his father in Alabama, according to local authorities.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department share that the boy was killed while hunting with his father and two others.

The group of four had been hunting turkeys Friday morning near the 9100 block of Cedar Mountain Road, CBS 42 reports.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department share that the boy was killed while hunting with his father and two others

The area is near Emerald Lake in Pinson, Alabama.

Local law enforcement believe the shooting took place around 9.30am, according to WIAT.

Medics were called to the scene and the tried to revive the boy but were unable to revive him.

The boy nor his father's identity has been released.

Authorities are still investigating the accidental killing.
A 16-year-old boy was shot while waiting for a bus Thursday night in southwest Houston.

The teen was riding his bike along Bissonnet near Fondren when he stopped at the Metro bus stop around 9:30 p.m., according to Houston Police Lt. Ronnie Wilkins. Before the bus arrived at the stop, three men in a red sedan pulled up to the bench and started shooting.

STRIP CLUB RAIDED: Defiant Houston strip club owner closes doors after police threaten arrest

The teen was struck in the wrist and leg, police said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, and Wilkins said he is expected to survive the wounds.

The shooting might be gang related, Wilkins said. Because the shooting happened at the bus stop, the Metro Police Department is investigating.

Anyone with information is urged to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Digital Asset organisation, BEQUANT is continuing to provide valuable content to the financial industry by launching its cryptocurrency insights section on CityAM, the business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London, targeting the local institutional market.

The partnership builds on a growing trend among traditional media, where mainstream publishers are paying special attention to the digital asset space.

The BEQUANT CityA.M. section will offer market reviews, insights from industry experts and exclusive partner content. The section will also feature Crypto&Coffee analysis by BEQUANT's Head of Research, Denis Vinokourov.

"Bequant is proud to join the CityA.M. platform and offer valuable content and data from the front lines' ' comments BEQUANT CEO George Zarya.

City AM shared the BEQUANT sentiments, with Harry Owen, City AM COO commenting "BEQUANT have proven themselves a true market leader - since 2005 City AM has been at the forefront of FX, CFDs, ETFs and we are now breaking new ground with BEQUANT on Crypto currencies. We recognise their innovation in opening markets to both institutional and retail customers - it's great to have their expertise on CityAM.com as our latest City Talk partner"

Earlier this month, BEQUANT launched demonstrations of its Prime Brokerage solution, providing clients with personalised tutorials. Among other features, BEQUANT Prime Brokerage provides a streamlined onboarding process with connections to multiple partners, access to 5 trading platforms including the biggest liquidity venues in the crypto world and competitive fees.

In May, BEQUANT is also planning to launch a series of webinars with industry professionals covering a wide range of topics, including the status of digital assets in financial markets in a Post-COVID world.

About BEQUANT

BEQUANT is a one stop solution for professional digital-assets investors and institutions. Our breadth of products include prime brokerage, custody, fund administration enhanced by an institutional trading platform providing low-latency, liquidity and direct market access.

BEQUANT is dedicated to providing solutions that create market efficiencies by reducing friction while delivering exceptional client services.

The BEQUANT team is comprised of experts from institutional, retail and digital financial services with experience in banking, derivatives, electronic trading and prime brokerage.

About CityA.M.

City A.M. is London's most-read financial and business newspaper, enjoyed by thousands of workers across the capital each weekday. Launched in 2006, it covers the latest economic, political and business news as well as comment, sport and lifestyle features.

Cityam.com has 2.0 million unique visitors per month primarily based in the UK. We also have a strong international audience with strong traffic sources from the United States and India.

The City A.M. newspaper is distributed at more than 400 carefully chosen commuter hubs across London and the home counties, as well as London City Airport and over 500 offices throughout the City, Canary Wharf and other areas of high business concentration.

Our ABC certified distribution figure for June 2019 is 85,617. Our readers are professionals, in full-time work and with an average salary of over 87,000 per annum - roughly three times the national average.

Media Contact

BEQUANT

Sunil Chauhan

T - +44 (0)20 3893 3214

E - marketing@bequant.pro

SOURCE: BEQUANT

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/587942/BEQUANT-Continues-Partnership-with-CityAM-and-Launches-Digital-Asset-Content-Hub
Vietnam looks set to join a global race to develop a vaccine for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who chairs the countrys national committee to battle the disease, on Tuesday presided over a meeting with leaders from various sectors to discuss ways to study and produce potential coronavirus vaccines, the Vietnam Government Portal reported.

The meeting participants also debated the results of coronavirus studies up to now, as well as the various methods of developing coronavirus vaccines around the world, at a time when countries are struggling to produce a potent drug or vaccine against the virus.

Deputy PM Dam gave the Ministry of Sciences and Technology the authority to lead the mission of studying and developing a COVID-19 jab.

As the leading unit, the ministry will collaborate with the Ministry of Health, the Vietnamese Academy of Sciences and Technology, and others on this mission.

In fact, since the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnams scientific communities have tried their best to spur their research.

They have already managed to isolate the novel coronavirus and gradually developed a possible treatment therapy for COVID-19 patients.

On Monday, Vietnam announced that a Vietnamese test kit, made by the Vietnam Military Medical University and Viet A Company, had been approved by the World Health Organization after five strict rounds of testing and quality review.

This kit has been exported to Finland, Ukraine, Cambodia, Poland, and others.

Vietnam has also developed two methods of testing by itself, including real-time PCR and antibody techniques.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam has been regularly lauded for its successful handling of the disease.

The Southeast Asian country has confirmed 270 cases to date, with 219 recoveries and no fatality.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Old Bethpage, New York, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Power REIT (NYSE-AMEX: PW) (Power REIT or the Trust) today announced that it has entered into an agreement for a 5,040 square-foot greenhouse expansion for the cultivation of cannabis at its southern Colorado property (Maverick 5), which is owned by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust. Power REITs investment in the expansion is $340,000 and the lease amendment is structured to provide additional straight-line annual rent of approximately $63,000, representing an estimated yield of over 18%.



Power REIT acquired Maverick 5 on March 19, 2020 for $150,000. As part of the acquisition, the Trust agreed to fund the immediate construction of 5,040 square feet of greenhouse space and 4,920 square feet of head-house/processing space. This project is currently under construction and anticipated to be completed by mid-July 2020.

David Lesser, Power REITs Chairman and CEO, commented, We are pleased that the initial Maverick 5 expansion is proceeding ahead of schedule and we are able to quickly add an expansion to meet our tenants evolving business needs with additional greenhouse cultivation space. Since closing on this acquisition and commencing construction, our tenant has accelerated plans to populate the facility with cannabis plants, which has led to the expedient need to expand the scope of the current construction project to add an additional greenhouse bay. The modularity of greenhouses has allowed us to meet our tenants needs and move forward with the additional space. This is the second time, we have efficiently moved forward with an expansion of a greenhouse property in our portfolio, which demonstrates the economic resiliency of our greenhouse focused business plan.

FFO ASSUMPTIONS

The Maverick 5 expansion is immediately accretive to FFO by adding $63,000 of straight-line rent which translates to incremental FFO of approximately $0.033 per share per annum on a run rate basis. Omitting future available capital deployments, this transaction along with the other recently announced greenhouse related transactions should increase FFO by over 65% on a run rate basis relative to Power REITs stabilized FFO prior to embarking on our updated business plan in July 2019. Assuming Power REIT deploys its remaining capital equally over the next two quarters, the year-end run-rate for FFO per share should exceed $1.60 per share, which assumes that the capital is deployed at a 12.5% yield. Similarly, if Power REIT deploys its capital at a rate in-line with recent acquisitions, the year end FFO run-rate could exceed $1.90 per share, which more than triples the previous performance prior to the implementation of Power REITs new business plan in the middle of last year.

Mr. Lesser continued, When we acquired Maverick 5, we indicated that our tenant was well positioned for near-term expansion. This transaction demonstrates the demand for an essential business and where the tenant is likely to have additional expansion needs. This supply and demand dynamic will likely allow us to deploy additional capital on an attractive risk adjusted basis. Mr. Lesser concluded, With an extensive acquisition pipeline, we feel cautiously optimistic that we will be able to deploy the remainder of the capital currently available for investment in the near term. Cannabis operators currently have limited access to capital sources which means that Power REIT should be able to deploy much needed capital at attractive risk adjusted returns.

As previously disclosed, Power REIT recently completed a $15.5 million debt financing at a rate of 4.62% which fully amortizes over a 35-year term. Approximately $4.7 million of the funds have been earmarked to acquire assets and expand greenhouse cultivation assets we have acquired. In addition to this expansion transaction, Power REIT has an extensive pipeline of CEA acquisition targets and is actively working to deploy the remainder of the capital available for investment.

UPDATE ON CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY

Power REIT is currently has four greenhouse projects in southern Colorado in various stages of construction. The state of Colorado has deemed cannabis an essential service including the construction of cultivation facilities. Power REITs construction activities remain on or ahead of schedule. Below is a summary of the status of the construction projects currently underway:

Maverick 1

On December 31, 2019, Power REIT announced that it had entered into an agreement to expand its property referred to as Maverick 1 by adding an additional 10,800 sf of greenhouse space. The property is now fully enclosed and working towards finalizing the interior construction including mechanical, electric and light depravation shades. Our tenant has indicated that the expansion should be ready for occupancy by June 1, 2020.

Maverick 14

On February 6, 2020, Power REIT announced the acquisition of an existing greenhouse and support buildings and an agreement to construct 15,120 square feet of greenhouse space and 2,520 square feet of head-house/processing space. This construction is proceeding ahead of schedule with all of the poles and trusses for the greenhouse in place and the greenhouse is already fully enclosed and working towards finalizing the interior construction including mechanical, electric and light depravation shades. It is anticipated that the entire property will be ready for occupancy by mid-July 2020.

Sherman 6

On February 6, 2020, Power REIT announced the acquisition of vacant land and an agreement to construct 15,120 square feet of greenhouse space and 7,520 square feet of head-house/processing space. This construction is proceeding ahead of schedule with the processing space anticipated for occupancy by mid-May 2020. In addition, all of the poles and trusses for the greenhouse have been set and the greenhouse is almost fully enclosed. It is anticipated that the entire property will be ready for occupancy by the mid-July 2020.

Maverick 5

On March 20, 2020, Power REIT announced the acquisition of vacant land and an agreement to construct 5,040 square feet of greenhouse space and 4,920 square feet of head-house/processing space. This construction is proceeding ahead of schedule with the processing space anticipated to be ready for occupancy by mid-May, 2020. In addition, all of the columns for the greenhouse have been installed and it is anticipated to be ready for occupancy by the end of June. As described above, Power REIT has now agreed to fund the immediate expansion of greenhouse space by 5,040 square feet which we currently anticipate will be ready for occupancy by mid-July, 2020

STATEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY

Power REIT owns real estate related to infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA Facilities), Renewable Energy and Transportation.

CEA Facilities, such as greenhouses, provide an extremely environmentally friendly solution, which consume approximately 70% less energy than indoor growing operations that do not benefit from free sunlight. CEA facilities use 90% less water than field grown plants, and all of Power REITs greenhouse properties operate without the use of pesticides and avoid agricultural runoff of fertilizers and pesticides. These facilities cultivate medical Cannabis, which has been recommended to help manage a myriad of medical symptoms, including seizures and spasms, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, migraines, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimers.

Renewable Energy assets are comprised of land and infrastructure associated with utility scale solar farms. These projects produce power without the use of fossil fuels thereby lowering carbon emissions. The solar farms produce approximately 50,000,000 kWh of electricity annually which is enough to power approximately 4,600 home on a carbon free basis.

Transportation assets are comprised of land associated with a railroad, an environmentally friendly mode of bulk transportation.

ABOUT POWER REIT

Power REIT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns real estate related to infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled Environment Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation. Power REIT is actively seeking to expand its real estate portfolio related to Controlled Environment Agriculture and Renewable Energy. Additional information on Power REIT can be found on its website at www.pwreit.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements are those that predict or describe future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. You can generally identify forward-looking statements as statements containing the words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "plan," "assume", "seek" or other similar expressions, or negatives of those expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements contained in this document regarding our future strategy, future operations, future prospects, the future of our industries and results that might be obtained by pursuing management's current or future plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us and speak only as of the date of the filing of this document. Over time, our actual results, performance, financial condition or achievements may differ from the anticipated results, performance, financial condition or achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements, and such differences may be significant and materially adverse to our security holders.

CONACT:
- Positive opinion received from European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)

- Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149) is a once-daily, potential first-in-class inhaled LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for asthma patients in the EU

TOKYO and LONDON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sosei Group Corporation ("the Company"; TSE: 4565) notes that its strategic alliance partner Novartis (SWX: NOVN) announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended the approval in the European Union of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) as a maintenance treatment of uncontrolled asthma in adult patients. Uncontrolled patients are those whose asthma is not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long acting beta 2 agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year.

The European Commission (EC) reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision in approximately two months. If the EC follows this recommendation and approves Enerzair Breezhaler, it will become the first LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination for uncontrolled asthma patients. Additional regulatory filings for QVM149 are currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Japan and Canada.

The full announcement from Novartis, including data from the clinical trial programs supporting the CHMP recommendation, is available at www.novartis.com.

Glycopyrronium bromide and certain intellectual property relating to its use and formulation were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura Group PLC (LSE: VEC). Novartis is responsible for the development and commercialization of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149). Under the agreement, Sosei Heptares is entitled to certain development and sales-based milestones, and royalties on net sales upon successful commercialisation of Enerzair Breezhaler.

While the CHMP positive opinion does not trigger a milestone payment, Sosei Heptares will be eligible to receive a $5m milestone on final approval by the EC and thereafter a low-single digit royalty on net sales. The event reported therefore has no immediate impact on the consolidated financial results for the accounting period ending December 2020.

Shinichi Tamura, President and CEO of Sosei Heptares, commented: "The recommendation for the approval of Enerzair Breezhaler is a great step towards it becoming available to the many uncontrolled asthma patients in the European Union. The extensive clinical trial program conducted by Novartis demonstrated robust efficacy and safety data with once-daily IND/GLY/MF showing significant improvements in lung function over a standard-of-care therapy If approved, this novel product would become the first LABA/LAMA/ICS combination therapy for uncontrolled asthma administered using a single inhaler with additional features in-built to support treatment adherence. We look forward to the final decision by the EC in the next two months and further updates in relation to filings in other countries over the coming year."

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled1,2. Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled3,4. Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death5,6,7. Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma8,9.

References

1 GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X

2 AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf . Accessed April 2020.

3 Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

4 Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

5 Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

6 Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

7 Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

8 Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

9 Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

Enerzair and Breezhaler are registered trademarks of Novartis AG.

About Sosei Heptares

We are an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines originating from our proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. We are advancing a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including CNS, immuno-oncology, gastroenterology, inflammation and other rare/specialty indications.

We have established partnerships with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, including Allergan, AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo, Genentech (Roche), Novartis, Pfizer and Takeda; and with innovative biotechnology companies, including Kymab, MorphoSys and PeptiDream. Sosei Heptares is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK.

"Sosei Heptares" is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR are trademarks of Sosei Group companies.

For more information, please visit https://www.soseiheptares.com/

LinkedIn: @soseiheptaresco | Twitter: @soseiheptaresco | YouTube: @soseiheptaresco

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporation's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Enquiries:

Sosei Heptares

Shinichiro Nishishita - VP Investor Relations

+81 (0)3-5210-3399 | IR@SoseiHeptares.com

Candelle Chong - VP Corporate Strategy and Communications

+44 (0)1223-949-392 | Comms@SoseiHeptares.com

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Yas Fukuda - Japanese Media

+81 (0)3-4360-9241 | Yas.Fukuda@citigatedewerogerson.com

Mark Swallow, David Dible - International Media

+44 (0)20-7638-9571 | SoseiHeptares@citigatedewerogerson.com
Syracuse, N.Y.  As soon as news spread that a small, struggling sandwich shop in Eastwood lost a bundle of money this week, fellow business owners in the Syracuse neighborhood stepped up to help.

Several contacted syracuse.com Thursday after we posted the story of the misfortune at A Taste of Philadelphia on James Street. They wanted to know how to contact the owners to offer assistance.

Meanwhile, another Eastwood business owner rallied a group of fellow merchants. Theyre hoping to raise at least $1,000  more than the sandwich shops owner lost Tuesday when her bag of $700 in cash receipts for the day (and her credit cards) went missing.

The business owners want to help, but they dont want credit or publicity.

Weve all been there, the coordinator of the effort said. It can be devastating for a small business to lose that kind of money, especially with whats happening right now. It may not seem like a lot of money to some people, but when youre barely making it, thats a lot.

In that spirit, the coordinator said he reached out specifically to fellow businesses that he knew could afford to help, not those who are also struggling to hang on.

Those offering help to A Taste of Philadelphia were also motivated by the fact that the shop has been actively helping first responders and medical personnel who are on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Thats really what got us going on this, the coordinator said. Here they are, good people trying to help others, and something bad like this happens. Thats why were hoping to bless them with $1,000.

The Taste of Philadelphia story in a nutshell:

Terra Hemingway and Bill Perrigo bought the 23-year-old shop at 2533 James St. from the original owners last year. They still owe some debts on that purchase.

After the coronavirus hit, and the state on March 16 ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms, Hemingway and Perrigo gave the takeout-only model a try. But they found they couldnt make money on it.

Then, in early April, they quit doing pickup and delivery. Instead, they offered their surplus food free to those working as police, firefighters, EMTs, doctors, nurses etc. They also launched on online fundraising effort for first responders.

On Monday, they felt optimistic enough to reopen for takeout. On Tuesday, Hemingway received a call from someone who needed some milk. Accustomed to helping others, Hemingway at the end of the day packed up her cash and credit cards in her red closing bag, and set it on top of her car while putting the milk she was going to give away in the car.

She drove off, forgetting the bag was still on top of the car. By the time she noticed that and returned to look for it, it had disappeared, probably on Lillian Avenue. Syracuse police are investigating the incident but the bag has not been found.

On Thursday, Hemingway wondered if her business could survive the loss of the money amid the difficulties brought on by the coronavirus shutdown.

I dont know how well recover, she said then. We might be one of those places that just cant come back from this.

This morning, Hemingway received a call from the coordinator of the Eastwood business group.

I am honestly overwhelmed with happiness, she said. To think that there are people thinking of us, and that this community is offering support  thats awesome.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Possible coronavirus spread reported at grocery store, wireless dealer

A problem for NY businesses: Workers wont return when they can get unemployment on steroids

Crews bring lasagna and connection to the locked-in elderly starved for a friendly face

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
Greek workers and students wearing masks and gloves lined up outside parliament to commemorate May Day, defying a government ban on movement imposed to fight the coronavirus.

Using colourful plastic markers placed on the ground to help them observe distance rules, hundreds of protesters joined a rally organised by the Communist-affiliated group PAME.

The protesters waved flags, chanted slogans and held banners reading "No sacrifice for the bosses".

Movement restrictions, imposed in March as part of a nationwide lockdown, will be gradually eased in the coming months, starting on Monday. Some retail businesses, including hair salons and bookshops, will also open on Monday.

Most businesses have been hurt by the lockdown. The conservative government has promised to protect jobs in a country that has only just emerged from a decade-long debt crisis that wiped out a quarter of its economic output.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Greece hopes a step-by-step revival of economic activity won't trigger a new wave of infections. The country has so far registered 2,591 cases and 140 deaths.
The Sirohi Police in Rajasthan on Friday seized a huge consignment of tobacco products worth Rs 1 crore and arrested three people in Mandar, an official said.

Acting on a tip-off, a truck was intercepted at the Sirohi-Jalore border. The driver of the truck said the vehicle was loaded with corn but during checking, police found tobacco pouches hidden under the sacks of corn, SHO (Mandar) Chhagan Lal Dangi said.

The consignment was to be delivered in Sanchores's Ranivara in Jalore district, he said.

"We seized the consignment worth Rs 1 crore and arrested three persons," Dangi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group Co., Limited's (HKG:1599) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price. What is Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group's P/E ratio? Well, based on the last twelve months it is 3.95. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$3.95 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price (in reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group:

P/E of 3.95 = CN1.927  CN0.488 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.)

(Note: the above calculation uses the share price in the reporting currency, namely CNY and the calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)

Is A High P/E Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future.

Does Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (7.9) for companies in the construction industry is higher than Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group's P/E.

SEHK:1599 Price Estimation Relative to Market April 30th 2020

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Since the market seems unimpressed with Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.

Story continues

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.

Most would be impressed by Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group earnings growth of 17% in the last year. And it has bolstered its earnings per share by 8.3% per year over the last five years. With that performance, you might expect an above average P/E ratio.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).

Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.

So What Does Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group's Balance Sheet Tell Us?

Net debt is 41% of Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group's market cap. While that's enough to warrant consideration, it doesn't really concern us.

The Verdict On Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group's P/E Ratio

Beijing Urban Construction Design & Development Group's P/E is 4.0 which is below average (9.5) in the HK market. The EPS growth last year was strong, and debt levels are quite reasonable. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue. Since analysts are predicting growth will continue, one might expect to see a higher P/E so it may be worth looking closer.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So this free visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Detroit mayor Mike Duggan pushed forward with plans to reopen the city on Thursday as the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the city passed the 1,000 mark and the confirmed cases approached 10,000.

During his daily briefing, Duggan called on fellow Democrat, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the health care establishment to move quickly to open up medical care for city residents, insisting that every days conversation is going to be more and more about what we can restart.

Beginning on Tuesday, Duggan began outlining plans reopen Detroit by announcing that 200 city workers would be back at their jobs maintaining Detroit parks, the medians and other city properties. He said the return to work was necessary because we are strongly on the decline side of the pandemic.

Virus Outbreak MichiganHealth care officials watch as a vehicle approaches a testing site at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Detroit. The city set up several stations at the fairgrounds to allow for drive up testing for the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

As has been pointed to by the Trump administration as part of its national back-to-work campaign, the official per day numbers of those who have contracted or have died from the coronavirus in Detroit have fallen since what appears to have been their peak one month ago. However, infections and deaths throughout the state continue to rise at a significant rate.

Moreever, the mayor was forced to acknowledge a lag in reporting deaths because the hospitals have a backlog and, as the reports come in, the numbers are changing and moving upward each day. In any case, the fact remains that the rate of deaths in Detroit154 per 100,000 populationis among the highest of any city in the US.

With the working class, poor and elderly population of Detroit having already demonstrated its vulnerability to rapid infection by COVID-19, the aggressive push to restart economic activitybased on extremely limited evidence that worst of the pandemic is overis dangerous.

Ending social distancing prematurely can, as has been pointed out by public health experts, ignite a resurgence of the virus in Detroit and other cities that have become the epicenter of the pandemic since it erupted in the US in late March.

Both Duggan and Whitmer are taking their lead for the restart of the Detroit and Michigan economies from the US auto industry, which has set May 18 as the date for a restart of manufacturing in the factories, many of which are concentrated in the Detroit metro area. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Ford has burned through at least $8 billion and GM at least $5 billion in cash since the national lockdown began.

Although the auto manufacturers have said that they intend to provide workers with protective gear and will try to maintain social distancing protocols on the assembly lines, opposition to returning to work under unsafe conditions is widespread within the working class.

It should also be pointed out that the auto manufacturers did not close the factories beginning on March 20 out of their concern for the workers facing illness and possible death from COVID-19, or due to demands by the United Auto Workers union. The Detroit auto plants were closed after workers engaged in wildcat strikes and protests, walking off the job and refusing to work under unsafe and deadly conditions.

Long before Detroit fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic, it was victim to five decades of de-industrialization, cuts to social programs, education and public health. The bankruptcy of the city in 2013 was the culmination of a long-planned political conspiracy to rid Detroit of its debt and pension obligations.

The long-term impact of this sustained assault on the working-class population of Detroit has resulted in social conditions of unparalleled poverty and destitution greater than that of any large city in the US. Detroit had 10,744 homeless, including 2,231 chronically homeless, in 2018, according to data from the Homeless Action Network of Detroits State of Homelessness Annual Report.

The chronically homeless are people with a long-term disabling condition experiencing homelessness continuously for one year, or four times within three years. Seniors, who made up 33 percent of the chronically homeless in 2018, and those with underlying conditions have been especially vulnerable to COVID-19. According to data published by the City of Detroit Health Department, 82 percent of the 1,036 city residents who have died from the pandemic are age 60 or older and 57 percent are age 70 or older.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that those who show COVID-19 symptoms self-isolate. Yet, as city officials and homelessness experts have acknowledged, COVID-19 presents an extremely high risk of infection among the homeless population and the city at large if there is an outbreak in a shelter with shared spaces and little room to isolate if someone gets sick.

The attacks on the working class in Detroit have been the sharp edge of a social counterrevolution that has been extended over the decades to states and cities throughout the country.

Detroit has been the target of this assaultnot because of its nearly 80 percent majority African American population, as claimed by the Democrats and others who are steeped in identity politics rooted in the defense of the capitalist systembut because the working class in the city has a long tradition of militancy and integrated class struggle going back to the 1930s.

The coronavirus in the state of Michigan has continued to expand in the face of Governor Whitmers plan to lift her stay home, stay safe executive order on May 15. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reported that the number of confirmed cases statewide reached 41,379 and deaths were at 3,789 as of Thursday.

Of significance is the surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths now taking place in Kent County, where the city of Grand Rapids is located. As of Thursday, the county has seen daily increases of between 85 and 200 per day since Monday. The total number of cases in Kent County is approximately seven times greater than the other counties in the western part of the state.

The other counties in Michigan which continue to see rising numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases are Wayne (7,672), Oakland (7,267) and Macomb (5,513) counties in the Detroit metropolitan area, Genesee County (1,581), where the city of Flint is located, and Washtenaw County (1,075) where the city of Ann Arbor is located.
Diego Castillo, a high school senior based in McAllen, Texas, spent months picturing a new life in Boston  he daydreamed of the friends he would meet, the places he would visit and the experiences he would have at his dream school, Boston University.

Yet when Castillo was notified that he had been accepted to BU last month, he didnt rush to submit his enrollment deposit or procure a school ID and email.

I had wanted to go to Boston University for a while. I wanted to get out of the state and explore, Castillo told NBC News. I was dead-set on it, but then the coronavirus happened and it made me reevaluate.

As the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. grew, forcing high schools and colleges across the country to pivot to virtual learning, so did Castillos doubts about whether he should go away to school, particularly after he became a founding member of Project COVID-Care, a local effort to deliver groceries to elderly, disabled and other vulnerable populations.

I saw that a lot of people around me were struggling, Castillo said. It made me think maybe I can do some good here, maybe I can make an impact on my community. Maybe theres opportunity here that I didnt see before.

Despite his new-found perspective, determining whether to stay local versus venture to Boston wasnt an easy one for Castillo, who recently committed to The University of Texas Rio Grande Honors College. Castillo said he spent many nights really thinking about what he should do.

Diego Castillo decided to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Honors College after volunteering in his community during the coronavirus outbreak. (Courtesy of Diego Castillo)

While high school seniors have always had to make difficult decisions about when, where and whether to attend college, these decisions have become more fraught during the coronavirus outbreak as prospective college students attempt to account for circumstances that are beyond their control.

And though many schools have pushed back their May 1 "Decision Day"  which has traditionally been the date when most higher education institutions in the U.S. require applicants to respond to their offers of admission  the additional time hasn't necessarily made things clearer for high school seniors, many of whom have decided to adjust their post-graduation plans by taking gap years, attending schools closer to home, transferring to community colleges to save money or even forgoing college altogether.

Story continues

According to a recent survey by higher education firm SimpsonScarborough, 20 percent of high schools seniors say they are now likely or highly likely to not attend college in the fall, while about a quarter are reconsidering the schools they originally planned to attend.

Opting for community and technical colleges to save money

Katrina Stevenson, a high school senior who lives in Colorado, learned she was accepted to Colorado State University in December and committed to attending the school in early February. She planned to earn a degree in English education, but the coronavirus made her reconsider her finances and her career path.

"With room, board and tuition, the costs would be more than $20,000 a year for four years," Stevenson said. "My family has already struggled with finances and even though I'd mostly be financing school myself, I didn't want to add to the stress."

Stevenson realized she had "other options" and now plans to attend a local community college while keeping her job at Domino's to save money. She will now study business administration and focus on moving up the ranks at work. After "taking a year or two to gather finances," she plans to enroll in a four-year institution.

"My mom's a bit disappointed. She wanted me to have the life she didn't have and earn a degree, but I'm not giving up and am still planning on going back to college," Stevenson said. "With the economy fluctuating, I want to see how schools start to put themselves back together after this pandemic."

Considering gap years and staying close to home

Jared Battle, a Georgia high school student who wants to study film, is also questioning whether a four-year institution will be worth it, particularly because his field is "creative" and doesn't necessitate a degree.

His family, he said, is pushing him to consider a technical school versus a four-year institution and he's already had to limit his prospects by location, choosing to avoid attending schools in New York City or Los Angeles, cities that have recorded high cases of the coronavirus.

"It just seems like I might have to take a gap year until things get better," Battle said. "My friends who've had to leave colleges because of the coronavirus and had to do their classes online are telling me it's not even worth it to go anymore."

Like Castillo, Jacqueline Caulfield was accepted into her dream program, a dual degree program with Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University, during which students spend two years of their college careers studying at each institution.

Caulfield, who currently resides in North Carolina and holds dual citizenship from Ireland and the United States, planned to major in European history. But with coronavirus-inflicted travel restrictions in place, she isn't sure whether she'll be able to safely go to Ireland in the fall. She's also concerned that if classes migrate online, she would miss out on a semester that she was supposed to spend in Ireland.

"I don't want this coronavirus to turn us into a world where we don't do international travel, but it puts me in a tough position where I want to be safe, but I don't just want to stay here in Raleigh, North Carolina for my whole life," Caulfield said. "I'm in limbo. I just don't really know how the semester is going to work and I always thought I'd never do a gap year but now I'm questioning whether it's a good idea to rush into it, lose time in Ireland and potentially be unsafe."

The program extended its decision deadline to July 1, so as of now, Caulfield plans to wait to see whether the situation changes in the next few months. If she does take a gap year, she hopes to live with her grandparents in the Washington, D.C. metro area and find work there.

Is tuition worth it if you can't be on campus?

Whether virtual courses are worth full tuition payments is also a recurring question among parents and high school seniors, who already got a taste of how challenging distance learning can be when their high schools moved online for their last semesters.

"My parents understandably don't want to pay for tuition if it's going to be online because they don't feel that it's the same experience," Caulfield said. "And schools haven't agreed to make the tuition cheaper, so the thought of paying to sit on a computer at my house made me rethink things."

Virtual courses will be a deciding factor for Gabrielle Almeter from Phoenix, who recently committed to attending New York University. An aspiring journalist, Almeter says if NYU goes virtual for its fall semester, she will take a gap year and work at her father's aquarium supply business.

"It's been a lot to think about. I was really happy to get the news but I'm also scared because there's so much uncertainty. It's just a waiting game, " Almeter said. "My parents and I are putting a lot of money into my education and I don't want to waste their money, so I would definitely take a year off if classes were online."

Gabrielle Almeter plans to attend New York University in the fall, but will take a gap year if classes move online. (Courtesy of Gabrielle Almeter)

Battle, the Georgia high school student, also says whether schools switch to virtual learning will illuminate what his post-graduation plans will be, particularly because there are many educational tools available for free online.

"I wouldn't pay the same price being on campus as virtual learning. You can learn how to make films on YouTube now," Battle said. "College is more than just a degree. It's about the experience and meeting people."

Seeing new opportunities in your own community

As the rest of the class of 2020 finalizes their post-graduation plans, one student is more than content with the deviation in his master plan.

"Many times I tell people my story outside of McAllen and they were unsure and afraid of where I live because they look at border towns in a certain way and I want to change that perceptive," Castillo said.

"I was failing to see the opportunity in my town and discrediting it. In terms of university, it's not always about the prestige, the big school. It's important for people to reflect and analyze what they truly want out of life and what they are basing their college decisions on."

Plus, the aspiring neurosurgeon adds, he'll have plenty of opportunity to go out of state for medical school and residence, if that's what he wants.
Major Yemeni op clears most of province, kills over 1,200 Saudi-led mercs.

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 10:05 AM

The Yemeni army says it has cleared 95 percent of the northern province of Jawf from the presence of forces fighting for a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in an operation that killed at least 1,200 mercenaries.

A spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced the news in a statement on Wednesday, saying the operation, which started in mid-March, destroyed several Saudi-led camps and cleared areas in al-Marzaiq and al-Muhashima in the province.

At least 1,200 Saudi-led mercenaries were killed in the operation, he said separately in an interview with Yemen's al-Masirah television, adding that the newly-liberated areas covered 3,500 square kilometers, including the entire al-Hazm Desert.

General Saree the Takfiri Daesh and al-Qaeda terrorist groups had gained important footholds in the Jawf Desert.

The army spokesman said the Saudi-led coalition's most important base in the province, namely the al-Labanat military camp, had been destroyed, paving the way for a similar operation in the neighboring Ma'rib Province.

Saree said the Saudi-led coalition had significantly boosted its presence in Ma'rib recently and that the army and its allied fighters from Popular Committees were confronting them.

"We have strategic options that will make the enemy regret its escalation, and they must accept the consequences," he added.

Saree also said that the Saudi-led coalition had launched more than 265 raids against the Yemeni nation in Jawf from the end of March to the beginning of April.

The Saudi-led coalition invaded Yemen in 2015. Since then, over 100,000 people have been killed, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

The Saudi-led aggression and an accompanying blockade of Yemen continue despite the coronavirus pandemic and the impoverished country's urgent need for medical supplies.

The war has also pushed the entire country close to the brink of famine.

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Massachusetts health officials on Friday announced another 154 coronavirus deaths, bringing the statewide total to at least 3,716, as the governor puts in place new measures to ensure residents protect themselves and each other while out in public.

The number of COVID-19 cases also increased on Friday, to 64,311, up 2,106 new cases. Officials also report a significant number of new tests conducted  13,989  which is the second highest number reported in a single day since the outbreak began.

Altogether, 289,636 residents have been tested for the virus. Of the roughly 3,700 statewide fatalities, 2,189 were reported to be in long-term care facilities.

Fridays data also showed another dip in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 with hospitalizations dipping to 3,716, down from a high of 3,965 on April 21.

The new figures come as Gov. Charlie Baker issued an order on Friday requiring that everyone wear a face covering in public. This includes anyone using public transportation and grocery shopping.

We view this as common sense, Baker said during Fridays press conference.

The executive order takes effect on May 6, making mandatory what up until this point has been a recommendation.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh earlier in the day addressed concerns that people in the city are still not wearing face masks while out and about, or exercising.

Theres still too many reports of people going into supermarkets and coffee shops not wearing masks, particularly younger people, he said. If youre a millennial and you dont want to wear a mask because it doesnt look cool, well I really dont care about that."

Walsh said the city has been having discussions with Baker about how to beef up measures ensuring people continue to social distance, particularly as conversations around reopening the state get underway.

Earlier in the week, Baker extended the order closing all non-essential businesses until May 18, as well as the stay-at-home advisory.

The ban on gatherings above 10 people is also extended until May 18.

Baker also announced the creation of a reopening advisory board, which will be helmed by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy. The board is expected to deliver a plan for reopening the state by May 18.

Baker stressed that his administration is still monitoring trends in the number of cases and deaths across the state, and that officials will be approaching the reopening in phases.

DPH also announced it will be begin reviewing the death certificates of people who were not tested for COVID-19 but who may have met the symptom criteria in an effort to more accurately report on fatalities in Massachusetts. The move comes amid concerns that the overall death rates have been higher in Massachusetts and six other states, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DPH will look at deaths from March 1 onward, and the department is expected to include any newly determined coronavirus-related fatalities on its daily COVID-19 dashboard. It was not immediately clear when those retroactive deaths would start showing up in the states daily report.

Here are the cases listed by county:

Barnstable County: 902

Berkshire County: 444

Bristol County: 3,792

Dukes County: 18

Essex County: 9,028

Franklin County: 260

Hampden County: 3,900

Hampshire County: 518

Middlesex County: 14,607

Nantucket County: 11

Norfolk County: 6,065

Plymouth County: 5,259

Suffolk County: 13,295

Worcester County: 5,787

Unknown location: 425

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Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Mostly sunny. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 17F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low around 0F. SE winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph.
Nairobi  The Central Bank of Kenya has reduced its benchmark lending rate from 7.25 percent to 7.00 percent.

The bank's Monetary Policy Committee met on Wednesday where it noted that the policy measures adopted in March were having the intended effect on the economy.

" In light of the continuing adverse economic outlook, the MPC decided to lower the CBK rate to 7.00 percent, " reads the MPC statement.

The regulator further revised down the country's economic growth for the year 2020 to 2.3 percent, down from 3.4 percent growth it had projected in March.

This could be the lowest growth the country could witness since 2008 due to the post election violence witnessed in the country.

" Taking into account the recent growth projections for our trading partners, Kenya's GDP growth in 2020 is forecast to decline sharply to about 2.3 percent," said CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge.

According to CBK loans amounting to Sh81.7 billion have been restructured to support sectors such as the tourism hotel and restaurants which has been hit hard by the virus effects owing to movements restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.

" A special MPC private sector market perception survey in April showed that all hotel bookings for the second quarter of 2020 were cancelled, " he added.

Currently, the government has allowed restaurants to open their doors.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said that while Kenya looks to other countries to learn how business can reopen, the government has put measures that could keep the country safe.

Owners of eateries will be required to get their staff tested for Covid-19 and can only open their businesses once their employees have tested negative.

Credit to the private sector CBK said grew by 8.9 per cent in the 12 months to March 2020 supported by the lowering of the lending rate by commercial banks in response to the reduction in the CBR.
At least 75% of respondents in China said they have recently engaged their insurer or researched riders or new policies. From that number, more than half (around 55%) noticed new or additional benefits they were not aware of before. That is in contrast to Australia, where only 14% researched or engaged their insurer.

Swiss Re, however, noted that China has had considerably longer experience with life under COVID-19 than other locations.

More Australians said that they are willing to sacrifice their life insurance over home or car insurance, while in mainland China and Hong Kong, very few are willing to forgo their life insurance payments. A quarter of respondents in Singapore and one in five in Hong Kong said they would let go of their home/car insurance if pressed financially.

Read more: Swiss Re confirms big commitment to support global COVID-19 relief efforts

As for what people look for in an insurer, the survey said the respondents valued speed, simplicity, and fulfilment over financial savings when it comes to insurance policies. The ability of an insurer to process policies and claims online was the top consideration for selecting an insurer.

The pandemic environment raises awareness of people's needs for protection. The results of our survey give us a lot of clues about these needs and consumer preferences going forward, said Russell Higginbotham, CEO reinsurance Asia and regional president, Swiss Re. This is a great moment for the insurance industry to put the customer at the centre of everything they do, and deliver solutions that show progress in closing the protection gap and making society more resilient.
Highlights ICANN has expanded web addresses to new domains and new languages and often works to promote the web name industry.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra cited a lack of transparency around the buyer.

ICANN said it conducted due diligence into the deal after questions about Ethos ties to former ICANN officials.

A body overseeing web addresses said it has vetoed a $1.1 billion deal to sell control of domain names ending in .org to a private investment firm after an outcry from internet pioneers and officials including California's attorney general.

The surprise plans by the Internet Society to sell the Public Interest Registry to a newly formed for-profit firm, Ethos Capital, announced in November, provoked alarm from many of the more than 10 million entities that use the .org suffix, associated with non-profit organizations.

ICANN, the Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers, which gave the assignment of .org to the Internet Society and retains some rights, said on Thursday it was rejecting the deal.

In particular, it cited concerns that there would be a drive to reward Ethos stockholders while repaying $300 million in debt taken on during the transaction.

"The ICANN Board finds that the public interest is better served in withholding consent as a result of various factors that create unacceptable uncertainty," the Los Angeles-based body said on its website.

Formerly overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department, ICANN has expanded web addresses to new domains and new languages and often works to promote the web name industry.

ICANN said it conducted due diligence into the deal after questions about Ethos' ties to former ICANN officials.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has regulatory oversight of ICANN as it is a non-profit based in the state, urged it to reject the Ethos deal on multiple grounds.

He cited a lack of transparency around the buyer and questioned why the Internet Society did not pursue other means to diversify its revenue.

"ICANN's analysis of the need for the stability of the .org registry must take into consideration that some of the .org registrants are critical organizations dedicated to assist in times of crisis," Becerra wrote in an April 15 letter.

"The list of such organizations is long, including the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and the United Nations."

Others who objected to the planned sale include founding ICANN Chair Esther Dyson, founding ICANN President Michael Roberts and Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn.


John Dougherty (right), business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, at a Jan. 30 rally to support workers at a closed-down oil refinery. Read more

Philadelphia may be a union town, as labor leaders brag, and some builders complain. Offices, schools, and hospitals are built with union labor, at wages that are about the same as big nonunion contractors, but with higher health and pension costs. Mayor Jim Kenney and powerful Democrats on City Council were elected with union dollars.

But in a letter to Kenney, obtained by The Inquirer, a veteran inspector for the city Department of Licenses and Inspections, Joseph A. Diorio Jr., complained that his unit had been shut for three months in early 2019  after senior L&I officers accused his group of being too sympathetic to organized labor, and which has spilled into court.

Trade unions have been pushing to get members hired at the smaller residential construction jobs that have proliferated in city neighborhoods. As part of their campaign, they have called on the city to more aggressively enforce city permitting, licensing, tax, and insurance laws against small, typically nonunion contractors  rules that Kenney and other city officials admit are too often flouted, leading to deaths, injuries, and building collapses.

But the ad hoc Underground Economy Task Force that Kenney set up in early 2018 to report problems has been inactive for more than a year, city spokesman Mike Dunn said. There are no current members of the group," he said, adding that the group had been formed to focus unlicensed construction activity and unpaid taxes.

Diorio, a member of that task force, was supposed to lead the charge within the agency as head of L&Is audits and inspections group.

During the shutdown, building inspectors Garry Haynes and Anthony Bronico were forced to sit at their desks, paid for nothing, Diorio wrote last summer, even as news outlets were reporting building collapses and other problems at inadequately monitored residential construction sites. Diorio, who still works for L&I, also alleged that he was retaliated against in the workplace.

In the letter, Diorio blamed the shutdown on Ann Pasquariello, L&I director of enforcement.

Pasquariello had, Diorio told the mayor, recused herself from the Underground Economy Task Force meetings because a family member ran a nonunion construction firm that Diorios office might target.

But despite the recusal, Diorio wrote, she had told inspector Haynes and others that she was pushing to shut down Diorios audits and investigations unit, a move he said compromised her recusal and went beyond the scope of her job.

Impatient for Kenneys response, Diorio in August sued Pasquariello and L&I Administrative Services Director Kirk McClarren in Philadephia Common Pleas Court, alleging that they had falsely accused him of neglecting his job and abusing personal leave. Pasquariellos behind the scenes motive, Diorio alleged, was to shut Diorios audits and inspections unit, which she thought was improperly siding with unions to work against non-unionized businesses.

With the unit idled, several properties collapsed due to unsafe underpinning  one of the problems Diorio said his team had focused on before they were ordered to stay off job sites.

Responding to the suit, the citys lawyers, representing Pasquariello and McClarren, denied Dioros unit was actually suspended or that he was punished for targeting nonunion businesses. They say the two officials acted properly and showed no bias, and they asked the court to dismiss Diorios complaint. Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson refused: The case is going forward with discovery planned starting later this spring, Diorios lawyer, Brian J. Foley, told me.

So what is the city doing about the small contractors that were the focus of the task force in the first place?

In a February City Council hearing, L&I chief David Perri acknowledged underground economy abuses have unfortunately increased as more builders add and renovate homes.

But he said Diorios successor at audits and investigations, lawyer William Fernandez, is up to the job of launching more surprise inspections to make sure small contractors and their workers comply with federal OSHA job safety requirements, hold proper permits, and are paying taxes and insurance.

Indeed, Perri said Fernandez this winter had launched a new license violation program that ran surprise inspections at 38 job sites in January, finding nine violations and levying $13,000 in fines. City revenue officials also reviewed the units financial record referrals and demanded $629,000 in back taxes.

John Dougherty, the powerful head of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council of unions, says thats still just a slice of what needs to be done.

Doughertys pending federal charges of bribing a city councilmember and misusing union money have also been delayed by the coronavirus. In the indictment, federal prosecutors say Dougherty crossed the line in his fight against nonunion labor by using his political influence to get L&I to shut down nonunion construction work, including once at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Dougherty says members of his union and others often report code violations by contractors but has denied illegally influencing L&I.

Brian Eddis, business agent at IBEW Local 98, Doughertys union, walked me around Fishtown job sites the day before work stopped for the coronavirus shutdown last month, pointing out damage he attributed to contractors working beyond their permits, and listing complaints he said L&I hadnt yet acted on.

At one stop, David Hampton, sexton at Fishtowns onion-domed First Presbyterian Church, pointed to water damage below a new roof, which he blamed on unmonitored apartment construction nearby that had shaken the building and forced Sunday services out of the sanctuary.

In an interview, Dougherty said L&I has not responded to a number of union complaints about similar damage. He said a headcount shows L&I has dozens of vacant inspector positions, and complained that veteran union workers have put in applications but failed to get interviews for those jobs. The city has acknowledged the department had trouble filling inspector slots amid the construction boom.

Cheering the planned resumption of construction this weekend after five weeks of coronavirus closures, Dougherty says he worries the slowing economy leaves the city swamped by commercial and residential developers who are building as quickly and cheaply as possible, taking dangerous short cuts to maximize profits while evading permits and payroll taxes.

Dougherty says hes convinced theres now an anti-union environment at L&I, despite all the unions close ties to City Hall.
[May 01, 2020] U.S. Desktop as-a-Service (DaaS) Industry, 2025 - Rising BYOD Trend Creating Demand for DaaS Technology

DUBLIN, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United States' Desktop as-a-Service (DaaS) Market, 2019-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The US Desktop as a Service market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 1% during forecast period.



The well-established economy of the country laid the ground for the growth of the DaaS market. The individual in the country relies on digital devices, thus, it has raised the number of laptops, smartphones and computer users in the region. As per the ITU, the total number of mobile cellular in the US was estimated to be 391 million in 2017 as compared to 387 million in 2016. The number of smartphone users in the US has increased significantly over the past few years and the numbers are estimated to further rise in the future.



Increasing adoption of BYOD trend owing to increasing smartphone penetration is one of the major factors that is driving the growth of the DaaS market. Employees have shown high interest in the use of one device for both professional and personal applications to avoid inconvenience due to carrying separate devices. Smartphones are estimated to be one of the major devices that are being used in companies for accessing their data. Smartphones account for more than 55% share in the BYOD market. Employees use smartphones for accessing personal and corporate information. The growing use of BYOD trend is creating demand for DaaS technology within the US region.



The market is segmented on the basis of desktop type, cloud type, and model. Based on desktop type, the market is bifurcated into persistent and non-persistent. Based on cloud type maket is sub-segmented into private, public and hybrid cloud. Based on model the market is sub-segmented into presentation virtualization, application virtualization, desktop virtualization, and others.







Some of the companies which are contributing to the growth of the US Daas market include IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., VMwazre Inc. and others. The market players are considerably contributing to the market growth by the adoption of various strategies including new product launch, merger, and acquisition, collaborations with government, funding to the start-ups and technological advancements to stay competitive in the market.



This report covers:



A comprehensive research methodology of the US Desktop as a Service market.

A detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.

An exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.

Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the US Desktop as a Service market.

Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the US Desktop as a Service market.

Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.

Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players. Key Topics Covered



1. Report Summary

1.1. Research Methods and Tools

1.2. Market Breakdown

1.2.1. By Segments



2. Market Overview and Insights

2.1. Scope of the Report

2.2. Analyst Insight & Current Market Trends

2.2.1. Key Findings

2.2.2. Recommendations

2.2.3. Conclusion

2.3. Rules & Regulations



3. Competitive Landscape

3.1. Company Share Analysis

3.2. Key Strategy Analysis

3.3. Key Company Analysis

3.3.1. Overview

3.3.2. Financial Analysis

3.3.3. SWOT Analysis

3.3.4. Recent Developments



4. Market Determinants

4.1. Motivators

4.2. Restraints

4.3. Opportunities



5. Market Segmentation

5.1. US Desktop as a Service Market by Desktop Type

5.1.1. Persistent

5.1.2. Non-Persistent

5.2. US Desktop as a Service Market by Cloud Type

5.2.1. Private

5.2.2. Public

5.2.3. Hybrid

5.3. US Desktop as a Service Market by Model

5.3.1. Presentation Virtualization

5.3.2. Application Virtualization

5.3.3. Desktop Virtualization

5.3.4. Others (personal or pool desktop)



6. Company Profiles

6.1. Amazon Web Services

6.2. Cisco Systems Inc.

6.3. Dell Inc.

6.4. IBM Corp.

6.5. Leostream Corp.

6.6. Microsoft Corp.

6.7. Navisite Inc.

6.8. NTT Communication Corp.

6.9. Oracle Corp.

6.10. VMware Inc.



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/irhnan Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Laura Wood, Senior Manager

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The race is on to be the first developer of a coronavirus vaccine, with global drugmakers and the White House seeking to compress into just months a process that normally takes several years. Whether it can happen remains an enigma.

For the Trump administration, news of a successful vaccine could calm the viruss toxic effects on the U.S. economy in the midst of an ongoing presidential campaign. Donald Trumps goal with Operation Warp Speed, a covert push reported on this week, is for hundreds of millions of doses to be produced by years end.

Im not over-promising, Trump said in a White House meeting with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday. You know whos in charge of it, honestly? I am.

The White House initiative aims to compress research, testing and manufacturing of a vaccine by as much as eight months, pulling in health agencies, military resources and drugmakers. The plan, which could result in billions of dollars in government spending, hasnt been rolled out in full.

The idea is that the government would bear some of the financial risk that would normally fall to individual drugmakers, according to people familiar with the plan. The administration would facilitate the running of multiple processes in parallel to build out manufacturing for vaccines, some of which could fail, said the people who asked not to be identified because the specifics arent yet public.

Mimic or incorporate

But many parts of the Trump administration push appear to mimic, or incorporate, individual initiatives already underway by large drugmakers and others. And while the Trump plan involves U.S. drugmakers and assets, it isnt reaching across borders for global assistance.

Johnson & Johnson, which has been working on its vaccine for months, has said it plans to produce one billion doses by the end of 2021, if it is successful in trials that kick off this September. And its not alone among drugmakers moving as quickly as they can. More than 100 experimental vaccines against the virus are in development. Those who can flex their resources muscle  like J&J, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi and Moderna Inc.  are already buying, building and scaling up manufacturing capacity, even before their vaccine candidates are evaluated by U.S. regulators. In some cases, production gears are already cranking.

Not all productions sites are created equal, however. Depending on the scientific approach taken, facilities must be fitted with different equipment. The speed in which theyre able to make the product can vary as well. And everything is contingent on the facilities surpassing the red-tape of regulatory requirements. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is likely to focus on expediting its review of clinical trial data during an emergency use approval process, the bottom line is that making a product that can be quickly deployed to millions of healthy individuals can be cumbersome.

New York-based Pfizer, which just dosed its first dozen patients with its experimental mRNA vaccine, said it will be ready to immunize patients with tens of millions doses this fall, should it get an emergency use authorization, and hundreds of millions of doses by early 2021. Pfizer is jointly developing the vaccine with BioNTech Se, a German biotechnology company.

Moderna, a leader among U.S. companies testing experimental coronavirus vaccines, said Friday that it had entered a pact with Swiss company Lonza Group AG aimed at manufacturing one billion doses a year. The companies expect the first batches to be produced in the U.S. in July.

Trade-offs

Im not certain well have an approved vaccine by the end of the year, but depending on the actual manufacturing process, producing that scale of doses can be done, said Nicolette Louissaint, executive director of the nonprofit Healthcare Ready, which facilitates public-private partnerships to protect the health-care supply chain.

There are big-time trade-offs the industry must make in order to mass-produce a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Louissaint, a former senior adviser to the State Departments Special Coordinator for Ebola during the 2014 crisis.

How do we maintain production for other products? she said. We have limited capacity, globally, so were going to have to acknowledge those trade-offs as we pivot to making hundreds of millions of doses.

If the government or business community did it alone, it couldnt be done, she added. Meeting this timeline requires dual investment because of the sheer amount of risk, and the volume and scale thats needed.

While the Trump Administration promises to ramp up efforts among major drugmakers in the U.S., companies in other countries, and even Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, are also pushing to get vaccines out quickly.

Two candidates

French drugmaker Sanofi has two COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the works. One uses technology already employed in a flu vaccine, which could speed up both R&D and production. The company is using facilities in New York, Pennsylvania and Japan to that end, and its also turned to GlaxoSmithKline Plc for additional manufacturing power.

Together, they have enough existing capacity for as many as 600 million doses per year, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said on April 24. For the record, Hudson said, we have 10,000 people producing over billion doses right now of our own vaccine portfolio.

Sanofis other candidate with Translate Bio Inc. uses messenger RNA to prompt the body to make a key protein from the virus, creating an immune response. It could be produced at up to 350 million doses per year. Two shots on goal gives the French drugmaker better odds in the fight against COVID-19.

Even if Sanofis two assets prove successful, the company likely cant serve global demand alone, said John Shiver, Sanofis senior vice president of global vaccine R&D, in an interview. The call is big enough that we actually do need several vaccines to succeed and move into mass-production, he said. We need for more than one company to supply a vaccine.

Processes in parallel

The key to all of these efforts is pretty much the same: Launch several processes in parallel rather than in sequence, even at the risk that its candidate may not prove effective.

For J&J, which hasnt yet put its vaccine into human trials, that means signing two deals to secure manufacturing capacity at facilities in Baltimore and Bloomington, Indiana. Its begun preparing to produce the vaccine at one of its own sites in the Netherlands, and is looking for additional facilities across Europe and Asia. J&J CEO Alex Gorsky, like many others, said hes committed to bringing the vaccine to the public on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use.

Not all COVID-19 vaccine candidates have the backing of the drug industry to make these risky manufacturing plays. But scientists working at smaller companies with no marketed products or at highly-accredited research labs without production infrastructure are scrambling to get it.

The University of Oxfords Jenner Institute, for example, has turned to AstraZeneca Plc. The London-based drugmaker announced it has agreed to manufacture its vaccine, with a goal of 100 million doses before the end of the year. Its one of the most ambitious near-term production goals thats been set by a manufacturer.

Gates is also putting his resources toward manufacturing well before a proven vaccine is ready for the public. The billionaire has said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will build new facilities for seven potential vaccines from the ground-up, despite the fact that its likely to only settle on two candidates.

It will be a few billion dollars well waste on manufacturing for the constructs that dont get picked because something else is better, Gates said on The Daily Show on April 2. But a few billion in this situation were in, where there are trillions of dollars being lost economically is worth it.

Through this kind of effort, Gates believes a vaccine could be ready in as fast as nine months  one of the most optimistic predictions to-date.

We can save months, Gates said, and every month counts.

Read more about:
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

CM Baghel wants borrowing limit eased to 6% of GSDP

Borrowing target of Rs 15,700 crore for FY21

Chhattisgarh has debt burden 19.2 percent of GSDP

All economic activities in the state stopped since lockdown

With the lockdown severely impacting revenue collection, the call for more liberal borrowing limits for states is getting louder. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has asked the centre to relax the state's borrowing limit to 6% of GSDP this year and requested fiscal deficit of the state to be made equal to 5% of GSDP for raising more economic resources for operation and development activities of the state.

The chief minister has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi drawing his attention towards financial difficulties faced by Chhattisgarh due to the lockdown. He says in his letter that the state's revenue receipts are expected to fall this year, and the relaxation is necessary in the state's net borrowing limit and the fiscal deficit limit (3 per cent of the state's gross domestic product) as determined by the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.

He says that the Union Finance Ministry's consent to the state for borrowing Rs 5,375 crore from the market, which is equal to 50 percent of the state's net lending limit for the first nine months of this financial year, is insufficient to meet the expenditure in this period. For 2020-21, Chhattisgarh has a borrowing target of Rs 15,700 crore, and a fiscal deficit of Rs 11,500 crore or 3.2% of the GSDP.

Baghel says that Chhattisgarh has been adhering to financial discipline since the formation of the state, and currently has lowest debt burden (19.2 percent of GSDP) and lowest interest payments (7.4 percent of total revenue receipts) among states.

According to the 14th Finance Commission, the fiscal deficit targets of the states will be anchored to an annual limit of 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).The states will be eligible for flexibility of 0.25 per cent over and above this for any given year for which the borrowing limits are to be fixed if their debt-GSDP ratio is less than or equal to 25 per cent in the preceding year.

States will be further eligible for an additional borrowing limit of 0.25 per cent of GSDP in a given year for which the borrowing limits are to be fixed if the interest payments are less than or equal to 10 per cent of the revenue receipts in the preceding year.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, the chief minister further said that all economic activities in the state have been stopped since March 22 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. "The lockdown not only resulted in loss of revenue to the state but also badly affected the economically weaker section of the society, including daily wagers, labourers, small shopkeepers and rural households," he said.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown 3.0! PM Modi chairs meet on COVID-19; cases-35,043, deaths-1,147

Also read: Lockdown 2.0: Brace up for runaway prices; only 6% of wheat in market, 30% onion, 41% potato
Australia's retail apocalypse, made worse by the coronavirus shutdown, means some stores may never reopen once the pandemic ends, experts fear.

Shoppers were already abandoning their local malls in favour of easy online deliveries, and since the pandemic hit there has been a 'seismic shift' in habits.

In particular, music and gaming stores could disappear completely and operate online, as well as home appliance businesses, industry experts predicted.

Technology store Radio Rentals announced last week that its 62 shops, closed temporarily during the pandemic, would never reopen - costing 300 jobs.

The trend is backed up by data from Australia Post, which revealed that online orders were up 200 per cent.

The coronavirus lockdown has left shopping centres deserted as retailers temporarily close their doors (pictured, Westfield in Parramatta on April 1)

Experts predict the coronavirus-induced lockdown will permanently change consumer habits in favour of online shopping. Pictured are women only purchasing goods deemed 'essential' in an outing in Brisbane on Friday

Myer, which closed all its stores during the pandemic, has recorded a 250 per cent increase in online sales, with an 800 per cent increase in traffic during its annual Easter sale.

If customers can't be coaxed back into stores, footwear company Accent Group - which owns Athlete's Foot, Platypus and Hype DC - warned the firm could close 100 of its 500 stores.

'The only word we can find for this shift is seismic and we're concerned it could have a prolonged effect on how customers shop,' its CEO Daniel Agostinelli said.

'That will have an impact on how many stores the business will require.'

Speaking to news.com.au, he said that online sales had risen fourfold during the pandemic, and now accounted for 45 per cent of its revenue.

All Myer stores across Australia will be closed for at least a month due to the coronavirus pandemic (pictured in Sydney)

Technology store Radio Rentals (pictured in Albury) announced last week that its 62 shops would never reopen - costing 300 jobs

Even when shops re-open, the company predicts that 30 per cent of sales will still be online, with people getting used to logging on to shop, leaving some stores redundant.

'Once we come out of COVID, we will review every single store and where we can't come to an agreement with landlords, we will have no choice but to exit that store,' he explained.

It's not just the coronavirus crisis putting stores and thousands of jobs at risk, but also the annual increase in rental costs.

'A lot of retailers are probably taking a hard look at their store networks right now and considering whether they can survive without some of their physical stores in the future,' Jo-Anne Hui-Miller, editor of industry publication Inside Retail, said.

It marks the tipping point of an increasing trend to buy online, with even the most passionate of physical shoppers now forced to turn on their computers.

Target (pictured, its Sydney store) could be sold or converted into Kmarts after the department store's revenue and profits took a 'significant' hit during the coronavirus pandemic

The flagship Melbourne H&M store (pictured) closed its doors on April 5 as the company shuts down operations nationwide in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (stock image)

Bose has announced they will shut all Australian stores and go completely online (stock image)

The latest figures from the Australia Bureau of Statistics showed that 7 per cent of retail sales were done online in February.

That figure is far greater overseas, in places such as in the US, where it equates to 12 per cent of sales and in the UK, where it is as much as 20 per cent.

Before the coronavirus crisis hit, some stores already announced they would operate solely online - including speaker brand Bose, which closed all its Australians shops.

Paul Zahra, CEO of the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), said the shift the shift towards online delivery would leave a 'legacy' in Australians' shopping habits.

'We are mindful that nobody has a crystal ball, here or globally,' he told the Guardian.

'There will be ongoing adjustments to the new normal activity levels as stores reopen.

Kmart is trialling the closure of three stores to focus on the demand on the online service (pictured, Kmart in Parramatta Westfield)

Accent group has announced it will re-evaluate its store network in coming months as its online presence thrives. The company includes popular brands Platypus (pictured), Hype DC and Athlete's foot

Accent group has announced it will re-evaluate its store network in coming months as its online presence thrives. The company includes popular brands Platypus, Hype DC (pictured) and Athlete's foot

'[But] there's no question there will be a legacy from this in terms of increased digital shopping activity and focus.'

Kmart is trailling the closure of a number of stores across Australia as more shoppers choose online shopping during the pandemic.

Certain stores across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have temporarily closed while coronavirus restrictions remain in place.

Three out of some 240 stores will trial the closure and instead become online delivery centres to keep up with the current demand for online services.

The department store is offering free delivery for orders over $45.

Myer temporarily closed all its stores and stood down 10,000 staff in March, after suffering a serious decline in footfall.

General Pants, Smiggle, and Peter Alexander have also temporarily closed due to the coronavirus fallout.

Fashion giant H&M has also closed all 49 of its stores in Australia until further notice because of the coronavirus crisis.
To the Editor,

Most people in Illinois totally support action to protect the most vulnerable among us from Covid 19 as well the population in general.

Why is it that only the general residents of Illinois have to abide by Gov. Pritzkers commands? Mrs. Pritkers has long since fled the state of Illinois in a private jet along with her private aid who is paid for by the taxpayers at $90,000.

Mrs Pritkers whereabouts are known to be at their $12.1 million horse farm in southern Florida. Why doesnt Pritker have this horse farm in Illinois where it can pay its fair share of taxes?

When asked about this in a recent press briefing the governer said its inappropriate to ask these kind of questions. Why? Why arent the taxpayers of Illinois entitled to know how their money is spent and why only privileged get away with anything they want?

Next you are going to hear our governer requesting funds to bail out Illinois. Why should any taxpayer be obligated to bail out such a corrupt poorly run state like Illinois?

Clarence Brown

Godfrey
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Many readers awareness of Scandinavian crime fiction began 15 years ago with Stieg Larssons blockbuster Millennium trilogy, the series that sent a tidal wave of Nordic noir across the North Atlantic. For the critic Wendy Lesser it started much earlier, with Swedens Martin Beck mysteries, first translated in the 60s. The pioneering Nordic thrillers, written by Maj Sjowall and her partner, Per Wahloo, ended just before Wahloo died in 1975. Sjowall died this week at 84.

I caught up with them in the early 1980s, Lesser said in a lively phone conversation shortly before publication of Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery, the story of her passionate journey into the regions fiction and culture.

Lesser has been reading crime fiction for decades  Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle but also French and Japanese thrillers and contemporary writers like Michael Connelly. Yet Scandinavian crime always felt different, more socially conscious and granular. As Nordic crime gained momentum globally, Lesser eventually felt compelled to compare fiction with reality. The result, Scandinavian Noir, is equal parts memoir, critical study and travelogue.

Lesser was at UC Berkeley, working on her PhD in English and launching the literary journal the Threepenny Review, when she started raving to friends and colleagues about Beck. They were really groundbreaking, she says of the 10-book series, in terms of being a socially aware police procedural, and I think they are still the best thing ever written in the form.

Sjowall and Wahloo's Beck mysteries portrayed Sweden from a decidedly Marxist perspective; for Lesser it was a fantasy of sorts, an escape from the depressing political situation of the Reagan era. Though her book describes the series as comparable in some ways to a Balzac, Zola or Dickens project, clothed in the garments of a police procedural, she also learned the couple were influenced by several of Ed McBains 87th Precinct novels, which they had translated into Swedish. Like McBains New York City squad, the Beck novels feature a supergroup of Stockholm detectives who work together. The mysteries helped her form the beginnings of a mental map of her own private Scandinavia.

Story continues

Lesser spent the next 20 years filling in that map, awakening to the distinctions and diversity of a region that would soon expand and challenge readers perspective of crime fiction. Swedish writer Henning Mankells Kurt Wallander series pulled her in with intricate descriptions of Wallanders process of detection. Thoughts flicker in the margins of his brain before they take shape fully, Lesser writes in the book. They are mysteries, for the most part, about the process of thinking.

Then came Larssons Lisbeth Salander, the iconoclastic Swedish vigilante  not among Lessers favorites. I had plenty of objections to [The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo] on the ground of implausibility, superficial character creation and general axe-grinding, she writes. Yet she also acknowledges that, despite their cheap feminism, she found the books addictive and credits them with popularizing worthier fare.

Among those are Norways Jo Nesb, whose series protagonist, Harry Hole, cuts against the image of Nordic lawmen established by earlier authors. Scandinavian police officers are humane and gentle and they dont like violence, says Lesser. Harry just breaks all those rules. But Jo Nesbs novels are so well-written and well-plotted, you can just feel the intelligence behind them. Some of that seeps into Harry.

For Scandinavian Noir, Lesser ended up reading and profiling 27 other Swedish, Norwegian and Danish authors. The first part of her book, Fiction as Reality, delves into what these novels suggest about the cultures that produced them, documented alphabetically in the spirit of Sue Grafton: A is for Alcohol, B is for Bureaucracy  and on through Z for the zealous journalists who star in more recent hits by Larsson and Thomas Enger.

One of Lessers memorable works of essayistic criticism was 2002s Nothing Remains the Same: Rereading and Remembering. So its natural to wonder what she gleaned from rereading the Scandinavian greats. The suspense of not knowing what happens next was replaced, she reports, with the thrill of retracing detective Wallanders mental circuitry. And the Beck mysteries, which shed read in the 80s as social-democratic fan fiction, now feel more radical. Here I was falling in love with the social welfare state, and they were pointing out its shortcomings, what it didnt provide, she says. Powerful people were still in charge, wealthy people were still pushing around the poor. They were critiquing the society from a further left position than I realized at the time.

She was also struck by the Scandinavian perspective on the United States. They were holding up America as almost a dark mirror to Scandinavian life. On the one hand, there was the deplorable America that elected Ronald Reagan, that oppressed its black citizens, the America whose policies resulted in tons of gun deaths and violence. Then there is the other America  American television, pop music, jazz, even crime novels  that influenced these Scandinavian cops.

In part two of her book, Reality as Fiction, Lesser holds the mirror in the other direction  toward Scandinavia. She took a monthlong trip to Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm to compare the Scandinavia of her imagination with the real people, places and culture that formed the fiction.

Lesser makes herself a character in her own story, cleverly using the third person as she retraces Holes steps in Oslo and interviews cops in the citys Violent Crime Section. For all the grisly murders investigated by Nesbs Hole and Engers Henning Juul, Lesser learns that Oslo has only a dozen homicides per year, the majority of them domestic cases. We dont have serial killers, a female police official tells her. The crime most indelibly engraved in the Norwegian psyche is the horrific massacre of July 22, 2011, when Anders Breivik set off a car bomb in Oslo, killing eight, then drove to a nearby island where he shot and killed 69 more people, most of them teenagers in a Labor Party summer camp. The atrocity has come to define for Lesser a before-and-after version of modern Norway as clearly as Sweden's unsolved 1986 murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme (which inspired a trilogy by Leif G.W. Persson). And yet, for an Oslo prosecutor Lesser interviewed, the hero of the case was not the police but Breiviks attorney, whose even-handed defense gave the public an opportunity to heal some of the painful feelings aroused by the murders.

Lesser also visits small towns like Visby, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the setting of Mari Jungstedts The Killers Art, which she describes beautifully as a fantasy made real. But most compelling of all is her interview with Bengt Carlsson, a 60ish Stockholm detective, who says the Beck novels inspired him to apply to the police force. Lesser finds in Carlsson not only a kindred spirit but a thoughtful cop whose measured, humane perspective is the perfect embodiment of the socially engaged detectives she knew in fiction. Discussing crime and politics, they address the rise of populism and the possibility of renewal in the wake of xenophobia and fascism. He tells her never to give up hope. As a police officer, he says, I think of myself as a guard of democracy and its values.

Martin Beck would be proud, and so would his creators. It consoles Lesser to know that even though Wahloo died long before the mysteries made a splash, his lifelong partner passed away this week as an international sensation. "Now they are considered classics of the genre, and all the best practitioners admire them," says Lesser, "and I think she knew that."

Woods is a book critic, editor and author of several anthologies and crime novels.
Capt. Brett Crozier won't be the only one whose career is on the line in the Navy's expanded investigation of a coronavirus outbreak aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, a Pentagon official said Friday.

The renewed investigation ordered up Wednesday by acting Navy Secretary James McPherson was "not intended to be an inquiry about one officer and his actions," but rather would focus on decisions made "up and down the chain of command," said Pentagon chief spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.

The investigation, he said, would "look at the entire process" of actions taken once the first cases aboard the carrier were reported, and who was primarily responsible for decisions that led to an outbreak that sickened more than 1,000 sailors, and killed one.

Hoffman said the main question to be answered was, "how did we end up in a situation like this?"

Related: Navy Orders Deeper Investigation into Crozier Firing

Among Roosevelt's crew of roughly 4,800, about one-fifth have tested positive for COVID-19, and one has died of the disease: Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The virus began spreading aboard the carrier after a March 4-9 port visit to Danang in Vietnam, but Navy officials have since suggested that the virus may have originated from resupply flights to the Roosevelt.

In an April 15 statement to Stars & Stripes, Cmdr. Myers Vasquez, the Pacific Fleet spokesman, said that the port visit to Danang was approved after a risk analysis was conducted.

Following the analysis, Adm. John Aquilino, the Pacific Fleet commander, recommended that the port visit go ahead and Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, approved, Vasquez said.

The Navy's first investigation focused on Crozier, the Roosevelt's commander, and an email he wrote pleading for help managing the virus outbreak as the carrier arrived in Guam.

Among the addressees of the email were Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, commander of the Roosevelt's carrier strike group; Aquilino; and Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller, commander of Naval Air Forces.

The email was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle, which broke the news about Crozier's plea.

"We are not at war," Crozier wrote. "Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset -- our sailors."

Then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly removed Crozier as the Roosevelt's commander after the story broke, and then flew to Guam where he addressed the crew, saying Crozier had to be either "stupid" or "naive" if he didn't realize his email would be leaked. Amid backlash, Modly ultimately apologized for his remarks and resigned.

The first investigation was conducted by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Robert Burke. Based on the results, Navy leaders recommended to Defense Secretary Mark Esper that Crozier be reinstated.

The expanded investigation "will build on the good work of the initial inquiry to provide a more fulsome understanding of the sequence of events" aboard the Roosevelt, McPherson said in a statement Wednesday.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Read More: Trump Authorizes Activation of More Troops to Fight Drug Trafficking
In a bid to help students compensate for the academic loss due to the lockdown, the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) has decided to launch virtual learning for five more classes through the public broadcaster, Doordarshan (DD), from May 4.

With technical support from UNICEF, Bihar, the BEPC has already been running virtual classroom teaching on the local DD channel for classes nine and 10 since April 20, days after the country went under lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus infection on March 24.

As per the new arrangement, BEPC would conduct virtual classroom teaching for the students of classes six, seven, eight, 11 and 12. To facilitate teaching for fresh classes, the BEPC has booked a 3-hour slot, from 9 am to 12 pm.

BEPC programme officer, Kiran Kumari, said the objective of virtual classes was to cover the syllabus of April and May for the students and engage them in academic activities during the lockdown.

For now, we have booked slots for one month. The classes may be further extended depending upon the lockdown situation, she added.

Nipurnh Gupta, communication officer of UNICEF Bihar, said they extended technical support in converting study materials of different classes in digital format.

Gupta said, Analyzing the target audience, television is a better medium for digital classes than mobile in the state. Majority of the students, especially in high school, may not have access to smartphones or parents could not afford additional cost of internet recharge.

Those students who have access to smartphones, Unnayan App will be complementary in their online learning as it gives a platform to students to discuss queries and solve doubts with subject experts.

As per BEPC officials, there are around 75 lakh students enrolled in classes six to 12 in government and government-aided schools across the state.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:15:04|Editor: huaxia

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Palestinian workers wait to cross to Israel at the Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 3, 2020. Palestine and Israel have reached understandings to re-organize the entry of about 40,000 workers to Israel once again, a Palestinian official said on Friday. This step came after an Israeli decision a month ago prevented workers from going to their workplaces in Israel as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Luay Sababa/Xinhua)

RAMALLAH, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Palestine and Israel have reached understandings to re-organize the entry of about 40,000 workers to Israel once again, a Palestinian official said on Friday.

This step came after an Israeli decision a month ago prevented workers from going to their workplaces in Israel as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Nasri Abu Jeish, Palestinian Authority Minister of Labor, told Xinhua that the new understanding would be implemented on May 3.

All workers are going to get electronic permits that allow them to enter Israel for one time, while they can return after 30 days, the minister said.

Abu Jeish added that Palestinian specialized committees will monitor the process of workers' entry in order to compel them to abide by the preventive measures.

At the same time, the Israeli authorities will be obligated to provide housing and necessary medical care for workers' safety, the minister added.

The workers' return would be arranged after a month as the same mechanism to ensure the medical follow-up of their health status, according to Abu Jeish.

Meanwhile, Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday that the Israeli government had approved a decision to allow thousands of workers from the West Bank to work in Israel.

Only 15,000 Palestinian laborers are currently working in Israel, much less than 65,000 workers in normal situation, according to the newspaper.

The newspaper said that the significant decrease in the number of Palestinian workers has negatively affected the construction and agriculture sectors. Enditem
As coronavirus cases surge inside three federal prisons in California, the Bureau of Prisons has instituted stringent measures in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.

The three institutions  in Lompoc and Terminal Island  have cut off inmates' access to email and phone lines, drawing outrage from families who have not heard from loved ones in nearly two weeks. CBS News spoke to the friends and families of five inmates who have been impacted by what one person characterized as a "gag order."

The bureau confirmed the action in a statement to CBS News: "During this unprecedented response to a pandemic, we have temporarily suspended access to telephones and emails, solely to mitigate the spread of the virus from multiple people touching keyboards and handsets."

At Terminal Island, five inmates have died after testing positive for the virus, the bureau said Thursday. The low-security institution is home to 1,051 male inmates. More than half, 600, have tested positive  the most of any federal prison. Ten staffers have also contracted the virus.

The prison cut off phone and email for inmates on April 17, and its website said the action was taken to "prevent transmission of the virus by touching keyboards and phone handsets." Email and phone services should resume on May 18 at Terminal Island.

"You are strongly encouraged to continue corresponding by mailing letters through the U.S. Postal Service. The highest priority remains ensuring the safety of the inmates and staff while decreasing the spread of the COVID-19 virus," the website reads.

Terminal Island Coronavirus Outbreak

This 2019 image shows the Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution in Los Angeles. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

The Bureau of Prisons also suspended visitation across all its facilities on March 13, though at other facilities it has increased inmates' monthly telephone allotment from 300 to 500 minutes and inmates' calls free of charge for the remainder of the emergency.

Story continues

"Here is an unprecedented situation, in my knowledge, where neither is available and so it is almost a complete blackout of communication," said David Fathi, the director of the ACLU's National Prison Project, referring to the blocks on both visitation and communication.

Several spouses expressed concern over the policy. One woman whose husband is incarcerated at Terminal Island spoke to CBS News on the condition of anonymity as to not jeopardize her husband's chances of compassionate release.

She and her husband have consistently exchanged letters while he's been in prison, and even developed a code with their stamps to say "I love you." But after inconsistently receiving letters from her husband over the past two weeks, on Wednesday she received a letter from her husband that was dated March 25. He told her that he was given a swab test to see whether he had the virus. But because they can't communicate, she doesn't know if he tested positive.

"If an inmate is tested, he/she would be advised of the results and can provide this information to their family. Due to privacy regulations, we are unable to release medical information without proper authorization from the inmate, and logistically that is not feasible for the entire inmate population," Emery Nelson, a bureau spokesperson told CBS News.

"However, in the event of a serious illness, the inmates' emergency will be promptly notified in accordance with Bureau of Prisons Program Statement 6031.04 "Patient Care.'"

The last time Samantha Grady spoke to her husband, Jeffrey, at the low-security facility in Lompoc was on the morning of April 17 when he told her the prison would be suspending phone use. "I'm just really worried," she said.

Jeffrey Grady, 36, is a father of five and a cancer survivor, who was sentenced to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft in 2019.

On Thursday, Samantha Grady received a letter from her husband that said a man in his dorm tested positive for COVID-19 and that every time someone tests positive the prison will restart the 14-day quarantine. As of Thursday, there were 50 open virus cases among inmates and staff at FCI Lompoc, 40 of which are inmates.

Other spouses also said they had not received letters and think inmates have been unable to buy stamps through their commissary.

A bureau spokesperson said staffers at Lompoc are not "manning commissary and filling orders" but "writing supplies and envelopes are provided to every inmate, and the letters are posted at no charge to the inmate population."

However, the bureau said staff at Terminal Island and USP Lompoc and its camp are "manning commissary and filling orders, to include purchasing stamps," adding that "indigent inmates are provided stamps free of charge."

Across the Lompoc campus, Adriana H.'s brother is an inmate USP Lompoc, a medium-security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp where access to phones and email was suspended on April 20. The services should back up and running again on May 4.

Normally, she is able to visit him about three times a month and regularly communicates using the prison's email service, CorrLinks. But she and her family have still not heard from her brother since the phone lines were shut off.

"I have never heard my brother speak with as much fear as I did that day," she said of their last conversation. " When I heard his voice I knew he was scared."

As of Thursday, the BOP said USP Lompoc had the fourth-highest rate of confirmed COVID cases, with 86 inmates and 15 staff testing positive.

Of the nearly 2,700 of the federal inmates tested, approximately 70% have tested positive for COVID-19, the bureau tweeted Friday, adding that the percentage "does not reflect the positive rate" across the federal prison system, which houses 146,000 inmates in 122 facilities.

Sharon Dolovich, a professor of law at UCLA, criticized the decision to cut phone and email communication for inmates.

"As a matter of public policy it is totally unacceptable," said Dolovich, who spearheads the UCLA Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project. "The people who are running these institutions are being paid by the people to administer public institutions, and lives are at stake. In no other context would we say that state officials can just shut down information and access to members of the public that are in danger."

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The Canadian Armed Forces have launched a search and rescue operation for the downed aircraft - Thomas Watkins/AFP

Canadian prime Minister Jusin Trudeau has confirmed that one man has died and five others are missing after a Canadian military helicopter went missing during a NATO operation. Debris and the aircraft's black box have been found in the sea between Greece and Italy, a Greek military officer and public television said Thursday.

Canada's armed forces said the helicopter had been involved in an accident after taking off from the Canadian frigate Fredericton on Wednesday.

"Debris has been found in Italy's zone of control and intervention" in the Ionian Sea, the Greek military officer told AFP, specifying the wreckage belonged to the Canadian helicopter.

Six crew were aboard the helicopter when it disappeared, the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Greek public television reported that a body had been found amid the wreckage in international waters off the Greek island of Kefalonia.

Greek public television ERT said Italian and NATO vessels were also taking part in the search while Turkey said one of its frigates was also involved.

Canada said on Twitter that it contacted the family members of those who were on board the missing CH-148 Cyclone helicopter.

Italian, Greek and Turkish frigates were taking part in the exercises alongside the Canadians - HANDOUT/REUTERS

The aircraft was "involved in an accident in the Mediterranean Sea," it said, but gave no other details.

CAF had issued a statement earlier saying it had lost contact with the helicopter deployed on board HMCS Fredericton which was participating in NATO exercises off the coast of Greece.

"Search and rescue efforts are currently under way," it added.

Initial reports said the helicopter had been over international waters 50 nautical miles off Kefalonia.

Italian, Greek and Turkish frigates were taking part in the exercises along with the Canadians.

Juanita Chang, spokeswoman for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), which plans and carries out all NATO operations, confirmed Wednesday that a helicopter had gone missing.

"I confirm there has been an incident involving a helicopter from a ship under NATO command," she said.

"There is currently a search and rescue operation being conducted and national notifications taking place."
As we just learned, knowing your antibody level will help you determine whether youve been exposed to the coronavirus. This does not mean youre immune, and you should still practice all of the safety precautions you have been. But it does mean you may be eligible to donate convalescent plasma, which can potentially help patients still suffering from COVID-19 by allowing them to borrow your antibodies to accelerate their recovery time.
Sky gazers will tell you that May Day (May 1) has its roots in astronomy - on that day we are about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

Labour rights campaigners will pin this date as the commemoration of past labour struggles against lengthy workday, poor conditions and child labour. For the romantics, May 1 was the day of expressing love; for beekeepers, the day they moved bees; for farmers, the day they planted turnips. May 1 is International Workers Day - an official holiday in 66 countries and unofficially celebrated in many more.

Heres a close look at May 1.

8-hour workday from May 1, 1886: At the height of the Industrial Revolution, workers were dying of long working hours often stretching to 10-16 hours. The first law in the United States that called for an 8-hour workday was passed in Illinois in 1867 but it was not meant for all workers. When thousands of industrial workers went on a strike in the United States to demand better working conditions, in October 1884, the Federation of Organised Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada decided that May 1, 1886, would mark the first day that an 8-hour workday would go into effect.

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May Basket Day: Towards the end of April, young boys and girls started collecting flowers, candies and small gifts to put in May baskets to hang on the doors of friends, neighbours and loved ones on May 1. It was also an occasion to express romantic interest. Hang a May Day basket on the door of the one you love. If the basket-hanger was caught by the recipient, the recipient chased the basket-hanger and tried to steal a kiss.

On May 1, 1900, St. Louis Republic newspaper wrote of May Basket Day when the youthful fancy manifests its turn to thoughts of love by surreptitiously leaving baskets of spring flowers on the stoop appertaining to the home of the one adored. Author Louisa May Alcott wrote about May Basket Day in her 1880 children's book Jack and Jill.

Maypole Dance: The first maypole dance originated as part of the Celtic fertility ritual, where the pole symbolised male fertility and baskets and wreaths symbolised female fertility. In the Middle Ages, towns would compete to see who had the tallest or the best Maypole. Much later, May 1 grew into a day of merriment where a Maypole was wrapped in colourful ribbons and people danced around it all day. Maypole on May 1 was also the site to find love. If paired by sundown, the couple courted for 6 weeks to marry on Junes Midsummers Day - that is how the tradition of June Wedding began.

Oss Oss on May Day: In Cornwall (England), May 1 marks a procession in which the central figure is Oss Oss, a witch doctor disguised as a horse and wearing a medicine mask. Dancers sing the May Day song, beat drums, and in turn act the horse or dance in attendance.

May Day Festival: For the Celts of the British Isles, May 1 was the most important day of the year. The Festival of Beltane (May Day festival) was thought to divide the year in half, between the light and the dark. When the Romans took over the British Isles, they brought with them their 5-day celebration known as Floralia, devoted to the worship of the goddess of flowers, Flora.

May Day as Distress Call: This May Day call is not restricted to May 1, instead, it is an international distress call. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday code was invented in 1923 by Frederick Mockford, an airport radio officer in London. Challenged to come up with a word that would be easily understood by pilots and ground staff in case of an emergency, Mockford coined the word mayday which stems from the French maider (literally, help me).

Wash your face with Dew: Among the many superstitions associated with May Day was the belief that washing the face with dew on the morning of May 1 would beautify the skin and bring good luck. On May 1, often, kids would walk barefoot on dew for the first time.

Lei Day: In Hawaii, May 1 is called Lei Day and people make pretty leis (garlands/wreaths made with native Hawaiian flowers and leaves).

May Bush: On May 1, many Irish make a May bush, typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers and ribbons.

Plant turnips. Move Bees: Beekeepers traditionally moved bees on May 1 and farmers planted turnips on this day.

May Day Songs

1. Loretta Lyn: Coal Miners Daughter2. Dolly Parton: 9 to 53. Woody Guthrie: Union Burying Ground4. Pete Seeger: We Shall Not be Moved5. Florence Reese: Which Side are you On?6. Elvis Costello: Welcome to the Working Week7. John Lennon: Working Class Hero8. Ramones: It is not my place (in the 9 to 5 world)9. Randy Newman: Mr President, Have Pity on the Working Man10. Bob Dylan: Maggies Farm
Experts raise privacy concerns over governments Aarogya Setu app, now mandatory for public and private sector workers.

Indian authorities have made a contact-tracing mobile app mandatory for all public and private sector employees, raising concerns among digital rights experts about privacy and increased surveillance.

Aarogya Setu, the app launched by the Indian government earlier this month to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak, evaluates users risk of infection based on location, and their medical and travel history. It uses Bluetooth and location services to trace a users contacts.

Use of Aarogya Setu app shall be made mandatory for all employees, both private and public, a directive issued by Indias Ministry of Home Affairs said on Friday.

The fresh guidelines came as India extended its coronavirus lockdown for another two weeks after May 4.

It shall be the responsibility of the head of the respective organisations to ensure 100 percent coverage of this app among the employees, the ministry said.

Govt makes #AarogyaSetuApp mandatory for all public & private sector employees. Head of organisation to ensure 100 percent coverage #Covid_19 #MHA @CNBCTV18Live @CNBCTV18News  Shereen Bhan (@ShereenBhan) May 1, 2020

The app had already been made mandatory for food delivery workers and some other service providers, as well as all federal government employees.

It may also be needed to access public transit and airports when a nationwide lockdown lifts, according to local media reports.

Digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation called the app a privacy minefield, adding it does not adhere to principles of minimisation, strict purpose limitation, transparency and accountability.

The app runs very palpable risks of either expanding in scope or becoming a permanent surveillance architecture, said executive director Apar Gupta.

Deepinder Goyal, founder of food delivery firm Zomato, said, Being on the front line exposes our delivery partners to catching the infection, and therefore, any customers that they get in touch with for those few handover seconds.

India has recorded more than 35,000 cases of the coronavirus, including about 1,150 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data [Yawar Nazir/Getty Images]

By mandating all its delivery staff to use Aarogya Setu, the idea is to keep individuals, as well as authorities, informed in case they have crossed paths with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus  to prevent further spread, he said in a statement.

India has recorded more than 35,000 cases of the coronavirus, including about 1,150 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.

About 80 million downloads of Aarogya Setu  meaning health bridge in the Sanskrit language  have been reported, a small fraction of the 500 million smartphone user base in a population of more than 1.3 billion.

India is among a growing list of nations using mobile apps, facial recognition cameras, drones and other technologies to track the virus, monitor people under quarantine, and determine who can work and take public transit as lockdowns are eased.

A spokesman for the information technology ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Mission creep

Digital rights experts have warned that use of such technologies increases the risk of surveillance, and that some of these measures will persist even after the situation eases.

At the time of the launch of Aarogya Setu, officials had said: The personal data collected by the app is encrypted using state-of-the-art technology and stays secure on the phone till it is needed for facilitating medical intervention.

Tens of thousands of migrant workers fled cities after factories were shut in the wake of nationwide lockdown [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]

Like Chinas Health Code app that shows a user is symptom-free to board the subway or check into a hotel, federal government employees in India must have a safe or low risk status on their Aarogya Setu app to go to work, according to a notification dated April 29.

The app may soon be installed on all smartphones by default, according to local media reports.

Bluetooth phone apps for tracking the coronavirus have seen modest early results, although more countries are rolling them out. Luxury carmaker Ferrari has a voluntary contact-tracing app as part of its plan for reopening its factories.

About 600 scientists and researchers from around the world, in a joint statement earlier this month, said GPS-based contact tracing apps lacked sufficient accuracy and carried privacy risks.

Some of these apps enabled government or private surveillance through mission creep, they said, a shift from the stated objectives.

Countries are addressing privacy concerns differently, said Anirudh Burman, an associate fellow at Carnegie India.

What we are seeing so far is that most of these applications are designed for pandemic prevention, he said.

We are not yet seeing any significant evidence of the scope of these applications increasing. It is not clear yet that there is a significant function creep, he said.

But the risk that this may happen is high in India, which has neither a data protection law nor a data protection authority, said Suhrith Parthasarathy, a lawyer.

Aarogya Setu is framed as a necessary technological invasion into personal privacy to achieve a larger social purpose, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

But without a statutory framework, and in the absence of a data protection law, the applications reach is boundless.
PHOENIX, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Mesa based Crown Realty & Development is pleased to announce its newest acquisition, the Corning Optical Communications headquarters building in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The property is improved with more than 182,000-square-feet and was completed in 2019. The build-to-suit project is a five-story Class A office building and situated on 11.71 acres. It features modern creative office finishes, an expansive two-story lobby, a green roof on the third floor, and View Dynamic Glass glazing on the exterior glass, which allows users to control window tint and eliminate shades.

The project is currently 100% leased to Corning Optical Communications, on a triple net lease, as its newly relocated, mission critical, corporate headquarters and is guaranteed by its investment-grade parent, Corning, Inc. Corning Optical Communications is the largest operating segment of Corning, Inc., and the group develops and manufactures fiber optic communication systems solutions for voice, data, and video networks.

The deal was previously under contract and fell out of escrow as the buyer lost its nerve due to the upheaval in the capital markets related to COVID-19. Crown was able to quickly capitalize on the situation and provide the seller assurance of close with an all-cash offer and going $3 million non-refundable on the signing of the PSA followed by a short, fifteen-day closing. The acquisition complements Crown's existing portfolio of mission critical long-term, net leased investments to investment-grade companies (no retail).

Coming into the COVID-19 crisis, Crown's principals had built up a store house of cash and lines of credit, positioning the company to forge ahead with its development projects and new acquisitions of commercial real estate.

Crown's very strong and stable financial position allows the real estate company to continue moving ahead with its development projects  including the City North mixed-use project in north Phoenix execute new deals. Widely considered to be one of the finest pieces of real estate in Arizona the nearly 100-acre City North, with over 5 million square feet of entitlement, sits at the confluence of the highly-trafficked Loop 101 and 51 Freeways in the rapidly growing Desert Ridge region in North Phoenix.

This comes as other companies and industries are stressed by the economic fallout from the Coronavirus. While many buyers have been sidelined due to COVID-19, Crown remains open and is actively looking to transact. Its liquidity and reliance only on its own capital enables Crown to acquire assets all-cash, providing sellers with certainty of close and quick closing timeframes.

"As is the case with the Corning acquisition, our financial strength and stability have our company positioned for more acquisitions as we continue to forge ahead with City North and other projects," said Robert Flaxman, Founder and CEO of Crown Realty & Development.

Flaxman pointed to Crown's financial position at the City North development in Phoenix. The real estate company funded its acquisitions of the land and infrastructure development without debt.

"Contractors will be paid on time because we have no debt at City North and have funded every penny from cash," Flaxman said.

Construction is underway at the Crown's ambitious City North development fronting the Loop 101 in north Phoenix. The 100-acre property is adjacent to the existing Desert Ridge Marketplace and High Street retail, office and residential communities near Tatum Boulevard and the Loop 101.

Coined the 'City of the Future', City North will include 2 million square feet of Class A Office space, 2,600 residential units, 500 hotel rooms and 100,000 square feet for restaurants and retail.

Crown also developed the Omni Montelucia Resort and spearheaded the redevelopment of Mountain Shadows in Paradise Valley.

Crown is currently looking for other transactions that fit this criteria:

Transaction Size: $25 Million+ (No Maximum)







Property Types: Office, Industrial, and Flex







Tenancy Types: Investment-Grade







Remaining Lease Term: 10+ Years



For more information or to view Crown's current portfolio visit https://crowndev.com/. For media inquiries please contact Jennifer Parks-Sturgeon at [email protected] or by phone at (480) 495-3806.

SOURCE Crown Realty & Development

Related Links

http://crowndev.com


Press Release

1 May 2020

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee - Showing further COVID-19 impact, the Canadian hotel industry recorded steep year-over-year declines in the three key performance metrics during the week of 19-25 April 2020, according to data from STR.

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In comparison with the week of 21-27 April 2019, the industry reported the following:

Occupancy: -76.9% to 15.0%

Average daily rate (ADR): -32.2% to CAD101.22

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -84.4% to CAD15.14

Among the provinces and territories, Quebec experienced one of the largest drops in occupancy (-87.7% to 7.9%), which pushed the steepest decrease in RevPAR (-91.6% to CAD8.20).

Newfoundland and Labrador matched for the other largest decline in occupancy (-87.7% to 7.1%).

British Columbia posted the steepest drop in ADR (-39.5% to CAD105.48).

Among the major markets, Montreal recorded the largest decrease in RevPAR (-92.0% to CAD9.00), due to the largest decline in occupancy (-87.7% to 8.5%).

Vancouver registered the steepest drop in ADR (-43.5% to CAD113.91).
By Tom Cavanaugh

Theres a lot I could write about today. Theres a lot on my mind the use of the virus for political means, the thoughts I have about our future, the thoughts I have about this country, but I cant write about any of that today I cant express my thoughts or opinions today about anything not even the virus because today at 3 oclock we were part of the services for the first fireman from our department to die of COVID-19.

I have heard many of these announcements when I worked in Los Angeles as a dispatcher. There, they are called PSRs, Police Service Representatives, and when I switched from the Los Angeles Police Department to the California State Police Department at the university, we monitored LAPD frequencies, so Ive heard a lot of these and since the virus and today now Ive written two of the scripts for the announcement.

The ceremony is different in every department and the script has a basic format with similar endings, but the importance of the ceremony and the reason for the ceremony is the same throughout the United States

Today, there was a long line of fire trucks and engines that were followed by a long line of police cars that went past the funeral parlor. In front of the funeral parlor and lined up down the street for several blocks were people, all trying to maintain six feet of social distancing.

I was told that when they stopped, all the fire vehicles had their radios on speakers and that anyone who had a handheld radio left the volume up, this way everyone could hear the announcement.

It was 2:55 p.m., or so, and I had to finish the script by 3. I remembered there was a small memorial written on Facebook that I could get the facts about the deceased fireman and I scrambled to get on the page, add the ceremonial ending, have it proofed by the senior dispatcher and hand it off to my partner so that she would be ready for her cue.

We made the deadline and activated what we call The Tones for the firehouse and the precinct that the deceased fireman worked out of and then the following announcement is read

FIRE CENTRAL TO PRECINCT 5, ENGINE 11, CAPTAIN CAMPBELL

FIRE CENTRAL TO PRECINCT 5, ENGINE 11, CAPTAIN CAMPBELL

Edison Fire Captain Richard Campbell was a 28-year veteran firefighter. Firefighting and public service ran in his blood, as he followed his father into the line of service, as did his brother. Fire Captain Richard Campbell was a hero that loved his wife and their four children. Fire Captain Richard Campbell this is your last call, youre going home. Captain Richard Campbell you are end of watch.

My partner did this amazing reading of the announcement and in her voice, it had a really special quality but I didnt realize how hard it hit people until one of the cops called in from the road and said, Tell her good job! It was beautiful! I was really happy and proud when I heard that!

That night when I went home, I talked to my brother about the day. My brother had already read the obituary and knew all about the death of the fire captain to the coronavirus. I was surprised and then my brother asked Dont you realize who he was?

Yeah, he was one of the fire captains. Ive been talking to him for years at work, I answered.

My brother said, No, not just that we went to school with him. Hes Karens brother!

Theres this thing I used to have and I know I lost it after living in Los Angeles for 15 years, theres this smalltown sense of life where you know everyone and everyones life is entwined with each other. Its not something you think about and its not something you ever try to be a part of, but its something that just happens. Living in L.A., its so transient and everyone is always moving out and someone is always moving back in and it all happens so fast and your neighbors change all the time and well. This feeling of community doesnt always happen in big cities, but sometimes it does. Here in the New Jersey burbs and now, all these years later, I had to be reminded about it.

The deceased captain grew up in the neighborhood, just a five-minute walk from my childhood street. We went to the same elementary and junior high school together; he was a year older. His sister was in my grade and we went to school together until the 10th grade when I switched to the Catholic High School. His sister is married to someone Ive been working with since 1992 and is now one of my police captains.

Captain Campbell was always a voice on the radio or on the phone, but I never realized that he was that kid and Karens brother.

Sometimes this job does that to you. People are only voices and lives are something that pass with the end of the shift. If it wasnt for the obituary, well now I know why they are so important and why my father would read them daily.

Ritual is everything when it comes to death.

Today we did the Last Call or the End of Watch announcement for A FIRE CAPTAIN, A HUSBAND, A FATHER, A HERO and... a kid I went to school with from the neighborhood.

This is your last call. Youre going home. You are end of watch.

I hate this virus.

Tom Cavanaugh has been a 911 operator for 29 years, including 14 years in Edison and 15 in Los Angeles and at California State University.

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File picture

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of meetings to discuss strategies to boost the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and attract more foreign investments into India as well as promote local investments.

He reviewed the state of investments, the defence and aerospace sector and the mine and mineral sector.

An official statement said various strategies to bring investments into India on a fast-track mode and to promote Indian domestic sectors were discussed in the first meeting.

The high-level meetings come amid the ongoing global backlash against China.

Several companies are now looking for new bases to set up their businesses, according to reports.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Detailed discussions were also held on guiding states to evolve their strategies and to be more proactive in attracting investments, the statement said.

Reform initiatives undertaken by the various ministries should continue unabated and action should be taken in a time-bound manner to remove any obstacles which impede promotion of investment and industrial growth, the statement said, citing the discussions.

The meeting also discussed that a scheme should be developed to promote more "plug and play" infrastructure in the existing industrial lands, plots or estates in the country and provide necessary financing support.

During the meeting, Modi directed all concerned that action should be taken for a more proactive approach to "handhold" the investors, to look into their problems and help them in getting all the necessary central and state clearances in a time-bound manner.

Given the increasingly worrying economic uncertainty, the government has moved to reassure both global and local investor community with focus on encouraging infrastructure and manufacturing sector investments.

While chairing the meet on defence and aerospace, he said India should reduce dependence on imports and take forward the "Make in India" initiative to build its domestic capabilities for designing, developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art defence equipment.

The meeting also discussed the potential reforms to ensure a robust and self-reliant defence industry in India that caters to short and long term needs of the armed forces.

The meet also discussed initiatives to give a boost to the economy in the backdrop of COVID-19, an official statement said.

The discussions involved reforming of the functioning of the ordnance factories, streamlining procurement procedures, focused resource allocation and encouraging research and development.

Attracting investment in critical defence technologies and promotion of exports also came up in the meet.

The prime minister laid emphasis on positioning India among the top countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, from design to production, with active participation of public and private sector fulfilling the twin objectives of self-reliance and exports.

He reviewed the proposed reforms for attracting domestic and foreign investment in defence sector.

It was discussed that defence expenditure be "economised" and the savings be channelised for strategic defence capital acquisition.

Reviewing the mines and mineral sector, Modi laid special focus on improving the country's self-reliance in production of minerals and their in-country processing.

Auctioning of additional blocks, encouraging wider participation in auctions, increasing the production of mineral resources, reducing the cost of mining and cost of transporting formed part of the discussion.

The deliberations also focussed on increasing ease of doing business while also reducing carbon footprint with environmentally sustainable development.
An Air India plane is parked at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi.

Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Image

More than 2,800 people have joined a Facebook group looking to evacuate Indian nationals from the US to India.

But India won't let people return on commercial flights because of the lockdown put in place to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

India, which has had 5,365 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,152 deaths from the virus, has a strict lockdown in place until May 3, and it's unclear when commercial travel will be allowed again.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

More than 2,800 Indians are looking to be evacuated from the US back to India, but they can't get flights home because of India's coronavirus lockdown.

More than 2,800 people have joined a Facebook group called "USA TO INDIA EVACUATION FLIGHTS," where members have joined together, petitioning the Indian Embassy in the US to send them home.

The Indian Embassy to the US, however, told the group that there would be no flights to India until the country lifts its lockdown put in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, CNN reported.

India, which has a population of 1.343 billion people, has had 35,365 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,152 deaths from the virus, according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University.

The country has been on lockdown since March, and its current phase is expected to last until May 3. The lockdown has closed all nonessential businesses, public transportation, and international travel on commercial flights. According to The BBC, it was one of the first countries to put heavy travel restrictions in place.

The Facebook group of stranded Indians includes students, travelers on tourist visas, people who have lost their work visas, and more, CNN reported. Many of them are trying to get home for relatives' funerals and medical treatments.

Some have considered taking private jets. But the costs, they told CNN, would be upwards of $70,000 per person.

Story continues

Bindu Manjunath, who's undergoing a series of treatments to address her stage-four liver cancer diagnoses, says she needs to get home to India for medical treatment. She told CNN the costs of the US healthcare system were prohibitive.

"I had finished all my tests before leaving for the US, (and) a small tumor is still inside (me)," she told CNN. "I really have to get back to continue my treatment  any treatment here would be a burden on my family."

It remains unclear when India will allow international travel again. CNN reported that the Foreign Ministry is working with Indian states on bringing residents back from other countries.

The Facebook group's founder, Michael Khanna, told CNN he's hopeful people will get back to India sooner rather than later.

"We are hoping at the minimum, the critical cases get evacuated first. Authorities are listening ... all we need is a small window to travel back," he said.

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The demand of Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia is of major significance because if the court procedures end logically, this can serve as an impetus for us Armenians to not only talk about demands, but also turn them into a reality. This is what Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan said during a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

As far as the potential increase of pressure on the church and the Armenian community of Turkey is concerned, the standards of processes unfolding in the country attest to the fact that the government doesnt miss any opportunity to place the blame of certain events on the Armenian community. Thus, we cant rule this out in this case as well, taking into consideration the characteristics of President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his methods of governance in the recent period, he said.

Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia has filed a lawsuit with the demand that the Turkish government return Antelias to the Catholicosate of Sis located in the territory of historic Cilicia. The trial of the first instance court was scheduled for April 21, but was postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
press release

The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) has received a seven-day ultimatum to make public the total number of COVID-19 funds and material donations received from local and international organisations from February to April this year.

Since February when the first coronavirus index case, an Italian, was discovered in Nigeria, funds from governments, individuals and corporate organisations have continued to trickle in.

In a Freedom of Information letter of request sent to the CBN this week, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre) said the apex bank has the moral and constitutional obligations to make known to the public the total numbers of funds received.

It said without any prompting, the CBN should have been releasing to the public the figure of any fund received on behalf of the people of Nigeria.

In pursuit of its demand, HEDA Resource Centre has sent a Freedom of Information request to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, urging him to release the figures within seven days.

The FOI request signed by HEDA Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, said his group wants a comprehensive breakdown of financial donations received towards responding to COVID 19 as of April 20 this year.

The group also wants CBN to indicate the names of the donors (individual, corporate and international organizations), date of donation, source(s) of the donations, the amount contributed by each individual and corporate body.

"The CBN holds resources in trust for the people. The Bank needs to set standards in line with global best practices. The receipt of funds in the form of donations either in cash or in material forms should be done in an open and transparent manner. We want to see the CBN act in accordance with a culture of accountability which should be the hallmark of business transactions in Nigeria," Mr Suraju said.
Members of Chesed Shel Emes, a burial society based in Brooklyn, transport a body for burial at the cemetery it operates in Woodridge, N.Y.

(JTA)-Sometime in March, the Chesed Shel Emes Jewish burial society in Brooklyn added a new responsibility to the sacred tasks its 700 volunteers had committed to uphold: paperwork.

Bodies were piling up because of the coronavirus pandemic, and helping funeral homes with their clerical work had grown just as essential to ensuring respectful Jewish funeral rites as washing and guarding bodies before they were buried.

Between Purim on March 10 and Passover, which ended last week, the burial society performed about 500 purification rituals, known as taharot-five times the number it handled during an average month before the pandemic.

Their workplaces closed, members of the burial society, or chevra kadisha, donned protective gear and extended their shifts to keep up with the need.

"Since people are quarantined, they can sit in the funeral homes and just do one after another," said Rabbi Mayer Berger, the chevra kadisha's director of operations.

But should they?

At a time when nearly all other aspects of communal Jewish life have shut down or moved online to stop the spread of the disease, chevra kadishas face difficult decisions about how to perform the rituals safely-or at all.

At stake is not just the health of chevra kadisha members, many of whom are older, but also the most sacred mitzvah, commandment-that of giving honor to the dead. For those who believe in an afterlife, the tahara process is considered critical for preparing the body to pass through to the afterlife. And unlike a Passover Seder, which happens every year, the opportunity to perform the burial rites for any given person arises only once.

"We want so much to continue to perform this mitzvah," said Malke Frank, a member of an independent, nondenominational chevra kadisha that has created a social distancing version of the tahara ritual.

Until the pandemic, when the members of Frank's burial society, the New Chevra Kadisha of Greater Pittsburgh, came together to perform the purification rite, they gathered in a room at the funeral home. They began by asking the deceased for forgiveness before pouring water over the body and reciting verses and prayers. They finished by dressing the body in white burial shrouds, placing it in the coffin and again asking for forgiveness for any mistakes they may have made during the tahara process.

Now they meet over Zoom with a screen set up where the body lies. Using pitchers of water and empty bowls set up next to their home computers, they pour water from one vessel into another while reciting the verses and visualizing pouring the water over the body itself.

The chevra kadisha calls this process a "virtual tahara," a simulated way to honor the dead while allowing the members of the chevra kadisha to stay safely at home.

The decision to halt all in-person taharot was a difficult one, Frank said. When the chevra kadisha met March 15 to discuss how to move forward, schools were already closed and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf would declare a state of emergency the following day.

"There were those who were adamantly opposed to performing taharot and those who, with proper PPE, would continue," Frank said, using the initials for proper protective equipment.

But within a few days, a nondenominational organization providing education and training to chevra kadishas formally recommended ending in-person taharot. The chevra kadisha fell in line, donating the PPE they had already purchased to a nursing home and a hospital.

David Zinner, the executive director of that organization, Kavod v'Nichum, said the current crisis has little precedent. Comparing the coronavirus pandemic to the AIDS epidemic and more recent outbreaks, Zinner pointed to an important difference.

"In each of those, we weren't worried about the people who were alive, we were worried about the contagiousness of the disease of the person who had died," Zinner said. "Here it's something different: We're worried about the people who are alive spreading the disease."

In fact, there may be some risk from contact with the body of a COVID-19 victim.

A medical study published last week reported that a worker in Thailand became infected with the virus after having contact with the corpse of a COVID-19 victim. The authors suggested that morgue and funeral home workers take similar precautions to those taken by medical workers, such as wearing personal protective equipment and disinfecting facilities.

Berger of Chesed Shel Emes said his chevra kadisha had consulted with the New York City Medical Examiner's office and were told that the risk of infection from a corpse is small.

"Saving lives is more important than doing taharas," Berger said. "If I'm putting myself really at risk, it's a different story, but here it's not the case."

Berger said it would be emotionally traumatic to tell families of the deceased that they would not perform a tahara for their loved ones.

"We come from earth and return to earth," said Berger, who noted the importance of the tahara process to the deceased's transition into the afterlife. "We try to bury them as soon as possible because we believe that once a person passes away, the body wants to return to the earth."

It is because of this emotional imperative that other chevra kadishas have continued their work amid the pandemic. Some have taken to working in groups of two people to minimize interactions, while others have changed the process to pouring water over a body bag rather than directly onto the body to limit the physical interaction among members of the group with the body.

"No two groups do it exactly the same way," Zinner said.

"It's a really interesting blend of practical and spiritual and prayer," he said, referring to the physical preparations of the body and the spiritual importance of the process. "When we teach this stuff, we teach that the rituals are for the person, for their soul, for their family, for the community, for the people who are doing it. You can't separate it out."

For the chevra kadisha in Pittsburgh, performing the virtual tahara from home has given participants a new perspective on the ritual.

"We're doing it on our own, we're by ourselves and that in itself is pretty powerful," Frank said.

The chevra kadisha has maintained its practice of having participants reflect on their experiences with the rituals after they are complete.

"What people have said is that it's as powerful as when they've done their first tahara," Frank said. "The whole experience takes on a different level of holiness."
UN hopes Lavrov-Blinken meeting will help lessen tensions around Ukraine: Spokesman 18 Jan 2022 | 11:31 PM United Nations, Jan 18 (UNI/Sputnik) UN chief Antonio Guterres welcomes the upcoming meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and hopes it will lower tensions around Ukraine, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. see more..

Long-range Kamikaze drones were likely used in Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi 18 Jan 2022 | 11:30 PM Abu Dhabi, Jan 18 (UNI) The Houthis most likely used explosive drones, or the loitering munitions, to target Abu Dhabis airport and oil facilities in Mondays attack, in what is considered to be one of its biggest strikes on its Gulf rivals in recent years. see more..

Covid-19 infections rise to 533,408 in Myanmar 18 Jan 2022 | 11:29 PM Yangon, Jan 18 (UNI/Xinhua) The number of Covid-19 infections has risen to 533,408 in Myanmar after 163 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to a release from the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. see more..

Blinken in talks with Lavrov will urge Russia to de-escalate - White House 18 Jan 2022 | 11:28 PM Washington, Jan 18 (UNI/Sputnik) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his upcoming meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva is going to urge Moscow to de-escalate tensions on the border with Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. see more..
Cover of "Public Service and Good Governance for the Twenty-First Century" We believe that this book, especially given the urgency of these historic times, will help our nation to have a better conversation about how to ensure our government is equipped to serve our citizens, said Thomas W. Ross, Volcker Alliance president.

Today, the Volcker Alliance announced the publication and release of a book entitled "Public Service and Good Governance for the Twenty-First Century." The book offers recommendations for developing public leaders through higher education, creating a federal civil service to meet future needs, and rebuilding bipartisanship to make the sweeping changes needed to restore good government.

The pandemic has brought our country to terms with how critical it is to have a public sector workforce that is prepared to deliver, come rain or shineor new viruses, said Thomas W. Ross, president of the Volcker Alliance. We believe that this book, especially given the urgency of these historic times, will help our nation to have a better conversation about how to ensure our government is equipped to serve our citizens.

The publication was inspired by the Volcker at 90 Symposium, a celebration held in 2017 for the ninetieth birthday of Paul A. Volcker, founding chairman of the Volcker Alliance, who passed away last December. The event brought together over 200 leaders from the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors to discuss future governance challenges facing the United States and explore how public institutions and public servants can meet them. The book contains a foreword by Mr. Volcker.

There could not be a more fitting product to come from the Volcker at 90 Symposium, said Bill Bradley, chairman of the Volcker Alliance board of directors. Restoring Americans trust in government was one of Mr. Volckers greatest life passions. He hoped that this book would serve as a resource as the next generation of public servants steps up to lead our nation through the complex challenges it faces today.

"Public Service and Good Governance for the Twenty-First Century," published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, addresses questions including: What is the state of government today? What institutions and structures will be needed to meet future challenges? And what knowledge, skills, and abilities will need to be fostered for tomorrows civil servants to lead and execute effectively? The book was edited by James L. Perry, distinguished professor emeritus in the Paul H. ONeill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington, and authored by a distinguished group of public service experts:



Sheila Bair, former chair of the FDIC and Volcker Alliance board member

William W. Bradley, former New Jersey senator and Volcker Alliance chairman

John J. DiIulio Jr., professor of politics, religion, and civil society at the University of Pennsylvania

Angela Evans, dean of The University of Texas at Austins LBJ School of Public Affairs

Francis Fukuyama, director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University and Volcker Alliance board member

Donald F. Kettl, professor of public management and public policy at the LBJ School and Volcker Alliance nonresident senior fellow

Ramayya Krishnan, professor of management science and information systems at Carnegie Mellon University

Paul C. Light, professor of public service at New York University and Volcker Alliance nonresident senior fellow

Shelley Metzenbaum, consultant for the BETTER Project and founding president of the Volcker Alliance

Norman J. Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, columnist for The Atlantic, and Volcker Alliance board member

Norma M. Riccucci, professor of public administration at Rutgers University

Paul R. Verkuil, professor of law at Yeshiva University

For more information on "Public Service and Good Governance for the Twenty-First Century" and to obtain a discount code for purchasing, please visit volckeralliance.org.

The Volcker Alliance advances effective management of government to achieve results that matter to citizens. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization is inspired by the legendary public service of our founder, Paul A. Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and his vision of a public sector workforce with the experience, preparation, and commitment to ensure that government is accountable and delivers with excellence. Visit volckeralliance.org to learn more. Follow us on social media @VolckerAlliance and subscribe to the Volcker Alliance newsletter for the latest news and developments. The Volcker Alliance is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has endorsed Bega mayor Kristy McBain as his preferred candidate in the looming byelection in Eden-Monaro, framing the contest as a test of the federal government's response to last summer's bushfires.

Moving ahead of a formal decision to choose a candidate, Mr Albanese stood alongside Ms McBain on Friday morning to name her as the "best candidate" for Labor and the electorate on the NSW south coast.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has endorsed Bega mayor Kristy McBain as his preferred candidate for the Eden-Monaro byelection. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

With NSW Deputy Premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro preparing to run on the strength of his strong support in the overlapping state seat of Monaro, Labor signalled it would fight on local issues rather than national policies.

Labor will call for nominations from its members to replace former MP Mike Kelly, who announced his resignation on Thursday, but Mr Albanese's move makes it near-certain Ms McBain will be the party's official candidate by Monday afternoon.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Delhi Police have told a city court that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was invoked against Jawaharlal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam for inciting a particular religious community to disrupt the sovereignty of the country.

In a document accessed by IANS, the police told a Delhi court that speeches given by Sharjeel Imam were communal in nature, which caused serious communal strife and promoted enmity between various religious groups.

Imam came in the eye of the storm for giving "inflammatory" speech at Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) on December 13 and subsequently on January 16 at the Aligarh Muslim University, where he allegedly threatened to "cut off" Assam and the rest of the northeast from the country. He is currently lodged in a jail in Guwahati.

The police further said, "Sharjeel, in his speech, exhorted the audience of a particular religious community to disrupt the day-to-day life in all such cities where Muslims are in substantial numbers, in an organised manner. The speech clearly reflects that the accused has committed, advised and incited commission of unlawful activity. Hence, Section 13 of UAPA was added in the case." During the course of investigation, it emerged that the accused incited the members of the group comprising a religious community as also the individuals assembled to hear him, calling upon them to disrupt the sovereignty of India, the document stated.

The police said that after his speech on January 16, many protest sites started emerging in the city, which led to the initiation of riots in Delhi in February 2020.

Besides this, the police said that subsequent to his speech in Jamia on December 13, wide-spread arson and violence took place in various parts of Delhi.

During the course of investigation, Imam disclosed that he, along with his associates in JNU, had created a WhatsApp group by the name of 'Muslim Students of JNU'.

The police stated in the document, "He (Imam), through the group, united and mobilised Muslim students of JNU and had convinced them to spread message among other Muslims that the 'Bills' are anti-Muslim and biased in nature. He also started spreading information that the government wants to keep Muslims in 'detention centres' under the garb of the CAA and NRC. His JNU friends were the core members of the group." The police also recovered three pamphlets from his e-mail which he had distributed in various mosques in Delhi and their adjoining areas. Another pamphlet was distributed by Imam in which he urged people to join the Jamia protest on December 13.

The Delhi Police had also requested the court to grant them 90-day extension to conclude the investigation into the case as members of the WhatsApp group -- 'Muslim students of JNU' -- were to be interrogated, his connection with Delhi riots had to be ascertained, his friends from Jamia needed to be interrogated and the person who initially shot the video of his speech at Jamia was yet to identified, which was duly allowed.

"The period of investigation for further 90 days, i.e. totaling to 180 days, is extended to conclude the investigation, as prayed for," Judge Gurvinder Pak Singh stated in an order dated April 25.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pleaded with Ghanaians to stop stigmatising persons who have recovered from COVID-19, saying it will not augur well towards the fight against the pandemic.



He said the stigmatisation would rather drive people away from getting screened, tested and treated.



He stated: The stigmatisation of recovered persons must not go on because if the virus did not end their lives and livelihoods, the stigma from members of their communities should not.



Speaking at the Virtual May Day Celebration, hosted by the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), on Friday, President Akufo-Addo said the overwhelming majority of the recovered persons would continue to live perfectly normal lives and cease to be sources of infections.



He also reiterated his call for everyone to be selfless in fighting the virus, saying, We have to sacrifice towards fighting the novel Coronavirus to sacrifice towards fighting the novel Coronavirus so that we do not have to bear a greater cost in the future.



All sections of society must see this sacrifice as a common effort to defeat this common enemy.



The theme for the celebration is: COVID-19 in Ghana: The Impact on Employment and Working Conditions.



Giving an update of the cases, the President said, as of Thursday, April 30, Ghana had conducted 113, 497 tests for the virus, the most per a million people testing to be conducted in Africa.



A total of 2,074 have since March 12, tested positive, while there are 212 recoveries. There have also been 17 deaths.



Our positivity rate has gone up marginally from 1.5 per cent to 1.8 per cent with six persons critically ill, and 1,839 persons are well and responding to treatment in health facilities, with some being managed at homes, President Akufo-Addo said.



This, in effect, means that there is presently, no big pressure on our health care facilities to manage these cases, and we pray to God it stays that way.



Emphasising the national strategy of Tracing, Testing and Treating, he explained that it was important for people to understand that the more people were tested for the virus, the more persons would be discovered as positive.



This would offer the opportunity to isolate and treat them, adding that the implantation of the strategy was the surest way of rooting out the virus.



He assured that all the measures put in place to combat the spread of the disease were under constant review and the Government would not hesitate to cordon, impose a curfew, trace, test and treat persons in communities where we will witness significant spread of the infections.



The President urged all to continue practising the social distancing protocols, which include avoiding handshaking and wearing facemasks whenever we leave home.



He also urged all working people to step forward, remain disciplined and help in the fight against the pandemic.

Source: GNA









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A manda Holden has released her debut single, a cover of Over The Rainbow, in honour of NHS heroes she said saved her life.

The Britains Got Talent judge, 49, said she hopes the track will help "lift people's spirits as the coronavirus crisis rages on in the UK.

She recorded her version of the song, famously sung by Judy Garland in 1939's The Wizard of Oz, in 2019 and it was due to be released as part of an album this year.

Money raised by the track will go to NHS Charities Together, which supports staff and volunteers working on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.

Holden said: "My album was going to be released just before all of this happened, so it's all on hold, and this was not going to be the first single, so it feels very interesting.

Its a completely different way to go but it's for charity so we're looking at it in a different way now, it's not for me... it's for the NHS because I owe them everything, I owe them my life."

The Heart Breakfast radio presenter, who is also an M&S food brand ambassador, has joined the company's All In This Together campaign.

Her single's artwork is inspired by a rainbow T-shirt being designed and sold by M&S to raise money for NHS Charities Together.

Amanda Holden's single will be available to download and stream, and money raised will go to NHS Charities Together / PA

The rainbow has become a symbol of hope during the pandemic, with children making pictures of them to stick to their windows since schools closed.

Holden said she owed the NHS "so much" after it "saved" her life when her baby was stillborn in 2011, and her sister's life when she was in a car accident.

She said: "Life has taken a really funny turn but one thing that I think has become really clear is that we are all in this together. And more than ever, we've reconnected with love and hope during this time.

"The wonderful team at Marks & Spencer have designed these beautiful rainbow T-shirts with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together. This campaign and the NHS mean a lot to me because, as I'm sure you've read over the years, they've saved my life.

"They've saved my sister's life after she was in a car accident. And, of course, our son Theo was born sleeping at an NHS hospital where all the staff were utterly extraordinary and treated us with so much empathy and love.

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"So, I feel like I owe them so much. I feel like we all owe them a debt now and of course for the future to come. Last year, I recorded a version of Over The Rainbow. It's a song I used to sing as a girl with my nan and grandad and one I love to sing with my daughters, Lexi and Hollie.

"When Marks & Spencer and I were chatting last week we remembered this song and lyrically it feels more relevant now than ever. My record label, VirginEMI, have kindly agreed to put the song out with all proceeds going to support this wonderful cause for the NHS."

In 2011, at seven months pregnant with her son Theo, a scan revealed his heart had stopped.

Holden underwent a caesarean at West Middlesex University Hospital, where she had trained as a midwife for an ITV documentary called Out Of My Depth in 2009.

Her experience prompted her to set up Theo's Hope, a fund providing bereavement counsellors in maternity units around the UK.

NHS Charities Together chief executive Ellie Orton said: "Everyone has their own reasons to be grateful to the NHS and it is brilliant that Amanda has decided to use her profile and talents to raise money in support of the NHS staff, volunteers and patients who are dealing with the crisis right now.

"I love the message of hope in the song and fingers crossed it will raise lots of money for the appeal."

M&S head of sustainable business Carmel McQuaid said: "We are really proud to be supporting NHS Together Charities as we are all so grateful for everything the wonderful NHS Teams are doing."

Download and stream Over the Rainbow here.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump has speculated that China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world due to some kind of horrible mistake, and his intelligence agencies said they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab.

Trump even suggested Thursday that the release could have been intentional.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, said it had ruled out the virus being man-made but was still investigating the precise source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.

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Though scientists suggest the likeliest origin of the pandemic remains natural, that it spread from an infected animal to a human, Trump claimed to have seen evidence to support the theory that the origin was an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak.

He said the U.S. now is finding how it came out."

It's a terrible thing that happened," the president said. "Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose.

The intel statement said the federal agencies concur "with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.

The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

In recent days the Trump administration has sharpened its rhetoric on China, accusing the geopolitical foe and vital trading partner of failing to act swiftly enough to sound the alarm about the outbreak or to stop the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. U.S. officials have said the Chinese government should pay a price" for its handling of the pandemic.

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This all comes as the pace of Trumps own original response continues to come under scrutiny, questioned as too meager and too slow.

Earlier Thursday, before Trump's comments, the Chinese government said that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institutes director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen.

I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals, Geng said.

He also criticized those in the U.S. who say China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on better controlling the epidemic situation at home.

At the White House, Trump repeatedly blamed China for its handling of the outbreak, criticizing the country for restricting domestic travel to slow the virus but not international travel to keep it from spreading abroad.

Certainly it could have been stopped," Trump said during an event in the East Room on his administration's efforts to aid seniors during the outbreak. They either couldnt do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread.

It got loose, let's say, and they could have capped it."

Earlier this month, Trump addressed the lab theory saying, More and more, were hearing the story." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added at the time, The mere fact that we dont know the answers  that China hasnt shared the answers  I think is very, very telling.

Pompeo also pressed China to let outside experts into the lab so that we can determine precisely where this virus began.

While Trump and Pompeo have made their feelings clear, a U.S. intelligence official disputed the notion that there was pressure on agencies to bolster a particular theory. The intelligence official was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Scientists say the virus arose naturally in bats. Even so, Pompeo and others have pointed fingers at an institute that is run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has done groundbreaking research tracing the likely origins of the SARS virus, finding new bat viruses and discovering how they could jump to people.

We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was, Pompeo said two weeks ago. The institute has an address 8 miles, or 13 kilometers, from the market that is considered a possible source.

U.S. officials say the American Embassy in Beijing flagged concerns about potential safety issues at the lab in Wuhan in 2018, but they have yet to find any evidence the virus originated there nearly two years later.

Scientists studying the virus for months have made clear they believe it wasn't man-made but are still working to determine a point at which it may have jumped from animals to humans.

Early attention focused on the live-animal market in Wuhan where the first cases were reported in December. But the first person identified with the disease had no known connection to that market.

Kristian Andersen, who studies the virus at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, puts the odds of it being accidentally released by the Wuhan lab at a million to one, far less likely than an infection in nature. But virus expert David OConnor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said he thinks too little is known to rule out any source, except the idea the virus was man-made. Finding the source is important, he said, because it may harbor the next pandemic virus.

The U.S. was providing funding to the Wuhan lab for its research on coronaviruses, Michael Morell, former acting director and deputy director of the CIA, said Thursday.

He said State Department cables indicate that there have been concerns in past years among U.S. officials about the safety protocols at that lab. If the virus did escape from a Chinese lab, it not only reflects negatively on China but also on the United States for providing research funding to a lab that has safety concerns, Morell said during an online forum hosted by the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy and International Security at George Mason University.

So if it did escape, were all in this together, Morell said. This is not a gotcha for China. This is a gotcha for both of us.

___

Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Washington and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.
CAIRO  On April 22, the Egyptian parliament approved a draft law that Mohamed al-Amary, head of the parliaments Health Affairs Committee, submitted to amend some provisions of the 1958 Law No. 137 regarding health precautions to prevent infectious diseases, in context of the country's precautionary measures taken to guard against the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaker of parliament Ali Abdel Aal said parliament approved the draft and sent it to the State Council for review. It will then need President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis ratification before it is published in the Official Gazette.

On April 23, Amary said in a phone conversation with Egyptian media correspondent Wael el-Ibrashi that parliaments Health Affairs Committee approved the amendments, which punish those who refuse to bury COVID-19 fatalities or wear masks outside their houses.

Dozens of villagers gathered in a cemetery in the Shubra al-Bahou village in Dakahlia governorate on April 11 and prevented a family from burying a doctor who died of COVID-19.

After firing tear gas, security forces intervened to resolve the conflict and allow for the burial of the deceased doctor; 23 protesters were arrested.

The refusal to bury the body sparked controversy, and many citizens reacted negatively to it. Egypt's Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, issued a statement about the incident, saying, The current refusal to bury a doctor who died of the coronavirus is unethical and violates humanity and religion. It is dangerous to lose our humanity and allow our selfishness to prevail. A person would then die of hunger, while his neighbor is well-fed, and people would perish without finding someone to bury them.

The Egyptian Dar al-Iftaa issued a fatwa April 11, stating that no person should deprive his fellow human of this divine right of burial, about which God said thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time.

On April 1, Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed issued a decision to include the coronavirus on the infectious diseases list that is annexed to the 1958 Law No. 137 to prevent infectious diseases.

Amary told Al-Monitor in a phone interview that Zayeds decision to include the coronavirus in the infectious disease list annexed to the law means that all procedures and provisions for infectious diseases in this law shall also apply to patients with the coronavirus.

He explained that Article 10 of said law grants the minister of health the power to issue necessary decisions to monitor and quarantine specific individuals, including individuals coming from abroad if they are suspected of carrying an infectious disease. It also allows the minister to impose a ban on the entry of some goods imported from abroad to prevent the spread of any infectious disease. This text now applies to the coronavirus also.

Amary indicated that the bill he submitted to parliament would impose a fine of between 300 and 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($19 to $317) on citizens who do not wear medical masks if the Ministry of Health instructs them to do so at any time and in any geographical area. He indicated that the bill also includes a fine or prison sentence in the event of obstruction or interruption of the burial of the deceased with COVID-19, in accordance with the health procedures and requirements issued and implemented by the ministry.

He stressed that the amended law was drafted based on the spread of the coronavirus and the need to tighten sanctions. The law on infectious diseases dates back to 1958, and its fines are too low relative to the current financial situation and the value of the currency. He stated that the emergence and recurrence of negative phenomena, such as preventing some families from burying the deceased due to COVID-19, prompted the ministry to impose stricter sanctions reaching imprisonment and a 5,000 to 10,000 Egyptian pound ($317 to $635) fine.

Alaa Ghannam, health expert and director of the Health and Human Rights Program at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told Al-Monitor over the phone that the recurrent prevention of families of COVID-19 victims from burying their dead prompted the Health Ministry to add this virus to its list of infectious diseases and to amend the law and make the sanctions harsher.

Ghannam pointed out that the Ministry of Health is taking all necessary health measures to deal with victims of COVID-19 in terms of burials. The bodies are transported inside tightly closed plastic bags and then placed in a closed box that is only opened in the cemetery. The person carrying out the burial has to wear a protective mask. He asserted that citizens prevention of burials out of fear of contagion is totally unjustified.

He mentioned a similar incident in Boulos village in the Beheira governorate, where the residents also refused to bury the body of a person who died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Alexandria. Ghannam agrees with increasing the fine but disagreed with the prison sentence. Instead, he proposed stricter fines in addition to raising awareness among citizens and informing them that they cannot contract the virus through burial, as it is not transmitted through the soil.
The last space shuttle crew in 2011 left an American flag on the International Space Station. A token to be collected when the next crew launched on a rocket from U.S. soil.

It took longer than expected  and will have less swagger as the COVID-19 pandemic prevents space enthusiasts from gathering along the Florida coast  but the time has come to collect that flag as NASA and SpaceX, headed by CEO Elon Musk, prepare to launch astronauts at 3:32 p.m. CST on May 27.

When we launched on our first flight, it was kind of routine to fly from the Florida coast, astronaut Bob Behnken, who completed two space shuttle flights and will be on this months launch, said during a news conference Friday. Getting a chance again to see human spaceflight in our own backyard, if you will, is pretty exciting to be a part of.

Announced on Thursday: NASA selects SpaceX, Blue Origin and Dynetics to build human landing systems for the moon

Later this month, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Behnken and Doug Hurley are expected to travel for less than 24 hours before docking with the International Space Station. Then they will stay on the station for 30 to 119 days, monitoring the spacecrafts performance and helping the space stations crew with maintenance and experiments, before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX will scoop them out of the water in less than one hour.

This Demo-2 mission is the final major test before SpaceX receives NASA certification for more regular trips, and its important in many ways. Its the first time a U.S. company will own and operate a vehicle taking NASA astronauts into space, and its just the fifth time astronauts will launch on a newly built U.S. vehicle: Mercury in 1961, Gemini in 1965, Apollo in 1968, the Columbia space shuttle in 1981 and now Crew Dragon in 2020.

SpaceX also will help NASA maintain its 20-year streak of having astronauts living and conducting research on the space station (the agency has been purchasing seats on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, paying nearly $86 million per seat for its most recent missions), and it furthers the government agencys efforts to commercialize low-Earth orbit, the area of space immediately surrounding the Earth.

NASA has an ability to be a customer, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. One customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit. But we also want to have numerous providers that are competing against each other on cost and innovation.

Competition, as well as redundancy, is why NASA has been working with both SpaceX and Boeing through its Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX is on track to launch people first, though it will be under abnormal conditions.

Astronauts typically go into quarantine two weeks before launch, but COVID-19 has prompted NASA and SpaceX to take extra precautions. This includes cleaning training facilities more frequently and limiting much of the astronauts interactions to essential personnel wearing gloves and masks. Bridenstine is also asking people to watch the launch from home.

Having large crowds of hundreds of thousands of people at the Kennedy Space Center, now is not the time for that, Bridenstine said. We dont want an outbreak. We need a spectacular moment that all of America can see and all of the world can see.

Fortunately, spectacular has become a SpaceX trademark, particularly after it launched a cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space on its Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018. SpaceX has delivered cargo to the International Space Station on 21 missions, but launching people is an ambition the company has worked toward since it was founded in 2002. And as Demo-2 drew closer, an anonymous suggestion box filled with recommendations for how the company could remain cognizant of the missions human cargo, such as putting pictures of Behnken and Hurley on work orders.

The team remains busy in the days leading up to the launch. On Friday, for instance, SpaceX conducted the 27th and final test of Crew Dragons upgraded Mark 3 parachutes.

Ill feel a little relief when theyre in orbit, said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell. Ill feel more relief when they get to the station, and then obviously I will start sleeping again when they are back safely on the planet. As far as my team goes, they dont need to be reminded about the criticality of the work that every person is doing for this mission. They remind themselves, and they are helpfully reminding me.

NASAs Commercial Crew Program was formally established as its own standalone program on April 5, 2011. The goal early on was to launch humans as soon as 2015, though that time frame had been adjusted to 2017 by the time NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing in September 2014.

In some years, the federal government didnt give NASA as much money as it had requested for Commercial Crew. An Office of Inspector General report, for instance, found that the program received only 38 percent of its originally requested funding for fiscal years 2011 through 2013. Commercial Crew has received more stable budgets in the last several years.

The complexity of building new systems also caused delays. Both SpaceX and Boeing have experienced technical issues along the way.

But working together, the organizations pushed one another to advance, said Kathy Lueders, NASAs program manager for Commercial Crew.

The best way to learn technically is to have a healthy tension and dynamic and be able to have to defend technical positions, Lueders said. SpaceX makes us defend technical positions as we make SpaceX defend technical positions.

NASA contracts and Space Act Agreements awarded to Boeing and SpaceX are worth $8 billion  $4.93 billion for Boeing and $3.14 billion to SpaceX  and NASA has thus far provided just under $6 billion to help with the development of their systems. The companies have contributed their own money, too.

And keeping with its style, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and astronauts spacesuits have some new, sleek designs. The spacecrafts control system, for instance, uses touch screens rather than hundreds of manual switches, dials and knobs seen in traditional cockpits. (It will have a few of these for convenience or cases of emergency.)

After Demo-2: Houston-born astronaut Shannon Walker to ride on SpaceX Crew Dragon to space station

Growing up as a pilot, my whole career having a certain way to control a vehicle, this is certainly different, Hurley said. The Crew Dragon is designed to be flown autonomously, though Hurley will do some manual flying to test its capabilities as part of Demo-2.

Behnken will be the joint operations commander for the Demo-2 mission, responsible for rendezvous, docking and undocking with the International Space Station. The last time he flew, in 2010, his 6-year-old son Theodore wasnt yet born. He gave his son a shout-out during Fridays news conference, saying he was excited to share the experience with him.

Hurley will be the spacecraft commander for Demo-2, responsible for launch, landing and recovery. He has completed two spaceflights, including the last space shuttle mission that placed the flag on the space station. That flag had been flown on the first space shuttle mission, too.

Its well past time to be launching an American rocket from the Florida coast to the International Space Station, Hurley said. I am certainly honored to be part of it.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

twitter.com/a_leinfelder
Tyson Foods beef meat loaf for sale at a grocery store in Encinitas, Calif., on May 29, 2014. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

Nearly 900 Test Positive for CCP Virus at Tyson Meat Plant in Indiana

Nearly 900 people at a Tyson Foods meat plant in north-central Indiana have tested positive for the CCP virus, according to a report.

The food processing facility in Cass Countys Logansport saw 890 people at the plant infected with COVID-19 after all its 2,200 workers underwent testing for the disease, according to local news station WISH-TV.

The facility, which produced 3 million pounds of pork daily, is one of several Tyson Foods plants across the United states that have voluntarily closed due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus.

The combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to close, Steve Stouffer, of Tysons beef-and-pork subsidiary, said according to The Associated Press.

Cass County has been working with Tyson on a plan to reopen the Logansport plant after its voluntarily closure on April 25, which was intended for at least two weeks to contain the spread of the CCP virus, the outlet reported.

President Donald Trump on April 28 signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to designate meat plants as critical infrastructure and ordered that they remain open.

Were going to sign an executive order today, I believe, and thatll solve any liability problems, Trump told reporters.

And well be in very good shape, Trump later said, responding to a question about the order. Were working with Tyson, which is one of the big companies in the world. And we always work with the farmers. Theres plenty of supply, as you know. Theres plenty of supply. Its distribution. And we will probably have that today solved. It was a very unique circumstance, because of liability.

Across Indiana, there are 17,835 confirmed cases and 1,007 total deaths linked to the CCP virus as of Wednesday. Meanwhile, Cass County as 1164 cases and two deaths.

Cass County Health Department administrator Serenity Alter told WISH-TV that she expects the number of cases to continue increasing. She added that she is fairly certain that the outbreak began with a Tyson employee.

Meanwhile, Tyson told the outlet that it has introduced extra measures to protect its workers.

Weve been screening worker temperatures, requiring protective face coverings and conducting additional cleaning and sanitizing. Weve also implemented social distancing measures, such as workstation dividers and more breakroom space, a statement read.

Logansport and county officials recently announced new restrictions that prohibit more than one family member and people younger than 16 from entering retail stores, according to wlfi.com. The restrictions also limit how many customers are allowed inside the stores and encouraged that people going into the stores wear masks that cover their mouth and nose.

This order is necessary to end this threat to the city as quickly as possible, Logansport Mayor Chris Martin said.
A decade ago, Mark Meckler was leading one of the nations first major Tea Party rallies outside the Capitol in Sacramento. Hes not living here anymore  he left for Texas because of the hostility he felt as a conservative in California  but sees similarities in a Reopen California rally set for Friday near the seat of state government.

Its almost identical, Meckler told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast. And thats why I ended up getting involved.

Meckler, who now lives outside Austin, Texas, has been coordinating many of the nationwide protests scheduled for Friday through his organization, Convention of States.

Much like the Tea Party, the fledgling Open the States movement is a stew of those who are economically hurt by government shelter-at-home orders and wealthier, politically connected conservatives helping to fuel the protests behind the scenes. Rallies in Michigan last month were sponsored by the Michigan Freedom Fund, which has received more than $500,000 over the years from the wealthy family of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

It is very reminiscent of the early days of the Tea Party, said Lawrence Rosenthal, chair of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies at UC Berkeley. Theres a contrast between the high-powered donors and the people who wound up in the streets.

The question, Is this Astroturf or is this a grassroots movement? is again the issue, Rosenthal said. The answer is, Both. There are the people who are organizing who are supplying money and logistics and websites, and the people in the streets. They may have different motivations, but they wind up in the same place.

President Trump has been a cheerleader for the rallies, using the rhetoric of the demonstrators to urge them to liberate Michigan and other election battleground states. The demonstrations, which have included many people wearing Make America Great Again caps, are becoming the de facto substitute for Trumps campaign rallies, Rosenthal said.

Rally-goers will talk about China, the World Health Organization, the Democrats, conspiracy theories about (Joe) Bidens son and the lab at Wuhan, Rosenthal said. Trump cant star at campaign events during the pandemic, so these demonstrations are to his rallies what Zoom is to how business takes places these days.

Meckler said his organization offers groups a platform, but were not offering them any money. Were not paying for permits, were not providing them anything other than, heres a website where you can list your events and talk to other people.

Meckler said that in the early chaotic days of the Tea Party in 2009, nobody had any idea what they were doing, including me. Nobody was telling us what to do. Nobody was giving us money. We were just frustrated and pissed off and felt like the elites were disconnected from us.

At that April 15, 2009, tax day Tea Party rally in Sacramento, Meckler asked the crowd that packed the west lawn of the Capitol, Are you guys tools of the Republican Party?

The crowds response: Boooooo!

Ultimately, the Republican Party did harness the Tea Partys energy. The GOP, fueled by the conservative network of organizations funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, tapped into the Tea Party to capture governors mansions and control legislatures in more than two-thirds of the states, an advantage that Democrats are still struggling to undo.

But many of the Republicans elected to Congress with Tea Party help didnt live up to its original mission of lowering taxes and reducing deficits. The federal government, led by a Republican president, was running up record deficits even before Congress approved some $3 trillion this year to combat the coronavirus.

For the Republicans, it was important to them to try to co-opt the Tea Party because thats where all the energy was, Meckler said. So everybody in the Republican Party basically started calling themselves the Tea Party guy. Didnt matter how moderate or squishy or big-spending, or crony capitalist you were, you needed to try and take on the Tea Party moniker.

And so I think that really diluted the brand, Meckler said. Ultimately, I would say the Tea Party just got eaten by the swamp in Washington, D.C.

The Tea Party brand was also diluted by Democrats pointing out the fringes racist elements. Just as some Tea Partiers compared then-President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and toted weapons to protests, some in the new generation of conservative protesters refer to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as Whitler for her stay-at-home order. Some demonstrators were brandishing long guns at an anti-shutdown rally in Madison, Wis.

Mindful of how such imagery was used to portray the Tea Party as a movement of the unhinged, Meckler said, Im always concerned about stuff like this.

Any time you get a mass movement, at the fringes there are going to be crazy people, or theyre going to be people who are just creating bad imagery, bad narrative, he said. And so I do worry about that. I definitely worried about it with the Tea Party movement.

Meckler isnt shy about using tough rhetoric that some have found to be racist. He refers to COVID-19 as the Wuhan flu and Chinese Communist Party pandemic on his podcast, a reference to its origins in China. Meckler has said China has to pay a price for foisting the virus on the world.

When I say that there needs to be a cost for that, Meckler said, he means that the world needs to re-evaluate its trading and other relationships with the Chinese Communist Party. Its not all just getting cheaper goods and everythings gonna be OK. There is a real price to pay here.

While the new protests echo the economic populism of the Tea Party, Rosenthal said they also reflect a new phenomenon he called populist epidemiology.

When Trump mused last week about injecting disinfectant to ward off the virus, Rosenthal said, he was expressing an anti-elitism sentiment shared by people who dont believe in the science behind the stay-at-home orders. They believe that it is time to get back to work.

Its the feeling that regular people can figure out what to do, Rosenthal said. We dont need these scientists to figure out when to go back to work.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
British farmers were forced to pour a million litres of milk down the drain in April as demand from factories nose-dived due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The milk was destined for cakes, cheeses, creme fraiche and other products- that have seen demand go into reverse gear during the crisis.

Sales to cafes and restaurants have also dried up as their shutters remain down during the UK's lockdown - which today entered its 39th day.

UK farmers made a 7million loss from sales last month as more than half cut the price of their milk, and face 13million losses in May, the study by industry bodies Dairy UK and AHDB said.

This means farmers have lost 18 pence on every litre they produce.

Dairy farmer, Josette Feddes of JoJosDairy, had to throw away 12,000 litres of milk earlier this month. She has started pasteurising some and selling it in Wiltshire

Dairy farmer Katherine Hamilton, pictured, has started draining milk from her processor because she can no longer sell as much due to the coronavirus downturn

The research, reported on in The Grocer, also found 75 per cent of Britain's dairy farmers said they had felt the impact of Covid-19 with 12 per cent saying they had been seriously affected.

Twenty-four per cent said they had been asked to reduce costs by their customers.

They were rocked by volatile prices in the market - which saw creams price drop by 30 per cent to its lowest level since 2016, and butter lose 18 per cent of its value. Mild cheddar prices also saw a slight slide.

Cows are continuing to produce milk as normal, meaning farmers are left with the same costs for feed and labour, which could threaten the industry.

As many as 40 per cent of farmers surveyed said they had taken action to reduce milk production, effectively 'furloughing' their livestock, allowing the industry to reign back production to just a 0.5 per cent increase week-on-week.

Measures have included changing cows diet and adopting different feeding regimes. More milk is produced by cows at this time of year due to the warming weather.

The study's results will be presented to DEFRA for further consideration, as the sector calls for financial assistance from government.

Milk demand had plummeted by as much as 50 per cent, it was reported at the start of last month, with industry experts predicting as many as 300 farmers have had to dispose of milk they could no longer store.

Dairy farmers across the UK are having to dump tens of thousands of gallons of milk due to a massive slump in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic

Among them was West Sussex dairy farmer Clive Stickland, 62, who said: 'It is literally pouring money down the drain.

'I had to get rid of 4,200 gallons (16,000 litres) when I received an email saying there would be no collection. I did not have the storage capacity to keep the milk so it had to go.

WHY ARE FARMERS STRUGGLING TO DISTRIBUTE MILK? The Covid-19 outbreak has seen the almost complete shutdown of the hospitality sector, as well as increasing price volatility in global markets, which has left farm businesses and processors under increased pressure. With restaurants and coffee shops closed the demand from the food service industry for milk has plummeted by as much as 50 per cent. This has led to some dairy farmers with no other option but to dispose of milk on farm. Dairy distributors have also failed to turn up to collect supplies as their processing plants are full and they have reached their storage capacity. National Farmers' Union President Minette Batters has called on Defra Secretary of State, George Eustice, to take immediate steps to ensure the sustainability of the dairy sector. She said earlier this month: 'We believe there may be at least 2,000 dairy farmers suffering severe financial pressure and that number is growing by the day as a result of the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak and as things develop very few dairy businesses will be left unaffected. 'We need to move fast to mitigate the impacts of this unfolding crisis on dairy farming businesses across the country. Advertisement

'We all understand why the demand has dropped but it is still heart-breaking just to throw away our product.'

Dairy farmer Josette Feddes, who runs a farm near Swindon, Wiltshire, said earlier this month she has been forced to pour away 12,000 litres of milk when processors from Freshways, a processing plant in London, failed to turn up.

Mrs Feddes, who has been running JoJo's Dairy for 12 years, said: 'It is utterly desperate. There is a need for milk - homeless people, hospitals. There are starving people in the world and this is just so frustrating.

'Milk is needed left, right and centre. There has to be a way for us to supply it. We need to find a way to use it. There are so many people without milk at the moment, it is really silly.'

She has started pasteurising as much milk as she can herself and selling it at half the price to the local community. Her herd of 250 cows produce 6,000 litres a day.

UK Dairies produce just over 220million gallons (or a billion litres) of milk every year.

Many farmers sell their products to Freshways, the UK's largest independent dairy distributor. They also supply hundreds of companies in food services including McDonald's, British Airways and P&O Cruises.

The supply of milk to shops and supermarkets in the retail sector has been unaffected - and rose in the week starting 19 April by 13 per cent, according to Kantar.

However, this was not enough to offset losses for non-liquid milk dairy products, the study said.

Cheese sales also ticked up by 19 per cent to retail outlets - but this did not outweigh lost demand due to business closures countrywide.

Farmers could change the diet of their cows and adopt different feed regimes to cut production - effectively furloughing their livestock (stock image)

The National Farmers Union have called in the Government to step in and help. NFU Chairman Michael Oakes said: 'We have seen the almost complete loss of the foodservice market during the lockdown which has left some processors with little or no business'

A spokesman for Dairy UK said milk disposals are now 'negligible' following the initial shock, and that it's 'certainly not happening on a systematic scale'.

The milk disposed of is likely to have been liquid, they added, and destined for the foorservices market including cafes and restaurants.

It comes after Boris Johnson opened the country's purse strings to businesses, allowing them to furlough workers with 80 per cent of their wages covered by the government.

Ministers have also stepped in to offer loans to businesses to help them weather the lockdown, which has entered its 39th day.

The National Farmers' Union has called on the government to find measures to divert milk into retail and develop support for affected farmers.

Board chairman Michael Oakes said: 'The dairy industry is just one of the many sectors affected by the impacts of Covid19.

'We have seen the almost complete loss of the foodservice market and closure of restaurants and cafes during the lockdown which has left some processors with little or no business.

'This has led to some farmers feeling like they have no option but to dispose of milk on farm.

'We are working as a matter of urgency with government and the supply chain to find solutions to the problem, including measures that will divert milk into retail and developing measures that will support affected farmers through this crisis.'

He added: 'It is important for everyone that we protect the UK dairy sector so when the food service market is allowed to operate normally again, we have the dairy farmers in business and with the capacity to produce milk (for the businesses).'
WASHINGTON - The United States is keeping Canada and its plans to overhaul its drug-pricing system on a "watch list" of countries deemed a peril to American intellectual property rights  just as a world racked by COVID-19 takes an interest access to in a California company's experimental new drug treatment.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian and American flags are seen on top of the Peace Arch is at the Canada/USA border in Surrey, B.C. Friday, March 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

WASHINGTON - The United States is keeping Canada and its plans to overhaul its drug-pricing system on a "watch list" of countries deemed a peril to American intellectual property rights  just as a world racked by COVID-19 takes an interest access to in a California company's experimental new drug treatment.

In its annual report on foreign threats to U.S. copyright holders, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative is raising concerns about Canada's plan to change how it calculates the fair price of prescription drugs, though stopping short of Big Pharma's demand that it be deemed a "priority" trouble spot.

Canada's plan has drawn "significant concern from stakeholders" because it would "dramatically reshape" how the arm's-length Patented Medicine Prices Review Board evaluates drugs, says the report. The board plans to stop using the U.S. and Switzerland, home to the world's highest drug prices, to help it determine what Canadian patients should pay.

"If implemented, the changes may significantly undermine the marketplace for innovative pharmaceutical products, delay or prevent the introduction of new medicines in Canada and reduce investments in Canadas life sciences sector," the U.S. report says.

The report acknowledges that Canada has agreed to intellectual-property reforms in the forthcoming U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which the USTR announced last week would become the law of the land on July 1.

That agreement may be Canada's best defence against the escalating dangers of pandemic-fuelled protectionism in the United States, experts say  especially as the challenge of procuring weapons against COVID-19 moves from face masks to therapeutic drugs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for instance, has pointed out that finding treatments for COVID-19 might take less time than finding a vaccine to prevent it.

The existence of the USMCA, along with Canada's recently proven track record in negotiating with its stateside neighbours, could bode well for "Buy American" becoming "Buy North American," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

"It would not at all be unusual to have some regional exception or inclusion with respect to domestic preferences," Paul told a panel discussion hosted earlier this week by the Washington International Trade Association.

"The fact that we do have a USMCA entering into force soon ... provides a pretty good framework for that."

That's likely to be even more important in the coming months as cross-border procurement concerns start to focus on issues like drug therapies and vaccine supplies. Already, remdesivir  an experimental drug made by California-based Gilead Sciences  is causing a buzz after a recent clinical trial suggested it could prove effective in mitigating the symptoms of COVID-19.

The antiviral drug has been on the World Health Organization's list of promising treatments getting special attention since March.

Just days after U.S. infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed cautious optimism about the drug from the Oval Office, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the emergency use of remdesivir on patients infected with the novel coronavirus, buoyed by evidence that it shortens recovery times.

If it pans out, global demand will be enormous and countries with strong trade relationships with the United States may benefit.

Not everyone is happy to see the USMCA, known variously in government circles as CUSMA, ACEUM in Quebec and "the new NAFTA" elsewhere in Canada, taking effect sooner than anticipated.

Conservative Sen. Don Plett, the Opposition leader in the upper chamber, doubled down Friday on his charge that the Liberal government had promised both Canada's dairy processors and Conservative senators that the agreement would not kick in until Aug. 1.

And in an interview with The Canadian Press, Plett said he believes the government amended its schedule to help expedite the delivery of U.S.-made N95 face masks  the subject of an export ban imposed last month by President Donald Trump  and to beat back the idea of stationing American soldiers near the Canadian border.

"We were told directly that Trump had threatened to withhold N95 masks," he said.

"The second argument, troops at the border ... he wasn't going there to declare an act of war, he was going to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the border. And so to sell out our dairy industry, in order to make their negotiations with Trump easier, I don't accept."

The government has denied that it swapped an earlier implementation date for an exemption to the Trump administration's export ban on protective medical gear or an end to the short-lived idea of sending U.S. troops to the border.

The July 1 date is expected to cost the processing industry an additional $100 million because the dairy sector's "quota year" for a number of key products begins in August, and many of the terms of the agreement are tied directly to the production calendar.

"Your government threw Canada's dairy farmers under the bus," Plett fumed at Sen. Marc Gold, the government's representative in the Senate.

The government has denied that it ever promised an Aug. 1 come-into-effect date. Gold did not; instead, he refused to discuss "private discussions" with other leaders.

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But he did made it clear that Canada's fraught relationship with the unpredictable Trump administration was top of mind when the COVID-19 crisis began to intensify in mid-March, when the government fast-tracked the USMCA implementation bill through both the House of Commons and the Senate and began negotiating a mutual ban on non-essential cross-border travel.

"In the context of this new reality, I don't have to remind senators that maintaining a good close collaborative and stable relationship with the United States, our most important trading partner and our neighbour, has become even more important than it already was," Gold said.

"Ensuring that the deal passed when it did, and that protectionism didn't take greater hold on this continent, if not beyond, was a major accomplishment of this government for which I believe Canadians, including the dairy sector, should be grateful."

Gold did promise that the dairy sector would be compensated for the impact of the deal, although he provided no specifics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2020.

 Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle
Indias chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday said that the armed forces will show their gratitude to the countrys corona warriors on May 3 by performing a raft of activities including fly-pasts, lighting of warships and displays by army bands.

Briefing reporters in South Block in the presence of the three service chiefs, Rawat said military helicopters will shower petals over Covid-19 hospitals and the armed forces will lay wreath at the police memorial to show support for corona warriors, including doctors, nurses and police personnel, who have been at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic.

Rawat said the Indian Air Forces fighter jets and transport planes will carry out fly-pasts across the length and breadth of the country, from Srinagar to Thiruvananthapuram and Dibrugarh to Kutch. (The United States is also carrying out fly-pasts over several of its cities as a tribute to people leading the fight against the coronavirus).

Rawat said the show of gratitude will involve lighting of Indian warships near the shores and mounted band performances outside Covid-19 hospitals in every district of the country.

General Rawat acknowledged the contribution of healthcare workers, policemen, home guards personnel, sanitation workers, delivery boys and the media amid the coronavirus outbreak.

He said, We also cannot forget the people of the nation who have adhered to government guidelines on social distancing, wearing masks, ensuring proper hygieneAnd when the government gave a call for ringing bells or lighting houses, our nation stood together. Rawat added that the country had demonstrated the resilience to overcome the coronavirus crisis.

The militarys plan to honour frontline workers on May 3 was finalised at a meeting chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday, a government official said. The meeting was attended by the national security adviser, the CDS and the three service chiefs.

The armed forces are working on a war footing to handle the pandemic --- setting up dedicated hospitals, flying medical supplies, operating quarantine facilities and playing a key role in evacuating Indian nationals from other countries.

Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the government has asked the navy to stay ready to evacuate Indian nationals from Gulf countries. He said warships were ready to carry out the evacuation and would swing into action after getting the go ahead.

As reported by Hindustan Times on April 29, the navy has kept three warships on standby to bring back thousands of Indian nationals struck in the Gulf countries as New Delhi works towards implementing a challenging evacuation plan that will also include special flights.
An employee wipes the labels clean before they're sealed in the packaging room at Belll & Evans Further Processing and Packaging Facility in Fredericksburg, PA on Friday, August 9, 2019. Read more

Pennsylvania leads the nation in confirmed cases of COVID-19 among meat production workers, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, the same day that activists and workers from one Central Pennsylvania plant began protesting what they described as unsafe working conditions.

Across Pennsylvania, 22 meat- and poultry-processing plants employed workers sickened by the coronavirus, the report says. The state with the next highest number of impacted plants, Georgia, has almost half as many affected facilities.

Pennsylvanias 858 confirmed cases of the virus among meat production workers also tops other states tallies by dozens of cases, signaling that the invisible virus had spread further across this essential industry in recent weeks than the public has realized.

At the same time, Lebanon County poultry processor Bell & Evans, the target of the protesters ire, refused to publicly disclose the number of coronavirus cases at its plant in Fredericksburg, northeast of Harrisburg, where workers say they got sick because the company was slow providing face masks and where social distancing is especially difficult.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) called on Bell & Evans to release the number of cases immediately. A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R. Pa.) also said the company must follow federal rules requiring it to report the number of employees suspected of contracting COVID-19 at work.

Wendell Young IV, who leads the 35,000-member United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1776, had a one-word initial reaction to the states ranking:

Wow, said Young, whose union represents workers in four Pennsylvania meat plants that closed temporarily due to concerns about the pandemic. He added that the CDCs findings make sense because many of the facilities are located on the I-80 corridor that stretches east to New York.

Look at the confluence of interstates that connect Pennsylvania to the entire Eastern Seaboard, Young said.

While big coronavirus caseloads at large meat-processing facilities in the west have garnered considerable attention  such as an outbreak at a massive, 3,000-worker plant in Colorado  Pennsylvania has long had a vigorous meat-processing sector, albeit one made up of numerous smaller plants

Pennsylvanias meat, poultry, pork, and other plants supply products for customers in New York and North Jersey. They also rely heavily on workers that travel to visit family and friends in New York, a practice that could have helped spread the disease. In addition, many workers travel to the plants in crowded passenger vans.

Young said he did not believe the companies here operated any less safely than in other states, noting that JBS Beef quickly shut down its 1,400-employee facility in Souderton for cleaning after workers there tested positive for COVID-19. That plant has since reopened.

The CDC report identifies one death among Pennsylvanias meat-processing workers, but that tally is incomplete.

On April 9, The Inquirer reported the death of Enock Benjamin, a union steward at the Souderton facility. An Inquirer article published April 28 documented a second worker death, this one connected to the Bell & Evans facility in Fredericksburg, as well as the death of a Bell & Evans employees spouse.

The CDC identified common problems that it says may increase meat-processing workers risk of contracting or transmitting the virus.

Workers typically stand shoulder-to-shoulder along a fast-moving conveyor belt, making it difficult to stay 6 feet away from one another as the agency has recommended. Social distancing is also tough to implement during breaks and while workers enter and exit the facilities.

Consistent, effective use of masks on the job is another challenge for workers in this industry, the CDC found. The report says that scientists observed some workers wearing masks that covered only their mouths and were often seen readjusting their face coverings while working.

Melissa Perry, an environmental and occupational health expert at George Washington University who studies the meat-processing industry, said that positioning workers 6 feet apart on production lines is paramount in preventing the spread of the virus, even if output suffers.

Slowing down the line by having fewer workers elbow to elbow is essential, Perry said. No production process should compromise the 6-foot rule.

Earlier Friday, 30 activists and workers from Bell & Evans  family-owned and producer of organic, antibiotic-free chicken thats sold at Whole Foods  drove in a caravan from a Lebanon high school parking lot to the plant in Fredericksburg to protest the companys response to the pandemic.

Through a loudspeaker blasting from the open doors of a passenger van, the workers called on the company, which prides itself on treating chickens humanely, to close the plant for deep-cleaning and offer sick workers paid time off to recuperate at home.

Theyre abusing the workers while they say theyre protecting the animals, and that does not make any sense, said Maegan Llerena, executive director of Make the Road PA, the Latinx advocacy organization that led the protest and has been supporting the workers.

State Sen. Judy Schwank(D., Berks County), said she knows people who work at the Bell & Evans plant in Fredericksburg and called news that a worker there had died horrifying. She urged the company to cut production to keep workers safe.

That wont be an easy thing to do. It could mean barns full of broilers waiting to be processed, Schwank said. But it has to happen.

The company has not responded to multiple requests for comment all week. However, on April 29, a day after The Inquirer published its report, Bell & Evans announced on its website that it had adopted new strategies to contain the spread of the virus, such as installing dividers between team members where social-distancing guidelines were not practical.

The company also announced that employees are required to wear face masks and face shields. However, the company did not say as part of its safer working conditions that it would slow production.

Earlier in April, the company announced it would screen employees temperatures as they enter the facility and restructure employees schedules to reduce social interaction.

Even as a growing number of meat-processing workers become sickened with the coronavirus, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the CDC all say the disease cannot be spread through food.

Its an unstable virus that is mostly transmitted through sneezing and person-to-person contact, Martin Wiedmann, a professor in food safety at Cornell University, told The Inquirer. Stomach acids also mostly neutralize the virus if its eaten.

Wiedmann described the risk of the virus spreading on food packaging as extremely low, virtually nil, because of the time between packaging and the placement on supermarket shelves. But he added that grocery shoppers should always wash their hands after returning from the store.
Two local artists, Petra Berntsson and Adrienne Finnerty are taking part in Art In Lockdown which sees a group of artists from around the country posting a piece of artwork on line everyday March 17.

As Coronavirus cases in Ireland began to increase and people were urged to stay at home, this group of 20 artists came together to give people a way to have their daily art and cultural fix from the safety of their own homes.

The daily exhibition, which is posted on a Facebook page, was the brainchild of artist and poet Roisin Duffy, originally from Co Cavan and now living in Co Monaghan.

Petra and Adrienne have both exhibited with Roisin before as part of the Croi 8 group, as did Kate Beagan, who is based in Carrickmacross.

Originally from Sweden, Petra has been living in Ireland for 24 years and is currently working from her home studio in the Cooley Peninsula.'

'This has given me an opportunity to show my work to a wider audience, as well as being a positive focus during the days in isolation,' she says of the initiative. ' I initially saw the exhibition as a challenge to get back painting after some time away from it, but the rewards in form of sales, beautiful commentary and new connections has been beyond expectation.'

'The solidarity amongst artists of all disciples throughout this crisis is solid and massively reassuring, many using social media platforms to connect and perform,' she continues.

Dundalk artist Adrienne, who is currently working from her studio in Spiddal, Co Galway, says: 'I'm really enjoying being part of the Art in Lockdown initiative. It is such a positive arts and cultural venture in these most uncertain times. The comments each day from the Facebook audience are wonderful. '

She notes that their followers are growing daily with a post reach of about 25, 000 all over the world. 'It feels really good to bring colour and joy to so many people. The artwork is very varied and the artists involved so well accomplished in their own practice, a really diverse collection each and every day of lockdown.'

'We started on St Patrick's day and will keep going as long as we are compelled to stay at home,' she says. 'I look forward myself each evening to see the new virtual gallery of 20 paintings and am delighted to be doing something constructively creative in the srts field when all around us everything is being cancelled. Hats off to Roisin Duffy for such a brilliant idea.'

Each day, the 20 artists upload works into an album which is posted on the Facebook page at 6pm, giving followers the opportunity to look forward to seeing new artwork each day without leaving their homes.

The participating artists are based all over Ireland, and have a wealth of experience and exhibiting histories between them. Among the group are oil painters, screen-printers, an encaustic artist, a paper artist, watercolourists and acrylic painters, providing a wide variety of styles for their audience.

Brenda O'Connor, Clare Hartigan, Debbie Chapman, Dermot Brennan, Diana Marshall, John Nolan, Karen Wilson, Kate Beagan, Kate Kos, Liam Jones, Marina Hamilton, Mary Tritschler, Miriam Fitzgerald Juskova, Niamh O' Connor, Orlagh Murphy, Paul Christopher Flynn, Peter O' Connor, Petra Berntsson, Sharon McDaid and Syra Larkin.

Art In Lockdown is a light-hearted positive, in what are uncertain times.

Comments and messages flooding into the page from their daily followers say that people look forward to having the page as their daily art and culture fix, a bright note in long days - 'this is like opening a present - so exciting every day!' and 'this is a wonderful treat at the end of the day....thank you'.

A really exciting development was when encaustic artist Niamh O'Connor was invited to discuss the project with Youtube sensation, artist, and arts mentor, Sergio Gomez. Chicago based Sergio is interviewing artists from across the world about how they are coping and what they are doing during the pandemic, and how they are continuing to create and share their art with the community. Niamh's interview with Sergio for his ART/NXT Level series 'Artists in Lockdown' has brought a global audience to the Facebook page.

The daily exhibitions can be viewed by searching for Art In Lockdown Exhibition on Facebook - a brand new album of art will be posted there at 6 p.m. every day while we all remain safely at home.






BOSTON  One day after Tesla Inc posted its third quarterly profit in a row, hedge fund manager David Einhorn, one of the electric carmaker's best-known critics, lobbed questions about the company's financials at its two top executives.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Einhorn asked Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk and chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn about Tesla's accounts receivable, costs, idled factories and the impact of currency market movements on the company.

"Can you or (Zack) explain," Einhorn wrote, misspelling the CFO's first name in the tweet. Without answers, the investor added, he would continue to wonder "if not only your accounts receivable are suspect, but your income statement as well."

Einhorn has 48,000 followers on Twitter and his message hit a nerve after Musk on Wednesday overshadowed his company's strong first quarter results with comments about stay-at-home restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Musk called for an end to California's stay-at-home orders, describing them as "fascist" and a "serious risk" to his business.

The hedge fund manager's Thursday tweet was retweeted nearly 700 times and liked more than 2,500 times. Representatives for Einhorn and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Einhorn and Musk have a history of taunting each other on social media.

Greenlight Capital's Einhorn has long bet that Tesla's share price would drop, holding onto a view that has hurt his portfolio. In January, Einhorn told his investors in a letter that his negative view on Tesla is reflected by his purchase of put options. In the first quarter Greenlight Capital lost 21.5%, an investor said.

Tesla reported a first quarter profit of $1.24 per share, beating analysts' forecasts for a loss of 36 cents per share. Strong demand for its Model 3 vehicle and the sale of regulatory credits helped fuel the gain. Tesla's share price has surged 91% since January, recovering quickly from a sharp slump in March when stocks tumbled amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak.

Story continues

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
One of the challenges to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is curbing the spread of misinformation. Google, YouTube and Twitter have each taken steps to provide accurate info and remove false content, but Congressman Adam Schiff says thats not enough. In letters sent to the CEOs of Alphabet, YouTube and Twitter, Schiff asks the companies to also notify users when they have interacted with coronavirus-related misinformation.

Schiff is encouraging the companies to be more like Facebook. Last month, Facebook began alerting users if they have liked, reacted or commented on content that is later flagged by its third-party fact checkers. In his letter to Jack Dorsey, Schiff noted that Twitter took a similar approach in 2018 when it notified users who followed Russian spam accounts.

Schiff, who has fought to crackdown on both Russias meddling in US politics and anti-vaccine myths, commended Google, YouTube and Twitter for the actions they have taken to stop COVID-19 misinformation.

Despite your best efforts, however, users will continue to see and engage with harmful medical content on your platforms, whether by intentionally seeking it out or otherwise, Schiff wrote. ...Though the best protection is removing or downgrading harmful content before users engage with it, that is not always possible.
Italian art critic and curator Germano Celant, who coined the term Arte Povera for the radical art movement of the late 1960s and 70s, died on Wednesday. He was 80.

Artribune magazine reported that Celant died in Milan from complications from coronavirus. He had exhibited symptoms after returning to Italy from New York for the Armory Show in early March, the magazine wrote.

Through key exhibits and texts, Celant was the influential proponent of the work of young Italian artists in Turin, Milan, Genoa and Rome working with natural materials and elements such as dirt, sticks or rags who were seeking to challenge the commercial art scene at the time.

In 1967, Celant introduced the term Arte Povera (Poor Art) to describe this new wave of art, which became among the most recognised Italian art movements of the post World War II-era.

The world of culture and creativity mourns the death of another of its great actors, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said in a statement.

Germano Celant, art critic and curator to whom we owe one of the most prolific Italian avant-garde movements of the 20th century, leaves Italy deprived of his genius and talent, Franceschini wrote.

Stefano Boeri, director of the Milan Triennial, a major cultural venue, said Celant would be remembered for giving shape to the nascent Arte Povera movement.

In the 1960s, when he was very young, he observed artists working with very simple materials and producing works with a strong conceptual value, Boeri said.

The movements artists included Alighiero Boetti, Mario Merz, Gilberto Zorio, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Giuseppe Penone, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis and Pino Pascali.

Born in 1940 in Genoa, Celant enjoyed a long career, organising exhibitions for a number of important international cultural institutions, including the Guggenheim in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Pinault Foundation in Venice.

He also directed the Venice Biennale of Art in 1997.

Since 1995, Celant was associated with the Prada Foundation, a cultural institution based in Milan and Venice and financed by the famous luxury brand, where he organised some 40 exhibitions, including a retrospective of Kounellis in 2019.

We are very saddened by the death of a friend and a travelling companion, said the presidents of the Foundation, Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli, in a statement.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)

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GREENFIELD  Police are seeking the publics help as they work to identify the person who shot a pet goose at a Barton Road property with a crossbow.

Edward Croteau, who keeps geese at the property with his wife, Cynthia Croteau, told the Greenfield Recorder he discovered in late December that one of their geese had a crossbow bolt lodged in its neck. A veterinarian in South Deerfield removed the bolt and saved the birds life.

Croteau recently discovered two more bolts on their property. They are planning to install surveillance cameras there.

Greenfield Animal Control Officer Calin Giurgiu told the Recorder the shooter could be charged with animal cruelty. Those with information are asked to call Greenfield police at 413-773-5411 or Giurgiu at 413-522-3564.

Animal cruelty, under Massachusetts law, carries a penalty of up to seven years in state prison and/or a fine of as much as $5,000.
MICHIGAN  Utilizing your elected legislator might be the best way to resolved unemployment issues.

With a surge of unemployed workers across the state amid the coronavirus pandemic, countless people are finding themselves stuck with questions and no answers. However, legislators and their staff are there to help with situations such as these.

According to Sen. Dan Lauwers office, they have been fielding an average of 30 calls a day from people having troubles with filing for unemployment, each experiencing a host of different issues.

To help streamline the process of helping people, the senators office made modifications to their phone system to help filter the calls and find people answers.

Legislator offices are able to submit a legislative inquiry with the agencys liaison, who will in turn escalate the issue before contacting the constituent.

However, there are several issues that could come about after submitting the inquiry. One issue is constituents need to expect and answer a phone call from a number with an 866 prefix, because after two attempts of contacting, the case is moved to the bottom of the stack.

Another issue is constituents need to have all of their information available, such as when their claim was initially filed, what the claim number is, what error message they received, along with other details. By maintaining organized records, the hope is each call time is reduced and the process will continue being streamlined.

Rep. Phil Greens office is also helping constituents by filing a legislative inquiry. Greens office posted a list of criteria on Facebook to help streamline the process. According to the post, constituents should email his office with their full name, phone number, address, claim number, letter ID and brief description of the problem. Callers will also need to know the date they originally filed a claim, as well as any other pertinent dates related to the claim. Regardless of what legislator unemployed workers reach out to or the means you reach out to them, the information needed to resolve the issue is the same.

It is important to know that legislator offices do not have access to the Unemployment Insurance Agencys computer systems and they do not have the ability to access the information directly.

Green said the legislative inquiry is the best way his office can help constituents struggling with issues related to unemployment.

However, both offices said that it is important people pick one legislator to work through to minimize redundancy, which will reduce efficiency of resolving claims.

Green said both offices work through the same process, and if someone were to contact five offices, it would in turn result in five cases being worked on for one individual, essentially delaying resolution of claims.

Lauwerss office said it takes on average seven days for a liaison to reach back out to an individual after starting the inquiry, which is down significantly from the two to three weeks the process had been taking.

Lauwers and Green said the overall problem is related to the volume of claims. The state had gone from a few thousand unemployment cases prior to the pandemic, to an estimated 500,000 cases.

That is impossible to deal with, Green said. But we are trying.

Green said if people dont start getting resolution with their claims and start receiving their money, there will be many angry legislators in the state. Ultimately, Green said he sees only one solution.

We need to get people back to work, Green said. That is the solution.

To contact Sen. Dan Lauwers, call 517-373-7708 or email sendlauwers@senate.michigan.gov. To contact Rep. Phil Green, email repphilgreen@house.mi.gov or call 517-373-0476. If you are outside of Huron County and need to find your legislator visit www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html or www.house.mi.gov/mhrpublic/frmFindaRep.aspx.
THERE'S set to be a fresh delay to the 15-year-long saga of plans for a liquid natural gas plant on the Shannon Estuary.

It comes after a European court found that the Irish planning authorities were wrong to extend planning permission for the project without a new environmental impact study.

Friends of the Irish Environment had challenged the ruling from An Bord Pleanala which would have seen permission extended for the terminal near Ballylongford by five years up to 2023 without a new study.

Juliane Kokott, European Court of Justice advocate general, said on Thursday that An Bord Pleanala should have sought an up-to-date environmental impact study before extending the projects planning permission.

Her decision means that the case will have to go back to the Irish High Court, which sought the advocate generals opinion on the issue in the first place.

Fears were already raised earlier this week that the controversial gas-pipe project may not happen if the Green Party enters government.

The proposal could bring up to 500 construction jobs to the West Limerick-North Kerry border as well as over 50 permanent positions once operational.

However, the Green Party which is expected to enter government formation talks with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail has set its face against any LNG proposal.

In its list of 17 questions  which many have seen as red-line issues  it has asked whether the next government would cease the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Local Green Party TD Brian Leddin said if this project went ahead it would leave Ireland in last place in Europe in terms of its reduction in gas emissions.

But Fianna Fail deputy Niall Collins criticised the uninformed commentary surrounding the LNG project, and said it is key to underpinning our energy security supply into the future.

Since the Shannon LNG scheme was announced way back in 2006, the project has been beset with delays, with the Safety Before LNG campaign group playing a big part.

They highlight the damage the project would do to the local environment around the Shannon Estuary, with its spokesperson Johnny McElligott previously warning the scheme could pave the way for fracking in Ireland  or at the very least the import of fracked gas.

Fracking sees a high-pressure water mixture drilled into rocks to release gas inside. But environmentalists warn potentially carcinogenic chemicals used may escape and contaminate groundwater around a site.

Speaking this week, Mr Leddin said: We cannot support it because the development of Shannon LNG would set Ireland on a particular emissions pathway over the next 15 to 20 years. It would leave Ireland in last place in Europe in terms of its reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It's not required from an energy security point of view. The new government should not support it.

He added: You have to weigh up on the Shannon LNG point the value of the jobs versus the greater financial and environmental cost to the state. It's a very one-sided equation.

But Mr Collins, a long-time supporter of the massive project, hit back, saying he feels the Green Party is only targetting new LNG projects.

He feels with a licence in place, Shannon LNG could be considered an existing scheme.

The Green document was vague in relation to the LNG project. It spoke of no new projects. I wouldnt describe Shannon LNG as a new concept - its been spoken about for years. Everyone agrees on two points - whether its LNG or any source of gas, it should not be fracked. Everybody knows and understands the need for energy security too, he told the Limerick Leader.

Theres a lot of uninformed commentary generated around LNG - for me as a TD representing the region, I'd be very strong in my view that project should proceed. Its important other representatives in the region stand up for the merits of this project and thats why Im doing it, he added.

Mr Collins, who is tipped for a role in government, added: The security of our energy supply is of the paramount importance. Big employers like Aughinish Alumina and the National Grid need to have that security.

But Safety Before LNG has pointed out that almost half the TDs elected to the 33rd Dail have signed a pledge stating that they are "opposed to the importation of US fracked Gas into Ireland via LNG import terminals".

Previously, John Fox, Tarbert Development Association, said he feels 95% in the town were in favour.
Thats why I think Biden is wise to take a stand of wanting to hear what his accuser has to say whether he  or we  believe her or not. I have never believed the believe all women mantra because it makes a hash of a couple of what should be sacred principles in this country: the rule of law and the rights of the accused to be presumed innocent until proved guilty.
ELCA faces criticism for posting prayer to 'Mother God' on Facebook, Twitter

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America garnered controversy this week for posting a prayer on their Twitter and Facebook accounts addressing God as Mother" instead of Father.

Mother God, you have fed us with the nourishment of your spiritual food. Raise us up into salvation and rid us of our bitterness, so that we may share the sweetness of your holy word with all the world, the ELCA tweeted on Tuesday as part of their #Bread4theday series of Twitter posts.

The tweet has gotten a fair amount of negative attention. Hans Fiene, a conservative pastor who oversees the popular Lutheran Satire YouTube channel, took issue with the post.

Leave the ELCA, he succinctly replied on Wednesday when retweeting the ELCA post, getting 207 likes as of Friday morning and several comments in agreement.

Also posted to Facebook, the prayer was criticized by the website Exposing the ELCA, which said: the ELCA has rejected Jesus' own way of referring to God as Father.

They must know better than Him, Exposing the ELCA declared. This is not just a one-time thing. It has been happening for a while.

Jeff Walton of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy told The Christian Post that he was concerned about the prayer as well.

Church mystics including Julian of Norwich  who is commemorated next week in the ELCA and the Episcopal Church  and Bernard of Clairvaux likened divine love to motherly love, Walton said.

My concern with this ELCA prayer is that it does not focus upon an attribute of Gods character and instead simply declares God Mother. It prompts me to ask if there's an agenda in doing so.

Walton also told CP that theologically liberal mainline Protestant denominations in general have all to some degree dabbled in this stuff.

It has ranged from politicized statements against patriarchy all the way to outright goddess worship in events like the infamous reimagining conference of the 1990s in which prayers were offered in the name of Sophia, he said.

The Christian Post reached out to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and will update this piece if a response is received.
The district administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar has decided to release 39 persons of different districts of Uttar Pradesh who were quarantined for two weeks in Noida. Presently, they show no symptoms of the disease and have received health certificates from the health department. Additionally, 12 people from Madhya Pradesh, who were also stuck in Noida, will be sent to their homes, said officials. The administration has asked the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), Noida, to arrange buses for them.

MN Upadhyaya, additional district magistrate (finance), issued a letter on Wednesday, stating that the administration had to make temporary shelters in the district to quarantine people suspected of suffering from coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The UP government had issued an order on April 13 in which it asked the local administration to quarantine people and also prepare a list. Once the person completes the 14-day quarantine period, the person should be released and administration would facilitate them to reach home. They would be needed for home quarantined for next two weeks (sic), the letter to UPSRTC, Noida, stated.

Upadhyaya, in the letter, stated that there are 39 such persons who have completed their quarantine period, undergone medical checkup, and are presently showing no symptoms of Covid-19. These people are residents of Bulandshahr (1), Sitapur (1), Shamli (3), Baghpat (3), Ghaziabad (4), Gautam Budh Nagar (3), Bareilly (4), Balia (1), Hardoi (3), Gonda (1), Jalaun (1), Kasganj (8), Allahabad (2), Lucknow (1), Etah (1), and Farrukhabad (1).

Anurag Yadav, assistant regional manager, UPSRTC, Noida, said that he has received the letter from administration. We will arrange for the buses and send them home. But at present, we are waiting for a nod from the administrations of the respective districts to which these people belong, he said.

Yadav also said that there are 12 people from Madhya Pradesh who were kept in quarantine centres in Noida for two weeks. They have completed their quarantine period and are now medically fit. We will soon arrange for buses and send them home, he said.

Gautam Buddh Nagar has recorded 138 coronavirus positive cases so far, of which 88 have been cured while 50 others are undergoing treatment. A total of 736 persons are in institutional quarantine in the district.
Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon on Friday allocated 12.4 million somoni ($1.24 million) for bonuses to be paid to health care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 epidemic, his office said

DUSHANBE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2020) Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon on Friday allocated 12.4 million somoni ($1.24 million) for bonuses to be paid to health care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 epidemic, his office said.

"Today, on May 1, the president of the Republic of Tajikistan, honorable Emomali Rahmon, allocated 12.

4 million somoni from the reserve fund of the president of the Republic of Tajikistan to pay a monthly bonus equal to one official salary [in addition] to current salaries of health and social protection workers who are direly involved in diagnostics and treatment of COVID-19 in medical and quarantine facilities within three months," the office said in a statement.

The president also donated his monthly salary to a special account for financing the efforts to prevent and fight the pandemic.

On Thursday, Tajikistan Health Ministry confirmed the country's first COVID-19 cases.
A senior Queensland public servant has been jailed for using taxpayer funds to buy expensive teak furniture, an electric scooter and a $935 silk jacket while earning up to $367,000 a year.

The state's former chief scientist, Suzanne Miller, used a government-issued credit card for personal spending 18 times between August 2014 and June 2016.

She bought overseas flights and accommodation in Scotland, an outdoor storage shed, dinosaur show tickets and a drum kit.

Queensland 's former chief scientist Suzanne Miller (pictured), 55, was sentenced to three years in jail after abusing a taxpayer-funded credit card despite earning $367,000 a year

Miller transferred money from the credit card into her own bank account and twice used it to pay her mortgage.

She also paid $8000 towards her daughter's private school fees, but later repaid that money.

In addition to misusing the credit card, Miller benefitted from the payment of about $45,000 in health insurance premiums she wasn't entitled to receive.

The 55-year-old held a 'high-profile position' as director and chief executive of the Queensland Museum Network, later also being appointed as the state's chief scientist, Brisbane magistrate Noel Noonan said.

She first earned $280,000 a year, but when she held both positions from November 2016 her combined salary was $367,000.

WHAT SUZANNE MILLER BOUGHT WITH TAX-PAYAER MONEY Overseas flights and accommodation in Scotland A $935 silk jacket Expensive teak furniture An electric scooter Dinosaur show tickets An outdoor storage shed A drum kit Two mortgage payments $8000 in private school fees Advertisement

Crown prosecutor Christopher Cook says Miller was able to 'arrogantly commit' the crimes, using her esteemed position to achieve financial gain.

'This (offending) is out of greed and arrogance, not out of need,' he told the court on Friday.

Miller pleaded guilty in March to a single charge of fraud after dozens of the allegations concerning her use of taxpayer money were either dropped or rolled into one offence.

She was taken into custody last month after asking for her bail to be revoked so her sentencing hearing would not be delayed.

Mr Noonan on Friday sentenced Miller to three years' jail, suspended after three months, for the misuse of about $75,000 of taxpayer funds.

He said a cheque from Miller for the full amount would be paid to the Queensland Museum Network.

Miller will be released in July, which takes into account the time she has already served in jail.

The dual citizen intends to move to Scotland, where her husband and daughter live.
Fenno was hands down the most significant student of Congress of the last half of the 20th century, political scientist and author Norman J. Ornstein wrote in an email to The Washington Post. He was the first to note that voters loved their congressman while hating Congress, he wrote the definitive study of the appropriations process (The Power of the Purse) and a series of books where he explored the relationship between legislators at home and in Washington.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:36:11|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Lebanese demonstrated on Friday in different parts of the country against the ruling class on the occasion of Labor Day, LBCI local TV channel reported.

People protested near the labor and social affairs ministries and the central bank of Lebanon.

Protesters called upon the current government to recuperate stolen public funds and activate the different productive sectors in the country to provide citizens with job opportunities instead of adopting policies that encourage them to immigrate.

Protesters held the Lebanese flag and signs on which they posted their demands that include the fight against corruption while calling upon people to stop supporting their political parties "who are responsible for economic and financial deterioration."

Unemployment in Lebanon has increased to unprecedented levels after the nationwide protests started on Oct. 17 of last year but were interrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19.

These events led several companies to shut their doors down, laying off thousands of employees, with others paying only half salaries to their workers.

Labor Minister Lamia Yammine announced on Friday that around 30 percent of companies have closed in Lebanon and 20 percent of laborers are paid half their regular salaries.

Protests resumed after the reduction of general mobilization measures adopted by the government after COVID-19 outbreak. Enditem
Banks are dusting off their no-deal Brexit plans as concerns deepen that Britain and the European Union wont agree a trade deal by December as the COVID-19 pandemic compounds fundamental disagreements over future relations.

Financial services exports to the EU are worth about 26 billion pounds ($32.51 billion) a year, and although Britain left the bloc in January it still has unfettered access until the end of December under a transition agreement, allowing banks, asset managers and insurers to continue serving their biggest export market.

But that leaves the UK with just a few months to negotiate a trade deal with the EU that would come into effect in January to avoid a cliff-edge in business activity. If it wants an extension to the transition period, it must ask Brussels by the end of June.

Brexit is firmly back up the agenda, people are talking about it and are very conscious of the very short time to get any deal agreed, said Catherine McGuinness, political leader of the City of London financial district, adding that financial industry groups met in recent days to discuss preparations.

I dont think anybody is expecting a transition extension at the moment, but the timetable is very tight. We are dusting down our papers on the various solutions to the cliff-edge problems.

Despite fundamental disagreements in the talks and political focus shifting to the pandemic, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted he wont request an extension.

Brexit has not gone away. Its full steam ahead. The trade negotiations are not going smoothly and we have to assume some chance of an exit without a deal, a source at a major global bank said.

The governments firm no-extension stance has killed off lobbying efforts by the financial industry, the source added.

Miles Celic, chief executive of TheCityUK, which promotes Britain as a financial center, said the government had to be taken at face value, and bankers said the sector would not ask for an extension.

People are looking at no deal preparedness again, said Rachel Kent, a financial services partner at Hogan Lovells law firm who was present at the industry talks on Brexit.

Banks are largely reviving plans they had when a no-deal Brexit loomed several times in 2019 before Britain and the EU signed off on a divorce settlement and transition period.

Under the plans banks would move more staff and activities to their new EU hubs to serve customers inside the bloc rather than from Britain.

A source at a second major global bank said that although the coronavirus pandemic had eclipsed Brexit for now, its no-deal plans were still at hand.

All the plans are there, its not like they didnt exist, the source said.

June Milestone

The source at the first major global bank said everybody was aware that financial market access under the EUs patchy equivalence system was the best the sector could expect.

Brussels grants direct financial market access if it deems a foreign countrys regulations are in line with its own. The EU has said it would look to complete its assessment of UK equivalence also by the end of June.

June is a key time politically and the key priority is those equivalence assessments being in place sufficiently in advance of the end of the transition period, a European banking industry official said.

Obtaining equivalence is critical for clearing houses in London to avoid them having to tell EU clients in September to move positions worth billions of euros out of Britain by the end of the year.

Although we would love to see progress by June, I am not holding my breath because, lets deal with COVID first, the City of Londons McGuinness said.

There is already talk that Britain may prefer not to have a trade deal to avoid having its hands tied while supporting an economy thrown into deep recession by the pandemic, Hogan Lovells Kent said.

There is a feeling that can best be done without the constraint of being in the EU with issues like state aid and the need to have consent before supportive measures can be taken.

Britain also has to decide whether to grant equivalence type access to EU financial firms that want to serve UK customers.

Bankers and McGuinness said Britain should go ahead and grant such access regardless of what the bloc decides on financial market access for Britain in coming months.

We should be an open trading nation, we always have been and ought to remain so. It would be cutting our own nose to spite our faces if we keep people out, McGuinness said.

($1 = 0.7997 pounds) (Reporting by Huw Jones and Sinead Cruise, editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Topics COVID-19 Europe London
By Jennifer Hiller

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp <CVX.N> on Friday reported a 38% increase in quarterly profit bolstered by asset sales but plans to expand cost cuts amid falling demand and weak prices for oil and gas.

Global fuel demand has crashed by a third while many people shelter at home for an indefinite period. Major oil companies have largely reported losses in the latest period as an oil glut and coronavirus-related lockdowns sent prices to historic lows.

Chevron beat Wall Street expectations with a $3.6 billion profit, up from $2.6 billion during the same period last year. Results were boosted by $1.6 billion gain, largely from sale of oil and pipeline properties in Azerbaijan.

Cash flow from operations covered its dividend and capital spending, leaving Chevron "in a strong position weather the storm," said Anish Kapadia of Palissy Advisors.

Shares were down 3% at $89.44 on Friday.

The second-largest U.S. oil producer benefited from higher earnings from its refinery business and increased oil output, offset by weaker prices.

The outlook for a continued oil glut prompted Chevron to further cut its 2020 spending budget to $14 billion, down 30% from its plan before the oil price crash. The percentage cut matches those at bigger rivals.

The cuts are "across the board," but include additional trims to shale oil projects and deferred spending at a major expansion project in Kazakhstan, Chief Financial Officer Pierre Breber said in an interview.

The company has "pulled expansion down significantly" at its Permian shale unit. It expects to end the year with Permian output about 125,000 bpd below its 600,000 bpd target.

"We will come out of this crisis, but we will come out with inventories pretty full because there's so much oil and products in storage," Breber said.

A 68% drop in profit from its U.S. oil business was offset by strong earnings in international oil and gas, which rose 13% on the rise in the U.S. dollar and asset sales. Refinery profits more than tripled to $1.1 billion last quarter.

Story continues

Chevron held its dividend steady, while Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two. Equinor also cut its dividend, while BP Plc <BP.L> and Exxon kept their dividends stable.

Oil and gas output rose to 3.24 million barrels per day (bpd), an increase of more than 6%. The company plans to curtail its oil output by as much as 300,000 bpd in May and by up to 400,000 bpd in June, Breber said.

Chevron and Exxon had been racing to reach 1 million barrels per day of production in the Permian basin, the top U.S. shale field, before demand tumbled.

Chevron has sidelined 10 drilling rigs since early March and Exxon has cut 11 in the field since, according to data from research firm Enverus.

(Reporting by Jennifer Hiller in Houston and Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Steve Orlofsky)


Gorleston church sets up community helpline Gorleston church sets up community helpline



St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston has launched a helpline to offer help to those in the community particularly affected by the lockdown.



Those phoning the freephone number can receive practical help, eg collecting groceries or prescriptions, or just have a friendly chat. They can also submit requests for prayer.



Rev Matthew Price, vicar of St Mary Magdalene, explains: Obviously, weve been doing a lot of work in respect of the foodbank, but this new community helpline service recognises that there is other - possibly lower level - support that is also needed.

Especially as the lockdown continues, we recognise that there may be many who are feeling increasingly isolated and we are offering this freephone number for small items of practical support, but also if people just want to call and have a friendly chat with someone. Were also offering that we will pray for anything - or anyone - who the person is particularly concerned about.

"Weve created a community helpline card which is being delivered to every household in the parish by a reputable delivery company so as not to breach CofE guidance about hand deliveries.



Factfile

Project title: St Mary Magdalene Community Helpline



Run by: St Mary Magdalene Church, Gorleston



Catchment area: Magdalen Estate, Gorleston and those areas within the parish that are outside of the estate (postcode NR31 7)

Address: St Mary Magdalene Vicarage, 41 Nuffield Crescent, Gorleston NR31 7LL



Contact details: 0800 246 5571 (freephone)



What you can offer other projects: Know-how regarding setting up a free-phone telephone number. Ongoing support to vulnerable people.



Prayer requests: Please pray for the recipients as they receive the cards through the door; and that those that could do with support do make use of the number.

Pray for wisdom for those answering the phoneline as they seek to discern the best way to support those who call.

Pray for volunteers from the church family who are fulfilling any requests for practical help that they would stay safe and well.

Pray for the impact of the card being delivered and the offer of support being made on the ongoing relationship between the church and the wider community.



website: www.stmmgorleston.org.uk

Tony Rothe, 01/05/2020
Accusations that Joe Biden sexually assaulted a former Senate staff member on Capitol Hill 27 years ago have been the topic of vigorous discussion and aggressive vetting over the past three weeks.

So far, the former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has relied on a long list of prominent supporters  many of them women deeply supportive of the #MeToo movement  to speak out in his defense.

I believe Joe Biden, said former 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama and Bidens former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, have all endorsed Biden in recent weeks.

These are powerful, persuasive surrogates, but they arent nearly enough. Neither is the strong denial issued earlier this month by his campaign, which stated the incident absolutely did not happen.

Voters deserve to hear from the candidate himself.

That might happen soon. Reports late Thursday suggest Biden will address the allegations directly Friday morning. If so, thats a welcome if overdue development.

Biden has until now refused opportunities to address the accusations by Tara Reade, who worked for Biden in the early 1990s. She says the then-powerful senator pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while they were alone.

Each day he has remained silent, new details seemed to emerge about the alleged 1993 incident. Business Insider reported on Monday, for example, that Reades former neighbor says she remembers Reade telling her in the mid-1990s about previously being assaulted by Biden.

Of course, nothing that Biden says now would likely put the matter to rest. When decades have passed, it can be extraordinarily hard for anyone from the outside to know exactly what happened. What has changed since the launch of the #MeToo movement, however, is that it is no longer acceptable to simply dismiss claims by women just because they are dated, or because they lack proof sufficient for a courtroom.

Women must be heard, and the accused should address those accusations with candor, transparency and respect.

In this case, Reade has been heard. Her accusation has been carried in nearly every major newspaper, including a thorough vetting by the New York Times that found no pattern of abuse by Biden. And it has been the subject of intense coverage on cable news. That should continue. And yet its also quite possible that in the end, people will be left to decide for themselves what to make of the accusations.

Thats what happened with Brett Kavanaugh when allegations of sexual assault surfaced during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. With the evidence inconclusive, everyone from ordinary citizens to the decision-makers inside the Senate had to decide for themselves what impact the allegation had on Kavanaughs fitness for office. Thats also what happened in each of more than a dozen allegations by women who claim they were victims of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct by President Donald Trump. Voters have made up their own minds.

Will Biden be angry and combative, as Kavanaugh was during his hearings? If so, voters may question Bidens temperament just as many did in Kavanaughs case. Will Biden belittle Reade, as Trump has so often done to other women? If so, Democrats who have spent four years disgusted at Trumps treatment of women will have a tough reckoning to make with Bidens performance.

We believe Biden is unlikely to follow either of these modes of behavior. There is nothing in his long record in public life to suggest he would, and supporters have been right to emphasize that the alleged assault would be grossly out of step with the way he has conducted himself over many decades. That doesnt mean Biden didnt do what Reade accuses him of. Her accusations are serious, and Democrats must not dismiss them just because Trump has been accused of even worse.

If Biden expects his voters to stick with him, hell need to convince them that hes someone they can still believe in. He should take that opportunity on Friday.
The wild Israeli political ride is nearing a crucial junction, with one path leading to a power-sharing government led by the Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, and the other to a fourth round of elections or some other form of chaos. This is the timetable: On May 3, an expanded lineup of 11 Supreme Court justices will convene to consider several petitions demanding that they disqualify incumbent Prime Minister Netanyahu from forming Israels next government and arguing that his April 20 coalition agreement with Gantz is unconstitutional. Sundays deliberations will focus on whether a person under criminal indictment is eligible to form a government, and the following day will be devoted to petitions against the agreement itself, which includes amendments of two fundamental laws that anchor the authority of Israels government and the legislature.

In an April 30 opinion to the court, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit conceded that the coalition deal entails agreement on a new model of government that is not natural to Israels form of government, but argued that its flaws fall short of requiring the courts intervention. If the court does not make speedy rulings, the coalition's house of cards could come tumbling down.

In an unusual move, the court hearings will be broadcast live. They are scheduled to wind up on Tuesday, May 5, two days before the legal deadline for forming a government. Should Netanyahu inform President Reuven Rivlin that he does not have the endorsement of 61 Knesset members for a new government, Israelis will return to the polls, probably in August, for the fourth time in 17 months. Adding to the tension, there is no deadline for the justices to rule on the petitions, which bring up intricate issues.

The justices will probably rule on Tuesday, leaving Gantz and Netanyahu sufficient time to complete the complex and unprecedented legislation required to implement the coalition agreement and form a government before the May 7 deadline. If they fail, Netanyahu will apparently ask Gantz to obtain the signatures of all his partys Knesset members on a request to President Rivlin to approve the agreement before the Knesset has passed the required legislation. Gantz will face a tough choice. By agreeing to Netanyahus request, he would grant him 14 additional days to form a government, and Netanyahu would no longer need the Blue and White once the lawmakers signatures are in his pocket. Netanyahu could then renew his pressure on a handful of Blue and White lawmakers to jump ship and join a narrow government under his leadership, reneging on his deal with Gantz, as he has done to other putative allies throughout his political career.

Two weeks ago, just prior to reaching agreement with Gantz, Netanyahu tried to tempt a few rival lawmakers. He offered the moon to two Gantz allies, Labor leader Amir Peretz and Knesset member Itzik Shmuli, and the stars to two Blue and White Knesset members, Zvi Hauser and Yoaz Hendel. His overtures were rebuffed, but will they be again two weeks from now, with the threat of new elections hovering over the four lawmakers? Gantz faces a Hobsons choice. If he refuses to hand Netanyahu a blank check with the signatures of all his partys lawmakers, he could find himself dragged into a new election race, battered by voters accusing him of selling them out by agreeing to join forces with Netanyahu to begin with, in violation of his pledges. On the other hand, if he signs the check, he could find himself left high and dry.

The justices now hold the fate of the coalition agreement, the future government and the political system in their hands. Their ruling will also affect the top court itself and the war that Netanyahu and his emissaries have declared on Israels judicial system. More than a few unsubtle threats have come from their direction in recent weeks, warning that should the court disqualify Netanyahu contrary to the democratic choice of the Israeli public, millions will take to the streets in protest. Some threats by Netanyahu associates sound quite explicit, warning that if the court takes the law into its own hands and disqualifies Netanyahu, it would be signing its own death warrant. According to them, Netanyahu would run once again in a fourth election, achieve a clear and unprecedented majority, immediately push through an override clause giving the Knesset authority to overrule the court, hammering the final nail in the courts coffin. It will be not just another blow to the courts legitimacy, but a deep erosion of its independence, authority and standing.

The two halves of the Israeli electorate is utterly polarized. One believes Netanyahu is the messiah sent to save Israel who must be protected at all cost. The other is convinced that Netanyahu is destroying the foundations of Israels democracy and rule of law vital to the continued existence of the Jewish state as established by its founders.

Most legal scholars expect the High Court to be sharply critical of Netanyahus expected premiership as well as of the coalition agreement enabling it, and perhaps disqualify some of the agreements less significant clauses, but not invalidate the core of the deal. Any ruling that undermines Netanyahus ability to form a government or to hand over the premiership to Gantz after 18 months according to their rotation agreement would immediately dismantle the coalition and send Israelis to the polls. The High Court is unlikely to venture into such dangerous territory.

Mandelblit's opinion points the way for the justices: criticism of the agreement and of Netanyahus assault on the rule of law, but a determination that there is no legal impediment to implementation of the deal. Any other ruling would send Israel into uncharted waters. It is perhaps the heaviest responsibility facing the court since its founding. The High Court holds not only the fate of the petitioners and respondents in its hands, but of Israeli democracy.
Beyond masks, several airlines say they are blocking some or all middle seats to create social distancing. That is possible now on most flights but will become more difficult when passengers begin returning in bigger numbers  airlines would forfeit revenue if they block seats then. It is also more difficult on smaller regional jets; passengers might be seated near each other to balance the plane's load.
Isla Fisher took all necessary precautions on Thursday as she ventured out for her daily bike in Los Angeles.

The actress wore a protective face mask while making the most of her daily exercise allowance in the southern Californian city, which remains on lockdown in the fight against coronavirus COIVD-19.

Covering her head with a safety helmet, Isla, 44, was almost unrecognisable as she navigated the deserted roads surrounding her Hollywood home.

Safety first: Isla Fisher took all necessary precautions on Thursday as she ventured out for a bike ride close to her Los Angeles home

The actress was dressed appropriately in a black top and matching cropped leggings while taking advantage of her brief outdoor appearance.

She added to her casual look with black running shoes, while heavily tinted sunglasses rounded things off.

The Australian star is based in Los Angeles with her husband, Ali G creator Sacha Baron Cohen, and their three children - Elula, Olive and Montgomery.

Don't mind me: The actress wore a protective face mask while making the most of her daily exercise allowance in the southern Californian city, which remains on lockdown in the fight against coronavirus COIVD-19

Isla, who got her start on long running soap Home And Away, is best known for the movies Wedding Crashers, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Now You See Me.

Before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, she had wrapped production on a new big screen adaptation of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit with Dan Stevens, Judie Dench and Leslie Mann.

It's scheduled for release in September but that may change due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Couple: Isla resides in California with her British actor and comedian husband Sacha Baron Cohen. They celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in March and share three children

When California went into lockdown in March, she was in the middle of shooting the Disney+ comedy Godmothered.

Also starring Jillian Bell, Santiago Cabrera and June Squibb, the show follows an unskilled fairy godmother who sets out to help a girl whose wish was ignored.

She'll be ready to hit the ground running again after quarantine, as she's also set to star in the CBS All Access series Guilty Party.

Isla plays Beth Baker, a disgraced journalist who seeks to salvage her career by proving the innocence of a woman in jail for the murder of her husband.

The Australian actress also serves as executive producer for the half-hour dark comedy.
Oil slipped to around $26 a barrel on Friday as weak demand due to the coronavirus crisis and excess supply pressured the market, even as OPEC and its allies began a record output cut.

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, has collapsed 60 percent in 2020 and reached a 21-year low last month as the coronavirus pandemic squeezed demand and OPEC and other producers pumped at will before reaching a new supply cut deal which began on Friday.

Brent for July fell 45 cents, or 1.7%, to $26.03 at 1025 GMT. U.S. crude for June slipped 46 cents, or 2.4%, to $18.38. Both benchmarks rallied sharply on Thursday. Brent rose 12% and U.S. crude gained 25%.

Output cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, known as OPEC+, began on Friday. Even so, there are doubts the reduction, the largest ever agreed, will be enough.

"The demand recovery will be a muted affair," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. "What is more, OPEC+ curbs which take effect today will be no panacea for the hefty supply imbalance."

Demand is likely to underperform, analysts at JBC Energy said, offsetting producer efforts to tackle the supply glut.

"Crude demand is likely to disappoint even if the more optimistic demand recovery forecasts for end-user consumption materialise, due to the high inventory pressure that has built over the last month or so," JBC said.

A Reuters survey on Thursday showed that in advance of the new output cut, OPEC sharply raised output to the highest since March 2019, adding to excess supply on the market.

And underlining the difficulties some producers will face in meeting their commitments, Iraq will struggle to meet its quota of cutting output by nearly a quarter, industry sources said. Iraq is OPEC's second-largest producer.

Also supporting prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that crude inventories rose by 9 million barrels last week, less than the 10.6 million-barrel rise analysts had forecast.

"This is a second straight week of inventory and product demand figures suggesting a bottoming of the U.S. market," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.

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Police on Wednesday afternoon shot dead two men whom they believe are behind the killing of a fourth-year Meru University student Rodgers Opiyo at a hospital in Umoja.

The two were tracked after a tipoff and shot dead in Kamakis, Ruiru bypass.

Police sources say that the gang operated in a group of four and their leader was recently released after spending time in jail for shooting and killing a man in Umoja in 2015.

Another member of their gang was on Tuesday, April 28 shot dead following a botched robbery at John Lee hospital in Tena estate.

Last week, Opiyo was shot dead just 10 meters from where he lived in Umoja-Innercore after he walked in on a robbery by two young men who were his friends.

Police said a commotion ensued between the thugs and Opiyo who is said to have identified them as they were robbing him of his valuables.

According to the police and witnesses, the gang shot him in the neck after he identified them as his friends from the neighbourhood.

The family is yet to set the date for the burial of the 22-year-old.
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Google has introduced some new features to its video call and video conferencing platforms in the last few months. It recently added four features to Google Duo, and now may soon let people contact other users using just their email on the video calling app.

Jane Manchun Wong, a well-known reverse engineering expert, posted about the same on Twitter, writing, Google Duo is working on Reachable with email address setting.

Google Duo is working on Reachable with email address setting pic.twitter.com/BbCiOhoW0Z  Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 30, 2020

Wong attached a picture with her tweet which showed a new Reachable with email address toggle on the video calling app. The image shows the toggle in the Account section of Settings.

The search-engine giant has already introduced the email feature to Google Duo on Web, Android Police reported.

This feature on the web doesnt fully work with G Suite accounts  accounts with domains other than @gmail.com.

Users can make calls if they have a G Suite account, but cant receive them, currently. You can only receive calls when a standard Google Duo account contacts the email address you have linked your account with.

However, if there is an email-only Duo account, which does not have a telephone number attached to the account, it will not appear within a users contact list. One can only call them if they appear within ones notification list or recent call list.Google has recently said that it will introduce a new video codec on Duo to provide quality and reliability even on very weak internet connectivity.

The search-engine giant is making optimisations to ensure that video calls on Duo are clear and uninterrupted. The company has also increased the group size for calls from eight to 12 on the video calling platform.
Manitoba must help those being clobbered financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the right thing to do, we can afford it and, as a diverse array of economists have noted, public spending is needed in a time of crisis. It's time to put the oft-repeated phrase We are all in this together into action. Those who need extra support should get help, now, so we do not leave anyone behind during the pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Manitoba must help those being clobbered financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the right thing to do, we can afford it and, as a diverse array of economists have noted , public spending is needed in a time of crisis. It's time to put the oft-repeated phrase "We are all in this together" into action. Those who need extra support should get help, now, so we do not leave anyone behind during the pandemic.

People with fewer resources are more at risk of COVID-19. A second or third wave of the disease could very well result in higher rates of the virus and more deaths in racialized low- and moderate-income neighbourhoods, as has been the experience in the United States . As New York City councilman Mark Levine said, "This disease does not discriminate, but society does."

Manitobas economic and racial disparity is well documented, and we are setting up a perfect storm as the only province not offering income supports. This lack of action is poor short-term thinking that will cost the province more in the long term by creating swollen social-assistance rolls and lost consumer stimulus. Here are three things the province could do:

Top up federal income supports

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provides $2,000 a month for those whove lost work. In some European countries, workers incomes affected by COVID-19 are being replaced at rates of up to 90 per cent , compared to Canadas Employment Insurance replacement rate of only 55 per cent up to only $54,000 in insurable earnings (this means a maximum benefit of about $2,300 per month).

The Manitoba Government Employees Union has called for a provincial top-up of 95 per cent to EI for impacted employees. Instead, the premier is asking public-sector workers to reduce their incomes by up to three days' worth per week. Part time, contract and casual workers may lose their jobs entirely.

The premier is lobbying the federal government to permit public-sector workers to be eligible for EI for the work reduction, a move experts say will likely not be approved by the federal government. Many workers would prefer to be redeployed to help with the COVID-19 response, rather than having hours and pay cut.

British Columbia and New Brunswick are providing support even if workers qualify for federal aid; Manitoba should do the same as a top-up to EI.

Adapt Rent Assist for COVID-19

Manitobas shelter benefit for those on assistance and the working poor provides a monthly benefit up to 75 per cent of CMHCs median market rent (MMR). Eligibility is based on last years tax return. It is a good program, but a newly launched report titled Assisting Renters , by the Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association and our office, found the majority of private-market renters on the Rent Assist program still face unaffordable rents.

Additionally, changes made to eligibility for the program in 2017 mean Rent Assist no longer brings a full-time single adult working at minimum wage above the poverty line.

Lack of provincial support for renters during COVID-19 forces tenants and landlords into an impossible situation while evictions for late payment of rent have been banned by the province during the pandemic, a lack of income support will just delay the problem of amassed rental debt. At the end of COVID-19, many tenants could face bankruptcy and eviction, creating an even larger problem.

Manitoba clearly has provincial jurisdiction in housing, and could easily create a rapid sign-up process to enable people to qualify for Rent Assist now while increasing this benefit to 85 per cent of the MMR to better meet housing-affordability standards.

Emergency funding: Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) & Non-Profits and Charities

Single adults on EIA live just on $800 a month for food and shelter. Inadequate social-assistance rates are a public-health liability. EIA doesnt cover cell phones or internet, so folks cant call Health Links or a doctor. Those on social assistance who apply for the CERB will have their social assistance clawed back by the province, despite the federal government asking Manitoba not to do so.

An April 24 Department of Families circular instructed EIA workers to tell eligible new clients to first apply to CERB, effectively off-loading new EIA cases to the federal government. Instead, Make Poverty History Manitoba is asking our province to follow the lead of B.C., which is providing a $300-per-month COVID-19 crisis supplement for those on provincial assistance and low-income seniors during the pandemic.

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Many EIA recipients survive thanks to community-based organizations, which, despite providing life-sustaining services during the pandemic, now face threatened funding clawbacks from the province . The province funds many family resource centres, youth-service agencies, womens centres, shelters and other groups directly serving low-income people.

The province should follow the lead of the Winnipeg Foundation and United Way of Winnipeg and provide emergency funding to these groups so they can continue to provide take-away supplies to people, hire staff when volunteers have to self-isolate, and have adequate safety equipment for staff.

How do we pay for it?

Manitoba has a relatively low debt-to-GDP ratio and has room to borrow to finance needed COVID-19 income supports. Notably, the province has found public money to pay for private-sector responses to the COVID pandemic, including $18 million to set up new private-home child care, $4.5 million to Morneau Shepell for cognitive behaviour therapy, $4 million for an InTouch 24/7 call centre to sign Manitoba businesses up for federal benefits, and funding for North Forge for a volunteer website.

These signal that not only does Manitoba have money for items the province deems a priority, the government is choosing to contract with the private sector and ignoring the incredible skills of the public sector to respond to the crisis.

Action at the provincial level is needed now to demonstrate that the phrase "We are all in this together" means that we will care for everyone impacted so that we can all recover together from this pandemic, and not leave some Manitobans destitute or let the impacts of COVID-19 linger in low-income communities for years to come.

Molly McCracken is the director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Manitoba and a steering committee member of Make Poverty History Manitoba.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:36:21|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- More COVID-19 cases and deaths were reported Friday, with India recording 35,365 infections in total and Bangladesh's cases surpassing 8,000, while several Asia-Pacific countries were considering to ease some of their restrictions on economic and social activities.

India's federal health ministry Friday evening reported five more deaths and 322 positive cases since morning, taking the total number of deaths to 1,152 and total cases to 35,365.

The Indian government extended the ongoing lockdown beyond May 3 by two weeks, said an official statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Bangladesh reported 571 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths, taking the total number of confirmed cases to over 8,000, according to senior health ministry official Prof. Nasima Sultana in a televised press conference.

The Indonesian government reported eight new deaths, raising the total fatalities in the archipelagic country to 800, the highest in Southeast Asia, with 433 new confirmed cases and a total of 10,551 infections.

The number of cases across the Philippines continued to increase with 284 new cases reported by the Department of Health (DOH), bringing the national total to 8,772, and 11 new deaths were reported, adding the country's fatalities to 579.

Malaysia reported 69 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 6,071, the Health Ministry said on Friday, as the government announced to reopen most economic activities next week.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that of the new cases, 57 were local transmissions while 12 were imported cases.

The country will ease restrictions to allow most economic and social activities to restart following the recent decline of the COVID-19 cases in the country, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.

Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority on Friday invited drone operators in the country to offer their services towards the possible transportation of essential medicines and food supplies via drones in COVID-19 hit areas.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa paid tribute to the working masses who were facing the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the island country.

Myanmar President U Win Myint acknowledged strong participation of workers in response to COVID-19 in his message of International Workers' Day.

The president called for participation of and cooperation between the government, employers, workers, professionals and civil society organizations to overcome the present difficulties caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Australian government will bring forward the review of the first phase of removing baseline restrictions to May 8, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

New Zealand reported three new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total number of confirmed and probable infections standing at 1,479 in the country, the Ministry of Health said on Friday.

There is no more death reported as the COVID-19 death toll remained at 19 in the country.

South Korea reported nine more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 10,774. The daily caseload hovered around 10 for 13 straight days. Enditem
Celebrity trainer Mari Winsor, who worked with stars such as Miley Cyrus, Madonna and Sharon Stone, died at the age of 70 on Tuesday following a seven-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.

The Pilates expert died at her Sherman Oaks, California home with family and friends nearby Tuesday, ending a battle with ALS (progressive neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) that she'd fought bravely since 2013, her rep Alison Graham told the AP.

Winsor left her mark in show business in many ways, having been a dancer in the Michael Jackson video Smooth Criminal and his Moonwalker film; and in the Patrick Swayze film Roadhouse.

The latest: Celebrity trainer Mari Winsor, who worked with stars such as Miley Cyrus, Madonna and Sharon Stone, died at the age of 70 on Tuesday following a seven-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease

Other celebrities she had worked with included Drew Barrymore, Steven Spielberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Berkley and Melanie Griffith.

The affable fitness expert had marked her Pilates programs through both instructional videos and books, the latter of which she authored three.

Five years ago, she and Cyrus convened for a benefit walk in her fight against the disease, one of many events Winsor took part in to raise funds and spread awareness.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, friends and relatives organized three Zoom events for people around the world to remember the beloved trainer. (It was initially set up as a Celebration of Life ceremony, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was moved to teleconference.)

Pals: Five years ago, she and Cyrus convened for a benefit walk in her fight against the disease

Beloved: Miley gave her trainer a kiss on the head at the emotional event

In one of the Zoom events, Maria Shriver explained how personable and inclusive Winsor was, and how her friendship was unconditional.

'Mari always made me feel included whether I could do the Pilates or not,' Shriver said. 'She always said, "It's OK if you don't come back. I'll love you anyway. You'll find time when the time is right. You'll be able to come and do Pilates."'

Shriver said that the way people remembered Winsor was reflective of a life well lived: 'Our time here on Earth is really just the relationships that we touch the people that make up our world, and what a successful, extraordinary life Mari has led, and lived  and she will live on with everyone here.'

Battling: Winsor was snapped at an ALS fundraiser in Santa Monica, California in 2017
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-30 22:33:24|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Germany has registered 1,478 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising its total cases to 159,119, said the federal government's agency for disease control and prevention on Thursday.

The trend that the daily new cases between 1,000 and 1,500 continued, lower than last week. "This is a pleasant development," said RKI President Lothar Wieler.

At the height of the pandemic in Germany, more than 6,000 new infections were recorded in a single day by the RKI.

The reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Germany, which was now based on a four-day average, decreased to 0.76, according to RKI.

This development was also "pleasant", said Wieler, urging again people to abide by the rules such as distance of 1.5 meters.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and RKI have repeatedly warned that the reproduction rate of the coronavirus in Germany had to be permanently below one in order to contain the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, 173 new deaths from COVID-19 were registered over the past 24 hours, bringing the country's death toll to 6,288 and resulting in a case fatality rate of COVID-19 in Germany at 3.95 percent, according to RKI.

The estimated number of the recovered in the country increased by around 3,100 within one day to 123,500 on Thursday, according to RKI.

Germany had increased its test capacity to 860,000 per week, although 467,000 tests were conducted last week. According to RKI, around 5 percent of the tests were positive.

"The virus is in our country, it will remain in our country for months to come," stressed Wieler. Enditem
Boots is offering safe spaces in its pharmacies for victims of domestic abuse seeking help during lockdown.

Since the nation was placed in lockdown on Monday 23 March amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has been reported that cases of domestic abuse in homes have increased.

Reports of domestic abuse sent to UK police forces by Crimestoppers have risen by nearly 50 per cent in the time period, while charity Hestia, which supports adults and children in crisis, has seen a 47 per cent rise in victims using its free domestic abuse support app Bright Sky.

From Friday 1 May, survivors will be able to contact domestic abuse support services in safe spaces installed in Boots consultation rooms.

Posters and small shelf cards informing customers that there is a safe space available for domestic abuse support will be placed in around 2,400 Boots stores across the UK.

Furthermore, if anyone asks a Boots pharmacist if they can use a consultation room, they will be able to do so with no further questions asked.

Staff will be provided with information on how to recognise potential victims of domestic abuse.

Lyndsey Dearlove, head of UK Says No More at Hestia, explained that the lockdown and social distancing measures that have been put in place for the foreseeable future are restricting victims of domestic abuse reaching out to their friends, family and co-workers for support.

We know there is an increased level of uncertainty for people looking to escape an abusive relationship, Ms Dearlove said.

Self-isolation offers a new method of control over victims, making it very difficult for them to seek support.

Ms Dearlove said that Hestia recognises that key workers in pharmacies hold a unique position within the community as a single point of contact for victims.

By creating this safe space in Boots pharmacies, we hope many will be able to safely access support whilst following government guidelines.

 Victoria Derbyshire goes on TV with domestic abuse helpline number written on hand

Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots UK, said that the pharmacy chains stores have taken on increased importance as a place of safety for those who need one.

We hope that making our consultation rooms safe spaces we can help people find the support they need at this difficult time, when many other options are temporarily unavailable, Mr Donovan said.

Sandra Gidley, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said that in the current climate, pharmacies can provide the safe environment needed to get support when options are limited for survivors of domestic abuse.

The trust that the public have in pharmaces make them an ideal place to access help and take a step away from harm towards a better future, Ms Gidley said.

The RPS fully supports the UK Says No More campaign and would encourage other pharmacies to take part and become a safe space for those experiencing domestic abuse.

Anyone who requires help or support can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk
The Delhi government on Friday appointed senior IAS officer P K Gupta as the nodal officer to facilitate the movement of migrant workers and other people stranded in the national capital.

According to an order, Special Commissioner Muktesh Chandar has been appointed as the nodal officer of Delhi Police and he will provide all assistance and logistical support of the police department to Gupta for the movement of stranded people from Delhi to other states.

Gupta is the principal secretary in the Social Welfare Department.

The MHA, in an order issued on Wednesday, allowed migrant workers, tourists, students and other people, who are stranded in different parts of the country, to move to their respective destinations with certain conditions.

The order stated that buses shall be used for transport of such groups of stranded people and these vehicles will be sanitised and will have to follow safe social distancing norms in seating.

Earlier this month, the Delhi government had appointed 10 bureaucrats as nodal officers for coordination with resident commissioners of states to address the concerns of migrants in the city.

These bureaucrats will also assist Gupta.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Poster from the National Park Service reminding people about social distancing. (National Park Service)

Several national parks are opening their gates with more likely to follow as the National Park Service boosts access and services in a "phased approach across all units" of the system.

Utah seems to be one state where many national parklands are starting to reopen. Arches and Canyonlands national parks will open park roads, trails and restrooms starting May 29. Back-country permits for Canyonlands and climbing or canyoneering trips in Arches will be available May 30, an announcement said.

However, visitor centers and park stores will remain closed. Camping in the back-country and at Fiery Furnace and Devils Garden campgrounds in Arches as well as Willow Flat and Needles camping areas are still shut.

Zion National Park will open select areas for day-use activities starting May 13, and Capitol Reef National Park, which opened May 5 to day-use in Cathedral Valley and Waterpocket Fold. Overnight stays are allowed in Cedar Mesa and Cathedral Valley campgrounds.

Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, Utah, will reopen roads and trails May 13, but visitor centers and campgrounds will remain closed. Also, visitors are asked to bring their own drinking water as there won't be reliable access.

Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments in Utah will reopen roads, trails and restrooms on May 14. Visitor centers and other facilities will remain shut.

However, temporary closures in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument and Fort Point National Historic Site will remain in place because stay-at-home orders for six counties in the Bay Area have been extended through May.

Parking restrictions continue at places such as Muir, Stinson and Rodeo beaches. Alcatraz Island, the Presidio Visitor Center, Fort Point National Historic Site, Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, Muir Woods and other areas have not yet reopened.

In many cases, parks will reopen as they closed  by varying timetables, depending on the park and its region. The agency said decisions would follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as regional and local health authorities.

Story continues

The CDC has dedicated a web page for visitors on how to stay safe in park settings.

Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah on May 6 began to open trails around the red-rock spires of the Bryce Amphitheater, its most visited area. The main park road and viewpoints along the way will be open from the entrance to Rainbow Point. However, the visitor center, campgrounds, backcountry trails and restrooms remain closed (except for one at Sunset Point), a park announcement said.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which straddles Utah and Arizona, will reopen in phases. On May 8, Wahweap Campground was to open and major boat ramps for popular Lake Powell were to open for day use Fridays through Sundays. On May 15, boat rentals are to open (including houseboats, power boats and personal watercraft) and ramps will start opening daily for overnight visitors. On May 21, Lake Powell Resort and Defiance House Lodge are due to open. By May 22, most of Glen Canyon's 1.25 million acres of lakeside shoreline and hiking trails will be accessible to the public.

Everglades National Park in Florida plans reopened some boat launch ramps, campgrounds and restrooms May 4; Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee will allow visitors on many roads and trails starting May 9.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs from Tennessee to Virginia, will reopen access to the southernmost 14 miles of the park on May 9. Also, North Carolina portions of the route, including the popular Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain areas, will reopen May 15. "While these areas are accessible for visitors to enjoy, a return to full operations will continue to be phased and services may be limited," a park announcement said.

In Denali National Park, rangers have opened a portion of Denali Park Road, allowing the public into the park again, and NPS officials have said the shortage of cruise visitors this summer could open more room for visitors by car. Several lodges at the end of the park road in the Denali community of Kantishna are making plans to open this summer, an NPS notice said, noting the spring plowing operations "are on schedule to get the road open for summer."

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, in Kentucky and Tennessee, on Monday reopened access to trails and backcountry camping.

Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee reopened trails connecting to the Stones River Greenway and visitor center parking lot.

Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia on Saturday reopened access to its beaches, public docking spaces and trails.

At Zion National Park, a tweet Friday said the park was still closed but "plans for gradually and safely resuming park operations are under way."

Zion National Park is currently closed. Plans for gradually and safely resuming park operations are underway. The NPS and DOI plans will be governed by the White House, CDC, and Utah health guidance throughout the COVID-19 national pandemic. Changes to this guidance... pic.twitter.com/Vmlzv4kIxQ  Zion National Park (@ZionNPS) May 1, 2020

Some parks never officially closed (like Channel Islands). Some, like Yosemite, are such magnets for visitors that superintendents felt obliged to close them relatively early. Still others, like the Grand Canyon, closed later despite heavy visitor traffic.

At other parks, it's harder to be sure what's happening when.

Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks remain closed. In California, Yosemite, Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks remain closed.

But in hopes of reopening soon, the Oasis at Death Valley, a privately owned lodging inside that park, is taking reservations for June 15 and beyond.

Grand Teton National Park remains closed, but the Signal Mountain Lodge, on the park's Jackson Lake, has announced plans to open June 5 through Oct. 17. Not all units will open. The lodge's website explains that to make distancing possible, the site is mostly relying on units in which guests can cook for themselves, to improve social distancing.

But the lodge's general store and gift shop are to open for roughly the same dates, with restaurants reduced to a grab-and-go menu. The lodge website says campground operations are expected to proceed as usual.

Meanwhile in the offices of Grand Teton National Park, spokeswoman Denise Germann cautions visitors not to jump to conclusions about the park reopening.

"What we're looking at is, location by location, as it is deemed safe, parks will begin to reopen," Germann said. "Any dates that anybody is putting out [from Grand Teton] are 'no-earlier-than' dates," Germann said. "What we're doing is working with local, regional and national health officials to open when it's safe to do so."

The lodge's management, she said, is "identifying a date so that they can at least communicate with guests." Lodge management did not immediately return a phone message.

National parks began planning the phased reopenings Thursday after the federal stay-at-home order expired.

The move to begin reopening parks brought complaints from the Coalition to Protect Americas National Parks, a group representing 1,800 current, former, and retired employees and volunteers of the National Park Service. The group contends the decision was premature.
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Parts of Australia will shiver through the coldest-ever start to May with temperatures below zero as an icy front originating from Antarctica sweeps the country.

People in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, South Australia and even Queensland woke up to chilly temperatures on Friday morning - and it's set to get even colder over the next week.

'At the moment, we have a very cold outbreak across the south east from well south of the country from the Antarctic,' the Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore said.

'It's one of those cases where all of the ingredients are coming together for a very cold outbreak.

'Northern Queensland and the Top End are still hot but they will be 2-6C below average over the coming days as this front moves further up.'

Victorians were the hardest hit as parts of the state experienced the coldest start to May ever recorded with the mercury dropping to -4C in some parts.

A woman takes her dog for a walk in Mount Hotham, which is currently experiencing blizzards and temperatures as low as -4C. Parts of Australia are shivering through the coldest-ever start to May in recorded history

Ski destination Mount Hotham, in Victoria's North East, is experiencing blizzards and took the crown for the coldest temperature at -4C and an even lower 'feels like' temperature of just -6.5C.

Blizzard conditions are expected across all of the states Alpine region, bringing up to 50cm of snow by the weekend.

Melbourne is set to experience its coldest ever start to May if the temperature does not exceed 12.1C. It is currently 12C but 'feels like' just 7C due to chill and rainfall.

The Victorian capital will continue to experience cold weather with 13C on Saturday and 14C on Sunday with more rainfall expected.

'Some of the temperatures are 4C to 10C below the May average. It's more typical of July in the middle of winter rather than May,' Mr Narramore said.

Meanwhile, Sydney shivered through its coldest start to May in a decade on Friday with lows of 8C and a maximum temperature of 17C.

The NSW capital will warm up over the weekend with a maximum of 19C on Saturday and 20C on Sunday - although both mornings will be chilly at 11C and a 'feels like' temperature 2-3C lower.

Thredbo gave Mount Hotham a run for its money with a minimum of -4C and a maximum of -3C with up to 12cm of snow expected.

Snow blankets a road in Mount Buller in Victoria with footprints seen on the path. Blizzard conditions are expected across all of the states Alpine region, bringing up to 50cm of snow by the weekend

Melbourne is experiencing rain and wind. The Victorian capital is having its coldest start to May in 40 years with a forecasted maximum temperature of 12C that 'feels like' just 7C

Further north, the cold front crept up into southeast Queensland, where parts of the state experienced their coldest point in 30 years.

In the town of Applethorpe on the Southern Down, the mercury dipped to just 5.1C.

Brisbane dropped by 5C from Thursday to Friday as the minimum temperature fell to 14C and the maximum to 24C.

The cold weather will continue over the weekend for the Queensland capital with minimum temperatures of just 10C and maximums of 24C on both days.

In WA, where the cold front has already passed, is starting to warm up once again with a maximum of 24C in Perth on Friday.

'It (the cold front) clipped Western Australia and amplified before moving into Southern Australia,' Mr Narramore said.

'Now that the front has passed, WA will bounce back to 8-10C above average over the next week. It will basically be hot in the west and cold in the east.'

In Canberra, the maximum temperature was just 7.6C while the lowest was 4.6.

At 10am, the temperature was 6.3C but the 'feels like' temperature was a whopping 10C lower at -3.4C.

The nation's capital will slightly warm up over the weekend, with a maximum of 15C but a very low minimum of 2C.

A man goes for a cycle in Thredbo on Day Two of the snow bomb. Thredbo gave Mount Hotham a run for its money with a minimum of -4C and a maximum of -3C with up to 12cm of snow expected

Park rangers in high-vis gear trek through Mount Buller during a blizzard. The cold front will move from the south east and reach as far as Northern Queensland and the Top End, although it will be much less intense once it travels that far

Tasmanians woke up to some chilly temperatures on Friday with the town of Liawnee freezing through a low of -2.5C.

In Hobart, the minimum temperature was 8.5C while the maximum temperature of 11.8C, although showers made it feel 3C colder.

The Tasmanian capital will continue to shiver over the weekend with a low of 7C and maximum of 11C on Saturday.

Even the Northern Territory has been slightly affected by the cold front as it kicks off its dry season, which will last until October.

As the cold front moves over land, the air will warm up and therefore, have less effect. Mr Narramore said it will be 2-6C below average in the Top End.

Darwin hit highs of 35C and a low of 25C on Friday, which will drop slightly to a maximum of 34C and a low of 21C over the weekend.

Mr Narramore said the current weather conditions are more of a standalone event rather than being any indication of winter this year.
A Pakistan journalist living in exile in Sweden who has been missing since March has been found dead, police said Friday.

"His body was found on April 23 in the Fyris river outside Uppsala," police spokesman Jonas Eronen told AFP. Sajid Hussain, from the troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, was working part-time as a professor in Uppsala, about 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Stockholm, when he went missing on March 2.

He was also the chief editor of the Baluchistan Times, an online magazine he had set up, in which he wrote about drug trafficking, forced disappearances and a long-running insurgency.

"The autopsy has dispelled some of the suspicion that he was the victim of a crime," Eronen said.

The police spokesman added that while a crime could not be completely ruled out, Hussain's death could equally have been the result of an accident or a suicide.

"As long as a crime cannot be excluded, there remains the risk that his death is linked to his work as a journalist," Erik Halkjaer, head of the Swedish branch of Reporters without Borders (RSF), told AFP.

According to the RSF, Hussain was last seen getting onto a train for Uppsala in Stockholm.

Hussain came to Sweden in 2017 and secured political asylum in 2019. The Pakistan foreign ministry declined to comment when asked about Hussain by AFP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, May 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with key ministers and top officials of the government at his residence in 7 Lok Kalkyan Marg here on Friday.

The meeting is believed to have discussed the different scenarios the government may face after the nationwide lockdown ends on May 3. Though still premature, the possibility to explore options of allowing limited domestic flights under strict conditions can not be ruled out, said informed sources.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri were among those who attended the crucial meeting. It was also attended by Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauba and the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary.

The meeting is also believed to have discussed plying of limited special trains for taking the migrants home. A special train carrying migrants from Telangana to Jharkhand embarked on its journey at 5 p.m. on Friday. The train is being run as a test case.

The government is looking at the possibility and feasibility of running more such special trains for the stranded migrants, while ensuring that social distancing norms are not compromised with.

India's second leg of the lockdown ends on May 3. The Prime Minister in his last video conference with the chief ministers had asked them to return with specific plans on the lockdown. While many CMs favoured an extension of the current lockdown, states like Meghalaya have asked for a reprieve in the green zones. Many states like Punjab want greater economic activity to be allowed.
One Dead, Five Missing Following Canadian Military Helicopter Crash Off Greek Coast, Trudeau Says

Sputnik News

15:52 GMT 30.04.2020(updated 16:23 GMT 30.04.2020)

On 29 April, The Greek outlet Militaire.gr reported that a Canadian Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopter, with six people on board, disappeared 52 nautical miles (60 miles) west of Cephalonia Island in the Ionian Sea.

A Canadian Armed Forces member has been left dead and five others missing following a military helicopter crash off of the coast of Greece, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

"Yesterday, a Royal Canadian Navy helicopter on a NATO mission carrying six members of the Canadian Armed Forces went down with all hands in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Greece. They were flying from the Canadian naval frigate HMCS Fredericton  home port of Halifax  as part of Operation REASSURANCE. One casualty was recovered and five are missing", Trudeau said at a briefing.

According to later information, the lost helicopter was a CH-148 Cyclone, not a Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan stated that the cause of the crash remains "unknown", but that the cockpit voice and flight data recorders have been recovered.

According to reports, the HMCS Fredericton frigate (FFH 337) located the wreckage on Wednesday evening. Greek authorities were not involved in the search and rescue operation, Militaire.gr said.

 Sputnik

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- A report tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday, April 28, showed most companies were struggling to stay afloat as incomes were affected due to low sales

- The report by the Ministry of Labour said measures put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic had resulted in massive redundancies

- The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the country on Friday, March 13

The coronavirus pandemic has continued to take its toll in the world and Kenya has not been spared as impact of the disease continues to grow.

At least 130,000 Kenyans have lost their jobs since the first case of the respiratory illness was confirmed in Kenya on Friday, March 13, even as the country moved towards re-opening the economy slowly.

READ ALSO: Baringo: Floods sweep away police lorry, 7 officers feared dead

Labour CS Simon Chelugui. His ministry has warned of more job losses. Photo: Simon Chelugui.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Robert Kariuki Kibochi replaces General Samson Mwathethe as Chief of Defence Forces designate

A report tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday, April 28, showed most companies were struggling to stay afloat as incomes were affected due to low sales and slowed operations.

The report by the Ministry of Labour revealed 133,657 jobs had been lost in the formal sector so far, with the figure excluding those on unpaid leave and those who took pay cuts.

The ministry said over 300,000 Kenyans in the tourism and hotel industry were staring at job losses. Photo: TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Mutahi Kagwe akimbia Facebook kujitetea dhidi ya madai ya ufisadi

The numbers are likely to rise because most companies are yet to notify the ministry on redundancies as required under the employment act, 2017, part of the report read.

Majority of those rendered jobless were in the manufacturing sector (500) followed by the security sector (300).

The report said measures put in place to curb the spread of the pandemic had resulted in massive redundancies.

Measures put in place to contain the spread of the pandemic have resulted in loss of jobs in key sectors of the economy. Also witnessed work-related fatalities and casualties involving employees in key organisations offering essential services, it said.

Over 300,000 workers in the tourism industry were also staring at job losses as most of them were sent home on unpaid leave and could be rendered jobless if the situation does not improve.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

Floods and Coronavirus taking Kenya by storm | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Carlisle Borough police now have a leg up on personal protective equipment thanks to the Carlisle Sunrise Rotary Club.

On Friday, the club donated about 60 pairs of shin guards to the department that can be used for training and operations in tactical, crowd control and SWAT-type situations.

Its nice that theyre thinking about the safety of the officers, said Sgt. David Miller, who is in charge of training, equipment and professional standards. Shin guards are very practical things to have.

Though not ballistic armor, the guards are comparable to the protective equipment worn by athletes, Miller said. Each pair protects the legs from just above the knee down to almost the ankle.

There are different circumstances when officers need extra protection, Miller said. Those circumstances can range from a civil disturbance to the execution of warrants involving a potentially violent suspect.

Club member Cindy Ayers spearheaded the effort to donate the new or slightly used shin guards to the borough police, said Marv Salsman, a past club president.

A military history buff and reenactor, Ayers is retired from the Army and the National Security Agency. She is a consultant at the Army War College. Her connections to the government and military led her to online auction sites that specialize in selling off surplus equipment.

About a month ago, Ayers had an opportunity to buy about 60 pairs of shin guards for $60 total compared to a nonsurplus listed price of $75 per pair.

Every now and then, I get a good buy, Ayers said. I figured there must be something the Rotary can do with them so I put in a bid [for the lot] and I got it. She received the shipment from the online auction site and placed the surplus shin guards into storage.

Right away, club members thought of the Carlisle Police Department. Years ago, members donated a bite suit for use in training police canine Pedro, Salsman said. The club offered to donate the shin guards and the police department accepted.

Were always looking for ways to help, Ayers said. Im glad they were able to use them. She suggested the Rotary could monitor surplus sites in the future for similar bargains that benefit the community.

Rotary is service above self, Salsman said. We try to practice that motto in all that we do.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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The South Korean government did not immediately comment on the report, but it has pushed back against the recent speculation that Mr. Kim was in poor health. Its unification minister, Kim Yeon-chul, had called the reports fake news, saying that South Korea could say confidently that there was no evidence to confirm the rumors.

Amid the reports, North Korea had continued to send out letters and gifts to foreign leaders and domestic workers under Mr. Kims name. But until Saturday, it had gone weeks without reporting any public appearances by its leader or responding to the speculation about his health, and its silence fueled the rumor mill.

As recently as Friday, Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector who recently won a seat in the South Korean Parliament, told reporters that he was 99 percent sure that Mr. Kim had died last weekend.

The weeks of rumors showed how unprepared the outside world remains for a potential political crisis caused by something like the sudden, unexpected death of the dictator in a country bristling with dozens of nuclear weapons, said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

We got a glimpse of the danger of loose nukes and worse if the death of Kim Jong-un had unleashed a destabilizing power struggle in the North, where Mr. Kim had no designated adult heir in place, Mr. Russel said by email. Mr. Russel had dealt with North Korea as a National Security Council director at the White House and assistant secretary of state for Asia.

He said the past few weeks showed that authoritative information about the North Korean supreme leaders well-being and whereabouts is very closely guarded, and therefore dramatic rumors about his health and behavior need to be regarded with considerable skepticism.

The Norths report on Saturday did not dispel the mystery over why Mr. Kim missed the important state ceremonies for his grandfathers birthday  an absence that set off the series of speculative reports. A South Korean news website that hires North Korean defectors as reporters said Mr. Kim had undergone heart surgery. U.S. news reports said that Washington was monitoring intelligence suggesting that Mr. Kim was in grave danger.
Ritwika Mitra By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A majority of migrant workers in the two major migrant destinations Surat and Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat lack access to urban documentation, showed a report by Ajeevika Bureau, an NGO working with migrant communities.

While Ahmedabad has an estimated 1.3 million migrant workers, Surat has the highest ratio of migrants to locals in the country, forming 58 per cent of its total population and 70 per cent of its waged workforce, said the report Unlocking the Urban: Reimagining Migrant Lives in cities post COVID-19.

Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, Surat had seen protests from migrant workers who had demanded that arrangments are made for them to return to their home states.

The COVID-19 pandemic was not the sole reason responsible for the ongoing humanitarian crisis for migrant workers but aggravated the already existing crisis, the report pointed out. The pandemic exposed the underlying systemic exclusion of migrant workers from Indias urban and labour policies which restricted them from accessing the basic urban provisions of food, water, housing, sanitation and heathcare facilities, it said.





Of 285 interviewees in Ahmedabad, The study showed 92 per cent of workers did not have ration cards, 89 per cent did not have voter ID cards, 94 per cent lacked access to electricity bills and 89 per cent were without Building and Construction Workers (BoCW) identity cards.

Among 150 respondents in Surat, 99 per cent workers reported lack of access to ration cards, 74 per cent were without voter ID cards, and 97 per cent without electricity bills.

This is a reason why workers were left out of government benefits during the lockdown. There is a need for enumeration of workers to ensure the benefits reach them. Urban planning should recognise workers, said Divya Varma, programme manager -- policy and partnerships, Aajeevika Bureau.

The workers interviewed last year for the study were from the different sectors of powerlooms, construction, small-scale manufacturing units, hotels, restaurants, head loading, and domestic work. They had migrated from states like Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar.

Ninety-eight per cent of migrant workers surveyed had never interacted with any official in a political party office or local administrative bodies which showed they lacked access to urban governance.

They lacked access to sanitation and adequate housing with 83 per cent of the respondents accessing shared toilets with no upper limit on the number of people sharing them. Majority of the workers interviewed also lived at the on-site locations.

The survey also showed that majority of the workers were scheduled tribe, followed by scheduled caste.

Migrant workers do not have any political agency to demand for their rights as they do not have voting rights in the cities and lose out on entitlements, the report observed.

With workers struggling for basic provisions during the lockdown, immediate measures should be taken to integrate them in public provisioning, it said.

The other recommendations include universalisation of PDS, adequate and safe shelter facilities for workers, providing access to healthcare facilities, and gender specific measures like reaching out to women migrant workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:04:41|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Italy on Friday marked its first-ever International Workers' Day, or May Day, under lockdown.

May Day has been celebrated in Italy since the end of the 19th century. For contemporary Italians, it is synonymous with picnics featuring a beloved combination of raw broad beans and a hard, salty cheese made from sheep's milk called "pecorino."

It's also synonymous with the concertone ("big concert" in Italian) organized in a public square in Rome for the past 30 years by Italy's "big three" trade union confederations: the General Confederation of Italian Labor (CGIL), the Italian Confederation of Workers Unions (CISL), and the Italian Labor Union (UIL).

Maria Teresa Bianchi, 59, is a mother of two young women and works as a fundraiser at a health care non-profit organization in Rome.

"When I was younger, we would go to the workers' marches and to the concertone," Bianchi told Xinhua. "For me, it was a time of awareness, of thinking about workers' rights."

"When I had my daughters, we started spending May Day with family and friends, usually at our lake house, and that is what we would have done [on this year's May Day] if there hadn't been a lockdown," she said.

Luigi Ricci, 41, who owns a carpentry business, told Xinhua that for him, the May Day tradition involves going on an outing with friends in the countryside around Rome.

"Along the way, we stop at one of the stands run by Coldiretti (Italian farmers' association) and buy fresh broad beans," Ricci said. "Then we sit on the grass and eat them with pecorino, drinking wine from the Castelli area near Rome -- that is our ritual." `

"This year, of course, there will be no outing because we are under lockdown," Ricci concluded.

John Green is a 60-year-old British journalist who moved to Italy in 1981, married an Italian schoolteacher and raised two daughters here.

Green told Xinhua that May Day "was quite a tradition in my working-class family" in the UK and that they usually celebrated it outdoors, with a barbecue or a picnic.

"In my early years in Rome, May Day meant meals in the country with friends, and sometimes attending the concertone," he said.

"This year, if it weren't for the lockdown, I would have taken my family for a short agritourism holiday, and we would have watched the concertone on TV," he said.

This year's concertone will be televised live on RAI public broadcaster from 8 p.m. to midnight local time, with the performers playing at Rome's Auditorium Parco Della Musica concert venue and other locations across Italy that were chosen by the artists themselves.

The lineup this year includes beloved Italian rockers Zucchero, Gianna Nannini and Vasco Rossi.

In his traditional May Day address to the nation, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella said: "As I celebrate so differently from the usual, we must acknowledge the key social justice milestones achieved through the struggles of the workers and their unions, which are... instruments of progress and equality."

"Recovery is possible because in over the past two months, we managed to mitigate significantly the dangerousness of the epidemic," Mattarella said. "We must defend this result." Enditem
Man, dog pronounced dead after early morning explosion, structure fire near Harbor Springs

A man and a dog have both died as the result of an explosion and structure fire early Tuesday morning in West Traverse Township near Harbor Springs.
Philadelphia convenience-store merchants are warning that the citys lax law enforcement amid coronavirus has resulted in rising rates of shoplifting.

In March, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that her department would halt arrests for non-violent crimes  including drug offenses, theft, vandalism, prostitution, and more  to prevent the overcrowding of jails during the pandemic. But 20 store owners told local news outlet ABC6 that criminals were emboldened by the lack of police presence.

Ive been facing a lot of shoplifting. Every day I try to call and sometimes when I call 911 nobody answers, one store owner said. People are coming in the store, theyre loading their bag and theyre actually telling us the law, that theyre not gonna get locked up, another added.

Members of the Delaware Valley Franchise Owners Association called the situation lawless and the Wild West, and pleaded for help.

I have three people quit last week, they dont want to work anymore because of safety issues, president Manzoor Chughta said.

A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office said that the situation sounded terroristic.

If police are making arrests in cases like that, our office would charge appropriately, she said.

State and local governments have grappled with how to deal with crime during the pandemic.

New Jersey said last month that it would release up to 1,000 inmates from jails, citing fears that holding inmates could lead to outbreaks in prisons. In Baltimore, mayor Jack Young warned city residents that police would come after those who want to continue to shoot and kill people in this city, warning that hospitals needed to be free to deal with coronavirus patients.

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PRESS RELEASE :REGULATED INFORMATION

30 April 2020, 17:40 CEST



Biocartis Creates New Share Option Plan

Mechelen, Belgium, 30 April 2020  Biocartis Group NV (the Company or Biocartis), an innovative molecular diagnostics company (Euronext Brussels: BCART), announces today that its board of directors created, within the framework of the authorized capital, 860,000 share options (each share option having the form of a subscription right) under a new share option plan, called the Share Option Plan 2020B, in order to enable the Company to offer the share options to current or future members of the executive management of the Company.

The share options under the Share Option Plan 2020B have a term of ten years (unless contractually reduced in the offer to a beneficiary), are generally not transferable and in principle vest and cannot be exercised prior to the first day of the fourth calendar year following the calendar year in which the offer of share options is made to a beneficiary. Each share option gives the right to subscribe to one new ordinary Biocartis share. The exercise price of a share option will be determined by the board of directors of the Company when offering the share option to a beneficiary and will at least be equal to the average closing price of the shares of the Company on Euronext Brussels during the thirty day period prior to the date of the offer. Should the share options be exercised, Biocartis will apply for the admission to trading of the resulting new shares on Euronext Brussels. The share option as such will not be listed on any stock market.

The reports prepared by the board of directors and the Companys statutory auditor (in accordance with Article 7:198 juncto Articles 7:180 and 7:191 of the BCCA) in the framework of the creation of the Share Option Plan 2020B can be consulted on the website of the Company .

----- END ----

More information:

Renate Degrave

Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Biocartis

e-mail rdegrave@biocartis.com

tel +32 15 631 729

mobile +32 471 53 60 64





Story continues

About Biocartis

Biocartis (Euronext Brussels: BCART) is an innovative molecular diagnostics (MDx) company providing next generation diagnostic solutions aimed at improving clinical practice for the benefit of patients, clinicians, payers and industry. Biocartis' proprietary MDx Idylla platform is a fully automated sample-to-result, real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) system that offers accurate, highly reliable molecular information from virtually any biological sample in virtually any setting. Biocartis is developing and marketing a continuously expanding test menu addressing key unmet clinical needs, with a focus in oncology. This represents the fastest growing segment of the MDx market worldwide. Today, Biocartis offers tests supporting melanoma, colorectal and lung cancer. More information: www.biocartis.com . Follow us on Twitter : @Biocartis.

Biocartis and Idylla are registered trademarks in Europe, the United States and other countries. The Biocartis and Idylla trademark and logo are used trademarks owned by Biocartis. This press release is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in any jurisdiction where to do so would be unlawful. Any persons reading this press release should inform themselves of and observe any such restrictions. Biocartis takes no responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person. Please refer to the product labeling for applicable intended uses for each individual Biocartis product. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities in any jurisdiction. No securities of Biocartis may be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, the Company directors' or managements' current expectations and projections concerning future events such as the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, performance, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which the Company operates. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities are not guarantees of future performance and should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. In addition, even if actual results or developments are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. No representations and warranties are made as to the accuracy or fairness of such forward-looking statements. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Exxon Mobil has posted its first loss in three decades, as that company and Chevron say they are sharply curtailing U.S. shale oil production with fuel demand plunging due to global lockdowns to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Exxon on Friday posted a $610 million first-quarter loss, its first quarterly loss in three decades, on a nearly $3 billion inventory writedown reflecting lower margins and prices.

Chevron posted a $3.6 billion profit on asset sales and improved refining results, and also said it would further reduce spending this year.

Both companies will slash spending budgets by 30 percent this year, saying the spending cuts will weigh heavily on shale oil production, which has made the U.S. the top oil producer in the world in recent years.

Exxon on Friday posted a $610 million first-quarter loss, its first quarterly loss in three decades, on a nearly $3 billion inventory writedown

Chevron cut its capital spending budget to $14 billion and Exxon has set 2020 spending at $23 billion, the lowest in four years.

Exxon's revenue was $56.16 billion, down 12% from the same quarter in 2019.

Fewer people flew or drove as the world fought to contain the spread of COVID-19, decreasing the need for jet fuel and gasoline. That resulted in oversupplied markets and unprecedented pressure on prices and margins, said CEO Darren Woods.

Despite plummeting demand, Exxon produced 4 million barrels per day of oil, up 2% from the same time last year.

'While we manage through these challenging times, we are not losing sight of the long-term fundamentals that drive our business,' Woods said.

'Economic activity will return, and populations and standards of living will increase, which will in turn drive demand for our products and a recovery of the industry.'

Chevron oil exploration drilling site near Midland, Texas in the Permian Basin. Both Exxon and Chevron on Friday outlined deep cuts in output and investments in the Permian shale basin

A customer fills a vehicle with gasoline at a Chevron station in San Francisco in a file photo

The oil industry was facing stark challenges even before the coronavirus hit, when prices were low because of a trade war between the U.S. and China which contributed to a global economic slowdown.

As lockdowns began to spread around the world during the first quarter, oil use plummeted and prices fell.

Then Saudi Arabia, in a power struggle with Russia, began flooding the market with oil, pushing prices down even further.

Both Exxon and Chevron on Friday outlined deep cuts in output and investments in the Permian shale basin, the top U.S. oilfield where growth in recent years made America the world's top oil producer and a net exporter for the first time in decades.

Oil and gas output at both U.S. producers rose in the first quarter ahead of planned cuts. Each had been racing to hit 1 million barrels per day of production in the Permian. But fuel demand sank nearly a third this year as travel and business lockdowns collided with a flood of Russian and Saudi oil hitting the market when those countries abandoned production cuts.

A sign for an Exxon gas station stands in a Brooklyn neighborhood in 2016 in New York City

Exxon stock dropped on Friday, as seen in this one-day view of the company's share price

Chevron stock dropped on Friday, as seen in this one-day view of the company's share price

Prices for U.S. crude have dropped nearly 70 percent this year, and actually settled in negative territory on April 20 for the first time ever.

On Friday, Exxon and Chevron, the two top U.S. oil producers, announced shut-ins of up to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) this quarter, much of it from their U.S. shale units.

The two oil majors spent heavily in the last two years to expand in the Permian. Shale production can be brought on faster than deepwater and other oil exploration projects but requires near-constant drilling to maintain output.

Both companies have been rapidly sidelining Permian drilling equipment since prices crashed starting in March.

'We would intend to bring activity back to the Permian when we see prices recover,' said Chevron Chief Financial Officer Pierre Breber in an interview.
By Aislinn Laing SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Cases of the coronavirus are set to peak in South America as winter approaches, bringing with it not just cold weather but more pollution that could multiply death rates, according to air quality experts and medics. In Chile, with people confined to their homes due to self-isolation measures, and with temperatures plummeting, the use of cheap firewood for heating - one of the biggest causes of winter pollution - is likely to spike. People living in areas with high levels of air pollution from harmful fine particles have a higher risk of dying from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, a study by Harvard University published this month found

By Aislinn Laing

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Cases of the coronavirus are set to peak in South America as winter approaches, bringing with it not just cold weather but more pollution that could multiply death rates, according to air quality experts and medics.

In Chile, with people confined to their homes due to self-isolation measures, and with temperatures plummeting, the use of cheap firewood for heating - one of the biggest causes of winter pollution - is likely to spike.

People living in areas with high levels of air pollution from harmful fine particles have a higher risk of dying from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, a study by Harvard University published this month found.

Another study published this month, from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, showed that 78% of deaths from COVID-19 across France, Spain, Germany and Italy occurred in the five areas most polluted by nitrogen oxide, primarily from vehicle and power plant fossil fuel emissions.

Chile, one of South America's most developed countries, has won praise globally for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, with extensive testing, early school and business shutdowns, and rolling quarantines.

It has reported over 14,000 cases and over 200 deaths. Last week, President Sebastian Pinera talked about restarting schools, reopening malls, rescheduling surgeries and sending public officials back to work to head off an economic crisis.

But there are fears that as the virus spreads from affluent neighborhoods - where residents brought it back from foreign holidays - to poorer, more crowded, and polluted areas, cases could rise rapidly and public hospitals already under pressure in winter could struggle.

Chile's majestic mountain ranges trap contaminants, making the country home to eight of the continent's 10 most polluted cities, according to the 2019 World Air Quality Report.

A drop in traffic has cleared the capital Santiago's notoriously smoggy skies but in the south more than 95% of pollution is caused by wood burning for heating, the environment ministry says.

Two badly polluted cities, Padre Las Casas and Temuco, are in the Araucania region, 450 miles (720 km) south of Santiago, which has the second-highest rate of coronavirus cases after the Metropolitan Region around Santiago, health ministry figures show.

Its fatality rate is already 2.6%, compared to Santiago's 1.2%, according to the figures. The Araucania is home to many of Chile's indigenous Mapuche and has relatively high levels of poverty.

Dr. Luis Diaz-Robles, one of the country's foremost pollution experts, based at the University of Santiago de Chile, said with more people sealed in their homes in isolation, with many having lost their jobs, and with a particularly cold winter forecast, the use of wood as cheap fuel would likely increase.

"You're therefore looking at a perfect storm," he said.

COLD OR COVID?

In the past six years, tighter measures have come into force to restrict or, on some days, ban wood burning, alongside a government-sponsored program to convert home heaters to cleaner fuels.

Air quality experts, medics and local leaders have called on the government to escalate air pollution mitigation efforts with the arrival of the coronavirus, although no measures have so far been announced.

An Environment Ministry spokesman did not return a Reuters request for comment.

Marcelo Fernandez, the ministry's air quality chief, told a government gazette this month it would strictly enforce the existing rules to prevent pollution spikes.

But pollution mitigation spending should be considered "essential," said Marcelo Mena-Carrasco, environment minister under former President Michelle Bachelet.

"We should be very concerned about this," he told Reuters. "The Harvard paper shows every microgram per cubic meter of particulate matter causes a 15% increase in COVID-19 death rates.

"If we extrapolate those numbers to Chile, bearing in mind that many of our cities have double the concentration looked at in that study, we could see some sharp rises."

However, banning the use of firewood without something being offered in its place could also cause problems, said health experts.

Dr. Mauricio Ilabaca, head of the National College of Surgeons' team looking at the problem, said cold would kill faster than pollution and, combined with the virus, could lead to a collapse in the hospital system.

Other countries in the region could also be affected, said Mena-Carrasco. "This increased mortality from the coronavirus associated with air pollution is something we can foresee in the Latin American region at large," he said.

Realtime air quality data published by Switzerland-based IQAir showed cities including Lima, La Paz and Bogota regularly exceed atmospheric levels of fine particles that the Harvard study identified as exacerbating COVID-19 fatalities.

In Temuco, regional council president Alejandro Mondaca said city residents, especially elderly people in often poorly-insulated homes, were scared about the growing reports of "a bad mix" of pollution and COVID-19, but also angry at the renewed prospect of being told to put out their fires between 7pm and 7am.

He wants the government to speed up heater conversions and do so free of charge for the elderly.

"We ask the environmental authorities to put one hand on their hearts and the other in their pockets to help our old people because if not, they're either going to die of cold or of COVID," he said.

(Reporting by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Rosalba O'Brien)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Wearing a face masks and latex gloves, worker Angelina Martinez greets customers as they enter The Emporium with retail stores reopened in Douglas County when restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the new coronavirus were rolled back Friday, May 1, 2020, in Castle Rock, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The 2016 presidential election laid bare the stark polarization in U.S. politics. As the country approaches the 2020 election while navigating an often politicized pandemic, some may be wondering what steps they can take in their own lives to ease, or at least converse across, political divides. In Beyond Your Bubble (APA, Aug.), Tania Israel, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, offers practical advice for talking to, and understanding, those whose campaign yard signs make you wince. PW spoke with Israel about the importance of dialogue, the meaning of intellectual humility, and polarization amid the pandemic.

Your academic interests include gender, sexuality, and social justice. What led you to the topic of political bubbles?

Leading up to and in the wake of the 2016 election, it became pretty clear to everyone that there was political polarization in our country, and it was affecting peoples relationships with their families, with their friends, with coworkers. I had some experience bringing people together to talk about issues of conflict: in the 90s, I started a group bringing together pro-choice and pro-life people to have dialogue. That, for me, was a really transformative experiencebeing able to see the power of dialogue not to change peoples minds about an issue, but to change peoples minds about the people who disagree with them on an issue.

This book grew out of a workshop you conducted with a similar theme. Who attended it, and what were their reasons?

It was people from a wide range on the political spectrum. When I would ask people what brought them, there were a number of pretty consistent motivations. One was that people were experiencing conflict, or avoidance, with someone who was important to them. People also said that they wanted to reach across the divide, not necessarily with a specific person in mind. Some were just saying, I cant understand these people on the other side. They wanted to develop more of a comprehension. And then, of course, there were people who said they really wanted to persuade people on the other side.

How might your book speak to the present moment, amid the Covid-19 pandemic?

One of the things that I think is helpful right now is that a lot of people are coming together around this health crisis. Im appreciating that the political divide is not at the forefront of things. Even if thats not great for book sales, I think its much better for our society. At the same time, what Im seeing is that people are still viewing this health crisis and the government response differently based on their political views. Im also wondering about people who are sheltering in place with folks who have different political views than their own, and who are trying to figure out how to manage that situation. I think there are some possibilities for this as an opportunity to experiment with dialogue.

Is it hard to set aside your own politics when writing about political bubbles?

I talk about perspective-taking in the book and how to do that, and I try to do a lot of that myself. Another thing I write about is intellectual humility: even if you have strongly held views, you can have a curiosity about people who have different views. I find that to be really enriching.

Return to the main feature.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and pro-Israel lawmakers welcomed Germanys decision this week to designate the entirety of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia-cum-political party, as a terrorist organization. Previously, Germany had followed Europes lead in drawing a distinction between Hezbollahs political and paramilitary wings.

We commend Germany for banning Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization and for taking strong action against suspected Hezbollah supporters, Pompeo said in a statement Thursday. With this action, Germany joins the growing ranks of nations that reject the false distinction between Hezbollahs terrorist operations and a purported political wing, including recent designations by Argentina, Colombia, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay and the United Kingdom.

Why it matters: The United Kingdom designated all of Iran-backed Hezbollah as a terrorist group in January. The United States and Israel hope that Germanys move this week will encourage the rest of Europe to follow suit. Hezbollah itself does not distinguish between its political and military wings.

While I am pleased that Germany has joined the list of other countries that have publicly recognized and denounced the Hezbollah threat, I encourage the European Union as a whole to follow suit, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said in a statement today. There is no meaningful distinction between Hezbollahs political and military wings, and they should not continue to be treated as such.

Whats next: Hezbollah and its allies currently control the Lebanese government. And right now theyre struggling to cope with mass public unrest amid a currency crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Prime Minister Hassan Diab is trying to secure some $10 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund to bolster the economy.

Know more: Read more about Germanys Hezbollah designation and its IMF loan request on Al-Monitor.
Two drug dealers were arrested during a safety check of a social establishment on Route de Thionville in the capital.

During the check, police officers noticed the exchange of items and money, led by two men who found to be selling drugs.

The men were accepting cash and electronics in exchange for the drugs.

When searching the men's tents, officers found heroine, cocaine, electronic items and mobile phones. They found further substances when searching the men themselves and their clients.

The prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant for both men, who were brought before an investigating judge.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 08:30:26|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Friday that it received reports of 12 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Thursday, of which six were imported.

The other six new cases were domestically transmitted, including five in Heilongjiang Province and one in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said in a daily report.

Three suspected cases imported from abroad, all in Shanghai, were reported.

No deaths were reported Thursday on the mainland, according to the commission. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 05:00:13|Editor: huaxia

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Medical workers carry a patient from an ambulance to George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 27, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The U.S. intelligence community "concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said.

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The top U.S. intelligence agency said Thursday the country's intelligence community does not believe the coronavirus was manmade or genetically modified.

The U.S. intelligence community "concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement.

The ODNI said it was investigating whether the virus emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, although the rumor has been repeatedly dismissed among scientists, who generally believe the virus jumped from animals to humans in some natural way involving farming, hunting or the transporting of wild animals.

Citing current and former U.S. officials, The New York Times reported Thursday that senior Trump administration officials pushed intelligence agencies to hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory that a lab in Wuhan was the origin of the outbreak as President Donald Trump escalated a public campaign to blame China for the pandemic.

Some intelligence analysts are concerned that the pressure from those officials will distort assessments about the virus and that they could be used as a political weapon, according to the report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), took the lead in pushing intelligence agencies for more information, said the report, adding that Matthew Pottinger, Trump's deputy national security adviser, pressed intelligence agencies off and on since January to gather information that "might support any origin theory linked to a lab."

The report also said that Anthony Ruggiero, the head of the National Security Council's bureau tracking weapons of mass destruction, expressed frustration during a video conference in January that the CIA was unable to get behind any theory of the outbreak's origin.

Most intelligence agencies remain skeptical that conclusive evidence of a link to a lab can be found, and scientists who have studied the genetics of the coronavirus say that the overwhelming probability is that it leapt from animal to human in a nonlaboratory setting, as was the case with HIV, Ebola and SARS, according to the report.

As COVID-19 deaths continue to increase in the United States, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have tried desperately to deflect criticisms about their blunders by blaming others.

As of Thursday noon, the United States reported more than 1.04 million COVID-19 cases with over 61,000 deaths, according to a tally from the Johns Hopkins University. Enidtem
More than a fifth of the 55,000 known COVID-19 deaths in the United States have occurred at nursing homes and other elder-care facilities. Federal and state governments have largely turned a blind eye, often making no effort to test residents or staffs and leaving relatives, surrounding communities and the public in the dark.

In at least a half-dozen states, officials have refused to make public the names of facilities wracked by the virus, even as residents and employees there are dying. The states nominal reason for their secrecy, privacy protections for institutions, is akin to refusing to identify an airline whose plane has crashed.

With few exceptions, states and the federal government have made little or no effort to verify the diseases death toll at nursing homes and similar facilities, conservatively estimated at 11,000 in a tally by The Associated Press.

The effects of government negligence and lack of transparency are incalculable but profound: families uncertain whether to place their elderly loved ones in a nursing home or remove them from one. Hospitals blithely transferring fragile patients to homes overwhelmed by unannounced outbreaks of the pandemic. Homes with no means to provide testing left to guess at a diagnosis when residents or staff succumb.

A survey by The Post found that almost a tenth of the nations 15,000 nursing homes have publicly reported that residents or staff have tested positive for the virus. But the available data are staggeringly incomplete  as in New York, by far the countrys hardest-hit state, where officials have released the names only of homes where at least five people have died.

Many nursing homes have made good-faith efforts to keep relatives informed when outbreaks occur; others have not or simply dont know. The federal government recently mandated that residents and relatives  but not the public  be alerted when an individual in a home has tested positive. Yet the order is all but meaningless without testing, to which an industry group estimates that just one-third of facilities have access. Just one governor, Jim Justice (R) of West Virginia, has ordered universal testing at every nursing home in the state.

Staffing shortages at elder-care facilities, widespread for years before the pandemic, have probably accelerated the spread of infection as many employees hold down simultaneous jobs at two or more homes, thereby spreading it as they shuttle from one to another. And while some states, including Maryland, have ordered nursing home employees to wear personal protective equipment when they interact with residents, some facilities cannot find enough masks, gloves and gowns to comply.

The governments abdication has left most nursing homes flying blind in a pandemic that has made them uniquely vulnerable. The absence of transparency and data put not only the facilities but also the public in the crosshairs of the coronavirus.

 The Washington Post
Matt Gillette, a 36-year-old Instacart shopper, makes a grocery delivery in Washington, D.C., on April 6, 2020. (Washington Post)

It shouldnt take a pandemic to make people appreciate the grocery clerk, the shelf stocker, the restaurant delivery driver or the personal shopper who picks up the groceries you've ordered and drops them at your home.

But here we are. These service workers are now officially essential. And its about time they were treated as such.

Grocery and food delivery workers are among the lowest paid and least protected of those deemed "essential" during this crisis. There have been too many instances of grocery clerks discouraged from wearing face masks to shield themselves and food delivery workers denied sick pay even when a doctor has directed them into quarantine. Its often taken local and state government orders to force employers to take care of their workers.

Last month, Los Angeles County adopted an emergency ordinance requiring Instacart, Postmates and other services that deliver food to provide their drivers with face masks and gloves or hand sanitizer, or alternatively to give them a stipend to buy the protective equipment. The law also orders stores and restaurants to let drivers use their restrooms to wash their hands.

Its a sad state of affairs when local governments have to order companies to provide basic protections during a pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom followed up with an executive order requiring that workers throughout the food industry  from farm laborers to grocery employees to delivery drivers  receive up to two weeks of paid sick leave if they cant work because a doctor told them to self-quarantine or their employer prohibited them from doing their jobs in response to COVID-19 concerns.

Nevertheless, grocery delivery service Instacart, which has already been the target of worker strikes, announced last week that its employees would have to take a wellness check before starting work. Any workers who report COVID-19 symptoms, such as a fever or cough, are logged off the platform without pay or sick leave. Only employees with a COVID-19 diagnosis or a quarantine order from a public health official will qualify for sick pay. That sure sounds like it's contrary to the governors executive order. It also puts workers in a terrible spot  theyll immediately lose income if they report symptoms, which may or may not even be COVID-19.

On Friday, activists representing grocery, retail and delivery workers are planning a nationwide effort to persuade shoppers to boycott Instacart, Whole Foods, Amazon and Target, among other companies, hoping to prod these employers to provide personal protective gear and cleaning supplies, paid leave, hazardous duty pay and transparency on COVID-19 cases in the workplace. These are not extreme demands, considering the risk that workers in the grocery and food delivery sectors face. They should be the bare minimum provided by a responsible employer.

We want food service workers to have on-the-job protections so they can stay healthy and to stay home if theyre sick. Its only fair. The work they're doing is essential for the rest of us.
HSC-28 Participates in Live-fire training with Albanian Military

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200430-05

Release Date: 4/30/2020 11:14:00 AM

From U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

BIZE, Albania (NNS) -- The "Ghostriders" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Det. 1, participated in a nighttime aerial gunnery exercise with Albanian allied forces in Bize, Albania, April 27, 2020.

HSC-28, Det. 1, stationed at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, flew from Naples across the Adriatic Sea to Bize to facilitate public relations between the two nations and militaries.

The trip served to re-qualify members of HSC-28, Det. 1, in the M240 and GAU-21 machine guns. Naval aircrewmen must maintain operational proficiency by shooting 400 rounds of .50-caliber from the GAU-21 and 400 rounds of 7.62mm from the M240 every 90 days.

"Cooperation with the Albanian military provides unique opportunities for our aircrew," said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew "Metro" Capaldo, officer-in-charge of HSC-28, Det. 1. "This training really underscores how we've been able to work with our NATO allies to maintain readiness despite the pandemic. We hope that this is just the beginning of further engagement between our detachment and the Albanian military."

Utilizing the overland range of our allies in Albania not only facilitates a chance for service-to-service foreign relations, but provides a rare opportunity for

live-fire tactical maneuvering practice in an overland, mountainous environment.

The trip, which encompassed over 300 miles from Naples to Bize included a refueling stop at Tirana International Airport in Albania.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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OXFORD, MI - Your co-workers will probably never forget a work meeting like this. A Michigan family farm is now offering Zoom sessions with baby goats. The meetings are private and take place online from your end and live from the pasture at Goat Life Farm in Oxford in Oakland County.

The goat farm Zoom meetings are $30 per private session. You can have up to 100 people at a time per session. They are lead by Goat Life Farm CEO Jeanette Ross who will take you on a tour of the farm, getting you up close to the goats and chickens.

We will take you into the pasture for a virtual field trip," Ross told MLive. Weve done both morning meetings and happy hours with companies out there. It can also be for children. We talk about the goats and we do different things like milk the goats. You can watch the babies play around. We just hatched chickens, too. Well just give you a virtual farm tour. Something different.

The farm currently has 17 Nigerian dwarf goats. There are seven babies with one more due next week. Theres also a chicken coop.

We breed them. They are all registered goats for goat breeding. We do sell some of the babies. We also use some of the milk to make products like lotions and soaps.

$5 from every Goat Life Farm Zoom call is donated to FISH food pantry in Oxford. "Obviously, many people are working from home right now. This is just something different and uplifting in these difficult times.

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Capitol Hill physician Brian Monahan (pictured) revealed he does not have enough testing kits to administer one to all 100 senators as they reconvene next week

Capitol doctors do not have enough coronavirus testing kits for all 100 senators to get checked for the disease as the chamber prepares to come back into session Monday.

Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, told top Republican officials in a conference call Thursday that there is not sufficient testing capacity for senators, two people familiar with the matter told Politico.

Only those senators and staffers experiencing symptoms as the chamber reconvenes next week will be able to receive a test at the Capitol  and the results will take two days or longer.

According to a person familiar with the Thursday call, Monahan did not discuss with GOP leadership whether he felt it was safe for the Senate to return.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, 78, is calling the Senate back into session Monday May 4, even though Democrats claim he did not consult with the Capitol physician to make sure conditions were safe enough to reconvene.

Leadership is also ignoring the fact that the majority of the lawmakers in the upper chamber are elderly  and coronavirus poses a much deadlier risk to those 60-years-old and up.

Sixty-seven of the 100 senators currently serving are 60 or older, and another large subset are approaching their 60s. California Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley are the oldest sitting senators at 86-years-old  and four other are in their 80s.

Some senators have suggested they might not return next week, especially if the upper chamber is not taking up any coronavirus relief legislation.

'I don't begrudge a senator expressing their personal concerns, but that shouldn't mean that the entire Senate ceases to function,' Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said Thursday. 'We're going to try really very hard to make sure everybody is safe. And not exposed.'

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is calling the Senate back to session Monday May 4, even though the majority of senators are elderly  including the leader himself, who is 79-years-old. Coronavirus poses a deadlier risk to those 60-years and older

California Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley are the oldest senators at 86  and 67 of the 100 senators are over 60-years-old

Donald Trump claimed Friday that Democrats, mainly Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are lying that testing kits are scarce. 'He knows we have done a great job on testing,' Trump asserted of Schumer

Many Democrats continue to bash President Donald Trump for not creating a more unified federal response to get more testing kits to the states.

But Trump asserted 'we have done great on testing,' asserting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is lying.

'Cryin' Chuck Schumer was on a late night show using a false talking point over & over again. 'We don't have enough testing ,' he would repeat, when he knows we have done a great job on Testing, just like we have on Ventilators and everything else. He lied, gave NY SALT. Run AOC!' the president tweeted Friday morning, encouraging progressive New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to challenge him for his Senate seat.

'Cryin Chuck Schumer, compared to what other Senators have brought home to their states, has brought very little back to N.Y.,' Trump continued in a second tweet.

'A totally overrated loser, the one thing he has given them is SALT. He never even called me to stop it. No wonder Cuomo & most others can't stand him. AOC!' he continued.

House Democrats originally planned to call the lower chamber back to Washington, D.C. next week as well, but decided against the move after speaking with Monahan.

The Capitol's capabilities are starkly contrasted with the White House, where anyone meeting with the president or Vice President Mike Pence are administered a rapid test, where results are available within minutes.

Even members of the press have received testing before being allowed in the same room as Trump and Pence for briefings.

As the Senate prepares to reconvene, Republican chiefs of staff were briefed Thursday by Monahan, McConnell's Chief of Staff Sharon Soderstrom and Rules Committee Staff Director Fitzhugh Elder.

All senators and their staff are asked to wear masks at all times, unless senators are delivering speeches on  and officers were told to encourage aides to telework when possible and to screen staffers who do come to the Hill to work.

On Thursday afternoon the Office of Attending Physician also put out guidance for committee meetings recommending that senators and all those attending wear a face covering and try to remain in their seats and limit movement throughout the room.
Today, the Boston Globe's investigative reporter Deirdre Fernandes reports that sex offender and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had his very own personal office at Harvard University, and visited dozens of times in the years after he was released from his 2008 prison sentence  all the way through 2018.

Epstein died of suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019. Investigations into his crimes are still pending.

According to the Boston Globe story, Jeffrey Epstein was given "his own office in a Harvard University department."

He "visited there more than 40 times after he was released from jail in 2010."

"The university received $9.2 million from Epstein between 1998 and 2007."

Seems perfectly normal.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe.

Jeffrey Epstein had his own office at Harvard, and visited more than 40 times after he was released from jail in 2010. Those are some of the details in a new report released today on his ties to the university. https://t.co/ujvCjPxekQ  Jason Tuohey (@jtuohey21) May 1, 2020

Well, @harvard has finally released its report regarding its own (i.e. not an independent) investigation into its links to Jeffrey Epstein https://t.co/WMpotdjaLA  Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics) May 1, 2020

Jeffrey Epstein had his own office at Harvard and visited dozens of times in the years after he was released from his 2008 prison sentence  visits that continued until 2018https://t.co/kQk8AYln0m by @fernandesglobe  Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) May 1, 2020
A Columbus, Ohio auto body shop, for the third time, has lost an attempt to pocket money paid to it by an auto insurer for vehicle repairs that were never made.

The 10th District of the Ohio Court of Appeals upheld a trial court ruling that requires Three-C Body Shop to reimburse Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. $12,506.81 that it paid to repair a policyholders vehicle. The appellate panel noted in its opinion that Three-C had made similar arguments when it lost two lawsuits against Nationwide in 2017.

The appellate court ruled in those cases that an auto body shop cannot pursue an unjust enrichment claim against an insurance carrier because its services confer no direct benefit to the insurer.

In the present case, Three-C gives us no compelling reason to depart from our precedent in the Nationwide cases, District Judge Susan Brown said in the panel opinion. Although Three-C argues that the benefit to Liberty is that Three-C satisfied Libertys contractual obligations to restore the vehicles to their pre-accident condition, any effect upon Libertys contractual duties was merely an incidental consequence of Three-Cs agreements with its customers to repair their vehicles.

I think for them its better to roll the dice and see where the case goes. I've never seen them back away from a fight. -- Kesha Kinsey

Triple-C is a family owned business founded in 1956 by current owner Bob Junipers father. What started out as a 1,200-square-foot repair shop now occupies 12 acres in North Columbus and does $11 million in repairs annually, according to the companys website. Triple-C also has a shop in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Kesha D. Kinsey, an attorney for Liberty Mutual, said the company has long history of going to court to get its way. She said typically Triple-C submits two or three supplemental reports after providing an initial estimate. As those supplemental reports stack up costs, at some point the insurance carrier may decide the cost of repairs exceeds the replacement value of the vehicle.

Thats what happened when Liberty Mutual policyholder Dan Lobdell brought his car in for repair at Three-C, Kinsey said. Liberty Mutual paid $12,506.81 to get repairs started, but Three-C submitted a supplemental report that proved too pricey for the carriers taste. Liberty Mutual instead decided the vehicle was a total loss, issued a check to Lobdell for the replacement value, and asked Three-C for a refund.

The body shop argued that Liberty Mutual owed it that money and more for past short pays  meaning the difference between the amount it had invoiced for repairs to other vehicles and the amount the carrier paid for those repairs.

Liberty Mutual filed suit in May 2018 to retrieve its money. Three-C filed a counterclaim alleging that the carrier owed it $55,555.71 for underpaying for repairs to 56 vehicles.

Kinsey said she never thought Three-C had much chance of collecting on those claims, but she wasnt surprised that the company went to court.

They do this a lot to insurers, she said. This is the way they make their money. I think for them its better to roll the dice and see where the case goes. Ive never seen them back away from a fight.

For the past three years, Columbus attorney Charley Hess has been fighting Three-Cs court battles. He said Thursday that his client had not yet decided whether to appeal the Court of Appeals decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. He said he did try to take the two losses against Nationwide to the Supreme Court, but the justices refused to review the appellate court decisions.

Hess said he and his clients havent given up fighting underpayments by insurers even if the latest case isnt appealed.

He said Three-C has invested heavily in scanning equipment that automobile manufacturers insist be used or they wont honor vehicle warranties. Insurers wont pay repair bills that support the use of that expensive equipment. As long as carriers underpay, policyholders end up picking up the cost, he said.

The unjust enrichment argument didnt fly in the case against Liberty Mutual, but Hess said there are still other circumstances where the argument may prove persuasive, and his clients intend to continue litigating until the courts provide some forum where body shops arguments that insurers are paying unfair rates can be heard.

Theyve been doing this for 20 to 30 years, Hess said. They really want to make some inroads, not only for themselves, but for the customers.
Russia Calls Prague Poison Plot 'Fabrications' As Spy Drama Deepens

April 30, 2020

Russia's foreign minister has dismissed claims a Russian agent was sent to Prague to poison its mayor and two other city officials as "fabrications," in the highest-level denial yet on an issue that is straining ties between the two countries.

Respekt, a Czech investigative weekly, published a report on April 26 quoting unnamed security sources as saying that a suspected Russian intelligence officer traveling on a diplomatic passport had arrived recently in Prague carrying the deadly toxin ricin as part of an alleged poisoning plot.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said April 30 that it was "unthinkable" Czech authorities would identify the man carrying poison and let him in the country.

"They found a deadly poison and let him into the country?" he said at a briefing. "Would any sound person believe in these fabrications?"

Moscow, suspected in the 2018 poisoning in Britain of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent, earlier this week dismissed the alleged poisoning plot against the three Czechs as part of a "disinformation campaign" aimed at discrediting Russia and threatened "serious consequences" to Czech-Russian relations.

The Czech counterintelligence service, BIS, has previously issued reports warning of the threat posed by Russian spies using diplomatic cover at the Russian Embassy in Prague to carry out espionage activity.

Upon arrival the suspected intelligence agent was driven to the Russian Embassy, according to Respekt.

The weekly said the Russian national entered the country with a suitcase containing the toxin ricin around 3 1/2 weeks ago. That suitcase or any diplomatic envelope could have escaped customs inspection as per diplomatic protocol.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis on April 28 said the Czech Republic was a "sovereign state" that would not tolerate "any world power" trying to interfere in its internal affairs.

"It's not acceptable -- if it's true -- for a foreign state to take action against our citizens here," Babis said.

Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek is reported to have warned Aleksandr Zmeyevsky, Russia's ambassador in the Czech Republic, of repercussions if anything happens to the three Czech officials.

Police Protection

All three have taken or supported actions that have angered the Kremlin, including the renaming of the square in front of the Russian Embassy after a slain former Kremlin critic and the removal of a statue of a Soviet-era general. As possible payback, Moscow is suspected of having a role in a recent wave of cyberattacks in the Czech Republic.

The Prague officials have all confirmed they have been given around-the-clock police protection.

One of them, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib, told RFE/RL on April 30 that he can't comment on details surrounding the police protection.

But Hrib said around a month ago, he had filed a criminal complaint after noticing "I had been followed near my home."

Ondrej Kolar, the Prague 6 district mayor who is also in hiding, told Prima TV on April 28 that he was restricted from disclosing details about the case, which also involves Pavel Novotny, another Prague district mayor.

"I can really only tell you that I have police protection. It was ordered on the basis of certain facts and those facts are that there is a Russian here who was given an assignment to liquidate me," Kolar said. 'Not only me, but Mr. Hrib and Mr. Novotny."

Kolar was criticized by the Kremlin after his district on April 3 removed the statue of Marshal Ivan Konev, who led the Red Army forces during World War II that drove Nazi troops from most of Czechoslovakia. Moscow called the statue's removal an insult and an attempt to rewrite history. Days later several masked attackers threw smoke bombs at the Czech Embassy in Moscow and placed a banner saying Stop Fascism on the compound's fence.

Commenting on the statue on April 30, Lavrov said its removal violated a 1993 friendship treaty that obliges the Czech Republic to protect memorials to Russian World War II heroes.

Kolar previously said the statue would be moved to a new museum.

Novotny irritated the Kremlin after proposing to erect a monument to a controversial World War II military division called the Vlasov Army made up of Soviet defectors that fought alongside the Nazis but turned against them in the final days of the war and helped liberate Prague.

Novotny told RFE/RL on April 28 that he was under police protection but also said he was under restrictions when speaking about the case.

Asked whether he found the ricin poisoning plot credible, Novotny didn't hesitate.

"Are [the Russians] capable of something like that?" he asked. "Definitely."

Relations between Prague and Moscow also soured over a Czech decision to rename the square where the Russian Embassy is located, a decision backed by Hrib.

Two months ago, Prague officials dedicated the leafy square in front of the embassy complex to former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was fatally shot in Moscow in February 2015.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-calls -prague-poison-plot-fabrications-as-spy- drama-deepens/30586173.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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As we experience the COVID-19 pandemic, the infamous flu pandemic of 1918-1919 comes to mind. Though erroneously called the Spanish Flu, it did not originate in Spain. World War I was raging and the movement of hundreds and thousands of U.S. soldiers promoted the spread globally, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC said the first outbreak of flu in the U.S. was in March 1918, when more than 100 cases were reported at Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas. There were three distinct waves  the spring of 1918, the fall of 1918, when the pandemic peaked, and the winter of 1918 and spring 1919. The CDC said the pandemic had ended by summer 1919.

An estimated 500 million people were infected  one-third of the worlds population  and 50 million people died throughout the world. In the U.S., the death toll was 675,000.

Regarding the current COVID-19 pandemic, as of the end of April, 3.03 million people were infected worldwide and 208,768 had died, according to the New York Times. In the United States, the CDC numbers show just slightly more than 1 million cases, with 57,812 deaths. California had 45,244 confirmed cases with 1,798 deaths. Napa County had 66 confirmed cases, with two deaths.

Talking about the 1918-19 epidemic, the CDC states, With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.

In Napa County, the first person to die from the flu was Hollis Pickle on Oct. 25, 1918; the last person was Lawrence Angwin, eldest son of Edwin Angwin, for whom the town of Angwin is named, who died on Jan. 31, 1919.

What was life in St. Helena like during 1918-19 when this H1N1 pandemic was widespread? From the pages of the St. Helena Star we see eerie parallels to 2020.

Second wave, fall 1918

Sept. 19  Spanish flu hit 25 army camps over the country. Surgeon General says total cases are now 30,211.

Oct. 18  The US Health Service distributed an official health bulletin throughout the country to newspapers in every community. It was known that the disease was spread by droplets from an infected person. It is very important that everyone who becomes sick should go home at once and go to bed! Everyone caring for the patient must wear a mask.

Oct. 25  Campaign meetings for the fall election were called off, but candidates will still make handshaking tours. This was especially troublesome to local candidate for state senate Theodore Bell as the challenger. The Rutherford Grange canceled their meeting. Influenza masks are being worn by clerks in the stores and many residents. It has been suggested that ladies refrain from calling (visiting friends) during the period of the Spanish Influenza. Meeting of the community council has been canceled. Hollis Pickle of Napa, age 20, was the first person in Napa County to die.

The card party by the Native Daughters was postponed due to the flu. Health officer Powers ordered all churches to be closed until further notice. Due notice will be given when services may be resumed. Presbyterian Church will not have a service or Sunday school (for children). Henry Hillman of Napa, age 16, died at home of the flu  he was the second victim in Napa. Chaney Johnson is running for constable in the election. He cannot campaign but asks for your vote. Mr. Bayless of Pope Street came home from his job at Mare Island sick with the flu. He is very ill. Five or six new cases have developed and the Board of Health has ordered all schools, churches, library and the moving picture theater closed until further notice. The local branch of the Red Cross needs volunteer nurses in case the Spanish Influenza becomes epidemic in St. Helena and vicinity. At present there are only a few cases in town.

Gauze masks required

On Nov. 1  Mayor E.P. Bellani issued the following notice: I, E.P. Bellani, president of the board of trustees of the town of St. Helena, in accordance with the law and under the direction of the State Board of Health, do hereby declare that the epidemic of Spanish Influenza exists in the town of St. Helena. Until further notice every person, while serving the general public in stores and other places where the public is served, and every person using a public conveyance or common carrier within the corporate limits of St. Helena, shall wear at all times, until further notice, a gauze mask made of at least three thicknesses of surgeons gauze of regulation dimensions, so that the mouth and lower half of the nose shall be covered. Witness my hand on this 31st day of Oct. 1918.

Also on Nov. 1  Smiths and Arighis Drug Stores (now Vasconis) placed an ad stating they will be open evenings as usual until further notice. Supervisor John McCormick states that he will not go house to house to campaign for re-election to District 3 due to the epidemic, but asks for votes. Spring Valley Farm Center meeting on Nov. 1 was postponed to Dec. 6 due to the flu. Walter Martini, owner of the William Tell Hotel on Spring Street, is home with the flu. District Attorney elect Clarence Riggins is home with the flu. Anita Paulson is at home on Pope Street from her teaching job in Sacramento as schools were closed. The Farm Advisors meetings are canceled due to the flu until further notice, says H.J. Baade.

Nov. 15  The first wave of the flu showed a marked decrease in California. Church services at the Presbyterian Church resumed on Nov. 25. Soon after wearing masks was not required in Napa.

Third wave begins

Dec. 20  Doctors were again very busy due to the flu. Presbyterian Church closed for two weeks until Jan. 5 due to the resurgence of the flu. A lecture at the Liberty (Cameo) Theater by a returning World War I soldier was held, but attendees were asked to wear their masks.

Dec 26.  Ernest Fromme, married to the Callizos daughter, died of the flu.

Dec. 27  US Health Service issued another health warning. With subsidence of the epidemic of influenza the attention of health officers is directed to pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases, which regularly cause a large number of deaths during the winter season. The bulletin explains that the worst of the epidemic is over, but people must take the danger seriously. Prevention includes right living, good food and plenty of fresh air.

Dec. 27  An article explained why the mask ordinance is enforced in St. Helena, but not in San Francisco, Oakland or Sacramento. Masks are only necessary in badly congested places. In San Francisco there are few people on the streets. But in St. Helena, our thoroughfares are thronged from early morning until late at night. People have to step lively to keep from bumping into each other. The article goes on to explain that our churches and theaters are always full and that is why masks must be worn.

Third wave continues

Jan. 3, 1919  The flu season seems to have spent its force in St. Helena, the last new cases reported being Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Corbella. All patients seem to be making a rapid recovery and only a few are confined to their homes. Alex Hull, health officer of the city of Napa, died at home of the flu. John Hauser, who was from St. Helena, died in Martinez of the flu. He was in the undertaking business and been so busy for weeks that he got little rest. He was 37 years old. Mary Varozza, 31 years old and mother of three, died of the flu at home. Born in St. Helena to Battista & Liberata Maggetti, she was the wife of Joseph Varozza.

Classroom instruction will not yet be permitted in St. Helena schools. The influenza situation is improving steadily and schools may re-open in a week. High school students will resume their studies at home. Teachers will report to their classrooms Jan. 6 and prepare assignments and outlines of lessons by 2:30. Students may pick them up and return them for new lessons Jan 8. Masks will be worn on the school grounds or while with other students. Schools are already two months behind in their work and this plan will help get the years work completed.

On Jan. 4  Mrs. A.H. March went to Vallejo to attend the funeral of her 17-month-old granddaughter, who died of the flu. The parents of the baby are also seriously ill with the flu. George Mann took care of two sick friends in Pope Valley who had the flu  George Rhoda and James Samuels. Lena Nichelini, wife of William Nichelini, died in Calistoga. On Dec. 28 she had given birth to twins. Two days before their birth she got sick with the flu. After a 10-day illness she died. Anna Warnock, aged 16, died of the flu in Napa. Earlburt Newcomb, age 31, died Jan. 1 of the flu.

Jan. 13  The state legislature in Sacramento is considering recessing for two months, beginning Saturday, on account of half a dozen members being ill with influenza. All are wearing influenza masks today.

Jan. 17  The influenza epidemic at Napa is again bad and there are a large number of people at the county seat who are very ill. Reports from the sick rooms in St. Helena are that all the patients are recovering nicely. Frank Thompson, who works at Mare Island Navy Yard, is confined to his home on Pope Street with the flu. Health officer Wynn Powers and Red Cross chairman Walter Metzner have the flu and were brought to St. Helena Sanitarium (Adventist Health St. Helena Hospital) for treatment. They are doing well. Joseph Wheeler, who works at the Sanitarium, died at home on Jan. 13 of the flu and asthma. He leaves a wife and four children. His mother died on Jan. 3 of the flu. Louise Klubescheidt, who ran the post office, was confined to her home on Oak Avenue with the flu (she recovered and went back to work).

Jan. 24  With but a few people now sick and only a few new cases in St. Helena, the situation is well in hand and the epidemic no longer exists. Several arrests were made for violations of the mask ordinance. Now that the flu enemy has been completely routed it is about time to declare an armistice in the mask regulations and handle the few cases by quarantine. D.B. Hardin thanked his neighbors for their kindness to him and his family during their flu sickness. I particularly want to thank the Red Cross and chairman Walter Metzner, for their kind attention which contributed so largely to our comfort and recovery. Health officer Powers is sick again. Mrs. Anderson, the librarian, is confined to her home with the flu.

Jan. 31  The flu restrictions ended Tuesday. No more masks were needed as of noon and all public gatherings are now allowed. Presbyterians held services with no masks needed. Both schools re-opened. Lawrence Angwin, eldest son of Edwin Angwin, for whom Angwin was named, died Jan. 27 of influenza. Edwin Angwin died on Oct. 25 and his daughter, Ethel died two days later on Oct. 27. Lawrence was born on Howell Mountain and grew up at Angwins Resort. Chapin Tubbs of Calistoga, for whom Tubbs Lane is named, has recovered from serious influenza. County auditor James Raney is back at work after the flu.

Feb. 14  Rutherford Grange was back in session. After a flu vacation of two months, the Presbyterian Ladies Missionary Society met to hear a talk by pastor C.A. Owens.

The CDC says the flu outbreak ended by the summer of 1919.

Editors Note: Because of the health implications of the COVID-19 virus, this article is being made available free to all online readers. If youd like to join us in supporting the mission of local journalism, please visit napavalleyregister.com/members/join/.

Editors note: Mariam Hansen is the research director of the St. Helena Historical Society and a freelance writer for the St. Helena Star.
TRENTON  Someone is lying or really bad at math.

Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley reported Thursday incredibly steep decreases in overall crime since the 8 p.m. curfew went into effect April 6, justifying her boss decision to enforce the mandate this month following a bloody Sunday when three people were murdered and four others wounded while the state grapples with the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, Coley claimed overall crime dropped by 60 percent for the period of April 6 to April 27 compared to the same period last year. The alleged decrease was even more dramatic for the hours after the 8 p.m. curfew, Coley suggested.

Officials didnt include a rate for violent crime. An analysis by The Trentonian, based off Trenton Polices reported crime stats, showed it wasnt anywhere close to the decreases the department reported for other crimes.

We have a 144 percent decrease in crime during those curfew hours, Coley claimed in a statement issued by the mayors office. This is progress, but not perfect.

Its hardly perfect. Its horrendously imperfect. Overall crime is actually down 41 percent from the same period last year and 51 percent for the hours after 8 p.m.

Trenton Police previously reported the same 41 percent decline in overall crime this month.

The Trentonian did the math, and also used a widely available online percent increase/decrease calculator just to ensure the accuracy of its numbers.

Mayor Reed Gusciora said his police director wasnt intentionally trying to deceive the public.

I would hope not. I had a meeting with the director, and thats what she presented. Theyre Reed Math,' Gusciora, an attorney, quipped when informed of the huge disparities. If we got a decimal wrong, or the calculator didnt work, then I will take responsibility for it. I did not put my fingers on the calculator. I became a lawyer because I didnt like the sight of blood or math.

Told of the actual numbers, Gusciora attempted to play it off: All right, well take it. Im hearing from many constituents that they sleep sounder.

According to the police department, one of the steepest drops was in the number of reported assaults.

The department claimed assaults are down 184 percent from April 6 through April 27, compared to the same time last year.

The alleged drop was even higher, 450 percent, when looking at the number of assaults reported after 8 p.m.

Reported assaults are actually down 65 percent, from last years 34 to 12 this year. And assaults after 8 p.m. are actually down only 82 percent, with 22 last year and four this year.

The drop in violent crime isnt as good, only 46 percent, according to an analysis by The Trentonian. Trenton had 48 violent crimes for the same reporting period last year compared with 26 this year.

The numbers were computed using the FBIs definition of violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Trenton Police was only reporting one killing since the curfew went in place.

Those murder stats are somewhat misleading because just one of the three gunplay victims, Quamierah Massey, 24, died after the curfew was in place.

Frederick Mason, 20 and 30-year-old Dabree Brannon were pronounced dead April 5.

The mayor announced the curfew the next day at an afternoon news conference.

Gusciora, who has faced criticism for imposing the curfew, said the city would retract and update its crime stats once it rechecked its math.

In all, Trenton has had five murders, two of them in broad daylight, since Gov. Phil Murphy imposed a stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Before Thursdays blunder, the mayor admitted it didnt feel like violent crime was down in the capital city after a series of headline-grabbing incidents.

Since the curfew has been in place, there have been several shootings, a standoff, a robbery turned rape, two other reported robberies  with one written up as a shoplifting, even though the suspect had a knife in his jacket pocket, and two arsons.

Police routinely charge robberies when there is little force involved during a shoplifting.

While Gusciora discussed possibly lifting the curfew May 1, he said he could change his mind if the carnage on city streets returned.

Hours later, almost as if on cue, the capital city had its ninth shooting since April 5.

There was also reportedly another shooting just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, sources said.

A man was taken to the hospital after he was shot in the back near Jackson and Market streets, sources said. Officers located shell casings on the scene.

A Trenton Police spokesman didnt respond to a phone call seeking comment.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Obed Boamah has commended the progress of work on the construction of an infectious disease isolation and treatment centre at the Ga East Hospital in Accra.

Work on the project, which is being sponsored by the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund, started two weeks ago with the Ghana Army providing engineering, logistical and security support, among others. It is due for completion by the end of May. When completed, the full-equipped facility will become the main treatment centre for critically ill Covid-19 patients in Ghana.

On a visit to the project site to assess the progress of work, Lt. Gen. Boamah was full of praise for the project sponsors, the contractors and their staff for working day and night to ensure the speedy delivery of the facility.

He expressed his appreciation to the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund for bringing the Ghana Armed Forces on board to be part of the history of the building of the first infectious disease isolation and treatment centre in the country.

We will like to express our appreciation for making us a part of this important project, Lt. Gen. Boamah said, adding that the project is receiving very good attention at the highest level and we are looking forward to the completion date.

The CDS was accompanied to the project site by some of the top brass of the Ghana Armed Forces including the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Frank Hanson, the Chief of Staff (COS), Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Seth Amoama and the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Thomas Oppong Peprah.

They were brief on the project by the Deputy Director of the Engineering Services (DES), Lt Col A.B. Tekyi.

Managing Trustee of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund, Senyo Hosi, expressed gratitude for the Armed Forces support for the project right from the moment the idea was conceived.

Your team has been the driving force to the success weve had so far, Mr. Hosi told the CDS. The discipline has been reflected on the project so far.

The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund is an initiative by private business people who set it up with a seed fund of One Million Ghana Cedis, while campaigning to raise at least One Hundred Million Ghana Cedis from local and international businesses as well as the general public to aid the fight against Covid-19 in Ghana. For more information on how to donate/contribute, please visit: www.ghanacovid19fund.com

Watch video here:
Trauma patients are at risk of developing multiple infections while in the hospital, but it's difficult to identify those who are especially susceptible. Now a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has found that certain scores already used to assess the severity of a trauma patient's condition can provide clues. The findings are published in PLOS ONE.

In the researchers' analysis of information on 1,665 trauma patients, five of such "disease-severity" scores--called the Denver score, the Marshall score, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, the Injury Severity Score (ISS), and the New Injury Severity Score (NISS)--were examined as predictors of susceptibility to multiple independent infectious episodes. These scores differ in the way they assess a patient's condition by measuring physiologic responses or injury patterns.

The investigators found that the Denver and Marshall scores, which are used to assess the severity of organ failure in the setting of traumatic injury, can accurately predict susceptibility to multiple independent infections after trauma, even when the scores are determined much earlier than any clinical sign of infection.

"Our findings could potentially facilitate clinical decision-making by identifying patients who are at higher risk of suffering multiple infections during their hospital stay," said senior author Laurence G. Rahme, PhD, Director of the MGH Molecular Surgical Laboratory, Professor of Surgery and Microbiology at Harvard Medical School, and senior scientific staff at Shriners Hospital for Children.

"Early prognosis, before infections occur, could strategically guide the timing and duration of antibiotic administration to these patients," says Rahme, who is also an MGH Research Scholar 2020-2025. "It would also allow physicians to implement prophylactic measures, enhance patient nutrition, and formulate potent personalized treatment plans for this group of patients, thus protecting those at higher risk of repeated infections during their recovery period."

Dr. Rahme added that such personalized treatment plans could be cost-saving because they would limit interventions to only those patients most likely to develop infections, and they would help clinicians prevent hospital-acquired infections that can lead to prolonged hospital stays and the need for additional care.

###

Funding: The investigators acknowledge the contribution of the Inflammation and the Host Response to Injury Large-Scale Collaborative Project Award 5U54GM062119 to RGT from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Shriners Hospitals Grant #71008 to LGR. MA was supported by the Shriners Hospitals Research Fellowship #84313. AT was supported by the Shriners Hospitals Research Fellowship #84293.
Hi #ParksAndRec fans. In a little over 16 hours, you have donated $2.8 million to food banks across America. This is wonderful. Thank you.



Donations open until May 21 at https://t.co/Hainxlbhpu. The Special is available for viewing on Hulu, Peacock, and other platforms.  Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) May 1, 2020

Last night, fans we're able to return to Pawnee, Indiana for the first time in over 5 years as the show aired a reunion special to raise funds for Feeding America's Covid-19's response fund.The episode earned a 1.4 nielsen rating, making it the most viewed network show of the night.State Farm, Subaru of America, NBCUniversal and the "Parks and Recreation" writers/producers/cast are matching donations made through May 21. All together, they will give up to $500,000 in matching donations. As of 16 hours after the episode aired, fans had donated 2.8 million dollars.source [ 1 ] [ 2
News Release: NREL Helps Found Consortium to Boost Solar Perovskite Commercialization

April 29, 2020

Working with leading domestic solar companies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds at the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Toledo have formed the U.S. Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium (US-MAP), which will work to accelerate commercialization of perovskite technologies.

Perovskite solar cells are a type of thin-film solar cell that have proven to be highly efficient at harnessing sunlight to generate electricity. Perovskites have shown tremendous promise in a range of other technologies, including solid-state lighting, advanced radiation detection, dynamic sensing and actuation, photo-catalysis, and quantum information science. Early investments by the U.S. Department of Energys Solar Energy Technologies Office and its Office of Science into perovskite research have enabled the United States to engage at the forefront of many of these technology areas and fostered a vibrant community of domestic industrial leaders.

Perovskites have the potential to become a game-changer for solar and many other fields, said Martin Keller, director of NREL. By combining our research efforts, this new consortium will bring this technology to market sooner than if we were all operating alone.

While perovskite cells have shown promise in the lab, more work remains to be done to ensure that the technology is ready for commercial success. Manufacturing, durability, and sustainability remain challenges and will be the consortiums research focus. Members of US-MAP will share research and development, validation, and pilot manufacturing, which will reduce development costs and technology risks for potential investors.

US-MAP has six major U.S.-based industry players as founding members: BlueDot Photonics, Energy Materials Corporation, First Solar, Hunt Perovskites Technologies, Swift Solar, and Tandem PV. Representatives from each of these companies, as well as new U.S. startups and other established companies, will form an industry advisory board that will inform and guide the efforts performed at the research institutions. The founding organizers (NREL, Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the University of Toledo) will form the executive board that will oversee delivery on projects.

The organizers and members of US-MAP have already begun expanding this network to include the University of Colorado at Boulder and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The founding organizers of the US-MAP consortium will explore funding from a variety of sources including industrial members and the federal government. Leadership of the consortium will be provided at NREL by Joseph J. Berry and Jao van de Lagemaat, who will work with the key points of contact of the other founding organizers and industrial advisory board.

Forming this collective will enable innovation in the U.S. that will strengthen our position in these important materials and associated technologies, said Berry, the consortium director, senior scientist, and perovskite team lead for NREL.

For more information about US-MAP, visit www.nrel.gov/research/us-map.html.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
A series of documents obtained by The Oregonian/Oregonlive provide a peek into how Gov. Kate Browns office is formulating plans for a first phase of reopening certain sectors of the states economy.

Oregon businesses have largely been closed since Brown issued a stay-home order on March 23. State officials have said Oregon cant remain closed forever, so they are forging a strategy so to help prevent the virus from surging as businesses restore hours and services.

The draft plans, which have already undergone many revisions and may go through more, show general guidance for Oregon employers and for the public, as well as specific guidance for certain sectors including restaurants and bars, retail stores and malls, and childcare/early education centers. Plans for transit, personal services and outdoor recreation are also being created.

Last week, Brown rolled out details of her Reopening Oregon framework, which will eventually include specific plans for testing and contact tracing, among other things. Brown also formed subcommittees to focus on details for reopening restaurants, retail, personal services, child care, transit and outdoor recreation.

The various plans for those subcommittees are being shared with leaders from the various sectors and lawmakers as the governors staff seeks feedback to finalize plans. Its unclear where in the process these draft documents are.

Read the draft plan for restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, wineries and tasting rooms:

State officials hope to finalize the Reopening Oregon framework during the week of May 4, including specific guidelines for various businesses and geographic regions as part of a three-phase plan.

Easing restrictions in place since March would be contingent on seeing declines in identified coronavirus cases and increasing the states capacity to test people and trace their contacts, among other things. Modeling suggests Oregon may not be able to reopen parts of its economy until late May at the earliest.

Gado Gado's empty dining room.Dave Killen

A take-out order is ready Laughing Planet in Southwest Portland on Thursday, March 19, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has forced many restaurants to shift to take-out and delivery orders only. Sean Meagher/Staff

Oregon restaurants and bars must prohibit the use of pool tables, karaoke machines and bowling lanes during the first phase of reopening the state.Neil Blake | MLive.com

A server wears a face mask in a Hot Pot Chinese restaurant in London. Oregon's restaurants and bars may be asked to encourage their employees to wear face masks as part of the first phase of reopening. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)AP

Oregon Lottery machines remain off during Gov. Kate Brown's stay-home order.Beth Nakamura/Staff (file)

Read more:

How could Oregon reopen amid coronavirus? Read details from a draft report the governors office didnt want shared.

Oregonians have died at rate well above average since mid-March, but tie to COVID-19 unclear, state data show

Coronavirus testing rises sharply in Oregon as capacity expands, guidance loosened

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
A controversial mosaic featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be displayed inside a new cathedral dedicated to the nations armed forces after the Kremlin leader reportedly expressed opposition to the idea.

Recently leaked photos of work on the massive Resurrection of Christ Cathedral -- which is scheduled to open outside Moscow ahead of the May 9 holiday that celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II -- showed a partially completed mosaic featuring Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, General Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, and several other Russian officials.

Russian media reported on May 1 that the image of Putin was taken down, citing officials of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Russian leaders spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on April 26 that Putin was aware of the mosaic but felt it was early to evaluate his work with such a depiction.

In the workshop where it was being made, they are now redoing it, Russian Orthodox Bishop Stefan of Klin told TASS.

The mosaic featuring Putin is not the only controversial aspect of the cathedral, which is located in Patriot Park some 60 kilometers outside Moscow.

A World War II mosaic depicts a banner of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin, who is responsible for the deaths of millions of citizens as well as the closure or demolition of hundreds of churches across the country.

Another mosaic depicts scenes of Russias 2014 forcible annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, which triggered Western condemnation and sanctions.

The church was supposed to be paid for entirely through donations, but according to Russian reports almost 3 billion rubles (about $40 million) came from the Kremlin's budget for the project.

The cathedral was set to open on May 6 as part of a grand celebration to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

With reporting by Kommersant, TASS, and AFP
Australia has stepped into an international minefield by demanding an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. Its reasonable request has suited the "blame China" game being played by the White House (as an early theme of Donald Trumps re-election campaign) and has infuriated China  its officials have taken to "wolf diplomacy", threatening trade and tourism reprisals.

Firefighters conduct disinfection on the platform at a railway station before Wuhan's transport networks reopened in March. Credit:AP

The British and German ambassadors to the United Nations have cautiously agreed but pointed out that now is not the right time.

How did Scott Morrison come to be seen as a "Trumps patsy" and is it still possible to put a much-needed expert fact-finding mission in place?

The importance of such an exercise, for the worlds future, can hardly be questioned. There have been several lethal viruses already associated with wet markets and exotic animal trading in China, and there are questions (to which China may have good answers) as to whether it complied with the International Health Regulations about timely sharing of information.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she is reluctant to send children back to school over fears she would be blamed if students were to get sick.

In a leaked audio recording obtained by the Courier-Mail, the state premier was heard telling members of her government she 'can't just turn the switch on' despite Scott Morrison's advice.

'I just have to stress to everyone, we cannot rush this, we have to take our time because if there is an outbreak in a school, I'll tell you one thing, they're not going to be blaming Scott Morrison,' she said on Wednesday.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk admitted she was hesitant to send children back to school despite Scott Morrison's advice

Queensland, along with other states, switched to remote learning last month in a bid to protect students and teachers from coronavirus

'They'll be blaming the State Government, they'll be blaming myself and (Education) Minister Grace Grace'.

Ms Palaszczuk's comments were in response to a question during a town hall-style telephone meeting where she was asked why the prime minister was behind the decision to reopen schools, instead of health authorities or school principals.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the state premier's office for comment.

Return to schools state-by-state Victoria and Tasmania: Parents continue to be encouraged to keep their children at home if possible. New South Wales: Students will have a slow return to classrooms from May 11 Western Australia: WA has made a 'soft start' to schooling with year 11 and 12 students strongly encouraged to attend in person. South Australia: The school term resumed as normal on Tuesday but the premier estimated just under two-thirds of students attended. Advertisement

Queensland schools switched to remote learning late last month as part of a number of coronavirus safety measures taken by the state. Ms Palaszczuk planned to revisit the issue by May 15 to re-assess when on-site classes will resume.

While most states and territories have followed suit in switching to homeschooling during the pandemic, Scott Morrison has long maintained schools were a safe place for students and said they would remain open.

Earlier this week, he urged states to reopen schools on advice from Australia's top health adviser following the country's success in flattening the COVID-19 infection curve.

The decision of when to send children back to the classroom has since become a topic of contention across the states, as some fear cold be too soon to do so.

In the audio recording, Ms Palaszczuk said state officials were working to create a detailed 'COVID safe plan' for teachers that would include social distancing measures at schools before they reopen.

'And of course our children, so we need to make sure we've got all these plans in place and what I see is a gradual return to normality,' she added.

'We can't just turn the switch on and have everyone back without having a COVID safe environment.'

Ms Palaszczuk made similar comments at a Parliament meeting last week saying she was looking to take a gradual approach on the issue.

'Let me say to those opposite and to anyone who wants to rush this: do it at your own peril. All we need is an outbreak in a school and I will tell the House who those opposite will be in here blaming,' she said.

'They will be blaming me and they will be blaming the education minister. That is why we will take this one step at a time. Our cases and our figures are coming down, which means restrictions may be able to be eased in the future.

'We will get this right in the best interests of the people of this state. It is negligent of the opposition to be saying otherwise during these really critical times.'

On Friday, Queensland again had no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as the state eagerly awaits the easing of lockdown restrictions this weekend.

Eleven people remain in hospital with four being treated in intensive care.

Queensland's tally remains at 1,033 confirmed cases from more than 108,000 tests.

Six Queenslanders have died from coronavirus and 943 patients have recovered.

The announcement is welcome news ahead of plans to lift some restrictions this weekend, allowing people to travel further and go shopping for clothes and shoes as long as they practise social distancing.

Ms Palaszczuk said state officials were working to create a detailed 'COVID safe plan' for teachers before reopening schools. Pictured: Students being homeschooled in Brisbane




The top military brass on Friday said the armed forces were ready to play their role in evacuation of thousands of Indians stranded in the Gulf and other regions as a sizeable number of aircraft and naval ships have been put on stand-by for the mission.

The government is working on a mega plan to evacuate the Indians stranded in various parts of the world due to the coronavirus lockdown.

"We will extend whatever support is required," Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat said addressing a press conference along with the three service chiefs.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said a fleet of transport aircraft is on stand-by and his force will undertake any task whenever assigned to it by the government.

Officials said the IAF has kept around 30 aircraft ready for the evacuation mission. The IAF has already brought back hundreds of people from China and Iran.

It has also been playing a key role in transporting medical supplies to various parts of the country as well as to several friendly nations in the past several weeks.

Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the Navy is also ready to play its role in evacuation of stranded Indians.

"Our ships are ready. We are fully ready," he said.

The government has already reached out to several states asking them to make necessary arrangements for the Indians when they are brought back home under the multi-agency operation.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has conveyed to the core group planning the operation that it is ready to make available majority of the nearly 650 commercial planes including freighters for the mission, sources said.

The evacuation mission is likely to be the biggest after the 'Operation Raahat' when India brought back over 6,700 people, including citizens from 41 countries, from strife-torn Yemen in 2015.

The Navy has identified the INS Jalashwa, an amphibious ship, and two other landing ship tanks for the operation.

The INS Jalashwa, capable of carrying out amphibious operations as well as search and rescue missions, can transport over 1,000 people. Indian naval ships Mumbai, Tarkash and Sumitra were part of the 'Operation Raahat'.

The sources said the priority will be to evacuate the Indians from the Gulf nation following which the government will try to bring back those stranded in Europe and other parts of the globe.

It is not immediately clear how many Indians the government plans to bring back home. As a matter of policy, New Delhi decided not to bring back the stranded Indians from abroad till the nationwide lockdown ends.

Around eight million Indians are living in the Gulf countries and there has been growing anxiety among them over their livelihood in view of the pandemic as it has majorly impacted the oil-driven economy of the region. Some of the Indians in the Gulf want to return home.

It is learnt that Indian missions in the region have been told to identify people who wants to return home.

Almost all Gulf countries have taken a series of drastic measures including imposing total lockdown, travel restrictions and even closing borders to stem the spread of the coronavirus infection.

In a video-conference with chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said evacuation of Indians has to be done keeping in mind the fact that they don't get inconvenienced and their families are not under any risk.

Over the last few weeks, Modi has been holding consultations with leaders of several Gulf nations, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with whom he spoke on March 17 to discuss the COVID-19 situation.

Modi has also spoken to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Bahraini King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa.

During these discussions, one of the primary issues raised by Prime Minister Modi was the well-being of the Indian diaspora in these nations, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry is even more of a critical asset than it is normally. With so little known about COVID-19 and the large pool of potential victims (i.e. the entire global population), healthcare facilities are vital to preventing fatalities. Similarly, medical research and development labs are necessary for the efforts to create a vaccine, test it, and mass-produce to vaccinate the general population.

Despite this vital role that the healthcare industry plays at this time, they have been targeted by numerous cyberattacks. These range from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to ransomware to attempted data theft. As a result, healthcare organizations, more than ever, must deploy defensive cybersecurity solutions, such as DDoS protection.

Healthcare Targeted During COVID-19 Response Efforts

In the best of times, healthcare organizations have weak cybersecurity. A number of factors contribute to this, including the growing use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in healthcare and a failure to properly secure repositories of sensitive patient data that are digitized in compliance with HIPAA and HITECH.

This generally weak security makes healthcare a common target of cybercriminals, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting of healthcare with cyberattacks has only increased. INTERPOL has warned member states that they have detected a rise in cyberattacks targeting healthcare providers. Cybercriminals have also targeted organizations like the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with DDoS attacks.

The reason for this spike in healthcare-focused attacks is believed to be the cybercriminals' desire to maximize their profits during the global COVID-19 crisis. During the pandemic, healthcare providers are stretched to the breaking point attempting to provide necessary care, making them easier for cybercriminals to trick, and the number of patient records being processed by these organizations has grown suddenly, making security oversights more common and impactful.

However, direct cyberattacks are not the only source of strain upon these organizations related to COVID-19. During the pandemic, COVID-19 has become a favorite pretext of cybercriminals performing phishing attacks against organizations and individuals. These attacks often imitate the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and pretend to provide useful advice. As a result, these organizations must take extra steps to warn people about these attacks and deal with the confusion caused by them.

Cybercriminals Say No More

The importance of healthcare organizations in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has not been overlooked by cybercriminals. In fact, many cybercrime groups publicly declared early in the crisis that they would cease attacks against healthcare providers until the crisis was over.

In some cases, these groups followed through with this promise. For example, one cybercrime group operating ransomware offered free decryption keys for any healthcare organization accidentally affected by their malware. While this does help these organizations recover quickly from the accidental attacks, it does not completely remove any impacts of them as restoring systems can be expensive. Additionally, in many cases, organizations lose data when restoring files encrypted by ransomware due to flaws in the decryption software.

But Many of Them Didn't Mean It

While some cybercrime organizations have made a "good faith" effort to stand by their word to leave healthcare providers alone during COVID-19, many have not. The Maze ransomware group was one of the most visible cybercrime groups to agree not to target healthcare organizations. However, they also rapidly broke that promise with an attack against Hammersmith Medicines Research.

Hammersmith Medicines Research is a UK-based medical testing lab standing by to test a possible COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available (they previously participated in testing of the Ebola vaccine). While they are not involved in the development of the various vaccine candidates, they must be standing by and prepared to begin testing when one is ready in order to minimize the time until a vaccine is available (and the fatalities associated with COVID-19).

Hammersmith Medicines Research was attacked by the Maze ransomware and elected not to pay the ransom. As a result, their systems were offline for a significant period of time, potentially delaying testing of the COVID-19 vaccine.

To make things worse, Maze is one of the ransomware variants that has begun posting or selling stolen data online to incentivize their victims to pay the demanded ransom. They have already published some of their stolen data, demonstrating that they had no intention of abiding by their "hands off" policy toward medical organizations during the COVID-19 crisis.

The medical lab declared that they had no intention of paying the ransom, even if the cybercriminals forced them out of business. This is in-line with acknowledged best practice since paying the Maze group would only enable them to attack additional targets.

Protecting Against Cybercrime In a Time of Crisis

COVID-19 is a global crisis, and many organizations have banded together to ensure that critical services, such as healthcare, remain operating at this time. While ransomware authors, and other cybercriminals, may have made promises not to target healthcare during this crisis, the lure of potential profit is often too strong.

During COVID-19, and any crisis, cybercriminals tend to target critical services, reasoning that desperation will make them more likely to pay up. This makes it even more vital for these organizations to have defenses in place to protect themselves against attack, decreasing the strain on security staff forced to detect and remediate successful attacks. With the COVID-19 pandemic unlikely to stop any time soon, deploying security solutions such as DDoS protection and anti-ransomware solutions is a good strategic investment.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As airline giants easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways remain grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic, the industry's future looks bleak.

But one budget carrier is now allowing passengers to nip back and forth from eastern European cities for as little as 26.

Wizz Air flyers were able to take to the skies from today but had to don a facemask, sit two metres away from each other and forget about the prospect of in-flight food.

The low-cost Hungarian company is the first to restart commercial routes from the UK to European destinations including Portugal, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

The Mangusher family, Dad Gergi (left), his wife Nina and their sons Kristian, 18 (right), and Stivan, 11, (second on the left), boarded the flight to visit their family in Bulgaria

Travellers were seen wearing masks outside the airport terminal as three flights arrived and departed from Luton today

The airline carrier introduced new hygiene measures, such as passengers and crew wearing face masks to combat the spread of the virus

One passengers was seen on board the plane arriving from Sofia this morning with a face mask on

Wizz Air was set up by Hungarian businessman Jozsef Varadi in 2003 to try to make flying accessible for more people.

Where Wizz Air planes were flying to from the UK on Friday: London Luton 7.50am: Sofia, Bulgaria 10.50am: Budapest, Hungary 1.35pm: Sofia, Bulgaria 6.30pm: Lisbon, Portugal 8.35pm: Budapest, Hungary 9.45pm: Sofia, Bulgaria Gatwick 9pm: Cluj-Napoca, Romania Advertisement

Since then the family-run firm, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has snowballed and last year carried a staggering 34million passengers.

Like other carriers its planes had been grounded by the rampaging coronavirus, but it is the first to return its aircraft to the skies.

Wizz Air reopened its base at Luton airport this morning, with flights to Sofia, Bulgaria, at 7.50am, 1.35pm and 9.45pm.

There were other planes going to to Budapest at 10.50am and 8.35pm as well as to Lisbon at 6.30pm, according to data from Flightradar24.

A solitary flight was due to leave Gatwick Airport for Cluj-Napoca in Romania at 9pm.

Arrivals on the Bedfordshire runway included planes from Sofia at 7.20am, 12.55pm and 9.05pm, as well as from Budapest at 7.55pm, bringing mainly seasonal workers destined for fruit and vegetable farms.

Wizz Air also plans to resume services to and from Tenerife and Tel Aviv, Israel, in the coming weeks, pending travel restrictions.

Passengers board the Wizz Air flight to Sofia in Bulgaria at London Luton Airport on Friday lunchtime after the airline resumed flights today

Wizz Air introduced other hygiene measures which require passengers to space out for social distancing during boarding and implemented an enhanced cleaning regime

The airline resumed services to Budapest, Lisbon and Sofia today and plans to restart flights to Slovakia, Serbia, and Israel in the coming weeks

The South Terminal at Gatwick was deserted on Friday night as flights were grounded due to Covid-19 restrictions

Not a passenger was in sight at Gatwick Airport on Friday evening despite some flights taking off

One passengers wears a full hazmat suit while another dons a face mask at Heathrow Airport in London

At least one person arriving at Luton from Sofia could be seen through the plane's window wearing a face mask after airline bosses brought in strict new hygiene measures.

These also included a new safety video to try to prevent the deadly bug spreading.

And passengers were required to space out for social distancing during boarding while a stringent daily cleaning schedule sees entire aircraft disinfected overnight.

Contactless payment methods are being encouraged if passengers buy anything while on flights.

How the man behind Wizz Air went from humble beginnings to being one of Hungary's richest men Jozsef Varadi's family struggled to survive during his childhood in Debrecen, Hungary. His father took part in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and was jailed for his involvement. Now Varadi is the 34th richest man in Hungary with a wealth of 33.5billion forints, equivalent to more than 82million pounds. At 18 he moved to Budapest and won a degree in economics from Budapest University of Economic Sciences before going on to become a Master of Law at the University of London in 2014. The airline's chief executive Jozsef Varadi, pictured, said he hoped to have 70 per cent of services back between July and August He worked for Procter & Gamble for ten years, rising through the ranks to sales director for Central and Eastern Europe. In 1999 he took up the role of CEO at the Hungarian state-owned airline Malev Hungarian Airlines and left in 2003 when he started up Wizz Air. The group aimed to make flying affordable for everyone and after three months of planning Wizz Air was a registered company ready to fly. Less than a year later, in May 2004, the first Wizz Air flight took off from Katowice, Poland, to London Luton Airport, 19 days after Hungary and Poland joined the European Union. In the first year more than 1.4 million customers flew with the airline with that figure rising to five million within in two years. In its fourth year of business it had flown ten million passengers to various destinations. More than 34million passengers were carried in 2019. Today the airline has 120 Airbus A320s in its fleet which fly to 154 airports and across 710 different routes. The UK's arm of Wizz Air opened at London Luton Airport in 2017 and is run by managing director Owain Jones. In 2019 the company were named the greenest airline in Europe, with the smallest environmental footprint per passenger, and in early 2020 it was hailed as the best low-cost airline by Airlineratings. The businessman is married to Kinga Bota, a world champion and Olympic silver medalist in kayaking. Advertisement

Current UK Government advice is for Britons to avoid all non-essential global travel indefinitely, but people are able to fly for other reasons such as to return home after being stranded overseas or if they are travelling for work.

Despite the guidance, the airline said it was important to get the infrastructure operating and there are people across Europe who need to travel for work.

It added it does not expect flights to be full, which will enable passengers and crew it to maintain social distancing on board.

In the morning the Mangusher family turned up to catch a flight to Sofia to visit grandparents and catch up with other family members in their native Bulgaria.

The family of four, who live in the UK, said they were excited at the prospect of visiting their family for the short break.

Gergi, his wife Nina and their sons Kristian, 18, and Stivan, 11, were all wearing face masks for the 1.35pm flight.

Businessman Slavey Slavchev also arrived at the airport for the flight because he needed to sign important business papers but said that would only happen after he had spent a period in quarantine.

He said: 'I have a number of farms both here in the UK and back home in Bulgaria and not being able to fly over the last few weeks has been a problem.'

Travellers making their way out of the terminal at Luton said the plane had not been full so they were able to sit with plenty of space between themselves and their fellow flyers.

Some of those arriving said they had come to the UK for the summer and had jobs picking fruit and vegetables of farms.

Sylvia Gaorgieva said she was making her way from the airport to a farm in Kent where she would be working as a picker.

At the airport the carparks and normally bustling walkways were empty as across Europe air traffic is reported to be down by about 90 per cent according to global body IATA.

But a spokeswoman for Wizz Air said the load factor on the flights today was on average well above 50 per cent and as high as 80 per cent on some flights.

Wizz Air's UK managing director Owain Jones said: 'As we restart selected Luton flights to provide an essential service to passengers who need to travel, our primary concern is the health, safety and well-being of our customers and crew.

'The protective measures that we are implementing will ensure the most sanitary conditions possible.

'We encourage our customers to watch our new video on how to stay safe when travelling, as well as for more details on our new health and safety measures.'

According to the company's chief executive Jozsef Varadi, the airline will run 10 per cent of its services during May and hopes to have 70 per cent of its jets in the air by August.

Mr Varadi told the FT: 'Whatever crisis we look back on in history, one conclusion you can certainly make is peoples' memories tend to be very short. While today looks like a huge concern, a life changing moment, in a year or two nobody remembers.'

A statement issued by the airport today said 'Today Wizz Air resumed three routes from London Luton Airport, all of which are subject to travel restrictions imposed by their local governments.

'In the case of both Hungary and Bulgaria, only citizens of those countries are permitted entry.

'The safety of our passengers and staff is our top priority and we continue to rigorously implement all Government guidance.

'This includes deep cleaning, the installation of sanitiser across the airport and floor markings and signage to remind customers to maintain a safe distance. We are also displaying the latest public health guidance throughout the terminal.

Passengers arrive at Luton Airport today after the carrier resumed flights to destinations including Spain, Portugal and Hungary

Travellers arriving at Luton today. Wizz Air's new safety measures include compulsory masks for passenger and crew as well as strict social distancing

'Air links for both passengers and freight have been recognised as essential services and the Government has asked airports to remain open where possible to ensure they can continue.

'The decision to operate individual routes is a matter for each airline. As well as adhering to travel restrictions in the country of travel passengers also need to follow those imposed in the UK.'

Despite research by Bank of America showing Wizz Air has a substantial cash reserve which could pay the customer refunds three times over, the company has said it will not be issuing any.

Passengers will not be able to cancel their flight even if the country they are due to be flying to won't let them in.

Those who have their flight cancelled will get 120 per cent off the price of the flight in the form of vouchers which can be used in the next two years.

The budget airline's decision to resume flights comes after it was announced BA plans to cut the jobs of a quarter of its pilots and abandon Gatwick Airport in a bid to survive disruptions caused by coronavirus.

The memo written by the head of BA's Gatwick operation and seen by BBC News notes the airline may have to stop the few services still running at London Heathrow.
A shooting took place in Yerevan on Friday.

At around 1pm, a person with a gunshot wound to his leg was taken to a hospital, shamshyan.com reported.

The police found out that this person is Artashes Farsyan, 33.

The police are ascertaining the circumstances of the incident.

Several citizens who gathered at the scene said that this man had been previously convicted, was known in the criminal world, and had recently been released on bail by a court decision.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX/NYSE:PVG) (Pretivm or the Company) announces the voting results from its Annual General Meeting of shareholders held today (the Meeting).



A total of 132,934,862 (71.65%) of Pretivms common shares were represented at the Meeting.

The seven nominees listed in the management information circular with respect to the Meeting were elected as directors of Pretivm. Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors are set out below:

Number of Directors

Setting the number of Directors at seven:

Votes for % For Votes Against % Against 116,432,278 99.54 % 538,477 0.46 %

Election of Directors

Nominee Votes for % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Richard OBrien 111,874,835 95.64 % 5,095,919 4.36 % George Paspalas 111,472,316 95.30 % 5,498,438 4.70 % Peter Birkey 111,458,243 95.29 % 5,512,511 4.71 % David Smith 111,434,278 95.27 % 5,536,476 4.73 % Faheem Tejani 111,421,048 95.26 % 5,549,706 4.74 % Robin Bienenstock 111,471,158 95.30 % 5,499,596 4.70 % Jeane Hull 113,698,174 97.20 % 3,272,580 2.80 %

Following the Meeting, Pretivms Board of Directors appointed Jacques Perron, the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer, as a director of the Company.

Voting results with respect to the other matters at the Meeting, including approving the appointment of auditor, and an advisory resolution on executive compensation were as follows:

Appointment of Auditor

The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as the Companys auditor and authorizing the directors to fix the auditors remuneration:

Votes for % For Votes Withheld % Withheld 129,612,555 97.50 % 3,322,307 2.50 %

Say on Pay Advisory Vote

To authorize and approve a non-binding resolution accepting the Companys approach to executive compensation:

Votes for % For Votes Against % Against 112,622,421 96.28 % 4,348,333 3.72 %

About Pretivm

Pretivm is a low-cost intermediate gold producer with the high-grade underground Brucejack Mine in northern British Columbia.

For further information contact:

Troy Shultz

Manager, Investor Relations &

Corporate Communications
By IANS

BHOPAL: Police in Madhya Pradesh's Betul have arrested all the seven accused in the gang rape case on the intervening night of April 29-30.

Superintendent of Police D.S. Bhadauria said on Friday that a 20-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped when she was returning to her village with her brother on a motorcycle.

The girl who was earlier reported to be a minor, is aged 20, said Bhadauria, adding that cases have been filed against all the accused under various sections for rape, kidnapping, attempt to murder and atrocities against scheduled castes. The accused allegedly threw her brother into a well and took turns to rape her till 2 a.m., according to the report filed with the police.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also sought a detailed action taken report in the matter from Director General of Police (DGP) Vivek Johri.

The NCW wrote to DGP Johri to ensure the victim's security and that the accused are punished as per the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, which provides for rigorous life term and even death sentence for rape convicts.
- Some 15 more patients recovered from the virus thus raising the number of COVID-19 recoveries from 129 to 144

- Health (CAS) Rashid Aman said the number of patients discharged on Thursday was the biggest since the first COVID-19 recovery was reported in Kenya on Wednesday, April 1

- Some two more patients had, however, lost the battle with coronavirus pushing the country's death toll to 17

The Ministry of Health has announced 12 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman said the 12 more patients were identified after tests were conducted on 777 samples raising Kenya's confirmed cases from 384 to 396.

READ ALSO: Kenya Airports Authority fired JKIA employees after contractor refused to give discount

Health (CAS) Rashid Aman said the number of patients discharged on Thursday was the biggest since coronavirus entered the country. Photo: MoH.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Trump aishtumu Uchina, asema inampiga vita ili asichaguliwe kwa muhula wa pili

A man confirmed 15 patients had recovered from the respiratory disease bringing the total number of recoveries to 144.

"I am delighted to inform you that in the last 24 hours, we have been able to record 15 new discharges. This is the largest number of discharges in a single day that we have registered," said Aman who urged Kenyans to embrace those who had recovered and shun stigmatising them.

READ ALSO: Gor Mahia controversially declared KPL champions as FKF decide to finish season

READ ALSO: Kalonzo Musyoka's foundation donates KSh 3 million to COVID-19 emergency kitty

The CAS, however, confirmed that two more patients had died from COVID-19 pushing the country's death toll to 17.

Out of the 12 new cases, seven were from Mombasa, three from Nairobi while Wajir and Kitui recorded a single case each.

In Mombasa, the patients were drawn from Kuze, Bomani, Bondeni and Kidunguni while the Nairobi cases were from Eastleigh, Fedha Estate and Kileleshwa.

"We should not become complacent and feel that we are out of the woods. We are not out of the woods yet.

As we move into this new month, we are still faced with uncertainties as to what trajectory our situation will take and we must continue to prepare for that," the CAS urged.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman urged Kenyans to embrace people who had recovered from COVID-19. Photo: MoH.

Source: UGC

Aman said the government had deployed extra surveillance measures in high population areas that had been affected by the virus, for instance, Kawangwere which as of Wednesday, April 29, had 12 cases.

Health Director-General Patrick Amoth who echoed the CAS's sentiments revealed that mas testing was going to be deployed in Kawangware as from Friday, May 1.

Globally, the number of infections was 3,235,000 as of Thursday, April 30. Those who had succumbed were 228,605 while 1,009,390 others had recovered.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

I lost my eye to the Kenya Police - Michael Maina | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The cultural landscape has shifted over the past six weeks, with Americans obsessing over the gentle, slow-moving Animal Crossing and lip-syncing songs by the gun-toting, sequin-draped, would-be pop star at the center of the Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Were embracing decisive leaders (Lori Lightfoot, Andrew Cuomo) with ever more creative memes, as well as baking bread, sewing face masks and putting teddy bears in our windows.
Sen. Mitt Romney on Friday proposed a hazard pay raise of up to $12 an hour for essential workers such as health-care and grocery store employees facing greater risks during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Utah Republican's office said the wage bump, funded one-quarter by employers and three-quarters through a refundable payroll tax credit, would last through July. Senate Democrats released a similar plan last month for a $13 per hour raise for front-line workers, but the pay hike would go through the rest of the year.

It is unclear how quickly lawmakers can pass the next piece of legislation to try to limit the damage from the outbreak, as they will have to agree on a range of issues from hazard pay to state and local government support and liability protection for employers.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have lionized the essential employees who face more exposure to the coronavirus than Americans who can work from home. But lawmakers have not approved a raise for those workers in the four bills passed so far to try to combat the economic and health damage caused by the outbreak.

"Health care professionals, grocery store workers, food processors, and many othersthe unsung patriots on the frontline of this pandemicevery day risk their safety for the health and well-being of our country, and they deserve our unwavering support," Romney said in a statement Friday.

The payroll tax credit would start to phase out for workers making above $50,000 per year and go away fully at a cap of $90,000.

The biggest difference between Romney's plan and Democrats' proposal is the duration: the Republican's measure would give the workers a raise for five fewer months. The Democratic plan would also include a $15,000 incentive to recruit essential workers.

Congress will consider at least one more relief bill as the pandemic continues to tear across the country. Covid-19 cases in the U.S. now top 1 million, and the disease has killed at least 63,000 people in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Efforts to slow its spread have left tens of millions of people laid off or furloughed.

Democrats have called for financial relief for state and local governments, funding for the U.S. Postal Service and expanded broadband access, among other measures, in the next bill. Republicans want liability protection for businesses as Americans start to go back to work and face a heightened risk of getting sick.

The Senate will return to Washington next week. The House will not come back to work until the week of May 11 at the earliest.

Romney, the only Republican who voted to convict President Donald Trump after his Senate impeachment trial, was also the sole GOP senator left off a White House task force on reopening the economy.

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify how Romney's plan would work.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
While New Jerseys coronavirus case and death totals continue to climb, the state is also seeing a more than two-week decline in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, a figure that provides hope that the peak for the virus has passed.

State officials on Thursday announced 2,633 new cases of coronavirus -- the fourth consecutive day that figure has been less than 3,000 -- but they also shared 460 new deaths, which is the highest single day death toll.

Gov. Phil Murphy has cautioned the number of deaths reported Thursday did not necessarily occur in a 24-hour period because there are sometimes delays in confirming the deceased had the illness.

That brings the states total number of coronavirus cases to 118,652 and the total number of deaths to 7,228.

Murphy has repeatedly touted the hospitalization numbers as a key real-time indicator of the outbreak and made it a benchmark he plans to use in weighing when to start rolling back near-lockdown restrictions he ordered to slow the spread of the virus.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has been declining since April 14, when it reached a peak of 8,293. As of 10 p.m. Thursday, the states hospitals reported 5,972 coronavirus patients, down from 6,137 a day before.

The state also made headway toward another indicator of reopening: wide-spread testing. New Jersey will receive 550,000 coronavirus test kits and 750,000 swabs from the federal government, Murphy said hours after meeting with President Trump at the White House.

The added equipment will allow the state of 9 million residents to more than double its daily testing capacity from 7,000 to 9,000 tests per day to at least 20,000 tests per day.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Heres a roundup of coronavirus news:

Murphy says Trump made no promises about coronavirus aid to states, but talks went well. Although Gov. Phil Murphy insisted his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday was positive, he stopped short of saying the president promised to provide New Jersey with more financial aid to help make up for billions in lost tax revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic.

NJ Transit employees will be tested for coronavirus, Murphy says. The announcement came after unions and a transit advocacy group asked NJ Transit for testing of front line workers such as bus drivers, train conductors, engineers and others who work with the public and have the highest risk of exposure. Two bus drivers and a train conductor are among the five NJ Transit employees who died of COVID-19.

When N.J. parks reopen this weekend, Dont let a few knuckleheads ruin it, Murphy warns. Gov. Phil Murphy cautioned Thursday that state officials will be watching closely and could order them closed again if social distancing isnt followed.

Airlines will require passengers and employees to wear face masks during flights. To contain the coronavirus in the skies, U.S. airlines will begin requiring that passengers and the employees who interact with them wear face coverings at all times during their trips, according to the countrys main industry group.

Open caskets may soon be allowed at N.J. funerals again, state says. A directive from the state health department that ordered caskets during viewings to remain closed in New Jersey  regardless of whether the person died from the coronavirus or not  may soon be revised.

Mass coronavirus testing in N.J. prisons should begin next week, Murphy says. New Jersey prisons will soon begin testing thousands of corrections officers and all of the approximately 18,000 state inmates for the coronavirus.

N.J. Amazon warehouse sees coronavirus outbreak with at least 48 infected, employees say. At least 48 employees at the Amazon fulfillment center in Edison have contracted the coronavirus, making it the largest reported outbreak of any of the companys facilities in New Jersey, according to employees there.

N.J. mayor thinks he had coronavirus 2 months before 1st confirmed case in U.S. The mayor of Belleville is making a startling yet uncorroborated claim that he contracted the coronavirus in New Jersey in November, two months before the first confirmed U.S. case in Washington State.

Matt Arco, Brent Johnson, Noah Cohen, Steve Strunsky, Rebecca Panico, Blake Nelson, Rodrigo Torrejon, Rob Jennings and Larry Higgs contributed to this story.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers.

A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBuckets secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you.

1. Verification and registrar choice

After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files.

In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days.

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After 17-plus years on the bench, I thought I had seen it all.

Then along came COVID-19.

Still, there was something about this pandemic which seemed familiar. And then I remembered.

In a column I wrote for the Albuquerque Journal on May 4, 2018, I asked readers the following question:

Every time Americans face threats to their security and way of life, there will be a tension between government response and our freedoms. Put another way, can an individuals rights survive against necessary government intervention?

I then provided an answer, for what it was worth:

When catastrophic events occur, we naturally become frightened and look for immediate solutions. After 9/11, for example, our government began the fight against domestic terrorism through the Homeland Security Act of 2002. As Americans, we cooperated and changed how we lived our lives. However, we never surrendered our constitutional rights. None of us gave the government carte blanche to whittle away our freedoms.

I chose that topic back then to highlight the judiciarys sworn duty to serve as the primary overseer of the Constitution. Americans are great at adapting to meet challenges, but they never surrender their constitutional freedoms. And the judiciary is the branch of government from which Americans seek protection when they believe those freedoms are being threatened.

Which brings us to today and COVID-19. Because of the governments measures aimed at protecting the public, life has changed dramatically in a very short period of time. People are concerned about myriad issues. What will be the judiciarys role in all of this?

The judiciary has been called upon to assume a dual role during these extraordinary events. First, courts first must work with government in protecting the public from COVID-19. Second, the courts concurrently must protect individuals constitutional and due process rights from any overreach by the government in its response to the virus.

As to the first role, the New Mexico judiciary has implemented measures to protect the public from COVID-19. On March 17, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued an order which, absent extraordinary circumstances, suspended trials until April 30. Recently, that order was extended through the end of May.

On March 18, the court issued another order that permitted each New Mexico judicial district to authorize telephonic and/or audio-visual attendance for court appearances by court participants.

In the Second Judicial District, we have continued all jury trials until after May 31. And we are conducting all other matters by phone and video, using a system whereby several people can appear for hearings.

My experience with the system to date has been very good. It is working. The courts business, at least partially, has continued without interruption without any danger to the public.

The judiciarys other role during this pandemic is to protect constitutional and due process rights.

Most importantly, New Mexicos courts will need to commence criminal jury trials again as soon as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic is serious. So, too, are a defendants constitutional right to a speedy trial, the right of the people to their day in court, and the right of victims to be heard. The same is true of the significant rights and remedies afforded in civil trials, juvenile court proceedings and family law cases.

I am confident that my boss, the New Mexico Supreme Court, will continue to formulate and implement procedures aimed both at protecting the public as well as providing access to the courtroom. Likewise, I am optimistic that citizens once again will report for jury duty when our Supreme Court authorizes it.

Additionally, the judicial branch may be called upon to address legal challenges filed by individuals and organizations against our governments current COVID-19 policies. If so, judges will need to provide safe access to the courtroom while providing a forum for any such lawsuits.

Going to court probably will end up looking a lot different in the future. Traditional notions and concepts of trials, hearings and other court business likely will give way to innovation, technology and continued social distancing. We can and must adapt as necessary.

Our constitutional rights are inalienable, a birthright if you will. How to protect and guarantee those rights can be challenging, at times, and COVID-19 is forcing the judiciary to re-think how it does business. The judicial branch will rise to the challenge.

Stay well.

Judge Daniel Ramczyk is a judge of the Second Judicial District Court. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the judge individually and not those of the court.
Happy International Workers' Day!

Politics

-- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin wired a message of congratulations to his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Vietnam's Reunification Day on Thursday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Society

-- Vietnam reported no new cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Friday morning, with its total standing at 270 and no death recorded.

-- RIA Novosti, one of Russias biggest news agencies, on Wednesday praised Vietnam for its 'amazing' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

-- Police in Thanh Hoa Province, located in north-central Vietnam, on Thursday fined the operator of a long-haul bus VND51 million (US$2,190) for transporting 80 passengers while the vehicle is designed to carry only 46 passengers.

-- An apartment block in downtown Ho Chi Minh City has been locked down because a recovered COVID-19 patient who lives there retested positive on Wednesday.

Business

-- National carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced a loss of VND2.6 trillion ($111.7 million) in the first quarter. Private airline Bamboo Airways suffered a post-tax deficit of VND1.172 trillion ($50.3 million) in the same period.

-- Ho Chi Minh City's food safety watchdog proposed in a plan this week that wedding centers be allowed to resume operations on Sunday, as COVID-19 infection rates have significantly slowed for the past weeks.

Education

-- Ho Chi Minh City authorities have revised a physical distance required to be maintained in the classroom to one meter from the previous 1.5 meters. City schools are poised to reopen from next week onward.

World News

-- The novel coronavirus has infected over 3.3 million people and killed almost 234,000 others around the world, according to statistics. More than one million patients have recovered from the disease.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Nila Nair

From the indentured labourers sent to Britain during the colonial rule and the Partition of the subcontinent, we have had a long relationship with migration. Today, India has the largest global diaspora in more than 110 countries. There are 30 million Indians overseas and India was the top recipient of remittances in 2018 with $79 billion inward remittance. These millions of people sending billions of dollars as remittances to their families has helped India, as it has become an unavoidable source of their well-being and the national income.

Migration And Remittances

The states in India which see the large scale migration are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. These states account for more than 80 percent of Indias total remittances, with Kerala having the highest (19 percent). UP has the most number of migrants, followed by Bihar. The current population of migrants in select countries is given below.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Indias relationship with West Asia (or the Gulf, as it is commonly referred to) goes long back and the flock of migration from Kerala to West Asia during the 1970s and 80s leading to the Gulf Boom strengthened these ties.

Keralas economy is particularly dependent on such remittances, and has been in the forefront of the states economic growth. In 2003, remittances were 1.74 percent higher than the state revenue receipts. Remittances from abroad have proved as a better source for the poor than any foreign aid or investment, as they directly receive cash for their daily expenses.

While the Indian economy as a whole is not dependent on the remittances from abroad, states such as Kerala and Punjab are among the most remittance-dependent economies in the world.

The construction, manufacturing and retail sectors represent 85 percent of the unskilled and semi-skilled labour migrants from India to the Gulf, while the rest are focused on healthcare and domestic and unclassified workers. A majority of the migrants from UP, Haryana, Bihar and Rajasthan are unskilled and work in the construction and retail industries. In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala, they are semi-skilled and work in the healthcare, retail and manufacturing sectors. Migrants from Maharashtra and Karnataka, on the other hand, are skilled and a majority work in the IT sector.

According to the World Bank, 82 percent of the remittance receiving households in India received remittances in cash, 15 percent as cheques or draft, and 2 percent as money orders. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggests that more than half of such remittances are utilised for family maintenance, 20 percent as bank deposits and 7 percent for securing land, property, securities etc.

A study conducted by Grant Thornton found that in Kerala and Tamil Nadu 25 percent of the remittance received is used for debt repayment after household consumption. In Odisha, 11 percent is used for marriages and in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, 55 percent of the remittance is used for the purpose of education. Goa, on the other hand, uses 39 percent of the remittance for savings and investment activities. Thus, the diversity and differences that makes the country unite is even present in the migration and remittance trend of different states.

The Gulf as can be seen, together contribute more than half of the remittance to the country. India experienced a surge in the flow of remittance after the liberalisation policy of 1991. This accelerated the integration of India into the world economy opening up vibrant opportunities and jobs abroad. The new economic policy coupled with the establishment of the market exchange rate in 1993, reduced the appeal of sending money through hawala networks.

From this point, private transfers and remittances became an important constituent of Indias Balance of Payments, and since the 1990s Indians working overseas have been the worlds top remitters consistently. Until recently, remittances to India have proven to be one of the most unhinged forms of economic flows to the country.

Reverse Migration

The looming global financial crisis in light of the pandemic has already affected the world with the start of a recession. The great lockdown adding to the economic crisis at hand has stranded hundreds of thousands of migrants in more than 100 countries.

Recently the Department of Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs) commenced an online registration for people stranded abroad due to the ban on international flights  and within days more than 340,000 people have already registered. A majority of them could be the unskilled and semi-skilled workers who will be rendered jobless. The great homecoming of these migrants will adversely affect the economy as unemployment will increase and the economically vulnerable will be pushed into poverty.

World Bank President David Malpass has stated that the recession will take a severe toll the ability of migrants to send money home and the remittance to India will witness a sharp decline of 23 percent to $64 billion this year. Economies dependent on remittances, such as Kerala, will have to face a huge drought in its income as many migrants are waiting to return home. The migrants within India might face a larger unemployment crisis as they will be going back to their home states. Adding to this will be the pessimism and uncertainty that is expected to loom over the market for quite some time.

An Opportunity At Hand

The most important task at hand is to handle the reverse migration into India. The returnee migrants will be more skilled in terms of their work experience abroad and, therefore, harnessing their potential can prove to be beneficial for the economy.

Along with registering them upon arriving in India, these websites/portals can be equipped for profiling them and reviewing their skillsets. The government and the private sector can use this portal to mobilise potential job opportunities for the returnees.

The central and state governments can help these returnees by forming self-help groups which will help in finding jobs and pooling resources. Such SHGs can be boosted to start small scale businesses and enterprises of their choice.

In order to recover, the government must invest in projects that create more employment, such as an expansionary fiscal policy with increased government spending. Demand revival will be yet another crucial step in this process and for the demand to be improved, people should have sufficient disposable income. Thus, easing the tax liabilities, providing unemployment allowance for poor labourers, strengthening policies such as MGNREGA, providing moratorium for repayment of loans and lending to MSMEs will be vital to rejuvenate the economy.

The history of migration and remittance to India is taking a huge turn here. The repercussions and after-effects of this economic pandemic can have a huge toll on millions of lives unless there is quick and effective action from both the people and the governments.
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Anti-lockdown protesters have taken to the streets of New York City - the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. - as thousands others demonstrate across the country to demand an end to stay-at-home orders.

Demonstrators gathered outside of City Hall in Manhattan in solidarity with people in California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Washington, Ohio and Illinois calling for 'freedom' for millions who have been kept inside for weeks to stop the spread of the virus that has killed 65,000 Americans.

More than 13,000 people have been killed by COVID-19 in the city since the pandemic began and the social distancing guidelines are set to be in place until at least May 15.

The NYPD watched as the crowd marched through Manhattan's Financial District in solidarity with the armed protesters waving MAGA flags and carrying weapons who have surrounded city halls, state houses and beaches across the country in revolt at what they see as draconian measures.

While the New York City crowd were fired-up and vocal, rainy conditions foiled a larger turnout.

Elsewhere, it was a different story. In California, tensions flared between cops and angry residents in Sacramento and Los Angeles amid anger over Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to close the beaches and limit the population to a list of activities.

Meanwhile, several men marched on the capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina, armed with automatic rifles, demanding Governor Roy Cooper lift lockdowns that have been extended until May 8.

Over in Ohio, armed protestors marched on the statehouse in Columbus - the same day the state's lockdown was extended until the end of May.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee also extended the state's lockdown Friday, despite demonstrators in Seattle calling for the state to reopen.

The protests have been going on for weeks as states begin to flatten the curve and the virus begins to slow. Many governors and elected officials have relaxed some of the strict ordinances, but many are still angry that they can't leave their homes.

They claim the shutting down of the economy is more damaging than the virus itself and are demanding residents be allowed to choose for themselves if they can go outside.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A handful of protesters marched down the eerily empty streets of Downtown Manhattan Friday

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A crowd of protesters gathered in Downtown Manhattan flying American flags and loudly chanting for the state to reopen - despite the fact hundred of residents are still dying from COVID-19 each day

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A masked police officer makes his way through a crowd of 'MAGA May Day' anti-lockdown protesters

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: One protester shielded his face with an American flag bandanna

Columbus, Ohio

Armed protesters descended on the Ohio statehouse in Columbus again Friday, as Governor Mike DeWine extended the state's lockdown until the end of May.

Groups of protesters - most of them not wearing face masks - gathered on the steps of the capitol building with guns, flags, megaphones and banners demanding an end to lockdown and calling for businesses to reopen.

Several demonstrators waved Donald Trump paraphernalia and held up signs with slogans including: 'Church is essential' 'Shutdowns kill too!' and 'Wanted for domestic terrorism - DeWine Acton'.

One protester was seen ignoring social distancing by confronting a state trooper and coming up close to his face.

Similar scenes have taken place outside Ohio's statehouse for more than 3 weeks now.

Governor DeWine and Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, took the brunt of the demonstrators' anger because of their roles leading the state's response to the pandemic.

In a press conference Friday, DeWine released the details of a new executive order as the current stay-at-home order is set to expire at at 11:59 p.m.

He branded the new order a 'Stay Safe Ohio' order rather than a stay-at-home order and revealed a relaxation to existing measures, including the reopening of more businesses and services.

The new order will be in effect through May 29.

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Armed protesters descended on the Ohio statehouse in Columbus again Friday, as Governor Mike DeWine extended the state's lockdown until the end of May

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Demonstrators protest outside the statehouse in opposition of Governor DeWine's stay-at-home order

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Groups of protesters - most of them not wearing face masks - gathered on the steps of the capitol building with guns, flags, megaphones and banners demanding an end to lockdown

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Protesters hold up signs declaring Ohio Governor DeWine is 'wanted for domestic terrorism' for stay-at-home orders to protect citizens from the threat of coronavirus

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Two protesters in gas masks hold up signs asking if self isolation is 'the new normal' and complaining Ohio is being turned from red state to (Russian) red state

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Other right wing protesters turn the demonstration into a complaint about other political issues such as abortion

COLUMBUS, OHIO: A Trump supporter holds up a sign that reads 'Church is essential' in front of the Ohio statehouse while a MAGA flag waves behind her

COLUMBUS, OHIO: A demonstrator confronts a state trooper at Friday's protests as they demand the state is reopened

COLUMBUS, OHIO: One protester calling for businesses to reopen and lockdown to end wore an American flag as a face mask

COLUMBUS, OHIO: One demonstrator called for the state to reopen by July 4 so the nation can celebrate America's independence

COLUMBUS, OHIO: A family brought their young children along to the protest, with the children not wearing masks

Seattle, Washington

In Seattle, people protesting against Washington state's stay-at-home order were seen waving US flags throughout the day Friday, while the state announced that afternoon an extension to lockdown until the end of May.

Demonstrators marched on downtown Seattle sporting Trump merchandise and waving banners calling for an end to lockdown across the state.

Signs reading phrases like 'Reopen Washington. #TyrannyKills #SocialismKills' and 'Control is not leadership' were held aloft by people wanting to return to normal daily life.

One woman dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and held up a sign saying 'I will not comply'

May Day usually draws crowds of protesters for various causes in Seattle and this year was no different.

As well as anti-lockdown demonstrators, people were seen protesting outside Amazon Spheres in Seattle demanding the Seattle City Council tax the city's largest businesses.

U.S. employees of Amazon, its supermarket subsidiary Whole Foods and supermarket delivery services were called to strike on May 1 across the country.

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee has held firm with the stay-at-home order and refused to reopen the state for business.

On Friday Inslee announced the statewide stay-at-home order set to expire May 4 has been extended through May 31.

He also revealed his four-phase reopening plan for businesses across the state while continuing with social distancing practices.

He said each phase would run for a minimum of three weeks, though some lower-risk counties could reopen sooner.

This comes as the death toll reached 819 and confirmed cases 14,986 across the state.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: In Seattle, people protesting against Washington state's stay-at-home order were seen waving US flags throughout the day Friday

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: One woman dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and held up a sign saying 'I will not comply'

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Protesters wearing face masks participate in a protest at the Amazon Spheres to demand the Seattle City Council tax the city's largest businesses

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Police watch as protesters circle the block during a 'car caravan' protest at the Amazon Spheres

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: U.S. employees of Amazon, its supermarket subsidiary Whole Foods and supermarket delivery services were called to strike on May 1

SEATTLE, WASINGTON: A group of Libertarian anti-tax protesters are confronted by people in favor of taxing Seattle's largest businesses

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: May Day usually draws crowds of protesters for various causes in Seattle and this year was no different

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Police officers on bicycles gather outside a Starbucks to observe the protests

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: As well as anti-lockdown demonstrators, people were seen protesting outside Amazon Spheres in Seattle demanding the Seattle City Council tax the city's largest businesses

SEATLE, WASHINGTON: A protester stands on her car and blocks traffic as she participates in a 'car caravan' protest at the Amazon Spheres

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Protesters hold up signs saying 'Unionize Amazon. Tax Bezos.'

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Washington state Governor Jay Inslee has held firm with the stay-at-home order and refused to reopen the state for business

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Members of a group wearing shirts with the logo of the far-right Proud Boys group (right) argue with a counter protester

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: On Friday Governor Inslee announced the statewide stay-at-home order set to expire May 4 has been extended through May 31

Raleigh, North Carolina

Several rallies have been held in Raleigh, North Carolina in recent days, with protesters urging North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to lift lockdown orders which have been extended until May 8.

But on Friday, nearly a dozen armed men marched towards the Old Capitol Building in defiance of social distancing recommendations and pleas to stay home.

Several members of the group openly brandished semi-automatic weapons as they made their way to the building.

According to the News & Observer, the men were told they cannot protest while openly carrying their firearms.

'We were told we can't use our 1st Amendment and our 2nd Amendment at the same time. We'll be back on Tuesday to do the 1st,' one told the publication.

Across North Carolina there have been 10,509 coronavirus cases and 378 deaths.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets at demonstrations across the country ordering an end of to government mandated lockdowns issued amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: A group of young men held semiautomatic weapons as they marched towards the city's Old Capitol Building

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: The group were told by officers they were unable to protest while simultaneously openly carrying their guns

Sacramento and Los Angeles, California

Around 400 people turned out for a 'ReOpen California rally in the state capitol of California, with many protester creating posters and placards that criticized Governor Gavin Newsom who has ordered state residents to stay home as coronavirus cases continue to increase.

Several demonstrators clashed with police officers outside the California Capitol Building on Friday, after they were refused a permit to protest.

Further south in Los Angeles, hundreds more protesters also turned out to show their disdain for Governor Newsom's orders.

Across California there have been 48,917 coronavirus cases, 1982 deaths.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: A crowd of 400 protesters turned out for the ReOpen California rally

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Protesters from 'ReOpen California' are removed from the steps of the Capitol by California Highway Patrol officers as they demonstrate outside the State Capitol despite being refused a permit

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hundred turned up to a 'We Have Rights' rally in Los Angeles, where demonstrators appeared to tussle with police

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: L.A. lockdown protesters descended upon City Hall, and unfurled graphic banners that took aim at Governor Gavin Newsom

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: L.A. lockdown protesters descended upon City Hall, and unfurled graphic banners that took aim at Governor Gavin Newsom

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: One woman even held up a sign which featured a swastika and read 'Welcome to NaziFornia'

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Protesters are pictured at a rally in Huntington Beach, which has long been a Republican enclave in largely liberal Southern California

Huntington Beach, California

Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters also assembled on the boardwalk at Huntington Beach, Orange County. The beach was packed with sunseekers last week, prompting Gov Newsom to order it closed.

Many who have been stuck inside for weeks criticized him for policing the population, mocked him for trying to be an 'all-powerful' leader.

Huntington Beach council has now voted to sue the governor for closing the beach.

'Governor Newsom's mandate to close all beaches in Orange County today was a jarring decision that significantly impacts us here in Huntington Beach,' Mayor Lyn Semeta said in a statement.

'Given that Orange County has among the lowest per-capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the action by the state prioritizes politics over data, in direct contradiction of the Governor's stated goal to allow science and facts to guide our response to this horrible global pandemic.'

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters also assembled on the boardwalk at Huntington Beach, Orange County. The beach was packed with sunseekers last week, prompting Gov Newsom to order it closed

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Huntington Beach council has now voted to sue the governor for closing the beach

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA: One surfer was less than impressed with Gov Newsom for closing the beach

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Locals in a convertible Jeep showed their support for the rally, driving through the crowds with handmade signs

Upstate New York

Several small protests popped up across New York state, which has been hard hit by the virus.

In the town of Commack, dozens waved large American flags and chanted for Gov Andrew Cuomo to reopen the state.

In the state capital of Albany, protesters appeared to hold much more personal resentment for Gov Cuomo who resides in the city.

Several brandished signs calling for his resignation, while one compared him to Hitler - waving a poster which read 'Adolf Cuomo'.

COMMACK, NEW YORK: One elaborately dressed protester turned out to a rowdy rally in upstate New York

COMMACK, NEW YORK: Crowds of passionate protesters lined up beside a busy road

ALBANY, NEW YORK: In the state capital of Albany, protesters appeared to hold much more personal resentment for Gov Cuomo who resides in the city

ALBANY, NEW YORK: One protester braved the rain to hold up a sign calling for Gov Cuomo's resignation

Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, hundreds of protesters turned out to call for an end to stay-at-home orders which have dragged on there for more than a month.

A group by the name of Freedom Movement USA organized the rally, which featured a six hours worth of scheduled speakers.

The protest ran from 9am until 3pm. A small crowd of counter-protesters also showed up, but were vastly outnumbered.

The state has seen 52,918 coronavirus cases and 2,355 deaths.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: There was a large turnout at an anti-lockdown rally in Chicago, with many ignoring advice to wear face masks in public

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: A group by the name of Freedom Movement USA organized the rally, which featured a six hours worth of scheduled speakers
A stock photo shows activity in the Theo Lacy Facility, a county jail in Orange, Calif. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

ACLU Sues Orange County Sheriff, Demanding Release of Inmates During COVID-19 Pandemic

SANTA ANA (CNS)The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a federal lawsuit on April 30 against the Orange County sheriff to force him and the county to reduce the jails population, to better implement social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed in Santa Ana, demands the immediate release of vulnerable and disabled inmates, improvements to social distancing, increases in care, testing, and personal protective equipment.

The sheriffs department on April 30 reported 122 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. Three deputies have also contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, but have fully recovered.

Sheriff Don Barnes told the Orange County Board of Supervisors on April 28 that he has reduced the jail population by 45 percent since last month, when the state issued its stay-at-home order.

In a statement, Barnes said he has implemented extraordinary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and preserve jail operations. These measures include the release of a limited amount of sentenced low-level offenders.

Barnes said the jail population has declined from 5,303 inmates on March 7 to 2,911 inmates on April 28.

Todays jail population occupies only 39 percent of our jails actual capacity of just over 7,400 beds, Barnes said. I will continue to take measures needed to ensure the capacity is available to maintain safe operations and preserve our ability to house criminal offenders.

At this moment, the early release of specified low-level offenders and the actions by the courts provide the capacity to meet our current needs.

Barnes said he must also ensure the safety of the law-abiding public when releasing jail inmates.

I am not supportive of extensive preemptive releases that go beyond what is necessary to keep the jail and community safe, Barnes said.

I am confident that the measures we continue to take in the jails meet our obligation to provide for the safety of both inmates and staff.

According to the ACLU, Daniel Parker, a UC Irvine assistant professor of public health and epidemiology, is warning that the number of COVID-19 cases in the jails could quadruple by next week.

The ACLU alleges the disability rights of inmates are being violated.

The Orange County Sheriffs Department has repeatedly failed its obligation to protect the safety of people in its custody, said Jacob Reisberg, a jail conditions advocate at the ACLU.

Under normal circumstances, this lack of care is shamefulbut during COVID-19, it is catastrophic.

The ACLU claims that more than 500 inmates are medically vulnerable or disabled, and should be released.

Among the plaintiffs are Don Wagner, a 68-year-old cancer survivor who claims he is vulnerable when he has to go get his blood pressure and thyroid levels checked, and that he is only given one small bar of soap a week with which to clean himself.

Another plaintiff is 64-year-old Cynthia Campbell, who has rheumatoid arthritis, and claims she cannot maintain 6 feet of distance from others when she goes for treatments.

Named plaintiff Melissa Ahlman, 32, fears contracting the disease, and passing it on to her 7-month-old baby when she pumps milk for her. She said she has to wait in crowded areas with sick inmates when delivering the milk to nurses.

I wonder what will happen if I get sick, and it spreads to my baby through my milk, Ahlman said. And I worry that I will get sick in here, and not be able to come home to her.

The lawsuit demands a plan be developed and monitored by a public health expert to reduce the jails population.

Laguna Hills Drops Hotel Lawsuit

Also on April 30, Laguna Hills officials announced that they have dismissed their lawsuit seeking to block the county from using a state and federal program to house transients infected with COVID-19 at a hotel in the city.

The dismissal of the lawsuit came on the day officials were scheduled to argue for a preliminary injunction.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Delaney on April 20 rejected the citys temporary restraining order request to block the use of the 76-bed Laguna Hills Inn at 23061 Avenida de la Carlota as part of Project Roomkey.

City officials said they decided to drop the lawsuit after receiving correspondence from Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett and county CEO Frank Kim that offered specific assurances about the project.

Officials said they were assured it would only be temporary, and will close within 60 days of Gov. Gavin Newsoms safer at home order ending.

Officials were also assured about security protocols and medical staffing.

Kim said only one transient was staying at the hotel as of April 30.

There are 139 transients housed in hotels as part of Project Roomkey in Orange County, officials said. Of those, 122 are considered at a high risk of contracting a severe case of COVID-19, due to age or underlying health issues, and 17 are infected.

Officials were using the hotels to safely quarantine transients infected with the virus because they cannot properly socially distance in the countys shelters, or while living on the streets.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Partys cover-up and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Germans John Deere company is open to expand it cooperation with Turkmenistan, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistan Today State News Agency.

Representatives of John Deere International GmbH company and the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan held a meeting at The State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan via videoconference.

The technological modernization of Turkmenistans agro-industrial sector was the main topic of discussion. The parties highlighted productive cooperation.

The agreements and contracts signed by the parties for the supply of large quantities of grain and cotton harvesters, tractors, seeders and other special equipment are the proofs of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the company.

One of the new and important areas of partnership between the parties is the introduction of a digital electronic management system in Turkmenistans agricultural machinery, which will be implemented in stages from 2020 through 2030.



President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed a decree on the provision of financial support by the state to the countrys private sector in January 2020.

In accordance with this decree, companys agricultural machinery and equipment can also be purchased by representatives of Turkmenistans private sector by taking a bank loan.

The above-mentioned decree also provides a loan agreement between the state Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Turkmenistan and Deere Credit Inc. (US). In compliance with this agreement, the bank will finance 85 percent of the cost of agricultural machinery and equipment purchased by entrepreneurs from the company.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
With another months rent due, Celina Blanchard says this will probably be the last week her restaurant Lambretta Pizzeria will be operating as she can no longer afford the monthly rent of close to $13,000 she pays for the space on Roncesvalles.

We were hoping to make it to the five-year mark this summer, says Blanchard, who closed her restaurant in mid-March and has since been serving takeout.

When I announced (on social media) that wed be closing this week unless a miracle happens, the support from the neighbourhood has been wonderful, but, unfortunately, I have no choice. This is my life and we worked really hard. Who would have thought this is how it would end?

Despite the federal governments announcement of the $900 million Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program last week that will help pay some of the rent for small businesses, many business owners, including restaurants, are wary whether it would help them for the next months because the decision is left to the landlord.

Details of the program, expected to be up and running by mid-May, are still being worked out, but the biggest concern from small business owners so far is that it is up to the landlords to apply for relief.

Landlords have until the end of August to apply for forgivable loans for the months of April, May and June. The loans will cover 50 per cent of the rent and the commercial tenant will cover 25 per cent, meaning the landlord will have at most 75 per cent of their rent covered for those months.

Among the criteria to qualify, the monthly rent has to be less than $50,000, the business must have experienced a 70-per-cent drop in revenue, and the landlord has to agree not to evict the tenant during these three months.

In Thursdays council meeting, Mayor John Tory requested that the revenue drop should be changed to 50 per cent to broaden eligibity, and that landlords work with tenants on Mays rent until CECRA is operational. The city also asked that the province put a temporary halt on rent-default evictions for commerical tenants to help those whose landlords arent participating in the program.

A survey of just over 9,000 members of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, which includes those in the hospitality industry, found that 10 per cent of respondents said they qualify for the rent assistant program and that they think their landlord would participate in it.

Blanchard says that her landlord is still waiting for more details of the program to roll out, but she doesnt have the money to wait another month.

She adds that her situation has been complicated by a separate, continuing legal battle she has with her landlord regarding renovations of the space. He says that if I drop the lawsuit, hell give a rent reduction, but I think those are two separate situations, she says.

Richard Pope closed his cocktail bar Northwood near Christie Pits Park last month when all non-essential businesses were ordered to close. He says that his landlord ultimately decided on not applying for the rent-assistance program. Pope is considering legal action if he gets evicted, saying that his landlord is operating in bad faith. No one is working, not even myself. Sadly, everyone has been laid off, he writes in an email. There was a hope for return, but its looking less likely by the minute.

Chester Wong, who owns three locations of Fuel+ juice and smoothie bar, says that of his three landlords, only one has deferred rent and said they would look into applying for the rent-assistance program.

The others simply asked us how were going to pay the rent, he says. I think the program needs a closer look into it, because theres nothing pushing the landlords into doing it.

He says he is lucky, as his juice bars operate out of small spaces and dont have as much overhead costs as a typical restaurant.

We started selling produce at our two downtown locations, and well probably be able to make rent in conjunction with the $40,000 loan we took out (as part of the Canada Emergency Business Account program) and savings the business had in the last nine years. But whatever money we make, it will be going to rent. Were taking out a loan to pay back debts. I for sure wont be paying, myself.

Todd Morgan, managing partner of the Maple Leaf Tavern in the citys east end as well as PORT restaurant in Pickering, says hes caught between two worlds as someone who owns the building his restaurants are in. Until more information about the program comes in, he wonders if it means he still has to pay 50 per cent of his mortgage as both the landlord and the tenant. Each month, Morgan makes a $15,000 interest payment for each of his restaurants.

Our mortgage payments are directly tied to our restaurant income, says Morgan, who adds that both of his restaurants will start serving takeout next week. Its a unique situation to be in, not just for restaurants, but for restaurant suppliers who own their warehouse spaces and other industries across the board. There are terrible landlords that dont care about their tenants, and good and bad operators out there, but were genuinely in the middle.

James Rillet, vice president of the Ontario and Manitoba region of Restaurants Canada, an organization representing the countrys food service industry, says that, while hes heard of landlords eager to sign up for the rent relief program, there are also others who are hesitant.

Rillet says there are landlords who would rather defer rent or put it on the back end of a lease in order to collect 100 per cent of the rent, rather than apply for the program to get 75 per cent of it back.

He notes that the relief would only cover the rent, and not other fixed costs of running a restaurant such as taxes, maintenance and insurance, which can cost as much as monthly rent.

Echoing city council, Rillet would also like the provincial government to put a hold on commercial property evictions during the shutdown, similar to the one put in place on residential evictions, as an added incentive for landlords to come to an agreement with commercial tenants.

Were hoping landlords will come around, he says. Its been received with mixed reception, but its something we can work with. Our industry will still be, at best, struggling during the recovery phase (of COVID-19) and it will be short-sighted to kick a business out because I dont think the landlord will have anyone else come in. I do hope they do whatever it takes to keep their tenants happy.
Mayo Clinic Health System announced Friday afternoon it would be reinstating elective visits, surgeries and procedures, effective immediately, after previously deferring them due to COVID-19.

Gundersen Health System, however, is continuing to pause most visits as a precaution.

In March, Mayo locations in both La Crosse and Eau Claire put non-crucial clinic and hospital visits on hold out of concern for a projected surge in COVID-19 cases and subsequent shortage of ICU beds and ventilators.

However, the anticipated peak for Mayo Clinic sites has lessened, and the plateau is extended Mayo officials said, without the influx of COVID-19 patients expected. The flattened curve has alleviated worry about lack of personal protective equipment and patient space.

We have developed and increased COVID-19 testing capabilities, closely tracked and managed PPE supplies and have developed protocols that support appropriate conservation, says Dr. Paul Mueller, M.D., regional vice president of Southwest Wisconsin for Mayo Clinic Health System. Mayo Clinic has implemented numerous safety measures, including robust patient screening, universal masking and enhanced cleaning of patient care, staff and waiting spaces.

Gundersen Health System in a statement Friday said it is resuming limited in-person care, with a focus on low-risk, high-priority patients.

Response to Gundersens virtual care options has been remarkable, with more than 650 units up and running to provide virtual care across the system, says Chris Stauffer of Gundersen Health System. The safe, careful approach to resuming in-person visits and expanding virtual care options are part of a long-term strategy to restore Gundersen operations and respond to patients care needs.

Added Dr. Scott Rathgaber, CEO of Gundersen Health System, We remain committed to our plan to carefully and safely resume services beginning with low-risk, high-priority cases. We will test our designs for safety of patients and staff and expand as we believe best serves patients and the community.

Dr. Marilu Bintz, chief population health officer at Gundersen Health System, is overseeing the resuming of some services, noting the hospital has begun to very slowly and very deliberately resume a few surgeries in our outpatient surgery center.

As we were moving in that direction, before we even started doing anything, we sat down and said, OK, what are the principals were going to follow? Bintz says. It is essential to have confidence in the current supply and future availability of personal protective equipment, she says, as well as having the ability to test patients for COVID-19 prior to operation.

Surgeries at Gundersen are currently restricted to those under 60, with low anesthesia risk and testing negative for COVID-19. Visitor regulations remain in place, and the patient must be masked upon entering the building.

While were doing all of this, were very, very carefully watching the community burden of coronavirus cases, Bintz says of gradually reinstating care. If we see a spike of coronavirus cases, we might need to reevaluate.

Mayos decision to start up full operations, hospital representatives say, was made under careful consideration and is in accordance with the executive orders of Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The hospitals are prepared to adapt should a surge occur, says Richard Helmers, regional vice president of Northwest Wisconsin for Mayo Clinic Health System.

Statewide Mayo Clinic Health System locations have been able to safely increase the number of semi-urgent, urgent and emergent surgical volumes, says Dr. Mark Sawyer, chair of surgery for Southwest Wisconsin.

Our procedural and diagnostic practices are seeing higher volumes of patients allowing us to meet the needs of patients who have had their surgeries delayed because of COVID while remaining capable of rapidly shifting our practice to address a more aggressive COVID environment should circumstances change, Sawyer says.

Mueller says reinstating care was important as many individuals were putting off or delaying evaluation of worrisome symptoms that might be an indicator of serious illness. ... Thats the big concern from our standpoint.

Screening processes have been implemented for all patients, with requirements based on the type of medical care they require, such as surgery, outpatient care or therapy, and face coverings are required. Staff will be temperature screened, and visitor restrictions remain in place.

Its pretty clear at this point that we are going to be OK, Sawyer said, noting, Its much safer to go to the hospital than go to the grocery store.

Mueller praised the community for its commitment to flattening the curve.

Were really confident that we have a great community to work with. We have great staff. Theyre resilient and all hands are on deck, Mueller said.

The decision to reopen full operations, says Rick Thiesse of Mayo Clinic Health System, will not change the previous implementation of furloughs and pay cuts for about a third of Mayo staff nationwide, which went into effect April 29.

We are proud of and committed to our staff and our communities as they come together to fight this global health crisis, Thiesse said. Temporary furloughs of some staff and salary reductions are required at this time and we will work with our teams in the coming weeks to ensure that our staff are supported, that the duration of this disruption is as limited as possible.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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The Indian Armed Forces will conduct fly-pasts, light up ships at sea, display military bands and shower flower petals on hospitals on Sunday in a grand display of gratitude to lakhs of "corona warriors" like doctors, paramedics and police personnel.

The announcement was made by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat at a press conference in presence of Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane and Air Chief

Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

"The nation stood together and showed resilience in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. On behalf of the armed forces, we want to thank all the corona warriors -- doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, home guards, delivery boys and media," Gen Rawat said.

"On May 3, there will be some special activities as a gesture of special gratitude by all three forces," he said, addressing his first press conference after assuming charge of India's first Chief of Defence Staff in January.

Gen Rawat's announcement of the special activities came shortly before the Union home ministry said the current spell of the lockdown will be extended by another two weeks from Monday. The lockdown came into force on March 25 and was scheduled to end on May 3.

He said the fixed wing and fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force will conduct fly-pasts from Srinagar to Thiruvananthapuram and from Dibrugarh to Kutch on Sunday evening as a mark of respect to all front-line workers battling the pandemic.

Gen Rawat said Indian Navy helicopters will shower flower petals on leading hospitals treating coronavirus patients. Navy will also deploy its warships in formations in coastal areas and the vessels will be lit up as part of the "thanksgiving" exercise on Sunday evening.

The army will conduct mountain band displays along some COVID-19 hospitals in almost every district besides laying wreaths at police memorials across the country.

"The corona warriors -- be it the doctors, nurses, hygiene and sanitation staff, police personnel or media personnel -- they have ensured that India keeps on fighting this pandemic. We salute these warriors and their efforts and wish them the best of health," Gen Rawat said.

"We are grateful for their sacrifice and their efforts in fighting COVID-19, knowing fully well the dangers that they face," he added.

Replying to a query, Gen Rawat added that not even one soldier, sailor or airman in the frontline is affected by the infection and that armed forces are fully prepared for all challenges.

He also said that there was no let-up in anti-terror operations against cross border terrorism.

The Air Chief Marshal said that not even one case of COVID-19 has been reported in the force.

While talking of the contribution of the police personnel, the Chief of Defence Staff said wreaths will be laid at the police memorial on Sunday morning on behalf of the three service chiefs.

Army Chief Gen Naravane too said there was no let-up in India's counter-terror operations due to the pandemic. "Our operations are going on. There is no let-up in counter-terrorist operations due to COVID19."

He also said that there has been an increase in number of infiltration attempts from the Pakistani side along the LoC.

The army has recorded 14 cases of coronavirus out of which five have recovered, he said.

The decision to go for the thanks-giving activities was taken at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the three service chiefs.



In the press conference, Gen Rawat also asserted that no operational task has been affected or will be affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



He said it is not proper to conclude that the novel coronavirus outbreak is a result of biological warfare.
A pair of F-15E Strike Eagles sprinted across the Atlantic earlier this month, not because they were called to war, but because they were in dire need of a tune-up all the way back in the United States. And maintenance crews at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, were able to get the pilots back in the air with a new set of twin-engine fighters, plus an additional F-15C Eagle, in just three days flat.

Four pilots from the 48th Fighter Wing at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England -- Europe's only F-15 fighter wing -- took off for the Warner Robins Logistics Complex at Robins on April 3 for a "tail swap," according to an Air Force news release.

The arriving Strike Eagles were scheduled for their programmed depot maintenance, or PDM, which often takes place after a certain number of flight hours -- roughly six years' worth of consecutive operations. The service requires specialized maintenance and parts to upgrade the aircraft's condition, according to a RAND study.

But with the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, unit manpower has been reduced to keep airmen as safe and socially distanced as possible.

"There were unique challenges," said Capt. Drew Belcher, 561st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron maintenance operations officer, in a released statement. "Particularly, that all of the work was done with about 50% of our normal manning."

Belcher explained that, since the maintenance crews had to distance, it cut the amount of people working at one time. They operated in shifts to limit possible contamination to other maintainers.

The three "healthy" jets that returned to the U.K. had been cleared through PDM in mid-March. Still, it took "a lot of work leading up to it," Belcher said. "Especially right now with our minimal manpower."

Despite being certified ready weeks prior, the three returning aircraft still needed flight checks, a paint touch-up -- provided by the 558th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron -- and a cockpit deep-cleaning to disinfect before the pilots could get back in the air. The aircraft also had to undergo test flights to double-check that fuel transfer was working on the external tanks before their long haul back to the U.K., the release said.

On April 6, the pilots -- who spent their time quarantined during their stay -- were en route back to the 48th Fighter Wing.

"Lakenheath had a need to get those aircraft back in the fight. It was very important we got these aircraft back there quickly," Belcher said.

"The fact that we had to prep three aircraft, the fact that we could coordinate the timing of two inbound aircraft with three outbound aircraft -- this prevented the need for aircrew to take commercial flights on two different occasions because we could do it all at once."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Read More: Trump Authorizes Activation of More Troops to Fight Drug Trafficking
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 23:13:30|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

SKOPJE -- The World Bank (WB) has approved a fund of about 98.5 million U.S. dollars to support North Macedonia in managing and mitigating the impact of COVID-19, Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) reported on Friday.

According to MIA, the fund will assist North Macedonia in its efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19, strengthen national systems for public health preparedness, and help mitigate the consequences of the pandemic.

- - - -

TOKYO -- A panel of medical experts has recommended that the Japanese government continue requesting the nation to continue to follow social restrictions to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 and they believe the state of emergency should be extended, government sources said Friday.

According to the sources, the panel made their assessment that the emergency period should be extended for at least one month beyond the current deadline of May 6, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likely to announce the extension formally on Monday.

- - - -

CAPE TOWN -- South Africa on Friday announced this year's first break-bulk vessel shipment of citrus to China and Japan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Baltic Patriot Vessel will leave South Africa later Friday with 4,521 tons of grape fruit and lemons destined for Chinese and Japanese markets, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development said in a statement.

- - - -

LONDON -- Britain's manufacturing sector saw a record slump in April amid the COVID-19 crisis as output, new orders and employment all contracted at the fastest rates in nearly 30 years, said a report published Friday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to 32.6 in April, down from 47.8 in March, as the outbreak of novel coronavirus hit the country's manufacturing sector and its supply chains, according to data published by IHS MARKIT/CIPS.

- - - -

DUBLIN -- Almost a quarter of businesses in Ireland have ceased trading during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey published by the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday.

The results of an online survey of 3,000 businesses in Ireland, conducted by the CSO from March 16 to April 19, showed that in the period 0.6 percent of the businesses surveyed had ceased trading permanently, nearly 23.4 percent had ceased trading temporarily, and 76 percent continued to trade.

- - - -

SARAJEVO -- A batch of medical supplies, donated by eastern China's Shanghai city, has been delivered to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Chinese embassy in BiH announced on Friday.

The medical supplies, which include 3,000 N95 masks and 18,000 KN95 masks, were handed over to Sarajevo mayor Abdulah Skaka a day earlier by the Chinese ambassador Ji Ping.

- - - -

LAGOS -- The Nigerian health minister has urged state governments to expedite efforts in setting up isolation and treatment centers as the country continues to report large number of new COVID-19 cases.

Cases are expected to surge in the coming days as testing ramps up, Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, on Friday. Enditem
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, cooped up in the White House for weeks due to the coronavirus lockdown, flew to Camp David, Maryland, on Friday for a weekend away at the presidential retreat.

When his Marine One helicopter left the South Lawn, it was the first time Trump had left the White House grounds since March 28, when he visited Norfolk, Virginia, to see the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort set sail for New York harbor.

Trump told reporters as he left the White House that he would be practicing social distancing while at Camp David, and that he plans a working weekend that will include phone calls with foreign leaders.

He is to return to Washington on Sunday in time for a Fox News Channel "virtual town hall" event at the Lincoln Memorial.

Trump plans a trip to Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday. Vice President Mike Pence has made a handful of trips out of Washington to check on coronavirus relief efforts. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Richard Chang)
Airline also said it would delay aircraft orders from Boeing as it expects demand to take two years to recover.

Ryanair plans to cut 3,000 jobs and talk to Boeing about delaying plane deliveries as it does not expect European air traffic to recover fully from the coronavirus crisis until 2022, the Irish airline said on Friday,

Two weeks ago, Europes biggest budget airline said it could make bumper profits in 2021 and had no plans to defer jet orders.

But in an unscheduled update, Ryanair pushed back the start of a return to normal scheduling to July from June and said it would only fly 50 percent of planned capacity in the three months to the end of September, usually its busiest season.

The airline said it was now reviewing growth plans and plane orders and was in talks with Boeing and aircraft lessors to cut the number of deliveries over the next 24 months.

Ryanair, which has 210 737 MAX jets on order, has given Boeing a deadline of May 18-19 to secure a comprehensive new agreement, Chief Executive Michael OLeary told Reuters News Agency in an interview.

Possible price cuts or cancellations related to an existing 737 MAX order are also part of the discussions, he said.

Ryanair now expects the recovery of passenger demand and pricing (to 2019 levels) will take at least two years, to until summer 2022 at the earliest, OLeary said in the update for investors.

He said the airline would begin consultations on the closure of bases and up to 3,000 job cuts, mainly pilots and cabin crew.

Ryanair said it expected a loss of 100 million euros ($110m) in the three months to the end of June, which OLeary said was the first time the airline has ever suffered a loss in that quarter.

OLeary also said he planned to challenge in European Courts what he described as more than 30 billion euros ($33bn) in state aid to a dozen rivals.

He said Ryanair would be forced to compete with flag carrier airlines who have received 30 billion euros in state aid doping to allow them to sustain below-cost selling for months after this COVID-19 crisis has passed.
Many firefighters were injured while trying to put out a fire that broke out at a company inside an export processing zone in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday evening.

The flame started at around 6:00 pm at CX Technology (Vietnam) Corporation, situated in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7, according to the municipal firefighting police unit.

The firm, which manufactures automobile parts, has a lot of inflammable objects, thus the fire quickly spread.

About 130 firefighting and police officers were mobilized to extinguish the fire.

Officers from the ward-level police unit were in charge of fencing off the area to prevent local residents from interfering with the effort.

The flame was extinguished at 8:40 pm the same day.

The fire broke out at CX Technology (Vietnam) Corporation in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30, 2020. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Approximately 800 square meters of the companys metal plating workshop was burned down.

There were no casualties, but many firefighters suffered minor injuries and slight burns while snuffing out the flame.

They have been brought to the hospital for treatment.

Local authorities are working to determine the cause of the incident.

Firefighters arrive at the site. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Firefighters arrive at the site. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Firefighters are injured as they tried to douse the flame at CX Technology (Vietnam) Corporation. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Injured officers receive first-aid treatment. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

An officer suffers burns on both of his legs. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

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Ghana has recorded more than 1,000 additional cases of COVID-19 just 10 days after the country lifted its lockdown.

Last week, Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo lifted a three-week lockdown on the basis of improved coronavirus testing.

The Ghanaian president had said non-essential businesses in Accra and Kumasi could reopen but under guidelines of social distancing.

He said Ghanaians should make use of face masks in public places.



As of April 19 when the lockdown was lifted, the country had recorded 1,042 cases, and 99 recoveries.

However, figures from the Ghanas ministry of health on Thursday showed that the country currently has 2,074 confirmed cases of COVID-19, out of which 212 recoveries and 17 deaths have been recorded.

This implies an increase of 1,032 cases since the lockdown was lifted.

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Elon Musk

Kyle Grillot/Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says being unable to resume production at its San Francisco Bay Area factory is a "serious risk" to the company's business.

Musk made the remark during the company's earnings call Wednesday, in which he noted that Tesla's Bay Area factory in Fremont makes "the vast majority" of Tesla's cars.

He also criticized US shelter-in-place orders introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19, describing them as "fascist" and "unAmerican."

The automaker reported an unexpected profit for the first quarter of 2020, defying Wall Street's expectations.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Elon Musk says being unable to resume production at Tesla's San Francisco Bay Area factory is a "serious risk" to the company's business.

Musk made the remark during Tesla's earnings call Wednesday, in which he bemoaned the current closure of its Fremont factory.

"I should say we are a bit worried about not being able to resume production in the Bay Area, and that should be identified as a serious risk," he told employees at the automaker.

"We only have two car factories right now: one in Shanghai and one in the Bay Area. And the Bay Area produces the vast majority of our cars  all of [our models] S and X and most of the 3 and all of the Y."

Tesla's Bay Area factory, based in Fremont, is its only car-producing factory located in the US.

The 48-year-old also bemoaned the existence of the shelter-in-place orders in place across much of the country  calling them "fascist" at one point during the call.

"[People] should be allowed to stay in their house, and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist," he said.

"The extension of the shelter-in-place or, frankly, I would call it forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights, that's my opinion, and breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong."

Despite Musk's misgivings, Tesla performed better-than-expected in the first quarter. The electric automaker reported a surprise profit for Q1 2020, with many analysts anticipating it would post a loss.

Read the original article on Business Insider
THE ISSUE:

The White House mishandles the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on the agricultural industry.

THE STAKES:

Poor decisions only worsen food insecurity and threaten the food supply for all of us.

---

Farmers dump milk in upstate New York, plow fresh vegetables into the ground in Idaho and Florida, and talk of euthanizing pigs rather than slaughtering them for meat in the Midwest. In other parts of the country, hungry people line up for hours at food pantries. What's wrong with this picture?

Just about everything, from the reality on the ground to the leadership in Washington.

The problems in the U.S. food system created by the COVID-19 pandemic have also exposed weaknesses that predated the virus. Add to that a presidential administration that reveals itself to be not up to yet another challenge, and you have a recipe for agriculture industry disaster.

The problems are showing up in multiple ways. With restaurants and schools closed in much of the country, farmers have even fewer markets for their products, adding to the hardships caused by President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war with China that so disrupted global markets as to require tens of billions in bailouts for farmers.

The federal government's inadequate response to the virus - from false assurances it was contained to its inability, to this day, to ensure adequate testing  has helped COVID-19 spread throughout the country, including to Midwest meat plants that shut down, in some cases, due to the risk to workers. Because so much of the industry has been increasingly consolidated among a few major corporations and giant facilities, the closing of just few meat plants threatened shortages in supermarkets.

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Then, when the Trump administration finally did act, it used the wrong tools for the task. The same administration that was tragically reluctant to invoke the Defense Production Act to get industries to ramp up production of vital medical equipment is now using it to order meatpacking plants to stay open - more to shield corporations from liability, it seems, than to ensure they put safeguards in place to keep workers from getting sick.

And in the midst of a crisis that left 30.3 million people unemployed in the last six weeks, the administration is still trying to tighten the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the food stamp program that has long helped feed many food-insecure individuals and families and given farmers a ready-made market for their products.

Long-festering institutional weaknesses in the agriculture sector won't be fixed overnight, but the administration could quickly act on some immediate problems. It could follow New York's lead in looking for ways to get surplus products to urban and suburban areas and pay farmers a fair price for them. And it could impose COVID-19 testing and safety precautions on food operations to minimize the spread of the disease.

And it could let experts do their jobs without fear of running afoul of Mr. Trump's political or ideological agenda. Because when the grocery store and food pantry shelves go bare, no amount of White House spin is going to put food on Americans' tables.
Forces led by Khalifa Haftar have announced they'll halt fighting against the rival, UN-backed government in Libya during Ramadan, following international appeals. Haftar's forces have also lost strategic ground.

A spokesman for Libya's eastern-based forces said Wednesday that they would cease fire during the rest of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"The General Command announces a pause in all military operations from its side, and any breach by the terrorist militias will be met with immediate and harsh response," Ahmed al-Mosmari, who represents the forces of military commander Khalifa Haftar, said.

The move was in response to international appeals for a humanitarian truce during Ramadan and, according to news agency AP, so authorities could focus on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Libya has been torn between two rival administrations - the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, and a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi which is aligned with forces loyal to Haftar.

Escalating violence

The most recent round of fighting began in April last year when Haftar's forces launched an offensive trying to take Tripoli, clashing with an array of militias loosely allied with the GNA.

Violence has escalated in recent weeks with the warring sides accusing each other of shelling civilian neighborhoods. In recent days, the GNA declared its forces had made gains by recapturing two strategic cities west of Tripoli from Haftar's forces. Reuters reported that the pro-GNA forces were supported by Turkish military drones that targeted eastern supply lines.

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The truce announcement comes amid political uncertainty in the eastern camp after Haftar said on Monday that he would no longer recognize a UN-brokered 2015 power-sharing deal. He said the agreement had "destroyed the country," and that it was now "a thing of the past."

The acting UN envoy in Libya, Stephanie Williams, on Tuesday called for a humanitarian truce during Ramadan which could pave the way for a permanent cease-fire.

Libya has been embroiled in conflict and lawlessness since the NATO-backed overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Ghadafi in 2011. Despite pledges made at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year, the chaos has worsened in recent weeks.

The clashes have also complicated Libya's efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. So far the country has reported 61 cases and two deaths. The World Health Organization said Tuesday that shelling and water shortages near Tripoli are "just some of the threads that impede our work to protect innocent people from COVID-19 and other health risks."

se/dr (dpa, AP, Reuters)
Kosovos Constitutional Court has suspended a parliamentary vote on a new prime minister until May 29, dashing President Hashim Thacis hopes for a quick resolution to a political crisis.

Kosovos top court made the decision on May 1 amid a national holiday and just a day before parliament was to vote on Thacis new choice to lead the government.

Thaci on April 30 nominated Avdullah Hoti of the center-right Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) to replace acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Hoti previously served as finance minister and deputy prime minister.

Thaci made the announcement after LDK leader Isa Mustafa gave assurances that the party has a majority of votes in parliament to form the new government. The LDK has formed a coalition with two smaller parties, giving it the required 61 votes in the 120-seat parliament.

Kurtis outgoing Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party said Thacis decree was unconstitutional and filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court to challenge it. The party claims only it is entitled to form a new cabinet and that, if it fails, the country should hold an early general election.

The Constitutional Court was initially not expected to meet before May 4 because of the long holiday weekend.

The LDK finished second with 28 seats in last year's election behind Kurtis leftist-nationalist Vetevendosje party, and the two parties formed an uneasy coalition.

Kurtis government collapsed in March after only 50 days in power, losing a no-confidence vote initiated by the LDK, amid disputes over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the removal of trade tariffs on Serbian goods.

Kurti has stayed on in a caretaker capacity. He wants to hold snap parliamentary elections once the pandemic is over.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) air forces in Northern Europe scrambled its fighter jets thrice in two days to intercept Russian military planes, according to a statement issued by the alliance on its website. NATO said all intercepts were conducted in a professional manner, adding that its fighters across the alliance 'remain ready and poised to protect allied skies 24/7'.

Read: Irish Carrier Ryanair To Lay Off 3,000 Workers By End Of July Amid COVID-19 Crisis

"On 28 April, Polish fighters were scrambled under NATOs Baltic Air Policing mission from Estonia to identify two Russian Tu-160 long-range bombers, escorted by several fighters and supported by an Airborne Early Warning aircraft. The formation was later intercepted again by fighters of the Royal Danish Air Force. On the same day, a Russian Airborne Early Warning aircraft as well as two Russian Tu-22 long-range bombers with fighter escorts approached NATO airspace off the coast of Norway and were intercepted by Norwegian fighter jets." NATO's press office said.

Read: Libya's GNA Declines To Suspend Fighting During Ramzan, Says It Doesn't Trust Haftar

"On 29 April Norwegian fighters were scrambled twice more against two Russian Maritime Patrol aircraft, approaching NATO airspace close to Norway. After the first intercept by Norwegian F-16 aircraft, the Royal Air Force launched their Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth to meet and escort the Russian planes as they tracked south towards the North Sea. They operated around the North Sea and turned north where Norwegian F-35 fighters met them and escorted them out of NATOs area of interest," the statement added further.

Read: UAE Urges All Libyan Parties To Commit To Political Process, Supports Haftar's LNA

NATO

NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 countries from North America and Europe. It implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed in 1949 after World War II to constitute a system of collective defence. The headquarters of NATO is in Brussels, Belgium and the current Secretary-General is Jens Stoltenberg. NATO's total expense in 2018 was estimated at $1 trillion.

Read: Germany Contemplating Further Ease In Restrictions, May Allow Museums, Zoos To Reopen

(Image Credit: Royal Norwegian Air Force)
Some coastal communities in California are expressing their concerns on the possibility that Governor Gavin Newsom may be closing Californian beaches in support of the continuing efforts of the nation to prevent the further spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Newsom recently criticized beachgoers last week in Orange County, which opened its beaches to the public while Los Angeles County's beaches remained closed.



Urging Everyone to Stay at Home

Newsom requested that the residents of the state stay at home and follow social distancing guidelines to prevent spoiling the progress of California in preventing the further spread of the novel coronavirus as he plans to let some businesses in the state to reopen.



The Unveiling of a Plan

Newsom had revealed a broad outline of its strategy of four stages to end the stay-at-home order in the state. The plan also includes the gradual ease of the restrictions implemented among the residents of the state in the following weeks and months. Additionally, the government announced that there is a possibility that the schools in the states could open again in July or August.



California Beaches

A lot of people opposed the idea of closing the beaches across California. Officials from Orange County, San Diego, and Eureka were among those who were against the idea.

Marvin Faulconer, the mayor of San Diego, praised the responsible behavior of people this week on the recently reopened beaches. However, the decision may result in sending the wrong message.

Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, two County Supervisors, sent letters to the governor of California to reconsider his decision. The letter says that the region was able to employ a safe plan. They deserve the right to make their own decisions, says the two.

According to Jacob, instead of prohibiting everyone from going to the beaches, Newsom should be giving providing regions with greater flexibility as they move on to face the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.



Check these out:



Opposing Newsom's Decision

William Honsal, the sheriff of the Humboldt County, expressed his disagreement with the expected decision of the governor to close all of the beaches of California. He believes that closing the beaches of California is against constitutional rights.

According to Honsal, it is unfair for the people in Northern California to be punished after the people from Southern California went to the beach in Orange County last week.

Honsal believes that Newsom is smart enough to follow sound advice.

Furthermore, Don Wager, the Orange County Supervisor, stated that the idea of beaches being closed is unwise.

Wager said that medical professionals state the importance of sunlight and fresh air to fight off infectious diseases, and it includes maintaining good mental health. The citizens of Orange County have been cooperative with the orders of the state, says Wager. He fears that the overreaction of the state can affect the cooperative attitude and the collective efforts of the state to battle the illness, he added.
India functions both as a source and a destination point for different species of trafficked reptiles, a new global analysis of wildlife trafficking seizures in air transport said.

"India's involvement in the illegal reptile trade is so significant that recent reports estimate that around 11,000 turtles and tortoises are trafficked through the country each year", says the report released by TRAFFIC, an NGO working globally on trade in wild animals and plants.

The report titled "Runway to Extinction: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector," details how traffickers operating in every populated region of the world, rely on similar trafficking methods and utilise the same vulnerabilities within air transport sector as traffickers of other illicit goods.

The report is produced by C4 ADS as part of the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership.

According to it, India functions as both a source and a destination point for different species of trafficked reptiles.

Noting that one Indian species in particular, the Indian star tortoise has been in high demand as an exotic pet south east asia, the report said most trafficking instances involving the species smuggled from Chennai in checked-in luggage to Malaysia or Bangkok and usually involved hundreds of hatchling tortoises.

"For example, in December of 2017, two individuals were detained with 210 Indian star tortoises in their checked-in luggage at Chennai Airport.

The tortoises were hidden within two plastic boxes and beneath chocolates", it said.

In the past few years, however, Indian star tortoise seizures have decreased markedly.

Local reports suggest this may be because of increased awareness and enforcement activity at common origin airports, which has allegedly forced traffickers to use maritime routes.

"A shipment of star tortoises was discovered in 2017 after being ferried from Rameswaram, India to Sri Lanka," it added.

As Indian star tortoise trafficking by air has declined, red-eared slider trafficking has appeared to increase.

Red-eared slider seizures are often similar to star tortoise seizures; they generally involve many hatchling turtles hidden in checked luggage.

"But red-eared sliders are smuggled in the opposite direction, moving from Thailand, China, and occasionally Malaysia to Chennai (every red-eared slider seizure in the C4ADS Air Seizure Database was discovered in or en route to Chennai Airport)," the report said.

Red-eared slider seizures also generally involve significantly more turtles, usually ranging between 2,000 and 9,000 individuals.

"In one seizure on December 20, 2018, two passengers were stopped by customs officials on arrival at Chennai Airport due to suspicious behavior.

The officials discovered a total of 4,800 red-eared sliders stashed in cartons in their checked luggage.

The suspects had arrived on a Thai Air flight from Bangkok," it said.

Though smuggling of endangered Indian star tortoises may appear to be decreasing, the apparent decline in star tortoise seizures may actually be an indication that effective enforcement in airports has forced traffickers to rely on alternate routes.

Still, seizure data indicates red-eared slider trafficking shows no signs of abating, and continues to pass through South Asian airports relatively frequently.

The report also finds that the traffickers of wildlife and other contraband will occasionally go to great lengths to distance themselves from the illegal goods hidden in their bags.

In March 2016, authorities in Mumbai Airport noticed an abandoned bag left unclaimed for a week.

Upon further inspection, officials discovered 146 critically endangered tortoises (139 radiated tortoises and six ploughshare tortoises, both most endangered) from Madagascar inside.

The tortoises had been wrapped in plastic bags and taped, presumably to prevent them from moving.

Two of the radiated tortoises had died after their shells were broken.

The passenger associated with the bag had traveled onto Nepal leaving it behind.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five additional cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Laredo, city and county officials confirmed. The added cases bring the city's total to 368 positive cases.

Twenty-one people are currently hospitalized in Laredo hospitals with COVID-19.
Millions more Australians need to download the coronavirus tracking app if they wish to return to normal life soon, the government has said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday revealed 3.45million people have already downloaded CovidSafe since it was released on Monday - but more downloads are needed in order to ease coronavirus restrictions.

'We need that tool so we can open the economy. So if you haven't downloaded the app yet, download it', he said.

The National Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Friday next week, with the aim of making an announcement on May 8 about lifting baseline restrictions.

All restrictions will be reviewed, from pub visits to shopping centre operations.

Mr Morrison told Aussies if they were eager to go back to the pub soon they must download the app.

Scott Morrison said Aussies could be back at the pub soon, only if they download the coronavirus tracing app. Pictured: Pub goers enjoying a drink at the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel in Sydney before lockdown measures went into effect

CovidSafe went live at 6pm on Sunday and has been downloaded 3.45million times as Australians hope to further flatten the infection curve

'Now if that isn't an incentive for Australians to download CovidSafe on a Friday, I don't know what is,' he said.

'So it's over to you Australia.'

CovidSafe only works on smartphones and can be downloaded from the Apple or Google app stores. The use of the app is voluntary, but has been met with resistance from some critics due to privacy concerns.

The app uses Bluetooth signal strength of other COVIDSafe users you come into contact with which logged every two hours in the National COVIDSafe data store.

No location data will be collected at any time and contact data stored on a device will be deleted after 21 days.

Mr Morrison said he was eager to get Australians back to work as the number of new coronavirus cases remains consistently below 20 every day.

'We need to restart our economy, we need to restart our society. We can't keep Australia under the doona,' he said.

Mr Morrison said more downloads are needed in order to ease coronavirus restrictions

The Bavarian bar at Manly Wharf is seen closed on March 25 (pictured) due to the coronavirus lockdown, but ministers hinted restrictions may soon be lifted

In a positive sign, Mr Morrison said the National Cabinet will discuss 'how conditions can be eased' - rather than whether they can be eased.

But he refused to say which restrictions would be relaxed.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy told the National Cabinet that 15 conditions should be met before restrictions could be eased.

WHAT DOES MY BUSINESS NEED TO DO TO REOPEN SOON? Businesses are encouraged to create a 'COVID-safe workplace' to reopen. - Limit the number of people allowed in-store at any one time - Encourage customers to shop alone - Schedule deliveries to avoid crowding - Clean regularly-touched surfaces, such as door handles, lift buttons and hand rails - Use floor markings to remind customers to maintain a distance of 1.5m - Encourage customers to download the COVIDSafe contact tracing app Advertisement

The Prime Minister said 11 out of 15 conditions have been met already - but urged more Australians to download the contract tracing app.

'Downloading the app is the main obstacle now,' he said.

The conditions focus on testing, contact tracing, and the preparedness of health services.

Professor Murphy said cohorts of people such as health workers, teachers and people having elective surgery would be tested, with their consent, for the virus even if they do not have symptoms.

'We need to test more people. If we are going to get on top of those small outbreaks.

'We cannot afford to have an outbreak that takes off so that we get a second wave when we reduce restrictions such as a number of other countries have seen. So our testing has to be very good.'

On Monday Mr Morrison said he 'cannot see' international travel and watching sport in stadiums resuming 'anytime soon'.

The Prime Minister said allowing travel would be too risky while other nations suffer high case numbers - although an exception could be made for New Zealand which has almost eliminated the virus.

'I can't see international travel occurring anytime soon,' he said.

This graph shows how active cases of coronavirus are dwindling while the number of recovered patients are growing

What conditions have been met before relaxation of restrictions? 1. Sophisticated surveillance of disease incidence and spread - No, plans to test people for immunity need further consideration 2. Public adherence to social distancing - Yes 3. Finalised plan to monitor spread - No, more funding needed 4. Modelling showing how fast the virus spreads - Yes 5. Capacity to increase testing - Yes 6. Enough health workers - Yes 7. Contact tracing capacity - Yes 8. Technology for contact tracing - No, not enough have downloaded the app 9. Health system not overwhelmed - Yes 10. Enough hospital beds and ventilators - Yes 11. Enough surge capacity in hospitals - Yes 12. Enough masks - Yes 13. Enough gowns and gloves - No, this needs to be confirmed 14. Enough drugs and 'consumables' in the health system - Yes 15. Ongoing workforce training - Yes Advertisement

'The risks there are obvious. The only exception to that, as I have flagged, is potentially with New Zealand, and we have had some good discussions about that.'

Mr Morrison listed some restrictions which could be relaxed next.

He said cafes and pubs as well as places of worship could re-open and sport could restart - but going to stadiums is a long way off.

He told Australians to brace for an increase in coronavirus cases as restrictions are lifted.

The Prime Minister said he was willing to see the infection rate increase in order to boost the economy and allow normal life to resume.

He said a country's success in dealing with the virus should not just be measured in terms of the number of cases and deaths.

Success also means 'having protections in place to enable Australians to go back to as normal a life and economy as possible,' he said.

AUSTRALIA'S COVIDSAFE APP - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The COVID-19 contact tracing app is called COVIDSafe. It only works on smartphones and can be downloaded from the Apple or Google app stores. Use of the app is voluntary. PURPOSE * To identify people who may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19 so that they can be advised to take measures to help stop the spread of the disease or get tested. REGISTRATION Registration will require users to input their: * mobile phone number - so they can be contacted if needed for contact tracing. * name - so the relevant health officials can confirm they are speaking to the right person, although the Health Minister says you can use a fake name if you want. * age range - so health officials can prioritise cases for contact tracing. * postcode - to make sure health officials from the right state and territory are dealing with your case. COVIDSAFE IN USE The app will record the following contact data: * the encrypted user ID. * date and time of the contact. * the Bluetooth signal strength of other COVIDSafe users you come into contact with. This will be logged every two hours in the National COVIDSafe data store. * No location data will be collected at any time. * Contact data stored on a device will be deleted after 21 days. * All data stored will be deleted once the pandemic has concluded. PRIVACY * Personal information collected via COVIDSafe will handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Biosecurity Determination 2020. * There will be criminal penalties and anyone breaches someone's privacy. Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement




Melissa Valenzuela, 34, was reported missing by her family on March 20, 2020. She was found dead the next week, Mesa police said.

PHOENIX, Ariz.  Court records show details that led to police arresting four women on suspicion of kidnapping in connection with a Mesa homicide case in March.

Melissa Valenzuela was reported missing by her family March 20 and found dead three days later.

Mesa police arrested Nadine Chavez, 34; Christina Gomez, 39; Mercedes Gomez, 32; and Melissa Servin, 42 on April 24 in connection with the homicide.

Detective Jason Flam, a department spokesperson, confirmed in an email the arrest of the four women is related to Valenzuela's case. But because its still an active investigation, Flam said, "I am unable to discuss the specifics of the case."

Valenzuela, 34, of Mesa, was last seen March 17 with Mercedes and Christina Gomez days before her death, according to court records.

Related Video: Outrage Over Arizona Black Teens Stabbing Death

Detectives learned from phone records that Mercedes traveled to a Phoenix residence after Valenzuela was last seen.

Witnesses in the area identified to police Christina Gomez, Servin and Chavez as being seen in front of the house. They were seen arguing with Valenzuela, according to court records.

A witness saw Chavez, Servin and Christina Gomez "pushing or dragging the female victim who was screaming for help and for someone to call 911" into the house on West Hadley Street, which was Chavez's residence.

The witness said someone covered Valenzuela's mouth and forced her into the house, according to court records. A van identified as belonging to Mercedes Gomez was seen outside the house.

The next morning, the witness saw the women "cleaning up the front of the residence" but did not see Valenzuela, a mother of three according to the Associated Press.

Police interviewed another witness who told police he went to the residence the night of March 17 and the next morning.

"He observed blood in the bathroom of the residence and missing floor tile," according to court records.

The witness asked Chavez what happened and she told him Mercedes and Christina arrived at the residence with a "third female" and they fought with her and killed her in the residence, court records say.

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Mercedes and Christina left with Valenzuela's body while the others cleaned up, according to court records.

The witness told police a few days later Chavez showed him a news article that had a photo of a missing woman and "inferred to him that was the female who was killed at the residence," court records say.

The witness identified Christina and Mercedes Gomez and Servin as being with Chavez the night Valenzuela was killed.

Mercedes Gomez gave the witness a debit card and pin number that belonged to Valenzuela on March 18, according to court records.

Another witness who was present at the residence identified Chavez and Christina Gomez as being there on "an unknown day in March." She said she fell asleep at the home and woke up the next morning and "observed blood in the bathroom." The witness helped clean up the blood, according to court records.

Police got a warrant and searched the residence April 24, and blood was found in the bathroom. Forensic results are pending.

All four women were booked into a Maricopa County jail face possible charges of kidnapping and are scheduled to appear in court May 4.

Servin's bond has been set at $500,000. Chavez, and Christina and Mercedes Gomez's bonds were set at $50,000.

Follow Alyssa Stoney on Twitter: @stoney_alyssa.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Missing Arizona woman found dead, 4 women arrested: Police
EDWARDSVILLE  A tsunami of delayed criminal charges are expected once coronavirus restrictions ease, according to several officials at the Madison County Boards Judiciary Committee meeting Friday.

County officials said police have delayed filing some nonviolent felony charges to avoid overcrowding at the Madison County Jail. And criminals are expected to get back to work after the COVID-19 restrictions ease.

Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski said he is working with the Madison County States Attorneys Office to move some current cases through the system in anticipation of a glut of cases to be filed once operations start to return to normal. He said police have stacks of reports that they will seek warrants on.

Were trying to gear up for what we see as a tsunami that is going to hit us in May or June, he said. We do see that coming, and were trying to get ready for it.

Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons said that, once Illinois reopens, criminals will get back to work like everybody else.

Because folks are being kept at home more, there are quite a few of them who are not committing crimes who would otherwise, Gibbons said.

Madison County Board Member Mike Parkinson, D-Granite City  a Granite City police officer  said law enforcement has been restrained.

Policemen love to do their job, and theyre itching to get back to the way it used to be, he said. Police love locking up the bad guys. Its going to come and its going to be very burdensome on the judicial process.

Law enforcement officials have said that, during the pandemic, most departments have become reactive rather than proactive, especially in making routine vehicle stops. That has led to fewer arrests; many times officers have issued a summons with the intent of following up with charges later.

Much of this stems from a desire to keep prisoners out of the Madison County Jail.

Local and state officials have said that settings such as jails, prisons and nursing homes are high-risk for virus transmission. Because of that, many inmates at the state level and prisoners in county jails have been released.

Madiso County Deputy Sheriff Maj. Jeff Connor said the current jail population is 208, including 21 in the Alton Police Department jail. Normally the Madison County Jail has more than 300 prisoners.

He also said 11 prisoners are awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services facilities.

Because of the executive order (the state) is no longer allowing intake into those facilities, he said. So theyre going to be here for a while.

Chief Circuit Judge Bill Mudge also told the committee that he is extending the judicial order limiting court appearances to June 1. He said people entering the Madison County Courthouse or Criminal Justice Center must adhere to the states new rule regarding face masks.
By PTI

NEW YORK: In an "ambitious" cleaning effort undertaken to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the New York City will shut down its 24-hour transit system -- the largest in the US -- from 1 am to 5 am daily to disinfect the subway network, commuter trains and buses.

New York, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, is gradually beginning to see decline in the number of daily hospitalisations, ICU admissions and fatalities.

The state has more than 300,000 confirmed virus cases and over 23,600 people have died do far.

"This is going to be one of the most aggressive, creative, challenging undertakings that the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) has done," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his daily press briefing on Thursday.

"It's going to require the MTA, the state, the city, the NYPD to all work together.

It's not that easy to stop train service.

ALSO READ | US can never declare 'total victory' over coronavirus, says Trump as death toll crosses 63,000

You have to close down stations, you have to make sure people don't walk in, then you have to figure out how to clean all these trains and all these stations," he said.

Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio said the MTA will disinfect the New York City Transit system, including the Metro North and Long Island Railroad, daily as the State and City continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

With ridership in one of the busiest transit systems in the world already down 92 per cent, Cuomo said 1 am to 5 am slot will be "slow hours" and will have the lowest ridership.

The massive cleaning undertaking is unprecedented in the New York subway system that daily ferries millions of riders across the city's five boroughs and suburbs, going as far as Connecticut.

"The entire public transportation system in downstate New York will be disinfected every 24 hours. This is a joint MTA, state, city partnership.

"We're doing a lot of things here that we've never done before. But this is as ambitious as anything that we've ever undertaken. It's going to require a lot of extraordinary service and effort from multiple agencies all working together," Cuomo said.

Cuomo said there is now a greater need than ever to disinfect the subways, buses and the stations.

"Because you're in the middle of a pandemic, this is a place of density and you have thousands and thousands of people going through these subway stations, these turnstiles and these buses, trains.

At the same time, you have more homeless people who now are on fewer trains and you have fewer people to outreach to the homeless people," he said.

The MTA is North America's largest transportation network, serving a population of 15.3 million people in the 5,000-square-mile area fanning out from New York City through Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut.

In 2018, the MTA's annual ridership was 2.65 billion and the average weekday ridership was 8.6 million.

The subway system was getting cleaned every 72 hours but the state will now clean the trains daily as it emerged that a large number of homeless people were seeking shelter in the trains and were seen camping in the subway cars with their fare.

This raised concerns about public safety and health as MTA workers and train operators said they have to continue working in such dire circumstances.

Mayor de Blasio said the ambitious cleaning will "make our subway system cleaner than its probably ever been its history honestly and address this crisis in a whole new way".

Earlier this week, Cuomo, referring to a front page picture on The New York Daily News of a subway car filled with homeless people and their belongings, had said that it is "disgusting what is happening on those subway cars. It's disrespectful to the essential workers who need to ride the subway system.

"He had said the essential workers deserve better and the public transportation system must be clean, where the trains are disinfected. You have homeless people on trains, it's not even safe for the homeless people to be on trains.

"No face masks, you have this whole outbreak, we're concerned about homeless people, so we let them stay on the trains without protection in this epidemic of the COVID virus? No. We have to do better than that, and we will," Cuomo had said.

Michael Fischer, president of the Central Park Civic association representing over 10,000 residents, said in order to guarantee the subway remains safe for riders, "no homeless should be allowed to use the train cars as shelter especially during a pandemic."

The COVID-19 graph in New York is gradually flattening.

Cuomo said 306 more people died of the virus in New York, down from the 330 reported on Wednesday, the lowest one-day toll reported since March 30.

The number of patients newly admitted to hospitals also declined, after having ticked up slightly on Wednesday.

Further, the number of COVID19 patients in hospitals dropped for the 17th straight day and is now below 12,000, down nearly 40 percent from the middle of the month, when nearly 19,000 virus patients were hospitalised.
By Olivia Rose

A SECOND polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyser - the machine used to test for Covid-19 - is on its way to the Turks and Caicos Islands.





The key equipment, which will help boost the territorys scientific and technical capacities to combat the virus, will arrive sometime next month.





This was revealed by Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson on Tuesday (April 28) during her address to the nation.





"We are also delighted that another PCR equipment is in route and was procured by Public Health England, and this will increase our testing capability, she said.





"This second equipment builds redundancy and increases our capability to test more.





Public Health England has also been instrumental in helping the TCI to procure Covid-19 test kits, biosafety supplies and related equipment to support the local battle against the virus.





The first PCR machine arrived on April 18 and was hailed a significant breakthrough for the local health sector.





"I am delighted that we are in receipt of our first PCR equipment which has been in the country for the past week and which is an important part of our national strategy.





"The Hon. minister of health and his team have repeatedly stated that in country testing must be central to any strategy.





It will allow the TCI Government to increase testing of residents beyond the World Health Organisations definition, she said.





Previously, the TCIs samples were sent to the Bahamas and Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) laboratory in Trinidad.





Wait time for these results varied to as much as three to five days depending on the location where the test took place.





The premier also expressed gratitude to the Bahamas and Trindad for assisting the territory in this critical area during the pandemic.





"We remain grateful to the Bahamas and CARPHA in what remains a true regional partnership. They continue to conduct testing for TCI, and we are greatly appreciative.





"TCI continues to enjoy valuable partnerships with benefit to our people.





"We must thank the people of Jamaica for their support in our Treatment Abroad Programme despite the recent unfortunate situation that made headlines.





"Our region has been a great family support when it matters, and we likewise have also been able to lend support.





"But we are delighted with this in country capability and await the start date as will be announced by the Ministry of Health very soon.





Now that the Ministry of Health is equipped, efforts are being made to conduct widespread community testing of the virus.





Minister of Health Hon. Edwin Astwood said the Ministry of Health is now in the position to roll out the strategy and protocols for widespread community testing.





He stressed that testing on a larger scale will give the Government and health officials accurate information on the prevalence of this strain of coronavirus in the TCI.





PCR testing is regarded as the most accurate and conclusive test for early detection of Covid-19.





The leading-edge device detects viral genetic material, which will be present in the body before antibodies form or symptoms of the disease are present.





The machines, which are in high demand around the world due to the pandemic, will be housed in the Governments Public Health Laboratory.





Training of local laboratory staff on operating, care, and maintenance of this particular machine is ongoing by the Ministry of Health in partnership with Public Health England.





The device will be operated by skilled clinical laboratory personnel specifically instructed and trained in the techniques of real-time PCR and in vitro diagnostic procedures.




SAGINAW, MI  Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent financial crisis, Saginaw Valley State University President Donald Bachand has announced plans to freeze tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year.

I am recommending to our Board of Control that we freeze tuition for the 2020-21 academic year, Bachand said in a statement Friday, May 1. Many families are facing financial challenges. This is one way in which we can assist students and families and provide some reassurance to them. Online fees will be removed to ensure that an SVSU degree remains affordable and within reach. While this decision ultimately rests with our Board, it is important to make our intentions clear so that students and families can plan.

The pandemic has sickened more than 41,000 people and killed 3,789 in Michigan alone. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has extended her stay-at-home order until May 15. Schools and universities are closed and have shifted to remote learning. Some businesses remain closed and workers who can are working from home. Nearly a quarter of Michigan workers have filed for unemployment.

Central Michigan University has also frozen tuition for the upcoming academic year.

Also on Friday, Bachand announced that he and other SVSU executives are taking pay cuts.

I will be taking a pay cut of 10%, effective immediately. Our other senior executive and leadership teams will be taking pay cuts of 5% to 10%, as well," his statement continued. It is the right and responsible thing to do as we build a budget that still contains many variables.

All SVSU classes for the spring and summer have been moved online, and online fees have been waived. The spring term begins Monday, May 11, and the summer term begins Monday, June 29.

More than 100 SVSU staff members are on temporary COVID-19 leave. Some are on full-time leave, while others are on partial leave and working reduced hours. The university is continuing health insurance coverage for all affected employees, according to a SVSU news release.

University officials say preparations continue to welcome faculty, staff and students back to campus in phases, once it can be done safely. Several internal teams have been established to develop plans for reopening campus activity, both in the short-term and for the fall semester.

Our students want to return to their university in the fall, Bachand said in the statement. They are showing this through their actions. We have received more housing deposits from returning students than had been received than at this time last year. This is truly remarkable, given how many questions remain unanswered and how many families are in financial distress. It demonstrates a show of faith from our students, and it should renew faith in all of us.

SVSUs scheduled commencement exercises for Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, have been postponed. The university will honor its May and August graduates in a virtual celebration at 5 p.m. May 8. Learn more at www.svsu.edu/commencement.

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WHO Official: Agency Not Invited to Take Part in Chinas Virus Probe

China hasnt let World Health Organization (WHO) experts take part in the countrys probe of the CCP virus, the WHO representative in China said.

We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join, Dr. Gauden Galea told Sky News.

WHO is making requests of the health commission and of the authorities. The origins of virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus is a novel coronavirus that emerged in China last year. It causes a disease called COVID-19 that has killed tens of thousands of people around the world.

Galea told Sky that world health experts need to know as much as possible to prevent the reoccurrence of the new illness.

Asked whether there was a good reason to exclude WHO from the probe, Galea said: From our point of view, no.

WHO declined to make Galea available for an interview.

WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese Government to participate in investigation around the animal origins, it said in an emailed statement.

An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in Chinas central Hubei province on April 17, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images)

China repeatedly blocked U.S. experts from entering the country to help analyze the virus in January and February. It has still not granted access to American experts or health officials from other Western countries to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a lab near where the outbreak started, according to U.S. officials.

WHO sent a team to China in February to analyze the virus and Chinas response to the outbreak. The resulting report was largely positive about the response.

Two U.S. experts, Dr. Clifford Lane from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Dr. Weigong Zhou from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were part of the team.

The Epoch Times is working on interviewing Lane about his experience. A CDC spokeswoman told The Epoch Times that an interview with Zhou wasnt possible at this time.

The United States has paused funding to WHO over questions about its close relationship to the CCP and whether it helped coverup the extent of the outbreak earlier this year.

Australia last month said all WHO members should support an independent probe into the origins and spread of the virus.

Chinas foreign ministry retaliated, positing that Chinese people could stop buying products from Australia and avoid enrolling in universities there.
The Southeastern home furnishings retailer commemorates a successful year of offering online retail

Mulberry, Florida, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On May 1, 2019, W.S. Badcock Corporation officially brought its 116-year-old company into the digital age with its entrance into the e-commerce space. Before the launch of its transactional web capabilities last year, the popular home furnishings, appliances, and electronics retailer was a strictly brick-and-mortar operation with over 360 stores in eight Southeastern states.

Since merging its enhanced online product offerings on www.badcock.com and world-class service from locally-owned stores, the brand has opened doors for shoppers that may have otherwise turned to other e-tail options. Customers readily embraced the shopping channel and have subsequently propelled the company beyond its first-year e-commerce sales goals.

As the first anniversary of its e-commerce launch arrives, the impact of this channel during societys current challenges is not lost on Badcock. While much of the world finds itself at home, the importance of online commerce has taken center stage and many retailers are finding a reliance at least in part on e-commerce capabilities. One of the unique factors of Badcocks online shopping option is the relationship with its 378 stores, most of which are locally owned and operated. Delivery and coordination are fully handled by a customers local store which has enhanced the ability to sustain livelihoods of many employees in areas where operations are permitted under local orders. While a true celebration is difficult during todays climate, Badcock is certainly taking time to appreciate the accomplishments of those behind the initial launch and the ongoing success of the endeavor.

CEO and President Rob Burnette is happy to commemorate the success of Badcocks

e-commerce channel. Our e-commerce platform has become a vital part of our store mix over the past year; and right now, that is more true than ever. We are extremely thankful to have multiple options for our customers to safely purchase the items they need to keep their homes functioning while continuing to support our independent dealer network and employee needs.

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Director of Special Projects Kelley Trivett, who has spearheaded the initiative from the start, is incredibly happy with the results of the project and is excited about the future. Our e-commerce team, and others within the company, have worked tirelessly to make the dream of online commerce a reality for Badcock. I could not be more proud of the effort and passion our team has put into making our online store such a success over the past year. We are excited for the year ahead and are continuing to strive for ways to improve the user experience and drive more traffic to our online and brick and mortar stores.

Barb Scherer, VP of Marketing adds, We are proud to be celebrating a milestone for what has become such a critical part of the way our company and stores do business. E-commerce is a go-toshopping channel for todays consumer, and given the current needs of our communities, we are especially grateful for the work of our e-commerce team and its supporting internal partners.

About W.S. Badcock Corporation

Founded in 1904, W.S. Badcock Corporation is one of the largest privately-held home furnishings companies in the United States. Headquartered in Mulberry, Florida, its 378 corporate and associate dealer stores employ more than 2,400 employees in eight southeastern states. Its branded Badcock Home Furniture &more stores carry a complete line of furniture, appliances, bedding, electronics, home office, accessories, and seasonal items while offering easy in-house financing for its customers. For more information go to www.badcock.com.

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Attachment

Kristen Schipfer-Barrett

Badcock Home Furniture &more

863-425-4921

kristen.schipfer-barrett@badcock.com


Hyderabad/New Delhi, May 1 : A special non-stop train with 1,200 stranded migrants started from Telangana to Jharkhand's Hatia, officials said on Friday.

According to the railway officials, a special non-stop train operated as a one-off service on Friday morning from Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand.

Railway sources said the train carrying 1,200 migrant workers from Telangana left from Lingampalli station at 5 a.m.

Speaking to IANS, Railway Protection Force (RPF) Director General Arun Kumar said, "A non stop train from Telangana to Jharkhand started this morning with 1,200 migrants." He said the train will reach Hatia around 11 p.m. on Friday.

According to officials in Jharkhand, the state government has made adequate arrangements for the testing and quarantine of the migrants returning to the state from the special non-stop train.

The railways have suspended the passenger, mail and express train services in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Last month, hundreds of migrants reached Bandra terminus railway station in Mumbai after rumour was spread that train services were resumed.
'Sullivan's Travels': Goes First Class

I wish that I were reviewing one of the half-dozen movies certain to be made when this pox upon our house is no more. But until that glorious return to normality has us resuming all the simple joys of life we take for granted, like going to the movies, I'll be retro-reviewing and thereby sharing with you the films that I've come to treasure over the years, most of which can probably be retrieved from one of the movie streaming services. It is my fondest hope that I've barely put a dent into this trove when they let the likes of me back into the Bijou. .............................................................

A cult favorite among filmmakers and cineastes alike, the envisioned movie within a movie in Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels" (1940), about a famous director of comedies hellbent to make a socially significant film, lent its title to the Coen Brothers' "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000). Other directors have regularly borrowed from the inspiringly monumental dilly in thankful homage to its rich resource of ideas, comic and sociopolitical.

The handsome and versatile Joel McCrea stars as John L. Sullivan, a pampered recipient of vastly celebrated Hollywood success aching to be taken seriously. Natch, while the coddling movie moguls humor their prize moneymaker, they do all they can to dissuade him from his plan to don a hobo's garb and go out among the Depression-afflicted masses to research what he hopes will be his identifying magnum opus.

But perhaps most vehemently discouraging, and later repurposed by Henry Graham's (Walter Matthau) valet in "A New Leaf" (1971), is manservant Robert Greig's exhorting soliloquy: "You see, sir, rich people and theorists  who are usually rich people  think of poverty in the negative, as the lack of riches  as disease might be called the lack of health. But it isn't, sir. Poverty is not the lack of anything, but a positive plague, virulent in itself, contagious as cholera, with filth, criminality, vice and despair as only a few of its symptoms. It is to be stayed away from, even for purposes of study. It is to be shunned."

It is this barely cloaked, cynical theorizing at the heart of the delightfully engaging drollery that is the great Sturges' signature. In a movie that essentially accomplishes for the director what he hopes for his protagonist, he iterates that he is the socially conscious farceur, the artiste who traffics in haute satire. He is to Frank Capra what Edward Hopper is to Norman Rockwell  his humanism doing a dance on an edgier, more daring cliff.

Providing realistic balance, as it often does in actual life, is the perfectly cast, hair-over-one-eye love interest played by Veronica Lake. Simply credited as The Girl, the all-but-through-with her-attempts-to make-it-in-Hollywood ingenue wins our title character's approval and an invitation to join him in his odyssey when, unaware of his celebrity, she treats him to coffee and a sinker.

That's doughnut in Depression parlance.

The match made in Tinseltown Heaven checks all the fairy-tale romance boxes, and would doubtlessly be approved by Dora Goldberger who, when I embarked on my own travels, didn't counsel that it's just as easy to fall in love with a rich girl as it is a poor one. But rather, as was the banker's daughter's storybook bent, she advised that I marry a poor beautiful girl. Alas, all I could find was a beautiful middle-class girl.

Supporting McCrea and Lake's sojourners into the depths of the Depression is the wonderful, ensemble gaggle of Sturges regulars, a comic chorus of character actor favorites ostensibly the humorous flipside to Orson Wells's troupe of gravely etched personae. This includes the wonderfully emotive, dem-and-dese spouting William Demarest as Mr. Jones, the combination Man Friday/bodyguard/meat-and-potatoes pundit who we've no doubt came upon his savvy the hard way; and Robert Warwick as Sullivan's big-time producer, Mr. LeBrand, whose unflappable business sense is advertised in the following repartee:

John L. Sullivan: I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions. Stark realism. The problems that confront the average man!

LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.

John L. Sullivan: A little, but I don't want to stress it. I want this picture to be a document. I want to hold a mirror up to life. I want this to be a picture of dignity! A true canvas of the suffering of humanity!

LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.

Such witty but good-natured sarcasm peppers most of the dialogue as Sullivan and The Girl foray into the land of the poor and the disenfranchised. Of course, this includes hopping a freight, an experience I've always felt was missing in my life. But as Sullivan illustrates, maybe that's not such a good idea.

Predictably, our intrepid dilettante draws his much-sought hardship and privation in spades. And here's where Sturges really shows his stuff, managing to synthesize dramatically effective despair and screwball comedy with neither of the Greek masks compromised by the other. He surfaces the ironic tragedy in farce and the comic travesty in misfortune. And via a prism of his colorful, recognizable regulars, the auteur extraordinaire sings a paean to the diversity and preciousness of human life. Yeah, all that and a little more.

But beware, you who have become accustomed to today's attention deficit-friendly comedy.

There is in this rib-tickling treasure what they call in the Business, business  nutty segues, quirky asides and oddball off-ramps that some folks, lest they miss their appointment to address the U.N. or that flight to the coronation ball, would find superfluous. They'd be wrong. But otherwise, for those who can spare the time for a heady laugh, "Sullivan's Travels" is, as Dr. Timothy Leary might have opined, a real trip.

"Sullivan's Travels," a Paramount Pictures release directed by Preston Sturges, stars Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake and William Demarest. Running time: 90 minutes
One of the vulnerable groups who are said to be prone to Coronavirus is Sickle Cell Patients.



Underlying non-communicable conditions including sickle cell are contributing factors to the death toll related to the Coronavirus in Ghana, experts say.



The Sickle Cell patients have therefore been advised to build their immune system because according to experts, strong immunity also fights against the deadly Coronavirus.



The National Secretary of the Sickle Cell Association, Mr. Joseph Sarfo Antwi, has therefore urged patients to comply with the protocols given to avoid contracting the disease.



He disclosed this when ANAQ Foundation donated some food commodities to support sickle cell patients in the region.



ANAQ Foundation, a member of the Ghana Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance is a sickle cell non-governmental organization and over the years the foundation has been embarking on community and school health tours to educate and screen people on diseases.



In an interview with Peacefmonline.com, the Founder and President of the Foundation, Mrs. Ama Nyarko Attafua Quainoo explaining the rationale behind her humanitarian gesture said that this is the time people living with sickle cell must live a good life to flee from the virus.



Mrs. Ama Nyarko Attafua Quianoo who over the years has made publicly her Sickle cell status charged her counterparts to abide by the protocols as in avoiding handshaking and crowded places, washing of hands under running water or using hand sanitizers and wearing of nose masks.



Ghanas Coronavirus Status



Ghana's COVID-19 case count is now 2,074, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS).



The number of recoveries has increased to 212 with 17 deaths. This adds 403 new positive cases since the Ministry's last update on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.



There has also been an additional 24 recoveries and one (1) more death.

Source: Prince Kwadwo Boadu/ Hello FM









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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While Prasad talked about work from home culture, he also spoke about the need for developing digitally connected and more resilient global supply chains supported by innovations.

New Delhi: Work from home being practised during the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown might become a trend in coming days, IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said at a meeting of G20 ministers.

The minister highlighted India's action plan to fight coronavirus by leveraging digital technology and called for a coordinated global digital response to fight the pandemic.

"Work from home may become a new norm. Spoke about the tremendous role played by Indian IT/ITeS industry in providing uninterrupted support to global businesses during COVID-19 by switching to the work from home mode," Prasad said on social media platform Twitter.

An extraordinary virtual 'G20 Digital Economy Ministers' meeting was convened on Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed over 2.17 lakh people globally and to forge a global coordinated response harnessing digital technologies.

The death toll due to coronavirus rose to 1,075 and the number of cases climbed to 33,610 in the country on Thursday.

While Prasad talked about work from home culture, he also spoke about the need for developing digitally connected and more resilient global supply chains supported by innovations.

"India is an attractive destination for businesses who are willing to set up such resilient supply chains," Prasad said.

He said that to handle coronavirus, India has developed the Aarogya Setu mobile app, using geo-fencing for quarantine management.

The app has been made mandatory for government employees and people applying for e-pass in some jurisdictions.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) in a statement said the G20 digital ministers agreed to leverage the potential of digital medium to contain the pandemic and protect people.

MeitY said that Prasad during the meeting emphasised the importance to revive the economy while continuing the fight against COVID-19.

"He impressed upon the G20 ministers that the present situation also demands greater collaboration among stakeholders for providing solutions that can address issues related to social distancing, distributed workforce and the changing nature of global supply chain," the statement said.

Prasad also urged G20 to come out with a concrete digital action plan to fight the global pandemic.

"At the end of the summit, a G20 Digital Economy Task Force COVID-19 ministerial statement was issued which called for a coordinated global digital response to fight the pandemic, adopting measures to strengthen communication infrastructure and network connectivity, non-personal data exchange in a secured manner, use of digital solutions for healthcare, cyber-secured world and measures to strengthen resilience of businesses," the statement said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 1, 2020 19:58 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56b7c3 1 National busking,Mataram,West-Nusa-Tenggara,Russia,foreign-tourists,COVID-19,coronavirus Free

A family of Russian tourists visiting Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara have started busking and begging for money to survive since they are unable to fly home as a result of coronavirus restrictions in their country.

Mataram Immigration Office head Syahrifullah said officials had detained the family  29-year-old Mikhail, 28-year-old Ekaterina and their 2-year-old daughter Serafima  after a video showing them busking at Kebon Roek traditional market went viral on social media.

The video showed Mikhail playing an accordion in front of the market to the amusement of passersby, while Ekaterina swayed next to him while carrying their daughter.

"They busked, begged for money from locals and used the money to buy food. We tracked them down after receiving reports from residents," Syahrifullah said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the family had all the necessary documents and permits to stay in Indonesia. However, they were detained due to their busking activities.

"Even though they are not allowed to busk, beg or make money here, we gave them leniency due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "If it wasn't for the COVID-19 outbreak, I would have carried out stricter actions."

Mikhail said his family could not return home because Russia had imposed a nationwide lockdown in response to its coronavirus outbreak.

"We traveled in Malaysia before flying to Indonesia and we initially planned to spend only two days here and return afterward," he said, "However, Malaysia imposed a lockdown so we decided to go to Bali [through West Nusa Tenggara]."

Mikhail said he busked in Bali but police officers forbade it. "We only have money for a month's stay in Bali. So we decided to go back to West Nusa Tenggara to find opportunities to busk. But we could not do it here either."

Despite the challenges, he said locals had shown generosity and friendliness to his family.

Syahrifullah said that Mikhail and his family would be transported to the Russian Consulate General in Bali.

"We've communicated with the Russian Consulate General. The officials said they would support the family until they could return to Russia," he said. "All flights and ferries from Lombok to Bali and vice versa have been canceled except for logistics, but we gave the family leniency to cross."

He said the family had been tested for COVID-19 and the results came back negative. (nal)
Chief of Advocacy Partnerships and Communication, Yangon, Myanmar

Organization: Unicef

Country: Myanmar

City: Yangon, Myanmar

Office: UNICEF Myanmar

Grade: P-5

Closing date: Tuesday, 12 May 2020

Chief of Advocacy, Partnerships and Communication, P5, Yangon, Myanmar (position will relocate from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw in the near future)

Job no: 531388

Position type: Fixed Term Appointment

Location: Myanmar Division/Equivalent: Bangkok (EAPRO), Thailand

School/Unit: Myanmar

Department/Office: Yangon, Myanmar

Categories: Communication / External Relations, P-5

UNICEF works in some of the worlds toughest places, to reach the worlds most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does A in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to childrens rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life A in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions A her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a societys most disadvantaged citizens A addressing inequity A not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations .

How can you make a difference?

The Chief of Advocacy, Partnerships and Communication will be accountable for leading the advocacy, communication, and partnerships of the Myanmar Country Office, under the supervision of the Representative. This position entails developing, implementing and monitoring strategies in line with the advocacy and communication frameworks and tools promoted by UNICEF globally to support changes in policy and legislation; increase and improve public and private resource allocations for children including through UNICEF; promote awareness, understanding, support and respect for childrens and womens rights; and support for UNICEFs mission, priorities and programmes in the country office, at a global level, and those of the UN Country Team. The incumbent will need to ensure proper monitoring systems and support to build the capacity of key potential advocates for children - and ultimately accelerate at-scale, results for children in Myanmar.

*Whilst the position is currently based in Yangon, this position will relocate to Nay Pyi Taw in the future as per the Country Office relocation plan planned for 2020. The incumbent will therefore be required to relocate to Nay Pyi Taw by the end of 2020/early 2021.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have...

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Social Sciences, International Relations, Advocacy, Journalism, Public Relations or other related fields of disciplines.

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development programme planning, communication for development, public advocacy, external relations or another related area.

Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

At least one instance of exposure to emergency programming, including preparedness planning. Active involvement in a humanitarian crisis response programme preferred.

Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Meet UNICEFs core values and competency areas.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEFs values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in the following:

Builds and Maintains Partnerships

Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

Tags communication for development human rights international relations journalism programme planning public relations social development social sciences

Drive to achieve results for impact

Innovates and embraces change

Manages ambiguity and complexity

Thinks and acts strategically

Works collaboratively with others

Nurtures, leads and manages people

The Functional Competencies required for this post are:

Leading and supervising (III)

Formulating strategies/concepts (III)

Relating and networking (III)

Persuading and influencing (III)

Analyzing (III)

Entrepreneurial thinking (III)

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

For gender balance in the workforce, male qualified candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Advertised: Apr 29 2020 Myanmar Standard Time Application close: May 12 2020 Myanmar Standard Time
Street artist Jim Bachor, 56, is known for works that have filled Chicagos famously cratered pavements with everything from pictures of cats to LIAR spelled out on Wabash outside of Trump Tower. Speaking from his hometown of Detroit, where he traveled recently to help his parents, Bachor said he installed the new mosaics last week and wanted to do something in response to the pandemic. A friend tipped him to the four potholes all together, a chance at a quartet too good to pass up.
READ

FICTION

The Plot Against America

BY PHILIP ROTH

Credit:

In early March, kids at my childrens primary school were playing coronavirus tip, prompting my eight-year-old to wonder if you really could get the virus from the game. This led to a few sleepless nights, with her crawling into our bed while my husband decamped to the couch.

From the plague to World War II, madcap presidents to the coronavirus, play has always been used by kids to make sense of reality and maybe even assert control over it in a juvenile way.

Such games can be amusing and confronting to watch, as well as visually striking. Its why Philip Roth uses it as a tool in the early pages of his dystopian World War II novel, The Plot Against America, where kids play a game called I Declare War. Like childrens play, dystopian novels help us understand the reality in which we live.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Just days after San Francisco halted all dine-in service, Mathew Accarrino, executive chef at SPQR, knew that business couldnt continue as usual at the Michelin star restaurant.

SPQR had briefly offered a limited menu for takeout, but Accarrino realized that the regular dishes the Italian restaurant offered no longer made sense during shelter in place. He decided to come up with a new concept to keep the momentum going.

These days, things look very different at SPQR. The former dining room has been converted into a packaging area for the new concept, Accarrinos, a different takeout menu thought up by Accarrino himself. He describes it as meals chefs would eat on their days off.

It's like we've built an entirely new business; it just made sense for the time, Accarrino said. It's the same people cooking your food, same purveyor, same ingredients, but it's a repackaging. Its a reconfiguration of those things into a menu that's meant to feel more comforting.

ALSO: Cook, sanitize, repeat: Personal chefs worry about safety and their small business

Like at SPQR, Aquerello, Lazy Bear and Saison are among other Michelin star restaurants in San Francisco that have adapted to takeout amid the ongoing pandemic. For many of these restaurants, its something that has required chefs to rethink entire menus or launch new concepts altogether.

The norms that we once knew are no longer in place, said Suzette Gresham, chef-owner of Acquerello. We had to figure out the best way to survive our industry.

On March 14, Gresham closed a fully stocked Acquerello, unaware that her restaurant wouldn't be able to reopen as before. Then shelter in place orders were established on March 17.

I had to go in and cancel all of my vendors. I had to package all my high-end food and give it to my cooks. We had to really breakdown everything, Gresham said. You just want to cry, because you know the longevity and what it takes to build that restaurant.

It took some time before Gresham decided to reopen for takeout on April 17, because she wanted to ensure the safety of her clients and staff. Currently, customers can place their orders on Tock and pick up meals at Acquerello. A four-course menu is available among curated cheese and dessert boxes.

Typically a four-course dinner at Acquerello would set diners back by $135 per person, without tax and tip. Nowadays, their simpler, post-shutdown menu is priced at $75 for a four-course meal.

Gresham is back in the kitchen, now with a smaller staff that help her assemble, cook and package everything. But even as Gresham and other chefs adapt to takeout, the meals they continue to offer customers personifies the craftsmanship each chef has cultivated through the years.

I certainly cant do what I do at Acquerello in a box, but I have to embody what I do, Gresham said. Its a huge amount of effort, but you have to do it, because thats why customers are coming.

Accarrino says that he is still cooking pastas at SPQR, but now offers a simplified menu that includes baked pasta with meatballs and Focaccia-style pizza sold by the slice. The teams at Saison and Angler have merged to launch Saison Smokehouse to offer BBQ. At Lazy Bear, customers will find duck banh mis, breakfast burritos and lasagna on the menu.

At Lazy Bear, menu options seem to give customers the most bang for their buck as menu offerings range from $5 to $16. A couple of dinner selections are priced at $75, which are sharable and enough for two to three people.

ALSO: U.S. restaurants will reopen with a different look. China gives clues as to how.

Lazy Bear always kind of had a big appreciation for that kind of lowbrow rustic stuff that we grew up with, [which] is a big part of our cuisine, said David Barzelay, chef-owner of Lazy Bear.

Financially, Lazy Bear isn't making as much as it was, and that's OK. Barzelay said its not about money right now because remaining open has helped boost staff morale.

We're not gonna make any money; that's not even our goal, Barzelay said. The goal is paying our staff. It's about keeping a sense of community and camaraderie that we get from doing this and [keeping] our staff supported and happy. That's one of the biggest things.

Like many businesses, shelter-in-place orders have placed a strain on Michelin star restaurants that have been required to sign up for business loans. Paul Chung, culinary director of Saison Hospitality, said that many of the team members at Saison and Angler have been laid off.

The goals and milestones that our teams look forward to year after year have been placed on hold indefinitely, Chung said.

Accarrino and Gresham said they had to either lay off or furlough employees, but reopening for takeout has helped retain some staff. Another silver lining has been the positive feedback theyve received from customers.

During Accarrinos 10 years at SPQR, hes seen couples spend date night at the restaurant, and now hes seen those same clients stop in for takeout.

We've had a lot of people come to the restaurant and [they're] really thankful that we're still open and that we're doing something that's accessible. We're part of the fabric of this community, Accarrino said.

The future of restaurants is still uncertain, and while each chef shared that they have hope their businesses will eventually get back on track, they know its going to be a matter of time.

I don't think there's any doubt that in two years, we're going to get back to where we were, Barzelay said. I just don't know what's going to happen between now and then. We're well-positioned to ride it out either way.

ALSO: Restaurants will have to adapt to a new normal, SF expert says

On April 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom gave detailed plans of how California may look once the state reopens. In his address, he explained that for restaurants, it could mean customers may get their temperatures checked and that restaurants will have fewer tables. Staff may also have to wear protective masks and gloves.

Barzelay doesnt think that proposal is a viable financial position to place on restaurants.

We should do whatever it takes to get over this and keep everyone as safe as possible, but lets not delude ourselves to think that that sort of reopening is actually a reopening, Barzelay said. My concern is that [if restaurants] reopen at half capacity, [the government might think] you won't need funding, support, loans, or insurance money or anything like that.

Accarrino said he believes in long-term effects shelter-in-place orders will have on the restaurant industry and knows it will forever change the way they operate. With the proposed restrictions, hes unclear how staff will be able to actually serve guests without inadvertently occupying their space.

For me, this will be the biggest long-term change for restaurants, because restaurants are places that are all about being close to one another and being social, Accarrino said.

For now, each Michelin star restaurant will continue to offer takeout, and move accordingly as time and new mandates come.

[Were] in troubled waters, Accarrino said. So we're going to steer our ships in the safe direction so we can get to the other side. People will eventually come back to the table.

If youd like to support the San Francisco Michelin star restaurants mentioned in this article, click on the links below to purchase gift cards or consider them for your next take-out order.

Acquerello - 1722 Sacramento St.

Lazy Bear - 3416 19th St.

Saison - Saison Smokehouse is located at 132 The Embarcadero

SPQR - 1911 Fillmore St.

For a full list of San Francisco based Michelin star restaurants also available for takeout, click here.

Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3
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A balaclava-clad man who kidnapped, hog-tied and bashed an elderly gun shop owner before stealing 100 firearms from a secure vault has been sentenced to seven years in jail.

Serdar Baycan, 23, admitted to the elaborate heist on September 4, 2019, after he was arrested in a dramatic early morning raid by police about a week later.

The firearms haul, worth $206,000, was discovered in his Forrestdale storage unit after a major police operation was launched to stop the guns entering the black market.

During his sentencing in the Perth District Court on Friday, it was revealed Baycan and his alleged co-offender, Mustafa Altinok, stalked 81-year-old Barry & Sons Firearms owner Barry Lathwell for days in the lead up to executing their brazen plan.
Massachusetts residents are required to wear a face mask while out in public, Governor Charlie Baker announced Friday.

We view this as common sense," he said.

The executive order takes effect on May 6. Businesses are allowed to deny entry to customers who declined to wear masks for non-medical reasons, according to the order.

You can purchase masks online at the following retail websites.

As of Thursday, April 30, there were 3,562 coronavirus deaths in Massachusetts and almost 62K across the United States.

Cloth Face Masks (ski masks, balaclavas):

Sports Themed face masks:

Scarves:

Fanatics (Many are on sale, up to 60% off)

Amazon

Kohls

Backcountry

Target

Claires

Bandanas:

Related Content:
YEREVAN.  The 27-year-old patient was in the hospital for about a month under medical supervision, and her condition was assessed as very critical. Alina Nikoghosyan, spokesperson for the minister of health, wrote about this on her Facebook page, and regarding the most recent COVID-19 casualty in Armenia.

"She had severe congenital chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, the coronavirus disease drastically worsened the young person's health, and her life could not be saved," Nikoghosyan added.

The 27-year-old woman died of coronavirus in the previous day.

According to latest data, a 27-year-old woman has died in Armenia of COVID-19.
LOST AND WANTED, by Nell Freudenberger. (Vintage, 336 pp., $16.95.) In this ghost story in which scientific metaphors abound, a physics professor is haunted by the death of a close friend whom she never truly knew. The effect is beautiful, wrote our reviewer, Louisa Hall, evoking the gravitational pull of dormant, unobservable attachments and discarded hopes.

THE TARGETER: My Life in the CIA, Hunting Terrorists and Challenging the White House, by Nada Bakos with Davin Coburn. (Little, Brown, 368 pp., $18.99.) A former member of the team that tracked the terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Bakos bears battle scars, as our reviewer, Jeff Stein, put it, from the way bright young women who flocked to the C.I.A. in the wake of 9/11 were treated by its freewheeling patriarchy.

LANNY, by Max Porter. (Graywolf, 224 pp., $16.) Halfway through this 2019 Booker Prize contender, the precocious 5-year-old title character, described by our reviewer, Laird Hunt, as a dreamer with an otherworldly connection to nature, goes missing from his parents house in an English village permeated by a nasty folkloric being. Porters forte, Hunt noted, is matching the dark and the difficult with hope and humor.

WHERE WE COME FROM, by Oscar Casares. (Vintage, 272 pp., $16.) Machismo and invisibility, our reviewer, Javier Zamora, observed, are themes of this novel about two teenage Latino boys torn from their fathers: one American-born from Houston, sent to his great-aunt in Brownsville to toughen up and connect with his roots; one undocumented from Mexico and hiding in the guesthouse.
A banner praising the Chinese Communist Party hangs from the front of the Jokhang temple in Tibet's regional capital Lhasa in an undated photo.

Chinese authorities in Tibet have further tightened controls over information flows in the region, arresting Tibetans last year for sharing news and opinions on social media and for contacting relatives living in exile, according to rights groups and other experts.

Particular targets of censors and police were images of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama shared on mobile phones and calls for the preservation of the Tibetan language, now under threat from government orders to establish Chinese as the main language of instruction in Tibetan schools.

Cedric AlvianiEast Asia Bureau Chief of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told RFAs Tibetan Service that freedom of expression in Tibetan areas of China, already heavily restricted, has not improved due to the censorship and surveillance set up by the [ruling] Chinese Communist Party.

It is still extremely difficult and dangerous for Tibetans to investigate and smuggle information outside Tibet, he said, adding that Beijings refusal to allow foreign journalists free access to Tibet has made it even harder for the outside world to assess conditions there.

RSF ranked China 177th out of 180 countries in an annual global press freedom index earlier this month.

Its much more dangerous [for Tibetans] to speak to foreign journalists or to overseas media like Radio Free Asia than it is for other Chinese people, said Sarah Cook, Senior Research Analyst for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan for Freedom House.

People there are subject to heavier reprisals than in other parts of China, Cook said.

Increasingly tight curbs

International press freedom groups have highlighted Chinas increasingly tight curbs on media workers across the country ahead of World Press Freedom Day Sunday.

Some of those sentenced to long prison terms last year in Tibetan areas had sought to draw attention to corrupt officials or environmental concerns, while others had simply voiced support for use of the Tibetan language or had shared images of the Dalai Lama, regarded by Chinese leaders as a dangerous separatist.

On Dec. 6, 2019, Anya Sengdra, a resident of Kyangche township in Qinghais Gade (in Chinese, Gande) county, was given a seven-year term after being arrested on charges of disturbing social order after he complained online about corrupt officials, illegal mining, and the hunting of protected wildlife.

Meanwhile, Sonam Palden, a 22-year-old Tibetan monk, disappeared after being arrested on Sept. 19 in Sichuans Ngaba (Aba) county after posting online comments criticizing Beijings policies in the region, and a Tibetan man named Lhadar, 36, was detained in October in Tibets Nagchu (Naqu) county and also vanished in custody.

It is assumed he was arrested for leaking state secrets, a local source told RFA in an earlier report, citing a charge often used to stop the spread of news of protests against Beijings rule in Tibetan areas or other information considered politically sensitive by authorities.

And on Feb. 20, 2019, Tsering Dorje, a 45-year-old resident of Peleb village in the Tashi Dzom township of Shigatses Dingri (Tingri) county in Tibet, was taken into custody only hours after speaking with his brother in exile about the importance of teaching the Tibetan language to their children.

'Suspicious conversations'

In the free world, people exchange information [like this] on a routine daily basis, Karma ChoyingSecretary to the International Relations Department of Tibets India-based exile government, the Central Tibetan Administrationtold RFA in a recent interview.

[But] these types of conversations are observed suspiciously by the Chinese government, he said.

Chinas restrictions on free speech and the sharing of information in Tibet violate Chinas own laws, said James Tager, Director for Free Expression Research and Policy for the writers group PEN America.

We should recall that Chinas own constitutional system guarantees freedom of speech and the press, and that the Constitution as well as the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law contains significant protections for the rights of ethnic minorities within China, Tager said.

So when the international community asks the Chinese government to guarantee press freedom and free speech, including for those who speak or write or report in the Tibetan language and on Tibetan concerns, we are not making a radical demand, he said.

Instead, we are holding the Chinese government to its own words.

Reported by RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tashi Wangchuk. Written in English by Richard Finney.
She receives about $195 in SNAP benefits each month, but her state does not offer a way to use that money online. Most dont, although Texas and several other states have recently signed up for a pilot program that would expand that access.

Congress authorized the pilot program six years ago, but it got off the ground only last year  and advocates for low-income Americans say it could have made a bigger difference during the pandemic if the government and other stakeholders had moved faster.

It should have happened yesterday, and it should be accessible to everyone, said Patricia Baker, a senior policy analyst at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, an advocacy group for low-income people.

Some stores are using a workaround that doesnt require coordinating with the government: allowing SNAP recipients to place orders online and then swipe their benefit cards when they pick up their groceries. The nearest grocer to Ms. Smiths home, H-E-B, told her that it was working on a way to do that; the chain said this week that it was testing curbside payment.

But thats possible only if a stores system is already set up to allow customers to place an order and pay later. Stores that require online payment for delivery or pickup can do so for SNAP recipients only if their state is part of the pilot program set up by the Agriculture Department.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 03:50:18|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 30, 2020 shows the bread made by Melek Aydin in Istanbul, Turkey. Melek Aydin, a Turkish female cook, showed tips of making bread at her flat in central Istanbul with a live broadcast from her Instagram account on Thursday. The number of these kinds of broadcasts in which she explains the steps of making bread at home has recently increased as many Turkish citizens have stopped buying it over COVID-19 concerns. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/Xinhua)

by Zeynep Cerman

ISTANBUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Melek Aydin, a Turkish female cook, showed tips of making bread at her flat in central Istanbul with a live broadcast from her Instagram account on Thursday.

"I appreciate your attention to preparing the sourdough, kneading the dough, and waiting for it to be yeasted," Aydin told her followers. "You did a pretty good job."

Now, it is time for each of them to put their loaves of bread into the ovens.

The number of these kinds of broadcasts in which she explains the steps of making bread at home has recently increased as many Turkish citizens have stopped buying it over COVID-19 concerns.

"To be able to answer all the queries, I am posting videos on my Instagram account, showing the details of the process, and I am regularly broadcasting live," Aydin told Xinhua.

In her view, after learning how to make a loaf of regular bread, people mostly prefer to develop themselves and try new alternatives, such as whole-grain or multigrain.

"The fast-food habits had started to take us towards obesity and unhealthy society," she noted. "But I think we have now entered into an awareness period in that sense as people started to cook at home."

According to google search trend report, the number of searches related to homemade bread in Turkey has increased by 500 percent in the past month.

Gizem Gulmek Sapan, a 29-year-old newly married Istanbul resident, is among those who learned to make several types of bread by following videos and tips of some professionals online.

Her interest in making bread started when the outbreak became widespread in the country nearly two months ago. Since then, the Sapan family do not go to any bakeries due to their concerns over hygiene.

"The worst part of cooking bread at home is that we eat a lot," she said, noting that the flour consumption of the household has also increased significantly.

"I am buying at least three packets of flour per week," she said.

A manager of a supermarket in the Dikilitas neighborhood of the crowded Besiktas district said the previous month they had difficulty in meeting the increasing demands of flour and dry yeast.

"Our shelves have been left empty many times," he told Xinhua. "But I can say that in April, we were more prepared in providing enough supplies."

The sales of bread in the bakeries in Istanbul decreased at least by 35 percent in March due to the coronavirus pandemic as a significant number of citizens started to make their bread at home, Erdogan Cetin, president of the Istanbul Bakery Chamber, recently told reporters.

In Cetin's view, it is hard to catch the same quality and taste of the bread made in stone ovens in bakeries.

"But, the health of our citizens comes first for us," Cetin was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu agency. "This process will end in 15 days or a month, and after that, everything will be back to normal."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 17:45:31|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Hubei, the central China province hardest hit by novel coronavirus, is now clear of COVID-19 cases as the final 12 patients in its provincial capital of Wuhan left hospital. The whole country is one step closer to winning this battle against the virus.

How has China done it?

The following key words may shed some light on this huge achievement.





DO ALL IT TAKES TO CONTAIN THE EPIDEMIC

China and its leaders always put people's life and health as the top priority and place the people's interests above everything else. This is why the country would do whatever it takes to stop the epidemic from claiming more lives.





THE WHOLE NATION FIGHTING AS ONE

Mobilizing the whole nation, China fought "a people's war" against the outbreak. More than 42,000 medical workers from across the country were dispatched to Hubei. Workers nationwide rushed to Wuhan to build hospitals from scratch. Resources and supplies were pooled from four directions.





COLLECTIVE, COORDINATED RESPONSE

China established collective mitigation and treatment mechanisms. With President Xi Jinping as commander-in-chief, Party committees and governments at all levels coordinated the response and followed centralized command, coordination and dispatch.





PUT HARD-HIT CITIES UNDER LOCKDOWN

China began a 76-day lockdown of outbound channels in Wuhan on Jan. 23, and the situation started to improve. Wuhan people showed the highest degree of discipline and self-sacrifice, stayed in their separate homes, but stood united.





SPECIAL CARE FOR THE AGED AND CHILDREN

China spared no efforts to save the infected, old and young. The overall cure rate of COVID-19 patients aged above 80 in Wuhan is nearly 70 percent. Seven centenarians in Wuhan were discharged from hospital, the oldest was 108. Across the country, several babies also recovered, the youngest was a 2-month-old girl.

(All graphics by Gao Shan) 
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona topped 7,900 on Friday, according to new state figures.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across Arizona is 7,962, the Arizona Department of Health Services said Friday morning in its daily tally. The total number includes people who have recovered.

The state said 330 people in Arizona have died from COVID-19.

Across Pima County, 1,267 cases of coronavirus have now been confirmed, up 26 cases from the day before.

Among the 1,267 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pima County:

 378 people ages 65 and older;

 180 people between 55 and 64 years old;

 240 people between 45 and 54 years old;

 438 people between 20 and 44 years old;

 29 people 19 years old and younger.

No age was available for two coronavirus patients in the county.

There have been 81 known COVID-19 deaths in the Tucson-metro area, according to the state health department.

There have been 74,879 coronavirus tests given across Arizona, with about 9% of them showing positive for COVID-19, the state says.

The 330 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Arizona, which is up 10 from the day before, include:

 252 people 65 years old and older;

 47 people between 55 and 64 years old;

 21 people between 45 and 54 years old;
La dixieme seance de 2020 suit sa precedente avec la Private Noctice Question et la suite des debats sur la motion de Tania Diolle et le retour des questions parlementaires qui va surement donner le mood dans lauguste assemblee, \\

A noter pas de presentatoion em premiere lecture du Covid-19 Bill qui devait gerer lapres couvre-feu.

1. Announcements

2. Papers

3. Questions

4. Motion

The Honourable Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and

Territorial Integrity 

That all the business on todays Order Paper be exempted from the provisions of paragraph (2) of Standing Order 10.

5. Statements by Ministers

6. Motion

The Honourable Fourth Member for Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes (Mrs M. A. T. Diolle) 

That an Address be presented to the President of the Republic of Mauritius in the following terms  We, the Members of the Mauritius National Assembly, here assembled, beg leave to offer our thanks to the President of the

Republic of Mauritius for the Presentation of the Government Programme 2020-2024 on the occasion of the Opening of the First Session of the Seventh National Assembly.

(Conclusion of Debate)

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Azerbaijan has begun to mitigate the restrictive measures introduced due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to Baku, a relatively low mortality rate indicates that work is being done in the right direction. Today, the country has 18 laboratories and 22 state hospitals for the treatment of those infected. The periodically toughened restrictive measures resulted in the fact that there has been a positive trend in Azerbaijan for two weeks: there are more survivors than infected.

To date, 1804 coronavirus cases have been registered in Azerbaijan, 1325 people recovered, 24 people died. Currently, 455 coronavirus-positive patients in special regime hospitals continue treatment, which 17 of them in a severe, 24 in a moderate-to-severe condition, while the health of others is stable. "The decision to introduce restrictive measures was not an easy one. We understood perfectly well that it would create inconveniences for people, a major blow would be dealt to our economic development despite the fact that this year's indicators were quite reassuring. But we had two options. The first option is to protect the life and health of our people and the second is to prioritize the saving of the economy. Therefore, we chose the protection of people's lives from the very beginning. This is the goal of all our work, and we fully mobilized our efforts in this direction," President Ilham Aliyev said during the videoconference with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti.

Observers note that in most countries, negotiations between leaders and heads of financial institutions are kept secret, because they believe that the general public does not need to know any details. However, the Azerbaijani President's administration considered it necessary to disclose the details of the online meeting, during which Ilham Aliyev recognized that the impact of the pandemic on the country's economy would be significant. A serious support package for private sector sectors that have been negatively affected by the coronavirus is currently being implemented in Azerbaijan. The government paid most of the salaries of 600 thousand citizens and microenterprises working in the service sector and other areas. Along with this, funds were paid to 600,000 low-income, unemployed and informally employed citizens in accordance with the minimum criterion. Taking tax benefits into account, this figure exceeds $2 billion. This is a big burden for the budget, as a sharp drop in oil prices will negatively affect foreign exchange reserves.

Suma Chakrabarti admitted that the decisions and measures taken by Baku really impressed him: "The past few months can be considered a great story for Azerbaijan. Your country is one of the few countries in the world, and maybe the only country that has achieved economic growth in the first quarter of the year." Given the importance of economic diversification, the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development noted the good performance of the non-oil sector during the crisis.

"This year, I think, we will again provide major investments to Azerbaijan, which would be correct in terms of responding to the crisis and reviving the economy. Under favorable conditions, we plan to invest more than $250 million this year in Azerbaijan," Suma Chakrabarti said. "Regarding the electricity network, we propose investing about 100-200 million euros in its improvement, which is very important in terms of response in times of crisis and recovery. At the same time, there will be opportunities for private investment in renewable energy sources. There is also the idea of a green city. Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join the green city initiative. In March, Ganja joined this framework initiative in terms of the waste management project. We propose for it to become the first "green city" project.

An adequate response to the pandemic and a strategic vision of economic problems have certainly strengthened the Azerbaijani President's position. Obviously, the investment of $250 million by the EBRD will serve as an incentive for the development of the non-oil sector.



Among the popular steps, experts also name the arrests of officials convicted of misappropriation of state aid allocated to the population due to the quarantine regime. The ongoing detentions of local executive heads and the dismissal of cabinet employees for violating ethical standards are called by analysts a sign that the pandemic has not stopped the reform process. Serious measures were taken in Azerbaijan to combat the shadow economy, which, in particular, ensured transparency and the introduction of information technologies in the activities of government bodies.

All this became the key to a successful fight against coronavirus. Now the Azerbaijani economy is one of the three least affected by the pandemic among the economies of energy-exporting countries in the Middle East and Central Asia. Experts say that it was due to the fact that the Azerbaijani government managed to ensure the stability of the national currency, while the currencies of all oil-exporting countries and those having a fully floating currency regime were devalued.
Algiers  President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune, said Thursday that the State will work rigorously to restore true value to work, to strengthen the place of workers, especially the middle and vulnerable classes, to increase their purchasing power and create the right conditions for a decent life for themselves and their children.

In a message to the Algerian workers, on the occasion of International Workers' Day, celebrated on May 1 of each year, the President of the Republic said that "our country is called today to restore true value to work, by exerting every effort, mobilizing and letting our capacities and our sense of creativity grow in order to make a qualitative leap in terms of multidimensional development."

Tebboune also addressed his greetings and gratitude to the Algerian workers "for their efforts in the battle for development, following the path of their predecessors who led the battle for liberation and building and regained the national sovereignty over our natural resources."

"I pay tribute to all those who fought these noble national battles, as well as the Shouhada of national duty during the dark decade (of terrorism), especially secretary general of the Algerian Union's late Abdelhak Benhamouda, (assassinated by terrorists during the 1990s,", wrote the President of the Republic in his message.

The Head of the State also invited workers' organizations to "support this orientation and play an influential role in building a productive economy which creates wealth and jobs".

"Even if all our attention has been focused, lately, on the preservation of the life and health of the citizens, because of the spread of the novel Coronavirus, I would like to reaffirm my commitment to resolving all pending litigation, canceling the tax on small incomes and preserving social gains, "said President Tebboune.
PM Modi wants bailout package first for MSMEs, poor and the vulnerable

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: The government is working on a rescue package to address the needs of the MSME segment.

The focus would be on the MSMEs first rather than the corporate sector, government sources have told OneIndia. There have been several meetings headed by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to discuss the issue and the consensus is that the package should first be released for the MSMEs rather than the corporate sector first.

Rs 10,000 crore funds in the offing for MSMEs says Gadkari

While most ministries are urging for a larger package, the PM is of the view that the focus must first be on the MSME, financial sector, health care and the poor. The MSMEs have taken a big hit owing to the coronavirus lockdown. They have not benefited much from the first package announced by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman and also the announcements made by the RBI.

The government could provide a direct guarantee against fresh loans to the MSMEs. This would ensure that they can raise funds from banks to stay solvent. It may be recalled that MSME minister, Nitin Gadkari had hinted that there was a possibility of setting up a Rs 1 lakh crore revolving fund for the MSMEs.

On the corporate sector, discussions would be held after the lockdown ends. It may be recalled that the corporate sector got benefits from the corporate tax cut in September 2019. The rates for domestic companies were reduced to 22 per cent from the earlier rate of 30 per cent.
A Taiwanese female model spent years battling online harassment after an innocent photo she shot for a photo agency was used for a completely unrelated news report and later turned into a meme.

In 2012, international media (OC included) featured the story of a Chinese businessman who had allegedly sued his wife for misleading him into thinking that she was naturally beautiful. The man claimed that his wifes good looks were the result of plastic surgery and that he had only learned about it after confronting the woman, because their daughter didnt seem to have inherited either of their good looks. In terms of wow factor, it wasnt the best story weve ever featured, but it was funny and crazy enough to go viral. At the time, no one imagined that the photo used by Chinese media for illustration purposes only would one day end up ruining the female protagonists life

Unless youve been living under a rock for the last eight years, youve probably seen this photo online at least once. It shows a ridiculously good-looking couple with three not so good-looking children. This was the photo used in the original Chinese news article and the one that Taiwanese model Heidi Yeh claims ruined her professional modelling career and caused personal issues as well.

Photo: BBC/YouTube

Soon after the photo started doing the rounds online, it became a popular meme, often shared on social media with the caption Plastic Surgery: You Cant Hide It Forever, or with a short reference to the Chinese story it was originally associated with. People assumed that she was the woman mentioned in that old news story, or at least that she had physically enhanced her looks to the point where her kids looked ugly in comparison.

Heidi said that one point things had gotten so bad that even her friends, who had known her for years, asked her if it was true that she had enhanced her looks through plastic surgery, and that her boyfriend at the time wanted to break up with her because of the public pressure surrounding her appearance. To make matters worse, photo agencies shunned her, because of the online controversy.

People refused to believe that I had never had plastic surgery. Clients would ask me if I was the woman in the picture. After this, I only got small roles in advertisements, Yeh said.

In 2015, three years after her nightmare began, the young model appealed to the media to help her set the record straight. In an interview with the BBC, she explained that her photo had nothing to do with the Chinese news story it had become synonymous with. It had indeed been shot as an ad for a plastic surgery clinic, but she claims it was originally intended to be used only in newspapers and magazines, by that clinic only.

Yeh claimed that international advertising agency J Walter Thompson (JWT) also allowed another plastic surgery clinic to use that same photo online. Only this second client, Simple Beauty, used Photoshop to change the appearance of the three featured children, essentially making them ugly. It also used the caption The only thing youll ever have to worry about is how to explain it to the kids, which the model implies inspired its subsequent use with the Chinese news story.

During a press conference in 2015, Heidi Yeh said she and her lawyer had asked both JWT and Simple Beauty to remove the modified photo, but they only did it shortly after they organized a press conference to address the issue. JWT claimed that it owned the copyrights to the photos and had the right to edit and use it as it sees fit. Yehs lawyer disagreed, claiming that the model had given the copyrights to JWT, not its clients.



As we all know, no-one controls the internet We cant anticipate what degree of an impact it will have, how people will view it, and what they will do with it, JWT stated, adding that it planned to sue the Taiwanese model for damaging its public image.

At the time of the scandal, some accused Heidi Yeh of using it as a pretext to relaunch her modelling career, which had taken a nose dive. The Taiwanese model acknowledged that she had only appeared in minor ads, but claimed that it was because of the much talked-about photo. She also waned that this wasnt only about her, but about the three other kids whose faces had been altered in the photo by Simple Beauty.

I cant bear to look at it The children may not use social media now, but it will hurt them when they grow up, Yeh told the BBC.



The scandal has died down significantly in the last 5 years, but the controversial photo that started it is still widely shared online and it will most likely never disappear. Taiwanese media recently revisited this unique case, writing that Heidi Yeh has since returned to her hometown in Nantou County, where she spends most of her time raising her son and meeting with friends (based on her social media photos).

She allegedly promotes cosmetics and other products on her social media profiles, but no longer works as a professional photo model. After posting a photo where she is posing next to a cardboard cutout of herself, Heidi wrote now she only models for her familys local store.
After a tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID-19, scepticism arose about the animals contracting the virus. Amid all this, a series of photographs which show tiger being tested have caught everybody's attention. Taking to Twitter, Wildlife expert and photographer, Ron Magill shared photographs of samples being collected from tigers mouth, nose etc. He later disclosed that all the tigers had tested negative.

In his tweet, he also wrote that he tested tigers at Zoo Miami after they exhibited symptoms such as nasal discharge and lack of appetite. He added that the photographs were captured during the process.

Immobilized and tested tigers at Zoo Miami for COVID-19 due to symptoms being exhibited such as nasal discharge and lack of appetite. Fortunately, tests came back negative! Here are some images that I captured of the procedure. pic.twitter.com/IglVCcRSyL  Ron Magill (@RonMagill) April 24, 2020

Read: Observe Tigers And Report If They Develop COVID-19 Symptoms: NTCA To Tiger-range States

Read: 'India Acts To Shield Its Tigers Against COVID-19 Malady'

Photos break internet

Later, Zoo Miami also shared a video of immobilised tigers who were tested for coronavirus announcing that all of them had tested negative for the infection. Soon after the post hit internet netizens were divided. While many lauded the gorgeousness of the beast animals dubbing them as "beautiful", many others slammed the officials for "inhumane" treatment with the captivated animals.

ZOO MIAMI TIGERS TEST NEGATIVE FOR COVID-19



Zoo Miamis Animal Health team immobilized 1.1 Sumatran tigers on Wednesday morning to administer COVID-19 tests.



Video Credit: @RonMagill pic.twitter.com/IB8Ywcs0pd  Zoo Miami (@zoomiami) April 24, 2020

Hes so beautiful   Jessica  (@arevalo3_j) April 26, 2020

All I can say is inhuman to the core...insane..So disturbing video..no kindness left in mankind  Malvika (@saimalu22) April 29, 2020

Glad to hear that. Im still confused how 1% of the human population has been tested but we are freely testing zoo animals and house pets   JVO  (@FLScottIN) April 24, 2020

Image: Twitter/ RonMagill

Read: 'Wonderful': Netizens Enthralled As Ambush Of Tigers Lazes On The Road At Satpura In Video

Read: How Many Tigers Are Hidden Within This Picture? Observe Carefully And Try Finding Them All


It is the first such partnership to be formed since the Government launched its dedicated Vaccines Taskforce

Vaccitech Ltd and the University of Oxford have announce an agreement with the UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the further development, large-scale manufacture and potential distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate currently being trialled by the University.

The partnership is to begin immediately with the final terms being agreed in the coming weeks. This will allow for rapid vaccination around the world if the COVID-19 vaccine candidate proves to be effective. The vaccine candidate was developed by the Universitys Jenner Institute who began trials in humans last week jointly with the Universitys Oxford Vaccine Group.

It is the first such partnership to be formed since the Government launched its dedicated Vaccines Taskforce to help find, test and deliver a new coronavirus vaccine just two weeks ago. It also comes alongside 20 million Government funding for Oxford Universitys vaccine research and support for the institutions clinical trials.

Under the new agreement, as well as providing UK access as early as possible if the vaccine candidate is successful, AstraZeneca will work with global partners on the international distribution of the vaccine, particularly working to make it available and accessible for low and medium income countries.

Both partners have agreed to operate on a not-for-profit basis for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, with only the costs of production and distribution being covered. Oxford University and its spin-out company Vaccitech, who jointly have the rights to the platform technology used to develop the vaccine candidate, will receive no royalties from the vaccine during the pandemic. Any royalties the University subsequently receives from the vaccine will be reinvested directly back into medical research, including a new Pandemic Preparedness and Vaccine Research Centre. The centre is being developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca.

Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said: Our partnership with AstraZeneca will be a major force in the struggle against pandemics for many years to come. We believe that together we will be in a strong position to start immunising against coronavirus once we have an effective approved vaccine. Sadly, the risk of new pandemics will always be with us and the new research centre will enhance the worlds preparedness and our speed of reaction the next time we face such a challenge.

The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Professor Louise Richardson said: Like my colleagues all across Oxford, I am deeply proud of the work of our extraordinarily talented team of academics in the Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group. They represent the best tradition of research, teaching and contributing to the world around us, that has been the driving mission of the University of Oxford for centuries. Like people all across the country, we are wishing them success in developing an effective vaccine. If they are successful, our partnership with AstraZeneca will ensure that the British people and people across the world, especially in low and middle income countries, will be protected from this terrible virus as quickly as possible.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: This collaboration between Oxford University and AstraZeneca is a vital step that could help rapidly advance the manufacture of a coronavirus vaccine. It will also ensure that should the vaccine being developed by Oxford Universitys Jenner Institute work, it will be available as early as possible, helping to protect thousands of lives from this disease.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: Across government, we are working night and day to stop the spread of coronavirus and protect our NHS. But in the long run, a vaccine remains our best hope of defeating this virus for good. So I am determined to do everything in my power to develop an effective vaccine and get it to the people of the UK as soon as possible. I want the UK to lead the world in developing a coronavirus vaccine - and I will back our scientists to the hilt in doing so.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: As COVID-19 continues its grip on the world, the need for a vaccine to defeat the virus is urgent. This collaboration brings together University of Oxfords world-class expertise in vaccinology and AstraZenecas global development, manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Our hope is that, by joining forces, we can accelerate the globalisation of a vaccine to combat the virus and protect people from the deadliest pandemic in a generation.

Bill Enright, CEO of Vaccitech, said: We are delighted to facilitate this extensive collaboration in support of the development of the vaccine candidate in order to make it available as quickly as possible. We believe this vaccine candidate provides significant validation for our ChAdOx platform, which is one of the few to have already induced neutralising antibodies against coronavirus spike proteins in human studies for MERS. We are committed to doing all we can to support our scientific founders at the Jenner Institute in order to overcome this unprecedented global crisis."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker used his time during Thursdays daily COVID-19 briefing to address the addition of state-run testing sites across the state, including one in East St. Louis.

He explained how additional drive-thru sites would open next week and increase the number of tests conducted, which could lead to the state reopening soon. He added that in the past week, Illinois conducted an average of 13,000 tests daily. This number is almost double from the week prior.

Pritzker added that this is, in part a, reflection on receiving resources and equipment needed so that front-line workers can do their jobs safely and effectively.

Testing, tracing and PPE are key to our ability to reopen our economy and keep people safe, Pritzker said. Thats why youve heard me talk so much about them so often.

Illinois has been promised by the White House a total of 620,000 individual swabs, which will begin to arrive next week, Pritzker added.

Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced an additional 2,563 cases and 141 deaths from Wednesday. This brings the states total to 52,918 cases and 2,355 deaths to COVID-19.

As testing continues to expand across the state, Pritzker addressed his new executive order. Today marks the first day where any adults and children over the age of two and everyone medically able to tolerate a face covering, will be required to wear one in any public place where they cant maintain six feet of social distance.

I dont disagree with them [republican representatives and senators from rural parts of Illinois] that different areas of the state require different rules at this time, he explained. Thats why weve made some changes you see in this new executive order that goes into effect tomorrow [May 1].

He went on to say that the changes to the order show a recognition of the need to reopen more rural or less impacted areas.

The state has the ability to enforce orders, but weve been looking to people to do the right thing and they should do the right thing, he pleaded.

He finished by saying that even if you live in southern Illinois or in Rockford and not in Chicago, that you are still in danger. Pritzker explained that his office, as well as Ezikes, is looking at data to understand how to open the state in phases. He finished by saying he is using guidelines provided by the White House to build a plan for reopening Ilinois.
With pharmacy and supermarket shelves empty of protective masks, Russians worried about the coronavirus are turning to black markets online to hunt for supplies.

Track live updates on coronavirus here

As the United States and western Europe move cautiously to ease restrictions imposed over the pandemic, Russia has seen a surge in infections that sent its confirmed coronavirus cases above 100,000 this week.

The number of deaths has also topped 1,000 and officials have extended lockdown measures to mid-May.

Authorities are encouraging the wearing of masks to help prevent a further spread of the outbreak, but ordinary Russians, companies looking to protect their employees and even medical workers are struggling to find them.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases

"There is a glaring lack of protective equipment in every region. Nearly all the hospitals have problems and in most the situation is close to being critical," said Andrei Konoval, co-president of the doctors' trade union "Action".

Underpaid medical workers are being forced to spend their own meagre funds on supplies, he said, "while many are making do by washing masks or using them for extended periods."

Natalya Eismont, a doctor in the Sverdlovsk region in the Ural Mountains, told AFP there was a "catastrophic lack" of masks among medics.

"I gave material to all my doctor friends so they can sew their own masks," she said.

Boris Churadze, the chief doctor at a private Moscow clinic treating coronavirus patients, told AFP during a visit to his facility last week that medical staff were well aware of a black market for equipment.

"A lot of people are making money from this," he said.

Officials including President Vladimir Putin have admitted Russia is lacking masks and other equipment, but they say every country is facing shortages and have announced major efforts to produce more.

In the meantime, the only option for many Russians are online black markets offering masks of dubious origin.

Offers have multiplied in neighbourhood messaging groups that many Russians use to share news and information about their communities.

"I have three-ply masks at 55 rubles ($0.75) a piece!" read one message seen in a WhatsApp group for residents of a Moscow suburb, along with a photograph of masks in a warehouse full of boxes.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, such masks would have cost 10 times less.

]

On Telegram, another messaging tool popular in Russia, vast quantities of protective equipment are for sale in various groups -- with some offering thousands of surgical or FFP masks, or disinfectant by the tens of litres.

Online retail sites such as Avito and Yula also have hundreds of offers of protective equipment available for home delivery.

Authorities initially tried to crack down, with the government at the beginning of April banning the sale of masks and surgical gloves outside of pharmacies. It reversed the decision a week later.

One pharmacist told AFP that many retailers were actually holding back from buying and selling masks after Putin threatened to punish anyone who increased prices during the crisis.

"When the coronavirus epidemic started, suppliers inflated their prices and we stopped buying them because we were scared of losing our licence. We obviously can't sell them for less than we pay," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Putin said this week that Russia had vastly increased its production of masks and other protective equipment.

"We have concentrated and mobilised all our industrial resources," he told regional officials, adding that mask production capacity had grown tenfold to 8.5 million per day.

"Measures are being taken and the authorities are trying to solve the problem," said Konoval of the doctors' union, though he added that some of the initiatives were coming too late.

"It seems to me that we have lost this battle."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Ilhama Isabalyeva - Trend:

The law on tourism was amended in Azerbaijan in relation to the issuance of electronic visas to tourists, Trend reports on May 1.

This issue was discussed at the meeting of Azerbaijans Parliament.

The current legislation states that the application for the issuance of an electronic visa is considered within three days, in the case of an application for accelerated receipt of it - within three hours, and if there is no reason to refuse, then the visa is issued and sent to the email address of the applicant.

Information is also sent to the applicants email in case of refusal to issue a visa.

The proposed amendment states that the application for obtaining a single or multiple-entry electronic visa is considered within three working days, in the case of applying for expedited obtaining a single-use electronic visa - within three hours, and when applying for a single-use electronic visa at international airports in Azerbaijan - in real time.

If there is no reason for refusal to issue a visa, then it will be issued in the manner prescribed by the relevant executive authority.

Amendments to the law proceed from the requirements of the regulation on the ASAN Visa system, approved by the decree of Azerbaijans President on October 20, 2016.

After discussions, the amendments were adopted on first reading.
Jailed for life: Nicholas John Crilley, 34, subjected a woman, 22, to 'sadistic' attacks over three-and-a-half weeks including June and July 2017

A twisted bank worker who tortured a woman for 23 days was sentenced to life behind bars despite a friend's ludicrous letter to a judge describing him as a 'good human being'.

Brisbane man Nicholas John Crilley, 34, was jailed on Friday morning for his prolonged attack on a woman, 22, over more than three weeks in June and July 2017.

Crilley broke the woman's teeth, stabbed her with a screwdriver, repeatedly raped her and left her on the verge of death with burns to 46 per cent of her body.

She was permanently disfigured by the ordeal, where she was virtually his prisoner at his townhouse in Bulimba and hidden away in a city hotel.

Queensland District Court judge Anthony Rafter SC detailed a gobsmacking letter from one of Crilley's friends as he handed down his sentence on Friday morning.

The friend, who was not identified in the judge's sentencing remarks, wrote in a character reference to the court that he believed Crilley was an 'honourable person and a good human being'.

Judge Rafter drolly told Crilley: 'I would not describe you as an honourable person or a good human being.' Instead, he chose other words for the monstrous man: 'cruel', 'callous', 'despicable' and 'sadistic' among them.

The victim, who was 21 at the time, was found barely alive in Nicholas John Crilley's house in Bulimba (pictured) on July 2, 2017. She was so badly injured police who found her thought she had been involved in an explosion

Over the course of 23 days, Nicholas John Crilley forced the woman to eat her own vomit and faeces, and made her sleep on the floor (above)

Judge Rafter said the only other friend to volunteer a character reference described Crilley's behaviour as 'unacceptable and out of character'.

The judge told Crilley: 'I am by no means certain that your friends are aware of the magnitude of your offending.'

Crilley left the young woman with injuries so bad that several of her wounds were infected with maggots. The court heard her life will never be the same.

The day she was found, July 2, 2017, the court heard Crilley boasted to a friend that he had 'pummeled her so hard that she can't even talk.'

'I poured methylated spirits onto her and set her alight, I have pummelled her so hard that I think she had a stroke. She can't talk anymore.'

That same day, Crilley called Triple Zero anonymously, saying he had a friend 'in pretty bad shape' and he didn't know what happened to her.

He became 'upset' when an operator asked questions about what had specifically happened.

Despite defence arguments that his 000 call was a mitigating factor, the judge ruled that Crilley only cared about himself.

'It was concern for yourself that ultimately led to her survival,' Judge Rafter said.

Some of the ordeal occurred Spring Hill's Tower Mill Metro Hotel where the court heard Crilley 'hid' the victim for five days

Crown Prosecutor Sandra Cupina had called for a life sentence at a sentencing hearing last week, saying he had inflicted the most 'unimaginable horror' on the victim.

Defence lawyer Malcolm Harrison told the court Crilley was in a methylamphetamine-induced delusional state during the prolonged assault.

Mr Harrison said Crilley believed the woman had been part of a drive-by shooting that targeted him, but that was not based on reality.

Judge Crilley was unsparing in his condemnation of Crilley.

'You took pleasure in the infliction of pain. Your brutality took her to the edge of death,' he said on Friday.

He had nothing but praise for his victim. 'The victims life will never be the same,' he said.

'Yet despite the terrible ordeal she has suffered, she displays courage, dignity and resilience.

In a brave statement to the court, Crilley's victim said: 'I have been disfigured both mentally and physically.

'It is something I would not wish on my worst enemies.'

But she may have drawn some comfort at the thought Crilley may never walk free again.
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Italys Kino Produzioni, which is in competition at Visions du Reel with Sicily-set Il Mio Corpo, has teamed up with Swedens Fasad on About the End, a timely apocalypse-themed doc.

Described in promotional materials as being about the apocalypses that we have survived, and those that we are still waiting for, this creative doc backed by the Sundance Institute is being prepped by Italian filmmaker and visual artist Cristina Picchi.

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Picchis previous docs have screened in Venice, Locarno and Nyon where her Cinetrain: Russian Winter won a Visions du Reel audience award in 2014.

Fasad, which originated the project, is the shingle behind The Raft which won Germanys Prix Europa for best doc last year.

Kino is now in talks for a top Italian broadcaster to come on board About the End for which the original plan was to start shooting late this summer, says Kino chief Giovanni Pompili. He added that due to the coronavirus outbreak he now needs to understand when cameras will be able to roll.

Prior to the pandemic, Picchi did research in Quebec, Indonesia, and Tuscany for the project that intertwines three narratives.

The basic idea behind About the End is to immersively explore the concept of apocalypse in its emotional, metaphorical, philosophical and socio-political manifestations, according to the synopsis, ultimately touching on themes such as human transiency and vulnerability.

In Quebec viewers will see a post-apocalyptic community of activists who are dismantling radar stations that had been installed in the Arctic region during the Cold War. The Indonesia shoot will look at how people live under the countrys most active volcano, Mount Merapi, their rituals to placate the gods and how they decide its time to evacuate. The Italy portion is set in an abandoned Tuscan monastery, the Bug Out Location chosen by an ascetic former nun named Teresa to prep for impending doom by praying, doing martial arts and wishing she had a gun.

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As a producer I always use narratives steeped in social reality as the starting point for my projects, says Pompili who also has another doc in the works, titled Abbiamo Vinto Noi (We Are The Winners). Its being helmed by veteran Italian documaker Giovanni Piperno who co-directed Le Cose Belle with Agostino Ferrente (Selfie).

We Are The Winners  on which Matteo Garrones Archimede is a minority co-producer  is set in youth centers on the impoverished outskirts of several Italian cities. It involves film laboratories held by Piperno with street kids who make shorts about life in their hoods. The ongoing black-and-white project has already spawned several prizewinning shorts shot in Romes Tor Sapienza quarter.

Meanwhile in the scripted feature film realm, Kino recently made Carlo Sironis Sole, the love story intertwined with baby trafficking thats been making an international splash after launching last year from Venice and Toronto (Sironi is among Varietys 10 European Directors to watch).

Kinos new narrative feature film projects include Delta by Michele Vannucci (Il Piu Grande Sogno) and La Bella Estate, a free-form adaptation of Cesare Paveses eponymous collection of short novels to be directed by Laura Luchetti whose drama Twin Flower is among Italys recent standout titles.

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By February, executives at Lovelace and the states two other largest systems  Presbyterian Healthcare Services and the University of New Mexico  were trading notes. Troy Greer, the chief executive of Lovelace, recalled asking, How could we work together to give the state its best shot?

By early March, as Mr. Trump downplayed the crisis, Lovelaces top doctor and engineer sketched out exactly how they would provide drive-through testing  on a pair of napkins. On March 11, Ms. Lujan Grishams administration said it would provide the test kits, from a stash of supplies in a state lab, if the hospitals provided the labor. Two days later, Lovelace opened for business in one of its parking lots, testing 200 people on the first day and then 800 the next day. The next day, Presbyterian took the baton. Soon the testing spread across the state.

Meanwhile, the governor was doing battle with the president. During a March 16 teleconference between the president and governors and Mr. Trump, he told them to get their own ventilators. Try getting it yourselves, he said. An angry Governor Lujan Grisham shot back, If one state doesnt get the resources and materials they need, the entire nation continues to be at risk.

She also warned that entire Native American tribes were at risk of being wiped out; New Mexico is home to an array of Pueblo, Apache and Navajo people.

Shortly after, she ordered businesses shuttered, and encouraged people to stay home. Public schools were required to adopt distance learning. She resisted pressure from churches to reopen, and ordered every New Mexican to wear a mask in public. Though they havent been universally popular, her actions have paid dividends.

The state is also harnessing the scientific power of two national nuclear laboratories to process still more coronavirus tests. Normally dealing in physics to secretively maintain the nations nuclear weapons arsenal, Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories will not just test, but model and even help search for a vaccine for the virus.

With a little more than 3,200 cases, New Mexicos infection rate is on par with similarly sized states like Nebraska and Kansas. But with over 65,000 tests so far  outstripping richer Texas on a per capita basis  the death rate has remained lower than neighboring Colorado or nearby Nevada. A total of 112 people have died in New Mexico, according to state data.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 01, 2020 | BENTON

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 01, 2020 | 12:54 PM | BENTON

The family of Preston Cope, who was killed in the shooting at Marshall County High School, has issued a statement in response to Tuesday's guilty plea of Gabriel Parker.



Parker plead guilty to two counts of murder and fourteen counts of assault in a court teleconference. Cope and his classmate Bailey Holt, both of whom were fifteen years old, died on January 23, 2018 as a result of gunshot wounds.



The Cope family said that day was the worst of their lives, but on Tuesday a prayer was answered and a burden was lifted. They said the avoidance of a trial means also avoiding, "the many emotional cruelties," that would accompany it. They thanked God for strength and peace He has given them, and thanked the community for their support and prayers.



They said, "this is not the end; this is the beginning of our Journey to honor Preston...Don't Stop Believin'."





Here is the complete statement:



"On Tuesday, 2 years, 3 months and 5 days following the worst day of our lives, a prayer was answered. With the guilty plea from the defendant, a heavy burden has been lifted for our family. We along with the other victims and their families, will not have to experience the grueling process of a trial and the many emotional cruelties that would have accompanied it. Although we've all lost, we give all the glory to God. He has blessed us with the strength and peace necessary to continue, as He has carried us all these days. Our family is extremely grateful to the entire community for the continued support and prayers, and we could never adequately express our never-ending appreciation. Our lives will forever be changed, but we will spend the rest of our days focusing on the happiness that Preston brought our family and friends and the many memories we share with our community. God has a bigger plan. This is not the end; this is the beginning of our Journey to honor Preston....Don't Stop Believin'."




Kuwait on Friday offered to evacuate thousands of illegal Indian workers who benefited from a general amnesty, even as people familiar with developments said the two sides were in touch to resolve the issue.

Kuwaiti ambassador Jassem Al-Najem highlighted his governments efforts to evacuate all illegal workers of different nationalities, including Indian nationals, who were granted general amnesty, according to a statement.

The Kuwaiti government has offered to send back the workers to their countries free of cost and by its own civil airlines, Al-Najem said. Kuwait is looking forward to work with the Indian government to implement its massive evacuation plan to bring back the Indians who are willing to come back voluntarily to India after the complete lockdown ends on May 3, he added.

The statement was issued hours before the Indian government announced a two-week extension of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown alongside the phased easing of restrictions in some areas.

Though the Kuwaiti statement didnt give the number of Indians who benefited from the general amnesty, people familiar with developments in both countries said almost 45,000 Indian workers had been covered by the scheme.

Amid the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kuwaiti side is keen on the speedy evacuation of the illegal workers from all countries.

The Indian embassy is in touch with the Kuwaiti authorities to explore the best possible mechanism to facilitate the return of Indians form Kuwait, one of the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

There was no official word on the development from the Indian side.

Kuwait had recently announced an amnesty till April 30 for illegal migrants and workers whose visas expired after the imposition of Covid-19-related travel restrictions. Migrants who were undocumented or overstayed their visas will be allowed to leave Kuwait without paying fines.

Al-Najem also thanked the Indian government for facilitating the evacuation of Kuwaiti nationals stranded in the country on Kuwait Airways flights last week. He also thanked the Indian government for deploying a medical rapid response team to Kuwait for two weeks and providing two tonnes of medical equipment.

The ambassador highly appreciated the Indian governments gestures to continue supply of medicine, including paracetamol tablets and foods to Kuwait, the statement said.

Indian and Kuwaiti authorities had to resort to damage control this week after a Cabinet note of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state that expressed concern about targeting of Indian Muslims was leaked on social media.

Al-Najem reiterated a statement he had issued earlier this week that both countries shared the foreign policy principle of non-interference in other countries affairs.

Indians constitute the largest group of expatriates in Kuwait, with an estimated population of 1 million and their annual remittances are worth about $4.8 billion. India is also among Kuwaits top 10 trading partners, with bilateral trade worth $6.2 billion during 2015-16.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah have spoken on phone recently regarding cooperation to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

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H-E-B will add another facet to the grocery chain's heralded coronavirus pandemic response in a few weeks with a "Texas-sized" graduation event live on YouTube.

On Friday, the company announced the effort to honor 2020 Texas graduates. The YouTube Live event is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 20.

READ ALSO: An updated list of San Antonio restaurants offering takeout and delivery

As the state continues to grapple with the pandemic response measures, many districts and colleges are developing contingency plans to honor students earning diplomas. Some have scheduled tentative ceremony dates and have included virtual events as a last resort.

"This year, we know that many celebrations and milestones are being celebrated differently  including Graduation," H-E-B shared with its social media followers on Friday. "Whether it's High School or College, the Class of 2020 worked hard to earn their diplomas  and we want to celebrate them!"

H-E-B did not expand on the specifics of the virtual event on the post, but hinted "special guests" will be involved to make the celebration "one to remember."

Customers reacted to the post, thanking the grocery store for the consideration of graduates.

"I've earned my masters and I can't celebrate the achievement," one person said. "Thanks HEB, for your Texas-sized heart."

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye
As a 39-year-old heading to the Cannes Film Festival with Breaker Morant 40 years ago, Jack Thompson was labelled by one newspaper as "the flagship of the Australian film industry". Which was all well and good, Thompson says now, "but what if it didn't work out, and the next lot of headlines read 'flagship sinks'?"

He needn't have worried. Bruce Beresford's drama about three Australian soldiers  played by Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald and English actor Edward Woodward  charged with murder during the Boer War was a hit. And Thompson, who played the Australian bush solicitor appointed to defend them, won the festival's best supporting actor award.

At 79, Jack Thompson feels he still has plenty of work left in him, if he gets the chance. Credit:Peter Brew-Bevan

His career was not only still afloat, it was full steam ahead.

For Thompson, everything changed. For one thing, he didn't have to pay for another drink in Cannes, "and it was good not to have to, because for the price of a drink on the terrace of the Ritz-Carlton you can buy a bottle anywhere else," he says.
Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) has joined workers in Zimbabwe and beyond in celebrating the International Workers' Day, today.

The revolutionary party said the day is a clear demonstration of the resilience of the nation's workers exhibited through productive hard work and sacrifices towards the attainment of vision 2030.

"On this day, as the revolutionary party, born out of the struggles of the masses of our people and the hard-working men and women, we celebrate the role that workers have played year in and year out, formally and informally to keep our nation going," read the statement .

"We also on this day, pay gratitude to various workers' movements that have remained steadfast in working with the Government and the party to advance workers' rights and social justice. The day is equally a reminder of the many challenges that still confront working people and the masses of our nation which our Government is fighting to address despite the devastating socio-economic impact of illegal sanctions imposed by the hostile countries that have a history of oppressing workers and the poor.

"The sanctions have remained a big obstacle to the realisation of sustainable human development of our people. It is against this background that as we salute the workers of Zimbabwe for their continued solidarity with the party, leadership and Government, we unequivocally call for the workers to join H.E The President and First Secretary of the Party, Cde ED Mnangagwa in calling for the unconditional removal of the of these heinous sanctions which have crippled our economy and the efforts that his Government is putting to realise an upper middle income economy by 2030."

The party said working class people have been the vanguard of the liberation struggle, social justice, non-racial and non-sexist philosophy towards national unity, peace and development.

It said it was from the workers where nationalism was born, hence the struggles of workers could never be separated from the struggles and the agenda of the ruling party and Government.

"We pride ourselves as the champion of the recognition of workers' rights, being a party of workers ourselves under the stewardship of our visionary worker, President ED Mnangagwa," read the statement .

"Indeed, workers' rights, equality and social justice could not be achieved without national independence. As we celebrate our achievement of 40 years of Independence, we once again wish to reiterate the party's commitment to the emancipation of workers and our resolve to maintain strong working and ideological relations with workers through our Tripartite Negotiating Forums to ensure a win-win situation between the employers and the employees.

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Reinforcing its commitment to gender equality and women's emancipation, the party paid tribute to the millions of workers who fought against colonial racial oppression of workers and so that everyone enjoys equal rights of citizenship.

ZANU PF also called upon the workers and workers' unions to remain vigilant and resist attempts to be weaponsied by fly-by-night politicians and the nation's detractors.

"Finally, we are aware that on a normal day, workers would have loved to celebrate and mark this day in style, but due to the circumstances created by this global disaster COVID 19, it is impossible to gather. We are, however, in solidarity with all our workers and their leaders here in Zimbabwe and globally. We salute the brave frontline health workers who are leading us in the fight against Covid-19, risking everything in order to ensure that our nation pulls through from this pandemic," read the statement.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has worsened the situation of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Turkey. Up to 1.7 million survive on humanitarian aid of about US a month. Many work in the informal economy, stuck in informal camps and unsanitary conditions.

Izmir (AsiaNews)  Turkey, a country of 82 million people, has welcomed up to 3.6 million Syrian refugees. But over the past year, the countrys economic and financial situation has worsened, compounded more recently by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Against this background, the emergency situation has once again affected the weakest, namely migrants and refugees, said Hakan Bilgin, president of Doctors of the World-Turkey, who spoke to French daily Le Monde.

Without jobs and earning no money, their insecurity is bound to get worse, especially since no programme is in place to provide them with food, medical treatment, water, electricity. They are in a crisis in crisis.

Turkey, which had first welcomed its neighbours in need as fellow Muslims, now sees the refugees as unwanted guests who take await resources from the local population and increase poverty.

Located on the Aegean Sea, Izmir is Turkeys third largest city, and a secular bastion against the despotism of Islam-leaning President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party. It is also, according to official figures, home to an estimated 150,000 Syrian refugees. However, the number is far greater, and, over time, their integration has become increasingly tenuous and precarious.

At first Syrian refugees received protection, but this, like in the rest of the country, turned into growing hostility from the Turkish population. Since their arrival, rents have increased, schools and health facilities (especially hospitals) have become overcrowded, and fake news abound about the costs Turks have to bear to maintain them.

According to Daniele Belanger and Cenk Saracoglu, authors of a study on anti-Syrian sentiment in the city, "what is happening in Turkey is not very different from what is happening in Europe, where far-right parties blame migrants for social problems.

In Turkey, up to 1.7 million Syrian refugees  the most vulnerable  depend on humanitarian aid, around US a month.

Between 2016 and 2019, 133,000 work permits were issued, but many refugees work in the informal economy.

Doctors of the World estimates that 8,000 to 20,000 refugees live in informal camps in Torbali, a municipality in Izmir province, in unsanitary conditions. In one camp, 180 refugees - including 40 children under the age of five - live amid the mud and rubbish.

Hulud Hattab is one of the hundreds of thousands of refugees coping with the hardships and challenges of every day. Married at 13, the mother of three had to invent a job in Izmir because her husband's income was not enough to feed the family.

She learnt Turkish in restaurant kitchens working as a dishwasher and in a garment factory. Today her dream is "to go to Europe". She tried in 2016 but paid a hefty price: the dinghy on which she was travelling capsized and three children of a relative died.

For his part, Fadi Haydar, 43, hopes to go to Europe, but "legally". In 2015 his family lost US,000 paid to a Turkish people smuggler who, when the time came to cross, left them at a hotel in the city and disappeared with money.
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The number of domestic and family violence victims seeking urgent assistance has increased by 10 per cent after the COVID-19 lockdown began in March.

New figures from the state government's Victims Services program reveal an increase in both male and female victims turning to front-line services after domestic violence, with the greatest spikes in Central Sydney, St George, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Newcastle.

Client referrals to domestic violence services rose by 10 per cent in March.

Some decreases were also recorded in Sutherland and Port Macquarie.

Peak body Women's Safety NSW said the figures were concerning but unsurprising, claiming the sector had not received "a single dollar in extra funds" from the state government to assist with increased cases and service delivery.
The senate says President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier sent the request for the N850 billion loan it approved on Tuesday. There ar...





The senate says President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier sent the request for the N850 billion loan it approved on Tuesday.





There are reports that the president made a fresh application to the national assembly, triggering reactions about the countrys rising debt.





As of December, Nigerias debt portfolio stood at N27.4 trillion.





In a statement on Thursday, Ajibola Basiru, senate spokesman, said the upper legislative chamber only amended its resolution on the request that it had earlier approved.

The amendment was on the money being raised from domestic capital markets instead of the international capital markets  earlier approved as source of the fund, he explained.





It is very important to make a very important clarification particularly as the widely circulated erroneous report that the Senate approved a fresh loan of N850 billion at the Plenary on Tuesday, the spokesman said.





That is far from the truth. The resolution passed was an amendment of the earlier resolution as to the source of the initial N850bn loan that had been approved to be part of what should be used to fund the 2020 Appropriation Act.





You will recall that the Senate had actually approved the loan of N850 billion but to be sourced from external sources. However, because of the covid-19 Pandemic and of the challenge in the international oil market with the attendant challenges of raising the approved loan externally, the President requested that the approved loan should rather be raised through the Domestic Capital Market.




By Express News Service

KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government on Friday described the Union Health Ministry's list of 10 Bengal districts as red zones to be an "erroneous" assessment. The state health department shot a letter to the Union health ministry saying only four districts of the state have been categorized as red zones based on the parameters of Government of India.

In the letter, the Bengal health department attached a list of districts under red, orange and green zones categories. It also mentioned the district-wise coronavirus positive cases and the date of receiving the last case of infection.

As the second phase of lockdown nears its end, the central government prepared the list of red, orange and green zones across the country after cabinet secretary Rajiv Gaubas video conference with the chief secretaries and secretaries of state health departments on April 30. Based on the incidence of cases, of COVID-19, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback, 10 districts in West Bengal have been mapped as red zones by the Centre. The number of districts under orange and green zone categories are five and eight respectively.

Preeti Sudan, secretary to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, wrote, "Some states have raised issues on the inclusion of certain districts in the red zone. I would like to highlight that this is a dynamic list. This list will be revised every week and communicated to states for further follow-up action in consonance with the directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Disaster Management Act,2005."

Objecting to the Centres assessment, Vivek Kumar, the principal secretary of health and family welfare department, replied to Sudan saying, "This is an erroneous assessment. Based on the current parameters of Government of India for categorization of areas for COVID-19, the districts in the red zone are only four: Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur."

In the letter, Kumar mapped eight districts in green-zone and 11 in orange-zone.

Referring to the states objection, Bengal BJP hit out at Mamata Banerjees government by accusing it of suppressing actual figure of the infected persons and COVID-19 death toll.

"Frequent incidents of the state governments effort to cremate bodies of those who died of COVID-19 have come to light after the people who live near the crematoriums put up a resistance. West Bengal is the only state where an audit committee has been set up to ascertain the cause of death of a COVID-19 patient," said state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh.
Hardly a week inside Tanzania's plan to have its horticulture products airlifted by Ethiopian Airlines from the Kilimanjaro International Airport to Europe, a number of issues have emerged.

Now the Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha) wants the government to step in.

At a ceremony last week to flag off the second consignment to Europe, which was attended by Agriculture minister Japhet Hasunga and deputy minister for Works, Transport and Communication Atashasta Nditiye, Taha chief executive, Dr Jacqueline Mkindi, asked the government to consider issuing medium-term landing warrants for cargo flights to cover between three and six months.

Currently, Taha has to apply for a landing warrant for every incoming flight charged at normal airport charges and must attach backup documents each time.

"With long-term landing permits, cargo freighters will be assured of hauling our perishables overseas smoothly in these difficult times as almost all airlines are grounded," Dr Mkindi said.

"We shouldn't allow cargo flights to be grounded because of red tape in securing operating permits," she added.

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To save exporters from fees other than cargo charges, Dr Mkindi also asked the government to stop the mandatory radiation export certificate. The certificate requires exporters to submit samples of each consignment to the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission and to pay 0.02 per cent of invoice value.

"This document for export of food crops is irrelevant beyond Tanzania's borders, as it is not mandatory in importing countries," Dr Mkindi explained.

Dr Mkindi added that the airlifts are a lifeline to Europe with a steady supply of fresh vegetables, fruits, spices, flowers, while sustaining jobs in Tanzania and earning much needed foreign currency.
Staying home helps: I would like to make a small comment on someone who thought were living in a police state. Were not living in a police state. What they are asking you to do is if you dont have to go out, stay at home. Do not spread this virus. No one is stopping you from going to stores, no one is stopping you from washing your car. Theyre asking you not to congregate. This virus can be spread through the air or by touching. As you can see many doctors and nurses are fighting for their lives to save lives. If they die, we die.
These are the schools that have canceled classes for Jan. 18

Some school districts across the county are virtual today. Others will make up the snow day.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - American Airlines Group said it is retiring five types of aircraft of older, less fuel-efficient aircraft from its fleet amid a period of record low demand for air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.



In March, American Airlines had said it was planning to accelerate the retirement of some older aircraft from its fleet sooner than originally planned. The company will retire a total of about 100 older aircraft.



The airline has officially retired its Embraer E190 and Boeing 767 fleets, which were originally scheduled to retire only by the end of this year.



The Embraer E190 aircraft joined the US Airways fleet in 2006, prior to joining American's fleet in 2013. The twenty aircraft in American's fleet flew domestic routes, with extensive support for American Airlines Shuttle.



The older Boeing 767-300ER aircraft joined American Airlines in 1988. As of January 1, 2020, the airline had seventeen of these aircraft in its fleet, which flew on mainly trans-Atlantic routes, with some domestic, Hawaii and Latin America service.



American Airlines has also accelerated the retirement of its 34 aging Boeing 757s and nine Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The Boeing 757-200 aircraft joined the America West fleet in 1987 and American in 1989. They flew mostly mainland domestic and Hawaii routes, with some trans-Atlantic and Latin America service.



The Airbus A330-300 joined the US Airways fleet in 2000, prior to joining American's fleet in 2013. These aircraft flew mainly trans-Atlantic routes, with some domestic service.



Additionally, American is retiring 19 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft, which joined the PSA Airlines fleet in 2003. These airplanes flew domestic routes on the East Coast, with service primarily from American's hubs in Charlotte, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia.



American Airlines noted that the move to exit these older types of aircraft will save cost and bring about efficiencies related to operating fewer aircraft, while it continues to receive new deliveries of the Airbus A321neo, the Boeing 737 MAX and 787 family.



The airline will also have a more simplified narrow-body fleet with just two cockpit types - the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 families. This is expected to benefit the company's operational performance through training efficiency and streamlined maintenance.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Executive chairman of Australia's Seven Group Holdings, Kerry Stokes, Sydney, Australia on August 5, 2014. (WIlliam West/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian MPs Denounce Media and Mining Billionaires Support for China Amid Diplomatic Tensions

Media mogul Kerry Stokes is the second Australian billionaire with significant business interests in China to call on the Australian government to backdown on criticism of the Chinese regime amid the CCP virus pandemic.

On April 30, Stokes used the West Australian newspaper, owned by his Seven West Media company, to echo the Chinese ambassadors warning to Australia about the economic consequences of the prime minister pushing for an investigation into the origin and mishandling of the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

In an exclusive interview with his newspaper, Stokes admitted that the CCP probably owes the world an explanation but warned Prime Minister Scott Morrison to stop making accusations.

He said Morrison should mend relations with China and quell Beijings anger to avoid catastrophic consequences for the economy.

Stokes is the second billionaire this week to publicly take a pro-CCP foreign relations position, angering members of Parliament.

This comes at a time when Australias political leadership is united across multiple party lines in support of an inquiry into the CCP virus outbreak.

Ministers Respond

Stokess comments came after his fellow Western Australian billionaire, mining magnate Andrew Forrest, faced criticism from several MPs for breaking etiquette and inviting a representative of the CCP, Chinas Consul General in Melbourne, to speak at a ministerial press conference on April 29.

The Minister for Health Greg Hunt announced that 10 million virus testing kits had been procured on behalf of the government by Forrests Mindaroo Foundation.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson accused Forrest of disloyalty to Australia.

In a diplomatic disagreement, its a pretty basic expectation for Australians to be loyal and back their own, not invite a platform for a foreign spokesperson, he said.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told 2GB Radio on April 30 that he was disappointed by Forrests actions.

I think it just overshadows a bit the great work the Forrests have done, Dutton said.

Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie (WA) said that Forrest, whose Fortescue Metals Group sells almost all of its iron ore to China, was playing games.

Hastie wrote on Facebook: This guy drops out of the sky in his private jet and enables the Chinese Communist Party to ambush a Commonwealth press conference. Yeah, were not happy. Now is not the time for games. Australia must come first.

Forrest defended the diplomats attendance, saying his actions were a gesture of appreciation and friendship between our two great countries.

Following the backlash, Forrest has since played down his actions, telling Nines Today on April 30: This is the biggest non-story ever.

On May 1, friend of Forrest and radio host Alan Jones asked Morrison about the incident.

The Consul was not invited by the Commonwealth to that press conference, Morrison said. Lets be clear about that. And look, and when it comes to the origin of this virus, which has taken the lives of over 200,000 people around the world at leastand its probably many more times thatI mean, I dont think anybodys in any fantasy land about where it started. It started in China.

It is not the first time that Forrest has invited a representative of the CCP to speak at a press conference without notice.

Perth broadcaster Gareth Parker said on Twitter on April 29, This was the same trick Andrew Forrest pulled when announcing hed secured medical supplies for WA. He invited Chinese consul Madam Dong to joint presser w/Health Minister Roger Cook without WA Govts knowledge, Parker said.

As I reported on @6PR Mornings earlier this month, this was the same trick Andrew Forrest pulled when announcing hed secured medical supplies for WA. He invited Chinese consul Madam Dong to joint presser w/Health Minister @RogerCookMLA without WA Govts knowledge. https://t.co/1YcdJRZDrL  Gareth Parker (@G_Parker) April 29, 2020

Protecting Australias Sovereignty

The question of Australian sovereignty has been coming into focus amid the CCP virus pandemic. The prime minister said on April 29 that the road to Australias economic recovery will include increasing its sovereign capabilities.

Related Coverage Australian Self-Sufficiency Essential on Road to Recovery

Hastie has been vocal about his concerns for Australias national sovereignty. He recently launched a petition for Australia to push back against CCP interference.

Although few will admit it, the Chinese Communist Party seeks to reshape the global order and Australias position in it through foreign interference, ownership of strategic assets and influence operations, the petition says.

It aims to ensure Australia is in a strong position to guarantee its security, prosperity, and ability to manufacture essential goods.

As of May 1, Hasties petition Take action on Australian sovereignty has reached just over half its 10,000 signature target.
Sri Lankan authorities on Friday said that out of the 31 main coronavirus clusters, 27 have been totally curbed, including a naval base that became the biggest cluster of the COVID-19, which has infected over 600 people in the country. Sri Lanka currently has 665 confirmed cases of which over 140 have completely recovered, officials said, adding that 16 more positive cases were reported on Thursday which included 9 more Naval personnel.

"The health officials have identified some 31 clusters. Out of those 27 have been totally curbed. Even among the four which are active, three of them are being slowly tackled," Deputy Inspector General of Police Ajith Rohana on Friday said.

He said that according to the government intelligence service information, the total number of coronavirus patients have been reported from 31 clusters, since the first infection was reported in Sri Lanka on March 11. Rohana said the issue was made complicated by a group of drug addicts in a spot at a northern Colombo suburb.

"They kept on spreading to some places in the city," Rohana added.

He said that the cluster from Suduwella in Ja-Ela was a special one and that drug addicts were the main reason for the spread of the virus in that cluster, The Daily Mirror reported. Sri Lankan Navy personnel got infected when they started an operation to hunt a group of drug addicts and send them to quarantine. Some 226 Navy and 4 Army soldiers were infected from them. One Navy detachment was completely shut following the discovery of the infected Naval personnel.

Sri Lanka is currently on a total lockdown with an all island curfew being imposed till May 4. Officials are expected to relax lockdown rules from May 4 in order to revive the economic activities. Meanwhile, Police have so far arrested 42,365 individuals and 11,000 vehicles for curfew violations and within the last 24 hours about 500 people have been arrested for curfew violations across the country.
Holly Petersons family photography business has been supported by the Corvallis community for four generations. Now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, she has found a way to repay that generosity.

Peterson, the owner of the Ball Studio, is waiving the $200 fee she typically charges for family portraits and is instead asking that customers donate two cans of food so that she can pass them along to the local food bank.

She knows that the COVID-19 crisis has created hardships for plenty of people in the area, but it has also reunited families who might not typically be able to be together. She wants to give those families the chance to create a lasting memento while also helping community members who might be struggling.

Most families dont have a portrait where they really like the way they look, Peterson said. So if we can get something like that during this very traumatic time in our country and our community, thats something we can give back, and people will get something they love.

Petersons idea is to take portraits of families sitting on their front porch to create a sense of connection between those families and the homes where they are sheltering. She has enjoyed hearing stories from those who have been apart from their loved ones for a long stretch of time but are now reunited.

I did a shoot yesterday  the son, daughter-in-law and 6-month-old baby have been staying with their grandparents since March. Their home is in Seattle, but during this time, that baby is getting to know their grandparents so well, Peterson said. Thats really special.

The idea came to Peterson when she heard from a colleague in Virginia who is doing something similar. She has seen stories about countless photographers and studios across the country who are offering front porch photo shoots to families who are together during the pandemic.

Established in 1912, the Ball Studio is celebrating its 108th anniversary this year. Peterson said she was inspired after talking with her mother about how the family business persevered through the Great Depression and other difficult times in the nations history.

She said, You know, the community just took care of each other,' Peterson said. Businesses traded with each other. There was a sense of community that kept these small businesses alive.

While her business has been deemed non-essential during the pandemic, Peterson has been able to obey social distancing guidelines during shoots. She is only shooting portraits of families who have been sheltering together.

According to the South Corvallis Food Banks website, it is still open during its normal hours, but will be changing its procedures during the pandemic. On its list of donations needed, the food bank notes canned fruits, canned veggies and hearty soups as items that are in demand.

Corvallis, Albany, Philomath  this whole area is just such a special place to be, Peterson said. Whats kept me and my family here is that this community just really recognizes whats important.
The directive confirms that Pences staff was well aware of the need for masks, raising the possibility that none of his aides had alerted him to the requirement or that Pence had intentionally flouted it, perhaps to avoid being photographed in a mask. (Pence himself told reporters after the visit that because he doesnt have the coronavirus  he is tested frequently  he decided he could speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you.)
(Natural News) While the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought the dangers of globalization, and especially continued relations with communist China, to the forefront of everyones attention, its important to note that the communist Chinese regime has been experimenting with bioweapons for years.

In a report entitled, Defense One, Elsa Kania from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and national security expert Wilson VornDick reveal how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a history of weaponizing biotechnology in its determined search for a bloodless victory over its adversaries.

The militarization of biotech, this report explains, is nothing new for communist China, which long ago developed a national strategy of military-civil fusion, emphasizing biology as a priority. The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), the report goes on to further explain, could be at the forefront of expanding and exploiting this knowledge.

None of this is speculation, just to be clear. The PLAs own writings and research make abundantly clear the regimes intent to change the form or character of conflict, meaning the weapons of Chinas war against its adversaries wont necessarily be fought with traditional tanks and missiles, but rather with bioweapons such as the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

This is exactly what Microsoft co-founder and eugenicist billionaire Bill Gates admitted to during a TED Talk he gave back in 2015, during which he indicated that the greatest risk of global catastrophe isnt from an atomic bomb, but rather from a virus, which many believe was predictive programming for the current release of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses how 5G technology alters blood cell permeability in such a way as to amplify the damage caused by the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), thus leading to more deaths:

Numerous Chinese publications over the years have revealed Chinas plan to unleash biological weapons on the world

In Defense One, it is explained that Chinas Central Military Commission has been engaged in all sorts of advanced, futuristic weaponry not just within the realm of biologicals, but also with brain science, advanced biomimetic systems and materials, human performance enhancement, and so-called new concept biotechnology.

Theres also the artificial intelligence (AI) frontier, which remains a major focus of Chinas efforts to stamp out natural humanity and replace people with machines and robots.

All sorts of medical and academic research out of China has likewise been heavily centered around the use of biotechnology as a weapon of war. A 2010 report entitled, War for Biological Dominance discussed the impact of biology on future warfare, while another from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences revealed that biotechnology would become the new strategic commanding heights of Chinas national defense.

In a 2017 book written by retired general and former president of National Defense University Zhang Shibo, biology is named as one of the seven new domains of warfare. This same book explains that:

Modern biotechnology development is gradually showing strong signs characteristic of an offensive capability, adding that it could potentially be used for specific ethnic genetic attacks.

China is also heavily invested in CRISPR gene editing technology, having undertaken at least a dozen clinical trials that involved genetically modifying human beings. As we reported several years ago, Monsanto was the first to receive a CRISPR license to genetically modify food crops.

The vastness of the human genome  among the biggest of big data  all but requires AI and machine learning to point the way for CRISPR-related advances in therapeutics or enhancement, Defense One further reveals about how China is blending AI with gene editing to create even more advanced weapons systems.

More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

YouTu.be

NaturalNews.com
Ugandan Bishops have decided to call-off this years Martyrs Day celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though a bitter pill for many Ugandans, the decision was widely expected

English Africa Service  Vatican City

3 June Martyrs Day has not been cancelled in many years. The almost year-long fundraising and preparations for the annual celebrations were already at an advanced stage. Dioceses in Uganda take turns to prepare and animate Martyrs Day celebrations at the Namugongo Shrine. It is a massive gathering of the faithful that usually brings together close to a million pilgrims. The Diocese of Masaka was expected to animate the Liturgical celebrations, this year.

COVID-19 pandemic hampered preparations

The decision to cancel was taken by the Bishops at the request of the Bishop of Masaka Diocese. Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa, the Bishop of Kiyinda Mityana and Uganda Episcopal Conference Chairperson announced the postponement in a letter dated 29 April, obtained by Vatican News.

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world and Uganda, Right Rev. Serverus Jjumba, the Bishop of the Diocese of Masaka, has officially informed me that his Diocese will not be in a position to organise the 2020 Namugongo (Shrine) Martyrs Day, wrote Bishop Zziwa. He continued, The position of Masaka Diocese should be understood in light of the fact that organising the celebrations at Namugongo requires frequent meetings involving several people.

Masaka Diocese ready to animate celebrations at an opportune time

Later, Fr Ronald Mayanja, the Masaka Diocesan Communications Director informed Ugandan media that the Diocese of Masaka would remain ready to host the celebrations at a later date. As a result, the diocese was not dissolving the preparatory committees.

Masaka Diocese had already raised over 300 million Ugandan Shillings (appx. 80 000 USD) in preparation for the feast which required a total of 950 million Ugandan Shillings (appx. 250 000 USD), disclosed Fr Mayanja.

The Church of Uganda, which also celebrates the Anglican Martyrs on the same day, at a nearby shrine, was yet to make its decision public.

Who were the Martyrs of Uganda?

Martyrs Day is marked as a public holiday in Uganda. In recent years, the celebration has grown by leaps and bounds. It is now an essential fixture on the African pilgrims calendar.

The Uganda Martyrs were a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical Kingdom of Buganda. Most of the converts were young men. The new Christian converts abandoned traditional forms of worship. This in turn led Kabaka Mwanga II (the King) to fear that the new religion and presence of the missionaries were severely eroding his authority in the Kingdom. He ordered the execution of the converts between 1885 and 1887. The decision unleashed a wave of persecutions against Christians in the Kingdom.
They have been inseparable in recent months after first finding love when they starred in the West End play Venus in Fur last year.

And Natalie Dormer looked besotted with her boyfriend David Oakes as they enjoyed a walk with her dog, Indy, in Richmond, London on Friday.

The former Game Of Thrones actress, 37, cut a casual figure in a purple quilted rain coat and showcased her flawless complexion by going make-up free for the outing.

Sweet: Natalie Dormer looked besotted with her boyfriend David Oakes as they enjoyed a walk with her dog Indy in Richmond, London on Friday

Natalie complemented the look with suede brown boots, indigo denim jeans and a pair of sunglasses, which she wore in her long blonde hair.

The actress wrapped her arms around David as they stood in a queue outside a coffee shop to grab a hot drink and some lunch.

The couple appeared in high spirits, with David gazing down lovingly at Natalie as she chatted to him.

Caffeine kick: The former Game Of Thrones actress, 37, cut a casual figure in a purple quilted rain coat as she grabbed a coffee

In love: The actress wrapped her arms around David as they stood in a queue outside a coffee shop to grab a hot drink and some lunch

Casually-clad: Natalie complemented her long coat with suede brown boots, denim jeans and a pair of sunglasses, which she wore in her blonde hair

Beauty: Natalie showed off her flawless complexion as she went make-up free for the outing

Natalie and David have been spending a lot of time together in recent months. Back in September, they were pictured strolling through California hand-in-hand.

Natalie's working relationship with David ended in December 2017, when Venus In Fur came to a close at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

She played the role of actress Vanda Jordan who auditioned for director Thomas Novachek [Oakes] for a production based on the 1870 novel Venus In Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, who inspired the term 'masochism'.

The erotically charged play saw the pair 'turning on and outraging' audiences equally.

Home sweet home: The couple have just returned from Los Angeles, where they were isolating

Dog walk: Natalie later showed off her burgundy striped top after peeling off her thick coat

Fuelling up: The couple waited patiently in the queue for their coffee

Inseparable: Natalie and David have been spending a lot of time together in recent months, back in September they were pictured strolling through California hand-in-hand

Smitten: The couple appeared in high spirits, with David gazing down lovingly at Natalie as she chatted to him

David - who plays Prince Alberts brother Ernest in ITV drama Victoria - said at the time: 'Every human being has a sexual darkness to them  its about how much of it we unleash, and whether or not we are the master or the subservient.'

In November 2018, Natalie confirmed to the New Statesman she'd split with her long term partner Anthony Byrne after 11 years together.

Natalie recently admitted working on the film, which sees her play a blind pianist and also features model Emily Ratajkowski, put serious strain on their relationship.

She told You magazine: 'Couples say terrible things to each other that you would never say to your best friend. We learned very quickly that we couldn't write in the same room.

'Doors got slammed at various points and I wouldn't necessarily rush into writing with Anthony again.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 2)  Quezon City posted 1,312 COVID-19 infections as of Friday, including 13 more recoveries and one additional death, the city government said.

A total of 242 people got well, while 129 died.

The local government also reported 47 people who violated quarantine protocols.

It said 42,255 people residents were given cash aid.
For the first time during the summer, student consultants are ready to help companies address their business challenges through the Student Teams Achieving Results (STAR) program at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

STAR is seeking corporate partners for the program. It matches teams of talented MBA and Undergraduate Business students with corporate partners to solve complex issues. Corporate partners receive data-driven, innovative solutions and specific recommendations that they can immediately implement to improve business performance.

Because of economic challenges caused by COVID-19, STAR leaders realized that companies might have special needs in terms of recovery and strategic planning. Other firms may be struggling to meet a change in demand for their services or products. The STAR program is offering to assist those companies, and students who are available and eager to work since some internships have been reduced or cancelled due to the global pandemic.

STAR teams will operate in a virtual environment through the summer. The experienced-based learning program moved online in March 2020 because of COVID-19, and the current teams are successfully completing projects for 23 companies such as KIND Healthy Snacks, Lenovo and Procter & Gamble.

STAR student teams can tackle a range of business challenges including:



Research and identify new growth and market opportunities to address the reduction in business caused by the pandemic

Analyze and recommend operational efficiency and supply chain management practices for firms experiencing a change in consumer demand

Gather data and propose strategic actions for ongoing business challenges and opportunities

We want to support our corporate partners and our students by organizing STAR teams to address business challenges this summer, says Karin Cochran, STAR executive director and professor of the practice of strategy and entrepreneurship.

We understand many companies were forced to cancel internships and dont have additional resources to address unexpected Covid-19 challenges, she says. We want to provide organizations with teams of our incredible MBA and Undergraduate Business students who are eager to bring value to organizations with creative solutions supported by best practices and additional research.

Applications to be a STAR corporate partner are due May 11.

Learn more about the STAR Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler and view the application here.

#

About the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School

Consistently ranked one of the world's best business schools, UNC Kenan-Flagler offers a broad range of programs  Undergraduate, MBA and Master of Accounting, PhD and Executive Development  and extraordinary, real-life learning experiences. Faculty demonstrate unparalleled dedication to students learning and a commitment to world-class research that addresses critical business challenges. Contributing to the Schools thought leadership is the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, which promotes innovative, market-based solutions to vital economic issues. UNC Kenan-Flaglers collaborative culture is rooted in core values that date back to its founding in 1919, and graduates are renowned as effective, principled leaders with the technical knowledge and leadership skills to deliver results in the global business environment
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday in his video conference said that the lockdown will be extended but with more relaxations in place, without stating the duration of the extension. The Chief Minister said that the lockdown was essential to break the chain of the virus and despite the uptrend in the number of cases, the state has been successful in breaking the chain.

READ | Maharashtra Surpasses 10,000-mark With 583 New COVID-19 Cases

READ | Sanjay Raut Fires Veiled Jibe In First Response To EC's Nod For MLC Polls In Maharashtra

The Chief Minister said, "Even now, many must be thinking that today is May 1, the day is half gone, the lockdown is till May 3, What is the plan after 3rd? What was the benefit of lockdown, when the cases have been increasing by the day?," the Chief Minister said to resonate with questions people might have in their minds regarding the lockdown and the entire COVID-19 situation in the state.

"But when you think about it, lockdown doesn't mean a lockout. I would say it is a 'speed breaker'. Singapore's Prime Minister has called it 'circuit breaker', means breaking the chain of the virus. Certainly, the lockdown or circuit breaker has been instrumental in breaking the chain of the virus. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to imagine how fast the virus could have spread. Undoubtedly, we have kept this multiplication in control," he added.

READ | 16,962 People Held In Maharashtra For Lockdown Violations

READ | Maharashtra Issues Orders To Facilitate Return Of Stranded People

The Maharashtra government has now started door to door testing especially in slum areas where the proximity among people is less and social distancing measures are not followed due to more density of population in the area.

"We are going to slums and using Pulse Oximeter we are examining people. We have checked about 2 lakh people. This testing helps us to know if the person has diabetes or other ailments. We separate such people who could be more prone to the infection. We have found such cases and the BMC is treating them for their ailments too," said Thackeray.

Maharashtra is witnessing a surge in the number of cases despite the extended lockdown nearing its culmination. The state has recorded 583 new cases in a day on April 30 taking the total count of infected cases to 10,498, of which 1773 have been cured while 459 have died due to the virus, according to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India's Covid lockdown ends on May 3.
A whistleblower has claimed elderly Covid-19 patients are being sent to care homes 'to die' as part of a longstanding culture of freeing up hospital beds.

The source, whose work means they have close connections with care homes in the UK, alleged that people are currently being discharged from hospital before their coronavirus test results are known.

As a result, patients risk missing out on crucial treatment - contributing to the care home sector's soaring death toll, which currently stands at 3,096 to the week ending 17th April.

The number of residents dying of any cause has almost tripled in a month, from around 2,500 per week in March to 7,300 in a single week in April. More than 2,000 of the latter were confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Discharging patients with coronavirus to care homes also increases the risk they will spread it to other residents, raising fears of a spike in deaths.

A whistleblower has claimed elderly Covid-19 patients are being sent to care homes 'to die' as part of a longstanding culture of freeing up hospital beds. Pictured: stock image

The source, who did not wish to be named, told FEMAIL: 'I don't know why people aren't asking, why are all these people dying in residential homes?

'While they're commenting on the fact people in residential homes are dying, and it's horrendous, but if you look into it closer, why are these people not hospital?'

They added that government strategies over the years which put emphasis on clearing beds have led to hospital bosses becoming 'accountants', treating people like numbers.

They referenced the Delayed Discharge Act of 2003 which was replaced by the Care Act in 2014 - one of the aims of which is to ensure people do not remain in hospital when they no longer require care that can only be provided in an acute trust.

Their chilling claims come in the wake of a government document which advised hospitals 'to free up NHS capacity via rapid discharge into the community and reducing planned care'.

The plan, drafted on March 17, told NHS hospitals that 'timely discharge' was important - and told care homes to accept patients who had not even been tested for coronavirus. It has since been updated saying the policy 'will move' to patients being tested prior to admission to care homes.

'On paper that sounds lovely, and they're saying that they can turn the test round in a few hours,' the source told FEMAIL.

The source, who did not wish to be named, told FEMAIL that government strategies over the years which put emphasis on clearing beds has led to hospital bosses becoming 'accountants', treating people like numbers. Pictured: stock image

'In reality that's not happening, it's taking days, and they're sending people back before they've got the test results. So really, what's the point of testing them?

'Then everyone else at that care home is at a massive risk. The problem is, there's been the big outcry about the PPE in care homes, and people are just accepting these are elderly people that probably have something wrong with them.

'That's not the point at all. The point is these people should be in hospital getting treated, not left to die in a care home. It's against their human rights.

'I was told, anecdotally, that they expect 50 per cent of people who go into care homes with [Covid-19] to die.'

A graph presented by the Government this week showed that increasing numbers of people are dying outside of hospitals and, in the week up to April 17, care home victims accounted for around a quarter of the total

Whistleblower working at Covid-19-stricken care home claims infected residents were allowed to 'walk around freely' Another whistleblower working at a coronavirus-stricken care home where at least nine residents are reported to have died has claimed infected patients were allowed to walk around freely. In the past two weeks at least nine deaths are reported to have occurred at Jewel House care home in Bingham, Edinburgh, run by the City of Edinburgh Council. Another ten residents are believed to have tested positive for Covid-19, according to a concerned member of staff, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Edinburgh Evening News. The whistleblower claimed deaths could have been better prevented if senior staff followed guidelines accordingly. The source said: 'There have been nine deaths within the last two weeks and a further ten residents have tested positive for Covid-19. 'We feel this could have been better prevented if senior staff, management and team leaders followed the guidelines accordingly.' The Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership has promised to launch a probe, as Labour MP Ian Murray called for an investigation. The insider claimed residents who had received a positive diagnosis were allowed to walk around freely and criticised infection control measures, saying staff had been left without adequate protection. It was claimed six workers had tested positive for the virus. The source added: This is very upsetting and distressing for all care staff having to deal with this on every shift and having the worry of catching this virus. 'This virus has spread quickly due to senior staff slacking on guidelines.' Mr Murray said: 'These are concerning claims which need to be investigated. Its important that guidelines are followed for the safety of both residents and staff.' A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate said: 'We have been notified of the circumstances and we are in contact with the care service and the local health and social care partnership.' A spokesman for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership said: 'Our priority is always the safety and wellbeing of residents and staff in our care homes and were carefully following government guidance as laid out by Health Protection Scotland. 'Staff are being equipped with the appropriate PPE and where there is a suspected COVID-19 case in a care home, testing of residents is carried out within the appropriate guidance on testing. 'We take all allegations about the wellbeing of our staff and residents very seriously and will investigate all complaints that are made to us. Directors of Public Health in Scotland have been given a lead role in supporting the wider plan for care homes are contacting and, where appropriate, visiting homes with our own teams to provide support, training and guidance as necessary. 'This is in addition to the homes own robust training and the guidance from Health Protection Scotland which is already in place. Care homes which have a positive case of COVID-19 are being supported by the NHS Lothian Health Protection Team and the residents' GPs. 'Care homes are also supported by local district nursing teams and during this pandemic we have provided additional district nursing capacity.' Advertisement

The source told how a close friend's grandmother who recently passed away from coronavirus was sent home from hospital.

'She was then ill for two weeks, my friend couldn't get her back into hospital, and when she eventually did she was tested, and she died 24 hours later,' they said.

'She didn't have pneumonia, she didn't have the cough and everything, she'd had the high fever and feeling unwell. Who knows, if she'd been kept in hospital two weeks before, she could have recovered. None of them have a fighting chance.

'It's being going on for years and years but to a lot lesser extent. It's only because of the high numbers now that people are actually taking notice of it.'

WEEKLY CARE HOME DEATH COUNT TRIPLES IN A MONTH AMID THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS The number of people dying each week in care homes has tripled in a month, according to a shock report. ONS data shows 7,316 fatalities were recorded in homes across England and Wales in the week that ended April 17 - including 2,050 involving COVID-19. In comparison, just 2,471 deaths of any cause were registered in care homes in the week that ended March 13 - before the crisis began to spiral in Britain. But the rate has risen in line with the coronavirus outbreak, jumping to 3,769 in Week 14 (March 27-April 3) and 4,927 in Week 15 (April 3-10). It means the official care home death toll from COVID-19 - registered up until April 17 - in England and Wales stands at 3,096. But the true figure is likely to be much higher because it does not take into account a registration lag. For example, separate figures show the number of care home deaths that occurred in England up until April 17 but registered by April 25 was 3,936. Meanwhile, England's care regulator - the CQC - says the number of COVID-19 fatalities in homes is at least 4,300. This tally includes both suspected and confirmed cases. County Durham has so far had the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities in care homes with 84, followed by Sheffield (79), Birmingham (71) and Liverpool (67) Advertisement

The source said they find it 'soul-destroying' to witness in their line of work, adding: 'I just know that those people are going to die.'

They added that, anecdotally, they have heard some people are being asked to sign 'do not resuscitate' forms when they go into care homes.

'Even with a DNR, it doesn't mean you don't get treatment, it just means they don't use heroic measures to keep you alive,' they added.

'If you're in a home and you're ill, you should be sent to hospital for treatment - if you've got coronavirus, with oxygen therapy and antibiotics.

'If they're kept in the home, they're not going to get that treatment, and they are going to die.'

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told FEMAIL: 'During this unprecedented global outbreak we are working around the clock to protect our most vulnerable.

'All care home residents discharged from hospital will be tested before being admitted into their care home and we are using our increased testing capacity to test all care home residents and staff.

'We have also strengthened our advice to care homes and made 1.3 billion available to provide enhanced support for patients being discharged.'

Earlier this week University of Cambridge statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter suggested more people may be dying of coronavirus in care homes than in hospitals already.

The professor, a highly regarded statistics expert and an OBE recipient, said he believes the numbers of care home deaths are still climbing as Government statistics show hospital fatalities are trailing off.

He spoke of a 'massive, unprecedented spikes' in the number of people dying in nursing homes.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports suggest care homes are now seeing around 400 coronavirus deaths each day, on average - a number on par with hospitals in England.

Government ministers, pressured on claims they didn't do enough to help care homes, insist they were 'not overlooked' during a scramble to protect the NHS.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said on Wednesday: 'We have always recognised there was more vulnerability there'. He denied that more testing would have saved lives.

The true scale of the crisis in care homes has also been masked by a lack of routine testing, meaning thousands of elderly residents may have died without ever being diagnosed.

Earlier this week Professor John Newton, the government's testing chief, said officials had been working on the assumption that if one person tested positive for COVID-19 in a home, then anyone else who developed symptoms probably also had it and didn't need testing.

The coronavirus is known to be more deadly for the elderly - people in their 80s account for 38 per cent of all deaths related to the coronavirus. Pictured: Abbotswood Nursing Home in Ballasalla, Isle of Man (pictured) had its license suspended on April 13 after nearly 40 residents tested positive for coronavirus

Professor Carl Heneghan, an University of Oxford medicine expert who has been studying government statistics, believes at least a third of care homes have suffered outbreaks.

Government ministers are now having to fend off accusations that they left the 400,000 people living in care homes in the lurch in the early stages of Britain's epidemic when they focused their efforts on NHS hospitals.

Chief government scientist Sir Patrick Vallance admitted this week that Whitehall was told 'very early on' - believed to be late January or early February - that care homes would be a danger zone.

The Government has been accused of 'shambolic' and haphazard' attempts to support the sector since then and the first death wasn't announced until March 31.

The CQC said a total of 4,343 people with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 died in care homes between April 10 and April 24 alone.

ONS statistics published on Wednesday show that more than a quarter of all Covid-19 deaths are happening outside of hospitals - by April 17 there had been 4,316 non-hospital deaths out of a total 19,112.

Almost three-quarters of people living in care homes have dementia, making them extremely vulnerable, and many have other serious health problems.

The coronavirus is known to be more deadly for the elderly - people in their 80s account for 38 per cent of all deaths related to the coronavirus.

Of the 22,351 people who had died by April 17, 8,514 were aged between 80 and 89. A further 3,998 (18 per cent) were 90 or older, and 3,232 (14.5 per cent) were between 79 and 75.
Further gloom descended on airline stocks after Ryanair said it could cut up to 3,000 jobs.

The Irish budget carrier will kick off a restructuring programme in a bid to survive the coronavirus crisis that could also include staff taking unpaid leave, slashing salaries by 20 per cent and temporarily closing bases at certain airports.

The cuts at Ryanair  which had 17,500 staff last year  come just days after a shock announcement that British Airways-owner IAG would cut 12,000 roles at the UK flag carrier.

Job cuts: Ryanair's restructuring programme could include staff taking unpaid leave, slashing salaries by 20 per cent and temporarily closing bases at certain airports

Ryanairs outspoken boss Michael OLeary also took aim at the 26billion bailout European countries are offering their airlines, which he believes flouts competition rules.

The airline expects to operate less than 1 per cent of its usual flying schedule between April and June, and estimates it might only rise to 50 per cent between July and September, the usual summer holiday peak when airlines rake in most of their cash.

Ryanairs figures echoed those of Heathrow, which yesterday said passenger numbers using the airport plunged by 97 per cent in April.

Stock Watch - Genedrive Investors cheered as Genedrive completed its pilot batch of coronavirus testing kits, which it has developed with partner Cytiva. Having cleared the final manufacturing hurdle, Genedrive is hoping the test will get approval from EU regulators  known as CE marking  in around three weeks time. The test that Manchester-based Genedrive is making would deliver a quick result without needing to be sent to a lab. Shares surged 24.3 per cent, or 26.5p, to 135.5p.

More than anything, the painful but decisive moves by BA and Ryanair to axe jobs have dashed optimism that there will be a quick rebound for the industry once lockdown restrictions start being lifted.

Ryanair believes it will take until 2022 for demand to get back to 2019 levels.

The increasingly bleak outlook for the sector knocked 6.4 per cent, or 66 cents, off Ryanair shares, taking them to 9.66 by the close.

And the effect was contagious with Easyjet dropping 5.8 per cent, or 35.2p, to 568p and Jet2-owner Dart Group losing 5.3 per cent, or 34p, to 609.5p.

IAG fell 3.1 per cent, or 6.9p, to 215p, despite clinching 965million in help for from the Spanish government for Iberia and Vueling.

Londons two main indexes were also in the red.

The FTSE 100 fell 2.34pc, or 138.15 points, to 5763.06 and the FTSE 250 dropped 1.86 per cent, or 306.12 points, to 16148.34.

The Footsie was dragged lower by a toxic cocktail of bad news, which included data showing that the UK manufacturing sector had fallen to the lowest level on record, and President Trump threatening China with more tariffs because of the pandemic.

It was also knocked by another sharp fall in Shell shares (down 6.7 per cent, or 86.4p, closing at 1200p) after the oil and gas supermajor shocked savers and the City alike when it cut its dividend by two-thirds on Thursday.

It triggered a wave of downgrades by brokers yesterday, with HSBC, Berenberg and Panmure Gordon all lowering their ratings on its stock.

Analysts didnt take kindly to bakery chain Greggs shares after it ditched a plan to reopen 20 stores in Newcastle next week, saying it was worried it would attract big crowds.

Shares fell 6.4 per cent, or 118p, to 1714p after Peel Hunt brokers downgraded the baker to sell, saying it was not a good sign for when lockdown eases.

Queuing at a 2 metres distance outside the store, Peel Hunt added, is going to lose its novelty very quickly for even the biggest sausage roll addict.

Shares in AIM-listed Avacta, however, spiked after it struck a collaboration agreement with American group Adeptrix to develop a coronavirus test.

Chief executive Alastair Smith said the consensus view globally was that hundreds of millions of Covid-19 tests are going to be required per month for a long period, and that the disease will be endemic after the initial pandemic has passed.

Shares in he pharma firm climbed 14.1 per cent, or 13.5p, to 109p.
The proverbial day that COVID-19 hit, organizations came to a standstill. It was only for a few minutes, of course, and after the initial shock, they quickly realized: (1) they had to go home, (2) they were somewhat to largely unprepared for a global pandemic, and (3) the economy would be impacted. As an IT solutions and managed services provider, we immediately focused on our customers to make sure that they had what they needed to be productiveat scale and in a secure way.

We developed a rapid response plan to help customers deploy remote workers, maintain security and infrastructure readiness, and provide supplemental IT staff support. In this time of stress, we aimed to be the calm in the storm for our clients.

Now that the initial wave has subsided, what can we learn from this experience going forward?

Going Forward: The Impact of COVID-19 on Vertical Markets

While all industries have been affected, some have been impacted more than others. Other industries were jolted into reality.

Government Though state and local governments fared better, the behemoth that is our federal government was probably one of the least prepared for remote workers. Certainly, federal agencies have made considerable progress in developing and utilizing telework programs as a result of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010.

But theres an intricate patchwork of policies across agencies and, in 2017, just 21 percent of the federal workforce participated in telework even though 43 percent of all federal employees were eligible (1). In fact, it took weeks just to get laptops into employees hands.

Going forward, governments (and, in particular, the federal government) will want to figure out how to be more effective with remote work programs. Incorporating bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives into their business continuity planning to both cut costs and ensure emergency preparedness is key.

Education Schools, particularly K-12 schools, were somewhat underprepared for COVID-19. While schools quickly sent students home with devices, they werent immediately ready for online or distance learning.

In addition, K-12 (and some higher ed) IT systems are often patched together based on budget cycles rather than strategic priority. Educational software, too, is often a collection of standalone point products used to meet a specific need.

Going forward, were hoping to see an end-to-end learning experience that extends from the classroom to students homes. Curriculum will be redesigned, and education products will be consolidated and standardized on a single digital, cloud-based platform that will enable education to be delivered in one contiguous motion. With this kind of system in place, learning will continue uninterrupted, whether theres a pandemic or a snow day.

Retail Retailers facing reduced traffic or shuttered businesses are now realizing that their e-commerce strategy is more important than ever. In states where restaurants have had to close, restauranteurs are quickly developing more of a consistent presence from brick-and-mortar stores to online and using digital channels to reach out to and attract customers. Though this transformation has been occurring for a while, services will become much more of an imperative for the retail experience going forward.

Supply chain management and order fulfillment and delivery will also become critical. Grocery stores with pickup and delivery services have faltered a bit because of their inability to scale to meet demand. Even Amazon, with its industry-bending two-day delivery, has stumbled. Going forward, retailers will respond with pickup and delivery services that ably meet demand.

Industrial/Manufacturing Manufacturers and industrial organizations will re-think their supply chain strategy. Who really knew that there were two toilet paper markets with normally relatively stable consumption until a global pandemic caused an over-supply in one market and a short supply in the other? Paper companies, like other manufacturers, will have to better respond to consumer demand in a way that doesnt result in hoarding and price gouging.

Theyll also re-evaluate their supply chains and consider a more balanced global portfolio of suppliers instead of relying on a single nation-state whose goals are not always aligned with the nations goals.

Healthcare Over the last decade, healthcare providers have ridden the technology express lane, aided mostly by regulatory mandates. Still, legacy apps languish in some clinical areas which keeps clinicians from providing truly connected care.

Going forward, healthcare organizations, as a critical infrastructure, will re-evaluate moving their operations to the public cloud so that they can quickly respond to the nations healthcare needs. We recently worked with a major healthcare facility that asked us to help them set up a temporary field hospital to handle the surge in COVID-19 patients. We mobilized a small team of engineers to their site and worked closely with their team to get a network up and running in just 10 days.

Going Forward: What COVID-19 Means for IT Teams For IT teams, the initial COVID-19 wave was quick. IT leaders struggling to decamp employees asked: How do we quickly adopt the public cloud? How do we extend security to the edge? How do we implement collaboration tools, like Cisco Webex or Microsoft Teams?

Now that work from home is becoming the norm, priorities are changing. IT teams now need to focus on developing scalable cloud and security strategies and optimizing collaboration systems to accommodate this new normal.

For example, most healthcare providers use telehealth today. But most telehealth solutions were not designed to operate at scale. Many healthcare providers are now seeking to optimize their telehealth solution to run at scaleor theyre considering a new and scalable solution. In addition, some telehealth solutions are limited in their ability to provide doctors with immediate clinical information or process routine paperwork and deliver a seamless patient experience. IT leaders will move to optimize the available technologies to enable a superior customer experience.

5 Trends to Watch Coming out of COVID-19

1. Physical real estate  Clearly, organizations will re-evaluate the need for physical office space and investments in brick-and-mortar and will embrace the cost savings that can result from reducing their real estate. This is not to say that the office is going away. Instead, it will become more of a collaboration and information hub that workers can access rather than a place they must report to.

2. Increased cloud usage  Companies and IT leaders will also re-evaluate their public cloud usage. Theyll ask themselves why theyre in the physical data center business instead of outsourcing services, especially infrastructure services, that can provide them with much more business fluidity.

3. Accelerated IT transformation  IT teams will not only continue to transform from hands-on hardware operators to business and data analysts, this transformation will accelerate. IT is more about how to quickly respond to change, no matter what the change is.

4. Supply chain changes  Organizations, and particularly manufacturers, will re-evaluate their supply chains and consider a more balanced global portfolio of suppliers instead of relying on a single country like China.

5. Business structure  Most organizations will reevaluate their business structure and revisit their continuity plans. Theyll implement changes to ensure that people have access to their data and applications, when needed.

Tips for Getting Through COVID-19 Using Technology As we see it, security, cloud and collaboration are the primary technologies needed to quickly enable a remote workforce and keep organizations moving during a business disruption.

A holistic security strategy from the core to the edge is critical. Look honestly at your security posture and refresh it, if needed. Many organizations will find that trying to manage their own security in a crisis may not be the best use of time and resources. This may be a welcome opportunity to seek out a third-party security partner who can help you strategically manage security at scale.

The public cloud will also be a beacon to companies for the agility and responsiveness it provides in all times, not only in a crisis. Any doubts about public cloud must be weighed against the value of continuous business operations. We helped one customer stand up 15,000 cloud-based desktops over a weekend so that they can continue their business virtually uninterruptedall from employees homes.

Finally, revisit your voice and collaboration tools. Are they meeting your business needs and keeping employees connected during this vital time? If not, consider replacing or refreshing those solutions with solutions that can scale on demand while still meeting your business needs.

In times like these, there is great uncertainty and fear. But we will rise. And we will rise with even greater opportunities for innovation in how we manage the next business disruption.

Mike Martin is Senior Vice President for Solutions and Services, responsible for Logicalis U.S. strategy and services.

1Status of Telework in the Federal Government Report to Congress, Fiscal Year 2017, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 01/2019.
KABUL - Facing an emboldened Taliban, and with less U.S. military support, Afghan forces have suffered heavy casualties during a two-month surge in violence across the country that is threatening to jeopardize a fragile peace deal between the United States and the Taliban.

A U.S. military assessment describes Taliban attacks on Afghan forces in March as "above seasonal norms," according to a quarterly report released Thursday by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

According to the Afghan National Security Council, the Taliban has carried out an average of 55 attacks a day since March 1 - a spike that has doubled casualties among Afghan security forces in some parts of the country, officials say.

"The numbers show Taliban doing nothing for peace and everything to continue their campaign of terror against Afghans," the council's spokesman, Javid Faisal, said on Twitter.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin "Scott" Miller, on Tuesday called on the Taliban to reduce attacks and give "our political leadership on all sides an opportunity to determine the peaceful way forward," according to a transcript of his remarks released by a U.S. military spokesman.

"If the Taliban continue to attack, then what they should expect is a response," Miller said.

The increase in violence comes as U.S. officials struggle to keep the Taliban peace deal on track. The February agreement ended offensive operations between U.S. forces and the militant group and set a deadline of March 10 for the beginning of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Those talks have yet to begin, and some fear the violence could be sapping what little momentum followed the signing of the deal.

Two Afghan security officials and a senior government official say Taliban fighters used a week of reduced violence in the lead-up to the peace deal to regroup. Now, with fewer U.S. airstrikes applying pressure to Taliban forces on the battlefield, Taliban fighters are launching more deadly attacks on Afghan government positions, the officials said. All three spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. military command in Kabul refused to release more-specific data on Taliban attacks, citing concerns surrounding sensitive negotiations with the Taliban. This marks the first time the U.S. military command in Kabul has restricted the release of such data since SIGAR began using it in 2018 to track the levels and locations of violence.

Miller met with Taliban leadership twice in April "as part of the military channel established in the agreement . . . about the need to reduce the violence," according to the SIGAR report.

The U.S.-Taliban peace deal does not prohibit Taliban attacks on the Afghan government, but following the deal, U.S. officials had said they expected violence levels to remain low.

Taliban leaders have balked at calls for reduced violence, blaming the Afghan government and U.S. forces for the continued hostilities. After appeals from the United Nations and the Afghan government for a cease-fire to mark Ramadan and to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a Taliban spokesman accused the government of creating "hurdles" to peace by delaying a planned release of prisoners and said the United States had violated the peace deal by delivering ammunition to Afghan forces.

"Demanding a cease-fire and reduction in violence at a time when the opposite side is not executing its own obligations is both illogical and opportunistic," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement Sunday.

The Taliban has not asserted responsibility for all the attacks against Afghan forces, but has repeatedly stated that the group is in compliance with the terms of the U.S. agreement.

The violence is just one of many factors threatening the future of the peace deal between the Taliban and the United States, according to Laurel Miller, who previously served as the acting U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and is now the director of the International Crisis Group's Asia program.

"In the context in which momentum has already been lost and is eroding, the resurgence of violence is another factor that sours the atmosphere for talks," she said.

The Afghan government and the Taliban were supposed to launch direct talks in March, but the negotiations over a controversial prisoner swap collapsed in early April.

"Violence affects the willingness of people to accept compromises," Miller said, and high death tolls provide fodder to those who don't want to see peace talks succeed. "The violence is a way of discrediting the whole promise of the process."

A senior security official in the northern province of Takhar, one of those hit hardest by the recent wave of Taliban attacks, said the week of reduced violence ahead of the peace deal was critical to the recent spike in Taliban attacks.

He said Taliban fighters used the lull to reinforce their positions, regroup and expand their influence in territory recently retaken by Afghan government forces.

Another senior Afghan security official described the decision to reduce Afghan government offensives as "a goodwill gesture from the government for the sake of peace." But "it seems the adversary is taking advantage," he said. "The Taliban think they are winning."

- - -

George reported from Lahore, Pakistan. The Washington Post's Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
Victoria Booth (21) lives with her mum Jayne (48) and dad Rab (60) in Garvagh. She is working on a surgical ward in the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. She says:

I do remember in primary school wanting to be a teacher, but that soon changed and I don't think I've ever really seen myself do anything else but nursing from a very young age. Since I was a child, my parents and grandparents all said I would make a great nurse and I suppose I followed their advice.

I think I love caring for people and get a real sense of accomplishment from helping people - I want to make them feel like a person, like they matter.

I love looking after people, and older people as well - I think they're just amazing and I love hearing about all the different backgrounds and the lives they've lived.

I did level three social care and my teachers really pushed me to apply for university.

I'm not sure I would have gone for it if it hadn't been for them - I suppose they help you see the potential you have in yourself.

I wouldn't have had a lot of confidence, but that's all changed with nursing.

When I went for my interview for my degree, I was so nervous I can't even remember who was in front of me in the room, but I have learnt over the years that it's most important to just be yourself.

You have to just show them who you really are, it's like when a person is in hospital, they want you to treat them like a person.

I really wanted to go to Ulster University at Magee to do nursing, just from being up there on the open day and I stayed up there the first year and travelled the next two years.

Everyone wanted to go out partying every night, like every student does, but it was too much for me because I had a class at nine o'clock every morning.

The degree was really great, it was a lot of hard work, but everyone on the course was really, really good.

I still remember the first patient I ever saw - you never forget them.

I was actually supposed to do my final placement at Antrim Area Hospital, working with the infection control team, which would obviously have been a brilliant learning opportunity, but I'm sure they're very busy at the moment.

The idea of starting work early was scary but I'm really happy to be out on the frontline.

It gives you a real sense that you're part of a team, you're part of the NHS family working together.

At university one day we were called in and our lecturers told us they were thinking of getting us to start early. Everyone had mixed emotions.

You worry about what you're going to be asked to do once you get started and I was a bit more worried about my family and their health - obviously they mean so much to me.

Family is all that really matters.

Obviously there are going to be a lot of deaths, it just feels like it could be a type of nursing that we haven't trained for, but you have to take pride in the fact that we'll probably be the last people those patients are going to see.

We have to remember to do our best, it's a huge responsibility and all you can do is ensure that they have the most peaceful death, that we're there to hold their hand and maybe get their family on FaceTime - it's really about thinking outside the box.

I did question beforehand whether I was mad putting myself up for this and I felt very overwhelmed on the first day.

There were a lot of tears but essentially this is what I have signed up for, what I'm passionate about.

My parents have been so supportive, I've always been quite independent from a young age and they trust my judgment.

I'd been on the surgical ward before and I'd enjoyed my time there so much so I thought I would chance my arm and email them and it's been going really, really well.

It's such a great team to work with and my mentor is fantastic, she's so thorough in everything she does and is a fantastic nurse.

We have people come in with perforated bowels, pancreatitis, after car accidents, anyone who needs surgery really, and we're going to have Covid patients.

I haven't been fit-tested for the mask yet so I haven't been working with them directly - I have been supporting the other nurses and managing other patients on the ward.

Every nurse is a human being, we all have the same emotions and even for the nurses who have been working for 40 years, this is the first time they've faced anything like this.

It all became a lot more real for me on the first day when I arrived at the door and was told to put a mask on.

It has been tough at times, having to go in with a smile on your face and have a positive attitude, but the support from everyone else is amazing.

I've also been really lucky because a family friend has offered me the use of a house that is attached to her house.

I go back there and get showered, I wash my uniform.

I think I'm actually going to have to go and move in there permanently eventually, but we will see.

I've also had to stop seeing my boyfriend Alan, which is really hard.

It's so frustrating when people don't stay at home because nurses have left their families, a lot of them have children they aren't able to see, so it's really frustrating to think that people are being asked to stay at home and they won't do that."

Dervla Thomson (21) lives in Kilrea with her mum Mary (53) and sister Molly (19). She is working in Holywell Hospital in Antrim.

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She says:

I don't really know what made me think of nursing. When I was in my fifth year at school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do but we had to make a choice about where to go for placement and I decided to go to a care home.

I spent five days there and I loved it, I loved working with people and I loved the caring aspect of it, so it took off from there.

For some reason I had always been interested in mental health, I'm not sure why, it's not that I had any issues and neither had anyone in my family, but it's something that I was always interested in.

I was offered a place at Ulster University and I'm so glad that I ended up doing mental health nursing, I've loved it.

It was the first time I'd lived away from home so it was a good experience. I did my first year in halls and my second year in a student house and moved back home for my final year.

The way the course worked, it was half in university and half out on placements and I quite quickly realised that I was younger than most other people.

Going out on placement and meeting patients for the first time was scary in the first year but the nurses that I worked with were really nice.

I think that they realised how young I was as well and they never pushed me to do anything I didn't feel confident in doing. It was such an invaluable opportunity - you're out meeting patients and you pick up your own way of talking to people, it all comes with time.

In my second year I spent some time working in the addiction service and I did that on a hospital ward and in the community. There are some really sad cases but because I worked in hospital and in the community, I got to see people's journeys from them being admitted to when they were doing better.

I was in my final year when the pandemic started, but we had no idea what was going to happen and then we got a call in March telling us all to come in because they wanted to talk to us about the Covid situation. When we arrived, they started to show us all the personal protective equipment (PPE) and telling us they were planning on bringing forward our graduation and that we could join other nurses on the frontline.

We were all just sitting there in a bit of shock and they kept bringing out more and more equipment and it was like something you would see in a movie.

One of the lecturers was explaining everything and the other lecturer was putting on all the PPE.

They told us we didn't have to do it, that it was entirely voluntary and they talked through it all a bit more.

They said that if the lockdown came in, it would be our last day in university - and we haven't been back since.

I think everyone was apprehensive about going for it, but I felt like I just had to go for it.

I talked it through with my mum beforehand and she said it was a really big step, but she's so proud, in fact everyone has been so supportive.

I was a bit worried before that people would think I was mad for putting myself at risk, but I've had some lovely messages from people - I haven't had any negative comments.

Still, I'm not going to lie, I was worried before I started, I think everyone was worried.

You're going into the complete unknown and I was really nervous driving up in the morning, I had to make myself stop thinking about it.

I've been placed in Tobernaveen Centre at Holywell Hospital in Antrim and I'm not working with anyone with Covid-19, but we still have to wear a certain amount of PPE.

It's an inpatient mental health ward and you have to explain to all the patients why you're wearing the PPE and that it's there for their safety, you really do have to make sure you reassure them.

I'm working with people with dementia, and my granny had dementia so I've a bit of experience of it. It's a terrible disease but, like all the way through my degree, the staff I am working with now are brilliant.

Even though I'm not working on a Covid ward at the moment, I still have to be very careful when I come home and you still think you might be carrying it everywhere with you.

I get changed out of my nurse uniform, bring it home and throw it straight in the washing machine, and then I jump into the shower.

I even feel guilty when I sit down in the living room just in case I pass it on.

Obviously, I finished my degree early and this is my first proper job but if there is anything I'm worried about I can talk it through with my colleagues and they'll make sure I'm all right.

I'm nervous about the pandemic but I was given such a good induction and I feel like I was prepared for what I was going to face.

Of course, there are hard days when it's really challenging, but I love it more than not.

It's nothing how I thought the start of my career would be, but I definitely think it will make me a better nurse.

It's one of those situations where you do or you don't and it has definitely made me grow up a bit.

I hear people clapping every week and to be a part of something that's making such a difference, it's so heart-warming.

I think it's brilliant that people have noticed how vital the health service is and there's a real sense of pride to be a part of something so important."
Miami, Florida, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund - as part of the Education Stabilization Fund within the CARES Act - provides for direct financial aid to students and for institutes to be supported in the changes to the delivery of programs due to COVID-19. As a result, eligible students will receive emergency financial aid to cover expenses relating to COVID-19 disruptions. SAE Institute expects to be able to distribute these funds for eligible students actively studying in the April module (Miami and NYC campuses) or summer semester (Atlanta, Chicago, Emeryville, and Nashville campuses).

The US Department of Education mandates that the emergency funds must be used by students for Coronavirus-related expenses such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care.

SAE Institute is pleased to have been included in the Federal Governments stimulus package, said Dr. Michele Ernst, Chief Academic and Compliance Officer at SAE Institute. Many of our students are facing difficult personal challenges during this crisis and need assistance. These funds will provide vital support to help them progress with their studies and make it through this unprecedented period.

SAE Institute is currently assessing the requirements of the grant and how the aid will be distributed fairly to students. More details will follow in the coming days and be announced via the SAE Institute USA website (https://usa.sae.edu).
Migrant crisis: A train from Telangana and a late night meeting

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: The first train carrying around 1,000 migrant workers set off from Telangana's Lingampally for Hatia in Jharkhand.

The decision was taken at a late night meeting of the Home and Railway ministries on Thursday. More such trains are being planned, sources tell OneIndia, but as of now, it is being maintained that it is an one-off affair. The source, however, said that more trains shall be planned only as per the directions of the Ministry of Railways. The decision would be taken based on the request by both the destination and originating state governments.

First train carrying 1,200 migrants leaves Telangana for Jharkhand

There has been a lot of pressure from the states to allow special trains to carry migrant workers.

The Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla in his order earlier this week permitted states to take back stranded migrant labourers, students, tourists and pilgrims. However, the order made it clear that the states shall only use buses as mode of transport. The order also says that the stranded persons shall be brought back only by road.

The states have been complaining that it would be a humongous task to bring back stranded persons by using only buses. The states are now urging the Ministry of Home Affairs to tweak its order so as tot allow trains to ferry back stranded persons.

Further ferrying those stranded by road is an expensive option and would require a lot of work for the state administration, which is already stressed due to the COVID-19 situation. Take for instance the case of Karnataka. The state will arrange transport for all the migrant labourers who want to return. The cost is estimated at Rs 10,000 per day for 25 people per bus. The requirement for every one lakh people is 4,000 buses and this would mean it would cost around Rs 4 crore for one lakh. If all workers wish to return, then the cost would be around Rs 8 crore. Karnataka has around 2 lakh migrant workers.
#Importante | Sala Penal Anticorrupcion sustituyo la prision preventiva por arresto domiciliario a la investigada Susana Villaran De la Puente por el plazo de 24 meses en la investigacion que se le sigue por el presunto delito de lavado de activos y otros. pic.twitter.com/VPZI6Ac9kI
Many wonder about the situation inside China as more countries put pressure on Beijing for transparency on the CCP virus outbreak.

Videos surfacing on the internet recently showed Chinese soldiers in local markets in the countrys northernmost province.

Chinese citizens have also reported activity at the border with North Korea as speculation flies around the health of the leader of the Democratic Peoples Republic Kim Jong Un.

In an open letter, a critically ill mother expressed her wish to see her son, who was jailed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for exposing human rights abuses.

Canadas opposition leader recently said the country needs to rethink its relationship with China. How are Canada-China relations going and whats the significance during the pandemic?

The U.S. intelligence community weighs in on the origin of the virus, saying that it does not believe it is man made or genetically modified.

NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the CCPs coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

Subscribe to our Youtube channel for more first-hand news from China

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, which has become the first academic institute to develop a COVID-19 testing method, is planning to give non-exclusive open licence to companies for commercialising the test but with a price rider.

While over 40 companies have reached out to the premiere institute after it got an approval from the ICMR for the test, IIT will be giving the licence to the companies which meet its quality criteria and the test is expected to be in market within three weeks.

"Over 40 companies, including a few big names, have reached out to us to commercialise the test. We will be giving open licences to companies which meet the quality criterion set by us. We also will be giving the licence with a price rider so companies do not hike the price once commercialised. The test is expected to be in the market within three weeks," IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao told PTI.

"We have sent out questionnaires to the companies who have sent expressions of interest. We have set criterion, including quality checks and experience in manufacturing. We will select the companies soon and there will be handholding by the institute. So far we have identified three of them," he added.

Elaborating on the price rider, Rao said the test will cost less than Rs 500.

"The test method involves a cost of Rs 200-300 per test. So overall, the test should not be more than Rs 500. If some company decides to do the production as a CSR initiative, the price could even be lesser than that," he said.

The method to detect COVID-19 which will significantly reduce the cost of testing, making it affordable for a large population in the country, developed by the institute got the ICMR nod last week.

IIT Delhi is the first academic institute to have obtained the ICMR approval for a real-time PCR-based diagnostic assay. The development also comes against the backdrop of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) halting the testing for COVID-19 cases through China-made test kits because of massive variation in test results, compounding the challenge to check and contain the pandemic.

According to the team, the current testing methods available are "probe-based" while the one developed by the IIT team is a "probe-free" method, which reduces the testing cost without compromising on accuracy.

Using comparative sequence analyses, the IITD team identified unique regions (short stretches of RNA sequences) in the COVID-19 and SARS COV-2 genome.

RNA or Ribonucleic Acid is one of the major biological macromolecules that is essential for all known forms of life. It performs various important biological roles related to protein synthesis such as transcription, decoding, regulation and expression of genes.

"Using comparative sequence analysis, we have identified unique regions in COVID-19. These unique regions are not present in other human coronaviruses providing an opportunity to specifically detect COVID-19," Professor Vivekanandan Perumal, lead member of the team had told PTI.

"Primer sets, targeting unique regions in the spike protein of COVID-19, were designed and tested using real time polymerase chain reaction. The primers designed by the group specifically bind to regions conserved in over 200 fully sequenced COVID-19 genomes. The sensitivity of this in-house assay is comparable to that of commercially available kits," he added.

The research team includes PhD scholars Prashant Pradhan, Ashutosh Pandey and Praveen Tripathi, post-doctoral fellows Dr Parul Gupta and Dr Akhilesh Mishra and professors Vivekanandan Perumal, Manoj B Menon, James Gomes and Bishwajit Kundu.

According to Union Health Ministry, the death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 1,147 with 72 more fatalities and the number of cases climbed to 35,043 in the country on Friday.

The active COVID-19 cases stood at 25,007, while 8,888 people have recovered, and one patient has migrated. The total number of 35,043 cases includes 111 foreign nationals, according to ministry data updated in the morning.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, May 1 : In the wake of demands by different state governments to run special trains to ferry people stuck in various states, Indian Railways said it will run special trains from Friday itself to move labourers, pilgrims, tourists and students stranded across the country.

Railways Executive Director (Media) R.D. Bajpai said in a statement that as per the guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, it was decided to run "Shramik Special" trains to return migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students, and others to their native states.

The senior officials of the Railways and Home Ministry had a meeting in Thursday to discuss the issue.

The development comes on a day when the Railways ran its first special train in almost 40 days from Telangana to Jharkhand to transport 1,200 migrant labourers.

The railways had suspended passenger, mail and express trains as the nationwide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from March 24 midnight to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

Bajpai said these special trains will be run from point to point on the request of both state governments concerned as per the standard protocols for sending and receiving such stranded persons.

"The railways and state governments shall appoint senior officials as nodal officers for coordination and smooth operation of these Shramik Special trains," the official said.

Elaborating, he said the passengers have to be screened by the states in which people were stuck and allow only those found asymptomatic to travel.

"The state governments concerned will have to bring these stranded persons in batches that can be accommodated in trains at designated railway stations by sanitized buses and following social distancing norms and other precautions.

"It will be mandatory for every passenger to wear a face mask. Meals and drinking water will be provided to the travellers by states concerned at the train's originating station," the official said.

He said that the Railways will endeavour to ensure social distancing norms and hygiene on board with the cooperation of passengers. "On longer routes, the Railways will provide a meal en route," he said.

Bajpai said that on arrival at the destination station, passengers will be received by officials of the respective state governments, who would also make all arrangements for their screening, quarantine if necessary and further travel from the railway station.

The national transporter has suspended regular services of passenger and express trains until further notice, running only freight and special parcel trains to ensure supply of essential items across the country.
This is why the role of federal prosecutors is critical. Citizens have tried to shake up their government on redistricting reform, on term limits, on ethics, only to be blocked time and again by the party in charge. Citizens have voted with their feet, leaving Illinois in an exodus fashion that is likely to cause the state to lose another Congressional seat. They are fed up.
AC Milan and Roc Nation have partnered to stage a virtual live event headlined by Alicia Keys that will pay tribute to workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic in Italy and beyond.

Funds raised through the event will benefit global humanitarian aid organisation Direct Relief and Milans philanthropic foundation.

Viewers will be able to donate via the From Milan with Love fundraising site and AC Milans Facebook page.

The hour-long tribute is scheduled for Sunday at 9pm local time (1900 GMT) and will be hosted by Grammy Award-winning producer DJ Khaled and Italian TV presenter Diletta Leotta.

Gavin Rossdale (Yui Mok/PA)

Other performers will include Kelly Rowland, Robin Thicke, Gavin Rossdale and Chris Traynor of Bush, Jay Buchanan of Rival Sons, and Lola Ponce.

Milan chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: This crisis has presented unprecedented challenges for all of us, but the contribution that these key workers have made is humbling, inspiring and will never be forgotten.

The participation of such an amazing array of talent in this event will provide a fitting tribute to them and I hope will help to spread a message of hope and optimism during this difficult period.

Milans last Serie A game was on March 8 before the league was suspended.

More than 27,000 people diagnosed with coronavirus are known to have died in Italy.

However, the number of daily new cases of Covid-19, as well as the fatalities, have steadily declined, and the country is set to ease lockdown measures on Monday, allowing individuals to practise sport outdoors.
Coronavirus & Remote Learning

Updated: Free Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources for Schools During the COVID-19 Outbreak

(Updated June 11) Education technology companies and organizations have stepped forward to help educators bring resources for social and emotional learning and psychological wellbeing to teachers, students and families during the COVID-19 school closures. The following list of free resources will be updated as announcements are made. (If you know of a company that should be included on this list, please send details to [email protected].)

Aperture Education has made a 33-page "Educator Guide to Optimistic Thinking" available as a form of professional development, along with other "take-home" PD activities. The company has also curated a collection of free parent resources to help their kids (and them) develop social and emotional skills. https://info.apertureed.com/archived-resources

Boston Children's Hospital has produced free professional development for educators on social-emotional learning and behavioral health in schools. Each course is self-paced and includes tools and strategies to be used in the classroom and overall school environment (because face-to-face school will be back in session at some point). https://www.childrenshospital.org/taponline

The Character Tree is giving teachers a way to share character education videos and downloadable resources with parents to use at home. Free access will last through Jun. 30, 2020. This program provides videos for first and second graders, with discussions, examples from history and role modeling to teach "character development" and emphasize positive character traits, including kindness, curiosity and integrity. All lessons are standards-aligned and come with printable resources. Parents can also sign up for their own free accounts. https://go.charactertree.com/free_home_access_for_students

The Character Tree is providing free access to 32 videos and related materials to the end of the school year. That covers four hours of educational video content presenting positive character development. https://charactertree.com/sign-up/#join

CharacterStrong is offering free K-12 social-emotional learning resources that can be used for remote instruction, including a virtual toolkit, digital student assemblies, a virtual Whole Child Summit(taking place Apr. 13-24, 2020) and a "30 Days of Kindness Journal." Access to resources requires registration. https://characterstrong.com/

Chicken Soup for the Soul, in partnership with American Humane, is promoting a line of free digital books for students, titled Humane Heroes, that share stories of animal rescue, rehabilitation and humane conservation undertaken at leading zoological institutions, as well as 18 literacy-based social-emotional learning lessons, targeting students in grades 4, 7 and 10. https://www.chickensoup.com/ah

The Children's Psychological Health Center has developed a 102-page guided "first-aid" workbook, "My Pandemic Story," for children and teenagers, to encourage mental health, creative expression, learning and coping. The book includes guidance for families and teachers. It's available in English and six other languages. http://www.childrenspsychologicalhealthcenter.org/resources/guided-activity-workbooks/

Committee for Children's Second Step has free social-emotional learning resources for educators, students ages 5 to 13 and their families. Those include podcasts to help families cope with physical isolation and "Mine Yeti," 15 mindfulness video sessions for families to work through together. https://www.secondstep.org/covid19support

Conscious Discipline has compiled a collection of free online tools for educators and parents on managing stress during the pandemic. "COVID-19: Resources for Families and Educators" includes free membership to SEL lesson libraries with videos, games, and audio downloads, focused on coping strategies and restoring a sense of normalcy. The company has also made weekly videosavailable on social-emotional learning topics and provided access through June to a three-session professional development webinar on working with children in trauma. https://consciousdiscipline.com/product/premium-digital-toolkit-1-year-membership/

Denise Albright Studio has created free digital downloads for families, including a hand-washing checklist for kids and a "gratitude worksheet," to help them remember what's going right in their lives. https://denisealbright.com/collections/free-printables
Thousands of tenants have pledged not to pay rent today as part of a massive, statewide rent strike organized by tenant advocates. The goal, according to the housing activists, is to spur action from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state leaders to universally cancel rent, utility and mortgage payments for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. But with a reticent governor, an inactive Legislature and a state government facing billions in lost revenue, renters are unlikely to see the relief they seek without federal intervention.

As of Thursday afternoon, over 12,000 people, in New York City and across the state, pledged to participate in the rent strike in some way. According to Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for the tenant advocates coalition Housing Justice for All that helped organize the rent strike, that includes at least 57 buildings where tenants have collectively decided not to pay rent. She added shes not aware of a rent strike this large in the past 100 years. Weaver said that the majority of those participating are tenants who will not be able to pay rent regardless. So the organized strike serves as a call to action while creating broader solidarity among tenants facing uncertain futures. Were taking a moment of deep uncertainty and inability and a widespread economic crisis, and making it a political one, Weaver said. Last month, about 90% of tenants paid rent, which is lower than normal, but landlords were concerned that number would increase.

In addition to rent cancelation  meaning that payments due during the crisis will never have to be paid  Housing Justice for All is also calling for a $10 billion affordable housing investment and the immediate rehousing of homeless New Yorkers, who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. The coalition is also calling for a landlord hardship fund to assist small and nonprofit building owners who may face financial hardship from lack of rent. Weaver said she and other housing advocates are hoping for action from the governor in the form of an executive order. She also hopes that with tenants putting pressure on the politically powerful real estate industry, its members could then put pressure on Cuomo and lawmakers.

But Cuomo has repeatedly expressed that he has no immediate plans to issue a new executive order regarding rent and mortgage relief. In March, Cuomo placed a moratorium on evictions for 90 days. While that protects tenants in the short term, tenant advocates worry it sets up a situation where tenants may face eviction if they cant immediately pay their back rent when the moratorium is lifted.

When asked on Thursday if he planned to take additional action to aid renters who may be unemployed or otherwise struggling financially due to the pandemic, the governor reiterated his claims made in the past that he has already addressed concerns about renter hardship. No one can be evicted for nonpayment of rent, Cuomo said at his daily press briefing, punctuating each word. Im not saying people shouldnt pay the rent  if you can pay the rent, pay the rent. If you cant pay the rent, youre not going to be evicted.

Cuomo acknowledged that when the moratorium ends in several weeks, then well have to figure out what to do, suggesting that additional action is not coming much before then. When asked in a follow-up question about the potential of providing rental assistance, Cuomo effectively wrote off the prospect due to the states $13 billion deficit.

Without action from the governor, the onus would fall on the state Legislature for any statutory relief efforts. Since the crisis began, several different proposals have been introduced offering different approaches to rent relief, although Weaver said the Housing Justice for All coalition does not currently back any specific legislation. However, she said the group backs a federal bill from Rep. Ilhan Omar that would cancel rent and mortgage payments across the country.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris has introduced two bills with Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou. The first would cancel rent for any tenant who has lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while suspending mortgage payments for landlords based on the amount of lost rent. This would likely still result in a loss of profit for those landlords as well, potentially impacting building maintenance and tax payments. The pair of lawmakers also have a second bill, introduced more recently, that would allow tenants to pay no more than 30% of their current income and would set up a fund for cash-strapped landlords not receiving other forms of federal, state or local aid. In an interview with City & State, Gianaris said the new legislation is meant to reflect that some people who did not have income at the end of March may now be receiving unemployment and are capable of paying at least some portion of their rent. However, he added that executive action from Cuomo would still be the best option because it would be the easiest and most expedient way for tenants to get relief.

But Gianaris and Nious bills would leave single-family and some small multi-unit homeowners out in the cold if they got laid off. Mortgage suspension or assistance included in their legislation only applies to homeowners who stand to lose rental income, and is only proportional to that. Cuomo has suspended mortgage payments and foreclosures for 90 days, but it has caused confusion and will still leave homeowners on the hook for those payments at the end of the suspension, just like the eviction moratorium does with rents.

State Sen. Julia Salazar has introduced the Emergency Coronavirus Affordable Housing Preservation Act of 2020. Like Gianaris first bill, this legislation would cancel rent for anyone facing a loss of income as a result of the pandemic, but includes a provision that tenants provide some form of documentation proving the financial hardship if it is demanded. Landlords could then write off a portion of the lost income from their property taxes or have mortgage payments suspended. The bill would also provide direct relief to landlords and property owners that can prove a more than 10% loss of rental income, as well mortgage relief for small homeowners who are not landlords. Salazar, while supportive of other rent relief legislation, believes that her bill is the most comprehensive one yet introduced to address the rent crisis, for renters and suffering landlords and homeowners. Her bill addresses the needs of anyone who is going to be impacted  except aside from the banks  by loss of rent, Salazar told City & State.

State Sen. Brian Kavanagh took a different route and has proposed a rental assistance program that would provide vouchers to tenants unable to pay rent as a result of the coronavirus crisis. This would offer direct payments, including for utilities, to landlords for at least three months from the time the bill is enacted, with tenants still responsible to pay 30% of whatever their income is at the time. Establishing a rental assistant program like this is the most preferred form of intervention for the landlord group Community Housing Improvement Program, whose members are generally small landlords who own rent-stabilized and affordable buildings. Vouchers are the best option to solve the problem, Michael Johnson, the groups spokesman said. Trying to figure out a way to give money directly to renters who need it is king of the simplest way to keep the housing market stable.

Additionally, state Sens. Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz have introduced a bill that would prevent landlords from evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent during the period of the statewide emergency declaration and for six months afterwards.

The problem with almost all of the legislative proposals is that right now, they partially or completely rely on unfunded relief programs that would require additional unrestricted aid to the state. And even if that aid comes in the next federal relief package, its no guarantee that Cuomo would approve of the additional state aid being used for rent relief.

Another problem is whether or not the state Legislature will be able to pass any legislation soon. Gianaris said members of the state Senate have been meeting over web conferences in order to formulate a comprehensive tenant and housing relief package. But the state Legislature  neither chamber of which has held a public meeting since it passed the budget in early April  likely wont meet until mid-May, according to Gianaris. And thats no guarantee that both the state Senate and the Assembly will have a matching bill that with majority support in both chambers. When asked if Cuomo would be open to signing a rent relief package if passed by the Legislature, a spokesman for the governor referred back to Cuomos comments at Thursdays press conference, but would not comment further without seeing specific bill language.

Some landlords have been working with tenants in order to figure out fair rent payment plans during the crisis. Johnson said many of the Community Housing Improvement Programs 4,000 members have been in communication with their tenants and are trying to work with them. But thats not always the case. In a Wednesday evening Zoom call with tenant organizers and rent strikers, many took to the comments section to describe landlord harassment to pay rent, landlords unwilling to negotiate and in one case, a landlord who agreed to a half payment of rent, only to demand the rest days later.

Related Companies, one of New York Citys largest landlords, recently put out a letter that its tenants can pay rent with a credit card. But that simply shifts the costs for tenants down the road, while likely racking up credit card debt, as Related continues to receive its rental income. The move also reeks of hypocrisy because Equinox gyms, which Related owns, didnt pay their commercial rents in April. A group of large landlords are also working with real estate groups to help affordable housing tenants pay rent, but its unclear how much a dent those efforts would realistically make in a severe public health and economic crisis. And Gianaris wrote off other floated proposals, like using a security deposit for rent or spreading out payments, because they dont address the root problem  people need relief from the financial obligation of rent when the pandemic has caused a loss of income.

It seems that for struggling tenants engaging in the May rent strike, salvation hinges on federal action, whether thats additional monetary aid to the state, or federal legislation suspending rent nationwide.

Correction: This article originally misstated the intent of a bill from state Sens. Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.
Witchcraft accusations against children and vulnerable people could rise in Britain because of the coronavirus outbreak, police have warned.

There are concerns that victims will be abused by believers who blame them for illness or misfortune.

Police say unscrupulous faith leaders will exploit peoples fears by performing potentially dangerous exorcisms, or offering fake cures.

Almost 2,000 children were identified as potential victims of abuse linked to faith and belief in England during the last financial year, and such practices have resulted in several deaths.

Inspector Allen Davis, who leads the Metropolitan Polices response to the issue, told The Independent coronavirus will be seen through a spiritual lens by those who have a belief in witchcraft.

These beliefs are extremely common and in many parts of the world they are the norm, not the exception, he added.

Were concerned with a rise in accusations against vulnerable individuals who will be labelled as witches and for having caused the misfortune.

Beliefs in witchcraft and possession are seen in some African and Asian diaspora communities, and frequently trigger violence in countries including Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.

A study released on Friday found that after accounting for differences in age, sex and geography, black African fatalities linked to Covid-19 are 3.5 times higher than white people in Britain.

The research also found Bame men are more likely to be in jobs affected by the shutdown of large parts of the economy.

Separate analysis by the Office for National Statistics showed that people living in the most deprived areas of England have experienced coronavirus mortality rates more than double those living in the least deprived areas.

Ayesha Ali death Show all 10 1 /10 Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death A mother and her girlfriend have being convicted of killing eight-year-old Ayesha Ali after subjecting the child to months of abuse because she was evil PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death A letter written by Ayesha Ali PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death A 'naughty list' written by Ayesha Ali PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death Mother Polly Chowdhury (left), 35, and her lesbian lover Kiki Muddar, who were found guilty of killing eight-year-old Ayesha Ali after getting caught up in a twisted romance revolving around fictional Facebook characters PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death The bedroom where Ayesha Ali's body was found PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death A new shower hose and fitting purchased by Kiki Muddar found inside the flat at Bedwell Court; it is believed this was a replacement for one that had been used to assault Ayesha Ali PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death Kiki Muddar during the morning of 28 August when she purchased a shower hose and fitting, it is believed this was a replacement for one that had been used to assault Ayesha Ali PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death A CCTV still taken from footage issued by the Metropolitan Police of Kiki Muddar during the morning of 28 August when she purchased a shower hose and fitting; it is believed this was a replacement for one that had been used to assault Ayesha Ali PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death Detective Inspector Donna Convery, from the Metropolitan Police, said she had never seen a case like it. What the motivation behind this campaign of abuse was remains unclear. What is painfully clear, however, is that Ayesha, an eight-year-old girl, has had her life taken away in horribly brutal circumstances PA Ayesha Ali death Ayesha Ali death Polly Chowdhury, the mother of Ayesha Ali Facebook

Insp Davis said people who believe in malevolent forces may be looking for a reason to blame someone for illness, death, job losses or financial struggles.

So they will go to pastors and prophets, who will confirm the familys diagnosis that somebody is possessed, he added.

You are likely to see an increase in deliverance or exorcisms, with a distinct financial benefit for those involved  families do not necessarily do it because they dont love their child - they have a genuine belief and think theyre protecting them by ridding them of evil.

There are concerns that with schools closed and most face-to-face social work and health visits stopped, warning signs will not be spotted.

Those who are vulnerable are locked in their homes and dont recognise whats happening to them, Insp Davis said. They will be brainwashed into accepting it.

Several children have been killed in the UK as a result of horrific abuse meted out by guardians who believed they were possessed or witches, including an eight-year-old girl who was tortured and 15-year-old boy who drowned during an exorcism.

Disabled children and those with epilepsy or autism, twins and others with a difference have been more vulnerable to such accusations in the past.

But Insp Davis said that amid a wider rise in domestic abuse, the risk could broaden out to see partners branded as witches over personal misfortune.

Insp Davis said police were also concerned about faith leaders and churches making claims that they can cure coronavirus or protect people from infection, either through prayer or fake cures.

In March, a church in south London was found to be selling 91 plague protection kits, made of a bottle of oil and red string.

Inspector Allen Davis, of the Met Police, expects to see an increase in witchcraft allegations and exorcisms (Lizzie Dearden)

The Charity Commission said it was examining serious concerns about the Kingdom Church, and that it would sanction any charity exploiting peoples anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic.

In some of these more unscrupulous settings theres financial exploitation as well as other forms of exploitation, Insp Davis said.

Theres nothing wrong with those beliefs per se - its the harms and abuses that take place in their name.

What were also concerned about is faith leaders and members of religious communities making claims they can cure Covid-19. There is evidence of that globally.

Det Sgt Kate Bridger, of Scotland Yards harmful practices team, said that the Tanzanian presidents call for national prayer instead of a lockdown had sparked international media coverage and support.

This is the time to build our faith and continue praying to God, and not depend on face masks, John Magufuli told a church service. Dont stop going to churches and mosques for prayers.

A popular Nigerian pastor, Chris Oyakhilome, linked the virus to 5G networks and alleged that it was part of a plot to create a new world order in a viral video.

Det Sgt Bridger said very strong religious beliefs were pitting medical advice against religious leaders.

People believe that they should crowd out that church and pray their way out of this, because He will tell them what to do, she warned, saying some believers see coronavirus as the anger of God, or righteous punishment.

Insp Davis said the issue was global, adding: Weve got to be mindful of whats happening in the international context, because that directly impacts on what will happen here.

Police also fear that with rising poverty, forced marriages could rise as families attempt to get bride prices for daughters.

That could lead to a rise in female genital mutilation (FGM), which in some cultures is viewed as a requirement for marriage.

While it is more common for girls to be taken abroad to be cut  a journey made more difficult by coronavirus  FGM has also taken place in the UK.

Insp Allen appealed for anyone with information on child abuse or harmful practices to come forward, adding: Our work is not stopping, if we know that people are at risk or there are perpetrators targeting the vulnerable we will do everything we can to go after them.

Anyone with concerns over FGM or child abuse linked to faith or belief can call a dedicated NSPCC helpline on 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk.

Those worried about forced marriage or honour-based abuse can contact Karma Nirvanas national helpline on 0800 5999 247.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Benchmark Botanics Inc. (CSE: BBT) ("Benchmark" or the "Company") a cannabis producer, today released its financial and operational results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

"2019 was a challenging year for cannabis industry as well as Benchmark. While continuing to improve our operational efficiency and develop sales channels we made substantial progress in 2019 developing and building our production capacity with a focus on profitable revenue opportunities". said William Ying, Benchmark CEO. "The current COVID-19 pandemic is bringing unprecedented pressures to communities and businesses globally. Benchmark is not immune to these pressures. Despite this, we are committed to execute on our goals of driving strong revenue growth in 2020. We endeavor to drive shareholder value and will continue to pursue accretive and strategic opportunities."

2019 KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Definitive Investment Cooperation Agreement with China-based Zhejiang Yatai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

On May 27, 2019, the companies signed a definitive investment cooperation agreement, whereby the parties agreed to set up a new joint venture company in Canada. The company name will be YATAI & BBT Biotech Ltd. ("Yatai BBT"). The new company will have a share capital of $14 million CAD, of which Zhejiang Yatai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Zhejiang Yatai") will invest $7 million CAD cash, accounting for 50% of the new company's share capital; The Company will cause its wholly-owned subsidiary Potanicals, to use its existing Health Canada issued license to apply for a license for property to be acquired by the new company (the "Facility") for cannabis cultivation, processing, and sale thereon and in exchange the Company will receive 25% of the new company's share capital (with a deemed value of $3.5 million CAD); and Rippington Investment ("RI") will invest $3.5 million CAD, accounting for the remaining 25% of the new company's share capital. RI is a private company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia).

As of December 31, 2019, Zhejiang Yatai has made their CAD$7 million investment into Yatai BBT. The Company is still in the process of applying for the license and has therefore not received an ownership interest in Yatai BBT.

The Second Cultivation license received from Health Canada

The Company through its wholly owned subsidiary and licensed producer Potanicals received its second cultivation license, effective November 29, 2019, from Health Canada for the Company's joint venture greenhouse operations located in Pitt Meadows, BC.

Cannabis Sales License Received from Health Canada

Potanicals received a sales license from Health Canada, effective July 26, 2019.The license allows Benchmark to supply and sell finished cannabis products to provincial governments throughout Canada and through Canada's approved distribution and retail supply chain. Benchmark will be providing recreational and medical dried cannabis, capsules and other forms of cannabis products, as the Government of Canada makes more forms of the product legal for sale and consumption later this year.

Cannabis Supply Agreement with British Columbia

In September, Potanicals signed a Licensed Producer Supply Agreement for non-medical cannabis with the Province of British Columbia. Benchmark has signed an agreement with the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB), the sole wholesale distributor of non-medical cannabis for British Columbia (BC) that operates standalone and public retail stores, and provide online sales.

Extraction Facility under Construction

On July 10, 2019, the Company entered into an agreement with a construction company for the construction of a 10,000 sq. ft. extraction indoor facility, which is located in the Company's Peachland Cannabis Complex.

OVERVIEW OF 2019 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $3,698,409, compared to a net loss of $6,077,509 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease in net loss for the year ended December 31, 2019 is due to the decrease in operating expenses of $292,502 and increase in other income of $2,417,480.

EBITDA before gain on acquisition of associate, share-based compensation expenses, write-off of deposit, write-off of inventory, loss on equity investments and unrealized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets ("Adjusted EBITDA") for the year ended December 31, 2019 decreased to a negative $4,036,501 from a negative $4,167,722 for the year ended December 31, 2018.

At December 31, 2019, the Company had working capital of $1,746,964 (December 31, 2018 - $793,516).

As of the date of this news release, the number of issued and outstanding common shares was 176,612,261, the number of stock options outstanding was 7,039,999, and the number of outstanding warrants was 34,316,667.

The corporation's audited annual consolidated financial statements for 2019 and the related management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) are available on SEDAR.

PANDEMIC RISK

During December 2019, the World Health Organization ("WHO") announced that a disease COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") caused infection, and its transmission patterns could become a worldwide pandemic. During 2019 or early 2020, no employees at the Company had any reported cases of Coronavirus. However, Benchmark compiled a risk assessment, and implemented preventative and emergency response measures at its BC office and production sites in an attempt to manage this risk.

The Company and the world (Coronavirus are now present on every continent) are now dealing with the results of this worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. The global impact continues to evolve and may have various potential direct effects on our Canadian operations, our office and logistics related issues.

Effects on the business could be increased including long-term absenteeism of critical staff, supply chain issues, production issues due to missing critical supplies, transport issues, sales issues or other unknown effects and Benchmark may be required to delay or reduce the scope of certain of its operations or projects. All the possible scenarios may have a materially adverse impact on the Company's business. It might further create a business shutdown if an outbreak of the Coronavirus were confirmed in the area or at the Company premises.

These issues could delay the expansion plans previously announced due to supply chain issues, labour shortages or other issues.

The Coronavirus could also have some additional but unforeseen effect on specifically Operations Risk, Funding Risk, Project Development Risk, Economic Uncertainty Risk, Social Risk and uncertain effects on cannabis price changes and the price and trading of the Company's common shares.

About Benchmark Botanics Inc.

Benchmark is a diversified multi-licensed cannabis producer focused on a three-way vertical business model targeting the medical, pharmaceutical, and recreational markets in Canada. The Company's business plan also includes a strategy to become a Canadian licensed producer to pioneer selling medical cannabis and hemp throughout Asia, where it is legal to do so.

Benchmark is focused on producing the highest-quality, indoor-grown cannabis for patients and adult recreational consumers, as well as developing international business partnerships to extend the Company's global footprint.

Benchmark's 100% owned subsidiary, Potanicals Green Growers Inc. ("Potanicals) is a Health Canada licensed producer under the Cannabis Act and its regulations. The Company is producing at its indoor Peachland Cannabis Complex and is constructing a Phase II expansion of an additional 10,000 square foot extraction facility there. Along with cultivation and production, the company's Peachland BC facility also provides propagation, cultivation, cloning, storage, research and development, genetics and is progressing towards CBD oil extraction and an EU-GMP certification.

As part of its expansion strategy the company, with a joint venture partner completed a second facility, a 4-acre Greenhouse Operation in Pitt Meadows, BC. The Company through Potanicals, has received its second cultivation license, effective November 29, 2019, from Health Canada for the Pitt Meadow greenhouse.

Benchmark has also acquired 51% of a company that holds a cannabis research and development licence issued from Health Canada under The Cannabis Act and its regulations.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.benchmarkbotanics.com or the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

If you would like to be added to Benchmark Botanics' news distribution list, please sign up at this link https://benchmarkbotanics.com/signup/ Investor Relations info@bbtinc.ca

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF

BENCHMARK BOTANICS INC.

/s/ "William Ying"

William Ying

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: 604-238-0005 (ext. 101)

www.benchmarkbotanics.com

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, the news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to Company's corporate strategy. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company, including, without limitation, the Company's ability to carry out its business plan. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct.

Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to several factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to identify and complete additional suitable acquisitions to further the Company's growth as well as risks associated with the medical marijuana industry in general, such as operational risks in development and production delays or changes in plans with respect to development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of the capital markets; the uncertainty of receiving the required licenses, production, costs and expenses; health, safety and environmental risks; marketing and transportation; loss of markets; environmental risks; competition; incorrect assessment of the value of the potential market; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals and changes in legislation, including but not limited to tax laws and regulated regulations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the Canadian Securities Exchange. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55281
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Tokyo, Japan  Fri, May 1, 2020 17:58 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56806a 2 Health robot,Tokyo,Corona,coronavirus,COVID-19,Japan,healthcare Free

Coronavirus quarantine can be lonely, but at one Tokyo hotel converted to accept patients with mild symptoms, a humanoid robot will be there to offer support and encouragement -- as well as admonishments and warnings.

"You can't fight the coronavirus on an empty stomach. Please eat well to get healthy," is among the messages that the pint-sized Pepper robot will be delivering to coronavirus patients waiting out their quarantine at one Tokyo establishment.

The local government has been working with hotels to secure rooms for patients with mild symptoms, hoping to free up space in hospitals that are feeling the strain.

And at one facility, arrivals will be interacting with Pepper, a white, humanoid robot with round eyes and a tablet attached to its front, who will be sporting a face mask while in service at the hotel.

"The patients are quarantined for two weeks, so we're using a reception robot to help the patients feel a bit more mentally comfortable," Tokyo government spokeswoman Naoko Kubota told reporters.

Tokyo's government has so far made deals with five hotels, securing around 2,800 rooms for coronavirus patients, though only 200 are currently in use.

"Since patients are infected with COVID-19, it is not possible to have a real person to interact with," said Kan Kiyota, marketing director of SoftBank, which makes the Pepper robot.

"This is where the robot comes in."

Pepper, and a back-up model, are expected to interact with patients at reception and during meals, offering reassuring messages including "We are all supporting you" and "I am cheering for you! Please get lots of rest while you are here and recover!"

But the approximately four-foot tall robot is also there to administer reminders including "Please do not bring alcohol into the building" and "The fastest way to recover is to eat a balanced meal, rather than your favourite dishes."

The hotel is also trialling a robot cleaner, which will operate in the lobby without human assistance.

Around the world, robots are being deployed to battle the coronavirus pandemic by disinfecting facilities, delivering food and carrying out health checks.

At the Tokyo hotel, flesh-and-blood doctors and nurses will be responsible for healthcare, including monitoring data that patients must submit twice a day on their temperature and blood oxygen saturation level.

Japan has so far seen a relatively small outbreak compared to parts of Europe and the United States, with nearly 14,300 infections recorded and 432 deaths.

But the country is under a nationwide state of emergency that is expected to be extended after an initial month-long period expires on May 6.
As the coronavirus pandemic empties the bustling bazaars that have long dominated Uzbekistan's food trade, supermarkets are driving into the vacuum, foreseeing a reshaping of food retail should social distancing become the new normal, The New York Times writes in the article As Pandemic Empties Traditional Uzbek Bazaars, Supermarkets Step In.

While a slew of industries around the world are scrapping growth plans, some food retailers in Uzbekistan are pressing ahead, believing changing consumer habits due to the outbreak will accelerate their efforts to win market share from traditional farmers' markets.

However being able to reliably source the wide range of products required by supermarkets will be a severe challenge given the current disruptions to global supply chains, a significant risk factor that could derail expansion plans.

United Arab Emirates-based Majid Al Futtaim, for example, said it was on track to open its first Carrefour store in the capital Tashkent in the third quarter as construction has continued during the national lockdown. "Phase one will see four stores open in 2020, of which there will be three supermarkets and one hypermarket," CEO Hani Weiss told Reuters.

The company, which operates Carrefour stores under a franchise deal with the French retail giant, will earmark about $11 million for its market entry, and invest $10 million a year to support expansion in coming years, he said.

Local supermarket chain Korzinka.uz said it was sticking to its strategy of tripling its number of stores by 2023 in Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most populous nation with 34 million people. The company may open slightly fewer locations this year than previously planned due to the pandemic, with its increased focus on online sales which are likely to grow faster than before, said founder and CEO Zafar Khashimov.

The pandemic could speed up Uzbekistan's retail modernisation by driving some bazaar traders and convenience stores, who have smaller financial buffers than large chains, out of business, Khashimov said.

"In the medium and long term, most likely, consumer preference and behavior will change. Sanitation, safety and hygiene will become more important," he added. "We need not three times as many, but 10 times as many stores to catch up, to provide full modern retail coverage."

Decades of near isolation

Foreign investment has started trickling into Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in power since late 2016, introduced a series of reforms to open up its economy following decades of near-isolation.

There is no comprehensive independent industry data for the Uzbek food retail market. Weiss said, however, that the market in Tashkent was valued at $3.4 billion in 2018 and was expected to reach $5 billion in 2023, citing figures from SAD Marketing.

Tashkent residents buy more than two-thirds of their groceries at traditional farmers' markets and more than a quarter from small convenience stores. Large, modern retail outlets account for only 4.4% but their share could more than triple with five years, he added.

Both Weiss and Khashimov cautioned, however, that a key challenge to growth was ensuring reliable sourcing amid output disruptions and border closures.
Washington, May 1 : A shooting outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington D.C. was a "suspected hate crime", police said.

A police report said the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Alexander Alazo from Texas, "knowingly discharged multiple rounds from an AK-47 rifle into the Cuban Embassy" on Thursday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, Alazo's motivation remains unknown, said the police report.

Officers recovered the rifle, ammunition and a white powdery substance that was found in a small bag after Alazo's arrest, according to the report.

The shooting broke at out around 2 a.m., leaving holes in the walls and pillars near the front entrance of the embassy in northwestern Washington.

No injuries were reported.

Alazo was arrested on charges of possessing an unregistered firearm and ammunition, assault with intent to kill and possessing a high-capacity magazine, a US Secret Service spokeswoman said.

Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that embassy staff members were "safe and protected" though the shooting caused "material damage" to the building.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service were investigating.

In a statement on Thursday, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was "awaiting the corresponding investigation by US authorities into the identity and motives of the person who carried out this attack and the circumstances surrounding the event".

It is the obligation of the US to adopt appropriate measures to protect the premises of diplomatic missions against any intrusion or damage, the statement added.
SAGINAW, MI  Four years ago, a man with psychopathic tattooed on his forehead was sentenced to prison for committing a hit-and-run crash while he had an ultra high amount of alcohol in his system.

The day he was sent to prison, the man told his sentencing judge that at age 32, he was trying to clean up his act and was tired of dealing with such matters.

Now, the man faces a life offense, accused of stabbing a former coworker at a Saginaw Township auto dealership.

Timothy J. Wachowski, 36, on Friday, May 1, appeared before Saginaw County District Judge M. Randall Jurrens via Zoom from the jail. Jurrens arraigned Wachowski on single counts of assault with intent to murder and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent. The former is punishable by up to life in prison, while the latter is a five-year felony.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred about 8:50 p.m. on Monday, April 27, at American Auto Group at 2936 Bay Road. Saginaw Township Police Chief Donald F. Pussehl Jr. previously said that Wachowski had been employed at the business but had recently been fired.

On the night in question, Wachowski arrived at the dealership and was approached by a 49-year-old male employee. Wachowski proceeded to pull a knife and slash or stab the older man several times, inflicting wounds to his back, arm, and hand, Pussehl previously said.

Another employee intervened and Wachowski fled on foot into a nearby wooded area, Pussehl has said. Responding police set up a perimeter around Bay and Shattuck roads. A Michigan State Police K9 unit arrived to assist and ended up tracking the suspects trail to a field behind the Walgreens at 2990 Bay Road, Pussehl has said.

Within 15 minutes of the initial incident, police found Wachowski hiding in the field and arrested him, police said.

At the arraignment, defense attorney Ann Chamberlain said Wachowski had been employed at the dealership and Woods Towing prior to COVID-19 and has two children he financially supports.

Miss Chamberlain, if this is not the longest criminal history Ive seen in my 18 years, its certainly one of the longest, Jurrens said.

Chamberlain asked the judge to consider freeing Wachowski on bond with a GPS tether.

Jurrens set bond at $100,000 cash-surety.

Timothy J. Wachowski at the time of his arrest in December 2015.

Wachowski has a criminal record with convictions in Michigan, Indiana, Florida, and California, prosecutors said.

Most recently, Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran in April 2016 sentenced Wachowski to 14 months to five years in prison and ordered he pay $4,216.50 in restitution on a conviction of third-offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Wachowski had pleaded guilty to the charge.

That conviction stems from Wachowski on Dec. 29, 2015, having crashed a 2003 Dodge Neon into another vehicle on a Bay City street, then running from the scene. Police found him sitting in some snow nearby and arrested him.

Blood samples taken from Wachowski showed his blood alcohol content was 0.361. In Michigan, a person is legally intoxicated when their blood alcohol level hits 0.08.

The biggest problem the people have with this case is the ultra high blood alcohol level of 0.361, Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Huber said on Wachowskis 2016 sentencing date. Honestly, I'm not sure how he was able to get behind the wheel of the car.

"Your honor, I've been trying to do better since last time I got in trouble," Wachowski told the judge. "I really want to be able to go back to work and get my life in the right direction. I don't know what else to say. I'm 32 years old and I'm tired of dealing with this."

The Michigan Department of Corrections paroled Wachowski on Feb. 28, 2017. The agency then discharged Wachowski from parole on May 28, 2018.

Loved ones of Wachowski previously told MLive that his psychopathic tattoo was inspired by his affinity for the Detroit-based Psychopathic Records label, most famous for being the home of Insane Clown Posse.

Related:

Former Saginaw Township auto dealership worker cuts ex-colleague with knife, police allege

Man with face tattoo heads to prison for 'ultra high' blood alcohol level

Bay City man with Psycho X Pathic tattoo charged with drunken driving
TTR Sothebys International Realty sets the tone in Washingtons real estate market.

TTR Sothebys International Realty is pleased to welcome Ashlee White to its Georgetown, Washington, D.C. brokerage office.

A native of Washington, D.C., Ashlee prides herself on delivering extraordinary service to clients from all walks of life, including Washingtons diplomatic community as well as to real estate developers from across the region.

A dedicated member of the regions philanthropic community, Ashlee proudly volunteers her time for a number of health and social organizations, including the American Heart Association and Project Safe Haven, a newly-developed non-profit geared towards establishing grants and resources, as well as partnering with other organizations to build homes for families in need.

TTR Sothebys International Realty sets the tone in Washingtons real estate market, says White. Im so thrilled to join such an impactful brokerage.

With a Masters Degree in strategic communications and public relations from Trinity Washington University, Ashlee is uniquely equipped deliver strategic marketing solutions for her clients.

We are fortunate to have Ashlee as a member of the Georgetown office, says Fred Kendrick, Managing Broker of TTR Sothebys International Realtys Georgetown, Washington, D.C. brokerage office.

Early in her real estate career, she has established herself as a top agent in the industry and has also given selflessly to the charitable causes close to her heart. We look forward to being a part of Ashlees future.

Following its most successful year to date, with over $3.4 Billion in closed sales for 2019, TTR Sothebys International Realty has its sights set on Georgetown as a key area of growth for the firm.

Since our companys founding in 1988, Georgetown has been a key market, says Mark C. Lowham, CEO and Managing Partner of TTR Sothebys International Realty.

And with talented associates like Ashlee whose commitment to delivering extraordinary service is evident in both in her business and community leadership, we know our future is in good hands.

About TTR Sotheby's International Realty

Since 1988, real estate professionals at TTR Sothebys International Realty have ranked among the highest performing in the nation, and are regarded for their integrity, professional service, and community leadership. Through our relationship with the venerable Sothebys auction house, TTR Sothebys International Realty produces extraordinary results for our clients by leveraging proprietary global marketing, cutting edge digital strategies, and unrivaled access to the most affluent and discerning global clientele. TTR Sothebys International Realty is a real estate brokerage licensed in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. To learn more, visit us at ttrsir.com.
Although there is no government order to this effect, chemists decide to not dispense medicines for cold, cough and fever over the counter.

Image used for representational purpose. Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters.

In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases, the chemists association has decided to not dispense medicines specific to cold, cough, and fever to anyone without a prescription.

Several states have also approached the medical shops to keep a record of phone numbers and addresses of customers who buy such medicines for surveillance.

There has been no government notification in this regard. However, we feel that it is safe to not dispense medicines for cold, cough and fever over the counter now. We have asked the chemists affiliated with us to recommend the patient to visit a nearby hospital and get checked if she or he is showing such symptoms as it is only safe for him, said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists, the umbrella association that represents around 850,0000 chemists across the country.

If a patient looks for cough syrup, paracetamol, or a cold antibiotic, the chemist shop would practically not sell it and counsel him to visit a doctor at the earliest.

Does this mean that one cannot buy paracetamol for body pain etc? Singhal says the chemists would tend to refuse a patient who is showing symptoms of cough and cold or is asking for a specific combination that is for cough, cold, and fever.

If someone is buying paracetamol as a painkiller, we would sell it. Chemists cannot do any surveillance on whether he is buying it for a fever patient. So that is kept out of the question. But, we are trying to be as safe as it can be, Singhal said.

Ankur Agarwal, founder and director of pharmacy chain Medkart that runs stores across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, said they were asking patients with requirement of cold, cough and fever medicines to visit public hospitals.

Some chemists, however, said it was not possible at the moment to get valid prescriptions as most out-patient departments (OPD) were closed. We are being a bit lenient, especially with chronic patients who have prescriptions that are more than six months old now, said a Mumbai-based chemist.
She's been selling her luxury designer items online as she spends more time at home during the coronavirus lockdown.

So, Roxy Jacenko was no doubt thrilled to play with some new expensive accessories on Friday.

The Sweaty Betty PR maven, 40, showed off a mind-boggling collection of jewels after finishing a photo shoot for her luxury jewellery client, House Of Kodor.

The bling ring! PR maven Roxy Jacenko flaunted several HUGE expensive diamond and gem jewels worth thousands as she did a photo shoot at her home on Friday

In one picture, Roxy donned seven enormous rings on one hand, each with an eye-watering price tag.

Despite being decorated in a collection worth thousands of dollars, Roxy joked: 'Popping the bins out, be right back'.

In another picture, a model posed with six red jewelled rings on her finger.

'Today shooting delectable high jewels to upscale any at home dinner party,' Roxy wrote as she promoted the brand.

She added: 'The best morning getting creative.'

Keeping busy: Roxy recently lost 85 per cent of her Sweaty Betty clients because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Sweaty Betty PR has taken a hit, Roxy said she was lucky enough to have diversified her business to create five companies in total

High fashion: In another picture, a model posed with six red jewelled rings on her finger

It is unlikely the jewels would be kept for Roxy's personal collection, as they will be likely returned after shooting.

Roxy recently lost 85 per cent of her Sweaty Betty clients because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although Sweaty Betty PR has taken a hit, Roxy said she was lucky enough to have diversified her business to create five companies in total.

New work life: Roxy recently told Daily Mail Australia that she is still working, but in shorter hours and from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic

She told Daily Mail Australia earlier this month that she is still working, but in shorter hours and from home.

'Whilst Sweaty Betty PR was hit hard by COVID-19 I diversified many years ago,' she said.

'I am in a good position with my other agencies operating as normal - 18Communications, Social Union, The Ministry of Talent not to mention my personal investments,' she added.
USNS Supply Refuels Italian Ship in Mediterranean Sea

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200430-04

Release Date: 4/30/2020 11:04:00 AM

By Travis Weger, MSCEURAF Public Affairs

MEDITERRANEAN SEA (NNS) -- Military Sealift Command Supply-Class fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) completed an exercise with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Porter (DDG 80), USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 and Italian Navy frigate ITS Federico Martinengo (F 596) in the Mediterranean Sea, April 23.

Supply provided support to ships through rapid refueling and replenishment-at-sea while U.S. and Italian Navy ships conducted training to enhance interoperability between the two nations.

Prior to the photo exercise, Martinengo requested fuel from Supply. One of the primary missions of Supply is to provide fuel to not only U.S. ships, but allied ships as well.

"Martinengo was in need of fuel and Supply was happy to provide," said Second Officer Tegan Church. "We always enjoy working with foreign ships since their setup is different than our fleet."

Church explained that Supply's crew wanted to complete a refueling-at-sea with Martinengo to help enhance crew proficiency on refueling on different types of setups. She mentioned that no ship conducts a RAS the same, so performing these types of evolutions are beneficial to train the crew.

"It's always nice to learn more," said Church, "that helps us support more vessels in the future."

The RAS went smoothly, according to Church.

"Their crew was professional, efficient and familiar with the process, making a simple evolution," said Church. "It is always a pleasure to work with our NATO allies."

The U.S. and Italy share strong relations, they are steadfast and active transatlantic NATO partners.

"Operations like these demonstrates Italy and the United States' commitment to both our bilateral relationship and to the North Atlantic Treaty," said Commodore, Military Sealift Command Europe and Africa (MSCEURAF) and Commander, Task Force 63 (CTF-63) Capt. Frank Okata. "It also allows them to stay at sea, build proficiency and remained focused on the mission."

Supply's to replenishment of these ships at sea not only provided greater flexibility for the ships to remain underway and on station for extended periods of time, but also provided additional measures to keep crews healthy during the COVID-19 global pandemic by eliminating potential exposures to the virus while in port.

Supply is one of MSC's largest combat logistic ships. It delivers petroleum products, ammunition, food and other cargo to customer ships. The crew can move millions of gallons of fuel and a few hundred pallets daily to multiple ships.

"The crew onboard USNS Supply are what makes supporting these types of ships possible," said Captain John Pritchett, Master of Supply. "Without their hard work and dedication, we wouldn't be able to accomplish even a fraction of this. It is what we are here for."

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New Delhi: South superstar Vijay, also known as 'Master' and 'Thalapathy' enjoys a massive fan following. You can get an idea of his fandom as the actor started trending high on Twitter this morning with hashtags like #Master and #VijayTheFaceOfKollywood .

So much so that there are over 2 million tweets with the above hashtags on Twitter already. Take a look at some tweets:

We have crossed 2.1M+ tweets count now with almost 716M+ potential reach.. It's incredible..!! Keep adding #Master in all your tweets.. #VijayTheFaceOfKollywood  T H M (@THM_Off) May 1, 2020

Just feel the Mass This is not from Tamilnadu, #ThalapathyVijay's visit to Bangalore (Karnataka) during 2011 period Best Crowd puller of South India for a Reason #Master @actorvijay #VijayTheFaceOfKollywood pic.twitter.com/YzlAJhnsuF  Online Thalapathy Fans Club (@OTFC_Off) May 1, 2020

2 MILLION TWEETS in Just 4Hrs Only Possible with " Real " Fanbase! #Master#VijayTheFaceOfKollywood pic.twitter.com/wPheZGcpuV  Vijay Fans Trends (@VijayFansTrends) May 1, 2020

Thalapathy Vijay's is the highest-paid actor in Tamil cinema, reportedly. His 2019 release 'Bigil', which happens to be his third collaboration with maverick filmmaker Atlee emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil movie last year.

He will next be seen in a movie titled 'Master' which is underproduction and that explains why this became a top trend on Twitter. The Tamil actioner is written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. 'Master' features actor Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles.

Malavika Mohanan, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, Arjun Das, Andrea Jeremiah and Ramya Subramanian amongst others, play important roles.
A teenager who is the only suspect in a stabbing attack on a 65-year-old man assaulted a garda while in custody on Wednesday night.

Stab victim Peter Kennedy (65) was still clinging to life last night after being transferred to Beaumont Hospital from Naas General to be treated for "catastrophic" injuries after being stabbed in the head, neck and face.

The 19-year-old suspected of inflicting the life-threatening injuries on Mr Kennedy in his home was arrested in the Walkinstown area of Dublin on Wednesday afternoon and taken to Newbridge Garda Station, where he remained last night.

The Herald can reveal the "completely unco-operative and extremely volatile" prisoner assaulted a male garda in the station at around 9pm that night.

"The male garda was bringing the suspect, who has not been co-operative, back to his cell when out of nowhere he punched the officer in the face," a senior source said.

"It was a pretty bad assault, and originally it was feared the garda had suffered severe facial injuries.

"He was brought to the acci- dent and emergency unit at Naas Hospital, but thankfully he has only suffered bruising to his face and nothing was broken.

"The suspect, who is an extremely volatile young man, was restrained and questioning of him continued throughout Thursday."

The Herald revealed yesterday that an older woman, who is very well-known to the suspect, had been staying in the victim's house.

Retired Department of Justice employee Mr Kennedy was attacked in a bedroom of his home.

homeless

It has emerged that gardai discovered signs of a break-in at the property.

The suspect had previously stayed there after Mr Kennedy "took him in" because he was homeless.

However, sources said the teenager's increasingly erratic behaviour had made him no longer welcome.

Investigations have also established that the suspect travelled to the scene of the crime in a taxi.

Despite extensive searches, the weapon used in the attack has still not been recovered.
Facing an emboldened Taliban, and with less US military support, Afghan forces have suffered heavy casualties during a two-month surge in violence across the country that is threatening a fragile peace deal between the United States and the Taliban.

A US military assessment describes Taliban attacks on Afghan forces in March as above seasonal norms, according to a quarterly report released on Thursday by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar).

According to the Afghan National Security Council, the Taliban has carried out an average of 55 attacks a day since 1 March - a spike that has doubled casualties among Afghan security forces in some parts of the country, officials say.

The numbers show Taliban doing nothing for peace and everything to continue their campaign of terror against Afghans, the council's spokesperson, Javid Faisal, said on Twitter.

The top US commander in Afghanistan, General Austin Scott Miller, on Tuesday called on the Taliban to reduce attacks and give our political leadership on all sides an opportunity to determine the peaceful way forward, according to a transcript of his remarks released by a US military spokesperson.

Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Show all 10 1 /10 Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Walas Bibi, 10 (left), was wounded in her arm and stomach by two bullets during a shoot-out between the army and the Taliban. Zubaida, 8 (right), was wounded in her legs by shrapnel from a bomb as she went to fetch water Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Jawidullah Muhamad Khan, 12, from Ghazni, wounded during a bombing near his home as he came back from school with some friends. He lost four fingers and was injured in his leg in multiple places during the raid, which hit everyone in the area Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Ambulance transport for two young wounded men Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Noorahad, 12, from the Marjah area, hit by a bullet while he was simply sleeping in his bed at home Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Anahita, 18, hit by a bullet while her husband was cleaning his gun. She risked losing her right leg, as her thigh bone was broken Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home A rehabilitation session for Mujahid, 10, wounded in a shoot-out between the Taliban and Afghan army near his home in the Nad Ali area Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Mafton, 5, wounded in a clash between the Afghan army and Taliban militias in Tagab district, in Kapisa province. When a rocket exploded, he lost his left eye and his chest was wounded all over Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home A father speaks with first aid staff looking after his son, wounded by an explosive device Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home Nurses in Kabul take care of Somaya, 1, who had surgery on her right foot, wounded by shrapnel from an explosive device Giulio Piscitelli Afghanistan conflict: When War Comes Home  photo exhibition Zakhem | Wounds: When War Comes Home A patient left wounded by the explosion of a car bomb is treated in Kabul Giulio Piscitelli

If the Taliban continue to attack, then what they should expect is a response, Gen Miller said.

The increase in violence comes as US officials struggle to keep the Taliban peace deal on track. The February agreement ended offensive operations between US forces and the militant group and set a deadline of 10 March for the beginning of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Those talks have yet to begin, and some fear the violence could be sapping what little momentum followed the signing of the deal.

Two Afghan security officials and a senior government official say Taliban fighters used a week of reduced violence in the lead-up to the peace deal to regroup. Now, with fewer US airstrikes applying pressure to Taliban forces on the battlefield, Taliban fighters are launching more deadly attacks on Afghan government positions, the officials said. All three spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The US military command in Kabul refused to release more-specific data on Taliban attacks, citing concerns surrounding sensitive negotiations with the Taliban. This marks the first time the US military command in Kabul has restricted the release of such data since Sigar began using it in 2018 to track the levels and locations of violence.

Gen Miller met with Taliban leadership twice in April as part of the military channel established in the agreement ... about the need to reduce the violence, according to the Sigar report.

The US-Taliban peace deal does not prohibit Taliban attacks on the Afghan government, but following the deal, US officials had said they expected violence levels to remain low.

Taliban leaders have baulked at calls for reduced violence, blaming the Afghan government and US forces for the continued hostilities. After appeals from the United Nations and the Afghan government for a ceasefire to mark Ramadan and to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a Taliban spokesperson accused the government of creating hurdles to peace by delaying a planned release of prisoners and said the United States had violated the peace deal by delivering ammunition to Afghan forces.

Demanding a cease-fire and reduction in violence at a time when the opposite side is not executing its own obligations is both illogical and opportunistic, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement on Sunday.

The Taliban has not asserted responsibility for all the attacks against Afghan forces, but has repeatedly stated that the group is in compliance with the terms of the US agreement.

The violence is just one of many factors threatening the future of the peace deal between the Taliban and the United States, according to Laurel Miller, who previously served as the acting US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and is now the director of the International Crisis Group's Asia program.

In the context in which momentum has already been lost and is eroding, the resurgence of violence is another factor that sours the atmosphere for talks, she said.

The Afghan government and the Taliban were supposed to launch direct talks in March, but the negotiations over a controversial prisoner swap collapsed in early April.

Violence affects the willingness of people to accept compromises, Gen Miller said, and high death tolls provide fodder to those who don't want to see peace talks succeed. The violence is a way of discrediting the whole promise of the process.

A senior security official in the northern province of Takhar, one of those hit hardest by the recent wave of Taliban attacks, said the week of reduced violence ahead of the peace deal was critical to the recent spike in Taliban attacks.

He said Taliban fighters used the lull to reinforce their positions, regroup and expand their influence in territory recently retaken by Afghan government forces.

Another senior Afghan security official described the decision to reduce Afghan government offensives as a goodwill gesture from the government for the sake of peace. But it seems the adversary is taking advantage, he said. The Taliban think they are winning.

The Washington Post
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 7.5 billion ($12.9 billion) of funds targeted by the bloc to develop and manufacture a coronavirus vaccine "are just the start," according to an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

"I think we will need more money over time," von der Leyen said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Credit:AP

The European Commission, which is the executive branch of the EU, will host a virtual summit meeting on May 4 for leaders to push to raise the funds.

The World Health Organisation and the leaders of France and Germany on Thursday launched a drive to accelerate the development of a vaccine, stressing it should be available to everyone, without favour shown to the country that develops it first.

The pandemic can only be overcome with a vaccine and so global coordinated research is needed, von der Leyen said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised her country will make a "distinct" financial contribution to the effort, adding she didn't want to disclose the amount yet. A total of 8 billion are needed to make vaccination, medication and adequate diagnostics available for "all people on earth," she said in her weekly podcast.

Germany is co-hosting Monday's donor conference.

"Common action is a must," said Merkel. "Only joint, international, multilateral action will allow us to overcome the pandemic."

In terms of financial aid for EU member states, von der Leyen said the EU needs "a big recovery instrument" on top of its seven-year budget. That instrument should be "Marshall Plan-like," which can be channelled through the budget.

The EU must also improve its crisis-response system to be able to buy critical medical goods such as personal protective equipment, masks and ventilators, and to stockpile and distribute them to member states, she added.

Bloomberg
Prosecutors have charged a 42-year-old man accused of setting fire to a Missouri mosque on April 24 with a hate crime and other counts.

Nicholas Proffitt, who spent time in prison for defacing the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau more than a decade ago, was due to appear in federal court on April 30 for an initial appearance on a charge of maliciously damaging a buildings by means of fire in last weeks attack.

Proffitt was charged with three state counts stemming from the fire: first-degree burglary, first-degree arson and first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination, which is a hate crime.

The fire was discovered shortly before 5 a.m. on April 24, at the outset of the Muslim holy month Ramadan. The U.S. Attorneys office in St. Louis said the centers video security system showed Proffitt throwing several objects through a window, then throwing two containers into the center through the broken glass.

According to federal prosecutors, Proffitt stepped into the building through the broken window, picked up the containers and began pouring an apparent liquid accelerant before he lit a fire that began immediately.

There were 12 to 15 people inside the building at the time, but they all managed to escape without injury, police said.

To people of faith in our nation, houses of worship are sacred places, Assistant state Attorney General Eric Dreiband said in a statement. Attacks against houses of worship are attacks against people of faith and their right to exercise their religion freely and without fear.

Proffitt, who is from Cape Girardeau, a city in southeastern Missouri across the border from southern Illinois, does not have a listed attorney. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to state charges for throwing rocks that damaged the same mosque and a vehicle in the parking lot. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Related:

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Topics Fraud Abuse Molestation Missouri Arson
REUTERS

After weeks of silence, former Vice President Joe Biden has responded to accusations of sexual assault made by a former Senate aide, calling the allegations false and requesting that the National Archives make any record of her alleged complaint available.

No. It is not trueI am saying unequivocally, it never, never happened, Biden told Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski. And it didnt.

In the interview, Biden aggressively defended himself and said he was absolutely positive that no one he knows was made aware of any complaint that the former staffer, Tara Reade, says that she filed with the Senates Office of Fair Employment Practices. The former vice president also steadfastly refused to authorize the early release of his Senate papers from an archive at the University of Delaware, telling Brzezinski that the papers contain no personnel files.

There are no personnel documents in that archive, Biden said. Theyre not part of the public record.

Ahead of the interview, Biden released a statement in which he highlighted his past legislative work on womens issues, and noted that a New York Times investigation found no corroboration of Reades assertion that she told her supervisors about the incident.

She has said she raised some of these issues with her supervisor and senior staffers from my office at the time, Biden said. Theyboth men and a womanhave said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues.

Biden noted that Reade said she filed a complaint at the time and that document, if it exists, would be in the National Archives.

I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document, he said. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.

Bidens denial is the first statement to come directly from the candidate since Reade, a former staff assistant in Bidens Senate office, accused him in April of forcibly penetrating her with his fingers in a hallway in the U.S. Capitol in 1993.

Story continues

The statement and interview follow weeks of reporting from multiple outlets that have corroborated elements of Reades story, which the Biden campaign has flatly denied.

Since Reade first accused Biden of the assault in a podcast interview with left-wing commentator Katie Halper, the former vice presidents campaign has referred reporters to a single statement by deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield, who said in April that this absolutely did not happen.

Biden, Bedingfield added, firmly believes that women have a right to be heardand heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: It is untrue.

Three people, including Reades brother, a former neighbor, and a friend who has remained anonymous, have told various news outlets that Reade had told them about some aspects of the alleged assault over the yearsas well as her departure from Bidens Senate office.

Reade has called on Biden to allow for the public release of his office records, currently in the possession of the University of Delaware, which she has claimed will validate her assertion that she complained about Bidens behavior at the time to senior aides in his office.

The aidesincluding Marianne Baker, Tracy Doherty, and then-Chief of Staff Ted Kaufmanhave denied recalling any conversation with Reade about any inappropriate behavior by Biden.

Reade has repeatedly claimed on Twitter that she also filed a complaint about Biden touching her inappropriatelythough not about the alleged assaultwith a Senate Personnel office. Though no office by that name exists, misconduct complaints at the time were the responsibility of the Senates Office of Fair Employment Practices. That offices successor entity, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, has told The Daily Beast that it cannot share or even verify the existence of such a complaint, which would be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Bidens defenders have pointed to these and other apparent inconsistencies in Reades storyshe had previously said that Biden had only inappropriately touched her and made her feel uncomfortableas evidence that the presumptive Democratic nominee is being falsely accused. Last week, the campaign circulated talking points to supporters that characterized a New York Times article about the allegations as having found that this incident did not happen. The Times has protested at this characterization of the article, which found that no other allegation about sexual assault surfaced in the course of reporting, nor did any former Biden staff members corroborate any details of Ms. Reades allegation.

But the allegations have put Bidens supporters in an increasingly tight bind, particularly the women on his short list of potential running mates, almost all of whom have steadfastly avoided commenting on Reades accusation. Biden, as well, has avoided media engagements in which he might be asked about the allegations, and on Wednesday sidestepped an opportunity to address them directly during a virtual town-hall event where he was asked about military sexual assault.

Look, we have to change the culture of abuse in this country, especially in armed services, Biden said in response to the question, pivoting to his legislative record of advocating for women. As you know, I wrote and championed the Violence Against Women Act, transformed how this country gets justice and support to survivors, and led the Its on Us campaign to fight sexual assault on campuses. As VP, I fought to provide a special victims counsel for sexual-assault cases in the military.

On MSNBC on Friday morning, Brzezinski pointed to Bidens past advocacy for believing women who come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, noting that when Christine Blasey Ford testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had attempted to sexually assault her in high school, he had told reporters that at least the essence of such claims had to be taken as true.

From the very beginning, Ive said believing women means taking the womans claims seriously, Biden said in response. Women have a right to be heard, and the press should rigorously investigate the claims they make.

The truth is, the claims are false.

The Republican Party and the re-election campaign of President Donald Trumpwho has himself been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and rape by more than two dozen womenhave increasingly sought to weaponize the accusations, with the National Republican Congressional Committee on Thursday sending out emails targeting vulnerable Democrats for their silence.

Despite those accusations against the president, the Trump campaign has expressed an increasing willingness to hit Biden over Reades allegations. Ahead of Bidens interview on Morning Joe, the presidents campaign called the show a reliable ally of Democrats accused of sexual misconduct, noting that hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have both talked about their personal fondness for Biden.

Personally, we love Joe, Scarborough is quoted as saying when Biden was accused of making women feel uncomfortable in a nonsexual manner last year.

Love him! Brzezinski added. Hes not a predator.

The Morning Joe hosts were also enlisted in disgraced former reporter Mark Halperins efforts to rehabilitate his career following numerous accusations of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters about the allegations that I dont know anything about it, but added that I think he should respond.

It could be false accusationsI know all about false accusations, I have been falsely charged numerous times, Trump said. But I dont know, I cant speak for Biden, I only think that he should respond and answer them.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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As many as 176 stranded workers



belonging to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh were on Friday sent from Nalgonda district in Telangana to their home state as per the guidelines of the Centre, an official said.

"One hundred and seventy-six people. In six buses, we have sent today evening around 4 pm as per the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines and by following all the protocols," the official said.

The stranded people, who have been staying at a relief camp on the Telangana side, were handed over to AP's Guntur district administration at the inter-state border, he told P T I.

After the Centre gave the order for the movement of migrant workers, the Nalgonda administration informed the Guntur authorities who responded to it, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, around 1,200 migrant workers were sent to Hatia in Jharkhand in a special train from the Lingampalli railway station in Hyderabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 20:18:34|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 1, 2020 shows a press conference in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. Central China's Hubei Province will lower its novel coronavirus emergency response level from the highest to the second-highest starting May 2, a local official announced Friday. Prevention and control measures against the epidemic will also be adjusted following the downgrading of the emergency response level, Yang Yunyan, vice governor of Hubei, said at the press conference. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

WUHAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province will lower its novel coronavirus emergency response level from the highest to the second-highest starting May 2, a local official announced Friday.

Prevention and control measures against the epidemic will also be adjusted following the downgrading of the emergency response level, Yang Yunyan, vice governor of Hubei, said at a press conference.

After more than three months of precise and tight prevention and control, the virus spread is "basically cut off" in Hubei, Yang said.

"The unprecedented emergency measures during the initial phase have basically cut off the spread of the novel coronavirus," Yang said. "In line with national regulations and the provincial contingency plan, Hubei has basically met the condition to lower the emergency response level."

The downgrade of the emergency level signifies a major breakthrough in Hubei's prevention and control work against COVID-19, but it does not mean that Hubei has downgraded its alertness or decreased work intensity against the epidemic, he said.

"We need to prepare to make prevention and control work a new normal for a long period of time," he said. "We need to perfect our prevention and control work according to the status quo."

Liu Dongru, with the provincial health commission, said that Hubei will enhance supervision and evaluation in key areas such as medical institutions, schools and shopping malls, to build a complete public health monitoring and alert system.

"Epidemic prevention and control headquarters on the county-level and above need to set up and keep work teams and be on standby 24 hours," Liu said.

The province will conduct strict management over people entering Hubei from abroad, as well as over asymptomatic cases, Liu added.

Wuhan, the provincial capital and the Chinese city once hard-hit by the novel coronavirus, will strengthen its prevention and control workforce, optimize prevention and control measures, and continue precise prevention and control management over residential communities, said Li Tao, with the Wuhan government.

No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Hubei Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday. This marks that Hubei, the once hardest hit Chinese province, has had no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 27 consecutive days since April 4.

Meanwhile, in Hubei, the areas outside Wuhan have reported no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 57 consecutive days.

Hubei was cleared of confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

The province initiated the second-level emergency response on Jan. 22, and upgraded it to the top level on Jan. 24. Enditem
The human cost of the layoffs is just starting.

In mid-March, during his last lucrative week as a hot shot truck driver before the downturn, Bill Cunningham, 62, clocked over 2,000 miles on five runs delivering loads of casing and tubing around the Permian.

Last week, Mr. Cunningham climbed into his tuxedo-black one-ton Ford F-350 pickup for only two round trips from Odessa to Midland and back, totaling 120 miles. One was to deliver six pipe couplings. The other was to pick up a check.

Guys like me who are up in their 60s, theyre not going to get hired in a lot of places, said Mr. Cunningham, who has seen five booms and busts since moving to Odessa in 1979. Thats the only thing that Ive got, that I can do, he said. Were not going to starve to death tomorrow, but we might the next day.

Tamir Kalifa reported and photographed from Midland and the surrounding areas. Clifford Krauss reported from Houston.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Because of the coronavirus, protesters who typically march for immigrants rights on May 1 instead plan caravans in Grand Rapids, Holland and other cities across the country.

Movimiento Cosecha GR said many immigrants jobs are considered essential so they are working through the COVID-19 crisis, putting them at risk of the respiratory illness. They say workers have not been provided adequate protection.

Others have lost jobs and have no way to pay rent.

Movimiento Cosecha GR, part of a nationwide movement, demands dignity and respect for immigrants including rights for undocumented or under-documented immigrants, including the right to obtain U.S. drivers licenses.

They say immigrants are a critical part of the U.S. economy.

Organizers plan an 11 a.m. caravan beginning at the Holland Civic Center and noon caravan beginning at Lincoln Park in Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids police said motorists should expect some traffic slowdowns. Police have not been advised of the route and there has not been a parade permit issued so the caravan cannot block traffic.

Police will maintain access to essential services such as hospitals and public safety and protect the safety of all community members, including event participants, the Police Department said in a Facebook post.

Police also said that those who do not have to travel for essential needs should heed Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home executive order.

The GRPD is committed to Grand Rapids being an inclusive and welcoming city where all community members can peacefully exercise their freedom of speech in a public forum. The department wants to ensure the safety of the public and those who are going about their daily lives, including drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, while respecting everyones First Amendment rights, police said in the post.

Read more:

Protesters to demand immigrant worker protection during coronavirus pandemic

Drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants wont be backed by West Michigan city

Immigrant rights protesters block streets in downtown Grand Rapids
It is the first time since February 15th. Register only 4 cases, all imported from abroad. Deaths: the most affected are those over 80; no one under 25. A winning model, more "democratic" than China's draconian one. Taiwanese democracy also excels in the fight against lung disease.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - South Korea did not register any case of local infection yesterday: it is the first time since 15 February. On the other hand, 4 infections are imported from abroad. The country proves to be among the most capable of containing the pulmonary pandemic.

Overall, 10765 are infected; 247 the dead. The mortality rate is 2.29%, much lower than the 13.58% of Italy (among the most affected nations), and better than that of China (5.52%), the epicenter of the infection. The largest number of South Korean victims is counted among people over 80; no deaths among those under the age of 25. The attention of the government is now turned to imported cases, which are 1065; 90% of them are South Korean citizens.

Seoul has adopted a more "democratic" form of intervention than Beijing's draconian one. Speed of action is the key to success, strengthened by the excellence of the national health system. The government quickly closed the borders with China, introducing strict quarantine measures for those entering the country. Health authorities then launched mass diagnostic tests to identify possible infects, and map all their contacts with other people.

In the coming days, at the end of a holiday period, South Korean leaders will evaluate whether to mitigate the obligation of social distancing. If so, most schools and workplaces will reopen.

Taiwan, another Asian democracy, is also distinguished by its ability to contain Covid-19. Yesterday, for the 4th consecutive day, there was no infection on the island. The total cases are 429 and 6 deaths.
Some 70% of infected people live in the capital city and surrounding Pest County, so it is justified to keep curfew restrictions in force in these regions, the head of the Prime Ministers Office, Gergely Gulyas said.

Life can be restarted gradually according to a strict schedule, taking into account geographical differences and the number of virus infections, he added.



The safety of the elderly, the most endangered age group, should remain a priority, he said, adding that restrictions under which people over 65 are allowed to do their shopping between 9-12am will be maintained.



Gulyas also said testing will be compulsory for all patients leaving or entering hospital and for the staff of elderly care homes. He said Hungarys health-care system was prepared to handle mass infections, adding that the epidemic had slowed down and the number of cases in the country was relatively low.



He added that in terms of the total number of ventilators in the country, Hungary was among the best prepared.



Gulyas also said the government has decided to simplify administrative procedures for entrepreneurs in order to reduce personal contacts and relieve businesses of some of their administrative burden.



The government is lifting restrictions on private health-care institutions from May 4, Gulyas said, so the sector can contribute to the countrys protection efforts.



Restrictions regarding specialised and out-patient clinics will be lifted in four stages, with further information on the specific sectors to appear in a decree shortly, he said.



Regarding testing for Covid-19, Gulyas said plenty of test kits were available, making it possible to test one person multiple times where necessary. The government has also decided to speed up testing and to test all employees of retirement homes and all patients checking in and out of hospitals, he said.



A possibly effective treatment against the disease is being tested in the Hungarian health-care system, Gulyas noted, using the blood plasma of recovered Covid-19 patients. It is too early to tell whether it will be successful, he said.



Regarding the topics of possible reforms in the health-care sector which may involve establishing a stand-alone health-care ministry; as well as plans to re-activate the 30,000 hospital beds freed for potential coronavirus patients once the epidemic has subsided, Gulyas said it would be wrong to make political decisions on health-care issues during an epidemic.



Protection measures against the epidemic have proved successful, Gulyas said, praising the sectors leadership.



Commenting on the opinion of an advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), who said last week that the Hungarian transit zone at the Hungarian-Serbian border deprived residents of free movement, Gulyas said the decision was an important stage in the courts decision-making process.



The final ruling often coincided with the advocate generals opinion, he said. Last weeks opinion is in contradiction with previous rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Gulyas noted.



Hungary has been fighting to protect its borders since 2015, Gulyas said, adding that the CJEU is now trying to thwart efficient border protection in the EU.



On cooperation with local authorities, Gulyas said the government wants to help but local governments also had to bear their share of the burden in perilous times.



The government is working to relaunch the economy in the second half of the year, bringing investments to localities, he said. Regarding Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsonys proposal to reduce speed limits within the city, Gulyas said hastily prepared proposals would be especially harmful in the current situation.



He called on Karacsony to consult the group leaders of the city assembly on the matter.



Commenting on an interview House Speaker Laszlo Kover gave on Wednesday, in which he said the opposition working against the Hungarian nation, Gulyas said Kover had shown considerable restraint compared to comments the opposition had made about the government, even in a state of emergency.



The ruling parties have expressed a wish for nationwide cooperation several times, but the oppositions behaviour in the past months does not promise hope of national unity, he said.



MTI Photo: Szilard Koszticsak








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DNA strand breaks resulting from wireless radiation can impair cell function, change cell structure and even lead to cell death. It is how humans age, and worse, how cancer develops. This knowledge has been available from as far back as in 1996 when two bioengineering researchers at the University of WashingtonDr. Henry Lai and Narendra Singh at the University of Washington in Seattle conducted a study documenting this breakthrough.

From years back, the electromagnetic radiation utilized by all mobile phone technologies has always led to worry about increased health risks, including developing certain types of cancer. Sadly, there is ample scientific evidence to show that these concerns are valid and that radiation is lethal to human life.

The higher you go up the electromagnetic spectrum, the more dangerous these rays become; clear risks from prolonged exposure have long been established. And recently, scientists have gone well beyond the usual frequencies used by mobile phones, which is the reason behind the public outcry following the rollout of the 5Gtechnology.

5G uses higher frequency waves than earlier mobile networks, allowing more devices to have access to the internet at the same time and at faster speeds and emitting higher energy radiation at unprecedented levels. So whereas, human life was at risk with the use of previous, more basic forms of wireless technology; with 5G networks, those risks are intensified to the most dangerous levels.

Worse still, there are established strict advisory limits for exposure to higher energy radiation levels that can lead to life damage, like medical x-rays and gamma rays. However, there would be no limits to our exposure to 5G and other wireless networks, which means, no limits to the damage it can cause to people who would be involuntarily exposed to the technology.

Response from the Industry

According to a report on 5G crisis.com, after President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Telecommunications Act into law, scientific evidence of the potential harms of wireless radiation began to emerge. The telecom industry, fearing a public reaction to this evidence, started to lobby for clauses in the Telecommunications Act that would prevent any local interference with the installation of wireless antennas in local communities.

Besides, some scientists and public health who had already established that environmental factors influence our cell biology were still grappling with the idea of how a chronic illness can be caused by non-ionizing RF microwave radiation. However, their refusal to see the dangers does not mean they dont exist. Just like exposure to cigarette smoke and lead, can cause adverse health effects; increased involuntary exposure to wireless radiation is lethal to human life and many renowned scientists agree.

Dr. Robert O. Becker, surgeon and researcher who was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize, once observed, I have no doubt in my mind that, at the present time, the greatest polluting element in the earths environment is the proliferation of electromagnetic fields.

More than human life, research is revealing that EMR exposure causes harm to all living organisms, including plants, trees, insects, animals and bacteria, even at exposure levels below current U.S. safety guidelines.

A 2013 review of113 published, peer-reviewed studies bya group from the Institute of Environmental Sciences in the Netherlands on the ecological effects of RF-EMF found that in 70% of the studies, wireless radiation had a significant effect on birds, insects, other vertebrates, and multiple organisms and plants.

Other studies on wireless radiation and biological effects

In 2007, researchers at the University of Kentucky proved how exposure to RF microwave radiation can damage and sometimes destroy brain cells.

In 2012, Yale University scientists found that pregnant laboratory mice exposed to RF microwave radiation gave birth to offspring that had poorer memory and were more hyperactive than the control group.

More recently, in 2018, a study by the Ramazzini Institute in Italy, part-funded by the U.S. government, found that lab animals exposed to wireless radiation from distant cell towers were more likely to develop heart tumours than the unexposed group of animals. This was the first large-scale study that proved clear evidence of cancer risk from far-field exposures.

If all these technologies which operate at lower frequency levels that 5G have been known to cause this much harm to life, then one must wonder about the 5G network. According to a U.S. senator, quoted on Scientific American, there is no research on the health effects of the 5G technology, so we are flying blind. However, we are not necessarily flying bling considering the overwhelming amount of evidence of harmful effects of 2G and 3G.

Conclusion

Through the years, a growing number of respected scientists have found that the proliferation of wireless devices and computers are causing several significant health impacts. Individuals from all over the world have reportedly experienced all sorts of symptoms ranging from fatigue, headaches, mental confusion and heart palpitations when using wireless devices and when close to cell towers. Wireless radiations are an undeniable risk to our health and can no longer be ignored.

Over 300 scientists and medical doctors have signed the 5G Appeal that calls for an immediate suspension on the deployment of 5G and request that the government fund the research needed to implement biologically-based exposure limits that protect public health and safety, until then, it is best that you remain skeptical about the 5G technology.
In this manner, Smyth proves his worth as an archival researcher. Unfortunately, the more recent history of the N.R.A. is manifestly opaque. The organization does not disclose its membership or its finances. Its political connivances  how it waters down or defeats altogether gun control initiatives, even in the wake of horrific mass shootings  can only be reconstructed through dogged investigative reporting. Here Smyth comes up short. He doesnt mention how the one concession in what was otherwise the N.R.A.s first major legislative victory  the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, which reversed many of the restrictions imposed in a 1968 bill but also banned machine guns  would thereafter be cited by the absolutists as an original sin of compromise. Nor does Smyth note that the clause in the 1994 Brady Bill allowing its restrictions to elapse after 10 years was arranged by a leading Democrat, the legendary Michigan congressman John Dingell, who angrily cut all ties with the N.R.A. two decades later.

As an N.R.A. member, Smyth managed to obtain a press badge and attended some of its conventions. But its not clear what that access got him, beyond a few insights into some of the N.R.A.s illustrious board members, including celebrities like the actor Tom Selleck and the former N.B.A. star Karl Malone. The inner workings of its ad campaigns, membership drives, back-room arm-twisting and pressure from both the right (Gun Owners of America) and the left (Moms Demand Action) go largely undiscussed. The author gamely broaches the matter of race, pointing out that the N.R.A. did nothing to protect freed slaves during Reconstruction, nor did it aid its own black members, decades later, in defending themselves against Southern segregationists. But no examination is given to how the group stoked fear during the Obama presidency  or, for that matter, how an avid hunter named Donald Trump Jr. helped broker the groups ironclad relationship with his father, a former supporter of gun control. Most frustrating of all is that Smyth does not shed any new light on the N.R.A.s financial relationship with Russia, instead relying on previously published investigations.

Fellow journalists like myself can sympathize with the authors struggles to penetrate the groups iron veil. Smyth concludes by lamenting that the N.R.A. is perhaps the only organization to have an archive of priceless documents and videos that it still refuses to share with its own members, let alone the world. As to what this trove contains, the wait continues.
Some Irish patients admitted to hospital with severe Covid-19 infection are suffering abnormal blood clotting that contributes to death, new research has revealed.

The study, led by clinician scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, found that abnormal blood clotting occurs in patients with severe Covid-19 infection, causing micro-clots within the lungs.

They also found Irish patients with higher levels of blood clotting had a significantly worse prognosis and were more likely to require intensive care admission.

The study, carried out by the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI), and St James's Hospital, Dublin, is published in the current edition of the 'British Journal of Haematology'.

Consultant haematologist Prof James O'Donnell, director of the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, RCSI, said: "Our novel findings demonstrate that Covid-19 is associated with a unique type of blood-clotting disorder that is primarily focused within the lungs.

"It undoubtedly contributes to the high levels of mortality being seen in patients with Covid-19.

"In addition to pneumonia affecting the small air sacs within the lungs, we are also finding hundreds of small blood clots throughout the lungs," he said.

This scenario is not seen with other types of lung infection, and explains why blood oxygen levels fall dramatically in severe Covid-19 infection.

"Understanding how these micro-clots are being formed within the lung is critical so we can develop more effective treatments for our patients, particularly those in high-risk groups," said Prof O'Donnell.

"Further studies will be required to investigate whether different blood-thinning treatments may have a role in selected high-risk patients in order to reduce the risk of clot formation."

He said the emerging evidence also showed the abnormal blood-clotting problem in Covid-19 resulted in a significantly increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Meanwhile, the use of face masks to limit the spread of the virus could replace social distancing with social isolation for people with hearing difficulties, a University of Manchester professor has warned.

Professor Kevin Munro said that although masks may prevent the wearer from infecting others, they may prevent lip-reading and impair speech transmission.

The audiologist made five suggestions to improve communication if wearing a face mask is unavoidable, which include reducing background noise as much as possible.

He also suggested people should talk slowly and not shout.

Isolation

People with a hearing aid should wear it and also consider using portable hearing amplifiers if available.

Hearing loss is associated with poor social interaction, isolation, depression and anxiety, increased risk of dementia and reduced quality of life.

The use of face masks by the public is a controversial topic and not currently supported by the World Health Organisation or the Irish Government.

Current evidence suggests that while face coverings and surgical masks - the variety typically worn by dentists - might prevent large particles spreading from an infected person wearing a mask to someone else, they do not trap tiny particles like coronavirus.

There are also concerns that, even if they are fitted correctly, a mask may increase your risk by encouraging you to touch your face more often with hands that may be contaminated.
By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - Four senior Democratic lawmakers from Washington state on Friday sharply criticized President Donald Trumps trade policies for failing to address overcapacity in China's aluminum market they say is costing American workers their jobs.

In a letter to the president, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and two House lawmakers said neither the Phase 1 trade deal with China, nor Trumps separate 10% tariffs imposed on aluminum imports in 2018 had solved the underlying problem, and more efforts were needed.

The letter came days after top U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa said weak prices and growing global surpluses had forced it to close its Intalco smelter plant in Ferndale, Washington, and lay off most of the 700 workers there.

They urged the Commerce Department to stop granting exclusions to Section 232 aluminum tariffs that now far exceed U.S. import levels and encouraged the administration to work with allies to "combat Chinas predatory trade practices."

It's clearer than ever that President Trump got us into a trade war and the United States is not winning," said Representative Suzan DelBene, whose district is home to the Alcoa facility. "Despite all his bluster, President Trump has failed to address the fundamental issue of excess capacity in Chinas aluminum market."

The U.S. Commerce Department had no immediate comment.

The department on Monday proposed creation of a new Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis (AIM) program that would require importers of covered products to obtain a license that would identify where the aluminum used in the imported product was smelted and poured, as well as its value and other details.

The department said it would release the collected data on an aggregated basis and would use it to ensure the timely and effective monitoring of any surges in aluminum imports.

DelBene's spokesman Nick Martin said creation of the system was a positive step, but "far from sufficient."

"The administration still needs to fix the exclusion process, and work to push China to implement policies that curb its excess capacity in the aluminum sector," he said.

Story continues

DelBene and other lawmakers say the department's exclusion process led to a significant increase in aluminum product imports into the United States last year.

The Aluminum Association, whose members produce 70% of the aluminum and aluminum products shipped in North America, this month urged the Commerce Department to restrict exclusion requests to importers who are not manufacturers, and grant them only for products for which there is no U.S. production.

It said the Commerce Department had granted product exclusion requests for imports coming from China totaling more than 4.5 billion pounds, by far the most exclusions granted for any single country. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
The decision to go ahead with ceremonies at West Point, pushed back from the original date of May 23, means the recall of 1,000 cadets who are scattered across the country. They will travel into airports in New York and New Jersey, states that have been hit hard by the pandemic, to a location that is 50 miles north of the pandemics epicenter in New York City. They will have to undergo testing and face up to three weeks of quarantine in campus barracks, perhaps one person to a room. Partial audio recording obtained by The Post of a video call made by a West Point instructor to a group of 25 cadets April 21, four days after Mr. Trump announced his plans, has raised concerns because of the instructors estimate that as many as 60 percent of the class might have the coronavirus, and the uncertainties that still surround this disease and the reliability of testing. Military officials insist they can safely hold the graduation, making the feeble argument that cadets would have had to return to pick up their belongings and get future orders.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is encouraging candidates to address the coronavirus by attacking China, according to a strategy memo detailed in Politico last week.

The memo, written by a top GOP consulting firm, calls for campaigns to blame the Chinese government for covering up the pandemic and to label their Democratic opponents as soft on the Communist regime.

Note  dont defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban  attack China, the memo states.

This approach might sound familiar to anyone following the Senate race in Arizona.

Sen. Martha McSally has spent much of the past month blasting China for spreading misinformation about the virus and the World Health Organization for abetting that effort.

At the same time, McSally has mostly praised the Trump administrations response to the crisis, especially after the president delivered on a request for 100 extra ventilators for Arizona.

Thats not all she has done, of course.

In addition to her work in the Senate on various COVID-19 relief packages, McSally has helped out at a food bank in Phoenix, donated blood and encouraged others to join her, accepted an appointment to the White Houses economic recovery task force and hosted a series of telephone town halls to update constituents on the pandemic.

On Tuesday, she signed onto a letter urging the Trump administration to develop a fully domestic supply of rare-earth elements used in the manufacture of defense technologies. Currently, the U.S. relies on China for such hard-to-come-by minerals.
The Karnataka government plans to restart most commercial and industrial activities, except the ones in containment zones from May 4. The nationwide lockdown is scheduled to be lifted on May 3. Some states have said that they prefer to continue the restrictions for a few more days, however, Karnataka has already said that it will allow industrial activity and one-time movement of students and migrants across borders.

According to a report in Times of India, the government is mulling reopening commercial establishments such as shopping malls and liquor outlets from next week. Containment zones also will be restricted to specific streets instead of blanket ban on the ward. Strict observation of lockdown restrictions will be done in containment zones.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown 3.0! PM Modi chairs meet on COVID-19; cases-35,043, deaths-1,147

The government is awaiting the Centre's guidelines before it rolls out the plan.

The state government has been gradually allowing functioning of IT, ITeS sector, certain industries and various government departments including agriculture and allied activities. After the Centre's guidelines, standalone shops in green and orange zones have been allowed.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that coronavirus cases might continue to emerge for another 2-3 months. In such a scenario, it is imperative that economic activities are also taken care of along with measures to control the pandemic.

Also read: Delhi-Gurgaon border sealed; only essential services, goods allowed as coronavirus cases rise

He also said that not many cases have emerged in Bengaluru in the past few days and added that if things continue this way then some activities will restarted there too. "In a red-zone district like Bengaluru Urban, restrictions will apply only to 24 containment zones spread across 34 wards and normal business activities have been proposed in the rest of the city. Malls and cinema halls in Bengaluru - closed 10 days before the country was locked down on March 24 - may resume operations if the Centre agrees to the proposal. I'm confident the PM will permit all activities since it's the expectation of all states," he said.

However, public transport might still not receive the nod till May 15.

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Govt identifies Delhi, Mumbai, all metros as red zones post May 3

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic.
THE Philippines is joining the worldwide trend of urging people to work from home (WFH) wherever feasible as a new norm evolves.

Research by tech giant Lenovo found that most employees and businesses are adapting to WFH systems, with smart technologies having already enabled the rise of a global workforce that stays connected in a work-from-anywhere world.

Our survey suggests that the employee experience was already changing before the coronavirus pandemic hit, said Michael Ngan, president of Lenovo Philippines.

For instance, in the past 15 years, the number of those regularly working from home has grown 159 percent in the US and the same increase is happening in other markets.

While our current situation is extraordinary, we are seeing a real willingness from workers to adapt and adopt flexible work arrangements. This confirms that corporate technology investments are paying off, as most people now feel productive at home and believe that the workforce will move more in this direction once the crisis has passed, Ngan said.

The Lenovo study found that a majority of employees felt at least somewhat ready to make the shift to WFH when required.

Telecommuting

Even when the quarantine measures are soon lifted, a reduced economic activity is widely expected as a result of the publics hesitation to engage.

A pro-work from home stance has long been pushed as a solution to traffic woes. In fact, the Telecommuting Act was signed into law to allow employees to work at home or remotely outside the workplace.

The move to telecommuting is also a welcome development to the nations rising gig economy which thrives on hiring employees on a flexible and freelance setup through online platforms, according to Lenovo.

The Philippines currently ranks sixth in the world and is the fastest-growing market for the gig industry, posting a 35 percent year-on-year growth in freelance earnings as reported in financial services firm Payoneers 2019 Global Gig-Economy Index.

Story continues

With the freedom to work anywhere, flexible schedules, the opportunity to prioritize work according to personal schedules, plus the ongoing pandemic, the gig economy in the Philippines is expected to see tremendous growth this year.

At a time when all companies need to navigate uncertainty and keep their business running, technology enables them to keep moving forward. Companies need to adjust now and ensure their employees have the video tools, technology and training required to succeed today, and in a future where more remote working may be the norm, Ngan explained.

Worldwide, the rapid adoption of WFH policies has been made possible by the increasing sophistication and affordability of smart mobile technology, which has enabled many employees to work when away from their desk.

Changing workforce demographics play a part too, Lenovo said.

The study said millennials and Generation Z employees, who make up nearly 60 percent of the workforce today, grew up with video on demand, networked video games and video communication platforms. These digital natives are driving the development and adoption of technology for remote working and collaboration. (CSL)
The Court of Appeal in London has dismissed an application filed by ArcelorMittal seeking permission to appeal against the London High Courts judgment that refused a worldwide freezing order against the parent company of Essar Steel and members of promoter family. The Court of Appeals decision given by Lord Justice Newey on April 21, 2020, concluded that Arcelor Mittal USAs (AMUSA) appeal had no real prospect of success and there was no other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear it, Essar said in a statement.

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The world's biggest coronavirus lockdown will be extended for two weeks beyond May 4, the Indian government said Friday but with some easing of restrictionsincluding for alcohol.

The lockdown imposed near the end of March has caused misery for millions of workers in India's vast informal sector and dealt a major blow to Asia's third-biggest economy.

The home ministry said in a statement that in view of "significant gains in the COVID-19 situation", areas with few or no cases would see "considerable relaxations".

Air travel and passenger trains ground to a halt because of the lockdown and only the transport of "essential goods" was allowed, causing major problems as well as considerable confusion for industry and agriculture.

In particular hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers were left jobless overnight, prompting a huge exodus of people back to their home villages, many on foot, and leaving many dependent on handouts.

However the stringent restrictions have been credited with keeping confirmed cases of coronavirus to about 35,000 cases as of Friday, with 1,152 deaths.

But some experts have said the vast country of 1.3 billion, home to some of the most congested cities in the world where "social distancing" is virtually impossible, is not testing enough.

In addition, there are concerns that if the virus catches hold in a big way, India's health care systempoorly funded by international comparisonwill be severely stretched.

Red, orange and green zones

The government said Friday that many activities will remain prohibited nationwide including air and rail travelexcept for "select purposes"schools, restaurants and large gatherings such as places of worship.

Restrictions are being lifted largely according to what colour an area has been assigned in a government rating system.

India is split into red zones with "significant risk of spread of the infection"; green zones with zero cases or no confirmed cases in the past 21 days; and those in between as orange.

This reflects a high concentration of cases in many urban areas such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad but very few or none in many rural areas of the country.

Red and orange zones will continue to have intensified contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and no movement in or out except for medical emergencies and the supply of essential goods and services, the home ministry statement said.

Authorities have also been told to ensure in these areas "100 percent coverage" of the government tracing app Aarogya Setu, which has been criticised for potential security flaws and practical drawbacks and which has alarmed privacy campaigners.

Exceptions in red zones include certain industrial activities and government offices, and in rural zones designated as red, agricultural activities and brick kilns.

In orange zones taxis are allowed as well as private cars and motorbikes conducting permitted activities with limited passenger numbers.

In green zones all activities are permitted except those banned nationally.

For the first time since late March, shops in green zones selling alcohol and chewing tobacco can openbut with six feet (two metres) between customers and only with no more than five people present.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
Special Report: How a corporate PR machine is trying to kill a Wall Street tax Andrew Yang at a town hall in New Hampshire

By Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on New Hampshire prior to the states Feb. 11 primary, John Tackeff was busy.

The 27-year-old attended candidate events across the state to raise concerns about a proposed tax on Wall Street financial transactions that much of the field supported. Bespectacled, unshaven and casually dressed, Tackeff wasnt shy about asking questions.

At a Dec. 22 gathering with former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Tackeff introduced a woman he said was his mother. Reuters could not verify her identity. Any tax on stock and bond trades would hurt seniors like her and parents trying to save for their childrens college, Tackeff said.

He also raised the issue at meetings hosted by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Tulsi Gabbard and businessman Andrew Yang, according to video of the four New Hampshire political events reviewed by Reuters.

Tackeff told the candidates he was part of a group called the Partnership to Protect Our Retirement Future. He declined to comment for this story.

But he was no ordinary citizen hanging out at campaign events with his mom, rather a professional political organizer, according to his LinkedIn profile. And the Partnership to Protect Our Retirement Future was the creation of a major Washington public relations firm.

That company, Locust Street Group, tried to create the impression of widespread voter opposition to a financial transaction tax as Democratic voters considered which candidate to nominate to face Republican President Donald Trump in this year's presidential election.

Last year, Congressional lawmakers introduced four bills that would impose a tax on financial transactions of one kind or another. Some of those bills have prominent backers, including Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Brian Schatz and Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Depending on how such a tax were structured, it could hit the profits of brokers, hedge funds and high-speed traders which process millions of transactions a day.

Story continues

Locust Street has presented the Partnership as a group powered by average citizens. In fact, Locust Street has been orchestrating the effort on behalf of a client or clients whose identity has not been made public, according to a Reuters examination of Partnership materials, company records, public filings, social media, emails and interviews with people involved.

A Virginia retiree told Reuters she was approached by a Locust Street employee to become involved as a background person and paid a stipend for her efforts. A South Carolina school counselor said she was recruited to join the Partnership in February and later voiced her opposition to the tax at a campaign event for candidate Tom Steyer. A community organizer hired by Locust Street in December to push the Partnership in Iowa said she quit within weeks because she felt misled about "who we were actually working for."

None of the three were told who is funding the Partnership, they told Reuters.

David Barnhart, founding partner of Locust Street Group, would not discuss the firms clients or say who is paying for the campaign.

We have various stakeholders who are extremely interested in this issue, they came together and asked us to provide the strategy and the grassroots, Barnhart said. This is a really diverse coalition and it is comprised of stakeholders from all walks of life.

Locust Street's website boasts a suite of "grassroots" services it can provide to corporate clients, including ginning up supporters for their causes. An effort to disguise an orchestrated influence campaign as a spontaneous, grassroots movement while masking its true sponsors is often described as "astroturfing."

Industries have employed the strategy for decades to battle regulation in a variety of areas -- smoking bans in restaurants and bars is one example -- by claiming to represent workers who allegedly would lose jobs or consumers who would be inconvenienced.

But some people familiar with astroturfing say Locust Street's recent efforts were the first time they've seen it used in an attempt to influence a presidential primary.

"Targeting Democratic voters as a wedge issue, thats unique," said Susan Harley, deputy director for the Congress Watch division of Public Citizen, a liberal watchdog group based in Washington D.C. "We havent seen those voters be a target of this work before."

Locust Street's Barnhart, who worked on presidential campaigns for Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, said he believed campaigns that mobilize everyday people to raise issues with their elected officials are important for public policy.

Strategically, we wanted this to be about the people, and I wanted people to be the face of this, he said, adding: These are issues that affect voters. Without these types of efforts they dont hear about it.

Barnhart confirmed that Tackeff, the Partnership representative in New Hampshire, was a contract employee.

Locust Street also tried to shape public opinion in Iowa, whose first-in-the-nation caucus was held on Feb. 3. The Partnership attempted to recruit Democratic officials to put their names to op-ed media commentaries declaring their opposition to any financial transaction tax because it allegedly would harm mom-and-pop savers by shrinking their retirement accounts.

Democrat John Norris, past chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party and a former Iowa gubernatorial candidate, showed Reuters an email he received in December from a Partnership representative seeking his help in that effort. Norris declined to participate.

He said it was the second time Locust Street had sought his help to torpedo the financial transaction tax. Norris said that in November, Locust Street contacted his public-policy consulting firm, Iowa-based State Public Policy Group (SPPG), about working on the campaign. Norris said SPPG took a pass because Iowa labor leaders do not oppose higher taxes for Wall Street firms. He said SPPG has performed work for Locust Street in the past.

Barnhart confirmed Locust Street approached SPPG but subsequently "went in a different direction."

'SMOKE AND MIRRORS'

A website touting the Partnerships efforts, retirementtax.org, exhorts readers to provide their personal information and sign what appears to be an online petition: Help Us Defeat The Retirement Tax! The website provides no contact details, address or information about who founded the Partnership. The site champions the interests of plumbers, electriciansteachers and other working people who allegedly would be hurt by a financial transaction tax.

Because Locust Street is a public relations firm, not a full-time lobbying shop, it rarely has to disclose who hires it. Barnhart confirmed that Locust Street did some work for embattled e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc, which had hired the firm to drum up popular support for its product among Juul customers in anticipation of regulatory bans following a rash of vaping-related injuries and deaths in the United States. Several media outlets reported on the arrangement last year.

The company also did polling work in 2019 and 2020 for the Partnership for Americas Health Care Future, a coalition of hospitals, insurers and pharmaceutical companies that opposes universal health care programs such as Medicare for All, according to a press release issued by the healthcare group.

A spokesman for the Partnership for Americas Health Care Future declined to comment. Juul Labs Inc did not respond to requests for comment.

Public Citizen's Harley has been tracking the Partnership since it emerged towards the end of 2019. She said its polished effort is different from that of a true grassroots movement, particularly because its website does not solicit donations or provide any information about the groups founders and backers.

"It really is a smoke and mirrors campaign," Harley said.

ALARM ON WALL STREET

Progressive Democratic candidates Warren and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders were among the earliest and most vocal proponents of a tax on Wall Street to help fund social programs and close yawning deficits created by Republican-led tax cuts under Trump.

But the idea caught on with centrists too. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg put it in his tax plan. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a former investment banker, shocked his former industry by backing the tax.

Even Joe Biden, long seen as a friend to business, has voiced support for taxing trades of stocks and bonds. The former vice president is the presumptive Democratic nominee to face Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

The prospect of a tax on financial transactions has alarmed powerful business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"With the populism thats out there on the campaign trail, I think people are taking this a lot more seriously," Tom Quaadman, an executive vice president focused on financial policy for the organization, said earlier this year. The Chamber opposes the tax but is not affiliated with the Partnership, he said.

Reuters contacted four other groups that have come out publicly against a financial transaction tax: the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Modern Markets Initiative, the Managed Funds Association and the American Retirement Association. All said they had no involvement with the Partnership.

DIRECTOR 'NOT EXACTLY SURE' OF HER ROLE

Brian Parks works as a grassroots advocacy professional for Locust Street. His job is to identify and empower key activists for the company's clients, according to his biography on the Locust Street website.

Virginia retiree Eileen Greenberg said Parks, an acquaintance from her synagogue, approached her last year about becoming the director of a new venture that would fight the so-called retirement tax. Greenberg agreed, she told Reuters.

Company records show the Partnership was formed on Nov. 14 with Greenberg as its director. Greenberg said she had been helping with administrative tasks like going to the post office and collecting paperwork, for which she receives a "small stipend." She declined to say how much.

"They have professionals that are going to be doing all of the political stuff," said Greenberg. "There's more to come but I'm not exactly surewhat exactly Im doing," she told Reuters earlier this year.

Parks confirmed that Greenberg had been paid for her work on the Partnership. He told Reuters that Locust Street hired a handful of staff for the Partnership in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- states whose early Democratic contests gave its voters significant influence in picking the nominee.

In such crucial early races, candidates compete for support at gatherings as small as a few dozen people. These intimate settings allow voters easy access to ask candidates questions and share their concerns with others present.

Tackeff, the face of the Partnership in New Hampshire, said in a Jan. 9 Twitter post that he had attended campaign events for every Democratic candidate. He has worked on a variety of political campaigns in the state, according to his LinkedIn profile.

As Tackeff was voicing his worries about a financial transaction tax in New Hampshire, Michele Dickerson, another political organizer, was airing hers in Iowa with a group called the West Des Moines Democrats. Representing the Partnership, she spoke about a retirement tax at the groups Dec. 21 meeting, according to a post on the organizations Facebook page.

Victor Dutchuk, president of the West Des Moines Democrats, told Reuters he had not heard of such a tax before that meeting. He said Dickersons presentation raised a lot of concern among members about potential harm to their retirement accounts.

Dickerson said she applied for her paid role as a "community organizer" through an online job advertisement placed by Locust Street. The ad, seen by Reuters, said it was seeking a registered Democrat in Iowa "to inject a key policy issue into the campaign dialogue surrounding the Democratic caucus."

Dickerson said she resigned that contract job within roughly a month after growing suspicious as to the true nature of the Partnership.

"When I began, I felt great about what we were doing," she said. "But the further along I got into the campaign, I became concerned that perhaps we were no longer attempting to influence policy, but rather influence an election outcome."

Barnhart said that Dickerson had not understood that the purpose of the campaign "was to educate candidates on how damaging the tax would be to millions of Americans."

Locust Street also hired Cornerstone Government Affairs to support the Partnership in Iowa by helping it to "navigate" events surrounding the caucus, Parks said.

Cornerstone is a Washington lobbying giant whose clients have included Google Inc, Boeing Co and Exxon Mobil Corp, according to federal lobbying disclosures.

David Adelman, a Cornerstone director at the firms Iowa office, wrote in an email to Reuters that the company had been working on the tax as part of a campaign organized by the Partnership. He would not elaborate on his role.

"We've seen a tremendous response here on the ground," Adelman wrote.

RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS

Locust Streets Parks would not say how many citizen volunteers had signed on to work with the Partnership.

In response to a request from Reuters, he provided contact details for a school counselor in her early 20s from Charleston, South Carolina, who asked to be identified only by her first name: Danya.

Danya said she volunteered for the Partnership in February after being recruited by an acquaintance named Matthew Miller whom she met while both were in college. Miller works for a South Carolina PR and advocacy firm called SPEAK Strategic that does work for Locust Street, Parks confirmed.

Neither Miller nor SPEAK Strategic responded to requests for comment.

Danya said she attended several campaign events in her area, including a February gathering for candidate Steyer, the billionaire philanthropist, where she voiced her worries about the financial transaction tax. She told Reuters she had become "passionate" about the issue and was not paid for her efforts.

She said she was not aware of Locust Streets involvement with the Partnership or who was funding it, but acknowledged it would be worthwhile to know that.

"I think it's important to knowwho is pushing for it for sure," she added.

Parks also provided Reuters with contact details for a Nevada culinary worker named Shamar, who did not return calls.

In Iowa, Norris, the former state Democratic party chair, said a local PR firm also tried to recruit him to the effort.

He said he got a cold call in December from a Des Moines-based firm named LS2Group. Norris said an employee of that firm, Jordan Goode, told him she represented the Partnership and asked him to put his name to an op-ed her firm was drafting in opposition to the financial transaction tax.

In a follow-up email to Norris seen by Reuters, Goode said she hoped they could "work together to make this issue known among Iowans, community leaders, and presidential candidates." The email did not mention Locust Street.

Goode did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Shannahan, Partner at LS2Group, confirmed that Goode approached Norris but did not respond to further requests for information.

Barnhart and Parks confirmed that LS2Group was providing Iowa-level expertise to Locust Street, including identifying people to write op-eds.

Reuters found nine op-eds opposing the tax, including several penned by current and former Democratic officials from Iowa and South Carolina. All echoed the Partnership's talking points about how the tax could hurt retirees and pensioners.

Among them was a Jan. 5 piece by Phil Wise, a former Iowa Democratic state representative, that appeared in The Gazette, a Cedar Rapids newspaper.

Wise said he decided to write the piece after hearing through political colleagues that the transaction tax was stirring up voters in candidate town halls.

"It's bubbling up," he told Reuters in January.

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price in Washington, D.C.; additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in New York; Editing by Marla Dickerson)
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

A state district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging the city of Albuquerque violated the states Open Meetings Act and passed an unconstitutional ordinance.

The libertarian-leaning Rio Grande Foundation filed suit two days after the Albuquerque City Councils March 16 vote to amend the citys emergency powers ordinance. The councils meeting was closed to the general public due to state orders banning mass gatherings but was aired live on TV and the internet.

The councils vote added new emergency powers specific to a public health emergency but did not affect separate, decades-old portions of the ordinance that say the mayor can halt gun sales during other civil emergencies like riots.

The Rio Grande Foundation alleged that the session violated the Open Meetings Act and that the ordinance the council approved violated citizens right to bear arms.

But Judge Nancy Franchini in Albuquerque ruled last week that the Rio Grande Foundations suit failed to show the organization is imminently threatened with injury due to the citys actions. Franchini also wrote in her order that the foundation lacked standing to sue over OMA, because it did not first provide written notice to the city as required by statute.
On April 24, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced loosened restrictions to take effect in early May in certain Nebraska counties less affected by COVID-19 than Hall. His news release also included that, statewide, people will be allowed to attend religious services, but those from different households will have to keep six feet away from each other.

This means, even in Hall County, places of worship may start to open their doors.

We understand and respect the unique benefit of gathering in the fellowship of others who share your faith. However, Grand Island differs from the majority of Nebraska communities because of our wide community spread of COVID-19.

Throughout the nation, experts agree there should be 14 days of steady decline in new cases prior to re-opening. Here in our city we are still seeing a rising rate of new COVID-19 cases. This is not the time to back off our social distancing by going in person to worship together.

As stated in a recent DHHS update sent to religious leaders, faith leaders are responsible for the safety of those who attend services. In our community, we know that those leaders want what is best for their congregations.
Figure 1: A schematic depiction of the architecture of chromosomes found by a technique developed by RIKEN researchers that analyzes data derived with high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) experiments. New structures known as enclaves are indicated by the broken black lines in the two insets. Reproduced from Ref. 1 and licensed under CC BY 4.0  2020 V. Kumar et al.

A technique developed by three RIKEN researchers can identify interaction patterns within human chromosomes that conventional methods miss. It will help produce new maps of our chromosomes and uncover the complex interactions in them.

The cells in our bodies vary greatly in terms of shape and functions despite containing the same genetic information. One cause of this variety is the different ways genetic material is packaged in the nuclei of cells, which gives rise to the expression of different genes.

A powerful technique for analyzing the interactions between different regions of a chromosome is high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C). The application of different clustering methods to Hi-C data has led to the identification of two levels of chromosomal structure: compartments on a large scale and topologically associating domains (TADs) on a much smaller scale.

"These two types of structures exist within the same chromosome and yet are detected using very different clustering techniques," says Vipin Kumar, who was at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research at the time of the study. "That was the motivation behind our studyto detect these different scales of organization with the same technique."

Now, Kumar, Simon Leclerc and Yuichi Taniguchi have developed a more general version of the Hi-C data clustering technique, which they call BHi-Cect. It employs an iterative top-down approach. "Starting with the whole chromosome, BHi-Cect progressively separates it into its most likely clusters, beginning with the biggest ones and then looking for smaller ones," explains Kumar.

"Unlike previous methods, BHi-Cect does not assume specific criteria to identify different structural features," says Taniguchi. "BHi-Cect allows us to identify many global and local structural features, including compartments, TADs and looping structures, and to associate them with a hierarchical treeit's a completely different approach."

Kumar, who is now at the University of Oslo, agrees: "We don't need to choose between looking for local or global structures; this technique gives you everything at oncethat's the big difference."

Using BHi-Cect, the trio identified structures that they termed enclaves (Fig. 1). These include both compartments and TADs, but also other interactions that don't fall into either category.

"We applied a very general definition: there is more interaction within an enclave than with the rest of the chromosome," explains Kumar. "Consequently, our technique was able to detect much more-subtle interaction patterns in Hi-C data. I think this reflects the fact that chromosome structures are much more complex than previously thought."

Explore further How chromosomes change their shape during cell differentiation

More information: Vipin Kumar et al. BHi-Cect: a top-down algorithm for identifying the multi-scale hierarchical structure of chromosomes, Nucleic Acids Research (2020). Journal information: Nucleic Acids Research Vipin Kumar et al. BHi-Cect: a top-down algorithm for identifying the multi-scale hierarchical structure of chromosomes,(2020). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa004
First, the good news.

Flying does have a future, and it involves the mother of all sales.

We saw it after the financial crisis, when Ryanair sold flights for as little as 99c.

And we're going to see it when planes take to the skies after this pandemic, when airlines swoop to give newly-infrequent flyers irresistible incentives to spread their wings again.

That could mean flights from Dublin to Faro or Malaga from 9.99.

Or less.

We almost dont care, as Michael OLeary has said. Our critical thing in the short term isn't to make money, it will be to get our pilots and cabin crew back flying and the aircraft back in the air."

So when will they be back in the air, exactly?

Thats the $64,000 question, and all post-Covid-19 predictions clearly come with an Airbus A380-sized health warning.

News that thousands of jobs are under threat at Ryanair, Aer Lingus and BA has thrown the scale of the task ahead into sharp focus.

Expand Close Southwest Airlines tests a new cleaning process during the Coronavirus outbreak. // Stephen M. Keller, 2020 / Facebook

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There will be no V- or even U-shaped recovery - no letter of the alphabet can map out what's coming.

2019 is increasingly looking like a modern-day peak for mass travel.

It will be summer 2022 at the earliest before those levels of demand return, Ryanair says.

May and June are certainly write-offs.

July could see things start to pick-up, with some 40-50pc of schedules taking off on reduced load factors - enforced or otherwise - as summer unfolds.

That's presuming Covid-19 doesnt flare up again, of course.

Some travel agents see August, September and October as the new summer. Overseas tourism has been mooted for the Canary Islands by October, for example  a destination beloved of Irish holidaymakers and one dealing with relatively low caseloads of Covid-19.

Others arent as optimistic. And winter is coming.

If the glass is half-full  if borders reopen, restrictions ease, destinations begin to unlock and sales prompt us to pack our cases again - what then?

First up, well be packing differently.

Passengers on Emirates flights (few as they are) are already being told to wear masks and gloves throughout their journey, for example.

American Airlines says it will this month start distributing "sanitising wipes or gels and face masks" to customers.

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Definitely masks, Ryanair has told me.

On board, cash and coins will be replaced by contactless payments. The rule will be run over cabin baggage. In-flight services will change, eliminating touch points like in-flight magazines and raffle tickets and shaking up meals and drinks  could they be pre-ordered, left on seats, or will we want them at all?

Middle seats may be left empty as airlines initially struggle to fill planes, but the physical distancing benefits are debatable.

Seats are typically just 17-18 inches wide.

Flying planes half-empty is also, to put it mildly, uneconomical.

Enhanced cleaning and touch points will become part of our new travel vocabulary. Modern planes are relatively clean vessels for travel, with HEPA air-filtration systems and fewer passengers than, for instance, a busy bus or crowded commuter train carriages. But nervous customers are going to want to hear about hospital-grade disinfections and see spotless seatbacks, belts and tray tables. they will accept nothing less.

In the US, Southwest has spoken of super-charged cleaning where electrostatic sprayers apply a fine mist of disinfection agent and antimicrobial cleaner like a super primer to all surfaces.

It feels a long way from gripes over seat selection and baggage fees.

I certainly hope airlines come up with a smartly sequenced way of boarding the plane (window seats first?). I really dont want to meet the guy who climbs up the front steps and muscles his way, coughing and wheezing with wheelie case held aloft, down the crowded aisle to 27A.

And airports?

Theyre likely to be a lot less crowded in the near future, but we may need to leave just as much time to get to the gates - thanks to possible thermal screenings, tests, medical questionnaires and new physical-distancing measures at check-in, security, immigration and boarding stations.

In fact, its likely the heavy lifting in any new hygiene regime will have to be done in our airport terminals. And preferably before we take off, rather than after we land.

Will we need to flash a new immunity passport alongside our regular one?

Will we have to take an antibody test?

Were used to self-service bag drops, but you can expect automation to go up another level in the near future, too - from self-service check-ins to contactless store checkouts, from restaurants-by-appointment to new protocols around crowded luggage carousels.

Oh, and careful you dont trip over that new sanitising robot!

Well get used to it.

After 9/11, we huffed and puffed about 100ml liquid rules and removing shoes, but did it anyway. Increased security and healths are a bother, but they also reassure us.

Thats the crucial bit.

Many of us want to travel. We miss it. But right now, were scared. As restrictions ease, if countries unlock and Covid-19 is contained (touch wood), we need to see protocols that make us feel safe about flying with our families again.

We need to see them, not just from airlines and airports, but from governments, aviation and health agencies, the EU and the rest.

One word will dominate travel from here: Trust.

And the bad news?

Those mega-sales are unlikely to last.

Apart from making no business sense, if airlines are failing, leaving seats empty, trimming schedules and letting staff go, once demand recovers, prices can only go north.

By then, however, that may be a good problem to have.

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Like what you're reading? Subscribe now to our free travel newsletter. 'Travel Insider' is written by our award-winning Travel Editor, Pol O Conghaile.
People gather at the beach on April 30, in Huntington Beach, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all beaches in state to close after April 30 to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Michael Heiman/Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all beaches to close, describing closures as a "temporary pause."

Two beach cities in Orange County are taking legal action against the order, however, calling it unnecessary.

"The action by the State prioritizes politics over data," said Lyn Semeta, mayor of Huntington Beach, one of the two locales pursuing legal action.

Dana Point, the other litigious city, "will be seeking a temporary restraining order," said Patrick Munoz, a city attorney.

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Starting Friday, California's beaches are closed.

Describing the measure as a "temporary pause," Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday the beaches could reopen soon "if we can get some framework and guidelines to get this right."

But two beach cities in Orange County have balked at the order, and are now pursuing legal action.

"Given that Orange County has among the lowest per-capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the action by the State prioritizes politics over data, in direct contradiction of the Governor's stated goal to allow science and facts to guide our response to this horrible global pandemic," Lyn Semeta, mayor of Huntington Beach, one of the two litigious cities, said in a statement.

Huntington Beach's City Council voted 5-2 directing the City Attorney to challenge Newsom's order.

In addition to shutting down its beaches, Huntington Beach has cordoned off its bike paths, boat ramps, restrooms, parking lots, and associated recreational amenities, the statement said.

Thirty miles south of Huntington Beach, the city of Dana Point is also exploring legal action against Newsom's order.

Dana Point's City Council voted 4-1 to pursue legal action. The city will file a complaint on Friday, according to Dana Point City Attorney Patrick Munoz.

The city is "seeking a temporary restraining order against the governor and state of California for the order to shut down beaches in Orange County," Munoz said during the city council meeting.

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"The City will be seeking a temporary restraining order asking the Court to enjoin his order until a full hearing on the merits of the matter can occur," he told CNN.

"Why undo all the great progress?" Newsom asked in a Thursday press conference. "We can talk about that phase two in the next few weeks. The only thing that will set us back is behavior. Not an indictment of the people that wanted to go to the beach."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Pa. State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, foreground, joins protesters as they gather outside the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg on April 20, 2020. They are calling for Gov. Tom Wolf to reopen the state's economy during the coronavirus outbreak. State Rep. Bernstine is supporting the reopening of businesses. Read more

We all eagerly await the time when we can emerge from lockdown and society can be reborn. No one more so than those thrown out of work and desperate for their paychecks.

The slow pace of economic revival has brought protesters to state capitols, egged on by President Donald Trumps encouraging tweets. But for all the political tumult, the time when social distancing can successfully end is no mystery. Public health officials know exactly when it will be  when the country has broadly implanted three crucial steps: testing, more testing, and still more testing.

Testing for the presence of the virus in the population is our flashlight in the dark. Without it, we are left to stumble around blindly. Public health officials cant trace contacts of those who have become ill, so they cant get a clear picture of where the disease is spreading, who has been exposed, or where it is likely to spread next. They are left to feel their way around without knowing whats next.

Some other countries learned this lesson months ago and have been focusing their flashlights with encouraging results. Germany and South Korea are starting to lift social distancing restrictions based on aggressive federal testing policies. It is clear that national testing works.

 READ MORE: Tom Ridge: Selfish protests against stay-at-home orders dishonor Americas veterans | Opinion

How is national testing going here in the United States, the wealthiest country on Earth? For the most part, it isnt. The Trump administration has left states to fend for themselves without national coordination.

Individual states are not and were never equipped to defend the nation from a global threat. Thats why the Framers of the Constitution created the federal government. Asking the states to lead the fight against COVID-19 is like asking them to defend the country from a military threat. Imagine FDR announcing after Pearl Harbor that each state was on its own to fend off the armies of Germany and Japan.

Governors are desperate to relax the stay-at-home orders they instituted when the COVID-19 crisis threatened to overwhelm their health-care systems. But they cant act blindly and have been clamoring for federal help to perform the testing that they need. Acting too soon risks a resurgence of the virus that could be more widespread than the first round. What good would relaxing the orders do, if they soon had to be reinstituted, possibly in more stringent form?

Thirty-one states, mostly those that are more densely populated, need to significantly ramp up their testing to reach the necessary levels. Ten states need to add at least 10,000 tests a day. In New York, the number is 100,000; in New Jersey, 68,000.

The major holdup is the inability of the national supply chain to provide necessary testing supplies, like reagents and swabs. States with the greatest disease burden cant get what they need. If ever a crisis called for national coordination, this is it.

While Anthony Fauci has warned that we are doing too little testing to get the country to where it should be, President Trump continues to insist that states can find what they need on their own. In the meantime, hospitals across the country report having limited access to tests for diagnosing patients.

The desire of the protesters at state capitols to reopen society is certainly understandable. But they are protesting in the wrong place. State governments are hamstrung without federal coordination and support for testing.

If the protesters really want to end the lockdowns as quickly as possible, they should bring their grievance to the greatest source of delay  the White House. Thats where the real power lies to bringing the country back safely.

Robert I. Field holds a joint appointment as a professor of law at the Kline School of Law and a professor of health management and policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. He is an expert in public health law and policy and a member of The Inquirers Health Advisory Panel.
US regulators aiming at illegal mergers AP - 1 hour ago WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. competition regulators have mounted an effort to tighten enforcement against illegal mergers, in line with President Joe Bidens mandate for greater scrutiny to big business... $SPX : 4,594.54 (-1.46%) $DOWI : 35,476.29 (-1.21%) $IUXX : 15,302.96 (-1.98%)

Double Digit Gains for Wheat Barchart - Tue Jan 18, 11:42AM CST Wheat futures are trading with midday moves of +3% for the winter wheat market. SRW is up 18 3/4 to 24 1/4 cents. KC HRW is trading 21 1/2 to 24 1/2 cents higher in the front months. Spring wheat futures... ZWH22 : 769-0s (+3.71%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.2840 (+4.02%) KEH22 : 772-6s (+3.72%) KEPAWS.CM : 7.5395 (+3.82%) MWH22 : 903-6 (+2.90%)

Cattle Weaker Through Midday Barchart - Tue Jan 18, 11:42AM CST Fat cattle futures are trading 22 to 45 cents weaker today. Feeder cattle prices are down 65 cents to $1.17 in the front months through midday. Cash sales last week ran from $134 to $139, though USDA mentioned... LEG22 : 137.675s (-0.22%) LEM22 : 137.075s (-0.40%) GFF22 : 161.450s (-0.77%) GFH22 : 165.425s (-0.57%)

Corn Markets Weaker for Midday Barchart - Tue Jan 18, 11:42AM CST Midday corn prices are trading 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cents weaker so far to start the short week. FASs weekly Export Inspections report had 1.204 MMT of corn shipped during the week that ended 1/13. That... ZCH22 : 599-4s (+0.55%) ZCPAUS.CM : 5.8616 (+0.56%) ZCK22 : 600-0s (+0.46%) ZCZ21 : 588-6s (+0.77%) ZCPZ21US.CM : 5.7930 (-0.49%)

Soy Futures Red for Midday Barchart - Tue Jan 18, 11:42AM CST The domestic soy futures complex is weaker through midday after the extended weekend. Beans are 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 cents lower so far for Tuesday. Soymeal futures are down 2.86% to 3% at midday with double... ZSH22 : 1361-2s (-0.62%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.1867 (-0.62%) ZSK22 : 1371-0s (-0.62%) ZSX21 : 1234-0s (+1.79%) ZSPX21US.CM : 12.3270 (+1.90%)

Lean Hogs Firm at Midday Barchart - Tue Jan 18, 11:42AM CST Front month lean hog futures are 10 to 50 cents higher so far. The deferred August contract is down by a nickel at midday. USDAs National Average Morning Base hog price for Monday was withheld for confidentiality... HEG22 : 81.600s (+0.87%) HEK22 : 94.350s (+0.75%) KMG22 : 94.225 (+0.45%)

Cotton Prices Rallying Out of Weekend Barchart - Tue Jan 18, 11:42AM CST Coming out of the Monday holiday, cotton prices are 91 to 110 points in the black. Old crop futures are off their highs for midday, as March set the new LOC high at 121.37 cents. New crop prices are also... CTK21 : 89.48s (+3.77%) CTK22 : 117.71s (+1.06%) CTZ21 : 111.55s (+0.25%)
The Navy on Thursday awarded a much-anticipated $795 million contract to a Wisconsin-based shipbuilder to begin production on the first of the service's next-generation small-surface combatants.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine won the contract to design and build the first of the new guided-missile frigates. The contract also includes plans for up to nine more ships from the firm -- a deal that's ultimately worth more than $5.5 billion.

"The frigate will be an agile multi-mission warship," James Geurts, the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, told reporters after the announcement. "They'll operate in all environments and will be more lethal, survivable and have increased self-defense and local-area defense capability and capacity over previous small-surface combatants."

Related: Megadestroyer Zumwalt Delivered to the Navy After Years of Setbacks

The new frigate is an important part of the Navy's plans to modernize for more distributed operations, positioning the U.S. to defend against near-peer adversaries, such as China and Russia. Leaders say it will improve the service's ability to fight on both the high seas and near the shore, with more capabilities than littoral combat ships but a smaller price tag than cruisers and destroyers.

The Navy awarded its contract to Fincantieri about three months ahead of schedule, in a push to get the new frigate program moving. Another way it sped up the process was to build the frigate after an existing ship design.

Fincantieri beat out three competitors -- General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Austral USA and Huntington Ingalls Industries -- with its FREMM design that's already in use by the Italian and French navies. FREMM in Italian stands for European multi-purpose frigate.

"All this was done with an intense focus on cost, acquisition and technical rigor so that we got the best value for our warfighter and the taxpayer," Geurts said. "It's the best I've seen in the Navy thus far at integrating all of our teams together and it's a model we are building on for future programs."

The Navy plans to eventually buy 20 of the new frigates. Geurts said they expect delivery of the first ship in 2026, with the class reaching full operational capability by 2032.

Since the service is leaning heavily on an existing platform and technologies for the new ship, Rear Adm. Casey Moton, the program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, said he's confident the Navy will meet those timeframes. Current plans call for the frigate to use a modified version of the SPY-6 radar Raytheon is developing to keep the Navy's aging destroyers in the fight, along with Lockheed Martin's Aegis Combat System.

Vice Adm. Jim Kilby, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare requirements and capabilities, said the goal is for the frigate to be able to fight in "all spectrums of potential conflict." That includes being able to carry manned helicopters and unmanned aircraft, he said.

The design criteria also called for lots of space for future upgrades to the ship's systems, such as bigger radars or other updates the frigate might need to remain competitive decades from now.

"Though it's classified as a small-surface combatant, it really falls nicely in between our small-surface combatants and our large-surface combatants," Kilby said. "And I see it doing multiple things. This is going to be a real workhorse for the United States Navy, supporting distributed maritime operations in the future."

Since the Navy has higher survivability standards than European services, retired Adm. Rick Hunt, the former head of Naval Surface Force Pacific who now works for Fincantieri, told Defense News last summer that the company added about 300 tons of steel to its FREMM design to qualify to compete for the contract.

Hunt also told the outlet future crews can expect "officer quality" when it comes to berthing compartments with private showers in each room.

"The most you'll see in normal steaming is [four-person staterooms]," he told Defense News. "...That was a fight. That was a back-and-forth with big Navy and again an area that we came to an agreement on, and we're holding [to] that."

This isn't the first big job Fincantieri Marinette Marine has gotten from the Navy. In recent years, the firm has been building freedom-class littoral combat ships for the service.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Read More: Top Marine General Wants a New Class of 'Light' Amphibious Warship
One of the big asymmetries in todays Washington is that our systems rules and procedures make it much easier to increase spending than to cut it. There is an enormous structural inertia around spending, once initiated. One need no longer have the continuing consent of the American people, through a majority of both houses of Congress  or even one of them  to spend new taxpayer money every year. This is the opposite of how our constitutional system of government was designed. The struggle over Obamacares risk corridor payments to insurers, resolved with a Supreme Court victory for the insurers over the taxpayers, illustrates the challenge.

Obamacare was designed around a series of lies, one of which was the notion that it was economically viable to force insurance companies to cover an older, sicker population at the same premiums as younger, healthier people simply by coercing lots of younger, healthier people to sign up along with them. One of the mechanisms to bail out any insurer who collided with economic reality was the risk-corridor program. For the first three years of the exchanges, risk-corridor payments were supposed to compensate the losing insurers at the expense of winning insurers. (A similar program, the risk-adjustments program, did the same thing, except that risk corridors made payments based on actual insurer costs, whereas the risk adjustments made payments based on an actuarial assessment of the mix of each companys insureds.)

Because the drafters of the Affordable Care Act pretended that the two would even out, they never asked the Congressional Budget Office to score the cost of the risk-corridor program as if it would involve government spending. Indeed, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee version of the bill in 2009 contained an appropriation, but it was stripped out when the Senate adopted contrary language proposed by the Senate Finance Committee. Instead, the ACA was written with a statutory requirement that the government shall pay the insurers without reference to whether money would be appropriated for that purpose.

Story continues

In its very first year, in 2014, the risk-corridor program ran a $2.5 billion deficit, abetted by the fact that the Obama administration, in the spring of 2014, tinkered with the formula to make more payouts by changing the regulations written by HHS. The insurers lobbied Valerie Jarrett to have the administration commit that risk corridors should be operated without the constraint of budget neutrality. None of these actions reflected what Congress had before it when it originally passed the ACA in 2010. The executive branch was rewriting the rules, and the taxpayer would just have to foot the bill whether or not Congress ever appropriated a penny.

Marco Rubio ran a November 2013 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling for killing the risk-corridor program as a taxpayer-funded bailout of insurers. He set in motion a formal congressional rejection of consent to covering the risk-corridors deficit. By 2014, the Republican-controlled House was no longer willing to put up the money. Recognizing that Congress was not going to fund the program, the Obama administration got creative. In April 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (part of Health and Human Services), issued a Q&A that disclaimed any intent to ask for appropriated funds, continuing to pretend that the program would eventually break even:

We anticipate that risk corridors collections will be sufficient to pay for all risk corridors payments. However, if risk corridors collections are insufficient to make risk corridors payments for a year, all risk corridors payments for that year will be reduced pro rata to the extent of any shortfall. Risk corridors collections received for the next year will first be used to pay off the payment reductions issuers experienced in the previous year. . . . We anticipate that risk corridors collections will be sufficient to pay for all risk corridors payments over the life of the three-year program.

Shortly before the issuance of that memo, the CEO of CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield bluntly warned Jarrett that failing to cover cost overruns in the risk-corridor program would prove embarrassing to the Obama administration by resulting in a need to announce premium hikes: Uncertainty or confusion will equate to higher rates. This could confront the Administration with a sea of far larger premiums increases than expected. As a result, when HHS released the final rule in May 2014, it began promising full payments to issuers.

In December 2014, then-speaker John Boehner succeeded in getting a rider passed to the budget for the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) that incorporated Rubios proposal:

None of the funds made available by this Act . . . or transferred from other accounts funded by this Act to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesProgram Management account, may be used for payments under [the Risk Corridors statute].

Republicans had taken over the Senate in the November 2014 elections, putting an end to any possibility of passing an appropriation through Congress to make up the shortfall. The same rider passed the unified Republican Congress again in 2015. The risk-corridor deficit ultimately passed $12 billion.

Duly warned that Congress was not going to pay the difference, the insurers tried to make up the difference in premiums, as they had threatened would happen if they were not paid. A 2017 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that insurers making risk-corridor claims in 2015 had 7 percent higher premium increases over the next two years than did non-claiming insurers. Nonetheless, the insurers remained in the risk-corridors program, and sued the government on the theory that they had been promised payment.

This could have entered what has long been a gray area in federal spending law: While Congress can always repeal its own laws, there are situations where the Supreme Court has ruled that promises can be enforced on a breach-of-contract or taking-of-property theory. The leading case, dating from the Depression, involved highly sympathetic facts. The Court in Lynch v. United States ruled that Congress in the 1930s could not stiff combat-disabled World War I veterans out of payment on war risk insurance policies they bought over a decade earlier before shipping off to France.

But the insurers wanted to be paid for 2015 and 2016, too, not just the first year before Congress blocked any appropriations. These were years they went into with their eyes open, and in which they had raised premiums. They claimed that Obamas HHS and CMS were continuing to promise them payment  a claim that Justice Sonia Sotomayors opinion accepted with a straight face  when it was clear that those agencies were trying to get around the clearly expressed will of Congress. In fact, far from protecting the public purse, the Obama administration tried to settle the case in favor of the insurers in its last months.

Lynch, however, involved a purely retroactive claim: Congress didnt change its tune until after the soldiers had bought the policies. Courts applying Lynch and later cases of its type have been much more skeptical of efforts to prevent Congress from changing the prospective terms of ongoing programs. The insurers claim to have relied on previous promises was tenuous.

Monday, in Maine Community Health Options v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the appropriations rider had not repealed Congresss original promise that it shall pay recipients of the risk-corridor program, notwithstanding the fact that the lack of a CBO score meant that Obamacare was passed on the explicit assumption that the program would do no more than pay out what it took in. This is yet another example of the courts mopping up the incoherence and dishonesty of Obamacares legislative process. Only Justice Samuel Alito dissented, and only on narrow, technical grounds regarding whether the insurers could sue in court  not whether they were legally owed the money.

Notably, the Courts opinion avoided the question of a Lynch-like claim, and took the narrower tack of arguing that Congress could have made the risk-corridors program expressly subject to future appropriations and didnt, so just refusing to appropriate money did not end the legal obligation to pay the money. While this is arguably a defensible reading of past precedents on the appropriations process, it ignores the crucial context: Congress didnt bother with such language because it was told the program was going to break even, and it deliberately chose not to appropriate any money for it at the time.

The case also illustrates how much the current system is rigged to prevent eliminating categories of spending. Boehner had a majority of the House opposed to appropriating funds to cover risk-corridor deficits, and he had the leverage to get the Senate and the White House to agree. But he got that done under the regular budget process. Filibuster rules do not apply to budget bills, and they are hard to obstruct because without appropriations, the government is not supposed to be able to spend any money. To repeal the shall pay provision of the Obamacare statute, by contrast, Boehner would have needed 60 votes in the Senate just to send the bill to President Obamas desk, and even more than that in both houses to override a veto. So he passed the clearest possible statement of a majority of Congresss collective refusal to appropriate any more funds, and the Supreme Court treated it as nothing. No Congress ever appropriated the money, but it gets spent anyway.

The Founding Fathers would have assumed, when they drafted the Constitution, that giving taxpayer money to insurance companies would be the sort of thing that required annual appropriations  and that it would stop if Congress stopped voting for more money every year. This is why Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution provides that No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law, which was assumed at the time to require annual appropriations. As Madison argued in Federalist No. 58, this was the centerpiece of the Houses power over the other, indirectly elected branches: The House of Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose, the supplies requisite for the support of government.

We have wandered far from that plan, born as it was from the hard-won wisdom of how parliaments used the power of the purse to tame kings. Today, it requires only passive acquiescence, or partisan gridlock, for the money to keep spending itself. But it requires a broad and sustained national movement to trim even a penny of spending. This is not a recipe for government by the people.

More from National Review
When Congress first allocated money to help small businesses cope with the coronavirus, John Monaco sought a loan for his Nutley florist shop. Hes still waiting, even after a second round of aid became available.

This whole situation, Ill be honest with you as a small business owner, is horrible, said Monaco, owner of A Personal Touch. I hope and pray that within two weeks I can start to get back to some sort of normalcy. All we can do is pray.

The second round of the paycheck protection program, which offers loans to small businesses that turn into grants if they keep their employees, has sparked a second round of complaints.

We have had some people who have been able to get a loan but its not universal, said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., who said her office has gotten numerous complaints from small businesses still unable to navigate the loan process.

The process certainly has not been fixed, she said. There are so many frustrated people and so many small businesses. I just dont think were getting the support for small businesses that we need here. Were having all these businesses that cant get access.

Still, other New Jersey small businesses were able to get loans the second time around

The people who did it the last time, my understanding is those applications were kept by the banks and theyre going to get processed first, said Tom Bracken, president and chief executive of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.

That helped Ken Meyers, chief executive of MCT Dairies in Millburn, whose PPP loan will let him keep his 45 to 50 full-time workers on the payroll.

But he said he knows plenty of small-business owners not as fortunate. He wondered why the federal government sent stimulus payments to almost everyone, but has not provided a program big enough to help every small business that needed aid.

Being one of the winners, obviously I feel good, but knowing there are going to be others who are deserving out there who arent getting it is bothersome to me, Meyers said. It should have been open to what the need was, not to a set tranche of money.

This is a lottery. That to me is the only issue.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

Another winner was Ovadia Corp., a family-owned company in Little Falls that makes displays for jewelry. The loan is going to help the company keep its 16 employees and expand into making personal protective equipment, including face shields.

Were watching the news and theyre talking about all the shortages, Michael Ovadia said. "We sat down with some of our smartest folks. We could produce some face shields and personal protective equipment. Thats what weve been doing.

We have machinery and workers. The best use of their time is trying to address the pandemic."

After $349 billion in the first round and $310 billion in the second of the payment protection program, Congress needs to talk about a third round, said Rep. Andy Kim, a member of the House Small Business Committee, who reported complaints from small-business owners coming into his office as well.

Were going to right back in the same place in another week or two, said Kim, D-3rd Dist. I expect were going to have to put more funding into it.

Meanwhile, Monaco, the Nutley florist, still waits for help.

The coronavirus has cancelled weddings and other events. The churches who used to buy arrangements every weekend are closed for services.

Youre bailing out the airlines, youre bailing out the cruise lines, youre bailing out thee hotels, Monaco said. What about the small mom and pops, the dry cleaners, the florists, the card stores. Were forgotten.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com.
LEBANON  The parents of a six-week-old female child who died on March 28 of alleged malnutrition and neglect were arrested by Lebanon Police Department officers Wednesday afternoon, according to an LPD news release.

Shantell Ann Marie Swiercz, 23, and Kristian Ray Lee, 23, were each charged with first-degree manslaughter in Linn County Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon.

Judge Michael Wynhausen set Lees bail at $350,000 and Swierczs security at $250,000, saying that he found the suspects alleged conduct egregious. He also cited Lees criminal history and concerns that the duo could be flight risks if they were released from the Linn County Jail.

According to the LPD news release, officers and staff from the Lebanon Fire Department responded to a call at 860 Park Ave., Apt. 2, at 10:48 p.m. March 28.

During the course of the investigation, detectives learned the child had died of malnutrition and lack of care.

Swiercz has no criminal history, said defense attorney Keith Rohrbough, who represented the defendants during Thursdays session of in-custody teleconference arraignments.

Prosecutor Richard Wijers noted that Lee has two convictions for failure to appear as well as a conviction from 2016 on two counts of first-degree arson.

Lee pleaded guilty in the arson case and was sentenced to 19 months in prison.

The arsons were field fires that were deliberately set. According to a 2016 news release from the Linn County Sheriffs Office, seven fires were started in the ditch line in the 37000 block of Rock Hill Drive, outside Lebanon, between late July and late August 2016. Lee confessed to starting five of the fires, the news release stated.

The next court hearing for Swiercz was scheduled for May 18.

The next hearing for Lee was scheduled for May 26.

Those with information about the manslaughter case should contact Lebanon Police Department Detective Chris Miner at 541-258-4314.

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Sichuan Expressway Company Limited (HKG:107) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the covering analyst making substantial upgrades to this year's statutory forecasts. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. Investor sentiment seems to be improving too, with the share price up 4.7% to CN2.00 over the past 7 days. It will be interesting to see if this latest upgrade is enough to kickstart further buying interest in the stock.

Following the latest upgrade, the one analyst covering Sichuan Expressway provided consensus estimates of CN5.9b revenue in 2020, which would reflect an uneasy 8.6% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to dive 89% to CN0.04 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analyst had been forecasting revenues of CN4.6b and losses of CN0.10 per share in 2020. So we can see that this has sparked a pretty clear upgrade to expectations, with higher revenues anticipated to lead to profit sooner than previously forecast.

Check out our latest analysis for Sichuan Expressway

SEHK:107 Past and Future Earnings May 1st 2020

It will come as no surprise to learn that the analyst has increased their price target for Sichuan Expressway 37% to CN2.10 on the back of these upgrades.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would also point out that the forecast 8.6% revenue decline is roughly in line with the historical trend, which saw revenues shrink -9.0% annually over the past five years Yet our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are expected, in aggregate, to see their revenues rise 10% over the coming year. It seems clear that while the revenue forecasts are all negative, Sichuan Expressway's revenue decline is expected to be less severe than that of the industry itself.

Story continues

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that the consensus now expects Sichuan Expressway to become profitable this year. Fortunately, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting revenues to grow slower than the wider market. With a serious upgrade to expectations and a rising price target, it might be time to take another look at Sichuan Expressway.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have analyst estimates for Sichuan Expressway going out as far as 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Candidates begin to file nominating petitions as election year kicks off

Two local petitions have already been filed for local seats up for election in 2022.
Two days after Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh announced a four-hour curfew relaxation in the state, Ludhiana police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal took to Facebook to clear residents doubts. In a Facebook live session, Agrawal asked residents to stay indoors and venture out only if absolutely necessary.

Stating that the government has announced a relaxation from 7am to 11am, Agrawal said, But that doesnt mean people should venture out everyday. The relaxation is only for buying essential items from nearby shops.

He also asked shopkeepers to take the responsibility of ensuring social distancing between customers. In case of violations, the shop would be sealed, he warned. Police have seized two shops so far for violations. He also advised residents to opt for home delivery of groceries and other necessary items.

He also informed that the Ludhiana police have marked four containment zones in the city.

ON SHOPS

On residents queries about opening of shops, the police commissioner said that only standalone shops will be permitted to open. Village shops can also open but they should follow all guidelines issued by the government.

ON ELECTRICAL REPAIRS

The police chief also added that those involved in the repair of water purifiers, ACs and other electronic gadgets can do so after availing their e-pass. Replying to a query on opening of barber shops, the police chief replied that such shops cannot be allowed to function as social distancing goes for a toss at such places.

The police chief also added that they have received many inquiries from labourers who wanted to return to their native places. Such people can reach out to authorities through COVA app and fill in their details, such as district where they are based, and the government would arrange for their transportation.

ON INDUSTRIAL UNITS STARTING WORK

A Facebook user Dalbir Singh asked question on functioning of the dying industry. The police chief said that both essential and non-essential industries can start functioning but on the condition that they follow the guidelines issued by the government and ensure proper physical distancing between labourers, arrange accommodation for them on factory premises or provide proper transport facility. The industry also has to arrange proper medical facility for the labourers. The factory owners can apply for passes for labourers through the industry department.

VOLUNTEERS ON CURFEW DUTY

Another Facebook user complained about misbehaviour by volunteers. In the reply, the police chief said that the department is taking stern action against volunteers found guilty. He also said that the department is also taking care of health of volunteers, who proved great support to the police in curfew duties.

The police chief said that courier and post service is on. Taxi service and other shops have to wait for the guidelines.

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Kim Kardashian has been looking after her four kids as she oversees the promotion of her SKIMS line and new KKW Fragrance with her mother Kris Jenner.

But somehow the 39-year-old TV star and entrepreneur has also managed to keep up her challenging workout routine.

On Friday the TV vet shared what her morning workouts are like and they seem far from easy with three sets of '60 ab crunches and 20 dumbbell hammer curls,' among other repetitions.

Shw works hard for this body: Kim Kardashian has been looking after her four kids as she oversees the promotion of her SKIMS line and new KKW Fragrance with her mother Kris Jenner. But somehow the 39-year-old TV star and entrepreneur has also managed to keep up her challenging workout routine

Tough stuff: She does '3 rounds of 30 barbell bicep curls, 20 dumbbell hammer curls, 20 barbell skull crushers, 20 dumbbell skull crushers and 60 ab crunches,' according to one Instagram Stories snap

She does '3 rounds of 30 barbell bicep curls, 20 dumbbell hammer curls, 20 barbell skull crushers, 20 dumbbell skull crushers and 60 ab crunches,' according to one Instagram Stories snap.

In two images Kim's feet can be seen as she wears sneakers for her workout.

There is workout equipment on the floor like dumbbells. Kim has a gym in her Hidden Hills, California mansion and also one at the Wyoming ranch.

A lot of lifting: There is workout equipment on the floor like dumbbells. Kim has a gym in her Hidden Hills, California mansion and also one at the Wyoming ranch

She has been working out via FaceTime with her personal trainer Melissa Alcantara.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star also shared a look at the new fitness book Alcantara has come out with.

The TV star even wrote the foreword.

'We really connected when I saw her before and after pictures on Instagram,' said Kim.

'So proud': The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star also shared a look at the new book her Alcantara has come out with. The TV star even wrote the foreword. 'We really connected when I saw her before and after pictures on Instagram,' said Kim

The petite wonder also called her 'open and motivating.'

'She has been here at my house every morning at 5:45 am ready for workouts,' added the Selfish author.

'This book gives you a while workout plan, a whole calendar, with food options and her whole story on where she got to now and I am so proud of her. I cannot wait to read this and for you guys to read it, go get it.'

Meanwhile, Kim has posted an image from Wyoming in a buggy with Kanye. Kim is in the passenger seat as she flashes two peace signs.
It depends on who you ask. The iron ore billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest wants Australia to take the money. This week he became the personification of the capitalists Lenin had in mind, the capitalists Beijing hopes will prevail in Australia's debate. Forrest has the great privilege of free speech, still available in Australia though long forbidden in the People's Republic of China. And he's entitled to his views. He's also entitled to considerable respect. He is one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs and perhaps its most impressive philanthropist. Loading But on this, Forrest has chosen to campaign for a foreign authoritarian political movement. He made the case for Australia to surrender. Any inquiry into the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 should be shelved until after the US elections in November, he said. Why? His stated logic was that "there's a bloke in the White House who really wants to stay there and he's pushing blame as fast as he possibly can and from anywhere else but himself. I don't think this should be politically orientated." This may look like a compromise but it's a formula for capitulation. First, Beijing is not going to agree to an independent inquiry at any time  this year, next year or next century. To delay it today is to deny it permanently.

Second, Forrest implies that the Morrison government is just a Trump puppet. This is a clever way to discredit Morrison and the whole idea of an inquiry. This is, in fact, one of Beijing's talking points, Australia "dancing to the tune" of the US. In truth, the proposal came from Canberra, indeed from Morrison himself, developed through the National Security Committee of the cabinet. It has since been endorsed by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and the 27 nations of the European Union. Perhaps the EU is another Trump puppet? Third, Forrest is saying that Australia's motive is political, while China's is not. This is, of course, ridiculous. The ultimate aim of every policy of the Chinese Communist Party is the further entrenchment of the Chinese Communist Party. Says who? The party itself, at its 19th National Congress in 2017: "Party, government, military, civilian, and academic; east, west, south, north, and centre, the Party leads everything. But Forrest went a step further. He ambushed Australia's Health Minister, Greg Hunt, at a press conference in Melbourne this week by bringing a Chinese official, unannounced, and giving him the podium. Forrest had every right to be there. He has worked hard and effectively to help Australian governments procure essential medical equipment to meet the pandemic.

The press conference was to announce that Forrest had used his connections in China to procure 10 million virus test kits for use in Australia. He put up the $320 million to buy them, although the Australian taxpayer is to reimburse him. Hunt had no idea that Forrest planned to bring China's consul-general to Victoria along to make a presentation of his own. The Australian minister stayed calm in the face of the poor etiquette, but, once again, it raises the question of Forrest's interests. Loading It's not just Forrest, whose Fortescue Metals group counts China as its biggest customer. Another China-dependent West Australian billionaire, Kerry Stokes, chairman of Seven West Media, took a similar position this week, calling for an Australian backdown. So, too, did the national president of the Australia-China Business Council, David Olsson, whose day job is as a lawyer advising Australian companies on entering the Chinese market. These business people are deploring the confrontation as a "blame game" or "tit for tat". Which is a way of giving Beijing equal moral standing with Australia on this.

You decide where the moral balance lies: One allowed a global pandemic to ravage the earth; the other wants an independent international inquiry. Is this a "blame game"? One threatens the other with illegal economic coercion; the other stands its ground while its Prime Minister declines to criticise Beijing and says China's position is "a matter for China". Is this "tit for tat"? All of which is exactly as prophesied only last week. "An Australian prime minister who ends up in conflict with China cannot expect any support or solidarity from the Australian business community," wrote Malcolm Turnbull in his new memoir, A Bigger Picture. "Overwhelmingly, theyre totally invested in the economic benefits of the relationship." Fortunately, these craven characters do not get to decide national policy. There is more at stake than money. Australia has three big interests to protect in dealing with China. First and foremost is its sovereignty. If Australia buckles, "Beijing will see that it can use economic threats to change behaviour and continue to use them, if anything it may accelerate its willingness to use them against Australia," suggests Zack Cooper. Capitulation is Australia's path to vassaldom. The demands would never end.

Second is social harmony. Australia has a Chinese Australian community of 1.2 million people, overwhelmingly a national asset, not a liability. It must be protected from Communist Party demands and nurtured as a source of Australian strength. "If we begin distrusting our own citizens," says Jason Yat-sen Li, "that will do more damage to Australian democracy than the Chinese Communist Party ever could." Third is the economy. The economy is best protected not by surrendering national sovereignty. That's a false trade-off. Once sovereignty is lost, Australia's control of its economic and commercial decision-making is soon lost too. Loading In fact, sovereignty and the economy are complementary. Australia can only protect its economic interests by keeping a robust national independence. This is also the best way of defending social harmony. The more control we cede to Beijing, the more mischief it will wreak in demanding the loyalties of Chinese Australians. The three core interests  sovereignty, social harmony and the economy  are an interlocked set of interests, and sovereignty is the greatest, the key to holding all three together for Australia's benefit.
File Photo

Chandigarh: In a bid to check the further spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the Punjab Government sought technological support and expertise from Israel to effectively manage the coronavirus outbreak in the state.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads globally, Israel has developed technological tools to mitigate and control it efficaciously.

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Coronavirus Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson said that Invest Punjab, in this regard, had coordinated a special Webinar with Embassy of Israel in India, which was focused on the technological advancements behind Israels COVID-19 outbreak management.

During the webinar several technological tools were discussed at length, which underscored the need and benefits of an integrated IT tool to not only provide updated information to the citizens but also assist the State Government in effective policy making backed by data and trends. The Punjab Government will be assessing the Israel use case and its potential benefits to scale up the State governments effort against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Spokesperson further said that this webinar was the latest in a series of continuous engagements between the Punjab and Israel Government across various key sectors to strengthen the States economy.

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Punjab governmentPertinently, Israeli experts have been closely working with the Punjab Government to develop a Water Management Plan focused on conserving and better managing the States water resources. Punjab State Farmers Commission has engaged the services of Israeli dairy expert Yehuda Sprecher to boost the dairy sector thereby supplementing the income of farmers in a result-oriented manner.

It may be recalled that a Punjab Government delegation, during its visit to Israel in 2018, led by the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh signed three MoUs with Israels ARAVA Institute, Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Galilee International Management Institute to address issues of Punjab farmers.

PhotoThe webinar was open for the Government agencies personnel only and was attended by Joint Development Commissioner Rural Development & Panchayats and Special Secretary Medical Education and Research Tanu Kashyap, ACEO Invest Punjab and Special Secretary Health Isha Kalia and Managing Director PSIEC, Member State Control Room Dr. Sumeet Jarangal and other officials of the state government.

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Amongst prominent speakers participated in the webinar discussions included Prof. Siegal Sadetzki, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health Services, Israel Ministry of Health, Ms. Rona Kaiser, Chief Information Officer, Israel Ministry of Health and was moderated by Mr. Ofer Fohrer, Director, Service and Data Management, Foreign Trade Administration, Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry.
T oo many workers are still falling through cracks in the Covid rescue package, a former cabinet minister warned today as he called for the lockdown to be eased as quickly as possible.

Mel Stride, chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, also stressed that Britain may struggle to bounce back with a V-shaped recovery.

He praised Chancellor Rishi Sunak for a bold and nimble response to the crisis to try to avoid millions being left jobless and tens of thousands of firms going bust. However, writing in the Evening Standard, former Commons leader Mr Stride said: There are still people and businesses falling through the cracks.

He highlighted three groups still in need of more support:

Workers who had just started jobs who still do not qualify for the furlough scheme despite the employment cut-off date being adjusted.

Company directors who often pay themselves a relatively small salary and take dividend payments from profits. They do not have these dividends considered when being assessed for the furlough grant.

Firms which were still waiting too long for desperately needed loans.

Mr Stride said Mr Sunak had responded to the economic crisis with packages of loans, grants, furlough schemes and guarantees which were introduced at pace. The Government had also responded to warnings from the committee, and Labour, that the self-employed needed more help and over problems being caused by lenders requesting personal guarantees on business interruption loans, he added.

He raised doubts over whether Britains economy could bounce back quickly with a V-shaped recovery, after a 35 per cent blow to quarterly GDP, as suggested by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

The Government must get two things right in order to maximise this prospect, he said. Firstly, it must ensure that during the crisis the economy is supported to the greatest possible extent. Here, overall, performance has been good. Second, the Government needs to navigate us out of lockdown as quickly as possible while protecting the capacity of the NHS, managing the public health risks and avoiding the health and economic catastrophe that would follow any subsequent significant surge in infections.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The mayor of Marikina City ordered the release of ten people arrested for supposedly holding a protest, amid a warning by the police that rallyists will be nabbed for violating quarantine rules.

The group Bayanihang Marikenyo at Marikina said the police took into custody volunteers of their community kitchens, which provide meals to families in 10 barangays amid the coronavirus crisis.

In a statement, Marikina Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro said he has "immediately ordered" the release of the volunteers, adding that the police "overreacted" and "misinterpreted" the placards they were holding which bore messages calling for mass testing.

Maaring may placards silang dala pero May 1 ngayon, eh, bahagi ito ng pag-e-exercise nitong constitutional rights nila na freedom of expression, Tedoro explained, adding that no case will be filed against them.

[Translation: They may have placards now but it's May 1, and it's part of exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression.]

Teodoro said the volunteers were even promoting the cause of the city government, which finally secured the Department of Health's approval to operate its own COVID-19 testing laboratory.

Labor groups have conducted online protests on Friday as the government continues to prohibit mass gatherings across the country to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Philippine National Police Chief General Archie Gamboa on Thursday warned that protesters will be arrested if they take to the streets, since this would be a violation of quarantine measures.

The PNP is implementing a zero-tolerance policy for quarantine violators, stressing that they will face immediate arrest, unlike in previous weeks when some were sent off with a warning. Local police have yet to release a report on the Marikina incident.
World is on verge of country defaults

French Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable Azerbaijan statements about Pecresse

US to return two valuable artifacts over 4,000 years old to Iraq

Germany may consider halting Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine

Israel successfully completes test of anti-ballistic missile system

Plane landing in Sochi struck by lightning

Putin and Aliyev discuss Ukraine situation

Greek PM Mitsotakis threatens Turkey with sanctions

Handelsblatt: US and EU abandon idea of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT international payment system

Artsakh President meets representatives of non-governmental organizations

Avalanche kills person in Iran

Erdogan says he is pleased with decline in volatility of lira

NEWS.am daily digest: 18.01.22

Turkey and Azerbaijan to start laying gas pipeline to supply Nakhichevan

UK begins to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons

Armenian PM holds meeting on Armenia's Transformation Strategy until 2050

Nagorno-Karabakh: Remains of another Armenian soldier found in Jrakan region

Tehran to not accept any border change in South Caucasus

Dollar holding relatively steady in Armenia

Armenia special representative: Future process depends on Turkeys constructiveness degree

Erdogan: Gas from Mediterranean to Europe can only be pumped through Turkey

Iranian Consul General discusses customs cooperation in Nakhijevan

Inecobank brings Apple Pay to customers

Parliament vice-speaker says he is familiar with Armenia proposals on border demarcation commission work

US Secretary of State to visit Kyiv

Russia, Iran and China to hold joint naval drills

OSCE Chairmanship on Aliyev statement: We reiterate our full support to Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Artsakh NSS denies rumors about penetration of Azerbaijanis into Karabakh villages

Indonesian parliament approves bill to relocate capital

Armenia PM to Bulgaria colleague: Our interstate relations are marked by continuous development of cooperation

Armenian President meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

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European Parliament new speaker elected

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Lacote: French institute to operate in Armenia (PHOTOS)

Ardshinbank Brings Apple Pay to Customers

Armenia President in UAE, meets with Emirati environment minister

Armenia legislature approves changes to several laws

Differences in data on coronavirus deaths in Armenia are corrected

360 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

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Scientists discover large breeding colony of icefish in southern Antarctica

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UN Secretary-General: Vaccinate whole world to end pandemic

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Armenian President meets with Executive Director of Mubadala Investment Company

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Passenger traffic at Armenian airports decreased by 30%

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Armenian MFA senior staff meets with ambassadors to European countries

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Exchange rates in Armenia

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Armenia President attends Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week forum opening

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President approves Artsakh government decisions on provision of financial assistance

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Azerbaijan to soon open bus routes to Artsakhs occupied Shushi

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(There will be no Latam-focused emerging market report on Friday, May 1, on account of the Labour Day holiday; coverage will be resumed on Monday, May 4) April 30 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies dropped on Thursday, and were set to end the month lower as continued signs of economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak added to concerns over stability in regional economies. Brazil's real and Mexico's peso fell about 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively. Latin American currencies were also seen underperforming over the month in comparison to their emerging market peers. The MSCI's index of regional currencies was set to fall around 3% in April, while a broader index of developing world currencies <.MIEM00000CUS was set to add 0.5%. Latin American stock markets retreated for the day. Like currencies, they were set to underperform their broader emerging market peers in April. The MSCI's index of regional stocks eyed a 5% gain in April, while an index of broader developing world stocks was set to add 9%. A swath of weak economic data from the developed world had bought with it fresh risk aversion, adding to existing concerns that many Latin American economies lacked the fiscal strength to combat the coronavirus. Data showed Mexico's economy was set to mark its sharpest quarterly contraction since 2009, although the preliminary figures were slightly better than expected. "Mexico stands to suffer the severest slow-down in Latin America and it looks as though Banxico is now ready to favour growth over currency stability," ING analysts wrote in a note. Adding to Mexico's woes, state oil company Pemex, hammered by crashing crude prices and a sharp depreciation of the Mexican peso, on Thursday posted a multibillion-dollar quarterly loss that was far wider than losses a year earlier. In Brazil, data showed the unemployment rate in rose to 12.2% in the three months to March, its biggest rise in three years, even as the full impact of the coronavirus was yet to be reflected. "President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the economy and cabinet departures have added a political risk premium to the BRL, which may remain embedded during 2Q20," ING analysts wrote. Brazilian stocks fell 3.5%, dragged lower by a more than 7% drop in Banco Bradesco SA, one of the country's largest lenders. The bank's first-quarter profit missed expectations, while its provisions for expected loan losses soared. Mexican and Chilean stocks fell more than 1% each. In Argentina, the country risk tightened 539 basis points to 3,449 over safe-haven U.S. Treasury paper on Thursday, amid speculation over the government's upcoming bond restructuring, traders said. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1903 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 922.57 0.32 MSCI LatAm 1652.67 -3.33 Brazil Bovespa 80230.96 -3.53 Mexico IPC 36149.19 -1.96 Chile IPSA 3966.76 -1.19 Argentina MerVal 32582.01 -1.817 Colombia COLCAP 1143.72 -0.19 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.4508 -1.80 Mexico peso 24.0340 -1.23 Chile peso 835.2 -0.05 Colombia peso 3956.43 -0.95 Peru sol 3.372 -0.19 Argentina peso 66.8300 -0.12 (interbank) (Reporting by Ambar Warrick and Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
analysis

Earlier this year, begging bans were announced in two states - Nasarawa and Kano - in Nigeria. There are some similarities as well as some differences between the two bans, and to a prior one in Kaduna state.

I have been reminded several times that the bans are street begging bans rather than a ban on the practice of Almajiranci - a system of Qur'anic schooling predominant in Northern Nigeria which sees young boys sent off to live with a Malam (teacher) to study the Qur'an. The boys often end up begging on the streets.

Nevertheless, based on my insights into Almajiranci during the course of my research, I would argue that the bans are really aimed at the practitioners of Almajiranci. In the case of Kano, the statement by the government went as far as to make this clear.

The issue has been back in the news in Nigeria again recently following the Northern Nigeria's Governors forum coming together to insist on a ban in the light of COVID-19. States have started the process of repatriating young almajirai.

Almajiranci-related begging hurts the sensibilities of Nigerians. This is not without reason. The sight of young boys on the streets, shivering in unseasonal temperatures and sleeping in the open, is very hard to take.

In my research I examined the mainstream discourses around Almajiranci. Populist policies such as the recent begging bans fit into mainstream narratives that seek to represent the Almajirai only in a negative light. What I found is that sensationalist story lines that portray Almajirai as beggars and violent misfits can cause the young men - and the system of education - to be viewed antagonistically. The COVID-19 pandemic and the headlines reporting that some almajirai have been infected also fits into this scenario. Almajirai as 'vectors of disease'.

The point here is: if almajirai are only conceived as beggars and as a nuisance then a ban, to many, takes care of that.

In this clip, I acknowledge why people would advocate for a ban. Almajiranci as it stands can be quite ugly to watch.

A look at the ban

There are lots of similarities in the structure of the bans announced by three different governments, with the focus appearing to be on all beggars on the streets rather than young almajirai per se.

But in the case of the Kano state ban it specifically sought to penalise Almajiranci. According to the Kano state government

when almajirai are caught begging, it is not only the beggar caught but his parents or guardians, and they will be taken to court to face the full wrath of the law.

In the course of my research, I found that young almajirai often beg for sustenance and that as soon as they reach a certain age, would much rather work than beg. There is, therefore, a temporal nature to this begging and it is something which can be stopped given other alternatives.

Many of Nigeria's urban poor also get by working in the informal economy, often for pittance. It's sometimes a wonder that the country doesn't have more beggars. In this light, why find creative ways of increasing the suffering of the already suffering?

The issue with the bans is not only that they are ill thought through, they are also premature and not enforceable. Not in a society that has no welfare system in place to care for its most vulnerable. Or a society which doesn't have the justice or prison system to accommodate those who will inevitably fall foul of the law. There are many steps to be taken first, before we get to a ban.

Recommendations

The logical steps would be to make sure every almajirai has been accounted for, and taken basic care of, before moving on to a ban in the long term. To use the cover of a pandemic to quickly rush through a ban seems disingenuous.

My argument as a scholar remains that, if you have a system of education in place with an estimated 8 to 10 million boys already in it, the logical thing to do would be to modernise these schools, widen the curriculum, improve living standards, improve the Malam's pedagogical skills, feed the boys and provide extra vocational training.

Even though it is quite problematic as it stands, the Almajiranci system was once functional. It did not deteriorate to what it is in a day. A ban will not undo decades of decay, so the government needs political will and continuity. It needs to acknowledge the need for a more holistic reform across its education system, to find a way to integrate Almajiranci. Northern Nigeria governors also need to act with one voice on this.

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I consider a ban a knee-jerk reaction that would drive the system underground. This might work for some of the governments of the states in northern Nigeria, if all that they want is for the poor to go and be poor elsewhere. A case of out of sight is out of mind.

Using the cover of a pandemic to push through an Almajiranci ban only panders to populism, it does not address the system's many other drivers and sustainers - social and economic. The country's groaning public school system is also incapable of absorbing millions of young Almajirai. As the schools stand, they are the preserve of the poor and the choiceless anyway.

Dr Hadiza Kere Abdulrahman, Lecturer in Inclusive Education, Bishop Grosseteste University
The Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council is preparing for the pandemics second wave by working with the governments of Canada and Taiwan to access much-needed medical supplies.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Tsao, right, and Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Jordan Reeves, center, are pictured at the foreign ministry on Wednesday last week after Taiwan donated 500,000 masks to Canada. (Canadian Trade Office)

The Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council is preparing for the pandemics second wave by working with the governments of Canada and Taiwan to access much-needed medical supplies.

Operation Star Blanket is an initiative led by the tribal council and proposes to access $100 million worth of medical supplies for the fight against COVID-19 from the Republic of China (Taiwan), according to the news release.

This effort will include shipping the supplies to Canada and distributing them to all First Nations and Indigenous communities to protect Indigenous peoples adequately.

The proposal has been submitted to the federal government for funding.

"Taiwan has high-quality and safe medical supplies with great manufacturing capacity. We know there is going to be second wave, and we want to ensure we are continuing our work together between Taiwan, the Indigenous peoples and the Government of Canada to ensure adequate supplies are on hand for all First Nation communities," stated Ken Chalmers, chief of Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation and chairperson of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council.

"We are taking the initiative to be a part of the solution in the fight against this pandemic. We believe this is a win for all parties involved. First Nations wins, the Trudeau government wins and Taiwan wins by working together to keep our citizens and communities safe."

Chalmers also explained that on Monday the government of Taiwan and the Canadian trade office in Taipei announced a donation of 500,000 medical masks for Canada. Those arrived Tuesday and are intended for the Canadian Red Cross to distribute to hospitals and communities in need, including Indigenous communities.

"Due to the work of Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation and the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council we were able to ensure that First Nations and Indigenous peoples were considered in the donation. The DOTC has been developing a relationship with the Government of Taiwan in order to ensure that all Indigenous communities in Canada are properly supplied with PPE (personal protective equipment)," Chalmers said.

The tribal council has an Indigenous team working in Ottawa, Winnipeg and in Taiwan.

Chalmers further stated that Taiwan currently has a personal protective equipment export ban in place, but thats scheduled to be lifted at the end of June.

Taiwan is a world leader with the COVID-19 response with only 430 infections and six deaths out of a population of 23 million, according to the release.

 mletourneau@brandonsun.com

 Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.
Scientists working on a vaccine for coronavirus could know within six weeks if it is likely to work.

Sir John Bell, Regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said 'several hundred' people have now been given the jab in the first British trial to find a vaccine.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he hopes 'some signal' about whether it works could emerge by mid-June.

A team at the University of Oxford, who are among the frontrunners in the race to find a vaccine, have joined forces with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to try to mass-produce it if their vaccine is successful.

Professor Bell said the NHS will have priority access to the inoculation, which will be provided on a cost-only basis during the pandemic, if it proves to be effective.

Sir John Bell, Regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said 'several hundred' people have now been given the jab in the first British trial to find a vaccine for coronavirus

'The priority is the heath service,' he said. 'If AstraZeneca makes [the vaccine] here, which they will, they've agreed to prioritise the UK. And the NHS will get "first dibs" on all the stuff made here.'

He added 30 to 40 million doses will be needed to be able to inoculate vulnerable people immediately, explaining: 'Once we get an approval by the regulators, we don't want to have to go back to the beginning and work out how we manufacture it at scale.

'We also want to make sure that the rest of the world will be ready to make this vaccine at scale so that it gets to populations in developing countries, for example, where the need is very great.'

Professor Bell said AstraZeneca would have a 'big job' in the UK because manufacturing capacity for vaccines 'isn't where it needs to be'.

Vaccination of volunteers for coronavirus began last week, with 510 signed up for the first clinical trial run by the University of Oxford.

The team working on the vaccine at the Jenner Institute hope that, if it proves to be successful, a million doses could be administered to the public in September.

Vaccination of volunteers for coronavirus began last week, with 510 signed up for the first clinical trial run by the University of Oxford (Pictured: Elisa Granato being injected as part of human trials in the UK for a coronavirus vaccine)

Pictured: The University of Oxford's Old Road Campus, which houses the Jenner Institute and is where human trials of a coronavirus vaccine are taking place

Sarah Gilbert, who is leading the project, has given the vaccine an 80 per cent chance of success.

Professor Bell said: 'The team in Oxford have done a great job, they've vaccinated several hundred people now, and we hope to get some signal about whether it's working by the middle of June.'

The team are using a weakened version of a virus which causes chimpanzees to get common colds, but cannot cause illness in humans.

Injected into human muscle cells, it encourages the cells to produce the protein that forms the 'spikes' on the outside of the coronavirus.

This is hoped to train someone's immune system to recognise the spike proteins, so they can fight off the coronavirus if they become infected in future.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said that investment in a new coronavirus vaccine is a risk worth taking for his company.

'It is definitely a risk to launch into development of this vaccine, but now is the time to take those risks - this is a terrible crisis we're facing, and we need solutions,' he told the Today programme.

A team at the University of Oxford, who are among the frontrunners in the race to find a vaccine, have joined forces with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to try to mass-produce it if their vaccine is successful (Pictured: The Old Road Campus of the University of Oxford)

Pictured: A tester wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) holds a test swab at a drive through coronavirus testing site at IKEA in Wembley, north London

Mr Soriot added he hoped that the vaccine would not be the only one produced.

'The demand, as you can imagine, will be large if vaccines work, and my hope is that several vaccines will be available to supply the needs of the various countries around the world,' he said.

Mr Soriot also said there is agreement between companies within the pharmaceutical industry to help one another with production, and that the intention is to supply the vaccine free of charge during the pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was 'hugely welcome news' that Oxford University had come to an agreement with AstraZeneca to scale up its coronavirus vaccine.

He tweeted: 'The Oxford vaccine is one of the most advanced in the world. Bringing together the best British science and the best of British business will give us the best possible shot at a vaccine.

'The science is uncertain, and no vaccine may work, but this deal gives the UK the best chance we can of a breakthrough that could defeat this awful virus. I'm sending best wishes for good fortune to all involved - for the sake of the nation and indeed the whole world.'

There are more than 70 potential vaccines being developed around the world, and Imperial College London will begin recruiting for its own trial in June.
NEW YORK, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) announces their involvement in a COVID-19 fundraiser benefitting medical staff and hospitals which are hit hardest by the pandemic. This benefit was initiated by Black Belt Magazine and Combat Go, in association with Bellator MMA. Together, they launched Fight Back, a virtual martial arts training event featuring the world's biggest Martial Artists. EIHS, a registered 501 (3) non-profit will facilitate all donations, 100% of which will go to the American Red Cross to continue and expand relief efforts around the nation.

Fight Back Virtual Training Event - May 4th - 8th

The weeklong virtual event will take place on Black Belt Magazine's Facebook page on May 4th to 8th. Each day covers over 8 hours of instruction from an A-list line up of world champions, trainers, and legends, including leading instructor Billy Blanks, Bill Wallace, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Lyoto Machida, Tim Kennedy, and Rickson Gracie. The event also includes the Facebook premiere of exclusive interviews featuring martial arts superstars Dan Inosanto, Michael Jai White, Carlos Machado, Demetrious Johnson, and more.

"My heart and prayers go out to all who are suffering through this crisis or providing care for loved ones who are afflicted. And my greatest respect to those volunteering in service to others. This is the time to stand together, under one flag, and do what we can to help America and our fellow citizens," said Nasser J. Kazeminy, Chairman of Ellis Island Honors Society.

"During these uncertain times, it gives us hope to see how people all over the world are finding new and innovative ways to stay connected," said George Chung, former World Karate Champion, CEO and co-founder of Jungo TV. We are honored to be part of this global martial arts experience Fight Back with our partners Black Belt Magazine, Bellator, and Ellis Island Honors Society to support the American Red Cross in the global fight to end COVID-19."

More details about the event can be found on Black Belt Magazine's website and Combat Go's Facebook page.

About Ellis Island Honors

The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) was founded in 1984 at the behest of President Ronald Reagan with the goal of commemorating the significant role immigration and the immigrant spirit have played in the founding and growth of the United States. EIHS is the sponsor of the Ellis Island Medals of Honor which ranks among the nation's most prestigious awards.

www.EIHonors.org

Media Contact: Otto Coca, [email protected], 212-755-1492

SOURCE Ellis Island Honors Society

Related Links

https://www.eihonors.org


Mrs Serial Killer

Director - Shirish Kunder

Cast - Jacqueline Fernandez, Manoj Bajpayee, Mohit Raina

Much before Mrs Serial Killer even begins killing, youd wish she just abandon going after her target and focus on you instead. Youd be willing to come quietly, without putting up any struggle at all. She could even torture you first; youll let her. If she messes up  as she tends to  and allows you to escape, youll return to her lair. This is a much better proposition than having to endure even a single extra minute of the new Netflix film, starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Manoj Bajpayee as a couple from hell.

From the director of Joker (not that one) and the writer of Happy New Year (exactly the one youre thinking of), comes a film that somehow represents a career low for them both. Mrs Serial Killer has the emotional complexity and the progressive attitude of an Ekta Kapoor serial. At one point in the film, the least morally questionable character suggests that it is odd for an unmarried woman to visit a gynaecologist.

Watch the Mrs Serial Killer trailer here

I dont exaggerate when I say that each of its central characters is, to some degree, a psychopath. It is established fairly early on that all is not well with Sona, the woman Jacqueline plays. In one of the films opening scenes, Sona decides that the best way to tell her husband that she is pregnant is to pretend that her house has been broken into by a deviant while he is away. Like virtually every scene in the film, its staggeringly ill-conceived, forgive the pun.

But little does poor Sona know that her husband will soon be embroiled in a Nithari-like case, after several dead bodies of unmarried pregnant girls are discovered, poorly hidden, at their sprawling Nainital house. With no lawyer willing to take on the case, Sona, who single-handedly seems to be pushing feminism three decades into the past and redefining what it means to be a doting wife, pays a visit to an advocate her gynaecologist husband once treated for some reason. Convinced that her husband is innocent, Sona drives up to the old lawyers mansion and discovers that hes on his deathbed, living out his final days in a room that looks like a Thai strip club.

Jacqueline Fernandez in a still from Mrs Serial Killer, the new Netflix India film.

In one of the films earliest unintentionally hilarious moments, the lawyer surprises everyone by appearing for the first hearing via video call, without even informing the prosecution, the judge, or even his client that he was going to pull the stunt. After the initial hearing, the lawyer confesses that the evidence does indeed seem to be stacked against Sonas husband and comes up with the most preposterous idea. He tells Sona that to clear her husbands name, she must commit a copycat murder, so that everyone thinks that the killer is still out there.

It came as somewhat of a surprise that Sona isnt even the protagonist of the film, with the men being given the meatier roles. Shes frighteningly passive as a person, always waiting to be told what to do, and gullible beyond belief. It doesnt help that Jacqueline delivers a poor performance, but in all honesty, even Meryl Streep would have a difficult time delivering some of these lines with a straight face.

For instance, did Manoj Bajpayee ever imagine while filming the masterpiece Aligarh, that less than five years later hed appear in a film that would require him to yell the words I am not a f**king ice cream at the top of his voice? Probably not. Watching Bajpayee flail about in the role is sort of like catching an uncle of yours red-handed in a seedy part of town. You clock each other for a second, and silently agree to not breathe a word of it to anyone else. Youve both been caught in a compromised position.

Also read: Guilty movie review: Karan Johar and Netflix atone for past sins, Kiara Advani is a revelation

But while Jacqueline butchers the Hindi language, director Shirish Kunder displays a flagrant disregard for the language of cinema. Mrs Serial Killer has some of the worst greenscreen work Ive ever seen, and Kunders idea of symbolism seems to be restricted to arranging a piece of rope to look like you  the viewer  are being flipped off.

And thats the overall emotion that Mrs Serial Killer leaves you with. Not only does it disrespect your intelligence, it pretends --for a brief time towards the end -- that it has been in on the joke all along. It has none of the tongue-in-cheek chuckles that producer Farah Khans Main Hoon Na did, but is, instead, a strong contender for one of the worst films of 2020.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar
The cast of Australian television show Neighbours have sent greetings to residents of a Portstewart housing estate who sing and dance to the theme tune every morning.

Residents of Castleton Park in the seaside town started gathering outside their homes to cheer up Dorothy Lennox, who lives on the street and was struggling with isolation during the coronavirus outbreak.

A video of the new tradition has now made its way to Australia and caught the attention of the long-running soap's cast.

Speaking to the BBC's Newsline programme, Ms Lennox said: "I knocked [her neighbour] Elizabeth's door one morning because I felt down and depressed and said to her 'come on out here and dance with me for the NHS'.

"So she came out and she and I danced. We had no music or anything, we just danced and that is how it all started," said Dorothy.

The residents step out of their houses at 10.30am every morning to sing and dance to various songs, always finishing on the Neighbours theme tune.

Resident Sarah-Jane Robertson said they all pick different songs every day but the Neighbours theme tune "just fitted".

"It sort of became our theme tune and we just finish with it every single day", she said.

In the video actor Stefan Dennis, who plays Paul Robinson in the hit Australian soap, thanked Castleton Park for their support and asked them to "keep on staying safe".

"To all the wee folk of Castleton Park in Portstewart, this one's for you," he said.

The video included clips from well-known cast members dancing and waving to their fans in Portstewart.

They included actor Alan Fletcher, who plays Karl Kennedy, and Jackie Woodburne who plays his ex-wife Susan Kennedy and who is originally from Carrickfergus.

Dorothy Lennox said it was a shock to receive the message.

"It was brilliant," she said.

"It is wonderful to think that they would be thinking of a wee town like ours and send a video through of their cast. It was very, very special - something we will always remember."

She paid tribute to the other residents of Castleton Park.

"All good neighbours. They would not let you down at any time," she said.
Los Angeles, May 1 : Director Jon M. Chu says he is disgusted by the scam about casting for sequels of the hit movie "Crazy Rich Asians".

Chu said while sequels to the hit romantic comedy are in the works, he and producers are not currently casting for "new lead roles" -- as stated by some press releases and social media posts. The false communicative pieces have been taken down, reports variety.com.

Chu took to his Twitter account to express his disgust after a user named Alan Baltes, who claimed to be an actor and casting associate, shared a notice about the casting.

According to the notice, the makers were casting Asian actors, ages 20s through 40s, for lead roles via "live Zoom auditions" for the supposed "Crazy Rich Asians" sequels -- "China Rich Girlfriend" and "Rich People Problems". It also stated that there's also a part for a Caucasian female between ages 25 and 35.

The post said people who were willing to be considered for roles had to pay Baltes a $99 "submission fee" virtually.

"I kept reading it, and when it said '99 dollars', I was like, 'This is f**ked up,'" Chu told variety.com, adding: "There's so many scams like that in L.A. anyway and to actually target, specifically, Asian actors, was very frustrating."The director shared that he "first alerted about the notice when he was tagged in a tweet, after which he notified Twitter and flagged Warner Bros.' legal department".

After posting his own reaction, Chu said he was blocked by Baltes on Twitter. Baltes' account has since been deactivated.

Chu described the scam as a "direct attack".

"Asian American actors finally get the opportunity or the hope that there are roles and parts out there. People have this light inside of them to pursue this dream that they never thought was possible before, and to take advantage of that and know that you can take $99 for a fake audition is just disgusting," said Chu.

"To put on top of that this time, when we're being othered and we're being attacked on the streets, is even more disgusting," Chu added.

He once again clarified, saying: "We're so far from it (casting). We don't have a casting director. We have never said, 'Hey, let's look at people who are out there.' We've done zero. We don't even have a script."
Lauding the efforts of medical workers and police personnel in the fight against COVID-19, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said they are working beyond the normal call of their duty during these difficult times and provided 4,900 protective kits to them.

These protective kits have been readied by Kendriya Bhandar, a cooperative society for central government employees and people at large under the aegis of the Ministry of Personnel, Public grievances and Pensions.

Singh said the country has been engaged in a war against coronavirus for the last several weeks. "While most of the citizens have been home bound following the regulations imposed due to the countrywide lockdown, some persons viz, medical and police personnel, have been working beyond their normal call of duty in these difficult times," he said.

Singh, the minister of state for personnel, applauded the selfless service of the medical fraternity and the police force and handed over 4,900 protective kits put together by Kendriya Bhandar, comprising of sanitizers, hand wash etc. for the use of medical and police personnel as a token of appreciation for their work.

The kits were handed over to the representatives of the health ministry and Delhi Police on Friday in a small event held at the minister's residence.

"The norms of social distancing were observed during the event," it said.

Earlier this month, Singh had handed over 2,200 essential kits of edible and household items prepared by Kendriya Bhandar to local authorities here for distribution to the needy.

Kendriya Bhandar's Managing Director Mukesh Kumar said medical professionals and police personnel have been working tirelessly for the safety and security of the masses.

"We have made these kits as a token of our appreciation towards their selfless work," Kumar told PTI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
If you own shares in Alexco Resource Corp. (TSE:AXU) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market.

Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.

View our latest analysis for Alexco Resource

What AXU's beta value tells investors

Given this level of beta, if the future looks like the past, we could therefore consider it likely that the stock price will experience share price volatility that is roughly similar to the overall market. Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how Alexco Resource fares in that regard, below.

TSX:AXU Income Statement May 1st 2020

Does AXU's size influence the expected beta?

Alexco Resource is a noticeably small company, with a market capitalisation of CA$280m. Most companies this size are not always actively traded. It doesn't take much money to really move the share price of a company as small as this one. That makes it somewhat unusual that it has a beta value so close to the overall market.

Story continues

What this means for you:

Alexco Resource has a beta value quite close to that of the overall market. That doesn't tell us much on its own, so it is probably worth considering whether the company is growing, if you're looking for stocks that will go up more than the overall market. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Alexco Resources financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:

Financial Health: Are AXUs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Past Track Record: Has AXU been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of AXU's historicals for more clarity. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Project to preserve Black churches gets $20M donation; Mayfield church first to receive funds
(Natural News) Over the last two months, we have watched in horror as Big Pharma and its death science puppets like Dr. Fauci appear to have taken over the White House and the Trump administrations response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, we have yet more confirmation that Big Pharma has completed its coup against the United States of America, capturing President Trump who is now apparently pivoting to mandatory vaccines as part of the so-called warp speed project being run by Big Pharma (and pushed by Dr. Fauci).

This comes on the heels of the news that Dr. Fauci is now tied to funneling money to communist Chinas Wuhan virology lab that developed the coronavirus as a biological weapon. Even according to Newsweek, which caters to globalist agendas, Dr. Fauci was right in the middle of the cash injections to the communist death science industry. This is the man who now appears to be directing Trumps response to the coronavirus for America.

Now, Mac Slavo from SHTFplan.com has documented Trumps pivoting to the new Big Pharma agenda to turn every American into a guinea pig for a dangerous, large-scale medical experiment involving unsafe, barely-tested coronavirus vaccines. It appears that Trump has now been captured by Big Pharma and is about to sacrifice the health of the entire nation to the depopulation agenda of Big Pharma mad scientists and the evil, twisted globalists who push depopulation via vaccines.

Will Trump realize his deadly error and revolt against the death science industry? Or will he allow America to be destroyed by it?

Heres the full story from Mac Slavo, via SHTFplan.com:

MEDICAL TYRANNY: TRUMP PIVOTS TO MANDATORY VACCINATIONS UNDER OPERATION WARP SPEED

President Donald Trump now has a new goal: Operation Warp Speed. Thats a partnership with pharmaceutical companies and the military in a rush to create a coronavirus vaccine that will be mandatory. Hes stepping into Bill Gates shoes.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the Trump administration is organizing a Manhattan Project-style effort to drastically cut the time needed to develop a coronavirus vaccine, with the goal of making enough doses for most Americans by years end. Instead of eliminating the police state and tyranny, Trump is doing the opposite. Hes now sided with Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci making him complicate in the removal of peoples basic human rights.

Next in Coronavirus Tyranny: Forced Vaccinations and Digital Certificates

Its time to call a spade a spade, and a tyrant a tyrant. Brian from the YouTube channel High Impact Flix detailed the problems with vaccine and how quickly Trump pivoted to help the biggest and most corrupt pharmaceutical companies in the world.

I wanna ask you a question. Are you really against vaccines? Are you against government-subsidized, taxpayer-funded, pharmaceutical benefiting, Bill Gates supported, vaccines? Now let me ask you this question: are you for or against Donald Trump? Are you for or against Barack Obama? Do you suffer from cognitive dissonance? Are you trying to hold two mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed ideas or beliefs in your minds at the same time?

The mainstream media is now saying this is a good thing, Trump is doing the right thing, and their reporting of it should concern anyone who wants the freedom to decide what goes into their body. At 2:28 in the above video, there is a clip of Trump saying people have to take the shot and get the vaccination.

Wait til you see the name of the operationI thought no way. No. It cant be this blatant. And if this is true, theres no way people are still gonna be for Trump after thisCalled Operation Warp Speed, the project will join pharmaceutical companies and with government agencies and THE MILITARYtheyre all in bed together, guys!

Weve known this! Now, theyre just putting it in our faces! Look, see? Heres that thing you can do about it! Were gonna get the vaccine going! Youre gonna have to have vaccine certifications!

Brian doesnt mince words:

Are you really still for Master Trump? You know people were checked out. You guys who are for Trump now, you call people who were for Obama, the signing of the NDAA and the resigning of the Patriot Act under Obama, you said: oh thats thats tyranny! This is a tyrant! Hes acting in a despotic manner! You were right. But then Trump comes along and does the same thingjust like Obama did. SILENCE!Cuz everybody that supports Trump that was against Obamaare nothing but a bunch of hypocrites and thats why our country and our world is goin down.

Because people are not gonna stand fast on, and hold firm to the truth!

What has the world come to?

This news isnt going to sit well with some, but we have to be steadfast when it comes to our rights and our freedom. We need to know what these people who declare themselves our rulers are planning to do to us. Trump is pushing the elitists agenda for ID2020. Do you still support Trump after this?

### end of SHTFplan story

Is Trump pushing the antichrist agenda of world enslavement, financial fascism and depopulation?

Perhaps Trump will realize what hes doing and change course. Or perhaps hes really a wolf in sheeps clothing and has been working for demonic, anti-human forces this entire time.

Note that under Trump, we now have a Universal Basic Income rollout, insane levels of national debt, the Fed buying up all the assets across the country, rapidly worsening censorship and Big Tech tyranny, no labeling of GMOs, no investigations into the vaccine industry and literally nothing that would defend human freedom or liberty.

Under President Trump, we have become less free, more oppressed, less healthy and less informed. And note carefully that Trump continues to push the 5G rollout across America. President Trump, in other words, appears to be all-in with the three pillars of mass death and destruction for America:

Ive been a Trump supporter for three years. I voted for Trump in 2016. Unless he radically changes course, I will not vote for Trump in 2020. I will not vote for another Big Pharma vaccine shill who has sold out America to the death science industry. If Trump is going to push mandatory vaccines across America, he can go to hell.

Unless he alters course and immediately fires Dr. Fauci and ends the Big Pharma stranglehold over America, President Trump is on course to become just another pathetic sellout who pushes this nation into runaway medical tyranny with forced vaccinations, continued nutritional illiteracy and a 5G Big Brother surveillance system that enslaves everyone.

Hes willing to sacrifice America to try to save the stock market, in other words, and its really a bargain with the devil. America will fall if Big Pharma is allowed to rule over our future. Trump now appears to have jumped in bed with Americas most dangerous enemy: the vaccine / pharma cartels that have focused on criminal operations across America for decades.

Watch my preview of my coming lecture, May 15  16th, via GenSix.com, where I reveal the full details of the death science industry:

Perhaps this is why Trump has supported Big Techs censorship all along: Because he knew he would sell out America, and he wanted to make sure all the voices of resistance against his medical tyranny would be silenced.

Only time will tell if Trump is a true patriot or a pro-vaccine demon whos working against humanity. Right now, its not looking good
MPs on the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs portfolio committee were left disappointed on Thursday evening when the department's briefing didn't contain details on the R20 billion allocated to municipalities for relief during the Covid-19 pandemic.

DA MP Haniff Hoosen said he was disappointed with the department's presentation, as there were 25 slides but it didn't explain what the R20 billion would be used for.

Committee chairperson Faith Muthambi said there was nothing new in the department's presentation.

She said the R20 billion should be used to "make radical advances to the fault lines exposed by this pandemic".

ANC MP Bheki Radebe asked why the R20 billion would only be transferred in August.

Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Parks Tau said it was a matter of complying with the law.

He said the department was in "constant interaction" with the Treasury about when the money would be available.

The Treasury told the department it had to go through an appropriations budget, which had to be passed by Parliament.

He said the department was cognisant of the pressures municipalities were facing.

The other deputy minister, Obed Bapela, said the department was working to finalise the plan for the R20 billion.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a R500 billion economic and social support package to alleviate the economic destruction wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Additional funding of R20 billion will therefore be made available to municipalities for the provision of emergency water supply, increased sanitisation of public transport and facilities, and providing food and shelter for the homeless. Details will be announced in the adjustment budget tabled," he said at the time.

Source: News24
China took a jibe at the United States with a short video which said that Washington didnt listen to the words of caution from Beijing on the coronavirus outbreak.

The animated video was posted on Twitter by the Chinese Embassy in France on Thursday and was titled Once upon a virus.

The video lists the timeline of the outbreak, with cartoon figures representing China and the United States accusing each other. While the Chinese side in the video says it informed about the discovery of a new virus in January, the US didnt take any note of it.

The one minute 39 seconds video further shows China announcing its lockdown in January, and the US calling it barbaric. It also shows the US accusing China of human rights violation - more than once.

The video ends with a jibe from the US that they are always correct even though we contradict ourselves.

Once Upon a Virus... pic.twitter.com/FY0svfEKc6  Ambassade de Chine en France (@AmbassadeChine) April 30, 2020

The video generated a lot of buzz on Twitter. Many users called Chinas claims of warning fake and misleading. Others said this is more damaging to China.

False propaganda from the Chinese ambassador to France, whitewashing over its government's deceptions and mocking U.S. objections to its human rights abuses. RTing so folks can see the Chinese government lying in real time -- https://t.co/yg3MX5S5ud  Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 30, 2020

This is more damaging to China. LOL. https://t.co/ArHETLyTTz  Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) May 1, 2020

@realDonaldTrump it's your moment to destroy the FAKE NEWS  BrunoLeSale (@BrunoSalty) April 30, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak started from Wuhan in China in December and spread across the globe, affecting more than three million people and killing over 2,00,000 but Beijing has reported fewer cases and deaths than in the United States, which now has the worlds largest outbreak.

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at China for the outbreak. Sharpening his rhetoric on Thursday, Trump said that his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus pandemic and he threatened new tariffs on Beijing, as his administration crafted retaliatory measures over the outbreak.

The outburst against China reflected Trumps growing frustration with Beijing over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the United States alone, sparked an economic contraction and threatened his chances of re-election in November.
SOME of the restrictions the government imposed when it placed the country under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to prevent the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will have been eased on Friday, May 1, 2020.

But Metro Cebu, Cebu Province and other major urban centers in the archipelago will have to wait until the end of May 15 to know what its like to live in the new normal.

Residents in these areas still cannot leave their homes unless theyre buying food or medicines or going on other important errands. Mass transportation is still not available and non-essential businesses are still not allowed to resume operations.

Not that much will have changed after the government downgrades the ECQ to a general community quarantine (GCQ) in the rest of the country.

Under a GCQ, movement is still limited. Only if they have to access essential goods and services will people be allowed to go outdoors. Some can go back to work but only in offices and industries that are allowed to operate.

Although malls and shopping centers will be allowed to reopen, theaters, cinemas, gaming areas and other leisure stores will remain closed.

People will still be required to wear face masks when they go outside, while mandatory checking of temperature and social distancing, among others, will remain in place.

Land, sea and air transportation will once again be available but only at a reduced capacity to ensure physical distancing between passengers of at least one meter.

Human beings, despite being social animals in general, are being asked to go against their nature.

And until a cure or a vaccine for the Covid-19 is found, the people of the Philippines and the rest of the world will just have to adjust to these new circumstances.

That is the new normal.
While it appears that only a COVID-19 vaccine may take us back to normal, its development may take at least nine months to two years, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said.

Even though several drugs are also being tested to treat COVID-19, Gates believes the perfect drug that might help the world go back to the way things were in December before the coronavirus pandemic is far from sight.

"Most of the drug candidates right now are nowhere near that powerful. They could save a lot of lives, but they aren't enough to get us back to normal," the Microsoft co-founder wrote in his Gates Notes blog on Thursday.

In the absence of an "almost perfect drug to treat COVID-19", it becomes imperative that every person on the planet gets vaccinated against coronavirus.

"Realistically, if we're going to return to normal, we need to develop a safe, effective vaccine. We need to make billions of doses, we need to get them out to every part of the world, and we need all of this to happen as quickly as possible," he said.

While vaccine development usually takes around five years, Gates believes that scientists may come up with a coronavirus vaccine within 9 months to two years time.

"As of April 9, there are 115 different COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the development pipeline. I think that eight to ten of those look particularly promising," said Gates.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding several efforts to find a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Microsoft co-founder explained that safety and efficacy are the two most important goals for every vaccine.

Some minor side effects, like a mild fever or injection site pain, are generally acceptable, and all vaccines do not have 100 per cent efficacy.

"For example, this year's flu vaccine is around 45 percent effective," he said.

"I suspect a vaccine that is at least 70 per cent effective will be enough to stop the (COVID-19) outbreak. A 60 per cent effective vaccine is useable, but we might still see some localised outbreaks. Anything under 60 per cent is unlikely to create enough herd immunity to stop the virus," Gates noted.

To stop the pandemic, the world will need to manufacture and distribute at least 7 billion doses (or possibly 14 billion, if it's a multi-dose vaccine) of the vaccine, he added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend:

The volume of gas export from Azerbaijan to Turkey exceeded 859.7 million cubic meters in February 2020, which is 20.5 percent more compared to February 2019, Trend reports citing the report of the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).

This indicator was 683.2 million cubic meters in February 2019.

In total, the share of Azerbaijan in gas import of Turkey equaled to 16.34 percent in February 2020, which is 0.36 percent more compared to the same month of 2019, said the report.

According to EPDK, the total volume of Turkeys natural gas import exceeded 5.2 billion cubic meters in the reporting month, showing an increase of 19.2 percent compared to the figure for the same month of 2019, which was 4.2 billion cubic meters.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). Turkey has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas condensate field.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis
This is the first installment of Reopenings, a series about how businesses are operating during the pandemic.

In a few parts of the country, it is possible once again to pay someone to fix your split ends and shaggy sideburns. As part of the limited reopenings of their economies, Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wyoming are or will soon be allowing hair salons and barber shops to operate as long as they follow certain social distancing measures. Already these businesses are finding that their services have been missed. Brooke McLaughlin, who co-owns the Taylor Brooks Hair Salon & Spa in Johns Creek, Georgia, said that her stylists have had to fix a lot of unmaintained hair and botched DIY jobs during their first week back in business. It was horrendous. A lot of our men tried to cut the sides of their hair, and they couldnt blend the tops to the sides. Bless them; they were trying really hard, so A for effort, she said. A lot of roots were really overgrown as far as coloring goes for my female clients.

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What is it like to get a haircut during a pandemic? For one obvious thing, its impossible for a business that involves hand-to-hair contact to stick to the six-feet-of-distance guidelines that are a mainstay of coronavirus lockdowns across the country. Youre maximizing your ability to be safe in an environment that arguably cant be made totally safe, said Leslie Roste, the director of education for the salon disinfectant company Barbicide, who has been working with states to develop reopening guidelines for salons. Everybody is within six feet of each other, touching strangers all day long. If youre cutting my hair, youre standing behind me, breathing on me.

In lieu of having stylists stand six feet away from clients, many businesses have instead limited the number of customers they let in at a time, requiring appointments, avoiding double bookings, putting safety markings on the floor at six-foot intervals so that some distancing can take place, and seating clients farther apart from one another as they have their haircuts. The Three-13 Salon, Spa & Boutique in Marietta, Georgia, has also been careful about whom theyve let in to their building since reopening last week. According to managing partner Lester Crowell, the salon has been asking customers a list of diagnostic questionslike whether they were living with anyone sick during quarantineand having them submit to a temperature check before they can enter. Employees are also required to wear pink stickers around the workplace to indicate that theyve undergone their daily temperature check and arent running a fever.

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The cosmetology industry already has fairly strict sanitation rules. Between each appointment, stylists have to immerse their haircut tools in a disinfectant solution for a certain amount of time, launder towels and linens, and wash their hands, among other steps. Some establishments are now instituting additional cleaning measures. Stylists at Taylor Brooks have been bleaching the shampoo bowls and applying Lysol spray to all the chairs the moment a client is finished. Three-13 has been making appointment windows longer so that stylists have more time to clean up between customers and is starting to drape disposable capes on its clients instead of reusing them. The salon also has cleaners in hazmat suits come in every week to cover everything in a chlorinated disinfectant spray.

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Three-13 and Taylor Brooks are instructing employees to wear masks while working. Theyve also been asking that all customers have masks while patronizing their establishments, though this can be an obstacle for beauticians. My first day back, a client had a mask that went around the back of the head, McLaughlin said. Something that I was very used to doing from muscle memory for 20 years I had to rethink. To ensure scalp access, she shifted the strap above and below the hairline as she snipped away, all while trying to ensure that the mask stayed in place. Masks that hang around peoples ears are easier because the customer can remove one strap at a time so that the stylist can cut their sideburns.

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Masks are also particularly inconvenient for facials and waxing, since those services generally require unobstructed access to the face. Three-13 has its customers maneuver their masks around their face so stylists can wax stray lip hairs. Facials are even tougher. For a facial, youve pretty much got to take it off, said Crowell. You can hold it to your nose and mouth a little, and we do that, but its difficult. Taylor Brooks is opting not to do lip waxing at the moment. The salon is also making only one aesthetician available for facials, for which customers may remove their masks. The aesthetician, who wears a face mask and shield herself, performs the facials for one person at a time in a room thats closed off from the rest of the building.

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Salons are also altering or even doing away with waiting rooms and the associated amenities to further limit the risk of infection. Three-13 reduced its indoor waiting room to two ottomans and is having most customers sit on spaced-out folding chairs on an outdoor veranda. The restrictions in general also mean fewer clients can come. Before the outbreak, the salon would normally see 250 people on a Friday and 350 on a Saturday. This last week it saw 100 on Friday and 120 on Saturday.

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At Taylor Brooks, which has been booked solid, employees threw away all the magazines, removed the coffee bar, and packed up all the furniture where customers used to be able to lounge before their appointments. Now they just wait in their cars. The business is also asking customers not to touch any retail hair products they wish to purchase.

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Taken together, these safety procedures will clearly make the experience of getting a haircut far more impersonal. Roste predicts that for a while it will be harder to follow the time-honored traditions of gabbing with locals at the barbershop or decompressing with your favorite stylist. This has always been considered sort of a luxury service. Its supposed to be a downtime where you have a service that makes you feel better when you walk out, she said, adding that the rigid guidelines may make the atmosphere a bit more clinical and businesslike. A lot of that social aspect may have to go away. That makes me sad, but I think in the short term that people will have to be much more cautious.
Up to 20 people may have developed cancer after being exposed to contaminated soil at a school on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula, a federal inquiry has heard.

But a Senate committee investigating whether there was a cancer cluster in Barwon Heads and nearby towns also heard a state government-ordered investigation was limited because it did not consider the number of cancer cases in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bellarine Secondary College's Drysdale campus. A lawyer leading a class action over cancer cases says up to 20 former students and teachers may have been affected. Credit:Joe Armao

The committee was formed to consider whether there was a cancer cluster following an alarming number of deaths in recent years of young adults who grew up on the Bellarine Peninsula, first revealed by The Age in late 2018.

Some residents believe the exposure to dieldrin - a pesticide used in the 1980s but now banned - and other chemicals in what was once largely farmland caused a number of premature deaths in the region.
Philosopher of the Heart

By Clare Carlisle

Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 339 pp. $30

---

In his trial before the citizens of Athens, Socrates famously compared himself to a gadfly - a pest, sent by god, perhaps, to "awaken and persuade and reproach" his fellow Athenians so that they did not "spend the rest of [their] lives asleep." If he was a gadfly, then piety, justice and intellectual orthodoxy were his nectar. Into these moral and ethical issues he would bite, until he sucked dry their illogic and laid bare the uncertainty at their base.

More than 21 centuries later, Socrates - or, at least, the Socratic method of laying bare - would come alive again, this time in the form of a brooding Dane, the self-described Socrates of Christendom, Soren Kierkegaard. Clare Carlisle, in her sparkling, penetrative new biography, "Philosopher of the Heart: The Restless Life of Soren Kierkegaard," explains how Kierkegaard ran against the philosophical grain of his time.

She does this in a novel way. In abiding by Kierkegaard's oft-quoted observation - that life must be lived forward, but can only be understood backward - Carlisle abandons standard chronology in favor of a three-part study. Part one begins in 1843, when Kierkegaard had just turned 30; we then move to "Life Understood Backwards," a backward consideration of the years 1848 to 1813, Kierkegaard's birth year. The final section, "Life Lived Forwards," brings us from 1849 to Kierkegaard's death in 1855. With this unconventional structure - a fittingly oblique approach for a famously dialectical man - Carlisle is better able to crack open the philosopher's life: What we get is a panorama of sorts, in which Kierkegaard's obsession with ex-fiancee Regine Olsen (a relationship whose breakdown inspired much of his writing), his preference for coffee (lots, and sugary), his maniacal work ethic, his variously warm and shrewd letters, his thoughts on God and the individual - these parts are rendered as a woven whole.

Carlisle does not sacrifice intellectual rigor for the sake of this larger picture. Her work is demanding in its comprehensiveness. From the beginning, for instance, she sets the broader intellectual scene well: Kierkegaard's 19th-century Copenhagen was steeped deep, like the rest of intellectual Europe, in the thought of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Under Hegel's philosophy, concepts that were largely considered frozen in basic binary forms (master/slave, masculinity/femininity, even living/dying) were freed from their Aristotelian, binary bonds; they were shown to be in a state of dynamic movement. And once these concepts became mobile, it became possible, Hegel thought, to see all of human history as engaged in a massive, if glacial, dialectical progression, whose ultimate end was "freedom." Lofty and forward-looking, Hegel's progressive theories were a perfect match for rapidly industrializing European cities, and they held Kierkegaard's contemporaries in thrall.

But not Kierkegaard, who rebelled against them. Like Socrates exposing the sophists of Athens, Kierkegaard "sought to expose" false teachers of grand schemes, the "pseudo-philosophers." Carlisle reminds us that in "Either/Or," Kierkegaard's first published work, he presents Hegel's thought as "nihilistic" and used the book, in part, to "depose Hegelian philosophy." The main issue was that Hegel's generalizations essentially erased what Kierkegaard considered supreme: the idea of the single individual. Hegelianism holds no space for the individual soul (or for the heart), he felt. The Kierkegaardian "single individual" is not to be confused with the (or seen as the proto-) "me" of "me culture." Rather, Kierkegaard's "single individual" has as its focus the individual's relationship to God and the individual's sense of spiritual fulfillment. This emphasis was emphatic, and unique. As Carlisle notes, it was this focus that would "inspire an entire generation of 'existentialists' to argue that human nature is not a fixed, timeless essence, nor a biological necessity, but a creative task for each individual life."

But how is it that the "Christian writer" Kierkegaard came also to be cited as the "father of existentialism" - a philosophy whose other famous progenitor is Friedrich "God is dead" Nietzsche, and whose intellectual spawn (Sartre, De Beauvoir, Camus) run the theistic gamut? The answer requires us perhaps God-weary modern readers (or at least this God-disinterested Jew) to broaden our vision: Kierkegaard must not be thought of as a pious Christian in the way we think of one today. He was no Bible-thumper and no pompous proselytizer. Just the opposite. In fact, toward the end of his life, Carlisle tells us, Kierkegaard "called on his readers to stop going to church; he no longer went himself, and was often seen in the Athenaeum, a private library, on Sunday mornings." Like Socrates - who proved his own ignorance along with that of his conversational victim - Kierkegaard did not consider it his duty to show fellow citizens the "right way" but rather to disabuse them of their illusion of knowing the right way at all. As he put it, his Socratic task was not to get the masses "to comprehend Christianity, but to comprehend that they cannot comprehend it."

This disabusing required gentle treatment. We see this in Kierkegaard's lifelong use of pseudonyms and a wide variety of writing styles, which, he felt, lent him various portals into his readers' souls. His style is so diverse, in fact, that in characterizing Kierkegaard as a writer it is hard to choose between philosopher, theologian, dramatist, psychoanalyst or something else entirely. Carlisle samples these approaches in her biography, which has the additional effect of showing how Kierkegaard's thought is centered, like that of Socrates, around not-knowing: You cannot know God as a fact, so you must repeatedly readdress your faith in a God whose existence is always uncertain. This continual confronting of the self and God amounts, ultimately, to an existential task.

Carlisle's book is an essential guide to those beginning or reembarking on their Kierkegaard journey. It is perhaps best paired with W.H. Auden's brilliantly selected collection of Kierkegaard's work, "The Living Thoughts of Kierkegaard," which also includes certain gems, such as Kierkegaard's eerie prevision of the Internet era: "There no longer exist human beings: there are no lovers, no thinkers, etc. By means of the press the human race has enveloped itself in an atmospheric what-not of thoughts, feelings, moods; even of resolutions and purposes, all of which are no one's property, since they belong to all and none."

We might replace Kierkegaard's "the press" for the Internet as a whole: One logs on and envelops oneself in a what-not of tweets, memes, Insta-feeds, a mishmash of love/goal/resolution-oriented articles ("Make Her Fall in Love With This Move After You Lose 10 Pounds in 3 Days!"). Today, the sense of living in abstraction is felt keenly. Anyone looking in any real way to become a lover, a thinker or a human being, take heed of Kierkegaard: He will tear you from your illusions, pull you down from your abstractions and then let you find your way.

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Dess is a writer and critic living in New York.
Angola Coronavirus Update - Coronavirus cases climb to 27, Total Deaths reaches to 2 on 01-May-2020

In Angola total confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) have increased to 27, while 2 people died due to the growing infection in the country.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) update from around the world:

United States, 29-April-2020: U.S. Covid-19 Deaths is more than the the deaths during Vietnam War. During Vietnam War US lost 58,220 lives, now due to Covid-19 infection total deaths reached over 60,000 in the country.

Mexico, 29-April-2020: In Mexico 1,223 new cases of Covid-19 identified raising the total count to 16,752 in the country.

China, 29-April-2020: China reported over 22 new cases Covid-19 raising the total cases to 82,858 cases in the country.

West Bengal (India), 29-April-2020: West Bengal reported 33 new cases of Coronavirus while total active cases reached to 550 in the state.

Punjab (India), 29-April-2020: Total number of Covid-19 cases in Punjab reached 375. In the state more than 60 fresh cases of Coronavirus reported today.

Dharavi (India), 29-April-2020: Dharavi reported 14 new cases raising the total cases to 344 in Dharavi. No new deaths are reported from Dharavi Today.

Maharashtra (India), 29-April-2020: Maharashtra reported 597 fresh Covid-19 cases today while total cases of Covid-19 infection rises to 9,915 in the state. Over 432 people died so far due to Covid-19 infection in the state.

India, 29-April-2020: Coronavirus hotspots in India decreased from 170 to 129 in a fortnight.

Andhra Pradesh (India), 29-April-2020: An 11-baby among 73 new cases in Andhra Pradesh. In past 24 hours 73 new cases of Covid-19 reported from Andhra Pradesh raising the total Covid-19 patient count to 1,332 in the state.

France, 29-April-2020: Total fatalities due to Covid-19 infection surpasses 23,000 mark in France.

Gujarat (India), 28-April-2020: Gujarat reported 226 new cases of Covid-19 infection raising total count to 3,774 in the state. Over 181 people died so far with Covid-19 infection in Gujarat.

India, 28-April-2020: Total confirmed cases in India have risen to 29,435 while Covid-19 outbreak is spread in 185 counties of the world. India is under nationwide lockdown and today is the 35th day of the lockdown.

India, 28-April-2020: One new case of Covid-19 is reported from Bihar raising total cases to 360 in the state.

India, 28-April-2020: Delhi confirmed cases crosses 3,000 mark with 2,177 active cases in the city. Delhi Government in its bulletin on Monday revealed that the total confirmed cases in the state rises to 3,108, while there are 21,132 active cases of Covid-19 in India.

World, 28-April-2020: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General said "The pandemic is far from over." Which means the Covid-19 infection will stay for the longer period of time in the world.

Nigeria, 27-April-2020: In Nigeria the lockdown has been extended in three major states Abuja, Lagos and Ogun. Now the lockdown will be imposed till May 4. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari announced the extension of lockdown today.

India, 27-April-2020: The Tamil Nadu government announced on April 27 to return 24,000 rapid test kits imported from China. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) after their test asked the states to stop using COVID-19 rapid antibody kits developed by two Chinese companies. These COVID-19 rapid antibody kits were imported earlier for the testing of suspected patients. But now India will not use these kits because it is not giving satisfactory results, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

France: France is reporting higher number of deaths but but slightly fewer people with severe conditions were admitted into ICU in past fourth day. France reported 315 deaths last day as compared to 345 deaths the day earlier. In France 133,670 confirmed cases and 14,412 deaths reported so far.

Here are the latest cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in Angola:

Sr. No. Date Total Cases New Cases Total Deaths Deaths 1. 26-Apr-2020 26 1 2 0 2. 27-Apr-2020 27 1 2 0 3. 28-Apr-2020 27 0 2 0 4. 29-Apr-2020 27 0 2 0 5. 30-Apr-2020 27 0 2 0 6. 01-May-2020 27 0 2 0

TOP 10 Deaths by country due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:



1. Europe (135,481)

2. North America (69,676)

3. USA (63,871)

4. Italy (27,967)

5. UK (26,771)

6. Spain (24,543)

7. France (24,376)

8. Asia (18,659)

9. South America (8,811)

10. Belgium (7,703)

Total Deaths Worldwide (234,392)

Globally till now over 234,392 people died due to the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19). The new infection and death cases are increasing fast. Authorities in the Angola and other countries are taking proper measures to contain the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19).

As of now Europe is the worst affected country in the world with over 135,481 deaths and 1,382,622 confirmed cases.

Check latest update: Coronaviurs Covid-19 cases around the world
- There are currently 102 potential COVID-19 vaccines being developed, the World Health Organisation has said

- The organisation says eight of the potential vaccines have been approved for clinical trial

- The deadly coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands around the world

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that 102 potential COVID-19 vaccines are currently being developed around the world.

Scientists worldwide are in search of a permanent solution to the deadly disease that has killed hundreds of thousands around the world.

Documents posted on the organisations website on Thursday, April 30, indicated that eight of the potential vaccines have been approved for clinical trial.

WHO stated that Chinas vaccine clinical trial request was accepted recently as the organisation only had seven vaccine requests some days ago.

In other news, a Nigerian doctor identified as Babafemi Taiwo is leading a major study on an antiviral drug named Remdesivir that appears to be effective in treating COVID-19.

Dr Taiwo was interviewed by CNN and he explained the result of the drug in treating coronavirus.

According to preliminary results of Remdesivir, the drug can help hospitalised COVID-19 patients recover faster.

Preliminary data from the National Institutes of Health indicated that Remdesivir appears to help patients with coronavirus recover faster, but it does not significantly reduce death.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a Brooklyn schoolteacher, Rana "Zoe" Mungin, had died from complications of coronavirus after she was initially denied tests, her family said.

The 30-year-old died on Monday, April 27, from the pandemic that has ravaged the world and brutalised New York City.

The deceased's sister Mia Mungin said Zoe showed her first symptom - a fever - on March 12 and went to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn on March 15 but she was told that she could not be tested for coronavirus.

Mia, who is a nurse, said: "I just feel like the health care system failed her on so many levels. The health care system failed us, something that I stood for for 20 years."

Zoe's condition was said to have worsened, which prompted her family to call 911 on March 19.

According to loved ones, even after Zoe got to Brookdale that day, she was again denied coronavirus test.

"She said to me, 'Mia, they still don't want to test for me this virus.' 'He keeps telling me that my lungs are clear, even though I'm still short of breath,'" Mia recalled her sister saying.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better

Market Survey: Coronavirus cannot kill everyone in Nigeria | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

In the past few months, social media companies have scrambled to address the misinformation tearing through their platformsfirst about the election, then the coronavirus. Twitter has started using manipulated media labels. Facebook has been more aggressively removing harmful content and flagging false news. This week, YouTube announced that it will add information panels to searches in the U.S. that might bring up misinformation.

At the heart of these measures is fact checking. At Facebook, the epicenter of misinformation, an expanding network of professional fact checkers is sifting through the sites posts to slap warning labels on false content. At first glance, these efforts appear uniformly good. But whats the psychology behind those flags? How effective are they? And do red flags ever embolden the very users theyre meant to deter?

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A study published this month by researchers at New York Universitys Tandon School of Engineering and the University of Indiana sought to answer these questions. The researchers found that credibility indicators, or flags, can reduce users intentions to share fake content on social media regardless of political orientation. In short, fact-checking sources are overwhelmingly trusted. Yet the more nuanced conclusion is that the effect of these flags varies significantly based on gender and political orientation: Men are more 1.5 times more likely to share news thats been flagged as false, the study concluded, while Republicans are much more inclined to disseminate that news than Democrats or independents.

The findings were based on an online study with 1,500 participants in the U.S. These participants saw 12 true, false, and satirical headlines marked with one of four types of credibility indicators: warnings that came from fact checkers, news media, the public, or artificial intelligence. Then, they were asked if they would share the article with friends. (The indicators from fact checkers and A.I. are the most relevant to current social media policies. Facebook, for instance, has used A.I. to spot hoaxes copied and pasted by different accounts.)

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The most effective indicator by far was fact checkers. Participants intended to share 43 percent fewer headlines that were marked untrue by fact checkers: 61 percent fewer for Democrats, compared with 40 percent for independents and 19 percent for Republicans. As for A.I., Democrats intended to share 40 percent fewer untrue headlines with the A.I. indicator, versus 16 percent for independents. Notably, Republicans said they would share 8 percent more untrue news with the AI indicator. We were not expecting that, although conservatives may tend to trust more traditional means of flagging the veracity of news, said Sameer Patil, a co-author of the study, in a press release.

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Admittedly, this is just one study, but its important for two reasons. First, it provides further evidence that the backfire effect, or the idea that fact-based corrections may actually reinforce false beliefs, isnt as serious as some researchers have believed. Over the past decade, understanding around the effects of flagging misinformation has shifted away from the backfire effect, which was popularized by a 2010 study. But the concerns over the effect has lingered. Facebook itself noted that [a]cademic research on correcting misinformation has shown that putting a strong image, like a red flag, next to an article may actually entrench deeply held beliefs, when it temporarily ditched the disputed flag in 2017. The general findings of the new study align with a 2019 study by Paul Mena, a lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who also concluded that warning labels may indeed disincentivize Facebook users from sharing fake news.

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Second, the new research also provides insight into how partisanship and demographics affect misinformation campaignsan area thats so far been understudied. However, its conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt. The paper itself acknowledged the limitations of generalizing from this research, especially since even though they carefully worded the indicators in a politically neutral way  [they] cannot rule out the influence of inherent systemic political biases regarding technology or the media.

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That said, this research aligns with a 2019 study that also found that during the 2016 presidential election campaign, 18 percent of Republicans shared links to fake news sites, compared to less than 4 percent of Democrats. Yet the 2019 study similarly cautioned against associating ideology with a predisposition to share false content, since most fake news circling during the campaign was pro-Trump or anti-Clinton. In Menas study, which did not focus on political affiliation and controlled for political leaning, Democrats were actually more likely to share false news with or without a warning labelthough Republicans behavior was less affected by these labels. But Mena told me that this outcome likely resulted from the headlines he used being more ideologically attractive to Democrats, since the majority of his participants were Democrats. More research is needed, he said. A possible explanation would be that the observed effect of political affiliation depends on the topic of the false news story.

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Regardless of the effects of partisanship, the new studys findings are positive. In his 2019 study, Mena confirmed evidence of the third-person effect, where people believe that others are more likely to share false newswith or without flagsthan themselves; essentially, we tend to overestimate the effects of misinformation on others. Ultimately, the new study only further shows that while people generally tend to have negative opinions of others gullibility or intentions, a much smaller percentage of people will share hoaxes when theyre flagged. Which is to say that Facebook and other social media sites should continue to moderate and mark their content, especially when large swaths of misinformation amid the current infodemic go undetected (and even look potentially more trustworthy without a label). As Patil pointed out, making fact checkers efficient enough to tackle the current scale of falsities floating around might require greater use of artificial intelligence moderators. This could include applying fact checks to only the most-needed content, which might involve applying natural language algorithms. So, it is a question, broadly speaking, of how humans and AI could co-exist, he said.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
New Delhi, May 1 : E-commerce players have hailed the government's relaxations regarding sale of non-essential products starting May 4.

Although the government has allowed the sale of only essential products on the red zone through e-commerce platforms, non-essential products are likely to be allowed in green and orange zones, starting May 4, subject to specific approval from the respective state governments The relaxation comes as a major relief for the e-commerce players.

Although there is no categorical statement regarding allowing of non-essential sales by e-commerce players, the MHA order mentioned that all activities are permitted in green zones except buses, metro rail services, educational institutions and other places non-essential places which could lead to mass congregation of people, including, malls, and cinema halls.

An Amazon spokesperson said: "We welcome the government's decision to allow ecommerce in Orange and Green Zones to serve people safely with products that they need and have not been able to access due to the lockdown." Millions of small and medium businesses and traders will now be able to jumpstart their businesses and livelihoods across their workforce, the spokesperson said.

The Amazon spokesperson, however, said: "While we will maintain the sanctity of the new guidelines around the red zones, we urge the government to consider the positive role ecommerce can play to get customers all priority products they need in the red zones as well, enabling a stronger economic support for the small businesses while prioritising safety." In a statement, Snapdeal said that it welcomes the Ministry of Home Affairs' announcement that paves the way for a calibrated resumption of various economic activities, including e-commerce, in various parts of the country.

"This will help start a gradual process of economic recovery by enabling lakhs of sellers and MSMEs to cater to the demand of users through online and offline channels. At Snapdeal, we are ready and committed to play our role in enabling India to exit this lockdown safely and efficiently," the company said.

Gopal Jain, a senior advocate, said that the Central government's decision is thoughtful because basic necessities will now be available at people's doorsteps.

"E-commerce companies being allowed to deliver non-essential items in orange and green zone areas will be a eureka moment for students who have run out of stationery and books, who can now stock up for the coming two weeks," Jain said.

The Centre on Friday announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown for two more weeks from May 4, with certain relaxations to regions categorised as orange and green zones.

There is also no clarity on opening of liquor shops. While the MHA has clarified there is no order to open liquor shops, much of the final decision rests with respective state government and union territories.

"We have always said that the cost of liquor shutdown far outweighs its benefits, if any.

"At the same, time we also reiterate that administration should clearly spell out social distancing and hygiene guidelines for shops, warehouses, shipping, and factories; and these must be followed without fail. Our members are committed to supporting the Governments in this," said Vinod Giri, Director General, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC).
The coronavirus crisis, so unsettling and pervasive, is taking a toll on peoples emotions. For many, the irritations are relatively minor. But for many others, this situation brings serious emotional pain and distress.

We must do everything we can to provide others with comfort and reassurance. We need to let them know that its OK to talk about their emotional situation, and that help is available if needed.

And its essential that we all look to our own mental health, too.

By now, many of the stresses from this strange and challenging time are quite familiar. Among the countless examples:

Children unable to play side by side with their friends. Grandparents no longer able to hug little ones they adore. Business owners and staff scrambling to maintain operations. Workers losing their job. Teachers and university faculty learning new techniques to educate students. Front-line workers at hospitals, grocery stores and elsewhere wondering how adequately theyre protected from virus exposure.

And everyone cooped up in their home, as if to stay safe from a monster on the prowl outside their door.

In the face of this emergency, each of us needs to be creative in developing strategies and new habits to bolster our emotional well-being. As many have noted these past weeks, one needed component is daily physical activity. The evidence of the beneficial effects is strong. Plus, the snows melted  why not get outside?

Stress often makes sleeping difficult, but getting adequate rest is clearly important at a time like this.

Social connection in some form is healthful, too, for ourselves and others. In some cases, an individuals inner distress may not show on the surface, but their anxiety is real. Thats why outreach by others  perhaps a spouse, perhaps a parent, perhaps a coworker or friend  can help.

Two faculty members at the University of Nebraska Medical Center wrote in a recent Midlands Voices column that in the face of this crisis, people should strive for the 4Rs: relationships; routines; relaxation; and reflection.

Mental health professionals are available to help. The state Department of Health and Human Services encourages Nebraskans with such needs to call the Nebraska Family Helpline at 888-866-8660.

In the Midlands, mental health hotlines are available specifically for rural residents. In Nebraska, a primary resource is the Rural Response Hotline at 800-464-0258. The hotline is operated by the Farm Crisis Response Council through Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska and has provided help for decades.

In Iowa, the Helpline number is 855-800-1239.

Nationally, the Disaster Distress Helpline is at 800-985-5990.

Suicide prevention takes on added importance during this crisis, including for young people. Suicide, in fact, is the second-leading cause of death for those 15-19 years old in both Nebraska and Iowa.

The national suicide prevention hotline is 800-273-TALK (8255). Websites for Midlands residents offer information on helping youths experiencing serious emotional problems. In Nebraska: youthsuicideprevention.nebraska.edu. And in Iowa: yourlifeiowa.org.

The virus crisis has intruded deeply into our lives, upsetting our routines and our sources of comfort and stability. Lets be mindful to take care of our emotional health and to reach out to others. Together, we can make it through this difficult time.

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Smishing definition

Smishing is a cyberattack that uses misleading text messages to deceive victims. The goal is to trick you into believing that a message has arrived from a trusted person or organization, and then convincing you to take action that gives the attacker exploitable information (like bank account login credentials, for example) or access to your mobile device.

Smishing is a text-message-centric variation of the email-based phishing scams that have been around since the 1990s. But people are often less watchful for suspicious messages on their phones than on their computers: they're more likely to open a potentially suspicious text message than an email message, and their personal devices generally lack the type of security available on corporate PCs. This pernicious new take on an old trick is becoming increasingly widespread.

[ Check out these 11 phishing prevention tips for best technology practices, employee education and social media smarts. | Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters. ]

Phishing vs. smishing vs. vishing: What's the difference?

Before we dive in the details, let's take a moment to understand the terminology of these related attack techniques. Phishing is the granddaddy of them all, and CSO has a complete explainer with all the details, but in essence it involves sending targeted email messages to trick recipients. "Phish" is pronounced just like it's spelled, which is to say like the word "fish"  the analogy is of an angler throwing a baited hook out there (the phishing email) and hoping you bite. The term arose in the mid-1990s among hackers aiming to trick AOL users into giving up their login information. The "ph" is part of a tradition of whimsical hacker spelling, and was probably influenced by the term "phreaking," short for "phone phreaking," an early form of hacking that involved playing sound tones into telephone handsets to get free phone calls.

Smishing is, essentially, phishing via text messages. The word is a portmanteau of "phishing" and "SMS," the latter being the protocol used by most phone text messaging services. Because of this etymology, you'll sometime see the word written as "SMiShing," though that's increasingly rare; people also include scam attempts via non-SMS text services, like WeChat or Apple's iMessage, under the smishing umbrella. The term has been around since at least the late '00s, though the omnipresence of smartphones in the modern era has made it a more tempting attack vector for hackers.

"Vishing" is a similar type of attack that uses voice calls instead of emails or texts; the word is a portmanteau of "voice" and "phishing."

Smishing attack examples

So far we've been talking in somewhat theoretical terms. But what are some specific examples of how smishing works in practice? In other words: What should you be on the lookout for?

We can break down smishing attacks into three broad categories.

Attempts to trick you into revealing credentials. Smishers may try to convince you into giving up a username/password combo or other confidential info that they can use to log into one of your online accounts. And because banks are, in the legendary phrase attributed to bank robber Willie Sutton, "where the money is," bank smishing is one of the most lucrative and common types of this category of attack.

The UK tech site Which? has a good breakdown of what a typical bank smishing attack looks like. One of the paradoxes of this kind of attack is that the smishers play on your fears of hacking in order to hack your account. They'll send you text messages claiming to be from your bank, "warning" you about a large transfer or a new payee added, and giving you a number to call or a link to click on to block this potentially unauthorized access to your account. In reality, of course, the transfer or new payee doesn't exist; the link sends you to a spoofed website that looks like your bank's and asks for your username and password, and the phone number connects you to the scam artists, who will try to wheedle the same sort of information out of you. Once they're armed with those credentials, they can log into your bank account and plunder it.

Bank smishing is often successful for a couple of reasons. One is that many banks really do have services that text you about suspicious activity on your account. An important thing to keep in mind is that legitimate messages should contain information proving that the bank already knows who you are: they might include the last few digits of your credit card or bank account number, for instance. Vague references to "your account" without any details should be viewed with suspicion. They also will generally not include a direct link to a bank website. Orange County's Credit Union has a good guide to what you should see in a legitimate text message from a bank. If you aren't sure about a message like this, you should log in to your account via your browser or app without following any link sent to you in a text message.

Another factor that can lull a victim into complacency: many smishers use SMS spoofing techniques that disguise the phone number or short code that a text message appears to come from. It's relatively easy to send a text message that appears to come from another number, and in fact there are plenty of legitimate reasons to do so  if you've ever used iMessage or a similar tool to send a text from your laptop, you've engaged in SMS spoofing yourself. But if an attacker uses SMS spoofing to make their smishing texts appear that they're coming from your bank, your phone will automatically group them with any real texts you've already received from that institution, making them seem more legitimate.

Attempts to trick you into downloading malware. This sort of attack parallels one of the primary end games for email phishing, though the techniques are adapted for mobile users and mobile technology. For instance, a smishing scam that ran wild in the Czech Republic convinced users to download an app purporting to be from that nation's postal service; in reality, it was a Trojan that could harvest credit card info entered into other apps on the phone.

In general, these kinds of attacks are rarer when conducted via text than they are over email because smartphones make it more difficult to install apps, with iPhones and many Android phones only allowing signed and verified apps from app stores to operate. But it's still possible to sideload apps, especially on Android, so you should be extremely suspicious of anyone who tries to get you to install an app via text message.

Attempts to trick you into sending someone money. This version of smishing is more the domain of the con artist than the tech wizard, but it's still something that's a real concernparticularly when it comes to less tech-savvy people who don't use email much and have never become immune to the emailed pleas of Nigerian princes trying to get access to money stashed in overseas bank accounts. Smishers will do some work to figure out ways to get you to trust them; in one attack, a woman in Tennessee received texts she thought were from personal friends (the names had probably been harvested from Facebook) telling her about a government grant she qualified for. In reality, this was a classic "advance fee" scam: the victim was told she had to pay a few hundred dollars up front for "taxes" to get the money.

While those scams play on the victim's desperation or greed, some take the opposite approach, exploiting their generosity. One set of scammers sent texts to victims in Louisiana, pretending to be a clergyman at a local church, collecting money for charity; in reality, they simply pocketed the cash.

Effects of smishing:

These examples should give you a sense of the effects of smishing: Attackers can plunder your bank account, install malware on your phone that gains access to your finances or your location information, or trick you into spending money needlessly. In a larger sense, these smishing attacks make it more difficult for financial institutions or others to have trusted communications with customers via text messaging, which is one of the most universal communications platforms in use today.

Smishing statistics

There's one stat that doesn't pertain to smishing specifically, but does explain why attackers are putting so much work into developing these scams: 98% of text messages are read and 45% are responded to, while the equivalent numbers for email are 20% and 6%, respectively. As users grow more overwhelmed by constant emails and suspicious of spam, text messages have become a more attractive attack vector, exploiting the more intimate relationships we have with our phones.

While smishing isn't everywhere yet, it's definitely more than a novelty at this point: according to Verizon's 2020 mobile security index, 15% of enterprise users encountered a smishing link in Q3 2019. Proofpoint's 2020 State of the Phish report indicates that 84% of surveyed organizations faced smishing attacks. And 30% of Proofpoint's respondents were aware of the term "smishing"  which may not sound like much, but is up from 25% just the previous year.

How to prevent smishing

There's one more stat from Proofpoint's report that we want to discuss, and it gets to the heart of how enterprises can help foil smishing attacks: only 25% of surveyed organizations (and only 17% in the United States) run smishing or vishing simulations to help train staff to recognize and react appropriately to these attacks. At the organizations that do run these simulations, the failure rate is 6%  not disastrous, but not great, either.

These types of simulations are one of the best ways for enterprises to train their employees on how to avoid being smished. They should form part of your ongoing security awareness training regimen, along with phishing and vishing simulations. Simulated smishing attacks can help you target your training efforts, making it clear whether additional training is needed and which users are particularly vulnerable.

But if your employer doesn't run simulations or hold training programs, you can still educate yourself to resist smishing attacks. Zipwhip has some common-sense advice:

Be wary of texts using unnatural or ungrammatical language

Offers that seem too good to be true usually are

Don't click embedded links or download apps directly from a text message

The IRS and Social Security Administration don't communicate via text

CSO also has advice on avoiding phishing scams, most of which applies to smishing as well.

Smishing and the FTC

The United States Federal Trade Commission has resources to help fight smishing. The FTC has a page with advice for avoiding these scams. If you think you've been victimized by such a scam, you can use the agency's complaint assistant site to file a complaint and help catch the perpetrators. But hopefully the advice on this page will help you stay one step ahead of the smishers.
'Cult mom' Lori Vallow's request to have her bond lowered from $1million to to between $100,000 and $250,000 was denied by an Idaho judge.

Vallow, who was wearing a face mask along with her jail uniform, had appeared in the mostly empty Idaho courtroom Friday while her lawyer argued for the lowered bond.

As part of his argument, Vallow's defense attorney, Mark Means, asked the judge to consider a more 'reasonable' bond amount than the current $1million, given the coronavirus-induced economic situation, according to East Idaho News.

Vallow's bond had previously been lowered from $5million after her February arrest to $1million.

Means had filed a motion seeking a bond reduction last month, claiming that he did not have adequate opportunity to confidentially communicate in jail with his client.

At the start of the hearing, Means asked the presiding judge to strike from the record 18 pages of affidavits filed by Madison County Deputy Prosecutor Rob Wood on Thursday opposing his bond reduction motion, arguing that Wood had a month to respond but chose to do it less than 24 hours before the hearing.

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Lori Vallow is pictured wearing a face mask during Friday's bond reduction hearing in Idaho

Defense attorney Mark Means (left) and prosecutor Rob Wood (right) clashed over Wood's last-minute filing of documents opposing to the lawyer's bond reduction motion

The judge denied Vallow's request to have her bond lowered after the two-hour hearing

Wood pushed back, saying he did not have a legal obligation to file his response containing new case law and accusations well in advance, and the judge ultimately sided with the prosecution, declining to strike the affidavits from the record.

Means' bond reduction request hinged on his claim that officials at the Madison County Detention Center had on multiple occasions secretly recorded his confidential phone conversations with Vallow, after assuring him that the recording device was off.

Means told the judge that he was later told by Wood that his call was accidentally taped, only to learn from the affidavits filed by the prosecution the day before that there were multiple recordings of his conversations with Vallow, which he said included 'sensitive' details concerning her case.

He also claimed that the phone calls were shared with other parties before being deleted.

Vallow's children, Joshua Vallow (in green) and Tylee Ryan (in grey) have been missing since fall 2019, after she moved to Idaho

After the more than two hours of arguments offered by Means and the prosecutor, Magistrate Judge Michelle Mallard denied the lowered bond request by stating there wasn't enough evidence to support Means' motion.

'I cannot find any good cause to reduce the bond further than it already has,' Mallard said according to the newspaper. 'I would advise Mr. Means consult with local defense attorneys who Im sure have come up with alternatives during this time about ways to surmount any virus problems at the jail in regards to communicating with clients.'

Mallard, according to Idaho Press, also said that she had 'heard nothing to indicate to me that Ms. Daybell is being treated differently than anyone else... In this case, I really dont see an impact on Ms. Daybells Constitutional rights with the jail process,'

The hearing comes as Vallow's niece has revealed that she never once saw her aunt's two children since moving next door to the family in Idaho and never questioned their whereabouts.

Melanie Pawlowski and her second husband, Ian, sat down with Dateline presenter Keith Morrison to talk about the twisted case, with the couple urging the public to reserve judgment.

Vallow, 42, faces charges of child neglect and desertion in connection to the disappearance of her daughter, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, and her seven-year-old son, Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, who have not been seen of heard from since September 2019.

Melani Pawlowski (left) said on Dateline she believes eventually, everything will be exposed about her aunt, Lori Vallow (right), who is jailed in Idaho in connection to the disappearance of her kids

Melani's husband, Ian Pawlowski (right), told Keith Morrison he is hopeful Vallow will present a valid reason for what had happened

'Eventually, everything will be exposed and then we'll know, but until then I can't make any judgement on things,' Melani said in a brief preview video promoting the full two-hour episode of NBC's Dateline airing at 9pm ET/8pm CT on Friday.

Ian Pawlowski added: 'We're waiting to see, you know, Lori's gonna have her day in court. She's gonna present her defense. And we are hoping there is some reason behind it.'

Both spouses expressed hope that 'the truth will be revealed' and that Vallow will have a 'story to tell' in court.

During the interview, Melanie also revealed that since moving next door to Vallow in Rexburg, Idaho, last November, she never once saw either one of her children.

Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, seven, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in Idaho in September in Rexburg, Idaho, and authorities are still searching for them

'Id ask Lori [where the kids were],' she recounted. 'I wasnt close with Tylee in her teenage years. She was very independent, so if Lori said she was with friends, I just believed her.'

The program also features an interview with Vallow's eldest son, Colby Ryan, who issued yet another plea for his mother to reveal the location of his siblings.

Colby Ryan (left) pleaded with his mother Lori to reveal the truth about her missing children during an interview with NBC's Dateline airing on Friday

Ryan has repeatedly called for his mother to cooperate with police searching for the children.

'It hurts so much - and on top of that we have a million questions,' he told Morrison. 'You can't call your own mom, can't go to her house and see your siblings - you're just out in the cold.'

Ryan described attending the January 30 court hearing in Madison County, Idaho, where Vallow had been ordered to produce the children after police tracked her down in Hawaii.

Lori never turned up at the hearing, prompting her arrest three weeks later.

'We were so confused, like how do you not produce the kids?' Ryan said. 'That's the whole reason you're in jail right now.'

Ryan also described attending the January 30 court hearing in Madison County, Idaho, where Lori failed to produce her children, prompting her arrest weeks later. The son told Dateline: 'We were so confused, like how do you not produce the kids? That's the whole reason you're in jail right now.' Ryan is pictured outside the Madison County Court with his wife

Authorities began searching for JJ and Tylee in late November after Lori and her new husband, doomsday author Chad Daybell, fled their home in Idaho when police started to ask questions about the children.

When officers first went to Vallow's home in Idaho on November 26, she told them that JJ was visiting relatives in Arizona - which investigators say was a lie.

Officers returned the following day and found that Lori and Chad had fled from the home.

The couple were named persons of interest in the children's disappearance in mid-December.

Rexburg police have accused Vallow of repeatedly lying about where JJ and Tylee are and refusing to cooperate with investigators conducting a multi-state search.

They've said they 'strongly believe that Joshua and Tylee's lives are in danger' and that Lori knows what happened to the kids.

Authorities tracked Lori and Chad down in the Kauai town of Princeville on January 25 and served the mother with a court order requiring her to physically produce the children to authorities in Idaho within five days.

After she failed to do so, Lori was arrested on charges of child abandonment and desertion on February 20.

She was later extradited back to Idaho, where she remains behind bars at Madison County Jail in lieu of $1million bond.

Lori married Chad Daybell on a Kauai beach on November 5 - weeks after her kids disappeared and days after Chad's previous wife Tammy died

The case captured nationwide attention with the revelations that police are also investigating four mysterious deaths linked to Lori and Chad, as well as family members' claims that the couple are members of a dangerous doomsday cult.

Timeline of JJ and Tylee's disappearance July 11: Lori Vallow's husband, Charles Vallow, is killed by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona August: Lori moves children JJ and Tylee to Rexburg, Idaho September 23: The last time JJ was seen at his school in Idaho October 19: Chad Daybell's wife Tammy dies at their Idaho home October 25: A friend of Tylee receives a text from her phone November 5: Lori and Chad marry November 26: Out-of-state relatives ask Idaho police to perform a welfare check on JJ. Lori and Chad claim he is in Arizona with relatives. Police also learn Tylee has not been seen since September, either November 27: Police execute a search warrant at Lori and Chad's home, discovering the couple have fled Idaho December 11: Tammy Daybell's body is exhumed from the Utah cemetery December 12: Lori's brother, Alex Cox, believed to have died in Arizona December 21: Police issue a press release about JJ and Tylee, revealing they believe their disappearance is linked to Tammy's death December 24: Lori and Chad issue a statement through an attorney saying they love their son and daughter and look forward to addressing 'allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor' December 30: Police accuse Lori and Chad of lying to investigators and say they believe the couple know where the kids are or what happened to them January 26: Lori and Chad are seen for the first time in months as police serve two search warrants in Kaua'i January 30 Lori misses court deadline to produce the children to authorities February 20: Lori is arrested in Kauai Advertisement

The first death is that of Lori's third husband, Joseph Ryan, who died of an apparent heart attack in 2018.

Last month, reports emerged that the FBI was looking into Ryan's death aged 59 as part of the search for Tylee, his daughter, and JJ.

The second death was that of Lori's fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot dead by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona on July 11.

Charles and Lori had gotten into an argument when the father came to pick up JJ at the mother's home in Chandler.

Lori's brother intervened and fatally shot Charles.

Police initially determined that he acted in self defense - but the case was reopened amid the multi-state search for JJ and Tylee, who had moved to Idaho, where Chad lived, with their mother in August.

The third mysterious death was Tammy Daybell - Chad's previous wife - who was found dead at the couple's home in Salem, Idaho, on October 19.

An obituary stated that Tammy passed away in her sleep and her cause of death was ruled as natural after Chad reportedly declined an autopsy.

Investigators reopened the case after learning that JJ and Tylee were missing, as their mother had married Chad just two weeks after Tammy died. They believe the two cases could be linked.

Tammy's body was exhumed on December 11 and the autopsy results have not yet been released.

The Idaho Attorney General's Office recently took over the investigation into Tammy's death, which names Lori and Chad as suspects.

On December 12, Lori's brother, Alex Cox, was found dead in Gilbert, Arizona.

The 51-year-old's death is now under investigation as police wait for an autopsy to determine the cause.

An additional untimely death close to Lori was unearthed this week: her older sister Stacey Lynne Cox Cope.

Stacey died aged 31 in 1998. The cause is unclear and there is no suggestion Lori was involved in her death.

Four people with links to Lori Vallow have suffered untimely deaths(top in court on March 6). Those deaths are: Lori's brother Alex Cox (left), her new husband Chad Daybell's previous wife Tammy Daybell (second left), her fourth husband Charles Vallow (center), her third husband Joseph Ryan (second right). Her sister Stacey Cox Cope (right) died in 1998. It's not clear what the cause of Cope's death was

Stacey's daughter, Melani Pawlowski, has emerged as one of the key figures in the case surrounding Lori, following reports that she joined her aunt's doomsday cult.

Melani's estranged husband, Brandon Boudreaux, accused her of attempting to kill him in a drive-by shooting last fall and claims that she knows where the missing children are but won't cooperate with authorities.

Melani has denied those claims, including in an interview with Dateline airing on Friday.

'Melani essentially appeared to want to present that all is fine,' Morrison told the East Idaho News of the interview. 'She acted like: "I don't know of any problems whatsoever. We were all just doing our own thing and anything that seemed suspicious was merely a coincidence."

'She's a sweet, very attractive young woman who looks at you with big eyes and says it's absolutely the truth. The viewers can look at it and see what they think.'

Morrison seeks to explain how Melani fits into the doomsday cult allegations surrounding Chad and Lori.

Previous reports claimed that Melani thought Brandon had been possessed by a demon, and that Lori and Chad had told her they thought JJ and Tylee were 'zombies'.

'There are all these people who surround Chad and Lori who appear to be part of this group,' Morrison said.

'When you hear people talk seriously about evil spirits inhabiting their spouses or members of their family, or people becoming zombies and needing to be eliminated, you're getting into some serious stuff.

'And those are the kinds of materials we have found ourselves dealing with over this period of time.'
Facial recognition company Clearview AI has been accused of using contract tracing during the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to build a 'shadowy surveillance network'.

Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, blasted Clearview after the company's CEO Hoan Ton-That said he'd spoken with federal authorities and three states about facial recognition to track the spread of coronavirus.

'We can't let the need for COVID contact tracing be used as cover by companies like Clearview to build shadowy surveillance networks,' Markey said in a tweet on Thursday.

'I'm demanding Clearview tell us what government entities it has sold its facial recognition tools to during the pandemic,' he added.

'We can't let the need for COVID contact tracing be used as cover by companies like Clearview to build shadowy surveillance networks,' Senator Ed Markey said

Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That said that Clearview had received a letter from Markey and said the company would be 'responding to him directly'

Markey publicly released a copy of a letter that he sent to Ton-That on Thursday, asking the company to name agencies it's in talks with and to disclose any possible agreements to develop contact tracing tools.

Contact tracing is the epidemic containment strategy that involves tracing the people that a person known to be infected has had contact with, and urging them to quarantine as a precaution.

In the letter, Markey also raised concerns around 'accuracy and bias' in Clearview's facial recognition technology

He added: 'This health crisis cannot justify using unreliable surveillance tools that could undermine our privacy rights'

Markey's letter said 'any plans to deploy it widely to fight the coronavirus could further increase Clearview's threat to the public's privacy'.

In a statement to DailyMail.com on Friday, Ton-That said: 'We just received the letter from Senator Markey, for whom we have great respect. We will be responding to him directly.'

Clearview uses AI algorithms to attempt to match the face of an unknown subject to a massive database of photos scraped from public sources such as social media (stock image)

Founded by Ton-That in 2017, New York-based Clearview maintained a low profile until earlier this year, when its contracts with law enforcement were first reported.

In January, Twitter sent Clearview a cease and desist letter and requested the deletion of all collected data from the platform.

Clearview uses AI algorithms to attempt to match the face of an unknown subject to a massive database of photos scraped from public sources such as social media.

Previously, the company touted its service as a tool for law enforcement to use to catch online sex predators and other criminals.

In a January statement, responding to controversy at the time, Clearview said: 'Clearview exists to help law enforcement agencies solve the toughest cases, and our technology comes with strict guidelines and safeguards to ensure investigators use it for its intended purpose only.'

'We remain committed to our mission of making the world a safer place and will continue to make our technology available only to law enforcement agencies and select security professionals.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:20:30|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Africa-China long-standing relations will remain intact because it was based on mutual respect and understanding in the wake of the COVID-19 despite many challenges arising from the pandemic, experts said.

Experts asserted that trade and other agreements between the two parts are bound to continue regardless of the challenges.

"There is nothing new. Pandemics or differences will come and go, but the Africa-China relations will remain, because they are built on sound principles and understanding," said Professor Owen Sichone, a Zambian social scientist.

Sichone said that "diplomacy is a self-correcting mechanism and that is why countries invest in it and that Africa and China have done well in that regard."

"Trade between Africa and China will continue; so will the scientific and cultural exchanges between the two, because they are part of their relations," explained Sichone, who is also immediate past director at Copperbelt University Dag Hammarskjold Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Sichone was also quick to call on the international community to ensure that they invest in strengthening public health systems and prioritize human health, adding that ways of preventing or lessening the impact of disease outbreaks particularly contagious ones are there in the public domain.

"There is no mystery here; it is just that someone was caught unaware," Sichone asserted.

Dawit Yirga, Director General of Asia and Oceania Affairs at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has said that "the support mobilized by the Chinese government and the private sector, including the Jack Ma Foundation, to assist the COVID-19 response efforts in Africa is very much appreciated."

"Africa and China are all weather friends and the Sino-Africa strategic partnership has shown vitality and strength in this time of unprecedented challenges," said Yirga.

"We are indeed very grateful to China for its support and solidarity at this difficult moment in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," said Yirga.

"Solidarity is indeed the bedrock of this (Africa-China) partnership and when the corona pandemic outbreak happened in China, Africa stood firmly in solidarity with China," he added.

Yirga, expressing appreciation to the "leadership and commitment of the people and government of China in successfully containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic," also stressed that "as COVID-19 spreads to across the globe,including in Africa, China is supporting the African continent."

Noting China's "commendable willingness" in sharing its successful experience by deploying medical teams in Ethiopian and other African countries, Yirga also expressed his confidence that the "Sino-Africa strategic partnership, which has passed the test of time, will once again prove its resilience."

"China bears in mind that at the difficult moment in its fight to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, the AU and countries of Africa have rendered China support, and clearly opposed any attempt to politicize the epidemic and tagging the virus, which fully demonstrated the brotherly ties between China and Africa, who have shared weal and woe, and the high level of bilateral strategic cooperation," said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier.

"Covid-19 is a global threat, affecting each and every inhabitant of planet earth, with zero regard for ethnicity, social status, wealth or any other of the various strata which have been contrived, over centuries, to set us apart from each other. Misguided assumptions with regard to the origin and the consequent attribution of blame take us nowhere, render a difficult situation even more challenging and impact negatively on relations between and amongst brotherly nations and peoples," said Sibusiso Moyo, Zimbabwe's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, also commended the solidarity demonstrated to Africa by the Chinese government as well as Chinese companies and civil societies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is a very good example for all over the world that feel panic and blame is not the answer. The answer is organizations, countries, institutions, and governments bringing their resources together to team up to provide these kinds of medical supplies and medical equipment for the protection of the people. So, China's move is a very good example," said Gebremariam. Enditem
FP Newspapers Inc. (CVE:FP) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 28% in the last quarter. But that doesn't undermine the rather lovely longer-term return, if you measure over the last three years. In fact, the share price is up a full 200% compared to three years ago. To some, the recent share price pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a good run. If the business can perform well for years to come, then the recent drop could be an opportunity.

Check out our latest analysis for FP Newspapers

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During three years of share price growth, FP Newspapers moved from a loss to profitability. Given the importance of this milestone, it's not overly surprising that the share price has increased strongly.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

TSXV:FP Past and Future Earnings May 1st 2020

This free interactive report on FP Newspapers's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that FP Newspapers has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 59% in the last twelve months. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 34% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand FP Newspapers better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for FP Newspapers you should be aware of, and 2 of them are potentially serious.

Story continues

We will like FP Newspapers better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
SPRINGFIELD  The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted Friday to extend the shutdown of the MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park casinos due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The commission voted 5-0 to extend the closure of the casinos until May 18, matching Gov. Charlie Bakers decision this week to extend his stay-at-home advisory and closing of nonessential businesses.

Its entirely appropriate for us to follow suit, commission member Gayle Cameron said just prior to the vote.

All three casinos have been closed since mid-March due to the state of emergency in Massachusetts, and as ordered by the state commission.

The commission, in a vote on April 3, had extended the shutdown of the states three casinos until May 4, in keeping with Bakers original stay-at-home advisory date.

The meetings are being conducted by teleconference due to the coronaviris.

Commission Chairmwoman Cathy Judd-Stein, and other members have said they know the shutdown is very difficult on the casinos, employees and patrons.

In April the three casinos reported that gross gaming revenues plummeted in March, as expected, due to all three being closed for half the month.

In an earnings call this week, officials for MGM Resorts International said the company is spending $270 million a month on its U.S. operations despite not being open for business.

President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the company is collaborating with public health officials and other experts to develop safety procedures for when the properties reopen.

Were also developing digital innovations for touchless interactions across the guest experience to improve protection and create greater overall confidence in the hospitality environment and their overall experience, Hornbuckle said, according to a transcript.

Hornbuckle said that due to various public health conditions in the states where MGM operates casinos, the company is "preparing to open properties in phases.

In Las Vegas, two of the companies properties  the New York-New York Hotel & Casino and the Bellagio  will likely be the first to reopen when restrictions are lifted in Nevada, according to the call.

MGM Springfield recently canceled hotel bookings between May 1 and May 21, and pushed the availability for new reservations to June 1.

Related Content:
The World Health Organization has been generous with its praise throughout this pandemic. China, Singapore and Ireland have all received plaudits for their handling of the coronavirus crisis. Now that a new turning point is in sight, with the infection's spread slowing and draconian lockdown measures being gradually lifted, the WHO is promoting the Swedish way of doing things. "Sweden represents a future model if we wish to get back to a society in which we don't have lockdowns," the WHO's Mike Ryan said, praising the way Swedes are trusted to "self-regulate."

Sweden's hands-off approach to lockdown has certainly been different to that of other countries, from France and Italy to the U.S. and China. Large public gatherings are banned but restaurants, bars and schools have stayed open, and social distancing is encouraged rather than enforced by police. Trust in the public is high, and so is the public's trust in the strategy. Swedes seem happy with the global attention. "Many countries are starting to come around to the Swedish way," Anders Tegnell, the country's chief epidemiologist, told USA Today.

But like so many stories of national exceptionalism in this crisis - the U.K. at one point was convinced it could avoid strict closures, painting them as unscientific, before eventually doing a U-turn - this one is debatable and premature.

President Donald Trump, no doubt annoyed at stories in the American media heaping praise on the Swedes, tweeted one obvious riposte this week, noting the high price that Swedes have had to pay in terms of covid-19 fatalities. Sweden's 2,586 deaths compare poorly with Denmark's 452, and Norway's 207. Taking population into account, Sweden has suffered more deaths per million people than the U.S. (although deaths aren't always counted in the same way).

When looking at all-cause mortality - which is probably a better gauge of the real level of coronavirus deaths - Sweden has been hit with "very high" excess deaths since the start of the year, according to the European body monitoring these statistics. In Denmark, they've been "low."

The counterargument is that Sweden has accepted more deaths in exchange for trying to achieve group immunity more quickly and protecting its economy from lasting collapse. Several big countries in Europe with stricter lockdowns have suffered more excess deaths and greater economic damage than Sweden while being more aggressive about halting infections. But they felt they had no other way to relieve their overrun hospitals, a problem that Sweden doesn't have.

We don't know what other nations might have gone through if they'd followed the Swedish model - France estimates its own lockdown saved 60,000 lives. We also don't know how much immunity has been acquired by the Swedes. An official report estimating that a third of Stockholm's population would develop antibodies to the virus by May 1 was withdrawn after an error.

We do know that Sweden's covid-19 journey hasn't been exceptional. Like other countries, it has experienced a surge in deaths in care homes, where about one in three virus deaths is estimated to have taken place. Visiting relatives and staff are expected to "self-regulate" but, according to reports, they don't always do so. The Swedes have also had a lack of systematic testing and equipment shortages.

Things might have been even worse without the Swedes' demographic and cultural defenses. This is a population that does social distancing already in many ways. More than half of the country lives in single-person households, working from home is common and access to fast broadband is everywhere. But Swedes are becoming increasingly unconcerned about keeping their distance as time goes on, as images of packed restaurants indicate. Public-health officials have warned about their behavior. In Stockholm they've threatened to shut bars and restaurants.

At the same time, migrant workers in the country are being infected disproportionately, according to a recent national survey. The hyper-individualist expectation to "self-regulate" looks too complacent for immigrant communities who lack access to information.

Sweden may very well turn out to be a relative winner of sorts, especially economically. It will probably experience a shorter and less severe slowdown than its European neighbors, says Torbjorn Isaksson, an analyst at Nordea Bank. That will cheer the lockdown critics such as Swedish industrialist Jacob Wallenberg, who in March warned of the long-term damage of putting economies in deep freeze. Whether that's much of a win for an economy where trade accounts for 89% of GDP is doubtful. Leapfrogging European Union trading partners in a single market that's been paralyzed by the virus scare can't be that meaningful. And it probably won't be fondly remembered.

Given that we haven't reached the end of this pandemic, more circumspection might be in order. Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said: "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." As we approach a turning point in the crisis, it's tempting to look back and single out winners as the model to follow. But we don't know what's going to happen next. None of us has lived through it yet. And that includes Sweden.

- - -

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion
In America like so many other countries , President does not decide the drugs for treatment. But scientific bodies like Food and Drug Administration in USA (FDA) test the drug and recommend its use.





by N.S.Venkataraman





The ongoing COVID 19 crisis has clearly exposed the weakness and shortfalls in American democratic culture, system and wisdom.





With around million Americans infected by the virus and more than 50000 people losing their lives, a healthy democratic country, that America claims itself to be , should have gone into a near silent mode without airing counter productive critical views, with grim determination to overcome the crisis with cooperative spirit.









Counterproductive criticism in crisis period :





On the other hand, this crisis period has been marked in America by politicking, counterproductive arguments, use of abusive language about the duly elected American President and medias comments losing sense of proportions and visual, print and social media liberally using vituperative language and publishing sarcastic cartoons





Such scenario in America today gives an impression of a divided country, with various groups exhibiting bitterness and hatred against each other, giving an overall impression to the outside world that American democracy lacks maturity.





Limits of democratic system :





While there is no dispute with regard to the superiority of democratic form of governance over that of dictatorial regimes or communist governance , the underlying factor governing the quality and merit of democratic form of governance is tolerance for opposite views and liberty not being considered as personal affair but recognized as social contract and adjustment of mutual interests.





While the entire world community is recognizing the fact that social distancing is immediate need to overcome the crisis, particularly since vaccines/drugs for treating the virus are now only in the development stage, it is shocking that public protests and voices are being heard against the governments directives to observe social distancing regulations in USA. Further, it is even more shocking to see section of people protesting against American President and demanding his resignation by holding protest meetings with body bags in front of the White House, even as the country is facing grim crisis.





Further, the despicable terms such as idiotic, clown etc. are being freely used to criticise the actions of American President.





The above condition indicates that the concept of personal freedom have been taken to ridiculous level , which make many people suspect that what America has today is not orderly democracy but chaotic democracy.





Need to rally behind the leader in crisis period :





In a matured democracy, while confronting with a severe crisis of COVID 19 that America faces today, what is important is that people of America should rally behind the American President , indulge in productive discussions and consultations and finally accepting the decision of the President in toto.





With regard to the COVID 19 crisis in USA , there could be different views as to whether President Trump has failed to check the entry of virus into America. Nobody seems to have a clear answer to this vexed question.





Everybody in USA seem to agree that WHO has failed in its duty to forewarn the world about this COVID 19. Probably, if such forewarning has been issued, President Trump might have taken early steps to prevent the virus spreading, on which one cannot comment conclusively at this stage.





As it is known, no American President is a master of all subjects and he is supported by an army of advisors with specialization in different fields and he is heavily dependent on them for taking crucial decisions. He receives advice and takes his decision by a process of consensus and finally Presidents views being decisive. In this process, there may be different style adopted by different Presidents to express their views.





With regard to suggestions of Trump like use of Chloroquine drug for treating COVID 19 , there could be different alternate opinions.





In daily briefings, obviously President Trump has been airing various suggestions given to him by different experts and probably throwing it open for public debate and deliberations to understand the public perspective.





In America like so many other countries , President does not decide the drugs for treatment. But scientific bodies like Food and Drug Administration in USA (FDA) test the drug and recommend its use.





All said and done, whatever one may think about the track record of Donald Trump in earlier days and as President of USA, it is necessary that in a matured democracy , people should realize the need to stand behind the duly elected leader in a democratic way, at the time of national crisis.





Even if criticisms were to be aired , it has to be done in a dignified and healthy manner and without diverting the attention of the society to politicking rather than curative plans and strategies.





Learn from India :





Perhaps, the citizens of America has a lesson or two to learn from the way that India has reacted to the COVUID 19 crisis.





When Indian Prime Minister Modi wanted the country men to clap on one occasion and on other occasion switch off power for a few minute and light a lamp to applaud the medical professionals and express national solidarity, the entire country responded , though some could have questioned the need for such symbolic gestures.





Media and think tank in Amrica need to introspect :





It is high time that media in USA should introspect about commenting on any issue or views in a crisis period that would degrade to the present level of hate mongering. Media in USA has a lot to answer and explain to the people about the behavior during this severe COVID 19 crisis.





It is also high time that think tank in America should examine whether American democratic system and practices is now going astray.
OTTAWAChinas envoy in Ottawa says that while the United States is smearing his country over COVID-19, the Peoples Republic appreciates Canadas cool-headed co-operation on battling the pandemic.

Ambassador Cong Peiwu also says he wants Canadians to know that Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are healthy and getting good treatment in Chinese custody.

The two Canadians have been detained for more than 500 days and China cut off their visits from Canadian diplomats earlier in the year as part of its efforts to limit access to prisons during the pandemic.

In an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press, Cong said he has heard nothing new about a proposal by Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to allow diplomats to conduct a virtual visit using the internet to check on Kovrig and Spavor.

They were imprisoned in December 2018 after Canada arrested Chinese high-tech executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant, plunging Sino-Canadian relations to a new low.

Cong says Canada and China are working closely to fight the pandemic, and that he is awaiting a report from his government on how a million face masks that Canada imported from China were found to be inadequate for health-care workers.

China attaches high importance to export quality control. The competent departments have recently written out more rigorous regulatory measures, said Cong.

We still are waiting for the response from the government because there was a report suggesting that some masks didnt meet the quality standards. We would like to see clarification, but still we havent got an answer yet.

The legal issues in the Kovrig-Spavor-Meng dispute remain unchanged: China says Canadas arrest of Meng, who faces bank-fraud charges in the United States, is unjust; Canada says Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, an entrepreneur, were picked up arbitrarily.

But Cong positioned Canada as an important partner for China in the continuing battle against COVID-19 and he used the interview to unleash a counterattack against the U.S., which has temporarily suspended all funding to the World Health Organization.

Cong didnt not mention President Donald Trump by name, but he referred to his administrations accusations that the WHO covered up early aspects of the outbreak and that China initially withheld information about it from the organization.

More recently, Trump and his supporters have also been putting forth a conspiracy theory that an infectious disease laboratory in Wuhan, China was the source of the pandemic. A U.S. intelligence statement released Thursday says the virus that causes COVID-19 was not deliberately engineered, but work is continuing to determine whether it might have escaped the Wuhan lab while being studied.

China is sharing experience while the U.S. is smearing China, said Cong. China has actively shared epidemic information and anti-epidemic experience with the WHO and many other countries including Canada. That co-operation has extended to 150 countries and international organizations, including on recent video conferences, he added.

To shift the blame, some U.S. politicians try to launch a stigmatization campaign against China. Attacking and discrediting other countries will not save the time and lives lost.

Cong was also asked about Conservative politicians in Canada, who are demanding answers directly from the WHO and are questioning whether China has undue influence on the organization.

Its a time to focus on the fight against the pandemic. Unfortunately, some politicians have greatly politicized the COVID-19 issue. Actually, we dont think its the time for accusations and political manipulation, he replied.

Champagne and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said that now is not the time for finger-pointing with the pandemic still a threat, but have suggested a reckoning could come later.

I believe that Canada has adopted a cool-headed approach, Cong said.

We appreciate that. The most important task, currently, is to focus our energy on fighting the pandemic.

He said China is committed to helping Canada receive all the medical equipment and supplies it needs during the pandemic. He also said Canada is grateful for Canadas shipping medical supplies to China early on.

China is preparing to ship 32 tons of diagnostic kits, N95 masks, isolation gowns and other equipment soon, Cong said.

China is also trying to smooth the passage of Canadian goods through Shanghais crowded airports, he said, and added it currently has no restrictions on how long the ground crews of chartered cargo planes can wait on the ground to be loaded up.

China and Canada disagreed recently on whether that was a factor in two Canadian planes returning from China without the medical supplies they were sent to pick up.

Our two countries have a tradition of supporting each other in trying times, said Cong.

As you could recall, during the most difficult period in our fight against the pandemic, the Canadian side provided us with assistance and support, and we value that very much. As the pandemic is spreading in Canada right now, we relate to the hardship the Canadian people are going through.

The status quo remains for Kovrig and Spavor, who are in Chinese prisons facing accusations of espionage. The Canadian government calls their arrests arbitrary. China continues to call for Mengs release, and Canada says her extradition case will have to be heard by the B.C. courts. The pandemic has all but halted those legal proceedings for the time being.

Cong said Kovrig was allowed a phone call to his father in March who was seriously ill at the time, but he offered no other details. Kovrig and Spavor, along with other prisoners are all being given better food, and they are both being allowed a higher frequency of parcels and letters.

Theyre in good and sound health, said Cong. Thats a message I would like to share with you.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 00:23:14|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China and other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have formally notified the WTO of the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

The interim arrangement will enable participating members to resolve global trade disputes through arbitration despite the current paralysis of WTO's Appellate Body.

An official with the MOC said that such an arrangement signaled the international community's confidence in and support for the multilateral trading regime but stressed that the ultimate goal was to restore the normal operation of the body as the move was an interim measure.

China will join hands with other WTO members in resolving the impasse over the Appellate Body and safeguard a rule-based multilateral trading regime, the official said. Enditem
On Friday Prime Minister Narendra Modi met ministers and top officials of the finance and commerce ministries and discussed strategies to attract more foreign investments into India. This was necessary, and timely too.

It was also a reminder that even though India had drawn $286 billion in investments between 2014-15 and 2018-19, a 51 per cent jump over the previous 5-year period, the government still felt it necessary to alter policies to attract more investments. However, there is no need to change policies in many cases. The sectors that can draw most investments are those where ...
Alleging discrimination against states where the Bharatiya Janata Party was not in power, workers of Punjab Congress staged a protest near the statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar near Jalandhar bypass here on Friday, and also asked residents to hoist the Tricolour on their rooftops in solidarity. The response, however, remained lukewarm in Ludhiana.

The central government is discriminating against the non-BJP states even in the time of a pandemic. It has not extended any help to the Punjab government to fight this challenging situation, said local Congress leader Ashwani Sharma.

Slamming the BJP leaders, who also protested against the Congress-led state government by keeping a fast on Friday claiming discrepancies in distribution of food grains to the needy, Sharma said that the BJP leadership is playing dirty politics. They should instead should urge the Centre to release the pending GST instalment of the state and announce a special package for Punjab, he said.
Shootings are up in Portland and police dont know why.

As of Tuesday, police responded to 167 shootings and 37 people had been wounded by gunfire so far this year.

That compares to 128 shootings and 19 people hit by bullets at this time last year, according to Sgt. Ken Duilio of the Gun Violence Reduction Unit.

Duilio said hes not sure whats driving the increase, though a dramatic spike occurred after Gov. Kate Brown declared a state emergency and issued a stay-at-home order in March -- about 30 shootings in two weeks.

But by mid-April, that number fell, he said.

Nothing in particular stands out  except for the sheer volume, he said.

We dont know why, Duilio said. It is concerning and alarming.

At the same time, there have been fewer deadly shootings: two compared to eight at this time last year.

Some of the shootings are considered repeat shootings, meaning they result from ongoing feuds, he said. Some are gang- or drug-related and others occurred during robberies and domestic disputes.

Many of the shootings appear to involve multiple guns based on the dozens of shell casings of different-sized calibers left behind and scattered at the scenes, police say. Since Jan. 1, police have recovered more than 800 casings and more than 50 firearms.

The bureau also has noticed a slight increase in accidental shootings, where someone is home playing with a firearm and it discharges, police said.

Regardless of the pandemic or not, were still working every day, doing our job, Duilio said. We wear the N95 masks, gloves, eye protection when contacting people on crime scenes. It hasnt reduced our ability to go out there and try to get ahead of this and reduce some of our shootings.

Police still have a hard time convincing witnesses to speak up, Duilio said.

That was the case after someone fired shots into Dawson Park in North Portland on March 12.

Close to 75 people were in the park at the time but when Officer Mark Kelly arrived and asked some what happened, he received little cooperation, according to court records. No one was injured.

Police eventually arrested a 29-year-old man after a woman driving by called 911 with a description of the gunman and his car and investigators got video from a nearby convenience store.

The man said he shot into the park when he saw someone there who had previously assaulted his sister, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Natalia Goudvis, a 21-year-old Portland State University student, was awakened early Sunday to find out a bullet struck the side passenger door of her black 2016 Subaru Impreza. She had bought the car just 10 days earlier.

Police Chief Jami Resch said she hopes some of the bureaus recent arrests will help reduce the number of shootings.

The gun violence came too close for comfort last weekend for Natalia Goudvis, a 21-year-old Portland State University student.

Goudvis recently moved out of a university dorm in downtown Portland when classes were suspended because of coronavirus and used her savings to buy her first car to move her belongings to an Airbnb basement apartment in a house on North Stafford Street.

About 3:45 a.m. last Sunday, her Airbnb host woke her. Police wanted to talk to her. Her black 2016 Subaru Impreza parked across the street had been hit by gunfire.

Goudvis met an officer on the darkened street who shined a flashlight on a bullet hole to the side panel of her car, revealing a 5-inch-long gash.

That was not a great moment for me, said Goudvis, who moved to Portland in September from Massachusetts to attend the PSU. She had bought the car only 10 days earlier.

Police recovered 18 shell casings from the drive-by shooting. One car was heading east on North Stafford and sped off toward Commercial Street, according to police. Emergency dispatchers received five to six 911 calls between 2:50 a.m. and 3 a.m. No arrests have been made.

What if this drive-by shooting had happened during the day? What if 18 bullets had hit the children or adults living in this neighborhood? Goudvis asked.

Its been like a tough month, just in general. Im having a hard time concentrating on school. Its just me in a basement wondering what to do.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The managing partner of a Manhattan law firm representing first responders and 9/11 survivors donated meals to healthcare personnel at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze Thursday.

Michael Barasch, of Barasch McGarry, donated at least 100 meals to the Ocean Breeze hospital.

Barasch McGarry, a Manhattan law firm that represents first responders and 9/11 survivors, donated meals to healthcare personnel at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze on Thursday, April 30. (Photo by Bridget Gormley of Barasch McGarry)

The law firm already donated meals at other locations around New York City, including Glen Cove Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, N.Y., NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, N.Y, Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, N.Y., St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, N.Y., Stony Brook University Hospital and Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y.

These people are our heroes  they need to be fed and they need to be taken care of, so they can take care of us, said Barasch. In this time of need, we are proud to support first responders who have been forced to sleep in their cars, and the medical providers working extended shifts to protect the public health. We owe them all an enormous debt of gratitude.

Barasch McGarry donated meals to 14 area police precincts as well.
DEAL OF THE WEEK

Wang Says Hello to Simon Pulse Simon Pulses Jennifer Ung bought Rona Wangs debut novel at auction for six figures. You Had Me at Hello World, which is slated for spring 2022, was sold by Penny Moore at Aevitas Creative Management in a two-book, world rights deal. The author is an undergraduate at MIT and was featured as a 2018 22 Under 22 honoree by Her Campus (an online magazine for female undergraduates). The agent said the YA novel is a rom-com about a Chinese American teen who is invited to a weekend-long coding competition at MIT, where she teams up with a cute tech industry prodigy to work on an app to help immigrants connect and put down roots.

FROM THE U.S.

Berkley Puts Sutanto on Speed Dial

After a four-way auction, Cindy Hwang at Berkley won Jesse Q Sutantos Dial A for Aunties. The novel was, Berkley said, pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Weekend at Bernies. Set tentatively for April 2021, Dial follows a young wedding photographer who, along with her mother and aunts, tries to hide the body of her blind date while working the wedding day of a wealthy client. Hwang described the book as more than a great readits an experience. K-drama meets telenovela with a side of rom-com. Sutanto, who has a masters degree in creative writing from the Oxford University, was represented in the two-book, North American rights agreement by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management.

Mitchard Takes Only to Mira

In a six-figure, world rights acquisition, Miras Kathy Sagan won My Only by Jacquelyn Mitchard (The Deep End of the Ocean). Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management represented the bestselling author. Mira said My Only, set for 2021, follows a mother who learns the truth about the murder conviction that her college-age son is facing. The publisher called the book an emotional novel of love and forgiveness.

Sullivan Is Caught Sleeping at Bestler

Connor Sullivans spy thriller The Sleeping Bear was bought in a two-book, world English rights deal by Emily Bestler for her eponymous imprint at Atria. Meg Ruley at the Jane Rotrosen Agency represented Sullivan. The publisher said Sleeping Bear follows a former Army Ranger who flees to Alaska when the death of her husband makes her a pawn in a perilous game with Russia. The author, who was previously a competitive alpine skier, attended the University of Southern California, where he won the schools Edward W. Moses Award for Creative Writing.

Rodkey Goes Lights Out at Perennial

For Harper Perennial, Sara Nelson nabbed North American rights to a dark comedy called Lights Out in Lincolnwood. Author Geoff Rodkey, who wrote the screenplay for the movie Daddy Daycare, follows a suburban New Jersey family over the course of four days as, Nelson explained, they attempt to navigate the social breakdown that occurs after the entire technological infrastructure of society mysteriously collapses. Josh Getzler at HG Literary represented Rodkey, and the novel is tentatively slated for summer 2021.

Pegasus Buys Italian Hit

Jessica Case at Pegasus Books nabbed North American rights to The Portrait by Ilaria Bernardini. Case said the novel, published in Italy in February, is a story of a lover, a wifeand the man they have in common. Case negotiated the deal with David Forrer at Inkwell Management, who sold the book on behalf of Atlantic Books U.K. The Portrait has been optioned by Lorenzo Mieli (who produced the HBO series My Brilliant Friend and The Young Pope). Bernardini is the author of eight novels and is a Vogue Italia columnist.
"While DC continues to battle this pandemic, our team has remained committed to delivering hope and a better DC through a more equitable health care system," said Mayor Bowser . "With these new agreements, we will deliver high quality, integrated care and transform our health care system by promoting equity in care, access, and outcomes. Together, we will build a health care system that meets the needs of all residents, attacks health disparities, and makes us more resilient for the challenges that lie ahead."

The announcement advances the University's Howard Forward strategic plan and the newly minted Campus Master Plan. Howard Forward outlines the University's future, highlighting the critical role of research that addresses local, national and global health challenges, collaboration between health sciences and STEM academic fields, and the need to serve the community. The Campus Master Plan effectuates this vision through better utilization of and strategic investment in the University's facilities and capital assets.

"The role that Howard University Hospital plays in providing healthcare to the citizens of Washington, D.C., and especially to those most vulnerable, is a sacred one," said Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA. "This partnership with the City to support building a new facility will strengthen Howard University's healthcare system, which is important to preserve our mission to serve the community. Because of Howard's role as the primary pipeline of African American healthcare professionals, this investment in the hospital is also an investment in the future of the healthcare profession and its diversity."

With the support of the Board of Trustees, Howard's leadership recognizes the health and well-being of the University is inextricably tied to the physical, social, and economic well-being of the city in which it was founded. As such, the University's new campus master plan offers a far-reaching vision for the long-term transformation of the central campus and its integration with the surrounding neighborhoods. A bold blueprint, focused on enhancing the experience of students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the Campus Master Plan includes a state-of-the-art teaching Hospital and Medical Office Building and an integrated Health Sciences Complex and STEM Center to serve as a centerpiece and catalyst for interdisciplinary research and patient care.

Through a $225 million tax abatement provided by the District, Howard University and its new operating partner Adventist HealthCare, envision a new, $450 million, 225 bed, Level I trauma and academic teaching hospital, with plans for completion in 2025 or 2026. The current Howard Hospital will remain open until the new hospital is completed. In addition, the District is committing $25 million in public infrastructure support, and $26.6 million over the next six years to support five Centers of Excellence at Howard Hospital  Sickle Cell, Women's Health, Oral Health, Trauma and Violence Prevention and Substance Abuse. Finally, in support of Howard's redevelopment plans, the District has committed to establishing one of its agencies as a tenant in one of the planned new office buildings.

"This partnership with the District is a great opportunity that will cover a broad landscape in some of the city's high risk neighborhoods," said Hugh E. Mighty, VP of clinical affairs. "Howard University Hospital will continue to provide healthcare east to the river through our clinics. The benefit of a new facility combined with our partnership with Adventist HealthCare will enhance our ability to provide a broad spectrum of care."

Realizing this vision is made possible with support from a network of partners, including Adventist HealthCare, the District of Columbia government, the Federal government, and private investors and developers. The new, state-of-the-art facility is critical to continuing Howard's 150-year-old tradition of serving the community.

"Adventist HealthCare is excited about the future of Howard University Hospital and our involvement in helping to continue its long tradition of providing high-quality care," said Terry Forde, President & CEO of Adventist HealthCare, one of the longest-serving providers in the D.C. region. "Our history of nationally recognized care for heart, stroke, cancer, OB and other health services will complement and help support the future of Howard University Hospital. We are grateful for the support from Mayor Bowser and the city as we work together towards the development of a new state-of-the-art hospital."

Modern facilities will enable clinical research on conditions afflicting the District's most vulnerable populations and strengthen Howard's on-going efforts to reach underserved communities. It will complement Howard's existing health care community health care programs and facilities, such as the new ambulatory care center Howard's Medical Faculty Practice which recently opened on Benning Road in partnership with Unity Health Care.

"Partnership with the District enables Howard to advance plans for its new teaching hospital and academic complex, as well as unlocking exciting redevelopment opportunities that will support a lively, Georgia Avenue Corridor, while advancing the University's mission," said Howard University Real Estate Executive Anthony Freeman, who leads strategic development and capital asset management initiatives.

Howard's vision for community service extends beyond the District of Columbia to underserved communities across the country. HUH is the largest training institution for minority physicians in the nation, having graduated over 10,000 physicians in its history, and placing more than 50% of its graduates into African American and other minority communities. Investments in a modern, efficient hospital will elevate training for generations of African American medical professionals.

Media Contact: Alonda Thomas, [email protected]

SOURCE Howard University

Related Links

http://www.howard.edu


Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000 prize she won from a Danish foundation to the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) for use against the Covid-19 pandemic, the world body said Thursday.

Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child rights crisis, Thunberg, 17, was quoted as saying in the UNICEF statement.

It will affect all children, now and in the long term, but vulnerable groups will be impacted the most, she added.

Im asking everyone to step up and join me in support of UNICEFs vital work to save childrens lives, to protect health and continue education.

The Danish anti-poverty non-governmental organization, Human Act, will match the $100,000 donation, the statement added.

UNICEF said the funds would give it a boost as it struggles to support children impacted by anti-virus lockdowns and school closures, particularly in the fields of food shortages, strained health care systems, violence and lost education.

Thunberg said at the end of March that she had likely contracted the coronavirus, after experiencing several symptoms after a trip to central Europe.
Alleged Kremlin Poison Plot Highlights Czechs' Russian Spy Problem

By Tony Wesolowsky April 30, 2020

A suspected Russian intelligence agent was reported to have flown into the Czech capital with a deadly mission.

The agent was tasked with taking out three local Czech officials, including the mayor of Prague, Zdenek Hrib, according to the Czech investigative weekly Respekt.

Each of the three had taken or supported steps that angered Moscow, including the removal of a statue of a controversial Soviet general and the renaming of the square in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague after the slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.

One of the alleged targets, Ondrej Kolar, a district mayor in Prague, was blunt, saying he had been told by Czech authorities that the Russian had been dispatched to "liquidate" him and the two others.

Upon arrival the suspected intelligence agent was driven to the Russian Embassy compound in a leafy residential neighborhood of Prague, according to Respekt, which broke the story on April 26.

Respekt said the Russian national entered the country with a suitcase containing the toxin ricin. That suitcase could have escaped customs inspection as per diplomatic protocol.

There are few other details in the Respekt report that, nevertheless, has sparked outrage in Prague and denials in Moscow, which has been accused of similar plots in the past, including the 2018 poisoning in Britain of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said it was "not acceptable -- if it's true -- for a foreign state to take action against our citizens here."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed the reports, saying it "looked like a canard."

Russia's 'Spy War'

But Western intelligence experts find the alleged plot possible, especially given the number of Russian spies reported to be operating out of the Czech Republic.

For John Schindler, a security expert and former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer, the ricin scandal would mark a dangerous escalation of Russian President Vladimir Putin's espionage activities in the West.

"Russian intelligence services feel safe operating very aggressively in Prague, I've gotten their rough treatment there myself, but the ricin thing is crazy, insane even for the Kremlin. Putin's gloves are off now," Schindler told RFE/RL.

In 2006, Putin launched his "spy war" against NATO and the European Union, gradually increasing the number of Kremlin spies operating abroad, Schindler has said.

"Now, cadres of Russian spies in NATO countries are bigger than even in the worst days of the Cold War, and Prague has more than perhaps anywhere else in the West," Schindler wrote in a 2017 article in The Observer.

For years, the Czech counterintelligence service, BIS, has issued report after report warning of the threat posed by Russian spies.

BIS said all Russian intelligence services, including Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), military intelligence (GRU), plus departments of the Federal Security Service (FSB), have been detected operating on Czech territory.

BIS and other security experts all agreed that the Russian Embassy in Prague, with its estimated 140 personnel, is a hive of Russian espionage activity.

"A long-term security problem remains the oversized Russian diplomatic mission in the Czech Republic, which raises the threat of Czech citizens coming into contact with the intelligence service of a foreign power," the BIS said in its latest annual report, issued in November 2019.

"The Russian Embassy remains a key site for many of their activities in Europe," Ladislav Sticha, a BIS spokesman, told RFE/RL in a phone interview.

David Stulik, a senior analyst at the Prague-based European Values Center for Security Policy, said operating under diplomatic cover "greatly facilitates" Russian espionage.

"They are undermining our institutions, gathering information, and making the Czech Republic a de facto base for Russia intelligence services for the Schengen area," Stulik explained, referring to the visa-free, EU travel zone.

Embassy Staff

Following the revelations from the Respekt report, the Czech Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee in condemning the alleged plot also called for action from the government to come up with a plan to reduce the number of declared Russian diplomats in the country.

The last time the Czech Republic expelled any Russian diplomats was in 2018 in the wake of the Skripal nerve-agent poisoning. Prague kicked out three Russian Embassy personnel as part of a coordinated Western response.

With more than 150 Russian diplomats recalled from two dozen states, it was the biggest wave of expulsions since the Cold War. The Russians announced their own expulsions in response.

Later that same year, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek in November told Czech TV that Prague and Moscow were in talks on reducing the Russian Embassy staff. Petricek said the number should "correspondent to the population and importance of the state."

The Russian Embassy in Prague, however, quickly issued a denial. In a Twitter post at the time, the embassy said there was no "intensive dialogue" with Prague about possibly reducing diplomatic staff. It said not only that such talks "had not occurred," but added "they will not."

Sticha declined to say whether the BIS had recommended to the government to push for a staff reduction, emphasizing that the Czech counterintelligence agency has repeatedly pointed out the large number of Russians with diplomatic status in the country.

"It's not a decision for us. It's a political decision," Sticha said.

Political Courage Lacking?

Jakub Janda, executive director of the European Values Center for Security Policy, said he doubted the political will exists in the Czech Republic to take drastic measures akin to those taken by Britain in the past to rid the country of Soviet or Russian spies.

"In the 1970s, Britain disrupted nearly all the KGB spy networks in the country, expelling almost all diplomatic and intelligence personnel, Janda told Seznam.cz in 2018.

"We could expel practically all diplomatic and intelligence personnel in the Czech Republic, which Moscow would reciprocate," Janda said. "In addition, we would break most of the Russian spy networks in the Czech Republic, the main goal of such a move. However, that requires political courage of the government, which today is dependent on Russia through the president and communists."

Czech President Milos Zeman is considered to have warm ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, having questioned the point of sanctioning Russia for its support of a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine and Moscow's annexation of Crimea.

Czech fear of reciprocity -- that Russia would shrink the Czech Embassy in Russia if Prague moved against the Russian diplomatic mission in the Czech Republic -- may be putting the brakes on the Czechs taking action, Stulik explained.

"The Czech Republic has its interests in Russia: economic, but also maintaining the graves of Czechoslovak legionnaires," Stulik added, referring to the Czechs and Slovaks who fought in Russia during World War I and in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White Army.

However, Schindler said the alleged ricin plot may serve as a wake-up call for Czech political leaders. "BIS, despite being overwhelmed by the scale of the Russian Intelligence Security threat, understand the stakes and work against it, but Zeman, et al, aren't enthusiastic about pushing back on the Kremlin here," Schindler explained in e-mailed comments.

"The ricin incident is so brazen that, like the novichok attack in the U.K., we can hope for change. Maybe," Schindler said.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/alleged-kremlin- poison-plot-highlights-czechs-russian- spy-problem/30585899.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Scott Morrison has said coronavirus may have escaped from a Chinese lab.

The Prime Minister said the theory, which is being investigated by US spies, 'can't be ruled out' even though he has seen no evidence to support it.

'There's nothing that we have that would suggest that that is the likely source but you can't rule anything out in this scenario,' he said today.

Scott Morrison has said coronavirus may have been made deliberately in a Chinese lab. Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology

Customers walk past pork stalls at the Dancun Market in Nanning, Guangxi province, China. The leading theory is that coronavirus jumped from animals to humans in a wet market

Mr Morrison confirmed he will back a European Union resolution to set up an investigation into the outbreak.

'We know it started in China, in Wuhan, and the most likely scenario that has been canvassed relates to wildlife wet markets,' he said.

'This is one of the reasons why it is important we have an objective, independent assessment of how this originated and learn the lessons of how this occurred.'

The resolution will be put to the World Health Assembly which meets in Geneva, Switzerland on 18 May.

On Thursday US President Donald Trump speculated that China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world by mistake and even suggested that a release could have been intentional.

An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan

Vendors wearing face masks as they offer prawns for sale at a market in Wuhan where reports of the virus first emerged in December

His intelligence agencies said they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The lab is a few kilometres from the city's wet markets and was researching coronaviruses including the SARS virus, a close genetic relative of the current virus.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it had ruled out the virus being man-made but was still investigating the precise source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.

Though scientists suggest the likeliest origin of the pandemic remains that it spread from an infected animal to a human, Trump claimed to have seen evidence to support the theory that the origin was an infectious disease lab in Wuhan.

He said the U.S. now 'is finding how it came out.'

'It's a terrible thing that happened,' the president said. 'Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose.'

President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a event about protecting seniors, in the East Room of the White House on 30 April

The intelligence statement said the federal agencies concur 'with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.'

'The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.'

In recent days the Trump administration has sharpened its rhetoric on China, accusing the geopolitical foe and vital trading partner of failing to act swiftly enough to sound the alarm about the outbreak or to stop the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

U.S. officials have said the Chinese government should 'pay a price' for its handling of the pandemic.

This all comes as the pace of Trumps own original response continues to come under scrutiny, questioned as too meager and too slow.

Earlier Thursday, before Trump's comments, the Chinese government said that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are 'unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing.'

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institutes director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen.

'I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals,' Geng said.

He also criticized those in the U.S. who say China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on 'better controlling the epidemic situation at home.'
BIOGRAPHY

David Campbell: A Life of the Poet

Jonathan Persse

Australian Scholarly Publishing, $44

David Campbell (1915-1979) was a key member of what was arguably the greatest generation of Australian poets so far. They emerged after World War II and include A.D. Hope, Douglas Stewart, Judith Wright, James McAuley, Francis Webb and Rosemary Dobson.

Jonathan Persse's biography of David Campbell, seen here on his farm, has done justice to his life and poetry. Credit:David Porter

Perhaps sadly, few of these poets have been the subjects of a full-length biography, with Wright, also an activist, an exception. Now, after many years' work, Jonathan Persse has produced an account of Campbell's life that does considerable justice to the man and his work.

Even during his life, critics found themselves unable to say much about Campbell's poetry. The lyricism seemed too pure to offer them purchase  beyond the obvious allusions to Elizabethan love poetry and bush balladry. Several noticed his distinctly personal use of surrealism, but that was about it.
In our section of Highland Park, it will definitely hurt, he said. Im thinking of the local pizza (parlor) and restaurants where people would normally go to eat. Its going to devastate them because those 15,000 people wont be showing up on those nights when theres a big draw. Those dollars are not going to be there.
The logo of Nokia is seen before the company's news conference in Espoo

By Tarmo Virki and Supantha Mukherjee

(Reuters) - Nokia Oyj <NOKIA.HE> eked out a small profit in the first quarter, backed by demand for its new high-margin 5G telecoms equipment, and predicted a strong second half of the year, sending its shares higher.

The Finnish company said the bulk of the coronavirus impact will be felt in the current quarter. Its revenue slipped 2% in the first three months of the year as it took a hit of about 200 million euros ($217 million) largely because the pandemic disrupted supply from operations in China.

Nokia, battling with China's Huawei and Sweden's Ericsson <ERICb.ST>, is trying to strengthen its 5G slate and looking especially to deployment by U.S. telecom companies for growth.

Ericsson and Huawei both increased their revenue in the first quarter, helped by strong demand as telecom services help to keep businesses working remotely during the pandemic.

Nokia expects a seasonally strong second half when it will have new leadership as former executive Pekka Lundmark from energy group Fortum <FORTUM.HE> is due to replace Chief Executive Rajeev Suri in September.

It trimmed its full-year earnings forecast to 23 euro cents from 25 cents, but shares in the company were up by 2.7% by 0900 GMT.

China has been a weak spot for Nokia but CEO Suri said the company had won a 10% share of China Unicom's 5G core network order, with Huawei and ZTE <000063.SZ> taking most of the order.

"We are the only foreign supplier in China Unicom for 5G core," Suri told Reuters in an interview.

According to media reports, Nokia did not win any 5G radio contracts from Chinese telecom companies - China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom - in recent bidding rounds.

CHALLENGES

Nokia reported January-March revenues falling to 4.9 billion euros, missing the 5.1 billion euro consensus figure, according to Refinitiv data.

"We did not see a decline in demand in the first quarter. As the COVID-19 situation develops, however, an increase in supply and delivery challenges in a number of countries is possible and some customers may re-assess their spending plans," Suri said in a statement.

Story continues

Nokia generated first quarter underlying profit of 1 cent per share, broadly matching analysts' forecasts, according to Refinitiv data based on 10 analysts. It had posted a loss of 2 cents per share in the same period last year.

Nokia, which axed its dividend after a profit warning last October, has been trying to tackle costs and delays in shipments and pointed to progress for its new 5G ReefShark equipment.

"As was expected, new uncertainties have been added to the outlook due to the pandemic but solving the company's internal problems seems to progress on schedule," Inderes analyst Mikael Rautanen wrote in a note.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki in Tallinn and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru and Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Keith Weir)
Suburban residents in a swath of Washington and Clackamas counties will soon have a new voice representing their growing area on the Metro Council.

Craig Dirksen, a former mayor of Tigard, is not seeking a third term on the regional council, meaning District 3 is up for grabs.

The candidate voters choose to fill the seat will play an important role in shaping the future for parts of Beaverton and the metro areas far southwestern reaches of Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood and Wilsonville.

The Metro Council, which oversees planning, garbage removal and transportation blueprints for the tri-county region, has its sights on a $7 billion transportation package this November and is seeking a significant homeless services measure in May.

The race includes two candidates with substantial track records in public life, Tom Anderson and Gerritt Rosenthal, and two political newcomers.

Anderson, 58, is a real estate broker and who grew up in Aloha and has lived in Tigard for 15 years. Anderson was elected to Tigards City Council and has been involved in that citys planning commission previously. He and his wife have two teenagers.

Alison Balbag, 35, has her doctorate in gerontology and an additional Doctor of Musical Arts degree. She is a professor who lives in Beaverton but grew up in Portland. She is a member of Beavertons arts commission.

Patricia Kepler, 56, lives in Aloha and works at Portland Community College as an accessibility specialist. She and her husband raised three kids in Washington County

Rosenthal, 75, has lobbying experience in Salem and worked in land use planning, waste management habitat protection and other issues pertinent to Metro during his career as an environmental consultant. Hes lived in Stafford for 29 years and also has management experience. Hes twice run unsuccessfully for the Legislature.

Anderson has raised the most of any candidate: $10,775 as of Wednesday, with the largest donation from the Portland Metro Realtors.

Rosenthal raised $3,200, bolstered by a $2,000 personal loan.

Neither of the other two candidates have reported campaign contributions.

The Oregonian/OregonLive posed a set of questions to each candidate. Here are their responses, some of which were edited for clarity or brevity.

What specifically in your track record would you point to that makes you the best candidate to represent this district and its diverse geographic area and interests on the Metro Council.

Anderson: I am currently on my fourth year of the Tigard City Council and before that I served for seven years on the Tigard Planning Commission and worked with our staff to bring urban growth boundary expansion to Tigard. I have served as a council liaison to our parks board and on Tigards transportation task force pertaining to the Southwest Corridor. I know most of the staffs and elected officials in Washington County and I can easily communicate to them the direction and policies of Metro.

Balbag: Having achieved two doctorates in separate fields, my diverse backgroundalong with being a multiracial female and first-generation college graduategrants me a unique insight into connecting the dots. Governmentat all levelsneeds more uncorrupted leaders with no conflicts of interest with their occupations.

Kepler: My dedication to public service and my history of advocacy. As a parent, I want children to be able to safely walk to school. As a person who does not drive, I want to be able to safely navigate our roads and transportation system to take care of daily business, get to work or travel to social gatherings. As the spouse of someone who does drive, I want my family to be able to safely navigate our roads in a timely manner. I have a 20-year record of speaking out and advocating for change regarding transit.

Rosenthal:

 Former project manager for regional government (Lane Council of Governments, Eugene)

 Former Co-Chair of Metros committee on citizen participation

 Professional experience in land use & solid waste planning, open-space and habitat protection

 Professional familiarity with transportation planning

 Landowner and business owner; 75 years old

 Masters degrees in biochemistry and hydrology

 No conflicting vested interests

 Local government familiarity - sensitive to local situations

 Lobbying experience

 Managed offices of over 50

 Large grants and contracts administrator - grant writing and stakeholder experience

 Tracked and commented on Southwest Corridor, rural reserves and proposed Columbia River Crossing bridge and related Interstate 5 improvements

The Metro regional government is expected to send a $7 billion transportation package to tri-county voters in November. Some argue the package lacks a bold vision to transform the region. Others argue its too much of a financial burden during calamitous economic times and a global pandemic. What do you think?

Anderson: The transportation package is just right. The Southwest Corridor light rail project is expected to get some matching federal funds to ease the burden on Metro taxpayers. It is a key geographical line that will finally connect Southwest Portland, Tigard and Tualatin to the rest of the MAX system. Additionally, the proposed road improvements are on facilities that have not been updated since they were built in the 70s. It is important to remember that this transportation package is in addition to anything that the state and federal government will contribute to our region.

Balbag: Whether its the global pandemic, the war on terror, or whatevers put in front of us that appears to disrupt our economic progression, we must still direct our resources to promote advancements that move everyone forward and support our shared future.

Kepler: We must fix our infrastructure if we want to stop forcing residents out. I am a huge supporter of the bill; however, I would like us to take a closer look at what we have learned these past few months. We have made changes in how we work and live because it was the only way to survive. I am hopeful that our business leaders will be willing to discuss staggering work schedules, support more work-from-home hours , and consider other practices that support business, while reducing rush hour and general congestion on our roads.

Rosenthal: The proposal includes two projects: Southwest Corridor and regional investment. Metro bond about $3.5 million. Proposals are half-bold. They are bold because: a) new Southwest Corridor, b) focus on equity and safety, and c) comprehensive stakeholder involvement. Not bold enough because a) not visionary, b) omits critical 99W corridor c) limited economic displacement protection and d) relies on spoke-hub alignments. Before March they were both critical and affordable but perhaps insufficient. Now it is impossible to predict economics in November and phasing might be necessary. However, 30,000 good paying jobs doing infrastructure improvement will provide critical economic stimulus.

How do you get to and from work, and why?

Anderson: I drive my personal car to work and during work. As a real estate broker, some of my days are driving around the county looking at housing choices for my clients. It would be very impractical to use bus lines to get around to such varied locations that are not supported by public transportation. Over the years in the business, I have limited my scope to local Tigard properties, hence the name Tigard Real Estate. That is so that I can have specific market knowledge in the area and it also cuts down on my driving distance.

Balbag: Im fortunate to have the opportunity to work via Wi-Fi. The Metro transportation improvement projects should prioritize serving those workers who are required to be on-site.

Kepler: I travel to and from work using public transportation, either TriMet Lift Paratransit or the fixed route system. I am blind and travel with the assistance of a Seeing Eye dog. I have family and friends who are happy to assist in my transit needs, when TriMet is unable to accommodate schedule variations, but I enjoy the ability to navigate my community independently and on my terms.

Rosenthal: As an environmental consultant, I had the benefit of being able to do much of my work from home. In addition, my work on jobs sites was scattered over the region so I did not have a regular commute. When I managed offices for Adolfson Associates in Portland and EMCON in Eugene and Portland, I drove, walked, or rode a bicycle, often dependent on weather. There is no public transit service within a mile of my home.

Aside from a light rail line to Bridgeport Village, what reasons for optimism do you see that public transit is a viable, frequent and accessible commuting option for Washington and Clackamas county residents or will be in the not-too-distant future?

Anderson: I have experienced good public transit in cities like Vancouver B.C., Washington D.C. and San Francisco, so I know it can work when all the infrastructure is built out. Before now, we have been lacking the local regional centers to make it work. Now that Washington County has a population of over 600,000, it is more than just a suburban county to Portland but has its own housing and employment zones. TriMet is also developing smaller, cleaner buses that will work for shuttle routes that will improve the first mile, last mile dilemma that are current barriers for ridership.

Balbag: By connecting all of our regions urban and rural communities, great transportation gives people increased options for feasible and affordable live-work opportunities.

Kepler: The gentrification of Portland has forced lower income residents into increasingly dispersed communities, further away from jobs, schools and services. Improved transit is essential to support successful employment outcomes and reduce demand on social services. Our seniors and people with disabilities have been isolating themselves in their homes, afraid to attend community events or travel to public spaces, even before the pandemic. The alarmingly high number of pedestrians being killed, even when crossing the street legally, must stop. The transportation bill has the power to change lives and empower people to be active in their community.

Rosenthal: I have long supported public transit. People will use it if it is frequent, reliable and serves critical locations (job, schools, medical facilities). Our biggest hurdle is cheap gasoline and American reliance on personal vehicles. Significant investment in public transit will have difficulty as long as petrol prices are cheap. I have optimism due to new technologies and increasing density, e.g. fixed route, on-call, energy efficient, autonomous transportation pods to improve access to transit hubs, employment, schools and medical facilities. Technologies such as smart lights can respond to transit needs and improve both safety and efficiency.

Do you believe in induced demand? Meaning, if you add traffic lanes to a road, highway or freeway, it will invariable lead more people to drive?

Anderson: No, I dont believe in induced demand for our Portland area roadways. If you built a road that led to nowhere, people would not drive on it. Commuters are on Interstate 5 to get to places because the demand is already there. If public transportation was as convienient, it would get more ridership. Take the WES line, for example: There is not a lot of ridership because of the lack of connections to other lines. If the Southwest Cooridor line is built, WES ridership should go up via transfers from the Tigard Station to the Beaverton Max station.

Balbag: Increasing transportation flow to accommodate the inevitable growth in our community and world is a necessary path we must pursue.

Kepler: Regardless of the number of lanes or how congested they are, there remains an underutilization of public transit. For too many people, our transit system does not provide the routes, stops and schedules they need. Children in the Portland Public Schools are provided bus passes to get to school, after school jobs, etc. Washington County and Clackamas students have not been afforded this benefit. Early experience with public transit, if positive, can lead to increased utilization in the future. If we adopt a universal design mindset while making city planning decisions, we will develop a community where we all flourish.

Rosenthal: Induced demand is a proven fact under certain conditions, such as low gas prices, affordable automobiles, no demand pricing, and no safe and convenient alternatives. The primary factor is not the number of lanes. Two major considerations suggest a need for flexibility: 1) anticipate only a gradual shift from private vehicles in the next 20 years and 2) consider that all higher speed urban routes, particularly commercial, should have a minimum of three lanes for flow and safety. Each potential lane addition must be considered on its specific merit and not as a broad ideological premise.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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FILE PHOTO: Planes belonging to Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, seen at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL). (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

By Claire Jiao

Airlines in the Philippines are asking Congress to pass a law that would provide the industry financial support and wage subsidies as losses due to the pandemic reach 19 billion pesos ($376 million).

Philippine Airlines Inc., Cebu Air Inc., the local unit of AirAsia Group Bhd and other members of the nations Air Carriers Association face about 7 billion pesos in fixed costs a month, largely due to aircraft rentals, and about 5 billion pesos to date in refund liabilities, Vice-Chairman Roberto Lim said in a phone interview. Banks have cut off access to unused credit lines as the Southeast Asian nations lockdown enters a second month, he said.

Airlines and transport authorities have agreed on health, hygiene and sanitation protocols, allowing them to restart domestic flights should the government ease the lockdown on May 15, Lim said. Philippine Airlines also plans to immediately resume transpacific flights, he said.

Global passenger demand slumped by half in March, with Asia-Pacific suffering the steepest decline among regional markets at 60%, according to the International Air Transport Association. Singapore and South Korea have thrown a lifeline to their carriers, while airlines in Thailand and Malaysia are also seeking government aid.

 2020 Bloomberg L.P.
opinion

To help school owners, government could consider working out some palliatives for registered schools to ease the burden of keeping schools running without students during this period. This may not be an easy option for a government that is also paying its teachers for doing nothing as it were, but doing this is in the overall interest of the nation.

President Muhammadu Buhari was presented with two difficult choices early this week, as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on - a choice to continue the lockdown of Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory to further curtail the spread of the pandemic; or a decision to relax the lockdown in these states and the FCT for businesses to reopen. Each of the two choices has its own consequences. Although, the minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, didn't quite express it, one could feel his pains while responding to journalists' enquiry on when the economy was likely to be unlocked, during one of the briefings of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. He said he had presented the facts of the situation to the president and that only the president could take a decision on the matter. Truly, opening the economy at this time appears to be a risk, looking at things from a scientific point of view. Not with the rising figures of infected cases, amid a low testing capacity.

On the other hand, the pressure on the president to open up the economy was enormous. Businesses are desperate to survive and people are no longer patient. In Lagos, people are already disobeying the lockdown order so as to keep body and soul together. No one can blame them. It's tough to keep the economy grounded in the face of hunger and job losses, without palliatives that go round from government. Unfortunately, the slow pace of testing is not helping matters. For more than one month of total lockdown, barely 10,000 people have been tested for the COVID-19 infection in Nigeria's population of nearly 200 million. To worsen the situation, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it is targeting two million people for testing in the next three months. Simply put, it would take three months to test about 10 per cent of Nigeria's population. Even at that, the agency's director general, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said that was a very ambitious target. So, where do people start from? For how long would they have to wait? It's obvious that Nigeria does not have the capacity to deal with the problem. So, heads or tails, none of the decisions would be palatable to citizens.

Anyway, the president has taken a decision. All things being equal, partial economic activities should resume in Lagos and Ogun States and the FCT on May 4, going by the president's nationwide broadcast on April 27. The president had given economic reasons for relaxing the total lockdown. Since many workplaces are opening as from Monday, school owners also wanted to know when schools would be reopening. The minister of state for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba said there was no date yet as Nigeria would not want to put its children at risk. According to the minister, none of these schools could function on their own without the society.

The minister is absolutely right on the need to protect the lives of Nigerian children. The poser to the education minister, however, is: How is government planning to take care of the business interest of these school owners since they are also businesspeople in their own rights? If the federal government is opening up the economy for business reason, what provision is the country making for businesses that could not possibly open because of the good of all?

Recall that Lagos State has warned private schools against commencing the third term academic session. The FCT also gave a similar warning. Meanwhile, many states have commenced radio classes for pupils in public schools to keep them busy. Private school owners have also tried to offer online classes to their pupils as well. But, in many cases, parents are being asked to pay for this service. This has resulted in a dilemma. Parents want to know what they are paying for. If schools are not starting the third term, what would children be learning online? And if parents pay for online teaching, would that take care of third term school fees?

The logical thing, therefore, in this circumstance, is for government to engage in meaningful discussions with private education providers on how to ease the burden that could be imposed on them by prolonged school closure. This is important because school owners are also business entrepreneurs who may go bankrupt without reliefs from government.

Already, nothing much is happening at the tertiary level in terms of online teaching. Many private higher institutions are not doing anything. The few ones running online are complaining of huge data costs. Lagos State is also trying to enforce online teaching in its university and polytechnic, but students are citing the high cost of data and other factors as reasons why it won't work.

Education is a business that is highly regulated in Nigeria. A lot of things are controlled by government. That is why the sector is likely to be worst hit by this pandemic. Considering that school environments naturally encourage large gatherings, which is often discouraged to curb the spread of coronavirus, schools may have to remain shut long after the lockdown is relaxed. The logical thing, therefore, in this circumstance, is for government to engage in meaningful discussions with private education providers on how to ease the burden that could be imposed on them by prolonged school closure. This is important because school owners are also business entrepreneurs who may go bankrupt without reliefs from government. If schools have to wait for this virus to go before they can resume business, I don't know how many of them will survive. This is why I think government should consider a bailout for some of them.

We can't afford to dismiss these private school operators. They have been formidable partners with government over the years in meeting the educational needs of Nigerians. Let's take universities as an example. Nigeria currently has 43 federal universities, 52 state universities and 79 private universities. At the secondary school level, data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that there were 967,847 public secondary schools in Nigeria in 2017 and 279, 204 private schools in the same year. We know that the number of private schools is likely to be higher than this because many of them are not registered. We may argue that the owners are in business but they are also helping government to widen access to education.

Government should also remember that these schools have bills to pay. How do you pay teachers for doing nothing? And if these schools decide not to pay, it is likely to become a problem for the larger society. Besides, most of their workers are Nigerians, so government should be interested in their plight.

As business entities, these private schools are also employers of labour. Their interventions go a long way in reducing unemployment in the country. So, they are stakeholders that cannot be ignored. Government should also remember that these schools have bills to pay. How do you pay teachers for doing nothing? And if these schools decide not to pay, it is likely to become a problem for the larger society. Besides, most of their workers are Nigerians, so government should be interested in their plight. Government cannot justify locking down a sector of the economy while unlocking others without showing consideration for the sector locked down.

That is why the federal government should find a way of making things work for everyone, including education providers in the private sector. There is no guarantee that schools will reopen soon, going by how far Nigeria has been able to manage this pandemic. Thus far, Nigeria has neither done enough tests nor showed any capacity to do so in the nearest future. Data from worldmeters.info describes Nigeria as a country having one of the worst testing coverage in the world.

To help school owners, government could consider working out some palliatives for registered schools to ease the burden of keeping schools running without students during this period. This may not be an easy option for a government that is also paying its teachers for doing nothing as it were, but doing this is in the overall interest of the nation. With this, private school providers won't have any reason to think that they are being singled out to suffer the consequences of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Olabisi Deji-Folutile is editor-in-chief, franktalknow.com and member, Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk

FEEDBACK: Minister Adamu: Online Migration Goes Beyond Ministerial Directive

Dear Bisi,

I work with one of the government regulatory agencies and have participated at the national level on the development of e-learning policy and implementation; as well as National Policy on ICT in Education, both by the Ministry of Education, and for this reason I would not want my name published.

Your write up on the above subject is interesting and we hope all parties will see beyond the ministerial directive. To further enlighten the public on the issue of online learning and teaching, the universities should be more responsible and own more of the blame.

All the universities you mentioned in your write up created platforms to enhance and provide access to quality education for the convenience of their lecturers and students apart from the fact that their respective governments provided enabling environment.

Coming back to Nigeria, we should endeavour to not always put the bulk of the blames on government but instead ask if those that should be responsible at their own levels are doing the needful.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) established the National Virtual Library and also directed universities to create an Institutional Repository to complement this effort.

The NUC also established the Nigeria Research and Education Network (NgREN) to cater for the impasse that is now a national issue. But stakeholders' participation to ensure this is a success, just like what they have in South Africa, is nothing to speak about. This project would have increased access to online teaching, learning and research as well, as collaboration and resources sharing. The platform would have helped reduce the cost of bandwidth capacity to the education sector, provide dark fibre for local network access and infrastructure, as well as create quality local education content. All these efforts have not materialised because of politics, lack of participation and funding.

Furthermore, there have been several ICT related interventions in the public universities by NCC, USPF, NITDA, CBN and TETFund. All these interventions have not been well utilised by the beneficiaries (Universities and other Tertiary institutions).

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On the issue of bandwidth, we need to ask the universities what they do with the ICT fee collected from students' year in year out. How many of the universities can boast of good campus network or even maintain the ones provided for them through interventions by the government agency? How many of the universities can boast of a Learning Management Systems? How many of the lecturers understand how to create electronic content? Over 80 per cent of lecturers have personal Laptops, what are these devices used for?

The fact is majority of our lecturers are not innovative in teaching. Although some make use of technology in teaching but the number is about 10 per cent.

To conclude, the government has its own fault in terms of ensuring funds are well spent and channelled to the right cause, ensuring effective monitoring and evaluation system by the respective agency; and ensuring that a well articulated and implementable policy on e-learning are in place. Although this is in place but are not implemented.

Finally, government should make it mandatory that every lecturer must provide an electronic copy of their subject with the inclusion of weekly/monthly assessment to be included in the university LMS. This should be part of their own (lecturers') assessment and promotions.

If all these are implemented, ASUU will stop blaming people for their own irresponsibility and government on the other hand, will be further exposed for lack of funding and innovation in education. This will also expose NITDA, NCC and TETFund for not prioritising funds to ensure our education system is competitive.

Thanks once again for your write up. I hope my mail will help in further research and analysis on the subject matter.

Editor Bisi,

Thank you for this brilliant piece. You have said it all. The government is not serious about moving tertiary education sector forward. The major problem is inadequate funding and the insensitivity of government to cries of ASUU for a redress of the problem.

It is perhaps only in Nigeria that employees pay for the tools with which they work for the employer. For example, l bought the laptop I am using for official duties. In fact, l took loan from the Cooperative to buy it because l could not save to buy it.

When the minister said we should migrate to online teaching, assuming there was no strike, who bears the cost of data? Now that there is strike, and our salaries for three months have not been paid, from where will l get money to buy data?

The issue of ICT-backed infrastructure you mentioned is there. This is largely absent due to poor funding.

Olubunmi Ajibade, PhD Dept of Mass Comm. University of Lagos.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is mourning the loss of its fire chief after he died Thursday night from the novel coronavirus.

Donald DiPetrillo, 70, has been fighting COVID-19 at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood since March 12, the tribe said Friday.

It is believed he contracted the virus at the EMS Today emergency medical services conference in Tampa in early March.

Donald DiPetrillo

A new level of professionalism

Don played a major role in bringing a new level of professionalism to the Fire Department operations of Seminole Fire Rescue, William Latchford, executive director of public safety for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, said in a news release.

Chief DiPetrillo understood that success in life was about just being nice. If you care for people, the rest takes care of itself. His care, commitment, and leadership for over 50 years of service, helped shape the future of the fire service, not only within the Seminole Tribe, but also in the State of Florida.

Vietnam veteran, possibly first Florida Native American to die of COVID-19, tribe says

DiPetrillos career

DiPetrillo, who lived in Davie, graduated from McArthur High School in Hollywood in 1967. He received his associates degree in fire science from Broward College and then graduated from Barry University with a bachelors degree in public administration.

He joined the Navy in 1971 as a Yeoman 2nd Class and served on board the U.S.S. Wasp. After being honorably discharged, he became part of the United States Reserves in 1972.

From 1973 until 2001, he was with the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Department and had worked as a lifeguard in the early 1970s. DiPetrillo then served as Davies fire chief and emergency management director from 2001 through 2007.

Im planning on staying around a while, DiPetrillo told the Miami Herald when he joined the town in 2001. Youre not going to make massive changes in a short time. I have to learn the landscape.

DiPetrillo had taken the helm of a Davie department that had its share of troubles. A previous chief had been demoted after the fire union entered a vote of no-confidence. A deputy was fired after investigators determined he had made racist and sexist comments to co-workers.

Story continues

DiPetrillo took office with hopes of improving the image.

This community is blossoming, he said then, and I want fire-rescue to be an integral part of that process.

Said Town of Davie Fire Chief Julie Downey, president of the Fire Chiefs Association of Broward County: We are all saddened by the loss of Chief Donald DiPetrillo. He dedicated almost 50 years to the South Florida fire rescue services and has been a member of our organization for over 20 years.

Downey was hired by the department in 2004 during DiPetrillos tenure as fire chief in Davie and rose through the ranks.

Don was a colleague, co-worker and friend, she said in a statement. His contributions to our fire and EMS services are many. I will remember him as a visionary, consummate professional and strong leader. He will be missed.

In 2008, DiPetrillo became the fire chief for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

A true public safety icon

On a Facebook post, the Broward Sheriffs Office and Sheriff Gregory Tony called DiPetrillo a true public safety icon in the South Florida fire community for nearly half a century. Chief DiPetrillo served with pride, dignity and dedication.

Added Nancy Diane Hickman: He was a wonderful man and a good friend. He was all about being nice and treating others the way you want to be treated.

Family

At a commencement ceremony in 2016, DiPetrillo stood before seven new graduates into the Seminole Tribe of Florida Fire Rescue team and said, Its Seminole Fire Rescue, a family; its not like any other place, The Seminole Tribune reported.

The fire rescue department has 145 professionals and support staff, according to the tribes LinkedIn page. Positions include firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and forestry firefighters.

DiPetrillos survivors include his mother, Joan, and son, Tyson, of Davie; two brothers, David and John; and Lindy Maracic, his girlfriend.

Details on a funeral have not been announced.

Who weve lost in South Florida: a cop, a nurse, a banker, a grandma and so many more
An interview by Omaha North teacher Mark Gudgel of well-known author Khaled Hosseini will air Friday afternoon as part of televised lessons produced by the Nebraska State Education Association.

Gudgel, an English teacher at Omaha North whose students are reading The Kite Runner, interviewed Hosseini, who also wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed. The show will air at 1:30 p.m.

In March, as schools began closing their doors to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the NSEA and NET began offering free elementary and secondary educational programming weekly, featuring teachers from across the state.

Gudgel and Hosseini talk about the writing process, his books, refugee issue and social justice issues and the interview includes several questions submitted by Gudgel's students.

Hosseini, whose New York Times bestselling books have been published in over seven countries and sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, are based in his home country of Afghanistan.
Dozens of countries risk running out of vaccines for diseases like measles because of restrictions on flights brought in to tackle the new coronavirus, the United Nations warned on Friday.

The UN children's agency UNICEF called for support to unlock a massive backlog in vaccine shipments.

It said the delays had been caused by "unprecedented logistical constraints" linked to lockdowns and other measures put in place to halt the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 233,000 people and infected nearly 3.3 million in a matter of months.

But UNICEF and other organisations have warned that a drop in routine vaccinations could fuel other, potentially deadlier outbreaks of a range of diseases.

UNICEF said in 2019 it had procured 2.43 billion doses of vaccines for 100 countries, to reach around 45 percent of all children worldwide under the age of five.

But since the week of March 22, the agency has seen a 70-80 percent reduction in planned vaccine shipments because of the sharp decline in commercial flights and limited availability of charter flights, spokeswoman Marixie Mercado told journalists in an online briefing.

"Dozens of countries are at risk of stock-out due to delayed vaccine shipments."

She warned that 26 countries, mainly in Africa but also several Asian countries like North Korea and Myanmar, were particularly at risk.

The cost of securing space on the few flights available has soared, with freight rates now up to 200 percent above normal prices, she said.

"Countries with limited resources will struggle to pay these higher prices, leaving children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases," Mercado said, citing polio and measles.

Five of the countries most at risk were hit with outbreaks of measlesa highly contagious, sometimes fatal viral infection, she said.

Mercado warned that even before the pandemic, vaccines for measles, polio and other diseases were out of reach for some 20 million children under the age of one every year.

"Disruptions in routine immunisation, particularly in countries with weak health systems, could lead to disastrous outbreaks in 2020 and well beyond," she said.

 2020 AFP
Google technology used in contact-tracing apps may lead to individuals being identified, or even tracked for ads

New research from Trinity College Dublin suggests that Google technology used in contact-tracing apps may lead to individuals being identified, or even tracked for ads.

The in-depth TCD report, from Professor Douglas Leith and Stephen Farrell, comes as pressure mounts on health Minister Simon Harris and the HSE to disclose what technology will be used in Irelands upcoming contact-tracing app. Fears have arisen that the app may inadvertently allow agencies or companies to identify and track citizens.

On Thursday, Minister Harris admitted that take-up among the public will be crucial.

This will only work if the people of Ireland download it, he told the Dail on Thursday. Otherwise it wont make a blind bit of difference.

Experts say that take-up of over 60pc of smartphone users is needed. However, the number of downloads in countries using such app has so far been low.

The TCD report examined the role of privacy and Google in Singapores OpenTrace app, often a focus for European governments exploring their own potential apps, as a case study.

It found that analytics owned by Google and used by the Singapore app make it potentially possible for users to be identified. It also quotes Googles own literature around its Firebase analytics, citing ad-tracking as a potential use.

The study recommends that Singapore remove the Google analytics from the contact-tracing app.

Theres an obvious potential conflict of interest, Professor Leith told Independent.ies Big Tech Show podcast today. In this case, its a company that collects data for advertising. Its business model is collecting personal data for commercial use. It can be done inadvertently because of the rush to produce an app quickly and all of the pressure to do this.

Takeup of the app in Singapore has struggled to get above 20pc, despite its relative longevity in use.

A spokesperson for Google declined to comment on the issue. The companys policy states that Google Cloud and Firebase only process customer data according to their instructions.

Professor Leith also called for more transparency around Irelands contact-tracing app before its released.

In fairness to Singapore, they did make it open source, he said. And that's one of the things I think the Irish government should be doing before they release it. Let some independent people have scrutiny on it. The more eyes there are on this, the more we can catch avoidable mistakes.

Earlier this week the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) published a letter calling for greater openness around the contact-tracing app.

Source code cannot be concealed and must be shared publicly and regularly audited by external experts, it said in a statement. It is vital that the public trusts the solutions of our government.

The ICCL also cited concerns of the app extending beyond the purpose of simply tracking Covid-19 cases.

Other countries are developing tracing apps which are for contact tracing alone, it said. They do not track location or symptoms. There is no known justification for location tracking. Symptom-tracking, if it is really needed, can be handled in a different app.

Asked for more information about the contact tracing app, the HSE declined to comment.

The company designing the Irish app, Waterford-based Nearform, also declined to comment.

The OpenTrace app uses Googles Firebase service to store and manage user data, says the TCD research. This means that there are two main parties involved in handling data transmitted from the app, namely Google and the health authority operating the OpenTrace app itself. We find that OpenTraces use of Firebase Analytics telemetry means the data sent by OpenTrace potentially allows the (IP-based) location of user handsets to be tracked by Google over time. We therefore recommend that OpenTrace be modified to disable use of Firebase Analytics.

The study also advises against the storage of phone numbers with Googles technology used in the background.

OpenTrace also currently requires users to supply a phone number to use the app and uses the Firebase Authentication service to validate and store the entered phone number. The decision to ask for user phone numbers (or other identifiers) presumably reflects a desire for contact tracers to proactively call contacts of a person that has tested positive. Alternative designs make those contacts aware of the positive test, but leave it to the contact to initiate action. This may indicate a direct trade-off between privacy and the effectiveness of contact tracing. If storage of phone numbers is judged necessary we recommend changing OpenTrace to avoid use of Firebase Authentication for this.

Finally, the report advocates for a rethink on hosting encryption keys.

The reversible encryption used in OpenTrace relies on a single long-term secret key stored in a Google Cloud service and so is vulnerable to disclosure of this secret key, it said.

To watch or listen to Adrian Wecklers podcast interview with Prof Douglas Leith, see todays podcast:
Takeout has taken root in Albuquerque, judging by the scene Saturday night at Mykonos, the Greek restaurant at Mountain Run Shopping Center, at Eubank and Juan Tabo.

Cars filled spaces on both sides of the restaurant. A woman running orders out had the slumped posture of a long-distance runner starting to hit the proverbial wall. Its been nonstop, she told me.

Thats a good sign for one of the veterans of the citys Greek dining scene. Mykonos, named for a Greek island in the Aegean Sea famous for its whitewashed buildings, opened in 1997. It closed a few years ago and then was reborn under the management of restaurateurs Nick Kapnison and Jimmy Daskalos, who run Nick and Jimmys and El Patron.

The usual suspects, such as gyros, spanakopita and moussaka, populate a takeout/delivery menu that has considerable overlap with the one at Nick and Jimmys. Youll find the same cedar plank salmon ($24) and parmesan-encrusted sole ($22). Though just about everything else is less than $20, the prices are still a few dollars higher than at other Greek places in town, such as Gyros Mediterranean, Olympia Cafe and nearby Zorbas.

A terrific beef pastitsio  baked ziti layered over ground beef-based Bolognese sauce  highlights the Greek platter ($21). The meaty sauce, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and oregano, is cooked low and slow, tenderizing the ground beef until it has the same al dente texture as the pasta. The bechamel sauce on top adds to the velvety smoothness of the dish. Vegetable moussaka, the second component of the platter, presents as a stack of thinly sliced eggplant, potatoes and squash laced with mozzarella and topped with bechamel  nicely done, if less remarkable than the pastitsio. Conspicuous in its absence was the promised spanakopita, the Greek spinach pie made with puff pastry and feta cheese. Maybe thats why I was charged only $16 rather than the $21 listed on the menu. I can only speculate: No explanation was offered.

A half-order of chicken souvlaki ($15) includes two skewers laced with pieces of white chicken meat, onions and red peppers. Even on lowly Styrofoam, the assembly is visually appealing, the skewers set over a brightly colored pile of zucchini, cherry tomatoes and spinach. The marinade imparts a lemony sharpness to the chicken that is balanced well by the refreshing jolt of the tzatziki sauce.

The Greeks are credited with bringing rice to Europe by way of the armies of Alexander the Great returning from the east. Since then, its been an important part of their cuisine, showing up in grape leaf-wrapped dolmas and as the traditional stuffing in their Christmas turkeys. Rice is well represented at Mykonos, most notably in the restaurants excellent lemon rice soup, which, sadly, wasnt on the takeout menu. I settled instead for the creamy Parmesan and pea risotto with mushrooms ($16). The texture of the rice, heaped on the Styrofoam in a rather slovenly fashion, was more pasty than creamy, and there was no sign of any mushrooms. A pile of arugula, undressed, accompanied the rice. The whole thing was a letdown.

For dessert, you can get baklava for $5.50.

My experience with Mykonos encompassed the good, the bad and the ugly of takeout. I suspect that the busy pace that night affected the quality control. Now that two of my last three takeout orders have been missing something, it might be time to consider inspecting the takeout containers before leaving the restaurants premises.

MYKONOS CAFE & TAVERNA

3 stars

LOCATION: 5900 Eubank NE, 291-1116, mykonosabq.com

HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (Call to confirm)

TAKEOUT/DELIVERY ONLY
My first child was born five weeks early.

When she was 13 days old, she was infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) positive bronchiolitis. It is highly infectious. Almost all children will have caught it by the age of two, there is no vaccination or cure, and it is particularly dangerous for premature babies.

Learning to accept uncertainty as being as much a part of my life as the air I breathe paradoxically enabled me to let go of anxiety. Credit:iStock

This happened almost 32 years ago, but now, thanks to a different respiratory virus, Ive been reminded of the darkest days of my life.

Never a pandemic, RSV nevertheless is often in epidemic proportions during winter. But as it is not dangerous to most people  being just a mild cold in most healthy, full-term babies and in children past their first birthday  its not one that most of us have ever heard of. COVID-19, of course, is new, a global pandemic, and now world-famous. Unlike RSV, it is also more deadly for the old than the very young.
Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITYs daily morning newsletter.

The Cuomo administration insists it has enough medical staff for the state prison system, even as it seeks to recruit more than 300 workers to treat inmates during the pandemic.

Nearly one-quarter of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervisions medical positions are vacant, according to department spokesperson Thomas Mailey. That represents approximately 315 open slots that prison sources said cover everything from nurses to doctors to physician assistants.

The staffing shortage comes as 10 prisoners have died from COVID-19 and another 370 have recorded confirmed cases as of April 30, according to DOCCS.

Corrections staff has also been hit hard by the virus, with 1,045 with confirmed cases, records show. It is unclear how many of those are medical personnel because the department doesnt break down COVID-19 casualties by title.

About 1,000 union medical staffers, and a few contract workers, currently care for close to 40,000 prisoners.

The state has asked nurses from its Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Mental Health to consider transferring to treat prisoners, according to the Public Employees Federation, which represents prison medical employees.

They asked for volunteers, said a union representative who requested anonymity because of not being authorized to talk to the press.

Mailey maintains the state currently has enough medical personnel to properly treat everyone, saying the department places prisoner and staff safety above all else.

The Office of Mental Health has long provided mental health care in prisons, he added, and said his department has not called upon the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities medical staff to help in correctional facilities.

State officials have long struggled to hire and retain medical professionals to work in the far-flung 52-prison system, according to reports.

They are understaffed. Theres no question, said Assemblymember David Weprin (D-Queens), chair of the Assembly Committee of Correction.

There are doctors in facilities, but they are not there every day, he added. Some of them are only there twice a week.

In some cases, one doctor is in charge of 500 prisoners, according to a 2018 Correctional Association of New York report.

Recruiting Challenges

They are constantly trying to hire medical staff. They are having a very difficult time recruiting people to work in the facility, said Jennifer Scaife, the executive director of the Correctional Association, a nonprofit that monitors state prisons.

Starting pay for licensed nurse practitioners is $38,875, dentists $105,355 and physicians $143,381. By contrast, those jobs pay up to $30,000 more in the private sector, according to ZipRecruiter.

The competition for medical staffing, both in the public and private sectors, continues to become more and more challenging, said Mailey.

He said the department has put forth an aggressive recruiting campaign that includes added pay for downstate facilities where the cost of living is more expensive.

To deal with the growing health crisis, the department has shifted medical personnel from facilities in the Capital Region to the Hudson Valley prisons with more COVID-19 cases, he added.

Approximately 20 nurses have accepted voluntary transfers to coronavirus hotspots, according to the Public Employees Federation.

Prisoners who seek medical treatment must be seen by a nurse within two and a half hours, according to department policy.

But some with more serious medical needs go days without being seen by a doctor or checked in a hospital, according to advocates and death review reports.

A Struggle for Breath

Juan Mosquero, 58, the first person in prison to die from COVID-19, was treated in the Sing Sing infirmary for 10 days, according to HuffPost, which first reported his death.

He struggled to breathe for days, but was just given an aspirin and denied further treatment, prisoners at the facility told the news site.

The department has declined to detail how Mosquero was treated, citing medical privacy laws. Prison officials are only testing about 20 prisoners a day, THE CITY reported earlier this month.

The Cuomo administration has identified 171 people who are both over age 50 and within 90 days of their planned release date as candidates to be sprung early. A total of 116 of them have so far been let go, according to Mailey.

As the virus spreads throughout the system, defense lawyers are desperately trying to help free their clients who have pre-existing medical conditions.

The Legal Aid Society is seeking the release of five clients with health problems, according to its latest legal filing.

The Legal Aid Society has been litigating medical issues in DOCCS for decades, said Stefen Short, a Legal Aid attorney. We still receive reports daily from clients who have serious medical needs not getting care.

The list includes John Frateschi, 72, who is incarcerated in Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County. Frateschi has severe asthma and recurring walking pneumonia, court papers say. He uses a wheelchair because he had been falling frequently, according to his wife, Julie.

The retired National Grid foreman has served three-quarters of his 12-year sentence for attempted robbery and burglary.

I miss him terribly, I would love to get him home, Julie Frateschi said. Hed be in a safe environment. Hes got six grandchildren, they havent seen him in years.

She added, Im just hoping that this isnt a death sentence.

Life and Death

The families of those behind bars with COVID-19 wait by the phone each day for updates from prison staff.

Thats the case for Jhana DuPont, 42, whose father, Benjamin Franklin Smalls, 73, was moved from Green Haven Correctional Facility to Vassar Brothers Medical Center on April 10.

She didnt hear from him until he was in the hospital for the first week he was there, DuPont contended. The hospital staff has insisted she speak to prison officials to get updates, she said.

Im a very laid-back person. I dont get stressed, she said. But just knowing you cant get info from a nurse doesnt make any sense.

Mailey said the hospitals doctor has been in touch with her.

Smalls, who was convicted of kidnapping and burglary, is not eligible for parole until May 2031. The former Harlem restaurant owner and thousands of others are begging Gov. Andrew Cuomo for clemency.

Cuomo announced in 2016 that hed take a more merciful approach to handling clemency requests. But hes commuted the sentences of just two convicted criminals over the past year.

Ulysses Boyd, 64, filed his clemency application in May 2018.

Boyd, who has a host of medical ailments, was recently diagnosed with blood clots in his legs and tested positive for COVID-19, according to his lawyer, Steve Zeidman.

Boyd is serving a 50 years to life for the felony murder of Harold Bates during a drug dispute in a Harlem basement on April 26, 1986.

At some point, the governor has to recognize that the situation in prison is about life and death, said Zeidman. Im very worried. The blood clots are life threatening.

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Judging by the lockdown exit strategy unveiled this week, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, both graduates of France's elite school for civil servants, are opting for meticulous caution. Starting May 11, and over several months, businesses, schools and entertainment venues will gradually reopen, with bars and restaurants shut until at least June and sporting events forbidden until September. Masks will have to be worn on public transport. Yet the real technocratic twist is that there will be not one plan but 101, one for each of the country's administrative departments. Like a weather report, and based on criteria including the rate of infection and testing resources, each area will get a daily rating - green or red - that dictates its ability to lift restrictions.

It's this kind of fear that haunts France's central planners today as they prepare to lift draconian stay-at-home measures designed to halt the (far less deadly) coronavirus. The lockdown has reached its limit: public opinion is turning against it (one poll this week showed support for measures dropping below 50 per cent). Isolation at home has saved more than 60,000 lives, but it has also cratered the economy and infantilised citizens by policing their movement, restricting the purchase of masks and nicotine patches, and banning daytime jogging in the city of Paris. The worry for the state is how to ease measures without triggering a second wave of infections.

London: It took a moment of carelessness for the bubonic plague to strike the French port city of Marseilles in 1720, despite an edifice of strict health measures. A boat carrying silks from the Ottoman Empire was allowed to skip the usual 40 days' quarantine to unload its cargo, unleashing an epidemic that wiped out almost half the city's population and which didn't fully subside until two years later.

The French seem to be going from one extraordinary human experiment to another. Ending Europe's visa-free travel area between countries was one thing, but now the nation state is being carved up; Spain is also lifting lockdowns by region, while Italy's restrictions were initially a local affair. Parisians, who've suffered a 74 per cent rise in deaths year-on-year since the start of the crisis, will wonder if they're even in the same country as Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast, whose department has actually seen the number of deaths dip. A red rating for a hard-hit area might mean shops or public spaces stay shut; being deemed green would allow parks and some schools to reopen. And the hardest part to stomach: citizens living in red areas will be told not to travel to green ones. Americans and Germans may be used to divides in their federal system, but for the French it's a total revolution.

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Obviously there's no telling how a fragmented, petri-dish society created by central planning will actually behave. When the lockdown was first introduced, more than 1 million people fled the Paris region for more pleasant pastures. Will "red" residents now make an irresponsible break for a "green" zone? It's possible, just as hopes for a jump in economic activity in "green" areas and responsible following of rules in "red" ones may prove optimistic. Fear of the virus may keep people home even in newly reopened areas, while frustration at longer lockdowns elsewhere may incite rule dodging.

Mounted Police patrol on the Champ de Mars in Paris during the national coronavirus lockdown. Credit:AP

What's encouraging is that, unlike the current lockdown, more responsibility is being placed in the hands of people and their local elected representatives. The omnipresent state has been both a curse and a blessing in this crisis, proving very adept at protecting jobs and companies but not so good at managing hospital resources, mask stockpiles or laboratory tests. Now the government is promising to ramp up the availability of masks, tests and contact tracing - the motto is now "protect, test, isolate" - while letting local mayors have more of a say in how to manage post-lockdown society. The French are being offered behavioural choices  such as whether to let their children attend school or whether to wear a mask outdoors  and not just the threat of a fine. (Though that's still there for trips of more than 100 kilometres.)
[May 01, 2020] Frontline ER Donates PPE to Dallas Police Department First Responders

Frontline ER can relate to what our first responders deal with every day. That's why they decided to donate a supply of critical PPE to the Dallas Police Department. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005532/en/ From Left to Right: Neighborhood Policing Officers join Deputy Chief Thomas Castro in accepting PPE from Dr. Ethan Tran andJaime Restrepo of Frontline ER (Photo: Business Wire)



"Central Patrol Division would like to thank Frontline ER for their generous donations of masks and hand sanitizer which will help protect our officers during these challenging times," Deputy Chief Thomas Castro said. "We especially appreciate this gear as these are high demand items which are not easily obtained. It is companies like Frontline ER that are helping keep our officers safe which allows us to better serve our community. We are grateful for this donation."

Deputy Chief Castro is the Commander of the Central Patrol Division of the Dallas Police Department. Frontline ER felt now, during this health emergency, was the best time to give them something to keep these officers safe and hopefully get them back to their families healthy. The gift comprises the following items: 1,000 surgical masks

500 individual hand sanitizer spray

250 CPR breathing barrier shield with one-way valve and nylon pouch The gift provides enough PPE to outfit the entire Central patrol division. "These officers are always coordinating events to give back to the community," Laura Tschida, said. "Last year when they held a Youth Fitness Event at the Samuel Grand Recreation Center, I was amazed at the sea of blue uniforms there to educate kids on fitness." Ms. Tschida is regional marketing director for Frontline ER. Frontline ER is a state-of-the-art freestanding emergency center providing diagnostics and treatment for patients 24/7. Equipped to provide pediatric and trauma emergency care as well as treatment of workplace and household injuries, Frontline ER has locations in Dallas and Houston, Texas. Frontline ER has served the Lakewood neighborhood of Dallas since 2018. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005532/en/

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The coronavirus has changed a lot of things, including Michigans upcoming May 5 election, where voters are urged to cast absentee ballots and clerks are instituting big changes to in-person voting.

In an effort to minimize COVID-19 exposure by poll workers and voters, the Secretary of State mailed absentee ballot applications to 740,000 registered voters in 33 counties which have ballot questions May 5. Nearly 213,000 voters filled out the applications and were mailed ballots. The usually sluggish May 5 election is now expected to have above average voter turnout.

With less than a week until the election, nearly 12 percent, or 86,355 eligible voters, have cast absentee ballots in 72 school districts or municipalities voting May 5, mostly on school millages or bonds.

With turnout for May elections averaging at roughly 13% in recent years, these numbers indicate a significant increase in participation, Secretary of State Jocelyn Bensons office said.

Residents may still register to vote by contacting their local clerk and providing proof-of-residency documents, such as a Michigan drivers license or state ID, current utility bill, bank statement or paycheck, by email. Theyll be mailed an absentee ballot that can be returned by mail or in person. The SOS is including prepaid return envelopes with absentee ballots and applications. Any ballots received before 8 p.m. on May 5 will be counted.

SOS vote from home information sheet

For voters who want or need to vote in person, a limited number of polling locations in each location will be open on election day. The SOS recommends voters contact their local clerk prior to election day if they intend to vote in person. Each municipality has a voter assist machine available to those with hearing, visual, physical or other disabilities.

Another difference: Election day ballots will be the same as the absentee ballots. Election staff will insert all ballots, both absentee and in-person, into voter tabulation machines after the polls close at 8 p.m. Typically in-person voter insert their own ballots directly into a counting machine.

Rather than having the poll books and you going to your voting booth, filling out your ballot, going to the machine and feeding it and watching it tabulate, essentially these polling locations for May elections are going to be treated like voting absentee in person, said Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons said. So it will be a very different experience for the voter who does go to the polls on election day.

In Kent County, where there are five bond issues and two millage renewals for school districts, Posthumus Lyons said nearly 32% of voters were issued absentee ballots and she expects at least twice the turnout of an average May election.

How each clerk conducts their polling location also may differ.

Wyoming Clerk Kelli VandenBerg compared her election plan to the operation of Sonic fast-food restaurant, which features drive-up customer service. VandenBerg said voters will remain in their vehicles and election staff, wearing gloves and masks, will bring them their ballots for in-car voting.

I think like many of us, were were seeing different business models, she said. Whether we are going to a restaurant or a grocery store, any retail place we go to, I think there are more and more curbside options.

VandenBerg said voters that require same-day registration or voting assistance will be allowed inside to cast their ballots.

Other clerks are limiting the number of voters at one time.

Im letting them in one person at a time, Vienna Township Clerk Cynthia Bryan said. I will issue their ballot, theyll vote, theyll leave. Im going to disinfect everything and then if theres a second person, then that next person will come in.

Bryan, whos conducting in-person voting at the township office, said shes installing a wireless doorbell specifically for this election to keep voters outside while she disinfects between voters. She doesnt expect many in-person voters.

The SOS sent each clerk masks, gloves sanitizer, wipes and protocol for maintain social distancing. The state also recruited and trained 1,600 poll workers, because we recognized that many election workers who served previously were seniors or were vulnerable to the coronavirus, Benson said.

The extra costs are being paid for with federal grants intended to help states operate elections during the pandemic.

We received $11.2 million from the federal government in the most recent stimulus package, Benson said. We will be using those funds to ensure that were able to securely provide democracy in every election this year.

Michigans primaries are scheduled for Aug. 4. The general election is Nov. 3. How those election will be conducted is still under discussion.

Benson said voters are asked to wear a protective face mask if they plan to vote in person May 5, just as residents are required to do while grocery shopping or in any public place, but they will not be turned away if they dont.

I think when were talking about exercising a fundamental right, we want to encourage people to be smart and respectful and safe, she said. At the end of the day, we serve the voters, and it is democracy and making sure democracy continues even in times of crisis ... Perhaps if someone does show up without a mask, one of the election workers can offer one of the extra ones they might have."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order on March 27 temporarily suspending election laws in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elections on May 5 must be conducted to the greatest extent possible by absent voter ballots issued and submitted without in-person interaction, the order said. Each jurisdiction must maintain at least one location on election day where any voter can appear in person to receive and submit a ballot, including an individual with a disability that inhibits the individual from voting an absent voter ballot remotely.

The state encouraged clerks to delay ballot proposals when possible.

And what we found is about half the communities said we can easily move this questions to August, Benson said. That eliminated the need for most elections in Oakland, Wayne and Monroe counties and all elections in Washtenaw and Livingston counties.

Saginaw County, for example, only has about 18 voters set to cast ballots for a Clio Area School District $40.6 million bond issue. The school district overlaps slightly from Genesee County into Saginaw Countys Birch Run Township.

Clio Area Schools Superintendent Fletcher Spears III said the School Board considered delaying the ballot proposal until August but determined it would be too costly.

By us moving from May to August, we would lose next summers construction season, he said. " ... We had our architect and our third party do a calculation as to the impact ... and they advised us that it would result in an increase, by their estimates, of about $1 million."

While changes due to the pandemic encourage greater absentee voting, Benson said it was likely headed that direction anyway. Michigan voters in 2018 passed a proposal that allows for same-day registration and no-reason absentee voting.

What weve seen in other states and what weve found even already in Michigan, is that once voters do take advantage and see how convenient and secure it can be to vote from home, theyll want to do so again, Benson said. Especially in a pandemic, we dont want someone to feel like they have to vote in person, that they have to choose between their house and their vote.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

Tuesday, April 28: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Whitmer seeks 28-day extension of Michigans coronavirus state of emergency

Michigan golfers getting creative using carts on the course

The coronavirus was tailor made to devastate densely populated black Michigan communities

Facebook deletes event for stay-at-home protest in Michigan

Michigan pauses collections for some delinquent student loans due to coronavirus
STAMFORD  Telecommunications giant Charter Communications  which expanded customer access to its services during the coronavirus crisis, but also faces government scrutiny of its workplace practices  reported Friday a growing customer base and rising revenues and profits for the past quarter.

The total number of residential customers and business customers in the first quarter grew to 29.7 million, up about 4 percent year over year. The amount reflected an increase in internet connections, while video and voice phone business declined.

First-quarter revenues for the No. 70 company on last years Fortune 500 list increased nearly 5 percent year over year, to $11.7 billion. Profits reached about $396 million, compared with $253 million a year ago.

We know our role as a provider of communications services and the importance of keeping connectivity services fully functioning for both new and existing households and businesses, which enables social distancing including remote working, distant learning, telehealth services and family communications, Charter CEO and Chairman Tom Rutledge said on a call with investment analysts.

Charter shares closed Friday at about $510, up nearly 3 percent from their Thursday finish.

New programs

To help communities affected by the pandemic, Charter launched in March a Remote Education Offer, which provides free Spectrum-branded internet service for 60 days to households with students in the K-12 and/or college systems, as well as educators who do not already have Spectrum internet.

By the end of March, the company had added about 120,000 customers through the program. It expects to reach about 400,000 students, teachers and families by the end of this school year.

Charter is also participating in the Federal Communications Commissions Keep Americans Connected Pledge, which suspends disconnections and collection payments for residential customers and small and medium businesses financially hurt by the crisis.

At the end of last month, about 140,000 residential customers had requested protection from disconnection.

A month later, about 36,000 of those 140,000 customers outstanding balances were fully current. In total, nearly 50 percent have made partial or full payments since seeking protection from disconnection. At the same time, some 67,000 of the 140,000 now have past-due balances beyond the point of normal disconnection.

Charter is also offering a seasonal plan, with reduced rates, to small and medium businesses that have temporarily closed or reduced their own services.

In addition, the company has opened its WiFi hot spots to the public.

Employee complaints

The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed last week that it had launched an inquiry into Charters coronavirus-related labor practices. A number of New York-based workers have filed complaints about what they saw as unnecessary requests for them to continue reporting to their offices amid the virus spread.

Charter has declined to comment on the probe.

At the Stamford headquarters where about 1,300 are based, employee concerns about workplace conditions have percolated since the confirmed cases in Connecticut were confirmed in early March.

On March 14, Rutledge informed the companys approximately 95,000 employees that they should keep reporting to work unless they were sick or caring for someone who was ill.

Five days later, Charter changed course when it announced it was giving all of its employees an additional three weeks of paid time off this year that could be used for any coronavirus-related purposes. At the same time, it said employees would be allowed to work remotely if they could demonstrate that they would be as effective as they were in the office.

While we continue to operate at nearly full capability, were taking the necessary precautions to promote the safety of our employees, Rutledge said on Fridays call.

A significant majority of office-based employees are now working remotely, according to Charter officials. They have declined to provide numbers on how many are working out of the office.

Some of the Charter staff who have contacted Hearst Connecticut Media in the past few weeks said that they were only partially satisfied with the new benefits and that they strongly disagreed with their employer keeping its offices open.

Among other changes, the company pledged April 6 to raise its minimum wage for all hourly workers from $15 per hour to $20 per hour during the next two years. A small percentage of hourly workers make minimum wage, according to the company.

Two weeks later, Charter announced it would not lay off or furlough any employees for at least the next two months.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
Mercedes Reyes (center) a live-in domestic worker and leader within the Pennsylvania Domestic Workers Alliance, cheers with other advocates after City Council passed a bill expanding labor protections for domestic workers. Read more

Alejandra has been living at work for a month. She expects to live there for another month, at least.

In normal time, the 28-year-old lives in South Philly. Shes a nanny to a 5-month-old who, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, she cared for during daytime hours. To avoid losing her only source of income, Alejandra last month agreed to be a live-in through the worst of the pandemic and quarantine with the family who employs her.

A typical day is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no built-in breaks, and she has no contract. Formalizing her employment in such a way wasnt legally required. Until now.

Philadelphias Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, a law aimed at protecting the citys 16,000 nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers, takes effect Friday, in the middle of a pandemic thats left a huge portion of these workers  mostly women of color, many undocumented immigrants  jobless and unable to qualify for federal assistance.

Its a crisis for the 2.5 million domestic workers nationwide who average $10 an hour, often lack health care, and a quarter of whom already lived below the poverty line. Those still able to find jobs put themselves at risk, working in close quarters with clients or scrubbing strangers homes to fend off the virus.

Philadelphias new law, which advocates say is some of the strongest domestic-worker legislation in the nation, stipulates employers and workers have a written agreement outlining pay rates, schedules, and benefits. It also requires advance notice of termination, a provision newly relevant as families cut in-home workers in droves.

For Alejandra, the part of the law that will change her life most as she lives at work is the required breaks.

It does make a difference to rest 10 minutes, she said, just to stop.

 READ MORE: Every day is a fresh hell for undocumented domestic workers in a world turned upside down by coronavirus

Alejandra, who asked to be identified only by her first name to speak freely about her employment, is a member of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, which began pressing Philadelphia officials in 2018 to adopt legislation allowing domestic workers  barred from unionizing under federal law  to access benefits and discrimination protection.

Outside Philadelphia, which passed the bill last fall, nine states and Seattle have domestic-worker protection legislation on the books. A federal bill has also been introduced.

One provision in Philadelphias legislation wont yet take effect. The law establishes the countrys first portable benefits system, a platform workers with multiple employers can use to accrue paid time off. That wont be implemented until the end of the year as the city selects a vendor and irons out the system.

What will take effect are new protections for domestic workers, including now being covered under antidiscrimination laws in Philadelphia, and new labor standards like paid meal and rest breaks. (Domestic workers remain carved out of minimum-wage and overtime protections.)

The law doesnt apply for casual domestic workers or caregivers who are partners or family members.

What could prove most needed during the pandemic is the requirement of written agreements, said Nicole Kligerman, director of the Pennsylvania Domestic Workers Alliance. Some nannies and caregivers may negotiate what a pandemic quarantine looks like before signing a contract. House cleaners might codify an employers responsibility to provide disinfectant, gloves, and masks, now commodity items.

The law also established the Domestic Workers Standards and Implementation Task Force, a group that has representation from workers and will monitor enforcement.

The group doesnt feel like the fight is over. We have the law, Alejandra said. The next big step is it has to be followed. We need to make sure the consequences are real.

 READ MORE: Heres how new labor protections for Phillys domestic workers would be applied

For now, the Alliance is also focused on short-term needs and raising money for direct cash assistance to the domestic workers who call daily about losing jobs, running out of money, and staring into empty cupboards. Undocumented immigrants and workers paid in cash werent eligible for $1,200 stimulus checks from the federal government.

Plenty are skipping rent payments, as evictions in the city are on hold through the end of May.

But," Kligerman said, that will be an avalanche of problems later.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the citys push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa seems to have consolidated his position in the times of coronavirus. The 78-year-old BJP stalwart has emerged victorious in the last 50 days, putting all speculations over his imminent departure to rest. Just before the coronavirus outbreak surfaced in India, Yediyurappas situation appeared shaky. There were rumours of him being removed because of his advancing age and other internal issues. Even the chief minister was looking visibly worried.

A shrewd politician and an experienced administrator, Yediyurappa seized the opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities in the face of a grave crisis. After some initial hiccups, he took control of the overall situation in his hands and has since been leading the battle from the front.

In order to bring everybody on board, he first convened an all-party meeting with top opposition leaders and declared that the fight against coronavirus should be apolitical and one-upmanship has no place in this crisis. His clever move defused the tensions and forced the Congress and JDS to extend full support to him.

When the issue of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation turned communal, the BJP chief minister took a bold step and declared that blaming one particular community for the spread of the deadly virus was wrong. In a series of interviews to the media, he firmly stood his ground, warning strict criminal action against anyone who communalises the issue, drawing the ire of hardliners in his own party. But, that won him applause from other quarters, even forcing the Congress and JDS to jump to his defence.

A few days later, PM Modi and RSS chief Bhagwat also endorsed his views.

A chronic diabetic, Yediyurappa has been working round the clock, holding dozens of meetings in a day. Top bureaucrats who closely work with him admit that he starts calling up officials and ministers at 6 oclock in the morning to get updates and it goes on till midnight.

He has held several dozen meetings with the stakeholders in the last 45 days. He believes in consensus, not in one-upmanship. He wants to stay away from confrontations. He is a realistic leader. Even we are pleasantly surprised by the way he is handling the unprecedented crisis, said a senior IAS officer.

Major flooding in the last two years and the total collapse of the economy during coronavirus have aggravated the already precarious financial condition of the state. The dues from the Central government to the state are still unpaid causing more problems.

If he somehow manages the finances post-corona, it is most likely he will complete the remainder of his term. He is aware of that and thats why he is eager to resume economic activities in the state at the earliest. Factions opposed to him are keeping quiet now. They did not expect him to lead from the front said a senior minister close to him.

However, the real challenge would be an exit plan. One of the top industrialized states, Karnataka is staring at an uncertain future. The rural economy has come to a halt due to the lockdown. Last years bountiful monsoon has resulted in bumper crops, but the collapse of demand for agricultural and horticultural produce has almost broken the backs of the farmers.

Speaking to News18, the chief minister said that he was aware of the grim situation and would do everything possible to save the farmers. We are coming out with several proposals to put the rural economy back on the track. It is an unprecedented situation. Hopefully, we will be successful. We are also looking at the industries closely and have held a series of meetings with them, he said.

It is noteworthy that his enemies in the party tried to launch a whispering campaign against him even during the early days of lockdown aiming to unseat him. But, Yediyurappa seems to have fought them off with his old-style politics and grace, thus cementing his position.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said in a TV interview that he never sexually assaulted Tara Reade. (Glen Stubbe / TNS)

Former Vice President Joe Biden went on MSNBCs Morning Joe program Friday morning to address the claim by Tara Reade, who served on his Senate staff in the 1990s, that he had sexually assaulted her.

In denying Reades allegation personally, rather than leaving the denials to his campaign, the prospective Democratic presidential nominee did what a lot of supporters hoped he would do. He said the assault alleged by Reade never happened and made it clear that he thinks no excavation of records from his Senate career would turn up evidence of a complaint filed by Reade.

That unequivocal denial was exactly what we needed to hear from Biden. It leaves him with no wiggle room, but  assuming it holds up  it should hearten supporters who wanted him to personally confront Reades accusation. And he did so without attacking Reade or accusing her of improper motives.

But some of Bidens other comments in his interview with Mika Brzezinski were probably less helpful to his candidacy.

Biden dismissed a suggestion made by several commentators, including the Los Angeles Times editorial board, that a search of Bidens senatorial papers donated to the University of Delaware should be conducted to see if they contain information about Reade or any complaint she may have filed.

Biden insisted that the papers, which have not been made public, wouldnt provide any useful information about Reade because they include speeches and interviews, not personnel files. The latter sort of document, he said, would be in the possession of the National Archives.

In a statement posted Friday, Biden said he was asking the secretary of the Senate to ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint Reade said she filed and make any such document available to the press.

Even so, Brzezinski asked Biden, shouldnt the papers at the University of Delaware be searched to see if there is any reference to a complaint by Reade? Its a fair question, and by not opening those documents to inspection, Biden will only give breathing room to critics who claim he's hiding something.

Story continues

Perhaps the most damaging part of the interview concerned not the truth or falsity of Reades allegation but whether Biden and other Democrats have been inconsistent when it comes to believing women who say they were victims of sexual assault.

Brzezinski confronted Biden with a statement he made during the 2018 controversy over an allegation by Christine Blasey Ford that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had assaulted her when they were teenagers.

At the time, Biden said: For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, youve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what shes talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts, whether or not its been made worse or better over time.

Biden struggled in the interview to reconcile his comments during the Kavanaugh affair with his rejection of Reades claim. Offering what seems like a new gloss on the rallying cry, Biden told Brzezinski that believing women means taking a womans claims seriously when she steps forward, and then vet it.

As a normative statement of how allegations like Reades should be viewed, Biden is surely correct. But it remains true that Democrats  and Republicans too  are likelier to believe such accusations when they are directed at someone in the other party.




NEW YORK, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development (NWD), today announces plans to support the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in an effort to provide vulnerable children and young people around the world with essential safety and sanitation materials critical to the fight against COVID-19. Through the charitable initiative, Adrian will donate 500,000 masks to UNICEF that will be distributed to children most in need, including those in refugee camps and communities. The masks will also reach underequipped health workers.

Present in 190 countries, UNICEF is committed to delivering assistance to children across the areas affected by COVID-19 and is working with governments, implementing partners and donors to find solutions to logistical and operational constraints to ensure children in need continue to receive humanitarian assistance. By providing a half million medical masks to the vulnerable children and young people, Adrian's contribution looks not only to save lives, but also to support the global containment of the virus and safeguard against its possible resurgence.

"With this donation, it is my sincere hope that we will help to galvanize global efforts to protect children and youth, especially those residing in the world's most vulnerable zones, from COVID-19," said Adrian Cheng. "Our ecosystem at New World Development places a great emphasis on education and healthcare, bringing to the forefront the importance of creating shared value across communities worldwide. An important part of that mission is protecting the next generation, especially as we navigate the unprecedented challenges that COVID-19 has presented to all of us, everywhere. I applaud the great work UNICEF has done to advocate for and empower children and youth around the world and urge that we don't just sit idly by while watching COVID-19 spread to the most vulnerable communities. I hope this donation will play a role in giving youth refugees the health protection they desperately need at this challenging time. It's by working together, across borders, that we can make progress in tackling COVID-19."

This initiative is the latest of Adrian's comprehensive efforts to combat COVID-19 worldwide. Driven by the Group's vision to Creating Shared Value (CSV) to contribute innovative and sustainable solutions to today's most pressing problems, NWD created a $7 million fund and made a donation of more than 3 million medical face masks to fight the spread across Greater China in January 2020.

Shortly after, in February 2020, the group donated over $1.2 million to establish a "community anti-epidemic fund" in Hong Kong SAR. To date, the donation has generated more than 2 million masks and 10,000 preventative kits containing medical face masks, hand sanitizer gels and sanitizing wipes, all of which have been distributed to low-income families throughout Hong Kong SAR.

Building on these earlier efforts, in March 2020, NWD launched #LoveWithoutBorders, a global charitable initiative originally designed to source, deliver and donate 2.5 million medical face masks to partners and local communities in South Korea, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Most recently, the group announced plans to further promote the global charitable initiative and donate 10 million "Made in Hong Kong" medical face masks produced by NWD to Hong Kong and overseas communities. In the first phase of the distribution program, the company will supply Hong Kong's low-income communities with "Mask to Go" dispensers  contact-free medical mask vending machines servicing the individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19. Through the initiative, 35 dispensers will be installed in all 18 districts across Hong Kong, offering masks manufactured in-house by NWD's recently announced production lines, with an expected production of 7 million medical face masks per month once fully operational. The dispensers are expected to benefit more than 40,000 pre-registered individuals.

The donation also underscores Adrian's long-standing commitment to youth development around the world. With key leadership roles in both the All-China Youth Federation and the China Young Leaders Foundation, two of the country's leading organizations aimed at empowering young leaders, Adrian has been providing mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students with educational and career support. In addition, Adrian has supported programs that have reached more than 44,000 students in Asia, including the "Adrian Cheng Scholarship" designed to incubate the next generation of social leaders in different sectors. Through an array of community and mentorship programs, NWD continues to empower under-resourced children and youth in different aspects of life including health and wellness, art and culture, and learning opportunities that advance personal growth.

New World Development

Founded in 1970, New World Development Company Limited ("The Group", Hong Kong stock code: 00017) was publicly listed in Hong Kong in 1972 and is a constituent stock of the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index. A premium brand infused with a unique personality best defined by The Artisanal Movement along with the mission to create shared value, New World Group provides an ecosystem of infrastructure and services that includes include property development, property investment, retail, hospitality, roads, aviation and construction, education and healthcare. Its operations in Greater China, especially the Greater Bay Area, had a total asset value of approximately HK$503.3 billion as at 30 June 2019. The Group's two listed companies are NWS Holdings Limited (61%), and New World Department Store China Limited (75%). New World China Land Limited is wholly owned by the Group.

North America Contact:

Kendall Trainer

[email protected]

SOURCE New World Development
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A desperate house flip?

Eva Longoria has taken a $3.15million loss on a 2.75-acre hilltop Hollywood Hills estate she purchased from Tom Cruise in 2015.

The 45-year-old actress sold the palatial home for $8.25 million according to a Friday report from the Los Angeles Times after buying it for $11.4million nearly five years ago.

Tough times: Eva Longoria has taken a $3.15million loss on a 2.75-acre hilltop Hollywood Hills estate she purchased from Tom Cruise in 2015

Gorgeous: The 45-year-old actress (seen in Miamin back in June 2019) sold the palatial home for $8.25 million according to a Friday report from the Los Angeles Times after buying it for $11.4million nearly five years ago

As if that wasn't already enough of a hit, Longoria had originally listed it for $14million in November 2017 before it was dropped to $9.8million in 2018 according to the publication.

The listing had changed hands a few times but Bravo star Josh and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman and Eddie Fallah of the Lux Group were the final listing agents.

Back in 2015, Cruise offloaded residence for nearly two million less after initially listing it at $13million earlier that year, according to Zillow.

Wow factor: As if that wasn't already enough of a hit, Longoria had originally listed it for $14million in November 2017 before it was dropped to $9.8million in 2018 according to the publication

Sprawling: The listing had changed hands a few times but Bravo star Josh and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman and Eddie Fallah of the Lux Group were the final listing agents

Mission Impossible: Back in 2015, Cruise offloaded residence for nearly two million less after initially listing it at $13million earlier that year, according to Zillow

Scenic: As the estate is just off of the famed Mulholland Drive, the compound has space for many as includes two separate residences, two standalone studios, and a stone cottage

Legend: Cruise is seen at San Diego International Comic Con back in July 2019

As the estate is just off of the famed Mulholland Drive, the compound has space for many as includes two separate residences, two standalone studios, and a stone cottage.

The home is certainly stunning with walls of glass offering breathtaking vistas in the gorgeous Hollywood Hills.

It also features an Italian farm-style kitchen with high end appliances. Oak floors extend out to Venetian plaster walls, making for a warm home.

Views: The home is certainly stunning with walls of glass offering breathtaking vistas in the gorgeous Hollywood Hills

Lap of luxury: One of the several living rooms on the property

Farm to farm table: It also features an Italian farm-style kitchen with high end appliances. Oak floors extend out to Venetian plaster walls, making for a warm home

With three bedrooms, all featuring their own bathrooms. In addition there is a guest house with four bedrooms, four baths, and a kitchen.

The outdoor portion has bridge, a large pool with waterfall and spa.

Rest and relaxation: One of the many bedrooms on the property

Splashing the cash: With three bedrooms, all featuring their own bathrooms

Quite the property: In addition there is a guest house with four bedrooms, four baths, and a kitchen

Wow factor: In addition it boasts a wine cellar and tasting room, ideal for entertaining small parties

In addition it boasts a wine cellar and tasting room, ideal for entertaining small parties.

Eva has been married to media mogul Jose Baston since 2016 as they have one son, Santiago Enrique, who is turning two-years-old in june.

She recently modeled a number of ultra glamorous looks from her collaboration with the online retail site Eobuwie.

Stunner: Meanwhile, Eva recently modeled a number of ultra glamorous looks from her collaboration with the online retail site Eobuwie
The coronavirus pandemic is ravaging American communities  and few places are being hit harder than prisons and jails. Massive outbreaks of the disease have struck scores of facilities  and with so few tests being administered behind bars, the problem is undoubtedly far worse than is known. As the virus continues to spread in rural areas, which are home to many prisons, the curve is likely to keep going up for some time.

Theres still time to mitigate this crisis. The best way to protect prisoners from the coronavirus is to release them. Cramming prisons and jails with millions of people  many of whom no longer pose a threat to their communities, or never did in the first place  has always been a disaster. But now, in a pandemic, our criminal justice system seems especially arbitrary and cruel  and theres powerful momentum to bring people home.

Yet at the same time, releasing people isnt a sufficient response to the pandemic. For one thing, prisoners who have been convicted of a violent crime are highly unlikely to be let go. Take a prisoner Ill refer to as Andrew, who is serving time for a 2008 robbery and whom I have gotten to know through his courageous advocacy to end sexual abuse in detention. Last December, Andrew suffered a heart attack during a beating at the hands of other prisoners. He was rushed to a hospital, where he spent three days in the ICU, receiving care that saved his life.

The least safe place for Andrew right now is prison. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott likely sealed Andrews fate when he issued an executive order blocking the release of anyone convicted of a violent crime. The governors order fails to take into account that many people age out of violent criminal behavior, and that a prior conviction is not necessarily a predictor of future behavior. Nor does it look at a persons experiences behind bars. Andrew is a survivor of multiple rapes in prison, and his willingness to speak out against the rampant abuse in the Texas system made him a target for retaliation from corrections officials. Indeed, the punishment meted out to Andrew has been so severe  the sexual harassment, the long stints in solitary, the constant and unnecessary transfers  that it is not safe to give his real name, even though he has given his permission for me to do so. And now, after years of mistreatment  and just four months removed from a massive heart attack  he will have to survive a pandemic in the custody of a state that has never cared about his well-being.

Liberal states like California and New York are hardly doing a better job on prison safety. For all the accolades that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has received for his pandemic response, he has failed to reduce facility overcrowding. The tragedy at Rikers Island has made the consequences of his inaction abundantly clear. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has released 3,500 prisoners. That may sound like a lot, but on average its a mere 100 people per state prison  barely a dent in crowded facilities  and all of those people were set to be released anyway.

Local officials have been far bolder. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, which runs the largest jail network in the country, has reduced the people in its custody by 25 percent. Some Texas counties are aggressively pushing for the release of vulnerable people from jail  but opposition from the governors office has stymied their efforts.

But the lack of political will to order the mass releases we need doesnt have to doom the effort to slow the virus spread behind bars. Corrections officials must step up  particularly prison wardens. A warden has an extraordinary amount of control over daily life in a prison. Their remit includes everything from keeping kitchens stocked to making sure cellblocks are sanitized. They can monitor everyone in their facility, officers and prisoners alike. If a prison is a small city, the warden is the mayor, with near absolute power.

The merits of this top-heavy system can be debated, but what it means is that right now, during a pandemic, the steps taken by wardens are of life-and-death importance. So far, many simply are not doing enough. My organization hears daily from prisoners who cant get soap, arent getting vital medicine and continue to be transferred between facilities even now. Communicating with the outside world  never easy to begin with in a detention facility  is getting increasingly difficult. Visitation has been canceled and staff are reducing prisoners ability to send and receive mail.

While social distancing and isolation are clearly necessary, too many corrections leaders are going about these practices in a way that is needlessly punitive. The tool that officials are using is called a lock down  an extreme measure that is usually deployed during security breaches. The term means something quite different in prison than in cities. Prisoners are cooped up in their cells, sometimes for all but 30 minutes a day, during which they must find the time to shower, get some fresh air and call home  provided that a phone is available and can be wiped down.

These draconian measures are profoundly harmful, and they can be avoided. The primary vectors for the coronavirus in prison are staff, who bring it in from the community. What wardens ought to be doing is assigning their officers to specific housing units and drastically limiting staff movement within the facility. This approach will protect prisoners as well as staff themselves, who have been thrust into the role of a front-line crisis responder.

Prison leadership must also do more  much more  to give prisoners opportunities to connect with their loved ones and with advocates on the outside. The extreme isolation that comes with a lockdown puts people who are locked up at great risk for sexual violence and intimate partner violence  just as it does in the community. By establishing free and confidential phone services to outside advocates  and repurposing attorney rooms so that they can be used by trained trauma counselors  wardens can ensure that prisoners get the crisis support they need now more than ever.

Institutions everywhere are adapting to life in a pandemic. So, too, must prisons. The best solution would be for governors to start emptying their prisons of people  to treat detention facilities like other crowded public spaces. Indeed, this country should be looking to incarcerate the fewest number of people possible at all times. But until we make that happen, wardens must do a better job keeping prisoners healthy and safe.

Stannow is the executive director of Just Detention International.
A man clearing out his recently dead mother's apartment in New York City discovered a decomposing body stuffed into a freezer in her living room.

The corpse is believed to be around ten to fifteen years old with investigators unable to tell if it was a man or woman, the building superintendent said.

Visiting his mother's apartment on Broadway, near West 150th Street, in Harlem, to close up her affairs at around 9am on Thursday, the son opened up the freezer at around 1pm.

A man clearing out his recently dead mother's apartment on Broadway, near West 150th Street, in Harlem, New York City discovered a decomposing body stuffed into a freezer

Asmir Basim, super of the building, told New York Daily News: 'He opened the freezer and started screaming. He says the body appeared to be a woman, very decayed.'

The stand alone freezer had been duct taped shut and was in the living room.

A police source told The New York Post: '[We] can't tell if it's a man or a woman or black or white.'

Broadway at W. 150th St. in Hamilton Heights where the body was discovered in a freezer in a fifth floor apartment

Building staff say police are investigating whether the body could be the mother of the deceased, reports New York Daily News.

Mr Basim told the publication that the woman had never granted him access to work in her apartment but 'seemed like a lovely lady'.

NYPD confirmed that human remains were discovered at the Harlem address, adding that a Medical Examiner would investigate how the person had died.
A Michigan man was shot in the stomach and robbed after he set up a late-night sex session with a woman over Facebook.

The unidentified victim, 22, believed that Summer Desjardin, 24, was coming to his home in Detroit Sunday night for casual sex but she allegedly arrived with her boyfriend Daniel Wargo, 21, who was masked and armed.

The couple was arrested Monday after police used their social media accounts and surveillance to track them down.

Wargo had absconded parole in March 19 and now faces six new charges including assault with intent to murder.

Summer Desjardin, 24, and Daniel Wargo, 21, were arrested Monday for allegedly shooting and robbing a man in Detroit after Desjardin organized a fake plan to have sex with the victim over Facebook. The couple were tracked by police using their social media accounts

Police responded to the shooting at around 10.30pm Sunday in the 2000 block of Jeannie Court in the area of Nine Mile and Dequindre roads.

The 22-year-old victim had arranged to meet Desjardin for a hook-up but it was all pretense and the couple had allegedly planned to rob him instead.

After Desjardin arrived, Wargo reportedly entered the house and announced the robbery.

He exchanged words with the victim before allegedly shooting him in the stomach.

The couple fled in a Chevrolet Cavalier after stealing multiple items, according to New York Daily News.

Police, however, where able to track the couple down through Desjardin's social media page and tracked her phone number to Wayne.

A Special Operations Unit found them inside the car they used for the getaway.

Lt. John Barnes told the Macomb Daily that Wargo attempted to pull out his gun when officers surrounded the vehicle and that undisclosed stolen goods were found in the car.

The young victim was found at the scene sitting on the floor and incapacitated with a single gunshot wound.

He is recovering in Detroit Receiving Hospital and said to be in a stable condition.

The alleged shooting and robbery happened here at the 2000 block of Jeannie Court in Warren, Detroit, on Sunday night. The 22-year-old victim is recovering in hospital

'These are the types of situations people have to be very concerned (about) when they're communicating over social media, just as far as possibly being set up as a target of a robbery, a burglary or even a sexual assault, and we warn people all the time,' warned Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer.

The couple was arraigned in the 37th District Court on Wednesday where a judge set a bond of $1million for Wargo and $250,000 for Desjardin.

Wargo is charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of felony firearm

His girlfriend faces charges of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and felony firearm.

Wargo had absconded from parole on March 19 after serving time for second-degree home invasion, larceny from a building, and weapons convictions in Wayne County.

The couple will now face a probable cause conference on May 12.
She's been forced into isolation at a luxury Thailand resort after being stranded on the island amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And Kaz Crossley, 26, continued to take advantage of the stunning location as she shared several sizzling shots of her posing in a red one-piece on Friday.

The Love Island 2018 star drew attention to her taut midriff and pert posterior in the Baywatch-inspired bathing suit.

Red hot: Kaz Crossley, 26, continued to take advantage of the stunning location as she shared several sizzling shots of her posing in a red one-piece on Friday

Kaz's choice of swimsuit featured daring waist-high cutout, which was held in place with a matching wraparound belt.

The thong-silhouette piece accentuated her pert derriere and slender pins while she posed up a storm infront of her villa's private pool.

Adding to the glamour of her surroundings, the reality star worked her caramel-hued locks into a natural curl and opted to go make-up free for the figure-flaunting shot.

Captioning the photo, she penned: 'Catching the blessings I prayed for'.

Figure-flaunting: The Love Island 2018 star drew attention to her taut midriff and pert posterior in the Baywatch-inspired bathing suit

Working it: Kaz has been showing off her incredible frame in an array of scanty ensembles

At the beginning of last month, Kaz told how she had travelled to her family's native country for her very first Songkran festival, but has now been unable to leave her luxury hotel due to the ongoing pandemic.

Alongside snaps of her posing up a storm in a hot pink bikini with a plunging neckline, the star gave fans an update of her current situation.

She said: 'My first Songkran in thailand! Unfortunately I wish it was with different circumstances as we are in complete lockdown over here and all festivals and celebrations have been postponed.

'But I am super grateful as I couldnt be in a more beautiful place with better company  Happy Thai New Year everyone!'

Stranded: Earlier this month, Kaz told how she had travelled to her family's native country for her very first Songkran festival, but has now been unable to leave her hotel due to the crisis

Songkran is the Thai New Year's national holiday, representing purification and the washing away of sins - symbolised by the famous water festival tradition.

The festival revolves around celebrating family and reuniting with loved ones, with people often travelling from far and wide to visit.

Meanwhile, Kaz's ex Theo Campbell slammed the star for 'selling him the dream,' before branding the other Love Island girls 'mentally unstable'.

The former Islander announced: 'I got slinged!' when quizzed about his former flame during an appearance on FUBAR Radio's Access All Areas show.

He said: 'I don't wanna say too much but I'm gonna say, people these days and love these days, it's confusing. It's a tricky hard world.

'I feel like with us, I kinda gave it my everything and it feels a bit underappreciated. It's a bit crazy at the moment.'

Pressed further about what went on between the pair, Theo said: 'I don't know what to call it. What's the right way to say it? I got slinged! I don't know what to call it.'
Martin, you can never, ever trust the communists. Those were the words of Martin Lee's father to son Martin in 1949. Subsequent history vindicated his advice, or warning. Luckily the Lees were living in Hong Kong. Its well known that the communism of the 20th century left behind a body count that The Black Book of Communism estimates to be 100 million.

Back in the 1980s, Hong Kong dissident Lee told journalist William McGurn about his father's warning, and McGurn relayed it to readers in his most recent column for the Wall Street Journal. McGurn thinks the communists who lead the China of the present are pretty awful, even though the countrys broad economic liberalization has surely lifted ordinary Chinese out of desperate poverty. McGurn is simply not persuaded by the modern communists who traded in Mao jackets for Brooks Brothers and sent their children to Harvard Business School.

Ok, so China has some bad Communist leadership. Thats a given. But is it possible theres a redundant quality to McGurns analysis? Consider Evan Osnoss fascinating 2014 book about China, Age of Ambition. For many years Osnos served as Beijing bureau chief for The New Yorker. To some, his professional affiliations will disqualify him automatically as an out-of-touch elitist lefty, but that would be a mistake. McGurn is a Main Street man of the right, and the treatment of the protesters in China and Hong Kong plainly concerns him. So did this treatment concern Osnos.

At the same time Osnos acknowledged something that some on the right perhaps dont. The focus on dissidents is itself a pretty rarefied activity. In writing his book, Osnos wondered in its pages if his journalistic interest in the romanticized dissidents wasnt hiding a much bigger, and arguably happier story. In his own words, the most famous image in China in the past thirty years was not of its economic rise but of the man standing in front of the tank near Tiananmen Square. Osnos saw the flaw there given his acknowledgment that foreigners could spend years in China without ever interviewing someone who had been tortured or locked up without trial.[my emphasis] Translated, for the vast majority of Chinese citizens life is much freer, living standards exponentially greater, and the government itself somewhat of an afterthought. The rare dissident was largely unknown to ordinary Chinese citizens, and was much better known in New York or Paris.

Considering the communist party in China, Osnos observes that At the lowest levels, the Party felt like a professional network. Kind of like affiliation with Democrats and Republicans stateside? Without excusing the Partys brutal, sickeningly murderous history for even a second (Osnos doesnt shy away from the tragic fact that the Great Leap Forward resulted in the worlds worst famine, which killed between thirty and forty-five million people), its thankfully no longer what it was.

As McGurn well knows, true, collectivist communism is defined by horrifying desperation, endless lines at stores with bare shelves, and in its worst form, its all about killing. The China of today is nothing like that. Its the opposite of communist, particularly in an economic sense. For an American to walk off the airplane there is for that American to arguably feel more at home than any Chinese citizen. All the street signs have English spelling, and then the shops and restaurants bring to mind a typical American city: McDonalds, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Apple Stores, Polo Stores, Sunglass Huts, etc. Communism equates with the worst kind of poverty, while the China of today symbolizes a remarkable drive to improve. Its a country in a hurry, and reality supports this. This is a long way of asking if its the communists McGurn actually looks at skeptically, or instead people in high places.

McGurn writes that communism has always been far more about the getting and holding [of] power, rather than any economic arrangement. Sure, but if so, how does this make it much different from politics in general, including politics as practiced here in the U.S.? Billions will be spent on the upcoming presidential elections despite the federal governments few and defined powers. Is there jockeying for power at work?

Osnos described retuning to China in 2005, and witnessing a fever. The greatest fever of all was aspiration, a belief in the sheer possibility to remake a life. Which raises a basic question: if some free-thinking scholar attached Osnoss line to de Tocqueville as he described 19th century America, would anyone but the most knowledgeable Tocquevillian question the scholar about the line being de Tocqueville's?

Thinking about the quote in terms of Chinas amazing economic evolution, its a reminder that the Chinese people are quite a bit freer than critics want to admit. Sorry, but suffocated people couldnt have rebuilt Chinese cities into architectural marvels, with skyscraper density that makes Manhattan seem undeveloped by comparison. Thoroughly muzzled people wouldnt be gorging on all things American at a rate that sets communist China up to soon be the largest market in the world for capitalist-produced American plenty.

Still, McGurn laments the present Chinese leadership. It sadly arrests dissidents, and so cant be trusted. Per McGurn, we were duped in a sense for believing that having shed the Partys thoroughly murderous past, its modern leaders would be transformed into Jeffersonian democrats who play by liberal rules. Sure, but who really believed that? Did even Thomas Jefferson believe those who came after him would be Jeffersonian democrats?

Its worth asking when its remembered that in the last six or seven weeks the worlds most dynamic economy was transformed by the U.S. political class into command-and-control. Due to the imposition, tens of millions of Americans are out of work, millions of businesses are bankrupt or rushing toward bankruptcy, and theres mass desperation as people wonder how theyll start earning again thanks to a political crack-up that McGurns editorial page has described with growing contempt.

Its worth thinking about as American conservatives continue to wring their hands about the Chinese communists. McGurn repeats at columns end Never, ever trust the Communists. It says here there are tens of millions of Americans who would quickly correct him with Never, ever trust politicians.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Remember Michael Flynn?

The man who holds the record for shortest tenure as national security adviser is back in the news. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition in late 2016 and early 2017. Then, in January of this year, he vacated that plea. Now the Justice Department has released documents that, says his new defense counsel, show that Flynn was set up by the FBI.

The new revelations are interesting. An email exchange between former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and former agent Peter Strzok show a discussion about how agents interviewing Flynn should remind him that it is a crime to lie to the FBI. Eventually Page recommends that Strzok slip it in at some point in the conversation.

Other documents show the agents were unsure of the purpose of the interview, whether to catch the retired general in a lie or get him to admit to violating the 221-year-old Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from conducting foreign policy on behalf of the U.S. and has never resulted in a conviction. They show agents mulling whether the objective of the interview was to catch Flynn in a lie and possibly create the conditions under which he would be fired.

Handwritten notes show that at least one person in the bureau, probably general counsel James Baker, was worried that the White House would become furious with the bureau if it learned that Flynn was being interviewed in a criminal probe under false pretexts. Former FBI director James Comey acknowledged in 2018 that arranged to set up the interview with Flynn without going through White House counsel. This decision was something I probably wouldnt have done or maybe gotten away with, he later said, in a more organized administration.

The FBIs defenders have argued that none of this excuses Flynns lies to FBI agents. One lie, according to the plea, was telling agents he did not ask Russias ambassador to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia. Another was that he did not request to delay or reject a UN Security Council resolution supported by the U.S. during the transition to censure Israeli settlements.

Story continues

In court documents filed in January, Flynn now says he did not remember the details of his conversation at the time. Whats more, Comey himself has testified that the agents who interviewed Flynn in January 2017 did not believe he was deliberately misleading them. Flynn now says that he was unaware of this information when he agreed to the plea deal.

Now cast your mind back to late 2017, when that deal was signed. Many in Washington then believed that President Donald Trumps campaign had conspired with Russia, giving Flynns communications with the Russian ambassador a sinister cast. A year and half later, Muellers investigation ended without bringing any charges against any Americans in connection with Russias interference. Now, Flynns communications with the ambassador seem more benign: He was not undermining U.S. policy so much as asking Russia to avoid escalation.

There remains, of course, the issue of Flynns violation of foreign lobbying laws, which he admitted to but for which he was not charged. In August 2016, Flynns consulting firm entered a contract with a Dutch firm owned by a Turkish businessman on a project for the principal benefit of the Republic of Turkey. That contract expired in November 2016.

Flynns firm did register initially its contract through the Lobbying Disclosure Act, or LDA. Many lobbyists use the LDA as a way of avoiding the more onerous reporting requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA.

More to the point, the FBI until 2017 barely enforced FARA violations. A 2016 Justice Department Inspector General report found only seven times when the U.S. brought criminal charges against FARA violators between 1965 and 2015. Most violators were either fined and/or asked to file retroactively as a foreign agent, which Flynn did in March 2017.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, as they say, but at the same time justice demands that the law be applied fairly and consistently. Flynn was being squeezed for crimes that are rarely, if ever, enforced. He relented only under financial pressure and a promise that his son, who worked with him in his consulting group, would not be prosecuted.

Some members of the #Resistance have noted that the tactics exposed in these latest court filings are common in criminal investigations. Why should Flynn get better treatment than a suspected terrorist or drug dealer? After all, he led chants of Lock her up at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

A more honest question is whether Trumps opposition would tolerate these tactics if the shoe were on the other foot. If the FBI had plotted to catch National Security Adviser Susan Rice in a lie in order to create pressure for President Barack Obama to fire her, would Democrats have reveled in her misfortune as they have reveled in Flynns?

This is not the only case of FBI misbehavior to come to light recently. Last month the Justice Departments inspector general made clear the bureau had routinely withheld exculpatory information from the federal surveillance court. Deception and intimidation do not suddenly become less objectionable just because the subject of an investigation is a former member of the Trump administration.

(Corrects spelling of Peter Strzoks name in third paragraph.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Ever since Tyler Cameron appeared on Hannah Browns season of The Bachelorette, Bachelor Nation fans have been obsessed with the 27-year-olds dating life. Following his run on the ABC reality series, Cameron was linked to model Gigi Hadid. Then more recently, viewers have been wondering whether he got back together with Brown. Now Cameron has opened up about dating within The Bachelor world and the pressures that come with it.

Why Tyler Cameron thinks dating within The Bachelor franchise is intimidating

Tyler Cameron of The Bachelorette | John Lamparski/Getty Images

Given their shared experiences, its really no surprise members within Bachelor Nation end up dating one another. Then on the Thats What She Said podcast with Sarah Spain, Cameron was asked how everyone meets. He explained everyone typically gets to know each other organically, rather than sliding into each others DMs. But even so, the reality star pointed out dating within The Bachelor family is intimidating because of the pressure from fans.

Dating in The Bachelor world is an intimidating, daunting task, Cameron said. Everyone watched that show for romance and love  Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelor, Bachelorette. And if youre to date someone on there, everyones just so invested and it just puts pressure on everything you do with that person.

Tyler Cameron on the dating rumors with Hannah Brown

Still speaking with the Thats What She Said podcast, Cameron noted the pressure to date someone within The Bachelor franchise makes it difficult to see whether he actually likes someone in a romantic setting. Then Spain suggested they would have to hide away for a while to see if the relationship would work. When Cameron agreed, the host hinted this is what happened with Brown.

At the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Brown went down to Camerons house in Florida, which sparked a flood of dating rumors. Then Brown appeared in TikTok videos alongside Cameron and a few friends. They called themselves the Quarantine Crew.

In a few of their videos, both Brown and Cameron played up the dating narrative, fueling rumors even further. Nevertheless, Cameron admitted he still felt the pressure from everyone on the outside.

We can play into it a little bit  and we did, Cameron said. We had fun with it, but it definitely creates so much pressure.

He continued: Everyone writes their narrative before you can even write your own. It just makes things difficult. So thats why itll be very difficult to date in that world.

Tyler Cameron says hes just friends with Hannah Brown

In early April, Brown left the Quarantine Crew for her home in Alabama. Cameron shared the Dancing With the Stars champion wanted to be with her family and it was her last chance to go back for a while.

But viewers are still zoning in on every social media interaction, sleuthing out reasons why The Bachelorette alums should date. Some fans also sent money to Cameron through Venmo to buy Brown an engagement ring.

Meanwhile, both Cameron and Brown insist they are just friends. During an Instagram Live session, Cameron said, No, Im not dating nobody. Then in a recent video captured by a Bachelor fan account, the model spoke up about his current relationship status with Brown once again. He said:

Its been nice to be able to communicate and be friends again. We are able to talk, and you know, were just starting off as friends and thats what it is right now. Were not in a place where we should be worried about dating or anything like that right now  Its good to be back on good terms. Shes a great person and Im grateful to be able to call her a friend.

Read more: Where Was The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart Filmed? Fans Already Miss the Original Mansion
Two American amphibian landing ships that were sunk in an ill-fated D-Day rehearsal, covered up for years by military leaders, are to be protected.

More than 700 US troops were killed when they were intercepted by German E-boats off the Devon coast during Operation Tiger in 1944.

LST-507 and LST-531, which were carrying hundreds of American servicemen as well as tanks, vehicles and trucks, were torpedoed by the Germans and quickly sank.

They have been scheduled and added to the National Heritage List for England by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Pictured: An LST stern with similar guns to that on the LST-507, which was torpedoed by the Germans

The remains of the one of the small LCVP landing crafted carried by the LST-531, pictured left, and the plan of the bow section of the LST-507, pictured right

Pictured: A dive begins to find one of the American amphibian vessels sunk in the ill-fated rehearsal

It means recreational divers can still dive the wrecks, but the ships and contents are protected.

The US were practising manoeuvres on Slapton Sands, which had been chosen for its similarity to Utah beach where the Americans would land for D-Day on June 6 1944.

The bulk of the infantry had landed ashore when eight tank landing ships carrying engineers, quartermaster staff, signallers, medics, infantry as well as tanks, trucks, jeeps and equipment found themselves under attack.

A flotilla of nine German E-boats had been ordered to investigate unusual radio activity in the area and believed they had stumbled across several destroyers.

Vessels were bombarded and crews forced to abandon ship, many dying from shock or exposure in the early hours of April 28.

However, this was not public knowledge until around 30 years later, as leaders covered it up over fears the tragedy would have a disastrous impact on morale during the conflict.

The American LCT-975 sets sail from the River Dart, pictured, for the ill-fated Operation Tiger

American casualties were brought ashore, pictured, at Slapton, Devon, after their tank landing ships came under attack

Operation Tiger was a series of ill-fated missions aimed at preparing the US and British forces for the Allied invasion of Normandy.

The day before the Slapton Sands incident, around 300 troops were killed in a friendly-fire accident when they were hit by live ammunition as they invaded a beach.

Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston said: 'I am pleased that as we prepare to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, these important relics will be protected.

'D-Day is one of the defining moments of the Second World War and preserving these wreck sites is a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives in Exercise Tiger.'

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, which recommended the designation, added: 'The underwater remains of ships involved in the D-Day rehearsals are a tangible reminder of the sacrifices made in planning and delivering this huge military operation on a scale never previously attempted, 76 years ago.

'By protecting the wrecks of two US landing ships we are remembering all of those who lost their lives in the struggle for liberty during the Second World War.'

D-Day, codenamed Operation Overlord, was the greatest combined land, air and naval operation in history.

It was a massive assault by the allies to invade Nazi-occupied Western Europe and saw 156,000 soldiers from Britain, US, Canada and France land on the beaches of Normandy together with thousands of vehicles and supplies.
Net working capital of $36.4 Million CAD at December 31, 2019

CAD at On March 20, 2020 Khiron became the first and only company in Colombia to receive full authorization to manufacture high- and low-THC medical cannabis, and to fill prescriptions for low-THC medical cannabis

Khiron became the first and only company in to receive full authorization to manufacture high- and low-THC medical cannabis, and to fill prescriptions for low-THC medical cannabis Khiron became the only Company authorized to export THC products

Filled first medical cannabis prescriptions ever using cannabis from their fully completed state-of-the-art, 14,000 square foot GMP and ISO 17025 compliant extraction and analysis lab in Ibague, Colombia

Opened European operations, and became the exclusive Latin American provider to Project Twenty21, Europe's largest medical cannabis study with 20,000 patients

largest medical cannabis study with 20,000 patients Khiron's cultivation facilities and health centres remain operational during COVID-19 pandemic under an exemption from the Government of Colombia , without any requirement for further authorization

TORONTO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ("Khiron" or the "Company") (TSXV: KHRN ), (OTCQX: KHRNF), (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), a vertically integrated cannabis leader with core operations in Latin America, is pleased to report its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019. Khiron has filed today its audited consolidated financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis (md&a), both of which are available on Khiron's profile at www.sedar.com. All financial information in this press release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Summary of key financial results

(Canadian dollars) Years ended December 31 Quarters ended 2019 2018 Q4 2019 Q3 2019 Q2 2019 Q1 2019

$ $



$ $ Revenues ('000s) 9,582 892 2,510 2,773 2,208 2,091 Gross profit ('000s) 2,436 297 1,048 593 382 412 Net loss ('000s) (36,378) (19,807) (7,107) (10,621) (10,646) (8,004) Adjusted EBITDA (1) ('000s) (24,504) (13,969) (6,342) (5,438) (7,056) (5,668) Net loss per share (basic and diluted) (0.36) (0.42) (0.06) (0.09) (0.11) (0.12) Weighted average shares outstanding ('000s) 101,966 48,519 115,399 113,997 95,973 75,895

1. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or in this case loss) is a non-IFRS measure calculated as net loss as reported under International Financial Reporting Standards and adding back share-based compensation expense, transaction fees, depreciation and non-recurring items. Refer to the Company's md&a for a reconciliation.

Financial Highlights Commentary

The Company recorded a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2019 of $36.4 million ($0.36 per share) compared to a net loss of $19.8 million for the same period in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes mostly non-cash items and some non-recurring items, was $24.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company ended the year with $36.9 million balance in cash and short-term investments and minimal current debt obligations of $1.0 million, most of which are related to lease payments for office and medical buildings.

Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $24.5 million for 2019 compared to $14.0 million for 2018. In March 2020 the Company received its final certification required to manufacture medical cannabis. The year 2019 focused on moving the Company towards this objective specifically:

Growing and harvesting its first crop for manufacturing medical cannabis, recording approximately $3 million in research and development expenses in 2019.

in research and development expenses in 2019. Raised net equity financing in the amount of $53 million ; as a result, the Company incurred higher professional fees from the transactions and increased its investor relations and marketing efforts concurrently with the increased shareholder base, together increasing costs by approximately $2 million .

; as a result, the Company incurred higher professional fees from the transactions and increased its investor relations and marketing efforts concurrently with the increased shareholder base, together increasing costs by approximately . Prepared for global expansion and first sales of medical cannabis by increasing capacity at its corporate offices, hiring employees and planting a footprint in several Latin American countries and Europe .

. Achieved revenues of $9.3 million and gross profit of $2.2 million at the Company's ILANS clinics, with ILANS selling the Company's first medical cannabis product in March 2020 .

The Company has a strong financial position at December 31, 2019 but must prudently manage its cash and maintain its liquidity amidst the uncertainty of incoming cash flows during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company's core focus will be on its medical businesses using a predominantly digital strategy to grow its patient network and sell its medical cannabis products both locally in Colombia and globally. Maintaining high quality harvests and extracts at its cultivation site will be critical to the Company's success. Cost reductions in salaries, marketing and other administrative functions have been initiated, and capital expenditure programs have been postponed, where possible.

The Colombian government has resolved to provide health care service companies with financial relief, which could result in the deferral of loan repayments and lease payments by ILANS. While the Company will avail itself of financial relief measures, management believes that the Company should be able to maintain a positive cash balance through 2020. Maintaining liquidity through the crisis and continuing with its core strategy should place the Company in a very strong competitive position once the crisis ends.

Management Commentary

"2019 was a building year for Khiron. Now the focus of the company turns to sales execution, and revenue generation. Khiron has achieved a significant competitive advantage, and in March 2020 Khiron became the first and only company authorized to sell low THC medical cannabis in Colombia. We have much work to do in the months ahead but are positioned to benefit from these significant achievements," commented Alvaro Torres, Khiron CEO and director.

"We recognize the unprecedented global health and economic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and have acted swiftly, aligning our expenditures, and leveraging our digital capabilities and staff medical teams to give patients access to telemedicine consultations and remote product delivery," added Mr. Torres.

COVID-19

Khiron has established contingency plans in place for all its facilities, including medical facilities which are essential to serving the community. Those plans were put into action and the Company's facilities and supply chain remain operating within strict government guidelines established as a result of the current pandemic.

Khiron's ILANS and Zerenia clinics have been deemed essential services by the government of Colombia and continue to operate without requirement of any further authorization. The Company's recently announced teleconsultation services ensure patients, including those from its ILANS and Zerenia network, have access to clinic services and doctors trained to prescribe medical cannabis and other treatments.

For the time being and until economies stabilize, Khiron has shifted its strategic approach to focus on our highest margin businesses, and revenue opportunities, alter marketing methods and conserve cash, but has maintained its overall strategic direction to improve the quality of life of patients and consumers. The Company continues to prioritize the physical and mental health of its employees, health professionals and partners during this pandemic.

Highlights

Expanded to Europe in October 2019 , and now has teams in Germany and the U.K.

in , and now has teams in and the U.K. Granted approval to cultivate 9.3 tons of THC cannabis, representing 17% of the total allocated quota for Colombia in 2020, subsequent to the year end

in 2020, subsequent to the year end Completed Company's state-of-the-art, 14,000 square foot GMP and ISO 17025 compliant extraction and analysis lab in Ibague, Colombia

Received first Colombian authorization to commercialize high-THC cannabis for domestic and export sales

Authorized in Colombia to manufacture high- and low-THC medical cannabis, and to fill prescriptions for low-THC medical cannabis, effective March 20, 2020

Brazil and Peru

Authorization from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) allows for Khiron medical cannabis product to be imported for use on an individual patient basis, subsequent to the year end

Signed a 2-year exclusive agreement to manufacture and distribute Khiron-branded medical cannabis products in Lima, Perus largest city with 8.6 million inhabitants

Research and Development

Participant and exclusive Latin American provider to Project Twenty21, Europe's largest medical cannabis study with 20,000 patients

largest medical cannabis study with 20,000 patients Initiated pre-clinical medical cannabis studies with Universidad de la Republica of Uruguay and Institut Pasteur de Montevideo in Uruguay

Entered an agreement with prominent Colombian research hospital, Centro Dermatologico Federico Lleras Acosta ("CDFLLA"), establishing a clinical research partnership focused on the effectiveness of medical cannabis for dermatological conditions

Education and Awareness

Embraced online education with a signed agreement with Tecnologico de Monterrey, a leading Latin American university (Third Ranked in Latin America) in Mexico bringing Khirons online education program to reach 1,500 physicians and healthcare practitioners

Hosts Canadian Pavilion at Cannamexico World Summit 2019, targeting over 2,000 global cannabusiness leaders

Entered into an agreement with Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, a Peruvian university to sponsor workshops and remote talks in the university's international course on Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Through 2019, participated in more than 30 medical events around Latin America geared towards educating physicians on the use and benefits of medical cannabis

Health Services

Launched Telemedicine, to meet essential patient needs without the need for an in person visit

Acquired 100% of ILANS, a neurological clinic with a network of approximately 120,000 patients in Colombia

Launched Zerenia Clinic, an integrative medical care service clinic, increasing Company's patient capacity in Colombia by 75%, with medical cannabis and other services, subsequent to the year end

by 75%, with medical cannabis and other services, subsequent to the year end Patient network served through Khiron-owned clinics increased to over 155,000 medical transactions

Wellbeing Products

Expanded Kuida CBD-based cosmeceutical brand distribution to over 300 points of sale in Colombia

Received approval from INVIMA, Colombia's health agency, to sell 3 additional Kuida CBD skin care products, expanding on the 7 products already on the market in Colombia

Secured initial Kuida sales in the UK and the US in Q4 2019 and Q1 2020, respectively

Entered into a multi-year agreement with Centro Dermatologico Federico Lleras Acosta (CDFLLA), to jointly conduct medical cannabis research and host educational activities focusing on skin conditions and symptoms

Financing

Closed $28.84 Million bought deal financing on February 28, 2019 , including full exercise of over-allotment option

bought deal financing on , including full exercise of over-allotment option Closed $28.75 Million bought deal financing on May 28, 2019 , including full exercise of over-allotment option

Webcast and Q&A

Khiron invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend a webcast and Q&A to discuss the Company's 2019 year-end results and corporate update.

DATE: May 4, 2020

TIME: 10:00am ET/7:00am PT

PRESENTERS: Alvaro Torres, Khiron CEO and Director, and Chris Naprawa, Khiron President

FORMAT: Live 20 minutes presentation & Q&A session

REGISTER LINK: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2307088/CDF8CB87D88B5A9CC5D225E0634845EF

About Khiron Life Sciences Corp.

Khiron Life Sciences Corp. is the dominant integrated medical cannabis company in Latin America. Khiron has core operations in Latin America, along with activity in North America and Europe, and is licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) medical cannabis. The Company delivers best in class regulatory compliance, has the first approved line of CBD cosmetic products on shelf in Colombia, and is fully authorized to manufacture high- and low-THC medical cannabis, and to fill prescriptions for low-THC medical cannabis in the country.

With a focused regional strategy and patient oriented approach, the Company combines global scientific expertise, agricultural advantages, branded product market entrance experience and education to drive prescription and brand loyalty to address priority medical conditions such as chronic pain, epilepsy, depression and anxiety in the Latin American market of over 620 million people. The Company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced executive team, and a knowledgeable Board of Directors that includes former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox.

Visit Khiron online at www.khiron.ca and on Instagram @khironlife

Cautionary Notes

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khiron's control, including the risk factors discussed in Khiron's Annual Information Form which is available on Khiron's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

United States Disclaimer

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp.

Related Links

https://www.khiron.ca/en/home


Rent is traditionally due on the first of the month, and more tenants are becoming late on their payments.

The economic effects of Covid-19 continue to mount, with rising job losses and falling consumer confidence. As of April 26, 91.5% of renters in professionally managed buildings had made full or partial payments. That compares with 95.6% during the same period last year, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

"It is encouraging that apartment residents continue to meet their rent obligations whether that's with the support of the federal relief funds, credit cards and alternative, flexible options provided by the industry's owners and operators," said NMHC President Doug Bibby. "But their financial security is unclear as many may not qualify for federal relief, while others are drawing down savings and facing greater financial challenges, including higher health-care costs."

Walker & Dunlop is one of the nation's largest commercial lenders with a $95 billion servicing portfolio, largely consisting of multifamily apartment buildings. There are more than 2 million apartment units in its portfolio, and CEO Willy Walker says his people are in contact with apartment owners and operators daily. So far, he said, just 1% of owners have asked for help on their commercial loans, but Walker is a realist.

"One of the big things that many of our borrowers are doing is going out, talking to their tenants, and anyone who does have a need for rental forbearance  they're putting in repayment plans," he said, but added: "Quite honestly, it's a waiting game to see what May and June and July rent roles look like, as it relates to how many loans come to us for forbearance and then what defaults look like come September, October, November."

Walker is concerned that when the temporary boost to unemployment payments under the government's coronavirus relief program end, more tenants will be unable or unwilling to put down money for housing.

"The real question is are they going to pay their rent, or are they going to hoard cash because they think the benefits in the CARES Act are going to term out on them, and they need to hold onto that money?" asked Walker.

While landlords for both multi- and single-family properties are trying to work with their tenants, offering temporary rent reductions and repayment plans, there is no government bailout for renters. There is a forbearance plan for mortgage borrowers under the CARES Act, allowing them to delay payments for up to a year. For renters, the act forbids evictions for 90 days, but little else.

Activists are now calling for a national rent strike, mobilizing with the slogan #CancelRent.

"Real estate titans made money off of our pain in 2008, and have continued getting tax breaks ever since," said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of the United Teachers Los Angeles union, which is supporting the rent strike, in a release. "We can't let this happen again. We're calling on every level of government to use emergency powers to cancel rent, and organize a massive effort at the federal level to redistribute wealth."
Thousands turn out for food donations in Wyandotte County on Thursday WYANDOTTE COUNTY, KS (KCTV) -- Thousands of cars lined up to receive donated food from Harvesters Food Network today. The sight was a true testimony to the current times. There were four semi-truck loads of food brought out to serve people in Wyandotte County today.

A glimpse from above at the real world coronavirus impact of the pandemic on locals . . . Take a look:
The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, the World Health Organization says. At a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland Monday, Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, had this to say.

"We continue to urge countries to find, isolate, test, and treat all cases and trace every contact to ensure these declining trends continue. But the pandemic is far from over.WHO continues to be concerned about the increasing trends in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and some Asian countries", he said.

With over 3.25 million people infected, healthcare systems of even the most developed nations are overwhelmed. Cancer patients and survivors, for example, are particularly vulnerable during this epidemic and not only because of their increased vulnerable immunocompromised state, which makes them prone to the infection. They are also at risk of missing out on essential cancer care due to the unavailability of resources.

The coronavirus (blue) is simple biologically, but complicated in how it infects a host. CDC/ Hannah A Bullock; Azaibi Tamin

18,000 cancer patients

A new study has shown that an extra 18,000 cancer patients in England would lose their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic mainly because hospitals caring for these patients have had to suspend and postpone the treatment due to them from the NHS care. According to UK chief medical adviser Prof Chris Witty, this is one of the "indirect" costs of the coronavirus pandemic.

Delays

This new study from the University College London (UCL), in collaboration with Data-Can was one of the first to look at the impact of the delay in cancer care provided by the NHS during this pandemic situation. Data-Can is a health data research lab that records cancer diagnosis and treatment data from patients across the United Kingdom.

This study looks at the potential impact of delaying diagnostic tests, screening tests, surgeries, and chemo and radiation therapy by the NHS. Also taken into account were patient's fears of becoming infected as a result of visiting health facilities. This database covers over 3.5 million patients in England, and from that, results have been derived.

What was found?

The researchers noted that there would be an additional 17,915 deaths due to cancer and indirectly due to the pandemic during this time. Some of the deaths could be due to delayed diagnosis or delayed treatment for cancer.

They noted that 6,270 people in England, newly diagnosed with cancer, are set to lose their lives over the next 12 months due to the suspension, postponement, and disruption of their treatment schedules. The additional 17,915 deaths is an increase of 20 percent over the 89,576 deaths seen annually due to cancer in England say the reports.

The study also shows that there have been 21,678 deaths due to coronavirus infection, and over 4,300 persons have died in care homes over the past fortnight. The NHS has called for resuming the care provided to seriously ill patients and cancer patients. Still, over the last couple of months since February, cancer test referrals from general practitioners have fallen by 76 percent, and there has been a drop of 60 percent in the appointments for chemotherapy sessions. The NHS has, however, repeatedly urged cancer treatment to "continue unaffected."

Conclusions and impact

The researchers conclude, "Our data have highlighted how cancer patients with multimorbidity are a particularly at-risk group during the current pandemic. In order to ensure effective cancer policy and avoid excess deaths, both during and after the COVID-19 emergency, it is critical to ensure near-real-time reporting of cause-specific excess mortality, urgent cancer referrals, and treatment statistics, so as to inform the most optimal delivery of care in this extremely vulnerable group of patients."

This study shows that there are widespread impacts of this pandemic that are not just linked to the coronavirus infection alone. The Macmillan Cancer Support calls this the "forgotten C" of the corona pandemic crisis and has expressed concern over the findings of this study. This study concludes that 80 percent of the extra deaths at this time would be due to newly detected cancers among those who already have other ailments such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or obesity.

Dr. Alvina Lal, lead author of the study, a lecturer in health data analytics at UCL's institute of health informatics, in her statement said, "Our findings demonstrate the serious potential for unintended consequences of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which may negatively impact on patients with cancer and other underlying health conditions." She added that the NHS needs to identify the patients who are affected by cancer and are vulnerable at this critical time. Their care should be prioritized so that risk to their health is reduced, she said.

Prof. Mark Lawler, the lead author from Queen's University Belfast and Data-Can, said, "The results are concerning. We believe countries need to understand how the emergency is affecting cancer outcomes rapidly, otherwise, we risk adding cancer and other underlying health conditions to the escalating death toll of the Covid-19 pandemic."

Experts

NHS England is spreading awareness among the general population to report and ask for help in case of any worrying symptoms or serious ill-health. They have asked people to dial 999 or visit the A&E or the GP without delay. The NHS hopes that cancer-related surgeries would soon be resumed and hopes to cover the backlog suffered over the past couple of months due to patients putting off the hospital visits and surgeries.

Prof. Peter Johnson, an oncologist from NHS England, also said there are serious implications of delayed diagnosis and treatment of cancer. He urged people to get a suspicious lump or mole checked as soon as possible. He said there are "COVID free cancer hubs" in 19 regions of England, and these services can be availed for diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

Prof. Harry Hemingway, senior author of the paper and director of UCL's institute of health informatics, in his statement, said, "The overall impact of the Covid-19 emergency on deaths in cancer patients could be substantial. There are many factors operating here, including rapid changes to diagnosis and treatment protocols, social distancing measures, changes in people's behavior in seeking medical attention, and [the] economic impact of Covid-19, as well as deaths due to Covid-19 infection."

Lynda Thomas, Macmillan's chief executive, added, "This research shows the possible extent of the direct and collateral damage caused by coronavirus on the health of our nation and to the lives of people living with conditions like cancer. It's extremely worrying that we are likely to see an increase in deaths of people newly diagnosed with cancer. We are calling on all governments to stop cancer becoming the forgotten C and urgently ensure cancer services are getting everything they need to recover and catch up as quickly as possible from the disruption of the pandemic. This means having the right staff, protective equipment, and testing to deliver safe care."

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has asked the general public to seek health care when needed, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock this week also announced that healthcare services are to be normalized and restored as soon as possible.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday denied that he sexually assaulted a former Senate aide, addressing the accusations publicly for the first time under increasing pressure from his party to speak about it.

"I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago," Biden said in a statement released by his campaign. "They aren't true. This never happened."

Biden echoed his denial on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" shortly after the statement was released. He also called on the National Archives to release any record of a complaint that the former aide, Tara Reade, says she filed. "If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there," said Biden.

Reade has said that she filed a complaint with a congressional human resources or personnel office but did not remember the exact name. Her complaint dealt only with the alleged harassment, not the alleged assault, she said. The Post could find no record of the complaint, and Reade said she didn't have a copy.

In his MSNBC interview, Biden, appearing from his makeshift home television studio in Delaware, faced a range of questions from host Mika Brzezinski. It was the first time Biden faced questions on the allegations in a public setting.

"I don't remember any type of complaint she may have made," Biden said in the interview, when asked if he remembered Reade or the complaint. "It was 27 years ago, and I don't remember nor does anyone else that I'm aware of."

The Biden campaign confirmed after the interview that Biden does not remember Reade.

The former vice president said he had not reached out to Reade. "When she first made the claim, we made it clear it never happened," he said. He also said that he had not seen any complaint filed by her, nor was he aware of anyone who had. "I've never seen it," he said.

Biden declined to offer a theory about Reade's motivations for her claims.

"I'm not going to question her motive," Biden said of Reade, adding, "I don't understand it."

The presumptive nominee said he has never asked anyone to sign a nondisclosure agreement. And Biden said that "women have a right to be heard," but that "in the end in every case, the truth is what matters."

In a tense exchange late in the interview, Biden repeatedly resisted the idea of querying his Senate papers at the University of Delaware, saying they do not contain personnel records.

"Why not just do a search for Tara Reade's name?" Brzezinski asked.

"Who does that search?" Biden replied. Brzezinski suggested the university or a commission could conduct it. Biden then returned to his initial point - that any complaint would be contained in the archives, not his papers.

He said that the papers contained "confidential conversations" with the president and heads of state and that he did not want them to be made public while he was actively pursuing public office.

Asked what he would say to Reade directly if he could talk to her, Biden responded: "This never ever happened. I don't know what is motivating her."

Reade did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment after Biden's interview.

In his earlier statement, Biden attempted to show solidarity with the #MeToo movement even as he firmly repudiated the accusations from Reade, who claims he reached under her skirt and penetrated her 27 years ago.

"While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated," he said in his statement. "One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny."

Biden also attacked President Donaldc Trump, saying, "We have lived long enough with a President who doesn't think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. That's not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth."

On Friday, Biden received some praise for his comments, along with calls for further action.

Tina Tchen, president and CEO of Time's Up Now, a group that aims to combat harassment and discrimination, released a statement saying Biden "sat down and directly addressed the allegation against him with the seriousness it deserves, something that the current president has never done."

Shaunna Thomas, the co-founder of UltraViolet, a group that pushes for gender equity, issued a statement saying that "It was right for Joe Biden to directly address this issue and he has more to do."

"We know that leader can not be and will not be Donald Trump," she added.

Several advocacy groups have pushed the Biden campaign to give an address on the importance of combatting sexual harassment and sexual violence, according to a person familiar with the effort.

Biden's campaign had previously denied the allegations by Reade, who worked in Biden's Senate office for nine months ending in 1993. But for weeks, the former vice president had been silent about her accusation. This week, demands from within his party to address it grew louder, and with each public appearance came scrutiny that began to eclipse the ideas and themes he was trying to promote.

Democratic and Republican leaders also came under intensifying calls to weigh in, triggering an explosive and often partisan debate. For many Democrats, the allegation was an uncomfortable topic that forced them to try to reconcile their support for Biden with advocacy for many women who come forward with claims of sexual assault against powerful men.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said in an interview with WNYC on Wednesday that the allegations against Biden should be "investigated seriously" after host Brian Lehrer asked if there should be a probe into the accusations.

"In terms of what the appropriate mechanism is that remains to be seen," Jeffries said Wednesday. "I'm not really in a position to say what is the appropriate investigative mechanism - although it needs to be seriously investigated."

When asked to clarify his comments Friday, Jeffries did not repeat his calls for an investigation and sent the following statement sent to the Washington Post: "Vice President Biden has addressed the allegations, vigorously denied them and agreed to publicly release any document connected to this matter. It is now in the hands of the voters."

For some top Republicans, the accusation against Biden has been occasion to accuse Democrats of a double standard.

"There will be a great temptation among Biden's supporters to take his lackluster interview performance and declare 'case closed' and move on," said Trump campaign communications director Erin Perrine in a statement. "We do not know what, if anything, was done to Tara Reade, but there cannot be one set of rules for Joe Biden and another set for everyone else."

The statement called for greater transparency from Biden, even as Trump has gone to historic lengths to block efforts to prevent the release of documents pertaining to his taxes, health records and business dealings.

Trump said Thursday that Biden "should respond" to the accusation, which Trump said he "didn't know anything about." The president suggested that Reade's account could be a "false accusation," a topic he said he knew well. More than 20 women have accused the president of sexual misconduct over the years, prompting a series of denials.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has accused Democrats of abandoning the criticism and skepticism they applied to Kavanaugh when it comes to Biden.

"I think what most Americans would like is sort of a symmetrical evaluation of these allegations rather than what we have seen at least so far," McConnell said on Fox News Radio this week.

Many top Democrats have been reluctant to weigh in publicly at length but have defended Biden when asked about the accusations.

On Friday, former Michigan governor Jennfier Granholm, a Democrat supporting Biden tweeted that she believes Biden. "Anyone who knows him knows this allegation is antithetical to his character, to the culture in his office, to his soul. He has never been that kind of guy. Ever. The story has been heard and vetted. No staffer remembers it. No complaint found. Move on," she wrote.

Biden has declined a request for an interview with The Washington Post. His campaign has repeatedly said that Reade's claims are not true.

Reade's accusation that Biden reached under her skirt and penetrated her in 1993 was the first allegation of sexual assault made against him. In 2019, several women said Biden had been overly affectionate in a way that made them uncomfortable in previous interactions.

Reade said last year in interviews with The Post and with other news outlets that Biden had put his hands on her shoulders and neck when she was working in his Senate office. She said that she had complained about it to senior aides in the office, but those aides told The Post that they had no recollection of Reade's claim.

Last month, in a podcast interview, she alleged that the then-senator had assaulted her after pushing her against a wall somewhere on Capitol Hill.

The Post published a detailed examination of her account two weeks ago in which one of her friends confirmed that Reade had told her of an incident shortly after she said it had occurred. Reade's brother, Collin Moulton, also told The Post that she had told him in 1993 that Biden had touched her neck and shoulders. Several days after the interview, he said in a text message to The Post that he recalled her telling him that Biden had put his hand "under her clothes."

In an interview published by Business Insider on Monday, Lynda LaCasse, a former acquaintance of Reade, said Reade had told her of an alleged assault in the mid-1990s, when they lived in the same California housing complex. LaCasse on Wednesday confirmed those details to The Post.

"She told me that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her," she wrote in a text message. "She said that he had put her up against a wall, put his hand up her skirt and his fingers inside her."

She added that she is "a very strong Democrat" and was supporting Biden for president.

"I believed Tara at the time she told me that Mr. Biden assaulted her, and I continue to support her now," she wrote. "I feel that the truth needs to be told."

Lorraine Sanchez, who worked with Reade in California after her tenure in Washington, told Business Insider that Reade had told her she "had been sexually harassed by her former boss while she was in DC and as a result of her voicing her concerns to her supervisors, she was let go, fired." But Reade herself has given various reasons for her departure.

The corroboration from the women came several days after a 1993 call to Larry King's CNN talk show surfaced.

In the clip, a woman whom Reade identified as her now-deceased mother called to report unspecified problems her daughter was having with her employer, whom she called a prominent senator. The caller said her daughter did not want to go public with her account out of respect for the unnamed senator.
The Alabama Supreme Court today upheld decisions by courts in Jefferson County and Lee County to dismiss lawsuits challenging traffic camera laws in Center Point, Midfield, and Opelika.

The justices also ruled that a similar case challenging Montgomerys traffic camera law should be tossed out and sent it back to the trial court.

Midfield, Center Point and some other Alabama cities started using cameras operated by private vendors for enforcement of red light, stop sign, and speeding laws over the last nine years or so. Violations caught by the cameras are civil offenses that carry a fine.

The plaintiffs in all four cases were drivers who had received tickets. They claimed the city ordinances setting up the traffic camera systems violated the state Constitution and state law or improperly delegated the cities police powers to the companies that operate the cameras. The plaintiffs sued both the cities and the vendors.

The Supreme Court did not decide those claims. Instead, the justices ruled that the lawsuits were not valid because the plaintiffs failed to appeal their tickets in city courts courts in the way spelled out in the ordinances.

The justices said that failure to appeal in the time and manner spelled out in the law meant that the plaintiffs accepted liability for the violations and that there was no controversy for the courts to consider. Therefore, the lawsuits were null and void, the justices wrote.

The lawsuit in Midfield was filed in 2018 by plaintiffs who had received tickets five years earlier, the justices wrote. The other lawsuits were filed between 20015 and 2018.
<! Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, addressing Lagosians and the Press on COVID-19 update and lockdown in the State at Lagos House, Marina, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. With him (L-R): Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi. >

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

No fewer than 26 Coronavirus patients were on Friday discharged in Lagos after they recovered from the virus by testing negative twice.

This was disclosed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a statement on Friday.

The governor said those discharged included 14 male and 12 female, including two foreign nationals.

The foreign nationals are: one Polish and a Filipino.

Sanwo-Olu said 14 of the patients were discharged from the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba and 12 from the Onikan Isolation Centre.

He said with this development, the number of survivors so far discharged by the State are 225.

In his words: Good people of Lagos, Today, 26 more COVID-19 Lagos patients; 14 males and 12 females, including 2 foreign nationals  a Polish and a Filipino have been discharged from our Yaba and Onikan Isolation facilities to reunite with the society.

The patients, 14 from the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba and 12 from the Onikan Isolation Centre were discharged having fully recovered and tested negative to COVID-19 in two consecutive readings.

With this, the number number of #COVID19 confirmed cases that have been successfully managed and discharged in Lagos is now 225.
NEW YORK - The body of a Colorado paramedic who came to New York City to save lives before losing his own to the coronavirus arrived Sunday night in Denver for burial.

Before Paul Carys body was flown from New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Cary will be forever honoured in a memorial to medical workers who answered the citys 911 call to the rest of America.

De Blasio said at his daily news briefing Friday that he learned of Paul Carys death the previous day, and it really hit me.

Theres something particularly painful when someone does the right thing, a fellow American comes from across the country to try and help the people of New York City and while working to save lives here gives his own life. Its very painful. Its heroic, the Democrat said.

Cary, a 66-year-old grandfather who lived for decades in Aurora, Colorado, before moving to Denver, arrived in New York on April 1 as part of a wave of out-of-state medical technicians, doctors and nurses who came to the city to help relieve a health care system being overwhelmed by the virus.

Working for an ambulance company that aided the city under a Federal Emergency Management Agency contract, Cary responded from a location in the Bronx to calls ranging from patient transfers to 911 calls.

He died Thursday after falling ill about 10 days ago and entering Montefiore Medical Center, where he spent his final days on a ventilator, said Josh Weiss, a spokesman for the company, Ambulnz.

Cary worked for more than 30 years as a firefighter and paramedic in Aurora, a Denver suburb, before joining Ambulnz. He was so adamant about working in New York that he was planning to stay for a second, one-month tour before getting sick, Weiss said.

In a statement, Carys family said it was devastated.

Our family grieves his loss, and knows that all his friends and family will miss him greatly, the family said. He risked his own health and safety to protect others and left this world a better place. We are at peace knowing that Paul did what he loved and what he believed in, right up until the very end.

In a statement, the Aurora Firefighters Protective Association said that Cary had a passion for emergency medical services and was instrumental in helping shape their departments service into a world-class system.

It was not surprising to hear that Paul had volunteered and was helping those in need up to the very end, the association said.

De Blasio said Cary no doubt saved lives before the coronavirus took his own, as it has four of the citys emergency response workers and 10 city fire department workers in all.

He did not have to do it. He made the choice to come here to save lives, de Blasio said.

The mayor said a lasting memorial will be dedicated to Cary but will honour everyone who came to New York City to help.

So many people came to help, but Paul gave his life for us and were going to honour him in a particular way, he added.

___

Associated Press Writer Colleen Slevin reported from Denver.

___

This story corrects the spelling of Paul Careys name on first mention.
Biden says women who step forward deserve to be heard, but their stories should be subject to appropriate scrutiny.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday denied allegations by Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, who said he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s.

This never happened, Biden said in his public remarks on the allegation. The comments come at a critical moment for the presumptive Democratic nominee as he tries to relieve mounting pressure after weeks of leaving denials to his campaign.

Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened, the former vice president said in an interview on MSNBCs Morning Joe programme. Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine whether there is any record of such a complaint being filed, but he said repeatedly that he does not believe such a record exists.

Reade, who worked as a staff assistant in Bidens US Senate office from December 1992 to August 1993, has accused Biden of pinning her against a wall in 1993 and reaching under her shirt and her skirt.

At least two other women have corroborated part of Reades allegations in interviews with US media outlets.

The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993, Biden said. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files.

Biden added that there is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept.

Joe Biden, asked on @Morning_Joe if he sexually assaulted Tara Reade: No, it is not true. Im saying unequivocally it never, never happened. And it didnt. It never happened. pic.twitter.com/nXIAdGloG5  MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 1, 2020

Prior to the MSNBC interview, Biden released a statement saying while the allegations are complicated, two things are not complicated.

One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny, Biden said in the statement.

Republicans, worried about President Donald Trumps increasingly precarious political standing, are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

The campaign has issued statements, but he hasnt issued any statements in his own voice, said former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile. Its not helping, its just damaging  not only to the person who has come forward, but its also damaging the candidate.

#MeToo era

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault of often high-power men. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hills Senate testimony in the 1990s.

Reade, 56, was one of eight women who last year came forward to say Biden had hugged, kissed or touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable, though none accused him of sexual assault. She publicly accused him of the assault on a podcast in March.

At the time of the womens statements last year about behaviour that made them uncomfortable, Biden, who had yet to launch his presidential bid, released a video promising to be much more mindful of peoples personal space.

Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, said: I believe Joe Biden, citing a New York Times investigation that she said exonerated him.

Women deserve to be heard, she said, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press news agency. They pointed to investigations by The Washington Post and the AP news agency that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Biden. Speaking on CNN, she said she was satisfied with how he has responded, even as she acknowledged its a matter that he has to deal with.

She drew criticism online for also saying: Joe Biden is Joe Biden.

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clintons private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because it is an indictment of Bidens central campaign rationale: That he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a battle for the soul of America.

The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump  but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign, said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanderss organising director.

The silence from the Biden campaign has given Republicans an opening on an issue that was, in 2016, more fraught for the Republican, when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who alleged varying levels of sexual assault and harassment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that Biden will have to participate in releasing all the information related to the allegation, a stance he didnt take when Trump faced misconduct accusations.

Republicans argue Democrats are not being consistent, pointing to aggressive questioning and coverage of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced an allegation of sexual assault.

Speaking about the allegation for the first time on Thursday, Trump said Biden should respond before proceeding to criticise the treatment of Kavanaugh as an absolute disgrace to our country.
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday in a demarche lodged a strong protest with the Pakistani high commission over the killing of an Indian citizen in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan.

The unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan forces on April 30 took place in Krishna Ghati Sector of Jammu and Kashmir where 16-year-old Gul Faraz was killed. Another civilian, 36-year-old Zafar Iqbal was injured.

The Pakistan Army has carried out more than 1,518 unprovoked ceasefire violations so far in 2020. While asking the country to adhere to 2003 ceasefire understanding, India instructed Pakistan to desist from such acts. The issue of unprovoked ceasefire violation has been also raised during the weekly Director Generals Military Operations talks.

India, on March 13, also had issued a demarche to Pakistan over the killing of three of its civilians in ceasefire violations. Pakistan in ceasefire violation on April 12 in Chowkibal and Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir killed three Indian civilians, including women and a minor child.

Pakistan in ceasefire violation killed 34-year-old Shamima Begum, 17-year old Javid Ahmad Khan of Reddi Chowkibal and 8-year old Zeeshan Bashir, resident of Tumna.
President Donald Trump speaks on protecting Americas seniors from the pandemic in the East Room of the White House in Washington on April 30, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Suggests Tariffs Could Be Used to Punish Beijing for Causing Pandemic

President Donald Trump suggested April 30 that he could impose new tariffs on the Chinese regime as a way to punish it for mishandling the virus outbreak.

He also said the administration was focused on investigating the origins of the CCP virus and Beijings role in its spread, reflecting a toughening stance towards the regime since the phase one U.S.-China trade deal was signed in January.

We signed a trade deal where theyre supposed to buy, and theyve been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus, Trump told reporters on Thursday evening. The virus situation is just not acceptable.

It came out of China. And now what were doing  is finding out how it came out, he continued. We should have the answer to that in the not too distant future. And that will determine a lot how I feel about China.

The public remarks come amid media reports, citing unnamed officials, that the administration was considering options to punish the regime over its role in causing the spread of the virus, including sanctions, canceling U.S. debt obligations, and issuing new trade restrictions.

When asked if the United States could stop its debt obligations as a way to punish the regime, Trump said on Thursday: Well, I can do it differently. I can do the same thing, but even for more money, just by putting on tariffs. So, I dont have to do that.

The president declined to say that he would hold Chinese leader Xi Jinping responsible for the misinformation surrounding the virus origins, but added that it [virus] came out of China and it could have been stopped. And I wish they stopped it.

Earlier, Trump told Reuters that the Chinese regime will do anything they can to make him lose his re-election bid in November, adding that Beijing was eager for his Democratic opponent Joe Biden to win, in order to ease pressure on trade and other issues.

A growing number of countries have stepped up calls for more transparency from the regime, and for an investigation into Beijings handling of the outbreak. At the same time, two U.S. states have filed lawsuits against the regime, seeking damages for the human and economic costs of the pandemic on Americans.
Virginia Tech scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have manipulated genes to link an undiagnosed human disease with a rare mutation in the PHETA1 gene.

Using CRISPR genome editing and other research tools in zebrafish, the scientists found that zebrafish PHETA1-like proteins are necessary for renal function and craniofacial development in zebrafish -- consistent with kidney and craniofacial problems observed in the human patient. The study was published in the current issue of Disease Models and Mechanisms.

The research began after a study of a 6-year-old girl identified through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undiagnosed Diseases Program, which focuses on the most puzzling medical cases referred to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

When a family takes a child to a family physician and a specialist, and no one can figure what is causing the health problem, it creates a real burden. We focused on this disease because it is hard to manage and difficult to treat because its underlying cause is unknown." Albert Pan, Associate Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute

In collaboration with the NIH team -- along with an assembly of researchers from national and international institutions -- Pan investigated how patient-associated mutations may contribute to the clinical phenotypes; in other words, the physical properties and appearance.

The patient, who had developmental delays and facial and renal abnormalities, had a mutated version of the PHETA1 protein. Researchers generated similarly mutated or deficient versions of the PHETA1-like proteins in zebrafish to find that they were interacting in a harmful way with OCRL, the causative protein for Lowe syndrome.

Deficiency in the PHETA1-like proteins resulted in impaired renal physiology and craniofacial development in zebrafish, resembling the renal and craniofacial characteristics in the patient. The craniofacial deficits in zebrafish were likely caused by a dysregulation of cathepsin K, which degrades collagen and is known for a role in osteoporosis.

A broad range of research groups collaborated during the study on matters of genome analysis, protein modeling, craniofacial development, and undiagnosed diseases.

"It was a complex, cross-disciplinary project that came together at the end," said Pan, who is also the Commonwealth Center for Innovative Technology Eminent Research Scholar in Developmental Neuroscience and an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Virginia Tech. "We linked a phenotype in an individual with an underlying gene. We have provided medical scientists a starting point to define a common syndrome and develop of preventions and treatments."
On April 30, 2020, Fincantieri Marinette Marine was awarded the nearly $800 million contract to build the FFG(X) first-in-class guided missile frigate for the U.S. Navy, with an option for nine additional ships.

On April 30, 2020, Fincantieri Marinette Marine was awarded the nearly $800 million contract to build the FFG(X) first-in-class guided missile frigate for the U.S. Navy, with an option for nine additional ships.

Representative image of the U.S. Navys Guided Missile Frigate (FFG(X). (Picture source U.S. Navy)

The award was announced by the Department of Defense this afternoon following competition among several other major U.S. shipyards. The contract offers FMM the option to build and deliver up to 10 ships, as well as post-delivery availability support, engineering and class services, crew familiarization, training equipment and provisioned item orders. According to the contract announcement, if all options are exercised, the cumulative value of this contract will be $5.5B.

When we began this journey nearly two years ago it was with the belief that there was a place for new ideas, new platforms and new partners in an already talented U.S. shipbuilding industry, said Fincantieri Marine Group CEO Dario Deste. Todays announcement validates that thinking.

The Navy plans to build 20 ships as part of the future frigate program. Fincantieri will build an adapted variant of the Italian FREMM (European multi-purpose frigate) in Wisconsin at its Marinette shipyard.

Congratulations to the Navy on this important decision, added Deste. The men and women of Fincantieri Marinette Marine and our partner suppliers throughout the United States are ready to get to work.



Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri offered its 6,700-ton FREMM (Fregata europea multimissione) frigate design for the FFG(X) program. The Italian FREMM design features a 16-cell VLS as well as space for deck-launched anti-ship missiles (AShMs).

The FFG(X) will have multi-mission capability to conduct air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare, and information operations. Specifically FFG(X) will include an Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) radar, Baseline Ten (BL10) AEGIS Combat System, a Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS), communications systems, MK 57 Gun Weapon System (GWS) countermeasures and added capability in the EW/IO area with design flexibility for future growth.

The acquisition process for FFG(X) began in 2017. Since then the Navy has worked closely with Industry to balance cost and capability. This approach was successful in achieving an Average Follow ship cost across ships 2  20 that is below the objective set in the CDD and aligns to the National Defense Strategys stated goal of achieving a more lethal, resilient, and agile force by pursuing acquisition strategies to build ships more quickly and affordably. For example, because the Frigate acquisition program promoted shipbuilding competition, included early industry involvement, and open communication between all stakeholders the program was able to accelerate almost 6 years as compared to normal shipbuilding programs.

The Navy released the FFG(X) DD&C Request for Proposals to industry on June 20, 2019. Technical proposals were received in August 2019 and cost proposals were received in September 2019. This was a full and open competition with multiple offers received.
Armed Forces to conduct flypast on Sunday to salute, shower petals to Corona warriors: Bipin Rawat

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, May 01: General Bipin Rawat, chief of defence staff, addressing a press conference on Friday, thanked Covid warriors. The joint presser comes at a time when the country is under lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

Addressing a joint presser, CDS General Bipin Rawat praised the frontline healthcare workers for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic. "On behalf of armed forces, we want to thank all COVID-19 warriors. Doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, home guards, delivery boys and media which has been reaching out with the message of government on how to carry on with lives in difficult times," Bipin Rawat said, news agency ANI reported.

"There are some special activities that nation will get to witness. Indian Air Force will conduct flypast from Srinagar to Trivandrum and another one starting from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kutch in Gujarat. It'll include both transport & fighter aircraft," Rawat further said. During the Indian Air Force's flypast, the aircraft will also be showering flower petals at some places.

The Army "on its part will conduct mountain band displays along some of the COVID-19 hospitals in almost every district of our country. The armed forces will also lay wreathe at the police memorial on 3 May in support of our police forces".

The Navy on its part will have its warships deployed in formations in coastal areas in the evening on May 3. Navy warships would also be lit up and their choppers would be used for showering petals on hospitals

This is the first time the Chief of Defence Staff - a post created by the government to integrate the three wings of the armed forces and trim the weapons procurement process - will be speaking to the media, in the presence of the three service chiefs.

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Story first published: Friday, May 1, 2020, 18:41 [IST]
A new study by Data firm, Satya Insights shows that Madrid, Malaga, Zaragoza, Palma, Seville and Barcelona, were the Spanish cities that respected the lockdown best, in that order.

The study analysed the behaviour of the population in the ten biggest cities in Spain over the last six weeks, using a completely anonymous monitoring campaign of mobile devices.

During the fourth week of confinement the number of people who stayed at home all day was 43% in Madrid, 43% in Malaga, 40% in Zaragoza, 38% in Palma, 37% in Seville and 36% in Barcelona.

Followed by, 35% in Valencia, 35% in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and 34% in Bilbao and Murcia.

In the sixth week of the State of Emergency, the restrictions were relaxed and only 36% of the population in Madrid and Zaragoza stayed at home all day, followed by 35% in Malaga, and 32% in Seville, Barcelona and Palma.

The population who least respected the lockdown in week six were Bilbao with 25%, Murcia with 26%, Gran Canaria with 30% and Valencia with 31%.

The number of people staying at home coincides with the weeks when the Central Government ordered non-essential businesses to shut down and fatigue kicked in, generated by seclusion and lack of economic activity, according to company CEO, Pablo Reano.

He points out that initial data analysis suggests that one of the reasons why the situation in Barcelona was aggravated is because the confinement follow-up was lower than it was in Madrid, which had much higher levels of contagion from the beginning of the pandemic.

However, this cannot be the only reason," says Reano, "since there are other cities, such as Seville and Bilbao, that had a similar or lesser follow-up of confinement and didnt have such a rapid increase in infections.

The main difference is that in Madrid and Barcelona a much higher percentage of people use public transport than in other big Spanish cities.

The data shows that the fall in public transport use in Barcelona was 81% compared to 87% in Madrid, 92% in Seville, 86% in Valencia and 88% in Malaga.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Two persons were killed and several others were wounded in a rocket attack that targeted the Zenata neighbourhood in Tripoli, illustrating the continued military escalation despite the declaration of a truce by the Libyan National Army led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar
Linden Government Solutions has inked a pact to provide strategic consulting services to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The six-month contract of the Houston-based firm went into effect April 15 and automatically renews for another six months upon mutual agreement by both parties.

Pakistan and US ties are strained over the Trump administration's plan to sell $155M in anti-ship missiles to India.

On April 17, Pakistan called the sale of missiles to its archrival "disturbing" and a move that would "destabilize" the region.

The arms deal follows Trump's high-profile 36-hour state visit to India in February in which he was feted by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

Linden president Stephen Payne, who has close ties with the Republican party, is leading the Pakistan account. He was a presidential advance man for George W. Bush and traveled with former VP Dick Cheney.

In 2019, Linden picked up a $2.1M contract with The Libyan National Army rebel group, which is headed by 75-year-old US citizen Khalifa Haftar.

That pact is with the Benghazi-based Decision Support Center, which says its goal is to achieve stability and democracy in war-torn Libya.
Dr Yaw Baah, Secretary-General, Trades Union Congress (TUC), has urged workers to see the ongoing fight against COVID-19 as a shared responsibility.



It is time for us, as individuals, to complement what our Government has done by protecting ourselves and others from this virus. We all have to play our part, Dr Baah stated on Friday, in his virtual address to workers to commemorate the 2020 May Celebration.



The annual May Day Celebration, which is globally recognized as a day of solidarity with workers, used to be marked in Ghana with national and regional parades, however, this years event, had to be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The event, which was attended by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was organised by the TUC in collaboration with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).



Since the first two cases of Coronavirus infection were detected in Ghana, we have all been witnesses to the effort our government has made to protect us from this dangerous virus, Dr Baah stated.



The bold measures Government has taken have included a ban on public gatherings, closure of schools and universities, closure of our borders and the imposition of restrictions on movements of persons in Accra and Kumasi.



He said despite the effect of the pandemic on revenue, Government had provided free food, water and electricity to vulnerable people; adding that health sector workers had benefitted from some incentive packages including tax reliefs and pay increases.



Dr Baah said over 100,000 tests had been conducted so far; stating that these efforts notwithstanding, over 1,500 cases of the Coronavirus infections had been recorded in Ghana and eleven people have died from the Covid-19.



He said thankfully, a significant number of those who were infected have recovered and others were under care and were expected to recover.



When we see the death tolls in the United States (over 55,000 deaths), Italy (over 26,000 deaths), Spain (over 23,000 deaths), France (over 22,000 deaths, and the United Kingdom (over 20,000) deaths, we wonder what would have happened without the bold and decisive measures our government took to contain the virus? the Secretary-General asked.



He said earlier this week, the National Tripartite Committee (NTC) comprising representatives of Government, Organised Labour and Employers, issued a 10-point guidelines on safety at workplaces.



According to the guidelines, all employers are to provide the necessary Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) and related facilities for the safety and health of workers, in compliance with the World Health Organisation safety protocols and the Ministry of Health guidelines.



It urges all public and private sector employers to organise work in such a way that all the relevant safety protocols can be strictly complied with at all workplaces.



Dr Baah said that it was now a scientifically-established fact that face masks can help prevent coronavirus infections.



We should all endeavour to wear face masks on all commercial vehicles, at all workplaces, and at all public places in all parts of the country, he said.



Government should also consider supplying free face masks to the most vulnerable people in our society.



He said the COVID-19 pandemic broke out for just about two months but the devastation it had caused in the economic and social lives would take years to restore.

He said the Labour Research and Policy Institute of TUC had been analyzing the economic impact of the health crisis including the effects of the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi.



He said the research was ongoing but the preliminary results showed the devastating effects of the health crisis on jobs and livelihoods in both the formal and informal segments of our economy.



As part of efforts to contain the COVID-19, Dr Baah appealed to Ghanaians to abide by the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health guidelines; such as social distancing, frequently washing of hands with soap under running water and the use of hand sanitizers.



On his part, Professor Amin Alhassan, Director-General, GBC, said: We do not want this day to be remembered as the May Day celebration that was cancelled because of COVID-19. We want it to be remembered as the day when the National May Celebration event was moved into GBC studios for Ghanaians across the country to stay home and celebrate with us.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Filmmaker Nikkhil Advani has recalled fond memories of the late Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, whom he directed in D-Day. Advani spoke to Mumbai Mirror and narrated an incident from the set that he cherishes.

A scene involving both actors has been shared widely on social media, and crediting Irrfan for it, Advani said, Today, a scene from my 2013 film, D-Day, flashes through my mind. Irrfan (Khan) looking at Chintuji, and laughing, amazed that they had finally managed to capture this much-wanted terrorist, despite their plans having failed. I remember Irrfan urging me to let the camera continue to roll and what emerged was this moment of delicious irony.

Also read: Anil Kapoor explains why he called Rishi Kapoor James, adds he loved hearing that from me

He continued, We were shooting in the desert and while Irrfan and a lot of team bunked out in tents, Chintuji would drive two hours back to the hotel. He was averse to early morning shoots but there was this sunrise shot we had to shoot with him and he was refusing to comply, saying, Im an actor, not a doodhwala.

Advani remembered that it took Irrfan bribing Rishi with chicken jungli and alcohol for him to stay in the desert. It was a near-impossible feat in Kutch, but he delivered on his promise and I got my shot.

Also read: Amitabh Bachchan says Rishi Kapoor never lamented his condition, would say routine visit to hospital, Ill be back shortly

Irrfan died on Wednesday, and Rishi died on Thursday, leaving the film fraternity in shock. D-Day was their only film together.

At least one thing is for sure. There will be jashan in the heavens tonight. #RIPLegend #RishiKapoor #IrfanKhan pic.twitter.com/V4qXyWjeqp  Nikkhil Advani (@nikkhiladvani) April 30, 2020

Advani had condoned Rishis death on Twitter, writing, No one treated me with the respect an actor gives a director more than you did, that too being who you were. You were my friend sir. Im sitting, remembering and just chuckling, laughing. Waiting for your booming voice to say boy... make me one more drink! He added, sharing a screengrab of a scene from D-Day, At least one thing is for sure. There will be jashan in the heavens tonight.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The novel coronavirus has baffled doctors and researchers across the globe. The disease that affects the lungs and the respiratory system has shown a number of symptoms and characteristics. One of the most puzzling of these traits has, however, been its alleged resistance to nicotine, with recent studies claiming smokers are less likely to contract the virus.

As per a preliminary study by France's Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, "current smoking status appears to be a protective factor against the infection by SARS-CoV-2".

The study further suggested, "that those who smoke every day are much less likely to develop a symptomatic or severe infection with Sars-CoV-2 compared with the general population,".

And it isn't the only study to find the same. Academics from University College London analysed 28 papers to arrive at the conclusion that the proportion of smokers receiving treatment for coronavirus in hospitals was less than that of non-smokers, Daily Mail reported.

As per one of the studies, the proportion of smokers among the United Kingdom's coronavirus patients was just 5 percent, which was only a third of 14.4 percent, the national rate. Similar trends were seen in the United States where the initial phase of coronavirus brought about a wave of anti-smoking mobilisation before studies showed the disparity of the number of smokers with coronavirus with non-smokers.

The surprising discovery has led researchers to bid for testing nicotine patches for treating patients of coronavirus. As per an April 22 report in The Guardian, France was awaiting government approval on clinical trials of nicotine patches to treat coronavirus.

The French study, however, did not advocate smoking which has proven harmful characteristics that not only affect the heart and lungs among other organs but also kill nearly 50 percent of those who indulge in it.

In fact, smoking causes the death of an estimated eight million people worldwide. But could it be the cure for novel coronavirus?

The World Health Organisation does not seem to think so. According to the WHO, smoking may cause damage to lungs and the immune system which could further increase risk. "Smokers may also already have lung disease or reduced lung capacity which would greatly increase the risk of serious illness," Euro News reported WHO as saying.

The international health body also warned against the risks involved with the act of smoking itself which involves hand to mouth contact or even sharing of saliva through sharing a smoke, pipe, e-cigarette or bong.

Earlier this month, the FDA had said that smokers may have worse outcomes from Covid-19, but hadnt been explicit about whether that included their chances of catching the virus in the first place.
Leo Cimiliens world widened when he began preschool last fall at San Antonios Advanced Learning Academy. The 5-year-old practiced English, since his Haitian-born family speaks Creole and French in the home. He got to run and play on the schools playground, as theres no playscape or green space at his apartment complex. And he spent time each day learning in a large, caring community as he bonded with teachers and friends.

But when the coronavirus outbreak hit San Antonio, these vital parts of Leos world slammed shut. Like many students now, he stays indoors, restless and isolated. His parents, who lost jobs amid the pandemic, are having a hard time keeping him occupied and entertained.

Last month, they had money to pay their cellular and Wi-Fi bill. With no savings, the sudden lack of income and a looming rent payment, they fear internet connectivity will soon become an out-of-reach luxury.

As schools continue scaling up online education, it is vitally important we not lose sight of the struggles and inequities faced by thousands of families like Leos that are at risk of falling in the so-called digital divide.

At the Urban Education Institute at the University of Texas at San Antonio, we are using these historic and sudden shifts to better understand the benefits and limits of distance learning. After the pandemic hit, we launched a countywide research collaborative with public school districts and higher education institutions that will work to study and close gaps in our knowledge of how our students and teachers are experiencing distance learning.

Our data and analysis will serve as catalysts for addressing digital divide inequities while boosting benefits for all remote learners, now and in the future.

According to U.S. census data, 21 percent of Bexar County households dont have broadband internet. Access increases in wealthier areas and lags in places with higher poverty rates. For example, 3 percent of households in the Alamo Heights Independent School District lack broadband, compared with 29 percent in the districts of Southside and Somerset.

In Alamo Heights, 88 percent of households said they have a computer. But in the Edgewood school district, half that  only 43 percent  have a laptop or desktop.

We need a systemic look at how these inequities are playing out in our students education. This is why we are connecting with students and teachers for this research, titled Teaching and Learning in the Time of COVID-19.

And although the pandemic is testing the strength of our community in many ways, our schools  often with help from local partners  are meeting the challenges in creative ways.

Consider:

VIA Metropolitan Transit vans equipped with public Wi-Fi have been parked in neighborhoods and public housing areas throughout the city that have low internet access rates. Students and families use the Wi-Fi for free.

Before the pandemic, SAISD had kicked off a campaign to ensure every one of its approximately 49,000 students had access to a digital learning device in the home. That campaign was to have taken three years to complete, but the timeline collapsed into just three weeks.

Southwest ISD has made its Wi-Fi public at certain schools, configuring the signal to send it outside their buildings.

A Judson ISD CARE Team conducted home visits to reach students who have fallen out of contact with their schools.

Northside ISD hosted blood drives, and had parents, students and teachers donate personal protective equipment and masks.

The Alamo Colleges District quickly launched the COVID-19 Student Impact Fund for student emergency assistance.

We know that mere access to technology will not be enough to bridge the chasms that have long divided our city. But interviewing and surveying local students, parents and teachers to observe and learn about their experiences  whats working and where we have unmet needs  will provide some important steppingstones along this unchartered path.

In the end, I hope our research helps San Antonio educators at all levels identify promising practices to help close the digital divide and create dynamic, blended learning experiences well beyond this pandemic.

Michael Villarreal is the director of the UTSA Urban Education Institute.
Now, my knowledge that it isnt true does nothing to shake my belief that women have to be able to be heard and that all the claims be taken seriously, he said. He added: Im not concerned about what they might find, because I know the truth of the matter. I know that this claim has no merit. But as a candidate for president, Im accountable to the American people. And I welcome that accountability and the scrutiny of the press as well.
A top Oregon parole board official said Thursday the agency is reviewing seven inmates for early release due to their severe medical conditions and has asked corrections staff to evaluate another 60 inmates for possible release.

The board decided to consider the cases after receiving an estimated 1,000 requests from inmates seeking early release since the coronavirus emerged in Oregon, said Dylan Arthur, executive director of the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision.

Some of those requests were for the same inmates; Arthur estimated that about 500 inmates had sought early release due to medical conditions.

The parole board lacks resources to review the large volume of cases, so it initiated its own review of prisoners, he said. By law, the board may consider releasing inmates before the end of their sentences only if they fall under a limited set of circumstances: They must have a severe medical condition, including terminal illness, or be elderly and permanently incapacitated.

The first seven are severely ill. The other 60 are older than 60 and incapacitated.

Arthur said chronic conditions like heart disease or asthma alone wont qualify someone for release.

Regardless of a persons medical status, age or disability, prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences under Oregons Measure 11 law are not eligible to get out early.

Arthur said the parole board will review each case and will consider what resources and support the person has if they were to get out.

Early releases by the parole board are rare. He said the process will include notifying victims if an offender is released ahead of schedule.

The board takes this possible early release seriously and again its going to look at each individual case on its own merits and looking at not only the medical conditions but all of the other things associated with the case before they make a decision to release somebody back into the community, he said.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Liz Adams drove her Honda CR-V home to Huntsville from West Virginia on March 15, feeling unsettled. Her year-and-a-half gig as a travel nurse had just ended, and she was still grieving the loss of her father, who had died less than a year earlier in August 2019. Nothing felt right.

Nationwide, things were also growing unsettled. The day after she arrived home, Alabama closed its schools and many businesses, as the COVID-19 epidemic reached crisis proportions in larger cities in the Northeast and Northwest.

Adams, whod spent nearly a decade as a nurse at Huntsville Hospital, reached what felt like the obvious conclusion.

I thought, Im not working right now, Im a critical care nurse of 9 years; Im the perfect person to go and help, she said.

It felt almost like a calling, because I literally could not be in a more perfect situation.

She tried not to think too much about the risk, she said, as she called the travel nursing company. She signed a contract a few days later and packed her bags for the 1,100-mile drive to Boston.

Normally I would have been absolutely freaking out, she said. But since all that happening with my dad, Ive been lost. This actually felt right, like something that mattered. I had no idea what kind of experience it was going to be.

***

Adams has spent the past several weeks working in a COVID-19 intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Known locally as Mass General, its the largest teaching hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston and one of the oldest hospitals in the United States.

Because her unit cares for some of the sickest patients, she said, most who come to her unit do not survive. Those that do are on ventilators for weeks and require major interventions like tracheotomies and feeding tubes.

They dont even look like the same person, she said. Once COVID gets to that point, its absolutely one of the most horrific things, what it does to the body. I cant think of another type of illness thats anything like what COVID does.

Her unit used to be a burn unit, she said, until it was flipped to care exclusively for the hospitals sickest COVID patients. Adams is one of several travel nurses there, she said. All of the patients in her unit are on ventilators.

She was originally hired to work four weeks, but her contract was extended six weeks. Earlier in her stay, the hospital struggled to address a shortage of ventilators and protective equipment as Massachusetts health officials issued devastating guidelines about how to choose which patients could receive ventilators.

This week, there are more than 300 COVID-19 patients at Mass General, she said, and more than 100 in intensive care.

Thats actually better than before, she said. Our curve is starting to flatten up here.

For comparison, UAB Hospital in Birmingham has around 40 COVID-19 patients this week, with a smaller fraction on ventilators.

Most people who are infected by the coronavirus will never need hospitalization. But that can make it difficult to grasp the severity of the disease, Adams said.

Personally, I have a very hard time when people compare it to the flu, she said. The reason the two get compared is because they cause pneumonia and that puts patients in acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is a stiffening of the lungs. Very bad and very hard to manage.

But there are so many other things going on with COVID besides that. Once they get to that state, its just horrific. I dont know another word for it. Its devastating to the body.

***

Adams works four grueling 12-hours shifts each week, flipping between working days and nights.

She cares for one or two patients per shift, which includes managing multiple medications and IV drips, attending to the patients personal hygiene, adjusting ventilator settings and turning patients in their beds.

There really is no normal to my day, she said. Its just managing the chaos. Last night at work was maybe my worst night, as far as my sanity level. I dont think one of us nurses sat down all night.

One of the hardest parts of her job, she said, has been helping families talk on speaker phone or via Zoom calls to loved ones who are on ventilators and arent conscious.

Hearing family members (telling a loved one) theyre sorry for something they said that they regretted, or that they didnt get along, hearing those things and being part of that is hard, she said. They just want an opportunity to say it because they know theyre likely not going to get a better opportunity.

But shes also seen patients finally come off ventilators and leave her unit for a less intensive step-down unit.

After they wake up, she said, sometimes they ask what happened.

You tell them theyve been on a ventilator for a month and a half, she said, and its hard because they realize theyve missed a month and a half of their life.

***

Adams lives in a hotel room in downtown Boston, near the Charles River. Often, shes so tired that when she comes back to her room, she prepares her things for the next day and then falls into bed.

Hotel staff dont clean the rooms of the travel nurses, over fears of infection, she said. When she needs to vacuum the room, staff leave a vacuum cleaner outside her door.

But when she does have the day off, she likes to walk around downtown Boston. Shes enjoyed seeing sights like the Boston Common and Fenway Park with some of her fellow nurses.

She even found the same kind of Southern hospitality in Boston shes used to finding in Alabama. Her unit at the hospital feels like a big family, she said. One of her fellow nurses has a fiancee who cooks meals for them once a day.

I dont know how to put into words how kind and warm the people of Boston have been, she said. It was instant acceptance. It was amazing.

Liz Adams is a critical care nurse from Huntsville currently working in a COVID-19 unit in Boston. (Submitted)

***

Before she arrived in Boston, Adams admits she didnt truly understand how devastating the coronavirus epidemic had become.

I was skeptical of some things, but learned very quickly that this is serious and this is real, she said.

Boston alone has more than 9,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than the entire state of Alabama, which had about 7,000 as of Thursday. It can be hard for people in a state with fewer cases to comprehend the enormity of the problem.

My concern for Alabama, based on what I see people posting on Facebook, is the lack of awareness and not taking something like this seriously, she said. Thats what scares me more than the virus.

Shes been chronicling her experiences on Facebook, and was interviewed for a recent Boston Globe article.

I want people to know Im not trying to be dramatic or exaggerate things, she said. I want to give enough information so people understand these things are true and they are real.

But as shes seen some skepticism from acquaintances back home, shes also experienced tangible support.

A North Alabama sewing group on Facebook saw one of her posts and shipped 280 homemade surgical caps to her, so she could share with her fellow nurses. On Wednesday, she received a shipment of 70 masks from another Alabama group.

People in Alabama have been really generous in showing their support, and (the staff in Boston) can feel it up here, she said. It made quite an impact. They kept thanking me, and I was like, it wasnt me, I just carried in the box.

***

Adams last day at Mass. General is May 16. After that shell pack up and head back home.

Adams grew up in southeast Huntsville and later graduated high school at Lee High. Shes looking forward to seeing friends, going to church, eating wings from Baumhowers and, she hopes, catching a Trash Pandas game. Alabama has a "safer at home" order through May 15 that might put some of her plans on hold.

Shes also ready to return to work at Huntsville Hospital with a renewed sense of purpose.

I feel like coming up here (to Boston) has brought me back to life, she said. I was kind of empty, ever since my dad; Id never had to grieve before, its not fun. But this whole thing has changed me. I feel like Im serving a purpose here, and its brought the opportunity when I come home to ultimately better serve our community.

Shes concerned about a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases in the fall, as some experts, including those at UAB, have predicted.

I hope Huntsville never sees what I am seeing here, she said. Never. But I do think theres a potential that we havent gotten over the worst of it. I hate even thinking that, but we have to be prepared. And I want to be able to serve my community in that regard.
By Ted Hesson and Mica Rosenberg

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States plans to begin testing some migrants in detention for COVID-19 before deporting them, an official familiar with the effort said on Thursday, after infections among deportees in Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will acquire 2,000 tests per month from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to screen deportees, the official said, without mentioning the timing.

The agency is unlikely to have enough tests for all deportees and will need to prioritize, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

ICE and HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move comes amid criticism from foreign governments about receiving migrants infected with the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19.

Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica and Ecuador have all asked for testing, the U.S. official said.

"They all want it. Who wouldn't?"

Guatemala said it would stop receiving deportees from the United States after dozens of returning migrants tested positive.

As of Thursday, President Alejandro Giammattei said at least 85 deported Guatemalans had tested positive, around a fifth of all the reported cases in the Central American country.

Cases of infection among deportees have also been reported in Haiti and Mexico.

Giammattei said last week the Guatemalan suspension would remain in place until the United States was able to certify people were being sent back virus-free.

Later on Thursday, his government said a flight carrying deportees, including unaccompanied minors, would be allowed to arrive on Friday due the vulnerable state of those deported after they were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.

It called the flight an exceptional "humanitarian" act, and said the pause on deportee flights remains in place.

ICE moved to step up testing to avoid risking more countries' pulling back cooperation with deportation flights, the U.S. official said.

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"The news articles about COVID spread in ICE facilities and individuals who tested positive after being removed are making governments nervous about continuing to accept flights," the official said.

More than 250 immigrant detainees in U.S. custody have tested positive for COVID-19. But only some 425 tests had been conducted on the more than 32,000 detainees nationwide, an ICE spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Dozens of unaccompanied migrant children in HHS custody have also tested positive for the virus, the agency has said.

As of this month, there were some 4,600 Guatemalan adults and more than 1,100 children in U.S. custody, according to a Guatemalan government document.

ICE removed more than 267,000 people in fiscal year 2019, which began in October 2018.

In the midst of the pandemic, deportations continued, even as the administration of President Donald Trump took extreme measures to cut off the country's border to immigrants and travelers.

From March 21 to April 20, as coronavirus cases were rapidly rising in the United States, more than 1,400 deportees were sent to Guatemala, including families and unaccompanied minors, according to Guatemalan Health Minister Hugo Monroy.

There were a significant number of people infected on several ICE flights, one in late March and two last week, Monroy said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was deployed to review cases on the flights but the agency declined to provide more details on the investigation.

Guatemala's foreign minister, Pedro Brolo, told lawmakers on Monday the government had pushed the United States to do more.

"We were able to tell them, 'Look we have these cases, please make some revisions,'" he said. "We don't want people on those flights who are healthy but who then get infected on the same flight."

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Additional reporting by Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City; Editing by Richard Chang, Leslie Adler and Michael Perry)
In his best-selling travel memoir,, Mark Twain punningly refers to the black man who introduces him to Venetian Renaissance painting as a contraband guide, a term coined to describe fugitive slaves who assisted Union armies during the Civil War. By means of this and similar case studies, Paul H. D. Kaplan documents the ways in which American cultural encounters with Europe and its venerable artistic traditions influenced nineteenth-century concepts of race in the United States.

Americans of the Civil War era were struck by the presence of people of color in European art and society, and American artists and authors, both black and white, adapted and transformed European visual material to respond to the particular struggles over the identity of African Americans. Taking up the work of both well- and lesser-known artists and writerssuch as the travel writings of Mark Twain and William Dean Howells, the paintings of German American Emanuel Leutze, the epistolary exchange between John Ruskin and Charles Eliot Norton, newspaper essays written by Frederick Douglass and William J. Wilson, and the sculpture of freed slave Eugene WarburgKaplan lays bare how racial attitudes expressed in mid-nineteenth-century American art were deeply inflected by European traditions.

By highlighting the contributions people of black African descent made to the fine arts in the United States during this period, along with the ways in which they were represented, Contraband Guides provides a fresh perspective on the theme of race in Civil Warera American art. It will appeal to art historians, to specialists in African American studies and American studies, and to general readers interested in American art and African American history.
Industry-Leading Brand in Global Rod Lift Solutions to Become Independent Company

NEW YORK, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Lufkin rod lift solutions business ("Lufkin" or the "Company") from Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR).

Lufkin was founded in 1902 and acquired in 2013 by General Electric's Oil & Gas division. The division subsequently merged with Baker Hughes, Inc. in 2017.

Lufkin, headquartered in Missouri City, Texas, is a leading global provider of rod lift products, technologies, services and solutions, including automated control and optimization equipment and software for rod lift equipment to the oil and gas industry. With over 100 years of industry leadership, Lufkin manufactures a complete line of surface pumping units, downhole sucker rod pumps and automation systems in six manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide. Lufkin has an extensive global service footprint that operates in every critical rod lift market in the world.

Upon close, the transaction will transfer assets of the Lufkin rod lift business to an affiliate of KPS, including brand rights, facilities, intellectual property and personnel. Lufkin's power transmission business will remain part of the Baker Hughes portfolio and is not included in the transaction with KPS.

Michael Psaros, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of KPS, said, "We are excited to create an independent Lufkin. KPS will build a successful energy platform on the foundation of Lufkin's legendary brand name, unparalleled reputation for reliability, superior technology and global footprint. The historic dislocation in current global and domestic energy markets has created an extraordinary investment opportunity for an investor like KPS. KPS Partner Ryan Baker will lead a team to acquire complementary technologies and products that serve the upstream sector of the energy industry in partnership with Lufkin's management team. Lufkin will benefit from being a debt-free business with access to the very significant financial resources of KPS."

Andy Cordova, the rod lift solutions general manager for Baker Hughes, said, "We are confident in our future as an independent company under KPS' ownership. KPS is an ideal partner with a demonstrated decades-long track record of creating and building industry-leading companies. KPS' global platform, commitment to manufacturing excellence and significant financial resources will enable Lufkin to accelerate its growth and invest in technology and process improvements for our customers, while enhancing our established reputation for industry-leading technology, quality and customer service."

Completion of the transaction is expected mid-year 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.

Simmons Energy, a division of Piper Sandler & Co., acted as advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to KPS and its affiliates. Citi and Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. acted as financial advisors and King & Spalding International LLP served as legal counsel to Baker Hughes.

About Lufkin

Lufkin, headquartered in Missouri City, Texas, is a leading global provider of rod lift products, technologies, services and solutions, including automated control and optimization equipment and software for rod lift equipment to the oil and gas industry. With over 100 years of industry leadership, Lufkin manufactures a complete line of surface pumping units, downhole sucker rod pumps and automation systems in six manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide.Lufkin has an extensive global service footprint that operates in every critical rod lift market in the world. For more information on Lufkin, visit www.bhge.com/upstream/production-optimization/artificial-lift/rod-lift-systems.

About KPS Capital Partners

KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $11.7 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2019). For over two decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds' portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $8.4 billion, operate 143 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 28,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2019). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
LE BRASSUS, Switzerland  The new Musee Atelier Audemars Piguet, a glass and steel pavilion scheduled to open to the public on June 26, stands on a grassy knoll between the companys two 19th-century buildings here  something like a bridge between its past and future.

We did have a small museum here but we had in mind to build an extension to present the richness of our watchmaking culture, Jasmine Audemars, chairwoman of the family-owned companys board of directors, said during a media preview of the museum in February. We wanted a structure that would be integrated into the landscape with unobstructed views of the valley so that visitors could experience our heritage.

Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect who designed the new building, had his own view: We had to tread carefully because this was like bringing an annoying newcomer between two friends.

But then Mr. Ingels  whose disruptive thinking on architecture was the subject of a 2017 episode of Abstract: The Art of Design, a Netflix documentary series  has yet to design a typical structure.
A new mobile contact-tracing app unveiled Friday by Alberta Health Services, combined with aggressive testing for COVID-19, can help public health officials slow transmission and reduce the spread of coronavirus, says Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health announced the launch of ABTraceTogether, a mobile app that uses Bluetooth technology to identify other nearby cellphones that also have the app installed.

People with the app on their cellphones who later test positive for coronavirus will be asked to voluntarily upload encrypted data to Alberta Health Services contact tracers. Those tracers would then be able to use that information to track down people who had close contact with the infected person.

"The faster Alberta Health Services contact tracers can inform exposed people, or close contacts, the quicker we will be able to prevent potential outbreaks and identify when Albertans must self-isolate," Hinshaw said at a news conference on Friday.

"I have already downloaded the app myself, and I encourage you to do so, too. You can aid in our work to keep Albertans healthy, and provide crucial information about the spread of this dangerous illness."

From the beginning of the pandemic, public health officials in Canada and around the world have repeatedly stressed the vital role that testing and contact tracing will play in efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Hinshaw said under the current manual process, public health workers interview people infected with COVID-19 and ask them questions that rely on their ability to remember where they have been in the past several days and who they were near.

'Encrypted digital handshake'

"These people, their contacts, are then called to find out if they are sick and to make sure that they stay home for 14 days from their last exposure, even if they are feeling well.

"This is a vital step in preventing further spread of the virus. It is also time-consuming and resource-intensive, relying on each individual's ability to recollect who they may have come in contact with, and then follow up with each of those individuals, in order to be successful."

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ABTraceTogether relies on wireless Bluetooth technology to log interactions as what Hinshaw called "an encrypted digital handshake."

That happens, she said, when two phones that each have the app get within two metres of one another for a total of 15 minutes within a 24-hour period of time.

"In the event someone with the app tests positive for COVID-19, they will be asked to allow contact tracers at Alberta Health Services to use this information to further enhance manual contact tracing, and allow other app users to be contacted so they can be informed if they have been potentially exposed."

User identities will not be shared, she said. Users will be informed that they have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Downloading app is voluntary

In the past, Hinshaw said, public health officials would have no way to know about encounters a COVID-positive patient can't recall or about strangers they were in contact with. With the app, that will be possible, she said, and AHS can contact people and let them know they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

"The use of technology for this purpose may seem intrusive," Hinshaw said. "But downloading the app is completely voluntary and data will not be accessed unless a user provides consent to share their data with AHS."

The app does not use a phone's GPS or track location or contacts.

"Data is stored on your phone in an encrypted form for 21 days," she said. "After 21 days each day's worth of data is deleted, one day at a time."

Singapore, South Korea and Australia have similar apps, but the Alberta version does not collect as much information, and asks users only for their phone numbers not for names, ages and postal codes.

AB TraceTogether is based on Singapore's TraceTogether application. Singapore offered the source code for its application free to other countries, and Alberta spent about $625,000 to develop the app for use here.

Privacy chief to monitor app

Information and Privacy Commissioner Jill Clayton issued a statement on Friday saying her office received a privacy impact assessment on the app earlier this week.

An initial review was undertaken and questions were sent to Alberta Health to clarify certain aspects of the PIA, the statement said.

"For example, I am seeking confirmation that the data collected through this app is to be used for contact tracing, and not for any other purpose," Clayton said in her statement. "My office will monitor the implementation of this app.

"Any individual concerned about how their personal or health information is collected, used or disclosed may submit a complaint to my office."

3 more deaths

Alberta reported three more deaths, all of whom were residents of continuing care homes, from COVID-19 on Friday and 218 news cases.

That brings the total number of deaths to 92, and the total number of cases to 5,573.

The number of people who have recovered is 2,359.

The regional breakdown of the cases as of Friday was:

Calgary zone: 3,708

South zone: 1,033

Edmonton zone: 498

North zone: 215

Central zone: 87

Unknown: 32

Alberta has conducted 153,766 tests for COVID-19 since the first case was detected in the province eight weeks ago.

Much has been learned

Hinshaw said much has been learned about the virus since the first case was discovered in Alberta in March.

While older people are at the highest risk of severe symptoms, the average age of cases in Alberta to date is 41.5 years, she said.

The most common symptoms associated with COVID-19 are:

Cough (reported by 62 per cent of all cases)

Sore throat (33 per cent)

Fever (28 per cent)

Hinshaw said 7.5 per cent of all cases showed no symptoms when they were tested.

She said investigations have also uncovered the conditions that tend to be present in cases of severe disease.

"We looked at whether cases had been previously diagnosed with one of nine conditions, including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory disease and immune deficiency. As well, we also see if a case had been reported to have obesity or a history of smoking.

"From the data so far, we've found that people between the ages of 30 and 64 are more likely to have a severe outcome  needing hospital or ICU treatment, or in the worst outcome, leading to death  if they had at least one of these health conditions."

In the age group, Hinshaw said, two-thirds of hospitalized cases, and almost three-quarters of those who died, had at least one of those conditions.

"We found the three most common factors in cases of severe outcomes, such as ICU and death, are older age, obesity and immunodeficiency."
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

People in different areas across the United States reacted differently to the threat of COVID-19. Some imposed strict restrictions, closing down most businesses deemed nonessential; others remained partially open.

Such regional distinctions are relatively easy to quantify, with their effects generally understandable through the lens of economic health. What's harder to grasp is the emotional satisfaction and happiness specific to each place, a notion Penn's World Well-Being Project has been working on for more than five years.

In 2017, the group published the WWBP Map, a free, interactive tool that displays characteristics of well-being by county based on Census data and billions of tweets. Recently, WWBP partnered with Penn Medicine's Center for Digital Health to create a COVID map, which reveals in real time how people across the country perceive COVID-19 and how it's affecting their mental health.

That map falls squarely in line with a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by computer scientist Lyle Ungar, one of the principal investigators of the World Well-Being Project, and colleagues from Stanford University, Stony Brook University, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Melbourne.

By analyzing 1.5 billion tweets and controlling for common words like "love" or "good," which frequently get used to connote a missing aspect of someone's life rather than a part that's fulfilled, the researchers found they could discern subjective well-being at the county level. "We have a long history of collecting people's language and asking people who are happier or sadder what words they use on Facebook and on Twitter," Ungar says. "Those are mostly individual-level models. Here, we're looking at community-level models."

In a conversation with Penn Today, Ungar describes the latest work, plus how it's useful in the time of COVID-19 and social distancing.

What prompted the most recent research?

Our goal was to understand how well different regions are doing month by month, say, by U.S. county. Companies like Gallup do some polling. They ask how satisfied with your life and how stressed you are, but they don't poll enough people to know, say, how people in Santa Clara County are doing this month. Particularly in the current era, where things are different this month from last, we'd love to have more detailed spatial and temporal resolution.

However, asking a bunch of people these questions is super expensive. Probably the best way to get at this information is to monitor the words that people produce. A good public source of those words is Twitter, so we, like lots of researchers, have been grabbing billions of tweets and looking at words.

When you say 'word,' what do you mean?

Everything's a word. An emoticon's a word.

Ok, so you pull every word from more than 1.5 billion tweets. Then what?

We try to figure out where they came from, which U.S. county they came from, which we can do for maybe a quarter of them by looking at the profiles. Then we go to Gallup, which has nicely shared with us its survey information, and we take the average over multiple years of answers to the questions they've asked. For the more populous counties, we have both the words people used and the average satisfaction with life reported, and then it's pretty simple. We look at which words correlate. Which are used more in happier counties? Which are used less in happier counties?

What did analyzing the words in those tweets tell you about how satisfied people are?

You'd think that places that are tweeting more words like 'happy' and 'love' and 'excited' would be happier and that places tweeting more words like 'depressed,' 'miserable,' 'unhappy,' and 'sad' would be less happy. We found that was mostly the case, but not entirely.

Counties that talk more about 'love' are, on average, less happy, less satisfied with life than ones that tweet less about it, even though we know that there are many good things about love. Using the word 'love' is not, on average, indicative of happiness, however. That's true of other common words like 'LOL' and 'good' and 'respect,' which you think are positive but can be used negatively, as in the case of, 'I get no respect.' Words that are positive or negative don't necessarily convey the feeling that you might think they would.

How does this fit into the overall body of work you've done in this area? What differentiates it?

We've been trying to understand how we can use the language in social media to identify people who are more or less stressed, lonely, empathetic, or depressed. Many models were built at the individual level. But it's not always the case that individual-level models generalize perfectly to communities. Communities require different analysis. What we're trying to do in this work is to better understand how we can predict for this community how stressed they are this month versus last month.

It seems like this work could have implications for the situation we're in with COVID-19 and social distancing. Can you talk about that?

We're pulling tweets every day, and we can monitor how different parts of the U.S. are faring over time using the models we developed. How are different regions in the U.S. shifting? We also pull tweets that mention COVID-related terms. As COVID passes through the U.S., people seem to be discussing different symptoms of the disease at different times, having different arguments about masks. These data also show us how stress levels are changing. Not surprisingly, people are, on average, way more stressed and anxious.

We just submitted a paper that finds that for the average person in one of our studies the overall decrease in happiness is comparable to going from a weekend day to a weekday. In general, Saturdays are happy days in America. On Mondays and Tuesdays, people are not quite as happy. Every day is now like a weekday. If you lose your job it is, of course, far worse.

The Penn COVID-19 Twitter map recently went live. What does it show?

It allows you to look state by state at what people are saying about COVID, as well as some measurements of how stressed and anxious people are. It's a concrete version of, 'Click on this page, look for this state,' and see how stressed or anxious they are, as estimated by their Twitter language. These techniques are particularly important in these fast-changing times. The mental health of America is changing very quickly, and these methods are currently our best way to get at rapid changes in stress, anxiety, and depression across the U.S.

More information: Kokil Jaidka et al. Estimating geographic subjective well-being from Twitter: A comparison of dictionary and data-driven language methods, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Kokil Jaidka et al. Estimating geographic subjective well-being from Twitter: A comparison of dictionary and data-driven language methods,(2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1906364117
Merivale is launching its own delivery service in Sydney next week, following from the release of its 'Merivale at Home' service.

Customers will be able to order from Mr. Wong, The Paddington/The Chicken Shop and Coogee Pavilion in addition to Totti's.

The deliveries will be made by the company's workers as way to keep them employed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Visit Business Insider Australias homepage for more stories.

Merivale is rolling out its own delivery service in Sydney next week.

The hospitality group is making deliveries available from Mr. Wong, The Paddington/The Chicken Shop, Coogee Pavilion in addition to its takeaway service at Tottis. The restaurants will offer a menu of signature dishes and weekly specials you can get stuck into as well as wine, beer and cocktails. And more restaurants will be added to the list too.

Delivery will be available from Wednesday 6 May but will only be open to homes within a 10km radius of the restaurants. You can get your deliveries from 5pm to 9pm on weeknights and 12pm to 3pm on weekends. And you can start ordering from 12pm each day.

Merivale workers will be making the deliveries as the company expects to create hundreds of jobs for its employees during the forced lockdown of restaurants.

Merivale is also expanding its pickup service. To coincide with the New South Wales government allowing two adults to visit someone in their home from Friday, Sydneysiders can pickup food from Mr. Wong and The Paddington/The Chicken Shop from 5pm. And they can pickup food from Coogee Pavilion starting from next Monday May 4.

"Since the restrictions were introduced, it has been our absolute priority to support our staff, while finding new ways to deliver exceptional food and drink experiences to our guests," Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes said in a statement.

"These new businesses are a testament to the creativity and passion of the Merivale team; I am so proud of their determination to bring them to life and thrilled that we can still be a part of peoples lives, especially when they can start visiting friends and family again."

Story continues

The delivery service follows the launch of 'Merivale at Home'

The new delivery option comes after the hospitality group launched its 'Merivale at Home' service earlier in April.

Through Merivale at Home, customers can order box full of ingredients you need to make signature dishes from the group's top restaurants. You can get menus from Mr Wong, Totti's, Bert's Bar & Brasserie, Fred's and Vinnie's Pizza which cost between $70 and $95 for two people.

The boxes come with near-ready meals so you can make them even if you don't consider yourself Jamie Oliver in the kitchen. You can also order an accompanying drinks pack which ranges from $40 to $115.

During the Merivale at Home launch, Hemmes said the idea had been in the works for some time, but the company hadn't had time to execute it. "Now, with our regular operations on hold due to government restrictions, and our chefs and sommeliers craving new creative outlets, we have been able to fast-track the launch and deliver it at a time when our guests need it most," he said.

Merivale At Home was created together with executive chefs Dan Hong, Danielle Alvarez, Jordan Toft, Mike Eggert, Ben Greeno and Vincenzo Biondini and Master Sommelier Franck Moreau.

You can also get a produce box through the service, which comes with a list of recipe suggestions. There's the option of a fresh fruit and veggie box from Parisi, a premium meat option from Havericks and or seafood from Poulous Bros.

Merivale is also happy with the response to its Merivale At Home option.

"We've been overwhelmed with the response," Frank Roberts, Chief Food and Beverage Officer at Merivale told Business Insider Australia in an email. "It has been really tough not being able to welcome guests in venue right, now so we're thrilled that people have welcomed us into their homes. We're particularly delighted that so many of our guests are ordering the produce boxes in support of our suppliers too".
Despite Governor Greg Abbott's order allowing more Texas business, including movie theaters, to resume business, no Laredo movie theaters will be open on the first day of the Governor's plan to reopen Texas.

Laredo is home to four movie theaters: Alamo Drafthouse, Regal, and two Cinemark locations.

However, all parent companies that own theaters in Laredo have either made announcements that they will not open up this week or will adhere to previously announced plans to open for business sometime in the summer.

"We will not be opening our Texas theaters this weekend. Opening safely is a very complex project that involves countless new procedures and equipment, all of which require extensive training," Alamo Drafthouse said in a statement. "This is something we cannot and will not do casually or quickly."

"When we do open, we will be providing the safest possible experience for both our staff and our guests, and we cant wait to see you all again."

A Cinemark representative told Deadline that the theater chain is working toward a mid-summer opening date. The first movie set to premiere at the theater chain is Christopher Nolan's "Tenet," which is scheduled to premiere on July 17.

A lack of movies due to the film companies deciding to postpone releases, or forgo theatrical releases entirely in favor of releasing films on video on-demand services also has to be taken into consideration.

Regal Theaters issued the following statement to KTRK-TV in Houston.

"At this time, we have not made a decision when to reopen Regal theatres." the theater said in a statement. "We are constantly following the information provided by authorities. In order to open our theatres, at first we will need to ensure the safety of our guests and employees. At the same time, we are working closely with our studio partners on when they will make their movies available."
Aged care providers have been given $205 million in funding from the federal government to remain open to visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the 'one-off payment' to aged care organisations during a press conference on Friday.

Residential providers will receive $900 per occupied bed and regional centres will receive $1,300 per resident under the new funding package.

He also revealed the national cabinet has adopted an aged care industry code to ensure families and carers can visit residents in nursing homes.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) announced a 'one-off payment' of $205 million to the aged care sector during a press conference on Friday

'The Commonwealth will be putting in an additional $205 million into the aged care sector as a one-off payment to facilities all around the country, to support them and the costs they are incurring to deal with the COVID-19 crisis,' Mr Morrison said.

'This payment is designed to give them that financial support that will assist the industry code, it will keep aged care facilities safer and give their families greater peace of mind.

'That brings to $850 million the federal government has put into aged care specifically to address the issues around the COVID-19 crisis.'

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) CEO Patricia Sparrow said it was a 'step in the right direction' but the sector still needs more funding for specific areas.

'It is a step in the right direction and I look forward to discussing more specific areas that still need funding,' Ms Sparrow told Daily Mail Australia.

'There are additional costs. This package is for residential aged care but we still need funding for other areas like home care and staffing.'

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) CEO Patricia Sparrow (pictiured) said it was a 'step in the right direction' but the sector still needs more funding for other areas

The ACSA along with other aged care organisations such as Anglicare and Baptist Care have previously requested a 'rescue support package'.

In the request, aged care organisations asked for $15 per day for people in residential aged care over six months.

Two months of the requested six are covered by the government's new 'one-off payment' of $900 per resident.

Other requests included $10 per day to support home care recipients over six months and $500 million for IT measures to keep families connected.

Ms Sparrow welcomed the new industry code, which the ACSA helped draft along with other aged care organisations.

Drafting the code was a 'balancing act' between 'keeping COVID-19 out of aged care centres, keeping residents in care and allowing for compassionate visits', according to Ms Sparrow.

Safety of elderly residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be an ongoing issue at certain aged care homes

The ACSA along with other aged care organisations such as Anglicare and Baptist Care have previously requested a 'rescue support package' (pictured)

Safety of elderly residents amid the current health crisis is proving to be an ongoing issue at certain aged care homes.

A 13th elderly resident died from COVID-19 at Anglicare's Newmarch House in western Sydney on Thursday afternoon.

There are now 56 confirmed cases at the home in Cadden, including 34 residents and 22 members of staff.

Meanwhile, three people have tested positive to COVID-19 at Hawthorn Grange age care centre in Melbourne's east.

As of Friday evening, there have 6,754 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, which have resulted in 93 deaths.
Constantly working on new and innovative ways to support improvements to the doctor-patient experience, Heartland Dental began researching and testing teledentistry platforms nearly two years ago. The support team sought and found a platform that provides convenient, accurate, and most importantly, ADA and HIPPA-compliant teledentistry capabilities. A team of clinicians then completed pilot programs to ensure the utmost integration, cutting-edge functionality and a highly patient-centric experience.

Jacob Berger, DMD, of Smiles at Lakewood Ranch in Lakewood Ranch, FL, found that patients want to be able to connect efficiently with their clinical provider. "Right now, patients are craving a personal touch," Dr. Berger says.

Usage of teledentistry has increased significantly during the current healthcare crisis, limiting hospital visits and enabling patients to safely discuss dental problems or concerns from their homes, while receiving advice and next steps for care from their dentist. In addition, with the outbreak of COVID-19, many major insurance carriers are recognizing the benefits of teledentistry and supporting payment of claims for such services, which was not standard in the past. This is a sign that teledentistry is not just limited for use during COVID-19, but for the future of dentistry in general.

Doctors are looking for ways to connect with patients who are in need of dental care. "Adding teledentistry to my already varied offerings was just what my patients needed to feel reassured. That was especially important during this crisis. I was so pleased to see signs of relief on their faces by the time we completed our first virtual consultation. Patients need doctors who are forward thinking and willing to reach out in a new way as our situation evolves," Dr. Berger notes.

A Consumer Telehealth Index Survey found 66% of adults had not been to the dentist in the past 12 months. Teledentistry is one tool to help make the connection. Anna Singh, DMD, Vice President of Clinical Training and Development, explains that teledentistry adds a viable alternative for patients accessing dental care  especially for those who may have a fear of visiting the dentist, limited time to seek dental care, or are otherwise unable to visit the doctor.

"This secure platform, integrated with proven processes of traditional dental care, provides our supported doctors the ability to quickly and easily interact with their patients to assess oral health, discuss concerns, and plan a course of action regarding treatment," says Dr. Singh. "Fully integrating this technology will significantly improve our existing model of care for the future."

Nestor Villarreal, DDS, of Bellaire Bay Dental Care in Naples, Florida, believes teledentistry represents the next phase of oral healthcare and has a tremendous potential to improve dental treatments in the future.

"With my current concerns of keeping patients and their families safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, teledentistry enables me to provide safe consultations and dental care to those who otherwise might have to wait for treatment. Reassuring patients with live video allows me to evaluate emergencies and provide care instructions," Dr. Villarreal explains. "As I look to the future, I believe teledentistry will help dental professionals build healthier communities by expanding the reach and capabilities of traditional dental practices."

Heartland Dental was founded in 1997 by Rick Workman, DMD. Today, the Effingham, IL-based company is the nation's largest dental support organization providing non-clinical, administrative support services to over 1,000 dental offices across 37 states. Heartland Dental supports dentists as they deliver high quality care across a spectrum of dental services, and is majority owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm.

Supported doctors use teledentistry in accordance with their respective state laws.

For additional information, please visit the company online at heartland.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Media Contact:

Christy Hakman, Corporate Communications

(217) 821-5287 or [email protected]

SOURCE Heartland Dental

Related Links

https://heartland.com/


Crews with the U.S. Coast Guard rescued two people from a sinking vessel about nine miles south of Monterey Bay, Coast Guard officials announced Thursday.

A crew from the Monterey station and an air crew from the San Francisco station helped rescue the people from the 92-foot vessel.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Kaduna Zonal Office on April 29, 2020 secured the conviction of Idahosa Bobby and Aidamebor Israel for offences bordering on internet fraud.

They were arraigned before Justice Mohammed Tukur of the State High Court sitting in Kaduna, Kaduna State.

The convicts were each arraigned on separate one-count charge bordering on online fraud and for possession of fraudulent documents.

Idahosa and Israel were arrested by a team of operatives attached to the Intelligence and Special Operations Section, ISOS following intelligence report indicating their involvement in cybercrime.

The charge against Bobby reads: That you, Idahosa Bobby sometime between January to March 2020, in Kaduna, within the Kaduna Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, did attempt to cheat by impersonating one Waseelah6 using her Instagram account and in such assumed character, sent scam mails to unsuspecting citizens and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 of the Penal Code Law of Kaduna State 2017 and punishable under section 309 of the same Law.

The charge against Israel reads: That you, Israel Aidamebor sometime in 2019 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court of Kaduna State, did fraudulently induce one Mr Eyup, a Turkish national to disclose his full personal and security information which he would not have done but for your deceit by impersonating one William Illumie, an Illuminati agent via WhatsApp, a social media account and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 142(1) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law No.5 of 2017.

They pleaded guilty as charged.

Upon their plea, counsel for the EFCC, E.K. Garba and M. Lawal reviewed the fact of the cases.

Having found them guilty, Justice Tukur, sentenced Bobby to two years in prison with an option of N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, and Israel to two years in prison with an option of N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine.
Danielle Alligood

Krystael Gainer

Kevin Glymph

Aisha Reynolds Langley

Caroline Rhodes

Haley Waters

Kendall Watkins

Lindsey Woolard

Attila Nemecz

Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator

Beaufort County Community College

5337 U.S. Highway 264 East

Washington, N.C. 27889

Ph : 252-940-6387

: 252-940-6387 Cell : 252-940-8672

: 252-940-8672 attila.nemecz@beaufortccc.edu

The Beaufort County Community College Foundation is proud to announce the following scholarship recipients for the spring 2020 semester. The BCCC Foundation has awarded over $180,000 in scholarships during the 2019-2020 academic year. Students can apply now for summer or fall 2020 scholarships online and apply for admission or register online for classes.The Bill Pruitt/ St. Thomas Episcopal Scholarship is to support a student who is a graduate of Beaufort County Schools. The student must be in good standing with a minimum GPA 2.75. Preference is given to students entering two-year job ready programs that require an Associate Degree in Applied Science or appropriate certificate., 18, received the Bill Pruitt/St. Thomas Episcopal Scholarship. She is a Washington resident who is working on an Associate in General Education as a pre-nursing student. Alligood attended Washington High School and plans to work as a nurse or an EMT. She is the daughter of Timothy and Patrice Alligood of Washington, and she currently works as a patient service representative at In Stride Roberson Foot Care., 30, received the Sue Brookshire Scholarship. She is a Williamston resident and medical office administration student. Gainer attended Williamston High School and holds a BS in Sociology. She plans to work with Vidant and currently works at Martin General Hospital in patient access and registration.Established in 2012 by long-time and beloved BCCC Guidance Counselor Sue Brookshire, this endowment celebrates the many students she helped along the way and fulfills her desire to assist future BCCC students in overcoming adversity through attaining their education goals., 49, received the Reid Sasnett Scholarship. He is a Washington resident working toward his EMT-Paramedic certification. He attended P.L. Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. Glymph retired from the military and is a father of three.Established in 2015 by Paul and Amy Sasnett in memory of their son Reid, this endowment funds annual scholarships to provide educational opportunities for students demonstrating financial need. Reid was a sophomore at Pungo Christian Academy of Belhaven where he was a member of their FFA Chapter. He was also a member of Pinetown Volunteer Fire Department, BoCo Archery and the Carolina Truck Game. He was proud to be a member of the "Sasnett farming team." The Sasnett family wants to keep Reid's memory alive and foster the growth of several programs that were special to him. Scholarships are made available to students in the agricultural program, fire & rescue training and e mergency medical services., 42, received the Tayloe's Hospital Pharmacy Medical Scholarship. She is a Greenville resident and a medical office administration student. She attended Sachem North High School, and she plans to work in the medical field. She is a mother of four and the daughter of Jo-Ann Reynolds of Middle Island, N.Y.Tayloe's Hospital Pharmacy Medical Scholarships are awarded annually to students pursuing a career in the medical field. Qualifying students will have a 2.5 GPA or greater and must be a resident of Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell or Washington County. Student must demonstrate financial need. Preference is given to current or former employees of Tayloe's Hospital Pharmacy., 20, received the Tayloe's Hospital Pharmacy Medical Scholarship. She is a Greenville resident and a nursing student. She attended D.H. Conley High School and plans to work as an oncology nurse. She currently works with Interim Healthcare as a home health aide. She is the daughter of William and Mary Rhodes of Greenville.Tayloe's Hospital Pharmacy Medical Scholarships are awarded annually to students pursuing a career in the medical field. Qualifying students will have a 2.5 GPA or greater and must be a resident of Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell or Washington County. Student must demonstrate financial need. Preference is given to current or former employees of Tayloe's Hospital Pharmacy., 24, received the Dr. Tom Nicholson Scholarship. She is a Plymouth resident and a practical nursing student. She currently works at Home Life Care as a PCA, and she attended Riverside High School. She plans to become a registered nurse.Established in 2014 by Dr. Nicholson's family, scholarships are awarded to qualifying students pursuing degrees in the medical fields. Dr. Nicholson was a Washington physician with Pamlico Internal Medicine where he practiced for 34 years., 19, received the John & Geneva Morgan and the Bill Pruitt/St. Thomas Episcopal scholarships. She is a Washington resident who is part of the nursing program and part of the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses (RIBN) program. Watkins attended Washington High School, and she plans to earn a Master of Science in Nursing at East Carolina University. She is the daughter of Tyler and Suzanne Watkins.Established in 2016 by the Beaufort County Mental Health Association, the scholarship represents the tireless efforts of John and Geneva Morgan as they advocated for citizens affected by mental illness. Geneva Morgan's nursing career spanned 40 years of service providing care to the pediatric population of the community. In addition to administering to the needs of the pediatric patient, she focused upon alleviating the stigma associated with mental illness. It was the care, compassion and wellbeing for the often-forgotten patient that gave her the most joy. John became her partner in advocacy after retirement. Scholarships are provided to senior level nursing students with a minimum GPA of 2.5. Student must be a Beaufort County resident and participate in community events honoring the Morgan legacy of community involvement., 19, received the Bill Pruitt/St. Thomas Episcopal Scholarship. She is a Washington resident who is part of the nursing program. Woolard was home-schooled through Peace Academy, earned a GED, and she plans to transfer to a four-year university. She is the daughter of Ron and Kim Bousquet of Washington and Steve and Janet Woolard of Washington. She currently works at Domino's as a customer service representative.For more information, contact Serena Sullivan, at serena.sullivan@beaufortccc.edu or 252-940-6218.
There's no doubt a talent for making things runs in families. Sometimes it's as straightforward as skills passed down from one generation to another. Often, it's a little more complicated. I know a ceramic artist who is famous for her meticulous work. Each piece is sanded down and fired more times than she cares to mention.

"Where did you get your talent?" I asked, in that typical Irish way. We always think that talent has to be "got" from somewhere. She laughed. "I always wondered, until I looked into my family history," she said. "Grave diggers on one side and lace-makers on the other!"

The way that craft talent is passed down through families is the subject of Generation, an exhibition that was due to run at the National Design and Craft Gallery this spring. Currently, it is a virtual event, released episodically on Facebook and Instagram.

For some of the exhibitors, the lines of inheritance are straightforward. Cara Murphy, silversmith from Hillsborough, Co Down, shares a workshop with her silversmith father, Michael McCrory. Both work at the fine art end of the spectrum, albeit using traditional skills, and Murphy makes extraordinary sculptural tableware (from 260 for a 3cm bowl). Her silversmithing skills are passed down from her father; the enamelling she learnt from her mum. Deirdre McCrory, take a bow.

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A little further south, in Emyvale, Co Monaghan, Ryan Connolly makes bespoke furniture (from 630 for a side table) in the grounds of his father's business, Connolly Furniture Ltd.

"My father found his niche as a furniture maker, creating a successful business making domestic furniture," Connolly writes. "This was Ireland in the 1970s and 80s; there wasn't room for anything except function. If you took the time to make something with your hands, it was made to last. Nothing was wasted. Values are different nowadays, but if I can continue to incorporate my father's values in my own work, I feel I will stay on a sustainable path."

The story of Mourne Textiles, producer of contemporary woven textiles, began in 1947 when the Norwegian weaver and designer Gerd Hay-Edie came to Ireland and set up her workshop at the edge of Carlingford Lough. She was an enormously capable person and, throughout the 1950s, made handwoven upholstery fabrics for furniture designed by Robin Day and produced by Hille.

Once she described her design process: "I follow fashion in newspapers and magazines. Then I let it flow until you realise that out of the present designs, there follows the next development. For me, out of the past flows the future."

It's a comment that still has relevance for her grandson, Mario Sierra, who now runs the company with his mother, Karen Prescott.

"There were incredibly bright colours within her fabrics," says Sierra. "She called them kicker colours. When you were putting them on the loom, you'd wonder - where did that come from? But then the fabric was woven and you could see the balance in it."

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Cushions from Mourne Textiles start at around 86; blankets are 223; and furnishing fabric is about 206 per metre.

One of the key concepts behind Generation is the dynamic relationship between the future and the past. The exhibitors, craft scholar Glenn Adamson says, have been "assembled on the basis of two criteria: the forward-thinking qualities of their work, and the inheritance that each has received from their own family. In the exhibition, we see how the first of these is nurtured by the second; the way that experimentation relies on passed-down knowledge."

There's a similar story - although unrelated (ahem) to the Generation exhibition - behind the designs of Olga Shevchenko, a Russian designer based in London, who started Olenka, a homeware brand dedicated to Russian craft heritage. It began with wallpaper designs inspired by Khokhloma art and has recently expanded to lampshades. Fabrics will follow. Wallpaper from Olenka costs around 136 for a 10 metre roll; lampshades are 110.

Generation is curated by Frances McDonald and Muireann Charleton. The other exhibitors are: Hugo Byrne, Mark Campden, Roisin de Buitlear, Alla Sinkevich and Katharine West. See @NDCGallery and @DCCIreland. See also oleankadesign.co.uk, connollyandcompany.com, mournetextiles.com.
More than 500 protesters converged on Huntington Beach again Friday to demand stay-at-home rules in California be lifted and to express their displeasure with Gov. Gavin Newsom's directive closing local beaches to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The crowd that descended on the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street was significantly larger than a demonstration at the same site near the Huntington Beach Pier two weeks ago. The raucous protest included people carrying banners that read "All jobs are essential" and "Freedom: We the people." One person had a sign that said "Recall Gavin Newsom."

Parents walked hand-in-hand with children to the now-closed beach, while protesters, some bringing their dogs, arrived on bikes, skateboards and scooters. Several shared their grievances through chants, signs and occasional songs.

While some protesters wore face coverings, most neither wore masks nor followed social distancing guidelines of six feet of separation. Police officers on horseback monitored protesters while others ushered attendees across Pacific Coast Highway in an effort to keep traffic moving.

The governor ordered Orange County beaches closed Thursday despite opposition from local leaders who argue they should decide whether its safe to hit the sand. Many beaches in Orange County had remained open even weeks after Los Angeles County blocked access to their coastline.

Newsom said the decision was necessary after thousands flocked to the county's beaches last weekend. The move has placed the beach communities at the center of an ongoing debate over the scope of closures in California.

Mike Murray, a longtime Huntington Beach resident, said he believes the governor did not have correct information when he decided to target Orange County's beaches. He said the number of confirmed cases countywide  which surpassed 2,500 on Friday  does not justify the closure.

I was down here last week when they said there were 40,000 people on the beach, Murray said. I didnt see 40,000 there and the people who were down there were all spaced out, so I think [the governor] is nuts.

Story continues

Its ridiculous that the governor has the power to close down the whole beach," he said.

Newsom, at his Friday news conference, said he understood the concerns of protesters but urged them to continue to obey the stay-at-home order and emphasized that some easing of the rules was days away. Newsom added that the "only thing that is assured to advance the spread of the virus is thousands of people congregating together, not practicing social distancing or physical distancing."

"If we can avoid that, then were going to get to the other side of this with modifications a lot quicker," he said. "And I just hope people will consider that.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said his department would focus on education and voluntary compliance and didnt plan to make arrests at the beaches in his jurisdiction, which includes Dana Point and San Clemente. In a statement, he said that most beachgoers have acted responsibly and that they should not fear criminal charges.

"As long as people are social distancing and doing what they're expected to do, the sheriff does not have interest in criminalizing people enjoying the beach," sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Braun said.

Huntington Beach and Newport Beach police say they are emphasizing voluntary compliance with the closure.

Mounted police line up to keep protesters on the sidewalk as thousands of people ters rally at the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

When asked Friday whether he has any concerns regarding enforcement of the beach-closure order, Newsom said he has incredible confidence in local law enforcement agencies, but also stressed that its not just an enforcement mindset, its also an encouragement mindset.

Well see what happens over the course of this weekend and, look, if we have the kind of weekend that I hope and expect we will where we dont see those huge crowds descend, then were going to be in a position  as early as Monday, Tuesday, I hope  to make some announcements of new strategies and partnerships that were working on in real time to address these large crowds, he said.

Officials said the few people who arrived in Newport Beach early Friday to surf were receptive when officials asked them to leave. In Huntington Beach, just steps away from the protest, beachgoers lounged in the sand and frolicked in the waves without issue.

Andrew Norman  clad in board shorts, a black ball cap, sandals and no mask  equated his participation in Fridays protest with his past time in the military.

Thousands of protesters rally at the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

I served in the Army and fought tyrants and dictators overseas and this has gone too far, he said of Newsoms stay-at-home order. I didnt do that to come back here and live under a tyrant in my own country.

The Hesperia resident became aware of the protest through a Facebook campaign, #reopencalifornia, and made the 90-minute drive with his wife and three children, ages 7 to 11.

This should be a family experience and show that were normal people, he said.

Tami Avants, 60, of Rancho Cucamonga said she lost her job as a hair dresser and is looking to get back to work.

She likened the recent $1,200 checks from the government as "welfare and said she wants to earn her own money again.

[An] executive order does not trump our constitutional rights, added 60-year-old Sheila Ferguson of Huntington Beach, who managed to protest despite a broken back.

Some leaders in Orange County have vowed to push back against the closure.

Officials in Huntington Beach and Dana Point voted during emergency meetings Thursday night to ask a judge to block Newsom's directive. Newport Beach also plans to consider legal action in the coming days.

Seal Beach Police Chief Philip Gonshak, however, asked "for citywide patience and advocacy, rather than contentiousness and adversarial banter back and forth."

"We are still working on a plan to start things up sooner than later," he wrote in a community message Thursday. "I promise, once the governor lifts this order, we will be rolling out a multi-phased approach that will address our beach plan moving forward."

Protesters have said it's time to ease the stay-at-home rules and reopen the economy. But many medical experts and state officials warn there could be grave repercussions from reopening businesses too early.

An Associated Press poll found an overwhelming majority of Americans support the stay-at-home orders, seeing them as helpful in combating the coronavirus outbreak. Another survey conducted by Politico/Morning Consult showed that 81% supported continuing restrictions for as long as needed. Only 10% wanted to end social distancing to stimulate the economy.

Californias relatively quick action to close businesses and order residents to stay home has helped to curb the spread of the virus and left many hospitals largely empty, waiting for a surge that has yet to come.

The initial success of the unprecedented shutdown of schools, businesses and other institutions has pleased experts and public health officials, prompting calls to keep the restrictions in place to help cement the progress.

Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.
Bill Bauer says he and his wife noticed that Southwest Airlines canceled two flights from Fort Myers to Pittsburgh Sunday.

Only one flight remained, Flight 3897, and Bauer says it appears that flight also carried passengers from the other canceled flights. The end result was something that made him uncomfortable: no social distancing.
Arron Banks said he has been "completely vindicated" - PA

Arron Banks, the Brexit campaigner, has said he has been "completely vindicated" after reaching a settlement with the Electoral Commission.

The watchdog referred the Leave.EU co-founder to the National Crime Agency (NCA) after his campaign was fined for breaking electoral law.

But the agency found "no evidence" of criminal offences and Mr Banks threatened to sue the commission over 8 million in referendum campaign funding.

The watchdog said all parties had "agreed amicable terms of settlement", but said the commission "considers it was right to refer this matter to the NCA for further investigation" in October 2018.

A statement added that it "accepts" the NCA's conclusions.

Mr Banks said: "The statement completely vindicates me and our position.

"As the NCA concluded the money came from myself and my business and it's good to see the Electoral Commission concede this."

He called for "an urgent inquiry by Parliament" to investigate the Electoral Commission, the Information Commissioner's Office and some MPs who have criticised him.
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is bullish on the future of artificial intelligence and has been for years.

Not only has he made it a priority to learn about and invest in AI himself, but he has consistently recommended other entrepreneurs do the same.

And if the ABC's "Shark Tank" star had to start a side hustle business today, that's where Cuban would turn.

"I would become an expert in scripting for Alexa and Google Home and Cortana and go to any place that sold devices they supported and show them how much more they could do with a few hours of personalization," he tells CNBC Make It.

By "scripting," Cuban is referring to the process of coding voice commands to create so-called "skills," which enable devices  like Amazon's Echo or Echo Dot, which use artificial intelligence-enabled voice assistant Alexa, Google Home or Microsoft's Cortana  to complete a task.

For example, enabling the iRobot Home skill allows you to simply say, "Alexa, ask Roomba to start cleaning," to get your smart vacuum going. Or you can enable a skill like CNBC's Flash Briefing to hear the day's headlines.

"Alexa skills and scripting Alexa skills is really, really easy. But everybody thinks it's really, really hard. And so that disconnect is a great opportunity," Cuban previously told Recode's Peter Kafka in 2019.

"I told my kids [and] other kids, learn how to script, and just go get your neighbors and set up all of these Alexa tools and you'll make $25, $30, $40 an hour."

Amazon provides free resources to teach anyone how to create skills for its platform. Amazon has an Alexa Skills Kit of tutorials online, for example.

"We think it should be simple for people of all skill levels to build for Alexa," Rob Pulciani, the vice president of Amazon Alexa international, previously told CNBC Make It.

Amazon currently has over 40,000 skills for Alexa built by third-party developers.

When speaking at the 2020 CES Conference in January, Cuban also spoke about the potentially lucrative side hustle.

"If I were 16 years old, I would learn Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft stuff and learn how to create scripts," he said. "Then go to my neighbors' homes ... and charge $30 an hour to set it up in their house."

Tweet with video of this quote

At the conference he also compared the future of AI to the rise of the internet.

"If you don't know AI, you're the equivalent of somebody in 1999 saying, 'I'm sure this internet thing will be OK, but I don't give a s---,'" he said at the conference. "If you want to be relevant in business, you have to or you will be a dinosaur very quickly."

In fact, Cuban has predicted that the world's first trillionaire will be an AI entrepreneur.

"I am telling you," he said at the SXSW Conference and Festivals in 2017, "the world's first trillionaires are going to come from somebody who masters AI and all its derivatives and applies it in ways we never thought of."

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."

Check out: The best credit cards of 2021 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years

Don't miss:

This 22-year-old college student makes $10,000 a month off Amazon's Alexa

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The Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has outlined some of the trials going on for Covid-19 treatment and vaccination in Africa.



Fifty-two countries have currently reported having positive cases of the virus - with more than 37,000 patients being treated.



In a joint briefing online with doctors at Shanghai hospital, the Africa CDC said that in comparison to the rest of the world there were very few treatments happening on the continent.



In Egypt, there are about 13 trials going on looking specifically at therapeutics. Scientists, there are also conducting around two trials on vaccines. They are also looking at the place of nutritional support, especially with honey and some immunotherapy trials are going on in Egypt.



In Zambia, they have one ongoing trial with hydroxychloroquine.

South Africa is part of the WHO solidarity trial, and they are looking at Chloroquine, Interferon, Remdesivir.

In Nigeria, they have one trial in progress - still on therapeutical agents.

Tunisia has two trials going on.



The Africa CDC try to mobilise the different research consortiums on the continent to see how to change this narrative so that Africa becomes more engaged in that regard.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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More than 32,000 Indians in the United Arab Emirates, who wish to return home amidst the coronavirus lockdown, have registered with the Indian missions here on day one of the opening of the online registration process, according to a media report.

On Wednesday night, the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi announced the details of data collection through the website of the Indian consulate in Dubai.

Within minutes, the site faced technical issues, prompting the missions to delete the tweet about it and repost it hours later.

In a tweet posted in the wee hours of Thursday, the Indian consulate asked applicants to bear with it if it takes time for the page to load due to high traffic.

As of 5pm on Thursday, we received more than 32,000 registrations, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told the Gulf News.

Vipul said the technical issues took place because of the huge rush of people trying to access the webpage on the consulate's site for registration.

Though the mission is yet to analyse the data to know the compelling reasons for the applicants to travel home, Vipul said the applications comprise various emergency cases including that of pregnant women.

We understand that people want to go home for various reasons. People should be ready for travel by keeping in mind the overall restrictions on travel given the pandemic situation. Those who wish to go urgently should keep trying to register on the website in the next few days, he said.

He said the registration would be open for some days and the data collected by the Indian missions in various countries would be provided to Indian states for making preparations for their travel.

The Consul General reiterated that the registration in the data bank does not guarantee a seat on the initial flights that would be arranged to repatriate the most deserving categories of people.

Workers in acute distress, medical cases, pregnant women, the elderly and the group of Indians stranded in Dubai Airport, are likely to get first priority when the government resumes services for repatriation, he said.

Since there is no guidance from the Indian government on the conditions for travelling, he said, it is not yet clear how the COVID-19 status of an applicant would impact the journey.

When asked about media reports that said 500 Air India flights and three warships of the Indian Navy are on standby for evacuating stranded Indians abroad, Vipul said he had no knowledge about warships being readied for the process.

I am sure Air India will be involved. I have no information about the warships, he said.

Meanwhile, the government of Kerala on Thursday said the total number of registrations it received from Malayalis living in 201 countries has reached 3,53,468.

The Consul General urged Keralites in the UAE, who have already registered with Norka (The Non Resident Keralites Affairs), to also register with the missions since it would help the central government to make arrangements for flight operations.
Nathan Cones favorite Texas Public Radio Cinema Tuesdays screening was a showing of Safety Last, Harold Lloyds 1923 silent classic in which the bespectacled star makes a peril-laden trek up the side of a high-rise.

As the final 30 minutes of that movie played, the audience was alternately screaming and laughing because of all the things that happen to him as hes climbing that are conspiring to make him fall, said Cone, vice president for cultural and community engagement at TPR. Everything from the bird that starts pecking at his hand to somebody leaning out the window and almost knocking him down. For every one of these little jump scares, they would scream, and then laugh like crazy about it.

Every movie comes alive with an audience, but silent movies really come alive with an audience in front of them.

That illustrates what Cone loves about watching movies on the big screen: Thats just the ideal way to watch a movie is with an audience, because its so much fun.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Cinema Tuesdays series, a fundraiser for TPR that routinely sells out. The series typically starts right after Memorial Day, but this year, the kickoff has been pushed to July 7 to make sure that it can be done safely. Because of the later start, it will extend beyond summer to make sure that all of the movies selected can be screened, Cone said.

On ExpressNews.com: Johnny Cashs first marriage explored in new documentary

It will start with Bonnie and Clyde. The rest of the series holds Head, Last Night at the Alamo, Superman, Double Indemnity, Singin in the Rain, a double feature of Chulas Fronteras and Say Amen, Somebody, The Godfather, Psycho, Desert Hearts, A Face in the Crowd, Pather Panchali and Oscar Shorts.

The films will be screened Tuesday nights at the Santikos Bijou.

Paramount Pictures

Cone has a few special things planned in honor of the big anniversary, including some guest appearances and the return of the horse head cookies that were served the last time that the series presented The Godfather.

TPR members can purchase season passes for $120 at brownpapertickets.com. Non-members can purchase tickets to individual screenings. Information can be found at tpr.org.

While movie theaters have been closed, Cone has not led a film-free existence. He and his family have been watching a lot of movies at home. Everyone  Cone, wife Renata Serafin and children Samantha, 15, and Maximilian, who turns 13 on Monday  takes turns selecting what they watch.

Theyve been revisiting some favorites, including Star Wars and Marvel movies, and recently rewatched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Cones favorite in the series.

On ExpressNews.com: Brothers Mankiewicz explores old Hollywood

Cone was particularly delighted to introduce his children to Shane, the classic 1953 western starring Alan Ladd. And he and Serafin have been talking up Alfred Hitchcocks 1954 thriller Rear Window, in which a homebound photographer played by James Stewart becomes convinced that his neighbor is a killer.

Its the ultimate locked-in-your-house viewing film, Cone said. The kids have seen North by Northwest. This is the next great thing to show them from Hitchcock.

Cone said he enjoys watching movies at home, but hes looking forward to being able to return to theaters, too.

I do like watching things at home, but I love a theatrical experience so much, he said. I like feeling and hearing audience reaction to a movie.

Recommendations

Cone offered some suggestions for some films and podcasts folks might want to check out. Heres his list, along with his descriptions for each:

Contributed Photo /Contributed Photo

Rear Window: This Alfred Hitchcock classic is the definitive shut in film, about a man confined to his apartment who believes his neighbor across the courtyard may have committed a murder. As we peer out from our own windows, just remember who might be peering back! Rent it on all digital platforms.

Sunset Boulevard: This classic film is one of the great Hollywood noirs, about an aging silent film star who dreams of a return to the silver screen. William Holden is the screenwriter drawn into her stay-at-home fantasy world. Watch it on Crackle .

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Steven Spielbergs alien visitation movie is about a lot of things, including government conspiracies, obsession, family dynamics. But probably the most hopeful thing about the movie is that its a story about communication. The final 30 minutes, as scientists and the government work together to welcome visitors from another world, is beautiful. Rent it on all digital platforms.

Unspooled: This podcast featuring critic Amy Nicholson, who is from San Antonio, and actor Paul Scheer follows the pair as they watch every single one of the American Film Institutes Top 100 American Films. They ponder each films place in our culture, and whether its worthy of its coveted AFI Top 100 spot. Special guests on many episodes highlight a notable aspect of that weeks movie (for example, they spoke to a stunt coordinator for the Ben Hur episode). Listen at unspooledpodcast.com.

The Plot Thickens: This new podcast from Turner Classic Movies just launched, and its opening with a series exploring the life and career of Peter Bodganovich, who directed some great movies (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon), some not-so-great movies (Daisy Miller), and is one hell of storyteller. Listen at theplotthickens.tcm.com.

Petrie Dish: Texas Public Radio is now producing a weekly podcast about the coronavirus and its ripple effects, hosted by our Bioscience & Medicine reporter, Bonnie Petrie. Theres a lot of stuff out there on the internet to read, but listening to Bonnies measured, calm, and human delivery is kind of cathartic. Listen at npr.org/podcasts.

dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN

Deborah Martin is an arts writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Deborah, become a subscriber. dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister



Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday announced amendments to the Mandi Act, saying the objective was to ensure maximum value for farm produce.

Farmers can now directly sell the produce to private traders from their homes and are not required to go to the market (Mandi), an official statement quoted Chouhan as saying.

The decision to amend the Act was taken at a meeting chaired by the chief minister and attended by agriculture minister Kamal Patel and water resources minister Tulsi Silawat, among others.

Farmers would also have the option of going to the Mandi to sell produce at the the minimum support price.

"By developing a more competitive system, we have tried to provide farmers a maximum value for their produce," the chief minister said in the meeting.

Traders can buy produce by visiting farmers at home or on farms by obtaining a license, the CM said.

A single license will enable traders to buy produce from anywhere in the state.

"We have also implemented e-trading system under which the rates at mandis all over the country will be accessible. Farmers can bargain and sell their produce in any market of the country where they get higher price," Chouhan said.

The government has also introduced 'Sauda Patrak' system through which traders can purchase produce from farmers from their homes.

Seven new provisions have been added to the Mandi Act including provision for the establishment of Mandis in private sector.

Godowns, silos, cold storage facilities can also be declared as private mandis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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As the coronavirus spread in March, a wave of California cities passed emergency laws to halt evictions.

Now, with many tenants struggling to pay May rent, some of those cities have repealed their laws or allowed them to expire, as pressure has mounted from landlords stridently opposed to eviction restrictions.

It all makes for a confusing situation for tenants and property owners, with a mix of actions from state courts, cities, and counties in recent weeks. Currently, most residential tenants cannot be evicted, because of an order from the state Judicial Council shutting down courts to nearly all eviction proceedings until 90 days after a state emergency ends.

After that, where tenants live could determine whether they can be evicted.

Earlier this month, Upland repealed a law its city council had passed to limit evictions.

"We keep helping one class. But nobody ever takes care of the ones paying the most taxes, which is the middle class, the landlords," said Mayor Pro Tem Ricky Felix at an April 13 meeting. "We can't just be giving out handouts."

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The move came after the city received a letter from an attorney representing local landlords, threatening a lawsuit. "Landlords will suffer seven-figure losses as a direct result of the Ordinance. Unless the Ordinance is immediately rescinded, Landlords will seek to recover those losses from the City," the letter states.

The letter alleges that tenants were using Upland's law to avoid paying rent. The city could be on the hook for "tens of millions of dollars in liability," it says.

The letter was signed by Orange County attorney Douglas J. Dennington, who wrote that his clients operate 755 units in Upland. It was first reported by the Daily Bulletin.

Forty-five percent of households in Upland are renters, a higher rate than in the region as a whole.

"It's very troubling that jurisdictions are responding to pressure from landlords and not enacting protections for tenants," said Silvana Naguib, an attorney with the non-profit Public Counsel.

The situation is confusing not simply for renters, but even for lawyers who track eviction law. "The rules are changing so constantly," Naguib said, adding that protections vary significantly from one jurisdiction to the next.

In La Verne, the city council rescinded eviction protections on April 20. The city of Burbank's eviction protections are set to expire today. Action by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors means those two cities will continue to have eviction protections.

That's not the case in Upland, which is in San Bernardino County.

Other jurisdictions have temporarily extended eviction protections that were set to expire on May 1. Those include Anaheim, South Gate, and the County of San Bernardino (the San Bernardino law applies only to unincorporated areas).

Meanwhile, pressure from landlord groups on the eviction stoppages is mounting. A message from the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles this week blasted the Judicial Council rules.

"The Emergency Rule suspending evictions merely gives tenants the incentive to behave irresponsibly and not pay their rent even when they can afford to do so," it said. The message, dubbed a "red alert," invited members to reach out directly to the Judicial Council.

The powerful California Apartment Association also criticized the Judicial Council's order, writing in a letter that the organization was "deeply disappointed" about the eviction freeze. "It clears the way for those interest groups that have called for unlawful rent strikes to continue their irresponsible behavior," the letter said.

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Terror modules operating within Jammu and Kashmir and their handlers from across the border incite people by transmission of fake news, the UT administration has told the Supreme Court while opposing restoration of 4G services in the Union Territory.

It said there were well founded apprehensions of misuse of internet for propagation of terror activities and incitement through the circulation of inflammatory material particularly fake videos and photos as also co-ordination of activities that are inimical to security and public order.

"The terror modules operating within the UTs and handlers from across the border aid and incite people by transmission of fake and targeted messages through use of internet to propagate terrorism, co-ordinate and plan terror attacks," an affidavit filed by the UT's administration said.

The submissions were made in response to a plea filed by Foundation for Media Professionals seeking restoration of 4G internet services in the Union Territory in view of prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

"Pakistan based terrorism handlers like The Resistance Front (TRF) and Tehreeki-Milat-i-Islami (TMI), instigating youth to join terrorism, are using messaging applications to communicate as also to raise the morale of terrorists; however 2G mobile data services considerably restrict the use of such Applications," the affidavit said.

Restoration of 4G mobile data services will substantially increase the use of social media and other online platforms in uploading/downloading of videos and other propaganda material and their faster circulation, deteriorating the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley, it said.

The internet is being used to support fallacious proxy wars by raising money, recruiting and spreading propaganda/ideologies and prevalence of the internet provides an easy inroad to young impressionable minds, J&K said.

It said that till April 25, 108 terrorism-related incidents took place with 99 Incidents reported from the Kashmir Province while 9 others from Jammu province. "30 civilians lost their lives, while 114 civilians were injured in terrorist-related incidents".

The affidavit said that even the top court has not been spared of the ill effects of habitual fake propaganda which took place very recently involving a fake order purporting to be a Record of Proceeding of this court. It had falsely reflected that administration of J&K has been ordered to take a quick review within 24 hours to restore full internet communication in the region.

It said that an FIR under sections 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of court record) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the IPC was filed in this regard at the Cyber Police Station, Kashmir Zone.

It said that umpteen rumours relating to number of positive COVID-19 cases/deaths, creating chaos and panic; health related fake of prominent people in Jammu & Kashmir like that of Chairman, All Party Hurriyat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, shutdown call by JKLF on the eve of death anniversary of Mohd. Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru, to observe Republic Day as black day have been doing the rounds.

The J&K administration told the apex court that a very reasonable quantum of restrictions have been imposed by reducing the speed of internet to protect the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

The dispensation told the top court that even when internet services were restored only with white-listed URLs, it was found that miscreants were using different VPNs but because of low speed mobile data services, were not able to upload files of heavy data containing incriminating and other objectionable videos.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It worked on monkeys, so researchers at the University of Oxford have high hopes that their coronavirus vaccine will also work on humans.

But they dont expect preliminary results until the middle of June, John Bell, a regius professor of medicine at Oxford, told BBC Radio on Thursday.

Human trials  the first in Europe for a vaccine  began April 23, following successful tests on rhesus macaque monkeys in late March.

The results were so promising that British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca agreed to partner with the Oxford team to help ramp up production of the hAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine once the human trials are completed, according to the BBC.

AstraZeneca isnt the only Big Pharma company betting on the vaccine. Last week, the Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest vaccine maker, announced it would begin mass-producing hAdOx1 nCoV-19 without it being approved or even knowing if it works.

The University of Oxford researchers had projected that human trials would conclude in September, but the Serum Institute decided that was too long to wait. So its using its own funds to produce 40 million units of the vaccine.

Manufacturing a vaccine before its proven effective and before it receives regulatory approval flips the normal development process on its head. Its a huge risk, but one that some companies are willing to take in order to get a jump on deploying a vaccine on the massive scale needed to defeat the pandemic.

Other drug companies and biotechs are also making progress in developing a vaccine:

 Pfizer and BioNTech injected 12 healthy people in Germany with their experimental BNT162 vaccine.

 Moderna has begun human trials, and is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for its mRNAA-1273 vaccine.

 GlaxoSmithKline and the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi expect their vaccine will be ready for human testing in the second half of 2020.

Whether any vaccine can offer long-term protection against the coronavirus remains to be seen.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus. A vaccine will need to induce durable high level immunity, but coronaviruses often dont induce that kind of immunity. Dr. David States, human genetics professor at the University of Michigan, systems biologist and bioinformatics pioneer, wrote in a Twitter thread last week.

They induce an immune response, but it tends to fade so the same virus can reinfect us a year or two later, he stated.

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Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate
Aromatherapy may alleviate on-the-job stress in nurses, suggests a new study led by Marian Reven, a doctoral student in the WVU School of Nursing and a registered nurse with WVU Medicine. Credit: Jennifer Shephard/West Virginia University

Even under normal circumstances, nursing can be a stressful profession. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbates it.

New research led by Marian Reven, a Ph.D. student in the West Virginia University School of Nursing, suggests that aromatherapy may reduce nurses' on-the-job feelings of stress, anxiety, exhaustion and being overwhelmed. Her pilot study results appear in the International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy.

"If we can improve our nurses' emotional reserves and give them more resiliency by using aromatherapygive them a place to step back, to do some mindfulnesswe're doing a good thing at the other end of it by improving patient care," she said.

In an eight-week study, she and her colleaguesWVU researchers Janelle Humphrey-Rowan and Nina Mooreprovided aromatherapy patches to 19 nurses who worked at the Infusion Center at the WVU Cancer Institute. The nurses affixed the patches to the badges they wore on lanyards around their necks. The patches were infused with a citrusy blend of essential oils: lemon, orange, mandarin, pink grapefruit, lemongrass, lime and peppermint.

"I sat down with people from the WVU Cancer Institute's Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, and we smelled three different oil blends," said Reven, a registered nurse with WVU Medicine and certified, registered aromatherapist. "When they smelled this blend, everybody's face lit up, and they were immediately happy."

Cutting stress levels in half

The nurse participants wore aromatherapy patches on their ID badges for four-to-eight-hour stretches, on eight separate occasions, while working at the infusion center.

Before and after wearing the patch each time, study participants completed a survey about their moods. They reported how strong certain emotions were, on a scale of one to 10.

The researchers found that participants felt significantly less stressed, anxious, fatigued and overwhelmed after wearing the aromatherapy patches. The levels of anxiety and fatigue they reported fell by 40 percent, and their stress levels and feelings of being overwhelmed decreased by half.

"Oncology nurses face a type of stress that is unique," Reven said. "There are so many cancers that are considered chronic illnesses that oncology infusion center nurses probably see these people for years instead of months. They know them. They get very invested in their lives."

"It's a stressful job," said Laurie Theeke, professor and director of the Ph.D. Program at the School of Nursing and nurse practitioner in the Department of Family Medicine. "You're dealing with life or death or chronic illness every day. And people in all of the health professions are stressed. This doesn't just have application to nursing. It's about workplace stress."

Stressful times, lonely patients

Aromatherapy might improve patients' moods, too, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospital patients can't receive visitors.

"I work nightshift weekends," Reven said. "Last weekend, several of the patients tugged on my heart strings. They missed their family and friends so much during this time of 'no visitors.' I just wanted to be able to do something more for them. An aromatherapy patch with lavender or citrus might have helped.

"As a nurse, I spend a lot of time at the bedside of very ill people," she added. "I often think, 'How would I feel if it was me?' I get very sad sometimes watching the suffering, and yes, I personally use aromatherapy to help with my resiliency."

Loneliness isn't just unpleasant. It's also a predictor of depression, functional decline and mortality.

"People do die of loneliness," Theeke said.

The research results also suggest that aromatherapy might make people outside of healthcare settings feel better as they shelter in place to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. After all, a patch on an employment badge isn't the only way to use essential oils. Someone can plug in an essential oil diffuser or simply add a drop of pure lavender essential oil to a teaspoon of lotion.

Reven emphasized the importance of buying essential oils only from reputable sources.

"There are two professional organizations that can give the layperson credible information about where to find essential oils and how to use them safely: the Alliance of International Aromatherapists and the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy," she said.

But you don't have to buy anything special to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy. Common household items, used during common household tasks, can be enough.

"Baking is aromatherapy," Reven said. "Cutting up an orange is aromatherapy. We need some aromatherapy all the time."

Explore further Can lavender aromatherapy reduce anxiety in surgery patients?
Agency nurses and bank staff in Cornwall hospitals have been laid off because there is 'no work' for them as NHS staff are called out of retirement to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, which runs three hospitals, sent a text message to bank staff to tell them they would no longer be needed as only 50 per cent of its beds are occupied.

The lay-offs follow reports of patients being turned away the NHS Nightingale hospital in London, with 4,000 beds, due to a lack of staff.

It is also feared that many hospitals are operating with fewer staff members than normal as they self-isolate after developing symptoms of coronavirus.

Beds remain empty as hospitals receive fewer admissions, prompting fears that the sickest are avoiding health centres due to Covid-19.

The NHS has said it is still there for patients not suffering on Covid, and called on people to attend hospitals for treatment.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust laid off the staff as only 50 per cent of its beds are full. Pictured above is the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. The trust operates two others

Trust chief executive Kate Shields said the staff are not needed as 'we have sufficient staff to meet the needs of our patients'. Matt Hancock has asked retired NHS workers to return to the frontlines during the coronavirus crisis

The NHS Kernowflex staff, which form a bank for the Royal Cornwall trust, worked at the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro, West Cornwall hospital in Penzance and St Michael's Hospital in Hayle.

Some of those laid off have been 're-deployed' to care homes and community hospitals, a spokesman for Royal Cornwall hospital trust said.

'Some of those on our Kernowflex bank will also be registered on the banks of other local health and care organisations who do have shifts on offer,' they added.

A 200-bed NHS Nightingale hospital has been established in Exeter, in neighbouring Devon, which will require additional staffing.

Trust chief executive Kate Shields said she was 'very grateful' for all the hard work and dedication of bank staff and colleagues but 'at the moment we have sufficient staff to meet the needs of our patients'.

'I am sorry that we didnt send a message of thanks to our fantastic bank and agency workforce. It was rude of us, and deeply regrettable, to inform people by text,' she said.

'It was not in line with our values and a very impersonal way of telling a fantastic,dedicated group of staff that we do not need them at the moment but we do most definitely value them and the vital role they play.'

The lay-offs come amid fears of staff shortages at NHS Nightingales and calls for retired doctors and nurses to return to the frontlines

NHS Nightingale in London reportedly turned away 30 patients from Northwick Park hospital, alongside others at The Royal Free hospital St Mary's the Royal London and North Middlesex hospital reportedly due to a reported lack of intensive care nurses.

A further six Nightingales have also been built across the country, requiring additional staff to run them.

The NHS has also appealed to retired doctors and nurses for them to come out of retirement to help fight the pandemic.

NHS hospitals had four times more empty beds than normal on 13 April, reports the Health Service Journal, as trusts worked to free up spaces and registered a slowdown in admissions.

Hospitals also worked to rapidly discharge patients and cancelled operations to free up space. Since then, many trusts have seen record lows in the number of people attending A&E.

NHS England said in March 2020 it had seen a 29.4 per cent drop in admissions to A&E to 1,531,100. This is the lowest number of attendances on record.

They also reported a 23 per cent drop in emergency admissions, to 427,921, compared to the same month last year.

There have been reports of NHS Nightingale in London, pictured, turning away patients due to a lack of staff

Responding to the figures, NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens stressed that the service is still there for patients without coronavirus who need urgent and emergency services for stroke, heart attack, and other deadly conditions.

'While NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to deal with coronavirus they have also worked hard to ensure that patients who dont have COVID-19 can safely access essential services,' he said.

'So whether you or loved one have the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, are a parent worried about their child or have concerns about conditions such as cancer you should seek help in the way you always would.'

Doctors and nurses have also appealed to the public to attend hospitals if they are unwell, so that they get the lifesaving treatment they need.

As many as 171,253 people in the UK have tested positive for coronavirus, and 26,771 have died from the disease. More than a hundred NHS staff have also lost their lives fighting the pandemic.

Cornwall has not been as badly hit by coronavirus as other areas of the country. The Department of Health said only 485 cases have been recorded in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The Royal Cornwall trust has recorded 54 deaths due to the virus, according to figures released by NHS England.

An NHS London spokesperson said: The most important point about staff at the Nightingale is that thanks to their care and expertise, patients in that hospital are being successfully treated, discharged and ultimately having their life saved.

MailOnline has asked both Royal Cornwall hospitals and NHS Kernowflex whether any efforts were made to re-allocate the staff.
The money is being used to establish internet access for all families through the purchase of mobile hotspots, to ensure continued digital access for all families through the purchase of additional Chromebooks and to provide some meals for families in need.

The biggest thing we needed was internet access for our students to transition to online learning because of the school closure, said Appel. The support weve received is tremendous.

Dodgeland School District Administrator Annette Thompson said they are using the $4,000 grant from Marshfield to provide books to its students in preschool through eighth grade. The books will be in the language thats appropriate to the household, either English or Spanish, and come with learning activities.

Were very appreciative to Marshfield Clinic for investing in the children of our school district. Not all kids have books at home and we thought it would be a wonderful care package for our students to let them know were thinking of them, said Thompson.

The district is already delivering meals directly to the homes of students and the books will be sent along with personal notes from the staff.
We already see ourselves left out of a lot of help that's going around, Kamil said. We always say that if nobody is going to do it for us, (then) we have to do it for us.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk, right, speak to press in front of the Crew Dragon that is being prepared for the Demo-2 mission.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine believes the billions his agency has invested in Elon Musk's SpaceX have been well worth it as the company prepares to launch astronauts for the first time this month.

"The investments that we have made into SpaceX and the investment SpaceX has made in itself have really resulted in I think something that is going to be very beneficial, not just for human space exploration, but beneficial for the economy," Bridenstine said during a press conference on Friday.

NASA has awarded SpaceX with several contracts over the past two decades, ranging from development of new spacecraft to transporting cargo to the International Space Station. Under the Commercial Crew program, NASA awarded SpaceX more than $3.1 billion to fund development of its Crew Dragon capsule. Boeing also received over $4.8 billion of investment from NASA to develop a competing spacecraft called Starliner.

However, while SpaceX is set to launch NASA astronauts in its spacecraft on May 27, Boeing's Starliner is about a year behind in development after significant software issues during a test flight. The Commercial Crew program is NASA's replacement for the Space Shuttle, which retired in 2011. Although the program is about two years behind in delivering on its original goals, Bridenstine said he believes it has overall been cost effective.

"Commercial Crew is going to demonstrate cost savings if you compare it to the Space Shuttle ... We're very pleased with the level of investment that we've made and what we're getting for that investment," Bridenstine said.
Fashion studies degree available this fall at K-State

Friday, May 1, 2020

Beginning this fall, students can earn a Bachelor of Science in fashion studies at Kansas State University. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  Kansas State University will offer a Bachelor of Science in fashion studies beginning this fall. The degree, offered through the Department of Interior Design and Fashion Studies in the College of Health and Human Sciences, will replace the current apparel and textiles degree.

The fashion studies program focuses on human well-being related to the human need for clothing and textile products. As the only four-year fashion studies program in the state of Kansas, students are prepared to meet the needs of the current fashion industry and to advance it toward a more socially and environmentally resilient industry throughout their careers. The program looks to inspire students to envision fresh new approaches to the global challenges facing every aspect of the fashion industry. Graduates are provided the aesthetic, practical, technical, professional and intellectual skills needed for a variety of roles. Students in the program will be able to specialize in either fashion business or fashion design.



The program will still feature faculty and curriculum that have been recognized as some of the best in the nation. In 2019, Fashion-schools.org ranked the apparel marketing, now fashion business, specialization fourth among schools in the Midwest and 17th nationally. The apparel design and production, now fashion design, specialization ranked fifth among Midwest schools and 23rd nationally. The fashion-schools.org rankings are based on factors including the schools' admission data, graduation success, reputation, and survey results conducted with the school and industry stakeholders. A full list of the 2019 rankings can be found at fashion-schools.org.



The fashion studies program is accredited by the Textiles and Apparel Program Accreditation Commission.



Students interested in the fashion studies program should contact Hannah Schuh, student services coordinator, at hannaheb@k-state.edu. More information on the program can be found at hhs.k-state.edu/idfs/fashion-studies.






MONTREALQuebec is preparing to administer up to 100,000 COVID-19 tests per week to better manage what authorities expect will be an increase in infections as the province begins gradually reopening schools, factories, construction sites and retail stores.

By the end of next week, Quebec will have the capacity to administer up to 14,000 tests per day, the provinces director of public health said Friday. The new testing strategy more than doubles the provinces current capacity, Dr. Horacio Arruda said.

By administering about 100,000 tests a week, with all that entails  such as human resources challenges, data collection, laboratory work and epidemiological followup  its unheard of, Arruda told reporters in Quebec City.

The province announced earlier this week that elementary schools and daycares will reopen outside Montreal on May 11 and within the greater Montreal area on May 19. Retail stores, along with the construction and manufacturing sectors, are scheduled to reopen across the province by May 11.

Opposition parties and some school boards in the province have criticized plans to reopen schools in Montreal. They say the hundreds of new daily cases of COVID-19 in the city, coupled with viral outbreaks in several hospitals, show the contagion in Montreal is not under control.

Both Arruda and Quebec Premier Francois Legault have stated they would delay their reopening strategy if they determine the provinces health-care network will not be able to cope with what they expect will be a rise in infections when schools and businesses reopen.

But Arruda said Friday the increased testing capacity will allow authorities to rapidly swoop into areas that see sudden outbreaks of the disease.

We want to discover the positive cases, we want to investigate even more up the chain of transmission, and isolate people who are susceptible to transmit the virus, Arruda said.

Arruda estimates about three per cent of Quebecs population has been infected with COVID-19, representing about 250,000 people  nearly nine times the current number of confirmed cases in the province.

His estimates correspond with the results of a statistical study released Friday by researchers at Universite de Montreal.

The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, created a statistical model for the U.S. that researchers say could also be used in Canada.

Economic sciences professor Raphael Godefroy said the model puts the true number of infections in Quebec at 256,130. Godefroy was happy to learn Arrudas team reached roughly the same figure.

If you have different methods that converge its more likely that you are right, Godefroy said in an interview Friday.

In the beginning of the pandemic, Godefroy explained, governments were only testing people who were severely sick or who presented symptoms of the virus, providing researchers with a data sample that was not random.

But as authorities increased daily testing, more people who showed mild symptoms or no symptoms at all began to be tested. Godefroy said statistically speaking, the last person to be tested each day is less likely to be sick, as the overall rate of testing increases.

People who are more likely to be sick are tested first, he explained. But as the number of tests increase, the probability that the last person tested is sick decreases.

Using existing data, Godefroy was able to mathematically infer how many people would test positive if the government increased testing further.

If you push the model to the limit you can infer what would happen if everyone (in Quebec) is tested, he said.

The results indicated that the mortality rate of the virus is far lower than what can be calculated from official numbers, he said. But the study also reveals that people need to maintain physical distancing to prevent the spread of the virus because COVID-19 still widely circulating.

The province will maintain the capacity to administer roughly 7,000 tests per day for workers and patients in the health-care sector, Arruda said. About 6,000 tests will be reserved for asymptomatic people in the community, and the province is reserving another 1,000 daily tests for sudden outbreaks of the virus, he said.

It was not entirely clear where the government will find more people to administer tests, collect data, and trace the contacts of infected people.

Arruda said he was in contact with universities and private companies, which he said will help the province administer 100,000 tests per week.

Quebec reported 163 deaths related to COVID-19 on Friday, for a total of 2,022. The province also reported an increase of four people in intensive care, for a total of 218 patients.

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Photograph: Laura Dickinson/AP

Photos of packed beaches in southern California made headlines around the United States this week, prompting a furious state governor to order all beaches in Orange county closed this weekend.

Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the closures would only apply to the county, which saw the largest crowds, and that he hoped it wouldnt last long. Other counties have reopened with limits, and will continue to do so.

But what are the true risks of coronavirus infections at the beach? Theres no simple answer, but public health experts and epidemiologists told the Guardian that some of the backlash and concern may be unwarranted. As some local counties have criticized the statewide closures, the scientists also argued that there could be safe ways to allow access  and that there may be benefits to reopening.

Could massive crowds at the beaches lead to an increase in cases, reversing Californias progress on Covid-19?

Andrew Noymer, public health professor at the University of California, Irvine, said he too initially cringed at last weekends photos, but noticed upon looking closer that most people sitting together could have been from the same household and there was some distance between groups. Im not really in a scold mode, he said. California will know in five to 10 days whether the beach groups caused an uptick in cases, and the state should monitor this closely, Noymer added. Im not that concerned that were going to see absolutely major spikes, he said.

Michael Buchmeier, UC Irvine professor of medicine and infectious disease expert, noted that some of the gatherings last weekend did appear to be quite dense. He said the main concern is that asymptomatic carriers could be at the beach spreading the virus, predicting there is a 50/50 chance the recent beach crowds could lead to a blip in cases.

People enjoy the beach through afternoon fog in Huntington Beach, California, on 25 April. Photograph: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

What would be the risk of going to the beach right now?

If the beaches reopen, visiting them would not be not without risk, and Noymer advises people who are medically vulnerable or elderly not to go. Sitting on the sand, however, does not carry risks of catching the virus, he said, if groups station their towels and umbrellas more than 6ft apart. The risks are much greater if people end up waiting in lines to buy food or use the bathroom or if they wade in the water within 6ft of others.

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The risk of a beach visit, Buchmeier said, is somewhat comparable to a trip to the grocery store.

Is it safe to swim in the ocean?

If youre swimming more than 6ft away from people, youre probably reasonably safe, said Buchmeier. He noted there were still unknowns about Covid-19 and the ocean, but that the virus would probably struggle to survive in the seawater because of factors including UV light penetrating the water, tide activation, the salt content in the ocean and organisms ingesting the virus. Covid-19 primarily spreads through person-to-person contact.

Does sunlight kill the virus at the beach?

The virus is very sensitive to ultraviolet light and very sensitive to heating. Its not likely to survive in heat and sunlight, said Buchmeier, who is also a molecular biology and biochemistry professor. He noted that in some hot climates, health clinics put medical instruments in the sun to decontaminate them.

Sunlight cannot, however, kill the virus inside the body, as Donald Trump floated last week. Noymer said UV was not a cure-all and something of a wild card since scientists dont know its precise impacts, but that the evidence suggests it puts a damper on the spread of these respiratory viruses. Because of the sunlight at the beach, he added: Im hard pressed to find a better example of something that could be restarted than the beaches.

Newport Beach lawmakers want to reopen its beach. How should governments decide when to open theirs?

Wendy Parmet, a Northeastern University health policy expert, said governments need to consider harm reduction when weighing the costs of reopening: We are never going to get social interactions to zero, so how do we reduce the ones that are high risk? California needs to avoid the complete renormalization of social interaction, but the state must reckon with the quarantine fatigue that many are feeling, she said.

The answer could be to start permitting more outdoor activities: If allowing people to have access to sunshine and recreation is whats going to keep them from protesting and violating laws, that may be a trade-off worth making, said Parmet. A beach gathering is safer than an indoor party, for example.

Noymer said it was critical that governments reopen in phases, suggesting that there should be at least 10-day delays between big changes so that officials can monitor impacts: The era of lockdowns is ending, and the era of trade-offs is beginning. People arent going to shelter in place for 15 months. I would rather see crowded beaches than a crowded indoor shopping mall.

People walk by the closed pier, beach and strand in Manhattan Beach, California, on Wednesday. Photograph: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Could restrictions offer a solution?

Buchmeier suggested governments consider controlling the number of people at the beach and find ways to ensure that there is plenty of space for people to remain distant.

There are, however, major equity issues that arise with restrictions, noted Lucas Zucker, environmental justice advocate with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy. Some counties have allowed recreational activities such as surfing and jogging, but barred picnics and sunbathing. This could unfairly hurt larger families who live in crowded households and are seeking an escape to the outdoors. Zucker also argued that policies that close parking lots are restricting access for lower-income communities of color who live more inland: How do you meet the goal of limiting the density of people attending the beach without saying that people who have means to live near the beach are able to go, but the people who dont cant?

Could beaches remain closed as we head into summer?

Beaches shouldnt reopen until public health officials deem it safe, Zucker said, but communities should consider the health consequences of restricting outdoor access for a long period: Among immigrant workers, theres a severe mental health strain right now, and of course access to parks, beaches and public spaces is strongly linked to positive physical and mental health outcomes.

He added that the crisis was exposing everyone to the kind of challenges that have long plagued lower-income neighborhoods without adequate public spaces: The panic were seeing is because more affluent communities are getting a taste of what working-class communities of color have dealt with for generations.

Noymer said it no longer seemed realistic to do long-term closures: The genie is out of the bottle now. People are going to see the photographs, and they are going to go to the beach on hot days.
Following in the footsteps of the Trump administration and the European Union, Quebecs Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government is determined to force working people to return to non-essential jobs even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread.

Premier Francois Legault announced earlier this week a plan that will see shops outside of the Greater Montreal region reopen this coming Monday, and daycare centers, elementary schools, and construction and manufacturing industries resume normal operations across the province over the next three weeks.

The CAQ government is thus ignoring the repeated warnings of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other scientists that a premature reopening of the economy couldand most likely willlead to a new, even more deadly, wave of COVID-19 infections.

Opposition to the reopening of schools is growing among education workers. Many teachers have expressed their anger on social media and pointed to the real reasons for this decisionensuring the banks and big business can maximize their profits at the expense of working people.

As a Montreal teacher wrote to the World Socialist Web Site, We are being sent out to babysit so that business can make profits on the backs of working people.... And we know that these big bosses, they wont catch anything in their ivory towers.

Another explained: As a teacher, it never occurred to me that I should put my life in the hands of government authorities so that they would turn me into a guinea pig, confined to silence under threat of reprisals.

A third could barely contain her anger: I am writing this condemnation because I am insulted and furious.... Im being sent back to work without [protective] equipment, to babysit, to get the economy going again.

Another teacher remarked, Am I to sacrifice myself for a government that has no consideration for my life? Im participating in a charade that puts my students and their families at risk?

Big business, meanwhile, has trumpeted its support for the Quebec governments decision to relaunch non-essential economic activity. The president of the Conseil du patronat (Quebec Employers Federation), Yves-Thomas Dorval, called the reopening...of elementary schools and day care centers good news, while pointing to the real reason for this decision with his statement that many working parents will be able to benefit from this reopening.

In reality, the only benefit will be for big business, which will be able to start raking in profits again, while taking advantage of the federal governments wage subsidy program, which in many cases will pay 75 percent of workers wages at least through mid-June.

Workers, on the other hand, will be risking their lives and those of their families.

Because of a massive public outcry, Premier Legault is no longer urging, as he did at his April 16 press conference, that Quebecers embrace the criminal natural or herd immunity policy in which the disease as allowed to rage unchecked.

Nonetheless, the waves of re-openings slated for the next three weeks make clear that this remains his governments agenda. But for public consumption, Legault now cynically argues that reopening schools and daycares is necessary for childrens mental health.

Another shameless lie is Legaults assertion that the pandemic is under control in Quebec. The province is by far the hardest hit by the coronavirus in Canada. As of midday Thursday, Quebec had a total of 27,538 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,859 deaths, including 177 in the preceding 48 hours. So catastrophic is the situation in Quebecs long-term care facilities, the CAQ government has had to request the deployment of over 1,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel to them.

While people over 70 years of age account for the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths, it is false to claim, as Premier Legault does, that the diseases impact on younger adults and children is minimal. In fact, the virus has claimed victims in all age groups. On Monday, an orderly in her thirties died after contracting the virus at the seniors residence where she was working.

Quebecs Director of Public Health, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has publicly admitted that the governments plan to open workplaces and schools is a risky bet. He nevertheless defended it Tuesday, claiming that a balance has to be found between the economy, money, mental health. At the same time, he sought to accustom the population to death on a large scale. It is clear, said Arruda, that there will be transmission. There will be hospitalized people. I hope not too many people will die.

Even if elementary school classes are limited to 15 students, as laid out in the current plan, the government knows full well that social distancing and other safety measures will be impossible to enforce. The situation will be even worse in day care centers, especially since access to personal protective equipment (PPE) will be minimal or non-existent under conditions of widespread scarcity.

Under the governments guidelines, in schools and daycares only workers on emergency daycare duty will be entitled to PPE. Legault dared to say in an interview that all teachers have to do to avoid infection is put on a scarf! Quebecs Public Health Department has explicitly ordered that if a child tests positive for COVID-19 in a school, the school must remain open, with only the childs classroom possibly closed for the ensuing 14 days.

The Quebec government has thus made clear that it will not implement any of the measures needed to seriously combat the coronavirusmass testing, systematic treatment and isolation of infected people, contact-tracing, and massive new investments in the health care system to build up surge capacity.

The trade unions attitude to the CAQ governments plan to resume non-essential economic activities and schools reveals more clearly than ever their role as political agents of big business.

The Quebec Federation of Labor (FTQ), the provinces largest union federation, said it welcomed the governments economic recovery plan and saw it in a positive light. The president of the Autonomous Teachers Federation, Sylvain Mallette, said we are not opposed to the idea of gradually reopening schools.

After decades of betraying workers struggles and enabling big business to enrich itself by lowering wages, gutting workplace protections, and dismantling public services such as health care, Quebecs unions warmly welcomed the coming to power of Francois Legaults right-wing populist CAQ government in October 2018. They even spoke of a honeymoon with Legault, a multi-millionaire and former Air Transat boss, who has built his entire political career by advocating more austerity, privatizations and tax cuts for the rich.

From the outset of the pandemic, union leaders offered their full and complete cooperation to Legault. First, they agreed to indefinitely postpone talks on new contracts for over 600,000 public sector workers. Then, when the government saw an opportunity to quickly push through a concessions contract, the unions made an about-face and agreed to Legaults proposal, expediting contract negotiations behind workers backs. It is this policy of union surrender that has allowed Quebecs most openly right-wing Premier since Maurice Duplessis to posture as the father of Quebec (pere de famille) during the current crisis.

The unions are now sending their members back to work to face the pandemic without adequate protection so that the financial and corporate oligarchywhich has already received more than $650 billion in federal government bailout fundscan continue to rack up profits. The federal Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, it should also be noted, has given the greenlight to efforts by Legault and other hard-right provincial Premiers, such as Doug Ford in Ontario and Jason Kenney in Alberta, to push through a hasty return to work at the expense of human life.

The popular opposition in Quebec to a precipitous reopening of schools and workplaces is part of a growing working class upsurge across Canada and around the world that is challenging the sacrificing of workers health and lives for capitalist profit. In Ontario, transportation, postal and auto workers have refused to work because of inadequate health measures. In the United States and Europe, workers at Amazon, in delivery services and in transportation, and in health care facilities, have also protested against a lack of protective equipment that imperils their lives.

Workers must vigorously oppose the efforts of Legault and the entire Canadian ruling elite to resume production at the risk of tens, even hundreds, of thousands of lives. In all workplaces, rank-and-file committees independent of the pro-capitalist unions must be built. They must fight to ensure a halt to all non-essential production, safe working conditions for health care and other essential employees, and full income security for all sick, quarantined and laid-off workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 13:52:39|Editor: huaxia

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PUL-E-ALAM, Afghanistan, May 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 fighters including 15 militants and three soldiers were killed as a clash erupted in Baraki Barak district of the eastern Logar province on Thursday, a statement from the provincial government said here Friday.

The clash, according to the statement, erupted after the Taliban militants were planing to launch offensive on security checkpoints but the soldiers in retaliation stormed the militants hideouts in which 15 insurgents were killed and 10 others wounded.

Three soldiers were killed and two others wounded in the fight which lasted for a while, the statement said.

Taliban militants who are active in parts of Logar province have yet to make comments. Enditem
McDonald's urged to warn employees about porn website exploiting their financial struggles

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The National Center for Sexual Exploitation is urging McDonalds to warn its employees about how a pornography website is trying to recruit them as they suffer lower wages during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

NCOSE President Patrick Trueman sent a letter to the fast-food corporations CEO, Chris Kempczinski, to voice concern that McDonalds employees are being targeted for sexual exploitation during COVID-19.

Trueman called on Kempczinski to ensure that company-wide messages are sent out to educate employees about the harms that getting involved [in pornography] would entail, including (but not limited to) sexual harassment.

Unfortunately, we recently discovered that pornography websites are targeting workers who are financially affected during the coronavirus, the letter explains. In light of legal actions McDonalds employees have recently taken towards corporate regarding sexual harassment, it is even more important and timely for you to respond to this targeting of your employees.

NCOSE warned of reports of a big advertising push by IsMyGirl.com, a website that bills itself as offering users exclusive content from your favorite models.

The advertising push included a press release sent to over 500,000 McDonalds workers.

The press release stated that the new push is an effort to help McDonalds employees, and to make sure they can continue to provide for themselves and their families.

We want to help provide them with a legitimate option, the press release said, according to Vice. IsMyGirl has offered all McDonalds workers an exclusive offer to earn 90 percent of their proceeds (after credit card processing).

NCOSE argues that the type of employment that IsMyGirl is offering is not a legitimate option for anyone.

It is vital to recognize that pornography itself is a form of sexual exploitation, where performers endure physical and mental trauma due to sexual harassment, grooming, abuse and more, Trueman wrote in his letter.

Trueman cited a 2011 study published by the monthly peer-reviewed journal Psychiatric Services that concluded that female adult film performers have significantly worse mental health and higher rates of depression than other California women of similar ages. The study was led by Vice-Chair of Research at the New York University Department of Emergency Medicine Dr. Corita Grudzen.

The NCOSE CEO also cited a 2009 study, led by Grudzen, that was published by the Journal of Urban Health that found pornography performers experience physical trauma on the film set and often leave the industry with financial insecurity and mental health problems.

Performers engaged in risky health behaviors that included high-risk sexual acts that are unprotected, substance abuse, and body enhancement, the studys abstract reads. Women were more likely than men to be exposed to health risks. Adult film performers, especially women, are exposed to health risks that accumulate over time and that are not limited to sexually transmitted diseases.

Trueman stressed, We are particularly concerned for your employees living in households where domestic abuse and manipulation may lead to pressurized environments forcing them to partake in this industry to gain promised financial stability. It is vital to recognize that it is impossible for the pornography industry to judge from the content of a video or image whether force, fraud, psychological coercion, social manipulation, etc where used to instigate it.

This is especially true considering many sex traffickers and abusers will groom victims to claim that they are operating of their own free will. The pornography industry currently has no real metric to measure consent in any porn on its site, aside from complaints from victims of non-consensually shared porn.

Trueman concluded that it is Kempczinskis social responsibility to make his employees aware of this attempt to exploit them. Doing so would advance McDonalds reputation.

We call on your company to live up to your corporate ethical commitment to ensure the health and safety of your people, and provide a workplace free of harassment and its effects, Trueman wrote.

The Christian Post reached out to McDonald's for comment on NCOSE's letter. A response is pending.

Earlier this month, two McDonalds workers on behalf of 5,000 women from over 100 corporate-run McDonalds restaurants filed a $500 million sexual harassment lawsuit in which they accused the corporation of fostering "systemic sexual harassment by ignoring illegal harassment.

The company responded by saying in a statement to media that it has always been committed to ensuring that our employees are able to work in an environment that is free from all forms of discrimination and harassment.
Executive member of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, Kwabena Okyere Darko has called on government to extend the one-month transition period for GCNET to hand over operations to UNIPASS.



The Ghana Community Service Network Limited (GCNET), an information technology firm that transformed port clearing in the country for about 17 years, is expected to shut down operations in May this year.



The shutdown also goes for West Blue Consulting and it is to give way for a full rollout of the new customs clearing system, UNIPASS.



According to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the UNIPASS would centralise the processing and handling of all import and export documentations, a system known as a single window clearing system.



But in sharp riposte to the government, Mr. Okyere Darko stated that instructing GCNET to cease operations in May will create further problems and interrupt the paperless system at the port.



He explained that the government is dealing with users of GCNET comprising importers, exporters, logistics companies and clearing agents among other stakeholders at the port; hence the implementation of UNIPASS should be a gradual process.



''We're not building the system for Angels. We're building the system for humans...If importers become bankrupt, clearing agents will also go bankrupt'', he stressed.



He disclosed that with the GCNET system, importers are given the option to appeal in an instance where an error is made during the clearing process; an opportunity that the UNIPASS does not offer to users because it gives only two options which are to either accept or object validation of import and export documents.



This, he believed, could create major issues between the service provider and its users.



''In the unlikely event of objecting and you make a mistake to accept, how do you revert?'' he questioned.



Speaking on Thursday's ''Kokrokoo'' on ''Peace FM'', Dr. Okyere Darko advised government to give GCNET more time to prepare for the shutdown to address challenges that may arise in the future.



''The one-month transition period for GCNET is short...If it must be done, it must be done right...Make sure the terminal operators are hooked on. DVLA are hooked on in respect of clearance of vehicles...Freight Forwarders must be well trained and all other fundamentals should be set right before termination of their contract," he pleaded.











Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Delhi High Court on Friday said one of its committees was looking into use of fans instead of ACs, once the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted, and disposed of a plea which claimed the virus will spread more in centrally air-conditioned buildings if precautions not taken.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said that a special committee, set up by the high court to prepare a plan to meet possible post-lockdown challenges, was already seized of the issue raised in the application and therefore, there was no need for it to further hear the matter.

The application was moved by lawyer K C Mittal seeking that centrally air conditioned buildings, especially court complexes, be used with precautions to prevent spread of COVID-19.

The special committee, headed by Justice Hima Kohli, had on April 28 held a meeting in which it had asked the public works department (PWD) to conduct a survey on the types, like ceiling, pedestal and wall fans, and quantity of fans required.

The PWD was also directed by the committee to ensure that all windows, which would be left open for air circulation, have proper net/mesh so that no insects or mosquitoes enter inside the court building.

The committee took these decisions after it was informed by the PWD that procuring and installing ultra-violet germicide irradiation devices at huge expense would not guarantee complete eradication of all the virus, germs and particles including COVID-19.

Mittal, also the head of the Bar Council of Delhi, had in his application contended that "the cough, sneeze or tear dispersal of an infected person would be in aerosol form" and the "same can be picked, ingested and circulated by the central air-conditioning units", like the ones installed in the high court.

He had also contended that while droplet infection can be dealt with by sterilization, once aerosol infection enters the air ducts of the central air-conditioning system, it could potentially infect dozens if not hundreds of persons present in a building.

Central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul, who appeared for the Central Public Works Department, placed before the bench the guidelines issued by the civic body on April 22 with regard to cleaning and maintenance of AC units.

Delhi government additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose and advocate Naman, appearing for the PWD, told the bench that it had a meeting with the committee on April 23 and 28 and will have another one next week on the issue of installation of fans.

Mittal had filed the application in the main petition on air pollution which the Delhi High Court had initiated on its own in 2015 to deal with the poor air quality in the national capital.

The court keeps issuing directions in the matter from time to time.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India has extended the national lockdown  but admittedly, with a range of relaxations across zones. But the government should have been more liberal in its opening up. Other than the key districts in the severely hit red zones, which are still struggling with a high percentage of coronavirus cases (Covid-19), the rest of the country needed to be given space to breathe again.

If there is one conclusion, I have drawn from travelling across the breadth of six states for close to 50 days, it is this. A greater calamity than Covid-19  humanitarian, social and economic  is imminent if a uniformly imposed lockdown is continued any further.

This is not to argue that the initial clampdown and enforced physical distancing did not serve its purpose. Data scientists have confirmed that the number of infections would have been substantially higher had the decision not been taken to effectively shut down the nation.

But five weeks on, we know that, to start with, India is a global outlier in the number of fatalities from the pandemic. Immunologists such as Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee say the scientific reasons for this are unclear. Others such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon argue that it may be our demographics (we are a distinctly younger nation) or our previous exposure to zoonotic viruses. Whatever the reasons, the present death rate is not higher than that of other diseases that claim Indian lives every day. On the contrary, if you look at the fact that 1,300 Indians die from Tuberculosis (TB) every day, and as many from cancer, the fatality rate of the coronavirus so far does not even come remotely close.

In the meantime, apart from the impoverishment of migrant workers and the ignominy they have been subjected to, there are other grave crises emerging. Key among them is the lack of access to health care for poor citizens. In Agra, I met with the family of RV Singh Pundhir, a retired middle-class resident with a chronic kidney disease, who was denied his scheduled weekly dialysis. He was asked to get tested for the virus first. By the time his result came (he tested negative), he died. In Aligarh, I met five young girls who cremated their father, a poor tea vendor and long-term TB patient. He could not get an ambulance or medical intervention in time. Similar stories have emerged across states, including in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Several public hospitals have been converted into Covid-19-only facilities, and are thus off-limits for patients. Beds may be reserved for poor patients in private hospitals, but travel to Indias smaller towns and you will find many of these hospitals non-operational. Personnel are either not showing up to work or the fear of criminal action in the case of Covid-19 cases emanating from their premises has made several institutes wary.

As we wait to return to life, the biggest gear shift needed is in that of attitude. While aggressive contact tracing and quarantine are still essential, we cannot treat testing positive as a doomsday scenario. Up until now, we have been shutting down entire entities  housing societies, hospitals, factories, workplaces  if even one person tests positive. Instead, science tells us to isolate the individual and those who came into direct contact with her; not to throw the baby out with the bath water. If every positive case triggers panic, we shall never be able to rebuild our lives or our nation.

There are bigger problems now to tackle: How to kickstart the economy should have all our attention. If we do not send workers back to their villages with dignity, a reverse migration by them could mean that factories will find it impossible to reopen. And lets not forget that millions of Indian children have been edged out of the school system as classes go online. Only 27% of Indian homes have one member with access to the Internet, according to National Sample Survey Office data of 2014.

As Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of Indias Serum Institute, which is working on producing a Covid-19 vaccine, points out, the biggest flaw in a uniformly imposed lockdown is that it quarantines healthy people. We have to nuance our approach; whats needed is not a sledgehammer that clamps down, but a sieve that sifts those who really need medical help from those who can just stay at home for a fortnight and get better.

The present paranoia is ironically preventing people from testing. Private laboratories in the Capital confirm that the twin fears of societal stigma and being placed in an inhospitable quarantine centre are making people hesitant to test. In other words, the more we treat coronavirus victims as criminals instead of mundane contractors of a disease, the tougher it will be for India to fight the pandemic effectively.

Five weeks of the lockdown has served its purpose. It has also served its time. The lockdown must ease. More of this will be a cure worse than the disease.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author

The views expressed are personal

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New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has put the city of Gallup into lockdown, to stop the spread of Covid-19, after a surge in cases this week.

On Thursday, his last day in office, Gallup mayor Jackie McKinney asked the governor to invoke the Riot Control Act, which closes all the roads into the city and puts restrictions on residents movements, after the area became badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr McKinneys successor as mayor of the city, Louie Bonaguidi, asked the same on Friday morning in a letter to the governor, after Gallup had recorded 207 positive cases in just two days.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, McKinley County, where Gallup is located, has upwards of 1,027 positive cases of coronavirus and 19 deaths.

This is the most cases of any county in the state, which currently has 3,411 positive cases and 123 deaths overall.

On Friday afternoon, Ms Grisham, a Democrat, announced that the order had been issued and that all roads to Gallup were closed until 4 May, alongside other restrictions.

Effective at 12 p.m., May 1, all roads into Gallup are closed. Businesses in the city of Gallup will close from 5 p.m. through 8 a.m, a press release accompanying the announcement read.

Vehicles may only have a maximum of two individuals. Residents of the city should remain at home except for emergency outings and those essential for health, safety and welfare.

Ms Grisham added that the decision to close the roads to the city was made, as its infection trend has shown no sign of flattening.

The county has reported an additional 207 positive cases in the last two days alone, more than every other county in the state has reported total over the length of the pandemic save three, the release read.

Before his term as mayor of Gallup ended on Thursday, Mr McKinney wrote to the governor, and said that the the city does not have the resources to adequately tackle the outbreak, an argument echoed by Mr Bonaguidi on Friday.

The virus has caused many deaths, stretched medical facilities and resources to their capacity, and adversely impacted the welfare of the city of Gallup, Mr McKinney wrote.

Our community is unable to adequately address the outbreak without the imposition of certain restrictions necessary to regulate social distancing, public gatherings, sales of good, and the use of public streets.

In his letter on Friday, Mr Bonaguidi said: The Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Gallup is a crisis of the highest order. Immediate action is necessary, he added.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now upwards of one million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 64,203.

New Mexico has seen at least 3,411 confirmed cases and 123 deaths.
Special Report: How a corporate PR machine is trying to kill a Wall Street tax Tulsi Gabbard at a campaign event in New Hampshire

By Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on New Hampshire prior to the states Feb. 11 primary, John Tackeff was busy.

The 27-year-old attended candidate events across the state to raise concerns about a proposed tax on Wall Street financial transactions that much of the field supported. Bespectacled, unshaven and casually dressed, Tackeff wasnt shy about asking questions.

At a Dec. 22 gathering with former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Tackeff introduced a woman he said was his mother. Reuters could not verify her identity. Any tax on stock and bond trades would hurt seniors like her and parents trying to save for their childrens college, Tackeff said.

He also raised the issue at meetings hosted by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Tulsi Gabbard and businessman Andrew Yang, according to video of the four New Hampshire political events reviewed by Reuters.

Tackeff told the candidates he was part of a group called the Partnership to Protect Our Retirement Future. He declined to comment for this story.

But he was no ordinary citizen hanging out at campaign events with his mom, rather a professional political organizer, according to his LinkedIn profile. And the Partnership to Protect Our Retirement Future was the creation of a major Washington public relations firm.

That company, Locust Street Group, tried to create the impression of widespread voter opposition to a financial transaction tax as Democratic voters considered which candidate to nominate to face Republican President Donald Trump in this year's presidential election.

Last year, Congressional lawmakers introduced four bills that would impose a tax on financial transactions of one kind or another. Some of those bills have prominent backers, including Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Brian Schatz and Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Depending on how such a tax were structured, it could hit the profits of brokers, hedge funds and high-speed traders which process millions of transactions a day.

Story continues

Locust Street has presented the Partnership as a group powered by average citizens. In fact, Locust Street has been orchestrating the effort on behalf of a client or clients whose identity has not been made public, according to a Reuters examination of Partnership materials, company records, public filings, social media, emails and interviews with people involved.

A Virginia retiree told Reuters she was approached by a Locust Street employee to become involved as a background person and paid a stipend for her efforts. A South Carolina school counselor said she was recruited to join the Partnership in February and later voiced her opposition to the tax at a campaign event for candidate Tom Steyer. A community organizer hired by Locust Street in December to push the Partnership in Iowa said she quit within weeks because she felt misled about "who we were actually working for."

None of the three were told who is funding the Partnership, they told Reuters.

David Barnhart, founding partner of Locust Street Group, would not discuss the firms clients or say who is paying for the campaign.

We have various stakeholders who are extremely interested in this issue, they came together and asked us to provide the strategy and the grassroots, Barnhart said. This is a really diverse coalition and it is comprised of stakeholders from all walks of life.

Locust Street's website boasts a suite of "grassroots" services it can provide to corporate clients, including ginning up supporters for their causes. An effort to disguise an orchestrated influence campaign as a spontaneous, grassroots movement while masking its true sponsors is often described as "astroturfing."

Industries have employed the strategy for decades to battle regulation in a variety of areas -- smoking bans in restaurants and bars is one example -- by claiming to represent workers who allegedly would lose jobs or consumers who would be inconvenienced.

But some people familiar with astroturfing say Locust Street's recent efforts were the first time they've seen it used in an attempt to influence a presidential primary.

"Targeting Democratic voters as a wedge issue, thats unique," said Susan Harley, deputy director for the Congress Watch division of Public Citizen, a liberal watchdog group based in Washington D.C. "We havent seen those voters be a target of this work before."

Locust Street's Barnhart, who worked on presidential campaigns for Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, said he believed campaigns that mobilize everyday people to raise issues with their elected officials are important for public policy.

Strategically, we wanted this to be about the people, and I wanted people to be the face of this, he said, adding: These are issues that affect voters. Without these types of efforts they dont hear about it.

Barnhart confirmed that Tackeff, the Partnership representative in New Hampshire, was a contract employee.

Locust Street also tried to shape public opinion in Iowa, whose first-in-the-nation caucus was held on Feb. 3. The Partnership attempted to recruit Democratic officials to put their names to op-ed media commentaries declaring their opposition to any financial transaction tax because it allegedly would harm mom-and-pop savers by shrinking their retirement accounts.

Democrat John Norris, past chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party and a former Iowa gubernatorial candidate, showed Reuters an email he received in December from a Partnership representative seeking his help in that effort. Norris declined to participate.

He said it was the second time Locust Street had sought his help to torpedo the financial transaction tax. Norris said that in November, Locust Street contacted his public-policy consulting firm, Iowa-based State Public Policy Group (SPPG), about working on the campaign. Norris said SPPG took a pass because Iowa labor leaders do not oppose higher taxes for Wall Street firms. He said SPPG has performed work for Locust Street in the past.

Barnhart confirmed Locust Street approached SPPG but subsequently "went in a different direction."

'SMOKE AND MIRRORS'

A website touting the Partnerships efforts, retirementtax.org, exhorts readers to provide their personal information and sign what appears to be an online petition: Help Us Defeat The Retirement Tax! The website provides no contact details, address or information about who founded the Partnership. The site champions the interests of plumbers, electriciansteachers and other working people who allegedly would be hurt by a financial transaction tax.

Because Locust Street is a public relations firm, not a full-time lobbying shop, it rarely has to disclose who hires it. Barnhart confirmed that Locust Street did some work for embattled e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc, which had hired the firm to drum up popular support for its product among Juul customers in anticipation of regulatory bans following a rash of vaping-related injuries and deaths in the United States. Several media outlets reported on the arrangement last year.

The company also did polling work in 2019 and 2020 for the Partnership for Americas Health Care Future, a coalition of hospitals, insurers and pharmaceutical companies that opposes universal health care programs such as Medicare for All, according to a press release issued by the healthcare group.

A spokesman for the Partnership for Americas Health Care Future declined to comment. Juul Labs Inc did not respond to requests for comment.

Public Citizen's Harley has been tracking the Partnership since it emerged towards the end of 2019. She said its polished effort is different from that of a true grassroots movement, particularly because its website does not solicit donations or provide any information about the groups founders and backers.

"It really is a smoke and mirrors campaign," Harley said.

ALARM ON WALL STREET

Progressive Democratic candidates Warren and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders were among the earliest and most vocal proponents of a tax on Wall Street to help fund social programs and close yawning deficits created by Republican-led tax cuts under Trump.

But the idea caught on with centrists too. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg put it in his tax plan. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a former investment banker, shocked his former industry by backing the tax.

Even Joe Biden, long seen as a friend to business, has voiced support for taxing trades of stocks and bonds. The former vice president is the presumptive Democratic nominee to face Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

The prospect of a tax on financial transactions has alarmed powerful business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"With the populism thats out there on the campaign trail, I think people are taking this a lot more seriously," Tom Quaadman, an executive vice president focused on financial policy for the organization, said earlier this year. The Chamber opposes the tax but is not affiliated with the Partnership, he said.

Reuters contacted four other groups that have come out publicly against a financial transaction tax: the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Modern Markets Initiative, the Managed Funds Association and the American Retirement Association. All said they had no involvement with the Partnership.

DIRECTOR 'NOT EXACTLY SURE' OF HER ROLE

Brian Parks works as a grassroots advocacy professional for Locust Street. His job is to identify and empower key activists for the company's clients, according to his biography on the Locust Street website.

Virginia retiree Eileen Greenberg said Parks, an acquaintance from her synagogue, approached her last year about becoming the director of a new venture that would fight the so-called retirement tax. Greenberg agreed, she told Reuters.

Company records show the Partnership was formed on Nov. 14 with Greenberg as its director. Greenberg said she had been helping with administrative tasks like going to the post office and collecting paperwork, for which she receives a "small stipend." She declined to say how much.

"They have professionals that are going to be doing all of the political stuff," said Greenberg. "There's more to come but I'm not exactly surewhat exactly Im doing," she told Reuters earlier this year.

Parks confirmed that Greenberg had been paid for her work on the Partnership. He told Reuters that Locust Street hired a handful of staff for the Partnership in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- states whose early Democratic contests gave its voters significant influence in picking the nominee.

In such crucial early races, candidates compete for support at gatherings as small as a few dozen people. These intimate settings allow voters easy access to ask candidates questions and share their concerns with others present.

Tackeff, the face of the Partnership in New Hampshire, said in a Jan. 9 Twitter post that he had attended campaign events for every Democratic candidate. He has worked on a variety of political campaigns in the state, according to his LinkedIn profile.

As Tackeff was voicing his worries about a financial transaction tax in New Hampshire, Michele Dickerson, another political organizer, was airing hers in Iowa with a group called the West Des Moines Democrats. Representing the Partnership, she spoke about a retirement tax at the groups Dec. 21 meeting, according to a post on the organizations Facebook page.

Victor Dutchuk, president of the West Des Moines Democrats, told Reuters he had not heard of such a tax before that meeting. He said Dickersons presentation raised a lot of concern among members about potential harm to their retirement accounts.

Dickerson said she applied for her paid role as a "community organizer" through an online job advertisement placed by Locust Street. The ad, seen by Reuters, said it was seeking a registered Democrat in Iowa "to inject a key policy issue into the campaign dialogue surrounding the Democratic caucus."

Dickerson said she resigned that contract job within roughly a month after growing suspicious as to the true nature of the Partnership.

"When I began, I felt great about what we were doing," she said. "But the further along I got into the campaign, I became concerned that perhaps we were no longer attempting to influence policy, but rather influence an election outcome."

Barnhart said that Dickerson had not understood that the purpose of the campaign "was to educate candidates on how damaging the tax would be to millions of Americans."

Locust Street also hired Cornerstone Government Affairs to support the Partnership in Iowa by helping it to "navigate" events surrounding the caucus, Parks said.

Cornerstone is a Washington lobbying giant whose clients have included Google Inc, Boeing Co and Exxon Mobil Corp, according to federal lobbying disclosures.

David Adelman, a Cornerstone director at the firms Iowa office, wrote in an email to Reuters that the company had been working on the tax as part of a campaign organized by the Partnership. He would not elaborate on his role.

"We've seen a tremendous response here on the ground," Adelman wrote.

RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS

Locust Streets Parks would not say how many citizen volunteers had signed on to work with the Partnership.

In response to a request from Reuters, he provided contact details for a school counselor in her early 20s from Charleston, South Carolina, who asked to be identified only by her first name: Danya.

Danya said she volunteered for the Partnership in February after being recruited by an acquaintance named Matthew Miller whom she met while both were in college. Miller works for a South Carolina PR and advocacy firm called SPEAK Strategic that does work for Locust Street, Parks confirmed.

Neither Miller nor SPEAK Strategic responded to requests for comment.

Danya said she attended several campaign events in her area, including a February gathering for candidate Steyer, the billionaire philanthropist, where she voiced her worries about the financial transaction tax. She told Reuters she had become "passionate" about the issue and was not paid for her efforts.

She said she was not aware of Locust Streets involvement with the Partnership or who was funding it, but acknowledged it would be worthwhile to know that.

"I think it's important to knowwho is pushing for it for sure," she added.

Parks also provided Reuters with contact details for a Nevada culinary worker named Shamar, who did not return calls.

In Iowa, Norris, the former state Democratic party chair, said a local PR firm also tried to recruit him to the effort.

He said he got a cold call in December from a Des Moines-based firm named LS2Group. Norris said an employee of that firm, Jordan Goode, told him she represented the Partnership and asked him to put his name to an op-ed her firm was drafting in opposition to the financial transaction tax.

In a follow-up email to Norris seen by Reuters, Goode said she hoped they could "work together to make this issue known among Iowans, community leaders, and presidential candidates." The email did not mention Locust Street.

Goode did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Shannahan, Partner at LS2Group, confirmed that Goode approached Norris but did not respond to further requests for information.

Barnhart and Parks confirmed that LS2Group was providing Iowa-level expertise to Locust Street, including identifying people to write op-eds.

Reuters found nine op-eds opposing the tax, including several penned by current and former Democratic officials from Iowa and South Carolina. All echoed the Partnership's talking points about how the tax could hurt retirees and pensioners.

Among them was a Jan. 5 piece by Phil Wise, a former Iowa Democratic state representative, that appeared in The Gazette, a Cedar Rapids newspaper.

Wise said he decided to write the piece after hearing through political colleagues that the transaction tax was stirring up voters in candidate town halls.

"It's bubbling up," he told Reuters in January.

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price in Washington, D.C.; additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in New York; Editing by Marla Dickerson)
TOKYO and LONDON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sosei Group Corporation ("the Company"; TSE: 4565) notes that its strategic alliance partner Novartis (SWX: NOVN) announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended the approval in the European Union of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) as a maintenance treatment of uncontrolled asthma in adult patients. Uncontrolled patients are those whose asthma is not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long acting beta 2 agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year.

The European Commission (EC) reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision in approximately two months. If the EC follows this recommendation and approves Enerzair Breezhaler, it will become the first LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination for uncontrolled asthma patients. Additional regulatory filings for QVM149 are currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Japan and Canada.

The full announcement from Novartis, including data from the clinical trial programs supporting the CHMP recommendation, is available at www.novartis.com.

Glycopyrronium bromide and certain intellectual property relating to its use and formulation were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura Group PLC (LSE: VEC). Novartis is responsible for the development and commercialization of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149). Under the agreement, Sosei Heptares is entitled to certain development and sales-based milestones, and royalties on net sales upon successful commercialisation of Enerzair Breezhaler.

While the CHMP positive opinion does not trigger a milestone payment, Sosei Heptares will be eligible to receive a $5m milestone on final approval by the EC and thereafter a low-single digit royalty on net sales. The event reported therefore has no immediate impact on the consolidated financial results for the accounting period ending December 2020.

Shinichi Tamura, President and CEO of Sosei Heptares, commented: "The recommendation for the approval of Enerzair Breezhaler is a great step towards it becoming available to the many uncontrolled asthma patients in the European Union. The extensive clinical trial program conducted by Novartis demonstrated robust efficacy and safety data with once-daily IND/GLY/MF showing significant improvements in lung function over a standard-of-care therapy If approved, this novel product would become the first LABA/LAMA/ICS combination therapy for uncontrolled asthma administered using a single inhaler with additional features in-built to support treatment adherence. We look forward to the final decision by the EC in the next two months and further updates in relation to filings in other countries over the coming year."

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled1,2. Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled3,4. Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death5,6,7. Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma8,9.

References

1 GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X

2 AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf . Accessed April 2020.

3 Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

4 Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

5 Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

6 Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

7 Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

8 Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

9 Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

Enerzair and Breezhaler are registered trademarks of Novartis AG.

About Sosei Heptares

We are an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines originating from our proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. We are advancing a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including CNS, immuno-oncology, gastroenterology, inflammation and other rare/specialty indications.

We have established partnerships with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, including Allergan, AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo, Genentech (Roche), Novartis, Pfizer and Takeda; and with innovative biotechnology companies, including Kymab, MorphoSys and PeptiDream. Sosei Heptares is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK.

"Sosei Heptares" is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR are trademarks of Sosei Group companies.

For more information, please visit https://www.soseiheptares.com/

LinkedIn: @soseiheptaresco | Twitter: @soseiheptaresco | YouTube: @soseiheptaresco

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporation's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Enquiries:

Sosei Heptares

Shinichiro Nishishita  VP Investor Relations

+81 (0)3-5210-3399 | [email protected]

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Sieben said the normal stacking in the lane would be 10 cars, and if it gets over that, the line would wind through a 43-space parking lot in front of the building. There would be one access point to the property - there are two right now, so one would be closed - and it would line up with Old Indian Trail across the street, on the west side of Lake Street.
The Justice Department estimated in late February that there were 25,000 people waiting in Mexico for hearings in US court for immigration

A hospitalized patient's relative takes a break after he wrote a letter as the only way to communicated with the patient, outside a public hospital in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. (AP)

San Diego: The Trump administration on Thursday suspended immigration court hearings for asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico through June 1, bowing to public health concerns while extending a state of limbo those locked down in Mexican migrant shelters.

With an order suspending hearings through Friday set to expire, the Homeland Security and Justice departments said that asylum-seekers with hearings through June 1 should appear at a border crossing when instructed to get new dates.

They said in a joint statement that authorities will review conditions related to the coronavirus and proceed as expeditiously as possible, raising the prospect of additional delays.

While it is difficult to know precisely, the Justice Department estimated in late February that there were 25,000 people waiting in Mexico for hearings in US court.

A woman who fled Nicaragua with her 9-year-old son said on Thursday that the delays mean more time locked down in a Tijuana shelter, which, like many in the Mexican border city, stopped accepting new migrants and won't let anyone already there leave to work or shop to prevent the virus from spreading.

She moved to the shelter in March after a family that subsidised her rent ended their support due to a job loss.

Mileidy, the woman's middle name, said she showed up at a San Diego crossing for her fifth hearing under heavy rain at 3 am on April 7, an hour ahead of the appointed time. She said she was unable to reach US officials for a new date but learned online that her next hearing was May 7.

About a week ago, Mileidy's attorney got notice that her hearing was delayed again, this time to June 16. She spoke on condition that her full name not be published due to fears for her personal safety.

All of this time in Mexico is nerve-wracking, said Mileidy, who ran out of epilepsy medicine for her son and has been unable to get a new supply.

More than 60,000 asylum-seekers have been returned to Mexico to wait for hearings in US court since January 2019, when the US introduced its Migrant Protection Protocols policy, known informally as Remain in Mexico.

It became a key pillar of the administration's response to an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking families at the border, drawing criticism for having people wait in highly dangerous Mexican cities.

Barely 1% of the nearly 45,000 Return to Mexico cases decided through March won asylum, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Nearly all people represent themselves, with barely 6% having attorneys.

The future of Remain in Mexico has become less certain after the administration temporarily suspended immigration laws using a 1944 public-health law, whisking Mexicans and Central Americans to the nearest border to be returned to Mexico without a chance to seek asylum.

Nearly 10,000 people were expelled in less than three weeks after the emergency move took effect on March 21.

Jewish Family Service of San Diego continues to get 15 to 20 requests a week on its hotline from asylum-seekers subject to Remain in Mexico who wants legal representation, said attorney Luis Gonzalez, who is handling Mileidy's case.

"Right now it's a little challenging to say, 'Yes, I can represent you,' when we don't know when their next hearing will be," Gonzalez said. "We really can't commit to a case."

The Justice Department, which oversees immigration courts, has also suspended hearings for people who are released in the United States through May 15 in response to COVID-19, exacerbating a backlog of about 1.1 million cases.

Hearings continue for people held in detention centers despite calls for a total shutdown from unions representing immigration judges and Homeland Security Department attorneys as well as immigration lawyers.
IOWA CITY  Iowas three public universities project $193 million in coronavirus-related losses and expenses through the summer and may see enrollment declines this fall.

UNI foresees losses of $28 million.

As bleak as those projections are, they do not even include the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Despite monumental losses, the Iowa Board of Regents on Thursday proposed keeping tuition rates and fees flat for the coming fall, an aberration from its original plan for five years of increases.

The COVID-19 epidemic is unprecedented, according to the tuition proposal. It is important that our students, families and our institutions have as much financial predictability as possible. Therefore, it is recommended there be no increases in tuition rates or mandatory fees.

The presidents of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University told the board Thursday they expect COVID-19 losses and expenses to top $76 million and $89 million respectively. Both projected smaller freshman classes.

University of Northern Iowa leaders, saying its too soon to gauge fall enrollment, projected COVID-19 losses and expenses at $28 million.

With UI Health Care looking at about $70 million in losses and expenses to date, that brings the total financial blow to regents enterprises to at least $263 million, board President Michael Richards said Thursday.

We know it is significant, he said. We cannot focus on returning to business as usual. We must be proactive about the hurdles ahead, and redesign our universities to make them stronger.

That could include expanding opportunities for students enrolled at one regent university to take classes online from another, Richards said.

We must look at whether administrative functions at all three universities can be consolidated, he said. We also need to consider whether to put a moratorium on new construction.

Change is hard, he said. It is necessary. We will adapt. We will adjust. We will continue to provide an affordable, accessible, high quality education for all of our students.

After hearing of the unprecedented challenges facing Iowas public universities and special schools, the board Thursday announced an advisory group of four regents tasked with reviewing administrative and academic collaborations and efficiencies.

The group  which will be broken into sub groups looking at a tuition freeze, the financial hurt and enrollment  will bring recommendations to the full board in November, Richards said.

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It was a week before our 25th anniversary, and I wanted out.

John and I were sitting in a tent pavilion as women in tiny thongs, platform boots and pasties snaked past us in a line for free ice cream, their behinds nearly grazing our noses. I glanced at my husband. He looked on affably, as if trying to channel Fred Rogers. And even though I had been crying most of the day, I had to smile.

We were halfway through our virgin trip to Burning Man, the temporary metropolis that rises in the remote Nevada desert each summer (although not this summer; coronavirus has made it, as with so much else, online only).

Taking part had long been Johns dream  and my nightmare. But now that equation had been turned on its head, and this voyage had become the inflection point of our marriage, eight days that would save or destroy it.

We had spent four nights camped out among dust devils, nonstop electronic music and some 70,000 utopia-seekers, most of them closer to our sons age than ours. We had four nights to go.
Press Release

1 May 2020

KANSAS CITY, MO - The U.S. Travel Association has partnered with MMGY Travel Intelligence to conduct a biweekly study of U.S. business and leisure travelers. This survey measures current and future traveler sentiment amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will track trends and shifts in travel intentions. The study will poll respondents for both domestic and international travel intent by purpose and type.

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Among the key findings, road trips and travel to destinations closer to home will likely drive much of the tourism recovery once pandemic restrictions on travel are lifted. The percentage of travelers who agreed that they are more likely to travel by car after COVID-19 passes increased in the last two week from 35 percent in Wave II to 47 percent in Wave III. And, the percentage who said they are more likely to travel to destinations close to home increased from 36 percent in Wave II to 42 percent in Wave III. This was especially true for older travelers.

The following are additional highlights from the latest results.

A slowing in the spread of COVID-19 worldwide and the CDC reducing risk advisory levels continue to be the most important factors impacting decisions to travel in the next six months. However, there are also signs that travelers are increasingly looking for travel restrictions to be lifted to make a travel decision.The percentage of travelers who indicated an easing of travel restrictions would impact their decision to travel increased from 45 percent in Wave II to 53 percent in Wave III .

Consumers' interest in travel may ultimately be eclipsed by lingering concerns about either safety or their ability to pay for it. Six in ten respondents say they will be eager to travel for leisure once the COVID-19 emergency has passed, up from 54 percent in Wave II . Yet, just 38 percent say they are likely to take a leisure trip in the next six months.

In Wave III, travelers were slightly less concerned about the threat of contracting COVID-19 than they were just two weeks prior. In particular, the concern about others in their household contracting the virus dropped from 40% in Wave II to 34% in Wave III. And, travelers aged 50-64 years continue to be the age group least concerned.

This survey is conducted biweekly (as of March 27, 2020) among 1,200 U.S. residents who have taken an overnight trip for either business or leisure in the past 12 months. Wave II of the survey was conducted April 4-11, 2020 and Wave III was conducted April 17-22, 2020. For the full report, visit https://www.mmgyintel.com/travel-intentions-pulse-survey-tips-impact-covid-19.

About MMGY Travel Intelligence

MMGY Travel Intelligence is MMGY Global's industry research and insights brand, offering proprietary data and research including DK Shifflet, the Portrait of American Travelers and travelhorizonsTM designed to power travel industry decision-makers through consumer insights, travel performance data, and audience modeling and segmentation. To learn more about the extensive collection of research, analytics and strategy services, visit mmgyintel.com or email us at [email protected].

About The U.S. Travel Association (USTA)

The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $2.1 trillion in economic output and supports 15 million jobs. U.S. Travel's mission is to increase travel to and within the United States.
Geneva (Switzerland), April 30, 2020 (SPS) - The Geneva Support Group for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Western Sahara has denounced the systematic violation of freedom of opinion and expression and the serious breaches of the International Humanitarian Law by the Moroccan Occupying Power of Western Sahara.

In this context, the Geneva Group, wth more than 200 human rights organizations including the Sahrawi National Commission for Human Rights, has renewed its call to the United Nations Security Council to set up a mechanism for monitoring and reporting human rights within the mandates of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.

The Geneva Support Group has also appealed the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Western Sahara, and special rapporteurs on freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association, human rights defenders, the right to privacy, violence against women, and torture.

The Geneva Support has called upon the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and the Arbitrary Detention, to pay special attention, each within the framework of its mandate, to violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the Moroccan Occupation State against journalists and human rights activists in Occupied Western Sahara.SPS

125/090/TRA
A court in Uganda this week rejected bail for 19 members of the LGBT community who were arrested for gathering in public in violation of the coronavirus lockdown. Police arrested the men last month at a shelter for sexual minorities. Their lawyer argues the men, who range in age from 19 to 32, were targeted because of their sexual orientation.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists in Uganda have expressed concern over what they say is a deliberate violation of their community members rights.

On March 29, police arrested 23 members of an LGBT shelter, the Children of the Sun Foundation, in the town of Kyengera, 10 kilometers southwest of Kampala. Four of the men were released on medical grounds, while the others were presented to court and remanded to prison.

On the day of the arrest, the local mayor was videotaped asking the men who their parents were and hitting one of them on the hands with a huge cane. The men were also made to face the camera to reveal their faces.

On Tuesday, Adrian Juuko, a lawyer for activist group Sexual Minorities Uganda, petitioned the High Court in Kampala for an emergency bail application, as the lower court that would hear the case was not operating.

COVID-19 was used as an excuse to get them remanded to prison. And COVID is still being used as an excuse not to bring them to court. If you look at the letter that was given to us by the prison authorities, they said that, we cannot allow lawyers to access the prison because of the current lockdown due to COVID-19. Now, no one was demanding for physical access; they could have given us access through the telephone. So, that was just an excuse. They are not doing what they are supposed to do, and in the process, they are violating rights, Juuko said.

The defendants have been charged with conducting an act likely to cause the spread of an infectious disease, namely COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus.

Patrick Onyango, the deputy spokesperson for the Kampala police, said officers made the arrests after local residents complained about the gathering.

They were not being targeted because they are gay. It was the community that saw that these people are violating the presidential directives, and informed police. And these were more than 10; they were 23 in number. So, police had to act according to the directive and according to the law, Onyango said.

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Ugandan authorities have outlawed any gathering of more than five people in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and police have been enforcing the rules, arresting more than 400 people last week for alleged violations.

On Monday, the U.N. human rights office said in a statement that any emergency response linked to COVID-19 must be proportionate, necessary and non-discriminatory. They said that in Uganda, authorities are using their emergency powers to act arbitrarily.

Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said many LGBT shelters have had to change their policies because of the crackdowns. The shelters sometimes house youths who have been kicked out of their homes by their families.

Weve only had violations towards LGBT persons especially towards the shelters from local councils and law enforcers in those areas. People have had even to shift or reduce the number of people who were staying in certain shelters because of the law enforcers, Mugisha said.

The 19 men will remain in jail until a court hearing on May 12, unless the High Court grants them bail before then.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police arrested two men Thursday morning who were wanted in connection to a burglary pattern in Grasmere and Dongan Hills.

Police say Dale Mapp, 27, of Brooklyn, and Miguel Roman, 24, of West Brighton, were involved in three robberies at the beginning of April -- two in Grasmere and one in Dongan Hills.

On April 7, Mapp and Roman stole a Black Yamaha from the garage of a home on the 50 block of Durges Street in Grasmere and put the vehicle in a U-haul truck, police said.

The same day, the two men took five lounge chairs from a home located on the 40 block of Durges Street and put them in the back of the U-haul truck, a police spokeswoman said.

On April 8, Mapp and Roman, with another man, stole a Yamaha ATV from a location on the 200 block of North Railroad Avenue in Dongan Hills, the spokeswoman said.

Police are still looking for the third male, wanted in connection to the April 8 burglary, according to the spokeswoman.

Earlier on Thursday, police canvassed a portion of Stapleton in the vicinity of Hardy Street and Prince Street to search for the third man.

Mapp and Roman were arrested Thursday at around 9:30 a.m. in the vicinity of Bay Street after police spotted the U-haul truck, police said.

The NYPD praised the officers involved in the arrest.

Great job by LT Levenstein, Sgt Argenziano, Officers Maratea & Vano making an apprehension of a wanted perpetrator and closing out a burglary pattern, keeping the #NorthShore safe, the 120 Precinct wrote in its Twitter profile.

Great job by LT Levenstein, Sgt Argenziano, Officers Maratea & Vano making an apprehension of a wanted perpetrator and closing out a Burglary Pattern keeping the #NorthShore safe. pic.twitter.com/0agRSQz4sS  NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) April 30, 2020

Both men are facing multiple charges, including burglary, petite larceny, criminal possession of a stolen property and criminal trespass, according to police.

Publicly available records do not indicate whether the two men had retained a lawyer as of Thursday night.
Bali security officers wearing sarongs have been forcing people caught without wearing face masks to do push-ups in the street amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The local security officers, known as Pecalang, have recently started enforcing the push-up punishment in the traditional village of Intaran in Sanur, east of Denpasar city.

A photo from Denpasar Now shows one man doing push-ups on the middle of the road surrounded by Pecalang officers and their car.

The local publication explained that push-ups are designed to have a 'deterrent effect' on those trying to enter the Sanur traditional village area without a mask.

A man one does push-ups on the middle of the road surrounded by Pecalang security officers in the traditional village of Intaran in Sanur, 13 minutes east of Denpasar city on Wednesday. The traditional officers have been using push-ups to have a 'deterrent effect'

Another man riding a moped was stopped by Pecalang and made to 10 push-ups on the street in one video from Tuesday.

The security officers then had a chat with him and gave him a face mask before letting him go on his way.

Despite being stopped, the man was still smiling, seemingly amused by the bizarre choice of punishment.

The security officers were raising awareness for new local laws that were coming into effect on Friday, May 1.

From Friday, those caught entering the village without a face mask will be fined five kilograms of rice (68 Australian cents) and made to do community service.

The community service lasts three days and involves clearing palms from the Intaran village and traditional markets

A man (pictured) riding a moped was stopped by Pecalang and made to 10 push-ups on the street in one video from Tuesday. The security officers then had a chat with him and gave him a face mask before letting him go on his way

Intaran village chief I Gusti Agung Alit Kencana said violators will be tried by the neighbourhood and a youth organisation known as Sekaa Teruna.

'We must be firm now, if we are not firm it will be difficult to regulate. We also coordinate with the government for regulating outsiders such as tourists,' he told Tribun-Bali.

He said the laws do not apply to tourists, which is why they have to coordinate with the government.

Pecalang officers report to the village chief and are a traditional security force seperate from the police who are responsible for general safety and traffic control.

They wear traditional Indonesian clothes, including a sarong and cloth hat.

Indonesia has had 10,118 cases of COVID-19, which have resulted in 792 deaths.
McDonald's says it will reopen 15 of its restaurants in Britain on May 13 but has no plans yet to reopen any outlets in Ireland.

The fast food giant, which shut all 3,650 of its branches across Ireland and the UK on March 23, plans a heavily pared-down menu and temperature checks on arriving staff. Initially the outlets will provide food only by home delivery.

Todays move follows field-testing at a lone McDonalds outlet on a new regime to keep staff and customers at low risk of virus transmission.

We will return with much smaller teams in our restaurants and as a result will be returning with a limited menu. This will support social distancing in our kitchens, whilst still providing many of McDonalds iconic menu items, said Paul Pomroy, chief executive of McDonalds UK and Ireland.

McDonalds said in a statement it had no definitive date for reopening any of the 95 restaurants in the Republic of Ireland or the 30 in Northern Ireland. Together they employ more than 8,500 people across the island.

Mr Pomroy said McDonalds would announce the locations of the 15 reopening outlets next week. Its deliveries there will be provided by Uber Eats using what he called a contact-free collections and drop offs system.

Among measures being employed at the 15 locations:

No breakfasts, milkshakes or special burgers on the menu

Perspex screens and floor markings to keep staff and couriers apart

Extra protective equipment for staff, including non-medical grade facemasks

Contactless thermometers to take employees temperatures on arrival for every work shift

When we return it will be different as we all adjust to this new normal, Mr Pomroy said.

Slowly but safely we will return to towns and cities across the UK and Ireland.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While school buildings are closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), New York City has set up meal hubs across the five boroughs to hand out free grab-and-go meals to children and adults.

The Department of Education is offering three free meals on weekdays for any New Yorker at more than 400 hubs -- including PS 45 in West Brighton. All three meals can be picked up at one time from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

On Friday, in celebration of those responsible for providing the meals at PS 45, paraprofessionals, teachers, lunch aides, and others joined together in a clap to support the lunch crew's daily work.

"We are celebrating our dedicated lunch personnel employees. They are a fabulous group who always have the staff and children's best interest at heart," said Jodi Sullivan, who is a paraprofessional at the school.

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And when students are onsite at PS 45, the lunch crew also plays an important role.

"The lunch crew can tell you unique things about the students, and they all know the students allergies and preferences. They truly emulate what it means to be a dedicated employee," explained Sullivan.

Those honored on Friday include: Linda, Stephanie, Jackie, Gabby, Tristan, Diane and School Safety Officer Ms. Anna.

"We love and miss you all!" said Sullivan.

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In the photo above, PS 45 staff members march down Lawerence Avenue and cheer for the school's lunch crew.

"They are always willing to help not just the PS 45 community, but the entire West Brighton community during this uncertain time -- and are here weekdays to serve breakfast and lunch to anyone ... no questions asked," said Sullivan.

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The PS 45 lunch crew, pictured above, is moved to tears by the showing of love and support.

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"We want them to know they are appreciated and loved," said Sullivan.

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(Natural News) To prevent people from breaking coronavirus quarantine rules in the Sragen Regency (a county-level administrative division) in the province of Central Java, Indonesia, local authorities have resorted to more creative methods of deterring would-be lawbreakers, such as by locking them up in a haunted house.

In recent weeks, authorities in the regency have had problems with its residents breaking quarantine measures. Many of these rule breakers are people returning to their home towns and villages to try and escape the lockdowns being put in place in larger cities on the island of Java, such as in Jakarta. Rather than threatening these residents with fines or possible jail time, the head of the regency, Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati, has instead pledged to quarantine them in haunted houses.

https://twitter.com/PhilstarNews/status/1253213759553671168

If theres an empty and haunted house in the village, put people in there and lock them up, said Sukowati. The regency head has instructed towns and villages in Sragen Regency to repurpose abandoned buildings and houses, specifically those that locals fear may be haunted, in order to work with Indonesian folk beliefs and fears of the supernatural. This, they hope, will deter residents from breaking quarantine rules.

Several residents have already been punished for violating lockdown measures in this manner. Two residents from a village known as Plupuh who were told to self-isolate, broke quarantine and were locked inside what Sukowati called an abandoned haunted house. As of press time, only around three other regency residents had reportedly been forced to spend their two-week quarantine in the abandoned houses.

One of them, Henri Susanto, came to Java from the neighboring island of Sumatra to the west and promptly disobeyed quarantine procedures after arriving. He was quickly locked up by regency authorities. He told reporters that he still hasnt encountered any ghosts.

But whatever happens, happens, said Susanto. Lesson learned.

Sukowati has stated that she has been forced to use abandoned buildings and houses as quarantine locations because the regency itself doesnt have any dedicated facilities to house people suspected of carrying the virus. These houses, she stated, are the only places in the regency where people under suspicion can be isolated from the rest of the populace.

Lack of proper national guidelines causing Indonesians to rely on folk beliefs to enforce anti-coronavirus measures

A neighbourhood in Indonesia's central Java province has deployed local 'ghosts' to patrol the streets and scare people into staying home in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/FfdqXXyEKJ  ANews (@anewscomtr) April 14, 2020

Sragen Regency isnt unique in using unorthodox practices to deter people from breaking quarantine measures. The village of Kepuh, also in central Java, has resorted to using people dressed as ghosts to jump out at unsuspecting passers-by, scare them into running back home, and then gliding off into the darkness.

We wanted to be different and create a deterrent effect because pocong are spooky and scary, said Anjar Pancaningtyas, head of a youth group in Kepuh. Pancaningtyas coordinated with local police in an effort to promote social distancing among villagers.

Pocong, as the ghosts are called, are supernatural figures in Indonesian folklore. Similar to Egyptian mummies, theyre described as being wrapped in white burial shrouds typical of Islamic funerals. The faces of the pocong are uncovered, powdered and covered in eyeliner. According to Indonesian folk beliefs, the pocong represent the trapped souls of the dead.

When the authorities first launched this unconventional tactic, it had the opposite effect. Instead of scaring people off, the pocong kept people outside  which made the police change their tactics. Now, instead of having pocong stand by in certain areas of the village, they have resorted to surprise patrols where the pocong can suddenly jump out at quarantine violators, seemingly from nowhere.

Without any strong national quarantine guidelines, Kepuh authorities believe they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. Other than the pocong patrols, Kepuh has restricted movement in and out of the village and imposed a local lockdown.

Fortunately, Kepuhs local measures seem to be working at keeping people in their homes. Karno Supadmo, a resident, said that many parents and children have not left their homes in fear of the pocong patrols.

However, Javanese folk beliefs arent always working positively for all of the islands residents.

In Sewakul, a village in the Semarang Regency, which is also in Central Java, residents tried to prevent the burial of a nurse who died from COVID-19 out of fears that the virus may spread to the entire village. The nurse in question grew up in the village and was working at Kariadi Hospital in Semarang, the provincial capital, when she got infected. Per her familys request, she was laid to rest next to her fathers grave  but not without protest from her former neighbors.

Similar reports have come in from other parts of Semarang Regency, in the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of neighboring West Java and in other parts of Indonesia. At least 42 other doctors, nurses and dentists in the country have succumbed to COVID-19.

As of press time, the province of Central Java had 516 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 63 deaths and 66 recoveries. While it has the second lowest number of cases among the four provinces and one special district in Java, it still has more cases than any other province outside of the island.

Indonesia's most populous province, West Java, became the second area in the country to officially impose "large-scale social distancing" measures for two weeks beginning on Wednesday, in the hope of curbing the spread of the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/rUov6H5Cdz  ANews (@anewscomtr) April 15, 2020

Indonesias coronavirus response dangerously slow

As health workers die from the COVID-19 outbreak, President Joko Widodo is only now acting to try and curb the virus spread. He had previously resorted to only issuing guidelines, which heavily suggest that Indonesians should practice proper hygiene and observe social distancing, while resisting efforts to call for a national lockdown. Widodo has instead relied on provincial authorities to impose local lockdowns at their discretion.

President Widodo reportedly fought against implementing a blanket lockdown on the country because of fears over how it will impact the economy. Instead, in a move to placate critics, he has ordered partial lockdowns in certain areas of the country that have high infection rates, such as in Jakarta and the province of West Sumatra.

But if these measures arent enough, analysts are afraid that it may be too late for President Widodo and his country.

Researchers from the University of Indonesia have estimated that without stronger lockdown policies, the country could see as many as 1.5 million cases, including 140,000 deaths by May.

As of press time, Indonesia had 7,418 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 635 deaths. If the situation continues, many other local and provincial authorities will have to rely on increasingly unorthodox methods of keeping their communities safe.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

Newsweek.com

ChannelNewsAsia.com

StraitsTimes.com

TheJakartaPost.com

AsiaNews.it

NYTimes.com

Corona.JatengProv.go.id

AlJazeera.com

WHO.int [PDF]
FARMINGTON  Even though the COVID-19 shutdown has thrown a kink into her plans, an Aztec city commissioner continues to make progress on a project designed to bring a splash of art and music to the citys downtown district.

For the past several months, Commissioner Rosalyn Fry has been working on a plan to bring a handful of pianos to locations throughout downtown, where they would be stationed outside businesses willing to accommodate them. The pianos would be painted by local artists, and visitors to the district would be invited to play them.

Fry said she got the idea a couple of years ago after visiting Portland, Oregon, where her son lives in a suburb. She recalled with delight how she stumbled across a scene on a downtown street in which several pedestrians were gathered around a piano painted with a raccoon motif. A local musician was seated at the piano and was playing classical music while members of the crowd took selfies with him or shot video of his performance.

I thought, Huh  I wonder if we couldnt do that in Aztec,' Fry recalled.

After returning home, Fry wrote a post on Facebook explaining her desire to bring the painted pianos idea to Aztec. She said she would happily buy the first piano herself and donate it to the cause.

It didnt take long for the idea to catch fire. Fry said four pianos were offered for donation in short order, and several local business owners expressed a willingness to serve as a host site for an instrument.

Progress has slowed in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic reached New Mexico, but Fry is confident the shutdown is only a temporary impediment to completion of the project. Initial plans called for the first piano to be unveiled in the downtown plaza by the end of May or early June, and Fry said that ceremony has been delayed indefinitely.

Well have to see what the status is of the (shutdown), she said. Were trying to work out those details.

The pianos wont be put in place, unveiled and made available to the public until it is safe to do so, she said.

Our plan was for people to come up and play them, Fry said. But were kind of challenged by the situation, and we want to make sure we follow the appropriate rules to make sure were safe.

In the meantime, local artists are being lined up to treat the instruments as they would a canvas, with Aztec painter Timithy Gordon already well on his way to covering the first piano in Aztec Ruins imagery.

Its just beautiful, Fry said of Gordons contribution to the project.

Gordon, a member of the Feat of Clay artists co-op gallery in downtown Aztec, was skeptical when Fry approached the group to ask if any of its member artists would be interested in taking part.

At first, I was, Neeaaahh about it, but then I got to thinking about it and thought, What the heck, why not?' he said. I called her and told her Id do it.

Gordon said it took him a month or so to figure out how he wanted to represent Aztec on the piano to which he was assigned. He finally settled on the idea of painting scenes from Aztec Ruins National Monument on his instrument.

Theres nothing in Aztec as synonymous with Aztec Ruins as Aztec Ruins is, he said.

But his work was only beginning. Gordon estimated he has spent four to five hours a day working on the project since late March. First, he had to sand down the piano to remove the outer layer of lacquer so he could repaint the piano with watercolors. Second, he added a layer of primer, then he sketched out the scenes he wanted to paint after visiting the ruins and spending several hours photographing them.

When he is done, the final step will involve adding a clear outer finish to protect the wood and the paint from the elements.

Fry said all the pianos are playable, and anyone who wants to sit down before one of them and pound out a tune will be welcome to do so. The locations where they will be stationed havent been determined yet, but Fry said it is likely one of them will be put in the plaza just north of Rubias Mexican restaurant, and a handful of other businesses throughout downtown have expressed interest in having one.

The pianos will each have a cover custom made for them, and Fry said plans call for them to be stored inside each night and wheeled outside the next morning. The pianos will only be placed outside during good weather, she said.

Portland isnt the only city that has launched a painted pianos project, Fry said, noting that various communities around the world have adopted the idea, including several towns in Colorado. She expects the idea to be well received in Aztec as city officials continue their efforts to rejuvenate downtown.

Im very excited about the response we have gotten, she said.

Fry expressed her gratitude to everyone who has been involved in the project, especially those who have donated the pianos  Tracy McGinnes, Angela Wennerberg-Jenkins and Annette Tidwell Abend. Abend donated an antique player piano that Fry was able to trade to the Aztec Senior Center for two regular pianos.

She said if the project proves to be popular and more donors come forward, other pianos will be added.

The project has come at minimal cost to the city of Aztec. Lowes Home Improvement store donated the paints the artists are using on the pianos, and the artists all have agreed to paint the pianos at no cost. Fry said the city has set aside $2,700 for the project to get the pianos tuned, pay for the covers and even hire professional musicians to play them when they are dedicated.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com.



2020 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

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Roblox developer Roblox Corporation will donate up to $2 million to charities involved in the fight against COVID-19.

The studio has launched a series of limited-edition items, some of which have been created by members of the Roblox community, in support of UNICEF USA, Code.org, and No Kid Hungry.

The items will be available to purchase until June 30 or until their collective sales total $1 million, with all proceeds going to a charity of the player's choice. For each donation made, Roblox will donate an equivalent amount to the charities, for a combined total of $1 million. In addition, Roblox will donate up to an additional $1 million to match what users have spent amongst the three organizations, totaling up to $2 million.

"In times of crisis, weve been humbled by the outpouring of support from the Roblox community. Weve united on multiple occasions to contribute aid to people affected by earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Now, at a time when the whole world could use a helping hand, we want to provide an opportunity for the community to come together once again to support those in need," wrote the company.

"Your donations will provide food for millions of children across America; distribute essential supplies such as clean water, soap, medical supplies, and protective equipment to where theyre needed most around the world; and/or provide resources for students to continue their education at home."

You can find out more about the initiative, including links to each charitable item, over on the Roblox website.
In a perfect example of why you shouldn't believe everything you read on Facebook, a woman has falsely accused celebrity chef Curtis Stone of being rude to customers and trying to shoplift 15 steaks at a Coles supermarket.

The woman shared her supposed 'encounter' with Curtis, 44, who is a longtime ambassador for Coles, in a popular Facebook group for MasterChef fans on Friday - only for her account to be thoroughly debunked in a matter of minutes.

She claimed to have seen Curtis at her local Coles store in Sydney on Thursday - but an interview he did with The Project that same day proves he was in lockdown in Los Angeles at the time, and therefore means the claim is totally false.

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Fake news! In a perfect example of why you shouldn't believe everything you read on Facebook, a woman has falsely accused celebrity chef Curtis Stone (pictured) of being rude to customers and trying to shoplift 15 steaks at a Coles supermarket

The woman incorrectly stated that Curtis had been rude to her and tried to leave the store without paying for 'fifteen hormone-free steaks'.

Of course, he couldn't have been shoplifting in Sydney because he was 12,000km away in California, where he has lived with his family for years.

Other Facebook users were quick to point out that they had seen Curtis speaking to The Project via video link from his home in America on Thursday.

Different country: The woman shared her supposed 'encounter' with Curtis, 44, in a popular Facebook group for MasterChef fans on Friday - only for her account to be thoroughly debunked in a matter of minutes because Curtis was in California at the time

'I'm not a huge fan but that interview certainly indicated he was not in Australia. Maybe he had a lookalike trying to get free meat?' one person wrote.

On Thursday's episode of The Project, Curtis told Gorgi Coghlan the coronavirus pandemic had forced him to shut down both of his LA restaurants.

'It is brutal. We are in Los Angeles, one of the hardest hit areas of America, and both our restaurants were closed,' he said.

'We are in Los Angeles': On Thursday's episode of The Project, Curtis told Gorgi Coghlan (pictured) the coronavirus pandemic had forced him to shut down both of his LA restaurants

The Melbourne-born, U.S.-based chef explained he had no choice but to turn his restaurant Maude into a marketplace and deliver food to people.

Curtis also runs a successful catering business in addition to his two restaurants.

He married actress Lindsay Price in 2013 and the couple share two sons: Hudson, seven, and Emerson, six.
BERKELEY, Calif.  This feels like a good time to get another dog to help us get over the loss of Surfer, the professor announced in her FM radio-ready voice. Even though my heart didnt feel quite ready, I knew she was right, and not only because she really is a smart professor.

We needed to feel the void left by Surfers death last fall. He was a regal blend of the Samoyed and husky breeds who made people swoon wherever he swaggered. He died in his sleep without warning, leaving no time to say goodbye.

Surfer was the professors dog, but he had become one of my best buddies during the two years since we met and quickly bonded, as kindred spirits do. His death came just two weeks after I watched my dad die, so it felt like a double whammy that had me reeling for a while.

I gradually began to feel better. Then this pandemic cast its pall. The ensuing lockdown has kept the professor, her two children, her surviving 13-year-old dog, Phoebe, and me cloistered in her home for the past four weeks.

It didnt take long before the professor realized that rescuing a forlorn dog might provide a ray of light amid all the gloom. She had some experience in this area, having adopted Surfer when he was a 4-year-old waif found starving on a beach.

It made too much sense not to explore. It was clear we were going to be housebound for so long that we would have ample time to train and welcome a new dog.

As we began to look around, we were pleased and surprised to discover plenty of dog shelters and adoption agencies still open. It also turned out that we werent the only ones looking for a new pet.

We learned that more dogs, cats and other pets will probably need new homes in coming months. With unemployment rising, some people probably wont be able to feed another mouth. Other animals will lose owners who succumb to COVID-19. Some animals will need people with a little extra room in their budgets and hearts.

The professors 17-year-old daughter especially wanted another dog, to help her cope with the abrupt disruption to her bustling social and academic life as a junior in high school. It seemed appropriate, then, that she was the one who found Chase, a 3-year-old dog who is Surfers doppelganger but with his own distinctive flair.

Within a few minutes of meeting him at his foster home two weeks ago, we knew he was the perfect fit. And so he has been. He has already been helping me close the loop on the deaths of my dad and Surfer. His presence provided solace, too, when COVID-19 recently took one of The Associated Press finest  my longtime colleague, Nick Jesdanun.

I dread all of the death that is still to come during this pandemic. But I take comfort in knowing that I am going to emerge with a new friend  one now renamed Wookiee, because he sounds so much like Chewbacca in Star Wars. Yet as much as I like that name, I suspect this dog is always going to remind me of something else: hope.
While the world seems to have come on hold, and we are mostly home between our own four walls for the last weeks, a comfortable home has become more important than ever. For several years I have been writing about the importance of only surrounding yourself with the things that you really love and to focus on a more minimalistic and multifunctional home where we choose more consciously what comes in, stays and what goes.

With all the time we currently spend at home, it seems more important than ever to look at our house and the different rooms again. In any case, with the above in mind, quality is important when we make choices nowadays. Whether you have a new home or want to upgrade the home you live in, I think it is important to go for quality products that last, learn about design and show our appreciation for designers and craftsmanship.

Italy is the country of choice when it comes to quality and design for decades. While working at imm back in January, I got to meet Andrea Lupi, art director of antoniolupi and learn more of the versatile famous Italian quality brand. I could feel Andreas passion for the family brand and the different products while walking with him through the stand where several bathrooms were perfectly combined with living spaces and a spectacular showcase of the different shower heads.

Antonio Lupi Design is a Tuscan company which has stood out in the design and manufacturing of bathroom furniture, both in Italy and abroad, for the past seventy years. The distinctive features of this ever-developing company are its ability to innovate by continuously searching for new materials and designs, while investing heavily in manufacturing technology.

Although antoniolupi began by producing exclusively bathroom accessories and mirrors, its product line now embraces the entire living space, thanks to different collaboration with established designers, such as Carlo Colombo, Nevio Tellatin, Mauro Carlesi, Calvi Brambilla, Mario Ferrarini, Domenico de Palo and Massimo Broglio.

The strong connection I have with Italy makes it extra special for me to work with an Italian brand like antoniolupi. In the coming months I will show different collections and projects on the blog. Antoniolupi has distinguished itself as a top brand on the Italian and International markets for their bathroom furnishings projects. Investments in research, technology and creativity and the choice to work with international architects and the capability of design and innovation results in products such as Cristalmood, antoniolupis own creation!





Cristalmood  a closer look

Cristalmood is a resin and antoniolupis own creation! The processing stages of Cristalmood are quite complex, and manual intervention and craftsmanship are essential. The resin is manually poured into molds and objects are finished manually by sanding them to remove all imperfections both inside and out. As if made of stone, each product is unique, the slight differences in color, size, or small air bubbles that can form, give soul and authenticity to each object.

Thanks to the composition, now available in 13 different colours. We already saw Fume, Nebbia, Ocra, Bottle, Petroleum, Ginger, Cobalt, Sangria, Amber and Lime. The collaboration between Andrea Lupi e Gumdesign resulted in 3 new colours: Ceruleo, Oleo and Gran Cru that bring the palette to a total of 13 shades. Objects made from Cristalmood weigh about 30% less than those made with solid surfaces and is used in different products from sinks and bathtubs to vases,

Cristalmood is perfect to produce sinks combined with the most diverse materials, achieving refined color combinations. Composed of high quality polyester resin and coloring pigments. Cristalmood has passed the anti-corrosion tests(salt spray) and can be cleaned with all the most common detergents, also resistant to rubbing alcohol, acetone, oils, gasoline or diesel fuel.

Reflex  A minimal bathtub

The Reflex bathtub designed by AL Studio and the first transparent bathtub by antoniolupi made of Cristalmood, immediately caught my eye at imm Cologne! Being drawn to a more minimal colour palette, I loved the warm colour of the shown model. The bath is characterised by neat shapes and colours, harmony and minimalism, it couldnt be any other than that this bathtub appealed to me! Available in 13 different colours to choose from makes the bathtub suitable for every bathroom taste.

reflex bathtub on the right imm 2020

Albume freestanding washbasin

Albume is the freestanding washbasin designed by Carlo Colombo that alternates between a solid base and a transparent and colored basin in two different shapes. The refined color and contrasts between the upper part and the infinite variations used for the base, including options such as Bianco Carrara or Nero Marquinia marble, allows you to customize the sink and give a specific character to the whole, making Albume to fit perfectly into refined bathrooms, in which its materials harmonize with the surfaces and other elements.

Ago basin While writing this blogpost I feel so happy I had the chance to work at imm back in January and had the chance to get to see the collection with my own eyes. What I remember most from their stand is the harmony in colour within the whole antoniolupi collection. Wash Basins on wooden surfaces, bronzed faucets and taps, round mirrors and beautiful carpets combined with sculptural coffee tables next to a few striking coloured wash basins. The Ago basin is a perfect example of a minimal design that would look good in any bathroom.

Opale washbasin  A dialogue between materials

Opale is a collection of washbasins through which antoniolupi continues its research, started with Albume collection, on the potential of coloured Cristalmood and its ability to dialogue with natural materials that have always been in the companys DNA. The name refers explicitly to geometry and the infinite reflections of precious stones.

Different solutions that involve the combination of volumes made of different materials, generate entirely new sensations and very special unprecedented experiences. The washbasin is available in the new decagonal shape or in the more traditional round shape, in the top mount version, and it is always perfectly matching with other products by antoniolupi.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Seventeen-year-old Rita expected her father to be back soon from Safdarjung hospital where he was admitted on April 16 for high sugar levels and fever, but destiny had other plans as he passed away the next day and it was later found that he was coronavirus positive.

Rita (name changed), her mother and her two siblings have been tested for COVID-19 and the results are still awaited.

On April 19, the hospital informed the family that he was COVID-19 positive and it would take care of his cremation.

The contagion, if precautions are not taken, can spread.

"None of us could see his face for the last time," said Rita, the eldest of her siblings one five years old and the other 13 years old.

Oblivious to the situation the five-year-old has been told his father is away for work.

The victim's swab samples were taken for COVID-19 testing between 11 am and 12 pm on April 17.

In about 12 hours, his conditioned deteriorated and he died, family members said.

His condition worsened the very next day after being admitted to the hospital, said the victim's brother-in-law.

The patient's body was kept at the hospital till April 19 when his reports arrived.

He had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The hospital told us that they would take care of the cremation and we would not be allowed anywhere near the body. His body was wrapped in plastic sheets (protection used to contain the infection)," the brother-in-law said.

The victim's wife was with him during the two days of his hospitalisation, he said.

After the reports came on April 19, family members, including the patient's brother-in-law, were tested the next day for the infection.

The results came negative.

The body was taken to the Nigambodh Ghat and cremated.

The ghat has an electric crematorium, and last rites of COVID-19 victims are being performed there.

"Only my wife's brother was allowed for the cremation, and that too from a distance, fearing the spread of infection," the brother-in-law of the victim said.

Delhi so far has recorded 3,439 coronavirus cases and 56 have died due to COVID-19, while 1,092 have recovered, as per Union health ministry data.

Since the body was wrapped in protective sheets, it was never opened.

"We still have not got his ashes," the victim's brother-in-law said.
500 extra payment for care staff in Wales announced by First Minister

This article is old - Published: Friday, May 1st, 2020

The Welsh Government will fund a 500 extra payment for all social care workers in Wales, the First Minister announced today.

Speaking at the todays Welsh Government press conference, the first minister said the payment provides further recognition for an often under-valued and overlooked workforce.

The payment will be available to 64,600 care home workers and domiciliary care workers throughout Wales.

It comes after an initial 40m of extra funding for adult social care services to help meet the extra costs associated with responding to the coronavirus pandemic was provided,

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: Tens of thousands of people work in social care in Wales, looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and are doing so with great dedication in often challenging circumstances.

They are undertaking tasks, which involve a high level of intimate personal care, often accepting a greater degree of risk and responsibility. Many of our social care workers are juggling their own personal caring responsibilities with their professional ones.

I want our social care workforce know their hard work is both appreciated and recognised. This payment is designed to provide some further recognition of the value we attach to everything they are doing to  it recognises this group of people are providing the invisible scaffolding of services, which support both our NHS and our wider society.

Further details about the extra payment will be announced shortly. The Welsh Government is working with local authorities, who commission social care services in Wales, and with trade unions and Care Forum Wales, to finalise details.

The First Minister has called on the UK Government not to tax the extra payment, enabling social care workers to keep the full amount. The Welsh Government is also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure it does not impact on peoples benefit entitlements.

The First Minister added: We are urging the UK Government and the HMRC to make an exception in these truly exceptional circumstances.

Todays announcement follows the announcement of the death in service payment for the families of all NHS and social care staff made by Health and Social Services Minister Vaughan Gething on Tuesday.

The move has been strongly welcomed by Unite. However it has also warned that the UK government cannot ignore the low pay rates that many of the key workers during this crisis currently receive.

This scheme will provide eligible beneficiaries with a one-off sum of 60,000 and will apply to those working in frontline roles and locations where personal care is provided to individuals who may have contracted coronavirus.

Unite regional secretary for Wales Peter Hughes said: This is a tremendous initiative and underlines the work that the Welsh Labour government has done to both protect and acknowledge the incredible work of frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

This payment goes a small way towards showOMG the appreciation in Wales for care workers, many of whom are on the minimum wage, who have continued to care for their clients and keep them safe in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances.

This initiative highlights the forward thinking nature of the Welsh government, which has demonstrated again that it delivers for workers.

Commenting on the decision, Kelly Andrews GMB Social Care lead said: This will be welcome news for our hardworking carers who have been risking their own lives by looking after the most vulnerable in our society.

500 goes a lot further than an 8.00 badge, and will make a real difference for carers. Many are facing minimum wage employment and SSP if they are sick themselves, although there is so much more that needs to be done.

COVID 19 has highlighted how much the Social care workforce has been undervalued for years. GMB is calling for a full scale review & restructure of Social Care in Wales so that Social care workers are finally recognised for the invaluable and highly skilled professional service that they provide.
India has shipped 50 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the United States, an Indian source with direct knowledge of the exports said, although US regulators warned the anti-malarial drug may have harmful side effects in the treatment of COVID-19.

The trade, India's biggest export of the drug to any country, follows a request by US President Donald Trump for New Delhi to release supplies of hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the respiratory disease.

"It amounts to 50 million tablets... Commercial companies are pursuing. It's ongoing," said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of discussions with the United States.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

The US Food and Drug Administration, the European Union's drug regulator and the Canadian health department have cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine, citing side effects such as abnormal heart rhythms and a dangerously rapid heart rate.

However, the health warnings have done little to deter the drug's imports to the United States, where some doctors are continuing to prescribe the drug for the treatment of COVID-19.

"There is high demand for hydroxychloroquine in the international market including US," Viranchi Shah, senior vice-president, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), told Reuters.

This month India said it would allow some exports of hydroxychloroquine after Trump touted it as a "game changer" and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send supplies.

In Modi's home state of Gujarat, 68 new licences have been issued to drugmakers to manufacture hydroxychloroquine formulations, H.G. Koshia, commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat, told Reuters.

"Majority of these licences are for exports," he said.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, IPCA Laboratories and Cadila Healthcare are among India's leading suppliers of hydroxychloroquine.

Cadila Healthcare recently said it was ramping up production tenfold to 30 metric tonnes per month.

Sales of the decades-old treatment had soared overnight after Trump's advocacy of the drug, raising questions whether political pressure had overridden scientific criteria in the crisis.

As the US coronavirus death toll topped 60,000 on Wednesday - the highest in the world - doctors in the United States are desperate for anything that might alter the course of the disease, which attacks the lungs and can shut down other organs in severe cases.

"Pharma companies in Gujarat are continuing to produce and export hydroxychloroquine in large quantities," IDMA's Shah said.

The foreign ministry said India was continuing to supply hydroxychloroquine, and other essential medicines produced in India, to other countries. These supplies were taking place both on a humanitarian and a commercial basis.
For nearly a decade, a team of scientists from Wuhan, China, crisscrossed southern Asia in a high-stakes search for bats and the strange diseases they harbor. They crawled through caves, catching the razor-toothed mammals with nets and scooping up liters of their excrement. They trapped insects and mice living near bat roosts and collected blood from villagers who hunt bats for food or folk medicine.

They returned to their state-of-the-art laboratory in central China with tubes and vials containing known killers - pathogens associated with diseases that are deadly in humans - and also a few surprises. On multiple occasions, their takings included exotic coronaviruses previously unknown to science.

The highlights of the Wuhan researchers' work on bat viruses are spelled out in more than 40 published studies and academic papers that describe a sprawling, ambitious effort to document the connection between bats and recent disease outbreaks in China. The experiments were intended to illuminate how dangerous pathogens sometimes jump from animal hosts to humans. But experts say the research also carried an implicit risk: the possibility that the lab itself could facilitate the spread of the very diseases the scientists were trying to prevent.

On Thursday, the U.S. intelligence community released an assessment formally concluding that the virus behind the covid-19 pandemic originated in China. While asserting that the pathogen was not man-made or genetically altered, the statement pointedly declined to rule out the possibility that virus had escaped from the complex of laboratories in Wuhan that has been at the forefront of global research into bat-borne viruses linked to multiple epidemics over the past decade.

"The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan," the office of the Director of National Intelligence said, using a common acronym for the U.S. intelligence community.

Yet, despite the intense scrutiny, the novel coronavirus' origins remain as murky now as they did when the first cases emerged in China five months ago. While intelligence analysts and many scientists see the lab-as-origin theory as technically possible, no direct evidence has emerged suggesting that the coronavirus escaped from Wuhan's research facilities. Many scientists argue that the evidence tilts firmly toward a natural transmission: a still unknown interaction in late fall that allowed the virus to jump from a bat or another animal to a human.

"It's far more likely that Mother Nature is just a step ahead of us and has created a novel pathogen, now able to move quite effectively from human to human," said Jason Rao, a biosecurity specialist, former senior policy adviser to President Barack Obama and executive director of Health Security Partners, a District of Columbia-based nonprofit organization focused on global biological threat reduction.

Chinese officials and scientists have strenuously denied any connection between the covid-19 outbreak and its showcase research center, which includes a high-security facility known as the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Wuhan team leader, renowned virologist Shi Zhengli, contends that the institute never possessed the SARS-cov-2 virus that triggered the outbreak that has infected more than 3 million people worldwide. In a social media posting, Shi said she would "bet my life" that the outbreak had "nothing to do with the lab."

At the same time, scrutiny of the lab's research has underscored what biosecurity experts say are significant risks inherent in the kinds of research the Chinese scientists were conducting. Academic studies examined by The Washington Post document scores of encounters with animals that are known hosts to deadly viruses, including strains closely related to the pathogen behind the covid-19 outbreak. While the scientists wore gloves and masks and took other protective measures, U.S. experts who reviewed the experiments say the precautions would not necessarily protect the researchers from harmful exposures, in caves or in the lab.

The risks were not limited to interactions with animals. Dozens of routine studies required extracting viruses from bat feces and growing them in batches for use in a wide array of experiments. For some projects the researchers spliced genetic material from different coronaviruses to create chimeras that could more easily infect human cells for laboratory experiments.

The research filled in critical gaps in scientists' knowledge about deadly viruses and prompted Chinese scientists to issue repeated warnings about the possibility of a new SARS-like disease making the leap from bats to humans. But with each experiment came opportunities for an accidental exposure to dangerous pathogens, experts say. Indeed, such accidents occur dozens of times each year in high-security laboratories around the world, including in the United States.

The National Institutes of Health, the Defense Department and other U.S. government agencies have spent millions of dollars in recent years to fund research by American scientists into coronaviruses in bats, federal records show. Some of those scientists have worked with colleagues at the lab in Wuhan.

"Even if a lab is mechanically safe, you can't rule out human error," said Lynn Klotz, a senior science fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a Washington nonprofit group and an author of a comprehensive study of lab mishaps. "Accidents happen, and more 70 percent of the time it's due to the humans involved."

Records of accidents in U.S. laboratories reveal multiple inadvertent infections and exposures to lethal microbes, including the pathogens linked to anthrax, Ebola and plague. While no comparable records are available for Chinese labs, a Chinese scientific paper last year described widespread, systemic deficiencies with training and monitoring of high-security laboratories where the disease-causing pathogens are studied.

"Maintenance cost is generally neglected; several high-level BSLs [biological safety level labs] have insufficient operating funds for routine, yet vital processes," said the paper by Yuan Zhiming, a chief scientist at Wuhan, published in the Journal of Biosafety and Biosecurity. Most laboratories "lack specialized biosafety managers and engineers," he wrote.

While the source of the outbreak ultimately may be unknowable, the claim that the laboratory could not have been involved in the virus' release "is not credible," said Richard Ebright, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University.

David Relman, a Stanford University professor of microbiology, said the outbreak at a minimum underscores the need for more stringent standards and comprehensive monitoring of research involving pathogens with the ability to inflict widespread harm on economies and human health.

"There are far too many examples of lab accidents. Our own CDC and everyone else has had accidents, even with very dangerous agents," Relman said. "There is simply no way around it, since humans are flawed - inconsistent, distractible - creatures."

- - -

But while an accidental release may have been possible, no proof of such of an event has emerged. The closest relative to the coronavirus that causes covid-19 known to have existed at Wuhan was still a distant relative, scientists say. In March, a landmark study of the virus's origins in the journal Nature Medicine played down the possibility of an accident, saying "we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible."

Scientists who worked closely with Shi and other Wuhan scientists described the researchers as particularly diligent and careful.

Maureen Miller, an infectious disease epidemiologist who worked with Shi as part of a U.S. funded viral research program, dismissed the lab-as-origin theory as "absolute conspiracy theory," and referred to Shi as "brilliant."

"She is a rigorous scientist," Miller said. "She is very, very committed to preventing the kind of scenario that is happening right now."

Concerns about unwarranted scapegoating of Shi and other Chinese scientists have increased following reports that the Trump administration has sought to pressure U.S. intelligence agencies to search for proof of a link between the Wuhan lab and the covid-19 outbreak. The New York Times reported Thursday that some analysts fear the administration will seek to distort assessments about the virus as a means of blaming China for an outbreak that has already sickened more than 1 million Americans and killed more than 60,000.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested at a briefing that he had evidence of a connection of between the Wuhan lab and the pandemic. "Yes, I have," Trump said when asked whether he's seen anything that makes him believe that lab workers were responsible. He did not elaborate.

Policymakers, during private intelligence briefings, have been told that Chinese officials tried to obscure the severity of the virus in its early days, but intelligence agencies saw no direct evidence that China was attempting to cover up a lab accident, according to one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss administration deliberations.

"What we know is it's naturally occurring," a second intelligence official said. "We know that it came from Wuhan. There's been speculation: Did it come from a market? Did it come from a lab? We just don't know.' "

- - -

The Wuhan institute's intensive focus on bats and their diseases began 25 years ago, when researchers started investigating the origins of the respiratory disease SARS, another viral illness blamed for the deaths of 1,000 people in the early 2000s. Chinese scientists eventually traced the virus to horseshoe bats living in caves in the country's southern Yunnan province. Subsequent studies confirmed that bats are natural reservoirs for numerous zoonotic diseases, and over the years Wuhan's scientists embarked on scores of experiments to study them, sometimes in collaboration with researchers in the United States, Australia and other countries.

To minimize risk of accidental infection during field work, the researchers wore goggles, tear-resistant gloves and N95 masks similar to the ones used by medical workers in hospitals, the research papers show. But the protective gear, while helpful, would not necessarily have shielded the workers from being scratched or bitten by horseshoe bats, say U.S. scientists who have participated in research involving live animals. Moreover, N95 masks are inadequate for screening out all viruses, even when used properly, the scientists said.

"Whether the staff are interacting with bats in the wild or in the lab, they are routinely putting themselves at risk of infection," said one U.S. scientist with extensive experience in federal government labs that study human pathogens using live animals. The scientist spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the laboratory practices of foreign countries.

More controversial was the Wuhan institute's 2015 research into creating a chimera, the hybrid virus that combined elements from two bat-borne coronaviruses, including one that causes SARS. The mutated virus that resulted was more easily able to infect human cells, making it more useful for lab experiments. Such "gain of function" experiments - which enhance a pathogen's natural traits - have been a source of controversy in the West because of the potential for harm if an altered strain escapes the confinement of the lab, experts say.

"No lab worker goes to work planning to acquire an infection," the U.S. scientist said. "My concern is that this won't be the last event of this nature if the entire world doesn't adopt better safety and transparency in laboratory practices."

- - -

Fifield reported from New Zealand. The Washington Post's Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.
STAMFORD  Stamford High School junior Shaina Bond created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for healthcare workers at Stamford Hospital during the COVID-19 crisis.

Well, the Stamford High community has certainly put her plan into action.

As of Friday afternoon, the fundraiser that began on April 5had brought in $1,461 to benefit hospital employees.

Black Knight Nation, the student community at Stamford High, partnered with Rinaldis Deli in Stamford to provide food for the healthcare workers.

A few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to help by giving back to the community, said Bond, the junior class president. Its hard to get a hold of medical supplies, so I figured I could get the Stamford community together  Black Knight Nation.

When a total of $1,250 was raised on GoFundMe.com, Stamford High donated another $250 that enabled the fundraiser to meet its first goal of $1,500. The money raised was used to purchase food at Rinaldis Deli, which was delivered to Stamford Hospital on Friday by a school official. The fundraiser also aids a local business such as Rinaldis Deli.

It is great that we can provide sandwiches and cookies to Stamford Hospital healthcare professionals and I put together a thank you video that we are also going to send over to the hospital, Bond said.

The thank you video includes messages from students, current teachers and past teachers.

On Thursday night, Bond said the fundraiser will remain open and they are seeking more donations to offer a second lunch to the Stamford Hospital employees. The new goal is $1,750.

We are all very grateful to everyone at the hospital for the endless they have worked and for putting themselves on the line, Bond said. My mom is an essential worker, so I see what its like and a lot of my friends parents are essential workers.

To donate money toward the fundraiser visit: www.gofundme.com/f/stamford-high-gives-back

dfierro@greenwichtime.com
Government has removed 92 districts from the 170 it classified as Covid-19 hotspots, or red zones, on April 15 and added 52 new districts to the list, which now leaves 130 red zone districts in the country. These 130 districts are home to a third of the countrys population and cover a fifth of the geographical area, a Hindustan Times analysis of 2011 Census data shows. Nearly 400 million people live in these hotspots, which are spread across 22 states and Union territories, but only four states are home to more than half of them.

Restrictions are unlikely to be eased in these districts when the present nationwide lockdown ends On May 3.

The government had on April 15 listed 170 districts as Coronavirus disease hotspots, those which had large outbreaks or multiple clusters of cases. The list has now been updated, according to a letter sent by the Union health secretary Preeti Sudan to all states and Union territories. It has now classified only 130 districts out of the countrys 733 districts as red zones. This list is valid for a week after May 3, when the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end, and will be revised later.

There are quite a few differences between the list of red zones shared on April 15 and now. Even as the total number of red zone districts has decreased by 40, seven states have seen a rise in the number. West Bengal saw the highest rise, from four to 10. Tamil Nadu saw the biggest fall in the number of such districts  out of the 22 districts earlier classified as red zones, 13 have now been removed while three new districts have been added to the list, making the new tally 12.

The 400 million people in the 130 red zones live in more than 83 million households across nearly 2,500 towns and 1,20,000 villages. These comprise a third of all towns and a fifth of all inhabited villages in the country, according to the Census data.

To be sure, this is a close approximation for present times because the population figures would have changed since the Census was last conducted, and some district boundaries have also changed since then.

Another interesting fact is that the 14 most densely populated districts in India, according to the 2011 Census, have been classified as red zones. These include eight districts of Delhi, two districts of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chandigarh, all big urban clusters. Out of the 50 districts that have the highest population density, 25 have been classified as red zones.

Among all states and Union territories, Delhi is the only one fully classified as a red zone, other than Chandigarh which is a single district Union Territory. After Delhi, West Bengal has the highest share of districts in red zones  10 out of the total 23 districts, or 43%. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh follow with nearly 39% districts being red zones. In terms of absolute numbers, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of red zone districts  19 out of 75  followed by 14 districts in Maharashtra (out of 36 districts) and 12 districts of Tamil Nadu (out of 37 districts).

Although the red zones are spread across large geographical areas, cutting across state boundaries, more than half of the people living in these red zones are in just four states  Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Put together, 215 million people live in red zones in these four states, which is 54% of the total 400 million people in the red zones in India.

Also, there are no red zone districts in 14 states and Union territories. These include 10 states  Goa, Himachal Pradesh and all eight states of the northeast  and four Union territories  Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

The new list of red zones will come handy for states as the country heads towards the end of the second phase of nationwide lockdown and to better handle evacuation of millions of migrant workers and students stranded in other states.

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A Victorian man has failed in his plea to be released from prison over fears he could become infected with the deadly coronavirus.

But the Department of Justice and Community Safety has been ordered to conduct a risk assessment of Port Phillip Prison, including whether authorities are maintaining cleaning and screening to prevent an outbreak of the virus.

The Victorian government has argued it is maintaining its duty of care to people in prisons amid the coronavirus pandemic. Credit:Jason South

The ruling came after 52-year-old prisoner Mark Rowson made a failed bid for urgent release from prison. His barrister, Emrys Nekvapil, told the Supreme Court that Rowson - who has a chronic heart condition, hypertension and asthma - felt like a "sitting duck" in prison.

The court heard evidence on Wednesday that authorities had only began taking prisoners' temperature that day, and overcrowding and inadequate cleaning created the risk that the virus would spread quickly if it entered the prison.
Jaipur, May 1 : Rajasthan Congress MLA Bharat Singh has written to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot requesting him to open liquor shops in the state highlighting the fact that if alcohol can kill corona after being applied on hands, it will also "kill corona inside the body when consumed".

In his letter to Gehlot, the Sangod legislator on Thursday, wrote: "It's better to open liquor shops than to see people dying in state by gulping down handmade liquor." He was referring to an incident in Bharatpur where two people died after consuming handmade liquor recently.

"Open the liquor shops. There are people who have been longing to have alcohol. While they can get what they want, the state at the same time, can also add more revenue to its kitty," he added.

Similarly, former BJP MLA Bhavani Singh Rajavat also issued a statement saying that liquor has always played a major role in winning any war. "In Satyug, Gods consumed Somras, Later, kings also won wars after consuming drinks. The opening of liquor shops shall help in checking virus and will bring in revenue for state government. However, the ban on tobacco, cigarettes etc should continue," he said.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to media during a break in impeachment proceedings, in the Senate subway area in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Cruz Urges AG Barr to Investigate Officials Who Target Religious Communities Amid Pandemic

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is urging Attorney General William Barr to watch for state and local officials who may be engaging in discrimination against faith-based groups amid the pandemic.

This comes in the wake of comments made by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in a Twitter post, where he appeared to threaten the Jewish community with summons or even arrest after hundreds of Orthodox Jews gathered together to mourn the passing of Rabbi Chaim Mertz, a respected religious leader in their community.

In a letter to Barr on Thursday, Cruz highlighted the incident as an example of local officials who are allegedly targeting and discriminating against people of faith while imposing restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus.

This is dangerous in and of itself, Cruz wrote in his letter. But it is especially dangerous to single out the Jewish community in a city that is experiencing a substantial rise in violent antisemitism.

He alleged that de Blasios actions had singled out the Jewish community for special burdens because he had treated other large group gatherings and anticipated gatherings in a different manner.

The fact that the Mayor made this threat mere days after tweeting in support of a program that would bring hundreds of thousands [of meals] to the 32 sites most frequented by our Muslim communities and attending large gatherings with health care workers without protective equipment suggests that the Jewish community is being singled out for special burdens, he wrote.

Last week, de Blasio announced that the city plans to distribute half a million Halal meals during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan at 32 Department of Education buildings. He also posed for photos with a large group of health care workers without wearing a mask or any face coverings.

The Department of Justice should not hesitate to closely monitor New York City to ensure that the Mayors rhetoric does not translate into constitutional violations, the senator wrote.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during a Senate Judiciary hearing about sanctuary jurisdictions, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 22, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Cruz, who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciarys Subcommittee on The Constitution, also extolled the attorney general for his April 17 memo where he directed federal prosecutors to watch out for lockdown measures aimed at controlling the spread of the CCP virus that may be infringing on constitutional rights.

The attorney general said in the memo that state and local restrictions could be running afoul of constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens and in that event, the Justice Department (DOJ) may have an obligation to address that overreach in federal court.

De Blasios press office did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request to comment on the letter.

In a statement to the Associated Press, de Blasios press secretary, Freddi Goldstein, said the mayor has apologized to anyone he offended by his word choice. That was certainly not his intention, while adding that he cannot stand idly by if there are gatherings that pose a risk to New Yorkers health and safety.

The mayor received backlash earlier this week from Jewish leaders and organizations after he chastised members of the Jewish community who participated in Mertzs funeral. Videos and photos from the event show a vast majority of people who were in attendance were wearing masks but did not appear to follow social distancing guidelines as mandated by the city.

Following the incident, de Blasio issued a series of social media posts to criticize the participants of the funeral, calling it absolutely unacceptable.

My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period, he said.

We have lost so many these last two months + I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths + more families in mourning. We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance, he added.

The mayor subsequently issued an apology for his comments, saying that they were spoken out of passion.

I regret if the way I said it in any way gave people a feeling of being treated the wrong way. That was not my intention. It was said with love, but it was tough love, de Blasio said.

But he added that he had no regrets about calling out this danger and saying were going to deal with it very, very aggressively.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a food shelf organized by The Campaign Against Hunger in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on April 14, 2020. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)

More than 100 Jewish leaders, elected officials, and organizations sent de Blasio a public letter on Thursday to express opposition to the mayors comments and to relay their anger and disappointment at your scapegoating the Jewish community.

This singling out is especially potent because it aligns with longstanding antisemitic tropes that have, for millenia (sic), blamed Jews for societal ills, the letter read. Laying blame upon Hasidic communitiesamong the most visible members of our Jewish familywill not stop the spread of COVID-19, and referring to these particular communities as the Jewish community both flattens a diverse group of New Yorkers into a single bloc and fuels the anti-Semitic hatreds that bubble beneath the surface of our society.

Cruz has previously called out de Blasio for restricting faith gatherings during the outbreak. The mayor said they would shut down any religious services that violate the citys social distancing orders, while threatening fines and permanent closures for houses of worship that do not comply.

These are flagrant abuses of power. While cities have the authority to prevent large gatherings during a pandemic, they cant permanently ban faith communities, Cruz wrote in an op-ed published in the New York Post earlier this month.

The debate between protecting civil liberties and public health has flared in recent weeks as Americans begin expressing frustration with restrictions. Many of the state and local measures have caused Americans to lose their jobs, while plunging their states into a deep economic slump. Some have taken the streets to protest the restrictions.

Meanwhile, multiple court challenges have been filed against governors over their executive orders that impose a variety of bans that are seen as an assault on civil liberties and individual rights, including cases over religious discrimination where drive-in services were banned in multiple cities across the country.

The DOJ recently by filing a statement of claim in support of a Mississippi church that appeared to be singled out by a local mayors order against drive-in services.

Even in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers, Barr said at the time.

The Justice Department told The Epoch Times they had received the letter.
School & Education, Local News

By Ls Cohen Published: May 01 2020

Distance learning will remain in place.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that all New York State schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year.

Schools were first closed on March 18 and the 180 minimum days of school requirement were waived.

Since then, students and teachers had to adjust to online learning.

Teachers did a phenomenal job stepping up to do this, Cuomo said in his daily press conference on Friday.

Throughout the state, from Kindergarten to college, there are 4.2 million students, according to statistics presented by Cuomo. Of those, there are 700 school districts with 4,800 individual schools with almost 2.6 million students.

The decisions on the education system are obviously critically important, he said. We must protect our children.

Given the situation and the difficulty enforcing social distancing, Cuomo said the State decided to keep schools closed for the remainder of the year. He said summer school attendance will be decided later on.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said that there wasn't enough time to get schools prepared to resume, especially with all the considerations needed to be made like social distancing, PPEs, and making sure buildings were kept disinfected while students were present.

"We saw that the runway for getting all of these things ready was getting shorter and shorter," she said.

Meal programs and childcare services for essential workers will continue.

Cuomo said that schools will be coming up with plans to reopen in the Fall including monitoring of Covid-19 spread, extra-curricular activities, protocols for special student populations, housing meals and gatherings on college campuses, and the possibility of an alternative academic calendar.

We need schools to come up with plans also to bring those precautions into the school room, he said.

You can watch the full press conference below (Friday, May 1, 2020):
Text in which the author defends ideas and reaches conclusions based on his / her interpretation of facts and data

The life of my partner, Julian Assange, is at severe risk. He is on remand at HMP Belmarsh, and Covid-19 is spreading within its walls.

Julian and I have two little boys. Since becoming a mother, I have been reflecting on my own childhood.

My parents are European, but when I was little we lived in Botswana, five miles from the border with Apartheid South Africa. Many of my parents' friends came from across the border: writers, painters, conscientious objectors. It was an unlikely centre for artistic creativity and intellectual exchange.

The history books describe Apartheid as institutional segregation, but it was much more than that. Segregation occurred in broad daylight. The abductions, torture and killings occurred at night.

We were totally exposed. These forces operated in a legal and ethical vacuum that engulfed us

The foundations of the Apartheid system were precarious, so the regime met ideas of political reform with live ammunition. In June 1985, South African assassination squads crossed the border armed with machine guns, mortars and grenades. As soon as gunfire burst into the night, my parents wrapped me in a blanket. I slept as my parents raced the car to safety. The sound of explosions carried through the capital for the hour and a half that it took to kill twelve people.

The first person to be killed was a very close family friend, an exceptional painter. South Africa claimed the raid had targeted the armed wing of the ANC, but in reality most of the victims were innocent civilians and children killed as they lay sleeping in bed. We left Botswana within days.

I have absorbed my parents' vivid memories of the raid. If that terrible night shaped my perspective of the world, the incarceration of the father of my children will surely mark theirs.

Forming a family with Julian under the circumstances was always going to be difficult, but our hopes eclipsed our fears. Initially, Julian and I managed to carve out a space for a private life. Our firstborn visited with the help of a friend. But when Gabriel was six months old, an embassy security contractor confessed to me that he had been told to steal the babys DNA through a nappy. Failing that they would take the babys pacifier. The whistleblower warned me Gabriel should not come into the embassy anymore. It was not safe. I realised that all the precautions I had taken, from piling layers on to disguise my bump to changing my name, would not protect us. We were totally exposed. These forces operated in a legal and ethical vacuum that engulfed us.

A police raid at the security company directors home turned up two handguns with their serial numbers filed off

I could write volumes about what happened in the months that followed. By the time I was pregnant with Max the pressure and harassment had become unbearable and I feared that my pregnancy was at risk. When I was six months pregnant Julian and I decided I should stop going into the embassy. The next time I saw him was in Belmarsh prison.

The image of Julian being carried out of the embassy shocked many. It struck a blow to my chest, but it did not shock me. What happened that morning was an extension of what had been going on inside the embassy over an eighteen-month period.

After Julian was arrested a year ago, Spains High Court opened an investigation into the security company that had been operating inside the embassy. Several whistleblowers came forward and have informed law enforcement of unlawful activities against Julian and his lawyers, both inside and outside the embassy. They are cooperating with law enforcement and have provided investigators with large amounts of data.

The investigation has revealed that the company had been moonlighting for a US company closely associated with the current US administration and US intelligence agencies and that the increasingly disturbing instructions, such as following my mother or the baby DNA directive, had come from their US client, not Ecuador. Around the same time that I had been approached about the targeting of our baby, the company was thrashing out even more sinister plans concerning Julians life. Their alleged plots to poison or abduct Julian have been raised in UK extradition proceedings. A police raid at the security company directors home turned up two handguns with their serial numbers filed off.

None of this information is surprising to me but as a parent I ponder how to manage it.

I want our children to grow up with the clarity of conviction that I had as a little girl. Peril lay beyond the South African border. I want them to believe that inequitable treatment is not tolerated in mature democracies. At university in Oxford, I was proud to be at the intellectual heart of the most mature democracy of them all.

It is not just our family who suffers from the infringement of Julian's rights. If our family and Julian's lawyers are not off-limits, then nothing is. The person responsible for allegedly ordering the theft of Gabriel's DNA is Mike Pompeo, who last month threatened the family members of lawyers working at the International Criminal Court. Why? Because the court had had the temerity to investigate alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan. The same crimes that Julian exposed through WikiLeaks, and which the US wants to imprison him over.

Julian needs to be released now. For him, for our family, and for the society we all want our children to grow up in.

Stella Moris is a lawyer and the sentimental partner of Julian Assange.
HOUSTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Working with children has been at the heart of Stella Chen's career. As the director of an international summer camp for nine years, she enjoyed showing Chinese students a taste of American culture each summer.

A move across the country brought about a career change for Chen, which led her to immediately inquire about how to open a Kumon Center in her new community. She had known of Kumon for some time, as she enrolled her daughter years ago and witnessed her excel through the program. She was surprised at the absence of a center in Houston's Chinatown community. Today, as the new owner and Instructor of Kumon Math and Reading Center of Houston  Chinatown, she is excited to expand on her love for educating by inspiring area students to reach their full potential.

"As a Kumon parent, I have found the program's daily worksheet study to be a great guide to help my daughter reach her academic goals," said Chen, owner and Instructor of Kumon of Houston - Chinatown. "Countless children can benefit from the Kumon Method, and I'm excited to provide that opportunity in my community."

Becoming a Kumon Franchisee is an attractive business opportunity for many aspiring entrepreneurs, as up to $36,000 in startup cost assistance is available. There is also an extensive network of support to help you each step of the way of starting your new business. Kumon is a supplemental education program that aims to unlock students' full potential by increasing academic independence, confidence, and study skills. Through daily worksheet study, students that are enrolled in Kumon often end up mastering material far beyond grade level. Learn more about the Kumon Method today.

"I feel like I'm part of something bigger than myself as a Kumon Instructor," said Chen. "I look forward to increasing students' academic ability in Houston's Chinatown community, in turn creating a brighter future for all of us."

About Kumon Math & Reading Centers:

Kumon is an after-school math and reading enrichment program that unlocks the potential of children, so they can achieve more on their own. As a comprehensive program, Kumon serves children in preschool through high school. The learning method uses an individualized approach that helps children develop a solid command of math and reading skills. Through daily practice and mastery of materials, students increase confidence, improve concentration, and develop better study skills.

About the Kumon Franchise Business

Kumon is an ideal small business for professionals. Kumon Franchisees must have a four-year college degree, be proficient in math and reading, have investment capital of $70,000 and a net worth of at least $150,000. Founded in 1958, Kumon has over four million students enrolled at nearly 25,000 learning centers in more than 50 countries and regions.

SOURCE Kumon

Related Links

http://www.kumon.com


A federal judge has rejected former trash titan Chuck B. Rizzos early release from prison for bribery and wire fraud that he sought based his cooperation with authorities and his disabled sons difficulties in adjusting to his confinement.

U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland on Friday denied Rizzos request to get out 2-1/2 years early, noting that prosecutors say Rizzo has not provided any substantial post-sentencing cooperation and casts doubts as to the credibility of the information more recently provided by Rizzo.

Cleland also notes Rizzo violated bond in the past as he continued to participate in criminal activity during his purported cooperation with the governments investigation.

Rizzo, 47, of Bloomfield Hills, in his request also says his cognitively impaired sons physical and mental health have declined due to his fathers absence. Rizzos wife is their sons full-time caregiver.

But Cleland notes that Rizzos family has a wealth of assets, an estimated $39 million, in which to provide additional care for their son.

The court recognizes that the incarceration of a parent can carry profound psychological and emotional repercussions on a child, Cleland wrote. However,  the immense resources available to Defendants family are more than adequate for Defendants wife to acquire additional caretaking assistance if needed.

Rizzos financial status provides an immeasurable advantage over virtually everyone else, and his family is in a better position than nearly all others that have an imprisoned parent.

Very few of these children  have the added benefit of another parent serving as their full-time caregiver nor the resources for their parent to hire additional help should the burden of their care surpasses the abilities of their custodial parent, he said.

Cleland adds that Rizzo overstated the impact on his son.

Rizzo is serving 5-1/2 years in prison after he was convicted for actions related to operation of Sterling Heights-based Rizzo Environmental Services, which is now defunct. Rizzo is one of the primary figures in the wide-ranging ongoing corruption investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorneys that has netted more criminal convictions for more than 20 people, including Rizzos father, Charles P. Rizzo, 73, of New Baltimore, who served a short sentence.

Rizzo Jr., who is serving his sentence in Florida, is scheduled for release in December 2022.

According to federal prosecutors, the Rizzos and others planned to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in an embezzlement scheme using a fake legal settlement agreement, phony consulting deals, kickbacks and shell companies to help pay for Chuck Rizzos mansion. Some of the stolen cash was used to finance a series of bribes paid to public officials to secure additional municipal garbage contracts.

Rizzo pleaded guilty in November 2017 and was prematurely jailed in February 2018 prior to his April sentencing due to the bond violation but after his sentencing was freed for a short time to get his personal affairs in order, notably care of his cognitively impaired son.

In his eight-page opinion, Cleland points out that Chuck Rizzos sentence was substantially below the sentencing guideline calculation of 10 years in prison.

Rizzo also attempted to use the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in seeking a compassionate release, a request opposed by U.S. Attorneys.

Rizzo contended he is more susceptible to the coronavirus because he has high blood pressure.

Rizzo also claimed that the impact of the coronavirus stay-home order has exacerbated his sons inability to adjust to his fathers absence.

Cleland calls the release of for the reasons related to the coronavirus an extrordinary remedy and says Rizzo failed to exhaust his administrative avenues for release regarding COVID-19.

Cleland adds he was influenced to deny the release to allow Rizzo to reflect the seriousness of his offense, provide punishment and promote general deterrence.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Friday expressed gratitude to all professionals fighting coronavirus at the forefront including doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, home guards, delivery boys and media. "We are expressing our gratitude to all 'corona warriors' who are working hard to keep us safe," General Bipin Rawat also said. The Air Force will conduct a flypast on Sunday to salute Corona warriors, General Bipin Rawat further said "Indian Air Force will conduct flypast from Srinagar to Trivandrum and another one starting from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kutch in Gujarat. It'll include both transport & fighter aircraft," General Bipin Rawat stated.

Earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and three service chiefs addressed a joint press conference on Friday. The three serving military chiefs include Chief of the Indian Army General MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh, and IAF chief RKS Bhadauria.

On Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had chaired a meeting with the top military brass on coronavirus issue. In April, General Bipin Rawat had said that the defence services "must operate beyond the mandate to support the people and government in whatever way we can." The defence services emerged successful in combating coronavirus owing to its culture of 'discipline and patience', he had also said.

The government last month announced a freeze on additional increments of dearness allowance and dearness relief for 18 months for all central government employees, including serving military personnel and veterans. Meanwhile, India recorded 1,993 coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the highest 1-day jump, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 35,043 on Friday, according to the latest update by the Union Health Ministry. These cases include 25,007 active cases, 8,888 cured or discharged, 1 migrated and 1,147 deaths.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown extended till May 17, guidelines issued; COVID-19 cases at 35,365

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Will your area fall in 'red zone' post May 3? Check out district-wise full list
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told billionaire Andrew Forrest to stay away from foreign affairs and stop spreading misinformation about the origins of the coronavirus.

Mr Forrest has secured 10 million testing kits from China in a $320 million deal, bolstering Australia's supplies, but he has angered federal MPs with his comments about the coronavirus and the diplomatic tension between the two countries.

Andrew ''Twiggy'' Forrest at the Mindaroo Foundation press conference on Wednesday with Health Minister Greg Hunt. Credit:AAP

Asked by Alan Jones on 2GB whether Mr Forrest was lying when he said the virus could have started in another country, the Prime Minister said "that's obviously not true".

"I don't think anybody's in any fantasy land about where [the virus] started," Mr Morrison said on Friday. "It started in China."
Brown lets him tell his story  as an angler lets a fish run before setting the hook. Hocking talks of coming home, finding his mother, feeling for a pulse, discovering shes dead, protecting his children from the terrible scene and hoping his mother didnt suffer. Phyllis Hocking: bashed to death with an iron bar. When Brown slowly dismantles his story, Hocking keeps talking: He is not interested in money, he loves his mother, he ran a Christian band, she would give him anything he wanted so he didnt need to kill, he lives to help people and has no interest in money. As he talks his voice becomes high-pitched, with an unnatural inflection at the end of sentences. Brown asks: Why doesnt it shock you that you might be the suspect of your mothers murder? He responds: It is pretty obvious, isnt it. Our family stands to gain financially ... I would expect to be the prime suspect.

Brown: Did you kill your mother? Hocking: Of course I didnt. It was the savagery of the attack that first gave police doubts about the burglary-gone-wrong theory. According to the homicide investigator, Charlie Bezzina, the facts pointed elsewhere. The victim was frail and there was no need to beat her with an iron bar to escape. The stereo equipment was stacked neatly as if about to be stolen but the cords were cut, rendering them useless. The point of entry was carefully selected to create the least damage  not the usual act of a burglar. If it was a robbery, why didnt the crook take nearly $500 Phyllis had in her bag?

In other words, this was an inside job staged to resemble a random attack. There was another mystery. Why was the victim wearing a gold Seiko watch with a broken face that had stopped at 2.05pm? According to Bezzina: She was an old woman. He [the fictitious intruder] could have run out the front door and bowled her over. Or as burglars do, they leave an escape route  and this wasnt the case. The crime scene tells you stories. You have to learn to read a crime scene. This was an overkill [a frenzied attack], she was significantly attacked with a blunt object from behind. Deciding the burglary theory was far-fetched, Bezzina says: We started focusing on the son Philip.

Phyllis was a country domestic science teacher when she met and married Maryborough engineer Jack Hocking. When they discovered they couldnt have children they adopted three-year-old Philip. The boy grew up claiming his adoptive father was a bully and when Jack was dying of cancer Philip refused to visit. Phyllis Hocking with her husband Jack. Yet when he saw his mother, he nearly always asked for money to finance his latest project. He had big plans that always failed, after which he would demand that Phyllis bail him out. His sense of entitlement was breathtaking. He left her in tears when he said if his children didnt get a private education it would be her fault.

When she was sick he agreed to visit only if she paid for his car repairs. The married father had a playboy fantasy life, asking his mother to fund his latest business as a model agent and to cover the print cost of 4000 copies of his ridiculous book, Guys' Guide To Girls. For Hocking it was never enough. He wanted all her money and to get it he enlisted his son, Brent. The first plan was to intimidate Phyllis into care, giving Philip power of attorney. Her unit was repeatedly burgled and in one break-in Brent trashed the place, pouring red wine on the carpet. Later Phyllis asked her grandson, a carpet cleaner, to help with her lounge floor. Even though she bought the equipment for his business he charged her the full rate. When she refused to move, Brent was ordered to firebomb her home.

Now Philip planned to rob her of her lifes savings. The trouble was that if she went into care the costs would reduce the nest egg. This is when Philip persuaded Brent to kill his grandmother, leaving the scene as a robbery gone wrong. Bezzina was puzzled by the watch on the victims wrist. At first glance it could have been smashed as the old lady raised her arm to try and protect herself. But she was struck from behind and went to ground after the first blow. This meant it was smashed to make it look as though 2.05pm was the moment she was beaten. Philip Hocking worked in an office just 700 metres away (mum paid the rent) and told police he was in a meeting with three other people at that time.

Bezzina wasnt satisfied and had the watch examined by experts, who found it was rusted and seized. Why would a woman of sound mind wear such a watch? He concluded it was placed on the dead womans wrist to give Philip an alibi. Who then struck the blows? Brent Hocking was desperate for the approval of his father, who in turn assured him that with Phyllis gone he would pay off his sons debts from the inheritance. Brent Hocking during a police interview in February 1999 over the murder of his grandmother Phyllis. Brents partner swore he was at home and while Philip and his son remained suspects the case, like the watch, was frozen in time. Bezzina left the homicide squad but when he returned, just over five years later, there was a breakthrough: Brent had confessed to two people he was the killer.

In 1999 he was ready to tell Bezzina the truth in a formal interview. On October 26, 1993, with Phyllis at the nearby senior citizens club, Brent, then 21, waited in the bedroom clutching the iron bar. He told the homicide investigator: Id rather clean the slate and I also wanted to bring my father into this, because hes the person that coerced me into doing it and I want him brought to justice. My father finally asked me to knock her off while she was staying at his house and so one day when she was alone I went over there, knocked her over the head with a steel bar and killed her. Philip Hocking on his yacht. He died a free man.

My father drove me there and backed me in the drive in his car. Brent was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years and did his time without complaint. Reformed, he wrote Dont Tell Me  Show Me, a book for inmates and prison visitors on how to survive jail. Philip Hocking was not charged as Brents story couldnt be corroborated, although the judge made it clear he wished they were both standing in the dock to be sentenced. The man who organised the killing inherited $350,372.56 in cash and property. He dumped his family, bought a yacht and sailed to New Zealand. He died a free man. As part of The Ages crime podcast series Naked City I contacted Brent Hocking, who says the whole story was never told.

He says he struck Phyllis with the iron bar but when a group of schoolchildren walked past the house he fled, leaving his grandmother stunned but alive. He had not left behind a frenzied crime scene, had not stacked the stereo equipment or placed the watch on the victim. Brent Hocking: served 15 years but insists he did not strike the fatal blow. His father snuck back, struck Phyllis with a bar until she was dead - a crime of hate - and placed the watch on her wrist: He was given that six weeks prior to get it repaired. Asked who struck the fatal blows, Brent Hocking says: Im 100 per cent sure it was my father  he got away with murder.
The demise of Rishi Kapoor has jolted the cinema lovers and Industry Insiders alike. After fighting leukaemia for about 2 years across 2 continents, the veteran actor left for the heavenly abode yesterday at a hospital in Mumbai. His death was confirmed by none other than Amitabh Bachchan who posted and then deleted the tweet. It was probably because Big B needed more time to recollect his thoughts.

In his latest blog, Amitabh Bachchan has penned his thoughts beautifully as a memoriam. Recalling their first meeting at Raj Kapoors house then at RK Studios and then eventually working in several films together, Big B praises Rishi Kapoors ability to perfectly lip sync a song, his playful attitude on sets or playing cards before getting ready to shoot a sequence.

Big B says that Rishi Kapoor did not let his medical condition bring his spirits down. He would always say see you soon, just a routine visit to the hospital, ill be back shortly. He learnt to live life from his father Raj Kapoor. The megastar also reveals why did not pay him a visit in the hospital. Big B says that he never wanted to see distress on his ever-so smiling face. He is however certain that when he left, he would have left with a gentle smile.

Also Read: Doordarshan says Ramayan smashes worldwide viewership records, becomes most watched entertainment show

Also Read: Irrfan Khans family shares heartfelt note, says their life was a masterclass in acting

Even in the statement issued by Kapoor family, they wrote that the doctors and hospital staff told them that Rishi Kapoor kept them entertained till his very last. Some of the films that the two actors have done together include Kabhie Kabhie, Amar Akbar Anthony and 102 Not Out.

Also Read: Bigg Boss 13 fame Mahira Sharma spills the beans about her mothers equation with Paras Chhabra

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By PTI

NEW DELHI: Terror modules operating within Jammu and Kashmir and their handlers from across the border incite people by the transmission of fake news, the UT administration has told the Supreme Court while opposing the restoration of 4G services in the Union Territory.

It said there were well-founded apprehensions of misuse of internet for propagation of terror activities and incitement through the circulation of inflammatory material, particularly fake videos and photos as also coordination of activities that are inimical to security and public order.

"The terror modules operating within the UTs and handlers from across the border aid and incite people by transmission of fake news and targeted messages through the use of internet to propagate terrorism, co-ordinate and plan terror attacks," an affidavit filed by the UT's administration said.

The submissions were made in response to a plea filed by Foundation for Media Professionals seeking restoration of 4G internet services in the Union Territory in view of prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

"Pakistan based terrorism handlers like The Resistance Front (TRF) and Tehreeki-Milat-i-Islami (TMI), instigating youth to join terrorism, are using messaging applications to communicate as also to raise the morale of terrorists; however 2G mobile data services considerably restrict the use of such Applications," the affidavit said.

Restoration of 4G mobile data services will substantially increase the use of social media and other online platforms in uploading/downloading of videos and other propaganda material and their faster circulation, deteriorating the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley, it said.

The internet is being used to support fallacious proxy wars by raising money, recruiting and spreading propaganda/ideologies and prevalence of the internet provides an easy inroad to young impressionable minds, J&K said.

It said that till April 25, 108 terrorism-related incidents took place with 99 Incidents reported from the Kashmir Province while 9 others from Jammu province.

"30 civilians lost their lives, while 114 civilians were injured in terrorist-related incidents".

The affidavit said that even the top court has not been spared of the ill effects of habitual fake news propaganda which took place very recently involving a fake order purporting to be a Record of Proceeding of this court.

It had falsely reflected that administration of J&K has been ordered to take a quick review within 24 hours to restore full internet communication in the region.

It said that an FIR under sections 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of court record) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the IPC was filed in this regard at the Cyber Police Station, Kashmir Zone.

It said that umpteen rumours relating to a number of positive COVID-19 cases/deaths, creating chaos and panic; health-related fake news of prominent people in Jammu & Kashmir like that of Chairman, All Party Hurriyat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, shutdown call by JKLF on the eve of the death anniversary of Mohd.

Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru, to observe Republic Day as black day have been doing the rounds.

The J&K administration told the apex court that a very reasonable quantum of restrictions have been imposed by reducing the speed of the internet to protect the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

The dispensation told the top court that even when internet services were restored only with white-listed URLs, it was found that miscreants were using different VPNs but because of low-speed mobile data services, were not able to upload files of heavy data containing incriminating and other objectionable videos.
The Bayero University Kano (BUK) says it has invented a ventilator machine to enhance prevention and case management of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Vice Chancellor, Yahuza Bello, made the disclosure at the exhibition of the machine on Friday in Kano.

Mr Bello disclosed that an emergency team was constituted for the project, under Ibrahim Abdullahi of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

He said the invention was part of the contribution by the institution to promote research and stem further spread of the pandemic.

The VC explained that the ventilator was designed with two mode operating levels for effective management of coronavirus cases.

Mr Bello said: The university saw the need to contribute to the fight against the deadly pandemic and came up with this idea.

READ ALSO:

The ventilator operates in two modes; in mode one, it breathes for the patient while in mode two, the ventilator complements the breathing for the patient.

The ventilator has a control unit to check breathing according to the patients requirement. It has ranges for the clinician to tune to a particular breathing frequency to support the life of the patient.

We produced one unit of the ventilator at the cost of N500, 000. We used available local materials and technologies.

We are making plans to engage companies so that we can go into mass production. For now, as a university, we produce in batches. We shall soon partner with companies for commercial production.

He said plans are under way for clinical trial of the machine on animals.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the university had set up a Molecular Laboratory to enhance detection, case management and prevent further spread of coronavirus.

The test centre was designed with 180 daily samples test capacity to complement the existing Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) laboratory at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).

(NAN)
A convicted paedophile is back in jail after being accused of penning a handwritten novel that portrayed himself as a protector of young boys.

Former Royal Australian Air Force member Michael David Jones, 55, was placed on a one-year continuing detention order by Justice Mark Ierace.

In his NSW Supreme Court decision on Wednesday, the judge said Jones has an extensive past of committing paedophilic offences dating back to the late 1980s when he sexually abused five teenage boys while a local Scout leader.

'His history of diarising his experiences and fantasies which, it is alleged he has maintained in recent times, is strongly suggestive of a failure thus far to develop alternative ways of thinking in terms of his paedophilia,' Justice Ierace said.

Former Royal Australian Air Force member Michael David Jones, 55, has an extensive past of committing paedophilic offences dating back to the late 1980s when he sexually abused five teenage boys while a local Scout leader (stock image)

The Belfast-born migrant was released on parole on February 1 and had been living at an 'integrated support centre' while on an interim supervision order that expired on Thursday.

The State of NSW had sought either a two-year continuing detention order or a five-year extended supervision order for Jones.

His latest conviction came in February 2018 for creating a diary that included references to his past sexual offending.

While serving his two-year prison sentence, police allegedly confiscated over 800 A4 pages of handwritten notes from Jones' cell in January.

Further material, including individual pages and two diaries, were allegedly later found in his possession and a subsequent search uncovered cut-out pictures of children.

He was arrested and charged on April 3 for producing and possessing child abuse material, contained within the handwritten novel.

It features a protagonist named Michael who doubles as a federal agent and boarding school teacher, according to police facts cited by Justice Ierace.

'The material refers to persistent and relentless sexual abuse of boys through acts of oral and anal sexual intercourse and indecent assaults,' he said.

'In some instances, the main character offends against multiple boys at once.

'He portrays himself as the protector of abused children that have been gang-raped by adults.'

Mental health experts assessed Jones and diagnosed him as having paedophilic and post-traumatic stress disorders, with the latter possibly stemming from his time in combat while deployed in Cambodia on a UN peacekeeping mission.

In finding Jones likely posed an 'unacceptable risk' to the community, the judge noted there was a lack of resources available to grant him an extended supervision order.

'It is trite to observe that if the defendant re-offends against children, the consequences for those victims and their families would be disastrous,' he said.

'In my view, there is a real risk that the defendant would exploit opportunistic contact with young boys if he is either living independently or away from the integrated support centre whilst unaccompanied.'
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its partners handed over six ambulances and medical consumables to South-West states on Thursday.

NNPC said the donation was presented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, on behalf of the corporation and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group, comprising of 26 indigenous oil companies.

The corporation said in a statement issued in Abuja that the donation was part of the N21bn intervention initiative on the COVID-19 pandemic by the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The items donated to Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Ondo states were received by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, who is a member of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sylva said apart from the six ambulances, the states would also get thousands of testing kits, Personal Protective Equipment, including face masks, body suits, hand gloves and sanitisers.

He said similar donations had earlier been made by the oil and gas sector in Abuja, Rivers and Bayelsa states, adding that collaboration was needed to defeat the novel coronavirus.

The minister added that similar items would be delivered to Kano and Katsina states and that the industry would build emergency and infectious diseases hospitals in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

On his part, Mamora commended the initiative of the oil and gas sector in the fight against COVID-19.

Speaking on behalf of the South-West governors, Sanwo-Olu said the donation would be used to support the critical infrastructure that was a challenge to the healthcare industry.
Tamara Debnam, an elections assistant for the Baltimore City Board of Elections, sorts mail-in ballots at a canvasing warehouse earlier this week. Read more

Pennsylvania Republicans considering the states new vote-by-mail option are caught in a crossfire of mixed messaging from their party, from President Donald Trump on down.

The Grand Old Partys pitch: Mail-in ballots are a good thing for voters, and also perilous for democracy.

Trump on April 7 declared them a very dangerous thing for this country because of cheaters engaged in election fraud. Trump, who has a long history of making unsubstantiated voter fraud claims, again offered no evidence.

Here in Pennsylvania, the state Republican Party is aggressively pushing mail-in ballots, offering vote safe advice on its website, and hosting online training sessions. The Republican National Committee in April sent mailers to Pennsylvania voters urging them to vote by mail.

Still, Pennsylvania Republican Chairperson Lawrence Tabas pushed the mixed messaging in a state Senate hearing Thursday, calling mail-in ballots an important option while claiming many voters are reluctant to use them because of an increased risk of fraud.

The Pennsylvania Department of State reports that nearly 675,000 voters had as of Wednesday applied for mail-in or absentee ballots for the primary, including 206,865 Republicans. That is more than six times the request rate in the 2016 primary, when only absentee ballots were available.

A Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday found that 87% of Democrats support allowing any voter to cast a ballot by mail, while Republicans are split, with 49% in favor and 50% opposed. Two-thirds of the voters in that poll expect Novembers election to be disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nancy Patton Mills, chairperson of the state Democratic Party, offered a simple fix to the senators.

We should send a physical application for vote-by-mail to every Pennsylvania voter, she testified. And we should provide return postage for both the application and peoples ballots.

Trumps campaign, at least, stuck with its message.

Erin Perrine, a Trump campaign spokesperson, called full mail-in vote proposals ripe for fraud."

Seth Williams shaves two years off his five-year prison term

Welcome home, Seth Williams!

Philadelphias former district attorney, last seen handcuffed and hauled out of a courtroom by U.S. marshals to serve a five-year prison term for bribery, returned last week to finish his sentence under the supervision of a local residential reentry program.

Williams, incarcerated for most of the last three years in West Virginia, returns to the hometown where his once-promising political career collapsed amid a series of personal scandals, federal charges, and ethics inquiries in 2017.

The former top prosecutors release was not connected to a push by the Bureau of Prisons to reduce inmate populations to curb the spread of the coronavirus in federal lockups, his attorney Thomas F. Burke told Clout.

Although Williams sentence is not yet complete, one of the five years the judge imposed was shaved off for good behavior, and another for the drug treatment program he completed while incarcerated, prosecutors said. Like many federal inmates, Williams was eligible to serve out his final days in custody at a halfway house or under house arrest.

While the feds will keep Williams on a tight leash until his official Sept. 30 release date, he can now go out to work and for certain recreational purposes. After that, hes still facing three years probation and a restitution bill for tens of thousands of dollars.

At Williams 2017 sentencing, U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond verbally eviscerated the fallen prosecutor, calling him a criminal who fed his face at the trough.

By accepting gifts from businessmen seeking a leg up in the courts and stealing money meant to cover his mothers nursing home care, the judge said, Williams humiliated his employees and dumped his mom like a sack of potatoes, all to project a high-roller image to the parasites [with whom he] surrounded himself.

Now that federal lockup is behind him, said Burke, Williams is doing well.

Hes reconnecting with his family, the lawyer said. "He even has some job prospects, which under normal circumstances hed be able to pursue right now.

Clout also hears that Ken Smukler, who was the right-hand man for Democratic City Committee leader Bob Brady, returned home Wednesday to finish his 18-month sentence for violating campaign finance laws. Smukler was sprung from a prison in South Jersey, not due to the coronavirus but because he was nearing his September release date.

Other Philly pols remain in prison during a pandemic

Some disgraced Philly politicos, after hearing hopeful news, are still sweating it out in federal prisons.

James E. Moylan, former of head of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, was told two weeks ago that hed been chosen to serve the rest of his 18-month fraud and tax-evasion sentence on house arrest. That decision was part of a push to thin prison populations to curb the spread of the coronavirus, his lawyer Joseph P. Capone told Clout.

The longtime ally to local labor leader John Johnny Doc Dougherty was placed into quarantine at the federal prison in Fairfield, N.J., and told hed be let go in 10 to 14 days.

Capone said prison officials reconsidered last week, moving Moylan back to general population.

Lawyers for former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Herbert Vederman, imprisoned on charges tied to gifts he gave U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, said last week that he, too, had been promised house arrest only to see the offer pulled back. He remains at a federal prison in Otisville, N.Y.
President Donald Trump.

Associated Press

President Trump said Thursday that he has evidence showing that the coronavirus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, but he can't share what it is.

"I can't tell you that," Trump said when a reporter asked what information gave him a "high degree of confidence" that the virus came from the lab. "I'm not allowed to tell you that."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence put out a statement Thursday saying the US intelligence community agrees with the "wide scientific consensus" that the coronavirus was not "manmade or genetically modified."

The statement said intelligence agencies will continue to "rigorously examine" whether the virus was "the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."

Multiple intelligence officials told The New York Times, Politico, and other outlets that there is no evidence so far to back up the theory that the coronavirus was created in or escaped from a Wuhan lab.

Sources also told The Times that Trump administration officials are pressuring US spies to link the virus to the lab, and one former official described senior aides' repeated emphasis of the lab theory as "conclusion shopping."

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President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has evidence showing that the coronavirus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, but he can't share what it is.

Fox News reporter John Roberts asked Trump whether he has seen any evidence to date that gives him a "high degree of confidence" that the virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Related: Why Some Viruses Jump From Animals to People

"Yes, I have," Trump said, before going on a tangent about the World Health Organization and accusing the group of being a "public relations agency for China."

"They shouldn't be making excuses when people make horrible mistakes," Trump said. "Especially mistakes that are causing hundreds of thousands of people around the world to die. I think the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves."

Story continues

A few minutes later, Roberts pressed Trump again and asked whether he has conclusive evidence that the coronavirus is not a naturally occurring virus.

"You're talking about the virus and where it came from?" Trump asked, to which Roberts replied in the affirmative.

Here was Trump's response, verbatim:

"No, we're going to see where it is. We're going to see where it comes from. And you know, look, you know every theory. You had the theory from the lab, you had the theory from many different  the bats, the type of bat, and the bat is 40 miles away, so it couldn't have been here and it couldn't have been there, and we have a  there's a lot of theories. But, yeah, we have people looking at it very, very closely. Scientific people, intelligence people and others, and we're going to put it all together, and I think we're going to have a very good answer, eventually."

"And what gives you a high degree of confidence that this originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology?" Roberts asked again.

"I can't tell you that," Trump said. "I'm not allowed to tell you that."

The president's remarks came after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence put out a statement saying the intelligence community agrees with the "wide scientific consensus" that the coronavirus was not "manmade or genetically modified."

The statement continued to say the intelligence community will "rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."

Multiple intelligence officials and those familiar with the matter told The New York Times, Politico, and other outlets they have found no hard evidence so far to back up the theory that the novel coronavirus was created in or escaped from a Wuhan lab.

Sources also told The Times that Trump administration officials are pressuring American spies to link the virus to the lab, and one former intelligence official described senior aides' repeated emphasis of the lab theory as "conclusion shopping," a disparaging term analysts use to describe politically motivated demands.

Roberts also asked Trump about the ODNI's statement on Thursday.

"Who was that, who was that that said that?" Trump replied after Robert brought up the statement.

"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence," Robert said.

"Yeah, but who in particular, who was the man that made that statement?" the president said.

"It was a statement that the ODNI " Robert began, before Trump cut him off.

"Oh, he would know that, huh?" Trump said, referring to his handpicked acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell. "National intelligence, okay. So we'll see."

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The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board cant just ignore an order by the Legislature to allow licensed importers and vendors to directly ship alcohol to special order customers, bypassing the state liquor stores, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled Friday.

In an opinion by Judge P. Kevin Brobson, the court found the LCB should have set up such a system years ago.

The Commonwealth Court decision, if it withstands any appeal, will effectively cut the LCB out as a middleman, allowing vendors to ship liquor special orders directly to bars, restaurants and other customers.

The LCB has been requiring those shipments to make a stop at the state liquor stores, where the agency imposes a handling fee. Customers have had to retrieve their shipments from the state stores.

Commonwealth Court took on the case after two wine distributors, MFW Wine Co. and A6 Wine Co., and the Bloomsday Cafe sued the LCB.

Brobson found the LCB is not only required to allow direct special order shipping by legislation passed in 2016, but that it should have set up a program for doing so by June 1, 2017. He rejected the LCBs argument that the legislation contained no such mandate.

The legislation at issue does not authorize the PLCB to prevent by its inaction the will of the General Assembly to allow special order direct shipments, Brobson wrote. The General Assembly does not make its statutory authorization of direct shipment conditioned on the PLCBs agreement with the policy decision.

Although the PLCB has discretion on what procedure it adopts to implement these transactions, it does not have the discretion to prevent them, he added.

Brobson didnt set a deadline for the LCB to set up the overdue direct shipment system but urged promptness. The court is confident that PLCB has the resources and ingenuity to do so without unreasonable delay, he wrote.
Airports make many joys of travel possible. They trigger the deep emotions of departures and arrivals. But having any kind of relationship with an airport beyond the purely transactional would surely be weird?

Well, were I ever to confess to actual affection for an airport, it would be Gatwick. I was born in a house beside the A23 two miles south of the runway, within earshot of the quasi-military engines that powered the first jets to use the Sussex airport.

In common with practically everyone else growing up in Crawley, I worked at Gatwick in a range of jobs: first cleaning the offices of BAs charter offshoot, British Airtours, then the insides of real planes. Later I started frisking people at the airport (as a job, not a hobby).

Not that I harboured any realistic hope of flying on a plane from Gatwick. At the end of my final shift as a security officer, I went to Spain. But with the air fare representing a months work, I hitchhiked there and back.

By the end of 2019, Gatwick had become the busiest single-runway airport in the world, and ferocious competition between airlines had cut fares. You could fly to Spain and back for less than a days work at the National Living Wage.

Recommended BA closes Gatwick base indefinitely amid coronavirus crisis

In December I flew to Palma de Mallorca: out on easyJet (now the biggest airline at Gatwick), back on its smaller rival, BA.

While I look forward to many more departures on easyJet, I fear that flight BA2571 may turn out to have been my final Sussex service on British Airways.

For the hundreds of thousands of airline and airport staff who provide the UK with astonishingly safe, efficient and good-value air travel, 2020 has turned into a nightmare year. Instead of powering the industry of human happiness known as mass tourism, their jobs are under threat as Covid-19 brings air travel to a standstill.

In a process called Preparing for a Different Future. British Airways wants rid of 12,000 of its 42,000 staff. The figures set out by the airline in letters to trade unions reveal that BA envisages 22 per cent fewer flights when aviation finally gets back in the skies.

Many services to and from its main base, Heathrow airport, will be culled. This, though, creates a problem. BAs most valuable asset is its slot portfolio at Heathrow. In normal times, a strict use them or lose them rule applies for the precious permissions to take off and land at Europes busiest hub. Moving most or all flights from Gatwick around to Heathrow provides a solution.

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Even if British Airways decides to retain some presence at the Sussex airport, it will be just one-third of the present scale. Either way, a vacuum will be created. A newcomer such as Jet2 may move in; easyJet could seek to build a bigger fortress at its busiest base; or BAs sister airline, Vueling, might expand to provide more low-cost competition.

I predict the space will be quickly filled, which is some comfort for the excellent staff for whom British Airways is preparing a different and very unfortunate future.

A few new vacancies might also help those of us with some previous experience, if the tricky business of travel journalism goes permanently south while British Airways moves north.
The Delhi government intends to ask the Centre to tweak its procedure to notify Covid-19 red and orange zones for the national capital to let them ease restrictions in areas that havent had a single coronavirus case.

We are finalising a proposal to be submitted to the Union Health Ministry to consider a municipal ward, and not a district, as a unit for notifying red zones, a senior Delhi government official told Hindustan Times.

The national capitals 11 districts have been placed under the red zone by the Health Ministry.

With the home ministry extending the lockdown for two more weeks, this means that the citys estimated population of 19 million people would remain under the extended spell of lockdown. The home ministry on Friday evening extended the lockdown due to lapse on May 3 midnight by another two weeks.

Officials said treating the district as a unit was unfair to the people of the city and the Centre should take a smaller unit.

The North-East Delhi District, the countrys most densely populated district, is spread over 56 square kilometers. It is unreasonable to count the entire district as one unit and place it under a continued lockdown because there were some clusters of Covid-19, an official said.

Also read | National lockdown extended by 2 weeks but restrictions eased. What it means



I think the Centre should give Delhi a break.. It is unfair, he added.

He reasoned that if the Centre continues to use the same parameter, it would be months before Delhi moves into the green zone.

The city government believes a better strategy would be to demarcate the city into municipal wards - there are 272 wards under the three municipal corporations besides the NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board - and count a ward as red, green or orange zone depending on the number of cases.

When the zones system was launched last month, these were initially divided on the basis of cumulative cases and the rate of doubling of cases.

This time, we have broadened the criteria. The areas have been labelled also keeping in mind the fact these should not become potential hot spots if relaxations are given as per the green zone criteria.

This implies that some places may be in the green zone but were still designated as orange or red due to their proximity to areas where the case load is high.

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FILE PHOTO: The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County

By Devika Krishna Kumar

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices were 5% higher while Brent crude rose above $26 per barrel on Friday, with both benchmarks posting their first weekly gain in four weeks as OPEC and its allies embark on record output cuts to tackle a supply glut due to the coronavirus crisis.

In April, U.S. crude fell to an all-time low and traded negative for the first time on record while Brent hit a near-21-year low as the pandemic eroded demand and OPEC and other producers ramped up production before reaching the new supply deal that kicked in on Friday.

Brent futures <LCOc1> for July eased 4 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $26.44 per barrel. The June contract expired on Thursday at $25.27.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) <CLc1> ended the session 94 cents, or 5% higher, at $19.78 after climbing above $20 earlier in the session.

After three consecutive weeks of losses, Brent crude notched a gain of about 23% while WTI increased about 17%.

WTI also found support after U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a seventh week in a row, bringing the total count down to 325, the lowest since June 2016, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co <BKR.N> said. [RIG/U]

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, known as OPEC+, have agreed to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day from May 1.

Several countries and regions, including China's central province of Hubei, where the novel coronavirus behind the pandemic was first detected, are relaxing lockdowns put in place to contain the virus.

"Global petroleum stock builds likely peaked in April as oil demand contracted by nearly 25 million bpd year-over-year," according to a BofA Global Research report.

"Now, countries are emerging from lockdown, boosting demand just when OPEC+ cuts are kicking in and producers elsewhere are cutting output."

Even so, there are doubts the production reduction, the largest ever agreed, will be enough as demand is unlikely to recover rapidly.

Story continues

"The production cuts are finally kicking in," said Craig Erlam, analyst at brokerage OANDA. "Prices are still extremely low though and the next two weeks will likely see extreme volatility return."

A Reuters survey on Thursday showed that in advance of the new output cut, OPEC sharply raised production to the highest since March 2019, adding to the excess supply already in the market. [OPEC/O]

"The demand recovery will be a muted affair," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. "What's more, OPEC+ curbs which take effect today will be no panacea for the hefty supply imbalance."

Underlining the difficulties some producers will face in meeting their commitments, industry sources said Iraq would struggle to meet its quota of cutting output by nearly a quarter. Iraq is OPEC's second-largest producer.

Also supporting oil prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday crude inventories rose by 9 million barrels last week, less than the 10.6 million-barrel rise analysts had forecast. [EIA/S]

"This is a second straight week of inventory and product demand figures suggesting a bottoming of the U.S. market," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler, Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Clarke)
The Congress on Friday urged the Centre to scrap the ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project while accusing the BJP government of fast-tracking it to avoid scrutiny by the Supreme Court.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi urged the apex court to give precedence to petitions against the project and asked the government to keep the Rs 20,000-crore redevelopment plan last on their priority list as the entire nation is reeling under the coronavirus crisis.

One should not be misled by the government's claim on the project, as modernisation of every building within two kilometres -- North Block, South Block, Udyog Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan and the parliament -- to glittering new efficient models would cost less than Rs 500 crore, he said.

The redevelopment project of Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor -- envisages a triangular Parliament building next to the existing one, common Central Secretariat and revamping of the 3-km-long Rajpath -- from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate. A new Parliament House will come up on a 9.5-acre land near the existing building.

According to sources, prime minister's residence and office are likely to be shifted near the South Block and vice-president's new house will be in the vicinity of the North Block.

"This Rs 20,000 crore project is somebody's hobby horse. It is not only for a Modi Mahal, which includes a new prime minister's house, it is the intention to leave somehow in a personal manner, your own stamp by littering the whole of the green verdant landscape of Rajpath with new buildings, in the name of offices, in the name of convenience and modernisation.

"A more horrible attack on the heart and psyche of Delhi cannot be imagined," Singhvi said.

The Congress leader urged the apex courts to hear the matter on a priority basis.

"We would earnestly request the Supreme Court to pay immediate attention to this. We would request it to clarify that if the government seeks to continue (with the project) on its own steam, then they put a fair notice... at least subject to the outcome notice and a warning should be given," he said.

"We should warn the government that this should be the last priority. For the court, it should be the first priority to hear this kind of matter," Singhvi noted.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea against the Central Vista project. A bench, comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice Aniruddha Bose, did not agree to the submission that the project in Lutyens' Delhi needed to be stayed as the government bodies were to approach the authorities concerned for clearance and other formalities.

The Congress leader said when the entire nation is fighting the novel coronavirus, it is quite astonishing that the government is holding meetings on the Central Vista Project.

"It just shows the warped, distorted, completely absurd priorities of this government. Bang in the middle of coronavirus crisis, they are fast-tracking, hot-footing this project... The entire budget for infrastructure strengthening of the Government of India is Rs 15,000 crore," he said.

Singhvi said at this stage when the future in terms of economic recovery and activity looks bleak, "the government should have shown magnanimity and guts to announce scrapping of this project".

"If you are too egotistic, you can at least announce the postponement of this project. Instead, you are doing just opposite; you are clearly attempting to render the Supreme Court's scrutiny of this infructuous. You are, as I said earlier, hot-footing it, and fast-tracking it. The figures make us hang our head in shame," he said.

Singhvi said the government could have purchased thousands of ventilators with this amount in its fight against COVID19, or even spent a little amount out of this to send migrant workers back home.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Boeing does not expect to seek aid from the federal government to offset losses exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, after selling $25 billion in bonds in the public market, the company said in a Thursday press release.

Flashback: Boeing sought $60 billion in federal aid for the aircraft industry, including suppliers, in March. The Treasury Department had set aside up to $17 billion for Boeing as part of its $2 trillion CARES rescue package, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

Boeing said Wednesday it would cut 10% of its workforce as the airline industry as a whole reels from dwindling air travel amid the pandemic.

Details: The company's seven-part bond offering, which WSJ reports is "one of the largest-ever," includes maturities ranging from three to 40 years.

Background: Boeing's production shutdown in the aftermath of two fatal crashes last year had already caused forecasts for the company's GDP this year to shrink.

Thought bubble from Axios Joann Muller: The huge bond deal is a vote of confidence in Boeings staying power, despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Accepting federal aid would have been controversial, as Boeing already faced financial difficulties because of the grounding of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, prior to the pandemic. CEO David Calhoun also balked at the idea of giving the U.S. Treasury a stake in the company.

Go deeper: Coronavirus threatens to further delay return of Boeing's 737 MAX
Mr Speaker, as a result of the hard work of the regional and municipal health personnel in the Upper West Region and the unwavering support of my Ministry, I can confidently say that COVID-19 and CSM are under control in the Upper West Region," the Minister said in a statement presented to Parliament.

The statement, read for him by Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, one of his deputies, and Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku Constituency put the death toll of CSM in the UWR, where there are 273 reported cases as of April 29, 2020, at 43.

It has the breakdown as 10 in Jirapa, one in Lawra, 14 in Nadowli, 13 in Nandom, four in Wa Municipal, and on in Wa West.

However, Mr Agyemang Manu reported that the situation with CSM is under control, and a visit to some affected municipalities and communities by one of my deputies revealed that currently only four cases of meningitis are being attended to, one case at Nadowli, three cases at Nandom with zero cases at Jirapa.

The disease shows that we are no more at the epidemic level.

According to the Minister, laboratory results of the cases showed that the first wave of the epidemic curve that occurred between week two and four were caused mainly by streptococcus, and the second epidemic wave between week eight and 13 were caused by Meningococcus; and an analysis of 63 laboratory results from 63 cases sampled showed proportions of Streptococcus-19, influenza-one, Neisseria meningitides sero x-38, and unspecified Neisseria meningitides-four and NMW-one.

The Minister informed the House that 60 percent of the samples give the information that we are having an epidemic that was being caused by a bacteria with no vaccine on the planet.

However, he added that there are vaccines that cover the common strains of Neisseria Meningitis such as A, B, and C which are notorious for CSM outbreaks and epidemics.

Mr Agyemang Manu attributed fatalities partly to late reporting, but discounted assertions that the Government of Ghana gave all its attention to COVID-19 at the expense of CSM.

The epidemic is also not because vaccination wasn't done or is not being done; it is because we are dealing with a novel bacterium (NMX) of which there is no vaccine in the world as I speak, the Minister explained.

As of COVID-19 in the UWR, the Minister said there are eight recorded cases of the disease in the region, with one recovery, integrated into the society, and doing well.

He gave the assurance that the Ministry would not be complacent, added that it constantly would ensure adequate preparation and surveillance at all times with all diseases of public health importance.

Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, MP for Wa Central Constituency in the UWR, however, disagreed with the Minister, and said:  I don't think CSM is under control.

He said some of the information is speculative and wondered why the number of cases which was higher, two weeks ago had rather plummeted.

Dr Pelpuo called for enough drugs and facilities to manage the CSM disease, as he described CSM as a terrible danger more dangerous that COVID-19 because full recovery is not guaranteed.

Dr Pelpuo said people from the UWR are worried at the way the disease was being handled and would be happy if the Ministry would take their concerns to erase the impression that they are being treated as second rate citizens.

Chairman of the Committee on Health Dr Kwabena Twum-Nuamah stressed continuous education and early reporting, as the disease has symptoms similar to malaria.

Minority Chief Mubarak Muntaka called on the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to ensure that public hospitals and health facilities attend to cases of health issues at the outpatient's department, rather than turning them away so as not to aggravate possible cases of CSM and other diseases.

---GNA
D onald Trump has made no shortage of headlines during the coronavirus pandemic.

The US president is at the centre of the country worst-hit by the virus worldwide, with nearly 60,000 deaths and more than one million cases - but has entered a new storm with his own words.

For his critics, he has failed to show leadership at a time of crisis, instead looking for cheap attacks on the media and his opponents.

But him and Republican supporters maintain that the US Government has been a shining example for other world leaders.

Either way, a global pandemic unfolding against the backdrop of a fierce election campaign has meant for some heated moments. Here, we take a look at the key events in Mr Trumps controversial coronavirus response.

US President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a news conference on the novel coronavirus / AFP via Getty Images

China travel ban

Mr Trumps first major policy move was to shut US borders to all arrivals from China, except US citizens, on February 2, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency. However, Hong Kong was excluded and some flights continued for weeks.

The president has not stopped patting himself on the back since the ban, but the New York Times found at least 430,000 people landed in the US on direct flights from China - 40,000 of these after the travel ban.

Trumps attacks on the media

Any Brit that has tuned in to the almost daily White House coronavirus press conferences, will have noticed they take quite a different course to Downing Street briefings.

They often more closely resemble a campaign rally than an information update in the midst of a virus ravaging US states. Recent briefings have lasted up to two hours, with Mr Trump frequently lashing out at his political opponents and the media.

U.S. President Donald Trump made the comment in a late night tweet / Reuters

Washington Post and New York Times analysis of 35 press briefings finding that Mr Trump spends on average just 4.5 minutes paying tribute to victims - but ten times that, 45 minutes, praising himself.

True to form, Mr Trump has had several showdowns with reporters. Earlier this month he branded a CBS reporter disgraceful for asking a critical question about the administrations response during February, and told her colleague to keep your voice down when she waged in.

The president took the extraordinary step of playing a self-congratulatory video in a briefing earlier this month with the title the media minimised the risk from the start, involving a series of clips backing his version of events.

Things reached a peak last week when he stormed out of a press conference after only 22 minutes, following a reported row where a CNN reporter refused to move seats from the front to the back row - and White House officials reportedly threatened to bring in the Secret Service.

Trump has been at war with the press during the pandemic / Getty Images

War of words with Democrats

With the global pandemic unfolding during the presidential race - ahead of the candidate conventions in August and polling day on November 3 - Mr Trumps public comments have often fallen along party lines.

In response to media accusations over him being too slow to act, Mr Trump has levelled that Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House who led the effort to impeach him, and Joe Biden, his Democrat arch rival running against him for president, of failing to support the measures he has taken.

Trumps calls to liberate states

Another point of controversy was Mr Trumps apparent endorsement for anti-lockdown protests, despite cases and deaths spiralling across the country.

In a series of tweets, he called for Governors to "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and "LIBERATE VIRGINIA" - all Democrat-led states.

He later defended the remarks, claiming the social distancing measures introduced have been too tough.

New ideas: Donald Trump also said he was interested in using UV light as a treatment / AFP via Getty Images

Trump halts WHO funding

Mr Trump turned heads and raised eyebrows when he moved to halt US funding to the World Health Organisation - 316 million in 2019 alone - in the middle of a pandemic.

He accused the Geneva-based body of having failed in its basic duty and parroting Chinas disinformation over infection and death rates.

He was roundly condemned by opponents and experts alike, including the American Medical Association chief who branded it a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

Disinfectant comments

Perhaps the most controversial point in Mr Trumps handling of the pandemic so far was when he suggested administering disinfectant by injection...into the lungs.

President Donald Trump listens as Dr Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House / AP

The remarks, made during a White House press briefing, left the presidents medical chiefs visibly uncomfortable and sparked outcry across the world.

Mr Trump later backtracked, insisting it was sarcasm.
WHO responds to comments by US president, who claimed he has seen evidence the virus originated in a Chinese lab.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated that the new coronavirus was of natural origin after United States President Donald Trump claimed he had seen evidence it originated in a Chinese lab.

Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan, China selling exotic animals for meat.

Trump claimed on Thursday that he had seen proof that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was actually the source of the outbreak, although he refused to give details.

Asked about Trumps claim during a virtual news conference, WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan on Friday stressed that the United Nations health agency had listened again and again to numerous scientists who have looked at the sequences of the virus.

We are assured that this virus is natural in origin, he said, reiterating a stance the UN agency has expressed previously.

The WHO said earlier on Friday that it wanted to be invited to take part in Chinese investigations into the animal origins of the pandemic, which in a matter of months has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide.

What is important is that we establish what that natural host for this virus is, Ryan said, stressing the need to understand how the animal-human species barrier was breached.

And the purpose of understanding that is that we can put in place the necessary prevention and public health measures to prevent that happening again anywhere, he said.

Meanwhile, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus continued to push back against criticism lobbed at his organisation, by Trump in particular, who suspended Washingtons funding for WHO after accusing the UN agency of downplaying the seriousness of the outbreak and kowtowing to China.





WHO didnt waste time

Tedros said the WHO had sounded the highest level of alert by declaring that the COVID-19 outbreak constituted a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, when there were no deaths and only 82 cases registered outside China.

We didnt waste any time, he told Fridays briefing. The world had enough time to intervene.

His comments came after WHOs emergency committee met for the first time since making its declaration three months ago.

Of course, the pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern, Tedros said after receiving the recommendations from the committee, made up of 19 independent experts.

While maintaining the global alert level, the experts made a range of general recommendations on how the WHO and countries should adjust their response to the pandemic.

It called among other things for broad cooperation to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population.

It also called on WHO to update recommendations on appropriate travel measures linked to the outbreak, and to consider the balance between benefits and unintended consequences, such as the difficulties of transporting humanitarian aid when so many flights are grounded.
N etflix has released some outstanding series recently, with Unorthodox, Tiger King and Too Hot to Handle being among the most talked-about shows right now.

And the streaming platform is only upping its game for May, with even more unmissable series and movies dropping throughout the month.

Big titles including Hollywood and White Lines are among some of the best new shows available to watch soon, with the much-anticipated second season of Dead To Me also dropping in May.

Heres the full list of everything you can look forward to this month...

Netflix has got some treats lined up for May / Netflix

May 1

All Day and a Night

Penned by Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole, the emotional Netflix Original film boasts an impressive cast, with Moonlights Ashton Sanders and Westworlds Jeffrey Wright taking the lead.

The story follows Jahkor, who ends up being cellmates with his father in prison, as the pair embark on a journey of self-discovery.

Almost Happy (Season 1)

The Spanish-language comedy Sebastian Wainraich and Natalie Perez follows radio show host Sebastian, who is trying to win back his ex-wife - whom he is still desperately in love with.

Get In

The French thriller follows a family man who returns from a holiday only to find squatters have broken in  and taken over  his house.

Hollywood

The hotly-anticipated Ryan Murphy series is coming soon / Netflix

The new series from Ryan Murphy - the man behind Glee, American Horror Story and the American Crime series - returns with the hotly-anticipated limited series.

Hollywood follows a group of actors who are struggling to make it in the showbiz industry following the Second World War, and is anticipated to be a big hit for the streaming site.

Into the Night

The Belgian series is based on Jacek Dukajs best-selling novel, The Old Axolotl, and follows a group of passengers on a hijacked plane after a solar event.

Medici: The Magnificent (season 3)

The third and final series of the Italian Renaissance drama sees Lorenzo de' Medici fuelled by rage as he fights a conspiracy.

Mrs Serial Killer

The Hindi-language thriller starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Manoj Bajpayee sees a man framed as a serial killer.

To prove her husbands innocence, his wife must now commit a very similar murder to the serial killer to prove his innocence.

Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres

The 2018 documentary honouring the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Israeli prime minister, Shimon Peres, is due to arrive on Netflix.

The Half of It

Ellie's money-making scheme goes awry after she help the high school jock out with his love life / Netflix

The Netflix Original movie sees smart but skint student Ellie Chu agree to ghost-writing a love letter for school jock Paul  only to find herself falling for the girl in question herself.

The film stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer and Alexxis Lemire.

May 5

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill

The Netflix comedy special, recorded in New York, sees the comedian discuss talking vs texting, buffets vs restaurants - and his secret foodie obsession.

May 7

Scissor Seven (season 2)

The second season of the Chinese-animated series, which bends genres with its kooky adventures, sees a scissor-wielding, hairdressing assassin interrupt a struggle for power among feuding factions.

May 8

Dead to Me (season 2)

Dead to Me is returning for a second series / Netflix

The second series of the hugely popular Netflix Original continues to follow the acerbic widow Jen (Christina Applegate) and her new friend Judy (Linda Cardelleni), as the former unravels the mystery of her husbands hit-and-run death, and secret life.

Restaurants on the Edge (season 2)

The second series of the reality show sees a restaurateur, chef and designer save even more ailing restaurants.

The Eddy

The limited series sees the owner of a Paris jazz club become entangled within a dangerous criminal gang  as he tries to protect his business, band and teenage daughter.

The Hollow (season 2)

The latest series of the Canadian sci-fi cartoon follows the new adventures of three teenagers who awaken in a room with no memories of each other  or even themselves.

Valeria

Four friends rally together as they embrak on a journey of self-discovery / Netflix

The Spanish language show, based on the novels by Elisabet Benavent, follows a writer who finds her life in crisis  but is supported by her three friends who are going on similar journeys of self-discovery.

May 9

Rogue Warfare

The 2019 film, directed by Mike Gunther, sees the worlds major military powers band together to defeat a huge underground terrorist network

May 11

Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics

The feature-length documentary looks at hallucinogenic highs and lows, with celebrities sharing their adventures of psychedelics.

The off-beat documentary sees these mind-bending tales re-enacted or animated.

Trial by Media

The true-crime docu-series looks at how media may have impacted the verdicts of some of historys most dramatic trials.

May 12

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs the Reverend

Kimmy is returning to our screens (Netflix)

The popular sitcom is back with an interactive special, a la Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

Our girl Kimmy is getting married  but in order to do so, she needs to foil an evil plot by the Reverend, with the viewer in charge of the decisions.

May 13

The Wrong Missy

Netflixs latest romantic-comedy, starring David Spade, sees a guy meet the women of his dreams, and invite her to his company's corporate retreat.

However, things go awry when the wrong girl turns up as he realises hes asked the wrong woman.

May 14

Schitt's Creek (season 6)

The final series of the Canadian sitcom sees the once-rich family, who moved to Schitts Creek after they bought it as a joke, make a decision as to whether theyre going to stay in the small town.

May 15

White Lines

White Lines is full of familiar faces you'll no doubt recognise / Netflix

Written by Alex Pina, who is behind international hit Money Heist, White Lines sees a woman return to Ibiza after her DJ brothers body is uncovered 20 years after he first went missing.

But as she investigates his disappearance, she finds herself drawn further into the hedonistic world the Balearics can offer.

May 19

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything

The American comedian returns with a Netflix stand-up special, as he explores being a dad in his 50s - as well as being an avid Star Wars fan.

May 22

Selling Sunset (season 2)

The Oppenheim Groups team of formidable realtors are back for a second season, selling some of the biggest and most beautiful homes in Hollywood.

May 23

Spelling the Dream

This sweet documentary film follows four hopefuls' journeys, as they explore the trend of Indian Americans ruling the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

May 29

Space Force

The workplace comedy is likely to feature some comparison to The Office, with Steve Carell starring as the lead.

The series focuses on a group of people tasked with establishing the sixth branch of the US Armed Forces, the Space Force.
Pastor Tony Spell said 205 people have donated at least part of their coronavirus stimulus checks to his church after urging parishioners to the join the #PastorSpellStimulusChallenge.

This comes as Spell has actively ignored his house arrest orders and defied lockdown guidelines to host packed services in Louisiana.

Louisiana has 28,001 confirmed coronavirus cases and a death toll of 1,862. Public health experts feared that the state would mirror epicenter New York as cases skyrocketed.

The controversial pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana revealed more than 200 people have given up part of their $1,200 stimulus checks to Spell since he introduced the challenge on April 19.

He told TMZ that the donations came from both parishioners and outsiders who felt compelled to help Spell's church during the pandemic.

Spell would not say how much the donations add up to.

Pastor Tony Spell (pictured) revealed 205 people have donated part of their coronavirus stimulus checks as part of his #PastorSpellStimulusChallenge

Both parishioners and outsiders have reportedly sent money to Life Tabernacle Church (pictured) near Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Spell (pictured) held a church service where he showed off his ankle monitor to the congregation

DailyMail.com reached out to Spell for further comment.

Spell first introduced the #PastorSpellStimulusChallenge while broadcasting to more than 300,000 viewers.

He said the money would go to missionaries and evangelists.

Rule no. 2,' he says, 'Donate your stimulus money. Rule no.3 donate it to evangelists, north American evangelists who haven't had an offering in a month. Missionaries who haven't had an offering in a month. Music ministers who haven't had an offering in a month.'

Spell says he, his wife and his son are donating their own.

The pastors adds that if viewers don't belong to a church they can donate via his website.

The clip posted on YouTube garnered thousands of comments, with some asking whether Spell's church should be using regular donations to help missionaries.

He defended the reactions in an interview with CNN and said the church is giving to those in need.

'Non-profits and faith-based programs can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program,' CNN's Victor Blackwell told Spell.

But Spell replied: 'We don't want to.'

Blackwell hit back: 'But that is your choice.'

The anchor pointed out that many members of Spell's congregation have trouble getting transport to his church, just outside Baton Rouge and have to be picked up to attend services.

He added: 'Why not give that money to them and why isn't this a time for the church to give to those who do not have?'

Spell has received backlash for continuing to host packed Sunday services with parishioners in defiance of stay-at-home orders

'This is a challenge,' Spell said. 'We are challenging you, if you can, (to) give your stimulus package to evangelists and missionaries who do not get the stimulus package. They don't file taxes the way you and I do.'

Spell explained: 'We do not want SBA loans. We don't want the government to give us a dime. We are happy to provide for ourselves.'

Spell, whose social distance-flouting antics have made him the subject of criticism, also revealed this week that he plans to hold yet another Sunday service in defiance of state stay-at-home orders.

Spell's said some 800 people reportedly attended his service and he hopes to see a bigger turnout this weekend.

Photos and videos of Spell's services have received backlash as they show parishioners blatantly bypassing stay-at-home orders.

Pictured: Members of the Life Tabernacle Church sing spiritual songs and hold their hands in the air as they wait for pastor Tony Spell to leave the East Baton Rouge Parish jail

Protective gear appeared non-existent among Spell's congregation, with several attendees forgoing face masks, gloves and standing shoulder-to-shoulder in pews.

On Easter Sunday, Spell had more than 1,300 people in his church to celebrate the holiday.

One 78-year-old parishioner died of coronavirus in the wake of Spell's continual services. Spell denied the diagnosis.

But beyond violating the governors public health orders, Spell has actively defied a judge's orders to remain on home arrest after he tried to run over a protestor.

Spell was arrested for assault after he admitted he drove his church bus toward a man who had been protesting his decision to continue holding mass gatherings at his church in defiance of the state's coronavirus lockdown.

Video shot by the station WAFB shows Spell, dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair slicked back, being surrounded by officers wearing face masks and placed in handcuffs.

Spell (pictured in his mugshot) was arrested for trying to reverse a bus over a protestor

Spell is heard on the recording complaining after his Bible was taken away from him during the arrest.

'My rights to have church and to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ are endowed to me by my creator, not my district attorney, not my chief of police and not my governor, John Bel Edwards,' Spell said after exiting the jail on Tuesday afternoon. 'Not my president and not my Department of Justice.'

He went on: 'my inalienable rights are given to me by God and those rights are my rights to assemble and have church. I cannot give up those rights.'

Spell claimed that he preached to his fellow inmates inside the jail and warned guards that if they used profanities, he would quote scriptures.

The pastor denied any wrongdoing, saying, 'the only thing I'm guilty of is practicing my faith.'

Before Spell was released, one Spell supporter shouted defiantly at Trey Bennett, the protester Spell is accused of assaulting.

Bennett also showed up at the jail, carrying his protest sign. It says 'Close this church' on one side and 'Danger: coronavirus incubator' on the other.

Debbie Dougherty, administrative assistant to the chief at the Central Police Department, said Spell had driven a church bus in reverse in the direction of the sign-holding protester.

Spell already faces misdemeanor charges for holding in-person church services despite the ban on gatherings.

Spell (pictured) left the local jail after posting bond for his assault charge on April 21

Authorities have said they did not book him into jail previously because they did not want to add to the jail population at a time when the highly infectious disease is running rampant.

They have not taken any action to close his church.

He was put on house arrest after posting bail, flashing a peace sign when walking out of jail to thunderous applause from his supporters.

His congregation showed up for him in full force afterwards, waving signs, whooping and hollering in agreement and some furiously shaking tambourines.

Although more than 100 people were inside the church, all standing close together and very few wearing face masks, Spell said the church was practicing social distancing, saying: 'If you ain't from the same house don't touch.'

At one point, Spell props his leg atop a speaker to show the congregating his ankle monitor.

'We're not hiding any more,' said Spell, as parishioners cheered in the background.

Despite his apparent disdain for stay-at-home orders, Spell said he wouldn't take part in his church's anti-lockdown protest on Saturday outside the governors mansion.

Anti-lockdown protests have popped up across the country as gun-touting protestors fight against orders they said are unconstitutional and an severe overreach of government.

'I do not want federal agents to pick me up when I am off the premises of my property,' said Spell.

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced this week that stay-at-home orders have been extended until May 15.

Edwards made the decision using regional data that showed areas like Baton Rouge, where Life Tabernacle Church is located, has seen an uptick in new cases and hospitalizations.
The fifth deputy health minister has been selected by the Vietnamese government, while the seat of the ministrys head has remained unoccupied for half a year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a decision to appoint Tran Van Thuan as Deputy Minister of Health.

Thuan, 50, hailing from the northern province of Bac Ninh, was the chairman of the Vietnam Young Doctors' Association (VYDA).

He holds a doctorate in oncology and has been a professor since 2018.

He was the director of the National Institute for Cancer Control from 2010 and the director of the K Hospital, or the National Cancer Hospital, in Hanoi from 2016 until assuming the new post.

Thuan is the fifth and youngest deputy health minister having been appointed after Truong Quoc Cuong, Nguyen Truong Son, Do Xuan Tuyen, and Nguyen Thanh Long.

Meanwhile, the health ministers position has stayed vacant since November 22, 2019, when Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stepped down as she had reached the retirement age.

Tien has assumed the duty as head of a committee in charge of medical care for central officials under the Party Central Committee.

As the National Assembly has not approved anyone to replace Tien, the prime minister is now authorized to assign an acting health minister in accordance with the law.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam was made secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Health -- now the effective leader of the agency.

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A circular issued on 17 April had urged all the officers and staff of the finance ministry to contribute one-day's salary every month to the fund till March 2021, beginning with May salaries.

Mumbai: The finance ministry has issued a modified circular to staff regarding contribution of one day's salary every month till March 2021 to the PM-CARES Fund.

A circular issued on 17 April had urged all the officers and staff of the finance ministry to contribute one-day's salary every month to the fund till March 2021, beginning with May salaries.

Making changes, the new circular has said those willing to donate must write to the drawing and disbursing officer of the revenue department.

The earlier circular had said those "not willing to donate" should write to the drawing and disbursing officer intimating their unwillingness to make the contribution.

In the modified circular issued on 29 April , the Department of Revenue has appealed to all the officers and staff to donate their one-day's salary to the PM-CARES Fund to fight the COVID-19 pandemic which has already taken the lives of over 1,000 people and infected more than 33,000 people in the country.

The donation running through the entire fiscal year can be made between May to next March, the circular said.

Any officer or staff "willing to contribute has to write to the drawing and disbursing officer of the revenue department," it noted.

The government has set up the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) which would be utilised to deal with any emergency or distress situation such as the coronavirus outbreak.

Departments under the ministry include that of economic affairs, expenditure, revenue, financial services, and disinvestment and public asset management. Of all, the revenue department employs around 50,000 people.
Melissa Phillip/Associated Press

The former chief executive of Blue Bell Creameries has been charged with criminal conspiracy stemming from the 2015 listeria outbreak at its ice cream plants that killed three people.

Paul Kruse, who retired three years ago, participated in a conspiracy to conceal "potential and/or confirmed listeria contamination in Blue Bell products from certain Blue Bell customers," according to federal prosecutors, who filed the charges Friday in U.S. District Court in Travis County.
The ASX200 finished down by more than five per cent on Friday as May provided a reality check to those hoping for more of Aprils record gains.

The index finished the trading day down 276 points or 5.01 per cent, at 5245.9.

All sectors finished in the red but it was energy and financial stocks that dragged the most, down 6.8 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively.

Analysts and experts said investors shouldnt be surprised that the momentum in gains did not continue.

There [was] definitely a sea of red for the first day of May, but weve had a particularly strong period for April. Youve probably got a little bit of profit taking, senior investment advisor at Shaw and Partners Craig Sidney said.

The banking sector dragged the market lower throughout the session with all four big banks posting losses of between three and five per-cent. NAB was trading ex-dividend while investors were trying to make sense of ANZs decision to defer its interim dividend.

There is still big uncertainty in that sector, Mr Sidney said.

At the same time, a slew of concerning economic data including the jobless numbers and early indications of the housing sector slowdown added to volatility, experts said.

The lack of policy detail about how the economy will open back up after the pandemic was a recipe for volatility, said investment at Investors Mutual, Anton Tagliaferro.

Clearly the market is going to be quite volatile. Nobody knows what the new normal is going to be and its very difficult to have a sustained rally in any sharemarket [because of this], he said.
Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi has appointed man in trending video, who rejected his son for for breaking the coronavirus lockdown rule.

KanyiDaily had published a viral video that shows a man insisting that his son, who returned to Ekiti from a Lagos trip, must be isolated for 14 days before he would be allowed into his house.

The man identified as Mr. Adeoye, who is a former road safety officer, was appointed as a COVID-19 Response Ambassador in Ekiti.

Governor Fayemi made the appointment known in a tweet on Thursday afternoon, stating that Mr. Adeoye represents the kind of self-discipline, selflessness, and sense of collective responsibility that Ekiti State and Nigeria need desperately today to progress.

Today, I appointed Mr. Adeoye, father of the young man who sneaked into Ekiti state, as a COVID-19 Response Ambassador in Ekiti State. I am proud of Mr Adeoye as a principled Ekiti man and I salute his courage in helping us keep Ekiti safe. Mr. Adeoye will help to propagate the message as a member of the COVID-19 Task Force @Ekiti_COVID19 in the State

The government further stated that Ekiti State will in future recognise Mr. Adeoyes valour as an example of the rebirth of Ekiti Values Orientation which is the central focus of Governor Fayemis administration.

Meanwhile, Governor Fayemi has ordered all non-essential workers in both the private and public sector to work from their homes as part of the efforts to check the spread of coronavirus.
Upgrading to the latest phone has become a pricier business as the years pass, with costs for the top spec devices often exceeding 1,000.

However, in a sign that customers might be getting tired of splashing their cash on expensive gadgets, smartphone front runners, Apple and Samsung, have both released two new models that can be bought for under 450.

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy M31 which is now on pre-sale exclusively from Amazon for 245  some 945 cheaper than its second latest release, the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Meanwhile, Apple released an updated version of its SE model last week, costing 419 for the cheapest version.

Smaller outlay: Apple and Samsung have both released new, cheaper models recently

This comes over four years after the original SE was launched and is 730 cheaper than Apple's current most expensive handset.

With many facing a tough financial situation due to the coronavirus, any reduction in costs is welcome, and saving hundreds on a new phone is a sure fire way to cut down bills.

And both phones will probably do everything most people want and more from their mobile.

But why have Apple and Samsung decided now is the right time to release the cheaper models?

This is Money compares the new phones to older versions and reveals the best Sim-only deals on the market.

Apple SE (second generation)

The iPhone SE is now the cheapest iPhone which Apple currently sells. It's available to buy outright for 419 for the 64GB model, 469 for the 128GB model and 569 for the 256GB model.

Customers who have an old iPhone to trade in can also get more money off these prices on the Apple website.

The SE features Apple's latest microchip, the A13 Bionic, which can be found in its iPhone 11 models, as well as a single rear camera and a 4.7in Retina HD display.

In a break away from its last few iPhones, Apple have brought back the home button and touch ID for the SE, rather than the newer Face ID.

The iPhone SE is now the cheapest iPhone which Apple currently sells

Coming in three colours, black, white and red, Apple will donate money to charity for every red iPhone SE sold.

Currently, Apple's most expensive model is its iPhone 11 Pro Max, costing 1,149 - 730 more expensive than the Apple SE.

Both have the A13 bionic chip but the Pro Max has a 6.46 inch screen whilst the SE is much smaller at 4.7 inches.

This is the same size as the previous iPhone 7's screen and bigger than the old SE.

The resolution on the SE is also less advanced at 1334x750 pixels compared to the Pro Max's 2436x1125.

Customers can choose on both phones what storage they would like starting form 64GB and going up to 512GB on the Pro Max and 256GB on the SE.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, said: 'The first iPhone SE was a hit with many customers who loved its unique combination of small size, high-end performance and affordable price.

'The new second-generation iPhone SE builds on that great idea and improves on it in every way  including our best-ever single-camera system for great photos and videos  while still being very affordable.'

The iPhone SE is available to purchase from the Apple website with estimated delivery dates currently in mid-May, meaning some customers will have to wait up to three weeks to receive the item.

It is also available to buy at a number of other retailers, including from the major phone networks, which are also reporting similar waiting times when bought out right.

In a sign that demand for the new device is high, the phone is currently out of stock in many different memory sizes at John Lewis with customers having to wait for the phone to return in stock.

People can also choose to buy the phone on contract with prices varying from network to network. Alternatively, many may opt to buy it outright and go Sim-only and not be tied to an expensive monthly deal. With the new SE proving popular discounts on the price won't be likely.

Samsung Galaxy M31

The Samsung Galaxy M31 is also one of the cheapest options from the Korean phone giant, costing just 245.

The device is only available to buy outright - not on contract. Therefore, customers will need to purchase a Sim for the phone - the best offers of which can be found below.

The phone comes with a 64MP main lens, an ultra-wide lens promising 123-degree views and a macro lens for close-ups  comprising four cameras in total.

It also has a 5MP depth sensor for portrait shots, which is becoming an essential feature, and a night-mode setting, previously the sole preserve of top-end handsets costing more than 1,000.

One of the main features of the new device is its long battery life, coming with a 6,000 mAh battery lasting around two days on a single charge.

Customers can choose to opt for the phone in blue, black or red.

The Samsung Galaxy M31 is one of the cheapest options with Samsung, costing just 245

By comparison, currently Samsung's most expensive phone is its Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra costing 1,199 for 128GB, although this can rise to 1,399 for a 512GB version. This works out at a massive 1,154 than the M31.

Both the M31 and the S20 Ultra come with night mode but the S20 Ultra comes with better battery life, better camera resolution a bigger screen at 6.9 inches compared to 6.4 inches.

The new Samsung Galaxy M31 mobile phone comes with four rear cameras

Although the phone isn't due to be released until June 1, customers can pre-order on Amazon now and those with Amazon Prime can get it with free next day delivery.

Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at Uswitch, said: 'The cost of manufacturers' flagship devices has risen over the last few years and research has shown there's been a growing trend for consumers to hold onto their smartphones longer.

'There is no doubt that the big brands have done their homework and the move to offer cheaper smartphones, which offer a lot of bang for your buck, is likely to be a play for the very opportunistic mid-tier market.

'Although it's unlikely to be a strategy that can be repeated with high-end phones, offering the phone exclusively through Amazon is a bold decision by Samsung and I expect the industry to be watching closely to see how the experiment plays out.'

Holly Niblett, head of digital at Compare the Market, added: 'Buying a mobile phone outright  especially the flagship handsets  is an expense many people cannot afford.

'We saw Apple launch a cheaper version of its iPhone back in 2016, with the SE model, to better enable the brand to compete on price with models by other manufacturers, notably Huawei.

'For some people, a sizeable monthly saving on their contract is worth sacrificing the very latest technology, with some perhaps asking themselves if their phone really needs three cameras.'
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has angered Beijing by calling for a global inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak, said he had no evidence to suggest the disease originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence he said he had seen.

Morrison said on Friday that Australia had no information to support that theory, and said the confusion supported his push for an inquiry to understand how the outbreak started and then spread rapidly around the world.

"What we have before us doesn't suggest that that is the likely source," Morrison told a news conference in Canberra when asked about Trump's comments.

"There's nothing we have that would indicate that was the likely source, though you can't rule anything out in these environments," he said.

"We know it started in China, we know it started in Wuhan, the most likely scenario that has been canvassed relates to wildlife wet markets, but that's a matter that would have to be thoroughly assessed."

The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), based in the city where the disease was first identified, has rejected suggestions the coronavirus came from its laboratory.

Most scientists now say the virus originated in wildlife, with bats and pangolins identified as possible host species.

Relations between Australia and China have been strained since the government began canvassing support in mid-April for an international inquiry into the outbreak.

Beijing sees the inquiry call as part of U.S.-led propaganda against China, while Morrison says the world needs to understand exactly what happened to prevent a repeat of an outbreak that has so far killed more than 200,000 people and shut down much of the global economy.

"That's why it is just so important to understand what happened, to make sure that we can prevent such a broadbased global catastrophe from happening again," Morrison said.

Beijing's ambassador to Australia said that Chinese consumers could boycott Australian beef, wine, tourism and universities in response to the push for an inquiry, comments members of Morrison's government have called "threats of economic coercion."

AUSTRALIA MAY EASE RESTRICTIONS

Australia has successfully contained the outbreak so far, but measures implemented to do that are set to see unemployment surge, the economy sink into recession for the first time in three decades and government debt increase massively.

The Australian government said on Friday it would meet next Friday, a week ahead of schedule, to decide whether to ease social distancing restrictions, as the numbers of new infections dwindle and pressure mounts for business and schools to reopen.

Australia has reported about 6,700 cases of the new coronavirus and 93 deaths, well below the levels reported in the United States and Europe. Growth in new infections has slowed to less than 0.5% a day, compared to 25% a month ago.

Morrison said it was imperative to lift social distancing restrictions as early as possible as 1.5 million people were now on unemployment benefits and the government forecast the unemployment rate to top 10% within months.

"We need to restart our economy, we need to restart our society. We cant keep Australia under the doona," Morrison said, using an Australian word for quilt.

Morrison's government has pledged spending of more than 10% of GDP to boost the economy but the central bank still warns the country is heading for its worst contraction since the 1930s.

With less than 20 new coronavirus cases discovered each day, Morrison said state and territory lawmakers would meet on May 8 to determine whether to lift restrictions.

"Australians deserve an early mark for the work that they have done," he told reporters.

Australia attributes its success in slowing the spread of COVID-19 to social distancing restrictions imposed in March, including the forced closures of pubs, restaurants and limiting the size of indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Morrison said 3.5 million people had downloaded an app on their smartphones designed to help medics trace people potentially exposed to the virus, though the government is hoping for about 40% of the country's 25.7 million population to sign up to ensure it is effective.

Cabinet will also decide next week how to restart sport across the country, the prime minister said.

The government says any resumption of sport should not compromise the public health, and recommends a staggered start beginning with small groups that play non-contact sport outdoors.

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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: While 75,000 ventilators are projected to be required by hospitals across India in three months in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, the country has less than 20,000 dedicated to coronavirus patients now.

But the government is hopeful of getting most of the required quantity of the crucial medical device manufactured indigenously by domestic companies, said P D Vaghela, secretary, department of pharmaceuticals.

Vaghela, who heads an empowered group set by the Centre on essential medical supplies for the pandemic, said orders for 60,884 ventilators have been placed, of which over 59,000 are being manufactured in India while only 1,000 odd will be imported.

The government is hoping to get 15,000 new ventilators delivered in May by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Maruti Suzuki and a PSU in Andhra Pradesh among others, which will manufacture some 40,000 ventilators between them.

Vaghela also said that against the projected demand of 2.2 crore Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), required by healthcare workers all over the country over the next three months, 1.42 crore units will be manufactured domestically.

As of now, 1.87 lakh PPE units are being manufactured domestically on a daily basis while this number was minuscule before March 2, he said in a press conference on COVID-19 outbreak status.

India now has 111 domestic manfacturers of PPE while this number was just two a couple of months back.

The official stressed that the the country is comfortable in fulfilling the need of oxygen supply to hospitals.

The total manufacturing capacity of oxygen is 6,400 MT, of which around 1000 MT is used for medical oxygen, showed a power point presentation by Vaghela in the briefing.

There are 5 big and 600 small manufacturers of oxygen and About 409 hospitals have their own oxygen generation and there are about 1050 cryogenic tankers in the country.

About 4.38 lakh medical oxygen cylinders are available for supply. Further, orders for 1.03 lakh new medical oxygen cylinders have been placed. Five lakh industrial oxygen cylinders have also been identified for conversion, if required, said Vaghela, adding that orders for conversion of 60,000 cylinders have already been issued.

Talking about N-95 masks, he said that 2.49 crore units had been ordered, out of which 1.49 crore were being produced domestically.

"Indian industry has risen to the occasion and is identifying opportunity in the crisis as urged by PM Narendra Modi," he added.
People are spending 30% more on groceries since Covid-19 started to impact Ireland in March.

According to AIB, customers spent 20% more on the day the school closures were announced than they did on any day in the lead-up to Christmas.

Those between the ages of 45 and 54 are spending 38% more than normal on groceries, more than any other age group.

Meanwhile, those between 25 and 34 are spending an average of 36% more while the over 65s have recorded the smallest increase in grocery spend, up 3.4% on normal levels.

However, spend in general is down overall.

Every day since March 13 has seen a significant drop in general spending, with St Patricks Day recording a 47% drop in average spending  the lowest of any day since the crisis started.

General spending has dropped with the over 65s who recorded the biggest drop at 27%.

Fergal Coburn, Chief Digital & Innovation Officer at AIB, said: The Covid-19 crisis has dramatically impacted the lives of Irish consumers and our data shows how consumers are responding to these changes in their spending habits. It also provides valuable insight for Irish businesses who are trying to adapt to this exceptionally challenging situation.

The data also reflects the reality of the situation, with grocery stores being one of the remaining retail outlets open, seeing a 30% increase in the average transaction. It also reveals the biggest drop off in spending overall has been by those over 65 as they listen to the governments advice and stay indoors.

These insights reflect behavioural changes as consumers switch to using their cards to pay for more goods and services. As Ireland most digitally enabled bank, AIB offers consumers a variety of solutions to support this, including a range of digital wallet options and Irelands number one banking app.
Tax revenues are plummeting while demands for services and benefits, such as unemployment compensation, soar. Meanwhile, some states are beginning a gradual reopening of their economies . Will tax collections begin to grow again? Few people know the answer, yet some states are willing to gamble on changes to tax rules aimed at helping individuals and businesses. Some examples:To support small businesses, Michigan HB5741 allows taxpayers who employ 50 or fewer persons to claim an additional tax credit against their state business income tax, and to claim advance payment of the credit by retaining funds that it would otherwise withhold. If a business is eligible to receive credits that exceed its tax liability for the year, the difference will not be refunded.Minnesota HF393 extends the deadline for first-half commercial, industrial and utility property tax payments until mid-July. Interest and penalties will not accrue before that time. SB307 in Ohio would exempt purchases of personal protective equipment from sales tax, from the date of its enactment until Jan. 1, 2021. HB2341 , introduced in Pennsylvania, prohibits school districts from levying property taxes for the 2021 calendar year above January 2020 levels. Rates for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 may not exceed those of the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019. In contrast, Vermont H93 would amend the charter of the city of St. Albans and allow it to levy a 10 percent local option tax on sales, rooms, and meals and alcoholic beverages. At present, the citys sales tax rate is zero percent New York's S8230 would prohibit corporations that receive bailouts from the federal government and then buy back their own stock from receiving New York state tax credits within three years of engaging in such buybacks. If a corporation receiving such assistance violates the law and attempts to obtain a credit, it could be subject to a penalty three times the amount of the credit.
Rural Ireland will be the hardest hit of all regions from the slump in tourism and the Covid-19 crisis is likely to be long lasting requiring tailored measures to support firms, EY Ireland has said.

It said 18% of jobs in Kerry and 13% in Donegal, compared with 10% in Dublin and 10% in Cork, are directly linked to tourism and hospitality, while high-spending US tourists which many western counties rely on will likely stay away from travelling to Europe for some time, it warned.
Fertility treatment is by no means elective, said Leyla Bilali, a nurse at a fertility clinic in New York City, referring to the consensus that infertility is a disease. Its just, right now, its not a matter of life or death.

Clinics that stayed open scrambled to implement protocols compliant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as temperature checks, masks and physical distancing. Still, people have gotten sick. At Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, seven staff members have tested positive for Covid-19. At Vios Fertility Institute in Chicago, clinicians have reported flulike symptoms but have not been tested because of limited test availability. And several employees at Extend Fertility, an egg-freezing clinic in Midtown Manhattan, fell ill with possible cases of Covid-19.

We really didnt feel it was appropriate to go out on a limb, outside major A.S.R.M. guidelines, and keep things open, said Dr. Bat-Sheva Maslow, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Extend Fertility who tested positive and recovered from the virus in March. Covid-19 is almost impossible to control at this point. That weighed very heavily with us. Extend Fertility has since closed its offices to virtually all patients.

Amid the pandemic, clinics face a dizzying array of vague and, at times, conflicting instructions from states, cities and health agencies like the C.D.C. Doctors must interpret guidelines as they see fit  often the case in fertility services, which are largely paid out-of-pocket and where patient care and profit can be at odds.

Because of unclear guidance, in most states it is difficult to tell whether remaining open during the pandemic is legal or if fertility procedures are considered an essential service. New York is an exception: On April 7, the states health department issued an advisory deeming infertility treatment an essential service, thus exempt from closure. New Jerseys governor, in an executive order responding to the coronavirus crisis, made a similar but less specific exemption, referring to general family planning services but not directly to infertility.
(Natural News) The best and simplest cure for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) might just be going outside, as natural sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) rays that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) science and technology advisor William Bryan says easily destroy viruses.

During a recent press briefing at the White House, Bryan explained how UV rays from the sun are powerfully antagonistic against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), inhibiting its ability to survive, let alone take hold and spread.

A study that looked at the three different types of UV light given off by the sun  A, B, and C rays  found that UVC in particular destroys certain types of genetic material in humans, including viral particles. Based on this, the study found that UVC light can effectively inactivate microbes like the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both on surfaces and in the air, Bryan is quoted as saying about the studys findings.

Weve seen a similar effect with both temperature and humidity as well, where increasing the temperature and humidity or both is generally less favorable to the virus, he added.

In an ordinary 70-75 degree (Fahrenheit) environment with 20 percent humidity on a non-porous surface, the half-life for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is about 18 hours. Increasing the humidity to 80 percent, however, decreases that half-life to six hours, while adding natural sunlight into the mix decreases it to just two minutes.

This would all suggest that simply being in the sun more can help to reduce the risk of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and transmission, as viruses simply cannot coexist with natural sunlight.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how to make antiviral colloidal silver at home using silver coins:

Hospitals already use artificial UVC light to sterilize equipment

Artificial UVC light is already used in many hospitals to sterilize surgical equipment and surfaces. It is also used to clean airplanes and factories, as the science shows that potentially harmful microbes are unable survive in its presence for any substantial length of time.

In the case of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), the rhetoric will surely be that more testing is needed to determine how much UVC light is necessary to destroy it. It also remains to be seen how much time one would need to spend in natural sunlight to obtain these benefits.

At the same time, Bryan is still encouraging Americans to follow stay-at-home orders  probably because he has to say this in order to stick with the script.

It would be irresponsible for us to say that we feel that the summer is just going to totally kill the virus and then if its a free-for-all and that people ignore these guides, he stated in a somewhat discombobulated way.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which just like Bill Gates only supports pharmaceuticals and vaccines for disease, is of course warning against UVC light, which it claims can burn the skin and cause eye damage.

Previous studies have identified that UVC light is effective against other coronaviruses such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and that this particular type of radiation prevents viral particles from replicating. Researchers are also tinkering around with LED light, which may also be effective against viruses.

One major application is in medical situations  the disinfection of personal protective equipment, surfaces, floors, within the HVAC systems, et cetera, says materials doctoral researcher Christian Zollner about UVC.

UVC light in the 260 to 285nm range most relevant for current disinfection technologies is also harmful to human skin, so for now it is mostly used in applications where no one is present at the time of disinfection.

To keep up with the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

Newsweek.com

NaturalNews.com
For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis Please Explain is coming to you five days a week.

In today's episode, national editor Tory Maguire is joined by China correspondent Eryk Bagshaw to look back on a tumultuous week in the Sino-Australian relationship. From gate-crashed press conferences to "Wolverine" diplomacy, there is clearly a great deal at stake when it comes to our largest trading partner.

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In a normal year, Mothers Day ranks as the busiest day of the year for restaurants.

From servers running to tables to chefs in the kitchen, everyone hustles. It can be hard to reserve a table at your any of your favorite spots.

However, this year the pace is anticipated to be less hectic. In fact, restaurants are eager to take orders as business has dropped off because of the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, youll have to honor mom with a takeout meal.

Restaurant dining rooms remain closed with takeout, curbside pickup and delivery. Many of them are churning out creative family-style meals designed to feed the whole clan.

Heres a short list of what some area restaurants are offering. If you dont see your favorite spot, head to their social media channels or give them a call.

Bonefish Grill

Reel in a family bundle meal from May 8-10 including a Mahi & Shrimp Bundle. It serves up to five with house or Caesar salad and family sides such as garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables, fresh bread with pesto and a dessert duo for $49.90.

Otherwise, other bundle meals off the regular menu including Grilled Salmon Bundle ($39.90), a Lilys Chicken Bundle ($35.90) and a variety taco bundles. All come with choice of house or Caesar salad and family-style sides including garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, fresh bread with pesto and freshly-baked cookies.

Harpers Tavern

This restaurant near Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County is selling "heat and eat family-style family dinners for pickup from 3-6 p.m. May 8-9. Menu includes beef and mushroom stroganoff with fettuccini and candied salmon with roasted vegetables, red bliss potatoes, assorted dinner rolls and dessert. Price is $110. Orders due May 8 by calling 717-865-2584.

Hershey Lodge

The lodge is selling dinners for four with two entrees and a selection of composed salads, sides and desserts. All orders include a tossed salad and dinner rolls with butter. Plus, surprise mom with a potted geranium and Hersheys Kisses with each order. Pick up 10 a.m.-2 p.m. May 10.

Cost is $96 plus tax ($24 per person). Call 717-520-5443 to order from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. through May 6.

The Hotel Hershey

The hotel sells its famous brunch for takeout. The meals feed a family of four and feature a selection of appetizers, salads, entrees and sides. All orders come with cinnamon rolls and cream cheese icing.

Dessert may be added for an additional cost. Mothers Day baskets with The Spa At The Hotel Hershey signature products and Hersheys Chocolate are also available for purchase.

Pickup between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. May 10. Cost is $110 + tax ($27.50 per person). Call 717-534-8800 to order 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. through 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.

Houlihans Restaurant + Bar

Dinners for four feature a selection of salads and entrees with dinner rolls and butter. Dessert and soup may be added for an additional cost. Pick up curbside from noon-8 p.m. May 9-10. Cost: $65 plus tax ($16.25 per person). Call 717-534-3110 to order from noon-8 p.m. through May 7.

John Wright Restaurant

The York County restaurant is offering meals for four including short ribs, lobster lasagna, braised lamb, stuffed shells and chicken. Prices range from $35 to $65 and include sides.

Orders due May 6 by calling 717-252-0416 or at www.jwrpa.com. Pick up food 1- 4 p.m. May 9 or 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Orders placed on May 4 and 5 will be confirmed on the following Wednesday when the restaurant re-opens.

Qui Qui Musarra, left, and Ashlyn Hawkins at Mangia Qui and Rubicon at 270 and 272 North St. in Harrisburg. April 27, 2020. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Mangia Qui

Harrisburg city standby Mangia Qui isnt skipping any steps with a Mothers Day to-go brunch menu. Among the options, is an East Shore Brunch (whole Maine lobster, 1-1 1/4 pound, grilled diver scallop, jumbo shrimp, corn, potatoes, remoulade and lemon) and Farmers Market brunch (dry-rubbed grass-fed grilled filet mignon with saute of asparagus, fresh peas and yellow squash and truffled Parmigiano mashed potatoes) Price is $45 per person. Orders due May 7 for pickup between noon and 4 p.m. May 10. Call 717-233-7358.

The Mill

The restaurant in Hershey is accepting takeout orders, including on Mothers Day. Pick from house smoked beef brisket to garlic and rosemary grilled chicken and charcuterie as well as brunch favorites such as crab Florentine quiche and biscuits with gravy.

Call 717-256-9965 or email info@themillinhershey.com

Peachtree Restaurant & Lounge

Popular Susquehanna Township restaurant is offering Mothers Day brunch and dinner to go menus. Brunch favorites include huevos ranchero, baklava French toast, chicken and waffles and grilled salmon chickpea salad. For dinner, pick from broiled jumbo lump crab cakes to chicken souvlaki over orzo, lobster ravioli and Caprese pesto penne, all priced $13.99 to $24.99. Advance orders recommended by calling 717-545-3773.

Thea

Order special Mothers Day family-style meals from this Lower Allen Township establishments special menu featuring jumbo lump crab cakes, chicken Caprese braised beef short ribs and more. Sides and desserts available for two or four people. Prices start $45 and up. Order by May 6 by calling 717-759-4654.

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Portland, Oregon  While Voodoo Doughnut is known for its kitschy pastry designs and lines of hungry tourists, as the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting down businesses in the state, the doughnut chains staff started drawing attention. On March 20, employees from the newly formed Voodoo Doughnut Workers Union (VWU) delivered a letter to management announcing the formation of a union and demanding higher wages, safety improvements and severance packages for employees laid off because of the coronavirus and Oregons ongoing shelter-in-place order.

What they did is significant because it breaks from generally accepted union procedures in the United States and may serve as a blueprint for how employees will respond to virus-related risks in the workplace. Instead of first going through the arduous process of a union election and contract negotiations, these workers used pressure tactics to push their bosses to meet their demands directly.

We want a security guard stationed at the Old Town location. We want severance pay and access to our [paid time off] when were laid off. We want hazard pay, and we want a living wage, Katherine Nadj told Al Jazeera. She loves her job but says working conditions are difficult. Shes been decorating doughnuts at the takeout shop for two and a half years. Voodoo Doughnuts busy downtown location continues to operate despite Oregons stay-at-home orders because it provides what safety officials consider an essential service, though many of its workers, including Katherine, face layoffs.

She wants Voodoo management to negotiate directly with her and her coworkers and is prepared to get aggressive if the bosses do not agree.

We truly hope it doesnt have to come down to this, but refusing to bargain in good faith with [our union] the VWU could lead to escalation, Nadj said.

As unemployment in the US soars because of measures designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus, many workers worry the shrinking number of jobs makes them vulnerable to workplace abuses. Some, like Katherine, believe so-called pressure campaigns are the best way to ensure safe working conditions.

On March 20, employees from the newly formed Voodoo Doughnut Workers Union (VWU) delivered a letter to management announcing the formation of a union and demanding higher wages [Credit: Alex Wittwer]

The Voodoo Doughnut employees union is an affiliate of a labour union, known for its use of rank-and-file organising as opposed to union staff. The larger organisation is called the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It is not just another labour union, where workers campaign to win recognition and negotiate a contract. The IWW is a vehicle for a worker-led organising effort where workplace action is prioritised.

Conventional unions operate under tight federal regulations. Before they can address many workplace issues, most unions in the US have to hold elections and work through established mechanisms. That procedure can take years, and unions are at a legal disadvantage. By not following the established rules, VWU members are forgoing traditional barriers: in effect, they are taking action without asking for permission.

Solidarity unionism

Robert Ovetz, a labour researcher and lecturer at San Jose State University, believes the IWW and the doughnut store workers are making the most of a difficult situation. They have been really effective organising around a shared grievance, said Ovetz. He says their ability to take immediate action to disrupt the workplace and extract some sort of concession appeals to low-wage service workers in Portland and across the US.

This model is called solidarity unionism, where workers gain bargaining strength by taking action on the job, such as confrontational demand deliveries on their bosses or holding rallies, rather than following only federally sanctioned union elections or strikes.

Because many of the workplaces employing solidarity unionism are small, the benefits of union contracts may be years away. Moreover, the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that governs unions, is filled with conservative appointees from the Trump administration who have imposed difficult restrictions on unions. And that was before the coronavirus made low-wage service workers essential. These are just some of the factors increasing the popularity of solidarity unionism.

Service workers taking action

In Portland, the IWW has been organising workplaces that are often ignored by larger unions because of low wages, high turnover and small size. This is how the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU) formed four years ago; employees at the popular local chain were frustrated with low wages and demanding schedules. They rallied the entire city behind a campaign centred on strikes and public actions, including a multi-year boycott, all tactics that would usually accompany an immediate union election and contract fight. They believe they largely won their tug of war with their employer because they started pressure tactics from the beginning. Now that they are in contract negotiations, they are continuing this direct action approach.

Union employees at one Burgerville location walked off the job on March 22, alleging understaffing and increased workloads as the health crisis escalates.

Burgerville workers went on strike because of the utter despair workers had that day about their immediate safety, says Mark Medina, a Burgerville employee and union member.

The union demanded two weeks severance pay for those laid off, an additional $2 per hour of hazard pay, two weeks of sick time for those working and the ability to cash out accrued paid time off (PTO).

This crisis is making very clear how bosses act; shifting responsibility, not working with employees, having us pay for the crisis. Time and time again, workers are pushed to the forefront to risk it all. We are the ones told to suck it up. The CEOs will not be hungry and houseless at the end of this crisis, we will if we let them decide for us, says Medina.

Burgerville says that it has implemented new safety protocols that align with the Center for Disease Controls (CDC) standards, including an expanded leave policy, wellness checks for staff before shifts and frequent sanitation of facilities.

This Mark

crisis is making very clear how bosses act, shifting responsibility, having us pay for the crisis  workers are pushed to the forefront to risk it all.]

Burgerville respects every employees right to organise and every union members right to walk out or strike, said Hillary Barbour, the director of Strategic Initiatives at Burgerville.

Workers from Voodoo Doughnut are operating under a model called solidarity unionism, where workers gain bargaining strength by taking action on the job, such as confrontational demand deliveries [Credit: Alex Wittwer]

The company initially furloughed 68 percent of its workforce due to the pandemic, yet kept open 38 locations with limited staffing. On April 23, Burgerville announced it would lay off 42 percent of its employees, or 612 people, most of whom had been on temporary furlough already. They are now working with their union to manage the impact of these layoffs.

The BVWU is trying to set an example for the rest of the service economy in the city, encouraging other employees to take action at their jobs rather than waiting for a professional union apparatus to intervene on their behalf. Employees at the local Crush Bar, a popular LGBT friendly club, followed the BVWUs lead as they began organising around issues with management, so they were prepared when the bar suddenly closed.

The bar went public with that announcement before they even notified their entire staff, says Hannah Gioia, who worked at Crush for eight months. When management summarily dismissed everyone without notice and was allegedly denying the use of accrued sick time, the employees were prepared to take action.

We walked in; we collected our final cheques from the general manager. Once we received those cheques, we sat down in unison and asked to speak to the owner, said Gioia, who, along with 12 of her coworkers, staged a sit-in demanding to cash out PTO and rehire guarantees. Instead of discussing it, management called the police. According to a statement posted by Crush management on social media, the workers were given their accrued PTO two days after the sit-in occurred. These employees have yet to find out if they will be welcomed back to their jobs when Crush reopens.

Oregon is slowly reopening its economy and promising to coordinate with neighbouring states California and Washington to prevent a resurgence of infections. However, in the face of an uncertain future and with job losses mounting, people who are members of these unions are sending a message to employers: service workers can take power in their workplaces.

Dont be grateful. You deserve a living wage and adequate healthcare. You deserve your hours, you deserve sick leave, and you deserve to be treated with respect, says Nadj, who is continuing to push Voodoo Doughnut management to the table even though she was temporarily laid off. Were all in this together!

Al Jazeera requested responses from both Crush and Voodoo Doughnut, but had not received them by publication.
Two pilgrims, who returned to Sirsa from Maharashtra's Nanded, are among 18 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Haryana on Friday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the state to 357.

Sirsa district officials said both pilgrims had returned from the Hazur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded and were admitted to hospital.

With people returning from Nanded testing positive for the infection in Punjab, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said all pilgrims would be tested.

He added that 16 other pilgrims have been quarantined for two weeks.

In addition to Sirsa, eight fresh cases were reported from Faridabad, three from Gurgaon, four from Jhajjar and one from Sonipat, as per a state Health Department bulletin.

Haryana has maintained that many of the coronavirus cases in its NCR districts have their origins in infections emanating from the national capital and the authorities had ordered sealing of the districts with Delhi to check the spread of the infection.

The worst-affected districts of the state are Faridabad (61), Nuh (58), Gurgaon (57), Palwal (34), Sonipat (26), Jhajjar (28) and Panchkula (18).

According to the health bulletin, the number of active cases in the state is 112 while 241 patients have been discharged so far. The rate of doubling of cases in the state is 20 days.

The state has recorded four COVID-related deaths, it said.

The number of samples sent for testing stands at 30,191, out of which reports of 2,050 are awaited.

Among the 24 foreign nationals who tested positive, 14 were the Italian tourists and later 13 of them were discharged while one elderly woman in the group had passed away last month even though she had recovered from the coronavirus infection.

The other 10 foreign nationals found positive are from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesia while 64 are from other states, the bulletin stated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A new report shows that our spending in Kilkenny has significantly changed in lockdown!

Overall, Kilkenny consumers are spending 20% less than normal since Covid-19 started to impact Ireland.

However, Kilkenny consumers are spending 28% more on groceries, with those between the age of 55 and 64 recording the biggest increase at 33%.

On 12th March when schools closed and people were asked to work from home, grocery spend nationally was 60% higher compared with the previous Thursday as people rushed to buy necessities. Kilkenny consumers spent an average of 63 per grocery transaction on this day, compared with an average of only 42 the previous Thursday.

National Data

AIB data has revealed the spending habits of Irish consumers since Covid-19 started to impact the country at the beginning of March. The data has been compiled from over one million transactions between 8th March and 11th April and has been anonymised and aggregated.

On Thursday 12th March when An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that schools would close and that people should work from home where possible, Irish consumers rushed to buy necessities as spending was 17% higher than a normal weekday, and 20% higher when compared with the previous Thursday.

Friday 13th March saw consumers spending 4% more than normal as panic buying seemed to subside quickly. Every day after 13th March has seen a significant drop in spending, with St Patricks Day recording a 47% drop in average spending  the lowest of any day since the crisis started.

Over 65s have recorded the biggest drop in spending as they adhere to government advice, with spending down 27% among this age group. Spending by those under 25 recorded a drop of 21%, while those between the ages of 35-44 recorded a drop of 13%, the smallest decline of any age group.

Dublin customers recorded the biggest drop in spending (21%), while the surrounding counties followed closely. Meath and Kildare both experienced a drop of 19% with Wicklow falling 18% below the usual levels. Donegal recorded the lowest drop in spending at just 12%.

Online Versus Instore

Since a lot of stores were required to close as a result of Covid-19, Irish consumers have started to spend more online, with online clothing retailers performing strongly. The biggest online spending increase on a single day was on Friday 10th April, Good Friday, when consumers spent 107% more than normal on clothing.

Cork (+139%), Louth (+137%) and Westmeath (+135%) recorded the highest increase in online clothing spend on this day, while spend on clothing from those in Dublin was 92% above normal.

This increase in clothing spend on this day was largely driven by under 25s as they spent 249% more than normal. Meanwhile, those over the age of 65 spent 37% more than usual buying clothes online on the same day.

Grocery Spend

In addition to being the busiest day for overall spending, 12th March was also the busiest day for grocery spend, with spend on this day alone 20% higher than the average spend during Christmas week 2019.

On average consumers spent 76 per grocery store transaction on this day, 60% higher than the previous Thursday, when the average transaction average was 48.

On average, consumers are now spending 30% more on groceries since Covid-19 started to impact Ireland. Those between the ages of 45 and 54 are spending 38% more than normal, more than any other age group. Meanwhile, those between 25 and 34 are spending an average of 36% more. Over 65s have recorded the smallest increase in grocery spend, up 3.4% on normal levels.

This is consistent right across the country, with grocery spend up evenly across all counties. Spend is up 36% on Dublin consumers, while those in Donegal are spending 35% more on groceries.

However, spend in general is down overall.

Speaking about the data, Fergal Coburn, Chief Digital & Innovation Officer at AIB said The Covid-19 crisis has dramatically impacted the lives of Irish consumers and our data shows how consumers are responding to these changes in their spending habits. It also provides valuable insight for Irish businesses who are trying to adapt to this exceptionally challenging situation.

The data also reflects the reality of the situation, with grocery stores being one of the remaining retail outlets open, seeing a 30% increase in the average transaction. It also reveals the biggest drop off in spending overall has been by those over 65 as they listen to the governments advice and stay indoors.

These insights reflect behavioural changes as consumers switch to using their cards to pay for more goods and services. As Ireland most digitally enabled bank, AIB offers consumers a variety of solutions to support this, including a range of digital wallet options and Irelands number one banking app.
Vice President Mike Pence's office has threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence's office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence's visit to the Mayo Clinic - a requirement Pence himself did not follow.

Pence's trip to the clinic on Tuesday generated criticism after he was photographed without a surgical mask - the only person in the room not wearing one. The Minnesota clinic requires visitors to wear masks as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus.

RELATED: Grocery store workers are beginning to die from COVID-19

Pence's wife, Karen Pence, said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that he was unaware of the mask policy until his visit was over.

But Steve Herman, who covers the White House for Voice of America, suggested that there was more to the story after Karen Pence's interview.

"All of us who traveled with [Pence] were notified by the office of @VP the day before the trip that wearing of masks was required by the @MayoClinic and to prepare accordingly," tweeted Herman, who covered the trip as part of his rotation as one of the pool reporters, who share information with other reporters in limited-space situations.

The tweet apparently enraged Pence's staff, which told Herman that he had violated the off-the-record terms of a planning memo that had been sent to him and other reporters in advance of Pence's trip.

RELATED: This time, Pence wears mask as he tours Indiana plant

Herman said he was notified by the White House Correspondents' Association that Pence's office had banned him from further travel on Air Force Two, although a spokesperson in Pence's office later told VOA managers than any punishment was still under discussion, pending an apology from Herman or VOA.

The VOA is continuing to talk with Pence's staff, said Yolanda Lopez, the director of VOA's news center. She said it wasn't clear how the vice president intended to proceed.

Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, declined to comment.

The issue, according to people involved, is whether Herman's tweet violated the off-the-record terms of a planning document sent via email Monday evening by the vice president's office to reporters who planned to travel with Pence to the clinic.

RELATED: Trump retweets Fauci meme that appears to be making fun of him

A copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post explicitly stated that masks are required for the visit and instructed reporters to wear them. "Please note, the Mayo Clinic is requiring all individuals traveling with the VP wear masks," the document said. "Please bring one to wear while on the trip."

The directive confirms that Pence's staff was well aware of the need for masks, raising the possibility that none of his aides alerted him to the requirement or that Pence had intentionally flouted it, perhaps to avoid being photographed in one. (Pence himself told reporters after the visit that since he doesn't have the coronavirus - he is tested frequently - he decided he could "speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you.")

However, the planning document is marked: "OFF THE RECORD AND FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY." The off-the-record designation is standard for such logistical memos, indicating reporters are obligated not to publish or report the information. The White House typically keeps planning information confidential to maintain security for official trips.

But there's some question about how long the obligation lasts - whether it is permanent or only applies to the period before and during the trip.

Herman's tweet came nearly 48 hours after the vice president's trip had ended, suggesting the vice president's staff was more embarrassed by the disclosure than concerned about security.

"My tweet speaks for itself," Herman said in a statement. "We always have and will strictly adhere to keeping off the record any White House communications to reporters for planning purposes involving logistics that have security implications prior to events. . . . All White House pool reporters, including myself and my VOA colleagues, take this very seriously."

As is, the vice president's office took no action against another reporter, Gordon Lubold of the Wall Street Journal, who traveled with Pence and tweeted something similar to Herman's tweet on Thursday. "Everyone in the entire Mayo Clinic had a mask on, everyone, and we were all told the day before we had to wear a mask if we entered the clinic," Lubold tweeted.

In a now-deleted tweet, the clinic said it had alerted Pence to its mask policy before his visit. A later statement from the clinic said only that it had informed Pence's office of the policy, not Pence personally.

Herman's employer, Voice of America, is a government-funded but independent news agency that has lately been the object of White House criticism. The Trump administration accused VOA earlier this month of promoting Chinese government propaganda in its reporting about the coronavirus. The VOA's director, Amanda Bennett, has defended its independence.

On Thursday, Pence wore a mask as he toured a General Motors auto plant in Indiana that has been converted into a factory making ventilators for hospitals around the country.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KSrelief signed today a financial contribution memorandum to procurement of medical supplies and equipment for supporting UNRWA to counter the emerging coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Gaza Strip region, Palestine. The project will support two million people by providing medical equipment, medicines and preventative pharmaceuticals to combat COVID-19 in Palestine.

Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) stated, "The agreement represents a long-lasting historical relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief, and the UNRWA to support Palestinian refugees. This partnership has resulted in many great projects. The commitment of UNRWA is something we count on in this critical time and we hope this agreement will support UNRWA to be able to help poor people in Gaza in facing this prename. Thank you very much and we hope to see more cooperation and projects in the near future."

Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said, "Thank you for your strong support to UNRWA. This contribution is very timely. This is definitely an indication of how important and committed you are in supporting the efforts of UNRWA to provide critical services to the Palestinian refugees. I would like to acknowledge the resource support by Saudi Arabia, through KSrelief, to UNRWA, especially last year's support that played a critical role in securing funding for our projects which as you know is very fundamental to ensure the continuation of all these critical services. Without it we certainly wouldn't have been able to be at forefront of the response for the COVID-19. Thank you very much again for this support it is highly needed in Gaza Strip, where we have one the weakest and poorest health systems in the region."

The signing ceremony was via a video call between Dr. Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSrelief and Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General UNRWA. It is the second agreement, where a similar agreement was recently signed in Riyadh to also support the health sector in Gaza. Saudi Arabia provided a total of USD 6,473,586,361 in support to Palestine, USD 250 million was allocated for UNRWA.

The agreement will support the health sector in the Gaza Strip with important items including medical equipment and supplies of ventilation, patient monitoring system, syringe pumps, oxygen meters, transport stretcher trolleys, blankets, personal protective equipment (N95 masks, surgery masks, isolation gowns, disposable head and foot covers), medicines of antivirals and antibiotics, sterilizers, medicines for chronic diseases, clinical detection supplies, and oxygen cylinders. The support, which are highly needed in this critical time, will contribute to reducing the spread of a serious pandemic in the Gaza Strip and meeting the urgent needs of the medical teams working there.

SOURCE King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre
Friday, May 1, 2020 at 7:35AM

Embed from Getty Images

If you've been waiting for the next iteration of the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Fold series, then you will appreciate this news. Samsung addressed the future of the Galaxy Note20 and Galaxy Fold 2 during its recent Q1 2020 earnings reportalthough the confirmation is a bit vague.

The company said, "For the second half, amid uncertainties including the possibility of a prolonged pandemic, market competition is forecast to intensify as manufacturers strive to recover from the weakness in the first half. The Company will continue to offer differentiated products in the premium segment with the launch of new foldable and Note models." So, if we believe this statement, we can expect the Galaxy Note20 and Fold 2 to arrive sometime in August. Which device would you be more excited to see?

Source: GSMArena
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 10:54:49|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has fast-tracked a shipbuilding project to create jobs amid the coronavirus crisis.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds on Friday announced that shipbuilder Austal will construct six new Cape Class Patrol Boats in Western Australia (WA) at a cost of 350 million Australian dollars (227.3 million U.S. dollars).

The government has previously spent about 3.6 billion AUD (2.3 billion USD) on 12 larger Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Royal Australian Navy, the first of which is expected to enter service in 2021.

Reynolds said that the new patrol boats would play an important role in keeping Australia's borders safe while construction on the OPVs continues.

"These vessels will not only enhance national security, but will provide important economic stimulus and employment continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic," she said in a statement.

"The ability to build more of these vessels in Australia will deliver Australian Industry Content of more than 65 per cent, providing significant opportunities for Australian industry and Defence, as well as more than 1,200 workers in the broader Australian supply chain."

Melissa Price, the Minister for Defence Industry, said that the deal would guarantee the security of 400 shipbuilding jobs at Austal's shipyard south of Perth.

The project will increase the size of Australia's fleet of patrol boats to 16.

Eight of the existing vessels are operated by the Australian Border Force (ABF) with the remaining two leased by the navy.

Under the Naval Shipbuilding Plan released in 2017, the government has committed to spending a total of 90 billion AUD (58.4 billion USD) on new ships and submarines. Enditem
By Trend





The Azerbaijani government continues to take urgent measures to bring back the citizens who are abroad and want to come back, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said, Trend reports on April 30.

Due to the difficult global situation because of the coronavirus pandemic, citizens abroad are returning to the country even under the current conditions of a special quarantine regime, the spokesperson said.

A special website has been created to bring back our citizens from Russia, the spokesperson said. People are being registered online. During the previous weeks, a group of our citizens, namely, 548 people, returned to Azerbaijan and this work continues. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that each returning citizen is quarantined. In this regard, the decision related to the return of citizens is made depending on the availability of vacant beds in quarantine zones.

We have repeatedly appealed to our citizens in this regard, Abdullayeva added. Azerbaijani extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to Russia urged compatriots to demonstrate understanding.

Presently, our citizens after registration must wait for a message, which is sent to them from the website and not go to the border checkpoint, the spokesperson added. While going to a border checkpoint, our citizens endanger both their own health and the health of their relatives.

I would like to emphasize again that the return of our citizens is being ensured taking into account the availability of vacant beds in the quarantine zones in Azerbaijan, Abdullayeva said. In this regard, of course, we must think about our doctors, respect the work of the medical staff, which works almost without interruption. There are also our citizens in other countries. They are staying temporarily and want to return. The work is underway to return them to Azerbaijan.

Gathering at the border checkpoints doesn't help move the matter forward, and it is important for every citizen to understand this, the spokesperson added. I would like to reiterate that the government will return the citizens who are abroad gradually in accordance with the development of the situation in Azerbaijan, the availability of vacant beds in the quarantine zones and the corresponding logistic support."
US President Donald Trump, who has been in the White House for more than a month during the coronavirus epidemic, will go to his own suburban residence in Camp David (Maryland) on Friday, the work schedule published by the White House said.

It is noted that the American leader will arrive at 5:35 pm.

Trump left Washington for the last time on March 28. Then he paid a visit to the US Navy base in Virginia to personally carry the Comfort hospital ship to New York.
After GOP Legislature Declares 'Mission Accomplished' on COVID-19, Governor Whitmer Signs New Executive Orders to Save Lives, Protect Michiganders

After GOP Legislature Declares 'Mission Accomplished' on COVID-19, Governor Whitmer Signs New Executive Orders to Save Lives, Protect Michiganders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 30, 2020

Media Contact: press@michigan.gov

After GOP Legislature Declares Mission Accomplished on COVID-19, Governor Whitmer Signs New Executive Orders to Save Lives, Protect Michiganders

New orders effective through May 28, 2020

LANSING, Mich. -- Today, after the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature refused to extend the emergency and disaster declaration that was set to expire at midnight tonight, Governor Gretchen Whitmer took swift action by signing three new executive orders to continue fighting COVID-19 and save lives.

COVID-19 is an enemy that has taken the lives of more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam War, said Governor Whitmer. While some members of the legislature might believe this crisis is over, common sense and all of the scientific data tells us were not out of the woods yet. By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk. Im not going to let that happen.

Today I signed new emergency and disaster declarations using independent sources of statutory authority to make sure our health care workers and first responders have the tools they need to save lives and protect Michiganders, said Whitmer. Were all in this together. Defeating COVID-19 is an all hands on deck moment for our state, and I remain hopeful that Republicans in the legislature will stop the partisan games and start working with me to re-engage our economy safely and responsibly.

The executive orders cite extensive data validating the existence of an emergency and disaster across the State of Michigan. Specifically, although the pace of COVID-19 spread has showed signs of slowing, the virus remains aggressive and persistent: to date, there have been 41,379 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 3,789 deaths from the diseasefourfold and tenfold increases, respectively, since the start of this month. And while COVID-19 initially hit Southeast Michigan hardest, the spread is now increasing more quickly in other parts of the state. For instance, cases in some counties in Western and Northern Michigan are now doubling every 6 days or faster.

Moreover, the economic damage wrought by this pandemicalready severewill continue to compound with time. Between March 15 and April 18, Michigan had 1.2 million initial unemployment claims. This amounts to nearly 24% of the Michigan workforce. During this crisis, Michigan has frequently processed more unemployment claims in a single day than the most painful week of the Great Recession, and the state has already reached its highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. On April 9, 2020, economists at the University of Michigan forecasted that the U.S. economy will contract by 7% in the second quarter of this year, or roughly an annualized rate of 25%. As a result, many families in Michigan will struggle to pay their bills or even put food on the table.

Todays orders include:

Executive Order 2020-66, which terminates the existing state of emergency and disaster declaration s issued under the Emergency Management Act in Executive Order 2020-33.

Executive Order 2020-67, which clarifies that a state of emergency remains in effect under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945. The order is effective immediately and continues through May 28, 2020 at 11:59pm. The governor will evaluate the continuing need for this order prior to its expiration , and if she determines that an emergency no longer exists, will terminate or extend the state of emergency declared in this order.

Executive Order 2020-68, which declares a state of emergency and a state of disaster across the State of Michigan under the Emergency Management Act of 1976. The state of emergency and state of disaster declared by this order will be effective through May 28, 2020 at 11:59pm, and the governor will evaluate the continuing need for the order prior to its expiration, terminate the states of emergency and di saster if the threat or danger has passed .

Senate Bill 858, which passed the legislature today, does not comply with constitutional requirements. Moreover, the governor will not sign any bills that constrain her ability to protect the people of Michigan from this deadly virus in a timely manner. The governor intends to veto this bill when presented to her.

To view the governor's Executive Orders, click the links below:

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How Charter Schools are Thriving Over Public Schools

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / All across America, people want to help their children get the best possible education. Freda Deskin, Ph.D., an award-winning educator for over 40 years, has identified a variety of benefits that charter schools offer to today's youth.

Are public schools failing? Dr. Freda Deskin has pondered this question heavily over the years. Some are and some aren't. That is also true of public charter schools, online schools, and private schools. Failure is sometimes due to leadership and sometimes it is funding. Funding for public schools is not equitable. Funding too often relies on the industries located in a particular district. Some schools have 5 or even 10 times the amount of money to spend on students just because they are fortunate enough to be getting revenue from local industries. As such, traditional public schools aren't the right answer for everyone.

This leads to one of the reasons Dr. Freda Deskin founded ASTEC Charter Schools in 2000. ASTEC is an inner-city public school located in Oklahoma City, designed to serve a population of students that are diverse, with a poverty rate of 97 percent. She finds that though charter schools receive far less funding than traditional public schools, charter schools with strong leaders are capable of promoting diversity more effectively than in most traditional public schools.

Another benefit of charter schools, according to Dr. Freda Deskin, is that they often allow for better teacher to student ratios. With a reduced class size, it's easier to focus on the individual learning needs of the students. Dr. Freda Deskin says that it allows teachers to meet the needs of all instead of teaching to the lowest students while half the class becomes bored - or the other way around, leaving over half the class to struggle.

Charter schools must do a better job or they shouldn't exist. Charter schools have the additional pressure that, unlike a traditional school, they can be shut down for lack of student progress or fiscal mismanagement.

Story continues

There's a significant amount of parental choice involved with charter schools. Dr. Freda Deskin explains that with public schools, parents are simply at the mercy of where they live to determine what school their child is to attend. With charter schools, there's more choice. Every charter school does things a bit differently. They offer areas of specialization. It is almost like choosing a college, allowing parents to "interview" the charter schools. Charter schools feel the competition.

Additionally, as Dr. Freda Deskin is quick to point out, while charter schools must follow all state and federal laws and regulations there are a few differences that cut down on the bureaucracy that traditional schools face. Since charter schools have site-based management, the turn-around time for decisions is much faster.

While teachers in charter schools must teach the same state and federal standards, subjects, and testing, they are encouraged to use the methods of teaching that work best for their students. Innovation is the expected norm for teachers in charter schools.

Dr. Freda Deskin has identified that while parental involvement is no greater than in a public school with a similar population, the parents want what the charter school offers and take advantage of that choice.

While Dr. Freda Deskin identifies that not all charter schools are perfect, they offer a wide array of benefits that aren't typically found within larger public education systems.

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The Paladin

By David Ignatius

W.W. Norton and Company. 310 pp. $27.95

---

In Daniel Defoe's 1665 account of the plague years, he observed, "the strange temper of the people of London at that time contributed extremely to their own destruction."

In our pandemic spring of 2020, we have witnessed something similar. It's called the Internet, and the way so many people cling to fake news - treatments, vaccines, mortality rates - like flotsam from a shipwreck.

David Ignatius's new thriller, "The Paladin," explores, in part, the Armageddon that is possible via precisely that sort of online sound and fury. Imagine a group of brilliant hackers and software designers creating fake news and bogus videos so real that, once spread online, they crash markets and bring down governments.

OK, it's not hard to imagine. For all we know, it's happening right now. That's the thing about an Ignatius novel: It's not merely its ripped-from-the-headlines timeliness. Ignatius, an award-winning columnist for The Washington Post, brings his immense skills as a journalist to his fiction, researching the idea and enriching his plot with both the latest spycraft and the arcane workings of, very often, the CIA. (Among my favorite new expressions I learned in his latest novel is the old-school classic, "lemon squeezer:" an agent who specialized in deciphering secret messages written in lemon juice.)

"The Paladin" is the story of 40-year-old Michael Dunne, a ruined CIA agent who, when the novel opens, has just emerged from a year in prison. His crime? Violating "the constitutional rights of others by running an intelligence operation against American journalists." In reality, he has been thrown under the bus by his superiors at the agency: He was, quite literally, following their orders to infiltrate and spy on a self-proclaimed free-speech group that is calling itself Fallen Empire and working out of Urbino, Italy. The American journalist in his sights is a young anarchist and "a big Snowden fan" named Jason Howe, who is so appalled at the corruption of Western democracies that he wants to topple the whole system (hence the name, Fallen Empire). A part of Dunne's team explains the group's modus operandi, and it is as chilling as it is familiar: "They're all about getting people ... angry at each other. They start with real stuff and then crank in fake stuff. Muslims are killing Jews. Corporations are destroying the environment. Blacks should kill racist white people. It's all stirring the pot."

The operation falls apart when Dunne, happily married with one daughter and another child on the way, is caught in a classic honey trap -- lured by a beautiful woman to a club and then photographed with her in a spectacularly compromising fashion. It seems Fallen Empire has figured out that Dunne is a CIA agent, not a fellow hacker, and blown his cover. The images are sent to his wife, who is justifiably devastated. The CIA brings him home and then drops him like he's radioactive, suggesting he had gone rogue and was not, in fact, running an assignment at the request of his boss.

Now, out of prison and estranged from his wife and daughter, Dunne wants revenge. He knows he'd shown spectacularly bad judgment and a flawed moral compass when he allowed his libido to trump common sense, but Jason Howe and his team have ruined his life. He's divorced, a felon and been cut loose by the CIA. Soon after he opens a small cyber security consulting firm in Pittsburgh, one of his few remaining friends hands him a packet he was asked to pass along when Dunne emerged from what his pal mischievously calls "Club Fed." The envelope is from a group calling itself "The Paladin," named for the "warriors who banded together in the time of Charlemagne. ... They were the people's bandits, fighting for justice."

The group claims they're sorry for what happened to him, and the letter includes some information that may help him find Howe, who disappeared while Dunne was in jail.

And Dunne is off and running. But what begins as an attempt to find and confront Howe morphs into something bigger and much more disturbing: a plot to use fake news to create global economic chaos on a magnitude that may feel eerily familiar right now.

"The Paladin" moves back and forth between 2016, when Dunne is spying on Fallen Empire, and 2018, when he is seeking vengeance. The narrative travels among West Virginia fishing holes, the biggest corporations in Taiwan, rundown motels near Niagara Falls and posh yachts off the coast of Sardinia. Like Michael Dunne, we are never sure who his friends are and who are his foes.

Ignatius's unsettling novel reminds us that we have created a world where facts have "alternatives" and the "news" on the social networks can't be trusted. It's a page turner, but it's also a chilling story of the way the Internet has been weaponized.

---

Bohjalian is the bestselling author of 21 books. His most recent novel, "The Red Lotus," was just published.
May 1st is marked as the International Labour Day or May Day which is observed every year to celebrate the working class. In India, this day is also known as Antarrashriya Sharmik Diwas in Hindi.

Pixabay

The origin of this day dates back to the 19th century in the US where there were revolutions happening by the working class. It was during the rise of industrialization when the labour class was being exploited to a point that they had to take a stand.



History of May Day

Pixabay

The workers were forced to work for 15 hours a day during the rise of industrialization in the 19th century. On May 1, 1886, the labour union in the United States of America decided to go on a strike with the demand that the working hours of the people should be reduced from 15 hours to 8 hours. They also said and demanded paid leaves, proper wages and breaks for the workforce.

This strike didnt lead to immediate results but it resulted lately in establishment of the 8 hours workday in many parts of the World, including India.

The International workers Day was first celebrated in India in 1923 in Chennai by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. It was started with the pure intentions that the government should grant workers a national holiday on May 1.

How is the day celebrated?

It is observed as a national holiday outside India and people mark the occasion by celebrating the accomplishments of workers. The accomplishment of workers. The day represents the hard work and the dedication of workers which they put in their work and how they team up to achieve the goals.
Kuwait has thanked the Indian government for sending a 15-member rapid response team and providing medical supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Kuwait Ambassador to India, Jassem Al-Najem, appreciated the gesture of the Indian government to continue the supply of medicine, including Paracetamol tablets and foods.

The team comprising of doctors and healthcare professionals provided medical assistance in testing and treatment of the afflicted persons and training their personnel. The Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement that the rapid response team was deputed on the request of the Kuwaiti government following a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah.

Read: COVID-19: Indian Rapid Response Team Imparts Training In Kuwait

Read: Indias Rapid Response Team Interacts With Kuwaiti Side To Assist In COVID-19 Fight

Coordinated effort

During the telephonic conversation, both leaders had agreed for a concerted and coordinated effort against the coronavirus pandemic. Subsequently, EAM S Jaishankar also held a phone call with his Kuwaiti counterpart to discuss the prevailing situation in Kuwait and explore ways to further strengthen cooperation during these challenging times.

Indians constitute the largest group of expatriates with an estimated population of about ten lakhs in the State of Kuwait. India is reaching out to Kuwait in the extended neighbourhood to further complement its efforts to fight the menace effectively, the ministry said in a statement.

Read: India's Nationwide Lockdown Extended By 2 Weeks Post-May 4 As COVID-19 Cases Soar To 35365

Read: COVID-19 Death Toll Rises To 1,152 In Country; Cases Climb To 35,365: Union Health Ministry
Missoula County is projected to spend more than $6 million in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic by the end of 2020.

The county had not anticipated or budgeted for the expense and commissioners are now asking Gov. Steve Bullock to allocate money from the federal CARES Act to help alleviate the unexpected cost burdening Missoula and other counties in Montana.

On Thursday, the Missoula County Board of Commissioners approved a letter penned to Bullock and Tom Livers, the state's budget director, requesting that the state allocate a portion of the CARES funding to Montana counties.

"By law, they don't have to share a thing with the counties but it would be great to help the counties out because we're hurting right now," Andrew Czorny, the county's chief financial officer, told the Missoulian. "It's going to be a very difficult year."

The CARES Act does not include any funding for local governments with populations under 500,000. Rather, it is up to state leaders to decide how they will distribute the money to those counties.

"If you understand the lengths to which county staff and elected officials go to maintain a balanced budget, you will also understand there is no way the county could absorb the enormous unbudgeted, unanticipated financial burden this pandemic has placed upon it," the letter reads.

Czorny said that the Missoula County has spent a little over $600,000 so far in COVID-19-related expenses.

Among the projected expenses, which are outlined in the letter, the county anticipates spending the most on payroll for public and safety employees, health care workers, and others responding to COVID-19.

By Dec. 31, 2020, the county expects it will have spent $1,681,688 on county health department personnel expenses specifically related to battling COVID-19, in addition to $1,909,900 on emergency operations center staff.

Other significant costs the county projects include $800,000 for operations of the new non-congregate shelter, $340,916 in COVID-19-related paid sick and family leave pay for county employees, and $654,226 in hazard pay for local detention center deputies.

It also includes lesser costs for things such as the drive-through testing center at the fairgrounds, at $23,233, and emergency operations center materials and equipment at $45,915.

The list of expenses only highlights county government operations, and does not include other needs the county stated it would like to support, such as property tax relief, rental assistance and efforts that support people experiencing homelessness.

The county's budget is limited, as a large part of it comes from the collection of property taxes, which help the county provide essential services and government services to residents.

The county has a small rainy-day fund to help offset the costs of natural disasters, such as flooding and forest fires, prior to any reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which can take up to two years, according to the letter. However, the fund doesn't begin to cover the projected COVID-19 expenses.

Czorny said there is also some money in the county's emergency operations center budget that's part of the general fund. However, he said the county is mostly moving funds from areas in the budget where they have an excess, such as some reserves in the general fund. Czorny also told the Missoulian that the county plans to use some money from their land sales fund from several properties the county recently sold, in addition to holding back on some capital projects and deferring the funding for those.

"We're required to provide a balanced budget so any additional expenses that are wildly unanticipated really put us in tough situations," Czorny told the Missoulian.

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The Health Minister said the Government will not make any decision on easing restrictions that will undermine the health of the Irish people.

Simon Harris said the Government will not risk public health as it meets to discuss the next stages of the coronavirus lockdown measures.

We will not anything that will undermine the health or lives of anyone in this country, of their families or their communities, Mr Harris said.

This will be a plan of how you outline safely setting about opening your country.

People dont want us to go backwards.

Simon Harris

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has advised the Government on the next stages of the lockdown following its meeting on Friday morning.

Cabinet is now debating the advice and recommendations before Taoiseach Leo Varadkar makes an official announcement which is expected later on Friday.

NPHET is expected to call for the current guidelines to be extended with little or no relaxation of the restrictions in place.

Meanwhile Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has said it would be too difficult to ease lockdown laws on a regional basis across Ireland.

Earlier this week, Independent TD John Halligan said there is a case to be made for easing restrictions in various counties, adding that Dublin has some of the highest infection rates.

The current restrictions started on Friday, March 27. They mandate that everyone should stay at home, only leaving to: Shop for essential food and household goods;

Attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products;

Care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits;

Exercise outdoors - within 2kms of your home and only with members of your own household, keeping 2 metres distance between you and other people

Travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice physical distancing

However, Ms Doherty told Newstalk FM that such a plan would be too difficult to implement.

I think it would be a very difficult situation, not only to communicate but also to police, for want of a better word, she said.

If all of the restaurants opened in Kildare, for example, I know where all of the people in nearby Meath would be heading to.

It is very difficult  we are one nation and the fact that some of our more rural communities have been blessed to have less cases of Covid-19 is absolutely great for them as it has exposed them to less risk.

So, it doesnt mean we should expose them to an increased level of risk.

As we reopen our society and bring more people into society, that is going to cause an increased level of risk for everybody.

For people living in rural communities  the majority of ICU beds are in our cities so the capacity of being able to treat people as a nation, does not come on a regional basis or per town and per county.
Pro-independence group proposes referendums on constitutional reform

ROC Central News Agency

04/30/2020 06:55 PM

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) The pro-independence Taiwan New Constitution Foundation (TNC) submitted proposals to the Central Election Commission (CEC) Thursday for referendums on whether Taiwan's constitution, which it said roots the country's identity in a defunct political reality, should be reformed or replaced.

Speaking at CEC headquarters, TNC Executive Director Lin Yi-cheng () said the non-binding referendums ask voters two questions: "Do you support the president initiating a constitutional reform process for the country?" and "Do you support the president pushing for the establishment of a new constitution reflecting Taiwan's current reality?"

Lin said he had submitted over 3,000 signatures in support of each of the referendums from residents in all of Taiwan's cities and counties.

If the Taiwanese people approve these referendums, it will be possible to begin a discussion about what a new constitution should contain, he said.

Regarding China, there is "room for discussion" on how a new constitution would define that relationship, Lin said, adding that China "has no reason to be nervous."

On Tuesday, China's Taiwan Affairs Office criticized the proposals, saying Taiwan independence "goes against the tide of history and will only lead to a dead-end."

Lin, however, downplayed concerns that the referendums would aggravate already strained ties with China. Instead, he cited unspecified opinion surveys showing that 70 percent of Taiwanese favor establishing a new constitution that better reflects Taiwan's political status.

Thirty years ago, only 13 percent of the population identified as Taiwanese. After 30 years of democracy, that number has risen to 83 percent, he said.

In addition to the question of identity, Lin argued that the way in which the Republic of China's (Taiwan) constitution treats China and Taiwan as a single country (albeit, under R.O.C. sovereignty) has provided a legal basis for Taiwan to be excluded from international organizations.

The political realities described in that document "could not be further from our current situation," he said.

Taiwan's Referendum Act establishes a three-stage process for holding national referendums.

In the first stage, initiators must submit signatures representing one-ten thousandth of the total electorate at the time of the last election -- or 1,931 signatures, based on the 19.31 million eligible voters in Taiwan's January 2020 elections.

In the second stage, the threshold increases to 1.5 percent of the total electorate, or 289,667 total signatures. In the final stage, a national vote is called, with a petition becoming valid if a majority vote in favor with over 25 percent of the electorate -- around 4.8 million people -- casting ballots.

The next possible date for holding a referendum is Aug. 28, 2021.

(By Yeh Su-ping and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/AW

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Failure to vaccinate everyone will give rise to new variants, says UN chief

Faith vs safety in burials: COVID-19 remains in dead bodies for 9 days says Centre

Lockdown extension: NITI Aayog CEO tweets 6-point plan

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 01: Amid talks of lockdown extension plan, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday suggested a six-point strategy for 'possible road ahead' and said that for the sake of livelihoods, the economy should kickstart with full supply chains.

Taking to Twitter, Kant wrote, "Possible Road Ahead: Hyper-localisation in Red areas with ruthless containment; 2. Physical distancing & Masks =New Fashion; 3.Virus can bounce back; 4. Look after 60+ with Co-morbidity; 5. Vaccine still far away; 6. For livelihoods, economy should kickstart with full supply chain."

In the wake of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the disease. This was later extended until May 3 as the number of COVID-19 positive cases reported from across the country was on the rise.

The government has a complex challenge planning an exit from the lockdown.

PM Modi has hinted at a staggered exit from the ongoing lockdown, with plans to ease restrictions in non-hotspots areas.
Cops and store owners in Illinois are asking people to "tip" coronavirus masks  remove them or pull them aside briefly  so cops and store cameras can see people's faces. Do not do this: experts say it obviates the purpose of the mask and exposes the wearer to the virus. If the wearer is infected, it will expose others to the virus, perhaps for hours.

They're claiming it's to prevent racial bias, but offer no reason why making people remove masks prevents racial bias.

Authorities' long-standing dislike of masks and anonymity, however, is well-established. If this were an attempt to obviate new laws in the state that encourage masking and make wearing masks mandatory where social distancing is impossible, no-one would be surprised.

You cannot account for others' stupidity or their contempt for public health. Police chiefs supporting this program include East Moline Chief of Police Jeff Ramsey, Rock Island Chief of Police Jeff VenHuizen and Silvis Chief of Police Mark VanKlaveren. If you don't want to choose between your health and not antagonizing hostile cops, stay away from the Quad Cities.
The cost for jail inmates is particularly appalling because most are just awaiting trial and have not been convicted of anything. Jails are often filled with people who are locked up for failure to make bail or to pay high court fines and fees, meaning exorbitant expenses for basic services are being demanded of those least able to pay them. Forcing families to pay unreasonably high costs to stay in touch is a form of unofficial and unwarranted punishment that should not be accepted as a normal consequence of incarceration. The practice is also counterproductive, as well as unjust, because prisoners who maintain ties with family while incarcerated tend to reoffend at lower rates.
New Delhi, May 1 : Following demands of the state governments to run specials, the Indian Railways on Friday said it has decided to run 'Shramik Special' trains from Friday to move the stranded labourers, pilgrims, tourists and students.

The railways also clarified that the Shramik Special trains are meant for "nominated people" identified and registered by state governments and the railways will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any groups.

Railways Executive Director Media R.D. Bajpai in a statement said as per the guideline issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, it has been decided to run "Shramik Specials' from Labour Day today. Senior Railway and Home Ministry officials had met on Thursday to discuss the issue.

The officials remarks came on a day when the national transporter ran first special train in almost 40 days from Telangana to Jharkhand to transport 1,200 migrant labourers. The railways had suspended passenger, mail and express trains as nationwide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic Bajpai said these special trains will be run from point-to-point on the request of state governments as per the standard protocols for sending and receiving such stranded persons.

"The railways and state governments shall appoint senior officials as nodal officers for coordination and smooth operation of these trains," the official said.

Elaborating on the procedures involved to ferry the migrants, he said the passengers have to be screened by the sending states and only those found asymptomatic would be allowed to travel.

"The sending state governments will have to bring these persons in batches that can be accommodated in the train to the designated railway station in sanitized buses by following social distancing norms and other precautions. It will be mandatory for every passenger to wear face covers. Meals and drinking water would be provided to the passengers by the sending states at the originating station," the official said.

He said that the railways will endeavour to ensure social distancing norms and hygiene with the cooperation of passengers.

"On longer routes, the Railways will provide a meal en route during the journey," he said. Bajpai said on arrival at the destination, passengers will be received by the respective state governments, who would make arrangements for their screening, quarantine, if necessary, and further travel from the railway station.

The national transporter has suspended the regular services of the passenger, mail and express trains until further notice. Only freight and Special parcel trains have been allowed to ensure supply of essential items.

He said these are special trains planned for "nominated people" identified and registered by state governments. "No one under any circumstances should come to railway station looking for trains. We will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any group or individual. We will allow only those passengers to board whom state government officials will bring to railway stations," he said.

He further said a state government is the final authority to decide who will travel by these trains. He also said that the railways will charge the state government for the special trains.

Highlighting the fare details, he said the railways will charge the fare of sleeper mail express, Rs 30 as superfast charge and additional charge of Rs 20 to the state governments.

On Friday, the railways planned six Shramik Specials between Lingampalli to Hatia, Aluva to Bhubaneswar, Nasik to Lucknow, Nasik to Bhopal, Jaipur to Patna and Kota to Hatia.
Covid-19 has forced universities across India, and the world indeed, to suspend physical classrooms and shift to online classes. In India, while this transition has been smooth for most private universities, the public ones are still adapting.

There have also been debates on the nature of classes, and the future of examination and evaluation  whether they could be conducted online or not. While faculty grapples with new ways of managing this sudden transition to online education, students are left clinging on to their mobile phones and computer screens. If the lockdowns were to ...
Supporting Global Mobility Managers and Assignees Through COVID-19 and Beyond

International SOS, the world's leading medical and security risk services company, has renewed its partnership agreement with the Forum for Expatriate Management (FEM) to be the organisation's exclusive 'Global Medical and Security Risk Management Partner'. The established partnership has already brought together the industry-leading expertise of both partners to produce joint webinars and expert events, including a highly successful collaboration at the FEM Amsterdam Conference in March, driving the agenda forward for the protection of the mobile workforce. During the current period of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis, this is continuing with digital events, including a series of webinars and the Americas Summit June 10-11.

Claire Tennant-Scull, Global Director of Content Events at the Forum for Expatriate Management, comments, "We are at a highly critical time. Global mobility managers are being relied on to protect their assignees in rapidly changing environments, including being stranded and in varying levels of lockdown across multiple countries. The medical and security insights that International SOS brings to our members is essential in these circumstances, as well as for the myriad other risks that are now becoming apparent with COVID-19."

Kai Boschmann, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at International SOS, said, "With FEM, we have the shared objective of protecting the global workforce and assignees, which is especially needed through these uncertain times, at every level of the pandemic curve and towards recovery. We are keen to share crucial insights with FEM members about the layered threat environment. On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricane typhoon season is starting, healthcare risks such as malaria are still prevalent; we also have Africa elections and other security risks potentially rising."

The partnership is globally inclusive, with focused events in Amsterdam, The Americas, APAC and EMEA regions.

For information on the next FEM event, click here.

ENDS

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Suzanne Withers

International SOS Group

Head of PR

T +44 (0)20 8762 8494

m +44 (0)7825 425 500,

Email: suzanne.withers@internationalsos.com
San Francisco health officials are preparing to issue a new health order next week that will mandate regular, universal coronavirus testing for residents and staff in the citys 21 skilled nursing facilities.

The order, which will be handed down next week, requires both public and private nursing homes to test their residents and staff. It marks the newest milestone toward the citys goal of eventually providing universal testing for the novel coronavirus while mitigating outbreaks among at-risk populations.

Patients at skilled nursing facilities, which are regulated by the state health department, are among the most in danger of serious illness and death, given that most are older, living in close quarters with one another and have underlying health conditions. Many also require close, intensive attention from medical staff who enter and leave the facilities, creating a porous environment and raising the risk of transmission.

Visitors have been prohibited at Bay Area nursing homes since early March.

The testing mandate follows an ongoing expansion of San Franciscos testing capacity and a shoring up of the supply chain that brings in critical equipment to conduct testing, like swabs. There are about 2,500 residents in San Francisco nursing homes, according to the citys health department, and 2,500 to 4,500 staffers.

Universal testing for both patients and staff at nursing homes represents a background surveillance system to catch and treat people, and prevent a chain of transmission from going through the facility, said San Francisco Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax.

Testing alone will not prevent outbreaks, but this will likely help us greatly improve our management of outbreaks across these very vulnerable systems, he said. When you look at the mortality rate at nursing homes, we have to do this now.

Across the Bay Area, nursing homes have been ravaged by COVID-19. Santa Clara County has been the locus of one of the largest nursing home outbreaks in the region. Recently, an investigation by county officials prompted by a rash of positive cases at three nursing homes in San Jose and Santa Clara found that a third of infections had been spread by staffers  most of whom were asymptomatic.

At the end of April, there were nearly 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases at California nursing homes. State data show that 2,697 nursing home workers have also been infected. Nearly 35% of deaths in Santa Clara County  41 in total to date  have occurred in such facilities.

If the additional testing for nursing home employees yields more infections, it could create potential staffing issues for operations at the facilities.

Most Bay Area counties dont have testing mandates at nursing homes. In Alameda and Contra Costa counties, testing for COVID-19 isnt required unless an outbreak is suspected.

Michael Dark, a staff attorney for the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said that counties throughout the state have waited so long to institute testing in these facilities that the priority is no longer to stop the virus.

Still, testing is crucial at nursing homes, he said.

The virus is likely already spread widely through San Francisco facilities, Dark said. So we are not testing anymore to stop the virus, we are testing to find out just how bad its really gotten.

Its crucial for us to know how to allocate resources and how to protect people who are still COVID-naive. Testing staff at these facilities is a top priority, Dark said.

City health officials expect the first round of testing to take roughly a month and will mostly be administered by health department staff. Over time, they hope to see testing performed once every two weeks, a cadence corresponding with the virus 14-day incubation period.

Teresa Palmer, a retired San Francisco geriatrician, said she spends most of her days sending emails to public officials urging them to require testing at skilled nursing facilities.

Palmer applauded San Franciscos new mandate.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Thats great, she said. Finally. It has to be done. Its a huge potential reservoir of infection and, of course, nursing home patients die quickly. If you wait until someone has symptoms, youve lost precious time and youre going to get an outbreak and more people are going to be infected.

Palmers 102-year-old mother lives at the Jewish Home. She said she constantly worries of her mothers health and whether the staff were putting her at risk because of the lack of testing.

Im chronically anxious, Palmer said. I dont want to lose her to this. She has a few more years, she is very vibrant. This fear of loss shadows my days.

Testing will begin Monday at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco, a 780-bed skilled nursing facility run by the city that has already endured an outbreak that required assistance from the federal government. To date, 21 cases have been confirmed at Laguna Honda  16 staff members and five residents, all of whom are in good condition, according to the health department.

As someone whose grandmother was in Laguna Honda for years, I know how important it is to keep everyone in these skilled nursing facilities safe, Mayor London Breed said. This includes both the residents and the staff, who are working hard every day to provide care during the challenging times.

Along with the mandate for testing, the citys health department is also rolling out a set of protocols meant to create a uniform approach to managing outbreaks and stopping transmission of the coronavirus at all nursing homes.

For the most part, the city will be supplying the test kits for the first round of testing, said Rachael Kagan, a health department spokeswoman. Some skilled nursing facilities can already administer tests on their own, she said.

As the process matures and skilled nursing facilities start doing their own testing, they may be responsible for the kits, as well, when they have adequate supply, Kagan said.

Dominic Fracassa and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa @SarRavani
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When your job is repairing high-tension electrical wires, state work safety laws say you need a fire-resistant mask these pandemic days. But masks made with special fabric to resist sparks are in desperately short supply.

To outfit its workers, the L.A. Department of Water and Power got creative.

Dave Hanson, assistant director of power, construction and maintenance for the utility, oversees some 3,000 employees who climb power poles and work on high tension wires. And it's not solitary work; there can be another person up in the cherry picker bucket.

So when Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a citywide order that people working around others must wear face coverings, it fell to Hanson's department to find a supply.

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But where to get enough fire-resistant masks amid a national shortage?

"A lot of our orders that we placed were being redirected and rerouted to New York," the epicenter of all the protective equipment supply shortages, Hanson said. It could take weeks to get even the first order filled.

But then the light bulb switched on.

"We remembered we had an upholstery shop here at Main street," he said.

That's where Francisco Villalobos Casillas - the only upholsterer on the city payroll -- repairs car and truck seats.

"When they asked me if we can produce something in-house, I thought, yeah, I just need a few things," Villalobos Casillas said. One of those was fabric.

But Hanson said fire-resistant fabric was also in short supply. They ended up re-purposing a back-up supply of new work clothes.

"We cut up shirts and pants and handkerchiefs that we had in hand," Hanson said.

And now the DWP upholstery shop is turning out about 200 fire-resistant masks a day.
As a food programs manager at New York Common Pantry, a poverty reduction nonprofit, Jorge Negron works the Sunday shift in East Harlem, making sure that hungry New Yorkers can pick up a brown-bag meal on a day when most pantries and soup kitchens are closed.

Until the coronavirus outbreak pushed millions of people into unemployment, Mr. Negron said that food insecurity seemed largely under the radar for most New Yorkers. But thats not the case anymore.

When you see a past classmate from junior high school drop by to pick up food, he said, it hits you hard, and you realize even more how hard it is for everyone right now.
A federal MP is urging parents to call the police on schools if they won't accept students because of fears around the spread of coronavirus.

Queensland LNP Party member Andrew Laming made the bizarre appeal to parents in a video posted to Facebook on Thursday.

However, police say they are powerless to act until health authorities order schools to reopen and even then, they wouldn't be the authority responsible for handling complaints.

Federal MP Andrew Laming is urging parents to call the police on schools if they won't accept students because of fears around the spread of coronavirus

Mr Laming, who represents the seat of Bowman in Brisbane insists vulnerable students from poorer families are falling behind their peers while essential workers are being bullied into keeping their children at home.

'Please, pick up your enrolment forms, hold them above your head, march into school, drop your kids off and if they try and prevent those kids from going to school, call the police,' he said.

'This is witchcraft. We are back in the Middle Ages with these unions.'

He described the decision to open schools only for the children of essential workers and vulnerable families as a war against working mums.

The Queensland government will consider whether or not to open schools to all student in mid-May (PICTURED: Michelle Merrimen helps her daughter with online learning on the first day of term two in Queensland)

The Queensland government will consider whether or not to open schools to all student in mid-May.

Mr Laming believes schools aren't opening because the Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace is being controlled by unions.

Ms Grace has describing his claims as outrageous.

'This is from someone who I'm starting to think is acting a little bit idiotic and it is quite ridiculous,' she said.

'Every single school in Australia and around the world is impacted by this pandemic.

Schools across the country are adapting to online learning as restrictions vary state by state around openings and face to face lessons (PICTURED: A sign outside Cobar Public School in New South Wales)

'So these outrageous claims, calling unnecessary anxiety and causing stress amongst our principals and teachers, are simply ridiculous.'

Schools will remain closed in Queensland until the state's Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young orders them to reopen.

Any complaints around decisions on pupil intake and opening should be directed to the Queensland Education department.
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The humble sheet pan is the hero of weeknight cooking. Its sleek, spacious surface allows the busy home cook to get a balanced dinner  protein! starch! vegetables!  on the table quickly with very little prep or cleanup. Just chop, drop and roast.

Thats why every week, well be sharing throw-it-all-on-a-sheet-pan recipes from our favorite chefs and home cooks. Whether youre cooking for yourself, friends, family or meal-prepping for the week, you should keep these one-pan meals in your back pocket  or, rather, your oven.

This week, chef and TV host Elena Besser shares her recipe for a healthier, weeknight-friendly take on a comfort-food favorite: Sheet Pan Chicken Parm with Roasted Garlic Bread and Broccoli.

Chef and TV host Elena Besser used to love eating chicken Parm growing up. (Elena Besser)

Growing up in Chicago, I have a few vivid memories in relation to food: I ate a lot of boxed mac and cheese and bologna sandwiches, my mom made delicious brisket and wed order deep-dish pizza every Sunday night for dinner.

Why broccoli? For health! (Elena Besser)

When we went out to eat, 80% of the time we chose an Italian-American restaurant and every person in my family would order chicken Parmesan. Well, not everyone  my vegetarian sister would order eggplant Parm  but you get the idea. The server would always laugh when they'd deliver seven orders of chicken Parm and one order of eggplant Parm to the table, but we were proud of our choices every time. Weve all gotten older but one thing still remains: Chicken Parm is still a great love in our lives.

Don't skimp on the mozz. (Elena Besser)

I used to cook at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn called Lilia, but chicken Parm was not served on the menu. On my day off, when I was really missing home, I would make myself a personal portion of chicken Parm and remember those nights out with my family that first inspired me to cook for a living.

Chicken Parm isnt a super complicated recipe but I understand why my mom wouldnt want to make it in our house. The process of breading the chicken, frying it in oil and finishing everything in the oven was an exhausting feat, especially when feeding seven to 10 people.

Story continues

A complete meal  all made on the same sheet pan. (Elena Besser)

So when I developed this recipe, I was really trying to come up with a way for parents everywhere, just like my mom, to make chicken Parm all in one place. This sheet pan Parm skips the frying step and adds roasted garlic bread and broccoli to make it a complete meal with very little cleanup. Plus, its a healthier way to enjoy everyones favorite Italian-American dish.

Click in below for the full recipe:

Sheet Pan Chicken Parm with Garlic Bread and Broccoli by Elena Besser
Diego Castillo, a high school senior based in McAllen, Texas, spent months picturing a new life in Boston  he daydreamed of the friends he would meet, the places he would visit and the experiences he would have at his dream school, Boston University.

Yet when Castillo was notified that he had been accepted to BU last month, he didnt rush to submit his enrollment deposit or procure a school ID and email.

I had wanted to go to Boston University for a while. I wanted to get out of the state and explore, Castillo told NBC News. I was dead-set on it, but then the coronavirus happened and it made me reevaluate.

As the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. grew, forcing high schools and colleges across the country to pivot to virtual learning, so did Castillos doubts about whether he should go away to school, particularly after he became a founding member of Project COVID-Care, a local effort to deliver groceries to elderly, disabled and other vulnerable populations.

I saw that a lot of people around me were struggling, Castillo said. It made me think maybe I can do some good here, maybe I can make an impact on my community. Maybe theres opportunity here that I didnt see before.

Despite his new-found perspective, determining whether to stay local versus venture to Boston wasnt an easy one for Castillo, who recently committed to The University of Texas Rio Grande Honors College. Castillo said he spent many nights really thinking about what he should do.

Image: Diego Castillo (Courtesy of Diego Castillo)

While high school seniors have always had to make difficult decisions about when, where and whether to attend college, these decisions have become more fraught during the coronavirus outbreak as prospective college students attempt to account for circumstances that are beyond their control.

And though many schools have pushed back their May 1 "Decision Day"  which has traditionally been the date when most higher education institutions in the U.S. require applicants to respond to their offers of admission  the additional time hasn't necessarily made things clearer for high school seniors, many of whom have decided to adjust their post-graduation plans by taking gap years, attending schools closer to home, transferring to community colleges to save money or even forgoing college altogether.

Story continues

According to a recent survey by higher education firm SimpsonScarborough, 20 percent of high schools seniors say they are now likely or highly likely to not attend college in the fall, while about a quarter are reconsidering the schools they originally planned to attend.

Opting for community and technical colleges to save money

Katrina Stevenson, a high school senior who lives in Colorado, learned she was accepted to Colorado State University in December and committed to attending the school in early February. She planned to earn a degree in English education, but the coronavirus made her reconsider her finances and her career path.

"With room, board and tuition, the costs would be more than $20,000 a year for four years," Stevenson said. "My family has already struggled with finances and even though I'd mostly be financing school myself, I didn't want to add to the stress."

Stevenson realized she had "other options" and now plans to attend a local community college while keeping her job at Domino's to save money. She will now study business administration and focus on moving up the ranks at work. After "taking a year or two to gather finances," she plans to enroll in a four-year institution.

"My mom's a bit disappointed. She wanted me to have the life she didn't have and earn a degree, but I'm not giving up and am still planning on going back to college," Stevenson said. "With the economy fluctuating, I want to see how schools start to put themselves back together after this pandemic."

Considering gap years and staying close to home

Jared Battle, a Georgia high school student who wants to study film, is also questioning whether a four-year institution will be worth it, particularly because his field is "creative" and doesn't necessitate a degree.

His family, he said, is pushing him to consider a technical school versus a four-year institution and he's already had to limit his prospects by location, choosing to avoid attending schools in New York City or Los Angeles, cities that have recorded high cases of the coronavirus.

"It just seems like I might have to take a gap year until things get better," Battle said. "My friends who've had to leave colleges because of the coronavirus and had to do their classes online are telling me it's not even worth it to go anymore."

Like Castillo, Jacqueline Caulfield was accepted into her dream program, a dual degree program with Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University, during which students spend two years of their college careers studying at each institution.

Caulfield, who currently resides in North Carolina and holds dual citizenship from Ireland and the United States, planned to major in European history. But with coronavirus-inflicted travel restrictions in place, she isn't sure whether she'll be able to safely go to Ireland in the fall. She's also concerned that if classes migrate online, she would miss out on a semester that she was supposed to spend in Ireland.

"I don't want this coronavirus to turn us into a world where we don't do international travel, but it puts me in a tough position where I want to be safe, but I don't just want to stay here in Raleigh, North Carolina for my whole life," Caulfield said. "I'm in limbo. I just don't really know how the semester is going to work and I always thought I'd never do a gap year but now I'm questioning whether it's a good idea to rush into it, lose time in Ireland and potentially be unsafe."

The program extended its decision deadline to July 1, so as of now, Caulfield plans to wait to see whether the situation changes in the next few months. If she does take a gap year, she hopes to live with her grandparents in the Washington, D.C. metro area and find work there.

Is tuition worth it if you can't be on campus?

Whether virtual courses are worth full tuition payments is also a recurring question among parents and high school seniors, who already got a taste of how challenging distance learning can be when their high schools moved online for their last semesters.

"My parents understandably don't want to pay for tuition if it's going to be online because they don't feel that it's the same experience," Caulfield said. "And schools haven't agreed to make the tuition cheaper, so the thought of paying to sit on a computer at my house made me rethink things."

Virtual courses will be a deciding factor for Gabrielle Almeter from Phoenix, who recently committed to attending New York University. An aspiring journalist, Almeter says if NYU goes virtual for its fall semester, she will take a gap year and work at her father's aquarium supply business.

Image: Gabrielle Almeter (Courtesy of Gabrielle Almeter)

"It's been a lot to think about. I was really happy to get the news but I'm also scared because there's so much uncertainty. It's just a waiting game, " Almeter said. "My parents and I are putting a lot of money into my education and I don't want to waste their money, so I would definitely take a year off if classes were online."

Battle, the Georgia high school student, also says whether schools switch to virtual learning will illuminate what his post-graduation plans will be, particularly because there are many educational tools available for free online.

"I wouldn't pay the same price being on campus as virtual learning. You can learn how to make films on YouTube now," Battle said. "College is more than just a degree. It's about the experience and meeting people."

Seeing new opportunities in your own community

As the rest of the class of 2020 finalizes their post-graduation plans, one student is more than content with the deviation in his master plan.

"Many times I tell people my story outside of McAllen and they were unsure and afraid of where I live because they look at border towns in a certain way and I want to change that perceptive," Castillo said.

"I was failing to see the opportunity in my town and discrediting it. In terms of university, it's not always about the prestige, the big school. It's important for people to reflect and analyze what they truly want out of life and what they are basing their college decisions on."

Plus, the aspiring neurosurgeon adds, he'll have plenty of opportunity to go out of state for medical school and residence, if that's what he wants.
Authorities use helicopters to search for two people who fled after a police shooting April 30. (OnScene.TV)

A suspect who authorities say was armed with a handgun was fatally shot by police Thursday night after fleeing the scene of a crash in Historic South Central.

LAPD officers were driving a marked patrol car along Wall Street near 23rd Street about 9:40 p.m. when they said they saw a vehicle back up and crash into a parked car. The car, which had three people inside, did not stop after the crash. Police pursued the fleeing vehicle as it headed west down an alley, Officer Norma Eisenman said.

After a brief pursuit, three people ran from the car. One was armed with a handgun. At least one officer opened fire and struck the armed person, Eisenman said.

The person, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The two others fled and were found hours later after a search involving two police helicopters. They were taken into custody and their names have not been released, Eisenman said.
Arusha  Police in Arusha has today confirmed that they are continuing to hold advocate Albert Msando for further interrogations with plans to arraign him immediately according to acting Police Commander Koka Moita.

It was not confirmed when exactly they planned to present him and the charges that they plan to press against him in court.

Msando was arrested yesterday over remarks he made on Tuesday regarding the state of Covid-19 infection-status in Arusha which is gateway to the northern tourist circuit.

On Tuesday, Mr Msando while addressing a press conference reportedly told newsmen that the corona virus was a real threat in Arusha, asking journalists to report truthfully so that proper interventions to curb the spread virus can be made.

According to authorities such announcements can only be made by the health ministry and the Prime Minister's office.

Yesterday the Prime Minister announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in Tanzania had risen to 480 after 196 people tested positive of the novel coronavirus, the figures include those that had been announced by the Zanzibar Minister of Health.

Related Stories

Arusha advocate Albert Msando arrested over Covid-19 remarks

He also called on the general public to stop disseminating false information on the deaths because not every death has to be related to coronavirus.
A plan that will require farmers to pay for expensive upgrades to CP Rails private rail crossings across Canada has hit the political arena.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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A plan that will require farmers to pay for expensive upgrades to CP Rails private rail crossings across Canada has hit the political arena.

Dan Mazier, the Conservative member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa, has written to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau seeking some kind of relief for producers and other landowners.

Dan Mazier

For CP to arbitrarily tell farmers how much they will have to pay for the crossing upgrades and then tack on a $350 yearly fee for them to cross onto their own property "is totally unacceptable," Mazier said Tuesday.

Those who have private rail crossings along the Bredenbury Subdivision rail line, which runs from Minnedosa to Bredenbury, Sask., received letters from CP that were sent out March 26. They have been given until April 30 to submit the paperwork or face the loss of the rail crossings, the letter stated.

The work is being conducted across Canada in stages and affects 8,887 rail crossings.

Federal legislation was passed in 2014 with regards to railway crossing safety and is to be implemented by Nov 28, 2021.

The letter sent out from CP reads in part:

"Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has been reviewing their record files and databases for information pertaining to public and private rail grade crossings throughout Canada. This review has identified an incomplete number of records with regards to rail crossing user agreements between the private crossing owners and CP. ... This letter is to inform you that the private rail crossing at the location described above has been identified as a rail crossing that is in use with no apparent agreement between yourself, the responsible crossing owner and CP."

It later goes on to state: "Once the grade crossing compliance updates have been completed by CP Rail workforce, an invoice will be generated and sent you for payment instructions. Please note, if CP does not receive a response to this letter, CP may proceed with the closure of the noted subject crossing."

In the letter he sent last week to Garneau and ccd to Jim Carr, the special federal representative to the Prairies, Mazier said that in his constituency alone, various notices have indicated costs as high as $34,000 per private crossing with reoccurring annual costs for landowners.

"I am deeply concerned with the approach CP has taken by providing farmers with an unexpected notice, that requires significant thought and has such large financial consequences, in the middle of a pandemic and at the start of seeding season; an already stressful time for farm families," Mazier wrote. "Furthermore, I am disturbed that CP would notify recipients of a 30-day deadline which gives landowners little to no time to get answers to the questions they seek. It is completely inappropriate that landowners were not part of a thorough consultation process and were not provided with all the information required to make a decision in their notice from CP."

Mazier said he has reached out to CP Rail, requesting an extension of its 30-day notice deadline.

Mazier asked Garneau to extend the 2021 deadline and to consider working with CP to pursue a solution that does not include burdening Canadian landowners with such cost.

Mazier said Tuesday he had not yet heard back from Garneau nor CP Rail regarding his correspondence to them.

"To comply with Transport Canadas Grade Crossing Regulations, CP is conducting a review of all crossings throughout CPs Canadian network," Salem Woodrow, CP Rails manager of media relations and community affairs, said in an emailed statement to the Sun. "All grade crossings are to meet the requirements of the regulations by Nov. 27, 2021.

"It is CPs intent to work collaboratively with private crossing owners. In early 2020, CP began contacting landowners with private crossings with no agreement in place to determine who is responsible for the crossing(s) identified and establish information for the crossing requirements."

 brobertson@brandonsun.com
On a mild Friday morning with a blue sky overhead, Isaac and Amy Freeborn and their daughter Charlotte were taking advantage of the freshly relaxed coronavirus precautions to enjoy breakfast at The Toasted Yolk in Beaumont.

The Houston family decided to stop by after visiting Amys relatives in Lake Charles and decided to sit outside so Charlotte could play without worry. Isaac said he wasnt exactly worried to be out in public again, but it was important to remember their safety was in their own hands.

It is what it is, he said. Universal precautions are paramount everyday. There are different models and everyone has an opinion about what we should do, but the fact is we still dont have enough data about the coronavirus.

The family had enjoyed their sunny day out, but Amy said their time in self-isolation has also had its advantages. The time away from work and outside distractions has meant the family has had a lot more time for the things in life that can be swept away by the daily grind, including each other.

Kevin Picard, a regular at The Toasted Yolk, was also in to enjoy a mid-morning breakfast with his daughter Kamryn.

He said he was happy the business could open again for the sake of the workers there and he was glad to get a bit of normality after weeks of pandemic-related precautions.

Im just glad to drink coffee out of a mug again, he said.

By about 10 a.m., franchise owner Bret Baumgartner said there had already been about 40 patrons since the brunch spot opened at 7 a.m., but their busiest period was still about an hour away.

Excluding its outside tables, The Toasted Yolk was able to seat about 45 people while abiding by the social distancing policies and group restrictions still in place for indoor dining.

For the near future at least, Baumgartner said there will probably be a split between carryout orders and people dining inside, but there seemed to be growing enthusiasm to come back to the eatery.

Weve been very fortunate, I think, he said. The pandemic halted us in a very high time for our business, but we didnt plan on being a fad. We wanted our guests to know we were concerned for them.

However, Toasted Yolk is not the only business taking advantage of the partial reopening of Texas. Twin Peaks Restaurant, a bar and grill, opened at 11 a.m. after being temporarily closed for about a month.

Twin Peaks manager Eric Moore and the staff had only four days to set up all the measures necessary to safely open up to 25% capacity. Twin Peaks added sanitizer dispensers throughout the establishment, ordered one-use paper menus and adjusted seating to maintain social distancing measures.

The bar and grill also added a temperature checker position to prevent any patron from entering the dining room if they have a temperature over 100 degrees. If the customer reads a temperature under 100 degrees, they will get a green sticker to indicate they passed the temperature check.

Moore said that even workers will have their temperature checked every day before their shift and any vendor will also have their temperature checked.

If a vendor comes in and doesnt temp, then we cant accept their product, Moore said. Its just one of the things that corporate decided to implement these precautions.

In addition to the temperature checker, Twin Peaks supplemented the extra sanitation modifications with a permanent sanitation worker, who is constantly sanitizing and wiping down surfaces to maintain cleanliness.

Seana Norman, a Twin Peaks bartender, said shes excited and glad the restaurant is taking the extra precautions.

I was excited about (Gov. Abbotts) announcement. I was tired of sitting at home, but I was a little nervous because I didnt know what to expect  its a bit of mixed emotions, Norman said. The extra precautions (are) making me feel comfortable coming into work knowing we are safe.

Twin Peak regulars already have stopped by for lunch. Norman said theyre all excited for some normality.

On Friday we have a lot of regulars, and I just had some regulars wanting to bring some clients in, Norman said. We get a lot of refinery workers, and people were really excited to see us open up.

Some large box stores and grocery stores outlined plans for reopening or expanded hours if they were already operating as an essential business, but others have decided to focus on improving their curbside service that has served them through the last several weeks.

Tammy Wilturner, manager at the Best Buy store in Beaumont, said her location still planned to operate through curbside service until further notice, as the process has been working out well for the company as it has improved the experience.

Weve been doing it from the beginning over a month ago now and weve received a lot of positive feedback, she said. Our business has been consistent because customers still have a need.

Wilturner said customers order online or wait in line at the store to give their phone number so a salesperson can call them in their car and walk them through their purchase. She said the latter choice had been popular as some customers either werent used to using online options or were uncomfortable using their financial information over the web.

At Beaumonts Stein Mart, shoppers were taking advantage of the lifted restrictions to check out their favorite store.

Sally Richards, who is sometimes called Miss Stein Mart by employees and friends who spot her there often, said she was happy to be back and filling her cart again.

Lillian Walton, another regular who said she shops their every weekend, said it was a relief to be able to return to public life again.

I was about to die with this store not open, she said.

Some of Beaumonts small businesses also saw the first signs of shoppers on Friday after the quick turnaround between Abbotts Monday announcement and the big day.

Jamie Scott, an owner of the ELLA + SCOTT boutique on Calder Avenue, said her crew had to scramble to adjust from their online-only processes to preparing their store for a Friday open, but they were excited to do so.

I didnt hesitate at all to reopen, she said. Theres always a small worry, but we are a small shop and we rarely get really heavy traffic where the shop is packed. And I have employees who need to get back to work, and we need it for the economy.

The shop will be on reduced hours for the time being  from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday  until they get back up to speed, but Scott said Saturdays might be out of the question for the time being.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jdickjournalism
(Natural News) Martial law occurs when the military is given control and authority over the functions of civilian government. While the constitution itself doesnt explicitly mention the term martial law, it is technically allowed by it, if imposed during extreme circumstances. With the threat of martial law looming, it may be a good idea to figure out what rights ordinary people have under military rule.

Civil rights under martial law

Unfortunately, under martial law, theres a good chance that none of your civil rights will be respected. Under a declaration of martial law, the constitutional freedoms and liberties that Americans have are basically suspended.

One of the most important rights that you may lose is the writ of habeas corpus, which is the right to go to court to contest whether or not you were lawfully imprisoned.

This means that if government forces consider you a threat, you can, and most likely will, be arrested and held in jail for an indefinite period of time, ostensibly for the safety of the public.

Other major events that can happen when martial law is finally imposed include:

The suspension of the constitution.

The suspension of all civil rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, including freedom of the speech, press, assembly, due process, trial by jury and the right to bear arms.

Forced curfews, lockdowns and restrictions on travel.

Members of the military and the national guard will begin acting as law enforcement personnel.

Detention of individuals without cause.

The widespread confiscation of firearms and ammunition.

The confiscation of food and other supplies.

Automatic search and seizures, even without warrants.

While theres a chance that martial law may not happen, its still a good idea to be prepared. Starting now, purchase and hide as much food as you can in your home. Choose long-lasting food items such as freeze-dried foods and MREs. You should also learn how to preserve foods so that some of your perishables can last longer through methods like canning and smoking.

You should also consider where you live. Large, urban areas will most likely be the first targets of military forces. Small cities, towns and rural areas with only a handful of people living in them may not feel the brunt of martial law.

History of martial law in the U.S.

Martial law has been declared in the United States several times since the 19th century, albeit not on a federal level. Between 1857 and 1945, martial law was declared 70 times across the United States, usually by a state governor imposing it on a city, a county or several counties in response to civil unrest or to break up worker strikes. Martial law, in these instances, lasted anywhere from several days to several years.

The last time martial law was declared in the United States was in 1966, when governor of California Pat Brown declared martial law to suppress unrest in several neighborhoods of San Francisco.

While martial law is usually imposed by state actors, the federal government also has the ability to declare it. Most recently, the Territory of Hawaii (before it became a state) was put under martial law for most of World War II, with the U.S. Armed Forces controlling every single aspect of civilian life on the Pacific archipelago  from trash removal to criminal justice.

If unrest or violent riots were to break out across the United States, the president does have the power to deploy federal troops. While this may seem unlikely, theres no telling what the future will bring, so its always a good idea to be prepared.

Sources include:

Survivopedia.com

People.HowStuffWorks.com

OffGridSurvival.com

AskAPrepper.com

TheHill.com
Chief Executive Officer of Breast Care International (BCI) Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai said people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, kidney problems and others, have been identified to be more vulnerable to the virus.

It is important therefore, to see people with these conditions as high risk and provide urgent assistant.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, Dr Wiafe Addai said report from the Ghana Health Service indicated that, all the people who have died of the disease, were those with these underlying health conditions.

There is therefore, the need for health workers to show keen interest in patients who visited their facilities with these conditions and provide them with the needed treatment and care to help improve their immune system, she stated.

Dr Wiafe Addai, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Breast Care International (BCI), pointed out that the increasing spate of non-communicable disease infections in the country, especially among young people, was worrying.

She said it was important for the government to focus more attention on the preventive measures to help reduce the rate of infections, while encouraging health workers to see such diseases as important health concern and show greater commitment in their treatment and management.

Dr Wiafe Addai, commended the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for recognizing that non-communicable diseases had greater impact on the fatalities caused by the pandemic in the country.

She urged the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to lead an initiative to create sustained awareness campaign on non-communicable diseases and the havoc it was causing in society.

This, according to her, would make people change their lifestyles and attitudes as well as their eating habits to control infections.

---GNA
Taipei: South Korea recorded no new locally transmitted cases of coronavirus infections for the first time since February on Thursday, in a milestone vindicating its much praised "trace, test, treat" pandemic response strategy.

Koreans wear masks as they gather during a birthday of Buddha service to pray for the defeat of the coronavirus pandemic at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul, South Korea. Credit:Getty

The timing of the announcement - two weeks after the logistical feat of holding the country's general elections during a pandemic - offered further evidence that South Korea has become a world leader in how to successfully defeat COVID-19.

However, South Korea's Centres for Disease Control did record four new COVID-19 infections in people arriving from abroad, highlighting the long-term challenge of stamping out the spread of the virus when international borders start to open up.

From being overwhelmed by hundreds of new cases a day in February, peaking at 909 on February 29, daily infections have now slowed to a trickle, allowing life to resume a precious sense of normalcy.
Kayleigh McEnany took the podium for the first time as the White House Press Secretary Friday and pledged never to lie to the media.

She got asked point-blank at the first formal briefing in 417 days at a time of tense relations between reporters and the Trump White House whether she would always tell the truth.

'I will never lie to you, you have my word on that,' she responded.

The telegenic former Trump campaign spokeswoman fielded a series of questions on topics ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to her own plans for communicating with the press and the American people.

She declared the president's 'total exoneration' in the Russia probe, called fired national security advisor Mike Flynn an 'honorable man,' and plugged an upcoming Trump appearance on Fox News.

Kayleigh McEnany took the podium for the first time as the White House Press Secretary and pledged never to lie to the press

Asked about her own access to the president, who likes to act as his own communications director, she responded: 'Im around the president almost the entire day.'

'Im consistently with him absorbing his thinking,' she said.

Trump has largely seized the podium for himself amid the coronavirus that has infected 1 million Americans and killed more than 60,000. It was not yet clear Friday afternoon whether he would field questions from reporters himself en route to Camp David at the end of the day.

McEnany's @presssec Twitter profile features an image of Trump pointing toward her while she is seated next to deputy White House spokesman Hogan Gidley.

'We do plan to continue these,' she said of briefings, though she said it would be driven by the news of the day.

McEnany on her own brought up fired National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Newly unsealed notes reveal an FBI official wrote discussing whether to get Flynn 'to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired.'

McEnany faced the press as the first press secretary to do a briefing in 417 days

'We do plan to continue these,' she said of the White House press briefing, which used to be a regular occurance

McEnany defended Mike Flynn, took a shot at the Mueller probe, and touted the ratings of the president's coronavirus task force

She called Flynn, who also lobbied for Turkey without disclosing it while advising the Trump campaign, an 'honorable man who served his country' and tried to turn the tables on reporters by asking them whether the FBI's conduct was appropriate. Neither of the ones she asked stepped out of the normal journalistic role of asking, rather than answering, the questions.

She fielded several questions about whether Trump still believes Flynn lied to Mike Pence, which Trump stated as a reason for firing him in 2017 after just a few weeks on the job.

Pressed on the administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak, she said Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner 'has first of all done a great job for this administration.'

After Trump tweeted the governor of Michigan should make a deal with protesters after armed activists stormed the state Capitol in Lansing, McEnany said Trump 'encourages everyone to protest responsibly.'

She concluded her briefing bashing the Mueller probe as being amid speculation about 'Russia, Russia, Russia' and $40 million of 'taxpayer money being lost and the complete and total exoneration of President Trump.'

Then she plugged a Fox News town hall featuring the president.

'Itll be cant-miss television, much like the highly-rated President Trump Coronavirus Task Force briefings have been

Her briefing was the first by any White House press secretary in more than a year.

Her predecessor Stephanie Grisham never did one during a nine-month stint as press secretary, instead opting for TV appearances on Fox News and with other conservative outlets.

McEnany, who teased the appearance with a comment on Thursday, faced the press amid fierce internal debate over whether Trump is helping his cause with his own near-daily briefings on the coronavirus.

He pulled back and refused to take questions a week ago after giving a bizarre instruction to government scientists that they research the possibility of injecting disinfectants in coronavirus as a cure.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds her first press briefing Friday after being appointed earlier this month

She started her job early this month in a shake-up that coincided with the arrival of new White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

The president fielded numerous questions from the East Room of the White House on Thursday, where he claimed the coronavirus may have come from a lab in Wuhan, China.

His female press secretary, his third in a row, will make her debut on a day when rival Joe Biden made his first public comments on Tara Reade, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when he was a senator and she was an aide. Biden said the event she alleged 'never happened.'

Her predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, did not hold a briefing during her nine-month tenure

The new communications director is Alyssa Farah

QUESTION TIME: Former Trump administration White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is called on by U.S. President Donald Trump to ask a question during the administration's daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2020

McEnany tweeted a biblical quote on the day she was to hold her first formal White House briefing

She will face reporters as U.S. coronavirus deaths top 60,000, with infections of more than 1 million. Her boss has pushed back hard against criticisms he was slow to respond to the growing crisis by procuring protective gear and setting up testing mechanisms.

The Trump White House has had tense relations with the press. Last week, the staff tried to force a CNN reporter to relinquish her front-row briefing room seat. This week, the vice president's staff has said it may bar a Voice of America reporter from Air Force Two after he tweeted that Pence's staff advised press they should wear masks during Pence's tour of the Mayo Clinic. Pence himself did not wear a mask and was criticized for it.

During past administrations, a White House press secretary holding a formal briefing would hardly be news, but it's an oddity in the current administration, in which the media-obsessed Trump sees himself as his best spokesman, communications director and strategist.

Asked on Thursday if she was going to be taking the podium soon, McEnany quipped: 'Never say never.' Later, White House social media director Dan Scavino tweeted that McEnany, Trump's fourth press secretary, would take the podium Friday afternoon.

Trump shook up his communications team in early April. Stephanie Grisham, who had held the titles of press secretary and White House communications director since last June, was removed after never holding a formal press briefing. She rejoined the first lady's office in a new role as Melania Trumps chief of staff.

Grisham, who succeeded Sarah Sanders and Sean Spicer, was arguably the nations least visible press secretary in modern history. While she made occasional appearances on the Fox News Channel, she preferred to tape her interviews in a studio to avoid having to speak to reporters who gather on the White House driveway to interview officials after they appear on TV via cameras set up outside the executive mansion.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany talks with reporters in the briefing room of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany listens during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., about the coronavirus response, in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, in Washington
Tribute to Sister Ijahnya Christian The worldwide Pan-African Movement suffered a tremendous loss on Monday 27th April 2020 when Sister Ijahnya Christian  one of our Movements most highly accomplished and respected leaders and elders  left this earthly realm and joined the ancestors. At the time of her passing Sister Ijahnya held the important posts (and responsibilities) of Executive Officer of the Caribbean Rastafari Organization (CRO) and Executive Officer of the newly established Rastafari Continental Council  the umbrella body for all Rastafari organizations of the continent of Africa.

Sis Ijahnya was also an Executive member of the Caribbean Pan African Network from its inception in 2004 until her migration to Ethiopia in 2010. She represented the Caribbean Rastafari Organisation and the island of Anguilla Sister Ijahnya was simply a phenomenal African woman who exemplified the very best of the Pan-African ideal! The Pan-African journey of the originally named Carol Patricia Rey began in 1957 with her birth in the then tristate British colony of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla  three small Caribbean islands, the African-based heritage and culture of which, she would ultimately research and develop deep scholarly insights.

In the 1970s, she evolved in the direction of Rastafarianism, converted to the faith in 1980, adopted the name of Ijahnya Christian and travelled outward from her Anguillan home to Jamaica and the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, where she pursued and attained a degree in Social Work. Thereafter, her journey took her to Southampton University in the United Kingdom for a Masters Degree in Education and it is there that she first experienced the European component of the African Diaspora.

No doubt, as a Rastafarian guided by the biblical prophecy that Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God, and a believer in the divinity of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie, it was inevitable that this dedicated daughter would one day repatriate to the African mother continent. And that day came in the year 2010, when our sister migrated to Ethiopia, where she established her home and performed invaluable work for the members of the Rastafarian settlement of Sheshamane. Thereafter, Sister Ijahnya headed southwards to the Republic of South Africa, and to her pioneering work as a driving force behind the establishment of the Rastafari Continental Council and the organizing of several international gatherings of members of the Rastafari faith. Needless-to-say, throughout all of Sister Ijahnyas evolutions and migrations, she maintained a strong connection with the Caribbean. This region of the African Diaspora was  after all  the place where she served as a High School teacher, newspaper columnist, researcher and scholar, cultural activist and public intellectual over a span of some twenty-six years.

It was also in the Caribbean that she carried out crucial work both as a founder-member / architect of the Caribbean Rastafari Organization (CRO) and as a key leader of the Caribbean Pan-African Network (CPAN). Over and above the many duties that Sister Ijahnya performed, there was also her exemplary personal example and her infectious energy and spirit! Without a doubt, she constituted a towering example of the best of our Pan-African Civilisation  an individual in whom the elements of Caribbean humanity and culture, Ethiopia, Rastafari and Black Consciousness had coalesced to form a truly unique and outstanding personality. Our Sister Ijahnya was brilliant and enterprising, yet always humble and caring. Natural, down-to-earth, disciplined, dependable, classy, elegant and royal in how she presented herself  just a beautiful African sister! Our Sister will be greatly missed and will live on in the collective memories and spirits of our people for many, many years to come! We, the officers and members of the Caribbean Pan African Network hereby extend our deepest condolences to Sister Ijahnyas children and to other members of her immediate family as well as to the members of her world-wide Rastafari family.
Inside the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, hundreds of items are on display.

With the museums doors closed for the past month, staff has been at work taking the beautiful exhibits online.

We have nine online exhibitions, and those are a mix of different shows going back to the 1990s, says Khristaan Villela, executive director. There are a series of tours in the museum of the Alexander Girard wing. Thats a really great thing, and the museum is also working to continue to publish bilingual lesson plans.

MOIFA has also launched a YouTube channel whose offerings range from short exhibition videos to Japanese ghost stories.

This is all content we developed for other exhibitions, he says.

Villela says educators at the museum have also started to record folk art, hands-on projects.

The videos are being edited and will be put online as well, he says.

MOIFA has also teamed up with the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Georgia OKeeffe Museum to put together art kits.

These kits are given out to public school students at sites where food donations are being distributed.

These are folk art-themed art kits, he says. Everyone is pulling together, and museums are always trying to increase their impact. Every museum has a number of people coming in. By putting part of the content online, it makes it accessible to a wider audience. People all over the world can look at our online content.

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Villela says the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs has pushed the state museums to find ways to connect with the public while they are closed.

All the museums have come up with content.

We continue to think about who is looking at the content, he says. The obstacles now are thinking about how to safely produce content. Creating the new content has to be safe for our employees as well. We want to give people value with our content.

With a stay-at-home order expected through May 15, the museum staff continues to plan for future exhibits.

We dont know what the timetables for those are, he says. The curators are running through a lot of different scenarios. Were working on what that would look like. We may have to return some pieces on loan but keep exhibits up for longer.
Johannesburg, May 1, (People's Daily Online) -- Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, received a consignment of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) donated by global internet group Naspers on April 30.

Taking place at the Takealot Distribution Centre in Kempton Park, Gauteng,Naspers procured the PPE and other medical supplies at great speed through its logistics and warehousing capabilities in Takealot and help from the Chinese Embassy

Just one month ago, Koos Beker, Chairman of Naspers, wrote to the Chinese Embassy seeking assistance in purchasing medical supplies from China. With vigorous cooperation between two sides, they have completed the procurement, customs clearance, shipment and smooth delivery of the supplies from China to South Africa within what usually takes several months in just over 20 days.

These are our concrete actions to jointly implement the consensus of our two heads of state, which is an excellent example of brotherhood and friendship between our two countries in times of adversity, said Charge Daffaires Li Nan of the Chinese Embassy, attending the exchange.

Two weeks ago, South Africa Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and Li Nan witnessed the handover of the medical supplies donated by the Chinese government to South Africa. The third batch of assistance is almost ready for delivery.

The shipments of medical supplies donated by Chinese enterprises,local Chinese communities and the Jack Ma Public Welfare Foundation will soon arrive in South Africa.
Juan Gabriel Pareja, center, in the movie "The Infiltrators." (Oscilloscope Films)

With The Infiltrators there is an audacity, an unrestrained boldness, to both the events depicted onscreen and the way in which they are portrayed in the movie itself. A documentary-fiction hybrid directed by Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, the film won both prizes in its section when it premiered at Sundance in 2019 and was the opening-night film of last years Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.

A group of young undocumented immigration activists realize one of their best lines of protest and change is from within a Florida detention center. So instead of being afraid, they get sent there on purpose and proceed to fight from the inside to get others out. (And thats all true!)

Much of what is shown outside the walls of the detention facility is genuine documentary footage of young people working relentlessly to organize, while what is seen inside was re-created on a set with actors. Marco Saavedra and Viridiana Martinez appear as themselves in the documentary footage, depicted by actors Maynor Alvarado and Chelsea Rendon in the dramatic sequences. This fissure gives the film a fascinating, charged energy, as Ibarra and Rivera are able to lean into the differences between the two sides of their story while also bringing an unexpected sense of unity. (They're aided in no small part by the sleek, propulsive electronic score by tomandandy.)

In one of the films best sequences, Martinez and Alvarado are kicked out after being discovered but refuse to leave the facility until some other detainees are released with them. Fictional scenes set inside the detention center and documentary footage at its gates depict the same series of events. There is something at once funny in watching officials plead with a young female activist to leave and brave in her refusal to do so until others can join her. To see someone transform the perceived liability of being an undocumented detainee into a source of power and strength, truly and deeply owning their identity, is inspiring and moving.

With its inside-out prison-break story, The Infiltrators has the energy of a crime thriller crossed with the urgency of a social-issue documentary. The bulk of the events in the film are from 2012, and when the story leaps ahead to 2016 with the election of the current administration, things take an ominous turn. In our current moment, The Infiltrators shows people making the best of a bad situation and finding ways to move forward both as individuals and toward greater common goals.

For the record:

12:21 PM, May. 01, 2020: An earlier version of this review misstated the last name of codirector Cristina Ibarra.

12:21 PM, May. 01, 2020:


Ambassador of Pakistan to France Moin ul Haque Friday urged the Pakistani community to donate generously to Prime Minister's Relief Fund for COVID 19 to help the Government of Pakistan provide relief to vulnerable segments of the society

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2020 ) :Ambassador of Pakistan to France Moin ul Haque Friday urged the Pakistani community to donate generously to Prime Minister's Relief Fund for COVID 19 to help the Government of Pakistan provide relief to vulnerable segments of the society.

He said this in a virtual meeting held by him with France-based Pakistani journalists wherein he apprised them of various steps taken to provide relief and assistance to Pakistani community members affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

He informed the journalists about the policy of the Government of Pakistan regarding operation of special flights to repatriate the stranded Pakistanis worldwide and transportation of dead bodies from abroad to Pakistan.

As the said two issues pertained to France as well, he assured the community that the embassy had taken them up with the authorities concerned for an early resolution, said a press release received here Friday.

The ambassador called upon the Pakistan community in France to raise their voice against the brutal repression of Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and stigmatization of Muslims in India during the pandemic.

He also reassured the community that the embassy stood by them in these difficult times.
More than 32,000 Indians in the UAE, who wish to return home amidst the coronavirus lockdown, have registered with the Indian missions here on day one of the opening of the online registration process, according to a media report.

On Wednesday night, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced the details of data collection through the website of the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

Within minutes, the site faced technical issues, prompting the missions to delete the tweet about it and repost it hours later.

In a tweet posted in the wee hours of Thursday, the Indian Consulate asked applicants to bear with it if it takes time for the page to load due to high traffic.

As of 5pm on Thursday, we received more than 32,000 registrations, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told the Gulf

Vipul said the technical issues took place because of the huge rush of people trying to access the webpage on the Consulate's site for registration.

Though the mission is yet to analyse the data to know the compelling reasons for the applicants to travel home, Vipul said the applications comprise various emergency cases including that of pregnant women.

We understand that people want to go home for various reasons. People should be ready for travel by keeping in mind the overall restrictions on travel given the pandemic situation. Those who wish to go urgently should keep trying to register on the website in the next few days, he said.

He said the registration would be open for some days and the data collected by the Indian missions in various countries would be provided to Indian states for making preparations for their travel.

The Consul General reiterated that the registration in the databank does not guarantee a seat on the initial flights that would be arranged to repatriate the most deserving categories of people.

Workers in acute distress, medical cases, pregnant women, the elderly and the group of Indians stranded in Dubai Airport, are likely to get first priority when the government resumes services for repatriation, he said.

Since there is no guidance from the Indian government on the conditions for travelling, he said, it is not yet clear how the COVID-19 status of an applicant would impact the journey.

When asked about media reports that said 500 Air India flights and three warships of the Indian Navy are on standby for evacuating stranded Indians abroad, Vipul said he had no knowledge about warships being readied for the process.

I am sure Air India will be involved. I have no information about the warships, he said.

Meanwhile, the government of Kerala on Thursday said the total number of registrations it received from Malayalis living in 201 countries has reached 3,53,468.

The Consul General urged Keralites in the UAE, who have already registered with Norka (The Non Resident Keralites Affairs), to also register with the missions since it would help the central government to make arrangements for flight operations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Trump will also say that when his administration was forced to rush production of critical supplies, he found that our supply chains had all moved overseas thanks to the terrible trade deals Biden supported. Trump will say that Democrats presided over the outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing capacity, leaving us dependent on communist China, and that it would have been even worse under the Obama-Biden-negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership. He will ask voters: Whom do you trust to bring manufacturing back to America? The administration that outsourced 200,000 manufacturing jobs, or the one that brought half a million back?

The pandemic has also elevated Trump's signature issue: border security. Trump will point out that the most important step he took to slow the spread of the virus was imposing a travel ban on China in late January -- a move he says Biden criticized as "fearmongering" and "hysterical xenophobia." As late as March, he will say, Biden was slamming him for expanding it to Europe, declaring "banning all travel from Europe -- or any other part of the world -- will not stop" the virus. Trump will argue that if you want to control disease, you have to control your borders -- and that the Democrats' open-borders policies would have cost countless lives.
A daily wage labourer waits for free food at a construction site, in New Delhi, India, April 10. REUTERS

On April 24, Yashwant Sinha, former Union Finance Minister, tweeted his apparent shock at the fact that the new PM CARES fund, set up for collection of donations to fight COVID-19, will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The next day he went on to tweet that the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF), which could have also been utilised for the purpose, was more transparent. He is wrong, but it should shock us that a two-time finance minister is almost oblivious to the functioning of Indias most recognised relief fund.

The governments response has been to merely say that PM CARES is set up no differently from the PMNRF. That is, both are public charitable funds, without any budgetary support, and therefore, neither fund comes within the purview of the CAG  this is a specious argument.

However, for somebody of Sinhas eminence to be shocked is itself testament to the haziness that veils not just the two funds in question, but also similar funds titled after Chief Ministers  most of them opaque in its functioning, even as it collects donations using State apparatus.

A scrutiny of the websites of each of these state funds will show that there is none to negligible details about the fund in public domain. Punjab, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi, to name just a few, give no details about their respective funds, except links for facilitation of the payment. This means that donations made to the CM relief funds in these states are based on blind faith  the public does not know what the rules governing the administering of the fund are, who takes decisions on allocation, or who the donors or beneficiaries are.

This would not have been such a cause for concern if the funds were audited by the governments auditors. The defence that these funds are audited by a private auditor do not hold water. There is a reason why the CAG is a constitutional post under Article 148 with safeguards against removal or even altering his/her terms of service adversely. A private auditor, that is, a regular chartered accountant firm, cannot be expected to stand up to the might of the government and audit objectively. A CAG audit brings with it the additional benefit of transparency, since the reports, as well as comments are public, and open to public scrutiny.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

There are also states at the other end of the spectrum. Odisha claims that the CM relief fund is funded by budgetary support, in addition to voluntary donations. This would ordinarily bring the fund within the purview of the governments audit. The website of Maharashtras CM Relief Fund not only has the rules and guidelines for operating the account, but also gives a list of donors, and a link for RTI queries.

States like Kerala and Bihar have some version of this. Both states publicise the government orders passed in relation to the fund, as well as give details regarding both receipts into (Kerala in aggregate, while Bihar gives the list of donors). Kerala also publicises the allotments of the funds, which are mostly into government schemes, which presumably, would in turn be audited, giving the public a trail to investigate the money flow.

Madhya Pradesh even goes as far as to publicise the list of beneficiaries, though that data doesnt seem to have been updated since 2010. The state also gives real-time data on online donations received, but details of offline donations (if any) havent been updated since 2010.

The PMNRF, interestingly, had much more transparency in the past. The receipts, as well as payments during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure, (accessed from the archived website of the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh) gives the list of all the beneficiaries of the scheme during that period, and many more details.

On the other hand, the (current) Prime Ministers website, the FAQ relating to PMNRF section makes it clear that details of beneficiaries will be outside the scope of RTI. It states that the information sought is purely personal in nature, disclosure of which to the third party may cause unwarranted invasion into privacy of the individual(s). Hence, the information cannot be provided as it is exempted under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

Another factor to consider is whether the funds non-governmental status violates Article 266(2) of the Constitution, which mandates that all public money received by or on behalf of the Government of India or of the state governments shall be credited to the public account of India or of the states. The funds are obviously received because of its quasi-official nature. We all know several instances where government departments, as well as PSUs, take executive decisions to cut employee salary (a days pay, usually) for contribution to the fund (with an opt-out, of course). A contribution to a purely private fund wouldnt be accepted without murmur.

A further argument that is made in defence of opacity is that the fund is purely discretionary. That is, the Prime Minister has absolute discretion over what projects to pay the amounts to, and therefore, it cannot be subjected to the test of audit. This again is a specious argument. Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) also have discretionary powers over their constituency funds, but these still have checks and balances in the form of administration by the district collector (or a similar officer) as well as the requirement of audit certificates.

Then theres the familiar bogey: so what? It is just relief money. An audit essentially looks into who the beneficiary of an allotment was, whether they actually carry out the functions they claim to, or were they a front set up merely to receive the donation. Take, for instance, a businessperson who has donated (lets even say, in black/cash) to a party fund. This money can be repaid from public donations by paying to a charity set up by the businessperson, ostensibly for relief work. The possibilities for money-laundering are multiple, and therefore, there can be no excuse for non-transparency.

Perhaps a counter-question is merited. If the fund is purely of a private nature, then why use the Prime Ministers (or Chief Ministers) title at all in the name. Why use government resources, and why involve government servants in its administration?
Tenorios The Son of Good Fortune (Ecco, July.) takes a searing and humorous look at an undocumented Filipino mother a former action movie starand her pizza-slinging son.

Joker, Maximas childhood martial arts instructor, was a grandfather figure to Excel despite their having no blood relation. How do you define family?

Family is whoever. Its whatever you want, though it demands some degree of investment, concession, and sacrifice. All families require that. While writing this novel, I was interested in the ways family members struggle to find common ground when things are difficult and emotionally fraught, and when they clash on individual needs and desires.

By leaving the Philippines while pregnant with Excel, Maxima attempts to go to great lengths to improve her childs future prospects. However, her unforeseen early labor keeps him from being born in the U.S. What did you set out to express about citizenship, immigration, and vulnerable populations??

I hope my novel shows immigrants as complicated individuals whose needs and ambitions go beyond nationality. Their status informs their experience, but it doesnt dictate it. Excel and Maxima get sidetracked by daydreams of love, fame, and adventure, and make mistakes and score small victories along the way. Theyre human. As basic as that concept is, it feels important at a time when Asians and Asian-Americans see their dignity and humanity at risk.

First, though, I think our obligation to vulnerable groups is to affirm that their humanity is vital and deserving. In this time of Covid-19, for example, Im thinking of vulnerable people who are helping society survive in ways they always havegrocery store employees, postal workers, restaurant staff, public transit operators. Its nice to call them heroes, but I imagine most would prefer to be safe at home.

Excel derides one of Maximas old films as bad art. Does truly bad art exist?

I think an artworks value is determined by how a person experiences it. Excel initially thinks Maximas Filipino action movies are ridiculously cheesy, but later, when he understands how much he really needs her, hes able to see, while watching one of her films, just how physically strong and emotionally resilient she is. That he can hit the pause button and literally freeze that moment in time, is quite powerful. Even bad art, in an unexpected context, can create an experience that is meaningful, potentially life-changing, and beautiful.
The Savannah Development Policy Think Tank has called on Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in northern Ghana to ensure prudent application of monies allocated for containment of the coronavirus.



We want the monies to be properly used in the quest of fighting against COVID-19. We expect the assemblies to use the money to support and educate our people, Mr Abu Kasangabata, Executive Director of the Think Tank, said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra.



He said many MMDCEs have failed to put to use an amount of GHC 166,000 allocated to each Metropolitan Municipal and District Assembly in the country to carry out public education on the pandemic.



He said preliminary investigations by the organisation revealed that various assemblies across the board have refused to involve the National Commission and Civic Education (NCCE) in any public education drive.



Those who even come close to the use of the money so far, as the fight against the Covid-19 is concerned resorted to the use of Veronica Buckets and some tissues in some selected communities within their jurisdictions, he added.



The Executive Director suggested some of the money could have been used to engage local radio stations within their jurisdictions to prepare jingles on COVID-19 in their local languages for effective and efficient dissemination of messages.



He urged the Assemblies to engage the NCCEs to mount aggressive public education to fight the deadly virus that has already infected 44 persons in four regions in north Ghana, excluding the Savannah region.



The best approach would have been the active involvement of the NCCE as a constitutionally mandated body to be mounting public education in communities against the pandemic, he said.

The latest reports by the Ghana Health Service [website dedicated for providing an update on the coronavirus] show that Upper East has confirmed 19 cases, Northern 13, Upper West 10, and North East two. There is no case in the Savannah region.



Mr Kasangabata said there is an imperative need for public education on the preventive protocols of the virus to reach out to every community in each of the assemblies.



We are appealing to the Assemblies to use the money well. The money allocated is meant for public education against the COVID-19 pandemic for the benefit of the people, he said. It is not meant for inspection of projects or any other purpose.



He said the Savannah Development Policy Think Tank would demand proper accountability of every pesewa given out by the Government to all MMDECs across the country in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.



He called on stakeholders including civil society organisations and individuals to also demand accountability from duty-bearers as far as the GH166,000 COVID-19 allocations to the assemblies are concerned.

Source: GNA









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Homemade artwork shows appreciation to UMB and UMMC essential employees working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis has created many challenges, but it also has inspired acts of amazing kindness among members of our UMB community. We want to hear your inspiring stories for our On the Bright Side series. Submit your story here.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has been asking members of the UMB and neighboring Baltimore communities to contribute virtual thank you cards for essential employees at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and its affiliate hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Nurses, doctors, technicians, security guards, police officers, cafeteria workers, plumbers, elevator operators, and so many others are risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus while taking care of the sick, working to develop a vaccine and treatment, and maintaining our buildings and grounds.

To help prevent the spread of germs into the hospital and campus offices, community members have created their cards at home and emailed pictures of the cards to cards@umaryland.edu. One of the several local TV stations that picked up on this outreach initiative featured Ashley Valis, MSW, executive director of strategic initiatives and community engagement at UMB. The coverage resulted in an influx of creative cards. Toddlers, school-age children, teens, and adults alike have sent in cards for the campaign, and the cards continue to pour in through the email link.

(View a photo gallery or a video montage of the cards.)

It might seem small to us, but it does mean a lot. We really appreciate the sacrifices people are making right now in our community to take care of the sick and to keep our buildings operational, Valis says. Many parents who are responsible for managing their childrens shelter-in-place schooling right now have very little time and few resources for art instruction. I am happy to give my young children a reason to get out their crayons and craft supplies and be creative.

Submitter Erin Andrews included this note with her virtual card: Our school, Sidwell Friends School, [forwarded] us this idea and we loved it! Our first-grade son loved it, too! Thanks so much for all that you do in these challenging times!

The first set of photos has been compiled into a video, and plans are underway for a second video as well as a final artistic installation featuring copies of the cards that will honor all of the employees who have been working on-site during this crisis.

If this activity piques your interest, please create a card and submit it today. This is a great activity for children and families to do at home while school and non-essential businesses are shut down. Its also a great way to show support and love to the heroic workers who are keeping others safe during this uncertain time.

Thanks for your support, and stay healthy!
Campaigners are angry that while they are unable to protest because of the coronavirus lockdown, logging can continue.

Pressure is mounting on authorities in Australia to curb the logging of native forests in the wake of the countrys devastating southern summer bushfires.

With conservationists saying restrictions on movement because of COVID-19 are preventing protests against the resumption of logging, people have instead gone online with more than 22,000 signing a petition calling on the New South Wales (NSW) government to declare a moratorium on logging in the states native forests.

Nearly half of all state forests in NSW burned during the blazes that devastated parts of Australia during the countrys summer, including about 890,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) of native forest. Nationwide, more than a billion native animals were thought to have been killed in the fires, pushing many closer to extinction. As many as 8,000 koalas are estimated to have died.

Veteran forest activist Dailan Pugh was involved in what was possibly the first forest blockade in the Western world, at Terania Creek in northern NSW in 1979.

For him, the summers fires  including those that hit rainforest areas that do not usually burn  were devastating.

Theyre areas we fought over for a long, long time, said Pugh, who is now in his mid-60s. We saw them going one after another, it was horrifying and surreal.

In early February the federal government identified 113 species nationwide hit by the fires, and recommended a halt to logging in those areas.





Despite that, logging has resumed in places considered crucial to the survival of iconic species such as the koala.

Im aware of a lot of people who would like to stop machinery, Pugh said.

But they cant because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Logging deemed essential

The sentiment is common among conservationists; even those who acknowledge the need for social isolation.

Logging has commenced again as per normal when nothing is normal in the landscape, says Lyn Orego, a conservationist near Nambucca Heads on NSWs northern coast.

It is frustrating to not be able to go out like we could.

We are inside our homes due to the coronavirus but outside the government is continuing to authorise this destruction, subsidised by taxpayers money.

In the Nambucca State Forest, largely spared this past summers fires, roadworks have recently begun to allow logging equipment to be brought into the forest.

This forest is a rare patch of unburnt forest providing refuge for threatened species.

Orego is despairing at the fate of koalas locally in light of plans to log the forest.

The areas just arent there to provide the habitat, she says.

Fellow campaigner Susie Russell said the restrictions on movement were very problematic.

In the Comboyne State Forest, she was part of a group able to protest and delay logging equipment in the days before lockdown measures were imposed in Australia, preventing protest. Logging, under Australias business-friendly social isolation measures, is allowed to continue as an essential economic activity.

Susie Russell in one of her last protests against logging before it became impossible under Australias lockdown measures. [Supplied/Susie Russell via Al Jazeera]

The government is opening up areas that were burned, logging areas that were not, all sorts of approvals which are damaging to the environment are happening during this time. We feel angry and frustrated at not being able to get out there.

Logging contributed 9.2 billion Australian dollars ($5.9m) to the economy in 2018, with most of the timber extracted from plantation forests, according to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Approval granted

NSWs Environment Protection Agency  responsible for monitoring the behaviour of loggers  lists 12 different state forests where site-specific approvals have been granted following the summer fires.

The agency has come under fire for reportedly approving logging operations in one area without first assessing the toll on wildlife.

When asked to respond, the agency stressed to Al Jazeera additional site-specific conditions on the existing strict environmental controls and highlighted additional controls to conserve all unburnt or lightly burned areas, protect all primary koala feed trees and effectively double the amount of koala habitat that must be protected during the logging.

Loggers cite multiple reasons for the loss of native fauna such as the koala, including habitat destruction for the expansion of human settlements.

Forestry Corporation of NSW, the state-owned forest managers responsible for logging, told Al Jazeera that timber harvesting operations take place in less than 1 percent of state forests each year  and all harvested areas are completely regenerated.

After the fires, it said, 70 percent of harvesting operations on the north coast  those near conservationists Orego and Russell  were moved to hardwood plantations.

Timber is an essential renewable resource  and the industry is continuing to provide these products sustainably while maintaining jobs in regional areas.

Further south, in Victoria, there is anger among conservationists that while the state has updated logging agreements in the wake of the countrys worst-ever fires it has not gone far enough.

The state Labor government has said it will end logging of native forests by 2030, but experts are sceptical about its reasons.

Scientists estimate as many as one billion animals  from iconic species like the koala to tiny insects  were killed during the bushfires that devastated Australia during the southern hemisphere summer [Supplied/Dailan Pugh via Al Jazeera]

The Victorian government has made its decision to get out of logging not because it is particularly concerned, says Professor David Lindenmayer, an expert in post-fire regeneration at the Australian National University.

But because there is no resource left  In the last 25 years, Victoria has lost 77 percent of its old-growth forest.

Trainwreck policy

Lindenmayer is a leading opponent of salvage logging after fires, the practice of removing large burned and damaged logs from fire zones, often for wood chipping.

He is sharply critical of forest management policy, and says logging thinning operations are worsening the intensity of fires in Victoria and driving species such as the greater glider towards extinction.

Weve been analysing the landscape since the [Black Saturday] fires in 2009; weve been looking at long-term fire history, and long-term logging history, he said.

In a word, its a train wreck.

We had one mega-fire before 2000 [1 million hectares burnt]. Weve had four mega-fires since 2000.

On Wednesday, the Victorian Supreme Court temporarily banned logging in 13 unburned forest areas, known as coupes, after activists said irreversible damage was being wrought on several endangered species as a result of the summers fires.

Across the state, injunctions from the court now apply to a total of 26 similar coupes, although hundreds of others are still open to logging.

Many burned areas are subject to what is known as salvage logging; a practice for which Lindenmayer saves some of his fiercest words.

Its the worst form of logging of all, he says. The system has burnt and is struggling to recover and you smash it again. Theres no more stupid thing you can do.

The professor has his detractors  academics who question his methodology, in work championed by VicForests, the state-owned logging entity.

In areas allocated for timber harvesting but that are burnt, we will harvest the equivalent of only two out of 1,000 trees that are dead or heavily burnt, VicForests told Al Jazeera. We will leave all unburnt trees, retain some dead trees for habitat and create corridors to connect habitat patches to the rest of the forest.

Arguments over the science of forest management and its effect on bushfires look set to rumble on in Australia.

The rate that animals reliant on that habitat are being lost is much harder to dispute.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:10:59|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 1, 2020 shows a destroyed house in Tripoli, Libya. Indiscriminate shelling hit a residential area in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, killing two civilians and injuring two others. (Photo by Amru Salahuddien/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Indiscriminate shelling hit a residential area in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, killing two civilians and injuring two others.

The UN-backed government's forces accused the rival eastern-based army of the shelling, to which the eastern-based army has not responded yet.

On the other hand, the UN-backed government's forces announced launching a total of 11 airstrikes on the eastern-based army.

"The air force launched five airstrikes on Watya air base (some 140 km southwest of the capital Tripoli) that targeted personnel and destroyed military vehicles (of the eastern-based army)," Mohamed Gonono, spokesman of the UN-backed government's forces, said in a statement.

According to the spokesman, another six airstrikes targeted a convoy of armed vehicles and individuals of the eastern-based army in Wadi Mursit area, some 180 km southwest of Tripoli.

The eastern-based army on Wednesday announced a humanitarian truce in the country during the holy month of Ramadan. However, the UN-backed government on Thursday rejected to stop military operations in Libya.

The war between the eastern-based army and the UN-backed government continues in and around Tripoli, despite repeated international calls for cease-fire.
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The Isaacs Restaurant and Deli franchise announced Friday that it will close its Hershey/Hummelstown location permanently on May 10.

The restaurant, located at Park Village Plaza, 597 E. Main St., in Hummelstown, has been in operation for nearly 25 years, according to an email it sent out to customers.

According to Isaacs president and CEO Mike Weaver, the location is being closed mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the dining industry.

It was a store that under normal circumstances we would have kept going, but when the dining room is closed youre looking at a 70 percent reduction in sales, he said. "Once you have reduced seating requirement restrictions [when dining rooms reopen] youll still have a significant loss in sales. For us its not enough to justify keeping it open.

Weaver said that the company was able to negotiate the end of its lease with its landlord and that all employees will be offered jobs at other Isaacs locations.

He added that there are no plans at this time to close any other Isaacs locations and that they hope to have a new location on the East Shore in the future.

"This one was a borderline store, Weaver said. By 2021 we hope to have new location on the East shore.

There are currently 14 Isaacs restaurants in the southcentral Pennsylvania region. The closest one to the Hershey/Hummelstown location is the restaurant in the West Shore Plaza in Lemoyne.

Weaver said that he despite the huge hit the coronavirus quarantine has had on restaurants and retail in general, he is optimistic about the future of Isaacs.

We want to save jobs and livelihoods and we want to delight our customers, he said. Were going to be one of the ones thats standing at the end of this. We have a pretty good plan going forward."

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Jeffrey Epstein had his own office at Harvard University and visited the college more than 40 times - New York State Sex Offender Registry

Jeffrey Epstein had his own office at Harvard University and visited the college more than 40 times after he was released from prison on sex crimes charges in 2010, according to a new report.

An internal review by Harvard, published on Friday, laid bare deep, longstanding ties between Epstein and the university that were only cut after fresh allegations emerged against the disgraced late financier in 2018.

Harvard confirmed that Epstein, who died in a New York prison in August awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, had made more than $9 million (7m) in donations to them over the years.

His money funded the construction of at least one campus building.

The review found that no gifts were received from Epstein, who was not an alumni, following his conviction in 2008 for Florida state sex crimes, one of which involved soliciting sex for pay from an underage girl.

Harvard confirmed that Epstein had made more than $9 million (7m) in donations to the university over the years. - Getty

Lawrence Bacow, Harvards president, said the university has donated $210,000 of unspent donations to groups that support victims of sex trafficking and assault.

The report, overseen by Diane Lopez, Harvards general counsel and vice president, found that even after his conviction and subsequent 13-month stint in jail, some members of the Harvard community continued their relationships with Epstein.

Ms Lopez wrote that "in 2013, several faculty members requested that Harvard reconsider accepting donations from Epstein.

The university reported that Martin Nowak, director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics (PED), had been placed on administrative leave over unreported contact between him and Epstein.

While we have not been able to determine the precise number of campus visits, we understand that Epstein visited the offices of PED in Harvard Square more than 40 times between 2010 and 2018, Ms Lopez wrote.

Epstein initially funded the program in 2003 with a gift of $6.5 million. He maintained a relationship with Mr Nowak over the next 15 years, including after Epsteins release from prison.

Story continues

The report found Epstein attempted to use Harvard and the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics as a tool to rehabilitate his image following his 2008 conviction for solicitation of minors for prostitution.

Office 601 was known as Jeffreys Office and Epstein decorated it with his own rug and photographs. For a time, Epstein even had his own Harvard phone line.

The university found no evidence, however, that he engaged with undergraduate students during his visits.

Mr Bacow, in a statement, said: The report issued today describes principled decision-making but also reveals institutional and individual shortcomings that must be addressed  not only for the sake of the University but also in recognition of the courageous individuals who sought to bring Epstein to justice.
Escalating war of words between Turkey and UAE as Libya and Yemen crises deepen.

Turkeys Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused the United Arab Emirates of pursuing destructive policies in northern Africa and the Middle East and called on the Emiratis to abandon what it called a hostile attitude towards Ankara.

The comments from Turkey followed a statement from the UAE that called on all Libyan parties to commit to the United Nations-supervised political process to end the war, but also saluted the army led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar and rejected Turkish military intervention on behalf of the countrys UN- recognised government.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said the remarks were an attempt by the UAE to hide their two-faced politics and said the country was providing aid to putschists in Libya.

Turkey backs the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and has signed a military cooperation agreement to help the fight against Haftar. The government in Ankara has repeatedly urged world powers to stop supporting Haftars forces, which it deems putschists.

In its Thursday statement, the Emirati Foreign Ministry said it commends the Libyan National Army for conducting anti-terror operations, and expressed its categorical rejection of the Turkish military intervention in support of the GNA.

The UAE statement did not comment directly on Haftars declaration on Monday that his army would take power, ripping up a 2015 political agreement that has been the basis for all international peacemaking efforts.

Hostile stance

Aksoy said the ugly and baseless allegations that had been made by the UAE administration were attempts to cover up its own destructive policies, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.

Sources told Al Jazeera on Thursday that several top Emirati officials were on a visit to Sudans capital, Khartoum, to rally support and recruit fighters for Haftar.

The UAEs actions disrupting international peace, security and stability not just in Libya, but all the region, including Yemen, Syria and Africa, are well known to the international community, Aksoy said in a statement.

We call on the UAE leadership to avoid taking a hostile stance against our country and to know its place.





Yemens civil war erupted late in 2014 when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, along with much of the countrys north and overthrew the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Nominally, the Hadi government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) are part of an Arab coalition fighting against the Houthis.

However, Hadis government is mainly supported by Saudi Arabia, where it operates, while the STC and its leaders are based in the UAE.

Earlier this week, the STC announced self-rule in Yemens southern provinces and the key port city of Aden, which it has controlled since 2015 in a move analysts said could create the conditions for perpetual conflict.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States has intelligence that establishes a virology lab in Wuhan is the source of the pandemic and indicated new tariffs as his administration considers a range of punitive measures such as partly cancelling public debt and allowing victims to sue China.

Yes I have, Trump told reporters when asked if he has seen intelligence that traces the epidemics origin to the Wuhan lab with a high degree of confidence. He did not share any evidence and when asked how he felt confident it was the Wuhan lab, he demurred, saying, I am not allowed to tell you that.

Earlier Thursday, office of the Director of National Intelligence, which heads the US intelligence community, said in the statement that though it concurs with the wider scientific community that the coronavirus was not manmade or genetically modified, it was still examining whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

The source of the epidemic remains disputed. China has denied it started at the Wuhan lab and has blamed a local seafood market instead.

The United Sates has been investigating the origin of the epidemic in China, and the Wuhan lab has clearly not been ruled out, and the true magnitude of the crisis in China, which is widely suspected of suppressing the real numbers.

Questions are being raised about Chinas handling of the epidemic and calls for an impartial investigation into it have been growing worldwide, most recently by Australia.

The US intelligence community is conducting its own investigation as the office of the DNI stated Thursday. But it was not clear yet if the administration expected to revea more on the findings and how soon.

The president has turned up the rhetoric on China in recent days as his won administrations handling of the crisis has come under increasing criticism for not responding aggressively. He recently indicated he was not averse to making China pay for losses incurred by the United States.

When asked on Thursday about reports that he could cancel US debt obligations to China, Trump said he could do it differently and act in probably a little bit more of a forthright manner.

I could do the same thing but even for more money, just putting on tariffs, he said.

The new tariffs, if he does impose them, will be in addition to the 25% duty still in force on $370 billion worth of imports from China left over from the trade war between the two countries that ended in January with the signing of a limited Phase One deal.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that punitive measures under discussion partly cancelling public debt owed to China, which is the second largest holder of US public debt with around $1 trillion, and stripping China of sovereign immunity and allow American victims of the epidemic to sure China for damages.

Officials from across US federal government were expected to meet Thursday to map the course of action but the president is reported to be tilting towards punishing China, away from a more moderate response being advocated by his economic advisers. But he appears to have not made up his mind yet.

Republican lawmakers have also been been calling for punishing China. Senator Josh Hawley has moved a legislation to hold China accountable by designing a mechanism to make China pay compensation to all nations impacted by the epidemic and not just the united States.
A 30-year-old Hillsboro man who had been fired from Intel after sending threatening emails to the companys chief executive officer and the pope is now accused of posting a series of threats to kill President Donald Trump.

Nicholas Daniel Bylotas was arrested Tuesday in Minnesota as federal authorities believe he was headed to the White House after telling a U.S. Secret Service agent by cellphone that he was going directly to see the president, according to a federal complaint.

Bylotas, who was hospitalized for mental health treatment earlier this year, is accused of posting threatening messages to Trump on Bylotas Facebook and Twitter pages this month and in January.

A former co-worker alerted law enforcement this week that Bylotas was off his medication, acting erratically and posting threats again and photos of himself suggesting he was traveling to the nations capital, according to a federal affidavit filed Thursday in Oregon.

Last week, Bylotas wrote on Facebook that he was going "to stomp'' Trumps baby skull against the sidewalk, according to the affidavit.

Then Monday, Bylotas wrote on Facebook: We have to kill Donald Trump because he is a known evil and is doing a job that is supposed to be for good people. The Law is supposed to stop that from happening. I am the Revolution. Execute the traitors.

As the week went on, Bylotas posted photos on his social media from eastern Oregon, Washington state, Kansas and South Dakota, according to the posts and the affidavit.

Nicholas Daniel Bylotas, 30, of Hillsboro, was arrested Tuesday in Minnesota, accused of the federal charge making "threats against the President.''

Bylotas first came under law enforcement scrutiny in late January when Intel Corp.s director of corporate security notified the Washington County Sheriffs Office that Bylotas, an Intel technician who had worked in Hillsboro, had been suspended for sending concerning emails to the chief executive of Intel and to the pope.

On Jan. 30, sheriffs Detective Jeremy Chedester alerted the U.S. Secret Service of online threats Bylotas made toward the president on Facebook, the affidavit said.

On Jan. 28, a post read, 2nd law of Bylotas the Tyrant: The President shall be homeless until the homeless are no longer homeless. If you will please, Daffy(KABOOM!!! White House off the face of the earth.)

On Jan. 30, Bylotas declared war on Trump in one post, and wrote, Surrender peacefully and agree to my conditions, or prepare for your doom."

Chedester contacted Bylotas that night. Bylotas told the detective he was depressed and agreed to seek mental health treatment, according to the federal complaint.

Chedester said he would help Bylotas check into a treatment facility but asked him to turn over his shotgun to police first, which angered Bylotas who threatened to run off, the complaint said.

The detective placed a police mental health hold on Bylotas and he was taken to Kaiser Permanentes Emergency Department, then transferred to Unity Center for Behavioral Health in Portland.

The next day, Secret Service agent Luis Corea and a colleague interviewed Bylotas at Unity Center while he was under the influence of sedatives, Corea wrote in the affidavit.

Bylotas admitted to posting threatening comments on Facebook about Trump, the White House and the U.S. government, according to Corea.

Nicholas Bylotas, 30, is in custody in Minnesota, facing a federal complaint from the U.S. District of Oregon.

The mental health hold continued through mid-February. Police cited Bylotas social media postings of suicidal and homicidal threats toward Intel employees, the pope and the president as well as threats in a series of emails to the Intel CEO, according to the complaint.

Bylotas was discharged from Unity Center on Feb. 12 in an improved condition, according to medical staff, and didnt meet conditions for involuntary commitment, the affidavit said.

The Secret Service was contacted again this week, notified by the Washington County sheriffs detective that Bylotas had resumed posting online threats to harm the president and seemed to indicate he was headed to the White House.

Do you want to join me for the journey to the White House? I am going to go over there and disrupt whatever the hell they are trying to hurt the people with, he wrote Saturday on his Twitter account.

Bylotas is now being held at the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, Minnesota, on the federal felony charge of making "Threats against President.'' He made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Minnesota on Wednesday. He faces a detention hearing Friday in court there.

Intel spokesman William Moss declined any comment about Bylotas or his prior work for Intel. Minnesotas assistant federal public defenders Lisa M. Lopez and Katherian D. Roe, appointed to represent Bylotas in court in Minnesota, did not return messages seeking comment.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

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Fashion designer Victoria Beckham attends Estee Lauder activity on May 16, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Victoria Beckham has reversed her decision to furlough staff at her fashion label during the coronavirus pandemic.

The company had been planning to make use of Government assistance to furlough a "small number" of employees, however it is now planning to proceed without state help, according to their spokeswoman.

Despite the U-turn the spokeswoman maintained that the company's original decision "was made in the best interests of trying to protect our staff, and that is still our absolute focus".

The decision "seemed the most appropriate option in keeping with many other businesses", she said, adding: "The situation is dynamic and, with the support of our shareholders, we now believe we can navigate through this crisis without drawing from the Government furlough scheme."

Victoria Beckham Ltd is now "doing everything we can" to ensure they can proceed "without using Government assistance", according to the spokeswoman.

The company has been "working hard to protect its people", her statement said.

Expand Close Victoria Beckham founded her fashion label in 2008 (Estee Lauder/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Victoria Beckham founded her fashion label in 2008 (Estee Lauder/PA)

Victoria Beckham founded her fashion label in 2008 and it became known for its modern minimalism.

With offices in London and New York, a flagship store in Mayfair and another store in central Hong Kong, the brand has won critical acclaim alongside multiple industry awards, including Best Designer Brand and Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.

In addition, the Victoria Beckham brand is carried in more than 450 stores in 50 countries worldwide, according to the company website.
Amazon is often described as an e-commerce behemoth  but the company is much more than a place to shop. As America hunkered down under quarantine, the company has touched nearly every part of life in lockdown  household essentials, groceries, streaming, gaming, crafts, news and entertainment. Even the sites that people visit  Netflix, Pinterest, Facebook  are run on its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services. Some crucial government sites are also hosted on AWS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program.

The Seattle, Washington-based company reaped $75.5 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2020, the company reported Thursday, compared with $59.7 billion during the same time last year. Its physical store sales, including Whole Foods, grew 8 percent to $4.6 billion; and its cloud computing business crossed the $10 billion quarterly revenue mark for the first time, growing 33 percent in one year.

While shopping centers and retailers across the country have seen business come to a standstill, Amazon has a problem that struggling retailers may envy  its demand is too high for its current infrastructure. The companys website traffic surged to 2.54 billion visitors in March alone, a 65 percent jump from the year before, according to online research company Comscore.

Amazon announced Thursday it will funnel its second-quarter operating profit  an estimated $4 billion  into COVID-related expenses. This includes investments in personal protective equipment, facilities cleaning, higher wages for hourly workers and hundreds of millions to develop its own testing capabilities.

If youre a shareowner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat, because were not thinking small, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement.

Amazons aggressive growth over the last several weeks has only underscored ongoing debates about the companys size and influence.

Story continues

As the reality of a pandemic sunk in, customers flocked to Amazon, buying out essentials including face masks, gloves and toilet paper. The company was so overwhelmed with orders that for a month it prioritized essential items such as medical supplies and household goods at its warehouse, pausing new shipments of nonessential items like furniture and toys. The news lit up Facebook and Telegram groups where third-party Amazon businesses convene to share news and tips on how to make it on the competitive selling platform.

Sellers were caught off guard without an immediate strategy to survive, said Chris McCabe, a third-party Amazon seller consultant and former Amazon employee. Sellers can lose tens of thousands in sales over just a few days out of business.

People were calling me trying to figure out how to preserve their business with no end date in sight," McCabe said.

More than half  58 percent  of the marketplace is made up of third-party sellers, many of whom are small businesses, according to the companys 2018 annual report.

Amazon told NBC News that it is working to help our selling partners during this challenging time and evaluating several ideas to mitigate the impact of different demand patterns we are seeing in light of COVID-19, it added.

Getting cut off from the companys logistics is like a death knell for third-party businesses. Sellers have a better chance of winning a customers sale if they leverage Amazon's storage and delivery for their goods  a cost that amounts to about half of their sales along with advertising. This gives Amazon enormous power to levy a kind of tax on their trade because they have no alternative, said Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the nonprofit organization Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Amazon is skimming off a growing share of the revenue and, in many cases, revenue that it didn't earn just because its this powerful gatekeeper and everyone has to pay the toll, she said.

This relationship between Amazon and its third-party sellers has drawn comparisons to the railroad monopolies of the late 19th century, said Sam Miller, an adjunct professor at UC Hastings Law in San Francisco and a former attorney with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

At that time, American farmers, businessmen and consumers were shut out of transporting goods across rail lines because railroad companies privileged their own cars over others and charged exorbitant rates for competitors. Such power amounted to an economic and social threat because a single company could decide who succeeded in business and who failed, according to Miller.

Amazons business model has largely eluded any antitrust claims because it has driven prices down  a net good for the consumers, said Lina Khan, an academic fellow at Columbia Law School and critic of Amazon, in a 2017 Yale Law Journal article.

Image: An Amazon worker delivers packages (Kevin Mohatt / Reuters)

But even with its contributions to the pandemic in hiring 175,000 people and providing much-needed products, Amazon does not get off scott-free when it comes to questions about its size and power. Instead, the pandemic has only highlighted this.

Amazons marketplace in particular has come under intense scrutiny this last week after the Wall Street Journal reported that employees have routinely analyzed sellers financial details to glean information on how to make Amazons own products more competitive. Amazon said it is opening an internal investigation.

Critics, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, have accused Amazon of taking inadequate measures to protect warehouse workers from the coronavirus. Workers at Amazon and its Whole Foods Market subsidiary are expected to stage a national walkout to protest what they say is the companys prioritization of profit over safety. Congressional lawmakers are investigating Amazon and other tech companies over anticompetitive behavior, including its alleged competition with third-party sellers.

Absent government intervention, theyre definitely going to be in a more dominant position, said Shaoul Sussman, a legal fellow with the Institute of Local Self-Reliance. Brick and mortar has been pummeled by this outbreak and we don't know in what form they'll re-emerge  who is going to make cuts? I doubt itll be Amazon.
We visited ISU for a second time, right before the campus closed in March, and Ian decided that was where he wanted to go next fall, so we sent in our deposit, said Filby, whose son attends Conant High School in Hoffman Estates. "Now, if it turns out theres going to be only e-learning at ISU in the fall, well have to talk about it, as maybe Harper (community college) makes more sense for his freshman year.
It is not a very fun time to be a runner in Brooklyn, where I live. This is best evidenced by a sign thats been going around Twitter that reads, in part: DEAR JOGGER, PUT ON A FUCKING MASK. (The sign also manages to get an unfounded dig in at millennials.)

Similar anti-runner sentiments abound on social networks like Next Door, and even in real life interactions. I have seen posts from runners who have been yelled at and from people who have done the yelling themselves. Before you yell at me: I do wear a mask when I run, pretty consistently. But I really dont want to. In fact, I fucking hate it. I also dont think its necessary!

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Whether running with a mask helps stop the spread of the coronavirus is questionable at best. Evidence in favor of widespread mask use by civilians (runners or no) is already limited, though if youre in a crowded space like a grocery store, it seems like wearing one could help, a little. Outdoor transmission, one expert told my colleague Henry Grabar, is possible but improbable. In particular, when you run, you dont get that close to other people, and most importantly, you dont stay close to people for that long. Its really prolonged close contact that spreads the virus, as Saskia Popescu, infectious disease epidemiologist, explained to me in an interview last month. Running is the opposite of prolonged close contact. The opportunities for your germs to get on other people are vanishingly small. (And no, youre not leaving a stream of germs in your wake, that study was bullshit.)

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And yet, the social imperative is: mask up, even while running. As a Wall Street Journal article titled Should you wear a mask when exercising outdoors? concludes, though theres no scientific reason to wear a mask while runningand in fact, breathing heavily into one might lead to increased nasal mucus productionthere sure are social reasons to do so. Its an act of solidarity and courtesy, letting everyone know you are trying to be respectful, smart and safe, an emergency medicine doctor told the Journal. (The article also notes that some states now require masks. Gov. Cuomo mandated mid-April that all New York residents wear masks, but this is only when you cannot or are not maintaining social distancing.)

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Given the lack of good evidence behind runners wearing masks, I can only conclude that people are using runners as scapegoats for the genuine (and understandable) anxiety they feel about going outside right now. It is nerve-wracking living in a city with other humans and their germs! It feels good to take those nerves out on someone. Weve reached the irritation phase of this pandemic, wrote Kelli Maria Korducki in a recent piece for Medium, which I related to highly. I have felt irritated at all manner of small inconsequential things and actions and people in the past few weeks. Its hard to sit with the irritation of a life-altering ongoing national meltdown, and also work with your community to manage it. Much easier to blame someone else for fucking up a rule!

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But for runners, the cost of following this unscientific social rule of constant masking is kind of high! Having a piece of fabric over your face makes it difficult to do the biologically necessary action of breathing heavily during a cardio workout. It feels a bit like suffocating, in fact. It is especially bad when youre going up a hill, doing a tempo run or speed workout. But it is also bad and difficult: all of the time. Things are only going to get worse as temperatures rise and we head into a sweaty, masked summer.

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So far, the way people are dealing with this discomfortbased on an anecdotal survey of myself, colleagues, people I see on the street, a doctor in the WSJ articleis by pulling the mask up when near people, and then back down again when out of sight. This violates whatever point of mask wearing there was, boiling it down into a performative exercise that is almost certainly not protective and possibly even worse than going barefaced. You are touching whatever germs were contained by the mask, and risk transferring them onto, say, the doorknob of your apartment building when you let yourself back in.

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The best thing to do is run at times when there are not many people out: morning, night, cool rainy days (I did go mask-less on one of these recently, it was glorious). Another good thing to do is work hard to maintain the recommended six feet between you and other people, which might mean jumping to the other edge of the sidewalk sometimes (not into the streetthe last thing we need is more car injuries). In an ideal world, non-runners on Brooklyn sidewalks would simply also make efforts to distance as we pass them. But what we should not do is continue to allow non-runners to complain and yell at us about a thing that is scientifically fine. Maybe youve encountered a few asshole runners, but most people are trying to be respectful, smart, and safe right now. Runners shouldnt have to convey that by pushing our respiratory systems to the brink of death-by-fabric.

For more on the impact of the coronavirus, listen to What Next.
The many instances of maintaining social-distancing is the most significant challenge when running operations during COVID-19, said Newmont's CEO, Tom Palmer, during an interview with Kitco yesterday.

Speaking from his home in Perth, Australia, Palmer said his company is reducing the number of people to just the essential number of workers required to keep the mine and processing plants running.

Palmer said the company, the world's largest gold miner with about 29,000 employees, has to work through the logistics of getting employees to and from their worksites while maintaining safe social distancing.

"It's around separation on buses, separation on airplanes, separation in dining rooms. You have to maintain that six-feet distance," said Palmer.

Newmont has pared back personnel at its operations to whoever is essential. Newmont now has 5,000 employees offsite, and Palmer said his company is sourcing technology to support staff working remotely.

Newmont has five operations that moved into care and maintenance during March and April after governments around the world passed COVID-19 restrictions. Some restrictions have lifted, such as Newmont's Cerro Negro in Argentina.

"Our big, world-class assets are still performing well," said Palmer.

Still, Palmer estimates the company is currently running at 75% production capacity. Newmont's Penasquito in Mexico remains shut. Palmer said he has enlisted the support of various stakeholders, including the U.S. government, to find protocols that will allow the mine to open.

"We're taking a very conservative approach, ensuring we've got the health and safety of our workforce, along with local communities, front and center. We are ensuring that we're going through the appropriate engagement with all of the key stakeholders before we bring these operations up," said Palmer.

Palmer lauded the Australian government for its speed in handling the COVID-19 crisis.

"The mining industry worked very well early-on in the process to develop a set of protocols to allow mines to continue operating in Australia," said Palmer.

Regarding the industry's overall gold production and how that might impact the supply picture, Palmer expects just some short-term choppiness and disruptions. The bigger driver will be uncertainty.

"Gold was sitting at the $1,400-$1,500 price range before the pandemic came along, and now we're seeing global economic uncertainty plus the level of fiscal and monetary stimulus taking place. It's really pushing gold firmly into the $1,700 range, if not higher," said Palmer.

Regarding starting mines again, Palmer said his company applied lessons from past mines that were suddenly thrown into care and maintenance. There are a number of protocols to follow, such as turning over the engines on the haul trucks occasionally, to make mine site ready to commence operations.

He said getting a mine up and running again "should be a matter of weeks."
(Alliance News) - First Property Group PLC on Wednesday said it has entered into a new lease with Teconnex Ltd in respect of 6,300 square metres in the warehouse it owns in Tureni, Romania.

The property fund manager and investor said the building is now fully leased and should yield a net operating income of EUR250,000 in the year to the end of March 2021, up from EUR170,000 in its recently ended financial year.

The rent-free period granted to the tenant expires in the current financial year, following which the net operating income should rise to EUR330,000 per annum, First Property noted.

"Teconnex's decision to increase its commitment validates our view that the warehouse is a well located, first class property. We are very pleased to strengthen and extend our long-term partnership with a world class company like Teconnex at our warehouse in Tureni," said First Property Chief Executive Ben Habib.

AIM-listed First Property shares closed flat in London on Friday at 36.50 pence each.

By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has warned oil and gas companies against sacking their workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The union asked firms not to exploit the current situation to declare unnecessary redundancies and unfair labour practices on the workers who are already emotionally and psychologically traumatised.

In a May day message signed by its national president, Williams Akporeha, and its general secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the union said the offer of the Department of Petroleum Resources had brought a deep sense of relief and hope.

To avoid stoppage of operations and unnecessary loss of jobs by workers, the DPR offered to support the operations of oil companies during the period.

The fear of how the workers are going to fare against the unknown enemy and the current economic hardships are already creating social upheavals to such an extent that any further loss of jobs in our industry would achieve nothing but complications and aggravation of an already bad situation, the union said.

This is the time we should all come together to develop ways and means to save the human race from the pandemic rather than being preoccupied with issues of pecuniary gains.

We earnestly demand mutual sacrifices and cooperation so that we can collectively defeat COVID-19 and the associated hunger in the land for a better tomorrow, it said.

Also, speaking on the International Workers Memorial Workers Day, the union said: The unfortunate situation has regrettably deprived working-class people the usual unique atmosphere and opportunity to engage in the traditional parades, speech-making, rallies, merriments, funfair and other activities that are associated with this special moment on yearly basis.

The union, however, commended all those working on the frontline against coronavirus.

We salute the indomitable and patriotic fighting spirit of oil and gas workers, medical workers, law enforcement agents, market men/women, farmers, journalists, drivers and other essential services workers for their invaluable services to the nation.

The union urged the federal government and other levels of governments to deepen the spread and expand the quantity of the palliative measures/ materials among the indigents and most vulnerable segments of the society.

This, it said will not only ease their pains, discomfort and hardship but will keep relative respite and peace in the society.
India: Christians struggle to survive amid COVID-19 lockdown

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In India, the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown that followed has presented thousands of house church pastors and persecuted Christians with severe challenges.

Persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reports that amid the countrys nationwide lockdown  which Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended until May 3  pastors have been unable to gather their congregations for worship. As a result, already-struggling church leaders haven't been able to collect support for their families or ministries.

My rations will run out in three or four days, said pastor Radhe Kishan, a church planter who lives with his wife and 11-month-old daughter in a rented house in a rural village located in the Shahajanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

About a week ago, a church member gave me five kilos of wheat flour and some lentils, pastor Kishan told ICC. We are surviving on that, and it might go for another four days. We have no choice except to trust in God for our food and needs. I am trusting God for His provision.

Before the pandemic, pastor Kishan visited between four and five villages each week and would share the Gospel with an average of 35 people. I feel sad that I am unable to meet people to share the Gospel, he said. I am also not allowed to do outreach work or to lead worship services. That was a part of my normal routine.

Another house church pastor from Karnataka told ICC that because he is a Christian, he is not eligible to receive the rations provided by the government.

The moment I embraced the Christian faith, I lost my eligibility to receive the benefits that the government provides to the poor. It used to be difficult to survive only on the offerings collected on Sunday. Now that the church is completely shut down, I dont have an income to feed my family, he said.

To help persecuted Christians affected by the government's lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, ICC has launched a campaign to provide critical food aid to vulnerable communities, including church planters.

More than 70% of rural church planters are facing a huge challenge, the Rev. Prabhu Das, director of Seva Bharat, told ICC. The majority of these pastors are living in difficult conditions as they do not have an income whatsoever while the churches are closed. They are forced to stay inside their homes, despite not having access to basic needs. These people desperately need food, healthcare, and moral support.



As of Tuesday, India had reported 31,360 coronavirus cases and 1,008 deaths, or about 0.76 deaths per million.

Christian support organization Open Doors USA estimates that the lives of thousands  if not millions  of persecuted Christians are at risk due to the lockdown, which requires all Indians to shelter-in-homes unless acquiring food or medicine.

Shalom, one of Open Doors partners on the ground, told the organization that Jia, a local church pastor, told him he personally knows at least 20 to 30 pastors who are starving because of the lockdown.

In cooperation with local churches, Open Doors has launched an initiative to reach persecuted Christians in India who are starving and have less access to healthcare, medicines, and community services because of these measures against coronavirus.

However, Open Doors warns that amid the pandemic, Christians face more opposition than ever from their communities because of their faith. According to the organization, numerous reports have surfaced of Christians being falsely accused, threatened and attacked in recent weeks.

There are many [Christians in India] who are [able] to use online streaming of worship, sermons and prayers, but the majority of the Christians in the rural areas are facing threats and persecution amid the lockdown, a local partner told the organization.

We are receiving news of persecution incidents from many areas, even in this situation where people have been ordered to stay inside their homes. In fact, we believe that during this phase of lockdown, Christians are suffering even more than before, since most of them have to now combat economic problems as well as the opposition and hatred from the community.

Another pastor, Pastor Mallesh, told ICC that Christians are also facing increased pressure from Hindu radicals during the time of lockdown.

The radicals are looking for an opportunity to inform the authorities that I have violated the lockdown and falsely accuse me of opening the church," he said.

Another local Christian expressed fear that Hindu extremists might use this time to pressure Christians to become Hindus to help solve their financial woes, adding, The current crisis makes the Indian church more vulnerable to these tactics.

Open Doors, which ranks India at No.10 on its 2020 World Watch List of countries where it's most difficult to be a Christian, warns that many incidents of persecution are likely going unnoticed due to the lockdown and poor connectivity.

The group encourages Christians worldwide to pray that God will protect His people in India; that Christians will be able to be salt and light, even in places where they are persecuted; that believers will have opportunities to pray and read the Bible without being harassed or abused, and that God will provide for His people who are starving and in need of financial help.
In April, one in every five smartphones sold were 5G-capable. That was primarily driven by the adoption of the Galaxy S20 smartphones. However, the 5G adoption rate jumping to 20% is rather surprising, where the economy is essentially crashing due to the Coronavirus.

Samsungs decision to only sell 5G versions of the Galaxy S20 in the US, has made the adoption rate jump much higher in the US compared to China. Even though there are only about 10 5G models sold in the US, and there are 29 in China.

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Around March 7, you can see that the number of 5G smartphones sold in the US jumped pretty dramatically. From around 2% of sales to over 25% of sales. Then it dropped a bit leading into April.

This means that there are many people not buying flagship smartphones though

Since it is only one in every five smartphones sold that are 5G devices, that means that about 80% of the country are either not buying flagships, or not buying flagships from 2020. Since all of the flagships so far, launched in 2020 have been 5G-only. That really only includes the Galaxy S20 series, OnePlus 8 series and the LG V60 ThinQ.

Though, this shouldnt be a surprise. Flagships arent the biggest market for smartphones in the US, even though that is what everyone focuses on. Many in the US are just looking for a smartphone that is somewhat cheap and can get the job done. So devices like Samsungs Galaxy A series, and the LG Stylo series do really well actually. And none of those  through April  have 5G support. Samsung does have a couple Galaxy A devices that will do 5G, but they arent yet available.

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This is happening, despite the economy crashing

The economy is currently crashing, due to this pandemic. With over 30 million Americans out of work right now, the stock market has tumbled quite a bit. And many people are tightening their belt. Because they simply dont know when they are going to be getting back to work and able to pay their bills.

So its rather surprising to see this many 5G devices being sold. Seeing as 5G smartphones do cost a fair amount more than non-5G smartphones. After all, 5G is the reason why the OnePlus 8 Pro starts at $899, and not about $200 cheaper.

This is pretty surprising, but a good thing for the future of 5G. However, smartphone makers are still forced to make a separate variant for Verizon right now since it is the only one doing mmWave for 5G and not Sub-6.
CHICAGO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Savory Ingredients Market by Type ((Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extracts, HVPs, HAPs, Nucleotides, and Other Types), Form (Powder, Liquid, and Others), Origin (Natural and Synthetic), Application (Food and Feed), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Savory Ingredients Market is estimated to be valued at USD 7.2 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 9.3 billion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 5.2%.

Request for PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=193325783

The yeast extracts segment is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period

Based on type, the savory ingredients market is segmented into monosodium glutamate (MSG), yeast extracts, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins (HVPs), hydrolyzed animal proteins (HAPs), nucleotides, and other types. The yeast extracts segment is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Yeast extracts are majorly used in the production of bakery & confectionery products in the food industry. Being natural savory ingredients and a rich source of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, yeast extracts make a perfect ingredient for bakery food products. The segment also accounted for a significant share in the savory ingredients market.

The synthetic segment is expected to hold a major share of the savory ingredients market during the forecast period

Based on origin, the savory ingredients market is segmented into synthetic and natural. The synthetic segment is estimated to account for a larger share in the savory ingredients market because of its low cost and high usage in the food industry. The most commonly used synthetic savory ingredient, monosodium glutamate (MSG), finds wide applications in savory foods, soups, sauces, and other processed food products. Also, the extraction process of synthetic savory ingredients is easier and cheap as compared to natural savory ingredients. Thus, the demand for synthetic savory ingredients is high in the savory ingredients market.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Savory Ingredients Market"

121 - Tables

46 - Figures

165 - Pages

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https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=193325783

The Asia Pacific region is projected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period

The Asia Pacific savory ingredients market is projected to have the fastest growth potential in the coming years. The large consumer market and increasing disposable incomes in India and China drive the demand for convenience & packed food products with enhanced savory flavors. Also, China and Japan are manufacturing hub for savory ingredients and have sufficient manufacturing plants to meet the demand for processed food products with blends of savory flavors. Rapid urbanization in countries such as India and China are expected to lead to the high growth of the savory ingredients market in Southeast Asia during the forecast period.

This report includes a study of the marketing and development strategies, along with the product portfolios of the leading companies. It consists of the profiles of leading companies such as Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Japan), Koninklijke DSM N.V. (Netherlands), Kerry Group PLC (Ireland), Tate & Lyle PLC (UK), Angel Yeast Co., Ltd. (China), Givaudan (Switzerland), Lesaffre Group (France), ADM (US), Cargill (US), Sensient Technologies Corporation (US), ABF Ingredients (OHLY) (Germany), Vinayak Ingredients India Pvt Ltd. (India), Vedan International (Holdings) Limited (Hong Kong), Symrise (Germany), and Synergy Flavors (US).

Related Reports:

Flavor Enhancers Market by Type (Acidulants, Glutamates, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Proteins, Yeast Extracts), Application (Processed & Convenience Foods, Beverages, Meat & Fish Products), Form, Source, & Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/flavor-enhancer-market-92036677.html

Browse Adjacent Markets: F & B Ingredients Market Research Reports & Consulting

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Ben Kadirov bought an investment property in East Brunswick in February.

Hes been planning to rent it out.

But an apparent scammer put a dent in his plans, at least for the short-term.

Kadirov said he got a call from his real estate agent on April 21 asking if he was having work done on the driveway. She drove by and saw men working there.

But Kadirov hadnt hired anyone. He went to the house, but the contractors were gone.

Kadirov said he thought perhaps the workers made a mistake and did work at the wrong house.

I questioned some neighbors and they informed me of the company name that was on one of the trucks, he said.

It was Elite Paving of New Brunswick.

I got in contact with that company and they told me that they were hired to do that job but they never met with a customer or got the contract signed by the customer, he said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

Thats what happened, documents and text messages show.

Elite shared with NJ Advance Media a long text conversation in which the person, who identified himself as Smith and claimed to be the homeowner, ordered the $6,700 job.

I would have loved to meet you at the property but right now basically I work with the US Cargo & Courier Service as a Marine Engineer and presently Im in the North Atlantic Ocean so I want the driveway done before moving in to the house, the apparent scammer wrote. Thats why I contact you through text.

The texter said he would mail the check to the company that day.

The guy got my number off of Google ads, said Jerry Moore, the foreman for Elite. People call every day and we give free estimates and we get paid when the job is complete. There is no deposit. Thats the company policy.

Moore said he didnt report this to police, saying he just wants to fix the driveway and put this behind him.

But Kadirov, the homeowner, wanted to find out what happened. He said he called and texted the number, and he actually got a call back. He said his assistant answered the phone and the caller, who he said started asking questions.

He was like Can you tell me the address? Can you tell me the company name? he said. We were scared to give him the information.

Kadirov said he doesnt have any enemies that he knows of.

This is crazy. I was shocked, he said. I feel bad for (the contractor). I dont know who set him up.

NJ Advance Media called and texted the number used to place the driveway order, but no one responded, and the number couldnt be tracked in public records. Its unclear who would benefit if this was actually a scam.

Elites foreman said the company would rebuild the driveway at no cost to the homeowner, but the company is out about $2,800.

Were not a million dollar company, Moore said. I have a wife and kids to feed, too.

Stay safe, Jersey.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

NJ Advance Media Research Editor Vinessa Erminio contributed to this report.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com.
Lebanon will seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help deal with its economic crisis, the government announced today.

In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Hassan Diab outlined several economic reforms passed by the government. He said Lebanon would seek more $10 billion in loans from the IMF.

The plan seeks to address many of Lebanons economic woes, and envisions economic growth by 2022. It also stipulates reforms for Lebanons electricity sector, which takes $2 billion from the state budget each year and leaves much of the country without electricity for several hours a day. It also includes progressive taxation and stabilizing the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound, which has plummeted in value vis-a-vis the US dollar, according to The Daily Star.

In his remarks, Diab also said the states financial and banking sectors would be reorganized in order to fight corruption.

The country's problem lies in the fact that corruption is a state within a state, said Diab, according to the Lebanese outlet Naharnet.

In October, massive protests began in Lebanon that were largely focused on poor economic conditions. Protests largely subsided in March amid a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Demonstrations have now resumed, though, as many people lost their livelihoods during the lockdown  weakening an already fledgling economy. Indicative of the economic nature of the unrest, several Lebanese banks have been attacked recently. The Lebanese pound used to have an official pegged rate to the dollar, but this rate is now only available for some imports, according to Reuters.

Whether the IMF will support Lebanon, and how much such support there would be, is yet to be determined.

If we get (IMF support), and God willing we will, it will help us to pass through this difficult economic phase, which could be three, four or five years, Diab told reporters after the Cabinet session, according to Reuters. The amount is up to negotiations.
Mercy Medical Center on Thursday defended to state regulators its plan to permanently close 50 adult and 24 child and youth inpatient psychiatric beds at Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke.

The closure  first announced in February  would take force by June 30, eliminating the only inpatient psychiatric beds for children and teens in central or Western Massachusetts. About 200 employees will lose their jobs out of a total workforce of 466.

Thursdays hearing was held so the state Department of Public Healths Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification could gather facts. A decision on whether the beds are an essential service wont come for up to 15 days. If the state deems the inpatient beds essential, Mercy and parent company Trinity Health of New England will have a chance to come up with their own plan to address those concerns and then get permission to close.

Local advocates, unions and lawmakers said during the hearing that patients  especially children  need to be cared for in their community and that no one should be closing a hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.

One mother, Nicole Desnoyers, said she spent weeks trying to get an inpatient bed for her 9-year-old son so he could get the best treatment close to home. To send my child to another facility completely out of our region ... its just ridiculous, she said.

Deborah Bitsoli, president of Mercy Medical Center, said the decision to close was not taken lightly, but the hospital simply cannot hire enough psychiatrists to staff the facility properly. She said the hospitals existing psychiatrists all plan to leave this summer and Mercy cant replace them.

"Our patients are our top priority," she said.

Donna Stern, a registered nurse at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and member of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, was having none of it.

Trinity should be ashamed of themselves, Stern said. They should be ashamed. This is about money.

Advocates, including the nurses union, said Providence psychiatrists only decided to leave after the closure was announced.

Bitsoli said reimbursement levels dont cover the cost of psychiatric care and new standards for physical surroundings are difficult to meet at an aging facility like Providence Hospital.

Dr. Robert Roose, chief medical officer and regional chief of addiction medicine and recovery services at Mercy, said the psychiatrist shortage makes it impossible to deliver care safely and effectively. He said there have been recruitment efforts, but Mercy cannot hire or find psychiatrists to work on a temporary basis.

Roose said its harder to staff a freestanding facility because psychiatrists need to be on site 24/7. At a psychiatric hospital embedded in a hospital, other doctors can back up psychiatrists if needed.

Mercy said Providence is licensed for 74 inpatient psychiatry beds, but the hospital has regularly operated at fewer than 60 beds over the past two years due to the psychiatrist shortage.

Roose said Mercy will continue to provide behavioral health care by coordinating with other neighboring hospitals. He mentioned two in Connecticut that are part of Trinity Health: Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford and Johnson Memorial in Stafford Springs.

State Rep. Aaron Vega, D-Holyoke, called the idea of sending people to Hartford a slap in the face.

The simple idea that you want to send people to Hartford, a half hour to an hour away, is unbelievable, he said.

Vega also said the first any local lawmakers were told about the inability to recruit psychiatrists was when Mercy announced plans to close the beds at Providence.

We could have been collaborating on a solution to this, Vega said.

Both Vega and Stern asked the state to stop the closing process until after the COVID-19 crisis. Vega pointed out that the state of emergency meant that Holyoke didnt even get a proper face-to-face hearing. Thursdays event was on the phone only.

Written comments on the closing may be submitted through Friday to the Department of Public Health, Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification, Attn: Closure Coordinator, 67 Forest St., Marlborough, MA 01752, or by email to HFLLicenseAction@MassMail.State.MA.US.

A coalition of unions representing health care workers at Providence and elsewhere, patient advocates and political groups including Western Mass. Medicare for All, wrote a letter opposing the closure.

Right now, we need to maximize capacity in emergency departments and other hospitals units because of the COVID-19 pandemic, not decrease services, the letter reads. No hospital should be allowed to close services while receiving enhanced federal and state funding. No healthcare system should be closing mental health beds when our communities face a mental health and public health crisis.

Dr. Barry Sarvet, chair of psychiatry for Baystate Health, said he respects Providence autonomy in making its own decisions, but called the decision to close the psychiatric beds disappointing.

We need more beds, not less, Sarvet said in an interview prior to the hearing. So the closure of Providence ... is pretty concerning for us. We still have patients that get stuck in the emergency room.

Baystate has temporarily closed 15 to 20 of its 100 psychiatric beds due to COVID-19. Some beds must be empty to allow for social distancing, Sarvet said.

We just need beds, he said. The expectation is that patients are going to be sent far and wide. Way out of area, which is going to be a hardship.

Baystate Health and nearby Holyoke Medical Center are planning their own psychiatric hospitals, but both are years away. There is no plan to take up the slack in the meantime, Sarvet said.

He said he understands Providence contention that it cannot hire psychiatrists.

There is a national shortage, he said. But that said, its not impossible to do so. Its just hard.

Baystate has its own residency program for training psychiatrists, Sarvet said, and in July it will start a fellowship program in adolescent and child psychiatry.

Substance use disorder services will continue at Providence Hospital, including its acute treatment service, clinical stabilization service (otherwise known as post-detoxification) and outpatient substance use disorder services such as the methadone clinic there.

Mercy also wants to close a separate methadone clinic in Springfield that serves approximately 600 patients.

Mercys national parent company Trinity Health, based in Michigan, has annual operating revenues of $19.3 billion and assets of $27 billion. It had more than $650 million in offshore accounts as of fiscal 2017, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S. and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said Thursday that governors should be given a little wiggle room when reopening their states but recommended they dont wiggle too much.

The news comes as dozens of states - including Maine, Georgia and others - are working to reopen their economies and planning to lift some social distancing guidelines to do so. Fauci, during CNNs coronavirus global town hall, said some states are taking a bit of a chance."

President Donald Trump too has noted that while he wants states to start jumpstarting their economies, Georgia is moving too fast. Trump added that he "disagreed strongly with the states governor in his decision to reopen several non-essential businesses.

The discretion is given to the governors. They know their states. The mayors know their cities, so you want to give them a little wiggle room," Fauci told CNN. But my recommendation is, you know, dont wiggle too much. Try as best as you can to abide by the guidelines that were very well thought out and very well delineated.

Earlier this week, Trump issued new guidelines on COVID-19 testing and businesses operations as part of the White Houses wider plan to begin reopening the nation and focus the country on recovering from the economic fallout of the pandemic.

The three-part reopening plan keeps many social distancing guidelines in place, urging vulnerable individuals to continue to stay at home while recommending that the general public avoid socializing in groups of more than 10 people at first and minimize non-essential travel.

The White House encouraged businesses to continue telework whenever possible and return to work in phases. The Trump administration also noted that visits to senior living facilities and hospitals should still be prohibited.

During his appearance on CNN, Fauci stressed the importance of the federal governments guidelines and expressed concern about states or communities who may be going about the reopening process too quickly.

The concern that I have is that there are some states, some cities, or what have you, who are looking at that and kind of leapfrogging over the first checkpoint, he told CNN. Obviously, you could get away with that, but you are making a really significant risk.

Uncertainty remains about what a reopening process would look like in Massachusetts, which has been one of the states hardest hit by the ongoing public health crisis.

Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this week extended the states stay-at-home advisory until May 18, and he suspended in-person school programming through the end of the academic year.

The governor has also set up a 17-member advisory board made up of elected officials, public health experts and business leaders to draft a coronavirus reopening plan for the commonwealth in the next three weeks.

This is a phased opening. Its not going to be everybody all at once," Baker said.

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Bill de Blasio was hankering for a scapegoat. The need was entirely understandable.

On the mayors watch, New York City has more than 162,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 17,000 deaths  the most of any American city by far. Subway cars have turned into homeless encampments; nursing homes have become charnel houses. There is a hospital in the East Meadow of Central Park, and mass graves are being filled on a small island off the coast of the Bronx. Just yesterday came the news that dozens of bodies were rotting in two trucks outside a funeral home in Brooklyn, discovered only when neighbors complained of the stench.

The coronavirus is a stealthy killer, and all the qualities that make New York the greatest city in the world also put it at greatest risk for this virus: We live cheek by jowl; we cram ourselves into little boxes to go to work and to dinner; we welcome millions of tourists from all over the globe. We were going to be vulnerable no matter who was in charge.

But at every turn, with his reverse Midas touch, Mayor de Blasio has done precisely the wrong thing, making a fool of himself as he plunged the eight million people under his care into greater danger.

On March 2, as the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, was telling people in her city to prepare for possible disruption by getting essential medicines and figuring out child care in the event of school closures, our mayor took to Twitter to encourage New Yorkers to go on with your lives + get out on the town despite Coronavirus. He suggested we head over to Lincoln Center to see a film called The Traitor.
This article intends to inquire into whether aforementioned statements are consistent with the reiterated claims by WHO officials who have been interviewed by the media that WTO cannot tell countries what to do.





by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

Writing from Montreal





We dont know what sort of damage this virus could do if it were to spread in a country with a weaker health system. We must act now to help countries prepare for that possibility.

- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization, 20 January 2020





The World Health Organization (WHO) says in its website that it works worldwide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable. Our goal is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and well-being.













This article intends to inquire into whether aforementioned statements are consistent with the reiterated claims by WHO officials who have been interviewed by the media that WTO cannot tell countries what to do. If WTO cannot tell countries (or advise them) what to do, how does it propose to help countries as claimed by the WHO Director General, or promote health and keep the world safe and help the vulnerable?. Rather, it would be correct to say that WHO cannot force countries to do what they should be doing. This is all the more evident in the further claim by WHO in its website that it focuses inter alia on primary health care and assists countries with their health issues.





To place this issue in perspective, one has to go into the meaning and purpose of the United Nations of which WHO is a specialized agency. The United Nations Charter states in Article 1 inter alia that its objective is to achieve international cooperation by solving international problems of a social, economic, cultural and humanitarian nature. Embodied in this objective is the 3rd Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations of global health which primarily involves WHO.





Article 57 of the Charter of the United Nations establishes specialized agencies of the UN by stating that the various specialized agencies, established by intergovernmental agreement and having wide international responsibilities, as defined in their basic instruments, in economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related fields, must be brought into relationship with the United Nations in accordance with the provisions of Article 63. Article 63 provides that he Economic and Social Council may enter into agreements with any of the agencies referred to in Article 57, defining the terms on which the agency concerned must be brought into relationship with the United Nations. Such agreements must be subject to approval by the General Assembly. It may co-ordinate the activities of the specialized agencies through consultation with and recommendations to such agencies and through recommendations to the General Assembly and to the Members of the United Nations.





The operative words of Article 57 of the Charter are and having wide international responsibilities, as defined in their basic instruments This brings to bear the need to inquire as to what the international responsibilities of WHO are. The Constitution of WHO defines the Organization inter alia as "the directing and coordinating authority on international health work." Some other responsibilities of WHO as identified in Article 2 of the WHO Constitution that are relevant to Covid-19 are: to establish and maintain effective collaboration with the United Nations, specialized agencies, governmental health administrations, professional groups and such other organizations as may be deemed appropriate; to assist Governments, upon request, in strengthening health services; to furnish appropriate technical assistance and, in emergencies, necessary aid upon the request or acceptance of Governments; to provide or assist in providing, upon the request of the United Nations, health services and facilities to special groups, such as the peoples of trust territories; to establish and maintain such administrative and technical services as may be required, including epidemiological and statistical services; to stimulate and advance work to eradicate epidemic, endemic and other diseases;) to promote, in co-operation with other specialized agencies where necessary, the prevention of accidental injuries; to promote, in co-operation with other specialized agencies where necessary, the improvement of nutrition, housing, sanitation, recreation, economic or working conditions and other aspects of environmental hygiene; to promote co-operation among scientific and professional groups which contribute to the advancement of health; to propose conventions, agreements and regulations, and make recommendations with respect to international health matters and to provide information, counsel and assistance in the field of health;





The last two responsibilities would intrinsically and inextricably involve telling States what they should be doing, although admittedly they do not carry a mandate to order .or force States to take any measures.





It must be noted that WHO has played an invaluable and much appreciated role in public health. Encyclopedia.com says:  WHO has played a very pivotal role in setting health policies, as well as providing technical cooperation to its member states. Life expectancy rose from 48 years in 1955 to 69 years in1985. During the same period, the infant mortality rate fell from 148 per 1000 live births to below 59 per 1000. Population growth has been slowed dramatically in many of the most populous countries. Smallpox, the ancient scourge, has disappeared. Other successes include the control of lice-borne typhus and yaws. Polio and guinea worms are on the verge of total elimination. A number of other communicable and tropical diseases, including onchocerciasis and schistosomiasis, are in retreat.





The question therefore is: did WHO meet its responsibilities as per The UN Charter and its Constitution in the context of the Covid-19 spread? Did it tell States what they should be doing? For one, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020. It then updated operational planning guidelines in balancing the demands of responding directly to COVID-19 while maintaining essential health service delivery and mitigating the risk of system collapse. Then, WHO's online learning platform, OpenWHO, offered free COVID-19 training from WHO experts in 17 languages. WHO also issued guidelines to on countries that they should identify essential services that will be prioritized in their efforts to maintain continuity of service delivery and make strategic shifts to ensure that increasingly limited resources provide maximum benefit for the population. They also need to comply with the highest standard in precautions, especially in hygiene practices, and the provision of adequate supplies including personal protective equipment This requires robust planning and coordinated actions between governments and health facilities and their managers.





These are only some of the many things WHO did in guiding countries through the pandemic. WHO even collaborated with other Organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Telecommunications Union in helping countries address the thread of the pernicious Covid-19 pandemic.





So WHO should not say it cannot tell countries what they should be doing. That seems to be the only slip up.





The author is a former senior official of the International Civil Aviation Organization
New Delhi: The railways will charge state governments for ferrying people stranded due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown in its 'Shramik Special' trains, according to an order issued on Friday.

The fare would include cost of sleeper class ticket, superfast charge of Rs 30 and Rs 20 for meals and water per passenger.

After more than a month of suspension of services, the railways on Friday, which is also International Labour Day, announced six "Shramik Special" trains for migrant workers, students and others who were stranded due to the lockdown.

The first such service was run with 1,200 passengers from Hyderabad to Jharkhand at 4:50 am on Friday.

The other five which are scheduled to run include -- Nasik to Lucknow (at 9:30 pm), Aluva to Bhubaneswar (6 pm), Nasik to Bhopal (8 pm), Jaipur to Patna and Kota to Hatia (9 pm).

Each train is expected to carry 1,000-1,200 passengers.

"Passengers need not buy anything from the railways. State governments will coordinate and pay on their behalf," the railways said.

Thousands of migrants were stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk home hundreds of kilometres away.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave permission to the railways to run special trains for migrants and those stranded in different parts of the country.

States like Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana have requested special trains to ferry migrant workers back to their home states.

"As per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it has been decided to run 'Shramik Special' trains from 'Labour Day' today to move migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places due to the lockdown.

"These special trains will be run from point to point on the request of both the state governments concerned as per the standard protocols for sending and receiving such stranded persons. The railways and state governments shall appoint senior officials as nodal officers for coordination and a smooth operation of these 'Shramik Specials'," the national transporter said.

Officials said that a list of hundreds of such services have been planned by zonal railways over the coming days.

The railways also clarified that that these are special trains planned for nominated people identified and registered by state governments.

"No one under any circumstance should come to Railway station looking for trains. We will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any group or individual. We will allow only those passengers to board whom state govt officials will bring to Railway Stations.

"State government is the final authority to decide that who will travel in our trains," a railways spokesperson said.
Senior Liberals are urging NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance to enter the race for the key federal seat of Eden-Monaro this weekend in what they see as the best chance of victory for the Morrison government.

Mr Constance has told colleagues he would like to "have a crack" at winning the seat but is taking this weekend to consider whether to give up his state ministry and make the move to federal politics.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance is being urged to run in the federal seat of Eden-Monaro. Credit:AAP

With NSW Deputy Premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro also considering his options this weekend, the two state ministers are circling each other to see who declares his intentions first.

Mr Constance has indicated he may not stand if Mr Barilaro enters the race, while Mr Barilaro has made it clear he will not contest if Mr Constance runs.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, has handed-over some protective equipment to the Ghana Police Service (GPS), under its Programme to Build and Strengthen the Police Structures in selected partner countries in Africa.



At a brief handing-over ceremony, officials of GIZ, led by Mr. Philipp Kauke, an attache at the Political and Protocol Section, the German Embassy, handed over 2,000 protective goggles, 10,000 boot covers, and 95 knapsack sprayers to a team of the Police Management Board Members.



The equipment would help the Police officers to protect themselves and citizens at police stations, quarantine stations, and national borders from COVID-19.



The GIZ is implementing the regional programme on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office.



Mr Kauke said: Aligned to the Ghana Police Service Transformation Programme, our Police Programme strengthens Ghanas Police in their reform initiatives to improve training capacities, establish functioning and known accountability measures, and further implement their community policing approach to contribute to human safety and security.



However, at the onset of COVID-19, it is important for us to support the Government of Ghana through our partners, the Ghana Police Service, in their preventive measures against the pandemic.



Commissioner of Police Nathan Kofi Boakye, Director-General for Research and Planning, GPS, who led the Management team, expressed gratitude to the German Embassy and GIZ, for the laudable assistance.



By having these protective equipment, which will be distributed to police divisions, police officers can also render their services from safe working environments for citizens and themselves, by regularly fumigating Police Stations, including the cells,  he said.



Commissioned by the German Government, GIZ is supporting the police services in nine African countries, at the G5-Sahel Secretariat, and the African Union. They include: Benin, Cote dIvoire, The Gambia, Cameroon, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal.



The programme is expected to contribute to the promotion of peace and stability, the prevention of conflicts and security threats, and the improvement of human security.



It would also support the other relevant actors in the security sector by providing expert advice, training and capacity development, strengthening of management capacities and providing essential equipment, among others.



The programme, which has been implemented since 2008, was recently extended to Ghana, under which the GPS and GIZ would cooperate on reforms in training systems, accountability, and community policing.



The jointly developed measures would be implemented until the end of 2022.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Muhammad Babandede, the comptroller general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), says applicants whose passports have been proces...





Muhammad Babandede, the comptroller general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), says applicants whose passports have been processed would be notified using text messages.





In a statement on Thursday, Sunday James, NIS public relations officer, said the development is in line with the federal government directive on partially lifting the COVID-19 lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states from May 4, 2020.





From May 4 to May 15, there will be a collection of cleared passports at the service headquarters in Abuja and all the passport offices nationwide. Unless the states that are experiencing complete lockdown in view of their peculiar situation and the state governments position on COVID-19, the statement quoted Babandede to have said.





Only applicants invited by SMS through their mobile phones are expected to turn up on the scheduled dates.

On May 18, there shall be gradual enrolment for only enhanced passports at the following locations that issue it: Immigration service headquarters, Abuja; Ikoyi, Alausa, Kano main passport office and Port Harcourt.





On May 25, all passport offices nationwide are to operate gradual processing and enrollment with strict compliance with social distancing, wearing of facemasks and use of hand sanitizers.





Babandede assured that the entire processes would comply with guidelines announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on easing the lockdown.





He said all services at diplomatic and consular missions will be based on the individual country situation.





The immigration service had temporarily suspended the processing of passports due to the coronavirus outbreak, then later extended the temporary suspension from April 23, 2020, to May 23, 2020.




United Nations, May 2 : UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhamad-Bande is holding consultations on two possible ways of holding the elections for the non-permanent Security Council seats, one of which is assured for India, if the COVID-19 lockdown continues, according to his Spokesperson Reem Abaza.

Muhamad-Bande has circulated the proposals from UN Secretariat for holding the elections due next month and held a virtual meeting on Thursday with leaders of the UN regional groups and officials.

Abaza said on Friday that Movses Abelian, the Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, made a presentation on the possible options for elections.

She said that the options were being examined in case the shutdown of the UN headquarters because of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging New York continues next month and in-person meetings remain suspended.

A decision on June meetings and they are to be held was expected soon, she said.

The non-permanent seats are allocated on a regional basis and India has the unanimous support from the countries in the Asia Pacific region for the group's seat that will fall vacant when Indonesia completes its two-year term at the end of this year.

China and Pakistan went along with the consensus because of the overwhelming support for India.

This ensures India's election but the formality of a voting in which all countries vote has to be gone through.

One of the proposals calls for in-person voting with representative coming in batches during prearranged time slots in order to maintain social distancing and voting with paper ballots under the supervision of Secretariat staff.

Another is through online voting, which the Secretariat is looking into.

Under this system, designated members of delegations will get a password by email or text message and will be able to vote through the system known as e-deleGATE portal.

Unlike votes on resolutions, which are held openly, the elections to the Security Council, the International Court of Justice and the Economic and Social Council are by secret ballot.

Therefore, the proposal says, "All ballots will be automatically anonymised throughout the voting and counting process." General Assembly members will have to agree to the election procedure.

For resolutions, the General Assembly has adopted a silent voting method.

Resolutions or other decisions up for vote are circulated by the president and countries have a 72-hour window to register their objection and the matter is considered adopted if no one responds.

But this method gives every country a potential veto because even one objection can derail a resolution.

When elected, India will join Vietnam that was elected last year on the Security Council as a non-permanent member from the Asia Pacific region.

Mexico is running uncontested for the Latin America and Caribbean region's seat.

Kenya and Djibouti are facing off for the Africa seat, while Canada, Ireland and Norway are competing for the two seats for the Western European and Other countries.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Friday that "where we stand now means not everyone can return to work as they did before the corona crisis."



The Scandinavian country has slowly reopened by allowing some classes to return to school and hairdressers, physiotherapists and tattoo parlors, among others, as well as courts of law to reopen.

Frederiksen, a Social Democrat, said details of phase two of the reopening of Denmark would be announced just before May 10.

In neighbouring Norway, Jonas Gahr Stoere, head of Norway's Labour Party which is the opposition, said in a May Day speech that instead of gathering in the squares around the country and proudly parade with flags and band music, many of us will sit in front of a screen and follow the May 1 events online.

Gahr Stoere said we are in the midst of a crisis that is hitting hard and wide.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Foreign minister S Jaishankar and civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri wished the people of Gujarat on Gujarat Day today. May 1 is celebrated as Gujarat Day because on this day, Gujarat was carved out of Bombay state in 1960.

Greetings to the hardworking & illustrious people of Gujarat on the occasion of Gujarat Day. There is no doubt that the proud people of the state will continue to do the nation proud in India & around the world, Puri said on Twitter.

Greetings to the hardworking & illustrious people of Gujarat on the occasion of Gujarat Day.

There is no doubt that the proud people of the state will continue to do the nation proud in India & around the world. pic.twitter.com/GuEJCiEQoo  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 1, 2020

Best wishes to people of Gujarat on Gujarat Day. I feel proud to represent this lively state in Parliament, Jaishankar tweeted in Gujarati. Jaishankar is a member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.

        .



         .  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 1, 2020

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too wished the state on its foundation day. On the foundation day of Gujarat greetings and congratulations to everyone, he said on Twitter.

On the eve of the states 60th foundation day, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday expressed confidence that the state will come out of the Covid-19 crisis.

He asked every citizen to take a pledge on the foundation day that they will wear masks, practice social distancing and wash hands regularly to keep the coronavirus infection at bay.

At the time of formation of Gujarat, everybody was sceptical about the future of the new state which had desert, a large seashore and faced deficient rains. However, due to hard work of many leaders and people in the last 60 years we have been able to establish the state as number one in the country in many fields, Rupani said in his message.

These are unprecedented times. On the eve of 60th foundation day of the state I urge all Gujaratis to come together and make the state win against coronavirus, he said.

Rupani called upon people to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

Gujarat, with 4,395 cases and 214 deaths, is the second worst-affected state due to Covid-19 in the country after Maharashtra.
Tectonic activity has been discovered on the moon

Tectonic activity has been detected on the moon by researchers who have discovered a system of moving ridges topped with boulders on its near side.

"There's this assumption that the moon is long dead, but we keep finding that that's not the case," said Professor Peter Schultz at Rhode Island's Brown University.

"It appears that the moon may still be creaking and cracking - potentially in the present day - and we can see the evidence on these ridges," explained Professor Schultz who co-authored a study published in the journal Geology.

The strange bare spots suggest an active tectonic process. Pic: NASA

The majority of the moon's surface is covered by something called regolith, the powdery dust of rocks created by constant meteorite impacts.

Because the moon has no atmosphere to speak of, rocks and orbiting debris crash right into its surface and blow apart.

There are very few spaces on the lunar surface which aren't covered by regolith - but some seemingly new spots have recently been discovered.

Adomas Valantinas, a graduate student at the University of Bern who was a visiting scholar at Brown, used data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to spot these strange bare spots.

"Exposed blocks on the surface have a relatively short lifetime because the regolith buildup is happening constantly," Mr Schultz said.

"So when we see them, there needs to be some explanation for how and why they were exposed in certain locations."

"Just as concrete-covered cities on Earth retain more heat than the countryside, exposed bedrock and blocky surfaces on the moon stays warmer through the lunar night than regolith-covered surfaces," the researchers said.

So using a tool on the LRO to measure the surface's temperature, Mr Valantinas was able to discover more than 500 patches of exposed bedrock on narrow ridges following a pattern across the nearside of the moon.

Such ridges had been discovered before, but they were on the edges of very ancient lava-filled impact basins and could be explained by continued sagging in response to weight caused by the lava fill.

Story continues

The new study found that these ridges are actually related to a mysterious system of tectonic features - ridges and faults - unrelated to the lava-filled basins.

"The distribution that we found here begs for a different explanation," Professor Schultz said.

Mapping out all of these exposed ridges, Mr Valantinas and Prof Schultz discovered an interesting correlation between them and a previous NASA mission.

Back in 2014, NASA's GRAIL mission discovered a network of ancient cracks in the moon's crust, which became channels for magma from the moon's core to flow to the surface.

Regolith is powdery dust covering the moon's surface

This network lined up almost perfectly with the blocky ridges.

"It's almost a one-to-one correlation," Prof Schultz said. "That makes us think that what we're seeing is an ongoing process driven by things happening in the moon's interior."

So the ridges, according to these scientists, are ancient magma flows which are still heaving upwards - breaking the surface and draining the regolith into cracks and voids, leaving the blocks exposed.

"Because bare spots on the moon get covered over fairly quickly, this cracking must be quite recent, possibly even ongoing today," they say.

But what is causing this? According to the scientists, the tectonic movements may actually have begun billions of years ago with a giant impact on the far side of the moon.

Professor Schultz had previously proposed such an impact had formed the 1500-mile South Pole Aitken Basin, and shattered the interior on the opposite side of the moon - the side facing the Earth.

Magma from the core then filled these cracks and controlled the pattern detected in the GRAIL mission. The blocky ridges comprising this network now trace the continuing adjustments along these ancient weaknesses.

"This looks like the ridges responded to something that happened 4.3 billion years ago," Prof Schultz said. "Giant impacts have long lasting effects.

"The moon has a long memory. What we're seeing on the surface today is testimony to its long memory and secrets it still holds."
As Ireland enters a crucial phase in the fight against the virus, the three principal response agencies that make up the North East Regional Steering Group (An Garda Siochana, the HSE and the Local Authorities) have thanked people for their work on stopping the spread of Covid-19.

Ahead of the May Bank Holiday weekend, representatives of, An Garda Siochana, the HSE and Louth County Council are appealing to everyone in Co. Louth to continue their impressive efforts.

In an effort to deter people from travelling more than two kilometres, local authorities have closed car parks at many amenities and attractions. Joan Martin, Chief Executive of Louth County Council has urged people not to allow everyones hard work to be undermined and to #Stay Safe and, where possible, #Stay at Home.

Joe Ruane, HSE Midland Louth Meath Community Healthcare has acknowledged that the collective actions of communities in the region are clearly making a difference but it is crucial that everyone keeps up those efforts:

We know its hard, especially in terms of being apart from families and friends but it is helping to protect and keep our communities - especially vulnerable people and healthcare workers - safe. I want to particularly appeal to young people - we in the healthcare community need you to keep that effort going for another while.

Christy Mangan, Garda Chief Superintendent for the Louth area, highlights that there will be a very visible Garda presence across the county of Louth, this weekend:

Our members will operate an extensive network of checkpoints across both counties this weekend, checking public compliance with the travel restrictions in place as part of Covid-19 public health guidelines. There has been very good compliance with the travel restrictions and we want to thank the public for this. However, it is vital that this continues over the coming days and weeks. It will save lives. In particular, we would ask people who are thinking of travelling to parks, tourist locations or holiday homes outside of the two kilometre limit this weekend not to do so. If you are stopped at a checkpoint, you will be turned back.

The North East / Midlands Regional Steering Group urges everyone to please play their part and #Stay Safe, # Stop the Spread this May Bank Holiday weekend.
The United States is pushing ahead with a scheme to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran that is due to be lifted in October as part of the nuclear deal that Washington abandoned two years ago.

To force the extension, Washington will attempt to lobby the Security Council to continue the arms embargo, which bars weapons sales to or from Iran.

But it also is making what legal experts and diplomats describe as a convoluted argument that it is still part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it left, and hence able to use one of its provisions to snapback the embargo.

The administrations plan is to claim it is still part of the Security Council resolution that enshrined the nuclear deal in international law even though Mr Trump trashed the agreement, meant to curtail Tehrans atomic technology programme, as the worst deal in history.

The plan was first reported by The New York Times earlier this week.

We are one of the participants, and the participants have the right to invoke snapback in a way that will prevent this expiration of the arms sales, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday.

Many diplomats worry about the ultimate goal of the push. Iran already sells and buys weapons through intermediaries and on the black market. Europeans will never sell it weapons, for fear of invoking other US sanctions, and both China and Russia have rarely sold Iran any advanced weaponry.

But diplomats and scholars fear that the Trump administrations latest gambit is a move by hardline Washington fixtures aimed at delivering a lasting blow to any prospects for a future deal with Iran, as well as part and parcel of far-right efforts to damage international multilateral institutions.

The administration is trying to force everyones hand by creating yet another crisis that they hope this time would bring down the JCPOA for good, said Ali Vaez, of the International Crisis Group, a conflict-resolution advocacy organisation.

Iran, which has severely downgraded its adherence to provisions of the nuclear deal in response to crippling US sanctions, has vowed that any reimposition of international sanctions would prompt it to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and potentially open the door for it to pursue nuclear weapons.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been warning for months about the October removal of the arms embargo. The administration's plan to attempt to bend the Security Council over Iran was only formally rolled out this week, announced in a series of interviews and briefings Thursday night it has been in the works for as many nine months, say diplomats.

The push coincides with US-friendly Estonia taking the helm of the Security Council for a month, giving Washington the ability to squeeze a weak, militarily dependent NATO ally into introducing any measures it likes.

China and Russia have already vowed to use any means to block the US plan. Frances Emmannuel Macron has been working behind the scenes to sabotage the Trump scheme because of what it sees as an attempt by the White House to destroy international legal norms, said a well-placed European diplomat.

Senior European diplomats have scoffed at the US gambit. The US has not participated in any meetings of activities within the framework of this agreement since then, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borell told Radio Free Europe on Thursday. So it's quite clear for us that the US is no longer a participating member in this agreement.

Complicating matters for the administration, not only has it renounced the 2015 deal, but its own point person on Iran policy has repeatedly said it was up to European signatories to the nuclear deal with Tehran to snapback any of its provisions.

Were no longer in the deal and so the parties that are still in the deal will have to make their decisions with respect to using or not using the dispute resolution mechanism, Brian Hook told reporters last year.

The anti-Iran hawk reiterated in January that the snapback of United Nations sanctions on Iran removed as part of the 2015 nuclear deal was a decision to be made by the UK, France, and Germany.

What makes their legal argument much more difficult is that you have had officials coming out on the record saying we have no rights or obligations under the JCPOA including the UN snapback is no longer in their remit, said Ellie Geranmayeh, of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Theyre doing a complete U-turn.

Diplomats and specialists say it illustrates the disarray and incompetence of the Trump team, who have been egged by a clique of hawkish Washington insiders seemingly determined to exert maximum pressure on Iran as a way to settle scores with Tehran as well as rival foreign policy architects in the Democratic Partys camp.

Had Mr Trump remained in the deal and agitated against Iran from within it, Washington might have been in a stronger position to pursue its hawkish aims, many have argued.

The international prohibition on weapons going to/from Iran ends in October, US Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter. To extend this arms embargo, the Trump administration is suddenly arguing that the US is a party to the same Iran Deal it abandoned. That makes no sense. Make up your mind.

Mr Pompeo responded by accusing Ms Warren of favouring the sale of Chinese tanks to Iran.

Despite scoffing at the administrations scheme, some diplomats and scholars suggested the move could push the Security Council into uncharted terrain, and that Trumps team could exert pressure and threats on enough Security Council members to push for an extension of the arms embargo, although the current composition of the body has only four or five surefire pro-Washington votes.

At the end of the day its not a legal issue; its a political issue, said Mr Vaez, The odds of being able to snap back sanctions are higher than its failure.

Still, the EU members on the Security Council, which include permanent members UK and France, as well as Germany and Belgium, will do what they know best: absolutely nothing, and delay any consideration of the move in the hopes they can ride out the Trump administration if it loses office in November.

The US wont go into this blind. Theyll use pressure and threats, said the well-placed EU official. I wouldnt understand why any country would seriously engage with the US before November. I would want to wait and see the outcome of the elections.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has today cut up to 3,000 jobs but vowed to refund 25 million out-of-pocket customers - as Heathrow sees a 97 per cent drop in travellers in the last month.

The airline said a stringent restructuring programme will begin in July, with some 3,000 pilot and cabin jobs under threat.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning, under-fire Ryanair Chief executive Michael O'Leary said his stricken airline was facing a backlog of 25 million customer refunds.

O'Leary, whose 3million salary was slashed by 50 per cent for April and May, has agreed to extend the pay cut for the remainder of the financial year, to March 2021.

The CEO, who is worth an estimated 3.8 billion, vowed to give all passengers their money back, but warned it could take 'many months'.

The budget airline added that flights will remain grounded until 'at least July' and passenger numbers will not return to 2019 levels 'until summer 2022 at the earliest'.

Unpaid leave and pay could also be slashed by up to 20 per cent, as well as the closure of aircraft bases across Europe.

The airline industry is facing dire financial problems after passenger numbers plummeted due to travel restrictions imposed amid the ongoing pandemic.

The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow last month was down by around 97% compared with April 2019, the airport has announced.

The company also said it would operate less than 1 per cent of its scheduled flights to the end of June. Despite most flights being grounded the budget airline are still operating limited services out of Dublin, London, Manchester, Bristol, Cork and Glasgow.

This is part of a wider agreement with European governments to keep flight links open for emergency reasons.

Ryanair's fleet has been grounded since March and will remain so until 'at least July', confirmed CEO Michael O'Leary today

The airline announced the planned job cuts as it revealed it expects to operate under 1% of its schedule between April and June. Pictured, A Ryanair departures board in terminal one at Dublin airport today

Heathrow recorded an 18.3% year-on-year decline in demand to 14.6 million passengers between January and March, while earnings before tax and interest fell by 22.4% to 315 million.

It comes as the airport's chief executive John Holland-Kaye warned that introducing social distancing at airports is 'physically impossible'.

HEATHROW RECORDS 97% DROP IN PASSENGER NUMBERS IN APRIL The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow last month was down by around 97% compared with April 2019, the airport has announced. It expects passenger demand will 'remain weak' until governments around the world 'deem it safe to lift travel restrictions'. Heathrow recorded an 18.3% year-on-year decline in demand to 14.6 million passengers between January and March, while earnings before tax and interest fell by 22.4% to 315 million. The airport insisted its financial position is 'robust', with 3.2 billion in liquidity, which is 'sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers'. It is calling for the UK to lead the way in developing a common international standard for safe air travel. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: 'Heathrow is proud to serve Britain by remaining open for repatriating UK citizens and critical supplies of PPE (personal protective equipment). 'When we have beaten this virus, we will need to get Britain flying again so that the economy can recover as fast as possible. 'That is why we are calling on the UK Government to take a lead in setting a common international standard for safe air travel.' Advertisement

He said a 'better solution' is needed to make air travel safe as he called for the UK to lead the way in developing a common international standard of measures which could include temperature checks for all passengers.

Yesterday it was revealed British Airways plans to cut the jobs of a quarter of its pilots, could abandon Gatwick Airport and cut the remaining flights at Heathrow.

Mr O'Leary told Radio 4 he was forced to compete 'with other airlines who are getting unfair help from other governments.'

He added: 'We are reducing staffing by about 15%, mostly pilots and cabin crew  that's the minimum we think we need to survive the next 12 months and the remaining pilots, cabin crew and members of our team will face pay cuts of up to 20%.

'The challenge for us is that while we believe well be back flying in July, most of the summer season has gone. We'll be flying at very low fares because we'll be competing with large airlines like Lufthansa, Air France and Alitalia who have either been nationalised or received 10 and 12 billions of state aid and will be able to engage in low cost selling for the next three-five years.

'The UK government has already said it won't be providing state aid. The challenge we face is in the continent of Europe where the French, Air France, Lufthansa who are subsidy junkies, are running around Europe hoovering up state aid on top of payroll support schemes.

'We support transparent non-discriminatory supports like the payroll support scheme.

'We ask the question though, why does Lufthansa need 12billion on top of that payroll support scheme when they're not even flying at the moment?'

He said Ryanair has been grounded for three months from April, May and June, and will carry less than 150,000 passengers over those three months when it expected to carry more than 40million.

He added: 'For the next three-five years we'll be facing unfair competition competing with legacy airlines in Europe who are receiving massive government help when we won't receive any.'

State Aid payments RyanAir boss Michael O'Leary claims are paid to rival airlines Company Subsidy Lufthansa Group 12.4 billion plus AF-KLM Group 10.1 billion plus TUI Group  1.8 billion plus Alitalia  1.7 billion plus SAS  0.8 billion plus Finnair  0.7 billion plus Norwegian  0.3 billion plus

CEO Michael O'Leary has agreed to extend this 50% pay cut for the remainder of the financial year to March 2021

He also hit back when asked about customers feeling 'cheated' because they are receiving vouchers instead of cash refunds.

He said: 'We will give you your money back, if you want a cash refund, you will receive one. In a normal month we will process 10,000 cash refunds but currently we're facing a backlog of 25million refunds. Which are not Ryanair's fault, it was caused by the government grounding Ryanair's fleet.

Heathrow boss warns social distancing in airports is 'physically impossible' Introducing social distancing at airports is 'physically impossible', the boss of Heathrow has warned. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said a 'better solution' is needed to make air travel safe as he called for the UK to lead the way in developing a common international standard of measures which could include temperature checks for all passengers. He said: 'Social distancing does not work in any form of public transport let alone aviation. 'The constraint is not about how many people you can fit on a plane, it will be how many people you can get through an airport safely. 'If you've ever been on holiday from Gatwick, you cannot imagine going through there and socially distancing in the summer. 'It's just physically impossible to socially distance with any volume of passengers in an airport.' Advertisement

'Our staffing is reduced to 25% of normal levels because of social distancing.

'It will take us many months to process these refunds, but nobody will not get a cash refund.'

Ryanair said in a statement this morning: 'As a direct result of the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, the grounding of all flights from mid-March until at least July, and the distorted state aid landscape in Europe, Ryanair now expects the recovery of passenger demand and pricing (to 2019 levels) will take at least two years, until summer 2022 at the earliest.

'The Ryanair Airlines will shortly notify their trade unions about its restructuring and job loss programme, which will commence from July 2020.'

Mr O'Leary, worked as a financial adviser to the founder of the airline, Tony Ryan, before joining in 1988 as deputy chief executive. He became CEO in 1994 and has courted controversy with some of his views.

He once said: 'The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them.'

Mr O'Leary also believes travel agents deserve the same treatment, saying once: 'Screw the travel agents.

'Take the f***ers out and shoot them. What have they done for passengers over the years?'

Coronavirus information at a Ryanair check in desk in terminal one at Dublin Airport

British Airways planes seen parked up on March 31 at Gatwick airport

He famously proposed coin-operated toilets on flights and dressed up as the pope to launch Ryanair's new route from Dublin to Rome.

Will air travel get more expensive? According to analysis by US-based Dollar Flight Club, we can expect lower airfare prices in the short term, before prices rise dramatically by 2025. Through to 2021, the flight deals service found there would be a 35 per cent decrease in prices on average, as airlines desperately attempt to draw customers back in. But over the next four years, prices would then rise by over a quarter above pre-crisis levels as demand outstrips a significantly reduced supply. The data indicates more severe drops and subsequent price hikes than were experienced either during 9/11 or from the financial crash. 'Passengers in smaller or short-haul markets can expect significant cuts in scheduled air service as airlines downsize operations,' read the report. 'This will make it significantly more expensive and harder for these passengers to travel. In these markets, we can expect train and bus travel to see significant growth.' The club found that over the next year, customers could get a roundtrip from Los Angeles to London for $329, or a roundtrip from New York to Amsterdam for $278. Advertisement

He once addressed Ryanair customers asking for their money back with: 'You're not getting a refund so f**k off. We don't want to hear your sob stories. What part of 'no refund' don't you understand?'

He married Anita Farrell in September 2003, and they have four children

This comes as British Airways plans to cut the jobs of a quarter of its pilots and could abandon Gatwick Airport altogether in a bid for post-coronavirus survival.

The news was revealed yesterday in a memo, written by the head of BA's Gatwick operation and seen by BBC News.

On Tuesday, owners IAG announced some 12,000 redundancies - after it furloughed more than half of its 45,000 workers.

Under the plan, BA would cut 1,130 captain and co-pilot jobs from its headcount of 4,346, the IAG-owned airline's head of flight operations told the BALPA union in the letter.

The letter, written on April 28, reads: 'In a short space of time the situation has significantly deteriorated.'

It adds that BA may yet be forced to suspend the few services still running from London Heathrow.

'There are no clear signs of improvement in air passenger demand,' it adds. Passenger numbers are expected to halve compared to 2019, with the likes of Flybe already going into administration before full lockdown measures were in place in Britain.

Early last month, Easyjet announced it was considering plans to keep middle seats empty on its planes when it restarts flights

In a letter written on April 28, British Airways CEO Alex Cruz said the airline was 'preparing for a new future'.

He wrote: 'Yesterday, British Airways flew just a handful of aircraft out of Heathrow. On a normal day we would fly more than 300.

'What we are facing as an airline, like so many other businesses up and down the country, is that there is no 'normal' any longer.'

His letter continued: 'There is no Government bailout standing by for BA and we cannot expect the taxpayer to offset salaries indefinitely.

How airlines bend the rules British Airways: The refund option has been removed from its website but the option to claim a voucher remains. The customer service line is frequently engaged or puts callers on hold for hours. Customers are being encouraged to apply for a voucher equal to the value of their flight but must pay more if it ends up being more expensive. BA says customers should call to rebook, refund or choose a voucher. Refunds can be requested up to 12 months after the original departure date. EasyJet: The refund option was taken off the website, but reinstated after customer complaints. The airline is trying to refund customers within 28 days, but admits it could take longer. A spokesman says: 'We assure customers these entitlements will be available long after their cancelled flight was due to fly.' Ryanair: Offered full reimbursement within 30 working days, then did a U-turn and is 'highly recommending' customers apply for a voucher instead. Says customers will be able to exchange vouchers for cash after a year. A spokesman says: 'Customers who choose a voucher but don't redeem it within 12 months may still apply for and obtain a refund. Customers who choose not to accept a free move or voucher will be refunded in due course, once this crisis is over.' Virgin Atlantic: Credit notes are being issued but can be rejected in favour of a full refund, with claims processed within 90 days. A spokesman says: 'The credit [equal to the value of the cancelled flight] can be used to rebook on alternative dates, allowing for a destination and name change, for travel until May 31, 2022. If the rebooked date is before November 30, 2020, we'll waive any fare difference.' Refunds will take longer than normal. Tui: Customers can choose a refund or credit note but can only apply for their money back once their refund credit has been received  up to four weeks after the departure date. A spokesman says requested refunds will take about four weeks. Jet2 is offering cash refunds but with delays because of an 'unprecedented' number of calls. Advertisement

'Any money we borrow now will only be short-term and will not address the longer-term challenges we will face.'

BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said: 'There has been no warning or consultation by Ryanair about the 3000 potential job losses and this is miserable news for pilots and staff who have taken pay cuts under the Government job retention scheme.

'Ryanair seems to have done a u-turn on its ability to weather the COVID storm.

'Aviation workers are now facing a tsunami of job losses. The U.K. Government has to stop daydreaming and keep to the promise made by the Chancellor on 17 March to help airlines or this industry, vital to the U.K. economy, will be devastated.'

Early last month, Easyjet announced it was considering plans to keep middle seats empty on its planes when it restarts flights.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said it was one of the options being considered to keep social distancing measures in place once travel restrictions are lifted.

Easyjet's Mr Lundgren said: 'Our assumption is that load factors will not be back to normal early on, which means that we will have the opportunity for a middle-seat option but I'm talking about this as an initial phase and nobody knows for how long that phase will be.'

He added: 'We're also looking at various disinfection programmes on the aircraft.'

Easyjet's entire fleet of planes has been grounded since 30 March and the majority of its 9,000-strong UK-based workforce have been furloughed until the end of May. A small number of staff remain working in 'central functions.'

Michael O'Leary, the boss of rival airline Ryanair, has always slammed the idea of keeping middle seats free on his fleet once flights resume, branding the idea 'hopelessly ineffective.'

While Whizz Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air said it will be resuming flights from London Luton today.

The flights will service airports in Spain, Portugal, Israel, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania and Hungary.

The airline is promising low fares to stimulate demand, however, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office still advises against all foreign non-essential travel.

Passengers won't be able to get refunds if they wish to cancel their flight, even if they know they won't be let into the country they are flying to.

Meanwhile German airline Lufthansa has become the first European airline to introduce compulsory facemasks for passengers.

The measures will be put in place later this week and passengers will be required to bring their own facemask with them.

It comes after three of the largest four U.S. airlines said Thursday they will require passengers to wear facial coverings on U.S. flights, joining JetBlue Airways Corp in taking the step to address the spread of the coronavirus and convince reluctant passengers to resume flying.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines Group Inc, along with the smaller Frontier Airlines, which is owned by private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC, announced they will require facial coverings next month.

Delta and United's new rules start May 4, while Frontier's start May 8 and American's requirements begin May 11. The policies exempt young children from wearing masks or other facial coverings.

Many U.S. airlines are also requiring pilots and flight attendants to use facial coverings while on board aircraft.

Delta said the airline will require face coverings 'starting in the check-in lobby' and at 'Delta Sky Clubs, boarding gate areas, jet bridges and on board the aircraft for the duration of the flight a except during meal service.'

Delta added their use 'is also strongly encouraged in high-traffic areas, including security lines and restrooms. People unable to keep a face covering in place, including children, are exempt.'

The high-rolling 3bn lifestyle of race horse-loving Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary behind budget airline famed for its no-frills service

Michael O'Leary, the outspoken boss of low-cost airline Ryanair, has been no stranger to controversy over the years and has an estimated fortune of 860million.

He was born on March 20, 1961, and was educated at Clongowes Wood College, in Country Kildare, before studying business and economics at Trinity College, in Dublin.

Mr O'Leary trained as a tax accountant before working as a financial adviser to the founder of the airline, Tony Ryan, before joining in 1988 as deputy chief executive.

Mr O'Leary married Anita Farrell in September 2003 (pictured) and the couple have four children

He became CEO in 1994 and has courted controversy with some of his views.

Mr O'Leary once said: 'The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them.'

Mr O'Leary also believes travel agents deserve the same treatment, saying once: 'Screw the travel agents.

'Take the f***ers out and shoot them. What have they done for passengers over the years?'

He famously proposed coin-operated toilets on flights and dressed up as the pope to launch Ryanair's new route from Dublin to Rome.

He once addressed Ryanair customers asking for their money back with: 'You're not getting a refund so f**k off. We don't want to hear your sob stories. What part of 'no refund' don't you understand?'

In his personal life he married Anita Farrell in September 2003, and the couple have four children.

They live in a Georgian mansion in Gigginstown House, near Delvin in County Westmeath.

The property is set in 100 acres of lush countryside and it was where Mr O'Leary married his wife, before whisking her off to their honeymoon in Mauritius.

He also owns a home in Dublin worth 16.5million and a 9million holiday home in Majorca.

Unlike many other wealthy individuals he is not known for spending money on life's luxuries such as fast cars or superyachts, but does have a love of horse-racing and is a seven-time champion owner.

Last year he made the announcement that he is to start winding down his Gigginstown Stud racing operation in Ireland.

O'Leary said: 'We wish to sincerely thank all our trainers and their teams for the enormous success we've enjoyed over the past decade, but as my children are growing into teenagers I am spending more and more of my time at their activities and I have less and less time for National Hunt racing, a situation that will continue for the foreseeable future.

'I hope that by running down our string over an extended four- or five-year period it will give our trainers ample time to replace our horses without disruption.'

Low cost airline Wizz Air will resume flights from Luton airport to Spain, Portugal and other destinations TODAY - even though some are to countries that won't let foreigners in

By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air said it will be resuming flights from London Luton today.

The flights will service airports in Spain, Portugal, Israel, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania and Hungary.

The airline is promising low fares to stimulate demand, however, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office still advises against all foreign non-essential travel.

Passengers won't be able to get refunds if they wish to cancel their flight, even if they know they won't be let into the country they are flying to.

Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air said it will resume flights from London Luton airport this morning after implementing new Covid-19 guidelines for staff and passengers

The airline's chief executive Jozsef Varadi, pictured, said he hoped to have 70 per cent of services back between July and August

The airline is planning to resume services to locations such as Tenerife, Lisbon, Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Israel

According to research produced by Bank of America, Wizz Air is currently sitting on massive cash reserves and could refund all passengers three times over.

Passengers on the resumed services will also be obliged to wear face masks and in-flight magazines will not be available.

Wizz Air's UK managing director Owain Jones said: 'As we restart selected Luton flights to provide an essential service to passengers who need to travel, our primary concern is the health, safety and well-being of our customers and crew.

'The protective measures that we are implementing will ensure the most sanitary conditions possible.

'We encourage our customers to watch our new video on how to stay safe when travelling, as well as for more details on our new health and safety measures.'

The airline is also preparing to resume flights to Italy - including the Covid-19 hotspot of Milan,

According to the company's chief executive Jozsef Varadi, the airline will run 10 per cent of its services during May and hopes to have 70 per cent of its jets in the air by August.

Mr Varadi told the Financial Times: 'While today looks like a huge concern, a life changing moment, in a year or two nobody remembers.'

He said: 'Whatever crisis we look back on in history, one conclusion you can certainly make is peoples' memories tend to be very short. While today looks like a huge concern, a life changing moment, in a year or two nobody remembers.'

A spokesperson for London Luton Airport told MailOnline: 'The safety of our passengers and staff is our number one priority and we continue to rigorously implement all Government guidance.

'This includes deep cleaning, the installation of sanitiser across the airport and floor markings to remind customers to maintain a safe distance, as well as segregating staff shift patterns where practical.

'Air links for both passengers and freight have been recognised as a key service and the Government has asked airports to remain open where possible, to ensure these services are not interrupted.

'The decision to operate individual flights is a matter for each airline and any passengers using these services will need to adhere to all restrictions imposed both in the UK and in the country of travel.'

However customers who have booked flights and holidays with various airlines are finding it incredibly difficult to secure cash refunds.

Tui, the UK's biggest tour operator, has extended the suspension of its holidays for the next six weeks.

The company said all trips would be cancelled up to and including June 11, and warned customers wanting cash refunds that its call centres are 'incredibly busy'.

It had previously suspended its operations up to May 14.

Tui also cancelled its Marella Cruises sailings up to the end of June, and postponed the launch of its river cruises until late November.

A total of nearly 900,000 people have had their holidays cancelled, a spokeswoman said.

The firm told affected customers that they will receive a refund credit for the full value of their holiday.

This can be used to book another trip taking place before the end of October 2021.

Package holiday customers will receive an additional credit worth up to 20 per cent of their booking.

Tui said customers who are 'unable to accept' a refund credit can apply for a cash refund, but warned that its call centre staff are 'incredibly busy' so waiting times are 'considerably longer than usual'.

Simon Cooper, founder and chief executive of rival travel agency On The Beach, told the PA news agency last week that failing to pay cash refunds is 'a bad idea for everyone concerned' as struggling companies will be forced to 'massively increase' their prices for next year's holidays to avoid bankruptcy.

UK laws state that full refunds should be given within 14 days for cancelled package holidays.

Consumer group Which? found that none of the UK's 10 biggest holiday companies or 10 most popular airlines are offering full refunds within the legal timeframe, and some are refusing to provide refunds altogether.

Many travel firms are suffering huge financial losses due to the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential international travel since March 17.

Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said Tui 'must ensure it is making the refund process as straightforward as possible'.

He added: 'The travel industry is under unprecedented strain, and the lack of action from the Government on measures to support operators to process refunds is unacceptable.'
A man was tortured to death by Myanmar soldiers after he was arrested at a security checkpoint as he traveled from a village in volatile Rakhine state to have his motorbike repaired, members of his family said Thursday.

Myanmar troops have set up the security checkpoints along main roads in townships in northern Rakhine where forces have engaged in fierce fighting with the rebel Arakan Army (AA) for 16 months. They often stop civilians and question them to determine if they have any connections to the AA, which is seeking greater autonomy for ethnic Rakhines in the state.

Zaw Gyi from Lakesinpyin village was killed on Wednesday evening by troops from Light Infantry Battalion No. 377 in the suburbs of Mrauk-U town, they said.

He went to town to get his motorbike repaired, said Than Myint Htay, Zaw Gyis brother-in-law. He was arrested at around 4 p.m. As soon as we heard that he had been arrested, we went to the soldiers, but they told me that he wasnt there.

On Thursday morning, his relatives were told to retrieve his corpse from a hospital where soldiers sent his badly bruised and injured body, they added.

Someone called and told us that he saw Zaw Gyi was taken by soldiers, said San Tun Phyu, the dead mans father-in-law.

We finally heard that his body was at the Mrauk-U mortuary, he said, adding that Zaw Gyi had no ties to the AA.

When anyone dies in military detention, they always say that that person had been arrested and interrogated because he had connections to the AA, San Tun Phyu said. The military always accuses people like this. Actually, he [Zaw Gyi] had no relations to the AA.

Kyaw Kyaw, chairman of the Mrauk-U Free Funeral Service Society, said that the towns police chief called him Thursday morning to notify him that someone had died at the battalions base and asked him to transport the body to the hospital.

We went to Battalion No. 377 and transported the body to Mrauk-U Hospital, he said. When we went to the battalion, no one told us anything.

A Mrauk-U resident who requested anonymity out of safety concerns told RFAs Myanmar Service that the body was wrapped in a blanket that when unfolded revealed a corpse that was disfigured from torture wounds.

Zaw Gyis relatives said they were allowed to take the body back to the village where they will hold a funeral on Friday.

Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said he did not know whether a man being held by the battalion was Zaw Gyi.

I know a man was under interrogation until last night because AA contacts and videos were found on his mobile phone, he said. I havent heard any update yet whether this man is dead or not. If this is the case, then we would order an inquest according to the law. If it is determined that he died during the interrogation, we will file legal action accordingly.

At least 15 civilians have died while being held by the military for interrogations, according to victims' families.

The latest torture death occurred on the same day the U.N.s outgoing envoy monitoring human rights in Myanmar called for an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the government army and its practice of targeting civilians.

While the world is occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Myanmar military continues to escalate its assault in Rakhine state, targeting the civilian population, said Yanghee Lee, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

The Tatmadaw [Myanmars military] is systematically violating the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and human rights. Its conduct against the civilian population of Rakhine and Chin states may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, said Lee, who has been blocked by the government from visiting Myanmar for more than two years.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Wth Haryana government sealing its borders with Delhi to contain COVID-19 spread, scores of people commuting to Gurugram were sent back on Friday by the state police, which only allowed passage of those associated with essential services.

The policeman manning the border at Sarhaul toll had a tough time handling the situation as motorists and people having jobs in Gurugram argued with them showing their passes.

While the Haryana government has said that people associated with essential services will be allowed to enter Gurugram, several people claimed that despite having passes, the police did not allow them to cross the border.

"I am a nursing staff in a hospital at IFFCO chowk in Gurugram but they are not allowing me to cross the border. Earlier, the police would see my identity card and let me through but now they are not," said Rahul Singh, a resident of Rajokri in Delhi, who was stopped at the Delhi-Gurugram border near Sarhaul.

Haryana's Home and Health minister Anil Vij had recently said borders of the state with Delhi have been "sealed" and stricter restrictions will be imposed on those coming in from the national capital while only those associated with essential services will be allowed to enter.

Haryana will be in a "comfortable position" as far as COVID-19 cases are concerned if the borders stay sealed for 15-20 days, Vij had said.

Another regular commuter from Delhi to Gurugram, Dipak Kumar, a hardware engineer with an internet service provider alleged his pass was not accepted by the police.

"I am waiting for more than hour but police are not letting me in. I have been using a pass provided to me by my company to go from Delhi to Gurugram but now they are not allowing me to enter, he said.

A Haryana Police officer at the border said entry of vehicles and others without proper passes has been stopped from 10 am on Friday till further orders.

"We are only following the Deputy Commissioner's order and only those associated with essentially services are being allowed," he said.

Deepak Kumar Kashyap, a marketing manager with a pharmaceutical company based in Gurugram argued with policemen showing his pass, at the border.

"After so much argument now they have relented and allowed me to go but they are warning that I will not be allowed to cross back to Delhi," Kashyap said.

The police officer said that only those carrying passes authorised by the Centre and Haryana government are allowed to cross the border. Ambulances, vehicles carrying vegetables, fruits, milk and other essential items are also allowed, he said.

Strict restrictions on other border points of Delhi adjoining Faridabad and Sonipat were imposed by the Haryana police personnel.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One of Londonderry's most flamboyant entertainers has helped hundreds of struggling families in the city thanks to a phenomenal response to his social media requests for donations.

Micky Doherty, a much-loved local hero, has a huge following on his social media pages, which he has used as a platform to raise thousands of pounds that he spent on food to feed families in the north west whose lives have been impacted by the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Doherty is so well-known, and has so many followers and friends on Facebook, that he was asked by a local politician if he would use his page for coronavirus updates.

Inundated with messages from distraught people who were finding it nearly impossible to make ends meet, Mr Doherty decided to dedicate the free time he unexpectedly found himself with to raising funds, and turned to the people of the city to help him.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Doherty said: "I was left with time on my hands because I couldn't take up my new job in Belfast because of the lockdown and so many people were sending me messages to say they were struggling.

"This was breaking my heart that people were contacting me, even in the middle of the night, crying, who had lost their job because of coronavirus and had no money and were at their wit's end.

"I was asked to use my Facebook page as a Covid-19 page, because I have 5,000 friends and 15,000 followers, by a local councillor so it would be used for getting information out.

"I did that and decided to use it to ask local people if they would donate a pound or two so I could get food to some of these struggling families, and it just grew from there.

"I go on the page every night and do my bit. Everybody knows me and it wasn't long before I was inundated with offers from people who wanted to donate money.

"The sad thing is, there are literally hundreds of people in Derry who need help so the money is being spent as fast as it comes in. It is overwhelming.

"I am running here, there and everywhere with hampers but a few local businesses have come on board and are helping me with deliveries, food donations and things like that. Everybody has been fed, no one has run out of food and those who need a few pounds for oil or gas has got it."

While Mr Doherty is hailed across Derry as a real local hero, he said helping people during this crisis brings him benefits, too.

He said: "I suffer from ADHD and this is good for my mental health, too, but I definitely would not consider myself a hero.

"I just like helping vulnerable people who are really, really stuck," he added.

"The Derry people are just amazing.

"I love them so much and they have been amazing. They know me and trust me and that is why this has worked so well. It is through them that I have been able to help so many others.

"This has affected hundreds of families but I think things will start to settle down soon because the Universal Credit payments will be coming through, but if I have to keep doing what I am doing until the lockdown is lifted then so be it."
LANSING, Mich.  A large group of demonstrators  many not wearing masks and some carrying rifles on their shoulders  crowded into the lobby outside the state House chambers Thursday, shouting to be allowed onto the House floor, during a protest at the Capitol against Michigan's state of emergency.

Michigan State Police troopers, wearing face masks, formed a line between the demonstrators and the entrance to the House floor, which is off-limits to the general public.

"Let us in," the protesters shouted, in some cases within a few inches of the police officers' faces.

At least one state senator expressed worry when she saw demonstrators shouting and carrying firearms in the public gallery.

"Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us," Democratic state Sen. Dayna Polehanki posted on Twitter, along with a photo. "Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today."

Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today. #mileg pic.twitter.com/voOZpPYWOs  Senator Dayna Polehanki (@SenPolehanki) April 30, 2020

Open carry of firearms is allowed both on Capitol grounds and inside the Capitol, said Lt. Brian Oleksyk of the Michigan State Police.

Theres always a risk, but we were prepared for it," he said. "People are allowed to exercise their right to freedom of speech and their right to open carry. We always kept an eye on it.

He said "people were just venting their frustrations in a loud manner" outside the House chamber, but "once they were able to do that ... people were pleasant and polite.

Story continues

Earlier, a few hundred demonstrators gathered under light rain outside the Capitol, urging lawmakers not to extend Michigan's state of emergency related to the coronavirus pandemic.

They carried signs that read "Impeach Whitmer," "You're Killing Small Businesses," and "Liberty or Death." Many also wore hats or carried other paraphernalia touting Republican President Donald Trump and his 2020 reelection campaign.

The demonstrators got their wish in that the Republican-controlled Legislature did not vote to extend Michigan's state of emergency, as requested by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. However, Whitmer says the state of emergency continues by executive order.

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A large number of vehicles blocked most of Allegan Avenue, which runs by the side of the Capitol.

There were also a few counterprotesters. One man drove a large truck by the Capitol, shouting: "Go home, rednecks  go home!" into a loudspeaker.

Overall, the rally was considerably smaller than an April 15 event that drew thousands to the Capitol to protest Whitmer's stay-at-home order, which is currently scheduled to run through May 15.

House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Republican, said every American has the right to protest and that is what happened Thursday. He said he was disappointed, though, that not all of the demonstrators observed social distancing guidelines and that a few apparently carried signs advocating violence.

One sign carried by a demonstrator said: "Tyrants get the rope."

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Democrat, said he could not "condone physical intimidation or causing chaos in the middle of a global pandemic.

The state of emergency should not be confused with the stay-at-home order, which shut down businesses not deemed essential and requires people to stay home except for essential purposes.

Whitmer said Wednesday that Michigan's stay-at-home order, and the willingness of the vast majority of Michiganders to follow it, has helped the state significantly flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections. But she warned that reopening the economy too quickly risks a second spike of infections that would be even more economically damaging than the first outbreak.

As of Thursday, more than 41,000 Michigan residents had tested positive for COVID-19 and close to 3,800 had died from the disease, according to state officials.

The Michigan State Police arrested one protester for assaulting another protester on the Capitol grounds early in the afternoon, Oleksyk said. Neither was injured, he said.

Dubbed the "American Patriot Rally," Thursday's demonstration brought together members of conservative groups, militias, proponents of open carry of firearms, people protesting abortion rights, and anti-vaccination protesters, plus many Michiganders who said they were not associated with any group but believe the stay-at-home order goes too far.

Angela Lowry

"I'm basically just for common sense,' said Angela Lowry, 24, of Waterford, who was wearing a cloth mask and carrying a sign that read, "Liberty or Death."

Lowry, an insurance specialist, said she was deemed an essential worker and has remained employed, but does not like the fact she has been unable to visit relatives, for example.

"I feel strongly about the Constitution," Lowry said. "It doesn't matter what is going on  we always have our liberties."

Lowry said she is not associated with any group, did not vote for Trump in 2016, and does not expect she will vote for him this year, either. "I'm liking Justin Amash," she said in reference to the west Michigan congressman who left the Republican Party and is exploring a presidential run, possibly with the Libertarian Party.

John Moehlman

John Moehlman of St. Clair, an insulation contractor, said he has lost work as a result of the stay-at-home order and Whitmer's Wednesday announcement that construction can resume May 7 will not rectify his problems with permits and other issues.

"This is flat-out tyranny," said Moehlman, who was not wearing a mask. "They're robbing our freedom right from under our eyes."

Moehlman said he will vote for Trump in 2020 and generally approves of the president's handling of the pandemic.

"He's going to allow these governors to hang themselves" by issuing overly restrictive stay-at-home orders, he said. "I think that was a smart move."

Tom Scillian

Tom Scillian, 59, of Utica, a member of the Michigan Liberty Militia, was guarding the steps that led to the podium in front of the Capitol and said he had been designated by organizers to provide security. He carried what he said was a loaded AR-15 rifle.

"Let everybody go to work," said Scillian, who cuts lawns for Huron-Clinton Metroparks and said he was called back to his job last week.

Contributing: Kara Berg, Lansing State Journal

Follow Paul Egan on Twitter: @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Coronavirus: Protesters urge end to Michigan state of emergency
Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos sued the president for defamation in New York after accusing Trump of forcibly kissing and groping her at the Beverly Hills Hotel in December 2007. Last year, New York-based writer E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the 1990s, saying that Trump  then a well-known real estate developer  attacked her inside a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, an upscale Manhattan department store. In January, she requested that Trump submit a DNA sample to determine whether his genetic material is on the black coat dress she said she was wearing during the alleged assault. Trump called Carroll a liar and said she was not his type.
China has used the COVID-19 pandemic to clean up and survey Mount Everest. (Picture: Getty)

Scientists from China are taking advantage of Mount Everest being closed to hikers to give the peak a spring clean.

The worlds highest peak is empty of commercial climbers after China and Nepal cancelled spring climbing on their sides of the mountain to limit the spread of coronavirus.

China has now sent scientists to carry out survey work and work is also underway to clear rubbish from the usually-busy mountain.

Cleaning up Mount Everest usually yields large amounts of rubbish. (Picture: Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The official Xinhua News Agency said a 53-member team from the Ministry of National Resources had been conducting preliminary scientific work since early March and survey work on the mountain is due to start this month.

It is not known when the team will reach the top of the mountain.

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Chinas network of Beidou satellites will be used in a survey to determine the mountains current height and natural resources, along with other domestically developed surveying technology, the agency reported.

The lack of climbers is also allowing authorities to collect rubbish from Everest and other popular climbing peaks.

Last year's Clean-up Campaign 2019 on Everest removed 24,000lbs of rubbish and four dead bodies. (Picture: Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Survey work will also measure snow depth, weather and wind speed to facilitate glacier monitoring and ecological protection, the Xinhua News Agency said.

The Peoples Republic of China has conducted six major surveys of the mountain locally known as Qomolangma, Xinhua said.

They have registered its height at 8,848.13 metres (29,029 feet) in 1975 and 8,844.43 metres (29,017 feet) in 2005.

Mount Everest was closed to commercial climbers in March in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus, as expedition teams travel to the region and live for weeks in tightly-packed camps at high altitudes with little access to emergency medical help.

Coronavirus: what happened today
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JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ASEAN member countries agreed seven cooperation efforts on tourism sector as a mitigation measure towards the tourism sector which is considered as the hardest sector hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vice Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Angela Tanoesoedibjo represented Indonesia on the tourism ministerial meeting of ASEAN countries entitled "Special Meeting of the ASEAN Tourism Ministers (M-ATM) on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)" on Wednesday night (29/4/2020).

The meeting resulted joint statement which containing seven points of agreement from all tourism ministers of the ASEAN countries to strengthen the tourism cooperation, one of the hardest hits of economic sectors in the pandemic.

The Minister of Tourism agrees to foster ASEAN coordination in accelerating the exchange of information about travel, especially one related to health standards and other measures needed by the ASEAN member countries in controlling the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak through the increased operation of the ASEAN Tourism Crisis Communication Team (ATCCT). Intensifying the collaboration of ASEAN National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) with other relevant sectors in ASEAN, especially in the sectors of health, information, transportation, immigration as well as ASEAN external partners, to collectively implement the comprehensive measures, transparent, and quick response in mitigating and reducing the impact of the COVID-29 and other crisis in the future. The tourism ministers also to enhance a closer cooperation in sharing information and best practices among ASEAN member countries as well as with ASEAN dialogue partners in supporting the tourism sector. The cooperation covers the implementation of policies and effective measures to increase the trust of domestic and international visitors to South East Asia , including the development of standards and guidelines in improving the security and health factors for protecting the employees and communities in hotel industry and others which is related to tourism. The tourism ministers also agree to support the development and implementation of crisis recovery plan post the COVID-19 as well as efforts on the promotion and marketing of joint tourism with the aim of advancing ASEAN as a single tourism destination. The tourism ministers agree to accelerate the implementation of micro and macro economy, provide technical support and financial stimulus, tax relief, capacity and skill improvement, especially on the digital skill of the stakeholders in tour and travel industry. Accelerate the cooperation with ASEAN dialogue partners, international organizations and relevant industries to build a strong and prepared Southeast Asia to effectively implement and manage tourism that is sustainable and inclusive after the crisis.

Angela stated that Indonesia is committed with all ASEAN member countries to encourage a shared vision of mitigating and restoring the tourism sector, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Several studies state that it needs, at least, five years for the tourism sector to return to the normal condition after the COVID-19. But I believe that ASEAN is better than that, the tourism in our region will recover faster under one condition, we have to strengthen the cooperation and collaboration," Angela said.

The ASEAN member countries reported the tourism performance which decrease around 36 percent on the first quarter of 2020, compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019.

The number of international tourists' visit is recorded to decrease around 34 percent, and the current room availability is at the lowest point. Also, there are many cancellations from the tour and travel industry.

The ASEAN member countries have revised or are correcting their target of international tourists visit and revenue from the tourism sector.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1162778/Ministry_of_Tourism_ANGELA_Tanoesoedibjo.jpg
Fighter interception brilliant

RAAF fighter aircraft participated, with the US Air Force, in what a military communique described as a brilliant interception of Japanese raiders over the northern outposts. Australians were among those who engaged 15 Japanese Zero fighters over Port Moresby, shot down four and damaged two others. More raids followed on Sunday with three Japanese bombers and one fighter destroyed.

Mobile units off to the front

Two mobile units named Waltzing Matilda and Doreen were presented to the president of the YMCA by the Telephonists War Fund president, Mrs Arnold Johnson. The vehicles, which were equipped with radios, gramophones, reading matter, and sporting equipment, will serve troops in the battlefront areas. They may be converted into tea wagons when required. Waltzing Matilda left for duty today.

Bets and beer

After three years of war, bets and booze are the only two businesses in Australia that are carrying on pretty much as usual. The whole thing stinks, said Dr Button from the Presbyterian Church of Victoria at a Presbyterian Assembly. If we do not strangle bets and beer, he said, they will end by strangling us, yet neither Federal nor State Governments have the skill or courage to get to real grips with them.
Also listed as donation recipients are the Hong Kong Red Cross, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, the Philippine Red Cross and the Lung Centre of the Philippines, as well as Caritas Diocesana in Spain and Switzerlands Gluckskette and Swiss Philanthropy. In the UK, donations will go to NHS Charities Together, Age UK, and PPE for NHS.

Meanwhile the US beneficiaries are First Responders Childrens Foundation, Direct Relief, Red Cross Coronavirus Outbreak Fund, MBA Opens Doors Foundation, PPE for UConn Healthcare, Jersey Battered Womens Services, Sage Elder Care, Holy Name Medical Centre, One Simple Wish, Guilford Education Alliance  Laptop Project, No Kid Hungry North Carolina, and Frisco Fast Pacs.

The scale and speed of this pandemic has been devastating around the globe, said Arch president and chief executive Marc Grandisson. Striving to make a difference and investing in our communities are part of our corporate values, and we are committed to supporting those affected by this crisis.

The company has also established Arch Cares: COVID-19 Employee Assistance Fund for Financial Hardships, which will provide monetary support to eligible staff. In addition, Arch is temporarily enhancing its corporate match for employees charitable contributions from 1:1 to 2:1.

Last month, Sydney-headquartered insurance group QBE announced it is directing AU$2.6 million towards the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds are deployed through the existing charity and not-for-profit partners of the QBE Foundation around the world.
A local developer is buying the former Lone Star Brewery complex in a last-minute deal reached days before the property was set to be sold to one of the current owners lenders.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta on Thursday approved Lone Star Brewery Development Inc.s proposed sale to an affiliate of GrayStreet Partners for $14.45 million.

The sale was set to close Friday, meeting a deadline stipulated in court orders and providing bankrupt Lone Star with the funds to pay off BridgeInvest, a Miami lender to which it owes more than $12 million. Had the purchase fallen through, the court was scheduled to hold a hearing Monday to approve a sale to BridgeInvest.

GrayStreet Partners wants to turn the roughly 32-acre property into a mixed-use project, though it is too early for details, said managing partner Kevin Covey.

Now Playing: Photographer Richard Woody captured this first-hand look inside the Lone Star Brewery, which has been vacant for more than two decades. Video: WoodyTV

Were very confident well be able to set it on the right path, he said. Were excited.

Theres no question remaking the site would be among the firms biggest undertakings yet, and Covey added that hes open to working with other developers.

Its future success critically depends on being able to bring in other people to help, he said. It is a very large project.

Gargotta denied a plan Tuesday to sell the property to GrayStreet for $17.25 million because of problems that arose with getting a title insurance policy and closing Friday. Also, witness testimony indicated bid procedures had not been properly followed, he said in court.

The parties rushed to work out a deal to meet the Friday deadline. Then Lone Star got an offer from Dallas-based Quadrant Investment Properties for $15 million, Thomas Rice, an attorney representing the owner of the complex, said during Thursdays hearing.

That was news to David Gragg, a lawyer representing GrayStreet, he said in court. The developer had been operating 24 hours a day to submit a new proposal and get a new title company involved, and believed it was under contract with Lone Star.

Quadrant executives were also frustrated by procedures that were divergent completely from court orders and felt they were nothing more than a foil to raise GrayStreets bid, Ray Battaglia, an attorney representing Quadrant, said in court. He added the firm would withdraw its offer if the court held an auction.

Rice said offocials took GrayStreets offer and went back to Quadrant, and had not received a higher offer when he filed documents Wednesday to sell to GrayStreet. Quadrants bid sought exclusivity, he said.

He said he apologized if the parties believed they were somehow dating me exclusively.

During the hearing, Gargotta said he sympathized with Quadrant but the only motion before him was the proposal to sell to GrayStreet.

Id love to have more money come in to the estate, but yall put in me in a little bit of an awkward position, he said. Reluctantly, Im going to approve the sale to GrayStreet.

Lone Star filed for bankruptcy protection in January, stopping a foreclosure auction of the complex. It reported $30 cash on hand and debts of roughly $27 million, including BridgeInvests claim and $14 million owed to Princeton Capital Corp.

Now Playing: The former San Antonio Lone Star Brewery site has been the subject of four failed revitalization projects. Partially backed by San Marcos-based Aqualand Development, these renderings were the latest vision of what could have been a $300 million mixed-use complex to scheduled to break ground in 2017 before it was foreclosed. Video: mySA

Lone Star, owned by Houston-based Parkview Capital Credit, sought to sell the property for at least $13.5 million.

We were able to recover some value for other creditors after a rough hearing on Tuesday, Rice said in an email. Even in the current market, this property has value. Hopefully GrayStreet can make something great out of it for San Antonio.

Executives at Quadrant declined to comment.

The brewery closed in 1996 and the Lone Star brand is owned by Pabst. Over the years developers have attempted to remake the run-down complex but their efforts have been stymied by costs, bankruptcies and environmental issues.

What makes GrayStreet any different?

Covey said the firm has experience developing various projects in San Antonio, pointing to the redevelopment of the former San Antonio Light building, the renovation of the Kress and Grant buildings and a housing project near Ingram Park Mall. There are also plans for a tower with a hotel and office space on Broadway and a mixed-use project near the Pearl.

But, Covey added, having a lot of minds working to remake the old Lone Star complex is paramount.

Its going to take other people to come in and help. Its going to take a while, he said. Its just so big.

madison.iszler@express-news.net
More than $260 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding is being made available to K-12 schools across Alabama, but that money isnt yet in the bank.

The money can be used for a wide variety of reasons, from improving emergency preparedness to planning for long-term school closures to purchasing technology for distance learning.

In a memo to superintendents on April 24, State Superintendent Eric Mackey said each Alabama school district will need to apply for funds. We expect the application to require a particular focus on items such as expenses directly related to COVID-19, remediation related to COVID-19, equitable services, and distance learning.

A list of allocations by school district will be available soon, Mackey wrote. "Funds will begin to flow upon application approval."

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress in March, includes nearly $31 billion nationwide in an Education Stabilization Fund to cover emergency costs associated with education's response to the coronavirus.

Of that $30.75 billion in the CARES Act for education funding nationwide, $13.2 billion is for K-12, and $14.2 billion is for higher education. The remainder is for states with the highest coronavirus burden and for the Bureau of Indian Education.

Related: How much federal stimulus money each Alabama college will receive

The $13.5 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, is being distributed based on a state's share of Title I funding, which is tied to the number of low-income students a state has.

In Alabama, that means $216.9 million.

Those funds will be split between school districts and the state department of education. Of the $216.9 million, $195 million must go directly to school districts. The state department can use $1.1 million for administration and can direct $21.7 million to go where the need is.

The Alabama State Department of Education submitted the required application on April 24, but has not yet been approved, according to state education officials.

The cost to get remote learning up and running is unknown at this point, but school officials have incurred expenses by purchasing hotspots for students to have internet access, outfitting buses with Wi-Fi capabilities, and making copies for instructional packets.

Another $48.9 million is available to Alabama through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, or GEER, which received $3 billion nationwide. That amount was calculated based on the number of children statewide and Title I funding.

In a notice to Governors April 14 announcing the availability of GEER funding, U.S. Education Sec. Betsy DeVos encouraged governors "to focus these resources on ensuring that all students continue to learn most likely through some form of remote learning. They and their families are depending on your leadership to ensure that they don't fall behind."

Schools closed officially on March 19, and remote learning in most of Alabama's school districts began on April 6. School officials are using a combination of online learning along with instructional packets, and most are planning to end the school year on May 22.

Governors have until June 1 to apply for the funding, and while the application process has been simplified, asking only for assurances that appropriate procedures will be in place, federal education officials are requiring reports detailing how the awards process takes place and how funds are spent.

The U.S. Department of Education posted a frequently asked questions document for clarification of uses of GEER funds.

The application sets out expectations for how funds could be spent, stating executive or administrative salaries or benefits are not considered a "lawful purpose" for the use of GEER funds. Gov Kay Ivey has not yet submitted the application.

Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola told AL.com, Governor Ivey is working with education stakeholders and the Alabama Department of Finance to determine how to best allocate those funds to serve the needs of Alabamas students and all of our education institutions who have been impacted by COVID-19.
Migrant workers ride on a truck to reach their native places, during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in Prayagraj. PTI photo

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday asked officials to ensure that Uttar Pradesh's borders remain sealed so that people who maybe "coronavirus carriers" cannot enter the state.

He gave the directions at a review meeting.

"It should be ensured that the borders of the state remain sealed. There should be alertness in border areas. No one should enter the state without permission as there is a possibility that they can be coronavirus carriers," an official release issued here quoted Adityanath as saying.

He said the state government is committed to the welfare of labourers and has initiated a number of measures in their interest.

"The government is taking steps to ensure return of labourers stuck in other states in a phased manner," he said.

The chief minister reiterated that four lakh migrant labourers from Delhi and 12,000 from Haryana have returned to the state safely.

He said directives have been issued to ensure that those coming to the state undergo a health checkup and are sent to home quarantine for 14 days with a ration kit.

Adityanath also gave directions to increase pool testing and procure quality testing kits.

As of Thursday, the number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh stood at 2,211 and the death toll due to the infection was 40.
Joe Biden is facing mounting public pressure to address the claims - AFP

Joe Biden is expected to address a sexual assault allegation by a former aide for the first time on Friday amid mounting criticism over his silence on the matter.

Mr Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has faced growing pressure to address the allegation by Tara Reade, a former aide, that he sexually assaulted her in 1993, after two women came forward to support her story this week.

The former US vice president is expected to appear on MSNBC's headline morning political programme "Morning Joe" Friday to respond directly to Ms Reade's claims.

Mr Biden has remained silent on the topic since Ms Reade claimed in an interview last month that he sexually assaulted her in 1993 while she was working as a staff assistant in his Senate office.

His campaign has issued a strong rebuke to the allegation, saying this absolutely did not happen. But the story gathered pace this week when two women came forward to claim that Ms Reade confided in them in the 1990s about her alleged assault.

Biden's campaign has vehemently denied the allegation but the former vice president has yet to directly respond

The story overshadowed Mr Biden's announcement on Thursday that he had hired a four-person committee to help him find a running mate for his White House bid.

The committee will help Mr Biden vet and choose a running mate as he battles to defeat Donald Trump in November's presidential election.

Its members are Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles Mayor; former senator Chris Dodd; congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester and Cynthia Hogan, a former adviser to Mr Biden.

Mr Biden has pledged to pick a woman as his vice presidential candidate, but has come under pressure from women's right activists to show that he takes sexual assault allegations seriously.

"I think that he's telling the truth and that this did not happen."



Former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said she believes the denial issued by former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign regarding Tara Reade's allegation of sexual assault in 1993. pic.twitter.com/fKWmSgWk7V  CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) April 29, 2020

Several women seen as potential vice presidential picks, including senator Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia politician, have expressed support for Mr Biden regarding the assault allegation.

Story continues

"I know Joe Biden and I think he's telling the truth and this did not happen," Ms Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, told CNN.

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, said she has great sympathy for any women who bring forth an allegation", but added: "I do support Joe Biden. Im satisfied with how he has responded.

Pelosi on CNN: "I have great sympathy for any women who bring forth an allegation. I'm a big strong supporter of the Me Too Movement. I think it's made a great contribution to our country. And I do support Joe Biden. I'm satisfied with how he has responded. I know him."  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 30, 2020

However Ms Reade's allegations will pose some difficulty on the campaign trail, given many leading Democrats have been vocal proponents for vigorously investigating sexual assault allegations against public figures.

A coalition of women's groups has also been quietly pushing for Mr Biden to break his silence, even drafting an open letter praising his work as an outspoken champion for survivours of sexual violence but urging him to take the opportunity "to model how to take serious allegations seriously, according to a draft seen by the New York Times.
Oregons health authority is poised to secure 30,000 more coronavirus tests as pressure mounts to accelerate testing in preparation for reopening parts of the economy.

The latest deals involve 10,000 tests to be processed by national laboratory LabCorp and 20,000 tests from Hologic to be analyzed at the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory.

Those 30,000 tests come on top of 10,000 tests authorized under an earlier but beleaguered deal with Quest Diagnostics touted by Gov. Kate Brown.

While the number of state-secured tests represents more than the state has had before in its supply chain, it amounts to only a fraction of Oregons ability to test people for the virus. And the tests may not be put to full use for months to come.

Oregon so far has received only a trickle of the tests authorized under its contracts. Public health officials have parceled them out to various counties around the state, leaving some grateful for what theyve received while others are frustrated by limited access.

For now, most Oregonians still get their tests through hospital systems, where in-house labs are capable of running about 20,000 tests a week for patients or others, state records show.

Yet state officials said Thursday that securing any new tests represents a step toward meeting overall goals for the governors Reopening Oregon framework.

Our goal at a minimum is to be testing 15,000 people per week in Oregon, said Cara Biddlecom, a senior official at the health authority who has been coordinating testing efforts.

Oregon already processes a limited number of tests at its public health laboratory but officials have been working since March to increase capacity of state-controlled tests. Brown in March announced a deal with Quest for 20,000 tests  even though a contract wasnt signed and the actual allotment turned out to be half that much.

State officials later said they didnt have any immediate plans to put those Quest tests to use. But theyve since reversed course, ordering 420 to distribute to five counties.

Biddlecom said the state can only order a couple hundred at a time from Quest.

Its sort of like a revolving door, she said. Theyll send out more when they get the tests back.

Malheur County requested 1,000 tests from the health authority but so far has received only 150, through the Quest contract.

That actually put us in a pretty good position, said Sarah Poe, the county health department director.

The rural eastern Oregon county held a drive-through test clinic on Wednesday, with county health workers collecting samples from 39 people and turning only four away.

This contract with Quest is working well in Malheur County, Poe said.

But other counties werent as lucky.

Clatsop Countys public health department requested 5,000 tests from Oregon. About a week and a half later, the agencys director, Michael McNickle, got a response.

Well how about 500 tests? he recalled the state saying. Were like, Sure, well take those. And we ended up with 20.

McNickle said he would like to ensure 10% of county residents are tested so health officials can obtain a baseline about the prevalence of coronavirus and monitor changes as parts of the economy reopen.

If the state wants to condition reopening certain counties on adequate testing, he said, then the state should provide necessary tests. While health care providers have been testing some patients, McNickle said his department should be playing a bigger role.

As far as I know we havent changed the name of public health to something else, so thats our job, he said. Thats why Im frustrated.

Sen. Betsy Johnson, an influential Democratic lawmaker who represents part of the county, pressed the health authority this week for more tests.

Biddlecom, the Oregon Health Authority official, said more are on the way.

The source of those additional tests will be LabCorp. The state quietly signed a contract with that company April 7 for 10,000 tests. The state received its first 1,000 on Thursday and the first outbound shipment is headed to Clatsop, Biddlecom said.

State officials are also in the final stages of finalizing a deal with a test-maker Hologic. It would secure 20,000 newly approved tests to be processed at the state health lab using an existing, high-speed machine.

It has been moved through for approval and were expecting a delivery and training next week, Biddlecom said.

Those extra tests would more than double the state labs capacity, she said, from 200 tests a day to 500.

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
By Ross Kerber

BOSTON (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc <BLK.N> on Thursday said it named London-based financial executive Sandy Boss as its new head of investment stewardship, bringing a more international structure to the top asset manager's voting on topics like climate change and social issues.

Boss, an American, will remain in London and take over duties previously held by the company's vice-chair Barbara Novick, who is stepping back from her day-to-day roles, according to a memo from the firm's Chief Executive Larry Fink provided by a spokesman.

Boss has been a non-employee member of a Bank of England risk committee and a director of two public companies. Britain's central bank said on Thursday she is stepping down from her role there.

Under Novick, BlackRock - with roughly $7 trillion in assets under management - largely took a behind-the-scenes approach in its dealings with the large companies in its portfolios.

But under pressure from activists, this year Fink vowed to take a more aggressive approach especially on climate issues and other topics at companies where BlackRock is often among the top investors.

For instance, just on Tuesday BlackRock disclosed early details of its votes against four directors at Boeing Co <BA.N> over safety lapses.

BlackRock said Boss was not available to be interviewed.

Fink said in his note that Boss will join the company on Monday, reporting to him as Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Investment Stewardship.

Among her reports will be Michelle Edkins, another high-profile BlackRock executive, who "will be responsible globally for institutional relations, policy on investment stewardship issues, and communications related to BlackRocks investment stewardship perspectives and activities," Fink said in the note.

Boss is also a former senior partner at McKinsey & Co. focused on financial institutions, capital markets, and risk management in Europe and the United States.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Alistair Bell)
By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON, April 30 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp is using the coronavirus to increase its leverage in labor and real estate negotiations by alternately doomsaying and dismissing the pandemic's consequences, labor sources and lawyers dealing with the company said.

The largest U.S. oil and gas producer this month told workers in Texas and New Jersey to accept contract offers because they would not find other jobs. In California, Exxon rejected a request to delay a property deal, arguing business could proceed normally despite the pandemic, and threatened to keep the buyer's down payment when it asked for more time due to the lockdown.

Exxon said it has not used the pandemic to enhance its bargaining position.

"We reject these unwarranted claims and any assertions to the contrary are baseless and without merit," said Exxon spokesman Todd Spitler.

Exxon is known as a tough negotiator. But the coronavirus has provided new talking points during contract disputes, unions said.

"They said, 'Take a look out there. If you strike or we lock you out, there are no jobs out there,'" said Ricky Brooks, the head of a United Steelworkers local that represents about 800 refinery, chemical plant and laboratory workers at an Exxon facility in Baytown, Texas.

In New Jersey, negotiators representing employees at Exxon's Paulsboro Lube Oil Manufacturing plant were told the same thing, said an Independent Oil Workers union member who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

"Exxon has blatantly and intentionally leveraged COVID-19 as a means to get what they want," said USW official Brooks.

The company offered Baytown union workers 3.5% and 4% annual raises in the first two years of a three-year contract, said Brooks. The union workers in the refinery and laboratory rejected the deal because Exxon proposed new workers wait 4-1/2 years to achieve pay parity with other workers. It now takes four years.

Philip Hilder, a former federal prosecutor who has faced Exxon in negotiations, said the company has "the ability to wear down their opponents financially and mentally" using its deep pockets to avoid settling. The approach, which he described as "a take-no-prisoners' view of litigation" is designed to deter opponents and win any contest.

Story continues

Exxon lawyers this month threatened to cancel a California property deal and keep the down payment when a buyer invoked force majeure to postpone a closing date due to the pandemic. Force majeure clauses are common in the energy industry as a way to suspend contracts during natural and man-man disasters.

The prospective buyer, Pacific Collective LLC, had sought to delay the $4.2 million purchase of the site of a former service station until county, Culver City and Los Angeles' stay-at-home directives were lifted.

Exxon on Wednesday filed to move the developer's breach of contract lawsuit to a federal court.

"There are no conditions to closing that exist in the Agreement that cannot be met," Exxon wrote in a filing submitted to Los Angeles County Superior Court, noting that property permits, inspections and transfers were essential businesses and able to operate.

"The Title Company has also confirmed that, at this time, it is able to close the transaction," they added. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Cancer surgery in Northern Ireland must resume within a matter of weeks to begin to address a backlog of more than 8,000 operations already cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has been warned

Cancer surgery in Northern Ireland must resume within a matter of weeks to begin to address a backlog of more than 8,000 operations already cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has been warned.

As the region moves beyond the first peak of coronavirus, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in Northern Ireland has said health officials must now turn their attention to resuming red flag, urgent and routine surgeries in order to stem the growing number of patients without Covid-19 who are unable to access healthcare.

Among a series of recommendations made by the professional body to address waiting times in Northern Ireland are the establishment of a regional surgical network, theatres operating seven days a week and the continued use of private hospitals after contracts expire in June.

Mark Taylor, RCS (NI) Director, said: "Now is not the time to relax the criteria for the lockdown as this could put staff at risk and cost more lives.

"Health and Social Care staff in Northern Ireland have done an amazing job, stepping into new roles, supporting each other, working above and beyond what anyone could ask of them.

"The lockdown has undoubtedly saved lives and stopped the NHS from being overwhelmed.

"While managing coronavirus has rightly been our focus, we need now to help those people who have had their surgery delayed.

"We know that there are many people waiting for critical surgery. Our new guidance provides a framework to help manage the backlog of elective operations and restart surgery safely."

The RCS has surveyed members across the UK to establish the opinion of surgeons about the current situation in hospitals ahead of any efforts to resume elective surgery.

Its most recent survey of surgeons and trainees in Northern Ireland found there have been improvements in personal protective equipment supply, but there are still some limitations on the ability to undertake urgent surgery.

Mr Taylor continued: "We need to continue to prioritise urgent surgery, and be certain that frontline staff have the equipment they need to keep them safe, before resuming elective care. We welcomed the opportunity to share our guidance on resuming elective care services with the minister earlier this week.

"Re-engaging our services requires a huge team effort and we look forward to working closely with the minister, his team and our colleagues across Health and Social Care as we step into the next phase."

The proposals from the RCS, which met with the Health Minister, Robin Swann, to discuss the subject, have been published just days after the Belfast Telegraph revealed there were almost 180 additional non-Covid deaths in Northern Ireland over a three-week period during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Official statistics have highlighted a spike in excess deaths here in April - with 43% of the 410 additional deaths registered between the weeks ending April 3 and 17 not directly attributed to the killer virus.

The figures raised new concerns over the extent of deaths indirectly caused by the virus and prompted DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson to raise the matter at Westminster earlier this week.

Latest figures released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency yesterday have revealed that in the week ending April 24, the total number of deaths registered here was 470 - 186 more than the five-year average of 284.

Over the past four weeks, there were 596 excess deaths.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 12:33:16|Editor: huaxia

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XI'AN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Various tourist attractions have prepared for the May Day holiday in northwest China's Shaanxi Province with strict epidemic prevention measures.

Online reservations and bookings are required to visit the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, the provincial capital. The museum hosts the iconic Terracotta Warriors. The number of visitors is capped at 8,000 daily.

The Shaanxi History Museum only receives the reservations of individual tourists, with a maximum tourist number of 2,000 every day. Visitors need to make reservations two days in advance and keep their visiting time within two hours.

Tourists need to understand the latest anti-epidemic measures before going out, the provincial department of culture and tourism said. Enditem
Wolsong nuclear power plant in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power



By Kim Hyun-bin



Questions are rising over the President Moon Jae-in administration's policy to phase out nuclear power plants in Korea, which has estimated to have cost over 7 trillion won in lost sales over the last two years, according to a recent government sponsored report.



According to the report released by the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum, a drastic decline in sales occurred within the nuclear power industry soon after the Moon administration introduced the phase-out policy.



In 2017, when it was first introduced, sales plummeted 13 percent year-on-year, marking their first decline since 1995. In 2018 sales declined by a further 14 percent.



In addition, there has been significant reduction in power plant investment as well as personnel. In 2018, total investment was 7.89 trillion won, down 3.8 percent from the previous year, while the number of people working in the industry dropped 2 percent.



The Moon administration has ended the construction of six new nuclear power plants including the Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4, and decommissioned Wolsong-1 early, just last year.



The decommissioning of the Wolsong-1 reactor follows the shutdown of the Kori-1 plant in 2017.



Wolsong-1 started commercial operation in 1983, and was designed to be retired after 30 years. But the operation license was renewed in 2015 for another seven years. To extend its lifespan, the government invested 700 billion won of taxpayers' money which has ended up going to waste.



The decommissioning of the nuclear plants is in line with the Moon administration's policy to promote sustainable energy resources and reduce the country's dependence on nuclear power and fossil fuels.



One of the President's election pledges was to increase renewable energy's share of total energy use to 20 percent by 2030, up from the current 7 percent. The government also wants to retire 11 out of its 24 reactors by the end of that year.



"The nuclear phase-out policy is just wrong. In simple terms there are five harmful effects," Seong Poong-hyun, a professor of nuclear power at KAIST said.



"It increases electricity costs, causes a threat to energy security, affects climate change, destroys our nuclear power industry and creates a safety hazard at the nuclear plants currently in operation," he noted.



The bold move has put Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction into financial jeopardy.



Doosan Heavy's net losses deepened due to the administration's push to boost the supply of power from clean and renewable energy sources.



The company posted an accumulated net loss of 2.68 trillion won from 2014 through 2019, and it has also lost 10 trillion won due to the cancellation of scheduled nuclear and coal-fired plant projects.



Around 650 out of 6,700 employees opted to take early retirement from Doosan Heavy after the company offered this option for the first time in five years, as a means to cut costs amid dwindling orders.



Doosan Group is planning to sell off its key cash cow affiliate Doosan Solus as part of self-rescue efforts to save the flagship Doosan Heavy.



The group is reportedly seeking to sell its entire 61 percent stake for between 600 billion won to 800 billion won.



The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) also recorded an operating loss of 1 trillion won, its largest since 2008, which many experts believe is directly correlated to the phase out of nuclear power plants.



Despite the losses, President Moon could speed up his efforts to get rid of the plants as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea won a super-majority of 180 seats in the National Assembly during the April 15 general election.



The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) has been strongly against the phase-out and continues to call on the Moon administration to reconsider its policy.



"The harmful consequences derived from this administration's nuclear phase-out policy has led to the destruction of the nuclear industry here as well as the loss of jobs," Yoon Han-hong, a UFP lawmaker said. "We need to reconsider the policy before it is too late."


COMMUTERS are to be given refunds for rail and commuter services they have paid for but are not using.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has spent weeks working on solutions to refund those who have paid for tickets but are not using them due to the lockdown.

The refunds will apply to those who have bought tickets for Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, Bus Eireann, Iarnrod Eireann and Luas.

Commuters who are to continue employment with their current employer will be offered free travel for a number of months.

The number of months of free travel will be equivalent to the length of time they have been unable to use their ticket as a result of travel restrictions.

At the point when the customer returns to work, or on expiry of their ticket, they will make arrangements with their employer, the NTA said.

They will be offered a choice as to whether the months-in-lieu are to take effect immediately, or whether they want to use them at a later date, the transport regulator said.

This could amount to a saving of 350 for someone not commuting for three months who pays 1,400 for their annual ticket.

Some travelling from Athlone to Dublin pays 4,960 for an annual TaxSaver ticket. If this person is not commuting for three months the saving could be 1,240.

For holders of TaxSaver tickets who will not be continuing in their current employment, a refund will be offered to cover the remaining period of ticket validity, from the time restrictions were put in place, the NTA said.

Where the customer wishes to receive a refund rather than a replacement ticket, it is still open to them to make a request via their employer under existing terms and conditions.

Transport, Tourism and Sport Minister Shane Ross said: I am pleased that the NTA are making these arrangements for public transport customers who have been unable to use their TaxSaver tickets due to the current restrictions on travel.

Mr Ross said times are tough for many at the moment. He said it was financially challenging as well as stressful, and he welcomed the refunds plan.
WASHINGTON - As a sudden drop in demand decimates the oil industry, international efforts are underway to ride the lull in fossil fuel consumption to expedite the cleanup of the worlds energy sector.

Even as the coronavirus pandemic keeps countries under lockdown, world leaders view the sudden shock to the global economy as an opportunity to reduce reliance on the crude flowing from Texas and other regions and combat climate change.

At a meeting organized by the International Energy Agency last week, energy ministers from 13 nations including Canada, the United Kingdom, India and Italy discussed how to go about directing the trillions of dollars central banks and governments are spending in fiscal stimulus toward clean energy technologies such as electric cars, solar panels and advanced batteries.

In the face of human tragedy and the plethora of consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also been handed an opportunity to rebuild society in a manner that makes it more resilient to future crises, said Dan Jrgensen, Denmarks minister for climate, energy and utilities, who co-hosted the event. The choices we take now to kick-start our economies will also determine our ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

CRUDE CRISIS: The great Texas oil shutdown has begun

There is far from consensus on such a plan. Missing from that meeting were the worlds two largest economies and carbon emitters, the United States and China, both of which have resisted past efforts to curb emissions in line with other countries.

But around the world, the massive checks expected to be written for infrastructure and other public projects are seen as a potentially once in a generation opportunity to get the world on track to prevent catastrophic climate change, said Sarah Ladislaw, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

What theyre trying to do is try to create some movement or momentum within their own governments, she said. Theres a ton of people positing and thinking about if theres going to be big stimulus packages how do you make them green.

Unprecedented plunge

An expedited move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would speed up the count down on an oil industry already under threat. Some forecasters within the industry predicted that petroleum demand would peak within the decade even before coronavirus.

The oil industry has experienced an unprecedented plunge in demand  analysts estimate as much as 35 million barrels of crude a day  as social-distancing measures keep people at home and broad swaths of the global economy are shut down. People have also gotten a glimpse of a world burning less fossil fuel: blue skies over Beijing, less smog in Milan and reduced ozone in Houston.

For the oil industry, however, falling demand has led to mounting layoffs and looming bankruptcies, in Houston and across the country.

For now, the oil industry is confident its role in producing the worlds energy is secure even if expanded climate policies come into force, said Aaron Padilla, climate policy manager at the American Petroleum Institute.

WHAT TO DO: As governments scramble on oil crash, not a lot of good options

Our member companies continue to see estimates with a strong and growing demand for oil and natural gas, he said. Any efforts policymakers make to incentivize investments in energy infrastructure that makes energy less greenhouse gas intensive, we also see a role for oil and natural gas.

But some energy companies are signaling the future of fossil fuels is limited, as they increase their commitment to adapt their business to climate change.

Even as stock prices are battered by the collapse in oil prices, Royal Dutch Shell announced it planned to get the companys carbon footprint to net zero by 2050, something British major BP said it would do in February. And New Jersey-based utility PSEG announced a new plan to develop a power supply with net-zero carbon emissions within three decades.

Its encouraging to me, said Bob Perciasepe, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. They know in the long term they have to have their plans in place to deal with reduced carbon emissions.

No one spared

Clean energy companies, however, arent escaping the dramatic fall-off in energy demand either.

Plans for wind farms and rooftop solar systems are being put on hold, as social distancing measures make new sales difficult and financing becomes increasingly difficult to obtain amid fears of a prolonged global recession, said Nat Kreamer, CEO of the clean energy group Advanced Energy Economy.

With a massive infrastructure bill under discussion in Congress, clean energy companies are making their pitch for upgrades to the U.S. power grid to advantage clean energy, including grid-scale batteries that store wind power generated at night and electric vehicle charging stations along highways.

Top hits: Get Houston Chronicle stories sent directly to your inbox

Any time you have a crisis or a disaster you shouldnt waste the opportunity to do things better the next time, Kreamer said. Were not going backwards when this is all over.

The inspiration is the stimulus packages passed by countries around the globe following the financial crisis of 2008, which purposely focused on expanding the manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines.

Old normal

And while emissions did initially dip - the consequence of decreased economic activity - they later rose as business returned to normal.

It catalyzed a lot of investment in green energy, but at the same time it didnt bend the curve on emissions, Ladislaw said. The question now is if you are really going to stimulate the economy to be more green, what do you need.

james.osborne@chron.com

twitter.com/osborneja
The committee had intended to hold the special use request for more discussion, rather than send it on to the City Council Committee of the Whole, as it normally would do. But with committee meetings suspended, and the City Council holding only remote meetings, the special use came before the full council.
These are themes that I have repeated over and over since I started this column two years ago  trying to drill down on what unlimited power, Midas-like financial might, minimal oversight and very few actual consequences might mean for the rest of us. Contrary to some of the pushback I get when I say what I consider the obvious, I neither hate tech nor think most people who work in tech are bad people.

But when this crisis is over, I can say that we most certainly should fear Big Tech more because these companies will be freer than ever, with many fewer strictures on them from regulators and politicians. The effort to rein in tech companies had been building decent momentum before coronavirus outbreak, but it will be harder when focus needs to be on building up rather than breaking apart.

Now, as we turn to the healthy companies to help us revive the economy, it could be that the only ones with real immunity are the tech giants. In this way, Covid-19 has accelerated their rise and tightened their grip on our lives. And this consolidation of power, combined with Big Techs control of data, automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, media, advertising, retail and even autonomous tech, is daunting.

Which is why politicians like Senators Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, and Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, have become very strange bedfellows in calling for more scrutiny of Big Tech of late. And House lawmakers on Friday were calling for Mr. Bezos to testify at a hearing on antitrust violations or face a subpoena. But the real actions the government takes are likely to feel ever limper.

Witness the $5 billion settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook that was approved by a judge this week. When it was announced last year, I called it a parking ticket. Today, it is like losing a dime for Facebook.

The judge, Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, noted the governments complaints that Facebook flouted the terms of a previous consent decree with the F.T.C. and called such behavior unscrupulous, even as he let the company slide into home with its sharpest spikes out.

The complaints about Facebook call into question the adequacy of laws governing how technology companies that collect and monetize Americans personal information must treat that information, Judge Kelly wrote, adding that if it happened again, courts may not apply quite the same deference to the terms of a proposed resolution.
Earlier, Trump had claimed he had seen evidence the virus originated in a Chinese lab.

The WHO has reiterated that the coronavirus is believed to be natural in origin, responding to a claim by US President Donald Trump that he had seen evidence that indicated the virus emerged from a virology institute in Wuhan, China.

Russia has registered a record number of coronavirus cases for the third day in a row, as 7,933 more people tested positive for the virus.

South Africa took its first steps towards rolling back one of the worlds strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

A US watchdog warned Afghanistan is likely facing a health disaster from the pandemic.

The eurozones economy shrunk by 3.8 percent in the first quarter, the biggest hit since records began in 1995.

Worldwide, the number of confirmed infections stood at more than 3.26 million, with some 233,000 deaths and more than one million recoveries.

Here are the latest updates:

Friday, May 1

22:30 GMT  US health official Fauci testimony to Congress blocked

Top United States health official Dr Anthony Fauci will not testify next week to a congressional committee examining the Trump administrations response to the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said on Friday, calling it counterproductive to have individuals involved in the response testify.

The White House issued an emailed statement after a spokesman for the Congressional committee holding the hearing said the committee had been informed by Trump administration officials that Fauci had been blocked from testifying.

Read more here.

20:40 GMT  US approves Gileads remdesivir for emergency use: Trump

Gileads antiviral drug remdesivir has been authorized by US regulators for emergency use on coronavirus patients, President Donald Trump has announced.

US medical officials have announced evidence from a trial that remdesivir helped patients with serious cases of COVID-19 recover faster.

Trump has been a vocal supporter of remdesivir as a possible way to bring the novel coronavirus pandemic under control. Nearly 65,000 Americans have died in the global crisis.

The anti-viral drug remdesivir has been approved for emergency use [File: Ulrich Perrey/Pool/Reuters]

20:10 GMT  Texas, Ohio join array of US states starting to reopen economies

Texas and Ohio pushed ahead on Friday with a phased relaxation of restrictions that US states put in place weeks ago to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, as Georgia took another step towards a full restart by allowing all businesses to reopen.

With White House guidelines for reopening having expired on Thursday, half of all US states were forging ahead with a patchwork of strategies to allow businesses, from restaurants and retailers to construction and manufacturing, to emerge from a month of dormancy.

Read more here.

Shoppers visit a kiosk at Ingram Park Mall in San Antonio [Eric Gay/The Associated Press]

19:40 GMT  Yemen records first case in Taiz

Yemen has reported its first coronavirus case in Taiz governorate, raising the number of diagnosed infections to seven with two deaths in the war-torn country that lacks medical care.

The United Nations says it fears the novel coronavirus could be spreading undetected among an acutely malnourished population with inadequate testing capabilities.

A new confirmed case of coronavirus was reported, the first in (southwestern) governorate of Taiz, in a man in his 40s, the national emergency coronavirus committee said in a Twitter post.

Yemen recorded its first case of COVID-19 in southern Hadharamout province on April 10. On Wednesday, it announced five infections in the southern port of Aden, with two deaths.





19:20 GMT  German May Day protesters defy social distancing rules

Hundreds of people gathered in a square in Berlin on Friday to mark May Day in defiance of a ban on public gatherings of more than 20, exposing deep frustrations with social distancing rules in place in Germany since mid-March to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Leftist groups had called for the demonstration to denounce capitalism and urge more solidarity, especially with refugees seeking to reach Europe. They had urged participants to wear masks and stay at least 1.5 metres apart.

Saving lives is not a crime, read a giant red banner dangled from a window, in a reference to the rescue ships saving refugees trying to reach Europe.

Protesters hold banners during a demonstration on May Day [Christian Mang/Reuters]

18:45 GMT  WHO says virus natural in origin

The WHO has reiterated that the new coronavirus was of natural origin after US President Donald Trump claimed he had seen evidence it originated in a Chinese lab.

Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.

Trump claimed Thursday that he had seen evidence that gave him confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was actually the source of the outbreak, although he refused to give details. When asked about the statement, WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan stressed that the UN health agency had listened again and again to numerous scientists who have looked at the sequences of the virus.

We are assured that this virus is natural in origin, he said, reiterating a stance the UN agency has expressed previously.

Read more here.





18:30 GMT  Irish PM unveils plan to slowly lift restrictions

Ireland has announced the first small steps to easing restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus and laid out a roadmap for a gradual re-opening of the economy over the coming months if the virus can be kept under control.

Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told cocooning over 70s that they could leave their homes to go for a walk or a drive from Tuesday and extended the travel limit for exercise to 5 kilometres from 2 kilometres.

The economy will reopen in five stages between May 18 and August 10, with each stage dependent on the number of COVID-19 infections remaining under control, he said.

18:10 GMT  France reports 218 more deaths, taking total to 24,594

The number of people who have died from coronavirus infection in France has risen by 218 to 24,594, while hospitalisations for the disease and people in ICU units continued to decline, the public health chief has said.

The death toll has increased 0.9 percent compared with Thursday, a lower rate of increase than over the previous 24 hours.

The number of people in hospital with the COVID-19 infection fell further to 25,887 from 26,283 on Thursday, and the number of people in intensive care fell to 3,878 from 4,019. Both numbers have been on a downward trend for more than two weeks.





17:50 GMT  Podcast: After coronavirus, young American workers may never recover

No age group will escape the economic hardships that the coronavirus pandemic has created, but the US millennial generation born in the 1980s and 1990s are being hit with a second economic downturn in just 12 years, and economists wonder if they will ever recover.

Al Jazeeras The Take explores how this generation became so vulnerable, and what needs to happen to pull them out of this economic pit.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy has climbed by 269, down from 285 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new infections stood at 1,965 against 1,872 on Thursday.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on February 21 now stands at 28,236, the agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the US.

The number of officially confirmed cases, which includes those who have died or recovered, was 207,428, the third highest global tally behind those of the US and Spain.

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves is seen in Capri [Ciro De Luca/Reuters]

17:15 GMT  UK did not change criteria to hit 100,000 tests-per-day goal: Govt adviser

Britain did not change its criteria for recording coronavirus tests to meet its goal to carry out 100,000 tests per day by the end of April, the adviser in charge of the operation has said.

Theres been no change to the ways tests are counted, John Newton said at a news conference in Downing Street, although he confirmed that tests which were sent out in the mail were counted when they left the testing programme, not when the results of those tests were in.

Earlier the Health Service Journal reported that the criteria for reporting the number of tests performed per day had been changed to include ones that were mailed to peoples homes, before they had been processed in a laboratory.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told reporters that he did not recognise the Health Service Journals report.





17:00 GMT  New York to keep schools closed for remainder of academic year

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said all state schools including colleges would remain closed for the remainder of the academic year due to the coronavirus pandemic and directed schools to come up with a plan to reopen safely.

Cuomo told a daily briefing that he would make a decision by the end of this month on whether there would be school in the summer and said any decision on a possible reopening in the autumn would happen at a later date.

16:45 GMT  Turkey death toll rises to 3,258

The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Turkey has risen by 84 in the last 24 hours to 3,258, with 2,188 new cases of the virus, according to Health Ministry data.

The total number of cases rose to 122,392, the data showed, the highest total outside Western Europe or the US.

A man walks past closed for prayers Suleymaniye Mosque during the first day of Ramadan and the second of a four-day curfew in Istanbul [Umit Bektas/Reuters]

16:40 GMT  UK death toll up by 739 to 27,510

Britains health minister has said 739 more people had died after testing positive for COVID-19, taking the total toll to 27,711.

Matt Hancock also announced that Britain had met its goal of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, saying that 122,347 tests were achieved on Thursday, calling it an incredible achievement.

16:30 GMT  WHO has grave concerns about impact on weak systems

The pandemic of COVID-19 is clearly still a global health emergency and is of particular concern as it spreads more widely in countries with weak health systems, the WHO has said.

Three months after the WHOs emergency committee first advised the WHOs director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare a public health emergency over the new coronavirus, Tedros said: The pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern.

Tedros said he had grave concerns about the potential impact of the disease as it starts to accelerate in countries with weaker health systems.

As we have done clearly from the beginning, we will continue to call on countries to implement a comprehensive package of measures to find, isolate, test and treat every case, and trace every contact, Tedros told a briefing at the WHOs Geneva headquarters.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned about impact on weak health systems [Christopher Black/Reuters]

16:15 GMT  Slovakia lifts quarantine on another three Roma settlements: PM

Slovak authorities have lifted a quarantine on three Roma settlements locked down in early April to block the spread of the coronavirus, leaving one remaining village under restrictive orders, Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic has said.

Slovakia closed off five settlements on April 9 after reports of a cluster of coronavirus cases in them, highlighting difficulties faced by Europes largest ethnic minority during the pandemic.

The prime minister said in a Facebook post that tests suggested the last remaining Roma settlement under quarantine needed to stay in lockdown. Authorities lifted the restriction on another settlement last week.

Roma communities across eastern Europe are impoverished, plagued by high unemployment and historically the target of discrimination.

16:00 GMT  Zimbabwe extends lockdown, announces $720 mn stimulus

Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended a coronavirus lockdown by two more weeks and announced a $720 million stimulus for distressed companies, most which will be allowed to open from Monday.

The southern African nation has been on lockdown for five weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, shutting an economy struggling with shortages of foreign currency, food, electricity and medicines.





15:40 GMT  US airlines mandating facial coverings for all passengers

The largest US airlines are moving rapidly to mandate facial coverings for all passengers, with Southwest Airlines Co and Alaska Airlines on Friday joining other major airlines in imposing the measure to address the spread of the coronavirus and convince reluctant passengers to resume flying.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines Group Inc, along with the smaller Frontier Airlines, which is owned by private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC, announced Thursday that they would require facial coverings next month following JetBlue Airways Corp. Some airlines, like Southwest, will provide masks if passengers forget to bring them on board as they announce new cleaning procedures to reassure consumers.





15:20 GMT  US stocks in red after Trump threatens new tariffs on China

Wall Street opened May on a downer after United States President Donald Trump threatened to slap new tariffs on China over the coronavirus pandemic, and tech behemoths Apple and Amazon became the latest companies to warn of virus-induced trouble ahead.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 434.19 points or 1.78 percent lower in early morning trading. The S&P 500  a proxy for the health of US retirement and college savings accounts  was down 1.89 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.98 percent.

The S&P 500 just closed out its best month since 1987 in April, as trillions of dollars in monetary and fiscal stimulus helped lift stocks up from the lows plumed in March, as coronavirus lockdowns swept the nation.

Read more here.

People line up at a food pantry, during the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Bronx, in New York City, US, where Wall Street had its best month in decades despite nearly one out of every five Americans having lost their job in the six weeks ending April 25 [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters]

15:00 GMT  Kazakh airlines resume flights with empty middle seats

Kazakh airlines made their first regular domestic flights in more than a month on Friday, with rows of passengers seated alongside empty middle seats, after the vast Central Asian nation eased coronavirus lockdown rules.

Kazakhstans 19 million people are spread across a country the size of Western Europe and many people rely on flights to travel between family and work.

The first route to reopen was the 90-minute flight between the biggest city Almaty and the capital Nur-Sultan, three domestic carriers  Air Astana, SCAT, Qazaq Air  said, adding that other routes would follow from Monday.

Passengers were required to present certificates confirming they had tested negative for COVID-19, which are valid for a week, and undergo temperature checks at the airport.





14:40 GMT  Malaysia detains hundreds of refugees and migrants during lockdown: Rights groups

Malaysia has detained hundreds of refugees and migrant workers for illegally living in the country, rights groups said, at a time of movement and travel restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

There has been growing public anger in recent days over the presence of migrant foreigners with some in Malaysia accusing them of spreading the coronavirus and being a burden on government resources.

Malaysia has around 2 million registered foreign workers but authorities estimate many more are living in the Southeast Asian country without proper documents. Malaysia does not formally recognise refugees, regarding them as illegal migrants.

Human Rights Watch and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network said over 700 migrants were taken into custody including young children. Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were among those detained, other rights groups said.

Read more here.

Indonesian officials conduct health screening on 156 migrant workers who arrived from Malaysia at Surabaya airport in Indonesias East Java [File: Juni Kriswanto/AFP]

14:20 GMT  UK: Black Africans dying at much higher rate than white Britons

Coronavirus patients from Black African backgrounds are dying in United Kingdom hospitals at more than three times the rate of white British people, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Its report on Friday comes amid growing evidence that ethnic minority patients and front-line workers are far more likely to suffer serious consequences from the epidemic in terms of health.

After stripping out the role of age and geography, Bangladeshi hospital fatalities are twice those of the white British group, Pakistani deaths are 2.9 times as high and black African deaths 3.7 times as high, the IFS said.

Read more here.

An NHS worker applauds outside St Marys Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, UK, April 30, 2020 [Dylan Martinez/Reuters]

14:00 GMT  Some US worker unions become more aggressive in light of pandemic

While Voodoo Doughnut is known for its kitschy pastry designs and lines of hungry tourists, as the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting down businesses in the state, the doughnut chains staff started drawing attention.

On March 20, employees from the newly formed Voodoo Doughnut Workers Union (VWU) delivered a letter to management announcing the formation of a union and demanding higher wages, safety improvements and severance packages for employees laid off because of the coronavirus and Oregons ongoing shelter-in-place order.

What employees there did is significant because it breaks from generally accepted union procedures in the US and may serve as a blueprint for how employees will respond to virus-related risks in the workplace.

Instead of first going through the arduous process of a union election and contract negotiations, these workers used pressure tactics to push their bosses to meet their demands directly.

Read more here.

Workers from the Voodoo Doughnut Workers Union deliver demands of hazard pay and safety provisions amid the coronavirus pandemic [File: Courtesy VWU]

13:45 GMT  Azerbaijan extends lockdown measures until May 31

Azerbaijan has extended partial lockdown measures to tackle an outbreak of the coronavirus until May 31, the government has said.

The country of around 10 million has recorded a total of 1,804 coronavirus cases and 24 deaths from the virus.





13:15 GMT  India extends lockdown by two weeks, but loosens measures in lower-risk areas

The Indian government has said it will extend its nationwide lockdown for another two weeks after May 4, but would allow considerable relaxations in lower-risk districts marked as green and orange zones under the governments plan to fight the novel coronavirus.

Some activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, regardless of the zone, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement.

Those include travel by air, rail and metro and inter-state movement of people by road; and schools and colleges, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, cinema halls and places of worship will remain closed.

There will be no restriction on movement of goods between states and on the manufacturing and distribution of essential items, the ministry said.

Read more here.

_____________________________________________________________

This is Joseph Stepansky in Doha taking over the live updates from my colleague Saba Aziz.

______________________________________________________________

12:50 GMT  Dutch coronavirus deaths rise by 98

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands has risen by 475 to 39,791 health authorities said, with 98 new deaths.

The countrys death toll stands at 4,893, the Netherlands Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said in its daily update.

12:30 GMT  Dozens of journalists have died from coronavirus: NGO

Dozens of journalists have died worldwide from the novel coronavirus in the past two months, a press freedom organisation said, lamenting that media workers often lack proper protection for covering the pandemic.

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) warned that many journalists were putting themselves in harms way to report on the global crisis, with many falling ill from COVID-19 themselves in the process.

Since March 1, the PEC said it had recorded the deaths of 55 media workers across 23 countries from the virus, although it stressed that it remained unclear if all of them had become infected on the job.

Journalists wearing protective gear wait near a quarantined hostel, which was closed after residents reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus disease in Kyiv, Ukraine [Gleb Garanich/Reuters]

12:05 GMT  Indias film industry could take two years to recover from pandemic

Indias film industry will take at least two years to recover financially from the coronavirus pandemic, which is threatening big-ticket projects and putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs.

That was the sombre assessment of about a dozen top producers, distributors and actors from Bollywood, the movie industry in Indias commercial capital of Mumbai, during a video conference this week.

Read more here.

12:00 GMT  Italian PM apologises for delay in payout

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte apologised to Italians on Friday for their economic hardships and promised a brighter future once the lockdown lifts.

Italy will begin to emerge from the worlds longest coronavirus shutdown on Monday and see whether two months of containment were enough to avoid a new contagion wave.

Conte admitted his government was late to pay out more than 50 billion euros ($55bn) assigned to struggling families and businesses.

I apologise on behalf of the government and assure you that we will continue to press for the payments and financing to be completed as soon as possible, Conte wrote on Facebook.





10:45 GMT  Macron tells France: Life wont be normal after May 11

President Emmanuel Macron warned that the end of the national lockdown on May 11 would only be a first step as France looks to pull out of the crisis created by the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Traditional Labour Day protests that usually see thousands of demonstrators on streets were cancelled this year due to the virus outbreak that has killed 24,000 people across France.

May 11 will not be the passage to normal life. There will be a recovery that will need to be reorganised, Macron said in a speech at the presidential palace after a meeting with horticulturists.

There will be several phases and May 11 will be one of them.

11:30 GMT  Indias COVID-19 app raises surveillance fears

Indian authorities plan to make a contact-tracing mobile app mandatory for everything from taking public transit to going to work, raising concerns among digital rights experts about privacy and increased surveillance.

Aarogya Setu, the app launched by the Indian government earlier this month to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak, evaluates users risk of infection based on location, and their medical and travel history. It uses Bluetooth and location services to trace a users contacts.

While authorities have said the app is voluntary, it has been made mandatory for food delivery workers and some other service providers, and all federal government employees [Al Jazeera]

Read more here.

11:20 GMT  Qatar reports 687 new cases, two deaths

Qatars health ministry reported two new deaths and 687 confirmed coronavirus cases, taking the Gulf states total infections to 14,096.

A total of 1,436 people have so far recovered from the virus and 12 have died, the ministry added.

     

Latest update on Coronavirus in Qatar#__ #YourSafetyIsMySafety pic.twitter.com/a6A3moozBv     (@MOPHQatar) May 1, 2020

11:15 GMT  Chinas Hubei province eases lockdown

Chinas central province of Hubei, where the novel coronavirus behind the pandemic was first detected, will lower its emergency response level from Saturday in the latest relaxation of lockdowns put in place to contain the virus.

Hubei will lower the level from the highest to the second-highest from May 2, the provinces health commission said in a post on its public WeChat account.

Hubei is the last province to lower its provincial emergency response level, a major milestone in Chinas fight against the pandemic. The virus is believed to have originated in a wet market in the provinces capital Wuhan in December.

Medical workers collect swabs from high school teachers for nucleic acid tests at a school in Yichang, Hubei province [China Daily via Reuters]

11:00 GMT  Philippines relaxes virus restrictions

The Philippines has begun to ease coronavirus restrictions in the country, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to rise nearly two months since a lockdown was imposed on the most populous island.

The government placed areas with few cases of COVID-19 under a more relaxed form of quarantine starting from Friday, allowing work, public transportation and commercial establishments, including shopping malls, to resume operations at a reduced capacity.

The health ministry reported 284 new coronavirus infections and 11 more deaths, bringing its total number of cases to 8,772 and deaths to 579.

10:30 GMT  Special train ferries stranded Indian migrants

India ran the first train service for migrant workers desperate to return home since it imposed a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Relieved and smiling, 1,200 people clapped as they boarded the train at Lingampally in southern Telangana state for Hatia in the eastern state of Jharkhand  a 19-hour journey.

However, railroad authorities said Fridays service was only a one-off special train and a decision on running more trains will be taken soon.

Read more here.

A one-off special train was run today from Lingampalli (Hyderabad) to Hatia (Jharkhand) on request of the Telangana Government & as per the directions of Union Railway Ministry. pic.twitter.com/9YptotxcbV  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

10:00 GMT  Videos show huge medical equipment backlog in China

Al Jazeeras Investigative Unit has obtained exclusive video revealing a huge backlog of goods at Chinas biggest export hub that is slowing the supply of medical equipment urgently needed to protect hundreds of thousands of health workers as they fight the global coronavirus pandemic.





Read more here.

09:45 GMT  Irans virus death toll rises to 6,091

Irans death toll from the outbreak of the new coronavirus increased by 63 in the past 24 hours to 6,091, Ministry of Health spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV.

The total number of diagnosed cases in the country, one of the hardest hit by the outbreak in the Middle East, has reached 95,646, including 2,899 in critical condition, he added.

09:40 GMT  Hungarian F1 Grand Prix to be held without spectators

The Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix scheduled for August can only go ahead without spectators, organisers said in a statement.

The race at the Hungaroring is due to take place on August 2, but Hungary on Thursday said events with more than 500 participants cannot be held until August 15.

It is now evident that any F1 race in Hungary can now only be held behind closed doors, organisers said.

Formula One plans to start its stalled season without spectators in Austria in July followed by the British Grand Prix at Silverstone under similar conditions [File: Mark Thompson/Getty Images]

09:30 GMT  WHO wants China invite for probe into virus origins

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was hoping China would invite it to take part in its investigations into the animal origins of the novel coronavirus.

WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese government to participate in investigation around the animal origins, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told AFP news agency in an email.

He said the UN health agency understood there were a number of investigations under way in China to better understand the source of the outbreak, but added that WHO is not currently involved in the studies in China.

Yesterday, we held our weekly Member States briefing on #COVID19. I particularly thank       Health Ministers who presented both their challenges & progress in tackling the virus. I am glad to see this forum is helping countries learn from each other. Together!  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 1, 2020

09:25 GMT  Spains coronavirus death toll nears 25,000

Spains coronavirus death toll rose to 24,824 as 281 more people died from causes related to the disease overnight, the health ministry said.

The ministry also reported 1,781 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total infections to 215,216.

The previous days death toll was 268. Spain has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases worldwide after the US.

09:10 GMT  The forgotten care home victims of coronavirus

Residents of the Amberwood Care Home enjoy a game of picture bingo with carer Sue in Leicester, UK [Tim Keeton/EPA-EFE]

Vulnerable elderly residents of care homes in the United Kingdom are being neglected amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Read Dr Amir Khans note here.

09:00 GMT  Indonesia reports 433 new coronavirus cases

Indonesia confirmed 433 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases to 10,551, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.

Yurianto reported eight new deaths, taking the total number of deaths to 800, while 1,591 people have recovered.

Indonesia has tested more than 76,500 people for the virus.

08:50 GMT  Swiss soldiers pick up smartphones to fight COVID-19

Swiss soldiers are using smartphones to test a new contact tracing application that could prevent coronavirus infections while also protecting users privacy.

Switzerland hopes to launch the app on May 11 based on a standard, developed by researchers in Lausanne and Zurich, that uses Bluetooth communication between devices to assess the risk of catching COVID-19.

Swiss soldiers in Chamblon sit in a classroom as they install the contact tracking application created by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) [Denis Balibouse/Reuters]

A hundred soldiers from the Chamblon army base near Lausanne volunteered to download the app and then go about their regular routines for 24 hours.

If a person eventually gets positively tested, they can upload their ID to the system and then all the other apps can check whether they have been close to that person and can then call the health authorities, Marcel Salathe, director of the digital epidemiology lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), told Reuters news agency.

08:40 GMT  Spains GDP will contract 9.2 percent in 2020

Spains gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 9.2 percent this year, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said, as the coronavirus pandemic battered the economy.

The GDP is expected to grow 6.8 percent in 2021, she said.

The Bank of Spain expected an asymetric V-shape recovery, with the deepest decrease in the second quarter and then a strong and gradual recovery in the second half of the year, Calvino said.





08:30 GMT  Philippines reports 11 new coronavirus deaths

The Philippines reported 284 new coronavirus infections and 11 more deaths, bringing its total number of cases to 8,772 and fatalities to 579.

It also said 41 more individuals had recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,084.

07:55 GMT  Pakistans parliament speaker tests positive

The speaker of Pakistans National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, said he had tested positive for COVID-19, after hosting an iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan, and meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan and other high officials earlier in the week.

It is not immediately known if Khan will be tested again. He was checked in April, and tested negative, after meeting with the head of Pakistans biggest charity organisation, Faisal Edhi, who was subsequently confirmed to have caught the disease.

I have quarantined myself at home, Qaiser, who is also a close aide to Khan, said on Twitter.

Qaiser, a close aide to Khan, had hosted an iftar dinner attended by politicians and dignitaries on Monday [File: National Assembly, via AP]

07:50 GMT  Australian PM: No evidence virus originated in China lab

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has angered Beijing by calling for a global inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak, said he had no evidence to suggest the disease originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence he said he had seen.

Morrison says he is not ruling anything out over the origin of the virus [File: Rohan Thomson/Getty Images]

Morrison said Australia had no information to support that theory and said the confusion supported his push for an inquiry to understand how the outbreak started and then spread rapidly around the world.

What we have before us doesnt suggest that that is the likely source, Morrison told a news conference in Canberra when asked about Trumps comments.

Theres nothing we have that would indicate that was the likely source, though you cant rule anything out in these environments, he said.

07:45 GMT  Russia reports record daily rise in cases

Russia reported 7,933 new cases of the coronavirus, a record daily rise, bringing its nationwide tally to 114,431.

The official nationwide death toll rose to 1,169 after 96 people infected with the virus died in the last 24 hours, Russias coronavirus crisis response centre said.





07:15 GMT  South Africa eases lockdown

South Africa has begun to gradually loosen its strict coronavirus, allowing some industries to reopen after five weeks of restrictions that plunged its struggling economy deeper into turmoil.

Winter clothing, textile and packaging manufacturing are among the industries permitted to reopen factories. Restaurants will also open, but only for takeaway deliveries.

Some outside activities such as cycling, walking and running will be allowed  but for just three hours in the morning.

Controversial bans on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol will remain in effect.

06:55 GMT  Germanys confirmed cases rise by 1,639

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,639 to 160,758, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The death toll rose by 193 to 6,481.

German authorities have agreed to reopen playgrounds, churches and cultural institutions such as museums and zoos as part of the gradual loosening of the countrys pandemic lockdown.

06:50 GMT  Irish airline Ryanair plans 3,000 job cuts

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said it plans to axe up to 3,000 pilot and cabin crew jobs, with air transport paralysed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dublin-based Ryanair added in a statement that most of its flights will remain grounded until at least July and predicted it would take until summer 2022 before passenger demand recovers.

06:40 GMT  Turkey evacuates over 300 nationals from Iraq

More than 300 Turkish nationals were evacuated to Turkey from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and several southern provinces, upon their repatriation requests due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Turkish citizens were returned to their homeland through the land route with the support of Turkish ministries and the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad.

The Turkish government has repatriated around 60,000 of its nationals from various countries since the start of the pandemic.

Turkey prepares to deliver medical equipment to Palestine [Esra Bilgin/Anadolu]

06:30 GMT  May Day marks pain for workers hit by virus

The first of May usually brings both protest rallies and celebration rallies marking International Workers Day.

Among the ten of millions of people left idle or thrown out of work by the coronavirus crisis, garment workers have been among the hardest hit as orders dry up and shutdowns leave factories shuttered, giving workers plenty to protest at a time when lockdowns are keeping them at home.

Millions of jobs have vanished in countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar that rely heavily on garment manufacturing as fashion brands cancelled or suspended billions of dollars worth of orders.

06:15 GMT  Heathrow sees April passenger numbers down 97%

Londons Heathrow Airport, traditionally the busiest in Europe, said passenger numbers were expected to be down by around 97 percent in April and they were likely to remain weak until governments fighting the coronavirus outbreak deem it safe to travel.

For the first quarter, revenue fell 12.7 percent to 593 million pounds ($745m).

Heathrow said it had 3.2 billion pounds in liquidity, sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers.

A lady wearing a mask is seen at Heathrow airport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain [Henry Nicholls/Reuters]

06:00 GMT  Hungary PM warns of potential second wave in Oct-Nov

Hungary needs to prepare for a potential second wave of the coronavirus outbreak in October to November, even though the spreading of the virus will likely slow in the summer, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio.

Orban also said if authorities manage to reduce the death rate from the pandemic in Budapest, where 80 percent of deaths have been recorded, only then will current restrictions be eased in the capital city.

Hungary will lift a large part of restrictions in the countryside from Monday.

Hungarian ballet dancer Zsolt Kovacs performs a choreographic piece he has designed for the coronavirus melody, a musical composition created by MIT scientists from a model of the protein structure of SARS-CoV-2 in Budapest, Hungary [Bernadett Szabo/Reuters]

05:45 GMT  Australia says relationship with China mutually beneficial

Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the countrys relationship with China mutually beneficial amid an intensifying row with Beijing over a proposed international inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak.

China, Australias top trading partner, has accused Canberra of petty tricks in the dispute that could affect diplomatic and economic ties between the countries.

Hello, this is Saba Aziz in Doha, taking over from my colleague Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur.

05:03 GMT  Thailand reports six new coronavirus cases

Thailand reported six new coronavirus cases and no new death on Friday, taking its tally to 2,960 infections while fatalities remained at 54 since the outbreak began in January.

New daily infections have stayed in the single digits for five consecutive days. The six cases also marked the lowest new daily infections since early March, according to Reuters News Agency.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida produce a face mask during a visit to an exhibition at a Royal Guard regiment in Bangkok [Royal Household Bureau via Reuters]

04:39 GMT  Australia to consider easing of containment measures

Australia will consider next Friday whether to relax coronavirus-related mobility restrictions, as the growth rate of new infections slows, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday following a national cabinet meeting.

Morrison urged Australians to download an app aimed at tracing contacts of COVID-19 patients, saying it was a pre-condition to relaxing the containment measures.

Australia has reported about 6,700 COVID-19 cases and 93 deaths.

04:24 GMT  Japans Naruhito performs ritual

Japans Emperor Naruhito marked the first anniversary of his enthronement on Friday with a prayer at palace shrines for the peoples peace and happiness amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Naruhito, wearing a white surgical mask, greeted well-wishers on the sidewalk from a royal car on the way to the palace for the ritual.

Naruhito, 60, ascended to the Chrysanthemum throne on May 1 last year, the day after his father, Akihito, abdicated. In Fridays closing ritual, Naruhito was to change to traditional outfit to pray for the peace and happiness for the people and the gods of Shinto.

04:24 GMT  Protesters stage May Day rally in Taiwan

Labour union groups gather for a May Day rally while wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus disease in Taipei on Friday [Ann Wang/Reuters]

04:12 GMT  Afghanistan likely facing coronavirus health disaster

Afghanistan, beset by a poor healthcare system, malnutrition, war and other vulnerabilities, likely is facing a health disaster from the coronavirus, a watchdog report to the US Congress warns.

The report by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) could heighten concerns among US officials that the pandemic threatens to derail stalled US-led peace efforts.

Afghanistans numerous and, in some cases, unique vulnerabilities  a weak health-care system, widespread malnutrition, porous borders, massive internal displacement, contiguity with Iran, and ongoing conflict  make it likely the country will confront a health disaster in the coming months, the report said.

Read more here.

03:19 GMT  Malaysia to allow most businesses to reopen starting on May 4

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Friday that most businesses will be allowed to reopen starting on Monday, May 4, subject to some conditions.

Economic sectors that involve large gatherings of people such as cinema and bazaars, however, will not be allowed to reopen, he said in a televised address.

Muhyiddin made the announcement as he acknowledged that the government has lost an estimated 63 billion Malaysian ringgit ($14.66bn) due to the lockdown following the coronavirus pandemic.

02:44 GMT  South Korean exports plunge due to coronavirus

The coronavirus crisis sent South Korean exports plunging in April at their sharpest pace since the global financial crisis, signalling a bleak outlook for international trade as the pandemic paralyses the world economy and shatters demand, according to Reuters news agency.

Exports dived 24.3 percent year-on-year in April, trade ministry data showed on Friday, the worst contraction since May 2009. It slid 0.7 percent in the previous month.

The average exports per working day, excluding the calendar effect, also tumbled 17.4 percent, far worse than the 6.9 percent fall seen in March.

South Korea, is Asias fourth-largest economy.

02:25 GMT  South Korea reports nine new cases

South Korea reported nine more cases of the new coronavirus Friday, bringing the nations total infections to 10,774, out of whom 9,072 have recovered, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Of the nine new cases, eight cases are believed to come from people who came from overseas, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a statement.

The nations death toll from the coronavirus rose by one to 248 total.

01:55 GMT  Funeral home in New York overflowing with bodies

New York state officials have warned that funeral home could face fines and licence suspensions after police found that one such facility in Brooklyn had resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in rented trucks.

Authorities found that the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home had rented four trucks to hold about 50 corpses, Health Commissioner Dr Howard Zucker said Thursday.

A neighbouring business owner called 911 to report that fluids were leaking from one of the trucks, police said.

Health officials issued guidance to all funeral homes that they would not tolerate any of that kind of behaviour, Zucker said at the daily coronavirus briefing by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Almost 63,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the US, the majority of which were from New York.

Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the offending funeral home in New York City [Craig Ruttle/AP]

01:25 GMT  Japan to decide whether to extend state of emergency

Japan will formally decide as early as Monday whether to extend its nationwide state of emergency, according to the public broadcaster NHK, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned citizens to prepare for a drawn-out battle against the coronavirus.

The nationwide state of emergency is set to expire on May 6 and the government is planning to extend the emergency for about a month, sources have told Reuters news agency.

Some countries are restarting business activity after closures and social distancing measures to contain the spread of the virus, even as Japan has seen far fewer infections and deaths than hot spots in the United States and Europe.

The government is planning to extend the emergency for about a month, sources have told Reuters news agency [Eugene Hoshiko/AP]

01:00 GMT  China reports 12 new cases of coronavirus

Chinas National Health Commission reported on Friday 12 new coronavirus infections as of the end of Thursday, with 6 being imported cases.

There were almost 84,000 people infected with the virus in China, but about 94 percent of the patients have already recovered. At least 4,637 were officially reported as deaths.

Meanwhile, China announced that it will reopen the Palace Museum in Beijing to the public starting on Friday, May 1.

Beijing's #PalaceMuseum will reopen to the public on May 1. Tickets during the Labor Day holiday have already sold out as eager visitors move quickly to snap a chance to enjoy an explosion of #spring inside the palace walls. #tourism pic.twitter.com/FVQoFghYZV  China Daily (@ChinaDaily) May 1, 2020

01:00 GMT  Top US doctor expresses hope for coronavirus drug

News that an experimental drug seems to be the first effective treatment for the new coronavirus has unleashed a flurry of interest.

Talk turned Thursday to how quickly the federal Food and Drug Administration might act on Gilead Sciences remdesivir, after preliminary results from a major study found it shortened the recovery time by an average of four days for people hospitalised with the disease, also known as COVID-19.

You do now have a drug that you have proven can actually work on the virus, the National Institutes of Healths Dr Anthony Fauci told the Associated Press news agency.

Will it be an overwhelming cure? No, of course not. But with its use, you will free up hospital beds, you will take less stress on the health care system, he added.

00:40 GMT  Australia plots return of sport as spread of coronavirus slows

The Australian government will meet on Friday to discuss how sport can restart as the number of new coronavirus cases dwindles and states begin to relax restrictions on social gatherings, two sources familiar with the details told Reuters news agency.

Australia has reported about 6,700 cases of the new coronavirus and 93 deaths, significantly below the levels reported in the United States, Britain and Europe. Growth in new infections has slowed to less 0.5 percent a day, compared to 25 percent a month ago.

The agenda includes the principles for sport and other recreational activities, one source familiar with the cabinet agenda told Reuters.

00:30 GMT  Mexico reports 1,425 new coronavirus cases, 127 deaths

Mexican health officials have reported 1,425 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 127 new deaths in the country, bringing the total to 19,224 cases and 1,859 deaths in the country.

00:01 GMT  Trump says US can never declare total victory over virus

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believes the US can never declare total victory over the coronavirus because too many people have died. But he added that he will count it a win when the virus is gone and the economy fully reopened.

With almost 63,000 Americans fallen to the virus, Trump pointed out that the death rate in the US was lower than in many other countries and he offered the optimistic prediction that the battered economy would be vastly improved in a matter of months and spectacular by 2021.

__________________________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can find all the key developments from yesterday, April 30, here.

Dutch coronavirus cases rise to 39,791 with 98 new deaths  health authorities

The Netherlands number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen by 475 to 39,791 health authorities said on Friday, with 98 new deaths.

The countrys death toll stands at 4,893, the Netherlands Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said in its daily update.

The RIVM cautioned it only reports confirmed cases, and actual numbers are higher.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has warned his neighbors he will 'cut you into cutlets like a filet mignon' and 'eat your leftist a**' if he and his daughters are starving during lockdown.

The far right radio host launched into a maniacal outburst on his InfoWars radio show Tuesday saying he would kill and eat his neighbors.

'You know what, I'm ready. My daughters aren't starving to death. I'll eat my neighbours,' said Jones.

His ex-wife Kelly Jones posted the clip on social media slamming his comments as 'homicidal' and 'terrifying' while the two battle over custody of their three children.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has warned his neighbors he will 'cut you into cutlets like a filet mignon' and 'eat your leftist a**' if he and his daughters are starving during lockdown

In the irate rant, the controversial conspiracy theorist went in to great detail about how he would turn to cannibalism to feed his family.

'I'm starting to think about having to eat my neighbors,' he began.

'You think I like sizing up my neighbors, how I'm going to haul him up by a chain and chop his a** up! I'll do it.'

Jones becomes increasingly erratic during the rant, at points shouting into the camera and waving his fist.

The far right radio host launched into a maniacal outburst about how he would kill and eat his neighbors on his InfoWars radio show on Tuesday

'I'm ready to hang them up and gut them and skin them and chop them up. You know what I'm ready,' he ranted.

'My daughters aren't starving to death. I'll eat my neighbors. Well my babies come into the equation I will cook your a** up so fast, and I'll tell them "oh i cooked a cow up out back baby. Here it is."

'Because my babies ain't gonna die for your c**p, your failure.'

In the edited clip posted by his ex-wife, the avid Trump supporter then points out that he will eat Democrats first.

'I will eat your leftist a** like corn on the cob, I'm ready,' he spouted.

'I'll barbecue your a** flat. I will eat you. I'll drink your blood - you understand that.

His ex-wife Kelly Jones (above) used the tirade as ammunition amid their bitter custody battle, blasting her ex-husband in a Twitter post Friday

She shared the clip calling his tirade 'homicidal' and 'terrifying'. The couple divorced in March 2015 and Kelly filed for sole or joint custody of their three children in 2017, claiming her former spouse was 'not a stable person'

'I will hang your a** up and cut you into cutlets like a filet mignon and grill your a** before I watch my daughters starve to death.'

However, the anti-lockdown protester said he has stockpiled a few years' worth of food to keep them going before he will have to resort to murder and cannibalism.

Kelly Jones used the tirade as ammunition amid their bitter custody battle, blasting her ex-husband in a Twitter post Friday.

'This is my ex-husband, Alex Jones, graphically describing how he'll kill his neighbor to f e e d my kids: Homicidal. Terrifying,' she Tweeted.

'I lost my kids for tweeting about injustice. This is UNJUST to my kids. This is a mom's worst nightmare. Court must act. Help RT.'

The couple divorced in March 2015 and Kelly filed for sole or joint custody of their three children in 2017, claiming her former spouse was 'not a stable person'.

Judges awarded them joint custody but Kelly filed another case for custody of the two youngest children this March after Jones was arrested for DUI - something he then branded a 'DWI dragnet' on his fake news website.

April 18 at the 'ReOpen America' protest in Texas: The InfoWars' host's latest unhinged rant comes as he has become increasingly vocal in protesting state lockdowns set up to slow the spread of coronavirus

April 25 at a 'ReOpen America' protest in Texas: Jones was pictured at the anti-lockdown rally in Texas, where thousands of Americans marched on the capitol building in Austin demanding an end to stay-at-home orders and complaining it is an attack on their liberty

Jones has also been ramping up his outlandish conspiracy theories amid the pandemic

The InfoWars' host's latest unhinged rant comes as he has become increasingly vocal in protesting state lockdowns set up to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Jones was pictured at anti-lockdown rally in Texas on April 18 and 25, where thousands of Americans marched on the capitol building in Austin demanding an end to stay-at-home orders and complaining it is an attack on their liberty.

Jones has also been ramping up his outlandish conspiracy theories during the pandemic, with theories ranging from the virus being a Chinese communist plot to attack the West and a disease that can be partially eradicated by taking the supplements he sells on his site.

The Food and Drug Administration sent a letter last month ordering him to remove 'misleading' statements from his InfoWars website which claimed the colloidal sliver supplements he sells can help treat COVID-19.

In the letter, the FDA gave Jones 48 hours to take down the videos and put up disclaimers beneath the products, saying that there is no scientific proof that they 'mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19', threatening legal action if he didn't comply.

Jones updated his website accordingly.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The new Stay Safe Ohio order keeps much of Ohio shut down until May 29. But Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday not to be too fixated on the date, which includes Memorial Day weekend.

The order itself will be superseded throughout the month, he said at his statehouse news briefing. We just had to put a date on it.

That gives a glimmer of hope for freedom on Memorial Day weekend, the traditional unofficial kick-off to summer. The Memorial Day holiday in 2020 is May 25 -- the earliest it could possibly be, as the last Monday in May.

DeWine stressed that his new order is no longer a stay-at-home order, but rather one that keeps Ohioans safe. He expects to issue new orders, opening more businesses, throughout the month. But he said he cant predict what to expect for all of summer. That depends on coronavirus cases, testing, tracing and other developments.

Related: What Put-in-Bay wants you to know about summer vacations amid coronavirus

What if swimming pools, camps and amusement parks are closed amid coronavirus? 10 summer fun family ideas

While DeWine has set guidelines to reopen Ohio -- including medical procedures today, manufacturing Monday and retail May 12 -- he has set no timetables for throwing open the doors of fun attractions, like zoos or amusement parks. Charter fishing trips can resume May 12.

DeWine said he understood that Ohioans want to visit their extended family. He referred, as he often does, to his wife, Fran, and their eight children and 24 grandchildren, whom he wishes he could hug.

This is not easy, he said. But its not going to last forever.

Campgrounds and RV parks remain closed, under the order. DeWine said a working group on outdoor recreation is considering how to reopen campgrounds in the next several weeks.

But in another blow to summer fun, the Cleveland Metroparks on Friday canceled the super popular Edgewater and Euclid Beach Live concert series, as well as summer camps and facility rentals.

We understand that summers coming, and people like to get out," DeWine said. Im optimistic about people being able to do that.

Read the order below:
EAST ALTON  When sewing hobbyist Laura Blair first started making masks for nursing homes and medical staff, she had no idea that the project would develop into a full-fledged one-woman sewing operation.

I didnt know how long Id be doing it when I first started out, said Blair, who lives in East Alton. I just put the word out there that if anybody in the area needed a mask, Id make them one. So, I didnt know when I took that first bite that it was going to turn into a full meal.

Heading the call for cloth made masks due to nationwide shortages of personal protection equipment (PPE), Blair has made at least 438 cloth masks since she started the project just a few weeks ago.

At first, I didnt believe that these masks were up to industry standards, but then I found out what the shortages were like for hospitals as far as PPE goes because the industry just wasnt ready or prepared for this, she said. Im still not sure when the industry is going to catch up. Theres still a call for the cloth masks.

Blair said nurses and medical staff wear the cloth masks over their standard issued surgical masks, extending the life of the surgical masks. This is important since many medical professionals are allotted just one surgical mask and arent able to change it between patients. The machine washable cloth masks can be switched out with each new patient a nurse or doctor treats.

I know Ive made a lot for medical people (and) home hospice workers, said Blair. Sometimes, I just get a message that theyve been referred by a friend because they work in the medical field. Im sure you could throw a stone and hit a hospital that needs masks. 

Initially, Blair started by helping those in nursing homes after discovering that hospitals would get precedence over the supply of surgical masks, leaving the older and most vulnerable part of the population open to getting sick. Since then, she has made masks for just about anyone whos asked for them, including about 76 masks for Senior Services Plus (SSP) Foster Grandparents Program.

I cant thank Laura enough, said Director Rose Glassbrenner. Shes going beyond herself and shes just really trying to help the community as a whole. Its amazing and so appreciated. Were not going to get through this without working together as a community and looking out for one another. Shes a superhero.

Initially working out of pocket, Blair burned up her old sewing machine soon after she started the project and had to purchase a new one. She also had to purchase dressmaking shears to be able to cut a lot of masks at once.

Its kind of funny, she said. Theres these mask makers and a lot of them have worn out their sewing machines and had to get new ones.

With the aid of a friend who helped raise funds and community support of the project, Blair was able to purchase the new heavy duty machine and other supplies and continue her work.

Im shocked by it, she said. People just started contacting me because they wanted to help. They just didnt know how to sew, but were perfectly willing to support me so that I could do it.

Blair said her husband also helps with the masks internal wiring that enables the mask to fit over the bridge of the wearers nose.

What Im observing with people making masks is that there is this grassroots movement with people getting out their sewing machines and dusting them off and making them, said Blair. Just taking care of things at a local level is what people end up doing.

Although she had an initial goal when she started, thats been extended along with Governor Pritzkers stay-at-home order and she plans to continue making masks as long as there is a need.

Im still doing it, she said. I gave myself a number of 500 to get to, just to pause and assess. Im not done. Im not done at 500 either.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering losses in employment in the country.



Dr Yaw Baah, TUC, Secretary-General, said an ongoing research by the Labour Research and Policy Institute of TUC, shows the devastating effects of the COVID-19 health crisis on jobs and livelihoods in both the formal and informal segments of the economy.



He cited the example of a company which exports drinks and had lost tons of its raw materials including mangoes, pineapple, pawpaw because it could not export due to border closures around the world.



All casual and contract workers have been laid off. The company has also stopped all overtime work. As a result, workers incomes have reduced drastically. The company is struggling to pay workers, pay social security, pay taxes and repay bank loans, Dr Baah stated on Friday, in his virtual address to workers to commemorate the 2020 May Celebration.



The annual May Day Celebration, which is globally recognized as a day of solidarity with workers, used to be marked in Ghana with national and regional parades, however, this years event, had to be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.



The event on the theme: COVID -19 in Ghana: Impact on Employment and Working Conditions, which was attended by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was organised by the TUC in collaboration with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).



Dr Baah said in another instance a company in the fishing subsector in Tema, in order to comply with social distancing rules, the company has reduced the number of workers per shift per day.



He said this same company reported that business slowed down considerably during the partial lockdown because customers were not allowed entry into Tema to transact business; adding that almost all workers in the company were asked to stay home without pay.



Dr Baah again cited that a paint manufacturing company which exports its products to countries in the West African sub-region had to shut down its plant and all employees were sent home because almost all these countries have closed their borders.



He said shops in Accra and Kumasi have suffered a very drastic reduction in sales because of the restriction on movement of persons for three weeks.



Those that are still operating find it difficult to pay salaries, social security and taxes. One company complained about its inability to provide PPEs for its staff because of huge loss of revenue, Dr Baah said.



He said a real estate company sent home all its employees with 50 per cent salary.

He said in the hotels and tourism sector; the effects has been more devastating; declaring that hundreds of workers have lost their jobs.

The few who are lucky to keep their jobs have suffered pay cuts because of reduction in hours or days of work, he said.



Dr Baah mentioned that in the aviation sector, due to the closure of the airport all airlines had stopped operations.



He said companies that were providing aviation services and employing hundreds of workers have had to either shut down completely or keep skeleton staff to handle emergency aviation services.



He said in the informal economy workers including farmers, traders, barbers, shoe shine boys, hairdressers, and hawkers have lost their livelihoods; adding that obviously, these enterprises need help.



He said the TUC agrees with the recommendations submitted by Ghana Employers Associations to the Minister for Finance; calling on Government to quickly develop and implement a comprehensive Economic Response Strategic to deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.



This, he said, would require stabilisation and stimulus packages for businesses and households to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the economy, adding that the GH600 million announced by government was a good start, but more support was needed for businesses.



On his part, Professor Amin Alhassan, Director-General, GBC, said: We do not want this day to be remembered as the May Day celebration that was cancelled because of COVID-19. We want it to be remembered as the day when the National May Celebration event was moved into GBC studios for Ghanaians across the country to stay home and celebrate with us.

Source: GNA









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The Maharashtra CID Crime Branch



has arrested five more persons in connection with the lynching of two sadhus and their driver under Kasa police station limits in Palghar district on April 16, officials said on Friday.

The three victims, from Kandivali in Mumbai, were on their way to attend a funeral in Surat in Gujarat amid the lockdown when they were attacked and killed by a mob in Gadchinchile village in the presence of a police.

"With the nabbing of these five people, the number of people held in the case now stands at 115, nine of whom are juveniles. These are the first arrests made by the state CID Crime Branch which recently took over probe. All, except the juveniles, have been remanded in police custody till May 13," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Presidency may be going through a process of distortions in information management of the activities of President Muhammadu Buhari in the State, Abuja. Information management in the Presidency appears to have been taken away from the Presidential Media Team to other section(s) of the federal government. The revelation that the broadcast of President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday originated outside the Presidency raises a lot of questions about the structure of the State House in the post-Abba Kyaris era. Abba Kyari was the Chief of Staff to President Buhari; he died of coronavirus infection.

Protesting the leakage of the draft of the presidents broadcast speech before the final copy which was recorded for broadcast, the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, revealed that speech originated outside the Presidency. The presidential Media aides were relegated to editing the speech.

Though, Adesina concentrated on shifting blames of inherent inadequacies in the draft which were rectified in the final copy to external interests; he further declared war on the media over the use of the leaked unedited draft in their publications. However, recent broadcasts by the president contain inherent inconsistencies that were unprofessional of a rational government. For instance, in the earlier broadcast the President announced the enforcement of lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states, part of the palliative measures was the feeding of school children while all schools in the country have been closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government was then taking up the responsibilities of parents to feed children in the direct custody of their mothers and fathers, or guardians, as the case may be. Certain post-coronavirus era adjustments, for instance payment of interests on Tradermoni, Marketmoni micro loans, were also announced by the president the palliatives during the lockdown. These were at a time government were providing palliatives to citizens for immediate survival.

The inconsistencies have been generating caustic criticisms over the processes of public policies articulation and implementation by the president.

Adesina complaining of the discrepancies in the leaked draft and the official speech broadcasted by President Buhari last week, declared: I made a few phone calls to those of us involved with the script, right from origination, which was from outside the Presidency, to final editing, which I did, and the conclusion was easy to reach. Somebody had spirited out the original draft, which had gone through many stages of fine-tuning in terms of content and language, and thinking that it was a world exclusive in terms of artifice and underhand action, he fed it into the social media.

Adesina noted that the perpetrator forgot that in these days of technology, almost everything leaves a trail. Before the end of that evening, computer evidence had narrowed down the suspect, and he was already answering for his evil act.

The S.A Media further stated that if the person that leaked the unedited draft of the broadcast had access to more sensitive national documents, he would do the same thing.

The presidential Media team has the responsibility of interfacing with the President, take note of his decisions or policy options on national issues, then, compile speech that reflects the presidents actions or propositions.

There are fears that a neo cabal be emerging in the government or pre-existing one may be adjusting and consolidating.

There are noticeable language shifts in the presidents current broadcasts from the past when aides were doing the job of writing.
A 10-year-old girl was lured away with a promise of chocolates and allegedly raped by four men in a village in Bihars Vaishali district on Friday morning, police said.

The four men forcibly took the girl to a maize field in the village under Goroul police station area of the district and raped her there, officials said.

The girl was later found unconscious and profusely bleeding in the field by some farmers. She was rushed to the nearby community health centre from where she was referred to the Sadar Hospital for better treatment.

The girl is in deep trauma. We are waiting for her condition to improve so that we can find more details, Nurul Haque, Mahuas deputy superintendent of police (DSP), said.

Police have registered a case against the four unidentified men based on a complaint lodged by the girls family. The men are on the run, officials said.

The case has been registered under section 376D (gangrape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

While the forensic team has collected samples from the crime spot, local police are on the lookout for the accused.

Report of crimes, especially sexual abuse, against girls and women have been on the rise in the state in the last month.

A 15-year-old girl was raped by five men in Qadirganj police station area in Nawada district on April 29. Two days before that, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped for four days by two men who later abandoned her in a village in Gaya district.

Siwan Police arrested four men for the alleged gang-rape of a minor under the Darauda police station area on April 12. Another minor girl was allegedly molested at Sakurabad police station area in Jehanabad district when she was returning home from a grocery shop on April 10.

A woman from the Beur police station area in Patna was abducted by four men and raped on April 3.

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Iran has struggled to combat the coronavirus - AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

Prisoners with suspected coronavirus in Iran are disappearing due to illness or being given sleeping pills and sent back to crowded cells where the virus can easily spread, a British-Iranian father who is jailed on spying charges has claimed.

Retired engineer Anoosheh Ashoori, 66, secretly recorded an audio diary detailing the chaotic conditions in Evin prison, Tehran, where he is serving a 10-year sentence for spying for Israel, which he strongly denies.

Several inmates have fallen ill due to suspected coronavirus, Mr Ashoori claims, adding that once a sick prisoner goes to the prisons medical centre, he does not return nobody knows any more about his fate.

Another prisoner complained of Covid-19 symptoms but was not tested, he added. Instead, he was given sleeping pills and told by a prison doctor to go back and rest in a cell shared with 11 other men.

Iran has been the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East and has recorded more than 95,000 cases and 6,000 related deaths, although the official figures are heavily disputed.

As a precaution in March, the Islamic Republic temporarily released thousands of prisoners from its over-crowded jails, including British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been allowed to stay with her parents in Tehran while being monitored by an ankle tag.

But other dual nationals accused of espionage, including Mr Ashoori and the British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, have remained behind bars in Evin, while other inmates are now returning following their temporary release.

It is just enough for one contaminated person to arrive and the rest will soon contract the virus, Mr Ashoori said in the diary, recorded last month [April] during phone calls to his wife, Sherry Izadi.

Ms Izadi, from South London, today [Friday] criticised the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for a lack of action to release her husband, saying he had become forgotten since being arrested in August 2017 while visiting his family in Iran.

Every time I hear Dominic Raab talk about returning Britons who have been trapped on holiday by coronavirus, I wonder why he is not giving the same priority to those, like my husband, who are held unlawfully in a foreign prison, she said. Other countries are doing deals to free their citizens, but the government that is showing the least action has to be the British. Its as if they have forgotten my husband exists.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: We strongly urge Iran to reunite British-Iranian dual national Mr Ashoori with his family. Our Embassy in Tehran continues to request consular access and we have been supporting his family since being made aware of his detention. The treatment of all dual nationals detained in Iran is a priority and both the PM and Foreign Secretary have recently raised this issue with their Iranian counterparts.
Dionne O'Rourke Ryan fought Covid-19 and a litany of other dangerous conditions to give birth to her son.

But she is now having to plan a funeral for baby Bradan Fergus's twin, whom they have named Hope.

Dionne became the first woman with Covid-19 to undergo a caesarian section in Dublin's Rotunda Hospital 12 days ago.

Dionne and husband Eddie Ryan were told for seven years that they might never have a baby naturally.

Then the expectant mother fought hyperemesis gravidarum and pre-eclampsia before contracting coronavirus. The couple were elated to get their 5lb bundle of joy, but were hit with the news that tests showed another little foetus clinging on to her placenta.

Recalling her health battles in the run-up to the birth, Dionne (36) said: "I was tested twice for Covid-19. The first was negative and the second came back positive, just before I was rushed into the Rotunda with breathing problems.

"I have to say it was the most lonely and terrifying time of my life. I was on my own and two midwives were dressed in PPE and came in periodically to check on me. I was petrified for what would happen to my son and, at 36 weeks' pregnant, underwent the C-section without Eddie present."

Thankfully, she is now Covid-19 free and little Bradan tested negative when he was born - but the drama didn't end there.

"Last Saturday, I was rushed into the Rotunda again with high blood pressure and had to spend the night there for observation. When I returned on the Monday for a check-up, I was met with a bereavement counsellor.

"She told us that my placenta had been sent off for tests to see if Covid-19 was active. They found a seven-week old foetus attached to the placenta.

"I never even knew I was pregnant with twins. We've been given the baby's remains and are organising a little funeral to bury the baby with my grandfather in Duleek.

"I don't know if the baby was a boy or girl but in my head, I imagine a little girl so we've called her Hope.

"I guess I just want other mums-to-be or women trying for children to know there is hope - hope to be a mum, hope that everything will be OK and hope that others will beat Covid-19."
The leadership of parliament has denied news making the rounds on social media that each MP has been given GHS120,000 to fight COVID-19 in their constituencies.



Both the majority and minority sides of the house want the general public to ignore the fabricated stories.



Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said the news puts lawmakers in bad light, hence the denial.



I understand that there is a report on social media that Members of Parliament have been paid some amount of money for purposes of COVID-19; 120,000.



That is inaccurate, it is misleading, it is erroneous and only meant to put members of parliament to ridicule and all kinds of demands from our constituents, Mr Iddrisu told journalists.

Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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What is Phishing? If if this is an unfamiliar term, it is time to get caught up and quickly. As defined by Meriam Webster, phishing is a scam by which an Internet user is duped (as by a deceptive e-mail message) into revealing personal or confidential information which the scammer can use illicitly. With the new reality of working from home due to COVID-19, there has been an alarming increase in the number of attempted phishing attacks.

For some time now, phishing schemes have been hackers go-to method of cyber-attack, partially due to the ease in which existing emails, text messages, and other communications can be mimicked. COVID-19 has created an environment of uncertainty and an increased number of access points, which bad actors have already and will continue to exploit. Capsicum focuses on serving client needs and wants to provide a playbook on how to identify and avoid phishing attacks.

Types of Phishing Attacks:

While phishing attacks are most commonly known for being in email form, that isnt the only way bad actors are presenting this method of cyber-attack:

1) Email Phishing

When the term phishing is referenced, it was more than likely email phishing. This style of attack is by far the most common due to its ease of creation and ability to distribute to the large numbers of people. Bad actors will send emails from what appear to be familiar domains, but will have minor changes hoping to trick the individual into thinking this is a trusted email. An example of this might be receiving an email from Susan@gmail.co instead of Susan@gmail.com. If a person is not paying attention, one might not realize that m missing in the first email address and end up believing future communications are taking place with a familiar source.

2) Spear Phishing

Like the above-mentioned email phishing, this type of attack also occurs through email, but with an added layer of sophistication. These attacks target a specific individual, often with the bad actors having some personal information about their target. An example would be an email addressed to a recipient that appears to be from a retail store the individual recently has ordered from; however, the retail brand and logo are spoofed and the email is designed to harvest login in credentials.

3) Whaling

This form of phishing attack targets bigger fish, often senior executives who have increased levels of decision-making power. While the end goal is the same as an email or spear phishing attack, these attacks are often more thought out using items such as tax forms in attempts to gather PII (Personally Identifiable Information). With access to executives and high-ranking individuals, bad actors believe they will be able to inflict maximum impact.

4) Smishing

Though many of the attacks people are probably familiar with involve emails, this type of attack involves hackers sending text messages to their targets. Sometimes these come in the form of payment requests; other times, these come in the form of promotional offers asking a person to share sensitive/personal information or that of their contacts.

5) Angler Phishing

This type of attack leverages social media in an attempt to have a person access fake URLs, cloned websites, posts, etc. For instance, a customer of a restaurant, retailer, or banking institution airs a grievance about the company over social, a hacker using angler phishing tactics, can masquerade as a customer support agent for the company. They can then message the disgruntled customer in an attempt to deceitfully elicit the customers personal account information. Angler phishing is a newer method of attack being used by bad actors, but it cannot be ignored. Social media isnt going away anytime soon, if anything it is becoming more prevalent in our everyday lives.

How to Identify and Evade Phishing Attacks:

Now that different types of phishing attacks have been covered, lets dive into some best practices to follow in attempts to handle them:

1. Always check the sender: A good habit to get into is checking the sender each time an email, text message, or other form of communication is received. While this may seem like an unnecessary and cumbersome task, it has the potential to pay enormous dividends. As mentioned earlier, hackers will often mimic commonly used email addresses and change just one character in attempts to trick their target.

2. Hyperlinks: Checking hyperlinks prior to selecting or sharing them with others is also crucial. First ask if the received link from the sending individual was expected. Next, review the actual link to make sure there are no misspellings. Don't hesitate to reach out to the sending party and ask the purported sender if the communication or link is legitimate.

3. Sense of Urgency or Too Good to be True: Offers or requests that are too good to be true probably are. A common tactic is to create a sense of urgency by placing an expiration date on said offer in attempts to get a person to act without thinking. As an example, receiving an SMS message from an unknown third party claiming to be offering a $100 gift certificate to Starbucks for sharing the message with eighty-five other individuals. This promotion attempted to raise a sense of urgency by noting that it would expire within the hour, with the goal of gaining access to contacts and their private information.

While Capsicum has provided some tips and techniques on how to identify and avoid phishing attacks, it is important to continuously enhance ones knowledge. As hackers continue to evolve their techniques, there is a duty to evolve. Monitoring various trusted government sites such as The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, The Federal Trade Commission, The National Cyber Security Centre, The Australian Cyber Security Centre, and others for updates is a valuable way to self-educate in an effort to stay ahead of hackers.

Need assistance, been the victim a phishing attack, or have a question? Please contact Capsicum Group at 215.222.3101.

About Capsicum:

Capsicum was founded in 2000 within the law firm of Pepper Hamilton, LLP. Charged with providing technology consulting support to their clients, we soon realized that the need to understand, collect, and forensically analyze digital data went far beyond what Capsicum was handling: Capsicum began as general technologists, but quickly became specialists in digital forensics. Areas of expertise soon evolved and expanded into forensic investigations, cybersecurity, discovery, electronic and paper recovery, security, regulatory compliance, and incident response retainers. In 2002, Capsicum became the independent consulting company that focuses on these core services. Employing high-caliber experts and a unique understanding of data, technology, and the law, we support organizations that need technological proficiency to run their companies and when they come face-to-face with difficult tech, legal, and regulatory situations. Capsicum is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with offices in New York, Florida, Texas, and California.

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At least two persons have died with many still trapped when an eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State, Thursday evening.

So far, about 14 persons have been rescued from the rubble of the uncompleted building.

The incident, which happened on the YarAdua Drive, caused panic in the state capital as many persons, mostly labourers were trapped in the rubble.

Security operatives, state government officials and personnel of the Nigeria Red Cross worked all through the night to salvage the situation.

It is believed that over 40 persons were in the building at the time of the collapse.

The commissioner for health in the state, Damaris Osunkwo, told journalists that 14 persons had been rescued and over 25 were still under the rubble.

Police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said that the police were working with others to rescue those trapped in the rubble.

Meanwhile, the police have cordoned off the scene.

It was gathered that the building had remained uncompleted for many years.

An eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State.

An eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State.

An eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State.

An eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State.

An eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State.

An eight-storey building collapsed in Owerri, Imo State.
Weeds are major constraints to cassava production in Africa, contributing to yield reduction and placing a huge burden on the lives of farmers, especially women and children.

Because cassava is a long duration crop, women often stoop for hundreds of hours to weed and keep a hectare of cassava clean for an annum. In some cases, children are withdrawn from school to help their parents to weed, a practice that compromises the education of children and undermines their future.

However, the gloomy side of weeds in cassava is changing and becoming brighter, thanks to researchers from IITA working under the Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) / and the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI).

In the last five years, the team has developed an integrated weed control package combining best-bet agronomic practices and the use of environmentally friendly herbicides in a kit known as the Six Steps to Cassava Weed Management.

The package is now being disseminated to help improve the livelihoods of farmers. Furthermore, the team has joined forces with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)a regulator in Nigeria and trained 659 spray service providers in communities in Abia, Benue, Ogun, and Oyo state.

The spray service providers comprise young men who already exist in local communities, but are now being empowered on the safe use and application of herbicides.

During the training, which had both practical and theoretical sessions, participants were taught safety and correct use of herbicides, and the use of best-bet agronomic practices in cassava farming systems. There was also a practical session on calibration using knapsack sprayers. A breakdown of trained participants across states showed that Abia had 105 participants, Benue had 101 participants, Ogun had 122 participants, and Oyo had 331 participants.

Through this approach, the researchers are addressing the issue of child labour as well as building local capacities among youth to deal with the problem of weeds. Moreover, the approach is helping to provide sustainable jobs for young people in local communities. The Assistant Director for NAFDAC in Ogun state, Pharm Linda J. Halim described the training of spray service providers as a step in the right direction. She commended IITA-CWMP/ ACAI for organizing the training, stressing that it would raise farmers consciousness on the safe use of herbicides, create jobs, protect and preserve the environment, and improve livelihoods.

Some of the spray service providers who participated in the training described the training as a life-saving event.

Most of us spray herbicides without personal protective equipment, and sometimes we use herbicides containers for storing water or cooking oil. Through this training, we have discovered that these are wrong practices because empty containers of herbicides contaminate either the water or cooking oil, which affects our health, farmer Emmanuel Tur said.

If I go home, I will tell my wife and other members of the community to dispose of empty containers of herbicides properly, he added.

Another farmer, Rachel Olanipekun said the training demonstrated the must-haves of any spray service provider.

We have learnt how to protect ourselves, and I thank IITA for training us. This training is an eye-opener for all of us, she added.

Alfred Dixon, Project Leader for the Cassava Weed Management project, said the feedback from participants was exciting.

Through the training, we saw farmers making commitment in terms of behavioral change. This makes me happy, he said.

Apart from NAFDAC, the trainings were conducted with the support of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi (FUAM) and the Agricultural Development Programs (ADPs).
Ask Dr. Land: The pilgrimage of a Baptist Christian  Importance of symbols in evangelism, discipleship (pt. 2)

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Ask Dr. Land: The pilgrimage of a Baptist Christian  Religious symbols, celebrations and Roman popery (pt. 1)





As I confessed last week, I was reared, converted, discipled, and called to preach in a Baptist free church tradition, which at best downplayed or ignored the Christian liturgical calendar other than Christmas and Easter. While I happily remain in that tradition, over the years I have come to a new and deeper appreciation of the evangelizing, discipling, and teaching role such observances can contribute to advancing peoples understanding of the manifold blessings and riches available to us as followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This week I want to discuss the particularly rich liturgical season Christians are presently in right now and the manifold opportunities provided to teach immortal truths by engaging a plurality of the senses (including sight, hearing, touch, smell, and if you include observance of the Lords Supper, taste). We can heighten and deepen our understanding of the significance of these eternal truths as we celebrate the Ascension and Pentecost. Easter and the Resurrection are not the end. Easter (including Good Friday) victoriously concludes the supreme purpose of our Saviors incarnation (the cross always casts a shadow over the manger and the joy of the birth of a Savior). Easter and the Resurrection symbolize Jesus triumph over death and the grave (1 Cor. 15:55-58) and the fact that He purchased salvation for all who accept Him as their personal Savior and Lord.

Ascension Thursday or Holy Thursday is celebrated 40 days after Easter and will be celebrated this year on May 21, as well as being observed by many churches on the following Sunday. The Ascension commemorates and celebrates the pivotal event recorded by Luke in the book of Acts:

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:9-12 KJV).

The symbolism and the significance of the Ascension signifying Jesus triumphal return to heaven as the Lord of glory should be an encouragement and an inspiration to all Christians. As the Apostles Creed states so eloquently, On the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

And then, ten days later, as Jesus had promised, He sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who came in a new and mighty way upon believers, empowering them in unprecedented ways to preach the Gospel of Jesus crucified, resurrected, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father (Act. 2:1-41). The celebration of Pentecost also reminds Christians of the origin and linkage of their faith to biblical Judaism because the Feast of Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jews from their enslavement in Egypt, an observance of which occasioned Jesus inauguration of the Lords Supper. Just so, Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks (sharuot) celebrates Gods revelation of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites on Mt. Sinai forty-nine days after the Exodus from Egypt. Passover and Pentecost are two of the three pilgrimage festivals of ancient Judaism when the residents of Judah were expected to make the pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem.

For Christians, of course, the paramount significance of Pentecost is that fifty days after Easter, as Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit descended on the Lords disciples and inaugurated a new era in Christendom, the Age of the Spirit. From this point onward, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells each believer, empowering them in unprecedented ways to serve our Savior and His purposes.

Also, though too often overlooked, at Pentecost we celebrate the first spirit-filled proclamation of the finished work of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, Peters incandescent sermon at the first Pentecost (Acts 2:14-42). No more vivid illustration can be furnished for the spiritual transformation accomplished by Pentecost than the Apostle Simon Peter himself. Peter has undergone a metamorphosis from a reticent, sometimes confused, almost befuddled disciple to a fearless, powerful, eloquent preacher of the Gospel of Jesus crucified, resurrected, and abiding in heaven today to intercede for the saints. It is as if Simon Peter went into a first century spiritual phone booth and put on a Holy Spirit Superman suit.

As I write these lines, I cannot help but recall Gods admonition to the Israelites when they were about to cross the River Jordan and take possession of the Promised Land God had given them. Gods admonition and instruction to His people then provide an invaluable insight concerning our responsibilities as Christian parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and disciples of younger Christian brothers and sisters.

God commands His people to keep His commandments and to always remember, The LORD our God is one LORD. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deut. 6:4-5).

He commands adults to teach them [His commandments] diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deut. 6:7).

This passage is a direct admonition to family worship and spiritual teaching in the home as well as the church. The word translated teach (shaman) literally means to sharpen as in repetition. Parents are to instruct their children just as one would sharpen a knife or razor by friction repeated again, and again, and again.

Why are we to do this? First, the Lord commanded it, and second, so that when the Lord thy God shall . . . give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyard and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage (Deut. 6:10-12).

I can think of no more appropriate admonition to America where we live in cities we did not build, reside in houses full of bounty that we did not fill, drink from wells we did not dig, and eat from vineyards and olive trees that we did not plant, then we are too often tempted to forget the God from whom our blessings have come.

My fervent prayer is that all of us who name the name of Christ as Savior and Lord will seize upon the opportunities provided by the extra time at home caused by the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the wonderful themes provided by this season in the Christian calendar between Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost to dwell upon the marvelous blessings of God in Christ and to disciple all those within our hearing and influence.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI  About 451 workers have been laid off in Michigan by Busche Performance Group, including hundreds at a West Michigan plant, according to filings with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Workforce Development.

On Thursday, April 30, the state posted a letter dated April 1 from the company about the temporary mass layoffs, including 362 workers at the Fruitport plant, located at 14638 Apple Dr.

Busche told state officials that the layoffs were in response to production shortages as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The company is a provider of casting and machining for chassis, powertrain and other components.

Employees were notified of the layoffs on March 20 and the potential for layoffs to be an indefinite duration.

The company also laid off 89 employees at its Southfield facility, according to the letter from Kayla Brown, human resources director.

Laid off employees did not receive severance pay, according to the letter, and insurance benefits were continued until April 17. Employees were advised to filed for unemployment insurance benefits.

Besides Michigan, the company has facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Alabama. According to its website, many of its facilities have temporarily closed or have significantly reduced production due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Bushe Performance Group did not return calls from MLive for comment prior to publication.

More on MLive:

Michigan to lay off 2,900 state employees amid budget woes caused by coronavirus outbreak

Founders Brewing plans mass layoff of 163 workers in coronavirus fallout

Michigan hospitals are needed now more than ever. Why are they laying off workers?
Catherine Tyldesley has revealed her grandfather is on a ventilator battling coronavirus.

The former Coronation Street star, 36, took to Instagram on Thursday and told fans he grandfather is 'really, really poorly'.

Catherine, whose parents are also battling coronavirus, said she is convinced her husband Tom Pitfield and son Alfie, five, caught it on a flight in November last year.

Poorly: Catherine Tyldesley has revealed her grandfather is on a ventilator as he battles coronavirus

Catherine said: 'He's on a ventilator in hospital at the moment.

'My parents were really really poorly for about a month. They really struggled to shake it.

'I'm convinced, I've got a lot of friends who are doctors and most have said it's been going on since September, October and people have been keeping it quiet and it's built and built and built.

'I'm convinced my Tom and Alfie had it in November. They caught it on a flight and some man collapsed on a plane, a young man, on oxygen, couldnt breathe.'

Ill: Catherine, whose parents are also battling coronavirus, said she is convinced her husband Tom Pitfield and son Alfie, five, caught it on a flight in November last year

'Very, very poorly': Catherine said: 'He's on a ventilator in hospital at the moment'

'All the symptoms of corona. The day after Tom woke up and said, "Phone me an ambulance I cant breathe". And you now how fit my Tom is - he's never ill. He was so ill.

Catherine continued: 'Four days later Alfie got it. And its only now that Im going, "Oh my God that was it".

'I put it on Instagram and so many people messaged me saying they were on my Emirates flight and they got sick.'

Scary: The actress previously revealed that her mum Janet and dad Graham have been suffering from symptoms of the deadly virus for three weeks

Last month, the Strictly star revealed that both of her parents Janet and Graham are battling coronavirus.

The actress made the surprise revelation during an interview with Lorraine Kelly on Good Morning Britain, adding her father was briefly hospitalised during his battle with the deadly disease.

But Catherine insisted that after three weeks of battling the virus she is optimistic that her parents have 'turned a corner' towards getting better.
Visa Inc. V reported second-quarter fiscal 2020 earnings of $1.39 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.96% and also rose 9% year over year.

This outperformance was driven by expanded payments volume and processed transaction, partly offset by a decline in cross-border revenues that suffered due to spending cuts as a COVID-19 fallout.

Further, net operating revenues of $5.9 billion topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.78% and improved 8% year over year as well. This upside was primarily driven by higher business volumes, partly offset by lower cross-border revenues and increase in client incentives, which constitute a contra revenue item.

Visa Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Visa Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Visa Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Visa Inc. Quote

Strong Financial Performance

On a constant-dollar basis, payments volume growth in the quarter was 5% year over year. Cross-border volume on a constant-dollar basis dipped 2%. Visa's processed transactions increased 7% from the prior-year quarter to 34.9 billion.

Service revenues increased 9% year over year to $2.6 billion on higher nominal payments volume. On a year-over-year basis, data processing revenues rose 11% to $2.7 billion and international transaction revenues grew 2% to $1.8 billion. Other revenues increased 20% year over year to $392 million.

Client incentives of $1.7 billion increased 15% year over year.

Adjusted operating expenses inched up 3.3% year over year to $1.9 billion, primarily due to higher personnel and depreciation and amortization.

Interest expense declined 15.7% year over year to $118 million.

Solid Balance Sheet

Cash and cash equivalents, and available-for-sale investment securities were $9.7 billion as of Mar 31, 2020, up 24.3% from the level as of Sep 30, 2019.

Total assets were $72.8 billion as of Mar 31, 2020, up 0.3% from the level as of Sep 30, 2019.

Share Buyback and Dividend Update

During the quarter, the company made share repurchases to the tune of $3.2 billion.

Story continues

On Apr 21, 2020, the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents per share, payable Jun 2, 2020 to its shareholders of record as of May 14, 2020.

Developments During the Quarter

On Jan 13, 2020, Visa signed a definitive agreement to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion, a network that helps people easily and securely connect their financial accounts to the apps they use to manage their finances. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2020.

On Mar 31, 2020, the company issued senior notes worth $4 billion, the proceeds from which will be used for general corporate purposes.

2020 Guidance

Given the impact of COVID-19-led uncertainty on the companys results, management has not provided any guidance for fiscal 2020.

Our Take

Despite the COVID-19-induced business disruption, which eroded the companys cross-border revenues, overall earnings gained from a rise in processed transactions.

In reported quarter, the company renewed several key relationships and forged new partnerships to expand its reach in consumer payments, new flows and value added services.

The companys policy to invest in organic and inorganic growth opportunities bodes well. Its strong brand name, vast business network, global presence, investment in technology, several alliances and acquisitions should help it overcome the current economic volatility.

Some other companies in the same space that already released respective March-quarter results are American Express Co. AXP and Mastercard Inc. MA, which beat on earnings by 17.2% and 6.4% each. However, Discover Financial Services DFS bottom line missed the mark by 118.4%.

Visa carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



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Employees at Belles & Beaux hustled around the boutique Thursday, hanging colorful hair bows and restocking shelves with the latest in kids fashion.

Then they moved on to disease prevention.

The sales clerks packed up the toys and table that had kept customers children entertained before the coronavirus pandemic. Toys in public places now are seen as yet another potential germ delivery system.

They also placed hand sanitizer near the cash register and removed the Easter outfits  a sign of how long the shop on North New Braunfels Avenue has been closed.

Belles & Beaux is one of the retailers embracing Gov. Greg Abbotts plan to reopen shops, malls, restaurants and movie theaters today, albeit at 25 percent of their capacity. Its the first small step back to normalcy, though the virus continues to spread around the state.

Next on the employees agenda was changing the window displays and setting up a new countertop card reader so they wont need to touch patrons plastic.

Come today, employees wearing masks will monitor the number of customers inside and regularly sanitizing doorknobs and surfaces.

We bought a lot of Lysol cans, owner Christen Wommack said.

As she prepared the store, Wommack said she had mixed emotions. April usually is one of the busiest months, and customers eager to buy gifts for new grandchildren or friends baby showers have been calling.

She added curbside and delivery options, but its not the same. A woman drove up recently, hoping to buy an outfit, and workers held clothes up to the window to show her.

Wommack doesnt know what to expect when she reopens the doors this morning. It could be quiet. Or, because of the state-mandated occupancy limits, she might need to post an employee outside to let customers know when they can come in.

Im hopeful, she said. It just feels like theres an end in sight.

Michael Fisher/ San Antonio Express-News

Most of the malls in San Antonio are reopening today or early next week and posting online lists of stores that will be open.

Other retailers decided to keep their stores closed, concerned either about the safety of their customers and employees or that too few shoppers will show up to warrant the expense.

Its going to be a very cautious reopening, said Venky Shankar, research director at Texas A&M Universitys Center for Retailing Studies. Its going to be slow and steady.

Adhering to states rules requires careful planning and execution and retailers may face challenges in rehiring employees, he said. Workers laid off from stores may have found new jobs at Walmart, Amazon, H-E-B or other companies seeing skyrocketing demand.

Retailers and mall owners shouldnt expect people to immediately come running back to stores, Shankar said. Shoppers and employees want to know what safety precautions are being taken.

Unless there are protocols and guidelines, the confidence will not come back, Shankar said. Confidence is king.

Simon Property Group, the biggest mall operator in the U.S., is reopening Ingram Park Mall and 48 of its other properties starting today.

Now Playing: Mayor Nirenberg answers the question: "What keeps you up at night?" Video: mySA

The company said seating at food courts will be spaced out and play areas and stroller and valet stations closed. Every other sink and urinal inside restrooms will be taped off.

Security officers and employees will actively remind and encourage shoppers to maintain the proper distance from fellow shoppers and workers and refrain from shopping in groups, and there also will be reminders over malls audio systems.

North Star Mall and the Shops at La Cantera will reopen Tuesday, with hand-sanitizing stations and social distancing measures in place. Seating areas in the food court will remain closed.

The shopping centers will undergo frequent and intense cleanings, according to a statement from Brookfield Properties, which manages both.

We are working diligently to provide safe, clean environments where people feel comfortable shopping, dining and enjoying their time, the company said. The safety and well-being of our retail partners and shoppers is of the utmost importance.

When The Sporting District at the Pearl reopens today, employees will be wearing face masks, washing their hands frequently and maintaining social distancing, owner Sean McNelis said.

Shoppers will enter through a courtyard instead of the front door of the mens specialty store, allowing for more space, and offered hand sanitizer made by Maverick Whiskey, a local distillery, brewery and restaurant.

All of that is being done so our store can be part of the solution in getting Texas back to work again and getting life back to normal as quickly and safely as possible for our customers, McNelis said.

Hes looking forward to reopening but doesnt know how much traffic to expect today. Online sales, he said, have been more robust than curbside pickup. Still, customers might be hunting for graduation, birthday and Fathers Day gifts, and they might be in the mood to browse.

Half of me believes theres a pent-up demand to be out, McNelis said. I think well see a surge, but I also think people are scared financially for whats coming next.

madison.iszler@express-news.net
"We feel extreme gratitude for those who are serving on the frontlines of this pandemic. And from our own frontlines to our back offices, we share an immense pride in the service we're providing to Southwest Customers for whom travel is essential right now," Gary Kelly , Southwest Chairman and CEO said. "Our sense of responsibility cannot be understated. In the future, we are committed to reconnecting our Customers to people and places they love. So, as we warmly await their return, we add the Southwest Promise to a nearly 50-year commitment of unmatched Hospitality and an unwavering focus on Safety."

The Southwest Promise includes elements designed to further the well-being of Customers and Employees at various points throughout their travel journeys:

Personal Protection and Wellness

Employee Face Masks or Coverings : Beginning May 3 , Southwest is requiring Customer-facing Employees to wear face masks or coverings when interacting with travelers, especially when distancing recommendations cannot be met. Of course, Employees will continue to comply with all local requirements for wearing masks under various circumstances.

: Beginning , Southwest is requiring Customer-facing Employees to wear face masks or coverings when interacting with travelers, especially when distancing recommendations cannot be met. Of course, Employees will continue to comply with all local requirements for wearing masks under various circumstances. Customer Face Masks or Coverings and Sanitizer : Southwest encourages Customers to bring their own face mask or covering, along with hand sanitizer, while traveling. Additionally, Customers will be required to wear face coverings or a mask starting May 11 . If a Customer forgets their mask, Southwest will have one available for them.

: Southwest encourages Customers to bring their own face mask or covering, along with hand sanitizer, while traveling. Additionally, Customers will be required to wear face coverings or a mask starting . If a Customer forgets their mask, Southwest will have one available for them. Fit to Fly: Above all, Customers who feel ill or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 infection should remain home and cancel or change their trip utilizing the flexible policies Southwest affords all Customers.

Disinfection and Cleaning Around the Clock

In Airports: We are cleaning Southwest leased spaces in airportsticket counters, gates, baggage claimsmultiple times a day.

We are cleaning Southwest leased spaces in airportsticket counters, gates, baggage claimsmultiple times a day. At Every Seat: Sanitizing wipes will be available onboard, upon request, for Customers who do not have their own and wish to touch up their personal space. The wipes will contain a solution proven safe and effective in aircraft settings.

Sanitizing wipes will be available onboard, upon request, for Customers who do not have their own and wish to touch up their personal space. The wipes will contain a solution proven safe and effective in aircraft settings. Between Flights, Every Time : New procedures will introduce additional cleaning between flights to supplement the work of Flight Attendants who keep cabins tidy.

: New procedures will introduce additional cleaning between flights to supplement the work of Flight Attendants who keep cabins tidy. Overnight, Every Night : Teams will continue working nightly to clean all interior surfaces with broad-spectrum disinfectants and multi-purpose cleaners. They give additional attention to higher touchpoint areas from nose to tail, from the flight deck to galleys and lavatories, and at every tray table, armrest, seatbelt, window, air vent, and buttons.

: Teams will continue working nightly to clean all interior surfaces with broad-spectrum disinfectants and multi-purpose cleaners. They give additional attention to higher touchpoint areas from nose to tail, from the flight deck to galleys and lavatories, and at every tray table, armrest, seatbelt, window, air vent, and buttons. In Hangars : In mid-April, Southwest began utilizing an electrostatic disinfectant and anti-microbial spray applied on every interior surface of the aircraft that kills viruses on contact and forms a protective shield for 30 days.

: In mid-April, Southwest began utilizing an electrostatic disinfectant and anti-microbial spray applied on every interior surface of the aircraft that kills viruses on contact and forms a protective shield for 30 days. In the Air: Southwest will continue utilizing HEPA air filters to circulate air throughout the cabin on every flight while effectively introducing fresh air into the cabin at regular intervals. These HEPA air filters remove 99.97% of airborne particlessimilar to technology found in hospitals.

Enhancing Distance

Limiting the Number of Passengers Onboard : Beginning May 2 , to allow Customers to spread out in comfortable distances, the total number of passengers seated in the cabin will be reduced temporarily. Customers may still pick their own seat, and Southwest will not be blocking seats or directing seating. In our open seating environment, families or those traveling together may sit together.

: Beginning , to allow Customers to spread out in comfortable distances, the total number of passengers seated in the cabin will be reduced temporarily. Customers may still pick their own seat, and Southwest will not be blocking seats or directing seating. In our open seating environment, families or those traveling together may sit together. Modified Boarding and Deplaning : Beginning May 2 , smaller groups of 10 people at a time will be welcomed to board sequentially by boarding position. Flight Attendants also will provide guidance during deplaning to maintain distancing.

: Beginning , smaller groups of 10 people at a time will be welcomed to board sequentially by boarding position. Flight Attendants also will provide guidance during deplaning to maintain distancing. Suspended Inflight Beverage and Snack Service : Flight Attendants will continue to focus on every aspect of Safety while drink and snack service remains discontinued. Of course, Customers are welcome to bring snacks and non-alcoholic beverages to consume onboard.

: Flight Attendants will continue to focus on every aspect of Safety while drink and snack service remains discontinued. Of course, Customers are welcome to bring snacks and non-alcoholic beverages to consume onboard. Shields for Protection : Plexiglas  shields are being installed at ticket counters and gate podiums, and starting this month, we will be posting airport signage and floor markers to encourage distancing in gate areas.

: Plexiglas shields are being installed at ticket counters and gate podiums, and starting this month, we will be posting airport signage and floor markers to encourage distancing in gate areas. Mobile Boarding Passes: Customers should download a mobile boarding pass before arriving at the airport via the Southwest mobile app to limit touchpoints.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 49th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 60,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 130 million passengers in 2019. Southwest became the nation's largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons during 2019, Southwest operated more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries.

Southwest coined Transfarency to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply.

Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world, known for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the communities they serve, and an overall commitment to efficiency and the planet. Learn more about how the carrier gives back to communities across the world by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com


How should a decorated public health professional serving in the White House react when the president of the United States stands next to her and openly muses about the medical potential of injecting disinfectant? This is the moral dilemma facing Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx, Robert Redfield, and other physicians and scientists coordinating the government's pandemic response.

When President Donald Trump offers sorcery over evidence-based medicine - as when he said, in February, that warm weather would make the coronavirus go away, or when he touted the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a "game changer" before it was adequately studied - experts can't ethically stand by, tight-lipped, saying nothing. They have two choices: They can either quit or object.

Except the public health experts working for Trump don't truly have either of those options. If they complain, publicly or even privately, there is ample reason to believe that Trump will shut them out, feel provoked and probably turn deliberately away from their sound, lifesaving counsel. (That's how he treated Jeff Sessions and Marie Yovanovitch when they tried to take the high road.) And if they quit, there is ample reason to believe that the president will replace them with someone worse: a crony who lacks their expertise or capability. (The current defense secretary, attorney general and acting director of national intelligence were all brought in to replace agitators and proffer the advice Trump wants to hear. The head of U.S. vaccine research was just shuffled to a lesser role, and there are reports that the secretary of health and human services could be on his way out.)

It is, truly, a nearly impossible position, so don't begrudge their work. Given the stakes, they have to stay - sometimes risking complicity in the reckless utterances that endanger the lives they are working to save.

The overriding reason for career public servants like Birx and Fauci to remain on the job is to influence the work from the inside. Staying on the coronavirus task force allows them to hang onto some measure of authority over how the crisis is managed behind closed doors. By at least one account, Fauci played a key role in persuading Trump to abandon his push to reopen the country by Easter.

The president's bombastic daily press "briefings" captivate cable news but appear largely divorced from the daily work of fighting the pandemic. Trump is famously removed from the quotidian details of governing, and this crisis is no different: He reportedly doesn't even attend most meetings of the task force, which directs agencies across the federal bureaucracy. If these internal deliberations give experts the chance to effectively advocate for, and help implement, even marginally better policies, that justifies remaining aboard.

Continuing to serve also enables experts to communicate accurate information directly to the public. Fauci has harnessed his official position to speak to Americans across a wide range of media,debunking myths and inaccuracies that spout from the same White House briefings he attends. On CNN, for instance, Fauci went out on a limb by acknowledging that more lives could have been saved if the administration had acted sooner. Even in the briefing room, his occasional facepalm speaks volumes. Perhaps that's why 78% of voters approved of Fauci's response to the crisis, compared with 46% for Trump, in an early April Quinnipiac poll. Only 23% of Americans have high levels of trust in what Trump is telling the public about the crisis, while 60% say he's not listening to health experts enough, according to a late April Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. Politico reports that new White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and new communications director Alyssa Farah will control media appearances for experts like Fauci and Birx. But presumably, for now, at least they'll be allowed to make appearances. For many Americans, it's comforting simply to observe that there are some serious professionals who help set policy.

And who would replace those experts if they quit? This administration's talent pool was memorably described by the conservative scholar Eliot Cohen as comprising "invertebrates and opportunists, schemers and careerists." When I served as a "holdover" from the Obama National Security Council to the Trump staff, I used to half-joke that, given the new president's attacks on the press and political opponents, my "director for democracy" job would eventually be taken by someone interested in being "director for authoritarianism." In the case of the coronavirus task force, the wrong person could materially jeopardize the lives of Americans by acquiescing to the president's whims and fiats.

A dramatic take-this-job-and-shove-it exit might feel good, momentarily. But for public servants who care about seeing the country through this crisis, it would yield little benefit beyond that. If one of them resigned or was fired for contradicting the president, their next step could be a media tour evangelizing about the flaws of the Trump administration. But many Americans already know about these and need no further convincing. The rest will probably never be persuaded. Further, the president himself would be unmoved: The history of his administration has featured a near-constant parade of dramatic exits - from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to White House chief of staff John Kelly to national security adviser H.R. McMaster to communications director Anthony Scaramucci - and it's doubtful whether any prompted the president to reconsider a single policy stance.

An expert who resigns to express dissent on a specific policy matter can at least call public attention to that policy, as with Mattis' resignation over a Syria withdrawal decision. But the president's mishandling of the coronavirus has been not one discrete choice but a rolling, catastrophic muck-up. People keep dying while the president keeps spouting drivel, so stemming that misinformation is arguably the most urgent priority. We got a taste of this Tuesday, when the president claimed that "our experts believe the worst days of the pandemic are behind us" and said that he was looking forward to the "safe and rapid reopening" of the country. Fauci immediately stepped up to clarify that "if we are unsuccessful, or prematurely try to open up . . . it could be a rebound to get us right back in the same boat." Resigning over a difference like this, in this context, is counterproductive: Would Americans suffer less after a principled resignation, or with ongoing engagement to try to stave off the worst outcomes?

There are, admittedly, some situations where leaving is the best course. Each public servant pledges an oath to defend the Constitution, and if staying on the job seems to demand abandoning that oath, resignation is the only option. Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century" (a book I consulted more than once during my Trump NSC stint) shows just how cataclysmic the consequences can be if civil servants let professional ethics slide in times when political leaders set a troubling tone. Moreover, the distinction between effectively shaping the system from the inside and being corrupted by it can become invisible. It was in the Vietnam era that analysts first identified the "effectiveness trap" - many officials' impulse to stay silent about bad policies so they could "live to fight another day, to give on this issue so that you can be 'effective' on later issues," as James Thomson wrote in the Atlantic. Being in the room where it happens is seductive.

These hazards are even more perilous when a respected expert is called upon to publicly vouch for a policy approach, often because she is a respected expert. Birx has at times sidestepped or excused the president's dangerous falsehoods - including last weekend, when she suggested that the news cycle should move on from questioning his remarks about ingesting bleach - raising concerns about whether she is using her solid reputation to enable irresponsible leadership. Fauci has instead often contradicted the president's egregious falsehoods, earning him constant rumors of a potential firing but modeling how civil servants can do their jobs without conforming to Trump's funhouse-mirror version of reality.

For me, imagining these dilemmas is easy. In early 2016, I joined President Barack Obama's National Security Council staff. My role was to help coordinate other parts of the government in supporting democratic governance around the world, in line with the president's priorities: encouraging fair elections, freedom of the press and accountable institutions. But one year later, as one of a rapidly shrinking number of civil servant "holdovers" in the new administration, I found myself in a White House whose chief executive regularly attacked the independent media, flattered dictators, targeted political opponents and assailed the very institutions he now led. My job title, "director for democracy," now prompted dizzying cognitive dissonance. At the same time, I still cared deeply about the work and still collaborated with colleagues across government toiling diligently to advance it, away from the spotlight of the Oval Office. If I left, who would monitor elections in key countries or help coordinate the stabilization of war-torn states? And so, for months, I grappled with the question: How long should I stay? Ultimately, I chose to keep doing my job the way I felt it should be done, until my bureaucratic rotation came to an end.

My dilemma was comparatively simple: I was lower-profile and less senior than Fauci and Birx. Ultimately, my hope for these experts serving Trump in the era of the coronavirus is that they can take a similar approach.

- - -

Brown is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She previously served as director for democracy on the National Security Council staff in the Obama and Trump administrations.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-30 23:51:01|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan will likely extend the nationwide state of emergency until the end of May at the earliest as the nation continues to grapple with containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, government sources said Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday reportedly told Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), that he was almost certainly going to extend the state of emergency past May 6.

"Returning to normalcy from May 7 is difficult and we need to brace for a protracted battle against the virus," the prime minister told reporters at his office.

"I will consult with experts as to the length of an extension," Abe said.

Government sources said such consultations could happen as early as Friday, with a final decision being made by Abe at some point thereafter as to the duration of the extension once he has heard an expert panels' assessment as to the pneumonia-carrying virus' spread across Japan and other pertinent details related to the pandemic.

The final decision may come on Monday next week, the sources said, although independent political watchers inferred it could come sooner.

"Local governments need to make preparations so I will make a decision sometime before the expiration date of May 6," Abe said.

Abe first declared a month-long state of emergency on April 7 until May 6 for Tokyo and six other prefectures as infections had started to spike in urban areas.

On April 16, Abe expanded the emergency declaration to cover all of Japan's 47 prefectures, with the move deliberately coming ahead of the Golden Week string of national holidays amid concerns masses of people may return to their hometowns or otherwise take vacations during the long holidays and further spread the virus to rural areas and further overburden the nation's already strained health system.

Under the state of emergency, people across Japan have been asked by local governments to remain at home as much as possible and significantly reduce their amount of human-to-human contact. Some businesses have also been requested to shutter their operations to contain the spread of the virus.

Coronavirus cases in Japan increased by 188 to 14,305, according to the most recent figures from the health ministry and local authorities released late Thursday evening.

The figures included 46 new infections in Tokyo and 28 in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

The nationwide death toll from the virus has now increased to 468, including those from a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo.

In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan's outbreak, the number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 4,152, accounting for more than one-third of all COVID-19 cases across the nation, followed by Osaka Prefecture with 1,626 infections.

Kanagawa Prefecture, meanwhile, has recorded 1,023 infections, Saitama Prefecture 860 infections, Chiba Prefecture 835 cases, Hokkaido Prefecture 767 infections, while Hyogo Prefecture has recorded 646 cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures Thursday night.

The health ministry also said there are currently a total of 312 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators to receive respiratory assistance or have been admitted to intensive care units for medical treatment.

The ministry also said that in total 4,117 people have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved. Enditem
The covid-19 death toll in the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland climbed past 2,000 on Friday, and all three jurisdictions recorded their highest single-day increases in new infections.

The Washington region entered May with doses of good and bad news in key indicators that will help leaders decide whether to extend or lift restrictions set to expire in the coming weeks.

First, the bad news: the District and its bordering states added 3,120 known coronavirus cases - by far the most in one day when public health officials are looking for sustained declines.

Some more encouraging news: That spike also coincides with big jumps in testing, a sign the region may have a better understanding of the virus's toll.

The District received more than 1,000 test results in one day for the first time, and added more than 300 cases to bring its tally of known infections to 4,662.

"We have not hit our peak," said District Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, in an interview with NBC Washington. "While other places in the country may have hit their peaks and may be loosening restrictions, we have to stay focused on how to contain the virus."

Virginia also reported single-day highs in test results received and new infections recorded, with more than 1,000 of 14,800 tested confirmed as carrying the virus. Virginia has been among the worst in the nation at testing, but officials say they are taking steps to ramp up.

Maryland added a state record 1,730 new infections after receiving the results of more than 6,600 tests - its fourth-highest daily test tally so far.

Other key indicators have trended in the right direction.

Maryland reported 52 new covid-19 deaths on Friday, Virginia disclosed 26 and District added seven. Daily increases in deaths have been level over the last week, meaning the capital region hasn't seen an exponential rise in deaths like the one that overwhelmed the New York metropolitan region.

Most of the new Maryland deaths involved people living in long-term care facilities. Montgomery County and Prince George's County accounted for 15 and 13 of those nursing home deaths, respectively, with 10 fatalities reported at facilities elsewhere.

Data also suggests Washington-area hospitals have not been overwhelmed.

The number of covid-19 patients currently hospitalized in Maryland fell for the first time since the state started reporting these numbers. A total of 4,718 patients have required hospitalization in the state, 1,668 of whom still remain in the hospital.

In Virginia, daily hospital admissions have hovered just under 100 for the last four days. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, earlier this week announced he would lift bans on elective surgeries and non-emergency medical visits, a sign the health care system is equipped to treat patients with and without the virus.

The District does not publish daily covid-19 hospitalization figures, but announced earlier this week that the increase in admissions had slowed. The city continues to have beds available in intensive care.

In both Virginia and Maryland, officials are confront coronavirus outbreaks tied to Eastern Shore poultry plants. So far, 279 poultry workers in Maryland have tested positive for covid-19, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday, accounting for 17 additional cases since hepublicly raised alarm about potential food chain disruptions two days ago.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began plant-by-plant visits Friday.

The outbreak has made rural Wicomico County, home to poultry giant Perdue Farms, one of Maryland's most concerning hotspots. As of Friday, the county had the fourth-highest per capita caseload in the state, up from the fifth-highest the day before. Wicomico's coronavirus caseload doubled from roughly 220 cases last Friday to 425 a week later.

"This remains a rapidly evolving situation," Hogan said

He announced a second public testing site will open in Caroline County, home to poultry workers who commute to two affected plants in Delaware. It joins a test site that just opened at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury.

Salisbury is also the terminus of a statewide "Reopen Maryland" protest planned for Saturday, when people frustrated by prolonged social distancing measures plan to drive from Frederick to the Eastern Shore to increase pressure on Hogan to lift the restrictions.

The group wants to reverse the economic standstill created to slow down the spread of the virus, as well as reopen schools and churches. Organizers say the measures are overly broad and socially destructive. Public polling across the nation shows broad support for stay-at-home measures despite the vocal protests.

In Virginia, the governor's nonessential business closure is set to expire next Friday. Northam said his administration would announce Monday if some businesses can reopen with restrictions. He also said he anticipates schools reopening next academic year.

In the District, officials announced a new testing site designed to respond to the disproportionate impact of coronavirus among African Americans and residents of the poorest parts of the city.

Howard University Hospital on Tuesday plans to open a testing site intended to serve residents, even if they have no risk factors or symptoms, said Hugh Mighty, dean of Howard University College of Medicine and vice president of clinical affairs. Wards 7 and 8 are home to 30 percent of District residents with the virus and 35 percent of those who succumbed to covid-19.

"We need to screen everybody," Mighty said. "You want to know the negative as well as you want to know the positive. Unless we blanket the whole region with screening, we're not going to know what we're dealing with in terms of who is positive."

Howard wants to test 100 in its first week at a Benning Road clinic and eventually double that capacity.

District officials also said Friday that hundreds applied for new contact tracing jobs in the first day they were posted, part of the city's preparations to reopen the nation's capital.

Contact tracers are responsible for interviewing coronavirus patients to identify where they may have contracted the virus or exposed others, a crucial way to contain the spread of coronavirus and prevent future infections.

Officials said city wants 200 tracers trained and ready to go by mid-May, and plans to hire 900 in all.

"It's a critical operation necessary to contain the spread of covid-19, so we want to do our best to prevent hospitalization and death," said Ventris Gibson, director of the District's Department of Human Resources.

- - -

The Washington Post's Rebecca Tan and Laura Vozzella contributed to this report.
South Africa will look into the creation of triage centres at health facilities in a bid to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

With governments worldwide confronted with tough decisions on ways to combat the spread of the virus, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said the country is going forward with its preparedness strategy.

"Our preparedness needs to be focused on creating triage centres in hospitals, clinics, so that people who walk into hospitals or clinics, who have respiratory symptoms, must be separated from the rest of the people," said the Minster on Thursday.

Mkhize said the creation of triage centres will assist government to contain the spread of the virus, whilst protecting other patients housed at the country's health facilities.

The Minister made these comments during an online media briefing on COVID-19 with experts such as World Health Organisation (WHO): Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti and Professor Kojo Ansah Koram, an epidemiologist from Ghana.

The briefing, which discussed ways to minimise the impact of the virus on the African continent, was organised with support from the World Economic Forum as part of the COVID Action Platform.

To date, Africa has 34 610 COVID-19 cases.

Detailing South Africa's response to the pandemic, Mkhize explained that the country took a united stand, rallying political parties, business and civil society to drive a coordinated Coronavirus response.

To date, about 5 350 South Africans have contracted the virus, while about 103 have died.

Mkhize outlined the measures taken since 5 March 2020, when South Africa recorded its first COVID-19 case.

Measures taken include the declaration of a National State of Disaster, which saw the country implement social distancing measures, limiting crowds and finally a lockdown in a bid to slow the rate of infection.

With the country's COVID-19 peak expected in September, Mkhize said government is looking to set up field hospital beds to ensure that asymptomatic patients, who do not need treatment but are still infective, do not return to overcrowded communities, where they can potentially spread the virus.

Currently, South Africa has 30 people in intensive care units due to the virus and about 15 are on ventilators. The majority of people, who are infected, are in isolation at home.

Mortality

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In relation to mortality, Mkhize said it was still too early to tell the rate, as Africa only began recording cases much later than other continents.

Current trends in South Africa show that most of the patients, who have succumbed to the virus, had underlying comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary and renal diseases, HIV and immune-comprised situations due to cancers.

The majority of the people who lost their lives have also been above 60.

COVID-19 in Africa

In terms of the situation in Africa, Moeti said while cases on the continent are still on the increase, the steps being taken by countries is encouraging.

"We have a number of countries that have reported zero cases over a couple of weeks. These are admittedly relatively small countries- Namibia, Mauritania and the Seychelles, but they have put in place some early measures starting with testing, [and] contact tracing which have produced some results."

She expressed concern about the situation in West Africa.

"We are very concerned about West Africa, where we are seeing community spread in a significant number of countries compared to others. We are working with the United Nations to see how to support that," she said.

Moeti said the WHO recognises that these are not easy decisions to make, at a political and policy level but she urged countries to strike a balance.

"We encourage the use of data so that when a government decides not to lockdown a city, they need to be aware that there will be consequences in terms of the spread of the virus."
It was 10 years ago today (1 May 2020) that democracy activist Sipho Jele was arrested by Swaziland (eSwatini) police and later killed.

The 35-year-old Jele was arrested and charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act on 1 May 2010 for wearing a T-shirt supporting the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), an organisation banned in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch.

He was taken to Manzini Police Station and then to Sidwashini Remand Correctional Institution. He was found hanging from a beam in a shower block on 3 May.

Sipho Jele

The inquest verdict delivered in March 2011 said in effect that Jele levitated to the ceiling unaided, tied an old piece of blanket around a beam and then around his own neck and then allowed himself to fall to the ground, thereby killing himself by hanging.

Coroner Nondumiso Simelane reported, 'Further, although there was nothing found at the scene which the deceased could have used as a platform on which to stand to commit the suicide; upon closer examination of the scene and the photos of the deceased captured at the scene, and the pathologists concluding that "it is possible for the deceased to have mounted himself upwards from the floor and then suspended himself without the use of a platform," and that "after the ligature was applied to the beam and neck he could have lowered himself and the feet would still be above the floor."

Simelane recorded Jele's death as suicide.

Independent Specialist Forensic Pathologist Dr Ganas Perumal at the inquest said there was no evidence that Jele had been hanged.

According to a report in the Swazi News, Perumal said, 'In this case there is no evidence of being hung. The perplexing thing is how he got suspended as there was no object on which he stood. In most cases the object is kicked away for the body to remain suspended. There was no such object that was found. That is the only feature that doesn't confirm suicide. It is an enigma how he hung without standing on an object.'

Questioned by attorney Leo Gama on whether it was possible that Jele had tied the rope around his neck while seated on the beam he was found hanging from, and then threw himself down for the rope to tighten around his neck, Dr Perumal entirely ruled out this possibility.

'In that case there would be stretching of the skin and moreover there would be problem with the spine. Looking at the findings, we can exclude that scenario. There are no features to suggest that,' he said.

It emerged at the inquest that Swazi police and prison warders lied a number of times about the circumstances up to the time of the death. They had claimed that they interviewed people who were in the same cell as Jele about the circumstances of his death; Perumal told the inquest that the cell mates denied being interviewed.

Perumal said, 'I asked if any of the inmates had been interviewed to see if they had seen him and if any fight had ensued during the night of his death but none had been interviewed.'

This was not the first time that the police had been found out lying to the inquest. Previously, it was discovered that police had recorded in an official journal that Jele was in good health when he arrived at Manzini police station.

The official record - called the RSP 3 book - said the entry was made by Constable David Tsabedze, but he told the inquest that he never made the entry.

This led to Attorney Leo Gama concluding that Tsabedze never made such entries and left the space vacant, but when the police heard that there was to be an inquest into the matter, someone filled up those spaces without telling Tsabedze. This was so they could show Jele was in good health when he left the police station.

Another anomaly was that although Jele was brought to the police station at 5.30pm on 1 May, he was only placed in a police cell at 11pm and no one could come forward to state what happened in the meantime.

In a bizarre twist the inquest heard that Jele asked to be sent to Sidwashini because he feared being 'tubed' (tortured and suffocated) if he was sent back to police custody. The Swaziland Director of Public Prosecutions Mumcy Dlamini said she was pleased to hear this because it meant Jele had not yet been tortured while at the police station. Dlamini told the inquest as far as she knew the only reason why Jele wanted to go to Sidvwashini was his fear of torture by police.

The inquest was told Jele was taken out of the Manzini Police Station's cell for interrogation purposes for hours on different occasions, but one officer said it was unclear whether they also took him out of the building.

A jailor, Assistant Superintendent Richard Mthukutheli Fakudze, told the inquest he found Jele hanging from a concrete bar in the bathroom of his prison cell at about 5am on 3 May and he just knew Jele had killed himself. While he gave his testimony, he was interrupted by Prosecutor Phila Dlamini who warned him to only say what he observed and desist from giving an opinion. Fakudze had conclusively said Jele hanged himself yet he found him hanging. Said Dlamini, 'If you insist that he hanged himself, you are actually saying that you saw him tying the blanket around his neck and hanging himself.'

Jele was charged under S19 (1) (a) of the Suppression of terrorism Act for wearing a T-shirt with PUDEMO written on it.

S19 (1) (a) of the STA states, 'A person who is a member of a terrorist group commits an offence and shall on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten (10) years.'

Wearing a PUDEMO T-Shirt does not make you a member of PUDEMO and therefore the police had no reason to arrest Jele. But after police arrested him they then took him to his home and searched it and later alleged they had found materials linking him to the banned political organisation.

Amnesty International suspected that Jele might have been targeted for arrest at the May Day rally. Jele was one of 16 prodemocracy activists awaiting trial after they were charged with treason in 2005.

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In a public statement, Amnesty said, 'Mr Jele had been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in police custody in the past. He was detained by police in December 2005 and subsequently charged with treason along with 15 others. Mr Jele alleged that while in custody he was beaten around the head causing long-term damage to his hearing, for which Amnesty International was able to obtain independent medical corroboration. He also alleged that he was subjected to suffocation torture while forcibly held down on a bench by six police officers at Sigodvweni police station. Some of his co-defendants made similar allegations of torture by the police.

'The presiding High Court judge hearing their bail application in March 2006 was sufficiently concerned to call on the government to establish an independent inquiry into their claims. An inquiry was established under a single commissioner who subsequently reported his findings to the then Prime Minister. To Amnesty International's knowledge this inquiry report was never made public. Mr Jele and his co-defendants had still not been brought to trial on the treason charge by the time of his death.'

At the time of Jele's death, PUDEMO said in a statement, 'The Swaziland royal regime has always been giving the international community the wrong information that political dissenters are not imprisoned, harassed and killed. And that Swaziland is a peaceful country. But here is a political activist getting killed for attending Workers Day and wearing a PUDEMO T-shirt.'

Richard Rooney


Date: Thursday, 09 April 2020, 03:57PM -07:00

Subject: INSTRUCTION TO RELEASE YOUR INHERITANCE FUND









YOUR PAYMENT NOTIFICATION

International Monetary Fund HQ2.

1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington,

DC 20431, United States

EMAIL(imf_departmentservices@imf.com)

TELE +1(940)-448-5763



ATTENTION:



This is to intimate you of a very important information which will be

of a great help to redeem you from all the difficulties you have been

experiencing in getting your long over due payment due to excessive

demand for money from you by both corrupt Bank officials and Courier

Companies after which your fund remain unpaid to you.



I am Mrs Kristalina Georgieva a highly placed official of the

International Monetary Fund (IMF). It may interest you to know that

reports have reached our office by so many correspondences on the

uneasy way which people like you are treated by Various Banks and

Courier Companies/ Diplomat across Europe to Africa and Asia /London

Uk and we have decided to put a stop to that and that is why I was

appointed to handle your transaction here in USA.



All Governmental and Non-Governmental prostates, NGOs, Finance

Companies, Banks, Security Companies and Courier companies which have

been in contact with you of late have been instructed to back up from

your transaction and you have been advised NOT to respond to them

anymore since the IMF is now directly in charge of your payment.



The most annoying thing is that the bad officials won't tell you the

truth that on no account will they ever release the fund to you,

instead they allow you spend money unnecessarily, I do not intend to

work here all the days of my life, I can release this fund to you if

you can certify me of my security.



I needed to help you release the fund because you need to know the

statues of your funds and cause for the delay, Please this is like a

Mafia setting all over the world, you may not understand it because

you are not into it.



Listed below are the mafia's and banks behind the non release of your

funds that i managed to sneak out for your kind perusal.



PLEASE CHECK AMONG THESE NAMES IF THERE IS ANY ONE AMONG THEN WHO

HAVE SCAMMED YOU, IF YES GET BACK TO ME FOR LEGAL ACTION TO BE TAKEN.



1) Prof. Charles soludo(CBN)

2) Senator David Mark

3) Chief Lamido Sanusi(CBN)

4) John Rob(Barclays bank plc)

5) Mrs Stella Brown(Barclays bank plc)

6) Ronald Franklin

7) Barrister Ucheuzo Williams

8) Mr. Ernest Chukwudi Obi

9) Mr. Mike Jombo

Deputy Governor - Policy / Board Member

10) Mr. Tunde Lemo

Deputy Governor - Financial Sector Surveillance / Board Member

11) Mrs. W. D. A. Mshelia Deputy Governor - Corporate Services / Board Members

12) Mrs. Okonjo Iweala

13) Elvis Presley

14)diplomatic courier



You are hereby advised NOT to remit further payment to any

institutions with respect to your transaction as your fund will be

transferred to you directly from our source.



I hope this is clear. Any action contrary to this instruction is at

your own risk. Respond to this e-mail on

(internationalmonetaryfund973@gmail.com) with immediate effect and we

shall give you further details on how your fund will be released.



Reconfirm the information bellow



1. Full Name:

2. Address:

3 Nationality:

4. Age: Date of Birth:

5. Occupation:

6. Phone: Mobile/Cellular. . . . . . . . . . .Fax:.

7. State of Origin:

8. Copy of your identity Card



Also Call me as soon as you receive the letter so that you will be

given an immediate response: Direct Hotline:+1(940)-448-5763





YOURS SINCERELY,

Mrs Kristalina Georgieva.

+1(940)-448-5763

From: International Monetary Fund davidcassidy190@yahoo.com Date: Thursday, 09 April 2020, 03:57PM -07:00Subject: INSTRUCTION TO RELEASE YOUR INHERITANCE FUND From: Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva <captivaaaan@gmail.com>

Delivery time: Friday, April 17, 2020 10:41:42 PM [GMT + 8]

Subject: RECEIVED YOUR COMPENSATION OF U $ 5,000,000.00

( I.M.F ) Head Office

#1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW,

Washington, DC 20431

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.

REF:-XVGNN82010



Dear Fund Beneficiary,





How are you today? Hope all is well with you and family? This is to

kindly inform you about the current update on the released of your

legal funds. We have been having a meeting for the past 4 months which

ended 3 days ago with the General Members of the UNITED NATIONS AND

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Organization Main Bodies. This email is to

all the people that have been scammed in any part of the world, the

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND have agreed to compensate them with the

sum of USD $5,000,000.00 million dollars through a secured/ certified

mode of payment Via ATM Visa Card. Therefore, we are happy to inform

you that an arrangement has perfectly been concluded to effect your

payment as soon as possible in our bid to be transparent. However, it

is our pleasure to inform you that your ATM Card Number;58824576163481

has been approved and upgraded in your favor. Meanwhile, your Secret

Pin Number will be available as soon as you confirm to us the receipt

of your ATM CARD.





This includes every foreign contractors that may have not received

their contract sum, and people that have had an unfinished transaction

or international businesses that failed due to Government problems

etc. We found your name in our list and that is why we are contacting

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arrangement regarding to your Compensation has been signed and sealed.

You are advised to contact Mr.Edward Hong, Executive Director at Bank

Of East Asia New York IN USA as he is our representative in United

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immediately for the release of your USD$5,000,000.00 million dollars

compensation payment from the (INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND) This funds

is in an ATM Visa Card for security purpose so he will send it to you

and you can clear it in any bank of your choice in your country.

Therefore, you should send him your Full Name, Telephone number, Your

Contact Mailing address, where you want him to deliver your ATM VISA

CARD to your house address. Contact Mr.Edward Hong (Bank Of East Asia

New York) immediately for your ATM Visa Card now as soon as possible:

I will like you to call him immediately you receive this email

today.Make sure that you





Reply to this email: infobankeastasianewyork@gmail.com

Bank Name: Bank Of East Asia New York

Person to Contact: Mr.Edward Hong



Email: infobankeastasianewyork@gmail.com Tel:(458) 221-4471





Thanks and God bless you and your family. Hoping to hear from you as

soon as you cash your ATM Visa Card. Making the world a better place.



Regards,

CEO: Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva

Managing Director of the International

Monetary Fund. (I.M.F)(601).

From: INFO BANK <infobankeastasianewyork@gmail.com>

Delivery time: Saturday, April 18, 2020, 12:00:56 am [GMT + 8]

Subject: RECEIVED YOUR COMPENSATION OF U $ 5,000,000.00





Good day to you, I was informed by (CEO) Mrs.Kristalina Georgieva.To

send you a ATM Visa Card of USD$5,000,000.00 million dollars and I

must let you know that I am a



Devoted Christian and which I don't want to be cheated. I want to make

sure that I am sending the ATM Visa Card to the rightful owner because

I have been scammed before and I don't want to be a victim of scam

again.



Meanwhile, I will like you to send your personal information including

your ID card because that will really proved to me that you are the

real owner of the ATM Visa Card. Moreover, I have only 3 ways of

sending the ATM Visa Card to

you. Here is the ways as follows:



1, Through DHL Service: To your doorstep within 2 days.

2, Through FedEx Service: To your doorstep within 3 days.

3, Through UPS Service: To your doorstep within 3 days.

4.Through Finance Company in UK To your Doorstep with 1 day



So get back to me and let me know the one you choose so that i will

proceed immediately in your favors. Please do fill this form bellow to

Enable me precede.



You Are Required To Forward To Your Agent With The Following Details:



(1)Full names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)Sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6)State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7)Country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8)Phone number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9)Fax -number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(10)Marital status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(11)Occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(12)Amount won. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(13)Your email Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



God Bless you,

Mr. Edward Hong

Bank of East Asia New York United States





Attention:Good day to you, I was informed by (CEO) Mrs.Kristalina Georgieva.Tosend you a ATM Visa Card of USD$5,000,000.00 million dollars and Imust let you know that I am aDevoted Christian and which I don't want to be cheated. I want to makesure that I am sending the ATM Visa Card to the rightful owner becauseI have been scammed before and I don't want to be a victim of scamagain.Meanwhile, I will like you to send your personal information includingyour ID card because that will really proved to me that you are thereal owner of the ATM Visa Card. Moreover, I have only 3 ways ofsending the ATM Visa Card toyou. Here is the ways as follows:1, Through DHL Service: To your doorstep within 2 days.2, Through FedEx Service: To your doorstep within 3 days.3, Through UPS Service: To your doorstep within 3 days.4.Through Finance Company in UK To your Doorstep with 1 daySo get back to me and let me know the one you choose so that i willproceed immediately in your favors. Please do fill this form bellow toEnable me precede.You Are Required To Forward To Your Agent With The Following Details:(1)Full names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(2)Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(3)Sex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(4)Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(5)Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(6)State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(7)Country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(8)Phone number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(9)Fax -number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(10)Marital status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(11)Occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(12)Amount won. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(13)Your email Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .God Bless you,Mr. Edward HongBank of East Asia New York United States From: INFO BANK <infobankeastasianewyork@gmail.com>

Delivery time: Saturday, April 18, 2020, 12:57:14 am [GMT + 8]



Subject: RECEIVED YOUR COMPENSATION OF U$5,000,000.00



Attention:

Your mail Received and well understood, I will prefer you to use

Option 4.Through Finance Company in UK To your Doorstep with 1 day,

And according to the Finance company it will cost you 450$ to Deliver

your ATM CARD direct to your Doorstep

Regards

Mr. Edward Hong

If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
Rigorous certification enables Galileo to accelerate the launch of consumer payment services by innovative fintech Klar

SALT LAKE CITY and MEXICO CITY, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Galileo , the trusted technology partner that powers world-leading fintech businesses, announced its Mastercard certification in Mexico and new partnership with a major fintech company in the Mexican market. These two events further strengthen Galileo's expansion into the region.

Galileo is the first API software innovator to secure Mastercard certification and to launch as part of Mastercard's Fintech Accelerate program in Mexico, which makes it a pioneer in the market. Galileo is certified with the Mastercard Mexico Domestic Switch (MxDS) for Signature, PIN and ATM transactions, as well as settlement and chargeback processing.

By meeting the standards required for certification, Galileo's API-centric platform enables fintechs launching in Mexico to quickly and easily build and launch payment services that meet the needs of consumers in the region.

Building on this partnership with Mastercard, Galileo announced its first strategic alliance in the Mexican market: Klar, a leading Mexican challenger bank, has selected Galileo to provide the technology backbone to deliver services in Mexico.

"Not only is Mexico one of the most influential and innovative fintech markets in Latin America, it is also one of the Fintech hubs with the highest growth potential worldwide," said Tory Jackson, Galileo's in-country manager for Mexico. "Our Mastercard certification and partnership with Klar reinforce our commitment and efforts to bring innovative payment solutions for consumers in Mexico."

Klar is leading the democratization of financial services in Mexico by offering alternatives to traditional credit cards and debit services, without the traditional banking fees. Partnering with Galileo, Klar delivers secure services via a mobile app and a secure credit card. As a well-backed startup, Klar recently completed Mexico's largest seed funding round, amounting to $57.5 million.

"Our partnership with Galileo is yet another big step towards building world-class financial products tailored to the Mexican market," said Stefan Moller, CEO, Klar.

Last month, Galileo opened its Mexico City offices, located nearby Mastercard Mexico's headquarters in the financial district.

"Mexico has solidified its position as Latin America's fintech leader with the government's recent enactment of pioneering legislation promoting technological innovation," said Pablo Cuaron, Mastercard Mexico. "Mastercard's partnership with Galileo, which offers powerful and customizable payments infrastructure, will allow fintechs in Mexico to go to market faster by leveraging Mastercard's Fintech Express program while meeting the rising consumer demands for digital financial services. This is just another example of how Mastercard is leading the way in partnering with new players to transform the way Mexicans pay."

About Galileo

Salt Lake City-based Galileo, the API standard for card issuing, is a global payments platform that powers world-leading fintechs, financial services and investment firms by removing the complexity of payments. Galileo makes it fast and easy for businesses to innovate and deliver amazing user experiences to their customers. Check out Galileo at galileo-ft.com.

SOURCE Galileo

Related Links

https://www.galileo-ft.com


In the Soviet period, every schoolkid knew about the Panfilov Division that stopped the Nazi offensive near Moscow. In modern times, new details began to be revealed about the strength and armament of the fighters, and the disputes with the participation of both amateurs and historians began. On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, the Vestnik Kavkaza correspondent spoke with the author of the book Panfilovs Men: Our Pride, Our Glory!, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Laila Akhmetova.

- Laila Seisembekovna, what does Victory Day mean to you? There is a feeling that the work that you are doing to study the Great Patriotic War has become not only a scientific but also a personal choice for you.

-First and foremost, it is a personal choice. I still belong to the generation born in the 1950s. We are the children of the victorious war veterans. This victory has been within me since the very childhood. My father, a soldier, was seriously wounded in February 1942 in the battle of Moscow and became disabled. It had a significant impact on me. Among his friends were only war veterans. In Soviet times, the veteran fraternity was strong. Now we admire the survivors.

Father and other veterans did not talk much about the war. However, the necessity to talk about those events was conveyed to me by my father, soldiers who I interviewed and wrote about. They always spoke not about themselves but recalled those who remained on the battlefields. I am very sorry that I did not speak much about the war with my father. Then it seemed to me that he would live forever. But he passed away in 1994, six months before the 50th anniversary of the Victory that he was waiting for as a child. Veterans children should keep Great Patriotic War memory alive and pass it to grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

- What was the national composition of the 316th Rifle Division?

- Maybe because I am a Soviet person, in my book I wanted to depict internationalism, although this word is not very popular today. Senior lieutenant Bauyrzhan Momyshuly said: "I serve in a division with people of 34 nationalities." The first composition of the Panfilovs division regiment - 11347 people conscripted on August 18-19, 1941, on the railway stations Almaty-1 and Almaty-2. These people became famous for the defense of Moscow. All of them can be named.

I want to emphasize that there were many Cossacks among the soldiers, since in Semirechye, where the majority of fighters were conscripted, for two centuries there were villages of the Semirechensky Cossack Army. On the Internet and in various sources, we can find the percentage of nationalities in the Red Armys 316th Rifle - 8th Guards Panfilov Division. But there is no reference to the source of this data. Now in the Panfilov Division group on Facebook, you can find the first composition. We continue the search, and upon completion of the work, we can say what was the percentage of nationalities in the first composition of the most famous division of the Great Patriotic War.

- Laila Seisembekovna, tell us about your book "Panfilovs Men: Our Pride, Our Glory!"

- The book was published with the support of the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation, the organization of the first president of Kazakhstan. It is neither fiction nor scientific publication. I would call it popular science. Why? Because the first, scientific part, especially the first chapter, is the history of the division and the regimental headquarters. There are only documents in it. In the remaining chapters, there are stories about people. For example, Pavel Gundilovich, the company commander of 28 Panfilovites - there were absolutely no documents about him. He served as a border guard in the Far East. Then he was repressed and imprisoned, in 1940 he was released and left for Alma-Ata. The Belarusian historian writer Losevich, scrupulously collecting evidence of Gundilovich and other repressed and forgotten people wrote a book about them. With his permission, I took 20 pages about Gundilovich, shortened them and included in the book. As for the history of the regiment, headquarters, etc., this part comprises almost a third of the book. I provide a reference to any document, but if there was no official data, I wrote that it was just an assumption. Many things are published for the first time.

When the action "We are millions of Panfilovites" was launched in Russia, it turned out that each region found "its own" Panfilovites who served at different times. It should be so. With Gods help, when the isolation is over, I will come to Moscow to present the book. You will see everything with your own eyes.

- What archives did you work in?

- I worked in the Podolsk archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but there were not many documents; in the wonderful archive of the Institute of Russian History, there are about thirty interviews from 1942-1946; in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan; in the Central State Archive of the Kyrgyz Republic. The copies of documents that were in Podolsk were preserved in our Almaty archive, but in Podolsk, they were not preserved. When the first information war began against the Panfilovs Men in the late 1940s, to which many today refer, the military prosecutors office and the KGB seized documents from Podolsk and forgot to return it. Therefore, journalists cannot find them there.

Even during the war, the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party ordered the Academy of Sciences, the Institute of History to do interviews with the most prominent soldiers from the guard divisions. The Commission, led by Academician Isaac Mintz, complied with this order. First of all, they were looking for Panfilovites, because at that time their fame was booming. Soviet writer Alexander Bek, who wrote the book Volokolamskoye Shosse, joined in the work. The book was published in 1943. It tells about the feat of the Soviet soldiers and commanders from the first battalion of 1073 Rifle regiment of the 316 Rifle Division under the command of senior lieutenant Bauyrzhan Momyshuly.

Bek recorded the stories of Momyshuly, a stern and tough man, and then confirmed with his signature the consent for publication. However, this opy was lost. Knowing Momyshulys character, Beck hesitated for a long time before telling him about the loss of the written book. Nevertheless, the conversation took place, and he started his work once again. Of course, when you write a book for a second time, it turns out to be a bit different ...

In several countries, the Volokolamskoye Shosse book is on the militarys educational programs, while in China it is on the list for reading by members of the Chinese Communist Party.

- Laila Seisembekovna, you are a permanent participant of the Victors Forum. In your opinion, what role does this forum play in preserving the memory of the Victory?

- I express my deep gratitude to the government of the Russian Federation, which, together with social activists, is organizing the international forum "The Great Victory, Achieved through Unity." Representatives of all 15 former union republics gather annually. These are people who will stand for their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers to the end. When you look into their eyes, a feeling of pride arises and eyes are filling up with tears. This is a gratitude for the feat of our fathers and the whole country, our common homeland. This is the most unforgettable experience. I would love that more of us gather with each passing year and that we would be worthy of our great ancestors.
While the coronavirus outbreak has wreaked travel plans, technology is giving us a way to explore and travel to any place in the world in a blink of an eye. Virtual tour is one such way. InsureMyTrip has listed virtual tours ranked by the popularity in increasing google searches in the month of March 2020. Here's the list of top 10 virtual tours for you to explore from your home while following social distancing norms. (Image: adssa.co.za)

Rank 10 | The London National Gallery | Location: London, England | The gallery is giving a tour of the National Gallery from anywhere in the world and explore its collection of paintings. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Rank 9 | Georgia Aquarium | Location: Atlanta, Georgia | While the aquarium is closed amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Georgia Aquarium is live streaming the inside of the aquarium to give a trip under the sea to the users. (Image: georgiaaquarium.org)

Rank 8 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Location: New York | The museum website is providing a collection of art from ancient times. (Image: metmuseum.org)

Rank 7 | Eiffel Tower | Location: Paris, France | Many online websites are giving an opportunity to travellers to visit the tower virtually and also giving 360 degree panorama experience to get a mesmerising view of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower. (Image: Reuters)

Rank 6 | Google Arts Project: Street Art | It is an online platform which showcase the street graffiti works. (Image: artsandculture.google.com)

Rank 5 | The Guggenheim | Location: New York | Although the museum is closed, the Guggenheim is engaging users to take a walk virtually to see museums art from home. (Image: guggenheim.org)

Rank 4 | Great Wall Of China | Location: Beijing, China | The China Guide website is helping the travellers travel virtually to the famous attractions in China. (Image: Reuters)

Rank 3 | Disney World | Location: Orlando, Florida | Visit Orlando website is giving a virtual tour in the theme parks and 360 degree panorama view of the Disney world. (Image: disney.com)

Rank 2 | San Diego Zoo | Location: San Diego, California | The zoo is live streaming the inside tour to virtually visit the animals in the zoo. (Image: zoo.sandiegozoo.org)
Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties?

No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer.

Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties.
- Madagascar is using its own medicine to treat the coronavirus

- So far, 92 of Madagascar's 128 coronavirus patients have recovered, leaving 36 active cases and no death

- However, WHO has warned against the widespread use of untested remedies, saying there no proof of a cure for COVID-19

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The world is facing one of the toughest times ever as it continues to battle an invisible enemy, COVID-19. The virus has claimed over 200,000 lives since it first surfaced in Wuhan, China in December 2019.

According to the information on worldometers, over three million people have been infected by the virus as at Thursday, April 30.

Despite the rising deaths in countries across the world, it appears Madagascar is doing something right.

READ ALSO: John Dumelo donates to all mosques at Ayawaso West for Ramadan amid COVID-19

The country has recorded 128 coronavirus cases, and 92 out of that number have recovered, leaving 36 active cases. Also, no death has been recorded in the country.

Madagascar is said to be using its own medicine to treat the virus. President Andry Rajoelina launched the herbal tea, named COVID-Organics, on Monday, April 20.

President Rajoelina said: All trials and tests have been conducted and its effectiveness in reducing the elimination of symptoms have been proven for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 in Madagascar.

The herbal medicine developed by Malagasy Institute of Applied Research and branded COVID-Organics, contains Artemisia- a plant on the Island used in the fight against malaria.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no proof of a cure for Covid-19, warning against the widespread use of untested remedies.

Madagascar's national medical academy (Anamem) has also cast doubt on the efficacy Rajoelina's touted coronavirus remedy, warning that no scientific evidence has been established that it works.

It said it had the potential to damage people's health as its "scientific evidence had not been established".

Meanwhile, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi on Wednesday, April 29, assured Nigerians that a traditional vaccine for the coronavirus has gotten to an advanced stage and the public would soon see the result.

The traditional monarch made this known to journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun state, where he had gone to donate two motorized fumigators to the government.

READ ALSO: Ghana reportedly 1st African country to perform COVID-19 autopsy on bodies

According to him, he had been working hard with traditional medicine doctors in the country so as to come up with a cure for the deadly disease.

He urged the federal government to emulate Madagascar in how it has been giving attention to the use of local herbs to combat Covid-19, saying the local medicines have great efficacy in healing patients.

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that Ghana had become the first country in the world to boost her fight against the novel coronavirus with the use of drone technology which makes speeds up the testing.

Time.com reports that no other nation in the world has been able to deploy drones to help transport samples for testing, especially from remote areas, as everyone else depends on the use of traditional transportation methods.

According to Keller Rinaudo, the CEO of Zipline, the company that set up the 'matternet' of drones in Ghana, the US is expected to be the next in the use of the drones after Ghana.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Rent advance exceeding 6 months could land you in jail in Ghana - Atta Akyea | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 05:29:01|Editor: huaxia

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by Julia Pierrepont III, Huang Heng

LOS ANGELES, May 1 (Xinhua) -- One expects a certain degree of danger in jobs like a police officer, soldier or firefighter, but nurses and doctors aren't typically called upon to risk for their lives on a daily basis.

Novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has changed all that.

Nurses at 139 hospitals in 13 U.S. states representing more than 95,540 nurses were scheduled to hold workplace actions on Friday, the International Workers' Day, calling for optimal COVID-19 protections, the National Nurses United (NNU) announced.

NNU said in a press release that their demand for optimal Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is underscored by the fact that more than 60 nurses across the country have died of the fatal disease.

Due to lack of testing, however, the number is surely higher. And there is no exact data how many healthcare workers in the country have been infected by the disease so far.

According to a report posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 14, more than 9,000 healthcare workers in the United States had tested positive for the novel coronavirus before April 9. This number was believed to be an undercount of infections due to a lack of tests in many areas.

"Health Care Personnel (HCP) accounted for 11 percent (1,689 of 15,194) of reported cases. The total number of COVID-19 cases among HCP is expected to rise as more U.S. communities experience widespread transmission," the report said.

In a daily briefing this Monday, Los Angeles officials revealed that close to 2,000 healthcare workers in the county had tested positive on COVID-19, a 26 percent increase since last week, and 11 had died.

Not surprisingly, nurses comprised the majority of those frontline workers who fell victim to COVID-19, with their employers evenly split between nursing homes and hospitals.

"To the families we very much mourn with you," said Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. "Your loved ones dedicated themselves to helping others and in doing so they saved many lives. To all those on the frontlines, we owe you our deepest gratitude."

However, hymns can not resolve the big trouble.

Lacking consistent and adequate protocols from the White House and the CDC, through painful trial and error, U.S. hospitals have learned not just how to care for COVID-19 patients but also what protective protocols are necessary to protect the healthcare workers who treat and care for others.

Yet, many hospitals are still not following these necessary protocols, several healthcare workers told Xinhua in confidence.

"We still aren't safe," Nurse A working in a Los Angeles area health facility told Xinhua on Wednesday, withholding her name for fear of reprisals from her hospital administration. She revealed a continuing lack of proper PPE in their hospital.

In the United States, COVID-19 protocols practiced by individual hospitals are a mismatched patchwork of differing rules and regulations, with each hospital making up their own.

"Healthcare workers are being hung out to dry," Nurse B from Mount Sinai Systems Morningside told Xinhua.

"Healthcare in the U.S. is really screwed up. Many hospitals like mine are so focused on their profit margins that they keep their wards chronically understaffed, and that's a bigger problem now because COVID treatments are even more labor intensive."

He said that hospitals had not spent enough money to get the PPE needed to properly protect their healthcare workers. "It's wrong and it's dangerous."

The nurse also said he felt it was unconscionable that government officials and hospitals sat on their hands and watched while the virus swept through China and didn't take advantage of that crucial 10-week early warning period to get prepared for when the outbreak inevitably hit the United States.

Nurse C, a female nurse from the Kaiser Permanente system in the Los Angeles area, reported similar problems and shortages. Kaiser is one of the largest U.S. healthcare systems and posts 80 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenues.

Concerned over the lack of credible and concrete information on COVID-19 as to whether it was spread only by droplets or was genuinely airborne, Nurse C and some of other concerned nurses purchased their own masks to wear at work, and some even tried to lighten the mood by wearing attractive, yet effective, designer masks.

They were dismayed when all their masks were immediately confiscated by the management, who told them they didn't want them spooking the patients by wearing masks around them. The management also told the nurses that they didn't have to worry about getting COVID-19 if they didn't work on the designated floor.

"But patients with COVID-19 came right through our lobby to get to the COVID floor," Nurse C told Xinhua. "That kind of incompetence and misinformation could kill people."

Worse still, at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, a group of nurses requested proper N95 masks from the management to protect them from the coronavirus and refused to go on the COVID floor without them.

"Management didn't even listen to their concerns," Nurse D told Xinhua. "They just suspended them all in the middle of the crisis."

This led to an impromptu protest outside the hospital two weeks ago by concerned nurses who had not expected the management to deliberately put them in harm's way. Upset and fearing for their lives, the protestors demanded better PPE and that their suspended colleagues be allowed back to work.

"It was definitely a punitive action by the administration to suspend those nurses, who were only requesting the minimum standard protections against this deadly disease," Nurse D told Xinhua.

Nurse D also revealed that the outbreak is taking a deep emotional toll on nurses and doctors who haven't been able to go home to their families in weeks out of fear they might bring the disease home with them.

Unlike most people who are sheltering-in-place with their families, nurses have been forced by circumstances to stay in hotels in strict isolation from their loved ones.

On Tuesday, a group of nurses and community members protested in a caravan outside of the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica again, asking hospital officials to provide hotel rooms so healthcare workers can prevent spreading the coronavirus to their families as they continue to fight the pandemic.

With estimates of the number of healthcare workers infected by the coronavirus continuing to climb, nurses are taking action to protect themselves if their management won't.

As a result, nurse-led protests are popping up all over the country, including one on the White House doorstep, where worried nurses gathered last week to demand greater protection for healthcare workers on the frontlines and more consistency from the CDC and the administration regarding what are genuinely safe COVID-19 protocols for healthcare workers.

They strongly criticized the CDC for saying nurses could be given bandanas to wear instead of proper N95 masks.

"We are here because our colleagues are dying. I think that right now people think of us as heroes, but we're feeling like martyrs," a nurse told NBC News.

They called upon President Donald Trump to immediately and fully invoke the Defense Production Act to urgently increase the production of respirators, face shields, coveralls, gowns and surgical masks - something that Trump has so far refused to do.

Instead, Trump told the states to figure out their own medical supply sources and not expect the federal government's help - an announcement which sent shock waves throughout the country.

"Nurses signed up to care for their patients. They did not sign up to sacrifice their lives on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic," said NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo on Thursday's statement. "On this day that celebrates the labor movement and working people, union nurses are standing up to demand the protections they need now!"

"Ensuring that nurses and other healthcare workers receive the proper PPE and training must be our top priority," Brian Benson, a retired nurse in New York City told Xinhua. "They are the cornerstone of any healthcare system and if they come down sick with the coronavirus themselves, who will be left to take care of all the other patients?" Enditem
After flight attendants and pilots criticised them for not doing more to protect employees, large airlines in the United States and around the world announced this week that they would require their crews and passengers to wear masks.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines all said on Thursday that they would start requiring all passengers to wear a face covering in the coming weeks, a policy that will apply to their flight attendants and some other workers, too.

The three join Lufthansa Group  which owns its namesake airline, Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines  as well as JetBlue and Frontier Airlines, all of which made similar announcements this week.

Airline passengers are increasingly expected to wear face masks to travel. Credit:Bloomberg

As some states and countries begin to relax or lift stay-at-home orders, politicians and unions representing flight attendants and pilots have stepped up calls for industrywide rules on masks to protect flight crews from passengers  and passengers from one another.
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors are examining the communications of a New York family doctor whose work has been discussed on Fox News and who has been in touch with the White House to tout an anti-malarial as a treatment for the novel coronavirus, according to people contacted as part of the inquiry.

The examination of Vladimir "Zev" Zelenko's records began when an associate, conservative commentator Jerome Corsi, accidentally sent an email intended for Zelenko to another "Z" name in his address book - federal prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, who as a member of special counsel Robert Mueller III's team had spent months scrutinizing Corsi's activities during the 2016 presidential election.

During episodes of his daily podcast this week and in a YouTube video he posted late Thursday in response to questions from The Washington Post, Corsi said that Zelinsky responded to the unexpected email by reaching out to Corsi's lawyer and requesting all of Corsi's communications with Zelenko.

Corsi said he and Zelenko are collaborating on a website designed to connect people with doctors. They have acted lawfully, Corsi added, but he plans to cooperate with the request and has handed over his communications.

Zelinsky is tasked now with investigating coronavirus-related crimes in the Maryland U.S. attorney's office, as part of a directive from U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr to prioritize such cases. The department already has charged a medley of fraudsters for peddling fake cures, selling personal protective equipment they didn't actually have or running more complicated Medicare reimbursement schemes, and officials say tips are coming in droves.

Gregory Rigano, a lawyer who said he is working with Zelenko, said in a brief telephone conversation Thursday night that they had not been contacted by federal prosecutors, and he was not aware of any possible law enforcement interest in Zelenko.

"It's not something I'm familiar with," Rigano said. "We're just saving people's lives that have coronavirus and getting rid of this virus from America as soon as possible."

In his YouTube video, Corsi displayed the email he inadvertently sent to Zelinsky. In it, he wrote that Zelenko had "an FDA approved randomized test of HCQ underway" - a reference to hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence, President Donald Trump has enthusiastically promoted the drug as a potential treatment for patients infected with covid-19, the lethal respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Last week the Food and Drug Administration, citing reports of "serious heart rhythm problems" associated with hydroxychloroquine, warned doctors against its use outside of a hospital or clinical trial.

By Corsi's account, Zelinsky went to a government website that lists approved clinical trials and found no reference to Zelenko.

After learning of the federal prosecutor's interest, Corsi said he asked Zelenko about whether he had an FDA-approved study - as Corsi said Zelenko had told another physician at a training event. Zelenko, Corsi said, then suggested his study was approved instead by an internal hospital panel.

"I pointed out to Zelenko, 'But it's not registered as an FDA test, and you can't say it is,' " Corsi said Thursday on YouTube, adding he did not feel Zelenko was trying to defraud anyone, but rather did not understand what it meant to have an FDA-approved test.

"I did nothing wrong. Zelenko made a mistake. He's got no case. And we're following all the rules," Corsi said. He said he had turned over to Zelinsky emails and text messages between himself and Zelenko, as well as copies of his podcast and marketing materials for the website - "everything he asked for."

Corsi's attorney, David Gray, confirmed his version of events.

It is unclear how seriously prosecutors are scrutinizing the matter; a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. But even passing interest from federal authorities into efforts to promote the anti-malarial is likely to chafe the president and his allies, particularly given the involvement of a former member of Mueller's team.

"I'm very concerned about the government intrusion here on our freedoms," Corsi said on his podcast. "I see the government demonizing a medicine . . . this hydroxychloroquine, that's been around for 70 years, and is fully FDA approved for various illness."

Trump spent weeks promoting the anti-malarial during his daily televised briefings, calling it at one point a "game-changer" that could help the nation quickly overcome the coronavirus.

His comments echoed frequent segments on Fox News, some of which featured discussions of Zelenko's work. Zelenko has said he successfully treated hundreds of suspected covid-19 patients with what he called a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine, the antibiotic azithromycin and zinc sulfate.

Experts, including Trump's leading infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci, have repeatedly cautioned that while there is some anecdotal evidence the drug shows promise, its efficacy must be validated through controlled scientific studies.

Zelenko consults frequently with some of Trump's closest allies. Trump aides say he has been in contact with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and other officials. In a recent interview, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said he and Zelenko speak frequently - often more than once a day.

"He's a very smart doctor," Giuliani said. "I've seen an analysis of Dr. Zelenko's patient list. There are thousands of people who have been helped by it."

Corsi said he was referred to Zelenko by another doctor also interested in covid-19 and hosted Zelenko for the first time on his podcast earlier this month.

Corsi's website, speakwithanmd.com, offers people the opportunity to schedule a virtual appointment with a doctor, by clicking on a button and inputting their name and address. It advertises a "low consult fee" of $59.95, as well as "Prescriptions Delivered Right to Your Door, Same Day!" through a partner.

The site claims to be linked with more than 625 health-care providers, spanning all 50 states. In a "Frequently Asked Questions" section, it says it is "designed to see and treat non-emergency type consultations," though it lists "COVID-19" as one of many health problems its doctors can examine, along with constipation, allergies and the common cold.

On his website, Corsi describes Zelenko as an unpaid "medical adviser."

Zelenko was a guest on Corsi's podcast Sunday and explained he is working with two German scientists and will soon be publishing data from his use of hydroxychloroquine with his patients.

He accused Fauci and other government scientists of opposing use of the drug for political and financial reasons. "History will prove me right," Zelenko said on Corsi's podcast. "The difference between me and Dr. Fauci is only about 100,000 dead people."

Corsi is best known for his promotion of the false theory that former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States, a topic over which he bonded with Trump before the celebrity mogul ran for president.

Corsi was in close contact with Trump associate Roger Stone during the 2016 campaign and the two men communicated frequently about WikiLeaks, as the anti-secrecy group published Democratic Party emails that U.S. officials say were stolen and provided to the group by Russian intelligence.

Corsi has said he was interviewed extensively about Stone by Zelinsky and other Mueller prosecutors, who at one point drafted a plea agreement under which Corsi would have agreed that he had lied in an initial interview about WikiLeaks.

Corsi ultimately refused to plead guilty, and he was not charged with a crime.

Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering and sentenced to three years and four months in prison. He is appealing. Zelinsky was notably among a group of career prosecutors who quit that case after Barr, the attorney general, intervened to reduce the recommendation he and other prosecutors gave for Stone's penalty.

- - -

The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.
Houston is no stranger to disasters: natural, economic or otherwise. As business leaders who promote Houston around the world, we describe our region as having a can-do spirit, a positive attitude and a hearty resilience to bounce back from whatever comes our way. It is at the heart of being a Houstonian.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything we have experienced, that same drive, determination and collective spirit has guided Houston through these uncharted waters. We will need to harness that same spirit as we reopen our economy.

Here in Houston, we all benefit from being home to the world-renowned Texas Medical Center. We speak with TMC leadership every day, and it is becoming clearer that Greater Houston has passed the peak of the virus spread in our community. From their data, we observe the absolute peak of new daily cases in the nine-county region occurred on April 10, more than three weeks ago. Other major indicators peaked shortly thereafter, and we have been on a slow decline ever since.

The horrors we saw in other cities around the world  overflowing ERs, makeshift ventilators and refrigerated trucks parked as temporary morgues  did not happen in Houston. This is not because the experts were wrong and overhyped the potential impact on our health care system. It is because Houstonians heeded the warnings to stay home, giving time for our tremendous health care workers, first responders and other front-line workers to build capacity and mount a successful defense. Together, we flattened the curve.

With this data on a downward trend, it is now time to focus on reopening. In many ways, shutting Houston down was an easier process than this task of reopening.

What is clear is this must be a gradual and deliberate process; one that maintains the focus on the health of our community, even while reopening our economy.

We appreciate Gov. Greg Abbott taking positive steps this past Monday that will position Texas to open our economy safely, sustainably and successfully.

Make no mistake. Abbotts executive order on Monday was not a signal to return to business as usual. He simply expanded the list of permissible activities and businesses, while suggesting that Texans continue to limit their activities outside the home and their interactions with individuals outside their own household.

If we Houstonians expand our movements and interactions too quickly, if we abandon the social distancing and personal hygiene guidelines, we most assuredly will create another spike in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

As a business community, it is important to understand we have been given the opportunity to reopen responsibly. We cant afford to get this wrong. Mishandling this reopening could result in a spike in infections which would likely lead to a reinstitution of restrictions. This would be catastrophic to our long-term ability to recover, especially for small businesses.

More Information "By our estimates, some 60 percent of Houston companies have already been working safely for weeks." See More Collapse

We are confident that Houston businesses will take appropriate steps. By our estimates, some 60 percent of Houston companies have already been working safely for weeks. Classified as essential industries, they have been diligently following the guidance set forth by medical professionals and industry experts, and by doing so, have demonstrated to every currently shuttered business there is a safe path forward.

A key element of a safe reopen program is a robust testing and contact tracing regime. We are encouraged that testing and tracing have featured prominently in Abbotts Open Texas Plan and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgos Test, Trace and Treat Plan. The business community applauds these efforts.

We also appreciate Abbotts focus on protecting vulnerable Texans including seniors, particularly those with health conditions. As businesses make plans to reopen, we must be cognizant of all our employees with special needs, and as the governor said, care for our vulnerable neighbors.

Over the last several weeks, the partnership has gathered more than 70 Houston business leaders, from companies large and small, and received survey input from more than 850 businesses, to help steer our efforts. Our aim is to support companies as they create their plans to reopen safely  or as we say, Work Safe. This guidance lives on the Greater Houston Partnership website and is available to all who seek it.

Businesses have been asked to reopen safely, and we have a vested interest in getting this right.

We know Houston has the can-do spirit, positive attitude, and hearty resilience to be the shining example to cities around the world of what a successful, smart, and sustainable recovery looks like.

Watts served as a member of Abbotts Strike Force to Open Texas and leads the Greater Houston Partnerships Reopen Houston Safely effort. Tudor is chair of the partnerships board. Harvey is the organizations president and CEO.
RAYTOWN, MO (KCTV) -- The police in Raytown are investigating after a woman was shot on Thursday afternoon. According to the police, the shooting happened just before 4:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of Evanston. When officers arrived, they were told that a woman had been shot by a man that she knew.
Have you found ways to vary that routine?

We all have lunch together. Later, rain or shine, we do a family run along the West Side Highway as a way for us to let out pent-up energy. Im growing herbs in wooden boxes at my kitchen window. Before we went into self-isolation I had ordered seeds from Amazon and worms. Im composting at home. I make juice for the family from those herbs.

What is your way of giving back?

Im on the patient advisory board at Columbia Presbyterian hospital, where I was treated some years back for a pulmonary embolism that led to a coma. As part of the Cura Collective, which I founded with friends, we are donating beauty and grooming products to the I.C.U. units and hospital staff. I put my little one in the back seat of the car, and we make the deliveries.

What things are you missing from pre-Covid days?

It would be really overwhelming to be taking stock of all the things were missing. I try to enjoy things, no matter how small  thats something I learned coming out of my coma. At a time like this, having your health is priceless.
"For the last 71 years, Long Island University's George Polk Awards have honored the influential, investigative, thought-provoking work of reporters throughout the nation," said Long Island University President Kimberly R. Cline. "While we could not present these awards in person this year, these exceptional journalists deserve to be recognized for their tenacious and fearless pursuit of the truth."

As we have seen over the last several weeks during the COVID-19 public health crisis, journalists provide the public with necessary information and updates from around the world. Now more than ever, it is important to recognize the role journalism plays in telling the stories that impact our society. The outstanding work of this year's winners sheds light on a range of deceit and corruption  with profound and sometimes deadly consequences  foreign countries as well as federal agencies, corporate offices and local governments in the United States.

"Every year we look forward to hearing from the winners, who tell us how they got their stories and what impact the stories had," said John Darnton, curator of the awards. "And this year -- thanks to video -- we can do so again, despite the tribulations of isolation."

The George Polk Awards recognize sacrifice, virtue and truth. Long Island University is proud to honor these journalists and recognize their exceptional work as part of this iconic annual tradition. This year's award winners were announced in the First Amendment Lounge at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on February 19, 2020.

"The stature that the George Polk Awards in Journalism has gained is a testament to the outstanding journalists who have been honored, our dedicated panel of judges, and the growing national reputation of Long Island University," stated Long Island University Chairman of the Board Eric Krasnoff. "Today we are proud to honor these remarkable journalists and their stories that took tremendous courage and hard work to tell."

This year's winners chosen from over 551 submissions include:

Azam Ahmed of The New York Times, received the award for Foreign Reporting for risking his safety time and again to portray the reality and impact of violence perpetrated by gangs, drug cartels and even police in firsthand dispatches from Brazil, Jamaica, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, where he is stationed as the Times Bureau Chief.

The award for National Reporting went to Lomi Kriel of the Houston Chronicle for revealing previously unreported aspects of the Trump Administration's immigration policy and tactics that extracted a heavy and sometimes lethal toll on Latin American refugees, including the continued separation of some families without apparent reason.

The staff of Newsday received the award for Metropolitan Reporting for "Long Island Divided," a series three years in the making that exposed an endemic pattern of discrimination by suburban realtors steering homebuyers of color away from white enclaves in violation of federal and state law. It drew promises of action from officials at every level of government.

The award for Local Reporting went to Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times for unearthing a pernicious scheme by unscrupulous lenders to drive up the price of taxi medallions and turn huge profits by selling them to unsophisticated cab drivers with loans they could never repay, leading borrowers into financial ruin so devastating at least nine committed suicide.

Mark Scheffler, Malachy Browne and the Visual Investigations Team of The New York Times were honored for International Reporting for using local plane spottings, satellite imagery, cockpit recordings and Google Earth tools to map and geolocate the attacks to establish that Russian pilots in Syria bombed four hospitals, a busy commercial street and a refugee camp, killing scores of civilians. It was one of a number of wide-ranging coups the team pulled off combining advanced technology with ground level reporting in Venezuela, Afghanistan, Libya, North Korea and Hong Kong.

The award for Financial Reporting went to Noah Buhayar, Caleb Melby, David Kocieniewski and Lauren Leatherby of Bloomberg News for groundbreaking stories on how wealthy, well-connected individuals perverted the stated intention of "opportunity zone" incentives in the 2017 federal tax code for their own profit. The program was aimed at spurring economic growth in depressed areas, but some developers reaped tax breaks by using it for such high-end projects as a long-planned $4 billion luxury North Miami development and the construction of a Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Dominic Gates, Mike Baker, Steve Miletich and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times were honored in the Business Reporting category for first exposing the cooperative arrangements between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration that led to approval of design changes in 737 Max jets blamed for two crashes, killing 346. Times reporters traced FAA approval of the flawed flight control system to its decision to defer to Boeing's own safety analysis, which they attributed to pressure from leaders of the company and the agency to speed production and avoid adding costs.

Helena Bottemiller Evich of Politico won the award for Environmental Reporting for describing how a politicized Department of Agriculture ignored its own climate action plan, devoted a miniscule portion of its budget to climate change, which it acknowledges is the gravest threat to food production, and buried a study warning of lost nutrients in rice, the leading source of nutrition for 600 million people, provoking a highly regarded scientist to quit in disgust.

The award for Military Reporting went to Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post for forcing the release of interviews conducted about the Afghan War as part of a five-year, $11 million federal "Lessons Learned" project. After Whitlock received more than 2,000 documents, including some initially withheld, he puzzled out key redactions before producing "The Afghanistan Papers," which demonstrated that "senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable."

Lisa Gartner of The Philadelphia Inquirer received the Justice Reporting award for "Beaten, Not Silenced," which exposed a pattern of violent physical abuse of boys housed at the Glen Mills Schools, a 193-year-old reformatory in suburban Delaware County. Gartner's reporting was so devastating that within days state officials ordered Glen Mills closed and pledged to do a better job of monitoring conditions at juvenile justice facilities across Pennsylvania.

The award for Political Reporting is shared by Chance Swaim, Jonathan Shorman and Dion Lefler of The Wichita Eagle and Luke Broadwater and the staff of The Baltimore Sun for turning journalistic intuition into deep dives into public records that revealed municipal misconduct leading to the ouster of mayors in both cities.

Eagle reporters determined that Mayor Jeff Longwell steered a $524 million contract for a desperately needed water treatment plant to friends and supporters, rejecting the unanimous choice of a selection panel. Longwell lost his reelection bid after a campaign that turned on the Eagle's investigation of an ad falsely connecting his opponent to sexual harassment allegations.

An offhand remark set Broadwater and his Sun colleagues off on an investigation that determined Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh had gleaned $800,000 in payoffs disguised as bulk purchases of her "Healthy Holly" children's book by a hospital network and health insurers. As a result, Pugh resigned and pleaded guilty to federal charges, the network's board and CEO departed, and the state and city toughened ethics laws.

Lizzie Presser of ProPublica and The New Yorker won the award for Magazine Reporting for "The Dispossessed," an account of how speculators use legal loopholes associated with "heirs' property" laws in the South to seize black-owned ancestral lands, uprooting lifelong residents who assume their homes and property have been passed down to them. Especially poignant was Presser's portrait of two brothers in a North Carolina coastal town jailed for nearly eight years for refusing to leave.

The award for Television Reporting went to John Sudworth of BBC News for "Inside China's Hidden Camps," which documented the reality of camps authorities established in Xinjiang province to indoctrinate hundreds of thousands of Muslims in an effort to erase their religion and culture. Allowed by authorities to visit one camp depicted as a model of agreeability, Sudworth used satellite photos, leaked documents and interviews with forlorn parents separated from their children to paint a very different picture.

A Special Award was presented to Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times and contributors to "The 1619 Project," a supplement published on the 400th anniversary of the advent of American slavery, using essays by journalists and scholars to explore the role of slavery in history and its enduring effects in contemporary American society. A powerful introduction by Hannah-Jones, the project's creator and driving force, examined efforts of black Americans to advance the nation's expressed ideals of democracy, liberty and equality in the face of centuries of oppression and exclusion.

History of the George Polk Awards

In 1949, Long Island University established a new journalism prize to memorialize George Polk, a CBS correspondent who was killed while covering the civil war in Greece. The mission of the George Polk Awards, as distinguished from other journalism honors, focused on recognizing not the news organizations or publishers, but investigative reporters themselves.

Much about journalism has changed in the seven decades since the inaugural Polk Awards, including the rise of the Internet and the technological disruption it has caused. But one constant has endured and even thrived: intrepid, courageous reporters committed to doing whatever it takeseven at risk of their own life and libertyto uncover matters of critical importance to an informed public and the very foundation of democratic society.

As the only major American journalism prize that has always honored work across all media platforms, the Polk Awards has consistently been at the fore of the changing ways we access news and information. The list of Polk winners includes some of the biggest names in journalism. Seymour Hersh, Christiane Amanpour, Jimmy Breslin, Walter Cronkite, Thomas Friedman, Edward R. Murrow, Bill Moyers, A.M. Rosenthal, Jane Mayer, Sidney Schanberg, Pete Hamill, I. F. Stone, Studs Terkel, and the teams of Woodward and Bernstein and Barlett and Steele are all Polk laureates.

About Long Island University

LIU, founded in 1926, continues to redefine higher education, providing high quality academic instruction by world-class faculty. Recognized by Forbes for its emphasis on experiential learning and by the Brookings Institution for its "value added" to student outcomes, LIU offers over nearly 400 accredited programs, with a network of 265,000 alumni that includes industry leaders and entrepreneurs across the globe. Visit liu.edu for more information.

SOURCE Long Island University

Related Links

https://www.liu.edu


P Thiruselvam By

Express News Service

ARIYALUR: Two teachers of a government primary school in Ariyalur have been hailed for handing over Rs 1000 each to 41 families of their students.

The gesture of the teachers has moved the villagers of Thuppapuram.

Unable to go to work and earn, people here have had to confine themselves to the village due to the lockdown. As many of them are daily wagers and financially weak, they have been struggling to make ends meet.

On knowing of their plight, Kannagi(50), headmistress of the panchayat union primary school at Thuppapuram, and Parameswari Varadharajan(33), a teacher at the school, decided to give Rs 1000 each to the families of their school students to buy essential commodities.

A total of 62 students are studying in the primary school and they hail from 41 families.

Kannagi is the resident of Kodangudi village and Parameswari is from Kallathur village near Jayankondam.

They went to Thuppapuram and handed the money to each family themselves, winning the hearts of the people. The headmistress distributed Rs 41000 to 41 families.

They also advised the parents of their students to adhere to personal hygiene and wash their hands frequently.

D Kannagi, the headmistress, said, "I understand the people's hardships due to the lockdown. My sons gave me the idea that I could help the families of our school students. I told another teacher who works at my school about the idea. She also agreed. I contributed Rs 36000 and she contributed Rs 5000. I went to each student's home and gave the money. Now, we are happy to have done this."

Kannagi added that she has been working at this school for 12 years and so knew almost all the students' families personally.

Parameswari Varadharajan, the teacher, said, "I have been working at the school for two and half years. I know many children and their families would be struggling to have proper meals at home every day. So we helped them."
Intelligence Community Statement on Origins of COVID-19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ODNI News Release No. 11-20

April 30, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C.  The Office of the Director of National Intelligence today issued the following Intelligence Community (IC) statement:

"The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China. The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.

"As we do in all crises, the Community's experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."

###

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Heres what its like to experience survivors guilt amidst the coronavirus pandemic

I come from a long line of Black intellectuals. My family members migrated across the country by wagon alongside white families, integrated classrooms and courts, and worked their way up to found a legacy at prestigious universities like Stanford and USC. Before being allowed the right to converse with white peers, my ancestors fought and died for the right to be free. A notion I often take for granted, but now feel more connected to than ever because there is a mandated stay-at-home order in the city where I live. The freedom to leave my home has been taken away from me, and I feel afraid that more of my freedoms will be taken away as COVID-19 spreads.

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As an African-American woman, being mandated to stay home makes me think of strict racial codes and rules that were forced on Black people for hundreds of years. I feel that the freedom that my ancestors fought so hard to acquire and preserve has been tarnished in a matter of weeks. I start to experience survivors guilt because Black Americans have and continue to be affected by COVID-19 at alarming rates. According to the Center for Disease Control, African-Americans make up 30% of COVID cases, even though we are only 13% of the population. As for fatalities, Black people are twice as likely to die from COVID as white people in the state of New York. Down south, the death rate amongst African-Americans is the most drastic. According to data from the Louisiana Department of Health, 70% of COVID related deaths are African-Americans.

In light of all of this information, I feel a deep sense of fear. I fear that I will lose loved ones or know people who will die. I have started to hear about friends of friends and cousins who are getting sick. I know that I will lose someone who is close to me, seeing the alarming rate at which Black people are being affected by COVID. African-Americans only make up 13% of the population, and I worry that COVID will drastically reduce the size of the Black population. I am concerned about what measures are being taken to find a vaccine, a concern I know many Black people have due to our history with the Tuskegee experiments. I wonder how long the entire nation will have to practice extreme social distancing. I question whether remaining six feet apart will become a permanent way of living. I find it strange not to touch, hug or kiss my parents, siblings, uncles and cousins. I lose hope at the sight of images of Black people crying in New Orleans, which take me back to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Like everyone else, I wait to see what will happen. But unlike everyone else, Im part of a community that has spent hundreds of years earning our freedom.

My relationship with COVID manifests itself in tears every night, after phone calls with friends whove lost another family member in New Orleans, Detroit or Chicago. I watch the death toll of Black people skyrocket each day. I wonder if Im next. I feel as though the Black community just cant catch a break up. I feel anger, sadness, and frustration for Black people. I experience survivors guilt because I am not living in the deep south, where Black people are being hit the hardest. I lose the motivation to exercise or break the stay-at-home order to take walks. I find comfort in rich foods and cigarettes, and plan phone calls with friends where we drink together. I experience a collective sense of fear and sadness with my Black peers that other Americans cannot relate to while practicing social distancing. I feel hopeless, and wonder if other Americans feel as afraid as I do. I experience nightmares that involve me forgetting to leave the house without papers allowing me permission to leave. I fear African-Americans will be put into separate housing or quarantine centers because we are being affected by COVID at such a disproportionate rate. I worry about the government blaming COVID on the Black population. I wonder if my family members efforts to fight for freedom and integrated spaces were worth it at all. I find that the strongest feeling I have in response to COVID is survivors guilt. It creeps up on me in the most unusual ways  sweating more than I ever have before, trouble sleeping, vivid nightmares, and cravings for alcohol. My fear isnt that I will get COVID, my fear is that I will have to continue watching other Black people die for years. I have faith that a vaccine will become accessible to everyone, and like my ancestors, I have to remain hopeful.
(Alliance News) - Braveheart Investment Group PLC on Friday said it has raised an additional GBP350,000 through the placing of a further 1.6 million shares at 22 pence each.

Shares in the fund management company were trading 7.1% lower at 22.30 each on Friday morning in London, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP6.26 million.

Braveheart said proceeds from the oversubscribed placing - which was carried out due to demand following Wednesday's GBP275,000 fundraise - will be used to fund additional investments in Paraytech Ltd, Pharm 2 Farm Ltd, Kirkstall Ltd, Gyrometric Systems Ltd, Phasefocus Holdings Ltd and Sentinel Medical Ltd.

Barnsley-based Braveheart wholly-owns UV detector developer Paraytrech, holds a 52% stake in Pharm 2 Farm, and a 65% stake in biotechnology firm Kirkstall. It has a 20% stake in drive shaft monitoring business Gyrometric, 25% in imaging software firm Phasefocus and 38% in medical instrument maker Sentinel.

"We were delighted with the response from the market to our first fundraising announced on April 29. Continuing demand over the last two days from investors wishing to subscribe to our company's shares has now been satisfied by a second placing. The already robust balance sheet of Braveheart has been strengthened significantly, allowing our ambitious development plans to be accelerated," said Chief Executive Trevor Brown.

Following admission of the placing shares, the company will have 31.4 million shares in issue.

By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(JNS)-Israel's 15-month political stalemate, which led to three election cycles within the course of a year, has come to a close with the signing of a unity government deal between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Likud Party, and Blue and White Party head Benny Gantz. The two sides are calling it a "national emergency government" in large part to manage the ongoing coronavirus crisis, which has stymied Israel along with the rest of the world.

Both leaders posted tweets upon the signing. Netanyahu wrote that the deal is a fulfillment of his promise to form a "national emergency government that will work to save lives and the livelihoods of the citizens of Israel." Gantz tweeted that "we prevented a fourth election. We will protect democracy. We will fight the coronavirus and care for all Israeli citizens."

Knesset member Yariv Levin, lead negotiator for the Likud now slated to serve as Speaker of the Knesset in the new government, told JNS that "this emergency government is the right thing at the right time. We need unity to deal with the country's health and economic challenges."

The unity deal, which is structured as six months of an "emergency government" to be followed by a more permanent one, established Netanyahu as prime minister for the first 18 months, during which Gantz will be Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, followed by Gantz taking over the premiership for 18 months, during which Netanyahu will be Vice Prime Minister.

Knesset member Moshe Ya'alon, of Yesh Atid-Telem, which used to be part of Blue and White but split off due to Gantz's partnering with Netanyahu, attacked the deal, telling JNS that "this government is bad for Israel."

He insisted that "Israel needs leadership that will rehabilitate Israeli democracy with checks and balances between its branches. Instead, we now have a dictatorship of one person: Netanyahu. Israel needs a leader who sets a personal example with no corruption. But now, we have a leader who only cares about himself and not the people."

Unity-government legislation

The deal will be formally signed next week after Yom Ha'aztmaut, Israel's Independence Day, to be celebrated on April 28-29. The first order of business will be to pass legislation to set the Netanyahu-Gantz rotation in motion.

While Israeli law allows a prime minister to serve while under indictment, it prohibits a minister from doing so. A law will be passed to enable Netanyahu to serve as vice prime minister (the official title is "acting prime minister") when Gantz becomes the prime minister, despite the fact that he may be in middle of his trial on corruption charges at the time.

A law will also be passed that says that if either of the two decides to leave and collapse the government, the leader of the other party becomes prime minister automatically, with new elections being delayed for six months. This law addresses the fear in Blue and White that in order to prevent Gantz from becoming prime minister, Netanyahu will simply pull Likud out of the government as the first 18 months come to an end, which would leave the coalition with a Knesset minority and lead to an election.

The agreement dictates that the emergency government won't move forward with any significant legislation not related to the coronavirus crisis, with one exception: Israeli sovereignty over Jewish communities in the West Bank.

Levin told JNS that "we have a historic opportunity to apply our sovereignty in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], and it is best to do so with a wide, unity government."

Blue and White, which had been against such a move, has compromised and agreed that from July 1-assuming that there is American support for it-Netanyahu can bring a vote for annexing parts of the West Bank to the Knesset, and that this legislation will be expedited by the Knesset committees. Blue and White members will be allowed to vote according to their ideology, though a Knesset majority will be required for this move.

During the first six months, the government won't fill key vacancies, such as positions of state prosecutor and police commissioner. During this period the two sides will negotiate the platform for the remaining 30 months of the government's term.

The agreement does address the controversial issue of the conscription of the ultra-Orthodox (haredim) to the Israel Defense Forces. The sides have agreed to pass a law that gives the government the power to set the annual quotas that must be met by this specific segment of Israeli society, a victory for the ultra-Orthodox parties that wanted to maintain such control.

Judicial appointments

The unity deal was signed after compromises were reached on the two issues of greatest contention between the two sides: judicial appointments and the court ruling against Netanyahu serving as prime minister.

During the last five years, the justice minister has come from the conservative camp, and significant reforms were made to the system in an attempt to appoint conservative judges to the bench.

Blue and White demanded that former labor-union chief MK Avi Nissenkorn be appointed justice minister. To counter the left-wing influence over the ministry and continue the move towards more conservative judges, Likud demanded veto power over judicial nominations. The two sides agreed that MK Zvi Hauser from Gantz's camp would serve on the committee for judicial appointments. Hauser is a conservative who served as Netanyahu's Cabinet secretary in the past and who has a strong voice for judicial independence; he is also vocal against right-wing attacks on the courts, making him a committee member who satisfies both sides.

This element of the agreement was attacked harshly by the opposition, with MK Yair Lapid, chairman of Yesh Atid, tweeting that Blue and White has "agreed to allow the criminal defendant to appoint the judges that will adjudicate his affairs."

As was expected, appeals were filed with Israeli's Supreme Court, asking its justices to prohibit Netanyahu from forming a new government and becoming prime minister while under indictment. Netanyahu asked Gantz to agree that if the court does so, then Blue and White would support a law to circumvent the court's decision and allow him to serve.

Gantz compromised, agreeing that if the court issues such a ruling then that will automatically trigger a fourth election, with Gantz serving as interim prime minister. The court has asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, Netanyahu, Gantz, Likud and Blue and White to submit their replies to the complaint by Thursday at 2 p.m., after which a hearing on the issue will be scheduled.

Largest Cabinet in Israeli history

The coalition agreement dictates that the government will start with 32 ministers, divided equally between the two sides.

Blue and White will hold the the following portfolios: defense; foreign affairs (for the first 18 months); justice; immigration and absorption; culture and sport; communications; agriculture; strategic affairs; tourism; social equality; science and technology; and diaspora affairs. They will also create a Minority Affairs Ministry, which will be led by a professional minister from the Arab sector.

The Labor Party will be joining the government as part of Gantz's camp, and will be given the economy and welfare ministries.

Likud will control the ministries of finance, public security, transportation, housing, environment, intelligence, regional cooperation, periphery, energy, Jerusalem affairs and foreign affairs (for the latter 18 months). In addition, Likud will hold the position of Knesset Speaker for the full 36 months. Likud will give the interior, health and religious affairs ministries to the ultra-Orthodox parties that are part of Netanyahu's bloc.

A question mark remains regarding the Education Ministry. At the moment, the right-wing Yamina Party, led by current Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, is not joining the administration. As a result, Likud will head the portfolio, but it will be available for Yamina should the party choose to join the government.

The agreement gives Gantz's bloc control over the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in addition to the House Committee, which controls the Knesset agenda. Likud will head the Finance Committee and the special committee handling the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu retains control over who will serve as ambassador to the United Nations, the United Kingdom, France and Australia for the entire lifespan of the government. The ambassador to the United States will be chosen by whoever is prime minister at the time.

The 72-seat coalition will expand from 32 to 36 ministries after the initial six-month emergency government, making it the largest government in Israel's history.
Scientists are trying to find new ways to quickly identify COVID-19. Weve seen tests that do it in a matter of seconds, with stellar accuracy.

However, now scientists want to deploy the K9 unit in humanity's quest to stop the spread of novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

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Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine said on Tuesday that theyre initiating research using scent detection dogs to differentiate between samples from COVID-19 positive and negative patients.



The study will initially have eight dogs, which over a course of three weeks, will be put across COVID-19 positive saliva as well as urine samples in a laboratory.

Once the dogs have gotten trained with the scents, scientists will see how effective they are in differentiating between positive and negative samples. This will then create a basis of sorts to see if they can actually identify people whove contracted the novel coronavirus.

Cynthia Otto, director of Penn Vets Working Dog Centre said in an official release, "The potential impact of these dogs and their capacity to detect COVID-19 could be substantial. "This study will harness the dog's extraordinary ability to support the nation's COVID-19 surveillance systems, with the goal of reducing community spread."

Can dogs really smell disease?

In case you were wondering if this is even possible, the chances are highly likely. Unlike the human nose which has about 6 million smell receptors, a dog as a mind-boggling 300 million.

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Studies in the past have already shown how dogs can effortlessly pick up low concentrations of volatile organic compounds or VOCs that are the root cause of diseases like cancer and bacterial infections.

VOCs are present in saliva, human blood, breath and even urine. Studies have also revealed that dogs can sniff malaria just from the sock worn by a child. Theyre that good.

Dogs could in fact prove beneficial in identifying asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 either in hospitals, or even offices. According to the researchers, initial screening of humans by trained dogs could start as early as July this year.
A daughter whose father died in America's worst-hit nursing home has taken aim at 'mismanagement' and 'complacency' after a third of residents passed away with coronavirus.

Susan Kenny was forced to scrawl 'is my father still alive?' and 'shame on you' on her car in blue grease crayon after hearing nothing about 78-year-old veteran Charles Lowell for 30 hours.

When she arrived at the Holyoke Soldiers Home in Massachusetts, she claims to have even found staff 'joking' about the virus, which has killed 70 residents and infected around 80 other veterans and just as many staff.

The long-term care facility has become the deadliest known nursing home in the country and has prompted an urgent shake-up of senior leadership.

Around 100 veterans remain at the home, but dozens have been moved out including roughly 30 to the local medical center.

Kenny, whose father died on April 15, is demanding those to blame are held responsible and insists 'somebody screwed up'.

Choking on her tears, she this morning recalled both her struggle to squeeze any updates about her father from the home and her horror upon seeing the state of care.

Susan Kenny blasted the nursing home where her dead father Charles Lowell was a resident

Kenny was forced to scrawl 'is my father still alive?' and 'shame on you' on her car in blue grease crayon after hearing nothing about 78-year-old veteran for 30 hours

When she arrived at the Holyoke Soldiers Home in Massachusetts, she claims to have even found staff 'joking' about the virus, which has killed around a third of its residents

She told BBC's Today programme: 'They had established a hotline on Tuesday (March 31) the day before. I had great difficulty calling that number.

'On Thursday I didn't hear back for over 30 hours. So on Friday 3, (April) I wrote on the side of my car windows with a grease crayon 'is my father alive? It's been over 30 hours without a call and shame on you soldier's home'

'And I began to drive to the soldiers home to find out for myself. I had seen the death toll rising daily and I needed to know if my father was alive.'

On her arrival, she claimed to have shouted at a woman wearing scrubs: 'Who the hell is in charge here?'

She added: 'I saw a young woman come out the building and she had scrubs on, and she saw what was on my car and hung her head and gave out a sigh and I knew she felt as horrible as I did, and she said she knew who my father was.'

The Air Force veteran was an air launch missile guide technician for the 17th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron until 1965 before working at IBM

The long-term care facility has become the deadliest known nursing home in the country and has prompted an urgent shake-up of senior leadership.

The staff member offered to put her in touch with her father that evening, but Kenny declined because she wanted him to rest and was happy he was alive.

She soon did visit with her mother Alice but claims her nephew Christian, Charles's grandson, was prevented because the staff would only allow two visitors.

Kenny said: 'But they did arrange a Facetime so he could tell him he would take care of my mother and thank you for raising him to be the person he is.

'And then my father passed the next day. I know my mother wouldn't trade that time for the world.

'We saw him for half an hour and he held her hand tightly for all that time.'

The Air Force veteran was an air launch missile guide technician for the 17th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron until 1965 before working at IBM. He leaves behind his wife of almost 60 years.

Kenny this morning tore into the staff, blaming the huge death toll on a 'combination of both mismanagement and lack of proper equipment'.

She added: 'I also feel that although many of the staff do a fantastic job I think there are staff who have become complacent with their job.

'As I was explaining with my dad why I wouldn't be able to come to visit, there was another member of staff arm in arm with another veteran, joking about the virus.

'These veterans, they're not their guys these are our family members and we paid to have them cared for in a professional manner.'

Several investigations into the deaths are underway and the home's superintendent Bennett Walsh was placed on administrative leave on March 30 and the CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital, Val Liptak, took over operations.

Walsh has defended his response and accused state officials of falsely claiming they weren't notified quickly enough about the spread of the virus.

His lawyer William Bennett said on Wednesday that Walsh wants to let investigations into the home unfold before commenting further.

This week, eight 'coaches' were brought into the home to ensure staff are using personal protective equipment properly, officials said.

And dozens of National Guard members have been sent there to help, but staffers say it's too little, too late.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said she is looking into whether legal action is warranted. And the Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office and Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division are investigating whether officials violated residents' rights by failing to provide them proper medical care.

Family members say they are hopeful those investigations will provide answers and perhaps justice. The veterans deserved to be protected by the country they gave so much of their lives to, they say.

'You're dealing with a population who either volunteered or was drafted and throughout the duration of their lives have always put the welfare of others in front of themselves,' said state Rep. John Velis, a major in the Army Reserve who visited the home last week.

'The least we can do for them as a commonwealth, the least we can do for them as a nation is to make sure that they can live a peaceful, safe remaining time period they have on this earth,' he said.
Such explanations, whatever their validity, did not go far with Jenkins, the would-be blood donor. After being told by a reporter how much money was being made from blood donations solicited by Cantor BioConnect, she said she had decided that she wanted no part of it and would instead donate her blood to a nonprofit clinic in Seattle.
The chiefs and people of Domeabra, a farming community in the Amansie Central District, has appealed to the government and philanthropic organizations to provide them with potable water.



This, according to them, would enable them to have easy access to water not only for their daily activities, but also help to protect themselves against the spread of the coronavirus in the area.



Mr Stephen Sekyere, Assemblyman for Oseikrom Electoral area, who made the appeal on behalf of the people, said lack of water was making the regular washing of hands difficult in the community.



Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Obuasi, he said, washing of hands under running water, was one of the key preventive protocols of the coronavirus, but the people in the community was currently struggling for water.

Mr Sekyere said the only one borehole, which served the community often stop flowing making it difficult for the people to have access to water for their daily activities.



He observed that rivers and streams in and around the community were also polluted by the activities of illegal miners in the area and thereby, rendering them unsafe for drinking and other domestic use.



Mr Sekyere said efforts to get support from the local government authority was yet to succeed.



The situation was also affecting the education of school children in the community since they had to travel long distances to obtain water.



Mr Sekyere appealed to individuals and organizations to come to the aid of the people, in this time of need.

Source: GNA









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NASA and SpaceX's most defining moment of our current space era is coming up at the end of this month, with its Demo-2 mission on May 27. The mission will be the first-ever launch for SpaceX with humans on board, and for NASA, it'll mark the first return to U.S.-based astronaut launches since the Shuttle program flew its last flight in 2011. On Friday, representatives from both SpaceX and NASA briefed the media on the mission and the specifics of what it will involve when astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley board the Crew Dragon for its debut crewed performance.

The first thing to note about this mission is that it's still technically a test, as noted in the "demo" name. This is the capstone demonstration in a series of such missions that will fully human-rate the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 for operational use. As noted during today's press briefings, a big chunk of the actual human rating process occurs during this final mission -- in fact, the majority of the actual final human rating happens on this flight, despite the many years of preparation and live tests to date, including the Demo-1 mission, which was essentially a full round-trip flight, just without any astronauts on board.

Even though it's technically a demonstration, the stakes couldn't be higher -- SpaceX has a lot to prove here, and it bears the utmost responsibility in terms of keeping Behnken and Hurley safe for the duration of the mission. Which, it turns out, is actually going to be longer than originally planned: NASA says the mission will last anywhere between 30 days and 119 days, depending on a few different factors, the most significant of which being how quickly the agency ends up being able to launch the first operational Commercial Crew mission, Crew-1, which will carry four astronauts, including two from NASA and one from Japan's space agency. The Crew Dragon used on this Demo mission could technically remain on orbit for over 200 days, but the purpose of this mission was not originally intended to be staffing the International Space Station, though that's now part of the plan as a sort of stretch goal.

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The teams also revealed today that the Crew Dragon used for Demo-1 will carry not only the astronauts, but also some cargo for the ISS. SpaceX also flies dedicated ISS resupply missions using its non-crew Dragon capsule, but this Crew Dragon will bring just a few additional supplies and scientific material along for the ride.

In terms of timeline, the mission begins with a launch and ascent, followed by the second-stage separation (with Crew Dragon attached). The first-stage booster performs a flip and "boostback burn," which sets it on its path to return to Earth for a powered landing. Meanwhile Dragon separates from the second stage in space, and heads on to the ISS, which it'll reach in anywhere from between two and 48 hours after liftoff depending on the position of the space station at the time of launch.



The exact launch time could vary greatly depending on weather, and there are a number of launch opportunities in late May through June in case there's a need to scrub. Weather during this time in Florida can be a bit hard to accurately predict, as noted by SpaceX's head of commercial crew, and the conditions necessary to trigger a scrub are less severe than they would be for a mission where there aren't any humans on board, out of an abundance of caution.

Once the Crew Dragon is in space on its way to the ISS, however, the capsule will rendezvous with the station through a series of phased burns and then an approach, followed by an automated docking process once it reaches close proximity to the station. Crew Dragon has a fully automated docking process, and bypasses entirely even the need for astronauts on board the ISS to capture the spacecraft using the robotic Canadarm, which has been required for the older Dragon capsules and other astronaut-bearing Soyuz craft.

Once docked, Crew Dragon will pressurize and the hatch will open so the astronauts can board and carry on their mission with their colleagues on the station. On board the ISS, Benhken and Hurley will perform duties including conducting experiments and running maintenance on the orbital research platform, before they eventually depart by climbing back into Crew Dragon, undocking, jettisoning the "trunk" or cargo compartment of the capsule, performing a deorbit burn to get into reentry position and then deploying parachutes once in the Earth's atmosphere to slow their final descent into the Atlantic Ocean. From departure to splashdown should take approximately 24 hours.

Other logistics details shared by the teams performing the mission include that the crew will enter a mandatory quarantine beginning on May 16 and lasting until the mission date, and that mission control crew who need to be on site for the launch will be observing a six-foot distancing rule because of COVID-19, and control stations have been arranged to make this possible.

The mission itself doesn't sound all that complex when broken down step-by-step, but it represents the culmination of years of hard work on both SpaceX and NASA's part. The U.S. has been without a homegrown ride to the ISS since 2011, and this is the closest yet we've gotten to a return to an era of regular human spaceflight from American soil, so it's definitely going to be something you'll want to watch live when the launch happens on May 27.
As workers across the world celebrate the international workers day, the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged workers in the state to remain safe and productive.

Read Also: Senate President Bukola Saraki Drops Workers Day Message For Nigerians

Speaking via a statement on his official Twitter handle, he also described workers as the lifeblood of the economy.

This WorkersDay, we pay a special tribute to the lifeblood of our economy, our workers; public and private. We thank you for your patience, strength and commitment. I implore you to remain productive, stay safe and wish you all good health.

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A man who has committed thefts in eight European cities has been jailed for a series of stealth attacks on cash machines here which caused nearly 13,000 in damage.

Damien Ionut (34) was part of a group of men who targeted ATMs in counties Louth, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Westmeath and Dublin. The men used a technique known as transaction reversal fraud, which occurs when requested cash isnt properly dispensed.

Thieves then use an implement to retrieve the cash, thus damaging and shutting down the ATM. The bank account is not debited because the thieves trick the ATM into thinking the customer has walked off.

Ionut, with an address of Rayners Lane, Harrow, London appeared at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today and affirmed 25 signed pleas, made at a district court hearing last November. The charges included 20 of criminal damage to cash machines and 15 of theft from AIB.

The thefts took place on dates in October and November last.

Garda Emmet Cooke told Aideen Collard BL, prosecuting, that the attack involved two stages, the first using a legitimate chip and pin card to make a small cash withdrawal. When the cash drawer opens to give out this cash, the thief puts an implement like a clip into the shutter of the cash drawer.

In the second stage the thief uses the same card to request a much larger cash withdrawal, averaging 500. The machine places this cash into the drawer but behind the shutter, in anticipation of giving it to the customer.

Before the cash is given out the ATM presents the bank card back to the user. At this stage the thief quickly switches this card for a dummy card, tricking the machine into deciding that the customer has walked off without their card, Gda Cooke told Judge Martin Nolan.

The machine accordingly does not debit the bank account of the customer and attempts to recover the cash from the dispenser drum. Gda Cooke said the clip placed into the shutter prevents this from happening and the thieves then simply use a chisel to break into the drawer and take the cash.

Gda Cooke said the total amount taken by Ionut in the five-week period was 5,980. Some of the attacks did not succeed but the total amount of damage caused was 12,881.

A statement from AIB said these crimes render cash machines unavailable and impacts on their customers and on the ATM operations team.

Ionut has 30 previous convictions for similar offending. These offences took place in London, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris, Brussels as well as in cities in Italy, the Czech Republic and Romania.

The court heard that the men were identified on CCTV footage and that during the earlier attacks, they used credit cards in their own name to begin the transactions. They later switched to using pre-paid chip cards.

Judge Martin Nolan backdated a three-year prison sentence to November 5 last when Ionut went into custody. He noted that a custodial sentence will be harder on the Romanian national because of his foreign nationality.

The court heard that Ionut damaged cash machines in Drogheda, Co Louth, Bray in Co Wicklow, Mullingar in Co Westmeath, Rathoath in Co. Meath, Leixlip in Co Kildare. In Co. Dublin the gang hit machines in Portmarnock, Skerries and Donabate.
Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has said it would be too difficult to ease lockdown laws on a regional basis across Ireland (Steve Humphreys/PA)

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has said it would be too difficult to ease lockdown laws on a regional basis across Ireland.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) will advise the Government on the next stages of the lockdown after it meets on Friday morning.

Cabinet will then debate the advice before Taoiseach Leo Varadkar makes an official announcement.

NPHET is expected to call for the current guidelines to be extended with little or no relaxation of the restrictions in place.

Earlier this week, Independent TD John Halligan said is a case to be made for easing restrictions in various counties, adding that Dublin has some of the highest infection rates.

However, Ms Doherty told Newstalk FM that such a plan would be too difficult to implement.

I think it would be a very difficult situation, not only to communicate but also to police, for want of a better word, she said.

If all of the restaurants opened in Kildare, for example  I know where all of the people in nearby Meath would be heading to.

It is very difficult  we are one nation and the fact that some of our more rural communities have been blessed to have less cases of Covid-19 is absolutely great for them as it has exposed them to less risk.

So, it doesnt mean we should expose them to an increased level of risk.

As we reopen our society and bring more people into society, that is going to cause an increased level of risk for everybody.

For people living in rural communities  the majority of ICU beds are in our cities so the capacity of being able to treat people as a nation, does not come on a regional basis or per town and per county.
ALBANY  Well over 100 protesters stood outside the state Capitol to decry the closure of businesses in the state Friday as Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters inside the building that schools would not reopen during the current academic year in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The crowd gathered a little over a week after a similar group filled the same spot to demand the state reopen for business. Friday's rally started on State Street and moved to the area around the sculpture of Civil War General Philip Sheridan before it migrated from the Capitol to the governor's mansion on Eagle Street.

One man, who refused to give his name, said he was a construction worker and was worried about how he would feed his two daughters. He hadn't worked since the state shutdown began, he said.

Ive got payments piling up that I can't make, he said. "I want to come back to work."

A short time before the protest started at noon Friday, police lined the streets nearby to pay respect to Sgt. Randall French, the Troy police officer whose body was being escorted to a Rensselaer County nursing home the day after he died of COVID-19.

Earlier: Hundreds gather at the Capitol to protest state shutdown

Cuomo says schools will remain closed through academic year

Other protesters circled the area around the Capitol in their cars, waving flags and honking their horns.

Albany police shutdown part of Washington Avenue and Eagle Street, making it difficult for some protesters to find parking.

Carrying signs and bullhorns, the protesters alternated between insulting Cuomo and urging him to reopen the state. Standing on the base of the Sheridan statute, organizers warned of government overreach and the possibility of permanent damage to Upstate small businesses, as well as warnings about potential injury from any coronavirus vaccines and a takeover by the New World Order.

Most protesters wore masks but some did not.

One of the protest organizers, Cara Castronuova, a former boxer and physical trainer featured on NBC's television show "Biggest Loser," said the shutdown was government overreach that infringed on New Yorker's rights. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow speakers, Castronuova told the crowd their right to assemble and petition their government was being denied.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"I don't care if there's a virus, it sets a terrible precedent for the future," she said in an interview afterward. "The state should be educating, they should not be controlling and mandating."

Another protester, who said he was from Renssealer County, held a sign telling Cuomo to allow churches to hold in-person services again.

Watching a church service on a cell phone screen wasn't the same as gathering together to worship, he said.

The second protest in as many weeks came as Albany County reached over 1,150 confirmed coronavirus cases.

Forty-four people have died of the disease in the county, part the roughly 63,000 people to die from COVID-19 complications since the disease was first detected in the United States. New York state, particularly New York City and its surrounding suburbs have been the virus' biggest hotspot in the U.S. with more than a third of all deaths happening in the state.
A collection of rare and unusual antiques worth 30,000 - including a framed black-and-white photo of author James Joyce - has been stolen from a north London lock-up.

Police were called to a storage facility in Waltham Forest on the morning of April 20 by a member of staff, who said that one of the storage units had been broken into.

The victim was contacted, and later identified that more than 20 items had been stolen - with a total value of as much as 30,000.

A framed black-and-white photo of author James Joyce was stolen during a burglary in Waltham Forest, London

Here are some of the high value items totalling 30,000 which were stolen during a burglary in north London

The thieves stole from a storage facility in Waltham Forest in London where they busted open up a lock to steal 30,000 worth of goods

WHO WAS JAMES JOYCE? - Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1882 - An irish novelist, poet and short story writer - Known for publishing Portait of the Artist in 1916 and Ulysses in 1922 - Died in Switzerland in 1941 aged 58 after suffering from a stomach ulcer Advertisement

Among them were two cameras disguised as binoculars, a camera disguised as a pocket watch and another disguised as a book.

A number of other cameras, photography equipment and portraits were taken - alongside a large, framed, black-and-white photo of Irish author James Joyce.

The thieves are believed to have gained entry by smashing through the unit's lock and shutters.

Joyce was an irish novelist, poet and short story writer known for publishing Portrait of the Artist in 1916 and Ulysses after catching the attention of poet Ezra Pound.

The Irish writer died in Switzerland aged 58 in 1941 after falling into a coma following difficulty with a stomach ulcer.

Detective Sergeant Keith Faris, who is investigating the break-in, said: 'This appears to be a targeted and well-planned burglary in which the suspects have left with a large amount of items.

A camera disguised as binoculars were among the 20 items stolen at the London lock-in

'The owner is understandably devastated at the loss of these antiques which he thought were safely locked away.

'We want to reunite him with his property and we would urge anyone who might have been offered these stolen items for sale to come forward as a priority.'

A Scotland Yard spokesperson added: 'Detectives are appealing for information after a collection of antiques were stolen from a storage facility in Waltham Forest.

'Police were called at around 08:45hrs on Monday, 20 April by a member of staff at the building who advised one unit had been broken into.

A camera disguised as a pocket watch was also taken as identified by the victim who phoned the police from the storage facility

'The victim was contacted and later identified that more than 20 items had been stolen.

'These were comprised of a number of unusual antiques including two cameras disguised as binoculars, a camera disguised as a pocket watch and a camera disguised as a book.

'A number of other cameras, photography equipment, portraits and a large, framed, black-and-white photo of author James Joyce were also taken.

'In total, the items are believed to be valued at around 25,000 to 30,000.

'It is believed the suspect/s gained entry by causing deliberate damage to the unit's lock and shutters.'
But the drug failed a number of real-life tests, not just against hepatitis but also against Ebola in Africa. The drug languished, unapproved for any use  until a new coronavirus emerged.

As SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, began to grow into a pandemic, many scientists realized that remdesivir might be the best solution at hand. It had already undergone animal testing and safety testing in humans.

So doctors began giving it to patients in studies without controls and even outside of studies altogether. Anecdotes fueled demand. Gilead sponsored some of these studies and gave the drug to doctors who treated hundreds of patients under compassionate use, a legal exemption permitting use of an unapproved drug to treat patients.

But none of this could demonstrate that a drug was helpful to patients. It took the federal trial, in which many patients were given a placebo, to show that remdesivir seems to have a modest effect.

Even a modest effect from the drug in hospitalized patients was a surprise, said Dr. Arnold Monto, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan. He had expected that patients like those in the federal trial would not respond.

They were severely ill, and such patients often suffer not from their viral infections but from overreactions of the immune system. (That is why Tamiflu does not work well in severely ill flu patients, he added.)

Thank God, we have something that works, Dr. Monto said.

Not everyone is convinced that remdesivir will live up to its promise. A study in China, published this week in Lancet, found the drug offered no benefit to severely ill patients. And many experts want to see the data from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases trial; so far, there have been only announcements about the results from administration officials.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.s annual meeting will be nothing like the extravaganzas of years past, but will give Warren Buffett a chance to show how resilient his cash-rich conglomerate may be to the coronavirus pandemic, and the investment opportunities it offers.

The meeting and surrounding festivities that Buffett calls Woodstock for Capitalists normally draw more than 40,000 people to Omaha, Nebraska to see and hear one of the worlds richest people and most revered investors.

But Berkshire has scrapped most of this years fun, and Buffett fans will need their computers and smartphones to watch the Saturday afternoon meeting, broadcast on Yahoo Finance.

Buffett, who is Berkshires chairman and chief executive officer, has been notably quiet about the coronavirus, ever since calling the COVID-19 outbreak and plunging oil prices a big one-two punch in early March.

He has also eschewed the kind of splashy investments, such as in Goldman Sachs Group Inc,, he made during in the 2008 financial crisis.

Shareholders nonetheless said they expect Buffett to show Berkshire can successfully weather a deep recession.

Berkshire Hathaway P/C Insurance Profit Down in 2019 While 2019 was not as good as 2018, Berkshire Hathaway property/casualty insurance companies have been on a good run, achieving an underwriting profit for 16 of the last 17 years. Learn more. GEICO CEO Roberts to Retire End of 2020 Replacing Roberts as CEO will be Todd Combs, one of Berkshire Hathaways investment managers. Learn more.

Hes an optimist, said Paul Lountzis, president of Lountzis Asset Management LLC, who invests 11% of assets he oversees in Berkshire stock. He will reflect on the countrys resilience, and how well overcome this, as we have overcome so many other challenges. Thats how he looks at the world.

Abel Takes Stage

Buffett, 89, will be joined by Greg Abel, 57, a vice chairman overseeing Berkshires non-insurance operating businesses, in answering shareholder questions at the meeting.

Abel and Ajit Jain, another vice chairman, have long been viewed as Buffetts likeliest successors as CEO.

Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 96, who normally answers shareholder questions with Buffett, and Jain, 68, will not be in attendance. Unlike Abel, both live far from Omaha.

Berkshire is also likely on Saturday morning to report a huge first-quarter net loss, as investments such as American Express, Bank of America and the four largest U.S. airlines sank in value.

Many investors will focus on the quarterly performance of Berkshires more than 90 operating businesses, which in 2019 posted an average $6 billion of quarterly profit.

The pandemics impact may be evident in falling volumes at the BNSF railroad, premium waivers and lower accident claims at the Geico auto insurer, and store closures by retailers such as Sees Candies and the Nebraska Furniture Mart.

As goes Berkshire, so goes the economy, said Lawrence Cunningham, a George Washington University law professor who has published several books on Berkshire.

Underperformance Persists

Investors will also look for how far Berkshire dipped into its $128 billion year-end cash hoard, whether through investments in other stocks or repurchases of its own.

Munger told The Wall Street Journal two weeks ago that Berkshires phone is not ringing off the hook with companies seeking support.

Bill Smead, chief executive of Smead Capital Management in Seattle, likened the environment to the 1974 bear market, when Buffett told Forbes magazine he felt like an oversexed man in a harem when looking for investment opportunities.

Berkshire, however, was then far smaller than the $461 billion behemoth it has become.

You cant pour water from a barrel into a teacup, Smead said, while adding he wished Buffett would admit stockpiling cash was a mistake: He needs to work for the benefit of those who, like him, have over 90% of their net worth in the company.

Through Wednesday, Berkshires stock price was down 16% in 2020, versus a 9% drop in the Standard & Poors 500.

And last year, Berkshire lagged the index by 20.5 percentage points, including dividends.

Berkshire said Buffett and Abel will not be given shareholder questions in advance, and will not talk about specific Berkshire investments. That suggests that Berkshires holdings in banks, airlines and Apple Inc. may be off-limits.

Cunningham said it will be important for Abel to show how his core values align with Berkshires, and to convey a sense of himself.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Megan Davies and Diane Craft)

Photo: Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. AP Photo/Nati Harnik.

Topics COVID-19
The creation of additional hotbeds for the Iran-US tension doesnt contribute to the strengthening of security in the region in any way. This is what Head of the Department of Iranian Studies at Yerevan State University, Candidate of Sciences Vardan Voskanyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

I dont think its necessary to wait for a direct clash or local military conflict between the two countries. Yes, there is still tension between the US and Iran even during the coronavirus pandemic, but this first and foremost concerns the rhetoric of the top officials of both countries, the analyst said.

According to him, Iran is under US sanctions and has to overcome additional difficulties due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Today, the parties need to combine efforts to combat the pandemic by showing a humanitarian approach, but Washingtons actions dont correspond to this approach. If the US weakens sanctions, this may become a positive impetus for Tehran, Vardan Voskanyan stated.
SACRAMENTO,CA-Alicia Cruz. center, of El Grove, California takes part in a protest really at the California State Capitol. She said she was there to protect civil liberties, the future for her children, and future livelihoods. CHP officers wearing riot gear were brought in to use the protesters off of the capitol grounds during a protest rally held on Friday, May 1, 2020. Over 1,500 people attending a rally at the capitol in Sacramento asking for the civil liberties and the opening of the economy, closed due to the coronavirus. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times) (Carolyn Cole/Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

They came with babies strapped to their chests, flags waving and even a speedboat parked at the curb to symbolize California's closed beaches.

Hundreds of people  likely more than 1,000  crowded around the California State Capitol on Friday to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom's social distancing orders amid a pandemic that has now killed more than 2,000 Californians.

With nary a mask in sight, protesters called Newsom a tyrant and showed their support for President Trump, evidenced by Trump 2020 gear everywhere, including for sale. But despite the president's back-and-forth support of social distancing, most were quick to absolve him of their anger over current conditions in the Golden State.

Susan Dorrity, a retired mortgage broker from Modesto, said the president was smart to leave decisions about closures to governors.

Not opening up as of May 1 is on the governor, not on him, she said. God is behind Trump.

The demonstration was unauthorized and not permitted by the California Highway Patrol, but CHP officers did not disperse protesters until late in the afternoon when tense moments led to a handful of arrests.

A woman who identified herself only as Michelle expressed outrage as multiple California Highway Patrol officers secured her wrists with plastic ties.

"We were peacefully assembling and I am getting arrested," she fumed as her 14-year-old daughter stood by, separated from other family members. The young girl fled past the line of officers in tactical gear with batons out, into a press of protesters, searching for her sister.

Other protests took place elsewhere in California on Friday, along with actions by grocery clerks, warehouse employees and other frontline workers who say employers are not protecting them from the contagion.

The Capitol rally kicked off just as Newsom was giving his daily briefing a few blocks away. Asked about the protest at the still-closed building, Newsom said he supports the right to civic action and promised announcements about changes to closure orders in coming days.

Story continues

"I believe in freedom of expression," he said. "And thank them for their expression of free speech.

About the time Newsom was speaking, Susan West stood waving a flag out the open sunroof of a gold Lexus SUV stuck in gridlock in front of the Capitol. Along with those on foot, hundreds more circled in the building in cars, license plates covered in duct tape, blaring their horns and ringing cowbells. Amid the clanging and beeps, she shouted a message for Gov. Gavin Newsom.

We are healthy and we need to open up, she yelled.

Overhead, a plane circled trailing a banner with Newsoms photo and a slogan that read: End his Tyranny.

Leigh Dundas, a Southern Californian lawyer involved in previous protests, stood in a tan speedboat parked on the street, railing against Orange County beach closures on a sound system, while protesters on the steps chanted freedom.

Protesters brought a boat to the California State Capitol on Friday to protest coronavirus beach shutdowns. (Anita Chabria / Los Angeles Times)

The cops are pushing back the protesters off the steps of our house, she yelled as highway patrol officers began moving protesters away from Capitol steps around 1:30 p.m.

Freedom! She yelled, and the crowd joined in the chant.

Whats going on at this point is unconstitutional ... and Im not OK with it, she said later.

As of Friday, the COVID-19 pandemic had sickened more than 50,000 people and killed more than 2,050 in California. Nationwide, it has killed more than 65,000.

Among the political activists were some small-business owners new to political dissent and facing crushing financial losses.

Mike Owen runs Crystal Basin Cellars, a winery in El Dorado County. Owen said he was lucky because alcohol sales were considered an essential service.

Weve had to pivot and we are doing tons of delivery and shipping, own said.

Still, hes gone from 20 employees to about four, and is frustrated that those he laid off have been unable to get unemployment benefits so far. This is the point where thankfully people have some reserves, family, he said.

But he believes the shutdown is more about politics than public safety. We are all participating right now in Gavin Newsoms run for president, he said. The conflict is going to raise his profile.

Jim, another small business owner who asked that his last name not be used, runs a bounce house company in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville. This time of year is usually busy for his 300 jumpers and 13 employees but the shutdown has wiped him out financially.

All my schools, my graduation parties, field days, theyre gone. Just like that, he said. I dont know what to do.

Jim said it had taken him 10 years to build the company, starting in his garage. Within weeks of the virus hitting, people began to cancel.

Ive never given back so many refunds, he said. I went insolvent. He laid off all his workers except for one. But that employee used to make more than $1,000 a week. Now its maybe $140. I mean, just scraps.

Jim said he had never been to a rally before last week's similar event at the Capitol, and unlike many draped in patriotic colors, he wore a black polo shirt with his company logo. As he stood watching police and protesters face off, his jaw tightened with emotion.

We shut down the country for a cold, he said. Ive got to stop talking.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

Trend:

Currently, one of the main goals of our economic development is to reduce the shadow economy, said Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev during a videoconference with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti, Trend reports.

We made good progress last year. This year, we are successfully moving in this direction. Major changes have taken place in Azerbaijan. There have been changes in the Presidential Administration, government, parliament, local executive authorities. They are going on. As for the plans for the future, I want to thank you personally and leadership of the bank for the importance being attached to Azerbaijan. We are very grateful to you for supporting the most important projects related to infrastructure and energy infrastructure, including the Southern Gas Corridor. We are moving on to an agreed agenda now. I would also like to comment on your words about our plans. As for the green program, we take this issue very seriously. I was informed that we currently have nine projects. The Ganja waste management project has already been given green light. I think that Ganja-Green City can be a good example for other large cities of Azerbaijan. As for renewable energy, we are very enthusiastic about that. Here is where we are now, said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state recalled that in January, Azerbaijan signed preliminary documents with two experienced renewable energy companies related to the construction of 440-megawatt solar and wind power plants.

As far as I know, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development plans to support them. It is very important that the coronavirus does not affect the plans of these companies. A few days ago, our Minister of Energy informed me that they are serious about their obligations. This, of course, will open the doors wide to other large companies. You probably know that seven major energy companies participated in the bidding. As for the companies that did not go through this time, we offered them the opportunity to conduct further negotiations. I agree with you that during the crisis we must take very serious measures. We should mobilize our efforts and spend more to find an easy way out of the crisis. This is a situation no-one was ready for. How will we overcome this situation? What will be the consequences? How should we evaluate these consequences and plan priorities? Therefore, Mr. President, we will need the support of the bank and your support, expert assistance, because, as I said, no country in the world has encountered such a situation. You have also mentioned the issue of irrigation. I can tell you that at present this issue may become the top priority in the infrastructure sector for us because all other infrastructure projects have been practically completed. Last year we faced a very serious drought, said President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state noted that there is a serious drought this year as well.

The volumes of water in storages are as small as ever. Even the older generation cant recall a drought as bad as last year. Therefore, irrigation is turning into a major infrastructure project. With this aim, I recently set up a state commission headed by our former Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev, who you know quite well. Other members of this commission are the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Economy, the Minister of Ecology, the Minister of Agriculture and the head of the state irrigation agency. They will first evaluate our water resources. To exercise control over water resources, we need an electronic system. After that, our infrastructure will be evaluated, said President Ilham Aliyev.

He noted that most of it is a legacy of the Soviet era.

Sometimes our water losses are as high as 40-50 percent because it is possible to say that these canals have completely lost their qualities. We will invite foreign experts. We rely on your support not only financially, but also from the point of view of expert skill, so that we have projects for both short and medium term. We do not need a long-term strategic plan because in that case we will need five years. We are ready to allocate resources. Of course, it would be wonderful if the bank could support us in that. The main thing is proper project management. As for state-owned enterprises, the Minister of Economy is working on this issue. As already noted, commercialization and partial privatization  perhaps we need to discuss this with you to know what initial steps should be taken. In fact, we are ready for this. There is still a corporate governance issue. Currently, as you know, we are primarily discussing the idea of a parent organization with a view to coordination because one of our problems is related to insufficient coordination between state-owned companies. Even in the transport sector, one of the most promising sectors today, we see that corporate interests of companies prevail over state ones. An additional working group will be established for this purpose, said President Ilham Aliyev.
Wildfires during Venezuelas dry season are posing heightened risk to crude output this year due to lack of maintenance in state-owned oil companys PDVSAs oilfields and fuel shortages leaving firefighters without fuel, according to interviews with a half-dozen workers and other industry sources.

The fires come as Venezuelas crude output has already fallen by 20% so far this year to around 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), its lowest level in decades, due to years of underinvestment, U.S. sanctions on cash-strapped PDVSA, and more recently the collapse in crude prices as demand falls due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At least three forest fires reached oil infrastructure in the Orinoco extra-heavy oil belt in eastern Venezuela, one of the worlds largest crude deposits, during the month of April, according to incident reports seen by Reuters and the sources, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Wildfires are common in Venezuelas eastern plains in the dry season in the first half of the year. Most key infrastructure have firebreaks intended to halt the flames, and PDVSA units have their own teams of firefighters.

But with PDVSA short on resources, several workers said the company has not trimmed scrubs in recent years as much as it used to, and that small puddles of spilled crude around pumping stations and storage tanks have gone uncleaned, adding to the fire risk.

Vegetation fires are seasonal, but what is happening now is they have not done maintenance around the installations, said Guillermo Morillo, an oil consultant and former PDVSA manager in eastern Monagas state, where several of the fires have occurred.

The most severe incident so far took place at PDVSAs Morichal operating center earlier this week, which began when a spark from a welding shop in the plant set the outside vegetation on fire on Sunday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The fire took more than 24 hours to put out, disrupting crude output at the Petrocarabobo and Petroindependencia fields, which together produced some 26,000 bpd in March, according to PDVSA figures.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The other fires affecting infrastructure in the Orinoco belt took place on April 11 at the 6,000 bpd Petrocedeno field and the PDVSAs 57,000 bpd Morichal field. Those incidents did not affect output.

These fires never used to hit the stations before because they did the necessary maintenance, said one PDVSA Morichal worker.

The response has been hampered by an acute fuel shortage across Venezuela, the result of the near-total collapse of the countrys 1.3 million bpd refining network and U.S. sanctions complicating fuel imports.

Theres not even gasoline for people to get in their cars to get to the fire trucks, said Igor Miranda, president of the Monagas chapter of the Oil Chamber of private oilfield services company, adding that his company has provided water and equipment to help PDVSA to put out fires this year.
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Collecting the details about the contacts of Covid-19 patients has become a herculean task for the doctors and contact tracing teams since the victims are reluctant to reveal them initially due to anxiety.

Dr Narendra, coordinator at the Covid-19 hospital at Nellore, said, Some patients were afraid of revealing their contacts thinking that they will be shifted to isolation or quarantine. But they are more forthcoming now after we explained the threat to the lives of their kin and contacts, he said. They sometimes ask the patients irrelevant questions like what movie they had seen and which temple or mall they visited recently without hinting that we are trying to find out their contacts, he said.

Some patients, including an RMP doctor, Asha worker, village volunteer, a kirana shop owner and a business man, had contacted between 100 and 300 people before they tested positive.

The police also played a key role in the work. They traced 121 people who attended Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi and their contacts by investigating their movement through the call data of their mobile phones.

A patient from Tada had stoutly denied any travel history after he tested positive but later admitted that he had travelled in a flight from Delhi to Chennai after attending Tablighi Jamaat when police produced evidence with the help of his call data.

Nellore SP Bhaskar Bhushan said that they had obtained the passenger list and traced the addresses of 145 passengers belonging to AP, Tamil Nadu and other states. We have alerted the officials in other states to test the passengers, the SP said.

The police from special branch and police stations concerned helped trace the 121 Delhi returnees besides 823 primary and 1,530 secondary contacts. We did tower dump analysis with the help of mobile numbers, train travel details based on reservation charts and flight passenger charts to identify those who attended the religious meeting in Delhi and their contacts, Bhaskar Bhushan said
Crew from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station search and rescue vessel Phoenix rescue people adrift in the Mediterranean Sea in November 2016.  UNHCR/Giuseppe Carotenuto

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for greater coordination, solidarity and responsibility-sharing, in view of the increased movements of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

Despite the extremely difficult circumstances faced by many countries at present due to COVID-19, the protection of lives and fundamental human rights must remain at the forefront of our decision-making. Rescue at sea is a humanitarian imperative and an obligation under international law.

Legitimate public health concerns can be addressed through quarantine, health checks, and other measures. However, delayed rescue or failure to disembark boats in distress put the lives in danger. A safe port for disembarkation should be provided without delay, together with a prompt agreement on how to share responsibility amongst States for hosting people once they reach safety on dry land.

Due to the ongoing conflict in Libya, as well as the routine detention of disembarked migrants and asylum-seekers, who often face overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and other human rights concerns, UNHCR reiterates that no one should be returned to Libya after being rescued at sea.

The EU Mediterranean coastal States bear a major responsibility for sea arrivals. Those few states who are regularly allowing disembarkation must be able to count on the predictable solidarity of others through an effective and timely relocation mechanism, as well as support for reception facilities.

Reception capacity constraints are also a main reason challenging the disembarkation of refugees and migrants who have been rescued at sea after harrowing journeys across the Mediterranean.

In this context, UNHCR is urging stronger intra-EU solidarity with the EU Mediterranean coastal States receiving refugees and migrants and calling for other Member States to show greater responsibility-sharing in the form of relocation support. Collective efforts on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea are essential to save lives at sea.

Beyond the current COVID-19 crisis, UNHCR is calling for renewed efforts to reduce the loss of life at sea, including increased search and rescue capacity and a predictable disembarkation mechanism.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
What is the Jio-Facebook deal all about? Putting it simply, it is about one of the most successful Silicon Valley enterprises investing in Indias large, rapidly growing and attractive digital market

It has often been argued that the biggest impediment to India emerging as the favoured foreign investment destination is the unreasoned and unreasonable objections raised by naysayers who conjure conspiracy theories and invoke dire consequences like a magician pulling rabbits out of his hat.

Decades of perverse socialism, born not out of ideology but government inefficiency and inadequacy, instilled into most Indians a loathing for big industry, profit generation and wealth creation. Virtue was attached to businesses that were perpetually in the red; conversely, it was sinful for businesses to be in the black.

Attitudes, both in government and among the people, have no doubt changed and gathered pace in recent years. Young, aspirational India is comfortable with the idea of industry making profits, generating jobs and creating wealth. Government realises that the totem poles of yesterdays Soviet-style command economy are irrelevant in the era of market-driven economics.

Young, aspirational India is comfortable with the idea of industry making profits, generating jobs and creating wealth. Government realises that the totem poles of yesterdays Soviet-style command economy are irrelevant in the era of market-driven economics.

Yet, the conversion is incomplete: there are naysayers within and outside government who suffer from what Arun Shourie once famously described as the Instant Rejection Syndrome  anything and everything must be rejected on the presumption that it is either bad, undoable or has long-term implications. Commonsense continues to be discounted.

So it is with the Rs 43,574 crore deal between Reliance Jio and Facebook. The naysayers are loathe to concede that at a time when the national and global economies have entered an unprecedented zone of uncertainty and turmoil on account of the massive disruption caused by COVID-19, we have just witnessed the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company in India. It is, therefore, important to separate substance from the noise and for that, it is important to view this investment in the right perspective.

We have just witnessed the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company in India. It is, therefore, important to separate substance from the noise and for that, it is important to view this investment in the right perspective.

Before we look at what Facebooks investment in Jio is all about, it is important to understand what this investment is not about. The agreement does not represent an American business buying a majority or controlling stake in an Indian company. It is incomprehensible and absurd, for instance, to compare it with Walmarts acquisition of Flipkart.

Second, by no stretch of the imagination is it an opportunistic bid to extract resources from a lucrative Indian business or the burgeoning Indian digital market at a time when governments attention is diverted by a national crisis caused by a raging pandemic. Hence, it is neither a predatory purchase nor a soft investment to place a small bet on the future.

Third, and this is important to note because we are once again beginning to hear the same old cant, there is absolutely no data arbitrage or data acquisition embedded in the transaction, hidden from the public eye, as this investment is not about either. To claim otherwise is a spurious argument  it may generate social media hashtags and mindless clamour, but beyond that it is no more than what it is: an entirely baseless assumption.

So, what then is the Jio-Facebook deal all about? Putting it simply, it is about one of the most successful Silicon Valley enterprises investing in Indias large, rapidly growing and attractive digital market. It is a decision based on the opportunity available to Facebook in what will eventually be its largest and most lucrative ecosystem. The decision also reflects Facebooks belief, as the investor of $5.7 billion, in Reliances proven ability to scale and manage operations that compete globally across sectors. This explains why Facebook has chosen to be a minority partner while contributing substantially to developing a new business model.

Jio-Facebook deal is one of the most successful Silicon Valley enterprises investing in Indias large, rapidly growing and attractive digital market. It is a decision based on the opportunity available to Facebook in what will eventually be its largest and most lucrative ecosystem

Unlike investments in businesses in other parts of the world, the Jio-Facebook agreement vindicates the unique Indian way of doing business: of responding to the needs of the bottom of the pyramid. This new digital platform will not displace small and local businesses. Instead, it will collaborate with them and amplify their reach as well as their profitability. The distinctly Indian Kirana led retail model will be infinitely strengthened both in terms of business viability and their employment generation capacity.

The agreement and the implicit trust of the investor in the Indian market validate the potential of fintech, e-commerce and a reliable data infrastructure to boost growth and development in India. This potential extends well beyond Indias urban middle classes. In fact, the primary beneficiaries of this new arrangement will also be Indias as yet untapped semi-urban and rural digital economy. It will be a big step towards giving form and shape to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Digital India.

The bogey of data protection and privacy being threatened by Facebook's investment in Jio is easily dismissed. Mukesh Ambani has already stated that data is a national resource; that value created by data generated by Indians should and will be deployed for Indians; and, that data generated in India shall remain localised within India's geographical boundaries.

What this agreement also does is to put to rest largely imagined, headline-friendly apprehensions about the overall health of Indias digital and telecom sectors. It proves that where viable business models exist, global investments will follow. Yes, digital and telecom businesses with bad management practices and dubious investments will falter and fail. If such businesses or their apologists refuse to admit their inability to read the writing on the wall and failure to swiftly change with the times, they only have themselves to blame. Neither envy nor victimhood will lead them out of the morass in which they are stuck.

Current rules allow foreign direct investment up to 49 percent through the automatic route. The two other private sector players in the telecom sector, Vodafone-Idea and Airtel-Singtel, have foreign partners. For them to point fingers at a 9.9 percent holding by a foreign investor in a competing firm which has raced ahead of them despite having entered the market well after they were up and about, is both hypocritical and deceitful.

Let it be said and said unambiguously: Most, if not all, of those who are opposing the Reliance-Facebook agreement are betraying their partisan politics and their critique is tainted by conflict of interest. Some of them see this as an opportunity to attack political opponents; others find in it a chance to deride competitive  and successful  businesses.

These are the people who tirelessly propagate the fiction that the India Story lacks potential and credibility. They believe that the post-COVID19 world will not only see Indias rise halted and its economy in a shambles, but also its new leadership and energy decimated. Facebooks $5.7 billion minority stake in Indias largest technology ecosystem shows their belief to be what it is: a lurid illusion.

We began with what the Jio-Facebook agreement is not about. It would be in order to conclude with what it is essentially about. The investment tells the world that the future belongs to India and that future is digital.

This article was originally published on ORF Online
The University of Texas at San Antonio will hire more full-time counselors and expand walk-in hours for mental health services once campus reopens.

The university announced those changes and others in recent weeks following a review by consultants of student health and mental health services, which began in October as part of President Taylor Eighmys well-being initiative. Adding urgency to it was a student suicide and an attempted suicide on campus last winter, which prompted students to complain about the availability of mental health care.

If anything, the numerous challenges of the coronavirus pandemic have amplified the importance of this initiative as well as the need to enhance available health services and support for our Roadrunner community, Provost Kimberly Andrews Espy said two weeks ago in a letter to UTSA faculty and staff.

The consultants said the mental health center should hire more professional and support staff, including temporary counselors to address immediate needs, and expand walk-in hours to at least 10 a.m. to 3 p.m every day. The center had been limiting walk-in visits to Wednesdays.

When the university can resume in-person services, walk-in appointments will be available Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., said Melissa Hernandez, director of Counseling and Mental Health Services.

The university will reassess the hours after a trial period based on use, Espy said.

On ExpressNews.com: New master plan foresees 45,000 students at expanded UTSA campuses

Counselors will phase out their practice of conducting initial evaluations on the phone. But with campuses still closed, students can call 210-458-4140 and select option 2 to schedule phone or video counseling for that day or the next business day, Hernandez said.

The university has been holding free telemedicine consults since the coronavirus pandemic closed campus in March, said Dr. Beth Wichman, the UTSA Student Health Services executive director.

The review was conducted by Hodgkins Beckley Consulting, which specializes in higher education health care. The consultants praised the universitys health and mental health staff for their skill and dedication and said the university is on the right track in developing a comprehensive health program.

But it laid out numerous recommendations to improve access to care, reduce its cost to students and improve coordination between Student Health Services and the Counseling and Mental Health Services offices. The review said both should step up promotion of their offerings.

On ExpressNews.com: Need mental health services at UT San Antonio? Youll have a long wait, students say

UTSAs health clinic serves 10 percent of students, well below the 32 percent average of nine peer institutions across the country, the review found. The student health fee is lower than the peer average, but the scope of care is comparatively limited for chronic and mental health conditions, it said.

The review recommended Health Services increase its ability to treat depression and behavioral concerns, to reduce referrals to the mental health center for counseling and psychiatry. Both offices are now developing processes so the health clinic can treat anxiety, depression and common behavioral complaints, Wichman said.

Both offices also will work with outside doctors to develop continuing care for students, Espy said. The mental health center is hiring additional full-time counselors who will be in place by the time students return from remote operations, she said.

The consultants recommended Student Health Services eliminate $10 co-payments and well woman visit fees that range from $51 to $79. They said most public universities dont charge those fees because they disenfranchise students, especially those with low incomes.

Espy said the university has eliminated both fees and is working to decrease others, including lab testing charges.

Cost should never prevent our students from receiving needed health care, she said.

Alia Malik covers several school districts and the University of Texas at San Antonio. To read more from Alia, become a subscriber. amalik@express-news.net | Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN
Criminal charges have been filed Friday against two Iranian nationals for circumventing U.S. Iran sanctions, money laundering and breaking export laws by purchasing an oil tanker from a U.S. seller.

Amir Dianat, 55, and Kamran Lajmiri, 42, both Iranian nationals, were charged with violating U.S. export laws and sanctions against Iran in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a statement by U.S. attorneys said.

The whereabouts of the two individuals is not mentioned in the statement.

The United States also imposed sanctions Dianat, an Iranian-Iraqi businessman and his mining company, accusing him of involvement in efforts by Iran's elite Qods (Quds) Force to generate revenue illegally and smuggle weapons abroad, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a separate statement.

Amir Dianat has supported Qods Force smuggling operations for years, including efforts aimed at shipping weapons such as missiles and smuggling shipments from Iran to Yemen, the department said.

The sanctions freeze any U.S.-held assets of Dianat or his company Taif Mining Services, which the U.S. Treasury Department alleged was a front company for the Qods Force, and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.

"The Iranian regime and its supporters continue to prioritize the funding of international terrorist organizations over the health and well-being of the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

A related complaint was also filed alleging that $12 million is subject to forfeiture as funds involved in the crimes and as assets of a foreign terrorist organization.

The forfeiture action marks the largest ever seizure of Qods Force-related funds, it said.

The complaint alleges that Dianat and Lajmiri in 2019 conspired to purchase a petroleum tanker in a scheme involving the National Iranian Oil Company, the National Iranian Tanker Company and the Quds Force, all blacklisted by the United States.

If convicted of the criminal charges, Dianat and Lajmiri would face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

"These defendants purchased a crude oil tanker valued at over $10 million by illegally using the U.S. financial system, defiantly violating U.S. sanctions," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in the statement.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend:

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold $531.1 million at foreign exchange auctions in April 2020, Trend reports citing SOFAZ.

In January 2020, SOFAZ sold $300.2 million at foreign exchange auctions organized by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), in February 2020  $543.4 million, and in March 2020 - $1.9 billion.

In general, SOFAZ sold $3.3 billion through foreign exchange auctions from January through April 2020, which is 40.2 percent more compared to the same period of last year.

Currency sale is carried out within SOFAZs transfers to the state budget of Azerbaijan, which are envisaged for 2019 in the amount of 11.6 billion manat ($6.8 billion).

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Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis
Roughly 30 severely ill Houston Methodist COVID-19 patients treated with the blood plasma of individuals whod already fought off the disease have recovered and been discharged, one of the early signs emerging that the century-old approach might work against the deadly pandemic.

The patients include the first one, whose transfusion March 28 made national headlines as Methodist and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City became the first U.S. hospitals to test whats known as convalescent serum therapy on the illness caused by the coronavirus circulating in Texas and around the world. Methodist had not previously provided an update on the patient.

Its too early to draw conclusions  this is a small sample size  but were very cautiously optimistic, said Dr. James Musser, chairman of pathology and genomic medicine at Methodist. Weve certainly seen its safe in these patients, an important conclusion.

The experimental therapy, which dates to the 1918 Spanish Influenza and was last used in the Ebola outbreak, is becoming a go-to response to the virus, which has infected more than 1 million Americans and killed in excess of 62,000. It has now been given to thousands of COVID-19 patients in the United States  3,400 in a national trial, led by the Mayo Clinic, that includes more than 2,000 hospitals  as researchers search for weapons against the novel infection.

The therapy is based on the idea, well documented in laboratory research, that transfusing plasma from patients whove recovered from a virus transfers its healing power. Such plasma contains antibodies made by the immune system to attack the infection.

The Methodist data comes just after the New York Times reported that an administration official said the Food and Drug Administration likely will announce emergency drug approval for remdesivir, an anti-viral under study in Houston and some other cities. After preliminary study results Wednesday showed patients given the drug recovered 31 percent faster than those given a placebo, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said that remdesivir will become the standard of care for the illness.

Such rigorous study is lacking for convalescent serum therapy, despite its increasing popularity. The trials at Methodist and the Mayo Clinic, for instance, dont include a comparison group that received a placebo, important to show whether those that received the drug might have improved without the intervention.

Johns Hopkins will conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled trial  smaller in scope than the Mayo Clinic trial  but it has not yet begun admitting patients.

The most encouraging study was probably one out of China last month that called convalescent serum therapy a promising rescue option for severe COVID-19. The study of 10 patients, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, found a single dose of plasma caused the coronavirus to disappear in patients blood in seven days; clinical symptoms to improve significantly within three days; and lung lesions to improve within seven days.

The rest of the positive signs using the therapy for COVID-19 involve mostly case reports.

Methodist, which plans to launch a randomized trial in the near future, hopes to submit an academic paper about its experience using convalescent serum therapy with COVID-19 patients next week, said Musser. It has treated about 50 critically ill patients with the therapy, and the vast majority of the 20 not discharged are still hospitalized.

The most critically ill COVID-19 patients, those on ventilators, die at a high rate with just supportive care  39 percent, according to one recent study. The exact severity of the transfused Methodist patients illness was not clear.

One patient who received the plasma therapy, at Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center, said she felt like a new person within a couple of days of receiving the transfusion.

It was like a breath of fresh air, said Debra Ammons, 64, an HISD bus driver back at home after 11 days in the hospital. After getting the therapy, I just felt different.

Ammons was taken to the ER, unresponsive, after complaining she couldnt breathe two days after Easter. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia in both lungs and put on oxygen before she was transfused.

Ammons was one of 16 severely ill St. Lukes COVID-19 patients whove received the therapy. Most remain in the hospital.

Mount Sinai, which has not reported data from its study, has transfused plasma from recovered patients blood into roughly 200 COVID-19 patients, many of whom have been discharged, said a spokeswoman. That includes its first recipient, whose transfusion the same evening as the Methodist transfusion only became public a week later. The two patients were the nations first to get the therapy.

The Mount Sinai spokeswoman noted that roughly 45,000 people in the area have reached out to see if they qualify for antibody testing needed to show their antibody activity is robust enough to be good candidates for donating.

The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is still looking for more donors as it partners with Baylor College of Medicine to bring plasma transfusions to more patients in the Houston area. A spokeswoman said that the center has collected plasma from more than three dozen donors  12 donations have gone to patients so far  and has worked with 12 facilities.

Dr. Michael Joyner, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and the national trials principal investigator, said he has a meeting scheduled with FDA officials next week  hell bring preliminary data  where hell get guidance on how to frame things going forward. He is working on a registry of therapy recipients in an effort to find comparison groups.

He said hes getting lots of emails and other communication from institutions reporting positive stories.

Were hopeful, said Joyner, who reports the number of trial participants has significantly picked up in the last week to 10 days. I have to be objective, wait for careful analysis of the numbers, but case reports and institutional enthusiasm for the program are encouraging.

todd.ackerman@chron.com
Puerto Rico is taking its first tentative steps in relaxing a nearly two-month lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic, while health experts warn that the US territory is relying on faulty statistics and has not yet seen its peak of cases.

Governor Wanda Vazquez announced on Thursday night that starting Monday, certain sectors including finance and real estate will reopen.

On May 11, construction and manufacturing are allowed to restart. Other businesses also allowed to soon reopen on weekdays will include laundromats, moving services and those that repair elevators and air conditioning units.

In mid to late March, the retail trade, barbershops and beauty salons will be allowed to operate.

However, the lockdown for everyone else was extended until May 25, with some exceptions. People will be allowed outside to run, bike and walk their dogs from 5 am to 3 pm.

Parks, gyms and beaches remain closed, and everyone except essential workers are ordered to stay inside from 7 pm to 5 am.

We cannot forget that we're facing a real emergency, Vazquez said. If there's no need to leave your house, don't.

Puerto Rico has reported at least 92 deaths and more than 1,500 confirmed cases. However, the government is no longer sharing key statistics, including how many people have been tested.

As of last week, Puerto Rico had the lowest per capita testing rate compared with any US state, with some 12,000 people tested on an island of 3.2 million.

It's an issue that worries Monica Feliu-Mojer, spokeswoman for CienciaPR, a nonprofit group of Puerto Rican scientists who seek widespread testing.

We don't know where we stand with the infections and the pandemic, she said in a phone interview. Every day, we have less access to data.

One of her biggest concerns is how the government would be able to determine if there is widespread contagion following the partial reopening of businesses.

She noted that Vazquez's televised address came on the same day that more than 100 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were announced, one of the highest numbers since the lockdown was implemented in mid-March.

Others have concerns over the economic damage that the extended lockdown will have on an island still recovering from Hurricane Maria and a series of recent earthquakes amid a long recession.

Economist Jose Caraballo said in a phone interview that the lockdown has had a $5 billion to $10 billion impact on the island's economy. He also worries about a growing number of small businesses that have permanently closed.

There's been no mention about implementing measures to counteract the negative impact of the lockdown's extension, he said.

While Puerto Rico's government has started distributing incentives to certain workers, tens of thousands are still awaiting unemployment benefits and food assistance. And islanders have yet to receive the $1,200 federal incentive.

Among those cautiously cheering the governor's announcement amid the financial squeeze was Jess Vzquez, who is now authorized to open his laundromat.

You feel good that you're finally getting some income, he said. We will take all security measures needed, but you're still afraid regardless.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sen. Ed Markey has more than doubled a goal of 10,000 signatures to secure a spot on the Democratic Senate primary ballot in September.

The campaign announced Thursday evening that it received an enormous outpouring of support and more than 23,600 total signatures from an unprecedented sweep of the state, with requests for nomination papers from 343 of the 351 cities and towns.

The campaign said it plans to file the signatures with the Secretary of States Office next week. Markey thanked more than 360 supporters for their efforts in a virtual video call on Thursday night.

Markey faces a primary challenge form U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who has maintained an edge over Markey in fundraising in a race that tightened as of last month before the coronavirus reshaped campaigning across the country.

Earlier this month, The Boston Globe reported that the Markey campaign was still about 3,000 votes shy of the required 10,000 with an approaching May 5 deadline.

Campaign manager John Walsh on Thursday said volunteers had helped gather signatures while Markey racked up wins in a majority of local caucuses. But the coronavirus put a stop to knocking on doors and meeting with voters in person.

Walsh said the canceling of remaining caucuses forced the campaigns staff and more than 4,000 volunteers to put relational organizing to work digitally, asking supporters to go online and mail in a nomination sheet.

Because people reached out, weve got good numbers, he said, adding that signatures were still coming in.

The Senate primary is set for Sept. 1.

Related Content:
Nevada has been the best state at following social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus lockdowns, while Louisiana, Oklahoma and North Carolina are among the worst, according to a new scoreboard.

Unacast, which measures real-world data by tracking cell phone locations, looked at behaviors from the past two months (February 24 to April 26) and compared it to the national baseline.

States were graded A to F on distance traveled (average mobility), non-essential visitations, and the density of human encounters, before being given an average social distancing score.

Nevada was ranked best in the United States at social distancing. It received a B+ grade in data from February to April

Prototype clear acrylic safety shield dividers made by Las Vegas-based Screaming Images are tested at a blackjack table at the El Cortez Hotel & Casino on Wednesday

South Carolina was deemed the worst with an F grade. Sun bathers and walkers visit the 2nd Avenue Pier area of Myrtle Beach on Wednesday

In order to achieve As in distance traveled and non-essential travel, states had to see a 70 per cent decrease but getting the top grade for human encounters required a reduction of at least a 94 percent.

Nevada earned a B+ grade, Vermont and Washington tied for second place with B- grades, and Hawaii, Pennsylvania and New York rounded out the top five with C+.

New York is the worst affected state with over 311,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 23,796 deaths as of Thursday night.

While the distance traveled dropped somewhere between 50 percent and 77 percent, and non-essential visits reduced by more than 70 percent, people were only able to reduced encounters by less than 40 percent.

STATES GRADED BY SOCIAL DISTANCING SUCCESS 10 BEST 10 WORST Nevada (B+)

Vermont (B-)

Hawaii (C+)

Pennsylvania (C+)

New York (C+)

New Jersey (C+)

North Dakota (C)

New Mexico (C)

Maine (C)

Arizona (C) South Carolina (F)

Georgia (D-)

North Carolina (D-)

Tennessee (D-)

Ohio (D-)

Alabama (D-)

Louisiana (D-)

Arkansas (D-)

Missouri (D-)

Oklahoma (D-)

A beachgoer wearing a protective mask walks down Waikiki Beach, with Diamond Head mountain in the background, in Honolulu, Hawaii on Tuesday

New York state was in the top five. A medical worker wearing a protective masks crosses the road outside of NYU Langone Health hospital amid the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday

Nevada by comparison had over 5,000 cases and 243 deaths. Las Vegas Mayor recently said she wants to see people back in casinos despite the guidelines put in place to protect Americans.

South Carolina was deemed the worst with an F grade.

Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Mississippi were also disappointing with a D- grade.

Many of the states  such as Missouri, South Carolina and North Carolina, have seen protests recently as Americans demand for the lockdowns to be lifted, claiming it's a breach of their human rights.

Georgia has already begun to reopen businesses.

Tennessee was one of the first states to reopen restaurants after the onset of the coronavirus. Restaurants are allowed to open at 50% capacity and maintain social distancing.

The United States as a whole scored C-. Looking at data for April 12 there was a 40-55 percent reduction in mobility, a 50-60 percent drop in non-essential visits, and 70-82 decrease in human encounters.

A waitress wearing rubber gloves and a mask is seen taking orders for patrons at Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant on April 27 in Franklin, Tennessee. Tennessee is one of the first states to reopen restaurants after the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Restaurants are allowed to open at 50% capacity and maintain social distancing

Protesters from a grassroots organization called REOPEN NC gather for pressure North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to reopen the State in Raleigh, North Carolina on Wednesday

Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Mississippi (pictured on Thursday) were also disappointing with a D- grade
Easter was certainly a bit odd this year, and some of us are now definitely losing track of when Sunday comes around. And now just to confuse matters, the May bank holiday has been moved four days down the road, from Monday to Friday.

And, although many of us might already have brought out the barbecue this year due to the fine weather, its usually in May that we really start cooking outside.

Given that we are all, of course, confined to our homes, for those of us lucky enough to have an outside space for a barbecue  even if it is only small balcony big enough to hold a small cast iron griddle or a supermarket one-time disposable  the taste of food cooked outdoors is something special, not to mention a welcome alternative for everyone to the normal kitchen routine. So, what foods are we going to cook and what wines to drink.?

While fish is not often the first choice for many on the barbie, I adore the taste of a grilled mackerel, whole sea bream, or even a salmon steak, so long as its carefully cooked  I recommend the special wire grills to hold them together.

Recommended Millions of bottles of wine could be wasted in Europe during lockdown

The charred but tasty bits of skin and flesh will mean this isnt a time for your delicate sancerre or gluggable pinot grigio  you need a decent robust, full-flavoured white, such as the Robert Oatley Margaret River Signature Chardonnay 2017 (12, Coop.co.uk; 13.99 tauruswines.co.uk). Its elegant and balanced, with just enough vanilla and oak to give some heft and citrus minerality to cut through the smoky fish flavours.

Again, grilling vegetables on the barbecue is not always a first thought, but it is one of the great ways of cooking asparagus and whole sweetcorn as well as slices of aubergine, beef tomatoes and courgettes. If there are lots of vegetables with the fish, Id choose a sauvignon blanc, such as the ones I recommended a couple of weeks back here or the superlative Chateau de Cruzeau Pessac Leognan Andre Lurton 2016 (17.99, Waitrose), which is sauvignon in the hands of master Bordeaux producers: lees aged, rich and aromatic enough to handle strong flavours, but with those citrus and vegetal notes to match grilled vegetables. And a very good match if you have some simple grilled chicken or pork escalopes.

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If the day is really warm, and especially if you have some prawns or even lobster on the go, then its time to open the rose and there is a wealth of great roses out there, to which Ill devote a full column in a couple of weeks time. If the budget is fairly limited, the Pierre Jaurant Languedoc Rose 2019 (5.99, aldi.co.uk) is a simply brilliant value southern French buy, delicate pale pink with hints of orange and punchy red fruit flavours. It would also suit all kinds of other fish and vegetable dishes.

If your wallet can stretch a little further, there is an excellent discount here on another lovely rose from the Languedoc: Jardin de Roses AOP Languedoc Rose (9.99, normally 13.49, until 5 May, waitrose.com), which Ive recommended before and which comes from the reliable Paul Mas co-operative. An elegant bottle, bone dry, with flavours of red berries and pink grapefruit, so whats not to like? But you have to rush to take advantage of the discount to stock up before next weekend.

When it comes to barbecuing meat with big flavours from marinades and spicing, medium- to full-bodied robust reds are really the order of the day, and where better to look than those countries where the barbie reigns supreme? The Chakalaka Spice Route Swartland 2016 (16.95, slurp.co.uk; 17.40, frontierfinewines.co.uk) could be a typical Languedoc blend with its complex mix of mourvedre, shiraz, carignan, tannat and petite syrah, but gets added oomph from some South African sun (and from a country which knows a thing or two about brai cooking). It delivers a really mouth-filling, robust wine, rich with black fruit and herbal flavours and absolutely ideal with any lamb, whether its a butterflied leg, burgers or spicy kebabs.

Similarly rich and even more full-bodied, but smooth and velvety, is the Tesco Finest Angelica Sur Malbec 2017 (18, Tesco.com), again from a country where cooking over coals is a fine art. Dont be put off by the rather formulaic label, this is a really top notch wine, ideal for all barbecued meats, but particularly beef of course. It would also be a fab partner for a spatch-cocked chicken.

And now on to Australia, where barbecued meats are often accompanied by a rich full bodied shiraz, with intense flavours of black fruits, chocolate and peppery spices. And one that fits the bill perfectly is the Peter Lehmann The Pastors Son Shiraz 2016 (16.49 laithwaites.co.uk).

If those three suggestions feel a bit on the pricey side, then head off to Marks and Spencer for one of the best budget Spanish wines Ive come across for some time, the Terrenal Garnacha (6, M&S stores only), from the relatively obscure Paniza region in northeast Spain; medium to full bodied, juicy, succulent, brambly fruits and wonderfully gluggable with just about any barbecued meats and vegetables  and pretty good with pasta or pizza as well. So, barbecue wines sorted... but sorry, cant make any guarantees about the weather.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-30 19:47:51|Editor: huaxia

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A cured coronavirus patient (C) is discharged from the Vall d'Hebron Hospital as medical workers applaud his recovery in Barcelona, Spain, April 30, 2020. Spain on Thursday registered 268 new COVID-19 deaths -- the lowest daily tally since March 20, taking the total number of victims to 24,543. The total number of cases increased to 213,435 after a daily rise of 1,309, according to its health ministry. (Vall d'Hebron Hospital/Handout via Xinhua)

MADRID, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services on Thursday confirmed further falls in the numbers of new deaths and cases of COVID-19 in the country.

The ministry said a total of 24,543 people have died from COVID-19 in Spain so far, with 268 losing their lives in the 24-hour period until 09:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Wednesday.

That is 57 fewer than the 325 deaths reported the previous day, and 172 fewer than the 440 confirmed a week ago.

There was also a significant fall in new cases detected by PCR tests -- which discover if the coronavirus is active in the body -- with 1,309 newly confirmed cases, taking the country's total to 213,435.

That is 835 fewer new cases than were reported on Wednesday, with most of those in the regions of Madrid and Catalonia -- 406 in Madrid and 262 in Catalonia -- while Spain's remaining 15 Autonomous Communities saw 641 new cases between them.

Up to 57 new patients in the country are receiving treatment in intensive care wards, with 22 of those in Madrid, 16 in Catalonia and 19 in other areas.

A further 3,103 patients have recovered in the 24-hour period, taking the total number of recoveries to 112,050.




President Moon Jae-in greets an employee at a Korean food restaurant after having lunch with his aides, Friday, in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. The President's visit to the "gomtang" (beef bone soup) place was arranged to show support for small businesses struggling with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yonhap
A Northern Ireland coffee company has beaten off competition from four rivals to put a 111,000 pep in the step of TDs, senators and staff at Leinster House.

Johnson Brothers (Belfast) Limited scooped the 111,469 contract to supply coffee and coffee equipment to the Houses of the Oireachtas service.

The company began importing coffee in the 1890s, when the family grocery business was conducted from carts on the streets of Belfast.

The contract awarded to the now Lisburn-based firm is well short of the 210,000 estimate put on the work last year by the Oireachtas service.

Johnson Brothers recorded pre-tax profits of 1.22m (1.4m) as revenues increased marginally to 25.2m in 2018.
Moderna Inc., one of the leaders among US companies developing experimental vaccines against the coronavirus, entered a pact with Lonza Group AG aimed at manufacturing 1 billion doses a year.

The companies announced a global agreement under which the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical company will ramp up output of the proposed vaccine, which is based on a novel technology that relies on genetic material called mRNA. They expect the first batches to be produced in the US in July.

The agreement is one of several partnerships being struck between drugmakers as they rush to bring protection against Covid-19 to the market. On Thursday, AstraZeneca Plc announced an agreement to make an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, eyeing production capacity for 100 million doses by the end of the year.

Because prospects for drugs to treat Covid-19 remain uncertain, rolling out vaccines on a widespread scale could be key to reopening economies from lockdowns. Otherwise new waves of infections could emerge, potentially on a seasonal pattern like the flu. If Moderna and Lonza reach their target of 1 billion doses a year, that would be enough for more than one-eighth of the worlds population.

With dozens of projects under way around the world, the Trump administration wants to make shots available for Americans by the end of 2020. Richard Hatchett, head of the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has said cooperation between drugmakers could accelerate the process of bringing out a vaccine, which normally would take a year or more.

New technology

Modernas experimental shot induces the bodys own cells to make virus-like proteins that stimulate an immune response and prepare for an actual infection. It was one of the first proposed coronavirus vaccines to enter human trials. The company said it plans to begin the next phase of studies this quarter.

Shares of Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have more than doubled since the start of the year as its studies of its vaccine candidate have advanced. In premarket trading Friday, they rose 3%.

The pact with Lonza will enable a tenfold increase in manufacturing, which Moderna has already begun, according to a statement.

The smaller players in the race wont be able to produce a vaccine in large quantities on their own. Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., another U.S. biotech company in the first stage of testing an experimental vaccine, said Thursday that it agreed to expand a manufacturing collaboration with Germanys Richter-Helm Biologics.

A partnership between Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc announced last month brought together a pair of pharmaceutical giants with manufacturing might. Sanofi will test its experimental coronavirus vaccine with Glaxo supplying so-called adjuvants, additional ingredients that improve efficacy and make it easier to produce shots in larger quantities.

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By The Associated Press Apr. 30, 2020 | 08:53 PM | CHICAGO

Illinois has spent tens of millions of dollars building makeshift field hospitals to prepare for an anticipated flood of coronavirus cases, but so far hasnt had to use the thousands of extra beds.A small city of beds proposed for McCormick Place in Chicago  the nations largest convention center  has been dramatically reduced. Beds hastily installed at three closed hospitals in suburban Chicago remain on standby, while the renovation of a former hospital in Springfield has yet to begin.Five weeks ago, Pritzker laid out a grim worst-case scenario: If virus containment failed, the state would need 38,000 more hospital beds, including 9,000 equipped for intensive care.That prompted a scramble for space. On April 3, Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot rechristened McCormick Place as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients, praising the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for around-the-clock work to ready the first 500 beds.So far, existing hospital bed space has largely sufficed. As of Tuesday, just 29 patients had been treated at McCormick Place. Four were still being treated there on Thursday.As of Wednesday, figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health showed that Chicago and Cook County's pre-existing intensive care beds were 83 per cent occupied, and that 39 per cent of the county's respirators were being used.The state government says prevention strategies such as social distancing and a statewide stay-at-home order have worked so well that the existing hospital beds have been sufficient.Weve talked a lot about standing down, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week. I dont want to speak too soon because all of these identified alternate care facilities need to be in a state of some kind of readiness in the event that theres a surge, either because, God forbid, we reopen too fast or because theres a surge that people expect in the fall.For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.In Illinois, 52,918 people have tested positive, and there were 2,355 deaths as of Wednesday.

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Oil has grabbed most of the headlines since COVID-19 shut down the Texas economy, but perhaps the most critical sector, health care, stands to take an even bigger bite out of the states prosperity.

Gov. Greg Abbotts order suspending non-essential health services, and new guidelines for social distancing, are slashing revenues at private practices. Primary care doctors and specialists have seen revenues drop by up to 90 percent, according to a recent survey by trade publication MDLinx.

Unless insurance companies agree to pay higher fees, doctors will to shut down their private practices, explained Dr. Stefan Kreuzer, an orthopedist. He recently opened a surgical center for hip and knee replacements.

When youre a surgeon, you need to see patients and have enough volume to fill the schedules, the founder of Inov8 Orthopedics told me. I dont know how primary care is going to survive. Theres just no way because the overhead doesnt go down.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Abbotts decision to resume business is reasonable given Texas tragic limitations

Health care accounts for 18 percent of the nations economic activity. The industry injects more than $37 billion into San Antonios economy and $20 billion into Houstons, according to federal statistics.

More than 676,000 Texans work as health care practitioners or technicians, and they employ another 543,000 in support roles, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thats 10 percent of the states workforce.

The latest economic data shows a 4.8 percent contraction so far this year, with most of the loss due to a reduction in consumer services. Health care services took the biggest hit, accounting for 2.25 percentage points of the drop in gross domestic product, or about a third of the decline.

Doctors who own and operate their practices are small business people who charge fees for their services. Private insurance companies and government programs like Medicare pay most of these fees. Unlike big health care companies, private practices must accept whatever rates insurers offer.

Your doctor only meets with you for 15 minutes not because she doesnt like you, but because the rates the insurers pay are so low and she needs volume to make a profit after paying for office space, employees and equipment.

COVID-19 is forcing doctors to space patients out and buy more personal protective equipment. The lower volume and higher costs are compounding losses from shutting down non-emergency services for more than a month.

Kreuzer and his team continued providing post-operative services and used telehealth as much as possible. But going from 25 surgeries a week to none eliminated 88 percent of the practices revenues.

He received aid through the Paycheck Protection Program, and Medicare provided extra funds to help doctors across the country. While the support will cover about six weeks of expenses, it doesnt make up for lost revenue. He said his practice has only a six-week financial cushion.

Kreuzer will reopen his surgical and physical therapy center next week, but he will have to operate at a fraction of the facilitys capacity to maintain heightened hygiene requirements. That means seeing fewer patients.

He faces the same challenge as every other business across the country, how do you pay 100 percent of the bills when you can only operate at 25 percent capacity? In other fields, companies raise prices when per-unit costs go up. Not in health care.

Kreuzer said he has asked private insurance companies if theyd consider paying higher rates, at least until the pandemic passes.

I got shut down like Ive never gotten shut down before, he said. Ive been on a rampage with them since then. Thats the solution, help us out, pay us a little bit more.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Oil collapse signals long-running economic crisis for Texas

I called Blue Cross and Blue Shield Texas, the states largest insurer, and a spokesman declined to comment. Insurance companies rarely like to talk about price-setting except to say they try to save their customers money from greedy doctors.

This time, though, is different. Texas was suffering a doctor shortage before COVID-19, and most doctors are approaching retirement. Reduced patient volumes and low reimbursement rates will drive more physicians to retire or leave private practice.

The only pressure on insurance companies to pay higher rates comes from laws requiring them to maintain an adequate network of doctors in their plans. But if state officials wait until doctors start quitting before they demand insurance companies to pay higher fees, it will be too late.

Unlike the dramatic collapse in oil demand, the developing health care crisis is slow and insidious. Without quick action by insurers or government officials, the job losses will be more devastating to the Texas economy, and more importantly, hurt the health of Texans.

Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
We will be manufacturing 20,000,000 ASTM Level 1 and ASTM Level 2 surgical masks per month out of our new facility, and we will be expanding production to 40,000,000 per month this summer.

Breathe Medical Manufacturing Ltd., a Canada based medical manufacturing company, has chosen Kelowna, British Columbia as a home for their new expansion.

Working on their expansion plans since early March, their careful and strategic planning, has produced extremely fast results, and they are excited to start shipping their first orders in the first week of June.

We will be manufacturing 20,000,000 ASTM Level 1 and ASTM Level 2 surgical masks per month out of our new facility, and we will be expanding production to 40,000,000 per month this summer, said Warren Jones, President of Breathe Medical Manufacturing. Our plan also involves the expansion of our product lines to include different types of masks, as well as some other medical supplies that are used in hospitals, dental offices, and manufacturing facilities.

As evidenced by the current pandemic we are experiencing, the global shortage of good quality and readily available medical supplies has created a massive problem for Canada, as well as many other countries abroad. Although China is currently the largest supplier of facial masks in the world, their performance as of late has left most of the world wanting for more! The fact is that Canadian retailers, distributors, corporations and citizens, need a stable and reliable supply chain they can count on.

Breathe Medical Manufacturing has heard the cry, and we are pulling out all stops to answer the call! We believe it is high time for Canada to secure its own, Canadian manufactured supply of necessary protective equipment that our front-line workers and citizens need and deserve! said Warren Jones.

Key members of Breathe Medical Manufacturing Ltd have worked closely with the Chinese supply chain for many years, and they intimately understand the challenges associated with obtaining large quantities of quality product on a consistent basis.

We would like to applaud some of the startups for taking the initiative to step up and help our country in this time of crisis. However, our goal is to take things a few steps further, said Warren Jones.

At the heart of their operations, is the sterile production environment with an ISO 8 rated filtration, and humidity control system. The investment into their clean production environment and entire operations has been substantial, but they are fully committed to do whatever it takes to ensure that the products manufactured in their facility are top notch.

Internally, our procedure consists of testing all raw materials coming in and the finished goods going out. Our goal is to provide test results in 5 essential key measures that follow ASTM standards. An investment of $250,000.00 USD has been made into the state-of-the-art testing equipment, which further ensures that all standards are met in bacterial filtration efficiency, particle filtration efficiency, differential pressure, fluid resistance, and respiratory resistances, said Warren Jones.

As far as the local community is concerned, Kelowna is now home to a new employer, and their hope is to provide an opportunity for some individuals who may have lost their jobs or have been displaced in any way during these troubled times. The hiring process of the company will be starting shortly, and they will be looking to fill around 30 additional positions to start with.

We would like to thank Mayor Colin Basran and his team at the City of Kelowna for their support. We would also like to thank the Callahan Property Group and Chandos Construction team for their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to assist us in executing our plans. We are extremely thankful and excited to see what the future holds, and we are looking forward to be able to provide personal protective equipment on a large scale to all front-line workers, factory workers, friends, and neighbours, said Warren Jones.

For further information about Breathe Medical Manufacturing Ltd., please contact:

1-778-738-1260

sales@breathemedical.ca

http://www.breathemedical.ca
NEW DELHI: The Indian Army is celebrating Armour Day today. The day is celebrated by the Armoured Corps of Indian Army on 1 May every year to commemorate the commencement of mechanisation of the Indian Cavalry Regiments.

On this date in 1938, The Scinde Horse became the first Regiment to shed their horses to be equipped with tanks.

The ADGPI, which handles the official Twitter handle of the Indian Army, greeted the Armoured Corps on the occasion. It also tweeted a picture in remembrance of the day.

The Indian Army Chief General MM conveyed his best wishes to all ranks of Armoured Corps on the occasion of Armour Day.

General MM Naravane #COAS and all ranks of #IndianArmy convey best wishes to all ranks of Armoured Corps on the occasion of Armour Day. pic.twitter.com/UFHN0OtCGw  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 1, 2020

On this day in 1938, the Scindia Horse became the first regiment to convert to tanks. The first equipments they adapted were Vickers light tanks and Chevrolet armoured cars.

With the passage of time, the Indian Army became better equipped. In 1943, the Indian Armour updated itself to the Sherman tanks (M4) of American origin.

This transformation in the Army was further updated post-Independence with the coming in of the Centurions Mark 7 and AMX-13 light tanks.

Since then, the Armoured Corps has operated the indigenous Vijayanta tank, the Russian T-54 and T-55 tanks and the T-72 main battle tank, which has been the workhorse of the corps for the past three decades.

It is to be recalled that with the combination of forces and armoured vehicles, the Indian Army was able to register a first-rate performance in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war.

Equipped mainly with Shermans and Centurions, the Army was successful in destroying the sophisticated Pakistani Patton tanks to form the famous graveyard, "Patton Nagar" near Khemkaran in Punjab. Lt. Col.(later General) A.S Vaidya Col Caleb were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for their gallant performance in the Khem Karan sector.

The Armoured Corps is continuously modernizing itself and the Government of India is taking every steps to bring them at par with the best.
Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Rockcliff Metals Corporation (CSE: RCLF) (FSE: RO0) WKN: A2H60G) ("Rockcliff" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results from ore sorting test work indicating high potential for the use of ore sorting to preconcentrate mineralized material from the 100% owned Tower and Rail deposits located in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake region of Manitoba. Ore sorting is a technology that can select rock with mineralization and separate them from rocks without mineralization, thus upgrading the mineral content of the ore delivered to the mill.

Alistair Ross, President and CEO commented, "The ore sorting characterization test work on our Tower and Rail deposits provides exciting upside for our projects on a number of fronts. With an upgrade ratio of at least 1.4 on both Tower and Rail, ore sorting has demonstrated an ability to reject low sulphide waste. The advantages we see include the following:

Both ores responded similarly to ore sorting and flotation test work, supporting the hub and spoke strategy for utilizing the same mill and sharing capital between succesive mines;

Mining dilution, a serious issue for narrow vein mines, is now a manageable cost by using low cost ore sorting and a low cost-in-mine haulage system, such as Rail-Veyor, that Rockcliff is actively investigating;

Transport costs from the mine sites to the mill will be substantially decreased by keeping the waste rock at site for backfill purposes;

Milling costs will be substantially reduced by eliminating the waste rock from the mill stream; and

Tailings impoundment volumes will be substantially reduced by placing the waste in the mine.

I look forward to seeing these multiple benefits of ore sorting reflected in our combined Tower and Rail PEA which is currently underway."

Ore Sorting Update for Tower and Rail Deposits

Coarse crushed samples from Rockcliff's Tower and Rail deposits were selected by hand from five near surface diamond drill holes at Base Met Labs in Kamloops, BC and sent for sorting amenability testing at the Steinert facility in Kentucky. About 400 individual samples were selected to represent both local host rock (waste/dilution) and the mineralized target areas across the two deposits. The calculated grade of the combined fragments by deposit is reasonable for this test work when compared to the current indicated resource grade as seen in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Sorting Feed Grades Compared to Resource Estimates

Assays (%, g/t) Cu% Zn% Aug/t Tower Indicated Resource 4.69 1.32 0.85 Tower Sorting Sample 5.83 1.09 0.79 Rail Indicated Resource 2.73 0.86 0.80 Rail Sorting Sample 1.53 0.60 0.71

The individual fragments ranged in size from 10 mm to 40 mm and each piece was initially scanned prior to a scoping level bulk sorting demonstration using X-ray transmission ("XT") technology. The advantage of using XT for the ore sort is that this sorting technique requires very little material preparation and is insensitive to moisture or dust coatings on the particles.

A preliminary bulk sorting demonstration was also completed for each deposit. The sorting test was conducted in two stages: first at a high sensitivity to generate a high-grade, low mass concentrate and second at a lower sensitivity to capture the residual sulphide material in the sample. For Tower, over 99% of the metals were recovered to 67% of the mass, and for Rail over 98% of the metals were recovered to 68% of the mass. The results, showing the grades of the concentrate and the rejects, are summarized in the Table 2 below. Metal grades at both deposits were increased by almost 50% from expected mining diluted grades. The mass balances suggest that sulphide material was pulled into the concentrate from the host/dilution rock and that non-sulphide material was rejected to the waste stream from within the mineralized envelope. Sorting technology has strong potential for industrial application to upgrade mined Tower and Rail material prior to transport to the mill. This will benefit both projects through rejection of low value waste or mine dilution and lower overall transportation costs with better mill feed grades all contributing to improved project economics.

Table 2: Ore Sorting Upgrade Results

Tower

Mass Assays (%, g/t) Distribution (%) (%) Cu Zn Au S Cu Zn Au S Combined Accepts 67 8.6 1.62 1.2 17.8 99.3 99.4 99.2 96.9 Rejects 33 0.13 0.02 0.02 1.15 0.7 0.6 0.8 3.1 Total 100 5.83 1.09 0.8 12.3 100 100 100 100 Upgrade Ratio 1.48 1.49 1.46 1.45

Rail





Mass Assays (%, g/t) Distribution (%) (%) Cu Zn Au S Cu Zn Au S Combine Accepts 68.3 2.2 0.86 1.0 12.2 98.7 98.4 98.6 98.3 Rejects 31.7 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.46 1.3 1.6 1.4 1.7 Total 100 1.52 0.59 0.7 8.5 100 100 100 100 Upgrade Ratio 1.45 1.46 1.46 1.44

Summarized indicative impacts from the ore sorting test results above on the Tower and Rails deposit are as follows:

Tower Deposit

Cu Zn Au Ag tonnes % % g/t g/t In-situ Indicated resource grade1 1,500 4.69 1.32 0.85 23.70 Diluted mine grade (to ore sorter) 2,000 3.52 0.99 0.64 17.78 Grade shipped to mill 1,345 5.19 1.46 0.94 26.20 Feed grade to mill upgrade from diluted mine grade 1.48x 1.48x 1.47x 1.47 x

1 Grades based on the N.I. 43-101 Tower Resource Resource estimate published March 2, 2020

Rail Deposit

Cu Zn Au Ag tonnes % % g/t g/t In-situ Indicated resource grade 2 1,500 2.73 0.86 0.80 8.90 Diluted mine grade (to ore sorter) 2,000 2.05 0.65 0.60 6.68 Grade shipped to mill 1,363 2.97 0.93 0.87 9.66 Feed grade to mill upgrade from diluted mine grade 1.45x 1.44x 1.45x 1.45x

2 Grades based on the N.I. 43-101 Rail Resource Resource estimate published March 31, 2020

Milling Permits and Metallurgical Studies

Rockcliff has a six year lease on the Bucko Mill and tailings facilty located within trucking distance from its portfolio of Snow Lake deposits.

Metallurgical test work has been designed in two phases. The first phase has demonstrated the ability of the ore to respond to concentration by flotation. The second phase will focus on the optimization of the concentration process through the Bucko Mill. This will enable Rockcliff to evaluate the potential of mill upgrades and the economic trade-off of capital required for this optimization. The phase II work schedule has begun and is to be completed as part of the PEA studies for the Rail and Tower properties anticipated to be completed in Q3 2020 in anticipation for a construction decision on one of the two deposits.

QP

Mike Romaniuk P.Eng., VP Projects of Rockcliff, a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this press release.

Visit Rockcliff's YouTube channel with a message from the President and CEO, Alistair Ross. To access the video, please visit: https://youtu.be/11cJFoZLduE.





Cannot view this video? Visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11cJFoZLduE

About Rockcliff Metals Corporation

Rockcliff is a well-funded Canadian resource development and exploration company, with a fully functional +1,000 tpd leased processing and tailings facility as well as several advance-staged, high-grade copper and zinc dominant VMS deposits in the Snow Lake area of central Manitoba. The Company is a major landholder in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt which is home to the largest Paleoproterozoic Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") district in the world, hosting mines and deposits containing copper, zinc, gold and silver. The Company's extensive portfolio of properties totals over 4,500 square kilometres and includes eight of the highest-grade, undeveloped VMS deposits in the belt.

For more information, please visit http://rockcliffmetals.com

Youtube: Rockcliff Metals Corporation

Twitter: @RockcliffMetals

Linkedin: Rockcliff Metals Corp

Instagram: Rockcliff_Metals

For further information, please contact:

Rockcliff Metals Corporation

Alistair Ross

President & CEO

Cell: (249) 805-9020

contact@rockcliffmetals.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking. Although Rockcliff believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55253
An array of Oaxacan ingredients at Madre Oaxacan Restaurant and Mezcaleria in Torrance, including the hard-to-find white cheese called quesillo. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Tuesday mornings used to be hectic for Ivan Vasquez, the owner of Madre, the sleek Oaxacan restaurant and bar with locations in Torrance and Palms.

On those mornings, sometimes as early as 2 a.m., a truck hauling hundreds of pounds of Oaxacan ingredients  shrink-wrapped balls of the stretchy white cheese called quesillo; sacks of chiles de agua; stacks of the thin, crisp, hubcap-sized tortillas called tlayudas  were unloaded at a designated drop-off point near his restaurants.

Those deliveries disappeared abruptly last month.

I had to call my suppliers in Oaxaca and tell them: Im not buying anything because my two dining rooms are closed, he said.

Before the shutdown, Vasquez was spending about $2,525 on Oaxacan ingredients and delivery fees every week. With business down to a trickle  Vasquez estimates lunch and dinner orders at his restaurants have dropped by 90%  he is now spending less than half what he used to on Oaxacan ingredients.

Los Angeles is home to the largest number of Oaxacan restaurants and markets outside of Mexico; many of these stake their reputations on the ingredients and products they source directly from Oaxacan purveyors.

Ivan Vasquez, photographed at Madre in Torrance, says business at his two restaurants has dropped by as much as 90%. He's having trouble importing Oaxacan ingredients. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Over the years, restaurateurs like Vasquez have developed a complicated supply chain involving multiple handlers to shuttle Oaxacan ingredients from southern Mexico to Southern California.

Now, with L.A. restaurants purchasing fewer Oaxacan ingredients, and COVID-19-related travel restrictions making it harder for purveyors to send products north of the border, the supply chain that business owners have pieced together over the years is falling apart, making it harder for L.A. restaurants to serve essential Oaxacan dishes like tlayudas, moles and chapulines.

Tlayudas recently disappeared from the menu at Ponchos Tlayudas, the popular South L.A. stand operated by Alfonso Poncho Martinez and his wife, Odilia Romero.

The family he works with to source tlayudas has temporarily shut down its tlayuda-making operation on the outskirts of Oaxaca City due to stay-home restrictions, he said.

Story continues

When we put up an Instagram post letting people know we ran out of tlayudas, we got a lot of calls from people telling me, Poncho, here we have some tlayudas. Here is some quesillo. But those products are not the same as the ones we were using, he said. I just didnt feel right selling it.

Alfonso "Poncho" Martinez at his home in Los Angeles. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he has not been able to procure enough tlayudas to sell to customers. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Martinez is not making his familys popular moronga blood sausage either, or any meats; the butcher shop he buys from is also temporarily shuttered.

Ivan Vasquez is similarly fastidious about the quality and provenance of the Oaxacan ingredients used in his restaurants.

Before the pandemic made travel difficult, Vasquez, a native of Oaxacas Valles Centrales region, traveled regularly to visit family and build relationships with vendors.

We have a dedicated person for the chiles de agua, a dedicated person for our spices, and a dedicated tlayudera that was producing about 400 tlayudas a week for us, he said.

He tried six or seven different producers before settling on a quesillo supplier from the town of Etla, Oaxaca, which is known for its excellent cheese makers. Until recently, he had a weekly standing order for more than 220 pounds of cheese.

Alfonso "Poncho" Martinez of Poncho's Tlayudas demonstrates making a black bean tamale. Martinez has been selling Oaxacan tamales in lieu of tlyaudas during the COVID-19 shutdown. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Vasquez says the purchase orders at his two restaurants affect the livelihoods of at least 10 vendors and handlers in Mexico.

This is affecting a whole chain of people working with us, he said.

My particular chain was helping provide jobs all the way from Oaxaca to Tijuana to L.A.

Vasquez works closely with his mother and sister in Oaxaca, who coordinate with vendors and arrange for the products to be shipped from Oaxaca City to Tijuana via air freight.

When the merchandise arrives in Tijuana, a small team of delivery drivers shuttles the merchandise safely across the border. They used to drop off products in Orange County, South L.A. and at Expresion Oaxaquena, the long-running Oaxacan restaurant-market near Pico Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue, where restaurant and market owners congregate early on Tuesdays to pick up their orders.

Ive met restaurant owners who come from as far away as Seattle and Portland to pick up their merchandise in that parking lot, Vasquez said.

Banana leaf-wrapped Oaxacan tamales from Poncho's Tlayudas in South Los Angeles. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Zeferino Garcia, who owns Expresion Oaxaquena and three other Oaxacan markets in Los Angeles, said that the biggest challenge hes run up against is getting Oaxacan ingredients shipped via air to the border.

There are long wait times right now because air freight is being prioritized for things like medicine, he said.

To get tlayudas, chiles de agua, chapulines, moles and quesillo to Los Angeles, Garcia is paying for his merchandise to be shipped to Mexico City via ground transport, where its put on a flight to Tijuana. The route is more expensive, but its the only way he can guarantee his merchandise makes it to Tijuana, where a courier service conveys it to Los Angeles.

Garcia is no longer able to import harder-to-find Oaxacan products such as frijoles criollos and regional breads from Oaxacas Sierra Juarez mountain range that are normally in stock at his markets, which include Mercado Benito Juarez in Koreatown and two locations of La Mayordomia.

The Sierra Juarez is completely shut down right now. Products cant come in or out of there, he said.

For Ivan Vasquez, getting quesillo to L.A. has proved the biggest challenge.

A tlayuda at one of the locations of La Mayordomia, the Oaxacan market owned and operated by Zeferino Garcia and his family. Garcia says it's proven challenging to get basic Oaxacan ingredients to Los Angeles. (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times )

On March 21, the U.S. and Mexico began restricting nonessential travel along the border. Although commercial shipments are still flowing back and forth, Vasquez says border inspections have gotten tougher.

Inspectors have twice now thrown out parcels of quesillo, which inspires scrutiny because its unlabeled. They have also thrown out chile peppers that are not completely green, Vasquez said.

Like Martinez, Vasquez says that substituting quintessential ingredients like tlayudas and quesillos would be missing the point of traditional Oaxacan cooking.

One of my missions is to keep Oaxacan food flavors as they should be. Otherwise, they will be lost for younger generations, he said.

Im not sure you can really appreciate those ancestral recipes if youre not using the right ingredients.

For Alfonso Poncho Martinez, the point of using Oaxacan ingredients is not only the flavor, but the connection they represent to his home state.

We work directly with communities in Oaxaca. So we can trust that when we place an order we know it will be done in a certain amount of days and we know the product will be fresh, he said.

As you can see, the two economies are closely tied. There is a connection between us that we dont want to break.
The rate of coronavirus infection in Denmark has increased since schools and kindergartens were re-opened, new figures have revealed.

Analysis by Denmark's infectious diseases agency the State Serum Institute (SSI) found the reproduction rate, known as 'R', rose since schools opened on April 15 as the virus lockdown was eased.

According to the data, the 'R rate' increased from 0.6 in mid-April to 0.9 as of yesterday.

That is still below the crucial level of 1.0, which means each infected person passes the disease on to one other person. Health officials say when this point is reached the virus can spread exponentially and overwhelm the medical system.

Teacher Marie Kaas-Larsen questioning her pupils in a classroom rearranged for social distancing at the Norrebro Park primary school in Copenhagen yesterday. Denmark was the first country in Europe to reopen its schools for the youngest pupils on April 15

Since the restrictions began to be relaxed, the 'R rate' has increased slightly in the past two weeks but remains below 1.0, the SSI said.

After reopening day care centres and schools for children in first to fifth grade, hairdressers and other small businesses followed on April 20 after the Nordic nation saw the number of infections and deaths decline.

Denmark was one of the first in Europe to shut down and the first country outside Asia to then ease its virus lockdown.

As of Thursday, Denmark had 452 coronavirus-related deaths, while the number of hospitalisations has fallen steadily during April.

The State Serum Institute, which is responsible for preparedness against infectious diseases, said: 'There are no signs that the COVID-19 epidemic is accelerating.'

Queues outside and Ikea department store in Gentofte near Copenhagen in Denmark when they re-opened on Monday

These new figures were based on the reproduction rate on the back of the number of infected people who were admitted to hospital each day.

Christian Wejse, a scientist at the department of infectious diseases at Aarhus University, said: 'There are no signs what so ever that the partial reopening has caused a bigger spread of infection.

'At least there is no indication that we are heading into another wave. That has been the concern, but I can't see that at all.'

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday that the spread of the virus was 'under control'.

Denmark's Prime Minister and Social Democrats Chairman Mette Frederiksen presenting her May Day speech live on Facebook, broadcast live from the Workers Museum in Copenhagen

Frederiksen also declared that 'the Danish strategy has succeeded' and that she would present a plan for the next steps in the reopening before May 10.

But Wejse added: 'We are by no means home safe, but we have a really good starting point now to get the number of infected further down.'

Denmark shut down schools, cafes, restaurants, bars, gyms and hair salons in mid-March, while also banning gatherings of more than 10 people.

The number of patients in hospital has also fallen from its peak, along with the tally of patients in intensive care.

Testing was widened on April 1 to include people showing mild symptoms, after previously only those with moderate and severe symptoms were screened.

Further testing in the Danish territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands has uncovered another 199 cases, but no deaths.
North Wales business leaders call for 3m hardship fund for firms falling through cracks in Covid-19 crisis

This article is old - Published: Friday, May 1st, 2020

Business leaders in North Wales are calling for a new 3 million hardship fund to be set up provide urgent help for companies who dont qualify for any of the emergency Covid-19 support.

The plea has come from the North Wales and Mersey Dee Business Council, the umbrella body for the private sector in the region, who say many firms are falling through the cracks and are on the verge of going bust.

According to the Business Council, whose members include the Chamber of Commerce, the FSB, North Wales Tourism and Creative North Wales, it would be a disaster for the economy if the companies under threat were allowed to fail, creating wholesale job losses.

According to Commercial Director Ashley Rogers, they were extremely grateful for the unprecedented multi-billion packages of funding already announced by the UK and Welsh governments, with the support of local authorities.

But more was needed to be done to plug the gaps in the support so that hundreds more North Wales businesses could be safeguarded and helped to survive the crisis.

Mr Rogers said: Among the businesses we are particularly concerned about are many start-op ventures less than two years old and businesses where directors are the sole employees.

These are still not eligible for any supports from government and as a result of the Covid-19 crisis are under considerable financial pressure and many are going out of business.

With that in mind, the Business Council is asking Welsh Government with support from the UK Government for a catch-all North Wales Regional Hardship Fund (Cronfa Caledi Rhanbarthol Gogledd Cymru) to support all those businesses that currently are not benefiting from the existing support schemes.

What we need is a hardship fund that can immediately cover a wide range of situations and businesses where those businesses can prove they have been substantially affected by the crisis and that they are not eligible for any other grant or wages support.

He added: Welsh and UK Governments have clearly pulled out all the stops to put in place support for businesses but there are still too many exceptions and gaps, so businesses falling through the cracks.

We are therefore calling for a catch all 3 million grant scheme for our region to support all the exceptions rather than them having to wait for bespoke schemes to be put in place, which takes weeks at a time even with governments moving at the fast pace that they are. This is time some businesses simply do not have.

We would like to see the scheme administered and delivered on a regional level through partnership with Welsh Governments regional team, the local authorities and the North Wales Economic Ambition Board.

The gaps in support for businesses can all be covered in one scheme, a logical and common sense move that our private sector desperately needs.

Jim Jones, CEO of North Wales Tourism and Business Council Chair said Its clearly obvious there are many businesses falling through the cracks and not getting any support to merely survive this enforced closure. North Wales Tourism welcomes this proposal by the Business Council as hopefully it will target direct help to those that desperately need it.

Debbie Bryce, CEO of the West Cheshire & North Wales Chamber of Commerce added: There will undoubtedly be a substantial impact on the North Wales economy due to Covid-19, whilst businesses have welcomed the UK and Welsh Government support packages announced in recent weeks it is vital that more work is done to address the shortfall in support available to those who have fallen through the gaps.

In particular the self-employed who have taken significant risk leaving secure jobs in the 2019/20 tax year to start their own business and those small limited companies, usually with one or two directors (and no other employees) who take a small salary through the PAYE scheme and are mainly paid via dividends as advised by their accountants.

Welsh Government has very much encouraged start-ups in the past, they now need to step in to support these businesses or many will be lost before theyve been given a fair chance to get off the ground.
Days after asking states to stop their usage, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has banned the import of anti-body rapid testing kits from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics despite China's objection. The development comes amid a row over 'faulty' rapid testing kits, which as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) showed 'wide variation' during tests.

"The licences of both the Chinese companies and their importers have been cancelled," DCGI VG Somani told The Economic Times. The licence holders of COVID-19 testing kits from these two Chinese companies have also been told to stop their import. The DCGI has also issued show-cause notices to the companies concerned over the ICMR's observation of 'wide variation' on the field.

Three days back, China had fumed, saying it was "deeply concerned" with the evaluation results and the Indian Council of Medical Research's decision to stop the use of these anti-body kits. The Chinese embassy in India also said it was "unfair and irresponsible" for certain individuals to label Chinese products as "faulty" and look at issues with preemptive prejudice.

The ICMR decided to stop their usage after some states raised issues regarding the performance of these rapid antibody test kits procured from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics.

Meanwhile, India has recorded 1,993 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the highest 1-day jump, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 35,043 on Friday. These cases include 25,007 active cases, 8,888 cured/discharged, 1 migrated and 1,147 deaths. The Centre on Thursday claimed that India has "gone ahead" in its fight against novel coronavirus and that its recovery rate had reached 25% with just 3.2 per cent mortality rate.

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Congress slams govt for allowing 'hoarding', profiteering on rapid test kits sold to ICMR

Also read: Meet Kripa Shanker Gupta, the man who supplied coronavirus test kits to ICMR at 145% mark-up

Also read: Massive 145% profiteering exposed in coronavirus rapid test kits sold to ICMR
"Whilst the Judge recognizes that there is a claim for breach of privacy and copyright, we are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behavior is not relevant. We feel honesty and integrity are at the core of what matters; or as it relates to the Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers, their lack thereof," the spokesperson said.

"Nonetheless, we respect the Judge's decision as the strong case against Associated will continue to focus on the issue of a private, intimate and hand-written letter from a daughter to her father that was published by The Mail on Sunday. This gross violation of any person's right to privacy is obvious and unlawful, and The Mail on Sunday should be held to account for their action," the spokesperson added.

The Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers has previously said it stands by the original story it published and will defend the case vigorously. The company said they will argue in trial that there was "huge and legitimate" public interest in members of the royal family and their "personal relationships."

In a reply brief filed last month, the Duchess of Sussex stated that any claims of freedom of expression by the defendant to publish the contents of the letter are outweighed by her expectation of privacy.
(TNS)  It doesnt take much effort to see the immediate changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.Countless cancellations and postponements, including of some of the most-high profile events in the world, have upended annual routines. Notable cultural mainstays to see historic delays include the Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby.Schooling has shifted to e-learning, challenging students and teachers to adapt to new educational environments. More people are working from home than perhaps ever before, if they havent been laid off.Put simply, the life that Americans have become accustomed to over the years is changing rapidly. Some are forecasting a lingering change in how people behave, likely to stick around long after the virus is gone.I really think the culture is going to change when this is all said and done, said Chris Gilbert, founder and president of Security Pros. I think we have to find new ways to have a sense of normality, instead of having a nurse at every entrance.Specifically, Gilbert is speaking of ways to protect large gatherings of people, whether it be at the workplace or recreational events. Some companies are turning to employee screenings to identify symptoms of sickness in an effort to reduce the spread of the disease.But Gilbert envisions a more seamless process, one that doesnt disrupt the natural flow of things. Thats why Security Pros  located in Memphis, Ind., after spending years in Jeffersonville  is investing in and leveraging advancements in technology.This week, the company will begin installing thermal screening systems for clients. The technology existed before the crisis, but Gilbert said the heightened focus on public health has expanded the market.Its definitely been out in the world, but its just coming to life because of this, he said. We already have courthouses and call centers with deployments [of the system]. Next week, were going to be installing a few, and more the week after.Utilizing cameras with thermal imaging, the system is able to quickly register the temperature of individuals passing through it. The traditional method of manually taking the temperature of people, for instance employees of a large warehouse, comes with pitfalls, Gilbert said.For one, it can cause long lines, where people have no choice but to stand in close proximity to others for an extended period of time.If I have to wear a mask and stand outside in a line around a bunch of people, what are you really doing? Gilbert said. If somebody gets screened and caught with a high temperature, youve already possibly been exposed if you were standing next to them. People can get in to their work normally [with the thermal screening].Once people begin flowing into a building, an algorithm will identify individual faces. Masks and hats will not interfere with the process.The cameras capabilities will then hone in on the forehead area and take the temperatures of each person. If a high temperature is recorded, some sort of alert will be triggered, after which the individual will be screened more thoroughly.After a conference call about the technology on Thursday, Gilbert said Security Pros  which works with local school districts, like Greater Clark County Schools, and municipal governments, like Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany  received several requests for quotes from potential clients.Gilbert anticipates more of the same moving forward, even after the novel coronavirus threat is no longer imminent. Many places like grocery stores, retail establishments, large employers and those that already have metal detectors or turnstiles could soon utilize thermal screenings on a regular basis.I honestly feel like this is going to be somewhat of a short-lived spike, but I think people are going to be more open to it in the future, Gilbert said. When a vaccine comes out, people are going to calm down. But its at least going to open their eyes to the fact that this can happen again. The general public is going to have a better sense of not being able to come into work or go into public when theyre sick anymore.
With Pune witnessing a rising number of coronavirus cases, doctors at various hospitals dealing with the disease have had to battle with their apprehensions and respond to the call of duty.

Editor's note: This series will focus on the difficulties faced by the medical fraternity at COVID-19 hospitals, their duty hours, access to protective gear, facilities they get during quarantine, how are their families coping with this new reality across different states in the country. This is the seventh part of the series.

***

With Pune witnessing a rising number of coronavirus cases, doctors at various hospitals dealing with the disease have had to battle with their apprehensions and respond to the call of duty.

With around 1,505 infections and 92 deaths reported till Thursday evening, Pune has the second highest number of infections in Maharashtra after Mumbai and has been declared a containment zone. According to the Union health ministry, Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 10,498 cases and 459 deaths reported in the state as of Friday morning.

Initially, two hospitals  Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital and the government-run Sassoon hospital  were earmarked for the treatment of COVID-19 patients but as the number of cases continued to spike, especially in the tightly-packed Bhavani Peth area, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) asked private hospitals in the city to allot wards for treating COVID-19 patients.

Dr Vrushali Khadke, a lung specialist and the nodal officer for coronavirus ward at the Poona Hospital told Firstpost that protocols prescribed by the ICMR were implemented in the hospital when it was asked to open a coronavirus ward almost three weeks ago. As per the protocols, the hospital has a triage area to segregate suspected coronavirus cases from other patients and ICU and isolation units to care for coronavirus positive patients. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided to the staff dealing with suspected COVID-19 cases. Doctors and staff at the Poona Hospital work 12-hour shifts for three days and are then given a rest period of three days.

The staffing, however, is different at designated state-run COVID-19 hospitals. They follow a rotational duty chart, under which doctors and paramedical staff work for 14 days and then undergo a mandatory quarantine period of a fortnight.

Challenges posed due to PPE, social distancing norms

Dr Sarika Godse*, a resident doctor working at the Out-Patient Department (OPD) in a private hospital, told Firstpost that all patients coming to the hospital are treated as suspected coronavirus patients, and all doctors and staff, even at OPDs have to take precautions.

Click here to read the complete series

She finds the PPE suits quite cumbersome and heavy. The mercury has shot up to around 40 degrees Celsius and the overalls worn on top of normal clothes, make for a sweltering six hours spent at the ward. Besides, once the overalls are donned, the doctors and the staff cannot drink water or take a bathroom break as each suit can only be worn once and is discarded after use.

However, the biggest challenge facing both doctors and patients, according to Khadke, is observing social distancing norms and treatment protocols.

Masks and protective equipment cover most of your face and it becomes difficult for the caregivers to establish a relation of trust with the patients and to reassure them, Khadke added.

Godse expressed similar views. A lot of a physicians work involves touching a patient, examining their eyes, palpitating their abdomen and the coronavirus crisis had made exactly this part of a doctors work risky, Godse explained.

I havent heard a patients chest in a month and a half, she said, adding that the use of stethoscopes has been prohibited as they might play a role in transmitting the virus between patients.

Tough to fight on both fronts

Doctors and paramedical staff are not only worried about transmitting the virus to their patients but also to their family members. The nursing staff do their household work and come for duty 12 hours a day. Plus, they also have to look after their children... There is a fear present amongst them, but I think they have overcome that with ease, said Khadke.

It's taxing to keep fighting on both fronts  work and the personal front, said Dr Ameet Dravid of the Punes Noble Hospital, who has sent his nine year-old daughter to his parents home in another city.

It is difficult to explain to her the intricacies of the disease and why she cant meet her parents, he said.

Dr Sayali Adhikari*, a doctor at the OPD in one of the two designated state-run hospitals in the city, hasnt met her parents since the month of March.

Since they dont live with me, they are always worried about me. Even after I finish my duty hours, I am too tired to call them. So, I constantly have to reassure them and tell them not to worry about me. So yes, there is definitely a psychological cost associated with my work, she admits.

Godse, who hails from Mumbai, says she last met her parents four months ago.

That is unbelievable considering that Pune and Mumbai arent that far. However Skype and Zoom calls help, she said.

However, living away from family makes Godse a bit less anxious about her work, especially since she is expected to begin working in the coronavirus ward soon.

I do not have much to lose. I am a young healthy woman who doesnt have diabetes or any other health conditions. If a 40-year-old man living with his family says he doesnt want to work in the coronavirus ward, it is justified. But I am living alone and not risking anybody, if I was living in Mumbai that would have been a big thing. I would have been scared to go back home if I was in Mumbai because I could have been an asymptomatic carrier who could have infected my grandparents, for example, she said.

The downside of living alone is loneliness and also the fear of getting evicted. In different parts of the country, doctors have been attacked or even asked to leave their houses as they are suspected to carry the virus back home with them.

Godse has not faced such direct hostility but the chairman of her housing society asked her about accommodation facilities provided by the hospital for doctors working in coronavirus wards. This added to her worries and made her think about finding alternative accommodation.

Rising over the cloud of fear

A cloud of anxiety and fear has descended over hospitals, especially since doctors and staff at a couple of hospitals in the city have contracted the disease. In Pune, at least 25 staffers including 19 nurses at the private Ruby Hall Clinic have tested positive while three nurses and a senior doctor have been found to be infected in the state-run Sassoon Hospital.

A senior doctor who works at a state-run facility, speaking to Firstpost on the condition of anonymity, said that team work and humour are essential for rising over the cloud of fear" that surrounds COVID-19.

When one person is unable to perform some task due to anxiety or fear, team members pick up the slack. That is one way to keep everyone motivated. Our workers have really risen to the challenge, right from carrying equipment to reassuring each other, the doctor said.

Dr Adhikari too admits to have felt this fear but says that she managed to overcome her fears by reminding herself to abide by the rules of the profession.

We cannot deny our duty on moral grounds, she said, and therefore, she is not scared of returning to work after she finishes her mandatory quarantine period of 14 days.

It is the toughest time of our lives, said Dravid. However, he said, it helps to remember that doctors are not the only ones in this fight  policemen, sanitation workers, nurses and even administrative staff at hospitals have been doing a stellar job, and this is a source of inspiration to him.

Life under quarantine

Doctors from government hospitals undergoing their quarantine period said that they continue following developments related to the disease even when not working.

Adhikari said most of her time is spent discussing various patients and the developments in their condition with her colleagues who are also undergoing quarantine. Wherever you go, these discussions are inevitable, she said.

She has also stocked up her favourite books to help pass the time. Being fond of novels, she decided to utilise the time to read the final part in the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi. Apart from that, she spends her time watching television and catching up with her family.

For Godse, duty at the coronavirus ward is yet to begin. But as routine procedures in the hospital have been drastically curtailed as a precautionary measure, she finds herself with a lot of time on her hands. She spends most of this time reading books or cooking.

*names changed on request
Kathmandu, May 1

A hydropower project worker who was missing in a snowstorm in the Rasuwa district of central Nepal for around two weeks has been rescued alive.

Suraj Lama of Balephi-4 of Sindhupalchok district used to work for Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project. As his wife was preparing for childbirth, Lama left the workstation on April 18 with a plan to go to Sindhupalchok on foot during the lockdown.

However, there was a snowstorm on the second day of his journey and he went missing. Following that, local leaders of Balephi had called the concerned authorities to launch a search mission.

After nine days of his disappearance, the locals of Suryakunda Pheri, Dupcheshwar rural municipality of Nuwakot district, had spotted him on April 28. Following that, he was airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment. He has been admitted to Civil Service Hospital and is out of danger now, according to Madhav Sapkota, a leader of the Nepal Communist Party who recently visited him.

The locals of Suryaphedi say he was found unconscious. After regaining consciousness, he told the locals that he had only a small mattress and little saatu (dry flour) to survive.
Travelers arrive to the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) wearing masks for protection against COVID-19 in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2020. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Flights From China Dropped 86 Percent After Trumps Travel Ban: CDC

Air travel from China to the United States dropped 86 percent in February after President Donald Trump banned most trips due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, according to newly released statistics.

Trump on Jan. 31 issued an executive order barring people who had been in China within the past two weeks from entering the United States. The order went into effect on February 2.

We cant have thousands of people coming in who have this problem, the coronavirus, Trump said at the time during a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News Sean Hannity.

Air passenger journeys from China decreased from 505,560 in January to 70,072 in February, Dr. Anne Schuchat, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 response team, said in a May 1 report.

But travelers kept pouring in from Italy and other Schengen Area countries. Nearly 1.75 million from the nations, including 139,305 from Italy, arrived in February.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, or SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus from China that causes the COVID-19 disease, was spreading rapidly through Western Europe that month.

The lines to reach TSA immigration process are seen empty at a terminal at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on March 9, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Trump on March 11 announced a travel ban on most Schengen counties, asserting the European Union failed to take the same precautions as the United States to restrict travel from China and other virus hotspots.

As a result, a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe, he said.

The ban was extended to Britain and Ireland on March 14.

The number of travelers flying to the United States from Italy and all Schengen countries decreased 74 percent and 50 percent, respectively, in March, according to the new CDC report.

Genomic analysis of different strains of the CCP virus in America indicates multiple introductions from international travelers from China and Europe as well as domestic travel.

Returning cruise ship passengers also contributed to the rapid increase in cases, Schuchat said. The number of cases in the country increased more than 1,000-fold in a three-week period from late February to early March.

Persons from many countries are in close contact on cruises, and crew members continue to work on ships for multiple voyages. As a result, passengers returning from cruises contributed to the early acceleration phase, she wrote.

Medical staff attend to suspected CCP virus patients as they arrive from cruise ships at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach in Miami, Florida on March 26, 2020. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)

CDC Director Robert Redfield on March 14 ordered a No Sail Order for cruise ships and renewed the order on April 9, bringing new cruise trips to a halt.

Large events in February, including Mardi Gras in Louisiana, the international Biogen conference in Boston, Mass., and a funeral with more than 100 attendees in Albany, Ga., led to further spread of the virus, the new report said. Clusters also broke out in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities and at hospitals, along with some workplaces like meatpacking plants. Other clusters were linked to houses of worship.

A major factor in the rapid spread of the virus was the significant percentage of patients who showed no symptoms. Another factor: the introduction of the virus into the country happened during the annual flu season, making it difficult to discern some CCP virus cases from influenza. The illnesses share some symptoms, like fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

As the pandemic evolves, control efforts must be continuously refined. Certain interventions that were critical in the early stages, such as quarantine and airport screening, might have less impact when transmission is widespread in the community. However, many elements of the mitigation strategies used during the acceleration phase will still be needed in later stages of the outbreak, the doctor concluded.

Preliminary results from antibody testing suggests that even in the U.S. regions with the largest numbers of recognized cases, most persons have not been infected and remain susceptible, she said, adding, Therefore, sustained and concerted efforts will be needed to prevent future spread of SARS-CoV-2 within the United States.
Currently, Mexico is expecting a massive economic downturn at the end of the year, but businesses are ill-prepared for the deepest recession in national history. The president promises a quick recovery, but even that seems out of reach, given the resources the country has.

Lopez Obrador has so far refused to make use of loans for measures like business tax relief or rescue packages, and instead pledged to cut 75% of spending on government services.

Analysts from Citibanamex are expecting Mexico's economy to plummet by the end of the year. Still, this week it was observed to have a 6.7% contraction since the beginning of the pandemic, and this is deeper than the Tequila Crisis of 1994.

Earlier this month, Lopez Obrador downplayed the pandemic in the belief the crisis was "transitory."



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Morena for Lopez Obrador

Left-wing ruling party Morena supports Lopez Obrador's proposal for new austerity measures amid backlash from the opposition, who claim that the bill might compromise constitutional mandate for annual spending plans.

Head of Morena and Senator Mario Delgado posted on his social media his full support for Lopez Obrador's bill. He said, "This opens more opportunities to give our country new legal operations to handle emergencies, for the government to act [resourcefully]."

Delgado agreed with fellow Morena party member Lopez Obrador since he believed the funding of the national budget must be utilized for healthcare and credits to businesses.

To be on the safe side, however, he added that the congress would make slight modifications for the bill to appear less unconstitutional.

The bill was seen by many critics and supporters alike as rather controversial. Some people even questioned its constitutionality. Economist at Barclays Marco Oviedo said in an interview that it would only be a matter of checks and balances in the constitution. He added, "An executive with full powers over the public expenditures goes against that spirit."

Furthermore, Oviedo told the media that the bill still needed more modifications, such as more clear definitions about where the funds would be allocated.



Health and Economic Crisis

Critics believe that Lopez Obrador's proposed solution to the pandemic seems to be missing the mark.

The former head of Mexico's social security institute Santiago Levy said that the president's new bill seeks to improve the economy that was better suited for an exchange-rate crisis. She clarified that Mexico was currently in a health and economic crisis.

The effect of the coronavirus pandemic was causing a variety of different crises altogether, so that made things doubly hard to pinpoint where to direct federal efforts and funds, especially when much of the allotted resources are going instead to infrastructure projects and social programs.

However, businesses are asking for financial support like suspensions of tax and social security payments. Lopez Obrador's response to this was that it would merely deplete the national budget and increase public debt.

"It's a different situation," Levy said.

Alfoso Cuellar, manager of the Morena Party, defended Lopez Obrador's efforts by saying he was doing everything in his power to avoid plunging Mexico deeper into debt.

Cuellar did nonetheless admit that the president could afford to spend more of the national budget given the situation. He assured that the money would not go to waste or be stolen by corrupt officials or businessmen. He said, "This time, it's going to be well invested."
Why are Australians so reluctant to congratulate themselves when it comes to the battle against the coronavirus? So far, we're achieving one of the best outcomes in the world and yet always seem compelled to explain away our victory.

"It's because we're in the southern hemisphere," people say. Or "it's because we don't live in apartment blocks". Or "it's because we're an island". Or "it's just because we don't, in normal times, have many flights from China".

Some of these "explanations" are definitely not true. Others may be partly true, but, according to experts, are hardly central to our success.

Epidemiologists instead list things for which we really can take pride: our early embrace of expert advice, the shelving of partisan politics, our widespread testing and vigorous contact-tracing, as well as the system of mandatory hotel quarantine for those flying in from overseas.
HDFC Bank today released #HumHaarNahiMaanenge (we will not give up), a collaborative song of hope. The single is a tribute to the indomitable spirit of India and millions of Indians who are standing together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The song is composed by Oscar and Grammy Award-winning musician A.R. Rahman, and the lyrics are penned by noted lyricist and poet, Prasoon Joshi. The track also brings together an ensemble of musicians from all over India. The featured artists include renowned names such as Clinton Cerejo, Mohit Chauhan, Harshdeep Kaur, Mika Singh, Jonita Gandhi, Neeti Mohan, Javed Ali, Sid Sriram, Shruti Haasan, Shashaa Tirupati, Khatija Rahman and Abhay Jodhpurkar. India's premier percussionist Sivamani, sitarist Asad Khan and bass prodigy Mohini Dey are also part of this esteemed project.

The song was conceptualized as a clarion call to spread hope, positivity and motivation. The powerful, emotional track reminds people that we are in this together and we will get through it together. The song brings to fore the many moments of kindness, hope, support, courage and care that are shining through in these challenging circumstances.

Through this track, HDFC Bank wants to show its solidarity and support to the nation by encouraging more and more people to donate to PM-CARES Fund. Every donation makes a difference and the bank appeals to one and all to contribute. It will also contribute Rs 500/- each time the song is shared via social media as this small action will have a multiplier effect on the amount that is being contributed towards the PM-CARES Fund from HDFC Bank. Earlier this month, HDFC Group contributed Rs 150 crore towards the PM-CARES Fund.

As a socially responsible corporate citizen we want to do the best that we can for our nation, said Ravi Santhanam, Chief Marketing Officer, HDFC Bank. Music is universal; it lifts the spirit and soothes the soul. Through this tribute we want to touch the heart of every person in the country and let them know that they are not alone. Together, we will emerge stronger. Right now, every contribution, bolsters the nations effort to fight the pandemic. We salute the undying spirit of our countrymen and reiterate our commitment to help and support to defeat COVID-19.

"This song has brought all of us together for a noble cause and we hope it inspires the nation to come together too. Kudos to HDFC Bank for committing to donate to the PM CARES Fund for every share of this music video, said composer A.R. Rahman.

Its always great to collaborate with A.R. Rahman. We have created several memorable pieces of work. And I am glad that HDFC Bank is partnering us in these unprecedented times. Though this is not the most ideal of circumstances for creativity but as artists we have to break through adversity and catch the finger of hope. My poem is centred around the thought of the un-putdownable spirit of us humans. We have much to learn, but together we will surmount the odds, we wont give up, said lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

Together with HDFC Bank, this campaign has been conceptualised and executed by their creative agency partner Kinnect and digital media firm Qyuki.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 05:25:49|Editor: huaxia

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Palestinian man Walid al-Hattab cooks soup for poor locals during Ramadan in Gaza City, April 29, 2020. Every afternoon since the beginning of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Walid al-Hattab cooks the traditional Palestinian soup called "al-Jreesha" and delivers it for free to poor families in the poverty-stricken populated al-Shujaeya neighborhood in Gaza city. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

by Saud Abu Ramadan

GAZA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Every afternoon since the beginning of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Walid al-Hattab cooks the traditional Palestinian soup called "al-Jreesha" and delivers it for free to poor families in the poverty-stricken populated al-Shujaeya neighborhood in Gaza city.

He prepares the soup by putting meats and wheat flour together with onions, herbs and water in a big cooker, which is heated on a firewood stove in front of his house in the neighborhood in the eastern part of the city.

After the soup is ready, the 55-year-old man then delivers it to the poor families shortly before breaking the fast in the early evening. As this year's Ramadan came amid the COVID-19 pandemic, al-Hattab took the needed precautionary measures.

Al-Hattab said he has been doing this during Ramadan for several years with an aim to help those families hit hard by the worsening economic situation in the Palestinian enclave that has been suffering from an Israeli blockade for more than 13 years.

"Due to the precautionary measures, which were taken by the authorities in Gaza, the number of poor families in my neighborhood has increased, mainly because their breadwinners who depend on daily wages lost jobs due to the coronavirus," al-Hattab told Xinhua.

"Many people here cannot secure their daily food, so I try my best to offer them this meal," said al-Hattab as he was stirring the meat and wheat in the cooker with a big scoop.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Palestine, Hamas authorities which rule the Gaza Strip have imposed a series of tight precautionary measures, which included the closure of restaurants, cafes, hotels, mosques and wedding halls to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus.

However, these measures have badly influenced the 2 million populations of the Gaza Strip as its economy further deteriorates.

Al-Hattab wears his facemask and gloves while he cooks al-Jreesha soup, and when the fresh and hot soup is ready, children and men in the neighborhood stand in a queue to get their share.

"I'm just trying to revive an old Palestinian tradition of cooking in public, and I like seeing everyone coming to eat for free as a kind of boosting our social cooperation," he said.

Members of the Hamas-run government warned him that he must abide by the precautionary measures or will be banned from cooking his traditional soup.

Al-Jreesah soup is tasty as it contains smashed wheat as well mutton or beef. It is a historical heritage in Palestinian to cook the soup, as many villagers make it as a meal at weddings and on other social occasions.

Al-Hattab covers most of the soup's costs by donating the mutton or beef, while other local donors help him cover the remaining costs. The man and the local donors believe that feeding around 30 poor families during Ramadan is a holy reward.

Mohammad al-Ghoula, 24, said that the soup is a major dish for him during the month of Ramadan. "It is healthy and provides our bodies energy after fasting the whole day," he told Xinhua after getting his share.

"I come here every day to get Al-Jressha soup because I can't afford to buy lamb meat ... it is very expensive, therefore I come here to get the soup that uncle Walid al-Hattab makes," said the unemployed young man.

"I know many very poor families here who wait for the month of Ramadan to come every year to get this meal, especially after the outbreak of coronavirus," he said.
Facebook users in the US and Canada can now transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos thanks to a new data portability tool. The feature is part of the Data Transfer Project, an agreement between Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter to simplify data transfers. Its meant to make it easier to move information between services, so that users arent locked in to one platform.

Facebook introduced the tool late last year, and it is already available in several other countries. It is rolling out to users in the US and Canada today. To transfer your photos, click Your Facebook Information in settings. Youll see an option to transfer your photos and videos. Theres a drop-down menu to select where you want to send those files, but for now, the only option is Google Photos.

The Data Transfer Project was announced following the introduction of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the EU. That legislation requires that companies inside the EU offer data download tools to users. It could also ease antitrust concerns. A few senators are pushing for legislation that would require data portability, and according to Reuters, Facebook is scheduled to appear before the Federal Trade Commission in September to discuss the benefits and challenges.
Oleh Voloshyn Open source

The Ukrainian authorities do not want to implement Minsk agreements. Ukrainian parliamentarian from Opposition Platform - For Life Party Oleh Voloshyn said this on air of 112 Ukraine TV channel.

There is absolutely no result, and most importantly, there cannot be one, because the Ukrainian authorities refuse to follow the path of implementation of the Minsk agreements. And if there is no implementation of Minsk accords, the ultimate goal of which, as stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is to return Donbas under Ukraines control under special conditions, then there will be no end to the war and no control over the territory. This is obvious to everyone, he said.

The parliamentarian also commented on telephone conversations of the foreign ministers of the Normandy Four countries.

Im sure that the heads of the foreign affairs agencies would not have called each other for no reason, I hope there was some kind of substantial agenda present. And at least French and German colleagues, I think, put before Kuleba and before all Ukrainian authorities in his person the question about lifting the blockade from Donbas, about the need to implement the Steinmeier formula in the legislation, etc, Voloshyn emphasized.

In his opinion, it is necessary to exert pressure on official Kyiv in this regard.

We believe that it is necessary to increase pressure on the Ukrainian authorities, including through attempts to convince, first of all, our parliamentary colleagues from the Servant of the People, without who the implementation of the Minsk Agreements is impossible. The main work lies not on the president and but on the Verkhovna Rada. Its Verkhovna Rada that will have to vote for the special status of Donbas, for amnesty. And the initiative of the Chairman of the Political Council of Opposition Platform -For Life Party Viktor Medvedchuk and my fellow party members is aimed at creating the Parliamentary Dimension of Normandy format, Voloshyn added.

Earlier, French Senator Sebastian Moran expressed hope that after the Covid-19 pandemic is over, the parliaments of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany continue to discuss the initiative of Viktor Medvedchuk about the creation of Parliamentary Dimension of Normandy Format.

Bundestag parliamentarian Robby Schlund also said it was necessary to hold Normandy format meeting in framework of parliamentary dimension after corona crisis ends.

Viktor Medvedchuk has consistently advocated the restoration of peace in Donbas. It was he who proposed the idea of inter-parliamentary dialogue in the Normandy format. Medvedchuk also headed the inter-factional parliamentary association in the Verkhovna Rada Inter-Parliamentary Dialogue for Peace: Ukraine - Russia - Germany  France. It should help to attract the parliaments of the countries of the Normandy format to resolve the conflict in the Donbas.

The meetings have already been held with MEPs of the European Parliament, French senators, members of the German Bundestag and the State Duma. They al, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin, assessed positively these peace initiatives.
I've never been a betting woman, especially now that I'm too old to earn back anything I lose. But recently I made a chump-change wager with an acquaintance of mine, who figured he'd easily pick up a few bucks in a fantasy-fed transaction that was his to win.

And so, within seconds, he was on board to thwart my bet that Michelle Obama will be Joe Biden's running mate. The way I see it, my suggestion is not all that bizarre. Nor, for that matter, is it original. But for my eager Republican friend, it seemed preposterous.

As expected, he was immediately full of reasons why I was wrong. Michelle doesn't want to do it, he assured me. She never really liked being the first lady and is relieved to be out of politics. Anyway, he reminded me, even if she wanted to, she is clearly not up to the job. He pointed to the unimpressive and sometimes contentious political talks Michelle delivered in the aftermath of Hillary's defeat, stumbling with words and even accusing Trump's female supporters of having voted "against their own voice."

When the popular first lady got some negative press from those accusations, she clearly didn't like being taken to task. Thin-skinned and not up to the challenge, I'm reminded, she then lay low from the speaking circuit. Besides, my friend pointed out, she's very happy now in her multi-million-dollar mansion on Martha's Vineyard, enjoying a largely private life high on the hog and within earshot of soothing waves. So why make waves of a political nature when she needs neither the headaches nor the dough that comes with them?

If a woman, say, is thinking of getting a new outfit, she might logically ask herself if she "needs" it. But just as often, as my mother used to say about acquisitions, "What's need got to do with it?" Indeed, it is easy enough for desire to override necessity. Wise or otherwise, wanting something can be a stronger emotion than needing it.

When it comes to politics, the opposite may prove true. A public figure's personal wishes can easily be sublimated to the needs and of her political party, especially in times of crisis. It is worthless for anyone  Republican or Democrat  to decide on what Michelle Obama "wants" to do at this point, without also factoring in what the party faithful may "need" her to do for them in order to recapture the White House. I speculate that Michelle, being a good soldier, would comply, even more so were she flatteringly cast as the person best able to save the ticket from impending doom.

Scoff if you will at such a scenario. But too many smug partisans are simply unable  or unwilling  to look at things from an opponent's viewpoint. Trump-haters, for example, have asked me to my face how I could support such a vile human being. By the same token, those who belittle Michelle Obama seem unable to comprehend why others love her.

One thing we should all agree on, however, is that the choice of Old Joe's running mate will be decided not on the basis of her appeal to registered Republicans. It will be vigorously vetted to unite the Democrat party and bolster public trust in the presumed nominee's ability to "pull it off."

At this stage, several others are being touted to fulfill Biden's pledge of putting a woman on the national ticket. This bit of speculation is perhaps the most exciting thing thus far to come out of Sleepy Joe's dull and erratic campaign. And it has the potential of getting news coverage that builds suspense during the next three and a half months.

What makes it such an intriguing topic is that everyone knows that Biden cannot carry the upcoming campaign on his own. So the question is whether any woman on his current "short list" can make a difference in dispelling voters' doubts about a Biden presidency. The contributions and distractions of Sarah Palin and Geraldine Ferraro are still being debated. But the bottom line is that their presidential candidates did not win.

Historically, the vice presidential pick has not been a significant factor in how the election plays out. The assumption that "women vote for women," for example, is not always a statistical reality. Veeps can be picked for any number of reasons, but never because they have the star power to outshine the top of the ticket. Hillary selected Tim Kaine  an old worn political shoe who never upstaged her. Trump chose Mike Pence, a quiet, calming foot soldier. George H. Bush settled on Dan Quayle, a boyish lackluster politician who got more attention for misspelling "potatoe" than anything else.

By the same reasoning, Joe Biden could select one of the other women on his short list who have far less celebrity status than Michelle Obama.

Amy Klobuchar, for example, is a solid, sensible Midwestern type, who did reasonably well in the primaries. Kamala Harris is a firebrand with an acid tongue that could lash out during a heated campaign.

Former congresswoman Stacey Abrams has enough righteous anger left over from her loss in the race for Georgia governor to whip up the crowd.

But this election is different. Biden needs all the help he can get, and it's not clear how or if those three candidates fill that bill. Kamala Harris didn't even win the Democrat primary in her home state of California. Amy Klobuchar is competent but not compelling. Stacey Abrams is a sore loser perpetually grinding her own axe.

Uncle Joe may be a self-centered guy, who assures us he can beat Trump like a drum. But he's been made aware of his limitations. You might say he's dying to win, even if the ticket's star power comes from below. So why not try to snag the only one viable option who is on the list of the Top 100 most popular women in the world (2020)?

And consider this: in the event that Joe Biden becomes incapacitated or expires in office, which female vice president could likely manage the smoothest transition? Even those who question Michelle's ability to lead the nation might accept that her roommate in the White House has the experience to lend a hand.

In such an eventuality, Michelle Obama would become the first female president of the United States. If you find that thought troubling, consider how the Clintons would react!

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Low income workers in developing countries face a higher risk of income loss during the Covid-19 lockdown as it is less possible to conduct their jobs from home, suggests a new study from UCL, Bank of Thailand, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and GRIPS, Tokyo.

The study, published in Covid Economics: Vetted and Real-Time Papers, used Thailand as a case study but the findings are highly relevant for other countries with similar labour market structuresspecifically, those with a large share of self-employment and low social safety net.

Dr. Suphanit Piyapromdee (UCL Economics) said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted working life in many ways, with the negative consequences around employment and pay, distributed unevenly under lockdown regulations.

"A substantially larger percentage of people in lower income groups have manual roles, such as construction (10% in Thailand; 11.5% in EU-27) or machine-based jobs, which means they can't work remotely and are without any income.

"Therefore without adequate government intervention to support income or employment for the poor, the adverse impact of Covid-19 could worsen income inequality."

The researchers found that low income workers, such as farmers and construction or factory workers, tend to work in jobs that require less physical proximity to other people at work than high income workers, such as office workers or school teachers.

However, as low income workers tend to be in occupations that are more machine-dependent and less ICT-enabled, this makes them less flexible to work remotely.

The findings provide useful insights for policymakers and leaders seeking to ease the lockdown, while carefully balancing pandemic containment and economic burdens.

Dr. Nada Wasi (Bank of Thailand, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research) said: "Our analysis suggests that workers in jobs which are not adaptable to work from home, but do not require frequent physical contact with others, should be allowed to return to their workplaces first. They account for one-third of workers from low income brackets.

"On the other hand, those who usually work in close physical proximity to others, but whose jobs are well-suited to work from home, may be the last to return to normalcy."

Dr. Ponpoje Porapakkarm (GRIPS) pointed that: "Married couples from the lower income households are much more likely to be in similar occupations, and are highly concentrated in jobs not adaptable to work from home. Whereas, higher income workers have a lower correlation between husband and wife occupations."

Assessing occupational correlation, the study found 60% of couples from low income households are in similar occupations, such as manual labour, compared to 20% of high income households.

The researchers suggest that a means-tested emergency relief programslooking at household income as well as individual incomewould be more suitable than universal support programs in terms of targeting those working in most adversely affected occupations.

The research was carried out using data from Thailand's Labour Force Survey 2019 with information on various occupations and job requirements from the Occupational Information Network. This was used to evaluate the labour market risks arising from the Covid-19 crisis at both individual and household levels.They created a new set of pandemic-related categories, representing two important risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic on workers: the risk of earnings losses when a worker is away from their regular workplace, and the risk of contracting or spreading the virus at the workplace. Workers in developing countries, like Thailand, also tend to be more exposed because of the jobs that they do.

Dr. Warn N. Lekfuangfu (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) said: "Our study takes the first step to analysing the impact of the pandemic from the labour supply side. Future research could also factor in labour demand, such as the decline in consumption and supply-chain effects, as well as worker re-distribution during the pandemic."
President Donald Trump scrapped the nuclear deal with Iran and continued to risk war with Iran based on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus claim to have proven definitively that Iran was determined to manufacture nuclear weapons. Netanyahu not only spun Trump but much of the corporate media as well, duping them with the public unveiling of what he claimed was the entire secret Iranian nuclear archive.

In early April 2018, Netanyahu briefed Trump privately on the supposed Iranian nuclear archive and secured his promise to leave the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). That April 30, Netanyahu took the briefing to the public in a characteristically dramatic live performance in which he claimed Israels Mossad intelligence services had stolen Irans entire nuclear archive from Tehran. You may well know that Irans leaders repeatedly deny ever pursuing nuclear weapons Netanyahu declared. Well, tonight, Im here to tell you one thing: Iran lied. Big time.

However, an investigation of the supposed Iranian nuclear documents by The Grayzone reveals them to be the product of an Israeli disinformation operation that helped trigger the most serious threat of war since the conflict with Iran began nearly four decades ago. This investigation found multiple indications that the story of Mossads heist of 50,000 pages of secret nuclear files from Tehran was very likely an elaborate fiction and that the documents were fabricated by the Mossad itself.

According to the official Israeli version of events, the Iranians had gathered the nuclear documents from various locations and moved them to what Netanyahu himself described as a dilapidated warehouse in southern Tehran. Even assuming that Iran had secret documents demonstrating the development of nuclear weapons, the claim that top secret documents would be held in a nondescript and unguarded warehouse in Central Tehran is so unlikely that it should have raised immediate alarm bells about the storys legitimacy.

Even more problematic was the claim by a Mossad official to Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman that Mossad knew not only in what warehouse its commandos would find the documents but precisely which safes to break into with a blowtorch. The official told Bergman the Mossad team had been guided by an intelligence asset to the few safes in the warehouse contained the binders with the most important documents. Netanyahu bragged publicly that very few Iranians knew the location of the archive; the Mossad official told Bergman only a handful of people knew.

But two former senior CIA official, both of whom had served as the agencys top Middle East analyst, dismissed Netanyahus claims as lacking credibility in responses to a query from The Grayzone.

According to Paul Pillar, who was National Intelligence Officer for the region from 2001 to 2005, Any source on the inside of the Iranian national security apparatus would be extremely valuable in Israeli eyes, and Israeli deliberations about the handling of that sources information presumably would be biased in favor long-term protection of the source. The Israeli story of how its spies located the documents does seem fishy, Pillar said, especially considering Israels obvious effort to derive maximum political-diplomatic mileage out of the supposed revelation of such a well-placed source.

Graham Fuller, a 27-year veteran of the CIA who served as National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia as well as Vice-Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, offered a similar assessment of the Israeli claim. If the Israelis had such a sensitive source in Tehran, Fuller commented, they would not want to risk him. Fuller concluded that the Israelis claim that they had accurate knowledge of which safes to crack is dubious, and the whole thing may be somewhat fabricated.

No proof of authenticity

Netanyahus April 30 slide show presented a series of purported Iranian documents containing sensational revelations that he pointed to as proof of his insistence that Iran had lied about its interest in manufacturing nuclear weapons. The visual aides included a file supposedly dating back to early 2000 or before that detailed various ways to achieve a plan to build five nuclear weapons by mid-2003.

Another document that generated widespread media interest was an alleged report on a discussion among leading Iranian scientists of a purported mid-2003 decision by Irans Defense Minister to separate an existing secret nuclear weapons program into overt and covert parts.

Left out of the media coverage of these nuclear archive documents was a simple fact that was highly inconvenient to Netanyahu: nothing about them offered a scintilla of evidence that they were genuine. For example, not one contained the official markings of the relevant Iranian agency.

Tariq Rauf, who was head of the Verification and Security Policy Coordination Office at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 2001 to 2011, told The Grayzone that these markings were practically ubiquitous on official Iranian files.

Iran is a highly bureaucratized system, Rauf explained. Hence, one would expect a proper book-keeping system that would record incoming correspondence, with date received, action officer, department, circulation to additional relevant officials, proper letterhead, etc.

But as Rauf noted, the nuclear archive documents that were published by the Washington Post bore no such evidence of Iranian government origin. Nor did they contain other markings to indicate their creation under the auspices of an Iranian government agency.

What those documents do have in common is the mark of a rubber stamp for a filing system showing numbers for a record, a file and a ledger binder  like the black binders that Netanyahu flashed to the cameras during his slideshow. But these could have easily been created by the Mossad and stamped on to the documents along with the appropriate Persian numbers.

Forensic confirmation of the documents authenticity would have required access to the original documents. But as Netanyahu noted in his April 30, 2018 slide show, the original Iranian materials were kept in a very safe place  implying that no one would be allowed to have any such access.

Withholding access to outside experts

In fact, even the most pro-Israeli visitors to Tel Aviv have been denied access to the original documents. David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security and Olli Heinonen of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies  both stalwart defenders of the official Israeli line on Iranian nuclear policy  reported in October 2018 that they had been given only a slide deck showing reproductions or excerpts of the documents.

When a team of six specialists from Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs visited Israel in January 2019 for briefings on the archive, they too were offered only a cursory browse of the supposedly original documents. Harvard Professor Matthew Bunn recalled in an interview with this writer that the team had been shown one of the binders containing what were said to be original documents relating to Irans relations with the IAEA and had paged through a bit of it.

But they were shown no documents on Iran nuclear weapons work. As Bunn admitted, We werent attempting to do any forensic analysis of these documents.

Typically, it would be the job of the U.S. government and the IAEA to authenticate the documents. Oddly, the Belfer Center delegation reported that the U.S. government and the IAEA had each received only copies of the entire archive, not the original files. And the Israelis were in no hurry to provide the genuine articles: the IAEA did not receive a complete set of documents until November 2019, according to Bunn.

By then, Netanyahu had not only already accomplished the demolition of the Iran nuclear deal; he and Trumps ferociously hawkish CIA-director Mike Pompeo had maneuvered the president into a policy of imminent confrontation with Tehran.

The second coming of fake missile drawings

Among the documents Netanyahu flashed on the screen in his April 30, 2018 slide show was a schematic drawing of the missile reentry vehicle of an Iranian Shahab-3 missile, showing what was obviously supposed to represent a nuclear weapon inside.

This drawing was part of a set of eighteen technical drawings of the Shahab-3 reentry vehicle. These were found in a collection of documents secured over the course of several years between the Bush II and Obama administrations by an Iranian spy working for Germanys BND intelligence service. Or so the Israeli official story went.

In 2013, however, a former senior German Foreign Office official named Karsten Voigt revealed to this writer that the documents had been initially provided to German intelligence by a member of the Mujaheddin E-Khalq (MEK).

The MEK is an exiled Iranian armed opposition organization that had operated under Saddam Husseins regime as a proxy against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. It went on to cooperate with the Israeli Mossad beginning in the 1990s, and enjoys a close relationship with Saudi Arabia as well. Today, numerous former US officials are on the MEKs payroll, acting as de facto lobbyists for regime change in Iran.

Voigt recalled how senior BND officials warned him they did not consider the MEK source or the materials he provided to be credible. They were worried that the Bush administration intended to use the dodgy documents to justify an attack on Iran, just as it exploited the tall tales collected from Iraqi defector codenamed Curveball to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

As this writer first reported in 2010, the appearance of the dunce-cap shape of the Shahab-3 reentry vehicle in the drawings was a tell-tale sign that the documents were fabricated. Whoever drew those schematic images in 2003 was clearly under the false impression that Iran was relying on the Shahab-3 as its main deterrent force. After all, Iran had announced publicly in 2001 that the Shahab-3 was going into serial production and in 2003 that it was operational.

But those official claims by Iran were a ruse aimed primarily at deceiving Israel, which had threatened air attacks on Irans nuclear and missile programs. In fact, Irans Defense Ministry was aware that the Shahab-3 did not have sufficient range to reach Israel.

According to Michael Elleman, the author of the most definitive account of the Iranian missile program, as early as 2000, Irans Defense Ministry had begun developing an improved version of the Shahab-3 with a reentry vehicle boasting a far more aerodynamic triconic baby bottle shape  not the dunce-cap of the original.

As Elleman told this writer, however, foreign intelligence agencies remained unaware of the new and improved Shahab missile with a very different shape until it took its first flight test in August 2004. Among the agencies kept in the dark about the new design was Israels Mossad. That explains why the false documents on redesigning the Shahab-3  the earliest dates of which were in 2002, according to an unpublished internal IAEA document  showed a reentry vehicle design that Iran had already discarded.

The role of the MEK in passing the massive tranche of supposed secret Iranian nuclear documents to the BND and its hand-in-glove relationship with the Mossad leaves little room for doubt that the documents introduced to Western intelligence 2004 were, in fact, created by the Mossad.

For the Mossad, the MEK was a convenient unit for outsourcing negative press about Iran which it did not want attributed directly to Israeli intelligence. To enhance the MEKS credibility in the eyes foreign media and intelligence agencies, Mossad passed the coordinates of Irans Natanz nuclear facility to the MEK in 2002. Later, it provided to the MEK personal information such as the passport number and home telephone number of Iranian physics professor Mohsen Fakhrizadh, whose name appeared in the nuclear documents, according to the co-authors of a best-selling Israeli book on the Mossads covert operations.

By trotting out the same discredited technical drawing depicting the wrong Iranian missile reentry vehicle  a trick he had previously deployed to create the original case for accusing Iran of covert nuclear weapons development  the Israeli prime minister showed how confident he was in his ability to hoodwink Washington and the Western corporate media.

Netanyahus multiple levels of deception have been remarkably successful, despite having relied on crude stunts that any diligent news organization should have seen through. Through his manipulation of foreign governments and media, he has been able to maneuver Donald Trump and the United States into a dangerous process of confrontation that has brought the US to the precipice of military conflict with Iran.
- A news anchor was hosting a show on Youtube live when a semi-clothed lady walked in the background catching the attention of eagle-eyed netizens.

- The woman in the back turned out to be his fellow journalist, 27-year-old Alexia Rivas, who many noticed was not his girlfriend

- The newsman, Alfonso Merlos, claimed he and his girlfriend had broken up weeks earlier but the lady told a different story

- Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

An increase in the use of video calls to ease communication and movement during the coronavirus period seems to be bringing up more scandals by the day.

This was the case when a Spanish news anchor was caught red-handed with a lady that was not his girlfriend.

READ ALSO: 53 uncompleted health facilities left to rot by NPP revealed

READ ALSO: Ghana's COVID-19 cases jumps 2,074 with 212 recoveries

Alfonso Merlos was hosting a show on Youtube live when a semi-clothed lady walked in the background catching the attention of eagle-eyed netizens.

According to Daily Mail, the woman was a fellow journalist, 27-year-old Alexia Rivas, who many noticed was not Alfonso's girlfriend.

The broadcast got the attention of many fans in Spain as it involved famous personalities on TV and simply because the man was assumed to be cheating on his Big Brother ex-contestant girlfriend Marta Lopez.

READ ALSO: 5 ways Ghanaians can mistakenly catch coronavirus

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The two had also broken strict social distancing rules put forward by the government to help reduce the COVID-19 infection rate.

After the video went viral, Alfonso defended himself as he claimed he and his girlfriend had taken a break from their relationship, apologising for the incident.

In another twist to the drama, Marta insisted that as far as she knows, the two were still together, terming the ordeal "shameful."

Alfonso Melos and Marta Lopez in a picture dated 2019 Photo: GTRES

Source: UGC

Well, this is just one of the incidents so far that an individual has ended up showing their partner clothless live on TV.

In another show of 'might', a journalist working from home accidentally showed her husband's privates, live on TV.

Melinda Meza, a journalist at KCRA, happily did a hair tutorial that would help women as they stayed home during the coronavirus lockdown.

READ ALSO: UG maintains best Ghana university spot in world ranking

The reporter was unaware her hubby's goodies were also part of the video chat thanks to her mirror-filled bathroom.

Instead of focusing on Melinda, viewers glued their eyes on the 'more important' part of the show which went on for a while without her noticing.

As soon as the segment was over, Twitter was awash with new fans who could not help but marvel at the show.

President Akufo-Addo has extended the ban on social gatherings by two more weeks. | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: There is nothing wrong with women wearing trousers - Pastor Mensa Otabil

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Source: YEN.com.gh
Afghan security forces also killed at least two Taliban members in clashes in southeastern Paktia province on Friday.

Taliban has killed 13 members of the Afghan security forces in the northern province of Balkh.

Seventeen others were also wounded when Taliban attacked Zareh district of the province overnight, provincial councillors Sakhi Lala and Mohammad Amin Dara-e Sufi told DPA news agency on Friday.

On Friday, Afghan security forces also killed at least two Taliban members and wounded three others in Afghanistans southeastern Paktia province, Qatar News Agency reported.

A group of Taliban fighters attacked the Afghan army on the outskirts of Gardez, the provincial capital of Paktia, Khaama Press news agency reported, adding that two Taliban members were killed and at least three others were wounded.

The Taliban has recently increased attacks in a number of northern Afghan provinces, despite both the government and the armed group releasing prisoners as per an agreement with the United States, signed in February in Doha.

On Wednesday, the Taliban killed at least nine members of local uprising forces in northern Samangan province, according to officials.

The attacks come as the US watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said in its quarterly report on Friday, citing the NATO-led mission Resolute Support, that since the US-Taliban agreement, the group had refrained from attacks on international forces, but increased attacks against the Afghan forces to levels above seasonal norms.

On Thursday, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani urged the Taliban to accept a ceasefire in respect of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which the Taliban promptly rejected.
Twenty six more patients have been discharged from Lagos State isolation facilities following their full recovery from coronavirus infection, an official statement has said.

The Lagos State Ministry of Health on Friday said the patients have been declared free of COVID-19.

The patients included 12 females and 14 males, including two foreign nationals.

This brings the total recoveries in the state to 225.

26 more #COVID19Lagos patients; 12 females & 14 males including 2 foreign nationals  1 Polish &1Filipino were today discharged from our Isolation facilities at Yaba & Onikan to reunite with the society.

The patients; 14 from IDH, Yaba & 12 from Onikan Isolation Centre have fully recovered & tested negative twice consecutively to #COVID19.

With this, the number of patients successfully managed & discharged in Lagos is now 225, the ministry wrote.

With this, Lagos has recorded 87 recoveries within two days, the fastest pace of recoveries since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

READ ALSO:

Lagos also recorded another death from COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total deaths to 21.

The ministry, as usual, urged citizens to keep practising good personal hygiene, maintain safe social distance and avoid large gatherings.

Residents who have the symptoms of COVID-19 are encouraged to contact the Lagos Ministry of Health through the toll-free line; 08000CORONA.

As of Friday, Lagos has 992 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 728 active cases, 225 discharged cases, two evacuated cases,16 transferred cases and 21 deaths.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Many have claimed the Justinianic Plague (c. 541-750 CE) killed half of the population of Roman Empire. Now, historical research and mathematical modeling challenge the death rate and severity of this first plague pandemic.

Researchers Lauren White, PhD and Lee Mordechai, PhD, of the University of Maryland's National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), examined the impacts of the Justinianic Plague with mathematical modeling. Using modern plague research as their basis, the two developed novel mathematical models to re-examine primary sources from the time of the Justinianic Plague outbreak. From the modeling, they found that it was unlikely that any transmission route of the plague would have had both the mortality rate and duration described in the primary sources. Their findings appear in a paper titled "Modeling the Justinianic Plague: Comparing hypothesized transmission routes" in PLOS ONE.

"This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a robust mathematical modeling approach has been used to investigate the Justinianic Plague," said lead author Lauren White, PhD, a quantitative disease ecologist and postdoctoral fellow at SESYNC. "Given that there is very little quantitative information in the primary sources for the Justinianic Plague, this was an exciting opportunity to think creatively about how we could combine present-day knowledge of plague's etiology with descriptions from the historical texts."

White and Mordechai focused their efforts on the city of Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire, which had a comparatively well-described outbreak in 542 CE. Some primary sources claim plague killed up to 300,000 people in the city, which had a population of some 500,000 people at the time. Other sources suggest the plague killed half the empire's population. Until recently, many scholars accepted this image of mass death. By comparing bubonic, pneumonic, and combined transmission routes, the authors showed that no single transmission route precisely mimicked the outbreak dynamics described in these primary sources.

Existing literature often assumes that the Justinianic Plague affected all areas of the Mediterranean in the same way. The new findings from this paper suggest that given the variation in ecological and social patterns across the region (e.g., climate, population density), it is unlikely that a plague outbreak would have impacted all corners of the diverse empire equally.

"Our results strongly suggest that the effects of the Justinianic Plague varied considerably between different urban areas in late antiquity," said co-author Lee Mordechai, an environmental historian and a postdoctoral fellow at SESYNC when he wrote the paper. He is now a senior lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and co-lead of Princeton's Climate Change and History Research Initiative (CCHRI). He said, "This paper is part of a series of publications in recent years that casts doubt on the traditional interpretation of plague using new methodologies. It's an exciting time to do this kind of interdisciplinary research!"

Using an approach called global sensitivity analysis, White and Mordechai were able to explore the importance of any given model parameter in dictating simulated disease outcomes. They found that several understudied parameters are also very important in determining model results. White explained, "One example was the transmission rate from fleas to humans. Although the analysis described this as an important parameter, there hasn't been enough research to validate a plausible range for that parameter."

These high importance variables with minimal information also point to future directions for empirical data collection. "Working with mathematical models of disease was an insightful process for me as a historian," reflected Mordechai. "It allowed us to examine traditional historical arguments with a powerful new lens."

Together, with other recent work from Mordechai, this study is another call to examine the primary sources and narratives surrounding the Justinianic Plague more critically.

###

White, L.A. & Mordechai, L. (2020). Modeling the Justinianic Plague: Comparing hypothesized transmission routes. PLOS ONE. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231256

About SESYNC: The University of Maryland's National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis brings together the science of the natural world with the science of human behavior and decision making to find solutions to complex environmental problems. SESYNC is funded by an award to the University of Maryland from the National Science Foundation. For more information on SESYNC and its activities, please visit http://www.sesync.org.
Shruty Yadav, a final-year undergraduate student of Jamia Millia Islamia, is worried not just about the Covid-19 pandemic, but also about finishing her assignments without having much clue about her future.

We are flooded with assignments and are still not very clear on what the university plans to do about our final year exams. Weve heard exams will take place in July and, yet, we are being asked to do multiple assignments in every paper unlike previous terms, she said.

Yadav is among thousands of final-year students across the three central universities in the national capital who are uncertain about their future course of action. I dont even know why I filled the application form for further education and why we are giving money to colleges. There is little clarity on anything, she says from her home town in Bihar.

Yadav also pointed out that students are also dealing with the stressful environment at home during the lockdown. Our families are also stressed because of their work. It is a difficult situation to be in or explain to them that we are using our laptops and phones for studies and not leisure, she said.

For students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University, the academic crisis this year has been more severe as these varsities were shut for months due to strikes and protests.

Last year, JNU students began an indefinite strike from November to protest against the proposed hostel fee hike which they said would push marginalised students out of the system. The three-month-long agitation came to an end in January.

Jamia, on the other hand, was shut after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act near the varsity took a violent turn on December 15 last year. At both universities, students were only able to attend classes for a few weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown was announced in March, leading to suspension of classes again.

Shairik Sengupta, a final-year postgraduate student of JNU, said, In the past six months, we have only had regular classes during February and a couple of weeks in March. After students returned to classrooms following the hostel fee hike protest, we thought we had the entire semester to make up. Instead, the Covid-19 crisis happened and we had to switch to online learning almost overnight. Students did not sign up for this.

The MSc student also said this is the first time that he is going through a teaching-learning process, which is completely online. We have been unable to prepare for competitive exams since it is not easy to navigate through online learning so quickly. Many students may not even opt for their PhDs this year since there is very little resource to prepare for the interview or tests, he said.

Poor internet connectivity or the complete lack of it has added to the woes of students. Many students did not take books back home. They do not have easy access to e-resources. In addition to this, they have to study for their final year while battling the trauma of being attacked inside their own university, said Akhtarista Ansari, a final-year undergraduate student at Jamia, while referring to the December 15 incident when police had entered the campus, allegedly to nab miscreants.

The 19-year-old added that the recent arrests of Jamia students in connection with the northeast Delhi riots have left many stressed. Students are randomly being called for interrogation. There is an atmosphere of fear and concern. How are we expected to study and submit our assignments amid all this? she said.

Last month, at least two Jamia student activists were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Jamia media coordinator Ahmad Azeem said, We have formed a mental health committee and have made helpline numbers available for students in case they need any help. Similar initiatives have been launched by DU and JNU as well.

JNU registrar Pramod Kumar said the varsity had put up videos and helpline numbers on their Covid-19 portal for stress management.

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UCL reviewed 28 studies from China, US, France, South Korea and the UK

A review of scientific studies has added more evidence to the claim that people who smoke might have a lower risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. University College London academics looked at 28 papers and found the proportions of smokers among hospital patients were 'lower than expected'.

One public health professor said there was 'something weird going on with smoking and coronavirus' and experts are struggling to explain the connection. One of the studies showed that in the UK the proportion of smokers among COVID-19 patients was just five per cent, a third of the national rate of 14.4 per cent.

Another found in France the rate was four times lower. In China, a study noted 3.8 per cent of patients were smokers - despite more than half of the population regularly smoking cigarettes. When smokers do get diagnosed with the virus, however, they appear to be more likely to get so sick that they need ventilation, two studies in the review showed. Researchers admit that hospitals are probably not recording patients' smoking status properly, potentially because they are too busy, patients are too sick to answer, or because people lie in their answers. But they are struggling to knock down mounting evidence suggesting an apparent protective effect given by cigarettes, which one expert admitted was 'weird'. A review of five early studies on the topic last month made the exact same conclusions - that smokers may avoid serious infection, but their outlook is worse if they do.

Twenty-two of the studies were conducted in China, three in the US, one in South Korea, one in France and one was an international study using mostly UK data. Only three of them split smoking status into three parts - current, former and never smokers. The other 25 only reported current and former smoking status, but there were questions around how many of the rest had never smoked, and how many had missing data. Notwithstanding these uncertainties, compared with national prevalence estimates, recorded current and former smoking rates in the included studies were generally lower than expected. Data from the US suggests that smokers appear to be less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 compared with never smokers.

Rather than this reflecting likelihood of catching the virus in the first place, it is more likely to point to someone's risk of becoming so ill they have to go to hospital. Most of the countries involved in the studies did almost all of their testing in hospitals. But the researchers noted that smokers were more likely to be tested, possibly because their symptoms, like a cough, are more obvious due to their habit. 'We would therefore caution against drawing any conclusion as to whether smokers are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection at this early stage,' the UCL team said. Two high quality studies provided zero evidence that the 657 current or former smokers with the virus were at a higher risk of ending up in hospital. But among 1,370 people hospitalised across two other studies, smokers were 43 per cent more likely to see their disease progress to become severe than those who had never smoked. Three studies reported death rates from COVID-19 but there 'did not appear to be a notable difference' between smokers and non-smokers. However, the studies 'did not explicitly state never smoking status', the authors said.

They implied that patients who died may have smoked in the past, but this was not clearly recorded by a doctor. The authors concluded there is a lack of evidence that meets a high standard to definitely say whether or not smokers are at higher risk of catching the coronavirus, or having poor outcomes.

Commenting on the matter, Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said 'there's something weird going on with smoking and coronavirus'. She told Good Morning Britain: 'We know for decades that smoking is linked to a higher risk of developing respiratory conditions and also people who smoke have poorer outcomes. 'And we've still got around seven million smokers in the UK, [the] leading preventable cause of death. 'However, my colleagues at UCL... what theyve found is there are surprisingly few smokers in those studies whove developed coronavirus. 'In one French study, four times as many non-smokers got the virus and developed COVID-19 compared to smokers. 'There is a potential biological explanation for this.'

Professor Bauld said the way the virus enters the body may be blocked by effects of nicotine - the addictive compound found in tobacco. The coronavirus enters cells inside the body via structures called ACE-2 receptors, which coat the surface of some cells, including in the airways and lungs. The numbers of ACE-2 receptors someone has are thought to vary depending on genetics and some evidence suggests that they are higher in smokers. This could, in theory, put them at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.

However, the virus is known to cause lung damage by depleting the numbers of ACE-2 receptors, so the fact that smoking increases them could reverse the effect and prevent harm to the lungs. On the other hand, other studies show that nicotine reduces the action of the ACE-2 receptor, suggesting smokers are less likely to catch the virus in the first place.

Professor Bauld said, 'It's plausible that smokers are less likely to develop the condition potentially because of nicotine. Importantly in that UCL review where smokers did develop COVID-19, their outcomes are far worse.'

A leading infectious disease expert at University College London, Professor Francois Balloux, has also previously said there is 'bizarrely strong' evidence smoking may be protective.

What did the studies from each country show?

The studies conducted in hospitals in China showed that 3.8 to 17.6 per cent of COVID-19 patients were current smokers and fewer than five per cent were former smokers. However, 2018 data shows more than half the population of the country are current smokers (50.5 per cent of men and 2.1 per cent of women). And almost one in 10 of non-smokers in China are former smokers (8.4 per cent of men and 0.8 per of women).

In the US studies, 1.3 to 27.2 per cent were current smokers, in contrast to a smoking prevalence of 13.8 per cent in 2018. And 2.3 to 30.6 per cent were former smokers, compared with the 20.9 per cent of former smokers across the states.

In the South Korean study, 18.5 per cent were current smokers, which almost matches the smoking prevalence of 19.3 per cent in 2016.

In the included study conducted in France, 7.1 per cent were current smokers, 6.1 per cent of whom were hospitalised. But much higher smoking rates are recorded in the population - 32 per cent.

However the results were different for former smokers, of which there are 31.4 per cent in France. A much higher 59.1 per cent of COVID-19 patients were former smokers.

In the international study with participants predominantly from the UK in a hospital setting, five per cent were current or former smokers.

This compares with a current and former smoking prevalence of 14.4 and 25.8 per cent in England in 2018, 'suggesting a lower than expected proportion of current and former smokers in the included study'. Typically, smokers are at a heightened risk of infection because the tiny hairs inside the airways and lungs, which help move pathogens and mucus away, are often damaged by the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke. In theory, this would put smokers at a disadvantage if they catch coronavirus, considering the disease leaves patients unable to get enough oxygen into the bloodstream due to lung inflammation.

Research has shown smokers do face a greater risk of suffering complications - but others suggested they were less likely to be infected in the first place. That was the finding of the first large review of evidence by a team led by Harvard's Dr Constantine Vardavas, Greece, published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases.

The team reviewed five studies in March and said so far say the proof smoking raises the risk of coronavirus is limited, after finding as little as 1.4 per cent of hospitalised patients were smokers. The group of experts even admitted warnings made by health chiefs were based mainly on assumptions, given the known infection risks of smoking.

A study published earlier this month by scientists in New York and Athens looked at 13 Chinese studies that had registered smoking as a precondition and found that the number of smokers across the whole sample of 5,300 patients was 6.5 per cent. It's an astonishingly small number in country where half of all men still smoke.

Another study, by America's Centers for Disease Control of over 7,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus, found that just 1.3 per cent of them were smokers - against the 14 per cent of all Americans that the CDC says smoke.

The study also found that the smokers stood no greater chance of ending up in hospital or an ICU.

Governments in both the UK and US urge people to stop smoking to protect themselves from the virus as a matter of precaution, while scientists admit there is no clear proof cigarettes can worsen the disease.

Recently, world-famous artist David Hockney wrote a letter to the Daily Mail saying: 'I used to joke that being a smoker in Malibu was the equivalent of being a non-smoker in Pasadena. They used to have very bad pollution there.

'Could it not be that smokers have developed an immune system to this virus? With all these figures coming out, its beginning to look like that to me.'

The British artist, now 82 and living in France, adds 'I'm serious' and has in the past revealed he's smoked for more than 60 years but still considers himself healthy.

Meanwhile, a British NHS doctor claimed today that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was so severely affected by coronavirus because he is 'significantly' overweight.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra said there is a ten-fold risk of death from the disease - which has so far killed more than 20,000 Britons - if patients are obese.

He pointed out that other 'slimmer' members of the Cabinet - like Health Secretary Matt Hancock - recovered much more quickly and were not hospitalised. Other top Government officials and advisers who have recovered from the virus include Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, Chief Adviser Dominic Cummings and Health Minister Nadine Dorries.
Hundreds of tourists remain stranded in the Maldives a month after the countrys government declared a state of emergency and closed its borders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Around 500 visitors are stuck on the islands, with a further 100 camped out at the nations airport on the capital island of Male, tourism minister Ali Waheed told CNN.

We believe they are like locals, he said of the stranded tourists, they are the people who have brought this country to where it is now.

Its why the government has decided to help those who can no longer afford the high price tag of staying at luxury resorts.

It comes after one couple reported being stranded on their honeymoon indefinitely after the travel restrictions were imposed, reports the New York Times.

Recommended How coral reefs are saving the Maldives

Olivia and Raul De Freitas from South Africa arrived at the luxury Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives resort on 22 March, expecting to stay for just six days. But they were still stuck there a week later, uncertain of when they would be able to get a flight home.

Although they were allowed to stay at a heavily discounted rate  the price per night normally starts at $750  the financial toll weighed on the couples minds, as savings for a house deposit had to be dipped in for their ever-lengthening honeymoon.

Everyone says they want to be stuck on a tropical island, until youre actually stuck, Ms De Freitas said at the time. It only sounds good because you know you can leave.

The Maldives currently has 468 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with one death and 17 recoveries to date.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Thursday said that the Centre and the state government should now seriously consider conducting Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) rapid antibody tests on citizens, doctors, health workers and police personnel.

Justice Manish Pitale said the governments should also consider undertaking rapid antibody tests as a matter of surveillance on citizens and residents of hotspot areas so that those infected by Sars-Cov-2 virus are identified and quarantined, thereby helping in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.

The judge said the nationwide lockdown was imposed so as to break the chain and spread of Covid-19 and to ensure that community spread does not take place. It appears that such lockdown was part of the strategy to ensure that Covid-19 does not spread rapidly and exponentially as found in certain countries, said the court.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO, Citizen Forum for Equality, seeking direction to the authorities to conduct RT-PCR tests on doctors and other health workers as well as police personnel attending Covid-19 treatment facilities, and a direction to the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to immediately frame appropriate guidelines for conducting such tests.

Advocate Tushar Mandlekar, who represented the NGO, also urged the court to direct the authorities to undertake rapid antibody tests on the residents of hot-spot areas so that persons infected with Covid-19 could be identified and quarantined at the earliest.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In what could spell bad news to lakhs of Indians working in Oman, the Gulf country has asked all its state-owned companies to fire all expat workers and replace them with Omani nationals.

However, India said that the policy is not a new one and is not targeted at Indians alone.

The policy is decades-old and is not India specific. The Omani government has assured to take care of Indians in the country. The policy does not target Indians, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anruag Srivastava said.

According to estimates, there are around 4.4 lakh, Indian migrant workers, in Oman with some estimates putting the number far higher at 8 lakh. The implementation of the policy is being seen as the intensification of the Omanisation project, which was launched during the former Sultans rule.

The order to fire all expats, was issued by the government of Oman on Wednesday as part of its financial guidelines.

As of now, the order applies only to state-run companies but workers fear that even the private sector may be impacted by it in the future.

As of now, I am not affected by it but it would get chaotic if one day my company asks me to pack my bags and leave suddenly. The order has caused a lot of panic. Some people I know will be affected by it, Mohammed Ibrar, a Salalah-based transport supervisor from Hyderabad, said.

ALSO READ | Social media posts from Arab world on Islamophobia part of 'propaganda': India

The order comes just weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with his Omani counterpart Haitham bin Tariq Al Said during which he was assured that the Indian Diaspora in Oman would be taken care of.

Oman is already grappling with low oil prices and the economic slowdown caused by a coronavirus. It is a comparatively small energy producer and its debt has been rated as junk by major rating agencies.
The government has finalised the criteria for demarcation of different zones after May 3. It has said that all metro zones including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad will be declared as red zones. The Ministry of Health based the list on factors such as number of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: 1,993 cases in 24 hours; highest 1-day spike, lockdown 2.0 ends in 2 days

According to the ministry, a district will be considered a green zone if there have been no new cases for 21 days, instead of the 28 days mandated earlier. As per these rules, there are 130 districts that have been identified as red zones, while 284 have been marked as orange zones and 319 are green zones. The list was prepared during a meeting called by the Cabinet Secretary on Thursday with all Chief Secretaries and Secretaries of the health departments.

Also Read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Will your area fall in 'red zone' post May 3? Check out district-wise full list

The ministry has identified 14 districts in Maharashtra, 11 in Delhi, 12 in Tamil Nadu, 19 in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in West Bengal, nine each in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and eight in Rajasthan as red zones. Twenty districts in Bihar, 36 in Uttar Pradesh, 24 in Tamil Nadu, 19 in Rajasthan, 15 in Punjab, 19 in Madhya Pradesh and 16 in Maharashtra have been identified as orange zones. Meanwhile, 30 districts in Assam, 25 each in Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh, 24 in Madhya Pradesh, 21 in Odisha, 20 in Uttar Pradesh and 10 in Uttarakhand have been declared as green zones.

All of Delhi's districts and Faridabad have been identified as red zones, while Gurugram has been declared an orange zone. Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddha Nagar, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Saharanpur, Meerut, Raibarailley, Aligarh are all red zones, while Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bagpat, Shamli, Prayagraj have been declared orange zones.

The health ministry also said that based on all the feedback and additional analysis at state level, states could declare additional red or orange zones as appropriate. The ministry said that containment zones will also be earmarked in all urban and rural districts. Containment zones will be marked on the basis of residential colonies, mohallas, municipal wards, police station areas and municipal zones and towns in urban districts. In case of rural districts containment zones will be marked on the basis of villages, clusters of villages, and gram panchayats. The ministry also said that a buffer zone around a containment zone will be demarcated. Extensive surveillance for cases will be undertaken in these buffer zones.

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Total COVID-19 cases cross 35,000; Maharashtra past 10,000; check out state-wise tally
In a daring, well-documented nighttime raid, 23 Navy SEALs landed in an al-Qaida compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. They were there to kill or capture the worlds most wanted man. The entire operation lasted only 40 minutes and ended with the death of Osama bin Laden.

Or did it? Thats what the deep state, reptile aliens or any number of conspiracy theory boogeymen would want you to believe, sheeple. The truth is out there.

Pictured: The Truth. And yes, they're still out there. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Martin L. Carey)

Imagine instead believing that the bin Laden raid wasnt a result of years of research, intelligence work and training. Since there were no photos released to the public, some believe the government isnt telling the whole truth about the alleged death of bin Laden in 2011.

The U.S. governments reluctance to release the photos of his body and the immediate burial at sea didnt help quash these theories, either.

You dont have to go far on the Internet to find alternate theories about bin Ladens death. And if this author is mysteriously killed in the coming weeks, you can be sure one of these is true. Definitely.

1. Osama bin Laden died in December 2001

Some say the worlds most wanted terrorist was suffering from Marfan Syndrome, a genetic mutation that affects the proteins keeping the bodys tissue together. bin Laden, according to former State Department official Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, looked like a textbook case of the disorder. His tall frame, long limbs and long face all displayed classic symptoms.

The disease affects one in about 5,000 people and can cause sudden death and there is no definitive DNA test for it. Instead, doctors begin with judging the outward appearance of a suspected Marfanoid person -- someone thin and often lanky, sometimes with spidery fingers and curved spines. Pieczenik claimed CIA doctors had treated OBL for Marfan, and the al-Qaida leader died just months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

A man with Marfan Syndrome. (Merck)

Other claims say he died at the same time, but of renal failure, not Marfan Syndrome.

2. He didnt die -- he got a vacation.

Like all great conspiracy theories, this one is fact mixed with a healthy dose of fiction -- but the facts make it just believable enough to catch on. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the CIA flew Soviet-built weapons from Saudi Arabia to the Afghan Mujahideen during Operation Cyclone.

I don't see how this could possibly go wrong. (Photo by Erwin Lux, used by permission)

The conspiracy theory alleges that bin Laden became a CIA asset at this time. The CIA, partnering with Pakistans Inter-Service Intelligence Agency, worked to build the mythos surrounding Osama bin Laden, so that fanatical terrorists would come to Afghanistan. Funded through the heroin trade, tacitly permitted by Pakistan, the CIA created a means to fight Islamic fundamentalism in one place.

The raid that killed bin Laden the terrorist was allegedly a means to let bin Laden the CIA asset retire. This is a theory backed by the Iranian regime.

3. Pakistan Captured bin Laden in 2006

This one comes from legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. Hersh alleges that Pakistans ISI captured the terrorist in 2006 and used him as leverage to operate in Afghanistan. The ISI then sold bin Laden to the U.S., but forced them to stage the raid that killed him.

According to Hersh, when Navy SEALs arrived in Abbottabad, they were met by an ISI officer who casually walked them to bin Ladens bedroom. The SEALs then riddled him with bullets, tore his body apart, and dispersed them throughout the Hindu Kush, just because.

Hershs sources for this story are both dubious and anonymous.

4. Bin Laden Didnt Even Live In Abbottabad

In the London Telegraph, Abbottabad resident Bashir Qureshi dismissed the idea that bin Laden and his family lived in the area. Though the raid blew out the windows on his house, he still dismissed the idea, saying Nobody believes it. We've never seen any Arabs around here, he was not here."

Pictured: No Arabs. Definitely no Arabs here.

The Pakistani press didnt help. Newspapers in the country allege the raid was set up so U.S. forces would have an excuse to enter Pakistan. Former ISI officials seconded that idea in Western media, noting that someone was killed and removed by the U.S. forces during the raid, but it wasnt bin Laden. The real bin Laden was already dead, they said, and the U.S. knew it  they just didnt know where he died.

5. The U.S. Captured bin Laden Well Before 2011

Another theory promoted by the Iranian regime says that the U.S. captured and held bin Laden for years before finally killing him. Fearful that forcing the worlds most wanted terrorist to face trial in the U.S. could result in a hung jury or worse, an acquittal, the United States decided to execute him and stage his death as an elaborate raid.

This theory alleges that killing Osama bin Laden was a stunt by the Obama Administration in order to secure an election victory -- even though the presidential election was more than a year away at the time.

6. Bin Laden Was Literally Kept on Ice

In keeping with the bin Laden was already dead, the United States just confirmed it line of thinking, this theory states that the United States had either captured bin Laden after the raid on Tora Bora or that he died of renal failure well before 2011. The U.S. then allegedly froze his body in liquid nitrogen to wait for an expedient time to announce the victory.

Science!

The expedient times listed by proponents of this conspiracy include not clashing with the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and knocking an episode of Celebrity Apprentice off the air so President Obama could thumb his nose at Donald Trump.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Having set itself the arbitrary target of 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day, the Government reached it with hours to spare.

What Britains fight against coronavirus has demonstrated is the monolithic approach of Public Health England at the outset of the crisis was a terrible error, which frustrated the medical research community and left Britains leading-edge life sciences companies and research universities out of the loop.

It is in the nature of these things that the scientists and pharma giants chose not to get involved in a shoot-out with government when lives and the health of the nation are at stake.

Laboratory technicians scan test tubes containing samples taken from people tested for the coronavirus at a new facility at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow

Only Nobel prize-winning geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, who is chief executive of the disease research centre, the Francis Crick Institute, chose to lift his head above the parapet with some pointed criticism as the virus raged after lockdown.

Only then was engagement with the great research-based universities Cambridge and Oxford stepped up and did we start to hear more from GlaxoSmithKline and Astrazeneca, the UKs top pharma groups.

The delayed involvement seems extraordinary. AZ is in the midst of opening its 1billion open access medical research centre in Cambridge with huge resources and facilities.

GSK is the world leader in vaccines, has been deeply involved in work in previous global medical scares and creator of groundbreaking vaccines such as Shingrex for shingles and Cervarix for cervical cancer.

Once the resources of our life sciences were released, the firms moved into hyper-drive. AZ and GSK co-operated with Cambridge University labs to ramp up a testing initiative.

Astras chief executive Pascal Soriot revealed the company was collaborating with partners on developing a monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19 which could halt the disease in its tracks, providing a bridge towards a vaccine.

GSK spent 200million on an investment in Vir Biotechnology with the goal of speeding up work on a coronavirus antibody.

In a highly unusual move, chief executive Emma Walmsley signed an accord with rival in vaccine development Sanofi to come up not just with an inoculation programme, but the production capacity to make hundreds of millions of doses.

AZ also put its manufacturing expertise, science and testing capacity behind an early stage Oxford University vaccine contender.

Among the reasons that Germany has had so much better outcomes on testing and preserving life than the UK is that from the very start it involved Swiss pharma giant Roche, with big German facilities, in meeting the challenge.

In the last few days AZ and GSK have unveiled strong financial results for the first quarter in contrast to other suffering sectors of the economy.

The value of life sciences in this pandemic and beyond in the Brexit era has been there for everyone to see.

Indeed, the UKs other health and hygiene giants, notably Reckitt Benckiser, also have risen to the occasion, producing stonking results amid the detritus elsewhere.

The outcomes of the UKs fight against the pandemic might have been much more impressive had the power of university labs and our life sciences behemoths been fully utilised much earlier.

Hot air

Michael OLeary sounding off is such a familiar occurrence that there is a tendency to ignore him. When it comes to his criticism of EU responses to the grounding of airlines due to coronavirus, he does have a point.

His own carrier Ryanair is planning to cut 3,000 jobs and aircraft orders. BA is going for even deeper job cuts and pulling out of Gatwick.

And Richard Branson is finding it hard to get the finance he needs to keep Virgin Atlantic flying.

Yet EU flag carriers have reportedly received up to 26billion of state aid. Similarly, funds have been lavished on US airlines.

Britain staunchly believes in free markets. But simply rolling with the punches and allowing a robustly competitive industry to be destroyed should not happen irrespective of Bransons impenetrable tax arrangements.

Loan champ

Alison Rose has done an excellent job in making sure RBS small business customers are looked after in the age of Covid-19 with 1.6billion of government-backed loans.

First quarter RBS profits were hit by provisions of more than 800million bringing the total loan loss set aside by the five biggest banks to 6.9billion.

The going is tough but at least there is honesty about the headwinds.
Apple users wondering if theyve caught COVID-19 now can ask digital assistant Siri for advice.

The company on Saturday rolled out a self-screening feature that allows users to ask, Hey Siri, do I have the coronavirus? Siri then takes them through a questionnaire prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Public Health Service to determine if theyre exhibiting symptoms of the disease, such as fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath  or if theyve had contact with someone with the virus.

If users indicate their symptoms arent extremely life-threatening, Siri instructs them to stay at home and avoid contact with other people, wash their hands frequently and thoroughly, and maintain social distancing  that is, a separation of six feet between people. If the symptoms persist, theyre advised to contact a physician.

For extreme and life-threatening cases, Siri recommends a call to 911.

The app doesnt delve into the realm of diagnoses.

There are a number of symptoms that could be COVID-19 or something else, explained Seth Martin, MD, MHS, an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The only way to make a real diagnosis is to have testing performed to determine if those symptoms are actually due to COVID-19, he told TechNewsWorld. An app cant do that.

In addition to the questionnaire and advice, Siri provides App Store links to telehealth applications that could include virtual consultations with medical professionals.

Team CDC and Microsoft

Also on Saturday, the CDC announced its Coronavirus Self-Checker, which is powered by Microsofts Healthcare Bot service.

The chatbot is designed to screen Americans unsure about seeking medical care for COVID-19. In addition to asking questions based on CDC guidelines, the bot provides links to information and local health department contacts. However, it does not have information about coronavirus testing sites or treatment recommendations, other than to stay at home and take care of yourself  and in severe cases, dial 911.

This is most useful for the worried well,' said Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Those are people who are not sick but concerned that they may be, she told TechNewsWorld. It lets them  if theyre not running a fever, dont have a dry cough, no shortness of breath  release some of their anxiety.

The Healthcare Bot service is designed to address some of the critical needs of frontline responders to the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Hadas Bitran, group manager at Microsoft Healthcare Israel, and Jean Gabarra, general manager at Microsofts Health AI, in an online post.

In particular, the need to screen patients with any number of cold or flu-like symptoms  to determine who has high enough risk factors to need access to limited medical resources and which people may more safely care for themselves at home  is a bottleneck that threatens to overwhelm health systems coping with the crisis, they wrote.

Microsofts Healthcare Bot service uses artificial intelligence to screen patients and free up medical personnel to provide critical care to those who need it, Bitran and Gabarra explained.

The bot, which runs in Microsofts Azure public cloud, can be customized for the needs of individual organizations. In addition to the CDC, healthcare providers using the service include Providence, which serves seven Western states; Novant Health, serving four states in the Southeast; and Virginia Mason Health System, which serves the pacific Northwest.

Watch Your Privacy

Symptom checkers can benefit both the medical system and consumers, noted Michael Arrigo, a HIPAA expert witness with No World Borders.

The tools can gather valuable epidemiology data about an epidemic. However, data collected by a checker needs to be stripped of identifying information so it cant be traced back to individual patients, he cautioned.

For consumers, the checkers can be a convenient way to obtain data for their personal symptom logs, as well as a useful diagnostic for a layperson with limited medical knowledge.

Convenience and education are great benefits of these checkers, Arrigo said.

While potentially beneficial, Arrigo recommended that both Apple and the CDC give consumers more information about the apps before they start using them.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The apps are well-intentioned, but they could have the unintentional consequence of disintermediating the patient from their physician, who is the best source for information, he said.

Because the prevailing opinions are that symptoms can take several days to appear in an infected person, these apps are not too useful at identifying some infected contagious people and could lead to a false sense of security, Arrigo added.

If the intent is to relieve a potentially overwhelmed primary care front line of defense, a big disclosure needs to go up front, stating that a consumer should check their symptoms multiple times because symptoms can take several days to appear, he said. In the interim, you could be unwittingly be exposing others during that incubation period.

Data gathered by the symptom checkers represents personal health records under federal law, which are subject to regulation by the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, noted Arrigo.

The CDC does not share any of the personal information submitted to the Coronavirus Self Checker with Microsoft, reported Nextgov, a publication that covers government and technology. Microsoft provides the bot, but the CDC owns and maintains the checking tool.

Use Common Sense

Some consumers are creating their own symptom checkers based on information theyre gathering online, noted Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C.

Symptom trackers from authoritative sources give consumers a better alternative to the do-it-yourself approach.

Done properly, they can lessen peoples fears, suggest constructive actions people can take, perform at-home triage, and relieve the strain on the health sector, Cannon told TechNewsWorld.

As always, people should only take health advice from sources who know their stuff, like the infectious disease experts at major health systems or government public health agencies, he cautioned.

Like Dr. Seuss said, Do a lot of spitting out the hot air, and be careful what you swallow,' Cannon added.

People should also use common sense, said UTHealths Troisi. If someone in your house has been diagnosed with coronavirus and you start having symptoms, and the symptom checker says you dont need to be tested, it might be a good idea to ignore that advice.
Expedite protective, boosting measures for the economy



It is expected that the Korean economy will bear more of the brunt of the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter, especially with regard to exports. Thus, it was less of a surprise than a spirit-dampener when the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Friday said that exports fell 24.3 percent to $36.9 billion in April year-on-year. With imports down 15.9 percent to $37.9 billion, the country recorded a $950 million trade deficit for the month.



This was Korea's first trade deficit in eight years and three months. More worryingly, the statistics show that outbound shipments to its major trading partners  China, the U.S. and Europe  all fell; with the export of the mainstay semiconductors decreasing 15 percent to $7.1 billion. Shipments of petrochemical products and automobiles took a heftier blow, dropping more than 30 percent.



The economic dire reality posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is now starkly spelled out for the export-dependent Korea Inc.



Preceding indices had forecast that South Korea would not be immune to the pandemic-wrought recession. The first quarter saw a contraction in gross domestic product of 1.4 percent, and forecasts for the second quarter are not good. Everything from consumption, investment and the number of employed has been falling. According to a Statistics Korea's report on industrial activity for March, both the economic coincident indicator  a gauge of current economic conditions  and the economic leading indicator  a barometer of future economic conditions  sank to their lowest since the 2008 financial crisis.



Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in the first meeting of the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters held this week, said that "shock is manifesting in sentiment, the real economy and the job market."



The second such meeting is slated for next week where details are expected on a Korean version of the "New Deal" to maintain employment levels and protect major industries.



We hope that more immediate and directly-felt plans to "create new types of jobs related to digital transformation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the post-coronavirus era" will be devised. Among the exports figures, it was noticeable that the shipment of biotech products was up 29 percent in April year-on-year, as demand for Korean test kits for the novel coronavirus increased.



President Moon Jae-in has called on government officials to act swiftly and decisively.



While we have been moving fast on the quarantine fight against COVID-19, it would be hard to say the same regarding government policy action. The administration has pledged 240 trillion won ($194 billion) to help relieve the economic woes from COVID-19. What is needed now is speedy action coupled with bold deregulation to protect the nation's workforce and shore up key industries.


The Progress People's Party (PPP) is calling for the restoration of the Ghanaian and African economies as Ghana marks May Day to celebrate workers.

In a May Day message signed by its 1st Vice Chairman, William Dowokpor, PPP bemoaned the adverse impact of the coronavirus on Ghana and other African economies.

It says For the first time in modern history, organised labour in Ghana and many nations of the world, would not be holding rallies and parades to celebrate work and workers' rights on this May Day, as a result of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, that has compelled governments to place restrictions on large public gatherings all over the world.

Beyond the immediate effects of restrictions, compulsory wearing of face masks, social distancing, frequent washing of hands, application of alcohol based hand sanitisers among others, are the real medium to long term challenges of re-starting locked down economies and sustaining them to guarantee jobs and livelihoods in emerging economies like Ghana.

According to the statement, the challenges ahead call for a paradigm shift in how our economy is managed and how organised labour may rise up to the challenges of the times as a key stakeholder with their contribution of capable human capital.

In other words, economic management and how labour is organised would never be the same post COVID-19.

To that end, the Progressive People's Party (PPP), while congratulating the labour fronts in Ghana and Africa, deems it necessary to make the wake up call to arms; to kick-start our own delayed industrial and economic revolution now, or remain left behind the rest of the world in the new world economic order, forever.

Ghana's inability to feed and shelter a few thousands of vulnerable citizens beyond three weeks in Greater Accra and Kumasi, our two largest cities during the initial lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, must serve as a reality check for the managers of our economy, according to the statement.

Where is the impact of the social intervention policies that successive administrations claim credit for?

The horrific statistic that, of the estimated 13 million working population of Ghana, just about 1.5 million, approximately 11.5% have access to pension under the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), is a tragedy.

What do successive administrations and current managers of our economy have to say to the estimated 11 million workers in the informal economy who do not have access to social security on a day like this?

President Akufo Addo and his economic management team must work-out the Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG), galloping economic growth, post COVID-19 restart plan, with double digit growth targets attainable through innovation, technology and a truly enabling environment to bring the economy back home with the Ghanaian entrepreneur and worker at the centre of it.

So far, the presidential initiatives such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One-District-One-Factory, Industrial Stimulus Package, Planting for Export and Rural Development, which the President insists are all beginning to bear fruit, and should soon start reducing unemployment and provide opportunities for citizens to work, earn higher incomes and contribute to their pensions., it added.

To bring the economy back home, it stated, the PPP has advised, for use of the state's purchasing power to trigger viable economic activities where there is little or none and scale up productivity in existing growth sectors to meet the employment needs of the country. Contrary to this tried and tested model of economic transformation, we have rather witnessed an unprecedented destruction of Ghana's financial services sector under the guise of cleaning it up.

On this workers' day, our hearts go out in solidarity to the tens of thousands who have lost their jobs, livelihoods and ability to care for their dependents as a result of the ill-motivated collapse of the banking and financial services sector of our economy.

And to the owners of those indigenous enterprises in the sector who provided jobs to our fellow Ghanaians, we say keep the faith, no condition is permanent, restoration is on the way. 

The Ghanaian banking sector must find its way back home to their Ghanaian owners.

Africa: For our continent, this is the time for governments, investors, employers and workers to purposefully work with a sense of urgency towards attainment of the Africa We Want and Agenda 2063, through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) flagship project, headquartered in Accra, Ghana.

The labour movements in Ghana and Africa are at a crucial turning point. Post COVID-19, the global manufacturing capital, China, would never be the same. Western manufacturing concerns are relocating from China, it said.

---Daily Guide
During these unprecedented times, the digital dependence among Indians has grown exponentially. Netizens are utilising their time and going digital to binge watch, read, learn and seek ideas on how they can stay productive indoors. To help brands unravel the mystery of what their target audience is looking into and help them understand the potent implication from search trends, Google India today released its report What is India search for: Insights for Brands Report.

Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director, Google India and Southeast Asia at Google, said, As people are jolted out of their routines and forced to reevaluate decisions that previously required little to no thought, we see dramatic shifts in how people search and what they care about. The report provides early insights on how peoples needs and behaviors might evolve as they seek to regain a sense of balance. Some of the trends are likely temporary, but as people are forced to adopt new behaviors, they may begin to see the value of sticking with them even after the pandemic is over. And one can clearly see a pattern that demonstrates an evolution in behavior that was already taking place and is accelerated by the crisis. We hope these insights will help marketers find the answers to whats important here now and what is here to stay.

The report highlights top five consumer trends and corresponding findings under each of these:

Always-on: Lifeline, not a distraction: Always-on search has become an established habit for Indian consumers. Closure of malls and unavailability of ration delivery has pushed consumers to look for chemists and kirana stores around their geographical locations. Owing to this, near me searches have seen a massive uptick since March 2020. Queries like pharmacy near me (+58%), grocery delivery near me (+550%), ration dukaan (+300%), and vet doctor near me (+60%) have become increasingly common. Another interesting finding was that even in the wake of COVID-19, consumers are looking for the best of whatever they need and business that can help them find it. Best searches, which have consistently seen high growth in India, continue to see a sharp rise despite the current scenario. While 2019 saw a significant jump in queries like best headset (+140%), best/top 2W insurance (+116%), and best mattress (+150%), best searches in 2020 have adjusted to the idea of limited mobility. They include queries like best movies (+35%) on YouTube and Best trading platforms (+45%).

Power to know more: From due diligence to understanding how things work, Indians are coming online to enrich their knowledge base, enhance their skill levels, and seek validation for their purchasing decisions. Consumers are vigorously searching responses to questions like gym at home (+93%), 5 minute recipes (+56%) as well as searches related to advanced skill sets like machine learning (3X) and data science (3X). With a majority of users being homebound, there has also been high growth in queries like learn online (+85%), teach online (+148%), and at-home learning (78%). Queries in health category have recently pivoted toward immunity (+500%). Searches for vitamin C, which grew by 40% in 2019, have surged by over 150% in recent weeks, as have queries for herbs with medicinal properties like  (Giloy) (+380%) and Ayurvedic home remedies like  (Kadha) (+90%).

Optimize, personalize and humanize: Despite the unprecedented scenarios, consumers continue to project that they want multi-moment brands to understand their likes, dislikes, and interests based on their online footprints. In fact, 1 out of every 2 consumers is seeking personalized information from brands by searching for queries like how to homeschool kids and how to WFH. Well, while custom goods seem to have seen a slight dip, personalisation is clearly here to stay.

Tap and Transact: With social distant lifestyle becoming the new normal, cash transactions are taking a backseat. Queries like How to pay electric bill online (+180%) and    (electricity bill check) (+80%) are seeing an uptick. Growth of searches like overnight mutual funds (411%) and mutual funds to invest now (249%) also shows that many consumers are now relying on online resources to take care of their long- and short-term financial goals.
The commander in chief has authorized the activation up to 200 members of the Selected Reserve onto active duty to support counter-narcotic operations in the Western Hemisphere.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday giving Defense Secretary Mark Esper the authority to move some reservists to active duty for up to a year "as he considers necessary."

The hundreds of troops are needed, Trump wrote, "to augment the regular Armed Forces of the United States for a named operational mission, specifically the 'Enhanced Department of Defense Counternarcotic Operation in the Western Hemisphere.'"

Related: Trump: US to Deploy Anti-Drug Navy Ships near Venezuela

The Pentagon, in response, is now activating an Air National Guard unit to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to the operation in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, Army Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell, a Defense Department spokesman, said.

Mitchell did not provide details about where or when the mission is set to take place.

The order stems from requests from the Department of Homeland Security for troops who can conduct ISR missions, Jonathan Rath Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday.

"A determination was made, as it went through the staffing process and operational process through the Pentagon, that the best force for that mission was a National Guard or Reserve unit," he added.

Mitchell and Hoffman confirmed the mission will be capped at 200 troops.

It's a rare move for the president to issue an executive order to activate certain units or personnel. Trump in March gave the Pentagon the authority to recall members of the Selected Reserve or Individual Ready Reserve to active duty to support missions related to the coronavirus pandemic. President Barack Obama signed a similar executive order in 2014 to augment units assisting with missions in West Africa during the Ebola virus outbreak there.

The president, Esper and others announced last month it would be ramping up counternarcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere. Trump said it's necessary "to protect the American people from the deadly scourge of illegal narcotics."

"We're deploying additional Navy destroyers, combat ships, aircraft and helicopters [along with] Coast Guard cutters and Air Force surveillance aircraft, doubling our capabilities in the region," Trump said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Read More: Navy's New Frigate Will Be Based on Italian Ship With 'Officer-Quality' Staterooms
C anada has banned the use and trading of 1,500 assault-style guns.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau cited numerous mass shootings in the country including the killing of 22 people in Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19.

Mr Trudeau has said the government was on the verge of bringing in stricter gun control legislation in March, but halted plans when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Now, more than 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, including the AR-15 and other weapons that have been used in a number of mass shootings in the United States will be illegal to use and trade.

The cabinet order, however, does not forbid owning any of the military-style weapons and their variants.

The Nova Scotia shooting was Canada's worst mass killing / Getty Images

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada, but Mr Trudeau said they are happening more often.

Canadians need more than thoughts and prayers, he added.

He said the order has a two-year amnesty period for current owners, and there will be a compensation programme that will require a bill passed in Parliament.

In the meantime, they can be exported, returned to manufacturers, and transported only to deactivate them or get rid of them.

Nova Scotia, Canada - in pictures 1 /17 Nova Scotia, Canada - in pictures Lunenburg Supplied Peggy's Cove Scott Munn Lunenburg Scott Munn Halifax Supplied Peggy's Cove Supplied Hall's Harbour Nova Scotia Tourism Hall's Harbour Nova Scotia Tourism Halifax Supplied Halifax R. Matina Halifax Supplied Halifax Supplied Halifax Supplied Autumn colours in Nova Scotia

In certain limited circumstances, they can be used for hunting.

You do not need an AR-15 to take down a deer, Mr Trudeau said.

So, effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade, assault weapons in this country.

Mr Trudeau said the weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time.

There is no use, and no place, for such weapons in Canada, he said.

The Prime Minister noted he was nearby in Montreal when a gunman killed 14 women and then turned the weapon on himself at Montreals Ecole Polytechnique college in 1989.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 30, 2020) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") further to the Company's news release of April 3, 2020 where it anticipated a delay in the filing of the financial statements required pursuant to Part 4 of National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Instrument") as a result of the completion by the Company of the recent acquisitions of Tres Ojos Naturals LLC (dba Soldaze), and Lyfted Farms, Inc. in the Fall of 2019, both US corporations, as new subsidiaries of the Issuer.

The Instrument requires that the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019 be filed by March 29, 2020 ("Original Filing Deadline"). The Company and its auditor are in the process of completing the required audit work to complete these audited financial statements and associated MD&A (collectively, the "Required Filings"). The Company expects that the Required Filings will be completed and filed on or before May 14, 2020.

In these circumstances, and considering the anticipated delay in making the Required Filings within the time period mandated by the Instrument, the Company intends to rely upon the temporary blanket relief afforded by Canadian securities regulators to extend the date for the filing of the Required Filings for up to 45 days from the date of the Original Filing Deadline.

The Company is continuing to work diligently and expeditiously with its auditors to file the Annual Filings prior to the deadline of May 14, 2020. The Company continues to also work diligently and expeditiously towards the filing of its interim financial statements for the period ended February 29, 2020 before June 12, 2020. TransCanna's management and other insiders of the Company are subject to a trading black-out policy that reflects the principles in section 9 of National Policy 11-207, Failure to-File Cease Trade Orders and Revocations in Multiple Jurisdictions.

The Company confirms that there have been no material business developments other than those that have been previously disclosed in the Company's news releases and filings.

The Company further announces the issuance of 400,000 options to a consultant of the Company at a price of $0.75 for a period of three years. The stock options are being granted pursuant to the terms of the Company's stock option plan and are subject to regulatory approval.

The Company also announces that it has entered into an agreement for the settlement of $225,000 in debt through the issuance of common shares of the Company (the "Debt Settlements"). Pursuant to the Debt Settlement, the Company will issue a total of 300,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.75 per. All securities will be subject to a four-month hold.

About TransCanna Holdings Inc.

TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California based, Canadian listed, company building Cannabis focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com.

Corporate Communications:

Glenn Little ( Glenn.L@TransCanna.com )

604-349-3011

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55249
Lucknow, May 1 : In a shocking incident, a 26-year-old man hacked to death six members of his family over a property dispute.

The incident took place on Thursday night in the Gudauli village on the outskirts of Lucknow.

The accused, identified as Ajay Singh, reached the police station immediately after he killed his father, mother, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece.

The deceased have been identified as -- Amar Singh, father of the accused, mother Ram Dulari, younger brother Arun Singh, his wife Ram Sakhi and their two children Saurabh, and Sarika.

Joint Commissioner of police (Crime) Nilabja Choudhury said that, prima facie, it appears that accused Ajay Singh is mentally unstable.

The Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujeet Pandey also reached the spot.

Dinesh Singh, DCP (central) said that prima facie it appears that Ajay was upset after a property was handed over to his brother by his father. The accused is being questioned about the motive and reasons behind the murders.

Five bodies were found inside the house while the body of the brother was found lying outside.

"He has no regret about what he has done. He reached the police station with his teenaged son Avinash and surrendered," said Ramesh Singh Rawat, Station House Officer, Banthara.

Both, father and son have been taken into custody.

The local people said they gathered outside the house after hearing screams, but no one dared to enter the house after they saw Ajay Singh with a blood-soaked sickle.

The police officials said that the circumstantial evidence suggested that there had been considerable struggle before the accused killed the family members.

It is noteworthy that on April 25, five members of a family had been found dead inside their house in Etah. The police later said that the daughter-in-law had killed her father-in-law, sister and two children before committing suicide.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the victims of the Gudauli village killings have been sent for post-mortem and further investigations are on.
Late Late Show viewers will get to hear the truly remarkable story behind the Do it for Dan campaign for Ballybrittas baby Dan Donoher on Friday evenings show.

Also read: Longford community spirit to the fore as Clonguish raises over 9,000 for the 'Do it for Dan' campaign

In March of this year, Laois couple Niall and Aisling Donoher launched an online campaign to raise 2 million needed for their one-year-old son, Dan, to receive life-saving treatment only available in the USA.

In just 50 days, and with the support of the kind people of Ireland and the GAA community, they reached their colossal goal of 2 million last Friday.

Evanne Ni Chuilinn, Henry Sheflin, Aidan O'Shea and Kieran Donaghy all played their part in the fundraising efforts and will chat to Ryan about how the GAA community has pulled together during the current crisis.

As Ireland waits to hear the latest on Covid-19 restrictions and developments in the lead up to May 5th, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will also be live in studio for tomorrow evenings show to bring all the very latest developments to viewers regarding the ongoing crisis.

Picture This, the Irish band of the moment, who recently performed at the One World: Together At Home concert, will be in studio to perform a number of songs, as well as discuss their support of the work of children's hospice, The LauraLynn Foundation.

Lenny Abrahamson's onscreen adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel, Normal People, has been garnering rave reviews since hitting screens this week, and actor Paul Mescal will be chatting to Ryan about being catapulted to fame with his portrayal of Conall, as well as those sex scenes.

Ryan will also catch up with Tom Cullen, the little boy who stole hearts with his Nanny Pat on The Late Late Toy Show last November. With children the length and breadth of the country desperately missing their grandparents, Tom too is very much missing seeing his dear grandmother and will talk about how they are keeping in touch.
Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the deceased had stabbed a man at a motel and another who was in a car at the local McDonald's before entering the shopping centre and attacking a further two men and three women. Two officers attempted to subdue him and fired a Taser before he lunged at them with a "very large" knife. "While being confronted by this person who was called upon many times to drop the knife - this is after the series of stabbings that had occurred  one of the officers is believed to have fired several shots," he said. None of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries but five were hospitalised with stab wounds, including two who remain in a serious but stable condition at Hedland Health Campus. One of the victims had been pushing a pram with a child inside who was unharmed.

The incident happened at the South Hedland Square shopping centre. Credit:ABC Pilbara/Susan Standen Witness, Kenlee Kelly, 42, said she was shopping in Coles when she suddenly heard screaming. "The guy was standing there, at first it looked like he was trying to block somebody but then I realised he had a knife and was lunging at police," she said. "You could hear police telling him to drop the knife. "Then I heard a 'bang' and then nothing, and then 'bang, bang'.

"All the Coles staff starting running to shut the roller doors down. "There was a lady standing there who was a nurse and she was shouting: 'Do you need a nurse?' She had a baby and she handed the baby over to Coles staff and went running to help. "It all happened so fast." Ms Kelly, who is nine months pregnant, was treated for shock in hospital shortly afterwards. Commissioner Dawson said there was no indication the attack was politically or ideologically motivated, describing the incident as a tragedy.

The shooting was captured on CCTV and on police body-worn cameras, he said. Homicide detectives have flown to South Hedland via police aircraft and the professional standards division will also investigate. WA Police Union president Harry Arnott said a team had been deployed to assist the two officers, a man and a woman, involved in the incident. "Our information indicates our members acted to protect the community and themselves, and without their intervention this incident would be significantly more tragic for the Hedland community," he said.

Premier Mark McGowan described the incident as "tragic and awful", saying the officers had been responding to a highly dangerous scenario. "All of our thoughts go to those people who have been hurt and all of our thoughts and appreciation go to those police officers," he said. South Hedland Square is the only shopping centre in South Hedland, which is about 15 kilometres from Port Hedland in the state's Pilbara region. Owners Charter Hall confirmed the centre had been closed due to the incident and was now a crime scene. "We are not able to make any further comments at this stage," Rachael Cowper, head of business improvement and marketing retail, said.
Law enforcement officials in Mexico are investigating the murder of a Chinese immigrant in the state of Chihuahua. They ruled out coronavirus racial discrimination as a possible motive for the fatal shooting.

The unidentified perpetrators reportedly shot the immigrant at the head, immediately killing him. According to the state attorney general's office, the immigrant had been living in Mexico for five years. They have yet to release the man's name.



Conflicting reports

An article on a Mexican news site claims the victim was beaten to death, linking his death to discrimination. They also alleged the tragic event that happened last Monday. Local police reportedly received a tip about a lifeless person near te San Diego de Alcala community.

According to the news site, uniformed officers found multiple injuries on the victim. The man also lost his teeth from the beating. They revealed the man to be 30-year-old Wujie Liang.

Chihuahua officials issued a statement denouncing any claims of discrimination or COVID-19 infection fears being the motive for the homicide. They also said they are conducting "a serious and professional" investigation.



Asian Discrimination

Asians living in many parts of the world have experienced racism and discrimination since the health officials first reported the COVID-19 outbreak.

On March 14, a 19-year-old man named Jose Gomez stabbed and cut four Asian-Americans at the Midland Sam's Club. Investigators listed the incident as a hate crime.

According to reports, Gomez came up to the Asian-American family and stabbed them because he thought they were Chinese. He admitted to his crime and said he was afraid they would infect people with the new coronavirus.

Gomez entered the shop in an attempt to kill the family. Zack Owen, an employee, intervened and tried to stop the perpetrator from hurting the family. He continued to fight with Gomez, getting his fingers cut and his leg stabbed during the struggle.

Owen eventually managed to knock the knife away and maintain control of the suspect until local authorities arrived.



Pictures posted on social media showed the father with a large cut on his cheek. His son was also severely cut-the the wound reached from behind his ear all the way across to his eye.

Jose L. Gomez III was charged with three counts of attempted capital murder and a count of aggravated assault. For all four counts, authorities set his bond at $1 million.



COVID-19 Tally

The global pandemic has infected over 3,308,874 people worldwide, with more than 234,000 fatalities. Mexican health officials have reported 19,224 coronavirus cases and 1,859 deaths as of Friday.

As the country prepared for the peak of the virus, health workers are struggling to keep up with the demand as their supply of personal protective equipment quickly dwindles. Many have taken to the streets to protest the lack of necessary items as well as the lack of action from the government. They believe the scarce supply contribute to the accelerating spread of COVID-19.

At least 15 percent of the country's total number of cases involve health care workers. Thousands more are in quarantine with coronavirus symptoms, leading to a severe personnel shortage.



Check out the latest news here:
Leadership may be hard to define, but in times of crisis it is easy to identify. As the pandemic has spread fear, disease and death, national leaders across the globe have been severely tested. Some have fallen short, sometimes dismally, but there are also those leaders who have risen to the moment, demonstrating resolve, courage, empathy, respect for science and elemental decency, and thereby dulling the impact of the disease on their people.

The master class on how to respond belongs to Jacinda Ardern, the 39-year-old prime minister of New Zealand. On March 21, when New Zealand still had only 52 confirmed cases, she told her fellow citizens what guidelines the government would follow in ramping up its response. Her message was clear: These decisions will place the most significant restrictions on New Zealanders movements in modern history. But it is our best chance to slow the virus and to save lives. And it was compassionate: Please be strong, be kind and united against Covid-19.

Ms. Ardern, a liberal, then joined with the conservative prime minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, in shaping a joint effort that has all but eliminated the virus from their island nations.

Other examples of countries where swift and decisive action helped allay the impact of the disease and unite the nation range from South Korea and Taiwan in Asia to Germany, Greece and Iceland in Europe. Women, a minority among the national leaders of the world, emerged among the most effective and reassuring of them.
Nouvelle edition des analyses de la Mauritius Commercial Bank Limited datee du 30 avril 2020 sur les impacts de la pandemie du Coronavirus sur le plan economique mondiale et local.

Les membres de la MCB indique que :-

A number of countries around the world have started to loosen the strict COVID 19 related restrictions that had been imposed on the mobility of people and conduct of activities In general, the lockdown exit plans are scheduled to be implemented in a phased manner, with continued adherence to the advice on staying at home if symptomatic, the maintenance of physical distancing, and a persisting ban, for some time yet, on group gatherings

In Mauritius the process leading towards post confinement, when it happens, will be undertaken in a phased manner. As the situation stands, there are increasingly concordant indications that several economic sectors would take a severe hit from the pandemic, with a return to normal likely to take some time.

 Since the 14th of April, only 10 new positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Mauritius and 90% of cases have now recovered. In this context, the authorities are working on a plan for a phased easing of confinement measures and the curfew in place in the country.

 That being said, it is evident that nationwide economic activity is expected to pick up only gradually, with different sectors switching on at different periods, the more so when making allowance for measures that are likely to remain in place for some time yet, e.g. physical distancing and bans on crowds or concentrations.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Yes, Theyre Open" is a new web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are still open for takeout, delivery or pickup during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday around 3 p.m.

On Thursday, the Advance visited Kotens Caribbean and American Restaurant at 537 Port Richmond Ave. It is open for pickup and delivery from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 1 to 8 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Call 929-364-1273 to place an order.

Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com.

For a full list of restaurants and bars that are still open for takeout, delivery and curbside pickup, click here.

YES, THEYRE OPEN: Kotens Caribbean and American Restaurant is open for delivery and pickup at 537 Port Richmond Ave. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Saturday the restaurant opens at 1 p.m. and is closed Sundays and Mondays. Call 929-364-1273 to place your order. Posted by Staten Island Advance on Thursday, April 30, 2020

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Via Napoli, 2626 Hylan Blvd.

Patrizias of Staten Island, 4255 Amboy Road

Taste of India II, 287 New Dorp Lane

Brioso Ristorante, 174 New Dorp Lane

Bin 5, 1233 Bay St.

Barios, 446 Nome Ave.

Joyces Tavern, 3823 Richmond Ave.

Pier 76, 76 Bay St.

Johns Deli, 173 New Dorp Lane

Mezcals, 20 Bradley Ave.

ONeills, 1614 Forest Ave.

Maxs Es-Ca, 1559 Richmond Road

Harvest Cafe, 694 New Dorp Lane

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 1650 Richmond Ave., 1407 Forest Ave. and 7001 Amboy Road

Kings Arms Diner, 500 Forest Ave.

Giovannis Trattoria, 3800 Richmond Ave.

Reggianos, 7339 Amboy Road

Beso, 11 Schuyler St.

Blue, 1115 Richmond Terr.

In Fine Fettle, 961 Jewett Ave.

West Shore Inn, 3955 Victory Blvd.

Better Gourmet Health Kitchen, 2333 Hylan Blvd., 400 Forest Ave., 4077 Victory Blvd. and 877 Huguenot Ave.

Campania Coal Fired Pizza, 3900 Richmond Ave.

Call It A Wrap, 1198 Forest Ave.

Beans and Leaves, 422 Forest Ave.
Ziply Fiber formally takes over Friday as the local phone and internet provider for more than 100,000 Oregonians who were previously customers of Frontier Communications.

Frontier announced plans to sell its operations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana last year. The $1.4 billion deal took 11 months to conclude.

The buyer, which took the name Ziply in March, is a newly created company run by executives who formerly had senior roles at AT&T, CenturyLink and Wave Broadband. Ziply inherits 350,000 customers from Frontier. The new companys headquarters are in Kirkland, near Seattle.

Frontier had been under great financial pressure amid intense competition and declining demand for its landline phone business. Ziply says it has raised $500 million to fund network improvements across its territory.

Ziply will take over Frontiers high-speed, fiber-optic network in Washington County and eastern Multnomah County. Ziply said its priorities include expanding fiber service to customers in more rural areas.

The company says its residential fiber customers will be able to subscribe to superfast gigabit internet service for $80 a month, with slower tiers of 100 megabits per second and 30 Mbps available for $60 a month and $30 a month, respectively. Thats generally below what rival Comcast charges.

Ziply says it will retain 960 Frontier employees and add 200 more across its four-state service territory. The new company says it will honor existing pricing and service agreements.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The Punjab government on Friday sought technical support and expertise from Israel to effectively manage the coronavirus outbreak in the state, an official spokesperson said.

Punjab coordinated a special webinar with the Embassy of Israel in India, which was focused on the technological advancements behind Israel's COVID-19 outbreak management, he said.

During the webinar, several technological tools were discussed at length, which underscored the need and benefits of an integrated IT tool to not only provide updated information to the citizens, but also assist the state government in effective policy making backed by data and trends.

The spokesperson said this webinar was the latest in a series of continuous engagements between the Punjab and Israel governments to strengthen the state's economy.

Israeli experts have been closely working with the state government to develop a water management plan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Popular social media activist, Reno Omokri has condemned the government in Nigeria for asking private businesses for help in combatting Coronavirus pandemic.

The staunch critic of President Muhammadu Buhari expressed that contrary to the practice in Nigeria, in other countries, the governments are assisting their private sector to survive the COVID-19 lockdown.

He wrote, Other countries are assisting their private sector so they can survive the #COVID19 lockdown. But in Nigeria, government is asking the private sector for contributions so that government can survive the #CoronaVirus lockdown. Who did we? offend?

Also Read: Buharis Enemy Is Not Nigerias Enemy: Omokri Tells Femi Adesina

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There is a lot to unpack this week.

Who would have thought the President of the United States of America, a person in a position that arguably demands a high degree of intelligence regardless of who is in office, would casually talk about injecting disinfectants as a possible means of treating and curing COVID-19.

First and foremost, DO NOT inject or consume disinfectant as a possible means of curing COVID-19. Never thought Id have to write that sentence. I could go on and on about how irresponsible it is to try this and I thought it was safe to assume we, as a society, were at a point where doing something like this is universally believed to be a bad idea.

I dont have a medical degree, I have a communications degree from the University of Wyoming. Regardless, I feel comfortable telling people they shouldnt remotely consider injecting or consuming a disinfectant because I know that at very least, it would result in a call to the Poison Control Center.

I assume this information falls under the same categories as sky is blue and water is wet.

Yet, here we are and public relations people who likely make a lot of money have issued statements advising against using disinfectants outside of their intended purposes.

As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route), a spokesperson for Reckitt Benckiser, the company which owns the Lysol brand said in a statement to NBC News.

President Donald Trump has since said he was being sarcastic and the White House has accused the media of taking his comments out of context.

I was asking the question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen, he said Friday.

Which, OK? Taking his statement of being sarcastic at face value, he should have had the professionalism to recognize making a sarcastic comment during a press conference about a global pandemic wasnt a great idea.

However, he hasnt shown that ability in the last three years of his presidency and even his mantra of me good, press bad seems to be wearing thin.

Given hes made similarly dubious claims about a wide variety of topics, I think a lot of people have gotten to a point where they dont pay attention to much of what he says.

My personal theory is hes attempting to be that one person in a movie who comes up with the surprisingly overlooked and simple solution to the threat. Think Jeff Goldblooms character in Independence Day when he gets the idea to infect the invaders computers with a virus after hearing his father say something about being sick or, for a more dated reference, in the 1951 science fiction film The Thing From Another World, the soldiers stuck in a remote Alaskan base trying to survive an alien menace with a physiology similar to a plant cant figure out how to kill it -- until the secretary stationed at the base starts talking about methods of cooking vegetables.

We are in some unprecedented times and Im not just referring to the pandemic. If theres one takeaway from this rant, it would be that its becoming increasingly difficult to see whats satire and whats real.

Case in point: The Onion, a satirical news website, published an article titled Man Just Buying One Of Every Cleaning Product In Case Trump Announces Its Coronavirus Cure. It was published March 25. Oddly enough, the article has a dateline indicating it takes place in Evanston, Wyo.
Hes good! Photo: lamornemorris/Soundcloud

Sound the alarm that sounds like one of those old-timey horns you squeeze and they go, aah-oooh-gah! You know, like The Mask. Aah-oooh-gah! Aah-oooh-gah! Now, shut up, unfunny things, because a funny thing is being talked about. Lamorne Morris, who is best known for playing Winston Bishop on New Girl, has released an album of comedy rap called Lamorning After Pill. I had no idea that Lamorne rapped. But dont be like me! I want you to learn from my mistakes, so know that he raps.

The album is out today. I have only listened to two songs  Common Hates Oprah, which features Common, and Garys House, which features Andy Samberg and Nick Wells  and I was like This is so funny, but, let me, a generous spirit, wait to listen to the rest and first tell others. Here we are. I dont know what the weather is like where youre at, but I think it would be nice to put it on and go for a little walk and have passersby wonder both Whys that person laughing behind that mask? and I bet it sounds funny when Bane laughs. Well, Im going to do that now. Walk and listen. Have a good weekend. Love you. Ya gotta laugh!
The United States is hopeful that the UN Security Council will renew the arms embargo on Iran that is set to expire in October, said top State Department official on April 30. During a press briefing, Brian Hook, Special Representative to Iran, said that the US can not let the arms embargo to expire, adding there is a lot of policy precedent to support renewing the embargo.

It was a mistake to ever put this in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). And we have drafted a resolution, said Hook in a statement.

The top US diplomat asserted that it is quite easy to renew the arms embargo since there is a policy precedent and it has been voted on unanimously in the past. However, Hook emphasised that the United States is prepared to use every diplomatic option available if the efforts through Security Council do not come to fruition.

Read: Iranian Scientist Tests Positive For Coronavirus Inside US Jail

Referring to the history of Iranian exports, Hook said that Tehran has provided advanced, state-of-the-art ballistic missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen which terrorise Saudi Arabia and UAE. He added that the rebels have got anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, naval mines, and explosive boats because of Iran.

Read: US Grants Iraq Another Month's Waiver For Iran Gas Imports

Russia and China

In order to get the Security Council resolution adopted, the US would need nine votes in favour and no vetoes from permanent members including Russia and China. While there are apprehensions regarding Iranian allies like Russia and China to allow the embargo extension, Hook said that the US administration is hopeful.

Russia and China have great equities in a peaceful and stable Middle East, and Irans sectarian violence and its export of weapons is the principal driver of instability in the Middle East today, the diplomat added.

On the possibilities of snapback, Hook said that there is a desire to try to jump right over their diplomatic efforts but their focus is on engaging in thoughtful and measured diplomacy with all the relevant parties to successfully negotiate a renewal of the UN arms embargo.

Read: Iran: Over 700 People Die After Drinking Methanol To Cure Coronavirus

Read: Iran To Reopen Mosques In 'coronavirus-free' Areas, Introduces Colour-coding Method
He travelled over 3,000 km to



bring his friends body from Chennai to Mizoram, and now he has donated the money he received as reward to the Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-three-year-old Raphael AVL Malchhanhima, a native of Hmawngbu village in Mizorams southernmost Lawngtlai district, on Thursday donated Rs 5,000 to the CMRF.

Mizoram Chief minister Zoramthanga hailed the youth as a hero for his noble deeds.

"Faith in humanity just got restored again! After his selfless and heroic act of accompanying the mortal remain of his friend for more than 3000 km, Raphael AVL Malchhanhima donated Rs 5000 to the CM Relief Fund from a Govt. designated Quarantine Centre," he tweeted.

Malchhanhima said he had contributed in his own small way as he was aware of the hardship being faced by the people of his state.

"I know my state is currently grappling with the crisis that has caused people immense hardship. I am a man of limited means and there is very little that I can do for my state. I have donated Rs 5,000 for the war against the coronavirus," Malchhanhima told PTI.

After completing his formal education up to class 10, he works at a Chennai hotel to supplement the familys income.

His father is a missionary under Mizoram synod of the Presbyterian Church of India.

Malchhanhima is currently quarantined at a state facility in Aizawl.

"I am spending good time here. The government is providing us all it can. I am happy with the care it is giving us," he said.

He urged others to also contribute to the CMRF, no matter how small the amount is.

Malchhanhima had brought home the mortal remains of his close friend Vivian Lalremsanga (28), who died of cardiac arrest in Chennai, along with two Samaritans--Jeyantjiran and Chinnathambi-- the ambulance drivers, after a back-breaking four-day journey.

Kima Ralte, a delivery boy, also won praise from the chief minister for donating Rs 100 from his savings to the CMRF to fight the pandemic.

"When it comes to questioning the love you have for your state; Kima Ralte comes second to none," Zoramthaga hailed Ralte in a tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Haryana government has sealed the Delhi-Gurgaon border to restrict entry of people from outside the district. The new restrictions come two days ahead of the lifting of the nationwide lockdown. The border has been closed from 10am on Friday and will remain shut till further orders. The restriction will be reviewed on a periodic basis.

All border check posts and police nakas will undertake the strict restrictions. These checks at the Delhi-Gurgaon (Gurugram) border will be done under the supervision of a magistrate and under continuous video surveillance.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Maharashtra 1st state with COVID-19 cases at 10,498; lockdown extension likely

The Haryana government has only allowed essential services and goods as well as some government officials to cross the Delhi-Gurgaon (Gurugram) border. Officers from Ministry of Home, Finance, Defence, and Department of Post, Disaster Management, National Informatics Centre, FCI will be exempted.

People with restricted movement passes authorised by officers of Centre or Haryana government, ambulances, vegetable and milk supply, LPG/oil tankers, ATM cash vans and such similar essential goods and services have been exempted from the restriction.

"Purely transit logistics movement of essential/non-essential items on Nation Highways or State Highways for cargo/raw material/finished goods, however, such vehicles shall not be allowed to halt in the territory of Gurugram district," adds the order.

Delhi: Vehicles make a queue at Delhi-Gurugram border. Cross border transit into Gurugram will be prohibited from 10 am today. Only vehicles involved in the movement of essential goods & services and certain government offices are exempted. pic.twitter.com/0MPyzAOsTI - ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

The Haryana government has also asked Gurgaon (Gurugram) residents who are working in Delhi to ask their employers for temporary accommodation in order to avoid cross-border transit. The order said that if Delhi-Gurgaon border movement is unavoidable then the travellers must download the Aarogya Setu app and must undergo thermal and symptomatic screening at the border before entering the city.

The government has also added that any violation of the restriction at the Delhi-Gurgaon (Gurugram) border will invite criminal proceedings under relevant sections of Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Indian Penal Code. These restrictions have been put in place after 46 people in Sonipat, Faridabad and Jhajjar who were tested positive were traced back to Delhi.

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Govt identifies Delhi, Mumbai, all metros as red zones post May 3

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Total COVID-19 cases cross 35,000; Maharashtra past 10,000; check out state-wise tally

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic.
Christians in India are suffering throughout the pandemic. India's 1.3 billion citizens have a couple of hours to prepare for the lockdown that has become one of the largest and strictest in the world. Compared to churches in urban areas, the rural and suburban areas which are often larger churches in number are losing resources and connectivity. However, the urban churches are able to worship through live streaming amidst the pandemic.

According to Open Door, Christians in rural areas face more opposition than ever from their communities because of their faith. Reports have surfaced of our brothers and sisters being falsely accused, threatened, and attacked.

"The pandemic has not stopped the growing persecution against the Christians,"

"There are many Christians in India who are able to use online streaming of worship, sermons, and prayers, but the majority of the Christians in the rural areas are facing threats and persecution amid the lockdown."

"We are receiving news of persecution incidents from many areas, even in this situation where people have been ordered to stay inside their homes. In fact, we believe that during this phase of lockdown, Christians are suffering even more than before, since most of them have to now combat economic problems as well as the opposition and hatred from the community."

Christians in India tend to have less access to healthcare, medicines, and community services. There are many incidents where Christians are getting persecuted from worshiping God and they are in need of urgent help.

"In one incident, a Christian brother named Shyam and his family face constant opposition from his village. The villagers hurl hatred and abusive taunts since Shyam and his family have refused to take the Ayurveda medicine-a type of alternative Hindu medicine-made by the villagers and a shaman in the area. The rumor is the medicine will keep the people safe from coronavirus and is being used by everyone else in the village. Anyone who won't take the medicine is assumed to be infected with COVID-19. Since Shyam and his family haven't taken the homeopathic remedy, they've been accused of secretly having coronavirus."

"A lady named Kavita shares she faces severe abuse from her husband when she tries to read the Bible or pray in the house; she used to spend time secretly praying in the fields where she worked. With the lockdown in effect, it has become challenging for her to spend time in prayer. India needs more prayers than ever during this time."

In the meantime, Open Doors ask Christians all around the world to join them in a prayer for our brothers and sisters in India. The prayer is that:

-God will protect His people

-God will ease the sickness and death from coronavirus in India and around the world

-Christians will be able to be salt and light, even in a very hard time and in places where they are persecuted

-Believers will have opportunities to pray and read the Bible without being harassed or abused

-God will provide for His people who are starving and in need of financial help
US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed the United States has held its coronavirus fatality rate "far below" other hard-hit other countries such as Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.

The reported US death toll on Wednesday crept past 60,000, a figure that Trump in recent weeks had suggested might be the total death count.

He had cited the estimate as a sign of relative success after the White House previously warned the US could suffer 100,000 to 240,000 deaths.

Dr. Deborah Birx, Coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, on March 29 revealed models projecting the deaths of 100,00-240,000 Americans, assuming social distancing efforts were ongoing.

At the same time, she said epidemiology models initially had predicted a worst-case scenario of 1.5 million to 2.2 million U.S. deaths without mitigation efforts such as social distancing, hand-washing and staying home as much as possible.

The White House continued a recent pattern Thursday of not having an official coronavirus task force briefing but the president used other scheduled appearances to take questions about his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump didn't commit to wearing a face mask on his upcoming Arizona trip.

"I'd have no problem wearing a mask", he said.

Vice President Mike Pence donned a face covering while touring a General Motors/Ventec ventilator production facility in Indiana Thursday.

Two days earlier had come under fire for failing to wear one at the Mayo Clinic.
Amber Lukunic (pictured), 44, was busted speeding in South Sydney in March and was found to be drink driving on a suspended licence with her three-year-old son in the car

A mother has admitted to being nine times over the alcohol limit while driving with a suspended license and her three-year-old son in the car.

Amber Lukunic, 44, was caught speeding at 100km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Princes Highway in Waterfall, south Sydney in March.

The Wollongong mum had a blood alcohol level of 0.182 which was nine times the 0.02 limit for already suspended drivers, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Lukunic had lost her licence for three months in February after she committed a low-range drink driving offence in Wollongong.

The 44-year-old plead guilty to high range drink driving and driving while suspended and will be sentenced at Sutherland Local Court on May 28.

Family and Community Services were also notified that Lukunic's three-year-old son was in the backseat.

Lukunic was previously employed as a landscape design team leader at Wisdom Homes in Gregory Hills and has also worked as a project manager for Lend Lease and the City of Parramatta Council.

The 44-year-old told police she had driven to pick her three-year-old son up from child care and was on her way home.

'Her reason for driving was that there was no-one else than could collect her child,' agreed police facts stated.

Lukunic was taken to Sutherland police station for a breath analysis where police observed she was 'well-affected' by alcohol.

The agreed police facts stated: 'She had a strong smell of intoxicating liquor on her breath, she had watery, glazed eyes, her speech was slurred, and she was unsteady on her feet as she carried her son into the police station.'

Lukunic also has a string of prior traffic offences involving school zones and intersections.

She was caught speeding in school zones three times in July 2015, August 2015 and March 2018.

Lukunic has also been fined for not stopping at a red arrow in August 2016.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

For weeks now, the Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Randall Dobayou has been running amok with brazen ignorance of the workings of the EPA in his handling of the affairs of the Agency that caused the entity losses and cash landing in his pocket. The recent fine imposed on York Trading Incorporated for over four(4) years of illegally importing hazardous chemicals in Liberia and failing to comply with the Agencys requirements is a classic case. Dobayou clandestinely connived with York Trading Incorporation to pay the government a US$1,400.00 fine for importing hazardous chemicals into Liberia instead of an amount between US$10,000 and US$50,000.00. He has argued that the decision emanated from a technical report recommendation that flout the Environmental Protection Management Law (EPML).

During his Wednesday, April 29, 2020 appearance on Spoon FM, the Deputy Executive Director alluded that York Trading Incorporation has fully submitted the required Environmental Management Plan report, and fulfilled the Environmental Social Impacts Assessment Process (ESIA), which is a statutory requirement prior to the EPAs approval of York Trading Incorporated request to import chemical.

According to him, this is one of the reasons he authorized the released of the confiscated container under siege. Contrary to these assertions, investigation has uncovered that the Deputy EPA official whose heralded credential is a doctored letter of attestation touted to be from the African Methodist Episcopal University disregarded the entire ESIA process of the EPA in pursuit of his personal financial benefits.

Evidence swarms following a thorough investigation that the following missteps were encouraged in contravention of the ESIA Procedural Guideline of 2017: no evidence of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) report being submitted to the Agency by York Trading Incorporated; absence of the nomination letter of the proponent for the conduct of the report; no evidence of the acknowledgement of the report and permit processing payment request letter to the proponent; no evidence of the payment of the permit processing fees by York Trading Incorporated; no evidence of the Date of review of the EMP and name of technical staff who participated in the review process; no evidence of the email for circulation of the EMP for review by technical staff of the EPA; no evidence through email exchange of inputs solicited from reviewers of the EMP.

Environmental experts following the trial of the Deputy Executive Directors outburst in the media have indicated that granted that a technical committee recommended US$1,400.00. As environmentally savvy as Dobayou claims to be and heralding integrity mask, why wouldnt he reference the law governing the situation? Is this the same man who is claiming to be cleaning up a messy situation?, one expert who begged not to be named intoned.

It is often said that he that comes with equity must come with clean hands! How dare could the EPA deputy boss, Mr. Randall Dobayou exploit the process that is meant to be jealously protected and uphold? What would have induced such a rapid authorization without according the required due diligence to York Trading Inc? Why did the Acting Executive Director, Mr. Dobayou compromised and exploited the Agency process? These are questions that havent been answer up to date.

Such a gross violation induced by bribery and smearing corruption resonating under the signature of the unsophisticated Dobayou, a non- technical colorful boy who currently runs the daily affairs of such an integrity and scientific institution is not just an embarrassment to the Country but also a great disappointment to the professional dogma.

While the blood of the governments coffers is spilling on his hands, Dobayou is grasping on straws to tell the public how he got his letter of attestation and transcript from a university that expelled him for unruly behavior since 2013.

In a letter he posted on his personal Facebook page dated July 12, 2013 and allegedly from the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dobayou claimed that he completed all his courses at AMEU and was prepared for graduation before his expulsion. Dobayou indicated that he was secretary of the souvenir committee of the graduating class.

But the Assistant Registrar for Record at AMEU, Mr. Benjamin G. Everett said the Deputy Executive Director of the EPA lied that he was cleared in 2013 for graduation. He just completed his outstanding courses in 2019/2020 semester. He does not have a degree and he has not been processed for graduation, Mr. Everett.

The Assistant Registrar for Record fell short of saying how Dobayou was accepted into the school to complete his courses after being expelled in 2013.

The African Methodist Episcopal University has promised to officially respond to the situation soon. Investigation continues.
Charleston-based Refuel convenience store chain now owns 48 similar shops under another brand in Arkansas and Mississippi.

The company recently closed on the purchase of the Indianola, Miss.-based Double Quick-branded stores and quick-service restaurants, two months after first announcing a deal was in the works. Terms were not disclosed.

The stores, 41 in Mississippi and seven in Arkansas, will remain under the Double Quick brand.

"It's a very strong brand in the Mississippi Delta," Refuel Operating Co. CEO Mark Jordan of Sullivan's Island said.

Double Quick first opened in 1983 in Greenville, Miss., and grew over the years under the helm of business partners Tom Gresham and Bill McPherson.

In addition to four dozen stores, Double Quick operates five stand-alone, quick-service restaurants and offers proprietary food service or branded quick-service-restaurant concepts at 34 of the locations.

Double Quick's proprietary food offerings are known as Hot N' Crispy Chicken & Seafood, while its restaurant partnerships include Church's Chicken and Krystal.

Independent investment bank Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. of Richmond, Va., and Baltimore, Md., advised Double Quick's owners on the sale.

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Jordan said the company will continue to look for other expansion opportunities across the Southeast.

The latest acquisition boosts Refuel's store count to 83.

Last year, Refuel acquired more than two dozen shops operating under the The Markette and West Oil labels in the Pee Dee region from Hartsville-based West Oil Inc. It also purchased two Turtle Market-branded existing stores or two others in the works in the Myrtle Beach area earlier this year.

In addition, Refuel continues to expand, with a dozen new locations in the development pipeline in eastern South Carolina.

In the Charleston area, they include new stores near Point Hope Commons Shopping Center in Cainhoy Plantation off Clements Ferry Road, Brighton Park Boulevard in Nexton near Summerville, Carnes Crossroads in Goose Creek and on Middle Street on Sullivans Island.

Two others are in the works for undisclosed locations in Mount Pleasant and Summerville. The brand also is expanding into Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head.

Through the backing of Texas-based private equity fund First Reserve, Refuel, which operated five stores in early 2019, could surpass 100 stores by the end of 2020 through further acquisitions, Jordan said.
The number of children having to rely on food banks has more than doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, as charities warn the UK is sweeping into an economic crisis and ministers face calls for emergency measures to ensure families dont go hungry.

Though the government has introduced a voucher system for pupils eligible for free school meals in an effort to stop them going hungry, there are still parents who say their children have gone some nights eating just toast or even skipped meals.

New figures published by the Trussell Trust, the UKs largest network of food banks, showed there was an 81 per cent increase in emergency food parcels given out during the last two weeks of March compared to the same period in 2019  including a 122-per-cent rise in parcels given to children.

Meanwhile, the Independent Food Aid Network reported a 59 per cent rise in need from February to March  an increase 17 times higher than the same period last year. Almost a third of food banks in its network saw rises of 100 per cent or more this March compared to last year, and some recorded an increase of more than 300 per cent.

Food bank managers said loss of income and delays or difficulties accessing benefits were the most common reasons for demand, with many people who have never previously used food banks now reliant on them. The new data shows people struggling with the amount of income they receive from working or benefits as the main reason for the increase in need.

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In the six weeks to 12 April, 1.5 million people applied for the UKs main welfare benefit  universal credit  after about 18 per cent of the workforce had their hours cut or were made redundant due to Covid-19. New applicants are required to wait five weeks for their first payment, leaving many with no income during this time.

The government has also introduced a voucher scheme for poorer pupils in England while schools are closed, but parents and charities said there had been barriers to accessing this, including delays in receiving the 15 weekly tokens and difficulty getting to the supermarkets where they can be used.

A coalition of charities, including the Childrens Society and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, are now calling for a temporary coronavirus emergency income support scheme to ensure people facing financial hardship can access the resources needed to stay afloat.

The Independents Help The Hungry campaign is seeking to raise 10m for The Felix Project so the charity can provide food for NHS staff, the poor and elderly who are unable to afford supplies or remain stuck at home for health reasons.

Charmaine Mitchell, 31, a single mother who lost her job in a chip shop because of the pandemic, said she was struggling to her feed children  aged 12, seven, and six  proper meals, to the point where sometimes they only had plain toast for dinner.

The family, who have lived in a hostel since last March after they were evicted from their private rented accommodation in Londons Shepherds Bush, are now relying on their local Trussell Trust food bank, which delivers a food parcel to them once a week.

I feel like I cant provide for my children properly. Some nights we only have tinned spaghetti or beans on toast. My son wont eat spaghetti or beans so he just has to have plain toast, Ms Mitchell told The Independent. When they were in school theyd get breakfast and theyd get lunch, theyd come home and have dinner and a snack. Now Im struggling to feed them lunch plus dinner.

Ms Mitchells children usually receive free school meals and have received vouchers under the government scheme, but she said it had been difficult to use them as the family is supposed to be shielding because her son suffers from severe asthma.

She added that she also has to buy data for her mobile phone so the children can do their homework remotely as the hostel doesnt have wifi: I get the new data and within days its gone because three kids are trying to do their homework on my phone. Sometimes they cant do their homework, so Ive had to ask the school to send it through the post.

Hannah Worsley, the manager of Norwich Foodbank, said that while the free school meal voucher system was helping some, other families were reporting delays in receiving the vouchers, having to travel long distances to the supermarkets where they can be used, or being unable to go shopping because they are shielding.

Were getting phone calls from parents in tears saying, I dont know where else to turn. Ive never had too use a food bank before, but I promise Ill donate when Im better. People feel they cant have something for free. But thats exactly what were here for, she said.

Ms Worsley said food banks were the only option for many families as parents have lost their jobs and are now waiting to receive their first universal credit payment. She added: I hate to think what would be happening if food banks didnt exist. It would be horrendous. People would be starving.

Luke Pollard, shadow food and rural affairs secretary, urged ministers to expand which shops could accept free school meal vouchers to include those supermarkets most present in our poorest communities, adding: This is now not a crisis of food supply, its a crisis of poverty. People simply do not have enough money to buy the food they need.

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Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, called on the government to introduce emergency measures to ensure people are not swept into poverty during th Covid-19 outbreak.

Like a tidal wave gathering pace, an economic crisis is sweeping towards us  but we dont all have lifeboats. Its not right that this has meant some of us dont have enough money for essentials and are being pushed to food banks, she said.

Sabine Goodwin, the coordinator of the Independent Food Aid Network, added: The solution is not in trying to distribute more food parcels but in providing sufficient income to the huge numbers of people impacted by this crisis and the poverty that preceded it.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: Were committed to supporting all those affected by Covid-19 through these unprecedented times and weve implemented an enormous package of measures to do so, including income protection schemes and mortgage holidays.

For those in most need, weve injected more than 6.5bn into the welfare system, including an increase to universal credit of up to 1,040 a year. No one has to wait five weeks for money as urgent payments are available.

A Department for Education spokesperson said more than 35m worth of voucher codes had been redeemed into supermarket gift cards by schools and families, adding: We continue to encourage schools to work with their suppliers to arrange food parcels or collections for families eligible for free school meals. Where this is not possible, a national scheme was launched for schools to provide supermarket vouchers, which is delivering for thousands of schools.

The Independent is encouraging readers to help groups that are trying to feed the hungry during the crisis  find out how you can help here. Follow this link to donate to our campaign in London, in partnership with the Evening Standard.
Blathnaid Ni Chof- aigh is suing RTE, the Herald has learned.

The Nationwide presenter has initiated personal injury proceedings against the national broadcaster, where she has worked in a variety of roles over the past three decades.

Ni Chofaigh (49) declined to comment on the High Court action, but it is thought to relate to grievances spanning a considerable period.

RTE previously held an internal inquiry following complaints from the presenter that she had been sexually harassed by another staff member in the 1990s.

Summons

It is understood human resources issues raised by Ni Chofaigh more recently have also been the subject of investigation.

The proceedings were initiated on Wednesday, and Ni Chofaigh is being represented by Daniel Spring and Company, a firm of solicitors specialising in employment law and personal injury matters.

It is understood a personal injuries summons has yet to be received by RTE.

Available records indicate the matter has already been considered by the Injuries Board, which exercised its discretion not to arrange for the making of an assessment of damages.

Among other reasons, this can happen in cases where there are particularly complex issues, where the injuries sustained are wholly or in part psychological or where aggravated or exemplary damages are sought.

Contacted yesterday, Ni Chofaigh said: "I can't comment, sorry."

Her legal representatives also declined to discuss the case.

A spokesperson for RTE said it did not comment on legal matters.

In a radio interview several years ago, Ni Chofaigh said she was sex- ually harassed by another staff member after she landed her first job at RTE at the age of 18.

She said this had had a devastating effect on her life.

"Sexual harassment then, nobody understood it," she said on Newstalk.

"I understood it as a feeling, what it made you feel, but I didn't have the words to articulate it.

"I didn't even understand that's what you called it, but somebody trying to undermine you by making you feel dirty and making sexual innuendo.

"That's the only definition I have of it because I've been there.

"I found myself in quite a serious situation with an internal inquiry instigated by myself because of the stuff I had gone through."

The person against whom she made the complaints is now dead.

RTE later confirmed an internal inquiry took place concerning incidents described by Ni Chofaigh.

However, it declined to reveal the outcome or the identity of the alleged perpetrator.

Problems

It is understood other work- related issues have been raised by Ni Chofaigh with RTE management in more recent times.

She joined Nationwide earlier this year as a replacement for Mary Kennedy.

Ni Chofaigh co-presented The Afternoon Show between 2003 and 2009, but left due to health problems.

The mother-of-four was a judge in The All Ireland Talent Show and took part in the reality television show Celebrity Bainisteoir.

She has also worked as an actor, featuring in the Irish language comedy Crisis Eile, in which she played Maeve Kelly Clarke, a transport minister exiled to Brussels as punishment for her many gaffes.
Top Indian actor Rishi Kapoor, a scion of Bollywoods most famous Kapoor family, has died. He was 67 and had leukemia.

Kapoor was hospitalized in Mumbai on Wednesday and died on Thursday, according to a family statement.



He returned to India last September after undergoing treatment in the United States for almost a year. He was hospitalized twice in February.

His father Raj Kapoor and grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor were doyens of Bollywood, the vast Hindi-language film industry based in the western coastal city of Mumbai, The AP recalls.



He received the National Film Award for his debut role as a child artist in his fathers 1970 film Mera Naam Joker. He acted in more than 90 films.
S.F. native plans move after an eviction. Can a new bill keep other...

A long-controversial state law allowing landlords to evict tenants if they take rental units off the market could soon change. For some tenants, its already too late.
Contact tracing has become the default digital solution towards tracking potential coronavirus patients. This technique is now being used all across the world, including India. In India, the governments Aarogya Setu app for contact tracing has already seen 75 million downloads and it has become the most downloaded application on both Googles Play Store and Apples App Store in the country. Now, there is chatter that the government is going to make it mandatory for smartphone manufacturers to not only preload the app but also integrate into the setup process of a new phone. While this wouldnt be much of a technical issue for Android smartphone manufacturers, this presents a massive challenge  technical and moral one for Apple, which exclusively makes products based on iOS. Chances are that the iPhone will be an outlier to any kind of ruling or advisory by government agencies towards the integration of the Aarogya Setu software, which could pit Apple and the Indian government at loggerheads.

On a fundamental level, the Aarogya Setu app is a contact tracing tool. It leverages Bluetooth beacons, which are granted continuous access, so when the phone comes in the Bluetooth range of another smartphone, which also has the app installed, it shares information. In addition to this, this app also adds GPS trails and this means for the app to be effective, both Bluetooth and GPS need to be turned on a device. When the app is installed, it asks basic questions that seek to build a profile of the user. It will ask things about your health, whether youre coughing or not, or you have a history of an illness, apart from asking about your International travel history and willingness to help in case of emergencies. Based on the information that it has gathered from you and on the information it has from users in your vicinity, it will mark you as safe, unsafe or susceptible to COVID19.

Apart from this, it also has some educational content for social distancing, news related to coronavirus in India and also acts as an enabler for e-passes for people who need to move around during the lockdown. So prima-facie this is a good tool. That being said, it will likely face resistance from Apple as this app isnt particularly focussed on user privacy, something Apple takes very seriously. Aarogya Setu is said to be collecting all the user data on a centralised server, which is said to be a privacy no-no and came to head when a security bug in the app exposed user data on YouTube.

Recently, Team Aarogya Setu was made aware that if a user performed a very specific set of actions, YouTube could access the anonymised latitude and longitude of the user, a statement by Aarogya Setu noted.

Apple is known to be so fiendishly inflexible on privacy infractions that in 2016 it even took on the FBI and refused to build a backdoor into its software allowing the agency to access a phone extracted from a dead terrorist in an attack in San Bernardino. Even with the Indian government, Apple was at loggerheads for the integration of TRAIs DND extension on the SMS application in the iPhone OS which at the time it deemed to be a privacy risk.

That being said, Apple and Google who are the custodians and creators of the two major smartphone operating systems (OS)  iOS and Android have also come together and released an initial set of COVID19 exposure notification application programming interfaces (APIs), which are hooks in the OS allowing third-party apps to integrate on a deep level.

Aarogya Setu is an important step in our fight against COVID-19. By leveraging technology, it provides important information. As more and more people use it, its effectiveness will increase. I urge you all to download it.https://t.co/VaiPIjhxM2https://t.co/8Irj6ApmOQ pic.twitter.com/L91vaLlCCq  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 8, 2020

Whats more interesting is the white paper that Apple and Google have released:

Their solution needs to be manually enabled by the user. It includes a privacy focussed identifier that will change every 20 minutes. This will be solely based on Bluetooth technology for the sake of privacy, which means that the use of GPS will not be allowed as Apple and Google are both against the use of location data. Thats going to be divergent from whats being done by the government of India.

Other phones will be listening for these beacons and broadcasting theirs as well. When each phone receives another beacon, it will record and securely store that beacon on the device. Aarogya Setu is recording all the data on a centralised server, which is another divergent path from the solution that Apple and Google have come up with.

Apple and Googles APIs will need to contact tracing app to match the beacons stored locally with lists downloaded from a central server provided by the government and it will only trigger when there is a positive match. The Aarogya Setu app is already uploading data to a unified server.

In its second phase, Apple and Google will provide this technology on an operating system level, but this solution is months away. This will also need a user opt-in for the Bluetooth beacons to listen. More importantly, the fine print says if a contact tracing app like Aarogya Setu isnt installed, the OS will prompt the user to download one. There is no talk of pre-installation or integration on smartphone setup.

More importantly, applications that will get access to these APIs are going to need to adhere to the guidelines outlined by Apple and Google. Apps will receive approval based on a specific set of criteria designed to ensure they are only administered in conjunction with public health authorities, meet our privacy requirements, and protect user data, says the white paper. The design and architecture of the Aarogya Setu app could mean that it may not qualify.

More than Google, Apple could be the outlier

Apple isnt the only manufacturer of iOS-based smartphones, but also the creator of the platform. It is a big business in India crucial for Apples future as India has been earmarked as its next big market. For Google, this isnt a huge issue as its own Pixel-branded smartphones arent very popular in the country. Google didnt even bother to launch its flagship Pixel 4 in India last year. Android also is a more flexible platform from a customisation perspective, which is used by ever smartphone vendor outside of Apple.

Any contact tracing issues in Android will be less of a Google problem, more of a smartphone vendor problem. Smartphone vendors keep modifying Android for their own purposes all the time. Integrating Aarogya Setu in the smartphone setup process wouldnt mean much of a technical roadblock.

Most Android smartphone makers, especially the dominant Chinese ones  Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, OnePlus, Huawei  would also likely bend over backwards as they have huge investments in local manufacturing and retail apart from the fear of the growing anti-China sentiment in the country.

Potentially, a major player like Samsung would also easily come on board as it also uses Android and has deep ties with the Indian government.

Apple will be a different beast altogether. For both the government and Apple, India remains a small market. Apple has limited manufacturing being done with partners and small levels of localisation on iOS, as opposed to Android. Apple prides to market the iPhone as a privacy focussed device.

In fact, a CNBC report claims that this joint effort between Apple and Google was led by stalwarts like Apples VP Bud Tribble, who is known to be a big privacy advocate at the company. Even though this joint effort works for both iOS and Android, the stringent privacy protocols of this system have Apples signature stamped all over it in-line with its privacy philosophy and pro-civil liberties stance.

Apple is known to not preload third-party applications and yield no quarter on third-party integrations on its own platform. Apple, in fact, didnt yield to the issues that were there in the TRAI DND solution. Apples App Store only gave permission to the extension after some back-channeling, which also included improvements to the app.

Privacy advocates like Apar Gupta of the Internet Freedom organisation yield to the fact that there will be some negotiation, which would also mean that the Aarogya Setu app may not be pre-installed on iPhones.

I recognise its going to be tough for iOS with the pre-install  but for that segment, social participation incentives will be designed with penalties. Likely to be made incrementally as mandatory for use public transit etc,  he said in a tweet pointing towards reports of the app being made mandatory for the use of the metro public transport service.

Considering the extraordinary circumstances we are in, some believe Apple will yield to the government. Sanchit Vir Gogia, who is the chief analyst, founder and CEO of Greyhound Research, believes a middle ground will be found between the government and Apple after some negotiations.

Apple will likely allow the government to preload the app (Aarogya Setu) considering the unprecedented situation. It will likely negotiate some assurances with the government so that the app is in alignment with its COVID19 contact exposure APIs, he added.

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He's been referred to as Australia's very own Tiger King, but apart from his surname, Vaughan King doesn't have much in common with Joe Exotic.

Vaughan King on the hunt for Australia's elusive big cats. Credit:Clementine Zawadzki

The Netflix show's star and the former WA boy both have a thing for big cats and, from May 5 when King appears in a new Discovery Channel documentary, both will be on television screens.

That, though, is where any similarity ends.

"Ive only seen two episodes of the show, and it gave me the weirdest nightmares," King said.
New Yorks Pause order, which forced non-essential businesses to close their offices and storefronts, is scheduled to end on May 15. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been discussing his 12-step plan to gradually reopen the state soon after the order lifts.

But is the state ready to reopen at all? Probably not.

On Monday, Cuomo said that the executive order may need to be extended further for other parts of the state with higher COVID-19 infection rates. "We have to learn the lessons, we have to move forward and we have to be smart because if you are not smart, you will see that infection rate go right back to where it was," Cuomo said during a press conference. "We will be right back to where we were 58 days ago, and nobody wants to do that."

Companies will only be able to reopen in regions of the state where hospitalizations and death rates have been in decline for at least two weeks, per the Center of Disease Controls guidelines. The state will then assess the results of the regions reopening before allowing other regions to reopen. On Thursday, the governor also discussed the possibility of lifting some social distancing measurements after May 15, in some upstate regions, with New York City following suit a few weeks later.

Many residents of upstate New York have been aggressively pushing for the state to begin returning back to normal, as upstate has seen considerably fewer infections per capita and has been far less affected than downstate. Despite that eagerness, theres a lot that needs to happen before the state can safely begin to reopen.

New York is seeing a considerable decline in coronavirus hospitalizations and has made it past the virus peak, but it still needs to ramp up its testing abilities, hire contact tracers and figure out a better way to isolate infected individuals. If it pushes ahead and reopens too soon, the state could potentially face a far worse resurgence of the infectious disease in the coming months, according to public health experts.

While the state has made considerable progress gathering more of the supplies it needs to combat the virus, such as masks and tests, it still needs more. Since New Yorks outbreak began, state officials have been calling upon the federal government and President Donald Trump to provide it with the funding it needs to purchase and manufacture the supplies it needs. Last week, Trump agreed to help the state obtain the supplies it needs to increase its testing capacity but even the agreed-upon goal of 40,000 tests per day is far below expert estimates of how many tests would be needed to safely reopen.

The federal governments latest COVID-19 stimulus bill contains $25 billion for states nationwide to obtain tests, but some say that is not close to enough funding. And on Tuesday, Trump threatened to withhold future funding from all states with sanctuary cities, unless they agree to comply with federal immigration policies and hand residents over to ICE, making the states ability to expect much needed funds more precarious. Testing wont work if its impossible to get. Testing wont work if its too hard to get, Cuomo said on Tuesday.

The states ability to ramp up its testing capabilities will dictate its ability to implement an effective contact tracing program that would identify, track and isolate COVID-19 cases. Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and New Zealand have all used widespread testing and comprehensive contact tracing to contain their COVID-19 outbreaks. As a result, they all have seen fewer deaths per capita than the U.S.

Last week, New York announced that it was in the beginning stages of creating a test and trace program with the help of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will be manning the project. On Thursday, Cuomo said that the state would need anywhere between 6,400 and 17,000 contact tracers. That same day, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced that the city will be hiring 1,000 contact tracers immediately, but thats still far below the number needed. And hiring contact tracers will no doubt be a more arduous task than state officials realize. Currently, there are fewer than 2,000 professionally trained contact tracers in the country and it typically takes about a year to train tracers. However, states across the country are working to expedite training to set up expansive contact tracing programs.

Another problem facing the state is its lack of designated quarantine and isolation centers in which to place sick individuals or those who have been exposed to the virus. On Tuesday, Cuomo said that creating isolation centers is a part of its plan to reopen. China did this in February, as its number of coronavirus cases began to climb, creating 20 quarantine centers where it sent its sick to recuperate to prevent further spreading the virus. This significantly helped curtail the virus spread and prevented individuals from infecting whomever they may have been living with.

Even if the state does manage to suppress the virus through social distancing measures and minimal testing, its likely the virus will return with a vengeance this fall, according to The Atlantic. In 1918, the U.S. assumed that its influenza pandemic had ended in the spring but it returned in the winter and the spring of 1919, causing far more damage than it had initially. The only way the virus will ever be completely eradicated or controlled, is if a vaccine or more dramatically effective treatments, such as antiviral drugs or immune system fortifying treatments become available.

While New York may have fumbled in its response to the outbreak initially, it can avoid creating a further strain on its hospitals and residents by preparing for future outbreaks as soon as its able. It can stockpile ventilators, personal protective equipment and testing materials. It can ensure that it has enough hospital beds and intensive care unit beds, so that, when another outbreak occurs, it will be ready. The state has released a few details regarding its plans for future outbreaks that would include creating regional control rooms that would monitor hospital capacities, rates of infection, how much PPE is available and how well businesses have been observing the states COVID-19 safety guidelines. Cuomo said on Tuesday, that if any problems arise the control rooms have an emergency switch that we can throw.

If the hospital system exceeds 70% capacity or rate of transmission of the virus hits 1.1%, those are danger signs, the governor said, noting that the states current rate of transmission is about .08%, meaning that for 10 people infected with the virus, an additional 8 will get it. (If the rate exceeds 1%, then the virus spreads to larger and larger numbers of people, as was the case before the shutdown of all nonessential businesses, schools and so on.)

Neither the city nor the state, however, responded to a request for comment regarding their preparedness for a second wave of infections.
Junior Achievement is providing free online resources to teachers and parents/guardians for kindergarten should be lowercased Kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Programs can be requested at www.jastl.org.

Please share our website link with teachers, parents, friends and on social media. The more the word gets out about these resources, the better JA will be able to support those who can use them the most.
The mayors of Midland and Odessa told residents Thursday during a special virtual press conference that the plan for today isnt much different than the last two weeks.

There will be no 25 percent patrols making spot visits to businesses, making sure they stay under 25 percent of capacity. There will be no heavy-handed government action to push residents toward a specific action. And finally, according to Midland Mayor Patrick Payton and Odessa Mayor David Turner, there will be trust that residents of the two cities will practice the social distancing and best practices of a community that hasnt been dealt with an inordinate amount of coronavirus cases. That trust, they said, isnt necessarily in place elsewhere.

They dont have citizenship like we do that says, Listen, if youre not looking out for my safety, then Im not gonna patronize your business, Payton said. So, were going to do what weve done, and what we have done over the last six weeks has proven effective.

Payton said he expects there will be Midlanders who go to social media to tell officials whos not obeying the rules, so we are able to chase some things down and find some places where people are operating outside of the rules. But were not going to be on patrol up and down the streets, going in and taking headcounts. We just want to look for people especially who are not paying attention to the safety of their customers, as well as our citizens.

Our two cities have proven they dont need us to tell them what to do. They just need us to inform them whats important to do, and theyll usually do the right thing.

The city of Midland reported three new confirmed cases on Thursday, which brings the total during the pandemic to 79. Ector County had 78 confirmed cases and three probable cases, heading into Thursday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Both trail other West Texas counties such as El Paso (887), Lubbock (516), Potter (499), Taylor (291) and Randall (213). Ector and Midland ranked 40th and 42nd in confirmed cases across the state, and according to Turner, it wasnt just the total number of cases, but better ratios of those testing positive compared to the sheer number of tests. Turner said in Odessa one person for every 17 tested was a positive case. In Amarillo, it was one for every six.

Our citizens have been very, very good about watching whats going on, Turner said. And were going to trust them.
In the border city of Ciudad Juarez in the country of Mexico, the local government officials are dropping bleach with water from helicopters. This is the city's attempt to terminate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, some health officials were against the measure, says an article.

On Sunday, it was reported that the mayor of the city, Armando Cavada, had permitted to spray sodium hypochlorite in more than 800 acres of neighborhoods in the border. The logic used with the decision is that it is the same substance used as a sanitizer to disinfect operating rooms. Cavada even claims that sodium hypochlorite cleans "totally well."



Bad Side Effects?

The first spray of sodium hypochlorite was made last week. A resident of the city used social media account on Facebook, to share the possible side effects of the city's new action to battle the further spread of the novel coronavirus. According to the Facebook post, the family members experienced vomiting, coughing, and eye irritation. The local health officials had already expressed their disagreement with the city's new tactic.

According to health officials, there is no scientific proof that supports the effectiveness of spraying at a distance that could help with the COVID-19 crisis. Also, it can gravely affect flora and fauna of the city.

The first spraying was supposed to be continued for a week. It was estimated that the tactic would cost the city $65,000.



Mexico's COVID-19 Cases

Mexico is not the hardest-hit country in the world by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it had already reported 16,700 COVID-19 confirmed cases with at least 1,560 deaths. According to some forecasts, it was estimated that Mexico would see the peak of its COVID-19 cases in the middle of May.



Is Sodium Hypochlorite Effective Against COVID-19?

Sodium hypochlorite is the active ingredient of bleach. It is effective at eliminating the virus, says an article.

In cleaning surfaces with bleach, it is advised to leave them for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping the surface with a piece of cloth.

The bleach is effective at killing the virus because it can destroy its protein, also known as the ribonucleic acid or RNA. The RNA is the substance that provides the blueprints to viruses from replicating when a person contracts the virus.



Check these out:



Other Methods of Destroying the Virus

Significantly, a surgical spirit is made up of alcohol ethanol. Ethanol is best known to eliminate coronavirus in just 30 seconds. Similar to bleach, it works by destroying the protein and RNA of the virus.

Additionally, regularly washing your hands helps remove viruses. Also, cleaning surfaces with soap and water does the same benefit. Soap works by restricting the fats in the shell of the virus and lifts it from surfaces that allow it to be washed away with water.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The Quezon City Police District on Friday requested the transfer of a female detainee to a quarantine facility, after getting word that she tested positive for COVID-19.

She was a "pregnant person under police custody (PUPC)" at the Kamuning Police Station (PS 10), who was arrested for illegal drugs on March 10, according to a press statement of the QCPD.

Before giving birth, she underwent a swab test for COVID-19 at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center on April 18. She was brought back to the station three days later.

The QCPD received the laboratory results from the Lung Center of the Philippines on April 25, which revealed that the detainee contracted the viral disease.

"Wala po siyang symptoms. 'Di po namin alam kung saan niya nakuha ang virus," Police Lieutenant Colonel Johanna Sazon, Chief of the Public Information Office of QCPD, told reporters.

[Translation: She was not exhibiting any symptoms. We don't know where she got the virus.]

Police Lieutenant Colonel Lucio Simangan, Jr., Commander of PS 10, directed the quick response team to isolate the detainee. The local police said they are closely monitoring her condition, as they wait for the approval of her transfer to a separate facility through the District Health Service and District Human Rights Affairs Office.

Sazon disclosed that they are still putting up the isolation site, which is a "pop-up tent."

"Hopefully, today, matapos po," she said.

[Translation: Hopefully, we finish it today.]

QCPD Director Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo has ordered his unit commanders to keep a close watch on all male and female inmates.

Sazon affirmed this in a message to reporters, saying the other inmates may also be tested for the coronavirus infection. She added that they will coordinate with the city health office.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology handles all city, district, provincial, and municipal jails and detention facilities nationwide.
Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, has appealed for an urgent ease of the 14-day total lockdown the federal government imposed...





Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, has appealed for an urgent ease of the 14-day total lockdown the federal government imposed on the state.





Following the rise in COVID-19 cases and the strange deaths in the state, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a total lockdown in Kano which took effect on Monday.





But the governor said it is important to relax the lockdown for a while in order to ease the hardship in the state, especially in the holy month of Ramadan.





Speaking on Thursday at the government house where he inaugurated a panel of experts to support the state task force technical committee, Ganduje said government is expanding treatment centres for COVID-19.

We would engage the presidential task force on COVID-19 to seek permission to relax the total lockdown imposed on Kano, he said.





We are making this appeal on behalf of our people who are presently running out of food items. We would love the federal government to relax the lockdown for a period of time to enable people stock their homes, especially now that majority of us are fasting. It will also ease the economic hardship in the state.





The panel led by Musa Borodo, president of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, was given the responsibility of developing strategy and supporting the state task force on COVID-19 to adopt measures for checking the spread of the virus.





Tijani Hussain, the state coordinator of the task force, put the COVID-19 death toll in Kano at five, saying none of the deceased died at the isolation centre.




New Delhi - In first of the video series started by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said that India has an opportunity in shaping the dialogue in global economy, post pandemic.



"There is opportunity for India, it is in shaping that dialogue. Being more of a leader in that dialogue because it is not one of the two big warring parties. But it is a big enough country to have its voice heard in the global economy," said Rajan.



He said India can find opportunities for its industries, for its supply chains. But most importantly, we can try and mould the dialogue towards one which has greater place for more countries in the global order, a multi-polar global order rather than a single or a bipolar global order," added Rajan.



Howver, Rajan cautioned when Rahul Gandhi asked him if India can take advantage of the situation due to pandemic. Rajan said, "These kinds of incidents rarely have positive effects for any country, in general. There are ways countries can take advantage of. What I think we can say is that there will have to be a rethinking of everything in the global economy once we are out of this."



When Rahul Gandhi asked, "is there crisis of centralisation of power taking place," Rajan replied, "I do believe that decentralisation is important -- both for bringing more local information to work but also about giving empowerment to the people. What you see across the world is a great sense of disempowerment."



"Decisions are being made elsewhere, but not by me. I have a vote but that elects somebody in a far-off place. My local panchayat, State government has less power. They don't feel they can have a voice in anything. So they become prey to different set of forces," Rajan said.



"Social harmony is a public good. Having everyone believe that they are a part of this system, an equal part of the system is essential. We cannot afford to be a house divided. Especially in these times when our challenges are so big." Rajan added.
More widely, deep poverty in Afghanistan, where people depend day to day on wages they earn, has made any strict enforcement of lockdowns impossible. One Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief a reporter, estimated that 80 percent of the population already lived on less than $1.25 a day  just 25 cents more than the poverty line.

There are already widespread food shortages across the country. In Kabul, the government started distributing bread on Wednesday to about 250,000 families through 1,200 bakeries across the city, each family getting between four to 10 loaves once a day, depending on the number in the household.

It is an emergency measure to prevent deaths from hunger, and it will be extended to other cities in coming days. But crowds outside bakeries on the first day of distribution raised concerns that the measure would also fuel the spread of the virus.

In several provinces, medical workers and hospitals are bearing the brunt of the virus.

A hospital in northern Faryab Province, where fighting continues in several districts, may be forced to quarantine the I.C.U. section of its only hospital, said the governor, Naqibullah Faiq. He said it has turned into a source for spreading the virus, after a nurse there tested positive and another patient died of the virus.

In Kandahar, the public health director, Dr. Tawus Naderi, said the main regional hospital, which serves several neighboring provinces, planned to hire 300 new health workers. But until then, with 41 doctors and nurses down with the coronavirus, the mildly ill are helping to care for the seriously ill.

We have admitted the infected health workers to the hospital allocated for Covid-19 and have created a mechanism where healthier patients are serving the more severe patients of Covid-19 to cover the gap, Dr. Naderi said.
A woman living in direct provision is criticising the decision to move her and her children around the country during the coronavirus outbreak.

Precious Moyo was moved from hotels in Dublin to Kerry, then to Cork before being returned to Dublin all in the last month.

The mother-of-two from Zimbabwe says they were placed on crowded buses with others living in direct provision.

Her seven-year-old daughter tested positive for the virus.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Precious says the experience has been traumatic.

"I'm dealing with my own trauma that I'm coming with from my own country and now it's another trauma," she said.

"That cannot go away for me, that my daughter got Covid. In a hotel with kids it's so hard, it's traumatising.

"I don't know why they can't give us facilities whereby we can take care of our kids in a proper way."

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said they do not comment on individual cases but said that "any transfers are undertaken in the best interests of the resident(s) and with full consideration of their individual circumstances."
Island residents with cold or flu symptoms can now be tested for COVID-19 as B.C. health authorities shift their focus to fighting community spread of the virus and identifying and investigating new clusters.

The provinces testing strategy has expanded to include anyone with cold or influenzalike symptoms, however mild, the Island Health authority announced Tuesday.

Island Health, one of five regional health authorities in B.C., covers Vancouver Island, adjacent island communities, such as Quadra and Cortes islands, as well as a section of B.C.s central coast.

Previously, testing in the province was limited to health-care workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities, people who were seriously ill with respiratory symptoms and people who were involved in a cluster of cases.

Quadra Island physician Dr. Stephen Hughes says the expanded testing will help identify new cases and outbreaks locally and provincially.

I think its a good step. Countries that have done well against the virus did widespread testing, but the problem in B.C. previously has been having the resources to do it, said Hughes.

But, hopefully, now well have a clear idea of who has got it in the community.

B.C. has conducted a total of 83,425 tests, for a per capita testing rate of 14,042 per million people, according to figures as of Wednesday afternoon.

That was significantly below the reported national per capita rate of 20,176 per million people.

Within the Island Health region, there have been 12,259 total tests to date, with 433 new tests reported on Wednesday.

The B.C. testing regime has shifted as the pandemic progressed in the province.

In March, during the initial weeks of the crisis, provincial health authorities, in part to conserve limited testing supplies and resources, focused on source transmission by testing travellers returning from countries with known outbreaks.

As community transmission of the virus began, B.C. began prioritizing tests for people at highest risk, such as health-care workers and people with underlying health conditions.

On Wednesday, B.C. health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said testing protocols will continue to change.

I want to reiterate, we are changing and modifying ... based on the circumstances we have in British Columbia and our testing strategy will continue to evolve.

Testing people showing COVID-19 symptoms, even mild signs, will help identify and investigate clusters of the virus in the community, Henry said, citing recent outbreaks at the Mission Institution correctional facility and two Lower Mainland poultry processing plants as examples.

We have taken an approach of having very broad testing in those types of environments to make sure we catch everybody, even people who have very mild or no symptoms at all.

However, Henry stressed widespread testing in general is not a reliable mechanism to understand what is happening in the wider community.

Random testing in the community of anybody with no symptoms is of very little value to us with the current tests that we have, Henry said. In fact, that type of testing leads to both false positives and false negatives.

As such, with the new protocols, people wont be tested unless they demonstrate COVID-19 symptoms similar to the cold or flu, such as chills, sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, pain when swallowing, loss of the sense of smell, headache, muscle aches, fatigue and loss of appetite.

If people dont have any symptoms, they dont need a test, stressed Hughes. Its only for people who are ill.

Individuals who are tested but who get negative results shouldnt think they are immune from having to follow pandemic protocols, said Hughes.

Its not uncommon to get a false negative with a test, he noted.

Im always a bit wary of negative swabs, Hughes said. You cant always rule out infection  if someone has got symptoms with a negative swab, they still need to keep social distance.

Quadra and Cortes residents must get referrals for testing through their doctor, said Hughes, or failing that, contact Island Healths Call Centre at 1-844-901-8442 to be assessed.

People cannot just show up at medical clinics or collections centres to get swabbed without appointments, Hugh stressed.

Testing centres across the Island Health region vary by community. Some are drive-through centres, others are based in trailers or in repurposed buildings.

The nearest Island Health collection centre for Quadra and Cortes island residents is in Campbell River. The centre is in a tent adjacent to the Campbell River Hospital emergency department and is set up as a drive-through operation.

Anyone with symptoms of illness is being asked to put on a mask before entering any Island Health facility for testing.

However, Quadra Island residents have some opportunity to get swabbed at the Quadra Island Medical Clinic, said Hughes.

Patients can call the clinic to discuss symptoms and book a time to get swabbed in their cars on Wednesdays or Thursdays, so the samples can be taken off island Fridays when the laboratory technician visits.

Cortes Island patients also have some access to testing at the Cortes Health Centre. People must phone the clinic first and speak with a doctor before being allocated an appointment for swabbing outside the clinic on Monday or Wednesday afternoons.

Dr. Keith Graham of Harbourside Medical Clinic on Quadra said patients can call the clinic to be evaluated and referred to the Campbell River collection centre.

However, Graham noted that health-care workers or people who work indirectly in health care, in areas like food preparation or cleaning services, can self-refer and book an appointment through the call centre.

People who are referred to a centre for a test will be given necessary instructions at that time.

Public health authorities will follow up with people and their families to conduct contact tracing if a test comes back positive, Hughes said.

With flu season on the wane and overall indications that the COVID-19 curve is being flattened in the province, Hughes doesnt anticipate there will be rush by Quadra residents to get tested.

Hopefully we will see less and less people with symptoms now, he said.

His clinic has only done one or two swabs since the change in testing protocols took effect, Hughes said. And given prior restrictions around testing, and since Quadra has no reported clusters of the virus, only a handful before that, he added.

On Wednesday, B.C. reported 34 new cases of COVID-19, one of which was reported in the Island Health region, for a total 2,087 cases to date.

Of that total, 120 have been in the Island Health region.

Four new COVID-19 deaths were reported, for a total within the province of 109 fatalities. Four of those confirmed deaths have occurred in Island Health.

Of those who tested positive for the virus, 1,305 people have fully recovered, 90 of them within Island Health.

There are currently five people hospitalized in the region due to the virus, but none are reported to be in intensive care.

But the number of tests and the COVID-19 case tally across the province and in the community do not represent the whole picture about the prevalence of the virus, Hughes cautioned.

Those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, he said.

The safest thing is to continue assuming everybody is at risk of catching the virus, but not everybody will be terribly unwell.

Read more about:
January 9, 2018, producer Honey Trehan along with debutant director Hitesh Bhatia reached at the residence of Rishi Kapoor for a script-narration of their upcoming film, Sharmaji Namkeen. The legendry actor is excited on hearing the script, he decides to sign the film.

"I am that youngster who watched, admired and loved Rishiji on-screen. There are several films that I call my favourite, and Chandni' always topped the list. So it was nostalgia and excitement rolled into one when I went to narrate the film and cast him in the project," recalled Honey, one of the producers of the film along with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, while speaking to IANS.

Trehan recalls that Kapoor fell sick within a few days after the start of shooting, and he flew to the US for his treatment.

"We stopped the film and waited for him to come back. He is the DNA of the film and we cannot imagine anyone else to play Sharmaji. They stayed in touch with him and he was so eager to come back and get on to the film set. So naturally, when things started rolling, his energy and high professionalism were driving us," said the producer.

After Kapoor returned to India, shooting was scheduled to resume on January 15, 2020, in Delhi. Unfortunately Kapoor lost his sister Ritu Nanda, and on January 14 had to travel to Delhi to attend to his family amid emotional crisis.

Keeping the situation in mind, the producers decided to reschedule the shooting.

"However Rishiji said, bakwas maat karo, what happened is personal but work is my profession. I am equally responsible for both. The show must go on. This is what my father taught me'. You see, under such circumstances where he lost his sister, he did not forget the high professional value that he learnt from Raj Kapoor saab. Rishi sir knew that the responsibility of the film is on his shoulder as he played the title role of the film. He knew that the unit will suffer if we stop the shooting and there comes his spirit and energy to encourage us saying, the show must go on, mujhe call time bataao'," Trehan recalled.

Remembering the affectionate nature of the legendry actor, he added: "On January 15 in the Delhi winter, our call time was 9 am. When I reached the set around 8:45 am, I find him ready -- not even sitting in his vanity but standing there, on the set! He smiled at me saying, Tu T-shirt pehna hai, thand nehi lagti? Jacket kyun nahin pehna?' That's Rishi Kapoor for you. Loving, affectionate towards everyone around him."

Sharmaji Namkeen also features Juhi Chawla.

Does he feel the pressure of the fact that this will be counted as Rishi Kapoor's last film? "A film with Rishi Kapoor is always special. But this one is sadly' special, and this is not why a film should be special. Hitesh and I are really not in the frame of mind to think about how we will finish the film. We need time. We are sad, deeply sad" Honey signed off.
The United States has praised Germany for banning Hezbollah after German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer prohibited the Islamist group's activities on its soil. Germany on April 30 announced that it is banning the Lebanon-based militant group from operating on its soil before conducting raids on four mosque associations in different cities. US Envoy to Germany, Richard Grenell, welcomed the move and lauded Berlin for recognising Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. Richard Grenell also called on other European nations to follow the footsteps of Germany and urged them to take similar action.

Read: German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer Prohibits Hezbollah Activities

According to reports, most European nations have banned just the military wing of the group while allowing its powerful political wing to operate. Germany decided to change its stance on Thursday as a spokesperson for the interior ministry tweeted that Seehofer has prohibited the operation of the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah (Party of God) in Germany today and police measures have been taking place in several federal states. Germany had earlier banned Hezbollah-linked fundraising organisation they say had raised millions of dollars for the militant group.

Read: Germany Contemplating Further Ease In Restrictions, May Allow Museums, Zoos To Reopen

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas took to Twitter to explain his country's decision to ban the Islamist group. Maas in his tweet wrote that Hezbollah denies Israel's right to exist, threatening with terror attacks, hence, "It is important that Germany exhausts the means of the rule of law to take action against criminal and terrorist activities of Hezbollah." Benny Grantz, leader of the Blue and White party and to-be defence minister in the upcoming government, welcomed Germany's move to declare Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. "This is a significant step in the global fight against terrorism," Grantz tweeted.

Read: Kim Jong Un's Sudden Disappearance Brings Spotlight To North Korea

Hezbollah

According to reports, the group is considered a terrorist organisation by countries such as the United States, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Colombia, Venezuela, the Arab League, among others. It is alleged that Hezbollah works as a proxy for Iran in the ongoing IranIsrael proxy conflict. The group was founded in 1985 and its leaders were followers of Ayatollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hezbollah is credited in its home country for driving out the Israeli forces from the south in early 2000. To bring into perspective the influence that Hezbollah enjoys in Lebanon would be the simple fact that its paramilitary wing is considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army.

Read: Mike Pompeo Warns North Korea At Risk Of Facing Famine, Says No Sight Of Kim Jong Un

(Image Credit: AP)
100 years ago

Prepare for debunking

Albany City Judge Daniel H. Prior, a leading member of the Holy Cross College family, announced that on a future date, the Rev. C.S. de Heredia, a Jesuit professor at Holy Cross, would visit the city to perform some of the best-known spiritualist tricks and explain their workings to prove that they were "fakes." Father de Heredia was famous throughout New England for his lectures and demonstrations debunking those who claimed to communicate with the dead. At one such lecture in New York City, he held a mock seance for 500 people, complete with levitating tables, a series of "knocks" allegedly from the "astral world" and spirit photographs.

 Times Union, May 1, 1920

50 years ago

Split opinion on Cambodia action

Reps. Daniel E. Button and Samuel S. Stratton were poles apart in their reactions to President Nixon's nationwide address on the Cambodia situation announcing he was sending combat troops and B-52 bombers to crush the Communist high command in Cambodia. Button stood by his earlier position to U.S. involvement in Cambodia and said he didn't think "the American people would go along with prolonging rather than shortening our Southeast Asia involvement." Stratton said Nixon "had made it clear that his decision to move into the Cambodian sanctuary was an integral part of ending the Vietnam War" and that he would "support the president and support our brave men in the field."

 Times Union, May 1, 1970

Looking Back is compiled by C.J. Lais and Azra Haqqie.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has responded to criticism after the country sent flowers to the UK's National Health Service workers.



The president said the move was strategic as the UK is a huge market for Kenya's flowers.



"They say friends remember each other during trouble," he added.



President Kenyatta said there was life after coronavirus and when a British health worker goes to buy flowers they will want those from Kenya as it was the country that recognised their efforts during pandemic.



Some Kenyans online had accused the government of "misplaced priorities" for sending the UK flowers during the pandemic.



"Our president sent flowers to UK, while in his own country there no beds for this poor Kenyan in quarantine," Dr Mutwiri Wilson tweeted.



"Flowers to European nurses as Kenyan nurses threaten to strike due to lack of PPE," Yawa Jomoko wrote.



"The levels of hypocrisy in this country! Look at this now. Oh wait, did the president send flowers to the United Kingdom? Yet the electorate boil stones for food?" Edwin Shisanya wrote.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
By Online Desk

With the past few weeks focussing majorly on statistics of coronavirus cases, deaths, here's some much-needed good news we've all been longing to hear. The number of recovered coronavirus cases has crossed 10,00,000 mark globally.

As the current count stands at 1,014,761, as per Johns Hopkins tracker, against 3,257,088 infections and 233,398 fatalities, the world stares at an optimistic present, and future because countries like South Korea have been able to "flatten the curve" with only nine new infections, reported as of Friday.

The figures released by South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought national totals to 10,774 infections and 248 deaths.

None of the new cases were from the hardest-hit city of Daegu, where more than 6,800 people have been sickened since February.

The KCDC says at least 1,073 cases have been linked to passengers arriving from overseas, but such infections have also slowed in recent weeks amid stronger border controls.

The country was reporting around 500 new cases a day in early March, but it hasn't seen a daily jump above 100 since April 1.

Chinese President Xi Jinping too termed its battle against COVID-19 as a major strategic achievement, as the ruling Communist Party is all set to hold the postponed Parliament session on May 22 amid a steady decline in the coronavirus cases.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday said the country reported only four new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total number to 82,862, while no death due to the disease was registered.

Meanwhile, among countries across the globe reeling under lockdowns, many are set to withdraw restrictions in a graded manner keeping in mind social distancing measures. India will be lifting its 41-day-long lockdown on May 3 and imposing new guidelines.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also announced on Friday that a large portion of economic and social activities will reopen following the recent decline of the COVID-19 cases in the country.

Schools and universities in South Africa too are going to open under strict conditions to curb the spread of COVID-19, said officials on Thursday.

"We are proposing that we will phase grades in. When we say grades 7 and 12 have to come to school, they will have the whole school to themselves. The other grades will only come later," said Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga at a virtual conference, Xinhua reported.

"We agreed on a number of steps that must be taken to ensure that the health and safety of our learners and teachers are not compromised," she said, measures in the plans include no more than 2 learners sharing desks, no hugging or handshaking, no direct contact, cloth masks to be worn by learners and teachers at all times.

(With inputs from Agencies)
The temporary field hospital set up at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center is closing on Friday after treating 1,000 COVID-19 patients because it's no longer needed.

The last few dozen patients who are being treated at the 2,500-bed facility are scheduled to be released by the end of day.

The facility and three other military-run field hospitals in the area will not be entirely taken apart in case of a deadly second wave in the coming months.

The FEMA sites are gradually being closed after Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York has passed its peak in cases and the demand for extra space to treat the surge in patients has fallen.

New York hospitals are also seeing more free beds after they were overwhelmed at the start of the pandemic.

Many convention centers and sports arenas that were converted so they could treat patients have been virtually unused because the virus has started to slow.

The last few dozen patients who were treated at the temporary hospital at the Javits Center are scheduled to be released by the end of day

While the makeshift hospital is expected to close, the facility and three other military-run field hospitals in the area will not be entirely taken apart

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will keep key equipment and supplies in the event New York is hit by a second wave of the coronavirus, ABC 7 reports.

'Just being able to actually leverage our technology and our skills to this situation has been amazing, and just the cooperation between the forces is absolutely incredible,' a medic familiar with the facility, said.

'So I'm actually very fortunate to be in a position to help the way we are.'

A spokesperson for FEMA shared that the decision to pull from the Javits Center came as the state was experiencing a flattening in the number of deaths from the coronavirus.

However the agency is still planning for a potentially horrific second wave of infections in the US.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will keep key equipment and supplies in the event New York is hit by a second wave of the coronavirus

A spokesperson for FEMA shared that the decision to pull from the Javits Center came as the state was experiencing a flattening in the number of deaths from the coronavirus

'Facing an invisible enemy isn't easy. It takes courage, compassion and a commitment to a higher purpose,' the Javits Center said in a Thursday Twitter post. 'Thank you to all the frontline workers who have risen to the challenge'

On April 21, they ordered 100,000 more body bags, as the US death toll topped 60,000 and the cases surpassed a million.

As of Friday, more than 311,000 people in the state have been infected with the coronavirus. Some 18,610 New Yorkers have died.

'We are encouraged by the data which suggest the curve is flattening in New York and we are working with the city and state to begin the strategic drawdown of resources,' the FEMA spokesperson said to Gothamist, last week.

Military staff at the Javits Center are expected to depart New York City beginning next week for redeployment.

FEMA oversaw the set-up of four separate wings with 250 beds each, staffing and stocking the facility with medical supplies.

'Facing an invisible enemy isn't easy. It takes courage, compassion and a commitment to a higher purpose,' the Javits Center said in a Thursday Twitter post. 'Thank you to all the frontline workers who have risen to the challenge.'

As of Friday, more than 18,000 people have died from the coronavirus

On Thursday, the 1,000-bed USNS Comfort departed Manhattan in harsh winds and an intense fog after treating just 182 patients since it arrived in New York.

The 1,000-bed ship treated 182 patients while in New York. All have been discharged to their homes or to a nearby hospital, Navy Spokesperson Mary Cate Walsh said to NBC New York.

According to Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman, once the Comfort is back at its port in Norfolk, it will restock and be cleaned before possibly departing on another venture.

Hoffman added that the departure 'is a sure sign of modest progress in mitigating the virus in the nation's hardest hit city and is a welcome sign.'

The 68-bed tent field hospital set up by Samaritan's Purse in Central Park to help fight the coronavirus pandemic is expected to close in the coming weeks as well.

In addition to the Javits Center, Governor Cuomo also asked the federal government to set up makeshift hospitals at the Westchester Convention Center, to accommodate the cluster of coronavirus cases in New Rochelle, and at the state universities in Stony Brook and Old Westbury, Long Island.

New York remains on lockdown until May 15. Some parts of the state will start to gradually reopen after then, but downstate New York and particularly New York City still has some way to go before it meets CDC guidelines of a decline in cases for 14 days.

The USNS Comfort departed from Manhattan's Pier 90 on Thursday. It is making a return trip to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia

Officers from the New York Police Department salute as the hospital ship as it departs from the Upper West Side pier

Looking at projections in mid-March that the state would need to double hospital capacity to 110,000 beds by the end of April, Cuomo asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the four field hospitals and the Navy to deploy the Navy's Comfort hospital ship to Manhattan.

At the same time, hospitals were discharging patients to free up beds and adding new ones, and the public was starting to embrace social-distancing measures to stem the spread of infection.

With the number of disease-related hospitalizations cresting far below forecasts, at 18,825 on April 12, just one of the Army Corps-built temporary facilities opened, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. It will close Friday after treating little more than 1,000 patients.

The three other field hospitals that Cuomo requested were completed and mothballed for possible future use, including ones on the campuses of Stony Brook University and the State University of New York College at Old Westbury on Long Island.

Plans for four other field hospitals were scrapped, and the Comfort is set to leave on Thursday.

The Army Corps of Engineers paid construction firms $136 million to build the Stony Brook facility and $116.5 million to build the one on the Old Westbury campus, according to federal contracting data.

It gave out at least $100 million in contracts for since-canceled hospitals at a horse racing track and a city park.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Families with low to moderate incomes may be eligible for help getting food, household supplies, personal-care items and housing through Cuyahoga County Job and Family Services, the county announced Friday.

Vouchers for the food and supplies are available through the Prevention, Retention, and Contingency program, which received $1.7 million in emergency aid related to the coronavirus crisis from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The vouchers can be used at local businesses that sell essential products. Daves Supermarkets, Marcs, and Save A Lot have already committed to accepting the vouchers, according to a county news release. The county is asking other local retailers to do the same.

Housing vouchers are distributed directly to landlords.

Families eligible for the program must include a child, or someone who is pregnant, and must reside in the county. Non-custodial parents are also eligible if their child receives assistance through Medicaid, Ohio Works First, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

A familys gross monthly income must be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Citizenship status and liquid assets are also considered, the county said.

The amount of food assistance provided is based on the number of household members. The maximum amount provided for cleaning and personal-care supplies is $200; the maximum amount for housing is $750.

Applications can be downloaded from the county website and emailed to Cuy-PRC-Application@jfs.ohio.gov or faxed to 216-987-8655. Phone applications can be made at 216-987-7392 (Leave a message and allow 48 hours for a response.)

Applications can also be picked up and submitted at Neighborhood Service Center drop boxes at: the Virgil E. Brown building at 1641 Payne Avenue; Old Brooklyn center at 4261 Fulton Parkway; Quincy Place center at 8111 Quincy Avenue; Westshore Opportunity Center at 9830 Lorain Avenue.

More information can be found on the countys website.
[May 01, 2020] eCommerce Sales Volumes Triple in Last Two Months

CHICAGO, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PowerReviews reveals the staggering changes in consumer behavior and interaction with online ratings and reviews over the past two months in its research published today.

The May edition of the PowerReviews Market Trends Snapshot is based on analysis of consumer activity across more than 1.5MM review product pages from the websites of more than 1,200 brands. It reveals: Skyrocketing digital sales levels, with an increase of 210% in order volumes between February 2020 and April 2020

A leap of 63% in eCommerce web traffic between February 2020 and April 2020

Consumer engagement with reviews up 105% between February 2020 and April 2020

Review submission levels and length rise in April 2020, while overall consumer sentiment (in the form of average product rating) remains steady Carol Krakowski - Director, Insights at PowerReviews, states:

Unsurprisingly and as reported widely elsewhere, our data reveals that digital consumer transactions have surged during these times of self-quarantine and stay at home orders. However, the numbers are still staggering. Online sales volumes surged 210% between February 24 and April 15. This continued the trend we saw in last months snapshot , when we reported an increase of 101%. That seemed a massive increase but proved to be a sign of what has subsequently followed. While product page traffic had been relatively stable in March, this also began to climb in April. However, these increases have not been at the same rate as order volumes - meaning shoppers are becoming even more decisive as conversion rates have also continued to increase. We again attribute these trends to consumers buying lower consideration products so pending less time browsing and comparing products.



Consumers continue to rely on ratings and reviews content to justify purchase decisions, providing the validation and social proof necessary to drive sales. Engagement with reviews among consumers who purchase continues to be at around double the level of more typical times, while total review engagement has soared over the past two months. PowerReviews will be hosting a webinar on Thursday May 7th offering a deepdive into these findings, including an exploration of the trends among brands and retailers from health and beauty.

Online shopping volumes continue to climb relentlessly eCommerce web traffic also begins to rise in April after staying steady through March. https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1a45c474-f701-4750-9d4a-cac229114843 Review engagement remains skyhigh Consumer interactions with online reviews more than doubles in COVID-19 period. https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9d6ea46b-031e-4c58-b882-879c2f48d25e NOTE: This chart outlines review engagement of consumers who purchase. Given online order volumes are up 210% in the past two months, total review engagement has also increased significantly

Read the full research findings on the PowerReviews blog . Research Methodology

PowerReviews research is based on analysis of activity across more than 1.5MM product pages from more than 1,200 retail/brand sites between February 24, 2020 and April 24, 2020. FURTHER INQUIRIES

Andrew Smith

Marketing Director

[email protected]

312-802-9846 ABOUT POWERREVIEWS PowerReviews ( PowerReviews.com ) is a software and data company that works with 1000+ leading brands and retailers to bring authenticity and transparency to commerce. The PowerReviews Customer Content Platform has four solutions that help our customers collect and manage customer-generated content to improve the product and customer experience across the customer journey. We help clients meet the evolving need for social proof, accelerating the path to purchase and brand advocacy. PowerReviews is known for innovation, consultative partnership, and actionable insights, supported by our open platform and approach. Our dedicated team of experts provides thoughtful analysis and turn-key service. PowerReviews is headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The Vernadsky research base on on Galindez Island, Antarctica, where Yuriy Otruba and his team will spend the next year

Yuriy Otruba was preparing for his sixth scientific expedition to Antarctica when the coronavirus pandemic hit, shutting borders, grounding flights and locking down countries he needed to travel through.

After repeated trips since 2009, the 34-year-old Ukrainian scientist feared this year's journey would be impossible due to strict lockdown measures imposed throughout the world to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The journey from Kiev to the Akademik Vernadsky research base on Galindez Island in the Antarctic usually lasts a week.

Yet it took Otruba and his team of 10 a number of false starts and more than four weeks as they navigated several continents and a slew of anti-virus restrictions to reach their destination.

"I felt like our chances were getting smaller and smaller and smaller," said Otruba, a geophysicist who was leading a team for the first time this year.

"It's a very beautiful, picturesque place," he told AFP by phone from the base, surrounded by snow-capped "mountains, the nature of Antarctica, its sanctity".

"When you first get here, you are enchanted."

The obstacle for this year's expedition was "very specific," said Yevgen Dykyi head of the National Antarctic Scientific Center. "It was called the coronavirus pandemic."

"It was the longest and most difficult journey to Antarctica over the years," he said.

The Ukrainian flag flies proudly over the Vernadsky research base on Galindez Island, Antarctica

Doing 'the impossible'

Ukrainian scientists are stationed at the base for one-year stints, with new teams usually arriving in early spring.

Britain founded the Faraday station in 1947, and in 1996 gave it to Kiev, which renamed the base after celebrated Ukrainian scientist Volodymyr Vernadsky.

A regular itinerary brings new teams through Chile or Argentina, and then by boat to the base in a journey that usually takes around a week.

On March 16, Ukraine's 25th expedition including six scientists and five support staff set off for Earth's only virus-free continent.

Yet at the first stop, in Istanbul, it became clear that the 10 men and one woman would not make it to Colombia, then to Chile, with both countries announcing border closures.

They headed home to mandatory quarantine and to devise an alternative route, this time with the help of Ukrainian diplomats.

Yet subsequent attempts also ran aground, with two flights cancelled one after another.

In the end Ukraine's foreign ministry "did the impossible", chartering flights and arranging permissions to enter the countries closed to foreigners, Dykyi said.

The team set off again at the end of March, travelling from Kiev to Qatar, Brazil and then Chile.

Gentoo penguins will be the Ukrainians' near neighbours for the next 12 months at the Vernadsky research base

'Mesmerising'

"A lot of hard work was done to get to Chile," which was under lockdown when the team arrived, Otruba said.

The flight from Qatar to Brazil was packed, Otruba said, and some among the expedition were afraid of getting infected and having to "call the entire expedition into question".

When the team eventually arrived at Punta Arenas on the southern tip of Chile, they isolated for two weeks in a hotel as a precaution, before finally boarding a boat loaded with food, fuel and research equipment to Antarctica.

After more than four weeks, the team arrived on April 21.

As a precaution, they brought an oxygen concentrator and medical oxygen cylinders in case a team member developed virus symptoms.

One of the station buildings can be used to self-isolate in the worst-case scenario, Otruba said.

With the pandemic left behind, the expedition, which includes a biologist, physicist and three meteorologists, can focus on their researchand the surroundings.

"We have seals here, crabeater seals, leopard seals... When we were sailing to the station, there were a lot of whales," he added.

"Few people have seen a penguin or a whale in the wild. It's mesmerising."

Explore further For one Ukrainian startup, coronavirus means business is booming

 2020 AFP
Update May 1: Southwest, Alaska Airlines, United, Frontier, American and Delta all fell into line and announced this week that masks will be mandatory for both passengers and staff. Rules go into effect on May 4 for Alaska, United and Delta, May 8 for Frontier, and May 11 for American and Southwest.

If you are flying out of San Francisco or Oakland International airports, it does not really matter if your airline requires a mask or not. That's because everyone entering the airport must now don a mask according to new health orders. That includes wearing masks during TSA screening, with the TSA issuing new guidance on that as you can see in the tweet below. (UPDATE: Mineta San Jose International now requires masks, too.)

Violators of the mask ordinance at SFO could face a fine of up to $1,000, or even imprisonment, according to San Mateo County, which is responsible for enforcement. However, an airport spokesperson say that its efforts will focus on education and information for passengers.

"As an essential business, all airport employees, travelers, and visitors entering the terminal building are now required to wear a face covering. In support of the new order, Oakland International Airport (OAK) is incorporating visual signage and audio messaging throughout its terminals and the exterior of all public entry points, with guidance and reminders for compliance," the airport said in a statement.

DON'T MISS: Airlines taking a gun to the coronavirus

Currently, there are a scant 100,000-or-so passengers boarding flights in the US these days, but those numbers are on the rise. As air travel continues to crawl out of the hole it's been in during April, these new mask rules (and more) will likely remain in effect as part of the new normal for flying.

Flight attendant and pilot unions are urging airlines to adopt rules requiring masks for every person onboard, but currently, the Federal Aviation Administration has not made it compulsory.

Wearing a face covering isnt about protecting yourself its about protecting those around you, said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue. This is the new flying etiquette. Onboard, cabin air is well circulated and cleaned through filters every few minutes but this is a shared space where we have to be considerate of others. We are also asking our customers to follow these CDC guidelines in the airport as well.

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

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Chandigarh, May 1 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Friday asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to apologise for mismanaging the return of pilgrims from Sri Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra's Nanded.

He also demanded sacking of Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu for not following health guidelines which had led to a large number of pilgrims testing positive for coronavirus.

In a statement here, the SAD chief said it was unfortunate that the Chief Minister had failed to give the needed leadership in this hour of crisis.

Sukhbir Badal said though the Chief Minister could not escape the responsibility, he should sack the Health Minister for indulging in criminal negligence by failing to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.

He said the government did not follow social distancing norms while transporting the pilgrims besides health safety precautions during travel.

"They were not brought to one place before dispersal after quarantine and testing but were instead dropped off at various places without following established norms. The government alone is to blame for this state of affairs. It appears that instead of admitting its mistake an attempt is being made to turn the pilgrims into scapegoats," he said.
My view is that if government, as part of the health response, is going to idle large portions of the American economy and start throwing people out of work, theres a responsibility there to make sure those folks can keep their jobs and then get back to work as soon as is practicable from a health perspective. So thats the inspiration for it. Keep American workers safe, protect American jobs, and also get us ready to recover. To me, this is a recovery plan. Weve got to get folks back to their jobs so that they can get back to work again as soon as they get the green light.

I spoke with a number of economists from across the political spectrum, by the way, and the ideological spectrum. And what came recommended to us over and over again from both policymakers and from economists was important that we preserve the relationship between a worker and the job. Give workers that security, give businesses the security of knowing, Hey, Ive got my workers here. In Britain, for instance, Boris Johnsons conservative government had offered a payroll support of 80 percent up to their national median. That appears in these early stages to be to be working well. And so we tried to look at the best practices of other regions, other nations, along with the advice of experts.

Republicans dont typically look to the U.K. for fiscal policy advice. How do you think this squares with the Republican idea of limited government, fiscal restraint?

Were in an unprecedented moment where you have government action that has shut down large parts of the economy. Thats the critical backdrop here. This isnt a normal recession by any stretch of the imagination.

It is government action on a mass scale that has brought us here. Of course, that government action is against the backdrop of an unprecedented health pandemic. So my point is, is that were already well into a series of events that have been triggered by government response, government intervention. In that unique set of circumstances, the most important thing we can do is try and preserve peoples jobs. I think its a bedrock conservative principle that we want folks to be able to provide for themselves, for them to control their own destinies and provide for their families. Theyre not going to be able to do that. They cannot work. So weve got to get people work and preserve that job security.

I know youve talked about moving past the fights in the past. Does this virus in some way accelerate those changes?

I believe that Republicans, conservatives, we have to be the champions of working folks, the kind of people who make up the vast majority, the work force in my state and, frankly, in the country. Lot of whom, by the way, dont have college degrees. They are not well positioned to work from home. Just, Hey, Ill just fire up the laptop and Ill sit on my couch and I can find that at my job is secure for six weeks or six months. Thats just not most of the work force in my state or this country.
By Sarah Cassi, The Express-Times

A Bucks County man on death row for the rape, murder and dismemberment of 14-year-old Grace Packer has died of natural causes, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed Friday.

The department would only confirm the 47-year-old Jacob Sullivan died of natural causes; NBC 10 reported Sullivan died of a ruptured aortic aneurism.

Sullivan was housed at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, but was not in the state prisons care at the time and died at a local hospital, a spokeswoman said.

Prosecutors said Grace Packer was killed in 2016 as part of a rape-murder fantasy shared by Sullivan and Packers mother, Sara Packer.

Sullivan reportedly told investigators he and Sara Packer began plotting to murder Grace while she was living with another family member as far back as the fall of 2015.

Grace was raped, drugged, bound and gagged for a dozen hours and finally strangled in July 2016 in the attic of a home outside Quakertown.

Sullivan pleaded guilty to all charges in his case, but the penalty decision went to a Bucks County jury, which sentenced Sullivan to death in March 2019. Sullivan appealed, asking for a life-sentence instead.

Sara Packer, who previously worked as a Northampton County adoptions supervisor, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life without parole for plotting Graces death.
If You Go

Can you afford telehealth?

Yakima Neighborhood Health Services is the leading organization in Central Washington for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. Navigators work daily to enroll people who have lost their insurance.

A special enrollment period goes on through early May. Neighborhood Health also helps with Apple Health and offers a sliding fee scale of payment to the uninsured based on income. Discounted balances are also available.

Anyone can call navigators for help, not just Neighborhood Health Patients, by contacting 509-853-2377.

The Yakima Farm Workers Clinic has patient benefits coordinators who can help people who have lost their jobs and their health care coverage due to the pandemic.

Individuals do not have to become patients at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic to take advantage of the benefits.

Through all thats going on, we continue to keep our doors open for the health and safety of our communities, said clinic CEO Carlos Olivares. We urge anyone needing to see a medical provider to give us a call.

Telehealth appointments through Community Health of Central Washington are often covered by insurance. Community Health also has a sliding scale discount available.
A Harris County District Court judge on Thursday declined to issue a temporary restraining order that sought to halt an affordable housing project in the East End.

The hearing came after developer Alan Atkinson filed suit Wednesday alleging the Houston Housing Authority and City of Houston did not have the authority to buy land just north of Buffalo Bayou almost directly across from Clayton Homes for the project.

Federal law requires all properties used for Department of Housing and Urban Development projects to be free of hazardous materials and contamination that could affect the safety of occupants, a requirement the suit alleges the land site fails to meet. Because HUD funds would be involved in the purchase of the land, the suit requested the district court stop the purchase.

At the hearing, which was livestreamed, the judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order. The court did not rule on legality of the purchase.

The Houston Housing Authority welcomed the hearings outcome. This is a great day for affordable housing, said an HHA spokesperson in an email.

Atkinson filed an earlier suit seeking to halt the project in November, saying the HHA improperly notified residents and business owners. A state district court judge in that case issued a temporary restraining order, and the housing authority held new votes on the projects at properly noticed meetings.

Atkinson is among those who oppose the affordable apartments, arguing the site is potentially unsafe for future residents due to noise and the presence of a nearby railroad, which carries tank cars shuttling chemical, petrochemical and petroleum products.

The affordable housing project and another East End project south of Buffalo Bayou off Middle Street have drawn both passionate support and opposition.

Many say more affordable housing is needed, especially as property prices rise in a neighborhood where a third of households make less than $25,000 a year, according to Census Bureau estimates. The two projects proposed for the East End would contain a mixture of both market-rate and affordable housing.

At the same time, a vocal group of residents is working hard to kill the plan, which they have said will overwhelm the areas strained infrastructure and take valuable land off the tax rolls.

This story has been corrected to correctly identify the land involved in the suit filed Wednesday by Alan Atkinson against Mayor Sylvester Turner, the City of Houston and the Houston Housing Authority. The land is located north of Buffalo Bayou almost directly across from Clayton Homes.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com;

twitter.com/raschuetz
creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft's (ETR:CSQ): creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft operates as an online SME financing company in Germany. On 31 December 2019, the 75m market-cap posted a loss of -5.0m for its most recent financial year. As path to profitability is the topic on CSQs investors mind, Ive decided to gauge market sentiment. In this article, I will touch on the expectations for CSQs growth and when analysts expect the company to become profitable.

Check out our latest analysis for creditshelf

CSQ is bordering on breakeven, according to the 2 Diversified Financial analysts. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2021, before turning a profit of 1.3m in 2022. So, CSQ is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years from today. What rate will CSQ have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, I calculated an average annual growth rate of 73%, which signals high confidence from analysts. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

XTRA:CSQ Past and Future Earnings May 1st 2020

Underlying developments driving CSQs growth isnt the focus of this broad overview, however, bear in mind that generally a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

Before I wrap up, theres one aspect worth mentioning. CSQ currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making loss-making, growth company, which typically has high debt relative to its equity. This means that CSQ has been operating purely on its equity investment and has no debt burden. This aspect reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on CSQ, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at CSQs company page on Simply Wall St. Ive also compiled a list of relevant factors you should further examine:

Historical Track Record: What has CSQ's performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business  take a look at who sits on creditshelfs board and the CEOs back ground. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Jamie Metzl, a member of the World Health Organizations International Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing, has speculated that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China.

When they have outbreaks in China, the zoonotic jump [of the virus from animal to humans] tends to happen in the south in Guangdong or Yunnan Province, and not in Wuhan or in Hubei Province, Metzl told National Review. They have the only level-4 virology lab in China, which happens to be in Wuhan and was studying dangerous coronaviruses.

That lab is the Wuhan Institute of Virology, situated about nine miles from the seafood market where the coronavirus was initially thought to have originated.

Metzl continued, It seems kind of likely that [if] you have a Chinese lab studying a dangerous virus, and you have a very similar virus that leaps out right next to one of the labs, you could logicallyput two and two together.

Metzl said he has considered this theory a possibility since January, from the very beginning when I heard this news story.

The first U.S. politician to point out the proximity of the Wuhan Institute of Virology to the outbreaks epicenter was Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.).

China claimedfor almost two monthsthat coronavirus had originated in a Wuhan seafood market. That is not the case, Cotton wrote on Twitter on January 30. The senator uploaded a video in which he noted the proximity of the lab.

While initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory, suspicion has grown amongst U.S. officials that circumstantial evidence points to an accidental leak. President Trump and other officials have called for investigations into a possible Chinese cover up of the outbreaks origins, and Trump has halted funding to the WHO over what he described as the organizations gross mismanagement of the pandemic. U.S. politicians, particularly congressional Republicans, have also accused the WHO of parroting Chinese misinformation in the early stages of the pandemic.

Story continues

Metzl said the WHO could have been more skeptical of the information coming from China in late December and early January, but on the whole defended the organizations handling of the pandemic, saying his colleagues are driven by doing the right thing and following the evidence. However, Metzl slammed the Trump administrations response to the pandemic.

The Trump administrations response to the pandemic has been among the greatest leadership failures in all of American history, Metzl said. Not only did they feel to heed the warnings, not only did they completely screw up the testing, but the president of the United States was actively spewing deadly misinformation to the American people and denying this crisis as it was playing out.

China has so far refused to allow representatives from the WHO to join an investigation into the coronaviruss origins.

The coronavirus has infected over 1,000,000 Americans and killed over 64,000 as of Friday. Social distancing measures and business closures implemented to mitigate the spread of coronavirus have caused widespread damage to the U.S. economy and put roughly 30 million Americans out of work.

More from National Review
Amid the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Human Resource Development Ministry are planning to conduct the PhD and MPhil exams through online mediums in various universities across the country. The universities have been informed by the UGC and the MHRD about this.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said, "Phd, MPhil exams, practicals, viva etc can be conducted through Skype or any other meeting apps."

When this system is implemented in colleges, students will not have to wait long for various types of examinations. Especially internal examinations can be taken online. Students' viva tests can also be conducted via Skype or any other similar meeting apps.

Regular classes in the universities will resume after the lockdown is removed. The classes for the first year will start from September 1 while for the second and third years the classes will start from August 1. However, students of various colleges will have to appear for basic exams in July.

A special committee constituted by the UGC has emphasized on conducting examinations online. The committee in its recommendation said that various colleges and universities should conduct online examinations including internal exams of colleges for 25 per cent marks.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), on the advice of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has extended the date of filling the entrance examination forms for various universities.

According to the orders of the NTA, the date of filling the form for the entrance examinations of Jawaharlal Nehru University, National Council for Hotel Management 'G' and for Phd and MBA from IGNOU has been extended till May 15.
By Trend

Reorganization of activities related to the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) underway to ensure progress, executive director of ICGB project company Teodora Georgieva told Trend.

She noted that due to the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 situation, it is still difficult to assess in full details the overall impact this will have on the projects schedule.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and we have taken immediate action to protect the lives and health of our team and the teams of our partners as this is clearly a top priority. Regulations and recommendations by WHO and the National Operational Headquarters of Bulgaria have been implemented in order to make sure everyone working on the project is safe. Our contractors have taken measures to reassess the activities on the project and to reorganize them in such a way that allows progress on the realization of IGB to continue despite the difficult times," added the executive director.

Georgieva pointed out that the IGB project is being implemented in an intrinsically multicultural environment in the sense that the pipeline crosses two different countries, there are international shareholders on board and the major work contracts are being executed by companies from all over Europe.

"Taking this into account, as well as the numerous restrictions already in place around the globe, there is a great deal of concern regarding the additional challenges that lie ahead. However, ICGB is working closely with all parties involved in order to properly estimate the impact of COVID-19 and take the necessary mitigation measures," she explained.

The IGB Project (Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria) is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB AD, registered in Bulgaria in 2011, with shareholders BEH EAD (50%) and IGI Poseidon (50%). The co-shareholder IGI Poseidon is a company, registered in Greece, with shareholders being the Greek public gas corporation DEPA SA (50%) and the Italian energy group Edison SpA (50 percent).

In accordance with its Statute, ICGB AD will be the owner of the IGB gas pipeline and will finance its realization, will allocate its capacity and will receive the revenue from the transportation of natural gas.

The IGB gas pipeline will be connected with the Greek national gas transmission system in the area of Komotini and with the Bulgarian national gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora. The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km, the pipeline diameter will be 32" and the projected capacity will be up to 3 bcm/y in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. Depending on the interest from the market and the capacities of the neighboring gas transmission systems, the pipeline is designed for increasing its capacity up to 5 bcm/y for following up the market evolution thus allowing physical reverse flow (from Bulgaria to Greece) with the additional installation of a compressor station. A Memorandum for cooperation between ICGB AD and TAP AG has been signed concerning joint actions in relation to future connection between the IGB pipeline and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend





The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) held a foreign exchange auction with the participation of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $69.2 million, Trend reports citing CBA.

According to CBA, demand from the banks at the auction decreased by 78.35 percent or by $30.4 million compared to the previous auction, reaching $69.2 million.

Considering the number of days remaining before the next scheduled auction, as well as with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted currency trading by the banks on weekends, the demand of banks at the auction will be fully provided.

The first foreign exchange auction in a long time was held with the participation of SOFAZ on March 10, 2020, during which Azerbaijani banks acquired 323.2 million manat ($190.1 million).

CBA began to hold foreign exchange auctions through unilateral sale of foreign currency in competitive conditions since mid-January 2017. In March 2020, it was decided to hold extraordinary foreign exchange auctions in connection with the increased demand of the population for foreign currency amid the failed deal OPEC+, which entailed a sharp decline in oil prices.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on May 1)
A series of documents have been obtained by The Oregonian/Oregonlive that provide a peek into how Gov. Kate Browns office is formulating plans for a first phase of reopening certain sectors of the states economy.

Oregon businesses have largely been closed since Brown issued a stay-home order on March 23. State officials have said Oregon cant remain closed forever, but they are forging a strategy so to help prevent the virus from surging as businesses restore hours and services.

The draft plans, which have already undergone many revisions and may go through more, show general guidance for Oregon employers and for the public, as well as specific guidance for certain sectors including restaurants and bars, retail stores and childcare/early education centers. Plans for transit, personal services and outdoor recreation are also being created.

Last week, Brown rolled out details of her Reopening Oregon framework, which will eventually include specific plans for testing and contact tracing, among other things. Brown also formed subcommittees to focus on details for reopening restaurants, retail, personal services, child care, transit and outdoor recreation.

The various plans for those subcommittees are being shared with leaders from the various sectors and lawmakers as the governors staff seeks feedback to finalize plans. Its unclear where in the process these draft documents are.

Read the draft plan for retail stores, shopping centers and malls:

Word spread quickly when Powell's Books, in the wake of the coronavirus, laid off nearly 400 people as it shut down its five stores. Readers responding by purchasing books on the legendary bookstore's website. Gov. Kate Brown and business leaders are crafting plans to gradually reopen stores and malls. Beth Nakamura/Staff

Reopening Oregon

Gov. Kate Brown is working with business leaders to craft plans to gradually reopen retail stores and malls. One recommendation may be to encourage customers and employees to wear face masks. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Getty ImagesGetty Images

A custodian stacks chairs in a mall food court during the coronavirus outbreak.

Read more:

How could Oregon reopen amid coronavirus? Read details from a draft report the governors office didnt want shared.

Oregonians have died at rate well above average since mid-March, but tie to COVID-19 unclear, state data show

Coronavirus testing rises sharply in Oregon as capacity expands, guidance loosened

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
Wrexham college student pursuing medical career thanks to vital NHS placements

This article is old - Published: Friday, May 1st, 2020

A young student is pursuing her dream of a career in medicine thanks to the network of support offered by Coleg Cambria.

Eleanor Holdsworth, from Gresford, has already completed a work experience placement at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and is lined up to spend time at Gobowen Hospital in Oswestry later this year.

Currently studying A Levels in in Biology, Maths, English Literature and Chemistry, the 16 year-old says the links provided by Yale sixth form college have given her an advantage and vital opportunities that would have been unavailable to her had she stayed in school.

Eleanor plans to take Medicine at university in the future and says the dedication and diligence of all NHS and care staff during the global Coronavirus pandemic has been a huge source of inspiration.

I spent time at the Maelor in the A&E department and on other wards before the Coronavirus pandemic, and it was an incredible experience, she said.

I just watched and observed the doctors and nurses and support staff and was amazed by what they do day to day, its definitely where I see my future.

She added: Im in Year 12 and with the backing of the college will secure more placements to give me experience and an edge ahead of higher education and entering the world of work.

From a very young age I wanted to be a doctor and with the help of Cambria  and also fellow learners on the colleges Medic Society  I have the advice and guidance needed to get there.

Eleanor had also received a place at Harvard University this summer on a prestigious two-week academic summer school, as part of the Seren Network.

That has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak, but she says it was a privilege to be chosen.

Gareth Jones, Deputy Director of General Education at Yale, congratulated Eleanor and said the colleges close relationship with different sectors  including health and social care  means they can enrich students with vital industry experience.

We work closely with businesses, manufacturers, innovators and of course key organisations such as the health board and other services, he said.

This means we can support learners who plan to work in these areas and give them a flavour of the career they want to pursue.

Eleanor is an example of someone who knows exactly what she wants to do, and with the help of Cambria she is on the path to success.

We wish her all the best for the rest of her time with us and will be there to help secure further placements in the coming year.

For more on the wide range of courses and qualifications available at Coleg Cambria, visit the website www.cambria.ac.uk, call 0300 30 30 007 or email enquiries@cambria.ac.uk.
[May 01, 2020] CSC Announces Changes to its Executive Management Committee

CSC (News - Alert) announced today that Tom Porth, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), has communicated his plan to retire in early July 2020. EJ Dealy, executive vice president and head of Corporate Development, has been elected to succeed Porth as CFO, reporting to president and chief executive officer, Rod Ward. CSC also announced they've promoted Jennifer Kenton to executive vice president and head of Marketing in addition to continuing in her role as head of Global Sales and Customer Development teams for its Corporate and Legal Solutions (CLS) business unit. Mark Calandra has also been promoted to executive vice president from general manager of CSC's Digital Brand Services (DBS) division. Both Kenton and Calandra will join CSC's Executive Management Committee. Effective April 27, 2020, Dealy became the CFO. Porth will continue in an advisory role until his retirement, ensuring a seamless transition. "On behalf of the entire board and leadership team, I want to thank Tom for his 16-year commitment to our company, including serving as CFO for the past eight years," says Ward. "His guidance and leadership have been instrumental to our company's transformational growth, including nearly quadrupling our value between 2010 and 2020-and he has guided us through the critical valuation and financing aspects of our acquisitions that have diversified and strengthened our brand. His expertise and integrity will be greatly missed." Ward continued, "Succession planning is a critical component of our culture at CSC, and is one of the ways we prepare for the future and develop our people. Over the past 10 years, EJ Dealy has become an integral part of CSC's management team, and brings strong financial managemet experience and a deep understanding of our company to the role. He will play an important part in guiding our company financially as we continue to expand and grow."



Porth joined the company in 2004 as marketing leader for CSC's incorporate.com business that supports the needs of small businesses. Over his 15-year tenure, Porth has made an indelible mark on CSC as he moved from running the Small Business unit to becoming the chief marketing officer as well as CFO. Dealy joined CSC in 2010 following a career in manufacturing and consulting where he gained diverse financial, corporate development, and enterprise technology experience. EJ is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization and previously served on their Philadelphia Chapter and Northeast region board of directors. He also serves on the boards of Nexxt (former Safeguard Scientifics investment), and Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware, and Susquehanna Valley.

"I love CSC and the people with whom I've had the privilege to work," says Porth. "As I look back on my time here, I am extremely proud of the work we have done to transform our businesses and position us for long-term growth. I've worked closely with EJ over the last several years and have great confidence in his leadership." Kenton has been with CSC for more than 25 years, and has served as senior vice president of Global Sales for CLS since 2001. She joined CSC in a regional sales role and has held various leadership positions over the years in sales and service, as well as product and market development. "Our Sales and Marketing teams have a strong mutual respect for one another, and have been effective in driving growth for our various business units," says Kenton. "Bringing these areas together will make our collective efforts stronger. We look forward to developing and driving marketing strategies that deliver the next level of customer development for CSC." Calandra has more than 20 years of experience in the corporate domain management and brand protection industry. He's overseen the global vision, growth, and development of the DBS business for CSC for the past 15 years. About CSC CSC is the world's leading provider of business, legal, tax, and digital brand services to companies around the globe. From keeping your business in compliance and streamlining operations, to protecting and promoting your brand online, we use our expertise and personal approach to help your business run smoother. We are the business behind business. We are the trusted partner for 90% of the Fortune 500, more than 65% of the Best Global Brands (Interbrand), nearly 10,000 law firms, and more than 3,000 financial organizations. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, since 1899, we have offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. We are a global company capable of doing business wherever our clients are-and we accomplish that by employing experts in every business we serve. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005023/en/

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A complaint has been registered with the Union Home secretary against an individual named Asi Chullikara for allegedly assaulting a Hindu resident in Kuwait after he had praised Prime Minister Modi on his social media account.

According to the complaint filed by advocate Pratheesh Vishwanath, Asi Chullikara, hailing from Kasargod district of Kerala and currently residing in Kuwait, along with his friends had barged into the residence of Praveen on April 28 and brutally assaulted him after Praveen had made pro-Modi comments on social media.

The video of a mob attacking Praveen had gone viral across social media platforms. In the video, it was clearly seen how a mob allegedly led by Asi Chullikara had thrashed Praveen over his Facebook posts.

More than 100 Keralites are in jails of gulf countries as they supported CAA. Now see this, a man in gulf is beaten up by jihadis as he supported India govt. This is too much. This is a democratic country and anywhere in world we hv right to express support for our govt. pic.twitter.com/kdumqBvDoZ  Pratheesh Viswanath (@pratheesh_Hind) April 29, 2020

In his complaint, Pratheesh Vishwanath has stated that the mob led by Asi Chullikara threatened and forced Praveen to apologise to the Muslim community at large and made him confess that the post he had put in his Facebook account was against the Muslim community.

Assault was recorded on camera

Shockingly, the entire assault was recorded by the mob and was published across social media platforms with a warning that whosoever engages in such activities against Muslims will be taught a lesson.

A section of persons who are working in Gulf countries especially one who are from Kerala are spreading hatred towards the country as well as Hindus are targeting Hindu expatriates in Gulf pointing any FB post posted by them in support of the present government ruling the nation and its leaders labelling them as anti-Muslim, the complaint read.

I filed complaint b4 Home Secretary regarding a Hindu from Kerala being attacked in gulf for supporting @narendramodi ji in FB. Over 100 Hindus frm Kerala are in gulf jails for supporting CAA. We need to stop this. Need help frm Hindus across the Country#AttackOnModiSupporter. https://t.co/VpQVz0yNhi pic.twitter.com/3kEix1ilNi  Pratheesh Viswanath (@pratheesh_Hind) May 1, 2020

The complaint said that the mob led by Asi Chullikara had committed a serious offence under IPC sections 153A, 153B, 124A. 321,330, 340, 348 and 503. He requested the Home Ministry to give prior sanction under Section 188 of the CrPC to prosecute the accused in India for the offences they have committed in Kuwait.

Asi Chullikaras anti-India propaganda

Several social media users have pointed out that the accused Asi Chullikara has been continuously propagating anti-India and anti-Hindu propaganda on social media platforms.

He called Kashmir as Indian occupied Kashmir&supporting Pakistan.He is the same man who attacked a poor hindu taxi driver in Kuwait for supporting Modi.Nothing surprise in that,jihadi Asi is a native of Kasargod,where most no of ISIS terrorists r recruited. #AttackOnModiSupporter pic.twitter.com/C8UDk2yp1b  Rajeesh Ramachandran (@rajeeshvr) May 1, 2020

In his social media posts, Asi Chullikara had repeatedly insulted the Indian Army and often referred to Kashmir as Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK).
RACINE  A third generation of emperor tamarin monkeys has been born at the Racine Zoo, 2131 N. Main St.

The twin tamarins were born in the early morning hours of April 22 to first-time parents Amelie and Pitino. Amelie was born at the Racine Zoo in 2017 and these babies represent the ninth tamarin birth since Isabella moved to the Racine Zoo in 2012. Isabella died just days after the birth of her youngest daughter, Bella, last year. Now just over a 1 year old, Bella is very curious about the infants and enjoys playing with their tails.

Rearing infant tamarins is a family affair, with all members of the family group assisting in carrying, grooming and caring for the young. Now one week old, the babies are thriving and both parents are sharing parenting duties.

The Racine Zoo is one of only three facilities to successfully breed emperor tamarins in six years, and is critical to the breeding success of these Amazonian monkeys whose wild populations are declining due to deforestation and habitat loss. Marquis, the grandfather of the twins, is the oldest emperor tamarin in U.S. zoos at 12 years old, and of the 23 tamarins in U.S. zoos, 10 are descended from Marquis and Isabella. Emperor tamarins are small monkeys known for their charismatic white mustache, and are found in lowland rainforests of Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.

This is such a bright spot in an otherwise dark time amid the current pandemic, said Beth Heidorn, Racine Zoo executive director. Mother Nature finds a way to keep the world moving and we are fortunate to contribute to the success of this species.

The Racine Zoo is currently closed to the public to slow the spread of COVID-19, but is looking forward to the day when it is safe to reopen and allow the public to visit the twins. The zoo invites you to help support the care of these babies and all the animals at the Racine Zoo via their #GivingTuesdayNow fundraiser at racinezoo.org/givingtuesdaynow.

People should watch Zoo social media for a naming contest in the coming weeks.

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By PTI

MUMBAI: Five more persons were arrested on Friday in the Palghar lynching case by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Maharashtra Police, an official said.

It took the number of persons arrested in connection with the lynching of three men including two monks in neighbouring Palghar district to 115, including nine minors, he said.

The incident took place at Gadchinchle village on April 16 when the two monks were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral.

A mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were thieves, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot.

Some of the accused later fled into the dense forest around the village.

The police used drones to hunt them, the official said.

The five accused persons were produced before a court on Friday and remanded in the CID's custody till May 13, he said, adding that probe was on.
Even in her later years, Jones said, there were times when things would get a little rough in a courtroom and the clerk would hit the panic button. Deputies raced to the courtroom, saying, Annette is up there, we got to make sure shes okay, Jones said. By the time we got up there, shed have the person in handcuffs.
New Delhi, May 1 : Global chipmaker Qualcomm has estimated there was a 21 per cent decline in handset sales in its fiscal second quarter (January-March period) this year, mainly from the slowdown in China.

The leading 5G chip-maker now expects a bigger 30 per cent decline in handsets in the April-June quarter as most of the world outside of China deals with COVID-19.

For the full year, the company forecasts volumes to be down 10 per cent (year-over-year).

"In the June quarter, we estimate the overall handset market to be down approximately 30 per cent, driven by the impact of shutdowns in the rest of the world while benefiting from the rebound we are seeing in China. Total demand will depend on the speed of the economic recovery," Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said in a statement.

Qualcomm, however, has not changed its 5G forecast for 2020.

"As we look to the second half of calendar 2020, while there are a few regions with minor delays in 5G network deployments. Overall, 5G is progressing as planned and we continue to be well positioned to drive the rapid adoption of 5G globally," Mollenkopf added.

The chip-maker has entered into new long-term global patent license agreements with OPPO and Vivo.

"Our ability to finalize these 5G multimode agreements in a challenging environment reiterates the strength of our IP portfolio and the relationship with these customers. In the second fiscal quarter, due to the spread of COVID-19, we saw a reduction in 3G, 4G, 5G handset shipments of approximately 21% compared to our prior expectations and on a year-over-year basis," explained Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer.
Delhi: The government of Thursday sought suggestions on methods of resource mobilisation from captains of the automobile industry. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: The government sought suggestions on methods of resource mobilisation from captains of the automobile industry, who raised several demands for a financial package to overcome the impact of the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

During a video conference with leaders of the auto industry, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Prakash Javadekar asserted the government's support to the sector saying it has to be brought back "on the wheels" again considering its significance to the Indian economy.

The industry leaders, including Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa, M&M Managing Director Pawan Goenka, Hero MotoCorp CMD Pawan Munjal, SIAM President Rajan wadhera and ACMA President Deepak Jain, raised various demands from the government, including reduction of GST on automobiles, support for liquidity, employment, retail sales and suppliers to revive growth in the segment.

"This industry is very important for India and we have to bring it back on the wheels," Javadekar said after the video conference with the industry leaders.

He acknowledged the significance of the auto industry highlighting its contribution to India's GDP and overall manufacturing, besides being "a mass employment generator" and its role in exports from the country.

"Now, we have to concentrate on livelihood and that is what we discussed today (Thursday) and we discussed so many things. I also suggested them on how to raise resources, how to mobilise resources because putting up demand is one part of the story but suggesting various methods of resource mobilisation is also important and, therefore, it was a fruitful meeting and we are happy with it," the minister said.

Acknowledging the hardships the auto industry has gone through, he said that last year, this industry suffered because of a planned migration from BS-IV to BS-VI with customers postponing purchases.

"So, overall, there were many discussions and demands of GST cuts, employment support, retail sales support, supplier support and liquidity support. So, naturally, what the industry has gone through, they have put up demand," he said.

The minister added that the industry leaders also suggested online registration of new vehicles, along with batch testing for factory workers before re-joining work, physical separators between two workers and sanitisation of selling points, among others.

Industry sources said they sought opening of dealerships and back-end activities to have seamless operations.

The industry captains also sought liquidity support to component makers and dealerships. They also demanded policy steps for revival of demand in the sector.
The U.S. Special manager for Venezuela on Thursday said in a desperate attempt to revive its oil industry, cash-strapped Venezuela is paying Iran with gold in return for Iranian assistance.

Since April 21 an air bridge has been opened between Iran and Venezuela with several flights by Mahan Air. The airline has been under U.S. sanctions since 2011 for allegedly transporting fighters and weapons to Iran's proxies and support of terrorism on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard.

On April 24 Associated Press (AP) reported that two flights by Iran's Mahan air had landed at a western Venezuelan town on April 23 and 24 to deliver key chemical components used for producing gasoline. A source told AP that 14 more flights were expected in the coming days, some of them carrying Iranian technicians.

"Our assumption is that those planes that come from Iran are bringing things for the oil industry, and they return full of gold as a form of payment," El Politico quoted Elliot Abrams, the U.S. Special manager for Venezuela as saying.

Informed sources have told Bloomberg that Venezuela has sent some 9 tons of gold  an amount equal to about $500 million  to Iran by Mahan Air this month for help in revival of its crippled gasoline refineries.

But Iranian help to revive Venezuela's oil industry is just an assumption at this point, and the gold transfer could have other reasons.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said Mahan Air flights had to stop and called on other countries to deny overflights to the sanctioned airline.

The BBC quoted a Western diplomatic source in February 2019 saying that Venezuela was exporting huge quantities of gold to Turkey, part of which was ending up in Iran. The source said that Turkey had been warned. However, Turkish President Recep Erdogan was a vocal supporter of the Venezuelan regime during the push last year by the United States to bring the opposition to power.

Opponents of Nicholas Maduro accuse the Venezuelan government of mining gold in illegal ways, using mafia networks to control small miners with use of violence.

The United States has urged other countries to deny overflight rights to Mahan Air in addition to the denial of landing rights already in place by some countries. "You've got one terrorist regime helping another terrorist regime," the U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said in an exclusive interview with Radio Farda on April 30.

"The [Iranian] regime regularly claims things that are false, including that they were helping Venezuela's oil industry. But I think we can probably safely assume it's not limited to that," he said.

Iran boosted its relations with Venezuela during the presidencies of Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who made various agricultural, industrial, and financial agreements. Iran also undertook construction projects in Venezuela and built several factories including a car assembly factory. Venezuela, however, failed to pay for some of the services offered by Iranian companies and the level of economic relations has dropped since.
Vietnam features extensive ethnolinguistic diversity and occupies a key position in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA). Yet, the genetic diversity of the country remains relatively unexplored, especially with genome-wide data, because previous studies have focused mainly on the majority Kinh group. In new research, an international team of researchers has analyzed genome-wide SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) data for the Kinh and other ethnic groups in Vietnam, encompassing all five major language families in MSEA.

The early settlement of anatomically modern humans in MSEA dates back to at least 65,000 years ago and is associated with the formation of a hunter-gatherer tradition called Hoabinhian.

Since the Neolithic period, which dates to about 4,000-5,000 years ago, cultural transitions and diversification have happened multiple times eventually leading to the extraordinary cultural diversity in present day MSEA.

Vietnam has a population size of more than 96 million people comprising 54 official ethnic groups; 110 languages are spoken in the country.

To date, there are hundreds of ethnolinguistic groups in MSEA, speaking languages belonging to five major language families: Austro-Asiatic (AA), Austronesian (AN), Hmong-Mien (HM), Tai-Kadai (TK), and Sino-Tibetan (ST).

In the new study, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Vientnams Institute of Genome Research, the Universite de Lyon and CNRS analyzed genome-wide SNP data for the Kinh and 21 additional ethnic groups in Vietnam along with previously-published data from nearby populations and ancient samples.

We find that the Vietnamese ethnolinguistic groups harbor multiple sources of genetic diversity that are associated with heterogeneous ancestry sharing profiles in each language family, said corresponding co-author Dr. Nong Van Hai, a scientist in the Institute of Genome Research at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

However, the linguistic diversity does not completely match genetic diversity; there have been extensive interactions between the Hmong-Mien and Tai-Kadai groups, and a likely case of cultural diffusion in which some Austro-Asiatic groups shifted to speaking Austronesian languages, said first author Dr. Dang Liu, a researcher in the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

On a global scale, the strongest signal separates most Indian groups from the East Asian groups.

They also found evidence that the majority group Kinh, which have been the focus of previous studies, may not reflect the total Vietnamese diversity.

Within modern Vietnamese groups, individuals from the same language family are mostly placed together.

Within these language families, the ST, HM, and TK groups are mostly separated from AA and AN groups.

Vietnam ethnolinguistic groups overall tend to show the closest relationships with Taiwanese and southern Chinese groups.

Overall, our results highlight the importance of genome-wide data from dense sampling of ethnolinguistic groups in providing new insights into the genetic diversity and history of an ethnolinguistically-diverse region, such as Vietnam, said corresponding co-author Dr. Mark Stoneking, also from the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

In contrast to previous studies suggesting a largely indigenous origin of the Vietnamese, we find evidence for extensive contact, over different time periods, between Vietnamese and other groups.

The research is described in a paper published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

_____

Dang Liu et al. Extensive ethnolinguistic diversity in Vietnam reflects multiple sources of genetic diversity. Molecular Biology and Evolution, published online April 28, 2020; doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa099
Photo credit: Mike Kim

From Esquire

Photo credit: @mikekimbackwards

Welcome to Paired Up, a semi-regular look at the sneakers that are catching our attention right now. Check back in soon to see what's dropping next.

Luka Doncic is arguably the best young talent weve seen since MJ, and hands down one of the most exciting players to watch in the league right now. (Well, before we all went into lockdown. Yeah, I miss sports.) History has shown us that many great athletes are superstitious and practice pregame rituals. Take, for example, MJ and Lebrons chalk tosses (they differ a bit), or Wades pull-up on the rim, and so on. Guess what? Doncic has one, too. And after signing with Jordan Brand last December, this young superstar is finally getting his first shoe release (part of the Pregame Pack) that celebrates what happens before the clock starts.

Photo credit: Nike

Buy Now at StockX

For the longest time, AJ1 Mids were neglected by the sneaker community. But we're starting to see a shift in this belief. Even though the Mids are divisive, there's no denying a great sneaker when you see one, and certain colorwaysthe Blue the Great and Milan iterations of the silhouette, for examplehave convinced many of that not all Mids are dealbreakers. Doncic's riff on the newly revived style is definitely one of these colorways. The sneaker combines white and just-barely-there mint green on the upper, and is dressed in asymmetrical accent colors on the Swoosh and outsole. It's subtle and clean, but still packs that extra flavor needed to make a statement. In fact, it almost resembles Doncic's playing style on the court. But remember, this is all about the pregame, and the cool colors are meant to highlight calm and mindfulness. To that end, each heel features a little mantra: Breathe & Center on one side, and Center & Breathe on the other.



Heres a closer look at the AJ1 Mid "Mindfulness."

Photo credit: @mikekimbackwards

Photo credit: @mikekimbackwards

Buy Now at StockX

Photo credit: @mikekimbackwards

Photo credit: @mikekimbackwards

Photo credit: @mikekimbackwards

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(Natural News) Once upon a time, our country praised and rewarded Americans who were bright, insightful, industrious and visionary enough to see a coming need and, as entrepreneurs, fill it.

While the entrepreneur made money, of course  because thats how capitalism built the greatest economy the world has ever seen  people had their needs fulfilled at the same time.

It was win-win, and in capitalism, thats the objective.

But now, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, being too entrepreneurial can not only backfire on you, it could also land you in jail.

As reported by Zero Hedge, a New York businessman who saw the coronavirus pandemic coming and stocked up on personal protective equipment before most others were aware of what was about to happen is being charged with violating the Defense Production Act for hoarding and price gouging.

The site adds:

45 year old Amardeep Singh was storing the items at a warehouse in Long Island and was selling the items  at a hefty mark-up  from his store in Plainview. For his business acumen in the land of the free, he now faces up to a year of jailtime 

President Trumps March 18 executive order made it illegal to hoard medical supplies and then re-sell them at excessive prices.

And of course, the charges of hoarding and excessive pricing is largely subjective and arbitrary; what one man saw as an incredible business opportunity, some government lawyer sees as a national security threat. Unreal.

Singhs attorney noted that his client was unaware he was breaking any U.S. laws  and why would he have been? After all, he is a visionary; he saw what was coming long before President Trump invoked the DPA.

Not only that, the attorney said, This Defense Production Act is a very general law which lacks any specificity on what exactly price gouging is.

Once all the facts are laid out, you will see that my client didnt violate the law. We deny any wrongdoing that my client gouged on any profits. Hes innocent and will be cleared, the lawyer, Bradley Gerstman, added, according to Bloomberg News.

The government is stealing all of his supplies

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said that Singh, also known as Bobby Sidana, began buying protective equipment in mid-March and hoarded them in his store. He created a special section called COVID-19 Essentials.

The products included N95 masks, which are now in demand everywhere  especially by healthcare providers  as well as face shields, surgical masks, gloves and disinfectants.

Singh was selling three-ply disposable face masks for $1 each; he paid about 7 cents apiece for them, or a markup of about 1,328 percent, according to Donoghue, citing records taken from the store. Singh made bulk sales to groups that were servicing senior citizens and children who were stricken with the virus, records said. (Related: Plants have lungs and humans have influenced the way they breathe, study says.)

The businessman saw the devastating Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to make illegal profits on needed personal protective equipment, said Craig Carpenito, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New Jersey who is also head of the Justice Departments Covid-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force.

Bloomberg added that the government then stole all of Singhs supplies:

U.S. postal inspectors seized 23 shipping pallets containing more than 100,000 face masks, 10,000 surgical gowns, 2,500 full-body isolation suits and more than 500,000 pairs of disposable gloves at Singhs warehouse.

The news site noted that Singh had also been sanctioned by the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs and warned by the New York State attorney general, the latter of whom sent him a cease-and-desist letter after warning that he was selling hand sanitizer and other products at unconscionably excessive prices.

But was he? That certainly seems to be a matter of interpretation. And besides, why cherry-pick whom to prosecute? Because arent the Big Pharma outfits selling their products at unconscionably excessive prices all the time?

Sources include:

Bloomberg.com

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
An Ohio cop got her revenge on her former boss, who she says sacked her for being gay, after she defeated the sheriff in the 2020 race for his own office.

Charmaine McGuffey, 62, defeated Trump-supporting Democrat Jim Neil, 61, winning approximately 70 percent of the vote in Ohio's primary election day Tuesday. She hopes to become the county's first female and first out LGBTQ person to be elected sheriff.

The pair have a difficult history and are still in the middle of a federal lawsuit after McGuffey claimed Neil fired her in 2017 for being an openly gay woman and for voicing concerns about excessive force being used by officers. She had worked in the sheriff's office for 33 years and been promoted to major.

Neil said the reason for the firing was that McGuffey created a hostile work environment despite her being named Public Citizen of the Year by the Ohio House of Representatives just a year before.

Charmain McGuffey had served for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office for 33 years before she was fired in 2017. She claimed the dismissal was because of concerns she raised about excessive force being used by officers. She beat the sheriff who fired her in Tuesday's primary

Incumbent sheriff Jim Neil faced a demoralizing defeat in the primary for Hamilton County sheriff in Ohio. He had been criticized for appearing with Donald Trump at a town hall. He can be seen here in the crowd at the town hall in his sheriff's uniform, standing right of another cop

'The current sheriff and I got into a pretty serious disagreement about the practice of him not holding officers accountable for use of force and harassment of women, female officers, and female inmates,' McGuffey told LGBTQ Nation.

'He fired me. So, after about a year or so of contemplating, I decided I can do a better job than him.'

McGuffey beat the incumbent Neil with 69.67 percent of the vote after appealing to more progressive wing of the Democratic Party in the county.

Back in 2012, Neil had become the first Democrat elected sheriff in the county in over 35 years and was re-elected in 2016, even after he was criticized by other Democrats for his decision to attend a Donald Trump town hall in Cincinnati while in his sheriff's uniform.

He lost the Hamilton County party's endorsement earlier this year, however, after party leadership read him the riot act, according to Cincinatti.com.

The sheriff was said to have been questioned by leadership in an interview January about disparities in how white people and black people are treated in the criminal justice system.

He repeatedly responded that he 'is color blind'.

'Quite frankly, my opponent has pretended to be a Democrat for many years now, when he's actually much more aligned with the Tea Party Republicans. He tells people what they want to hear and then doesn't follow through,' McGuffey added when speaking to LGBT Nation.

'[My election] would mean that our country is moving forward,' she said at before the vote, 'that we really have moved away from the 1950s model of law enforcement, where not just women are embraced in the law enforcement world, but also LGBTQ members of the community can wear a uniform and be quite successful.'

Charmaine McGuffey chats with supporters during a Zoom conference call Tuesday night as she awaited results. She defeated her former boss Jim Neil who fired her in 2017 in the primary

Incumbent sheriff Jim Neil faced a demoralizing defeat in the primary for Hamilton County sheriff in Ohio. He had been criticized for appearing with Donald Trump at a town hall

McGuffey had spent 33 years working in the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office before she was fired.

She had already added some firsts to her list of achievement, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the HCSO's history when she was promoted to Major in Command of jail and court services.

'So grateful for the overwhelming support in tonight's Democratic primary,' McGuffey said in a Facebook post after her win.

'Thank you to my team, supporters, and all who voted for criminal justice reform. I look forward to serving as your Sheriff in Hamilton County. On to November!'

Not only was the race a direct run-in between progressive and conservative sections of the Democratic Party, McGuffey's decision to run against Neil was also deeply personal.

Charmaine McGuffey holds a sign while campaigning for Hamilton County Sheriff outside the Hamilton County Board of Elections on Tuesday. She won the election by almost 70 percent

They are reported to have grown up in the same area of Hamilton County, attended the same high school and attended the same criminal justice program at the University of Cincinnati.

Both joined the Hamilton County Sherriff's Department in the early 80s but McGuffey was fired by Neil in 2017. He had previously promoted her to major in 2013 on his election.

In the years immediately before she was fired, McGuffey had received several honors in celebration of her service.

She was honored as the local and regional Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2015 and in the following year, the Ohio House of Representatives named her the Public Citizen of the Year.

She sued Neil over the dismissal and the lawsuit is still pending.

McGuffey will now face off with Republican Bruce Hoffbauer, who has been a lieutenant for the Cincinnati Police for 16 years.
I pointed out to Zelenko, But its not registered as an FDA test, and you cant say it is,  Corsi said Thursday on YouTube, adding that he did not feel Zelenko was trying to defraud anyone, but rather did not understand what it meant to have an FDA-approved test.
Women are under-represented in the Dail and when it comes to filling the most senior roles in companies.

This is despite the fact younger women are more likely than men to have a third-level education, although the gap between the sexes is narrowing on that front.

A new report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has laid bare some key differences between how women and men are faring by looking at a number of key areas including health, education and gender equality.

Ireland has the 10th-lowest representation of women in parliament in Europe, and they are under-represented in the Dail, according to the 'Women and Men in Ireland 2019' report.

Statistician Emma Hogan said: "Between 2014 and 2018, the percentage of female representation in the Dail increased from 16pc to 22pc. The 22pc representation did not change in the 2020 election."

She said more women aged 25 to 35 had a third-level education, but the gap had reduced from 15.1 percentage points in 2008 to 7.2 percentage points in 2018.

However, the report revealed that Irish men work longer hours than women in paid employment.

The average hours worked per week is 40.1 hours for men and 32.3 hours for women.

More than half of men (53pc) work for 40 hours or more each week, compared to nearly 25pc of women.

Married men worked longer hours in paid employment than married women in 2018.

More than half of married men (56pc) worked for 40 or more hours per week compared with nearly 22pc of married women.

The report also showed that men had a higher employment rate than women.

The employment rate for men in Ireland last year of nearly 75pc was slightly higher than the average rate in the EU, while the female rate in Ireland of nearly 64pc was slightly below the EU figure.

However, the figures show that when it comes to having a seat at the top table there are still some major differences between the sexes.

Just over one in four (26pc) of all senior roles in large enterprises was held by a woman last year.

Women occupied only 11pc of chief executive officer (CEO) positions and 28pc of senior executive roles.

Meanwhile, women held just one in five positions on boards of directors, at nearly 20pc.

The report, the 13th edition of it to be published, confirmed women are giving birth later, and living longer.

The average age women in Ireland gave birth to their first child has risen to 31.1 years in 2018.

Life expectancy at birth in 2017 for Irish men was 80 years, while women born that year could expect to live for 84 years.

However, men are more likely than women to be involved in a road accident, the report added.

For instance, only one in four, or nearly 26pc, of the 162 people who died on Irish roads in 2017 were women.

The report also revealed that just over one in 10 of the prison population are women. Only 11pc of sentenced committals to prison in 2018 were women.

Less than 1pc of sexual offences were committed by women.

Meanwhile, when it came to the risk of poverty, women were found to be at a slightly higher risk than men, and they were are also more likely to be working as unpaid carers.
AIRTEL Tanzania has said it is committed to enhance innovation and technology, particularly through Timiza Akiba platform to advance financial inclusion for all Tanzanians.

Airtel Money Director Isack Nchunda said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Timiza Akiba enables customers to save for a purpose while curtailing luxury spending.

"Timiza Akiba as savings product runs on mobile money and therefore deposits and withdrawals are made digitally and safely," he said.

Airtel Tanzania makes Timiza Akiba available to all Airtel Money customers through their mobile network and USSD functionality which works with any feature phone and doesn't require access to data. Letshego Bank Tanzania's Acting Chief Executive, Andrew Tarimo, said Letshego is committed to streamline and simplify access to financial solutions for emerging consumers across the country and mostly supporting customers through the current economic challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Timiza Akiba's digital partnership is a secure and a rewarding way to save money for when you need it most," he said.

With total savings growing by more than 30 per cent in the last three months alone, Timiza Akiba is proving to be a safe and accessible option to help Tanzanians save their hard-earned cash simply, safely and easily, using their mobile phones.

Launched just under two years ago, through a partnership with Airtel, Letshego Bank Tanzania and financial technology company Jumo, Timiza Akiba is Tanzania's first fee-free, interest-bearing mobile money savings account.

With the initial aim to drive a savings culture among the people of Tanzania and help them reach their business or personal financial goals, the dynamic partnership is showing signs of sustained success.

Timiza Akiba allows Airtel customers to set up a savings account and save any amount from 100/- up to 5m/- directly from their mobile phones, without having to handle cash or travel to a bank.

The funds are managed by Letshego Bank Tanzania and those customers who manage to avoid spending their savings, receive a monthly sum as a reward for their commitment towards reaching their financial buffer, or goal.

Timiza Akiba's reward is calculated as a percentage of total savings on a balance of any size, and supports national government mandates to encourage and support the growth and development of the local savings culture.

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Withdrawals are, however, accessible and available at any time with no transaction costs, in the event of an unexpected expense or emergency.

Timiza Akiba's banking partner Letshego Bank Tanzania is a member of the 11-country strong pan-African Group, listed in Botswana and Namibia.

Jumo builds and operates short-term, structured and long-term financial products, such as Timiza Akiba for emerging markets.

"Our technology stack reduces unit economics on the delivery and administration of financial services so that partners can reach new markets and customers can access high value products," said Jumo's Africa Chief Executive Officer, Buhle Goslar.

"Our partnership with Airtel and Letshego Bank Tanzania has reduced the barriers to access to savings significantly and it's encouraging to see how Timiza Akiba has grown, especially in recent months," he said.
Lufthansa aims to finalise 10 billion euro rescue package next week - sources FILE PHOTO: Planes of German carrier Lufthansa parked on a closed runway at Frankfurt airport

By Arno Schuetze, Klaus Lauer and Patricia Uhlig

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa aims to finalise a state aid rescue package worth up to 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) next week after the coronavirus crisis forced it to ground almost all of its planes, people close to the matter said.

The package will consist of equity from Germany's new economic stabilisation fund (ESF), state-guaranteed loans from Germany and debt supplied by Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, where Lufthansa subsidiaries are based, they added.

Lufthansa is in intensive negotiations with the governments regarding various financing instruments to secure the group's solvency in the near future, Lufthansa said as it reported a first-quarter loss of 1.2 billion euros late on Thursday.

The company declined to comment further and the German government declined to comment.

Chief Executive Carsten Spohr this month said that Lufthansa would seek state aid in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, citing cash burn at a rate of 1 million euros per hour, meaning its 4 billion euro cash reserves will be inadequate.

The equity injection from the ESF - possibly up to 4 billion euros - could initially come as a non-voting form of capital dubbed "silent participation", two of the sources said, adding that some or all could be converted into shares at a later stage.

Roughly 5 billion euros in loans, 80% guaranteed by German state bank KfW, could be part of the package, they said, adding that Austria, Switzerland and Belgium could contribute a combined 1 billion to 1.5 billion euros.

The three countries are pushing for their individual hubs to be strengthened if they participate in the rescue.

'IN FLUX'

"The exact portions of the differents pots of money are still in flux," another source close to the matter said.

The German government is expected to present its proposal to Lufthansa this week, with talks to be finalised next week, the sources said, adding that it is sure to include fresh equity.

Story continues

Lufthansa currently has a market capitalisation of 3.8 billion euros and its shareholders would need to approve any large capital increase.

A potential relaxation of refund rules for airlines is not taken into account in the package, the sources said, because an EU decision on any changes to the existing regulations is not expected in the short term.

The German group's rivals, including Air France-KLM, IAG and easyJet, have also ground to a halt in the face of the pandemic and are expected to receive state support.

Lufthansa, which owns Swiss International, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, is working with Goldman Sachs as its lead adviser, while Deutsche Bank is its main financing partner, the sources said.

The banks declined to comment.

Austria, which has said Lufthansa can apply for state aid, declined to comment. The Swiss government said that no decision has been taken and communication on the matter would take place at the end of the month. The Belgian finance ministry declined to comment on Belgium's plans.

($1 = 0.9264 euros)

(Additional reporting by Christian Kramer, Francois Murphy, Paul Arnold, Philip Blenkinsop,; Editing by Ludwig Burger and David Goodman)
When the world was in need of joint efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, some American politicians, represented by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have multiplied the means of scapegoating other countries, showing no regard for the health of millions of Americans, impeding international anti-pandemic cooperation.

They pursued ugly political interests in complete disregard of the virus as it claimed lives of people around the world and must be held accountable for their evil acts.

Just as American analysts pointed out, he contributed nothing to the countrys anti-pandemic efforts, with the Washington Post remarking that Pompeo's pandemic performance ensures his place among the worst secretaries of state ever.

Not only did Pompeo fail to offer leadership, hes cynically using the pandemic to pound on US adversaries, undermining global cooperation against the virus right when its badly needed, US political news website revealed.

Externally, he has stirred up trouble for the World Health Organization (WHO) and China, and attempted to claim compensation from China, while imposing sanctions on Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and others amid the pandemic. Even to US allies, Pompeos promise to help them may just be lip service as the US sent military aircraft to vie for medical supplies.

As the US chief diplomat, Pompeos offensive words and deeds come as a shock considering his line of work . During the pandemic, he continued promoting the maximum pressure campaign against Iran. His practice of worsening other countries situation in their response to the pandemic will only lead to greater humanitarian disasters, overstepping the bottom line of humanity. In contrast, Chinas sincere assistance to other countries has been highly appreciated by them.

Furthermore, Pompeo said the US might never restore WHO funds. The USs decision to defund the WHO is simply this - a crime against humanity, according to an article published on top medical journal The Lancet, on April 25.

Pompeo has used the term "Wuhan virus" on many occasions and criticized China for hiding information about COVID-19 in total disregard for the facts, attempting to drive a wedge between China and other countries.

China made a timeline public of its efforts against COVID-19, yet Pompeo didnt dare to allow the WHO to investigate the virus in the US. By fabricating rumors, the former director of the CIA is resorting to the same old tricks in the diplomatic arena.

Instead of upholding the sense of responsibility as a professional diplomat, Pompeo spread political rumors, nothing short of the accomplice of the virus. These American politicians have only damaged their countrys international reputation, rather than making America great again.
Honda has initiated a significant and comprehensive new effort to harness the spirit of community in responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific initiatives include:

Sales of Honda and Acura vehicles showed signs of improvement in the final weeks of April, with customer traffic increasing online and in dealer showrooms as state and local authorities eased restrictions on sales activities.

Honda has teamed up with Dynaflo, Inc. to produce diaphragm compressors, a key component of portable ventilators that are used in hospitals and by first responders to help COVID-19 patients. The companies aim to produce 10,000 compressors per month once production reaches capacity.

Honda and Acura dealers continue to focus on taking care of existing customers through vehicle service, maintenance and repair, while preserving the health and safety of their customers and employees.

Honda associates have been using 3D printers to produce face shields at various company operations, with Honda engineers now working on a method to mass-produce face shield frames in Honda facilities.

A number of Honda and Acura dealers remained closed for much of April in compliance with mandates imposed on businesses by state and local authorities.



Last month, Honda and Acura opened enrollment in new online retailing programs, Shop Simple with Honda and Acura Precision Purchase, and received a tremendous response from Honda and Acura dealers looking for an online retailing solution to meet the needs of our customers.


Several small and marginal farmers of Andhra Pradeshs (AP) Anantpur district have risen above their personal financial constraints and joined hands to help the poor and needy stranded migrant workers. Anantpur, which is one of the worst-affected districts in AP and has 10 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) red zones, has reported 61 positive cases and four deaths to date.

The poor farmers from this perennially-drought-stricken district, however, are pulling out all stops to help the stranded migrant workers, who are staying in relief camps and shelter homes. The farmers, largely from the districts Kalyanadurgam area that is located adjacent to neighbouring Karnataka, are pooling in their meagre resources and supplying groceries, vegetables and fruits for the migrants.

K Chandra (40), is a small farmer, who owns a 2.5-acre of an arable tract in Kanukuru village thats barely enough for subsistence living. However, hes moved by the pitiable plight of the stranded workers and has decided to contribute in a bid to alleviate their misery.

I grow groundnut and onion on my tiny tract of land and sell them to open market. Ive decided to donate my meagre produce to feed the poor and the needy in the relief camps amid the ongoing lockdown restrictions, Chandra said.

Chandra and enthusiastic village youth are going about their task quietly since the nationwide lockdown restrictions initially came into force from March 25 for 21 days and then further extended for another 19 days till May 3 to contain the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak. They have been sourcing assorted foodstuff from Kanukuru and neighbouring villages and then bringing them to an adjacent warehouse that belongs to the Rural Development Trust (RDT), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has been working on inculcating the best agricultural practices in the drought-hit Rayalaseema region.

The trust has taken up the responsibility of supplying food, groceries and vegetables to the relief camps and shelter homes since the lockdown was imposed. So far, weve donated 4,300 quintals of rice, chillis, tamarind and leafy vegetables. Im acutely aware of the pangs of hunger, and I dont want others to suffer, Chandra said.

N Krishna Reddy, a farmer from Venkatampalli village and owns a five-acre arable plot, is also donating his vegetable produce to the trust daily.

Anne Ferrer, executive director, RDT, finds the farmers response amid this grave humanitarian crisis overwhelming. Anantapur is one of the worst-affected districts in AP. However, the viral outbreak scourge hasnt deterred over 600 farmers from seven Red Zones in the district to generously contribute, as were feeding 7,000 poor people daily, Ferrer said.

On Thursday, several small farmers from Bathalapalli donated 5,000 kilograms (kg) of rice, 312 litres of edible oil, 30 kg of brinjal, 20 kg of tomatoes, 10 kg onions and 30 kg of green chillies to the RDT canteen in Anantapur.

A group of farmers from Gooty donated us firewood as well, which is coming handy for cooking, Ferrer said.

Most of the migrants living in the relief camps and shelter homes belong to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and they have been working in local cement factories and stone crushing units in Anantpur district.

Local farmers are supporting around 75% of our food distribution programme. However, the daily demand is growing. On Wednesday, we prepared food for almost 10,000 people. Were working closely with the government and local authorities to support those in greater need, said Visha Ferrer, director, RDT women empowerment director and also a programme coordinator for the food distribution programme.

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More than 40 percent of coronavirus-related deaths in Texas have been linked to nursing homes and assisted living centers  a spike from just 30 percent two weeks ago, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis of state data.

The review found that 33 percent of deaths related to COVID-19 as of Tuesday were connected to nursing homes, with an additional 9 percent linked to assisted living facilities.

Nationally, the death rate for the 23 states that report long-term care fatalities is 27 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Gov. Greg Abbott this week directed the states health and human services agency to develop additional guidance for nursing homes. Despite loosening some restrictions on nonessential businesses, Abbott said Monday that he would maintain protections on the most vulnerable people, including those at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

We will also redouble our efforts to protect seniors in nursing homes and other senior living facilities, Abbott said. That includes things like better infectious disease protocols at senior living centers. The bottom line is this: The more we do to protect our vulnerable senior population, the faster we can safely open business in Texas.

More testing urged

As of Monday, at least 231 coronavirus-related deaths were in nursing facilities, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. At least 59 deaths were in assisted living facilities. There were a total of 688 deaths statewide linked to the new coronavirus as of that date, according to state data and Hearst reporting. Two weeks ago, there were a total of 94 deaths at such facilities.

One of the worst outbreaks was at the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio, where at least 17 residents have been killed by the virus. More than 70 residents and 25 workers were infected.

Managers at the center said COVID-19 raced through the nursing home despite its adherence to public health protocols. The Metropolitan Health District said it could not determine the source of the outbreak but suspected that the virus was brought in by a worker.

After the outbreak in early April, the city ramped up testing and banned nursing home employees from working at multiple facilities.

Experts say the state needs to be similarly aggressive in testing staffers and residents at long-term care facilities.

Statewide, our HHSC survey teams are on site in nursing facilities and actively investigating and monitoring them to assess compliance with all applicable health and safety rules, said Kelli Weldon, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Commission.

Amanda Fredriksen, associate state director for advocacy and outreach at AARP Texas, said this protocol is too reactive, particularly as many people infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic carriers. She said nursing homes should be testing staff on a weekly basis and ensuring that any employees who have regular direct contact with residents are wearing sufficient personal protective equipment.

The emphasis on testing is good, but the frustration still is that the trigger point (for investigation) is a positive case in the facility, Fredriksen said. It just seems like at that point, the damage has already been done.

On the recommendation of federal officials, Abbott banned most visitors more than a month ago from nursing homes in an attempt to protect residents from infection. Later, the prohibition was extended to assisted living centers.

Nursing homes typically take the temperatures of employees, but experts concede that those screenings wont reveal someone not showing any symptoms of COVID-19. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its criteria to guide testing to include asymptomatic people in long-term care facilities as priorities.

Patty Ducayet, the states long-term care ombudsman, said the poor quality of certain nursing homes throughout the state, even before the coronavirus outbreak, could be skewing the overall numbers.

Pandemics are something we should have been preparing for, and we know facilities will probably learn an incredible number of lessons from this experience, Ducayet said, adding that shed like to see a statewide measure barring nursing home employees from working at more than one facility.

They need help

Brian Lee, executive director of the Austin-based watchdog group Families For Better Care, said Texas nursing home quality has been bottom of the barrel in the nation for years. For three straight years, Texas has ranked last in the nation on the organizations annual report card that analyzes nursing home quality.

To curb the spread, Lee said, the state needs to increase transparency and release names of facilities with outbreaks, not just data on infections and deaths, as well as mandate testing of all residents and staff when there is a confirmed case in a facility.

The state needs to take more of a leadership role than they have been, Lee said. Because the nursing homes are not slowing the curve, stopping the spread. All were doing is were seeing an escalation in outbreaks and deaths, and they need help.

In Texas, 282 nursing facilities were reporting coronavirus cases as of Monday  representing 23 percent of all licensed facilities across the state. Eighty-five assisted living facilities had cases  representing 4 percent of facilities across the state.

The state has not disclosed the number of deaths by county in nursing homes and assisted living centers.

New federal rules require nursing homes to report coronavirus cases to the CDC to help the federal government better track outbreaks and work to prevent them. The facilities were already required to report that data to state and local health officials.

Assisted living centers wont be subject to those rules, however, because unlike nursing homes, theyre not federally regulated and instead are overseen by the states.

Jordan Rubio contributed to this report.

nick.powell@chron.com

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
Due to ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, multiple Western Massachusetts defense attorneys are urging area sheriffs not to let correctional officers attend a Northampton rally in favor of Republican President Donald Trump and then go to work after the event.

The request was made after Correctional Officers for Trump 2020 appeared as a listed contact for the rally, called Trump Standout & China Virus Liberation Celebration. The event is one of dozens happening across the U.S. this week in support of Trumps reelection and the reopening of the country amid the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The Northampton event is scheduled to happen Saturday afternoon near the Calvin Coolidge Bridge and Damon Road. The events website urges attendees to bring banners, flags, signs and MAGA apparel.

Remember to show your love for all our Police and 1st Responders. We are not ANTIFA or BLM agitators. We are Patriots!, the site says.

In a letter sent to the four sheriffs in Western Massachusetts, six lawyers in the Northampton area urged the law enforcement officials to ensure nobody who attends the event is then allowed to work without first being quarantined for an appropriate amount of time.

Since the purpose of this rally is explicitly to support relaxation of social restrictions, we believe it is your responsibility to ensure that none of your correctional staff will be attending this rally, and then reporting for duty at your jail, the attorneys letter said.

The lawyers concerns come as worries mount for many incarcerated individuals in the state and the country because of the pandemic. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled last month that pretrial inmates who have not been charged with violent crimes can be released amid the outbreak.

A 41-year-old inmate at the Middleton House of Correction died Wednesday from virus, and as of Wednesday, more than 250 state prisoners have tested positive for the disease, Commonwealth Magazine reported.

Since April 10, four staff members and 20 inmates at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. All the incarcerated individuals have recovered from the infection, according to a statement from Hampshire Sheriff Patrick J. Cahillane.

So far, our staff has worked tirelessly to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and we will continue to do our jobs to keep all of Hampshire County safe, Cahillane said.

The Northampton lawyers - David Hoose, Luke Ryan, Marissa Elkins, Paul Rudof, Rachel Webber and Ryan Schiff - claimed that if correction officers attend events like rallies and then report for duty, they endanger both inmates and other jail staff members.

The Hampden County Sheriffs Department declined to comment on the letter, but officials noted that if employees are found out to have been in a situation that put them at risk of contracting the virus, they will be asked not to come in for their shifts.

The sheriffs website also says the department is screening all employees before they enter facilities during every shift, and if anyone shows symptoms potentially linked to COVID-19, they will be sent home.

The Berkshire and Franklin sheriffs offices did not immediately comment on the letter.

Each of the undersigned has worked very hard, at times in cooperation with you and your staffs, to make sure that jail populations are reduced, and that both inmates and staff remain safe from further spread of the COVID-19 virus, the attorneys wrote.

People have been holding protests in recent weeks urging officials to lift social distancing guidelines amid the outbreak due to economic concerns. However, many experts have argued doing away with restrictions too early may lead to a jump in coronavirus cases and deaths.

Last week, several protesters drove by Gov. Charlie Bakers home in Swampscott, shouting and demanding that he reopen the economy. Hundreds of people from a conservative organization called the United Cape Patriots also protested in Cape Cod last month.

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Rob Morgan in the movie "Bull." (Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)

The indie drama Bull is a fine example of what used to be called a regional film: a modestly scaled, character-driven motion picture where the particulars of the location matter more than the plot or the style. In this case, that place is Texas.

Amber Havard plays Kris, a teenage delinquent living with her grandma while her drug-dealing mother is in prison. When Kris and her friends trash her next-door neighbor Abes house, she avoids jail by becoming Abes assistant and companion and in the process learns about his life working at rodeos.

Rob Morgan plays Abe, who used to ride bulls but now just wrangles them, as a kind of rodeo clown  whenever he can take enough pills to quiet his aches and pains. Abe is part of a rarely recognized subculture of black rodeo riders and performers. Hes reluctant at first to become a mentor to some poor white girl who cant stay out of trouble.

Director Annie Silverstein (who also co-wrote Bull with Johnny McAllister) avoids outsized drama or contrivance. The conflicts are grounded. Abe struggles with feeling irrelevant and forgotten on the rodeo circuit. Kris is low on cash and considers getting help from her druggie friends. The two Texans need each others company  and oversight  but mostly refuse to acknowledge it.

The relative lack of action in Bull does mean the audience has to make more of an effort to engage with the film. But like the recent arthouse favorites The Rider and Lean on Pete, this movie has a rare sense of place. It preserves an entire world and the fragile people within it.
EAST HAVEN  A 24-year-old man is accused of trying to steal a truck idling at a gas station, police said.

Nicholas Gambardella is charged with criminal attempt at third-degree robbery, criminal attempt at first-degree larceny, third-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal mischief.

Officers responded to the Xpress Fuel at 22 Frontage Road March 31 after a woman called 911 to report that a man tried to steal her idling pickup truck while she was buying something at the window, according to Lt. Joseph Murgo.

East Haven Police Department

She stated that once she realized someone was in her car, she ran to it and ordered the suspect out, he said. She stated the suspect did not comply and instead, put the car in reverse and then forward several times while she was hanging on in an attempt to knock her off the vehicle.

She told the officers that she didnt let go of the pickup and reached into the truck to open the door from the inside. Murgo said she told officers when she opened the door, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle while it was in gear still. He fled on Frontage Road.

Murgo said the truck continued through the parking lot and hit a guardrail before the woman was able to get control over it.

Through an investigation, the officers developed a suspect  Gambardella  and got an arrest warrant for him. He was taken into custody at the Quality Inn at 30 East Frontage Road without incident on Tuesday.

Gambardella was held in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Lots of sunshine. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 31F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 12F. NNE winds shifting to S at 10 to 15 mph.
Q: Last Tuesday was Israels Independence Day. Why do you love Israel?  E from Encino, Calif.

A: I love the whole damn place! However, there are stories that are forever embedded in my memories of certain people and places in Israel.

Let me begin by explaining what Israel means to Jews and to Christians. Father Tom Hartman also loved Israel. Together we created Project Understanding, which brought Jewish and Catholic teenagers to Israel to hopefully plant the seeds for new God Squads to grow in the future. The Catholic kids explained what the Christian holy places in Israel meant to them and the Jewish kids explained to the Catholic kids what the Jewish places in Israel meant to them.

The trips were terrific and what the kids learned we should all learn. There are sacred places on this earth and Israel, particularly Jerusalem, is one of them. Religions are not just about sacred time  the cycle of the holidays and prayer. Religion is also about sacred space. For Hindus the Ganges river is a sacred place. For aborigines in Australia Uluru (Ayers Rock) is sacred. The Kaaba Stone in Mecca is a sacred place for Muslims. Every religion and every culture share the common belief that, although every inch of planet earth is a sacred creation of God, some places are filled to overflowing with sacredness.

Jerusalem is one of those places for Jews and Christians. My teacher Rabbi Nelson Glueck once told me that there is a legend that Jerusalem is the axis mundi, the navel of the universe, the place from which the world was created. That is the best way to explain a sacred place. It is a place that creates all the other places on earth. The Hebrew word for Israel as a sacred place is not Israel, it is tzion  Zion. Zion for me is the place where heaven and earth kiss. I cannot say it any other way.

In addition to the ancient Zion, the contemporary State of Israel is also special for me.

Two stories:

There is a place near Jerusalem where new immigrants to Israel begin their process of learning Hebrew and adjusting to their new lives in the Jewish state. I visited that place some years ago and saw a kindergarten class filled with new Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia. They are called Beta Yisrael or Falasha Jews and they have followed their own interpretation of Judaism since the time of King Solomon 3,000 years ago. With great courage and effort, Israel had rescued the entire starving and beleaguered Beta Yisrael community from Ethiopia during the time of their civil war and given them a safe new home in the State of Israel. I must say that it is always amazing to me to see Africans speaking Hebrew and reciting Jewish prayers, but it is obviously not amazing to them. That day I met a little boy named Moshe (his new Israeli name). Moshe was drawing in crayon a picture of a dog. In Moshes picture, the dog was smiling a big smile, which was cute and quite funny. I asked Moshe why the dog was smiling. He looked up at me with big eyes and his own smile and said, The dog is smiling because I dont have to eat him.

There is a kibbutz (a collectivist farm) near the Sea of Galilee where there was another kindergarten that was visited by members of my synagogue. One of the visitors brought a large bag of many crayon boxes for the children. He presented the crayons to the teacher who told him to dump out all the crayon boxes on the big table where the children were sitting. He did that and immediately the children opened up all the boxes and piled up all the crayons in the middle of the table so that they could share all the crayons together. I know that if a class of kids anywhere else was presented with such a gift each child would probably write his or her name on a box of crayons to make it their own. Not that many Israelis live on kibbutzim but the ones that do come out different than those of us raised in more individualistic and often selfish cultures. I think they come out better.

So when I am asked, dear E, why I love Israel there are many reasons but it comes down to this: I love Israel/Zion because it is a place where a little Jewish boy from the heart of Africa does not have to eat his dog, and I also love Israel because it is a place where they make the best crayon-sharers in the world.

Happy birthday, Israel!

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.
Indonesia May Day rallies go online amid COVID-19 restrictions as workers continue to oppose job creation bill

by Ghina Ghaliya

May 01,2020 | Source: The Jakarta Post

A coalition of three major labor unions in Indonesia, calling itself the the Indonesian Labor Workers Assembly (MPBI), is preparing to organize May Day digital strikes, demanding an end to the deliberation of the omnibus bill on job creation.



The coalition previously planned to hold the rally on the streets on Thursday.



The unions agreed to cancel the street protests after President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced last Friday that the government had reached a deal with the House of Representatives to delay deliberation of the labor provisions within the bill.



The May Day online protests are to take place on the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram platforms of the coalition members' accounts.



As of Thursday, a hashtag, #demodarirumah (rally from home), popped up in several social media platforms, mostly voicing opposition to the omnibus bill.



Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI)  one of MPBIs members  said on Thursday that even without street protests, the coalition would still call on the government to withdraw the omnibus bill from deliberations.



"We ask the government to issue a Keppres [Presidential Decree] to allow trade unions to join the drafting team so that the bill will accommodate the publics interests, he said.



The coalition also demanded job protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that airlines, hotels, travel agents, restaurants, logistic firms, online transportation services, digital economic firms, as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) had seen the most layoffs.



"The number could reach 80 to 90 percent of the total number of layoffs amid the pandemic.



Manpower Ministry data show that more than 1.9 million workers in both the formal and informal sectors had either been furloughed or laid off as of April 19, as companies temporarily halt operations to comply with large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). However, Iqbal said, not all sectors had been equally hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.



"Don't use the pandemic [as an excuse] not to pay full THR [Idul Fitri holiday bonuses], wages or severance pay [for laid-off workers]," he said.



The coalition also noted that many workers were forced to continue working as normal amid the pandemic and demanded that the government and employers ensure workers were better protected.



"Many of them have been infected with COVID-19, for example in PT Denso Indonesia, PT Eds Manufacturing Indonesia (PEMI) and PT Yamaha Music. They are giant companies. The workers have been infected [with the virus] and some of them have died," Iqbal said.



The coalition plans to display banners outside company offices and other strategic places in protest.



Andi Gani Nena Wea, president of the All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation (KSPSI)  also a MPBI member  said the three labor unions would also replace the May Day street rally with social service activities on Friday.



"We will distribute PPE and hand sanitizer to hospitals in Bekasi, Jakarta and Tangerang. Workers will do the same in their respective regions, he said.



Labor groups the Inter-Factory Laborers Federation (FBLP), the All-Indonesia United Workers Confederation (KPBI) and SINDIKASI, a trade union for media and creative industry workers, are also calling for deliberations on the job creation bill to be stopped so the government and the House can focus on COVID-19.



"We don't need them to delay deliberations of part [of the bill]. We demand deliberations of the entire bill be stopped, Ellena Ekarehendy of SINDIKASI said.

 2016-2020 PT. Niskala Media Tenggara

Theme(s): Others.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans government has approached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for deletion of six terrorists sanctioned by the worlds top security panel, a senior government official in Delhi told Hindustan Times.

Islamabad is likely to file more requests for deletions so that these can be processed by the UNSC before the year-end.

Islamabad last month told a visiting UNSC sanctions monitoring team that it could not find most terrorists sanctioned by the security council over the years because the UNSC did not have complete and accurate information about them. The team subsequently told Pakistan to file requests for deletion of the names if the entry was inappropriate.

Already, Islamabad has only confirmed that 19 of the 130 terrorists sanctioned by the UNSC are in Pakistan. Of these 19, it has requested UNSC to remove names of 6 terrorists.

Diplomats in Delhi and New York told Hindustan Times that Pakistans hard push to improve its track record at the UNSC is grounded in the confidence that China will back its requests. We have not been able to figure yet if the move is in consultation with Beijing but that would not be a surprise, one of them said.

Beijing had blocked an Indian-led international effort to designate chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group Masood Azhar as a global terrorist for years. Beijing eventually had to give in last year after the Jaish was implicated in the Pulwama bombing of 40 CRPF troopers that provoked India to launch air strikes at a terror training camp in Pakistans Balakot.

China sought to make up to Pakistan for Masood Azhars terror tag by its support to Islamabads tit-for-tat effort to get four Indian professionals working in Afghanistan designated as terrorists under the UN Security Councils 1267 Al Qaida sanctions. The four Indians were evacuated from Afghanistan by Indian security agencies over apprehensions that Pakistan could abduct them and claim to arrest them from its territory.

Just as Islamabad had done with ex-Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav who was abducted from Iran and turned up in custody of Pakistani security agencies, the counter-terror operative said. Sentenced to death in a secret trial that India called premeditated murder, Jadhav is still in a Pakistan jail despite the International Court of Justice verdict last year that asked Islamabad to have the sentence effectively reviewed by an independent body.

News of the attempt to prune the list of Pakistani terrorists sanctioned by the UNSC 1267 committee comes weeks after it emerged that Islamabad had been quietly removing names from its domestic terror watch list. On April 20, US tech firm Castellum.AI said Pakistan had removed nearly 3,800 names from the Proscribed Persons List that it had been maintaining. About 1,800 of these names were removed from the terror watch list after 9 March.

Indian diplomats are convinced that the Pakistani effort to reduce the terror watch list is linked to the meeting of the terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force that was scheduled for June. It has now been deferred.

At this meeting, the FATF had to assess the action taken by Pakistan to decide if it should continue to be in the grey list, be placed in the black list or be let off the hook. Islamabad has been in FATFs grey list since 2018 for not doing enough to counter the raising of funds by al-Qaeda, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Since then, it has missed several deadlines to implement the action plan that it had committed to deliver on but has successfully evaded blacklisting. Diplomats in Delhi believe this has a lot to do with Beijings influence. That the FATF presidency has been with Chinas Xiangmin Liu since 1 July 2019 also helped get away by doing less, one of them said.

For instance, of the 19 names accepted by Pakistan to be on its soil, it has convicted only two - Lashkare-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and associate Malik Zafar Iqbal - ahead of the last FATF plenary in mid-March, an Indian official said. Besides, it has admitted that of the 222 cases filed in the country in such terror cases, only 60 were convicted and that too, for a few days each. Since the jail term is less than FATFs prescribed minimum jail term (one year), it demonstrates a complete lack of seriousness to meet the FATF requirements, he added.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shishir Gupta Author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize by Israel. ...view detail
(Photo : Image by antonbe from Pixabay ) TikTok Viral 'Darkened Skin' Trend in India Receives Backlash (Photo : Kon Karampelas on Unsplash ) TikTok Viral 'Darkened Skin' Trend in India Receives Backlash

TikTok, a Chinese video-sharing social media platform, is now facing another set of new backlash from users, especially in India. A new video filter on the platform has been trending for quite some time now in the country. TikTok's 'darkened skin' trend currently used by thousands of Indian TikTok users faced backlash after it was accused of promoting colorism.

This TikTok filter trend in India receives backlash; But why?

If you have been using TikTok due to Coronavirus lockdown, you might already have seen filters of 'darkened skin' on the app.

The said viral filter called 'darkened skin'-- with applied music from Tamil film called 3, with lyrics about a "white skin girl" with a "black heart"-- is when a user digitally darkens his skin while looking sad. After a few seconds, the filter will turn the user into a person with a lighter skin tone while looking happier after the transformation.

According to BBC, the filter is now under scrutiny after some users reported the filter as offensive to darker skin-toned people. This was when the complaint became an issue of promoting 'colorism.'

Colorism is when a person judges another person through his skin color-- specifically for darker skin-toned people. As explained via The Guardian, this term of discrimination is somehow similar to racism. However, colorism is much distinct to the belief that white or lighter skin-toned person is much preferred than a dark skin-toned person.

Due to this issue, several TikTok users debate whether this issue should be treated as colorism or just a simple filter on the app.

What does the 'darkened skin' filter mean?

ALSO READ: TikTok New Policy: No More Private Messaging For Teens Under 16

Since April, the trending videos of 'darkened skin' filter has been one of the viral posts of TikTok in India. Some were already deleted due to the controversy, but many others are still available on the app.

Radhika Parameswaran, a professor at Indiana University and commentator on colorism, said that the trending filter had its misconception. First, the song that was usually lip-synced along with the TikTok filter has nothing to do with colorism.

"The song did not explicitly refer to dark skin, but nevertheless, Kolaveri Di's catchy tunes and lyrics become creative fodder for these youths to stage their playful and dramatic performances of skin color mutating from dark to light," she said.

The first man that posted the filter had also clarified that no discrimination was represented on the said filter.

"Guys this video is not to hurt anyone. I truly agree color shouldn't matter! Colorism shouldn't be celebrated! It was in trend so we did it," said TikTok user @nikhilsoni123.

READ ALSO: [VIRAL] TikTok Videos Show Doctors Dancing Amid Coronavirus; One Even Gives Free iPad to Patients!

TikTok deletes the videos

TikTok already removed some of the trending 'darkened skin' colors and said that they do not tolerate any violation of their guidelines-- which may point out to the said controversy.

"TikTok is a platform for positive, creative expression," a spokeswoman said. "Keeping our community safe is a top priority: our community guidelines make it clear what is not acceptable on our platform, and any content or account that violates these guidelines will be removed."

ALSO READ: Report: TikTok App Blocks You When You're Ugly, Fat, or Too Political?

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Shailene Woodley and Sebastian Stan are two of Hollywoods brightest rising stars, co-leads in the film Endings, Beginnings, and very good friends. Stan and Woodley first met while in the home of Endings, Beginnings director Drake Doremus, who guided his actors through the emotional drama. During their time on set together, a new friendship quickly blossomed. Woodley and Stan sat down, virtually of course, for a check-in for Interview Magazine, in which they discussed how they are handling life in quarantine, their acting processes, and a yummy vulnerable connection.

Sebastian Stan | Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Who is Sebastian Stan?

The Romanian-born actors breakthrough role was as Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl. Before his rise as a film star, Stan also appeared in the television series Kings and Once Upon A Time. Stans most prominent role is the metal-armed assassin turned superhero James Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Barnes is a super-soldier and is the best friend of Captain America. Interestingly, Stan was considered for the role of Steve Rogers, but that role eventually went to Stans real-life buddy Chris Evans. Buckys superhero name is The Winter Soldier, and he and The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) are set to star in their own, now delayed, Disney+ original series. Stan has earned praise for his role as Jeff Gillooly, the mastermind of the infamous Nancy Kerrigan attack in I, Tonya. He has also starred in Oscar-nominated films Black Swan and The Martian.

Who is Shailene Woodley?

Woodley began her career as a child-star with television appearances on The O.C. and Crossing Jordan, and her breakthrough role in as Amy Juergens in the ABC Family show The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She then exploded onto the film scene with her role in The Descendants, and became a movie star known for several blockbuster hits including the Divergent series, and The Fault in Our Stars. Woodley is also known for playing raw and emotional characters, such as Jane Chapman on HBOs Big Little Lies. During her rise to stardom, Woodley suffered through an illness that nearly ended her promising young career prematurely. Luckily for her fans, she was able to preserve and recover and is set to star in many future projects.

On the set of Endings, Beginnings

In Endings, Beginnings Woodley plays Daphne who, fresh after a devastating break-up, is looking for love in Los Angeles. She can find it in the form of a love triangle with Stans character Frank and his best friend and Jack, who is played by Jamie Dornan. The two friends are the exact opposite personalities, who give Daphne the distinct things she desires. She is torn by the challenge of deciding between her two men which, as love triangles often do, causes tragic and unforeseen consequences. The film was released on April 17, 2020, and is now available to watch with video on demand.

Much of the emotional film was improvised, and director Doremus pushed the actors to reach deep within for a real and vulnerable performance. The actors connection was strengthened by an exercise in which the actors stared into each others eyes while Doremus asked them personal questions. In their talk for Interview Magazine, Woodley and Stan remarked that they felt a deep connection while staring into one anothers eyes. Woodley said the vulnerability she saw in Stan was so yummy. The actress also said that the film felt like therapy for her and that every day was an invitation to reveal something about yourself that you were hiding from. Despite the powerful and sometimes difficult feelings that the actors went through during filming, they were glad to do it. Both Woodley and Stan were able to therapeutically access real emotion within, plus had the wonderful experience of making a new friend. Both actors are known for befriending co-stars, as Stan and Mackie are real-life besties, and Woodley and her Big Little Lies/Divergent co-star Zoe Kravitz have professed their deep friendship many times. Maybe Stan, Woodley, Mackie, and Kravitz can enjoy a high-profile dinner or emotional eye-staring contest once our collective quarantine is finished.
Roger Stone, the longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, is appealing his three-year prison sentence following his conviction as part of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation.

Stones lawyers filed the notice of appeal Thursday in federal court in Washington.

His attorneys are appealing his prison sentence and a judge's order denying Stones request for a new trial based on Stone's accusations of jury bias.

Roger Stone, the longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, is appealing his three-year prison sentence following his conviction as part of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. He is pictured leaving federal court after his sentencing in February

Stone has been a long-time ally and confidant of US President Donald Trump's. Trump is pictured taking questions in the East Room of the White House Thursday

After his conviction, Stone had accused the jury forewoman of being biased and petitioned for a new trial. His lawyers also alleged misconduct after some jurors spoke out publicly following the case.

The judge presiding over his case, US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, found that Stone's lawyers had not proved the forewoman was biased or that any jurors acted inappropriately.

Stone was convicted in November on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

He remains free as he awaits a date to surrender to the federal prison system, which is currently grappling with with outbreaks of the coronavirus.

Stone remains free as he awaits a date to surrender to the federal prison system, which is currently grappling with with outbreaks of the coronavirus. He is pictured with his wife Nydia leaving federal court after his conviction in November

Stone was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

FBI records released this week also revealed the extent of communications between Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as well as efforts by associates of Trump to glean inside details about Russia-hacked emails that WikiLeaks was going to publish.

Those associates expected the email would embarrass Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 race.

FBI records released this week also revealed the extent of communications between Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (pictured), as well as efforts by associates of Trump to glean inside details about Russia-hacked emails that WikiLeaks was going to publish

Trump associates expected Russia-hacked emails obtained by WikiLeaks would embarrass Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 race. Clinton is pictured last month at the premier of "Hillary," a documentary about the former candidate and First Lady

The prosecutors on Stones trial team quit the case in February after Justice Department leaders, including Attorney General William Barr, overruled their initial sentencing recommendation for Stone of between seven to nine years and ordered the filing of a new sentencing memorandum.

The department backed away from its initial recommendation hours after the president tweeted his displeasure with it.

Barr has said he ordered the new filing hours before the presidents tweet because he was caught off guard by the initial sentencing recommendation and believed it was excessive based on the facts of the case.

The presidents tweets about the case led to a brief flare-up between Barr and Trump.
For the first time, Pakistan's cash-strapped national flag carrier has been given permission by the US authorities to enter America directly, the airline spokesperson said.

A communique issued by the US Department of Transportation allowed Pakistan International Airlines to operate 12 flights in a month. The permission will expire on April 29, 2021, Dawn reported.

Previously, the PIA had to pass through security checks at airports in Europe and Britain before entering the United States owing to the latter's security regulations, the Express Tribune reported.

This is the first time Pakistan's national flag carrier will be operating direct flights to the US, airline's spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said on Thursday night.

The spokesman also said that the airline had no planes and capacity to fly directly to the US prior to the 9/11 terror attack when after the twin tower attacks the US authorities banned direct flights from Pakistan due to security up until now.

The terror attacks killed 2,977 people, including 40 Indians, when al-Qaeda terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

The PIA will be bound to inform the transportation department, in writing, of the route it took for any passenger or cargo chartered flights no less than five business days after the operation.

For any passenger flight, which is headed to the US from a destination outside Pakistan, the PIA will have to inform, in writing, the transportation department of the route it is taking three business days before the operation.

Owing to security concerns, the US had not allowed any direct flight that originated from a Pakistani airport into its airspace. In October 2017, the PIA discontinued its flights to the US because of rising operational costs and in a bid to cut losses it had been facing.

However, PIA officials have been trying to obtain clearance from the US and negotiations have been underway for the past two years. In March this year, a US Transportation Security Administration team visited Pakistan to conduct a final security inspection.

Cash-strapped PIA has been running into huge financial losses. For years, the airline with 18,000 plus employee and a fleet of 32 airplanes has only been adding billions to its loss sheets.

The PIA faced a huge loss worth Rs 180 million (USD 1.1 million), according to Pakistani media reports.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime, said Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank. She warned that the eurozone economy could shrink by as much as 12 percent this year.

Her stark assessment came after officials estimated that economic output in the eurozone fell 3.8 percent in the first three months of the year, the regions worst performance since the common currency was introduced in 1999.

The French economy declined by 5.8 percent, Spains by 5.2 percent and Italys by 4.7 percent, their steepest downturns in the postwar period. Under a new stimulus plan, the E.C.B. will pay banks to lend money.

The worlds poor: The wave of unemployment brought by virus lockdowns could help send at least half a billion more people into poverty this year in the first global increase since 1998, the World Bank said.

In the U.S.: An additional 3.8 million workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the six-week total to 30 million, not counting those who were stymied in applying or didnt even try because the process was too formidable.
Disney is creating reusable cloth face masks for children - with characters ranging from Winnie the Pooh to Marvel's Incredible Hulk.

As parents wrestle to keep their children safe during the coronavirus pandemic the mass media giant has stepped in to offer a helping hand.

The masks feature the nose and mouth of some of its most famous movie characters - including Mickey Mouse, Stitch, and Marie.

And Disney has pledged to give $1million of its profits to MedShare, a humanitarian aid organisation that takes extra medical supplies from US hospitals and brings them to hospitals in developing countries.

A pack of four masks - which come in sizes small, medium or large - costs $19.99 and is available from shopDisney ready for shipping in June.

A million masks will be donated to children and families living in vulnerable communities.

As parents wrestle to keep their children safe during the coronavirus pandemic US-based Disney has stepped in to offer a helping hand with these fabric face masks

Edward Park, senior vice president of Disney store and shopDisney said: 'We realize this is a challenging time for families and wearing any type of mask can be daunting.

'Our hope is that Disney's cloth face masks featuring some of our most beloved characters will provide comfort to the families, fans and communities that are so important to us.'

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has warned parents not to put face masks on babies as it may suffocate them.

While the wider public have been advised to wear a mask or face covering when they go out in order to prevent the infection spreading, pediatricians say it may be harmful for babies.

The masks feature the nose and mouth of some of its most famous movie characters - including Mickey Mouse, Stitch, and Marie. Here Star Wars' R2-D2 features

A million masks will be donated to children and families living in vulnerable communities

Mickey and Minnie Mouse feature on these sweet fabric designs aimed at encouraging children to keep safe during the coronavirus pandemic

The CDC said infants have such small airways that a mask could do more harm than good and doctors have warned of suffocation.

'No child under the age of two should ever wear a mask due to the risk of accidental suffocation,' Dr. Mike Cappello, a neonatologist at Advocate Children's Hospital Park Ridge in Illinoisc, told Fox 5 News.

'Children that are that young have very small airways and they lack the strength and wherewithal to reposition themselves if there was an obstruction from the mask.

'The size of the airway and the risk for limiting oxygen delivery to their lungs and organs would be very significant.'

A pack of four masks - which come in sizes small, medium or large - costs $19.99 and is available from shopDisney ready for shipping in June

Disney has pledged to give $1million of its profits to MedShare, a humanitarian aid organisation that takes extra medical supplies from US hospitals and brings them to hospitals in developing countries

Experts including Dr. Mike Cappello, a neonatologist at Advocate Children's Hospital Park Ridge (pictured), have warned parents not to put face masks on babies during the coronavirus pandemic as it may suffocate them

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said infants have such small airways that a mask could do more harm than good and doctors have warned of suffocation. Pictured: a company selling masks for babies on Amazon

On the CDC website it says: 'Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age two, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.'

Amazon searches reveal several companies selling masks that are supposedly specially made to fit the size of a baby.

Advice adds that if you have to go out you should place a blanket loosely over the car seat or carrier but never over the baby.

Advice adds that if you have to go out you should place a blanket loosely over the car seat or carrier but never over the baby

On Thursday, April 16, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told all New Yorkers that they must wear faces masks in public.

The outbreak-fighting mandate required a mask or face covering on busy streets, subways, buses or any situation where people could not maintain six feet of social distancing.

The promised executive order from Cuomo echoes recommendations from the CDC that list it as a way to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The order took effect last Friday and either a mask or a cloth covering such as a bandanna will work.

President Trump said the CDC would put out a recommendation that Americans wear masks - but said it was voluntary and he would not be doing it

The president urged Americans not to wear medical-grade masks and instead could make masks from fabric at home

'Stopping the spread is everything. How can you not wear a mask when you're going to come close to a person?' Cuomo said at his daily briefing. 'On what theory would you not do that?'

The governor said there would initially be no civil penalties for noncompliance, but he urged merchants to enforce it among customers.

At the beginning of last month President Donald Trump announced at his press briefing that the CDC was now recommending that Americans wear non-medical cloth masks - but pressed that it wasn't a mandate.

'So it's voluntary, you don't have to be doing it,' the president said from the briefing room podium. 'This is voluntary, I don't think I'm going to be doing it.'

Minutes later, first lady Melania Trump tweeted that Americans should take mask-wearing seriously.

'As the weekend approaches I ask that everyone take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously,' she tweeted from her FLOTUS account. '#COVID19 is a virus that can spread to anyone - we can stop this together.'

But the president suggested it might make him look foolish as he communicated with world leaders.

Minutes after Trump said he would not personally be wearing a mask, first lady Melania Trump sent out a tweet saying that Americans should take the CDC recommendations seriously

The first lady sent a Friday evening tweet telling Americans to 'take social distancing & wearing a mask/face covering seriously'

'I'm feeling good,' Trump said when asked why he wouldn't sport face-wear. 'Somehow sitting in the Oval Office, sitting behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know, I just don't see it for myself,' Trump said.

For days, top experts, including members of Trump's coronavirus taskforce said they were debating whether or not to put out a mask recommendation.

One concern was that Americans not working in the medical field would scoop up masks needed to protect doctors, nurses, first responders and others on the front lines.

For days, Trump suggested that Americans could simply wear scarves to get by.

But on Friday, April 3, he said the CDC was putting out the new recommendation for masks.

'From recent studies we know that transmissions from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood, so you don't seem to have symptoms and it still gets transferred,' the president explained.

'In light of these studies the CDC is advising the sue of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure,' he said.

The president suggested cloth or fabric masks that could be ordered online or made at home. They should also be able to be washed.

'I want to emphasize that the CDC is not recommending the use of medical grade or surgical grade masks and we want that to be used for our great medical people that are working so hard and doing some job,' the president said.

Trump also said that mask-wearing did not replace the social distancing guidelines the government already put out, including standing six feet apart and 'practicing hand hygiene' as the president put it.

'Again, we're all going to come back together here,' he said, but then reiterated: 'I'm choosing not to do it.'

Surgeon General Jerome Adams later took the podium and expressed that it's a nice thing to do.

'Remember this is all about me protecting you and you protecting me,' Adams said. 'And if people voluntarily choose to wear a face covering they're wearing it to protect their neighbors from getting coronavirus because they could have asymptomatic spread.'

Robert Redfield, the CDC director, also gave his take when Trump was asked by another reporter why not set an example and wear a mask.

'So really the purpose here is first and foremost to embrace the social distancing. That's the No. 1. That's the powerful weapon.

'And, you know, this virus has a great weakness, it can't just jump from one person to another if it's gotta swim more than six feet,' Redfield began.

'We know that a face barrier can actually interrupt the number of virus particles that can go from one person to another,' the CDC explained.
Home is a place where the heart feels easy  at least this is how the self-proclaimed mast maula (carefree soul) Ashok Kumar Dhaka feels.

And the best way to keep the heart calm is to try to remain contended, he says, adding, no point in worrying about what might happen tomorrow.

An electrical engineer in a Gurugram residential society, Mr Dhaka, 36, is chatting on WhatsApp  the picture is taken through the phone screen that connects him to this reporter. He says he is never perturbed by external events, and is not particularly rankled even by the ongoing pandemic. I take all the precautions I canhe is wearing a white maskbut I dont fret about things upon which I have no control.

Unlike many of us, Mr Dhakas working life hasnt been profoundly altered. Indeed, he is temporarily staying in the apartment complexhis workplacedue to the lockdown. Otherwise he lives alone in a one-room house in Jharsa village in Sector 39, which he doesnt consider a home. It doesnt have his family (theyre in the village). Theres no TV. The only potential source of distraction in the room is the window through which he might look out into the neighbourhood but I keep it covered with a curtain, he says, laughing.

Instead, the gentleman considers his workspace his ghar, home. He is a workaholic, and it was true even in the BC (Before Corona) era. He would always try to opt for early morning shifts, and though his duty would end by 2pm, he wouldnt leave straight for Jharsa village. Id mostly continue to work until it would be really dark... theres nothing to do in the room after all. And then he would cover the 20-minute distance walking, his hands sometimes tucked into his pants pockets, and his black pitthu bag (backpack) hanging on his back.

So now he must be thrilled having to live on his work site 24/7, thanks to the lockdown.

Mr Dhaka looks amused. Following a pause, as if thinking hard to translate his feeling into words, he says, to me, naukri is home.

What about the village then?

His family, including wife and kids, live in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.

I frequently visit themtheyre only 4 hours away by bus.

In fact, he was in the village a few days before the lockdown started. By then, I had already heard of coronavirus... there were news of people dying in China. Nobody in the village was talking of the virus, though. My village is far removed from the tensions of cities. Mr Dhaka wistfully talks of its temples, its by-lanes, the friends he left there, and the taalaab (rainwater lake) whose cool water is a refuge to the cattle. Life there is as mast as me.

To be honest, Mr Dhaka sometimes wonders just why he left the village, especially when the high cost of living in Gurgaon nullifies whatever difference in the earnings one enjoys in a city compared to a village.

But he doesnt stress much. I enjoy my present. He opens a picture in his mobile that depicts the biggest part of my presenta portrait of his wife, Sunita, and children, Mohit and Lakshita.

As soon as the lockdown ends, Mr Dhaka will wait for 10 days for things to normalise and then he will board a bus for a holiday in the villagemy true home.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 04:09:24|Editor: huaxia

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The Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifts off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, the United States, on Feb. 15, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

"With these contract awards, America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface," NASA administrator said.

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- NASA has selected three U.S. companies to design and develop human landing systems for the agency's Artemis program, one of which will land the first woman and next man on the surface of the moon by 2024.

The three companies are Blue Origin of Kent, Washington; Dynetics of Huntsville, Alabama; and SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, according to a release of the agency on Thursday night.

The human landing system awards are firm-fixed price, milestone-based contracts, and the total combined value for all awarded contracts is 967 million U.S. dollars for the 10-month base period, the release said.

"With these contract awards, America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

"This is the first time since the Apollo era that NASA has direct funding for a human landing system, and now we have companies on contract to do the work for the Artemis program," he said.

NASA's commercial partners will refine their lander concepts through the contract base period ending in February 2021. During that time, the agency will evaluate which of the contractors will perform initial demonstration missions.

NASA will later select firms for development and maturation of sustainable lander systems followed by sustainable demonstration missions. NASA intends to procure transportation to the lunar surface as commercial space transportation services after these demonstrations are complete, according to the release.

Charged with returning to the moon in the next four years, NASA's Artemis program will reveal new knowledge about the moon, Earth, and the origins in the solar system.

The human landing system is a vital part of NASA's deep space exploration plans, along with the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, and Gateway. 
Shillong, May 1 : Caught in the red-tape amid the ongoing lockdown, parents of 34-year-old Deepak Das could not be with their critically ailing son who succumbed to Hepatorenal Syndrome (liver ailment) at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Thursday night.

Even as Das struggled for life, his stranded parents in Shillong could not get a car pass and inter-state permits from the Meghalaya government to be able to see their son.

The heartbroken parents were eventually issued the necessary passes on Friday, a day after Deepak's death.

Kamala Das, the mother of ailing Deepak, had applied for a vehicle pass and other permission with the Extra Assistant Commissioner of East Khasi Hills District in Shillong to travel to her home-town Hojai district in central Assam on Wednesday after she learnt over the phone that the health condition of her son had turned "very critical".

"I applied for the car pass and necessary permission letter on Wednesday to the office of the Extra Assistant Commissioner (of East Khasi Hills District). The papers went to the Deputy Commissioner, and then to the Deputy Secretary of the Political Department in Meghalaya Secretariat. I took up my case with many officials and informed them about the emergency, but they did not issue the pass before my son died in GMCH on Thursday," the sobbing mother told IANS over phone from Shillong.

Kamala Das and her husband Subhash Chandra Das got stranded in Meghalaya in the run-up to lockdown after they went to Shillong to see their daughter, who is staying in the hill city along with her husband.

The permission letters and passes came on Friday after their son died and last rites were completed in Assam.

In her application, enclosed with the doctor's certificate, Das had explained every detail about her ailing son, suffering from acute problem of liver cell disease with hepatorenal syndrome and at present under the treatment of a doctor in Hojai for a few years.

"In my application, I have also mentioned that as my son might be required to be shifted to the GMCH, and that we have to reach Hojai and Guwahati urgently to save our son's life as there was no other member in our family for urgent medical care of the ailing boy," the 54-years-old woman said.

East Khasi Hills District Deputy Commissioner Matsiewdor War Nongbri said his department had no authority to issue all such passes and permits.

"We are receiving requests for vehicle passes, but we don't have the authority. We forward the applications which are beyond our jurisdiction to the Political Department which takes appropriate steps as per government rules, policies and practice," Nongbri said.

She said many vehicle passes had to be cancelled or seized as people misused them in the name of medical emergencies, for buying essential commodities or other reasons. "The police had also filed cases against the people who misused the authority letters," the IAS officer said, expressing her regret in the Das case.
Parents of Brookhouse schools have moved to court to block a demand to pay full school fees during the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic.

In a suit filed at the High Court, the parents claim that the institution is a respected international school globally with over 64 schools, yet it is exploiting parents and guardians at a time when normal business has been disrupted.

The parents have pointed out that globally, assessment of Cambridge International examination board has cancelled IGSCE exams worldwide done by British curriculum based schools but the said school has opted to grade their students with past mock results.

According to the parents and guardians, the school is also charging them more fees including that of the cancelled exams without considering the cost of the unregulated online learning that is now burdensome to them.

Given discounts

They claim that other schools that offer similar curriculum have given discounts in fees payment to parents and guardians yet they have not received such an offer. They, therefore, feel immensely exploited and that their rights under the Consumer Protection Act have been violated.

"The acts of the said international school of offering the so-called online or virtual classes at the same rate of fees and charges the institution offers when in session amounts to a contravention of Consumer rights, violates the constitution, is unfair and unlawful," said Mr Ahmednassir Abdullahi, their lawyer.

The parents now want the court to compel the school to stop charging them full school fees and in lieu, they are allowed to offset up to 30 per cent for term three of this year.

They have also asked the court not to disclose the names of parents and guardians so as to protect the identity and right of their children.
Old Bailey will now hear 'issues with his extradition' at hearing in June

Traced to Portugal and extradited back to the UK, charged with murder in 2020

Cold case reopened in 2015 and James Watson is first arrested but then bailed

His mother Ruth was originally charged with murder but was later cleared

A man accused of the murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave who was found strangled in woodland 25 years ago may avoid a trial because of problems with his extradition from Portugal, a court heard today.

The youngster disappeared after leaving for school from his home in Welland, Peterborough, on the morning of November 29 1994.

His naked body was found the next day in woods five minutes away from his house with his school uniform - grey trousers, a white shirt and a blue coat - dumped in a nearby bin.

James Watson (left), 39, has been charged with the 1994 murder of six-year-old schoolboy Rikki Neave (right). He may however not face trial depending on 'issues with his extradition' back to the UK from Portugal while on bail

James Watson, 39, who would have been 13 at the time, was charged with his murder in February. He is being held at Bedford Prison.

Watson was re-arrested in Portugal on 2 August last year after leaving the country when he was first arrested and bailed in June.

He did not appear at the Old Bailey today for his plea and trial preparation hearing.

Mr Justice Edis told the court it was understood Watson had entered a not guilty plea to murder but that an issue relating to his extradition had complicated his prosecution.

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said James Watson, (pictured) of no fixed address, had been charged with murder

James Watson is pictured as a young boy. He is accused of murdering little Rikki at the age of 13. The schoolboy's body was found in woodland near his home in Peterborough in 1994

The judge said a hearing on 5 June would be held to determine whether to proceed with a trial.

Mr Justice Edis said: This hearing takes place for the interests of open justice.

The prison [video-link] was double booked at HMP Bedford today... so he does not appear.

We know it is a not guilty plea. He does not need to be arraigned this morning he can be arraigned at the start of the trial.

An order has been agreed for purposes of the PTPH which has been uploaded onto the digital case system.

Ruth Neave is pictured with her husband Gary Rogers in April 2016. She was accused of Rikki's murder, but later cleared. She admitted to child cruelty

The order provides in outline... a hearing for the determination of an issue which arises or may arise out of the circumstances in which Watson was extradited to this jurisdiction.

It may mean that he cannot be tried for this case.

That will be dealt with on 5 June.

It is likely that will be a preparatory hearing which means the losing party would be able to appeal before the start of the trial.

The trial is presently fixed for 5 October with an estimated hearing of two months.

I have provided for a pre-trial review on September 25 so that the defendant can be assessed as to whether in the circumstances this trial can proceed on 5 October or not and if not whether custody time limits can be extended.

They currently expire on 9 October.

The trial remains fixed as it was but obviously there is a possibility that it may not in fact proceed on that date.

Watson, of no fixed address, denies murdering Rikki between 28 and 29 November 1994.

He will return to court on 5 June for a preliminary hearing. A provisional trial date has been fixed for 5 October.
Libya's UN-recognised government on Thursday rejected a truce unilaterally called the day before by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, saying it "did not trust" its eastern-based rival. The move follows successes on the ground for forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against Haftar's troops in recent weeks, just over a year since he launched an offensive on the capital. The GNA said in a statement that it did not trust Haftar, who controls the east and swathes of southern Libya, accusing him of violating previous truces. "These violations make it so we do not trust truce announcements (from Haftar)," the GNA said. Any "ceasefire needs to have international safeguards and mechanisms" to monitor its implementation and to document violations, it added. Haftar's camp had said on Wednesday it would cease hostilities for the duration of Ramadan in response to international calls for a truce. On April 24, the United Nations, European Union and several countries called for both sides to lay down their arms during the holy month, which began in Libya that day. The oil-rich North African nation has been gripped by chaos since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with rival administrations in the east and west vying for power. "The commander general announces the halting of military operations from his side," Ahmad al-Mesmari, a spokesman for Haftar, had declared on Wednesday from the eastern city of Benghazi. He warned violations by the GNA would be met with an "immediate and harsh response." However, fighting did not stop in Tripoli after Mesmari's announcement, with explosions still heard from the centre of the capital, according to an AFP correspondent. The GNA said in its own statement that it would continue in its "legitimate defence", attacking "any threat where it exists and putting an end to outlaw groups", alluding to forces loyal to Haftar. On Thursday, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya renewed calls for an end to hostilities to allow authorities to respond to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. UNSMIL expressed concern over "continued indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilians", saying it had documented at least 131 civilian casualties -- including 64 deaths -- from the start of the year until March 31. This represented a 45 percent increase in civilian casualties from the last quarter of 2019, it said in a statement. - 'Obsessed with power' - Since fighting began in April 2019, several ceasefires between Haftar's forces and the GNA have fallen through, with both sides blaming the other for violations. Haftar's opponents accuse him of wanting to establish a new military dictatorship in the country. On Monday he claimed he had "a popular mandate" to govern, declaring a key 2015 political deal to be finished and vowing to press his assault to seize Tripoli. But the UN, EU, Washington and other countries have reiterated that the 2015 agreement remains the only framework for recognised institutions in Libya. Haftar claims legitimacy from an eastern-based parliament elected in 2014, but the body has not said whether it supported his move. He did not offer specifics on how he had received his "mandate" or from which institution. Nor did he say whether the parliament, which was forced to move its headquarters after violence ripped apart Tripoli six years ago, would be dissolved. The GNA dismissed Haftar's announcement as a "farce", saying Thursday that he was "not a partner for peace". "We have before us a bloodthirsty person obsessed with power," it added in its statement. Haftar's call for a truce comes after several setbacks for his forces in recent weeks, with GNA fighters ousting them from two key coastal cities west of Tripoli. Backed by Turkey, GNA troops are now encircling Haftar's main rear base at Tarhuna, 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of the capital. In recent months, foreign military involvement has exacerbated Libya's conflict, with the United Arab Emirates and Russia backing Haftar and Ankara supplying the GNA.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

The role of the Ghanaian worker towards our development as a nation, remain an extremely invaluable contribution to the development of Ghana pre-dating our independence from the British in 1957.

On this special and memorable day of the worker, I wish to acknowledge your gallantry, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the huge sacrifices and demands our nation's combat strategy has exacted from all workers, most especially our health workers, who remain at the frontline in the fight, thus far. Your dedication and love for Mother Ghana, for decades, has yet again been visibly and abundantly demonstrated.

In respect of the COVID-19, we know that the road to recovery will be long, hard, and tortuous. We must never be under any illusion that, as the government has lifted the partial restriction on movements in parts of Greater Accra and the Ashanti Regions, we have won the war against coronavirus.

However, I have every confidence in the Ghanaian worker across all sectors and industries, to deploy all the needed expertise and innovation to deliver a recovery strategy and higher productivity to the admiration of all as you have done all season.

I wish to urge you all and your families, to take extra precautions, as you go about your work, taking into consideration the WHO and Ghana Health Service disease prevention protocols; handwashing with soap under running water, alcohol-based hand sanitizer use, face mask use at all public places and most importantly, physical and social distancing. These are our first line ammunition in our fight against COVID-19.

I celebrate you and acknowledge your hard work, dedication, and sacrifice of all our gallant and heroic workers on this historic May Day 2020.

May God bless our homeland, Ghana.

Happy MAY DAY to you all.
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This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

A few months ago, a friend emailed me an article about Indias pervasive internet shutdowns and asked: Have you been keeping up with whats going on in India? What do your parents think?

I replied with a few bland sentences, but the email touched a nerve. Or, rather, two nerves: It reaffirmed my position as an outsider, an honorary citizen of India, and it tapped into my feelings of anger, sadness, and helplessness regarding Indias recent assault on free speech, one of its core democratic principles.

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Growing up in the States with Indian immigrant parents involves straddling two worlds, two identitiesthe cultures and values of the worlds two largest democracies. Inherent in this dual identity is a keen appreciation that the United States and India are intrinsically linked. Gandhis nonviolent resistance movement inspired Martin Luther King Jr.s Montgomery bus boycotts. Both countries Constitutions begin with the words We the people.

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Yet Indias increasing reliance on information control to quell dissent should be a wake-up call for those of us invested in the future of the worlds largest democracy. Indias internet shutdowns106 in 2019go far beyond those of other nations.

The most well-known internet shutdown in India began on Aug. 5, 2019, in Jammu and Kashmir, the day the Indian government revoked the states 70-year-old autonomous status. Fearing revolt, authorities ordered the Muslim-majority state offline immediatelypreventively blocking all internet and cell service. Government officials also claimed that the shutdown would curb the spread of false information. According to the Software Freedom Law Center, Jammu and Kashmir has experienced 180 internet shutdowns since 2012. By contrast, just one shutdown has occurred in Hyderabad, my parents hometown in southern India, possibly due to its robust IT hub.

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Indian law allows the government to block internet access during times of unlawful assembly or anticipated unrest. However, the law also states that an internet shutdown cannot amount to an abuse of power. Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of the Kashmir Times, mounted a legal challenge to the Jammu and Kashmir shutdown, and in January, the Indian Supreme Court issued its ruling. The court expressed skepticism about the shutdown and ordered a government review. The ruling did not directly instruct that the communications blockade be lifted, but it said wholesale internet disruptions are a drastic measure that the government can utilize only if necessary and unavoidable. The court also said that the government must seek less intrusive remedies before moving to a broad suspension of internet service. Additionally, shutdowns must be of a temporary duration, undergo review by a committee, and be made publicly available.

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On March 4, the government restored internet access in Jammu and Kashmir, but officials continue to issue orders restricting speeds to 2G. On April 9, the Foundation for Media Professionals filed a petition to the Indian Supreme Court to reinstate uninterrupted 4G services, claiming that it was critical for allowing communications to continue during COVID-19. On April 27, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir extended the ban on high-speed services until May 11, citing a spurt in terrorist violence as Indian and Pakistani soldiers recently exchanged cross-border fire. But the public health consequences for shutdowns and slowdowns are grave. Doctors cannot implement telemedicine initiatives or even download essential documents outlining intensive care management.

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Before the pandemic, some Kashmiris who could afford to do so flew to other cities to check email and communicate with loved ones. Others were not so lucky. Online-based businesses floundered. Students missed deadlines to apply to undergraduate and Ph.D. programs abroad. State authorities also restricted the use of virtual private networks to bypass the shutdown.

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As an American with enormous privilege, it is difficult to imagine the day to day helplessness and anxiety mired in a seemingly indefinite internet shutdown. But I will never forget this observation from Furquaan, a Kashmiri resident who told BuzzFeed News: When they restored it partially in phases over the last few weeks, it felt like they were throwing us crumbs and expecting us to be grateful.

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Even beyond the Jammu and Kashmir shutdowns. Indias digital freedom clampdowns have escalated in recent years. A telling instance occurred in 2016, when the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution categorizing internet shutdowns as a human rights violation. India joined Russia and China-led amendments that challenged a human rights-based approach for internet access to ensure freedom of expression.

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Meanwhile, the countrys assault on free expression and association goes beyond the shutdowns. Police deploy facial recognition software at protests and continue to develop a national facial recognition database, which chills freedom of association. A Disney subsidiary blocked access to a Last Week Tonight With John Oliver clip critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modis political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. And on Dec. 19, in a move many deemed unimaginable, the Delhi police ordered internet service providers to cut off access in parts of the nations capital during protests, leaving many of Delhis 21 million residents offline for four hours.

U.S. lawmakers have criticized the Jammu and Kashmir shutdown. Members of the Senate India Caucus expressed concerns about the countrys deviation from its core democratic principles. In February, a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proclaimed: India has now imposed the longest-ever shut down by a democracy, disrupting access to medical care, business, and education for seven million people. These official condemnations are a good start, but more can be done.

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In 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced an internet freedom policy that attempted to thread the needle between human rights and broader U.S. foreign policy objectives. Critics maintained that while her agenda understood the internets double-edged sword, it was deferential to U.S. strategic partners and overly cautious toward Chinas authoritarian approach.

But much has changed since then, and we need new initiatives. The U.S. should start by acknowledging the internet freedom missteps on our own soil, like inadequate data privacy protections and the digital divide among theminequities magnified by COVID-19. A strategic internet freedom agenda must continually and transparently debate openness and security online. Only then will Americas economic competitiveness and national security be strengthened.

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From there, the United States must exert strong leadership to establish international norms and a code of conduct for internet governance. Russia and China have become adept at influencing global institutions like the United Nations to reshape resolutions and working groups in support of authoritarian controls online. On Dec. 17, Chinese state media praised India and its sovereign right to conduct internet shutdowns. The U.S. should pursue and promote an alternative, attractive model of internet governance that promotes and celebrates free speech.

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Next, Congress should increase funding for digital infrastructure projects to circumvent restrictions, specifically during large-scale network disruptions. Secure development projects led by locals on the ground will improve information connectivity, digital literacy, and gender-equitable access. Beyond basic circumvention technologies, projects should also incorporate tools for user anonymity, emphasize privacy and security with encrypted communications, and increased mobile access. This also serves broader foreign policy goals. The United States current absence in the region paves the way for a growing digital footprint from China through its far-reaching Digital Silk Road. To make this work, the U.S. must prioritize and reinvigorate collaboration with foreign partners, like the Freedom Online Coalition. Such partnerships are crucial for information sharing, diplomatic cooperation, and engagement with civil society and the private sector to push back against things like prolonged internet shutdowns.

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Five months into 2020, the Indian government has imposed seven internet shutdowns, each in a different state. When I talk to other second-gen friends about these digital repression tactics, I realize I am not alone in my anxiety about the countrys future. But many of us born and raised in the States feel a disconnect from our parents homeland, or that as Americans we dont have a right to talk about Indias societal issues. (Hasan Minhajs Patriot Act is one show addressing this tension.)

But two things can be true at once. Our unique dual identities are embodied in the values and histories we carry with us each and every day. But our unbreakable bonds with India and the U.S. are also coupled with a duty to speak out when our countries refuse to live up their founding values.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Key to the ambush interview of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn that set him up for prosecution and persecution on made-up charges by James Comeys FBI was the advice given to Flynn by Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe -- relax, you wont need a lawyer. Flynn had to be caught off guard and without legal counsel for the entrapment plan to work:

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who arranged the bureau's interview with then-national security adviser Michael Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017 -- the interview that ultimately led to Flynn's guilty plea on one count of making false statements -- suggested Flynn not have a lawyer present at the session, according to newly-filed court documents. In addition, FBI officials, along with the two agents who interviewed Flynn, decided specifically not to warn him that there would be penalties for making false statements because the agents wanted to ensure that Flynn was "relaxed" during the session. The new information, drawn from McCabe's account of events plus the FBI agents' writeup of the interview -- the so-called 302 report -- is contained in a sentencing memo filed Tuesday by Flynn's defense team. Citing McCabe's account, the sentencing memo says that shortly after noon on Jan. 24 -- the fourth day of the new Trump administration -- McCabe called Flynn on a secure phone in Flynn's West Wing office. The two men discussed business briefly and then McCabe said that he "felt that we needed to have two of our agents sit down" with Flynn to discuss Flynn's talks with Russian officials during the presidential transition. McCabe, by his own account, urged Flynn to talk to the agents alone, without a lawyer present. "I explained that I thought the quickest way to get this done was to have a conversation between [Flynn] and the agents only," McCabe wrote Within two hours, the agents were in Flynn's office. According to the 302 report quoted in the Flynn sentencing document, the agents said Flynn was "relaxed and jocular" and offered the agents "a little tour" of his part of the White House. The agents did not provide Gen. Flynn with a warning of the penalties for making a false statement under 18 U.S.C. 1001 before, during, or after the interview," the Flynn memo says. According to the 302, before the interview, McCabe and other FBI officials "decided the agents would not warn Flynn that it was a crime to lie during an FBI interview because they wanted Flynn to be relaxed, and they were concerned that giving the warnings might adversely affect the rapport."

We know that swamp thing James Comeys mission in life was to keep Hillary Clinton out of prison and Donald Trump out of the White House, but McCabe had a personal animus towards Flynn which goes way back, possibly originating in Flynns offer to be a witness in a legal proceeding filed against McCabe.

As I noted here on June 30, 2017, Flynn and McCabe have a past that predates the Trump presidency, one that provides ample motivation for the perjury trap that McCabe and James Comey set up after Flynns illegal unmasking. McCabe had a personal grudge against Flynn and the perjury trap was his revenge.

To help cover up, it also appears that multiple 302s were created:

The sentencing memorandum reveals for the first time concrete evidence that the FBI created multiple 302 interview summaries of Flynns questioning by now-former FBI agent Peter Strzok and a second unnamed agent, reported to be FBI Special Agent Joe Pientka While Flynns sentencing memorandum methodically laid out the case for a low-level sentence of one-year probation, footnote 23 dropped a bomb, revealing that the agents 302 summary of his interview was dated August 22, 2017. As others have already noted, the August 22, 2017 date is a striking detail because that puts the 302 report nearly seven months after the Flynn interview. When added to facts already known, this revelation takes on a much greater significance.

Indeed, the existence of multiple 302s and the seven-month gap suggests that the Flynn investigation was a setup motivated in large part by Andrew McCabes desire for retaliation for Flynns drumbeat of criticism of the foreign policy of an Obama administration he once served.

As Sara A. Carter and John Solomon of Circa News report:

The FBI launched a criminal probe against former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn two years after the retired Army general roiled the bureaus leadership by intervening on behalf of a decorated counterterrorism agent who accused now-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and other top officials of sexual discrimination, according to documents and interviews. Flynns intervention on behalf of Supervisory Special Agent Robyn Gritz was highly unusual, and included a letter in 2014 on his official Pentagon stationary, a public interview in 2015 supporting Gritzs case and an offer to testify on her behalf. His offer put him as a hostile witness in a case against McCabe, who was soaring through the bureaus leadership ranks. The FBI sought to block Flynns support for the agent, asking a federal administrative law judge in May 2014 to keep Flynn and others from becoming a witness in her Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case, memos obtained by Circa show. Two years later, the FBI opened its inquiry of Flynn McCabe eventually became the bureaus No. 2 executive and emerged as a central player in the FBIs Russia election tampering investigation, putting him in a position to impact the criminal inquiry against Flynn. Three FBI employees told Circa they personally witnessed McCabe make disparaging remarks about Flynn before and during the time the retired Army general emerged as a figure in the Russia case.

In legal circles, thats called motive. We have to factor in as well that McCabe and Flynn come from different ends of the political spectrum. Flynn became a key Trump supporter after accusing President Obama of facilitating the rise of ISIS through his policies and inaction. McCabe is a Democratic loyalist whose wife campaigned for state office in Virginia as a Democrat with heavy Democratic financial support. In fact, McCabes efforts on behalf of his wife became the subject of multiple federal probes:

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a central player in the Russia election case, is the focus of three separate federal administrative inquiries The allegations being reviewed range from sexual discrimination to improper political activity, the documents show Circa reported Monday that former supervisory special agent Robyn Gritz, a decorated counterterrorism agent, has filed a sexual discrimination and retaliation complaint that names McCabe and other top FBI officials Gritz also filed a complaint against McCabe with the main federal whistleblower agency in April, alleging social media photos she found show he campaigned for his wifes Virginia state senate race in violation of the Hatch Act In addition, the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating allegations from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, that McCabe may not have properly disclosed campaign payments to his wife on his ethics report and should have recused himself from Hillary Clinton's email case.

McCabe certainly had no love lost for Flynn, who was a potential witness on behalf of one of McCabes accusers. As PJ Media reports:

In 2014, Flynn, then director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, personally intervened on behalf of Supervisory Special Agent Robyn Gritz by writing a letter vouching for her on his official Pentagon stationary and offering to testify on her behalf. He also supported her case in a radio interview in 2015. The FBI, for its part, claimed that Gritz had become "underperforming, tardy to work, insurbordinate, possibly mentally ill or emotional and deserving of a poor performance review." Flynn argued just the opposite in his May 9, 2014 letter: SSA Gritz was well-known, liked and respected in the military counter-terrorism community for her energy, commitment and professional capacity...

McCabe did not disclose Democratic contributions to his wifes campaign in Virginia in financial disclosure forms, donations that raised questions about both is integrity and objectivity:

The records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe left the box blank for wife Dr. Jill McCabe's salary, as a doctor with Commonwealth Emergency Physicians. And there is no documentation of the hundreds of thousands of campaign funds she received in her unsuccessful 2015 Virginia state Senate race For the reporting period of October through November 2015, McCabe's campaign filings show she received $467,500 from Common Good VA, a political action committee controlled by McAuliffe, as well as an additional $292,500 from a second Democratic PAC.

Connect those dots: We have a former Deputy FBI Director, Andrew McCabe, campaigning for his wife who receives huge sums of money from the Democratic Party of Clinton political ally Terry McAuliffe. After Clinton blames Russia for her election loss, Flynn becomes a target of an FBI probe in which his identity is illegally unmasked. He was a character witness on behalf of one of McCabes accusers. Was Mrs. McCabes largess a quid for a future quo?

And is all this just the result of McCabes lust for personal revenge?

Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investors Business Daily and free lance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government has started planning for approximately a month-long extension of the state of emergency which is set to expire on May 6. Speaking at a press conference, Abe said that he has already instructed the minister in charge, Yasutoshi Nishimura, to plan for an extension.

The Japanese leader shared the governments assessment of the recent decline in the spread of the virus around the country and highlighted the continuing difficulties faced by medical institutions.

Abe said that the final decision will be made on May 4 and he will address the nation to convey it.

PM Abe said he instructed the Minister in charge to start coordinating with relevant stakeholders so as to extend the emergency declaration for about one month. PM also stated that the decision will be made on May 4 and he will speak to the nation on the decision. pic.twitter.com/GyTPdb9vSe  PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) May 1, 2020

Read: Japanese PM To Consult Health Experts On Whether To Extend State Of Emergency

Japan has reported 14,088 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 430 deaths owing to the infectious disease. According to the latest report, over 3.3 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with over 234,000 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe.

Read: Tokyo Olympics 'difficult' If Pandemic Not Contained: Japan PM Shinzo Abe

Border control measures stepped up

On April 27, Abe announced that the government is banning 14 more countries from entry to step up border control measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. He said that the countries on the ban list include Russia, Peru, and Saudi Arabia as the nation is going through a month-long state of emergency first declared on April 7.

Speaking at the meeting of COVID-19 Response headquarters, Abe outlined the additional border control measures required to curb the spread of the coronavirus. He emphasised on the need for a sustained effort to achieve the goal of 80 per cent reduction in physical human contact.

Read: Japan Extends Entry Ban To 14 More Countries Including Russia, Saudi Arabia

Read: Japan's Minister Cancels Public Appearances After Coming In Contact With COVID-19 Patient

(Image: Twitter / @JPN_PMO)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 19:54:52|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said that Iran will cut dependence on Russia for the maintenance of its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant by 2022, Press TV reported on Friday.

Behrouz Kamalvandi said "right now the majority of maintenance work in Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is carried out by Iranian experts."

"We may cut our dependence on Russian experts in this field within two years," Kamalvandi was quoted as saying.

The first 1,000-megawatt unit of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was completed by Russia in May 2011.

Iran and Russia later agreed to continue to develop the Bushehr plant. According to the agreement, the second phase would consist of two units with a cumulative output capacity of 2,114 megawatts. Enditem
michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

Today: For the first time in history, a private company is sending astronauts into space. Science reporter Kenneth Chang on the dawn of a new era in space travel. Its Thursday, May 28. Ken, how many space launches have you covered in your career?

kenneth chang

Ive forgotten. Because I started covering these at the end of the space shuttle era. So it was probably five or six then. And there was a few other scattered ones. And Ive actually made more trips than that. Because especially with the space shuttle, they would postpone the launch at the last second a gazillion times. So I would just fly in in, fly out, fly in, fly out, and not even see a launch.

michael barbaro

But if you had to guess, how many fly-ins and fly-outs have you made to try to watch a space launch?

kenneth chang

Oh, Id say 20.

michael barbaro

[LAUGHS] Thats a lot.

kenneth chang

Yeah.

michael barbaro

And thats where you are right now, when we say fly in, fly out, you are in at the moment.

kenneth chang

I am in. Im actually currently in a Hampton Inn in Titusville, which is 20 minutes from the Kennedy Space Center.

michael barbaro

Give me the scene there in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center. I know youre not there, but youre soon to be there. Whats it look like right now?

kenneth chang

So because of the coronavirus, NASAs basically limiting the number of people there. The visitors center, where the public usually gathers for the launch, is closed. So when I go there, Ill get to watch it. But Ill be outside the whole time and with a mask and at least six feet away from everyone else.

michael barbaro

So Ken, at this point, its about 1:20 p.m. Where are we in the countdown for todays launch?

kenneth chang

So the astronauts have put on their space suits. Theyre about ready to get in a car to drive to the launch pad. And this is part of whats really different about this launch versus whats happened in past years from the Kennedy Space Center. In the past, it was NASA having the space shuttle and such. This time, it is a private company, one called SpaceX that was founded by Elon Musk, the billionaire who also operates Tesla, which is a company that makes electric cars.

michael barbaro

So whats happening where you are in Florida on Wednesday is that a private company is putting NASA astronauts into space on a privately owned vessel?

kenneth chang

Yes. And this has never been done before. If you think, theres been three countries that have sent people to space: the United States, the former Soviet Union and now Russia, and China. And now you have this small company called SpaceX, which I guess is not so small anymore. But it is now joining these big nations to do something thats really hard.

michael barbaro

Ken, when I think of the space program, I think of it as the pride and joy of the United States. And I think of it first and foremost as a federal government program, NASA. So how did we get to this point where a private company has more or less supplanted NASA in sending astronauts into space?

kenneth chang

So of course, at the beginning of the space era, you think of Sputnik.

archived recording [RADIO SIGNAL BEEPING] Until two days ago, that sound had never been heard on this Earth. Its a report from mans farthest frontier 

kenneth chang

The Soviets sent a satellite up before the great, mighty United States did.

archived recording  a radio signal transmitted by the Soviet Sputnik, the first manmade satellite as it passed over New York earlier today.

kenneth chang

This spurred, of course, a lot of fear and worry in the United States.

archived recording Is it possible that it is transmitting a code, not just a beep signal for radio listening? Yes, its quite possible that its transmitting a code.

kenneth chang

So the United States started a major space program and created NASA to do things that would counter what the Soviet Unions were doing.

archived recording The space age had begun.

kenneth chang

And so the first space missions, you just think of 

archived recording Shepard himself had been hauled up into the helicopter.

kenneth chang

 you think of Alan Shepard, the first American to reach space.

archived recording (john glenn) Roger 

kenneth chang

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.

archived recording (john glenn) A little bumpy along about here.

kenneth chang

And each of these baby steps that led to Apollo.

archived recording (neil armstrong) Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

kenneth chang

And of course, Neil Armstrong walking on the surface of the moon.

archived recording (neil armstrong) Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

kenneth chang

These were all events tied up in the identity of the United States as a nation.

archived recording (richard nixon) This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the creation. The world is bigger, infinitely. I only hope that all of us in government, all of us in America, we can reach for the stars just as you have reached so far for the stars.

kenneth chang

And so that was the mentality that drove the space program through the 60s into the early 70s. And then after that, it was a transition to try to figure out what to do. Once weve gotten to the moon, how do we get to the next step? So NASA basically came up with three options to present to President Nixon. You could go for broke, you could start planning to go to Mars. Or you could build a space station and a space shuttle to go to the space station. Or you could just build a space shuttle. And Nixon chose just to build the space shuttle. That was the cheapest that he was willing to invest in. And so because the space shuttle did not have a space station to go to, it had to serve other purposes. One of them was that the military wanted to use it to launch spy satellites. Other people want to use it to run science experiments in orbit. And so this sort of became this pickup truck that was supposed to do all these different chores for different parts of the federal government. It ended up being a technological marvel that was not great at doing any one particular task.

archived recording 8, 7, 6, 5.

kenneth chang

I mean, with the space shuttle, if you think about the launch, if you watch one, it was an amazing sight.

archived recording 2, 1, [INAUDIBLE]. [LAUNCH SOUND]

kenneth chang

You could hear the rumble as it goes up. But you could never get over just how bright the light from the engines are. It never does justice to see it on a computer screen or a TV. But it didnt capture the imagination of people like going to the moon did for Apollo. Tasks were not the grand dreams that fueled the Space Age.

michael barbaro

So what happens to this kind of underwhelming NASA space program that youre describing?

kenneth chang

The space shuttles were actually designed to be run almost like a commercial enterprise. They were reusable. The thought was that they could land and fly very quickly. And that they would fly often enough that the cost of a mission would be fairly cheap as NASA got better and better at running the shuttles. In fact, at various points, there were actually discussions that NASA would outsource the operation of the shuttles to a private company.

michael barbaro

Hm.

kenneth chang

Those didnt happen.

archived recording We have main engine start  4, 3, 2, 1, and liftoff, liftoff of the 25th space shuttle mission. And it has cleared the tower.

kenneth chang

Because first, in 1986 

archived recording 1 The engines throttling up. Three engines and now at 104 percent. archived recording 2 Challenger, go with throttle up.

kenneth chang

There was a Challenger accident where the shuttle disintegrated during launch.

archived recording We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded. Flight director confirms that. We are looking at checking with the recovery forces.

kenneth chang

And it killed Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who was aboard.

archived recording President Reagan has declared a week of mourning for the seven astronauts  five men and two women  who lost their lives on their way into space this morning.

kenneth chang

And this was a huge setback. And NASA had to go back and fix the design. And then they became very careful to make sure that it was safe enough for the astronauts. And of course, once youre very careful about safety, youre safer. But that means that everything costs more, everything is slower. And this piece of the space shuttle program continued. Then in 2003, there was another accident.

archived recording A few minutes ago, it was about eight oclock, the space shuttle Columbia was going over north Texas.

kenneth chang

Columbia, it was actually on a mission conducting some science experiments. And 

archived recording Youll notice here it looks like you can see pieces of the shuttle coming off.

kenneth chang

 as it reentered the atmosphere for landing 

archived recording Some kind of objects leaving some kind of trail over the skies of North Texas.

kenneth chang

 the structure of the shuttle disintegrated and the seven astronauts aboard died. And this was a turning point, for NASA and the country to decide going to space is dangerous. We are risking our astronauts lives to do something in space. What should we be asking them to risk their lives for?

michael barbaro

Mhm.

kenneth chang

And this soul-searching led to the decision that the shuttles were now too old, too complex, too dangerous to continue operating.

archived recording (george w. bush) The shuttles chief purpose over the next several years will be to help finish assembly of the International Space Station.

kenneth chang

So that there would be a few more flights, and then it will be retired.

archived recording (george w. bush) In 2010, the space shuttle, after nearly 30 years of duty, will be retired from service.

michael barbaro

So after all these years of neglecting the space shuttles and running into safety problems, the decision is not to invest more in them, but essentially, to kind of walk away from the program?

kenneth chang

Thats essentially what happened. But still, NASA needed a way to get its astronauts to and from the space station.

archived recording Included in the White Houses two billion dollar budget is $850 million to help along commercial space ventures, like SpaceXs Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule.

kenneth chang

So when the Obama administration came in, they took a look at what NASA was doing and decided that was an opportunity to get more commercial companies into this business of sending people to space.

michael barbaro

And what is NASA thinking at this moment, as it starts to contemplate farming out travel to the space station?

kenneth chang

So the thinking of the NASA officials were, we really want to go back to the moon. We really want to go to Mars. We want to go send astronauts off on new places where they can go look at things that we have never seen before. And because too much of the budget was tied up with the space shuttle, they wanted to find some way to spend less money on what they thought was routine missions, so that they could do something that was more exciting and could better justify what they were created to do.

michael barbaro

Got it. So the thinking is: let a private company do the kind of grunt work of space travel. And that would free the federal government, NASA, up to do the grand explorations.

kenneth chang

That was exactly the reason. And NASA chose two of them that they liked and decided to fund them. One was Boeing and one was SpaceX. And of course, NASA wanted both of these to be operational as soon as possible. It became a sort of friendly competition. Both companies actually ended up three years behind schedule.

michael barbaro

[LAUGHS]

kenneth chang

And at this final time, SpaceX is going to be first. And Boeing is still, perhaps, a year behind.

michael barbaro

So SpaceX wins the competition.

kenneth chang

Yes. There actually is a flag on the space station. So on the very last space shuttle mission, the astronauts left a flag there. And whoever was going to be on the first vehicle to get to the space station would capture the flag.

michael barbaro

And so that will be SpaceX.

kenneth chang

Yes.

michael barbaro

OK. So Ken, I know you need to go actually watch this rocket launch. So we will let you go 

kenneth chang

Yes.

michael barbaro

 and talk to you once the launch is done and you are off deadline.

kenneth chang

If I miss the launch, my editor is going to kill me. This was actually a conversation I had with my editor. [LAUGHS]

michael barbaro

Well be right back.

archived recording 1  we want to make that call. Because shortly after that, we will begin loading liquid oxygen onto the second stage. Standby. archived recording 2 We continue violate a couple different weather rules that we now do not expect to clear in time to allow for a launch today. And todays launch attempt, Launch Control would end the launch auto sequence and proceed to the launch abort auto sequence, please. archived recording 3 Launch abort has started. archived recording 4 And Dragon SpaceX, unfortunately, we are not going to launch today. You are go for 5.100. Launch scrub. archived recording 5 Weve heard the call from the crew. They have been informed. Launch director 

michael barbaro

So Ken, its nearly 7 p.m. And things did not quite go as planned. What actually just happened down there in Florida?

kenneth chang

So through the whole day, the weather looked really icky. It was raining. It was cloudy. And then, about an hour before liftoff time, the rain sort of cleared up. The clouds start thinning out. And it looked like, for a while, that they were going to actually be able to get the rocket off the launch pad. But then, at the very end, about 15 minutes before the liftoff time, the weather officer said were still red for launch. They called off the launch. And theyre going to try again on Saturday.

michael barbaro

So no launch on Wednesday, but perhaps a launch over the weekend?

kenneth chang

Yes.

michael barbaro

So I want to talk about, Ken, this private company that, I guess, almost just put American astronauts into space  SpaceX. I mean, what was it about this company that attracted NASA to it and allowed it to get this coveted contract?

kenneth chang

So SpaceX was this upstart small company. It was very ambitious. And they found ways to do rockets and such that was less expensive and faster than many of the bigger companies in the past. And I always described them for the longest time as the Southwest of the rocket business, Southwest Airlines.

michael barbaro

[LAUGHTER]

kenneth chang

They found efficiencies that other companies did not that has allowed them to find new markets and find ways to do things that werent a business model before, because it was too expensive and too slow in the past.

michael barbaro

What are some examples, Ken, of ways that they inexpensively innovated and seemed to save a lot of money on this kind of a launch?

kenneth chang

So in the very beginning, their engineering decisions were often driven by how things could be done efficiently. And this could have been as simple as recycling parts of their rockets. So if youve ever watched a rocket launch, the bottom part of the rocket, which is the first stage or booster stage, is the part that lifts up the rocket through the thick bottom part of the atmosphere. And it usually just drops away when its done after a few minutes.

michael barbaro

Right.

kenneth chang

And for the longest time, this piece would just fall back into the ocean and be lost.

michael barbaro

Right. And that sounds like a pretty expensive thing to just toss off into the ocean.

kenneth chang

Its a very expensive thing. Just each engine would be several million dollars.

michael barbaro

Wow.

kenneth chang

So one of the things that, from the very beginning, Elon wanted to do was, we should try to use them again. And for a while, when they were trying to land these boosters, they would just crash and abort. And there was these fantastic explosions as the thing almost landed. And then, finally, they succeeded. They actually managed to land this booster back on the ground at Cape Canaveral. And then now, they do this almost routinely. For every SpaceX launch, you watch it go up, you see the booster drop off. And about 10 minutes after launch, you see it land vertically, almost like those rockets in those 1950s science fiction movies.

michael barbaro

Wow.

kenneth chang

Its amazing. This is where SpaceX went from being the Southwest Airlines to a true innovator in this field.

michael barbaro

So Ken, how much, in the end, does it feel like SpaceX has saved in terms of cost from what NASA might have paid to put someone into space a decade ago?

kenneth chang

So the clearest comparison that we have is that before SpaceX came along, NASA had a plan to develop its own rocket and capsule for taking astronauts to the space station. And when that program was canceled, the estimated cost to do this would have been at least $20 billion dollars.

michael barbaro

Wow.

kenneth chang

Now SpaceX has a contract with NASA basically to provide the exact same service, so that all the development costs, plus providing some of the actual launches, for $2.6 billion.

michael barbaro

Wow. So a fraction of that $20 billion dollars?

kenneth chang

Yes.

michael barbaro

Saving that much money would seem like a tremendous boon for NASA, for the federal government, for the American taxpayer. Does anyone at NASA worry that something fundamental is lost when a private company  that is ultimately a business thats interested in making profit  is running a launch like this?

kenneth chang

I think theyre most excited about what the rocket does as opposed to who builds it and who operates it.

michael barbaro

Hm.

kenneth chang

I always remember the Saturn V rocket from the Apollo missions in the 60s, the most impressive thing thats flown to date. However, it wasnt because it was so big. Its because it went to the moon. Thats why we remember it. It doesnt necessarily matter whose rocket goes to the space station or ultimately takes people to the moon and beyond. Its that these systems, if they work well, they enable NASA and other agencies to go explore the solar system in new ways that we werent able to do before.

michael barbaro

Ken, is this ultimately a positive development that youre describing here, the privatization of space exploration? Which, I guess, at first blush, seems like something people might be worried about. Is it turning out that this is a very natural evolution of a process that began with the government creating a market, taking these serious risks and opening up to a more efficient private company, and that thats a pretty good progression?

kenneth chang

So if we go back in history, think of an example where this has happened before. And that is the airplane. So in the very earliest days, there was various people building different types of an airplane. But theres no real business for doing it. It is when the government decides to start sending air mail that it created a business where people could start airlines to carry the mail. And thats led to this wonderful air travel system that we have in the United States and around the world today.

michael barbaro

So if we follow that logic, eventually private space travel could be a vast network that many companies enter and perhaps many civilians use, just like civilian aircraft?

kenneth chang

So once its no longer just NASA astronauts going to space, theres all sorts of new possibilities that open up. So if you have a commercial space station that has nothing to do with NASA that could be filled with millionaire space tourists to spend a couple of weeks in space. It could also be a pharmaceutical company that wants to try out new drugs that can only be made in zero gravity. So once there is a market of going to space that doesnt involve the government, then everyone else can start thinking of how can I get up there, too? How can I make money up there?

michael barbaro

So when SpaceX does pull off this launch, maybe its in a couple of days, youre saying its not really just putting two astronauts into space on a private aircraft. Its truly launching a new era in the space program. And its, I guess, the private era of space travel.

kenneth chang

Yes. And its coming sooner than you realize. Theres a company out there doing it right now called Axiom Space. They have a contract with SpaceX. They have an agreement with NASA to use part of the space station for these tourists. And this could be launching as soon as the second half of next year.

michael barbaro

Hm. So Ken, everything that youre describing is very exciting. But it occurs to me that its also somewhat conditional. I mean, what happens if, now that its delayed on Saturday, on Sunday, whenever this launch occurs, what happens if it fails? What happens if it goes badly? Is everything youre describing then in doubt?

kenneth chang

Its certainly pushed into the future and delayed. Is it such a setback that everyone says this was a bad idea, we give up, we need to go back to the way things were? I dont think so. Space is still a very hard business, no matter whether its SpaceX or NASA or someone else running these programs. There is a risk to whoever is riding on top of that rocket every time it launches. Everyone whos down there watching is nervous. They always go, I hope this is not a bad day. Because they realize it could be a bad day. And I dont think that one bad day means we never go back to space.

michael barbaro

Well, Ken, good luck. I hope that you do get a launch in the next few days. And well check in with you after that.

kenneth chang

Great. Thank you very much.

michael barbaro
Danish Bible Societys translation omits dozens of references to Israel

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA)The Danish Bible Society has omitted dozens of references to Israel from translations of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

Defending the deletions, the society said they prevent confusion with the modern-day country.

The omissions occurred in a project titled Bible 2020 that was published earlier this year under the societys supervision, the 24NYT news site reported Sunday. Its the first translation into Danish in more than 20 years.

Jan Frost, a Bible enthusiast and supporter of Israel from Denmark, drew the medias attention to the omissions on YouTube and other social networks. He counted 59 omissions out of 60 references to Israel in the Greek origin for New Testament texts. References to the People of Israel were replaced with Jews, while Land of Israel became the land of Jews.

In other places, references to Israel were translated as referencing all readers or all of humanity.

The Song of Ascents from the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible, a popular Shabbat hymn for Jews, originally states that He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. In the new translation, Israel is replaced by the word us.

A Bible Society representative told Frost that the decision was made to avoid confusing the Land of Israel with the State of Israel. However, the names of other countries from that time that still exist, such as Egypt, have not been changed.

The old theological expression for this is replacement theology, in which you replace Israel with the church, Frost wrote Monday on Facebook.

Dutch-Muslim politician tweets Jewish yellow star to protest coronavirus surveillance plan

By Cnaan Liphshiz

AMSTERDAM (JTA)On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a Dutch-Muslim politician has tweeted a picture of a Jewish yellow star to protest plans to monitor coronavirus carriers.

Arnoud van Doorn, a member of the City Council of The Hague, posted the picture on Monday, the birthday of Adolf Hitler. Yom Hashoah, Israels day of mourning for Holocaust victims also observed by many Jews worldwide, starts in the evening and extends to Tuesday evening.

In 2018, van Doorn tweeted a prayer to Allah to exterminate the Zionists and said that fasting on Yom Kippur wont help Jews atone for Israels sins. His Party of Unity says on its website that it strives to promote the interests of the Islamist community.

His tweet shows a yellow star of the kind that Nazis made Jews wear during the Holocaust bearing the words corona app. Its caption reads No obligatory corona app, a reference to a test being carried out by the Dutch government for a smartphone app that would help authorities monitor the whereabouts and interactions of people, including those they know or suspect are carriers, in order to curb the spread of the virus.

Tom de Nooijer, a member of the City Council of Oldebroek, a town situated some 40 miles east of Amsterdam, was among the many who criticized the tweet.

Remove that star, Arnoud. You have no right to reference it, wrote de Nooijer, who represents the pro-Israel Christian SGP party.

Worldwide population of 14.7 million Jews falls well short of pre-World War II numbers

By Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA)The worldwide population of Jews stands at 14.7 million, still short of the pre-World War II numbers, according to a report by Israels Central Bureau of Statistics.

The figures, which are similar to the population of world Jewry in 1925, were released ahead of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. The numbers are current to the end of 2018.

World Jewry reached a population of 16.6 million right before the start of World War II in 1939.

Israels 6.7 million Jews make up 45 percent of the world total. Some 5.2 million Jews were born in the country, while about 1 million are natives of either Europe or the Americas, as well as about 293,000 of Africa and 164,000 of Asia.

The United States has the second-largest Jewish population with 5.7 million, followed by France at about 450,000 and Canada at some 392,000. Next is the United Kingdom (292,000), Argentina (180,000), Russia (165,000), Germany (118,000) and Australia (116,000).

In 1948, on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel, the number of Jews in the world was 5.11 million, including 650,000 in prestate Palestine, according to the report.

Also on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israels Ministry of Finance reported that there are about 189,500 Holocaust survivors living in Israel, with some 31,000 over the age of 90 and more than 800 over 100 years old. In the past year, some 15,170 survivors have died.

Violent anti-Semitic crimes worldwide reached 5-year record in 2019

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA)The number of anti-Semitic violent crimes documented worldwide last year rose to 456 cases, an 18 percent increase over 2018 and the highest tally since 2014, the European Jewish Congress said.

EJC and the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry presented the data on Monday in a report, the Annual Report on Antisemitism Worldwide 2019.

More than a quarter of the cases that are classified in the report as violent were threats. The rest involved actual physical violence, including 242 cases of vandalism, 21 cases of arson and 62 assaults on people, with about a quarter of them involving a weapon.

The data were not aggregated according to country, though the report does include many Western countries and countries with large Jewish populations.

Not only have the numbers increased substantially but the worst types of attacks grew, which should be extremely disturbing for leaders and authorities around the world, EJC President Moshe Kantor wrote in a statement about the report.

He added that the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way in which anti-Semitism is being expressed.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant rise in accusations that Jews, as individuals and as a collective, are behind the spread of the virus or are directly profiting from it, Kantor said. The language and imagery used clearly identifies a revival of the medieval blood libels when Jews were accused of spreading disease, poisoning wells or controlling economies.

After racist tweets surface, Republican Jewish Coalition withdraws support for GOP congressmans challenger

By Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA)The Republican Jewish Coalition is withdrawing its support for a challenger to a Kentucky GOP gadfly after racist tweets by the challenger surfaced.

The RJCs political action committee had donated $5,000 to the primary campaign of Todd McMurtry, who is facing off against Rep. Thomas Massie in a primary. It was a rare move last month when the PAC involved itself in the primary.

Massies campaign unearthed recent tweets by McMurtry in which he disparaged Mexicans and transgendered people, and decried the demonization of white people.

The RJC has consistently spoken out against hate, bigotry, and racism, the group said Friday on Twitter. As a result of troubling comments that have come to light by congressional candidate Todd McMurtry which dont share our values or the values of the GOP, we are asking for a refund & withdrawing our PAC support.

Massie had angered the GOP establishment by invoking his prerogative to insist a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives attend a vote on the pandemic stimulus after most had retreated to their homes because of the coronavirus. He had already been in the sights of Jewish Republicans for opposing Holocaust education funding and actions condemning the boycott Israel movement.

His contrarianism spurred condemnation by President Donald Trump. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the third-ranked House Republican, donated to McMurtry, as did the RJC and other Republicans. McMurtry was well known in conservative circles as a lawyer for a high-schooler whose encounter on the National Mall with a Native American was depicted in some media as racist.

Cheney has since dropped her support for McMurtry and, like the RJC, has asked for her money back.

NJ man accused of ordering attacks on synagogues released from jail

By Marcy Oster

(JTA)The New Jersey man arrested for allegedly ordering the vandalism of two synagogues in other states on behalf of a neo-Nazi group was released from jail and sent to house arrest.

Richard Tobin was released last week by a federal magistrate in Camden on a $100,000 bond, The Associated Press reported late Monday. He was ordered to stay off the internet and refrain from contact with current and former members of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups called The Base and Atomwaffen Division, AP reported, citing court records.

Tobin, who was arrested by the FBI in November, is accused of using The Base social network to find volunteers for the September graffiti attacks on synagogues in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Tobin also allegedly said he planned the attacks as part of a nationwide campaign he called Operation Kristallnacht, a reference to the 1938 pogrom against Jewish homes, synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in Germany and Austria.

He has also confessed to driving to a New Jersey mall with a machete that he planned to use to kill black shoppers.

Neo-Nazis crash Holocaust survivors Zoom testimony

By Ariel Kahana

(Israel Hayom via JNS)Neo-Nazis on Monday crashed an online Holocaust Remembrance Day event hosted by the Israeli embassy in Germany.

The embassy hosted survivor Zvi Herschel, who told his story to the public through the Zoom meeting application, when suddenly Nazi activists appeared on the screen, waving photos of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and shouting anti-Semitic slogans. The incident brought the event to a halt.

After the embassy was able to remove the neo-Nazis from the platform, the video conference was resumed, with embassy staff approving each of the participants individually so as to prevent a recurring incident.

Restrictions imposed on public gatherings over the coronavirus pandemic have seen most Remembrance Day gatherings canceled in favor of online events.

In response to the incident, Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff tweeted: During a zoom meeting on the eve of #Holocaust Memorial Day by the Embassy of Israel in Berlin that hosted survivor Zvi Herschel, anti-Israel activists disrupted his talk posting pictures of Hitler and shouting anti-Semitic slogans. The event had to be suspended.

After a short break the event was reconvened without the activists and conducted in an appropriate and respectful way. To dishonor the memory of the #Holocaust and the dignity of the survivor is beyond shame and disgrace and shows the blatant anti-Semitic nature of the activists.

He later told Israel Hayom that in the three years I have been here as an ambassador, I see that the majority of Germans respect the memory of the Holocaust. This incident is unfortunate but also extremely unusual and it, of course, deserves every condemnation.

Student government at UC Irvine repeals BDS resolution

(JNS)The student government at the University of California, Irvine, has voted to repeal a 2012 resolution that called for the school to divest from firms that conduct business in Israel.

The March 12 resolution passed with 16 votes in favor, six against and two abstentions.

It stated that anti-Semitism is a universally condemned discriminatory activity that premises itself on ethnic, cultural and economic practices that seek to undermine the legitimacy, life and property of the Jewish people, and that a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation has been waged against Jewish students and their allies on UCIs campus with impunity.

The resolution also said that the BDS resolution has created a noxious campus climate that has fostered the aforementioned campaign of harassment.

Moreover, its very title is an Orwellian smear intended to stain indelibly any who would question its true and malicious intent as the baseless and bigoted assertion that the State of Israel is apartheid is nothing less than a blood libel.

Palestinians launch diplomatic offensive to prevent Israeli annexation

(JNS)PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said on Sunday that he was in talks with various international parties about the need to preserve the two-state solution in the face of possible annexation by Israel of territory in Judea and Samaria under the Trump administrations Mideast peace plan.

Erekat listed the European Union Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Susanna Terstal, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney as being among those he was in contact with regarding the issue.

Erekat discussed in his talks the situation in the Palestinian territories and the prospects of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement based on international laws, serving the peace process with the help of the international community, especially members of the U.N. Security Council, and the release of [Palestinian] prisoners, the PLO said in a statement, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Danon slams claims that Israel is impeding Palestinian efforts to combat coronavirus

(JNS)Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations strongly criticized a letter by the Palestinians to the U.N. Security Council accusing Israel of impeding efforts by the Palestinian Authority to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the West Bank.

As Israel remains open and able to help the Palestinians living under P.A. rule to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the P.A. only remains interested in continuing its diplomatic warfare against Israel, Danon said in a statement.

The Palestinian leadership will have to choose between slandering or receiving support from Israel. It cannot have both, he continued. Its rhetoric against Israel, the [Israel Defense Forces] and the Jewish people is inciting, baseless and threatens to undo any progress weve made in combating the virus.

In his letter to the U.N. Security Council, Palestinian representative to the United Nations Riyad Mansour claimed that IDF soldiers are spitting on Palestinian cars and homes, and dumping trash, needles and used gloves between villages.

He also accused Israel of forcing Palestinian workers to return to P.A.-controlled territory through wastewater tunnels, so to smuggle them past P.A. authorities mandating coronavirus testing.

Late last month, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov praised the recent cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

This years Celebrate Israel parade is called off as New York City cancels events through June

By Shira Hanau

(JTA)Among the many signs of summer that the coronavirus pandemic is silencing: the annual parade that draws tens of thousands of supporters of Israel to New York Citys Fifth Avenue.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which organizes the Celebrate Israel parade, confirmed Monday that this years parade, scheduled for June 7, will not take place. Organizers are working on a virtual event to take place that day, according to Michael Miller, the councils executive vice president and CEO.

Were saddened by the necessity of canceling this parade, Miller said. Its absence on Fifth Avenue will be notable, but its absence in the hearts of New Yorkers, Jewish and non-Jewish, who support Israel is incalculable.

The Celebrate Israel parade was first held in 1965 on Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side. In recent years, the parade has marched up Fifth Avenue. Approximately 40,000 people march in the parade each year, according to the organizers, including thousands of Jewish day school students.

The decision to cancel had seemed inevitable as the pandemic brought New York City to a halt, but on Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all non-essential events scheduled for June, including concerts, rallies and parades, would be nixed.

They will be back, said de Blasio, who mentioned the Celebrate Israel parade along with the Pride Parade and Puerto Rican Day Parade as hallmarks of New York City culture that had to be suspended to protect public health. That joy and that pride that all of these events bring will be back.
The Ulster Farmer's Union (UFU) has said it is "bewildered and frustrated" by a proposed tariff increase to the RHI scheme in Northern Ireland.

Tariffs were slashed in the wake of the original botched green energy scheme after it was revealed the government was handing out subsidies so high that it paid users to burn wood pellets.

The "cash for ash" scandal led to the collapse of the Stormont Executive in 2017.

An independent review of the tariffs has recommended increasing the medium biomass tariffs in order to achieve "the appropriate return on investment".

Read More

However, the UFU said the increase was "insubstantial" and would not benefit struggling boiler owners.

UFU deputy president Victor Chestnutt said: "The Department for Economy (DfE) are proposing a poor tariff increase from 1.8p to 2.5p for 20-99kW boilers and a meagre 0.1p rise for 100-199kW connections.

The tariff increase that has been proposed by DfE doesnt even come close to what the UFU called for last month. We sought for the reinstatement of a tariff structure that is reflective of the true costs associated with running a boiler.

"What is even more confusing is that the recommendation comes on the back of a report by Cornwall Insight which recognised a rise in fuel prices as well as boiler service and maintenance costs.

We want to see the full reinstatement of a fair tariff that reflects their costs. It is a very reasonable request and the least boiler operators deserve at this late stage. UFU vice president Victor Chesnutt

"Yet DfE have only increased one tariff by 0.7p and the other by 0.1p which could result in many boiler operators moving to oil centred heating especially with the current price of oil."

The review was tasked with looking into hardship experienced by participants on the scheme after tariffs were slashed.

This came after it was discovered the scheme was creating a "perverse incentive" for boiler owners to burn fuel.

An inquiry into the scheme found "corrupt or malicious activity" on the part of officials, ministers or special advisers was "not the cause of went wrong with the NI RHI scheme.

Rather it was an accumulation of errors, omissions over time and a failure of attention, of those involved.

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UFU boiler operators invested in the RHI scheme in good faith only to be sold out and the UFUs position remains unchanged," Mr Chesnutt added.

"We want to see the full reinstatement of a fair tariff that reflects their costs. It is a very reasonable request and the least boiler operators deserve at this late stage."

Mr Chesnutt said there is a shortage of biomass on the back of the coronavirus lockdown.

He added: "There have been moves in Great Britain to extend their RHI scheme meanwhile in Northern Ireland, our Government continue to offer our members mere crumbs from the table."

Announcing the move, Economy Minister Diane Dodds said: "I have made it clear that, in relation to matters involving the RHI Scheme, I will always seek to act in a manner that is fair to both scheme participants who joined in good faith and to taxpayers who are funding the scheme."

A DfE spokesperson said: The consultation on tariffs is based on independent, expert analysis of the costs faced by RHI participants in Northern Ireland. The Department will consider all evidence put forward by the UFU and other stakeholders during this consultation period which will help inform the Executives decision on RHI tariffs.
Actor Karanvir Bohra and Teejay Sidhus twin daughters, three-year-old Bella and Vienna, made for a heartwarming frame, signifiying the importance of unity in diversity and in adversity, via a picture where they prayed together for everyones good health and happiness, on Ramzan.

The proud father says, They know the Gayatri Mantra, they know the Pehli Pauri, they are learning the Hanuman Chalisa, the National Anthem, they recognise the sound of the Azaan. What we want to inculcate is that love is the (only) religion, and nothing else. They go to the church also... we take them everywhere.

Bohra also points out how one of the girls prayed the way Muslims pray with their arms open, and the other with folded hands. Recounting his own childhood, he says he was always surrounded by people of all religions, and he himself used to fast for a day during Ramzan time with his friends.

Talking about how in present times, Covid-19 has become a common enemy for everyone, religion notwithstanding, Bohra says, This virus or God doesnt see a difference between Hindu and Muslim... they take whoever they want. He further questions why when both the negative and the positive -- the virus and God respectively -- dont discriminate, humans fight over ye mera desh hai, yeh meri dharti hai, ye mera mandir hai.

As a matter of seeing the silver lining, however, the actor mulls over how the Covid-19 cooled down the wave of communal angst that was the widely spoken about issue in the capital earlier this year.

For Bohra, this Covid-19 crisis and the ensuing lockdown, has taught him something new. Ive learnt to be a patient father... Ive tried to understand the needs and wants of the girls better, and Im loving every moment spent with them. Its a blessing in disguise.

Together, the couple tries to ensure their daughters are brought up as compassionate human beings.

Who knows when they grow up, what they will do.. but now is the time they can imbibe these true values about love, spirituality and about loving Mother Nature. We make them grow small plants. They keep saying I didnt water my plants today! Oh my plant is hungry. It teaches them about caring, love and harmony, adds the doting date, who also wants the kids to learn how to speak Marwari and Punjabi.
Maharashtra, which tops the list as the worst-affected coronavirus disease (Covid-19) state in the country with over 10,000 positive cases, is preparing for a spike in the viral outbreak and has identified 1,677 Covid-19 dedicated hospitals that have 1,76,357 isolated beds, state health department officials said.

A dedicated Covid-19 hospital is a facility for those, who have been clinically diagnosed as mild cases. Each centre will have a dedicated basic life support ambulance equipped with staff available on a 24x7 basis in line with the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

State health minister Rajesh Tope said that these centres have been set up as a part of the preparations to deal with any emergency situation because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Weve 1,677 Covid-19 dedicated hospitals that have 1,76,357 isolated beds. There are also 7,248 beds in intensive care units (ICUs). Weve around 3,000 ventilators, around 80,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and 2.82 lakh N-95 masks, he said.

On Thursday, Maharashtra topped the 10,000-mark, as 583 new Covid-19 cases were reported. The overall state tally was 10,498 and 459 deaths.

Mumbai, the worst-hit city in the country, reported 417 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, as the total count stood at 7,061 and 290 deaths. The city has 1,459 active containment zones, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities. However, the civic body has removed 331 containment zones from its list after they completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

The officials are still claiming that the situation is still under control, as most of the new cases have been reported from traced contacts.

Maharashtra has 733 active containment zones, the officials said. Around 10,092 survey teams, comprising doctors and paramedical staff, have screened over 42.11 lakh people so far. While, 10,695 suspected patients have been kept at institutional quarantine facilities, and 1,68,266 are home quarantined, they added.

On Thursday, the state government issued an order that no hospital can turn away any patient without examination in any circumstances. The order, which comes into effect from Saturday, was issued after several complaints came to the notice of the authorities that many hospitals are denying admission to patients.

The hospitals have been warned of strict action for breach of government directives. The government has ordered that any patient, Covid-19 or non-Covid-19, entering hospital premises for treatment should be attended to immediately. The patient can be shifted or admitted after the check-up is conducted, the order added.

The state government has also eased ongoing lockdown restrictions, which are in place till May 3 to contain the spread of Covid-19 outbreak, by relaxing some norms such as allowing interstate travel from Saturday for stranded workers, students, and pilgrims.

All those stranded, including migrants, pilgrims, and students, will be allowed to travel with prior written permission in a prescribed format, said state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

District collectors and the directors of the state disaster management unit have been empowered to grant permission for interstate travel for the stranded people, he added.
(Newser)  Asked outright whether he has seen evidence linking the novel coronavirus to a Wuhan laboratory, President Trump's answer was both succinct ("Yes, I have") and mystifying ("I cant tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that," he said later when asked what exactly has him so convinced the virus is linked to a lab). Trump also told reporters at the White House Thursday, "I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because theyre like the public relations agency for China." As CNN reports, Trump's claim of evidence linking the virus to a lab contradicts the word earlier Thursday from the US intelligence community, which said no determination had yet been made on any possible link, but that it agrees with the scientific community consensus that the virus is not manmade or genetically modified.

story continues below

The intelligence community statement did, however, acknowledge it is looking into whether the outbreak could have been the result of a lab accident in Wuhan. "It's a terrible thing that happened," the president said Thursday, per the AP. "Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose." Administration officials have speculated that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is not far from the live-animal market that is considered a possible source of the outbreak. Either way, Trump said Thursday, "Certainly it could have been stopped," but China "either couldnt do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread. It got loose, let's say, and they could have capped it." (Read more coronavirus stories.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-30 17:27:30|Editor: huaxia

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A man wearing a face mask is seen at a makeshift market in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 30, 2020. Bangladesh on Thursday confirmed another five deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 168 since March 18. Also on Thursday 564 more people were tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total cases in the country to 7,667. (Str/Xinhua)

DHAKA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh reported 564 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, dipping slightly from Wednesday's high of 641.

"564 new COVID-19 positive cases and 5 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh," Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana told a press conference broadcast by television channels on Thursday afternoon.

"The total number of positive cases is now 7,667 and death toll stands currently at 168 with the fresh fatalities of three men and two women on Thursday," she added.

According to the official, 4,965 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

Also during the last 24 hours, she said 10 more patients were released from hospitals, bringing the number of recovered patients in the country so far to 160.
After clearing elections to fill nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the Election Commission will decide next week whether polls can be held to fill 17 seats in the Bihar Legislative Council and 18 in the Rajya Sabha.

In Bihar, the sheer number of voters likely to participate in the elections will be a major consideration while deciding the schedule, said an official aware of the details.

Apart from the nine vacancies from the Vidhan Sabha constituency, elections will be held to fill eight vacancies in the teachers constituency and graduate constituency in Bihar, for which more than 400,000 voters have registered so far.

In April, following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Election Commission indefinitely deferred polls through its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, read with section 153 of the Representation of the People Act, to extend the period of elections beyond the prescribed term.

As a result, elections to fill 18 Rajya Sabha vacancies  four each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, three each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two in Jharkhand, and one each in Manipur and Meghalaya  were put off.

The governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan had also written to the Election Commission to withhold the date for elections.

Asked whether the commission has begun discussions with these state governments to get a view of the ground situation, an Election Commission official said talks are underway and the situation in each state will be assessed before a decision.

Each state will be assessed separately, since the condition in each state is different. In the case of Maharashtra, the state government categorically states it will ensure elections will be held as per the stated health protocols, the official said.

On Friday, the Election Commission announced May 21 as the date for holding polls in Maharashtra, where chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is among contestants.

According to the health ministrys data, Gujarat has recorded 4,395 cases of infection and 214 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 2,660 cases and 147 deaths, Rajasthan 2,584 cases and 58 deaths, Jharkhand 109 cases and three deaths, and Andhra Pradesh 1,403 cases and 31 deaths.

Commenting on the pending Rajya Sabha elections, Javed Ali Khan of the Samajwadi Party and a member of the Upper House, said the decision on holding polls is the prerogative of the Election Commission.

The situation in Maharashtra was unique. There was a constitutional requirement for the chief minister to get elected. But there is no such compulsion to fill the Rajya Sabha seats, so the Election Commissions decision on Maharashtra cannot be questioned, he said.

A state government official in Bihar said the Election Commission will be informed about challenges related to ensuring distancing and sanitation protocols. Bihar has recorded 418 cases and three deaths.

The number of people who will register for the teachers and the graduate constituencies is over four lakh now. It will keep going up till the last date of filing nominations. We are looking at very large voter participation. Polling stations for these eight seats will be set up at every block across districts and it will not be easy to ensure proper distancing and health protocols, the official in Bihar said.

RJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha, however, said since holding elections for the legislative council is different from assembly elections, the poll panel should consider announcing dates for Bihar as well. There has to be a universal policy for all, Jha said.

In Uttar Pradesh, 11 legislative council seats  six in the teachers constituency and five in the graduates constituency  are vacant but a state government official said there had been no discussion so far on how soon elections to fill these seats will be held.

Article 324 empowers the poll panel to direct, control and conduct elections to Parliament, the legislature of every state and elections to the offices of president and vice president, and extension of time for completion of polls. Section 153 allows the Election Commission, for reasons it considers sufficient, to extend the time to complete any election by making necessary amendments.

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New standards being set as Riviera Maya prepares for tourism relaunch

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  Given the significant changes in travel and accommodation conditions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Riviera Maya Hotel Association, in alliance with Cristal International Standards, is working on the application of new international hygiene and safety standards for the relaunch of Mexican Caribbean tourism.

More than 200 hotel managers participated in a recent online seminar where new standards and requirements of tour companies in all operational areas, emergency protocols and crisis management generated by the current pandemic, were discussed.

Conrad Bergwerf, president of Asociacion de Hoteles de la Riviera Maya explained that on the day hotels reopen their doors, clients will be much more sensitive to issues related to hygiene, cleanliness, disinfection and, in general, to security. For this reason, it will be essential to have security and hygiene programs and protocols to properly serve customers and build trust among our visitors.

As part of the training seminar, a POSI-Check Certification (Prevencion de la Propagacion de Infecciones  POSI) was presented which will help the hotel sector in the prevention of spread of infections. He says the guidelines are recommended by global tourism and health groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

Conrad Bergwerf, President (Left) and Manuel Paredes, Executive Director

POSI-Check will help ensure that staff are complying with the necessary measures to prevent the spread of infection, while assuring their guests well-being is a top priority, said Cristal Standards CEO Stephen Tate. POSI-Check was designed to help our hospitality partners prepare to ensure the safety of their staff and guests as the world resumes travel after COVID-19.

Bergwerf explained that the POSI-Check audit will guide hoteliers and restaurants to demonstrate that they are effectively managing infection prevention, which will undoubtedly benefit the recovery of the tourism industry in the coming months as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manuel Paredes, executive director of the Asociacion de Hoteles de la Riviera Maya said experts anticipate that once mobility restrictions begin to lift, travel will begin to kick in, although the pace may be slower than desired. Regional and domestic tourism is expected to be the first to start, so once nations travel restrictions are relaxed and destinations are considered safe, international travel and tourism will begin their recovery.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has speculated that China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world due to some kind of horrible mistake, and his intelligence agencies said they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about the coronavirus response with Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has speculated that China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world due to some kind of horrible mistake, and his intelligence agencies said they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab.

Trump even suggested Thursday that the release could have been intentional.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, said it had ruled out the virus being man-made but was still investigating the precise source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.

Though scientists suggest the likeliest origin of the pandemic remains natural, that it spread from an infected animal to a human, Trump claimed to have seen evidence to support the theory that the origin was an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak.

He said the U.S. now is finding how it came out."

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about the coronavirus response with Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It's a terrible thing that happened," the president said. "Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose.

The intel statement said the federal agencies concur "with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.

The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

In recent days the Trump administration has sharpened its rhetoric on China, accusing the geopolitical foe and vital trading partner of failing to act swiftly enough to sound the alarm about the outbreak or to stop the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. U.S. officials have said the Chinese government should pay a price" for its handling of the pandemic.

This all comes as the pace of Trumps own original response continues to come under scrutiny, questioned as too meagre and too slow.

Earlier Thursday, before Trump's comments, the Chinese government said that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing.

Clerks wear face masks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as they wait for customers at the entrance to a restaurant in Beijing, Tuesday, April 28, 2020. The Chinese city of Wuhan, which was the original epicenter of the pandemic, again reported no new coronavirus cases or deaths Tuesday and its hospitals remained empty of virus patients for a second straight day. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institutes director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen.

I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals, Geng said.

He also criticized those in the U.S. who say China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on better controlling the epidemic situation at home.

At the White House, Trump repeatedly blamed China for its handling of the outbreak, criticizing the country for restricting domestic travel to slow the virus but not international travel to keep it from spreading abroad.

Certainly it could have been stopped," Trump said during an event in the East Room on his administration's efforts to aid seniors during the outbreak. They either couldnt do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread.

It got loose, let's say, and they could have capped it."

President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a event about protecting seniors, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Earlier this month, Trump addressed the lab theory saying, More and more, were hearing the story." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added at the time, The mere fact that we dont know the answers  that China hasnt shared the answers  I think is very, very telling.

Pompeo also pressed China to let outside experts into the lab so that we can determine precisely where this virus began.

While Trump and Pompeo have made their feelings clear, a U.S. intelligence official disputed the notion that there was pressure on agencies to bolster a particular theory. The intelligence official was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Scientists say the virus arose naturally in bats. Even so, Pompeo and others have pointed fingers at an institute that is run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has done groundbreaking research tracing the likely origins of the SARS virus, finding new bat viruses and discovering how they could jump to people.

We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was, Pompeo said two weeks ago. The institute has an address 8 miles, or 13 kilometres, from the market that is considered a possible source.

U.S. officials say the American Embassy in Beijing flagged concerns about potential safety issues at the lab in Wuhan in 2018, but they have yet to find any evidence the virus originated there nearly two years later.

Scientists studying the virus for months have made clear they believe it wasn't man-made but are still working to determine a point at which it may have jumped from animals to humans.

Early attention focused on the live-animal market in Wuhan where the first cases were reported in December. But the first person identified with the disease had no known connection to that market.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Kristian Andersen, who studies the virus at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, puts the odds of it being accidentally released by the Wuhan lab at a million to one, far less likely than an infection in nature. But virus expert David OConnor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said he thinks too little is known to rule out any source, except the idea the virus was man-made. Finding the source is important, he said, because it may harbour the next pandemic virus.

The U.S. was providing funding to the Wuhan lab for its research on coronaviruses, Michael Morell, former acting director and deputy director of the CIA, said Thursday.

He said State Department cables indicate that there have been concerns in past years among U.S. officials about the safety protocols at that lab. If the virus did escape from a Chinese lab, it not only reflects negatively on China but also on the United States for providing research funding to a lab that has safety concerns, Morell said during an online forum hosted by the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy and International Security at George Mason University.

So if it did escape, were all in this together, Morell said. This is not a gotcha for China. This is a gotcha for both of us.

___

Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Washington and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.
A Circuit Court in Accra has imposed a fine of GHC12,000 on a motor rider for failing to observe social distancing by carrying a pillion rider without lawful authority in the Greater Accra metropolis.



Samuel Duah in default would serve four years imprisonment.

This was after Duah had pleaded guilty to failing to comply with Restrictions Imposed by the President.



The court presided over by Mrs. Helen Ofei Ayeh ordered the arrest of eight other motor riders who failed to appear before her on similar charges.



The eight are Rabiu Ibrahim, Isaac Owusu, Mohammed Jamal, Yahaya Macauley, Sumaila Moro, Proper Adanu, Issah Yusif, and Umar Abdul Rashid.



Five other accused who pleaded not guilty to the charges, were admitted to bail in the sum of GHC20, 000 each with three sureties each.



They are Amidu Hafis, Richmond Azada, Kwesi Guiio, Nelson Ajorlolo and Bright Achiri.



The accused are expected to reappear on May 13.



Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Adjei narrated that the complainant Deputy Superintendent of Police Sulemana Sulley, is a Police officer and Commander of the Alpha SWAT Unit of the Accra Regional Police Command.



Chief Inspector Adjei said the accused are motor riders parading in various suburbs of Accra.



Prosecution said on April 23, this year at about 0800 hours and 1500 hours, pursuant to the passage of Executive Instrument (EI 65) and the Presidents directives on social distancing with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greater Accra Regional Police embarked on Operation COVID-19 Safety in the metropolis.



The prosecution said the accused were arrested riding with a pillion rider each.



He said during investigations, they admitted the offence in their cautioned statements.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Testing at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in south west London, ahead of the new toll. (PA Images)

The number of people in the UK who have died after being infected with coronavirus has risen by 739 to 27,510.

There are also 177,451 confirmed cases, a rise of 6,201 from Thursday.

The toll remains the second worst official count in Europe, behind Italy, but ahead of Spain and France, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Around the world, there have been 3.2 million reported cases, with 233,000 deaths and more than 1 million recoveries.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu

The government is set to reveal more details of how the UK will progress in its fight against the coronavirus.

There have been calls from Labour to reveal what the next step is, with the lockdown wreaking havoc on the nations economy.

Boris Johnson emphasised the importance of keeping the amount of new infections low  based on a measure referred to as the R-number  and is mindful of how any attempt to ease the lockdown could see the rate of infections climb again.

A key way out is contract tracing, where authorities can find people who recently came into contact with an infected person and prevent the virus spreading further.

David Nabarro, the World Health Organizations special envoy on COVID-19, said it would be perfectly reasonable for the government to begin easing the lockdown before a full contact tracing system is set up.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, he said: Every government is having to make a choice and I understand that the contact tracing process is now well advanced and so thats a reasonable time to be thinking through how lockdown can be eased, and it wont be eased all at once, it will be eased bit by bit.

He added: You dont need to have 100% contact tracing in order to get the R-number down

The contact tracing is an absolutely essential part of reducing transmission, and getting that capacity as widely spread as possible is key to getting the transmission as low as you can.

Story continues

But you certainly can release the lockdown while youre building up the case finding and contact tracing capacity  thats what most other countries are doing.

Meanwhile, NHS Englands national mental health director Claire Murdoch has said there is no evidence the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has led to a rise in suicides.

She told MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee: There have been various studies as weve seen, in fact for adults as well, everybody is more worried.

Lots of people are sleeping less, lots of people are worried about all kinds of things.

But I do think its very important that we dont succumb at this stage to a narrative of massive spikes in suicide and that were very responsible in how we understand the evidence there.

Coronavirus: what happened today

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the Majority Leader in parliament, Hon. Osie Kyei Mensah Bonsu, has asked the government to focus more on contact tracing in order to curb the spread of the Coronavirus



According to him, the scaling up of the contact tracing will help arrest the community spread of the virus, other than that the country will be at risk of having more people infected.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' program, he applauded the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 team, saying they are doing tremendously well in helping fight the virus.



However, he has appealed that Psychologists be added to the contact tracing team to have them counsel people who will be tested positive for the virus on the need to observe safety precautions and self-isolation.



Ghana has so far tested about 113,497 people.



Listen to Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu in the video below





Ghana's COVID-19 case count is now 2,074, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS).The number of recoveries has increased to 212 with 17 deaths.This adds 403 new positive cases since the Ministry's last update on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.There has also been an additional 24 recoveries and one (1) more death.Greater Accra Region - 1,795Ashanti Region - 99Eastern Region - 70Central Region - 21Oti Region - 19Upper East Region - 19Volta Region - 16Northern Region - 13Upper West Region - 10Western Region - 9North East Region - 2Western North Region - 1Savannah Region - 0Bono Region - 0Ahafo Region - 0Bono East Region - 0

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 16:27:41|Editor: huaxia

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KUNMING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province have captured 10 suspects for smuggling 4,500 cartons of cigarettes in two recent cases, local authorities said Friday.

After receiving a tip-off regarding cigarette smuggling, police in Changning County in the city of Baoshan seized 3,200 cartons of smuggled cigarettes from six vehicles in a farmhouse in the city of Ruili, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, on April 23, with seven suspects nabbed on the spot.

In the early hours of the following morning, police caught the other three suspects and seized 1,300 cartons of smuggled cigarettes from three vehicles in Dehong's Longchuan County.

The 10 suspects have been put under criminal detention. Further investigation into the two cases is underway. Enditem
A middle-aged man died on Wednesday night after the vehicle he was driving plunged into Kotoruk River on the Makutano-Kapkoris Road in Kapenguria Town, West Pokot County, Kenya.

Sammy Rutos body was discovered in the watercourse Thursday morning meters from the spot his mangled car, a Subaru Forester, had stuck.

Kapenguria Town experienced heavy rainfall and flooding events on Wednesday evening.

Ruto, an engineer, was heading to Makutano Township from Kapkoris, when the incident happened at 9:30pm, Kapenguria OCPD, Julius Kyumbule, told K24 Digital.



The vehicle, a Subaru Forester of registration plate KCM 290L, careened off the road, and plunged into the river. It was, thereafter, swept 200 meters from the bridge, said Kyumbule.

K24 Digital understands that the bridge constructed over Kotoruk River does not have railings or barriers to protect motorists from hurtling into the watercourse.

We suspect the victim pushed the car door open, and got out of the vehicle in an attempt to save his life. He was, however, overpowered by the raging waters, which swept him several meters from the car. He, most likely, died from drowning, said Kyumbule.

The Kapenguria police boss said they are yet to establish where  exactly  Ruto was coming from at 9:30pm; two-and-a-half hours past the curfew cut-off time of 7pm.

A Kapenguria resident, Rofina Mengich, urged the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) to install bridge rails over Kotoruk River so as to avert cases of vehicles plunging into the waterway.

Rutos body was taken to Kapenguria County Referral Hospital morgue. His wife, who arrived at the scene early Thursday, collapsed upon learning that her spouse had died. She was rushed to a nearby medical facility for emergency care.

Ruto, said to be aged between 35 and 40 years old, is survived by the wife and their three children.

The Nairobi-based telecoms engineer had visited his rural home in Kapenguria with his family, when he met his death.

Floods have, of late, been wreaking havoc in parts of West Pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties.

Just over one week ago, flash floods and mudslides in Chesegon area on the border of Elgeyo-Marakwet and West Pokot counties left at least eight people dead and tens of families displaced.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
CHICAGO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Third Coast Underwriters (3CU), a leading national workers' compensation insurance company, announced today that it will offer workers' compensation insurance in Florida and Wisconsin, expanding its coverage to a total of 21 states.

Under the direction of Mike Valiante, vice president of Business Development, Underwriting and Data Analytics, the 3CU team will explore opportunities for appointing agents and identifying qualified customers within the new areas.

"Our expansion into Florida and Wisconsin further enhances our national presence as a specialty workers' compensation solution and expands the collective strength of AF Group," said Valiante. "There continues to be a strong demand for our comprehensive array of workers' compensation offerings and we look forward to developing new agency partnerships in the months and years ahead in these regions and across the entire country."

Eleven years after launching as a specialized provider of workers' compensation insurance to complex operations, 3CU continues its growth after reaching an important milestone in 2019, when it surpassed $100 million in written premium for the first time in its history. Through geographic and segment expansion of its workers' compensation business, 3CU continues to partner with customers to provide proactive, consultative service to manage complex operations and challenging exposures that require unique workers' compensation solutions.

"We have experienced more than a decade of effective underwriting, innovative loss control and market-leading claims handling as we continue to demonstrate our value through a high-touch service model that always places our customers first," said Steve Cooper, president of 3CU and United Heartland. "Expansion into the transportation and agribusiness sectors enhanced our established expertise in construction, energy, longshore and private equity workers' compensation. We look forward to continued growth as we focus on innovative solutions to meet the changing needs of our customers."

For more information regarding additional agency growth in Florida, contact Bill Simonson at [email protected]; or in Wisconsin, contact Mike Altman at [email protected].

About Third Coast Underwriters

Third Coast Underwriters is a member of AF Group. Insurance policies may be issued by any of the following companies within AF Group: Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, Accident Fund National Insurance Company, Accident Fund General Insurance Company, United Wisconsin Insurance Company, Third Coast Insurance Company or CompWest Insurance Company.

Contact:

Bob Lapinski

(312) 443-9819 or (517) 331-4890

[email protected]

AFGroup.com

SOURCE AF Group; Third Coast Underwriters
Popular music producer, Michael Collins Ajereh also known as Don Jazzy has used the opportunity of the international workers day celebration to call on the federal government of Nigeria to priorities the safety, health and welfare of Nigerian workers.

Read Also: Senate President Bukola Saraki Drops Workers Day Message For Nigerians

This was contained in a series of tweets he sent out on his official Twitter handle on Friday.

On this #InternationalWorkersDay, I give kudos to our nations labour force in the public and private sectors contributing to the advancement of our socio-economic status. I salute your courage and diligence in service to our dear nation.

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I pray all your contributions to her growth dont become vain. I, however, urge the federal government to treat the health, safety and welfare of all Nigerian workers with utmost priority.

It should also be ensured that all provisions of the Labour Act, which protect employees rights, are adhered to. Happy workers day.

https://twitter.com/DONJAZZY/status/1256115286698270720?s=19

https://twitter.com/DONJAZZY/status/1256115289059663877?s=19

https://twitter.com/DONJAZZY/status/1256115290804453376?s=19
COVID-19 patients have significantly low counts of a cell type that plays a crucial role in immune response, with lower numbers of these cells indicating more severe disease, according to a study whose findings may lead to the development of new therapeutics against the disease.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, assessed COVID-19 patients in China, and found that an adverse immune response triggered in the body may affect disease severity by lowering the counts of T cells, which are a type white blood cells that play important roles in the immune system.

According to the scientists, including those from the Army Medical University in China, COVID-19 patients had a high concentration of cytokines, a protein that normally helps fight off infection.

They said an increased concentration of these molecules can trigger an excessive inflammatory response known as a cytokine storm, which causes the proteins to attack healthy cells.

Coronavirus, the study said, does not attack T cells directly, but rather triggers the cytokine release, which then drives the depletion and exhaustion of T cells.

The findings, according to the researchers, offer clues on how to target treatment for COVID-19.

"We should pay more attention to T cell counts and their function, rather than respiratory function of patients," said study co-author Yongwen Chen of Third Military Medical University in China, adding that "more urgent, early intervention may be required in patients with low T lymphocyte counts."



Chen and his team also noticed that many of the patients they treated for COVID-19 had abnormally low numbers of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that includes T cells.

"Considering T cells' central role of response against viral infections, especially in the early stage when antibodies are not boosted yet, we took the T cells as our focal point," he said.

In the study, the scientists examined 522 patients with coronavirus along with 40 healthy controls.

They said all the patients studied were admitted to two hospitals in Wuhan, China between December 2019 and January 2020, and were between 5 days and 97 years old.

Of the 499 patients who had their lymphocytes recorded, the study noted that 76 per cent had significantly low total T cell counts.

It said ICU patients had significantly lower T cell counts compared with non-ICU cases, and patients over the age of 60 had the lowest number of T cells.

According to Chen and his team, the T cells that did survive were exhausted and could not function at full capacity.

This exhaustion also has implications for COVID-19 patient outcomes, and may leave patients more vulnerable to secondary infection, they added.

The scientists believe future research should focus on finding finer subpopulations of T cells in order to discover their vulnerability and effect in disease, along with identifying drugs that recover T cell numbers and boost function.

They said the existing drug Tocilizumab may be effective, but added that it needs to be investigated in the context of coronavirus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The last three months have been tough on Lithium Chile Inc. (CVE:LITH) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 45%. But that doesn't undermine the fantastic longer term performance (measured over five years). In fact, during that period, the share price climbed 2200%. Impressive! So it might be that some shareholders are taking profits after good performance. But the real question is whether the business fundamentals can improve over the long term. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 78% decline over the last twelve months.

Anyone who held for that rewarding ride would probably be keen to talk about it.

View our latest analysis for Lithium Chile

With just CA$90,506 worth of revenue in twelve months, we don't think the market considers Lithium Chile to have proven its business plan. So it seems shareholders are too busy dreaming about the progress to come than dwelling on the current (lack of) revenue. It seems likely some shareholders believe that Lithium Chile will find or develop a valuable new mine before too long.

We think companies that have neither significant revenues nor profits are pretty high risk. There is almost always a chance they will need to raise more capital, and their progress - and share price - will dictate how dilutive that is to current holders. While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized). Lithium Chile has already given some investors a taste of the sweet gains that high risk investing can generate, if your timing is right.

Lithium Chile had cash in excess of all liabilities of just CA$2.8k when it last reported (December 2019). So if it has not already moved to replenish reserves, we think the near-term chances of a capital raising event are pretty high. It's a testament to the popularity of the business plan that the share price gained 15% per year, over 5 years , despite the weak balance sheet. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Lithium Chile's cash levels have changed over time.

Story continues

TSXV:LITH Historical Debt May 1st 2020

In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. However you can take a look at whether insiders have been buying up shares. It's usually a positive if they have, as it may indicate they see value in the stock. You can click here to see if there are insiders buying.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 9.3% in the twelve months, Lithium Chile shareholders did even worse, losing 78%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 87% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Lithium Chile better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Lithium Chile (including 4 which is can't be ignored) .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



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An American cruise ship worker says she is being 'held captive against her will' after she was blocked from leaving the vessel in Los Angeles.

Melinda Man, 25, is one of 750 crew members stuck on board Holland America's MS Oosterdam, which has been 'floating aimlessly' in waters off the west coast since it disembarked all passengers on March 14.

On Tuesday, the cruise ship docked in Los Angeles to refuel, but the Center For Disease Control and Prevention refused to let crew off the ship, despite the fact there has been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on board.

As part of a 'No Sail Order' the CDC prohibits workers from leaving their vessels until their cruise ship companies provide 'comprehensive disembarkation plan' that includes 'arranging non-public transportation for crew to get home' .

Mann told USA Today that she was physically blocked from leaving the vessel by three security guards.

She asked to be arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department or Customs and Border Patrol - but was denied.

Melinda Man (left) says she is being 'held captive against her will' at sea sfter she was blocked from disembarking the MS Oosterdam in Los Angeles on Tuesday, despite the fact she is a US citizen

Passengers on board the MS Oosterdam disembarked on March 14. 750 crew members remained on board the ship

Mann snapped this photo from the deck of the MS Oosterdam while it refueled in Los Angeles. Despite being a US citizen, Mann was prohibited from getting off the ship and was taken back out to sea

After refueling, the MS Oosterdam then left port to float back out at sea.

'I am still here on this ship, held captive against my will. I am not being paid. I do not want to be here,' Mann wrote on Facebook.

'As an American citizen, I have the right to enter the country.so I think the CDC's order is illegal as it pertains to American citizens,' she told USA Today Tuesday.

She added: 'It feels like the governments of the world are treating us like disease vectors instead of humans'.

'I was born in Florida and raised in Georgia... Ive always loved the United States and now, my country doesnt want me and they wont let me in. And its heartbreaking," she later told WTVM.

Mann says that, since March 14, she has been required to spend 21 hours per day in her small cabin. She is not allowed to converse with fellow crew members when she comes out of her room for meals.

Late Thursday, Mann took to Facebook to reveal she had been transferred from the MS Oosterdam to the MS Koningsdam in the waters off Mexico.

'They are putting all North Americans, South Americans, and Europeans on one ship. Life onboard will remain the same. 21 hours a day in one cabin, designated meal breaks, and a lot of solitude. Please keep me and the other crew in your thoughts!' she wrote.

Mann says she still does not know when she will be allowed to return home.

'I've always loved the United States and now, my country doesnt want me and they wont let me in': Mann has now been transferred to a different vessel, which remains floating off the coast of Mexico

However, she is far from being alone in her predicament. According to the Coast Guard, there are more than 100 cruise ships with 80,000 crew members on board floating in US waters alone.

According to The Guardian, there are a total of 100,000 crew members still stuck on ships across the globe. 50 of those vessels have reported cases of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Julia Whitcomb, a 24-year-old cruise ship performer from Illinois, remains on board the Infinity liner, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises.

The boat remains floating off the coast of Miami.

Whitcomb said she has repeatedly been refused the right to disembark onto US soil despite the last passengers leaving and the crew's 14-day quarantine being completed weeks ago.

She is one of 954 crew members - including three Americans - who has spent more than a month holed up in a tiny cabin on the ship, while the CDC and the cruise company are reportedly stuck in a stalemate over who will take responsibility for their safe return home.

Julia Whitcomb, a 24-year-old cruise ship performer from Illinois, said she has been forced to stay in isolation on board the Infinity liner, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises, for 33 days

Whitcomb told how she and her boyfriend were forced to bunker in his 'windowless single room on a lower deck, without fresh air' (above) and she has repeatedly been refused the right to disembark onto US soil

'My anxiety has never been this bad before,' Whitcomb wrote in a piece penned for Cosmopolitan , where she described the ordeal.

'Isolation began March 28. We were told to remain in our cabins and that there would be a zero tolerance policy for leaving at any time,' she wrote.

Whitcomb told how she and her boyfriend were forced to bunker in his 'windowless single room on a lower deck, without fresh air' while meals were delivered to their door three times a day.

Meanwhile, another cruise ship worker who was stuck on board the Holland America's Volendam was able to disembark on April 18 - but only because he had n infected wisdom tooth .

Matt Gordon took to Instagram Wednesday to advocate for his 'friends and colleagues languishing away on marooned ships that are not being allowed to dock.'

'It should not take medical emergencies just to repatriate American citizens into their own country,' he stated.

'There are STILL THOUSANDS of crew members TRAPPED at sea right now, and no one is doing anything about it. It makes me so frustrated and ANGRY,' Gordon further blasted.
(Newser)  Four women have been arrested in Arizona after a woman turned up dead days after she was observed screaming for help. Melissa Valenzuela was reported missing on March 20, three days after family members recalled seeing the 34-year-old mother of three in the company of Mercedes Gomez and Christina Gomez, reports NBC News. Those two are now charged with felony kidnapping along with Nadine Chavez and Melissa Servin as the investigation continues. All four suspects, ranging in age from 32 to 42, were seen arguing with a woman matching Valenzuela's description on March 17, police tell KPNX. One witness said the woman was screaming for someone to call 911 as she was pushed or dragged into a home in Phoenix owned by Chavez.

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Chavez's own brother told police that his sister implied Valenzuela was killed in the home, reports the Arizona Republic. He reported seeing blood and missing floor tile in a bathroom of the home on March 17 and March 18, when he claimed Mercedes Gomez gave him Valenzuela's debit card and PIN, according to court documents. The documents allege Mercedes and Christina Gomez removed Valenzuela's body from the home while Chavez and Servin cleaned. Valenzuela's body was found March 23, though police haven't said where. Blood was subsequently found in Chavez's bathroom during a warrant search on April 24, police say. Valenzuela's family members believe they know the motive for the killing but haven't discussed it publicly, per Oxygen. (Read more murder stories.)
The most important message to the public is not to panic  most of the patients we are seeing with these lesions are doing extremely well, Dr. Freeman said.

Theyre having what we call a benign clinical course. Theyre staying home, theyre getting better, the toe lesions are going away.

Scientists are just beginning to study the phenomenon, but so far chilblain-like lesions appear to signal, curiously enough, a mild or even asymptomatic infection. They may also develop several weeks after the acute phase of an infection is over.

Patients who develop swollen toes and red and purple lesions should consult their primary care doctor or a dermatologist to rule out other possible causes. But, experts said, they should not run to the emergency room, where they risk being exposed to the coronavirus or exposing others if they are infected.

The good news is that the chilblain-like lesions usually mean youre going to be fine, Dr. Fox said. Usually its a good sign your body has seen Covid and is making a good immune reaction to it.

Patients who get the painful lesions are often alarmed. They appear most frequently on the toes, often affecting several toes on one or both feet, and the sores can be extremely painful, causing a burning or itching sensation.

At first, the toes look swollen and take on a reddish tint; sometimes a part of the toe is swollen, and individual lesions or bumps can be seen. Over time, the lesions become purple in color.
Buddhist monk has built sanitiser dispensers operated with foot pedal to reduce the risk of coronavirus germs spreading from people touching them with their hands. Phra Sarawut Thitisopano, a young monk at Wat Samuha Pradittharam in Saraburi province, Thailand, showed off his clever invention this morning (May 1). His temple has been widely praised by health officials and residents for the hygiene-conscious dispensers they have developed. They have even donated them to local hospitals and government offices to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Phra Sarawut said: ''We just want to help to stop the virus. Everybody has to try their best to think of new ways to help.'' The devout Buddhist and other monks re-purpose steel left over from a construction site near the temple. They cut the poles into a desired length, make foot paddles, and combine the pieces together. For the mechanics, they use sliding gate wheels to activate the foot paddle. Each dispenser takes two hours to make with a budget of less than 200 baht (6.15USD). Footage shows how the alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel, or sanitiser gel, is pumped out effortlessly when a monk steps on the foot paddle. The monks then spray-paint the stands blue. Phra Sarawut said he used to be a mechanic and researched how to make dispensers by watching DIY videos online. The temple has made and donated more than ten dispensers so far to local hospitals, temples, and government offices. Thailand recorded just six new coronavirus cases on May 1 and ministers have started to ease restrictions, with some restaurants, shops and hair salons being allowed to open from May 4. However, a ban on non-residents entering the country is set to remain indefinitely until the pandemic is brought under control in other parts of the world.
File image: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Kamlendra Kanwar

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in his renewed avatar as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, finds himself in deep trouble in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Defections from the Congress-led Kamal Nath government brought it down and on March 23 Chouhan became Chief Minister for the fourth time. That was more than a month ago. Rather than hitting the ground running, Chouhan remained without a Cabinet until April 21 when his one-man government was expanded with five ministers.

Though among the five there is Tulsi Silawat, former health minister, the state health department appears ill-prepared to fight the outbreak. Several top bureaucrats, including Pallavi Jain Govil, principal secretary (health), J Vijay Kumar, managing director of MP Health Corporation and chief executive officer of the states Ayushman Bharat programme, have tested COVID-19 positive.

As of April 12, 48 officials and 32 members of their families were infected. The total number of cases in the state have swelled, crossing the 2,500-mark on April 29. The fatalities in the state have touched 130.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

Alarmingly, the concept of social distancing, which is the cornerstone of the Union governments efforts to fight COVID-19, is yet to seep into official consciousness substantially. At Chouhans swearing-in, BJP legislators and bureaucrats mingled with each other freely. On April 27, newly-appointed health minister Narottam Mishra was spotted defying social distancing norms with impunity while visiting his hometown Bhopal.

To make matters worse, news reports have showed how top officials have refused to isolate themselves in hospitals, thereby putting many others at risk.

What compounded an already grave scenario is the migration issue. Madhya Pradesh, being centrally located, not only sees large scale economic migration from and to the state, but also sees a lot of migrants crisscrossing the state to other states in India. As the lockdown was announced on March 24, migrant workers in the state could not leave the state  this added a different dimension to the existing healthcare crisis.

Economic migration is a pan-India problem and this Economic Survey of 2017 estimated that 9 million people moved between states annually for five years between 2011 and 2016.

The survey revealed that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the biggest source of migrants. This was closely followed by Madhya Pradesh. The migrants went far and wide within the country, principally to Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Chouhans lost month has exacerbated the problem. The right course of action should have been for Chouhan to name his Cabinet shortly after he took office  a pandemic demands such swift action. However, Chouhan might have been apprehensive on whom to choose from his party and from among the 22 MLAs to his Cabinet, and might have left it to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national leadership to decide.

The state needs to get its act together to tackle this crisis. With the Chouhan government still awaiting its full strength, redemption from the pandemic is still half-hearted. There are clear signs that the state is falling behind in the fight against COVID-19. Of the 52 districts in the state, 31 have been affects, and of these, in 12 districts the number of cases is more than 10. Also what is worrying is that while the India average mortality rate under COVID-19 is 3.2 percent, in Madhya Pradesh it has been hovering around 5 percent for two weeks.

The next few weeks would be a testing time with the possibility of a spurt in cases and perhaps casualties. The state capital Bhopal and commercial capital Indore have both been declared hotspots in a growing list of such vulnerable areas. To tide this wave greater enforcement of the lockdown and widespread testing, along with systematic healthcare, is required. The Chouhan government will be tested to the full.

The political uncertainty the state was facing seems to have gone  now it has a healthcare crisis staring it in the face.
A donation of $2 million (1.5 million) worth of American Wagyu steak was made to a San Francisco food bank by a family farm, to help those most affected by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The prized beef was only a small part of an estimated $8 million (6.3 million) steak donation to the worst-hit states in the US by the family-owned company called Snake River Farms in Idaho, according to Fox News.

The farm typically sends its produce to high-end restaurants but decided to make the donation after stay-at-home orders forced most non-essential businesses to close.

Wagyu is a highly sought after and expensive meat due to its tenderness and unique flavour, it can cost up to $200 (159) per pound, and the cows that produce it can sell for as much as $30,000 (23,800), according to Business Insider.

The steaks are being cut and packaged in a warehouse California before being sent to the food banks in states areas worst hit by the virus, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

We are firm believers that in times of crisis, food can bring comfort and healing, said Jay Theiler, the executive director of marketing at Snake River Farms, Fox News reported.

While we are hundreds of miles away, we care deeply about these restaurant workers, their families, and the affected communities in California that are having a tough time and want them to know how much they mean to us, he said.

The number of Americans seeking aid has soared in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic causes unemployment to soar, and food banks across the country have meanwhile faced severe supply strains.

Not in my lifetime has there been a precedent for this, said Catherine DAmato, chief executive of the Greater Boston Food Bank, said as the pandemic unfolded in March.

We know how to respond to fires, earthquakes, floods. There isnt a playbook for this.

Nearly 3.8 million more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the virus continues to affect a historic economic downturn.

The total number of workers that have been left unemployed in the US since the outbreak began is more than 30 million.
The National Archives said Friday it has no record of any files from a congressional office that might contain evidence of a sexual misconduct complaint against Joe Biden from 27 years ago, when he was a U.S. senator.

The short answer is no  we dont have those. Those records are with the Congress, John Valceanu, director of communications for the archives, told Yahoo News.

The archives later put out a statement saying in its entirety: Any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate. Accordingly inquiries related to these records should be directed to the Senate. The office of the secretary of the Senate did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this year Biden was hit with an accusation that he assaulted a former member of his staff in 1993. The accuser, Tara Reade, said she had also filed a formal complaint of sexual harassment about her time working in Biden's office but does not have a copy. She said the harassment complaint did not include details of the assault.

Former Vice President Joe Biden. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

In a statement and an interview Friday morning Biden denied the episode entirely and said any record of the complaint, if it existed, would be in the National Archives.

Reade claims Biden, then a senator from Delaware, pushed her against a wall while she was running an errand and groped her, penetrating her with his fingers. Bidens presidential campaign office had denied Reades account, but he had not addressed it directly until Friday, when he issued a statement forcefully denying the claims, saying, This never happened.

There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives, the statement said. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary for the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.

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An agency official said it was possible that Congress has leased space at the National Archives that might contain such records from the congressional office  which has since changed its name to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. But, the official said, the archives does not control any such records or have custody of them. It was not immediately clear whether any of the congressional records being stored at the archives would include those from the employment office, even if the archives is unable to access them.

The National Archives building in Washington, D.C. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Asked for comment on the National Archives statement, the Biden campaign Friday night released a copy of a letter the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee sent to the secretary of the Senate, Julie Adams. We had understood that the Senate stores records from [the fair employment office] and, from this period, in the National Archives, Biden wrote. The Archives now states that the records would have remained under the control of the Senate.

"Accordingly, I request that you take or direct whatever steps are necessary to establish the location of the records of this Office and, once they have been located, to direct a search for the alleged complaint and to make public the results of this search.

Bidens public papers are in the archives of the University of Delaware, under seal until two years after he leaves public life. In response to questions from Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski in an interview Friday morning, Biden said those documents would not include any personnel matters but do hold private correspondence with former President Barack Obama and other world leaders that he is unwilling to release in the middle of a presidential campaign.

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Click here for the latest coronavirus news and updates. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please refer to the CDCs and WHOs resource guides.

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Thousands of pounds of food have been donated by upstate New York farms to New York City through a partnership between the farms and state Sen. Jessica Ramos.

The donations include 1,700 gallons of milk provided by Dairy Farmers of America and 300 pounds of beef from La Casa De Leche Farm in Livingston County. Farm Fresh First, which handles marketing for more than 100 apple growers in New York, donated 20,000 apples.

Torrey Farms, which is based in Genesee County, gave 14,000 pounds of onions, 8,000 pounds of potatoes and 4,000 pounds of cabbage. Upstate Niagara Cooperative helped by sending 2,880 pounds of blueberry and vanilla yogurt parfait.

The donations also include coloring books and 575 packs of Prang Crayons made with soybean oil from the New York Corn & Soybean Growers Association.

The truck carrying the food left western New York on Wednesday. It stopped at Dean Foods in Rensselaer County to pick up the milk. The truck arrived in Queens on Thursday.

The donated milk, food, crayons and coloring books will be distributed to families at Ramos' Queens office. The senator's office will also host a hot meal distribution on Saturday.

Earlier this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an initiative to help food banks address rising demand and end milk dumping at dairy farms across the state. Farmers were dumping milk because of certain factors, including the lack of demand from restaurants and schools that have been affected by the pandemic. Limits on the purchase of dairy products at grocery stores also contributed to those decisions.

"We cannot have hungry families in New York City, and farmers upstate dumping their product because they cannot sell it," Ramos said. "Together with our farmer partners, we created our own network, and we will convert our district office into a food distribution hub to provide our neighbors with fresh produce and meals."

Ramos, who chairs the Senate Labor Committee and led the effort last year to pass legislation granting farmworkers overtime pay and other labor rights, visited upstate farms to gather feedback on the bill. Torrey Farms, one of the farms that donated food to the senator's office, mentioned that donations included onions planted by Ramos when she toured the farm last year.

The milk and food donations will help residents of Ramos' state Senate district, which includes areas that are considered food deserts. With COVID-19 ravaging New York City, there are few local food pantries open for residents.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all  our families, our businesses and the greater New York community," said Keith Kimball, owner of La Casa De Leche Farm and vice chair of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association. "By pooling resources and working together to adapt to unprecedented market disruption, we're able to get milk, beef and produce in the hands of those in need."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA -- SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020: Thousands of beach-goers enjoy a warm, sunny day at the beach amid state-mandated stay-at-home and social distancing mandate to stave off the coronavirus pandemic in Huntington Beach, CA, on April 25, 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) (Allen J. Schaben/Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday directed the temporary "hard close" of state and local beaches in Orange County after thousands of Californians flocked to the shoreline there over the weekend in defiance of a statewide stay-at-home order enacted to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The news comes after a memo sent Wednesday evening to California police chiefs said the governor would go further, closing all state and local beaches and parks, a plan Newsom appeared to abandon.

The action marks Newsom's most symbolic response to the pandemic so far as tensions rise over when and how to reopen the state and allow Californians to return to their normal, everyday lives.

After photos of crowded Orange County beaches went viral last weekend, Newsom chastised beachgoers who ignored the state's restrictions, saying they could prolong the spread of the coronavirus in California and put the health and safety of others at risk.

"Specific issues on some of those beaches have raised alarm bells," Newsom said. "People that are congregating there, that weren't practicing physical distancing, that may go back to their community outside of Orange County and may not even know that they contracted the disease and now they put other people at risk, put our hospital system at risk."

Newsom said Orange County beaches would be reopened soon if the situation improves.

"We want to work very closely with local elected officials, and we're committed to doing that if we can get some framework and guidelines to get this right. We can reopen very, very quickly but ... we've got to make sure we get this right," Newsom said.

Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, on Thursday sent a letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors directing local authorities to close all access to beaches in the county on Friday, including all parking lots and restrooms. Surfing, beach walking and sunbathing also are prohibited.

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"Last weekend, state and local beaches in Orange County experienced exceptionally heavy visitation that generated a high concentration of beach visitors in close physical proximity," the letter stated. "State public health leadership reviewed conditions on these beaches and determined that this beach visitation created unsafe conditions. These conditions threaten the health of both beach visitors and community members who did not visit the beach but are threatened by worsening spread of the virus, including first responders and healthcare providers."

Newsom on Wednesday hinted that he was mulling a crackdown on California's beaches, saying he was consulting with the California Coastal Commission and State Lands Commission, both of which have jurisdiction over the state shoreline.

"What this shows is that the threat of coronavirus spreading remains very real and that Gov. Newsom is as serious as ever about keeping Californians safe, Steve Padilla, chairman of the California Coastal Commission, said in a statement. I had COVID-19, was hospitalized for three weeks and in ICU on a ventilator for 11 days fighting for my life, so take it from me  we need to listen to the governor and stay home until its safe.

Newsom's announcement Thursday followed reports that he would take broader action. On Wednesday evening, a California Police Chiefs Assn. memo sent to local police chiefs said the governor intended to make an announcement on Thursday about closures of all state and local beaches. A law enforcement source confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that authorities were briefed on the plans, which they were told might also include the closure of some parks.

On Thursday, Newsom said the memo to the police chiefs "never got to me," and he denied rescinding plans for an order to close beaches statewide.

So, weve been consistent, Newsom said. I cant square what others may have said, but this is what weve said.

After Newsom's news conference, Aimee Faucett, chief of staff for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, appeared to contradict the governor's statement.

"For the record, last night Mayor Faulconers administration was notified by Gov. Newsoms administration that he would be announcing the closure of ALL CA beaches. Minutes before todays press announcement Mayors office was notified this would only apply to Orange County," Faucett said in a tweet Thursday afternoon.

Faulconer was also relieved to hear that San Diego beaches will remain open.

The mayor joined with other San Diego County leaders and health officials to enact a multiphased plan for beach access countywide. Currently, beachgoers are allowed to surf and swim in the water, as well as jog or stroll on the beach. But they have to keep moving: Sitting down or sunbathing is not permitted.

"I'm glad they reversed course. We put together a plan that is working, Faulconer told The Times in a telephone interview. "This is consistent. Its countywide. And, most important, people bought into it. People are doing the right thing.

A top Newsom administration official involved in talks with local leaders about the status of California beaches said that some of the governor's top advisors were recommending a statewide closure. But after hearing the concerns raised by city and county leaders, Newsom decided instead to focus solely on the Orange County beaches that had attracted such large crowds this past weekend.

"Our public health officials were really waving the red flag," said the administration official, who agreed to talk with The Times on the condition of anonymity.

Some counties, including Los Angeles, have ordered all beaches closed, an expansion of Newsoms sweeping stay-at-home rules.

But others, such as Ventura and Orange, have allowed them to remain open. Social distancing has been required, and some parking lots have been closed in an effort to keep out-of-town visitors out. In advance of last weekend, Orange County officials urged outsiders to stay away.

It is not clear when the closures will go into effect or how long they will last. County officials say they have not received specific details from Sacramento about the closures.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said he intends to direct his deputies, who have jurisdiction over county beaches and certain cities, to seek voluntary compliance from residents.

"We have been able to accomplish that and educate the public where necessary," he said. "To date, we have not had to take any enforcement action on any components of the governor's orders."

Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said the city invested considerable effort and expense to discourage overcrowding at the beaches and worked hard to ensure the public had safe access to the beach for exercise and their mental well-being.

"Our experience here locally has been that most people are being responsible and complying with social distancing, and given that Orange County has among the lowest per capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the states action today seems to prioritize politics over data, Semeta said in a written statement.

Some Orange County officials, though, said the images of crowded beaches painted a distorted picture of what conditions were actually like.

Huntington Beach surfer Alex Carvalho said he wasn't surprised by the closure, but said the beach crowds he saw last weekend really tried to keep physical distance from others.

"I went out there with my girlfriend and her neighbors, and we found our own pocket in the sand just to enjoy being in the beauty near the water," said Carvalho, 23, who surfed three times this past Saturday and Sunday. "I'm definitely sad when things shut down, but whatever happens, I will respect and follow the rules. People need to stay healthy."

San Clemente Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson said she reached out to the city manager and city attorney Wednesday night after she heard about the proposed order, suggesting that they review what legal authority the governor had to close city beaches.

Im hoping the governor can cite some valid reason under case law to be doing this to cities because, in my opinion, it appears to be government overreach. Local beaches are under the control of the cities, not the state.

After a roughly two-week closure imposed at San Clemente beaches, the city reopened its sandy stretches last weekend with the caveat that visitors would only be permitted to run, walk, swim, surf or partake in other activities while along the coast. Sunbathing or sitting on the sand was not permitted.

In nearby Laguna Beach, officials on Tuesday also moved to reopen their coastline for limited hours during weekdays, beginning Monday.

Laguna Beach Councilman Peter Blake said that while he understands Newsoms action given the photographs of the crowds descending on other city beaches over the weekend, the move comes at a point when it seemed like we were on a trajectory to move forward, and this now moves us back.

He opposes the latest effort by the governor, saying that it appears to be more of a power move than a reasonable step toward reopening the state and restarting the economy.

There are people that rightfully so feel Newsom has gone beyond the scope of his authority and has taken on power that is not outlined in the [California] Constitution, he said.

In neighboring Newport Beach, Police Chief Jon Lewis and Fire Chief Jeff Boyles said in a joint statement Thursday that there were some clusters of people who were crowded too closely together on the beach last weekend, but that it was our personal observation, and that of our officers, that the overwhelming majority of Newport Beach residents and visitors were families or practicing social distancing.

The departments also shared aerial photos captured Saturday afternoon that showed sparse crowds on the citys beaches.

Health officials in Los Angeles County, which has been the hotbed of the pandemic in California, say staying at home now is essential to slowing the spread of the illness.

Los Angeles has recorded more than 1,000 deaths and an outsize share of cases and hospitalizations.

Others counties, especially those in rural areas, have been much less affected.

Times staff writers Taryn Luna and Anh Do contributed to this report.
An Albany company is doing its part to make sure a lot of people are a little less hungry.

Oregon Freeze Dry, which makes Mountain House freeze-dried foods, is in the process of donating 36,000 individual meals to an assortment of folks in the Mid-Willamette Valley affected by the coronavirus.

During the past two weeks, Oregon Freeze Dry has delivered food to frontline workers and the regions most vulnerable, offering relief to healthcare workers, first responders, school districts and food pantries, among others.

The Corvallis School District, which received boxes of food last week, says that nearly 500 families have benefitted from this type of community outreach during its extended school closure.

We are grateful for this generous donation in support of our students and families," said Ryan Noss, the Corvallis School District superintendent. While academics and distance learning is taking place throughout our school communities, our focus continues to be on making connections with all students and providing the additional support of food and personal hygiene supplies that are needed by so many.

In addition to the Corvallis School District, the Benton County Emergency Operations Center, Greater Albany Public Schools, Lebanon Veterans Home, Linn County Sheriffs Office, Linn Benton Food Share, Samaritan Health Services and Corvallis Clinic are among the establishments receiving donations, which retail for more than $170,000.

Mountain House meals were first created for special forces during the Vietnam Conflict, when Oregon Freeze Dry won a bid to produce food that tasted better, lasted longer and weighed less than old K and C rations. The company continues to produce food for the United States military, but has significantly expanded its reach over the last 50 years, offering freeze-dried food for camping, backpacking, hiking and emergency preparedness. The meals have been so sought after during the COVID-19 outbreak, Oregon Freeze Dry had to temporarily shut down its website.

The company is urging residents of the middle Willamette Valley experiencing food insecurity to dial 211 for information on available resources and local support. Also, families of school districts in Corvallis and Albany can contact school principals and counselors for assistance.

We recognize the strain that the outbreak is putting on the systems in place to help those most in need, said Bruce Bechtel, director of marketing for Oregon Freeze. "While its a small token compared to the sacrifices being made by the recipients of these meals, we feel that providing comforting, nutritious food to those who need and deserve it most is simply the right thing to do.

 Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
E lon Musk caused shares in his company Tesla to drop more than 11 per cent after tweeting that the price is "too high".

In a series of tweets just after 4pm UK time (11am Eastern Time), Musk said he was selling nearly all of his physical possessions and would not own a house.

Then he wrote that "Tesla stock price is too high imo."

The share drop initally erased around $13 billion from Teslas market value and nearly $3 billion from the value of Musks stake.

After that he tweeted that people should be given back their freedom, in another protest of government stay-home orders to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The Tesla CEO then posted parts of the US national anthem.

The tweets came as Musk was getting close to getting a big payout from the company for meeting certain metrics including that the company's market value averaging over $100 billion for six months.

Musk branded the lockdown 'fascist' / AFP via Getty Images

Even with Friday's decline, the market value was $129.5 billion.

Tesla initially resisted efforts by California authorities to shut its plant in the San Francisco Bay Area under the lockdown. However, on March 19 Tesla agreed to suspend production.

Mr Musk has remained an outspoken critic of the coronavirus lockdown.

The entrepreneur reportedly said in comments to analysts on Tesla Inc's earnings call that it was "fascist" to say people cannot leave their homes.

"This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom," Musk said.
Nick Cordero's wife Amanda Kloots has marked a month since her Broadway star husband was admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'It's May 1. Nick was induced and put on a ventilator in the ICU on April 1. New month, same goal! YOU CAN DO IT BABY! Also, our neighbors are awesome. #wakeupnick.'

It came as he was set to undergo a tracheostomy, to put a breathing tube directly into his throat and remove him from the ventilator.

The surgery was planned for Friday afternoon, with Amanda asking followers to pray for Nick and explaining: 'that will hopefully make everything more comfortable for him and get all of that stuff off of his face.'

Positive thoughts: Nick Cordero's wife Amanda Kloots begs him 'you can do it baby' as she marks one month since he was first admitted to hospital with coronavirus

'You can do it baby!' Amanda shared a banner posted by the couple's Laurel Canyon neighbors

The fitness instructor also shared a photograph of a banner posted by the couple's neighbors in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, which read 'Wake Up Nick'.

The hashtag is one popularized by Amanda, with multiple friends and fans posting to social media as they dance daily in honor of the Broadway star, who remains in intensive care.

Those getting involved include his former castmates from Rock Of Ages, who came together to perform in his honor on Thursday.

Wrote Amanda: 'Rock of Ages cast singing for Nick. Nick's incredible cast just sent me this video on a day where I really needed to hear 'Don't stop believing!' Thank you so much Rock Of Ages cast for this awesome song and tribute to Nick. He loves you guys so much!'

'Wake Up Nick!' The hashtag is one popularized by Amanda, with multiple friends and fans posting to social media as they dance daily in honor of the Broadway star

Thinking of him: Those getting involved include his former castmates from Rock Of Ages, who came together to perform in his honor on Thursday

Support: Amanda shared video footage of Nick's castmates

Her post comes after Amanda revealed on Thursday that Nick's condition has taken a turn for the worse as he continues to battle COVID-19.

Talking on Instagram Stories, Amanda said her 41-year-old husband has 'holes in his lungs' to the point that doctors said he 'looks like's been a smoker for 50 years'.

The dire assessment comes just after Amanda spoke to Gayle King about the last time she saw Nick in person: when she dropped him off at the hospital for what they both believed would be a brief examination.

'I didn't even give him a kiss or a hug,' Amanda told the CBS This Morning host on Thursday.

Gayle King interview: Amanda Kloots has revealed that Nick Cordero's condition has taken a turn for the worse as the Broadway star continues to battle COVID-19

'We drove to the emergency room and we dropped him off, and this is one of the saddest parts, we thought I would see him in two hours,' said Kloots of the day in late March.

She said she planned to take the couple's ten-month-old son Elvis for a walk before returning to pick up her husband.

However after an hour of waiting, Nick rang and told her, 'Amanda, they have admitted me, I'm now in a bed with oxygen.'

'I was getting a little worried at this point,' the 38-year-old admitted, adding, 'Nick has never been hospitalized. He has no pre-existing conditions.'

Assessment: The fitness instructor said her 41-year-old husband has 'holes in his lungs' to the point that doctors said he 'looks like's been a smoker for 50 years'

Broadway star @iamNickCordero has been hospitalized since late March and on a ventilator because of complications from COVID-19.@GayleKing spoke with Cordero's wife @AmandaKloots for her first in-depth interview about her husband.



Ahead on @CBSThisMorning. pic.twitter.com/yBZLzY00Mx  CBS News (@CBSNews) April 30, 2020

#day29: Wednesday marked the 29th day since Amanda had seen the Rock Of Ages star - as commemorated by an Instagram photo of the couple in happier times

So sad: In another video, posted by Amanda on Wednesday, she spoke about her 'daily visit' to Nick's hospital - which must take place 'from afar' due to social distancing measures

'The only time I have ever been in a hospital was to give birth to my son so we're kind of new to the hospital,' continued the mother-of-one.

'So anytime I hear you're admitted, I get a little nervous.'

In another video, posted by Amanda on Wednesday, she spoke about her 'daily visit' to Nick's hospital - which must take place 'from afar' due to social distancing measures.

'I just finished my daily visit to go stand outside [Cedars Sinai Hospital] and play Nick's song, and sing and pray and talk to him from afar.'

Family: Nick, Amanda and son Elvis in a throwback photo of the family

'Everyday': Amanda also shared an image of her spot from which she prays for Nick's well being each day

In her Thursday update, Kloots said that 'due to COVID, Nick's lungs are severely damaged'.

'There are holes in his lungs where obviously you don't want holes to be.'

'This was found because his oxygen count went down,' explained Amanda.

Previously, Amanda revealed that Nick's blood pressure dropped after the actor got an infection in his lungs that 'went into his blood', meaning he 'went into a little bit of septic shock'.

Septic shock is a severe and potentially fatal condition that occurs when sepsis leads to life-threatening low blood pressure - for which Nick is now on blood pressure medication.

Disclosure: Amanda also revealed Nick had been a part of the Remdesivir clinical trial in her Instagram Stories.

Amanda said Nick's doctors 'went in and completely cleaned out his lungs'.

As well as the blood pressure medication, the Bullets Over Broadway star is on 'really strong' antibiotics.

'This kinda came out of nowhere,' said the mother-of-one, adding that her husband 'is throwing us for some loops that's for sure'.

Amanda also revealed Nick had been a part of the Remdesivir clinical trial in her Instagram Stories.

Remdesivir is an antiviral medication originally developed to treat the Ebola virus, which is reportedly showing 'some promise' in treating COVID-19, according to USA Today.

Over a video of a news report discussing the drug, Amanda wrote, 'Remdesivir clinical trail. Nick was a part of this trial. We will never know if he got the drug or was in the placebo group.'

Hamilton, Canada native Cordero, whose right leg was amputated amid the health battle, is set to be placed back on a regimen of blood pressure medication to deal with the fever

Medics initially believed the Bullets Over Broadway star had been dealing with pneumonia, Kloots said in an April 1 post.

The performer tested negative for coronavirus, then tested positive in a later test.

He was placed in a medically-induced coma and put on a ventilator, and later had to be put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which saved his life - but also caused the blood issues that led to his leg amputation.

Because of the blood clots, doctors had to amputate Nick's leg on April 18.
The Himachal Pradesh Police on Friday warned the general public to not download the Aarogya Setu app which was not developed by the government.

Cyber Bureau superintendent of police Narvir Rathour said that it has been observed that fraudsters have devised malicious links on the fake name of the Aarogya Setu app as several spoofed apps are on the internet.

He said that people may receive such app links via email, or through WhatsApp or Facebook projecting it as a genuine one. It has been explained that the malicious application during the course of its downloading asks the user to permit the use of the internet and installation of additional application packages, which eventually turn out to be mischievous links like face.Apk, imo.Apk, normal.Apk, trueC.Apk, snap.Apk and viber.Apk.

After clicking these malicious link, a virus may enter into a users mobile phone, help hackers to track and monitor the content and activity on the device. The data in the device is then easily extracted and saved in a remote control server of the mischievous apps.

The general public is advised to maintain caution while opening suspicious links over social media platforms and email/VoIP calls on their mobile handset and secure their phone with the latest security patches and anti-virus guard.

People are advised to download the Aarogya Setu app only from authentic sources like https://Mygov.in or Apple or Android or IOS play store, he added.

Police have advised that if any suspicious activity comes to ones notice, may kindly be intimated to State Cyber Crime Police Station, Shimla through E-Mail i.e. cybercrcell-hp@nic.in, Cont. No. 0177-2620331.

Aarogya Setu application developed by the Government of India helps people assess themselves on the risk of their catching the coronavirus infection. The app tries to determine the risk if one has been near a Covid-19 infected person (within six feet of distance) by scanning through a database of known cases across India.


Wood is burning again in Naples world-famous pizza ovens. Pizza businesses reopened this week in the birthplace of pizza, after two months of coronavirus restrictions. For now, they are only open for home delivery.

Pizzerias in Rome and other Italian cities were permitted to operate for take-out and delivery service during Italys national lockdown. But, pizzerias in Naples closed because officials feared the virus could spread very quickly in such a crowded city.

The leader of the surrounding Campania area, Vincenzo De Luca, put extreme lockdown measures in place. He did so in part because he knew Campanias hospitals would not be able to deal with a huge increase in patients. The region has seen a less severe outbreak of COVID-19, the disease the virus causes, than some other regions in Italy.

This week, De Luca lifted bans on pizza deliveries as well as home deliveries from restaurants, ice cream stores, bars and some other food and drink businesses.

Surely this is a little restart for the entrepreneurs, important for us and for our region, our city and our nation, said Giovanni Pezzuto, owner of a Neapolitan pizzeria. This is a symbol of hope, he added.

It is not a total reopening, however. The pizzerias can only take orders by phone, not in person. The pizzerias have to be cleaned very often and workers must wear covers on their hands and faces.

Vincenzo Capuano, owner of Capuano pizzeria, said even the limited reopening will help Campanias economy. Everything he uses to make his pizzas comes from local providers.

To make pizza I have to buy the local flour from Naples, (local) San Marzano tomatoes, I have to buy the potatoes, the onions, he said.

Without this business activity, after the health crisis we could have a much worse economic crisis, he added.

Italy was the first western country to be hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. It has reported more than 26,000 deaths, the highest number in Europe.

The center of Italys outbreak was based in the northern area of Lombardy. Officials say Campania and other areas in the south have had fewer infections because the government locked down the whole country in time.

Across Italy, bars and restaurants are planning to reopen more fully in June. Visitors will be required to observe social-distancing measures and the businesses must follow special rules for cleaning and disinfecting.

Im Ashley Thompson

The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

oven - n. a piece of cooking equipment that is used for baking or roasting food

delivery - n. the act of taking something to a person or place

lockdown - n. an emergency measure or condition in which people are temporarily prevented from entering or leaving a restricted area or building during a threat of danger

entrepreneur - n. a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money

symbol - n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality
Queenslanders are taking part in a state-wide public health experiment from this weekend, to see whether a small easing of coronavirus-related movement restrictions results in an increase of cases.

After recording no new cases for the second day in a row on Friday, the states cumulative tally rested on 1033 with just 84 active cases, and just four new cases this week in total.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queenslanders were doing the state proud by abiding by social-distancing restrictions.

With those restrictions set to be eased slightly from this weekend, she said people needed to keep up the good work.
Wall Street expects flat earnings compared to the year-ago quarter on lower revenues when Solar Senior (SUNS) reports results for the quarter ended March 2020. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on May 7. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus Estimate

This business development company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues are expected to be $9.68 million, down 5.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions Trend

The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 17.14% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings Whisper

Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Story continues

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Solar Senior?

For Solar Senior, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Solar Senior will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?

While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Solar Senior would post earnings of $0.32 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.35, delivering a surprise of +9.38%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.

Bottom Line

An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Solar Senior doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The Plan aligns long-term incentives across the Company.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) ("Nextleaf", "OILS", or the "Company"), Canada's most innovative cannabis extractor, announced today that it has issued shares under its Employee Equity Participation Plan (the "Plan") implemented on April 1st in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to align the efforts and compensation of non-executive employees with the Company's long-term business strategy.

"The Plan is an opportunity for us to give our hardworking team a greater opportunity to share in the upside potential of OILS. With our custom closed loop industrial-scale extraction plant commencing commercial production, and up to 25 metric tons of cannabis biomass under contract through Nextleaf Labs, it is a very exciting time for OILS. I am proud of my team's participation in the Plan, their belief in the long-term opportunity at Nextleaf, and commitment to building Canada's most efficient cannabis refinery!" stated Paul Pedersen, CEO of the Company.

The Plan is fully voluntary and permits non-executive employees to receive common shares in the capital of the Company in lieu of a portion of an employee's cash compensation. The Plan allows the Company to reduce the cash component of employee compensation and further align incentives across the team.

Under the Plan for the month of April, Nextleaf has issued an aggregate of 39,471 common shares at a price of $0.325 per share.

About Nextleaf

OILS is Canada's most innovative cannabis extractor, developing technology for extracting and distilling THC and CBD oils. Nextleaf's industrial-scale extraction plant in Greater Vancouver, BC has a design capacity to process 600 kg per day of dried cannabis biomass into refined oils. The Company owns a portfolio of over 20 issued patents and 50 pending patents for the extraction, purification, and formulation of cannabinoids. Nextleaf Solutions commercializes its patent portfolio through IP licensing, and supplying THC and CBD oils through Nextleaf Labs, a Health Canada licensed standard processor.



Nextleaf Solutions trades as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB Market in the United States, and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.



Follow OILS across social media platforms: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

www.nextleafsolutions.com



For further information, please contact:

604-283-2301 (ext. 219)

investors@nextleafsolutions.com



On behalf of the Board of Directors of OILS,

Paul Pedersen, CEO

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's expectations regarding the Plan and the resulting reduction in the cash component of employee compensation, and the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's MD&A for the most recent fiscal period. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55251
Bengaluru, May 1 : Karnataka Health Minister B. Sriramulu on Friday appealed to patients who had been cured of cornavirus infection to donate their plasma to help other ailing patients to recover.

He said plasma from one survivor can save the lives of two infected patients.

Sriramulu's appeal assumes significance as an 11-member doctors team is working on plasma therapy at the BMC Victoria Hospital, which was given permission to clinical trials in this regard.

A joint team of government and private hospital healthcare professionals have taken plasma from two donors, collecting 500 ml from each while three more have volunteered to donate.

Sriramulu personally called up and appreciated Karnataka's first plasma donor.

U. S. Vishal Rao, associate dean at the Centre of Academic & Research HCG Cancer Centre and a key member of the clinical trials team, said the experimentation is taking place in two phases.

"In the next few days, our requirement (plasma) will definitely be there. What is the exact requirement? None of us knows. But what we know is that it will be required in future," Rao told IANS.

He said the medical team is looking for at least 20 donors and all of them will not be readily available.

"That's why the Minister has come forward to make a personal appeal; this is a very important call for a clinical trial setting," Rao said.

Until Friday, 251 Covid patients have been cured and discharged in the state.

Rao said 180 people have recovered from the virus, out of whom 50 are in the city.

"Our first priority is to look at patients in Bengalru for plasma donations -- not everyone will be ready for the donation," he said.

Even if a donor is ready, his blood has to match with the donee.

"All this is very essential, that's why we are keeping a few more donors ready. Else, in emergency where will you run? In this situation, speed is paramount. That's why the Minister has come forward to make the personal appeal," said Rao.

According to Gururaj Rao, another team members and a molecular and cell biologist and director of iCrest at HCG Cancer Centre, not all cured patients can randomly donate plasma as they ought to complete 3-4 weeks of recovery.

Donors also have to be infection-free, undergo Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing and also test negative for Covid.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had recently reiterated that plasma therapy is not an approved line of treatment for Covid-19.
Now that Alabamas stay-at-home order has been downgraded to a safer-at-home mandate, retail stores around the state can open for the first time in weeks.

That means different things in different parts of the state, however. And not all shopping outlets are open. The Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, for example, is not yet open for customers.

Retail stores were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity starting at 5 p.m., April 30.

In the city of Birmingham, masks are required in public starting May 1. That encompasses any retail store within the city limits governed by the ordinance passed Tuesday.

Shopping centers like The Summit are included in the mask ordinance since it is located within the city of Birmingham. The shopping center off US-280 included a list of open stores on its website.

Failure to wear a mask in the city of Birmingham could result in a $500 fine or up to 30 days in jail.

The Outlet Shops of Grand River are located outside the Birmingham borders, so it is not subject to the ordinance.

Outside Birmingham, wearing a mask is encouraged but not required. As part of Gov. Kay Iveys new Safer at Home order, wearing a face covering in public is one of the recommendations listed.

A list of businesses now open in Coastal Alabama was compiled by AL.coms John Sharp.
A day after the Delhi government released its home isolation guidelines, many health care workers unions have expressed concerns over doctors and nurses in several Covid-designated hospitals being quarantined in hostel facilities where these isolation rules are difficult to follow.

Joint Federation of Nurses, a collective of nurses working in Delhi-NCR, on Friday wrote to the Delhi government, highlighting the problems of shared bathrooms and common utensils in hostel facilities, making it difficult for health care professionals, who are either tested positive of the virus or are awaiting their results, to maintain isolation.

We have asked the health department to move health care workers who have either been diagnosed with Covid-19 or are awaiting test results, to be moved to alternative accommodations where they can follow quarantine rules and not risk infecting others, said Mini Joseph, joint secretary of the union.

Joseph said several health care professionals working in high-risk departments are being accommodated in hostels even during their quarantine period. With many doctors, nurses and lab workers being tested positive for the contagious disease in the national capital, the fear of health care workers infecting others is increasing, she said.

So far, 293 healthcare professionals in Delhi have tested positive for Covid-19.

The guidelines released by the Delhi government on Thursday said that if a person is tested positive for the disease, they can be home quarantined, provided they have the requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation.

Many doctors and nurses working in Covid-19 designated hospitals have pointed out that common bathrooms and utensils in hostels defeat the entire purpose of quarantine. They asked that even those in who are in quarantine and yet to confirm positive should be given isolated quarters till they receive their results.

A resident doctor in Delhi governments Lok Nayak Hospital, who completed her quarantine last week, said every corridor in the hospital comprises between 10 and 12 rooms and has a common washroom.

I had to step out in desperation because there was no other way. Thankfully, my results returned negative, but I could have infected several others with me because there was no other option. One doctor in the hostel was tested positive and was shifted to the hospital after the results came, but till then the doctor was here with all the other residents, she said, on the condition of anonymity.

A senior Delhi government official said that home isolation is being allowed only on a case-to-case basis after examining whether the patient can fulfil the prerequisite conditions of self-isolation in their residence.

If a health care professional is tested positive and resides in a hostel then we will shift them to hospitals. Their health and care is important to us. And the issue of alternative accommodation for those in quarantine is being taken up with hospital administrations, the official said.

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H undreds of small independent businesses in London are at risk of falling through the cracks of government support, two organisations claimed on Friday as they called for an expanded Covid-19 grants package.

Guardians of the Arches, a tenants association representing businesses such as hair salons, gyms and bars based in railway arches, and East End Trades Guild (EETG), an association for small firms and self-employed workers, have asked for a revised grants scheme in London.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, seen by the Evening Standard, the organisations said: We recognise the unprecedented scale of the government support package so far and the many competing demands on the state. Nevertheless, many of the small businesses we represent will go out of business in the next few weeks without further action.

The Chancellor has announced various aid schemes recently.

Firms working in premises that have a rateable value- a measure of the rental value of a property- of up to 15000, can get a 10,000 grant. Hospitality groups with a rateable value of over 15,000 and less than 51,000 will receive 25,000.

However, EETG and Guardians of the Arches are concerned that due to high London property prices, many of its members have a rateable value above the threshold. They would therefore miss out on the money they need to help cope with lost trade.

They have proposed the government establishes a London weighting for business support thresholds , which reflects the capitals higher rateable values.

The pair said it should be increased from 15,000 to 25000 in London for small businesses, and that the 51,000 cap rises to 100,000.

Other measures for members nationwide have also been suggested, including rent-free periods.

A HM Treasury spokesman said: Weve been taking unprecedented action at unprecedented speed to help businesses, jobs and our economy during this crisis  with hundreds of thousands of firms across the county benefitting from our wide package of support.

The spokesman added: This includes billions in business loans and guarantees, cutting business rates and giving small firms direct cash grants, paying 80% of the wages of furloughed workers and income support for the self-employed.
Alison and Bill Farrell love animals.

They are turning that affection and dedication into a new business venture as owners of Barkery Bootique in New Milford.

The couple purchased the business from longtime owner Debbie Bauman Feb. 28, just a few weeks before the stay-at-home orders were announced due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This seemed like such a good fit, Alison said of buying the business, adding she and her husband had been thinking about starting up a business for some time.

Donna Doherty, who shops for treats and other goods for her granddogs and a neighbors dog at the store, said the business is custom fit for the Farrells because their animals are their children.

Those who do visit the store  customers and their four-legged friends  are greeted as if she is welcoming them into her home, she said.

The Farrells, who had been customers of the shop for some time, acknowledge the timing of buying a business isnt ideal, given the economic challenges during a pandemic.

However, patrons still need to care for their pets and the stores loyal customers have made the transition smooth.

People were so happy we took the store over, Alison said. And they keep us going.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, customers were buying tons of food as they planned for the coming weeks.

Things eventually settled down, and the Farrells have had no trouble getting deliveries of the products.

To meet customer demand, the store is open during this time, offering hand sanitizer at the door, and has implemented curbside pickup and delivery.

The shop sells just about everything for both feline and canine friends.

Dry, wet and raw food, treats, chews, gourmet baked goods, pet apparel, collars, harnesses, bath and grooming supplies, hygiene products, flea and tick products and some human apparel are among the offerings at the store located at 92 Park Lane Road (Route 202), just south of the intersection of Routes 202 and 109.

The Farrells will continue to focus on carrying food products that are all natural, organic and made with quality ingredients so customers know where a product is sourced.

In addition, they will work with family-owned and operated companies that sell healthy, natural, organic products, Alison said.

Among them, Rawz, Honest Kitchen, Fromm and others, and for raw food, Primal and Steves.

We pride ourselves in offering local, USA-made food and items, she said.

Many of the products carried in the store are not found in larger retail pet stores.

The shop sells several dogs treats and raw food that are made in New Milford, including Pauls Custom Pet Food.

Alison said one of the unique features of the store is food sampling.

Customers can take home samples of dry food for cats and dogs to see if their pets like it.

A tag engraving machine is also located on site.

Kylie Harrington of Washington has shopped at the store since she got her dog a year ago.

I love it, she said. Its the best store in town.

Harrington said she looks forward to supporting local businesses, especially during these difficult times.

And I was over-the-top excited when the Farrells purchased the business, she said. Theyre the perfect people for this. Theyre just so genuine and love animals.

Doherty said she appreciates the stores offerings and prefers to shop there rather than at a retail store.

I like most of the stuff is organic, something different, she said.

Alison said when the pandemic subsides, the store has several special events in mind.

They include an open house featuring free samples of different treats and foods, giveaways, snacks and refreshments; a Whiskers & Wine Night, featuring a social event for customers and their pets; adoption days, held in conjunction with animal welfare groups.

Also, new is an online store, which is in the works at www.barkerybootique.com.

The store is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. For more information, call the Barkery Bootique, located at 92 Park Lane Road (Route 202) in New Milford, at 860-210-1312 or visit www.barkerybootique.com.
US President Donald Trump came down heavily on the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying it should be 'ashamed for acting like the public relations agency for China'. The Trump Administration has already suspended the US' financial assistance to WHO, temporarily and has launched a probe into WHO's role in the coronavirus COVID-19 spread.

While talking to reporters from White House on Thursday, Trump said, "I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they are like the public relations agency for China," Trump said.

The US pays WHO almost $500 million a year and China pays them $38 million a year, Trump said, "Whether it's a lot more, it doesn't matter. They shouldn't be making excuses when people make horrible mistakes, especially mistakes that are causing hundreds of thousands of people around the world to die."

While US Secretary of State in a television interview alleged that the world body failed to deliver and misled the world on coronavirus. "The World Health Organization simply failed to respond in this case... With respect to the WHO, we know that they had one job, right? A single mission: To prevent the spread of a pandemic. We know that the leader of that organization travelled to China and then declined to declare it a pandemic until everyone in the world knew that was already true," Pompeo was quoted as saying by Reuters citing television interviews.

Meanwhile, Trump also alleged that China does not want to see him elected in the upcoming US presidential polls scheduled for later this year becasue of his administration's tough stance of imposing high tariffs on Chinese imports.

"China doesn't want to see me elected and the reason is that we are getting billions and billions of dollars, many billions of dollars a month from China," Trump said.

He also claimed that China supports former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive nominee of the opposition Democratic party, and would rather see him as the next US president
- Antonio Guterres said the world was not able to work together and formulate joint policies to manage coronavirus across

- The diplomat said each country affected by the disease deployed its own health guidelines and strategies including key nations

- Antonio singled out power play between the US and China as one of the reasons why the world had failed to combine efforts

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said lack of direction and coordinated world leadership has allowed coronavirus to spread significantly.

The diplomat said each country affected by the disease deployed its own health guidelines and strategies including key nations.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus update: 15 more test positive, Kenya's cases rise to 411

US president Trump has occasionally claimed China may have manufactured coronavirus. Photo: Getty Images.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kawangware residents resist mass COVID-19 testing, say they are hungry

"Each country went with its own policy in different countries with different perspectives, different strategies, and this has allowed the virus to spread," he told CNBC News on Friday, May 1.

Antonio singled out power play between the US and China as one of the reasons why the world had failed to combine efforts and work together in eradicating the virus.

READ ALSO: Uhuru Kenyatta defends sending of flowers to UK health workers, says it's good for industry's future

The US also claimed WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave wrong recommendations to manage coronavirus. Photo: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Waziri wa sheria Tanzania Balozi Mahiga aaga dunia

"I think there is a dysfunction. I think leadership and power are not associated. There is leadership, the US and China are of course powers.

It is obvious that we lack leadership, that can only be possible if the key countries in the world, the key powers in the world, are able to come together,"he said.

President Donald Trump accused China of intentionally hiding coronavirus statistics and was releasing fake figures of deaths and positive cases.

Whereas the disease was first reported in Wuhan city of China, US became the epicentre recording 65, 133 deaths out of 1,119,176 cases as on May 1.

The total global cases on the same day were 3,383,501 while number of casualties moved to 238,587.

In a number of state addresses, Trump threatened to do anything within his means unearth the origin of the disease claiming it could have been manufactured in the Asian nation.

The POTUS warned there could be repercussions if it is discovered that China was knowingly responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasnt, and the whole world is suffering because of it. If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences,he stated.

He also accused the World Health Organisation for failing of going to bed with Beijing while recommending faulty recommendations to Washington.

"The WHO really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric.

"We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?" he posed.

During a press briefing at the White House on April 14, he announced US withdrawal of funding to the WHO.

"I am instructing my administration to halt funding of the WHO while a review is conducted to assess its role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus," he told reporters.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister



Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Friday that one lakh labourers from the state stuck in various parts of the country will be brought back by special trains.

Railways are running a special train from Nashik in Maharashtra carrying 350 labourers to Bhopal on Friday night. It was scheduled to leave at 9 PM, according to Divisional Railway Manager, Bhopal, Uday Borwankar.

"Besides 350 labourers, nobody else will be allowed to enter this non-stop train. It will halt only at Bhopal after leaving Nashik," he said.

After they reach Bhopal, the district administration will send them to their respective destinations in buses.

Chouhan, meanwhile, said the state government has so far brought back 40,000 workers from other states by buses.

"Now the state government will bring back about one lakh workers to Madhya Pradesh from different parts of the country by trains. A discussion has already been held in this regard with the railway minister," he said in a statement.

Chouhan directed Additional Chief Secretary ICP Keshari to provided necessary information to the Ministry of Railways about the number of labourers from Madhya Pradesh stranded in various places.

He also directed that the labourers should travel in comfort and arrangement for food and other things should be made.

Keshari said over one lakh labourers from Madhya Pradesh are stranded in other states: 50,000 in Maharashtra, 30,000 in Gujarat, 8,000 in Tamil Nadu, 5,000 in Karnataka, 10,000 in Andhra Pradesh and 3,000 in Goa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TORONTO - The Canadian government on Friday announced an immediate ban on some 1,500 makes and models of "military-grade" assault weapons, including two models used by the gunman who killed 22 people last month in rural Nova Scotia during the country's deadliest mass shooting.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday that began with him listing several mass shootings in the country's history.

"There is no use - and no place - for such weapons in Canada," he said. While most firearms owners are responsible gun owners, he said, "you don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer."

The measures ban the purchase, sale, transport and use of the weapons. Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty period for gun owners to comply with the prohibition. He said legislation will be drafted in the coming months to provide "fair compensation" to them.

Trudeau, who pledged stricter gun-control measures during last year's federal election, said his government had planned to introduce tougher rules in March but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The ban partially fulfills his campaign promises, which also included plans to empower municipalities to ban handguns.

The ban will be enacted through regulations approved by cabinet, not through legislation in Parliament.

Andrew Scheer, the interim leader of the opposition Conservative Party, accused Trudeau of "using the current pandemic and the immediate emotion of the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push the Liberals' ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes."

The ban includes the AR-15, which has been used in several mass shootings in the United States, as well as the Ruger Mini-14, which was used in the 1989 massacre that left 14 dead at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. Until last month, it was Canada's deadliest mass shooting.

During the amnesty period, the firearms cannot be used or sold, but they may be exported if their owners have the proper permits. An exemption to the rules will be made for those who use the weapons for sustenance hunting until a replacement can be acquired.

In a later briefing, a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the now-banned firearms in circulation number at least 105,000 weapons.

The official said that gun owners will be offered a choice of surrendering the firearm for compensation or participating in a "grandfathering" scheme at the end of the two-year amnesty. Details on both options are forthcoming, he said.

According to Statistics Canada, a firearm was used in 249 homicides in 2018, the most recent year for which data was available. A handgun was used in 143 of them. Shotguns, fully automatic firearms, sawed-off rifles and unknown guns were used in the rest.

Bill Blair, Canada's public safety minister, said the government also plans to introduce legislation to strengthen gun storage laws, to prevent gun trafficking and to create red flag laws that would allow law enforcement to remove firearms from dangerous situations.

Police have said that Gabriel Wortman, the 51-year-old assailant in the mass shooting in Nova Scotia, did not have a license to own a firearm in Canada. He was armed with handguns and long-barreled weapons, including some that were obtained in the United States.

Nathalie Provost, a survivor of the Polytechnique shooting, said the ban has "been a long time coming." But, she said, "what would have been a total victory for public safety has been tainted" by the possibility that the buyback program might be voluntary.

Rod Giltaca, chief executive of the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, said his community is "devastated" by the ban. He said criminals will not turn in their weapons and that the move is "entirely political."

Gun ownership is relatively common in Canada; the country ranked fifth in a 2018 global survey of civilian firearms per capita. But mass shootings are rarer than in the neighboring United States.

A spate of gun violence in recent years has fueled an increasingly divisive debate over gun control, largely pitting city dwellers, who tend to favor more restrictions, against those in rural Canada.
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Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 1, 2020 09:15 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd556ae2 1 City MRT-Jakarta,MRT-phase-2,COVID-19,coronavirus,Jakarta-administration Free

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced city-owned transportation company PT MRT Jakarta to postpone construction of phase 2 of the Jakarta MRT.

MRT Jakarta, the operator of the countrys first subway service, plans to commence construction of a 2.8 km underground tunnel from Bundaran HI to the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta in June, known as stage CP201. The plan was pushed back from March and was expected to be completed by December 2024.

Phase 2 of the MRTs development will see the construction of seven underground stations, extending 6.3 kilometer from Bundaran HI to Kota in West Jakarta.

Due to the pandemic, we decided to postpone the commencement of work until June because it is not possible for the contractor to work in the current circumstances. A lot of experts will also come from Japan, the firm's president director William Sabandar told journalists in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

He also said the decision was made to avoid cost overruns.

As there will be a three-month delay, the first operational stage of MRT Jakarta phase 2 [serving Bundaran HI to Monas] is slated to begin in April 2025 [] while the whole project until Kota station will be completed in March 2026, he added.

The first and second operational stages of phase 2 were initially scheduled to begin at the end of 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Stage CP201 will proceed alongside construction of other phase 2 stages, namely Harmoni-Mangga Besar (CP202) and Glodok-Kota (CP203), as well as the construction of railway systems and track work (CP205) and procurement of rolling stock (CP206).

The firm has completed stage CP200, which was the construction of a receiving substation (RSS) at Monas.

Tenders for the aforementioned stages will also continue until June, William said.

Read also: From MRT to Transjakarta, here's how services have adjusted to citywide transport restrictions

A popular mode of transportation since its launch last year, the MRT has seen a dramatic drop in ridership since the Jakarta administration imposed social restrictions, including limiting public transportation services, on March 16.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the MRT saw an average of 100,000 passengers daily. This number has declined sharply, with only 4,134 passengers recorded on Tuesday, a 95 percent slump compared to March 6.

This will result in the company falling short of its farebox and non-farebox targets this year, set at approximately Rp 290 billion and Rp 425 billion, respectively, William said.

The company has developed strategies for moderate and worst-case scenarios.

It has also reduced its budget for training and business trips, and postponed procurement of train simulators worth Rp 100 billion for training purposes, Wiliam said, stressing that the firm would not layoff its 699 employees.
Local nonprofit LAUNCH has been steadily working to plan a kitchen incubator over the past two years, with an opening slated for 2021. In light of recent events, along with partnerships from Footprint Foundation and Urban Story Ventures, the organization is set to start earlier than planned with the LAUNCH Provisions Project. Beginning in May, the kitchen incubator will start with a 3-month long project to help feed senior citizens in and around the Chattanooga area who are in need due to the pandemic.

The LAUNCH Provisions Project will operate out of the former Virginia College culinary institute and will serve the community in two ways; getting meals to those in need and contracting food entrepreneurs whose businesses have been impacted by COVID-19. Business owners currently on board to participate include Pat Rowe of BBQ Rowe and Catering, Brandon Ellis of Chatterbox Cafe, Christine Nguyen of Mama Crunks Pies, and Mark Holland of Belaire Catering.To distribute and deliver the meals, LAUNCH will be teaming with The Chattanooga Housing Authority and We Over Me. Through this initiative, the goal is to deliver 2,000 meals a week.

Local real estate developer Urban Story Ventures owns and operates the Midtown Office Park, where the former Virginia College is located. The fully-equipped, commercial kitchen and classroom space is approximately 8,000 square feet and offers ample parking, a loading dock, and a large walk-in freezer and refrigeration.

"We believe in the entrepreneurial spirit of LAUNCH. Urban Story Ventures feels LAUNCH is servicing a need in our community and we are excited to form a win-win partnership during these difficult times," says Urban Story owner, Jimmy White.

This project will also serve as the pilot program for LAUNCHs new initiative, the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga. The incubator will provide access to commercial kitchen space for caterers, food trucks, and those with delivery-based food services, as well as a program for new food businesses as they get started.

Lisa Pickney with Footprint Foundation says, Footprint appreciates how quickly LAUNCH moved to take an idea they were already exploring and fast track it in response to COVID-19. Many of LAUNCHs entrepreneurs run owner-operated small businesses in the food sector and these are particularly trying times for them. With the Provisions Project, LAUNCH has the opportunity to keep its entrepreneurs working, provide food relief during the pandemic, and test its kitchen incubator concept in real time. The project is a win for all involved and will benefit some of the most vulnerable during this period of uncertainty.

"About 20 percent of the entrepreneurs that walk through our doors are ones with dreams of food-centric businesses, says LAUNCH Executive Director Hal Bowling, One of the obstacles we noticed was that finding a commercial kitchen that is affordable and accessible for food entrepreneurs is very difficult in our city. Were extremely excited to be working not only to meet an immediate need through the LAUNCH Provisions Project, but to also have the opportunity to utilize the space that will become the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga.
Increasing the percentage of cities covered by tree canopy could help prevent hundreds of premature deaths each year and boost economic activity by billions.

That's the finding from a new study co-authored by Michelle C. Kondo of the USDA Forest Service, which calculated the effects of growing more trees in Philadelphia over the course of the next five years.

With a 9.7 percent increase to the city's current tree canopy cover, the team found 403 all-cause premature deaths could be prevented and nearly $4billion in new economic activity could be generated.

A new study calculated the benefits of adding more trees and green spaces to Philadelphia, and found that 403 premature deaths could be prevented every year, along with nearly $4billion in additional economic activity

According to Kondo, the study is one of the first attempts to quantify how exactly green spaces can improve the health and economic quality of life for city residents.

'Increasing green space can bring a great return on investment,' Kondo told Inverse. 'The simple message is that more is better.'

As a starting point, the team started with a 2014 study of Philadelphia's topography, which estimated tree cover made up around 20 percent of the city, with the largest concentrations predictably in outlying suburbs.

They then drew on data for a 2019 meta-study of the effects green spaces had on the quality of life for eight million people across seven countries.

They used that information to develop a model to would simulate the effects of increasing Philadelphia's tree cover in three different increments.

The team used a 2015 map of Philadelphia's tree canopy, which covvered around 20 percent of the city, and calculated what would happen with a five percent increase, a 7.4 percent increase, and a 10 percent increase

While the largest gains came from a ten percent increase, even smaller percentages had a major impact.

Increasing the city's tree cover five percent by 2025 would yield 302 fewer premature deaths each year and economic boost of $2.9billion, while increasing it by 7.4 percent would prevent 376 premature deaths and at $3.6billion to the economy.

Kondo acknowledges the relationship between the percentage of tree cover and improved quality of life is expansive and can't be explained by any one single factor.

The team admit that the relationship between adding trees to a city space and improved quality of life measures is complicated and shouldn't be reduced to any single factor

Past research has shown crime rates declined in neighborhoods with a growing percentage of green space.

Other studies have linked the absence of tree cover in city environments to higher ground temperatures, which can exacerbate pre-existing health conditions in extreme summer heat.

It's also likely the decision to invest in green spaces is correlated to broader political values of local legislators who might back more pro-social policies in other areas.

One of the insights from Kondo and her team was the importance of having individual community members willing to invest their own time and energy to adding green space to their own property, which might be affected by other political factors.

'All cities face a wide range of challenges not only in increasing but in just simply maintaining their tree canopy cover,' Kondo said.

'It will take more than grassroots efforts to increase tree canopies.'
The stringent Goondas Act has been



invoked against 14 people, including a woman, arrested here recently for allegedly attacking health workers while protesting the burial of a doctor who died of COVID-19, the city police said on Friday.

They were detained under the act as part of crime prevention activities, police said in a release.

"The 14 people have repeatedly involved in crime activities," and therefore detained under the Goondas Act following Commissioner of Police A K Viswanathan's order, it added.

They were earlier booked for assaulting the ambulance driver and damaging the vehicle when the neurosurgeon's body was taken for burial in a city area last month.

Police had arrested nearly 20 people in connection with the incident, that drew widespread condemnation and prompted the government to promulgate an ordinance making such acts a punishable offence.

The mob, protesting the interment in their locality, attacked the undertakers using bricks, stones, bottles and sticks and chased them away.

An orthopaedic surgeon had to bury the body in the middle of the night using his bare hands and a shovel at another crematorium with the help of just two hospital ward boys following the violent protest.

Police have earlier warned of stringent action against those blocking the burial or cremation of victims of COVID-19.

The Tamil Nadu government promulgated the ordinance, making it a punishable offence, preventing or attempting to block the burial or cremation of those who died of the deadly contagion.

Such an offence would carry a jail term ranging from one to three years, besides a fine, it had said.

In an earlier instance, the remains of a doctor who succumbed to coronavirus had to be buried elsewhere following protests by locals.

In both cases, the locals feared the spread of the pandemic in the locality if the bodies were buried in the respective areas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump suggested hes seen evidence pointing to the CCP virus originating at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a top-level lab where researchers studied how coronaviruses jump from animals to humans.

Yes, I have, Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday when asked if hes seen anything that gives him a high degree of confidence the lab was the origin of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus from China.

When asked again by the reporter, are you suggesting that maybe you have some evidence that this was not a naturally occurring virus?

Trump replied, No, were going to see where it is. Were going to see where it comes from.  theres a lot of theories. But, yeah, we have people looking at it very, very strongly.

The virus emerged in Wuhan near the lab late last year.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said earlier Thursday that intelligence agencies concluded the virus wasnt manmade or genetically modified.

But the head of the U.S. intelligence community also said its still probing whether the pandemic began as a result of an accident at the Wuhan lab.

Trump said he couldnt comment on the statement, as he had not seen it.

Asked to detail the evidence hes seen supporting the theory the virus originated at the lab, he said: I cant tell you that. Im not allowed to tell you that.

When asked what Trump meant and whether officials wanted to add anything else to his remarks, The White House referred The Epoch Times to the National Security Council, which declined to comment.

Trump said that were still investigating for sure, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters outside the White House on Friday.

Whether it happened in a lab, or it happened at the wet markets, or its bats, cats, thats all being investigated, she added. The president, theres certain things he cant reveal, he wont talk about right now.

Asked whether Trump was saying the virus was created in the lab, Conway said no. He didnt say that, she said.

The United States has not been able to gain access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Chinese scientists have argued that the virus wasnt created or released, accidentally or on purpose, by the lab.

Trump said people in the scientific and intelligence communities, along with others, are looking very strongly at the different theories about the origins of the virus.

And I think were going to put it all together and I think were going to have a very good answer eventually, he said.
On a sunny Sunday in April, 20 people were enjoying a barbecue in the city of Schwerin in northern Germany. The police promptly intervened, slapping them with a fine for breaking new social distancing rules to limit the spread of COVID-19. They were alerted to the festivities by a neighbour, "outraged by such behaviour", who also proceeded to boast about her efforts on social media, opening up a heated debate about the return of denunciation to Germany and whether it is acceptable in the current crisis. Telling on your neighbours is a highly sensitive subject in a country still haunted by memories of Nazism and the former communist dictatorship in East Germany, two regimes under which informing on others was practically a national policy. The term "Denunziant" ("snitch") has been trending on Twitter, fuelling a surge in references to the Third Reich and the Stasi secret police. "All of this appears to confirm a deep-seated prejudice that Germans have against themselves: That when in doubt, a part of the population is willing to become an extension of state power," psychology professor Christian Stoecker told Der Spiegel weekly. But Germany is not the only country to have seen a rise in the number of people reporting fellow citizens to the authorities for breaching virus-related social distancing rules. Similar observations have been made in countries around the world where lockdowns have been imposed: In New Zealand, a dedicated website was deluged with reports; in South Africa, a wedding was interrupted after an anonymous call; and in France, the emergency number 17 has been overrun with calls. - Universal phenomenon - "The phenomenon is universal, but with different regional characteristics. It happens more often in urban areas, where many people depend on each other, than in less populated areas where you have more space," said Rafael Behr, a professor of criminology and sociology at the Hamburg Police Academy. "Acts of denunciation will increase, as will acts of solidarity," he predicts. "The longer the state of emergency goes on, the more antisocial people will become and the more mistrust and suspicion will develop, for example about whether your neighbour is contagious." In Germany, police are receiving several hundred complaints a day via phone calls, emails and social media, according to an AFP tally. In Munich alone, "around 100 to 200 citizens are calling every day" with violations to report, according to Sven Mueller, a spokesman for the city's police force. In the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, police intervened in 2,930 violations of social distancing rules between March 20 and April 7. "Around two thirds of these cases were linked to reports from citizens," said police spokeswoman Stefanie Klaus. The majority of complaints are about people entering public spaces such as stadiums, parties in private homes or cars with licence plates from outside the area. - Poisoning social relations - "Not all of the calls lead to police intervention," said Heidi Vogt, a spokeswoman for the police in Berlin. At the end of March, overwhelmed by complaints, police in the German capital appealed to residents on Twitter to stop calling the 110 emergency number, stressing that it was "not designed for lockdown breaches". Andreas Geisel, interior minister for the city-state of Berlin, called on citizens to restrain themselves. "We don't want any snitching," he told RBB radio. "With a soft lockdown like we have in Germany at the moment, people's continued freedom depends on their ability to contain themselves," political historian Klaus-Peter Sick told AFP. "If a group of young people are behaving in an undisciplined way, some people will see that as irresponsible and not thinking about others," which can lead to frustration and denunciation, he said. But some informers are motivated less by social responsibility and more by the desire to settle personal scores. "This is always the case in times of crisis, especially when they give rise to new regulations that make it possible to invoke justice: anyone who is jealous of their neighbour now has the opportunity to denounce them for the slightest violation of the coronavirus rules," said Behr. "That poisons social relations."
Schroedl said its also hard to know the effects vaping could have on COVID-19 because doctors dont always ask about it when taking medical histories. However, the recent EVALI outbreak, which ended up being tied to ingredients found in black market, marijuana-filled vaping devices, has prompted many doctors to ask their patients about vaping habits just as they would smoking, she said.
South Africa took its first shaky steps on Friday towards rolling back one of the worlds strictest COVID-19 lockdowns, seeking a balance between containing the disease and providing much-needed relief for the economy

But Africas most advanced economy was in a recession even before the pandemic, and the shutdown has threatened to send already rampant unemployment soaring.

Reopening the economy is proving harder than closing it down.

New regulations were finalised only on Wednesday and led to some confusion. Under the first phase of easing, only some sectors may restart operations, and with limited staff.

Restaurants, for example, can now resume business, but just for food deliveries.

Many businesses are weighing whether it is worth it to reopen at all.

Opening for delivery only will lose Nandos and our franchise partners more money than being closed, said Mike Cathie, CEO of the spicy chicken chain, which has remained shut.

McDonalds South Africa is partially reopening. Famous Brands said its Steers, Wimpy, Debonairs Pizza, Fishaways and Mugg & Bean chains would trial delivery-only service.

In the Soweto township outside Johannesburg, Sakhumzi Maqubela said he did not know if his popular sit-down restaurant would survive with just deliveries.

I have 110 staff. I have paid them with my savings till now. I dont think I can pay them any more, he said.

Severe damage

South Africa has recorded 5,647 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths out of a population of 58 million, relatively low numbers compared with COVID-19 hotspots in Europe or the United States.

But the economic hardship has been severe. There has been looting in some areas during the lockdown. Images of kilometres-long queues for charity food aid have beamed around the world.

The National Treasury forecasts the economy will contract 5.8 percent this year.

The authorities new five-level system allows lockdown restrictions to be eased or reintroduced based on the diseases progression.

Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel told a parliamentary briefing that if infection levels remain steady and testing is expanded, more easing could come soon.

Lost businesses and houses

The new rules initially allow industries including mining, steel production and some clothing retail stores to gradually ramp up to 50 percent employment.

But employers worry the regulations will disrupt supply chains and undermine the efficiency and scale needed to turn a profit.

We are having a serious conversation about whether we should indeed open at all, said Ken Manners, chief executive of SP Metal Forgings, a supplier to the auto industry, which makes up about 7 percent of national output.

Car manufacturers are lobbying the government to allow their entire workforce to return over coming weeks.

Meanwhile, workers in the mining sector worry measures are not yet in place to protect them from infection.

Most sectors are being asked to await further signs the disease has been contained before resuming work.

Industry organisations say many businesses cannot hold out much longer.

I get calls daily from workers pleading for assistance and members who have lost their businesses and houses, said Johann Baard, executive director of the South African Apparel Association.

South Africas neighbours are watching it closely.

Namibia, which has recorded just 16 cases of the disease, will begin easing restrictions on Monday. Zimbabwe must decide on whether to extend its five-week lockdown, which expires on Sunday.

These measures have brought our economy to virtual shutdown, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said during a Labour Day address on Friday. I empathise greatly, but dread the inevitable horror of any let-up.
Medical workers in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on Jan 24, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

New ways of counting deaths see total rise

A fraud detection law can reject the claim that China's COVID-19 data has been manipulated, a study has found, suggesting that policy makers in the rest of the world should trust the Chinese data and formulate policy accordingly.

The study, released on Monday, is co-authored by Christoffer Koch from the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and Ken Okamura from the Said Business School at the University of Oxford.

It said China's confirmed infections matched the distribution expected in Benford's Law and are similar to those seen in the United States and Italy, and thus they could find no evidence of manipulation.

Benford's Law is used to detect fraud or flaws in data collection based on the distribution of the first digits of observed data, and is widely applied in economics and accounting. It was also used to examine the reported weekly number of confirmed cases from 35 countries during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.

Though it is possible to create data series that fit Benford's Law, to manipulate the Chinese data in this fashion would require someone to coordinate daily announcements across all provinces, while accurately forecasting future infection rates. This, the study found, is improbable.

As China is at least a month ahead of Europe and six weeks ahead of the US, its data should be used not only for the calibration of models to inform policy measures to slow infection, but also for guidance in the lifting of stay-at-home orders, it added.

The city of Wuhan in Hubei province has revised up its number of confirmed COVID-19 cases by 325 to 50,333, and added 1,290 more fatalities, taking the total to 3,869 as of the end of April 16. This reflected incorrect reporting, delays and omissions, according to the Wuhan municipal headquarters in charge of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control.

Similar adjustment has been seen in the Spanish region of Catalonia, which on April 15 announced an additional 3,242 novel coronavirus deaths, nearly doubling its previous tally. According to Reuters, it cited a change in methodology to include data from funerary services on suspected and confirmed COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and private homes.

On Wednesday, the British government for the first time released the full daily COVID-19 death toll.

The previous UK daily toll only comprised of people died in hospital who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The Office for National Statistics released a second toll several days later that included deaths in care homes and communities.

Wednesday's new combined daily total was 765. The total number of COVID-19 deaths in the UK has exceeded 26,000.
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An unlucky zebra was mauled to chunks by a hungry crocodile after it tried to cross a river in Kenya.

Nimit Virdi, 32, from Wellington, India, photographed the moment the crocodile raised its powerful jaws from the water, with the unfortunate zebra's leg still hanging from its teeth.

He caught the moment while watching a herd of zebras waiting on the riverbank for the right time to cross the Mara River, before one brave 850lb zebra decided to take the lead. Sadly for this would-be leader, pictures show how the crocodile was waiting to devour it.

The photos were taken during a game drive in the Masai Mara National Park, Kenya.

'The encounter was really exhilarating to watch,' he said.

'The crocodiles ripped the zebra apart instantly. We were stood on the opposite bank only a short distance away.

'Expect the unexpected in the wilderness - you never know what might unfold. It just takes a second for everything to change.'

According to Nimit, there must have been over 1,000 zebras and the inquisitive photographer watched for two hours as they headed down to the water for a quick drink before dashing back up to the safety of the bank. Eventually, one brave zebra decided to jump in - leading the herd into the river.

Over 10 Nile crocodiles rushed through the waters and within a matter of minutes, the zebra had been torn apart - with several other fatalities following in due course. The 850lb zebras were no match for the 1,200lb crocodiles who can travel through water at 20mph.

Pictured: The zebra's leg hanging out of the crocodile's mouth after the unlucky creature tried to cross a river in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya

The desperate zebra tries to escape but the crocodile has its teeth sunken in to the creature's neck in Masai Mara, Kenya

Pictured: A swarm of crocodiles bolt towards the helpless zebra as it flails in the river in the Masai Mara nature reserve in Kenya

One crocodile lifts its head out of the water with a chunk of zebra meat still hanging from its jaws in Masai Mara, Kenya

One lucky zebra manages to escape as its companion is trapped between the jaws of a ravenous crocodile in Masai Mara, Kenya
Jerome Corsi is a central figure in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Justice Department began investigating a New York doctor pushing unproven coronavirus treatments after a far-right conspiracy theorist accidentally emailed a federal prosecutor instead of the doctor.

The Washington Post reported that the conspiracist, Jerome Corsi, meant to email the doctor, Vladimir "Zev" Zelenko, but instead emailed Aaron Zelinsky, a prosecutor who worked with Robert Mueller and spent months investigating Corsi as part of the Russia probe.

Zelinsky reportedly emailed Corsi back and requested all his communications with Zelenko, who promotes the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus.

There is no robust evidence that the drug is an effective coronavirus treatment. One Brazilian study was halted after patients died.

And the biggest patient study yet, conducted in the US, showed there was no benefit to using the drug to treat coronavirus.

The Justice Department is prioritizing cases related to coronavirus misinformation, fraudsters, and people who promote fake, dangerous, or unproven treatments for the virus.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jerome Corsi, a far-right conspiracy theorist and former associate of the longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone, wanted to email Vladimir "Zev" Zelenko, a New York doctor whose work has been discussed on Fox News and who has communicated with the White House about using hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus.

But instead of Zelenko, Corsi accidentally emailed Aaron Zelinsky, a federal prosecutor who worked on the former special counsel Robert Mueller's team and spent months investigating Corsi and others, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Zelinsky responded to Corsi's email by reaching out to Corsi's lawyer and asking for all of Corsi's communications with Zelenko, according to The Post. The Justice Department is now investigating all of Zelenko's communications.

Story continues

Zelinsky works at the US attorney's office in Maryland which, along with US attorneys' offices, has been tasked with prioritizing cases related to coronavirus misinformation, fraudsters, and people who promote fake, dangerous, or unproven treatments for the virus. The Justice Department is reportedly scrutinizing Zelenko's communications as part of that mandate.

Corsi said he and Zelenko are working together on a website that will connect people with doctors. He added that he and Zelenko have acted properly and he will cooperate with the inquiry. Corsi handed over all his communications with the doctor, including text messages, podcast materials, and marketing materials for the website.

The Post reported that Corsi revealed details of the email mix-up on an episode of his daily podcast and in a YouTube video he posted late Thursday after the paper reached out to him.

Zelenko frequently promotes hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus. It is an effective anti-malarial drug, but despite being repeatedly touted by President Donald Trump as a potential cure for the virus, there's no robust evidence that it would work.

A controversial French study found a combination of drugs that included hydroxychloroquine may be effective in combating the coronavirus. And although the study hadn't yet been replicated, it was repeatedly mentioned on Fox News.

Subsequent studies have suggested that such anti-malarials have no impact on the coronavirus. One Brazilian study was halted after patients died. And the biggest patient study yet, conducted in the US, showed there was no benefit to using the drug to treat coronavirus.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration, warned doctors against using hydroxychloroquine outside of a hospital or clinical trial, citing reports of "serious heart rhythm problems."

Gregory Rigano, a lawyer who said he's working with Zelenko, told The Post on Thursday that federal prosecutors have not contacted him or his client, and that is not aware of any potential law enforcement interest in Zelenko.

"It's not something I'm familiar with," Rigano said. "We're just saving people's lives that have coronavirus and getting rid of this virus from America as soon as possible."

In his YouTube video, Corsi showed the email he said he accidentally sent to Zelinsky, in which he wrote that Zelenko had "an FDA approved randomized test of HCQ underway," referring to hydroxychloroquine.

Corsi said that Zelinsky then went to a government website that displays approved clinical trials and found no mention of or reference to Zelenko. Corsi said he later asked Zelenko about it, and Zelenko replied that his study was approved by an internal hospital panel.

"I pointed out to Zelenko, 'But it's not registered as an FDA test, and you can't say it is,' " Corsi said Thursday on YouTube, The Post reported. He added that he didn't think Zelenko was trying to dupe anyone but instead does not understand what it means to have an FDA-approved test.

"I did nothing wrong," Corsi said. "Zelenko made a mistake. He's got no case. And we're following all the rules."

Corsi made headlines during the Russia investigation after he was named as "Person 1" in the Justice Department's indictment against Stone.

In November 2018, Corsi said he expected to be charged in the investigation, which examined Russia's interference in the 2016 US election and whether members associated with the Trump campaign conspired with Moscow to tilt the race in Trump's favor.

A few days after saying he expected to be indicted, Corsi confirmed he had entered plea negotiations with Mueller's team. But last April, The Post reported that Corsi's lawyer, David Gray, said investigators were "dumbfounded" by his inconsistent testimony, and Gray was also concerned by it.

According to Gray, investigators ultimately decided after extensively interviewing Corsi that they could not "use any of this." Corsi himself recalled telling investigators, "Sometimes I can't tell if I remembered or invented."

Shona Ghosh contributed reporting.

Read the original article on Business Insider
May 01 : In May 2020, we will witness a lot of major holidays like Labour Day, Id ul Fitr, and Buddha Purnima. In most states, the banks will remain closed on these festivals. But for some important days like Rabindranath Tagore, it will be closed in specific states like West Bengal and Tripura. Along with this, as the COVID - 19 lockdown period is still going on, all banks will function but as instructed by the government. Kindly take note of these bank holidays date-wise list, before planning to make a visit to your nearest bank. You can even look at the Hindu calendar to view the religious observances in the month of May.

State -Wise Bank Holidays for May 2020

May 1, 2020: May Day - All India Bank Holiday

May 3, 2020: First Sunday- All India Bank Holiday

May 7, 2020: Buddha Purnima - Many States

May 8, 2020: Rabindranath Tagore Birthday- West Bengal and Tripura

May 9, 2020: Second Saturday- All India Bank Holiday

May 10, 2020: Second Sunday- All India Bank Holiday

May 17, 2020: Third Sunday- All India Bank Holiday

May 22, 2020: Jamat-Ul-Vida  Jammu & Kashmir

May 23, 2020: Fourth Saturday- All India Bank Holiday

May 24, 2020: Fourth Sunday- All India Bank Holiday

May 25, 2020: Ramadan (Id u'l Fitr) - All India Bank Holiday

May 31, 2020: Fifth Sunday- All India Bank Holiday

Get the complete list here: Public & Bank Holidays in the year 2020

Get important dates of Festivals and Vrats in May 2020

Apart from this, you are also advised to consult with your bank, in case any change has been issued by the Central or State Government. Or else, you can also visit the bank websites in your region to get any updates, if there are any.
Each of you has faced many challenges over the past weeks, FCC President Elizabeth Burmaster told the students. I applaud you for persevering and working on your business plans and not giving up on your dreams, despite obstacles..."

Frederick Community College students recently presented their ideas and business plans remotely via Skype to a panel of judges. They were hoping for an opportunity to launch their dreams and earn one of three college scholarships as part of the seventh FCC Business Plan Contest supported by M&T Bank.

Students Jenny DiSandro and Cyra Golwalla took the top scholarship prize of $2,500 for their plan for Root 355, a 100-seat restaurant serving locally sourced vegetarian and vegan options. The restaurant would offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner items such as waffle sliders, banana bread, French toast, roasted Brussels sprouts, Asian kale salads and more.

Student Chahat Dutta earned a $1,500 second place scholarship for Calories Count, a restaurant that would operate in the fast-casual niche. The restaurant would target individuals for breakfast and families for lunch and dinner. The eatery and its nutritious fare would compete against fast food and traditional sit-down options and offer home delivery service.

Earning third place and a $1,000 scholarship was student Rebekah Sprague for Laughing Reaper. Spragues plan was to expand an existing business in the cosplay market that features anime and game themed items. It would expand to offer t-shirt and hat printing. The company would utilize its current business experience to grow into new markets.

The students may use their scholarships from M&T Bank to cover expenses at FCC, or to further their studies at another college or university.

Each of you has faced many challenges over the past weeks, FCC President Elizabeth Burmaster told the students. I applaud you for persevering and working on your business plans and not giving up on your dreams, despite obstacles. Flexibility is often a hallmark in the marketplace, and in life. I know youve worked hard on your plans and made adjustments.

The annual contest was open to any current FCC student enrolled in a credit or noncredit course. Individual students or teams had an opportunity to develop a business plan to expand or create a new venture. The judges reviewed 13 written applications and narrowed the field to the three finalists. The students were evaluated on their written plans (60 percent) and oral presentations (40 percent).

Judges were Whitney Dahlberg, a local artist, columnist, and former owner of The Muse; James Gorman, vice president with M&T Bank; Jon Holmes, CPA, principal with LSWG Certified Public Accountants, and current director on the FCC Foundation Board; Steve Schmidt, founder of Frederick Air Inc., and Dave Schmidt who runs the companys daily operations. Steve is a former director of the FCC Foundation Board, and Dave a current member.

We are grateful to M&T Bank for believing in the power of higher education and providing this unique scholarship opportunity for our students, noted President Burmaster. Each year, its support brings together our College and business community and rewards a group of hardworking students for their creative business ideas.

President Burmaster also thanked the FCC Business Plan Contest planning team that included Larry Devan, Doree Lynn Miles, Dr. Karen Wilson, and Deborah Powell. Contest mentors and advisors were Charles Rick Dillon, Norman Endlich, Bruce LeFleur, and Thomas Mazerski. Endlich also served as event moderator.


The apartment building on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in HCMCs District 1 is on lockdown - PHOTO: TPO

The districts police and urban order teams on April 30 cordoned off the area surrounding the building and disinfected the area, the local media reported.

The move came after the 92nd patient, who lives in Block B2 of the building and returned to Vietnam from France, tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on April 29 after recovery. The patient was sent to Cu Chi Field Hospital in the city for treatment.

Over 90 people living in this residential block are under isolation and had their samples taken for Covid-19 testing.

The districts forces are tasked with providing them with food and essential goods.

Residents should not be worried as the lockdown and isolation were precautionary measures to ensure the safety of residents, said a representative of District 1s Health Care Center.

As of 6.00 p.m. on April 30, the Ministry of Health reported no new Covid-19 infections in the community for 14 consecutive days, while one more patient, tagged as the 268th, was discharged from hospital.

The countrys total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases remained unchanged at 270, with 219 patients having made a full recovery. SGT
The Assam government is



expecting that around 2.5 lakh people, stranded at various places in the country due to the ongoing lockdown, will enter the state in a month, following the Centre's guidelines allowing their movement to reach homes, and working on a plan to bring them back, a minister said on Friday.

The state government has also sought permission from the Centre to bring back the cancer patients stuck in Mumbai by flights, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters here.

He said it will be a "challenge" for the government to deal with the inflow of the people stranded across India.

"The government is working on a plan for that," he said.

"To bring back the cancer patients stuck in Mumbai, we have sought permission from the Central government to operate flights but we have not received the approval yet," he said.

With lakhs of migrant workers and students stranded at various places for over a month due to the nationwide lockdown, the Centre had on Wednesday announced plans to allow their movement to help them reach their homes, including by crossing state borders.

The minister said "around 2-2.5 lakh people are expected" to come to Assam in a month.

"In the first phase, we will try to bring people stranded in different states of the north-east region. We are thinking of sending our state transport busses to places such as Shillong, Dimapur and Itanagar," he said.

People from other places outside the north-east region will also be brought in the second phase, depending on availability of buses and train services from those states.

"We will announce dates considering the number of people, buses and availability of quarantine facilities in Assam. There has to be a balance," the minister said.

He said people from eastern states like West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, and even from Delhi may be brought back through buses, while the government will have to request the railways for those stranded in south India.

A meeting with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was convened this evening on the issue, Sarma said.

"We have to bring them considering the capacity of our quarantine facilities and have seen that people usually do not follow the norms when they are advised to stay in home isolation. To keep people away from the coronavirus infection will be a big challenge for us," the minister said.

According to the daily bulletin of the Health and Family Welfare Department, the government has quarantine facilities to accommodate 10,061 people across the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata



Banerjee on Friday said the ongoing lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has badly hit the working class.

She greeted all workers and their families on "international workers day" and said that all "have to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters" during this tough times.

"On #InternationalWorkersDay, my humble greetings to all workers around the world & their families. The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have hit the working class hard. We have to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters," Banerjee tweeted on Friday.

The chief minister referred to the two new schemes announced by her government to help the migrant labourers and those working in the unorganised sector who are badly hit by the lockdown.

"To stand by the working class during the lockdown, our Govt in #Bangla announced two new schemes - 'Sneher Porosh' for migrant labourers, and 'Prochesta' for workers in the unorganised sector, she added.

Under the 'Sneher Porosh' scheme the West Bengal government is providing Rs 1000 financial assistance to migrant works who are stuck in different parts of the country due to the lockdown.

The 'Prochesta' scheme was launched to help daily workers who are affected due to the COVID-19 crisis. Under this scheme the state government would give Rs 1000 financial assistance to daily workers.

May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day or Labour Day across the world.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington

President Donald Trump voiced strong support Thursday for his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, raising speculation that a pardon may be coming after Flynn's lawyers disclosed internal FBI documents they claim show the FBI tried to "intentionally frame" him.

Trump said he believes Flynn should be cleared in court, but if that doesn't happen, he as president has "a different type of power."

"It looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated based on everything I see," Trump told reporters Thursday.

Trump has long said he is considering pardoning Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States. The president spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning retweeting supportive statements of Flynn and condemned the FBI's investigation into the retired general.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called into Fox News Channel to react to the release of the FBI documents, saying, "If all this proves to be true, you will have, certainly, a major, major error on the part of top leadership at the FBI, which could well warrant additional charges against them."

Lawyers for Flynn over the last two days released a series of internal correspondence obtained through a Justice Department review of the handling of the case. They contend the documents bolster their allegations that Flynn was set up to lie when he was questioned at the White House three years ago, and show that agents were prepared to drop an investigation into him just weeks before they set out to question him.

Still, the documents don't directly address the central allegation in the case  that Flynn lied to the FBI. It's also unclear how much significance they will carry with the judge, who has already publicly scolded Flynn and rejected many defense allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. The judge, Emmet Sullivan, has not ruled on Flynn's request to withdraw his guilty plea.

Among the documents is a redacted internal memo from Jan. 4, 2017, saying the FBI was closing out its investigation into whether a subject with the code name of Crossfire Razor was an agent of a foreign power or acting under the direction of Russia. The subject is described as a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who traveled to Russia in 2015.

Flynn's attorney Sidney Powell confirmed that Crossfire Razor was Flynn.

But about two weeks later, according to the documents, case agent Peter Strzok told a colleague not to close the case and to "pls keep it open for now."

Later in the month, the FBI determined they wanted to interview Flynn about conversations he had during the presidential transition with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Agents questioned him at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017, when the FBI says he lied about the Kislyak conversations.

But Flynn's attorneys point to the newly disclosed documents to suggest the FBI had no basis to question Flynn.

Prosecutors haven't responded to the defense team's disclosures.
Former Green River City Councilman Ted Barney will seek election to the Wyoming Legislature's House District 60.

Barney will run as a Republican, setting up a primary election contest between him and Mark Baker, who announced his intent to run for the legislative seat earlier this year. John Freeman, the Democrat who has represented House District 60 since 2011, has announced he won't seek re-election. Candidate filing is scheduled for May 14-29.

"Basically, the reason I'm running is I enjoy being involved and I enjoy representing people," Barney said.

Barney previously served one term as a Green River City Councilman and has run in several previous elections under differing banners. In the 2018 Senate District 13 race, he ran as an independent while during the Sweetwater County commissioner race in 2016, he ran as a Democrat. Barney says his longest allegiance has been to the Republican party, saying it was the party he first registered for and was a member of for 27 years.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the economy throughout the world, Barney said the state needs to start looking at other means of industry aside from minerals, oil and gas. He notes tourism is the third-largest industry in Wyoming and believes laws could be expanded to give cities an opportunity to generate more revenue from nearby attractions. Specifically, he said an idea giving cities the ability to designate nearby off-road trails could boost visitation. The idea was brought to his attention while he was a city councilman, but said state law prohibited cities from moving forward on the idea and attempts to have local legislators change state law fell flat.

"If I'm down there, I know it will be presented," Barney said.

Barney said he thinks the state should "take off the oil and gas blinders" and start legitimately looking for ways to diversify its economy. One of his ideas is one that's been mentioned in Sweetwater County for years.

"I've had conversations for 45 years of my life that we have every ingredient here in Sweetwater County for making glass and we don't do it," he said. "I've always wondered why."

Barney said glass manufacturing could reduce one step in the process for companies producing it elsewhere while providing more jobs and industrial tax dollars locally. However, he said the state legislature also needs to be prepared for change. Part of that change involves the economy and recognizing oil, coal and gas can't play a major part of the state's economy like it used to. One area he thinks the state should look at is solar farms, saying they're more efficient due to the high altitude in Wyoming.

He also dislikes the idea of increasing property taxes on seniors and would support legislation to freeze such increases on people aged 65 and older, saying he doesn't mind paying taxes during his working years, but understands it can be a major burden on seniors.
The IAI is to enlighten lactating mothers and their families on safety measures put in place at child welfare clinics (CWCs) by District Health Management Teams to check infection spread.

It is also to advocate for sustained funding and logistics (fridges, means of transport) and increased number of staff for immunization purposes in spite of the COVID-19.

The Initiative, being carried out in four regions; Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West, is also to encourage mothers to attend CWCs to adhere to the immunisation schedules for their children.

As part of the strategies for the sensitisation initiative some DHMT resource persons with adequate knowledge on immunisation had been selected to champion the course through radio and television in view of the coronavirus scare.

Madam Jane Amerley Oku, the Founder of Janok Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, and one of the organisations championing the enterprise in the Accra Metropolis, made this known in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.

She said adequate measures had been put in place to ensure that recommended hygienic practices against the COVID-19 were strictly adhered to at CWCs while the physical distancing rule of one metre or more was also observed.

Certainly, poor CWC attendance has adverse effects on the growth and development of children as they may have to forgo their vaccine schedules as well as other requisite health checks (anthropometry measures; weight, height, arm and head circumference, among others) for children, Madam Oku said.

She said though the COVID-19 might have limited government's ability to fund immunisation activities, the IAI must continuously remind the Government of its obligation towards vaccines procurement since any neglect might have dire consequences on unimmunized children.

That would result in developing weak immunity against preventable diseases including the COVID-19, she said.

Madam Oku called on the district assemblies to support immunisation activities while urging communities and individuals to contribute to the provision of Personal Protective Equipment for health workers.

---GNA
Texas reported 50 more COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, the most in any one day since the state reported its first deaths in mid-March.

The state also reported it had added more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 to its total of 28,000  the biggest one-day increase in infections since April 10.

The numbers came out less than 9 hours before Gov. Greg Abbott was set to lift restrictions on many businesses, allowing malls, movie theaters, retail stores and restaurants to begin operating at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Those businesses can only operate at 25 percent of their maximum capacity for the next two weeks under Abbotts phased re-opening plan. After that, if things are going well, Abbott has said he will increase the limit to 50 percent occupancy.

Abbotts statewide stay-at-home order expires at the end of Thursday.

TOO SOON?: Gov. Abbott pushes Friday reopening even as Texas misses benchmarks set by his advisers

Abbott earlier this week said he was reopening businesses because the states death rate and hospitalizations have been low.

Understand that Texas has either the 3rd or 4th best  meaning lowest  death rate in the United States, Abbott said in a television interview on KVUE, an ABC affiliate in Austin. Texas never has had a situation like New York, like California, like Washington, like Louisiana, like New Jersey, like Michigan, like Illinois with deaths. Weve never had capacity strains on our hospitals like those states.

But over the last two days, Texas reported more than 90 deaths from the disease, state records show. That number did not include another six deaths from Harris County, according to an independent tally by Hearst Newspapers.

On Wednesday the state reported 42 people had died. In the previous week the total deaths were 25 per day, on average.

On Monday, Abbott said he expected the number of people who test positive for COVID-19 to climb as testing for the virus accelerates in Texas.

He was correct in that Texas reported 1,033 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and more than 15,510 more tests. But while both numbers have risen, Abbott said they also show that just about 7 percent of those tested were positive. He said during an interview on Newscenter 25 in Victoria that earlier this month the rate of positive tests for the disease closer to 10 percent.

All the doctors that know what theyre talking about in this subject area know its not the number of people who test positive that matters, Abbott said. What matters to follow is the percentage of people who test positive.

Abbott also said the states hospitalizations have declined, another sign that its moving in the right direction.

The 1,033 positive tests were the highest number in Texas on one day since April 10 when the state reported 1,441 positive cases.

Something to watch out for

As the state begins re-opening, Abbott said he will watch numbers carefully in case there are flare-ups.

Dr. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious disease specialist at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, said he's not overly concerned about a one- or two-day spike because these deaths are likely from cases that emerged two to three weeks ago.

"It's something to watch out for, he said. If you look at those graphs it looked like we were peaking in early April and the trend had been going down. If we see a new upward trend that would be concerning."

The Texas death rate has been creeping up since mid-April. Of the 28,087 people who have tested positive, 782 have now died, a rate of 2.8 percent. That rate was 2.6 percent a week ago and 2.3 percent two weeks ago.

Still, that death rate remains one of the lowest in the nation and the states hospitalizations remain steady, said Abbotts communications director John Wittman.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Stay informed with accurate reporting you can trust on HoustonChronicle.com

Now Playing: 'COVID-19 in 60': Houston coronavirus news in a minute Video: Houston Chronicle

Other large states have had a higher percentage of COVID-19 patients die. In New York, 5.9 percent of those who have tested positive have died. In California, 4 percent of patients have died; in Florida it is 3.5 percent.

Even before Thursdays results were reported, Abbott decision to re-open parts of the Texas economy starting Friday was under fire from Texas Democrats. U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, told reporters she was baffled by Abbott decision to re-open.

Was it really time? Garcia said Thursday morning before the new numbers were released. Frankly, we just need to keep doing what we are doing. Im not convinced it was time to open, certainly not here in the Houston region.

Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said every step Abbott and state leaders have taken has been in direct consultation with medical experts. He said this is only phase one of the re-opening plan and taking measured steps will help prevent a big spike in cases.

This is not opening the barn door and everyone go flooding out, Bonnen said.

He said obviously any life loss is hard to swallow, but that has to be balanced with economic despair that is creating a host of other issues that are hurting Texans. Also Thursday, the number of statewide unemployment claims hit 1.9 million.

People need to get back into the economy, Bonnen said.

Staff writer Jeremy Blackman contributed to this report.

LIVE UPDATES: Stay on top of the latest coronavirus news, analysis and more with our daily live blog
Natalya Zuyevych outside her home in Northeast Philadelphia. Her class of 96 nursing grads from Community College of Philadelphia has been through quite a lot. Three got COVID-19, one died after a car accident, others lost their jobs and lost friends and relatives to the virus. Natalya's uncle died and aunt got sick. Her husband lost his job. Read more

Natalya Zuyevych was juggling a lot that morning.

It was the first day she had to take her Community College of Philadelphia nursing class online after the coronavirus all but closed the campus. She had just learned that her uncle had died of the virus, and she couldnt reach her aunt, who also had it. And her infant, sick with an ear infection, screamed all night and kept her awake. She had to take him to the doctor, and the only time she could get an appointment was during class time.

You cant be late for class. You have to be present, the 31-year-old Northeast Philadelphia woman said. So Im trying to Zoom through my phone.

The challenges just kept mounting for Zuyevych. Her husband, a physical therapist, lost his job in late March. She had been laid off in January, and they were having trouble collecting unemployment, given the overwhelming number of jobless claims.

 READ MORE: Colleges holding on-campus classes in the fall? Maybe.

Many of her 95 nursing classmates, a close-knit group that took many classes and clinicals together over the last two years, faced similar challenges, and all were grieving after losing a classmate, Janette Reyes, after a car accident in early March.

Community college students, many of whom juggle jobs and families and are strapped for cash, dealt with hardships even before the virus arrival, said Tamika Curry, assistant professor in the department of nursing.

Then you add the pandemic on top of that, she said. Whatever your challenge was then, it was magnified by a hundred. Then theres the fact that you had to finish nursing school.

But on Friday evening, the students will savor the moment when they celebrate their graduation via a Zoom party. Mayor Jim Kenney will deliver prerecorded congratulations to the class on earning associates degrees and preparing to enter the citys fight against the coronavirus.

"Ive just been crying tears of joy all day, said Temeka Willoughby, 46, of Olney.

She was one of three students in the class who tested positive for the coronavirus, and continued her studies while in quarantine. She received her test results while logged into her nursing class.

Like some other students, shes already a licensed practical nurse, and for the last 12 years has worked in a nursing and rehabilitation center on the outskirts of the city. She watched the virus take its toll: At least 17 residents have succumbed to COVID-19.

Ive known some of these people a long time, she said through tears. Some of them have been there longer than me. I became family with their family. We were their family.

Willoughby also juggled caring for her mother, who doesnt have full use of her legs. She worried that her mother would contract the virus, too, but she didnt. Willoughby had minor symptoms, she said. She lost her sense of taste and smell and thought it was allergies.

She hopes to go on for her bachelors and masters, and become a nurse practitioner. In the meantime, she will continue working at the nursing home.

 READ MORE: Homeless and hungry college students will face greater challenges because of the coronavirus

This is what I signed up for when I got into this field, she said. And this is what Im going to continue to do."

Jessica Dorsey, 30, of Kensington, had been working 12 hours a week as a home health-care aide while in school. Her family was struggling for money and had to move in with her mom. She had to help her son adjust to a new school and handle the death of his dog.

Then her husband, a hotel bell clerk, lost his job because of the virus, and she had to increase her hours, most recently to over 40.

As soon as Im finished, Im going to have a good cry," she said. Im in need of one. Its been really tough.

 READ MORE: Narberth Ambulance paramedics risk their own lives in a battle to save nursing home residents with slim odds.

Now, shes ready to celebrate. The Zoom party will temporarily replace the traditional pinning ceremony when new nurses take their oath. (The college plans to hold a real one when it can.)

This has been very difficult, these last few weeks," Curry said. These students need some sort of reward.

Zuyevych said her uncles death underscored for her how important nurses are.

They are the ones who are with these patients, she said. They are the last people they see, for the ones who unfortunately dont recover.

She hopes to become an operating room nurse. Like her classmates, she will have to take her licensing exam first.

Even though she lost her uncle and has watched her sister-in-law, a doctor, have to scrub down when she comes home before touching her young children, Zuyevych said shes ready to help patients.

To be honest, she said, I feel that the world needs us now more than ever. So I think its perfect we are graduating around this time.
Even though Amazon reported an earnings miss in the first quarter of 2020, its sales grew from 10% last year to 32% this year, as more and more consumers shopped online to avoid physical stores.

But while the online sales giant reported massive growth, it still has to prioritize customer orders with the needs of every day people staying in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Assets used to deliver Amazons wares will be used for essential items first. If your order isnt some kind of essential item, it may be delayed.

Thats why Amazon needs more delivery assets. And it wants American military veterans to be those assets.

Rather than simply hiring veterans to be part of Amazon delivery systems, the retailer wants to instead train veterans to start their own delivery companies and contract their services out to Amazon.

Amazons Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program is designed to help veterans build a delivery service business from the ground up in order to deliver packages in their local areas. Since beginning the program in 2018, the retail giant has trained 800 entrepreneurs who have hired some 75,000 workers.

A full one-third of those business owners are veterans. The investment in veterans has paid off so much for Amazon that the company wants even more veterans running Smile packages in their hometowns. It has set aside $5 million for startup costs and up to $10,000 in reimbursements for veterans looking to start their own companies.

No experience is required. Amazon will help aspiring veterans with that part of the business.

Amazon said each DSP will operate 20-40 vans and hire 40-100 employees to manage the logistics of deliveries 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And Amazon practically does all the leg work of getting set up with a delivery service center. The rest is up to you.

According to the Amazon DSP website, partners can expect up to $4.5 million in revenues and take home upwards of $300,000 in profits.

With low startup costs, free training, access to use the Amazon brand and even reimbursements for getting started, the barrier to being ones own boss just became very low at a time when demand is sky high.

To learn how to get started visit Amazons Delivery Service Partner Program Website.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Thursday denied allegations that Chakmas from the state stranded outside due to the lockdown have not been provided aid from the CMs relief fund.

In a statement on Thursday, the Mizoram Chakma Alliance Against Discrimination (MCAAD) had urged the chief minister to provide relief to hundreds of Chakmas stranded in various parts of the country.

The organisation alleged that while the Mizoram government had allocated Rs 2.34 crore from the chief ministers fund to various Mizo NGOs across the country to help those stranded from the state, no Chakma NGO has been given any assistance.

Chakmas of Mizoram constitute 8.8% of the states total population and at present there are over 1,000 Chakmas stranded outside the state. As there is limited socialisation between communities, only giving grants to the Mizo NGOs is not enough to reach out to non-Mizos like the Chakmas, the statement said.

The Chakma group urged the Mizoram government to provide relief to stranded Chakmas through the Chakma Autonomous District Councul (CADC) or directly to Chakma NGOs.

We have distributed relief equally to everybody through local task forces within the state. For those stranded outside, people need to understand that we dont give money to individuals directly, the chief minister told HT over phone from Aizawl.

The government hands over money to resident commissioners at various places where we have Mizoram Houses. At places where we dont have offices, we give money to the welfare organizations and it is for them to distribute among those who are in need, he added.

Zoramthanga said that if the Chakma groups need any assistance they should approach the resident commissioners at places where the state government has offices or else to contact the chief secretarys office in Aizawl.

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Rishi Kapoor Wanted To See Ranbir Kapoor Getting Married Said, 'Want To Spend Time With My Grandchildren Before I Am Gone'
University of Dayton political scientist Christopher Devine has written the definitive academic study of the Libertarian Party  Americas third largest political party. He documents a growing disconnect between the partys radical platform and the more mainstream, fiscally conservative and socially liberal policy preferences of its rank-and-file supporters.

His research is timely. This week, Michigan Congressman Justin Amash announced that he would run for the Libertarian Partys presidential nomination at next months national convention.

Devine examines the Libertarian Partys history, electoral performance and prospects for growth in the future. In addition, he conducts the first-ever survey-based analysis of party voters and members policy views for Beyond Donkeys and Elephants: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics. The book, released this spring, is the most comprehensive account ever written of contemporary minor political parties in the United States, according to publisher University Press of Kansas.

The Libertarian Party portrays itself as the third choice for Americans who find themselves dissatisfied with the two-party system  not a fringe group of small-government radicals but a mainstream alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties with broad electoral appeal and the potential to emerge as a major party in its own right, Devine writes.

Devines analysis shows that Libertarian Party voters and members are fiscally conservative and socially liberal  but not radically so. Essentially, they agree with Republicans on economic policy and Democrats on social policy. However, Libertarians are less likely than Democrats or Republicans to support the use of military force. Yet they hardly qualify as extreme in this regard  or even noninterventionist, really, Devine writes.

Libertarians, it would seem, are not nearly as radical as their party platform, he writes. For instance, only 12% of Libertarian Party voters agree that taxes should never be increased.

Devine shows that Libertarians successes mostly have come at the local level. No one running as a Libertarian ever has been elected to federal office, or to any state legislature since 2000. Amashs recent party switch makes him the first Libertarian ever to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Amash is hoping to build on the Libertarian Partys success in 2016, when presidential candidate Gary Johnson appeared on all 50 state ballots and won 3.3% of the national popular vote  three times more than the nearest competitor, Jill Stein of the Green Party, and more than any other minor-party candidate since 1996. Devine also notes that in 2016, the Libertarian Party had more registered voters (approximately 500,000) than any other minor party, and won a higher percentage of the vote in U.S. Senate races than at any other point in party history.

To succeed in 2020 and beyond, Devine argues, the Libertarian Party must focus less on ideological purity and more on appealing to the broader electorate with its fiscally conservative and socially liberal message. It could do so by moderating the partys radical platform, and by nominating a credible presidential candidate, such as Congressman Amash -- even if doing so may upset the partys ideological base.

The change that they seek may never come, Devine writes, if Libertarians continue to win only the most votes among losing parties.
The Google Pixel 4a is right around the corner, and the very first camera samples just surfaced. These images come from a Cuban tech YouTuber, Julio Lusson, and were shared via Twitter.

In his tweet, he took two shots with the Pixel 4a, and two with the Redmi Note 7, to compare them. Truth be said, thats not the best comparison, but it sure does make look Pixel 4a camera samples look great.

The Google Pixel 4a camera samples look great

Its not difficult to notice that the picture Pixel 4a took of the Loudred figurine is superior. It offers much better colors, and far less noise than the one taken by the Redmi Note 7. Its also noticeably sharper.

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Now, in terms of the picture that was taken outdoors, the color difference is also visible. The image taken with the Pixel 4a has much more saturated colors, the Redmi Note 7 picture looks washed out in comparison. It also offers a noticeably warmer tone, and its sharper.

Its worth noting that the Pixel 4a will probably include a 12.2-megapixel camera on the back. The Redmi Note 7, in comparison, has a 48-megapixel sensor. The megapixel count doesnt have to mean anything, though, obviously.

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Its not exactly a secret that Googles camera software is great, and does most of the heavy lifting. The Pixel 2 and 3 series cameras were excellent, and the same goes for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL cameras.

Well, the Pixel 4a will likely sport the main camera from the back of the Pixel 4. That means were looking at a 12.2-megapixel camera with 1.4um pixel size, and an f/1.7 aperture. It will support both OIS and EIS, by the way.

The phone will be fueled by the Snapdragon 730, and include 6GB of RAM

The device will be fueled by the Snapdragon 730, if rumors are to be believed. It will include a 5.81-inch fullHD+ display, and that display will be flat, and will include a camera hole.

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The phone will include a single camera on the back, and a capacitive fingerprint scanner. It will be made out of polycarbonate (plastic), most probably.

The Google Pixel 4a is expected to arrive in the near future. It was supposed to get announced during Google I/O, but the (physical) show got canceled. That probably means that the phone will be announced via a press release, or something of the sort.

The phone is rumored to ship to consumers on May 22 in Germany. That probably means that it will ship sooner in the US. That doesnt leave Google much time to announce this phone, so it will happen soon.

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The Google Pixel 4a will probably arrive in 64GB and 128GB storage variants, both of which will include 6GB of RAM. The starting price point for the phone will be $399 in the US, probably.
Last Friday, high school junior Jameela Barber called her teacher in Dallas County, Texas, to apologize for neglecting to turn in her school work.

Her school's principal, Eleanor Webb, said Barber told her teacher she hadn't been feeling well.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

"She said, 'As soon as I feel better, because I'm feeling really, really sick, I'm going to turn in my missed assignments,'" Webb told NBC affiliate station KXAS.

Jameela Barber. (Lancaster Independent School District)

The next day, Webb said, Barber died of complications from COVID-19. She was 17.

Barber's case is rare; only a handful of pediatric deaths related to the coronavirus have been reported in the United States. However, the exact numbers for kids are hard to pin down: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told NBC News that it does not track COVID-19 deaths in children under age 18 the way it does for the flu.

Early data on pediatric COVID-19 cases suggested that, for the vast majority of children, the illness is relatively mild.

Recently, however, reports of potentially serious complications specific to children have begun to emerge in the U.S. and Europe: A handful of kids have developed dangerous inflammation around the heart and other organs. It's similar to a rare condition called Kawasaki disease, which causes swelling of the coronary arteries, primarily in children.

Efforts to gather data on how the virus affects children are in their early stages. The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Transplant Network, in coordination with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and other major children's hospitals across the country, have just begun to collect data on kids diagnosed with COVID-19.

It's unclear why most kids appear to be spared. It could be that kids tend not to have the same chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure or Type 2 diabetes, found in the most serious COVID-19 cases in adults.

It could also be that children's immune systems don't react to this coronavirus infection with the same hyper-inflammatory response that's been documented in adults.

Story continues

"This is very perplexing," Dr. Adrienne Randolph, a senior critical care physician at Boston Childrens Hospital, said. "What is it about their immune system and their immune reaction to this virus that is making it so they're really not getting sick?"

Download the TODAY app for the latest coverage on the coronavirus outbreak.

Randolph is leading a nationwide research project that aims to figure out why the virus acts differently in kids, and why a few, like Barber, have more serious and even deadly outcomes. The goal is to enroll 800 children and young adults up through age 25.

Parents

A large amount of data focusing on COVID-19 risks among young people is important, Randolph said, "because when a vaccine does become available, it's probably not going to be available for everybody right away."

That is, a vaccine would likely be prioritized for those most at risk for coronavirus complications.

'A new syndrome'

The handful of children who have developed the Kawasaki-like complication reflect "a new syndrome," said Dr. Jane Burns, director of the Kawasaki Disease Research Center at the University of California, San Diego.

"The way this is affecting the heart is completely different than what we usually see in Kawasaki disease," Burns said. "This is new because this is primarily the heart muscle that is failing," adding that it appears the immune system is attacking the heart, as opposed to the coronary arteries.

It's unclear how many children may have this condition. Doctors at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York reported treating three such cases in children ranging in age from 6 months to 8 years.

"What we have been seeing [is] there are some children who may have an inflammation of the blood vessels and are developing a toxic shock-like syndrome," New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said during a news conference Thursday.

Parents

But it may be too early to link this new type of inflammatory reaction to COVID-19, because only some of the patients have tested positive for the coronavirus infection. A few have tested negative, though they had been exposed to infected family members.

The development has perplexed physicians, who have scheduled a call with experts from around the globe this weekend to share information about cases.

"We are scrambling to put together a unified case definition," Burns said.

The World Health Organization is also now "urgently" investigating the potential link between this new problem and COVID-19.

Milder symptoms

Ultimately, COVID-19 remains uncommon in children; just 2 percent of kids tested for the coronavirus in the U.S. are positive. By far, most COVID-19 cases  especially the most severe cases  have been among adults.

Pediatric infectious disease specialists stress complications from the coronavirus are rare in children, a trend that's been observed in other countries, as well.

"We have data from China, we have data from Italy, and other parts of Europe, as well as now some preliminary data in the United States" that most pediatric cases appear to range from asymptomatic to mild symptoms, Randolph said.

People over age 65 tend to have significantly higher rates of complications and mortality.

Dr. Buddy Creech, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, has noted the same thing.

Symptoms in kids "seem to consistently be much milder than the adults," Creech said. And there's a growing theory that fewer symptoms for a shorter amount of time might indicate kids may not be very good at spreading the virus.

"It's tempting to hypothesize," Creech said, stressing that the theory has not been proven.

But, he added, "it would be interesting to at least consider the possibility that kids having milder symptoms and shorter illnesses might actually have fewer days of positive virus that they're shedding from their nose or their throat."
HookBang, an innovative R&D company, has adapted their Augmented Reality (AR) training system to assist in preparing users in the operation of the Zoll 731 EMV ventilator. Using cameras and Artificial Intelligence (AI), HookBangs training system interactively instructs users on critical operational tasks, requiring significantly less time than paper based training. This allows for a safer and more rapid deployment of the hardware. The adaptation is an important step in the response to the COVID-19 crisis, as ventilators are now in critical demand and rapid training and deployment is a top priority. As numerous companies such as Tesla, Ford, and GM scramble to produce newly designed ventilators to aid in this shortage, training is critical to ensure that these devices are used and maintained safely.

HookBang has an extensive history of developing machine vision and artificial intelligence based solutions. Their training platform uses AI with real-time awareness to provide users with step by step augmented reality directions for operating a device. In 2019, HookBang began work with the US Air Force to expand the application of its technology to a broader array of device types. With COVID-19 now putting the health of millions at risk, the company has invested its own resources and focus to adapt their AR-enabled artificial intelligence to ventilators.

HookBang would like to work with ventilator developers, new or existing, to provide the accompanying AR training software. The company is also interested in partnering with hospitals and organizations that need to quickly train personnel on any critical hardware device. If interested, please contact them directly for more information.

Ventilator Trainer Video

https://youtu.be/jGKcSEiKlmk

HookBangs Machine Vision Work

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnOb-44JmBJmVn3krzULMkluI1KT7Xfji

About HookBang

HookBang is a full stack development firm headquartered in Austin, TX. The company consistently works with the DoD and private sector to provide enterprise solutions, with a focus in Augmented Reality, Machine Vision, Artificial Intelligence, and leading edge R&D. The companys client list includes customers such as Google, Dell, Warner Brothers, and the US Air Force.
By IANS

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Friday that a large portion of economic and social activities will reopen following the recent decline of the COVID-19 cases in the country.

However, economic, social and religious activities involved large gatherings and close contact were still not allowed, and all schools will remain closed for the time being, he said in a televised address to the country.

As of Thursday, the number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia totalled at 6,002, among whom 4,171 had been discharged from hospital with the death toll at 102, reports Xinhua news agency.

The number of daily new cases has been kept in double-digit in recent days with recovered cases continuing to outpace the new ones.

The country has implemented a movement control order to contain the spread of the outbreak of the virus since March 18.
Donald Trump will visit Mount Rushmore to celebrate Independence Day with the first fireworks display at the monument since 2009.

Mr Trump announced during a radio interview on Friday that he would travel to South Dakota for the celebration on 3 July.

"I got fireworks. For 20 years or something, it hasn't been allowed for environmental reasons, you believe that one? It's all stone," Mr Trump said. "Anyway, I got it approved so I'm going to go there on July 3 and they're gonna have the big fireworks."

Mr Trump announced his first visit as president to Mount Rushmore during an interview on Friday with Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent.

The president authorised the resumption of fireworks at the monument during a White House visit of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem in January.

"What can burn? It's stone," Trump said in January. "So nobody knew why. They just said environmental reasons."

Fireworks at Mount Rushmore ended after 2009 due to concerns about a pine beetle infestation impact on the forest. An environment impact assessment last year found there would be no significant impact of fireworks due to improvements in the forest and fireworks technology.

After a previous visit to The White House, Governor Noem said that it was Trump's dream to be immortalised in stone on the mountain, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

"He said, 'Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand,'" Ms Noem said. "I shook his hand, and I said, 'Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.' And he goes, 'Do you know it's my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?' "

Ms Noem said she thought he was joking.

"I started laughing," she said. "He wasn't laughing, so he was totally serious."

It wouldn't be the first time the president has floated the idea, jokingly or otherwise, of being immortalised as a 60 foot stone statue on Mount Rushmore.

"I'd ask whether or not you think I will someday be on Mount Rushmore, but, no," he said during a 2017 rally in Youngstown, Ohio.

"But here's the problem, if I did it joking, totally joking, having fun, the fake news media will say 'he believes he should be on Mount Rushmore.' So I won't say it, ok. I won't say it."
Security Council concern at 25 April declaration of Yemeni Southern Transitional Council

Saudi Press Agency

Thursday 1441/9/7 - 2020/04/30

Riyadh, April 29, 2020, SPA -- The members of the Security Council expressed their strong concern at the 25 April declaration of the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

They reaffirmed their strong commitment to Yemen's unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and called for expediting implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.

They expressed concern that the STC actions could distract from the efforts of Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to secure a nationwide ceasefire, confidence-building measures, and the restart of a Yemeni-led and owned inclusive political process.

They urged the Government of Yemen and the Houthis to reinforce their engagement with a view to reaching agreement on the Special Envoy's proposals as soon as possible.

They welcomed the announcement by the "Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen" on extending their unilateral ceasefire in support of the UN peace process and urged the Houthis to join the Government of Yemen in reciprocating immediately, in order to stop ongoing hostilities and counter the outbreak of COVID-19.

--SPA

01:58 LOCAL TIME 22:58 GMT

0032

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A Winnipeg man who picked up a chainsaw and threatened arborists, passing cars and a cyclist with it may have had mental-health concerns or been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, police say.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who picked up a chainsaw and threatened arborists, passing cars and a cyclist with it may have had mental-health concerns or been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, police say.

The man approached two arborists who were working near the Disraeli Freeway and Lily Street around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, started talking to them and then threatened them with an unknown object that looked like a metal disc, before picking up their nearby chainsaw. When the arborists ran to their truck, the man attacked their vehicle with the chainsaw and waved it around at traffic on the Disraeli Freeway, according to the Winnipeg Police Service.

WPS spokesman Const. Jay Murray said the arborists reported the incident to police, who were able to take the man into custody. When officers approached the man, he was still holding the running chainsaw -- "at one point, he throttled it so high that he engulfed himself in exhaust," Murray said  and he initially didnt follow officers instructions to drop the weapon. He later set down the chainsaw, still running, and police arrested him, Murray said.

No one was hurt. The arborists were likely shaken up, Murray said.

"Nonetheless, likely a very terrifying incident for them and anyone that had been in the area. He swung a saw at a number of vehicles that passed by, and even a cyclist, so fortunately he didn't make contact with them, but a very terrifying incident for anyone that was involved."

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He said police are still trying to determine what led to the unprovoked attack, including any drug use or mental illness.

This kind of chainsaw attack is "very rare," Murray said.

"The use of a chainsaw as a weapon is a pretty rare occurrence in Winnipeg. It's not something that we typically see, but it is more common to see people taking tools or pieces of equipment and using them as weapons."

Lionel Adolph Ballantyne, 36, has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of uttering threats, theft under $5,000 and mischief.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Eldar Janasvhili - Trend:

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) predicts that the deficit of the balance of payments in Azerbaijan will amount to 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Chairman of the CBA Elman Rustamov said at a press conference on preserving the discount rate, Trend reports.

Import and export are expected to decline in 2020. In this regard, the CBA recommends commercial banks to support the import of products that are socially significant for the country, such as medical supplies and food products, Rustamov noted.

The balance of payments is a statistical reporting system that reflects the amount of economic transactions performed by the countrys residents with non-residents over a certain period.

The current transactions for 2019 amounted to 4.3 million manat ($2.5 million), and the foreign trade balance - 8.5 million manat ($5 million).

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on May 1)

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili
LONDON  In a setback to Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, in their bitter legal battle against the British tabloids, a high court judge struck down key claims on Friday in a lawsuit that Meghan brought against The Mail on Sunday for publishing a letter she sent to her father.

The judge, Mark Warby, ruled that the newspaper would not be judged on whether it had acted dishonestly; had stirred up conflict between Meghan, who is also known as the Duchess of Sussex, and her father, Thomas Markle; or had published offensive and intrusive articles about the duchess.

Instead, Justice Warby said, the court would decide only whether the publication of the letter had violated her privacy. The duchesss law firm, Schillings, said she would press forward with the case but expressed disappointment that the judge did not consider the newspapers motives relevant.

We are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behavior is not relevant, the firm said in a statement. We feel honesty and integrity are at the core of what matters; or as it relates to The Mail on Sunday.
Protesters gathered in Dover, Delaware, on May 1, calling for Gov John Carney to reopen the state, which has been under COVID-19 lockdown since mid-March, local media reported.

The Reopen Delaware rally was planned to take place at Legislative Hall in Dover.

Organizers say they are opposed to the restrictions of the order, saying it has caused risk and harm to residents and businesses.

There are over 4,700 positive cases of coronavirus in Delaware and 152 deaths have been reported.

In this video, protesters can be seen waving flags in the back of a vehicle as it was parading through Dover. Credit: Rob Petree/WGMD via Storyful
FILE PHOTO: A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the "Loonie", is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against the greenback on Thursday as Wall Street lost ground and domestic data showed no economic growth in the month before coronavirus-related lockdowns began, but the currency still posted its first monthly gain this year.

At 4:27 p.m. (2027 GMT), the Canadian dollar <CAD=D4> was trading 0.3% lower at 1.3920 to the greenback, or 71.84 U.S. cents. The currency notched its strongest intraday level since March 16 at 1.3850, while it ended April up 1%, its first monthly advance since December.

Technical resistance near 1.3800 and a loss of positive momentum for risk appetite weighed on the loonie, said Amo Sahota, director at Klarity FX in San Francisco.

"There is a slight exhaustion in optimism in the market place, particularly as U.S. stocks drop," Sahota said.

U.S. stocks fell as grim economic data and mixed earnings prompted investors to take some profits at the close of Wall Street's best month in decades.

Canada runs a current account deficit and is a major exporter of commodities, including oil, so the domestic economy tends to be dependent on the global flow of trade and capital.

The Canadian economy stalled in February, Statistics Canada said, as parliament's budget watchdog warned that a dramatic contraction was possible this year, with a spike in deficit and debt levels.

U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> settled 25% higher at $18.84 a barrel after several producers said they would cut output and as signs the U.S. crude glut was not growing as quickly as many had feared brought an upbeat close to one of the most volatile months for oil trading in history.

Canada's coronavirus curve is flat but some worrying trends are emerging, particularly outbreaks in vulnerable indigenous communities, the country's top medical officer said.

Canadian government bond yields eased across a flatter curve. The 10-year yield <CA10YT=RR> was down 2.7 basis points at 0.539%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Will Dunham and Marguerita Choy)
B ritain and France are working together to develop contact-tracing apps to fight coronavirus.

Ministers from both countries have been liaising on the new technology rather than having to adopt a model being proposed by Apple and Google.

It is expected to be ready within two or three weeks and will be a vital tool in the UKs battle against coronavirus.

Both France and Britain decided last week not to go ahead with the tracking app being pioneered jointly by Apple and Google. A consultant to the French government said: Apple appeared to be much more cautious about protecting client data and privacy than the French or British authorities.

The smartphone app will track and trace any possibly affected persons near the user. Some have feared its use of Bluetooth could divulge confidential information about peoples locations.

Matthew Gould, head of the NHS unit developing the app, has said the location aspect of the system would be an opt in and not compulsory.

If you want to protect the NHS and stop it being overwhelmed while at the same time want to get the economy moving, the app is going to be part of the essential strategy, he told the Commons science and technology committee.

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But Bruno Macaes, a diplomat and expert on the politics of cyber operations, thinks that both the British and French tracer apps may be underpowered.

He believes they will need at least 60 per cent participation by the population, induced by either cash payments or dropping phone charges, or making it compulsory by law.
Although air travel to Israel has come to a near standstill due to the coronavirus restrictions, one type of voyage still endures: the final journey of Jews wishing to be buried in Israel.

For centuries, Jews have sought to be interred in the "Holy Land," going to great lengths and greater costs to secure their final resting place in the land of their biblical forefathers.

Today, not even a once-in-a-century pandemic is halting this ancient last wish.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, families, the aviation industry and health workers are finding ways to keep the deceased flying in  chartering private planes, adding cargo flights and striking deals with handling companies.

Israel's foreign ministry said 300 bodies, including many COVID-19 victims, have been flown in for burial since February.

During that time, Israel's typically bustling Ben Gurion International Airport has become a ghost town, with only a few hundred passengers arriving on a handful of flights each week.

Jews have long been drawn by the pull of being buried in the "Holy Land."

The biblical forefather Jacob and his son Joseph both requested to be buried in the "Promised Land" after having died in Egypt.

Some Jews believe that being buried in the "Holy Land" grants atonement for sins or will make resurrection easier when the Messiah comes.

Israel has managed to keep the COVID-19 crisis largely in check, and though it has reported 219 deaths and about 16,000 confirmed cases, it has managed to escape the scenes of overwhelmed morgues and cemeteries from other countries.

Bringing in bodies is complex and costly, even under ordinary circumstances.

Purchasing a private plane can cost anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the location.

Many choose to spend hefty sums for a prime spot in Jerusalem's Mount of Olives Cemetery, which overlooks the storied Old City and its important Jewish sites.

Additional costs include flights and transport from the airport to the cemetery.

Those who choose to be buried in Israel must also navigate a web of bureaucracy, starting with handling companies at their departure point to their local Israeli consulate or embassy as well as the Israeli Health Ministry.

The coronavirus crisis has complicated an already onerous process.

While Jewish families typically fly in from abroad to escort the body and attend the funeral, that's not possible under current travel restrictions, which require a two-week quarantine for anyone entering from abroad.

Extra measures on the bodies are required to prevent infections, including additional wrapping material and a separate ritual purification process.

In hard-hit New York, which has a large Jewish community, some handling companies have refused to deal with the bodies of those who have died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

An Israeli aviation official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to discuss the sensitive process of transporting bodies with the media, said a cargo flight that comes from Belgium five times a week brings in about 20 bodies a flight  "an exceptional amount."

Most come from France, which has a large Jewish community and a severe outbreak, the official said.

He said a weekly cargo flight from New York also brings in bodies but often can't meet families' needs, as Jewish custom requires burying the dead promptly.

Wealthier families have hired private planes, which have been shipping in bodies about every other day from Europe and the US.

In photos released by ZAKA, an Israeli medical service, the sleek, slim interior of a private jet that had recently touched down was packed with four wooden caskets.

Israeli airline El Al struck a deal last week with a handling company in New York prepared to process the bodies of people who have died of the coronavirus.
The World Bank board of directors on May 1 approved additional financing for Ukraine in the amount of $150 million under the project for modernization of the system of social support for the population of Ukraine with the aim of expanding and improving social assistance to low-income families, the need for which increased due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

"Thousands of Ukrainian families are already facing difficulty paying for housing and utility services because people are losing their incomes. Pensioners can't afford to buy even basic medicines and food due to rising prices. It is important to help those people by making social payments swifter and more targeted. The additional financing will also support start-up grants for small businesses, known in Ukraine as the "Hand of Help," which will support the poor in learning new skills, finding a job, or opening a business," Alex Kremer, the World Bank Acting Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, said.

"Hand of Help is an initiative developed by the World Bank and Ukraine's Ministry of Social Policy. During 2017-2018, under the ongoing Social Safety Nets Modernization Project, micro financing was provided to support people who were internally displaced as a result of the conflict in Donbas, as well as the poorest among the population. Thanks to the project, 230 people have started new businesses in Kharkiv, Poltava, and Lviv regions, and in some territorial communities in Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, and Donetsk," the report on the bank's website says.

"Some $50 million of this additional financing will be used as part of Ukraine's emergency response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. These funds will help ensure larger amounts and faster disbursement of cash transfers via the country's Guaranteed Minimum Income and Housing and Utilities Subsidy programs. One-off cash transfers will also be provided to the elderly and people with disabilities," according to the document.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A federal judge has upheld a male students lawsuit against Colgate University alleging that his rights were violated in a campus sexual misconduct investigation that resulted in his expulsion.

The lawsuit is one of dozens filed against colleges in recent years complaining of reverse discrimination and unfair disciplinary proceedings against male students accused of sexual assault and harassment. Attorney Andrew Miltenberg, who has represented many of the male students, said the Colgate case will be the first of its kind to proceed to a trial unless the college reaches a settlement.

A spokesman for Colgate University said the college wont comment on ongoing litigation.

The male student, identified by the pseudonym John Doe, was accused by a female student of having sex with her against her will in his dorm room in October 2016. He claimed the two had consensual sex.

The female student filed a complaint with campus security in March 2017 and an investigation was launched. A campus hearing panel found Doe was not responsible for three charges of non-consensual sexual contact but was responsible for a fourth charge because the woman was asleep at that time and thus unable to consent.

The panel decided to sanction Doe by expelling him. He later filed a lawsuit alleging he was denied his rights to an impartial hearing and due process in an investigation biased against males. He was not criminally charged.

This was a sham investigation with only one purpose  to find my client guilty and remove him from campus, Miltenberg said in a statement Thursday.

Judge Frederick Scullin set a trial date of Sept. 14 for the the case to go forward in U.S. District Court in Syracuse.
The charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" is a catch-all that Chinese authorities use against people who criticise the regime

Beijing: A journalist who had worked for some of China's most powerful propaganda outlets has been jailed for 15 years after being accused of attacking the ruling Communist Party, court documents showed.

Chen Jieren was convicted on Thursday of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, illegal business operations and bribery," a court in central Hunan province said in a statement posted online.

The charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" is a catch-all that Chinese authorities sometimes use against people who criticise the regime.

The verdict against Chen comes as China's leadership faces international scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with questions over whether authorities covered up crucial information that could have prevented it from spreading across the globe.

Chen, who had once worked for the People's Daily, the Communist Party's main mouthpiece, had posted "false" and "negative" information online, according to the court's statement.

"The defendant published false information on blogs, WeChat public accounts, WeChat moments and other We-media to hype relevant cases under the guise of providing legal advice," it said.

The court said Chen worked as part of an "evil force" group along with his ex-wife and three other people that illegally accrued 7.3 million yuan ($1 million) from the business.

The Chinese Human Rights Defenders watchdog said Chen's conviction was "apparently to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms", calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

It said Chen had been sacked from state media outlets including the China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and People's Daily.

Since then he had published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media, including WeChat and Weibo channels, it said.

The group accused Chinese authorities of denying Chen a fair trial.
US presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday emphatically denied sexually assaulting a former staffer, saying the incident she claims occurred 27 years ago "never happened."

"They aren't true. This never happened," Biden said in a statement regarding the accusations made by Tara Reade, a former staffer in his US Senate office.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, broke a month of silence on the accusations with his statement.

The 77-year-old said Reade's then-supervisor and former senior staffers in his office "have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues."

Reade said on a podcast in March that then-senator Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill corridor in 1993, when she was 29.

He pinned her against a wall when she brought him a gym bag, put his hands "down my skirt" and violated her, said Reade, now 56.

She has since recounted her story to other media outlets, and filed an incident report with the Washington police in early April in which she did not name Biden.

Other women have accused the former vice president of touching them inappropriately in the past, and Reade's initial claims were similar -- and less severe than her most recent allegations.

Biden went on a morning news show to publicly address the claims.

"It is not true. I'm saying unequivocally it never happened, and it didn't," Biden told MSNBC.

"I don't know why after 27 years all of this gets raised," Biden added. "But I'm not going to question her motive. I'm not going to attack her."

But he stressed that "I have a right to say, look at the facts. Check it out."

Reade has not produced a copy of the complaint that she allegedly filed in 1993.

Biden, calling for transparency, said he has asked officials to search the National Archives, where he says any such document would now reside.

"There's nothing for me to hide," he said.

Biden, however, resisted the idea of calling for a search among his Senate papers, which were donated to the University of Delaware, which is home state.

Those documents "do not contain personnel files," he said.

Biden, who has pledged to pick a woman to be his vice president, stressed that he has worked his entire political career to improve conditions for women, including authoring the Violence Against Women Act.

He was also asked by MSNBC about comments he made during the 2018 controversial Supreme Court confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh, who had been accused of sexual assault.

Biden said at the time that when a woman comes forward with such accusations, "you've got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real."

Asked what made things different now, Biden stressed: "Women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt, if they come forward and say something happened to them."

"Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts," he added.

"The truth matters," he said. "These claims are not true."

President Donald Trump, who faces Biden in the November election, faced more than a dozen accusations of sexual harassment and assault before he became president.

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Donald Trump's new White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany held her first press briefing on Friday after more than 400 days without a scheduled press briefing by the Trump administration.

The last briefing was held by Sarah Sanders in March 2019, though the president has held his own free-wheeling briefings through the coronavirus pandemic and reporters scramble to get statements during Oval Office visits.

Before the president left the White House for Camp David for the weekend, his first extended departure from Washington since the coronavirus pandemic, the president revised his predictions for the nation's death toll, saying it will "hopefully" fall under 100,000.

He has previously claimed the death toll from Covid-19 would near 50,000 to 60,000, an estimate he later changed to 60,000 to 70,000.

By 1 May, nearly 65,000 people have died from illness related to the virus, and more than 1 million cases were confirmed in the US this week, accounting for roughly one-third of global cases.

Ms McEnany vowed to reporters she would never "lie" to the public while at the podium, though several claims were scrutinised moments later. She also addressed China, where the coronavirus is believe to have originated, and the "injustice" surrounding General Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI.

Earlier on Friday, the president teased reinstating disgraced general after calling the FBI dirty cops for investigating him.

Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has emphatically denied a historic sexual assault allegation against him, breaking his silence over the accusation as more people corroborate a former senate aide's account of an assault.

In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmers decision to extend lockdown measures led armed right-wing protesters to storm the state House in Lansing to demand an end to quarantine. The president subsequently praised protesters as very good people following their protest.

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Trump changes coronavirus deaths prediction to 'hopefully' under 100K

Trump to visit Mount Rushmore for Independence Day fireworks

Trump's new press secretary vows never to lie from podium

Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen has his early prison release rescinded

Trump calls Michigan lockdown protesters good people
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 14:52:18|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 1, 2020 shows a garbage sorting facility in Chaoyang District of Beijing, China. Beijing on Friday began to carry out mandatory garbage sorting in new efforts to protect the environment. With the city's newly revised household waste regulation taking effect, Beijing requires people to classify household waste into four categories: kitchen, recyclable, hazardous and other waste. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Beijing on Friday began to carry out mandatory garbage sorting in new efforts to protect the environment.

With the city's newly revised household waste regulation taking effect, Beijing requires people to classify household waste into four categories: kitchen, recyclable, hazardous and other waste.

On Friday, garbage trucks of four different colors started to hit the road. The colors represent four different types of garbages.

For example, on one of the blue garbage trucks are pictures of waste paper, pop cans, glass cups and clothes, indicating that the vehicle collects recyclable garbage.

Starting Friday, garbage bins of four different collecting purposes will be located in residential communities in Beijing.

The municipal comprehensive law-enforcing bureau of city administration is entitled to impose a fine from 1,000 yuan (around 142 U.S. dollars) to 50,000 yuan on organizations and from 50 yuan to 200 yuan on individuals in violation of the garbage sorting.

In 2019, Beijing's residential waste collection and transport volume was 10.116 million tonnes, with an average of 27,700 tonnes per day.

Garbage sorting practices have reached over 70 percent of housing estates in 18 cities, including Shanghai, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Enditem
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More than a hundred prison officers have formed a guard of honour for the first female prison officer to die of coronavirus.

Rachael Yates, 33, who suffered from asthma, worked at HMP Usk in Monmouthshire, Wales, for 18 months before contracting the deadly virus. She had left her desk job for the role.

Staff stood silently outside the prison today as Ms Yates' hearse passed with her heartbroken mother Julie Jacques and a family member bravely walking behind the vehicle.

Members of the public also came out to applaud Ms Yates as her hearse, which had flowers saying 'SIS' inside, passed through Usk before the coffin was taken by horse-drawn carriage to a cemetery, where only five people were allowed to attend.

Ms Jacques has slammed authorities over a lack of PPE for key workers, saying her daughter 'never had any protection'.

Five members of prison staff and 15 inmates have died from Covid-19 in the UK. Ms Yates was the fourth when she lost her life on April 21. Public Health England has admitted more than 2,000 prisoners may have caught the virus.

Rachael Yates, 33, died after contracting coronavirus as she continued to work at HMP Usk in Monmouthshire, Wales, during the coronavirus pandemic. Her hearse is pictured above passing the prison

Her mother Julie Jacques and a family member walked together behind the hearse as prison officers paid their last respects

The hearse is pictured above passing the prison. Ms Yates had 'loved' her job and had quit a desk job to work there

This message was seen in flowers inside the hearse. Flowers were also arranged in one window to spell out 'SIS'

Ms Yates had continued to work despite suffering from asthma. Five prison officers and 15 inmates have died from Covid-19

Grief-stricken Ms Jacques said before the procession: 'We must worry and care about our key workers, because these prison officers, along with many other people, never had any protection.

'And because of this I've lost my daughter at 33. Our light has been taken away.'

Criticising the availability of PPE, she said: 'Rachael said they were very careful with what they were doing in the prison.

'But like our nurses and doctors, they haven't got all they need and they should have it at their fingertips.'

She said Ms Yates knew she was vulnerable but continued going to work because she 'loved' her job and 'never wanted to let anybody down'.

'So, even if I'd said to her don't go to work, she would have said, "mum, I'm going".'

Her mother said 'the worst thing of all' was that the family had been unable to say goodbye to her daughter after she fell ill owing to restrictions.

'She was, and still is, the best ever daughter,' she said. 'Everybody loved her, and now the light's been taken from us. She was my best friend, not just my daughter.

'I just want people to be aware that this can happen to anybody, and they must remember social distancing. We should never be having these problems in our world in 2020.'

Her mother Ms Jacques is pictured walking behind the hearse with a family member. She has slammed authorities for failing to provide adequate PPE for her daughter

A prison officer is pictured shedding a tear as the hearse passes HMP Usk today. It was later taken to St Woolos Cemetery where only five family members could attend the burial

Mark Fairhurst, from the Prison Officers' Association, said her death 'highlights the risk that our brave prison officers face on a daily basis'.

Usk Prison is a Category C prison for vulnerable prisoners including many sex offenders. It has around 250 inmates.

The Prison Service said its deepest sympathies were with her loved ones and colleagues.

The Ministry of Justice said there were 'robust and flexible' plans in place to protect staff, with prisons working with public health and NHS services.

'Personal protective equipment is being provided to officers and all prisons have the soap and cleaning materials they need,' a spokesman said.

A man walked in front of the hearse as it silently made its way up the street and past the key workers. The government has been criticised for failing to prepare adequately for the pandemic and provide enough PPE to key workers

Ms Yates is pictured above. She died on April 21 after catching the virus. She had worked at the prison for 18 months

Ms Yates cemetery was held at 4pm in St Woolos Cemetery. Newport city council, where the cemetery is based, states on its website that a maximum of five immediate family members can attend a funeral.

Ministers have been repeatedly criticised for failing to order adequate PPE on time and for not investing to update their stockpile of protective equipment before the pandemic.

PPE, in some cases labelled as four years out of date, has been distributed to frontline workers amid reports of ongoing shortages in NHS hospitals and at care homes.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a wreath laying ceremony at a navy memorial in Vladivostok, Russia, on April 26, 2019. (Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo via Reuters)

North Korean Defector Apologizes After Saying Hes 99 Percent Sure Kim Jong Un Died

Update: A North Korean legislator and defector apologized on May 4 for his comments after Kim Jong Un re-emerged after a weekslong absence.

I am aware that one of the reasons why many of you voted for me as a lawmaker is with the expectations of an accurate analysis and projections on North Korean issues, Ji Seong-ho said in a statement to news outlets. I feel the blame and heavy responsibility.

He added: Whatever the reasons, I apologize to everyone.



A North Korean defector who became a legislator in South Korea claimed he is 99 percent sure that Kim Jong Un is dead, although he didnt reveal where he obtained that information.

Ji Seong-ho, who earned a proportional representation seat on April 15, said he is sure of Kims death, adding that Pyongyang might make an announcement later in the week.

Ive wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. Ive been informed that Kim died last weekend, Ji told South Koreas Yonhap News Agency.

It is not 100 percent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99 percent Ji added. North Korea is believed to be grappling with a complicated succession issue, he said.

Ji didnt reveal the source for his information, and his claim cant be verified independently. North Korea, amid swirling rumors about the despots health, has not issued any public statements about Kim, who has not been seen in public for several weeks and missed founder Kim Il Sungs birthday celebration.

North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un supervises a military drill in North Korea, in this photo supplied by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 10, 2019. (KCNA via Reuters)

In the interview, Ji speculated that Kims sister, Kim Yo Jong, will likely succeed him as ruler of the country, possibly becoming the first female ruler of the isolated, communist nation.

Over the weekend, South Korean officials said Kim is alive and in charge of the country.

On Sunday, Chung-in Moon, a foreign policy adviser to South Koreas President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News: Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well.

Kim, 36, has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13, Moon said at the time, adding that no suspicious movements have so far been detected.

Moon was responding to several Asian news outlets claims that Kim is either in a vegetative state or dead.

Reports had said that Kim underwent surgery on April 12.

When it comes to North Korea, you can never be too sure until you hear the news from the country itself, said David Maxwell, a North Korea specialist at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, according to the New York Post. But its worth noting that there are 6.5 million smartphones in North Korea now and even though the coverage is within the country, information has a way of getting out faster now than it did in the past.
Workplace safety inspectors are conducting nearly 200 coronavirus-related investigations to determine whether employers failed to adequately protect their workers, according to data from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Half involve employee deaths or hospitalizations.

The inspections target nearly 50 hospitals and two dozen nursing homes, including one in Joliet, Illinois, where administrators believe an infected maintenance worker spread the virus room to room. Twenty-four residents died, along with a nursing assistant and the maintenance worker himself.

Also under review: a school system garage in Lexington, Kentucky, where 17 employees tested positive and one died; a meatpacking plant in Dakota City, Nebraska, where the widow of a deceased employee said he kept working after getting sick so he could get incentive pay; and two Native American schools in Arizona that reportedly stayed open after others shut down and where two employees died.

In all, OSHA officials are reviewing workplaces in two dozen states with a total of 96,000 employees, according to USA TODAY's analysis.

OSHA has been under fire for not doing enough to protect workers amid the pandemic. State and federal OSHA offices have fielded thousands of coronavirus-related complaints since January, according to records released last week.

In recent weeks OSHA also has uploaded data detailing inspections that were launched by federal and state officials and refer to COVID-19. They reveal which inspections are being conducted at what companies.

A total of 192 COVID-19-related inspections were launched between Feb. 19 and April 23. Many were triggered by complaints that employees were in danger, had been hospitalized or died. Five cases have since been closed; the rest were open, according to data released Tuesday.

Coronavirus cases undercounted? Spike in US deaths and cases flagged as pneumonia suggests even greater COVID-19 impact

Coronavirus live updates: Pandemic could last 2 years, report says; some state lockdowns wind down; Trump pushes Chi

Story continues

Unions say oversight of workplace safety is weak

Labor unions say the federal workplace safety agency isn't doing enough. The AFL-CIO, which represents more than 12 million workers, sent a scathing letter Tuesday to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who oversees OSHA, accusing the agency of being too lenient and slow.

For all workers, the toll of COVID-19 infections and deaths is mounting and will increase even more rapidly as workers return to work without necessary safety and health protections, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka wrote in the letter, which listed dozens of members who have died from the virus.

He faulted the agency for not doing more inspections, not issuing citations and releasing only voluntary coronavirus safety guidelines. Without government oversight and enforcement, too many employers are disregarding safety and health standards, he wrote.

Under federal law, OSHA has jurisdiction over most workplaces in the country. It can issue regulations and enforce them with inspections, citations and legal actions.

Twenty-six states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have their own OSHA offices that work under the authority of the federal agency. State workplace standards can't be weaker than federal ones.

In a response to Trumka released by the Department of Labor on Thursday, Scalia disputed the union's assertions and argued that when it comes to workplace safety, "the cop is on the beat."

In a statement provided to USA TODAY, OSHA said it has been acting to protect Americas workers by providing extensive guidance to employers and workers on COVID-19 response. As of Wednesday, it said more than 200 COVID-related inspections have been launched.

OSHA declined to comment on specific inspections because the cases remain open. The agency continues to field and respond to complaints, and will take the steps needed to address unsafe workplaces, including enforcement action, as warranted.

Shocking and disheartening: OSHA faces criticism for failing to protect workers amid the coronavirus outbreak

A barrage of workplace safety complaints

Nearly 4,000 coronavirus-related complaints were filed with federal and state OSHA offices between Feb. 24 and April 6. OSHA withheld the names of employers and other details in about 3,100 because those cases are open.

More than one in four complaints involved health care facilities, where problems included a lack of masks, respirators and other protective gear. Some complainants said employers didnt notify staff when coworkers tested positive or allowed people suspected of having the virus to keep working.

Many of the other industries represented in the complaints are those deemed essential while other workplaces have been shut down, including public safety, transportation, food services and manufacturing.

Former OSHA officials say it probably investigated many complaints by phone and by asking for documents rather than conducting in-person inspections, according to the agency's guidelines meant to minimize exposure for OSHA inspectors.

Theyre trying to call the employer up and resolve these through the phone, said John Newquist, a former OSHA assistant regional administrator. "They're not going outside to do these complaints because they have their own people ... at risk."

He said inspectors would ask employers about their plans, what sort of personal protective equipment they provide, whether they're practicing social distancing and similar questions.

OSHA said it is enforcing standards for personal protective gear and sanitation as well as an overarching federal law that requires employers to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Each investigation is conducted at the local level by an agency area office, and is determined on its own merits, the agency said. A case can be handled through an investigation or formal inspection.

The inspection records do not detail what triggered the reviews, but relatives, companies and media accounts offer some details.

A coronavirus 'super-spreader'

Two dozen nursing homes are under OSHA review following employee hospitalizations and deaths. One is Symphony of Joliet in Illinois, where 24 residents and two staffers died.

In a letter to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week, Symphony Care Networks CEO said administrators believe an infected maintenance worker unwittingly spread the virus at the nursing home.

At the beginning of the crisis, in response to the orders to limit gatherings of people, a dedicated and hard-working maintenance employee set up dining tables in every Joliet patients room so that they would be able to take meals there instead of in our communal cafeteria setting, CEO David Hartman wrote in the letter, which was provided to USA TODAY.

He worked diligently and, by all accounts, exerted himself in order to serve our residents, visiting more than 40 rooms in a single day. Unfortunately, although he was asymptomatic, he was also carrying the COVID-19 virus and, through his visit to all of these rooms and his physical exertion, he was an example of ... a 'super-spreader.'"

The unnamed worker was one of two employees who died. The other was nursing assistant Sandra Green, 57, who died after struggling for 24 days on a ventilator, the Joliet Herald-News reported. Her daughters alleged there weren't enough masks and gowns at the nursing home.

Hartman said in his letter the company has created a crisis team and has sought advice from public health experts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He said the company is undertaking massive precautions that include protective gear and screenings of staff and patients twice a day.

Elderly at risk: At least 2,300 nursing homes have coronavirus cases  and the reality is likely much worse

OSHA inspectors are reviewing workplace safety at Marion Regional Nursing Home in Hamilton, Alabama, where Rose Harrison had been a registered nurse for 30 years when COVID-19 arrived last month.

Jessica Black, Harrisons daughter, said in an interview with USA TODAY that masks were not required and her mom wound up working for five days with a slight fever and cough. She said her mother even administered COVID-19 tests to patients and colleagues while ill.

"They told her unless she had a fever of 104 she was expected to work because she was a team leader, Black said.

Officials with Marion Regional Medical Center did not respond to requests for comment.

Harrison was hospitalized hours after leaving work on April 3. She died three days later. "I am devastated," Black said.

Rose Harrison, 60, a nurse at Marion Regional Nursing Home in Hamilton, Alabama, died April 6, 2020.

Putting their lives on the line

Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, is one of 38 hospitals that are being inspected after workers were hospitalized or died. Registered nurse Celia Yap Banago, 69, became ill after caring for a coronavirus patient in March. She died April 21, a week short of her planned retirement.

Her co-workers complained about a shortage of masks, gowns, face shields and other protective equipment. A nurses union memorialized Yap Bonago during a protest outside the White House the day after she died.

No nurse, no health care worker, should have to put their lives, their health, and their safety at risk for the failure of hospitals and our elected leaders to provide the protection they need, National Nurses United Executive Director Bonnie Castillo said.

Research Medical Center spokeswoman Christine Hamele said in a statement that hospital officials are heartbroken by Yap Banagos death, have adhered to federal guidelines for protective equipment, and are cooperating with OSHAs review.

Three medical centers run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are among those being inspected after worker deaths. They are in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Indianapolis, where three employees have died from the virus.

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 260,000 VA workers, has complained about shortfalls in protective gear and employee testing. It filed a complaint with OSHA in March.

Across the country, the VA says, 2,227 workers have contracted the virus and 20 have died.

VA spokeswoman Christina Noel said that's a fraction of the workforce and a smaller proportion than other health care systems.

We welcome OSHA oversight, but the fact is that VAs employee safety practices have helped limit Veterans Health Administration COVID-19 employee infection rates, she said.

'They did not care about us'

OSHA has launched an investigation into Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, Kentucky, where bus driver Eugenia Higgins Weathers died April 4 after contracting COVID-19.

Shacora Faulkner, Weathers daughter and a bus driver herself, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that bus drivers likely caught the disease in a crowded break room.

She complained that school system officials didnt implement precautions after Gov. Andy Beshear called for social distancing, and they failed to quickly notify employees about exposure.

Fayette County did not protect us, Faulkner said. Honestly, I feel like they did not care about us.

School officials told The Courier-Journal they took precautions beginning in the latter half of March. Hand sanitizer was distributed and employees were told not to congregate in common areas.

In Arizona, OSHA is investigating a pair of rural boarding schools run by the Bureau of Indian Education after people complained they remained open amid the outbreak.

Workers put up a billboard that advertises the Navajo Nation's "stay at home" order as well as practice social distancing in response to COVID-19.

Given away by the school buses: Did failure to close a school expose more people to the coronavirus in Navajo communities?

Laverne Bitsui, a longtime teacher at Rocky Ridge Boarding School near Hardrock, Arizona, died on March 23, though her family told the Navajo Times its unclear if she had coronavirus.

As far as her sickness, she was sick, but we dont know how bad, a family spokesperson told the Times. I think she was trying to be positive about it, trying not to get herself scared  I guess we were not expecting this. She did tell us that other employees are infected  and now theyre passing it on to their families.

The Times reported that a staffer at Tuba City Boarding School, about an hour's drive away, passed away two weeks later.

The Bureau of Indian Education did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Incentives to stay on the front line

OSHA is investigating a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in Dakota City, Nebraska, where line worker Raymundo Corral died from COVID-19 on April 18. The meat-processing industry has been racked by the coronavirus.

Corrals common-law wife, Anna Bell, told the Sioux City Journal he continued working after reporting symptoms, in part, because of an incentive program that paid $500 to workers who did not miss shifts.

People wanted that $500, Bell said. I would say (to Tyson Foods), it would have been great if you would have treated your employees like human beings instead of just assets.

Coronavirus hits the food supply: Meat shortages expected as coronavirus disrupts production, despite executive order

Tyson Foods said in a statement that the company was deeply saddened by the loss of a team member from our Dakota City plant and are keeping the family in our thoughts and prayers.

Tyson cooperates with all OSHA inspections," the company said, but it doesn't comment on them.

Subsidiary Tyson Fresh Meats announced Wednesday that it is pausing operations at the plant to allow for deep cleaning.

Contributing: Steve Suo

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus at work: Were employees protected? OSHA is investigating
If Nolan Inside Hydebank proves nothing else, it's that people are ready to talk about something other than the coronavirus.

The three-part documentary, filmed inside the young offenders' institution in south Belfast, was must-see television, the sort of programme which, having watched one instalment, makes it impossible not to watch the rest in one sitting, not least because it showed the BBC radio and TV presenter in a far less pugnacious light than usual.

Stephen Nolan has always been an empathetic ear for people who are suffering, or on their uppers, through no fault of their own; but he's generally tougher on those who make their communities' lives a misery through their criminal behaviour.

This time, he let his guard down and allowed the inmates to do the talking. The result was eye-opening, perhaps mind-opening, too.

It will have changed the attitude of many people in Northern Ireland towards offenders, for whom it's traditionally a case of "out of sight, out of mind" - and rightly so.

It would take a heart of stone not to feel for some of them. Many had suffered dreadful childhoods of neglect and abuse, or were self harming to "show remorse" for what they'd done.

Only one of the inmates featured in the programme was truly unrepentant. The others, with various levels of articulacy, expressed regret at what they'd done, if only because they knew that, if they continued on the same path, then it would be Maghaberry next and that was a very different regime to Hydebank.

It was obvious that Nolan was deeply affected by the stories he heard. William Boyd was jailed after an infamous video of him as a 17-year-old taking part in an attack on a young woman on the seafront in Bangor went viral, featuring prominently on Nolan's Radio Ulster show.

He's now determined to make amends, but realises it won't be easy convincing those who don't know him that he's not the person they saw on that horrifying video.

Nolan, in turn, felt bad if he had in any way made the situation worse; and it didn't take long for him to move from presenting these young men as human beings who'd made mistakes and should be helped back on the straight and narrow to going further and insisting that they were "nice people".

It's understandable if that went down badly with some watching at home. The father of one victim told Nolan on radio this week that "they're only sorry because they were caught".

He has a point. One had beaten an autistic student so badly that he'd been in a coma for three months. He was originally charged with attempted murder, before it was downgraded to grievous bodily harm, and insisted that he wouldn't, indeed couldn't, do such a thing ever again; but we can only take the inmates' word for it that they've changed. It's impossible to know for sure.

All were aged between 18 and 21 and young men in those years can cause a lot of damage and grief to those who get in their way. Indeed, right at the start, viewers were told that "their offences range from theft to murder".

That's one hell of a range; and while they may have had hard lives, were they any harder than those of the victims who suffered at their hands?

That's the thing. The young men in Hydebank may be poor, traumatised, neglected - but so are their victims. In fact, those who end up in prison overwhelmingly do so after targeting and victimising other, equally deprived, members of their own community.

That's why communist philosopher Karl Marx himself was so unsympathetic to those he condemned as "discharged convicts, swindlers, charlatans, pickpockets, tricksters, gamblers, procurers, (and) brothel keepers". Russian revolutionary Lenin went even further, decrying such people as "degenerate and unemployable", and saw no other solution than to lock them up indefinitely.

That sounds heartless, but it's an opinion that finds many an echo in working-class communities. When you don't have much to begin with, there's little sympathy for those who make your life even harder.

Nolan said the young men behind bars in Hydebank were just asking for a "second chance"; but the truth is that they've already been given one. They have release dates and know what they need to do to stay out of trouble in future.

Given the challenges they face, that won't be easy, but there are plenty of other people in the same desperate, sinking boat who've never made the same bad choices and who've hurt no one and they deserve more credit for it.

Hydebank's not so bad, after all. The cells are cramped and a bit grotty, but they're no worse than many bedsits that people who never got into trouble have lived in at various times in their lives.

The prisoners have televisions, toiletries, 'munchies'. One even admitted it was "like a big youth club".

It's about finding the balance between acknowledging the social stresses that lead to crime and never forgetting who the real victims are.

That has obvious relevance to the seemingly endless legacy debate about how to respect the victims of terrorism.

For years, the usual suspects have indulged in equally persuasive arguments about why those who suffered tragedy, hardship and injustice took up the gun; but, ultimately, that was their choice, too.

Society didn't "make" them do it any more than it made the young men in Hydebank commit crimes of violence.

It's in everyone's interests that they get the help they need for their problems. As the programme said, 59% of Hydebank inmates reoffend within a year of release.

But holding out a helping hand shouldn't be allowed to become an exercise in making excuses for the inexcusable.

Some of the young men are, unfortunately, not averse to that, even if they don't realise they're doing it.

One, who stabbed a next-door neighbour during a row, had taken 10 Xanax tablets in the run-up to the incident and woke up in a cell subsequently not knowing where he was, or remembering what he'd done.

"If I wasn't on drugs," he said, "I wouldn't have done it." Maybe so, but he did do it, and regret doesn't change the past.

The moral issues raised by Nolan Inside Hydebank will take a while to unpack thoroughly. Most of all, though, it was a daunting reminder of the many messes in Northern Ireland that still need fixed, from poor mental health and social deprivation to educational inequality and defective parenting.

There's the running sore of drug abuse most of all. That was the linking thread of many of these tragedies.

Unhappily, unlike Covid-19, there's no prospect of a vaccine against that scourge.
We shall fight them on the beaches 

As Americans wrestle with how to emerge from weeks of social-distancing restrictions, tensions are building between those who remain desperate to suppress the coronavirus and those who are desperate to get out of the house. And the nations beaches have become a flash point.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California stepped in to shut down the beaches in Orange County after pictures were published showing them packed last weekend with swimmers and sunbathers obviously ignoring official pleas to keep a safe distance apart.

Part of the trouble: Orange County opened its beaches while those in neighboring Los Angeles and San Diego were still off-limits, so crowds came from all three counties.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted pressure even from the White House to close all his states beaches, insisting that decisions should be made locally. The state drew heavy criticism for failing to stop swarms of young people from congregating for spring break when the coronavirus was spreading out of control.
When fashion designers Jin Kay, Dylan Cao, and Huy Luong met two years ago, they were all getting different commissions for work at various brands. After winning the prestigious Kering Prize at Parsons, Kay had put in time at Gucci in Rome and Narciso Rodriguez in New York; Cao was an alumnus of 3.1 Phillip Lim and the denim label R13. When the three found that they shared a visual language, they decided to commission their own work. "It was time to commission something for ourselves," said Luong. "For our culture."

And so they created the label Commission, a brand that feels flawless in nearly every respect except for the fact that it's nearly un-Googleable (Luong described the name as a "cheeky" nod to freelance work in fashion). Commission, which currently sells exclusively on Net-A-Porter, traffics in sharp, unfussy clothing born of the specific sort of late '80s and '90s nostalgia that feels so very 2019: leather trousers and Neo coats, zebra print turtlenecks, a cobalt skirt suit. They're the sort of clothes that, depending on the styling, you could see on either Miranda Hobbes or Adriana La Cerva.

Gallery workers should take note. When I showed the brand to art-world friends who spend their days searching for the perfect leather blazer in Upper East Side consignment shops, there were audible gasps of joy.

Kay, Cao, and Luong work from a highly personal point of inspiration: their mothers. Kay grew up in Korea, while Cao and Luong hail from Vietnam. "We're first-generation immigrants to the US," said Cao. "So around the time that we started there was this conversation we wanted to have, about Asian, especially East Asian, culture and representation in the visual world, and especially in the fashion industry. And for a long time we found it really limiting, and really literal."

When looking at family photos, all three designers realized that their mothers styled themselves in a similar manner to go to work in the late '80s and early '90s, dressing with the same "visual code," as Cao put it.

"The '80s and '90s, that's sort of a period when not a lot of people talk about Asia, because there's less to romanticize [than ancient artworks and clothing ]" he continued. "By then there were a lot of Western influences in the way people dressed in Asia. Growing up we'd see our parents go to work and tweak the Western-style codes in their own way. And just looking at our moms and the way they dressed  the big suits, the shoulder pads, the pants  but adding their own personal flares to the way they styled the clothes, that's what kind of connected us."

"The '80s and '90s, that's sort of a period when not a lot of people talk about Asia, because there's less to romanticize."

He concluded, "Not a lot of brands have spoken about that period of time. It's really personal to us, so I think that was a good, pivotal point to start a brand from."

Details on Commission garments speak to that specific inspiration. Skirts and dresses are ruched at the sides to evoke a commute via motorbike in Vietnam; pencil skirts evoke the outfits Kay's mother, a physician, would wear under a lab coat.

"For spring we wanted to focus more on a silhouette that was our moms' going to work  hiked up skirts and dresses for riding motorcycles," said Kay. "For the fall collection, it's more about after work. The silhouettes became a little more feminine, and the fabrication became more fluid. Silhouettes are elongated, and jackets are more shrunken."

Cao added, "The overall mood is sort of darker [for fall]. We're thinking about the mom after hours. She picked up her kids, put them to bed, and now she's having her own time and going out. It's very much still that office, corporate-looking mom, but done in a more humorous and spicy way."

Commission, at first blush, looks clean, crisp, and flattering (their signature shirt is even constructed with elastic detail on the back, to give the wearer a cinched waist). But as Kay put it, the designers are "injecting humor and modern details" in vintage-inspired clothing.

"The sense of nostalgia in our collection is a really common thing that a lot of cultures share," said Cao. "A lot of people we meet who grew up in places like India or Eastern Europe see it and get it in their own way." As the saying goes, the most personal is also the most universal.
A LOCAL nursing home has confirmed that Covid-19 has been diagnosed among residents and staff. In response to a query submitted to Athlunkard Nursing Home in Wesbury last week by the Limerick Leader, a statement was issued to the paper this week outlining that management have been engaging directly with the HSE on a consultative basis over the past three weeks and that this process is ongoing.

In conjunction with the relevant authorities a specialised plan to provide appropriate health care to residents and staff has been implemented. Covid-19 presents considerable challenges for our nursing home and nursing homes across Ireland, reads the statement.

The nursing home management say that they have been fortunate from the outset to be able to provide complete individual isolation to each resident within the facility.

Our complete management team is in place. Additional staff surplus to our normal requirements have been put in place to reflect the additional care needs at this time.

The Limerick Leader contacted management at the nursing home last week after concerns were raised about the presence of Covid-19 at the care facility.

Our residents remain our priority and are being cared for appropriately. Their health and wellbeing is our foremost concern, continues the statement.

We take this opportunity to thank our staff and the extended community for their fantastic commitment and dedication. During this difficult time, we remain committed to providing residents with the best possible care. We ask the media to respect the privacy of the residents and staff during this difficult time and we will not be commenting further.

We are taking all appropriate measures and our management, staff, colleagues and partners continue as always to rise to the challenge to look after our residents and one another. We extend our best wishes to all residents and staff in the sector at this difficult time, the statement concludes.
For nearly 20 years, Strawberry Fields has been the womens clothing boutique that offered something extra.

Fashion that is cutting-edge. Accessories that are plentiful. Products from New York and Chicago. And professional help to choose an entire outfit for a special occasion.

But after building a strong following and enjoying years of success in her small boutique in downtown Lake Geneva, store owner Shari Straube is ready to call it quits.

Citing changes in the retail business environment and her own personal health issues, Straube is planning a going-out-of-business sale at Strawberry Fields.

The move is unrelated to the current coronavirus pandemic or its impact on business owners forced to cease operations temporarily. Straube said she made her decision to close before the public health crisis hit.

A cancer survivor, Straube, 54, says she no longer feels it is worth the stress of trying to both compete with online shopping and sell contemporary fashion to customers whose tastes now gravitate increasingly toward sweatpants and T-shirts.

As much as I love what I do and love being part of downtown, it really isnt healthy for me, she said. For my health, I need to move on.

For the business climate in downtown Lake Geneva, the loss of Strawberry Fields means more just an empty storefront.

Fellow store owners say that the small boutique at 707 N. Main St. represents a throwback to bygone days when independent retailers hustled to stay ahead of the trends, and worked to attract shoppers off the street.

Sean Payne, manager of nearby Clear Water Outdoor LLC, said he was always impressed that Straube was able to build a loyal following among local residents as much as out-of-town tourists.

Its kind of that small-town, old-school, shopper-owner experience, Payne said. Shes seen a lot of changes over the years.

Regular customers are distraught that Strawberry Fields soon will be no more.

Sloan Sullivan of Fontana said she has been shopping there for years, after being drawn in by Straubes upbeat personality and falling in love with the stores products and service.

Sullivan, who also later worked at the store, recalls seeing Straube head out for New York or Chicago to be sure she offered Lake Geneva shoppers the best and latest in fashion. Sullivan said customers knew they could accessorize at Strawberry Fields, too, and if necessary, get help completing their look for a wedding or other occasion.

Sullivan called it the head-to-toe look, always with the highest quality.

I dont own a T-shirt, she said. And thats all because of Strawberry Fields.

Straube was living in Richmond, Illinois, and working at a clothing retailer in the Chicago area in 2001 when she decided to explore the idea of opening her own store. When she visited Lake Geneva and asked Keefe Real Estate about possible locations, it turned out a storefront was available next door to Keefes offices.

Straube signed the lease and opened Strawberry Fields on May 1 of that year.

She filled the 1,100-square-foot showroom with womens clothing, shoes, accessories and more, striving to showcase lesser-known brands for shoppers who were looking for something new.

Neighboring store owner Kevin Fleming of Flemings Ltd. said he marveled at Straubes ability to build a rapport with her customers and to maintain an inventory unlike what other stores were offering.

It was all about something different, he said. It was all about something special.

Six months after opening the store, Straube moved to Lake Geneva with her husband, child psychologist Chris Straube. The couple has a teenage daughter, and Straube is currently halfway through her second term as a member of the Lake Geneva City Council.

When she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018, her husband urged her to consider selling Strawberry Fields. But she found that working at the store and keeping busy was good therapy.

Still, operating as an independent clothing store has grown more difficult over the years, she said, particularly as customers embrace online shopping and as fashion tastes drift away from high-end fashion.

What I do is kind of running its course, she said.

An unexpected offer earlier this year persuaded Straube it was time to close her doors.

A woman inquired about whether the store was for sale, and a deal began to take shape. Straube remembers feeling great relief at the thought of getting out of the business. So when the sale fell through, she decided it was time to call it quits, anyway.

A few weeks later, the coronavirus pandemic rocked the business world, forcing Strawberry Fields and others to close their doors temporarily to help control spread of the virus. Straube is now working to sell off her remaining inventory, and if necessary, she will hold a going-out-of-business sale once the virus threat has passed.

She worries about whether other small downtown store owners can weather the storm of the pandemic disruption.

Im glad I made the decision when I did, she said. I certainly didnt see any of this coming.

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Healthcare workers attend to a foreign worker at a dormitory in Singapore on 29 April. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 932 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of Friday (1 May), bringing the total to 17,101.

A 60-year-old Singaporean man died on the same day from COVID-19 complications, bringing the death toll in Singapore from the coronavirus to 16.

The ministry also identified seven additional clusters, including a new cluster at Tuas South incineration plant (98 Tuas South Avenue 3) with eight cases.

The other clusters are at Joo Koon Lodge (68 Joo Koon Circle) with 10 cases, 19 Kian Teck Road with eight cases, 12 Tuas Place with eight cases, 15 Tuas View Square with 72 cases, 20 Sungei Kadut Avenue with 15 cases, and 148 Woodlands Industrial Park E5 with 21 cases.

Of the 932 new cases, 905, or over 97 per cent, are foreign workers living in dorms.

The remainder are 16 foreign workers living outside dorms, and 11 in the community comprising five Singaporeans/permanent residents and six work pass holders.

(TABLES: New and cumulative COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of 1 May 2020/Ministry of Health)

The number of new cases in the community has fallen from an average of 25 cases per day in the week before to an average of 12 per day in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also fallen from an average of 16 cases per day in the week before to an average of six per day in the past week.

The number of new cases among work permit holders residing outside dormitories has dropped from an average of 27 cases per day in the week before to an average of 14 per day in the past week.

Of the new cases, 30 per cent are unlinked and pending contact tracing.

Two cases: NUH housekeepers

Two Malaysian men who are employed as housekeepers at National University Hospital (NUH) were confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 28 April.

One of them (case 15259), 28, who is warded at NUH, had gone to work prior to hospital admission.

The other man (case 15700), 24, who is warded at Singapore General Hospital, had not gone to work since onset of symptoms.

Discharged cases

Another 24 confirmed cases have been discharged, bringing the total of fully recovered patients to 1,268.

Story continues

There are currently 1,764 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most of whom are stable or improving. As of Friday, 23 are in the intensive care unit.

A total of 14,053 with mild symptoms but still have the infection are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

More than 50 clusters linked to foreign worker dormitories have been identified thus far, including Singapores largest cluster linked to S11 Dormitory@Punggol, followed by Tuas View Dormitory and Sungei Tengah Lodge.

The three are among the 25 dorms that have been gazetted as isolation areas. Some 300,000 foreign workers live in dorms here in Singapore.

As of 27 April, the ministry has conducted 143,919 swab tests, of which 99,929 were done on unique individuals.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Related stories:

COVID-19: 102-year-old woman is Singapore's oldest coronavirus survivor

COVID-19: Singapore to build care, recovery facilities in some dorms for infected foreign workers

COVID-19: Over 10m meals to have been served to foreign workers in Singapore by this weekend

COVID-19: Workers on involuntary no-pay leave for 3 months can get up to $800 p/m over same period

COVID-19 to have major long-term impact on Singapores economy: PM Lee
It wasnt until after Haynes died April 22 that Petty and her sister Kathy Watson-Evans said they learned from staff at Edward Hospital there were dozens of cases of COVID-19 at Alden Estates of Naperville. Families of residents at the nursing home say communication has been lacking while the number of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 80. The 11 deaths at the facility are more than any nursing home in Naperville, according to state data.
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Hungarys practice of keeping asylum seekers in a closed transit zone on the border with Serbia qualifies as unlawful detention, according to an nonbinding opinion issued Thursday by a senior official at the European Unions highest court.

Over the past few years, Hungary has introduced increasingly tough anti-immigration measures and built transit zones made out of shipping containers in the wake of the 2015 migration crisis, when some 400,000 people passed through the country on their way to Western Europe.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban boasted recently that there is not a single Muslim migrant in Hungary.

Priit Pikamae, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, was critical Thursday of several anti-immigration rules applied by Hungary, including one which makes it possible to reject asylum applications from anyone arriving from Serbia.

Because Serbia refuses to take back asylum seekers rejected by Hungary, Hungary often seeks to have them deported to their countries of origin instead of judging their claims on merit.

Pikamae also found that asylum seekers in the transit zone are in a situation of isolation and a high degree of restriction of the freedom of movement ... to such an extent that is constitutes detention.

Since Hungary has not complied with European directives for the detention of asylum seekers, the detention of the asylum seekers in question must be classified as unlawful.

Pikmae noted that while a recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights found that the detention of asylum seekers did not constitute a deprivation of the right to liberty and security, he recommended that the Court of Justice of the European Union offer a higher level of protection to asylum seekers in the Hungarian transit zone than what is guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

The EUs Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, is beginning its deliberations over the case. While it is not forced to follow the opinion of the Advocate General, the courts rulings are often similar to the opinions.

Reacting to Thursdays opinion, Hungarys justice minister insisted that the countrys regulations and practices comply with EU and international law.

The Hungarian government will continue to protect the borders of Hungary and Europe and will do its utmost to prevent the formation of international migrant corridors, Judit Varga said in a Facebook post.

A lawyer with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, which advocates for the rights of asylum seekers and has been a frequent target of government smear campaigns, welcomed Pikmaes recommendations.

The opinion gives hope to people who have been detained in the transit zones for a very long time, half of whom are children, that Hungary will not only examine their asylum applications on their merit but that they also may regain their liberty, Barbara Poharnok said in a statement.
The major financial center of Milan boasts a number of tall buildings, many of which function as office space for firms like UniCredit and Allianz.

While the city may be the corporate hub of Italy, it is also home to the Bosco Verticale, or Vertical Forest, a residential development of two visually striking towers that stand 80 and 112 meters high.

Located in the Porta Nuova area of Milan, the clue to what makes the Bosco Verticale scheme unique is in the name: its exterior is covered in plants and trees.

"We have here 21,000 plants, basically," Stefano Boeri, the architect behind the design, told CNBC's "Sustainable Energy."

"It's 200, 250 trees, 4,500 shrubs of different size and 15,000 plants of different dimensions and nature," he added.

"It's the equivalent of three hectares  30,000 square meters  of  forest (on)  a very small surface of an urban center, of a super dense urban environment."

Completed in 2014, a number of firms, including Arup Italia, were involved in the project's development.

According to Boeri's architecture practice, Stefano Boeri Architetti, the buildings' "green curtain" can generate oxygen, regulate humidity and absorb carbon dioxide and microparticles.

The building has also attracted wildlife. "It is a very complex ecosystem of humans, plants, insects, birds," Boeri said. "We have more than 20 species of birds that are nesting."

While authorities in Milan recently announced a target of planting 3 million trees by the year 2030, the idea of greening cities with trees and plants is not new. From New York to London and Paris to Tokyo, parks have long been used to provide city dwellers with fresh air, space to exercise and a place to relax and unwind.

"To improve the quality of life in the city of Milan we need more forest, more trees in the city, outside the city," Damiano di Simine, scientific co-ordinator at Legambiente, an environmental organization, told CNBC.

"We need to build, now, (a) green belt all around Milan and also within the city  to have more fresh air, to remove pollution," he added.

The drive to increase the amount of green space people can access has resulted in a number of innovative, transformative projects in cities around the world.

These include New York City's High Line, which converted an elevated rail line into a public park. A similar scheme is the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project in Seoul, South Korea, which saw an elevated highway demolished and an underground waterway restored to create a green, pedestrian-friendly corridor.

While the goal of increasing the number of trees in cities is laudable, there are several factors that need to be considered before embarking on mass plantings.

"I think it's very important that trees are given space," Cecil Konijnendijk, from the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Forestry, told CNBC.

"We know that soil  what we call soil volume  is really important, so the trees have to have space underground, maybe even more so than over ground," he added.

"And then of course trees will have to have time to develop, so you won't have instant trees. You'll have to take the time to make sure they grow up and then they provide the benefits that we want to get from them."
ALBANY  In 2004, Loudonville businessman Alexander Salvagno received 25 years in federal prison for environmental crimes that exposed hundreds of workers to cancer-causing asbestos.

On April 23, Salvagno received a compassionate release from prison because he risked exposure to COVID-19.

That ironic twist made Salvagno, 64, the latest federal inmate to ask for early release due to the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 60,000 Americans. Depending on a federal judge's interpretation of rules that govern the potential release of prisoners for compassionate release, an inmate might be granted release  or be rejected.

Salvagno, who with his father, Raul, was convicted in one of the most serious environmental crimes in U.S. history, now joins an eclectic list of inmates released early from federal prison because of the pandemic. The roster includes Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, who was released from a three-year-sentence for tax evasion, false statements to a bank and campaign finance violation; ex- state Senate leader Dean Skelos, who will complete his 51-month sentence for political corruption at home; and Carl Logan, 59, whose more than 12-year sentence for a cocaine trafficking conspiracy was commuted on April 22 in Albany.

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Admittedly, (Salvagno) has a significant amount of time remaining on his sentence, stated Senior U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn, who released Salvagno. Kahn highlighted the Danbury, Conn. prison where Salvagno was staying for particularly serious problems controlling the spread of COVID-19.

Twenty-six staffers and 18 inmates in the Danbury prison have been infected with COVID-19. One inmate died, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Nationwide, 1,534 federal inmates in BOP-managed institutions and 10,552 in community facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus. The BOP website said 343 staffers have tested positive. Of those, 444 inmates and 132 staffers have recovered.

Thirty-one inmates have died from the virus.

Federal inmates can request compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons under the First Step Act, which Trump signed into law in 2018. The decision had previously been entirely up to the prison system. Now inmates can ask a judge for their compassionate release but only after they exhaust those efforts. The BOP must have already considered and denied the defendants motion  or 30 days must have lapsed from when the warden received the request,.

That's according to U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, who presided over Skelos case.

In ordinary circumstances, a lapse of 30 days before an inmate may seek judicial recourse is exceptionally quick, Wood wrote in an April 12 decision. However, todays circumstances are not ordinary. Infection from COVID-19 spreads so quickly, and, for many, carries such lethality, that 30 days can mean the difference between life and death.

In her ruling, Wood did not mince words.

Jails and prison are powder kegs for infection, she stated. People in jails and prisons cannot practice social distancing, control their exposure to large groups, practice increased hygiene, wear protective clothing, obtain specific products for cleaning and laundry, avoid frequently touched surfaces, or sanitize their own environment.

The judge deferred to the BOP when the former senator requested compassionate release. The Bureau of Prisons released Skelos, 72, on Tuesday. His home confinement began Thursday.

"Judges now are responding to traditional compassionate release requests from elderly and sick people, but there is more urgency because of COVID-19," said Kevin Ring, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a prisoner advocacy group. "Other people, who likely wouldnt have sought compassionate release during normal times, are applying because they are reading stories about how badly this disease affects even healthy people."

Some inmates have been less successful than others in getting out.

On April 8, Bobbie Joe Brown, a 44-year-old woman serving a three-year sentence for conspiring to traffic methamphetamines in central New York, asked Senior U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue for compassionate release from her federal lock-up in Philadelphia. Brown noted she suffered a 2018 heart attack, has high blood pressure and is a non-violent offender.

"We live in a tight community where social distancing is near impossible," Brown wrote the judge.

On April 21, the same day Salvagno was released, Mordue rejected Brown, noting she had not exhausted her attempts through the prison system.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

On April 16, Mordue issued a similar rejection to Donald Geiss, a 44-year-old inmate at the Canaan federal prison in Pennsylvania. He was sentenced in December to five years and five months for a sophisticated fraud scheme.

On March 30, lawyers for Gregory Kurzajcyzk, 73, a Greene County man serving a six-year sentence in Danbury for possessing and distributing child pornography, asked U.S. District Judge Mae D'Agostino for release to home confinement given the COVID-19 threat. His attorneys told the judge Kurazajcyzk has suffered three heart attacks, tested positive for tuberculosis and suffers from other ailments.

"Transferring Kurzajczyk to home confinement will prevent an unreasonable risk of death," the lawyers stated.

D'Agostino said no.

"The court understands why someone in defendant's situation would be concerned," the judge stated, "That concern is shared by everyone who finds themselves currently incarcerated  not just in New York, Massachusetts, or the United States, but also globally."

"However, this court is also bound by the confines of the law, and a district court does not possess the requisite legal authority to modify or reduce a defendant's sentence under a theory of compassionate release where the defendant has not first petitioned the BOP. The court must apply this standard evenly."

Salvagno suffers from high blood pressure, Kahn noted, and takes Lisinopril. The drug is an ACE inhibitor which blocks angiotensin-coverting enzymes that narrow arteries and increase blood pressure.

"The rapid spread of COVID-19 cases at FCI Danbury makes my own situation disturbing," Salvagno wrote in a letter to the judge.

In 2004, it was the conduct of Salvagno and his father which disturbed federal prosecutors. Their former employees testified that they were ordered to rip asbestos from as many as 2,000 buildings throughout the state. The Salvagnos cut corners, made millions of dollars and, according to prosecutors, endangered lives. They had a phony testing lab in Albany that falsified 75,000 tests for projects that included removing asbestos from schools, churches, hospitals, banks and a nuclear power plant.

They were convicted of racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act and Alexander Salvagno was additionally convicted of tax fraud. Salvagno's 87-year-old father, serving a 19-year sentence, is in a Philadelphia halfway house.

"Possessed of absolutely no concern for the health of their employees and the unsuspecting public, Alex and Raul Salvagno knew that their asbestos removal activities would kill and injure  albeit more slowly but just as certainly  as if they gathered a crowd, took aim, and fired into it, over and over again," Assistant U.S. Craig A. Benedict wrote Judge Howard Munson. "The United States implores this court, do not sentence Alex and Raul Salvagno  the dark souls of this criminal enterprise  to a sentence that will allow either defendant to be released from jail before or at the time that their former workers begin to die. This is the extraordinary case that calls for the maximum sentence."

In January, Alexander Salvagno was rejected when he asked Kahn for compassionate release to take care of his children in the wake of his wifes death. When he asked again in March, Salvagno expressed fear that his son could contract COVID-19 in the foster home where he was staying.

The decision to release Salvagno does not in any way downplay the severity of the crimes for which he was sentenced, Kahn stated. But the court at the time of sentencing did not intend for that sentence to include incurring a great and unforeseen risk of severe illness or death brought on by a global pandemic.
China in Focus (April 30): Virus Not Man Made or Modified, US Intel Says

Many wonder about the situation inside China as more countries put pressure on Beijing for transparency on the CCP virus outbreak.

Videos surfacing on the internet recently showed Chinese soldiers in local markets in the countrys northernmost province.

Chinese citizens have also reported activity at the border with North Korea as speculation flies around the health of the leader of the Democratic Peoples Republic Kim Jong Un.

In an open letter, a critically ill mother expressed her wish to see her son, who was jailed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for exposing human rights abuses.

Canadas opposition leader recently said the country needs to rethink its relationship with China. How are Canada-China relations going and whats the significance during the pandemic?

The U.S. intelligence community weighs in on the origin of the virus, saying that it does not believe it is man made or genetically modified.

NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the CCPs coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

Subscribe to our Youtube channel for more first-hand news from China

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NYPD cops arrested a teenage boy and were seen sprinting after a hearse at an Orthodox Jewish funeral in Brooklyn Thursday, two days after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a 'zero tolerance' crack-down on gatherings.

The 17-year-old was pictured being pinned to the side of a vehicle by a police officer after chaos broke out between law enforcement and mourners at the funeral of Rabbi Cheskel Wagshel in Borough Park.

Shocking footage also showed officers chasing after a hearse as they tried to disperse the crowds of people ignoring social distancing.

Screams and shouts can be heard in the videos, posted on social media, as officials faced came under renewed criticism for singling out Jews.

Shocking footage showed officers chasing after a hearse in Brooklyn as they tried to disperse crowds of mourners Thursday (left). NYPD cops arrested a teenage boy at the Orthodox Jewish funeral in Brooklyn Thursday. The 17-year-old was pictured being pinned to the side of a vehicle by a police officer (right)

Chaos broke out between law enforcement and mourners at the Orthodox Jewish funeral of Rabbi Cheskel Wagshel in Borough Park

De Blasio was forced to apologize this week after he personally traveled to break up a funeral in Williamsburg Tuesday and launched a tirade on Twitter targeting Jews.

Tensions mounted further in the streets of the Big Apple Thursday when officers arrived at the funeral at about 4pm.

Around 100 mourners ignored social distancing rules to gather outside the home of the rabbi, Daily News reported.

The rabbi's teenage grandson crossed a police line and pushed an officer, the NYPD told Daily News.

'The cops stopped the grandson of the rabbi. That's when the chaos erupted. The screaming went up,' said a family friend.

The teen, who has not been named, was charged with disorderly conduct and given a desk appearance ticket.

NYPD cops arrested a teenage boy and were seen sprinting after a hearse at the funeral, two days after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a 'zero tolerance' crack-down on the gatherings

Officers tried to disperse the crowds of people ignoring social distancing - many of whom were not wearing masks

NYPD officers taped off parts of the area to try to break up the crowd of around 100 mourners who gathered outside the home of the rabbi

The family friend added that mourners had been following social distancing up until the incident.

Other witnesses told The Gothamist they saw police handcuff the boy and threaten other mourners with summons for not complying with social distancing and not wearing masks.

Albert Chattah, a Borough Park shop owner, said police had been hostile towards mourners.

'It's a funeral, people need to be able to give respect. They have to obey the law, but [police] are aggressive,' he told The Gothamist.

Footage from the chaotic scene shows officers chasing after a van believed to be carrying the rabbi's body.

Several NYPD officers are seen running down the road after the vehicle while shouting is heard.

Tensions mounted further in the streets of the Big Apple Thursday when officers arrived at the funeral at about 4pm

A family friend said mourners had been following social distancing up until the incident where the boy was arrested

Other witnesses told The Gothamist they saw police handcuff the boy and threaten other mourners with summons for not complying with social distancing and not wearing masks

The incident sparked renewed anger at de Blasio with State Senator Simcha Felder accusing him on Twitter of 'terrorizing people by sending in armies of cops during such stressful times.'

This comes after de Blasio was forced to apologize Wednesday for singling out Jews for attending a funeral in Williamsburg.

The mayor on Tuesday said he had instructed police to arrest large groups of mourners in a new 'zero tolerance' approach after personally traveling to break up the Hasidic funeral of Rabbi Chaim Maertz.

The incident sparked renewed anger at de Blasio with State Senator Simcha Felder accusing him on Twitter of 'terrorizing people by sending in armies of cops during such stressful times'

A police officer and a mourner both wearing masks are pictured outside the funeral Thursday afternoon

The rabbi's teenage grandson allegedly crossed a police line and pushed an officer, the NYPD told Daily News

'It's a funeral, people need to be able to give respect. They have to obey the law, but [police] are aggressive,' a local told The Gothamist

Masses of people are seen crowding onto a balcony in Brooklyn overlooking the funeral

His actions and words sparked a furious backlash, with critics pointing out he travels 11 miles from his Manhattan home to go for a walk in Prospect Park and that crowds had gathered the same day to watch a military flyover but were not treated the same by officials.

De Blasio gave a half-hearted apology Wednesday where he said sorry if what he said was 'hurtful' but insisted he had 'no regrets about calling out this danger and saying we're going to deal with it very, very aggressively'.

'If in my passion and in my emotion, I said something that in any way was hurtful, I'm sorry about that,' he said Wednesday.

'That was not my intention. But I also want to be clear: I have no regrets about calling out this danger and saying we're going to deal with it very, very aggressively.'

The police response has triggered a renewed criticism for de Blasio after he was forced to apologize this week after he personally traveled to break up a funeral Tuesday

The mayor came under fire when he launched a tirade on Twitter targeting Hasidic Jews

Police try to control the crowds who were flouting New York state's executive order to ban non-essential gatherings

The mayor reinforced that future incidents of large gatherings - which violate the state's executive order on non-essential gatherings - would be met with a heavy hand.

'The next gathering will be met with summonses and arrests, period. If you have a large gathering - hundreds of people, thousands of people - we're not even going to have a warning,' he said.

The mayor added: 'For decades I've made it my business to stand up for the Jewish community, and people know that. Won't tolerate anti-Semitism, won't allow it to grow in the city.

'My message was to all communities, and that was written in black and white.

The arrest of the 17-year-old boy is the only confirmed arrest from Thursday's funeral

Mourners take out their phones to film the incident Thursday

At least 2,300 people have tested positive for the virus in Borough Park, according to city data

City data shows the zip code has the sixth highest number of coronavirus cases in the city

The NYPD was told to adopt a 'zero-tolerance' approach to mass gatherings on Tuesday by Mayor de Blasio

'But it was also to be clear that what I saw I had not seen anywhere else, and I was trying to be honest about the fact that this is a problem that people have to come to grips with and deal with, or else people in the community will die.'

He added: 'We're here to protect human beings and people were put in danger last night. Members of the Jewish community were putting each other in danger. They were putting our police officers in danger.'

De Blasio had personally traveled across the city to shut down Tuesday's funeral along with New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea after more than 2,500 people gathered for the funeral of prominent Rabbi Chaim Mertz who died from coronavirus.

Community leaders had coordinated with authorities in an attempt to control the group of mourners after the Rabbi's death was announced that day.

But images surfaced showing hundred of people packed into sidewalks, flouting social distancing rules and many not wearing masks.

Chaos broke out between law enforcement and mourners at the Orthodox Jewish funeral of Rabbi Cheskel Wagshel in Borough Park Thursday

Shea confirmed 12 summons were issued for social distancing and refusal to disperse.

The mayor then launched a Twitter rant and threatened mourners with arrest.

'Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic,' he tweeted Tuesday.

'When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus.

'My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio was forced to apologize at his daily briefing Wednesday after he singled out Jews

De Blasio pictured Tuesday after he traveled to personally shut down a Orthodox Jewish funeral in Williamsburg when images surfaced on social media of massive crowds gathered for a rabbi who died from coronavirus

Williamsburg Tuesday: De Blasio showed up at the Orthodox Jewish funeral and threatened mourners with arrest for ignoring social distancing rules

Hundreds of people gathered in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for a massive funeral Tuesday evening

'This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.'

De Blasio immediately faced a backlash from community leaders.

The Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted: 'Hey @NYCMayor, there are 1mil+ Jewish people in #NYC.

'The few who don't social distance should be called out  but generalizing against the whole population is outrageous especially when so many are scapegoating Jews. This erodes the very unity our city needs now more than ever.'

Shocking photos revealed hundreds of people gathered in the streets to pay their respects to Rabbi Chaim Mertz

Many people were not wearing face masks at the funeral Tuesday night in Brooklyn

De Blasio faced a backlash, with critics pointing out he travels 11 miles from his Manhattan home to go for a walk in Prospect Park

Councilman Kalman Yeger added: 'Mr. Mayor, your words are unacceptable. To condemn our entire community over one group of people is something you would not do to any other ethnic group, and I know you long enough to know that you know this.'

'Only bigots have a problem when a few 100 Hasidim do what thousands of people in the same city have done the same day (not social distance).' the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council tweeted.

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council also Tweeted anger at the mayor's response.

De Blasio slammed the Jewish community in a Twitter rant Tuesday night after he had broken up the gathering with the NYPD

'People failed to social distance at a funeral the same day that thousands of New Yorkers failed to distance for 45 minutes to watch a flyover,' the council Tweeted, in reference to the thousands of people who flocked to the banks of the Hudson Tuesday to watch the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels fly across the city's skies in honor of health care workers battling the pandemic.

De Blasio on Wednesday night retweeted the NYPD after an antisemitic hate crime in Brooklyn.

He said: 'If you have any information on this vicious attack please contact the NYPD IMMEDIATELY. This kind of loathsome hate has no home in our city.'

De Blasio has been blasted by the Jewish community over his comments Tuesday

That sparked further criticisms online, with Twitter users quick to point to his earlier actions and words and suggest that they fuel antisemitism.

NYPD's Shea said Wednesday the mass gatherings risk the lives of police officers.

'This large gathering is putting members of my department at risk and is going to be met with very stern consequences. There are to be no gatherings in NYC such as what we saw last night,' he said.

Shea added that NYPD funerals for officers who have died during the pandemic have also not been able to be carried out as normal due to the virus.

At least 2,300 people have tested positive for the virus in Borough Park, according to city data.

This makes the zip code the sixth highest for coronavirus cases in the city.
Inmates at Izalco prison in San Salvador are rounded up during a security operation on April 25, 2020. El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, ordered a crackdown in prisons after what authorities said were outside killings ordered by imprisoned gang members. (El Salvador Presidency Press Office)

Before El Salvador experienced a single case of coronavirus, President Nayib Bukele placed the country in lockdown, shuttering schools, banning large gatherings and sealing borders.

He then sent the army to cordon off towns accused of being in noncompliance and dismissed a Supreme Court ruling challenging his detention of thousands accused of violating stay-at-home orders.

Just as I would not abide by a resolution ordering me to kill Salvadorans, Bukele declared, I also cannot abide by a resolution that orders me to let them die.

Bukele says his swift response has saved lives: El Salvador, a country of 6.5 million, reported 395 confirmed coronavirus cases and 10 deaths as of Thursday, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

But to his critics, Bukeles moves represent the presidents latest efforts to consolidate his increasingly authoritarian rule, using the pandemic as a pretext to stifle dissent and rally support. Earlier this year, Bukele, who won the presidency under the banner of a minor center-right party, sent troops to the congressional chamber in what opponents from both major political parties denounced as a pressure tactic for passage of a security funding bill.

In recent days, Bukele, a 38-year-old former mayor of San Salvador, has moved to burnish his tough-guy credentials, targeting a long-time nemesis  El Salvadors infamous street gangs, known as maras, which he blamed for a surge in homicides. The president explicitly linked his gang crackdown to the coronavirus emergency.

The maras are taking advantage of the fact that almost all of our public forces are [occupied] controlling the pandemic, the president said in announcing a state of emergency.

Bukele essentially declared war on the countrys powerful gangs, including the infamous MS-13, approving use of lethal force against domestic terrorists and imposing a 24-hour lockdown for thousands of imprisoned gang members.

In the midst of a global pandemic, El Salvadors latest anti-gang crackdown might have hardly registered beyond the region if not for a cinematic touch  the presidents release of a series of stunning photos of hundreds of jailed, half-naked gang members, huddled together like live cargo.

Story continues

The heavily tattooed prisoners, garbed in boxer shorts, their shorn heads bowed, are pictured pressed together in precise formation only inches apart, as shotgun-wielding guards in full riot gear eye them ominously. Many inmates lack masks, whereas all the guards are wearing masks and face shields.

Bukele labeled the spectacle a punishment for the recent outbreak of violence  77 killings in a four-day period, the bloodiest stretch since he took office June 1.

Previously, gang members had boasted of helping to enforce stay-at-home orders during the pandemic and of having delivered supplies to needy communities.







Other photos released on social media showed workers soldering cells shut with metal plates  a response, Bukele said, to gang members practice of communicating via hand signals through the openings in cell bars, probably ordering killings and other crimes outside. The inmates, vowed Osiris Luna Meza, Bukeles chief of prisons, wouldnt see a ray of sun."

Furthermore, Bukele said, the government would discontinue a longtime practice of housing rival gang members in separate cells, a step imposed to keep a measure of peace in the volatile lockups.

All of the cells of gang members in our country will remain sealed, the social media-savvy Bukele declared on Twitter, where he has 1.9 million followers. They will no longer be able to see outside of the cell. They will be inside, in total darkness, with their friends from the other gang.

The images quickly went viral, blared across news media and internet sites worldwide, sparking global condemnation about the dehumanization of inmates.

Adding to the international outrage about the images was the clear disdain for social-distancing measures  steps that Bukele previously championed as a means of thwarting the spread of the virus.

Throughout Latin America, long overcrowded lockups have erupted in violence in recent weeks as prisoners demand protective gear and other measures to shield them from the virus.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, prisons in El Salvador, as elsewhere, are a potential epicenter for an outbreak, and the Bukele administrations lockdown has exacerbated an already heightened risk, said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. President Bukeles get-tough-on-crime discourse  is, ironically, putting more lives at risk of a potential contagion  inside and outside detention centers.

A defiant Bukele appears to have relished the worldwide revulsion, accusing his critics of appeasing habitual lawbreakers.

The international help that the maras get is incredible, Bukele said Thursday on Twitter. Organizations that dont say anything when they tear apart Salvadorans shout to the sky because we take away their privileges.

At home, Bukele has drawn high ratings, sometimes topping 80%, though experts say polling in El Salvador is of questionable accuracy. The many positive responses on social media bespeak considerable support for his take-no-prisoners public attitude toward gang members who exert de facto control of entire neighborhoods and towns.

While El Salvador has long had one of the worlds highest homicide rates, those numbers have generally been on the decline since 2015. During his almost 11 months in office, Bukele has credited his security plan  based on bolstered police and military deployments with further reducing violence.

What sparked the recent four-day increase in gang violence remains unclear. Some speculate that gang members, cash-strapped during the pandemic, may have been sending out a message to extortion victims to pay up back dues. Others see darker motivations and possible behind-the-scenes maneuverings in a country still recuperating from a bloody, 12-year civil war that ended in 1992.

How the criminal groups will respond to Bukeles actions remains a major question. The gangs have become deeply entrenched in Salvadoran society, and have relatives in the police, military and government.

In a widely circulated video reply to the prison crackdown, masked members of one gang, Barrio 18 Sureno, complained bitterly of human rights violations against their imprisoned brothers and warned of dire circumstances.

This is not the correct way to attack violence in the country, one of the masked Barrio 18 Sureno members declared in the video. On the contrary, these actions will end up converting the entire country into chaos.

Bukele posted the Barrio 18 Sureno video on his Twitter account and said he was awaiting responses from the countrys other two major gangs: Barrio 18 and MS-13. The three gangs originated in Southern California.

Stop killing immediately or those who will pay the consequences will be you and your homeboys, the president warned.

Bukeles actions, some worry, could indeed spur a broader conflict and a possible reemergence of the countrys darkest days of gang carnage.

Bukele, with his authoritarian and arrogant character, and without analysis, has opened up another battle front in ordering arbitrary measures against the gangs, said retired Col. Carlos Rivas, a military analyst in San Salvador. And if he doesnt look for a solution to this problem, he could be igniting a gang insurrection.

Times staff writer McDonnell reported from Mexico City and special correspondent Renderos from San Salvador. Cecilia Sanchez in The Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.




USS Porter Conducts Air Exercises with French Naval Forces

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200430-06

Release Date: 4/30/2020 11:27:00 AM

By ENS Andrew Walker, USS Porter Public Affairs

ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducted air exercises with the French navy in the Bay of Biscay, 27 April, 2020.

Working with a squadron of French navy Rafale-M fighter aircraft, USS Porter participated in Air Defense drills, acting as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air traffic control and surface-to-air defense. These exercises demonstrated the strength and cooperation of nations across the NATO alliance, enhancing regional stability, and operational readiness.

"We really benefitted from the valuable training conducted with our French partners today." said Cmdr. Craig Trent, commanding officer of Porter. "Our interactions with the French naval air forces strengthened our alliance and made us stronger."

Porter is underway on her eighth Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe patrol, after taking precautions to ensure the health and safety of her crew.

Currently, three U.S. Navy destroyers are operating in U.S. 6th Fleet. Crews from USS Porter, USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), and USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) are healthy and sailing in the waters surrounding Europe. U.S. 6th Fleet will continue to conduct replenishments at sea and limit port visits to brief stops for fuel in order to keep our crews healthy and mission-ready.

Porter, forward-deployed to Naval Station Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Members of the House Judiciary Committee called on Amazon chief Jeff Bezos to testify in an antitrust investigation of his company, threatening to subpoena him if he doesnt comply.

In a May 1 letter addressed to Bezos, seven lawmakers, including Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary Jerrold Nadler (D- N.Y.) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law David Cicilline (D-R.I.), allege Amazon may have made misleading, and possibly criminally false statements in a Congressional probe into some of the companys actions.

The lawmakers cited an April 23 investigative report by The Wall Street Journal that claims Amazon used sensitive information about third-party sellers on its marketplace to develop competing products.

If these allegations are true, then Amazon exploited its role as the largest online marketplace in the U.S. to appropriate the sensitive commercial data of individual marketplace sellers and then used that data to compete directly with those sellers, the lawmakers wrote.

Amazon responded to the claims in the report by saying that their employees actions were in violation of company policy, while the report claimed some staff said using competitors data as described above was standard operating procedure, others called it a common practice, and still others said policies werent uniformly enforced.

An Amazon executive denied such a practice in statements at a committee hearing last July, referring to the same company policies that prohibit such actions.

The lawmakers contend that in the event that the news report is true, then the statements made by the Amazon executive may amount to a crime.

If the reporting in the Wall Street Journal article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the Committee about the companys business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious, they wrote.

They then said it is vital to the Committee that Bezos come and testify, preferably of his own accord.

Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary, they wrote.

Amazon spokesmen had no immediate comment.

While the letter has bipartisan backing, the Committees top Republican, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), did not sign it. In a statement to Politico, a spokesperson from Jordans office questioned the motives of the Democrats on the panel.

Of course our Members have questions for Amazon and want to get answers for the American people. But we wonder what Judiciary Democrats true motivations are, said Russell Dye, according to Politico. Earlier this year, they said companies like Amazon should not exist and should be broken up simply because they are large successful businesses.

Earlier, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called on the Justice Department to open a criminal antitrust investigation into Amazon over revelations contained in the Wall Street Journal report.

These practices are alarming for Americas small businesses even under ordinary circumstances, Hawley wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr (pdf).

Amazons capacity for data collection is like a brick-and-mortar retailer attaching a camera to every customers forehead, he said, arguing that the data Amazon can access poses a severe competitive threat to traditional retailers.

The Judiciary antitrust subcommittee led by Cicilline has been conducting a sweeping investigation of Big Tech companies and their impact on competition and consumers, focusing on Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission also are pursuing antitrust probes of the four companies, and state attorneys general from both parties have undertaken investigations of Google and Facebook.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times
Donald Trump has said he has seen evidence the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, an assertion that threatened on Friday to turn a global health emergency into a diplomatic crisis.

The US presidents statement was immediately undermined by intelligence officials and top diplomat Mike Pompeo, who said: We dont know precisely where it began.

But the claim  already denied by Beijing  could stir tensions even as the World Health Organization asks to be allowed to take part in a Chinese investigation into the animal origins of the pandemic.

The lockdowns that have frozen the global economy for weeks continued to ease, with South Africa and Austria allowing some businesses to reopen from Friday, joining other parts of Europe and some US states that have begun to emerge in the last few days.

But optimistic news was tempered by a further haemorrhaging of jobs, with 30 million Americans newly unemployed since lockdown began, and Spain joining its European neighbours in confirming an economic collapse.

Spains Finance Minister Nadia Calvino said its economy was projected to shrink by 9.2 percent in 2020  after growing by two percent last year  while unemployment would jump to 19 percent from an already high 13.8.

Underlining the slump in consumer demand, Irish airline Ryanair said it was slashing 3,000 positions, forecasting passenger numbers would not recover until mid-2022.

While death rates slowed in most of Europe, the global toll from the pandemic has now topped 230,000.

 We dont know 

Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.

But speculation  reinforced by internet rumours and Americas right-wing radio shock jocks  has swirled about a top-secret lab, and seems to have been taken up by the US president.

Asked if he had seen anything to make him think the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak, Trump replied: Yes, I have.

But he refused to give details and Secretary of State Pompeo indicated he had not seen definitive evidence.

We dont know if it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We dont know if it emanated from the wet market or yet some other place. We dont know those answers.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said analysts would continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine the origin of the outbreak.

In Geneva, a spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO), said several investigations into the source of the virus were going on, adding that the global agency was not currently involved in the studies in China.

WHO would be keen to work with international partners and, at the invitation of the Chinese government, to participate in investigation around the animal origins, Tarik Jasarevic told AFP

Beijing has denied the lab was the source of the virus.

Last month foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said WHO officials have repeatedly stated that there is no single evidence that the new coronavirus was produced in a laboratory.

Many well-known medical experts in the world also believe that the so-called laboratory leak hypothesis has no scientific basis,

Trump is making Beijings handling of the outbreak a major issue for his November re-election campaign.

When asked about reports that he could cancel US debt obligations to China, Trump said he could do it differently and act in more of a forthright manner.

I could do the same thing but even for more money, just putting on tariffs, he said.

 Lockdowns ease 

The coronavirus has infected at least 3.2 million people so far, with Russias Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin becoming the latest high-profile figure to test positive as his countrys caseload surged past 100,000.

But there was some reason for cheer.

Germany has accelerated plans to start lifting its lockdown, preparing to ease curbs on public life and reopen religious institutions, museums and zoos  having restarted shopping last week.

Neighbouring Austria followed suit on Friday with people allowed to go out again freely and gather as long as the group does not exceed 10 people  or 30 for funerals.

Those who do not live in the same household must remain one metre (three feet) from each other. Masks must worn in shops and public buildings and on public transport. Hairdressers and bigger shops are expected to open again from Saturday.

Italy, once the world centre of the outbreak, said it was hoping to reopen two major airports next week but would move slowly.

And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recovering from COVID-19, said his country  which has the worlds third-highest death toll, behind the US and Italy  would publish a roadmap next week on easing restrictions.

Malaysia said it would reopen for business next week, and Australias government said it could begin easing restrictions soon.

SOURCE: AFP
TULSA, Okla., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MMP) today reported net income of $287.6 million for first quarter 2020 compared to $207.7 million for first quarter 2019. The increase in first quarter 2020 net income was primarily driven by mark-to-market (MTM) adjustments for hedge positions related to the partnership's commodity-related activities.

Diluted net income per common unit was $1.26 in first quarter 2020 and 91 cents in first quarter 2019. Diluted net income per unit excluding MTM commodity-related pricing adjustments, a non-generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP) financial measure, of $1.28 for first quarter 2020 was higher than the $1.08 guidance previously provided by management primarily as a result of lower operating expenses, higher gas liquids blending margins as well as a $12.9 million, or 6-cent per unit, gain on the sale of a portion of the partnership's investment in Saddlehorn Pipeline Company, LLC during Feb. 2020.

Distributable cash flow (DCF), a non-GAAP financial measure that represents the amount of cash generated during the period that is available to pay distributions, was $306.5 million for first quarter 2020 compared to $318.0 million for first quarter 2019.

"While we are pleased with our solid financial results for the first quarter of 2020, we remain focused on managing Magellan's business through the current challenging environment. Our employees have ensured Magellan's essential operations remain fully functional to provide continuity of fuel supply to the communities we serve, and we thank them for their professionalism and dedication during this difficult time," said Michael Mears, chief executive officer. "Although we expect near-term financial impacts from the significantly lower commodity prices and unprecedented reductions in refined products demand, Magellan's disciplined management approach, resilient business model and financial strength position us well to respond not only to the short-term industry challenges but to successfully manage our company for the long term."

Beginning in first quarter 2020, the partnership reorganized its reporting segments to reflect changes to its business in conjunction with the sale of three of its marine terminals during March 2020. The partnership's Galena Park, Texas marine terminal and Pasadena, Texas joint venture marine terminal are now shown in the Refined products segment and its Corpus Christi, Texas marine terminal is now included with the Crude oil segment based on the primary products handled at these facilities. Historical financial results have been restated to conform to the new segment presentation, with historical contributions from the divested terminals also included in the Refined products segment.

An analysis by segment comparing first quarter 2020 to first quarter 2019 is provided below based on operating margin, a non-GAAP financial measure that reflects operating profit before depreciation, amortization and impairment expense and general and administrative (G&A) expense:

Refined products. Refined products operating margin was $305.8 million, an increase of $98.1 million primarily related to the impact of MTM adjustments for exchange-traded futures contracts used to hedge the partnership's commodity-related activities.

Transportation and terminals revenue increased $4.7 million due to incremental refined products transportation volume and a higher average transportation rate. Shipments grew mainly as a result of the newly-constructed East Houston-to-Hearne pipeline segment that became operational in late 2019, and the average rate in the current period increased slightly as the 2019 mid-year tariff adjustment of 4.3% was partially offset by more short-haul movements that ship at a lower rate. The impact of these favorable items was offset in part by lower demand during March 2020 associated with travel and economic restrictions related to COVID-19 and reduced drilling activity from the lower commodity price environment.

Operating expenses increased $3.2 million primarily due to higher property taxes, and other operating income decreased $3.5 million as a result of insurance settlements received in first quarter 2019 related to Hurricane Harvey.

Earnings of non-controlled entities increased by $15.3 million due to gains recognized in the current period compared to losses in first quarter 2019 on futures contracts used to hedge commodity-related activities at our Powder Springs Logistics joint venture. The current period also benefited from additional earnings related to the recent start-up of newly-constructed storage and dock assets at the partnership's Pasadena joint venture marine terminal.

Product margin (a non-GAAP measure defined as product sales revenue less cost of product sales) increased $84.8 million between periods primarily due to the recognition of unrealized gains in the 2020 period compared to losses in 2019 on futures contracts used to economically hedge the partnership's commodity-related activities, partially offset by unfavorable lower of cost or net realizable value (LCM) adjustments in the current period resulting from the significant commodity price decline during 2020. Details of these and other commodity-related adjustments can be found on the Distributable Cash Flow Reconciliation to Net Income schedule that accompanies this news release. The partnership's cash product margin, which reflects only transactions that physically settled during the quarter, increased between periods primarily from improved fractionation contributions.

Crude oil. Crude oil operating margin was $119.9 million, a decrease of $23.0 million. Transportation and terminals revenue decreased $6.5 million primarily due to lower transportation revenue on the partnership's Longhorn pipeline as a result of less third-party spot shipments that move at a higher tariff rate, as the crude oil price differential between the Permian Basin and Houston was lower than the spot rate during the current period.

Operating expenses increased slightly as less favorable product overages (which reduce operating expenses) were mainly offset by lower environmental accruals, and other operating expense was $4.0 million unfavorable primarily due to realized losses on a basis derivative agreement during the current period.

Earnings of non-controlled entities declined $2.9 million between periods primarily due to lower earnings from the Saddlehorn pipeline following Magellan's sale of a 10% interest in Feb. 2020.

Product margin decreased $8.8 million primarily due to an LCM adjustment on the partnership's product overages. The partnership's cash product margin, which reflects only transactions that physically settled during the quarter, increased between periods due to the contribution of crude oil marketing affiliate activities to facilitate intrastate shipments during the current period.

Other items. Depreciation, amortization and impairment expense increased slightly between periods due to the commencement of depreciation for expansion projects placed into service over the past year, whereas G&A expense decreased $9.1 million due to lower incentive compensation accruals.

Gain on disposition of assets was unfavorable $8.9 million. The current period benefited from a $12.9 million gain on the sale of a 10% interest in Saddlehorn compared to a gain of $21.8 million in 2019 associated with the sale of a portion of the partnership's interest in BridgeTex Pipeline Company, LLC and the sale of a discontinued crude oil pipeline construction project.

Net interest expense decreased $4.5 million due to an $8.3 million debt prepayment cost in first quarter 2019, partially offset by higher average outstanding borrowings in the current period used to fund the partnership's expansion capital projects. As of March 31, 2020, Magellan had $4.75 billion of debt outstanding and $139 million of cash on hand with no borrowings outstanding on its commercial paper program or revolving credit facility.

Financial guidance for 2020

The recent restrictions on travel and economic activity and the dramatic decline in commodity prices since the beginning of the year have significantly disrupted the petroleum industry, and Magellan is not immune to their effects. Although a number of states within the partnership's asset footprint are beginning to reopen their economies, the pace of the recovery and length of time until these markets return to more historical levels of refined products demand are not clear. As a result, management is not providing specific guidance for 2020, but instead is providing an estimated annual DCF range for 2020 between $1.0 and $1.075 billion, utilizing the following sensitivity analysis:

($ in millions)





Original 2020 DCF guidance provided on 1/30/20 $1,200 Estimated impacts from quarantine and lower commodity price environment:





- Lower blending profits and tenders due to commodity prices, with no fall '20 blending margin forecasted; $10/bbl increase in crude price ~$30mm DCF (140) - (110) - Quarantine impact on base refined products demand. Low end assumes declines of 25% gasoline, 5% distillate and 70% aviation in 2Q20, followed by 1 month of transition (half the 2Q decline) before demand recovers, except aviation decline continues at 25% throughout '20. Upper end assumes less July impact (70) - (60) - Reduced drilling impact on distillate volumes (30) - (20) - Crude oil pipeline, lower uncommitted volume (10) - (10) - Other items, mainly expense savings and higher storage revenues 50 - 75 Estimated 2020 DCF range $1,000 - $1,075

Including actual results so far this year, net income per unit is now estimated to be between $3.35 and $3.70 for 2020 based on the range of outcomes above. With most of the travel and economic disruptions from the coronavirus expected to impact second-quarter results, the net income forecast for second quarter 2020 is expected to range from 35 cents to 50 cents, depending on how quickly regional economies reopen. The forecast excludes future MTM adjustments on the partnership's commodity-related activities.

In light of the challenging environment and investor feedback, Magellan intends to maintain its quarterly cash distribution at the current level for the remainder of 2020. Based on the current distribution amount and number of units outstanding and considering the above DCF sensitivity analysis, distribution coverage for 2020 is expected to be approximately 1.1 to 1.15 times the amount necessary to pay cash distributions for the year, generating excess cash of $75 to $150 million for 2020. Management does not intend to provide financial guidance beyond 2020 at this time but continues to target distribution coverage above 1.2 times once refined products demand returns to more historical levels and the commodity price environment stabilizes.

Capital allocation



Management remains focused on managing Magellan's business for the long term and delivering value for its investors. The partnership continues to make significant progress on its existing construction projects, which are nearing completion. Based on the progress of projects now underway, the partnership expects to spend approximately $400 million in 2020 to complete its current slate of expansion projects, with $155 million of that amount already spent during first quarter 2020.

Construction activities for Magellan's west Texas refined products pipeline expansion and new Midland terminal are in the final stages, with both projects expected to begin operations in early third quarter 2020. Further, expansion of the Saddlehorn pipeline is in process, with an incremental 100,000 barrels per day of capacity expected to be available in late 2020.

Even though it is not the top priority at the moment, the partnership continues to evaluate well in excess of $500 million of potential organic growth projects to create incremental value for unitholders over the long term. Management remains committed to the capital discipline that has been a consistent feature of its approach and is pursuing low-risk, fee-based capital projects that are expected to meet or exceed its targeted 6 to 8 times EBITDA multiple.

During 2020, Magellan's board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $750 million of common units through 2022. Through March 31, 2020, the partnership had repurchased 3.6 million units for $202 million. The timing, price and actual number of units repurchased will depend on a number of factors including expected expansion capital spending needs, alternative investment opportunities, excess cash available, legal and regulatory requirements, market conditions and the trading price of the partnership's common units.

Earnings call details

Management will discuss first-quarter 2020 financial results and outlook for the remainder of the year during a conference call at 1:30 p.m. Eastern today. Participants are encouraged to listen to the call via the partnership's website at www.magellanlp.com/investors/webcasts.aspx. In addition, a limited number of phone lines will be available at (800) 891-3493, conference code 21959668.

A replay of the audio webcast will be available for at least 30 days at www.magellanlp.com.

Non-GAAP financial measures

Management believes that investors benefit from having access to the same financial measures utilized by the partnership. As a result, this news release and supporting schedules include the non-GAAP financial measures of operating margin, product margin, adjusted EBITDA, DCF and net income per unit excluding MTM commodity-related pricing adjustments, which are important performance measures used by management.

Operating margin reflects operating profit before depreciation, amortization and impairment expense and G&A expense. This measure forms the basis of the partnership's internal financial reporting and is used by management to evaluate the economic performance of the partnership's operations.

Product margin, which is calculated as product sales revenue less cost of product sales, is used by management to evaluate the profitability of the partnership's commodity-related activities.

Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure utilized by management and the investment community to assess the financial results of a company.

DCF is important in determining the amount of cash generated from the partnership's operations that is available for distribution to its unitholders. Management uses this performance measure as a basis for recommending to the board of directors the amount of cash distributions to be paid each period and for determining the payouts for the performance-based awards issued under the partnership's equity-based incentive plan.

Reconciliations of operating margin to operating profit and adjusted EBITDA and DCF to net income accompany this news release.

The partnership uses exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge against price changes of petroleum products associated with its commodity-related activities. Most of these futures contracts do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment. However, because these futures contracts are generally effective at hedging price changes, management believes the partnership's profitability should be evaluated excluding the unrealized gains and losses associated with petroleum products that will be sold in future periods. Further, because the financial guidance provided by management excludes future MTM commodity-related pricing adjustments, a reconciliation of actual results to those excluding these adjustments is provided for comparability to previous financial guidance.

Because the non-GAAP measures presented in this news release include adjustments specific to the partnership, they may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures of other companies.

About Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MMP) is a publicly traded partnership that primarily transports, stores and distributes refined petroleum products and crude oil. The partnership owns the longest refined petroleum products pipeline system in the country, with access to nearly 50% of the nation's refining capacity, and can store more than 100 million barrels of petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and crude oil. More information is available at www.magellanlp.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined by federal law. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: potential, plan, target, forecast, guidance, believe, estimate, expect, continue, commit, future, remain, intend, nearing, term, may, will and similar references to future periods. Although management believes such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual outcomes to be materially different. Among the key risk factors that may have a direct impact on the partnership's results of operations and financial condition are: impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic; impacts of the oversupply of crude oil and petroleum products; insufficiency of storage for crude oil and petroleum products; claims for force majeure relief by its customers or vendors; its ability to identify growth projects with acceptable expected returns and to complete projects on time and at expected costs; changes in price or demand for refined petroleum products, crude oil and natural gas liquids, or for transportation, storage, blending or processing of those commodities through its facilities; changes in the partnership's tariff rates or other terms as required by state or federal regulatory authorities; shut-downs or cutbacks at refineries, of hydrocarbon production or at other businesses that use or supply the partnership's services; changes in the throughput or interruption in service on pipelines or other facilities owned and operated by third parties and connected to the partnership's terminals, pipelines or other facilities; the occurrence of operational hazards or unforeseen interruptions; the treatment of the partnership as a corporation for federal or state income tax purposes or the partnership becoming subject to significant forms of other taxation; an increase in the competition the partnership's operations encounter; disruption in the debt and equity markets that negatively impacts the partnership's ability to finance its capital needs; changes in its capital needs, cash flows and availability of cash to fund unit repurchases or distributions; and failure of customers to meet or continue contractual obligations to the partnership. Additional factors that could lead to material changes in performance are described in the partnership's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2019 and subsequent reports on Form 8-K. You are urged to carefully review and consider the cautionary statements and other disclosures made in those filings, especially under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements." Forward-looking statements made by the partnership in this release are based only on information currently known, and the partnership undertakes no obligation to revise its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

MAGELLAN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, L.P. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (In thousands, except per unit amounts) (Unaudited)



Three Months Ended

March 31,

2019

2020 Transportation and terminals revenue $ 460,792



$ 458,395

Product sales revenue 162,995



319,120

Affiliate management fee revenue 5,148



5,291

Total revenue 628,935



782,806

Costs and expenses:





Operating 146,025



149,508

Cost of product sales 169,094



249,236

Depreciation, amortization and impairment 61,871



63,534

General and administrative 45,995



36,908

Total costs and expenses 422,985



499,186

Other operating income (expense) 6,941



(511)

Earnings of non-controlled entities 31,255



43,660

Operating profit 244,146



326,769

Interest expense 60,166



55,900

Interest capitalized (3,454)



(4,951)

Interest income (1,660)



(420)

Gain on disposition of assets (21,788)



(12,887)

Other (income) expense 2,050



807

Income before provision for income taxes 208,832



288,320

Provision for income taxes 1,169



756

Net income $ 207,663



$ 287,564









Basic net income per common unit $ 0.91



$ 1.26









Diluted net income per common unit $ 0.91



$ 1.26









Weighted average number of common units outstanding used for basic net income per unit calculation 228,558



227,571









Weighted average number of common units outstanding used for diluted net income per unit calculation 228,558



227,571











MAGELLAN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, L.P. OPERATING STATISTICS



Three Months Ended

March 31,

2019

2020 Refined products:





Transportation revenue per barrel shipped $ 1.572



$ 1.582

Volume shipped (million barrels):





Gasoline 62.1



66.2

Distillates 44.6



43.8

Aviation fuel 8.8



9.4

Liquefied petroleum gases 0.6



0.4

Total volume shipped 116.1



119.8









Crude oil:





Magellan 100%-owned assets:





Transportation revenue per barrel shipped(1) $ 0.945



$ 0.918

Volume shipped (million barrels)(1) 79.4



75.1

Terminal average utilization (million barrels per month) 22.2



22.7

Select joint venture pipelines:





BridgeTex - volume shipped (million barrels)(2) 37.7



37.1

Saddlehorn - volume shipped (million barrels)(3) 9.0



16.3







(1) Volume shipped includes shipments related to the partnership's crude oil marketing activities. Revenues from those activities are reflected as product sales revenue in its consolidated financial statements. Transportation revenue per barrel shipped reflects average rates on third-party volumes only. (2) These volumes reflect the total shipments for the BridgeTex pipeline, which is owned 30% by Magellan. (3) These volumes reflect the total shipments for the Saddlehorn pipeline, which was owned 40% by Magellan through January 31, 2020 and 30% thereafter.

MAGELLAN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, L.P. OPERATING MARGIN RECONCILIATION TO OPERATING PROFIT (Unaudited, in thousands)



Three Months Ended

March 31,

2019

2020 Refined products:





Transportation and terminals revenue $ 309,571



$ 314,319

Affiliate management fee revenue 1,662



1,584

Other operating income (expense) 5,368



1,892

Earnings (loss) of non-controlled entities (1,047)



14,220

Less: Operating expenses 102,692



105,882

Transportation and terminals margin 212,862



226,133

Product sales revenue 157,282



312,986

Less: Cost of product sales 162,430



233,342

Product margin (5,148)



79,644

Operating margin $ 207,714



$ 305,777









Crude oil:





Transportation and terminals revenue $ 152,159



$ 145,658

Affiliate management fee revenue 3,486



3,707

Other operating income (expense) 1,573



(2,403)

Earnings of non-controlled entities 32,302



29,440

Less: Operating expenses 45,706



46,772

Transportation and terminals margin 143,814



129,630

Product sales revenue 5,713



6,134

Less: Cost of product sales 6,664



15,894

Product margin (951)



(9,760)

Operating margin $ 142,863



$ 119,870









Segment operating margin $ 350,577



$ 425,647

Add: Allocated corporate depreciation costs 1,435



1,564

Total operating margin 352,012



427,211

Less:





Depreciation, amortization and impairment expense 61,871



63,534

General and administrative expense 45,995



36,908

Total operating profit $ 244,146



$ 326,769











Note: Amounts may not sum to figures shown on the consolidated statements of income due to intersegment eliminations and allocated corporate depreciation costs.

MAGELLAN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, L.P. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME AND NET INCOME PER LIMITED PARTNER UNIT EXCLUDING COMMODITY-RELATED ADJUSTMENTS TO GAAP MEASURES (Unaudited, in thousands except per unit amounts)





Three Months Ended



March 31, 2020



Net Income

Basic Net Income

Per Limited

Partner Unit

Diluted Net

Income Per

Limited Partner

Unit As reported

$ 287,564



$ 1.26



$ 1.26

Unrealized derivative (gains) losses associated with future transactions(1)

(66,481)









Inventory valuation adjustments associated with future transactions

70,969









Excluding commodity-related adjustments(2)

$ 292,052



$ 1.28



$ 1.28















Weighted average number of common units outstanding used for basic net income per unit calculation

227,571









Weighted average number of common units outstanding used for diluted net income per unit calculation

227,571

























(1) Includes the partnership's net share of unrealized derivative gains and losses from the partnership's non-controlled entities. (2) Please see Distributable Cash Flow ("DCF") Reconciliation to Net Income for further descriptions of commodity-related adjustments.

MAGELLAN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, L.P. DISTRIBUTABLE CASH FLOW RECONCILIATION TO NET INCOME (Unaudited, in thousands)



Three Months Ended









March 31,

2020 Annual

Forecast Range

2019

2020

















Net income $ 207,663



$ 287,564



$ 757,000



$ 835,000 Interest expense, net 55,052



50,529



211,000



211,000 Depreciation, amortization and impairment(1) 58,957



63,086



262,000



262,000 Equity-based incentive compensation(2) (4,850)



(14,545)







 Gain on disposition of assets(3) (11,000)



(10,511)



(11,000)



(11,000) Commodity-related adjustments:













Derivative (gains) losses recognized in the period associated with future transactions(4) 25,036



(66,740)









Derivative gains (losses) recognized in previous periods associated with transactions completed in the period(4) 51,318



(11,737)









Inventory valuation adjustments(5) (7,626)



71,730









Total commodity-related adjustments 68,728



(6,747)



38,000



35,000 Distributions from operations of non-controlled entities in excess of (less than) earnings 11,822



11,083



41,000



41,000 Adjusted EBITDA 386,372



380,459



1,298,000



1,373,000 Interest expense, net, excluding debt issuance cost amortization(6) (45,875)



(49,632)



(208,000)



(208,000) Maintenance capital(7) (22,498)



(24,320)



(90,000)



(90,000) Distributable cash flow $ 317,999



$ 306,507



$ 1,000,000



$ 1,075,000

















(1) Depreciation, amortization and impairment expense is excluded from DCF to the extent it represents a non-cash expense. (2) Because the partnership intends to satisfy vesting of unit awards under its equity-based incentive compensation plan with the issuance of common units, expenses related to this plan generally are deemed non-cash and excluded for DCF purposes. The amounts above have been reduced by cash payments associated with the plan, which are primarily related to tax withholdings. (3) Gains on disposition of assets are excluded from DCF to the extent they are not related to the partnership's ongoing operations. (4) Certain derivatives have not been designated as hedges for accounting purposes and the mark-to-market changes of these derivatives are recognized currently in net income. The partnership excludes the net impact of these derivatives from its determination of DCF until the transactions are settled and, where applicable, the related products are sold. In the period in which these transactions are settled and any related products are sold, the net impact of the derivatives is included in DCF. (5) The partnership adjusts DCF for lower of average cost or net realizable value adjustments related to inventory and firm purchase commitments as well as market valuation of short positions recognized each period as these are non-cash items. In subsequent periods when the partnership physically sells or purchases the related products, it adjusts DCF for the valuation adjustments previously recognized. (6) Interest expense in 2019 includes $8.3 million of debt prepayment premiums which are excluded from DCF as they are financing activities and are not related to the partnership's ongoing operations. (7) Maintenance capital expenditures maintain existing assets of the partnership and do not generate incremental DCF (i.e. incremental returns to the unitholders). For this reason, the partnership deducts maintenance capital expenditures to determine DCF.

SOURCE Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.

Related Links

http://www.magellanlp.com


Managing general underwriter Carbon Underwriting has received in-principle approval from Lloyds to launch a syndicate-in-a-box, Syndicate 4747.

Carbon will start writing business, effective July 1, 2020, with stamp capacity of 15 million (US$18.4 million) in year one, estimated to rise to 62.5 million (US$76.7 million) in year three. The syndicate will be managed by Asta, a third-party managing agent and incubator for managing general agents. Asta currently has 10 Lloyds syndicates under its umbrella.

Carbon has appointed Nicholas Tye as active underwriter for syndicate 4747, supported by a management team consisting of Stephen Card as chief executive officer, Jacqui Ferrier as chief underwriting officer, and Ben Laidlaw as senior underwriter and chief technology officer.

Asta said it has played a significant role at Lloyds in developing the framework for syndicates-in-a-box, a cornerstone of the Future of Lloyds project, which aims to make it easier for new sources of capital to enter the market. Syndicates-in-a-box are innovation incubators and provide a new way to bring innovative, accretive and profitable business into the market for a set period without the need for a physical presence in Lloyds, Lloyds has explained.

The first company to launch a SIAB was Munich Re Syndicate Ltd. (MRSL), a longstanding Lloyds managing agent and Munich Re subsidiary.

Julian Tighe, chief executive officer of Asta, said a SIAB provides a lower-cost and fast-tracked route into Lloyds for entrepreneurial underwriters.

Syndicate 4747 is supported by its proprietary technology platform Graphene, which provides underwriters and coverholders with superior data that supports profitable underwriting decisions, said Asta in a statement.

The new syndicate will on-board current and prospective coverholders in the property and casualty space in the first instance. Our intention is to broaden our portfolio of classes as they fit with our business model and market conditions, according to Tye, Carbons active underwriter.

Our goal with syndicate 4747 is to encourage efficient and profitable growth for MGAs. We want to champion Lloyds as the globally preferred binder capacity market, he added.

Our MGA clients will benefit from our underwriting being solely dedicated to their business and not being written as part of a wider open market account, Tye said. In a world where clients demand accurate service on a faster turnaround our in-house platform, Graphene, gives us a unique insight into our clients business. This gives both us and the client a focus on data enabled decisions whilst driving accelerated profit growth for the syndicate and the MGA.

Weve always had the ambition to set up our own syndicate but the biggest barrier to entry was that of scale, said CEO Card. The SIAB initiative by Lloyds, supported by Asta, has enabled us to avail ourselves of the Lloyds franchise, rating and licensing earlier than we expected.

With the reduced reporting and capital requirements of a SIAB, Carbon was able to build an income and expense business model that did not rely on scale to achieve profitability, which is the biggest barrier to entry to Lloyds outside of the SIAB model.

Related:

Topics Excess Surplus Underwriting Lloyd's
Dr. Zelenko said that he had not been contacted by the Justice Department, and that he learned of the inquiry from Mr. Corsis public statements.

Mr. Corsi said he believed that the doctor never intended to deceive anyone. He cant speak precisely about something he doesnt understand, he said.

A self-described simple country doctor, Dr. Zelenko proposed a three-drug cocktail of an antimalarial medication called hydroxychloroquine, the antibiotic azithromycin and zinc as a treatment for Covid-19 after seeing numerous patients with symptoms of the disease. He is not the first, nor the only, doctor to propose antimalarial drugs as a treatment.

But his claims that he could cure the disease by treating it aggressively in the early stages, which he played up in a YouTube video that he addressed to Mr. Trump, caught the attention of the presidents inner circle. After the video went viral, Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, contacted him. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, also publicly praised the doctor. The video has now been taken down.

For weeks, Mr. Trump himself promoted hydroxychloroquine as very effective and possibly the biggest game changer in the history of medicine. The right-wing news media also seized on the potential of antimalarial drugs as a treatment.

Since then, more evidence has emerged that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may not be effective at treating the coronavirus, and may in fact be harmful because of the risk of severe side effects. The F.D.A. warned in April that hydroxychloroquine, either on its own or in combination with azithromycin, should not be administered to treat Covid-19 outside the hospital setting or in a clinical trial, saying it could cause heart rhythm problems.

But Dr. Zelenko has remained firm in his conviction, sending regular updates about new studies and patient testimonials to a contact list that includes reporters and government officials in several countries. I am more emboldened, he said in a voice memo on April 22.
Wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager, Burns & Wilcox, has added Laura McCormick to its leadership team. McCormick joins Burns & Wilcox as regional practice group leader, Professional Liability for the Southern U.S. Region, based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth office.

McCormick is responsible for setting the strategic direction and growth for Professional Liability business across the Southern Region, which includes 10 states ranging from Texas to North Carolina. Her role also involves recruiting and developing talent to deepen its bench of expertise in the Burns & Wilcox network while identifying and strengthening key client relationships.

She reports to David Derigiotis, corporate senior vice president, national professional liability practice leader.

With more than 20 years of brokerage experience, McCormick most recently served as senior vice president and national practice leader at MarketScout, where she was responsible for the development, growth and expansion of its Professional Liability business. She previously held other senior broking positions within the wholesale industry including Burns & Wilcox, along with some of the largest retail brokers in the country.

Burns & Wilcox is part of Michigan-based H.W. Kaufman Group, which also includes Kaufman Institute, Atain Insurance Companies, Afirm, Global Excess Partners, RB Jones, Stonemark, Minuteman Adjusters, and London-based, Chesterfield Insurance Brokers, Lochain Patrick, Cranbrook Underwriting and Node International.

Source: Burns & Wilcox

Topics Texas Leadership
D onald Trump has claimed he has seen evidence that coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab.

The US President was asked at a White House event if he had seen evidence that gave him a "high degree of confidence" the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

"Yes, yes I have," he said, declining to give specifics. "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."

Mr Trumps remarks on Thursday came as the US intelligence community determined Covid-19 "was not manmade or genetically modified", but said it was still investigating the virus' origins.

The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations, and other US officials have downplayed their likelihood. Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.

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Mr Trump has shown increasing frustration with China in recent weeks over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the US alone, sparked an economic contraction and threatened his chances of re-election in November.

He said previously his administration was trying to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from the Wuhan lab, following media reports it may have been artificially synthesised at a China state-backed laboratory or perhaps escaped from such a facility.

The coronavirus outbreak has contributed to a deepening rift between the Trump administration and China, with Beijing suggesting the US military might have brought the coronavirus to China and Mr Trump saying China failed to alert the world to coronavirus risks in a timely and transparent fashion.

TODO: define component type apester

The US leader also said on Thursday it was possible that China either could not stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread. He declined to say whether he held Chinese President Xi Jinping responsible for what he feels is misinformation about the emergence of the coronavirus.

Mr Trump said of China's efforts to get to the bottom of how the virus emerged: "At least they seem to be trying to be somewhat transparent with us."

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

"But we're going to find out. You'll be learning in the not-too-distant future. But it's a terrible thing that happened - whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one. Or did somebody do something on purpose?" he said.
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As the coronavirus pandemic continues to inflict pain on the market and the economy, there is much uncertainty as to when COVID-19 will come under control.

At this juncture, it seems that the pain will linger and there are tougher days ahead for the businesses and the economy.

Experts point out that the COVID-19 pandemic came in stages across the world and its fading away also will happen in phases over the next few quarters.

With no relief in sight, investors must look for stocks that have the potential to endure the pain.

"Investors should look for quality with reasonable growth in businesses. Lower debt and higher cash generation companies will be better placed," said Vikas Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

From a long-term perspective, brokerages suggest these 12 stocks that can give you healthy returns. Take a look:

Analyst: Vikas Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities

Bharti Airtel | Buy | LTP: Rs 493 | Target price: 700 | Upside: 42%

The company is a beneficiary of being an emerging duopoly with large subscriber base and regular price hikes, higher data consumption with respect to work from home (WFH), digital payments and OTT

platforms.

Lesser capex requirements in the near future is also a key positive for the stock.

"It has scaled an all-time high breaking its 10-year range with strong volumes and recent correction provides a good opportunity for the target of Rs 700 levels over the next 2 years," said the analyst.

HDFC Bank | Buy | LTP: Rs 970.05 | Target price: 1,200 | Upside: 24%

One of the best stocks to own in the financial sector - HDFC Bank - is well-positioned to deliver strong business momentum with advances growth of 20 percent, consistent margin of 4 percent and impeccable asset quality to aid return ratios.

"Unlocking of its subsidiaries listing will also add value, going forward. The stock trades at 2.4 times FY21E adjusted book value, recent correction in price is providing comfort as trades at 30 percent discount to its

10-year average," said the analyst.

HDFC | Buy | LTP: Rs 1,827.95 | Target price: 2,200 | Upside: 20%

The growth prospectus for HDFC remains strong on the back of strong parentage, large balance sheet to raise and deploy money regularly and increased housing demand.

"Increasing credit by the banks subsidiary provides an opportunity for further penetration of client base and stable margins to deliver consistent growth in earnings and valuations," said the analyst.

The stock has strong support near to 1,400 levels near to its 34-month averages.

Maruti Suzuki | Buy | LTP: Rs 5,055 | Target price: Rs 7,400 | Upside: 46%

Maruti is one of the best stocks in the domestic passenger vehicle segment.

Strong parentage and recent Toyota tie-up should help Maruti surpass near-term challenges and emerge stronger.

"Debt-free balance sheet with a shorter working capital cycle, higher ROE, and 50 percent market share for the last decade are the key positives to own the stock for long term after a 50 percent correction from its all-time high," said the analyst.

Tech Mahindra | Buy | LTP: Rs 531.50 | Target price: Rs 650 | Upside: 22%

The global impact of COVID-19 is likely to result in a material deterioration of the demand environment for IT companies but the analyst believes it is a good opportunity to add as once the pandemic fades a lot of new deals and orders may flow from across the world.

Operating margins are likely to benefit from rupee depreciation, lower fixed costs as IT companies are gearing to WFH over the next years which will improve margins.

The stock is one of the laggards in the current bounce but the analyst expects it to outperform from the current levels and said it remains one of the top picks in the IT sector.

Analyst: Jyoti Roy, DVP Equity Strategist, Angel Broking

Hindustan Unilever | Buy | LTP: Rs 2,234 | Target price: Rs 3,080 | Upside: 38%

The analyst expects Hindustan Unilever to report a healthy bottom-line CAGR of about 12 percent over FY2019-22E due to healthy volume growth on the back of a strong brand and wide distribution network.

Bata India | Buy | LTP: Rs 1,335 | Target price: Rs 1,561 | Upside: 17%

The analyst expects Bata India to report net revenue CAGR of about 11 percent to nearly Rs 3,974 crore over FY2019-22E mainly due to increasing brand consciousness among Indian consumers, new product launches, a higher number of store additions in tier II/ III cities and focus on high growth womens segment.

Further, on the bottom-line front, the analyst expects CAGR of nearly 20 percent to Rs 562 crore over the same period on the back of margin improvement due to increasing premium product sales.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech | Buy | LTP: Rs 1,460 | Target price: Rs 1,803 | Upside: 23%

The company has a very strong exposure to the BFSI and manufacturing verticals which accounts for nearly 45 percent and 17.5 percent of the companys revenues and are amongst the least impacted vertical due to

the shutdown on account of COVID-19.

The company doesn't have a very large exposure to service-oriented verticals like travel and tourism which are amongst the worst impacted due to the COVID19 outbreak.

"We expect the company to outperformance the sector. Rupee depreciation to help the company's topline and bottom-line positively. After the recent correction the stock is available at reasonable valuations," said the analyst.

Alkem Laboratories | Buy | LTP: Rs 2,661.95 | Target price: Rs 3,300 | Upside: 24%

As much as 67 percent of revenue comes from domestic generic and API business.

"Anti-infectives and Cronic businesses continue to provide revenue growth for Alkem. It is expected to outperform the Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) by 1.5 times growth rate for the next two years. We expect Alkem to grow its top line by 13-15 percent in the upcoming years," said the analyst.

Brokerage: Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers

Divi's Laboratories | Buy | LTP: Rs 2,369.75 | Target price: Rs 2,510 | Upside: 6%

Divi's Laboratories has negligible borrowings and aims to maintain a similar level of debt in the next 3-5 years.

In terms of growth, the company has outpaced the industry growth over the years and has registered a CAGR of 14 percent over the past five years in a market scenario which is not very favourable for the sector. In addition to growth, the company has maintained healthy margins of nearly 40 percent.

"Considering the company's impressive performance over the years and the governments focus on Indian API manufacturers which are likely to be a big positive for the company in the near term, we believe that the company is well-positioned to take advantage of this opportunity," said the brokerage.

Dr. Reddys Laboratories | Buy | LTP: Rs 3,882 | Target price: 4,382 | Upside: 13%

Apart from a strong product profile, the company benefits from a diverse geographic presence.

Further, in line with its strategy to boost India business, recently, the company inked deal with Wockhardt to acquire select divisions of its branded generics business in India and a few other international

territories of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives for Rs 1,850 crore.

The deal comprises a business portfolio of 62 brands in multiple therapies and is expected to close by Q1FY21.

"The company should continue to witnesses strong growth in India, emerging markets, Europe and PSAI business driven by volume growth, new launches and improving realizations," said the brokerage.

ICICI Bank | Buy | LTP: Rs 367.65 | Target price: Rs 617 | Upside: 68%

With improving asset quality and better growth trends, the brokerage believes ICICI Bank is favourably positioned to deliver superior profitability and return ratios.

"We have factored in the latest information into our model and revised our estimates. We continue to remain positive on the company over medium to longer-term perspective," said the brokerage.

The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
(Natural News) After halting all U.S. funding to the pro-abortion World Health Organization (WHO) the other day, President Donald Trump decided to instead reallocate all that money to pro-life relief groups such as the Red Cross and Samaritans Purse.

Citing the WHOs continued botched response to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, including its active spreading of lies and propaganda about the virus Chinese origins, Trump decided that the best course of action is to end all monetary contributions to the United Nations arm and redirect them to groups that are doing much better humanitarian work.

The WHO also considers abortion to be an essential service during this pandemic, and has pushed for countries to keep their abortion clinics open even as millions of other supposedly non-essential workers are prohibited from making a living. This, too, played a big role in Trumps decision.

The White House budget office has told federal agencies to redirect World Health Organization funds to groups that do similar work, indicating a 60-day suspension of WHO funding ordered by President Trump will be permanent, an announcement reads.

The funds will flow instead to outfits such as the Red Cross and Samaritans Purse after Trump said Tuesday the WHO needed reform after failing to vet coronavirus data from China, contributing to a pandemic that infected more than 650,000 U.S. residents.

U.S. contributions to the WHO represent 10 percent of entitys annual budget

A non-governmental organization that exists based on voluntary contributions from supporting nations, the WHO currently has an annual budget of $4.8 billion. And about 10 percent of this, or $58 million annually, comes from the U.S.  or at least it did until Trump decided to allocate that money to domestic aid groups that support American values.

An administration official reportedly told the media that efforts are also underway to redirect every single pot of money from the WHO to other organizations, meaning the WHO would no longer be a recipient of any taxpayer dollars from the U.S.

Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, however, are outraged that Americans will no longer be forced to financially feed the beast with their tax monies. She reportedly called Trumps rescinding of funding for the WHO illegal, and has vowed, in a thus far unspecified way, to challenge his decision.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is staying the course in cutting out wasteful and all-around useless recipients of tax dollars such as the WHO that in many ways work against the best interests of the countries that are paying to keep it in existence.

If you pay a contractor to build you a house and the roof falls in, you dont keep paying them; you find a new contractor, stated a White House official to The Daily Caller, likening the WHO to a bad contractor.

WHO clearly failed to do its job, and continues to make serious mistakes that puts our nations safety and security at risk, including allowing the reopening of wet markets, this same official added. It shouldnt be controversial for the U.S. to want to partner with international organizations that will actually protect international health.

Its important to note that communist China, which created the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the first place, only paid the WHO about a third of what the U.S. has contributed. And yet, the WHO continues to back China instead of the U.S. throughout this saga.

More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

FoxNews.com

LifeNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Public Service across Kentucky

After many years as a community advocate for local issues and exposure to our community leaders, Mr. Eddings is an active government appointee, political activist, and candidate for public office. Most recently, in the final months of the Bevin administration, former KY Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Tilley appointed him as a Special Assistant to the Department for Juvenile Justice. In this role, Mr. Eddings was charged with Urban Outreach and Communication, as well as, authoring a mentorship approach called Ten-4. Notably, this period coincided with the controversial county-to-state surrender of youth detention responsibilities.

In 2018, he was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky. It is recognition of his noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to our state.

Early Years

Waymen Eddings grew up in razed housing project, Cotter Homes, the present-day revitalized neighborhood of Park duValle in the 1980's in Louisville, KY's West End. Youngest son of a single mom, his family moved to the Russell neighborhood in 1990.

High School

Waymen attended duPont Manual HS 1993-97 and graduated from Jefferson County HS in 1997. He struggled due to social challenges he faced but attended UofL in the Fall and Spring before leaving school to care for his young family.

Family and Work Life

Waymen worked days, volunteered weekends, and studied nights to prepare his career and family to be productive citizens of our local community. Furthermore, aware of the needs of our neighbors in challenging environments, he continues to advocate for families-in-crisis and communities-in-need.

Waymen is a father of five; four public school graduates from Waggoner, Ballard, Southern, Fern Creek, and a teen currently finishing high school. He resides in West Buechel.
Kenzie Designs and Fashions Institute, a Sunyani-based fashion design training school, has presented 50 nose masks to the Mask Ambassadors to be distributed to the less privileged and high risk population in the Sunyani Municipality.



This is to protect them from contracting the novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19).



Mask Ambassadors is a local group comprising Journalists and health officials that advocate wearing of nose masks, and also ensure societal stigmatization of COVID-19 is brought under control.



The nose masks would be distributed to identifiable head potters, truck and wheel barrow pushers, people with disability and the aged.



Mr. Richmond Kwadwo Tuffour, the General Manager of the Institute, indicated government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of stemming the spread of the disease, hence the need for the private sector to support the fight.



He emphasised individual protection was a surest remedy to control the spread of the disease and advised the public to wear the nose masks, and adhere to all the health safety protocols.



Mr Francis Owusu Ansah, the General Manager of Nimdee FM, a local radio station and Deputy Leader of the campaigners thanked the Institute and appealed for more support.



He said until majority of the citizens, especially the less privileged had the nose masks, it would be difficult to encourage them to wear, and called on local manufacturing companies, and philanthropists to support the campaign with the masks.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
"I will never lie to you. You have my word on that."

Trump toady Kayleigh McEnany said this to Associated Press reporter Jill Colvin, during McEnany's first press briefing as press secretary on Friday

Seems legit.

McEnany also said that impeached President Donald Trump has never lied to the American people, which is of course another lie.

Clip below of the line in question:

"I will never lie to you. You have my word on that."  Kayleigh McEnany during her first press briefing as press secretary (bookmark this) pic.twitter.com/PqUhRAWiun  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 1, 2020

Of course she means it.

Some reactions from skeptical Twitter below.

"I will never lie to you," Kayleigh McEnany said from White House briefing room podium  Michael Tackett (@tackettdc) May 1, 2020

Remember this: AP's Jill Colvin: "Will you pledge to never lie to us?" Kayleigh McEnany: "I will never lie to you. You have my word on that."  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 1, 2020

Reporter: "Can you promise us that you'll never lie from the podium".

Kayleigh McEnany: "Yes, I promise I will never lie from the podium. Also, did you know China developed COVID-19 as a biological weapon and aliens are real and also Biden kills babies and puppies?"  Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) May 1, 2020

Reporter: "Will you pledge never to lie to us from that podium?" Kayleigh McEnany: "I will never lie to you, you have my word as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh."  Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) May 1, 2020
Albany, N.Y.  Schools in New York state will remain closed through the end of this academic year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

There will be no in-person classes, but remote learning will continue. The academic year at public schools normally ends in late June in New York state.

"We must protect our children, students and educators,'' Cuomo said.

Schools have higher density and transportation issues, which have to be taken into consideration, he said.

He said remote learning has been "functioning well,'' although it was done in a rush. Cuomo said there are lessons to be learned from it.

The governor said a decision on summer school will be made at the end of May. Some districts, he said earlier this week, have been considering summer school.

Schools need to begin working on reopening plans for when schools - and colleges - do reopen, Cuomo said.

How social distancing can happen in schools has to be looked at, the governor said

Cuomo had previously announced schools would be closed through May 15, but said he would make a decision on whether to reopen or not before that date. He has said he needed more data on how well flattening the curve on coronavirus cases was working before deciding what to do with schools.

The state had previously waived its requirement that schools operate 180 days this school year and has cancelled the year-end Regents examinations.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

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A problem for NY businesses: Workers wont return when they can get unemployment on steroids

Struggling restaurant owner tried to help others. Now shes lost a lot of money

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or by Email
MOROTO  State Minister for Karamoja Affairs Mr. Moses Kizige has directed the districts environment officers and forestry officers in to work with police to ensure that people who are dealing in commercial charcoal business in the region are arrested and charged in the courts of law.

The minister issued the warning on Wednesday, April 29 while receiving three vehicles from GIZ.

Mr. Kizige noted that Karamoja region especially Napak and Nabilatuk districts were losing a lot trees daily for commercial charcoal burning saying its dangerous to already affected region.

Am seeing very many lories carrying charcoal from Karamoja to Kampala and Kenya. This must stop. We should save thess few trees and we plant more than finishing them out, he said.

He also cautioned the district officials who received the vehicles to use them for the intended purpose saying whoever abuses the car will be dealt with.

The districts that received the vehicles include Abim, Nabilatuke and Amudat.

Mr. Emmy Lomongin Babu who represented GIZ said the purpose of the vehicles is to help the district sensitize the communities in their respective districts for production.

Mr. Francis Okori, the commissioner of Karamoja development hailed GIZ for their commitment in supplementing government efforts to develop Karamoja.

Related
US attempts to present itself as part of Iran nuclear deal have 'no future': Russian envoy

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 5:13 PM

Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna has lambasted the US for trying to present Washington as still a participant to Iran's nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying such attempts have "no future."

"The US attempts to present itself as 'JCPOA participant' have no future. It is like common sense mockery. Those who invented this idea gave bad advice to US authorities. Cynical approaches must have their own limits in order not to compromise the national policy to the worst extent," Mikhail Ulyanov said on Twitter on Wednesday.

The landmark nuclear deal had been reached between Iran and five other countries  the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China in 2015. However, in May 2018, American President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran and began unleashing the "toughest ever" fresh sanctions.

An arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council against Iran - in place since 2006/2007- will be lifted in October 2020, under the world body's Resolution 2231 that enshrined JCPOA).

However, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose country is no longer a participant of the nuclear deal, said Wednesday that Washington was considering "every possibility" to renew the ban on selling conventional arms to Iran.

He said the US administration was urging the E3 "to take action which is within their capacity today."

"We'll work with the UN Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales," Pompeo continued, insisting that Washington is technically still a participant of the JCPOA despite Trump's official withdrawal from the deal.

But later in the day, European officials told CNN that the E3  Britain, Germany and France - would not back the US call for renewing the embargo.

A European source stressed that the countries still in the agreement cannot support the US proposal because the arms embargo's expiration is a formal and legal part of the treaty.

"You won't see the E3 signing up for that because the arms embargo end is a legitimate part of the JCPOA," he said.

With the date of the removal of the arms embargo nearing, Washington has shared with some members of the UN Security Council a draft resolution to prolong the embargo indefinitely.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tehran must not give in to Washington's "provocations" in the Persian Gulf.

"We are urging maximum restraint and caution, not to give in to provocations and aggressive rhetoric," she said at a press conference on Moscow.

"Moscow has always considered stability and security in the Persian Gulf to be a key factor that influences the situation in the wider regional context," Zakharova added.

Her comments came as the US and Iran traded barbs over a spate of incidents during the past year involving their forces in the sensitive waters of the Persian Gulf.

Just recently, Trump alleged in a tweet that he had ordered the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian gunboats that "harass" American ships in the Persian Gulf, following a recent confrontation between US warships and Iranian military boats in the waters.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) hit out at the "unprofessional and perilous" behavior of US warships in the waterway, and said they had "caused trouble" for one of the force's logistics ships that was on a routine patrol.

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces also said early in the week that the presence of the US and its allies in the West Asia region had been the source of insecurity for regional countries, warning that any provocative move by US forces would be met with Iranian Armed Forces' strong response.

In an apparent response to Trump's tweet, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during a cabinet session on Wednesday that "the Americans should know that this waterway is called 'the Persian Gulf.' It is not called 'the New York Gulf' or 'the Washington Gulf.'"

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Executive chef Keith Corbin and chef de cuisine Gwen Etta prepare meals as part of the High Road Kitchens program at Alta Adams. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Seven weeks after California restaurants were told to close their dining rooms, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office announced a new initiative to help the restaurant industry, which has been decimated by the coronavirus outbreak. Called High Road Kitchens , the program helps fund a network of independent restaurants to provide meals on a sliding scale to folks in need.

The program, which is supported by both public and private funds, offers money to help restaurants reopen and re-employ their staff. Those restaurants, in turn, commit to provide livable wages and equity to their workers. The program is managed by One Fair Wage , a nonprofit that advocates for tipped workers, who make less than the minimum wage in all but seven states.

High Road Kitchen grew out of discussions among chef-activists that include Los Angeles chef Daniel Patterson; Robert Egger, the founder of DC Central Kitchen; and Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage and director of UC Berkeley's Food Labor Research Center. The group founded High Road Kitchens in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, but they envision it as something that could help improve what they call an already-flawed restaurant industry.

Meals are available on a sliding scale and range from $20 to $0 depending on what an individual can pay. Alta Adams is offering the "family meal," which consists of braised beef, red beans, brown rice and collard greens. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

"We can give this thing some legs past the crisis," said Patterson, whose restaurant Alta Adams reopened Thursday in West Adams, serving a takeout menu that includes a High Road Kitchens sliding-scale payment option for customers. (Diners can choose a price option from the online menu, including zero.)

Alta Adams and Barcito , Andrea Borgen's downtown Argentine restaurant, are the first two restaurants in Los Angeles to participate. Another 11 in Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Monterey and Sacramento are also implementing the program. Some of the restaurants serve their full or partial menus in addition to a High Road Kitchens option; Namu Stonepot in San Francisco and Julia's Vegetarian Restaurant in Monterey are only selling dishes using the sliding scale model.

Story continues

Under the terms of the program, High Road Kitchens gives restaurants an initial grant. In turn, the restaurants agree to join One Fair Wage within five years; implement its race, gender and equity programs; serve a minimum of 500 free meals; and follow through with the scaled payment model. How the individual restaurants do that is left up to them, but High Road Kitchens offers support with implementing the program.

Hours before the doors to the restaurant opened, Alta Adams executive chef Keith Corbin, chef de cuisine Gwen Etta and Patterson  all three gloved and masked  packed boxes with the braised beef, collards, red beans and rice that comprised the first High Road Kitchens menu offering, called "family meal." The closed-off dining room was stacked with a jigsaw of empty chairs. Patterson dropped chicken in the fryer, then tasted it. "Oh my God, yes," he said, the joy of cooking in a working kitchen again filling his voice.

Even before the pandemic, the system needed to be reset, Patterson said: "It's like a bone, it has to be broken."

The 13 California restaurants are the first phase of the program; organizers hope to launch in New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Michigan next.

"The world has changed and its not going to change back, Patterson said. Something will come back  but its up to us to decide what that is."
First of all the face and hands of each one were washed, and then the children sat down to breakfast, the Tribune reported after the first day of classes. Then the children washed the dishes, took their first lessons in camp duties, and received light instruction in the school building, the tent in which the classes are to be held not having been delivered. There were frequent intermissions for play, story telling, and gymnastics.
A grandmother who died from Covid-19 after contracting the deadly virus at Owen Mor Care Centre had beaten cancer, her family has revealed

A grandmother who died from Covid-19 after contracting the deadly virus at Owen Mor Care Centre had beaten cancer, her family has revealed.

The son of the pensioner spoke out about his concerns for his mum when it first emerged that six residents had been diagnosed with the killer virus at the end of March.

His mum, who was living with dementia, was in a separate unit at the Londonderry home but was subsequently found to have the virus after she was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital for treatment for breathing problems and a spike in her temperature.

She was subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19 and died on April 21 - three weeks after her son first raised concerns.

She is one of at least 11 residents who have died as coronavirus has spread through the facility and her son has hit out at the lack of measures put in place by officials to keep elderly people safe from the virus.

Describing the family's harrowing ordeal as they waited for news of his mum each day, he explained: "For two weeks we phoned for five minute updates each day in hospital, the staff were very busy but it was a long wait for a progress report.

"When you're visiting relatives in hospital in person, normally you're in a better position to provide other medical or historical background to doctors - I was unable to do that during brief calls and this adds to the stress of it all.

"As with all Covid patients, we were only ever in a position to FaceTime mum, when mum was critical on the day she passed away it was particularly painful having to FaceTime our goodbyes, basically feeling totally helpless during the whole situation.

"Mum was known for her smile, she always loved the company of family and friends, she was known for her style and fashion sense.

"She was devoted to her children and grandchildren and had a strong faith, she was also resilient with a great work ethic - she was determined and survived stage four cancer before dementia set in.

"Ironically, mum was calm and at peace in her last six months, she enjoyed the sweet things in life and often gave a hearty laugh at my attempts to joke or poke fun at her.

"She periodically mentioned our names - even in the ninth year of her dementia.

"We were there for mum, during every doctor's appointment over those nine years but we weren't able to be with her in person and hold her hand at the end."
Rs 239.40(Kindle edition); Penguin

The sacred overtones and undertones of motherhood ensure that it all becomes nothing short of a religion  where there is space only for absolute surrender and devotion. Reasoning of sacred truths is shot down and you will, in all probability, be branded a heathen. The once-a-mother-always-and-only-a-mother golden rule and dictum is applied, with full force, when it comes to matters of sexuality. Any talk around libidos has no home herethis is a mother after all, be respectful.

We hear it so often, from boring government ads about womens safety, to spiffy tweets around merchandise in cool real mard movements, but what is this respect all about? Where does it come from, and what does it mean? What are the many ways in which we can understand it? Is it selective, in that we choose to be respectful towards one aspect of a mothers life, her person, her body even, but not the rest of her? What about her mind and her desires? Her body that also houses her appetites? Pushing it further, do we respect only mothers, but not other women? Famed Urdu poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar had put it well, that is to say, with immense cheek, in his deconstruction of that oft-used word, If I was born on January 17, does my mother become worthy of respect only January 17 onwards? Was she not worthy of it on January 16 then, or before it? What kind of respect is this? My birth bestows respect on her, in some kind of reflected glory. In essence, it means, When we say respect mothers, what we are really saying is dont respect women. Nailing it much like Oprah, you could say.

But mothers are women.

A nineteenth-century guidebook for Indian women, Nari Ank, says:

The word Ma has an inexplicable purity . . . the foundation of true love requires foregoing self-interest and the supreme form of such love can be seen in mothers love . . . a mothers love does not have the stench of sexual desire, it does not have the instability of greed and she is not corrupted by selfishness.

Kylie Jenner, on her Instagram page, said, You remind me that motherhood and sexuality can coexist and just because you embrace your sexuality doesnt mean . . . youre not a good mother. You can be sexy and still be a badass mum.

Author Pooja Pande (The Hassanwalia Sisters)

It is fascinating (in hindsight, frustrating in the moment) how the arrival of a child can alter the dynamics of a romantic/sexual relationship. There are the obvious ways, such as the physical truths of the new mother as well as the father (who goes through his own churnings, which remain even more undocumented), the entry of a tiny new life, usually much anticipated, into the equation between two adults that has been formed  and if youre lucky and have worked on it, evolved, etc. over a period of time. Like any good kabab mein haddi joke worth its weight in spices, things are bound to be different. Assuming new parents are indulging in what the Americans call co-sleeping and what we Indians call, simply, sleeping, the baby is now nestled right in the centre on your bed  pride of place and also, practical. (Refer to said hyper paranoia around baby toppling off bed.) If there ever was a quick, sure-fire way to de-romanticize the marital bed, well, its this! The space that harbours hot memories of trying out new positions, the good times embedded into your brain? Yeah, thats where the baby is busy regurgitating milk now, or perhaps its where youve piled up the nappies because youre too knackered  for not such great reasons.

It is all part of the transition, of course, and an acknowledgement of this fact is par for the course. There is a time for everything in life should you choose to experience it, but what we must assume distance from, where we must interrogate and push for rectification, is the cultural pushback against the sexuality of mothers, because that is far too serious, far too real. Sex after all, is also about intimacy, connection, expression, that difficult-to-put-into-words bond you form with someone special  its all wrapped up in the pleasure and the release. It can be the way in which you recalibrate your relationship dynamics, in fact, but no one tells you that, or deems it important.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro will decide over the weekend whether to gamble his political career on running for the federal seat of Eden-Monaro.

Mr Barilaro's federal ambitions would set up a three-way showdown between the Liberal Party, Labor and the Nationals for the marginal seat in south-east NSW, which Labor holds on a knife's edge of 0.9 per cent.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says he will announce his decision early next week about whether he will contest the Eden-Monaro byelection. Credit:Rhett Wyman

"I've got a tough decision to make," the NSW Nationals leader said on Friday. "I'm proud of what I've achieved in NSW. I still think there is more for me to do here."

However, he added that he was "having sleepless nights", and would spend the weekend at his farm weighing up his options before announcing his decision early next week.
interview

Denis Goldberg, a close colleague of Nelson Mandela's in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, has died. In a recent interview with DW, he reminisced about his struggle for justice, his imprisonment and his life.

Anti-apartheid veteran Denis Goldberg died on Wednesday at his home in Hout Bay, South Africa, aged 87, after a battle with lung cancer.

Goldberg, a prominent member of the now-ruling African National Congress, spent 22 years in prison for resisting white rule in South Africa. He was sentenced in the infamous 1964 Rivonia trial alongside Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters, including Raymond Mhlaba, Govan Mbeki, and Walter Sisulu.

In January this year, Goldberg talked to DW about his political influences, how he became involved in the anti-apartheid fight, and his thoughts on the ANC now.

DW: You became political at quite a young age.

Denis Goldberg: I grew up in a political home. My parents were working class people from the East End of London. They came to South Africa and discovered apartheid and it was unacceptable to them. There was constant political discussion in our home and so I grew up very aware of what apartheid was like.

I also grew up during World War Two. South Africa had racism by law but we sent soldiers to fight the Nazi racists. When you're 12 years old, it doesn't make sense. My real heroes were the people who said they're not going to live under the absurd system of racism of the Nazis and were prepared to risk their lives. I think that was the biggest influence on my life, that if I was called on, I would have to do something.

Many years later, Nelson Mandela said he's setting up an illegal army. He said, 'Dennis, you've got the technical training [because I was a trained civil engineer]. You know how to build bridges. Can you blow them up? And will you join?' I said, 'yes, of course.'

Well, one thing leads to another - like 22 years in prison. But it was worth it.

Do I regret it? I would have liked to have had a nice life. I would have liked to have been a great engineer, rich as anything. But I don't have any sadness about it. I did what I believed was necessary. And it was necessary.

Nelson Mandela asked you to come and join Umnkonto we Sizwe (the armed wing of the ANC), because of your technical expertise. Did it take you a long time to make the decision?

About 30 seconds! I had grown up knowing that when I was called on to act, I would do so. It was an easy decision for me but tough for my family and my children - not just my children, all of our children, they really paid the price.

My late daughter, she would say, 'why my daddy? Why not everybody else's daddy?' It's very difficult to try and tell a child why you feel you have to do something. In the end, we could talk to each other and give a hug and a kiss and sort of get on with it. But it was difficult for her - and all of our children and wives.

When you and your comrades were convicted in 1964 [for treason and sabotage], you could have been sentenced to death?

Absolutely.

How did that feel?

I think the judge took a decision that he would leave what would happen to the politicians. And partly that was due to the evidence we all gave, especially Walter Sisulu, who gave evidence in such a calm, clear intellectual manner - a history lesson of the African National Congress of Apartheid.

I think the judge in the end realized that he couldn't possibly sentence a man of that caliber - of that integrity and intelligence - to death.

At the time, my mother called out: What is the sentence? I said, it's life and life is wonderful.

And I have to say that life in South Africa is wonderful for me and I think for a lot of people.

You were separated from your comrades and sent to a whites-only prison. Was that particularly challenging for you?

It was indeed. We requested that we be sent to Robben Island [where Nelson Mandela and the others were imprisoned] to share the experience. The attitude of the authorities was: 'We have a policy of apartheid. We are not going to put you together' because that would deny everything they believed in.

We took a stand. We gradually defeated them in a sense that they could not deal with us as brutally as they would like to because there was international support as well.

Does that time in prison come back to you? Or have you put it behind you?

There are times when I wake up in the middle of the night wondering where I am. Am I in prison? Why am I thinking about prison? Why am I feeling anxious? But not often. Not so much any more. That was much more in the past but it's there. You know, 22 years is a big chunk of your life. And you can't deny its effect, but I am fairly pragmatic and you have to move on.

You left South Africa for England [when you were released in 1985] and worked for the ANC in London from then until the end of apartheid in 1994. How was that knowing that your comrades were still imprisoned?

I traveled the world speaking on behalf of the ANC, meeting government officials, heads of intelligence and calling on them to act because they were co-operating with apartheid and they couldn't have it both ways, believe in freedom and at the same time support the apartheid regime financially and diplomatically in various ways.

Over the long term, it began to have an effect. Partly because people all over the world responded in demanding of their governments and their officials that they act in accordance with their human beliefs about freedom. It was a very exciting time to see the way in which politics really works.

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Do you think the ANC is still the right party to lead South Africa?

I can't think of any other party that has the possible connections to the mass of people, not just in Cape Town but throughout the country. And not just in the cities but in the countryside. It has a history of people listening to the ANC.

More and more, within the ANC, including from President Cyril Ramaphosa and other great leaders, there's the thought that [the ANC has] gone wrong - we've done things wrong and we have to win the trust of our people again.

The only way to do that is to be honest with them and tell them what we've done wrong and try to put it right. I think that's a good starting point and gives me hope for the future.

Are you satisfied with the current party leadership?

Yes, I'm pleased. Especially with President Ramaphosa who's come out openly to say, 'people don't trust us any more. We have to regain their trust.' By talking about it openly, he makes it possible.

DW Africa correspondent Adrian Kriesch conducted this interview with Denis Goldberg on 22nd of January 2020 at his home in Hout Bay, South Africa. It has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Wash your hands with soap often under running water: This is probably one of the most uttered pieces of advice against the spread of COVID-19. But how do you wash your hands if you don't have access to clean water?

At a dam located in Damakon Yili near Tamale, in Ghana's northern region, several women and children carefully tread into the shallow water. This dam is where the entire community fetches water for their home needs. Nimatu Issahaku, one of the women, says they have no options. "For us, this is good water because we have no alternative, so we have to use it," she said.

This community has no tap water, although Nimatu knows about the importance of using clean water to fight the virus. "They said we should wash our hands in running water, but we don't have that kind of water unless we use the dam water."

This dam serves about 2,000 households in three communities. Fatahiya Zakaria, another woman at the dam, told DW that her community is exposed. "It disturbs us. Everyone talks about using clean water but if the water is not clean, what becomes of your hygiene? This water is too dirty to protect us."

Clean water issues are nothing new across the African continent. In rural arid regions of Namibia or Mali, water may simply be unavailable. And in wet regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania or Mozambique, poor or non-existent sanitation has resulted in unsafe drinking water, which has been behind the cholera outbreaks in recent years.

Little access to tap water

According to UN children's agency, UNICEF, an estimated 5 million Ghanaians rely on groundwater to meet their daily needs, leaving them vulnerable to water-related diseases. For resident Ziblim Ibrahim, this is unacceptable, especially while Ghana is fighting the coronavirus pandemic. "We don't have piped water. We always fetch from the dam. Our problem is that someone could have the [COVID-19]virus and come to enter the dam."

Not all communities have local dams, and some have to travel far to fetch their water. But for most rural Ghanaians, this is a normal, albeit stressful, task.

To fight the virus, the Ghanaian government has deployed tankers to provide free water to communities that are not connected to the main grid. But many are not benefiting from this relief.

Near water, but with no water

The Kenyan town of Kisumu, one of East Africa's biggest and most livable cities, is a stone's throw away from Lake Victoria, Africa's largest freshwater body. However, street vendor Samuel Koyondo struggles to find clean water. "We have the Ministry of Water there, Lake Victoria there, but at times you can go for three days without water," Koyondo told DW.

"Yet they say wash your hands with soap, use sanitizers and remember everything goes with water. They [the government] added 21 more days [of movement restrictions]. How do you expect us to survive in this situation, really?"

While residents like Harriet Mutesi may want to follow hygiene guidelines necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, her access to water, or lack thereof, limits her. "The government is urging us to keep washing hands and maintain hygiene, but we have many challenges," Mutesi told DW.

"I have to walk a long distance of about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to access clean water," she said, complaining that this has inconvenienced her family because they have to keep washing their hands over and over.

Beautician Sheila Nabatanzi had to temporarily close her salon because, apart from the government ban on hairdressers, restaurants and bars, she couldn't rely on a constant supply of clean drinking water. "When water supply is low a jerrycan (5-liter/1.3 gallon container) could go for about 500 Kenya shillings (4/$5) or 300 [Kenya shillings] and that could be expensive in a season like this, when people do not have enough money."

Zimbabwe's water woes

Southern Africa also has its problems. Zimbabweans had water issues even before COVID-19 struck, and the pandemic has only served to highlight the dilapidated state of basic water infrastructure.

Blessing Gwanyira, an activist with the Zimbabwean watchdog Citizens Health Watch, told DW her experience before the coronavirus outbreak. "One woman had just given birth at one of the local clinics in the rural areas. She told me that ever since she gave birth, she had not bathed because there was no water," Gwanyira said.

"Water is a challenge. You can imagine it's a health facility where people are supposed to be exercising high levels of hygiene."

For Jestina Mukoko of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, a human rights monitoring group, the problems go much deeper. Wealthy Zimbabweans can simply drill water boreholes for their homes while the vast majority of Zimbabweans cannot afford this luxury. Instead, they rely on a distinctly unreliable network of water points.

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"At this time when we are trying to fight the coronavirus which really requires people to be extremely hygienic, it becomes problematic if someone cannot get the water within their own household or within their own grounds. That they have to go out to be able to get water," Mukoko said.

Like in most crisis situations in poor areas, some unscrupulous people are trying to make profit, one way or another. "There are young people who have recognized that they could be making money out of this scarcity of water," Mukoko told DW. "They take huge containers of water and lots of buckets, fill them up with water and then they go about selling the water."

Inadequate basic services and access to clean water have consistently plagued Africa. Before COVID-19, these conditions were borderline manageable. Now, Africa's battle against COVID-19 has laid them bare.

Frank Yiga, Maxwell Suuk and Emily Gordine contributed to this article.
T he coronavirus crisis has sparked a huge increase in people using food banks for essential supplies, charities have warned.

The Trussell Trust said its network had seen its busiest-ever period, with 81 per cent more emergency food parcels being given out in the last two weeks of March.

People struggling with the amount of income they were receiving from working or benefits was the main reason for the increase, the trust said.

The Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) also reported a record level of need, with an average 59 per cent increase from February to March - 17 times higher than this time last year.

The Evening Standard last month launched its Food For London Now appeal.

Were aiming to raise 10m over the next three years to support the Felix Project in its mission to feed vulnerable people and NHS workers across the capital.

More than 3m has already been raised for Felix, which has scaled up to quadruple its daily food deliveries to the equivalent of 100,000 meals a day.

ES Food For London Now at Reffetorio Felix

A coalition of charities - including the Trussell Trust, IFAN, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Children's Society, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, StepChange and Turn2us - is urging the Government to do more to help protect people from being "swept into destitution" amid a huge rise in applications for Universal Credit in recent weeks.

Demand for emergency food parcels had been soaring over the past five years, with research showing that households referred to food banks are, on average, left with just 50 per week after housing costs, said the charities.

The coalition called on the Government to provide a coronavirus emergency income support scheme that helps individuals and families who are already facing or at serious risk of financial hardship.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: "Like a tidal wave gathering pace, an economic crisis is sweeping towards us, but we don't all have lifeboats.

"It's not right that this has meant some of us don't have enough money for essentials and are being pushed to food banks."

Sabine Goodwin, of IFAN, said: "Independent food bank teams in our network are seeing steep rises in need for emergency food parcels as the consequences of Covid-19 take hold.

"The solution is not in trying to distribute more food parcels but in providing sufficient income to the huge numbers of people impacted by this crisis and the poverty that preceded it."

Alison Garnham, chief executive of the CPAG, said: "We need targeted support for children if we are to shield them from poverty. Raising the level of all benefits for children would be the most effective way of getting support to families quickly."

Helen Barnard, acting director of the JRF, added: "It's simply not right that so many more people are having to turn to food banks because they are unable to meet their basic costs.

"We all want to help each other weather this storm, but families with children are being particularly hard hit and do not have the lifeline they need to stay afloat."

TODO: define component type apester

Luke Pollard, shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, said: "There is more than enough food in our supply chains to make sure that everyone has enough to eat. This is now not a crisis of food supply, it's a crisis of poverty. People simply do not have enough money to buy the food they need.

"The Government urgently needs to expand which shops are able to accept free school meal vouchers to include those supermarkets most present in our poorest communities."

A Government spokesman said: "We're committed to supporting all those affected by Covid-19 through these unprecedented times and we've implemented an enormous package of measures to do so, including income protection schemes and mortgage holidays.

"For those in most need, we've injected more than 6.5 billion into the welfare system, including an increase to Universal Credit of up to 1,040 a year. No-one has to wait five weeks for money as urgent payments are available."
Australians are being forced to cough up an extra $200 on their weekly supermarket bill during the coronavirus pandemic.

Coles, Woolworths and IGA have significantly reduced the number of items on special as they focus on replenishing much-needed necessities.

Customers are also rushing their weekly shop while maintaining social distancing and aren't giving themselves enough time to look for cheaper brand alternatives.

Shoppers are seen observing social distancing at Khan's SUPA IGA in Wakeley, NSW on April 17

Mother-of-seven Naomi Watson, from Point Cook in Victoria, said her grocery bill has soared to $700 as she struggles to find home-brand equivalents.

'Before isolation I would average $500 a week,' she told Herald Sun.

'I'm now at about $700 and that's just for the basics.'

Woolworths CEO Bradford Banducci explained the reason less items were on special was due to the demand of other mainstream products.

'At the height of the surge in demand, we had no choice but to withdraw our printed catalogues and reduce the number of specials,' he said.

'This was simply so we could prioritise getting essential products to stores without our supply chain having to cope with the extra volume of products needed for a full program of specials.'

He pointed out that fruit and vegetable prices soared due to 'normal seasonal variations' while others were due to the 'impacts of drought'.

A shopper is seen wearing a mask in Brisbane, Friday, May 1, 2020

Woolworths CEO Bradford Banducci explained the reason to not having many items on special is due to the demand of other products (Pictured: Empty pasta and sauce shelves at Woolworths in the Gold Coast on March 21)

A study of 1,000 consumers found grocery bills increased a minimum of $20 a week.

'Customers have become less price sensitive and want instant gratification, no matter what their age, income or postcode,' Marketing Focus retail analyst Barry Urquhart said.

'The single most important thing is that they can get their toilet rolls or pasta or rice or any item.

'The mere fact that it is there is more important than what they are paying, it is peace-of-mind purchasing.'

He also pointed out that due to restrictions, people are cooking more rather than eating out which is contributed to the slight increase in grocery bills.

According to an ANZ analysis of card transaction there was a massive 80 per cent extra spending at supermarkets in mid-March compared to the same time last year.
Shelley Davies waits for her delivery at Plants and Friends./Douglas Zimmerman/SFGate

LATEST May 1, 3 p.m. Bay Area counties announced new coronavirus cases on Thursday; as other counties report the latest numbers, the list below will be updated throughout the day.

 San Mateo County reported three new deaths and 20 new cases. The total number of cases is now 1,197 and the death toll is 51.

 San Francisco County reported three additional deaths and 24 new cases, bringing the death toll to 28 and the case total to 1,499.

 Alameda County reported two new deaths and 33 new cases. The total number of cases is 1,636, and the death toll is 62.

 Contra Costa County reported one new death and 16 new cases. The total number of cases is 907 and the death toll is 28.

 Napa County reported one new case, increasing its total to 68. The death toll is two.

 Santa Clara County reported two new deaths and 21 new cases. The total number of cases is 2,179 and the death toll is 113.

 Solano County reported three new cases, increasing its total to 266. The death toll remains five.

 Marin County reported two new cases, increasing its total to 239. The death toll remains 13.

The Bay Area death toll crossed 300 when Alameda County reported its new deaths. 304 Bay Area residents have died of the virus over the course of the pandemic.

May 1, 12:45 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press conference Friday he is "very close" to making "meaningful augmentations" to the state's stay-at-home order.

"We're getting very close to making very meaningful augmentations to that stay-at-home order," he said. "We said 'weeks, not months' about four or five days ago. I want to say 'many days, not weeks.' As long as we continue to be prudent and thoughtful in certain modifications, I think we'll be making some announcements."

In an off-handed comment, he added that restaurants will reopen in California in Stage 2 of his reopening plan. He did not offer many other details, but has said in past briefings that when restaurants reopen, they will be required to operate under certain guidelines, such as keeping tables far apart.

"Were getting very close to making some announcements that will be meaningful to people in the retail sector, the hospitality sector, and yes, that second phase includes restaurants," he said.

Newsom has been talking about relaxing the shelter-in-place order for the past two weeks and has said the economy and society will reopen in four stages. The state is currently in Stage 1 with most everyone staying home.

In other announcements, Newsom said 5.1 million masks were distributed today and more than 8 million have been given out this week. The state has also booked 78,000 hotel rooms for frontline workers, helping prevent workers from spread the coronavirus to their families.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged the economic dislocation that millions and millions of Californians suffer from across the state. Since March 12, Newsom said 3.8 million people have filed for unemployment insurance and $7.8 billion have been distributed to people in need. The state has also had 340,000 independent contractors or self-employed workers apply for Public Unemployment Assistance (PUI) and Newsom said these applications are being processed as fast as humanly possible.

We have a record number of people unemployed, he said.

In the past 24 hours, the state has seen 92 deaths. Hospitalizations went down 2% and the number of patients in intensive care remains flat.

May 1, 11:30 a.m. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced the White House would be distributing $12 billion to nearly 400 American hospitals that have admitted the most patients who tested positive for COVID-19.

McEnany also followed up on a statement made by President Donald Trump Thursday regarding the origins of the coronavirus, saying Trumps statement is consistent with what some analysts believe is the origin point of the virus.

That intelligence statement made two points: that this virus originated in China, and that it began through contact with infected animals or was the result of an accident in Wuhan.

On Thursday, Trump signaled that he believed the virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He told reporters in the room that he had seen evidence to suggest as much, but that he would not elaborate on what he had seen, saying, I cant tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that.

May 1, 8:50 a.m. Calling for an end to Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order, a "Reopen California" protest planned for noon in San Francisco is among about a dozen rallies that will occur around the state, KGO reports.

A protest will take place near the Capitol in Sacramento even though the California Highway Patrol didn't grant the group a permit.

"It is very reminiscent of the early days of the Tea Party," Lawrence Rosenthal, chair of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies at UC Berkeley, told MSN. "Theres a contrast between the high-powered donors and the people who wound up in the streets."

KQED reported that "hundreds" showed up for the Sacramento event.

May 1, 8:30 a.m. San Francisco has distributed $1.5 million in one-time grants to individual artists and cultural organizations that have taken a financial blow due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor London Breed wrote on Twitter that 527 individuals and 65 arts groups have received the funding through the Arts and Artists Relief Fund created in March.

Due to the high volume of applications, Breed said, "We're now adding an additional $250,000 to the fund to provide support during this difficult time."

"Most individuals received $1,500 and most organizations received $15,000," according to KQED.

Cumulative cases in the greater Bay Area (due to limited testing these numbers reflect only a small portion of likely cases):

ALAMEDA COUNTY: 1,636 confirmed cases, 62 deaths

For more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 907 confirmed cases, 28 deaths

For more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website.

LAKE COUNTY: 6 confirmed cases

For information on Lake County and coronavirus, visit the public health department website.

MARIN COUNTY: 237 confirmed cases, 13 deaths

Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website.

MONTEREY COUNTY: 206 confirmed cases, 5 deaths

For more information on Monterey County cases, visit the public health department website.

NAPA COUNTY: 68 cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN BENITO COUNTY: 51 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on San Benito County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 1,523 confirmed cases, 28 deaths

For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1,197 confirmed cases, 51 deaths

For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 2,179 confirmed cases, 113 deaths

Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 131 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Santa Cruz County cases, visit the public health department website.

SOLANO COUNTY: 266 confirmed cases, 5 deaths

For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website.

SONOMA COUNTY: 248 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website.

In California, 1,956 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University. For comparison, New York has 23,477, New Jersey 6,771 and Illinois 2,215.

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There can't be a loss that feels heavier than losing your partner and your soulmate. Even though death is the most certain thing in life, one can never be prepared well enough to cope up with the loss.

For many, time is the only medicine that they rely on, to reduce the grief. Also, there are people who find a way of accepting reality as they believe that have them in their hearts forever.

For Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa, the last few days have been tough. She lost her husband and actor Irrfan Khan to cancer.

Sutapa/Facebook

After a day of graceful and dignified silence, late Irrfan Khan's wife and writer Sutapa Sikdar shared an emotional farewell post for her husband on Facebook.



Sutapa/Facebook

Sharing a picture of the two of them, Sutapa wrote:

Sutapa Sikdar/Facebook

"I have not lost, I have gained in every which way". In just a few words, Sutapa managed to describe her state of mind in the most beautiful possible way.

Today, the family also released an official statement. Statement from Irrfan Khans Family - His wife Sutapa and sons Babil, Ayaan reads:

"How can I write this as a family statement when the whole world is taking it as a personal loss? How can I begin to feel alone when millions are grieving with us at the moment?

Indiatimes/Ranak Mann

I want to assure everyone that this is not a loss, it is a gain. Its a gain of the things he taught us, and now we shall finally begin to truly implement it and evolve. Yet I want to try to fill in the things that people dont already know.

Its unbelievable for us but I would put it in Irrfans words, its magical whether he is there or not there, and thats what he loved, he never loved one-dimensional reality.

The only thing I have a grudge against him is; he has spoiled me for life. His strive for perfection doesnt let me settle for ordinary in anything.

There was a rhythm which he always saw in everything, even in cacophony and chaos, so I have learnt to sing and dance to the music of that rhythm, even with my tone-deaf voice and two left feet.

Funnily, our life was a masterclass in acting, so when the dramatic entry of the uninvited guests happened, I had by then learnt, to see harmony in the cacophony.

New York Times

The doctors reports were like scripts that I wanted to perfect, so I never miss any detail that he sought for in his performance.

We met some amazing people in this journey and the list is endless, but there are some whom I have to mention, our oncologist Dr. Nitesh Rohtogi (Max hospital Saket) who held our hand in the beginning, Dr. Dan Krell (UK), Dr. Shidravi (UK), my heartbeat and my lantern in the dark Dr. Sevanti Limaye (Kokilaben hospital).

Its difficult to explain what a wondrous, beautiful, overwhelming, painful, and exciting this journey has been. I find this 2 and 1/2 years to have been an interlude, which had its own beginning, middle, and culmination with Irrfan helming the role of the orchestra conductor, separate from the 35 years of our companionship, ours was not a marriage, it was a union.

Twitter

I see my little family, in a boat, with both my sons Babil and Ayaan, paddling it forward, with Irrfan guiding them wahan nahi, yahan se modo but since life is not cinema and there are no retakes, I sincerely wish my children sail this boat safely with their fathers guidance in mind and rockabye through the storm.

I asked my children, if possible, they could sum up a lesson taught by their father that has been important to them; Babil: Learn to surrender to the dance of uncertainty and trust your faith in the universe Ayaan:

Learn to control your mind and to not let it control you. Tears will flow as we will plant a raat ki rani tree, his favourite, to the place where you have put him to rest after a victorious journey. It takes time but it will bloom and the fragrance will spread and touch all the souls whom I wont call them fans but family for years to come."

Irrfan and Sutapa/Twitter

The line itself speaks volumes about the kind of husband and life-partner Irrfan was.

Twitter/Prasanna Heggodu

On the very same day, Irrfan's son Babil Khan too shared a heartfelt note on his social media account where he thanked everyone for all the love.

Irrfan Khan/Twitter

He wrote, "I'm deeply grateful for all the condolences you beautiful friends are pouring in for me. Although, I hope you understand that right now I'm not being able to reply because my vocabulary is dizzy. I will get back to each one of you but just not right now. Thank you so much! I love you."



Irrfan Khan, who is touted as one of India's finest artists, breathed his last age of 53 in Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Wednesday morning. He had been battling cancer and his health worsened after a colon infection.

The actor was buried at the Versova kabrastan in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon. Filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj, Tigmanshu Dhulia, and Abhinay Deo, who directed him in Maqbool, Paan Singh Tomar, and Blackmail respectively, were at his funeral amid strict security because of the lockdown.



Irrfan, who became a crossover actor in Hollywood put India on a global map with movies including The Lunchbox and Life Of Pi. Irrfan Khan is survived by his wife and two sons, Babil and Ayan.


Great British Bake Off Star Prue Leith has admitted she is closer to her adopted daughter than her biological son - despite her mother's warnings that 'adoption was a risk'.

The 80-year-old recently made a documentary, Journey with my Daughter, about Li-Da's traumatic start in war-torn Cambodia as they searched for her biological family.

Now, she has confessed that she is closer to the 45-year-old, than she is to her Conservative MP son, Danny Kruger.

Speaking on Katie Piper's Extraordinary People podcast, she said: 'I have always been really close to Li-Da, oddly enough closer to Li-Da than I am I think to my son, although I adore him and love him just as much, but I don't see so much of him.

Great British Bake Off Star Prue Leith has admitted she is closer to her adopted daughter Li-Da (pictured left) than her biological son Daniel (pictured right, together in 2010)

'Li-Da and I have always been very close, but yes certainly we are closer, and she is very good at making sure that everyday I FaceTime or she FaceTimes. So my grandson will not forget who his Nana is.'

Prue and her late husband Rayne Kruger adopted Li-Da in the mid-'70s when she was 16-months-old.

The Bake Off judge found Li-Da after the child's parents were victims of Cambodia's killing fields, in which more than a million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.

Prue already had one-year-old son Daniel with her husband Rayne, who tragically passed away in 2002, when she decided she wanted another child.

Celebrity cook Prue said her mother warned her about how Li-Da, who has now adopted her own child, would cope in England.

Prue and her adopted daughter Li-Da. The Great British Bake Off judge said: 'I've been really lucky because both my children are happy and successful'

She said: 'My mother said to me '"look, all adoption is a risk". It is a foreign child, different culture all the rest of it. But we had heard about Li-Da and we just wanted her. There is always the risk with children.

'You can have your own child and do everything right be perfect parents and guess what - at the age of sixteen they are drug addicts, or have got into the wrong company and gone right off the rails. You can't legislate for these things.

The Great British Bake Off judge added: 'I've been really lucky because both my children are happy and successful.'

Prue also spoke on the podcast about the 'worst two days of her life' when she accidentally sent a tweet congratulating the winner of Bake Off in 2017, Sophie Faldo, before the show had aired.

The 80-year-old recently made a documentary, Journey with my Daughter, about Li-Da's traumatic start in war-torn Cambodia as they searched for her biological family (picturerd)

She said: 'It was probably the worst two days of my life. It sounds so ridiculous because I kept saying to myself when I'd done it I felt so terrible.

'What happened was we were in Bhutan, me and my husband (John Playfair), we were having a holiday and we had been walking in the mountains and it was very remote and there was no signal.

'We got back to our little hotel and we were having a siesta and he was asleep beside me and I thought I'll have a look on, and there was reception.

'The first thing that popped up was a tweet from the production company at Bake Off saying don't forget to congratulate the winner after 10.30pm.

Prue also spoke on the podcast about the 'worst two days of her life' when she accidentally sent a tweet congratulating the winner of Bake Off in 2017, Sophie Faldo, before the show had aired. Pictured: The judge on Bake Off earlier this year

'I thought "oh my god its after 10.30pm" and I tweeted "bravo Sophie" and as I pressed send I suddenly thought "oh that's funny, I didn't see that Paul or Noel had congratulated her".

'And then immediately up popped a tweet from Emma Freud and it said "Eeek it's tonight, delete, delete." Then I panicked and I tried to delete it and of course I couldn't work my phone.

'My brain had gone into absolute freeze mode. I rang my PA in the Cotswolds and she said don't worry I have already deleted it.

'She had deleted it 86 seconds after I had done it, but it was too late it had gone viral. I kept saying to myself it's not the end of the world, it's not war, it's only telly, it's only caket, but of course I felt terrible.'
A South Jersey doctor is hoping his unique experience with the coronavirus can help him as he researches the long-term effects of the virus on the body.

Dr. Troy Randle, a cardiologist at Virtua Health, suffered a stroke he says was caused by the coronavirus after several weeks of symptoms. Strokes in young patients with mild cases of the coronavirus appear to be on the rise, experts say.

My story fits a larger trend, Randle said. Only I am fortunate enough to survive and to not suffer any significant effects from the stroke.

Randle, who lives in Mullica Hill, said his COVID-19 symptoms started out in late March fairly typically, with a slight cough, body aches, and a fever. His main concern, however, was one that was just recently was added to the CDCs list of official symptoms: a headache.

The headache came on strong and suddenly, he said, and continued for two days. As he got better so did the headache, before it suddenly worsened, Randle said.

"My wife insisted on taking me to the emergency room; she may have saved my life, Randle said. On April 16, Randle went to a local hospital and was diagnosed with a stroke.

He was hospitalized for two days, and recovered with no long-term harm, and is now feeling good. Randle, 49, has no pre-existing conditions.

Although not back at work yet his neurologist says he should take another two weeks to recover Randle is already putting his unique experiences to use.

Randle has applied for a research grant from the American Heart Association, in order to partake in studies looking into the effects the coronavirus has on heart and vascular health. The hospital is still awaiting news on the status of the grant, a spokesman said.

In addition to giving a unique perspective to his research, Randle wants others to take their symptoms seriously, and seek care when they need it.

COVID-19 seems to vary greatly from person to person  and now stroke symptoms are in the mix. I encourage everyone to closely monitor their health, take note of their symptoms, and seek medical attention when necessary," Randle said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com.
Google announced today it is providing $2.3 million in funding to 18 news organizations in the Asia Pacific region, the latest in its ongoing effort to support publishers globally.

News organizations from 11 nations, including Australia, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan are receiving the grant as part of Thursdays announcement, the company said, which began accepting applications for the new innovation challenge fund in the region late last year.

The search giant said more than 250 organizations had applied for the funding. Those that are selected showed variety and creativity of their ideas to explore ways to increase reader engagement that would drive greater loyalty and willingness in readers to pay for content.

The $2.3 million innovation challenge fund is not evenly distributed among the 18 hand-picked organizations, a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch. The company additionally also offers mentoring and training sessions to these organizations, the spokesperson added.

Gaon Connection, a news organization based in Lucknow, one of the biggest cities in India, focuses on the issues that affect people in rural regions of the country. It is one of the four recipients to receive the grant from Google in India.

Veteran journalist Neelesh Misra, the founder of Gaon Connection, told TechCrunch in an interview that the capital would help his seven-year-old firm to pivot from a rural media platform to a rural insight firm.

"We have been looking to bring much greater statistical data depth to our work. We feel that if we could back the voice of rural India with surveys and insights, it would amplify their reach. We often hear from people in the village that they don't have a say," he said.

"I am a content person, but not familiar with tech. We have done the difficult battle first: We today have community journalists in more than 300 districts in India. And now those journalists will be able to use the platform that we will build because of Google funding to do surveys, record video, audio and text content, and crunch the data. This platform will give people in rural India a say so that policymakers and others in urban India have a better understanding of people in rural regions and their desire," he said.

Story continues

The Morning Context, another organization picked from India, covers internet, business, and chaos beats in the worlds second largest internet market. Earlier this month, the Morning Context also closed a seed financing round.

The Current in Pakistan covers news that is woke and celebrates the fact that hey, youre not supposed to know everything. In Korea, the Busan Daily, Maeil Daily and Gangwon Daily that are the recipients of the funding are collaborating on real-time insights to create customized experiences for their readers, Google said.

Australian Community Media, another recipient, is developing a new platform for classified ads that will better support local newspapers and small businesses. Japans Nippon TV is using AR to bring its news archives to life.

A strong Asia Pacific news industry has never been more important, and were looking forward to seeing the selected applicants put their ideas into action, said Fazal Ashfaq, News and Publishing Lead for Google in APAC, in a statement.

Thursdays announcement is part of Google News Initiatives $300 million that it unveiled in May 2018. The company has so far run five innovation challenges globally: 2 in APAC, one in North America, one in LATAM, and one in Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The House of Representatives plans to walk the talk on social distancing rules by limiting the number of lawmakers who will be able to show up at the plenary hall to attend daily sessions starting Monday, May 4, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.

Speaking to CNN Philippines The Source, the Taguig-Pateros representative said the chamber will reduce foot traffic inside the Batasan Complex in Quezon City to limit interactions and possible infections.

One of our challenges talaga is the session. There are more than 300 members of Congress, may driver lang yung bawat isa, 300 yan. May chief of staff yung bawat isa, another 300, pwera pa yung secretariat at resource person, Cayetano said Friday.

[Translation: One of our challenges is the session. There are more than 300 members of Congress. Thats another 300 drivers, and another 300 chiefs of staff apart from the secretariat and resource persons]

We are trying to lead by example in having about only 20-25 members in the session hall and then doing it via teleconferencing Its not easy. The question is here is not can you go. The question is should you go?

The House leader said the public can expect to see fewer chairs and tables set up at the plenary hall, similar to the set-up when Congress held a special session on March 23 when they gave President Rodrigo Duterte special powers to realign the 2020 budget for COVID-19 response through the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. Only a handful of members were told to show up in the chamber, while the rest joined in via video conferencing through Zoom.

The group even had a false alarm after House Committee on Appropriations chairperson Eric Yap  who was among those present at the session hall  was told he tested positive for COVID-19, only to have the results taken back by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, said to be clerical oversight.

Members of House committee currently tackling a proposed P1.3-trillion economic stimulus package have also been conducting hearings via the online app.

As a compromise, House members who will insist on physically attending the proceedings may be directed to conference rooms within the compound where they can watch the session remotely.

We will open one or two rooms Kung gusto ng iba doon, but we are dissuading members because even if all of them are in their offices, ang staff nila, ang driver nandoon, Cayetano said. We dont want to be part of the problem during this COVID-19 crisis.

[Translation: We will open one or two rooms... if they would like to be there, but we are dissuading members because even if all of them are in their offices, they have staff, they have drivers here. We dont want to be part of the problem during this COVID-19 crisis.]

The Senate will also amend current rules to allow them to hold virtual hearingshold virtual hearings amid the pandemic. Three senators have survived a bout with COVID-19.

New normal

Congress reopens with a full plate of bills awaiting action, with lawmakers eyeing the possibility of crafting a supplemental budget to add more funds into the governments COVID-19 response.

Economic officials have said that funds are running low for response measures, with Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado saying that government has spent 352 billion of the 397 billion funds freed up to address the outbreak as of last week.

The proposed new normal billnew normal bill, which Cayetano and fellow lawmakers sponsored, will also be on the agenda. The measure gives permanence to rules on the wearing of face masks as well as observing proper hygiene, hand washing, and physical distancing, among others.

Cayetano said the chamber is also considering adjustments to the 2021 budget, which by law must be submitted to them between July and August, to see if they can tweak provisions if further aid for coronavirus relief and recovery is needed.

He also guaranteed a fair hearing for ABS-CBNs bid for franchise renewal, saying that the House will give time for critics of the TV network to air their side as the company seeks a fresh 25-year mandate from Congress. Cayetano assured that the TV giant can continue operating beyond its franchise expiry next week, by virtue of the authority given by the National Telecommunications Commission.

TIMELINE: ABS-CBN franchise

Calls to end Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators in the country may also be tackled, Cayetano stated, saying that he is personally against these companies bringing in foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, to the country to run online gambling. Senator Risa Hontiveros submitted a resolution earlier this week calling to block the reopening of POGOs, but it has been overruled by Malacanang.

RELATED: POGOs allowed to partially reopen amid community quarantine  Pagcor
Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: The MCGM said that 751 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Mumbai on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 7,625.

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"We are conscious of the fact that the lockdown has led to hardships to a number of people. The UT administration under the directions of the LG has been implementing a number of welfare measures for labourers, workers, the destitute, etc," he said.

The administrative council, in its latest meeting under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu, has approved the relief package for various categories of people, Principal Secretary of Planning, Development and Monitoring and Information Rohit Kansal said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has announced a Rs 350-crore package to mitigate hardships of people, particularly labourers and the destitute, during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Balasore recorded as many as 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far. The total number of RT-PCR tests conducted in Odisha in past 24 hours stood at 2437.

With one more individual testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Balasore district, the total confirmed cases in Odisha on Friday climbed to 143. The figure also includes 143 active COVID-19 cases.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 67 more deaths were reported since Thursday thereby, bringing the toll to 1,075.

Amid the citizens gearing up for a staggered removal of the 40-day nationwide lockdown after 3 May, the total number of novel coronavirus cases in the country has increased to 33,610 after 1,823 fresh positive COVID-19 patients were reported in the past 24 hours.

There will be no restriction on the movement of ambulances.

In a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973, Faridabad District Commissioner Yash Pal said: "Travel of government employees and common people from neighbouring states and districts to Faridabad is prohibited. Doctors, paramedical staff, police and bank employees to be permitted on producing their identity cards, only till 12 pm on Wednesday."

With a surge in COVID-19 cases, Faridabad has prohibited travel of government employees and laypersons from neighbouring states and districts.

The president, however, refuses to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.

"Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump told reporters at the East Room of the White House when asked if he has seen anything at this point that gives him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where the virus originated.

The novel coronavirus, that has killed over 230,000 people globally so far and has shattered economies, emerged from a virology lab in the Wuhan city of China, US President Donald Trump claimed Thursday with a high degree of confidence.

This marks that Hubei, the once hardest-hit Chinese province, has had no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 27 consecutive days since 4 April.

No new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease were reported in central China's Hubei Province Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday.

Of the total confirmed cases, 25,007 were active cases while one COVID-19 patient migrated. The recovery rate of the nation was at 25.4 percent with as many as 8888 COVID-19 patients being cured.

India registered a total of 35,043 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, according to the latest data by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of deaths caused due to the novel coronavirus so far stood at 1,147.

Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code is related to disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant. Also, 16,962 people were arrested for violation of lockdown-related norms, he said.

While combating COVID-19 and enforcing lockdown since late March, police have registered offences under section 188 of IPC against 85,586 persons, who violated prohibitory orders, he said.

Enforcing prohibitory orders strictly, the Maharashtra police have registered over 85,500 offences against lockdown violators across the state and arrested 16,962 people so far, an official said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May hoped that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin recovered soon from the novel coronavirus. "My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health," Modi tweeted in Russian and English. "We stand with our close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic." Mishustin had said on 30 April that he tested positive for COVID-19 and he would will self-isolate.

Vehicles lined up in a queue at Delhi-Gurugram border on Friday as cross border transit into Gurugram will be prohibited from 10 am. Only vehicles involved in the movement of essential goods and services and certain government offices are exempted, reported ANI.

65 more COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh on Friday as the state tally reaches 2,625, reports ANI.

A 53-year-old male patient, the first to undergo plasma therapy in Maharashtra passed away on 29 April in Mumbai, Dr Ravishankar, CEO Lilavati Hospital told ANI.

Among the devotees who have returned from Hazur Sahib (in Nanded, Maharashtra) to the district, 3 new positive cases have been reported on Friday. The total number of cases in district now stands at 89, of which 30 are cured. Two deaths reported to date in Mohali, said Girish Dayalan, DC Mohali.

A man was arrested in Nargunda village in Madhya Pradesh for attacking and misbehaving with an Asha worker, when she along with a medical team were carrying out a health checkup in the village, ANI quoted Station House Officer, Rural Tikamgarh as saying.

The chief minister further said that he was working towards bringing back the migrant labourers with all the state authorities and is in constant touch with them.

"It has been requested to all states to maintain a record like name, telephone number and medical status of the workers before sending them back to Uttar Pradesh," said Aditynath.

Releasing a leaflet in major dailies, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Friday assured the stranded migrant workers from the state that all suitable arrangements will be made to bring them back to their hometowns. He also appealed them not to travel back to the state on foot.

5. A vaccine still far away. A certified vaccine and its distribution is still an uncertain reality, which is why the disease still remained a perpetual threat.

3. The virus can bounce back. Experts, including the WHO, have repeatedly called for a phased easing of restrictions in countries, as the viral disease may make a comeback after lockdown concludes.

As India inches towards the end of the 40-day nationwide lockdown imposed in view novel coronavirus, Niti Aayog's CEO Amitabh Kant shared a six-point strategy that could be the road ahead for the country.

"On the supply side, we are working to build a global consortium of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers to expand global capacity and production and have pledged to donate all our existing supply for patients in need," Gilead spokesperson told Moneycontrol in an interview.

Gilead Sciences, the US-drug maker, said it is open to working together with governments and pharmaceutical companies, including from India, and is considering proposals of patent-pooling to provide access to its antiviral drug Remesdesivir for COVID-19 patients across the world, reported Moneycontrol .

All due processes including quarantine etc will be followed as per guidelines. According to the report, the train will not stop anywhere till it reaches Hatia.

The first train carrying over 1,000 migrant labourers from Telangana to Jharkhand began its operations on Friday at 4.50 am. The 24 coach train will arrive at Hatia in Jharkhand from Lingampally in Telangana at 11 pm on Friday, reported India Today.

The districts have been divided into three categories Red Zone, Orange Zone and Green Zone.

Consulting the state governments and the chief secretaries of the states, the health ministry has decided to put all metro cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, in the Red Zone. The Red Zone cities also include Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

The health ministry has finalised the list of containment zones and divided the states and districts into different categories according to the COVID-19 situation in these areas.

As per the list, 130 districts fall under the Red Zones, 284 in the Orange Zones and 319 in Green Zones. A district will fall under the Green Zone if it has either not reported any confirmed case so far or not reported a single case in the last 21 days.

After a detailed discussion with the state governments, the health ministry has decided to include all metro cities in the 'Red' zone category. The list will help the Centre devise a lockdown exit plan post 3 May.

In Tamil Nadu, 12 districts fall under the Red Zones, 19 in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in West Bengal while nine each in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan has eight Red Zones.

All districts of Delhi have been included in the Red Zone category. Maharashtra, the most affected state, has the highest number of Red Zones - 14 districts - among all states.

This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts.

Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones, duly broad-basing the criteria.

Health Secretary Preeti Sudan noted that districts were earlier re-designated as hotspots/red zones, orange zones and green zones, primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate.

All those above 55 years of age with comorbidities, will be asked to work from home. While those above 55 years of age with no comorbidities issues will attend closest offices and would not go on field visits.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hs asked 100 percent of its staffers to resume duty, reported News18. The municipal corporation also said that all the workers who stay outside Mumbai can rejoin duty in their closest ward offices.

The 12 people, including nine from Thailand and two from Tamil Nadu, were held on 2 April from a mosque where they were hiding. Their samples and that of a local were sent for testing, an officer said.

Twelve Tablighi Jamaat members, including nine from Thailand, were sent to a temporary jail in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district after they completed their quarantine, police said on Friday.

Sources in the Election Commission had earlier said that polls can be conducted amidst the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown, provided precautions as advised by the Health Ministry are taken, and MLAs follow social distancing while casting their vote.

The elections to the nine Legislative Council seats in Maharashtra, which fell vacant on 24 April, will be held on 21 May, the Election Commission announced on Friday.

"He was earlier in the ICU but, was discharged on Thursday," said Kejriwal adding, "Initial results of the therapy are good."

We were permitted by Centre for trial of plasma therapy at LNJP hospital. We administered it to a few patients, the first one among them was discharged after he made recovery, said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.

This figure includes 22 deaths and 253 discharges. The recovery rate in the state stood at 44 percent.

With 11 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Karnataka from 30 April at 5 pm till 1 May at 12 pm, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 576, said the health department in the state.

All migrant workers have been given sanitizers, facemasks, and gloves. They have been provided with food and water. Social distancing is also being followed in all train coaches.

As many as 54 migrant labourers are seated per coach in the 24-coach train that departed from Telangana on Friday, News18 reported. The first train carrying migrant workers will arrive at Jharkhand's Hatia at 11 pm on Friday

"People will turn around and say, what was the use of the lockdown even if cases are still rising. I see it as a speedbreaker in terms of cases, or as the Singaporean PM calls it, a circuit-breaker, so consider it as that," said Thackeray.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday called the lockdown imposition in view of COVID-19 a "speedbreaker" in terms of the rising coronavirus cases.

"We have identified some places as containment zones and quarantined some people. The growing cases are in those areas. Fortunately, of the entire count, if you see around 80% are asymptomatic," said Uddhav.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said "80 percent patients of coronavirus are asymptomatic" in his state  which has the largest number of COVID-19 patients in the country.

After 3 May when the nationwide lockdown ends, its is important to reopen districts in accordance to the division in categories of red zones, orange zones and green zones, said Uddhav Thackeray on Friday.

Maharashtra government will not halt agricultural activities in the state, said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray during the State address on COVID-19 situation. "We are gradually opening the state up," said Thackeray.

The chief minister further warned against a rushed reopening of the state as it might lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases. "We are taking gradual and cautious steps towards reopening the state, but if we did it in a hurry, it would negate all that we have achieved so far," he said.

Uddhav Thackeray further said that the state is taking assistance from the AYUSH ministry to treat COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra. "Municipal, state and private doctors are all in touch with the state medical task force," said Thackeray.

People who have been given permission to go back to their hometowns should do so patiently and not all at once, otherwise once again, the permission will be denied, said Uddhav Thackeray on Friday while reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state.

"Government has appealed to the employers to protect the interest of their workers and pay their salaries," said Karnataka Chief Minister's Office.

Karnataka government has decided to resume economic activities in the state soon after holding a meeting with representatives of associations of commerce and industries on Friday.

It is for the first time that the state has reported more than 100 coronavirus cases in a single day. With the fresh detections, the number of COVID-19 cases in Punjab now stands at 480, they said.

Punjab saw the steepest rise in the number of novel coronavirus cases on Thursday with 105 persons, mostly pilgrims who returned from Nanded, testing positive for the disease, officials said.

"They were under Maharashtra government's observation. It was their duty to implement Centre's guidelines; their samplings and tests should've been done there. Had they told us it hasn't been done, we would've sent two teams there," said Singh after the state reported more than 100 coronavirus cases in a single day.

Punjab health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Friday blamed the Maharashtra government for not implementing Centre's guidelines on movement of migrant labourers after several pilgrims who returned from Nanded to Punjab tested COVID-19 positive.

Earlier, the ACP had said that the restrictions will not be applied to media persons. He further said that for the healthcare professionals living in Gurugram, arrangements would be made there.

"Individual movement has also been curtailed as we're enforcing the curbing of inter-state and inter-dist movement. Be it media persons/Police/doctors, their inter-state and inter-district movement through these borders (Delhi-Gurugram border) will also not be allowed," said ACP Karan Goyal.

Inter-district and inter-state curtailment of movement between Delhi and Gurugram will now be applied to individuals, including media persons, police personnel and doctors.

Based on the current parameters of the Centre for categorisation of areas for COVID-19, the districts in the Red Zone are only four - Kolkata, Howrah, North-24 Paraganas and Purba Medinipur.

West Bengal Principal Health Secretary Vivek Kumar wrote to the Union Health Ministry, informing it that there were only four red zones in the state as against "the ten shown in the presentation during the Cabinet Secretary's video conference with states on 30 April 30".

As many 18 more individuals have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Bihar, thereby taking the total confirmed cases in the state to 450, ANI quoted Sanjay Kumar, Bihar Principal Health Secretary as saying.

The number of positive cases in Uttar Pradesh has risen to 2,203.

"15 persons have died and 103 patients have been discharged after treatment. The administration is keeping a vigil on the 39 hotspots in the city," Agra district administration said.

17 more COVID-19 cases were reported from Agra on Friday taking the total confirmed cases in the district to 496, the administration said.

"At least 10 more nurses at the hospitals neo-natal unit and a ward boy are currently down with fever, the sources said. It is not known whether they are also infected with the coronavirus as their samples have not been collected yet," the report said.

An eight-year-old boy and a nurse tested positive for coronavirus at the Indian Institute of Child Health (ICH) in Kolkata, News18 reported.

The West Bengal principal health secretary Vivek Kumar reportedly wrote to Union health ministry and informed that there are only four red zones in the state as against 10 shown in the presentation during the cabinet secretary's video conference with states, ANI reported.

The CRPF on Friday said that 12 more jawans of the force, which has recorded the maximum amount of COVID-19 cases, tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the battalion crossed 60.

Six new coronavirus cases were reported in Jammu and Kashmir's Gonipora on Friday. All six patients are contacts of an earlier positive case and are asymptomatic. Primary contacts being isolated for sampling tomorrow, the government said.

Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Aggarwal said that a total of 1,993 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported in last 24 hours, taking the total to 35,043. At least 564 people have recovered in last 24 hours. The recovery rate stands at 25.37 percent, he added.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday allowed the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places, by special trains.

The Union health ministry at 4 pm said that in the last 24 hours, 1,993 coronavirus cases had been reported, taking the total number of cases is now 35,043.

"State and district administrations should ensure, through focused efforts, that in 'Red' and 'Orange' zone districts the chain of transmission is broken through effective and stringent containment measure," said Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and three service chiefs are likely to hold a press conference on "important issues" at 6 pm on Friday.

The Union health ministry said that there has been a spike of 1,755 new COVID-19 positive cases and 77 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of COVID-19 cases in India rose to 35,365 including 9,064 cured/discharged and 1,152 deaths, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to further extend the nationwide coronavirus lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond 4 May, ANI reported, quoting an official statement.

However, movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by MHA.

Under the new guidelines, a limited number of activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the Zone. These include travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road; running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions; hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants; places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc; social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings; and, religious places/ places of worship for public.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, issuing the extension of the coronavirus lockdown on Friday, issued new guidelines ordering "considerable relaxations" for districts falling in Green and Orange Zones.

"Four-wheelers will have a maximum of two passengers besides the driver and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers," the statement said.

The MHA on Friday said that in Orange Zones, inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only.

In Orange Zones, in addition to activities permitted in Red Zones, taxis and cab aggregators will be permitted with one driver and two passengers only, the MHA said.

This includes the functioning of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions.

The MHA said that a limited number of activities will remain prohibited across India, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road,.

Plying of cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws Running of taxis and cab aggregators Intra-district and inter-district plying of buses Barber shops, spas and saloons.

In Red Zones outside Containment Zones, these activities are prohibited in addition to those prohibited irrespective of the zone:

The Kerala government food and water to Aluva railway station from where a 'Shramik Special Train' will leave for Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, on Friday. Around 1,140 migrant labourers from here will board the special train to Odisha

Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road Running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions Hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants Places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc Social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings Religious places/ places of worship for public

The Defence Ministry was quoted as saying, "The plan of action and various activities of thanksgiving from the armed forces to COVID-19 warriors was finalized at today's meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA Ajit Doval with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and the three Service Chiefs."

Migrant workers in Kerala's Aluva and Maharashtra's Nashik began to arrive at train stations to board the scheduled special trains set to take them back to their native places, as per the MHA order.

The Gujarat health department said that 326 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state in the last 24 hours. The state's total number of cases rises to 4,721 including 736 cured/discharged and 236 deaths.

"Animal husbandry activities are now fully permitted, including inland and marine fisheries. All plantation activities are allowed, including their processing and marketing," the report added.

The Centre on Friday lifted restrictions on all agriculture activities, "including sowing, harvesting, procurement and marketing operations in the agricultural supply chain", The Indian Express reported.

Social distancing at work places shall be ensured through adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc.

All persons in charge of work places shall ensure social distancing as per the guidelines issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, both within the work places and in company transport

Wearing of face cover is compulsory in all work places and adequate stock of such face covers shall be made available

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued additional guidelines on rational use of Personal Protective Equipment (setting approach for Health functionaries working in non-COVID areas).

The Maharashtra health department said that 1,008 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state on Friday, which is the highest single-day jump of cases in the state. The the total number of cases rose to 11,506.

"Movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists,students and other persons stranded at different places to be carried out by Shramik special trains. Freight and Parcel train operations shall continue," the statement said.

The Ministry of Railways on Friday said that the cancellation of all passenger train services has been extended till 17 May.

"The schools may also begin/continue online classes for them, while awaiting the conduct of remaining papers," the statement added.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations on Friday said that schools may give "provisional admission to the ICSE (class 10) students into class 11, subject to Board results".

The MCGM said that 751 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Mumbai on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 7,625.

The Rajasthan health department said that 82 more people have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 2,666 and 62 deaths have been recorded so far.

"We've learnt that private hospitals in state are not following the norms. Even those that are enlisted under Ayushman Bharat-Rajasthan Swasthya Bima Yojna are charging more amount from patients.We've warned all such hospitals of strict action," said Rajasthan health minister Dr Raghu Sharma on Friday.

Reports said that a 69-year-old man, who was having comorbiditydies, passed away at a hospital in Karnataka's Davanagere on Friday. "The patient had tested positive for COVID-19 and was on ventilator support.," India Today reported.

Reports said that seventeen people, including four children, tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar on Friday. India Today reported that this the "highest number of COVID-19 detections in a single day that has taken the district's tally to 155".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said, "I welcome the announcements by the Chief of Defence Staff today....Now, our Forces are, in a unique way, saying a big thank you to our frontline COVID-19 warriors for their endeavour towards making India COVID-19 free."

"We've learnt that private hospitals in state are not following the norms. Even those that are enlisted under Ayushman Bharat-Rajasthan Swasthya Bima Yojna are charging more amount from patients.We've warned all such hospitals of strict action," said Rajasthan health minister Dr Raghu Sharma on Friday.

India Today reported that four more Delhi Police personnel tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking the number of COVID-19 infections in the force to over 45.

Reports said that a 69-year-old man, who was having comorbiditydies, passed away at a hospital in Karnataka's Davanagere on Friday. "The patient had tested positive for COVID-19 and was on ventilator support.," India Today reported.

Reports said that four zones have been removed from the COVID-19 containment zones list in Delhi, the total number of containment zones in the National Capital is now at 97.

Reports said that seventeen people, including four children, tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar on Friday. India Today reported that this the "highest number of COVID-19 detections in a single day that has taken the district's tally to 155".

"UNICEF called for support to unlock a massive backlog in vaccine shipments, saying the delays had been caused by "unprecedented logistical constraints" linked to lockdowns," News18 reported.

The United Nations on Friday said that many countries risk running out of vaccines for diseases like measles because of restrictions on flights brought in to tackle the new coronavirus.

AFP reported that the United Kingdom (UK) COVID-19 toll rose by 739 on Friday, taking the total toll to 27510.

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: The MCGM said that 751 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Mumbai on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 7,625.

Migrant workers in Kerala's Aluva and Maharashtra's Nashik began to arrive at train stations to board the scheduled special trains set to take them back to their native places, as per the MHA order.

The MHA said that a limited number of activities will remain prohibited across India, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road.

This includes the functioning of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions.

A large number of other activities are allowed in the Red Zones. All industrial and construction activities in rural areas, including MNREGA works, food-processing units and brick-kilns are permitted: MHA on the extension of lockdown.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to further extend the nationwide coronavirus lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond 4 May, ANI reported, quoting an official statement.

PD Vaghela, chairman of Empowered Group 3 of the Centre's COVID-19 response team, on Friday said, "Demand for PPE kits has been projected at 2.01 crore in India. We have placed orders for 2.22 crore kits out of which 1.42 crore kits are being procured in the domestic market. 1.87 lakh kits are being produced daily in the country."

Seventeen more COVID-19 cases were reported from Agra on Friday taking the total confirmed cases in the district to 496, the administration said.

Inter-district and inter-state curtailment of movement between Delhi and Gurugram will now be applied to individuals, including media persons, police personnel and doctors.

"Individual movement has also been curtailed as we're enforcing the curbing of inter-state and inter-dist movement. Be it media persons/Police/doctors, their inter-state and inter-district movement through these borders (Delhi-Gurugram border) will also not be allowed," said ACP Karan Goyal.

Earlier, the ACP had said that the restrictions will not be applied to media persons. He further said that for the healthcare professionals living in Gurugram, arrangements would be made there.

Punjab health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Friday blamed the Maharashtra government for not implementing Centre's guidelines on movement of migrant labourers after several pilgrims who returned from Nanded to Punjab tested COVID-19 positive.

"They were under Maharashtra government's observation. It was their duty to implement Centre's guidelines; their samplings and tests should've been done there. Had they told us it hasn't been done, we would've sent two teams there," said Singh after the state reported more than 100 coronavirus cases in a single day.

People who have been given permission to go back to their hometowns should do so patiently and not all at once, otherwise once again, the permission will be denied, said Uddhav Thackeray on Friday while reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state.

Maharashtra government will not halt agricultural activities in the state, said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray during the State address on COVID-19 situation. "We are gradually opening the state up," said Thackeray.

With 11 more individuals testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Karnataka from 30 April at 5 pm till 1 May at 12 pm, the total confirmed cases in the state climbed to 576, said the health department in the state.

This figure includes 22 deaths and 253 discharges. The recovery rate in the state stood at 44 percent.

The elections to the nine Legislative Council seats in Maharashtra, which fell vacant on 24 April, will be held on 21 May, the Election Commission announced on Friday.

Sources in the Election Commission had earlier said that polls can be conducted amidst the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown, provided precautions as advised by the Health Ministry are taken, and MLAs follow social distancing while casting their vote

The first train carrying over 1,000 migrant labourers from Telangana to Jharkhand began its operations on Friday at 4.50 am. The 24 coach train will arrive at Hatia in Jharkhand from Lingampally in Telangana at 11 pm on Friday.

All due processes including quarantine etc will be followed as per guidelines. According to the report, the train will not stop anywhere till it reaches Hatia.

All districts of Delhi have been included in the Red Zone category. Maharashtra, the most affected state, has the highest number of Red Zones - 14 districts - among all states.

In Tamil Nadu, 12 districts fall under the Red Zones, 19 in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in West Bengal while nine each in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan has eight Red Zones.

As India inches towards the end of the 40-day nationwide lockdown imposed in view novel coronavirus, Niti Aayog's CEO Amitabh Kant shared a six-point strategy that could be the road ahead for the country.

A 53-year-old COVID-19 patient, the first to receive plasma therapy in Maharashtra, passed away on 29 April in Mumbai, Dr Ravishankar, CEO Lilavati Hospital told ANI.

The total confirmed COVID-19 cases in India reach 35,043, 1,147 deaths recorded, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday. 73 deaths and 1993 new cases reported in the last 24 hours in the country due to the novel virus.

India registered a total of 35,043 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, according to the latest data by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of deaths caused due to the novel coronavirus so far stood at 1,147.

Of the total confirmed cases, 25,007 were active cases while one COVID-19 patient migrated. The recovery rate of the nation was at 25.4 percent with as many as 8888 COVID-19 patients being cured.

With one more individual testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Balasore district, the total confirmed cases in Odisha on Friday climbed to 143. The figure also includes 143 active COVID-19 cases.

Balasore recorded as many as 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far. The total number of RT-PCR tests conducted in Odisha in past 24 hours stood at 2437.

The number of coronavirus toll in India crossed 1,000 on Thursday after 67 new deaths were reported, and cases rose to 33,610 with 1,823 new infections in a day. State governments also began preparations to help lakhs of migrant workers and students reach their homes from different parts of the country, where they have been stranded for over a month due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

As people waited for further clarity on the government's next move on the nationwide lockdown, whose second phase ends this Sunday, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said India should open up up its economy in a measured way soon to save jobs and estimated that Rs 65,000 crore would need to be spent to support the poor amid the crisis.

Interacting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi through video conferencing, Rajan said it is "all too easy to have a lockdown forever", but that is not sustainable for the economy and India does not have the capacity to support people across the spectrum for too long.

A nationwide lockdown has been in place since 25 March. Initially, it was announced for 21 days till 14 April, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi later extended it till 3 May, as a measure to contain the coronovirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, in the Union health ministy's daily briefing on Thursday, officials said that the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients has improved to nearly 25.2 percent, from about 13 percent a fortnight ago.

The ministry's evening update said that 1,075 people have died due to COVID-19 so far across the country after 67 deaths were reported since Wednesday evening.

However, a PTI tally of the toll reported by various states and union territories, as of 8.30 pm, showed at least 1,137 people have lost their lives while close to 34,500 people have been infected so far.

At the press briefing, Health Ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said that the current fatality rate among detected is 3.2 percent, with 65 percent being men and 35 percent women.

"If we divide it on the basis of age, then 14 percent fatality has been seen in those aged below 45 years, 34.8 percent between 45-60 years and 51.2 percent in those above 60 years," he said.

Agarwal further said that the recovery rate for COVID-19 has improved from 13.06 percent to over 25 percent in the past 14 days. He added that the doubling rate for COVID-19 cases has improved to 11 days as against 3.4 days before the lockdown was imposed.

Additionally, he said the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases was found to be between 11-20 days in Delhi (11.3), Uttar Pradesh (12), Jammu and Kashmir (12.2), Odisha (13), Rajasthan (17.8), Tamil Nadu (19.1) and Punjab (19.5).

A doubling rate of between 20-40 days was seen in Karnataka (21.6), Ladakh (24.2), Haryana (24.4), Uttarakhand (30.3) and Kerala (37.5), Agarwal said.

A doubling rate of over 40 days was noted in Assam (59), Telangana (70.8), Chhattisgarh (89.7) and Himachal Pradesh (191.6), he added.

Speaking about testing being scaled up, Agarwal said starting with one single laboratory, the RT-PCR tests are now available in 292 government and 97 private facilities across the country.

"On Wednesday, 58,686 tests were performed and if you see the average number of tests performed each day in the last five days, it comes to 49,800 tests. It is important to understand that whatever capacity is needed, we have progressively increased it," he said.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra cross 10,000-mark, Gujarat reports 313 new patients

Maharashtra alone saw its tally crossing 10,000 with 583 new cases during the day, while 27 more people died. The state tops the nationwide tally with a total 10,498 confirmed cases and 459 deaths so far. Mumbai alone now accounts for 6,874 confirmed cases and 290 deaths.

Gujarat also saw its tally of confirmed cases rising by 313 to 4,395, while 17 more people died on Thursday to take the state's death toll to 214. Ahmedabad reported more than 3,000 cases and 149 deaths.

Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal also reported new cases.

There are more than 24,000 active patients across the country, while more than 8,300 people have recovered and one patient has migrated. The total number of cases include 111 foreign nationals.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said India is doing better compared to other countries on all parameters in its fight against COVID-19 and should be able to win this decisive war in the coming few weeks.

About 60,000 foreign nationals from 72 countries have also been evacuated from India, while the issue of evacuation of Indians stranded abroad is also under discussion, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

States take steps to facilitate movement of stranded people

Several states, in the meantime, announced steps they were taking for facilitating the movement of migrant workers and students, stranded in various cities due to the lockdown, to help them reach their respective native places, in line with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines announced on Wednesday. Some states have already brought back some migrant workers from other places.

The Madhya Pradesh government said it has brought back over 20,000 migrant labourers, who were stranded in other states due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to ready quarantine centres, shelter homes and community kitchens as the state readied for the return of migrant workers stranded in different parts of the country.

Maharashtra issued a notification designating all the district collectors as the nodal authority for the movement of stranded people into or outside the state and also within the state, while the Gujarat government appointed 16 bureaucrats as nodal officers to facilitate the movement of such people across borders.

The Kerala government renewed its demand for special non-stop trains to transport those who are keen to leave for their respective states. There are 3.60 lakh workers in over 20,000 camps in the state and majority of them, hailing from West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, wanted to return home.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also urged the prime minister to arrange special trains for transportation of migrant workers, while he directed all deputy commissioners to prepare data of migrant labourers stranded in the state due to the lockdown.

As per the MHA order, buses will be used for transporting those stranded, and these vehicles will be sanitised and will have to follow safe social distancing norms on seating. A senior official said all states and UTs will have to "strictly follow" these guidelines.

While the movement of trucks is already allowed for transportation of goods during the lockdown, the MHA separately clarified that no separate passes are required for their inter-state movement, including for those carrying goods or returning after delivery, and licence of the driver is enough.

There have been reports that movement of trucks is not allowed freely and local authorities insist upon separate passes at inter-state borders in different parts of the country.

Over 30 million Americans file for unemployment benefits

Bleak new figures on Thursday underscored the worldwide economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has climbed past a staggering 30 million, while Europes economies are in an epic slide, AP reported.

The statistics are likely to turn up the pressure on politicians to ease the lockdowns that have closed factories and other businesses.

In the US, the government reported that 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for jobless benefits last week, raising the total to about 30.3 million in the six weeks since the outbreak took hold. The layoffs amount to 1 in 6 American workers and encompass more people than the entire population of Texas.

Some economists say that when the US unemployment rate for April comes out next week, it could be as high as 20 percent  a figure not seen since the Depression of the 1930s, when joblessness peaked at 25 percent.

The virus has killed over 2,20,000 people worldwide, including more than 61,000 in the US, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed infections globally topped 3.2 million, with 1 million of them in the US, but the true numbers are believed to be much higher because of limited testing, differences in counting the dead and concealment by some governments.

With inputs from agencies
New Testament prof. says Christians shouldn't be pushing for economy to reopen, even if unemployed

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A renowned New Testament scholar rebuked Christians who are protesting states' stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying that one's right to life supersedes another's right to work.

More than 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment since state lockdowns were enforced, according to U.S. Department of Labor figures released Thursday.

In a post on Patheos, Asbury Theological Seminary professor Ben Witherington III criticized those who are publicly demanding that the economy reopen, particularly believers who identify as pro-life.

Witherington said that because the new coronavirus puts the most vulnerable at risk and in the absence of a vaccine, Christians shouldn't be demanding the country reopen before extensive testing is done to determine who all is carrying the virus. "It is not safe to either stay ignorant nor ignore the warnings of Drs. Fauci and Birx and others just because you are currently not working," he said in the April 22 post.

"As far as I can see, there is nothing in the [C]onstitution that says thou hast an inalienable right to work. And whats even more maddening is that the very same persons who are out protesting abortion while protesting stay at home orders, the so-called right to lifers, dont realize the blatant contradiction involved in what they are doing," Witherington said in his piece on Patheos.

He added that vulnerable populations such as the sick and the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, the poor, the homeless also have a right to live, and their right so life always takes precedent over someone's right to work.

"Otherwise, you are simply violating part of the great commandment  to love your neighbor as yourself," he said. "And as for right wing political groups that claim to be Christ-centered and Biblically-based, SHAME ON YOU FOR URGING PEOPLE TO VIOLATE THE GREAT COMMANDMENT, and ignore the vulnerability of your neighbor. This is not at all what Jesus would do."

The theologian also expressed empathy for those who are now unemployed and listed the steps the government has taken thus far to help.

"I do understand and empathize with those who are out of work now. Fortunately the government has done and is doing something to help the unemployed with stimulus checks and unemployment checks and the Payment Protection Plan. These temporary remedies are not enough, but they do help ..." Witherington added.

Asked to elaborate in light of concerns about those who are unemployed and a prolonged shutdown of the economy, Witherington said in an email to The Christian Post on Wednesday that the church always has a responsibility to help the poor, the homeless, the ill, the infirm, and not just during pandemics.

"The Gospel and Jesus are quite clear about all this. So on the one hand, of course, the church should be helping the unemployed among them. As for the more general response to unemployment, the church should be advocating for things like the PPP, things like small business forgivable loans and the like from the government," he said.

"Under this condition, the response to the virus, if done state-by-state, will in no way reflect the importance and equality of all human lives. Every person's life is of sacred worth. Here's where I quote that great minister and theologian, John Donne  'every man's death diminishes me/for I am a part of mankind. Therefore, do not ask to know for whom the bell tolls/ it tolls for thee.' We are indeed all in this together, as we are all God's creatures increasingly interconnected in a global economy and humanity," he said.

Within Christian circles considerable debate has transpired as to the best approach to responding to a public health crisis while preserving protected freedoms set forth in the U.S. Constitution, particularly in light of how the infection and death rates are demonstrably higher in certain cities and states. Much of the conversation has centered around whether or not the government has the legitimate authority to force businesses and other public gatherings to be shut down, particularly churches, deeming them "non-essential" in an attempt to prevent further spread of the disease.
By Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

HARRISBURG  Pennsylvanias tax revenues nosedived $2.2 billion in April, falling 50% below official estimates, according to figures released Friday by the state Department of Revenue.

The majority of the shortfall is due to the three-month extension of the deadline for filing personal income taxes, which means that almost $2 billion that is usually collected in April will not flow into the states coffers until July.

But roughly $400 million is the direct fallout from the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak, state Revenue Secretary C. Daniel Hassell said, a drop of roughly 10% that represents a significant shortfall all by itself." Revenue declines will only increase as summer approaches, Hassell said.

This is by no means over even once we get to the point where businesses are allowed to reopen in the coming weeks, he said.

The new numbers offer the starkest picture yet of the damage inflicted on the states finances by the outbreak, adding a looming budget deficit to the list of pressing issues Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers must address in the next two months.

Tax collections for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, are now 7.4% below estimate.

The revenue slump is part of an increasingly gloomy economic picture. Businesses have been closed for weeks. Economic relief programs have been overwhelmed by demand. Pennsylvanians are filing for unemployment in record numbers, straining the states aging system.

As a result, sales and income tax receipts, the largest sources of state tax revenue, are dramatically lower than anticipated. Personal income taxes withheld from employees paychecks dropped $100 million below estimate and sales taxes came in $215 million lower than anticipated because of reduced economic activity.

So far, Congress has not offered unrestricted aid to the states to fill those budget gaps, leaving open the need for dramatic cuts.

Pennsylvania will receive nearly $5 billion under the federal CARES Act, but guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department says the money can only be used on spending that is needed to respond to the outbreak  not as revenue replacement.

The National Governors Association has said states need $500 billion in federal aid to replace revenues lost as a result of the outbreak, warning of drastic cuts otherwise. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday local governments are seeking a similar amount, saying a total $1 trillion rescue package is needed.

Even as the prospects for further federal aid remain unclear, state lawmakers face a fast-approaching July 1 deadline to pass next years budget  or at least a temporary, stopgap measure.

Wolf has said he will stick to the ambitious spending plan he unveiled before the virus hit, although it assumes a 4.5% growth in revenues  a forecast that now seems virtually impossible.

The governors budget represents our shared priorities, but any budget moving forward is going to have to reflect a very different reality, said Rep. Matthew Bradford (D., Montgomery), the minority chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

The states Independent Fiscal Office estimates that the coronavirus outbreak could cost Pennsylvania almost $4 billion in lost tax revenue, even under a cautiously optimistic scenario where businesses can reopen by May 25.

Later Friday, Wolf will announce which parts of the state can begin easing restrictions on May 8. In March, he shuttered much of the states economy and ordered all residents to stay home to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with sick patients, a worst-case scenario Pennsylvania has so far avoided.

A more complete economic recovery could be a long way off.

A report released earlier this week by Moodys Investors Service warned that the coronavirus will force states to make dramatic budget adjustments and cautioned that, without tax increases, it could take years for state revenues to return to 2019 levels.

Recovery to a level where no coronavirus crisis occurred is unlikely over a five-year horizon, the report predicted.

Already in Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney wants to hike taxes, lay off hundreds of city workers, and keep swimming pools closed this summer to fill an estimated $649 million budget hole caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Similar moves are likely in cities and towns across the state.

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Is Biden really running for president, or is he just acting as a placeholder while Michelle Obama makes up her mind? How else can one explain the fact that, while Joe Biden stands credibly accused of sexually assaulting Tara Reade in 1993, his campaign chose former senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), of all people, as one of the co-chairs for his running mate selection committee?

Dodd is one of D.C.'s most notoriously corrupt politicians. David Harsanyi offers a quick rundown of Dodd's profiteering at taxpayer expense:

For those who are too young to remember, Connecticut's Dodd, a senator since 1981, was forced to retire from politics in 2010 after a string of favor-trading scandals. Most scandalously, Dodd had slipped an amendment into the 2008 "stimulus" bill ensuring that AIG executives would get their bonuses paid by taxpayers. AIG, not incidentally, had donated more to Dodd, who initially lied about the provision, than to any other politician in the country, and given his wife a cushy board seat on a Bermuda-based company in their orbit. The chairman of Senate Banking Committee had also been one of the "Friends of Angelo," a program in which Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo would hand sweetheart below-market rate mortgages to his friends in D.C.

It's awful that Biden counts as one of his closest advisers such a corrupt man (although, financially, Biden is every bit as corrupt). But it's actually worse than that.

While many people have forgotten about Dodd's financial venality, when they hear the name "Chris Dodd," they instantly think "waitress sandwich." Again, a hat tip to David Harsanyi for finding a 1990 GQ piece that is the best retelling of what happened to poor Carla Gaviglio in the mid-1980s.

A heads up before you read the passage: the "Kennedy" mentioned is Sen. Teddy Kennedy, the man who, to save his career, left 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne to suffocate in a car he'd drunkenly crashed. Democrats revered Kennedy as "the lion of the Senate." Biden partnered with Kennedy to destroy Robert Bork, and, at Kennedy's funeral, Biden said Kennedy was "like a brother" to him.

Now, back to Dodd's story:

It is after midnight and Kennedy and Dodd are just finishing up a long dinner in a private room on the first floor of the restaurant's annex. They are drunk. Their dates, two very young blondes, leave the table to go to the bathroom. (The dates are drunk too. "They'd always get their girls very, very drunk," says a former Brasserie waitress.) Betty Loh, who served the foursome, also leaves the room. Raymond Campet, the co-owner of La Brasserie, tells [waitress Carla] Gaviglio the senators want to see her. As Gaviglio enters the room, the six-foot-two, 225-plus-pound Kennedy grabs the five-foot-three, 103-pound waitress and throws her on the table. She lands on her back, scattering crystal, plates and cutlery and the lit candles. Several glasses and a crystal candlestick are broken. Kennedy then picks her up from the table and throws her on Dodd, who is sprawled in a chair. With Gaviglio on Dodd's lap, Kennedy jumps on top and begins rubbing his genital area against hers, supporting his weight on the arms of the chair. As he is doing this, Loh enters the room. She and Gaviglio both scream, drawing one or two dishwashers. Startled, Kennedy leaps up. He laughs. Bruised, shaken and angry over what she considered a sexual assault, Gaviglio runs from the room. Kennedy, Dodd and their dates leave shortly thereafter, following a friendly argument between the senators over the check.

Gaviglio was right to consider the attack "sexual assault," for that's what it was.

More than 2,500 years ago, Aesop was reputed to have written the fable about a stork who partied with some thieving cranes, only to end up in the farmer's net. The stork pleaded with the farmer to spare him, saying he had no idea that the cranes would misbehave, but the farmer was unmoved, telling the stork that, while he might indeed be a good bird, having been caught hanging with the cranes, he would be treated like a crane. The moral: You are judged by the company you keep.

Dodd and the late Kennedy are Biden's company. These three sexually aggressive men, two of whom assaulted a waitress and one of whom endlessly fondles little girls, are birds of a feather. That Biden should team with Dodd to pick a female running mate is simultaneously ludicrous and disgusting.

Democrat women, though, are not disgusted. Stacey Abrams, who drips with flop sweat in her desperation to be his running mate, gave Biden a pass. Kirsten Gillibrand, another veep wannabe, has done the same:

The American feminist movement may be the single most corrupt movement in the world ... If you want proof, look no further than Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.



 Tucker Carlson



Why doesnt Gillibrand believe Tara Reade like Gillibrand believed Christine Blasey Ford?



 pic.twitter.com/n3OrGFDHpX  Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) April 30, 2020

Nancy Pelosi was offended that people would even ask:

"I don't need a lecture" Nancy Pelosi tells female reporter



She "respects" the question just as much as she "respects all women who come forward." Just as long as they don't accuse a Democratpic.twitter.com/rcz3HBuAcU  Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) April 30, 2020

These people are both immoral and amoral. Their only god is power. They should never be allowed anywhere near the center of American politics.
Lesotho Prime Minister Loses Bid to Get Immunity from Prosecution in Ex-Wife's Killing

By VOA News April 30, 2020

The head of Lesotho's ruling party turned down Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's demands for immunity from prosecution in connection with the shooting death of his former wife in the southern African kingdom.

The decision by the leader of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party is the latest in a week of setbacks for the 80-year-old embattled leader, who is facing pressure to resign before the end of July, as he promised.

Earlier this week, a magistrate ruled that Lesotho's high court will decide if Thabane can claim immunity from a charge that he murdered his former wife.

Also this week, the Senate modified the constitution, limiting the prime minister's powers to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.

A leader of the opposition party, the Democratic Congress (DC), Motlalentoa Letsosa, told the French News Agency (AFP ) that Thabane has run out of options and the only thing that's left for him is to leave.

Thabane recently rejected an offer by Lesotho's coalition government and South African mediators to step down with a dignified retirement.

Police charged Thabane's wife, first lady Maesaiah Thabane, with the murder of his previous wife, Lipolelo Thabane, outside her home in Maseru, Lesotho's capital, just before his June 2017 inauguration.

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The inside story of the Wuhan virus laboratory blamed by President Trump for releasing Covid-19 - Johannes Eisele/AFP

A state-of-the art facility purpose-built to handle research into the world's most deadly pathogens, the Wuhan Institute of Virology played a crucial role in identifying the virus now known as Covid-19.

It was Shi Zhengli, the laboratory's globally respected expert in the transmission of animal-born coronavirus to humans, who led a team that worked round the clock to establish the cause of the mysterious disease that appeared in Wuhan, a city of 11 million on the Yangtze river 600 miles south of Beijing, in late December.

Now Donald Trump has accused the laboratory of causing the very pandemic it helped identify - to the fury of scientists and Chinese authorities.

Were going to see where it comes from, Mr Trump said at a White House event late on Thursday. We have people looking at it very, very strongly. Scientific people, intelligence people, and others. Were going to put it all together. I think we will have a very good answer eventually. And China might even tell us.

Mr Trump refused to say what, if any, intelligence he had seen suggesting Covid-19 may have originated in the WIV. He wasn't allowed to tell us, he said. The United States Intelligence Community on Friday said it - like most scientists - had ruled out the theory that the virus had been manmade or genetically modified, but did say it was looking into the possibility it escaped as "a result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan." That, experts say, is highly unlikely. But far from impossible.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology was key in identifying the novel coronavirus when it first emerged - Hector Retamal/AFP

Completed in 2015 and formally opened in 2018, the $44 million laboratory was first planned by China's academy of sciences in 2003 as one of the World Health Organisation's reference labs - one of several facilities around the world used to store samples of the most dangerous diseases known to man. Yuan Zhiming, the director, called it at the time  a key node in the global biosafety-lab network.

Story continues

Initial research focused on CrimeanCongo haemorrhagic fever: a deadly tick-borne virus that affects livestock, as well as Ebola and the West African Lassa virus. But it also became a centre of global research into the potentially devastating consequences of coronaviruses - something Chinese scientists had been alerted to by the Sars outbreak that hit East Asia in the early 2000s.

Groundbreaking research was led by Ms Shi, 55, who led a series of field expeditions to remote locations to work out how such viruses could jump between species. In 2004, she discovered a natural reservoir of coronviruses in bats living in caves in southern China.

Over the following 15 years, she worked closely on animal-to-human transition with leading experts from around the world, including Peter Dazak, the British-American president of the New York-based non-profit EcoHealth Alliance who was one of the first scientists to warn that a "Disease X" could cause a global pandemic.

In 2017, she and her team established that the coronavirus that caused SARs came from bats. It was that expertise that helped her team identify Covid-19 in early January. But the coincidence of a pandemic in the same city as the laboratory raised an obvious, and troubling, question.

Could they have come from our lab? she recalled thinking in an interview with the Scientific American in March. Afterall, she and her colleagues had gathered and stored countless samples of bat-borne viruses over the years.

The Wuhan lab is one of a handful in the world with the highest internationally recognised levels of biocontainment security - a standard known as BSL-4. It follows strict protocols: air and water are filtered and treated before leaving it, researchers are obliged to change clothes and shower.

There is no evidence that its strict procedures were breached, and Ms Shi and the laboratory have since issued firm denials that safety protocols failed.

But accidents can happen.

In 2003, an outbreak of Sars in Singapore was linked to an accident in a hospital laboratory when a 27-year-old doctoral student became infected.

That outbreak involved labs cleared for BSL level 3 containment - one level below the standards in place in Wuhan - and an investigation concluded that safety standards had been jeopardised because researchers were forced to work together while another laboratory was being renovated.

The Sars virus was also reported to have escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing several times. And it is not clear that Covid 19 was always handled only in Level-4 labs.

"Of course it is possible that is was human error," said a French scientist that visited the Wuhan lab.

"But you must remember that the most virulent coronavirus are considered level BSL3 and other coronavirus are level BSL2."

That would raise the possibility of a leak from another lab - possibly Wuhan's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, a completely separate institution that is based 300 metres from the Wuhan market initially identified as the source of the virus. The WIV has long been entangled in a web of international tensions over the handling of hazardous pathogens. It was originally the product of a joint venture with France, which has its own BSL-4 laboratory in Lyon.

Michel Barnier, the EU Brexit negotiator who was at that time Jacque Chirac's foreign minister, signed the decree that led to the Wuhan lab's creation in 2004. But French firms got only minor roles in the building of the laboratory, and by the time it opened in 2017 cooperation had collapsed.

The Wuhan lab was seen as a key hope for protecting mankind from viral infections hen it first opened in 2017 - Johannes Eisele/AFP

Technip, the French company supposed to certify that the building complied with safety standards, refused to do so after pulling out of the project in 2015, and fifty senior French scientists who were meant to move to Wuhan to work there in its first five years of operation never arrived, according to Le Figaro and France Inter, the state broadcaster.

Challenge, a French business magazine, has reported that the project foundered when French military officials refused to supply China with deadly viruses or anti-virus suits in case they were used for biological weapons research.

That was not the end of international cooperation, however. In 2013, a US team filled the gap when the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas, the top pathogens research institution in the United States, began training Chinese researchers for work in BSL-4 laboratories.

The move left some French officials suggesting Paris had lost out to the Americans. James LeDuc, director of the Galveston laboratory, played down the likelihood of an accidental leak from the WIV, saying all such facilities have strict procedures in place although accidents cannot be ruled out.

But the coincidence has been seized upon by conspiracy theorists, and has already done real damage to scientific research even before Mr Trump repeated the suggestion on Thursday.

On April 24, a week before Mr Trump's latest statement, the US National Institute of Health suddenly terminated its grant to Mr Daszak for his research with Shi Zhengli.

And experts have warned scientific cooperation could be further marred by equally implausible counter-allegations levelled at the US.

'It wasn't us'

Chinese officials in Beijing did not appear to rise to President Trumps bait on Friday but it has repeatedly denied that the Covid-19 virus came from the Wuhan laboratory, with senior foreign ministry officials insinuating on several occasions that it could have originated in the US.

CPC [Chinese Communist Party] is open, transparent & responsible in #COVID19 response. 2 US experts were in China on WHO-China joint mission in late Jan. Why not ask US experts to locate when the virus first started in the US? American people need answers. The world also has right to know, tweeted Hua Chunying, the foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday.

Her tweet came in response to Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, who said: The CCP needs to be transparent as the world seeks answers to COVID19 and its origins. We dont know the history. We havent been able to get our team on the ground to do the work that it needs to do. China has a responsibility to cooperate.

In March, Zhao Lijian, another foreign ministry spokesperson, triggered a diplomatic spat with the US when he promoted the conspiracy theory that the United States military could have brought the novel coronavirus to China.
Protestors in Los Angeles outside the headquarters of the regulatory body for domain names, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN has blocked the sale of Pa. based registrar of .org domains to private equity firm. Read more

Dot-org, or .org," is one of the oldest and largest domains on the internet  a digital home for more than 10.5 million websites, many of them nonprofits.

The group that operates this massive registry, Public Interest Registry, is itself a Pennsylvania charitable organization, and had been up for sale for months to a private equity firm. Hundreds of groups, including several Pennsylvania nonprofits, opposed the deal through a petition called SaveDotOrg, saying they were alarmed about the possibilities of increased prices and other ways new owners could seek to turn a profit.

Those groups got their way late Thursday, when the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the domain name system, rejected the $1.1 billion proposal.

ICANNs board said Public Interest Registry has enjoyed a close and responsible relationship with its community for nearly 20 years, and that the board could not allow it to be sold to an untested private equity firm.

That firm, Ethos Capital, was founded last year by Erik Brooks, whod spent two decades at another private equity outfit. The announcement last November that Ethos was planning to acquire Public Interest Registry took many in the internet community by surprise. It prompted an outpouring of questions from digital rights advocates, public officials, and ICANN about the financials and the investors involved in the deal, who Ethos has not named publicly, beyond saying they are based in the U.S.

Under the proposed sale to Ethos Capital, Public Interest Registry would have been converted from a nonprofit to a for-profit corporation, and taken on $360 million in debt. ICANNs board on Thursday said there was too much uncertainty about whether the registry could repay that amount, potentially jeopardizing its long-term financial stability.

To address concerns about accountability, Ethos and the registry had put forward a number of so-called Public Interest Commitments, which they said would be legally binding through the registrys contract with ICANN.

But ICANNs board said it should not have to serve as a backstop to keep the registry accountable to its community. The board also cast doubt on whether members of a proposed stewardship council could be truly independent of the new companys financial interests.

Californias Attorney General, the board noted, also said the debt burden and other aspects of the sale raised serious concerns" for the nonprofit community, and had asked ICANN to block the proposal.

Oversight by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who has jurisdiction over state charities, was another factor in the boards decision. To become a for-profit, Public Interest Registry would need to get approval from the Pennsylvania Orphans Court, and Shapiros office has the power to review and weigh in on such a request.

ICANNs board had a May 4 deadline to make its own decision, and said the Pennsylvania process wouldnt be finished by then  so it still does not know Shapiros view on the matter, or whether the court will authorize the change.

The lack of approval from the Pennsylvania authorities has remained an area of concern," the board said in its decision.

Shapiros office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

In a statement, Ethos Capital said the decision by ICANN sets a dangerous precedent, and opens the door for the organization to unilaterally reject future transfer requests based on agenda-driven pressure by outside parties.

The firm is evaluating its options at this time, the statement said.

Public Interest Registry called the decision disappointing, but said the organization is as committed as ever to its mission of running the dot-org registry. While the nonprofit is incorporated in Pennsylvania, it operates out of headquarters in Reston, Va.

Groups such as the Pennsylvania Child Care Association, Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light, and the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations, which has more than 1,000 members, had signed the SaveDotOrg petition, along with Girl Scouts of the USA, the YMCA, and the American Red Cross.

The collective voices made a difference, two organizers for the petition, NTEN and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a joint statement, calling for a competitive public process for bids to find a new home for the .org domain.
EURO FORECAST & EUR PRICE ANALYSIS POST-ECB MEETING: EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/CAD & EUR/AUD

The Euro has ripped higher over the last two trading sessions

EUR price action is getting a boost from ramped up ECB stimulus measures targeted at countering the coronavirus recession

EUR/USD recovery threatened by resistance as trader sentiment sours, but the recent advance by EUR/GBP EUR/CAD an EUR/AUD could continue

The Euro has strengthened considerably over the last two trading sessions. EUR price action since Thursday has largely dominated the direction of major currency pairs. Upside recently recorded by the Euro against its USD, GBP, CAD and AUD peers seems driven mostly by market participants reacting to the latest European Central Bank update.

EURO CURRENCY INDEX PRICE CHART: 15-MINUTE TIME FRAME (29 APRIL TO 01 MAY 2020)

Euro bulls have rejoiced expanded ECB measures set forth to counter a slump in the Eurozone economy, which has deepened exponentially over the last three months amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Euro Currency Index now trades about 1.5% higher since the March 28 close and broadly reflects the advance printed by EUR/USD price action, as well as the jump in EUR/GBP, EUR/CAD and EUR/AUD. That said, on the back of the ECB meeting, can Euro strength continue as traders turn their calendars to the new month?

EUR/USD PRICE CHART: DAILY TIME FRAME (03 JANUARY TO 01 MAY 2020)

EUR/USD upward momentum has accelerated over the last two days and is reflected by bullish divergence on the MACD indicator. The Euro spiked by about 130-pips against its US Dollar peer as EUR/USD, arguably the most popular currency pair, attempts to rebound from three-year lows.

The bounce-back attempt by the Euro may prove short-lived, however, considering it is likely that demand for safe-haven currencies, such as the US Dollar, may resurface and spark another aggressive selloff in spot EUR/USD price action.

EUR/GBP PRICE CHART: DAILY TIME FRAME (24 JANUARY TO 01 MAY 2020)

EUR/GBP price action is rocketing higher as the Euro catches bid against the Pound Sterling near a huge level of confluence noted by the 200-day exponential moving average around the 0.8700 handle. This area of technical support could continue bolstering spot EUR/GBP going forward. At the same time, technical resistance highlighted by the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of the latest bearish leg could hinder a protracted advance.

EUR/CAD PRICE CHART: DAILY TIME FRAME (03 FEBRUARY TO 01 MAY 2020)

Euro outlook against the Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar also hints at potential for further strength. After probing a critical technical support level outlined in this Canadian Dollar forecast, EUR/CAD has exploded since last Wednesday as the Euro rockets higher. Spot EUR/CAD could continue climbing in light of recent dovish commentary from the Bank of Canada, which adds to downside risk facing CAD price action due to crude oil demand woes.

EUR/AUD PRICE CHART: DAILY TIME FRAME (03 JANUARY TO 01 MAY 2020)

EUR/AUD shows potential to extend its advance as well, particularly in consideration of this Australian Dollar forecast, which outlines major fundamental threats faced by the pro-risk Aussie. On that note, spot EUR/AUD price action looks like it may have already begun a topside breakout after eclipsing its bearish trendline extended through the series of higher lows since mid-March.

-- Written by Rich Dvorak, Analyst for DailyFX.com

Connect with @RichDvorakFX on Twitter for real-time market insight
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Armed forces plan to conduct several activities on May 3 as a mark of respect to the people involved in the fight against Corona Virus. The activities will include fly-past, band displays and warship deployment in the coastal areas without slackening the operations.

Speaking before the media on Friday, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said, There are some special activities that the nation will get to witness. Air Force will conduct fly-past from Srinagar to Trivandrum and another one starting from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kutch in Gujarat. Fly-past will include both transport and fighter aircraft which will also shower flower petals at some places.

The Army will also conduct mountain band displays along some of the Covid-19 hospitals in almost every district of the country. The armed forces will also lay wreathe at the police memorial on May 3 in support of the police forces.

The Navy will have its warships deployed in formations in coastal areas in the evening on May 3. Navy warships would also be lit up and their choppers would be used for showering petals on hospitals.

General Rawat thanked all Covid-19 warriors on behalf of armed forces. Doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, home guards, delivery boys and media which has been reaching out with the message of the government on how to carry on with lives in difficult times, he said.

The plan of action as announced by General Rawat was finalised at the meeting earlier in the day presided over by the Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh with the three Service Chiefs, CDS and NSA.

Touching upon the issue of evacuation of Indians from the Gulf Countries Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the ships are ready to leave for destinations. Talking about the evacuation, Air Chief Marshal RK Bhadauria said 28-30 aircraft are ready for evacuation.

The officers present in the conference affirmed that there has been no let-up in the operational activities and deployments, instead, there has been increase in anti-terrorist operations. Warships are deployed in Gulf of Aden, Strait of Hormuz and for coastal security.

Army Chief General Manoj M Naravane informed, There has been an increase in numbers of people trying to cross the LoC and that is why the increase in the number of infiltration attempts. Counter-terrorist operations are continuing unabated amidst COVID19."
The government produced a few more documents to General Flynns counsel Sidney Powell yesterday. I have embedded the cover letter and accompanying documents below. John Solomon reports on the documents in his Just the News column FBI found no derogatory Russia evidence on Flynn, planned to close case before leaders intervened. Sean Davis reports on them in the Federalist column FBI Closed Flynn Case, Dubbed Crossfire Razor, In Early 2017, Until Strzok Ordered It To Stay Open.

As previously, the government produced the documents under cover of a letter from interim DC United States Attorney Timothy Shea. Shea explained that the documents were turned up in the review of the Flynn case file by ED Missouri United States Attorney Jeffrey Jensen at the direction of Attorney General Barr and added that more such documents may be forthcoming.

The principal document is a draft closing memo dated January 4, 2017, by the FBI case manager working Crossfire Razor  the investigation of General Flynn as a Russian agent and unregistered foreign agent. The FBI predicated the investigation on predetermined criteria set forth by the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE (CH) investigative team based on an assessment of reliable lead information Id love to see the predetermined criteria and reliable lead information; the closing memo reports that, after making the rounds, including a tail on a certain Russian subject, the FBI had turned up nada.

The FBI sought to determine whether Flynn was directed or controlled by Russia. As the memo puts it, however, they discovered no derogatory information. That is the recurring theme or motif of the memo: no derogatory information. As of the date of the memo, Flynn was no longer a viable candidate in the larger Crossfire Hurricane investigation. The Crossfire Razor investigation was nevertheless held open or revived by the intervention of Peter Strzok, apparently on the order of FBI leadership. Flynns interview by Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka followed on January 27 at the direction of James Comey.

Flynn had of course spoken with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times on December 29. Those calls were leaked to David Ignatius in a highly illegal fashion for a January 12 Washington Post column. Whodunnit?

After Powell filed the newly produced documents yesterday, Judge Sullivan cried no mas. Powell is not to file any more supplements in support of Flynns motions until the government has completed its production of documents to Flynn.

Powell and Flynn have a steep hill to climb with Judge Sullivan. Anyone who doubts it needs to read or reread the December 2018 transcript of Flynns reaffirmation of his guilty before Judge Sullivan.

CROSSFIRE RAZOR: FBI Exoner by The Federalist on Scribd
Prince Andrew's ex-girlfriend Lady Victoria Hervey today claimed Ghislaine Maxwell used her as 'bait' to entertain Jeffrey Epstein's friends, saying the paedophile 'kind of sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing'. The 44-year-old socialite and former 'It Girl', who is the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol and the Duke of York's former love interest, first met the pair 20 years ago and said she was 'really young and naive' at the time. ITV released a clip to MailOnline ahead of tonight's 'Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile' documentary which also featured Lady Victoria describing Maxwell and Epstein as like 'Batman and Robin' and a 'double act'. She said: 'Jeffrey was really the frontman and Ghislaine was the accomplice. It was kind of like a Batman and Robin, and they were a double act. I don't think Jeffrey could have done any of it without Ghislaine.' Presenter Ranvir Singh said: 'And Ghislaine was crucial to getting those girls, was she, do you think to those dinners?' Lady Victoria replied: 'I think he just kind of sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing and go find however many girls were needed, you know, to entertain his friends. I think I was pretty much used as bait. You know, looking back at, you know I was really young and naive, and she's entertaining these, you know, big businessmen. So I didn't realise it of course at the time, but looking back...' Also pictured: Lady Victoria with Prince Andrew in London in 2002, and with Ghislaine Maxwell in Hollywood in 2004.
Georgia may be among the first countries which get remdesivir medicine - GeorgianJournal
BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA - A paper published in Advanced Photonics "Enhanced lightmatter interactions in dielectric nanostructures via machine-learning approach," suggests that machine-learning techniques can be used to enhance metasurfaces, optimizing them for nonlinear optics and optomechanics. The discovery has promising possibilities for the development of a wide range of photonic devices and applications including those involved in optical sensing, optoacoustic vibrations, and narrowband filtering.

Metasurfaces are versatile platforms used to manipulate the scattering, color, phase, or intensity of light that can be used for light emission, detection, modulation, control and/or amplification at the nanoscale. In recent years, metasurfaces have been a subject of undergoing intense study as their optical properties can be adapted to a diverse set of applications, including superlenses, tunable images, and holograms.

According to Advanced Photonics Co-Editor-in-Chief, SPIE Fellow, and Head of Photonics & Nanotechnology Group at King's College London Anatoly Zayats, this work marks an exciting advancement in nanophotonics.

"Optimization of metasurfaces and metamaterials for particular applications is an important and time-consuming problem," said Zayats. "With traditional approaches, only few parameters can be optimised, so that the resulting performance is better than for some other designs but not necessarily the best. Using machine learning, one can search for the best design and cover the space of parameters not possible with traditional approaches."

###

The article authors are Lei Xu, Yixuan Ma, Fu Deng, Yan Kei Chiang, Lujun Huang, and Andrey E. Miroschnichenko, School of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of New South Wales, Canberra; Mohsen Rahmani, Daria A. Smirnova, Khosro Zangeneh Kamali, and Dragomir N. Neshev, Nonlinear Physics Centre, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra; Haoyang Zhang, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane; and Stephen Gould, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.

Advanced Photonics, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal, is published by SPIE and Chinese Laser Press in the SPIE Digital Library, which contains more than 500,000 publications from SPIE journals, proceedings, and books, with approximately 18,000 new research papers added each year.

About SPIE

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves more than 255,000 constituents from 183 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2019, SPIE provided more than $5.6 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. http://www.spie.org

Contact:

Journal Advanced Photonics DOI 10.1117/1.AP.2.2.026003

Daneet SteffensPublic Relations Manager+1 360 685 5478@SPIEtweets
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun a money laundering probe based on some FIRs filed in the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) scam, popularly referred as the irrigation scam.

Maharashtras anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has cleared deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar of the allegations in connection with the irrigation scam, according to an affidavit filed in the Bombay high court (HC) late last year.

Sources said ED has recently filed cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and are probing few FIRs linked to the scam. The irrigation scam involves 44 projects spread over Vidarbha and Konkan, and the probe has so far led to 24 FIRs and 5 charge sheets.

The scam was one of the political issues in the run-up to the 2014 state elections. Shortly after his victory, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis opened the case against Pawar.

The ACB had earlier accused Pawar, who was the irrigation minister between 1999 and 2009, of presiding over a regime in which procedures were bypassed, pecuniary benefits were passed on, sub-standard work was allowed, leading to drain upon public exchequer. However, in recent affidavits, the ACB has given him a clean chit saying he had no role in the cost upgradation or the mobilisation of advance.

ACB had further said there was no evidence of money trail linking Pawar and suggested that the scam was a result of procedural irregularities, departmental lapses and deviations for which the minister could not be held responsible.

The irrigation scam came to the fore in 2012 wherein it was revealed that even after spending 42,500 crore for a decade, the state had brought only 0.1% of the targeted land under irrigation. It was revealed that a nexus of contractors, officials and politicians had milked thousands of crores meant for irrigation projects.

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Nokias departing CEO Rajeev Suri has defended the vendors recent contract record, indicating that lucrative deals are in the pipeline even though it has missed out on some major wins.

One example is China Mobiles recent issue of 5G tenders, in which Nokia lost out to the operators compatriots Huawei and ZTE. China Unicom and China Telecoms tender for their joint SA 5G network seemingly echoed this preference  although to rub salt in the wound for Nokia, the partners also awarded contracts to Swedish vendor Ericsson.

Despite these setbacks, Suri struck an upbeat tone during Nokias Q1 earnings call, saying he remained quite optimistic that China Unicom would award Nokia a 5G core contract. Nokia has not yet received any official confirmation of such a contract.

Suri noted that Nokia was targeting the international market rather than tailoring its 5G RAN solutions to Chinas needs, reportedly telling media that a return to 5G radio at some point in the future is not out of the question but our approach has consistently been prudent.

However, he added that Nokia would remain a meaningful player in China courtesy of its large installed 4G base. Additionally, the vendor is pursuing enterprise 5G in the market with opportunities including fixed, IP routing and optical networks.

Both the China Mobile and Unicom-Telecom tenders were announced after the close of Q1. During this quarter, Nokia saw its net sales in China fall 29% year-on-year, accounting for 6% of its global sales for the period as opposed to 9% for the same quarter in 2019.

Nonetheless, Suri noted that Nokia had signed 70 commercial 5G deals ahead of the close of Q1, with its equipment used in 21 live networks. Excluding China, its share of the 4G and 5G radio market is likely to match its 2019 share of 27%. He added: pursuing market share in China presents significant profitability challenges and the region has some unique market dynamics.
The CFVF United transition program includes mentoring, education and referrals for female veterans who have returned from combat. Robinson and others listen to the specific needs of the women and attempt to create a program or make referrals that work to help integrate the veteran back into the community.

CFVF United operates in partnership with NC Serves and several community-based organizations to improve the lives of female veterans.

Robinson said CFVF United receives 10 to 20 calls a week with a wide range of inquiries. For example, recently a woman called who had just been told by her landlord that he had sold the house she had been living in for the past several years. She put her two small children with family members as she tried to figure out how to find affordable housing. She was on disability resulting from her military service and had limited funds.

Turner said that transitioning is the biggest challenge for service combat veterans: Research shows it takes between five to seven years for female veterans to transition back to the civilian world and longer for veterans that have been deployed to a combat zone.

Turner said reducing that time will help limit the high suicide rate for female combat veterans.
Limited operations have been underway at the plant since Wednesday to package and ship pork that was in production at the time of the closure order, but the facility is not accepting any new raw food, the county said. Before it can fully reopen the plant, which employs 325 people, Smithfield must submit to the county a plan to control infectious disease in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / CubicFarm Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB)(OTC PINK:CUBXF) ("CubicFarms" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the strategic investment of Ospraie Ag Science as the Company executes its vision of providing technology to feed a changing world.

CubicFarms is a leading platform provider of automated controlled-environment growing systems that produce commercial-scale quantities of fresh produce and nutritious livestock feed. The systems work continuously all year, providing consistent and predictable produce and feed without the typical investment in labour, land, water and fertilizer. Its reduced growing footprint allows growers to set up a CubicFarms system in and around large population centres, and supply their local markets while shortening distribution chains and the amount of time that food spends in transit. In addition to providing localized production, CubicFarms systems have been shown to be far more efficient than traditional farming methods, which enhances growers' profitability.

"Over the past month, we've seen a sharp increase in inquiries from interested parties worldwide for our technology, to enhance food production and improve food security and self-sufficiency. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed fragility in supply chains, such as labour shortages, disruptions in the packing and transportation sectors, and increasing uncertainty in the domestic and international markets. CubicFarms' automated growing systems have emerged as a key solution to overcoming these challenges by allowing growers to localize food production and provide their markets with fresh produce and nutritious livestock feed reliably and consistently," said CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen.

"Two months ago, we announced our largest system sale of 100 fresh produce machines, and our ever increasing sales pipeline underscores the demand for our technology."

Private placement with strategic investor Ospraie Ag Science

The non-brokered private placement with Ospraie Ag Science ("Ospraie") involves the issuance of 21,739,130 common shares of CubicFarms at a price of C$0.23 per share for gross proceeds of up to C$5.0 million (the "Offering"). Without giving effect to the issuance of common shares, if any, pursuant to the exercise of pre-emptive rights held by another strategic investor of the Company, Ospraie will hold an 18.7% interest in the Company upon completion of the Offering.

"We are thrilled to welcome Ospraie as a strategic partner as CubicFarms embarks on its exciting next chapter. The investment by Ospraie, one of the top technology investors in the agricultural space, is a testament to the CubicFarms vision, team and technology," said Jeff Booth, CubicFarms Chairman.

"Ospraie's deep industry and commercial expertise, in addition to its extensive network, are expected to add significant value to CubicFarms and unlock new potential synergies with other companies in the Ospraie portfolio," Mr. Booth added.

Dwight Anderson, Chief Investment Officer at Ospraie Ag Science, commented, "CubicFarms' fresh produce systems are on the leading edge of commercial-scale controlled-environment-agriculture technology and we are excited to support Dave and the entire CubicFarms team as they continue to execute their vision of providing innovative solutions for both the food and feed markets.

"The agricultural value chain is rapidly evolving and technology infrastructure to overcome the pains of traditional farming is sorely needed. CubicFarms is one part of the multivariable solution required to address this need for safe, reliable, environmentally-friendly and affordable food. We look forward to working with the Company and its existing partners to realize CubicFarms' tremendous potential."

The net proceeds from the Offering are expected to be used for research and development to expand machine capabilities and crop varieties, and working capital.

The Offering is scheduled to close on or about May 15, 2020 and is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, the execution of definitive documentation and receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws, which will expire four months plus one day from the closing date of the Offering.

Photo: A grower using CubicFarms' proprietary app to control frequency and volume of irrigation and nutrients, and monitor the machine's speed to optimize yield and quality of each crop.

Photo: The fully automated feed machine, shown in a three-section configuration, performs all functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding, all with the push of a button.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless an exemption from such registration is available.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About CubicFarm Systems Corp.

CubicFarm Systems Corp. ("CubicFarms") is a technology company that is developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high-quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its patented CubicFarm System, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labour and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the System to growers, licensing its technology and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.

The second technology is CubicFarms' HydroGreen System for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labour and water. The HydroGreen System is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding - all with the push of a button - to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment and transportation. The HydroGreen System not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal, but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.

About Ospraie Ag Science

Ospraie Ag Science LLC ("Ospraie") an investment vehicle that supports productivity-enhancing companies in the agriculture technology space with a focus on sustainable solutions that improve the quality of life for farmers and society. Utilizing its extensive network and 25 years of experience investing in agriculture markets, Ospraie identifies solutions that help farmers "Do More With Less" and that increase profitability, reduce environmental impact and improve their quality-adjusted yield.

Information contact

Kimberly Lim

kimberly@cubicfarms.com

Phone: +1-236-858-6491

www.cubicfarms.com

Cautionary statement on forward-looking information

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the closing of the Offering and the use of proceeds thereof. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of CubicFarm Systems Corp., or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information including the Company obtaining the approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved.

These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.

SOURCE: CubicFarm Systems Corp

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/587922/Food-Security-Puts-CubicFarms-in-Spotlight-to-Localize-Food-Production-Top-Ag-Tech-Investor-Ospraie-Invests-C5-Million-in-Private-Placement
New Delhi, May 1 : Twelve more Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel deployed in Delhi tested coronavirus positive on Friday, taking total such cases in the paramilitary force to 64 across the country.

All the 12 infected men are from CRPF 31st Battalion based in east Dehi's Mayur Vihar. They have been quarantined at a Delhi government centre in Mandawali, a few kilometres away from the battalion's base camp.

Earlier in the day, corona test reports of 117 CRPF personnel were received.

The total number of infected CRPF personnel in Delhi now is 63. One CRPF personnel of 194th Battalion of its Rapid Action Force (RAF) tested positive in Ahmedabad earlier this month.

A 55-year-old Sub-Inspector of the 3.5-lakh strong paramilitary force had succumbed to corona infection on Tuesday.

A total of six of the 89 personnel tested were found positive on Thursday. On Tuesday, 12 other personnel were declared corona positive. Fifteen CRPF men were found positive on April 26, including one Assistant Sub-Inspector and four Head Constables from the same battalion whose nine personnel had tested coronavirus positive on April 24.

The personnel of the 31st unit underwent tests after a Head Constable who visited the battalion recently tested positive for the virus.

The Head Constable, who was working as a nursing assistant, is part of the 162nd battalion deployed in Kupwara in Jammu & Kashmir and was visiting Noida on leave.

Soon after the nursing assistant was found corona positive, all his contacts were shifted to a quarantine centre.

The CRPF, the country's largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), is mandated for internal security duties and anti-Naxal and counter-terrorist operations, apart from rendering regular law and order duties.

The information came at a time when the deadly virus has already snuffed out 59 lives in the national capital, besides infecting a total of 3,515 people. There are 2,362 active cases now in Delhi.
The lawsuit was filed as an emergency class action on behalf of inmates with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to complications from covid-19, the disease the virus causes. Among those identified in the court papers are inmates with chronic bronchitis and severe asthma, including those who have experienced symptoms of the virus. One asked for medical attention or a test, the lawsuit asserts, but was refused and told the medical unit was too full. Another inmate, lawyers wrote in the lawsuit, said he has not seen anyone clean or sanitize any surfaces in his unit.
On April 29, Stephen Kemp arrived at his office just outside Detroit to a perplexing silence. Since COVID-19 hit the city, the phones at his funeral home had been ringing nonstop. Now, nothing.

Kemps wife and colleague, Jacquie, soon popped into his office with an explanation: Comcast was down. No phones, no Internet. The outage lasted until early afternoona stretch in which the home put on two funeral services and received one more body. When the deceptive calm finally broke, the bad news began pouring in at the torrential pace that had become the Kemps new normal.

The most pressing problem was the local crematory, which had stopped taking bodies for the second time in less than a week. Closed until Monday, Kemp explained, leaving a voicemail as he exasperatedly called around in search of a solutionto little avail. All the other nearby crematories were full too. Were making it up as we go.

The metro Detroit area has seen some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 related deaths among U.S. citiesnearly 3,000 as of late April, along with almost 30,000 confirmed cases of the disease. The crisis has disproportionately ravaged the African American community, which makes up the majority of Kemps business.

Erik Ljung for Newsy

On a normal day, Kemp says he gets one or two calls from new clients. For the last few weeks, its been four, five, or sometimes more. It wasnt long, Kemp says, before the whole systemfrom hospitals to morgues to funeral homes like hisbecame overwhelmed. The whiteboard that he and his colleagues use to keep track of cases is overflowing, routinely with people who have the same last names. Its difficult for even people in the business to witness, said Jacquie Kemp of the deluge. To see people coming at this pace.

The Kemps already had to rent a refrigerated truck to store overflow; at least 20 remains were kept there. Nearly two dozen more were waiting for burial in the backroom. At any one time, another few are being embalmed in the preparation room, and half a dozen others sit in what used to be a resting room for families during services. The exact count can change by the hour.

Story continues

Ive never had it this full, said Kemp, standing in his garage, near racks he recently had to buy to keep bodies arranged in as dignified a manner as possible. Usually this is where my hearse is parked.

Funeral directors were in short supply before the coronavirus hit, with few young people entering the profession. Kemp was lucky that his son chose to join the business. Still, the family, and the funeral homes additional staff of about 10 people , have found themselves working 12 to 18 hour days trying to manage the high death toll of the pandemic. But as other frontline workersfrom doctors to the national guardget thanked in local public service ads, death-care professionals are often left off the list.

Im probably the least popular person in the world because nobody ever wants to see me. But Im necessary, said Kemp, positing the calamity that would ensue if funeral homes stopped taking, disinfecting and processing COVID-19 victims. Our job is to complete the chain of protecting the general public as last responders.

This essential service has put Kemp and his employees at risk themselves. His wife contractedand recovered fromCOVID-19, and he thinks that he and his son have also caught the virus, though they havent yet been able to get tested (its a point hes been trying to push the mayor on). And as the crisis has deepened, protective equipment has also become increasingly scarce. Kemps supplies of shoe covers, Tyvek suits, gloves and masks are all dwindling. If its stock is ever fully depleted, the funeral home would be forced to close.

Every time you touch one of the bodies, you put your life on the line, said Kay Smith, a funeral director at the home. Her job routinely involves taking out ventilator tubes, removing adult diapers, draining bodily fluids and other preparation or embalming processes that, these days, could expose her to the coronavirus. But, she says, its her calling. It is rewarding. And its not only for the dead. Its for the living.

Juanita Jolly tried calling multiple other funeral homes about her father, before Kemp was able to take on the case. Jimmie Jolly died on April 5, at age 70, after contracting COVID-19. He went in [to the hospital] on Friday, with a fever, said Jolly. The next time I saw him was lying in a casket.

As she made arrangements to celebrate her fathers life, Jolly had to battle not only grief but also social distancing requirements and Michigan limits on gatherings of more than 10 people. That meant no hugs and having to coordinate the live stream for relatives from out of state. Fortunately, she says she had the Kemps to guide her through the process.

The hospitals are on the front line, true enough. But this right here, I feel as though its the most important, she said, sitting in one of the Kemps three chapels after her fathers visitation. Two others were happening simultaneously. This is your last time being able to say your goodbyes.

Erik Ljung for Newsy

Those attending the Jolly funeral in person sat on chairs, spaced 6 feet apart. Dozens more tried to tune into the live stream, which failed to keep up with demand. It had audio issues, it had visibility issues, says Connie Gaut, Jimmies sister who lives in Nevada. [But] I took it as a piece of gold because otherwise I had nothing.

Kemp says the coronavirus restrictions dampen the level of intimacy between him and his clientsnowadays, its almost like were processing the family rather than serving them, he laments of the chaos. But he also notes that being there in times of hardship is core to a funeral directors purpose.

The funeral director was always integral in the community, African-American community, he says, explaining the role they played in the civil rights movement. Bailing people out of jail, helping transport leaders and standing at the forefront of iconic moments such as Montgomery. A photo of Martin Luther King Jr. at a march in Detroit hangs on the wall of Kemps funeral home, a funeral director by Kings sidea gift that Jacquie gave Stephen. I take that seriously. I take it as [an] honor, says Kemp.

Black and African Americans have accounted for 32% of Michigans COVID-19 cases and 41% of its related deaths, despite making up only about 14% of the states population. Its a disparity in health outcomes that Kemp says he sees on death certificates every day.

We die younger than the other populations. We die disproportionately from violence and poverty, an inability to get good access to health care, he says. I think this is an amplification of that.

Recently, a woman he went to school with and her mother both came down with COVID-19. His classmate survived; her mother did not. Died right in front of me. That was tough, he said, sadness catching in his throat. So, you do have your moments.

But Kemps time for reflection is fleeting amidst the onslaught of work. The night before the Comcast outage, he didnt leave the funeral home until 11:02 p.m. Now he was frantically trying to find an alternative to the crematory that had stopped accepting remains.

He can take them? Kemp asked cautiously into his now working landline. After many false starts, he appeared to have found a facility a couple hours-drive away, in a less hard-hit area, that was taking bodies. The plan was to coordinate with other funeral directors and get a truck to transfer as much of Detroits overflow as possible. But, far from finished, Kemp still had hours of funerals, visitations, first viewings and undoubtedly more unseen pitfalls to navigate before he could think about heading home.

Ive never seen anything like this in all my day, he said, drained. Im hoping theres an end to this nightmare.

This story was published in partnership with Newsy.
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Most car insurance companies are returning billions of dollars to their customers. This happens because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics show that travel dropped about 50% since shelter-in-place restriction began. Drivers can expect to receive relief anytime between now and June, depending on the insurer. No matter the method the insurer chooses to offer the relief, it will be automatically applied to the customers' accounts.

Car insurance companies are offering money-back in three different ways:

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View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/587941/Stay-At-Home-Drivers-Can-Also-Get-Car-Insurance-Premium-Refunds-In-May
Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order Friday requiring residents to wear masks in public, including people who take public transit and grocery shopping.

We view this as common sense, said Baker, a Republican.

The executive order takes effect on May 6.

Masks and face coverings are mandatory in grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail shops, as well as on public transportation. The order does not apply to children under the age of 2 and people with medical conditions who would be negatively affected by the requirement.

Businesses are allowed to deny entry to customers who declined to wear masks for non-medical reasons, according to the order.

People who are found violating the order could get a $300 fine. Baker said enforcement will be left up to cities and towns.

Face coverings are also mandatory out in parks and sidewalks, particularly in times and places where people have trouble staying at least 6 feet apart, according to the order.

Baker suggested, for example, that someone who goes out for a run at dawn likely wont need a mask because few people are around. Yet someone who goes out in the late afternoon and walks or runs in the company of others must wear a mask under the executive order because socially distancing will likely be impossible.

I think most people should carry it with them and anticipate that they will," Baker said. "When my wife and I go for a walk in Swampscott, we carry it.

Baker encouraged people to make face coverings if they cant buy them, and he urged people to avoid buying medical-grade respirators because hospitals need them.

Public health officials say face masks help protect people from contracting the virus from those who are asymptomatic. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said earlier this month that asymptomatic transmission could be as high as 25%, ABC News reported.

Several cities in Massachusetts enacted their own orders requiring residents to wear face mask in recent weeks, including Worcester. City officials said an initial look at the state order shows that its practically identical and there likely wont be a difference in enforcement.

While the governor announced the executive order, protesters with unmasked faces and gloveless hands gathered outside the Massachusetts State House, calling on the state to reopen.

The demonstration that started Friday morning garnered a little more than two dozen people, including young children who stood beside their parents. One woman held up a sign that read, reopen our churches. Another sign read, citizens not subjects.

When asked about the protest, Baker said he understands the losses people feel when they cant work, economic and psychological, but that the only way to reduce the spread was through the non-essential business closures, stay-at-home advisory and other parameters.

The guidance thats come out from basically every other country, including this one, has been that until you actually see a downward trend in some of the key indices associated with the presence of COVID-19, it would be a mistake to reopen your economy, he said.

Mike Bonner contributed to this article.

Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources

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Sweden's top virologist has admitted he is 'not convinced at all' that the country's lockdown-free strategy is right - as Sweden saw a sharp fall in its daily death toll and number of new infections today.

The Scandinavian country has become a closely-watched case after keeping bars, restaurants and secondary schools open throughout the pandemic.

State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has become the face of that strategy, but he admitted in an interview with Aftonbladet that he was not sure if it was right.

'I'm not convinced at all. We are constantly thinking about this at the [public health agency]. What can we do better and what else can we add on?,' Tegnell said.

'I think the most important thing all the time is to try to do it as well as you can, with the knowledge we have and the tools you have in place. And to be humble all the time because you may have to change.'

Sweden's daily number of coronavirus cases, shown on this graph, fell to 428 today after more than 600 cases per day in the previous three days

The daily death toll, shown on this chart, fell to 67 today after two consecutive days of more than 100 fatalities

Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, pictured, admitted he had doubts about his own policy, saying it was constantly being reviewed

Friday's figures showed 428 new cases in the last 24 hours, down from 790 yesterday, taking the total from 21,092 to 21,520.

The daily death toll fell from 124 yesterday to 67 today, bringing the overall tally from 2,586 to 2,653.

Sweden's daily figures have been highly erratic, and a fall in numbers has often been followed by a surge when a backlog in cases is fully accounted for.

International opinion has been mixed, with Donald Trump taking aim at Sweden yesterday and claiming that it is 'paying heavily for its decision'.

Some Swedish scientists and academics have urged the country to adopt a tougher lockdown, with the death toll higher than in the rest of Scandinavia.

However, the WHO has suggested that Sweden could represent a 'future model' for a normal life after the lockdown.

Tegnell has championed Sweden's policy as a long-term model because less drastic restrictions can be held in place for longer.

People sit outdoors and enjoy picnics in Stockholm last weekend, in a country which is relying on voluntary measures to slow the spread of coronavirus

A choir and a bonfire at last night's Walpurgis Night festivities in Stockholm, an activity which would be deemed non-essential and cancelled in much of Europe

The Swedish government cites a high level of trust in government agencies as a reason for its more relaxed policy.

Sweden's trust in government was second in the European Union, behind only the Netherlands, in a survey published by the European Commission in 2017.

The survey showed 72 per cent of Swedes trusting their government, compared to the EU average of 40 per cent.

Prime minister Stefan Lofven defended the lack of a lockdown last week, saying he was 'confident in the overall strategy'.

'One reason that we have chosen this strategy, and where we have supported the agencies, is that all measures have to be sustainable over time,' he said.

Sweden's population-adjusted death toll is lower than in Britain, France and Spain, which have all imposed full-scale lockdowns since March.

The Scandinavian country's population is also more spread out - more than half of homes are single-person households, easily the highest figure in the EU.

Regardless of domestic decisions, the global slump will batter Sweden's economy, which the government expects to contract seven per cent this year.

JP Morgan has forecast that Sweden's economy will shrink by less than the eurozone average, but still with a 13.7 per cent contraction in the current quarter.

That compares with a projected 17.3 per cent contraction for the euro area, 16.6 per cent for Germany and 21.4 per cent for France.

Nurses wearing protective gear and face masks take care of a coronavirus patient in an intensive care department in Solna, near Stockholm

'The actions that the Swedish government has taken are good and it perhaps makes the performance of Sweden's economy less bad than other economies,' said Jens Henriksson, CEO of the country's biggest mortgage lender Swedbank.

'And that is good for the banking system.'

Statistics from rival SEB showed card transactions made through the bank fell by 28 per cent in Sweden in the week of April 6, much less than the 70 per cent in Finland and the 66 per cent in Denmark.

Sweden's strategy received cautious backing from the World Health Organization on Wednesday.

'If we are to reach a 'new normal', in many ways Sweden represents a future model,' said Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergencies expert.

But he also pointed to Swedes' faith in authorities, adding: 'What it has done differently is that it really, really has trusted its own communities to implement that physical distancing.'

Sweden could reap a longer-term benefit if 'herd immunity' is achieved faster there than elsewhere.

But this concept, where enough people have been infected to effectively stop the virus spreading, is untested for the new disease.

The Swedish health agency's modelling suggests about 25 per cent of people in the Stockholm region have had or will contract the disease.

By contrast, in neighbouring Finland, health authorities have been concerned the coronavirus has spread too slowly, leaving the country well short of its peak.
This year's International Workers' Day of Solidarity, or May Day, will be archived as one marked without the usual colourful parade and funfair by workers.



This is because the world is avoiding large assemblies in a bid to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 3.3 million people and killed more than 230, 000 worldwide.



Ghana has since Thursday, March 12, recorded 2,074 cases, with 17 deaths. There are, however, 212 recoveries.



In view of the ban on public gatherings, the Trades Union Congress of Ghana (TUC) in collaboration with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation will televise the programme to mark the day.



The theme for the celebration is: COVID-19 in Ghana: the Impact on Employment and Working Conditions.



A statement issued by the TUC and signed by Dr Yaw Baah, the Secretary-General, said the televised celebration would enable the leadership of Organised Labour to reach out to all workers with a strong message of solidarity and encouragement.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the special guest of honour, it announced.



The programme would be aired between 0900 hours and 1300 hours.



It urged all workers to stay at home and join the virtual celebration.



International Workers Day grew out of the 19th-century Labour Movement for workers rights and an eight-hour workday in the United States.



The Day is celebrated every May 1.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
NASAs first Mars helicopter now has a name, thanks to 17-year-old Indian-origin girl, Vaneeza Rupani.

Rupani is a high school junior from Northport, Alabama and she won the honour of naming the helicopter after she submitted her essay to NASA's Name the Rover contest.

Rupani's Family

NASA's Mars Helicopter is supposed to be the first aircraft to attempt powered flight on another planet and it has been named 'Ingenuity', by Rupani.

In March, NASA announced that its next rover would be named 'Perseverance' based on seventh-grader Alexander Mather's essay. That is when the agency also decided to choose a name for the helicopter that will accompany the rover to Mars.

Our Mars helicopter has a new name! Meet: Ingenuity.



Student Vaneeza Rupani came up with the name during our name the rover contest. Ingenuity will ride to the Red Planet with @NASAPersevere to attempt the first powered flight on another world: https://t.co/4bGj3morKP pic.twitter.com/2ZyIm4sQRQ  NASA (@NASA) April 29, 2020

The agency received close to 28,000 essays and Rupanis entry was one out of those submitted by K-12 students from every US state and territory.

The ingenuity and brilliance of people working hard to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel are what allow us all to experience the wonders of space exploration. Ingenuity is what allows people to accomplish amazing things, and it allows us to expand our horizons to the edges of the universe, Rupani reportedly wrote in the essay.

The teenager is very excited that her entry got selected.

"(I thought) ingenuity would be a good name for the helicopter because that is exactly what it took to design this machine. The helicopter is an incredible project, and I am thrilled to have a part in its journey, she told NASA.

Ingenuity and Perseverance are scheduled to launch in July and land February 2021 in Mars' Jezero Crater.
US-Led Coalition Conducts 28 Strikes in Iraq, Syria in March

Sputnik News

14:41 GMT 30.04.2020

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-Led coalition has carried out 28 airstrikes against Daesh in March, Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a release on Thursday.

"Between March 1 and March 31, 2020, CJTF-OIR conducted a total of 28 strikes consisting of 44 engagements in Iraq and Syria," the release said.

The coalition said it launched 20 strikes in Iraq that killed ten terrorists, destroyed one cave and suppressed three locations.

"In Syria, CJTF-OIR conducted eight strikes against Daesh [Islamic State] targets consisting of 16 engagements. This resulted in eight terrain denial operations," the release said.

The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been carrying out airstrikes and other operations against Daesh in Iraq since August 2014 and in Syria since September 2014.

However, the coalition has acted in Syria without the approval of the Syrian government or the UN Security Council.

 Sputnik

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The pandemic has muted the marking of May Day, with celebrations of the worlds workers having to be balanced by safety considerations.

Social distancing was in evidence at many of the events although in some countries the stringent lockdown measures presented different challenges for protesters and police alike.

Arrests were made in Turkey, while the Guy Fawkes masks favoured at previous demonstrations had been superseded by medical masks in light of the threat to public health.

Workers Unions keep a safe distance from each other and wear face masks to help protect against the spread of coronavirus during an event marking May Day in Lisbon, Portugal (Armando Franca/AP)

People play instruments on their balconies on Labour Day, in Zurich, Switzerland (Alexandra Wey/AP)

Protesters practise social distancing during a May Day rally outside the Greek Parliament, in Athens (AP)

A protester holds the traditional Lily of the Valley flower during a banned May Day gathering in Marseille, southern France (Daniel Cole/PA)

Riot police stand guard as pro-democracy activists gather outside a shopping centre during Labour Day in Hong Kong (Kin Cheung/AP)

Turkish police officers walk on carnations left by demonstrators during May Day protests in Istanbul (Emrah Gurel/AP)

Turkish police officers, wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, arrest a demonstrator (Emrah Gurel/AP)

A woman claps from her homes balcony in celebration of May Day, or International Workers Day, in Havana, Cuba (Ismael Francisco/AP)

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions make their point (Lee Jin-man/AP)

A banner with the inscription Solidarisch ist man nicht allein! (One is not alone in solidarity) is placed in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin ahead of a May Day rally (Christoph Soeder/AP)

A masked protester from the communist party-affiliated PAME union holds a carnation during a May Day rally outside the Greek Parliament (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

Indonesian women sit among mannequins at the closed Tanah Abang textile market on a quiet Labour Day (Tatan Syuflana/AP)

People protest during a May Day demonstration in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)
A 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly burgling houses in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji area, police said on Friday.

The accused has been identified as Vishal, a resident of Govind puri, they said.

"On Thursday, police got a tip-off and apprehended Vishal near Deshbandhu College," a senior police officer said.

During interrogation, Vishal said he took advantage of the lockdown and committed several thefts in Kalkaji area. He was previously involved in five criminal cases, police said.

One knife, two laptops and three mobile phones were recovered from his possession, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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The research is an integration of Yuen's clinical insights on kidney disease with the medical physics expertise of Ryerson University's Dr. Michael Kolios and Ph.D. candidate Eno Hysi and their respective teams. Both Yuen and Kolios have labs at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Technology (iBEST), a unique collaboration between the hospital and university, bringing together experts from diverse and traditionally siloed research fields.The team's new method is a world-first in applying photoacoustic (PA) imaging to visualize scarring in kidneys. During this window of opportunity, and accurate assessment could mean the difference between implanting an organ with decades-long durability - or one that quickly fails, sending a patient right back to dialysis and the years-long waitlist.Needle biopsy - a painful procedure fraught with bleeding risk - is currently the only method to assess the amount of kidney scarring in prospective donors. But its reliability is hampered by potentially inaccurate estimates based on a tissue sample size of only 1% of the kidney.The current research takes a quicker, non-invasive, and more comprehensive route to quantify kidney damage, using PA imaging instead. The novel technology combines laser and ultrasound - a sequence that Hysi likens to lightning and thunder. "We shine a light on kidney tissue, which creates a pressure wave that can be heard using an ultrasound probe."The sound data is then run through a proprietary algorithm based on a technique called spectral unmixing.Each kind of body tissue absorbs colored laser light in its own unique way. Collagen - one of the main components in kidney scarring - absorbs color in a manner that is distinct from other components in the kidney. Spectral unmixing teases out the differences. Maps generated by the technology show the amount and distribution of collagen, blood, or other tissue - thus allowing physicians to 'see' the quality of donated kidneys.When Hysi first proposed using spectral unmixing to hone in on collagen, nothing in prior medical physics knowledge hinted that the application was even possible. "Typically, for the technique to work, you need to see large peaks and valleys in how components absorb light," says Kolios. "But collagen is flat, so it wasn't at all obvious that it would work."Hysi persisted with a counterintuitive approach. With so many other biological substances exhibiting peaks and valleys once spectral unmixing is applied, collagen might stand out conspicuously by virtue of its own flatness.The problem became so intriguing that Hysi decided to explore this possibility in parallel with his own doctoral research on cancer monitoring. Two years later, the findings validated his hypothesis, and the proprietary algorithms are now being patented.In less than two minutes, the new technique can generate a 2D image with enough detail to quantify the total scarring in a kidney. Within 15 minutes, 3D imaging allows visualization not only of overall scarring but also its varied distribution throughout the kidney.As the research moves into clinical trials at St. Michael's Hospital, Hysi, and Yuen will assess how closely their predictions on kidney quality mirror actual outcomes in patients. If successful, their scoring method could have a significant impact on transplantation practice, and become the new gold standard in kidney assessment.Healthcare systems could save the whopping $100,000 in direct, annual, per-patient costs to manage dialysis patients. But the greatest impact is in giving each patient the best possible kidney, keeping them off dialysis, and giving them a new, durable lease on life.Yuen sums up the two-year whirlwind of research: "I've never seen anything like this before. Clinicians and researchers are working together, and discovering such great results in so short a time - it's just amazing."Source: Eurekalert
When we ask newlyweds to think back on what they wanted most for their big day  and weve interviewed hundreds of them over the years  the most common response is For it not to feel like a wedding! But in a monsoon of flower crowns and macaron towers, how do you see beyond the usual tropes and actually pull off a non-cookie-cutter affair? For the answer, we decided to interrogate the cool couples whose weddings we would actually want to steal  right down to the tiger-shaped cake toppers. Though were living in a moment in which group celebrations are either being called off or adapting to extreme social distancing, in many ways these pre-quarantine parties are just the escape we need right now.

Here, we spoke with Katrina and Samson Debela, a couple so dedicated to the comfort of community and good vibrations that they created a performance series, the 565 Sessions, for artists, by artists. For their own nuptials, they plotted what might be called a wedding series: a cultural extravaganza celebrating their Nigerian and Ethiopian roots, and a blowout for friends in Mexico City.

Katrina: Im a first-generation Nigerian-American, and hes a first-generation Ethiopian-American. I grew up in Maryland; he grew up in L.A. But we had similar backgrounds and experiences, in the sense that within the four walls of our houses we were in either Ethiopia or Nigeria, and then out in the world we related as Americans.

Samson: There were vibes right away when we first met.

Katrina: It was on Valentines Day 2015 at a party on the Lower East Side. My group of friends and his group of friends were leaving at the same time, and they followed us to a pizza shop.

Samson: I proposed on a trip we took to South Africa for her birthday in 2018. For the wedding, we knew we wanted both of our very rich cultures to be celebrated. We both have big communities  there were so many nonnegotiables we had to consider.

Katrina: There were a lot of familial, obligatory things that our parents respectively wanted done. The Nigerian and Ethiopian cultures have completely separate wedding-ceremony traditions. We started thinking maybe we could have two different events: One day would be cultural, and one day would be the American walk-down-the-aisle, white-dress day.

Samson: We decided to have a cultural celebration in Virginia in September 2019, mostly for our families, with our parents giving their two cents on everything. And then we had another wedding that was completely our own  for us, by us  in Mexico City in February 2020.

Katrina: It was definitely two completely separate events with completely different guest lists. The guest list for the African wedding was more family centric and then Mexico City was heavily attended by our friends from all different phases of our lives and immediate family.

Samson: The first venue was Foxchase Manor in Manassas, Virginia ($19,000), which is about a 45-minute drive from her parents house. We chose that spot because of the capacity  it was 350 people  and they wouldnt charge for catering. That wedding was for the culture, right? So we wanted to make sure our food was there. And a lot of these halls were kind of like cookie-cutter, just white walls, but this actually had impressive architecture: pillars at the grand entrance, chandeliers 

Katrina: The day started at 9 a.m., with the Ethiopian tradition of the grooms parents and the groom pulling up to the brides familys house loudly and clapping.

Samson: You sing songs basically stating why youre there  that you want the girls hand in marriage. Theres a fight at the door, and theyre singing songs like, Get out of here  you cant provide for her. Its funny. I had to bring perfume and flowers, and her bridesmaids were supposed to block her from me, and then I sprayed the perfume, and they said, Oh, okay. This guy is here to offer something nice. Then we danced, we ate, and we prayed. We catered breakfast for 100 guests in Katrinas parents house.

Katrina: Then we went to the venue to get ready for the evening, which started out with the traditional Nigerian ceremony. Ive been to some that are four hours long, but we were able to do it in two. My parents entered to the tune of traditional music with their whole tribe of close friends and family. Its supposed to speak to the community that I have behind me as the bridge. Then Samsons parents danced in with their village. Our traditional Nigerian clothes were made in Nigeria with fabric by a company called Fabrics by Rantimi; the dress and Samsons agbada were made by a woman named Reine Roi. I cant say I did it on my own. I had a WhatsApp thread with my mom and my aunt in Nigeria, and my aunt would send me fabrics, and we looked at styles we liked and took my measurements. The tailors in Nigeria are amazing. It was just a matter of communication  approaching things from a project-management standpoint. Samsons dad had the Ethiopian clothing made in Ethiopia while he was there last year. Again, that was just a matter of getting measurements and picking out an embroidery that we liked for our clothing. Our parents really did a lot of that work.

Samson: My groomsmen wore Ethiopian clothes, and her bridesmaids wore Nigerian clothes. After the Nigerian ceremony, we did a shortened version of an Ethiopian ceremony, the melse, which is like a post-wedding party. We had family and friends wait for us on the dance floor, and they danced around us in a circle. For food, we taste-tested a couple of spots, and we went with Dama for the catering of the Ethiopian food ($2,500), and Divine Kitchen and Flourish Palm for Nigerian food ($3,000). We had two buffet lines, and guests were able to try both. We worried the older guests might stick to what they know, but the older Ethiopians were trying the Nigerian food and vice versa.

Katrina: There was a buna ceremony  buna is what Ethiopians call coffee  followed by a dabo ceremony, which involves cutting bread, passing it around, and having everyone in attendance make a suggestion to give the new bride a new nickname.

Samson: Then there was a lot of dancing; the DJ was called Mo Yasin. At some point, we switched from traditional to more contemporary music, so we were just having fun with our friends.

Katrina: So, yeah, it was a long day. I was more stressed out because the African wedding was more logistics, more people, more involvement with our parents, and more tedious with more cooks in the kitchen. It was intense. The Mexico wedding did not stress us out at all. We had two planners, by the way. In Maryland, our planner was DeeDee George at TUM Socials, and she does a lot of traditional African weddings. For Mexico City, we researched local planners, came across Eventos Lum, and decided to work with their head planner, Mariana Nosti. Samson and I have a really similar aesthetic eye, so planning just flowed.

Samson: On Instagram, we found Proyecto Publico Prim, an estate from the early 1900s that had been a cigar-rolling factory at one point ($9,000). We visited in April 2019, and it was just breathtaking. We had 160 guests, friends and close-knit family. We didnt think wed get so many acceptances since it was a destination wedding, but we were surprised by how many people wanted to come and had to adjust the budget accordingly.

Katrina: My first Mexico City dress was by Viero Bridal ($2,000 for sample, ordinarily $3,500). I first saw it in a promotion on Instagram! I literally made an appointment there the next day. For me to end up in a ball gown was not what I thought would happen at all, but I loved it. I wore sneakers  a pair of custom pink Nike Cortez sneakers  underneath. My mentor and former boss, Erika Rose Santoro, officiated. She was in the music industry, but shes also a yoga teacher, a certified Reiki master, and just a really calming and wonderful spirit.

Samson: The ceremony started off with a breathing exercise for everyone. We wanted her to put everyone in  I dont want to say a trance, but get everyone grounded and calm and open. Then we had a couple of readings, and we wrote our own vows.

Katrina: It was just raw emotion hearing them for the first time. I would suggest it to anyone who is open to it  to try to write their own vows. It was probably one of my favorite things we did.

Samson: The cocktail hour was a lot of fun. We had a mariachi band and drinks on the top floor of the venue. I grew up in L.A., we both went to school in Pittsburgh, I have friends in Boston and we live in New York, and it was so cool to mesh these worlds and see them all hitting it off without forcing it. We had an area where they were making tortillas and quesadillas on the spot, and then we had some seafood hors doeuvre. A mix of Mexican and New American food is how Id describe it (Kuchen Catering, $7,800).

Katrina: The bridesmaids danced into the reception, the groomsmen danced in, and then Samson and I made our entrance to Father Stretch My Hands, by Kanye West. We had a fairly large bridal party of 20 people, including us.

Samson: Then, we had a traditional first dance together to Get You, by Daniel Caesar.

Katrina: And we both danced with both of our parents. We wanted to honor both sets of parents; it takes two people to raise a human being.

Samson: We had long, rectangular tables and started off with a really incredible poblano soup 

Katrina:  with corn chips and Oaxaca cheese. For the appetizers, we had pumpkin ravioli stuffed with goat cheese and served with avocado sauce and an orzo pasta with roasted vegetables. Then, for the main dish, there was the option of beef with hibiscus and guajillo pepper sauce with esquite puree or a branzino that came with rice pasta.

Samson: We had a DJ. I throw a lot of parties, so some of my friends are DJs. We had Kitty Say Word, a good DJ out here in New York, early on in the night, and one of my groomsmen, YellowTech, later on in the night. They played a range of hip-hop, R&B, Afrobeat, some traditional Ethiopian music, oldies, and a mix of things throughout the night.

Katrina: Samson and I are actually not dessert people, so instead of doing a cake, we just did an assortment of desserts  a sea-salt caramel brownie, a banana tart, and a dark-chocolate tart that had hazelnuts in it. I sampled all of them when we did our tasting, and they all were great.

Samson: The mariachi band came out again at 1 a.m., along with some churros.
A Chinese law mandating ethnic unity in state and social institutions in Tibet took effect on Friday, raising concerns among Tibetans and outside observers who say the new law will further undermine Tibetan identity, already weakened by decades of ethnic Han Chinese migration into the region.



Titled Regulations on the Establishment of a Model Area for Ethnic Unity and Progress in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the new law requires equal participation by non-Tibetan ethnic groups at all levels of government and in schools, private business companies, religious centers, and the military.



In an April 30 statement, the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said the laws new regulations explicitly depart from the principle of preferential treatment for Tibetans, which was supposed to guarantee that Tibetans could maintain their culture and traditional way of life in their own homeland.

By asserting a dominant ethnic culture with the aim to Sinicize the Tibetan people, the regulations violated international human rights standards, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ICT said.

ICT vice president Bhuchung K. Tsering told RFAs Tibetan Service that while Chinas new law says parts of Tibets cultural heritage should be preserved, the law should be closely monitored for its long-term, actual effect.

If Beijing truly wishes to protect and promote Tibetan cultural identity, Tibetan cultural values should be protected, as they were before, Tsering said.



Discrimination 'whitewashed by the law'



Sophie RichardsonChina Director at Human Rights Watchcalled Chinas new Ethnic Unity Law wildly and grossly in tension with Chinas own constitution and the Chinese governments obligations under international law.



You cant mandate ethnic unity, Richardson told RFA. Its a form of discrimination thats being whitewashed by the law, but that doesnt make it legitimate.



Tibetans must be able to practice their culture as they see fit, Richardson said.



The Chinese governments campaign to control Tibetan culture and religion has long violated international human rights norms added U.S. Congressman James McGovern, writing in a May 1 statement.



And these new regulations seem designed to further discrimination and repression, in clear violation of Chinas international obligations.



The U.S. and the international community must be vigilant as these ethnic unity regulations go into effect, and we must all work together against efforts to destroy Tibetan identity or repress the Tibetan people, McGovern said.



Reported by Tashi Wangchuk for RFAs Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Bhubaneswar, May 1 : With West Bengal returnees posing problems for Odisha, which is fighting against deadly coronavirus, the state government on Friday appealed to all of them to come forward and get tested for COVID-19.

The Health Department said people, who have returned from West Bengal recently, should not hide and must come forward for testing, which is free of cost.

"People who have returned from West Bengal recently should not hide. They must come forward for testing. Thay may seem healthy; yet could be infected and also spread infection," said the department in a tweet.

"They are advised to contact local BDO, tahasildar, sarpanch and remain isolated at home. Testing is free," it said.

The department also informed that only 15 per cent of the total positive cases in the state had some symptoms at the time of testing while the rest 85 per cent had no symptoms.

It asked the persons having flu-like symptoms to dial 104 helpline anytime for medical advice.

Nearly half of the total 143 COVID-19 positive cases are having West Bengal links in the state.

Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had informed that West Bengal returnees are now the new challenge for Odisha after Nizamuddin and foreign returnees.

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Chief executive Michael O'Leary, whose pay was cut by 50% for April and May, has agreed to extend the reduction for the remainder of the financial year to March 2021. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Ryanair will soon notify trade unions of restructuring plans that could ultimately result in as many as 3,000 job losses amongst pilots and cabin crew.

Its also going to challenge billions of euro in State aid thats being dished out to rival European carriers, it said this morning.

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It claimed the money being handed over to airlines including Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Alitalia and SAS will distort the competitive landscape.

Ryanair also warned that it will take at least two years for passenger demand and pricing levels to recover.

It said its restructuring plans will involve job losses, unpaid leave and pay cuts of up to 20pc. A number of its bases across Europe will also close until passenger traffic demand recovers, it added.

Trade union Forsa said this morning that it will be seeking early engagement with the airline and will make no public comment until management has formally outlined a detailed position to the union.

Balpa, the UK union that represents many Ryanair pilots, said that it had received no warning or consultation about the 3,000 potential job losses.

"Ryanair seems to have done a u-turn on its ability to weather the Covid storm," it claimed.

Balpa added that aviation workers are now facing a "tsunami of job losses".

Ryanair has also said that for the current financial year, which ends next March, it expects to carry less than 100 million passengers. Thats 35pc below its original target of 135 million, it said.

Its also in talks with Boeing and lessors for its Lauda fleet to cut the number of planned aircraft deliveries over the next 24 months to reflect a slower and more distorted EU air travel market in a post-Covid-19 world.

When Ryanair returns to meaningful flying from July, the competitive landscape in Europe will be distorted by unprecedented volumes of State aid from some EU governments and their national airlines, claimed Ryanair.

It said the aid planned for rivals now tops 30bn.

All this State aid is in breach of EU rules and will distort Europes level playing field in airline competition for many years, it added. Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Alitalia can now fund many years of below-cost selling.

Ryanair, headed by CEO Michael OLeary, said it will challenge what it claimed are unlawful State aid bailouts in the EU courts.

The carrier said it will operate less than 1pc of its scheduled flying programme for April, May and June.

Its first quarter passenger traffic will be less than 150,000. Thats 99.5pc lower than the 42.4 million it would have anticipated.

Ryanair confirmed that it expects that traffic on reduced flight schedules will be stimulated by significant price discounting and what it said will be below cost selling from flag carriers with huge State aid war chests.

And in a broadside to airports and governments, Ryanair warned that theyll have to provide additional incentives to airlines.

These lower fares will require aggressive airport price incentives to encourage passengers to travel, and Ryanair continues to call on EU governments to cut passenger taxes, airport taxes, and departure taxes on an industry-wide basis as a better alternative to selective State aid doping for flag carriers, it said.

Ryanair expects to post a 100m loss for the first quarter of the current financial year, which ends in June, with further losses for the following period.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus intends to axe 900 jobs from its workforce, it has told unions.

The airline, part of IAG, employs a total of 4,500. The job cuts are likely to be made across the company, with pilots and cabin crew among those to be hit, its understood.

The precise nature of the cuts at Aer Lingus will emerge following consultation with unions. Its also not known at this stage what the timing of the job cuts will be.

IAG also owns British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Level.

Earlier this week, it said it will cut 12,000 jobs at British Airways.

IAG, which is headed by former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh, bought Aer Lingus in 2015 for 1.36bn.

Before the pandemic, Aer Lingus had been rapidly expanding its route network to North America and was one of the best performers in the IAG group.
Contributed photo. /

MILFORD  A city man was arrested Thursday after allegedly spitting toward officers and telling them he had COVID-19, according to the police.

Stephen McCarthy, 27, of Meadowside Road, is charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer, criminal attempt to assault a police officer, interfering with an officer and second-degree threatening.
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HOUSTON (AP)  Two guards at an immigration detention center in Louisiana have died after contracting the coronavirus, raising new questions about whether the U.S. government is adequately protecting 30,000 immigrants in custody and the staff guarding them.

Relatives of both Carl Lenard, 62, and Stanton Johnson, 51, said the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, had at one point prevented them from wearing masks as the virus spread through the facility.

GRIM MILESTONE: Harris County eclipses 100 deaths due to coronavirus

Lenard died early Saturday, according to his family. He tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, though his cause of death is still undetermined. His widow, Margarette Lenard, said she now has COVID-19 as well and several relatives have symptoms of the virus.

Johnson died Tuesday, according to his mother, Joyce Johnson, who also said that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Both families believe the men contracted the virus working at Richwood, which has 45 detainees confirmed to have COVID-19. There are 425 confirmed cases among detainees nationwide in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a figure that has steadily risen in recent weeks. No detainee deaths from COVID-19 have been reported at Richwood or other ICE facilities.

ICE has about 30,000 people detained and tested just 705 detainees, according to its publicly released figures. The agency recently said it would receive 2,000 tests a month from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ramp up testing of detainees.

LaSalle Corrections, the private prison company that operates Richwood, did not immediately respond to a question for comment about the guards. It also did not say how many guards at its immigration facilities are sick. ICE referred questions about the jail guards to LaSalle.

As an employer, if you employ a person, you have a mandate to protect them, said Margarette Lenard, the widow of Carl Lenard. She added that she also blamed the national shortages of protective equipment and the re-use of masks and other gear.

On April 21, prison officials at Richwood told employees they would be required to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week due to staff shortages caused by a high number of positive COVID 19 staff cases. The memo was provided to the Associated Press by an employee who was not authorized to speak publicly. LaSalle did not respond to a question about the memo.

Another Richwood employee who also spoke on condition of anonymity said in early April that guards were being told not to wear their own masks or gloves to avoid spreading panic among detainees, as many have pleaded for their release to avoid contracting the virus and more than 20 lawsuits have been filed against ICE.

Two days after the AP asked LaSalle Corrections about its personal protective equipment policy, the jail staff was told on April 8 they could start to wear masks and other equipment, according to the Richwood employee. LaSalle executive Scott Sutterfield told the AP that protective equipment is provided as necessary and employees can bring and wear masks.

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In the meantime, detainees were being brought in from other facilities in Texas and Louisiana to Richwood, the employee said. Some of them were suspected of having the coronavirus.

One detainee, Salomon Diego Alonzo, was hospitalized shortly after being required to dial into an immigration court hearing where he struggled to speak, according to his attorney, Veronica Semino. A guard standing near Alonzo told the judge during the hearing that the 26-year-old from Guatemala does not have the lung capacity.

Margarette Lenard confirmed that her husband was concerned about being around detainees without the necessary protective equipment. She eventually obtained three cloth masks for him to wear.

Carl Lenard died unexpectedly in his home about 2 a.m. Saturday, she said. He started having a fever Monday, six days before his death, she said. She gave him Tylenol and called a medical clinic, which had him come in Wednesday for a coronavirus test. His fever eventually broke, though he had a small cough.

He woke at about 1 a.m. Saturday and was talking to his wife and grandchildren. About 1:45, according to his widow, he started praying. Shortly afterward, he gave a single cough, then stopped breathing, she said.

Margarette Lenard, who is a nurse practitioner, tried to resuscitate him until the paramedics arrived but was unsuccessful.

Joyce Johnson, the mother of Stanton Johnson, said he died Tuesday. He initially started to have a fever and other symptoms last week, she said.

Both men had diabetes, their families said. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

SHOPPING RULES: These Harris County malls are reopening first with new rules in place

On Tuesday, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and Southern Poverty Law Center called on ICE to improve conditions at Richwood.

"The ballooning number of positive COVID-19 cases at Richwood, and the reports of poor medical care that accompany this outbreak, demand your immediate attention to the conditions in that facility," the lawyers said.
Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has advised ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to challenge the allega...





Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has advised ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to challenge the allegations against him by President Muhammadu Buharis administration.





Kanu said this on Thursday while reacting to moves by Buhari administration to subpoena bank records of Jonathan and his wife, Patience.





The IPOB leader warned that his group would no longer tolerate the intimidation and harassment of former President Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience.





IPOB also said those who were calling for the accounts of Dr Jonathan and his wife were the real people looting funds in Nigeria.





Kanu urged Jonathan to abandon his gentleman toga and confront the government headlong.





He said: They are now pursuing former President Goodluck Jonathan after looting the country and are now shopping for loans from lending agencies. They have not given the account of the N13.9 billion meant for Aso Rock clinic, yet the same people are asking for the account of a former president and his wife to disgrace them and make them scapegoats in their misrule.





They are also pursuing Mrs. Diezani Madueke because they want to divert attention of Nigerians and the world from their incompetence and looting, but they have not responded to the allegation of looting of N13.9 billion meant for Aso Rock clinic which alarm was raised by the wife of their president against the cabal in the government.





We in IPOB are warning them to leave former President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, alone.





You may toy with Jonathan because he allowed you to do that to him, but do not toy with Patience, otherwise we will bring down Nigeria.





We are surprised that PANDEF and Ohanaeze Ndigbo have all kept quiet to this renewed attack on Jonathan.





It is high time Dr Jonathan dropped his gentlemans toga and defend himself, his wife and family members.





Meanwhile, Jonathan had in a statement by his Spokesman, Ikechikwu Eze clarified that he has no account or property abroad.
RIO DE JANEIRO - In Brazils bustling Amazon city of Manaus, so many people have died within days in the coronavirus pandemic that coffins had to be stacked on top of each other in long, hastily dug trenches in a city cemetery. Some despairing relatives reluctantly chose cremation for loved ones to avoid burying them in those common graves.

Now, with Brazil emerging as Latin Americas coronavirus epicenter with more than 6,000 deaths, even the coffins are running out in Manaus. The national funeral home association has pleaded for an urgent airlift of coffins from Sao Paulo, 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) away, because Manaus has no paved roads connecting it to the rest of the country.

The city of about 2 million people carved from the jungle has been overwhelmed by death in part because its the main site where those from remote Amazon communities can get medical services, according to Lourival Panhozzi, president of the Brazilian Association of Funeral Service Providers.

As of April 30, Brazils Health Ministry said that there were over 5,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Amazonas state and 425 deaths, although there are concerns that inadequate testing for the virus has meant that the numbers may be much higher.

Before the outbreak, the city of Manaus, the capital of the state, was recording an average of 20-35 deaths a day, according to the mayor. Now, it is recording at least 130 a day, data from the states health secretary show.

People in the region also have been widely ignoring isolation measures.

There also are signs in the much larger cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo that suggest authorities may not be able to handle a huge increase in the death toll. A field of fresh graves that was dismissed in April by President Jair Bolsonaro as excessive has since been filled.

Latin Americas grimmest scenes occurred last month in Ecuadors city of Guayaquil, where residents said they had to leave bodies on the street after morgues, cemeteries and funeral homes were overwhelmed.

Many in Brazil fear the rising deaths will hit hardest in the favelas, the vast neighbourhoods of the poor that are well-known in Rio and Sao Paulo but which also exist in most big Brazilian cities and even in smaller ones.

There is a great fear that uncontrolled contamination will happen there, said Panhozzi, whose group represents Brazils 13,400 private funeral companies.

In Rios Complexo do Alemao cluster of favelas, the body of Luiz Carlos da Rocha, 36, lay untouched for more than 12 hours Tuesday. Relatives didnt know why he died but said he had epilepsy.

The states military police, which normally picks up bodies found outside, no longer does so for nonviolent deaths, said an officer at the scene who would not give his name. He said without elaborating that the policy change was due to the coronavirus. The military police press office did not respond to requests for comment.

The next day at Rios Hospital Salgado Filho in a lower-middle class neighbourhood, Clovis de Castro, whose ailing sister Genina had just died, found himself helping out in the hospitals morgue. He waited six hours to sort out death certificate paperwork in what he described as a chaotic scene in the morgue, with grieving relatives arriving to identify bodies and only one worker available to move corpses. At one point, he was asked to lend a hand.

I had to help a person to put a body in a coffin, de Castro said, adding that the experience made him realize that people need help, the hospital needs help, the country needs help.

De Castro left with a death certificate saying his sisters cause of death was undetermined. He was angry that no autopsy was conducted that might have confirmed his suspicion she died of COVID-19 or complications from the disease.

Why hide this stuff? he asked.

Sao Paulo director of ambulance services Francis Fuji blamed a recent surge of deaths in homes on coronavirus patients who were discharged from hospitals with mild symptoms, only to have their conditions deteriorate rapidly.

Paramedics dont have the training to identify COVID-19 as a cause of death, he said, and many relatives have lied about their loved ones symptoms to avoid the corpses being handled as though they were contagious.

They think that if they get that diagnosis, then their loved one will be removed in a sealed plastic bag, theyll never see him or her again, and they wont even have a funeral, Fuji said.

Authorities in Sao Paulo dug hundreds of graves last month in anticipation of a rise in deaths. Bolsonaro has likened the coronavirus to a little flu and insists that sweeping state measures to close all but essential business are more damaging than the illness. On April 2, he questioned whether photos by The Associated Press of the new graves were fake news or sensationalism.

By Thursday, all those graves were filled with the dead, as were dozens of other new ones, according to images by the AP photographer who took the original photos and revisited the site on Sao Paulos eastern region. Refrigerated trucks to hold overflows of bodies are now seen outside hospitals and cemeteries.

In Manaus early Thursday, Raimundo Costa do Nascimento, 86, died of pneumonia in his home. Funeral workers were so swamped that his relatives had to wait 10 hours for someone to retrieve his body.

A week after Panhozzis association appealed for the coffins for Manaus, he said the request is still being considered.

That wont work, he said. I need it now.

___

Clendenning reported from Phoenix. Photographer Silvia Izquierdo, Associated Press writer Marcelo de Sousa and videojournalist Yesica Fisch in Rio de Janeiro contributed.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - A U.S. warship has sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the second time in a month, Taiwanese and U.S. militaries said on Friday, amid heightened tensions between Taiwan and China and as a Chinese aircraft carrier passes near the island.

China, which considers Taiwan its own, has been angered by the Trump administration's stepped-up support for the island, such as more arms sales, U.S. patrols near it and a visit to Washington by Vice President-elect William Lai in February.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the U.S. warship had transited the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the island from its giant neighbour China in a southerly direction and was continuing to sail south.

Taiwan's armed forces monitored the ship which it described as being on an "ordinary mission", the ministry added, without providing further details.

Lt. Anthony Junco, a U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesman, named the ship involved as the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry, and said it had conducted a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" in accordance with international law.

"The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows," he said.

Two weeks ago the USS Barry also sailed through the strait, on the same day that Chinese fighter jets drilled in waters close to the democratically-ruled island.

Taiwan said on Thursday that a Chinese aircraft carrier group had sailed to its south through the Bashi Channel that sits between Taiwan and the Philippines and was heading east.

The carrier group earlier this month sailed down Taiwan's east coast. China said at the time it was on its way to routine exercises in the disputed South China Sea.

China has carried out frequent drills near Taiwan in recent months, including flying fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers close to the island, in moves denounced by Taipei's government as attempts at intimidation.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Michael Perry)
The Government was today accused of 'fiddling' its data to make it look like it had hit its target of testing 100,000 people in a day.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock today announced that 122,347 tests were carried out yesterday, April 30.

The tests done yesterday, however, were done on 73,191 people because many have to be tested more than once - and almost 40,000 of them were posted out to people and counted on the day.

In total, 762,279 people have been tested for the coronavirus in the UK in a total of 1,023,824 tests, meaning 13 tests are used on every 10 people tested.

This suggests one in every three people is tested twice.

People may be tested twice if something goes wrong during analysis, to confirm the result, or if a doctor receives a negative result for their patient and doesn't believe it.

While in other cases someone may be tested again after developing symptoms for a second time but testing negative in an earlier swab, meaning their most recent test is counted but they aren't added again in the head count.

Others may have two swabs taken to be tested at once, one from the nose and one from the mouth, for example, meaning two tests are attributed to one person from the same occasion.

Swab testing is now being offered to anyone working or staying in a hospital or care home, all essential workers, anyone who has to leave home for work, and anyone with symptoms who lives with someone over the age of 65 (Pictured: An NHS worker at a drive-through testing centre in Chessington, London)

The Government today claimed that it yesterday carried out more than 120,000 coronavirus tests, but faced criticism for counting ones that had simply been posted out to people

Dr Paul Hunter, a former NHS doctor and now medicine lecturer at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it was 'valid' to retest people.

'Because the test isnt 100 per cent sensitive, it can fail for a number of reasons,' he said.

'Some of these reasons are in the labs themselves, where there are all sorts of controls that may go wrong. Sometimes the sample comes in damaged and you have to ask if the patient can send another.

'The other issue is taking a swab. The person who does this might not do it right  for example, they might not manage to scrape against the back of the throat. '

One of the main reasons for multiple tests is likely to be because doctors don't want to misdiagnose someone as having - or not having - the virus.

If someone is hospitalised with coronavirus symptoms and lives with someone else who has tested positive, for example, they would be retested if their first swab comes back negative.

Dr Hunter said: 'It may be that someone has symptoms synonymous with coronavirus  they have a sore throat and fever which has come on suddenly.

'If this patients test comes back negative, the clinician might think something went wrong or I better test them again just in case.

'I personally wouldnt criticise the Government for including repeat swabs in their daily count.

'But it should only include swabs that have been examined in the laboratory  not swabs that are posted to people.'

The Government today faced backlash over a decision to include at-home tests in its count on the day they were posted and not the day they were processed in the lab, in a bid to push up its daily testing figure.

The Labour Party's shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth said: 'Labour has repeatedly called for more testing, and increasing testing is an important milestone.

'But many would have expected the 100,000 promise to have been met by actually carrying out testing, not simply because 39,000 kits had been mailed out.'

Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, told MailOnline: 'We know that tests don't always work'.

He added that sometimes people might be tested twice in one go.

'If you do a mouth swab and a nose swab they are separate samples, they would go through the assay separately and would be counted as two tests,' he told MailOnline.

'If you used the same swab for both it would be one test, but it's not often normal to use the same swab.

'For in-hospital cases it might be highly appropriate to make sure you don't miss a diagnosis, particularly if you want to rule out COVID-19. If you do two tests the risk of a false negative is lower.'

Paediatric nurse practitioner Jessica Peck shared a diagram of how the coronavirus test is carried out on Twitter and said: 'This is how far back we have to put the swab to test you for #COVID19z. You might want to follow medical recommendations and #StayAtHome'

WHAT IS THE SWAB TEST FOR CORONAVIRUS? Nasopharyngeal swabs are used to detect respiratory viruses, such as the flu and the new coronavirus. It is the preferred choice for SARS-CoV-2 testing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It involves inserting a long, flexible cotton bud into the nostril and along the nose 'floor'. This is supposed to be done slowly so that it is comfortable. The aim is to reach the posterior nasopharynx, a cavity made up of muscle and connective tissue, covered in cells and mucous that are similar to the nose. It continues down into the throat. The swab is rotated several times in order to get enough cells. The sample is then sent to a lab, where it will be tested to determine if the patients cells are infected with the virus. The coronavirus is a RNA virus, which means it uses ribonucleic acid as its genetic material. A process called reverse transcription is needed to transcribe the RNA into readable DNA. A swab sample doesn't collect much RNA in one go, therefore a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to rapidly make billions of copies so it can be analysed. The DNA is dyed a fluorescent colour, which glows if the coronavirus is present, confirming a diagnosis. Advertisement

Swab testing is usually carried out by a medical worker pushing a long cotton bud through someone's nostril into the top of their throat.

It can be an uncomfortable procedure and it can be tricky to get the right types of cells on the end of the swab.

The coronavirus is most present in the epithelial cells in the airways, which can be found in the airways at the back of the nasal cavity, therefore the swab must be inserted deep into the nose and moved around.

The sample is then sent to a lab, where it will be tested to determine if the patients cells are infected with the virus.

Access to swab tests has now been extended to allow some people to take their own samples at home and return them to the Department of Health by post.

Some of these may need to be redone because people aren't qualified to do the tests properly and may not carry out a thorough enough swab.

The introduction of self-testing at home today caused furore today as Matt Hancock's department was accused of fiddling with statistics to make it look like the Government had hit its 100,000-in-a-day target.

The Health Secretary bullishly claimed success at the Downing Street briefing this evening, saying there were 122,347 tests done in the 24 hours to 9am.

But it emerged that the Department of Health is counting tests kits that have been sent out to homes and hospitals - even though they have yet to be returned and processed.

The head of the testing programme, Professor John Newton, confirmed tonight that around 40,000 of the total were kits that have been mailed out - suggesting 100,000 tests have not in fact been completed.

Mr Hancock dodged questions about whether the figures had been cooked this evening, saying the allegation was 'not something I recognise'.

But Boris Johnson told the Downing Street briefing last night that the figures covered tests 'carried out', rather than merely posted. Labour accused ministers of 'moving the goalposts to hit their own arbitrary target'.

A tweet sent from the No 10 account earlier this month stated: 'We'll test 100,000 people a day by the end of this month.'

But the details showed that in fact just 73,191 people were tested, some more than once.

When Mr Hancock set the target he said he wanted 100,000 tests per day - but the number of people checked has always been significantly lower, as many need to be screened multiple times, often to avoid false negatives.

A jubilant Mr Hancock said tonight: 'I can announce that we have met our goal... Setting stretching, ambitious goals in a crisis has a galvanising effect on everybody involved. It is a mission.'
Fans are mourning the death of Rishi Kapoor.

According to CNN, citing a family representative, the actor died in hospital on Thursday after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was 67 years old.

Per the news organization, Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and returned to India last September after receiving treatment in New York. CNN, citing a spokesperson for Reliance Industries LTD., reported the star had recently been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai.

"The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last," the family representative said in the statement to CNN. "He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him. He was grateful for the love of his fans that poured in from the world over. In his passing, they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears."

Fans were also asked to continue to honor current lockdown restrictions.

Celebrity Deaths: 2020's Fallen Stars

Kapoor was born in 1952. According to CNN, he made his debut as a child actor in his father Raj Kapoor's 1970 film Mera Naam Joker. Just three years later, he starred in Bobby. He went on to appear in a number of films over his lifetime, including Sargam, Tawaif, Chandni and Agneepath. He also received numerous accolades over the course of his career, including the prestigious Filmfare Award.

He is survived by his wife, actress Neetu Singh, and his two children, actor Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor Sahni.

After the news broke, several celebrities and members of the film industry took to social media to pay tribute.

"My heart is so heavy," Priyanka Chopra, who also appeared in Agneepath, wrote via Instagram. "This is the end of an era. #Rishisir your candid heart and immeasurable talent will never be encountered again. Such a privilege to have known you even a little bit. My condolences to Neetu maam, Ridhima, Ranbir and the rest of the family. Rest in peace Sir. #rishikapoor."

Story continues

"Heartbroken ... Rest In Peace ... my dearest friend," Rajinikanth added.

"Cant believe it. Chintu ji @chintskap. (Mr.Rishi Kapoor) was always ready with a smile," Kamal Haasan also wrote. "We had mutual love and respect. Will miss my friend. My heartfelt condolence to the family."

Salman Khan, Nivin Pauly and several other actors shared messages, as well.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rest in peace chintu sirrr, kaha suna maaf , strength , peace n light to family n friends...</p> Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/BeingSalmanKhan/status/1255754582023528450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"Devastated!" Pauly wrote. "RIP #RishiKapoor sir!"
Californias public health officials will rework ethical guidelines for hospitals issued in April after groups representing thousands of seniors and people with disabilities across the country protested that younger, healthier people would get preferential access to lifesaving care in a worst-case coronavirus surge.

More than 60 senior and disability rights organizations sent two letters last week to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, arguing that the April 19 guidelines would discriminate against the elderly and disabled if resources ran low.

The lives of people with disabilities are equally worthy and valuable as those of people without disabilities, Claudia Center, legal director at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley, said in her April 22 letter to Newsom, signed by dozens of groups  from the Gray Panthers of San Francisco to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Under state and federal laws, people with disabilities must have an equal opportunity to receive life-sustaining treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The states guidelines laid out a scoring system to help doctors and others decide in a crisis who would be admitted to intensive care if there werent enough beds for everyone who needed them, and who would get a ventilator or other potentially lifesaving treatment. The guidelines advised the deciders to use patients vital signs to measure short-term survival chances, and consider chronic conditions like cancer or dementia to measure life expectancy. In case of a tie, they could give priority to frontline health workers and younger people.

The guidelines said ethical decisions in a crisis should shift from providing the best care to each patient, to achieving the best possible outcome for the largest number of people.

The justification for this principle does not rely on considerations of ones intrinsic worth or social utility, according to the document, with an introduction signed by state Health Officer Dr. Sonia Y. Angell. Rather, younger individuals receive priority because they have had the least opportunity to live through lifes stages.

Ingrid Tischer of Berkeley knows she wouldnt fare well under such a system. She has a degenerative form of muscular dystrophy that requires her to use a wheelchair, and a respiratory condition that requires her to use a breathing machine while sleeping.

The (medical) chart that theyre going to read is going to document all the areas in which Im fragile, but wont chart all the experience I have in coping  if I get the right care and the right equipment, said Tischer, director of development at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

According to their protocols, the things that I need, like the equipment and the care, are the things that I would actually have taken away, potentially, she said. That is really terrifying.

A second letter to Ghaly on April 22 came from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Disability Rights California, headquartered in Sacramento; and Justice in Aging, in Oakland.

When the crisis abates and we consider how we responded and who suffered the greatest harm, if higher mortality rates are experienced by older adults and people with disabilities, it should not be because discriminatory bias led to denial of care, the letter read.

The California Department of Public Health re-posted its guidelines on April 23, marked them draft, and said new guidelines will be issued soon.

We are looking at the entire document to ensure that it reflects our values as a state and (doesnt) discriminate against individuals based on their race, age, disability, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, said Kate Folmar, spokeswoman for the California Health and Human Services Agency. A note to that effect is included in the reposted guidelines.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Folmar said the agency is consulting with the 33 members of its advisory committee on aging, with representatives from local governments, universities, unions and advocacy groups.

Advocates for seniors and the disabled are urging the state to avoid making decisions based on life expectancy, which they argued is arbitrary and can be inaccurate. Tischer said doctors told her she would live only to 40. She is now 54.

Making such decisions based on life expectancy also can reinforce historic discrimination because of health disparities between poor people  who are often people of color  and wealthier people, according to the Center of Disability Rights.

She said doctors should make life-and-death decisions in crisis situations based solely on whether an individual will survive hospitalization. And she cautioned that the states scoring system to judge short-term survival based on vital signs is inherently unfair. For example, people with a speech impediment would fail the part of the test that judges articulating coherent sentences.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

The guidelines say decisions about crisis care would be made by a triage team of medical providers. Tischer wondered how many members of those teams would be disabled or elderly.

Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench
MediaTek has just announced a new mobile chipset, the Helio G85. The new chipset joins the Taiwanese chipmakers Helio G80 in its mid-range gaming chipsets lineup. The latter was announced earlier in February.

The Helio G85 has already made its debut on Xiaomis Redmi Note 9. Starting at $199, the handset offers up to 4GB of RAM, 128GB storage, a quad-camera setup, a big 5,020mAh battery with 18W fast wired charging, and much more.

MediaTek Helio G85 specifications

There isnt much of a difference between the Helio G85 and G80. Like all the other Helio G chipsets, the new Helio G85 is also an octa-core SoC built on a 12nm FinFET Process. It has two ARM Cortex-A75 cores operating at 2.0GHz, and 6 smaller power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores.

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MediaTek has yet to detail the clock speed of the six A55 cores but reports suggest they are clocked at 1.8GHz. This essentially means the Helio G85 has the same CPU as the Helio G80. So where do they differ?

Well, MediaTek seems to have designed the G85 with a specific purpose. The company is promoting the new chipset with the tagline Made for everyday gamers and it appears to come with a slightly more powerful GPU. In fact, its the same GPU performing at a higher speed.

The Helio G85 gets the Mali-G52 MC2 GPU with a maximum GPU frequency of 1000MHz. The older Helio G80 has its Mali-G52 MC2 GPU clocked at 950MHz.

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MediaTek is yet to release the full spec sheet of the new chipset. So details about its NPU, ISP, camera and display specs, and connectivity features remain unknown as of now. Its not like well see big changes over the Helio G80 in any of these departments, though.

The Helio G85 seemingly only boasts a GPU frequency bump of just 5oMHz over the Helio G80, which is quite disappointing. Even the Helio G70 isnt much different. It has the six Cortex-A55 cores running just 0.1Ghz slower at 1.7GHz while its Mali-G52 MC2 GPU running at 820MHz.

MediaTek Helio G85 outperforms Snapdragon 665 and Exynos 9611

The Helio G85 does beat Qualcomms Snapdragon 665 and Samsungs Exynos 9611 by quite a margin though, at least according to benchmark scores displayed by Xiaomi during the Redmi Note 9 series launch.

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The new chipset has got a score of 205,946 in the AnTuTu Benchmark. The Snapdragon 665-powered Redmi Note 8 scored 169,585 while the Exynos 9611-powered Samsung Galaxy A51 scored 177,439.

So if AnTuTu scores are trustable enough for performance comparison, the Helio G85 quite easily outperforms Snapdragon 665 and Exynos 9611.

However, this hardly justifies its existence when the Helio G80 is already there. It appears to be a mere marketing stunt by MediaTek.
The Spanish government's de-escalation plan has not been greeted rapturously by the tourism industry. The Exceltur alliance for tourism excellence says that it has the "laudable objective" of turning on lights in alleviating social discomfort, but it hasn't been thought through when it comes to tourism. Under the plan, hotels can reopen on a restricted basis from 11 May (although this may yet vary region by region), but for Exceltur the real issues lie with travel restrictions, airports being closed, and no uniform criteria at EU level on cross-border mobility and the levels of health security that will be required.

Exceltur has repeatedly criticised what it sees as an absence of genuine and strategic support for tourism from the government, and it isn't alone. The Cehat national confederation of hotel associations has also been critical, and - being as diplomatic as possible - it has described the de-escalation as "disappointing". Among other measures that Cehat is looking for, and this applies more broadly and not just to the hotel industry, is some guarantee regarding ERTEs. These need to be extended due to force majeure, otherwise businesses may have to go to ERE, which is redundancy, and may be forced into bankruptcy.

There may be salvation in this regard, the Balearic government working with Madrid on an ERTE that is specific to the tourism sector and which would permit the gradual reintroduction of employees as activity recovers and would also retain certain advantages of force majeure ERTE, such as not having to pay social security contributions.

At a practical level, the de-escalation plan, with its reduced hotel activity from 11 May, is not - as the Hosbec hoteliers in Benidorm have pointed out - "compatible with tourism activity". In other words, it's very difficult to apply rules of limited capacity in communal areas.

Returning to Exceltur, it believes the plan creates "more confusion and difficulties than the current situation", with tourism only able to reopen with gradual internal demand and not before the end of June. And this would almost certainly be the case. Prime Minister Sanchez has signalled a hope that a "minimum transition" will take six weeks, but it will surely take the whole of the eight weeks (the maximum), and that would mean end-June. Before end-June, there won't be flights (national ones) or movements between regions.

It's hard to see how the plan can work for hotels. If some do open in Majorca this month, where is the custom going to come from? It can only be from people living on the island.

Will Germans be travelling or not?

Former Balearic president Jose Ramon Bauza has been devoting most of his state of alarm energies to producing snippets of hygiene advice rather than worrying about politics. However, pharmacist Bauza put his politician hat on earlier this week in having a go at the German government and at the tourism commissioner specifically. The post that Thomas Bareiss occupies is akin to secretary of state, and what he had to say was that it was "improbable" that Germans will be travelling to traditional holiday destinations such as Spain, Greece and Turkey this summer. Herr Bareiss was not telling German citizens to stay at home for their holidays. He was merely pointing out that travel abroad is somewhat complicated.

This all seemed to be misinterpreted, with MEP Bauza to the fore, demanding a retraction and apology, accusing Bareiss of indulging in "populism", a reference to the fact that the crisis has provoked some negative comment to be directed at southern European states by politicians from northern European states - the Netherlands anyway.

The comments made by Herr Bareiss were not so different to ones that the British ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, had made some days before, and yet the ambassador didn't create waves like the German secretary of state. Majorca's biggest tourism market may be Germany, but Spain's is the UK. Both markets are of vital importance, and Germany, despite the remarks by Bareiss, may be in a better position to supply tourism than the UK, which is why the Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, has been particularly keen to keep communications with Tui open.

An agreement that the Balearics will be Tui's first destination in Spain once operations restart was some positive news, but this agreement is only as good as government intentions regarding travel and indeed holidaymakers' willingness to travel. In light of what Bareiss had said, it was perhaps rather odd that this agreement was being given prominence only a few days later. Tui's senior directors, so we have been told, are in "constant" contact with the German government, and this may well include Herr Bareiss. Or was it the case that Tui were sending their own message to the German government?

To add a twist to all this, we had the European Commission's vice-president for values and transparency, Vera Jourova, indicating that recommendations to be published in mid-May will include the reopening of internal borders in order to help relaunch tourism. Travel restrictions, she said, "should be lifted as soon as possible, avoiding any discrimination on the basis of nationality".

The Sicily incentive

Sicily attracts something in the region of 4.5 million tourists a year. This is around 37% of the number of tourists who come to Majorca. The regional government on the island is providing the latest example of Italian thinking for reactivating tourism. There is already, for example, the idea for a "holiday bonus" - a payment to Italians to take holidays in Italy. Now comes Sicily, where 50 million euros have been allocated to finance a scheme whereby half the price of tourists' airline tickets and a third of hotel bills would be paid. These incentives will be in the form of vouchers through the Visit Sicily website. It's not clear when this will be, as it will depend on when borders reopen.

It is a bold initiative, but I'm wondering if it will be permitted. Does this not go against EU competition law? Maybe not, if a subsidy goes direct to the consumer and not to an airline.
How Books and Buckets program in Long Beach aims to keep kids away from gang violence
MIAMI, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "Investing in public health systems must be ongoing and extend beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, because that is the only model that can guarantee quality access in every country." This was one of the conclusions from the virtual event "Latin America and COVID-19, conversations with the WHO/PAHO," organized by Alianza de Impacto Latino and the Ismael Cala Foundation.

During the event, Ismael Cala, president of the Ismael Cala Foundation, interviewed Dr. Marcos Espinal, director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Regional Office of the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).

They discussed the danger of the virus, but also the existence of other problems in the region, such as domestic violence and mental health, which pose a huge risk to the most vulnerable populations.

They also pointed out the risks of living in a globalized world that is heavily affected by the circulation of fake news, and they recommended preventing disinformation through exhaustive verification of sources.

According to data provided by Dr. Espinal, there are currently more than 180 medical studies on Covid-19 under way. However, no recommendations will be made until efficacy is proved.

Regarding a vaccine, there are currently four research trials under way on humans. A vaccine could be ready in October, but even if it is effective production and distribution to all countries will take time.

Finally, the Pan American Health Organization asked governments to be careful in lifting current social distancing measures to avoid a spike in cases.

Hospital capacity and support for those who remain in isolation should be guaranteed, especially in the poorest countries.

Dr. Marcos Espinal is currently the director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Regional Office of the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). He has worked in matters linked to forgotten, tropical and vector-transmitted diseases, communication of risks and outbreaks, HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and STDs.

The Ismael Cala Foundation supports the development of emotional leadership and education of children, adolescents and young adults who are in vulnerable positions in Latin America, and of the Hispanic population in the USA. To achieve its mission, the Foundation has created several programs, including the Scholarship Program. Educational institutions, companies, and other organizations involved in social development have joined forces to promote the education and training of young people by channeling scholarships for courses and/or careers for personal and professional improvement, and thus improve their well-being and social progress.

La Alianza de Impacto Latino is an initiative that seeks to encourage the creation of partnerships for the sustainable growth and development of the Americas. It gathers together leaders from all sectors to support Sustainable Development of the Americas. It was created by the PVBLIC and Ismael Cala foundations.

The webinar can be seen on video here:

SOURCE Cala Enterprises Corporation

Related Links

http://www.ismaelcala.com


[May 01, 2020] New Moody's Analytics CRE Forecasts Predict 11% Drop in Retail Rents in 2020

Moody's Analytics today announced its new forecasts for commercial real estate (CRE) rents and vacancies, covering eight property types and more than 3,000 submarkets across the US. The forecasts reflect the latest curated Q1 data on US CRE markets collected by the Moody's Analytics Real Estate Information Services (News - Alert) (REIS) group. The retail property sector, pressured by the rise of e-commerce even before the COVID-19 crisis and now burdened with wide-scale store closures, is expected to be affected worst. National vacancies will rise past historic highs, with effective rents projected to fall by 11% in 2020. This drop will constitute almost twice the total decline in rents the retail property sector experienced after the Great Recession in the four years spanning 2008 to 2011. "The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted unprecedented challenges in the economy, and multifamily and commercial real estate markets are changing rapidly as a result," said Victor Calanog, Head of CRE Economics at Moody's Analytics. "Store closures have made it difficult for retail tenants to pay rent, which has negatively impacted landlords. It is not yet clear how effective government support will be in this sector." The office sector is also projected to incur significant distress, given the severity of the downturn and social distancing policies implemented to combat the pandemic. As employers have been compelled to execute remote working policies, national vacancies may break the 20% mark by 2021, and effective rents in some markets like New York may fall by close to 25%. By contrast, industrial and multifamily properties are likely to fare better. Vacancies are still projected to rise and effective rents are expected to turn negative, but the impact will not be as severe as on retail and office properties. Research from the Moody's Analytics REIS team explores market trends across sectors. Some recent COVID-19-related studies include: The Future of Multifamily

The Future of Retail Rental Markets

California Property Markets



REIS platform, and can gain further insight by using the Moody's Analytics COVID-19 CRE Impact Dashboard, available free of charge for the duration of the crisis. About Moody's Analytics

Moody's Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools to help business leaders make better, faster decisions. Our deep risk expertise, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology help our clients confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are known for our industry-leading and award-winning solutions, made up of research, data, software, and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. We create confidence in thousands of organizations worldwide, with our commitment to excellence, open mindset approach, and focus on meeting customer needs. For more information about Moody's Analytics, visit our website or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Moody's Analytics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO). Moody's Corporation reported revenue of $4.8 billion in 2019, employs approximately 11,100 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 40 countries. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005429/en/

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New Delhi, May 1 : Bestselling author Paulo Coelho paid a moving tribute to late Indian actor Irrfan Khan using a quote from Bhagavad Gita, saying: "A star joins other stars in the sky".

The author took to Twitter to mourn the loss, and remembered Irrfan for his contributions to the world of cinema.

"A star joins other stars in the sky. Thank you for everything, Irrfan Khan. 'Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable' -- Bhagavad Gita," he posted.

With projects like "Paan Singh Tomar", "Piku", "Talvar", "The Lunchbox", "Maqbool", and "7 Khoon Maaf", Irrfan carved a name for himself in Hindi cinema. He has gradually established himself in the West too. He featured in foreign films like "The Namesake", "Life of Pi", "A Mighty Heart", "Slumdog Millionaire',"The Amazing Spider-Man", "Inferno" and "Jurassic World".

Irrfan breathed his last early on Wednesday at the age of 53. He was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection earlier this week.
The chief executive of Gilead Sciences Inc, maker of the experimental coronavirus drug remdesivir, said on Friday he expected the Food and Drug Administration to act quickly over the company's application for approval.

It would try to get the drug to as many people as possible if it was approved, he said.

"We're moving very quickly with the FDA," Daniel O'Day said in an interview with NBC's Today show. "And I expect that they're going to act very quickly."
Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech

PM CARES Fund: No curb on use of PM's name, photo, image of flag, emblem, PMO tells HC

Proposal to change rules for central deputation of IAS officers affects states' administration: Mamata to PM

PM Modi chairs key review meet; Amit Shah, Goyal in attendance

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 01: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met top ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah to chalk out a post-lockdown strategy as the nationwide shutdown is set to end this Sunday.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba were among those who attended the meeting.

PM Modi reviews in detail potential economic reforms in mines and coal sector

The home ministry has indicated that there will be considerable relaxations for many districts from Monday, while restrictions will continue in the "red zone", or areas which are worst affected by COVID-19.

The Centre has allowed states to bring home stranded students, tourists and migrant workers. The states have begun the work to bring the stranded people home.

Earlier in the day, the railways deployed the first special train to ferry stranded migrant labourers on Friday, carrying over 1,000 people from Telangana to Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister is keen on giving first preference to the poor and vulnerable class of society.

The government is expected to ramp up activity in Green Zones and allow the same partially in the Orange Zones. However, strict restrictions would remain in place, especially in the Red and Containment Zones. There would be a clear emphasis on both reviving the economy, while also saving lives.

The coronavirus-induced lockdown is due to end on May 3.
A university professor has resigned after accidentally showing students a bookmark to a link for busty college girl while screen-sharing during a Zoom call.

On 26 March, University of Miami Professor John Peng Zhang was teaching a virtual business analytics class when one student realised that the professors screen had a link for Busty College girl fu, according to the schools newspaper The Miami Hurricane.

At the time, the student reportedly pointed out the link to the entire class via his microphone, prompting other students in the class to take pictures and record their professors screen.

One clip of the incident, which has since been deleted, was shared to TikTok where it was viewed more than 800,000 times, according to the outlet.

Zhang reportedly addressed the clip with his class the next time they met and apologised for the error.

I dont know how it happened, he said, according to The Hurricane. I didnt see it, Im pretty sure everybody else didMy apologies to the class.

However, shortly after, students in the class were informed that their professor had been replaced by other members of staff.

In a statement to NBC News, a university spokesperson confirmed Zhang had resigned following the incident.

Recommended Man resigns from city council after throwing cat during Zoom meeting

The University of Miami aggressively investigates all complaints of inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment," the school said in a statement. "After receiving a complaint through the University's ethics hotline, the incident was investigated by the Office of the Provost, Title IX investigator and Miami Herbert Business School.

The University can confirm that John Peng Zhang resigned and is no longer employed at the University of Miami."

Students in the class, including the one who had originally shared the clip to TikTok, have since expressed remorse over Zhangs departure.

I felt bad about the attention it was getting, he told The Hurricane. I didnt want him to lose his jobI thought he would be fineI felt really bad for him.

A petition calling for Zhang to be reinstated as a professor at the university, where the incident is described as obviously a mistake, has been signed by more than 2,000 people as of Thursday.

People make mistakes, are sexual beings, and should not be fired when no true porn was shared, the petition reads. We no longer live in the 18th century and individuals are allowed to have a personal, sexual life. This was obviously a mistake.

The Independent has contacted the University of Miami for comment.




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Housing the Homeless: COVID-19 Has Forced Californias Hand

Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California was the first state in the nation to secure Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to place unsheltered people in hotel rooms at no cost to them. The states action is providing safe isolation for tens of thousands of homeless Californians during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost 129,000 Californians experienced homelessness in 2019. Nearly 40% of them were African Americans.

The states effort, dubbed Project Roomkey, set an initial goal of securing up to 15,000 rooms to fast track getting people off the street since Gov. Newsom instituted a stay-at-home order on March 19. After about a week, county partners had moved 869 homeless individuals off the street, or out of shelters, and into isolation.

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Homeless Californians are incredibly vulnerable to COVID-19 and often have no option to self-isolate or social distance, Gov. Newsom said. By helping the most vulnerable homeless individuals get off the street, California can slow the spread of COVID-19 through homeless populations, lower the number of people infected and protect critical health care resources.

As of April 3, the state reports that local governments had secured 6,867 emergency hotel rooms for shelter. Some homeless advocates say that number is a commendable achievement that begins to move the Newsom administration closer to its goal of mitigating what was perhaps the states most pressing problem before the COVID-19 crisis.

In Los Angeles County, the states homelessness crisis is most acute. It is also where the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths. Officials there want to take the work of Project Roomkey further.

LA County Board of Supervisors Mark Ridley Thomas and Janice Hahn have developed a plan to house the homeless after the coronavirus crisis has been contained.

We need to be thinking two steps ahead in order to mount a crisis response that is not only comprehensive but sustained, Ridley-Thomas said in a statement on his website. Now is the time to be having these conversations. Not when the disaster funding runs out.

LA Countys Chief Executive Office Homeless Initiative is working hand-in-hand with the state, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and several public and private partners to facilitate Project Roomkey.

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As of April 13, over 1,946 beds at 23 sites in the county had been secured; of which 515 are already in use in an effort to protect unsheltered individuals and seniors with underlying medical conditions from contracting COVID-19.

Ridley-Thomas said that LA County has also put procedures in place to prioritize existing resources such as housing vouchers and resources for veterans.

Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, state government attempts to speed up housing the homeless  including incentives provided to local governments to increase their housing inventory and efforts to penalize those that didnt  met stiff resistance from lobbying groups, the state legislature, county boards, and city councils. Most recently, state senators killed SB 50, a bill that would have lifted local zoning restrictions statewide to allow denser and more multi-unit housing construction.

Now, across California, both the state and local governments are teaming up to solve the states homelessness problem like they never have before, sharing up to 75% of FEMA reimbursements for hotel rooms and wraparound support services like meals, security, and custodial maintenance. Local governments and community partners cover behavioral health and medical care costs.

Californias effort to provide emergency shelter for homeless families and individuals takes an innovative approach, homeless advocates say. It brings hotel units online at a rapid pace while providing business to the hospitality industry, a sector among those hardest hit by the Coronavirus crisis.

Kevin Carter, a homeless advocate and member of Northern Californias branch of the Poor Peoples Campaign (PPC), has been canvassing parts of Sacramento aiding unsheltered individuals. He said PPC members have identified at least 30 homeless people in Sacramentos Oak Park neighborhood.

They are mostly Black people living and gathering in various homeless encampments, Carter told California Black Media. We supply them with water, food, hand sanitizers. And we see if anyone is sick or needs to be hospitalized for COVID-19.

The National Poor Peoples Campaign, started by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, confronts systemic racism, poverty, and social injustices, according to the organizations website. Under the PPC banner, Carter and his colleagues put together a program called Sacramento Housing Services, Not Suites Coalition.

One of the things we are focused on right now is getting hotel or motel rooms for the homeless through the city and county, Carter said. As far as what the governor is doing  hes moving in the right direction.

In 2019, an estimated 128,777 individuals in California experienced homelessness, based on the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Over 108,000 people were tabulated as unsheltered and more than 41,000 suffered chronic homelessness, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HUDs annual report shows that 56,257 individuals were unsheltered in Los Angeles County in 2019, accounting for almost half of all unsheltered persons across the state of California.

Across the country, HUD reports that there were 568, 000 homeless people in 2019. African Americans, who only make up about 14% of the United States population accounted for 39.8% (225,735 people) of that total. That included Black individuals both sleeping on the streets and living in shelters.

California accounted for one-third, 33%, of all people experiencing homelessness in the United States and more than half, about 53%, of all unsheltered individuals.

The state has also deployed 1,305 housing trailers to local governments that will complement the efforts of Project Roomkey.

California has taken the lead in protecting homeless residents from COVID-19, said Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. This initiative sets a strong national example of how state leaders can leverage their dollars with FEMA, HUD and other federal funds to address the needs of the most vulnerable homeless populations.
CORWIN I took care of many patients through the AIDS epidemic, another horrific story, but Ive never seen anything like this. The sheer numbers of patients. The fact that all of them were really quite ill. The number of patients that needed to be put immediately on a ventilator. The number of patients that came into the emergency room about ready to die. The same in our I.C.U.s.

It really was, even for somebody like myself, who has taken care of many patients through the years, really startling. The physical and emotional toll this has taken on everybody who works in our system is just enormous. It almost feels like the AIDS epidemic compressed into a six-week period of time. Its something Ive never witnessed in 40 years of medicine.

GELLES At the peak of this surge, what was the single biggest challenge that your hospital system encountered?

CORWIN The biggest challenge we faced was being able to create enough I.C.U. beds to withstand the high tide. We had to create I.C.U.s out of operating rooms, I.C.U.s out of procedure suites, I.C.U.s out of conference areas. That meant construction. It meant creating negative pressure rooms. It meant piping in oxygen.

Then we had to come up with a completely novel way of staffing the I.C.U.s to be able to deliver the excellent care that people expect. Then we werent sure whether we had enough ventilators, and thanks to the ingenuity of our respiratory therapists, we were able to create ventilators out of anesthesia machines. We were able to split ventilators to be able to ventilate two patients simultaneously.

GELLES Where are we now, and what are your concerns as you look forward in the months ahead?

CORWIN First, just as a citizen having lived through this, its really important for people in other parts of the country to really understand how horrific this can be if an outbreak happens. I worry about opening up too early and having a significant resurgence of this. In the absence of substantially increased testing, youre not going to know. Im not convinced that the relaxation is going to be beneficial to the economy if we do it too quickly. We know we cant do it too quickly.

Our view of it is we have to keep a fair amount of our excess I.C.U. capacity. We have to stockpile the P.P.E. Were going to be living with masks and protective gear for quite a while. Its going to change the way we live as a country. Its certainly going to change the way that my institution operates, and were looking at every aspect of that: from going into a doctors examining room and how to clean it, to how many virtual visits are we going to do, to making sure that we space hours so that we dont congregate patients, to making sure that we dont have more than four or five people in an elevator at any one point in time.
After a brief lull, Telangana witnessed a sudden spike in the Covid-19 cases, including three deaths, on Thursday night. The state was expecting that it would become coronavirus-free by the first week of May.

There had been no deaths in Telangana since April 23, and the number of positive cases was also within single digits. On Thursday, however, the state reported 22 cases and three deaths  all in Hyderabad. With this addition, the overall number of Covid-19 cases in Telangana mounted to 1,038 while the total number of deaths touched 28.

According to the Telangana medical and health department authorities, only people with serious co-morbid conditions are succumbing to the disease.

The dead included a 48-year-old man with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and pneumonia in Ramanthapur; a 76-year-old man with chronic heart and kidney ailments and pneumonia in Vanasthalipuram; and a 44-year-old woman with blood pressure, sugar and pneumonia in Ziaguda.

The health authorities discovered that the 22 new coronavirus positive cases had originated in Malakpet Gunj, a wholesale groceries market. Apparently, it originated from two workers hailing from Pahadi Shareef in the old city of Hyderabad and they are alleged to have transmitted the virus to three shop owners. All the family members of the shop owners also have tested positive.

The health authorities have declared Malakpet Gunj and Pahadi Shareef areas containment zones and said strict lockdown measures would be implemented to contain further spread.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held an emergency meeting with the officials of the health department, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the police to discuss the steps to contain the spread of the disease.

He asked health authorities to strictly implement the lockdown restrictions at all the containment zones in Hyderabad. He instructed that focus should be laid on breaking the transmission chains across the containment zones in Hyderabad. He also directed officials from different departments to put up a coordinated effort to contain Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the Centre has declared six districts in Telangana  Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Suryapet, Vikarabad and Warangal (Urban) - as Red Zone districts. Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, five districts  Kurnool, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore and Chittoor  have been declared as Red Zones.

The lockdown will continue in these Red Zone districts even after May 3, when the Centre is planning to lift restrictions on certain sectors.

In the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the number of Covid-19 positive cases continue to rise. By Friday afternoon, 60 new positive cases and two more deaths were recorded in the state, taking the total number cases in the state to 1,463 and the deaths to 33.

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The founder of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, and seven of his family members have tested positive for coronavirus, AIT, a subsidiary of his company, reported Friday.

This is coming four days after his son contracted the virus.

Since the younger Dokpesi had the virus, contact tracing by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, was said to have begun.

Results of the tests by the agency showed that eight other members of the Dokpesi family, among whom are Mr Dokpesis daughter-in-law, had been infected, AIT said.

The infected members have been reportedly evacuated to the isolation centre at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.

I am quite OK, I feel very well, AIT quoted Mr Dokpesi saying Friday shortly before the evacuation obviously pointing to his current asymptomatic status.

Tests have also been reportedly extended to senior staffers who had been in close contact with the companys index case.

AIT also said the FCT authority has fumigated the companys premises.

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Nigeria has seen a spike in cases of coronavirus as it recorded over 500 cases in the last three days.

Total cases inch towards 2000 with over 50 deaths, and more than 300 recoveries.

The fifth week of lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun is to be relaxed Monday, and there are concerns about the implication of the action despite the rise in cases.

Lagos remains the epicentre of the infection in the country, but Kano has seen a surge in cases in the last five days, a time within which its figure tripled to over 210 as of Thursday night.

Lagos, Kano and Abuja account for about 70 per cent of the countrys cases of the contagion.
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is holding a press conference Friday to update the public on the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 167,000 people in New York City, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

On Thursday, de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced New York City is suspending 24-hour subway service to disinfect subway cars and protect essential workers during the coronavirus crisis.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs the city's public transit system, will still provide buses and "dollar vans" at no cost to essential workers during those hours, Cuomo said. The subway system has been lauded for its 24-hour daily service. Service has been ordered to halt before, but rarely and usually due to natural disasters.

Also on Thursday, billionaire philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg provided more details on his plan to assist New York with its contact tracing efforts. He said he is developing three smartphone apps to help New York state trace every person who comes into contact with someone infected with Covid-19 to help control the spread of the virus.

Contact tracing requires scores of people to interview coronavirus patients and track down all of their contacts over the past 14 days so those people can be notified, tested and quarantined if necessary.

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the COVID-19 outbreak.
Like many of his fellow talk show hosts, Trevor Noah has embraced the new normal of broadcasting from home.

And that means a whole new way of doing things as productions transition from studios to living rooms leaving staffers and crew without roles to play.

On Thursday, Variety reported that The Daily Show host has stepped up and is personally paying the salaries of 25 furloughed crew members who worked on his Comedy Central program.

Loyal: The Daily Show host Trevor Noah is broadcasting Comedy Central program from home during the coronavirus shutdown and is personally paying furloughed crew members

A source told Variety: 'These are the people who have been on the show with Trevor from day one and help him put on the show.'

'Trevor is personally covering their salaries until the production business opens again. He respects his crew tremendously and feels it's only right that they get through this together.'

Studio production of The Daily Show was halted in March but some writers, producers and production staff continue to contribute remotely to the now re-titled The Daily Social Distancing Show With Trevor Noah.

But in-studio crew members such as camera operators, stage managers and audio technicians are no longer required for the new format, Variety reported.

Kind: Noah took over the nightly show from Jon Stewart in 2015 and a source told Variety: 'He respects his crew tremendously and feels it's only right that they get through this together'

The new normal: Broadcasting from home means a new way of doing things as productions transition from studios to living rooms leaving staffers and crew without roles to play

Meanwhile, the nightly show is so popular that Comedy Central announced on Monday that it is being extended from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

Noah's show is currently rated number one in late night viewing among 18 to 34-year-olds.

The South African comedian, 36, took over The Daily Show in 2015 from longtime host Jon Stewart. He is signed as host until 2022.

In addition to his TV gig, Noah continues to enjoy a lucrative career as a stand-up comic with tours and Netflix specials.
McDonald's has revealed it will reopen its first UK restaurants for delivery on May 13 after shutting sites due to the coronavirus lockdown.

It said it will reopen 15 restaurants for delivery only on JustEat and UberEats, with the locations of restaurants being announced next week.

The fast food giant will not be serving breakfast and will return with a limited menu and shorter opening hours from 11am and 10pm.

McDonald's will bring in perspex screens and floor markings, non-medical grade face masks for staff and social distancing measures for delivery drivers.

All employees will be asked to confirm they are fit and able to work, and bosses will use contactless thermometers with temperatures taken on arrival at work for every shift.

Chicken McNuggets will be included on the new limited menu

Customers will also be able to get their hands on a McChicken Sandwich

What will be included in McDonalds' limited menu? Main Menu: Cheeseburger Hamburger Double Cheeseburger Big Mac Quarter Pounder with Cheese McChicken Sandwich Filet-O-Fish Chicken McNuggets Chicken Selects Sides & Desserts: Fries Mozzarella Dippers Core McFlurry (Oreo, Maltesers, Smarties) Fruit Bag Advertisement

McDonalds furloughed 135,000 staff when it shut up shop temporarily in March.

Under government rules, food firms are allowed to operate as takeaway and delivery outlets under lockdown.

Other companies which have moved to limited store reopenings or delivery-only services include Five Guys, Nandos, KFC and Burger King.

Pret A Manger recently announced plans to partially reopen as pressure grows for an exit plan from the lockdown ravaging the economy.

Their shops will open near hospitals and GP surgeries for delivery and takeaway services only.

But the high street bakery Greggs has postponed reopening 20 stores next week over fears of overcrowding.

The takeaway chain temporarily shut all of its 2,050 branches last month to protect customers and staff after the Government ordered all non-essential shops to close.

Greggs said on Monday it was set to reopen some of its branches in the Newcastle area next week to test if it could operate without breaking social distancing rules, but has now changed its mind.

The fast-food chain has spent this week testing its operations behind closed doors in preparation to reopen sites.

Paul Pomroy, McDonald's chief executive officer for the UK and Ireland, said: 'When we return it will be different as we all adjust to this new normal.

'I want to apologise in advance if our first wave of reopened restaurants does not serve your area.

'Rest assured, we are working hard to reopen more restaurants, but I am adamant this must be at the right pace with the wellbeing of our employees, suppliers and customers front of mind.

'Slowly, but safely, we will return to towns and cities across the UK and Ireland, and thank you for your continued support as we work through this crisis.'
T he Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of school teacher Gordon Park for the lady in the lake murder of his wife following a posthumous challenge.

Park was found guilty of murdering wife Carol, whose body was found in Coniston Water in the Lake District 21 years after her disappearance in 1976.

The teacher, who always maintained his innocence, hanged himself in his prison cell on his 66th birthday in January 2010 while serving a life sentence.

A posthumous appeal brought on his behalf by his son, Jeremy Park, was referred to the court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which investigates possible miscarriages of justice.

However, three senior judges, Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Sweeney and Mrs Justice May, rejected the appeal on Friday, saying the evidence in the case was very strong and there was no reason to doubt the safety of the conviction.

Mrs Park's body was found in Coniston Water in the Lake District / Wikimedia Commons

Mrs Park, also a teacher, went missing in Leece, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in July 1976 and Park claimed she had gone to live with another man.

But the mother-of-threes body was found by amateur divers in Coniston Water in 1997.

Park was arrested and charged with her murder, and spent two weeks in prison on remand, but the case against him was dropped in 1998 on the grounds there was not enough evidence available to prosecute.

Detectives later uncovered fresh forensic and geological evidence said to link him to the murder and he was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court in 2005, bringing to an end one of Britains most notorious unsolved murder investigations.

A challenge by Park against his conviction was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2008.

Following his death at HMP Garth in Lancashire, his family continued to campaign for his conviction to be overturned and applied to the CCRC.

Park was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court in 2005 / Wikimedia Commons

Lawyers told a hearing in November last year that failures by prosecution lawyers to share evidence with the defence at Parks 2005 trial casts doubt on the safety of his conviction.

At the hearing, Henry Blaxland QC, for the CCRC, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not disclose evidence about a key witness who claimed the teacher confessed to his wifes murder in prison, which would have undermined his credibility.

He said the CPS also failed to share the opinion of an expert who believed it was unlikely Mrs Parks injuries were caused by her husbands climbing axe, which prosecutors at trial suggested was the murder weapon.

Mr Blaxland said there is also fresh evidence from dental experts that the axe was not used in Mrs Parks murder.

The barrister also said the latest information lends new relevance to expert geological evidence given at an earlier appeal, which discredited a link between a rock found near the body and Bluestones, the family home.

CPS lawyers argued there was compelling evidence against Park and his conviction was therefore safe.
'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government.

'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.'

'He needs a visionary script to perform.'

Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi discusses the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown and the state of the economy with chief ministers, April 27, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

What about the economic crisis?

Difficult to decide if the coronavirus is more fearful or a sliding economy? Nevertheless, countries can't afford to lose hope.

For the sake of argument, one can say if ever India had a chance to throw its hat into the superpower ring, it's now.

But, let's also add that there are not many within and outside India who will bet on it.

Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi has given the task of pondering over India's opportunities to six informal groups, to discuss the many aspects of post-lockdown issues including economic. These experts have been meeting daily via videoconference.

The post-COVID-19 world will look forward to seeing if India will take advantage of the huge battle about to start between the US and China.

The answer lies in the speed of India's economic recovery.

IMAGE: Labourers unload fertilisers from a goods train in Jalandhar, April 30, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

"Modi is the Muqaddar ka Sikandar (conqueror of destiny)," says one government source.

"This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform. He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent. He needs a visionary script to perform," the government source adds.

If after August, Modi shows some sophistication "to reform and perform", then India has a rare chance to move to the next level, but very few are hopeful about it right now.

Inside the government, there is a new hope as Modi's grip over his saffron constituency has strengthened.

Confidence has never been in short supply in the Modi government, but now there is a feeling that India might come out with decent marks from the health crisis.

After the home and health ministries, the most active is the ministry of external affairs. Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar are "grounded" like everybody as air travel is closed.

Both men are using the latest technology to connect feverishly.

Modi and Dr Jaishankar have spoken to leaders of 80 countries around the world; after exchanging courtesies, HCQ diplomacy takes place.

India has promised to supply more than 80 countries with Hydroxychlroquine and many other drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients. Many of the essential drugs are a gift from India to small countries.

Many African countries profusely appreciate India's actions in their correspondence to the MEA.

Those who know the inside story of the management of the COVID-19 crisis state that the government is using to its advantage India's well-developed pharmaceutical industry to build bridges with nations in the middle of the current turbulence.

For India, this is the time when India can shape its diplomacy to enhance its economy.

India is looking with interest at the tensions between the Unted States and the World Health Organisation which will also play out, taking other United Nations organisations on an unchartered trajectory.

The increasing tensions between the US and China will give India fresh stimulus to take positions to suit its interests. Old issues can be re-negotiated under a changed context. Particularly, business-related issues.

At his fourth videoconference, Modi told chief ministers to make changes in their respective labour laws and undertake other reforms to make their states suitable for big-time investments.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah chairs a meeting on COVID-19. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

A lot has been said about Home Minister Amit Shah's absence from the public sphere. Any particular reason?

Shah is the busiest minister today. There is almost a police raj in India. The home ministry is the nodal agency handling the administration of disaster relief. How can he not be active and busy?

One should read the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is a potent Act applicable all over India and is in operation now. It vests tremendous powers in a few hands to deal with any disaster.

Modi and Shah should take some blame for not establishing a mechanism to check social media tattle, but even without official visibility one can easily surmise that Shah is at the centre of all activities.

Modi has done one thing that shows unambiguously that he is nominating Shah to handle governance of India's fight against COVID-19.

He chose to announce the national lockdown under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 on March 25 and not under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. He could have chosen the latter, but he opted for the sterner Disaster Management Act, 2005 Act.

The Epidemic Diseases Act is routinely used by states to control malaria, cholera, flu, swine flu and dengue.

What this means is that although the Union health and family welfare ministry is the nodal ministry for biological disasters, it is the home ministry under Shah that is handling this epidemic.

And this has been duly noted in all state capitals by chief ministers and government officials.

The ministry of home affairs issues all guidelines to govern the lockdown and the lives of Indians as it is in administrative control of the disaster management authority.

Of course, many states have also invoked powers through state-specific health Acts too.

Modi has given the leadership in governance to Shah in his fight against COVID-19.

The powers and functions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 are so wide that currently Shah is able to go beyond the home ministry's sphere of influence to take decisions for the smooth functioning of the administration that fights COVID-19.

Senior home ministry reveal that Shah attends his ministerial office at North Block from 4 pm to 11 pm so he can meet officials on both shifts. Various government ministries currently work two shifts.

IMAGE: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chairs a meeting with Chief og Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhaduria and secretaries of the Mmnistry of defence. Photograph: PTI Photo

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh heads the Group of Ministers on COVID-19. Does it show who is number 2 in the government?

Correct. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is Number Two in the Modi government. In the prime minister's absence in new Delhi he is the senior-most minister. There is no ambiguity about it.

But these things don't matter beyond a point because in the Bharatiya Janata Universe sky there is only one sun. Shah and Singh both know this well.

Publicly and privately, Singh's official position as the Number Two in the Modi government has never been questioned by anyone, not even by Shah.

What is not working well in the government's fight against COVID-19?

So far, not one economic stimulus package has been announced for small and medium scale industries that could inspire confidence.

Babudom will take its time to assess the financial losses and then some package will arrive.

Second, the government could have established better communication of data. For the first few weeks a joint secretary-level officer briefed people via live telecast.

Three, the underlying tension between states and the Centre is visible even at press briefings. More synergy and harmony between the states should have been visible in the public eye.

Four, when the Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi's Nizamuddin committed the blunder of concealing coronavirus-infected people and let it spread all over India, it disturbed the social atmosphere.

It is true that some 40,000 people have been sent into quarantine following the blunder by Tablighi Jamaat managers, but in a crisis the country does not want old divides to surface. Political leaders should have come forward to handle it deftly.

Fifth, Modi's performance in conveying issues to a larger audience in major crises has been appreciated, but it also exposed his government's weakness for not investing enough in the most vital health sector in the last six years.

Result: A country with a $3 trillion economy went into a tizzy in March to get PPEs and testing kits, even masks! For which China, South Korea, Japan and even smaller countries of the world were contacted.
CALGARY, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Today, WestJet announced it has reached an agreement with the Airline Pilot Association (ALPA), to save more than 1,000 pilot jobs at WestJet, WestJet Encore and Swoop amidst the COVID-19 crisis. The airline had previously confirmed that 1,700 pilots across WestJet, WestJet Encore and Swoop had received layoff notifications, effective either May 1 or June 1, 2020.

"I'm pleased that ALPA and WestJet, through robust negotiations and collaboration have come together to minimize the impact of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic on our pilot groups," said Jeff Martin, WestJet Executive Vice-President, and Chief Operating Officer. "We thank ALPA for the joint effort in working with us to assist our airline in remaining flexible and competitive. Our pilots will be a critical element of our recovery and retaining these important roles leaves us better positioned to recover strongly and return WestJet to a global airline."

Said ALPA MEC Chair, representing WestJet and Swoop, Captain Dave Colquhoun, "The agreement we have reached is due to the dedication of the WestJet executive and the WestJet pilots, in a time where everyone is making sacrifices to protect our airline. ALPA's elected leadership appreciates the time and effort that was involved in working together to minimize the impact to our members and we look forward to the time when all of our pilots, and many of the other WestJetters who are casualties of this crisis, are back to work at WestJet."

Said ALPA MEC Chair, representing WestJet Encore, Captain Ryan Leier, "On behalf of WestJet Encore pilots, I am pleased we were able to successfully reach an agreement. We recognize that these are uncharted skies as we deal with the effects of COVID-19 and this agreement will help our pilots and the airline get through this together."

The agreement allows the WestJet Group of Companies to retain pilots across the three groups, through the amendment of terms to the current agreements.

WestJet continues to work collaboratively with its employee and labour groups as well as all levels of government to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 crisis to the airline and its employees.

WestJet is utilizing the Government of Canada's Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to assist in navigating this pandemic while work is not available due to the downturn in demand for air travel. Where it is of benefit to the employee, WestJet will use CEWS to keep the inactive employee on the payroll to ensure they remain connected to the company.

ALPA will communicate specific details to WestJet, WestJet Encore and Swoop Pilots and WestJet will not be providing further information.

Connect with WestJet on Facebook at facebook.com/westjet

Follow WestJet on Twitter at twitter.com/westjet

Follow WestJet on Instagram instagram.com/westjet/

Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at youtube.com/westjet

Read the WestJet blog at blog.westjet.com

SOURCE WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership

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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Fri, May 1, 2020 19:03 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56ae63 2 Entertainment The-Wire,united-states,television,series,David-Simon Free

US screenwriter David Simon said Friday that his new Baltimore-based TV series will not involve actors from his earlier gritty crime drama The Wire, contradicting details provided by his collaborator in an interview.

On Thursday, Simon's co-writer on The Wire George Pelecanos told French magazine Society that he was working with Simon and Wire writer Ed Burns on a new project.

Pelecanos said the show would involve actors from The Wire and again be set in Baltimore, a port city plagued by violence and poverty.

The new show would focus "on the city's police force which, in the past few years, has had to deal with several major corruption scandals within its ranks," he said.

When asked on Twitter about the interview, Simon -- who also co-created Treme and The Plot Against America for premium cable network HBO -- initially confirmed the project was legit.

"Real. But not a sequel," he wrote.

Read also: 'The Plot Against America' goes for daring Trump parallel

But on Friday Simon said "something got lost in translation" and that the new series has "exactly nothing to do with The Wire or any of its actors."

"Same writers, same city. Different story, different actors. No connection to Wire universe save that it is in Baltimore and deals with law enforcement. That's it."

The Wire, which ran for five seasons on HBO from 2002 to 2008, is widely considered to be one of the best drama series of all time.

The series follows the drug trade in Baltimore -- as seen through the eyes of the cops, the drug dealers, the politicians and those who run the port.

It also looked at the East Coast city's dismal education system.

Idris Elba (Luther, the Thor films), Michael B Jordan (Black Panther) and Dominic West (The Affair) are among the many actors who starred on the show, which was hailed for its realism.
It goes without saying that government agencies and the contractors supporting them all adjusted how they function during the coronavirus pandemic as the work has to go on.

Whether those changes are permanent for a post-COVID world and the ever-important question of getting paid were two items of analyst inquiry for publicly-traded government contractors this week.

How soon is the virtual and distributed future?

Companies that provide technology and other professional services to federal agencies have for the most part shifted to their employees working from home. But supporting classified programs remains a challenge. Some have had to stay home, or work part-time and in shifts to keep in-person gatherings smaller.

During CACI Internationals fiscal third quarter call Thursday, CEO John Mengucci sounded hopeful the current situation causes a rethink by government agencies in terms of where and how the work gets done. The company stood up a temporary secure facility for one program because the government site was not accessible.

CACI is also increasingly working on secure mobility and looking at what Mengucci called distributed classified development in an unclassified manner. The company has conducted two pilots with intelligence agencies.

That's the kind of thinking that I think we're going to see be much more discussed and customers much more open to figure out, number one, protect national security assets and the way we go about protecting this nation, Mengucci said. Number two, we need to find ways to do it in a manner that are not so building square foot-centric as they are today.

In ManTechs first quarter call Wednesday, CEO Kevin Phillips spoke more in terms of what a future distributed classified workforce could look like going forward versus what it looks like today based on two factors.

One is supporting the necessary distribution of secured facilities, and the other is to allow or accommodate for a non-classified portion of work, so we can help scale that workforce as well, Phillips said.

There are needs for distributed environments for classified work, and that's where our investments are going. There may be a potential or a shift in work toward an unclassified portion of that over time that will allow for more work to be done outside of a secured facility.

General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic did not sound as certain about what the future looks like during that companys first quarter call Wednesday. To Novakovic, its too early to have seen anything that one could realistically discern a trend from regarding cloud migration or a much more distributed workforce.

We haven't seen a wholesale strategic or structural shift in the way that our customer is thinking about either the cloud or its mission in a post COVID environment, Novakovic said. I suspect naturally there will be some, again, as we think about how long do we keep social distancing, how long do we keep integrated shifts and rolling shifts. So I think some of that will play out.

Is the federal money flowing?

Both ManTech and CACI would answer yes to that question and so too would the ECS Federal segment of ASGN.

For ASGNs first fiscal quarter, ECS reported a contract backlog of $2.7 billion as of that periods end for a ratio of 3 times the segments revenue on a trailing 12-month basis to account for seasonality.

ECS first quarter revenue climbed 26 percent year-over-year to $212.7 million and President George Wilson told analysts Thursday that even with COVID and the way that the government is moving forward, we feel very strongly about being able to capture our unfunded backlog as well.

We covered ManTech and CACIs quarterly results yesterday in more detail, including how they see their fiscal years playing out for them. They also gave some industry-wide perspectives on how procurement and award activity inside agencies is taking place.

We're seeing them continuing to push very aggressively on a procurement process on awards with some incremental delays just based on the availability of people based on working remotely, ManTechs Phillips said Wednesday. The exception to that is in the intelligence community where people physically have to be on site to be able to access the data. From the customer side, that is going to create some delays, and there might be some extensions as a result, but it's too early to tell.

"(The) government is still running. We're seeing award decisions. We are seeing (requests for proposals) coming out, Mengucci said. Several bids are going to include virtual presentations as we and our customers adjust to this new operating environment.

Regarding the current work, all companies that spoke this week seem to be in agreement that accelerated payments from the Defense Department and other agencies are working and they are largely being received.

ManTech Chief Financial Officer Judy Bjornaas said they did not see a major delay in ability to collect cash given most of our customers permit electronic invoicing, while CACI CFO Tom Mutryn said the government payment offices (and) the government approval processes are intact.

The government is obligated to pay their bills. They pay their bills, Mutryn said.
The Secret Service paid President Donald Trump's hotel more than $33,000 for a four-and-a-half-month stay in 2017, it has been reported.

The 137-night booking at the Trump International Hotel was to guard Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin before he moved into his $12.6million home late spring.

Mnuchin booked a standard room with two beds, according to a receipt obtained in a public records request. But Mnuchin paid for his own lodging, sources told the Washington Post.

Still the Secret Service spent $33,154 in taxpayer money for room 531.

The Secret Service racked up $33,000 in bills staying at the Trump Hotel in 2017 so they could guard Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin

Receipts show he was booked into a modest room with two beds over a course of months

The accommodation he stayed in joins on to the plush Franklin Suite at the hotel in Washington DC

They also had use of the adjoining Franklin Suite, which was not mentioned on the bill for the room, according to the Post.

It's reported the modest room was simply used to screen mail, laundry and visitors.

A spokesperson for the Treasury Secretary confirmed the Secret Service rented out that room also however said Mnuchin didn't know how much would be billed.

'The Secretary was not aware of what the U.S. Secret Service paid for the adjoining room,' the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson also told the Post that Mnuchin did stay in a suite at the hotel for a discounted rate but couldn't recall how much it cost.

The Trump Hotel charged a rate of $242 per night, the maximum they were allowed to spend on accommodations in 2017. That room was worth an average of $616 per night.

The marble-floored 2,000 sq ft suite with a table that seats six would usually rent for $8,300 per night.

Trump was inaugurated January 20 and Mnuchin checked in January 25. The final payment to the hotel was made June 12.

Presidents cannot take money from the federal government.

Secretary Steve Mnuchin moved into his $12.6million home late spring after buying it in February

The Post believes that the Secret Service has paid the Trump Organization $620,000 since Trump began his term.

The sum is made up of 170 separate payments.

Among those payments is a bill from June 28, when Trump held a fundraising dinner there, that was for $33,638. Documents did not state what it was for but the total would be enough to rent exactly 139 rooms at a rate of $242, the Post reported.

The Secret Service declined to comment for the story, telling the Post they wouldn't discuss 'the means and methods we utilize to carry out our protective responsibilities.'

The White House also decline to comment and the Trump Organization, which now runs the hotels under the control of Eric and Donald Trump Jr. didn't respond to a request for comment.
As the United States seeks to reopen its economy, U.S. companies want their Mexican factories to come back to life  but Mexico's coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen. Read more

MEXICO CITY  For years, the United States outfitted its armed forces and hospitals with products made partially in Mexican factories, trusting that the world's busiest cross-border supply chain could withstand any crisis.

Then came the novel coronavirus, and a new question: Would Mexico keep its workers on the line to continue producing goods considered "essential" to the United States?

Within weeks of the World Health Organization's declaration of a pandemic, major U.S. manufacturers were complaining that their Mexican factories were being shuttered without notice.

Mexico's federal government said it would leave open "businesses necessary to confront the emergency," but left the implementation to individual state governors, whose approaches have been mixed. In many cases, companies deemed essential in the United States have had their operations shuttered in Mexico. Mexican state officials have broadcast unannounced visits to factories live on social media, ordering them closed as workers looked on.

After decades of increasing economic interdependence, the pandemic is challenging the premise of globalization, leaving countries more clearly prioritizing their own interests. Governments around the world are reopening their economies on different timelines and under disparate policies, threatening longtime trade relationships.

The supply chains linking the United States, Mexico and Canada have grown so robust and sophisticated in the decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed that they have come to feel almost borderless. The interiors of many Boeing airplanes are now made in Tijuana, the city where Lockheed Martin does some of its electrical work. Both military and civilian aircraft are constructed using components sourced across North America.

But as the first coronavirus cases hit Mexico, workers here began raising concerns that they were risking their lives to provide for the U.S. defense and health-care industries, along with other sectors north of the Rio Grande. Demonstrators fanned out to factories across Mexico's industrial corridor.

As the United States seeks to reopen its economy, U.S. companies want their Mexican factories to come back to life  but Mexico's coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen. The country has reported more than 17,799 cases and 1,732 deaths, but officials say that's probably a significant undercount. The trade relationship between the United States and Mexico faces one of its most uncertain moments in years.

In April, the Pentagon said Mexico's supply chain was "somewhat problematic for us." On Thursday, Ellen Lord, the Defense Department's undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters there had been some improvement. Mexico, she said, "has taken great strides to evaluate firms and their contribution to U.S. national security requirements." She declined to provide details.

In a statement to The Washington Post, the Mexican government said it was aiming "to strike a balance between the measures necessary to mitigate the health crisis and seek to maintain essential economic activities in operation."

"The three countries are jointly planning the gradual reopening of the economies of North America, always in the safest and most efficient way possible," the ministries of health and foreign affairs said in the joint statement.

U.S. health-care companies have already been affected. In mid-April, the governor of Baja California closed a factory belonging to Smiths Medical Inc., where ventilator components were produced, because the Minneapolis-based company said its products were made for export.

Smiths did not respond to a request for comment.

A company that produces air conditioning units for U.S. hospitals was also shuttered, as was a firm that makes water heaters for hospitals. In some cases, the production of medical devices was permitted, but the production of the cardboard boxes in which those devices were transported was halted.

"These companies don't support or contribute to the state," Baja California governor Jaime Bonilla Valdez said. During "the health emergency, they are considered [to be performing] nonessential activities."

The closures have shaken major U.S. government contractors, whose work is deemed essential north of the border, but not south of it. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has not clarified whether U.S. defense or health-care manufacturers should remain open.

"Companies are left scratching their heads when they learn that their partners in Mexico don't see what they do as an essential service, even as they're called to do pandemic response," said Dak Hardwick, the assistant vice president for international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association.

The National Association of Manufacturers wrote to Lopez Obrador that his government's lack of clarity "has resulted in the shuttering of essential manufacturing facilities across Mexico, including those that serve as the backbone to critical infrastructure across our continent, potentially weakening our response to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Few events have raised such pressing questions about the mechanics of the international supply chain. In the 26 years since NAFTA was signed, the trends for manufacturing here were mostly positive: hundreds of thousands of new jobs created in Mexico; inexpensive, efficient production for the United States.

Even after both countries elected populist presidents wary of a frictionless North American supply chain, the concept of a continental free-trade zone endured: The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to NAFTA signed by the three countries last year, is due to take effect July 1. Before the coronavirus, that felt like a codification of the region's commercial ties.

The NAFTA bylaws allow its members to act in their own interests "in times of war or other emergency in international relations." But until now, that contingency has rarely been tested.

Luis de la Calle, who helped craft NAFTA as Mexico's undersecretary for international trade negotiations in the 1990s, said the countries did not coordinate ahead of the pandemic "in a joint fashion."

"They should have agreed that if one country deems a sector to be essential, the two other countries should deem suppliers essential," de la Calle said. "But that's not what happened here."

In Ciudad Juarez, where Lear Corp. produces car seat covers, workers began falling ill in March. By April, as many as 13 had died of the coronavirus, according to employees. Lear declined to confirm numbers.

"Due to COVID-19, we have seen a tragic situation of fatalities in the city of Juarez including our Rio Bravo facility, which we closed on March 27, prior to government orders," Lear said in a statement. "These deaths have occurred despite the early implementation at Rio Bravo of COVID-19 protocols, the same protocols that have been successful in limiting the impact of the virus within our facilities globally, including those in China, Italy, Spain and U.S."

Protesters began arriving at Lear's factory and others where workers were said to have become sick. They held signs and chanted through megaphones.

"These companies are worried about their supply chains, but it's the workers who are dying," said Susana Prieto Terrazas, a labor activist in Ciudad Juarez. "And if all they do is export, how is that essential to Mexico?"

Workers in a Tijuana factory that produces diapers for export told The Washington Post that social distancing was impossible. They said employees have been told to stand in their usual positions along a conveyor belt, a foot from each other.

"We handle the diapers without gloves, and we touch our faces. They did not give us masks, so those diapers can be contaminated and go to the United States," said Maria, 28, who declined to give her last name because she worried she would be fired.

She said she became sick last week with several coronavirus symptoms. She went to a doctor, she said, but was not tested for COVID-19. Shes now recovering at home.

U.S. and Mexican industry groups say they believe most production can continue safely with more shifts and fewer workers per shift, and additional health measures.

"The work conditions of these factories are safer than the conditions outside for many workers," said Carlos Higuera, president of Tijuana's economic development corporation. "When they are outside, many of them are congregating in markets; they are in small spaces with many people, where they are more likely to get sick."

But in the state of Baja California, where Tijuana is located, politicians have been vocal in their opposition to companies operating through the pandemic.

"Employers do not want to stop earning money, and prefer to sacrifice their workers before their profits," Bonilla said.

The state labor ministry has posted photos and videos of officials forcing factories to shut down. In one series of images, officials visit Sensata, a U.S. company that produces sensors used by the automobile, aerospace and health-care industries. Its Tijuana factory produces material for ventilators used in U.S. hospitals.

The state officials said they were responding to workers' complaints about a lack of social distancing and other health and safety concerns. They asked Sensata executives to "fulfill the mandate of closing nonessential activities," the labor secretary posted on Facebook.

"We respectfully disagree with the implication that the working conditions in the Tijuana facility are unsafe," said Alexia Taxiarchos, a company spokeswoman. "We have taken all necessary measures to keep our people safe. We have 22,000 employees globally and fewer than five confirmed cases currently, which is a testament to how seriously we are taking this."

The company wrote to the government explaining why its work should be deemed essential, and officials allowed it to reopen.

Across the manufacturing industry, the closures have left U.S. suppliers deeply worried.

"We get reports of more shutdowns and reopenings every day," said Hardwick, of the aerospace industry group. "The guidelines keep changing. It feels like it depends on individual health inspectors and factories. Our companies play by the rules. It's that the rules are inconsistent."

Many U.S. production facilities in industries deemed essential have continued to operate during the country's outbreak. Others closed temporarily and are now reopening.

Mexico is several weeks or more behind the U.S. epidemiological curve. U.S. companies worry that what initially appeared to be a temporary setback could be a long-term one, threatening the future of the North American supply line.

But if the supply problems can be solved, analysts say, there's reason to hope for a more prosperous future.

If North American supply chains prove to be reliable during the pandemic, said de la Calle, the amount of investment that would shift here from Asia would be enormous.
The new coronavirus will have an enduring disruptive impact on supply chains as consumers revert to the one large, weekly shop typical around a decade ago and stockpile essentials, the head of Kerry Group, said on Thursday.

One of the world's largest makers of food ingredients, with 150 manufacturing facilities across the world, Ireland's Kerry Group said stockpiling of long-life products had broken a well-established link between purchasing and consumption, making planning by producers challenging.

"From an industry perspective the knock-on effects of all these dynamics are profound. The robustness of supply chains is clearly being tested," Chief Executive Edmond Scanlon told the company's annual general meeting.

Overall, consumption patterns are returning to those seen 10 or 15 years ago when people tended to do one large weekly shop at a local supermarket, Scanlon said.

"Trips are much more functional and deliberate. People are sticking to shopping lists with a very noticeable decrease in impulse purchases," he said.

Kerry reported group revenue up 3.4% in the first three months of the year, and said the impact in the second quarter would be "much more significant." The company withdrew its earnings guidance for the full year because of the uncertainty.

Sales volumes in Kerry's core taste and nutrition business were up 1.2% in the quarter compared to an estimated increase of 4% without any coronavirus restrictions.

Sales volumes in Kerry's consumer food business, which includes the brands Dairygold butter and Richmond sausages, declined by 4.8% in the first quarter.

In a sign of normality returning, Scanlon said Kerry's ingredients business in China, where many coronavirus restrictions on movements have been eased, had returned to 2019 levels after falling 30% in the first quarter.

But he said there would be significant volatility ahead with pressure on pricing as consumers switched to cheaper products because of the economic impact of the coronavirus. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
A person recovered from



COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, officials said on Friday.

The man, who is in his early 30s, had tested positive after coming in contact with a 39-year-old police radio operator from the Bambooflat area, they said.

The total number of active cases in the Union Territory dropped to 17 with the fresh recovery, said Avijit Roy, the nodal officer for COVID-19 here.

The Union Territory, home to several vulnerable tribes, has reported 33 cases. Eleven of them -- 10 with links to the Tablighi Jamat event in Delhi and a student who travelled with them in a flight from Kolkata to Port Blair -- were declared cured weeks back.

The police radio operator tested positive for the COVID-19 on April 17 and 21 persons who came in contact with him got infected. They were either his family members or neighbours or acquaintances.

The police radio operator and three of his family members were declared cured on Wednesday.

Those declared cured will have to remain in institutional quarantine for 28 days and will be discharged after that, Roy had earlier said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kyle Sandilands has revealed the strict phone rule he has for everyone who visits his home, including his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson.

The controversial radio star, 48, has taken the extreme measure of confiscating his guests' mobile phones to ensure nobody can film him doing something that 'would get him into trouble'.

'No filming goes on in my house,' he said on the Kyle and Jackie O Show on Friday.

Put that away! Kyle Sandilands (pictured) has revealed the strict phone rules he enforces at home to make sure he never gets in trouble

'Even Jackie knows, that when she comes to my place some big Tongan guy takes her phone and puts it in a plastic seals bag bag with Jackie written on it in Texta and it lives in a basket by the front door,' Kyle explained.

He added: No filming, never, you never will. Once someone filmed something inside the house and I had the footage back within 17 hours with an apology.

'Let me tell you, I could have gotten quite unstuck with that footage.'

Don't film me! 'Even Jackie knows, that when she comes to my place, some big Tongan guy takes her phone and puts it in a plastic seals bag bag with Jackie written on it in Texta and it lives in a basket by the front door,' Kyle explained.

It comes after Kyle bizarrely admitted he smoked cigarettes in the shower on the radio show earlier this week.

While discussing drinking alcoholic beverages in the bathroom on his KIIS FM radio show, the 48-year-old said: 'I'm a shower smoker.'

'It's not that difficult because I've got the ashtray sticking out of the wall,' he told Jackie.

'I'm a shower smoker!' Kyle Sandilands (pictured) revealed his unusual shower habit on his KIIS FM radio show on Wednesday

Jackie jokingly informed him: 'Kyle that's your soap dish not an ashtray and you know that.'

This isn't the first time Kyle has spoken about his unhealthy bathroom smoking habit as he also previously said on his breakfast show: 'It's not the best way to smoke, but smoking in the shower is a whole different thing.'

He explained: 'To tell you the truth, If I'm going to be honest with you...you think "Oh, I've got a ciggie I've started the shower, I'm nude" and then I think, "A little bit of a suck halfway through and then it's done".'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 12:06:33|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The top U.S. intelligence agency said Thursday the country's intelligence community does not believe the coronavirus was manmade or genetically modified.

The U.S. intelligence community "concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement.

The ODNI said it was investigating whether the virus emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, although the rumor has been repeatedly dismissed among scientists, who generally believe the virus jumped from animals to humans in some natural way involving farming, hunting or the transporting of wild animals.

Citing current and former U.S. officials, The New York Times reported Thursday that senior Trump administration officials pushed intelligence agencies to hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory that a lab in Wuhan was the origin of the outbreak as President Donald Trump escalated a public campaign to blame China for the pandemic.

Some intelligence analysts are concerned that the pressure from those officials will distort assessments about the virus and that they could be used as a political weapon, according to the report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), took the lead in pushing intelligence agencies for more information, said the report, adding that Matthew Pottinger, Trump's deputy national security adviser, pressed intelligence agencies off and on since January to gather information that "might support any origin theory linked to a lab."

The report also said that Anthony Ruggiero, the head of the National Security Council's bureau tracking weapons of mass destruction, expressed frustration during a video conference in January that the CIA was unable to get behind any theory of the outbreak's origin.

Most intelligence agencies remain skeptical that conclusive evidence of a link to a lab can be found, and scientists who have studied the genetics of the coronavirus say that the overwhelming probability is that it leapt from animal to human in a nonlaboratory setting, as was the case with HIV, Ebola and SARS, according to the report.

As COVID-19 deaths continue to increase in the United States, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have tried desperately to deflect criticisms about their blunders by blaming others.

As of Thursday noon, the United States reported more than 1.04 million COVID-19 cases with over 61,000 deaths, according to a tally from the Johns Hopkins University.
The Uganda Medical Association (UMA) has asked President Museveni to translate his appreciation of their service into their pockets.

The UMA secretary general, Dr Mukuzi Muhereza, yesterday told Daily Monitor that government was paying Shs80,000 per day to both nurses and doctors as an allowance yet they are at the frontline in the battle against the deadly Covid-19.

"Nurses and auxiliary staff were comfortable but it was like a slap in the face of doctors. It was very little compared to qualification and the payment in the region," Dr Muhereza said in an interview.

On average, Dr Muhereza said they should earn at least Shs500,000 per day in isolation centres.

He said their demand for a better pay has not been achieved and they continue to receive peanuts in the face of limited equipment to work with and the risks involved.

According to Dr Muhereza, they want the President to increase their salaries to at least Shs40 million a month for senior consultants, whose pay was recently revised to Shs7 million.

He said most of the medical specialties have been forced to work outside the country because of low motivation.

"It is a big issue. Shs80,000 is like an insult. Then add the risk being that you are the one handling patients who are very infectious. That pride if it doesn't translate into the pockets means nothing," Dr Muhereza said.

He gave an example that although the country has graduated 52 anaesthetists, only eight are within the country with four working in the government facilities.

"That is a course you will not want to do. You will go in theatre first and you will be the last to leave. Surgeons will come and cut what they want to cut and leave the patient with the anaesthesia. You will not leave the theatre until your patient stabilises. It's a thankless job. Those in private sector are moving from hospital to hospital. Those who can't do anything like that have run away," Dr Muhereza added.

Dr Muhereza said they had petitioned the Ministry of Health to revise the allowance being paid to those treating Covid-19 patients to at least Shs500,000 a day.

"We are negotiating. We brought the issue to Ministry of Health and said they were going to talk to Ministry of Finance and Public Service because the rates were issued by Public Service," he said.

He added: "Saying thank you is okay. But if you don't move towards implementation, you are just verbal. We wanted senior consultants to earn Shs40 million. Guess what they got, about Shs7 million. A senior consultant is at the level of a Supreme Court judge."

On Tuesday, President Museveni thanked the medics for their effort in the fight against coronavirus.

He said of the 79 confirmed cases in the country, 52 had healed after treatment.

"I am told those still in hospital are in good condition. Our medical workers are very skilled and knowledgeable. I am proud of them. They are capable people," Mr Museveni said.

President Museveni has in the previous addresses narrated his frustrations in lobbying to have scientists paid better and used the current situation facing the country such as locust invasion, the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising water levels on Lake Victoria to canvass support from the public to appreciate their relevance above their colleagues in the humanities.

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President speaks to families

Meanwhile, President Museveni also asked couples to use the lockdown to bond and learn to live together as the country depends on strong families.

Mr Museveni said he will have a discussion with traditional and religious leaders to see how to strengthen families with core values.

"Lockdown is making families stay together. The situation has forced husbands and wives to live together. You can't have a country without families. Having strong families is part of building a strong country," he said, adding: "Whatever issues you have among adults should never affect the children. If the children are sheltered and protected, I think we shall have strong family."

pahimbisibwe@ug.nationmedia.com
01.05.2020 LISTEN

The enemy is not one another, the enemy is this virus

The virus is the enemy and not one another.

The Covid-19 Broadcasts

Last Sunday night, Ghanaians were subjected to yet another national broadcast on Covid-19. If the quotes above give off a whiff of plagiarism, the question that should naturally follow is: Who is doing the plagiarising? Elementary, my dear Dr. Watson! No marks for getting the correct answerThe answer has been trending on social media.

Mr. Cathedral

Mr. Cathedral rode into office after Election 2016 boasting to deliver on all sorts of goodies promised during his campaign period. But instead, even before he had settled in to appreciate the enormity of the office he had taken over, he had drawn a proselytising sword, like some Middle Ages crusader, to push through his agenda of Christianising the entire multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-faith secular state that has defined Ghana since independence. This defining character was entrenched three years after independence when Ghana became a Republic on July 1 1960 doing away with Queen Elizabeth II who as Head of the Church of England, was no longer our Head of State and therefore any vestiges of Eurocentric theocracy was severed once and for allIt has served us very well and fostered the peaceful coexistence of the different faiths in Ghana. But Mr. Cathedral now never misses any opportunity to poke the eyes of other faiths with his constant bleat of Ghana being a Christian state. Actually, it is NOT!

Mr. Cathedral made the building of a national cathedral the signature project of his mandate, but last Sunday, he more or less, confessed to the folly of this hubris. Covid-19 had brought him down to earth with the reality that the priority of priorities is the construction of hospitals, clinics, health centres and related facilities, as wisely pursued by his predecessor, not cathedrals!

As so often happens, when a self-deluding politician has blundered, it is not contrition he resorts to, but hyperbole, as his face-saver. In this case, Mr. Cathedral announced that he would build 88 hospitals across the country, but why did he squander four years refusing to continue or even publicly acknowledge the hospitals and clinics started by the man he took over from? Some of them were near completion, some were completed but never put to their intended use.

Why 88?

Eighty-eight hospitals! That is a very tall order. According to those who know such things, the maths simply does not add up. This is how one such savant summarised it: President Akufo-Addo says he wants to build 88 hospitals. Find attached the 2020 budget as approved by Parliament and captured in the appropriations act [Not included in this commentary]. The approved amount for health infrastructure is 44,396,929 million cedis. Divide the total figure by 88 hospitals and you will realize the president intends spending about 500,000 to build just One of his ultramodern hospitals within the said 8 months. What standard is that going to be? The king is naked Again!!!!

But perhaps a way can be found. It is possible they can see in Covid-19 a true Act of God and for which reason they will scrap the cathedral and utilise the funds earmarked  US$100 million plus  as seed capital for the hospitals. God would most definitely bless such a moral and ethical use of His exalted Name. It is now left to be seen whether they can rise to this higher calling and do the right thing, for as we all know, cosmetic expressions of sanctimonious piety hardly find favour with the Lord. All the Great Holy Books are unanimous on that one.

88 itself is such an unfortunate number and I wonder why they decided on that figure. (Internet Fact Check: Neo-Nazis use the number 88 as an abbreviation for the Nazi salute Heil Hitler. The letter H is eighth in the alphabet, whereby 88 becomes HH. Often, this number is associated with the number 14, e.g. 14/88, 14-88, or 1488; this number symbolizes the Fourteen Words coined by David Lane, a prominent white supremacist)

Insincerity

It is not for me to provide any interpretation here. All that I can say is that, t his does not look like an auspicious beginning to Mr. Cathedrals hospitals! Another thing: I am finding it very difficult to shake off a deep-seated gut feeling of insincerity regarding Mr. Cathedrals handling of this Covid-19 thing. As I said, it is a gut feeling, but he has come across to me as someone milking and massaging it for partisan political gain. A fertile imagination? Perhaps. But I am almost certain that some action may be taken in the coming week or two to downgrade Covid-19 to get Mrs. Jean Mensa and Dr. Ken Attafuah to roll out their Election 2020 masterplan of winning the election for Mr. Cathedral even before a single vote has been castA gut feeling  yes, but already: 1) Contempt shown by the EC against the injunction placed on its activities and subsequent publication of a timetable to commence its controversial new voters register, 2) The governments shamefaced sankofa to Mahama era health projects with claims that they had not been abandoned and 3) Election 2020 even right now may already have been compromised through NIA Ghana Card registration. If the EC in its febrile preparation towards a new register is allowed to get away with it, the outcome would be the icing on the poisonous cake baked by the NIA.

Insomnia

I am worried. Nana Kofi Coomson sounded the alarm a few years ago about Mr. Cathedral and honestly, my insomnia is increasing by the dayIt is now universally accepted that one of the leading causes of violent breakdown in many a developing country is election-related. Cant Jean Mensa and Ken Attafuah see the precipice they are leading us to with their acquiescence to a blatant cheating strategy? As we pray for Covid-19 to leave us alone, we must also pray constantly for the EC and the NIA to do the right thing and save Ghana from the trauma of election Armageddon
S hips on the River Thames joined hundreds of vessels worldwide to sound their horns for 1.2 million "unsung heroes" stuck at sea during the coronavirus travel restrictions.

The "Heroes at Sea Shout Out" campaign - the maritime equivalent of Clap for our Carers - is encouraging ships across the globe to blast their horns at midday on Friday.

Ports up and down the UK and Ireland also joined the tribute, including the Port of London, Southampton, the Isle of Man and the Port of Cork.

Meanwhile, loud horns have been going off all day across the world with ships in Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and Albania all joining the fanfare.

And even more are set to make themselves heard across the Atlantic to North and South America later today.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ISC), the principle union for global seafarers and transport workers, has organised the campaign to coincide with International Worker's Day.

While ship workers can spend more than six months at sea at one time, they normally have set term limits in place to safeguard their physical and mental health.

And many are now months overdue for going home to see their families while they are unable to disembark for crew changeovers amid the international Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Guy Platten, Secretary General of ICS, said that there are 1.2 million seafarers on board 65,000 ships at sea across the world.

"For the past two months crew change has all but completely stopped," he said.

"This means that crew have not been able to disembark or embark ships at port and terms have had to be extended, but this is not sustainable.

"International Workers Day is the ideal moment to recognise their contribution to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. We thank you."

New ICS data shows that 150,000 seafarers are currently in need of an immediate crew change.

Mr Platten said this number could also increase significantly until travel restrictions are eased.

On Friday May 1, ships around the world will sound their horns in a salute to these unsung heroes of global trade," he said.

"We are asking governments to support our seafarers, as they support us, and facilitate coordinated action.
ORANGE, Calif., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To commemorate the upcoming Cinco de Mayo holiday, the makers of CHI-CHI'S products, the nation's celebration-focused salsa, tortilla and chip brand, are going to help make everyone's quarantine 'Mucho Better' with live, socially-distanced mariachi music on Tuesday, May 5 for "Singo de Mayo." Partnering with the Mariachi Heritage Foundation, a Chicago-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that exists to affirm, celebrate and preserve the rich cultural heritage of mariachi music and other Mexican heritage arts, the salsa maker has commissioned band members to perform classics virtually using Zoom  reminding people that, even in these unprecedented times, every day can be a little better with CHI-CHI'S salsa and good music. The makers of CHI-CHI'S products will also donate $10,000 to the Mariachi Heritage Foundation to assist its many members who find themselves out of work or falling on hard times as a result of the pandemic-related lockdown.

CHI-CHI'S "Singo de Mayo"

"Cinco de Mayo is all about celebrating Mexican culture with good food, close friends and familyand of course, fun music," said Tanya Sexton, brand manager at MegaMex Foods. "In a time like this, when you can't go to a party, we wanted to bring a party to you! We hope that having a live mariachi band joining in-home Cinco de Mayo parties with our fans will help brighten everyone's day."

Throughout the day on May 5, the company has arranged for a mariachi band to continually play in a virtual celebration. Fans can have the chance to experience a private 30-minute mariachi session, and can sign up for their chance to win by visiting here: tinyurl.com/singodemayochichis. The company will let selected fans know about their time slot and give out a Zoom link, so that on Cinco de Mayo, they and their friends can join-in and listen to and interact with the band live, at their designated time. At the end of the day, there will be a live, virtual happy hour concert from 6-7 p.m. CT where fans from across the nation can enjoy mariachi together on YouTube. To further assist the mariachi performers, listeners can also show their gratitude by donating to the foundation here. Learn more on the CHI-CHI'S brand Facebook and Instagram pages, or by clicking here.

The makers of CHI-CHI'S products hope that the mariachi music will add a little liveliness to everyone's Cinco de Mayo celebrations. To spice up your food spread, be sure to look to the CHI-CHI'S brand lineup for a wide variety of Mexican food favorites, including salsas, sauces, tortillas and chips. For additional information about "Singo de Mayo," recipes or where to buy CHI-CHI'S products, please visit www.chichis.com. You can also follow the brand on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT THE CHI-CHI'S BRAND

CHI-CHI'S brand is a premier Mexican food brand of MegaMex Foods, based in Orange, California. Originally established in the early '70s, the CHI-CHI'S brand was one of America's first popular Mexican restaurants. Its legacy of colorful, family fun lives on in retail stores with a full line of delicious sauces, tasty tortillas and legendary salsa. For more information about CHI-CHI'S products, please visit www.chichis.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Contact: Vitoria Perez

Havas Formula

(619) 831-8002

[email protected]

SOURCE CHI-CHIS

Related Links

https://www.salsas.com/chi-chis


MONTREAL, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL; TSX and NYSE) today announced that the eleven nominees proposed as directors in its management proxy circular dated March 4, 2020 were elected as directors of the Company by a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders or represented by proxy at its virtual annual meeting of shareholders held on April 30, 2020 in Montreal. The voting results are detailed below:



NOMINEES FOR WITHHELD Number % Number % William D. Anderson 153,646,546 95.16 7,811,910 4.84 Donald C. Berg 160,805,848 99.60 652,611 0.40 Maryse Bertrand 158,881,106 98.40 2,577,354 1.60 Marc Caira 159,510,295 98.79 1,948,161 1.21 Glenn J. Chamandy 161,236,467 99.86 221,992 0.14 Shirley E. Cunningham 159,623,289 98.86 1,835,170 1.14 Russell Goodman 157,794,135 97.73 3,664,324 2.27 Charles M. Herington 159,620,085 98.86 1,838,375 1.14 Luc Jobin 160,696,485 99.53 761,974 0.47 Craig A. Leavitt 160,270,065 99.26 1,188,394 0.74 Anne Martin-Vachon 160,184,778 99.21 1,273,682 0.79

About Gildan

Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel which markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands, including Gildan, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, Gildan Hammer, Prim + Preux, Gold Toe, Anvil by Gildan, Alstyle, Secret, Silks, Kushyfoot, Secret Silky, Therapy Plus, Peds and MediPeds, and under the Under Armour brand through a sock licensing agreement providing exclusive distribution rights in the United States and Canada. Our product offering includes activewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and legwear products sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or e-commerce platforms, and to global lifestyle brand companies.

Gildan owns and operates vertically-integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean Basin, North America, and Bangladesh. With approximately 51,000 employees worldwide Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labour and environmental practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive Genuine Responsibility program embedded in the Company's long-term business strategy. More information about the Company and its corporate citizenship practices and initiatives can be found at www.gildancorp.com and www.genuineresponsibility.com, respectively.

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Investor inquiries:

Sophie Argiriou

Vice President, Investor Communications

(514) 343-8815

sargiriou@gildan.com Media inquiries:

Genevieve Gosselin

Director, Corporate Marketing and Communications

(514) 343-8814

ggosselin@gildan.com




Toyota trucks are again getting some unwanted, by the manufacturer (officially anyway) publicity. This was the result of a Western anti-corruption NGO (Non-government organization) working in Sudan after dictator (since 1989) Omar al Bashir was overthrown in early 2019. The NGO gained access to documents about where the Bashir-supported RSF (Rapid Support Forces) irregular militias were getting their weapons and equipment.

One item of interest details where the RSF had gotten their new pickup trucks. This was unusual because some 90 percent of the vehicles Sudan imports each year are second-hand. Yet here were documents showing that the government had recently purchased 900 new Toyota pickup trucks, mainly for use by the RSF.

Since 2017 the RSF had been under the control of the Sudanese military and that provided justification for all manner of government support. The 30,000 man RSF was formed in 2013 by the National Intelligence and Security Services, who wanted more control over the Janjaweed (pro-government tribal militias) that participated in some of the more notorious operations in western Sudan (the Darfur region).

Bashir used the Janjaweed to fight rebellions tribes in Darfur, as well as any tribes the Janjaweed wanted to displace from their land so Janjaweed members could have it. Janjaweed had also been used in southern Sudan against non-Moslem separatist tribes that eventually (2012) became independent South Sudan.

The RSF was Bashirs private army, and its atrocities were so frequent and numerous that Bashir was indicted as a war criminal in 2007 by the International Criminal Court. The new Sudan government sought to distance itself from all the sanctions connected with Bashir's bad behavior and made government documents available to NGOs that specialize in scrutinizing this data to determine who did what, when and to who. The new government also wanted to reduce the rampant corruption in Sudan, which was one of the reasons Bashir was finally ousted, despite the police state security system he had created. Because the RSF had been absorbed into the army there were a lot of documents detailing what equipment was received and those 900 Toyota trucks were a notable item because for Sudan such large purchases were unusual.

There were plenty of Toyota trucks in Sudan, and throughout Africa and the Middle East. While the Toyota Hilux pickup is fourth in worldwide annual sales (of about half a million a year) it is first in Africa and that has been the case for half a century. Add the Toyota Cruiser pickup and you can see why Toyota trucks so often show up in photos of irregular fighters throughout the region.

While most Sudanese vehicle imports are second-hand vehicles there are a few dealers in the country that can provide the new vehicles and these account for about ten percent of the imported cars and trucks. Purchasing a large number of new vehicles usually goes through dealers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) who have long specialized in that sort of thing. More importantly, the Saudi and UAE dealers are discreet and, once payment has been taken care of, the vehicles will arrive via ship at just about any designated port.

The NGO was able to use government documents and social media and commercial satellite photos to track the movement of this large number of new Toyota pickup trucks to the RSF and then to the various parts of Sudan where the RSF has been most active. The RSF is still in business despite talk of disbanding it, so any investigations by foreign NGOs have to be conducted at a distance. Sudan wants to disarm and disband the RSF without a lot of violence and chaos. A lot of those RSF Toyotas could disappear with their heavily armed users and create more rural violence.

Toyota trucks have been a notable feature of African and Middle Eastern rebel and Islamic terrorist groups for decades. One way to date unidentified photos of these irregulars is to study the Toyota trucks shown. There have been eight distinct generations of Toyota Hilux trucks since the 1960s and it is easy to tell the generations apart. As rugged as the Toyota pickups are, they dont last long as combat vehicles. In commercial use these trucks will often last several decades without much maintenance or any repairs.

The Toyota Hilux has been in the news before because it was the favorite mode of transportation for one particular and notorious armed group. In 2015 it was discovered that ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) had paid a lot of money to persuade Middle Eastern Toyota dealers to provide the Islamic terror group with thousands of Toyota Hilux pickup trucks. The base price was about $20,000 but add in bribes and other expenses and ISIL probably spent over $100 million since 2013 to equip its forces with the coveted Hilux.

This came as no surprise to Toyota which has been selling the Hilux models to Middle Eastern customers for over half a century and has noted that the vehicle is widely popular there. There are two reasons for that reputation. First Hilux was designed to travel easily off roads. There are not a lot of roads in most of the Middle East. Second, the Hilux is built to last. That means the vehicle can take a lot of punishment, or just decades of use, and never break down. This is important in the Middle East where there are not a lot of repair facilities, skilled mechanics, or replacement part dealers.

In 2015 the current Hilux model, introduced in 2004 was the 7th generation truck. This model had sold over five million vehicles up to 2015, over 20 percent of them in the Middle East. Toyota began selling light trucks overseas in the early 1960s and the first Hilux model appeared in 1968. The current model is the 8th generation, and began appearing in 2015 alongside the 7th generation models that ceased production shortly thereafter. Variants of each generation resulted in over a hundred different models, many of them customized to local conditions or tastes.

Often referred to as the one ton truck, the empty weight of most models is about 1.4 tons and these can carry about a ton of fuel, passengers and cargo. The fuel tank holds 76 liters (20 gallons) which will carry a lightly loaded Hilux about 1,000 kilometers on good (urban) roads, but about a third of that if fully loaded and moving across rough terrain.

In combat it is common to see a Hilux turned into a technical by bolting or welding a tripod for a heavy machine-gun (12.7mm or 14mm) to the cargo deck while still being able to carry ten or more armed men. This sort of thing first became widely known during the Libyan "Toyota War" with Chad in the 1970s and 1980s. Libyan troops, equipped with tanks and other armored vehicles, were completely routed by tribal irregulars firing from Toyota technical. These mobile tactics soon saw the Libyan Army expelled from Chad. Experienced war reporters then began to note that the militarized Hilux kept showing up again and again. That was no accident and it explains why ISIL and the RSF made the Toyota Hilux their favored combat vehicle.
Large Canadian retailers are working with mall landlords and the government to find a way to absorb the hit from coronavirus shutdowns, according to the countrys biggest book chain.

We are working very closely with a group of five of the largest landlords in the country and with government to try and encourage a partnership approach with retailers, landlords and government to help us through this period, Heather Reisman, chief executive officer of Indigo Books & Music Inc., said in an interview on BNN Bloomberg TV.

The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program, announced last week, will forgive loans to commercial landlords who agree to reduce rent for small business tenants through April, May and June. But only firms with less than $20 million ($14 million U.S.) in gross annual revenue can apply for the subsidy.

I have been very focused on the majority of retailers which dont fall under the initiative that was announced last week, said Reisman. She said she has been in contact with retailers including Hudsons Bay Co. and Aritzia Inc. and hopes to have more details on the plan next week.

Bigger retailers, who are significant contributors to city taxes, have been struggling with the shutdowns just as smaller stores have been, Reisman said.

The shutdowns were the right thing, but theyve been a massive financial burden, she said.
Democratic lawmakers called on Friday for a formal investigation into allegations that President Trumps political appointees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau improperly interfered in the drafting of a planned regulation on payday lending.

In a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Reserves inspector general, more than a dozen lawmakers asked for an examination of political pressure at the consumer bureau.

The pressure was described in a 14-page memo written by a bureau employee on his final day on the job. The employee, Jonathan Lanning, wrote that Trump appointees had pressured career employees and manipulated research to justify the forthcoming payday rule, which would allow lenders to offer high-interest loans without determining whether customers could afford them. The memo was detailed in a New York Times article on Wednesday.

The request was led by two Democrats on the House Committee on Financial Services: Representatives Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri and Gregory W. Meeks of New York. It was also signed by Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Joe Biden on Friday gave his first public comments on a sexual assault allegation, denying the accusations that have roiled his presidential campaign.

The presumptive Democratic nominee is appearing on MSNBCs Morning Joe to address the allegation by his former Senate staffer Tara Reade that he assaulted her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the 1990s.

Biden released a statement ahead of his MSNBC interview. Citing the full and growing record of inconsistencies in the accusations, Biden said: They arent true. This never happened.

The Washington Post reported that Biden also called on the National Archives to release any record of a complaint Reade says she filed. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there, he said.

His campaign had issued a statement in early April denying the allegation, which became public in March, and a number of former Biden staffers have defended their boss in interviews.

Republicans worried about President Donald Trump's increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

Some in the party have been urging Biden to mount a more forceful response to the allegation.

"The campaign has issued statements, but he hasn't issued any statements in his own voice," said former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile. "It's not helping, it's just damaging  not only to the person who has come forward, but it's also damaging the candidate."

Lis Smith, a top strategist on Pete Buttigiegs presidential campaign, also called on the Biden campaign to speak up. These accusations have not been found to be credible, so its in the Biden campaigns interest to nip this in the bud directly and do it quickly, she said.

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hill's Senate testimony in the 1990s. Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior for which he apologized.

Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, said, "I believe Joe Biden," citing a New York Times investigation that she said exonerated him.

"Women deserve to be heard," she said, "but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources."

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. They pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Biden. Speaking on CNN, she said she was "satisfied with how he has responded," even as she acknowledged "it's a matter that he has to deal with."

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clinton's private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some, most notably women, say they are paying close attention to the allegations, which gave them pause.

Alex Sink, a donor and former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, said she was "not happy" to read about the allegations against Biden. While she still plans to vote for him, she worried his campaign was too quick to categorically deny Reade's story.

"They put themselves immediately out on a limb by saying, 'It didn't happen, we categorically deny it, it's not true,'" Sink said.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because it's an indictment of Biden's central campaign rationale: that he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a "battle for the soul of America."

"The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump  but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign," said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders' organizing director.

Steve Guest, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said "the left, and their media allies, has one standard for Republicans and another standard for Democrats like Joe Biden."

"The double standard," he said, "is appalling."

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE, The Associated Press
In addition to providing fuel for the Stonybrook University Temporary Field hospital on Long Island, as well as the Central Park temporary facility (in partnership with Mt. Sinai Hospital), Approved Oil is proud to be partnering with Sauce Pizzeria, and owner Adam Elzer, to donate fresh pizza to NYC's hardworking medical professionals, FDNY, NYPD, and area food banks.

Beginning the week of April 27th, Approved Oil will be providing pizza delivery to Maimonides Medical Center Brooklyn, Brooklyn Methodist ER, Elmhurst Hospital, and other facilities across Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan as a token of our appreciation.

We are all in this together, and are inspired by the tireless work of these essential workers on behalf of all New Yorkers.

For more on Sauce Pizzeria's Pizza delivery project, please visit:

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/pizzeria-makes-hundreds-of-free-pizzas-for-ny-hospitals-everyday-so-landlord-gives-free-rent/2356025/

For more on Approved Oil's delivery to Temporary Medical Facilities, please visit:

https://local.google.com/place?id=1409369352065039447&use=posts&lpsid=3672584725794089696

Contacts:

Michelle Perrott

718-238-1050 Ext. 537

[email protected]

Jeff Cohn

718-238-1050 Ext. 553

[email protected]

SOURCE Approved Oil Company
Wedgewood Partners, a St. Louis, Missouri-based investment management firm, released its Q1 2020 Investor letter  a copy of which is available for download here. Wedgewood Partners returned -16.30% for the first quarter. Meanwhile, the benchmark Russell 1000 Growth Index and the S&P 500 Index lost 14.10% and 19.60%, respectively.

In the said letter, Wedgewood Partners highlighted a few stocks and Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) is one of them. Keysight Technologies manufactures electronics test and measurement equipment and software. Year-to-date, KEYS stock lost 5.3% and on April 29th it had a closing price of $98.91. Its market cap is of $18.2 billion. Here is what Wedgewood Partners said: "Keysight is the largest developer of software and hardware used for electronic design and test functions in research and development labs around the globe. The Company has roots in the original electronics measurement business of Hewlett-Packard that dates back to the 1930's, which was spun out of HP in 2000 in the form of Agilent Technologies. Agilent subsequently spun Keysight out in 2014. Since its separation from Agilent, Keysights management has ramped up its focus on expanding high-value software and integrated solutions that cater to research and development labs, particularly in wireless and wired communications, aerospace and defense, semiconductor, general industrial, and next-generation automotive applications. Keysight often has a dozen or more engineers working onsite with its largest customers in these segments in order to develop the tools necessary for prototyping, design verification, and field testing of new products. Keysight customers are a whos who list of innovators, including: Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Mediatek, Facebook, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Taiwan Semi, Tesla, U.S. Naval Research Lab, and NASA (to name more than a few), yet Keysight has over 30,000 clients, with very little in the way of customer concentration. The product development at these leading customers is usually spread across several phases, with each phase requiring a different set of test-and-measurement tools, such as oscilloscopes, signal analyzers, logic analyzers, and digitizers. Meanwhile, the customer will make numerous revisions to the product or service in development, requiring repetitional use of the test tools. In order to maintain continuity of customer settings and data for the various test-and-measurement tools during this rapidly shifting development workflow, Keysight offers a software platform called Pathwave. Pathwave automatically replicates many steps that have to be done manually for competing solutions, and helps innovators get their products to market much faster. In turn, Keysight gains valuable knowledge about where industry standards are moving, years in advance, and uses internal R&D spending to quickly expand its cutting-edge solution portfolio to its broader customer base. We estimate around 60% of revenues are derived from recurring software and hardware sales into R&D labs and expect such revenues to continue growing faster than the rest of the Company. Importantly, these solutions tend to have higher margins than Keysight's average corporate profitability, as there is less competition and more value-add, relative to the Companys legacy manufacturing test-and-measurement business.

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Keysight should be able to grow organic revenues at close to double-digit rates over the next several years as it increasingly enables customers in rapidly growing end markets. For example, Keysights largest business segment is focused on serving R&D labs in the wireless and wired communication ecosystems. We expect the Company to benefit from a continued ramp-up in customer investments to develop and rollout the various flavors of 5G air interface technologies over the next several years. In addition, nearly all major automotive manufacturers are increasing the content of electronic systems onboard vehicles  from advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to infotainment  which is a vast new market that Keysight has been recently tapping into. Also, the Company has long served government, aerospace and defense customers, with nearly $1 billion in sales in this sector  particularly focused on communications. The recent passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in the U.S. should enable faster growth than in years past.

We started purchasing Keysight Technologies in early January  before the COVID-19 outbreak began in China and added to positions during COVID-19 related weakness. The stock currently trades at very attractive historical and absolute multiples, and we think the Company has the ability to grow earnings at double digits for several years. As such, Keysight will be competing with existing names in the portfolio for capital as we progress through the year."

In Q4 2019, the number of bullish hedge fund positions on KEYS stock decreased by about 2% from the previous quarter (see the chart here).

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have said the key to overcoming the COIVD-19 pandemic is widespread testing.

As of April 29 at 6 p.m., the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York City reached 162,212, DOH data showed, which represented an additional 2,347 positive cases since the day prior.

Confirmed cases on Staten Island reached 11,752 based on Wednesday nights numbers, and rose by 117 since Tuesday night. There was an increase of 115 positive tests from Monday to Tuesday night.

Officials, however, stress the examinations do not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus.

Staten Island maintained the second highest rate of infection in New York City, and accounts for 7% of the total positive tests across the five boroughs.

Based on the 2018 Census data projections and the DOHs data, 2,468 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders have tested positive for the virus.

CityMD locations:

New Springville: 2187 Richmond Ave., 646-682-7364

New Dorp: 2710 Hylan Blvd., 718-489-3551

West Brighton : 812 Forest Ave., 718-371-9196

Northwell Health/GoHealth Urgent Care:

Great Kills: 125 Greaves Ln., 718-502-8763

Eltingville: 4316 Amboy Rd., 929-282-4146

Graniteville: 1445 Richmond Ave., 929-219-0622

Chai Urgent Care:

Dongan Hills: 1975 Hylan Blvd., 646-558-2424

The location is open from Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Vanderbilt:

Clifton: 165 Vanderbilt Ave., 844-692-4692. The facility is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.

Priority is given for walk-in testing to those over the age of 65 with pre-existing conditions.

Test results will take one to two business days and patients will receive them electronically by MyChart and over the phone from a physician.

ProHEALTH Circle Urgent Care

Willowbrook: 2960 Victory Blvd., 718-370-2014

Eltingville: 3894 Richmond Ave., 347-630-7985

Tottenville: 7001 Amboy Rd., 347-838-6991

All three facilities are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Test results will be available in two to three days.

Antibody testing is being performed at both the Willowbrook and Tottenville locations. Appointments must be made for the test.

DRIVE-THRU TESTING LOCATIONS

South Beach Psychiatric Center, located at 777 Seaview Ave. in Ocean Breeze . The testing site is open from 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Appointments can be made by called 888-364-3065.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center, located at 1000 Richmond Terr. In Livingston. The site is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 888-ONE-MED1 .

Appointments must be made for testing and can be scheduled through One Medicals website. One Medical accounts must be made and those interested in testing must have a virtual screening in order to schedule an appointment. Free memberships for One Medical will be available for 30 days with the following codes:
VAPIANO SE / Key word(s): Disposal

VAPIANO SE: Commencement of sales process on Vapiano group business; advanced separate sales process for Vapiano subgroup France





Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Vapiano SE: Commencement of sales process on Vapiano group business; advanced separate sales process for Vapiano subgroup France

Cologne, April 30, 2020 - The Management Board of Vapiano SE (ISIN: DE000A0WMNK9, "Vapiano" or "Company"), together with the preliminary insolvency administrator has decided today to commence a formal sales process which may extend to the worldwide Vapiano group business, restaurant clusters or assets of the Vapiano group. It is envisaged to carry out the sales process with interested investors likely until the end of May 2020. The franchise restaurants (especially in Germany) are not included in the sales process.

Furthermore, the Company is performing a separate sales process regarding the Vapiano subgroup France operating Vapiano restaurants France and Luxembourg. This sales process and negotiations with potential investors are already in an advanced stage and the signing of transaction documents is likely to take place by the end of May 2020. The Vapiano subgroup France is not in the process of insolvency proceedings.



Lutz Scharpe, CFO Vapiano SE

30-Apr-2020 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de




CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar fell against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as Asian stocks dropped in thin holiday trade following the negative cues from Wall Street as disappointing U.S. economic data highlighted the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.



Official data showed that 3.8 million Americans filed for new unemployment claims last week, taking the total over the past six weeks to more than 30 million.



Amazon's earnings missed Wall Street expectations and it warned of uncertainty ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.



The number of confirmed coronavirus cases exceeded 3.2 million globally and at least 233,000 people have been died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.



The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that Australia's manufacturing sector fell deep into contraction in April, with a manufacturing PMI score of 35.8.



That's down sharply from 53.7 in March and it moves well beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction as it reflects the damage from the Covid-19 pandemic.



The aussie depreciated to 3-day lows of 69.05 against the yen and 0.6447 against the greenback, from its early highs of 69.78 and 0.6511, respectively. The next key support levels for the aussie are seen around 66.00 against the yen and 0.62 against the greenback.



Reversing from its early highs of 1.6809 against the euro and 1.0624 against the kiwi, the aussie fell to an 8-day low of 1.6991 and a 1-week low of 1.0595, respectively. Next key support for the aussie is seen around 1.74 against the euro and 1.03 against the kiwi.



The aussie weakened to 0.9040 against the loonie, from its previous high of 0.9081, and held steady thereafter. If the aussie falls further, 0.88 is likely seen as its next support level.



Looking ahead,U.K. manufacturing PMI for April and mortgage approvals for March are due in the European session.



In the New York session, U.S. ISM manufacturing index for April and construction spending for March are scheduled for release.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The armed forces will express their gratitude to all "corona warriors" by conducting fly-pasts, showering petals on hospitals treating COVID-19 patients and illuminating naval vessels, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Friday.

Addressing a special press briefing along with the three service chiefs, Gen Rawat said the nation stood together and showed resilience in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are expressing our gratitude to all 'corona warriors' who are working hard to keep us safe," he said.

The Indian Air Force will carry out fly-pasts across the country on May 3 to display gratitude to coronavirus warriors, the CDS said, flanked by Army chief General M M Naravane, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria.

Gen Rawat said the Indian Air Force will conduct fly-pasts from Srinagar to Thiruvananthapuram, from Dibrugarh to Kutch as thanksgiving to the coronavirus warriors.

Fixed wing and fighter aircraft of the IAF will participate in the fly-pasts on May 3 evening, he said.

Also, Navy helicopters will shower flower petals on hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, the CDS said.

The Army will conduct mountain band displays along some COVID-19 hospitals in almost every district, while naval ships will conduct special drill and illuminate vessels to convey gratitude to corona warriors, Gen Rawat said.

Armed forces are solidly behind those fighting the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Gen Rawat also asserted that no operational task has been affected or will be affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said it is not proper to conclude that the novel coronavirus outbreak is a result of biological warfare.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)




An area used by Boko Haram Terrorists in Borno State for launching attacks against military troops has been destroyed in a military airstrike.

Naija News understands the troops launched an attack against the terrorists based on credible intelligence on the activities of the insurgents.

The airstrike coordinated by the Air Task Force of the Operation Lafiya Dole, destroyed the terrorists logistics facilities at Parisu, Sambisa forest in Borno State.

Some of the insurgents were also killed during the operation, a statement by the Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche confirmed.

According to the statement: In furtherance of its objective of restoring peace and security in the North East of the Country, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, through the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole, yesterday, 30 April 2020, neutralized some Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) and destroyed some of their logistics facilities at Parisu in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State.

The airstrike, which was executed as a precursor to further air and ground operations, was conducted after intelligence reports revealed that the terrorists had resumed use of the settlement as a staging area to launch attacks against nearby troops locations.

Recent aerial surveillance missions had also shown significant terrorist activities in the area whilst identifying some compounds housing the fighters and their logistics items.

Consequently, the Air Task Force dispatched its fighter jets to attack the location. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jets, while taking turns to engage the target area, scored accurate bomb and rocket strikes, resulting in the destruction of some of the structures as well as the killing of several terrorists.

The statement added that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will not relent until the terrorists are totally defeated and peace and normalcy is restored in Nigeria.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria will continue to sustain the offensive against the enemies of the country, until peace and normalcy are restored in all parts of Nigeria.

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A hot potato: Xiaomi is being accused of recording users interactions with its phones and sending the data to servers hosted by Alibaba in Singapore and Russia that have been rented by the Chinese phone giant.

Forbes Thomas Brewster and cybersecurity researchers Gabriel Cirlig and Andrew Tierney discovered that the Redmi Note 8 was observing users phone habits and sending them to Xiaomis rented servers.

It was found that when browsing the web using the handsets default Xiaomi browser, all the websites and search engine queries were recorded. It also monitored each item viewed on a news feed feature of Xiaomis software. Worryingly, the surveillance appeared to be happening even when browsing using incognito mode.

The phone also sent data about what folders were opened and interactions with the home screen, along with unique device numbers and Android versions.

Tierney discovered that in addition to the pre-installed stock browser on MIUI, Xiaomis Android-based OS, the companys Mi Browser Pro and the Mint Browserboth available on Google Play with a combined 15 million+ downloadswere also collecting user data.

Cirlig found the same browser tracking code was present in the firmware code of other Xiaomi phones, including the Xiaomi MI 10, Xiaomi Redmi K20, and Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 devices.

Xiaomi said that the data being sent was encrypted, but it was encoded in the easily crackable base64, meaning the researcher was able to decode the information in a few seconds. My main concern for privacy is that the data sent to their servers can be very easily correlated with a specific user, warned Cirlig.

Responding to the report, Xiaomi did admit to collecting users browser data but said it was by consent and anonymized. It also denied recording browsing data when using incognito mode. Forbes provided Xiaomi with a video proving that it was recording private browsing sessions, but it continued to deny it.

This video shows the collection of anonymous browsing data, which is one of the most common solutions adopted by internet companies to improve the overall browser product experience through analyzing non-personally identifiable information, said a spokesperson.

While collecting user data is something most tech companies do, it isnt supposed to be this easy to link it with specific users, which appears to be the case here.

Xiaomis full statement:

Xiaomi was disappointed to read the recent article from Forbes. We feel they have misunderstood what we communicated regarding our data privacy principles and policy. Our user's privacy and internet security is of top priority at Xiaomi; we are confident that we strictly follow and are fully compliant with local laws and regulations. We have reached out to Forbes to offer clarity on this unfortunate misinterpretation.

Image credit: testing via Shutterstock
Enniscrone: SYMPATHY - Our sincere sympathy on the passing of Thomas (Tommy) Hargadon, Culleens/Castleknock Dublin. Surrounded by his loving family in the care of the staff at the Mater Hospital, Dublin. Predeceased by his parents Tom and Nora Ann and his dear sister Sarah.

Thomas (Tommy) beloved husband of Yvonne and loving father of Ian, Louise and Lee. Sadly missed by his loving Wife and family, brothers John, Michael, Willie and Eamonn, his sister Mary, grandchildren Lily, Anna, Jane, Kayden, Olivia and Isla, daughter-in-law, Margaret, son-in-law Mark and Lee's partner Brid, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended family, neighbours and friends. May He rest in peace.

Funeral arrived to the Church of the Holy Family, Kilglass, Co. Sligo on Wednesday (April 22) for Requiem Mass at 1.30 p.m. with burial afterwards in St Patrick's cemetery, Kilglass, Co. Sligo.

A memorial Mass to celebrate Thomas' life will be celebrated at a later date.

The family would like to thank everyone for their understanding and co operation at this very difficult time.

Sincere condolences are also offered to the family of Bernard Dunleavy, April 19, Rathfarnham, Dublin and formerly Enniscrone, Co. Sligo. Beloved brother of Sheila and Anna and the late John and Patrick. Sadly missed by his sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family, staff at the Home Help Service, Terenure/Tallaght and friends.

ENNISCRONE SHOW CANCELLED

After weeks of deliberating, it is with a very heavy heart that we have to cancel the 2020 Enniscrone Show.

Thank you to all the committee members, volunteers and of course our sponsors who get behind us every year.

Now, let's look forward to an even better show in 2021.

Stay safe and stay at home.

SHOUT OUT

A shout out to Brandon Brown, son of Caroline, who runs our local laundrette, Brandon is doing his bit to help all frontline workers in care homes and hospitals.

He spent all week making mask holders on his three D printer to help give some protection from this terrible disease second lot gone out and another batch in the making so proud of this young man.

Tubbercurry

Normal People

The TV series Normal People was part filmed in Tubbercurry with renowned Director Lenny Abrahamon and it is hitting our TV screens on April 28.

Written by Mayo native, Sally Rooney, it is a story around two teenagers from a small town in the West of Ireland (such as Tubbercurry) who are senior students in secondary school, and their progress to college life in Dublin.

The story is at times raunchy as it follows a love affair of the two central characters, but also encompasses the trials and tribulations of others as they enter adult life.

The 12 part series should prove very interesting and various local landmarks in Tubbercurry and Co. Sligo will be identifiable in each episode.

Tommy Sherlock r.i.p.

The community was shocked as news filtered through last week of the sudden d death of local Tubbercurry resident Tommy Sherlock.

In his mid-50's, Tommy was the picture of health and was regularly out and about as he moved from work to house and doing his normal domestic chores.

Born and reared in Tubbercurry to parents Michael and Rose Sherlock, Tommy went to primary school locally and secondary school in Banada, and over his early years developed an interest in woodwork and woodcraft and old furniture restoration.

He loved nothing better than finding or being given an old decrepit piece of antique furniture. He viewed this as a challenge and with time, patience and great skill he would transform it into a beautiful piece of ready to use furniture again, while still retaining the authentic look and character of a by gone age.

He developed a business in the 1980s and 90's in the furniture restoration and reproduction business and many a house in Co. Sligo and indeed throughout Ireland has old furniture pieces that were lovingly restored by Tommy.

In 2001 Tommy took up employment in the Social Welfare office in Sligo and continued to do his furniture restoration for clients at evenings and weekends.

Tommy worked in the Social Welfare Office in Sligo since 2001, and over the years built up many friendships with his work colleagues in the Department. His professionalism in his work was admired by his colleagues.

His work in the Household Benefits area brought him into contact with customers all over the country.

These customers were dealt with in a professional and calm way, with empathy and understanding shown at all times.

In recent weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tommy was in the frontline, providing a great service in processing the Pandemic Unemployment payments. He did this with pride and in doing so played a huge part in helping the citizens throughout Ireland.

Socially, Tommy was big into Line Dancing which was a big social activity in the 1980s and 90's. His knowledge of current affairs and politics was obvious and he was always able to debate articulately with work colleagues.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, his many friends and work colleagues found it difficult to express their sympathies, but hopefully a time will come for that. A Guard of Honour with social distancing took place at his funeral as it made its way from the Church of St John the Evangelist to pass his home on the Ballina Road on its way to Rhue Cemetery.

Tommy is survived by his brother Michael, sister Rose, sister-in-law Teresa, nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family, neighbours and work colleagues, all to whom sympathy is extended. May he rest in peace.

Maureen Gallagher r.i.p.

The recent death occurred of Maureen Gallagher, late of Doomore, Tubbercurry.

In her mid-80's, Maureen was a resident of Baileys Nursing Home over the last few years.

She was predeceased some years ago by her husband Peter James, and is survived by her daughters Mary, Kathleen, Monica and Patricia, sons-in-law, John Wynne and Darragh Nolan, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, neighbours and friends, all to whom sympathy is extended. May she rest gently in peace.

Corespondent

Email Roger McCarrick - tubbercurrynotes@gmail.com.
Atlanta GA  Jerry Brow's life has been a nightmare since he discovered the properties he purchased for development were previously an illegal toxic waste dump site, covered up and concealed by the city of Atlanta. His new book, City of Atlanta's Concealment of the Baby Gun Club Landfill, shines the light on his story and demands accountability from the government in protecting matters of public health and safety.

Told with the knowledge and passion of one man who became a soldier in the fight for transparency and justice, this book is a call to arms for anyone who wants to ensure a future free of toxic areas in populated neighborhoods on this green Earth. John J. Kelly, Detroit Free Press

Brow's eight-year continuing journey is a stark reminder to us all of what happens when our government puts monetary concern over public trust. In the Baby Gun Club Landfill case, the government's lack of protection for the public, and it's concealment of toxic landfill waste is indisputable, through uncovered aerial photographs from the 60's and 70's of the dumping, and internal records documented that waste was dumped on the land for years before strict environmental laws were in place. Estimates are that the area illegally contains more than three hundred thousand cubic yards of hazardous waste, 30-40 feet deep.

"A Fox 5 I-Team investigation discovered the existence of the Baby Gun Club Landfill, buried deep in internal city memos, letters, engineering reports and in two lawsuits that were quietly filed and then settled."Senior Fox 5 News I-Team reporter Dale Russell

"The fraud here is so immense, it's hard to even explain," says Brow. "The city of Atlanta kept repeating that they had never dumped before. Then in December, the city came back and acknowledged, that yes, in fact they were the ones who did the dumping. They were also claiming since 2006, that they were the owner of all the property, even though my wife and I still owned the property."

All five lawyers whom Brow hired have quit due to city pressure, and he and his wife have spent countless hours thousands of dollars in legal fees to no avail.

Even more troublesome are the risks to the surrounding neighbors living in the adjacent properties. The landfill contains leachate and incinerator ash, both hazardous waste materials. The fish in Proctor Creek, which runs through the property and empties into the Chattahoochee River, still contain illegal pesticides that haven't been around since the 1970s. Additionally, Baby Gun Club landfill has a new subdivision at its foot, with upscale $600,000 homes, and runs behind an additional, much older neighborhood.

"My eight years of investigations reveal extensive ongoing damage to the public and environment," says Brow. "There is not one protective measure. There's nothing that has been done since mediation. There are massive sinkholes, no fence to keep people out, not even a sign. It's more than just a travesty of justicea lot of people's lives are still put at risk."

Brow says people in the area have been experiencing higher rates of cancer and respiratory illness. "We have no idea what the numbers are, because no one will test," he says.

Brow has reached out to all three levels of government city, state, and the FBI. In 2017, in a court case, the city of Atlanta decided to condemn his properties and take them. Now that they own them, they are in control of testing and are refusing to do so.

"They dumped on these properties when they belonged to someone else," says Brow. "This whole dump site has been illegal from the beginning."

Atlanta City Councilman Michael Bond, told Fox News "I'd have to apologize to him for the way his property was handled. That was inexcusable and that should not have happened." Brow was out of the country when the apology occurred.

Brow, a real estate developer, purchased the properties in 2011. When he hired an inspector to do an environment study for his cell phone tower, the inspector told him, "Your property is toxic. I have a folder of information that I've been saving for twenty years. Here you go."

Brow filed a complaint, then a lawsuit. Then another. He has fought the battle, trying to recoup the $300-$400K that he has lost so far. He is hoping for full compensation, his legal fees paid, and protective measures for those living in the area. He has yet to see any of that happen.

Because of harassment, and that he was being followed by the city, his wife and son have left the country to live elsewhere, where they feel safer. Brow splits his time between his battle here in the US, and his family.

"I don't want my son to grow up like this," says Brow. "It's a very dark time right now. This has consumed my life, and in the end, what did they do? I would like for them to compensate me for what they did and repay my legal fees. They took my property on a basis of complete fraud."

He is also worried about the lives this continues to affect. In an attempt to gain some national attention and publicly document his battle, Brow published a book. The story of his battle, along with court documents, interviews, and files, are all contained within its pages.

This is a book that serves as a profoundly important call for transparency and justice. Highly recommended.  Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame Top 50 Reviewer.

"These people (government officials) are doing their job for job security and making sure that the city is not going to be held liable, but at what cost?" says Brow. "We (citizens) are the expendable part of this, and it doesn't matter if you are in Detroit, or Flint, MI or Atlanta, Georgia, we are the expendables at the cost for these municipalities and the state."

Here is an abbreviated summary of the timeline of Brow's conflict:

1960s - An Unregulated dump site first appears. The city is dumping municipal waste on private property they did not own.

Dumping continues for two decades, well into the 1970s before environmental regulations are in place. It operates for 20 years before it is closed.

1997  City hires Mr. Woodham, a contractor. His job is to close down the permitted Gun Club landfill, investigate the waste "limits" of the Baby Gun Club Landfill, and devise an outline to conceal the contents from the public and state, as required under his state license to report public safety and health issues.

2011 - Jerry Brow purchases the property, unaware that his property was an illegal sump site, and that 30-40 feet of now known hazardous waste is under his feet.

2016  Brow files a lawsuit against the city, accusing them of illegally dumping waste onto private properties.

2017 - EPA comes out and finds that the fish in the creek contain high levels of pesticides that were outlawed in the 1970s. The people in this area fish out of this creek.

2017  Atlanta condemns the property and takes them from Jerry Brow. They refuse to do environmental testing, and because they now own the properties, they have that right.

2019 Brow hires an inspector to conduct an environmental study for his cell tower. It happens to be Mr. Woodham. Woodham hands over two decades old records of illegal toxic dumping on the property, confirming that incinerator ash is buried there.

December 31, 2019 - Atlanta City Councilman Michael Bond offers a public apology to Brow, but Brow is out of the country at the time when the apology airs on television.

2019 - A sprawling subdivision is built at the base of this landfill, with homes valued around $600K. Landowners were unaware of the landfill problem, the city denies there is one.

2020  Moses, a local homeowner whose property backs up to the Baby Gun Club site, sends Jerry Brow a letter. The letter is from the city, sent in 1997, stating there may be health risks from the migration of toxins in the ground. They want to come on his property, but he refuses. This letter is further proof of illegal dumping activities.

2020 - State and Federal Environmental Protection Agencies continue to conceal for the City to and not force them to know exactly what is in the site and allow for the potential continued harm to the public. This, even though the City reveals facts of their illegal activities dating back to the mid-1960s. No crimes committed by the City; No arrests, no termination of employment for committing fraud to the Feds, State and People. Not even a slap on the hand for decades of fraud and criminal concealment.

"Still, at this time, not even one protective measure has been implemented in the Baby Gun Club Landfill site," says Brow. "The contamination pours into Procter Creek every second and toxic methane gases are released every millisecond. Leaching is occurring with no measure to mitigate any leaking. I am just beside myself. It seems like nobody cares."

Media Contact: For a review copy of City of Atlanta's Concealment of the Baby Gun Club Landfill or to arrange an interview with Jerry Brow, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on twitter @abookpublicist.

About Jerry Brow:

Jerry Brow is a licensed builder and international developer who turned to writing when his voice wasn't heard in several lawsuits regarding an illegal dump site in Atlanta, GA. He has been featured on Fox News An environmentalist at heart, Brow is the founder of the Humanitarian Medical Relief, Ayuda Medica Humanitaria Venezuela Health Centers, co-founder of Exxposed.org, and founder of OurPublicTrust.com. He served with the American Red Cross for two years following Hurricane Katrina, spent 12 years volunteering in Haiti, and the past 9 years protecting Hornillos Island and the wildlife sustained around it.

Through his non-profit Our Public Trust, his mission is to unite the people of our world to speak freely about the dependence on our governments for public air, water and land. His new book City of Atlanta's Concealment of the Baby Gun Club Landfill, chronicles his personal journey with government mistrust, and demands transparency from all levels of government in protecting matters of public health and safety. Brow is married and has a twelve-year old son. He divides his time between Mississippi, Georgia, and the country of Peru. He is hard at work on his next book.

For more information, visit his website at www.OurPublicTrust.com.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to media during a break in impeachment proceedings, in the Senate subway area in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

GOP Senators Ask Trump to Reject Blank Check State Bailouts

A group of Republican senators urged President Donald Trump on Thursday to oppose any stimulus measure that would provide unrestricted funds that state governments could use for purposes other than the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter dated April 30, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) asked the president to reject efforts to add funds for states unrelated to the nations battle against the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus.

Unfortunately, we are hearing reports that some states and localities are advocating that a potential future Coronavirus response measure be used as a piggybank for unrelated expenses that have nothing to do with responding to the Coronavirus, the letter (pdf) states. We believe additional money sent to the states for lost revenue or without appropriate safeguards will be used to bail out unfunded pensions, reward decades of state mismanagement, and incentivize states to become more reliant on federal taxpayers. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently suggested that the next coronavirus stimulus package should include up to $1 trillion in funds for states and local governments. Senate Majority Leader has repeatedly rejected the idea, saying that were not interested in borrowing money from future generations to send down to states to help them with bad decisions they made in the past unrelated to the coronavirus epidemic.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Donald Trump listen during a signing ceremony for H.R. 748, the CARES Act, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 27, 2020. (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)

The Republican senators pointed out that states like New York are calling for billions in aid for programs unrelated to the CCP virus pandemic. New York has one of the lowest rainy-day funds in the nation and carries a $450 billion unfunded pension burden, according to the letter.

Other states are in even worse shape. Illinois has already requested a $40 billion bailout, most of which would go to pension and budget shortfalls caused by decades of fiscal mismanagement, the senators wrote. Again, we are supportive of funding to respond to the Coronavirus and protect our frontline workers, but we cannot allow states and localities to get a blank check from American taxpayers to fund areas of their budget that have nothing to do with the Coronavirus.

Congress has already passed four stimulus packages in response to the CCP virus pandemic amounting to the largest financial stimulus response in the nations history. State and local governments already received funding as part of the prior packages, but some governors, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have complained that the funds were insufficient.

The Republican senators pointed out that the federal government is already deep in debt and is on track to finish the year with $25 trillion in federal debt.

Americans expect that their tax dollars will be used for Coronavirus response, not to backfill decades of bad fiscal policy, the letter states. As we continue to work to help families across the nation, we respectfully ask that you to oppose bailouts for states.
San Antonio officials reported 48 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths from the disease on Thursday.

The new cases brought the total for Bexar County to 1,374 since the start of the pandemic.

Forty-eight people have died.

To date, 638 people with confirmed diagnoses have recovered, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at the daily city-county briefing with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.

One of the two newly reported fatalities was Timothy De La Fuente, 53, a Bexar County sheriffs deputy assigned to the county jail.

De La Fuente died Thursday, two days after being tested for the novel coronavirus  part of a sweeping effort to screen all deputies and inmates at the downtown lockup.

The test results came back positive on Thursday,Wolff said. De La Fuente, a 27-year veteran of the sheriffs office, was home sick with a dry cough and other symptoms, Wolff said. His wife was planning to take him to an emergency room when his condition took a severe turn for the worse, the county judge said.

De La Fuente died at home, Wolff added.

Its a tragedy and one that clearly shows that all of us are vulnerable, regardless of our age and regardless of whats happening with our lives, Wolff said.

On ExpressNews.com: Gov. Abbott pushes Friday reopening even as Texas misses benchmarks set by his advisers

The new cases and deaths came as retailers, malls, restaurants and movie theaters prepared to reopen Friday under an executive order issued this week by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Under Abbotts Open Texas initiative, restaurants, shops and other businesses can reopen at 25 percent occupancy.

Abbott left enforcement of the occupancy limit largely to local governments. Wolff and Nirenberg said they expected residents to report violations but did not anticipate many citations would be issued.

Its going to be the citizens out there that are going to be watching, Wolff said. Theyll be calling.

As businesses reopen, residents can expect a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, though the bump might not appear for weeks, Nirenberg said.

If the virus is in the community and you increase the amount of social activity there is, by definition, youre probably going to see an increase in cases, the mayor said.

Abbotts order encourages residents to wear masks in public, but it bars cities and counties from fining those who refuse. The order supersedes local orders in San Antonio that authorized fines for those who did not wear masks in public in situations where maintaining a 6-foot distance from others would be difficult.

But San Antonio officials still want residents to wear masks.

City Council voted 10-1 Thursday to extend Nirenbergs latest stay-at-home order through May 19. That order requires people 10 years or older to wear masks or cloth face coverings when in a public place such as a grocery store or pharmacy. San Antonio no longer will be able to enforce the rule with fines or citations.

Now Playing: Mayor Nirenberg answers the question: "What keeps you up at night?" Video: mySA

District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, the lone member to vote against extending the order, said it still went too far.

I still think that were overstepping the bounds on saying Its mandatory versus You should wear it considering the health and safety of your neighbors, Perry said.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

Businesses allowed to reopen under Abbotts plan must provide face coverings to employees who work in close quarters with one another.

Under Abbotts order, businesses such as bars, barber shops and salons will be able to go up to 50 percent capacity on May 18 if the state hasnt seen a new rash of COVID-19 cases.

As of Thursday, 129 inmates at Bexar County Jail had tested positive for the virus, along with 40 deputies.

Another place where the virus has cropped up is Advanced Rehabilitation and Healthcare of Live Oak, a facility that focuses on cardiac patients and outpatient therapy. Two patients and one employee there have tested positive for the virus, city spokeswoman Laura Mayes said Thursday.

The facilitys parent company, Advanced Healthcare Solutions, also owns the Southeast Nursing and Rehabiliation Center  a major hotspot for the virus in San Antonio.

To date, 19 municipal employees  including police officers, firefighters and civilian workers  have contracted the disease, San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh told City Council members Thursday. Of those, eight have recovered and returned to work.

Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Joshua, become a subscriber. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports
Our frontline health-care workers are heroes, every bit as much as our military members. In recognition of their dedication, selflessness, and sacrifice we should establish a program of educational support for them similar to the GI Bill. This program will invest in a group of people who have independently decided to serve us. What better investment than an investment in the people who have dedicated their professional lives to keeping us healthy? The program will not only help our health-care workers but also our civic infrastructure  which could use a little help right now.

The GI Bill was the single most effective piece of post-World War II public policy. The GI Bill sent a generation of Americans to college who could not otherwise have afforded it. According to the Veterans Administration, 2.2 million veterans used the program after World War II to attend college and an additional 5.6 million received vocational training  this out of a total of approximately 11 million eligible veterans  a 51% take rate. In so doing it created the modern U.S. economy.

The GI Bills primary virtue was its egalitarianism; in an age when most expected to live the lives their fathers did, the GI Bill changed everything. The program has been updated several times since its inception. As of January 2019, $12 billion of educational benefits have been provided to over 800,000 veterans or family members. Just as important, the GI Bill is a tangible demonstration of the nations gratitude in a way that benefits the nation and the individual veteran  a win-win scenario on a national scale.

 READ MORE: From the Front Lines: What scares the people too essential to isolate

Recognizing our health-care workers presents exactly the same opportunity. These professionals are a motivated and talented group who have chosen to serve society. Creating a program like the GI Bill will help them help us by easing the financial burden of education, training, and professional certifications. And, just as the GI Bill works as a powerful recruiting tool for the Pentagon, the new program will attract more young people to careers in medicine and health care.

The program should be permanent  not a temporary thank you for helping us through this rough patch  but a standing statement that, as a society, we value the sacrifices our health-care workers make every day. Program eligibility criteria need to be established and should be based on the public good. One option: to use the program a certain percentage of your medical practice or job should be in the public arena for a certain period of time (to be determined). The program should have three pillars:

Forgive outstanding student debt for health-related education and training. Cover future expenses for health-related education and training. Encourage young people to enter the health-care field.

The first pillar will mostly help doctors and nurses who require years of school before they are licensed to practice. But it will also help other technicians and specialists who need advanced training and certifications.

The second pillar can help a medical technician who wants to become a registered nurse or someone working in hospital administration who wants to get an advanced management degree to further their career.

The final pillar will encourage promising high school students to consider a career in health care by covering their education and training. The military has been doing this for years with ROTC scholarships to university students in exchange for a period of service after graduation.

Another provision worthy of consideration is support for immigrants seeking to work in the health-care industry. In the U.S. today 29% of our doctors are foreign born and overall 17% of our health-care workforce are immigrants. Providing an accelerated path to full citizenship for these heroes is certainly low-hanging political fruit.

The GI Bill made money for the U.S. government, there is every reason to believe a similar program for healthcare workers will do the same. Curtis Milam

Such a program would fit neatly into the existing portfolio of the Department of Health and Human Services. When considering the programs cost its fair to consider cost avoidance. The improved public health outcomes resulting from such a program will be in the billions annually. A 2018 study by the Milken Institute found the annual cost of obesity to the U.S. to be $1.7 trillion; approximately 9.3% of annual GDP. If a GI Bill for health-care workers is able to improve health outcomes in the U.S. by just 20%, it would represent a savings of $3.4 billion every year. The GI Bill made money for the U.S. government, there is every reason to believe a similar program for health-care workers will do the same.

 READ MORE: Inside a Philadelphia COVID-19 hospital, where everything is repurposed toward survival

Our health-care workers are a national treasure we have too long taken for granted. They quietly sacrifice for us every day; the current health emergency has only served to highlight that sacrifice to average Americans. The GI Bill rewarded a segment of our society who sacrificed to serve the greater good. It also set the stage for the largest, most prolonged growth in American history. A program similar to the GI Bill for our health-care workers will have many of the same positive effects on our society. The program should be permanent, flexible, and designed to reward those currently serving in Americas hospitals and care facilities as well as young people pursuing a career in medicine and health care. The GI Bill paid back Americas investment by returning $7 to the economy for every $1 invested in the program. There is every reason to believe a similar program for our health-care workers will deliver a similar return on investment. This is an easy decision. Invest in the best of us.

Col. Curtis Milam has more than 4,000 flight hours in the C-130 and has seen some things.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Since mid-March, the World Health Organization has urged countries to scale up the testing, isolation and contact tracing of COVID-19 patients in order to combat the pandemic. The reason for this advice is that if you can find infected cases, isolate and treat them, and trace the close contacts who they might have infected, and isolate them too, then you can keep much of the infection out of the general population.

This stops its spread and slows down the speed of the epidemic. It seems a simple and obvious strategy. It has been used extensively in the past, for example to stop epidemics of smallpox and Ebola. So why hasn't every country done that? Well, it's not as simple as it appears.

The efficiency of contact tracing in any epidemic depends on the characteristics of the infection and the speed and coverage of the tracing process. So when a new disease such as COVID-19 first emerges it's not possible to know exactly how useful testing and tracing will be.

Testing and tracing is most feasible as an effective strategy at the start of an outbreak when there are just a few chains of transmission of the disease. But if this does not keep the epidemic under control, and there is widespread community transmission, there will quickly be many cases and contacts. This is especially the case with a disease such as COVID-19, which is easy to catch, is quickly passed on after an infection sets in, and can infect some people without producing symptoms.

Many people will be getting infected from unknown cases and a large proportion of the population would need to be isolated. Testing and tracing soon becomes an unmanageable strategy and a lockdown to reduce physical contact then becomes a more efficient and effective means of controlling the epidemic. This achieves the same thing as testing and tracing, by keeping much of the infection out of the general population, but is a blunter instrument as it targets everybody.

As the current pandemic developed, some countries, including South Korea, were able to use testing and tracing to control the disease and avoid mandatory lockdown measures. But more widely, identifying cases of the disease with testing did not keep pace with the geographical spread of infection around the world. So in other countries, such as the UK, case finding and contact tracing capacity became overwhelmed early on and lockdowns were introduced instead.

In hindsight, those countries which persisted with expanded and rigorous testing and tracing programmes, such as Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand, have fared better with lower deaths rates than those which did not, such as Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, UK and the U.S.. This is probably because contact tracing and testing can identify asymptomatic infections and isolate them faster than systems relying on the development of symptoms.

Lockdowns aren't sustainable in the long term because of the social, economic, and physical and mental health effects. They should reduce the spread of the disease so the number of cases starts falling. But if restrictions are relaxed even cautiously then transmission will go up again.

However, with a testing, tracking and tracing strategy in place as well, it will still be possible to keep the epidemic under control. To make this feasible, the numbers of cases needs to come down to a more manageable number, say a few hundred active cases. This is because of the sheer numbers of cases and contacts involved, each of whom would need quarantining until shown to be uninfected. As examples, the average number of tests required per case was 52 in South Korea, and 64 in Australia.

Building testing and tracing capacity is not easy. To start with there are two main types of test you can perform, one that tells you if someone is currently infected (a PCR test) and another that tells you if someone has had the disease in the past (an antibody test). You need the organisational capacity, the labs, equipment and chemical reagents to be able to conduct these on a massive scale.

Contact tracing also requires significant resources. You need thousands of people to interview patients, identify everyone they may have come into contact with since being infected, and track down these contacts. Many countries are also using or planning to introduce contact tracing apps that track your location or identify contacts using Bluetooth in order to automatically gather this data and inform people if they need to self-isolate.

Digital tracing

It is generally agreed in public health circles that these apps are useful as a supplement, but cannot replace manual checking. However, some evidence suggests that COVID-19 spreads too quickly for manual tracing alone, and that an app could help stop the pandemic if 60% of the population downloads it. On the other hand, there are also privacy concerns over how these apps allow governments to track citizens' movements

In South Korea the testing was conducted on a base of well-funded and efficient public services and an effective infrastructure, including widespread digital surveillance. For other countries to emulate this success, much still needs to be done in terms of planning, organisation and logistics.

In the UK there are plans to recruit and train 18,000 tracing staff to reintroduce contact tracing. The government aims to conduct 100,000 tests per day, which is about 0.15% of the population.

For the future, it is likely that some form of physical distancing will be required to prevent future waves of infection until an effective vaccine is widely available. These measures, which may need to be periodically tightened and relaxed, should be supported by testing and tracing to keep the number of new infections under control. This is likely to include the testing and quarantining of all new arrivals in a country, to prevent the infection being reintroduced from abroad.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A year ago, before all of this, I stumbled upon a womans letter about her brief experience nursing soldiers through the 1918 flu. It struck me then as a vibrant example of a puckish young womans disinclination to take anything too seriously, up to and including a world-altering pandemic. Lutiant Van Werts letter was the sixth item in an online exhibit at the National Archives about the 1918 pandemic I was absent-mindedly browsing, and what stood out to me then was how resolute and irreverent it was. I cherished it not for its subject but for its wit. While the letter does describe death, it abounds in the sorts of bubbly, unexpected pleasures a 19-year-old fresh out of school would naturally take in her newfound independence. (On a meet cute with a soldier: He is not what one would call handsome but he is certainly good-looking.)

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What I appreciated about Lutiant (who in records is surnamed La Voye or Lavoye, in addition to Van Wert) was the wide tonal range of her observations: She describes the closures of theaters and dancing halls in Washington and the novelty of hearing airplanes overhead, but theres also an in-depth discussion of a sweater she wants her friend to send her once shes out of quarantine. Even her most alarming anecdotes betray a youthful urge to take large tragedies in strideor at least to appear to. She gives an account of two German spies who were found to have been deliberately infecting American soldiers with the flu and executed. It is such a horrible thing, it is hard to believe, and yet such things happen almost every day in Washington, Lutiant writes, with affected worldliness.

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What I appreciated about Lutiant was the wide tonal range of her observations.

I knew nothing about the 1918 flu in May 2019. My ignorance was, according to the National Archives, symptomatic of a larger case of American amnesia: It is an oddity of history that the influenza epidemic of 1918 has been overlooked in the teaching of American history, the introduction observed disapprovingly. Historians and epidemiologists were aghast at why no one seemed to remember a virus that killed millions of people and had much of the country shut down or roaming the streets in masks. But heres the sorry truth: Back then, I couldnt muster much curiosity about the epidemic either. I surf the archives just for fun, and it seemed unlikely that a flu that happened more than a century ago could have had any meaningful bearing on my life. What compelled me wasnt the flu but Lutiantwho turned out to be a Chippewa graduate of the Haskell Institute in Kansas, a very good stenographer, and a hell of a writer.

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Lutiants letter to her pal Louise, who was still a student at the school, opens with a naughty bang: So everybody has the Flu at Haskell? I wish to goodness Miss Keck and Mrs. McK. would get it and die with it. Really, it would be such a good riddance, and not much lost either! It was a startling joke to make about a deadly diseaseuncomfortable, bold, queasily hilarious in a very teenage way. But then the letter swerves into some deeply unfunny stakes:

As many as 90 people die every day here with the Flu. Soldiers too, are dying by the dozens. So far, Felicity, C. Zane, and I are the only ones of the Indian girls who have not had it. We certainly consider ourselves lucky too, believe me. We were there at the Camp ten days among some of the very worse cases and yet we did not contract it. We had intended staying much longer than we did, but the work was entirely too hard for us, and anyway the soldiers were all getting better so we came home to rest up a bit.

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This passage is nested with contradictions that ask the reader not to judge Lutiant too harshly: the casual and subtly defensive anyway, the pride at not getting infected, the nested admission that this work was so hard she only lasted 10 days.

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To be blunt, I thought she was making (understandable) excuses. But revisiting this letter almost exactly a year after I first encountered it, much has changed. The once-forgotten 1918 flu is a Twitter hashtag, were sheltering in place in a pandemic, and I now see the way Lutiant engages with mortality and living among disease in a different light. Americans are once again, 102 years later, wearing masks, quarantining, and groping for some balance between quotidian concerns and the ongoing emergency. Were making jokes, making bread, joking about aliens. Lutiants irreverence doesnt scan as frivolous anymore. Its a survival mechanism. And her wild changes in tone match the way our own emotions vacillate today: Were trying to manage our everyday lives while occupying a larger story whose horror and scope are too much to take in all at once.

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Reading her letter now, what I see is a person wrestling not just with the insufficiency of describing what she saw but also the hopelessness of pinning down her feelings about it. Four of the officers Lutiant cared for diedshe calls watching this pitiful and tries to explain what it was like.

I was right in the wards alone with them each time, and Oh! The first one that died sure unnerved meI had to go to the nurses quarters and cry it out. The other three were not so bad. Really, Louise, Orderlies carried the dead soldiers out on stretchers at the rate of two every three hours for the first two days were there.

The oddly affecting Oh! followed by her dubious the other three were not so bad produces some cognitive whiplash in the readerone that she herself may have felt. I understand that now in a way I couldnt last year, and its made me think differently about that opening sentencethe one about wishing her teachers were dead. Lutiant is jackknifing through the pandemic in a way thats by turns funny and dissociative and largely consistent with responses people seem to be having now.

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Lutiant is jackknifing through the pandemic in a way thats by turns funny and dissociative and largely consistent with responses people seem to be having now.

Rereading the letter amid COVID-19 made me want to look Lutiant up. A friend had alerted me to the fact that Lutiants insouciance got her in trouble. The Haskell Institute screened students mail. They read the joke, and the superintendent regretted that the time spend at Haskell did not develop a greater spirit of gratitude in her. Lutiant wrote an apology letter. From Ojibwe historian Brenda Childs memoir, My Grandfathers Knocking Sticks: Ojibwe Family Life and Labor on the Reservation, I learned that Lutiants mother died in 1905, when she was 5 or 6. She eventually became the ward of her uncle, who placed her at a Catholic school in Minnesota and later sent her to the Haskell Institute. After eighth grade shed looked forward to becoming an efficient stenographer to live on [her] own and to be independent.

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Lutiant graduated in June 1918, shortly after the first spate of the flu. She worked as a clerk in Rocky Ford, Colorado, before volunteering to nurse ailing soldiers. This was brave: Unlike COVID-19, the flu had a high death rate among healthy adults 15 to 34 years of age.

But theres more: Lutiant turned out to have had a far more personal connection to the flu than Id realized. Lutiant graduated from the Haskell Institute in June, four months before she wrote this letter. In March, the school had experienced an outbreak so severe that a surgeon from the United States Public Health Service came to investigate. (One disputed theory holds that the virus originated in Kansas, not far from the Haskell Institute.) At the time of the surgeons visit, four of Lutiants classmates had died.

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The Indian Leader published the school physicians account of what the months before Lutiant volunteered to work with the worst cases looked like. On March 17, without any thought of sickness being near, pupils began to come to the hospital. The second day 39 came. During the week so many were sick that school and industrial departments practically had to stop their work; there was a total in the hospital wards of 207 who were sick enough to require day and night attention. This is what Lutiant lived through. At the present time the epidemic appears to be spent, the physician said, making the kind of error we have now, in our own time, witnessed dozens of officials make. Lutiant saw all this, and she volunteered to nurse sick people despite or because of it.

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The letter I thought was so spirited, so funny, so full of jokes and larks really is that, but its also, in hindsight, filled with coping mechanisms. A joke she makes about taking advantage of the lockdown to visit her soldier isnt far from one that might be made today: There is a bill in the Senate today authorizing all the war-workers to be released from work for the duration of the epidemic. It has not passed the house yet, but I cant help but hope it does. If it does, Lutiant can find plenty of things at home to busy herself with, or she might accidentally take a trip to Potomac Park. Ha! Ha!

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A year ago Id gladly cut Lutiant some slack for quitting as a volunteer nurse after 10 days. The letter, I see now, tells a deeper story. The reason she wants to go to Potomac Park isnt (just) her lieutenant: Its that the people there are in desperate need, and shes not done trying to help. Shes brave, she understands her limitations, and shes ready to try again.

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Repeated calls come from the Red Cross for nurses to do district work right here in D.C. I volunteered again, but as yet I have not been called and am waiting. Really, they are certainly hard up for nurseseven me can volunteer as a nurse in a camp or in Washington. There are about 800 soldiers stationed at Potomac Park right [here] in D.C. just a short distance from the Interior building where I work, and this mornings paper said that the deaths at this park was increasing, so if fortune favors me, I may find myself there before the week is ended.

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If fortune favors me. Lutiant wrote that in October of 1918, when the second, much deadlier outbreak was fully under way. Lutiant is 102 years behind us. In other ways, Ive come to realize, shes ahead. The outbreak at the Haskell Institute that Lutiant lived through was in March. That corresponds with when the coronavirus outbreak in our own time got fully underway. Lutiant must have read, that spring, what the surgeon who visited the Haskell Institute said was likely to happen: I think that there will be a prompt decline in the number of cases hereafter, following the continuation of the warm weather and the result of the recent rain. Just as those of us following the news might have seen Jared Kushner announce, on Wednesday, that were on the other side of the medical aspect of this. The federal government rose to the challenge, and this is a great success story.

Weve just entered May, and shes writing from October. She knows things we dont yet: that in her time, the optimists got it wrong. That things got worse again. She knows the work was hard enough that she quit. And shes ready to go back anyway.

You can read Lutiants letter in full below:
North Korean state media claimed on Friday that Kim Jong-un made a public appearance at a fertilizer factory in Suncheon, following two weeks of speculation about the dictator's health and whereabouts.

Where it stands: Kim's appearance has not been independently verified. North Korea state media released photos, shared by South Korean Yonhap news, allegedly of the dictator in Suncheon on Friday. His last public appearance was on April 11.

The backstory: The rumors began after Kim missed North Koreas most important annual ceremony on April 15, marking the birthday of his grandfather and the regimes founder, Kim Il-sung.

Then came a smattering of uncorroborated reports that Kim was ill or even dead, perhaps following emergency heart surgery.

South Korea and China downplayed the reports, but the Trump administration said it was monitoring them and Trump himself hinted he had intelligence about Kim's condition.

The bottom line: This is a clear rebuttal from the regime of claims Kim is in grave danger. But the doubts won't fully be quelled without more evidence.

Go deeper: What to make of Kim Jong-un's disappearance
The Midland Area Community Foundation (MACF) recently received a contribution to the COVID-19 Response Fund from Horizon Bank. Horizon Bank has pledged a total of $250,000 allocated across several nonprofit groups who are working to assist affected individuals in the communities they serve in the states of Indiana and Michigan.

Midland Area Community Foundation has been a pillar of our community for almost 50 years, so it came as no surprise when they rapidly put together a coalition of philanthropy, government, educational and business partners to provide a collective response to COVID-19 in Midland County, stated Russ Mathews, Horizon Bank market president of Great Lakes Bay Area. Horizon Bank is proud to partner with the MACF, whose mission and vision align closely with our core values. It is our duty to invest in our community and assist our neighbors in their immediate and future needs.
Oregon could see a dramatic increase in new coronavirus infections should the state too quickly ease restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the disease, a new analysis warns.

The latest forecast by researchers at the Institute for Disease Modeling, obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive, comes as state officials finalize plans to reopen parts of the economy and lift some shutdown orders.

It estimates COVID-19 transmissions decreased 70% in Oregon after Gov. Kate Brown issued her aggressive stay-at-home rules in late March, a rate that, if maintained, would cause the number of people infected with the virus to decline slowly over the next several weeks.

But if the transmission rate increased by as little as 10% as restrictions eased, Oregon could see thousands of additional coronavirus infections during that time, the studys authors claim.

This epidemic is clearly very sensitive to changes in policies or public adherence to community mitigation strategies, wrote the authors.

According to the institutes model, up to 9,200 Oregonians have currently contracted COVID-19, nearly four times the 2,510 known cases reported in the state as of Thursday.

Using its estimate of actual coronavirus cases, the authors offered projections of what coronavirus infections in Oregon would look like if transmission reduction remained at 70% versus changing to 60% or 50%.

The modeling suggests that:

--At a 60% transmission reduction rate, Oregon would see about 17,100 coronavirus infections by June 4, which is 3,500 more cumulative infections than the 13,600 projected if transmission reduction remained at 70%.

--At a 50% transmission reduction rate, Oregon would see about 23,000 coronavirus infections by June 4, which is 9,400 more cumulative infections.

To avoid a potential surge in COVID-19 cases, the studys authors say Oregon needs to ease its restrictions incrementally. They also suggest the state increase its testing capacity, expand contact tracing and develop other measures to keep coronavirus transmissions low.

The governors office said Brown plans to hold a press conference Friday to outline the states plans for expanding testing and contact tracing.

A Bellevue, Washington-based research center, The Institute for Disease Modeling is part of the Global Good Fund, a collaboration that involves Bill and Melinda Gates. Oregon health officials have drawn on its modeling and projections for planning throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS:

Coronavirus testing rises sharply in Oregon as capacity expands, guidance loosened

Top underlying medical condition for Oregonians who have died from coronavirus: heart disease

Coronavirus at a glance: The latest numbers, maps and headlines to keep you up to date.

How can Oregon reopen amid coronavirus? It may start with 600 new contact tracers.

Gov. Kate Browns road map to reopening Oregon

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. have decided to make passengers wear face masks, adding momentum to whats catching on as a new standard for the industry as it fights to win back customers during a pandemic.

The larger carriers are following JetBlue Airways Corp., which announced April 27 that travelers would have to cover their nose and mouth throughout trips starting May 4. Deltas mandate starts the same day, with Americans kicking in on May 11. Small children are exempt.

The requirement is meant to help soothe concerns that aircraft cabins foster the spread of Covid-19. All three airlines cited guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in implementing the change. The coverings help prevent anyone who may be unknowingly infected with the new coronavirus from spreading it in a confined space like an airplane cabin.

We take seriously the CDC guidelines for adding this extra layer of protection, Bill Lentsch, Deltas chief customer experience officer, said in a statement Thursday. We believe this change will give customers and employees some additional comfort when traveling with us.

While neither have issued a decree, United Airlines Holdings Inc. said its strongly encouraging the coverings, and Southwest Airlines Co. said it will provide masks to those who want them.

The union representing flight attendants from 20 airlines welcomed the new rule, and urged for it to be expanded.

The Association of Flight Attendants wants the federal government to mandate masks for crew, front line employees and all passengers, said Sara Nelson, president of the group.

Lobby, Too

Masks will be compulsory just on board American flights, while Delta and JetBlue are requiring them starting in the check-in lobby, gate areas, jet bridges as well as during flights.

American will begin making masks and hand sanitizing wipes or gel available to some passengers on Friday, expanding to all flights as its able, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said. Masks made at home from cloth or other household items can be used, it said.

United, Delta and American already require some employees to wear face masks, or will do so soon.

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CROWN POINT  Charges filed Thursday allege a 57-year-old man set fire to his estranged wife's Hammond home while her adult daughter and four grandchildren were inside.

Erwin Ausley, of Hammond, previously was accused of cutting cable wires to the home and placing a banana in a tailpipe on the woman's car because he was upset that she asked him to move out, Lake Criminal Court records state.

A magistrate entered not guilty pleas on Ausley's behalf to felony counts of arson and stalking. His formal appearance was set for May 7.

According to court records, Ausley's daughter-in-law told police she smelled smoke April 28, gathered her children and ran out of the home in the 5500 block of Claude Avenue.

She saw Ausley, who was wearing a white T-shirt, walking out of the backyard through an open gate, records say.

The woman's mother told police she had been married to Ausley for two years, but recently asked him to move out because of marital problems.

Police had responded to the home several times recently, and family members said Ausley had threatened to burn down the home, records allege.
CHICAGO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The report titled, "COVID-19 Impact on Logistics & Supply Chain Industry Market by Industry Verticals (Automotive, FMCG, Healthcare, Energy & Utilities, Industrial Machinery & Equipment), Mode of Transport (Roadways, Railways, Airways, Maritime), Region - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, states that the COVID-19 impact on the global logistics market size is estimated to result in revenues worth USD 2,734 billion in 2020. The market is projected to reach USD 3,215 billion by 2021, at a Y-O-Y growth of 17.6%.

Browse in-depth TOC on "COVID-19 Impact on Logistics & Supply Chain Industry Market"

18  Tables

06  Figures

60  Pages

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https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=244593137

FMCG is expected to have the largest sizing in the global Logistics Market during the forecast period

FMCG companies are continuously tracking the current situation and are coming up with new strategies to contain the pandemic. The agriculture sector has been exempted from the restrictions laid by the countries. This has ensured sufficient supplies of food and other daily needs products. E-groceries continue to meet the increasing demand for daily supplies by consumers. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Walmart Grocery application hit all-time high downloads in the US.

Railways are estimated to have the second-largest Logistics Market share, by mode of transport

Like roadways, railway transport too is relatively less affected when compared with waterways and airways. Amid the lockdown, countries have made sure that the mobility of doctors, sanity workers, and government employees is not hampered. The transport of essential commodities through rail has also allowed countries to meet their citizens demands during the pandemic. For example, according to the Indian Railways, on an average, around 20,000 wagons of coal; 1,700 wagons of petroleum products; and 25,000 wagons are being loaded daily with essential commodities such as food grains, salt, edible oil, sugar, milk, fruits, and vegetables.

Request more details on:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=244593137

Asia Pacific to have the largest Logistics Market size during the forecast period

Asia Pacific is expected to have the largest market sizing as the region has taken stringent measures to contain the virus. China has started to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than any other country. Only some provinces of the entire country are in lockdown after the second wave of COVID-19.

The World Health Organization has appreciated India's control over the spread of the pandemic. This has allowed the logistics and supply chain companies to meet consumer demands during the pandemic situation. The supply of vital products in Singapore, South Korea, and Japan has also regained normalcy. Thus, the Asia Pacific region is expected to show positive signs in the near future as the supply chain industry recovers gradually.

The Logistics Market is dominated by global players and comprises several regional players. Some of the key players in the logistics and supply chain industry are DHL (Germany), UPS (US), FedEx (US), Kuehne+Nagel (Switzerland), CEVA Logistics (Switzerland), DB Schenker (Germany), SNCF (France), XPO Logistics (US), Kenco Group (US), and Hitachi Transport System (Japan).

Browse Related Report:

Automotive Logistics Market by Activity (Warehouse, Transport), Logistics Service (Inbound, Outbound, Reverse, Aftermarket), Mode of transport (Roadways, Railways, Maritime, Airways), Distribution, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

Connected Logistics Market by Software (Asset Management, Warehouse IoT, Security, Network Management, Data Management, and Streaming Analytics), Platform, Service, Transportation Mode, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021

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Liverpool are reported to have made contact with Serie A club Napoli about the availability of defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

If the story, as published on Tuttomercatoweb is to be believed, then The Reds have enquired about Kalidou Koulibalys transfer situation. With Manchester United also thought to be tracking the centre-half who turns 29 next month, its thought Napoli could be keen to sell Koulibaly to help lessen the financial impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Napoli were having a poor season in Serie A by their standards, meaning they may not qualify for next seasons Champions League.

The report states that Koulibaly joining Liverpool would mean that Joel Matips days at the club are numbered. However, that just seems like a stab in the dark to pad out the transfer story.

Koulibaly signed for Napoli back in 2014 and has been one of the clubs most consistent top performers in the years since.

The Senegal international has apparently told the Napoli club president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, he is prepared to move to another club if his valuation is met.

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The case involving four suspects standing trial at the Yendi Circuit court in the Northern Region for allegedly ambushing and inflicting cutlass wounds on one Abudu Kwasi at Chereponi in the North East region has been adjourned to the 13th of May.

Two out of the four suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying that they were not in the jurisdiction on the said day of the incident.

The police have been directed to investigate the claim.

The two were granted bail to the tune of GHS3,000 each, with two sureties who must be government workers receiving salaries not less than GHS500.

The other two have also been remanded into police custody.

The court presided over by His Honour Anthony Aduko Aidoo has directed the police to make available all facts to the two suspects for them to submit their statements.

Last week there were reports of some unknown persons ambushing and inflicting cutlass wounds on one Abudu Kwasi, who was on his way home from Chereponi in the night. It was reported that he was beaten up and assaulted with a cutlass until he became unconscious.

He later gained consciously and called for help. He mentioned two persons as suspects who are currently standing trial.

The victim is currently receiving treatment at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

In a related case, 27-year-old Iddrisu Dawuda Awudu who allegedly stole about fifty cattle belonging to his masters in Bimbilla has also been remanded into police custody to reappear on the 13 of May 2020.

His accomplice is currently at large.

Two Fulani men, Iddrisu Dawuda Awudu and one whose name was only given as Yussif who is at large allegedly stole their masters cattle and took them to the Republic of Togo where one was arrested and the other fled.

Their masters, Alhaji Osman Ibrahim and Alhaji Abdulai Abdul Rahim gave the cattle to them to look after until last month when the two Fulani men, one at large, connived to steal the cattle.

Iddrisu Dawuda Awudu admitted stealing the cattle but says the cattle were not up to the number mentioned by the owners.

---
May Day usually brings both protest rallies and celebrations rallies marking international Labour Day. This year, many in Asia are shut up at home, riding out the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the ten of millions of people left idle or thrown out of work by the crisis, garment workers have been among the hardest hit as orders dry up and shutdowns leave factories shuttered, giving workers plenty to protest at a time when lockdowns are keeping them at home.

Wiryono, a father of two was laid off from his main job as a sample producer at a garment factory in North Jakarta in late April. His side gig, delivering coffee by motorcycle to construction workers, dried up when work halted as part of Indonesia's shutdown to fight the pandemic.

So, for now Wiryono has rented a small space and runs a clothing repair shop.

I don't earn as much as I got from the clothing factory. But I have to feed my wife and kids every day," he said.

Millions of jobs have vanished in countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar that rely heavily on garment manufacturing as fashion brands cancelled or suspended billions of dollars' worth of orders.

More than 2 million garment factory workers in Indonesia have lost their jobs, and factories are operating at about 20 per cent of capacity, according to the Indonesian Textile Association.

In Cambodia, which also relies heavily on apparel, footwear and textile exports, about 130 factories have laid off some 100,000 people, said Heng Sour, spokesman for the labour ministry.

The country's 1,000 clothing and shoe factories normally employ nearly 800,000 people and shipped nearly USD 10 billion worth of products to the United States and Europe last year.

COVID-19 is like a faceless murderer or terrorist, killing several hundred thousand people and infecting millions around the globe," Heng Sour said. Like many other governments, Cambodia has asked workers to forego the usual rallies and protests and celebrate Labor Day at home.

Likewise, in Muslim-majority Indonesia, where the month-long daytime fasting of Ramadan is underway and the government has likewise asked people not to gather in large groups as a precaution against the virus.

The shutdown has cut into sales of new clothing for Eid al-Fitr, the festival that follows Ramadan, after the Tanah Abang Market, Southeast Asia's biggest textile bazaar, closed in mid-March, said Rizal Tanzil Rakhman, executive secretary of the textile association.

The industry wants government help in covering fixed expenses and loans, he said.

It's not just those who make the clothes, but the production chain, such as the makers of fibers and yarns, thread producers and dye and printing operators," Rakhman said. The situation is bad enough now but it will get worse without government help."



The pressures from the pandemic come at a time when countries like Cambodia and Myanmar already are threatened with the withdrawal of trade privileges under the Everything But Arms" scheme that gives them preferential access to the EU market for products other than weapons.

The EU plans to withdraw those advantages for Cambodia, which are worth about one-fifth of the billion euros (USD 1.1 billion) of its exports to the bloc each year, because of concerns about its poor record in human and labour rights.

In Myanmar, which has sought to build up its garments exports to industrialize an impoverished economy based mainly on farming, mining and logging, more than 60,000 factory workers have lost their jobs.

With the factories being shut down, it has meant they have lost their only means of livelihood, that's their lifeline really, for themselves and the families that they support, said Araddhya Mehtta, the country director of the NGO ActionAid Myanmar.

The crisis has left many women more vulnerable to sexual and domestic violence, said Mehtta, whose group says it provides health guidance, food relief, hand sanitizer and cash support to some 150,000 garment workers. The fierce competition in an industry where slim profit margins leave factories scant leverage with the global, wealthy customers, the pressure to go back to work is building.

Nearly a month after Bangladesh ordered its garment factories shuttered to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, more than 800 factories have reopened or plan to do so soon, despite risks the disease might spread. Labour activists say the number of factories that have gone back to work is higher.

Bangladesh has the world's second largest garment industry after China and normally earns about USD 35 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and Europe. The pandemic has cost manufacturers more than USD 3 billion in cancelled or suspended orders, said Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BGMEA.

Most of Bangladesh's 4 million garment workers, mostly women from rural areas, were sent home in late March. Production is starting back up before the virus outbreak has been fully controlled: the number of newly confirmed infections has continued to rise this week.

The global brands, especially the European ones, want their racks full of cheap Bangladeshi products. They are directly and indirectly telling the owners that they will move to our competitors like Vietnam, Cambodia or China, said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity.

Some owners are perfectly maintaining good safety measures in place, but many others are ignoring them. This is dangerous, she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana government arranged for a special train for the movement of migrant workers stranded in Hyderabad. The train with nearly 1,200 migrants left from Lingampalli and reached Hatia in Jharkhand on Friday. This was the first train in the country to carry migrant workers amid the lockdown, the Railway Ministry said. "Today morning a one-off special train was run from Lingampalli to Hatia on request of the State Government of Telangana and as per the directions of Ministry of Railways," the Indian Railways said in a statement.

The decision to run the train came after the Centre allowed the inter-state movement of migrants and students amid the lockdown. The railways said that all necessary precautions were taken including screening of passengers, and maintaining social distancing at the railway station.

Around 10 million migrant labourers are stranded across the country. Many states urged the Centre to facilitate a train to carry stranded migrant workers. Bihar and Punjab also wanted special trains for transportation of migrant workers while Uttar Pradesh deployed buses to bring them back from some nearby states.

State governments have also appointed nodal officers to develop protocols for the movement of stranded people.

The MHA on Wednesday issued fresh directives allowing states to transport stranded students, migrant labourers, tourists and pilgrims to their home states or destination by strictly following guidelines meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Asked during a press briefing in Delhi if special trains and private vehicles will also be allowed to transport these people as demanded by some states and others, Joint Secretary in the MHA Punya Salila Srivastava said the orders issued at present were for "using buses and for group of persons".

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown relaxation likely post May 3; new guidelines soon; total cases-35,043

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Chhattisgarh CM writes letter to PM Modi; urges relaxed borrowing limit

INDIA CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: BusinessToday.In brings you a daily tracker as coronavirus cases continue to spread. Here is the state-wise data on total cases, fatalities and recoveries in one comprehensive graphic.
LOS ANGELES

April 30, 2020

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Casey Ly

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www.thebloombrand.com

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Cristina Burlacu

/PRNewswire/ -- Capna Intellectual, the team behind the acclaimed west coast brand Bloom, announces a brand licensing deal with the-based Goatneck LLC. Bloom is best known for celebrating and curating cannabis strains in the form of product lines such as the Bloom Vape, Bloom One, and Bloom Dart. Bloom will start sales of iconic strains such as Maui Wowie and Pineapple Express inCapna Intellectual's goal is to make Bloom available to all cannabis consumers in the US and across the world. Bloom will meet customers' demand infor consistent, clean cannabis products. Oklahoma has exceeded its projected cannabis sales of, ending 2019 within sales. 1 in 13 OK adults have a medical card, a number that skyrocketed from 25,000 patients at the end of 2018 to 210,000nearly 5% of the state's populationas of November 2019. "The cannabis community inis incredible and I'm thrilled to bring Bloom there. Our roots are in the medical market so I'm confident that our experience, particularly in, will provide a strong foundation to proudly becomeleading brand," said Bloom's Chief Revenue Officeris a key strategic market for Capna Intellectual. "will be a flagship state [for Bloom] because of its location in the central. We see an opportunity to win a market that isn't familiar with Bloom and build brand equity as we expand out of the West Coast," said Capna Intellectual's CEO and co-founder Vitaly Mekk. "Additionally, the proximity oftosecond most populous State, is an important consideration in why we chose."Goatneck LLC is a cannabis company with strong roots in bothand. With years of manufacturing and business development experience, Goatneck LLC is well-positioned to launch Bloom in"We are extremely proud and excited to join forces with The Bloom Brand, an innovator and industry leader in cannabis vape technologies and cannabis oil products. Early on, we realized that The Bloom Brand shared our long-term vision of developing and manufacturing the highest quality cannabis vape and oil products to allmedical patients. Combining The Bloom Brand team of technology and marketing professionals with our seasoned staff of veterans positions Bloom products for accelerated growth and success in themedical cannabis products market," said Gary Findley, General Partner at Goatneck Llc.Since 2014, Capna Intellectual has focused on making premium cannabis products that are easily accessible to the public and honor the genetics of classic cannabis strains.Bloom provides consumers with tasteful cannabis products that deliver a clean, consistent experience. Bloom products do not contain any fillers or cutting agents and sources their material from high-quality cannabis grown locally.Bloom's line of products is now available in, and. For more information regarding Bloom products, please visitFounded in 2019 in the heart of Green Country, Goatneck LLC was created with a mission to produce only the highest quality medicinal products for the cannabis patients of. With a strong focus on consistency and sustainability, the Team at Goatneck LLC has implemented a foundation of scientific processes that set the bar for medicinal cannabis companies. Teaming with the acclaimed Bloom Brand, Goatneck LLC continues its vision to provide happiness and relief to their fellow Oklahomans.For inquiries:cristina@thebloombrand.com

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-west-coasts-leading-cannabis-brand-bloom-set-to-launch-in-the-soaring-oklahoma-medical-market-301050464.html



SOURCE Capna Intellectual




New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (May 1) sought a report from the Maharashtra government about the ongoing investigation in the Palghar mob lynching case, in which two sadhus and their driver were allegedly lynched on April 16 night. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna heard the plea through video-conferencing.

The apex court, which refused to stay the investigation in the case, asked the petitioner to serve a copy of the plea to standing counsel for Maharashtra and said that the state would file a probe report within four weeks.

The plea, filed through his counsel Rashi Bansal, has sought a direction to the authorities to constitute an apex court-monitored SIT or a judicial commission headed by a retired top court judge to deal with the case.

The petition also sought CBI investigation into the matter and registration of FIR against concerned police officials for their failure to prevent the incident. The plea alleged that the incident was a failure on the part of the police as a mob had gathered there in violation of the lockdown rules.

The counsel appearing for petitioner Shashank Shekhar Jha referred to the media reports and claimed that police was complicit in the incident as they did not use force to prevent it.

The plea said, "This happened despite the fact that the whole country is under Lockdown since March 25 and that no person is allowed to be out of their house and everyone has been asked to follow social distancing which raises a huge suspicion on part of local police."

The plea has alleged that the whole incident was "pre-planned and there could be police involvement as well", therefore sought transfer of the trial from Palghar to a fast track court in Delhi.

Notably, the three victims from Kandivali in Mumbai were travelling in a car to attend a funeral in Surat in Gujarat amid the lockdown. They were attacked and killed by a mob in Gadchinchile village on the night of April 16 in the presence of a police team.

The victims were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushil Giri Maharaj (35), and the driver Nilesh Telgade (30).

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court accepted a plea seeking a CBI/SIT probe into Palghar mob lynching incident and compensation for victims kin. While admitting the plea for hearing, the HC also issued notices to the Maharashtra government.

The plea calls for a CBI probe or constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter.

The PIL, filed by a lawyer Alok Srivastava on April 21, also demanded that the trial of the case, upon completion of the investigation, to be conducted in a Fast Track Court.
Technavio has been monitoring the online home decor market and it is poised to grow by USD 83.32 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 13% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005026/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Online Home Decor Market 2020-2024

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Bed Bath Beyond Inc., Chairish Inc., Coyuchi Inc., Herman Miller Inc., Home24 SE, Inter IKEA Holding B.V., Lowe's Companies Inc., Pier 1 Imports Inc., Trendsutra Platform Services Pvt. Ltd., and Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt. Ltd. are some of the major market participants. The increasing residential construction will offer immense growth opportunities. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Increasing residential construction has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Online Home Decor Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Online Home Decor Market is segmented as below:

Product Online Home Furniture Online Home Furnishings Other Online Home Decorative Products

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40201

Online Home Decor Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our online home decor market report covers the following areas:

Online Home Decor Market Size

Online Home Decor Market Trends

Online Home Decor Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the enhancement of consumer experience through technologies as one of the prime reasons driving the online home decor market growth during the next few years.

Online Home Decor Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the online home decor market, including some of the vendors such as Bed Bath Beyond Inc., Chairish Inc., Coyuchi Inc., Herman Miller Inc., Home24 SE, Inter IKEA Holding B.V., Lowe's Companies Inc., Pier 1 Imports Inc., Trendsutra Platform Services Pvt. Ltd., and Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the online home decor market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports.

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Online Home Decor Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist online home decor market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the online home decor market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the online home decor market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of online home decor market vendors

Table Of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Preface

2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

Value chain analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market size

Market sizing 2019

Market outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT

Market segmentation by product

Comparison by product

Online home furniture Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Online home furnishings Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Other online home decorative products Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by product

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Growing demand for eco-friendly home decor items

Enhancement of consumer experience through technologies

Increasing demand for contractual furniture

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Bed Bath Beyond Inc.

Chairish Inc.

Coyuchi Inc.

Herman Miller, Inc.

Home24 SE

Inter IKEA Holding B.V.

Lowe's Companies Inc.

Pier 1 Imports Inc.

Trendsutra Platform Services Pvt. Ltd.

Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005026/en/

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NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> In the wake of several pedestrian fatalities, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a multi-pronged plan to improve safety along Sycamore Street, the townships downtown commercial corridor. At its Jan. 13 meeting, the board voted unanimously to follow the short term and long term recommendations of its traffic engineer, Derek Kennedy, who was...
What would it take for President Donald Trump to deliver aid to states devastated by the coronavirus? Perhaps more cooperation on immigration enforcement.

Earlier this week, the president suggested that a federal COVID-19 bailout for states could be contingent upon states abandoning sanctuary city policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. I think there's a big difference with a state that lost money because of covid and a state that's been run very badly for 25 years, he said at a meeting with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday. Wed have to talk about things like sanctuary cities, as an example. I think sanctuary cities is something that has to be brought up where people who are criminals are protected, they are protected from prosecution.

The threat to deny aid to some of the hardest-hit states such as New York, its neighbors in the Northeast and counterparts on the West Coast is not the first time the president has used the resources of the federal government to punish New York for not sharing his anti-immigration ideology. Earlier this year, Trump, through the Department of Homeland Security, banned New York residents from using Trusted Traveler Programs  a move attributed to the states passage of the Green Light Law, which allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses and which keeps the Department of Motor Vehicles sharing records with the federal government to protect their identities. But just a week earlier, Cuomo had been celebrating Trumps statements that he supported aid to states in the next round of federal coronavirus relief.

One immigration advocacy group suggested Trumps sanctuary city comments were just another attempt to rile up his base and win the news cycle amid criticism of his leadership during the pandemic. Whenever it backfires on him, he always goes into his anti-immigrant grab bag of attacks to distract and spin, said Murad Awawdeh, the executive vice president of advocacy and strategy at the New York Immigration Coalition. Hes looking for a way to avoid the fallout thats happening with his complete and utter failure with how hes handled the global pandemic that were all facing right now. And at the same time, hes trying to play politics with the lives of New Yorkers.

Just a few days earlier, Trump came under withering derision after his baseless, dangerous musings that common household disinfectants might be used inside the human body to fight the coronavirus. This is another ploy to really get folks to forget how insane hes been, Awawdeh said.

While Trumps comments about sanctuary cities on Tuesday werent explicitly directed at New York or Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York is the state with by far the most per capita cases of coronavirus, and Cuomo is arguably making more noise than any other state officials across the country about the need for aid to states to pay for services amidst the extra costs and economic contraction caused by the virus. New York faces an estimated $13 billion budget deficit, and Cuomo has lashed out at some lawmakers who push back on the notion that states should receive a federal bailout.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week suggested that the states in need of aid be left to declare bankruptcy, though he has since walked those comments back a bit. Meanwhile, Cuomo has chastised DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida for suggesting that poorly run states like New York shouldnt be bailed out with federal funds. Scott cited concern that federal aid would be used for the states pension fund, and suggested Florida taxpayers shouldnt be on the hook for bailing out New York.

On Wednesday, Cuomo fired back. Theyre not bailing us out, Cuomo said of Florida. We bail them out every year.

Cuomo has yet to respond directly to Trumps comments about sanctuary cities. And whether aid for states would actually come down to bargaining over immigration policy, or the threat will turn out to be an empty one, is unclear. But its nonetheless possible that as talks continue on another federal stimulus bill, Trump will return to sanctuary city or other immigration policies as a source of leverage.
Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin during a press conference for the Green Party at Irish Georgian Society, William St, Dublin, for the General Election campaign. Picture date: Thursday February 6, 2020. See PA story IRISH Election. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

The possibility of the Green Party entering into formal talks with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail has hit a stumbling block due to a disagreement between the deputy leaders of the Greens and Fine Gael.

The Green Party has said 7% annual reduction in carbon emissions is a red-line issue for the party entering into a coalition government.

It has been 83 days since Februarys inconclusive general election result and efforts by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to convince a smaller party to join their coalition are ongoing.

Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney told the Irish Examiner the 7% yearly reduction in emissions would not be signed up to if it decimates rural Ireland.

I am not going to put farmers out of business. Nothing has been ruled out effectively.

But, there are some things you simply cant say yes to without figuring out how its going to be done, he said.

Lets be very clear on that, we are not going to sign up to a programme for government that decimates rural Ireland.

Thatll never happen, even if that means another election.

Green Party Deputy leader Catherine Martin told RTE radio Mr Coveneys comments were shocking and disturbing.

Catherine Martin has come out swinging today and is 100% right on the shenanigans we've seen from FFFG. They are dancing around the Paris agreement which they signed on behalf of the state.

"FF and FG know exactly what needs to be done, they just don't want to do it." #todaysor  Lorna Bogue (@LornaBogue) May 1, 2020

The Tanaiste saying hes not up for 7%.its quite frankly disturbing.

Why dont they know how to do this if they signed up to the agreement in 2015?

Alarm bells are ringing.

Alarm bells are ringing also for us when it comes to provision of public housing on public land, they seem to want to pursue the private housing model, what lessons have been learned there, direct provision, its much more than the 7%, she said.

Ms Martin said there was unrest among members over Fianna Fail and Fine Gaels joint response to the Green Partys 17 demands for entering talks, including the 7% annual target earlier this week.

The Green parliamentary party will meet on Friday to discuss how to respond to the two parties and whether to enter into formal talks.
Vicky Jones is sounding nervous. Her eight-part drama/romance/black comedy Run is about to go to air on HBO in the United States. I havent really done it before, never done anything on this scale, never been the showrunner, she says breathlessly. There are a lot of people hoping it goes well and Ill feel totally responsible if it doesnt. It was Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jones best friend, business partner and muse, who persuaded her to write in the first place, she says. Phoebe is the confident one. Im really very shy.

There is nothing of the shrinking violet, however, in the work Jones has made over the years that she and Waller-Bridge have been working together. From the start, Jones says, she and Waller-Bridge wanted to create theatre in which women could discuss anything without censoring themselves: a public version of the searching talks they had with each other. Before Fleabag there was The One, written by Jones and starring Waller-Bridge as a married woman who despises her husband but, for her own less than admirable reasons, will not leave him. Sex is one of the power tools they use to drill into their vicious relationship, to explosive effect.

Vicky Jones: the aim was to create shows in which women didn't self-censor. Credit:HBO/Sophia Spring

Their breakthrough came in 2013, when they took their stage production of Fleabag  written and performed by Waller-Bridge, directed by Jones  to the Edinburgh Fringe, where its free, frank and funny discussion of a young womans dark-cornered private life made it a huge hit. The eponymous Fleabag dumps her prospect for a dull night and goes home drunk to watch porn. Just the right kind of threesome, she purrs. Its melancholy theme might have been urban loneliness, but it was Fleabags casual references to masturbation and anal sex that were its neon-lit talking points.

As everyone knows, the BBC commissioned a television series based on the play that immediately became a cultural marker. Waller-Bridge went on to develop the assassination thriller Killing Eve; Jones later joined her writing room. Jones wrote another play called Touch, which centred on a bisexual woman in her late 20s with an elaborate range of preferences, giving herself a platform to talk about desire, its frustration and the pall cast over sex in real life by porn culture. I feel that this is what women believe: that they are the givers and not meant to be the receivers, she says. I do feel that sex is really messed up. And although we talk about sex constantly, its not being spoken about properly.
Photo-Illustration: Vulture

The true-crime podcast universe is ever expanding. Were here to make it a bit smaller and a bit more manageable. There are a lot of great shows, and each has a lot of great episodes, so we want to highlight the noteworthy and the exceptional. Each week, our crack team of podcast enthusiasts and specialists will pick their favorites.

Son of a Hitman, Everybody Liked Charlie

In 2007, Charles Harrelson, father of actor Woody Harrelson, died in prison in Colorado. At the time of his death, he was serving two life sentences for the murder of U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr. In this ten-part series, host and journalist Jason Cavanagh takes a look at Harrelson, his crimes, who hired him, and how they remained secret for so long. In chapter two of this Spotify exclusive, Cavanagh looks at Harrelsons early life (including holding the record for the most words ever crammed onto a business card), and the murder of carpet salesman Alan Berg. He was found not guilty for Bergs murder, as was Frank DiMaria, who allegedly hired Harrelson to kill Berg. The central question of Cavanaghs search: Are there more crimes? Did Harrelson kill people he wasnt contracted to kill? Check out this episode and everyone in this series for a deep, absorbing dig. Chanel Dubofsky

Selena: A Star Dies in Texas, La Flor and March 31, 1995

Given the proliferation of true-crime podcasts over the past five years, its rather surprising no one has produced a splashy long-form series on the murder of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez  that is, until now. Hosted by Kii-TV anchor Rudy Trevino, Selena: A Star Dies in Texas tells not only the tragic story of the slain 23-year-old, who was on the cusp of superstardom, but also that of her killer, her friend and fan-club president Yolanda Saldivar. What could possibly have driven Saldivar to murder the woman she claimed was her only real friend? In exploring these dual narratives, the podcast makes ample use of archival footage from local Texas television stations  and practically everyone involved seems to have some connection or history with Selena, her family, or her associates  giving the podcast a real air of authority and authenticity. Unsurprisingly, 25 years on, the details of Selenas life and death are no less heartbreaking. Amy Wilkinson

The Fall Line, The Richland County Jane Doe, Part One

The eighth season of The Fall Line kicks off with a two-parter about a Jane Doe who died in 1982 under mysterious circumstances at the South Carolina Mental Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. Laura Norton, Brooke Hargrove, and the rest of the team behind The Fall Line do a great job as usual giving listeners a historical context, from the history of the sprawling mental hospital campus to how mental-health care has evolved over the decades, right up to the deinstitutionalization movement that led to a national crisis that inextricably linked mental health, home insecurity, and incarceration. (The mental hospital and its grounds, known colloquially as Bull Street, are apparently being developed into a kicky mixed-use district. Yikes.)

In this living Jane Does case, the police brought her into the Richland County emergency room, where she was unable to identify herself. She was eventually taken to Bull Street, where she was given psychiatric drugs and assigned to a room, where she died from a fall. The episode is meaty with interviews  theyve got journalist William Buchheit, who has written extensively about Bull Street; deputy coroner and forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Stevens, who does admirable work identifying remains in cold cases; and Wilhelmina Rivers, a mental-health specialist at Bull Street who discussed the inner workings of Bull Street and what it was like there in 1982. Who was this Jane Doe? And how did she really die? The Fall Line aims to find out. But even if theyre not able to uncover her identity, they are shedding some much-needed light on a crisis thats only getting worse the more we ignore it. Jenni Miller

Dateline: Motive for Murder, A Scream. Then Silence. and Was It Love?

Following its wildly successful foray into serialized podcasting in 2019, The Thing About Pam, NBCs true-crime juggernaut Dateline returns with a new season hosted by veteran reporter Josh Mankiewicz. (While Mankiewicz may not boast colleague Keith Morrisons florid prose or dulcet tones, hes always been one of my favorites purely for his no-bullshit attitude toward interviewing suspects.) Motive for Murder investigates the case of Gelareh Bagherzadeh, a 30-year-old Iranian-born graduate student who was gunned down in her familys Houston driveway in January 2012  all while one of her close friends was on the phone with her. With multiple avenues of investigation (the friend on the phone, who happens to be an ex-boyfriend; a newish love interest, who was the last known person to see her alive; Bagherzadehs activism work), Mankiewicz explains that the key to finding the womans murderer will be to first establish a motive. Having seen the episode of Dateline upon which this podcast is based, I can attest that this case is incredibly twisty and turny  and one whose outcome you surely wont see coming. Amy Wilkinson

Friday, May 1

Somebody, The Two-Year Anniversary

On March 4, 2016, after being shot in the back, Courtney Copeland, a 22-year-old black man, drove himself to the police station on Chicagos West Side, where he got out of his car (a BMW convertible), collapsed, and died at a nearby hospital. In this seven-part podcast  a project of the Invisible Institute, the Intercept, Topic Studios, and iHeartRadio, in association with Tenderfoot TV  Copelands mother, Shapearl Wells, is investigating her sons death and all of the unanswered questions around it. Why wont the Chicago Police Department release the video footage from that night? Why was Courtney handcuffed to his hospital bed? Why was no one in the neighborhood asked about what they heard and saw that night?

In the latest episode of Somebody, investigators Alison Flowers and Bill Healy speak with Elena and her husband Edgar, who did call 911 the night Courtney was shot, but the police never spoke with either of them. At a vigil/protest she holds on the two-year anniversary of Courtneys death, Shapearl speaks with Elena and Edgar for the first time, and more disturbing pieces in this important story about race and injustice begin to slide together. Chanel Dubofsky

Criminal, Starlight Tours

The abuse and mistreatment of indigenous people are hardly a new story, but the latest episode of the Phoebe Judgefronted Criminal introduces a chapter likely unfamiliar to most Americans. Its January 2000 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and a 30-year-old man named Lawrence Wegner is found frozen to death on a lonely road. As a journalist and a cop simultaneously begin to dig into the incident, they discover that Wegner isnt the only First Nations man to freeze to death that month in Saskatoons frigid 40-below weather. In fact, the locals have a term for what most likely happened to Wagner  its called a starlight tour, in which a police officer allegedly picks up an intoxicated subject and drops them off in the boonies to walk it off. This practice, as they would soon discover, dates back years, if not decades. And I probably dont need to tell you that the road to justice for these poor men is long, bumpy, and full of many dead ends. Amy Wilkinson

Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad, Murderers Let Loose During the Coronavirus

Everything is a mess right now, and that includes crime, prisons, and the law. In this episode of The Murder Squad, Billy and Paul talk decisions, made and pending, about releasing violent criminals from custody right now due to conditions in prison concerning COVID-19, with former prosecutor and legal commentator Loni Coombs. How do you protect prisoners and prison staff from what is basically, in Coombss words, a petri dish? What does it mean for survivors of domestic and sexual violence to have a perpetrator set free when people are sheltering in place and can be easily found? (Speaking of which, someone who will not be getting released from prison in spite of his compromised immune system? Bill Cosby.) Might it actually be easier to solve crimes in this world in which things are upside down? Maybe. Listen also for the case of Walter Ogrod, on death row in Pennsylvania for the 1988 murder of Barbara Jean Holmes. Ogrods DNA indicates that he probably didnt commit the murder, and hes currently waiting for a hearing with a fever of 106. Chanel Dubofsky

Wrongful Conviction With Jason Flom, Nick Yarris in the Time of COVID

A four-part series of interviews from Jason Flom, the founder of Lava Records and a righteous advocate for those wrongfully incarcerated, threads the needle between feeling good and lusting for justice without getting bogged down from blind optimism. So far, Flom has interviewed Damien Echols, Amanda Knox, and Nick Yarris about how COVID-19 is affecting them and what tools they developed while incarcerated to cope with isolation, lack of control, and loneliness, with one last guest to come next week. Its inspirational without being saccharine, and Ive listened to the episodes multiple times.

Echols talks about intellectual and spiritual nourishment alongside the grim realities of death row, as well as the importance of humor, even if its the gallows kind. Knox movingly describes the pain of isolation and the tools she used to cope as best as she could, from yoga to learning languages and reading. Yarris, whose story I wasnt familiar with until I went back and listened to previous episodes about him, waxes poetic about The Prophet and staying humble.

There are no good answers on how to cope with a global pandemic, really, but the insight they offer, along with Floms warmhearted curiosity, was quite soothing. I was especially comforted hearing Echols describe his love for NYC, where Ive lived for my entire adult life and hope to appreciate again soon, as well as Knoxs tender take on skin hunger, boundaries, and Weird Al. Yarriss insights about how we could learn a lesson about community and selflessness from COVID-19 instead of being aggrieved at and blaming others for inconveniencing our lives is a crucial message. Im looking forward to the fourth guest next week, although this could be a great ongoing miniseries within a series, too. Jenni Miller
Tennessee Governor Bill Lees Unified Command Group said a mass COVID-19 testing initiative will begin next week for all Tennessee Department of Correction staff and the inmates in their care.

Knowing the extent of the viruss spread within our correctional facilities is critical as incarcerated individuals remain one of the most vulnerable populations during this pandemic, said Governor Bill Lee. Thanks to our increased capacity, well test all inmates and staff statewide in order to take appropriate actions to safeguard the health of these vulnerable individuals.

TDOC on Friday confirmed more than 1,246 COVID-19 positive cases, out of 2,450 total tests, among staff and inmates at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Trousdale County, following a targeted testing event at the facility that began on April 28.

Weve been in close coordination with TDOC as it began targeted COVID-19 testing of inmates and staff in early April, said UCG Director Stuart McWhorter. Given the increases in positive cases at the Bledsoe County and Trousdale Turner correctional facilities, despite the vast majority being asymptomatic, we are going to take the next steps in partnership with TDOC, Tennessee Department of Health, and Tennessee National Guard to support a broader testing strategy to promote the health and safety of staff and inmates. We will also coordinate plans with our local jails to assist them in safeguarding the health of their populations in the coming days.

TDOC and TDH analysis of the test results confirm 98 percent of those who tested positive are asymptomatic.

TDOC is now working with its healthcare services provider and contract prison provider, Centurion Managed Care and CoreCivic, to begin COVID-19 testing next week of all staff and inmates at 10 other TDOC correctional facilities in the state.

While CoreCivic will be responsible for testing all inmates and staff in its managed facilities, UCG will coordinate with the Tennessee National Guard to augment testing capacity for staff at state-run facilities, where Centurion will be testing only inmates.

"The Department of Correction is taking a proactive approach to ensure all staff and the entire inmate population is tested for COVID-19, said TDOC Commissioner Tony Parker. Our sixth round of mass testing will begin early next week with the remaining 10 facilities conducting testing. With the support and leadership of Governor Lee, Tennessee is leading the nation in our approach to widespread mass testing.

The Department of Military has been working closely with TDOC for weeks on preparedness for various courses of action as situations develop, said Tennessees Adjutant General, Major General Jeff Holmes. This plan is entering an implementation phase and we are prepared to support this mission."

The statewide mass testing initiative also follows additional, targeted facility testing TDOC conducted at the Bledsoe County and Northwest Correctional Complexes on April 10, and at the Turney Center Industrial Complex on April 19.

COVID-19 testing at the Bledsoe facility indicated 583 positive staff and inmate cases, among 2,322 tested; 40 positive cases out of 902 staff and inmates tested at Northwest; and 40 positive cases out of 313 staff and inmates tested at Turney Center.

As with the Trousdale Turner results, the vast majority of individuals positive test results at the other three TDOC facilities were asymptomatic.

TDOC immediately follows positive COVID-19 tests with contact tracing for potential exposure.

All inmates who test positive and are asymptomatic receive daily medical monitoring and health assessments. Inmates who are asymptomatic will be monitored at their facilities while medical teams check daily for symptoms.

Those who may become symptomatic but dont require additional care, such as respiratory support, will be treated in place or at local hospitals, depending on their needs. Staff will self-quarantine and are monitored for symptoms and are encouraged to contact their healthcare provider.

TDOC has delivered more than 93,000 masks for staff, inmates, county jails, and health care workers. COVID-19 disinfection and safety measures are ongoing at all TDOC facilities and TDOC is practicing recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and TDH.
The Trump administration authorized a series of military flyovers of jet fighters and bombers, dubbed Operation America Strong, this week as a purported salute to health care workers and first responders during the disastrous coronavirus pandemic. Millions of dollars are being spent honoring the very men and women the administration still has not provided with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Operation America Strong was the idea of our great military men and women, Donald Trump said during a White House press briefing last week. The Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels crews who wanted to show support to the American medical workers who, just like military members in a time of war, are fiercely running toward the fight.

On Tuesday, the Navys Blue Angels and the Air Forces Thunderbirdselite military flight squadronsflew in a collaborative salute over New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Twelve jets, including half a dozen of the Air Forces F-16C/D Fighting Falcons and six F-18 C/D Hornets, sped over New York City and Newark before heading to Philadelphia. Additionally, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, four T-38 Talons and two A-10 Thunderbolt 11s streaked over Kansas City.

People watch as a formation of the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flight teams pass in front of the New York City skyline as seen from in Weehawken, N.J., Tuesday, April 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A formation of two B-1B Lancers is scheduled to conduct a salute on Friday, May 1, over the Fort Meade VA Hospital in Sturgis, South Dakota, another VA hospital in Hot Springs, and Monument Health Medical Facility in Rapid Springs. A four-ship formation of a B-52 Stratofortress accompanied by F-15 Eagle fighters is expected over New Orleans and Baton Rouge as well.

The Thunderbirds carried out salutes over Las Vegas on April 11 and metropolitan areas in Colorado on April 18.

Trumps use of military grandeur and its expense have drawn sharp criticism. According to figures gathered by Military.com, operating an F-16 fighter jet costs $20,423 per hour. Flying a B-52 bomber runs about $48,000 per flight and $94,000 for a B-1B Lancer. A B-2 stealth bomber costs a staggering $122,000 per hour of flight. In other words, the average cost of flying one of these planes could pay at least one nurses salary for a year.

The expensive display, which was over in the blink of an eye, provoked angry denunciations on Twitter:

Im a R.N. You can thank us by fully funding the hospitals. Telling us to attempt to self sterilize used PPE while spending millions on the Blue Angels flyovers is insulting.

Stay home and quit billing the taxpayers $60,000 an hour per plane. The healthcare workers are committing suicide in NY and youre a loud distraction.

How about we not lay off and furlough of nurses and doctors to honor them instead!!!

What a waste of money during a national crisis. Im sure the nurses wearing garbage bags will be impressed. Im a Navy vet, and Im ashamed.

The Pentagon has defended the demonstrations by stating the funds going toward operating the formations are money already allocated to the Department of Defense and entail no additional cost to the taxpayer. Air Force Global Strike Command spokeswoman Carla Pampe told reporters the flyovers also serve as an opportunity to train pilots to maintain readiness.

This is an opportunity for the Air Force to [safely] salute the Americans who are selflessly supporting our communities during this trying time while also conducting needed training, Pampe said.

Even if one concedes to the fact that no additional taxes were levied to fund the military displays, the trillions of dollars allocated to the US war machine are resources stolen from health care infrastructure and social programs. Each hour of the multi-plane salutes could produce dozens of life-saving ventilators. Instead, the American ruling class is merely offering symbolic support to those dying to save the lives of others, with the added benefit of training fighter jet pilots.

The absurdity of the situation is magnified when one considers the destructive history that US imperialism and its allies have of flying planes over hospitals in the Middle East. On October 3, 2015, a US-led airstrike decimated a Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) medical center in Kunduz, Afghanistan. More than 30 people were injured and 42 killed including 10 patients, three children, and 12 members of the MSF. On March 26, 2019, a US-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia dropped US-supplied bombs on a hospital in Yemen, killing at least seven including four children.

In the background of Operation America Strong, the Trump administration is spearheading the campaign to send people back to work, which will ensure an increase in medical patients suffering from COVID-19 and the deadly toll on health care workers. Trump, in collusion with the media, is utilizing all of the forces at his disposal to force workers back into unsafe working conditions.

Hospital workers nationwide have insisted they be provided with proper PPE and that the economy not be prematurely opened, despite warnings against it by multiple medical experts and officials. The ruling elite have dictated vast sums of money be allocated to fuel the rise of the stock markets while the majority of the population are left empty-handed.
It was April 18, 2019, the last day of the spring semester at Willamettes College of Law. Nathaniel Woodward was wrapping up his second year of law school and looking forward to a visit from his mother, Leslie.

Then came the phone call from his father, Wayne  and for a brief period, Woodwards world fell apart. Leslie had passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60, leaving a feeling of emptiness that nothing could fill.

I lost a lot of control at that point  I just wailed, Woodward recalled. We had spoken through FaceTime the night before, and she was coming in two days. We were going to go to the coast and rent a beach house. And telling my kids was hard, especially my daughter, Bridgette. She didnt just lose a trip to the coast  she lost her best friend.

Suddenly Woodward was headed to his hometown of Price, Utah, for his mothers funeral. His professors allowed him to delay taking his finals, but when he returned for the tests, he struggled to find a sense of focus.

It really affected me, Woodward said. I did very, very poorly on my finals, and the first time I truly considered dropping out of anything was at that point. I needed to be there for my family, for Philip and my little Bridgette.

It wasnt the first time he and his wife, Deborah, had suffered a significant personal loss: Their first son, Jonathan, was stillborn in 2014. But after a time of togetherness and mourning, Woodward regained his focus and set his sights on his final year of law school.

Hell graduate in May with a wealth of experience in law and a legacy of serving and inspiring Salem-area youth. And his deep reservoir of empathy will continue to serve him well as a law clerk for The Gatti Law Firm, which advocates for accident victims and their families.

An unconventional path to law school

Woodwards winding road to a law career began at Utah State University, where he earned degrees in biology and history, served as editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and worked as an award-winning science columnist for the Sun-Advocate. He was aiming for a career in science or medicine, but a particular aspect of his undergraduate experience gave him pause.

The idea of undergrad was to either get a PhD and teach or go to medical school, he said. But then one day I was working in a cadaver lab, and I thought, I don't know if I want to do this for the rest of my life.

In the midst of uncertainty  and still grappling with the loss of Jonathan  Woodward felt it was time for a change. Then a thought came into his mind: What about law school?

He started messaging a friend who had graduated from Willamettes College of Law and was now practicing in Oregon. The more Woodward learned about the field, the more intrigued he became. I just wanted to be in a career where I was helping people, he said. Law just felt right.

After visiting some of the most prestigious law schools in the country, he settled on Willamette. In contrast to the hyper-competitive nature of the other schools he visited, Willamettes sense of community was refreshing.

Delivering hope to victims and families

Within months of his arrival in Salem, a personal injury attorney in Lake Oswego messaged Woodward and said he was looking for a law clerk with a background in science. Woodward leaped at the opportunity, and all of his preconceived notions about so-called ambulance chasers were blown away.

I saw that these lawyers are the complete opposite of what society perceives them to be, Woodward said. They truly want to help people. I worked with a lot of injury victims, and their stories were devastating.

In May 2018, Woodward began serving as a law clerk for Swanson Lathen Prestwich PC in Salem. It was during this time he realized just how much of an impact he could have as a personal injury attorney.

Toward the end of 2018, the firm asked Woodward to go to a wrecking yard in Troutdale as part of a survivorship action. The victim in this case had been traveling through the Columbia River Gorge shortly before Christmas when he was killed in an accident through no fault of his own.

Woodwards task was to retrieve the gifts the victim had picked up for his family.

All the Christmas presents hed bought for his children were in the car, this destroyed car, and the family wanted me to go get them, Woodward recalled. Theres no mentally preparing for this. I had to crawl through broken glass and find these presents  the last gifts this man was going to give to his family  and it was my job to facilitate their delivery.

Ive written motions that have won money for people, but this time I felt I was doing something more. I got to deliver this type of healing that I couldn't do with a check.

Hes been working for The Gatti Law Firm for more than a year now, representing victims of rape, bullying, workplace accidents and fatal collisions. He says his colleagues are the most empathetic people hes ever met, and theyre all committed to making a difference.

Nothing changes a company's policy more quickly than having to pay for something, Woodward said. So many of these clients who sit across from me dont care so much about the money  they just want to make sure it doesnt happen to anyone else. I always had a goal of not taking my work home with me, but this is a job I'm delighted to take home with me because I'm not just helping people. Im helping society become safer.

Finding a home in the Salem community

Willamette has done more than prepare Woodward for a rewarding career. Its also given him a chance to make an impact in the broader community.

Hes been a dedicated volunteer for Street Law, an alternative high school program aimed primarily at teen parents and early-college high school students in the Salem area. Hes spoken to middle school and high school students throughout the Salem community about overcoming lifes challenges. And hes worked with Webelos in a local Scout troop.

I always root for the underdog, Woodward said. A quarter of my Street Law class is made up of Dreamers, and they have actual concerns about the law. They want to fight, but they don't know where to start. I want to help these kids succeed in a world that's not designed for them to succeed.

My mom always believed in the magic of people  she really saw this ethereal thing that connects all of us. My Street Law kids are my little friends. Its one way I can make a difference.

Woodward said none of these experiences would have been possible if hed gone to another law school. His professors shaped him in countless ways, and his classmates rallied around him  and around each other  in times of loss.

Law schools a competition, Woodward said, When you get an A, it means that someone else doesnt get that A. But in spite of all these demands, the students still genuinely love each other. Its a family, and its a family formed out of adversity  and I think that's one of the strongest families you can be a part of.

About the Willamette University College of Law

The College of Law is a private law school located in Salem, Oregon at Willamette University, the oldest university in the western United States. Willamette Law boasts an innovative program designed to prepare leaders in government, private practice, and business with the lawyering skills needed in the 21st Century. In recent years, outside industry watchers such as Moodys and The National Jurist Magazine have recognized Willamette Law for its positive job placement results. Willamette lawyers are the best dealmakers, problem solvers, community leaders, and change-makers in the most innovative and exciting region in the country. Our location  nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley and across the street from the Oregon State Capitol, Supreme Court and many state agencies  is an advantage that cannot be matched anywhere in the region.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has begun the process of identifying students who are stranded here due to the lockdown and want to go back to their homes within Uttar Pradesh and in Bihar, officials said on Friday.

The administration has issued a web link -- https://t.co/InTwcSx65v?amp=1 -- where students can register themselves by sharing their basic details and contact numbers after which government officials will get in touch with them, they said.

"Dear students, on the instructions of the state government, the following link has been created to send all stranded students home. Students are requested to fill the complete details by clicking the link https://t.co/InTwcSx65v?amp=1 You will be contacted soon via email/sms," District Magistrate Suhas L Y tweeted.

Considered an hub, Gautam Buddh Nagar in western UP has around eight universities with more than 50,000 students and multiple engineering colleges among others, the officials said, adding that several of these students are non-locals.

The development comes even as two days are remaining for the lockdown, which came into force on March 25 on a decision by the Centre to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Thursday issued directives that a list of students from UP be prepared who want to return to their homes.

He had sought a list of students from Noida, Ghaziabad and Aligarh, besides those from Delhi. He has asked his officials to establish a communication with the Delhi government to ensure the stranded students return to their homes in UP, according to tweets shared by the Chief Minister's Office on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LOS ANGELESStudents have posted an online petition supporting a University of Miami lecturer who quit his job after accidentally sharing his screen that included a single porn site tab during an online Zoom class, according to a report by The Miami Herald.

The Change.org petition to rehire business analytics lecturer John Zhang gathered 1,500 signatures in the first day it went online.

During a March 26 class conducted via Zoom due to the ongoing coronavirus shutdown at the university  and at universities throughout the United States  Zhang shared his screen with the students in the class. But in the web browser image shared by the teacher, one student noticed that a tab to the left of the screen contained the heading, Busty college girl fu... with the remainder of the title not visible, The Miami Hurricane student newspaper reported.

No images from the porn site were visible. But the student who spotted the tab quickly created a video and posted it on the social media app TikTok where it went viral, being widely shared even before Zhang had ended the class.

The lecturer held two more online classes, and issued an apology to students.

I dont know how it happened, Zhang reportedly said. I didnt see it, Im pretty sure everybody else did. My apologies to the class.

But during a subsequent Zoom session, Zhang failed to appear online. The university later said that he has resigned his position. The lecturers name was almost immediately removed from the school website, his email is no longer active and his classes this semester in the course catalogue have been changed to reflect their new instructors. His name has been expunged from all UM affiliated websites, the Hurricane reported.

But on Wednesday, the day after the student paper reported that Zhang was out of a job due to the incident, student Alex Torres posted an online petition to rehire him.

People make mistakes, are sexual beings, and should not be fired when no true porn was shared, Torres said, as quoted by The Herald. We no longer live in the 18th century and individuals are allowed to have a personal, sexual life. This was obviously a mistake.

The student who made the TikTok video that ignited the controversy told the student paper that he regretted his actions.

I felt bad about the attention it was getting, he told The Hurricane. I didnt want him to lose his job. I thought he would be fine. I felt really bad for him.

Photo By Vitamin / Pixabay
Niche bike manufacturer Royal Enfield on Friday said it did not sell any unit in the domestic market but exported 91 units in April amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to complete halt in operations, Royal Enfield has reported sales of 91 units in April, the company said in a statement.

The company, a part of Eicher Motors, said it suspended operations and production across its factories, technology centres in India and the UK, all company offices and dealerships in the country starting March 23, 2020.

For April, Royal Enfield's manufacturing facilities across Tiruvottiyur, Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal in Chennai and the entire supply chain including the company's dealerships across India, remained closed in compliance with the government directives, it added.

The company would continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as per the regulatory and administrative guidance, it noted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A manda Holden has praised the NHS for saving her life after she went into a coma following the birth of her second child.

The Britain's Got Talent judge, 49, has released her first single, a cover of Over The Rainbow, to help raise money to help combat Covid-19.

Holden recorded her version of the Judy Garland classic last year and will donate all proceeds to NHS charities.

Speaking on her Heart Radio breakfast show on Friday morning, the presenter said: When I gave birth to Hollie, my eight-year-old daughter who I know is listening, she was an emergency and I haemorrhaged, basically, and I actually did pass away for 40 seconds.

"I went into a coma, but the NHS were there holding my hand and my husbands hand, who  I feel sorry for him to be honest  he went through, it watching it all.

The actor is looking to raise funds for NHS Charities (Suzie Fellows Outside Org) / Suzie Fellows (Outside Org)

The star said she was keen to support the health service as she "feel[s] like I owe them so much" after NHS staff helped her through the stillbirth of her son Theo in 2011 and treated her sister following a car accident.

She told PA news agency: This campaign and the NHS mean a lot to me because as Im sure youve read over the years they've saved my life.

"Theyve saved my sister's life after she was in a car accident. And of course our son Theo was born sleeping at an NHS hospital where all the staff were utterly extraordinary and treated us with so much empathy and love.

"So I feel like I owe them so much. I feel like we all owe them a debt now and of course for the future to come.

Amanda Holden's single is now available to download and stream, and money raised will go to NHS Charities Together / PA

Holden, who is currently on-screen for the 14th series of Britains Got Talent, has partnered with Marks & Spencer to release the track.

Life has taken a really funny turn but one thing that I think has become really clear is that we are all in this together," she said.

"And more than ever we've reconnected with love and hope during this time. The wonderful team at Marks & Spencer have designed these beautiful rainbow t-shirts with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together.

Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers 1 /9 Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers Daniel Craig and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were among stars featuring in celebrity show of thanks to the NHS NHS/Twitter PA PA PA PA PA Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was among stars who join in a show of thanks for NHS workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis NHS/Twitter

Explaining why she chose Over the Rainbow, Holden said the song was particularly special to her family.

Its a song I used to sing as a girl with my nan and grandad and one I love to sing with my daughters Lexi and Hollie, she said. When Marks & Spencer and I were chatting last week we remembered this song and lyrically it feels more relevant now than ever.

My record label VirginEMI have kindly agreed to put the song out with all proceeds going to support this wonderful cause for the NHS.

Download and stream Over the Rainbow here.
Louis Lucero, 35, is suspected of murdering his girlfriend and her two young sons in California, and dumping their bodies in the desert

Deputies in Colorado arrested an 'armed and dangerous' man Thursday after he allegedly murdered his girlfriend and her two young sons the day before and left their bodies in the desert in Southern California.

Louis Gabriel Lucero, 35, allegedly killed Erlinda Villareal, 42, along with her 9- and 12-year-old sons, at an unknown location and left them in the desert in Apple Valley, where someone off-roading discovered them Wednesday evening, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department.

Lucero was arrested more than 800 miles away in Eagle County, Colorado, on an unrelated charge at 12.30pm on Thursday, the sheriffs department said.

He is being held in Colorado on the other charge, which was not specified, and a warrant for the triple homicide in California.

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Erlinda Villareal, 42 (left), and her sons, ages 9 and 12 (right), were allegedly taken from their home by Lucero on Wednesday, never to be seen alive again

Police responded to the family's home in Victorville, California, and found signs of struggle

Police believe Lucero killed the mother and children somewhere else and then dumped their bodies in the Apple Valley desert (pictured)

Lucero will be scheduled for an extradition hearing before returning to San Bernardino County.

Deputies initially responded to the Victorville home in the 15400 block of Ferndale Road that Lucero and Villareal shared after a relative in the house called authorities Wednesday morning.

The couple and the boys were gone but deputies discovered signs of a struggle inside, authorities said.

The bodies of the mother and sons were found about eight miles away from their home around 5.30pm. Authorities did not say how they were killed.

The biological father of Villarreal's murdered sons told KCAL he had just dropped off the boys at their mother's home on Tuesday night.

Villareal and Lucero had been dating for more than a year and last May got tattoos spelling each other's names

He also said the children had spent most of the time with him because Villareal's relationship with Lucero had become abusive.

According to Villareal's Facebook page, she and Lucero had been dating for more than a year.

Villareal's final Facebook post before her death showed her and the boys dog-sitting in Victorville

In May 2019, Villareal had her boyfriend's name tattooed on her left hand, and he had her name inked on his neck.

Around the same time, the woman wrote about her and Lucero's plans to get married.

Villareal had just become a grandmother again a week ago, when her grown daughter welcomed a baby son.

Ruby Mendoza has launched a GoFundMe campaign asking for donations to help lay to rest her mother and brothers.

Her final status update, which she posted early Wednesday morning, showed her dog-sitting for a relative with her sons.

In a tragic twist of irony, Villareal described herself as 'feeling safe'in Victorville, California.'
SC asks Centre to furnish data on starvation deaths 18 Jan 2022 | 11:46 PM New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre whether this can be believed that there is no starvation death in the country and said the community kitchens must be opened in states and asked the Centre to frame model scheme and logistics for the purpose. see more..

Police files case over making derogatory remarks on Muslim women on app 18 Jan 2022 | 11:44 PM New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) The Delhi Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against unidentified people for allegedly making derogatory comments against Muslim women and girls on voice chat app 'Clubhouse'. see more..

Actor Poonam Pandey gets relief from SC in pornography case 18 Jan 2022 | 11:43 PM New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) There is a big sigh of relief for the model and Bollywood actor, Poonam Pandey, with the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted her the interim protection from arrest in the pornography case in which businessman and the husband of Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra was arrested earlier. see more..

BJP Central Election Committee to meet on Wednesday 18 Jan 2022 | 11:18 PM New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) The Central Election Committee of the BJP will meet on Wednesday to discuss candidates for upcoming assembly polls, while marathon meetings were held by the core committee on Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday over the elections. see more..
Honey bees in the UK are increasingly suffering at the hands of a deadly viral disease that is sweeping England and Wales, according to a new study.

British scientists found colonies of the honey bee that are infected with chronic bee paralysis rose nearly 200-fold between 2007 and 2017.

Whole colonies are frequently lost to the disease, which causes abnormal trembling, an inability to fly and a disturbing loss of hair leading to odd shiny abdomens.

The disease is caused by the chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), and infected bees die within a week, leading to piles of dead honey bees outside hives.

Data recorded from more than 24,000 bee keepers confirmed CBPV is present in 45 counties in England and Wales, after only being recorded in one county in 2007.

The lethal condition, which is likely spread from imports of queen bees from overseas, could threaten honey production in Britain.

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Symptoms of chronic bee paralysis can include shaking, black hairless bees with nibbled wings (centre) and greasy looking abdomens with dislocated wings

While there were no cases of the viral disease in 2006, in 2017 around 174 apiaries  locations where beehives of honey bees are kept  in England and Wales had recorded cases.

Clusters of chronic CBPV where disease cases are found close together, are also becoming more frequent, the researchers report.

Our analysis clearly confirms that chronic bee paralysis has been emerging across England and Wales since 2007 and that apiaries owned by professional beekeepers are at greater risk of the disease, said Professor Giles Budge from Newcastle University's School of Natural and Environmental Sciences.

We do not yet know why colonies of bee farmers are at increased risk from this damaging disease, but many management practices are known to differ significantly between amateur and professional apiarists.

The number of honey bee colonies affected with chronic bee paralysis rose exponentially between 2007 and 2017, with 174 apiaries - locations where beehives of honey bees are kept - with recorded cases

THE WEIRD SYMPTOMS OF CHRONIC BEE PARALYSIS Chronic bee paralysis virus commonly affects adult Apis mellifera honey bees. Bees in infected hives are often found isolated and shaking in an odd jittery fashion. When the colony is smoked they do not tend to move down between the frames as the other bees. Abdomens lose their hair and may appear shining or greasy and swollen, with wings dislocated. Infected honey bees can't fly and so can also be seen crawling in front of the hives. In crowded conditions, CBPV will spread more rapidly because bees will be in greater contact with each other. A variation in the disease symptoms may reflect differences among individual bees in inherited susceptibility to the multiplication of the virus. Source: BeeBase Advertisement

Animal pollinators such as honey bees are needed for the reproductive success of 88 per cent of flowering plants globally and contribute to the yield and quality of many crops.

The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is among the pollinator species facing multiple threats to their existence, including parasites, land-use intensification and exposure to chemicals used in agriculture, as well as this viral condition.

CBPV is an RNA virus that leads to mounds of dead bees outside affected colonies, which sometimes collapse or are too weakened for pollination or honey production.

Infected adult bees carry the virus for up to six days before showing symptoms, by which time theyre likely to have infected other individuals in the hive or even transmitted it to another hive when 'robbing' distant colonies.

CBPV has a worldwide distribution, with recent cases reported in Asia, Europe and North America, but was reported as affecting just 2 per cent of honey bees in 1966.

Since 2006, data from apiary visits have been collated into a national database called BeeBase, a government-backed website that gives the latest information on disease and pest outbreaks and lets beekepers report on colony health.

Image shows a sollitary honey bee infected with the chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), deprived of its hair leaving an odd greasy-looking body

The researchers used observations of chronic bee paralysis from BeeBase to investigate the spread in English and Welsh apiaries over 12 years.

While CBPV was only recorded in Lincolnshire in 2007, by 2017 it was present in 39 of 47 English counties and six of eight Welsh counties, the team found.

The rate of increase differed between professional and amateur beekeepers, with 1.98 times more disease found in apiaries owned by professional beekeepers.

Out of the 4,948 amateur apiaries visited, 123, or 2.5 per cent, had a case of CBPV, compared with 51 out of 1,080 professional apiaries visited (4.7 per cent).

Amateur-owned apiaries had more cases because there are more apiaries owned by amateurs, Professor Budge pointed out.

There was also an increase in the number of CBPV cases regardless of whether or not apiary visits were at the request of the beekeeper.

Worryingly, CBPV was also detected in seven out of 23 colonies reported to be asymptomatic  not showing symptoms.

The study also investigated whether disease risk was associated with imports of honey bee queens, which beekeepers use to replenish their stocks.

Data from 130,000 honey bee imports from 25 countries showed that the disease was nearly twice as likely in apiaries owned by beekeepers who imported honey bees.

Colony level symptoms of the viral disease include piles of dead bees right outside the front entrance of the hive

UK beekeepers frequently import honey bee stocks from abroad and have done so for hundreds of years, the study authors write in Nature Communications.

Our results indicate that the level of importation of honey bees from abroad was a contributory feature to the spatial and temporal pattern of disease.'

The study was conducted with the Bee Farmers Association (BFA), which represents professional beekeepers in the UK.

This is the sort of research that brings practical benefits to the industry  helping bee farmers at grassroots level to improve honey bee health and increase UK honey production, said BFA chairman Rob Nickless.

The research team said more research is needed on the susceptibility of different honey bee races and management practices of professional an amateur bee keepers to discover the reasons for the sudden emergence of CBPV.

Further studies conduced at the University of St Andrews in Scotland will focus on different virus genotypes.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-01 18:24:03

New subcutaneous formulation reduces the time taken for patients to receive daratumumab treatment from hours to approximately three to five minutes, with similar efficacy and fewer infusion-related reactions compared to intravenous administration 1,2

If approved, daratumumab subcutaneous formulation will be the first monoclonal antibody approved in Europe for subcutaneous administration for patients with multiple myeloma

Positive Opinion is based on data from the Phase 3 COLUMBA (MMY3012) and Phase 2 PLEIADES (MMY2040) studies

CHMP Grants Positive Opinion for DARZALEX(daratumumab) Subcutaneous Formulation for the Treatment of Patients with Multiple Myeloma

Media Enquiries:

Noah Reymond

Mobile: +31 621 38 5718

Email: NReymond@ITS.JNJ.com



Investor Relations:

Christopher DelOrefice

Phone: +1 732-524-2955



Jennifer McIntyre

Phone: +1 732 524 3922

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a Positive Opinion recommending approval for DARZALEX (daratumumab) subcutaneous (SC) formulation for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma in frontline and relapsed/refractory settings. The novel SC formulation of daratumumab is co-formulated with recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20) [Halozyme's ENHANZE drug delivery technology] and reduces treatment time from hours to approximately three to five minutes, with similar efficacy, and fewer infusion-related reactions compared to intravenous (IV) administration.1,2 The CHMPs Positive Opinion for daratumumab SC formulation applies to all current daratumumab indications including newly diagnosed and transplant-ineligible patients, as well as relapsed or refractory patients.

Despite therapeutic advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma, the time taken for administration of most intravenous treatments is relatively long and there have been few significant improvements over the years, said Maria-Victoria Mateos, M.D., Ph.D., COLUMBA primary investigator and Director of the Myeloma Unit at University Hospital of Salamanca-IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain. The daratumumab subcutaneous formulation has the potential to transform the treatment experience for patients and physicians as it reduces time in the chair from hours to minutes, and, because it is administered as a fixed dose from the first treatment, it reduces preparation time and chances of error by eliminating the need for dose calculations.

The Positive Opinion is supported by data from the Phase 3 COLUMBA (MMY3012) and Phase 2 PLEIADES (MMY2040) studies presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical [..] and 62nd American Society of Hematology [..], respectively.1,2 The COLUMBA presentation included a non-inferiority comparison of daratumumab SC formulation to daratumumab IV formulation for co-primary endpoints of overall response rate and maximum C trough concentration.1 Furthermore, in a subsequent paper published in The Lancet Haematology, patient-reported treatment satisfaction scores with daratumumab SC versus daratumumab IV were reported using the modified-Cancer Therapy Satisfaction Questionnaire.3 The PLEIADES study evaluated the daratumumab SC formulation in different combination regimens in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma or with relapsed/refractory disease.2

The subcutaneous formulation of daratumumab showed similar efficacy and fewer infusion-related reactions compared to intravenous daratumumab, and, overall, patients expressed satisfaction with subcutaneous therapy. If approved, we are hopeful this new formulation could offer improved quality of life for patients with multiple myeloma, said Patrick Laroche, M.D., Haematology Therapy Area Lead, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Janssen-Cilag. Janssen is proud to have developed a new formulation to meet the needs of our patients and continue to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those living with multiple myeloma.

Since its first European approval in 2016, intravenous daratumumab has been used in the treatment of more than 100,000 patients worldwide and, if approved, both new and existing patients with multiple myeloma will be able to start or switch to the subcutaneous formulation as part of their multiple myeloma daratumumab-based treatment regimens, adds Craig Tendler, M.D., Vice President, Clinical Development and Global Medical Affairs, Oncology at Janssen Research & Development, LLC. Todays Positive Opinion represents Janssens commitment to continuing to improve the treatment experience for patients living with multiple myeloma.

#ENDS#

In Europe, daratumumab is indicated:4

in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone or with bortezomib, melphalan and prednisone for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant

in combination with bortezomib, thalidomide and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are eligible for autologous stem cell transplant

in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, or bortezomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy

as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, whose prior therapy included a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent and who have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy

About the COLUMBA Study (MMY3012)3,5

The randomised, open-label, multicentre Phase 3 study included 522 patients with multiple myeloma who had received at least three prior lines of therapy including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), or whose disease was refractory to both a PI and an IMiD. In the arm that received the subcutaneously (SC) administered formulation of daratumumab (n=263), patients (median age of 65) received a fixed dose of daratumumab 1,800 milligrams (mg) co-formulated with recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20) 2,000 Units per millilitre (U/mL), SC weekly for cycles 1  2, every two weeks for cycles 3  6, and every four weeks for cycle 7 and thereafter. In the daratumumab IV arm (n=259), patients (median age of 67) received daratumumab for intravenous infusion 16 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) weekly for cycles 1  2, every two weeks for cycles 3  6, and every four weeks for cycle 7 and thereafter. Each cycle was 28 days. Patients in both treatment arms continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Co-primary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) (non-inferiority = 60 percent retention of the lower bound [208%] of the 95% CI of the SIRIUS trial, with relative risk [RR] analysed by Farrington-Manning test) and pre-dose cycle 3, day 1 (C3D1) daratumumab C trough (non-inferiority = lower bound of 90 percent confidence interval (CI) for the ratio of the geometric means [GM] 80%).

About the PLEIADES Study (MMY2040)6

The non-randomised, open-label, parallel assignment study Phase 2 PLEIADES trial included 240 adults either newly diagnosed or with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma were treated with 1,800 mg of the subcutaneous formulation in combination with either bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (D-VRd) or bortezomib, melphalan and prednisone (D-VMP). Patients with relapsed or refractory disease were treated with 1,800 mg of the subcutaneous formulation plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (D-Rd). The primary endpoint for the D-VMP and D-Rd cohorts was overall response rate. The primary endpoint for the D-VRd cohort was very good partial response or better rate. An additional cohort of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma treated with daratumumab plus carfilzomib and dexamethasone was subsequently added to the study.

About daratumumab

Daratumumab is a first-in-class7 biologic targeting CD38, a surface protein that is highly expressed across multiple myeloma cells, regardless of disease stage.8 Daratumumab is believed to induce tumour cell death through multiple immune-mediated mechanisms of action, including complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), as well as through apoptosis, in which a series of molecular steps in a cell lead to its death.4 A subset of myeloid derived suppressor cells (CD38+ MDSCs), CD38+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and CD38+ B cells (Bregs) were decreased by daratumumab.4 Since launch, it is estimated that 100,000 patients have been treated with daratumumab worldwide.9 Daratumumab is being evaluated in a comprehensive clinical development programme across a range of treatment settings in multiple myeloma, such as in frontline and relapsed settings.10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 Additional studies are ongoing or planned to assess its potential in other malignant and pre-malignant haematologic diseases in which CD38 is expressed, such as smouldering myeloma.18,19 For more information, please see https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/.

For further information on daratumumab, please see the Summary of Product Characteristics at https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/.

In August 2012, Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Genmab A/S entered a worldwide agreement, which granted Janssen an exclusive licence to develop, manufacture and commercialise daratumumab.20

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow and is characterised by an excessive proliferation of plasma cells.21 In Europe, more than 48,200 people were diagnosed with MM in 2018, and more than 30,800 patients died.22 Almost 60 percent of patients with MM do not survive more than five years after diagnosis.23

Although treatment may result in remission, unfortunately, patients will most likely relapse as there is currently no cure.24 Refractory MM is when a patients disease progresses within 60 days of their last therapy.25,26 Relapsed cancer is when the disease has returned after a period of initial, partial or complete remission.27 While some patients with MM have no symptoms at all, most patients are diagnosed due to symptoms that can include bone problems, low blood counts, calcium elevation, kidney problems or infections.28 Patients who relapse after treatment with standard therapies, including proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents, have poor prognoses and few treatment options available.29

About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

At Janssen, were creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. Were the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Pulmonary Hypertension.

Learn more at www.janssen.com/emea. Follow us at www.twitter.com/janssenEMEA for our latest news. Janssen-Cilag, Janssen Research & Development, LLC and Janssen Biotech, Inc. are part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the benefits of daratumumab for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialise, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties inherent in product research and development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; manufacturing difficulties and delays; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes in behaviour and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2019, including in the sections captioned Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Item 1A. Risk Factors, and in the companys most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the companys subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.

ENHANZE is a registered trademark of Halozyme.

# # #

References

1 Mateos MV, Nahi H, Legiec W, et al. Efficacy and safety of the randomized, open-label, non-inferiority, phase 3 study of subcutaneous (SC) versus intravenous (IV) daratumumab (DARA) administration in patients (pts) with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM): COLUMBA. J Clin Oncol. 2019;37(Suppl.): abstract 8005.

2 Chari A, San-Miguel J, McCarthy H, et al. Subcutaneous daratumumab plus standard treatment regimens in patients with multiple myeloma across lines of therapy: Pleiades study update. Blood. 2019;134(Suppl.1):abstract 3152.

3 Mateos MV, Nahi H, Legiec W, et al. Subcutaneous versus intravenous daratumumab in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (COLUMBA): a multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet Haematol. 2020 Mar 23 [epub ahead of print].

4 European Medicines Agency. DARZALEX summary of product characteristics. Available at:

https://www.ema.europa.eu/documents/product-inform Last accessed April 2020.

5 ClinicalTrials.gov. A Study of Subcutaneous Versus (vs.) Intravenous Administration of Daratumumab in Participants With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma. NCT03277105. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03277105 Last accessed April 2020.

6 ClinicalTrials.gov. A Study to Evaluate Subcutaneous Daratumumab in Combination With Standard Multiple Myeloma Treatment Regimens. NCT03412565. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03412565 Last accessed April 2020.

7 Sanchez L, Wang Y, Siegel DS, Wang ML. Daratumumab: a first-in-class CD38 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of multiple myeloma. J Hematol Oncol. 2016;9:51.

8 Fedele G, di Girolamo M, Recine U, et al. CD38 ligation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of myeloma patients induces release of protumorigenic IL-6 and impaired secretion of IFNgamma cytokines and proliferation. Mediat Inflamm. 2013;2013:564687.

9 [Data on file]. DARZALEX: New Patient Starts Launch to Date. RF-82203

10 ClinicalTrials.gov. A study to evaluate daratumumab in transplant eligible participants with previously untreated multiple myeloma (Cassiopeia). NCT02541383. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02541383 Last accessed April 2020

11 ClinicalTrials.gov. A study comparing daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. NCT02076009. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02076009 Last accessed April 2020.

12 ClinicalTrials.gov. Addition of daratumumab to combination of bortezomib and dexamethasone in participants with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. NCT02136134. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02136134 Last accessed April 2020.

13 ClinicalTrials.gov. A study of combination of daratumumab and Velcade (bortezomib) melphalan-prednisone (DVMP) compared to Velcade melphalan-prednisone (VMP) in participants with previously untreated multiple myeloma. NCT02195479. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02195479 Last accessed April 2020.

14 ClinicalTrials.gov. Study comparing daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in participants with previously untreated multiple myeloma. NCT02252172. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02252172 Last accessed April 2020.

15 ClinicalTrials.gov. A study of Velcade (bortezomib) melphalan-prednisone (VMP) compared to daratumumab in combination with VMP (D-VMP), in participants with previously untreated multiple myeloma who are ineligible for high-dose therapy (Asia Pacific region). NCT03217812. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03217812 Last accessed April 2020.

16 ClinicalTrials.gov. Comparison of pomalidomide and dexamethasone with or without daratumumab in subjects with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma previously treated with lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor daratumumab/pomalidomide/dexamethasone vs pomalidomide/dexamethasone (EMN14). NCT03180736. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03180736 Last accessed April 2020.

17 ClinicalTrials.gov. Study of carfilzomib, daratumumab and dexamethasone for patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (CANDOR). NCT03158688. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03158688 Last accessed April 2020.

18 ClinicalTrials.gov. A study to evaluate 3 dose schedules of daratumumab in participants with smoldering multiple myeloma. NCT02316106. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02316106 Last accessed April 2020.

19 ClinicalTrials.gov. An efficacy and safety proof of concept study of daratumumab in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma. NCT02413489. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02413489 Last accessed April 2020.

20 Johnson & Johnson. Janssen Biotech announces global license and development agreement for investigational anti-cancer agent daratumumab. Press release August 30, 2012. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/ja Last accessed April 2020.

21 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Multiple myeloma: introduction. Available at: https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/multiple-myelo Last accessed April 2020.

22 GLOBOCAN 2018. Cancer Today Population Factsheets: Europe Region. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populati Last accessed April 2020.

23 De Angelis R, Minicozzi P, Sant M, et al. Survival variations by country and age for lymphoid and myeloid malignancies in Europe 2000-2007: results of EUROCARE-5 population-based study. Eur J Cancer. 2015;51:2254-68.

24 Abdi J, Chen G, Chang H, et al. Drug resistance in multiple myeloma: latest findings and new concepts on molecular mechanisms. Oncotarget. 2013;4:2186207.

25 National Cancer Institute. NCI dictionary of cancer terms: refractory. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/c Last accessed April 2020.

26 Richardson P, Mitsiades C, Schlossman R, et al. The treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2007:317-23.

27 National Cancer Institute. NCI dictionary of cancer terms: relapsed. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/c Last accessed April 2020.

28 American Cancer Society. Multiple myeloma: early detection, diagnosis and staging. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/CRC/PDF/Public/ Last accessed April 2020.

29 Kumar SK, Lee JH, Lahuerta JJ, et al. Risk of progression and survival in multiple myeloma relapsing after therapy with IMiDs and bortezomib: a multicenter international myeloma working group study. Leukemia. 2012;26:149-57.

April 2020

CP-152796

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200430005
NEW DELHI: With 73 deaths and 1993 new cases of coronavirus infection in last 24 hours, India on Friday recorded total number of 35043 COVID-19 positive cases.

This included 25,007 active COVID-19 cases, 8889 cured/discharged and one migrated and 1147 total fatalities due to the deadly virus, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The death toll due to COVID-19 touched 1,147 on Friday with the number of infected cases rising above 35,000 in the country, the Union Health Ministry said.

As per the latest update provided by the ministry, the rate of recovery from the deadly coronavirus infection stood is 25.36.

Here is the state-wise breakup of coronavirus cases in India

S. No. Name of State / UT Total Confirmed cases (Including 111 foreign Nationals) Cured/Discharged/

Migrated Death 1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 33 16 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 1403 321 31 3 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0 4 Assam 42 29 1 5 Bihar 418 82 2 6 Chandigarh 56 17 0 7 Chhattisgarh 40 36 0 8 Delhi 3515 1094 59 9 Goa 7 7 0 10 Gujarat 4395 613 214 11 Haryana 313 209 3 12 Himachal Pradesh 40 28 1 13 Jammu and Kashmir 614 216 8 14 Jharkhand 109 20 3 15 Karnataka 565 229 21 16 Kerala 497 383 4 17 Ladakh 22 16 0 18 Madhya Pradesh 2660 482 137 19 Maharashtra 10498 1773 459 20 Manipur 2 2 0 21 Meghalaya 12 0 1 22 Mizoram 1 0 0 23 Odisha 142 39 1 24 Puducherry 8 5 0 25 Punjab 357 90 19 26 Rajasthan 2584 836 58 27 Tamil Nadu 2323 1258 27 28 Telengana 1038 397 26 29 Tripura 2 2 0 30 Uttarakhand 57 36 0 31 Uttar Pradesh 2203 513 39 32 West Bengal 795 139 33 Total number of confirmed cases in India 35043* 8889 1147 *291 cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing *States wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation *Our figures are being reconciled with ICMR

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state with 9,915 cases and 432 deaths. 1593 people have been cured and discharged in the state. (Latest update by the state health department puts the number of confirmed cases at 10,498 and death toll at 459).

Gujarat is just behind Maharashtra in terms of both the number of cases and fatalities. As per the data provided by the Union Health Ministry, 4,082 people are confirmed to have contracted the virus while 197 succumbed to the disease. (As per latest state govt data, 4395 cases and 214 deaths are confirmed in Gujarat).

State of Madhya Pradesh recorded 65 more COVID-19 cases, taking the state`s tally of coronavirus cases to 2,625. According to the state Health Department, the tally is inclusive of 137 patients who have lost their lives to the highly contagious virus.

Today is the thirty-eighth day of Indias nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 3. The Centre on Wednesday hinted that the ongoing nationwide lockdown is likely to be extended beyond May 3 but many districts will "considerable relaxations" from restrictions.

The nationwide lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus threat. The 21-day lockdown which ended on April 14 was further extended till May 3.

Meanwhile, the United States recorded more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period for the third day running, according to the latest real-time tally provided by Johns Hopkins University.

The country -- hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities -- had recorded 2,053 deaths on Thursday, after 2,502 deaths on Wednesday and 2,207 on Tuesday.

At least 62,906 people have now died in the United States, according to the Baltimore-based university.
Everyone from grade school students to proud pet owners quotes the statistic that one dog year equals seven human years. It's considered axiomatic. But, as it turns out, that's not accurate. Really, experts say, it's more accurate to compare the first year of a dog's life to 15 years of a human's life, the second year to nine human years, and every year after that to five human years.

The math gets still more complicated when the size of the dog is factored in: Bigger dogs start to age faster than small dogs around 6 years old and the gap increases by year eight. This relationship between body mass and age expectancy baffles scientists. Normally, the larger the mammal, the longer it lives. Yet for every 4.4 pounds of body mass, a dogs life expectancy is reduced by about a month. Theories why abound, from age-related illnesses affecting big dogs sooner to a higher likelihood of abnormal cell growth and death from cancer because of the sped-up growth of large dogs.
Brewing beers is a creative craft, and when adversity ensues, brewers get creative. The annual Oklahoma Craft Beer Summit isnt canceling its event; it is going virtual with beer.

The Quarantine Edition of the 2020 Oklahoma Craft Beer Summit presented by OnCue Express will take place online from 7-10 p.m. Friday, May 15.

One of the best things about the OCBS is tasting beers. Well, it thought of that for this years virtual summit. This year, you will be able to purchase beer kits from local brewers and then tune in for the online seminars and panels. Local breweries, distributors and members of the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma have donated a variety of craft beers, including core, rare and specialty beers.

There will be two tiers of ticket options with choices of three to four beer kits.

The Beer Nerd package is $40 and will include a choice of two to three options of kits and is limited to 288 total tickets.

The Whale Hunter package is $120 and will include rare and specialty beers and will be limited to 90 tickets.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 23:03:26|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Friday reported its lowest number of COVID-19 cases in over a month with six new cases and no deaths.

Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said he is pleased with the continuing steady decline in new infections, but pointed out that the relaxation of lockdown restrictions, due to begin on Sunday, requires full cooperation from all concerned.

Accumulated infections to date in Thailand now stand at 2,960.

Recoveries have increased by 32 to 2,719, with the 187 cases still in hospital representing a new low.

The death toll remains at 54.

As Thailand celebrates International Labour Day on Friday, Taweesin said there is currently mass movements of people heading out of Bangkok ahead of the long weekend.

Taweesin expressed worry, saying, "We have come a long way; however a key element in preventing the spread of the disease is for people to stay at home and to avoid travelling."

He disclosed that more than 800,000 people left Bangkok on April 16 by public transport and private cars, and the numbers have increased to more than 840,000 and 960,000 on April 23 and April 30, respectively.

"The declining number of COVID-19 figures shows that the people feel more relaxed and are spending more time out-doors," Taweesin said. "However the more time you spend outdoors and converging with people, the higher the infection risks."

Until now, 26 provinces have reported no new infections for the past 28 days and nine provinces have not reported a single case of COVID-19. Enditem
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In a cinema in Ho Chi Minh City, on a business trip six months ago, Simon James and Ngan Nguyens romantic relationship took its first tiny steps.

They had gone to the cinema with a group of their colleagues but, shortly after finding seats, they peeled themselves off from the pack.

Ngan said she couldnt see, James recalls. So I volunteered to sit with her closer to the screen.

That was all it took, although there were signs before.

It didnt come out of nowhere, he says coyly.

In the months following that one day in Ho Chi Minh City, James and Ngans relationship blossomed.

They spent almost all of their free time together traveling around Vietnam, sipping coffee in cosy cafes, and cooking romantic dinners for themselves.

They were very much falling in love, blissfully unaware of what fate had in store.

When the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Wuhan, China, Ngan and James had been working together for almost a year at the head office of an international NGO in Hanoi.

James had been assigned his role as part of an international aid program. It was a one-year assignment set to end in March but it was his plan to start a second one-year assignment almost right after. This, however, would require a brief return to Australia.

As such, in February, just before the Tet holiday in Vietnam, James boarded his flight home.

The plan was to spend a week or so visiting family and friends, before traveling on to Argentina for work, and then finally returning to Hanoi.

COVID-19, however, had other ideas.

In mid-March, as the pandemic spread further and faster, James international aid program was suspended with him still in Australia.

There was an email that went out to everybody that basically said that they weren't going to mobilize anybody, any new people and then a couple of days later, they said, they'd send everybody home as well, James says.

Shortly after both Vietnam and Australia introduced travel restrictions that would see Ngan and James' relationship turned upside down.

Long distance is not what we'd sort of started with, says James. "Neither of us would have seen this coming.

Breaking the news to Ngan was tough and the initial stages of their redefined relationship were not easy.

The first two or three weeks was a bit difficult when the situation was unclear, Ngan says.

News was coming thick and fast and both the Australian and Vietnamese governments were updating their rules and restrictions almost daily.

When things settled down, however, and the reality that it may be a long time apart became clear, Ngan says it was somewhat of a relief.

When I accepted that, then I felt not okay, but I felt calmer and less stressed. I started to focus on how to make each other happy and how to make things work when we are not close to each other.

Ngan says, they took to virtual dates and started calling each other almost every day. In some ways, she says, it has strengthened their relationship.

I think that we talk more than we actually did in Vietnam together.

However, this does not exactly compare to how it was before.

I still miss being able to go out with him, she says.

Ngan and James' situation, sadly, is not unique.

That's the case with many of the clients I'm dealing with, says senior psychologist Matthew Ryan.

They didn't realize that the last time they saw each other was the last time they were going to see each other for a while.

Ryans practice in Tay Ho, Hanoi specializes in relationship counseling. He has over 30 years of experience.

He points out that long distance relationships are not a new phenomenon. However, he does note that these are enforced separations and so the circumstances are somewhat exceptional.

It's different. It's a different experience. And in fact, in some ways... it tends to be more painful because it's not chosen.

That said, he also points out that in some ways, in these circumstances, its easier to maintain a long term relationship. Fidelity is not as prominent of an issue as it might otherwise be.

With most countries being shut down, there's not a lot of temptation out there to go wandering because everyone's locked down.

That, however, is not to minimize the impact of long-term separation. He says it can still be a painful experience although there is a silver lining.

This is the pain they're experiencing together. They're not inflicting it on each other... So there's that sense of solidarity in one suffering, which can be a really beautiful, painful, but beautiful way of connecting and it'll be something that they'll be able to treasure for a long time.

Interestingly, Ngan shares a similar sentiment.

I think weve come to terms with it and accept that this is part of our story now.

That said, neither Australia nor Vietnam has set a date for when commercial flights between the two countries might resume.

Therefore, this part of Ngan and James' story could be a long one.
For months Maya and Rakan had looked forward to their dream wedding in the Vatican -- but the coronavirus pandemic forced them to settle for a tiny church ceremony in Lebanon. Spring usually marks the opening of the Lebanese wedding season. But this year the novel coronavirus has dashed plans and hit the Mediterranean country's thriving events industry hard. Maya Khadra, 26, had hoped for a magical day when she finally tied the knot with her fianc -- not, she said, just a dozen guests in "an empty church". But on Sunday in the village of Shemlan south of Beirut, they exchanged vows before a few close family members as rain gushed down outside. "Corona(virus) changed everything, including our wedding," the green-eyed bride told AFP. "They called us from the Vatican and told us they had cancelled all weddings for nine months, so we had two choices: postpone, or get married anyway," she said. They opted for the second. "You don't know when corona(virus) will end, and postponing is a waste of time," the young journalist said. On Sunday, she wore an elegant white dress and a flower in her hair as she wed 28-year-old gym owner Rakan Ghossein. The groom said they decided on a "shorter wedding" to keep guests safe. At the reception hall, the bride's sister fielded a stream of video calls from well-wishers unable to attend. Khadra said the hardest part was celebrating her big day without her friends. "They were more excited than we were," she said, her eyes welling up. - Fireworks, drones - Lebanon has been on lockdown since mid-March to reign in the COVID-19 respiratory illness, which has infected 721 and killed 24 people in the Mediterranean country, according to official figures. The airport and restaurants have closed, and mass gatherings are forbidden. It's a serious disappointment for young couples in a country where hundreds are usually invited to celebrate. Outside the church, Rakan's father said he would have preferred a wedding with "a thousand people" for his son, but the coronavirus had dashed the hopes of both families. For the more wealthy, weddings normally include lavish buffets, DJs, fireworks, flowers, photoshoots and even buzzing drones in the sky above. Thousands of young Lebanese living abroad flock back every year to tie the knot in their homeland, especially among those living in the Gulf. Events staged by professional wedding planners can cost from $200,000 to $800,000 on average, but sometimes reach as high as $2 million. In recent years, banks have started offering special wedding loans for young couples to cope. Chanel Fayad too had been excitedly counting the days to her wedding, but she and her fiance had to postpone when the government imposed confinement measures. "We'll just have a short ceremony," the 29-year-old school teacher told AFP by telephone. Chanel and her fiance had originally planned to have a wedding dinner with her friends and family over Easter, but they had to cancel the event after the government introduced an all-day lockdown on Sundays. She hopes they can gather with friends when the coronavirus confinement ends, but she noted life will not return to normal for some time. "Anybody who thinks it will get better after the end of coronavirus is wrong," she said. "It's going to get a lot worse, economy-wise." - Double trouble - Lebanon is grappling with its worse economic crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, with tens of thousands losing their jobs or part of their salaries even before the advent of the pandemic. The wedding industry has long kept thousands in jobs, working in catering, the hotel sector, flower arrangement as well as decor, furniture and lighting. ButPamela Mansour Muhanna, co-owner of the Mine event planning agency, says business is looking dire. "More than 75 percent of our events have been cancelled," she said. "We're facing a twin challenge. Even if the coronavirus crisis ends, we'll then have to contend with the economic turmoil," she said. This is why she and her partner a few months ago started up a business in Saudi Arabia's capital. After the pandemic, "we'll work on strengthening our business abroad," she said. Perhaps a gradual easing of restrictions over the next few months will allow her agency to hold a few events at the end of the summer. But inside the church in Shemlan, priest Hanna Khadra says he thinks weddings should go ahead as planned. "Love is stronger than coronavirus and death," he said, smiling. "Love cannot be postponed." Maya Khadra (2nd-L) and Rakan Ghossein (3rd-L) had to give up on their plan to marry at the Vatican, and opt for a tiny church in Lebanon, as coronavirus lockdowns came into force Lebanese bride and groom Joanna and Marc -- wearing protective masks sporting the national flag -- pose for pictures during their wedding cermony attended only by close relatives, at the Saint Georges church in the Hadath region The closure of public and private spaces to gatherings has brought serious disappointment for young couples in a country where hundreds are usually invited to celebrate weddings Maya Khadra and Rakan Ghossein pose for a picture, with close relatives, during their wedding
The old county courthouse in the Modoc County seat of Alturas, Calif. (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

Modoc County, which has fewer than 9,000 residents and reported zero cases of the coronavirus, is set to become the first county in California to ease stay-at-home rules Friday, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's urging to keep them in place for now.

The remote county in far Northern California, which borders Oregon and Nevada, announced that businesses, schools and churches may reopen starting Friday, as long as people stay six feet apart .

Our businesses are dying and people need to be able to feed their children and pay their rent, said Heather Hadwick, the deputy director of the countys Office of Emergency Services. We live a different life than the rest of California. Were very rural and naturally socially distanced in our everyday lives.

The health and safety of Modoc County residents is and continues to be our number one priority. This reopening plan was made in the best interest of residents physical, mental and economic health, the statement said.

Restaurants and bars will be allowed to host diners, but only at half the businesses capacity. People 65 and older and residents with underlying health conditions will still be required to stay home except to conduct essential business, and large gatherings where people cannot stay six feet apart will still be banned.

The Niles Hotel in Alturas, seat of Modoc County in far northeastern California, where there have been no coronavirus cases reported, ( Carol M. Highsmith / Getty Images)

Modoc County is one of four California counties that have not reported a single case of coronavirus infection.

This is a plan, this is not an order, the Modoc County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. This is simply what we are proposing that is eligible to open if preventative measures are possible. We want the option to be given to business owners so that when they feel the time is right, they can make that decision. ... We need to do this in a smart and strategic way to keep us all healthy.

Officials have said maintaining public health will be a top priority.

"We're doing it very strategically and in stages just as the governor is recommending and we feel confident in that," Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy told KRCR-TV News. "The county in itself, the businesses are moving forward without us, so it was in our best interest to get some framework out there and some guidelines for them to follow."

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Just because the county has started to reopen doesnt mean its back to business as usual, though.

We encourage you all to continue to practice social distancing, good hand hygiene and to comply with the other recommendations of our public health department and with the reopening letter that Modoc County has issued, as well, Modoc Medical Center Chief Executive Kevin Kramer said in a video statement Friday. If you are elderly or immuno-compromised, please stay at home as much as possible.

Restaurant owner Jodie Larranaga told the Associated Press that employees were preparing to open Friday and sending out word to customers.

My bar tables are already far apart. But if people pull their stools together, Im not going to stop them, said Larranaga, who owns the Brass Rail. As far as Im concerned, right or wrong, thats their choice. They are adults.

Reopening Modoc schools, however, doesn't seem to be on the agenda just yet, officials said earlier this week.

A hay barn in Modoc County, which has fewer than 9,000 residents and planned to ease stay-at-home restrictions on Friday. ( Carol M. Highsmith / Getty Images)

"School districts and [the] Modoc County Office of Education have and will continue to work closely with Modoc County Public Health, other county agencies and stakeholder groups on plans that would bring students and staff safely back to campuses, county Supt. Mike Martin wrote in a community message Wednesday.

However, at this time, there are no return dates set by any school district in the county, he added. Martin could not be reached for additional comment Friday morning.

Not every institution that could reopen plans to do so, though.

Its an unsure thing, said Ken Entwistle, senior pastor of GracePoint Church of the Nazarene in Alturas. We, of course, want to open things back up but, at the same point, its that unknown.

Entwistle said the stance of the Nazarene denomination is to follow the states order  which means hell continue streaming services and devotionals via Facebook Live.

We need to pay attention to the prompting of the spirit and we need to look toward our authorities for some answers or some OKs, he said. For us, Jesus Christ is the absolute authority.

Newsom again urged Californians on Wednesday to stay home and practice physical distancing, saying they should avoid spoiling the progress the state has made in the coronavirus fight as he prepares to allow some businesses to reopen gradually.

Why put ourselves in that position when we are just a week or two away from significant modifications of our stay-at-home [order], where we can begin a Phase 2, beginning to reopen sectors of our economy that are low risk? Newsom said.

The Modoc County Library in Cedarville. Social-distancing guidelines will remain in effect even as stay-at-home orders are relaxed, county officials said. ( Carol M. Highsmith / Getty Images)

This week, the governor unveiled the broad outline of a plan to slowly ease restrictions on Californians in four stages in the weeks and months ahead. He also announced that schools could potentially reopen in July or early August, which caught some educators off-guard.

Newsom introduced the four-phase plan two weeks after he unveiled six criteria California must meet before gradually lifting restrictions  including more widespread testing, increased hospital capacity and having plans in place to safely reopen businesses as well as prevent and prepare for the possibility of a second wave of infections.

He has not offered a specific timeline for the changes to be implemented.

It's not yet clear how the state will respond to Modoc's move. The governor's media office did not immediately answer a request for comment Friday.

When it comes to matters of public health, the state has wide powers to enact regulations and restrictions, according to Julie Nice, a constitutional law professor at the University of San Francisco.

Counties and other local governments may enforce health and safety and sanitation rules, she said, so long as they do not conflict with the states general law.

That doesnt seem to be the case with what Modoc County has proposed, she said Friday.

From everything I can tell from the governors orders and what the county has said it plans to do, it appears to directly conflict with state law, she said. And I think, as a matter of governmental power, the countys likely to lose against the state.

If such a conflict exists, the county could conceivably argue that the states rules are unreasonable, but Nice said that would likely be an uphill battle.

Just thinking logically, a contagious infection does not respect county boundaries, she said. And so I would be very surprised if any court would find the states statewide rules to be unreasonable, because thats a very low bar.

Should Newsom decide to intervene, Nice said the governor could negotiate directly with county officials to hammer out a resolution or, barring that, the state could turn to the courts to block the reopening plan.

The general police power of a state, and particularly when its applied in the public health context, puts the courts in a position of really being extremely reluctant to second-guess the judgment calls of the scientific experts, she said.
Thirty-five lived in Oak Lawn; 24 lived in Chicago Ridge; 19 lived in Bridgeview; 16 in Homewood; 14 in Orland Park; 13 each in Chicago Heights and Harvey; 12 each in Matteson, Burbank and South Holland; 11 each in Palos Heights and Hazel Crest; 10 in Park Forest; nine in Country Club Hills; eight each in Markham and Richton Park; seven each in Dolton and Evergreen Park; six each lived in Flossmoor and Blue Island; five in Tinley Park and Lemont; four each in Riverdale and Palos Hills; three each in Calumet Park, Crestwood, Frankfort, Midlothian, Palos Park, Steger, Robbins and University Park; two each in Hickory Hills, Oak Forest, Sauk Village, Calumet City, East Hazel Crest, Lansing, Justice and Olympia Fields; and a single resident each in Alsip, Burnham, Thornton and Hometown.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by the Democratic chairman of the committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, threatened to use its power to legally compel Mr. Bezos to testify if he did not do so willingly, a serious step in any congressional investigation.

Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary, the lawmakers wrote to Mr. Bezos.

Amazon did not comment on Friday on his plans.

Mr. Bezos has traditionally relied on his deputies, like Jay Carney, a former White House press secretary, to interact with policymakers. He has done few in-depth interviews about Amazon in recent years. But he has made moves toward becoming a greater presence in Washington.

He bought The Washington Post in 2013, and keeps a home in the citys upscale Kalorama neighborhood. He hosted an after-party for the annual Alfalfa Club dinner this year at his mansion, drawing business and political leaders.

President Trump has frequently targeted Mr. Bezos with criticism and tried to link Amazon to The Post when attacking the paper. (The publication is owned by Mr. Bezos personally and has no corporate relationship with Amazon.)
The group of property/casualty insurers offering auto insurance premium discounts to recognize that insureds are driving less during the coronavirus crisis continues to grow, and now includes all major auto insurers. Most discounts are for personal lines auto customers, however a number of carriers are also targeting business customers.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, these and other auto insurers have announced refunds, discounts, dividends and credits totaling $8.1 billion. III estimates that this total will reach $10.5 billion as more auto insurers announce their offers.

Insurers have cited reduced policyholder mileage and fewer claims amid the COVID-19 crisis as the reasons they are able to offer these breaks.

Insurer Actions

The following is an alphabetical listing of insurers and a summary of their discounts and other offerings to date:

Allstate said all Allstate, Esurance and Encompass personal auto insurance customers will receive a 15% of their monthly premium in April and May, totaling more than $600 million. Customers will receive the money back through a credit to their bank account, credit card or Allstate account. Allstate is also offering free identity protection to all Americans through the end of the year even if they are not Allstate customers. Auto and homeowners insurance customers may choose to delay two consecutive premium payments. Customers also can choose to pay what they can afford. The insurer is also expanding insurance coverage for customers who use their personal vehicles to deliver food, medicine and other goods for commercial purposes.

American Family will return approximately $200 million to its auto insurance customers in the form of a one-time full payment of $50 per vehicle covered by an American Family personal auto policy. The typical American Family household with auto coverage has two vehicles, meaning the average relief check will be $100. Relief payments will be based on personal auto policies in force as of March 11. Business written after that date is excluded. American Family is also offering flexibility in several areas including payment deferral, payment plans, the removal of late fees, and suspending underwriting and non-renewal cancellations. The company has also extended private passenger automobile coverage to food delivery drivers hired by restaurants.

AmeriTrust Group Inc. in Southfield, Michigan, launched an Economic Relief Payment Plan, offering a zero-down payment relief plan for qualifying new business accounts beginning May 1, 2020. New qualifying admitted commercial property and casualty insurance accounts on a direct-billing basis will not be required to make any down payments or first month payments on their insurance policies. Instead, AmeriTrust will offer qualifying accounts a convenient 11-installment payment plan. The annual policy premium will be split equally across the 11 monthly installments with the first payment due 30 days after their policy effective date and monthly thereafter. The Economic Relief Payment Plan will initially be offered for a 60-day period. The Economic Relief Payment Plan is available from AmeriTrusts admitted insurance company subsidiaries. The Economic Relief Payment Plan will initially be offered for a 60-day period. AmeriTrust also extended its guaranteed policy renewals program through July 31. The company previously informed its contracted retail insurance agencies that AmeriTrusts admitted insurance carriers will guarantee renewal of all general business policies for accounts renewing up until July 1, 2020. The plans do not apply to program business, trucking business, excess workers compensation business, or monoline pay-as-you-go workers compensation policies.

Amica is giving a 20% credit on customers auto premiums for April and May.

Arbella Insurance Group will provide its private passenger auto customers with a 20% discount on their auto premiums for three months, April, May and June 2020. The savings would result in an estimated average of $60 per vehicle, and customers with multiple vehicles on their policy could see more savings. The insurer will not cancel any policies for non-payment from April 1 to June 1, 2020 and will not charge fees for late payments or insufficient funds.

Aspire General Insurance Services is providing a policy credit of 10% to policyholders on auto premiums earned between March 20 and April 30 on policies written prior to March 20. Some policies may qualify for additional credits. The 10% credits will be done automatically, and the insureds do not need to do anything to receive their credits. Additionally, beginning March 20, Aspire had temporarily discontinued charging reinstatement and SR22 fees on all reinstatements and extended the reinstatement eligibility period from 30 to 60 days.

Auto-Owners Insurance will be providing a 15% premium refund to its personal automobile policyholders for the months of April and May.

Chubb is providing its personal auto insurance clients in the U.S. upon renewal with a credit reflecting a 35% premium reduction for the months of April and May, with additional discounts for subsequent months, as the situation warrants. The average credit is expected to be $110 per vehicle. Also, Chubbs U.S. small business clients whose policies renew between April 1 and August 1, 2020 will receive an automatic 25% reduction in the sales and payroll exposures used to calculate their premium as well as a 15% reduction in premiums for their commercial auto insurance.

Cincinnati Financial announced that personal lines auto policyholders of Cincinnati Insurance and Cincinnati Casualty will receive a 15% credit per policy on their April and May premiums. It will also give credits on commercial policies for vehicles not being used when requested. In addition, the insurer is pausing cancellations for personal lines and commercial lines policyholders due to nonpayment of premium and waiving late fees until at least April 30; waiving restrictions on delivery services; providing additional risk management advice to businesses manufacturing of personal protective equipment and waiving vacancy clauses for buildings temporarily closed due to the pandemic.

Concord Group Insurance Companies will return $2.4 million in premium and expand several underwriting guidelines and coverage limits to its more than 150,000 policyholders throughout the four New England states in which the company does business. A 15% refund of April and May premium to the companys personal auto policyholders will be applied the week of April 20th as a single reduction to the auto policy.

CSAA Insurance Group, an AAA insurer, is providing a 20% premium refunds or credits totaling approximately $100 million  to auto policyholders. Members with an active policy as of April 30 will receive a 20% refund for two months of auto premiums. CSAA is pausing cancellations for home and auto policies due to non-payment through May 31 and it is extending auto insurance coverage  at no additional cost  for drivers who are using their personal vehicles to deliver food and medicine.

Direct Auto Insurance of Tennessee will give personal auto insurance policyholders a 15% credit on their April premiums. Policyholders do not have to take any action to receive the credit. This credit is in addition to other COVID-19 billing relief efforts currently in place for those who demonstrate financial need and may vary in different states.

Encova Insurance will issue a 15% policy credit to more than 80,000 personal auto policyholders for the months of April and May. The company has also extended grace periods and suspended non-payment cancellations and is providing insured restaurant owners with delivery coverage.

Erie Insurance will file to reduce rates by $200 million total for personal and commercial auto insurance customers in 12 states and the District of Columbia. This is not for short term auto insurance rebates. If approved, premium adjustments will take effect at the time of new policy initiation or renewal, will vary by state and also be based on individually purchased policies and coverages. Erie is also l providing $200 million in dividends directly to personal and commercial auto insurance customers in the 12 states and the District of Columbia where the company does business. This relief represents about 30% of related auto insurance premiums over a two-month period, or 5% of customers annual premium. This is in addition to the $200 million in rate reductions. The insurer is further promising individualized payment flexibility and adding gift card reimbursement coverage to home insurance policies. This reimburses customers for remaining balances on gift cards that can no longer be used at independently owned and operated local businesses due to business closures.

Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee will issue $30 million in payments to its auto policyholders based on 24% of two months auto premium paid for each vehicle covered.

Farmers Insurance will provide relief to more than 115,000 of its business insurance customers in the restaurant, office, retail and service sectors across the country through a 20 percent monthly credit on their Business Owners Policy for the next two months on their upcoming premium notices. Farmers auto reducing auto insurance premiums by 25% on Farmers branded and 21st Century branded policies. Farmers is also temporarily pausing policy cancellations due to non-payment for business customers through May 1 and allowing extra time for business insurance customers to pay for their policies.

GEICO will give back approximately $2.5 billion in the form of a 15% credit to its auto and motorcycle insurance customers as their policy comes up for renewal between April 8 and Oct 7. The credit will also apply to any new policies purchased during this period. GEICO expects credits to average about $150 per auto policy and $30 per motorcycle policy. The company estimates the benefit to its 18 million auto and 1 million motorcycle customers will be approximately $2.5 billion. GEICO is also pausing cancellations of coverage due to non-payment and policy expiration through at least April 30.

Germania Insurance will give back nearly $6 million in credits to its personal auto insurance policyholders in Texas. A payment of $25 will be provided for each personal auto policy that was in effect as of March 31, and there will be an additional $25 payment for each personal auto policy that is effective as of April 30.

Go Insurance is reducing premiums for all Louisiana, Nevada and Ohio policyholders by approximately 15% during April and May. This is also new policies or renewals that make a payment between April 1 through April 30 and May 1 through May 31, 2020.

Grange Insurance Co., based in Columbus, Ohio-based Grange Insurance Co.s Businessowner Policy (BOP) customers will receive a 20% payback for the months of April and May for policies in-force as of March 31, pending regulatory approval. Paybacks will be issued by check and mailed to customers in May. The payments will happen automatically, and customers do not need to do anything to receive the payback. Grange also is providing a 25% premium payback for April and May for personal auto customers related to the various COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, with an estimated $25 million impact in relief. The company also has established a grace period to pay premiums and is waiving late fees for personal and commercial policyholders directly impacted by the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. Graned is helping commercial restaurant insureds and personal auto policyholders who work in the restaurant industry by temporarily adjusting coverages to provide flexibility for food delivery exposure.

The Hanover Insurance Group is returning 15% of April and May auto premiums to its eligible personal lines customers. This refund equates to approximately $30 million in premium. The insurers is also offering flexibility on bill payment options ; extending personal auto coverage to individuals doing deliveries at no additional charge; waiving the limit on additional living expenses to homeowners who are forced from their homes following covered losses, such as a fire; and extending the number of days it will reimburse a customer for a rental car if an insureds vehicle is in the shop and cannot be repaired or returned.

The Hartford is giving its auto insurance customers a 15% credit on their April and May auto insurance premiums. The 15% payback will be given on two months worth of premium for all customers with an active auto policy as of April 1, 2020.

Kemper will provide a 15% credit to personal auto policyholders towards their April and May premiums. Kempers personal auto customers who have a policy in force as of April 30 will be credited 15% of their April premiums in May, and personal auto customers with a policy in force as of May 31 will be credited 15% of their May premiums in June. The two premium credits will total approximately $100 million.

Liberty Mutual is giving personal auto insurance customers a 15% refund on two months of their annual premium. This returns approximately $250 million to Liberty Mutual and Safeco personal auto insurance customers. This is in addition to flexible payment options and delivery coverage expansion for all personal auto policies in all states for losses occurring from March 16 to May 22 and reported by July 1, 2020.

Main Street America Group will return nearly $27 million in premium relief to its commercial lines and private passenger auto insureds. Commercial insureds with a business owners policy and/or a contractors policy will receive a two-month premium credit equal to 20% of policy premiums due in April and May 2020. This credit applies to policies in force as of March 31, 2020. The company estimates it will credit approximately $10.4 million in premium to customers with these policies. Commercial auto, workers compensation, umbrella and other commercial policies are excluded. Main Street America personal auto policyholders will receive a one-time relief payment of $50 per eligible vehicle via check. Main Street America estimates this will mean $16.5 million in relief for personal auto customers. The company is also providing temporary coverage for individuals using personal vehicles to deliver food from local restaurants.

MAPFRE Insurance will return 15% of April and May premium to its personal auto policyholders in Massachusetts, totaling $30 million. On average, most policyholders will receive a credit of approximately $40.00. A similar credit will be provided to the companys personal auto policyholders in its other 13 states of operation for the same time period.

Mercury Insurance will be giving back 15% of monthly auto insurance premiums to personal auto customers in April and May in the 11 states in which it operates. The refunds will total about $65 million.

MetLife Auto & Home is giving personal auto customers who are paid to date a 15% credit for April and May based on their monthly premium. The company will not cancel policies due to non-payment through July 1, 2020. Many MetLife auto insurance policies already provide coverage for people using their personal vehicles for delivering medicine or food but the insurer is extending this coverage under all personal auto insurance programs at no additional charge through May 1, 2020. It is also extending its existing cyber security services through CyberScout to immediate family members of current customers through August 2020.

Nationwide is giving a one-time premium refund of $50 per policy for personal auto policies active as of March 31, 2020. The refund is equivalent to an average savings of 15 percent for two months. Nationwide has already been extending payment terms and providing coverage for personal lines policyholders conducting a delivery of food or prescriptions.

Next Insurance is cutting April premiums by 25% for its customers with general liability, professional liability and commercial auto policies. This 25% reduction applies to those who pay monthly or paid their full annual premium up front and who purchased coverage before March 1. The insurer recently extended its April 25% premium reduction through May (subject to state approvals).

NJM Insurance Group that offers coverage in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania will provide a 15% refund on the equivalent of three months of annual premium for auto policyholders. In total, NJM will return $41.7 million in relief.

North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance will provide a 20% dividend payment to its automobile policyholders for April and May 2020.

NYCM Insurance in New York is issuing a credit to its approximately 230,000 auto policyholders. All auto policyholders as of April 30, 2020, will receive a 15% credit back from their April and May premiums.

Plymouth Rock will issue a 25% premium credit on liability and personal injury protection coverages on all existing and new auto insurance policies. It will also waive comprehensive and collision deductibles for any health care worker involved in an accident while driving to and from work, or in the line of duty. For its home insurance customers, Plymouth Rock will apply its alternative living expense coverage to any health care worker required by illness or job requirements to stay away from home. Policyholders will have the option to donate their savings to non-profit organizations.

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company has announced its Stay Home, Stay Assured Auto Program, which will provide more than 65,000 customers with a 15% credit on their April and May personal auto insurance premiums. The credit will be given to New York and Massachusetts personal auto policyholders as of April 30, 2020. The company has estimated its Stay Home, Stay Assured Auto Program will distribute $2.5 million back to its customers.

Progressive Insurance is providing approximately $1 billion to its drivers. Personal auto customers who have a policy in force as of April 30th will be credited 20% of their April premiums in May and customers with a policy in force as of May 31 will be credited 20% of their May premiums in June. Commercial lines customers with a business owner or general liability policy will get a 20% credit on April and May monthly premiums. In addition, the insurer is suspending cancellations and non-renewals on personal and commercial lines policies for non-payment through May 15; expanding coverage for personal auto customers temporarily delivering food or medicine and allowing commercial customers additional coverage options for delivery.

Safety Insurance is offering personal auto policyholders that have a policy in effect as of April 1 a 15% credit off their premium for April and May. It is also providing auto coverage for customers now using their personal vehicles for deliveries.

Selective Insurance personal and business auto insurance policies will receive a 15% premium credit for April and May. The company is also providing payment flexibility and delaying policy cancellations, and making mid-policy adjustments to business customers transitioning from brick and mortar operations to a delivery service, using their property differently, or experiencing a reduction in sales revenue.

Shelter Insurance will issue a payment to policyholders representing approximately 30% of their personal auto monthly premium for the months of April and May. It has also eased its rules on lapsed and cancelled policies.

State Farm is returning $2 billion in dividends to auto insurance customers. On average, auto customers can expect to receive a credit of about 25 percent of premium for the time period March 20 through May 31; exact percentages will vary by state.

Thimble, an on-demand general and professional liability insurer, has created a Pause, an option for small businesses and entrepreneurs that may need to take a temporary break from insurance coverage. It is available to all policyholders that have a monthly Thimble policy, introduced earlier this year. Pause is available for up to 30 days and can be initiated at no cost. Policyholders can still be covered for bodily injury or property damage claims that occur during Pause, as long as the occurrence was not a result of work completed during the break period or prior to having insurance with Thimble.

The Travelers Companies is giving personal auto insurance customers a 15% credit on their April and May premiums. It is offering auto coverage for customers now doing deliveries. In addition, Travelers is also providing billing relief to customers and accelerating more than $100 million in commission payments to eligible agents and brokers.

Union Mutual of Vermont announced an automatic 15% credit on all personal auto policies it writes in New England and New York.

Utica National Insurance Group will provide policyholders with a 15% payback of their personal auto insurance premiums for April and May 2020. The company is also temporarily expanding coverage under customers personal auto policies to include delivery coverage.

USAA will be returning $520 million to its members. Every member with an auto insurance policy in effect as of March 31 will receive a 20% credit on two months of premiums in the coming weeks. It is also offering special payment arrangements and expanded auto insurance coverage for members using their personal vehicles for deliveries.

Vermont Mutual began mailing letters to its personal auto consumers on May 1 informing them that they qualify for a payback equivalent to 20% of their auto premium for three months. It is also offering an opportunity for those customers to choose to donate their rebate to a number of charities that are helping local communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, The United Way and The Salvation Army.

Westfield personal auto customers will receive a 15% credit of their eligible monthly auto premium for the months of April, May and June 2020. Westfield is returning more than $16 million customers. It is also providing coverage to customers with a personal auto policy with delivery coverage.

Topics Carriers COVID-19 Auto Workers' Compensation New York Personal Auto Homeowners
The Election Commission on Friday decided to hold polls to the Maharashtra Legislative Council before May 27, highly placed sources said.

The polls were deferred due to the spread of coronavirus.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who was sworn in on November 28 last year, has time till May 27 to get elected to the state legislature, failing which he will have to step down.

Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari had requested the Election Commission on Thursday to declare polls for nine vacant seats to the state Legislative Council.

Sources in the poll panel said a decision has been taken to hold the polls before May 27.

They, however, refused to share details.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To mark the arrival of Shelby in the Philippines, the company launched the 800+ HP Super Snake. Based on the Mustang GT, the Shelby Super Snake delivers mean looks, with matching performance from a supercharged V8.

Now, Autohub has just announced that the first Shelby units have arrived in the country under an official dealer. Previously, Shelby units were only available through gray market importers.

Late last year, Autohub Group of Companies announced that they have been appointed as the exclusive distributor of Shelby in the Philippines.

The Super Snake serves as Shelby's most powerful Mustang as it is powered by a highly-modified 5.0-liter V8. With a Ford Performance supercharger under the hood, the Super Snake doles out an impressive 710 PS. But for those that prefer a bit more oomph from the V8, there's the option of equipping it with a Whipple supercharger which ups the ante to 825 PS.

Aside from the supercharger upgrade, Shelby also installed performance half shafts, transmission cooler (for automatic versions), a one-piece driveshaft, as well as a Ford Performance exhaust system. To keep the V8 at optimal temperatures, the Super Snake comes with a Shelby extreme cooling system that consists of an aluminum radiator, aluminum tank, and a heat exchanger.

Giving the Super Snake better handling comes courtesy of a Ford Performance Track Pack suspension, along with Shelby performance tires. Meanwhile, Brembo brakes provide the Super Snake with better stopping power. The front set gets six-piston calipers while the rear comes with four-piston calipers.

As far as exterior upgrades are concerned, the Super Snake gets a new front grille and bumper, more aggressive rocker panels, a front splitter, rear spoiler, as well as a rear diffuser for better aerodynamics. Shod in the wheel wells are 20-inch forged aluminum alloys. The cabin of the Super Snake Mustang is upgraded with new floor mats and door sill plates, gauge cluster with gauges, custom Shelby badging on the engine cover, and dashboard.

We are thrilled to finally unleash the Shelby brand to our market! said Mr. Willy Tee Ten, president of Autohub Group of Companies. Indeed the iconic Shelby brand will bring more excitement and fuel passion to motorists and petrol-heads alike,

The Shelby Super Snake is now available for retail at Autohub Car Care Services (ACCS). As for the price, well, you'll have to make a serious inquiry to find out.
The Karnataka government on Friday issued a show cause notice to an IAS officer over his recent tweet about coronavirus-cured Tablighi Jamaat members donating plasma for treatment of other patients.

The officer, Mohammad Mohsin, was in the last year after the Election Commission suspended him for trying to inspect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter during his visit to Odisha in April. He was deployed as a poll observer.

"More than 300 Tablighi Heroes are donating their plasma to serve the country in New Delhi only. What about? #Godi Media? They will not show the works of humanity done by these heroes," Mohsin said in a tweet on April 27.

A 1996 batch IAS officer from Karnataka cadre hailing from Bihar, Mohsin is currently serving as a secretary in the Backward Class Welfare Department.

The state government said the show cause notice has been issued to the officer in connection with his tweet.

"The adverse coverage this tweet has got in the media has been taken note of seriously by the government, given the serious nature of COVID-19 and the sensitivities involved," the notice, which was accessed by PTI, stated.

The government has sought a written explanation from the officer within five days for violating the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

It warned of action against Mohsin as per the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 if he fails to submit his reply before the deadline.

"The Karnataka government has made it clear that it would not hesitate to act even against powerful functionaries if their actions are damaging to the harmony in the state at a time when all are united in fighting COVID-19," a senior state bureaucrat told PTI.

The Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary group, shot into the limelight early this year after thousands of its members who attended a congregation in south Delhi's Nizamuddin in March tested positive for coronavirus.

After attending the event, the group's members travelled to various parts of the country, with many of them carrying the virus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Coronavirus is affecting the finances of almost half the Australian population and causing anxiety levels to double.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its first comprehensive survey of how COVID-19 is depleting bank balances and sparking a potential mental health crisis.

The worst global health pandemic in 100 years is threatening to push unemployment into the double digits for the first time since the early 1990s.

With many hospitality and retail workers now jobless as others take pay cuts, the ABS found 45 per cent of Australians had been affected financially in the four weeks to April 17.

Coronavirus is threatening to push unemployment into the double digits for the first time since the early 1990s, with 31 per cent of people telling the Australian Bureau of Statistics they were worse off financially. Pictured is a Centrelink queue in Melbourne

One third, or 31 per cent of respondents told the ABS their finances had worsened while 14 per cent had reported an improvement.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement

The bad news about COVID-19 during that period also caused anxiety levels to double when compared with the federal government agency's 2017-18 National Health Survey.

Michelle Marquardt, the ABS's program manager for household surveys, said that compared with three years ago, 'twice as many adults reported feelings associated with anxiety, such as nervousness or restlessness, at least some of the time over the last four weeks'.

Despite being more likely to die, older Australians were the ones less likely to be anxious.

'Adults aged 18 to 64 years were nearly twice as likely as those aged 65 years and over to experience feelings related to anxiety at least some of the time,' Ms Marquardt said.

With daily new coronavirus case numbers now in the single digits, COVID-19 is shaping up more as an economic than a health crisis.

With many hospitality and retail workers now jobless as others take pay cuts, the ABS found 45 per cent of Australians had been affected financially in the four weeks to April 17, with 31 per cent being worse off. Pictured are police and army officers at Sydney International Airport

A separate survey of 1,444 people by market researcher Roy Morgan estimated 2.16million Australians were out of work in April, with unemployment now at 15.3 per cent, the highest since the 1930s Great Depression.

That is significantly higher than the 10 per cent jobless rate both the Reserve Bank of Australia and Treasury are expecting by the end of June.

Australia hasn't had double-digit unemployment since April 1994, as jobless rates remained high after the 1991 recession.

In March, the national jobless stood at 5.2 per cent before the March 24 shutdown of non-essential businesses, from pubs and clubs and to gyms and cinemas.

Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said this had struck the Australian economy like a 'hammer blow', with the effects to be felt even as COVID-19 restrictions were unwound in May and June.

'Those most heavily impacted face a challenging employment market in the months ahead even as the harshest restrictions are rolled back,' she said.
PRESS STATEMENT RELEASED APRIL 30, 2020

Condemning Misuse of UAPA by Union Government during COVID-19 Pandemic and Standing in Solidarity with Individuals & Civil Society Organisations Experiencing Targeted Crackdown

We, a group of activists and citizens of India, express our deep concern over the recent arrests on the false pretext that have been taking place using the regressive Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Union government. When governments all over the world are fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to obliterate the Coronavirus, Modi government using the opportunity created by the lockdown is fighting dissidents and abolishing them of their fundamental rights. People are being picked up and put in jails under fictitious cases.

It all began on 17th December 2019 when Assam-based anti-corruption and Right to Information activist Akhil Gogoi was charged with sedition, intention to cause riot against national integration, punishment for criminal conspiracy and unlawful association under the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA. He became the first person to be tried under the amended UAPA.

On 14th April 2020, Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha faced arrest under UAPA by the National Investigative Agency. Several issues raised by Peoples Union for Democratic Reform (PUDR) and other organisations point out the Union governmentas alleged conspiracy to fabricate cases against the 11 activists who were wrongfully arrested in the Bhima Koregaon criminal case. FIRs relating to this violence have been selectively acted upon, such that the perpetrators of the violence, Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote (both associated with the RSS), are still at large, while persons unrelated to the event and not named in the FIRs have been arrested and incarcerated for 18-20 months without bail. This is mainly because of their work with some of Indiaas most vulnerable communities, like Adivasis and Dalits. Both of them are more than 65 years old and have underlying heart ailments.

On 20th April 2020, Jammu and Kashmir police had booked Masrat Zahra, a 26-year-old internationally-acclaimed photojournalist, under Section 13 of UAPA and Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code in the cyber Police Station at Srinagar. It was noted that the police statement only called her a Facebook user and not a journalist. On the same date, Delhi Police booked Jamia Millia Islamia students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar under the UAPA, in a case related to North East Delhi riots that took place in February. They also booked former Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid.

On 26th April 2020, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, the President of Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association and a member of Jamia Coordination Committee was again booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged involvement in the North-East Delhi riots and was subsequently arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

Delhi Police went to AISAs Delhi President Kawalpreet Kauras House on 27th April and seized her mobile phone in the name of enquiry into the Delhi communal violence. The seizure memo provided to her also cites an FIR with a slew of charges including the draconian UAPA.

Looking at all the cases together, we firmly believe that the extremely draconian and regressive amended UAPA law has been strategically put in place to exterminate both, dissent and dissidents during the lockdown period due to COVID-19 pandemic. UAPA allows the government to proscribe individuals as terrorists and permits more officers of the National Investigation Agency to probe cases. A person charged under the act can be jailed for up to seven years. While passing the law in Rajya Sabha in 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that "UAPAas only purpose was to fight terrorism", but now it is being used as a tool for intimidating citizens and eliminating opposition being faced by the government on various of its policies.

With the help of these arrests, the Union government is trying its best to put the blame of North East Delhi riots on Anti-CAA, NRC and NPR protestors and change the narrative altogether as they did in the Bhima Koregaon case. These arrests are being made despite the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urging all states to release aevery person detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners, and those detained for critical, dissenting viewsa on 3 April 2020.

Union government is saving the real culprits, whereas, young students, activists and coordination committee members who participated in the Anti-CAA protests in different parts of India are being wrongfully arrested. It is an engineered attempt to save indictable people affiliated to the right-wing ruling party like Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, who are still at large.

We strongly condemn these unethical attempts being made by the Union government to change the narrative of these engineered acts of violence time and again. We stand together in solidarity with the people that are being suppressed by these regressive laws and demand their immediate release. We also request all citizens to come and stand in solidarity against the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and its targeted misuse by the State, especially during the lockdown due to COVID-19, to silence and threaten activists, students and organisations that are critical of the central government.

Signatories

A C Michael, Former Member Delhi Minorities Commission

Abha Bhaiya, social activist, Himachal

Abhishek Khandelwal, Advocate

Abuzar Choudhary, Social Activist, Anhad

Anand Mazgaonkar, Social Activist, Gujarat

Ananya Vajpeyi

Anil Chamadia, Journalist-Writer

Annie Raja, National General Secretary, NFIW

Anuradha Bhasin, journalist

Atul Sood, Professor, Economist

Battini Rao, Convenor, PADS

Bhavesh Bariya, Students Leader, Gujarat

Denzil Fernandes

Dev Desai, Social Activist, Anhad Gujarat

Dharam Hadvani, Student Leader, Gujarat

Dilip Simeon, historian

Dr Kush Kumar Singh, Khudai Khidmtgar

Dr. Indu Prakash Singh, President, Forum against Corruption & Threats (FACT)

Dr. Javed Malick, Academic

Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre

Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmtgar

Fr. Cedric Prakash, Human Rights Defender, Gujarat

Gauhar Raza, Scientist, Poet

Githa Hariharan, Writer

Harsh Kapoor, Independent Researcher

Harsh Mander, writer, social activist

Irfan Engineer, Director, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism

Joe Athialy, social activist

John Dayal, journalist

Joy Sengupta, Actor

Justice BG Kolse Patil, retd

Kamal Chenoy, academic

Kavita Krishnan, AIPWA

Kripal Singh Mandloi, Khudai Khidmtgar

Leena Dabiru, Social Activist

Madhuresh Kumar, NAPM

Mahesh Pandya, Gujarat Social Watch

Mallika Sarabhai, Artist (Dancer)

Mariam Dhawale, General Secretary, AIDWA

Mario Noronha, Secretary, Federation of Catholic Associations of Archdiocese of Delhi

Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan

MMP Singh, retired academic

Nandini Rao, feminist activist

Nandini Sundar, Sociologist, Delhi

Nandita Narain, former President DUTA and FEDCUTA

Navsharan Singh, social activist

ND Jayaprakash, social activist

Noorjahan Diwan, Social Activist, Anhad , Gujarat

Pamela Philipose, journalist

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, journalist

Prabir Purkayastha, Editor, Newsclick

Prof Chaman Lal

Prof Prabhat Patnaik, economist

Prof. Hemant Shah, Economist, Gujarat

Prof. Mansi Shah, CEPT University

Prof. Navdeep Mathur, IIM Ahmedabad

Pushkar Raj , PUCL

Rakhi Sehgal, Labour Researcher and Activist

Rekha Awasthi, academic

Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad

Shashwati Mazumdar, academic

Sohail Hashmi, historian, filmmaker

Sukumar Muralidharan, journalist

Tarun Sagar, Social Worker, Anhad

Utpal Kant Anis, PhD Scholar Gujarat

Vijayan MJ, Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace & Democracy (India Chapter)

Vipin Tripathi, Sadbhav Mission

Wilfred Dcosta, Indian Social Action Forum a INSAF
Takuo Aoyagi, a Japanese engineer whose pioneering work in the 1970s led to the modern pulse oximeter, a lifesaving device that clips on a finger and shows the level of oxygen in the blood and that has become a critical tool in the fight against the novel coronavirus, died on April 18 in Tokyo. He was 84.

His death, in a hospital, was announced by his employer, Nihon Khoden, a Tokyo-based company that makes medical equipment. A niece, Kyoko Aoyagi, confirmed the death but said she did not know the cause.

The pulse oximeter has become an indispensable addition to medicine, said V. Courtney Broaddus, a professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Historically, patients were measured by four vital signs: temperature, blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate. It has become the fifth vital sign, she said of oxygen level.

While many coronavirus patients do feel chest pain, fever and other symptoms, Dr. Broaddus said, the pulse oximeter has become especially important because humans do not sense a low oxygen saturation alone.
WASHINGTON - The White House has eyed Justin Walker, an ally and protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for a seat on the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals since at least early September 2018, according to new documents provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Walker, then a young lawyer who had been working fervently on behalf of Brett M. Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, discloses that he was contacted by the White House Counsel's Office that month to see if he were interested in the vacancy on the D.C. Circuit that would open up once Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate.

Walker had served as a clerk to Kavanaugh on that appeals court.

He interviewed with White House lawyers for the job on Sept. 10, 2018, but the position ultimately went to Neomi Rao, then the Trump administration's regulatory czar. Last year, Walker was nominated for a lower court slot - the Western District of Kentucky - amid criticism from Democrats and the nonpartisan American Bar Association that he was not qualified for that position because he lacked the requisite courtroom experience.

Still, he was nominated by President Donald Trump, with heavy influence and support from McConnell, for a promotion to the D.C. Circuit earlier this month. Walker, 37, is the youngest nominee to the D.C. Circuit since 1983, and the first from outside Washington since 2005.

His interactions with the White House surrounding his eventual nomination by Trump were detailed in a questionnaire submitted to the Judiciary Committee and obtained by The Washington Post. His confirmation hearing is scheduled for May 6 despite protests from Democrats that the committee's chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., should be holding coronavirus-related hearings instead.

"With so much at stake for health care in our country right now, Republicans shouldn't be tipping the scales of justice against families' health care and toward disaster," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the third-ranking Senate Democrat, said in a conference call hosted by Alliance for Justice and other groups working to defeat Walker's nomination. "Confirming judges who will make it harder for people to get the care they need might be Senator McConnell's first priority - but it's the last thing we need right now,"

That has not deterred McConnell, who has made it abundantly clear that confirming lifetime appointments to the courts will be at the top of the agenda once senators return to Washington next week. And Walker, whom the majority leader has known since the judge was a teenager, is among the highest of priorities for McConnell.

Proponents of Trump's judicial nominees outside the Senate are also heavily focusing on this nomination. Mike Davis, the former chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, said barring a Supreme Court vacancy this year, Walker's confirmation battle "will be the biggest judicial fight this year."

Walker writes in the questionnaire that McConnell reached out to him in late 2019 to see if he was still interested in the D.C. Circuit job "in anticipation of a long-rumored upcoming vacancy." That opening was ultimately announced in early March, when Judge Thomas B. Griffith, a former Senate counsel who was nominated by George W. Bush, said he would be retiring.

He and McConnell met with Trump in the Oval Office on Jan. 8 to "discuss the vacancy," Walker writes. He was told by the White House Counsel's Office on April 2 that he would be nominated, and the pick was announced April 3.

Since then, Walker has attracted more attention with a fiery opinion issued the day before Easter on April 12 that blocked Louisville's mayor from trying to prevent drive-in church services as a way to stem the spread of the coronavirus - a decision that drew applause from conservatives.

"The Senate will confirm Judge Walker, because he's already proven himself as a brilliant rising star on the federal bench with his recent ruling smacking down the Louisville mayor for mindlessly attempting to ban drive-up Easter services while permitting drive-up liquor sales," said Davis, who now leads the Article III Project, an outside group focused on backing Trump's judicial picks.

In the 20-page opinion, Walker wrote that an "American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter."

"That sentence is one that this Court never expected to see outside the pages of a dystopian novel, or perhaps the pages of The Onion," Walker continued in the April 11 opinion. "But two days ago, citing the need for social distancing during the current pandemic, Louisville's Mayor Greg Fischer ordered Christians not to attend Sunday services, even if they remained in their cars to worship - and even though it's Easter."

Walker's temporarily restraining order against the mayor and 20-page opinion were issued before the city of Louisville had an opportunity to officially respond in court to the lawsuit from On Fire Christian Center.

In a subsequent statement, Fischer expressed disappointment with the decision. He had urged churches not to host in-person or drive-in services Easter weekend, but said there was never a "formal ban" on drive-in religious services.

---

The Washington Post's Ann Marimow contributed to this report.
Japan Airlines' annual net profit plunged nearly 65 percent, the company said Thursday, as it faced the "unprecedented" impact of the coronavirus pandemic on aviation demand.

JAL said net profit for the fiscal year ending in March fell 64.6 percent to 53.4 billion yen ($500 million) on annual sales of 1.4 trillion yen, down 5.1 percent.

The results were largely in line with a profit warning the airline issued last week.

JAL said demand had plunged owing to entry bans around the world, the cancellation of major domestic events, and a state of emergency in Japan with authorities urging citizens not to travel.

"Our group is facing an unprecedented situation," the company said in a statement.

The airline did not release earnings forecasts for the current financial year, citing uncertainty over the pandemic.

For now, JAL plans to cut its number of flights by 90 percent on international routes and more than 60 percent on domestic routes from its flight schedule announced before the pandemic.
'I didn't want to live. I wanted for it all to stop,' the girl told GMA

Juliet is one of the first identified cases in the US of the inflammatory condition

Kawasaki disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of the blood vessels and affects mostly children under five years old

A growing number of children who have tested positive for COVID-19 have gone on to develop a rare inflammatory disease that is similar to Kawasaki disease

Doctors across Britain, Italy, Spain and the US are warning the initial belief that coronavirus is less dangerous to children could be inaccurate

Juliet Daly almost died when the coronavirus seemed to trigger a rare heart condition, causing her heart to stop

A healthy 12-year-old Louisiana girl's heart stopped for two minutes after she developed a rare life-threatening inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to coronavirus.

Juliet Daly almost died when the coronavirus seemed to trigger a rare heart condition, that doctors across Britain, Italy, Spain and now the US are warning proves the virus could be deadly to some children.

Initial theories that coronavirus is less dangerous to children have been thrown into question after a growing number of children who have tested positive for COVID-19 have gone on to develop a rare inflammatory disease that is similar to Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of the blood vessels and affects mostly children under five years old.

Juliet, one of the first identified cases in the US of the inflammatory condition, and her mother Jennifer Daly, have told of their ordeal after the little girl went from being a 'perfectly' healthy, active 12-year-old to being hooked up to a ventilator in an ICU for four days.

Healthy 12-year-old Juliet Daly's heart stopped for two minutes after she developed a rare life-threatening inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to coronavirus

'I died for two minutes,' Juliet told Good Morning America Wednesday.

Three weeks ago, Juliet was emergency airlifted to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans with heart failure.

She had no typical symptoms of coronavirus such as a fever, cough or breathing difficulties but had severe abdominal pains.

'My stomach would not stop hurting,' she said. 'I didn't want to move. I didn't want to live. I wanted for it all to stop.'

After being placed on a ventilator in the ICU, Juliet went into cardiac arrest. She also tested positive for COVID-19.

'After they put the breathing tube down her throat, her heart stopped,' Daly told GMA.

'They had to do two minutes of CPR on her. At that point, my whole world just crumbled.'

Daly warned other parents that the virus can be fatal to some children.

'I think it's really important to get the message out. I mean we nearly missed it,' she said.

'If we hadn't taken her to the hospital on time, I don't think things would've turned out okay.'

Juliet, one of the first identified cases in the US of the inflammatory condition, and her mother Jennifer Daly have told of their ordeal after the little girl went from being a 'perfectly' healthy, active 12-year-old to being hooked up to a ventilator in an ICU for four days

Juliet almost died when the coronavirus seemed to trigger a rare heart condition, that doctors across Britain, Italy, Spain and now the US are warning proves the virus could be deadly to some children

Initial theories that coronavirus is less dangerous to children have been thrown into question

Dr. Jake Kleinmahon, a pediatric cardiologist at Ochsner Medical Center who treated Juliet, said Juliet was diagnosed with a rare inflammatory condition that can lead to swollen arteries, similar to Kawasaki disease.

'COVID-19 can infect the heart and it can cause the cells in the heart to be unhappy and actually start to die,' he said.

Fears are mounting that coronavirus is more deadly to children than first thought after several doctors in hard-hit nations have started sounding the alarm about similar cases where children are developing deadly heart conditions thought to be triggered by the virus.

Doctors across the UK, Italy, Spain and the US have been grappling with cases of a mysterious heart condition in usually healthy children. Linking the cases is that the children also test positive for coronavirus.

The majority of the patients are thought to be under the age of five.

Juliet with her family. She is one of several children who have developed the inflammatory syndrome while also testing positive for coronavirus

WHAT IS AN INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME? Children are being admitted in what has been described as a 'multi-system inflammatory state' This refers to the over-production of cytokines, known as a cytokine storm - the overreaction of the body's immune system In a storm, the proteins start to attack healthy tissue, which can cause blood vessels to leak and lead to low blood pressure Doctors say this also happens with Ebola, causing the body to go into shock It has also been noted in older COVID-19 patients WHAT SYMPTOMS DOES IT CAUSE? The cases share overlapping features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki disease Two of the most common symptoms of Kawasaki disease include a rash and a fever TSS also causes a rash, dizziness and diarrhoea Advertisement

The illness appears to be similar to Kawasaki disease - which causes blood vessels to become inflamed, and toxic shock syndrome - an overreaction by the immune system which causes the body to attack its own organs.

Three children with coronavirus - ranging from 6 months to 8 years old - who developed fever and inflammation of the heart and the gut are being treated for the syndrome at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

'Right now, we're at the very beginning of trying to understand what that represents,' Columbia's Dr. Mark Gorelik told Reuters.

Gorelik, a pediatric rheumatologist and immunologist, said he was called in to consult on the cases to evaluate whether the children have Kawasaki disease.

Of the three, one is critically ill, one is in intensive care and the third has been discharged.

Gorelik said he believes the US cases are likely not Kawasaki disease, but a similar process that shares an underlying mechanism with Kawasaki, which is thought to be triggered by an infectious agent that sparks an immune response.

Gorelik said it is possible that in some children coronavirus has two phases - the initial infection and a secondary immune response that kicks in some weeks later.

'It seems a week to two weeks later, you may have the immune system responding in a very disorganized way,' he said.

Gorelik said the pattern in some ways follows what is happening with some adult COVID-19 patients, who get very sick, begin to recover, and then have a secondary immune response.

Kawasaki disease is a form of toxic shock syndrome which causes the body's immune system to attack its own organs

The team at Columbia has done some preliminary studies and found that at least two of the patients in New York with the apparent inflammatory syndrome carried genes that could alter their immune response.

The cases follow a report at Stanford University in California, in which a six-month-old was admitted to the hospital with Kawasaki disease and was later diagnosed with COVID-19.

The report on the patient in California doesn't clarify whether both illnesses happened coincidentally or if COVID-19 might have somehow caused Kawasaki disease, said Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a University of Florida pediatrics professor, who co-authored a recent JAMA Pediatrics article about COVID-19 and children.

WHAT IS KAWASAKI DISEASE AND TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME? KAWASAKI DISEASE Kawasaki disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of the blood vessels and affects mostly children under five years old. The inflammation can weaken the coronary arteries, which supply the heart with blood. This can lead to aneurysms and heart attacks. The condition affects eight children out of every 100,000 and statistics show it is fatal in three per cent of cases that go untreated. WHAT SYMPTOMS DOES IT CAUSE? The symptoms of Kawasaki disease usually develop in three phases over a six-week period. The first signs are a fever and a rash in the first few weeks, followed by the eyes of children becoming red and swollen. It can also cause the lips to dry up and crack, a sore throat, swollen lymph glands and the tongue to become red. The second phase of Kawasaki disease often causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, joint pain and jaundice. In the third phase, symptoms tend to disappear but children 'may still have a lack of energy and become easily tired during this time'. TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME Toxic shock syndrome is a highly dangerous bacterial infection - but it can be misdiagnosed because the symptoms are similar to other illnesses and because it is so rare. It occurs when usually harmless staphylococcus aureus or streptococcus bacteria, which live on the skin, invade the bloodstream and release dangerous toxins. TSS has a mortality rate of between five and 15 per cent. And reoccurs in 30-to-40 per cent of cases. Using tampons is a particular risk factor for TSS. WHAT SYMPTOMS DOES IT CAUSE? a high temperature

flu-like symptoms

feeling and being sick

diarrhoea

a widespread sunburn-like rash

lips, tongue and the whites of the eyes turning a bright red

dizziness or fainting

difficulty breathing

confusion Advertisement

'We'll need more information published in the peer-reviewed literature to better understand this association. However, Kawasaki disease is a relatively rare condition, so seeing these cases makes us concerned that Kawasaki disease could be a rare complication of COVID-19,' she said.

'We need to remain vigilant when we see children with findings that aren't typical for COVID-19.'

The US cases come after doctors in the UK issued an 'alert' warning of several cases in British children.

Britain's Pediatric Intensive Care Society issued an alert to doctors noting that, in the past three weeks, there has been an increase in the number of children with 'a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care' across the country.

The group said there was 'growing concern' that either a COVID-19-related syndrome was emerging in children or that a different, unidentified disease might be responsible.

Two-year-old Bertie Brown left doctors baffled when his temperature soared over 104F and his blotchy rash began to turn black.

A senior consultant eventually diagnosed the boy with Kawasaki but he was not given a COVID-19 test, leaving both medics and his family in the dark about a possible link.

Meanwhile, Lewis Greig, a 13-year-old boy from Aberdeen has been on a ventilator since last week with COVID-19, after presenting with inflammatory symptoms including bloodshot eyes and measles-like rashes.

Health officials estimate there have been about 10-20 such cases in Britain.

Spain's Association of Pediatrics also recently made a similar warning, telling doctors that in recent weeks, there had been a number of school-age children suffering from 'an unusual picture of abdominal pain, accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms' that could lead within hours to shock, low blood pressure and heart problems.

'It is a priority to recognize these (symptoms) to urgently refer these patients to a hospital,' the pediatric association said.

In Italy, Dr. Angelo Ravelli of Gaslini Hospital and a member of the Italian Paediatricians' Society, sent a note to 10,000 colleagues raising his concerns.

He and his team reported an unusual increase in the number of patients with Kawasaki disease in regions of Italy hit hard by the pandemic, noting some children had COVID-19 or had contacts with confirmed virus cases.

'These children do not respond to traditional treatment,' he said, adding that some were given a high dose of steroids. Those who developed toxic shock syndrome needed help breathing and were admitted to intensive care units, Ravelli said.

Some possible cases have also been reported in France and Belgium.
MONTREAL, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (PYR.V) (PYRNF) (8PY.F), a high-tech company, (the "Company", the Corporation or "PyroGenesis") that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch systems, is pleased to announce today that, further to its press release dated March 4th, 2020, it has successfully completed the first phase (the First Phase) of a multi-phase modeling contract aimed at evaluating the performance of PyroGenesis proprietary torches in an existing iron ore industrial furnace with the goal of replacing all existing fossil fuel burners with PyroGenesis plasma torches. All phases will be completed by the end of Q2 2020. The client is a multi-billion-dollar international producer of iron ore pellets (the Client), one of the largest in the industry, whose name will remain confidential for competitive reasons. The Client has over 10 plants each requiring approx. 50 plasma torches.



This all important First Phase demonstrated that replacing fossil fuel burners with PyroGenesis proprietary plasma torch (i) has absolutely no ancillary detrimental effects anywhere in the process or with the furnaces, (ii) results in significant greenhouse gas reduction while at the same time, (iii) projecting significant cost savings.

This contract consists of evaluating the performance of PyroGenesis proprietary torches in the Clients industrial furnace. The First Phase results confirm that replacing fossil fuel burners with PyroGenesis proprietary plasma torches will not have any detrimental effects on the Clients process or their furnaces and, more importantly, will result in a CO 2 reduction in excess of 350,000 tons per year per plant (which is equivalent to removing 76,000 cars1 from the road), while at the same time projecting significant cost savings. The Client has over 10 plants, each requiring approx. 50 torches. Each torch will generate up to $3M of revenue to PyroGenesis. The subsequent modelling phases will further quantify the benefits of transitioning to plasma. All phases will be completed by the end of Q2, 2020.

Story continues

This is a very significant development with a very significant player in the industry, said Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. We have effectively demonstrated that by using our proprietary plasma torch to replace the environmental damaging fossil fuel burners, not only will there be a significant reduction in greenhouse gases but there will also be significant cost savings (avoiding future carbon taxes alone is noteworthy), and all without any detrimental effect anywhere in the process. How many process changes can boast of that trifecta?

Pelletization is the process in which iron ore is concentrated before shipment, thus significantly reducing the cost of transportation. In conventional technologies, the process heat is provided by fuel oil or natural gas burners (both environmentally damaging). The combustion, in the burners, of fossil fuels results in the production of greenhouse gases, mainly CO2. Plasma torches, by contrast, utilize renewable electricity and as such offer an environmentally attractive alternative to fossil fuel burners.

Since our success with RISE, noted in our press release dated March 4th, 2020, most major iron ore pelletization producers have reached out to us, as have several producers from the metallurgical industry, said Mr. Pascali. This has resulted in several modelling proposal requests, however, what I find most exciting is that in recent weeks the interest in our torch capabilities has also come to include significant steel producers, and these discussions have been moving forward at a rapid pace as well. All this interest is from producers that use natural gas and heavy fuel oil burners and want alternatives to help them meet greenhouse gas reduction targets/policies. We find that the proposition to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, and avoid carbon taxes, with a simple bolt-on replacement of their current environmentally damaging fossil fuel burners, is too compelling to resist. That, combined with the environmental pressure these industries are currently under (only recently a new trend has emerged where financial institutions are tying credit facilities and debt issuances to carbon reduction targets for multi-national industrial and mining conglomerates), has generated a wave of interest and proposals.

About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward- looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Corporation's current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Corporation's ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

For further information please contact:

Rodayna Kafal, Vice President Investors Relations and Strategic Business Development

Phone: (514) 937-0002, E-mail: ir@pyrogenesis.com

RELATED LINK: http://www.pyrogenesis.com/
Partisan politics makes hypocrites of us all.

How many times have you ignored or excused actions by a prominent member of your political squad that you would have lambasted from a member of the opposition?

In recent years, as 25 women have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, Ive repeatedly heard Republicans dismiss the allegations as nothing but a pack of lies from unscrupulous attention-seekers.

Many of those same Republicans, however, now insist that Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, is telling the truth when she says that Biden, in 1993, pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers.

Conversely, many Democrats who have dutifully shared every story chronicling Trumps alleged sexual misconduct are treating Reades allegations as if they dont merit discussion.

On Wednesday, MSNBC host Chris Hayes delivered a fair, dispassionate overview of the case against Biden. By Thursday morning, angry Democrats had #firechrishayes trending on Twitter.

The Me Too movement which emerged in 2017 not only forced a reckoning for powerful figures such as movie producer Harvey Weinstein and Today host Matt Lauer, it also gave rise to the Believe Women mantra.

Believe Women is based on the idea that going forward with an accusation of sexual assault or harassment always has been such a painful  and potentially career-threatening  step for women in our society, no one would do so unless shes telling the truth.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., made that point in 2018, during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who had been accused of committing sexual assault as a teenager.

Gillibrand tweeted: Do we value women? Do we believe women? Do we give them the opportunity to tell their story? To be heard? Will we ensure they get the justice they deserve? We must fight to be a country that answers, Yes, every time.

Maybe Gillibrand meant almost every time, because the senator recently stated that she doesnt believe Reades allegations against Biden.

Stacey Abrams, one of the most promising figures in the Democratic Party (and a possible running mate for Biden), tweeted during the Kavanaugh hearings: I believe women.

This week, however, Abrams went on CNN and discounted the allegations against Biden. In doing so, she echoed erroneous Biden campaign talking points that an April 12 New York Times piece had exonerated the former vice president.

The Times article did note that none of Reades colleagues in Bidens office corroborated her account. At the same time, the story pointed out that one of Reades friends said they talked in 1993 about the alleged assault.

Another friend said Reade told her in 2008 that Biden had touched her inappropriately. Reades brother also backed up her account.

Since the Times report ran, video has emerged of an August 1993 Larry King Live show in which a woman, believed to Reades since-deceased mother, called in to say that her daughter had worked for a prominent senator and experienced problems.

In addition, one of Reades former neighbors, Lynda LaCasse, says Reade told her about the alleged assault in the mid-1990s.

The notion that every single woman who alleges sexual assault or harassment must be automatically believed is a thorny one. In any court, even the court of public opinion, there should be some presumption of innocence; some need for supporting evidence or corroboration.

In 2001, Katharine Robb, then a sophomore at Iowa State University, told police that four black men had kidnapped and raped her. She later pleaded guilty to filing a false report.

In 2004, an Orange County, Calif., woman named Tamara Anne Moonier falsely accused six young men of kidnapping and raping her at gunpoint. Only the emergence of an exculpatory video saved them from prosecution.

I dont pretend to know whether Reades allegations are true, but its a compelling fact that she provided contemporaneous accounts to various people.

Anyone who sees her allegation as an election-year ploy to destroy Bidens candidacy might ask what the angle was for Reade to tell this story (or at least part of it) to her mother in 1993, at a time when it seemed doubtful that Biden ever again would seek the presidency.

Also, its been pretty pathetic to see Biden supporters try to discredit Reade by dredging up articles in which she praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reade might have terrible judgment about international affairs, but Im not sure how that proves shes lying about Biden.

Whatever standard we apply to sexual-misconduct allegations, it has to be consistent. It cant be believe women, except in cases where believing women might help Donald Trump get elected.

Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Gilbert, become a subscriber. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
The Delhi Polices special cell on Thursday booked Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan under sedition charges, two days after he allegedly made provocative remarks in his social media posts.

Joint commissioner of police (special cell) Neeraj Thakur said that a first information report (FIR) has been registered against Khan under Indian Penal Code sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony).

Khan, did not comment on the development. I have not seen the FIR. I will comment only when I see it or know about it, he said.

On Thursday he had issued an apology through his social media accounts. He had said that his tweet was ill-timed and insensitive and that it had pained some people but it was never his intention.

The FIR was filed on the complaint of a Vasant Kunj resident. The complaint reached the Lodhi Colony office of the anti-terror squad, special cell, through the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Safdarjung Enclave. HT has a copy of the FIR.

In his complaint, the Vasant Kunj resident alleged that on April 28, Delhi Minorities Commission chairperson Zafarul-Islam Khan made a social media post on Twitter and Facebook and the contents of the post are provocative, intend to cause disharmony and create the rift in the society.

Khans alleged communal remarks sparked sparked controversy . It also mentioned the name of a fugitive offender who has been booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), money laundering and terror-related cases. He has praised the man among others.

On Friday, Khan issued an apology on social media regarding his April 28 post. I realise that my tweet was ill-timed and insensitive in view of our country facing a medical emergency and fighting an unseen enemy. I apologise to all whose sentiments were hurt, Khan said in his statement.
Women whose first baby is born at full term, but who experience complications in pregnancy, have an increased risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks) in their next pregnancy, finds a study from Norway published by The BMJ today.

The findings suggest that term complications may share important underlying causes with preterm delivery that persist from pregnancy to pregnancy -- and could therefore help identify women at increased risk of preterm delivery, despite having had a previous term birth, say the researchers.

Women who deliver at term are generally considered to be at low risk of preterm delivery in later pregnancies, but it is not clear whether pregnancy complications or poor outcomes at birth might increase the risk of preterm delivery.

So researchers based in Norway and in the US set out to explore whether pregnancy complications or poor outcomes after a first term delivery might increase the risk of preterm delivery in the next pregnancy.

Their findings are based on data from Norway's Medical Birth Registry linking first and second pregnancies for 302,192 women between 1999 and 2015.

Term complications included pre-eclampsia (abnormally high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine), placental abruption (when the placenta comes away from the womb), stillbirth, neonatal death (in the first 28 days), and having a small baby (small for gestational age).

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The researchers found that women with any of the five complications at term were at substantially increased risk of preterm delivery in their next pregnancy. The conclusion did not change after taking account of potentially influential factors, such as mother's age, pre-pregnancy weight, education level and smoking status.

Compared with having none of the five complications in the first pregnancy, having any one of the complications led to a doubling of preterm risk, while having any two or more complications more than tripled the risk.

The absolute risks for preterm delivery in second pregnancy were 3% with none of the five term complications, 6% after term pre-eclampsia, 7% after term placental abruption, 13% after term stillbirth, 10% after term neonatal death and nearly 7% after term small for gestational age.

This is an observational study, so can't establish cause, and the researchers point to some limitations that may have affected the accuracy of their findings.

However, the results are based on high quality population-based birth data, and were largely unchanged after a range of further analyses, suggesting that they withstand scrutiny.

As such, they conclude that serious complications in pregnancy at term "imply an increased risk not only of recurrence of the same outcome but also of preterm birth in a subsequent pregnancy. These findings might inform antenatal clinical care by helping to identify women at increased risk of preterm delivery."

And they add that further exploration of the causal factors underlying these shared risks "might provide insight into fundamental biological mechanisms that link a broad range of pregnancy complications."
Efthimios Michael Zachary Mikedis, 28, known as Zak, from Ocklawaha, Florida

A man with extensive full-body tattoos has been arrested after he allegedly drugged, abducted and sexually battered a woman with an unidentified object.

Efthimios Michael Zachary Mikedis, 28, known as Zak, from Ocklawaha, Florida, is believed to have attacked his victim on January 5, taking turns to beat her with an accomplice.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office, Florida, announced his arrest on one count of sexual battery on Thursday.

Mikedis, who had offered the victim a ride from Orange County to her aunt's home in Marion County, arrived to pick her up with his mother Shannon James driving and a second man believed to be Robert McDaniel.

She instantly turned down the ride, telling police that Mikedis appeared to have a gun in his waistband and was someone you are 'instantly scared of', reports Fox News.

The victim turned down the ride, telling police that Mikedis appeared to have a gun in his waistband and was someone you are 'instantly scared of'

However Mikedis allegedly made her to get into the vehicle before pinning her to the floor and forcing an unknown substance down her throat which made her hallucinate.

He then drove to a property and moved her into a campervan where she blacked out as he allegedly sexually battered her using an unidentified object, with another male attacker.

The victim reported that she heard Mikedis urging his accomplice 'Go, go' as he also sexually battered her.

Mikedis allegedly drove to a property and moved the victim into a campervan (pictured) where she blacked out as he allegedly sexually battered her using an unidentified object

As she regained consciousness she tried to call an Uber but was given another unknown substance, the victim claims.

Mikedis then allegedly held a pair of scissors to her neck, punched her and burned her hair with a cigarette before bundling her back into his mother's car.

The victim was then forced out of the car at a Winn-Dixie parking lot.

Mikedis is being held in the Marion County Jail. More charges could be held against him following investigation.

Police ask anyone with more information on the second male, Robert McDaniel, to contact Detective Jessica Galler at (352)-368-3535.
But communities with low self-response rates appear to lack local contacts. Along Interstate 81, from Bristol to Roanoke, the only complete count committee is in Abingdon. Washington Countys self-response rate is 56.3%. Heading north toward Harrisonburg, only Botetourt County is represented. Its self-response rate is 60.7%.

In December, the Census Bureau outlined struggles to count rural areas. Employees take extraordinary measures to reach homes that can be difficult to access in rural and remote areas, whether they are located at the top of a mountain or at the end of a mile-long gravel drive, a blog post said.

The bureau then explained how rural households rely on post office boxes in nearby towns for mail. But the census is not sent to those boxes. Paper questionnaires are hand-delivered to homes and that service is more complex in a public health crisis.
In the US as of Thursday evening there were nearly 1.1 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 64,000 deaths. More than half of these deaths have taken place in just the past two weeks. Globally, cases have risen to over 3.3 million, with 234,000 deaths. This means that more than a quarter of all deaths have been in the US.

Despite the daily rising figures, at least 31 US states will be easing social distancing measures over the next few days, allowing some businesses, restaurants, malls and public places to reopen. While the loosening of restrictions varies from state to state, none of these states has met even the Trump administrations weak advisory on reopening, which said states should wait for COVID-19 cases to decline for 14 consecutive days before the reopening process begins.

A study by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota predicts that the novel coronavirus is likely to keep spreading for at least another 18 months to two years, until 60 to 70 percent of the population has been infected. The study authors recommend that the US prepare for a worst-case scenario that includes a second big wave of infections in the fall and winter.

Kirkland Fire and Rescue ambulance workers load a patient into an ambulance, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., near Seattle (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Mike Osterholm, who directs CIDRAP, told CNN, The idea that this is going to be done soon defies microbiology.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Thursday that states need to proceed carefully as they roll back restrictions. When you pull back there will be cases, and what we need to do is make sure [states] have in place the capability of identifying, isolating and contact tracing individuals, he said.

However, President Donald Trumpwith his approval rating for his handling of the crisis falling to a record low of 43 percent according to a new Morning Consult pollis promoting a reckless and criminal policy, placing the health and lives of countless millions of Americans in danger. The White House policy is based not on the health of the US population, but on boosting Wall Street and filling the coffers of the giant corporations.

Federal guidelines encouraging people to social distance, in place for 30 days, were allowed to expire Thursday after Trump indicated he did not intend to extend them. Referring to the restrictions, the president told reporters Wednesday, Theyll be fading out, because now the governors are doing it.

Southern states Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina paved the way for reopening beginning last week. Governors in several statesincluding Alabama, Maine, Tennessee and Texasallowed stay-at-home orders to expire on Thursday. Additional states, including Iowa, Florida, North Dakota and Wyoming, will be lifting more restrictions on Friday. Less dense states, including Alaska and Montana, are also beginning to reopen.

In one of the nations most wide-ranging moves, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, is allowing retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen at 25 percent capacity. Beaches in Galveston will be allowed to open. In Alabama, Republican Governor Kay Ivey allowed many retail stores as well as beaches to reopen Thursday, while in Maine, Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, will allow barber shops, hair salons and pet groomers to reopen beginning Friday.

However, many of the most populous states, including California, Michigan, New York and Illinois, are continuing their extended shutdowns. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered Orange County beaches to stay closed after residents flocked to beaches during last weekends high temperatures.

Deaths from COVID-19 in Massachusetts have gyrated in the 100 to 250-a-day range, with no indication that the curve has begun to flatten. New Jersey recorded 458 new virus-related deaths on Thursday, the most that the state had reported in a single day since the pandemic began. New York recorded 306 new deaths Thursday, as the death numbers very slowly decline. The states death toll has risen to a staggering 23,780, more than one third of the US total.

In Lansing, Michigan on Thursday, demonstrators crowded into the lobby outside the House chambers at the states Capitol, shouting to be allowed onto the House floor. The protesters, many not wearing masks and toting rifles on their shoulders, demanded to be allowed onto the House floor in protest over Michigans state of emergency.

The demonstrators carried signs reading, Youre Killing Small Businesses and Impeach Whitmer, referring to Michigans Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Many sported hats and other paraphernalia supporting Trumps reelection campaign. While the Republican-controlled state legislature voted not to extend Michigans state of emergency, Governor Whitmer said the state of emergency would continue by executive order.

As the battle plays out over the reopening of major cities and more populated states, many sparsely populated areas of rural America are seeing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. Many of the hospital systems in these areas are ill-equipped to deal with a sudden surge of cases, and the lack of testing has not provided a roadmap for local health officials to prepare.

Despite the rural settings, many people in these areas work in large-scale industries, such as food processing. Angela Hewett, associate professor in infectious disease at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, noted in a recent briefing of the Infectious Diseases Society of America that one of the reasons the virus is rising is because it is running rampant among workers in factories and farms. These are not places where typically people can work from home, Hewett noted.

The Dartmouth Atlas Project tracks the top 10 regions with the fastest growth rates in COVID-19 cases. It finds that these are primarily in metropolitan areas with large-scale factories, located primarily in rural states. The project aggregates county-level data to form 306 geographical areas known as hospital referral regions, i.e., where people get their health care.

Vox.com notes that Houma, Louisiana, population 32,000, in Cajun country, has almost as many cases per capita within its hospital region as Chicago. Greeley, Colorado, home of a large JBS meatpacking plant, has more cases per capita within its hospital region than Washington, DC.

The Chartis Group reports that 63 percent of rural hospitals dont have intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Many rural hospitals have lost a substantial portion of their income due to the suspension of outpatient services and face financial ruin and shutdown, leaving communities without a local hospital. If the models of epidemiologists prove true, peaks of COVID-19 in rural areas may still be weeks away. The drive to reopen states and relax social distancing places vulnerable populations in these areas in extreme peril.
A steady stream of elections beginning this month will give officials a peek into what administering 2020's main event may look like as some states push for more federal aid to prepare for voting in the wake of covid-19 pandemic.

Through September, elections will be held in 45 states and the District of Columbia to decide everything from mayoral contests to presidential primaries, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many are taking steps now, months earlier than usual, to prepare for the November presidential contest, as officials look to avoid missteps made in states that have held elections during the pandemic.

At least seven people in Wisconsin have been diagnosed with the virus after the state's Republican legislature overruled calls by Gov. Tony Evers to postpone its April primary and a poll worker in Illinois tested positive and died after working the March 17 primary. States need to provide personal protective equipment for poll workers, enforce social distancing, ensure that vote-by-mail is an option and secure enough resources to properly count votes, said Danielle Root, associate director of voting rights and access to justice at the Center for American Progress.

"Wisconsin should really serve as a warning to all elected officials," Root said. "It is critically important that we start planning now to ensure we are ready for November. The best option right now is to plan for the worst."

Even as states begin reopening and easing back into normalcy, they will likely still have to take precautions until there is a vaccine. There are still concerns about a second wave of the virus in the fall and winter, even as case counts begin to fall in some parts of the country. House Democrats are considering a fund for voting by mail in the November elections.

The first federal relief bill included $400 million for states' election preparation and response to the pandemic. But states will need five to ten times more to conduct November's elections with robust mail-in options and safe in-person alternatives, according to estimates from the Center for American Progress, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School and state officials.

Only five states -- Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Utah -- have universal vote by mail in place, according to the Center for American Progress. States like Arizona and Wisconsin have laws supporting these options, but the heavy lift will be strengthening infrastructure to handle a surge in activity, said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.

"It's a massive job," said Weiser. "Our polling places are going to need to be made safe and need to practice social distancing, and just those two changes alone are going to require dramatic changes to our election infrastructure technology and management that our election officials are not prepared for."

Even though more than half of Arizona voters already vote by mail, the state still needs more funds, said Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Arizona, which holds its primary in August, needs to ensure it has the sanitation supplies and staffing necessary to run in-person voting locations smoothly, while enforcing social distancing, she said.

"Federal help will be important," Hobbs said. "We've been talking among secretaries of states and among congressional delegations -- $400 million is a down payment on what the actual need is going to be."

Georgia, which is scheduled to head to the polls in June and August, has already spent $5 million, or about half of the money it received through the CARES act provision, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The state expects to spend more money on sanitation and protective equipment for polling stations, he said. Georgia mailed out absentee ballots to all 6.9 million of its active voters, but the state's voters are relatively inexperienced with absentee voting. In 2018, less than 10% of voters used mail ballots, according to the Federal Election Assistance Commission.

Michigan, poised to be a major swing state in the November election, will test its capabilities in its May 5 local elections. The state has sent out absentee ballots to every registered voter in the state, according to Tracy Wimmer, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Typically they only send them to those who request them. The state needs another $40 million to provide absentee ballots for its contests in August and November, according to Wimmer.

"A lot of the states that have the necessary polices lack the infrastructure -- almost no state is super well prepared," said Root. "We cannot afford to wait until September or October to get ourselves together."
Moran Forman of Goldman Sachs, 33, in her home office in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York. Source: Goldman Sachs

Each weekday morning, Moran Forman wakes up in her Chelsea apartment, takes a few steps to a spare bedroom and powers up the full might of Goldman Sachs on a curved LCD screen. Forman, a 33-year old managing director who runs a team of seven traders dealing in equity index derivatives, says technology allows her to feel so connected to her coworkers and clients, she rarely misses being at Goldman's headquarters a few miles to the south. "I could be anywhere in the United States right now, and my ability to communicate and manage my team would be similar," Forman said in a phone interview. "It's been amazing to see how much productivity has potentially even gone up during this period while everybody's still separated." For decades, Wall Street has been a place rooted in vast physical rooms filled with tightly-packed rows of monitors, specialized phones called turrets and workstations operated (mostly) by men between the ages of 22 and 45. This culture survived every calamity, manmade and otherwise, to happen to institutional trading in the last 20 years: The shift to decimalization in stocks; the 9/11 attacks, the financial crisis, the rise of passive investing and Hurricane Sandy. But now, after the coronavirus pandemic forced traders to work from home, Wall Street has gone virtual, setting off a cultural shift that is only beginning to be understood. As weeks at home stretch into months and traders get habituated to new tech platforms to stay connected, it's likely that Wall Street  which never before allowed traders to operate away from the floor  will be permanently changed by the coronavirus, according to traders, bank executives and the CEOs of tech vendors used by banks.

New normal

Working from home is now routine for Forman, a rising star at Goldman who was 8 months pregnant when she spoke to CNBC. She leans on Symphony, a messaging platform for investment banks similar to Slack, to create chatrooms for internal teams and clients, and Zoom to host teleconference calls with Goldman traders and clients. On any given day, she has 50 chats open with hedge funds, asset managers and pensions seeking advice on the intricacies of placing huge trades, usually to hedge against losses or wager on volatility. With all these workplace tools at her disposal, including a Goldman-issued Cisco phone that records conversations and lets her reach contacts at the press of a button, Forman said the transition has been easier than she would've imagined. It doesn't matter that colleagues are spread around the country, working from homes in Atlanta and Florida, as well as Goldman offices in Jersey City and Greenwich, Connecticut.

"Before you would've walked across the trading floor to communicate, and you kind of assumed that everyone knew what was happening because there was this assumption of knowledge transference that happens on the floor," Forman said. "You're now forced to be more systematic and efficient about communicating." While companies have been investing in digital tools like Symphony for the past few years to keep up with a younger workforce used to excellent consumer technology, it's only now, amid the pandemic, that they have become crucial, said Ying Cao, director of digital strategy for London-based investment bank Barclays "People were using it before, but you also had face-to-face," Cao said. "With a very distributed workspace, it's important to have a group of people in a single chat room who can see each other typing and share information in real time, rather than sending an email and you don't know when that person will reply." The implications for remote work will be lasting, Cao said: "Once you are at home and you realize it's so easy to conduct business, you don't want to commute two hours a day just to have conversations with people." Exhibit A for how the new Wall Street is operating is the industry's first-quarter results. Banks sent traders home in the second week of March as the pandemic was wreaking havoc, causing a historic surge in stock volatility and dislocations across credit markets. IT departments worked around the clock to equip thousands of traders for the task. But the five biggest U.S. investment banks posted their best trading quarter in nearly a decade as both bond and stock desks handily beat expectations. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman marveled at the results, which coincided with ten of the highest-volume days for stocks on record. "If you told me three months ago we could have 90% of employees out of the office and be functioning with the volumes we have had," Gorman said in an CNBC interview, "I would've said the probability of that being pulled off is close to zero, but it happened."

Reopening Wall Street

Now, as the discussion turns to when New York  the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic seeing a decline in coronavirus deaths in recent weeks  can begin to reopen, banks are beginning to plan for the return of workers. It won't be business as usual. Banks could bring back up to half of their staff, but doing more than that will be hard as employees still need to maintain distance from each other. Firms including Morgan Stanley are looking at keeping workers masked and leaving every other seat empty, and have even considered setting up plastic partitions between desks. Goldman is looking at installing infrared body scanners at building entrances, and banks including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are figuring out how to keep lobbies and elevators from becoming focal points of contagion. "Some portion of our workforce won't need to come back to the office on a full-time basis anymore," said Bob Santella, CEO of IPC Systems, the leading maker of trading turrets for Wall Street. "There will be pressure to space people further at the office, and my expectation is that's going to be offset by a larger percentage of people working from home that weren't doing it." This intermediate period could last 12 months or longer, Santella said, meaning that people will continue to rely on tech platforms rather than face-to-face contact. Since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, IPC has sold more than 10,000 licenses for "soft turrets"  cloud based telephones for remote work  or six to seven times more than in the past year.

David Gurle, CEO, Symphony Source: Symphony

"People have become dependent on Symphony for their daily activities," Symphony CEO David Gurle said in interview. "It's an essential element of their business going forward because they don't think this is a one-off event, they realize that pandemics could be the new reality." The Palo Alto, California-based start-up said that from January to March, message traffic on the network jumped 273% while daily active users rose 42%. The story is similar for hedge funds, which have been using Microsoft Teams and Skype, according to Chris Grandi, CEO of Abacus Group. His IT firm serves over 500 hedge funds with a combined $750 billion in assets under management. Even more than banks, hedge funds are likely to adopt a post-coronavirus model where workers don't need to be physically present, he said. "It doesn't matter if you're a New York hedge fund or a Dallas hedge fund or a hedge fund in Minnesota, nobody's working from the office anymore," Grandi said.

Essential workers
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:33:07|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- South Africa on Friday announced this year's first break-bulk vessel shipment of citrus to China and Japan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Baltic Patriot Vessel will leave South Africa later Friday with 4,521 tons of grape fruit and lemons destined for Chinese and Japanese markets, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development said in a statement.

The fruit harvesting, sorting, washing, transportation, inspection, loading and related aspects were conducted by essential workers during the COVID-19 lockdown, the department said.

Given the challenges posed by COVID-19, the department continues to engage with trading partners to ensure export programs proceed as planned, department media liaison officer Reggie Ngcobo said.

The department calls upon all farmers, farm workers, pack house workers, inspectors, drivers and everyone in the agriculture and food value chain to observe the COVID-19 hygiene and social distancing measures in the quest to grow the economy and feed the people, both locally and internationally, Ngcobo said.

The citrus industry continues to be one of South Africa's critical industries that creates 160,000 direct jobs and earns approximately 20 billion rand (about one billion U.S. dollars) from exports only.

South Africa exports two million tons of citrus annually, making it the second highest global exporter of citrus. Citrus comprises of oranges, lemons, grapefruit and soft citrus.

The country exported four shipments of citrus in 2019, which was a historical year as the South African citrus industry marked its maiden break-bulk shipment of citrus through a specialised reefer vessel to China and Japan. Enditem
Kaia Gerber is part of a select few considered as 'the new wave of top-tier models' in the world of fashion.

And the 18-year-old daughter of Cindy Crawford lives up to her reputation - and her Supermodel lineage - as she joins fellow catwalk trekkers He Cong, Grace Elizabeth, and more for V Magazine's Super Model Summer issue.

In the issue, Kaia discussed everything from her 'favorite summer song' to what she deemed to be 'the summer of [her] dreams.'

New wave: Kaia Gerber joined fellow catwalk trekkers He Cong, Grace Elizabeth, and more for V Magazine 's Super Model Summer issue

Gerber went sans shirt for the black-and-white editorial shoot and rocked a sultry smokey eyeshadow look.

A dainty chain hung loosely around her neck, while her voluminous brunette tresses flowed elegantly away from her photogenic face.

Upon the reveal of her feature, Kaia took to Instagram to express her excitement to her 5.5million followers.

'It is such an honored to be featured and celebrated alongside a generation of incredible women,' she wrote.

Runway maven: Kaia Gerber joins a select few in what is considered 'the new wave of top-tier models'; Kaia pictured in February during NYFW

'And a very important thank you to the team who made all of us feel so special and unique. this gave me the smile I needed today.'

Kaia's brief interview commences with V Magazine inquiring about where she happens to spend the majority of her summers.

'I spend most of my summers at my family home in Canada,' she answered.

But in wake of COVID-19, Kaia has been in lockdown with parents Cindy Crawford, 54, and Rande Gerber, 58, at their home in Malibu, CA. The couple also share son Presley, 20.

Summer vibes: In the issue, Kaia discusses everything from her 'favorite summer song' to what she deems to be 'the summer of [her] dreams'; Kaia pictured April 11 on Instagram

Life of leisure: In terms of what she would describe as the 'summer of her dreams,' Kaia admitted that her dream summer 'would be spent with loved ones, nothing on [her] schedule, and a book in [her] hand'; Kaia pictured April 19 on Instagram

In terms of what she would describe as the 'summer of her dreams,' Kaia admitted that her dream summer 'would be spent with loved ones, nothing on [her] schedule, and a book in [her] hand.'

Speaking of books, Gerber revealed that her summer reading list, includes Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The World I Fell Out Of by by Melanie Reid, and Girl Woman Other by Bernardine Evaristo.

When she is feeling in the mood for a dance, Kaia always leans on the song Dancing In the Moonlight by King Harvest to get her moving.

The interview with V Magazine delved into a deeper realm when the top-model was asked to describe her 'fondest summer memory' to date.

Groovy: When she is feeling in the mood for a dance, Kaia always leans on the song Dancing In the Moonlight by King Harvest to get her moving; Kaia pictured in April

And instead of detailing a lavish trip to the Maldives or reveling in the decadence of St. Tropez's incomparable seafood, she confessed that her fondest summer memories often derive from times spent 'being on a boat and listening to music.'

Gerber concluded the piece by hoping the summer of 2020 would be 'a time of self-reflection and relaxation.'

V Magazine described Kaia as 'an enigma' in the fashion world.

'The resemblance to Cindy [Crawford] and Gia [Carangi] is traveling from different parts of her face constantly, like a butterfly landing on different flowers in a field yet the sum of all parts feels like a new and unknown world.'
The Nebraska Corona Bible, however, wont just be a copy of the original text in hundreds of different writing styles. The copyists are invited to make a small illustration on the bottom of the page or add some writing of their own.

Were inviting people to copy the chapter and, if they would like, write a short commentary about what that text means to them today, Dummermuth said. It will be a time document of faith in Nebraska.

The Lincoln project has its roots in Dummermuths homeland of Switzerland.

Im still kind of in touch with the church world over there, said Dummermuth, who moved to Lincoln in 2013 with his wife, Jenn, a Schuyler native. I was writing my sermon 2 weeks ago, and this news came into my inbox. I thought, This is very interesting. Maybe we could do something with it here.'

So he contacted Uwe Habenicht, who initiated the St. Gallen Coronabibel in northeast Switzerland and got the go-ahead to copy the project in Nebraska.

Then came a couple of weeks of working on a website, where people can sign up to copy a chapter. Importantly, given the non-digital nature of the project, a phone number is also available to call to get a chapter to copy.
Maharashtra is celebrating its 60th Foundation Day on Friday.

The state came into existence, along with Gujarat, in 1960 when the Bombay Reorganization Act was passed by Indias Parliament to divide the multilingual state of Bombay into Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Extending his wishes on Maharashtras Foundation Day, the states water resources minister Jayant Rajaram Patil expressed his gratitude to everyone who is bravely battling for us against Covid-19.

Here is the full text of the ministers statement on Maharashtra Day:

Today we celebrate the 60 years of the formation of the State of Maharashtra. I extend my best wishes to every Maharashtrian and my deepest gratitude to everyone who is bravely battling for us against COVID-19. Maharashtra Divas is one emerged in pride and celebration across every Marathi household. Remembering the struggles of our united past and rejoicing the establishment of our shared legacy through language, culture and Statehood. As we step into the 60th year of our glorious State in the midst of these difficult and dark times, it is important to introspect and remember where we have come from, where we are and where are we marching.

Maharashtra has always been a soil of social reformists, thinkers, intellectuals and activists. In Medieval India, reform was ushered in the field of devotion through Bhakti Marg and Varkari Sampraday. Saints like Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram propagated the philosophy of equality in spirituality. The principles of religious tolerance and women empowerment cemented by the benevolent and visionary warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid ground for the progressive mindset which proved to be a basis for several major social reforms in the 18th and 19th century. In the late 19th century, egalitarian reforms in Maharashtra had three distinct veins; Womens education & empowerment, Mahatma Phules anti-caste truth-seeking society and the organizational endeavors initiated by Bharat Ratna Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar for the education and rights of the underprivileged. Maharashtra was a frontrunner in the Indian War of Independence producing countless freedom fighters, moderates and radicals alike.

After independence, the fate of the Maharashtrian people would not be decided so easily, for the path ahead would be full of further struggle, protests and patience. The concept of a separate state for the Marathi speaking people had been established since the idea of Swaraj by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century, however, after independence, it was only in 1956 that the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was formed under the aegis of Keshavrao Jedhe in Pune. Prominent activists like Atre, Prabodhankar Thackeray, Senapati Bapat and Shahir Amar Shaikh and many others have invaluable contribution to the State we call home today. It was Shri. Yashwantrao Chavan Saheb, the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra who led us and our newly formed State into the bright future. An ingenious and intuitive leader, Chavan Saheb was more than a political leader, he was voice of the common in the state and a true Statesman! He guided our State to greatness by planning in the fields of agriculture, water resources, small-scale industries and panchayat raj. His values and principles firmly established Maharashtra on progressive and rational lines.

Even with the victory of State formation, challenges kept erupting in the way. Among them are the Muslim Satyashodhak Samaj led by Hamid Dalwai, Baba Adhavs Ek Gaav-Ek Panavathas movement, the Yuvak Kranti Dal and the Dalit Panther protests. Aggressive language and satyagrahi actions were the hallmarks of these movements. Baba Amtes Anandvan emerged as a training center for socialist activists. Post-emergency, our State is once again gifted with a 38-year old Chief Minister in Padma Vibhushan Sharadchandraji Pawar, a true visionary as subsequent decades would prove multiple times. Padma Vibhushan Sharadchandraji Pawars immense intuition, insight and intelligence saw the State excel rapidly in agriculture and industries. He reiterated the State under values of welfare, promoting social equality and equity. Post emergency, a lull was evident in youth movements in Maharashtra and in the following decade the womens liberation movement gained momentum. Maharashtra had been the pioneer in championing the cause of womens education and emancipation. Journals like Baija and Stree became the mouthpieces of womens liberation in the 1980s. Various women and public organizations were formed and took the cause forward. These organizations met various demands of womens health, hygiene, livelihood, protection, including those of abandoned and verbally divorced women. From this to womens toilets, many questions were raised by these organizations. This led to the enactment of new laws to protect women against domestic violence, female foeticide, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Maharashtra was the first state in India to enact 30% reservation for women in local bodies under the leadership of Shri Sharad Pawar, and with his untiring efforts over the years it is now 50%.

Many would say that in the last decade the legacy of social change within Maharashtra has slowed down. It is true that in the last 10 years, many movements for social equality and social progress have reached a dormant stage in this progressive state that has been instrumental in creating leadership to the country in various fields. We have excelled in various domains of social justice, education, health, local governance, infrastructure and economic development over the last 60 years, and even still a greater course is yet to be covered. Any kind of social numbness which seems to be pervasive should be shunned since our beloved State is in an uphill battle in many fronts, especially today. We face two great threats which cannot be seen. On one hand, an attack on our heath and livelihood by COVID-19 and on the other, an attack on our personal freedom by the pangs of communalism.

A defining characteristic of Maharashtra has been that of secularism. Practiced and propagated by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs secularism found its roots in Maharashtrian society early, and has inspired the formation and flow of our present society. We have been a people of various faiths who have survived together to live freely together. Against the several ugly communal onslaughts taking place in the country, Maharashtra was the first State to break age-old political barriers, to unite to defend the age-old Maharashtrian spirit of secularism. The Maha Vikaas Aghadi has been a role model for every secular force around the world. Under the very capable administration of Shri Uddhav Thackeray, we as the Maharashtrians have the opportunity to carry on the progressive principles of Maharashtra. It is in our history to struggle and emerge victorious. Today as we fight, as the worst hit state in India, in the war against COVID 19, we must keep hope. Maharashtra has been plagued by many natural and unnatural disaster through time and we have survived. The Government is working every minute and every hour only for the protection and welfare of the people, but it is the people whose mental strength is the most vital at this hour.

As we step into 60 years of our existence, let us remind ourselves that it is no one leader who has taken us to where we stand proud today. It is the collective fight and efforts of many great leaders and generations of Maharashtrians who have overcome every hurdle thrown our way. It is in the DNA of every Maharashtrian to challenge, to struggle and to overcome; To be united in the face of danger and achieve victory against all odds. From this war, we will rise again, like the phoenix from the ashes to take flight in the highest skies. I leave you with some lines from our beloved poet Govindagraj, hoping it brings you strength and hope in our fight together.

Mangal desha, pavitra desha, Maharashtra desha

Pranam ghyava majha ha shrimaharashtra desha

Rakat desha, kankhar desha, dagadanchya desha

Nazuk desha, komal desha, fulanchyahi desha
Armenias President Armen Sarkissian on Friday issued a message on the occasion of Labor Day. The message reads as follows:

Dear Compatriots:

Today is Labor Day.

This year it is being celebrated under the emergency situation, for some  medical personnel, taxi and ambulance drivers, policemen, rescuers, and their colleagues - in a non-stop working regime. First of all, I would like to congratulate, to express gratitude and send congratulations to the people working in the mentioned areas, especially to doctors and other medical workers for whom hospitals have become homes and families. They deserve the greatest commendation, also special attitude and praise from the state.

I also thank all those individuals who work these days on a tight schedule with no complains. They understand that their extra efforts can save a life, bring bread to our families, uphold the security of the country and our citizens.

Dear Compatriots,

Because of the coronavirus pandemic some of you have temporarily been out of job, some lost their jobs, the only means of their daily living. I understand the situation your families are going through and I share your concerns. I also understand what it means to be out of job in this situation. I know that many of you at this time are looking for a rescue buoy. There is a need for assistance, there is also a need to hold each others hand tight, because we cannot move forward without helping each other, especially in the emergency situation. All of you are hard workers, work loving people. And it doesnt matter where you are because of this emergency situation  on a construction site, surgery room, working on your thesis, in a service, or waiting for a call from your employer.

Today serious social problems exist even in the most developed and wealthy countries. We are in a difficult situation too. On one hand, the pandemic and its consequences, on the other, financial and economic problems, and also social and human problems. In any case, we all and primarily the state, have things to do.

The solution of the problem is in the state-employer-employee triangle which should become a solid entity. But first and foremost the solution is in responsibility, discipline, vigilance, and care for the working people so that we are able to defeat the pandemic as soon as possible and return to our normal lives.

We are used to overcoming difficulties, and today too, we have to do it together. Overcoming is work too, which cannot be done unilaterally.

Be strong and be resolute.

Health, fortitude and tenacity to your mind, body, and soul.

All the best to you and your families.
Riot police fanned out across Hong Kong on Friday after democracy activists threatened to defy a ban on gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic -- but the streets remained largely calm. The semi-autonomous financial hub was upended by seven months of violent protests last year, hammering its reputation for stability and leaving the city deeply divided. Widespread arrests, the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures ushered in four months of comparative calm. But small protests have bubbled up in the past week and activists had issued calls to muster once more on May Day despite emergency anti-virus laws banning more than four people gathering in public. Pro-democracy unions and social media posts called on people to gather in several neighbourhoods on Friday afternoon but the threat largely failed to materialise. Hundreds of protesters did however gather in small groups at a shopping mall in the town of Shatin, chanting slogans and holding protest flags. Riot police soon rushed into the mall and used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Shops closed their shutters as police occupied the mall and cordoned off most of the area. I feel that the movement has been watered down because of the pandemic, but I personally think we should keep fighting." said a retired firefighter who gave his name as Lam and was at the protest. "If we shrink back and accept our fate, then we will be living under an authoritarian regime." Officers ramped up their presence on Friday, searching primarily young passengers at subway stations and surfacing in neighbourhoods where anti-government sentiment runs high. Some encrypted chat groups used by protesters fretted that public demonstrations while anti-virus laws were in place might lead to mass arrests. The pro-democracy Labour Party said one local politician was arrested for allegedly gathering with more than four people on Friday morning. During brief rallies in malls earlier this week, activists encouraged each other to keep 1.5 metres apart and stick to small groups of four. Riot police quickly intercepted the flashmobs, forcing them to disband as either unlawful assemblies or gatherings that breached the anti-virus measures. - Panic subsides - Three months ago, Hong Kongers were panic buying masks and hunkering down in cramped apartments as one of the first places outside mainland China to be struck by the coronavirus. But the fear has abated in recent weeks. Health authorities have made impressive strides against the outbreak with just over 1,000 infections and four deaths. For five of the last seven days, the city of seven million has reported no new cases and authorities plan to begin easing movement restrictions in the coming weeks. But any relaxation would come at a time of renewed political tension -- and as the anniversary of the start of last year's huge protests approaches. Anger towards Beijing has been inflamed by the recent arrest of prominent moderate activists on charges related to the protests and senior Chinese officials announcing a greater say in how Hong Kong is run. Last year's protests began in opposition to an eventually scrapped plan to allow extraditions to China's party-controlled courts. But the movement soon snowballed into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule and a call for greater freedoms. Hong Kong's government and Beijing have shied away from any reconciliation moves, holding fast against demands for an inquiry into police conduct, an amnesty for the 7,800 people arrested during protests and universal suffrage.
A Deputy Tahsildar in Puducherry and staff of the Revenue department apart from a Home Guard pitched into help a 35-year old farmer from neighouring Tamil Nadu and facilitated his return after he was stranded in the union territory following treatment for his cancer-stricken son at JIPMER here.

Ravindran, hailing from Salem, had come to the centrally-administered JIPMER hospital for treatment of his cancer-afflicted son on Thursday by an ambulance, sources said.

However, after finishing the treatment procedures, he could not find a way to return home and was waiting to hitch-hike a ride at Ellaipillaichavady junction here.

Manikandan, a Home Guard personnel, noticed the man and made enquiries. When the farmer narrated his difficulty in finding transport back to his hometown, the Guard took him to the Collectorate.

Deputy Tahsildar Senthil Kumar swung into action after Manikandan apprised him about the farmer's problems. He immediately mobilised as much as Rs 17,000 with help from his colleagues.

He also arranged a private car to enable the farmer and his son return to Salem, sources said.

The Tamil Nadu farmer thanked the Deputy Tahsildar and his colleagues and the Home Guard for the help rendered.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Cyril Ramaphosa is today expected to convene a virtual meeting with the Interim Steering Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).

The meeting will explore ways in which government and civil society can combat violence against, and the abuse of vulnerable persons and groups as part of the national response to COVID-19.

The steering committee, which comprises government and civil society delegates, will also present reports detailing progress in the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) and the Emergency Response Action Plan (ERAP).

The reports will provide progress in addressing these five key intervention areas:

- Access to justice for victims and survivors;

- Changing norms and behaviour through high-level prevention efforts;

- Urgently responding to survivors of GBV;

- Strengthening accountability and architecture to respond to the scourge of GBVF adequately, and

- Prioritising interventions that facilitate economic opportunities for addressing women's economic vulnerability.

These interventions - under the Emergency Response Action Plan - are aligned to the pillars of the National Strategic Plan, which was approved in March 2020.

They are integral to a broader, sustained and strengthened response to all forms of GBVF in the country, which that addresses underlying structural drivers such as economic power, and the pervasiveness of violence and related systems of inequality.

It is also envisaged that strategic synergies with other key initiatives, including the District Development Model, will be maximised to achieve a grounded, multi-sectoral and intersectional approach to the NSP.

The virtual meeting of the President will be convened from his private residence in Johannesburg.
As the virus spread, Trump began to redefine success. Youre talking about 2.2 million deaths, he has said several times, referring to a projected toll if hed done nothing to mitigate the epidemic. If we can hold that down, as were saying, to 100,000  thats a horrible number  maybe even less, but to 100,000; so we have between 100- and 200,000  we all, together, have done a very good job, he said on March 29.While one early model included the figure as the upper limit of a potential death toll, most models had half that amount as an upper limit. It makes anything less than 100,000 deaths look good by comparison. The number has now passed 60,000.
Emiliano Graci stood inside the quaint Amici Gelato & Caffe in Asbury Park on Wednesday, creating strawberry shortcake gelato cake at a stainless steel kitchen table. In the quiet of the empty shop, the bakers mind at times drifts to what is happening 4,000 miles away in his home town in Italy.

His parents have been quarantined in their suburban Milan house since Feb. 17 due to coronavirus lockdowns, alone and fearful. He worries for the health of his 69-year-old father, who has diabetes and is a lifelong smoker, and his 67-year-old mother.

From overseas, Graci FaceTimes his parents every day around 3 p.m., and hopes photos of his new dog and silly jokes lift their spirits.

They worry more. We try to make them laugh. (But) its a frustrating situation to be in. I would like to be there to help them, but I cant, Graci, 37, said.

So the restaurant consultant and gelato master is doing what he can to bring joy to Asbury Park residents and relieve his own stress the best way he knows how: by baking intricately decorated cakes, pies and cookies. He and the owner of Amici Gelato & Caffe are still filling pick-up and no-contact delivery orders for locals who need deserts for small celebrations, or just a special treat.

Passerby can spot Graci through the storefronts large, picturesque glass window, from morning to night, topping desserts with treats like chocolate ganache, cherries, pistachios or oreos.

Deserts created by Asbury Park gelato master and restaurant consultant Emiliano Graci.Courtesy of Emiliano Graci

The 10-hour shifts, seven days a week help Graci get his mind off worries about loved ones abroad, and in Monmouth County too. His wifes grandfather is in a Wall Township rehabilitation center on a respirator and recovering from COVID-19 after being discharged from Jersey Shore University Medical Center on Sunday, he said.

In the silent cafe one thats normally filled with sounds of brewing coffee and regulars chatting Graci focuses on combining ingredients correctly, whisking and mixing and perfecting the details on his creations. Its an art form that takes his mind off other problems.

When Im baking, Im fully immersed in what Im doing. It takes your mind off every day worries (and) the surreal situation were in now, Graci said. It makes time move faster. Its a stress relief."

Graci, who moved to New Jersey in 2009, started working at the Mattison Avenue cafe as a consultant a year ago on a contract that was nearing its end when the coronavirus outbreak hit New Jersey.

The 1930s-style Italian cafe, run by 15 employees before the virus hit, is now among the struggling eateries across the state forced to lay off workers as financial strain sets in for the food industry. But owner Joseph Castore said the shop is staying open to serve the community.

Were creating a sense of normalcy, said Castore. He is working as a barista and fills boxed coffee orders while Graci bakes. Not everybody is a chef or baker."

The gelato containers at Amici Gelato & Caffe in Asbury Park.Courtesy of Diane Grossman

And Graci enjoys bringing happiness to customers, who seem more grateful for his desserts than usual as they spend their days indoors, peeking into fridges only to find the same frozen foods and leftovers.

Last week, Graci said, a pregnant woman called the shop with a craving. She wanted a vanilla pie with pistachio ganache and maraschino cherries, a hint of desperation in her voice.

She said I know it doesnt sound good, but thats what I want. So I said Ill do it for you,' Graci said with a laugh. Its really gratifying when you know youve created something that will bring happiness to a group of people."

Still, the amount of people strolling through Asbury Park unmasked and mingling on warm days concerns Graci, who saw the virus impact early on in Italy. He fears not everyone is taking social distancing rules seriously in the U.S.

Last week, a person who accidentally visited Amicis Gelato & Caffe instead of the store she ordered from online told Graci she wanted a cake for a childs birthday party that would have 30 attendees, Graci said. Gov. Phil Murphy banned all gatherings of above 10 people last month.

Exterior of Amici Gelato & Caffe in Asbury Park on Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

It shows how little people are believing this, still, he said.

In Italy, social distancing rules are stricter, Graci said. National quarantines there began earlier, on Feb. 21 with the province of Lodi, and people cant wander outside without government approval. When the coronavirus hit, Graci had to cancel his eight-week trip there in May, the month of his mom, dad and brothers birthdays. He hasnt seen his family since last September.

Gracis older brother carries government paperwork to go grocery shopping for his parents, Graci said. He disinfects the groceries afterwards, and leaves the bags on his parents balcony without even saying hi to them, Graci said.

The pace at which the virus spreads, and the indiscriminate nature of it, are what worry Graci. Early on, Graci said he was warning his co-workers about COVID-19, seeing from afar the death toll in his home country.

He thinks about his young and healthy best friend from childhood, who was placed on a ventilator last week and is in critical condition at a local hospital. When the two last spoke, he was fine, Graci said, but the 37-year-olds condition deteriorated in a matter of days.

"Even if a lot of people dont believe about the social distancing, he said, were all in this together.

Im happy to be in a small way be part of peoples celebrations.

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Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.
In late March, as Emory employees began settling into a new normal with most working remotely, Emorys fitness and recreation facilities also closed their doors to keep everyone as healthy and safe as possible amid the spread of the novel coronavirus in Georgia.

Blomeyer Health Fitness Center and Emory Recreation and Wellness soon began offering virtual programming to help the Emory community stay fit and connected. These new virtual offerings  including live fitness classes, coffee talks, ask the trainer sessions, fitness challenges and more  have been well received.

While the doors to our facilities may be closed, it doesnt mean the need to focus on personal wellbeing has stopped, says Melissa Morgan, senior manager of wellness programs. It is important for everyone to continue to engage in activities that promote happiness, stress management, healthful nutrition and physical health. We are fortunate to have dedicated teams who are committed to helping employees through these times by providing virtual programming.

Blomeyer began offering virtual programs on Monday, March 30  online sessions that are led by their full-time, certified staff members. All programs are free and open to Emory employees, regardless of whether they are members of the Blomeyer facility. The virtual offerings include:

Group fitness classes: Eight 30-minute classes are offered live each week, Monday through Friday.

Eight 30-minute classes are offered live each week, Monday through Friday. Virtual coffee break: Open discussion on a variety of wellness topics with fellow Emory colleagues and the Blomeyer team. Offered on Tuesdays at 11 a.m.

Open discussion on a variety of wellness topics with fellow Emory colleagues and the Blomeyer team. Offered on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. Ask the trainer: Opportunity to drop in and asked certified fitness professionals any exercise related questions. Offered on Thursdays at 11 a.m.

Opportunity to drop in and asked certified fitness professionals any exercise related questions. Offered on Thursdays at 11 a.m. Active Works breaks: Pre-recorded activities that can be incorporated throughout the workday. These short videos focus on stretching, mindfulness, posture and muscle recovery and can be found on Blomeyers YouTube channel.

Pre-recorded activities that can be incorporated throughout the workday. These short videos focus on stretching, mindfulness, posture and muscle recovery and can be found on Blomeyers YouTube channel. Workout of the Week: Weekly workout and nutrition tips sent via email on Mondays.

While not required, participants are encouraged to register in advance for the virtual offerings.

While many online fitness options have been made free to the public since the onset of COVID-19, Blomeyers programs allow Emory employees an opportunity to exercise and share a sense of connection with others they may know.

I love that Blomeyer has been offering virtual fitness classes during the Emory COVID-19 closure, says Christina Mehta, research assistant professor at Rollins School of Public Health. Its a way for me to still feel connected to Blomeyer and get a workout. My kids often join me in the workouts, so it is something that our whole family participates in.

For some, these programs have provided an opportunity to try something new in the comfort of their home. For others, the sessions help keep them accountable to a fitness schedule while working from home.

Barbara House, administrative assistant at The Emory Clinic, has found the classes to be inspiring and shares that she needs the accountability. House normally would not be able to participate in Blomeyers classes since she works on the Emory Saint Josephs campus. She has been able to participate virtually and has shared the information about the classes with her co-workers.

Anthony Woods, program manager of Blomeyer, has been thrilled with the employee response. We werent sure what to expect as we took the fitness center virtual. It has been exciting to have dozens of employees in these classes each day, he says.

April Flint, director of Emory Recreation and Wellness, agrees: Weve gotten a lot of positive feedback.

Their offerings are posted by 9 a.m. weekday mornings on the Emory Recreation and Wellness Facebook and Instagram pages:

Mobility Monday: Learn ways to increase range of motion.

Learn ways to increase range of motion. HIIT Tuesday: High intensity interval training class.

High intensity interval training class. Well Wednesday: Talk with fitness staff about a range of wellness topics during a live Q&A.

Talk with fitness staff about a range of wellness topics during a live Q&A. Tune Up Thursday: Release some stress with yoga and meditation.

Release some stress with yoga and meditation. Friday Fitness Challenge: End the week by participating in fun mental and physical challenges.

Longer workouts are posted on the Recreation and Wellness YouTube channel.

For those who are interested in larger efforts, Emory Recreation and Wellness has joined the virtual 2020 Recreation Movement Challenge, featuring access to fitness programs at more than 70 colleges and universities. Emory students, faculty and staff can join the challenge, which runs through May 31.

The staff plans to offer virtual programming while the majority of university employees continue to work from home.

Employees can find additional resources and programs including work-life, emotional health, spiritual and financial wellbeing on the Human Resources Working Through COVID-19 web page.
ABC News(WEYMOUTH, Mass.) -- BY: JOANNE ROSA



Infectious disease specialist Dr. Simone Wildes shared her excitement on "The View" Thursday after a recent clinical trial showed promising early results for using the drug remdesivir against the coronavirus, calling it a "step in the right direction."



Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert and a member of the White House's coronavirus task force, announced the results of the experimental antiviral drug trial on Wednesday. Preliminary results from the randomized, placebo-controlled trial on 1,063 hospitalized patients showed that 31% of the patients who received remdesivir had a faster recovery time than those who received a placebo. The remdesivir group also saw an 8% mortality rate compared to an 11.6% mortality rate among the group on placebo.



"What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus," Fauci said Wednesday, calling the development "very optimistic."



On "The View" Thursday morning, Wildes, of South Short Health in Massachusetts, concurred with Fauci's outlook.



"I'm excited," Wildes said. "We have been working on the frontlines with a lot of different experimental drugs."



With the trial suggesting the drug might shorten the duration of symptoms, Wildes noted that even "a day makes a difference" when it comes to combating the new virus.



"We know more studies need to be done, but I think it's definitely a step in the right direction, and any ray of hope is hopeful for all of us on the frontlines," Wildes said.



Testing for the coronavirus is considered a crucial step to reopening the country. But on Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent letters to four companies that manufacture and distribute antibody tests to question their accuracy after preliminary results from a study of more than a dozen tests found that many were less sensitive than advertised, therefore posing a risk of false negatives or positives.



Wildes agrees that the antibody tests "have really not been very reliable" and that there's still "a lot of work that needs to be done to validate these tests."



"In general, when you have antibodies you do have immunity," Wildes said. "The question is how long does it last? There's still some unknown questions, especially with COVID-19 because it's a new virus."



As states like Vermont, Texas and Georgia begin to reopen, Wildes said she opposes states lifting restrictions on public activity right now as there aren't enough tests to prevent a resurgence of the virus.



"It's too early to open the states," Wildes said. "We are not at full capacity for testing. We've also not implemented enough steps to do the contact tracing and isolating the individuals that have the disease."



"There's still a number of things that have not been done," she continued, "and so, early opening right now is going to be a little bit premature."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co on Friday said it has appointed Atsushi Ogata as new president, chief executive officer and managing director of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) with immediate effect.

Ogata replaces Minoru Kato, who after a three year stint at HMSI returns to Japan as the operating executive & chief officer life creation operation, Honda Motor Co, it said.

The company said it has elevated V Sridhar (earlier GVP & Director  Manufacturing, HMSI) as senior director  purchase, HMSI.

Besides, Yadvinder Singh Guleria and Vinay Dhingra are now elevated to the board of directors at HMSI, the company said.

Guleria as the new director, HMSI, now has greater responsibilities with additional charge of customer service, logistics planning and control, premium motorcycle business, brand and communication along with sales and marketing.

He was previously the senior vice - president sales & marketing, HMSI.

Dhingra, who is also elevated as director, now has additional responsibilities of various verticals like strategic information system (SIS) along with general and corporate affairs.

A veteran at Honda, Dhingra was previously the senior vice-president, general & corporate affairs in the company.
Pinnacol Assurance donated nearly $2 million to an array of funds that support businesses and workers in Colorado impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through its philanthropic giving program, Pinnacol donated the following amounts to the following funds:

$1 million to the Help Colorado Now fund. Hosted by the State of Colorado and Mile High United Way, funds provide flexible resources to organizations in Colorado working with communities who are disproportionately impacted by the outbreak.

$250,000 to the Denver Small Business Relief Fund. Created by Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Denver Economic Development and Opportunity, and Downtown Denver Partnership, the fund provides relief to businesses.

$250,000 to the Downtown Colorado Springs Business Relief Fund. The Downtown Development Authority in Colorado Springs will provide grants of $2,500 to $25,000 to eligible businesses that face financial catastrophe because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

$125,000 to the Greeley Recovery Fund. The fund supports businesses in Greeley in addressing timing gaps in funding not supported readily with the federal assistance and in collaboration with its local partners.

$125,000 to the Restaurant Association Angel Fund. The fund supports restaurant and hospitality workers with financial assistance and access to support services that provide federal, state and community resources for housing, transportation, mental health, medical, childcare assistance and more.

$75,000 to the Grand Junction Covid-19 Responders Loan Fund. Provides funds for working capital, equipment and/or inventory to be used to directly support companies responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

In addition to philanthropic support, Pinnacol recently launched a variety of new actions to provide support including covering the needs of first responders and enacting payment flexibility for businesses.

Measures include:

Policy cancellation forgiveness through May 31.

Short-term wage replacement for first responders and frontline healthcare workers who are exposed to the virus and must quarantine; this benefit lasts for up to two weeks and is not applied against the policyholders premium.

Covering the cost of provider-authorized testing for employees of our policyholders who believe they were exposed to COVID-19 at work.

Working with policyholders to adjust their payroll numbers in our system in order to ensure we are not charging them premiums for laid-off employees.

Creation of a new classification code that charges its policyholders zero premium on wages to employees who are paid but not working.

Pinnacol is Colorados largest workers compensation insurance carrier.

Topics COVID-19 Colorado
In recent days, the corporate media has announced that Amazon, Whole Foods and Target workers will strike against their employers today, May 1.

There is doubtless a powerful fighting mood among workers who are being forced to work at these highly profitable corporations under life-threatening conditions, without protective equipment or paid time off work. Hundreds of thousands want a real fight against the companies.

But if this were a genuine strike, workers in these industries would have been involved in planning and organizing the action. On the contrary, the World Socialist Web Site and International Amazon Workers Voice spoke to dozens of Amazon and logistics workers, none of whom had heard of or had any say in planning this protest, which appers to be a stunt.

Jesse Jackson speaks Wednesday, May 30, 2018, before attending Amazon.com's annual meeting of shareholders in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The attitude of most workers was summarized by a Baltimore Amazon worker, who told the International Amazon Workers Voice: I asked my fellow Amazonians about the May Day walkout, but none of them had even heard about it.

Another Amazon worker said, Its bad enough that we are treated like puppets on a string while we are inside the building. It is worse that we are being manipulated and pounced on by those involved in the so-called strike. Workers will be fired immediately. It makes you wonder if these groups are actually hired by the company to weed out the troublemakers. Many workers repeated these concerns.

If this were a genuine strike, the warehouses would be buzzing with activity and heated debate. Workers from major plants across the country would be democratically discussing the demands that must be raised. Strikers would be using social media to organize pickets, contact workers, elect captains and strike committees, and prepare for mass action. As the sun rose on May 1, workers would be waking up with the confidence and knowledge that their own organizations were preparing to mobilize hundreds of thousands to do battle with the worlds most powerful corporations.

The May 1 action is, in reality, a trick aimed at blocking the growing opposition among retail, warehouse and gig workers over abysmal health and safety conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Without common mass action, workers protesting in isolation will face firings and retribution. This dangerous provocation is aimed at creating a mood of isolation and helplessness among workers. It is a ploy by the class enemy. Workers should exercise extreme caution.

It is not entirely clear how the May 1 event was announced, though word spread on Twitter that Democratic Party operative and former Democratic candidate for president, Jesse Jackson, held a phone call with a small number of groups last week.

The announcement was promoted in The Intercept, a web site with close ties to the Democratic Party, and was soon thereafter picked up by the national news media. Various trade unions, including the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), then proclaimed their support for the protesta sure sign that nothing good can come of it.

The role of Jackson and the Democratic Party should give workers pause. For decades, Jackson has been the kiss of death of protest movements, which always dissipate after he shows up.

The Democratic Party has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in recent years. Bezos owns the Washington Post, which is also closely affiliated with the Democratic Party.

The trade unions have never had anything to do with the struggles of Amazon workers. At industries across the US, the trade unions have been forcing workers back to work under life-threatening conditions.

The May 1 protest stunt was announced because the ruling class is terrified of growing opposition among workers in every industry and wants to bring this emerging movement under its control.

In March and April, the US alone witnessed 150 strikes and protests organized by workers opposed to the absence of adequate precautions necessary to protect them against contracting the deadly virus.

Walkouts led by the workers themselves have taken place among autoworkers, nurses, Amazon workers, Instacart workers, and meatpacking workers. The latter even indicated that they would refuse a back to work order invoked by President Trump this week after 20 meatpacking workers died in recent weeks due to the disease.

The growing upsurge of working-class struggle is an international phenomenon. Mass protests and strikes have taken place in Italy, France, Bangladesh, and along the US-Mexico border, where auto parts workers at sweatshop maquiladora factories have walked out in large numbers.

In each country, the trade unions have scrambled to order workers back on the job, despite the risk of death. Corporations along the US-Mexico border have gone so far as to lock workers in the plants to prevent them from walking out. Dozens have been killed, and local hospitals are filling up with sick workers.

If workers are to protect their lives and the lives of their loved ones on the job, the necessary changes will not come through protests organized by Democratic Party politicians, trade union bureaucrats and opportunists looking for a new career path.

The companies are backed by the governments, the police, the media and the courts. But workers can fight back if they have their own organizations to combat these powerful but hated institutions. They should form independent rank-and-file safety committees in every workplace, independent of the unions and both parties of big business, to organize and coordinate action across all plants and appeal to workers in every industry internationally.

These committees should demand no return to work at nonessential industries, while workers engaged in work that is essential to the functioning of society must be given the right to control the health and safety of their own facilities. All those who are laid off or fired must be given full income and benefits. Ultimately, these goals require the reorganization of the world economy along socialist principles, i.e., for public need and not private profit.

Strikes will be necessary, but if they are to effect change, they must be organizedwell-organizedby the workers themselves. They must be capable of mobilizing a critical mass of workers so that those who are targeted for retribution can be defended by the workers en masse.

This requires socialist political leadership. One New Jersey Amazon worker told the International Amazon Workers Voice:

The Democrats cannot be trusted; they are the problem as much as the free market-loving conservatives. Workers need leadership because many feel alone right now.

Real social struggle does not take place through stunts set up from above. It means harnessing the tremendous potential power of the international working class, regardless of race or nationality, in a common struggle against the worlds most powerful corporations.
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The "excellent" relations between Tunisia and its traditional European partners and the need to find a new approach to these relations were at the centre of a telephone conversation on Thursday between Tunisian President Kais Saied and European Council President Charles Michel
Beijing hopes to send a message to other countries to ignore Australias campaign. The Prime Minister has no intention of backing down. No Australian leader can afford the perception that he is easily bullied. But it does place our relationship with China in its most precarious position since the two countries opened their doors to one another in the 1970s. Chinas ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, fired the opening salvo on behalf of Beijing on Sunday. He told The Australian Financial Review that if the dialogue continued to sour, then the Chinese people would stop coming to Australia: If the mood is going from bad to worse people would think, Why should we go to such a country that is not so friendly to China? The tourists may have second thoughts. The parents of the students would also think whether this place which they found is not so friendly, even hostile, whether this is the best place to send their kids here. By Wednesday, the Chinese media had removed any ambiguity in that statement. Let me give a coercion to Australia, The Global Times editor, Hu Xijin, explained. As its attitude toward China becomes worse and worse, Chinese companies will definitely reduce economic co-operation with Australia, and the number of Chinese students and visitors going to Australia will also decrease. Time will prove it all.

Whether Beijing has the ability to follow up on the threat is moot for now because the global pandemic has halted migration and tourism from China to Australia. And both sides appeared to leave some wriggle room for the other. Fanning the flames: Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye. Credit:AAP The most revealing part from the Chinese end was what was left out of its warning: mining. The most interesting part of Morrisons response on Wednesday was that he didnt really mind if that became the primary focus of Australias relationship with China. The predominance of our trading relationship with China is obviously resources based, and I see no reason why that would alter in the future, the Prime Minister said. The thing about our relationship with China is it is a mutually beneficial one. It is a comprehensive strategic partnership, and we will continue to pursue that partnership, respecting China's sovereignty, and their independence, and its success will continue to depend on that being returned.

Whether he meant that comment to be taken as we dont need your people, but you need our quarry is not clear. Morrison was careful not to inflame the argument, while holding his ground on the inquiry. He has no interest in alienating Chinese Australians already here, especially when they cluster in higher-income Liberal electorates in Sydney and Melbourne. Morrison has been at his most animated during this crisis when calling out racism against Chinese Australians. But the question of Australias dependence on China came with a surprising twist this week. While Morrison would have preferred to celebrate our British heritage, and China tried to school us in superpower diplomacy, a third country, India, snuck up on us. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Tuesday shows that the Indians were poised to overtake the Chinese as our second-largest migrant community behind the English before our borders were closed to the rest of the world in March. In other words, Beijings threat was not only impractical for the time being; it was out of date. The two-decades-long skilled Chinese migration wave to Australia appears to have peaked in 2017. The latest figures show the Chinese-born population grew by just 4.3 per cent in the last financial year; its slowest rate since 2010-11. But the Indian community continued to record double-digit growth. The difference between the two groups had been 50,000 in 2011, when the Chinese-born in Australia numbered 387,000 and the Indian-born 337,000. That gap had closed to just 17,000 in June last year, with the Chinese-born at 677,000, or 2.7 per cent of our total population of 25.365 million, and the Indian-born just behind them with 660,000, or 2.6 per cent of the total. It is likely they swapped places by March this year. Australias settlement story today revolves around these two rising Asian nations, and the two cosmopolitan capitals that welcomed them. Between them, the Indians and the Chinese are responsible for more than a third of the three million migrants who have settled in Australia since 2001. The Indian community expanded by 560,000 and the Chinese by 520,000 over that period. Two-thirds of all the Indians in Australia, and three-quarters of all the Chinese live in Sydney and Melbourne.

The English, meanwhile, have seen their total numbers creep down in each of the past six years, from a peak of just over one million in June 2013 to 986,000 last June. The Indians and Chinese wont catch them while the borders are closed, but both will pass them before the end of the decade once regular migration resumes. The English-born are just 3.9 per cent of our total population, which is their lowest rate in the history of European settlement in Australia. One of the unintended consequences of self-isolation is it will accelerate the relative decline of our original migrants. Half the English in Australia today are aged 57 years or older. The English had been the dominant ethnic community in every capital and regional town from the First Fleet in 1788 to the turn of the 21st century. Now four of the eight capitals have someone else on top of their ethnic ladder: the Indians in Melbourne, the Chinese in Sydney, the New Zealanders in Brisbane, and the Filipinos in Darwin. Australia has never looked this different. The English still outnumbered all migrants from Asia as recently as 1996, when John Howards coalition government took office and Pauline Hanson first entered parliament. Last year, Australias Asian community stood at 3.226 million, 12.7 per cent of the total population, and more than three times larger than the English. While the English are moving into retirement, the Asians are in the prime of their working life. The Chinese and the Indians are among the youngest members of the Australian community today. The median age for each is just 34 years, which matches the figure for the Australian-born population. This means the lockdown of the Australian economy might increase diversity at the margin as the older groups from England and Europe lose more people through natural attrition, while the younger Asian communities increase their numbers through the second generation, those born here to migrant parents.

As Australian leading demographer, Professor Peter McDonald, has noted, recently arrived migrants bring a double bonus for the population. Loading In general, migrants to Australia are young and have not yet had their children, the professor of demography at the University of Melbourne says. They have their children not long afterwards. So, migrants add very strongly to the population in the childbearing years thus increasing births. The immediate danger for the Morrison government is not the belligerence of Beijing, but the own goal of Australian nativism. The Commonwealths refusal to offer a lifeline to international students who have lost work in the shutdown, and who have seen their studies disrupted by social distancing, plays into the hands of the Chinese government. The call to boycott Australia might resonate if our government reinforces that message with a signal to any international student, whether Chinese, Indian, or English to go back to where they came from.
Ive been staring at this screen for several days (weeks, actually, if Im being honest) trying to write about what the pandemic and the lockdown means for the arts. Its not that I dont have anything to say  its the opposite. Anything I begin to write seems reductive. Theres too much to say and where to start? So this is maybe the start of a series of pieces on the topic.

When everything shut down there was the panic of uncertainty. First, the virus is scary; its killing lots of people, and we dont know enough about how it works and how it spreads. Fear of the unknown is the worst  my imagination can quickly go to dark places. But it turns out that there are plenty of amazing people in our midst  those you expect: medical workers and first responders, and those you might not have thought of: grocery clerks(!) and bus drivers(!) and many others  who heroically continue to perform essential jobs to keep us going.

As the shock set in and our public life shut down, survival instincts kicked in. For weeks, my email inbox has filled up with fundraising pleas. Our global arts supply chain went down overnight as theatres, concert halls, museums, bookstores, production studios, rehearsal facilities and support services shut down.

Foundations kicked in quickly to try to help. Some  like Colorados Bonfils-Stanton  tore up the usual rules and quickly distributed money to existing grantees without much red tape. A group of national foundations put together a $75 million fund. Cities such as Seattle moved to waive rent in City-owned spaces. After considerable debate, Congress included $300 million for culture as part of its $2.2 trillion bail-out bill, including $75 million each for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.

Despite these and many other heroic attempts, the help is completely overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis. Americans for the Arts reported $4.5 billion in economic losses for the arts by the first week of April. The Metropolitan Opera alone estimated $60 million in losses. Whatever financial aid arts funders could muster is swept away by the size of this tsunami. To put the scale of the problem in perspective  the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, one of the few remaining national funders of the arts, could throw its entire $7 billion in assets at the problem and be broke in a few months having failed to save Americas arts organizations. The size of the problem facing the arts sector is simply too massive for our existing cultural infrastucture to cope.

And its unlikely that significantly more help will be on the way. While the city of Berlin quickly made $320 million available to its cultural workers and Germanys national government added 50 billion (yes with a b), with its culture minister saying that artists are not only indispensable, but also vital, especially now, Americas national and state governments have been for the most part indifferent at best and even downright hostile. Republicans in Congress pointed to the $150 million for the NEA and NEH in the $2.2 trillion bailout bill (about .07% of the whole) as wasteful spending in a time of national crisis. Former Trump administration ambassador Nikki Haley mused that the money for the arts should have been spent on something useful instead (It could have helped so many people.). This, even though we know the arts account for $763 billion in annual economic impact and more than five million jobs nationally. To put this in perspective, commercial airlines employ about 600,000 and earned $240 billion in 2018 and just got $25 billion in the bailout bill after spending $48 billion in the past two years buying back their own stock after a generous Republican tax break.

Now, it must be said that in addition to direct government aid to the arts, the bail-out included the Paycheck Protection Program, which many arts organizations applied for and some got. So theres that. But most artists are self-employed or contract workers and many werent eligible.

Given the scale of the national crisis facing all sectors of the economy in the months and years to come, the pandemic is a historic disruption that represents an existential crisis. What to do?

Ive come to think of it in the following frame:

Restorationists versus Opportunists

The world is settling loosely into two camps: Restorationists, who believe that this was a catastrophic event we have to survive until we can resume the important work we were doing before, and Opportunists, who believe that everything has changed going forward and that we have an historic opportunity to reinvent.

Restorationists are deeply invested in their business models and want to rebuild as quickly as possible. They have built, often painstakingly over generations, pipelines to talent and support and the means to reach audiences. Theyre terrified that the infrastructure that supports them will collapse and theyre desperate to shore it up and get back to work.

Opportunists have long seen cracks in the cultural infrastructure and suddenly find themselves (along with the rest of us) in a place where all the usual rules and structures have been turned upside down. They see a world that could look considerably different AV (After Virus) and perhaps opportunities to rewrite better rules going forward.

A Crisis of Infrastructure

What the pandemic has exposed is the shocking impoverishment of our infrastructure at every level: medical, political, financial, industrial, media, logistical, and yes, cultural.

Our cultural infrastructure has been a mess for years. Technology has detached the making of cultural goods from the ability to get paid for them. The non-profit model, created in the 1960s to address 1960s funding realities, hasnt been up to the task for decades. Old institutional models havent adapted to keep up in the internet age. Delivery of arts education has been frail for long time, in spite of heroic attempts to make it better. Our arts institutions are badly under-capitalized. Artists cant afford housing or studio space in many of our cities. Equity and diversity are still big problems. Weve lost most of our arts media. We have significant and persistent leadership failure issues. And while were at it  after all these years of tech innovation, why is it still so difficult to just find out what cultural events are going on around us?

Restore? Really? Why would we want to restore infrastructure that has been sputtering and misfiring for a very long time?

New Realities

Its instructive to look back at the 2009 financial crisis. When the bottom fell out, those who were already vulnerable had to struggle just to stay alive. Those who were secure saw opportunity to invest while the bottom had fallen out. In the years since, those investments rose spectacularly, powering a historic gap between the wealthy and everybody else. This gap also opened up in the arts, I would argue, where superstar museums and mega-galleries and giant film studios grew at a furious pace, while small and medium arts organizations and most especially average artists, never recovered. Now, it has been observed, you can do fine as an artist if you are superstar. You can be okay if youre content to subsidize your work with some other employment. What you cant be, increasingly, is a successful middle class artist whose work as an artist is full time.The economics mostly dont work. A broken system.

So think of the economy as a giant puzzle where the pieces fit together. The pandemic has thrown all those pieces up in the air and its not clear yet how they will be reassembled. Those with means are busy trying to grab as many pieces as they can. Those who are focused on simply surviving are waiting for the pieces to come back together, and will inevitably get stuck with the leftovers and a smaller share even than they had before. It shouldnt have to be that way.

Opportunities

Every sector is in the same boat right now. Higher education spent decades on a building spree while under-investing in their actual product (shifting teaching from tenured, employed faculty to poorly-paid adjunct contract workers), leading to unsustainable tuition burdens and an expensive infrastructure that is no longer supportable. Students are demanding refunds for their newly-virtual classes and enrollment this fall is likely to plummet.

Commercial real estate is likely to crater as companies decide they dont need workers to come in every day to a physical office. Retail shopping  already hanging by a thread  will collapse. The industry estimates fifty percent of Americas malls could be closed by next year. Airlines are preparing for radical downsizing. Cities and states are bracing for smaller tax revenues and the need to rewrite their tax codes. The movie industry has to rethink release strategies as audiences are reluctant to go into theatres. And on and on.

You can see this as nothing but loss. Or perhaps some of our most intractable debates are now suddenly shaken free of their old moorings. That everyone should have medical insurance is a moral good. But arguing that it is didnt win the argument. If instead, medical coverage is now a public safety issue because the uninsured are a risk to us all, and 30 million newly unemployed means a whole lot of people just lost their medical care, its an entirely different debate going forward. Suddenly Medicare-for-All doesnt seem so scary to a newly-terrified populace.

Climate change will make the pandemic seem like childs play, and yet its been difficult to get voters to focus on it. But the taste of this global threat makes the next one palpable in ways it wasnt until now. The cleaner air and lack of congestion that has resulted from this lockdown reframes the debate. Paris has already announced it wont let cars into the downtown when it reopens. We can no longer let Paris be dominated by automobiles, says the mayor. Its a quality of life issue. The fossil fuel industry, shattered by collapsing demand, is teetering on the brink. Given the choice, most governments will now invest in renewables.

Global supply chains shown vulnerable in this crisis have industries rethinking where they make things and how they get them to markets. The legal profession is rethinking how it hears arguments and hold trials. The medical industry is rethinking tele-medicine and how it charges for services. Everywhere you look the pandemic is now an opportunity to rewrite the rules of the road  not just to address those things that have broken, but to take advantage of new opportunities to do better.

And the arts? If we only focus on rebuilding, well get stuck with a lesser version of a model that already didnt work very well. Theatres are likely to be shut on-and-off for much of the next year or so, and besides, the first research indicates it will be considerable time before audiences are willing to go back. Performances will resume, but if we have to keep social distancing, does that mean 200 people in a 1000-seat hall? How does that work  both as a supportable business model as well as aesthetically?

Our funding system is stretched and broken. Do we triage and let a high number of institutions and an untold number of artists fail? The Association of American Museums says one third of Americas museums could go out of business this year. Or do we figure out a better system?

Do we continue with our under-performing non-profit model or design a new hybrid? Can we finally figure out a virtual content model that pays, now that we have a significant audience for it? Can we rethink the relationships between artists and institutions that make both more sustainable? Can we design a more equitable education model that enriches non-artists and prepares more versatile artists for successful careers? These and dozens of other issues are there to be addressed. In the old world all these issues were urgent. In the new theyre existential.

I would argue that the cultural sector will fail if it tries to figure this out on its own, let alone just the non-profit arts sector which is an even smaller subset. Looking around, I see many other sectors with similar issues, many which might benefit from learning from the arts, just as we could learn from them. The question is  can we look up long enough from trying to survive to think bigger?

NEXT: leadership and opportunities

Top image by Siggy Nowak from Pixabay
A tile factory at Nanzhuang Township, dubbed the country's top ceramics town, in Foshan of Guangdong Province, China, on Sept. 26, 2008. (China Photos/Getty Images)

US Trade Body Votes to Lock in High Duties on Chinese Tile Imports

WASHINGTONThe U.S. International Trade Commission on April 30 determined that imports of Chinese ceramic tile are subsidized and sold at less than fair value, materially harming U.S. producers.

The vote by the U.S. trade body locks in U.S. Commerce Department anti-dumping duties of up to 356.02 percent, and anti-subsidy duties of up to 358.81 percent on Chinese imports of a wide range of ceramic tile products. The duties were finalized on March 31.

Imports of ceramic tile from China were valued at an estimated $481.3 million in 2018, the Commerce Department said last month.

The Commerce Department said it would impose a final anti-dumping rate of 356.02 percent on Belite Ceramics (Anyang) Co. Ltd and Foshan Sanfi Import & Export Co. Ltd., and a China-wide entity to which they belong; and 229.04 percent for other Chinese exporters.

It imposed a final anti-subsidy rate of 358.81 percent on Temgoo International Trading Limited and Foshan Sanfi, as well as all other Chinese producers and exporters.

Glazed ceramic floor and wall tiles from China, popular at major U.S. home-supply chains including Home Depot, Lowes and Floor & Decor, are currently subject to a 25 percent tariff as part of the U.S. Trade Representatives Section 301 penalties on China.

The agency opened its anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigation of Chinese tile imports in May 2019 after receiving a petition from a coalition of eight U.S. tile producers claiming injury.

The ITC said there were 13 U.S. producers in 2018 who had a total of 3,399 employees and produced shipments valued at $1.3 billion, while consumption was around $3.5 billion.

Other leading suppliers of U.S. imports of tile include Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Spain.

By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder
Olivia Ruby never realized that March 13 would be her last day of her senior year at Whitehall High School.

I didnt know my last day was going to be my last day, Ruby said.

She was still in shock Friday afternoon after hearing that New York schools would be out for the rest of the school year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement during his daily COVID-19 briefing in Albany.

Cuomo said it is simply too risky to reopen at a time when the virus is still sending nearly 1,000 people into the hospital every day. The virus was responsible for 289 deaths on Thursday.

It kind of feels surreal right now like its not actually a thing, Ruby said. I feel like its not real.

Ruby said she had been holding out hope that she would get the chance to say goodbye to her school, especially her teachers.

There are so many senior-centered activities she will now miss out on, she said. She is wondering what will happen to graduation. None of it will be the same if its done online, she added.

High school seniors in the region had similar reactions to the governors announcement that they wouldnt be returning to their classrooms before the school year is over at the end of June.

Glens Falls High School senior Reagan Rath could barely speak through the tears she cried Friday afternoon.

I kind of expected it, but I didnt think it would actually become a reality, said Rath, who lamented the milestones she and her classmates will be missing.

Hudson Falls High School senior Eliza Hogan said the same thing.

I wont have a senior prank or skip day, said Hogan, who is the class valedictorian. I wont give a speech or have a graduation ceremony. It feels like Im trying to start the next chapter of my life at college without finishing the last one.

Hogan was on a class call when they found out they wouldnt be returning to school. Just a few minutes before, classmates were joking about taking bets on what would happen.

Its just so strange, Hogan said. Never would have guessed it would be like this.

South Glens Falls senior Emily Arquette knew there was a chance her senior year could be cut short.

I tried to ignore it, Arquette said, because, of course, I wanted nothing more than to go back to school and see everyone every day.

Arquette transferred to South High just three years ago and said she was welcomed by her classmates who have become her family. She wishes she had more time in her new school.

I would do anything to go back to my freshman year and not to rush high school and just enjoy it, Arquette said. I feel like any amount of hope or light at the end of the tunnel is gone.

Gretta Hochsprung writes hometown news and covers Washington County. You can reach her at ghochsprung@poststar.com or 518-742-3206. Follow her on Twitter @GrettaHoch or at her blog on www.poststar.com.

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SPRINGFIELD  A 32-year-old city man is in custody and charged with murder in connection with the stabbing death of a Springfield cab driver on Oakland Street in February, police said.

Luis Roman-Ramos of Dickinson Street was arrested Thursday afternoon in Lunenburg, a northern Worcester County town near Fitchburg, and charged with shoplifting around $100 in alcohol. Lunenburg police later determined that he was named in an arrest warrant by Springfield police, said Springfield police spokesman Ryan Walsh.

Roman-Ramos is charged with the Feb. 28 stabbing death of cab driver William Montana, 68, of Springfield.

Montana crashed his cab into two parked cars at Oakland Street and Kensington Avenue just after midnight. He was rushed to Baystate Medical Center with injuries.

At first it was thought to be a car crash, but it was later determined he had serious knife injuries to his legs. He died a short time later at Baystate.

Springfield detectives, under the command of Capt. Trent Duda, identified Roman-Ramos as a suspect and on March 10 obtained a district court warrant for his arrest on a charge of murder.

The motive for the crime has not been disclosed.

Roman-Ramos remained at large until Thursday when a loss prevention officer at the Hannaford supermarket in Lunenburg spotted him and another man shoplifting. He detained Roman-Ramos for police but the other man was able to flee.

At first he refused to tell Lunenberg police his name, but eventually admitted his identity. This allowed police to run a records check and learn that he was wanted in Springfield for murder.

Lunenburg is roughly 80 miles northeast of Springfield.
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has a suggestion to compensate for the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus lockdown: Indians should work for sixty hours minimum in a week for the next two to three years.

Murthy was addressing a virtual audience comprising industry executives and businessmen at ET Unwired, an event organised by Economic Times when he said this. During his speech, Murthy said that India cannot sustain such a lockdown situation for too long and that very soon, the number of deaths caused by hunger will exceed the Covid-19 deaths.

At the event, Murthy also said that at least 9 million people die in India every year and if one is to compare that with the number of deaths caused by Covid-19, there is not much reason to panic.

As of now, India has crossed 35,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and over 1100 deaths.

Murthy also spoke at length about the impact of lockdown on industries and how if this continues, a majority of Indians would find themselves without a job in the near future.

Apart from suggesting that people should work more than 60 hours a week, Murthy also recommended that offices should consider introducing shifts in order to maintain social distancing in the workplace.

However, not everyone is happy with the recommendation. Most people around the country, irrespective of the sector, have been working from home during the lockdown. And while that is not always a bed of roses, people are indeed working hard (and often overtime) to ensure that productivity doesn't suffer.

There was some appreciation for his suggestion of overtime.

Always has my respect. Sir Narayan Murthy.  https://t.co/5mjpIpFucv  LiveLetLive (@IChooseHapiness) April 30, 2020

Very good suggestion by great Narayan Murthy https://t.co/dRBllU6G95  MAHENDRA JAIN (@mahendra3) April 30, 2020

Some pointed out that Indians already work that long.

I think, he is not aware or just ignoring the ground reality, Over 70% of people work in unorganised sectors, and they work over 60 hours a week, without PF and social security. I am not even counting people who work as a farm labour or rickshaw pullers. https://t.co/irvaXCrVTC  NewAgeIndian (@TheNewAgeIndian) May 1, 2020

#narayanamurthy should be ashamed of giving a thought of Indians working for 60 hours a week.. where IT people are already stressed out with 45 hours/week and he forgot the suicides which happen in his own company. #ShameOnYou #infosys  Who_Cares (@FaiZe_shaikh) May 1, 2020

Mr Murthy- "Work for 60 hours a week" Consultants- "Who are these people who weren't working 60 hours before?" Labor- "Aao kabhi haveli pe" Farmers- "Cute"  Sagartumsathho (@chholekulchey) May 1, 2020

Some of them had other suggestions for Mr Murthy.

Pay us for 60 hours the economy will automatically revive  https://t.co/Vx1GbfHfr3  Harini Calamur (#StayHome) (@calamur) April 30, 2020

Maybe rich CEOs and Chairmans should work 75 hours a week. So that they can pay their employees for 60.  Vir Das (@thevirdas) April 30, 2020

#Narayanamurthy should pay 60% extra tax for next 3 years to revive the economy. And also stop exploitation of workers. Bloody capitalist  Roberto Carlos (@UP_Bihar) April 30, 2020

I have a better solution Murthy. India's top 63 billionaires have more wealth than the 2019 Union Budget. And India's top 1% owns 58% of India's wealth. Let's redistribute their wealth to revive economy. 99% wins and loss for just 1%. You are part of that 1%. https://t.co/Vbp6RihB0S  Advaid () (@Advaidism) April 30, 2020

Why is #Narayanamurthy taking like a GDP economist? There are many kinds of tech-billionaires. Cautionary Bill Gates type, Foolhardy Elon Musk type, and Indian penny pinching, rent-seeking Murthy type.  Dinesh Mahapatra (@DineshM90) May 1, 2020

Meanwhile, some came to Murthy's defence.
Mikhail Mishustin will temporarily stand down as prime minister, to be replaced by economist Andrei Belousov.

Mikhail Mishustin is temporarily stepping down as prime minister of the Russian Federation while he recovers from coronavirus, he told President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

The 54-year-old suggested First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov  an economist and former Putin aide  serve as acting prime minister in his absence.

Putin, who was listening on a televised video conference, sighed when he heard the news, wished Mishustin a speedy recovery and said he agreed with the proposed replacement.

Mishustin, who has been one of the main coordinators of Russias response to the new coronavirus, is the first high-ranking Russian official to publicly say he or she has the virus. He broke the news hours after the number of confirmed cases of the virus in Russia surged past the 100,000 mark.

I have found out that the coronavirus tests I had done returned with a positive result, said Mishustin, who was appointed by Putin in January. I need to self-isolate, and follow doctors instructions. This is necessary for the safety of my colleagues.

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Mishustin was a relative political unknown  the chief of the countrys tax service for 10 years  before his appointment to become Putins right-hand man. His predecessor as prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev  a long-standing Putin ally  stood down when the president announced a wide-ranging series of proposed constitutional reforms shaking up Russias power structures.

Mishustin said he would remain in contact with members of the government and Putin by phone and video conference despite his condition.

What is happening to you can happen to anyone, Putin replied matter-of-factly. When you get to the hospital, call me. Ill be waiting for your call.

The broadcast of the meeting, which showed the men on split screens, lasted just under four minutes.

Mishustin will spend his self-isolation period at a hospital under the supervision of doctors, his spokesman Boris Belyakov said, without disclosing the exact location where the prime minister would be treated.





Belyakov added that all those who had been in contact with Mishustin would go into self-isolation and be tested for the virus.

Russias nationwide tally of confirmed coronavirus cases hit the 100,000 mark earlier on Thursday after a record daily rise in new infections.

Russia this week overtook China and Iran in the number of confirmed cases arising from the global pandemic, but has so far reported 1,073 coronavirus-related deaths  a figure far lower than many of the hardest-hit countries.

Putin has warned that the peak of the outbreak has yet to come, and the authorities have said there could be a new spike in cases if the population flouts lockdown measures during public holidays in early May.

The worlds largest country by territory, Russia has been on lockdown since Putin announced the closure of most public spaces in late March to limit the scope for the virus to spread.

Putin and the cabinet have been holding remote meetings to avoid contact.
Richard Fenno Jr., a prominent political scientist and congressional scholar who was best known for identifying the tendency - dubbed Fenno's Paradox - of voters to dislike Congress as a whole but to trust and reelect their local representatives, died April 21 at a nursing facility in Rye, New York. He was 93.

The cause was suspected complications from covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, said his son, Craig Fenno.

Dr. Fenno, a longtime professor at the University of Rochester in western New York, was considered one of the most original and influential political scientists of his generation. His studies on appropriations, the importance of congressional committees and the ways members of Congress interacted with their constituents were considered groundbreaking and startlingly original. His practice of following members of Congress from Capitol Hill to their home districts reshaped how political scientists went about their work.

"Fenno was hands down the most significant student of Congress of the last half of the 20th century," political scientist and author Norman J. Ornstein wrote in an email to The Washington Post. "He was the first to note that voters loved their congressman while hating Congress, he wrote the definitive study of the appropriations process ("The Power of the Purse") and a series of books where he explored the relationship between legislators at home and in Washington."

In a 1978 book, "Home Style: House Members in Their Districts," Fenno pointed out the apparent contradiction that came to be known as Fenno's Paradox. He traveled throughout the country, interviewing voters and observing members of Congress in their districts, seeking to understand why many representatives were reelected year after year, despite low approval ratings for Congress.

He attributed the tendency to "home style," or the way members of Congress looked after the concerns of their constituents. His book about the phenomenon was recognized as a classic in the field.

In his first book, published in 1959, Fenno examined changes in presidential Cabinets in the 20th century. He later devoted most of his scholarly attention to Congress. He dubbed his manner of research "soaking and poking," or acquiring vast quantities of information about governance while poking into the details of political campaigns. The phrase has been adopted by later generations of political scientists.

"I began with a study of the power of the purse, how politics plays out as Congress goes about appropriating funds," Fenno told the Rochester Review, a university publication, in 1991. "That led me to realize that the real work and real life of these politicians goes on not on the floor but in committees and subcommittees."

He offered a detailed look at the appropriations process, including battles between congressional committees and executive branch agencies, in his 1966 book, "The Power of the Purse." Fenno went on to explore the influence of congressional committees, which were more autonomous in the 1960s and 1970s than they are today.

"It gradually came to me," he told the Rochester Review, "that what they do in these committees is vitally connected to how they perceive their home districts and states. That's when I started hanging around with politicians in earnest."

His 1973 book, "Congressmen in Committees," was considered a landmark analysis of the committee system, highlighting its strengths, weaknesses and internal conflicts.

For years, Fenno spent almost as much time in Washington and in far-flung congressional districts as he did on the Rochester campus. In the 1960s, he was instrumental in launching one of the country's first Washington internship programs, in which students received academic credit for working in congressional offices or federal agencies.

After focusing much of his scholarly attention on the House of Representatives, Fenno turned in the 1980s and 1990s to the Senate, which he once likened to "a colony of movie stars."

With a smaller number of members, the Senate could be a more collaborative place than the House, but Fenno found that senators could easily become out of touch with their home states.

"When you go out campaigning with a senator, you feel like he's doing something he hasn't done lately," he told the New York Times in 1983. "The great difference between Senate and House campaigns is the media. A Senate campaign depends on the media. A House campaign depends on handshakes."

Fenno published in-depth studies of several senators, including Dan Quayle, R-Ind., who served as George H.W. Bush's vice president; John Glenn, D-Ohio; Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Mark Andrews, R-N.D.; and Arlen Specter, a senator from Pennsylvania who began his political career as a Democrat, then became a Republican and later switched back to the Democratic Party.

The books contained many candid observations, including Quayle's sometimes profane language and, despite his Republican credentials, "a willingness - almost an eagerness - to lean occasionally against the accepted position of conservatives."

In 1984, Fenno followed the short-lived presidential campaign of Glenn, the onetime-astronaut turned senator.

"He would have made a good president," Fenno concluded, except for one thing: "I found him to be uncomfortable in political situations. He is a natural hero, not a natural politician."

Richard Francis Fenno Jr. was born Dec. 12, 1926, in Winchester, Massachusetts. His father was in the coal business; his mother died when he was a child.

He served in the Navy during World War II, then attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, graduating in 1948. He received a doctorate in political science from Harvard University in 1956.

He joined the Rochester faculty a year later and, with another professor, William Riker, helped build one of the country's foremost political science departments. Fenno also led efforts to increase diversity among the faculty and student body.

He was a past president of the American Political Science Association, which named a book award in his honor. Fenno officially retired in 2003 but maintained a campus office - and a study carrel in the library - until his late 80s.

His final book, "The Challenge of Congressional Representation," was published in 2013.

Survivors include his wife of 71 years, the former Nancy Davidson of Rye; a son, Craig Fenno of Armonk, New York; a sister; and two grandchildren. Another son, Mark Fenno, died in 2017.

Fenno wrote almost equally about Republicans and Democrats and explored rural, urban and African-American congressional districts in depth. Yet he never endorsed any candidates for public office, and even many who were close to him could not say what his private political views may have been.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 04:00:07|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The top U.S. intelligence agency said Thursday the country's intelligence community does not believe the coronavirus was manmade or genetically modified.

The U.S. intelligence community "concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement.

The ODNI said it was investigating whether the virus emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, although the rumor has been repeatedly dismissed among scientists, who generally believe the virus jumped from animals to humans in some natural way involving farming, hunting or the transporting of wild animals.

Citing current and former U.S. officials, The New York Times reported Thursday that senior Trump administration officials pushed intelligence agencies to hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory that a lab in Wuhan was the origin of the outbreak as President Donald Trump escalated a public campaign to blame China for the pandemic.

Some intelligence analysts are concerned that the pressure from those officials will distort assessments about the virus and that they could be used as a political weapon, according to the report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), took the lead in pushing intelligence agencies for more information, said the report, adding that Matthew Pottinger, Trump's deputy national security adviser, pressed intelligence agencies off and on since January to gather information that "might support any origin theory linked to a lab."

The report also said that Anthony Ruggiero, the head of the National Security Council's bureau tracking weapons of mass destruction, expressed frustration during a video conference in January that the CIA was unable to get behind any theory of the outbreak's origin.

Most intelligence agencies remain skeptical that conclusive evidence of a link to a lab can be found, and scientists who have studied the genetics of the coronavirus say that the overwhelming probability is that it leapt from animal to human in a nonlaboratory setting, as was the case with HIV, Ebola and SARS, according to the report.

As COVID-19 deaths continue to increase in the United States, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have tried desperately to deflect criticisms about their blunders by blaming others.

As of Thursday noon, the United States reported more than 1.04 million COVID-19 cases with over 61,000 deaths, according to a tally from the Johns Hopkins University. Enidtem
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said India is doing better compared to other countries on all parameters in its fight against COVID-19 and should be able to win this decisive war in the coming few weeks.

While virtually interacting with civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on COVID-19 issues at an event organised by Niti Aayog, Vardhan said such organisations have been working tirelessly to ensure essential resources reach the last mile. Talking about India's preparations and their results, the minister said, "We have gone quite ahead towards winning this war against COVID-19." He added that the country has done better on "all our parameters" compared to the rest of the world. "And I am sure in the coming few weeks, we should be be able win decisive war against COVID-19," the minister claimed.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Biotechnology are doing genetic sequencing of coronavirus at 1,000 places, he said, adding, "We have half a dozen vaccine candidates, four of them are in significantly advanced stage." The health minister also informed that everyday the country is manufacturing 1.5 lakh personal protective equipment in the country. He said in May, "we will have good indigenous production of good quality anti-body test kits and also kits for detection of coronavirus".

About challenges ahead as the Centre relaxes curbs on movement of stranded migrant workers, he said there will be requirements of lots of help from NGOs to reorganise migrant labourers again in their home towns as there could be some resistance in the society when they go back. Until now, nine lakh people are under community surveillance, the minister said adding that it was a huge operation undertaken in the last three months. The death toll due to the coronavirus pandemic rose to 1,074 and the number of infection cases climbed to 33,050 in the country on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown relaxation likely post May 3; new guidelines soon; total cases-35,043

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Will your area fall in 'red zone' post May 3? Check out district-wise full list
Opposition Leader Liza Harvey has criticised the state government's handling of the scandal-prone City of Perth, accusing it of parachuting in a new chief executive without input from elected councillors.

Ms Harvey said the move risked a return to the problems and instability that had plagued the council for years and sparked the ongoing inquiry.

WA Opposition Leader Liza Harvey. Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola

City of Perth commissioners appointed Rottnest Island boss Michelle Reynolds as the council's new chief executive during a special council meeting on Friday last week.

Ms Reynolds, a former chief executive at WorkCover WA with more than two decades' experience as a senior public servant, was appointed by to the Rottnest Island Authority in 2018 amid revelations staff at the authority had been subject to bullying and discrimination.
The Illinois attorney generals office has asked the states highest court to consider arguments in a state representatives case challenging the governors authority to oversee the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the Illinois Supreme Court agrees, it would take over from the fifth appellate district, which has not yet held a hearing in Xenia Republican Rep. Darren Baileys lawsuit.

Of the 203 similar requests made to the highest court since 1995, only 22 were allowed by the justices, according to a spokesperson for the court.

In a document filed with the court Wednesday, the attorney generals office argued Clay County Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaneys ruling that Bailey no longer is subject to Gov. JB Pritzkers stay-at-home order was grounded on an erroneous conclusion.

Bailey alleges Pritzker does not have the power to issue successive 30-day disaster proclamations for the same disaster  COVID-19, in this case. The state disagrees.

Because COVID-19 has killed over 2,000 Illinois residents and continues to infect more, and because the circuit courts ruling threatens the governors authority to protect the public from the virus, the public interest requires an expeditious and definitive determination of this appeal by this court, the state argued in the court filing.

The state is asking the Supreme Court either to order Baileys attorney, Thomas DeVore, to respond by today or halt McHaneys ruling from taking effect until arguments can be held.

DeVore did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

At issue in this case is whether the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act prevents a governor from declaring more than one state of emergency per disaster.

Governors historically have issued successive proclamations, according to the state. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn did so in 2009 in response to the H1N1 virus and after flooding in 2011. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Pritzker also responded to severe flooding in 2017 and 2019, respectively, with successive proclamations.

In the court document, the state maintains this is legal.

The act does not specifically prevent a governor from doing so, according to the attorney generals office, although it does not specifically permit it either.

Its only requirement is for a disaster to exist, the filing continued, so when the COVID-19 emergency concludes, Pritzker will be unable to continue using the extraordinary powers.

Without those disaster proclamations, the state argues, Illinois would be unable to quickly buy gloves, gowns, masks and other personal protective equipment; prevent price gouging; establish alternative health care facilities such as the one at McCormick Place in Chicago; or deploy the Illinois National Guard.

Pritzker issued those proclamations  on March 9 and April 1  because the novel coronavirus still qualifies as a disaster, the attorney generals office continued.

And he ordered residents to stay at home because of internal data showing that action would prevent a spike in virus-related deaths, according to the court document.

Bailey, as a government employee, already is exempt from its provisions, the state added.

While the circuit court order on its face pertains specifically to Bailey, the implications extend far beyond Bailey and jeopardize the health of Illinois residents throughout the state in several ways, the office wrote.

McHaneys ruling threatens the legitimacy of the governors actions as well as any further actions he deems necessary, according to the filing. If the ruling is allowed to stand, the General Assembly would need to meet to determine what further steps are needed. That would be risking the health of its members and staff, the office argued.

The state also wrote that because Baileys win at the circuit court level inspired other residents to file related cases, this will cause a patchwork of conflicting orders from courts across Illinois.

In light of these significant, time-sensitive, life-or-death public health concerns, and the potential restraint on the governors necessary authority to manage them given the circuit courts (order), it is important the Supreme Court take over this case, the attorney generals office argued.

McHaneys ruling harms (Pritzkers) ability to protect the other branches of Illinois government who have been relying on his emergency authority, the residents of Illinois who have been staying at home in order to protect themselves and each other during this crisis and the Illinois residents, including medical providers and other essential workers, who cannot stay home, the state wrote in the court document.

 While it may be stressful and frustrating to remain mostly at home, the modest harm to Bailey is shared by many, fully justified in the circumstances, and pales in comparison to the dire public consequences that (McHaneys ruling) carries, it added.
TROY  Detective Sgt. Randall French, the city police officer who for more than a month battled the effects of COVID-19, died on Thursday.

"It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you of the line of duty death of Troy Police Detective Sergeant Randall C. French," Chief Brian Owens said in a prepared statement. "(French) succumbed to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, after a long and tough fight."

French, 39, was treated for the virus at Albany Medical Center and at one point received a blood plasma transfusion.

In the weeks before his death, French's wife, Danielle French, made an impassioned plea for donors who could provide the plasma that has shown some promise in reversing the impact of the virus. A donor with potential life-saving antibodies from the virus later provided the plasma donation.

"He is still very sick but he has been making steps in the right direction and the doctors are optimistic," she wrote in an April 17 post on Facebook. "Albany Med has been absolutely amazing."

Albany Med was among the first hospital systems nationwide to receive federal approval to use the experimental COVID-19 treatment that uses the antibody-rich plasma from a recovered patient to treat a sick person.

The Police Department's union and the North Greenbush ambulance squad where French was a volunteer also made pleas for plasma donations.

A source familiar with the case said French entered Albany Med last month with what was thought to be broken ribs from an ATV crash. He was tested and found to be infected with the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Troy Mayor Patrick Madden described French as a dedicated member of the police department whose career involved working to improve neighborhood quality of life, removing illegal guns and drugs from city streets, and community engagement.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"From his service as a paramedic, continued support and advisement with the Troy Police Cadet Post, and his leadership with the Special Operations Section, Sgt. French personified public service in the field of public safety," he said. "His death is a profound loss for the department and the entire city of Troy. On behalf of the Mayors office, Deputy Mayor (Monica) Kurzejeski, department heads and city employees, we extend our sincerest condolences to the French family during this incredibly difficult time.

French, who graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in applied mathematics, joined the department in 2003. He commanded the Troy Police Departments drug unit. He was ranked first on the city's civil service list for promotion to captain.

But Frenchs attempts to be promoted into the command ranks were thwarted by his connection to the fatal shooting of Edson Thevenin during an April 17, 2016 traffic stop on Hoosick Street. Thevenin was suspected of drunken driving when French stopped his car. Thevenin drove off and was fatally shot by French, who later claimed he thought his life was at risk.

An internal affairs investigation later raised questions about French's description of the shooting and recommended sustaining four disciplinary charges against French, including unjustifiable use of deadly force and providing false testimony related to the death of the 37-year-old man. No action was taken.
The US with its over 1 million COVID19 cases has given Kenya KSh 705 million and Russia has donated KSh 300M to FAO to help us combat the locusts invasion.

Such donations are suspect and there is more than meets the eye in terms of the quest for natural resources or military tenders that such countries are eyeing in Kenya.

On the other hand, the World Bank and IMF are singing lullabies to the National Treasury, by providing soft loans of up to KSh 175 billion to cushion the country from the effects of COVID19, especially the shortfalls arising from reduced ordinary revenue.

READ ALSO: Baringo: Floods sweep away police lorry, 7 officers feared dead

Good as this may look, this encourages lethargy and fiscal indiscipline on the part of Kenya, and is akin to hooking us to the drug of perpetual borrowing by institutions again largely controlled by Americans and Europeans.

I am highlighting this because disruptions such as the current pandemic have the potential of creating a new world order, especially tilting the balance of trade and global supply chains to Kenyas advantage.

You can imagine only KSh 300M has been sourced from our own revenue so far to combat this crisis. This reveals our unpreparedness and dependency on somebody else to foot the bill for us, even when that person is sicker than us.

Is this not how we continue to mortgage and therefore devalue ourselves as a country?

Further, competition for control of such funds creates a new cadre of the super-rich going by the iron law of oligarchy, especially when they are misused. This sad state of affairs is exemplified by the way governors are outdoing themselves for publicity, in the pretext of serving the common mwananchi.

READ ALSO: Majority of Kenyans think Museveni has done better than Uhuru in combating COVID-19

READ ALSO: COVID-19 funds: Health Ministry spends KSh 2M on airtime, KSh 4M on tea and snacks

To begin with, we witnessed Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua putting up an A-frame tent complete with normal hospital beds on top of a green tuft in a stadium, claiming it to be an emergency hospital.

The cinematographer wants to borrow over KSh 900M ostensibly to fight the pandemic, by among other uses, giving allowances to frontline workers, yet the SRC hasnt approved of this. This is a prototype of a devolved govt scandal and similar scenarios are being replicated across many counties.

Soon, you will hear of governors having spent hundreds of millions on face masks even when majority of Kenyans have since bought or made them at home.

What is more worrying is the fact that the govt has already spent KSh 2.3 billion on COVID 19 related expenses within a month, with the Ministry of Health having spent KSh 14.4M to maintain 30 vehicles translating to a cost of 480,000 each. KSh 10M is for teas and snacks and KSh 2 million has already been spent on airtime.

KSh 42M has been spent on leasing 15 ambulances, translating to KSh 2.8M each per month! KSh12M has been used for quarantine services for medical staff, while Kenyans have to foot their own bills in govt facilities.

What kind of stationary can cost KSh6.5M in a month, while printing travel forms cost another KSh 9M? What has been spent on KSh 70M for communication, yet major Radio and TV stations have already given KSh 150M worth of free airtime? Does it also mean that the toll free 719 call center has already cost the tax payer KSh 11.8M?

READ ALSO: Senators call out Health CS Mutahi Kagwe for sacking KEMRI scientist

How many PPEs have been used and what happened to Jack Mas donations since KEMSA has a budget of KSh 593M for this, having spent KSh 277M already? The agency has also spent KSh 330M on lab equipment, and KSh 196M on test kits, yet counties are complaining that they are not getting their orders!

KSh 10M has been spent on Kenyan Students in Wuhan, yet other Kenyans are expected to meet their flight costs from China. I have already received distress texts from some of them asking for help in meeting their travel costs. How much would it have cost for govt to cater for 2 or 3 flights from Guangzhou, yet the KQ planes are lying idle?

Further, what has the military done to warrant the spending of KSh 75M, yet they havent been involved in providing public services? Dont we need soap and water, not bullets and combat gear to fight COVID-19?

Also, what media tours has KBC conducted in the era of curfew and travel restrictions to warrant the spending of KSh 5M? Imagine another KSh 573M has been spent on case management and a whopping 190M for rapid response!

This is a mega scam because if govt has spent KSh 2.3 billion so far out of the targeted KSh 40.3bn in a month, it means that it has been spending KSh 76.6M per day on COVID-19.

Kenya has 384 cases and if you calculate the amount of money spent, so far on the pandemic by govt, this translates to about KSh 6M per patient. Isnt this akin to responding to a mosquito bite with a hammer?

We cant use COVID-19 pandemic to steal from Kenyans. A commission of inquiry can as well be gazetted, since we already have a scandal in the making.

The writer is Honorable Isaac Mwaura, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are hers and do not necessarily represent the position of TUKO Media Ltd in any way.

We welcome writers, bloggers, photographers and all sorts of noise makers to become a part of our Blog network.

Send your opinion, story or both to news@tuko.co.ke. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

Kenyans angered by current state of affairs| Tuko TV

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An investigation has been launched into an incident in which actor Harrison Ford was piloting a small plane that wrongly crossed a runway where another aircraft was landing.

There was no danger of a crash in the incident that happened last week at an airport in southern California, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) statement.

A publicist for the Indiana Jones star told media he misheard a radio instruction from the air traffic controller (ATC).

Apologised

"He immediately acknowledged the mistake and apologised to ATC for the error," publicist Ina Treciokas said.

"The purpose of the flight was to maintain currency and proficiency in the aircraft. No one was injured and there was never any danger of a collision."

The planes had come within 1,100 metres of each other at the Hawthorne airport in Los Angeles.

Ford, who played Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, was at the controls of a two-seat Aviat Husky light plane.

The actor (77) came under investigation in 2017 after he mistakenly flew his single-engine private plane over an American Airlines passenger jet and landed on a taxiway, rather than a runway, at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.

The FAA did not discipline the actor over that incident, but asked him to complete awareness training.
The operators of two meat factories in Offaly and North Tipperary are coming under pressure with regard to safety measures in place after a number of coronavirus cases were confirmed among the staff.

The pressure is building on Rosderra Meats - a company operating meat processing plants in Edenderry and Roscrea - after a similar operation run by Dawn Meats closed in Kilbeggan after four staff members tested positive for the virus.

Concerns have been raised with safety precautions at Rosderra Meats and the ability to social distance appropriately in the workplace. The issue came before the Dail on Thursday as Laois-Offaly TD Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health and HSE to take action amid a growing number of cases at the Roscrea plant.

You can see Deputy Brian Stanley's address to the Dail on Thursday below:

The Offaly Express is also aware of a number of staff members at the Edenderry plant who have tested positive for the virus in recent weeks. Rosderra Meats was first contacted by this outlet for a statement on April 20. Rosderra has released a statement to the Offaly Express today, Friday, May 1.

In that statement, the company says: "Our sites are fully regulated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) who, as is normal practice in the sector, have their own representatives on-site at all times.

"From the outset of the Covid-19 crisis, in conjunction with guidelines from the HSE, WHO, DAFM and the Irish Government and in consultation with Union Officials, Rosderra Irish Meats have implemented stringent and detailed control measures and protocols to ensure employee and DAFM Staff safety while continuing as an essential service to provide an adequate supply of high-quality food to our customers and a high level of service to our suppliers.

"A continued flow of open communication with all employees was implemented immediately after the crisis was announced and Rosderra Irish Meats will continue to do so until further advisement from the HSE and the Irish Government.

"All of these steps compliment the very high standards of hygiene and the sanitary environment in place at all our sites. As part of this, we have fully engaged with the HSE and DAFM in a consultation process which has led to the co-ordinated testing of all of our staff at the Roscrea Plant.

"A number of employees had a positive result from that testing and they are self-isolating per HSE protocols. We have reconfigured the process with the remaining staff who have been tested and are clear of Covid-19 and are continuing with a scaled-down process in the short-term until the staff return.

"We expect those staff will be returning over the next number of weeks having adhered to HSE protocols. We will remain vigilant and continue to maintain our robust procedures while Covid-19 remains an issue within Ireland," the company concluded.

Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council, Peter Ormond, reacted to the closure of Dawn Meats in Kilbeggan by saying: "We need to see something similar happen with our meat processing plants in Roscrea. While I understand some food production still has to happen, the community of North Tipperary/South Offaly are now living in fear and the welfare of employees and their families are now being threatened. We need appropriate action taken and safety measures put in place."

Brian Stanley commented on Friday: "In the Dail last evening, I raised the fact that workers within meat factories are still not being protected and we are witnessing clusters of Covid-19 appearing.

"Inspections into these premises must be carried out on a regular basis to ensure management are abiding by HSE guidelines. These are essential workers who are putting their lives at risk to keep food on our table."

When contacted by the Offaly Express, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said: "The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is working closely with the Department of Health and with other Departments, as part of a whole of Government response to Covid-19. This means that the Department is taking all the precautions necessary to protect its staff and its clients, consistent with HSE advice.

"It is important to clarify that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is only responsible for the Health and Safety of its own employees and contractors. Responsibility for the Health and Safety of factory employees lies with the management of each meat establishment, taking into account the relevant public health advisories issued by the HSE and other government agencies."

In terms of workplaces, employers are being asked to follow the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) COVID-19 Workplace Protection and Improvement Guide which was issued in recent weeks.

The Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, has said he is aware of at least six clusters of coronavirus in meat factories. A cluster is more than three cases in a particular setting, like a healthcare facility, household or workplace.

Responding to a claim by Deputy Brian Stanley that over 100 workers at the Rosderra plant in Roscrea have tested positive for the virus, Minister Creed said: All I can say is that is not the information available to our department."

The Minister claimed measures put in place by the meat industry in response to the Covid-19 crisis include social distancing, hand-washing etiquette, perspex screens, reduced throughput and provision of personal protection equipment (PPE). A number of workers, however, have claimed that factories cannot adequately implement social distancing.

Rosderra Meats states a number of safety measures it is committed to implementing at its plants on its website.

"Starting from Wednesday, March 18, all staff entering site will have their temperature taken prior to entry to ensure all staffs wellbeing," it reads.

They also issued advice to employees to maintain good hand hygiene, remember social distancing (spread out in canteen during breaks), avoid handshaking, maintain canteen hygiene i.e. use antibacterial wipes to clean tables after use and to stay safe.

"We are all responsible for our own safety," their Covid-19 webpage concludes. The page directs to a document outlining more substantial policies on Covid-19 for staff. This document outlines the symptoms of Covid-19 and the actions required of staff in a number of languages.
A political scientist from Johns Hopkins University has said the US will need to hit at least two million deaths before herd immunity is reached.

Dr Yascha Mounk says that after reports that as many as 25 percent with the disease don't seem to show any symptoms, it raised the prospect that the US may reach widespread immunity quickly without mass fatalities.

However, when adjusting for a low fatality rate and a high caseload, letting it spread through the US so people can build up antibodies would result in millions of deaths.

In a series of tweets and in an article for The Atlantic, Mounk and offers a grim reality saying that 'deliverance is not in sight.'

For the 80% to 95% needed to achieve herd immunity, Dr Yascha Mounk estimates two million Americans would have to die from the virus (above)

Mounk says antibody tests across the US have shown the fatality rate is much lower than previously believed

While antibody tests show the fatality rate is much lower than believed (pictured), Mounk says it also means the virus would have to spread further for herd immunity to be reached

This week, the first results from a statewide antibody test in New York revealed that up to 14 percent of residents may have had COVID-19.

Other studies estimate lower fatality rates, such as the roughly six percent of Miami-Dade residents believed to have antibodies against the virus.

In California, tests in Santa Clara County and Los Angeles County found that the true infection rate was likely around four percent.

That's anywhere from 50 to 85 times higher than the number of cases reported in the two counties.

METHODS TO STOP CORONAVIRUS FROM SPREADING Infected people can spread a contagion to others via direct or indirect exposure. An outbreak will continue to expand if the average number of people infected by each carrier is greater than one. SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES Prohibiting group gatherings, closing borders, advising people keep six feet apart, and confining people to their homes has been shown to halt the spread of coronavirus. In this method the public does not gain immunity in large numbers and the virus could re-surge dramatically if controls are lifted. HERD IMMUNITY People who recover from COVID-19 develop antibodies and immunity. As the virus spreads through the population and more people develop immunity there are less people the virus can infect. If enough people have immunity the outbreak will die away. It is estimated about 30 percent of people who catch the virus will not show symptoms and for many more the symptoms will not be serious. This method produces a spike in infections which can overwhelm the healthcare system resulting in large numbers of fatalities. VACCINES A COVID-19 vaccine would be the safest and most effective way of controlling the outbreak. There are several vaccines currently in development though they need to be tested which can take many months. If a vaccine is rushed without proper testing there may be side-effects and complications. Advertisement

Mounk said although this seems like good news because it means the virus is less deadly than previously believed, it also means it would have to spread further for herd immunity to be reached.

'Based on the numbers from New York, it could take about TWO MILLION deaths across America to reach herd immunity,' he tweeted.

Herd immunity occurs when the vast majority of a community - between 80 and 95 percent - becomes immune so that, if a disease is introduced, it is unable to spread.

Therefore, those who are unable to be vaccinated, including the ill, very young and very old, are protected.

Mounk says that the infection rate is too low and the death rate is too low for the virus to be widespread.

When adjusting for the fatality rate of about one percent, that means about two million Americans would die from COVID-19.

'The best studies we have imply that millions may have to die in the United States for us to reach herd immunity,' he tweeted.

'Until that possibility is ruled out, plans to brave the virus by going back to normal remain in the realm of the stupid or the sociopathic.'

In March, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said herd immunity from the coronavirus is unlikely to occur.

Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says that people who have been infected will have built up antibodies.

However, not enough Americans have gotten the disease for there to be no spread in communities.

'The people who are infected - there is no doubt...that if you recover from an infection, you have an immunity that will protect you with the same particular pathogen, in this case, the coronavirus,' he told CNN anchor Jim Sciutto.

'If people are infected, I don't suppose it would rise to the level of herd community protection. [A]t the community level there would not have been enough infections to really have enough umbrella of herd immunity.'

Mounk said he is also not hopeful because a vaccine is at least 12 to 18 months away and the US is still lagging in testing. Pictured: A nurse cleans a patient with COVID-19 on a ventilator at at the Stamford Hospital ICU in Connecticut on April 24

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told CNN last month (pictured) herd immunity from the novel coronavirus in the US is unlikely

This was the strategy of the UK - to build up herd immunity rather than lockdown in order to remove the virus from the community.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, told Sky News: 'Herd immunity [allows] enough of us who are going to get mild illness to become immune.'

When models showed that the nation's hospital system would not be able to address all the serious cases, the government walked the plan back.

Mounk said he is also not hopeful because a vaccine is at least 12 to 18 months away and the US is still lagging in tracing.

According to Johns Hopkins University, only about six million people have been tested - less than two percent of the US population.

'We wont get to herd immunity in the near future,' Mounk writes in The Atlantic.

'A miracle drug is not in sight. The only way to restart the economy, then, is to put a highly effective system in place to test millions of people, trace their movements and quickly quarantine those who might have been infected.'
Monty Bennetts sprawling hospitality company is the biggest known applicant of the governments small-business relief program. The Texas conservative has remained unwilling to return his loans even as public anger builds over large companies getting the funds  a fact now drawing the scrutiny of a key lawmaker.

Hotels and subsidiaries overseen by Mr. Bennetts firm, Ashford Inc., have applied for $126 million in forgivable loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. According to company filings, about $70 million of that has been funded. By comparison, the average loan size in the programs first round was $206,000.

On Friday, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, sent a letter to the Small Business Administration demanding a thorough review of use of the program by Mr. Bennetts companies, saying that he is deeply concerned that large, publicly traded companies, like Ashford, may be exploiting it.

It is imperative that limited taxpayer dollars go to help legitimate small businesses, he said in the letter to Jovita Carranza, the small business administrator.
With some places headed into their third month of the pandemic lockdown, people are dying to get out of the house without actually running the risk of dying from going out of the house. Many have turned to virtual tours of activities like going to the zoo, strolling around a historic site, and even going on a ride in a theme park. Yet, none of these digital experiences can match the bone-chilling, terrifying pointlessness of spending a virtual night in a haunted house.

Would you like to pay $20 to spend a week watching an unedited episode of Ghost Hunters without any of the jump cuts or sound effects that actually make it even slightly unsettling? Then you're in luck. Online paranormal community, The Dark Zone, invites you and, by the looks of the trailer's comment section, half the population of Thailand to virtually visit The House, a haunted house live streaming event running May 9-16. The house in question is none other than the Harrisville farmstead, the infamous location of the 2013 horror movie The Conjuring and of the real-life paranormal investigations of real-life frauds Ed and Lorraine Warren.

As important as the farmstead itself, The House will allow you a glimpse into the Heinzen family, current owners of the slightly creepy Rhode Island fixer-upper, and paranormal investigators themselves. Witness "ow they live amongst the spirits while toughing out his worldwide pandemic" -- which seems to be exactly like how any other family is toughing out the coronavirus pandemic only slightly more gothy. The Heinzens will be holding seances (spectral Zoom), Ouija board sessions (spectral board game night), and launching paranormal investigations throughout the house (spectral wandering around your place looking at stuff because you're bored).
At the moment, Josephine* spends much of her day scrolling through social media, searching for any help that she can find. Whether it be from food banks, charities, church groups or other community organisations, if she comes across someone who can feed her son Thomas* then she reaches out and gets in touch.

There was one I saw two days ago, she says. I sent them an email and they got back to me this morning saying they are going to send me a 40 Tesco voucher. Thats all I can rely on now.

Josephine arrived in the UK as a student from Nigeria 14 years ago, renewed her student visa and then received a post-study work permit. But her application to remain in the UK on a longer term basis was refused in 2015 with no right of appeal. All her attempts to reapply since have failed, meaning she is classified as an undocumented migrant and at risk of deportation.

Thomas is too, despite being six years old and only ever knowing life in this country. Before the pandemic, they could rely on free school meals to ensure he would not go hungry, but now schools are closed and their status means he does not qualify for the governments substitute voucher scheme.

They are one of thousands of families now relying on food banks to cope during the coronavirus pandemic. The Trussell Trust, the UKs largest food bank provider, saw a 122 per cent increase in food parcels given out to children during the last two weeks of March 2020 compared to the same period last year.

Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Show all 18 1 /18 Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jackie Wilson, a healthcare assistant, wearing PPE before going into rooms Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, speaks to a carer at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Carers working at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A care worker wearing PPE opens a drink carton Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, sits with a carer Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A care staff member wearing PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member at Newfield Nursing Home looks after a resident SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer wearing PPE uses a speaker Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer helps Jack Dodsley, 79, from his chair Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer wearing PPE helps Jack Dodsley, 79 Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer brings food to a resident at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member puts on PPE at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jackie Wilson, a healthcare assistant, puts on PPE before she enters a room SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A bench at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS

After the Hackney Migrant Centre alerted Thomass school to the familys circumstances, they gathered up all the food they could find and made sure it got to Josephine yesterday. Bread, milk, juice, she says. A lot of biscuits, which I know my son is going to like! They gave some books that he can read as well.

Even so, Thursday mornings breakfast was still just a bit of bread. The family are sometimes forced to skip meals and Thomas is beginning to understand the situation. He even says hes not eating as much as he normally does. Sometimes he wakes up very late, doesnt have his breakfast until like 11 or 12.

Food banks are the familys main source of sustenance and organisations like the Greenwich Migrant Hub and South London Refugee Association have also helped with advice, vouchers and one-off payments. Generous friends have provided bits of financial support too, but they are also struggling for money during the lockdown.

All in all, Josephine is tasked with surviving off 100-a-month. Some of that goes on her phone contract. It has to, she explains, because it is her lifeline to access more food and more support. I keep getting emails from people, charities and organisations, so I need to keep the phone running.

And if food insecurity was not enough to contend with, she is also tasked with trying to find a new place to live. When one friend came round to drop off food for her and her son at their rented flat in Thamesmead, Greenwich recently, her landlady took exception and told her no visitors were allowed.

A few weeks later, her own daughter who does not live with us came to visit for the week, Josephine recalls. She was entertaining friends in the house and smoking weed. An argument followed. Both the mum and the daughter were screaming at me. The daughter almost slapped my face and was calling me all sorts of names right in front of my son  I actually had to get my GP to put me on antidepressants and tablets. I was really depressed, I was scared.

Thomas is frightened too. He runs away when he sees the landlady, who has told social workers that she wants the family to leave by 15 May. I could get help with rehousing, but because I havent put any application in with the Home Office, I could be deported after Covid-19, she explains. At the moment Im just like f***, because I dont know what to do.

It raises the question of what support there would be for those in Josephine and Thomass situation in these unprecedented times if food banks did not exist, and if charities and communities had not built the most basic of safety nets. Its a question she does not like to dwell on.

I started thinking about this and it got me worried, she says. Its really tough because if I didnt have the support I was getting now I dont know how I would survive. I really dont know.

* Names changed
Rishi Kapoor Dies, His Last Tweet Was An Appeal To Citizens: We Have To Win This Coronavirus War Together. Please.
By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Composers' Union has joined a campaign to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Union allocated 5,000 AZN [$2,941] to Azerbaijans Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus.

The Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus was established by the decree of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on March 19.

The Fund aims at providing financial support in fight against COVID-19 preventing the spread of coronavirus in Azerbaijan.

Under the presidential Order, the Fund was initially allocated 20 million manats to prevent the rapid spread of the virus and the implementation of health care activities.

Over the past years, Azerbaijan Composers' Union has significantly enriched the world musical treasury. The organization is the largest major local union of musicians, which carefully preserves the best traditions of Azerbaijani music.

The Union was established with the assistance of Uzeyir Hajibeyli on June 30, 1934, as a department of the USSR Composers Union. The founding assembly was attended by 17 composers from the USSR countries, including three Azerbaijani composers  Afrasiyab Badalbayli, Zulfugar Hajibeyov and Niyazi.

The Union successfully implements a wide range of cultural projects. The institution is one of the founders of such prestigious musical events as Mugham Festival, Silk Road International Music Festival, etc.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz


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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V:SKE)(OTCQX:SKREF) ("Skeena" or the "Company") is pleased to report the completion of the asset purchase agreement, announced February 4, 2020, to sell 100% of the Company's interest in the GJ Copper-Gold Property (the "GJ Property") to Newcrest Red Chris Mining Limited ("Newcrest") for C$7.5 million of cash.

Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement with Newcrest, dated February 3, 2020, Skeena sold 100% of Skeena's interest in the GJ Property in consideration for:

A cash payment of C$7,500,000 to Skeena; and

The assumption by Newcrest of future payment obligations and royalties on the GJ Property, including those outlined in the Company's October 6, 2015 news release.

The transaction is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary consents and approvals, including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Skeena

Skeena Resources Limited is a junior Canadian mining exploration company focused on developing prospective precious metal properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company's primary activities are the exploration and development of the past-producing Eskay Creek mine and Snip mine.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,

Walter Coles Jr.

President & CEO

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "future", "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "could" or "would". Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

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Britons from black African backgrounds are dying from coronavirus at more than three times the rate of white people, an alarming study concluded on Friday.

Pakistani deaths are almost as disproportionate at 2.7 times higher, while fatalities among people of black Caribbean origin are 1.7 times greater, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found.

The research rejects demographic differences as the reason for the higher death toll  pointing out most ethnic minority groups are much younger than the white British population, so could be expected to survive in higher numbers.

But it may be partially explained by more black and Asian people being in key worker roles, while health conditions such as diabetes may also be important.

Hospital deaths show clear disparities between ethnic groups in their mortality from Covid-19, said Ross Warwick, a research economist at the IFS.

When you account for the fact that most minority groups are relatively young overall, the number of deaths looks disproportionate in most ethnic minority groups.

Professor Lucinda Platt, of the London School of Economics, who also carried out the research, pointed to the striking differences in economic vulnerability between ethnic groups.

Bangladeshi men are four times as likely as white British men to have jobs in shutdown industries, with Pakistani men nearly 3 times as likely, and household savings are lower than average among black Africans, black Caribbeans and Bangladeshis.

By contrast Indians and the largely foreign-born other white group do not seem to be facing disproportionate economic risks.

The research comes after the government launched an inquiry into why Covid-19 appeared to be killing more black, Asian and minority ethnic (Bame) people.

However, it sparked further controversy by selecting Trevor Phillips to lead it when he is suspended from the Labour party over allegations of Islamophobia and has a history of making controversial remarks about Muslims.

Labour is carrying out its own inquiry, asking Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, to examine why the virus seems to disproportionately affect ethnic minorities.

Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Show all 18 1 /18 Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jackie Wilson, a healthcare assistant, wearing PPE before going into rooms Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, speaks to a carer at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Carers working at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A care worker wearing PPE opens a drink carton Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, sits with a carer Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A care staff member wearing PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member at Newfield Nursing Home looks after a resident SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer wearing PPE uses a speaker Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer helps Jack Dodsley, 79, from his chair Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer wearing PPE helps Jack Dodsley, 79 Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A carer brings food to a resident at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A staff member puts on PPE at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside Jackie Wilson, a healthcare assistant, puts on PPE before she enters a room SWNS Care home hit by coronavirus: A rare glimpse of life inside A bench at Newfield Nursing Home Tom Maddick/SWNS

The IFS research found that black Caribbeans appear to be suffering the worst impact, looking at per capita hospital deaths which are three times that of white British people.

But, taking into account age, sex and geographic profiles of both overall deaths in England and Wales and each ethnic group, it is black African deaths that are highest  at 3.5 times the expected rate.

One researcher said  given there are so many more white British people  those deaths should be three times higher than those of black Africans, but are in fact about the same.

One third of all working-age black Africans are employed in key worker roles  50 per cent more than the share of the white British population.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of Bangladeshi men over the age of 60 have a long-term health condition that would put them at particular risk from infection.
By Olivia Rose

A CHARTERED British Airways flight carrying 29 Royal Marines landed in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday (April 29).





The members of the UKs elite fighting force will help the 20-member Security Assistance Team already on the ground in the battle against Covid-19 and illegal migration.





According to Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, the newly deployed troops who are paid for by the UK will get to work in two weeks after undergoing their mandatory quarantine.





During the quarantine period the troops, who were previously stationed in Scotland, will conduct virtual meetings and undergo planning with government officials.





During her national address on Tuesday, the premier said the additional support from the UK is in response to a request from the Government.





"Those 30 new arrivals will focus on supporting the Maritime Branch of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Service on counter-illegal immigration operations.





"The TCI Government and the UK government see this as an essential partnership to prevent new transmissions of the coronavirus.





"Their support is welcomed at this time, and we have seen that even as we face this challenge of Covid-19 we were thwarted with the arrival of sloops during the curfew.





"We cannot continue to be exposed in this way during these trying times.





"We are grateful for this, and we must realise that this is not a normal assignment or the usual approach by the military, and we believe that these times call for unusual approaches.





Governor Nigel Dakin in an Instagram post on Thursday said the troops brought with them medical supplies for the territory including 2,800 swabs for testing.





"The many different consumables are part of the whole global procurement problem and when you are down to your last hundred or so the arrival of close to 3,000 feels good.





"Six ventilators follow next week along with a further large industrial testing kit, further consumables and more vital medical supplies.





Dakin further explained that the TCIs law enforcement agencies will remain at the helm of local operations.





He said: "The maritime police remain very much in the lead on professional, constitutional and legal grounds.





"On the first (and we should be proud) our police officers are some of the most experienced and professional in the region in these types of operations.





"But its also right TCI leads this and also right that the police, not soldiers, enforce the law.





"The arrival of the Royal Marines will allow the police to deploy more boats and deliver a different type of response.





"Its all designed as part of a layered approach to reducing the risk from Covid-19.





The flight on its outbound leg took about 50 passengers including 13 British citizens back to the UK and onto Europe.





The 29 marines will join the team already in the TCI making a total of 47 military on the island along with UK policing support.





The multi-disciplinary team consists of a doctor, medical planners, logisticians and security planners and is led by the Standing Joint Force Headquarters.





It includes personnel from the Standing Joint Force Headquarters, the Royal Marine Commandos, the British Army and the UK police.





On Thursday during his national address Governor Nigel Dakin said this team put in the groundwork to allow for the recent reinforcement.





He said they have also been working in close collaboration with the TCI Hospital and Ministry of Health to build capacity at the hospitals.





Meanwhile logisticians have been helping set up a hub in TCI to create a "land bridge for vital supplies coming from the UK.





Dakin said the Governors Office has supported the health emergency through the constitutional responsibilities the governor has on internal and national security.





"And it is important to stress that this remains a health crisis; not a national security crisis.





"Health is, and will remain, an issue devolved and controlled by the local government and therefore local government leads during this crisis.





He added that what been helpful in supporting the national security offer is the shared approach to leadership on national security by the Governors and Premiers Offices.





"We have been using newly established national security structures and a whole of government approach has been quickly developed.
The SIGAR said NATO admitted that Taliban desisted from hitting coalition forces but increased attacks on Afghan troops.

The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan has for the first time refused to publicly release key information about Taliban attacks, a US watchdog has said, potentially making insights into the war harder just as the Pentagon begins withdrawing its troops.

The report released on Friday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction or SIGAR said US forces have classified all casualty information from Afghan national defence and security forces for the first quarter of 2020.

John F Sopko, who heads the watchdog, wrote that data on the Taliban and other rebel attacks was one of the last remaining metrics SIGAR was able to use to report publicly on the security situation in Afghanistan.

NATOs Resolute Support (RS) mission previously disclosed data on enemy-initiated attacks.

Instead, the NATO mission gave only a short statement noting the Taliban stepped up attacks in March, immediately after the signing of a US-Taliban deal that was supposed to pave the way for talks.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a joint news conference in Kabul on February 29 [File: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]

Between March 1 and 31, the Taliban refrained from attacks against coalition forces; however they increased attacks against (Afghan forces) to levels above seasonal norms, the RS said, according to the report.

Under the deal, foreign forces will quit Afghanistan by July 2021 if the Taliban starts negotiations with Kabul and sticks to various security commitments.

In the week before the February 29 deal signing in the Qatari capital Doha, violence plummeted during a partial truce and US officials hoped attacks would stay low.

Taliban agreed to stop attacking foreign troops

However, the Taliban immediately resumed assaults on Afghan forces.

During the deal negotiations, the Taliban had agreed to stop taking aim at foreign troops, but there was no such prohibition on attacking Afghan forces.

The office of Afghanistans national security adviser earlier this week told The Associated Press news agency the Taliban have carried out 2,804 attacks since the Taliban-US deal.

According to Afghan Defence Ministry officials, the Taliban have been conducting on average 10 to 15 armed attacks daily on Afghan security forces across the country.

The NATO mission told SIGAR that it chose to restrict data because enemy attacks were now a critical part of discussions regarding ongoing political negotiations between the US and the Taliban.

SIGAR noted the Pentagon said it might release the information in the future.

Army Lt Colonel Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said data on armed attacks is important to discussions between agencies regarding the Talibans adherence to the peace agreement.

It will be releasable to the public when no longer integral to these deliberations, or the deliberations are concluded, he told Associated Press.

Campbell did say that enemy-initiated attacks during the month of March exceeded seasonal norms.

The US, NATO and our international partners have been clear that the Talibans level of violence against the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces is unacceptably high, he said.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, and Zalmay Khalilzad, US envoy for peace in Afghanistan, shake hands after signing an agreement in Doha [Ibraheem al Omari/Reuters]

The move to withhold attack numbers follows a trend of diminishing insights into the longest US war, which Washington has given up ever winning and is instead trying to end through a political agreement that will provide face-saving cover to leave Afghanistan.

In 2018, the NATO mission stopped providing data on how much of the country the Taliban held or contested, amid criticism the war was mired in an intractable deadlock.

That followed a decision by the Afghan government to classify data on how many of its soldiers and police were getting killed by the Taliban after shocking figures showed several thousand were dying each year.

Data on enemy attacks was one of the last remaining metrics SIGAR was able to use to report publicly on the security situation in Afghanistan, the watchdog said.

The Pentagon is on course to cut its troops from about 12,000 to 8,600 in the coming months.

Even though violence and attacks have continued in Afghanistan, the UN mission on Monday noted a drop in the number of civilians killed in the first three months of this year, compared with the same time last year.

It said that in the first quarter of this year, 533 people, including 152 children, were killed by fighting and hundreds more were wounded.
STORY LINK Trumps Retaliatory Measures Against China Buoyed the Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate

Pound Sterling New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Rises as UK Past the Peak

There is a discussions as to how hard to hit China and how to calibrate it properly.

Sterling (GBP) Rises despite Manufacturings Abrupt Nosedive

Last months dismal predictions became a reality in April as the manufacturing sector took an abrupt nosedive into the red with purchasing activity, production and new orders falling at the fastest rates in the near 30-year survey history.

There was only one reason for such a ruinous result  the COVID 19 coronavirus pandemic which affected supply chains from beginning to end. Domestic customers deferred orders and export customers thrashed around trying to source a dwindling number of raw materials to keep their supply chains operating before finally giving up. Complicated by government edicts terminating normal business activity, UK companies were forced to put factories on lockdown anyway bringing their operations to a complete stop.

There is no comparable time in history to make predictions against but as production ramps up again in the Far East, the sector remained optimistic that in a years time the operating environment will resemble some new normality.

Pound New Zealand Dollar Outlook: Will Boris Johnson Announce Plans to Ease the Lockdown?

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The Pound Sterling New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate edged -0.5% higher this morning, leaving the pairing trading at around NZ$2.0654.Sterling rose against the New Zealand Dollar this morning as on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK was now past its peak of the coronavirus pandemic.Johnson noted that the government would set out a comprehensive plan for reopening next week but warned against a second spike of the virus.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that the hard-fought trade deal between the US and China was now of secondary importance to the Covid-19 pandemic.The Kiwi was left under pressure as the Trump administration crafted retaliatory measures over the pandemic.Two anonymous US officials said that a range of options against China were being considered, but warned these discussions were in the early stages.One of the sources noted:Sterling was able to continue to make gains against the New Zealand Dollar despite data showing the UK manufacturing sector fell further into contraction.Coronavirus continued to play a major role in causing huge disruptions and damaging manufacturing supply chains. This sent the PMI plummeting from 47.8 in March to 32.6 in April.Business sentiment also weakened, remaining close to record lows which likely limited some of Sterlings gains.Commenting on this mornings data, Duncan Brock, Group Director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply said:Looking ahead, the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) could suffer further losses against the Pound (GBP) following the release of ANZs Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence.If consumer confidence tumbles more than forecast, it will dampen sentiment in the Kiwi.Meanwhile, Sterling could make gains if Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces the UKs comprehensive plan to begin easing coronavirus lockdown measures.If the Prime Minister reveals the governments plans to begin easing the lockdown and re-opening the economy, it will send the Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate higher.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

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Gov. Greg Abbott's multi-phase plan to reopen Texas does not include salons yet, but a Stone Oak shop is busy installing safeguards to show its clients it will be ready to serve their manicure and pedicure needs when the time is right.

Like other salons, Vinpearl Nails and Lashes, located at 20079 Stone Oak Parkway, hasn't received approval to open its doors. The husband-wife ownership duo of Tuyet Nguyen and Tuan Do are hoping for mid-May as a possible return. In the meantime, the couple installed guards around each work station in the salon, including enclosures around pedicure chairs. The sneak-peek photos were also shared on social media. Those anxious to fulfill their personal upkeep needs by professionals, shared and commented on the post by the thousands.

Abbott's current orders for reopening businesses like restaurants, movie theaters, malls and retail stores include minimum standard health protocols for each. During an April 27 update, Abbott said he wants to reopen businesses like salons, bars and gyms as soon as possible, barring a spike in COVID-19 cases. Similar guidance from the state government for reopening those businesses is expected at that point. In the meantime, Vinpearl owners are doing what they can to assure clients they will be prepared.

"We know it's not the best, but we will do the best we can for all of our safety," Nguyen said.

The owner said she and her husband took inspiration from shopping at stores like H-E-B, where sneezeguards have been at checkout lanes since the onset of the pandemic.

The couple's response plan also includes having free masks available for each client, disinfecting furniture between uses, using one-time disposable tools and spacing out customers to ensure they are 6 feet apart.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation oversees cosmetology businesses. Vinpearl maintains a current license, according to records. The department employs cosmetology administrative rules for licensees, which includes sanitation measures.

Nguyen said she and her husband are in "shock" by the response the photos have received online.

The post has more than a thousand shares and hundred of comments, some from users joking about making a trip to San Antonio just for a nail appointment at Vinpearl.

A salon in Georgia, where businesses reopened a few days ahead of Texas, also received attention online this week. A journalist shared a photo showing an unnamed salon using a plastic drape to separate customers from employees. The photo was met with some criticism from online onlookers who considered the desire to book salon appointments during the pandemic "vain."

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye
With cases in China starting to plateau, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Europe to be the new epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in March, fueled by the rapid expansion of the virus across Italy and Spain. This prompted governments across the region to scale up the measures to contain

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Jammu and Kashmir: Two security personnel, who were injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan at Rampur sector on Friday, have succumbed to their injuries.

At around 3.30 pm on Friday, the Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked firing in Rampur sector of the district injuring three soldiers. The Indian Army retaliated befittingly. It is the second such incident in a span of a few hours.

Earlier in the morning, India and Pakistan troops exchanged gunfire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Hajipeer sector of Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. According to an official, Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire and resorted to heavy shelling on Indian Army post in Uri after which the Indian Army gave a befitting reply.

Locals reports said that panic gripped in the area on Friday morning after heavy shelling took place between troops of both sides.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla, Abdul Qayoom also confirmed the shelling along LoC, saying no loss of life or injury was reported during shelling in the area.
With former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, facing allegations that he sexually assaulted a staffer in 1993, support has grown in recent days for him to release an archive at the University of Delaware of documents from his days as a US senator between 1973 and 2009.

In 2011, Mr Biden donated more than 1,800 cartons of papers and 415 gigabytes of electronic records to the university.

Those documents from Mr Biden's Senate tenure include transcripts of his public speeches, records of his private conversations with world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, memos between members of his staff, and even daily schedules of events and meetings.

The files, which the university is still curating nearly a decade later, will be held under seal for two years after Mr Biden retires from "public life."

Here are three things you should know about Mr Biden's University of Delaware archive and its relevance to the sexual assault claim.

1. Who is calling for Mr Biden to release his Senate papers

It's not just conservatives.

The liberal-leaning editorial boards at multiple prominent news outlets  such as the Washington Post  have called on the former vice president to release relevant documents from the university stash so the independent press can examine the sexual assault allegation.

And in an article published in The Atlantic entitled "Biden should release his papers," journalism professor Peter Beinart argues that the press "cant thoroughly and diligently evaluate" the claims without access to Mr Biden's papers.

Tara Reade, a former staff assistant for Mr Biden, accused him last month of penetrating her with his fingers against her will in a Senate office building in 1993 and asking her if she wanted to "go somewhere else." Mr Biden and his campaign have strongly denied Ms Reade's allegation.

Ms Reade has said she filed a personnel complaint for sexual harassment shortly after the alleged incident in 1993. But she did not include details in the complaint about Mr Biden's alleged sexual assault. She never made that claim publicly until 25 March of this year.

In an MSNBC interview on Friday, Mr Biden denied that any such incident took place.

Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened, the former vice president said.

2. What is in the Biden archives at the University of Delaware archives and what's not

It is unclear whether the collection at the University of Delaware would contain the personnel complaint Ms Reade has said she filed through the Senate's office of personnel management in 1993.

Mr Biden repeatedly insisted in his interview on Friday that it would not: If any such complaint exists it would be in the National Archives, he said. Mr Biden urged the National Archives to publicly release any such document if there is one.

But while the archive at the University of Delaware might not include any complaint filed by Ms Reade herself, it contains contemporaneous memos, meeting notes, and other documents that could show whether or not Mr Biden or his staff discussed Ms Reade's allegation at the time.

Each Senate office employs dozens of staffers who oversee everything from constituent case work and legislative drafting to personnel management, press relations, and mail that the office receives. The trove of documents from Mr Biden's time in the Senate is sure to include files and notes from nearly all those people who worked for him over the years (including in 1993).

That's part of the reason it has taken the university nine years and counting to curate the archive.

3. Why Mr Biden doesn't want to open the University of Delaware archive to the public

The answer is simple: He's running for office and doesn't want to provide Republican opposition researchers a treasure chest of information about his private deliberations in the Senate that could be weaponized against his current campaign.

The documents at the University of Delaware include transcripts of Mr Biden's conversations with foreign leaders, such as Mr Putin, that could really be taken out of context" and manipulated by his opponents, Mr Biden said in his MSNBC interview on Friday.

All of that to be fodder in a campaign at this time  I dont know of anybody whos done anything like that, Mr Biden said.

And he's right.

Former vice president and Tennessee Senator Al Gore's papers from his time in Congress still have not been released, 20 years after he last held public office.

After Utah Senator Mitt Romney left his position as governor of Massachusetts in 2007, his staffers cleared their emails from the state server.

Mr Biden appears to have taken similarly active steps to keep his Senate papers under wraps.

The University of Delaware archive was initially slated to be released in January of last year: At the time Mr Biden donated his documents in 2011, the university announced that it would not open them up to the public until two years after Mr Biden retired from "public office."

But the university has since revised its initial statement and agreed to withhold public access to the documents until two years after Mr Biden retires from "public life," a much broader term that means he can keep them under seal for at least two years after the current presidential campaign.

It is not unusual for lawmakers to donate files from their time in public office to universities before they retire from public life.

In fact, the University of Delaware special collections archive is home to documents from current Delaware Democratic Senator Tom Carper.
Exposure to infection and health risks combined with social inequalities could explain alarming figures, IFS says.

Coronavirus patients from Black African backgrounds are dying in United Kingdom hospitals at more than three times the rate of white British people, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Its report on Friday comes amid growing evidence that ethnic minority patients and front-line workers are far more likely to suffer serious consequences from the epidemic in terms of health.

After stripping out the role of age and geography, Bangladeshi hospital fatalities are twice those of the white British group, Pakistani deaths are 2.9 times as high and black African deaths 3.7 times as high, the IFS said.

The Indian, black Caribbean and other white ethnic groups also have excess fatalities, with the white Irish group the only one to have fewer fatalities than white British.

The data was alarming because, as the IFS noted: While many minority groups live disproportionately in areas such as London and Birmingham, which have more COVID-19 deaths, most minorities are also younger on average than the population as a whole, which should make them less vulnerable.

But minorities exposure to infection and health risks, including mortality, and their increased likelihood of loss of income, made them more vulnerable.

About 75 percent of medical and care workers who have so far died of coronavirus have been from minority backgrounds.

In April, the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) said a third of critically ill COVID-19 patients in the UK were from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds.

Last month, after calls for an inquiry grew, the right-wing Conservative-led government announced a formal review into why COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, appears to disproportionately affect BME communities in the UK.

Later, the main opposition Labour Party announced its own review.

The unequal effects of the COVID-19 crisis on different ethnic groups are likely to be the result of a complex set of economic, social and health-related factors, said the IFS.

Understanding the role of each of these will require a better understanding of the virus itself, more data than are currently available, and additional research.
WHO Health Alert on WhatsApp to debunk COVID-19 myths Image Source: IANS News

Seoul, May 1 : South Korea on Friday recorded new daily coronavirus infections in single digits for the third day in a row, but health authorities urged people to comply with social distancing guidelines during the six-day holiday period.

South Korea confirmed nine new coronavirus infections, bringing the nation's total to 10,774, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a statement.

South Korea's coronavirus caseload has been further slowing in recent days, with the nation reporting no new domestic infections Thursday with just four imported cases, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The nation's death toll from the coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, rose by one to 248, according to the KCDC.

Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip has said 180,000 people were expected to visit the southern resort island of Jeju during a six-day holiday that began on Thursday.

"We must not let down our guard to maintain hard-won gains against COVID-19," Kim said.

With new infections slowing, South Korea eased some restrictions in social distancing guidelines in mid-April.

The nation is set to relax more restrictions early next week.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The protests came as a new executive order took effect Friday that extends the stay-at-home order through May 29 with some modifications, including a requirement that people over the age of 2 who are medically able to tolerate wearing a face covering do so when they are in public and cant follow social distancing guidance to stay 6 feet from others.
A former Senate staffer for Joe Biden claims that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Biden said Friday that "unequivocally, it never, never happened."

The Washington Post and the New York Times spent several weeks this past month carefully looking at Tara Reade's allegation. Then, new potential evidence emerged over the past few days, and with that, renewed charges from across the political spectrum that the accusations against the former vice president being seriously vetted.

President Donald Trump's campaign is seeking to weaponize this case against the Democrats' presumptive nominee. But it's also a complicated allegation. Let's break down what we know about it.

- The timeline of the alleged assault and the allegation

1993: Biden was then a powerful senator, having been in the Senate for 20 years. At the time, he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tara Reade, 28, joined the office in late 1992 in an entry-level staff position. One of her duties was managing interns.

Spring 2019: Biden prepares to run for president, and about half a dozen women share stories of unwanted touching by Biden that they said made them feel uncomfortable. Biden said his intention was to offer affection and comfort as a politician but recognized that times had changed and promised to be more respectful. He did not apologize and joked about the criticisms a few days later.

Reade was one of those women, saying that at least three times, Biden put his hands on her shoulders and the base of her neck. She also said she was asked to serve drinks at a reception and overheard a colleague suggest it was because she was pretty and Biden liked her legs. She told The Post she complained to supervisors and was asked to look for another job. In an interview with The Post at the time, she does not mention sexual assault, and she gives varying reasons for her departure from his office at other times.

Early 2020: Voting in the Democratic presidential primaries gets underway, and Reade is a vocal supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., though she told The Post that politics didn't factor into her decision to make the allegation.

March: Biden shores up the Democratic nomination, and Reade gives an interview in a podcast in which she makes the sexual assault allegation. She said she was delivering Biden a gym bag somewhere in the Capitol area (which has multiple buildings) but doesn't remember exactly where. She said Biden pinned her against a wall, reached under her skirt (she said she wasn't wearing any stockings) and pushed his fingers inside her. From her interview in April:

"He put me up against the wall and took the bag," she said. "He reached up underneath my skirt ... I remember two fingers ... It was such a nightmare."

She said he asked, "Do you want to go somewhere else?" She said that when she pulled away, he said, "Come on, man, I thought you liked me," then told her that she meant "nothing" before finally grabbing her shoulders and saying, "You're OK.

Biden's campaign denies this ever happened.

April 12: The Post and the New York Times both publish investigative reports on the same day. Both reports find a friend who anonymously corroborates Reade's story, but they also find half a dozen to a dozen former staffers at the time who do not recall something like this or any other assault allegation taking place.

April 24: A 1993 clip of a Larry King CNN show surfaces. A woman who called into the show that year, identified as from the city where Reade's mother would have been living at the time, said her daughter was having "problems" with "a prominent senator" and wanted suggestions other than going to the press. She did not mention any names nor give details. Reade has since heard the recording and said it was her mom, who died in 2016.

April 27: Business Insider reports that Reade's neighbor in the mid-1990s said that Reade told her Biden had "put his hand up her skirt and he put his fingers inside her," which is what Reade accuses Biden of doing. This neighbor was willing to go on the record with her name. "I remember talking about it," Lynda LaCasse told Business Insider. LaCasse lived next to Reade in California in 1995-1996, where Reade moved after working in Washington. She confirmed her comments in a text message to The Post, saying she is "a very strong Democrat and am supporting Joe Biden during this election."

Reade told The Post that after it happened she told her mother, her brother and a friend but did not mention a neighbor.

Reade went on to work for a California state senator, and Business Insider talked to a former staffer at the time, Lorraine Sanchez, who said Reade told her that a former boss in Washington, D.C., had sexually harassed her and that she had been fired after raising concerns. Sanchez did not recall whether Reade specifically mentioned Biden. Sanchez did not respond to messages from The Post.

May 1: In a statement and an interview with MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski, Biden denies the accusation.

- What Biden has said

Biden issued his statement minutes before he addressed the allegation publicly Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," saying: "It's not true. I'm saying unequivocally it never, never happened, and it didn't. It never happened."

He also said that no one in his staff raised such a complaint to him.

Biden said if Reade filed a personnel complaint at the time, it would be in the National Archives, and he urged the National Archives to search for any such complaint.

"I'm confident there's nothing. No one ever brought it to the attention of me 27 years ago, any assertion at all. No one that I'm aware of in my Senate office at the time is aware of any such request or any such complaint," he said. He added: "This is an open book. There is nothing for me to hide at all."

- Vetting the allegation

Sexual assault allegations are almost always difficult to assess for credibility. Because the act in this allegation took place decades ago, and because Reade initially came out with a different story about what happened, this one is also complicated.

Last year, Reade said Biden's touching of her neck and shoulders made her feel uncomfortable. But she did not make any mention of sexual assault, which is far more serious. In fact, she appeared to defend Biden: "This is what I want to emphasize: It's not him. It's the people around him who keep covering for him," she told The Post at the time. She added: "For instance, he should have known what was happening to me ... Looking back now, that's my criticism. Maybe he could have been a little more in touch with his own staff."

A few people have corroborated parts of Reade's accounts. Her former neighbor in California went on the record this week confirming Reade's story, saying she's sure she heard about it a few years after Reade alleges the assault occurred. Reade told The Post that she told her mother (who died), her brother (who initially told The Post he heard a different story that did not involve sexual assault and days later texted to say he remembered hearing Biden put his hand "under her clothes"), and a friend (who anonymously corroborated hearing her assault story).

Reade said she complained to three supervisors at the time in the Biden office. All three said they don't remember any complaints from her. One, Biden's executive assistant at the time, Marianne Baker, put out a statement via the Biden campaign specifically denying Reade's allegation:

"In all my years working for Senator Biden, I never once witnessed, or heard of, or received, any reports of inappropriate conduct, period - not from Ms. Reade, not from anyone. I have absolutely no knowledge or memory of Ms. Reade's accounting of events, which would have left a searing impression on me as a woman professional, and as a manager."

Reade also says there is a paper trail, but journalists have been unable to locate a central piece of that. She said she filed a complaint with a congressional human resources office about her treatment in Biden's office - but not about the assault allegation - in 1993. She said she does not have a copy of the complaint, and The Post could find no record of it. The office she probably would have filed a complaint with has since morphed into a different office.

It's possible that corroborating evidence of the complaint could be found in Biden's archive at the University of Delaware, but the university said these papers will be sealed until two years after Biden retires from public life - unless he were willing to release them.

On Friday, Biden said the papers at the University of Delaware actually contain his public speeches and papers and transcripts of private conversations with world leaders, not personnel documents related to the management of his Senate office. Biden said personnel records would be at the National Archives, which houses old Senate papers, and called on them to release any record of Reade's complaint, saying: "If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there."

When pressed on MSNBC to do a search at the University of Delaware for Reade's name, Biden maintained that all personnel issues are at the National Archives and worried that the release of his records relating to being in public office could be taken out of context in his presidential campaign.

Reade said she filed a police report this April after talking to The Post and Times about the alleged incident because she was being harassed online about it. The report repeats what Reade has said publicly: "Subject-1 disclosed that she was the victim of a sexual assault which was committed by Subject-2 in 1993." D.C. police say the investigation is inactive. Filing a false police report is a crime.

Reade told The Post she told a therapist earlier this year about what she says happened. The Post asked Reade for the therapist's notes of that conversation, but she has not produced them.

Beyond the paper trail and corroboration, another thing that would bolster the accusation is if there is evidence of a repeated pattern of sexual misconduct by the accused. Extensive investigations by some of the nation's best journalists have thus far found no other accusers of Biden but did turn up denials by staffers who worked for him at the time that something like this could happen. By contrast, more than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault or groping, and he is on tape bragging about such behavior.

- The thorny politics for Biden and Democrats

Biden is the leading figure of a party that has striven to present itself as the antithesis to Trump, including - perhaps especially - when it comes to Trump's behavior. As such, Democratic Party leaders have tried to position themselves as having a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual misconduct. Democratic senators pushed out Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., in 2018 after he faced multiple accusations, which he denied. Later that year, the party opposed Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court after he was accused of sexual assault when he was in high school.

Biden told reporters at the time that society should generally presume a woman alleging sexual assault is telling the truth: "For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you've got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts, whether or not it's been made worse or better over time," he said.

There are mixed perspectives in the Democratic Party about how to approach the accusations against Biden, six months before the presidential election. The main question Democrats seem to be struggling with: How do they convey caution about an accusation while also being supportive of a woman's claim?

Biden is in the process of searching for a vice presidential candidate, who he has promised will be a woman, and some of the potential candidates have focused their comments on how they believe women have the right to be heard while in the next breath defending Biden.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that Reade "has a right to tell her story. And I believe that, and I believe Joe Biden believes that, too."

"I believe women deserve to be heard, and I believe that has happened here," Stacey Abrams said in a statement to The Post. "The allegations have been heard and looked into, and for too many women, often, that is not the case."

"I think this case has been investigated," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who has worked to bring sexual assault cases to light, said on MSNBC. "I know the vice president as a major leader on domestic abuse. I worked with him on that."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has said she was sexually assaulted in college, told NPR when asked if this allegation concerned her: "Well, I think women should be able to tell their stories. I think that it is important that these allegations are vetted, from the media to beyond."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., one of the first senators to say Franken needed to go, reiterated that she believed women need to be heard in these situations and that she supported Biden. She told The Post: "Vice President Biden has vehemently denied these allegations, and I support Vice President Biden."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday on MSNBC that she is "satisfied" with how Biden has responded.

Biden faced growing calls within the party to address the allegation himself, which he did Friday.

- What Trump and his campaign are saying

Trump cast doubt on the accusation, saying Thursday that it could be a "false accusation."

But his campaign has hyped it. After Biden's interview, the campaign issued a statement saying Biden had not sufficiently addressed the allegations, and charging him and his supporters with hypocrisy:

"The double standard exhibited by Biden, prominent liberal women's groups, and Democrat elected officials - some of whom want to be Biden's running mate - is glaring and cannot be allowed to stand. There will be a great temptation among Biden's supporters to take his lackluster interview performance and declare 'case closed' and move on. We do not know what, if anything, was done to Tara Reade, but there cannot be one set of rules for Joe Biden and another set for everyone else."

Donald Trump Jr. has shared Reade's allegation on social media and given interviews about how he thinks it's troublesome. Trump Jr. and Trump's campaign manager, Brad Parscale, have accused journalists of not covering the allegation.
The usual hectoring elites are complaining that the virus crisisanother moral equivalent of warisnt generating oodles of national unity and good fellow feeling among citizens, like World War II. Quite the opposite: we seem just as divided as before. (And of course we are told this is Trumps fault.) But it turns out much of that gauzy (and nowadays recreated) memory of the war years is distorted if not mistaken.

I dusted off historian Fred Siegels neglected 1984 masterpiece, Troubled Journey: From Pearl Harbor to Ronald Reagan to refresh the scene. Siegel reminds us in the opening chapter that the pre-war political divisions carried easily into the early war years and lasted throughout:

Wartime surveys taken by the Army revealed that troop morale was dangerously low. Most soldiers had little idea of why they were fighting and few cared about the political meaning of the war. . . [Isolationist] opposition ran so deep that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought war but not unity to the American people. . . . Morale at home wasnt much better. The public was uncertain about the wars objectives and it was hesitant about supporting a total war against Germany.

Siegel goes on to remind us that while FDR and Democrats targeted 115 isolationist members of the House of Representatives for defeat in 1942, 110 won re-election, as Republicans picked up 44 House seats and nine Senate seats. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for FDR.

By now we are used to Democrats calling Trump literally Hitler, just as they did for George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, etc., but Siegel points out that this favorite liberal calumny began at least as early as 1940:

If Republicans diehards insisted that Roosevelt was that Bolshevik in the White House, ideological New Dealers returned the favor by denouncing conservative Republicans as fascists. Henry Wallace, the point man for the New Dealers, fought the 1940 election with the slogan Keep Hitler out of the White House. Wallace conceded that every Republican is not an appeaser. But you can be sure that every Nazi, every Hitlerite, and every appeaser is a Republican. Wallace glossed over the isolationism of leading Democrats like Burton Wheeler who were left-leaning at home yet impassioned appeasers. [Siegel might have included Joseph Kennedy here.] . . . At their harshest, fervent New Dealers dropped the qualifiers and pronounced Wendell Willkie, Roosevelts middle-of-the-road Republican opponent, the man Hitler wants elected president.

Things really got rolling with the 1944 election, where the Democrats reductio ad Hitlerum argument was directed at Thomas E. Dewey. Liberty University history professor Michael A. Davis narrates the attack in his fine book Politics as Usual: Thomas Dewey, Franklin Roosevelt and the Wartime Presidential Campaign of 1944.

The following day, Indiana Senator (and Permanent Chairman of the [1944 Democratic] convention) Samuel Jackson described 1944 as a fateful election, and warned that in the fiercest, most devastating war mankind has ever known a Democratic defeat would meanbattleships for Hirohito and legions for Hitler. Frankly, Jackson continued, could Goebbels do better himself to bolster Axis morale than the word that the American people had upset this administration? We must not allow the American ballot box tobe made Hitlers secret weapon! Jacksons speech was but one example of an aspect of the 1944 campaign often overlooked-Nazi-baiting by Democrats and other Roosevelt supporters. Throughout the fall, there were numerous references to Deweys Hitler mustache in speeches and campaign literature. For example, one pro-Roosevelt leaflet, paid for by the Socialist Party of Oregon, read:

Behind the mask of Tom Thumb Double-Talk Dewey and his Hitler Mustache stands Hog-Joweled, Heartless Hoover, every Labor Union Wrecker, Ku Kluxer, Jew-Baiter, Poll-Taxer, Negro-Hater, Press Prostitute, Radio Rat, Putrid Pulpiteer and ghoulish War Profiteer! IF YOURE SCREWY VOTE FOR DEWEY! Supporters of Dewey, including John Foster Dulles and Senator Gerald Nye, were also charged with being pro-Hitler. U.S. Fascists Want. .. [Dewey] in the White House, declared a publication of the New York County American Labor Party. They Like Deweyand Our Enemies Too December 6, 1941  Pro-Axis November 7, 1944 Pro-Dewey They Have Not Changed!

Swap out Putin for Hitler and you pretty much have the Democratic Party playbook and mentality today.
The Brazilian government is seeking to use coronavirus as cover to usher in laws which could lead to increased occupation of indigenous lands and deforestation in the Amazon, campaigners and experts allege, amid warnings that further environmental disruption may lead to new pandemics.

The country has been divided on the severity of Covid-19, with president Jair Bolsonaro dismissing it as a little flu and opposing lockdown measures, for which public support is waning, despite mass graves being dug in Sao Paulo in the face of rising fatalities.

While the crisis has seen most industries grind to a standstill, government data suggests deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose 30 per cent in March compared to the same period last year, with the most recent data suggesting the trend has continued in April.

There has also been a reported increase in forays into some indigenous lands by miners and land-grabbers, as both civil and official protection efforts are scaled back for fear of infection.

Against this backdrop, scientists are issuing renewed warnings that ecological disruption can increase the chance of novel infections crossing over to humans  known as zoonotic diseases.

Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A wildcat gold miner, or garimpeiro, works at a mine in a deforested area of Amazon rainforest near Crepurizao Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Workers carry a diesel engine towards a river Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Miners use high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A miner surveys the situation at one of the gold digging sites Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A miner watches his colleague at work Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Workers rub mercury that has coagulated into tiny particles of gold in a basin Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A miner down the bottom of a garimpo Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Working at one of the mines Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Miners carrying a diesel container Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A garimpeiro works on a sluice box where the heavier gold is caught after sucking up mud Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A wildcat gold miner holds up gold before selling it in a nearby village Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A worker rests in a hammock after a long day Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures The owner of a pharmacy poses inside her shop in a miners' village Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A garimpeiro smokes by the bar after a day at the mines Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures The son of a wildcat gold miner wears his father's shoes and helmet, inside the village bar Reuters/Nacho Doce

Approximately one in three outbreaks of new and emerging illnesses is linked to changes in land use, like deforestation, Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, told Mongabay.

Dr Daszak was lead author in a vast US government-backed study published in 2019 which noted that HIV, Ebola and Zika virus are all diseases causally linked to land change use.

Some experts suggest the Amazon is a particularly high-risk location for novel outbreaks.

Where you have a huge biodiverse zone, the Amazon, and then you have an encroaching human footprint, through urbanisation, road networks, deforestation, extractive industries like logging and mining, you have all of the ingredients for a virus spillover recipe, David Wolking, of the University of Californias One Health Institute told Greenpeaces investigative arm, Unearthed.

Wildfires, often caused by slash-and-burn deforestation tactics, can also play a role in the emergence of new diseases.

Notably, some researchers now credit the huge fires in Indonesia in 1998 with the arrival of Nipah virus  with vast smoke clouds forcing fruit bats to search elsewhere for food, settling on trees in Malaysian orchards. Pigs eating the same fruit soon fell ill, with farmers following suit shortly afterwards.

With the Amazon suffering its worst fire season in a decade in 2019, more than a dozen international experts convened to offer a stark warning.

The Amazon region of Brazil, endemic for many communicable or zoonotic diseases can, after a wildfire, trigger a selection for survival, and with it change the habitat and behaviours of some animal species, they wrote. These can be reservoirs of zoonotic bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

Amid these warnings, Brazilian congress could soon hold a digital-only vote  using emergency processes introduced to allow more rapid decision-making during the Covid-19 crisis  on enshrining temporary legislation into permanent law, which campaigners warn would legitimise historic land-grabs and facilitate new invasions, paving the way for further deforestation.

As a result, the 120-day Provisional Measure (MP) 910, decreed by Mr Bolsonaro in December, may now be passed as a permanent measure within the next three weeks without being subjected to typical levels of debate and scrutiny, environmentalists allege.

The Bolsonaro administration has said the new land ownership rules will grant legal titles to farmers who have occupied federal lands in a tame and peaceful way for many years, enabling them to rise above subsistence farming and improve their income.

It insists the new law in no way facilitates land-grabbing or deforestation, arguing that new landowners will be held strictly accountable for the preservation of up to 80 per cent of their land.

But analysts warn that the new legislation allows huge swathes of land illegally cut down and occupied before 2018  often by criminal gangs  to be legally seized by land-grabbers using evidence of their illegal activities as proof of their occupation.

Meanwhile, a new rule called IN 09, passed last week by the governments indigenous agency Funai, strips yet-to-be-demarcated but indigenous lands of their designation as indigenous in the land registry, according to Greenpeace.

Roughly a third of all indigenous land is not yet demarcated, the group says. In 2019, the BBC reported that more than 800,000 indigenous people lived in 450 demarcated indigenous territories, which accounted for 12 per cent of the countrys total land area.

These new changes will allow people occupying indigenous land  usually for the purpose of deforestation and agriculture or mining  to obtain a certificate that the land is undemarcated.

Under the proposed new law, MP 910, this certificate could then be used in support of a land-grabbers claim to legalise property on that land, and eventually purchase for a fraction of the value without bidding against other parties.

The former head of the countrys environment agency has also warned that sections of the proposed law which supposedly benefit small farmers  by scrapping the need for official inspections of land under 2,500 hectares ahead of a potential acquisition  could be exploited as loopholes by large-scale land-grabbers.

The government says it will stop proxy ownership by larger parties  who it is feared could use small landowners to acquire it for them without official assessment - by banning the sale of newly acquired land for the first 10 years.

With this flexibility, and without separating big landowners from small ones, this law legalises those who live from land invasion, deforestation and the sale of public land, Suely Araujo, former president of Ibama, told Mongabay.

She added: If there isnt a political decision to withdraw MP 910 from the measures to be voted through, we run the risk of a serious environmental reverse during this [health] crisis.

The 2018 cut-off date would be the second extension of an initial 2004 cut-off, which campaigners fear would embolden land-grabbers with the promise of continually renewed amnesty for past crimes.

As a result, the new law could lead to the deforestation of an additional 1.6 million hectares  an area larger than Yemen  by 2027, conservation research organisation Imazon estimates.

If passed, it would be a hard blow against any hope that there will be any regaining control and fighting deforestation, Brenda Brito, a lawyer and researcher at Imazon, told Unearthed.

It will, in fact, be the end of that hope, if anyone is still hopeful that the current government will actually face and fight deforestation. Because this measure will end up stimulating even more than is happening now.
The president has typically dismissed the allegations out of hand or responded combatively, often attacking or denigrating his accusers. Last year, for instance, when he was accused of assaulting a former columnist for Elle Magazine in the mid-1990s, he insisted he would never have done it because shes not my type.

Mr. Trump has usually received the vocal support of many members of his own party and the conservative media, and has effectively made disbelief of the extensive claims against him a political litmus test for Republicans, holding personal grudges and sometimes actively punishing those who spoke out against him in 2016.

Mr. Biden, meanwhile, has faced a single allegation of assault  Ms. Reades  that has flummoxed the former vice president and his campaign, unnerved Democrats about his electoral prospects and frustrated womens groups that have long seen Mr. Biden as an ally and have more recently found themselves struggling to address the claim against him.

At a news briefing on Friday, the new White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, told reporters that the administration was pleased that the former vice president has decided to go on the record. Asked about the allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct against Mr. Trump, she said that the president has denied those claims, and then blamed the news media for raising allegations that, she suggested, were asked and answered in the form of the vote of the American people.

Officials at the Republican National Committee jumped on Mr. Bidens remarks Friday, with questions surrounding the release of his Senate papers at the University of Delaware emerging as a new flash point. Ms. Reade has said that Mr. Biden assaulted her in 1993, when she worked in his office, pushing her up against a wall in a Senate building and penetrating her digitally. She said she filed a complaint with a congressional personnel office but does not have a copy; such paperwork has not been located. The complaint, she says, does not mention the assault.

Under repeated questioning from Mika Brzezinski of MSNBCs Morning Joe on Friday, Mr. Biden  at times flashing signs of annoyance  insisted that the papers at the university would not contain information relevant to the allegation, and he indicated that employment complaints are kept at the National Archives. Mr. Biden was also emphatic that a search of the archives would yield no complaint.

Im confident theres nothing, he said. Im not worried about it at all. If there is a complaint, thats where it would be, thats where it would filed. And if its there, put it out. But Ive never seen it. No one has, that Im aware of.
Syria Israel In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, boys sit amid the rubble of a house that according to the Syrian authorities was attacked by an Israeli airstrike, in the Damascus suburbs of Hajira, Syria, Monday, April 27, 2020. The Syrian military and state media said Monday that Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon fired missiles toward areas near the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing three civilians. An opposition war monitor says four Iran-backed fighters were also killed. The military says Syrian air defenses shot some of the missiles down. The reports said the attack happened around dawn on Monday. (SANA via AP)

BEIRUT (AP)  Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon fired missiles toward areas near Damascus early Monday, killing three civilians, the Syrian military and state media said while a war monitoring group said four Iran-backed fighters were also killed.

The military said Syrian air defenses shot down some of the missiles in the attack, which happened around dawn. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that tracks the Syrian civil war, said the missiles hit positions belonging to Iran and its regional proxies, killing four fighters and causing damage south of Damascus. It did not give the nationalities of the dead gunmen only saying that they were not Syrians nor members of Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

The airstrike is the fourth in Syria in less than a month, despite the coronavirus pandemic gripping the region, and comes amid rising tensions between Israel and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group in Syria as well as along the Lebanon-Israel border.

The Syrian military statement, carried by state TV, gave no other details about the attack or what it targeted specifically. Syria's state SANA news agency said shrapnel from the Israeli missiles hit homes in the Damascus suburbs of Hajira and Adlieh, killing three people there and wounding four. Both areas are close to the Sayyida Zeinab suburb that is home to a holy Shiite shrine and Iran-backed fighters have a presence there, according to opposition activists.

Israel did not comment on the Syrian report. In the past, Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes over the years, most aimed at alleged Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.

Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces in Syria are fighting alongside Syrian government forces. Israel frequently violates Lebanons airspace to launch attacks on Syria, and regularly flies reconnaissance missions over the Mediterranean country.

Story continues

Last week, an Israeli airstrike targeted Iranian and Iran-backed fighters in the desert near the historic central Syrian town of Palmyra. A Syrian opposition war monitoring group said the strike killed nine fighters, including six who were not Syrians.

Days earlier, an Israeli drone fired two missiles near an SUV carrying Hezbollah members in Syria, close to the border with Lebanon. No one was hurt in the attack.

Two days after the drone attack, Israel accused Hezbollah of provocative activity, including multiple attempts to breach the border along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier, and said it would complain to the U.N. Security Council.

On March 31, Israeli warplanes fired missiles on the Shayrat air base also in the central province of Homs.

___

Aji reported from Damascus, Syria. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - At the White House this week, President Donald Trump sat less than six feet from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, in the Oval Office. He invited small business owners to crowd behind the Resolute Desk for a photo shoot. His vice president toured a medical research center without a face-mask in defiance of the company's policy.

The daily images projected a sense of confidence that life, at least for the nation's most prominent resident, is returning to a semblance of normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic - a visual cue to the public that conditions are improving as Trump pushes to restart sectors of the economy.

Yet even as Trump aides have signaled that he could soon begin regular travel, the reality is that the White House has created a picture of security that is propped up by special access to the kind of wide-scale covid-19 testing that most of the nation remains without.

Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their aides are tested regularly, and all who enter the White House campus to meet with them are required to undergo on-site rapid tests developed by Abbott Laboratories, which provide results within 15 minutes.

"As vice president of the United States, I'm tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus," Pence told reporters, amid a public backlash after he visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and violated the rules requiring all visitors to wear a mask.

It is a cocoon of safety that does not exist almost anywhere else in the country. Governors and municipal leaders have scrambled for basic supplies; hospitals and elderly care facilities, dealing with the most vulnerable, have cried out for more testing; and workers at grocery stores and manufacturing plants are risking their health to keep open critical businesses.

Even Congress is facing a dilemma with a lack of adequate testing to ensure a safe working environment as the Senate prepares to resume session on Monday. Only senators and staffers who become ill with covid-like symptoms will be eligible for testing, according to the Capitol's attending physician. Some congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have worn a face covering while working in the Capitol.

The scenario has illustrated the contradictions at the core of Trump's push to reopen businesses, schools and other avenues of public life even as the virus has continued to kill thousands of Americans each week: At the White House, normalcy is returning - but only because the president has adequate testing to protect him.

"Is that what the whole country needs to go back to work?" asked Simon Rosenberg, founder of the liberal NDN think tank. "Why does he get things we don't get? He's reinforcing a version of, 'Let them eat cake.' Trump is saying, 'I'm an uberman. I can do whatever I want because I get testing and you little people can get the virus.' Because they have not set up the testing regime."

On Capitol Hill, some Democrats have been wary about pushing for increased testing for lawmakers because it would send the wrong message to the public. One congressional official said the White House is the "only place that is happening - they're living in a dream world."

This person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations of lawmakers, acknowledged that special precautions should be in place for the president and vice president.

"But they shoudn't throw it in people's faces," the official said. "They should not be bragging that they're tested constantly and everyone around them is tested constantly. That sends the wrong message when they promised everyone 27 million tests."

Trump stated in mid-March that any American who wanted a test could get one, and administration officials pledged that 27 million test kits would be available by the end of that month. Instead, there were just 1 million at that deadline.

Through April, a total of 6.2 million tests have been conducted in the United States, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Public health experts have said that millions of tests per day could be necessary to safely begin to restart broad sectors of society, with wide-scale testing to identify and contain local outbreaks.

Though Trump said this week his administration would help boost testing to 5 million per day, Brett Giroir, the administration's assistant secretary of health, has said that number is virtually impossible and has pledged to increase the number to 8 million per month. The highest single-day total has been just over 314,000.

Trump has falsely stated that the United States has conducted "more tests . . . than every other country combined," as he asserted at the White House this week. He said South Korean President Moon Jae-in complimented the Trump administration's testing efforts in a recent phone call.

"So the testing and the masks and all of the things, we've solved every problem," Trump said.

That might be true at the White House, where the mandatory testing program has led to an environment where the president and most of his top aides feel comfortable enough to eschew face-masks, even though the Centers for Disease Control recommended that everyone wear them.

With Trump pushing to reopen the country, "we're in this very murky transition point where the signals are quite conflicting about what behavior is sought after," said Stephen Morrison, a global health policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "In that sense, what Pence did at the Mayo Clinic was very deliberate as a sign of defiance against the authorities - thumbing his nose at the medical authorities who run that institution and signaling to others watching you don't have to buy into this."

This week, Trump convened three events at the White House. Two were in the East Room, with 10 small business owners and five executives of organizations representing the elderly, and one took place in the Blue Room, where Trump honored citizens, including a mail carrier from Cincinnati, for their work during the pandemic.

Each of the guests had their temperature taken upon entering the White House grounds, then was led to a medical office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for the coronavirus test, according to several people who attended.

Chairs were placed farther apart to observe social distancing guidelines, but Trump brought the small business executives into the Oval to take photos and he presented certificates to the honorees while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them in the Blue Room.

"I felt safer going to the White House than anywhere else, even here in western Pennsylvania where we are under quarantine," said Ali Mills, executive vice president of Plum Contracting, a highway construction company, who participated in Tuesday's event for small businesses.

Katie Smith Sloan, the chief executive of Leading Age, a nonprofit association that advocates for the elderly, said she had never been tested before undergoing the Abbott exam at the White House.

"So many of our members can't get access to testing and to get results in 30 minutes is unheard of around the country," she said. "There's such a disparity in terms of access. It's really a problem."

During the event in the East Room on Thursday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, pledged that his state would test every resident and staff at 700 nursing homes across the state.

"Right now, I think it's perhaps an aspiration, but what we need is a plan," Smith Sloan said. "There's only so much to go around."
Inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana.

Obtained by Joe Penney

Detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, told Business Insider they're not getting basic supplies like masks, disinfectant, gloves, or hand sanitizer.

An attorney suspects "massive under-testing" in ICE facilities across the country. The agency has so far administered 1,030 tests to detainees, and 490  48%  have come back positive.

Detainees and advocates allege ICE is moving detainees around detention centers, possibly spreading the disease.

A spokesperson for the Geo Group, the for-profit company that runs Pine Prairie, denied medical neglect in the facility and claimed that "these unfounded allegations are being instigated by outside groups with politically motivated agendas."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Before Warah Tiben* got sick, he witnessed a Latinx man cough up blood in a neighboring dormitory before guards carried the man away.

The 25-year-old IT specialist from Cameroon has spent the last nine months detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Pine Prairie Processing Center in Louisiana.

"It's like we are in a lion's den here, surrounded by lions," Tiben told Business Insider. "I'm scared I will die here."

On April 22, he began experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain so severe it felt like a heart attack. He suspected it might be COVID-19 or a complication from the gastric ulcer that he got in Cameroon. Tiben asked to see the nurse at the facility.

The nurse told him there was nothing wrong, Tiben told Business Insider, and tried to send him away with a couple of ibuprofen pills.

"I told her that my head feels like there's a fire in there, and my heart is beating like crazy. She told me I should calm down, it seems like I'm fine," Tiben said in an April 23 phone interview from Pine Prairie.

When Tiben refused to take more ibuprofen, saying it was having no effect, he said the nurse tried to give him Tylenol. When he refused Tylenol, he said she relented and told him she would request a test for COVID-19.

Story continues

Tiben said they moved him to a room where suspected COVID-19 cases are quarantined for 14 days. He was alone in the room and said he spent the first three days without soap to wash his hands, had a fever at night, and coughed up blood in the morning.

Tiben said he spent five days in the room before he was transferred back to his original dormitory, still sick.

But his COVID-19 test came back negative.

Back in the dorm, fellow detainees are coughing and he is worried he still might get the coronavirus.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Pine Prairie Processing Center in Louisiana.

Google Maps

Tiben's story of medical neglect and reluctance to test for the coronavirus despite symptoms is an increasingly common one as the disease spreads rapidly in ICE facilities across the country, according to lawsuits filed on detainees' behalf around the country. About 48% of patients tested for in ICE facilities are positive for COVID-19.

ICE says 29,675 people are in custody in detention centers across the US. Though the numbers have slowed, ICE is still carrying out thousands of deportations a month  17,965 in March and 2,985 in the first 11 days of April, according to ICE spokeswoman Mary G. Houtmann.

Detainees allege ICE is rationing basic hygienic products and not giving them masks

Tiben said all but one of Pine Prairie's dormitories, which house up to 70 people, are under quarantine. Detainees cannot leave their rooms to exercise or go to the cafeteria, and meals are served in the dorm themselves.

Though they share every surface, the detainees have not been given masks, gloves, and other basic hygienic products, like hand sanitizer, disinfectant, or wipes, according to Tiben.



Two detainees* told Business Insider that soap is rationed and given out every one to two weeks, which ICE spokesman Bryan D. Cox denied.

For-profit corporations run many detention centers, including Pine Prairie, which is managed by the private prison giant Geo Group.

A spokesperson for the Geo Group denied medical neglect in the facility and told Business Insider the detention center "provides access to regular handwashing with clean water and soap in all housing areas and throughout the facility."

Protesters wave placards outside the GEO Aurora Processing Center to call for the release of detainees over concerns of the spread of the new coronavirus at the ICE facility on April 9, 2020, in Aurora, Colorado.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

An attorney suspects 'massive under-testing'

"You're going to see a loss of life" because of exposure to the coronavirus in ICE detention centers, Jeremy Jong, a Louisiana-based civil rights attorney, told Business Insider.

Alongside colleagues at the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Immigration Project, and the Loyola Law Clinic, Jong has filed lawsuits in three states to try and free detainees with underlying medical conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19.

According to the ICE website, the agency has only carried out 1,030 coronavirus tests on detainees nationwide. Some 490, or 48%, have come back positive. Another 36 ICE employees at detention centers have tested positive, as well.

But Jong suspects the disease is much more widespread in detention facilities than what has been reported.

According to the ICE website, there only have been 20 confirmed cases at Pine Prairie, but Jong alleged that number is "the result of massive under-testing."

Cox said ICE will carry out 2,000 coronavirus tests per month, but that those tests will be earmarked "to determine detainee health and fitness for travel"  in other words, to clear migrants for deportation.

One Cameroonian detainee who works in the Pine Prairie kitchen* told Business Insider he saw an official list indicating there were 41 COVID-19 patients in one of the center's dormitories.

A map showing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Pine Prairie Processing Center in Louisiana.

Google Maps

Detainees and advocates allege ICE is moving detainees around detention centers, possibly spreading the disease

On the night of Sunday, April 19, Pine Prairie health officials rushed an unconscious Haitian man to the hospital, ICE confirmed.

Though some detainees believe the man died from COVID-19, Cox said he was still alive and was sent back to his dorm after a five-hour hospital visit.

That detainee had recently been transferred from another facility and was in a special quarantine ward for new arrivals, former detainee Chafac Nkem* told Business Insider.

Jong said Pine Prairie's first case was from a detainee transferred in from another facility.

Tiben and Nkem said ICE continues to transfer detainees around the agency's constellation of detention centers, even from facilities where there are confirmed coronavirus cases.

Migrants detained in an ICE detention facility in Basile, rural Louisiana, display signs related to COVID-19 in this combination of screenshots taken during a video conferencing call. The Basile facility is separate from the Pine Prairie one where the detainees in this story are being held.

Handout via REUTERS

ICE spokesman Cox alleged that "ICE is screening new detainees who arrive at facilities to identify those who meet CDC's criteria for epidemiologic risk of exposure to COVID-19."

Nkem alleges the facilities are competing to maintain a high number of detainees and keep profits up during the pandemic.

"Each of those detention facilities just wants to make money, so all of them are struggling to get a good number of detainees to make money," he said.

Profitability also factors into courts' resistance to release detainees on medical grounds, Nkem alleged. The Geo Group "collaborates with ICE, and I even suspect they collaborate with the court, to continue keeping people there to make their money," he said.

The Geo Group spokesperson claimed that "these unfounded allegations are being instigated by outside groups with politically motivated agendas," but did not say which groups or speak to specific agendas.

A guard with the GEO Group, Inc., walks past a mural of Mount Rushmore during a media tour of the ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington, on Dec. 16, 2019. The GEO Group is the private company that operates the center for the US government.

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Detainees went on a hunger strike to protest conditions, and attorneys have filed dozens of petitions to get people released from custody across the country

Tiben is one of 44 Cameroonian migrants in Pine Prairie who embarked on a week-long hunger strike in mid-February to protest what they described as inhumane treatment from ICE officers.

They also say a Louisiana judge would not hear their parole cases.

According to Sylvie Bello, head of the Cameroon American Council, a group that advocates on behalf of Cameroonians in detention, the strikers were coerced back to eating after threats of forced feeding and deportation, as well as beatings that cost one detainee his vision in one eye. Bello has launched a fundraising campaign to advocate for more legal representation for Cameroonian detainees.

"We are scared," Bello told Business Insider. Seventy percent of the deaths from the coronavirus in Louisiana are black people, and "we know that if we mirror the 70% death rate, that is the group that will get affected in detention, as well," Bello said.

A letter from hunger strike... by Rebecca Harrington on Scribd

Cox disputed her allegations, and said "it would not be possible for an ICE employee to threaten a detainee with involuntary feeding as the agency has no authority to do so absent the order of a US District Court judge."

Following the hunger strike, a group of 140 Cameroonian women protested their treatment with a sit-in at Don Hutto Residential Center, an ICE facility in Taylor, Texas.

One of the former hunger strikers at Pine Prairie, who has had hypertension for months, was part of a 16-person suit that Jong and his colleagues have filed asking for immediate release on medical grounds. Jong is hoping the judges will release the 16 detainees.

"Most judges are finding that detention in those conditions is not lawful," Jong said.

Since the start of the pandemic, immigration advocates have filed dozens of petitions asking for the release of detainees with health conditions that make them more susceptible to the virus.

Tiben said advocate groups often lobby for the release of Latin American detainees, but not Africans. "For Africans, we see no results. If they release 20, you will not see an African among them," he told Business Insider.

Ruth Robertson protests at an ICE field office on March 31, 2020, in San Francisco. Activists want California Gov. Newsom and local authorities to use their emergency powers to release immigrants in California detention centers.

AP Photo/Ben Margot

'They're against us'

According to an ICE spokesperson, the agency has released 693 detainees "during COVID-19," but it's unclear how many were released following court orders.

As the Washington Post reported, the US Department of Homeland Security has been deporting detainees who tested positive for the coronavirus.

"I can confirm that CDC was on the ground in Guatemala to review and validate positive cases" of deportees, ICE spokeswoman Mary G. Houtmann told Business Insider, confirming Guatemala's claim that ICE deported 99 coronavirus-positive patients, accounting for roughly 20% of the country's total confirmed case load.

Detainees at Pine Prairie told Business Insider that people showing severe symptoms are being kept in a special dorm area where they are readied for deportation to El Salvador and Guatemala.

Cox denied this claim, saying that "any allegation that symptomatic persons are being removed is false," but noted that the definition of symptomatic in this context for ICE is a fever of above 99 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature cutoff was changed from 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit on April 17, Cox said.

The Cameroonian kitchen worker said an officer told him that four coronavirus-positive detainees were transferred to Pine Prairie from a different facility. When he asked why ICE was bringing in new patients, he alleged the guard told him not to worry because the four in question were "on their way back to Mexico."

Tiben also said two staff food servers at Pine Prairie tested positive for the coronavirus, and that a number of kitchen staff have not been showing up to work.

Thirteen ICE guards at Louisiana's Alexandria Staging Facility, the last stop for detainees awaiting deportation flights out of the Alexandria International Airport, tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Times-Picayune.

Cox told the paper no one in custody who was known to be positive for the coronavirus was moved through the facility.

Crosses are placed in front of a church in Pine Prairie amid the COVID-19 outbreak across the state of Louisiana, on March 26, 2020.

REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

The detention center in Pine Prairie has an average daily population of 641, according to Cox, roughly half the number of residents the town has.

Guards and staff live in the surrounding Evangeline Parish, 70% of which voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election  a fact that detainees say the guards don't hesitate to mention.

"The way the guards behave towards [black people] shows they have a deep hatred ... They're against us," Nkem told Business Insider.

Nkem, one of the 44 Cameroonian hunger-strikers, was detained at Pine Prairie for more than seven months before he was released on parole in late March.

"They would tell us Trump is doing a lot because he is sending back migrants who are feeding from [their] hard-earned currency," he said.

*Editor's Note: Source names have been changed or withheld to protect them and their families from any possible retaliation from ICE or the Cameroonian government.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Good morning, Bay Area. Its Friday, May 1, and clear-cut redwood forests may have a second life capturing carbon. Heres what you need to know to start your day.

The updated public health orders for six Bay Area counties still allow about 7 million residents to leave their homes only for the most essential errands and require them to keep at least 6 feet away from anyone they dont live with.

But the new orders, which take effect May 4, did lift restrictions on some outdoor recreation and business activities considered low risk because they generally provide ample space for social distancing and involve brief and infrequent interactions between people, public health officials said.

Heres a quick look at whats changing with these new orders.

 No California-wide beach shutdown: Did Gavin Newsom back away?

 The protests to reopen California are identical to early Tea Party rallies, leader says.

 The latest numbers on cases, hospitalizations and deaths in our coronavirus tracker.

A tough decision

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Preparing to go to college is normally an exciting time in a teens life, when many will be on their own  some far from home  for the first time.

But the epidemic has upended college plans for many high school seniors, who may decide to switch to a closer school or take a gap year as universities continue with online learning. Many California colleges and universities are bracing for an uncertain and rocky future, one likely to have fewer international and out-of-state students.

Allen Koh, chief executive officer of Cardinal Education, a consulting firm on the Peninsula, predicts there will be hundreds of university bankruptcies in the next few years.

Read more from Ron Kroichick.

More:

UC President Janet Napolitano says the systems campuses will probably feature a mix of online and classroom instruction in fall, and the financial outlook is ugly.

Shuttered restaurants

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

Nearly 4,000 restaurants pack San Francisco  but when the shelter-in-place order went into effect, many of the normally lively eateries went dark. In our latest visual essay, Chronicle photographer Scott Strazzante captured what a city of shuttered restaurants looks like: chairs upside down on tables, white-cloth-covered tables disappearing into the darkness, and hastily written explanations posted on padlocked doors.

Some of these restaurants have reopened for takeout, while some may never open again.

 McDonalds workers protest over safety concerns in San Francisco and Oakland.

Correction: A story previously linked in this section has been removed.

Reconstructing Californias redwoods

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

Scientists have given us new reasons to respect Californias giant redwoods: Recent studies show they store more carbon than any other tree and regenerate faster after being chopped down, both of which could help combat global warming. Armed with these studies, San Francisco nonprofit Save the Redwoods League is making a major push to protect and restore previously clear-cut coast redwood forests.

The idea is to manage the cut-over forests to improve their growth and biodiversity, making ecotourism and other sustainable money-making opportunities more economically valuable than cutting the trees for lumber. But the vision would require a huge collaboration between government, environmental groups, biologists and private property owners.

Its a daunting task, Peter Fimrite reports  especially because previously cut groves make up 95% of the redwood acreage in California, and much of it is privately owned.

Around the Bay

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

 Unpredicatable outcome: As commercial salmon season opens Friday, Bay Area fishermen worry about loss of restaurant income  and alternatives for what might be a bountiful season for wild salmon.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 Second installment: Property taxes due Monday in San Mateo County; S.F. deadline in flux.

 Artists in need: S.F. mayor announces $1.5 million in first wave of arts grants to help during coronavirus shutdown.

 Next bill? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats want to undo a provision in coronavirus legislation that bars families with mixed immigration status from receiving stimulus payments.

 Struggling to get homeless population inside: People are showing up in San Francisco from other places and asking where their hotel room is  Mayor London Breeds message to out-of-town homeless people during pandemic: Stay away.

 Complex questions: Businesses accused by state or local authorities of false advertising or unfair business practices are not entitled to a jury trial, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

 In case of surge: California to rework coronavirus ethics guidelines deemed terrifying.

 Less risky good deed: UCSF students set up personal protective equipment collection sites at pharmacies across Bay Area.

 Plea to state: The Port of Oakland is facing a severe financial crisis  but its not so much because the port is missing its ships. Its the airplanes.

In case you missed it

Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle

We know the coronavirus attacks the resipiratory system. What about other organs? An autopsy on a Santa Clara County woman, who died Feb. 6 and would become the first reported COVID-19 death in the United States, found that the coronavirus had invaded her heart, lungs and intestines.

This epidemic is definitely different (from) other respiratory epidemics that weve seen, said Dr. Nisha Parikh, a cardiologist with UCSF who is helping put together guidelines for treating COVID-19 patients with heart damage. Theres some interesting biology that lends itself to further investigation. But were really early in our understanding of the pathophysiology of the virus.

Reports from around the world have linked the coronavirus to organ damage beyond the lungs, but much of the evidence is anecdotal. Erin Allday reported earlier this week about the current understanding of how COVID-19 affects other organs. Read more and follow our interactive graphic here.

Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact Brown at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com.
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesBy VICTOR ORDONEZ, ABC News



(OTISVILLE, N.Y.) -- President Donald Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen will not be leaving prison to serve out the rest of his term in home confinement, according to sources familiar with the matter.



Two weeks ago, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had notified Cohen that he would be released early from prison due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Cohen's attorney Roger Adler told ABC News at the time.



Cohen is serving a 3-year sentence at the federal prison camp in Otisville, New York, where several staff and inmates have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.



He is scheduled for release in November 2021. Cohen would have been allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence from home confinement.



It appears that other prisoners at Otisville who were granted home confinement have also lost those privileges, according to the sources. The BOP has not responded to requests for comment from ABC News.



Separately, on Thursday, Cohen received a letter from lawyers representing the Trump Organization demanding Cohen halt writing a "tell-all book" about his time working for the president, according to sources familiar with the matter.



Charles Harder, the attorney representing the company, writes that Cohen signed a non-disclosure agreement when he joined the Trump Organization and thus it would prohibit him from disclosing certain information about the president, his family and the company.



Harder did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. Cohen's attorney, Daniel Wolf, also did not respond to a request from ABC News.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The rumours about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are over the place, while many reports maintain that he is still alive and doing good. But, not long ago the intelligence chief of Taiwan divulged that the North Korean leader is sick.

This came after an alleged KCTV video went rife that claimed Kim Jong Un is dead. On Thursday, the Taiwan inteligence chief claimed that North Korea has emergency plan for a possible transfer of power if Kim Jong Un passess away.

As maintained by Taiwan News, Chui Kuo-cheng, the director of the National Security Bureau, revealed particulars about the supreme leaders health when he was queried about Kim Jong Un. According to the report, the Taiwanese official only laughed and denied to give a proper answer when asked if he meant that Kim Jong Un was indeed alive.

Taipei Times reported that NSB chief told lawmakers "My answer is from the intelligence that is available and it is not an opinion." Chiu also refused to give more details about Kim Jong Un, while citing the need to protect intelligence sources in North Korea. The official also assured the legislators that contingency plans were ready for potential prower transfer in North Korea if Kim Jong Un dies.

Later, Hu Mu yaun, Chius second in command told that their intelligence was unable to confirm the current situation of Kim Jong Uns health and further added that "From what we know, Kim is still in charge and in control of North Korea's military and its government."

A video displaying North Koreas Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in its background, which is a memorial of the countrys founder Kim ll-sung had circulated in the area of North Korea bordering China.

According to Daily NK, the video in question seemed to have been broadcasted by the Korean Central Television and the footage entered North Korea from China. The Daily NK also revealed that the video suggests, "Kim suddenly died during on-the-spot guidance [on-the-spot inspections]" on Saturday, April 25 at around at 12:30 AM.

In another report it was also mentioned that the North Korean Army is deploying GPS jamming devices along its borders. In the midst of a huge structure being build that is hypothesized to be part of funeral preparation for Kim Jong Un that fan the flames of speculation that the video may not be doctored.

Also Read: Philippines strongly protests China's recent move in South China Sea
Work on the Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express (SHARE) cable is under way. Huawei Marine Networks (HMN), a provider of a submarine-network solutions this week announced the start of work on the SHARE cable, which will extend from West Africa far into the Atlantic Ocean.

The system is said to be the first high-capacity direct link from the African continent to the offshore islands of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, some 570 kilometres off the coast of Africa.

The SHARE system is about 720 km long and has a design capacity of 16Tbit/s, using HMNs submarine communications equipment and solutions. It will connect to Dakar in Senegal and Praia, the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, on the island of Santiago. It is expected to be completed in early 2021.

Cape Verde has not been completely isolated in telecommunications terms before SHARE, however. Relying on Cape Verdes existing resources of international cables to Europe, South America and other regions, the delivery of the system will introduce new international bandwidth routes to the African continent during its 25-year life cycle. This, says HMN, will greatly improving the total international export bandwidth of Senegal and possibly also of the surrounding regions in West Africa.

HMN adds that the SHARE system will promote the development of Senegal as an ICT hub in West Africa and accelerate the development of the digital economy in the region.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Madhya Pradesh government has made several amendments in the Mandi Act with a view to providing the farmers with the maximum value of their crops. With its implementation, now farmers will be able to sell their crops to private traders from home, they will not have to go to the market. Apart from this, they will also continue to have the option of going to the mandi to sell their preoduce and sell their crop at support price. By developing a more competitive system, we have tried to provide the farmers with maximum value for their produce.

Chief Minister Chouhan was giving information to the farmers of the state about the amendments made in the Mandi Act in Madhya Pradesh through video conferencing today. Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Narottam Mishra, Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, Water Resources Minister Tulsi Silavat, Tribal Welfare Minister Sushri Meena Singh, Additional Chief Secretary K.K. Singh, Principal Secretary Agriculture Ajit Kesri etc were present on the occasion.

Farmers will be able to sell their produce, fruits, vegetables from home

The Chief Minister said that now the traders will be able to visit the farmers in their houses or buy their crops on the farm by taking a license. There will be one license for the entire state, traders will be able to buy crops anywhere. Along with this, we have also implemented e-trading system under which the rates of mandis all over the country will be available to the farmers. They will be able to bargain and sell their produce in any market of the country where they get higher prices.

Sauda Patrak arrangement giving good results

Chief Minister Chouhan informed that this time we have implemented the Sauda Patrak system in the state through which the traders are able to purchase crops from farmers from their homes. About 80 percent of the procurement of Mandis has been done through Sauda Patraks and farmers have also received good prices. As the results of this experiment are positive we have made amendments in the Mandi Act.

Two of 9 provisions implemented earlier, 7 have been accepted

Chief Minister Chouhan informed that the Government of India had been given the option of accepting the Agriculture Produce and Livestock Management Act 2017 (IPLM) Model Mandi Act by sending it to the states or amending the prevailing Act. The High Level Committee of Chief Ministers constituted for the purpose of preparing the roadmap for implementing the Act, had said in its draft report, that if the states want to make amendments in their existing Mandi Act, they should get at least 7 of the provisions of the IPLM included and amended. Since two of the provisions of IPLM are already in force in Madhya Pradesh, the other seven provisions have now been implemented in the state through amendments in the Mandi Act.

The two provisions implemented earlier

The Chief Minister informed that the two provisions of IPLM already implemented in the state are  First, Mandi fee will be charged at the time of purchasing agricultural produce for the first time in the entire state. After this, market fees will not be charged in the subsequent purchase and sale in the entire state. The second provision is the regulation of the distribution of fruits and vegetables i.e. fruits and vegetables are excluded from the purview of the Mandi Act.

The law has been amended on these seven provisions.

Chief Minister Chouhan informed that now seven new provisions have been included in the Mandi Act. These are:

 Provision has been made for the establishment of mandis in private sectors.

 Godowns, silo cold storage etc. can also be declared as private mandis.

 Provision has been made for food processors, exporters, wholesale sellers and end users to directly purchase from the farmers at village level outside the Mandi.

* Mandi committees will have no interference in the work of private mandis.

* Provision has been made to separate regulatory powers from the Managing Director Mandi Board and give it to Director Marketing.

* Provision has been made for traders to engage in trade in the entire state with a single license.

* Provision has been made for training.

No: 1961e SS/Pankaj Mittal

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Los Angeles native Elyse Forman is helping mentor girls in science, while Solomon Olshin of Oregon is spearheading a project to help people transitioning out of homelessness.

By Eric Berger

Growing up in Los Angeles, Elyse Forman always tried to take the highest-level science courses she could, like A.P. physics and chemistry.

Forman often found she was the only female in those classes.

"You can't help but feel that you don't belong when you're not like everyone else in the class, when people don't think that you have the right answers to questions, when they look at you weirdly if you participate," the 18-year-old said.

What Forman didn't realize is that the issue is also a national concern.

While women comprise nearly 60 percent of U.S. college graduates, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, they earn only about 35 percent of the undergraduate degrees in the STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The reason for the gap?

"Stereotype threat," according to one prominent researcher.

"A female student taking a math test experiences an extra cognitive and emotional burden of worry related to the stereotype that women are not good at math," Catherine Hill, a former vice president for research at the American Association of University Women, wrote in a recent report for the association.

Once Forman became aware of the larger problem, she decided she wanted to do something to about it. The summer before 11th grade, she launched Girls in STEM, a weekly afterschool program in which students from her high school visited third- through fifth-grade girls at low-income schools in an effort to spur their interest in science and technology. Forman said her goal was to build a "kehillah"-a supportive community-for these girls and the mentors.

"Luckily I had amazing female mentors who helped me out with this and encouraged me," Forman said. "But so many girls don't have that, and so I created this program in order to bridge the gender gap."

Forman began with an eight-week program at two predominantly African-American and Hispanic elementary schools. Eight mentors worked with 20-30 students at each school.

The mentors helped the students build roller coasters, model lungs and atoms, learn coding, and study interactions among the brain, nose and taste buds.

"When you see a girl who will not talk at all on the first day of class and by the end is raising her hand and is so excited," Forman said, "that gives me goosebumps."

Forman is now a freshman at Brown University, and she is working on developing a similar program with local elementary schools in Providence, Rhode Island. Meanwhile, other students at her high school have kept Forman's initiative running there.

In 2019, Forman was awarded a Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award for her efforts. The prize is given annually to a select group of Jewish teenagers who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world, and comes with $36,000 to help further their initiative or pay for their education.

Diller also organizes a Shabbat retreat for all the winners.

"The Diller experience was transformative for me because it allowed me to connect with so many other teens who wanted to make a deep impact in the world the same way that I do," Forman said. "The award's emphasis on tikkun olam helped me better understand that it is our job to repair the world before we move on to anything else."

Another Diller award winner was Solomon Olshin of Portland, Oregon, who spearheaded a project to help people transitioning out of homelessness.

"I had the opportunity to develop some really close friendships with people from all different backgrounds-socioeconomically, ethnically-all related to the Jewish community," Olshin said of his experience at the Shabbat retreat. "Before Diller, I hadn't really realized why I was doing these projects, and that really codified and solidified in my mind that a big part of my drive was coming from my experience as an American Jew."

Olshin, whose bar mitzvah project consisted of organizing people to prepare soups and deliver them regularly to those living in homeless shelters or on the streets, has been interested in homelessness for some time.

As a high school sophomore, Olshin accompanied his father to a community of tiny houses aimed at helping recently homeless people. Part of a larger movement of micro-houses, the tiny homes-typically about 8 by 12 feet and with a price tag of about $2,000-have been adopted by some municipalities as a low-cost alternative to the traditional homeless shelter system and a way to help people avoid the stress that comes with the uncertainty of sleeping on the streets.

The tiny houses were "a way to bring back a sense of dignity and basic level of human amenities to people who were really struggling," Olshin said.

Part of a program at his high school focused on using technology to address social and environmental needs. Olshin and some friends spent months devising a solar-powered electrical system to provide a basic level of power, light and heat to residents of the houses. Calling it a JuiceBox, they reached out to local companies to obtain discounted parts and raised about $75,000 from contests like the Lexus Eco Challenge and companies like eBay.

In the three years since the teens manufactured 100 JuiceBox systems, as well as an off-grid solar-powered shower (a ShowerPod) and laundry facilities (a WashPod), the nonprofit organization Olshin launched to support the work, Shine, has helped five communities in Portland containing 20-50 houses.

"I have been working for a long time on this project," Olshin said. "It's been an amazing journey."

Now a freshman at Pomona College in Claremont, California, Olshin is working on a new iteration of the JuiceBox with about 10 times more power but only twice the cost, for about $1,000 each.

He also created a club at his school to work on the project and recently won a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The club plans to broaden the mission to create "environmentally sustainable, cost-effective" products that won't just help people transition out of homelessness but also could be used in disaster recovery.

One of the most important consequences of the projects, Olshin said, is that people learn about homeless Americans.

"It helps them understand what these communities are and what they need to be successful," Olshin said.

This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with the Helen Diller Family Foundation, which sponsors the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, annually awarding $36,000 to Jewish teens demonstrating exceptional leadership in repairing the world. Nominations/applications for 2019 are now open.

This article was produced by JTA's native content team.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, lauding Ghanaian workers for their contribution towards national socio-economic advancement over the years, Friday said the impact of COVID-19 on the national economy has been severe.



He has, therefore, directed the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana to work together to design innovative policies to revive the economy.



The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.7 billion workers would lose their jobs globally due to the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.



The growth of Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is also expected to tumble from seven per cent averagely to 2.5 per cent in the worst case scenario.



President Akufo-Addo, who was speaking at a virtual May Day celebration, organized by the Organised Labour and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), nonetheless, expressed, gratitude to workers for their contributions and sacrifices towards the development of the country's economy.



"The relationship between Government and Organized Labour has been cordial and of mutual respect since I became President," President Akufo-Addo stated.



May Day, usually celebrated nationwide through parades by worker unions, was held virtually from the studios of the GBC in accordance with the social distancing and safety protocols to prevent the spread of the new Coronavirus.



It is on the theme, "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Economy and Working Conditions".



President Akufo-Addo mentioned some interventions rolled out by his government to provide relief to Ghanaians following the COVID-19 outbreak.



These include the 1.2 billion Ghana cedi Alleviation Programme, a -600- million Ghana cedi soft loans to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), with one year moratorium and two - year repayment, tax rebates for health workers and 50 per cent top up of basic salary, for frontline health workers.



Others are free water supply to all Ghanaians, free electricity supply to lifeline consumers and a 50 per cent subsidy for the other residential, commercial and enterprise consumers, for three months from April.



Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, Secretary-General of Trades Union Congress (TUC), in his welcome address, urged the government to implore commercial banks to allow businesses to access loans under flexible terms of payment.

Source: GNA









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UB student donates nearly 4,000 face masks to police, urgent care and campus

Qinghua Chen delivers face masks to the Town of Amherst Emergency Operation Center. She's holding a sign with the message in Mandarin, Jiayou, America, or keep fighting, America. Photo: Don Daly

By MARCENE ROBINSON

Im happy to play a role of being a global citizen and look forward to the day when we win the battle and life turns back normal. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic first began in China, Qinghua Chen, a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education, created a video in support of her native country.

Once the pandemic reached Buffalo, Chen shifted her efforts to helping her second home by working to raise money to purchase face masks for health care workers and first responders.

Chen recently donated nearly 3,600 face masks to the Town of Amherst Emergency Operation Center, Pediatric & Adolescent Urgent Care of WNY and local police. The donation was made possible by a fundraising campaign she organized with friends that collected $2,100 in gifts from 43 donors in both the United States and China.

When I made the video, filmed primarily on the UB campus, to support people who were battling COVID-19 in the worse time in China, I received tremendous support from friends, teachers and classmates, [and] from the local communities based in the U.S. says Chen. Now the coronavirus is here, I feel there is an urge for me to do something and help with the local battle as much as I can. We are all in this together.
Iran to be self-sufficient in repairing Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2 yrs: AEOI spox

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, April 30, IRNA -- Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Thursday that Iran will be needless of Russian experts in undertaking repair works on Bushehr nuclear power plant within the upcoming two years.

Kamalvandi said that of course major section of the repair works on the power plant is conducted by the Iranian experts.

Every year at a certain period of time, fuel exchange and annual repairs are conducted in the power plant and this is a feature of all nuclear power plants, he said.

"In the past, given the Energy Ministry's request that there is no shortage of electricity, we were doing it in a season not to face extreme cold and heat," he said.

Kamalvandi also announced the arrival of a new fuel cargo weighing 38 tons to Bushehr in cooperation with Russia's Atomic Energy Corporation, known as Rosatom, over last week.

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Malta plans to keep 57 rescued migrants aboard a private ship anchored just outside territorial waters until the European Union finds a way to rehouse them, prime minister Robert Abela said on Friday.

The migrants were plucked from a dinghy earlier this week inside Malta's search and rescue zone by a commercial fishing vessel that had been chartered by the Maltese government to intercept possible asylum seekers.

The group were subsequently transferred to a launch normally used for tourist harbour cruises, with the EU agreeing to meet the cost of the operation until a decision had been made on where the men should go, Mr Abela said.

This is not Malta's problem, although we are doing more than is expected of us. Other EU member states must shoulder the burden too. Malta and Italy cannot be left alone, Mr Abela told a news conference.

We closed our ports and airport to cruise passengers and tourists and it does not make sense to then let migrants in, he said, referring to restrictions introduced in March to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Show all 20 1 /20 Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants from Afghanistan arrive on a dinghy on a beach near the village of Skala Sikamias, after crossing part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to the island of Lesbos, Greece Reuters Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants waiting on the Turkish side of the border AFP via Getty Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece A migrant woman holding her child sits in a field near the Meric (Evros) River at the Turkish-Greek border EPA Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants run to avoid tear gas thrown by Greek police during clashes near the Pazarkule border gate AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Refugees walk back after a failed attempt to pass the Greek border near the Meric EPA Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece A child cries as migrants arrive at the village of Skala Sikaminias AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece A migrant runs during clashes with the Greek police AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants use an inflatable boat as they attempt to enter Greece from Turkey by crossing the Maritsa river, near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Turkey, 29 February 2020 AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece A migrant from Cameroon detained by Greek authorities sits in a room in the village of Marasia AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants walk towards the Greek border near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Turkey, Saturday, 29 February 2020. AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece A migrant carries his belongings as he walks toward Meritsa river AFP via Getty Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Riot police detain a migrant AFP via Getty Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants prepare an inflatable boat as they attempt to enter Greece from Turkey by crossing the Maritsa river, near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. On February 29 2020, AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants use an inflatable boat as they attempt to enter Greece from Turkey by crossing the Maritsa river, near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Turkey, 29 February 2020 AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants walk to the Greek border near the Pazarkule border gate at Edirne, Turkey AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Migrants walk to the Greek border near the Pazarkule border gate at Edirne, Turkey, Saturday, February 29 2020 AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Greek border guard use teargas on migrants trying to enter Greece, at Pazarkule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, Saturday, 29 February 2020 AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Greek border guard use teargas on migrants trying to enter Greece, at Pazarkule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, Saturday, 29 February 2020 AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Greek border guard use teargas on migrants trying to enter Greece, at Pazarkule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, Saturday, 29 February 2020 AP Migrants trapped between Turkey and Greece Greek border guard use teargas to push back migrants who try to enter Greece AP

Mr Abela said hundreds of thousands of people were in Libya, waiting to cross the Mediterranean to Italy or Malta.

We will be firm in our commitment not to open our ports, he said, adding that he was not satisfied with the EU response over how to handle the latest newcomers.

Malta saw a surge of migrant arrivals at the start of this year, with some 1,500 reaching the country by early March, against 3,400 for all of 2019. The government says its reception centres are full and has complained that EU allies have not always followed though on pledges to take in the migrants.

When the coronavirus hit in March, Malta employed private boats to intercept would-be migrants before they reached the island.

The NGO group Alarm Phone says that on one occasion a migrant boat was left adrift for days before a contracted fishing vessel finally drew alongside, with 12 people drowning or starving to death as they awaited help.

Maltese magistrates are investigating the case.

Roughly 50 survivors were picked up from the boat and taken straight back to Libya.

The United Nations says Libya is not a safe port because of the long-running conflict there and has previously said that forcing boat migrants to return to the country would breach international law.

However, Mr Abela said his government had done nothing wrong.

He said international law obliged states to coordinate sea rescues, but did not order them to use their own navies for such missions. He added that with Malta's ports closed, migrants had been taken to an open port in Libya.

It is our duty to protect the national interest and balance that with our obligations, he said.

Reuters
In a gruesome example of how the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated New York City, authorities reported the discovery on Wednesday of dozens of decomposing bodies stored in trucks outside of a funeral home in Flatlands, a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Police were summoned to the scene in response to calls from nearby residents complaining of a horrible stench, with one caller reporting blood leaking from a truck. Upon arrival, they found two trucks stuffed with decomposing bodies. News reports quote residents saying that the sight of corpses on the sidewalk had become a common occurrence. The scene is reminiscent of ones reported in other countries.

It was not immediately determined whether these were all victims of COVID-19, but the staggering number of additional deaths due to the pandemic has overwhelmed existing mortuary facilities throughout the city.

Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Wednesday, April 29, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has overrun most funeral homes and morgues in New York City. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

To date, more than 18,000 residents have died from COVID-19, putting a huge strain on the normal methods for disposition of the deadinterment or cremation. Prior to the pandemic, New York Citys normal death rate was approximately 150 per day. At its peak earlier this month, the rate had reached approximately 800.

The city has had to resort to emergency measures to deal with the immense numbers of corpses. These include the digging of mass graves on Hart Island, the citys paupers cemetery for 150 years, where over a million people are already buried, and the stationing of refrigerated trucks at hospitals and funeral homes to temporarily store the deceased. The trucks at the Brooklyn funeral home were a tractor trailer and a U-Haul, neither of which were refrigerated. Crematories are now allowed to operate 24 hours a day, and the city has explored the possibility of digging mass graves in public parks.

Mike Lanotte, the president of the New York Funeral Directors Association, said in an interview with CNBC, There is definitely a lot of stress on the entire death care industry right now in New York City because of the death weve witnessed. As if to emphasize the gravity of the crisis, the New York Post report on Thursday, a day after the discovery in Brooklyn, that a funeral home in Queens is jammed with many dozens of bodies stored in caskets awaiting cremation. That facility has experienced a dramatic increase, from an average of seven or eight bodies a week to more than 20 a day.

The owner of the Brooklyn funeral home, Andrew T. Cleckley, reported that he and other funeral directors were overwhelmed by an unprecedented influx of bodies, and that he only resorted to using the trucks after his chapel was already filled with over 100 bodies and his freezer had stopped working.

Cleckley said that, due to the high demand, he was unable to obtain refrigerated vehicles. The location of the funeral home was not registered with the citys Department of Buildings as a funeral parlor, but as a venue for automobile sales and machinery manufacture. As a result of the discovery, the funeral home has been cited for violations by the citys Health Department, but no criminal charges have so far been brought.

Describing the situation as unconscionable and absolutely unacceptable, New York Citys Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio declared, I have no idea in the world how any funeral home could let this happen. He claimed that a substantial amount of refrigerated trucks [are] available.

However, reports from across the country recount incidents of COVID-19 victims stacked in the hallways or utility closets of hospitals and nursing homes, including a case in Brooklyn where management had left 10 corpses in a room with living residents. It should be noted that the mistreatment of the working-class dead in a profit-driven funerary system is not a new phenomenon.

Whatever the immediate circumstances of the particular incident at the funeral home in Brooklyn may be, the fact of the matter is that this horrific episode is undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg. The carnage that has overwhelmed New York City and the rest of the world is the inevitable result of decades of the dismantling of the health system in the city and across the globe and the criminal ineptitude and a policy of malign neglect by the ruling class, all with the aim of maximizing and prioritizing corporate profits, over the health and welfare of the working class.
Port Arthur officials took time Thursday afternoon  mere hours before some stores, restaurants and other retail establishments were expected to partially reopen  to make one last impassioned plea to residents, asking them to continue to stay home.

We want to continue this because the virus is not contained in our area, Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie said during the news conference on the steps of Port Arthur City Hall. Matter of fact, its not contained in the world.

Although more than 300 city residents have now been tested for the coronavirus  up at least 100 since the early part of this week  Public Health Director Judith Smith said officials still dont have the full picture of how the virus has impacted the city. Allowing people to again move freely, without an understanding of the current situation, could make it worse.

This is the time now to really start evaluating again if, opening things back up, (the number of confirmed cases) is going to increase, she said.

>> Related: New testing sites planned for Port Arthur, Orange Co.

Bartie made clear why he thinks the situation would be exceedingly dire should the city see an outbreak. He listed all the reasons the majority of the citys residents are at higher risk of contracting and seeing complications from the virus, including the high number of elderly people, people of color, people with preexisting conditions and less affluent individuals.

We are really just jam packed, if you will, with this vulnerable population.  These individuals are individuals that dont come out on the top side of contracting this disease, he said. He encouraged people to listen to advice from health officials and scientists before politicians.

The six-county Southeast Texas region on Thursday confirmed the fewest number of cases of any day this week, rising by only eight. The area now has confirmed 515 cases of coronavirus and 26 deaths.

More Information Helpful numbers (409) 550-2536: Hotline for residents of Jasper, Jefferson, Hardin, Newton, Orange and Tyler counties who want to be tested for coronavirus. 211, option 6: For general coronavirus inquiries. If you go: One-day county run testing What: Orange County testing When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday Where: Orange County Convention and Expo Center, 11475 Farm Road 1142 What: Port Arthur testing When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday Where: Bob Bowers Civic Center, 3401 Cultural Dr. Other information: A test must be scheduled in advance by calling the number above. Only 100 appointments will be scheduled for each location. Proof is residency is required. If you go: One-day state run testing What: Beaumont testing When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday Where: 747 College St. Other information: Individuals will be screened to see if they have symmptoms including cough, fatigue and shortness of breath. Registration at txcovidtest.org or by phone 24-hours testing begins at 512-883-2400 is required before testing. See More Collapse

The number of people being tested at one of two sites run by the six-county Southeast Texas Regional Operations Center and the number of people calling the screening hotline set up by the same group remained relatively steady.

>> Related: SE Texas tops 500 coronavirus cases

On Thursday, 186 people called the hotline and 168 were tested. Another 67 Southeast Texas residents were tested Wednesday at a state-run site in Jasper County, according to Judge Mark Allen.

Bartie and others are continuing to stress the importance of getting tested, both to give leaders a better idea of the virus prevalence so they can make informed decisions about how best to move forward and to keep asymptomatic individuals from unknowingly infecting others.

Smith said when the county first started testing people for coronavirus, she didnt see the importance of asymptomatic people being tested for the virus.

However, seeing the number of positive cases in asymptomatic individuals, she now understands why those people also are being encouraged to be tested.

Residents from Port Arthur and Beaumont as well as Orange and Hardin counties are expected to have additional opportunities to be tested for the virus next week, through a few one-day county- and state-run sites.

>> Related: Six people die after coronavirus outbreak at two local nursing homes

Requirements to be tested at these facilities vary, but testing by either of these public entities is free and requires an appointment.

While states determine the best way to keep residents safe and restart commerce, the federal government has continued to send money to local governments and other agencies to help them carry through the pandemic.

The city of Beaumonts transit department is the most recent to be announced as a part of the CARES Act passed last month.

The city is set to get nearly $6.3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportations Federal Transit Administration. The money is intended to help implement enhanced sterilization practices to protect staff and riders and pay for administrative leave, according to a news release from Sen. John Cornyns office.

Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames in early April amended her stay-at-home order to suspend bus fares and mandate transit be used only for essential travel.

>> Related: Local businesses gear up for economic opening

Suspending fares allowed individuals to enter from the middle of the bus and avoid contact with the bus driver, she said at the time.

She acknowledged that the bus system was necessary for people who still had to get to work or make other essential appointments while emphasizing that ridership needed to adapt in a way that emphasized social distancing and other precautions.

The city of Port Arthur also is set to get about $6.2 million for its transit program.

Other local payouts funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act include $7 million for Lamar University, $1 million for Lamar State College Orange, $1.9 million for two health clinics in Jefferson County, $801,000 for the city of Beaumont and more than $16 million for three area airports.

Kaitlin Bain is the Government Reporter for the Beaumont Enterprise. Contact her at Kaitlin.Bain@BeaumontEnterprise.com or on Twitter by clicking here.

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The coronavirus pandemic prompted the Cuban Government to call off May Day celebrations on Friday. The annual event usually showcases the island's dedication to its Communist principles and revolutionary ideals, featuring a huge rally and march in Revolution Square.

On a rainy, gray morning, Revolutionary Square was quiet, surrounded by statues and other fixtures commemorating the 1959 Revolution, overlooking the site where former leader Fidel Castro gave some of his most famous, hours-long, speeches.

Normally tens of thousands of Cuban workers and party stalwarts march through the iconic plaza, under the watchful eyes of top Communist Party officials.

This year a solitary government worker, from the Cultural Ministry, blared "La Internacionale," from his car, while wending his way through deserted streets.

Due to the virus, island is under a complete lockdown, with all international and national travel closed, most businesses shut down and the government urging people to remain in their homes.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, Cuba has 1501 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 61 deaths.

However, the number of infections may be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.

But it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
The Delhi police on Friday filed its first charge sheet in a court here in connection with recent riots in north-east Delhi accusing Shahrukh Pathan, arrested in a case related to Jaffarabad area, of trying to kill head-constable Deepak Dahiya and others by firing at them on February 24.

The final report of over 350 pages charged the accused with attempt to murder, rioting, obstructing public servant in discharge of public function and assaulting or using criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty.

In the charge sheet, besides the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Delhi Police has also invoked the provisions of the Arms Act against the accused.

If convicted, Shahrukh may get a maximum of 10 years jail and will also be liable for a fine.

The FIR in the case was lodged on February 26. Shahrukh was arrested by Narcotics Cell, Crime on March 3 and is in jail. He was the first person to be arrested in the riot cases.

During investigation, one Kaleem Ahmad, a resident of Kairana, Uttar Pradesh, who had given shelter to the accused Shahrukh, was also arrested in this case.

Section 216 (Harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered) and other provisions of IPC were also added against the accused person during the course of probe, police said.

Besides Shaharukh Pathan and Kaleem Ahmad, the name of one Ishtiyak Mallik, a resident of Arvind Nagar, Ghonda, Delhi whose location was also found at the spot, also appears as accused.

According to police, the weapon of offence, a 7.65 mm pistol and 2 live rounds, were recovered from Shahrukh in the case.

Pathan, 23, whose picture showing him pointing a gun at unarmed Delhi Police head constable Deepak Dahiya during the communal riots went viral on social media, was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district.

After opening fire, he kept the pistol at home and fled from the city in a car, police said. In the viral video, Pathan, a resident of northeast Delhi's Ghonda, could be seen pointing his pistol at the policeman on the Jaffrabad-Maujpur road on February 24.

Police said after seeing himself on channels following the incident, Pathan changed his clothes and fled to Punjab. He then moved to Bareilly in UP before hiding at a friend's house in Shamli in the state.

The good quality semi-automatic pistol used by Pathan was bought from Munger in Bihar, according to police. A college dropout, Pathan was interested in body building and modelling. He used to make TikTok videos. He owns a shop and a socks manufacturing factory in Ghonda.

The case was lodged under various provisions of the IPC including section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and section 307 (attempt to murder), sections 147 and 148 (both related to rioting).

Provisons of the Arms Act was also invoked.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two Ukrainian servicemen have been injured in Donbas as a result of nine attacks by Russian-led occupation forces since the beginning of the day on Friday, May 1, the press center of the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) reports.

"Over the current day, as a result of enemy shelling, two Ukrainian soldiers were injured. They received first aid and were promptly evacuated to medical facilities. The health status of both servicemen is satisfactory," the headquarters reports on Facebook.

The headquarters specified that the occupation forces violated the ceasefire regime in the area of responsibility of the Vostok operational-tactical group three times. In particular, the JFO positions near Bohdanivka were fired from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns, sniper and small arms.
Healthcare workers are worried for their personal safety, but employees at grocery outlets worry even more, and both sets outnumber their counterparts who feel safe.

Workers at low wages are far less likely to have access to masks and other safety measures than their higher-salaried counterparts.

Latino essential workers are nearly twice as likely to report food security than white workers in the same capacities, and about half of all essential workers cannot use paid time off if a family member needs their care and attention.

Those are among the sobering results of research by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center, whose report provides some of the first data on the safety and security of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clare Hammonds and Jasmine Kerrissey conducted an online survey of more than 1,600 essential workers in Western Massachusetts who were at work between April 17-24. As of late April, Massachusetts had the third-highest COVID-19 case count of all states, and two cities in Western Massachusetts ranked among the cities with the highest death rates per 1,000 population in the country.

Springfield ranked No. 7 with Greenfield at No. 11, according to New York Times data.

The UMass survey delivers some disturbing numbers. Of all essential workers surveyed, 51% said they do not feel safe at work. Nearly two-thirds said they are unable to practice social distancing, 29% did not receive COVID-19 transmission training, more than 1 in 15 lack masks, 17% lack hand sanitizer, and 8% lack regular hand washing opportunities.

Perhaps ominously, 1 in every 6 were asked by their employers to not share their health information with coworkers.

Essential workers sustain our ability to live during this crisis, going to work to provide critical food, shelter, transportation, health and safety, in a range of industries from healthcare and transportation to social services and public safety, said Hammonds, professor of practice in the UMass Amherst Labor Center.

Essential workers risk exposure to COVID-19 without proper safety precautions. The findings of this research provide important insight into how to protect the workforce as we begin to re-open the economy.

As revealing as the numbers might seem, comments from those interviewed shed light on the human aspect of the situation facing essential workers.

I go to work six days a week, one office cleaner told the researchers. I go in after all employees have left to clean and disinfect the entire bank. I do six a night,'' one office cleaner said.

"When I am home, I do not leave my house for anything. I get all food and supplies delivered. What would improve my situation would be to not be working so I can stay home, as Im quite afraid to leave my house now - but thats not financially possible.

The part that makes me feel unsafe is the customers. People are only supposed to come out for essential things and that is not the case,'' said a convenience store worker, who said people coming in for coffee could make it at home.

"People that are staying at home come in for a cup of coffee five times a day. People do not know the difference between what they want and what they need. About 50% have no concept of six feet.

"They think because our backs are to each other its fine, or just quickly getting a coffee, its OK to be within 6 feet of each other.

One aspect that was evident in the survey is part of the national coronavirus debate: what, exactly, constitutes essential need?

People staying at home, going to a hardware store and buying bird food is not really essential, and its putting us at risk, one hardware store worker said.

The worker might get a debate from bird lovers, but the issue of whether enough Americans are taking the invisible and elusive COVID-19 outbreak seriously is real.

Customers dont seem to care about this virus thats going around making us workers not feeling safe, the worker said.

The survey found that two-third of grocery and other retail workers report feeling unsafe at work, a greater than healthcare workers, of which 51% percent felt unsafe.

Workers making less than $20/hour were two to three times more likely to lack access to basic safety measures (masks, hand sanitizer, regular hand washing and training) than those in the $40-hour-and-upward range.

One in three low-wage workers said they were unable to meet their familys food needs in the week prior to the survey. Failure to meet housing and child care needs were lower but still significant.

We are risking infecting our family by working, and they dont give us anything extra in our paychecks to be able to buy more food. What we earn is for paying rent, electricity, insurance, and the rest is barely enough to buy food, a low-wage retail worker told the researchers.

Nearly 2 in 5 Latino essential workers reported food insecurity. The ration for whites in similar circumstances was 1 in 5. counterparts.

A little more than half of the respondents said their work has become more intense, and only 20% receive hazard pay.

Lastly, 1 in 6 essentially workers lack paid sick leave, and half say they are unable to use paid time off if a family member falls ill.

Health and safety protections, hazard pay, greater enforcement of municipal ordinances and protection of workers rights to self-organize are critical to improving worker safety, says Kerrissey, assistant professor of sociology in the Labor Center.

The survey recruited participants using Facebook advertisements targeted to residents of Western Massachusetts, and respondents were invited to participate if they were working in-person (not remotely) as of April 15. Respondents completed a 10-minute survey that asked a range of questions focused on health, safety and workers access to food, housing and childcare.

Hammonds and Kerrissey repeated the survey for the entire state of Massachusetts for the period of April 24-May 1. Researchers say subsequent results, once compiled, will be used to understand how essential workers experiences change as the pandemic evolves.

The full report, "A Survey of Essential Workers Safety and Security During COVID-19,'' is available online as part of the UMass Amherst Labor Centers Working Papers Series.
By IANS

ABU DHABI: More than 32,000 Indians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wishing to fly home during the COVID-19 pandemic registered their details after the Indian missions in the country launched the e-registration of expats, it was reported on Friday.

"As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, we received more than 32,000 registrations," Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told Gulf News.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai on Wednesday night announced they were accepting the registration.

ALSO READ | UK lays on more flights to evacuate stranded citizens from India as lockdown 2.0 nears end

Within minutes of announcing the launch of the registration process, the site faced technical issues prompting the missions to delete the tweet about it and repost it hours later on Thursday morning.

The Consul General however, reiterated that the registration in the databank does not guarantee a seat on the initial flights that would be arranged to repatriate the most deserving categories of people.

"Workers in acute distress, medical cases, pregnant women, the elderly and the group Indians stranded in Dubai Airport," are likely to get first priority when the government resumes services for repatriation, he said.
The departments arrest tally during the weeks after Pritzkers emergency directive was by far the lowest for the monthlong time period for any year going back to at least 2001, the crime data shows. This comes at a time when CPDs force of about 13,400 sworn cops is the most the nations second largest police department has had in years, though more than 400 have been sidelined in recent weeks due to the disease.
Spain's government expects that the Eurozone's fourth largest economy will shrink by 9.2 per cent this year and that unemployment will reach 19 per cent of the working-age population.

Deputy Prime Minister Nadia Calvio announced the grim forecast on Friday when she explained Spain's economic stability plan that it has presented to the European Union.

This comes a day after Spain's government said that the nation's economy had shrunk by 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, ending 25 consecutive quarters of positive economic activity dating back to 2013.

Calvio said the government expects the economy to rebound strong, with a growth of 6.8 per cent in 2021.

Hundreds of thousands of workers have been furloughed since Spain applied strict stay-at-home rules on March 14 when it declared a state of emergency that is still in effect.

The government unveiled this week a complex series of guidelines it will follow to reactivate the economy and social life of the country over the coming weeks and months as long as there is not another jump in COVID-19 infections.

Spain has over 24,000 confirmed deaths from the new virus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An agreement about the accommodation in an improved cell shall be concluded between prisoner and the detention centre administration

Quarantine announced in Lukyanivska pre-trial detention in Kyiv Ukrainian News

In the Kyiv pre-trial detention center there will appear paid cameras that are designed for six places, they will be equipped with video surveillance to exclude the corruption component. Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska stated this in an interview with Slidstvo.Info.

"We are now equipping these cameras in manual mode and we know how many there will be in each institution. We start from the Kyiv pre-trial detention center. There are six places in it," she said.

According to Vysotska, an agreement on settling in an improved cell will be concluded between the prisoner and the administration in writing. Also, the Ministry of Justice will install a video surveillance system to monitor the filling of such cameras.

We also have information on filling in special accounts. And so we can once a week or a month compare the information that is submitted by the administration with the actual presence of someone in the cells. We are not interested in who exactly is located. this day should be paid," the deputy minister said.

She emphasized that such innovations should eliminate the corruption component in institutions.

As we reported before, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has completed a pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings regarding chairman of Kherson regional council Vladyslav Manger, and his assistant Oleksiy Levin who are suspected of organizing the attack on Kateryna Handziuk.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised Thursday to enact a firearms ban in the coming days  but experts say that plan must be paired with aggressive action at the border if the government is to have any hope of slowing the flow of illegal firearms into this country.

The government's firearms ban is expected to include a buyback program to compensate legal owners. The money spent on that program will be many millions of dollars more than the sum the government has earmarked for improvements at the border to intercept guns.

The RCMP has confirmed that the Nova Scotia shooter used firearms obtained illegally in Canada and from U.S. sources to carry out his crimes.

Eyewitnesses have said he used a number of weapons during his murderous rampage, including some sort of a long-barrelled rifle and a handgun.

Illegal smuggling over the Canada-U.S. border is the source of untold thousands of firearms floating around the country. The U.S. is the source of anywhere from 70 to 99 per cent of the guns  mostly handguns  used in the commission of crimes here, depending on the municipality where the crimes are committed.

The number of domestically-sourced "crime guns" has been climbing in recent years, but experts agree closing the U.S. pipeline is vital.

For years, politicians have promised to better police the porous border for weapons  but the number of firearms intercepted remains low compared to the number thought to exist in Canada.

There are an estimated 8 to 11 million private firearms in circulation. Border guards intercept a small fraction of that amount each year.

According to data supplied to CBC, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized 647 firearms of all makes and models last year. That number has been declining over the last three fiscal years.

Meanwhile, border guards confiscated some 13,000 "prohibited weapons" in 2019  items like switchblades, brass knuckles, nunchucks and pepper spray.

The number of firearms seized at the border is even lower in Atlantic Canada. In that region, only 20 firearms were taken from travellers at the border in 2019, a small uptick from the 17 that were confiscated in 2018.

Story continues

It's impossible to know how many firearms are moved illegally across the border each year, evading CBSA guards.

Some of the firearms CBSA has seized are brought here by unsuspecting Americans who don't know the protocol for bringing a gun into this country. Canadians must be licensed and foreigners must have the necessary paperwork before they can bring in a hunting rifle, for example.

Solomon Friedman, a criminal defence lawyer in Ottawa and an expert on the Firearms Act, said the number of handguns flooding into the country is "considerably higher" than the number the CBSA intercepts.

He said it's easier to catch a gun-toting American en route to a hunting lodge than a sophisticated smuggler.

"How many people smuggling handguns into Canada have been caught? Not many. They're very difficult investigations," Friedman told CBC News.

Smugglers have been getting creative to avoid interception  hiding handguns in gas tanks, for example, or (in one bizarre case) using a public library that straddles the Quebec-Vermont border to bootleg guns.

'I always say effective gun control is important but gun control theatre is worthless.' - Solomon Friedman

Friedman said further legislative or regulatory changes aren't likely to deter smugglers or buyers like the Nova Scotia shooter. What's needed, he said, is more action at the border.

"I always say effective gun control is important but gun control theatre is worthless. If we're not going to actually target the sources of these firearms or the causes of these offences, it's a pretty futile exercise," Friedman said.

"The evidence is clear  criminals are not deterred by new offences or greater punishment. In the case of the most recent tragedy, he's willing to commit the most serious offence in our criminal code  which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison  so how could further regulation possibly deter or prevent that conduct?" he said, speaking of the 22 murders the Nova Scotia shooter committed in a 12-hour period.

"Instead, we need to beef up our resources at the borders. That's what the CBSA needs to do."

Gary Mauser is a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University in B.C., and a firearm rights advocate. He has long argued against further gun control measures, which he calls futile.

He says gang-related crimes, carried out by U.S. guns, are the source of most of the gun violence in Canada  but stopping the flow could prove difficult.

"Smuggling is almost impossible to stop since the U.S.-Canadian border is one of the busiest in the world," Mauser said. "CBSA cannot check the very many of millions of shipments that cross the border every day.

"As long as drug crime is profitable, criminals will actively bring in illegal firearms. Clearly, legislation controlling the actions of the law-abiding cannot affect this."

The government's proposed ban on "military-style" assault rifles will include some sort of buyback program to compensate owners of these firearms when they're eventually outlawed.

The cost of that program has been pegged at $250 million but Friedman said he suspects it will be many times that amount, given there are tens of thousands of what could be described as "assault-style" firearms in circulation.

Meanwhile, the federal Liberal government has committed just $87 million over five years for detection dogs, X-ray technology, ballistics testing and other measures to stifle rising gun violence.

The federal Liberal government says this work is a "top priority."

"Funding allotted to the CBSA is being used to develop programs which help prevent the illegal smuggling of firearms into our country," a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a statement.

Friedman said it's not just a matter of "throwing money at the problem."

He said Canada should pursue joint agreements with the U.S. to better police "straw" purchases in border states  the bulk buying of firearms with the intention to resell  and improve information-sharing between the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the RCMP.

"Some of these things might actually be quite cheap. They just require us to do things differently than what we've done in the past," Solomon said.

The Conservatives in Parliament have backed this sort of enforcement plan. The party's outgoing leader, Andrew Scheer, pitched a special CBSA task force in the last election campaign, as opposed to a firearms ban.

Pierre Paul-Hus, the Conservative public safety critic, said the government is using the "immediate emotion of this tragedy" to implement major policy changes.

"Conservatives want to see a plan that includes support for police anti-gang and gun units, a CBSA Firearms Smuggling Task Force and increased access to mental health and addictions treatments," Paul-Hus said.
ActionAid International Rwanda has called on families to fight all forms of domestic violence that may arise under the COVID-19 lockdown.

With 225 cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, Rwanda is under a countrywide lockdown since March 21.

ActionAid Rwanda says that considering that the directive brought family members closer than before, some may use this opportunity wrongly and end up abusing each other.

Josephine Irene Uwamariya, ActionAid Rwanda Country Director, went on to say that this should be prevented collectively.

She said: "Avoiding any form of domestic violence is a collective responsibility that requires the role of both men and women. Therefore, we urge families to uphold this responsibility, and build an environment that suits their children who are the hope of a better future."

Uwamariya also noted that sharing unpaid work among family members is one of the ways to avoid domestic violence.

She said: "During this lockdown, women, men and children should share domestic chores because at the end of the day, they all share the resulting benefits. Not doing this always results in conflicts which end up in violence where women and girls are the most affected."

According to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), domestic violence cases have reduced during the lockdown period.

"Between March 22 and April 19, we received 295 claims of domestic violence. This reflects a 38 percent decrease as compared to the same period before the lockdown," said Marie Michelle Umuhoza, Spokesperson of RIB.

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Umuhoza also noted that RIB has a toll free line- 3512, where everyone can report to in case of domestic violence and get help.

Domestic violence, as per RIB, involves 8 crimes that include adultery, harassing or imposing severe punishments, rape, murder and defilement among others.

Increased sharing of household chores

Some citizens say that the lockdown directive became an opportunity to share home responsibilities between men, women and children.

Alexander Nyandwi, father of two children and resident of Gasabo District, Kigali city is one of them.

He says: "At my home we are sharing unpaid care work. I personally believe that it makes no shame to me as a man when I wash dishes or feed my little girl when my wife is also doing other necessary things at home."

Lucie Nyiraharerimana who lives in Muko sector, Musanze District, Northern Province also confirms this.

She notes that: "In my village, men and women are now helping each other in home duties more than before because men who used to go to work are staying home. They do farming activities together with their wives as well as other domestic works, and this has made work easier."

ActionAid reiterates that this attitude should continue after the lockdown, keeping in mind that a family is a lifetime institution that continues in existence even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Robert Kibochi the Chief of Defence Forces taking over from Samson Mwathethe, the navy man who, as General, developed an unusual camaraderie with the Commander-in-Chief.

Navy Commander Major General Levi Mghalu was promoted to Lt. General and appointed Vice Chief of Defence Forces while Brigadier Jimson Mutai was promoted Major General and appointed Commander of the Kenya Navy.

"Since your appointment as the Chief of Defence Forces five years ago (May 2015), we have seen significant expansion in our military and enviable improvement in the defence capability of our forces, thus giving Kenyans confidence that their borders are well protected from any external aggression," President Kenyatta said of Gen. Mwathethe.

The President further praised the retiring General as "a well-rounded person, with the capacity to provide quality leadership in other initiatives of national importance".

"I am proud to state that as chair, you steered very well the Blue Economy Implementation Standing Committee. The committee has made substantive progress in re-establishing the Kenya National Shipping Line, as part of the Blue Economy Programme," he said.

"Once fully completed and operational, this will, indeed, enable us, as a country, exploit the potential we have in the blue economy, and consequently create thousands of jobs for our young men and women.

MWATHETHE'S SUCCESSES

Whereas President Kenyatta was fond of General Julius Karangi, he grew closer to his successor, General Mwathethe during his service as KDF boss.

During a tour of Kwale County last year, the President said that when the county was asleep, he occasionally sneaked in, in the dead of the night, with General Mwathethe to inspect projects.

It was probably due to this mutual trust that President Kenyatta appointed General Mwathethe to steer the Sh430 billion blue economy project, making him the first serving general to be tasked with civilian duties.

His successes as a KDF boss include launch of welfare centres, a rehabilitation centre, national defence and gender policies and a food processing factory, as well as establishment of the first military barracks in North Eastern and KDF's rapid modernisation.

Last year, President Kenyatta extended General Mwathethe's term after the National Defence Council made the recommendation citing impressive performance.

Under General Mwathethe's term, the military has been contributing to President Kenyatta's Big Four agenda, especially through the Blue Economy Roadmap which the General chairs, and construction of the ambitious Kenya Navy Slip Way, a project set to build and restore sea vessels.

KDF also contributed to the Big Four agenda by ensuring food security at its food processing factory in Gilgil.

The Kenya Navy Slip Way, which is being built at Mkunguni at the Mtongwe Navy Base and is set to be completed by 2021, will enable Kenya to establish a foothold in ship building and maintenance in the region, competing with similar facilities in South Africa and Djibouti.

OTHER PROJECTS

The General also spearheaded the ongoing modernisation of the military through multi-billion shilling investments that include establishment of the Air Defence Regiment (ADR) and acquisition of an effective Air Defence System (ADS) to be used to defend the country from all airborne aggression.

An ADS system can detect an impending attack in time and destroy it before it reaches the target.

Further modernisation within the ranks of the Kenya Air Force includes the acquisition of Fennec helicopters, 530F planes and the Italian Spartan aircraft C-27J for transport.

An ultra-modern rehabilitation centre, General Mwathethe's brainchild, will treat soldiers suffering the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD).

The centre in the 7 Kenya Rifles in Lang'ata Barracks will be the Department of Defence's largest psychosocial health facility.

Modelled on best practices by militaries around the world such as in the UK and the US, it will be a transition point for patients who have received physical treatment for trauma, injury or substance abuse and provide counselling for soldiers undergoing cross training.

Cross training is a process that allows the sensitisation of individuals on work changes following trauma.

General Mwathethe also invested in a welfare programme which caters to soldiers and their families.

SECURITY THREATS

In efforts to deal with the threat of terrorism, he helped establish the Modika Barracks in Garissa town that will facilitate logistical deployment and response to insecurity along the Kenya-Somalia border.

The barracks is the home of the 6th Brigade and hosts three army fighting units and three support sub-units.

It will also be used as a temporary Forward Operating Base (FOB) during unforeseen emergencies.

In 2017, President Kenyatta inaugurated the national defence policy, dubbed the Defence White Paper, which contains an analysis of possible threats and prescribes measures against them.

The National Defence Policy, largely influenced by General Mwathethe's thinking, will guide the next KDF boss in dealing with security threats.

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GENDER POLICY

Under General Mwathethe's tenure, the KDF joined the few armies in Africa with equal opportunity policy for female and male soldiers after the launch of a Gender Policy in May 2017.

"The policy is guided by five principles, namely: gender responsiveness and non-discrimination; alignment and accountability to commitments in the Kenya Constitution; promotion of conducive institutional environment for women and men; recognition of the specificities of women and men and commitment to promote gender mainstreaming at all levels," General Mwathethe writes in his foreword in the Gender Policy document.

Through the policy, KDF made significant progress since the disbandment of Women Service Corps in 1999, ending a period when female soldiers and officers were not allowed to get married or pregnant while on active duty.

The hallmark of the Gender Policy was the appointment of Fatuma Ahmed as Kenya's first Major General.

General Mwathethe's tenure also saw the increased appointment of military men to various bodies, as was the case during General Karangi term.

They include Major General Abdalla Badi (Nairobi Metropolitan Services), Brigadier Vincent Naisho Loonena (Kenya Coast Guard Service), Brigadier John Waweru (Kenya Wildlife Service) and Major George Okong'o (Kenya Maritime Authority).
I just saw it coming and I knew it was going to hit like a tidal wave, he said. Those condo owners never thought something like this would happen. Nobody at any fire station or police station thought something like this would happen. Its like a science fiction movie."
IONIA COUNTY, MI -- The massive Herbrucks Poultry Ranch is now tied to 37 cases of COVID-19 in Ionia County, although not all are employees.

Ionia County Health officials released the data Wednesday, April 30.

According to county Health Officer Ken Bowen, 27 workers or contractors at Herbrucks have contracted COVID-19. The other 10 are household contacts of the workers or contractors.

Herbrucks administrators first announced April 15 they had a worker test positive for the virus.

The companys six million hens produce approximately 10 million eggs a day, according to its website. Employees at Herbrucks are essential workers under Whitmers executive order.

Greg Herbruck, president of Herbrucks Poultry Ranch, released a written statement this week that said safety or workers and customers is a top priority.

Related: Michigan still 3rd in US for most coronavirus deaths with nearly 3,800

"Working in partnership with the health department, we have been proactively testing employees for COVID-19. This testing has revealed positive cases. The vast majority of these positive cases originate from an isolated group of employees from our night shift bird crew. Most were asymptomatic or showed very mild symptoms, if any. None of the positive cases have sought medical treatment and have been recovering at home. Some of the employees have already recovered and are eligible to return to work per CDC guidelines.

We do not expect this to affect production or the delivery of products to stores, he wrote.

He said the company has taken detailed measures to combat spread of the virus, including strict biosecurity protocols, personal protection equipment for employees, working in pods to minimize the risk of contamination, rigorous sanitation practices and limiting access to our worksite by outside vendors.

Company leaders also say that employees are required to wear masks, safety glasses and rubber gloves while at work. Employees also have been given hand sanitizer and an extra mask to wear if they have to run errands while at home and not working.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

Thursday, April 30: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Protesters tell lawmakers vote no on extending state of emergency, argue freedoms outweigh coronavirus threat

Why isnt the governor wearing a mask during coronavirus briefings?

Michigan hospitals are needed now more than ever. Why are they laying off workers?
Like it or not, this is a question that will continue to be asked, and the terrible answer has already begun to take a convincing shape.

Recently, Fox News analyst Brit Hume told Shannon Bream that its time to consider the possibility that this lockdown -- as opposed to more moderate mitigation efforts -- is a colossal public policy calamity. He goes on to reference the millions of jobs, businesses, and incomes lost, and further mentions the negative effect on children who dont have a normal life, concluding that we may never recover from many of these losses for a very long time if ever.

Hes far from the first to muse on the question. Back on March 20, Dr. David Katz, the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, argued in the New York Times that our fight against the novel coronavirus could prove worse than the disease. Armed with what was then the latest data available from South Korea, he brilliantly argues against the holistic social and economic lockdown on the grounds that the evidence clearly showed that only specific demographics were significantly at-risk of being hospitalized or dying from infection. The evidence wed already seen in America had entirely aligned with the data from other countries, he writes, which suggested that deaths were mainly clustered among the elderly, those with significant chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, and those in both groups.

He concludes with a warning:

A pivot right now from trying to protect all people to focusing on the most vulnerable remains entirely plausible. With each passing day, however, it becomes more difficult. The path we are on may well lead to uncontained viral contagion and monumental collateral damage to our society and economy. A more surgical approach is what we need.

Those words should be chiseled on the tombstone of this once-booming Trump economy.

Indeed, in the early days when Dr. Katz offered his prescription, there was time to tailor public policy to protect the truly vulnerable and restore a sense of calm to society, while allowing the vast majority of people to develop mild coronavirus infections, thus advancing natural herd immunity. Now, well over a month since the lockdowns began, turning Americans social and financial lives back toward normalcy has proven to be about as smooth as a battleship reversing course amidst a sea of jagged icebergs. And keeping this ship afloat is proving costly, with Congress mulling a fourth phase of stimulus spending that could exceed an additional $1 trillion, and the Fed is promising to deploy its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy as our response to the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep it crippled.

This raises an interesting question. If we Americans didnt maintain a popular delusion that our government has an unlimited supply of money to print and throw at any given problem, might we have been compelled to approach things differently? And if we had approached this pandemic with more moderate mitigation efforts rather than destroying the economy and placing much of the populace under house arrest, would the health outcome have been vastly different?

Well, Sweden responded to the pandemic without shutting down its society or economy, and it hasnt become Italy. Florida didnt institute a draconian statewide lockdown, and it hasnt become New York. What does that tell us?

Just weeks ago, the notion that all-inclusive public lockdowns of healthy Americans save lives was assumed to be a given. In fact, Californias low number of cases and deaths relative to New York was commonly attributed to it having locked down a couple of days before New York did. But as T.J. Rodgers writes as the Wall Street Journal, how quickly economies shuttered in response to Covid-19 appears not to be a factor in the severity of their respective outbreaks.

We ran a simple one-variable correlation of deaths per million and days to shutdown, he writes, which ranged from minus-10 days (some states shut down before any sign of Covid-19) to 35 days for South Dakota, one of seven states with limited or no shutdown.

The correlation coefficient was 5.5% -- so low that the engineers I used to employ would have summarized it as no correlation and moved on to find the real cause of the problem. While he concedes that New York, given its population density or subway use, may have uniquely benefited from its shutdown, blindly copying New Yorks policies in other places doesnt make sense.

Perhaps even more important is the example of Sweden. The policies it adopted are much less economically destructive than the lockdown in most U.S. states or its neighboring countries. Knowing the demographic targets of the disease, Sweden asked only senior citizens to shelter in place, while the rest of the country continued operating stores, restaurants, and most businesses. The Volvo plant was shut down for a brief time, but has since reopened, while the Tesla plant in Fremont, Calif., was shuttered by police and remains closed, which is among the many factors which prompted Silicon Valley tech tycoon Elon Musk to openly characterize Californias lockdown policy as unconstitutional, outrageous, and fascist.

The toll on Swedens economy was mild compared to ours, to say the least, but what of its Covid-19 toll? Much in keeping with the other data weve long seen, the virus harmed a very specific demographic, and not significantly more so than other countries which completely locked down.

Swedens death rate, writes Rodgers, without a shutdown and massive unemployment -- is lower than that of the seven hardest-hit U.S. states, all of which, except Louisiana, shut down in three days or less. Relative to its European neighbors, Sweden is in the middle of the pack. Its death rate per million is comparable to France; better than Italy, Spain, and the U.K.; and worse than Finland, Denmark, and Norway.

Rodgers concludes:

We should cheer for Sweden to succeed, not ghoulishly bash them. They may prove that many aspects of the U.S. shutdown were mistakes -- ineffective but economically devastating -- and point the way to correct them.

The data show that the Swedes quite possibly got it right, and we very likely got it wrong. How did that happen?

Johan Giesecke, the former State Epidemiologist for Sweden, gives us a clue.

Consider that our own Dr. Anthony Fauci was, on or around March 10, moved to push for sweeping new recommendations to sharply limit Americans social and commercial activities as a result of Imperial College of Londons epidemiological model, which predicted that 2.2 million Americans could potentially die without drastic restrictions on work, school and social gatherings for periods of time until a vaccine was available, which could take 18 months, according to the New York Times.

Epidemiological models are notoriously unreliable. Even those that defend their usefulness readily admit that fact, as Zeynep Tufekci perplexingly writes at The Atlantic: Right answers are not what epidemiological models are for.

Professor Giesecke, similarly, explains that such models are very good for teaching, but they seldom tell you the truth. And perhaps thats why he and his successors advocate crafting public policy in response to what they can discern as truth, rather than in response to outlandishly predictive and academic models.

Not only does Professor Giesecke seem to understand the nature of epidemiological models better than Dr. Fauci, but he also seems to better understand the societal and economic impact of the lockdowns, which Dr. Fauci has flippantly referred to as inconvenient from a societal standpoint, from an economic standpoint.

Over half of the Covid-19 deaths in Sweden occurred in nursing homes, and Johan Giesecke admits that there are many things that could have done better a couple of months ago to protect that group of Swedes. But asked whether he believes that the lockdowns seen around the world are misguided, and whether they have the potential to do more harm than good, hes quite clear:

Yes. I think so, on the whole. What Im saying is that people who will die a few months later are dying now and thats taking months from their lives so thats maybe not nice. But comparing that to the effects of the lockdown what am I most afraid of? Its the dictatorial trends in eastern Europe; Orban is now dictator of Hungary forever; theres no finishing that. I think the same is popping up in other countries; it may pop up in other more established countries as well. I think the ramifications can be huge from this.

All of this presents a serious problem for anyone defending the continued assault on the worlds largest economy in favor of widespread social and commercial lockdowns to combat Covid-19.

In spite of the efforts of those who have a vested interest in justifying the lockdowns and the economic damage, the truth is snowballing, and it all suggests a very disturbing conclusion -- America could have achieved a similar health outcome without destroying millions of businesses, incomes, and lives, without weakening our nations fiscal solvency by trillions of dollars, and most importantly, without compromising our most fundamental American rights.

Image credit: Sanu N
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Prague has lots to offer at street-level  and plenty, it turns out, to fascinate a bit higher up.

Top photographer Amos Chapple has taken a set of fascinating photographs of the citys (mostly) rooftop statues and sculptures, from the beautiful to the bizarre and from the elegant to the grotesque.

Hes a New Zealander, but has lived in Prague since 2016  and the lockdown prompted him to explore the citys elevated realms.

He discovered statues of hooded warriors and strange baby sculptures crawling up and down the stem of the citys tallest structure.

He told MailOnline Travel: Like everyone else, I got locked inside, so could only explore the city I live in. This was a genuinely awesome little adventure studying the rooftops of the city for these characters - mostly elegant, sometimes grotesque, always interesting.

Scroll down for some seriously high-level photography.

Amos posted his photographs to his Facebook profile, along with descriptions. He was unable to identify these statues, but user Marek Bany could, and explained in a comment alongside the image that the statues were by sculptor Franz Metzner (1870-1919). The building, he said, was previously owned by Wiener Bankverein, which would explain the WB symbols. He added: 'The four statues might symbolise four elements - yes there is another pair on the building - since they are similar to other works by the author symbolising the elements'

A winged figure on the National Museum by Bohuslav Schnirch looking down Wenceslas Square. In 1968, invading Soviet-led forces fired hundreds of heavy machine-gun rounds from the square into the museum's facade, explained Amos, leaving it pocked with bullet holes until 2018, when the building was renovated

'The lone male figure on the facade of the Adria Palace staring daggers at the camera,' says Amos's caption for this image

Morning light on one of four winged female figures cornering the Cechuv Bridge. The figures, which hold gold-plated wreaths aloft, were made by Antonin Popp (18501915), explains Amos

A mysterious creature atop a residential building on the waterfront of Pragues Vltava River

St. George slaying the dragon on a corner of a building on glitzy Parizska Street, near Old Town Square

A firefighter depicted rescuing a woman from golden flames on the roof of the old Prague Insurance Company building on Pragues Old Town Square. The epic sculpture was one of the last works of Czech sculptor Bohuslav Schnirch before his death in 1901, explains Amos. He told MailOnline Travel that the level of detail in some of the statues really surprised him, with this statue being one example. He said: 'That swirling smoke and the golden flames are not even visible from the ground, yet the Czech artist poured his heart into those details knowing full well it would be admired only by a tiny handful of people who somehow got to see the statue up-close'

Black babies clambering on the stem of the Zizkov Television Tower, which at 706ft (216m) is the tallest structure in Prague. Amos says: The 3.5-metre-long babies were made by contemporary Czech artist David Cerny. Each of the barcode-faced infants (yep, look it up if you're not squeamish) weighs around 250 kilograms

This statue depicts a woman flanked by two hooded warriors on the corner of the Koruna Palace, constructed by a life insurance company in 1914. The stone relief is by Stanislav Sucharda (1866  1916), according to the Koruna Palace website (though one commenter on Facebook disputes this and says its by Vojtech Sucharda). Either way, this is Amoss favourite statue. He said: Czechia is a country that literally fought its way into existence in the 1910s against the Austro-Hungarians, then fought the Nazis and the Soviets to become the free country it is today. So that image of the woman flanked by swordsmen is, to me, so symbolic of what the country represents  an amazing culture preserved by its warriors through some of the darkest moments of history

Figures on the roof of the National Museum by Bohuslav Schnirch which, according to Facebook commenter Marek Bany, 'depict the four qualities which stood at the founding of the Museum - dedication, enthusiasm, love for past and love for truth'. He adds: 'They also have details representing the four elements - earth, water, fire and air'

Nike, the goddess of victory, shown driving three horses from a chariot on the corner of the National Theater. Amos explains: 'The iconic rooftop statue is, in fact, a copy of the original. Right after Bohuslav Schnirch completed the theatres bronze sculptures after years of work, he watched them destroyed by a fire in 1881. The copies that ride above the theatre today were installed on the repaired building in 1911, a decade after Schnirch died'

A leering character overlooking the Vltava on the corner of the Czech Republics Goethe Institute

Figures above the Vinohrady Theater by sculptor Milan Havlicek (1873-1917)

Sculptures by Ladislav Saloun (1870-1946) on the corner of the capital city's New City Hall. Saloun also made the famous memorial to Jan Hus on the Old Town Square, Amos revealed

A monument to Atlas holding up the 'celestial sphere' atop the Clementinum, an ancient cluster of buildings that includes a working meteorological station in use since 1775. The Atlas statue was made by Matthias Bernard Braun (1684-1738), who also made several of the sculptures on Pragues Charles Bridge. Amos told MailOnline Travel that this is one of his most surprising finds. He explained: 'The fact that the statue of Atlas wielding the heavens dates back to the 1700s just blew my mind when I was researching these characters. That figure has stood there as war, revolution and natural disaster have stomped through the streets of Prague. As a New Zealander that depth of history reinforces why I love, and feel so lucky to live here in Czechia'

Amos's caption for this image reads: 'Sexual tension much? Sculptures by Ladislav Saloun on a corner of the New City Hall'

Amos's caption for this reads: 'A lamp-headed statue (modern Czech art can be weird) on the roof of the Deym Palace'

The second figure on the roof of the old Prague Insurance Company named 'call for alarm', apparently showing a woman and child alerting people to a fire, says Amos. He adds: 'The sculpture was unfinished when its creator, Bohuslav Schnirch, died. It was completed by his apprentice, Ladislav Saloun'
The coronavirus-induced recession would rip an unprecedented $7 billion from Connecticuts coffers by 2023, fiscal analysts warned Thursday, quickly consuming a record-setting rainy day fund and triggering another major debate over tax hikes.

The economic chaos also would shrivel gasoline tax revenues and accelerate the transportation programs march toward insolvency, approaching the brink in 2022, according to the consensus report from Gov. Ned Lamonts administration and the legislatures Office of Fiscal Analysis.

The grim report prompted a few lawmakers, including the House chairman of the General Assemblys tax panel, to press Lamont to immediately include legislators on his committee planning the reopening of Connecticut businesses, schools and other government services.

If there was ever a time for the legislature to have a more active role in the situation, its right now, said Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, co-chairman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. And this report is the reason.

Deputy House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, echoed Rojas call for greater legislative involvement in Connecticuts reopening.

We should not be turned into spectators in this process, Candelora said, referring to the governors Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, which contains 48 state officials, and leaders of business, labor, education and other civic groups  but no lawmakers.

It should not be lost on anyone that we have the highest unemployment rate in the country and this report just demonstrates Connecticuts fragile economy, he added. We [legislators] are the boots on the ground. We each represent 23,000 people, as opposed to corporate talking heads who do not.

Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw, Lamonts budget director, released a statement saying the report shows the necessity of acting to mitigate the damage.

Our state will continue to experience revenue declines into the next fiscal year that are either direct or indirect results of the pandemics impact on the economy, McCaw said. We must now focus on necessary measures to ensure Connecticut financially weathers this storm and is positioned to generate a positive economic future.

But both administration officials and legislators said the projections have limited value. With most spring tax-filing deadlines deferred to mid-July, analysts had extremely small amounts of data to test economic assumptions.

Still, the numbers are staggering.

Revenues for the budgets General Fund, which covers the bulk of operating costs, should come in almost $1 billion under budget when the fiscal year ends on June 30. Just two months ago, no erosion was projected.

At first glance that contradicts the $530 million shortfall Lamont projected just two weeks ago.

But most of the bad news involves accounting. About $370 million in federal Medicaid payments expected before June 30 now wont arrive until November.

But that $530 million-to-$1 billion problem is small to what Connecticut faces next.

Simply put, from 2021 through 2023, the states revenue craters.

Analysts project shortfalls ranging from $2 billion to $2.33 billion in each of those three fiscal years. And the gaps would be even larger were one type of revenue  additional federal aid  not offsetting some of the massive erosion in tax receipts.

Analysts say tax revenues in 2022 should come in under $14.6 billion, down $2.5 billion, or 14%, from pre-pandemic levels.

General Fund revenues plunged slightly less  by $1.6 billion, or 13%  between 2008 and 2010 as Connecticut grappled with The Great Recession.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the 2011 General Assemblys primary fix for that problem was a nearly $1.9 billion package of state tax hikes, with about half coming from income tax rate hikes on most moderate- and high-income households.

And if 2022 and 2023 look far away, theyre not  at least on the states calendar.

Lamont must propose a new biennial budget to cover those fiscal year next February, one month after the regular 2021 General Assembly session begins.

If these revenue projections hold, Rojas said, another major tax debate is all but a certainty.

The next legislature is going to have to face that reality, he added. That is something were going to have to struggle with.

CTs rainy day fund would be consumed quickly

And when that tax debate comes, Lamont and legislators wont have their record-setting $2.5 billion reserve available to help balance the books.

The pandemic would wash that away quickly, with projections in Thursdays report showing the reserve consumed by the summer of 2021.

Lamont and top lawmakers from both parties often touted the rainy day fund Connecticut amassed over the last two years, through improved savings habits  and a temporary explosion of investment-related income tax receipts.

Still, Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, urged taxpayers to view the soon-to-be-gone reserve as a fiscal glass thats half-full.

We still face many difficult months ahead as the tendrils of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to infect our economy and our recovery, Looney and Duff wrote in a statement. But for the time being, Connecticut is in a stronger position than most states thanks to our fiscal prudence and the safeguarding of our budget reserve.

Transportation program collapse is just two or three years away

But the disappearing reserve and huge General Fund deficits are not the only challenges outlined Thursday.

Analysts also warned the budgets Special Transportation Fund  which pays the debt on borrowing for highway, bridge and rail improvements  is in dire straits.

Lamont spent his first 14 months in office warning the program was headed for collapse by 2025 or 2026.

Even though projections showed the fund would stay solvent, those forecasts were conditional upon Connecticut continuing a meager rebuilding program that wasnt maintaining a state of good repair.

Once the state got serious about its aging infrastructure, Lamont said, the fund would run out of money quickly.

Still, legislators rebuffed the governors 2019 proposal to toll cars and trucks, and this year a trucks-only plan collapsed in February.

Now analysts say the transportation fund can expect its tax revenues to be diminished by about 10% annually in the coming years.

The transportation fund, which is projected to run $157 million in the red this fiscal year, would eat through its modest $363 million reserve by 2021 and collapse  absent some intervention  in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
ROCHELLE, Ill., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rochelle Foods, LLC announced that it will reopen as scheduled Monday, May 4, following a 14-day voluntary closure. The facility, which makes grocery, foodservice and specially-formulated cancer nutrition products, completed testing of its team members last week with the vast majority of them testing negative. Of those who tested positive, numerous people had no noticeable symptoms. During the pause in operations, additional enhanced safety procedures were implemented including deep cleaning of high-touch areas, reconfiguration of common areas and workstations, revised shift scheduling, new guidelines on carpooling and more extensive social distancing measures. Rochelle Foods will be moving forward with a reopening plan that exceeds CDC and OSHA guidelines, outlines procedures for continued team member safety and raises the bar on best practices in the food industry. Rochelle Foods is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL), a global branded food company.

Bill Rice, Rochelle Foods plant manager said, "We have been a proud member of Ogle County and Rochelle for decades and we know that this current COVID-19 pandemic has been a very difficult situation for our team members, their families, our friends and neighbors, our community and our nation. We want to thank the community for the outpouring of support as we navigate this pandemic's impact and those who helped us execute our pilot testing program. Everyone who has reached out to us and our team members understands this pandemic is occurring everywhere and we are not alone in our efforts to protect our team members and this community. We have put the safety of our team members first throughout this pandemic and will continue to do so. As a leading employer in the area, and one with our core priority on the health and safety of our employees, we are certainly eager to get back to doing what we love and that's making great food."

Rochelle Foods also knows that the community has been hit hard by layoffs and furloughs, and that food insecurity is at an all-time high in the community. Therefore, the company and its team members will donate 10,000 meals to Feeding America and the local food bank. This is in addition to more than $10,000 already donated to support the community hunger programs during the COVID-19 crisis. This donation is to thank those members of the community who have demonstrated overwhelming support to the company and team members during this temporary pause in production.

On Monday, the company finalized its detailed plan, developed in conjunction with third-party health and safety experts, outlining all the steps it had taken and will continue to take as it reopens its food facility. This document will serve as a blueprint for ongoing operations. The KEEP COVID OUT! initiative will serve as an ongoing initiative throughout the pandemic to ensure a focus on safety in the workplace and outside of work in the community and at home.

Safety First is the company's core cultural belief, and since the beginning of the COVID-19 situation, the company has taken significant steps to prevent community spread from entering its facility and impacting its team members. These robust steps include temperature screening for all who enter the plant, masks and personal protective equipment, social distancing enhancements and continued education on COVID-19.

The company has been working closely with external health experts, including those at Mayo Clinic, as well as following and exceeding all CDC guidelines since the very early days of COVID-19 in the United States.

"As these national health experts have told us, we understand that with more testing, we will see more positives," Rice added. "We are focused on the health and safety of our team members and these test results will help us ensure people understand their current status. In some cases, it is possible that there are individuals who have COVID-19 and are asymptomatic and others who may not have realized they had symptoms."

During this global pandemic, Rochelle Foods, along with other essential manufacturers in the food industry, was designated as an essential business and stayed open because it was asked to step up and ensure Americans had food available during this unprecedented crisis. Many manufacturing facilities from many different industries are facing similar challenges given the community spread of COVID-19, including in the state of Illinois where cases are among the most significant.

"Rochelle Foods, and our parent company, Hormel Foods, have a tremendous relationship with our regulatory partners at the local, state and federal level, including the USDA and FDA. As a global company, we understand the importance of ensuring people and food safety. We will continue to put team members' safety first at Rochelle Foods as we look forward to reopening on Monday," said Richard Carlson, vice president of quality assurance at Hormel Foods.

About Rochelle Foods

Rochelle Foods produces a variety of products for foodservice and retail customers and consumers, including microwaveable and precooked bacon, foodservice and retail bacon, deli hams and Hormel Compleats microwaveable meals. More than 800 team members work at the 400,000-square-foot production facility. Rochelle Foods is located in Rochelle, Ill., and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation.

Contact: Media Relations, [email protected]

SOURCE Rochelle Foods
[May 01, 2020] Eterneva Offers Funeral Homes Free Digital Arrangement Setup and Tool

AUSTIN, Texas, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Eterneva, a grief wellness and memorial diamond company headquartered in Austin, Texas, is offering a new, free service to funeral homes and crematoriums to digitize all of their arrangement materials in under 72 hours. Eterneva is closely partnered with a select group of funeral homes, including Schoedinger Funeral Home and Cremation Services based in Columbus, Ohio. It was Eterneva's partnership with Schoedinger that spurred the idea to help funeral homes get online fast so they can continue to serve families as the essential workers and service they are. "We know how important it is to come together and help as many people as we can right now," says Adelle Archer, Co-Founder and CEO of Eterneva. "We feel like death care professionals are the unsung heroes that no one is talking about. If we can help by taking one thing off their plate, we'll be happy to know we played a role in decreasing the burden on funeral homes at this challenging time." Eterneva's funeral home partner Schoedinger has been the first to roll out the new digital arrangement feature to all of their funeral directors and are already seeing tremendous results. You can see the tool here . "Eterneva has been an amazing partner. They have really stepped up to help funeral professionals during this unprecedented time," says Kevin Schoedinger, Senior Vice President & Head of Technology at Schoedinger Funeral Home and Cremation Services. "Our funeral directors could not be more pleased with how our digital arrangement tool has made our long distance arrangements easier. We spent a lot of time and thousands of dollars trying to develop something like this tool and Eterneva was able to help us get this together in 5 days. Instead of spending time on figuring out technology with families, they can spend that time building a meaningful connection. Thank you Eterneva." This service is 100% free of charge. With the current crisis at hand, and with death care professionals trying to quickly migrate their entire experience online forcing them to quickly adapt into an unknown and uncomfortable place, this digitized arrangement tool helps both families and homes ind their way. Eterneva is not intending on becoming a digital arrangement company, they just want to help. This is great news for all of you as they can build this super fast & easy with no sales cycle.



All a funeral home/crematorium/cemetery needs to do is meet with the Eterneva team and send them the right content. The tool can be set up within 1-2 business days. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about Eterneva's digital arrangement tool, reach out to Katy Stover at [email protected] or fill out this form .

About Eterneva Eterneva is a consumer technology company and grief wellness brand that celebrates lives by making diamonds from ashes. Eterneva designed an intricate eight-month process to create these soulful remembrances, which is a journey that is as special as the diamond and the person behind it. Customers personalize diamonds' size, color, cut, and inscriptions, so they serve as meaningful connections to their lost loved one. From interactive video packaging to hand-written letters, to a courier service that hand-delivers the diamond in a homecoming service, customers experience a level of thoughtfulness they've never seen before. Eterneva is based in Austin, TX, and was recently featured on Shark Tank , and on both Inc and Forbes' 30 Under 30 lists. To learn more visit eterneva.com , hear from customers at Eterneva reviews , and learn more about the ashes to diamonds process . Contact:

Michael Goldberg, [email protected]

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eterneva-offers-funeral-homes-free-digital-arrangement-setup-and-tool-301051104.html SOURCE Eterneva

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Power giant Origin Energy will invest $500 million to acquire a 20 per cent stake in UK retailer Octopus Energy and will migrate its 3.8 million electricity and gas customers onto a technology platform.

In a move aimed at reversing its declining customer accounts and achieving major savings, Origin on Friday said the partnership with Octopus Energy and use of its fast-growing Kraken platform would transform its retail operations by delivering a radical improvement in customer service, reducing costs and opening up major new growth opportunities.

Origin Energy will spend $500m to acquire a 20 per cent stake in UK retailer Octopus Energy. Credit:Bloomberg

Shifting Origin's electricity and gas customers onto the Kraken platform over the next two to two-and-a-half years would lead to savings of up to $80 million in the 2021-22 financial year, and up to $150 million from 2023-24, Origin said.

Chief executive Frank Calabria said the new platform would provide power customers with a "vastly simpler experience" than traditional systems, streamlining and automating processes that usually require multiple different departments and interactions. Mr Calabria said Octopus had proven the success of the technology by rapidly growing to more than 1.5 million customers since its founding in 2016, and continue to grow at a rate of 40,000 to 50,000 customer per month
Many restaurants in the Bay Area now offer meal kits to diners, a concept familiar to fans of Blue Apron or supermarket staples like Hamburger Helper. Some of them are surprising, like relatively affordable four-course offerings from the Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn; others, like the pastrami sandwich kit from Wise Sons, dont exactly ask you to cook much. For those who can afford them, theyre an exciting departure from another day of quarantine chili or soggy takeout. We tried a diverse selection of meal kits from various Bay Area businesses, and here are our impressions, judged by ease and quality.

 Soleil Ho

Canela Bistro & Wine Bar

Seafood and chorizo paella kit for 4, $52

Tara Duggan / The Chronicle

Seafood paella is definitely what I would consider project cooking, one that can involve making broth, cleaning squid and simmering sofrito, the essential mixture of onions, tomatoes, peppers and other aromatics. So getting a bag full of mise en place from this Spanish bistro in the Castro neighborhood seemed like an ideal scenario. We got to look forward to a decadent meal without devoting an entire day to it or trying to find bomba rice and pimenton.

The ingredients in Canelas kit are high-quality: a rich broth with saffon threads floating decadently on top, a quart-size container of ice-cold, cleaned and prepped shrimp and squid along with big chunks of fish and live clams, half pints of sofrito and fresh chorizo, and mini containers of olive oil and parsley.

The basic task is to saute most of those items as well as the rice at various stages, add the broth, cook on high for a while and then simmer, covered. The directions were detailed enough, and the paella had wonderful flavor but was lacking the crispy caramelized edge, called la soccorat, that makes you want to scrape up every last bit. The paella pan I used was slightly larger than the 10- to 12-inch pan the kit calls for (the restaurant sells paella pans, too) but the moisture didnt have a chance to escape. It was still worth it and made me want to try the paella at the restaurant someday.

 Tara Duggan

Canela Bistro. Paella kits ($25 to $52), including vegan versions, and other kits and meals available to order online for delivery (in San Francisco) or curbside pickup 3-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday; order at least 2 hours in advance. 2272 Market St., San Francisco. https://canelasf.com.

Gap Year at Nico

Fancy grilled cheese kit for 1 and vegetarian kit for 1, $24 and $38

Gap Year at Nico

What sounds like a sabbatical from college is actually a delicious culinary experiment by chef Jordan Guevara, who was tapped as chef in residence for the year at Nico restaurant in San Francisco. Just a couple of months into his exercise of French classics made modern, the pandemic hit. The restaurant now offers what it calls French Comfort Meal Kits.

While some of my colleagues were sauteing and deboning, I gave my wrist a workout by turning on the oven. Each kit came with fairly detailed instructions that can be simplified to: Heat on the griddle, or heat in the oven. The sandwich  two big slices of the house sourdough brushed on the outside with butter and on the inside with bechamel sauce and then stuffed with caramelized onions, Comte cheese and chives  went on the griddle. The result was a meltingly rich, gooey and chewy sandwich that brought both comfort and joy.

The vegetarian kit (Cauliflower With French Curry and Madras Rice) consisted of roughly a third of a cauliflower basted, spiced and roasted. I warmed it in the oven and plopped it onto the bed of fragrant Jasmine rice (studded with toasted almond slivers and dried sour cherries) heated in the microwave. As the microwave ticked down, I was already warming the French curry sauce  a rich blend of cauliflower cooked down in cream and more French spices embraced by a mild curry  in a saucepan. I adorned the dish with the tender chives, chervil, tarragon and parsley and split the meal for one with my husband. There were also a fresh and leafy herb salad and two chocolate chip sable cookies each an inch high (I measured). Comforting, indeed. I was full; my husband was not.

 Bernadette Fay

Gap Year at Nico. Other kits and meals available. Order online for delivery or pickup 4-7 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday, supported by Caviar and Tock. 710 Montgomery St., S.F. 415-359-1000. www.gapyearatNico.com

Pinoy Heritage

Lutong bahay kit, $50

Allison Webber

Francis Angs Filipino pop-up Pinoy Heritage is offering lutong bahay, or home cooking, meal kits available for pickup at two pop-up locations: the cocktail bar Pacific Cocktail Haven and the wine bar High Treason. For $50, you can choose either an omnivore or vegetarian five-course feast, plus dessert  but keep in mind that that means youll have to prepare five courses at home.

First, a spoiler: The food in the omnivorous kit is delicious, from the slender pork lumpia that becomes a salad topper to the tangy ginataang coconut sauce slathered over roasted vegetables. But preparing it ended up feeling like a big production. We used every pot we own and were frantically rotating items on and off our burners. One step, cutting cooked chicken off the bone then making stock, felt like something that should have been streamlined for this exercise.

But we forgot about all the hassle once we were eating the smoky lechon manok (roasted chicken) with atchara pickles, the crunchy chicken pancit (noodles) and the hearty beef mechado (a stew served over rotini pasta, topped with cheese). Altogether, it constituted a more-than-satisfying meal for two, though each individual course was quite small, and you may be tempted to supplement the kits ingredients with some extra white rice, salad greens and noodles. (The dessert, a delicious fruit cake with marmalade, is way too small to share, in my opinion.) A better approach might have been to prepare two or three of the dishes one night and save the others for tomorrows dinner.

 Esther Mobley

Pinoy Heritage. Order online by 10 p.m. the night before and pay through Venmo. Pick up the kits at either Pacific Cocktail Haven (580 Sutter St., S.F.) 5-6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; or High Treason (443 Clement St., S.F.) noon-3 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. PinoyHeritageSF@gmail.com or www.pinoyheritage.com/take-out

Sister

Sister box, $40

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Janelle Bitker/ The Chronicle

For the most part, the coronavirus has closed the doors at Oakland Cal-Italian restaurant Sister. But for the past few weeks, the restaurant has dedicated two hours every Thursday to distributing $40 meal kits that can feed a family of four. The price and sheer quantity of goodies  two little appetizers, bread, fresh pasta, sauce, dessert and even granola for the next morning  feel exceptionally generous.

Cooking pasta and heating sauce is pretty self-explanatory, though the instructions were also not terribly specific. I was supposed to add butter to the sauce, but how much? The instructions said to reserve 2 tablespoons of the pasta water but didnt specify when or how to incorporate them. And I wondered what the ideal method was for warming up the olives, seasoned lusciously with coriander, fennel and cumin.

Ultimately, the boxs contents were uneven. I adored the assertive spicing that draped the olives, toasted almonds and sesame-studded honey brittle, though the latter was so sticky it was tough to eat. The pasta sauce was a simple and tasty tomato-and-caper ditty, but Id hoped for a bit more based on the transcendent pasta experiences Id had at Sister in the past. Granted, those experiences cost way more than $40 for a family.

 Janelle Bitker

Sister. Order the Sister box online on Wednesdays to pick up noon-2 p.m. Thursdays. 3308 Grant Ave., Oakland. 510-763-2668 or www.sisteroakland.com

Lord Jius

5-course tasting menu, $100

Brandon Jew

First, I was excited to see that Mister Jiu had received a promotion to lord  congrats!  but then I realized that this signaled an even more exciting collaboration between the restaurants Mister Jius and Lord Stanley. For $100, you get a bag full of portioned-out ingredients for a light five-course dinner for two. With a set of assembly directions, this is paint-by-numbers fine dining.

The cooking part was actually minimal, with three out of the five courses being cold dishes. Creamy butter beans, squash and sliced grapes required a pour of chilled vegetable broth and a drizzle of bright green parsley oil. The directions suggested that the next course, chopped raw hamachi with mustard oil and seaweed, be plated in a ring mold, with purple daikon matchsticks and black lime salt sprinkled on top. And the dessert, a pre-composed elderflower custard with tart rhubarb, strawberry and Champagne jelly, only asked for a garnish of meringue kisses.

Lord Jius two warm courses, a shrimp congee and sumptuous, tamari-glazed Wagyu short rib, had clear directions and took fewer than 10 minutes each to put together. If you have any trouble, theres a number on the sheet that you can call, a la the Butterball Turkey Talk Line. Still, there were little snafus  the hamachi ended up a tad overseasoned, the table service was terrible and the household bar only offered carrot-orange juice or water. (Batched cocktails, beer and wine are available for purchase at Lord Stanley.)

 S.H.

Lord Jius. Order online for pickup 3-5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 2065 Polk St., San Francisco. https://lordjius.square.site/

Soleil Ho is The San Francisco Chronicles restaurant critic. Email: soleil@sfchronicle.com
The Savannah Regional minister, Mr. Adam Braimah Salifu, has on behalf of the President of Ghana, donated 100 bottled water to the West Gonja Catholic hospital at Damongo in the Savannah Region.

This forms part of efforts to help the facility combat the spread of the novel Coronavirus in the region.

Presenting the liters of water to the management of the hospital,the minister expressed gratitude to the management and staff for keeping the pace in the fight against COVID-19 and urged them to keep up with their good works.

"The Damongo hospital is a treatment or holding center for suspected cases of Covid-19. The welfare and lives of the staff is very paramount to the president of Ghana. This donation is to help improve the health status of the Doctors and Nurses at the hospital,"he stated.

This is the second time the Salaga South MP is making a donation to the hospital.

A few weeks ago, he donated PPE to the hospital on behalf of the managing director of Ghana water company, Dr. Clifford Braimah.

The minister assured that the NPP government, led by His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, would do everything possible to get the people of the area portal drinking water.

The government according to him, is working tirelessly to make sure the contractors move to the site soon to start the water project.

He noted that in the meantime, the Ghana Water Company was implementing alternative initiatives to provide the people of Damongo with the free water as directed by the president.

The minister appealed to the general public to support the Ghana Health Service in the fight against Covid-19 by adhering to the stipulated protocols.

The donation was supported by Ghana Water Company Ltd.

The hospital's medical Superintendent, Dr. Saadaare Vitalis, who received the donation on behalf of the hospital thanked the president and his government for the great effort being put up in the fight against the pandemic.

He commended the minister for his commitment to the welfare of the health staff in the region.

Dr. Saadaare assured that the staff of the hospital would continue to work to improve the health delivery services to the public.

The donation he disclosed, would help boost their morale.

The Savannah Region has not recorded any Covid-19 case as it stands now and residents are encouraged to practice the measures outlined by the Ghana Health Service and the government to overcome pandemic.

Ghana case count currently stands at 1,671 cases, with 188 recoveries and 11 deaths.
Today we are going to look at Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial Company Limited (HKG:8205) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.

Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.

So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?

The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

Or for Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial:

0.026 = CN2.0m  (CN93m - CN18m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.)

Therefore, Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial has an ROCE of 2.6%.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial

Does Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial Have A Good ROCE?

One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. In this analysis, Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial's ROCE appears meaningfully below the 9.7% average reported by the Electronic industry. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Independently of how Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is low; especially compared to the ~1.6% available in government bonds. It is likely that there are more attractive prospects out there.

Story continues

Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial reported an ROCE of 2.6% -- better than 3 years ago, when the company didn't make a profit. That implies the business has been improving. The image below shows how Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth.

SEHK:8205 Past Revenue and Net Income May 1st 2020

It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. You can check if Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial has cyclical profits by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE?

Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.

Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial has current liabilities of CN18m and total assets of CN93m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 19% of its total assets. This is a modest level of current liabilities, which will have a limited impact on the ROCE.

Our Take On Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial's ROCE

That's not a bad thing, however Shanghai Jiaoda Withub Information Industrial has a weak ROCE and may not be an attractive investment. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Enduro

30 August

26/27 September

3/4 October

17/18 October

6/7 November

14/15 November

Downhill

5-6 September

19-20 September

5 - 11 October

15-18 October

29 October - 1st November

Cross Country

5-6 September

19-20 September

29 September - 4 October

5 - 11 October

COVID-19 has played havoc with the race calendar and we've seen cancellations and postponements aplenty with the season still yet to properly kick-off. To keep it simple, here's the updated calendars with all the dates we know so far.With no sign of the effects of the pandemic stopping any time soon, we'll keep this page updated as more news comes in:The EWS announced its updated calendar yesterday with four cancelled rounds almost cutting the season in half. The EWS have got ahead of the curve on rearranging events though and, if no more events get cancelled, should have a full calendar for the rest of the year now. Racing will kick off where we finished last year in Zermatt. We then go to Finale Ligure for the Trophy of Nations a month later. There will be 2 more European rounds in October then a trip over to South America for back-to-back races ends the season.Zermatt, Switzerland - Round 1Petzen/Jamnica, Austria/Slovenia - Round 2Olargues, France - Round 3Manizales, Colombia - Round 4Farellones, Chile - Round 5Fort William, Losinj and Vallnord have already been cut from the World Cup calendar, leaving us with a 5 venue season. Lenzerheide steps into the calendar to kick off the season on September 5 &6 and there are two doubleheaders at Maribor and Lousa to bring the racing up to 7 rounds in total.Lenzerheide, Switzerland - Round 1Les Gets, France - Round 2Maribor, Slovenia  Round 3 & 4Lousa, Portugal  Round 5 & 6XC riders will have their entire season condensed into a month while the downhill riders will have a bit more leeway and their season will run from September until November. Leogang is still scheduled to host the World Championships but the date has been pushed back from September 5/6 to October 5 -11 and it will now be a double header of XC and downhill.Lenzerheide, Switzerland - Round 1Les Gets, France - Round 2Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic - Round 3 & 4The UCI's calendar of all races will be updated here
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday appealed to opposition parties not to trigger panic among people by spreading misinformation about the covid-19 pandemic. There was no mismanagement of the crisis or widespread infection in the state, as is being project by the SAD and the AAP. Most cases were those coming from the other states, the CM said, in an address to the states residents.

He added that people should not worry about the sudden spike in numbers that could be expected over the next few days as more people return to their homes from other states.

Of 100 new cases reported, only seven are related to local infection, while 93 were Punjabis who had come from outside the state, he said, adding that all political parties must realise that this was not the time to score brownie points, as the situation was akin to a war.

It is a war for Punjab and its people. Wars can only be fought and won unitedly. As Punjab is going through a difficult time, there is a need for all to work together to save the state and its people.

While clarifying that every person returning to the state would be kept in institutional quarantine as a preventive measure, he appealed to the people not to be afraid of it.

It is just a means to ensure that the returnees do not spread the infection among their families, neighbours or others, he said.

On the return of people of other states stranded in Punjab, he said the states concerned would have to make arrangements or the Centre would have to arrange special trains, given the large numbers involved.

He added relaxation during the curfew/lockdown would start falling in place as deputy commissioners finalised plans for area-wise opening of select shops.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose reopening policies threaten workers with illness. (Getty Images)

Anyone who thought that the COVID-19 crisis would produce lasting respect for low-wage service workers should feel like a chump, as certain states roll out their return-to-work orders.

That's because the subtext of those orders, such as those issued by the governors of Iowa and Texas, is coercive. Workers who refuse to return to work at businesses that have been cleared to open will lose their unemployment benefits.

In other words, in economic terms they'll have no choice between losing pay and placing their lives at risk from a coronavirus infection.

Imagine you are a businessman thinking about reopening, and you've heard that the trial lawyers all over the country are sharpening their pencils getting ready to sue you.

Sen. Majority Leader McConnell reveals who he cares about

Iowa's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, said last week that failing to return to work in the counties covered by her reopening order, even if they're staying at home out of fear of catching the virus, would be considered to have done a "voluntary quit," rendering them ineligible to collect unemployment.

The state's Workforce Development agency, which oversees the unemployment program, further urged employers to report workers who dont return to their jobs for a good reason as soon as possible, according to the Des Moines Register.

After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a return-to-work policy, that state's labor authorities also warned that those choosing to stay home would lose their benefits.

A Texas Workforce Commission spokesman told the Texas Tribune that if workers are concerned that their employer is flouting health guidelines, they should contact the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Given that U.S. OSHA has been missing in action throughout the crisis, that ranks as a sick joke.

Both governors' orders took effect Friday. Reynolds' order covered 77 of Iowa's 99 counties, allowing "restaurants, fitness centers, malls, libraries, race tracks, and certain other retail establishments to reopen in a limited fashion with public health measures in place," the governor's office said. Those counties, Reynolds said, have seen a decline in new COVID-19 cases or no new cases at all for two weeks.

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The order exempts only workers who are ill with the virus or taking care of an infected family member.

In Texas, Abbott's order, which also went into effect Friday, covers retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls.

Coupled with the threats of lost unemployment are efforts by Republicans in Congress to immunize business owners from liability for exposing their workers to infection. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has drawn a line in the sand against enacting another coronavirus stimulus bill without legal protection for business owners.

"Imagine you are a businessman thinking about reopening, and you've heard that the trial lawyers all over the country are sharpening their pencils getting ready to sue you, claiming that you didn't engage in proper distancing or other issues related to health and safety, McConnell told Fox News, as the Hill reported.

These efforts together have the effect of placing the onus of reopening the American economy on the shoulders of employees, typically low-wage workers with few options other than to deal with customers face-to-face in service establishments or work in industrial plants shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow employees.

It's no accident that hot spots of COVID-19 infections are such facilities as slaughterhouses in states with relatively few infections outside those facilities.

Nor should we overlook that medical experts are heavily opposed to premature reopenings in Iowa, Texas or other states, citing the likelihood that they will lead to a recrudescence in COVID-19 cases.

Laws that would block legal recourse for workers infected on the job would raise the risks for all workers by removing an incentive for business owners to comply with safe workplace practices, such as providing employees with protective garb and enforcing personal separation.

The governors' return-to-work policies also present a quandary for many small businesses that can't afford to reopen under the rules. Texas, for example, will allow restaurants to reopen only at 25% of their prior occupancy capacity.

That prompted Brooks Anderson, the owner of four Dallas restaurants, to observe, "I think we might lose money faster at 25% revenue than just staying closed for the meantime."

The governors' threats to cancel unemployment benefits underscore how unemployment insurance has been used as a cudgel against workers in the past. The best example is Florida. Former Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican now serving in the U.S. Senate, cut back the state's already miserly benefits even further.

Scott cut the maximum weeks of unemployment benefits to 12 from 26 and mandated that enrollees meet with at least five possible employers per week to keep benefits. He canceled the options to apply for benefits by phone or in person, relegating applicants to a website that regularly crashed (and still does). Employers were given more latitude to claim that workers had been fired for cause rather than laid off.

As New York Magazine reported, all these changes reduced the state's average unemployment assessment for employers to the lowest level in the country -- but overwhelmed Florida's application process when unemployment claims soared in the coronavirus emergency.

The prevailing notion among conservatives that people on unemployment are essentially layabouts and malingerers in disguise hampered efforts to use the system to encourage workers to stay home and to cover their lost paychecks in order to block the virus' spread.

Congressional Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tried to block an increase in benefits on the grounds that the change would make it more lucrative for workers not to work -- never mind that workplaces were shutting down by the thousands, and that the explicit goal of increasing benefits was to keep workers safe at home.

As we've reported before, American workers were unusually vulnerable to the economic impact of the virus because of America's history of anti-worker policies. A huge proportion of workers don't receive sick pay, and for a larger proportion health coverage is tied to employment, and disappears when the work disappears.

Early in the lockdown period, Americans prided themselves on honoring front-line workers serving us in dangerous circumstances. That feeling already has faded in several statehouses around the country. The prospects are great that when the current crisis passes, it will disappear altogether.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened China with fresh tariffs as he stepped up his attacks on Beijing over the coronavirus crisis, saying he had seen evidence linking a Wuhan lab to the contagion.

The diatribe from the Republican incumbent came as data showed the United States shed more than 30 million jobs in six weeks, as lockdown measures began to bite across the nation.

The gloom in the worlds largest economy found its parallel across the Atlantic, where experts warned of an unprecedented financial catastrophe in Europe.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has so far killed more than 230,000 people and forced more than half of humanity to live under some kind of lockdown, which has crippled economies.

The virus is believed to have originated late last year in a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan that sold wild animals for human consumption, but speculation has swirled about a top-secret lab in the ground-zero city.

Asked if he had seen anything giving him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak, Trump replied, Yes, I have.

Pressed by reporters at the White House for details on what made him so confident, Trump replied: I cannot tell you that.

Trump is increasingly making Beijings handling of the outbreak a major issue for his November re-election campaign.

When asked about reports that he could cancel US debt obligations to China, Trump said he could do it differently and act in probably a little bit more of a forthright manner.

I could do the same thing but even for more money, just putting on tariffs, he said.

Despite a truce in the long-running trade war between Washington and Beijing reached in January, tariffs are already in place on two-thirds of trade between the economic powers.

- Eurozone gloom -

European and US markets finished the day in negative territory, as a spate of figures confirmed fears about how the COVID-19 crisis is pulverizing global growth.

The latest jobless claims by another 3.84 million Americans translate into a jarring conclusion -- roughly nine percent of the US population has filed for unemployment benefits in six weeks.

In the midwestern US state of Michigan, protesters -- some of them armed -- stormed the state capitol building, demanding that the Democratic governor remove strict lockdown rules, which they say hurt the economy and represent governmental overreach.

The depressing US jobs data compounded the tough message from European Central Bank Christine Lagarde.

The euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime, she warned.

ECB economists expect output in the 19-nation currency club to shrink by five to 12 percent this year, she added.

Eurostat figures showed the eurozone economy was estimated to have shrunk by 3.8 percent in the first quarter.

Germany, Europes biggest economy, will experience the worst recession in the history of the federal republic -- founded in 1949 -- Economy Minister Peter Altmaier warned, predicting it would shrink by a record 6.3 percent.

- Drug trial boosts hopes -

The coronavirus virus has infected at least 3.2 million people so far, with Russias Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin becoming the latest high-profile figure to test positive as the countrys caseload surged past 100,000.

But there was some reason for cheer.

American scientists reported positive tests for an improved treatment, and with deaths and infections starting to drop in some hotspots, countries looked at the next phase in their plans to lift crippling lockdown measures.

On Thursday, Germany accelerated plans to start lifting its anti-virus lockdown, preparing to ease curbs on public life and reopen religious institutions, museums and zoos -- having restarted shopping last week.

A decision on when to reopen schools is to come next week.

It remains absolutely important that we stay disciplined, said Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In South Korea, where COVID-19 was detected in mid-February, no new infections were reported for the first time, suggesting its aggressive test-and-trace strategy is working.

South Koreas death toll is around 250 -- vastly lower than that of Italy, Britain, Spain and France, which have each recorded at least 24,000 fatalities.

The United States tops the table with more than 62,000 deaths.

Italy, once the world center of the outbreak, said Thursday it was hoping to reopen two major airports next week, but -- like Spain -- plans a cautious reopening.

We cannot allow the efforts made to be in vain because of rashness at this delicate stage, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself battled COVID-19, said the country was past the peak of its outbreak.

- Clear-cut effect -

Meanwhile, in the first evidence of successful treatment, a US clinical trial of the drug remdesivir showed that patients recovered about 30 percent faster than those on a placebo.

The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery, said Anthony Fauci, the top epidemiologist in the United States.

But it is a treatment, not the much-sought-after vaccine that might allow a full return to normal life.

More than 130 virus therapies are currently being investigated, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations said Thursday.

Most are still in the early stages of testing, but more than 25 clinical trials have begun, IFPMA director Thomas Cueni said.

burs-sst/ec
A care home nurse used the knowledge she gained during the swine flu outbreak to help save the lives of 13 dementia patients who were displaying symptoms of the coronavirus.

Maria Spollin, who runs the Church Farm at Skylarks in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, acted quickly when 13 residents fell ill.

Five of the patients had tested positive for Covid-19 while the remaining eight were displaying symptoms of the disease.

Ms Spollin introduced zoning into the communal area of the care home, isolating the patients who were displaying symptoms and creating a makeshift ward.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Ms Spollin said: "It was a very difficult day that day.

"Several patients presented very quickly, one after each other with symptoms that are possibly linked with the coronavirus.

"I knew that I needed to act quickly, because if it was coronavirus we wanted to limit the spread of it as much as possible."

The nurse described how the staff developed the 'ward' to keep people together who were displaying the same symptoms.

She added: "Because we are a dementia specialist care home not everybody understands the instructions we were giving to them so they didn't understand the importance of keeping away from fellow residents they lived with."

Church Farm Care said all of the patients have since made a full recovery.

Coronavirus infecting a cell - In pictures 1 /9 Coronavirus infecting a cell - In pictures Coronavirus infecting a cell EPA An image captured and color-enhanced at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA and made available by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow) EPA The SARS-COV-2 virus begin the infection process of cytoplasm of the cell, inside which is the nucleus, responsible for storing the genetic material of the cell EPA Tthe SARS-COV-2 virus particles after infection and viral replication inside the cell (white circle in the left corner) EPA A series of dark spots, which are viral particles of the SARS-COV-2 virus, trying to infect the cytoplasm of the cell, inside which is the nucleus, responsible for storing the genetic material of the cell EPA An arrow pointing to a novel coronavirus particle attached to cell membranes, displaying its typical glycoprotein spike 'corona' on the viral surface (issued 02 April 2020), seen in an electron microscope image, the first black and white portrait of the SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease EPA An image captured and color-enhanced at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA and made available by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (purple) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow) EPA

Retired Army Brigadier Peter Stevenson, who served with the Scottish Borders, was the first resident to contract Covid-19 after developing a cough and sore throat.

He celebrated his 86th birthday on the same day the care home was declared free from the virus.

Mr Stevenson's daughter, Julia Murphy said: "We were thrilled that he made it through. I was able to bake him a cake and left it at the door of the care home for him.

"Maria has been absolutely amazing. As a nurse myself, I couldn't be any more grateful and I couldn't have done anymore myself.

"They saved dad's life, I'm sure they have."

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Ms Spollin worked for 20 years at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester and during the 2009 swine flu epidemic she used those experiences to help her dementia patients.

Patrick Atkinson, director of Church Farm Care, told the BBC: "Maria was instrumental in our containment process and in preventing further infection within our residents."

There have been more than 4,000 coronavirus related deaths in care homes in England and Wales since the outbreak began.

The Care Quality Commission was notified of 4,343 deaths from Covid-19 in care homes from April 10 to the 24.

In London, there were 447 deaths in care homes in this period, including 40 in Enfield, 31 in Ealing, 28 in Hillingdon and 26 in Bromley.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1) - The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are back on their operations against the communist rebels after the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) announced the end of its ceasefire on Thursday.

The Department of Interior and Local Government asked the PNP to be on guard for any possible attacks by rebels.

Government forces should be 100 percent focused on humanitarian efforts at this time and yet we now have to face the violence of these communist terrorists," Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said in a statement.

On the other hand, the AFP leadership said they will also return to their counterinsurgency efforts despite their frontline duties in light of the pandemic crisis.

We will pursue with our combat patrols to thwart any harm these terrorists will bring to our people," the AFP said in a statement. "We will not hesitate to put our lives on the line against the unseen enemy which is COVID-19 or the lingering CPP-NPA virus.

Ano slammed the CPP for ending its ceasefire with the country still grappling with the deadly virus.

Mantakin niyong sa bigat ng kinakaharap ng bansa dahil sa Covid-19 ay mas pinipili pa ng mga komunista na isabay ang kanilang walang puwang na panggugulot pakikipagbakbakan sa mga sundalot pulis, Ano said.

[Translation: Its hard to believe that despite the crisis we are facing due to COVID-19, the communists chose to proceed with their nonsense attacks against the police and the military.]

The CPP said it was impossible to extend the truce claiming the military forces continued their counterinsurgency operations.

The military, however, said it was the communist party that never stopped with its offensive operations despite the pandemic.

Ano also said the CPP were never true to their unilateral ceasefire as seen in the death of 26 government forces killed in action between March 15 and April 23 under COVID-19 crisis.
These reservoirs remain the main obstacle to curing HIV/AIDS. But there is at present no easy way of targeting reservoir cells for elimination. Nor can scientists efficiently extract reservoir cells from patients to study them, and, ultimately, find ways to control them.

The reason is that the virus in these cells is silent. As a result, the cells do not carry on their surfaces the viral proteins that would make them easy to find.

Scientists have therefore been looking for other means to pinpoint reservoir cells.

In a recent paper in PLOS Pathogens, Gladstone Visiting Scientist Nadia Roan, PhD, and her team describe a class of cells that preferentially support latent infection by HIV. These cells are characterized by a surface protein called CD127 and are found in tissues such as lymph nodes, which are thought to harbor a larger share of the HIV reservoir than blood does.

"Our findings suggest that CD127 cells from tissues may be an important population to target for an HIV cure," says Roan, who is also an associate professor of urology at UC San Francisco.

In addition, scientists can potentially use the CD127 protein as a handle to isolate reservoir cells from patients, and study what makes them able to silence the virus, and occasionally reactivate it.

A New Reservoir?

HIV targets immune cells, known as T cells, that reside primarily in lymphoid tissues, such as lymph nodes and tonsils. Yet HIV infection studies have largely focused on T cells circulating in the blood, which are relatively easy to gain access tovolunteers are more likely to submit to a blood draw than a tissue biopsy.

But focusing on T cells present in the blood is probably giving scientists a skewed view of the reservoir composition.

"We have long suspected that reservoir cells come in different flavors, and that different tissues harbor different types of reservoir cells. But that has been difficult to show because reservoir cells in infected individuals are rare. The vast majority of in vitro models of latency use cell lines or cells circulating in the blood," says Roan.

Roan and her team, by contrast, have been studying HIV infection using tissue specimens. In previous work, her team exposed tonsil cells to HIV in the lab to see which ones were most susceptible to infection. Using a variety of experimental approaches, the team found that tonsil cells with the surface protein CD127 efficiently took up the HIV virus but only rarely let it replicate. By contrast, another type of tonsil cells, carrying CD57 on their surface, readily supported a productive infection.

That was intriguing, but that did not necessarily mean that CD127 were reservoir cells.

"After HIV enters a cell, the cell still has ways to escape infection," says Feng Hsiao, a former research associate in Roan's lab and co-first author of the present study.

One way is to prevent the virus from copying its genome. Unlike the genome of human cells, the HIV genome is made of RNA. One of the virus's first tasks upon entering a cell is to make DNA copies of its RNA genome, using a viral enzyme called reverse transcriptase.

Cells can hamper this step by activating an enzyme called SAMHD1 that depletes the stores of building blocks the virus needs to copy its genome. There was some evidence that this mechanism might be at play in blood cells.

However, in their present work, Roan and her team found that eliminating SAMHD1 by genetic manipulation did not allow CD127 cells to churn out virus, even though it boosted viral production by CD57 cells.

"This suggested to us that CD127 cells blocked the virus at a later step in its life cycle," says Julie Frouard, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Roan's lab and the other first-author of the study.

A Preference for Latent Infection

The next step for the virus is to integrate a copy of its genome into the host cell's DNA. Once there, the viral genes can take advantage of the cell machinery to produce their own proteins, which assemble new viral particles that can go infect other cells.

Reservoir cells harbor HIV's genetic material integrated in their own genomes, though they somehow silence it. The occasional mobilization of this material permits the release of infectious virus. Did CD127 tonsil cells allow HIV genome integration?

To answer this question, the scientists extracted the genome of CD127 and CD57 cells that had been exposed to virus in the lab. Using genetic tools that can specifically detect integrated viral DNA sequences, they found that both cell types harbored copies of the virus's genome, even though CD127 cells produced far less virus than CD57 cells did. The CD127 cells appeared to favor a latent infection.

And yet, the virus integrated in CD127 cells is not silenced forever. Roan and her team found that by treating latently infected CD127 cells with agents known to stimulate T cells, they could coax the cells to reactivate the virus.

Hence, CD127 tissue cells could very well serve as reservoir cells in the body, keeping the virus dormant most of the time, yet able to occasionally activate it and release the seeds of a new round of infection.

"The ability of a specific type of tissue T cell to preferentially support latent infection is very intriguing, and can teach us much about how the tissue reservoir becomes established initially," says Roan.

Controlling the Reservoir

To what extent CD127 cells are a major component of the reservoir in people living with HIV awaits follow-up studies analyzing these cells from multiple tissue sites. Preliminary studies from Roan's team are encouraging, as they show that the CD127 marker on the cells' surface can indeed be used to purify enough infected tissue cells from infected individuals to allow further analyses.

Meanwhile, "CD127 tonsil cells exposed to HIV in vitro provide a novel model to study viral latency in tissues," says Roan.

Roan and her team have already started analyzing what makes CD127 cells uniquely prone to silent infections. By comparing all the genes expressed in CD127 and CD57 tonsil cells, they found evidence that CD127 cells are in a quiescent state that may prevent the expression of the virus's genes. Moreover, they also found that the virus's gene products, or RNAs, failed to undergo the necessary processing that would allow them to make viral proteins.

"Ultimately, our hope is that the mechanisms we uncover can be harnessed to control the latent reservoir and move us closer to achieving a cure for HIV," says Roan.

About the Research Project

Other authors include Andrea Gramatica, Guorui Xie, Roland Schwarzer, Xiaoyu Lou, Marielle Carvois, and Warner G. Greene from Gladstone Institutes, and Sushama Telwatte and Steven A. Yukl from San Francisco Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01AI127219, R01AI147777, P01AI131374, R01DK108349, R01DK120387, R01AI132128, and S10-RR028962), the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research (109301), and CFAR (P30AI027763).

About Gladstone Institutes

To ensure our work does the greatest good, Gladstone Institutes focuses on conditions with profound medical, economic, and social impactunsolved diseases. Gladstone is an independent, nonprofit life science research organization that uses visionary science and technology to overcome disease. It has an academic affiliation with UC San Francisco.

Media Contact: Megan McDevitt | Science Writer and PR Specialist | [email protected] | 415.734.2019

1650 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158 | gladstone.org | @GladstoneInst

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Libya: Haftar Freezes Skhirat Agreement, What's Next?

Sputnik News

17:00 GMT 30.04.2020

Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on Monday announced a withdrawal from the political agreement that led to the formation of the Government of National Accord (GNA). He said the country was coming under the control of the army. Meanwhile, the GNA has called on members of parliament in the east of the country to back it.

As Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar announced that the Libyan National Army (LNA) was quitting the Skhirat Agreement that led to the formation of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Sputnik spoke with Libyan experts, who have offered their views on potential future scenarios for the war-torn country.

Chairman of the Defence and National Security Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) Talal Al-Mihoub said that he fully supported Haftar's decision.

"I strongly support the withdrawal from the Skhirat Agreement. The army is capable of kicking the terrorists out of the country and bringing order to political life much quicker and more effectively. The GNA has never been able to get out of chaos. Parliament is indeed better off resigning and supporting the initiative. It is imperative to change something urgently, otherwise, the anarchy will not stop", he said.

"Good Move"

Othman Baraka, who is head of the Saif al-Islam's Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya (PFFL), believes that Khalifa Haftar's move was quite successful, as it will ultimately lead to constitutional elections under the auspices of the UN.

"The freezing of the Skhirat Agreement has contributed to the disbanding of the Government of National Accord. This means the main problematic issue will finally be resolved: it will be possible to hold all-Libyan parliamentary elections under UN supervision. The tragedy is that this government can't even resolve internal disputes, so Haftar did the right thing", he said.

According to Baraka, however, there is a risk that the situation could seriously deteriorate.

"First of all, given the current situation, Tripoli's parliament may incorporate such forces, which in the end will only contribute to the processes of the division of the country. Secondly, the army still cannot impose control over the western part of the country, and that too threatens to perpetuate the division", the politician said.

Position in the Upper echelons

Member of the High Council of State (HCS) Mohammad Muazab believes that Haftar's statements on the transfer of power in the country to the army are not surprising.

"Everyone knows how Haftar has longed for power since the fall of the Gaddafi regime. He has repeatedly said that the 'only difference between him and Gaddafi was that he was better than him'. Therefore, his actions are not surprising in general", the HCS member said.

He also noted that Haftar "was hopelessly stuck in the 70s, when it was possible to gain power in this manner. But now, in the era of social networks, it is not going to work that way".

Muazab added that Marshal Haftar would only lose his popularity among Libyans with his demarche. He felt that in this way, the LNA was trying to distract attention from its own failures near Tripoli. However, this illusion of Haftar's total superiority would only make things worse for everyone, pushing the country into even greater chaos.

In turn, Government of National Accord Foreign Affairs Representative Mohammad al-Kiblawi said that it was virtually impossible to abandon the Skhirat Agreement because it was the basis for the entire system of solving the Libyan crisis.

"The provisions of the Skhirat Agreement were included in the constitutional declaration, which was supported by an overwhelming majority of Libyans. To freeze it unilaterally and declare the supremacy of the army is simply criminal. We have guaranteed our people the removal of the military and totalitarian regime forever", the diplomat said.

Commenting on the legitimacy of such a decision, al-Kiblawi noted that Haftar opposed even the political bodies supporting him: "They once appointed him. Thus, his actions have no legitimacy".

A Sputnik

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The lack of common knowledge is an underappreciated reason why it is so difficult for society to quickly adjust to emergencies such as COVID-19. People care about doing right, but also about how they are perceived. You may know wearing a mask or not letting your kids attend a play date is responsible, but wouldnt these be easier choices if you knew others were going to do likewise? For us to do right as a community, it is not enough for us each to know what is right. We also need to know that others know it.
A full high Street as shoppers are out and about in Berlin as the German economy moves out of partial lockdown from the Corona Virus. Wlimersdorfer Strasse, Charlottenburg. - Craig Stennett for the Telegraph

All eyes have been on Germany this week, amid claims the country is facing a second wave of coronavirus infections because it lifted its lockdown too soon.

But the German government figures cited as evidence of a second wave show nothing of the sort.

Even Dominic Raab got in on the act, telling a Number 10 press conference Having relaxed restrictions in Germany over the past week, they have seen a rise in the transmission rate of coronavirus.

The problem, as German government scientists have been at pains to point out, is that its simply too early to know anything about the effects of lifting lockdown on transmission rates  because there is no reliable data yet.

The figure that made international headlines this week was a brief rise in the German reproduction number, or R  the number of people each infected person passes the virus on to.

The reproduction number had been falling for weeks, so when it rose above government targets to 1.0 on Monday, it was seized on as evidence of a second wave.

But as Prof Lothar Wieler of Germanys Robert Koch Institute (RKI) explained this week, the rise didnt include data on the effects of lifting lockdown. The only reliable data we have is the daily deaths and cases rate:

It takes time for new infections to be fed into the complex calculations that produce the R number.

Infections dont show up immediately. Most people arent tested for the coronavirus until they start to show symptoms, which can take days to appear. Tests take time to process, and there is a further delay before positive results are reported to the authorities

The RKI works on the basis of a 10 to 14 day delay in new infections showing up in the R number. And Mondays brief rise came just 7 days after Germany began to lift its lockdown.

The rise was little more than a statistical blip within normal fluctuation rates, according to Prof Wieler.

As if in confirmation, on Wednesday the R number fell to 0.75  its lowest level in more than a week  and it is now at 0.76.

Story continues

A wearing a face mask takes a selfie in front of elephants on April 28, 2020 in Berlin's Zoo as it partially reopens for the public amid the novel coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images) - TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP

The truth is that we wont have any idea of the effect of lifting Germanys lockdown until next week, when the first reliable data will be available.

That is why Angela Merkel and regional leaders were not expected to make any changes to the current restrictions until next week.

But on Thursday Mrs Merkel made a surprise announcement that playgrounds, zoos and museums would be allowed to reopen across Germany with immediate effect.

It was a relatively small change, and it may yet come to be seen as reckless. But it appeared calculated to send a message: there is no second wave, for now at least, and Germany is pressing ahead with lifting its lockdown.
The deadly coronavirus originated from a virology lab in China's Wuhan city before it spread across the world and claimed over 233,000 lives and shattered global economies, US President Donald Trump has said.

Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community on Thursday which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

Ever since the virus outbreak came to light in Wuhan in December last, speculation has been rife on whether the viral strain originated from China's premier Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or from its nearby Huanan Seafood Market. The US has launched an investigation into whether the deadly virus "escaped" from the WIV.

At his daily White House briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak in the US on Thursday, Trump was asked by a reporter: "Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?"



"Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump said. The president, however, refused to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.

Asked what gave him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the WIV, he said, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."



In a rare public statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees US spy agencies, said on Thursday it concurs with the "wide scientific consensus" regarding COVID-19's natural origins.

"The (intelligence community) will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan," the ODNI statement said.

It was the first clear response from American intelligence debunking conspiracy theories - both from the US and China - that the virus is a biological weapon.

The US is the worst affected nation with a death toll of over 63,000 and 1,069,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The economic fallout is huge, with nearly four million more Americans filing for jobless benefits last week.

Some 30.3 million people in the US have now filed for financial aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began in the country.

Trump also blamed the World Health Organisation for the pandemic. "I think the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they're like the public relations agency for China," he said.

Trump, however, did not hold his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping responsible for the global outbreak.

"I don't want to say that, I don't want to say that, but certainly it could have been stopped. It came out of China and it could have been stopped and I wish they had stopped it and so does the whole world wish they had stopped it," he said.

China has come under increasing global pressure over lack of transparency in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected over 3,257,000 people and killed 233,400 other across the world.

Besides the US, the UK, Australia and Germany have also called for more transparency from Beijing on the COVID-19 origin.

Reiterating that the coronavirus could have been contained at Wuhan Trump said, "They were either unable to, or they chose not to. And the world has suffered greatly."



One of two things happened, he reasoned. "They either didn't do it and you know they couldn't do it from a competent standpoint or they let it spread and I would say probably it got out of control."



"But there's another case that how come they stopped all of the planes and all of the traffic from going into China, but they didn't stop the planes and the traffic from coming into the US and from coming into all over Europe," he said, citing the example of Italy, the hardest-hit European country.

The US, he said "is very lucky" as his administration had put the ban on flights coming from China "very early on".

Before holding China accountable, Trump said he wants to find out what happened.

"I think we'll be able to get a very good -- a very powerful definition of exactly what happened. We're working on it strongly now and I think it's going to be very powerful," he said.

"But they could have stopped it. They are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. It got loose, let's say, and they could have capped it. They could have stopped it, but they didn't, he said.

"We should have the answer to that in the not-too-distant future and that will determine a lot how I feel about China," Trump said.

The entire world has suffered as a result of not stopping the virus outbreak in China, he said.

The WIV, specifically its P4 laboratory, is equipped to handle dangerous viruses.

Though the laboratory has denied the allegation in a statement in February, its director Yuan Zhiming, in his first media interview last month, rejected the allegation that his institute is the original source of the COVID-19.

"We know what kind of research is going at the institute and how the institute manages viruses and samples. There is no way that virus came from us. We have a strict regulatory regimen," he told the state-run CGTN TV channel.

Referring to the US allegations, Yuan had said it is unfortunate that some people are "deliberately misleading" people without having any "evidence or knowledge".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - A spokesman for a key House panel said Friday that the White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying next week at a hearing on the coronavirus outbreak.

House Appropriations Committee spokesman Evan Hollander said the panel sought Fauci  the highly respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  as a witness for a subcommittee hearing on the governments response to the pandemic, but was denied. Hollander said the panel was informed by an administration official that Faucis testimony was blocked by the White House.

The White House said Fauci is busy dealing with the pandemic and will appear before Congress later. In fact, Fauci is set to appear the week after next at a Senate hearing, a spokesperson for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee said. The Senate is held by Trumps Republican allies while the House is controlled by Democrats.

While the Trump Administration continues its whole-of-government response to COVID-19, including safely opening up America again and expediting vaccine development, it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at Congressional hearings, said White House spokesman Judd Deere. We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time.

Fauci is the top scientist on President Donald Trumps coronavirus task force and is no stranger to testifying before Congress. He has sometimes contradicted Trumps optimistic misstatements about the virus and how much it is under control after claiming more than 64,000 lives in the U.S.

Fauci has warned against relaxing social distancing rules that have helped slow the spread of the virus but caused a major hit to the economy. That has earned him criticism from some of Trumps most ardent supporters, and Trump himself has retweeted a supporter who called for Faucis firing.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 06:22:42|Editor: huaxia

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LOS ANGELES, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Protesters gathered in at least 11 cities Friday noon in the U.S. state of California, urging to lift shelter-in-place restrictions against COVID-19 pandemic and reopen the state as quickly as possible, local media reported.

More than 500 protesters converged on Huntington Beach, a city in Orange County located 60 km south of Los Angeles downtown. They carried banners that read "All Jobs are essential" and "Freedom: We the people."

The California authorities on Thursday ordered Orange County to close all beaches, many of whom remained open despite the state's mandatory issued weeks before.

Such protests occurred in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and other cities almost at the same time as California Governor Gavin Newsom's daily noon briefing on novel coronavirus.

The campaign was organized by the local "Reopen California" Facebook groups which have thousands of members.

On the organizers' official website, all people taking part in the protests are required to maintain CDC guidelines for prevention, including keeping social distancing from non-family members, but they could make decision by themselves to wear masks or cloth face coverings or not.

However, photos posted online showed while some protesters wore face coverings, most neither wore marks nor followed social distancing guidelines of six feet of separation.

Local police monitored the protests but did not arrest any attendee.

Newsom, at his Friday news conference, said he understood the concerns of protesters but urged residents in California to continue to obey the stay-at-home order and emphasized that some easing of the rules was days away.

He reiterated that he felt the pressure to reopen the state, but only scientific data could decide the schedule.

"Politics will not drive our decision making. Protests will not drive our decision making. Political pressure will not drive our decision making," said Newsom. "The science, data and public health will drive our decision making." Enditem
The government signed off on a 101-day plan to reopen the Irish society and economy after a lengthy cabinet meeting on Friday.

The meeting lasted for over two hours, but was not described as being overly contentious, sources said. While it was heavy on detail, it is understood that this was down to ministers seeking clarification on exactly what the road map to easing restrictions would entail.

Sources say that the meeting did not see a repeat of a disagreement at the cabinet table earlier this week, when the "civil liberty wing" of the government argued for an easing of restrictions on movements.

It is understood that while a slight majority of the cabinet was in favour of easing the restrictions before Friday, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) advice has been followed "nearly to the letter".

That "civil liberty wing" had made representations particularly on the impact the lockdown was having on older people and businesses like outdoor construction, where physical distancing is possible.

Both of those groups were given some easing of restrictions in the road map.

However, it is understood that these measures were broadly accepted as they had been approved by NPHET.

"All ministers contributed, but it was a very productive meeting," a source said.

"It was focused on detail, but it wasnt that people were looking to pick holes in the document, they just wanted to understand it a bit more clearly and contribute ideas where they felt they could."

In a rare move, ministers were not given the advice from the NPHET ahead of time, with priority given to ensuring that the exact details of the document didnt leak before the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar could give his address to the nation, which was not followed by questions from the media.

Cabinet will meet again on Saturday, with a particular focus on devising business supports, Mr Varadkar said.

"Getting people back to work and re-starting businesses will not be easy. I know that. It wont be possible for people to just pick up where they left off. Businesses are going to need help to get going again.

"So, tomorrow, Cabinet will meet again to agree further actions to help our businesses to restart, reconnect and rehire staff who have been laid off or furloughed. "

Mr Varadkar said that a "national protocol" for the reopening of businesses in a safe manner was also being created with input from trade unions, employers, the Health and Safety Authority and the HSE.

Cabinet also signed off on extending two social protection measures which were due to expire next week. The 350 Covid-19 illness benefit and the waiving of the three-day waiting period for those claiming Jobseekers Benefit have both been extended.

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Islamabad: Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has become the latest top politician to be tested positive for the coronavirus on a day when authorities announced a record 990 new COVID-19 cases in the country.

The Ministry of National Health Services on Friday said that 24 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 385.

A record 990 new infections were reported during the period, taking the country's tally to 16,817, it said.

Qaiser is the second high-profile politician and a member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to be infected with the virus. Earlier, Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail tested positive for the deadly disease.

The speaker went into self-isolation after he got his test results on Thursday.

"I tested positive for coronavirus and quarantined myself in my house. I urge the entire nation to take preventive measures," he tweeted after he received his test results from the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad.

Qaiser's brother Abdul Wahid was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune that the speaker's son and daughter also tested positive for the disease and were quarantined.

Earlier, Qaiser's brother-in-law and sister were also diagnosed to be infected with the virus.

Qaiser had reportedly hosted an Iftar dinner at his residence on Monday, in violation of the government's social distancing guidelines, the report said.

Meanwhile, Advisor to prime minister Imran Khan on Health Zafar Mirza on Thursday said that the country could reach the peak of the pandemic by the end of May or middle of June.

"But it can be different also as we are not sure and monitoring the situation closely," he said.

The health ministry said that a total of 4,315 people have recovered from the disease.

Punjab province reported 6,340 cases, Sindh 6,053, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 2,627, Balochistan 1,049, Islamabad 343, Gilgit-Baltistan 339 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 66 cases.

So far, 182,131 tests have been conducted, including 7,971 on Thursday. A total of 3,706 patients were admitted to 717 hospitals with COVID-19 facilities across the country. The rest of the patients were in isolation at their homes.

Other leading politicians suffering from the disease include Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker from Tharparkar and a leading Hindu leader Rana Hamir Singh and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) lawmaker from Karachi, Abdul Rasheed.

Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani was the first politician to be diagnosed with the coronavirus in late March. He has recovered from the disease.

Prime minister Khan tested negative for the virus last week.

He agreed for the test after Faisal Edhi, the son of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and chairman of the Edhi Foundation, who met him last week tested positive for the coronavirus.
Listen to Outbreak Alabama: Stories from a Pandemic, above.

Today, we hear from AL.com reporter Chris Harress, who covers the impact coronavirus continues to have in the Mobile area.

A Mobile barber recently reopened his shop, defying Gov. Kay Iveys health orders and attracting the attention of local law enforcement. Chris was there and spoke to Joel Edwards about the hardships he and other business owners are facing during the pandemic. Iveys new order to reopen parts of Alabamas economy allowed beaches and retailers to reopen but leaves barbershops shuttered.

Outbreak Alabama will release two or three episodes per week, chronicling the experiences of those directly impacted by COVID-19s spread, including health care professionals, business owners, city leaders, artists, AL.com reporters and many others.

If you or anyone you know is affected by the coronavirus and want to share your story, please email bflanagan@al.com, thats b-f-l-a-n-a-g-a-n@al.com. For all of our coverage on the outbreak and how it continues to impact Alabama, visit AL.com/coronavirus.

Listen and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Acast or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like the show, please rate it and write us a review. Thank you for listening.

More from Outbreak Alabama:

Is it really time to reopen Alabama?

A coronavirus survivors message to the rest of us

Ivey not ready to reopen just yet

Crime in the age of coronavirus

What role do our churches play?

The absence of sports

Learning from a distance

Walt Maddox on leading Tuscaloosa through coronavirus

Social distancing, or not

Coronavirus early impact on musicians

Alabama restaurants
To be sure, many small businesses in my own community have made heroic efforts to reopen to provide food and essential services while keeping their own staff safe. We must be sensitive to the costs they face and ensure they receive the necessary support to keep operating. But Ive also observed that these small restaurants and groceries are more likely to be concerned about protective measures at this time as they rely on the goodwill of communities for their continued business. Large companies such as Amazon are making record profits while cutting corners when it comes to sick leave and worker safety. They can afford to do better and must be held accountable to do so. [Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Post.]
Confusion over the personal tax implications of the $130 billion JobKeeper scheme has left some workers worried they will see far less than the $1500-a-fortnight wage subsidy promised by the government in their bank accounts.

Employees who normally earn high incomes are in some cases finding themselves taxed at their normal rates even after their incomes plummeted to the pre-tax $1500 they are entitled to under JobKeeper. Once tax has been withheld, that has left some earning less than those on the dole.

Some employers have been left unclear about how much tax is payable under JobKeeper. Credit:Louie Douvis

One stood-down worker, who declined to be named for fear of jeopardising his employment, showed The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald his pay slip, which revealed he was being taxed at almost 40 per cent on his JobKeeper payment.

"We're grateful for anything, but $450 per week doesn't cover the mortgage and car loans, so there's nothing left for food or any utility costs," he said.
The Islamic State said today it was behind Thursday's attack that killed as many as 10 soldiers in Egypts northern Sinai region.

The insurgents made the claim of responsibility in their news outlet, but gave almost no detail on how the attack was carried out or who was involved, Reuters reported.

But according to a statement from Egyptian army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai, an improvised explosive device targeted a military vehicle near the southern city of Bir al-Abd.

Egypts Ministry of Interior condemned the attack in a brief statement today.

Such abortive attempts will not stop the brave Armed Forces men from defending the resources of the nation, a ministry statement read.

Today, Egyptian armed forces shot and killed two terrorists in northern Sinai, Rifai said, without specifying if the suspects were involved in Thursdays attack.

Egypt is trying to tamp down a yearslong insurgency ignited by the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. The insurgents are led by an Islamic State affiliate in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which borders the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Last month, Egyptian security forces killed seven suspected militants in the capital, Cairo, who were believed to be plotting Easter attacks against the countrys Coptic Christians. A police officer died and three others were wounded following a shootout at the scene.

In April 2017, the Islamic State (IS) took credit for twin suicide bombings that killed dozens of people at Coptic churches celebrating Palm Sunday in northern Egypt.

In addition to targeting Christians and state security forces, the insurgents have also attacked Muslims. In November 2017, an IS-claimed bombing at a crowded mosque in northern Sinai left more than 300 dead. The worshippers were Sufi Muslims, whose mystical form of Islam the Sunni extremists find heretical.
Gerry McGovern is the Chief Creative Office of Land Rover and a trained car designer.

Jaguar Land Rover

IBIS estimates that the global auto industry generates $4 trillion in annual revenue.

The industry employs almost 5.7 million people.

From dealerships to automakers to repair shops, high-earning jobs abound.

We found seven careers that could lead to $100,000-and-above annual payouts.

These careers are also well-poised to benefit from a post-coronavirus rebound.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The global auto industry is, to be quite blunt, huge.

It generates trillions in annual revenue and keeps millions employed.

The pay can also be pretty good. A unionized hourly worker at vehicle assembly plant in the US can bring home a mid-five-figure yearly total, and with seniority and overtime, get close to $100,000.

If you survey the entire industry, which supports everything from engineering to banking to insurance, you could easily find numerous six-figure salaries.

At the moment, with automakers enduring massive manufacturing shutdowns and undertaking layoffs to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, employment in the industry is in limbo. But demand for cars isn't likely to vanish, so these careers remain good bets.

Here's a sampling:

F&I manager  $133,000

Buying a car at a dealership means spending some quality time with F&I.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

"F&I" is auto-industry shorthand for "finance and insurance." If you've ever bought or leased a vehicle from an auto dealer, you've most likely interacted with an F&I professional. They're the last stage in the purchasing process, where you're walked through the details of your lease or loan, warranty, given the opportunity to buy into extras that are dealership-exclusive, deal with local DMV regulations and paperwork, and can have insurance coverage arranged.

Sometimes, your dealer will introduce you to an F&I staffer during the buying process to review lease and loan options. The dealership, if it's franchised to sell major brands (Toyota, Ford, Cadillac, Mercedes, and so on), should have access to an automaker's captive-finance arm, as well as a bunch of banks that can make loans to buyers of varying creditworthiness.

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Almost nobody walks into a dealership with bag of cash, so an F&I manager has a very big job: he or she needs to figure how people from all walks of life can get across the car-buying/leasing finish line.

Dealers make money from selling cars, but they make their real profits acting as loan brokers, insurance brokers, and by selling things like extended warranties to customers. That's why the F&I manager is well compensated  NADA reckons on average almost $133,000 a year  and often has received special training or a certification.

Car designer  $100,000

A "tape" drawing of the Lamborghini Urus.

Lamborghini

The range is what one might expect here: designers at the beginning of their careers make less than six figures, but the pay is still good, in the mid-fives.

Once you get some seniority, six figures is in sight. And if you become a major name in the field or oversee all design operations for a large automaker, you can rack up a lot more than $100,000.

An experienced designer at a top auto brand should spend his or her days dealing with a team of fellow designers, meeting with the engineers who are determining how a vehicle is going to get built, and spending a lot of time sketching ideas, refining those ideas using computers drafting programs, and in some cases creating physical clay models and even making full-size "tape" drawings on walls. And not all designers work on exteriors  everything from seats to sun visors also have to be developed.

Most car designers have graduated from a transportation-design program, such as the one at California's Art Center College of Design, whose alumni include Tesla's Franz von Holzhausen, Acura's Michelle Christensen, and the controversial Chris Bangle, formerly of BMW.

Mechanical engineer  $120,000

Sheena Patterson engineers robots for Tesla.

Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

Becoming an engineer has always been a great path to a good starting salary. But if you stick with the gig and labor in, say, the Detroit area for General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, you could expect to hit $120,000 if you achieve some seniority. (The BLS reports that the top 10% can earn almost $137,000.)

By that point, you won't be tinkering with turbochargers any longer, but rather overseeing a group of tinkerers.

Keep at it and satisfy the boss' demands and you could become the boss yourself. Then you become a manager and might be assigned an entire vehicle to launch. At a company such as Ford, high-pressure engineering roles involve new Mustangs and pickup trucks.

Engineers typically have four-year degrees from colleges that are known for feeding into the car business, but grad-school isn't a requirement. Often, however, those with their sights on becoming executives will get MBAs.

Electrical engineer  $100,000

A Tesla vehicle at a Supercharger station in California.

Bryan Logan/Business Insider

The median salary for an electrical engineer is about $95,000, so more senior folks could easily top $100,000.

Demand for electrical engineers should dramatically increase in the coming decade as automakers shift from internal-combustion powerplants to EVs. The industry already employs electrical engineers, but going forward, battery designs and electric propulsion are going to require additional talent.

The relative simplicity of EVs compared to gas vehicles doesn't mean they aren't complicated in other ways. Tesla, for example, has battery packs that require thousands of lithium-ion cells, all wired together and managed with software.

Master mechanic  $100,000

Being a master mechanic means going beyond just checking under the hood.

Matt Cardy/Stringer/Getty Images

Becoming a professional gearhead is actually not a bad career move, as skilled mechanics can make $40-50,000 annually.

But as with other jobs in the rundown, the more experience and expertise you amass, the more you get paid. Master mechanics who have some years under their tool belts and have been trained and certified for complicated service and repair procedures are in demand and can command $100,000-and-up wages.

College degrees aren't requires, and shortage of mechanics has some vocational schools stressing the potentially big-time paydays for trained mechanics.

Software developer  $110,000

Cruise, based in San Francisco, employees many software developers.

GM

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median yearly salary for a software developer is $110,000. And while you might think that the auto industry needs mechanical engineers more than folks who can wrangle code, you'd be mistaken.

In fact, as cars become more and more like rolling computers, and as companies such as Cruise, Waymo, and Tesla strive to crack the challenge of autonomous vehicles, a massive talent hunt is on in the world's auto capitals to hire software engineers.

Some professionals could be trying to teach cars to drive themselves, but others could spend their days developing testing programs, supporting manufacturing teams and robotics efforts, or figuring out new ways to provide wireless connectivity to vehicles.

Supply chain manager  $116,000.

The global auto industry runs on multinational supply chains.

Picture Alliance/Getty Images

In the good old days, trains loaded with iron ore would roll up to one side of Ford's famous River Rouge factory and finished cars would roll out the other side.

But ever since the 1980s, such highly vertical manufacturing has been supplanted by so-called "lean" or "just in time" systems, with parts arriving as they're needed rather than being stockpiled in inventory.

To make this process work for companies that do business around the world, the supply chain manager has entered the picture and taken on a critically important role. So important that various salary-tracking websites rank this job as one of the industry's best-paying.

A degree in lots of fields can get you started, but areas such as business administration, math, economics, engineering, or science should expose you to the level of detail and organization you'd need to thrive in supply chain management.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Philippines - AH-1Z Attack Helicopters and Related Equipment and Support

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 20-04

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2020 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the Philippines of six (6) AH-1Z attack helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $450 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the Philippines has requested to buy six (6) AH-1Z attack helicopters; fourteen (14) T-700 GE 401C engines (12 installed, 2 spares); seven (7) Honeywell Embedded Global Positioning Systems/Inertial Navigation (EGIs) w/Precise Positioning Service (PPS) (6 installed, 1 spare); six (6) AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles; and twenty six (26) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) all up rounds. Also included is communications equipment; electronic warfare systems, AN/AAR-47 Missile and Laser Warning System, AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser System, AN/APR-39 Radar Warning Receiver, seven (7) M197 20mm machine guns (6 installed, 1 spare), Target Sight System (TSS), 5,000 20mm Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive Incendiary (SAPHEI) rounds, two (2) AIM-9M Sidewinder training missiles, MJU-32 and MJU-38 Magnesium Teflon pyrotechnic decoy flares, flight training device, LAU-68 rocket launchers, LAU-61 rocket launchers, support equipment, spare engine containers, spare and repair parts, tools and test equipment, technical data and publications, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $450 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in South-East Asia.

The Philippines is considering either the AH-1Z or the AH-64E to modernize its attack helicopter capabilities. The proposed sale will assist the Philippines in developing and maintaining strong self-defense, counterterrorism, and critical infrastructure protection capabilities. The Philippines will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractors will be Bell Helicopter, Textron, Fort Worth, Texas; and General Electric Company, Lynn, Massachusetts. Offsets may be a requirement of doing business in the Philippines; however, offsets are negotiated directly between the Original Equipment Manufacturers or other vendors and the Government of the Philippines, and further details are not known at this time.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple trips by U.S. Government and contractor representatives to participate in program and technical reviews plus training and maintenance support in country, on a temporary basis, for a period of twenty-four (24) months. It will also require one (1) contractor support representative to reside in country for a period of two (2) years to support this program.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Outstanding government debt continued to climb in March, rising to 8.18 trillion ahead of big-ticket loans secured for the countrys COVID-19 response.

The Bureau of the Treasury reported that total debts rose by 11.82 billion from the previous month, mainly due to additional borrowings taken from local investors. Compared to last year, debts rose by 4.8 percent, data showed.

Two-thirds of the borrowed funds came from domestic sources at 5.51 trillion, with the increase due to additional peso-denominated government securities issued locally. The value of these IOUs picked up by 6.1 percent compared to March 2019.

The balance has been sourced from foreign lenders, which amounted to 2.66 trillion. The tally actually went down versus February, but is still 2.3 percent higher when compared to last years haul. The month-on-month decline came as the government settled some of its foreign loans and saved from the stronger peso-dollar exchange rate.

The peso firmed up against the US dollar, improving to 50.78:$1 in March versus the 50.897 rate in February, the Treasury reported.

Meanwhile, the national government set aside 481.8 billion for guaranteed payments, barely changed from the 479.7 billion allotted the previous year.

State borrowings are expected to significantly shoot up by April as the government takes on additional borrowings to finance its COVID-19 response. The bulk of the amount will be borrowed from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, as the government spends on cash subsidies to help poor families survive while Luzon, the countrys business and financial center, went on lockdown to contain further infections.

The government also raised $2.35 billion (about 119 billion) by offering dollar-denominated bonds to global investors earlier this week.

READ: Philippines 'financially prepared' for COVID-19 quarantine measures until end of May

The government borrows from a mix of local and foreign sources to support the spending plans of the Duterte administration. The obligations include government-issued bonds, credit lines from multilateral institutions, and loans via official development assistance from foreign countries.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said he expects the share of debts to account for 47 percent of the local economy  up from the 41.5 percent ratio as of 2019, but will remain a comfortable level.
VANCOUVER, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Entree Resources Ltd. (TSX:ETG;OTCQB:ERLFF  the "Company" or "Entree") is pleased to announce the results of voting at its annual general meeting of shareholders which was held today in Vancouver, British Columbia (the "Meeting"). All matters submitted to shareholders for approval as set out in the Company's Notice of Meeting and Information Circular, both dated March 26, 2020, were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at the Meeting.

NUMBER OF DIRECTORS

Shareholders approved setting the number of directors at six.

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The details of the voting results for the election of directors are set out below:



Votes For Withheld Votes Director # % # % Mark Bailey 75,674,070 97.55 1,897,800 2.45 Alan Edwards 75,760,249 97.66 1,811,621 2.34 James Harris 75,673,482 97.55 1,898,388 2.45 Michael Price 75,900,174 97.84 1,671,696 2.16 Stephen Scott 76,037,643 98.02 1,534,227 1.98 Anna Stylianides 76,064,407 98.06 1,507,463 1.94

APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS

Davidson & Company LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants was re-appointed auditors of the Company for the ensuing year at the remuneration to be fixed by the directors.

STOCK OPTION PLAN

Shareholders approved amendments to and the renewal of the Company's Stock Option Plan.

Detailed voting results for the Meeting are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT ENTREE RESOURCES LTD.

Entree Resources Ltd. is a well-funded Canadian mining company with a unique carried joint venture interest on a significant portion of one of the world's largest copper-gold projects  the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. Entree has a 20% or 30% carried participating interest in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi joint venture, depending on the depth of mineralization. Sandstorm Gold, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources are major shareholders of Entree, holding approximately 21%, 9% and 8% of the shares of the Company, respectively. More information about Entree can be found at www.EntreeResourcesLtd.com.

SOURCE Entree Resources

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When he described The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca as "the best picture in the world" Aldous Huxley threw down a gauntlet for the future. This was in 1925, long before the advent of mass tourism turned great paintings into celebrities. Today nobody stands contemplatively in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre or Van Gogh's 1889 Self-Portrait in the Musee d'Orsay, savouring the smallest nuances. Anybody who entertains such desires has little chance of pushing through the crowd and holding their ground for more than a few seconds.

The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca

For most people it's enough to have seen the famous work, if only for an instant. The ideal result is to grab a selfie with the picture  just as you would if you suddenly ran into Kim and Kanye walking down the street. It's exciting to be in the presence of a celebrity even if you're not exactly clear how he or she got to be famous.

"Celebrity" is most expediently defined as "the state of being well known". To be a celebrity you don't have to have any special genius or be a good person. Celebrity may be conferred by looks, wealth, notoriety or just dumb luck. Most celebrities are quickly made and just as quickly forgotten.

So when did works of art become celebrities? When did we decide that a visit to Paris necessitated a quick visit to the Louvre to take a photo of the Mona Lisa? It has a lot to do with the progress of the smartphone and social media, which have diminished our attention spans and made us into curators of our own lives. Nowadays if experiences are not photographed, posted and archived electronically  it's as if they had no value.
The headquarters of the Writers Guild of America West in Los Angeles. (Writers Guild of America West)

The Writers Guild of America and the major studios have agreed to start much-anticipated contract negotiations, which were at risk of being derailed by the coronavirus crisis.

After a feisty exchange between the lead negotiators, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the WGA agreed to extend the union's current contract, which expires May 1, to June 30. They also agreed to begin negotiations via videoconference the week of May 11, the groups said.

The parties previously sparred over whether the negotiations would include extending healthcare eligibility to writers who lost work during the shutdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. AMPTP President Carol Lombardini on Thursday assured WGA lead negotiator David Young that producers would consider extending healthcare eligibility for those writers affected by the downturn.

Lombardini initially deferred Young's request to include the health plan in the scope of the collective bargaining talks, referring the decision instead to the plan trustees. That drew a sharp rebuke from Young, who called the group "despicable."

The talks come amid an unprecedented crisis in Hollywood, which has been roiled by the forced shutdowns of productions to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Hollywood's writers and performers, represented by SAG-AFTRA, will be negotiating new terms over compensation from streaming and will be seeking other improvements to their existing contracts.

"Our entire committee remains committed to gaining the best possible deal for writers," the WGA said in a message to members viewed by The Times. "Thank you for your encouragement and support as we have prepared for this negotiation."

The contract extension means writers, many of whom are continuing to work from their homes, will continue to be covered by the current contract through the end of June, the WGA said in its message.
The rising trend of working out at home has pushed up demand for fitness equipment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demand for fitness equipment has increased greatly as many people have begun working out at home during the social distancing period.  Photo from Internet

Fitness has become a popular word on social media. Many people are exercising at home to maintain their usual routine at their gyms, which have had to close. Others, however, have started to work out for the first time because they have more free time.

Anh Nhi, in Ho Chi Minh City, started working out at home to kill time during the social distancing period.

This is the first time I have done a workout at home, so I needed equipment. At least, a mat. Workout sessions and classes are available online but not equipment. So I just called a shop and everything I needed was shipped to my door, she said.

Nguyen Thi Hoa from HCM City had the same idea. I am so worried about gaining weight during social distancing due to lack of activities so I set up a plan to have a 'gym' at home to keep my body in shape.

Hoa said that she visited a shop first but they had run out of products, so she ordered online.

Inspired by friends on Facebook, Nguyen Trang from District 7 said she had more free time to exercise with her family members, so she decided to buy must-have accessories.

Doing exercise is a good way to strengthen our resistance" to illness, she said.

As demand increases, shops selling fitness tools, especially online stores, have seen more sales.

Just with a click on Facebook or online shopping platforms like Shopee or Lazada, customers can find shops selling fitness accessories, including mats, dumbbells, bands, stability balls, and tubing.

A seller on Facebook told Vietnam News that the number of customers visiting his page had strongly increased.

Not all of them buy, but the orders have increased a lot compared to usual days, he said.

A seller in Go Vap District was quoted in thegioitiepthi.vn as saying that her shops revenue had doubled since March. Instead of selling equipment wholesale to gym centres, her shop now sells products to individual buyers.

Shops also have online services to support customers during the social distancing time, she said.

Nguyen Hung, an owner of a sport shop in Phu Nhuan District, said: Our shop decided to do online selling. The orders increased a lot after social distancing started. I had to hire more shippers and employees to meet the strong demand.

Seeing the growing demand, many shops have introduced promotions to compete with each other and attract more customers. Shops are offering discounts of 10-30 percent or providing a gift to customers who buy products./.VNS
T he lockdown has disrupted everyones plans  including those of the new Leader of the Opposition.

As Keir Starmer tells the Evening Standard today , he had this image in my head that the moment when he heard hed won the Labour leadership contest, hed be in a massive conference centre with thousands of Labour members and supporters.

Instead, he was told on a Zoom call while sitting in the attic hes turned into his home office. At least, true to the tradition of north London socialists, he celebrated later with a glass of champagne (a Kir Royale?).

The lockdown has also stopped him capitalising on his victory by touring the country and telling people the Labour Party is returning to sanity. In the same vein, the cross-examination of Boris Johnson at PMQs that many are expecting from the former director of public prosecutions will have to wait.

Instead, Sir Keir finds himself in that very uncomfortable position for any British opposition of trying to be constructive in a national crisis, asking workmanlike questions on virus tracking and testing.

He says he isnt calling for ministers to resign over the handling of coronavirus, much to the disappointment of the more fervent Tory-haters. But he is right and they are wrong.

The shrill extremism of the Corbynistas achieved only one thing: it gave the Conservatives their commanding majority.

Sir Keirs job is to undo years of damage, and start the slow, painstaking process of building a credible alternative administration. The policies and positions that stand in the way of that are being ditched.

In January, he said Labour had to make the case for the benefits of free movement. He said: I want people in Europe to be able to come and work here, and vice versa.

Its an admirable vision, one that the Evening Standard supported when we were members of the EU; but its an electorally disastrous pledge in a post-Brexit world where Labour needs to recapture Northern and Midland heartlands lost to the Tories, in part on the issue of immigration.

So, having won the pro-European activist support in the Labour leadership contest, Sir Keir is having to pivot to try to win the country.

In todays Evening Standard interview, he has subtly changed the pledge, saying he wants people abroad to study here and families to be able to live together.

When it comes to the issue of free movement for work, he says its nuanced and he wants to listen. For the few this will seem like a sell-out; but for the many this will sound like an opposition leader ready to make the necessary compromises on the path to power.

The next test is an app

By the skin of his teeth, Matt Hancock may have made it. Testing rates shot up this week thanks to drive from the top and commitment from everyone involved.

The final adding up is being done, but hes optimistic he has hit his target of testing 100,000 people in a day, with capacity above that.

Obviously it would have been better if the level of tests had been this high a month ago. And hitting the target once isnt enough  we need to see testing rates kept high and rising day after day, with accurate results delivered fast. But it is progress.

Testing on its own wont beat coronavirus, however. It just tells us if we are winning or losing. Its whats done with the information that will make the difference  so thats the next challenge the Government is setting itself.

As the Evening Standard reveals today, its now aiming to have the app thats being developed to track and trace infection up and running by the end of this month.

If it works, people who have come into contact with someone who tests positive will be warned. They will be able to isolate to stop the infection spreading, and get tested.

Apps have made a difference in other countries, but getting the technology right is hard and even if it works there needs to be a big, skilled team of people behind it.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

Doing this will be harder than testing people  but if it works we will know we are beginning to win this fight.
A mysterious figure dressed in full 17th-century plague doctor has been roaming through an English village for the past two weeks. According to the residents, the plague doctor is scaring the children, although some adults found it amusing.

There are complaints called in, according to the police, and they are now actively seeking the person behind the terrifying costume to warn the person to stop terrorizing the village.

Plague doctors

According to History Today, the 17th-century plague doctors were known to visit homes trying to cure the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, which over several centuries worth of outbreaks has killed more than 50 million people.

For almost 2 weeks, the mysterious figure in full black plague doctor costume has been roaming through Hellesdon, near Norwich. The figure is wearing complete long black robes, cloak, and the infamous pointed hood and beak. According to Wessex FM Radio in England, the pointed hood and beak is the origin of the term "quack".

Also Read: More People Want Pets, But Why is America's Shelter Always Full?

The bubonic plague first arrived in Europe in the 1300s but would continue to spread around the world for centuries, according to the History Channel. In 17th-century Europe, doctors wore long robes steeped in beeswax and other substances. The robes were designed to protect the wearer from contamination.

The whole getup included a notorious beaked hood that in plague times was stuffed with aromatic plants that were thought to purify poisonous air, according to the National Geographic. Back then, no one knew anything about pathogens and microbes, or even the transmission of diseases from animals to humans.

Unnerving sight

Observers said that seeing someone dressed like the plague doctor in modern times is unnerving and odd. A resident, Jade Gosbell, said that it was 20 degrees outside and the Hellesdon wanderer was wearing a full black suit. The 21-year-old resident said that the wanderer looked ridiculous. She took a picture of the figure striding across a local park and added that whoever was wearing the costume was just doing it for attention because normal people would not do that.

The Norfolk Police are looking for the mysterious person in order to provide words of advice about the implications of his actions on the local community. The police told The Telegraph that officers have been made aware of an individual who was seen walking around the Hellesdon area wearing a plague outfit.

The police added that even though there were no offenses committed, they are keen to trace the individual in order to provide words of advice about the implications of the individual's actions on the local community.

Coronavirus situation in the UK

Currently, there are 171,253 coronavirus cases in the UK, with 26,771 total deaths. On March 23, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced limits on where and how people can meet and gather during the coronavirus pandemic. The lockdown officially started on March 24.

People were only allowed to shop for food and other necessities, to exercise alone or with someone from the same household, and for medical issues. There is still no announcement on when the lockdown in the UK will end.



Related Article:Kim Jong-Un Whereabouts Still in Question as Satellite Images Show His Luxury Boats

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Home and Away and Neighbours are once again being screened five times a week in the UK after both sets were seriously disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In what is a surefire sign that production is slowly returning to normal, both shows will this month return to their original TV schedules, before the pandemic broke out.

Each series had been cut back to just two episodes a week, after coronavirus forced production to stop, according to a report by The Sun on Thursday.

Back on the air: Home and Away and Neighbours are once again being screened five times a week in the UK after both sets were seriously disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured, Neighbours

Both shows had their TV schedules limited to make sure they had enough episodes to last the pandemic, despite filming months in advance.

'Neighbours and Home and Away will return to five episodes a week from Monday 11th May, resuming their usual Monday to Friday slots,' Britain's Channel 5 told The Sun.

According to a report by The Daily Telegraph last week, filming resumed on Neighbours on Monday, with extreme safety precautions in place.

Getting back to normal: In what is a surefire sign that production is slowly returning to normal, both shows will this month return to their original TV schedules, before the pandemic broke out. Pictured, Home and Away

All staff now have their temperature checked as they arrive on set, no mobile phones are allowed and communal areas have been closed.

Only essential cast and crew are allowed on set, visitors are no longer allowed, there are new hygiene protocols in place, and scenes have been rewritten to ensure minimal physical interaction.

'In some cases, cast will be scheduled separately but edited together to give the illusion of larger groups,' Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison told The Daily Telegraph.

Restrictions: Each series had been cut back to just two episodes a week, after coronavirus forced production to stop, according to a report by The Sun on Thursday. Pictured, Neighbours

'There are no scenes that require intimacy or physical contact.

'We are in the fortunate position of having an enormous studio and back lot and our storylines can be adapted with minimal impact to the show.'

While filming is yet to commence on Home and Away, the show's writers have already returned to work.

Stretching it out: Both shows had their TV schedules limited to make sure they had enough episodes to last the pandemic, despite filming months in advance. Pictured: Home and Away

Production was stopped on Neighbours on March 18, while Home and Away announced their closure on March 22.

'Seven Studios advised today that it would halt filming of Home and Away immediately,' a Channel Seven spokesperson told TV Tonight at the time.

'It confirmed that no cast or crew had tested positive for COVID-19, but that the decision was made due to the increasing logistical hurdles related to the COVID-19 situation.'

'Neighbours and Home and Away will return to five episodes a week from Monday 11th May, resuming their usual Monday to Friday slots,' Britain's Channel 5 told The Sun. Pictured: Neighbours

Speaking to TV Tonight on Friday, Home and Away star Georgie Parker revealed there was no confirmed date for when filming would resume on the long-running soap.

'We were working right up until about [four]-and-a-half weeks ago, and we were doing really well,' the 55-year-old actress said.

'We had adjusted filming in a very effective manner, adhering to as much spatial distancing as was possible.

On hold: Speaking to TV Tonight on Friday, Home and Away star Georgie Parker (right) revealed there was no confirmed date for when filming would resume on the long-running soap

'If they take the restrictions back a step or two, we will be able to resume filming. So we're just waiting for that. We're all guessing June, July.'

Neighbours is filmed in Melbourne, while Home and Away is filmed in Sydney, with both shows subjected to different state restrictions.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to both Channel Seven and Network Ten for comment.
WAYNE, Pa., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Columbus Organization, a nationally recognized provider of support coordination and other services for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, today announced the acquisition of Community Support Network (CSN), a leading provider of support coordination services in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. This addition will expand The Columbus Organization's services to more than 1,000 individuals and their families and guardians in the Suncoast Region.

Diane White, founder and President of Community Support Network, and Vice President Mark Groutage will continue to work with Columbus in the Suncoast Region. Ms. White expressed the following: "I could not feel better about the future for my coordinators and the people we support. After 27 years providing advocacy and coordination, we welcome the experience and excellence Columbus brings to the State of Florida. Our partnership will elevate the services we provide and stabilize our workforce."

The Columbus Organization's Senior Vice President of Care Coordination, Carlos Hernandez stated, "We are delighted to welcome CSN's support coordination services and talented support coordinators into The Columbus Organization. CSN has a long history and a well-deserved reputation as a compassionate top tier support coordination agency. CSN's dedication to high-quality services is a perfect fit with our culture and will allow for more individuals to be supported and more lives in Florida to be improved."

About The Columbus Organization

The Columbus Organization empowers individuals to realize their meaningfullife goals through nationally recognized care/support coordination, professional clinical staffing, and quality improvement services for the intellectual/developmental disability (I/DD) or behavioral needs community. The Company delivers an unmatched depth of expertise, breadth of resources, diversity of thinking, and dedication to finding the most appropriate, personalized solutions for its customers. The Columbus Organization provides a wide array of services specifically for families, individuals and the organizations that support them. For more information, visit www.columbusorg.com.

Media Contact:

Abbott Holdsman

[email protected]

800-229-5116

SOURCE The Columbus Organization

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 06:28:49|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A slew of bleak new figures, unveiled Thursday by the European Union (EU) and some major nations, underscored the economic pain inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which added more pressure to European governments to ease restrictive measures.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) Europe office, however, warned on Thursday that the European region "remains very much in the grip of this pandemic."

"As I have said before -- this virus is unforgiving -- we must remain vigilant, persevere and be patient, ready to ramp-up measures as and when needed," said WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge.

HUGE ECONOMIC TOLL

The economies of the euro area and the EU recorded significant contractions in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1), registering a 3.3 percent and 2.7 percent decrease year on year -- their sharpest decline since records began in 1995, said Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

Eurostat said in a preliminary flash estimate on Thursday that economic output contracted by 3.8 percent in the euro area and by 3.5 percent in the EU compared with the previous quarter.

It estimated that 14.14 million people in the EU, of whom 12.16 million are in the euro area, were unemployed as of March, the final month of the period covered that saw COVID-19 containment measures widely introduced in Europe. Compared with February, the number increased by 241,000 in the EU and by 197,000 in the euro area.

In Italy, the region's worst-hit country in terms of death toll, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4.8 percent year-on-year in Q1, according to National Statistics Institute (ISTAT). Compared with the previous quarter, its GDP decreased by 4.7 percent.

The economic contraction is one of the first figures to reflect the full impact of the country's COVID-19 lockdown, which entered into force on March 10.

Spain's GDP shrank by a record 5.2 percent in Q1, the biggest quarterly fall ever witnessed in the southern European country. It is twice as steep as the 2.6-percent fall in Q1 2009 when the country was in the depths of the last economic crisis, according to the Spanish Statistical Office (INE).

Spain imposed the State of Alarm on March 15 to halt the spread of COVID-19, which led to a suspension of all but essential economic activities. As a result, the construction and industrial sectors saw a decline of 8.1 and 5.6 percent, respectively, while the closure of hotels, bars and restaurants led to an 11.2-percent reduction in the service sector.

In France, its GDP contracted 5.8 percent in Q1, the deepest drop on a quarterly basis since the evaluations began in 1949, which the national statistics institute Insee said "primarily linked to the shutdown of 'non-essential' activities in the context of the implementation of the lockdown since mid-March."

For the whole year, the French government expected its economy to contract 8 percent, and budget deficit to hit 9 percent of the GDP, the highest level since 1945.

POSITIVE DAILY TRENDS

Despite the gloomy economic figures, there are some positive pandemic developments Thursday on the continent.

Italy recorded the highest daily number of COVID-19 recoveries since the start of outbreak in the country in late February. With 4,693 new recoveries, the country's total number rises to 75,945. It now has a total of 205,463 confirmed cases, with 27,967 deaths.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that the country is "past the peak" of the COVID-19 outbreak and "on the downward slope." The country now has a death toll of 26,711, more than that of Spain.

Spain, meanwhile, registered 268 new deaths on the day -- the lowest daily tally since March 20, taking the total number of victims to 24,543.

In neighboring France, the country reported 289 new deaths, the lowest increase on a weekday since the end of March, taking the tally to 24,376. Admissions in intensive care units (ICUs) dropped by 188 to 4,019, significantly lower from the peak of 7,200 reported on April 9.

And in Germany, the country registered 1,478 new confirmed cases over the past 24 hours, raising its total cases to 159,119, according to the its agency for disease control and prevention RKI.

Calling it "a pleasant development," RKI President Lothar Wielerm said the trend that the daily new cases between 1,000 and 1,500 continued, lower than last week. Meanwhile, the estimated number of recoveries in the country increased to 123,500, accounting for over 77 percent of the total cases.

STILL "IN GRIP" OF PANDEMIC

During a weekly press conference on COVID-19 broadcast online from Copenhagen, Hans Kluge warned that "COVID-19 is not going away any time soon."

"Today, the European Region accounts for 46 percent of cases and 63 percent of deaths globally. The region remains very much in the grip of this pandemic," said Kluge.

The region has reported 1,408,266 confirmed cases of infection, of which 129,344 have resulted in untimely deaths, according to Kluge.

Of the 44 countries in the European region that have implemented partial or full domestic movement restrictions, 21 countries have started easing some of these measures to different degrees, and a further 11 are planning to do so in the coming days, he said.

Kluge also addressed the prospect of a looming second wave of infections, which virologists suspect may strike in autumn.

"Our position has been that the key issue here is to work with what we call inter-waves. So we use the first wave to buy time to fight a second or a third wave, particularly if there is no vaccine or no equal access yet to the vaccine or any treatment."

For this "inter-wave" response, the WHO official stressed that dual-track health systems, which encompass the public and the private sectors, need to manage "repeated waves" of COVID-19 as well as the demand made on the health services for other infections.

"So the key issue is to be prepared, whether it is for a second wave or an older outbreak of the other infectious agents," he said. Enditem
"All of these companies are failing workers and have been failing workers," he said.

Along with asking workers to call in sick or walk out on their jobs, protest organizers asked customers not to patronize the businesses on May 1.

Ryan is a participant in a nationwide strike against some of the country's largest retail and delivery companies, including Walmart , Amazon and Instacart, that planned a walkout Friday to call attention to the hazards they say they've faced on the job during the coronavirus pandemic. The protest was planned for International Workers Day. It coincided with the lifting of many states' stay-at-home orders.

"We were constantly told before the pandemic that we don't have real jobs," he said referring to a general societal message toward hourly wage earners from some U.S. politicians, employers and even customers. "We're not real workers. We shouldn't expect things like health care  or even respect or dignity. And that's still the situation in the middle of a pandemic."

In an interview with CNBC's " Squawk Alley ," he said even before the global crisis, hourly workers in the U.S. struggled to make ends meet with low wages and few, if any, benefits. He said many lived paycheck to paycheck and some were even homeless. Now, he said, they're putting their lives at risk.

Adam Ryan, a Target worker and liaison for employee coalition Target Workers Unite, said Friday that hourly wage earners have been forced to make an impossible choice during the coronavirus pandemic: Skip their paycheck or risk getting sick.

Customers rush to purchase toilet paper at a Target store during the panic shopping. People stock up on food and personal hygiene products in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Ryan estimated that about 300 or more Target workers are participating, but he said organizers "won't have a full count until after today."

"We're trying to lead the way in showing that there's an alternative here where we don't have to choose between sacrificing our lives for a paycheck that isn't going to cover our medical expenses or our funeral expenses if we catch this virus or die from it," he said.

In a statement late Friday, Target said it's aware of less than 10 employees who chose to participate in the protests, based on calls from employees who did not come to work. The company said it encourages its more than 340,000 employees to share concerns, so it can resolve them. It said it's "introduced dozens of new measures aimed at keeping our frontline team members healthy and creating a safe environment for families across the U.S. to shop for the essentials they need."

Other companies have echoed Target and issued similar statements, emphasizing their focus on safety and willingness to listen to feedback.

Instacart said in a statement that it "has been diligently working to offer new policies, guidelines, product features, resources, increased bonuses, and personal protective equipment to ensure the health and safety of shoppers during this critical time."

Amazon said the protest did not have any impact on its business.

"The fact is that today the overwhelming majority of our more than 840,000 employees around the world are at work as usual continuing to support getting people in their communities the items they need during these challenging times," Amazon spokesman Av Zammit said. "While there is tremendous media coverage of today's protests we see no measurable impact on operations."

He said Amazon expects to spend more than $800 million in the first half of the year on COVID-19 safety measures, such as company-provided face masks, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.

The protest is the latest in a series of organized actions by essential workers who say they're putting their health and safety at risk as the huge companies they work for see a surge in sales. They've pushed companies for hazard pay, protective gear and guaranteed compensation if they get sick with Covid-19 or must take off because of preexisting health risks or exposure to a sick person.

Companies, however, say they've already rolled out additional safety measures and in some cases, announced higher pay and bonuses. For example, Walmart and Amazon have added mandatory temperature checks of workers, provided masks and increased pay for some workers by $2 an hour.

Amazon said Thursday it will spend its entire second-quarter profit -- an estimated $4 billion -- on coronavirus-related expenses, such as Covid-19 tests for workers and changes to its network to speed up customer deliveries.

Target said it's spent more than $300 million on coronavirus-related expenses, including increased pay, bonuses and additional child care. The retailer extended its $2 an hour temporary pay increase for store employees, additional child care benefits and paid leave policy for older or at-risk members of its workforce until May 30. The retailer's CEO, Brian Cornell, said Target will have lower profits in the quarter because of the expenses.

But Ryan said Target's pay increase isn't enough. He said the retailer already planned to boost pay from $13 an hour to $15 an hour this year. He said the company is essentially just accelerating that.

He said Target and other retailers must do more to enforce guidelines with customers, too. He said the workers have been disturbed to see heavy foot traffic at stores and some customers ignoring social distancing measures.

"It conveys to us workers that a lot of folks just aren't taking it seriously and they're not considering our health or our safety as the workers," he said.
Meghan Markle has suffered a big blow. Her legal battle with the British press is now likely to result in a big loss. A High Court judge has dismissed as irrelevant, several huge parts of her ongoing case against Mail on Sunday.

The part where she claims the media is malicious and has an agenda against her has also been thrown out.

While the case is far from over, this is a major setback. Mr. Justice Warby also struck out her accusations that journalists were dishonest and were the main reason why she and her estranged father Thomas suffered an even bigger rift. According to Markle, the journalists were keen to dig up dirt so that she would be portrayed in a negative light, but the court determines that this is irrelevant to the case.

The Duchess of Sussex has specifically filed a case against Associated Newspapers, Mail on Sunday's parent company for publishing an article where parts of her handwritten note to her father was published. However, Associated Newspapers has applied to have three major pars of her claim thrown out in an online hearing.

Now, Mr. Justice Warby already ruled entirely in Associated Newspapers' favor. Warby said, "I do not consider the allegations in question go to the heart of the case."

In the judgment, he said that all passages attacked in the application notice were struck out. Some of them were "irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded," while some are removed because there were insufficient details. The judge claims his actions were to ensure the case is only confined to what is "reasonably necessary and proportionate" to the goal of achieving justice for the parties involved.

Britain's top lawyers have, in last week's hearing, said that this was quite possibly. They claimed that Meghan's case was overblown in the first place and needed to be cut back.

With this judgment, any trial from now on will focus only on the conversation as to whether Meghan should have a reasonable expectation of privacy with regard to the contents of her private letter to her father. She can be at the losing end because, as some legal experts would argue, her friends already briefed People Magazine about the letter's contents.

The case would also assess if the publication's act of putting out parts of the letter were in the public interest and legal under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which talks of freedom of expression.

For her part, Markle has already insisted that her so-called friends who leaked the letter's contents to People magazine did so without her knowledge at all.

Markle may already be in LA with husband Prince Harry, but it does not appear that she is getting a new life that she so craved when Megxit was decided. Apart from this pending case and now this huge setback, her actions in LA are always scrutinized. Most of the writeups about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in LA during this covid-19 crisis had been negative, with reports claiming Harry is now regretting going away with his wife.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Associating with A 'Dangerous Wacko'?
UST-KUT, Russia -- A fight between local officials in the Russian region of Irkutsk over forest fires is heating up, with one of them landing in a hospital and another in a river, as residents say it may be a sign of a power struggle ahead of elections.

Russias Investigative Committee said on April 29 that it had launched a preliminary investigation into a fire that occurred a day earlier near a forest on the outskirts of Ust-Kut, a Siberian town located 850 kilometers north of Irkutsk.

The committee said a local district official, who was noticed at the site, may face a charge of abuse of power.

No names or other details were provided by the committee, but Ust-Kut Mayor Aleksandr Dushin told RFE/RL that he and his associates had caught four district officials, including Deputy District Governor Mikhail Bars and the district governor's press secretary, Yekaterina Anisimova, as they -- or so Dushin alleges -- set dry grass on fire near a forest not far from Dushin's private lands.

The Ust-Kut mayor insists the four also were filming the fire using a drone, in order to accuse him later of being an arsonist.

Dushin provided RFE/RL with several videos, in one of which he is seen checking the contents of three plastic canisters aboard a boat allegedly used by the district officials to travel to the area.

The mayor says on the video that the canisters are filled with gasoline as a visibly beaten man, who was later identified as Bars, sits slumped across from him.

Ust-Kut district Governor Tamara Klimina, meanwhile, rejected Dushin's accusations, saying she had sent her deputy Bars and others to check reports about fire cells in the forest at three sites.

One of the sites was close to Dushin's private lands, where Klimina claims her associates were "taken hostage" by Dushin and his people.

According to Klimina, it was Dushin himself who set fire to dry grass and other wood waste to clean up areas around his private lands.

"Each year, Dushin uses fire for cleaning space near his farming acreage and the fire then moves deeper inside the forest.... As far as we know, those people broke Mikhail Bars' jaw and collarbone, threw Yekaterina Anisimova into the river, and forcibly took the drone and mobile phones from them," Klimina said on April 29, adding that the gasoline in the canisters was fuel for the boat.

On April 30, the head of Klimina's administration, Marina Kosygina, told the TASS news agency that Bars had been hospitalized.

Dmitry Dmitriyev, a local lawyer, told RFE/RL that the fight most likely has political roots.

Klimina, who runs the district, belongs to the Liberal Democratic Party, while Dushin is a member of the ruling United Russia party. Klimina is up for reelection later this year.

Forest fires can sometimes be a political hot topic in Russia, especially in Siberia.

Each year, wildfires destroy hundreds of thousands of hectares in the country, sometimes with devastating impacts for local communities. The Irkutsk and Krasnoyark regions were hit particularly hard last year by fires, forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare a state of emergency.

Greenpeace said last week that forest fires are currently burning on over 1.3 million hectares in Russia, which the organization said is unusually large for the spring season.
Imported by the Brazilian elite vacationing in Europe, the new coronavirus is now ravaging the country's poor, ripping through tightly-packed neighborhoods where the disease is harder to control.

Public health data for the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza show a shift in recent weeks from the wealthy boroughs that seeded the outbreak to the gritty urban outskirts.

The change has coincided with a spike in confirmed coronavirus deaths, which are now just shy of 6,000 in Brazil. Many scientists point to Latin America's largest country as the next deadly hotspot for Covid-19.

Researchers at Imperial College London estimate Brazil's transmission rate this week will have been the highest in the world.

It adds fuel to fears that the virtually uncontrolled surge of cases in Brazil could cause construction workers, truck drivers and tourists from Latin America's biggest nation to spread the disease to neighboring countries that are doing a better job of controlling the coronavirus.

Today, nurses wearing protective face masks held crosses during a symbolic protest and tribute for health workers on Labour Day, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease in Brazil

The impact on the poor in the country is severe. Many favelas, as the labyrinths of cinder block homes that constitute the poorest neighborhoods are known, suffer from a lack of running water, septic systems and healthcare facilities.

Perhaps more challenging still, the state is weak in the favelas, with drug gangs often the de facto authority. That would make lockdown measures difficult to enforce - even if they had the support of the country's skeptical leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly shrugged off fears about the coronavirus and described state and city measures to slow its spread as extreme.

Residents in Brasilandia, a poor district at the north end of Sao Paulo with the highest coronavirus death toll in the city, told Reuters that bars were still crowded and open-air dance parties attracted thousands of revelers on the weekends.

Brasilandia only had one confirmed case at the end of March, according to city data, at a time when the vast majority of cases were clustered in the wealthier center-west districts. The most recent report from this week showed 67 deaths from COVID-19.

'For those that haven't been through it, it's like the disease doesn't exist,' said Paulo dos Santos, 43, who lost his father to the virus in Brasilandia.

What is the situation with coronavirus in other South American countries? Brazil, a continent-sized country that shares borders with nearly every other nation in South America, has reported more than 70,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths, according to government figures and a tally by Johns Hopkins University - far more than any of its neighbors. The true number of deaths and infections is believed to be much higher because of limited testing. Elsewhere, Paraguay has fewer than 250 confirmed coronavirus cases and its borders have been closed since March 24, with enforcement particularly focused on the largely open frontier with Brazil. Argentina has about 4,000 cases and more than 200 dead, according to the Johns Hopkins tally. Officials in the country say they are particularly worried about truck traffic from Brazil, their top trading partner. In provinces bordering Brazil, Argentina is working to set up secure corridors where Brazilian drivers can access bathrooms, get food and unload products without ever coming into contact with Argentines. In Peru, there have been just over 1,000 coronavirus deaths. Elsewhere, Venezuela has seen just 10. Chili has reported 900 deaths, while Bolivia has seen 62. Advertisement

In Rio, the tony neighborhoods of Leblon, Copacabana and Barra da Tijuca were the first to suffer at the start of the outbreak in Brazil, reporting 190 confirmed cases by March 27.

In contrast, the low-income areas of Campo Grande, Bangu and Iraja had only reported eight cases at the time.

That has changed in the past week, with those poorer neighborhoods reporting 66 new cases, while the wealthier trio saw 55. Reuters observed the same trend in Fortaleza, a northeastern state capital with over 25,000 cases.

Despite the rising death toll, calls are growing for lockdown measures to be relaxed. Bolsonaro has pushed to restart the economy, describing shelter-in-place policies as a 'poison' that could kill more via unemployment and hunger than the virus.

In poor neighborhoods, where hunger is an acute threat, few are adhering to quarantine measures.

William de Oliveira, a community leader in Rio's poor hillside neighborhood of Rocinha, can rattle off the names of several friends killed by the virus. Yet it was clear on Wednesday that life continued more or less as usual, with shops and bars bustling, which he lamented.

'We can reverse economic problems,' Oliveira said, 'but we can't reverse deaths.'

It comes as it was revealed the umber of cases in poorer areas is probably far higher than reported, due to a lack of testing.

Keny Colares, an epidemiologist at Fortaleza's Sao Jose hospital said some low-income patients were showing up at hospitals days after they should have sought medical attention.

Poor Brazilians are also more likely to die if infected, due to higher levels of pre-existing conditions and less access to healthcare.

In Leblon, for example, just 2.4% of confirmed cases have resulted in deaths - roughly in line with global trends and suggesting a relatively accurate picture of infection numbers. In Iraja, the death rate is 16%. In Sao Paulo's Brasilandia, it is a staggering 52%.

Nurses hold crosses during a symbolic protest and tribute for health workers in Brazil today. The country has now recorded almost 6,000 deaths

Researchers at Imperial College London estimate Brazil's transmission rate this week will have been the highest in the world (pictured, passengers wearing protective face masks travel on a public bus in in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Hugo Simon, head of the adult intensive care unit at Campo Grande's Rocha Faria City Hospital, said the public health service was at its limit. His hospital has had to start treating COVID-19 cases because there is no longer space at hospitals originally designated to deal with those patients.

Campo Grande's COVID-19 caseload is now among the biggest in Rio, at 146. Two adjacent low-income communities, Realengo and Bangu, are also in the top ten worst hit of Rio's 160 official districts.

'This really started in Rio's Southern Zone, and has come to my area after,' Simon said, referring to the city's wealthiest area. 'We're heading towards maximum capacity.'

Brazil, a continent-sized country that shares borders with nearly every other nation in South America, has reported more than 70,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths, according to government figures and a tally by Johns Hopkins University - far more than any of its neighbors. The true number of deaths and infections is believed to be much higher because of limited testing.

The country's borders remain open, there are virtually no quarantines or curfews and President Jair Bolsonaro continues to scoff at the seriousness of the disease.

The country of 211 million people surpassed China - where the virus began - in the official number of COVID-19 deaths this week, prompting Bolsonaro to say: 'So what?'

'I am sorry,' the far-right president told journalists. 'What do you want me to do?'

In Paraguay, soldiers enforcing anti-virus measures have dug a shallow trench alongside the first 800 feet (244 meters) of the main road entering the city of Pedro Juan Caballero from the neighboring Brazilian city of Punta Pora, to prevent people from walking along the road from Brazil and disappearing into the surrounding city.

Paraguay has fewer than 250 confirmed coronavirus cases and its borders have been closed since March 24, with enforcement particularly focused on the largely open frontier with Brazil.

People gather at a street in Rocinha slum during the coronavirus outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The impact on the poor in the country is severe. Many favelas, as the labyrinths of cinder block homes that constitute the poorest neighborhoods are known, suffer from a lack of running water, septic systems and healthcare facilities (pictured Rocinha slum in Rio De Janeiro)

Argentine officials say they are particularly worried about truck traffic from Brazil, their top trading partner. In provinces bordering Brazil, Argentina is working to set up secure corridors where Brazilian drivers can access bathrooms, get food and unload products without ever coming into contact with Argentines.

'Brazil worries me a lot,' Argentine President Alberto Fernandez told local news outlets Saturday. 'A lot of traffic is coming from Sao Paulo, where the infection rate is extremely high, and it doesn't appear to me that the Brazilian government is taking it with the seriousness that it requires. That worries me a lot, for the Brazilian people and also because it can be carried to Argentina.'

One of eight known cases in the Argentine state of Misiones is that of a 61-year-old truck driver who apparently caught the disease in Sao Paulo and then returned to Argentina, where he died after infecting his wife. Argentina has about 4,000 cases and more than 200 dead, according to the Johns Hopkins tally.

Even officials in the United States, which has registered more than 1 million cases and more than 60,000 deaths, have expressed concern about Brazil.

Florida, which has a large population of people of Brazilian heritage, could face a threat of air travelers from Brazil carrying the coronavirus to the state, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis told President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday.

'We could be away on the other side doing well in Florida, and then you could just have people kind of come in,' DeSantis said.

The governor said Trump's ban of flights from China helped control the virus in the western U.S. Trump asked him if that meant 'cutting off Brazil.'

DeSantis replied that one possibility was 'not to necessarily cut them off' but to require airlines to test passengers before they board planes bound for Florida.

Authorities in Colombia are also worried, said Julian Fernandez Nino, an epidemiologist at National University in Bogota.

'In a globalized world, the response to a pandemic can't be closed frontiers,' he said. 'Brazil has great scientific and economic capacity, but clearly its leadership has an unscientific stance on fighting coronavirus.'

Brazilian Thiago Firmino, 39, local leader, poses for a picture in a protective suit while disinfecting the Santa Marta favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Uruguay, President Luis Lacalle Pou said the spread of the virus in Brazil was setting off 'warning lights' in his administration and authorities are tightening border controls in several frontier cities.

Thirty workers recently crossed from Brazil to the Uruguayan border city of Rio Branco to help build a cement plant. Four tested positive for the virus, prompting Uruguay to place the whole crew in quarantine.

Officials in some Uruguayan border towns have discussed setting up 'humanitarian corridors' through which Brazilians could safely leave the country.

Even socialist Venezuela, where the health system has been in a yearslong state of collapse, has said it's worried about neighboring Brazil.

'I've ordered the reinforcement of the frontier with Brazil to guarantee an epidemiological and military barrier,' President Nicolas Maduro said on state television last week.

Bolivia's government, a right-wing ally of Bolsonaro's, declined to comment on its neighbor's anti-virus measures, but Defense Minister Fernando Lopez promised this month to strongly enforce the closure of the border.

'If we keep being flexible on the border, our national quarantine will be useless,' he said.
Covid-19 stories: Have you a Coronavirus-related story or photo you would like to share with us? Then we would like to hear from you.

Over the next number of weeks, the Gorey Guardian will be highlighting how the Covid-19 crisis has impacted the lives of everyone in County Wexford.

From travel disruptions, cancellations of medical procedures, cancellations of weddings and parties to the challenges we are facing working from home, issues with childcare, etc.

We would also like to hear about the many good-news stories out there as communities rally together to help the vulnerable in these unprecedented times and get creative as a means of keeping spirits up.

So if you have a story to tell, or a photo to share, please get in touch with us via email on c.lee@peoplenews.ie.

Meals on Wheels

It's business as usual for Gorey Meals on Wheels.

The team appreciate the many offers of volunteering received in recent weeks, the level of community support shown to the team is just incredible and the team appreciate the ongoing support.

Guardian delivery

The Gorey Guardian offices will be closed until further notice in the interest of public safety.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

If you would like your Gorey Guardian to be delivered to your home, too start your subscription or for further details phone 053 9140140 or email front.office2@peoplenews.ie.

Council helpline

Wexford County Council is providing a Community Support Call Centre Helpline with help and advice on services as well as how to limit the spread of Covid-19. The number to call is 053 9196000, with the lines open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

Community meals

Naomh Eanna GAA is teaming up with Gorey Rugby Club and local volunteers in delivering the meals to people who are in need.

One generous local business, the Ashdown Park Hotel and the Amber Springs Hotel, has put chefs to work to prepare and provide hot meals to those who are in need during these difficult times.

The team are prioritising the delivery of meals to those who are unable to cook for themselves or do not have family or friends around them during this difficult time

If you or someone you know who may benefit from this offer, please call or text 087 9770497.

Market House Festival

Gorey's summer fair, the Gorey Market House festival, has been cancelled for this year and was due to take place over the August bank holiday weekend.

Organisers described the decision as regrettable but one that had to be made to ensure public health and safety.

The committee look forward to 2021 when the festival will go ahead.

Methodist church

In accordance with government legislation, all services are cancelled at Gorey Methodist Church until further notice.

Church services continue to be accessed on the Gorey Methodist Church Community website and Friends Facebook page.

Event cancelled

North Wexford Hospice Nursing Trust was due to hold its annual barbecue after the success of last year's event at in the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey on the Saturday, May 9.

Unfortunately due to the outbreak and the current coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the event will be cancelled this year.

Organisers say that all going well, they will continue to hold the annual Hospice barbecue in the Amber Springs Hotel in May 2021.

The team ask you for your support at this time.

Gorey Agri Show

Gorey Agricultural Show due to take place in the Clonattin show grounds will not take place this year.

In its 161st year, this long running show was due to take place on June 20.

The show committee has begun preparing for next year's show, which is now expected to take place on June 19, 2021.

Pendemic contributions

An online community website has been set up which seeks to document our experience of Covid-19 in Ireland and across the world.

Set up by one Gorey woman and a team of three friends, the site is now accepting any forms of writing that capture the lived experience of this challenging time.

Submissions can be letters, poems, essay, fiction or creative non-fiction to name a few, with the overall aim of documenting for future generations.

To find out more and get in contact, visit www.pendemic.ie or fill out the contact form at www.pendemic.ie/contact-us/

GAA skills

Naomh Eanna GAA have been busy posting social media videos of county players showing off their skills from home and ask you to contribute your own videos, which can be done online.

The club would like to say a big thank you to all the young people who have gotten in touch and shown off their skills while practising social distancing.

Comedy club

Gorey Comedy Club is not planning any more gigs at this time.

Organisers wish to respect the views of the audience, and assure people that when the next act comes to Gorey, attendees can feel safe in the environment and enjoy the best that Irish comedy has to offer without having to worry about external factors.

Further updates to follow.

Food Bank closure

Stop Gap Food Bank Gorey has taken the very hard decision to close the food bank at the Gorey Christian Assembly at Ramsgate Village until the Covid-19 situation eases.

Organisers feel this is the wise thing to do to support the national efforts to combat the virus, and they pray for friends who attend the bank to take care and keep in touch.

If you would like to chat with someone you know from the Food Bank, contact Matt in the first instance on 083 127 0026.

NWSPCA

With the current restrictions in place across the country on health grounds, North Wexford SPCA will be restricting public access to the cats and dogs in their care and will not be taking in any more animals.

They ask people to make an appointment to come up and see the animals, rather than just turn up, and ask that everyone stay safe.

The NWSPCA hotline will remain open for advice.

The team ask if you love cats and a challenge? They are looking for fosterers to help with the 'challenging' cats who need a little more patience and TLC.

The team assure that this can be a very rewarding way to help pets get ready to be adopted, and appreciate your support throughout this crisis.

Bridge club closure

Sean Og's Kilmuckridge Bridge Club have decided to suspend bridge playing, at Upton Court hotel for the foreseeable future.

Everyone really needs to heed the advice, take things seriously for the greater good.

Players will be updated by text and the committee thank you for understanding.

Gorey Musical Society

Gorey Musical Society has announced a new date for the musical 'Hairspray'.

Looking ahead, the musical will take place at Gorey Little Theatre from September 7 to September 12 2020.

The committee ask that you save the date.

Historical society

The next event of the North Wexford Historical Society and all other society events are cancelled until further notice and the society apologise for this development.

Obituaries

This newspaper offers tribute pieces to bereaved family members within the local community who have recently suffered the loss of a loved one.

The service is available free of charge, and will be completed in a manner that is sensitive to your own personal wishes and requests.

Please contact the journalist whose details are listed above if this is something that interests you or something you would like to do.

Active Retirement

All meetings and activities will stop until further notice.

The committee hope that all members are keeping well and following the HSE guidelines.

Members should ideally self-isolate as much as possible, order food online or by phone and have it delivered. However, plan ahead as there are long delivery times in most supermarkets.

If you are under 70 and have no underlying conditions and are going out, take hand sanitiser with you and use regularly.

Keep distance from others. Pay by card if possible to avoid handling money.

All at Gorey Active Retirement hope that the end will not be too much longer, and ask that you continue what you are doing and you will be safe.

Cancellations: Due to continued Covid-19 activity and closure of venues the following events are cancelled.

Spring break will be converted to an Autumn Break in Ballina from October 4 to October 9.

Payments made will be carried forward to autumn break, while the National Concert Hall refund will be paid when we meet on Fridays.

Tea Dance in Ashdown Park Hotel - a later date will be considered and notified if agreed.

All payments or refunds can be made at the Loch Garman Arms hotel when it reopens.

Gorey Library update

If you know someone who is elderly or vulnerable and is cocooning at home, they can now request a delivery of library books, audiobooks and DVDs from Wexford Libraries that will delivered directly to their door.

One must just phone Wexford Community Call helpline on 053 919 6000 and dial 1, and from there library staff will contact the person who is cocooning and organise suitable library material to be delivered directly to them.

All items are on long loan, there are no overdue fines or fees and access to the service is always free. Vist the Wexford County Council website for more details.

Local bingo online

Ballycanew Ballyoughter Development Association is looking at this coming Thursday evening for a round of bingo using either Zoom or Facebook.

If this is something you'd be interested in, send an email to ballycanewbingo@gmail.com to receive your scanned book, and you will receive an email back with instructions on what to do next.

Women's group

New to Gorey women's group had been welcoming new members and usually meet every Friday from 10.15 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in Gorey Methodist Church on Market Square.

The club is now suspended due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Fabric needed

Residents at the Courtown Hotel emergency accommodation centre are looking for clean dry materials to make face masks for vulnerable people and local nursing homes.

Old bed clothes are perfect for these masks. If anyone in the area has a few to spare, there is a bin outside of the hotel door where you can leave material for masks to limit any physical contact within social distancing guidelines.

Birthdays and anniversaries

If you are celebrating a birthday or wedding anniversary during lock down and would like to your photographs to be featured in this newspaper, reach out to the journalist by emailing c.lee@peoplenews.ie.

Community Support

Gorey Community Support Group can help you or your family members during this public health emergency with no job too big or small.

If you know someone that needs help, please contact Michael Dwyer on 087 9770497 or Deasun Maclean Griffin on 087 3236821 or search Gorey Community Support Group online.
The Delhi government has tasked a team of 12 officials with bringing back students from the national capital stranded in Kota, Rajasthan, according to an official order.

The team, led by Welfare Officer (Social Welfare Department) Manoj Kumar Yadav, will escort the students in buses and ensure that they follow the protocol of social distancing.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Delhi government will deploy 40 buses to bring back students stuck in Kota.

"Some of the children from Delhi who went to Kota to prepare for competitive exams have been wanting to come back. We were waiting for the central government's approval, and after getting the nod, we are sending 40 buses that will bring them back on Saturday," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hostplus' chief investment officer Sam Sicilia has been unusually quiet on social media in recent weeks as the $44 billion super fund he manages faces a barrage of media criticism and a deluge of complaints from members.

Not that long ago Sicilia was being hailed as an investment visionary able to see value in places others could not. His social media presence, in which he confidently opined on everything from fossil fuel investments to monetary policy, reflected this. But now, as the latest headlines depict him as 'Sam Silly', the leader of 'Hostminus', and as claims the investment strategy he championed is coming undone swirl across the market, Sicilia has fallen silent.

Yet Sicilia, who earned $932,402 last year, still has plenty of defenders. And the staunchest of them come from Australia's emerging venture capital sector, who argue the criticism is unfair, illogical and cooked up by those who simply do not understand his approach. "Sam did go early and was one of the pioneers of investing in VC in Australia," says Daniel Petre, a founder of VC firm AirTree Ventures. "I think there is a touch of jealousy from other super funds that were desperate to see Sam knocked down."

Has Sam Sicilia gambled with his members' retirement savings? Credit:Josh Robenstone

On Sicilia's watch, Hostplus has poured billions of dollars into unlisted assets including property, infrastructure and private equity in a strategy designed to diversify risks and maximise returns tailored for the fund's relatively young membership base . Sicilia's desire to put money into unlisted assets and in particular VC won him significant praise from the technology sector. The unlisted exposures also helped drive up Hostplus' returns to among the highest in the super sector as private market valuations soared.
Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, gets emotional listening to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) give his closing statement after Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer and fixer for President Donald Trump, was denied a promised early release from prison Friday, a day after an attorney from the Trump Organization sent him a threatening letter warning against him publishing a reported "tell-all" book before the 2020 election.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said "absolutely not" when asked at a news conference whether the White House directly or indirectly interfered in the decision to delay Cohen's planned early released from a federal prison in New York state.

Cohen was due to be set free into home confinement Friday from the facility in Otisville because of concerns about the coronavirus spreading among inmates and guards.

He has completed a 14-day quarantine required for that release.

But the 53-year-old ex-lawyer, who was in the midst of serving a three-year criminal sentence, was told he would not be going home on Friday to his family in Manhattan, according to people familiar with the situation.

It is not clear if Cohen's release, which was originally approved by the federal Bureau of Prisons, has been permanently rescinded.

Cohen's original release date, which is possibly now his current release date, was in November 2021.

The BOP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cohen's lawyer, Roger Adler, told CNBC in an email, "I am disappointed that Michael was not released after the 14 day quarantine period."




NNPC graduate trainees to assume virtual duty from Monday

No fewer than 1,000 graduate trainees recently recruited by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are to assume virtual duty Monday May 4, the corporation says in a statement.

The statement released in Abuja was signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru.

The trainees are to assume duty first, virtually, while the corporation monitors the COVID -19 situation and the Federal Governments directives to determine a date of physical assumption of duty, he said.

He explained that the option of virtual assumption of duty was necessitated by the need to comply with extant protocol on social distancing and reduced number of people in workplace.

The NNPC spokesman said the trainees had completed online documentation, and would commence virtual onboarding on Monday.

He said that Managing Director of the corporation, Malam Mele Kyari, was excited about the assumption of duty of the new intakes noting that they were part of the succession plan to assure the future of NNPC.

He added that Kyari congratulated the successful graduate trainees, adding that much was expected of them.

Obateru said that the assumption of duty of the graduate trainees marked the successful completion of the 2019/2020 recruitment.

According to him, in pursuance of excellence, NNPC as an equal opportunity employer with business interests across the Oil & Gas Industry value chain, would continue to recruit the best hands in order to buoy its operations nationwide.(NAN)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 20:19:15|Editor: huaxia

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BISHKEK, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Alibaba and the Jack Ma Foundation have delivered a second batch of humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the press service of the foreign ministry said Friday.

The charter cargo flight from China, carrying supplies including PCR tests and mechanical ventilation devices, arrived in Bishkek on Thursday, the report said.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry expressed sincere gratitude to the Alibaba group and Jack Ma for their assistance and support in the fight against the coronavirus.

Kyrgyzstan received the first batch of humanitarian aid from the Alibaba group and Jack Ma Foundation on April 10. Supplies include protective suits, protective masks, and non-contact thermometers.

To date, Kyrgyzstan has tallied 756 COVID-19 patients, 504 recoveries, and eight fatalities. Enditem
* Stocks and FX fall on the day amid further risk aversion * Mexican economy marks worst qtrly contraction since 2009 * Brazil's real to underperform regional peers * Chilean, Colombian pesos to gain for the month By Ambar Warrick April 30 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies dropped on Thursday, and were set to end the month lower as continued signs of economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak added to concerns over stability in regional economies. Brazil's real and Mexico's peso fell about 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively. Latin American currencies were also seen underperforming over the month in comparison to their emerging market peers. The MSCI's index of regional currencies was set to fall 2.5% in April, while a broader index of developing world currencies was set to add 0.6%. Latin American stock markets retreated for the day. Like currencies, they were set to underperform their broader emerging market peers in April. The MSCI's index of regional stocks eyed a 6.5% gain in April, while an index of broader developing world stocks was set to add 9.3%. A swathe of weak economic data from the developed world had bought with it fresh risk aversion, adding to existing concerns that many Latin American economies lacked the fiscal strength to combat the coronavirus. Data showed Mexico's economy was set to mark its sharpest quarterly contraction since 2009, although the preliminary figures were slightly better than expected. "Mexico stands to suffer the severest slow-down in Latin America and it looks as though Banxico is now ready to favour growth over currency stability," ING analysts wrote in a note. Brazil's real was set for its worst day in more than a week. The currency also underperformed its regional peers for the month, having recently sunk into record-low territory as political uncertainty in the country added to concerns over the economic shock of the virus. The unemployment rate in Latin America's largest economy rose to 12.2% in the three months to March, its biggest rise in three years, even as the full impact of the coronavirus was yet to be reflected. "President Jair Bolsonaros handling of the economy and cabinet departures have added a political risk premium to the BRL, which may remain embedded during 2Q20," ING analysts wrote. Brazilian stocks fell nearly 2%, dragged lower by a more than 5% drop in Banco Bradesco SA, one of the country's largest lenders. The bank's first-quarter profit missed expectations, while its provisions for expected loan losses soared. Mexican and Chilean stocks fell more than 1% each. On the other hand, the Chilean and the Colombian pesos were set to gain for the month. Regional markets will be closed on Friday for labor day. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1414 GMT Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 927.10 0.81 MSCI LatAm 1678.31 -1.83 Brazil Bovespa 81638.38 -1.84 Mexico IPC 36456.04 -1.12 Chile IPSA 3972.18 -1.06 Argentina MerVal - - Colombia COLCAP 1145.66 -0.02 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.4368 -1.55 Mexico peso 23.9170 -0.75 Chile peso 839.3 -0.54 Colombia peso 3921.94 -0.07 Peru sol 3.3657 0.00 Argentina peso 66.8300 -0.12 (interbank) (Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru Editing by Alistair Bell)
HCM City has provided relief to struggling foreigners living in the city to help them overcome the COVID-19 outbreak.

Vice President of the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) Nguyen Van Manh (second from the left) hands over financial aid to Cuban Consul General to HCM City Lopez Arguelles (third from the left) to support pandemic-hit Cubans in the city.

On April 29, Vice President of the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) Nguyen Van Manh and President of the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Organisation Truong Thi Hien presented financial aid to Cuban Consul General to HCM City Lopez Arguelles to support Cubans in the city who are facing difficulties because of the pandemic.

Arguelles thanked the southern city for the aid, saying it will not only encourage Cuban people to overcome the current hardships but also contribute to strengthening the special friendship and solidarity between the two countries.

It was the citys first relief effort to Cuban expats. HUFO plans to coordinate with local authorities to raise more funds and goods donations for Cubans and people from other foreign countries during this challenging time.

On behalf of the people of HCM City, HUFO President Vuong Duc Hoang Quan handed over more than 23,000 anti-bacterial and medical masks and 100 litres of antibacterial liquid to French Consul General to the city Vincent Floreani on April 28 to aid Frances COVID-19 response.

On the same day, HUFO collaborated with the Vietnam - India Friendship Organisation and the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam to present 5,000 medical masks and 500 bottles of hand sanitiser to students and teachers at the Cao Ba Quat Elementary School in HCM Citys Phu Nhuan district./.
Lloyds suffered a collapse in profits as it came under fire for its lacklustre lending under the Government's coronavirus aid packages.

The bank, which is the UK's biggest mortgage provider and one of the largest lenders to small businesses, has handed out just (CBILS).

This is a relatively small slice of the industry-wide total of 4.1billion. Lloyds's CBILS loans account for just 3,752 of the 25,262 total.

Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said the bank was expecting house prices to slump 5 per cent this year, before recovering next year

As it unveiled its first-quarter results yesterday, the bank revealed profits slumped 95 per centin the first three months of 2020 to just 74million.

The rout came as it set aside 1.4billion to prepare for loans issued before the crisis turning sour.

This means that Britain's major banks  including Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, Santander and Standard Chartered  have earmarked 6.8billion to cover already existing loans, which may be unpaid due to the pandemic.

Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said the bank was expecting house prices to slump 5 per cent this year, before recovering next year, and added that around 17 per cent of its mortgage customers were asking for payment holidays.

Despite the increased provisions for losses on outstanding loans, banks are still under pressure to get money out of the door to help smaller firms survive the coronavirus crisis.

In order to encourage them to lend, the Government has agreed to bear 80pc of any losses which flow from CBILS lending.

But figures from industry body UK Finance showed that the CBILS programme has only resulted in 4.1billion of debt lifelines going to 25,262 firms.

Another 27,545 applications have either been denied or are in limbo.

The total amount lent is much lower than in Switzerland, which has handed out around 100,000 loans under a similar scheme, and Germany, which has lent 7.4billion to 13,000 firms.

But the governments there have agreed to guarantee 100 per cent of the value of the loan, rather than just 80 per cent, so banks are not on the hook.

Under the UK's scheme, Lloyds is the laggard. RBS has approved 8,292 CBILS loans to a value of 1.6billion.

And even Barclays and HSBC, which both have a smaller piece of the market than Lloyds, are still ahead  with Barclays having lent 835million under CBILS to 4,361 businesses and HSBC approving 765million worth of loans to 5,295 companies.

Horta-Osorio claimed Lloyds' CBILS lending figures were so low because most business customers wanted help such as overdraft extensions and payment holidays on their existing debt, rather than new loans.

He said: 'We are very supportive of the Government's schemes. We have to help our customers with whatever product they prefer, and what we have seen so far is that by a wide margin  ten to one  our small and medium-sized business customers prefer to ask for capital repayment holidays and working capital support through overdraft extensions than through term loans.'

But Ian Cass, managing director of the Forum of Private Business, said he is still receiving streams of complaints about the bank.

He said: 'The only people getting money are those not really in desperate need.'

As UK Finance revealed the weekly CBILS update, the Treasury Committee of MPs renewed its calls for the data to be published daily. It is convinced this will push banks to boost lending but UK Finance has refused, saying it would place unnecessary strain on banks.

Goldman Sachs has angered shareholders by awarding its boss a 20 per cent pay rise. Just 71 per cent of investors at yesterday's virtual shareholder meeting backed an executive pay package that saw chief executive David Solomon scoop 20million in 2019, a fifth more than a year earlier.
Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump at a Group of 20 summit in 2017. How can we solve global problems if nations hide behind defensive walls? (Lukas Coch / EPA)

Has there ever been a crisis as truly global as this one? If I email with my cousin Susanne outside Vienna, shes locked in her house, avoiding the virus. So is my old colleague, Said, who is at home in his apartment in East Jerusalem. So was Luly in Beijing, until a few weeks ago when restrictions there were eased.

This microscopic virus knows no national borders. And it kills indiscriminately  Italians as well as Iranians, Americans as well as Russians.

There are a couple of ways to respond to this if youre Donald Trump or Xi Jinping or Angela Merkel. You can conclude, quite rationally, that were all in this together and that we need to reach out across borders and oceans to encourage cooperation to understand and beat back the pandemic that threatens us all.

Or, you can hunker down inside your own country, bar outsiders from entering, wrestle other nations for scarce resources, seek your own cures and hurl blame at each other to divert attention from your own mistakes.

Guess which of those two approaches our country has opted for?

That's right!

Among other xenophobic responses, President Trump has repeatedly called COVID-19 the Chinese virus, tried to ban the export of protective masks, cut funding to the World Health Organization and declined to participate last week when world leaders pledged cooperation on vaccines and treatments.

But its not just Trump who is misbehaving. China has falsely blamed the U.S. for the coronavirus outbreak, has spread disinformation on social media to sow panic and has been less than straightforward about its caseload numbers.

For that matter, European countries didnt do much for their Italian neighbors in the early days of the pandemic. Instead, several imposed export bans on vital medical equipment.

But it is glaringly obvious that global crises require global solutions, and that every country for itself is exactly the wrong rallying cry. We need to share information about the transmission and spread of the disease in every country; we need to share research on treatments. Other international disagreements should be put to the side while we speed up testing and get ventilators, masks and equipment to wherever they are needed,

Story continues

In the more congenial days of the Ebola epidemic, the HIV/AIDS crisis and the SARS outbreak, the United States worked closely with other countries, and with the World Health Organization, other United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups to lead recovery efforts.

"In the 2014 Ebola epidemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control took over at the operational level. We helped create emergency hospitals; we were training people, said Dr. Barry Bloom, a professor at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University. China worked in some countries, France was in francophone countries. We divided the world, with different countries taking different roles, but coordinated. There was a lot of shared knowledge and information.

Another example: In 2004, President George W. Bush set up the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in an attempt to help African countries protect themselves from the disease. Rather than eliminate it because it was started by his predecessor, President Obama expanded the program, which funds anti-AIDS work in 60 countries and which has been credited with saving millions of lives. PEPFAR is considered one of the most successful global health initiatives ever undertaken.

This time is different. The U.S. and other countries are turning inward.

Sure, at the doctor and scientist and lower governmental level theres some cooperation. The CDC, for instance, still has offices around the world, although their budget has been cut since 2016, says Bloom.

But as William Burns, former deputy Secretary of State and president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says, the right tone needs to be set at the top.

What sets us apart from lonelier powers like China and Russia is our ability to build alliances, to mobilize other countries, to influence international institutions, says Burns. Thats a capacity the United States exercised for many decades in crises.

But not these days. Two separate forces are standing in the way of a strong response by the United States and the so-called post-war liberal international order. One is what Charles A. Kupchan, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, called an unstoppable shift in the global balance of power away from the U.S. and its democratic allies. By 2030, if current trends continue, the worlds leading economic power will not be a democracy at all; it will be China.

The second force is the increasing movement toward populism and nativism in many of the world's democracies, Kupchan said, including the United States.

COVID-19 is, among other things, a test of the worlds ability to respond to emergencies in the future. Next time, it may not be a pandemic, but a bioterror threat, a nuclear incident, a global financial meltdown or an international cybercrisis. None of those can be addressed from behind defensive walls.

The biggest threat of all is global climate change. If COVID-19 offers any lessons for that looming disaster, they are that we should not dismiss science so cavalierly, not blithely ignore whats barreling toward us, and not retreat into our own narrow worlds.

As this crisis has made clear, what harms our neighbors is likely to harm us too, and what protects us, protects them. We are all in this together.

Twitter: @Nick_Goldberg
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Bolivia Coronavirus Update - Coronavirus cases climb to 1,167, Total Deaths reaches to 62 on 01-May-2020

In Bolivia total confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) have increased to 1,167, while 62 people died due to the growing infection in the country.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) update from around the world:

United States, 29-April-2020: U.S. Covid-19 Deaths is more than the the deaths during Vietnam War. During Vietnam War US lost 58,220 lives, now due to Covid-19 infection total deaths reached over 60,000 in the country.

Mexico, 29-April-2020: In Mexico 1,223 new cases of Covid-19 identified raising the total count to 16,752 in the country.

China, 29-April-2020: China reported over 22 new cases Covid-19 raising the total cases to 82,858 cases in the country.

West Bengal (India), 29-April-2020: West Bengal reported 33 new cases of Coronavirus while total active cases reached to 550 in the state.

Punjab (India), 29-April-2020: Total number of Covid-19 cases in Punjab reached 375. In the state more than 60 fresh cases of Coronavirus reported today.

Dharavi (India), 29-April-2020: Dharavi reported 14 new cases raising the total cases to 344 in Dharavi. No new deaths are reported from Dharavi Today.

Maharashtra (India), 29-April-2020: Maharashtra reported 597 fresh Covid-19 cases today while total cases of Covid-19 infection rises to 9,915 in the state. Over 432 people died so far due to Covid-19 infection in the state.

India, 29-April-2020: Coronavirus hotspots in India decreased from 170 to 129 in a fortnight.

Andhra Pradesh (India), 29-April-2020: An 11-baby among 73 new cases in Andhra Pradesh. In past 24 hours 73 new cases of Covid-19 reported from Andhra Pradesh raising the total Covid-19 patient count to 1,332 in the state.

France, 29-April-2020: Total fatalities due to Covid-19 infection surpasses 23,000 mark in France.

Gujarat (India), 28-April-2020: Gujarat reported 226 new cases of Covid-19 infection raising total count to 3,774 in the state. Over 181 people died so far with Covid-19 infection in Gujarat.

India, 28-April-2020: Total confirmed cases in India have risen to 29,435 while Covid-19 outbreak is spread in 185 counties of the world. India is under nationwide lockdown and today is the 35th day of the lockdown.

India, 28-April-2020: One new case of Covid-19 is reported from Bihar raising total cases to 360 in the state.

India, 28-April-2020: Delhi confirmed cases crosses 3,000 mark with 2,177 active cases in the city. Delhi Government in its bulletin on Monday revealed that the total confirmed cases in the state rises to 3,108, while there are 21,132 active cases of Covid-19 in India.

World, 28-April-2020: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General said "The pandemic is far from over." Which means the Covid-19 infection will stay for the longer period of time in the world.

Nigeria, 27-April-2020: In Nigeria the lockdown has been extended in three major states Abuja, Lagos and Ogun. Now the lockdown will be imposed till May 4. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari announced the extension of lockdown today.

India, 27-April-2020: The Tamil Nadu government announced on April 27 to return 24,000 rapid test kits imported from China. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) after their test asked the states to stop using COVID-19 rapid antibody kits developed by two Chinese companies. These COVID-19 rapid antibody kits were imported earlier for the testing of suspected patients. But now India will not use these kits because it is not giving satisfactory results, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

France: France is reporting higher number of deaths but but slightly fewer people with severe conditions were admitted into ICU in past fourth day. France reported 315 deaths last day as compared to 345 deaths the day earlier. In France 133,670 confirmed cases and 14,412 deaths reported so far.

Here are the latest cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in Bolivia:

Sr. No. Date Total Cases New Cases Total Deaths Deaths 1. 26-Apr-2020 866 59 46 2 2. 27-Apr-2020 950 84 50 4 3. 28-Apr-2020 1,014 64 53 3 4. 29-Apr-2020 1,053 39 55 2 5. 30-Apr-2020 1,110 57 59 4 6. 01-May-2020 1,167 57 62 3

TOP 10 Deaths by country due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:



1. Europe (135,481)

2. North America (69,676)

3. USA (63,871)

4. Italy (27,967)

5. UK (26,771)

6. Spain (24,543)

7. France (24,376)

8. Asia (18,659)

9. South America (8,811)

10. Belgium (7,703)

Total Deaths Worldwide (234,392)

Globally till now over 234,392 people died due to the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19). The new infection and death cases are increasing fast. Authorities in the Bolivia and other countries are taking proper measures to contain the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19).

As of now Europe is the worst affected country in the world with over 135,481 deaths and 1,382,622 confirmed cases.

Check latest update: Coronaviurs Covid-19 cases around the world
Toronto, Ontario and New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Micromem Technologies, Inc. (CSE: MRM) (OTCQB: MMTIF) ("Micromem") ("the Company") provides the following current update.

Micromem continues to remain in contact with its key partners, Chevron and Romgaz. As a consequence of the business impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff reductions and travel restrictions have affected our partners, suppliers, manufacturers and installers.

Micromem has been advised by its partners that, while the respective projects are proceeding, scheduling has been moved to late summer or fall 2020. The launch dates for the next phases of our business activity with our partners is yet to be finalized.

Micromem has been instituting cost-cutting measures to preserve its cash. As previously reported, our senior management team has received minimal compensation over the past several years. Most recently, staff payroll has been suspended, and the Company is evaluating various Canadian government relief programs. Additionally, other cost-cutting initiatives are underway. These current steps are necessary to allow the Company to be ready to move forward with its projects once our partners are ready to recommence work.

Joseph Fuda, CEO, says: "The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone around the world. We at Micromem continue to work every day to advance our projects."

About Micromem

Micromem Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries, a publicly-traded (OTCQB: MMTIF), (CSE: MRM) company analyzes specific industry sectors to create intelligent game-changing applications that address unmet market needs. By leveraging its expertise and experience with sophisticated sensor applications, the Company successfully powers the development and implementation of innovative solutions for oil & gas, utilities, automotive, healthcare, government, information technology, manufacturing and other industries. Visit www.micromeminc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. In particular, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include: our inability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms; risk that our products and services will not gain widespread market acceptance; continued consumer adoption of digital technology; inability to compete with others who provide comparable products; the failure of our technology; the infringement of our technology with proprietary rights of third parties; inability to respond to consumer and technological demands; inability to replace significant customers; seasonal nature of our business; and other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "plan," "should," "intend," "may," "will," "would," "potential," and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements.

The CSE or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release that has been prepared by management.

###

Listing: NASD OTC-QB - Symbol: MMTIF

CSE - Symbol: MRM

Shares issued: 377,034,665

SEC File No: 0-26005

Investor Contact:

info@micromeminc.com

Tel. 416-364-2023

Subscribe to receive News Releases by Email on our website's home page: www.micromeminc.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55264
Brenda Carll, a retired public health nurse, fought for years against cuts to Pennsylvania's community health system by governors and legislators from both parties. Read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

HARRISBURG  One week after Gov. Tom Wolf said his administration was struggling to come up with a plan to increase its contact tracing capabilities to help prevent another coronavirus outbreak, officials with the Department of Health unveiled steps they say will allow the state to safely reopen.

On Friday, as Wolf announced the 24 counties that will reopen next week, state health officials said the plan will rely on a combination of partnerships with local hospital systems, voluntary tracking technology, and federal funding to hire additional staff.

They stopped short of specifying the number of individuals needed to complete the work, and did not provide a timeline for new hires. The plan also offered few details on how this work would be accomplished in more populous regions, such as the southeast and southwest, when those areas move from the red closure phase of Wolfs reopening plan to the less restrictive yellow phase.

I dont have a specific number were going to hire, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said at a news conference. Im sure well need more people [to do contact tracing] as more and more counties go from red to yellow, and well be hiring as necessary.

Were going to take that on a county-by-county basis, she added.

The announcement comes a week after a Spotlight PA investigation found that governors and legislators of both political parties have for years treated the states team of contact tracing nurses as expendable, repeatedly cutting their budget and thinning their ranks, leaving only a skeleton force.

While there have been calls for the federal government to assist in creating a national tracing force, it has so far left action to the states. As of last week, the Department of Health employed 131 public health nurses, down from 177 in 2012, which is as far back as the states online payroll data show.

Officials said an additional 16 employees from the departments epidemiology and hospital-acquired infection teams are assisting with tracing.

As of last week, there were 31 public health nurse vacancies. These nurses are responsible for overseeing 60% of the states population  or about one nurse for every 56,000 people  including rural areas and populous suburbs like Delaware County.

Only six counties and four cities have their own health departments and contact tracers. However, the state nurses can get called in to support those local health departments, as has been the case with Montgomery County, which has been overwhelmed by the coronavirus.

As the state begins reopening, the nurses will also reach out to people who have come in contact with infected individuals and inform them that they should quarantine as well, Levine said. Without this work, asymptomatic individuals could spread the virus to many more people, leading to another outbreak.

The states contact tracing system quickly became overwhelmed when the coronavirus first arrived in Pennsylvania. Nurses reported making hundreds of calls to infected individuals each day without ever being able to catch up with the deluge of new cases.

Its unclear if the plan announced Friday will provide sufficient staff to bolster the nurses ranks.

Public health experts say about 2,000 contact tracers are needed in Pennsylvania. Levine did not commit to hiring a particular number of people, instead saying, We want to have a balance between getting all the people we need, but we want to be fiscally conscious as well.

The Health Department has received a $18.7 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for COVID-19 response, a portion of which it said had been earmarked for contact tracing.

In the first counties to reopen, those in northwest and north-central Pennsylvania, the department said the existing public health nurses, along with the Erie County Health Department, will be able to handle contact tracing. No additional staff will be hired.

In the northeast, the state plans to partner with the Lehigh Valley Health Network and has also applied for a grant to hire 110 more tracers. In south central Pennsylvania, 40 volunteers from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine will assist.

In the populous southeast region, the department said it will recruit volunteers through PennServ/AmericCorps and ServPA, and will seek to work with local health leaders and universities. Similarly, it is seeking partnerships in the southwest.

Yet no details were announced on how many volunteers will be recruited in those regions or how soon  a question that could become critical as Wolf suggested counties in the southwest could be next to reopen.

For places prone to larger outbreaks  such as nursing homes, prisons, and food packing plants  the department said it has a special team of epidemiologists, masters and doctoral students of public health, and an adviser from the CDC.

Across the state, contact tracing efforts will be supplemented with technology, the department said.

Nurses will use a web-based tool to send out daily emails, texts, and phone calls to people who test positive for COVID-19 and those who are identified as their close contacts. This will allow the nurses to monitor both groups for symptoms and collect more detailed demographic data, as well as the number of asymptomatic and symptomatic cases per region.

The state is also looking into an opt-in app that asks people to self-identify if theyve tested positive, and then uses Bluetooth technology to alert those who have been in close contact with them. The technology maintains the anonymity of all users, the state said. When fully developed, it will have the capability to alert exposed individuals with instructions such as self-quarantining, testing, and other next steps.

On Friday, Levine emphasized that the contact tracing plan may change as Pennsylvanias reopening process continues.

When we need to hire more people, we will hire them to make sure the case investigations and contact tracing moves forward, she said. But were going to be taking this in a very measured approach.

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Tripoli, May 1 : Libya's UN-backed government has rejected halting all military operations in the country, following the rival eastern-based army's announcement of a humanitarian truce during the holy month of Ramzan.

"We confirms our firm position to continue to defend ourselves legitimately, strike all threats wherever they exist, put an end to illegal groups that underestimate the lives of Libyans throughout the country," the UN-backed government said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement accused the eastern-based army of continuously attacking civilians, despite previous truces both parties agreed to, reports Xinhua news agency.

On Wednesday, the eastern-based army announced cessation of military action in Libya during the month of Ramzan, threatening to attack the UN-backed government's forces in case they breached the truce.

The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign in and around the capital Tripoli since April 2019, attempting to take over the city and topple the rival UN-backed government.

Since the the conflict began, the UN Support Mission in Libya has documented at least 356 civilian deaths and 329 injuries.

It has also forced more than 150,000 to flee their homes.
ALBANY, N.Y.  Albany Countys death toll attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic now stands at 44, as Albany County Executive Dan McCoy confirmed three additional deaths overnight, during his daily press conference Friday morning.

According to McCoy the deaths include two male residents of Shaker Place Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in their 70s and one woman in her 80s.

These are difficult times and when you look around and its a new world out there and its different than it was 50 days ago, think of other people around you. Thats why Dr. Whalen and I continue to say please social distance, please wear your mask when youre out in public, McCoy remarked as the new normal enters its third month.

We can get through this and well get through this because were New Yorkers and we get through things, were resilient, McCoy added.

In addition to those three victims, McCoy detailed the latest data of cases in Albany County. As of Friday morning, Albany County has 1,151 confirmed positive cases for COVID-19, 1,004 people in mandatory quarantine, 14 in precautionary quarantine and 578 people have recovered.

The aforementioned Shaker Place has seen 46 residents test positive with two having recovered. Additionally, 25 employees have tested positive with seven recovered.

Plus, there are 33 county residents hospitalized, with eight in the ICU.

New Yorks junior U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand joined the press conference via Zoom to talk about attempts to provide funding resources to the state.

Gillibrand discussed funding including $25 million for testing, $75 million for hospitals, and modifying the Paycheck Protection Program. She also detailed some of her priorities for the next federal relief package, including universal sick days and national paid leave.

Gillibrand also looks to create a Health Force, described as an AmeriCorps for healthcare.

According to Gillibrand, one million workers would be trained over the next two months to carry out additional testing, contact tracing and administering a potential vaccine. Other priorities include direct funding for cities and states, hunger relief, along with voting by mail, curbside voting and early voting to ensure Americans can exercise their right to vote without fear of spreading the coronavirus.

To that end, Albany County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen commented on the countys contact tracing efforts thus far.

We do employ a small army of contact tracers that have been responsible thus far for doing the investigation on every case that has been reported in Albany County, Whalen said.

This includes phone follow up, contact tracing, home visits and following along until people are released from isolation or quarantine. Its been exhaustive work at the health department and we continue to do that, Whalen continue on what the tracing involves.

Whalen also explained the data behind the recent rise in cases.

If you follow the trends along youll see that this week we had a spike in positive cases in Albany County. Many of these cases are a result of widespread testing that has been implemented when we have cases either in our nursing homes or in our long-term care facilities, Whalen noted.

We have been working very close with the New York State Department of Health to ensure that a wide spectrum of workers and residents are tested when we note positive cases, Whalen remarked on the coordination of resources between the state and county.

As Ive talked about in the past this helps us identify those that are working in these facilities that may be infected with COVID-19 but may not be aware of this. So we have seen an expansion in criteria for testing to allow essential workers, particularly workers that work with high needs and high risk populations like those in nursing homes and long-term care facilities that are now being told that they can test some asymptomatic workers, Whalen commented on the increase in testing.

Whalen also remarked on why it is crucial to hone in on those in close contact with higher risk populations.

We believe that this is an important strategy. As we have done these widespread tests the test results that we get back we are finding a higher rate than expected of asymptomatic infections in these places, Whalen said.

It really hearkens back again to the importance of doing what you can when youre not at work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Whalen added.
A simple technique to illuminate the exits in trawl fishing nets can reduce unwanted bycatch by almost 50%, new research has found, potentially protecting both the environment and fishermens livelihoods.

Attaching LED lights to larger holes in nets intended to allow non-target species to escape dramatically cut the numbers killed unnecessarily, a team from Bangor University found.

The research, published in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, inverts an old fishing technique of shining a light on water to attract fish into a net to boost the catch.

The study, which was conducted between June and August 2017, tested the impact of lights in reducing the number of haddock and flatfish caught in a queen scallop fishery off the Isle of Man.

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It found that while existing bycatch reduction devices were effective at shallower depths of 29 metres to 40 metres deep, in deeper darker waters of 45m to 95m, they had no impact at all on bycatch numbers.

But once LEDs were added to these exits in deep water, haddock bycatch was reduced by 47% and flatfish catch was reduced by 25%.

Bycatch is a problem in fisheries all over the world because it inflicts further damage on often depleted non-target species, and kills mammals and seabirds that become entangled in nets.

It can also be a huge cost to fishermen  under EU law, the Landings Obligation requires fishermen to bring ashore almost everything that they catch, including fish that are not part of their quota.

If they end up catching too much of their non-target species, fishermen can see their fishery choked  closed for a period of months to allow vulnerable stocks to recover.

Lucy Southworth, lead author of the study, told the PA news agency: Traditionally, and this goes back decades and maybe even centuries, fishers used lights to attract fish.

But now we are turning that on its head to try and manipulate the behavioural responses in fish and other animals to either repel them away from gear or to manipulate their behaviour so they can escape from them net.

She added: In our case we decided to attach the lights to the escape exit to try and guide fish towards it so they would escape out more so than they would do if the lights werent there.

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Ms Southworth described the discovery that existing bycatch reduction devices without LEDs cease to work at greater depth or at night very worrying.

It means fishermen trying to comply with best practice are still at risk of seeing their fisheries closed early, and potentially causing significant unintended environmental damage.

The research team thinks the LED solution could prove very popular with fishermen because the lights are relatively cheap, easily applied to existing nets and reconfigured for different environments.

Separate research conducted in Peru has already shown LED lights can reduce the numbers of seabirds entangled in gill nets, and is trying to establish if it can help protect turtles.

Anecdotally, the team conducting the research in the Isle of Man found evidence of escapement of shark bycatch and think it could be an area for further research.

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It could potentially reduce the numbers of dolphins, whales and porpoises killed in fishing nets in UK waters every year.

The lights might help alert marine mammals to the presence of nets  particularly gill netting, which forms a wall across the seabed  helping them to avoid them.

The study worked with lights supplied by the UK-based start-up SafetyNet Technologies.

Dan Watson, the companys chief executive, said: Wed love to keep working with people to progress the science further.

Morven Robertson, senior UK projects manager at the Blue Marine Foundation, welcomed the research, saying: We look forward to seeing how this technology can help fishermen to reduce bycatch, avoid choke species and fulfil commitments to the landings obligations.

Samuel Stone, head of fisheries and aquaculture at the Marine Conservation Society, said: This is really exciting and exactly the kind of innovation we need to see more of to reduce bycatch in our fisheries.

He added: Wed love to see more funding for innovations like this, but policy incentives from governments are also really important.

Offering things such as extra quota and access to certain areas when approved selectivity devices are being used could really help incentivise widespread use.

Philip Evans, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said it was concerning that existing bycatch reduction devices become less effective at night and in deep water.

We hope that fishing fleets take heed of this scientific development to help them reduce their bycatch, and step up their measures to eliminate it as much as possible, he said.

But to give our oceans the best chance of recovery, we need to see catch limits set at sustainable levels, in line with scientific advice.

We also must place at least 30% of our oceans off limits to human activity, including fishing, by 2030.

Marine biologist Rob Deaville, head of the UKs Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, welcomed the research but was cautious of what it might mean for marine mammals, saying further research was needed.

Meanwhile, our existing options to mitigate cetacean bycatch remain limited and we must do more to improve the availability of potential tools to address this significant issue, he said.
America's coronavirus crisis will take up to two years to extinguish, according to top pandemic experts bracing the country to hunker down for the long-haul.

Their report paints a bleak picture for the near future, with people continuing to die in all possible outcomes mapped out by the scientists.

Health bosses will be particularly alarmed at the worst-case scenario which forecasts a second larger spike as early as this fall.

It would eclipse even the United States' current outbreak, which has infected over a million and killed 63,836.

This modelling echoes the latest projections of White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, who said another wave of the virus is 'inevitable'.

Two of the three scenarios also dash hopes of a permanent end to lockdown, with the authors predicting social distancing measures will need to be reimposed to wrestle down future waves.

It makes dismal reading for the swathes of the country desperate for restrictions to be loosened, not least the President who is looking to fire up the flagging economy ahead of November's election.

Only once roughly two-thirds of the population has been infected, and herd immunity has been reached, will the disease finally fizzle out, they claim in the paper.

The team from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)said: 'The length of the pandemic will likely be 18 to 24 months, as herd immunity gradually develops in the human population.

In the first scenario, the epidemic will continue in a series of 'peaks and valleys', gradually waning over time until it dies out in 2021

Worst-case scenario: In the second scenario, the current outbreak will be eclipsed by a much larger peak in the fall or winter of this year in echoes of the 1918-19 Spanish Flu pandemic

The third and final scenario is what scientists call the 'slow burn', where the virus gradually wanes without defined waves

'This will take time, since limited serosurveillance data available to date suggest that a relatively small fraction of the population has been infected and infection rates likely vary substantially by geographic area.

'Given the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the population may need to be immune to reach a critical threshold of herd immunity to halt the pandemic.'

For the paper, the authors studied the four influenza pandemics which have unfolded since the early 20th Century - in 1918-19, 1957, 1968, and 2009-10.

By basing their modelling on these past examples, the scientists forecast three potential scenarios as to how this epidemic will likely unfold.

In the first scenario, the epidemic will continue in a series of 'peaks and valleys', gradually waning over time until it dies out in 2021.

Boston EMS medics work to resuscitate a patient on the way to the ambulance amid the coronavirus disease

Recommendations from the pandemic experts 1. States and authorities should plan for the worst-case scenario, including no vaccine availability or herd immunity. 2. Government agencies and healthcare delivery organizations should draw up strategies to ensure adequate protection frontline workers to prepare for peaks. 3. Government officials should develop concrete plans, including triggers for reimposing lockdown measures. 4. Risk communication messaging from government officials should incorporate the concept that this pandemic will not be over soon and that people need to be prepared for possible periodic resurgences of disease over the next two years. Advertisement

'The occurrence of these waves may vary geographically and may depend on what mitigation measures are in place and how they are eased,' the report states.

'Depending on the height of the wave peaks, this scenario could require periodic reinstitution and subsequent relaxation of mitigation measures over the next 1 to 2 years.'

In the second scenario, the current outbreak will be eclipsed by a much larger peak in the fall or winter of this year in echoes of the 1918-19 Spanish Flu pandemic.

Smaller peaks will then follow before the infection rate is wrestled down with more lockdown measures.

'This pattern will require the reinstitution of mitigation measures in the fall in an attempt to drive down spread of infection and prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed,' the scientists wrote.

The third and final scenario is what scientists call the 'slow burn', where the virus gradually wanes without defined waves.

While cases and deaths would continue to occur, it is not believed this scenario would would warrant total lockdown to be reimposed.

Dr Michael Osterholm, professor at Minnesota University who co-authored the paper, told CNN: 'The idea that this is going to be done soon defies microbiology.'

Dr Kristine Moore, first author and medical director of CIDRAP, questioned the thinking behind states already loosening lockdown restrictions.

She said: 'I think it's an experiment. It's an experiment that likely will cost lives, especially in places that do it without careful controls to try to figure out when to try to slow things down again.'

White House infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said another wave of the virus is 'inevitable'

Founded in 2001, CIDRAP focuses on public health preparedness and emerging infectious disease response.

The authors draw up a four-pronged strategy for states to combat the coronavirus in the long-term.

They urge leaders to prepare for the worst-case scenario - scenario two - where no vaccine is available and herd immunity has not been met.

Efforts must be made to ensure frontline health staff are equipped with sufficient protective gear.

Government officials should level with the public that the pandemic will not be over soon

And finally, plans to be able to immediately reimpose lockdown where necessary should be put in place.

This will be sore reading for many Americans, some of whom are enjoying a relaxation of restrictions while others are taking to the streets in protest at the lockdown.

In Michigan, where social distancing has been extended until May 15, armed demonstrators stormed the state capitol building yesterday

Last month Donald Trump mooted 60,000 as a final death toll, but was forced to row back when it became clear the US was set to surge past this number

In Michigan, where social distancing has been extended until May 15, armed demonstrators stormed the state capitol building yesterday.

Last month Donald Trump mooted 60,000 as a final death toll, but was forced to row back when it became clear the US was set to surge past this number.

The President is desperate to fire back the flagging economy ahead of November's general election and even touted easing curbs on April 12 before the the pandemic began to spiral.

In February he even suggested the virus could pass in spring, saying: 'A lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat  as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April.'

But the country's most senior epidemiologist Dr Fauci, who regularly flanks the President at the daily press briefings, has warned of future lockdown measures to fight off another wave of the virus.

Speaking at a webinar this week, he said: 'When we get into next season, in my mind it's inevitable that we will have a return of the virus, or maybe that it never even went away. When it does, how we handle it will determine our fate.

'If by that time we have put into place all of the counter-measures that you need to address this, we should do reasonably well. If we don't do that successfully, we could be in for a bad fall and a bad winter.'
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Bestselling author Paulo Coelho paid a moving tribute to late Indian actor Irrfan Khan using a quote from Bhagavad Gita, saying: "A star joins other stars in the sky".

The author took to Twitter to mourn the loss, and remembered Irrfan for his contributions to the world of cinema.

"A star joins other stars in the sky. Thank you for everything, Irrfan Khan. 'Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable' -- Bhagavad Gita," he posted.

A star joins other stars in the sky. Thank you for everything, Irrfan Khan



Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable.

 Bhagavad Gita pic.twitter.com/WKaOlgf4bi  Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) April 30, 2020

With projects like "Paan Singh Tomar", "Piku", "Talvar", "The Lunchbox", "Maqbool", and "7 Khoon Maaf", Irrfan carved a name for himself in Hindi cinema. He has gradually established himself in the West too. He featured in foreign films like "The Namesake", "Life of Pi", "A Mighty Heart", "Slumdog Millionaire',"The Amazing Spider-Man", "Inferno" and "Jurassic World".

Irrfan breathed his last early on Wednesday at the age of 53. He was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection earlier this week.
Troy and Melody Randle. Her insistence that he go to the hospital to be treated for splitting headaches led to the discovery of his stroke, and may have saved his life. Read more

After five days, the worst of the COVID-19 symptoms  the headache, the fever, the body ache  had ended. But it was only the start of the medical crisis for Troy L. Randle, a New Jersey cardiologist who is recovering from a devastating coronavirus consequence that doctors are only now learning about.

In mid-April, shortly after he was declared safe to go back to work treating patients in the Virtua Health System, Randles headache returned, more vicious than the last time.

It felt like a sharp pain in the back of my head, and then I felt this intense pressure in the front, the Mullica Hill man said. It felt like a vise.

Randle, 49, tried to wait it out at home. But after days of relentless pain, his wife, Melody, a nurse practitioner, broke into tears begging him to go to the hospital, where he had a CT scan and an MRI.

I was totally blown away when they said I had a stroke, Randle said.

Though its still fairly unusual, more people Randles age and younger appear to have suffered strokes as a result of infection with the coronavirus. The connections between the virus and strokes are just beginning to be understood, but seem related to blood clots that form at a shockingly high rate in certain patients. Clots cause strokes when they block blood flow to the brain, and in COVID-19 patients, these strokes may be especially dangerous and hard to treat.

Those clots are stubborn clots  they are difficult, stubborn clots to be removed, said Pascal M. Jabbour, a Thomas Jefferson University Hospital physician and head of the neurovascular division who recently reported on coronavirus-positive stroke patients he treated. The outcome was worse.

 READ MORE: A mysterious blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients

The article he coauthored, now under review by a medical journal, describes 12 stroke patients treated at Jefferson hospitals and NYU Langone Health in New York City between March 20 and April 10, who were positive for COVID-19. Some of the patients had no virus symptoms before their strokes. They were also much younger  40% were under age 50  than most stroke patients, who typically are in their 70s, Jabbour said.

Overall, Jabbour said, 35% of stroke patients at the two health systems were COVID-positive, an unusually high rate of infection.

His observations are similar to those reported in the New England Journal of Medicine by doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, who treated five stroke victims, all under age 50. All tested positive for COVID-19.

Even patients diagnosed with COVID but not sick with COVID, we need to keep an eye on those patients, Jabbour said. Those patients are at risk of stroke, and they need to be watched very carefully.

Data from China suggest up to 3% of COVID-positive people could suffer a stroke, said Erol Veznedaroglu, director of the Global Neurosciences Institute, based at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland. In the United States, more than a million people have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning at least 30,000 people could be at risk of stroke.

The type of stroke Randle had could have been fatal, said Veznedaroglu, who did not treat the cardiologist. His vertebral artery had clotted, cutting off blood to the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance and motor functions.

Its basically our life center to the brain, Veznedaroglu said of the artery that was clogged.

Youve already been exposed.

At the outset of the pandemic, Randle thought that risking infection was part of his job, though he was worried about passing on the virus to his wife and six children.

I got into medicine because I wanted to take care of people, he said. That drive to take care of others and be there for others overrode any fear I had of catching the virus.

He doesnt think he contracted COVID-19 from a patient. He shared a small reading room with another doctor who tested positive, and believes their proximity led to his illness.

The initial sickness was difficult, he said, and the weakness that accompanied it was overwhelming. But the headaches were treatable with over-the-counter painkillers and the coughing was never too terrible.

When he returned to work, his colleagues joked that he no longer needed the protective gear medical workers wear when treating COVID-19 patients due the antibodies people who recover from the illness are believed to have.

I dont think you need all that, one said. Youve already been exposed."

I prayed and I cried

He briefly experienced weakness in his right arm, he said, that he passed off as a lingering symptom of his illness. The headaches that followed, though, were brutal and inexplicable. He contemplated the possibility that he would not recover.

I was lying in bed not knowing what was going on, not feeling well, and I didnt want to break down in front of my family, he said. "So I grabbed a mask and I went for a walk in the neighborhood, and I prayed and I cried, because I knew something was wrong with me.

His wifes pleading finally got him to seek help. Potentially she saved my life, kind of insisting on that, he said.

He believes the clot that caused his stroke likely formed during his initial illness.

The clots are the subject of intense study and some mystery. They seem be related to inflammation and an extreme immune system response, called a cytokine storm, that some COVID-19 patients experience. At issue, said Veznedaroglu, may be ACE2, a protein receptor present in the endothelium, a thin layer of tissue that lines blood vessels and the interior of the lungs. This protein appears to be the coronavirus entry point into the body, through which it passes its genetic material into cells and begins replicating itself.

The virus links to ACE2 receptors may cause the endothelium, typically smooth to allow easy blood flow, to become inflamed. Clots form under normal circumstances to repair damage, but the response itself appears to be damaging, with clotting severe enough to inhibit blood flow throughout the body.

Some other patients ended up dying from further strokes, Jabbour said. They kept on clogging.

Clots can also cause heart attacks or pulmonary embolisms, which have also been associated with COVID-related causes of death, the Washington Post has reported.

Some people appear to have ACE2 (Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) receptors that are more accessible to the coronavirus, which could explain why some experience significant clotting and others dont, Veznedaroglu said.

Doctors treated Randles stroke with blood thinners and a cholesterol-lowering medication. The headaches subsided, and the strokes damage appears to be limited to some dizziness when he moves his head quickly.

When you think of the disability rate and mortality rate of people who have strokes," Randle said, "Im tremendously blessed that Im still functional.

It is unclear whether people should be taking blood thinners as a preventative measure if they have mild symptoms of the virus.

I think its still too early to give recommendations, Jabbour said. Blood thinners have some risks.

 READ MORE: Fearing coronavirus at hospitals, patients with heart attacks or strokes may be staying away, doctors say

Anyone with stroke-like symptoms  such as sudden numbness in the face or arms, blurred vision, slurred speech, or severe headache  should seek treatment at a hospital immediately, doctors said.

If you have any signs or symptom of a stroke, please, please, please go to the emergency room, Veznedaroglu said. We can reverse the effects of stroke if we can get to patients in time.

Remaining as active as possible is a way to reduce the chances of serious clotting, he said, speculating that shutdown orders might be making people more sedentary. Smoking, eating poorly, or drinking heavily all can add to risks associated with the virus.

Randle is staying out of work for two more weeks to allow his dizziness to subside. He anticipates having a new sense of solidarity with his patients.

I tend to be empathetic to my patients, he said. "But now, being able to relate somewhat with my stroke patients, that may be something that may be different when I get back to work.
Jay Purohit

The Nifty50 started the April series on a negative note as we witnessed selling pressure towards 8,055 levels in the first week of the new series. However, it started rebounding from lower levels and rallied by more than 18 percent in the last four weeks.

Eventually, the Nifty50 concluded the April series with a gain of 14.1 percent, the biggest series-on-series gains after May 2009.

The index was light on positions after March derivatives expiry and added marginal longs in the recent upmove. However, most of the positions didnt get rolled to the April series as open interest had decreased by 16.99 percent on an expiry-to-expiry basis.

Rollover stood at 71.29 percent, which is higher than its quarterly average of 68.69 percent. But, traders shouldnt get carried away with high rollover figures, as that is mainly due to the low base of open interest (OI).

The volatility index (India VIX) has corrected by more than 50 percent since the March series and reached 34 levels. VIX is cooling down for the last five consecutive weeks, which provided some stability to bulls.

The upmove was supported by FIIs long positions in the derivatives segment as they continued to buy the index futures and also did a good amount of short covering.

As a result, their Long Short Ratio in the index futures has moved from 27.41 percent to 64.43 percent. However, they remained net sellers in the cash market segment and cumulatively sold equities worth Rs 12,262 crore in April series.

At the same time, DIIs bought equities to the tune of Rs 8,005 crore. On the options front, open interest activity is scattered at 10,000, 9,500, and 11,000 Call options; while the highest Put OI is at 9,000, 8,500, and 8,000 strikes.

As of now, the index is light on positions and further build-up will decide the next trend in the market. Going forward, crucial support for the Nifty is placed at 9,000-8,800 zone; while a sustainable move above its hurdle of 10,200 10,400 zone would be a challenge for bulls.

The Bank Nifty relatively underperformed the benchmark indices and ended the April series with gains of 9.79 percent over its March series close. For the major part of the series, the Bank Nifty moved within the trading territory of the first five trading sessions of April series.

We witnessed a good amount of long build-up in the recent upmove and most of these positions are still intact in the system as open interest increased by 20.82% on M-o-M basis.

Rollover in the Bank Nifty stood at 81.59 percent, which is higher than the quarterly average of 64.10 percent. Overall derivatives data of the Bank Nifty is relatively positive than the Nifty and thus, the ongoing bounce of banking index may continue towards 23,000 and then 24,500 zone.

While major support for the Bank Nifty is now placed at the 18,70019,000 zone. From banking space, we witnessed long rollover in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Federal Bank.

Since overall positions were on the lower side after March expiry, fresh build-up at the low base has resulted in a sharp increase in the change of open interest.

Out of 143 stocks from derivatives space, 116 counters witnessed rollover of more than 90 percent, which indicates decent positions get carried to the next series.

On stocks front, we witnessed a good amount of long rollovers in pharma space (Torrent Pharma, Lupin, Biocon, Cadila Healthcare, Glenmark, Cipla, Dr Reddys Lab) followed by other counters like Tata Chemicals, IGL, Manappuram, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Petronet.

While stocks which added shorts and the same got rolled to the next series are PVR, Bajaj Finance, RBL Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Tata Power.

Note: This note is just an interpretation of derivatives data and not trading advise.

(The author is a technical and derivatives analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services)

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The anti-flu drug Avigan will soon be in the hands of 38 countries from Japan. But it is not yet confirmed if China is getting any.

This good news from Japan is confirmed according to Toshimitsu Motegi, as many countries with coronavirus breakout are in need of medication that can help them.

On Tuesday, news conference held by Motegi said that the drug Avigan will be available for 70 countries, including the 38 countries that have made requests for Avigan. There is a total amount of $1 million grant to the United Nations Office for Project Services to buy and distribute the drug, also known as Favipiravir, if countries want to get it.

Motegi said that the UN agency will start to transport the drug at an estimated time around the holidays, when all the paperwork is all done. The shipping of the drug will coincide with the last five days of the Golden Week holidays starting Saturday till next Wednesday.

Among the 38 nations include 25 Euro countries which is mostly from Eastern Europe. Six in Asia including the Philippines and Malaysia will get the drug. Other recipients include five in the Middle East such as Kuwait and two from other regions. These are the countries reported by the Foreign Ministry which will get Avigan.

Motegi added that Japan will be given the data from clinical tests carried out on COVID-19 patients who were part of the study. Trials will be done in recipient countries that need the drug for their ailing patients. The drug was developed with the auspices of Fujifilm Holdings Corp.

Also read: Use of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Cure Lessened As Evidence Show Drug Does Not Work

Japan has been testing the drugs which will continue until June, which followed up on a lead from a study done in China that seemed to have success in curing symptoms of the coronavirus.

According to Motegi, "It is vital that the international community cooperate in swiftly developing effective therapeutic drugs." He made references to such drugs as very crucial to be acquired the soonest, compared to vaccines that will take longer. Having these intermediate cures will be a stop-gap until a vaccine is fully developed.

The government urged the group Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. to step up the production of the drug Avigan. One limitation of administering the drug is that it can cause birth defects to babies. Hence, pregnant women cannot take it.

An emergency package to lessen the impact of the "economic fallout from the virus adopted earlier this month, 13.9 billion will be allocated to boost the stockpile of Avigan to three times the current amount for use in treating 2 million people infected with the coronavirus."

One study in China that was finished in March, had indications that it benefitted patients that have milder symptoms. Beijing sounded out that it will use it as part of the treatment for COVID-19.

One report says that the health ministry will give a go signal for an antigen test kit, which can detect coronavirus infections, said sources.

The developer Tokyo-based testing reagent developer Fujirebio Inc. applied for approval for its test kit Monday. This kit can detect proteins of the coronavirus, from a sample taken from the rear of the nostrils.

A race to get a median drug for COVID-19 patients like Avigan is crucial, especially with 38 nations getting it.

Related article: Gilead Once Again Attempts to Prove Remdesivir is Effective Coronavirus Cure

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The ability to adapt to change is key for any individual or institution wanting to grow and develop. Most of the time, change scares us because it forces us to jump into what our minds might consider a void. When we reach these crossroads, hope is a fundamental element. Well thought out strategies, along with the values that define us, can be a winning combination. It is on these pillars that Heifer Haiti rests its actions, particularly in the context of COVID-19.

Prior to the official announcement of the first positive COVID-19 patient in neighboring Dominican Republic, Heifer Haiti leaders started reflecting on and discussing the adoption of new strategies so the organization could prepare for contingencies. Virtual meetings via Zoom were already a habit within the team. In fact, Zoom meetings are a preferred communication method, as well as WhatsApp groups, to stay in close contact with the offices based in the regions.

A woman walks to a gathering at Lake Verger in 2017. At this moment, Heifer Haiti is urging project participants to avoid gatherings of more than five people. Photo by Lacey West.





When the first case of the virus was officially reported in Haiti, we were ready. However, field activities, distribution and training posed additional challenges. Those areas were reviewed and adapted to the new situation, but the reaction of the rural population was uncertain because of the lack of information about the dangers of COVID-19 and the precautions that need to be taken.



The Heifer Haiti team was concerned their arrival in the field with masks and gloves would cause a wave of misunderstanding. Faced with this new challenge, the team took a step back to take a better jump forward. First, the team worked on the design and production of awareness spots, which were distributed to our grassroots partner organizations through social networks. These organizations, which represent a large part of the territory, shared information with members of their community who did not have access to these technologies. The effort continued with local committees, the gateway to the communities and Heifer Haiti's active partners, especially during the distributions.



New safety measures were established in partnership with the committees. Safety measures include good hand hygiene, avoiding gatherings of more than five people and respecting physical distance.

Passing on the Gift ceremonies also adapted to the new situation. In the spirit of passing on livestock while following the new safety measure, animals were given to the members of the local committees, who gave them separately to recipient families.

Belvius Cadet works in his field in Solon. Photo by Lacey West.

Modeling the safety precautions for everyone involved, Heifer Haiti team members wore masks and gloves not only for their own protection but to serve as an example to the communities who believe in their words and actions.

Although no case of COVID-19 has been officially identified in the departments where the team works, Heifer Haiti's leadership demonstrates its ability to predict and adapt to the curveballs that life sends it. The pandemic puts us to the test once again, and Heifer Haiti proves more than ever its adherence to the human values conveyed by our organization. It is through these difficulties we are able to find new ways to keep alive the spirit of sharing and caring while staying safe.

Written by Claire Pressoir, Haiti communications officer
New Delhi, May 1 : Even as authorities are fully focussed on tackling the coronavirus spread and issued guidelines for management of other diseases, patients suffering from other diseases and health issues are at the receiving end amid the nationwide lockdown.

Dr Dodul Mondal, an oncologist at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital here, told IANS that during patients suffering from various diseases are going through immense hardships.

"One of my patients is not able to come for treatment due to the lockdown and sealing of inter-state borders. Getting a movement pass from the administration is not that easy," said Dr Mondal.

Even though the government has issued guidelines for handling other diseases and also stressed the use of tele-consultations, it needs no guessing to conclude that all people are not very hands-on with tele-consultations in the country. Also, telemedicine facility has its own limitations.

"Telemedicine is probably the best solution in the given circumstances, but every disease cannot be treated over the phone. Some diseases need regular clinical examination. It's OK for follow-up patients but new patients need clinical examination which cannot be done on telephone," Dr Mondal pointed out.

Dr Mondal said that there were many hospitals unable to provide hundred per cent services due to reasons like fear of crowding on the premises and consequent spread of infections etc. "Patients are unable to reach the hospitals because of the lockdown. For example, patients with chronic illnesses like hypertension or heart disease. They need to be checked regularly" The doctor also pointed out that kidney patients were unable to get dialysis. "There are many diseases which can be prevented but may aggravate during the lockdown. Immunization and blood donation programmes have been badly affected. The consequences of such things will be visible in the long run. My concern is that other patients too should get treatment." An elderly patient, Kavita Sharma, said she is suffering from a medical problem related to ears and nose but she does not know how to use tele-consultation because she is not comfortable with the whole process.

"I do not know who to call at this time. Also, I do not know how to use an app for medication. I am not a tech-savvy person and do not have anyone at home to help me with this," said the 60-year-old.

She said that due to constant pain in her ears she had tonsil problem. "I don't think this problem can be sorted out through telephone because this tonsil needs to be examined by the doctor." Asmita Ojha, 36, a resident of Greater Noida said, she needed to visit a nephrologist every month as she is on medication after a kidney transplant.

"I am extremely vulnerable to a viral infection because of my medication. But I had to postpone my visit to the doctor for clinical examination due to the lockdown." Asmita's problems only seem to have mounted after she recently broke her right arm and had to go for a surgery for multiple fractures.

"It was a very difficult time for me because I already have restricted movement due to my health condition. I have to manage everything by myself because not many people are allowed to move around due to the lockdown. Getting a government pass is another long story of struggle. I have to postpone dressings for my fractured limb as such issues are not even considered health emergency. However, anything can turn into a health emergency as I am prone to all sorts of infections due to the kidney disease." A senior cardiologist, Dr Anand Pandey, told IANS that people were scared due to coronavirus spread and were avoiding visits to hospitals despite the need in some cases.

"There are many patients who do not want to visit hospitals due to coronavirus scare. I called up some patients but they refused to come for required clinical check-up. In a few cases they had to struggle to get government passes also. The policy-makers should come out with some mechanism to ease movement of such patients during the lockdown," Dr Pandey said.
She's famous the world over for being Wonder Woman.

And on Thursday, Gal Gadot celebrated her 35th birthday with a little help from her friends.

The Israeli actress is holed up with husband Yaron Varsano and their two daughters at home in LA during the coronavirus lockdown but still got a birthday visit from some pals.

Celebration: Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot celebrated her 35th birthday Thursday with a little help from friends who paid her and husband Yaron Varsano a surprise visit at their LA home

Gadot was spotted greeting a couple who stopped by to drop off a birthday treat.

She seemed genuinely surprised by the visit clasping her hands together and uttering an exclamation.

Varsano, 41, also ventured out to greet the visitors with both couples maintaining a social distance.

Gadot was dressed in a military green sleeveless jumpsuit with drawstring waist and strappy sandals.

Unexpected: The Israeli actress Gadot seemed genuinely surprised by the visit, clasping her hands together and uttering an exclamation as she greeted her pals

Casually stylish: Gadot was dressed in a military green sleeveless jumpsuit with drawstring waist and strappy sandals

The former beauty queen and model got her big Hollywood break when she was cast in 2009's Fast & Furious, the fourth film in the Fast & Furious franchise.

She went on to reprise the role of Gisele Yashar in sequels released in 2011 and 2013.

Director Zack Snyder elevated her career to the next level when he cast her as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in his 2016 DC Comics film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

She then headlined the standalone film Wonder Woman, released in 2017 and directed by Patty Jenkins.

It became the highest-grossing film by a solo female director in Hollywood history.

Jenkins has directed a sequel Wonder Woman 1984 that reunites Gadot with co-star Chris Pine,

It's scheduled for an August release but it's not yet known if the COVID-19 crisis will affect its opening.

Good wishes: Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins took to Twitter to pay tribute to her leading lady on her birthday, sharing a photo from the set and calling her 'a gift to the world'

Jenkins, 48, took to Twitter to send her own birthday wishes to her star, tweeting a photo of the two of them on set.

'The world is a better place because my beloved friend @GalGadot was born on this day. Happy Birthday, Gal!!!!' she tweeted.

'And thank you for making every day I get to work or spend with you a pure joy. You are one of the greatest people I have ever known and a gift to our world.'

Warner Bros, the studio behind the DC Comics movies, also wished Gadot a happy birthday via Twitter as did actress Geena Davis.

'Our Wpnder Woman': Warner Bros, the studio behind the DC Comics movies, also wished Gadot a happy birthday via Twitter
As demonstrators who want to get back to work planned a show of force in multiple U.S. cities Friday for International Workers Day, counterprotesters said they would hold their own rallies in support of keeping non-essential businesses closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The lunchtime counterprotests are being organized by the organization Refuse Fascism.

"We are nonviolent," said Chantelle Hershberger, an organizer of the Los Angeles rally. "Were not there to literally go toe-to-toe."

Demonstrators in Los Angeles will wear masks and practice social distancing as they march to City Hall, where Reopen America protesters were expected to gather, she said.

"We will be following social distancing precautions, knowing that we are putting our lives in danger," Hershberger said.

She said the reopening crowd was receiving a lot of attention, including armed protesters storming the Michigan Capitol on Thursday, even as a majority of Americans support social distancing and stay-at-home orders.

"I think not showing up legitimizes these folks," she said.

Image: Protestors In San Diego Call For Stay-At-Home Order To Be Lifted (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

The demonstrations were planned in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Springfield, Illinois. In most cases, the people organized by Refuse Fascism plan to be near Reopen America protesters.

In Chicago, a caravan of vehicles and a "a small group" on foot will be positioned near the Reopen America rally, said Refuse Fascism co-founder Andy Zee.

"In a society where black people, Latinos, and Native Americans are already dying at disproportionate rates, who do you think will be sacrificed in order to re-open America and get the economy going again?" he said by email.

Refuse Fascism rallies were also planned in New York and Chicago, cities without scheduled Reopen America events.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Reopen America also planned to demonstrate in cities where counterprotesters had not planned events, including San Diego and Huntington Beach, California.

"We have the right to work, and we can do so while exercising preventative safety measures," organizers of the Huntington Beach event said in a website posting.

Hershberger said the counterprotests would be nonviolent, and organizer Noche Diaz said in a statement, "Two futures will face off."
In the capital city, Tegucigalpa, a team of police and military officers patrol the streets to stamp down on illegal drug trafficking. They've arrested thousands of suspects and seized over 9,000 illegal firearms. The task force also conducts random searches and raids, bringing the country's homicide rate down by 30 percent.

However, the law enforcement units are after two of the most infamous gangs in Honduras- the 18th Street Gang, and the MS-13. Both gangs are known for the extreme amount of murder, extortion, and robbery they've committed over the years.



Bloody History



Both groups were founded in the United States by young Central American immigrants. In the early 1990s, they brought chaos to the Los Angeles state. American officials deported all convicted gang members in a bid to stop the spread of violence and eradicate their influence.

The deportation proved to be catastrophic to their home countries as deported gang members quickly form ranks and rule the streets of weak nations. Their operations have caused so much chaos in Honduras that experts say they can now be classified as a terror organization-putting them on par with ISIS.

In 2014, the country's homicide rate hit an average of 500 deaths a month. The gangs were turning the country dangerous and unlivable. Thousands of Hondurans fleed in search of a more peaceful life. They gambled their lives by making their way through Mexico and to the United States.



Prison Life

A sad truth is that life behind bars is relatively easy for gang members. In one corrections facility, inmates can cook and sell snacks, play pool, and even meet girls while locked up. They still give orders to subordinates and even smuggle in contraband, including cellphones, cigarettes, and guns.

In overcrowded prisons, however, the story is much bloodier.

In January 2020, a wave of violence in Honduran prisons killed dozens of inmates. Rival gangs staged a series of bloody riots and attacks against each other.

Horrifying levels of violence and deaths have long plagued the country's prisons. The disorder stems from inhumane living conditions due to extreme overcrowding. In one study, a prison was reported to be 193 percent above its capacity.

In December 2019, four underaged children and eight others were injured in a riot at the Renaciendo juvenile detention center. According to reports, the center's lack of service and deplorable living conditions caused the fight. Most juveniles who get out of the center are lost to society and have a high risk of being repeat offenders.



Making Changes

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez hopes to turn the tide and eradicate the violence overtaking the nation. He believes a good share of the problem stems from the conditions inside the prisons. He said the facilities allow perpetrators to organize gangs and crimes.

Hernandez plans to reform corrections institutions by building newer and bigger facilities, improving security and living quarters with new technology, and hiring more trained personnel. The plan, he says, will make criminals realize that their actions call for consequences.
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions Friday on a businessman accused of working with Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to illegally generate revenue and smuggle weapons.

The sanctions freeze any US-held assets belonging to Amir Dianat, an Iranian-Iraqi national the Treasury Department says was involved in the shipment of missiles on behalf of the IRGCs elite Quds Force and smuggling "lethal aid" from Iran to Yemen.

The United States also designated Taif Mining Services, a company owned, controlled or directed by Dianat, according to the Treasury statement.

The Iranian regime and its supporters continue to prioritize the funding of international terrorist organizations over the health and well-being of the Iranian people, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The United States remains committed to working with financial institutions, non-profit organizations, and international partners to facilitate humanitarian trade and assistance to the Iranian people.

The Donald Trump administration has imposed tough economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic since withdrawing from the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and other world powers.

In March, the Treasury Department identified a group of Iran- and Iraq-based targets over their apparent support for the IRGC, its Quds Force foreign arm and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

Amid calls from Tehran for sanctions relief to help address its coronavirus outbreak, the United States also designated five UAE-based companies accused of facilitating petrochemical sales in Iran, as well as nine entities based in China, Hong Kong and South Africa for knowingly engaging with Irans petrochemical industry.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have increased up in recent weeks over their rival navies in the Persian Gulf. In April, vessels belonging to Irans IRGC harassed six US ships in the strategic waterway, prompting President Donald Trump to order the US Navy to shoot down and destroy Iranian vessels if provoked.

A week later, Iran claimed to have launched its first military satellite under a space program the Trump administration believes is used as cover for ballistic missile development.
Thirty-two small businesses across Massachusetts will receive $15,000 grants from Citizens Bank, which announced the funding Thursday.

As part of its Small Business Recovery grant program the funding can be used for operating costs amid the coronavirus pandemic. The businesses range from restaurants in Boston, transportation companies in Springfield, doggy daycare in Saugus and plumbing in Norwood.

Small businesses are the heartbeat of the American economy, and we are committed to providing them with a vital jolt as they battle the economic implications of the pandemic, President of Business Banking for Citizens Bank Jack Murphy said in a statement.

The total of $480,000 in grants are part of $5 million in funding Citizens Bank announced last month as part of a commitment to small businesses amid the pandemic.

In total, Citizens plans to award 134 grants.

Those announced Thursday include:

3 Broke Girls Salon in Plymouth

Aceintuna Grill in Boston

Aphios Corporation in Woburn

Big East Security Interations LLC in Wrentham

BodiScience Wellness Center & Spa in Beverly

Can-Do Handyman Services in Groton

Conservation Solutions Corporation in Carlisle

East Point ADHC, LLC in Salem

Fresh Truck in Boston

Garcia Dedicated Transportation in Springfield

Global Research Innovation and Technology Inc in Medford

Goodfellas Doggy Daycare in Saugus

Helinski Law Offices in Wellesley

J.C. Jacobs Plumbing in Norwood

Lex Communicate Inc in Lexington

Lovin Spoonfuls In in Boston

Lynnway Pizza Inc in Lynn

Maribeth Crupi Physical Therapy LLC in Wilmington

Mechanical Solutions in Jamaica Plain

Media Shower in Sherborn

Millenium Campus Network Inc in Boston

Mirage Hair Design in Natick

Nardone Construction in Beverly

NU Kitchen in Somerville

Parlor Skis in East Boston

Reading Endodontics PC in Reading

Social Made Simple LLC in Newton

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Stay Clean Power Washing Inc in North Attleboro

The Boston Smoked Fish Company LLC in Boston

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A 42-year-old Missouri man is facing hate crime and other charges for allegedly setting fire to a mosque last week, prosecutors said Thursday. Nicholas Proffitt, who spent three years in jail after pleading guilty to defacing the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau in 2009, appeared in federal court Thursday a charge of maliciously damaging a building by means of fire.
This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to China Starch Holdings Limited's (HKG:3838), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, China Starch Holdings has a P/E ratio of 7.24. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$7.24 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits.

Check out our latest analysis for China Starch Holdings

How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for China Starch Holdings:

P/E of 7.24 = CN0.117  CN0.016 (Based on the year to December 2019.)

(Note: the above calculation uses the share price in the reporting currency, namely CNY and the calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each CN1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future.

How Does China Starch Holdings's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (12.1) for companies in the food industry is higher than China Starch Holdings's P/E.

SEHK:3838 Price Estimation Relative to Market May 1st 2020

This suggests that market participants think China Starch Holdings will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with China Starch Holdings, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell.

Story continues

China Starch Holdings's earnings per share fell by 58% in the last twelve months. But it has grown its earnings per share by 9.1% per year over the last five years. And EPS is down 23% a year, over the last 3 years. This might lead to low expectations.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

So What Does China Starch Holdings's Balance Sheet Tell Us?

With net cash of CN294m, China Starch Holdings has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 42% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio.

The Verdict On China Starch Holdings's P/E Ratio

China Starch Holdings trades on a P/E ratio of 7.2, which is below the HK market average of 9.5. The recent drop in earnings per share would almost certainly temper expectations, but the net cash position means the company has time to improve: if so, the low P/E could be an opportunity.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than China Starch Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Late Tuesday afternoon, New Yorks City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, was on a nine-mile walk, one the current crisis has him taking everyday  the quest for fresh air and decompression. Beginning from his boyfriends apartment in Williamsburg, he heads north into Queens over the Pulaski Bridge and through Hunters Point South Park. That is where he was when I caught up with him by phone, watching people for the most part diligently perform the choreography of social distance without, he noted, the interventions of the police.

For several weeks, Mr. Johnson had been pushing to close miles of city streets to cars as a means of accommodating what would only become a growing desperation to safely and more comfortably walk and bike outside as warmer weather approached. Mayor Bill de Blasio resisted for a long time, initiating a small pilot program and then abruptly shutting it down deciding that it wasnt worth the trouble. He maintained that the Police Department, itself badly hit by the pandemic, was too depleted to enforce the plan, which implied that law enforcement was essential to carrying it out.

This week the mayor announced that he would indeed set aside up 100 miles of road in phases, the first 40 miles over the next month. Though many of the details have yet to be finalized, the police will monitor closings in some capacity. Advocates for livable streets have had a hard time understanding why the police would be so critical to the venture given that other cities like Oakland, Calif., have largely managed to ban traffic from select locations with barricades and signs.
Heavily armed police have arrested a man after a four-hour long hostage situation in Sydney's east.

Gun-wielding tactical response officers swarmed a unit block on Havelock Avenue, in Coogee, about 9am on Friday, where one man was reported to have been keeping another locked inside.

Dozens of police cordoned off the usually quiet street from 5.15am after reports a 27-year-old man had kidnapped a 26-year-old man.

The parents of the younger man told Daily Mail Australia they raised the alarm when they received a worrying text from their son.

'He messaged me saying: "I need help, I'm in danger",' his mother - who did not want to be named - said.

Blood could be seen streaming from the face from one of the men after police entered the unit

Dozens of police cordoned off the usually quiet street from 5.15am after reports a 27-year-old man had kidnapped a 26-year-old man (pictured)

The parents of the younger man (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia they raised the alarm when they received a worrying text from their son

Gun-wielding tactical response officers swarmed the unit block on Havelock Avenue about 9am on Friday

After close to four hours inside the unit the pair were removed just after 9am, both in handcuffs and one with blood streaming from his face.

That man was put into a police wagon and taken to Maroubra Police Station.

The other was sat to on the street and spoken to by police as shocked locals looked on.

'I didn't do s**t, and you guys come and drag me against the wall?' the younger man could be heard saying to police.

'You guys are f***ing aggressive man.'

One woman who lives on Havelock Avenue said she was evacuated from her unit but was not told why.

'The police just came in and knocked on the door and said 'you've got to get out',' she said.

'I have no idea what is happening.'

Residents of other unit blocks on the street could be seen looking out their windows, also confused as to what was unfolding.

Heavily armed police have arrested a man (pictured) after a four-hour long hostage situation at Coogee, in Sydney's east

Heavily armed tactical response teams were called to the unit about 8.30am and the incident ended about 45 minutes later

The parents of the younger man told Daily Mail Australia they raised the alarm when they received a worrying text from their son

Residents of other unit blocks on the street could be seen looking out their windows, confused as to what was unfolding

In a statement, NSW Police confirmed they had arrested one man and had taken him in for questioning.

'A police operation at Coogee has concluded and a man has been arrested,' a NSW Police spokesperson said.

'Officers from Eastern Beaches police were called to a unit block on Havelock Avenue just after 5.15am after concerns were raised for the welfare of a man.

'A perimeter was established and with the assistance of specialist police, two men exited the unit just after 9.15.

'One of the man, aged 27, was arrested and has been taken to Maroubra Police Station.

'The other man, aged 26, was uninjured and is currently assisting police. Inquiries continue.'
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has lauded the efforts of Egyptian workers on Labour Day, describing them as a driving force for progress.

I offer to all workers in Egypt my appreciation for their efforts and their struggle in all fields of production nationwide, El-Sisi said in the short statement published on all his social media accounts on Friday.

You represent a patriotic segment that is a driving force for progress and development, he added.

The president said that he offers a salute to all the workers and farmers who through their efforts and strong will are able to change the present and push forward towards a better future for Egypt.

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German EU Presidency Will Focus On Tax Issues: Merkel

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

01 May 2020

On April 25, 2020, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany would attempt to seek agreement on a financial transaction tax and a minimum corporate tax when it assumes the presidency of the European Union in July 2020.

Merkel made the comments in a video podcast in which she emphasized the importance of a coordinated EU response to the current COVID-19 crisis.

"The question will be, where can we grow together better and maybe agree on certain things? For example, a financial transaction tax, minimum taxes, the question of joint emissions trading in the area of ships or aircraft," Merkel said of Germany's upcoming EU presidency, which is due to run from July 1, 2020, to the end of the year.

Earlier this year, Germany attempted to break the deadlocked negotiations on an EU financial transaction tax with a proposal for a 0.2 percent tax on the purchases of shares in companies with a market capitalization in excess of EUR1bn (USD1.1bn). The tax would also apply to depositary receipts issued domestically and abroad and which are backed by shares in these companies. Initial share offerings would be excluded from the FTT.

However, Austria, which is one of the 10 member states attempting to agree the terms of an EU FTT, has voiced its opposition to this proposal, warning that it will adversely affect retail investors.

Germany is also a strong advocate of a global minimum corporate tax, a proposal which also has wider support within the G7 group of nations.
In one rural town with a history of racism, small efforts at reconciliation are underway  but will they be enough?

In the final part of our series exploring racism in rural Canada, Al Jazeera examines the possibilities for meaningful reconciliation.

Read more from the series here:

The Back Streeters and the White Boys

Canadas history of broken promises

Just another Indian: Surviving residential school

A matter of life and death: Rebuilding a Nation

St Paul, Alberta  When Amil Shapka, 62, reflects on his hometown being referred to as racist, he grows defensive. St Paul, Alberta, is dear to his heart. The people here, he says, are closely connected and it is a good place to raise a family.

He is sitting at the kitchen table in his custom-built home on 500 sprawling acres parallel to a lake. Life here is good for Amil.

Im a proud St Paulonian; I sing its praises! he declares with a bright smile. Im proud of our community, despite its warts and blemishes.

Then he bows his head a little and sighs.

We have real issues here, he says.

Every second day in the local media you read about it. All the communities are up in arms. Properties are being broken into. Theyre chasing people down the back roads and all the vehicles end up on the reserves  things are escalating.

Among non-Indigenous residents of the area, he says, residents of Saddle Lake Cree Nation and other nearby Indigenous communities are being blamed for rising rates of property crime.

Visibly, a lot of these events that are happening are by Indigenous-looking people, he says.

But Amil does not hold any anger toward local Indigenous people.





Our own worlds

Growing up in the area, Amil had a couple of First Nations friends, but really did not know much about the Indigenous people living nearby.

They [First Nations] lived on the reserves, we lived in town and our worlds never mingled, he recalls.

But he knew what most townspeople thought of the First Nations.

Sometimes our parents would threaten that if you didnt behave, were going to take you to the Indians, he says.

The opinions of Indigenous people we had were of the ones that had addiction problems that ended up living in St Paul and they were on the street. They would be asking for money or drunk  they would not be viewed as a positive and were not welcome.

But when he was in his 30s, the physician-turned-dentist began what he describes as a journey of spiritual transformation. He approached Cree elders and was stunned to discover how welcoming they were. He started participating in ceremonies, including the sweat lodge, on Saddle Lake Cree Nation.

I found a beautiful, simple spirituality that just made sense to me, he explains. It was just me and the creator.

He also forged friendships that have lasted to this day.

Amil Shapkas home near St Paul [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

The process of reconciliation that unfolded for Amil on the reservation accelerated after the release of Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC) Final Report in 2015.

The TRC was intended to uncover the truth about what had happened in Canadas residential schools.

Learning about the colonial roots of local history helped Amil better understand the many adversities encountered by Indigenous people.

Theres no question the effects of colonisation are still happening. I think when you want to see it, you will begin to see it  with a bit of understanding. I see it more than ever, he says.

Harmony through reconciliation

For the past four years, Amil has attended monthly meetings at the St Paul Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) with a small group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members searching for a way to create harmony through reconciliation.

The process has not been easy, he says. It is uncomfortable and awkward, for everyone.

These are deep-rooted conflicts with no immediate solutions  At our meetings, we try to break down why St Paul is racist. Its a feeling of helplessness: What do we do? Where do we start?

Amil believes St Paul is no different to Winnipeg, Regina or other urban centres in Canada when it comes to issues of racism.

I think its anywhere theres contact between the Indigenous communities and the colonials, its across the board, he says, adding that it is important for people in positions of leadership to be involved in the reconciliation process.

Amil Shapka, standing left, greets a friend during a meeting of the Reconciliation Committee in St Paul, Alberta on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

A heartbreaking journey

St Pauls mayor, Maureen Miller, has worked toward reconciliation since she was first elected in October 2017.

Miller attended several anti-racism community meetings held in town and on the Saddle Lake reserve following an incident in the summer of 2017. Pamela Quinn, who is now a Saddle Lake band councillor, was crossing a road with her mother when a young man called them a squaw. Quinn confronted the man and his friends while recording it live on Facebook.

Tensions unfolded among townspeople and outraged Indigenous residents when the post went viral.

Miller met with chiefs, elders and community members over several months to help defuse the situation.

Since then the topic of reconciliation has been at the top of her priority list. She describes her journey toward understanding reconciliation as heartbreaking.

Mayor Maureen Miller, 59, in St Paul [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

When Miller first moved to St Paul from Ontario in 1996, she says she was grabbed on Main Street by a First Nations man who wanted her necklace. Even though she was frightened, she says she defused the situation and the man let her go. When she found him not long after and learned that he was a residential school survivor, her eyes were opened. He was a good person, just fell on bad times, she says.

Still, Miller, small in stature but feisty and outspoken, is quick to defend the townspeople from accusations of racism.

Its an unfair assessment. It isnt all racist. Everyone cant be painted with the same brush, she insists, describing St Paul as welcoming, vibrant and multicultural.

Miller is proud of a reconciliation walk that took place three years ago, following a series of racist incidents like the one targeting Pamela. Hundreds of young people, adults and elders from St Paul and the surrounding area took part.

The town now provides Indigenous cultural training to local government employees and local businesses. Miller participates in Indigenous ceremonies when invited and advocates for outside support from the federal government to help Saddle Lake with issues like infrastructure.

She holds the federal government responsible for housing issues, poverty and violence on the reserve.

I feel our [federal] government has failed at multiple levels. Ottawa needs to do better; we need to do better; we need to do this together, she says.

Championing reconciliation, however, has also brought her her fair share of critics. She is aware that may affect her chances of being re-elected in the autumn of 2021, but says she does not worry about that.

We need to get past the knee-jerk reaction of this. Our community is completely linked to our Indigenous communities around us, and you start with that education, Miller explains.

But being an ally can be hard: she has limited resources as a municipal leader and is often scrambling for funding, and reconciliation requires money. Money for programming, events and awareness. She is, however, determined to keep the momentum going.

Were all together in this, she stresses.

Righting the wrongs

On the second Thursday of every month a dozen or so people share a potluck dinner while sitting together in the shape of a circle. A sharing circle is considered a safe place for unity, dialogue and respect in Cree culture.

A few Metis, a couple of First Nations, some townspeople of Filipino, Ukrainian and French heritage introduce themselves and say where they are from and why they are there.

A couple of jokes break the ice but the conversation quickly turns intense.

Anthony Tkachyk, centre, speaks during the meeting [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

How did we become enemies? contemplates 67-year-old, first-time attendee Anthony Tkachyk, a farmer from the nearby hamlet of Ashmont who has lived in the area his whole life.

He is here because a friend who has attended several meetings encouraged him to come  and because he is interested in unpacking the intricate layers of reconciliation.

Anthony is firm in his opinions, but amiable in his willingness to help bring change. A respectful silence settles upon the room as he speaks.

My belief, he says, is that the healing wont be imposed from above  from levels of government like Ottawa or Edmonton, the county office or the town office  it will be from the people.

It will be one on one and it will move up towards those higher political offices.

It wont be imposed on the people; the people will impose it on the politicians.

A meeting of the Reconciliation Committee [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

Stories, opinions and suggestions are eagerly exchanged in the circle. There are business owners, mothers, fathers, farmers, a homeless man named Howard, a teacher and even the local priest participating.

But not everyone is at the same stage of understanding or reconciling.

For lawyer and St Paul resident Pierre Lamoureaux it is about righting the wrongs.

Its important to give a message of peace, not of pity, says Pierre, almost pleadingly, in a bid to convince others to embrace the task earnestly.

He delivers an impassioned speech.

We give a message of solidarity. Walking together, learning together. We need to open our hearts, mouths, eyes and get past our fears. To learn from the past to know how to better live together.

Pierre Lamoureux cuts tourtiere, made with a mix of pork and moose meat, that he brought to the meeting [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

Sometimes at the end of the meetings, which normally last for about two hours, hugs are exchanged and friendships formed during informal chats.

The group hopes to catch on.

Meeting each other as humans at this table and treating each other as humans, I think thats the measure of success. We need people who would never want to come here, to come here, Pierre reflects.

Some of the attendees of the meeting; from left to right, top row: Pierre Lamoureux (61), Marlane Tucker (72), Anthony Tkachyk (67), Penny Fox, Caleb Anacker (33), and bottom row: Sharon Fisher (40), Jim White (71), Megan Tucker (36), Roy Missal (67) and Gerard Gauthier (65) [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

Feel the pain

Meanwhile, Hinano Rosa, the executive director of the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre Society in St Paul, says he is not convinced the group is making progress.

Whats going on in Canada is the biggest kept secret on the planet! he declares, sitting among others at the MNFC. The continuing oppression of Indigenous peoples and reconciliation is a colonial package.

Hinano, 61, is Indigenous to Hawaii and says he is familiar with the oppression Canadas Indigenous people face. He would like to see non-Indigenous Canadians go beyond superficial acts of reconciliation, like community walks and monthly meetings, he says.

It is time to feel the pain, he explains, reaching his arms out in front of him and bringing them back toward his heart.

Indigenous peoples have been muzzled for a long time. So, when we get in these kinds of meetings they [Indigenous] want to say their piece  and its heavy. But then the others [non-Indigenous] want to shut the meeting down because they dont want to go there. They dont want to hear it. They dont want to get hurt. The truth is, they only got to feel the hurt  there are people here that had to live the hurt  but we will help them [non-Indigenous]  they wont feel the hurt alone.

Some in the group are optimistic, others are cautious and a few want reconciliation to happen overnight.

Many Indigenous elders, residents and non-Indigenous allies, however, say that reconciliation may not happen in this generation or the next on the Canadian prairies. Still, in St Paul small efforts are underway.

Lines from the poem, Reconciliation, by Rebecca Tabobondung [Amber Bracken/Al Jazeera]

Still starving our people

Back on the reserve, Saddle Lake Chief Eric Shirt believes reconciliation is connected to equality.

He believes the word is used too loosely and with too little action to back it up. The Province of Alberta, for instance, should distribute a cut of natural resource development revenues back to Indigenous tribes, he says.

Alberta has earned billions from industries such as oil and gas, mining and forestry since it was established in 1905, the chief explains. It is the richest per-capita province in the country, and has helped build the wealth of Canada. But most First Nations are struggling here.

These are resources that come from our lands. Reconciliation means we have access to those resources and to profit, he adds, reiterating the urgent housing, food and economic needs of his community.

There other obstacles to reconciliation as well. On March 27, two Metis men were killed while hunting near Glendon, which is about 60km away from Saddle Lake. A local non-Indigenous man has been charged with two counts of second degree murder and while the Alberta RCMP has said the shootings were not racially motivated, Indigenous people in the area say there has been a long history of tensions over race and hunting rights.

For the chief, reconciliation seems like a farce. Canadas policy of genocide against the Indigenous rages on, he says.

We are seeing the policy today via a lack of funding  the government is still starving our people out.
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh said state specific guidelines based on home ministrys directive extending the lockdown by two weeks to May 17, even while expanding the range of activities permitted in this period , will be issued on Saturday.

There will be no restrictions for activities within districts in green zones, while in orange zones too large scale relaxation can be given barring the hot spots. We are also thinking about relaxations to some extent in big cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, barring the containment zones, said Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope.

The home ministrys guidelines prescribe the range of activities allowed in containment areas, and red, orange and green zones. They also empower states to make changes as they deem fit -- as long as the ministrys restrictions are not diluted.

Kerala and Rajasthan welcomed the Centres decision to allow more industrial activity and opening of liquor vends in green and orange zones from May 4. Government officials in the two states said they would come up with social distancing norms for alcohol sale and specific rules for industries on Saturday.

We welcome concessions given in green and orange zones. The state government will take an appropriate decision according to the new directive, said Keralas revenue minister E Chandrasekharan.

A senior West Bengal government official said a committee of experts has already submitted its recommendations on the lockdown guidelines to the cabinet committee headed by finance minister Amit Mitra.

The cabinet committee met today to discuss the recommendations. It is expected to brief chief minister on Saturday after which she will announce the lockdown guidelines for the state,this person added on condition of anonymity.

However, the state was also upset at an increase in the number of red zones. State health secretary Vivek Kumar wrote a letter to union health secretary Preeti Sudan questioning the classification of districts into red, green and orange zones.

With regard to the presentation made in the Cabinet Secretarys video conference with the states on April 30, 2020 at 3 pm, as many as ten districts of West Bengal were shown in the red zone. This is an erroneous assessment. Based on the current parameters of the government of India for categorisation of areas for Covid-19, the districts in the red zone are only four You are requested to kindly bring this to the attention of the officials concerned, Kumar wrote.

Union health ministry on Thursday released a new list of districts arranged as red, orange and green zones according to the extent of the spread, and the possibility of further spread, of novel coronavirus infection in each of them. Except Bengal, all other states have accepted the reclassification.

Of the 23 districts in the state, Kolkata, Howrah, North 24-Parganas and East Midnapore had so long been tagged as red zone. The new list elevated six more districts from orange to red zone  Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Malda, South 24-Parganas and West Midnapore. Eight districts remained in the green zone.

Over the past four days, Bengal has witnessed a spike in the number of containment zones, mostly in Kolkata, Howrah and North 24-Parganas. Of the states 444 containment zones as of April 30, 406 are in these three districts. Chief secretary Rajiva Sinha repeatedly said that these three districts were the states biggest concern and that Kolkata alone accounted for 80% of the states total cases of novel coronavirus infection. The state has recorded 795 cases of Covid-19 positives as on April 30.

The Centre has said in the statement issued on May 1 that the classification of districts as red zone will take into account the total number of active cases, doubling rate of confirmed cases, extent of testing and surveillance feedback from the states.

Centres decision has been unilateral and arbitrary. They are whimsically changing the criteria. We in the state would make our planning considering four districts as red zone, said TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen, himself a doctor.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said that the Centres list had exposed how the Mamata Banerjee government was failing the people of Bengal.

(With inputs from state bureaus)
RIO DE JANEIRO  Jair Bolsonaro ascended to Brazils presidency with a sweeping set of promises, like cutting out the rot of corruption, firing up the economy and doing away with the countrys notorious pork-barrel politics.

What a difference 16 months make.

Battered by a torrent of investigations into him and his family, an economy in free-fall and criticism of his cavalier handling of one of the worlds fastest growing coronavirus epidemics, Mr. Bolsonaro is fighting for political survival.

Now, with calls for his impeachment intensifying, he is being shored up by a narrowing band of leaders who are gaining outsize power as his troubles multiply.

Mr. Bolsonaro has become increasingly reliant on a cadre of military elders, entrusting them with the most power they have had since the military dictatorship ended in the 1980s.
Prime Minister Morrisons push for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus is both imperative and risky. It is imperative because a deeper probe could bolster efforts to tackle the pandemic. It is risky in the sense that key Western allies are focused on containing the outbreak, and have vowed to revisit the matter at a later time.

Scott Morrison with the Premier of the People's Republic of China, Li Keqiang, before the ASEAN summit in Bangkok last year. Credit:AAP

By attempting to conquer both fronts, Canberra risks getting caught in the crosshairs of a larger, divisive Beijing-Washington disinformation spat  which is not the desired objective.

Consider the fact that Australia has its eyes set on next months annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, and has demanded a COVID-19 probe without exactly calling out China. Yet the blowback has been considerable. Beijing threatened to boycott Australian goods and offered a great degree of ridicule.

Even though the tirade confirms Chinas unexplained sensitivities to an investigation, it arrives at a cost Australia cannot afford: amplifying Washingtons anti-China offensive.
Flamboyant pastor Lucy Natasha, the founder and overseer of Prophetic Latter Glory Ministries International, says she is yet to find a man to marry.

In a live chat with comedian MC Jessy, the outspoken pastor, christened Nairobi hottest pastor who lives lavishly and is never shy to show off on social media, revealed that she is waiting for her "Adam".

"My Adam is still asleep. I am waiting to be pulled from the rib of my Adam who us still sleeping. Eve was picked from the rib of Adam, I feel I'm still asleep in the rib of my Adam," Natasha said.

Natasha added that her "Adam" doesn't have to be a pastor like her but has to be a man who believes in God.

"He has to be born again, must be a friend and we must have common values and goals. He doesn't have to be a pastor."

She added that the said Adam should be mature and not younger. Natasha also added that she wouldn't mind marrying a broke man on condition that he was not lazy.

"I am not a golddigger, I am a gold carrier. Just like Queen Sheba went to meer King Solomon she carried her own gold. I look for a man who has vision, not lazy, a hard worker and has potential. Finances are not a major factor, kama ni gari hana akuje tuendesha yangu," Natasha added.

The reverend who was raised in the slums of Mathare, Nairobi is known for her flamboyant lifestyle.

She owns a fleet of expensive fuel guzzlers with customised number plates.

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She also wears a golden tooth. Her taste of fashion is also something that will make many droll.

Natasha, who has flown in a private jet in the past is always flanked by a group of swagged up employees who act as drivers, bodyguards, and personal assistants.

In other words, Pastor Natasha enjoys a rock star lifestyle that can be compared to Hollywood stars.

It's this standard of living that has most of her critics question her source of money.

In the live chat, the cleric opened up on her sources of income, insisting that she doesn't depend on church offerings to live lavishly.

"We are not born again to suffer again. The Lord has blessed us. If it's offerings is what makes pastors rich, then all pastors would be billionaires and millionaires. I am also an entrepreneur. I am an author of many books, I have written over 12 books sold globally on Amazon and Apple Books," she explained.

But that is not all.

"I also do a lot of international speaking engagements. I get invitations as an international speaker. I have travelled in over 50 nations for such engagements. I also have other businesses I do as an entrepreneur," Rev Natasha clarified.
T he Irish Government has shared it plans for reopening society after coronavirus lockdown.

Taiseach Leo Varadkar announced on Friday that Ireland will begin its journey to a new normal after a further two weeks of the current coronavirus restrictions.

It has produced a road map detailing the steps which will launch on May 18.

The plan sets out five stages for unlocking restrictions, at three-week intervals.

As the Covid-19 measures are eased, the rate of the virus in the community will be monitored by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and the Government.

Phase 1:

Phase one will begin on May 18, it will include:

 Allowing outdoor meetings between people from different households

 Opening up childcare for healthcare workers

 A phased return of outdoor workers

 Opening retailers which are primarily outdoor or those which were open during the first level of restriction (eg opticians)

 Opening certain outdoor public amenities

Phase 2:

Phase two will begin on June 8, it will include:

 Allowing visits to households

 Developing plans and supports to open up business with consideration for safety of staff and customers

 Opening small retail outlets and marts where social distancing can be observed

 Opening public libraries

Phase 3:

Phase three will begin on June 29, it will include:

 Allowing small social gatherings

 Opening creches, childminders and pre-schools for children of essential workers in phased manner

 Returning to work for those with low levels of interaction

 Opening non-essential retail outlets with street level entrance and exit

 Opening playgrounds

Phase 4:

Phase four will begin on July 20, it will include:

 Opening creches, childminders and pre-schools for children of all other workers on a gradually increasing basis

 Returning to work for those who cannot work from home

 The gradual easing of restrictions for higher risk services (eg hairdressers)

 Opening museums, galleries, places of worship

Phase 5

Phase five will begin on August 10, it will include:

 Allowing larger social gatherings

 Returning to work across all sectors

 On a phased basis, commencing at the beginning of the academic year 2020/2021, opening of primary and secondary schools and 3rd level institutions

 Further easing of restrictions on high risk retail services
Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine whether there is any record of a complaint being filed, as Reade has claimed. Later Friday, Biden asked the secretary of the Senate via letter to assist in the search, though he told MSNBC that the Archives was the only possible place a complaint would be. He said his Senate papers held under seal at the University of Delaware do not contain personnel records.
After the sudden deaths of actors Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, the news of Naseeruddin Shah being admitted to a hospital began surfacing on social media.

On Thursday evening, there were numerous online rumours that Shah had been hospitalised due to some illness.

However, Shah's wife, actress Ratna Pathak Shah confirmed to us that he was doing absolutely fine.

"We are all just fine, thanks," Ratna Pathak said.

Their son Vivan Shah also dismissed the rumours as "untrue." "It's not true at all. He is all right. They are just rumours. He is fine," Vivan told us.

Shah himself took to his official Facebook account to dispel the hospitalisation rumours.

He wrote, "I thank all those enquiring after my health and reassure them I am fine I'm at home and observing the lockdown. Please don't believe any rumours."

Vivan also took to his Twitter account to assure Shah's well-wishers that the veteran actor was keeping well.

"All well everyone! Baba's just fine. All the rumours about his health are fake. He's keeping well. Praying for Irfan Bhai and Chintu ji. Missing them a lot. Deepest condolences to their families. Our hearts go out to all of them. It's a devastating loss for all of us," he wrote.

All well everyone! Baba's just fine. All the rumours about his health are fake. He's keeping well Praying for Irfan Bhai and Chintu ji. Missing them a lot. Deepest condolences to their families. Our hearts go out to all of them. It's a devastating loss for all of us   Vivaan Shah (@TheVivaanShah) April 30, 2020

Meanwhile, on the work front, Shah was last seen in Vivek Agnihotri's The Tashkent Files, a conspiracy thriller about the death of former Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Army warns troops about fake Aarogya Setu app

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: Security agencies have warned Army troops and paramilitary forces against a malicious Pakistan-propped mobile app that masquerades as the anti-COVID-19 'Aarogya Setu' app to steal sensitive data, officials said on Wednesday. An advisory issued said the fake app can be received by a user as a WhatsApp forward or through SMS, a phishing e-mail or other links and via Internet-based social media.

The advisory has recommended to the personnel that they should only download the 'Aarogya Setu' app from authorised links from the 'mygov.in' website.

Fact check: Aarogya Setu set to get e-pass feature soon

"The fake app during installation asks the user to permit use of internet and installation of additional application packages."

"Thereafter, it installs malicious links like face.apk, imo.apk, normal.apk, trueC.apk, snap.apk and viber.apk," the advisory said.

These viruses then look into a user's smartphone and enable a hacker to track and monitor the content and activity of the phone. The data extracted from the user is saved at the command and control server of the app that is reported to be located in the Netherlands, a senior official said.

Assess yourself on Aarogya Setu before coming to work, Govt tells its employees

The troops have been asked to exercise caution while opening suspicious links over social media platforms and e-mail over their phones and apply up-to-date security patches and anti-virus guard, he said.

The Aarogya Setu application developed by the government helps people assess themselves on the risk of their catching the coronavirus infection.

The app detects other devices having the same facility in its GPS or bluetooth range and captures information regarding COVID-19 positive or linked cases.

The central government on Wednesday also made it mandatory for government officials to download and use the app in their personal phones.
As many area retailers and restaurants have either been closed or have had their operations affected by the state-wide pandemic precautions, now more than ever, the business community needs the support of local consumers.

In an effort to aid local businesses, the Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce recently announced the launch of Project Gift Card; a program designed to encourage customers to support local businesses by purchasing gift cards.

We hope this initiative will provide our small businesses with much-needed revenue during this uncertain time, said Executive Director Tamara Coleman.

The program is now open and gift cards can be purchased by visiting the chamber of commerces online store at business.phlcoc.net/store/project-gift-card-2.

The idea #BuyNowSpendLater encourages consumers to buy one, or as many gift cards as they would like, for themselves, or as gifts for their loved ones, friends, or employees in hopes of spending them later.

This program is designed to help people give-back when so many of the areas small businesses so desperately need it.

As an added bonus, Coleman said the chamber is furthering this impact by matching the amount of gift card purchases made up to $2,500 and some of the participating businesses are also contributing toward the matched funds.

At the end of the program, the chamber will be dividing the extra matching donations to all participating businesses. This means the total impact could potentially be more than $5,000 in added revenue to the local economy, helping small businesses tremendously during this tough time.

Coleman said that so far, they wanted to thank C.Z. Boyer and Son Funeral Homes for their contribution of $250, Lead Belt Materials for their contribution of $150, and Domino's Pizza for their contribution of $300 toward the ending program payout.

Thank you for supporting our small businesses, Coleman said. If your business is in a position to help, 100% of your contribution to this program will be divided among each of those businesses who are selling gift cards, at the end of the program.

Just let us know if you would like to be a program contributor, she added.

Other businesses participating in the gift card program include Complete Vision Care; RiverSide Grill; Graphic Options; Wise Grounds Coffee Shop; Battlefield Laser Tag; Rob's Guns; Lemonade Stand Boutique; RaeCole's Coffee Bar; Hefner Furniture & Appliance; Lincoln Street Event Center; Sullivan Farms; Queen Anne's Lace; Patsy's Furniture; Farmington Signs & Wraps; Keenly Bridal; Domino's Pizza; and The Painted Chair.

The gift cards and other tools to help support the community are available through the Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce website at www.phlcoc.net.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com
MARTIN COUNTY, Kentucky  A Galion man accused of firing shots at his wifes vehicle earlier this week died Thursday in an officer-involved shooting with Kentucky State Police, according to reports.

Timothy Gilbert, 43, died at the scene of the shooting Thursday morning, the Mansfield News Journal reports. Gilbert was wanted on a warrant out of Richland County, Ohio.

The Richland County Sheriffs Office tells ABC 6 that Gilbert is accused of pulling up behind his wifes car on Tuesday in Mansfield and shooting at the vehicle. Gilberts wife escaped and reported the incident to authorities.

Richland County Sheriffs Capt. Donald Zehner tells the News Journal that Gilberts wife believed he might become violent and that he had said he was not going back to prison.

WOWK Channel 13 reports that state police in Kentucky spotted Gilberts van at about 3 a.m. Gilbert refused to stop and a pursuit at slow speeds ended with him driving into a yard and reportedly barricading himself in his van.

Authorities say Gilbert called a 911 dispatcher and said he had guns in the van, WOWK reports. Officers eventually opened fire on the van, although authorities say they are unsure what led to shots being fired. The incident remains under investigation.

More crime-related content on cleveland.com:

Suspect in fatal shooting of man at East Cleveland convenience store arrested in Tennessee

Man found dead in grocery store air ducts was missing for eight days, family says

Man charged in accidental shooting that killed uncle during 25th birthday party in Cleveland

Woman was getaway driver in deadly shooting of 15-year-old boy in Cleveland, police say

Two brothers -- one naked -- attack older brother outside Berea home

Off-duty Mogadore officer struck on motorcycle, assaulted, police say
Wish to adopt an Indian cobra for



as low as Rs 2,000 per annum or Asiatic elephant for Rs 1.75 lakh ?



Bengaluru's Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) has come out with a programme during the lockdown period for those looking for an opportunity to conserve wildlife and adopt animals at the zoo.

Certain privileges such as gift voucher for zoo visit and display of name in adoption board would be extended for adopting an animal, depending upon the adoption amount.

"The animal adoption programme is an opportunity for you to get involved in supporting feed and veterinary care expenses for zoo animals with provision for Income Tax rebate under 80G. There are 21 elephants which can be adopted online!" say zoo officials.

The BBP has released a list of animals that can be adopted.

One can adopt the likes of King cobra and Indian rock python for Rs 3,500 per year, and jungle cat and Assamese Macaque for Rs 5,000.

Adoption of black buck and sambar will cost you Rs 7,500 per year, Emu Rs 10,000, spot-billed Pelican Rs 15,000, Golden jackal Rs 20,000, Indian leopard and sloth bear Rs 35,000, Zebra 50,000, Hippopotamus Rs 75,000, and Bengal tiger and Giraffe a flat Rs one lakh, among others.

"The purpose of the adoption programme is to create awareness and connect with people involved in conservation activities, not just generating revenues," the Executive Director of the government-run BBP, Vanashree Vipin Singh told PTI on Friday.

"We dont run this programme with profit motive."



The zoo, which sees an annual footfall of around 15 lakh, has been closed since the middle of March following lockdown declared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It received a record 23,000 people on a single day on January 1 this year.

The animal adoption initiative is part of the BBPs outreach programme as people are not able to visit the zoo due to the lockdown.

In other times, interested people sign up to adopt animals during their visits to the zoo, she said.

Vanashree said post the lockdown, the zoo would not be opened immediately.

BBP would study the situation, put in place social distancing, disinfectants and hygiene protocols in place, among others, before taking a call to throw open the zoo for public.

It would come out with a dos and donts list, and a revised strategy in terms of admission capacity and related things.

An online survey would be held to understand issues around fears of the public in visiting the zoo and their expectations from the BBP, among others, Vanashree said.

"Online ticketing will only be there" after the zoo reopens, she said but hastened to add that BBP would also have emergency kiosk to accommodate people who dropped in without booking, depending on the capacity available as it does not want to send people back or make them wait for long hours.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
African countries should not rush to lift the COVID-19 restrictive measures, TASS reported referring to the WHO representatives.

National and regional restrictions have helped slow the spread of coronavirus, but it continues to pose a danger to society, said WHO Director for Africa Rebecca Moeti.

She noted that there was no explosive increase in the number of people infected with the new coronavirus in Africa. At the same time, she highlighted the importance of testing and monitoring the contacts of infected people to identify new cases in the early stages.

Ghana became the first country in Africa to lift most of its restrictions on people, businesses, and shops on April 20. A five-week nationwide quarantine ends in the Republic of South Africa on May 1. The most populated country on the continent, Nigeria, lifts quarantine measures on May 4.
In the run-up to Novembers presidential election, publishers are courting readers who wont be eligible to cast ballots this year or, in some cases, for many years to come. These childrens and YA books touch on various aspects of political and civic life, highlighting the personalities and issues that drive them.

Some parents believe its never too early to educate kids about how government works. Weve always involved our three children as much as possible in the political process, says Megan E. Bryant, who, with her husband Daniel Prosterman, is coauthor of the Citizen Baby series, illustrated by Micah Player (Penguin Workshop, May). Bryant says she and Prosterman were inspired to create the board booksMy Vote, My Congress, My President, and My Supreme Courtafter taking their infant to their polling place during a primary in North Carolina two years ago and realizing that even babies benefit from exposure to such an excursion.

Its essential for children to realize at an early age that voting is an important responsibility, Bryant says. This isnt something parents should wait to discuss when their kid turns 18; thats too late.

The series joins several books already in the marketplace that explain the process of electing the president; still more are forthcoming, including the picture book A Vote Is a Powerful Thing by Catherine Stier, illustrated by Courtney Dawson (Albert Whitman, Sept.); the Nickelodeon-branded Election Connection by Susan Ring (Random House, July) for middle graders: Everyone Gets a Say by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller (HarperCollins, Sept.); If You Go with Your Goat to Vote by Jan Zauzmer, illustrated by Andrew Roberts (The Experiment, Aug.); and V Is for Voting by Kate Farrell, illustrated by Caitlin Kuhwald (Holt, July).

Other childrens titles focus not on the process but on the politicians who have entered the fray. A few months after Joe Biden declared his candidacy in April 2019, S&S childrens division president Jon Anderson suggested a biography of the former v-p, because there was nothing like it available, recalls Paula Wiseman, v-p and publisher of her eponymous imprint at S&S. In July, Paula Wiseman Books is releasing Joey: The Story of Joe Biden, written by Jill Biden, the candidates wife, with art by Amy June Bates, who illustrated the 2015 picture book bio Hillary Rodham Clinton, written by Kathleen Krull.

While Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee, his former rivals are competing for shelf space in the coming months, as the subjects of picture books including Mayor Pete by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Levi Hastings (Holt, May). Christian Trimmer, editorial director at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, says he has no regrets publishing a biography of a candidate who has left the race. Pete Buttigieg was the first openly gay person and the first millennial to run for the Democratic presidential nomination, Trimmer notes. Mayor Pete will always have that distinction, he says. Hes breaking down barriers for the next LGBTQIA+ candidate, so his story matters beyond the 2020 election.

In June, HarperCollins is publishing a book about another former presidential contender: Kamala and Mayas Big Idea, written by Meena Harrisa lawyer, activist, and the niece of Sen. Kamala Harrisand illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez. S&S imprint Atheneum is also releasing a Harris bio, Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Laura Freeman (Aug.), as well as the picture book Elizabeth Warrens Big, Bold Plans by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Susanna Chapman (Atheneum, May).

S&S publisher Justin Chanda echoed Trimmers point when asked whether there was any second-guessing about publishing picture book biographies of Warren and Harris after they withdrew their bids for higher office. Theres a strong market for books about groundbreaking women throughout history, Chanda says. Both senators inspire young people across the nation to stand up for whats right.

Hot-button issues

As the campaign season heats up, publishers also see a market for childrens books about contentious topics relevant to the presidential race.

Amid an ongoing debate between President Trump and Congress regarding the separation of powers stipulated by the Constitution, The Constitution for Babies (DK, May) offers a primer for toddlers on a document thats pivotal to the fabric of American society, says DK childrens publishing director Sarah Larter. In September, Workman will release The Constitution Decoded by Katie Kennedy, illustrated by Ben Kirchner, covering similar ground but for middle grade readers.

If adults have difficulty distinguishing between what is and isnt fake news, then younger readers, too, could use some help. Publishers are ready, with books including Breaking the News by Robin Terry Brown (National Geographic Kids, Oct.), Guardians of Liberty by Linda Barrett Osborne (Abrams, Aug.), and True or False by Cindy L. Otis (Feiwel and Friends, Aug.).

Otis, who worked for the CIA for 10 years, says that Russian interference in the 2016 election prompted her to write True or False. Shes aiming for a teen readership because, she says, more than any other generation, they are growing up in an information-loaded environment, and have to figure out whats true and whats false for the rest of their lives. They need these tools.

Abrams editor-at-large Howard Reeves says a similar goal inspired Guardians of Liberty. Kids need to be able to look at the facts themselves, Reeves says. We wanted this book to be published as soon as possible. The fact that the presidential election is in 2020 definitely inspired us.

National Geographic Kids also credits the upcoming election with providing momentum for the production of Breaking the News. An election year is the time when media literacybeing able to sift through all the content that comes at you every day to find whats really real and importantis most needed, says NGK senior editor Shelby Lee. Theres been such an uptick in posts that look like legitimate news, stories designed to sway opinion and stir emotions. We knew it will only get more intense and the stakes of really understanding what youre reading so much higher.

Covering another controversial issue, Whose Right Is It? The Second Amendment and the Fight over Guns by Hana Bajramovic (Holt, Sept.) addresses the gun debate, which has intensified in recent weeks as reports circulate that gun sales are spiking during the coronavirus pandemic. Trimmer says the subject is especially relevant to children. Kids are at the forefront of the debate, he says. When school is in session, they face daily reminders of the threat of gun violence, with metal detectors, clear backpacks, active shooter drills, and the like. Bajramovic looked at the history of the Second Amendment, alongside state and federal gun legislation, to give young readers as much of the story as she could, so that they can create informed opinions.

Young people have spearheaded marches and protests around the gun debate and other issues, a fact not lost on publishers as they release books about activism, including Into the Streets by Marke Bieschke (Zest, Aug.); Love Is Powerful by Heather Dean Brewer, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Candlewick, Sept.); and The Suffragist Playbook by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Roberts (Candlewick, Sept.).

Jennifer Roberts, v-p of publicity and marketing at Candlewick, says The Suffragist Playbook highlights the women who fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, and Love Is Powerful was prompted by the 2017 Womens March that took place the day after Trumps inauguration. Such books, she says, whether they look to the past or confront the present, address whats going on now in this countryhow far weve come and how far we have to go.

Return to the main feature.
Karnataka, Meghalaya, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana and Haryana have partially resumed operations.

IMAGE: A volunteer distributes milk among family members of blick klin workers, during the nationwide lockdown in Nadia, West Bengal. Photograph: PTI Photo

Several states are preparing to resume operations from May 4, with the decision on further extension of the lockdown still unknown.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announces permission for starting industrial activities in all areas, except containment zones, from May 4.

It has also allowed one-time movement of stranded people.

Meghalaya declares 10 of states 11 districts as green zones, allows inter-district movement.

Punjab resumes construction work on the Rs 2,700-crore Shahpurkandi dam project over Ravi river to stop outflow of water to Pakistan.

Gujarat and Rajasthan have allowed industrial and economic activity outside municipal areas.

Telangana has over the past couple of days authorised district collectors to allow economic activity in rural areas.

The activities include brick kilns, stone crushing units, rural repair workshops, beedi making, handloom, ginning mills, and plastic industries.

Haryana is looking at district-level strategy to start economic activity, 15 districts with less than 10 COVID cases to see industrial activity resume, in the rest seven districts, town and block level strategy to be followed.
(Natural News) Over 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks, and despite the obvious dangers posed by the coronavirus, a nation of people is now simply desperate to get back to work.

This desperation is so intense, in fact, that people have even begun to turn on the frontline workers who have given their all in treating COVID-19 patients for months. Thousands of them have become ill, and many have paid the ultimate price in their efforts to save just one more patient. But that hasnt stopped mobs of angry protesters from turning on healthcare workers in anger.

Disturbing reports reveal that anti-lockdown protesters have recently clashed with healthcare practitioners in hotspots across the country. In some instances, protests have resulted in gridlock, blocking ambulances, doctors and caregivers from getting to where they need to be to save lives. (Related: Pro-Trump, anti-lockdown protesters demand end to tyranny while refusing to wear masks  Heres what happens next.)

Healthcare workers heckled for doing their job

As reported by the U.K.s Daily Mail, protests against strict lockdown measures have sprung up nationwide, with increasingly desperate Americans pushing back against restrictions that they feel are overly strict and are suffocating the economy.

And they wont let anyone get in their way, not even the healthcare workers fighting to save lives. (Related: Anti-lockdown protest leader infected with the coronavirus.)

The Mail reported:

Healthcare workers clashed with anti lockdown protesters in Colorado on Sunday, defiantly standing in front of the cars of demonstrators who flocked to the state Capitol in the hundreds to urge Gov. Jared Polis to lift COVID-19-induced stay-at-home orders. 

Titled Operation Gridlock, the days largest demonstration took place in Denver, where hundreds of protesters ignored social distancing guidelines to huddle together on the lawn of the state Capitol, waving flags emblazoned with slogans such as Your health does not supersede my right, Freedom over fear, and I would rather risk coronavirus than socialism.

A group of silently protesting healthcare workers dressed in their masks and scrubs stared them down defiantly as a counter-protest, obstructing the vehicles of protesters and refusing to move despite drivers sounding their horns and yelling at them to move.

Some incensed protesters went so far as to climb out of their vehicles to confront the healthcare workers, angrily ordering them to get out of the way.

One woman was captured on video hurling racist remarks at a nurse and yelling, This is a free country. Land of the free. Go to China if you want communism. Go to China.

Though how she concluded that a healthcare worker putting his life on the line to save desperately ill patients was somehow a supporter of communist China defies logic.

In Michigan, protesters actively interfered with the ability of healthcare workers to do their jobs.

The Independent reported:

As conservative demonstrators brought Michigans capital to a standstill on Wednesday with Operation Gridlock, their planned drive-by protest caused ambulances to get stuck in traffic.

Downtown Lansing was clogged with the vehicles of protesters against Governor Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home order to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lansing Police struggled to keep traffic flowing and hospital security tried to keep entrances clear for emergency vehicles.

Baffled healthcare workers were left hurt and angry by the fact that protesters would knowingly interfere with their ability to save lives.

To see this  traffic blocking the main intersection of a level 1 trauma center, blocking the entrance and exit to our hospital, one healthcare workers wrote on Facebook. Blocking patients from receiving care that they need, makes me angry. It hurts. It hurts a lot.

While it is certainly understandable that people are desperate and angry at the devastation caused by COVID-19, surely there can be no excuse for turning on the very people who have sacrificed so much as the soldiers on the frontline in the war against that virus? We owe them more than we could ever repay, and they simply do not deserve this type of behavior.

Stay informed, stay alive. Bookmark Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Independent.co.uk
(Natural News) Ecuador reported 259 new coronavirus cases and 17 deaths between April 29 and 30, bringing the countrys total caseload to 24,934 and 900 deaths. In a televised announcement, Interior Minister Paula Romo said that the official figure does not include 1,453 deaths that were likely caused by COVID-19, but were listed as respiratory conditions, as the patients had no access to diagnostic tests.

In addition, a total of 69,054 tests have been conducted to date. Among those infected with COVID-19, 20,191 are in stable condition, and around 479 remain hospitalized. Guayaquil, the countrys main port city, and the surrounding Guayas province, is the countrys epicenter, with 10,436 confirmed cases.

Guayaquils healthcare system collapses

Health workers in Guayaquil, in particular, are confronted with the horrors of working in a city thats been stretched to the limit. Hospitals in the city are inundated with new cases of COVID-19 patients, and with morgues already filled beyond capacity, some have piled up bodies in bathrooms.

The situation has become so grave that doctors have been forced to wrap up and store corpses, so they can reuse the beds they died on, a medic told Agence France-Presse.

A male nurse, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the outbreak has affected him professionally and personally. When news of the coronavirus reaching Ecuador broke out in March, nurses went from caring for 15 patients to around 30  practically overnight.

So many people arrived that they were practically dying in our hands, the nurse added.

Some hospitals discharged non-COVID-19 patients or referred them to other facilities, so they can accommodate coronavirus patients. In operating rooms, hospital administrators swapped anesthesia machines with ventilators.

People are alone, sad, the treatment wreaks havoc on the gastrointestinal tract, some defecate; they feel bad and think they will always feel that way, and they see that the person next to them starts to suffocate and scream that they need oxygen, said the nurse. (Related: Apocalyptic scene now unfolding in Ecuador amid surge in coronavirus cases.)

Morgues are also suffering the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. With many morgues in Guayaquil filled beyond capacity, hospitals have had to wrap up bodies and store them in bathrooms. Morgue staff only collected the bodies when they are stacked up to seven [people] high. A female colleague, who was also a nurse, confirmed the situation.

There were many dead in the bathrooms, many lying on the floors, many dead in armchairs, she told AFP.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has acknowledged that actual deaths due to the coronavirus could be higher than those recorded in official tallies.

We think there will be between 2,500 and 3,500 people who will die from COVID in these months in Guayas alone, he said in a nationwide speech in April. Today we certainly have tens of thousands of contagions and hundreds of lives cut short by this virus.

Rest of the country reports fewer cases

Despite the chaos that has befallen Guayaquil, Moreno noted that the number of new cases has stabilized, and death counts were falling. In a televised speech, the president reported that hospitals were seeing fewer patients and had increased the number of available intensive care beds. The government has also drummed up plans to deliver food supplies to the countrys vulnerable population.

We have dealt with the health emergency, and we will keep doing so, but now we will deal a lot more actively with the humanitarian emergency, Moreno added.

The government is expected to unveil its plans to reopen its economy, as well as allow citizens stranded abroad to return home. On May 4, the government will assign each province a traffic-light color  red, yellow and green  to indicate the stringency of the lockdown measure in the area.

While red areas will remain under lockdown, online delivery services would be relaxed. Those in yellow and green regions will have transport restrictions partially lifted, curfew hours scaled back and up to 70 percent of employees allowed to return to work. Moreno warned, however, that these regions can be placed under lockdown at the slightest indication of the virus re-emerging.

Pandemic.news has the latest on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

Xinhuanet.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu

PLEnglish.com

AFP.com

Bloomberg.com

NYTimes.com

IndiaToday.in
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that the coronavirus-induced lockdown restrictions will be lifted in the state in a zone-wise manner after May 3 and the rules will be relaxed cautiously.

In a live webcast, he said the relaxation of rules will not be carried out in haste.

"We will tread cautiously. It is in nobody's Interest to lift the lockdown in the (COVID-19) red zones like Mumbai, Pune region, Nagpur and Aurangabad, where the number of positive cases is on the rise," he said.

The government was, however, working on relaxing the rules elsewhere, he said.

"Don't crowd in places where the restrictions are relaxed, otherwise the rules will have to be made stricter," he said.

Thackeray said that in orange zones, even though there are no new positive cases, some active cases do exist, while in green zones there are no cases.

"Even in green zones, we can't take chances. Relaxations will be carried out after May 3 zone-wise. It will be one step-by-step and cautiously," he said.

Admitting that people were facing hardships due to the lockdown, he said, "But the real wealth of any country is the good health of its people. If people are safe then all is well."



The chief minister said that there is fear about COVID-19 in people's mind, which he termed as "Covid syndrome.

"We have to get out of it. We should know that the illness is curable if detected early, he said.

Thackeray said that the lockdown has acted as a "speed breaker" in the virus chain, and added that the number of positive cases in the state increased due to aggressive testing.

"Over two lakh people were tested with oximeter, of whom 272 had low oxygen level. The authorities are treating such patients as well," he said.

According to him, 75 to 80 per cent of the patients are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms.

He greeted the people on the 60th foundation day of the state.

He recalled the golden jubilee celebrations of the state held in 2010 and said the venues of those programmes, like BKC and NESCO grounds in Goregaon, are being kept ready as COVID-19 treatment facilities.

Thackeray said his government had planned to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the state on a large scale, but the government is doing all it can to fight the pandemic.

"Maharashtra Day is a day when we won Sanyukta Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital. The win became possible due to the struggle and sacrifices," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seattle, May 1 : Buoyed by the surge in demand as people stayed home owing to the pandemic globally, net sales increased 26 per cent to $75.5 billion for the ecommerce giant in the first quarter of 2020, compared with $59.7 billion in the first quarter last year.

Net income, however, decreased to $2.5 billion in the first quarter, compared with net income of $3.6 billion in the year-ago quarter Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company expects to spend $4 billion or more on COVID-19-related expenses in the second quarter.

"Under normal circumstances, in this coming Q2, we'd expect to make some $4 billion or more in operating profit. But these aren't normal circumstances. Instead, we expect to spend the entirety of that $4 billion, and perhaps a bit more, on COVID-related expenses getting products to customers and keeping employees safe," Bezos said in a statement late Thursday.

This includes investments in personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning of facilities, less efficient process paths that better allow for effective social distancing, higher wages for hourly teams, and hundreds of millions to develop its own COVID-19 testing capabilities.

"There is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, and the best investment we can make is in the safety and well-being of our hundreds of thousands of employees," said Bezos.

Amazon's Q1 performance fell in line with its guidance, with $4 billion in operating income. Its Cloud computing service AWS logged $10.2 billion in sales this quarter, up from $7.7 billion from the year-ago quarter.

"From online shopping to AWS to Prime Video and Fire TV, the current crisis is demonstrating the adaptability and durability of Amazon's business as never before, but it's also the hardest time we've ever faced," said Bezos.

Amazon announced that more than 15,000 small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon's stores in the U.S. surpassed $1 million in sales in 2019.

Additionally, third-party sellers sold more than 700 million items that shipped with Prime Free One-Day Delivery or faster in the US in 2019.

AWS announced the opening of the AWS Europe (Milan) and AWS Africa (Cape Town) Regions. AWS now spans 76 Availability Zones within 24 geographic regions, with announced plans for nine more Availability Zones and three more AWS Regions in Indonesia, Japan, and Spain.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 18:18:10|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authorities on Friday released a report on the clustered COVID-19 cases in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province since April, urging medical institutions nationwide to draw lessons from them.

Clustered infections related to imported cases have occurred in Harbin and Mudanjiang, two cities in the province, since April, said the document made public by the National Health Commission (NHC).

The cases involved nosocomial infections in multiple hospitals, featuring a long duration and a large number of confirmed cases, it read, adding that they had a vile social impact and brought new pressure to consolidating the hard-won achievements in the country's epidemic prevention and control efforts.

In Harbin, an 87-year-old patient was hospitalized on April 2 and was only confirmed to have contracted the virus on April 10. Dozens of close contacts, including medical workers, have been confirmed infected.

Mudanjiang City reported multiple COVID-19 cases, including medical workers, who had been in close contact with two previously confirmed cases reported on April 18.

The government attributed the occurrence of these clustered infections to underestimation of the epidemic situation, loopholes in pre-hospital prevention and control measures and a failure to carry out nucleic acid testing as required.

Medical institutions across the country were asked to fully understand the grave epidemic prevention and control situation, implement regularized epidemic containment measures, and improve their nucleic acid detection ability and prevention against nosocomial infections.

NHC figures show that 131 domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases had been reported on the Chinese mainland in April, and more than 60 percent of them were clustered infections in Heilongjiang. Enditem
By PTI

BEIJING: China's asymptomatic coronavirus cases have increased to 981, including 631 in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak, while the government has stepped up vigil to contain the spread of the infection during the 5-day May Day holidays.

While the confirmed cases were steadily on the decline in China, including in Wuhan, prompting the government to resume normal operations all over the country, the steady rise in asymptomatic cases continued to be a cause of concern.

Asymptomatic cases refer to people who tested positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat.

They are infectious and pose a risk of spreading to others.

ALSO READ | China doesn't want to see me elected: Trump after hinting at COVID-19 compensation tariffs

China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Friday said 25 new asymptomatic cases were reported in the country, taking the total tally to 981, including 115 from abroad, who were still under medical observation.

The health commission of Hubei province said no new confirmed cases of the COVID-19 were reported for 27 consecutive days.

But the province and its capital Wuhan reported 631 people with asymptomatic infections who are under medical observation.

A total of 282,482 close contacts of COVID-19 patients in the province had been tracked by Thursday, 1,434 of whom were still under medical observation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Hubei has so far reported 68,128 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,333 in Wuhan.

The NHC in its Friday report said 12 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the country on Thursday, of which six were imported.

The other six new cases were domestically transmitted, including five in Heilongjiang Province and one in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The death toll in the country remained at 4,633 as no new fatalities were reported on Thursday, it said.

As of Thursday, the overall confirmed cases in China had reached 82,874, including 599 patients who were still being treated and 77,642 people discharged after recovery, it said.

Also, China has a total of 1,670 imported cases of which 505 were being treated with seven in severe conditions, the NHC said.

Meanwhile, a high-level leading group headed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang which is supervising the operations to contain the coronavirus since January directed the officials to work out a well-calibrated response for the international Labour Day holiday.

China observed the May Day with a five-day official holiday during which thousands were expected to travel as the country has eased travel restrictions in recent weeks.

"The responsibility for containment at all levels must be fully discharged, including specifying and strictly enforcing containment at transportation vehicles, hotels and tourist attractions, fully meeting the personal protection requirements, and rigorously forestalling large gatherings of tourists", an official press release issued by the leading group on Thursday said.

"Local governments must have sound contingency plans and enhance emergency preparedness. Any infection, once detected, must be promptly handled with targeted measures, and the transmission route be cut off as quickly as possible.

"Information should be released in a fact-based, open and transparent manner. No cover-up, under-reporting or delay of the disclosure will be allowed," it said.

China is under severe international pressure to come clean on the origins of the coronavirus which broke out in Wuhan in December.
U.S. shale oil producers have so far held up admirably, hanging on for dear life amidst the biggest oil demand collapse in history. American producers continued to pump at record highs in March, even after dozens of drillers laid out blueprints to limit production.

But with U.S. storage about to hit tank tops in a matter of weeks and the world deep in the throes of the biggest pandemic in modern history, the inevitable has begun to unfold: The arduous and costly process of well shut-ins.

Oil production in the country tumbled sharply to 12.2 million bpd in the third week of April, a good 900,000 bpd less than the record peak of 13.1 million bpd recorded just a month prior. That's a 7% production cut in the space of only a few weeks and the lowest level since July.

A lot more could be on the way.

More Production Cuts

Oklahoma-based Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR), the company controlled by billionaire Harold Hamm, has ceased all its shale operations in North Dakota and shut in most wells in its Bakken oil field totaling roughly 200,000 bpd.

The company, though, has refused to sell its contracted oil to pipelines at negative prices by declaring force majeure.

Continental has defended its stance by pointing out that the coronavirus outbreak has "...brought about conditions under which force majeure applies" while adding that selling its oil at negative prices constitutes waste.

Continental made the risky gamble of betting that economic growth would lift prices and, therefore, left itself heavily exposed to low oil prices by failing to employ the industry's usual playbook of hedging future production with derivatives.

Continental is in good company, though.

Rystad Energy via CNBC has reported that six major U.S. shale producers will shut another 300,000 bpd of crude in May and June. That's ~100,000 bpd more than April cuts, thus bringing the country's total production cuts to 1.2 million bpd. The cuts will come from Continental Resources, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Cimarex Energy (NYSE:XEC), Enerplus Corporation (NYSE:ERF), Parsley Energy (NYSE:PE) and PDC Energy (NYSE:PDCE).

Continental Resources is set to slash 69,000 bpd in April and nearly 150,000 in May and June while ConocoPhillips will lower output by 125,000 bpd of oil equivalent, including 60,000 bpd of oil.

Premium: The Oil Sector That Will Suffer The Most

Rystad's head of shale research, Artem Abramov, has estimated that the biggest shale fields--Permian, Eagle Ford, and Bakken--will cut a further 900,000 bpd, 250,000 bpd, and 400,000 bpd, respectively, throughout 2Q20, with shut-ins accounting for a staggering 60% in the early stages.

Expensive Shut-Ins

A well shut-in is considered a drastic action of last resort mainly because it can result in huge or even total loss of production.

That's a big consideration in these dire times, where even oilfield values are descending into negative territory due to liabilities such as plugging wells and land remediation.

Chris Atherton, president of EnergyNet, a company that deals in oil and gas operations, undeveloped acreage and royalty interests, has told Forbes that oilfield prices have tumbled from an average price of $42,000 per net flowing barrel per day when oil prices were around $60/barrel to under $20,000 currently. Buyers started getting picky and sellers more desperate in 2019 when oil prices were still relatively high.

Things have gone to the dogs now, with a shut-in field fetching only half the price of a virtually identical field but with oil still flowing.

As Bob Bracket of Bernstein Research revealed last week, "Shut-ins are not easy decisions. When production shuts-in, problems arise. Multi-phase well flows begin to separate out, while problematic hydrates, waxes, asphaltenes form which will have serious economic implications," citing numerous examples of fairly large wells with flows exceeding 1,000 barrels/day that could not be brought back to life after being shut-in.

That's the main reason why even heavily indebted shale companies, including bankrupt ones like Whiting Corp. (NYSE:WLL), insist on continuing to pump at all costs. Related: The Death Of U.S. Oil

California Resources Corp. (NYSE:CRC) is a $133.7M (market cap) company drowning in debt to the tune of more than $4 billion due by the end of 2022. The company's average all-in cost per barrel of $35 means that it's losing ~$20 for each barrel of crude it pumps. Yet, the company is unable to shut-in its wells because they require a continuous injection of steam to keep them alive.

Deal Mania

A shut-in well is a tough proposition for a prospective oilfield buyer, too, because it's hard to determine how much oil can be coaxed out, especially after a lengthy layoff.

The only solace for the beleaguered oil sector is that there probably won't be a shortage of takers when the worst is finally over.

Atherton says that his company has 40,000 registered users with access to $17 billion in cash ready to make deals. He has predicted that distressed companies will "turn into a flood of assets available" in a year or so.

The bottom hunters will certainly be waiting to pounce, the downside being that many investments in the space could turn worthless due to the swelling wave of bankruptcy.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in China said that the Chinese side had not yet agreed to the WHO's proposal to join the investigation into the COVID-19 origin.

According to him, a national investigation is already underway, but there is no invitation to join it yet.

The representative of WHO emphasized that it was very important to identify the source of the virus to prevent a similar occurrence. He also noted that the international organization did not gain access to the records of two Wuhan virology labs. At the same time, he pointed out that, judging by all the available evidence, the virus came from Wuhan, but it is a natural, and not an artificial virus, Interfax reported.

Earlier, a vice-foreign minister Yue Yucheng said that China opposes any international inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic that presumes its guilt.
An expert in infectious diseases has praised Australia for shutting off foreign travellers from China. (Photo by Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images)

Banning visitors from China stopped Australia suffering a coronavirus outbreak like the UKs, an infectious diseases expert has said.

Australia has suffered 93 deaths COVID-19 related deaths, far fewer than the UKs toll of more than 26,000, which gave it the third worst death toll in the world, behind the US and Italy.

Australia has recorded 6,700 cases, of which 5,700 have recovered, while the UK has confirmed more than 171,000 cases.

Professor Sharon Lewin, the head of Australias Doherty Institute, highlighted Australian prime minister Scott Morrisons brilliant decision to stop foreign travellers arriving from China, which she said prevented a widespread outbreak.

Australias action differs heavily from the UKs, which decided against shutting its borders.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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Although both locked down, implementing stay-at-home policies and banning non-essential movements, Australian states are set to ease up restrictions, with health minister Greg Hunt saying: We are winning but we have not won yet.

Each state has variations of the lockdown, but social distancing measures and restrictions on non-essential businesses were in place by late March.

The UK banned gatherings, restricted trips outside of the home to essential purposes and also shut non-essential businesses on 23 March, but remains under lockdown and suffers hundreds of deaths a day.

The government is yet to set out an exit strategy.

Besides banning foreign travellers arriving from China, Australia also prevented anyone who had spent time in China in the previous two weeks from arriving from February 1, which prof Lewin said stopped a widespread outbreak.

For me, I (initially) thought that was a terrible decision, Ill say honestly, and the World Health Organization, too, said that blocking flights was the worst thing that you could do for a global health crisis, she said.

Story continues

But it saved Australia, because it actually stopped seeding at the very beginning.

Although Italy and the US also stopped flights from China at about the same time, and have gone on to suffer bad outbreaks, prof Lewin said they still had arrivals from Chinese nationals and people who had visited China from other countries.

In the UK, however, deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam told a press briefing in April that scientists had been clear closing borders would not work.

I understand the point youre making and I see where youre coming from, in terms of when we get this under control, doesnt that change the situation, he told reporters.

But (it) wont go from a position of widespread community transmission amongst our own people to a position of zero transmission amongst our own people, which of course was the case back in December 2019.

We will likely go back to low levels of transmission and the virus will continue to be here in and around us in our communities, I suspect for a very long time, even if we can keep the levels right down.

He has also said that screening arrivals would not work as they may be infected but not show symptoms, or the virus could be incubating as they travel, before developing signs of the virus after arriving in the UK.

Scott Morrison's decision to implement travel restrictions on China has been praised. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

Surfers prepare to enter the water at Bondi Beach, which is open to swimmers and surfers to exercise only  though states in Australia are due to ease its restrictions. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Prof Lewin has also said that Australias health experts began putting together a prevention strategy for if a similar outbreak  as was playing out in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged  came to the country.

In early January, across the world, no one was really thinking about [COVID-19]. But in Australia everyone was thinking about it, prof Lewin said.

They were designing tests and everyone was very worried about it coming here.

The UKs preparedness has been criticised because of fears about limited personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS and care workers and limited testing capacity earlier in the UKs outbreak.

When Englands deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries, claimed the UK has been an international exemplar in preparedness, she was criticised by health workers, who branded her comments as patronising.

The government has since ramped up its testing, carrying out more than 80,000 in the space of 24 hours earlier in the week, and organised shipments of PPE, though the way those imports have been organised has also drawn criticism.

Coronavirus: what happened today

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L eaders of a town said the coronavirus lockdown could trigger an "employment catastrophe" in a part of the UK that is predicted to suffer the biggest economic hit from the pandemic.

More than 50 per cent of jobs in Crawley are at risk of being lost or furloughed, said a recent report.

The towns MP and the leader of the borough council, Peter Lamb, called on the Government in a letter to take rapid action and ensure that Crawleys amazing economic success, built up over many decades, is not lost in a matter of weeks.

Mr Lamb said the West Sussex town located close to Gatwick Airport, generates 124 million in business rates each year for the Government.

The letter states: It is quite clear that the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the national economy and indeed the world economy is unprecedented.

However, due to the business sectors located within the town, and the proportion of local jobs and economic output from these sectors, Crawley is undeniably being hit far harder than any other part of the United Kingdom.

Crawley, near Gatwick Airport, could suffer siginifcant economic loss from the Covid-19 outbreak / PA

These sectors include aviation, transportation, retail/wholesale, leisure and hospitality, all of which are likely to continue to struggle long after the lockdown is lifted.

It is feared that up to 57 per cent of the towns workforce could be made unemployed, the letter says in reference to a recent Centre for Cities report.

The letter continues: It is critical that the Government takes urgent action, working with Crawley Borough Council and other local and regional stakeholders, to draw up, fund and implement a programme of targeted economic relief and investment in the town.

Mr Lamb added: Weve been helping the public purse for decades  its now time for the Government to repay that help.

Local Tory MP Henry Smith said: The Crawley and Gatwick economy has been an undoubted success story for many years but the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to negatively impact the area perhaps more than any other UK-wide.
Were pleased to see the number of tests being conducted in Virginia increase today, but the delays to date are inexcusable, House minority leader Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said Friday in an emailed statement. Virginia is home to some of the finest minds and institutions and we have the resources necessary to be a leader in fighting COVID-19. Lives and livelihoods are at risk every day we dont have a good picture of the COVID-19 footprint in our communities. We can and must do better.
Last year was one of the worst years on record for the Greenland ice sheet, which shrunk by hundreds of billions of tons. According to a study published today in The Cryosphere, that mind-boggling ice loss wasn't caused by warm temperatures alone; the new study identifies exceptional atmospheric circulation patterns that contributed in a major way to the ice sheet's rapid loss of mass.

Because climate models that project the future melting of the Greenland ice sheet do not currently account for these atmospheric patterns, they may be underestimating future melting by about half, said lead author Marco Tedesco from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

The study used satellite data, ground measurements, and climate models to analyze changes in the ice sheet during the summer of 2019.

The researchers found that while 2019 saw the second-highest amount of runoff from melting ice (2012 was worse), it brought the biggest drops in surface mass balance since record-keeping began in 1948. Surface mass balance takes into account gains in the ice sheet's mass -- such as through snowfall -- as well as losses from surface meltwater runoff.

"You can see the mass balance in Greenland as your bank account," said Tedesco. "In some periods you spend more, and in some periods you earn more. If you spend too much you go negative. This is what happened to Greenland recently."

Specifically, in 2019, the ice sheet's surface mass balance dropped by about 320 billion tons below the average for 1981-2010 -- the biggest drop since record-keeping began in 1948. Between 1981 and 2010, the surface mass "bank account" gained about 375 billion tons of ice per year, on average. In 2019, that number was closer to 50 billion tons. And while a gain of 50 billion tons may still sound like good news for an ice sheet, Fettweis explained that it is not, because of another factor: the ice sheet is also shedding hundreds of billions of tons as icebergs break off into the ocean. Under stable conditions, the gains in surface mass balance would be high enough to compensate for the ice that's lost when icebergs calve off. Under the current conditions, the calving far outweighs the surface mass balance gains; Overall, the ice sheet lost an estimated 600 billion tons in 2019, representing a sea level rise of about 1.5 millimeters.

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Before now, 2012 was Greenland's worst year for surface mass balance, with a loss of 310 billion tons compared to the 1981-2010 baseline. Yet summer temperatures in Greenland were actually higher in 2012 than in 2019 -- so why did the surface lose so much mass last year?

Tedesco and co-author Xavier Fettweis, from the University of Liege, found that the record-setting ice loss was linked to high-pressure conditions (called anticyclonic conditions) that prevailed over Greenland for unusually long periods of time in 2019.

The high pressure conditions inhibited the formation of clouds in the southern portion of Greenland. The resulting clear skies let in more sunlight to melt the surface of the ice sheet. And with fewer clouds, there was about 50 billion fewer tons of snowfall than usual to add to the mass of the ice sheet. The lack of snowfall also left dark, bare ice exposed in some places, and because ice doesn't reflect as much sunlight as fresh snow, it absorbed more heat and exacerbated melting and runoff.

Conditions were different, but no better, in the northern and western parts of Greenland, because as the high pressure system spun clockwise, it pulled up warm, moist air from the lower latitudes and channeled it into Greenland.

"Imagine this vortex rotating in the southern part of Greenland," Tedesco explained, "and that is literally sucking in like a vacuum cleaner the moisture and heat of New York City, for example, and dumping it in the Arctic -- in this case, along the west coast of Greenland. When that happened, because you have more moisture and more energy, it promoted the formation of clouds in the northern part."

But instead of bringing snowfall, these warm and moist clouds trapped the heat that would normally radiate off of the ice, creating a small-scale greenhouse effect. These clouds also emitted their own heat, exacerbating melting.

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Through these combined effects, the atmospheric conditions of the summer of 2019 led to the highest annual mass loss from Greenland's surface since record-keeping began.

With the help of an artificial neural network, Tedesco and Fettweis found that 2019's large number of days with these high-pressure atmospheric conditions was unprecedented. The summer of 2012, one of Greenland's worst years, also saw anticyclonic conditions.

"These atmospheric conditions are becoming more and more frequent over the past few decades," said Tedesco. "It is very likely that this is due to the waviness to the jet stream, which we think is related to, among other things, the disappearance of snow cover in Siberia, the disappearance of sea ice, and the difference in the rate at which temperature is increasing in the Arctic versus the mid-latitudes." In other words, climate change may make the destructive high-pressure atmospheric conditions more common over Greenland.

Current global climate models are not able to capture these effects of a wavier jet stream. As a result, "simulations of future impacts are very likely underestimating the mass loss due to climate change," said Tedesco. "It's almost like missing half of the melting."

The Greenland ice sheet contains enough frozen water to raise sea levels by as much as 23 feet. Understanding the impacts of atmospheric circulation changes will be crucial for improving projections for how much of that water will flood the oceans in the future, said Tedesco.
President Akufo-Addo has recognised the role of workers in the development of the country as they mark this year's May Day today Friday.

"We recognise and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices they have made towards the construction of a happy and prosperous Ghana we seek, and, on this day, I say ayekoo to each one of you," the President Akufo-Addo wrote in a message on his Facebook wall, on Friday, to mark the celebration of this Year's May Day.

The President said though this year's celebration of the day was muted as a result of the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, the government would chart a course out of the pandemic to put the country on the path of sustained growth, progress, and prosperity.

He, therefore, urged organised labour to join hands with government in the fight against the pandemic, saying: "I am confident that, together, if we remain united and resolute, and maintain discipline and self-discipline, we shall defeat the virus".

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana cancelled the 2020 edition of the May Day celebration parades and outdoor activities in compliance with the ban on public gatherings in the country as part of measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

It urged all workers to stay at home on May Day and continue to comply with all the relevant safety and preventive protocols in the fight against Coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the celebration is being marked with a programme under the

Theme: COVID-19 in Ghana: Impact on Employment and Working Conditions.

The President is the Guest of Honour at the programme, which will be addressed by the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah.

More than 3.3 million people have been infected worldwide by the new Coronavirus since December 2019, when the virus was reported in Wuhan China. It has also killed more than 230,000.

Ghana has since Thursday, March 12 recorded 2,074 cases with 17 deaths. There have, however, been 212 recoveries.

COVID-19 has disrupted socio-economic activities, resulting in the collapse of businesses and the loss of millions of jobs worldwide.

---GNA
Fraudulent documents and certificates are used to traffic counterfeit products related to coronavirus outbreak.

New Delhi: As the world's most powerful nations confront the coronavirus pandemic, the organised criminal groups operating from Europe in nexus with illegal Indian and Chinese companies, are selling counterfeit products including medicines, masks and protective kits to make a quick profit.

This pandemic profiteering is spread across the worst-hit countries like Italy, Spain and France with the fake goods originating from India and China are being shipped through a complex distribution chain using the transit countries like Turkey and Ukraine. According to Europol, the European Union's law enforcement cooperation agency, illicit goods are dispatched from various frequently changing addresses, which makes the detection of parcels and identification of the original sender difficult.

An official from the Netherlands-based Europol told Firstpost that several law enforcement agencies in Europe during the investigation collected the names of Indian companies, which are involved in trafficking counterfeit corona drugs and test kits to Europe. Their names cannot be disclosed at this juncture because the operation against the cartel is still going on in the concerned countries.

Member states are conducting searches and investigation based on criminal information is moving swiftly. I can only say that several Indian companies and their networks are being examined and suitable action is being planned by the member states, the Europol official said.

Europol investigation report reveals that companies targeting Europe for distribution of counterfeit pharmaceutical products and equipment are registered both within and outside Europe. Among Europe, these companies are registered at addresses mainly in Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and outside in China, India and the United States.

Europol further said the companies trading in counterfeit goods are highly diverse and suspects are quickly creating front companies to camouflage their activities.

As per Europol, most of the suspects in touch with Indian and Chinese companies are concentrated in Poland, Romania, Ukraine, France, Italy, France, Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Belgium, UK, Sweden and Algeria. The criminal network working like a well-oiled machine is producing and distributing counterfeit face masks, fake corona test kits, disposable latex gloves, sanitisers, disinfectants, antiviral medicines like chloroquine, favipiravir and azithromycin.

Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates

Europol said while counterfeit products threaten the safety of medical staff and the general public, it is also generating significant illicit profit for the criminals involved. As far as the modus operandi of the criminal cartel is concerned, Europol said they are using both dark web and shops to lure the buyers after the products are trafficked in bulk to European countries using maritime containers as well as parcels transported via air freight.

Fraudulent documents and certificates are used to traffic counterfeit products related to coronavirus outbreak. It said as soon as reports about chloroquine as a potential treatment option appeared in public, the domestic criminal cartel in European countries got active on the dark web.

The counterfeit Chloroquine offered by companies and websites on dark web carried similar numbers to that of the United States to obscure the origin as well as suppliers. In European countries, the number of vendors offering Chloroquine has suddenly increased in the first week of April.

Besides, investigators have found chloroquine is sold through dark web market place on Dark Bay, Bitbazaar and Yellow Brick etc. This was despite the fact that the European Medicines Agency had advised that chloroquine only to be used in clinical trials or in emergency use because its efficacy in treating COVID-19 was yet to be established.

Europol suspects that the demand for these type of counterfeit products has surged and will continue throughout the current crisis despite potentially significant detrimental consequences for the health of consumers.

A significant number of new websites were also established to make a profit during the pandemic. These companies and websites offering fake coronavirus related products are also accepting various payment methods like credit cards, cryptocurrencies and even payment on delivery.

Europol said profits obtained from the trade of these goods are substantial, however, little information is available on the illegal money flow to the associates. Initial investigation suggests that a significant proportion of the profits are laundered to China and India using cash-intensive business as a front.

Europol and members states have intensified monitoring of online platforms and also launched multi-disciplinary operations to combat the distribution of counterfeit products.
Mumbai, May 1 : Automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday reported a massive decline of 98 per cent in its total vehicle sales in April 2020 to 733 units due to the national lockdown imposed to curb the Covid-19 outbreak.

The company had sold a total of 43,721 units in April 2019.

Industry analysts have cited the Covid-19 outbreak as the main resaon for such downfall in sales numbers.

Subsequent to the outbreak, the national lockdown was imposed. This has dealt a heavy blow to the auto industry, leading to a temporary closure of dealerships and factories.

Furthermore, the company reported nil domestic sales last month. It had sold 41,603 units in April 2019.

Only exports' segment showed some life. M&M exported 733 units in the month under review, which is a decline of 65 per cent on a YoY basis from 2,118 vehicles which were shipped out in April 2019.

Commenting on the situation, Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra said: "At Mahindra, we are working h and in hand with all stakeholders, especially our dealer and supplier partners, to get our ecosystem started, once the lockdown is lifted. The safety of all our employees will be of paramount importance to us while resuming our operations." "We are hopeful that our dealerships will open soon and have stocks to cover the first few weeks of sale. In the export market we have sold 733 vehicles during April."
The coronavirus pandemic has caused 'substantial' chaos and disruption across Britain's manufacturing sector, new findings warn.

As the economic toll of lockdown starts to rear its ugly head, employment, new orders and output in the sector fell at the fastest pace for 28 years last month.

The closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index fell to a record low of 32.6 in April, down from 47.8 in March, with a reading of 50 or above indicating growth.

Dire: The coronavirus pandemic has caused 'substantial' chaos and disruption across Britain's manufacturing sector

April's manufacturing PMI reading of 32.6 is even worse than the previous record low of 34.5 recorded during the heat of the global financial crisis in 2009.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to get the economy moving again and last night confirmed that he will outline more detailed plans for lifting lockdown restrictions next week.

While the service sector, encompassing hotels and restaurants, has potentially been hit the hardest during the crisis, many factories and warehouses making products for use here in Britain and overseas have been forced to shut to comply with lockdown restrictions.

Separate findings from trade body Made UK today reveal that 80 per cent of manufacturers reported a collapse in orders due to the pandemic last month.

Manufacturing production, new orders and employment all fell and those businesses still placing orders have lengthened lead times dramatically, with most factories staying shut for the entire month, IHS Markit said.

IHS Markit branded the data 'ruinous for Britain's manufacturers as they continue to feel the full force of the coronavirus lockdown. Factory and office closures, stalling domestic and international demand and widespread furloughing are all taking their toll on the sector.

Under pressure: Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to get the economy moving

Poor: Made UK said today that 80% of manufacturers reported a collapse in orders last month

Rob Dobson, a director at IHS Markit, said: 'UK manufacturing suffered its worst month in recent history in April, as output, orders books and employment all fell at rates far surpassing anything seen in the PMI survey's 28-year history.

'Huge swathes of industry were hit hard by company closures, weak global demand, lockdowns and social distancing measures in response to Covid-19. The only pockets of growth were seen at firms making medical and food products.'

Exports were also at record lows, with the Covid-19 pandemic also hitting overseas markets, the survey said.

Speaking to managers between 7 April and 27 April, the compilers also found that orders fell across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sub-industries categories.

What is particularly concerning is that, for one expert, the figures from IHS Markit seem to understate the true dismal impact of lockdown on the manufacturing sector.

It should be noted that the April headline PMI understated the weakness of the manufacturing sector Howard Archer, EY Item Club

Howard Archer, chief economist at the EY Item Club, said: 'It should be noted that the April headline PMI understated the weakness of the manufacturing sector.

'This is because there was once again a marked positive contribution to the PMI from a record lengthening of supplier delivery times.

'This is normally seen as reflecting strong demand and a positive  but it has recently been due to the disruption to supply chains stemming from the disruption to manufacturing inputs because of factory shutdowns around the world and shipping delays due to coronavirus.'

Meanwhile, Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: 'There is no comparable time in history to make predictions against, but, as production ramps up again in the Far East, the sector remained optimistic that, in a year's time, the operating environment will resemble some new normality.'

The pounds's reaction to the figures was fairly muted. Speaking to This is Money, David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets, said: 'Sterling had a muted reaction to the final reading of the UK manufacturing PMI report for April - 32.6 - it was fractionally below the flash reading, 32.9.

'The pound was already in the red before the news, but the update didnt help matters. In this climate, whats likely to move the pound is confirmation the UK is looking to ease lockdown restrictions.'

The pound is now around the $1.26 mark against the US dollar and at 1.14 against the euro. The FTSE 100 has had a poor couple of days, and is currently down 1.9 per cent or 112.08 points to 5,789.13.
IMANI Africas Franklin Cudjoe is holding the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo responsible for the recent challenges regarding the clearing of goods at the ports.

According to him, some orders and directives from the Senior Minister on how the systems should be run at the ports have led to the issues being faced by UNIPASS.

Freight forwarders all over the country have been up in arms over challenges with the clearance of their goods since the introduction of the UNIPASS system to Ghanas single window platform.

The UNIPASS system is replacing the single window platform being managed by GCNet and West Blue Consulting at the ports.

IMANI Africa had notably petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo asking the government to temporarily suspend operations of UNIPASS and allow GCNET and West Blue to operate for the rest of 2020.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Cudjoe said the current challenges were not surprising.

I am not motivated to say we are vindicated per se, I am rather embarrassed that we got to this stage when all the bonfires are popping up all over the place.

Before UNIPASS came online, he noted that revenue at the ports had been increasing steadily following the introduction of more paperless systems.

But the revenue prospects are being undermined by the Senior Minister, according to the IMANI boss.

So when orders and letters start coming from the Senior Minister, not the [Economic Management Team] letters will be written suggesting that UNIPASS don't show up [for demonstrations].

I am just looking at the vested intrest analysis side and saying the Senior Minister is running counter to the directives of the Vice President.

A member of Parliament's Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, also cautioned the Senior Minister to desist from forcing the UNIPASS system on the ports in the country.

According to him, the UNIPASS system is an inferior system compared to the existing system which has consistently delivered superior value to government and businesses at the ports.

---citinewsroom
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In a significant development, the West Bengal government has decided to virtually shelve the expert committee of doctors auditing deaths among patients testing positive for the novel coronavirus infection. The committee had triggered a great deal of controversy, with the states opposition parties alleging that the committee had been formed to suppress the number of deaths.

The committee will continue doing academic and research work. Death declaration will no longer require its vetting. It will be declared as per protocols set by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a top official of the state health department said on Friday.

New Delhi-based ICMR is the nodal body for Covid-19 treatment and procedures in India. The state government will henceforth declare Covid-19 deaths as per the death certificates, which will mention the immediate cause of death, antecedent cause of death and underlying cause of death.

The Covid-19 death audit committee, comprising doctors, was set up on April 3 by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio. As of April 30, the committee assessed deaths of 105 patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 and attributed 33 deaths to the coronavirus infection and another 72 deaths to severe co-morbid conditions.

The committee examined all the relevant documents, including bed-head tickets, treatment history, laboratory investigation reports, death certificates and other documents sent by the hospitals concerned to determine whether Covid-19 or pre-morbid conditions were the immediate cause of death, according to a government document dated April 24, and signed by Bishwa Ranjan Satpati, who heads the expert committee.

This very role of differentiating between deaths of patients on the basis of pre-existing ailments had triggered a massive political controversy. Even an inter-ministerial central team, in its letter to the state on April 22, had asked the state to clarify the basis on which such a decision to differentiate between deaths had been taken.

However, the state governments change of stance on the role of the committee seems to have happened after leaders of different doctors associations raised the issue during their meeting with the chief minister on April 28.

We had told the chief minister that such differentiation was necessary for academic purposes only and the debates around identifying the immediate cause of death should remain confined within the boundaries of academic institutions. We are very grateful to the government for listening to the suggestion of the doctors. We expect the government would henceforth list deaths of all Covid-19 patients as Covid-19 deaths, Rezaul Karim, a leader of West Bengal Doctors Forum who attended the meeting with the chief minister said.

Explaining the new role of the committee, chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said, All death cases will no longer be referred to the committee. They will pick up random cases, fetch details from hospitals, and then give recommendations to the state.

A top health official said the state was likely to consider only those deaths as Covid-19 deaths in which the death certificate would mention Covid-19 as the immediate cause of death.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party state unit president Dilip Ghosh filed an online petition before the Calcutta high court on Thursday evening, seeking the courts intervention in ensuring clarity on Covid-19 death figures.

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Rallying campaign supporters will be tough with coronavirus restrictions placing large in-person events on hold. | Photo: Carolina Journal

Picnics, county fairs, and local festivals are out. Zoom meetings and email blasts are in.Coronavirus restrictions hit North Carolina days after the March 3 state primary. None of the winners anticipated that within a few weeks, social distancing would reduce their campaigns to virtual meet-and-greets.said Ryan Ash, campaign manager for lieutenant governor candidate and state Rep. Yvonne Holley, D-Wake.For now, Holley's campaign is prepared to ride out the summer without hosting any in-person events, Ash said. Door-knocking and other personal forms of interaction will probably morph into phone calls. Holley's opponent, Republican Mark Robinson, agreed to two debates, but the camps haven't decided on a format.Ash said.Political campaigns likely will remain stunted through much of the summer as the state gradually lifts social distancing restrictions. Fundraising screeched to a near halt after thousands of North Carolinians lost their jobs, overwhelming the N.C. Division of Employment Security with extraordinary numbers of claims (more than 700,000, to date ). While elected officials benefit from increased airtime as they manage the public crisis, they and their non-incumbent opponents have found few ways to reach potential voters with campaign messages.Even before coronavirus, campaign strategies had shifted toward digital platforms, noted Josh Kivett, a national political strategist with Majority Strategies, a Republican consulting firm. Handheld devices and other digital platforms transformed the political landscape, just as they did the advertising industry, interpersonal communications, and a host of other fields.Still, remote campaigns are a huge adjustment for candidates. That's especially true for challengers, who lack incumbents' built-in messaging platforms, said Brad Crone, a Democratic political consultant with Raleigh-based consulting firm Campaign Connections.Several candidates hold one-on-one telephone calls with community and opinion leaders in their districts, Crone said. The best strategy right now is to expand networks before the end-of-season crunch.Crone said.For candidates in local races - such as county commissions - who rely on more traditional messaging, digital advertising may hold a larger appeal than normal, said Patrick Sebastian, a Majority Strategies consultant.Sebastian's firm has seen an exponential spike in phone use and digital advertising, he said. Voters stuck at home by social distancing practically constitute a captive audience.Still, that doesn't mean voters are in the mood for run-of-the-mill electioneering.Sebastian said.It's a tough line to walk. For now, Catherine Truitt, chancellor of Western Governors University N.C. and candidate for superintendent of public instruction, is sticking to email messaging.Truitt said. K-12 students won't return to traditional classrooms this school year.Meantime, candidates will continue to rely on virtual formats such as tele-town halls and Zoom meetings.Crone said.
Ankara and Abu Dhabi, who find themselves on opposing sides of many Middle East issues, now trade barbs over Libya war.

Diplomatic tensions between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have resurfaced once again after the two sides were engaged in a war of words over the crisis in Libya.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the UAEs Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed its concern over Turkish interference in Libya through the alleged deployment of fighters and smuggling of arms.

The UAE ministry also praised the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, and rejected Turkish military intervention on behalf of Libyas UN-recognised government.

Responding to the criticism, Hami Aksoy, the Turkish foreign ministry spokesman, accused the UAE of pursuing destructive and two-faced policies in the region and called on Abu Dhabi to stop its hostile attitude towards Ankara.

Aksoy said the UAE was backing putschists in Libya  a reference to the LNA  by providing them with arms and mercenaries. He called on the Gulf state to stop funding forces against the international peace, security and stability in places such as Yemen, Syria and the Horn of Africa.

Turkey supports the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and has signed a military cooperation agreement with it to help the fight against Haftars LNA, backed by the UAE and its ally, Saudi Arabia.

Last year, the LNA started a military operation to remove the GNA from capital Tripoli but has not made much progress till now.





Regional rivals

Turkey and the UAE have supported the opposing sides in several continuing and past issues in the Middle East, with the crisis in Libya, the Syrian civil war, the coup in Egypt, and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi being some examples.

Turkey has also accused the UAE of killing civilians and causing a humanitarian crisis in Yemen, intervening in the affairs of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and financially supporting the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Ankaras backing of the Arab Spring rebellions, which began in 2011, angered Saudi Arabia and the UAE who considered the move as a threat to their national stability.

They see it as a zero-sum game, in which there is no way for both sides to win. Sinan Ulgen, Former Diplomat

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In Egypt, Turkey supported the democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi, backed by the Muslim Brotherhood before and during the coup in Egypt.

Ankara also backed the anti-government protests and later the rebel movements against President Basher al-Assad in the Syrian crisis.

The UAE, together with Saudi Arabia, have supported al-Assad in Syria and Egypts Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who overthrew Morsi in 2014 and has been an ally of the two Gulf states since then.

The rivalry between the two sides mainly stems from Turkeys support for Arab Spring uprisings and the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which were viewed as threats by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Sinan Ulgen, former diplomat and chairman of Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) think-tank, told Al Jazeera.

But the problems between the sides have gradually grown through a series of issues of disagreement over the years, he said.

As time passed and issues piled, Turkey and the UAE engaged in a regional power struggle. They see it as a zero-sum game, in which there is no way for both sides to win. If one wins, other one loses.

Gulf crisis

The Gulf crisis has been one of the central issues behind the tensions between Turkey and the UAE.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, along with Egypt, severed political, trade and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism in the region  a charge repeatedly rejected by Doha.

The four Arab countries continue to impose a land, air and sea blockade against Qatar.

Turkey has staunchly supported Qatar in the crisis, enhancing its political, economic and military relations with the Gulf state.

Hours after the blockade was imposed, which included Saudi Arabia closing Qatars only land border, Turkey sent planes full of supplies to avoid a food shortage in the country, which mainly relied on import of essential commodities.

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Ankara also set up a military base in Qatar, deploying thousands of soldiers, to ensure the safety of the country.

Ulgen told Al Jazeera Ankaras stance has been sharp and clear in favour of Qatar during the Gulf crisis.

Turkey has not sought to have a balanced stance between Saudi Arabia-UAE camp and Qatar. It did not try to manage the situation in a way to protect its ties with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, but threw its total weight behind Qatar right away, he said.

Tensions over failed 2016 coup

Separately, Ankara has offered a reward for any information leading to the arrest of Mohammed Dahlan, a former Palestinian Fatah party official currently in exile in the UAE.

Ankara accuses 58-year-old Dahlan of involvement in the failed 2016 coup through the UAEs support and placed him in the most-wanted list late last year.

In an interview with Al Jazeera in October, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had accused the UAE of harbouring a terrorist.

[Dahlan] fled to you because he is an agent of Israel, he said, accusing Abu Dhabi of attempting to remove the PA President Mahmoud Abbas by using Dahlan.

Dahlan was expelled from Fatahs ruling body in 2011 over allegations of plotting to overthrow Abbas and has been living in exile in the UAE since 2012.

On its part, Abu Dhabi has condemned Turkeys operations in northern Syria, calling them moves against the sovereignty of Syria  a criticism rejected by Turkey.

Turkey has carried out three operations in the region in recent years to clear its border of what it calls terrorists and create safe areas to resettle more than three million Syrian refugees it hosts.

Ankara has also promised to leave the land it controls in northern Syria once the crisis is resolved.

A recent report suggested the UAE made many attempts to get al-Assad to break a ceasefire reached between Syria and Turkey through mediation by Russia, the foremost ally of the Damascus government.

According to the report, the UAE offered $3bn in return for the move.





Turkeys different approach

Last month, in a tit-for-tat move, Turkish authorities blocked Saudi and UAE news websites days after Turkeys state network TRT and Anadolu news agency were blocked by Riyadh.

In March, Turkish prosecutors indicted 20 Saudi nationals over Khashoggis killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

200419112800587

Saudi officers killed Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Arabias de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), in what Riyadh called a rogue operation.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the killing was ordered at the highest levels of the Saudi government.

According to Ulgen, there is a difference between Turkeys approach towards the UAE as compared with Saudi Arabia.

There are deeper economic, cultural and political ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia than the UAE. Even after the murder of Khashoggi, Riyadh and Ankara did not sever ties. We can see it also in Saudi Arabias approach to Turkey, which is more careful than the UAEs, he said.

Follow Umut Uras on Twitter: @Um_Uras
The Duchess of Sussex lost an early round in a London court Friday when a judge dismissed part of her lawsuit against the publisher of a British newspaper that put out excerpts of a letter to her estranged father.

Meghan sued Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement last year over a series of articles in the Mail on Sunday that reproduced parts of the letter she wrote in August 2018, several months after the former actress known as Meghan Markle married Britains Prince Harry.

In a ruling on Friday, Judge Mark Warby threw out some of the causes of action argued in her lawsuit, including the claim that the newspaper publisher acted dishonestly by quoting only certain passages of her letter.

Warby also struck the claim that Associated Newspapers deliberately stirred up a dispute between Meghan and her father, Thomas Markle, and had an agenda to publish intrusive or offensive stories about her.

The judge said the allegations should not be part of the case as it proceeds because he found them irrelevant to establishing if the publisher was guilty of the illegal acts cited in the duchess lawsuit: misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

However, Warby said the dismissed claims could be revived at a later stage of the case.

Associated Newspapers denies the allegations.

Meghan has previously said that if she won the case, she would donate any damages she might be awarded an anti-bullying charity.

Her lawyers argue that the hand-written letter in question was a private and intimate message from a daughter to her father, and accuse the newspaper of targeting Meghan with distortive, manipulative, and dishonest tactics.

The duchess rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed, her lawyers said in a statement Friday.

They expressed surprise that the judges ruling suggests that dishonest behavior is not relevant, but added that the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward.

Thomas Markle was scheduled to walk his daughter down the aisle at her and Prince Harrys wedding ceremony in May 2018, but pulled out at the last minute, citing heart problems.

The former television lighting director has given occasional interviews to the media, complaining in December 2018 that hed been ghosted by Meghan after the wedding.

The interviews and Markles relationship with his daughter complicated Meghans entry into the royal family.

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Dr. Gerald Parker is the director of biosecurity and pandemic policy at Texas A&Ms Bush School, and associate director of Global One Health. When we talked with him last month, he outlined what he believed will be the five stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phase 1 was containment: The stage when known cases began to show up, but were not yet spreading in the U.S., Texas or Houston.

Phase 2, mitigation, began as the virus was known to be loose in those places, and extreme measures, such as Harris Countys stay-at-home order, were required to slow its spread, getting the Houston area past the peak of infections and hospitalizations and giving public-health authorities time to gear up for Phase 3: a new, more difficult phase of containment.

Were entering that phase now. As of Friday, May 1, Gov. Greg Abbott is loosening restrictions all across Texas  for instance, by allowing the restaurants, movie theaters and malls to operate at 25 percent capacity.

On Wednesday, April 29, I talked with Parker about this new, second round of containment  the phase in which we try to restart our economy and learn to live with the virus.

There's a lot of concern across Texas about lifting the shelter-in-place orders and entering what you've called Phase Three of the pandemic, the new round of containment. You've said that it's harder to open back up than it was to shut down. Why is that?

For a number of reasons. There's a lot of concern across the state and across the nation. On one hand, there's fear. There's worry about the seriousness of the SARS-COVID-2 virus, and people are not sure we're ready yet.

But on the other hand, there are those that want to flip the switch and reopen our economy  our businesses and our industry  as though we're returning to the normal that we knew before the COVID virus.

In reality, we are going to have to slowly converge into a new normal. We're going to have to also assuage some of the fears and the concerns as we move forward. We're going to have to mitigate risk as best we possibly can from the virus.

But we also have to recognize that continuing to shelter in place is not sustainable. The economic impacts of continuing to shelter in place are taking a toll on public health, mental health and other medical conditions.

So it's not a question of either/or. We have to learn how to live with the virus. That's why it is essential to begin to reopen our economy in a safe, measured way, phased in a responsible manner.

Is Texas at the point where it's safe to reopen the economy?

I think we are at the precipice now of being able to safely reopen.

Some prerequisites have been stated in several of the roadmaps. They include that we are on a downward trend of disease severity. There are several measures of that downward trend. That could be anything from new cases on a daily basis, to decreased hospitalization, to decreased ICU admissions.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas reports most deaths in a day just hours before stay-at-home lifted

In many communities in Texas, the data shows that we are on a downward trend of seeing a decrease in the number of new cases, or at least a decrease in the ratio of positive tests over total tests that are being run on a daily basis. Thats not for all communities; some communities are on an upward trend. But for the state as a whole, we are on the downward trend.

As for things that we have to have in place as we begin to move forward and reopen our economy, we have to have testing capacity. We have to have the ability to do contact tracing. We have to have protocols in place to isolate new cases, treat those new cases, and do the contact tracing they generate. Our healthcare systems have got to have the capacity to deal with new cases and treat effectively those who get severe disease.

All those prerequisites have to be in place. I think we're making very good progress.

But we may not be ahead of the curve on all those things. In the last couple of weeks we have rapidly expanded testing. We have the capacity now to do 20,000 tests per day, and we continue to expand that capacity. And importantly,we are increasing our network to do that testing and provide results in a more timely manner. But we're not where we need to be yet.

We are also planning to hire workforce needed to do contact tracing. The plan calls for rapidly bringing on board up to 4,000 people to support contact tracing, and that's also going to be supported by people deployed by the CDC to help in training and guidance.

We've really been in good shape with our hospital capacity. We've been able to maintain our hospital operation, and we have plans in place in case we need to surge.

So we're making good progress. I believe that we are on the precipice of, if not already meeting, those prerequisites across Texas.

Should we expect to see resurgence of the disease? to see the numbers climb again?

We must anticipate that we will see new cases. Thats only natural. As we begin to relax some of our shelter-in-place requirements, and as we have more human activity in our communities, we should expect to see an increase in cases.

We're also going to see an increase in cases as we increase testing. So it's going to be important to be able to differentiate, both at the community level and at the state level, the difference between a spike  a dangerous level of new cases  versus an increase due to increased testing.

Our job is to manage the curve now. We flattened it by staying home. Now we have to manage it  have to make sure that we can avoid a dangerous spike in new cases.

I hope we dont see a dangerous new spike in new cases, but we should expect it. We should watch for it. We should be ready. It should not be a surprise.

If we see a spike, I assume that would trigger a new stay-home order or something similar. What sorts of triggers should we be watching for?

Each community is going to have to develop triggers independently of guidance that's coming from the state -- triggers appropriate for the level of risk in their community.

Some triggers are going to be straightforward, like the things I just spoke about  say, an increase in new cases. But even then we're going to have to predetermine each communitys needs to say what would signify a spike in new cases  what the threshold is for a spike, and not just an expected increase because we're testing more.

A better trigger as we move forward  particularly with enhanced testing  is going to be that ratio of positive tests over the total number of tests each day. Each community needs to establish a threshold that they're comfortable with, calibrated with their hospitals and ICUs abilities to handle patients, and their ability to transfer patients to other communities.

Other triggers would include hospital admissions, and also fatalities, but we have to recognize that hospital admissions and fatalities are lagging indicators. After a person is infected, it may be seven to 10 days before they get sick enough and require hospitalization, and they might not die until three weeks to a month after an infection.

With lagging indicators, we may not know how were doing until we're about a month into the reopening.

That means its important that we not wait for those lagging indicators. We need close monitoring by local public health. State public health is going to be essential.

We've talked about the public health army that Texas and the United States need. What sorts of people will we need to add, and how many, roughly? Do you have a sense of that?

The current plan is to try to ramp up, relatively quickly, to 4,000 people to do contact tracing in Texas. For the whole U.S., there are estimates that we're talking about 100,000 people.

Qualifications to do contact tracing are going to include interview skills  to be able to interact with people well and also securely handle personal information. We'll need to equip our contact tracers with technology so information can be acquired and handled in a very secure way and managed at the state level. And scientific writing will be an important skill set.

ON RENEWHOUSTON.COM: Coronavirus or not, these new doctors are matched and ready to work

Were looking at harnessing the capacities of our health science centers at the universities across Texas  colleges of medicine, public health colleges, nursing schools. And there may be other disciplines with the right skill sets, like sociology, people who are adept at interviewing, at sitting down with people and talking about what's happening in their life.

Could you walk me through what one of those contract-tracing interviews would look like? Would a contact tracer be working by phone? Would they call someone who has been diagnosed?

Ideally, it's a face-to-face conversation, so you can get as much information as you can. When there's a positive case, then we need to identify, with some degree of confidence and certainty, all the people they may have interacted with during the time period they could have been shedding virus.

That could be a lot of people. And sometimes it's hard to remember who we came in contact with over the last 10 days.

And then its, where are those people now? And how are you going to locate them? And those contacts also had contacts with other people.

This will become a big data problem really quick. There may be too many people to interview in person, but its going to require that personal interaction.

Back in 2007, you were working in the Department of Health and Human Services during the George W. Bush administration. That was when the United States formulated its first pandemic plan. Was the kind of social distancing that we're doing now in that plan? And what about reopening the economy?

I'm glad you asked that question. It was really the worlds first-ever pandemic strategy and implementation plan.

Under the George W. Bush administration, we did envision the need for invoking what's called non-pharmaceutical interventions. When we have an infectious disease, everybody wants to jump right away to the technology solutions: We got to have a vaccine for it, we got to have a treatment for it, we have to have all these other kinds of high-tech solutions.

But in reality, with many infectious diseases, basic public health is critical to controlling disease spread. During that Bush era, we became students of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Philadelphia did not close schools and did not close businesses. St. Louis did. And there was a huge difference in the diseases severity in those two communities. That shaped our thinking.

Its interesting, in our community mitigation, strategy and guidance document, which was released in 2007, we did not envision wholesale closing of non-essential businesses. But as were moving now to reopening, we're actually going to be applying many of the community mitigation (guidelines) that are in that document.

Social distancing is not going to go away. What we are doing is relaxing and relieving the most draconian other measures.

What explains the difference between New York's rate of infection and Texas? Why are we in such better shape?

Aggressive social distancing, implemented on a timely basis, can be important. For instance, in New York City, they implemented mandatory shelter in place on March 22, when they already had over 15,000 cases in the city. Today, they have almost 300,000 cases and 17,000 deaths in New York City.

Now compare that to Texas. We waited until April 2 before we implemented a mandatory shelter in place order. But the important data point is that we did so when the state had almost 4,800 cases  far fewer than New York Citys 15,000.

And thatd be an even bigger difference per capita?

Correct.

Texas fatalities stands around 690 today, and our case count is over 26,000. So its a big difference.

Another thing I think played a part is that New York City has a higher population density. In Texas  even in denser places like Houston  were more spread out.

What else is on your mind these days?

I think that as we reopen Texas, we have to recognize that we all have responsibilities. It's going to be absolutely essential that we continue to wash our hands and avoid touching our face. I think facial coverings are going to become more the norm for awhile, because we know now know that asymptomatic spread is a real phenomenon.

We're going to have to build confidence as we move forward safely. So as we reopen our businesses, theyre going to have to be very careful to make sure that their safety measures are earning customers confidence.

I do believe the Texas plan is a measured and a responsible way to move forward. There's no option: We have to learn how to live with the virus.

We also have to have a frank conversation about the risks. We don't need happy talk. We need frank conversation about the risk.

Maybe we cannot eliminate the risk of SARS-COVID-2, but we can mitigate the risk and try to make it as safe as possible to move forward.

We all have a responsibility. Our business viability depends on that  and actually, our lives depend on it, too.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

lisa.gray@chron.com, LisaGray_HouTX
DGAP-News: Logwin AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement



The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Overall economic conditions

Grevenmacher (Luxembourg) - The development of the global economy in the first quarter of 2020 is characterized by the economic impact of the corona pandemic and the measures to counteract it. Leading economic research institutes now expect a global recession, the extent of which will depend on the duration of the corona pandemic and the associated economic restrictions. The disruption to world trade caused by the corona pandemic and the effects of the measures taken to counteract the pandemic, particularly on stationary retail and industrial production, will have a significant impact on the logistics markets relevant to Logwin.

Net assets, financial situation and earnings position Revenues In the first three months of 2020 the revenues of the Logwin Group decreased by 4.5 % to EUR 270.8 million (2019: EUR 283.5 million). The Air + Ocean business segment generated sales of EUR 180.5 million which fell short of the previous year by EUR 6.6 million mainly due to slightly declining volumes in ocean and air freight. At EUR 90.4 million, sales of the business segment Solutions were below the previous year's figure of EUR 96.4 million, due to the effects of the corona pandemic on network activities for the retail business and other terminations of customer business.

EBITA The Logwin Group achieved an operating result of EUR 9.4 million in the first three months of 2020 (2019: EUR 12.1 million). The Air + Ocean business segment fell short of the previous year's level due to declining volumes in ocean freight and air freight and due to a decrease in margins. The effects of the corona pandemic initially had a considerable negative impact on the Logwin Group's Asian activities in the course of the first quarter of 2020. The occurrence of the economic recovery in Asia was superseded by the serious negative impact of the corona pandemic at the end of the reporting quarter, particularly in the ocean freight also in Europe and the rest of the world. Special activities and demand, particularly from European customers in air freight, had a counteracting positive effect on the development of operating result in the Air + Ocean business segment. The Solutions business segment also was already affected at various locations by the Europe-wide public measures to combat the corona pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. Due to a one-off effect in connection with the sale of a site in Germany, the operating result was nevertheless higher than in the previous year.

Net result The net result of the Logwin Group amounted to EUR 6.1 million in the first three months of 2020 (2019: EUR 8.7 million).

Free cash flow The Logwin Group's free cash flow was below the comparable figure for the first quarter of 2019 as a result of a negative development of working capital and the declining operating result after the first three months of 2020. The overall financial situation and liquidity of the Logwin Group remains stable.

Risks and change in forecast Compared to the disclosures in the annual financial report 2019, the risk situation for the Logwin Group has changed significantly due to the global impact of the corona pandemic on economic activity. A negative impact on the net assets, financial situation and earnings position of the Logwin Group is considered likely. National and international transport activities and contract logistics are affected in many ways by the measures taken to combat the pandemic. In addition, the generally gloomy economic development has led to increased procurement and sales risks as well as an increased financial risk assessment. As part of its consistent risk management, Logwin identifies emerging risks at an early stage and consistently pursues their minimization. Please refer to the Annual Financial Report 2019 with regards to other existing and potential risks.

In comparison with the information provided in the Annual Financial Report 2019 the Logwin Group is adjusting its forecast for its earnings position in 2020 due to the global impact of the corona pandemic. In view of the risks that now have to be taken into account worldwide, in particular also due to the duration and only gradual reduction in public measures to contain the corona pandemic, the Logwin Group now expects operating earnings (EBITA) to significantly decrease compared to the previous year. Both the Air + Ocean and the Solutions business segments are affected by the reassessment of EBITA development. Until now, the Logwin Group had expected a significant increase in operating earnings in the Solutions business segment and a decline in operating earnings (EBITA) in the Air + Ocean business segment compared with the previous year. Accordingly the net result for the period will also show a significant decline. The forecast uncertainty has increased significantly compared with previous statements on the development of the Logwin Group.

The aforementioned key performance indicators (KPIs) are an integral part of Logwin Group's system of key figures and are described and defined in the section "Financial Performance Management" of the management report of the annual financial report 2019 in line with the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures (APM) dated 5 October 2015.

The Quarterly statement as of 31 March 2020 of Logwin Group is available on the internet at:

www.logwin-logistics.com



About Logwin AG Logwin AG (Grevenmacher, Luxembourg) provides efficient logistics and transport solutions for its customers from industry and trade. In 2019, the group generated sales of EUR 1.1bn and currently employs about 4,300 staff. Logwin operates in all main markets worldwide and has around 190 locations on six continents. With its two business segments Solutions and Air + Ocean, Logwin AG is one of the leaders in the market.

Logwin AG is listed in the Prime Standard of the Deutsche Borse. The majority shareholder is DELTON Logistics S.a r.l., Grevenmacher (Luxembourg).

Contact: www.logwin-logistics.com

Sebastian Esser

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: +352 719690-1112

sebastian.esser@logwin-logistics.com Additional features:



Document: https://eqs-cockpit.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=MRMHOOEHCO

Document title: Q1_2020_Quarterly_statement



30.04.2020 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de


The Islamic Republic of Iran held parliamentary elections a couple of months ago, and the second round will be held on 11 September 2020. While the Iranian regime desperate to secure a smooth election in the fall, like the legislature one in Egypt schedule for this November, Muslim states that hold elections, it would seem that Islam has incorporated a democratic body politic. This is a definitely a ploy of the mainstream media and Islamists, such as House Representative Ilhan Omar and the Islamic feminist Linda Sarsour. After all, Muslims sustain it was, in fact, the Prophet Mohammed who established the first known [democratic] constitution in the worldthe Medina Charterand that his life and the principles [were] outlined in his constitution.

They maintain that the Medina Charter, traditionally delineated by the Prophet Muhammad in 622 A.D., was the first ever constitution to historically establish certain democratic principles and peace among nations. Far be it to challenge that it brought political harmony with the non-believers, let alone fostering human rights as the precursor to democracy, for historically, as soon as Muhammad had the upper-hand with the tribes and nomadic peoples he negotiated with, he reneged on his promises.

It must first be pointed out that the Medina Charter was more of an agreement among tribal groups that singled out certain individual privileges and duties among them, as well as the limitations placed on non-Muslims.

A constitution, instead, is the fundamental and organic law of a nation or state that establishes the institutions and apparatus of government, whereby the scope of governmental power is defined, in addition to guaranteeing individual civil rights, as our U.S. Bill of Rightssomething the Charter of Medina did not. That being said, a constitution presupposes democracy, something that is completely absent in a state that relies on sharia law.

The concept of an Islamic constitutional tradition is complex in light of orthodox Islamic understandings of the utter sovereignty and agency of Allah over the entire world, governments and governed alike. In any case, as the 20th-century Arab scholar Robert Bertram Serjeant explained, the Charter as a constitution is pretentious, especially since there is doubt among scholars as to whether it was written as a unitary document. There is also question as to its historicityI being one of themsince only fragments from early Islamic sources survive; most of it can be found in Ibn Ishaqs Sirat Rasul Allah, the first biography of Muhammad two hundred years after his death.

Humoring the argument that the Charter is a constitution, two technical points are to be looked at, which would disclaim this. The first is the Medinan period, in which the Charter was apparently written, occurred after Muhammad and a handful of followers were forced to leave Mecca since he was incapable of converting his fellow Meccans to his teachings. Having heard of his gift of prophecy, he was invited to Medina to act as a judge to mediate disputes between the various clans and clan chiefs. In Western terms, Muhammad was primus inter pares (first amongst equals) and the intent of the invitation did not include changing the status quo of power relationships within Medina beyond recognizing him as a prophet able to give rulings on behalf of God.

The second point would to be looked at as that Ibn Ishaq relates: The apostle wrote a document concerning the emigrants and the helpers in which he made a friendly agreement with the Jews and established them in their religion and their property, and stated the reciprocal obligations.

This seems an odd introduction for something that is often referred to as a type of constitution. In the first place, it only mentions an agreement between the emigrants and the helpers and the Jews, rather than with the people of Medina, as one might expect. It clearly delineates a separate identity between the Muslims and the Jews rather than a unified populace. What one may assume is that this served the purposes of Ishaqs narrative in explaining the eventual falling out between Muhammad and the Jews, an assumption bolstered by the fact that Muhammad himself went on to contradict this division when he asserted that various groups of Jews are one community with the believers.

President Bush, during his speech on the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy stated: It should be clear to all that Islamthe faith of one-fifth of humanityis consistent with democratic rule. More than half of all the Muslims in the world live in freedom under democratically constituted governments. This could not have been any farther from the truth.

As I explain in my book Islam: Religion of Peace? - The Violation of Natural Rights and Western Cover-Up, an Islamic country cannot separate itself from its religion since such unity is anthropologically based on the shariathe daily guide for Muslims forged from the Quran and the hadithswhich negates any sort of equity or social development within the socio-political field. The problem between the unity of Islamic religion and the state, as has been historically shown, is the sharias refusal to allow any sort of equity or social development within the political field.

Democracy, from our Western perception, prevents government from making laws which prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peacefully assemble, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. Even those states that have adopted a democratic structure of government, such as Iraq, while having a Constitution that stipulates: No law may be enacted that contradicts the principles of democracy, within the same article (Art. 2, A), it states, Islam is the official religion of the State and is a foundation source of legislation. No law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam. In like-minded countries, such as Egypt and the Kingdom of Morocco, there are still draconian laws, like the death penalty for apostasy or the suppression of the right to speak and press, which is not unlike those of the Iran or Saudi Arabia where sharia law is the norm.

In Islam, society is ordained to be passive and socially underdeveloped because the sharia-based tenets, whether officially incorporated within a constitution or not, prevails. It therefore automatically discourages people from thinking and deliberating in rational terms. Not to mention, neither the rulers nor the ruled can reason beyond their divine legislation. Man cannot exercise his free will and therefore becomes a functionary individual. Democracy in the Islamic world, therefore, becomes nothing more than a facade for oligarchic rule: the umma, i.e., the elite of society who keeps the poor and underdeveloped marginalized. So much for the democracy the Prophet of Islam instituted.
A social media influencer who faced major backlash after she and her family fled New York City for the midwest during the coronavirus pandemic may now be missing out on the sponsorship deals that pay the bills.

Naomi Davis, who is known as Taza on Instagram and her parenting blog, revealed on Instagram in March that she, her husband, and their five children left Manhattan in an RV on March 27  just a day before the CDC asked New York residents not to travel.

Since then, the 33-year-old  whose income includes payments from lucrative social media sponsorships  has only posted one ad on Instagram, and had to quickly take it down when it was flooded with critical comments from those who are still angry that she flouted anti-travel recommendations and possibly put others in danger.

Whoops! Influencer Naomi Davis  who came under fire after she fled NYC with her family for the midwest  may now be losing sponsorship deals

Her rules: The 33-year-old went to Arizona with her husband and kids despite recommendations that New Yorkers not travel

Naomi faced the first wave of backlash in late March when she told followers that her family was headed out of New York, eventually landing in Arizona.

Though they got their travel in just under the wire before the CDC asked New York residents not to leave, experts had been suggesting staying put for weeks before that, warning that residents of coronavirus hotspots could bring the virus elsewhere if they traveled.

Commenting on her post, critics chided her for putting others at risk, calling her post 'insane,' 'reckless,' 'wrong,' 'terrible,' 'dangerous,' 'foolhardy,' and 'the stupidest thing I've read today.'

Naomi defended herself  but then went quite on Instagram for a week before she started posting pictures again, and then only sparingly.

Finally, earlier this week, BuzzFeed reports that Naomi posted a new ad for the vitamin startup Ritual.

Though the image  which showed her balancing vitamins on her head  and the caption were back to business-as-usual, commenters were not ready to let her move on from her cross-country trip, and flooded the post with negative remarks.

Won't live it down: She recently shared a sponsored post for vitamin company Ritual  which led to a slew of critical comments

Never mind! As criticism poured in, Naomi deleted the post, and Ritual confirmed that the partnership is over

'Glad youre violating CDC regulations and endangering other peoples lives just so you can travel across the country when you lifestyle isnt *aesthetic* anymore,' wrote one.

Negative remarks appeared on Ritual's own Instagram account, too.

'So disappointed in any brand partnering with the unbelievably selfish influencer Taza. Will definitely not be purchasing now despite being interested before!' wrote one.

'I guess this brand wanted to go down in flames with Taza dumpster fire,' wrote another, and a third said: 'If you truly cared about health, you would not have partnered with @taza,.'

The criticism grew so loud that, just hours after posting it, Naomi deleted the ad. Ritual also responded, saying that they 'mutually decided to take down her post and story.'

BuzzFeed reports that the sponsorship deal was made in March, before the incident  so it's unclear if the negative reaction will hinder Naomi's ability to book sponsored posts int he future.

Rules don't apply! The influencer left New York City in an RV in March with her husband and five kids  despite warnings to New Yorkers to stay in place

But they were struggling! Naomi said they were heading out west for 'everyones physical health, for my headspace... and for our kids own mental health'

Naomi's trouble started at the end of March, when sge shared a photo of her family of seven loading into an RV outside their spacious Upper West Side home.

'My heart is breaking for what is happening in New York, where I live, and around the world right now,' she wrote.

'And after two full weeks in the apartment, we made the family decision to drive out west so we can have a little more space (namely some outdoor space for the kids) for a little while.

'While weve been diligent about self-quarantining and social distancing in New York City, we want to make sure we still stay away from others during our trip (even though no one in our family has had any symptoms, you could always be asymptomatic). For this reason, we decided to rent an RV in order to avoid hotels and people and just eat and sleep in the RV on the way.

'Hopefully a little change of apartment scenery will be just what we need  for everyones physical health, for my headspace which is spiraling lately  and for our kids own mental health.

'This situation is serious everywhere and I am sending my love and prayers to you wherever you are,' she said.

Safety first? She wrote that they were 'diligent about self-quarantining' before leaving

Not OK! Her post has been met with lots of backlash from critics calling her 'reckless,' 'wrong,' 'terrible,' 'dangerous,' and 'foolhardy'

The photo earned over 29,000 likes, and lots of fans sent well-wishes. But others were disappointed that, two-week-quarantine or not, they're leaving a coronavirus hotspot for another place that's been less affected.

'While I recognize the importance of supporting one another during times such as this one, your decision to leave literally THE largest hotspot in the United States is putting many other people at risk,' one commenter chided.

'If everyone makes the decision to leave New York City, other states' healthcare systems are quickly going to be overburdened by the number of cases, just as New York's is now. Weve been told to avoid unnecessary travel for a reason.'

Another wrote: 'This is insane! You are potentially spreading this virus to other areas. This is exactly why it is taking over. People need to stay put! Your mental well-being doesnt trump peoples lives!'

'Uhhhh this is doing exactly what they have asked people not to do, for the safety and health of rural areas without adequate healthcare infrastructure,' wrote a third.

Not the point: Naomi said that they quarantined in their Upper West Side apartment for two full weeks before leaving

The square footage of this thing! The family has an incredibly spacious home by New York City standards

Space: There are multiple common rooms for Naomi, her husband, and her kids to spread out

Popular: Naomi has nearly half a million followers and a parenting blog

'So if youre wealthy its okay to ignore your state's rules and regulations and put smaller towns and communities at risk as you travel through them since as you stated you may be a-symptomatic?' asked yet another.

'Im so scared that this decision will influence your followers to do the same,' one more commenter wrote, while another commented: 'This is not what self isolation should look like.'

'Shame on you, endangering others like this,' chastised another.

More comments have poured in, calling the post 'reckless,' 'wrong,' 'terrible,' 'dangerous,' 'foolhardy,' and 'the stupidest thing I've read today.'

Some have also pointed out that Naomi and her family are much more privileged than most New Yorkers, and appear to have much more space in their apartment than others.

Several health experts have also weighed in, warning other New Yorkers not to make individual judgment calls on whether or not to travel but to just follow the rules.

'My heart is breaking for what is happening in New York, where I live, and around the world right now,' she wrote

Spreading out: She said they made the trip for mental health reasons, though the family's home is much bigger than most New York City apartments

Wealthy: Prior to the pandemic, the family took frequent international trips together

Answering criticism: Naomi has since responded to the backlash with a message on her Instagram Stories

'On its face, if everyone gets to decide what is safe, then we will just have chaos, Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, told BuzzFeed.

Gostin also pointed out that even if Naomi's family isn't staying at hotels or flying, they'll still have to stop for gas and food, potentially exposing others to the virus along their route.

'The only place you can literally separate yourself from society at home,' he said. 'If you're not doing essential travel, then the only ethically responsible thing to do is shelter in place.'

Naomi later responded to the backlash with a message on her Instagram Stories.

'I know that our decision upset some of you and it is understandable,' she wrote, adding that they intend to stay where they are for at least a few weeks.

'I know that our decision upset some of you and it is understandable,' she wrote, defending the move by saying they did it before the CDC's travel advisory

Naomi, her husband Josh, and their kids 'will not be going out, not to stores, or parks, or even around the block'

'Before we left last Friday, a full day before the CDC's travel advisory came out, we tried hard to come up with a good plan to take our family out of the city in a way that would minimize our interactions with people, places, and things,' she said.

Though the CDC's travel advisory was, in fact, issued the next day, experts and government officials have been warning people not to travel and to leave home as little as possible for weeks  so the advice to remain in New York was hardly new.

She said they packed food and supplies into the RV and intended to eat, sleep, and spend all their time in the vehicle.

'Even before leaving we carefully and fully observed the recommendations to New Yorkers for social distancing and practicing good hygiene,' she went on, stressing that they understand the seriousness of the pandemic.

'During our next phase of quarantine, I want you to know that we will not be going out, not to stores, or parks, or even around the block.'
South Africa: Companies called to observe COVID-19 regulations

Parliaments Presiding Officers have called on companies to ensure that workers are protected and strictly observe COVID-19 regulations as well as all labour laws.

All efforts must be made to ensure conducive environments which are safe and hygienic for the workers, Presiding Officers, Thandi Modise and Amos Masondo said.

This call was made as certain sectors of the countrys economy opens and various categories of workers are set to return to workplaces today, following weeks of complete lockdown, to slow down the rate of COVID-19 infections.

The Presiding Officers said the COVID-19 impact on workers in South Africa, in the continent and across the world, is one of the most devastating health and socio-economic crisis the world of work has ever experienced.

The aftermath of this virus will be hurtful to the poor and the working class, particularly the low-wage workers, amongst others. In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic has more graphically highlighted the depth of the triple challenges facing our nation - inequality, poverty and unemployment.

The global crisis has thus made it imperative and urgent to confront with these challenges, more sharply than ever before, as an integral part of fighting the pandemic, the Presiding officers said.

Human solidarity and unity will be required to defeat the resultant sociopath-economic challenges that will remain after the pandemic.

South African working class has consistently affirmed the principle that workplace struggles cannot be separated from broader societal developmental efforts. The unity of the workers and the working class during this time is more paramount than ever, as historically affirmed by the famous rallying cry, workers of the world unite.

The Presiding Officers also commended government for its bold and necessary intervention, in the form of the R500 billion set aside for injection into the economy, to assist with cushioning the enormous socio-economic effects of COVID-19.

This includes relief for people who have been hit hard by the virus, the unemployed and companies.

Tribute to labour force

Modise and Masondo paid tribute to all the workers, as the country observes the 2020 International Workers Day.

On this day, they said their solidarity is with all the workers as they toil under the precarious COVID-19 conditions, both remotely behind the gates of their residences and formal physical workplaces.

A special tribute was also paid to essential workers who are at the forefront of the national battle against the spread of COVID-19. These include health care practitioners, law enforcement officers, retail workers, community workers, scientists and the military.

Theirs is commendable passion driven patriotism, selflessness and love for humanity demonstrated. We are convinced that as a united front, victory against COVID-19 is certain. We owe it to our forebears who fought hard and protracted battles in South Africa and across the world for workers' rights and social justice over the past centuries.

We also owe it to future generations of workers to conquer this health and economic crisis with minimum negative impact on our nation and families, Modise and Masondo said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Houston, United States  Fri, May 1, 2020 12:03 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd55de6d 2 Entertainment Megan-Thee-Stallion,Beyonce,remix,music,united-states,coronavirus,COVID-19,charity,collaboration Free

Pop royalty Beyonce has teamed up with rap star Megan Thee Stallion to release a remixed version of the latter's hit "Savage", with the proceeds benefiting a disaster relief organization in Houston providing meals during the coronavirus pandemic.

The two superstar natives of the Texas metropolis dropped the track to much fanfare on social media, as people desperate for contact remain home-bound to halt the infection's spread.

"listening to beyonce rap again is the closest thing to human touch i've felt in 8 weeks," tweeted Aaron Edwards, co-host of the traveling show Pop-Up Magazine.

listening to beyonce rap again is the closest thing to human touch ive felt in 8 weeks  Aaron Edwards (@aaronmedwards) April 29, 2020

Megan Thee Stallion originally released "Savage" in March on her EP Suga, with the song quickly going viral on TikTok thanks to an accompanying dance challenge.

"Hips tik tok when I dance," raps Beyonce in the new remix. "Left cheek, right cheek, drop it low and let it swang."

The megastar also teased admirers by name-checking the platform OnlyFans with a loose suggestion she might start an account.

OnlyFans launched in 2016 as a hub for influencers and celebrities to charge a subscription fee for photos and videos, but it's more commonly known as a hotspot for adult and pornographic content.

Houston's Mayor Sylvester Turner said in honor of the artists' contributions to battle coronavirus the city would soon honor them with "their own respective days".

Beyonce had already donated six million dollars through her foundation to community organizations and mental health support in the hard-hit cities of Houston, New York, New Orleans and Detroit.

And in early April, Megan Thee Stallion announced a partnership with Amazon Music to donate tablets to nursing home residents in Houston.

"I'm literally crying being from HOUSTON ** TEXAS this sh*t means EVERYTHING to me !!!!" wrote Megan Thee Stallion of her collaboration with Queen Bey.

https://t.co/ugaFeYTxed Im fucking crying rn HOUSTON WE ON  SAVAGE REMIX FT THE MF QUEEN @Beyonce OUT NOW pic.twitter.com/QOQa6CiKmd  HOT GIRL MEG (@theestallion) April 29, 2020

[RA::Long snubbed, women of rap break old molds and claim their due::https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/02/04/long-snubbed-women-of-rap-break-old-molds-and-claim-their-due.html

"Hotties we up"

Last summer the rapper soared to fame after releasing her album Fever and declaring the 2019 season "hot girl summer", a phrase that became a trending meme and that Megan Thee Stallion later turned into a song featuring Nicki Minaj.

Though she promised "we abt to have a SAVAGE SUMMER" in 2020, some twitter users feared confinement would dampen the prospect.

"rude for bey and meg to drop a song of the summer when we're not even gonna have a summer," tweeted journalist Jazmine Hughes.

rude for bey and meg to drop a song of the summer when we're not even gonna have a summer   Jazmine Hughes (@jazzedloon) April 29, 2020
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Some 47 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Kazakhstan as of 13:00 (GMT +6) on May 1, 2020, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Ministry of Healthcare.

The total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 3,551 cases. This includes 879 people who recovered from the coronavirus, and 25 patients who passed away.

Distribution of overall coronavirus cases in Kazakhstans region is as follows:

Total infected Total recovered Total deaths Nur-Sultan city 650 239 3 Almaty city 1 140 117 8 Shymkent city 201 36 4 Akmola region 99 72 4 Aktobe region 109 13 Almaty region 142 14 Atyrau region 140 64 East Kazakhstan region 23 7 1 Zhambyl region 136 46 West Kazakhstan region 152 9 Karaganda region 151 63 1 Kostanay region 50 3 1 Kyzylorda region 204 118 Manystau region 55 9 1 Pavlodar region 142 5 1 North Kazakhstan region 30 25 Turkestan region 127 39 1 TOTAL 3551 879 25

The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.

The outbreak of the coronavirus began in the Chinese city of Wuhan (an international transport hub), at a fish market in late December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

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Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
The Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday, asked Nigerians to donate their buildings as isolation centres as Nigeria keeps recording more cases of coronavirus.

He said as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control aimed to test two million people in the next three months more buildings would be needed as isolation centres.

The minister stated, I have appealed to citizens to make their property available temporarily for this purpose. I am sure that after that, there are many property owners who will come up and donate to state governments for a period of time to be used for this function.

We are not out of space now but we are making the appeal ahead of time so that we have these facilities ready.

Ehanire said that he was aware that the hazard allowance of health workers in the frontline of COVID-19 fight was being negotiated, but said that it did not include that of environmental health personnel.

Ehanire stated also that test capacity of the 15 laboratories in Nigeria had reached 2500. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to take advantage of the facilities.
Calls for a rescue package for the aviation industry in Ireland are becoming louder as Ryanair and Aer Lingus look to shed thousands of jobs between them.

The union representing workers in all Irish-based airlines, airports and authorities, Forsa, said the weakened industry could be "unrecognisable" by the end of the year, with regional airports "particularly vulnerable".

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said it could see up to 3,000 jobs losses, mostly pilots and cabin crew, as the airline would take up to three years to recover.

Aer Lingus is also discussing with union representatives up to 900 layoffs, or 20% of its workforce, due to the pandemic.

Aer Lingus said it would issue proposals for a voluntary redundancy scheme, and that it would also seek changes to current arrangements for pay, working time and work practices, but no specifics were outlined, according to union officials.

Forsa said a Government indication that its wage subsidy scheme would remain in place until mid-June was the first step in underpinning the sector, reducing pressure on aviation employers to downsize.

Forsas Angela Kirk said: The unions recognise that the entire aviation industry is facing its biggest crisis in a lifetime, and we will work with aviation employers to ensure the maximum possible protection to jobs, incomes, and an industry that has served the people of Ireland well.

Weve sought that pay arrangements currently in place be extended until June 21 as a minimum.

We pointed out that the wage subsidy scheme was of considerable financial benefit to the company and the extension of the current arrangements until that date is affordable.

Forsa said it expected to engage with Ryanair in the coming days.

The slashing of fares by airlines initially in order to entice passengers back flying, as predicted by Mr O'Leary, will be a double-edged sword, according to Irish tourism bosses.

Chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), Eoghan O'Mara Walsh, said while "headline-grabbing" minimum fares would turn the heads of consumers initially, it would be cancelled out by less competition from smaller airlines going to the wall.

"Less competition from smaller airlines means the bigger ones will have it all to themselves, and that means setting larger fares in the longer-term, which consumers will have to pay to fly. That will cancel out any benefits consumers may initially see," he said.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global passenger traffic results for March showed demand, as measured in total revenue passenger kilometres, plummeted 53% compared to a year ago.

It was the largest decline in recent history, the IATA said. Load factor, which measures the number of seats taken up by passengers, sank more than 21% to just 60%.

"Demand was at the same level it was in 2006 but we have the fleets and employees for double that, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO.
The United States confirmed that a massive cocaine shipment confiscated last weekend off Spain's coast is connected to members of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's regime.

Working on a tip from the Drug Enforcement Agency [DEA] and the Colombian National Police and the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency, Spain's military intercepted the Karar, a vessel that first left Panama and had 4,000 kilos of cocaine loaded on it off Venezuela's coast before sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

The boat, which sailed under the flag of Togo, was headed to the northwest coastal city of Vigo but was intercepted more than 300 miles off the coast of Galicia, an autonomous community in Spain.

On April 25, Spain's military seized a vessel that crossed the Atlantic Ocean with 4.4 tons of cocaine that were loaded off the coast of Venezuela earlier in the month

Intelligence reports gather in December 2019 forced narcotic authorities from the United States, Colombia and the United Kingdom to keep tabs on a Colombian drug trafficking ring that was planning to ship cocaine to the northern Spain coastal city of Vigo

Spain's national police arrests a suspect on April 25 who was allegedly connected to the 4,000-kilo shipment of cocaine that was confiscated on a boat, 600 miles of the coast of Lisboa

'I spoke to the Spanish ambassador this afternoon, and it is true that they seized a ship that left Venezuela [carrying] four tons of drugs off the coast of Europe,' said James Story, director of the Venezuela Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, in an interview with Infobae.

'There are people from Maduro's regime involved.'

The ship's 15 crew members - mostly nationals from Bangladesh and Nepal - were detained as well as 13 other individuals, dealing a huge blow to a drug trafficking network in Galicia reportedly headed by Juan Carlos Santorum, who evaded capture during last Saturday's 'Operation Donkey' raid.

Authorities also confiscated several motorcycles and speedboats from warehouses operated by the group along northern Portugal and the Galicia city of Pontevedra.

Authorities in Spain check packs of cocaine after 4,000 tons were loaded off a boat in the port of Vigo on April 28

Police in Spain investigate the Karar vessel that was transporting 4.4 tons of cocaine that were loaded on to it off the coast of Venezuela in early April

Spain detained 15 crew members from the Karar, a vessel that departed Panama early in April and stopped off Venezuela's coast where 4,000 kilos of cocaine were loaded

According to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the shipment was backed by a drug trafficking group from Colombia.

Intelligence shared by narcotic agencies from Spain, Colombia the DEA discovered that the shipment had been in the works since December 2019.

Colombian authorities have been actively investigating the whereabouts of those involved with the network.

The United States government has been seeking to arrest Maduro and other members of his regime for helping Colombian drug smuggling organizations and the FARC rebel group ship at least 250 tons of cocaine to the U.S. for almost two decades.

The U.S. has also offered a $15million bounty for Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro in a March indictment. The Justice Department accused him and current and former members of his regime of aiding Colombian drug traffickers and the FARC rebel group in shipping at least 250 tons of cocaine to the U.S. during a period of almost two decades

Authorities confiscate a speedboat from a warehouse operated by a drug trafficking ring based out of the Galicia, an autonomous community in northern Spain

The sub-delegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Maica Larriba (third from right), General Commissioner of the Judicial Police, Eloy Quiros (second from right) and the Regional Head of Customs of the Tax Agency in Galicia, Jaime Gaya (right), during a press conference Tuesday to reveal the 4.4 tons of cocaine that were seized April 25

The U.S. has also offered a $15million bounty for Maduro in a March indictment.

Additional rewards of $10million are also being offered for information leading to the arrest of Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly; Hugo Carvajal, former Director of Military Intelligence; and Tareck El Aissmai, former Vice President and the current Minister of Industries and National Production.

Former Venezuelan general Cliver Alcala, who was also named in the indictment, turned himself in.

The indictment alleged that Alcala and top officials received bribes from the FARC in exchange for safe passage for cocaine shipments sent through Venezuela.

'The Venezuelan regime, once led by Nicolas Maduro Moros, remains plagued by criminality and corruption,' said Attorney General Bill Barr. 'For more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high-ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities.'

Around 2008, at a meeting with Cabello and Carvajal, it was decided Alcala would coordinate drug-trafficking with the FARC, according to the indictment.

Spain's military seized 4,000 kilos of cocaine April 25 that had been shipped from Venezuela on a vessel
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Car thieves from Brooklyn and the Bronx consider Staten Island an easy target, and theyre traveling by any means necessary to get here.

Every time we catch someone, another two show up, a Staten Island law enforcement source said. This is what were dealing with every night.

A surge in grand larceny auto incidents over the past few weeks on Staten Island has mirrored crime statistics across the city, while most other crimes have fallen drastically amid a citywide shutdown to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Police responded to 20 incidents on Staten Island over a four-week period from March 29 to April 26 after responding to about 40 incidents over the first three months of the year. Last April, police investigated about a dozen incidents.

The NYPD has seen a 31% percent uptick in the five boroughs so far this year compared to the same period in 2019, as well as a recent surge of incidents.

According to a written statement from the NYPD, about half of the vehicles reported stolen so far this year have been recovered by police.

JOY RIDES, 7-ELEVEN SHOPPING SPREES

Sources say larceny suspects who reside outside Staten Island travel by train, bus and ferry in search of unlocked vehicles and potentially valuable possessions inside of them.

Typically, the suspects are teenagers and young adults traveling in groups, looking to jump in an unlocked vehicle and take it for a spin across New York City, police sources said.

In some cases, the license plate is flagged the next night crossing over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge back into Staten Island, where suspects use stolen vehicles to target other cars on the East and South shores.

Other times, the vehicle is tracked to a neighborhood in Brooklyn, where it has been dumped.

Items stolen from vehicles in recent months have included cash, cell phones, laptops and credit cards.

Theyll use a credit card to spend like $20 at 7-Eleven for a few sodas," one source said.

Some law enforcement experts have speculated the recent surge in stolen cars could be due in part to the citywide shutdown, leaving some suspects with less to do and more vehicles parked in driveways for extended periods of time.

There have been instances where individuals have targeted areas where cars appear to not be used," an NYPD spokeswoman said Thursday.

IT FEELS LIKE WERE GETTING LAUGHED AT

Earlier this month, three NYPD officers were congratulated by top brass for arrests involving a report of a stolen vehicle on the South Shore and several car break-ins.

On back-to-back overnight shifts, these @NYPD122Pct cops made arrests for stolen vehicles. In one incident, 3 individuals were witnessed by a local resident stealing a neighbors car & were also linked to numerous car break-ins in the area.



Great work by all. pic.twitter.com/PE9OpvnoL7  Chief Fausto Pichardo (@NYPDChiefPatrol) April 4, 2020

But despite several vehicle recoveries and arrests, often the same defendants are spotted by police carrying out another vehicle-related theft days or, in some cases, hours later.

In January, a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, man was arrested and released three times in three weeks for allegedly stealing items from parked vehicles on Staten Island.

Evgeny Belov, 21, faces charges including petit larceny and unauthorized use of a vehicle; he is due in Richmond County Criminal Court on July 29, records show.

Leadership within the NYPD has pinned repeat offenders in part on bail reform laws, which now prohibit pretrial detention for most misdemeanors and some nonviolent felonies.

Last year, we were locking them up and putting them away," an officer on Staten Island recently told the Advance/SILive.com. This year, it feels like were getting laughed at."

Defense attorneys with the Legal Aid Society advocated for bail reform, and have stood in opposition to Cuomos recent push to roll it back.

"Building communities  investing in services and resources that address the problems people in jail are facing today  is the perfect next step to end recidivism and keep people from entering the system to begin with."https://t.co/9ijcOViN4U  The Legal Aid Society (@LegalAidNYC) April 28, 2020

A HOT BED

Suspects charged in connection with car thefts and other auto-related larcenies have told arresting officers that Staten Island has become a hot spot for thieves from neighborhoods outside the borough, including East New York and the Bronx, due to the abundance of unlocked cars parked on the street or in driveways.

But there also are Staten Islanders on the North Shore whom police have come to know as repeat offenders, a police source said.

Making things even harder for investigators is the current requirement to wear a face covering in public due to coronavirus, making it nearly impossible for officials to identify suspects captured on surveillance using stolen credit cards at gas stations or restaurants.

GLA TURNED HOMICIDE?

Police are investigating whether one or multiple suspects were inside a stolen SUV involved in a fatal crash Saturday night in Annadale.

The 2018 Lexus allegedly was traveling in the wrong direction when it slammed into a 2012 Ford SUV, killing a 32-year-old female and injuring a 35-year-old male.

Everything happened so fast, and [officers] were just focused on the girl," said a source familiar with investigation. The poor girl was ejected from the car.

The crash and a massive police search that followed sent what typically is a quiet neighborhood into a panic, as multiple neighbors reported seeing a suspect hopping fences to flee the scene.

As of Thursday, that investigation remained ongoing.
New Delhi: Maulana Saad, the Tablighi Jamaat chief, who has been booked for organising a religious congregation at Nizamuddin's Markaz, has responded to the questions asked by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police.

According to Saad's lawyer Advocate Fuzail Ayyubi, they have been responding to questions by the Crime Branch since past several days. He said that the Crime Branch had also sought a few documents, which have been handed over to the officials.

Ayyubi also stated that Maulana Saad has tested negative for COVID-19. "Saad has already joined the probe by responding to the notices of the investigation officer (IO) and we have already written to the IO for fully cooperating in the probe," he said. He added that the test on Saad was conducted at a private lab; however, the Crime Branch has asked to get a fresh test report from a government-run-lab.

The head of the Jamaat`s Nizamuddin Markaz was in the centre of controversy over holding the global congregation amid the coronavirus crisis and is being investigated in cases lodged against him under various sections, including by the Enforcement Directorate.

But his lawyer Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi said that they were cooperating with the police and the investigative agencies have not asked the Maulana to join investigations.

In his defence, Saad had stated earlier, "I am not sure whether this can be called a conspiracy. There has been more than one instance in the past where a person has been put to trial and proclaimed guilty by the media, only to be exonerated later by the courts after appreciating the correct and relevant facts."

The Markaz chief said that they believed in the judicial system of the country and the truth shall prevail.
Mazda USA Reports April 2020 Sales







IRVINE, Calif.

May 1, 2020

April 2019

Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total April sales of 10,940 vehicles, a decrease of 44.5 percent compared to. Year-to-date sales totaled 78,610 vehicles, a decrease of 13.2 percent. With 26 selling days in April, compared to 25 the year prior, the company posted a decrease of 46.6 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis.

CPO sales totaled 2,401 vehicles in April, a decrease of 53.8 percent compared to April 2019. Year-to-date CPO sales decreased 16.5 percent, with 19,052 vehicles sold.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported April sales of 1,920 vehicles, a decrease of 55.3 percent compared to April last year. Year-to-date sales decreased 27.6 percent, with 14,842 vehicles sold.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
'Iran will target US bases with missiles if it faces security threat: Senior official

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 8:19 AM

A senior Iranian official has warned that the country will launch missile strikes on American bases in the region if its national security is endangered, downplaying a recent US threat of naval action as "mere propaganda."

Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, told the Doha-based Aljazeera broadcaster on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would firmly respond to any threat against its security.

"We will never initiate a war with the United States, but the end of any war that Washington may start will be decided by Iran," said Rezaei, a former chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The remarks came one week after US President Donald Trump tweeted that he had directed the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian gunboats that "harass" American ships, following a confrontation between US warships and Iranian military boats in the Persian Gulf.

According to the IRGC, American vessels had resorted to "unprofessional and perilous" behavior in the waters during the incident, "causing trouble" for one of the elite force's logistics ships that was conducting a routine patrol.

Rezaei described Trump's threat as "mere propaganda," but warned the US that its "bases in the region are under surveillance, and we will hit them with missiles if our national security is threatened."

Elsewhere in his comments, Rezaei referred to a United Nations arms embargo on Iran, which will be lifted in October.

"The international arms embargo imposed on us will end soon, and no one can prevent us from buying weapons from international markets following that date," he said. "The position of Washington and the European Union on the arms embargo on Iran is not binding for Iranians and we will not adhere to it."

The UN arms embargo on Iran  in place since 2006/2007  will be lifted under UN Security Resolution 2231 that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The US is now pushing for an extension of the embargo through recourse to a process set out in the accord, which it abandoned in 2018.

Elsewhere, Rezaei criticized certain Arab countries for surrendering to American "blackmail" and keeping up their enmities towards Iran.

"They reject all initiatives and insist on hostility towards Iran," he added.

Last year, Iran unveiled an initiative, dubbed Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE), aimed at promoting the security of the Persian Gulf littoral states through regional cooperation free from foreign intervention.

It followed a series of mysterious attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the US militarization of the strategic waters. Following in Washington's footsteps, a number of Arab states blamed Iran for those attacks, a claim Iran has categorically rejected.

Using the raids as a pretext, the US and some of its allies formed a military coalition in the region with the declared aim of ensuring maritime security.

Tehran has slammed the formation of such coalition as a source of even more regional tensions, repeatedly reminding its neighbors that outsiders cannot safeguard peace in the Persian Gulf region.

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Southern Baptist leaders have taken issues with recent New York City Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio's threat of arrests for not following social distancing guidelines targeting, "Jewish community".

It is the mayor's second set of angry comments toward religious groups in barely a month after he commented to close churches permanently if they continue to gather during the COVID-19 pandemic.

De Blasio wrote on Twitter Tuesday singling out the "Jewish community" after overseeing the scattering of reportedly hundreds of people gathered for an Hasidic rabbi's funeral Tuesday (April 28) in Brooklyn.

"Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonight: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus," de Blasio wrote on Twitter after the evening funeral gathering was dispersed.

Six minutes later, he tweeted, "My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period."

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), told Baptist Press he is "fully supportive" of civil authorities taking measures to protect their communities in light of this pandemic. But that's not what this is. "Threats against religious communities are uncalled for, especially the way the mayor has chosen here," Moore said in a written statement. "It is all the more concerning given last week was Holocaust Memorial Day, and he yet has decided to single out the Jewish community with these disturbing comments."

ERLC Executive Vice President Daniel Patterson, who has spoken to many pastors about religious liberty concerns during the pandemic, said, "Times like these call for seriousness and statesmanship from our leaders. The mayor, unfortunately, is demonstrating neither in his recent comments. No one is served by saber-rattling," Baptist Press reported.

"The simple reality is that churches and faith communities across the country have been at the forefront of carefulness and cooperation," Patterson told BP in written remarks, "and good things happen for our communities when public officials meet these efforts with appreciation rather than ill-temperedness."

De Blasio faced instant and widespread backlash from Jewish organizations and at least one City Council member for singling out Jews, but the mayor denied the charges.

Chaim Deutsch, who represents a part of Brooklyn that has a large Orthodox Jewish population, said on Twitter, "This has to be a joke," The New York Times reported.

"Every neighborhood has people who are being non-compliant," Deutsch tweeted. "To speak to an entire ethnic group as though we are all flagrantly violating precautions is offensive, it's stereotyping, and it's inviting antisemitism."

Critics of the mayor's Twitter also found that thousands of people in the city had gathered to watch a military flyover at the same day of the funeral, but local officials didn't stop them. According to New York Post, hundreds packed shoulder to shoulder to catch a glimpse of the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds.

Meetings of any size are prohibited in New York state during the pandemic, and officials have broken up several religious gatherings in the city, including weddings and funerals in large Jewish communities, The Times reported.
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Day is celebrated on May 1 every year, On this day in 1960, Maharashtra gained statehood after the division from the Bombay State. It was on this day in 1960 when the state was formed on linguistic grounds.

In 1960, the Bombay Reorganization Act was passed by the Parliament to divide the multilingual state of Bombay into Gujarat and Maharashtra. The legislation came into effect on May 1, 1960.

How Maharashtra gained statehood

The demand for a separate state for Marathi-speaking people began in 1940. Samyukta Mahasabha Organisation led the movement for statehood. However, the struggle took a backseat due to Quit India Movement and World War II.

It took more than two decades with many commissions advocating for a separate state. In the year 1956, then Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru announced Bombay as Union territory for five years. Later, the Lok Sabha passed a resolution for the bilingual state of Bombay. In March 1960 the Lok Sabha proposed the state resolution. A month later the resolution on the State of Bombay was approved by the Lower House. On May 1st, 1960, the state of Maharashtra came into existence with Bombay as its capital.

A movement was started by an organisation called the Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti for the division of the Bombay State into two further states. In one, people who primarily spoke Gujarati and Kutchhi would be put together and the other area where people who primarily spoke Marathi and Konkani. As a result of the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 was enacted in the Parliament on April 25, 1960, and two states - Maharashtra and Gujarat were created.

How Maharashtra Day celebrations began

From speeches to colourful parades, Maharashtra celebrates this day with a lot of enthusiasm. Most schools, colleges, offices remain closed on this day under the jurisdiction of the State and Central Government. Maharashtra Day is commemorated with a parade at Shivaji Park, Dadar, where the Governor of Maharashtra makes a speech. On this day, the state government and private sector launch new projects and schemes. Liquor sales to Indians are prohibited on Maharashtra Diwas across the state.

The Maharashtra government also issues a notification declaring May 1 a public holiday to be celebrated as Maharashtra Day. All the schools, offices and companies celebrate this day by organising various programmes.

However, due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic the celebrations this year is likely to be canceled. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 10,498 active cases, 1,773 cured cases and 459 fatalities.
RESTON, Va., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LDOS) today announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.34 per outstanding share of common stock of Leidos Holdings, Inc. The cash dividend is payable on June 30, 2020 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 15, 2020.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 36,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Media contact:

Melissa Koskovich

571.526.6850

[email protected]

Investor Relations:

Peter Berl

571.526.7582

[email protected]

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


To the Editor:

Diseases are political, and they necessitate political action  no one should try to suggest otherwise. Unchecked, they toss legions out of work and kill millions, ravaging the most vulnerable the hardest. The calamity that is Covid-19 demands an equal or greater political force led by governments. It must be met with a powerful, multilevel, transnational, coordinated array of responses.

Officials in Washington, Beijing and beyond should stride cautiously, however. Avoid infusing the politics needed to quell Covid-19 with tactics designed to serve partisan interests. Your power should be focused on caring for others and marshaling resources for disease prevention  not on deflecting blame, shoring up approval ratings, settling scores or demonizing people because of ethnicity or nationality.

In the best of times, sidestepping self-serving impulses is hard. Its even harder in an age of containment. We are told daily to secure our self, family and homeland. But, of course, diseases know no borders; supply chains are internationally embedded; and crisis management necessitates intergovernmental collaboration and data sharing among scientists.

Leaders should deploy their political capital wisely against Covid-19 for another reason. Relationships can take years to nurture and seconds to destroy, especially when a tweet circulates globally in an instant, a lesson we teach our students regularly. There is no place today for politicians to endanger bilateral ties by spreading conspiracies or insulting language about virological origins. Now is the time, instead, for rebuilding global public health alliances, such as the World Health Organization, renewing scientific exchanges and communicating respectfully across borders.
Liverpool look set to not sign a single player this summer as the club adjust to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, according to reports.

The news comes as further grim reading for the financial positions Premier League sides find themselves in, with the drastically reduced incomes as a result of the pandemic reportedly seeing the current league leaders planning to cut spending in the transfer market.

And The Daily Mirror claim that under normal circumstances, the Reds would have pursued long terms targets in Timo Werner and Houssem Aouar, with both players followed closely over the past three seasons.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are reportedly almost certain not to sign any player this summer

But with the duo likely to command a fee of at least 40million each, it is claimed even the second richest club in England will have to put the deals on hold and adjust their budgets to recognise the economic turmoil of the coronavirus crisis.

Werner does have a clause in his contract but RB Leipzig are demanding a fee verging on 50million should he leave this summer, while France international Aouar is valued at around 40m by Lyon.

The report also claims the Reds are budgeting for the expected loss of income even if the Premier League season is completed.

Despite TV money being paid if the remaining fixtures are played, all clubs will still lose out on match day income due to games being played behind closed doors.

Liverpool are having to cut costs to manage the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis

The report even suggests that Liverpool have begun budgeting for next season, with predictions that top-flight matches are unlikely to take place with crowds until well into 2021.

Losing match-day revenue could allegedly see sides miss out on 3million per game and around 100million if all of next season has to be played behind closed doors.

Therefore Liverpool - in the knowledge that they can ill-afford the heavy financial burden of a transfer market this time around - will reportedly go into next season with no fresh faces ahead of the new campaign.

However, the club will still look to clear the squad of players who are out of contract or are on the peripheries of Jurgen Klopp's side.

That means the club will miss out on the likes of RB Leipzig and Germany star Timo Werner

Liverpool's finances are in good shape compared to every other Premier League club.

The Reds were due to overtake Manchester City and even catch up with arch-rivals Manchester United with their gross revenue before the pandemic struck.

And their stance this summer is likely to be reflected by all this summer, with the Manchester clubs also likely to reign in splashing the cash.

There is reportedly also grave concern about the potentially catastrophic loss of match-day revenue for sides further down the table, with Brighton, Southampton and Everton having made substantial losses in the recent past.
London, May 1 : Clinician-scientists have found that Irish patients admitted to hospital with severe coronavirus (COVID-19) infection are experiencing abnormal blood clotting that contributes to death in some patients.

The research team from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland found that abnormal blood clotting occurs in Irish patients with severe COVID-19 infection, causing micro-clots within the lungs.

According to the study, they also found that Irish patients with higher levels of blood clotting activity had a significantly worse prognosis and were more likely to require ICU admission.

"Our novel findings demonstrate that COVID-19 is associated with a unique type of blood clotting disorder that is primarily focussed within the lungs and which undoubtedly contributes to the high levels of mortality being seen in patients with COVID-19," said Professor James O'Donnell from St James's Hospital in Ireland.

In addition to pneumonia affecting the small air sacs within the lungs, the research team has also hundreds of small blood clots throughout the lungs.

This scenario is not seen with other types of lung infection and explains why blood oxygen levels fall dramatically in severe COVID-19 infection, the study, published in the British Journal of Haematology said.

"Understanding how these micro-clots are being formed within the lung is critical so that we can develop more effective treatments for our patients, particularly those in high-risk groups," O'Donnell said.

"Further studies will be required to investigate whether different blood-thinning treatments may have a role in selected high-risk patients in order to reduce the risk of clot formation," Professor O'Donnell added.

According to the study, emerging evidence also shows that the abnormal blood-clotting problem in COVID-19 results in a significantly increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

As of Friday morning, the cases increased to 20,612 cases in Ireland, with 1,232 deaths so far, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Work is what makes man similar to God, because through work man creates, he can create, create many things, even create a family to go forth. Man is a creator and creates through work. This is the calling.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis introduced the Mass he celebrated this morning at Casa Santa Marta, on the day the Church celebrates Saint Joseph the Worker, by expressing the hope that everyone can find work, as work makes humans similar to God, and that they receive a just wage.

Today, the feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker, the day dedicated to workers, let us pray for all workers, that no one be without work and that all be paid a just wage. May they benefit from the dignity of work and the beauty of rest.

In his homily, the pontiff reflected on the days reading (Gen 1:27) on the creation of men and women, saying that their dignity is found in work and through work, and so doing they continue the work of the Creator.

God created (Gen 1:27). [He is] A Creator. He created the world, created man and gave man a mission: to manage, work, and carry on creation. And the word 'work' is the one the Bible uses to describe this activity of God: On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken (Gen 2:2), and God hands over this activity to man saying: You must do this, keep that, the other; it is like he is saying, you must work with me to create this work so that it can continue (cf. Gen 2:15,19-20). Thus, work is the continuation of Gods work; human work is the calling man received from God at the end of the creation of the universe.

Work is what makes man similar to God, because through work man creates, he can create, create many things, even create a family to go forth. Man is a creator and creates through work. This is the calling. The Bible says that God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. (Gen 1:31). Thus, work is inherently good and creates the harmony of things  beauty, goodness  and involves man in everything: in his thoughts, in his action, everything. Man is involved in working. It is mans first calling: working. This gives dignity to man, the dignity that makes him resemble God. [This is] The dignity of work.

History reminds us of the brutality inflicted on slaves, Francis said. But even today there are many slaves, many men and women who are not free to work, who are forced to work, to survive, nothing more. They are slaves: forced labour . . . There is forced labour, unfair, poorly paid that lead man to live with trampled dignity. There are many, many in the world. Many. A few months ago, we read in the newspapers that in an Asian country, a man beat an employee who earned less than half a dollar a day because he had done something wrong. Today's slavery is our 'in-dignity' because it takes away dignity from men, women, and all of us.

Let us think about workers, about day labourers, who are made to work at a low wage; not eight, but twelve, fourteen hours a day. This happens today, here; all over the world, but here too. Think about the domestic workers who do no have fair wages, who do not have social security, who cannot retire. This does not happen only in Asia. [It happens] Here.

"Every act of injustice inflicted on a worker means trampling on human dignity, even the dignity of the one committing the act of injustice: it lowers standards and leads to dictator-slave tensions. By contrast, the calling that God gives us is so beautiful: [it is] to create, re-create, work. But this can be done only when the conditions are right and the dignity of the person is respected.

"Today we join the many men and women, believers and non-believers, who celebrate May Day, Labour Day, for those who struggle for justice at work, for those  good employers  who do their job with justice, even if they get less. Two months ago, I spoke to an employer on the phone here in Italy who asked me to pray for him because he didn't want to lay off anyone, Because laying off one of them is like laying off myself. Many employers are good, with a conscience. They keep workers as if they were their offspring. Let us pray for them too.

In the final prayer, the pontiff said May Saint Joseph help us fight for the dignity of work, so that there is work for everyone and that it is dignified work, not the work of a slave. Let this be todays prayer.
Story by Anvisha Manral | Art by Adrija Ghosh Repeated trips to the refrigerator, a forced acquaintance with video conferencing apps, the ringing of an alarm that signals its time for your parent  an essential worker  to leave the safety of the home, the music from a neighbours balcony: the coronavirus pandemic has bequeathed a strange landscape to our lives and immediate environs. Small moments and thoughts  once insignificant  now have a weight they didnt before. This crowd-sourced collection of narratives highlights fragments of life during a lockdown  from Mumbai to Jerusalem to Lugo; a record of the fears, anxieties, uncertainties and quiet joys that make up our days (and nights) as the world is gripped by a crisis. *** KUSUMITA DAS, Jerusalem | 'Comfort zone' I have never liked video calls. Or video conferencing or video anything. If theres a camera, static or otherwise, Id always rather be behind it than on it. But perhaps the Universe needed to orchestrate something extreme to change my mind. And COVID-19 happened. And we soon realised that social distancing is the exact opposite of social media distancing. Before I knew it, I was downloading strange apps like Houseparty, and warily getting used to it. Having just moved to a new country, I suppose I was in the very gullible mindspace of buying into all things that made me feel closer to home, even if that meant having to step out of my comfort zone. But that was only level one. I have been taking Hebrew lessons for a month now, and thanks to the pandemic, the real classroom had to shrink into a Zoom classroom. So someone who was just about negotiating the territory with close friends, had to switch to pro mode with near strangers, twice a week. Whats more, I now have to keep my eyes peeled on the virtual white board to read the teachers notes and attempt to speak the language too. So almost overnight I went from no video calls to doing it all, in Hebrew. A true child of the Corona, if you will. We've been told the Universe conspires to give you something you really want. The reverse can be true too. When you really don't want something, the Universe may conspire harder to make sure you get it. Firstpost  A class in progress *** ANSH RANVIR VOHRA, New Delhi | 'Past and present' Each generation in our family has lived through some sort of adversity. My grandmother arrived in Amritsar from a nondescript village in Pakistan, having walked for several thousand kilometres in search of a sanctuary amidst widespread bloodshed. My parents witnessed the Sikh riots unfold in front of their eyes, spending their nights patrolling the terrace to protect themselves from agitators. As they passed these stories on to me over the years, I wondered if our generation would have anything of substance to share with our children. Little did I know, as memes about a virus that sounded like a beer brand began to crop up on the internet two months ago, that this was going to be it. Those memes quickly turned into cautionary news pieces, which turned into WHO announcements, which turned into nationwide lockdowns. And in just a couple of weeks, venturing out into the open to buy bread has begun to feel like a particularly dangerous adventure sport. I once asked my grandmother if she remembered her childhood as a tragic one. She told me that while those days truly were a nightmare to live through, she did also remember them for the abundance of candies her brothers brought home after selling them all day to support their family. As we live through what feels like a generation-defining event, it's hard to feel like we'll have anything to be thankful for when we look back on this time, years from now. But last week, as I tucked myself in bed at 5 am after working remotely all night for a company at the other end of the world, I saw my first sunrise in years. Maybe, when I tell my children of the horrors this pandemic brought upon us, that glorious sunrise will also find mention. *** MAUMIL MEHRAJ, Srinagar | 'Closing' It isnt night for us till something is closed off  the lights, the doors, our eyes. The very act of closing is our cue to sleep another sleepless night. But it seems like those nights have been replaced by a strange twilight  while the roads are inaccessible, the phone lines and the internet work in stunted partiality. Everyone now seems to have had a taste of a lockdown, similar to the countless ones we have been in before, but this seems different  death isnt pervasive, a rather calming silence surrounds us, ambulances still run but with lesser urgency, we can let our friends outside of Kashmir know that we miss them, and for once, the news channels seem to have forgotten us.

*** MAYUKH MAJUMDAR, Mumbai | 'Essential services' When the 2008-2009 recession shook the global economy and destroyed businesses worldwide, my 12-year-old self wasnt fully aware of the consequences. But things are different now. Im a working individual in an industry that has been laying off entire teams and furloughing hundreds of employees. Self-awareness has been promoted to a survival skill. Yes, I could survive multiple months without the zeroes in my bank account because, well, privilege. But do I want to? Oh no. For someone who is in a relationship with their work (often one-sided), this economic crisis couldnt have come at a worse time. Its almost like my ambitions have to be put on hold. My therapist tells me its normal to feel this way and that this feeling of helplessness is perfectly common and even universal at this time. Common, she says. How I hate that word. But thank God for Instagram and social media. It lets you know that were all in the same boat, essentially. Essentially. Another funny word, considering none of us snobs are essential services anymore.

*** HIMANI KAMRA, Lugo | 'Home' A month since my plans of travelling through Europe, seeing new places and meeting new people came to a sudden halt, I now spend my days looking for ways to keep myself occupied. Or even just looking out of my bedroom window. Needless to say, I did not picture life coming to a standstill. I live on a quiet street in Lugo, Spain, away from my family in India. As complaints about people not being able to cohabit with their families flood social media, here I am  desperate to be reunited with mine. Obviously, conversations with mom have turned into three-hour video calls. And when we run out of things to talk about, she goes back to watching TV while I draw, neither of us ending the online session. Sometimes that can bring you a sense of being home. Even though I wake up with renewed hope every day, it consistently feels like I have lost control over my life, just when I was starting to live as an adult. However, despite being in the midst of a global catastrophe, life returns to normal  even if only for a few minutes  at 8 pm when my neighbour, a middle-aged man Ive never met, steps out on to his balcony to play the bagpipes. I want to thank him, but for now well have to make do with the long-distance concerts. As an afterthought, has distance been rendered useless? And even though life seems to return to normal momentarily, the feeling of nothing will ever be the same again doesnt leave me.

*** JOVITA ARANHA, Mumbai | 'Selfish' The clock strikes 5. An alarm resounds through our one bedroom home in Goregaon. My eyes are shut but the noise of feet rattling across the room, the flickering of the tubelight, hushed whispers of "don't come to drop me, I'll try to get into the bus the hospital has arranged" become conspicuous. My father still makes it a point to drive to the other end of the city to drop my mother on his bike. "It's safer," he insists. My mother is a frontline worker who continues to nurse people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She works in a place where more and more people test positive each day. I cannot help but acknowledge that it's only a matter of time until it reaches her and in turn, us too. Am I ready? No. But can I ask her to stop? No. There are days when her closest aides at work test positive, or when young medical professionals refuse to turn up because the fear gets to them. She speaks to me of expecting mothers who count on her to bring a new life into the world, as the pandemic continues to snatch thousands of others, each day. She tells me about patients who tear up while thanking her for her service at such an uncertain time. So, I have learnt to tell myself not to be selfish and put the safety of my family first, when thousands of others are counting on them. And so now when my mother is at work, all I do is whisper a prayer for her. Firstpost  5 am, Jogeshwari, Mumbai *** AGNI BOSE, Mumbai | 'Dystopia' I pull myself out of bed at 5.30 am, bathe, and eat a heavy breakfast  the only meal Ill have in the next eight hours of my shift. No water though, because once Im at work I wont be able to use the loo. Is this the closest we can get to dystopia? Im tackling coronavirus triage cases this week, and my day starts with donning PPE  the only thing standing between me and a deadly virus. The act of putting it on takes 10 minutes  cumbersome but critical. I spend the next eight hours in the sweltering heat of Mumbai, without air conditioning. Ventilation is key. The mask has begun to leave semi-permanent marks on my face but the bigger discomfort is not being able to breathe properly. A single shift sees an average of a hundred-odd cases, and we treat every patient as suspect cases. So our guard is always up  no loosening the masks or kits at any point. Will we be able to save every person that walks in? We dont know. While letting a patient go is a grief that weighs heavy on our hearts, saving a life is an unparalleled joy. After eight gruelling hours, I come back home to the best part of my day  my partner. Theres warm food on the table, a lifesaver. We talk about our days and move on to my favourite part, the part where we laugh hysterically and watch the lamest shows (so embarrassing, I wouldnt name them publicly). And just like that, in the midst of death and disease, I find peace in her company.

*** ADITYARAJ SINHA, New Delhi | 'Purpose' It's almost like there is no semblance of order anymore, especially in this house where we live as a joint family. Even the dog has started acting up; there's no cuddling because he's utterly confused about why we're always huddled together at home. As for me, I've had some spare time. The other day I was thinking of the role clothes play bringing some sense of purpose to your life. And so, to emulate that purpose in these times when there is nothing yet loads to do, I started dressing up at home. It started with nice pants, but now I wish I had some costumes I could choose from. I wouldn't care if they were made out of Thermocol. At least I could become the refrigerator for a day. You know how you find yourself walking towards it more times than usual since the lockdown? You open the door and stare at the same things you looked at 10 minutes ago. Of course, it's your way of coping with anxiety, but what do you think the refrigerator thinks of it? Why is it being disturbed for absolutely no reason at all?

***  All illustrations Adrija Ghosh for Firstpost
Britain's worst rapist, who carried out sex attacks on 195 men, has been moved to a prison dubbed the 'Monster Mansion'.

Reynhard Sinaga, 37, was locked up for a minimum of 30 years in January after being convicted of assaulting dozens of victims in Manchester after tricking them into taking a date rape drug.

Now he will join the likes of paedophile Ian Watkins, black cab rapist John Worboys and murderer Jeremy Bamber at the norotorious HMP Wakefield, the Manchester Evening News reports, where Britain's most violent prisoner Charles Bronson also spent time.

Reynhard Sinaga, 37, was locked up for a minimum of 30 years in January after being convicted of carrying out 159 sex attacks on 48 different men in Manchester after tricking them into taking a date rape drug

Sinaga was living at HMP Manchester - known as Strangeways - after his arrest in 2017, but was moved to the Category A jail in February - just days before his 37th birthday.

Greater Manchester Police said that probation and prison services normally review where criminals are sent after sentencing, but because of the sheer number of trials he had, the review was delayed until they were all completed in January.

After he was sent down, lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service urged Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to look into whether Sinaga's sentence should be upped to a whole-life tariff.

HMP Wakefield, pictured, dubbed 'Monster Mansion' is home to some of Britain's most notorious criminals

Devastating scale of his depravity Sinaga is thought to be the world's worst sexual predator in terms of convictions. No other rapist is believed to have been found guilty of such a huge number of crimes  but some are feared to have had at least as many victims. Joji Obara is thought to have raped between 150 and 400 women in Japan. Obara, now 68, went on trial for raping and killing British air stewardess Lucie Blackman in 2000. He got a life sentence for the abduction, dismemberment and disposal of the former BA worker's body  but he was acquitted of causing her death. He also got life for raping nine other women. British paedophile Richard Huckle is believed to have assaulted up to 200 children in South East Asia between 2006 and 2014. He got 22 life sentences in the UK after admitting 71 charges of sex abuse. The 33-year-old was murdered by an inmate in HMP Full Sutton, North Yorkshire, last year. Advertisement

Mr Cox QC then announced he was sending his case to the Court Appeal, where judges could re-sentence him to ensure he is never released.

He said in January: 'Sinaga carried out an egregious number of attacks over a prolonged period of time, causing substantial pain and psychological suffering to his victims.

'It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence.'

Sinaga a 'perpetual student' studying for a PhD in Manchester thanks to his rich family, picked up drunk and vulnerable men by posing as a 'good Samaritan' and offering help, Manchester Crown Court heard during his trial.

Passing sentence, Judge Suzanne Goddard QC said a whole-life order had never been made before in a case other than one involving murder, but despite the 'vast scale' of offending making Sinaga's a borderline case, she would 'shrink back' from passing a whole-life term.

However, she added: 'In my judgment, you are a highly dangerous, cunning and deceitful individual who will never be safe to be released, but that is a matter for the Parole Board.'

Richard Littler QC, defending Sinaga, submitted that the legal authorities did not support the passing of a whole-life sentence in the defendant's case.

Sinaga hunted for drunk young men around nightclubs near his flat in Manchester (above)

Spirit bottles at Sinaga's flat are pictured. He is thought to have drugged the men when giving them a drink from his selection of alcohol

A map of Manchester city centre shows where Sinaga's flat (in red) is located along with the nightclubs Factory and Fifth Avenue, which many of the complainants had earlier been to

Court of Appeal (pictured) judges will decide whether to re-sentence him to a whole-life term

Timeline of Reynhard Sinaga's sexual assaults January 2015 to May 2017: The period over which Reynhard Sinaga was said to have committed sex assaults against 48 men in Manchester June 1 to July 10, 2018: Sinaga goes on his first trial which sees him convicted of 31 counts of rape, three counts of attempted rape and six counts of sexual assault. April 1 to May 7, 2019: Sinaga goes on trial for the second time and is convicted of 49 counts of rape, five counts of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault. He is jailed for 20 years after the first two trials. September 16 to October 4, 2019: Sinaga goes on his third trial and is convicted of 26 counts of rape, one count of assault by penetration and five counts of sexual assault. December 2, 2019 and December 20, 2019: Sinaga goes on his fourth trial and is convicted of 30 counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault. January 6, 2020 : Sinaga is jailed for at least 30 years over the third and fourth trials. In total, he was found guilty across all four trials of 159 offences - 136 rapes, eight attempted rapes, 14 sexual assaults, and one by penetration. February 17, 2020: Sinaga is moved to HMP Wakefield Advertisement

He said the Court of Appeal has never imposed a whole-life order for a discretionary life sentence and, to date, whole-life terms had not been passed in non-homicide cases.

Mr Littler said: 'This could be accurately described as an evil crime but in fact it cannot accurately be described as a violent crime.'

Police established during their investigations that 195 different males appear to have been unconscious while Sinaga assaulted them, but 70 of them remained unidentified.

After reporting restrictions were lifted and Sinaga was publicly identified following the conclusion of his fourth trial for sex crimes, Greater Manchester Police set up a dedicated incident room and said it had seen a 'very positive response' with multiple calls made.

It is thought Sinaga laced his victims' drinks with a drug such as GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy.

The rapist was caught when one of the men regained consciousness and fought him off before he went to the police and, crucially, handed in Sinaga's phone.

He was found guilty of a total of 159 offences committed between January 2015 and May 2017  136 counts of rape, 13 counts of sexual assault, eight counts of attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration.

The Court of Appeal hearing has been set back to a later date.

Murderers, child rapists and armed robbers: The monsters of HMP Wakefield Charles Bronson, pictured, is knows as Britain's most violent prisoner Harold Shipman, pictured, is Britain's most prolific serial killer John Worboys, pictured, carried out a string of attacks on women Ian Watkins, pictured, was jailed for 13 offences including the attempted rape of a baby Jeremy Bamber, pictured, was jailed for killing five members of his family Charles Bronson Dubbed the most violent prisoner in Britain, Charles Salvador, who changed his name to that of the American actor, was first arrested as a petty criminal but jailed for seven years for armed robbery in 1974. His sentence was extended after attacks on prisoners and guards. He is known as a violent inmate, and has taken a number of hostages during confrontations, which has ultimately led to life imprisonment. Harold Shipman The GP is believed to be the most prolific serial killer in history. A jury found Shipman guilty of the murder of 15 patients under his care at the turn of the millennium, but his total number of victims is thought to be around 250. The murderer's youngest confirmed victim was a 41-year-old man, although 'significant suspicion' arose that he had killed patients as young as four. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with the recommendation that he never be released. John Worboys The black cab rapist was jailed for life in December for attacking four more victims. The 62-year-old predator, who was already in jail for attacking 12 women, had pleaded guilty to spiking the drinks of an additional four women who came forward. The court heard Worboys admitted to a psychologist that he plied a total of 90 women with alcohol, and drugged a quarter of them, after being inspired by pornography. Worboys told psychiatrists he had been 'fantasising' about his crimes since 1986, and was motivated by 'hostility towards women'. Ian Watkins The Welsh 42-year-old initially shot to fame as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Lostprophets. But in 2013, Watkins was sentenced to 29 years' imprisonment for 13 sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby, which a judge said 'plumbed new depths of depravity'. He recently had another 10 months added to his term being found guilty of having a phone in jail, which he hid in his rear and used to contact a former lover.

Jeremy Bamber The 59-year-old is serving a whole life sentence for killing five members of his family in a gun massacre in Essex in 1985 in crimes which inspired the recent ITV drama White House Farm. However, the killer protests his innocence and his legal team are this week asking the high court to review the refusal of the Crown Prosecution Service to disclose evidence they believe could undermine his conviction. Advertisement
[May 01, 2020] CGM ELVI Telemedicine earns media attention

PHOENIX, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With its HIPAA-certified solution, CGM ELVI Telemedicine, CompuGroup Medical US (CGM) is one of the telemedicine companies that can help hospitals and other provider organizations deliver quality virtual care, according to Healthcare IT News. Author Bill Siwicki compiled the list of telemedicine companies as a resource for providers currently facing the challenge of seeing patients while reducing the number of in-office visits to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among patients and staff. "As 2020 unfolds, with the COVID-19 pandemic severely testing health-system capacity, telehealth is stepping up. Virtual care and remote monitoring have never before been in the spotlight as they are today," Siwicki wrote. CGM ELVI Telemedicine is a HIPAA-certified solution that earns its place on the list by delivering a secure, peer-to-peer connection that will protect patient information as it connects providers and patients for virtual appointments. According to the article, "[CGM]'s technology works for any practice or clinic, regardless of the EHR or practice management software being used. It is web-base and compatible with multiple browsers, and patients can log in on desktop or mobile, or by downloading the CGM ELVI app from Google Play or the Apple App Store."



"Healthcare IT News is the healthcare industry's authoritative source," said Benedikt Brueckle, CEO, CompuGroup Medical US. "CGM trusts Healthcare IT News to cover the people, policies, and technology affecting healthcare in the United States, and it's an honor to see CGM ELVI Telemedicine featured at a time when telehealth is of the utmost importance." Telemedicine, or telehealth, is a new healthcare platform that enables virtual consultations. When doctors can reach patients from anywhere at any time, in-office visits are no longer required, and this eliminates the risk of spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus to practice staff and other patients.

In addition to offering its CGM ELVI Telemedicine software at no initial charge, CGM has made it easier for healthcare providers to adopt the new system by launching a dedicated website, cgmtelehealth.com, and a dedicated phone line, +1 (602) 680-2255. About CompuGroup Medical CompuGroup Medical is one of the leading eHealth companies in the world. With a revenue base of MEUR 746 in 2019, its software products are designed to support all medical and organizational activities in doctors' offices, pharmacies, laboratories and hospitals. Its information services for all parties involved in the healthcare system and its web-based personal health records contribute towards safer and more efficient healthcare. CompuGroup Medical's services are based on a unique customer base of more than 1 million users, including doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other health professionals in inpatient and outpatient facilities. With locations in 18 countries and products in 56 countries worldwide, CompuGroup Medical is the eHealth company with one of the highest coverages among eHealth service providers. More than 5,600 highly qualified employees support customers with innovative solutions for the steadily growing demands of the healthcare system. For more information regarding CompuGroup Medical, visit cgm.com/us. CompuGroup Medical

Media Contact: Dan Doll

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UCF-trained engineers, Oregon medical team design 3D-printed ventilator that requires no electricity

A research collaboration and ensuing friendship between a trauma surgeon in Oregon and a handful of engineers in Florida has resulted in a new ventilator design that requires no electricity and could be a game-changer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Albert Chi, who specializes in critical care and prosthetics, was keeping a close eye on COVID-19 during the early days. He immediately began working with his team at Oregon Health and Science University to develop a new, easy way to replicate ventilators that could be deployed anywhere. Specializing in trauma, Chi as a retired commander of the U.S. Navy Reserve and well versed in extreme conditions.

When Chi had a design, he called his friend and clinical-trial collaborator Albert Manero CEO and co-founder of Limbitless Solutions in Orlando, Florida.

Manero '12 '14MS '16PhD leads the nonprofit based at the University of Central Florida. The team creates prosthetics for children and has been conducting a clinical trial with Chi since 2018. Currently the trial is being adapted for telemedicine per FDA guidelines for responding to COVID-19 to mitigate participants' travel. In the interim, Limbitless pivoted its manufacturing capabilities to produce hundreds of 3D-printed face shield components for local hospitals through a national coalition led by 3D company Stratasys.

"Dr. Chi called me and said, 'Hey Albert, I have an idea,'" Manero says. "When Dr. Chi has an idea, we listen. We were happy to support in any way we could."

That's when Manero called Limbitless' engineers together to tackle this new challenge. Limbitless printed the pieces in its laboratory for the prototype, which exceeded expectations when it was tested in Chi's lab in Oregon. Within days, OHSU submitted a request to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization to make the 3D-printed ventilators available to support hospitals worldwide battling high caseloads in hot spots due to the pandemic.

Limbitless this week also produced pieces for the first 10 ventilator prototypes, which Chi says will be sent to hospitals nationwide to test and collect feedback while he awaits FDA approval.

How the ventilators work

Chi's ventilator is unique, because it does not require electronics and uses 3D-printed parts, which can be potentially manufactured at hospitals.

Limbitless used printers in its lab at UCF to print the pieces necessary for high quality prints and large-scale distribution. Limbitless key engineers and co-founders, Dominique Courbin '18 and John Sparkman '13 '15, optimized the production of the critical pieces at UCF. The pieces fit perfectly when assembled at OHSU. The coordination between the two teams was critical to rapidly prototype the design, Manero said.

Depending on the printer used, a single ventilator could be manufactured within three to eight hours and made operational with the addition of low-cost springs available at any hardware store. The low-tech ventilators can be replicated anywhere in the world for less than $10 of material, Chi said.

Limbitless shipped the first ventilator pieces back to OHSU on April 17. Chi and his team assembled the first prototype and placed it on an oxygen tank to test it. The goal was to see if it would work for at least 24 hours without any durability issues. Chi's team had already performed extensive modeling and testing in the lab, but the next 24 hours were to determine if OHSU would go after FDA emergency approval.

On April 24, Chi filed with the FDA because the ventilator was still pumping air with no issues 120 hours later.

"Hearing the machine 'breathing' during testing was a really moving experience," Manero says. "The sound is such a reminder of why we continue to do everything we can to support our community in any way we can. It is an example of what teamwork can accomplish to change the world."

OHSU stopped the durability testing of the first ventilator after seven continuous days with zero issues.

"They did such a good job producing the pieces," Chi says "I knew the quality of their work. I knew I could trust them to produce the first 10 prototypes. Our teams are kindred partners just wanting to help save lives. This is the power of heart, mind and a cooperative spirit."

When the ventilator design is approved, Chi said it would not only help hospitals now, but in the future. The ventilators could be used during another pandemic or in remote regions or after a natural disaster when electricity is scarce.

"I feel like all my experiences until this point -- being in the Navy, working in trauma critical care, meeting Limbitless - they all led me here to this moment, where together we can make a difference," Chi says. "It's not just about being a doctor, it's wanting to give back and help anyone in need, which is what I think makes Albert and I such good partners."

###

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Mathura : , May 1 (IANS) A government doctor, who fled from a quarantine centre in Mathura district, was chased by the cops and brought back.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, the policemen are seen calling out to the medical practitioner, who was put under quarantine after came in contact with a person had tested positive for Covid-19.

The doctor chose to pay no heed to their calls and began running to escape from the policemen. However, the police officers caught him after a brief chase and he was put back into the quarantine centre with other doctors.

The doctors were in "self-quarantine" at the hospital after they refused to be shifted to a quarantine centre. All of them belong to the District Combined Hospital of Vrindavan, which was sealed on Monday night after the death of a Covid-19 patient.

The doctors were identified as those who had come in primary contact of the man who had died. Apart from this, 13 health workers, including nurses, who had also been in contact with the patient and were quarantined at the Krishna Kuteer centre, went missing on Wednesday night.

District Magistrate Sarvagya Ram Mishra said that an FIR would be lodged against anyone who escapes from the quarantine facility.

He added that the quarantined doctors will also face action if they violate the norms.

A health official said that the whereabouts of the other health workers who escaped from the facility were currently unknown. "Efforts are on to trace them," he said.

Mishra also said that an FIR would be registered against the 13 health workers who had fled.

The Mathura chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has condemned the act of the health workers fleeing quarantine and for not cooperating with policemen.

Its President Anil Chauhan said, "Medical professionals cannot be so unethical and irresponsible, putting the society at risk."
The tell-tale corn planted numbers from Illinois, Iowa and Indiana jumped off the latest United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Crop Progress report, according to AccuWeather's commodities experts. The data clearly revealed the intentions of farmers in those leading corn-growing states in this time of uncertainty because of the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse of the ethanol production industry.

"The corn is going in fast in those states," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel. "What was really impressive was Iowa went from 2 percent planted to 39 percent planted. They planted almost half of their crop in one week! So they're planting corn and the weather is favorable for it."

Here are AccuWeather's 2020 crop production forecasts for corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton.

CORN

AccuWeather continues to predict a record-setting year for corn production with an expected 15.664 billion bushels based on 95 million acres planted. That's a 12.5 percent increase over last year's total of 13.692 and would top the U.S. record for annual corn production of 15.15 billion bushels set in 2016.

Those favorable corn production estimates are despite ethanol production plummeting drastically - the number of barrels produced per day fell 50 percent from Feb. 28 to April 24. Roughly 40 percent of corn grown is used for ethanol.

"The numbers are there - they're getting the corn planted early in those key states," said Samuhel. "If there were no economic impacts affecting this, we'd have even higher estimates for corn."

"When you have the soil and growing conditions that are typical for those 'I' states [Illinois, Iowa, Indiana], it's hard not to grow corn," Calvin Haile, co-owner of Haile Farm in Dunnsville, Virginia, told AccuWeather. "Corn is king there, as they say."

SOYBEANS

AccuWeather forecasts a significant increase in U.S. soybean production compared to 2019 - 4.284 billion bushels versus 3.558 last year, a jump of almost 17 percent. The forecast is based on 84.7 million soybean acres planted.

Story continues

"It's not out of the question that farmers could plant a lot of soybeans this year because the soybean-to-corn price ratio of 2:55 to 1 is slightly in favor of planting soybeans," said AccuWeather commodities consultant Jim Candor. "Our summer forecast is really favorable for soybeans so that's why we have a yield of 51 bushels per acre, and the number of acres could even be higher if farmers switch because of the ethanol situation with corn.

"But what's happened the last couple of years with exporting soybeans to China obviously hurt the U.S., but supposedly that's solved," Candor added. "Who knows? But that's a reason not to take the soybean production numbers up any higher because China may not follow through on their importing. That's the concern."

WHEAT

AccuWeather predicts total U.S. wheat production will be 1.856 billion bushels, which is slightly below the latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) of 1.920 billion bushels. It's also just below last year's total of 1.885 billion bushels.

Cold weather earlier in April caused damage to jointing wheat in central Kansas, which is a key factor in AccuWeather's estimate.

"There was clearly some wheat damage in Kansas because of the cold, it's just a matter of how much," said Samuhel. "Kansas is the biggest producer of wheat, and it appears the biggest damage occurred in the areas that are the highest yielding counties."

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The condition of winter wheat in Kansas fell from a 50 percent good-to-excellent rating to just 40 percent in two weeks.

"Two other things, too; one it's just not raining enough in the western part of the Wheat Belt," said AccuWeather meteorologist Tyler Roys. "They're not getting important rain. And it's going to be in the mid-90s this weekend from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles up into far southern Kansas. That's putting stress on wheat in Kansas that doesn't need that stress right now."

COTTON

AccuWeather expects U.S. cotton production to be 20.66 million bales, with the weather in Texas later this summer playing a factor in that forecast.

"My slight concern is west Texas later this summer if we go into a La Nina, then maybe some of the better yields could get bumped down a little if it gets really dry," said Samuhel. "Overall, our forecast calls for it to be a lot wetter east of the panhandle compared to average."

The USDA will release its latest WASDE report on May 12. Its production estimates from March had corn at 15.46 billion bushels, soybeans at 4.195 billion bushels, wheat at 1.836 billion bushels and cotton at 19.5 million 480-pound bales.

A young visitor to the Husker Harvest Days farm show last September in Grand Island, Neb., inspects a combine's corn header. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
State House, Banjul, April 29, 2020 - The Public is hereby informed that the President of the Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency Adama Barrow, acting under section 76 of the 1997 Constitution of Republic of The Gambia, is pleased to declare Friday 1st May, 2020, a Public Holiday throughout The Gambia, in observance of International Workers' Day.

President Barrow is aware of the economic impact of COVID 19 on workers and has launched the Government Food Support response to COVID-19 amongst other measures.

Workers are encouraged to stay home and continue to abide by the preventive health measures to stay safe against the Coronavirus. COVID-19 is real and together we can prevent its spread.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:48:29|Editor: huaxia

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LISBON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 death toll in Portugal reached 1,007 on Friday after 18 new fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

The total number of cases in the country reached 25,351, up 306 from a day earlier, DGS said.

The number of recovered cases increased from 1,519 to 1,647, while that of people hospitalized dropped from 968 to 892.

Meanwhile, the number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) decreased from 172 to 154.

Minister of Health Marta Temido said that the fatality rate in Portugal is at around 4 percent, but 14.2 percent in people over 70 years old.

"The numbers are still above what we would like but are much more controlled than they were 15 days ago," the minister said, adding that Portugal is now more "ready" to reopen slowly.

Movement of people out of their own city is prohibited during the Labor Day holiday from Friday to Sunday.

The country will start on Monday the reopening of businesses and services, as it moves to ease the lockdown measures imposed to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since the declaration of the state of emergency on March 18. Enditem
Update - Saturday, May 2, 8.45am: Matthew Chlebowski has been found safe and well.

Earlier: Gardai appeal for help in locating boy, 14, missing from Dublin

Gardai are appealing for help in locating a 14-year-old boy from Dublin.

Matthew Chlebowski has been missing from the Clondalkin area since April 24.

He is described as being 5'7" with black hair. He has a slight build and brown eyes.

When last seen, Matthew was wearing a grey North Face jacket, dark coloured bottoms and black Nike runners.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts are asked to contact gardai in Clondalkin on 01 666 7600 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
1st May 2020: Onicha Mmili, Eastern Nigeria. The account presented by Maazi Cheta Nwanze concerning the above subject, published by Elombah Reports on 28th April 2020 and Sundiata Reports on 29th April 2020 is seminally grounded and commendable; particularly the aspect that has to do with missionary, colonial and civil war times happenings in Anioma Igbo including psychological traumas, identity crises and feelings of inferiority complex suffered following the defeat during the war (Nigeria-Biafra Civil War of 1967-70).

However, there are few important areas where the facts he presented are either incomplete or wrong. Recent research findings have also confirmed that the scholarly works of Prof Elizabeth Alo Isichei on Igbo origin including her work of 1976 are either incomplete or not totally correct. But in social research, it is a grand rule that no matter how unacceptable a research may look before its target audience, it must surely contain some validity, points and generational values and where one researcher and his or her research end, another begins.

The Missing Points: Maazi Cheta Nwanze had held that the Igbo people came from different parts of what is todays Nigeria and settled in the area that they now call home .He had mentioned the 1976 work (A History Of Igbo People) of Prof Elizabeth Alo Isichei as his source. This is not totally correct. From ancient records backed by recent research findings, it is much more correct to say that the Igbo Nation has one origin but presently accommodates a fraction of micro-nationalistic non Igbo clans or entities (i.e. Esan Igbo, Ijaw Igbo, Igbonized People of Agbor-formerly Ominijes and Arochukwu-formerly Ibibios), just as there are several Igbo clans lost to other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and beyond (i.e. Igbo people of Obiaruku in Nigeria and Igbo Peoples of Equatorial Guinea, Zambia and Sao Tome & Principe). This is similar to Igala Land, presently composed of mainstream or majority, as an offshoot of Igbo; and micro nationalistic others made up of non indigenous Igala nationalities.

Forgotten in Maazi Cheta Nwanzes seminal account is the famed politico-spiritual influence and role of Eze Nri and Eze Nri-in-Council, later described in 1498 AD by Portuguese visitors/diplomats as Pre Christian Pagan Pontiff/Papacy; the powerful influence which dated back beyond AD periods and wielded in ancient Igbo Land and beyond, covering the Ogiso (650-1150AD), pre imperial (1150-1440AD) and imperial (1440-1897)Ubini (Benin) dynasties and their periods; some parts of old Ife and Oyo Empire, Igala and Idoma; down to old Cross River areas. The politico-spiritual influence of Eze Nri played a key role in the founding and kingship of the Anioma Igbo including the return and the kingship of Onicha Mmili People. The Igbo People of Anioma stock was anciently and commonly called the Ofe (across) Mmili Igbo People or the Igbo Bi-N Uzo (outpost Igbo People).

Maazi Cheta Nwanze also said in his account as follows: these people, under their leader, Eze Chima, founded a number of towns along the way  Onicha Ugbo, Onicha Olona, Issele Uku, Issele Azagba  This account is most likely to be historically and factually incorrect, even if contained in or referenced from the work of erudite Prof Elizabeth Alo Isichei.

Again, ancient records in Igbo hinterland (the seat of ancient Igbo kingship, customs and traditions) backed by recent research findings have clearly indicated that there were olden time migrations, settlements and re-settlements within and beyond Igbo Land propelled by the famed politico-spiritual influence of Eze Nri and Eze-Nri-in-Council. There were the Agwu Inobia clan migration to then Ibibio Land in 17th century or before then; the migration by the Ebonka generations to now Agbor and his crowning as Dein of Agbor in 1270AD; the migration by the Eze Chima generations from Igbo Land to Ubini and back to Igbo Land and his crowning as first Obi of Onicha Mmili in 1500 AD (he reigned from 1500AD to 1507AD); and the Onoja Nwa Oboli earliest migration to present Igala Land projected around 1400 BC and the institution of the throne of Eze Igala in around 900BC, later changed to Attah Igala, etc.
The Contract Cleaners Association of Ghana (CCAG) on Friday, May 1 embarked on a charity professional clean up exercise at the Ga East Municipal Hospital as part of efforts to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

Ghana just like every other country of the world is faced with the deadly disease which has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

As of today, the confirmed cases in the West African Country stands at 2,074. Though 17 people have sadly passed away, the number of 212 recoveries shows the strides the frontline workers are making in the fight against the disease.

In a bid to provide a cleaner environment at the Ga East Hospital [a facility designated as one of the isolation centers to treat Covid-19 cases], the Contract Cleaners Association of Ghana cleaned the exterior of the facility today.

The exercise was undertaken by a selected team made up of members of all the reputable Cleaning Companies in Ghana that fall under CCAG.

Interacting with Modernghana News during the clean-up exercises, Mr. Yusif Salford who is the Chairman-Elect for CCAG explained that this is their little way of contributing to the fight against the Coronavirus.

We are part of the Private Sector Fund undertaking the construction of the isolation centers and as partners, we have volunteered to take charge of all the cleaning. In the course of discussions, we realized this Hospital needs to be cleaned and that is why we are here.

We proposed to come and do it for the government for free. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) disease is about all of us and so we are helping in the small way we can, Mr. Salford said.

On his part, Head of Administration at the Ga East Hospital, Rev. Samuel Obeng Mensah extended his appreciation to Contract Cleaners Association while noting that the clean-up exercise has come at the right time.

I will like to, first of all, say a very big thank you to the Contract Cleaners Association of Ghana. In fact, they have come at the right time and so the hospital is very thankful," he told Modernghana News.

He added, As you all know the Covid-19 is a disease that thrives on dirt and that is why we are advised to all wash and sanitize our hands. So to come here and weed all every part of the hospital, spray and clean, they have done very well."

Rev. Samuel Obeng further appeals to other companies to come to the aid of the hospital with any form of support to help in the fight against the Coronavirus crisis.

Some pictures of the clean-up exercise below:
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As Americans continue to hunker down at home this spring, they're cooking more often, trying to come up with simple but tasty meals their families will enjoy.

White Castle's head chef releases Top 10 Slider-based recipes in honor of National Hamburger Month, including a recipe for a Hawaiian Castle Bake. Take a little rice, Macadamia nuts, teriyaki sauce, green bell pepper and crushed pineapple to turn Sliders into a Hawaiian treat! More details at https://www.whitecastle.com/craver-nation/recipes.

Wanting to make the task a little easier for people, White Castle's head chef and director of product innovation Phillip Bach is releasing the first-ever list of "Top 10 Slider-Based Recipes," just in time for National Hamburger Month! The inaugural list includes recipes that have come from customers as well as recipes that were created in White Castle's test kitchen. Each recipe features The Original Slider or a version of it.

Some of the recipes in the Top 10 list have been around for years, while others are relatively new. All of the recipes can use either Sliders from the drive-thru or grocery store freezer aisles.

"You can make some really hot and tasty meals using our Sliders," said Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle. "We have 50 amazing recipes on our website, and our in-house chef chose these Top 10 for their taste, simplicity and popularity among the Craver Nation."

In no particular order, the White Castle Top 10 List of Slider-Centric Recipes for National Hamburger Month includes:

"These days, families have more time than ever to cook and eat together," Chef Phillip said. "As a family owned business, White Castle wants to help families create memorable moments. That's why we're introducing our Top 10 recipes  so families can enjoy these delicious meals together."

Chef Phillip shows how to make the White Castlerole in the first in a series of cooking videos that White Castle is sharing with fans on its YouTube channel. White Castle will release more Chef Phillip videos over the next few months.

About White Castle

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty sliders as a family-owned business for more than 99 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider, made from 100% USDA inspected beef, in 1921. Today, White Castle owns and operates more than 365 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings, morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide, in a growing number of international locations, and at military exchanges around the world. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time, is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger."

White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than one in four of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and of its faithful fans, affectionately referred to as Cravers, many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play , makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pick-up orders any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com

SOURCE White Castle

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A 57-year-old Mumbai Police personnel, who has tested positive for Covid-19, was allegedly first denied admission at Fortis Hospital, Vashi and was asked to pay 2 lakh to get him admitted. However, the personnel was admitted at the hospital after four hours following intervention and authorisation from municipal commissioners of Navi Mumbai and Panvel.

The assistant sub-inspector (ASI), posted with the Protection Branch of the Mumbai Police, tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. Since he lives in Kamothe, senior police officers asked him to get admitted at Fortis Hospital in Vashi.

Another policeman, who accompanied the ASI to help with admission formalities, said, The hospital refused to admit him citing jurisdiction issues, and asked me to take him to either a private hospital in Ghansoli or DY Patil Hospital in Nerul. He also added the hospital administration had asked the ASIs daughter, a pharmacist, to pay 2 lakh. The hospital, however, denied the claim.

When the policeman relayed the issue to his seniors in Mumbai, a team from Vashi police station was sent to request the hospital staff to allow admission. The hospital staff, however, refused to budge and only agreed when the Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner (Annasaheb Misal) asked them to allow admission, the officer said.

The ASI was finally admitted at Fortis Hospital around 1am following a payment of 20,000 as hospital charges.

Misal, however, said the hospital was following the guidelines to get him admitted in his corporation jurisdiction. As per government guidelines, every corporation must set up a Covid-19 treatment facility, hence they (Fortis Hospital) asked the policeman to get admitted in a hospital in their (Panvel municipal) corporation. But since he was a police officer, we have allowed him to be admitted last night, said Misal.

Misal also added that 25 beds have been reserved for police personnel at DY Patil Hospital for Covid-19 treatment.

The hospital in its statement said it was following the guidelines issued by the governing bodies about admitting Covid-19 patients. It further added that if a person from another municipal corporation wants to get admitted, there has to be separate authorisation, following which the patient can be admitted.

Claims about the hospital demanding 2 lakh for admission are completely baseless. The patient was admitted under MPKAY (Maharashtra Police Kutumb Arogya Yojana) scheme. The patient had to wait for approval from the authorities, and not because of financial commitment, the statement issued by the Fortis Hospital read.
BULMERS maker C&C has halted the payment of its final dividend for 2019 so as to preserve cash and as a result of its decision to make use of government support through the coronavirus crisis

C&C, which also owns brands including Tennent's and 5 Lamps beer, has placed around 70pc of its staff on furlough.

In a trading update yesterday the company said it continued to actively engage with the Irish and UK tax authorities.

C&C has also implemented an average salary reduction of around 20pc across its workforce, with its executive leadership team and board remuneration reduced by 30pc and 40pc respectively for an initial three months.

The group has liquid assets of around 570m, of which 430m is in cash. C&C believes that its existing liquidity position is "more than sufficient" for the company's current and expected needs.

In addition, C&C said it has now received confirmation from the Bank of England that it is eligible to issue commercial paper under the Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility ('CCFF') scheme.

In March, C&C raised around 140m in new debt in the United States private placement market, which will also help with its current needs.

"Overall, while we note the extremely challenging trading conditions, we consider C&C's update to be encouraging, outlining further detail on its strong focus on protection of profit and cash," said Patrick Higgins, analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers.

"This should enable C&C to navigate its way through this challenging period."

C&C, which owns a 47pc stake in Admiral Taverns, a UK pub operator, said it has launched a number of initiatives to support its customers. Shares in the group were down around 1.6pc in trading yesterday.
'Rethink China Ties,' Last Colonial Governor of Hong Kong Warns UK

2020-04-30 -- Former colonial governor Chris Patten has called on the U.K. to rethink its ties with China's ruling Communist Party, warning of further escalation of political persecution by authorities in Hong Kong.

Lord Patten of Barnes said Beijing appears to be reneging on an international, legally binding treaty governing the status of Hong Kong, which was promised the continuation of its traditional freedoms after the 1997 handover to Chinese rule.

"Beijing officials have made statements about their role in Hong Kong which are a flagrant breach of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law," Patten wrote to U.K. foreign secretary Dominic Raab, referring to the treaty and to Hong Kong's mini-constitution respectively.

"They claim the right to call all the shots in Hong Kong thus destroying once and for all the promises that Hong Kong would have a high degree of local autonomy," he wrote in the April 26 letter.

The letter said the arrest this month of 15 pro-democracy politicians for taking part in mass, peaceful rallies last year could just be the start of escalating political control by Beijing over Hong Kong.

Patten said there are widespread concerns in Hong Kong that Beijing is getting ready to make "mass disqualifications" of pro-democracy lawmakers and candidates in September's election to the city's Legislative Council (LegCo), "or worse still cancel those elections."

He said Beijing is preparing to enact "draconian" national security legislation outlawing subversion and sedition, and to "continue with the politicised strategy of prosecution" that has seen dozens of people prosecuted for taking part in peaceful assemblies.

"There is no 'golden age' in our relations with the Chinese Communist Party," Patten wrote. "We must work with China even while it suffers under a Communist dictatorship."

"But we should do so with our eyes open and while stripping away the mendacity and the cant," the letter said, referring in particular to attempts by Chinese officials to deny there had been any attempt to cover up human-to-human transmission at the start of the coronavirus epidemic in the central city of Wuhan.

Labor Day gatherings banned

Patten's warning came as police in Hong Kong refused to give permission for a Labor Day demonstration on Friday, warning that anyone who participates in a gathering of more than four people could face up to five years in jail.

"Police have grounds to believe that the activities do not only increase the risk of infecting COVID-19 by participants and other people, but also pose serious threat to the lives and health of all citizens, jeopardizing public safety and affecting the rights of others," the police said in a statement dated April 24.

Police on Thursday fined a group of League of Social Democrats activists after they protested the ban outside police headquarters.

The activists refused to disperse after being ordered to leave by police, saying they had spaced themselves 1.5 metres apart and were divided into groups of four.

Police also used coronavirus as a reason to break up gatherings in malls at the weekend, although the city hadn't seen any new cases for five days straight by Thursday.

Reported by RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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An Albany man serving a life sentence without parole after he was convicted of his third felony sex offense for grabbing and groping a woman in a grocery store bathroom will be re-sentenced for a lesser offense, under a state appellate court ruling Thursday.

The Oregon Court of Appeals threw out Brandon Taylor Beckners conviction for first-degree sexual abuse, finding there wasnt sufficient evidence to prove Beckner subjected the woman to sexual abuse through physical force or threat.

The appellate court sent the case back to the Linn County Circuit Court with the direction to find Beckner guilty of less serious third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor, and ordered he be sentenced again.

Beckner, hiding in a closed womens restroom stall at Two Rivers Market in Albany on June 2, 2015, emerged and stood behind a woman as she washed her hands. He put his fingers to his lips, which she testified made her feel threatened and suggested that she either stay quiet or hed harm her.

But the appeals court found that Beckners gesture didnt rise to forcible compulsion, which requires an offender to say or do something that places a victim in fear that she will be killed, physically injured or kidnapped unless she submits to sexual contact.

It is not enough that the perpetrator says or does something that places the victim in fear that the perpetrator is going to sexually touch her, Court of Appeals Judge Robyn Aoyagi wrote in the ruling.

Beckner is being held at Snake River Correctional Institution.

As the victim turned to face him, Beckner grabbed the womans hips with both of his hands. The victim testified she was just so in shock when he grabbed her hips that she felt like [she] couldnt move. Beckner then grabbed the womans breasts with both hands before she turned and ran out, according to court records.

To prove sexual contact was first-degree sexual abuse, the state also had to prove Beckner compelled his victim to submit to the unwanted sexual contact, the court noted.

Here, the evidence was insufficient to establish that the victim felt compelled to submit to the grabbing of her breasts because defendant grabbed her hips. That two separate offensive touches occurred in immediate succession is not enough to prove forcible compulsion by physical force, Aoyagi wrote.

Beckner, now 33, was sentenced in 2017 to life in prison without the possibility of parole, because his first-degree sexual abuse conviction marked his third felony sex offense. The Linn County prosecutor had argued at his sentencing that Beckner had shown an escalating pattern of sexual abuse since 1999.

Beckner is being held at Snake River Correctional Institution.

Read the opinion here.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

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With a rescue plan that will form the basis of talks for IMF aid finally in place, Lebanon must now enact painful steps and work out how it distributes the costs, with the country's banks likely to be particularly hard hit.

The Lebanese government signed a request for assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday in what Prime Minister Hassan Diab's office described as "a historic moment in the history of Lebanon".

Although economists and diplomats welcomed the plan as a critical first step, many were sceptical that ambitious proposals to cut public sector spending and overhaul the banking sector could be enacted after years of political wrangling.

"This means the onset of serious negotiations with the IMF so this is very important and good news because it removes a lot of uncertainty. Having said that, the issue in Lebanon has always been one of execution," ex-economy minister Nasser Saidi said of the 53-page plan passed on Thursday.

The plan sets out tens of billions of dollars in financial system losses and tough measures to claw Lebanon out of a crisis that has seen its currency crash, unemployment soar, the country default on its sovereign debt and protests on the streets.

"We have taken the first step on the path of saving Lebanon from the deep financial gap; and it would be difficult to get out of it without efficient and impactful help," Diab's office said in Friday's statement.

A rapid slide in the Lebanese pound, which has lost more than half its value since October, has sparked renewed unrest, with a demonstrator killed in riots targeting banks that have frozen savers out of U.S. dollar deposits.

Beirut hopes that with an IMF programme in hand, foreign donors will release about $11 billion pledged at a Paris conference in 2018 which was tied to long-stalled reforms.

"Implementation is the hard bit, and Lebanon has consistently failed on this. Progress will only be possible with that, on the basis of greater political and public consensus," a Western diplomat told Reuters.

The plan, which calls for an additional $10 billion in external support over five years, also forms the backbone of talks with foreign bondholders that have yet to start and several Lebanese dollar bonds notched up their best daily gains on Friday in more than a month.

Lebanon said in March that it was defaulting on Eurobonds totalling $31 billion to preserve cash for vital imports.

"In large part its a big PR move for the government as there was a feeling that the government was starting to lose control of the narrative. This plan shows they're really trying to work towards something," Nafez Zouk, emerging markets strategist at Oxford Economics, said.

Blow to Banks

A central plank of the plan is imposing financial sector losses of roughly $70 billion, which will be covered in part by a shareholder bail-in and cash taken from large depositors.

With measures such as recovering stolen assets abroad, this could take years while some economists say the plan places too heavy a burden on a banking sector that has helped finance decades of large state budget deficits.

"This is basically a takeover of the banking sector by the state. I don't understand how this will restore confidence," said Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Byblos Bank. "When you go this way, where is lending going to come from?"

Marwan Mikhael, head of research at Blominvest Bank, said it was unfair to make banks pay such a high cost for years of government borrowing that led to the default and broader crisis.

"The government doesn't have the money to bail out the banks ... so here they want the banks to rescue the government."

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- Gary Neville and Ronaldo were team-mates at Manchester United for several seasons

- The Ex-Manchester United star believes Ronaldo is obsessed with sucess

- Neville predicted the Juventus forward might well play into his 40s

Former Manchester United star Gary Neville has hinted that Cristiano Ronaldo might not be thinking of retirement just yet and might end up playing to his 40s.

Neville, who played alongside Ronaldo till the Portuguese left in 2009, stated that he sees his former team mate playing for years to come, with Pele's goal scoring record being the target.

READ ALSO: Franck Ribery uses private plane to reunite rapper friend with mum

READ ALSO: 20 Serie A clubs deliver verdict on fate of current league season

The Juventus striker has now scored a total of 725 career goals in more than 1000 appearances as a professional.

Brazil legend Pele ended his much-lauded 21-year career with 1,282 goals in 1,363 games.

However most of these goals were scored in unofficial matches.

Peles official tally stands at 757 and that is just 32 goals shy of that of Ronaldos figure and Neville says that is Ronaldos main target.

"He just wanted to be the very, very best in the world and it's so important to him, Neville told SkySports.

"It's an obsession. Absolute obsession with scoring goals. Applying himself every single day, being the fittest he can possibly be. I think he's lifted his professionalism every single year and progressed. I genuinely believe he wants to go on and beat Pele's numbers.

According to the former full back, being regarded as the greatest of all time is Ronaldos ultimate target in football.

"That's where I think he's at in his mind, he wants to be the greatest of all time, that is his sole purpose, understanding that along the way if he is the greatest of all time, the teams that he plays for will win trophies and be successful."

Ronaldo tipped six other players to succeed him and become great.

At 35, Ronaldo has won everything possible for club and country which has also earned him record titles including five Ballon dOr, and as he moves into the twilight of his career, which other players have the potentials to succeed him?

READ ALSO: Vanessa Bryant brings internet to tears with tochy message on late daughters 14th birthday

As the worlds best, Ronaldo is keeping an eye on potential youngsters and in 2017, he named six players who could succeed him when he was asked.

"A very good question. I see some with great potential: Asensio, Mbappe, Neymar, Dembele, Hazard, Rashford, and some others, he replied.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Tuko news

Kenyans angered by Ksh 4 Million spent by Ministry of Health on Tea and Mandazi| Tuko TV:

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Boris Johnsons most senior aide is facing fresh allegations he flouted lockdown rules by taking a sightseeing trip on Easter Sunday.

The prime minister is facing mounting calls to sack Dominic Cummings amid claims he made several trips to see his family in County Durham, while the country was being told to stay at home.

Ministers vociferously defended Mr Cummings after it emerged he had made the 260-mile journey, insisting he had obeyed the rules by staying in one place while there.

However, an eyewitness told The Observer and the Sunday Mirror he had seen Mr Cummings on 12 April, 30 miles from Durham in Barnard Castle.

Another eyewitness said they saw the prime ministers most trusted aide in Durham on 19 April, days after he had been photographed returning to Downing Street.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar PA UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week PA UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana Getty UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow Manchester City/Getty UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as Storm Arwen triggered a rare red weather warning AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border PA UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 November 2021 Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel. AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 23 November 2021 The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London PA UK news in pictures 22 November 2021 The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 21 November 2021 London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services PA UK news in pictures 20 November 2021 Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 19 November 2021 A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste' PA UK news in pictures 18 November 2021 The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke PA UK news in pictures 17 November 2021 The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England PA UK news in pictures 16 November 2021 ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 15 November 2021 Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool Reuters UK news in pictures 14 November 2021 Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London PA UK news in pictures 13 November 2021 Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was caught in a dispute between two states PA

Earlier, Downing Street had described the first trip as essential, saying Mr Cummings needed his familys help to care for his young son because his wife was sick with coronavirus and he feared he was next.

Cabinet ministers lined up to defend Mr Cummings, saying he had put his family first and accused critics of trying to politicise the issue.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, used the daily Downing Street press conference to suggest that Mr Cummings had not broken lockdown rules because he had stayed put upon arrival in Durham.

But Robin Lees, 70, a retired chemistry teacher, told the papers he had seen Mr Cummings in Barnard Castle on Easter Sunday.

Mr Lees compared him to Catherine Calderwood, Scotlands former chief medical officer, who stood down after visiting her second home twice during lockdown.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP have written to Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, calling for an inquiry into Mr Cummingss decision to travel from London to Durham.

They want the probe to include when the prime minister was made aware Mr Cummings had left the capital.

Senior Tories also expressed concern that Mr Cummings's behaviour could encourage others to flout the rules, jeopardising the governments plans to gradually lift the lockdown.

The Independent can reveal that senior MPs are set to question Mr Johnson over Mr Cummings later this week, as pressure grows on the prime minister to explain what he knew about the trip under lockdown.

Parliament is in recess until June, meaning Mr Johnson will not have to face MPs at Prime Ministers Questions.

But members of the Commons Liaison Committee, which is made up of the chairs of other select committees, said they expected Mr Johnson to be questioned about Mr Cummings when he makes his first appearance before them later this week.

Pete Wishart, an SNP MP who sits on the committee and is a member of the "quad" which organises its business, said: If nothing has changed and Dominic Cummings is still in post by Wednesday, it would be very surprising if this was an issue that was not raised.

Another member of the committee said: Im sure one of my colleagues will crowbar the Cummings question in.

In a statement defending Mr Cummings, Downing Street said his trip had been essential to ensure his young son was properly cared for. After an offer of help from his sister and nieces, he travelled to a house near to but separate from his extended family.

A spokesperson for No 10, said: "Yesterday [Friday] the Mirror and Guardian wrote inaccurate stories about Mr Cummings. Today [Saturday] they are writing more inaccurate stories including claims that Mr Cummings returned to Durham after returning to work in Downing Street on 14 April. We will not waste our time answering a stream of false allegations about Mr Cummings from campaigning newspapers."

There was confusion about the involvement of police, however. No 10 also said that at no stage was Mr Cummings or his family spoken to by the police.

On Saturday night Durham Police took the unusual step of confirming they had spoken to Mr Cummingss father.

Steve White, the police and crime commissioner for Durham Police, a former head of the Police Federation in England and Wales, said it was "most unwise" for Mr Cummings to have travelled when "known to be infected".

The SNP accused No 10 of a "cover up" after reports some in Downing Street knew Mr Cummings had made the 260-mile journey during lockdown.

Former Tory cabinet minister David Lidington, Theresa Mays de facto deputy prime minister, told Newsnight: "There's clearly serious questions that No 10 are going to have to address, not least because the readiness of members of the public to follow government guidance more generally is going to be affected by this sort of story."

Professor Neil Ferguson, the epidemiologist whose modelling prompted the lockdown, quit as a government adviser for flouting the rules when he was visited at this home by his lover.

At the time Mr Hancock, the health secretary, said he was "speechless" and that he backed any police action against Mr Ferguson.

Sir Ed Davey, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, called for Mr Cummings to quit over the allegations, while a spokesperson for Labour said: "The British people do not expect there to be one rule for them and another rule for Dominic Cummings."

Asked by reporters on Saturday if he had considered his position, Mr Cummings said "obviously not".
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Its official.

All New York schools, colleges and universities will remain closed for the rest of the academic year, with remote learning set to continue, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a Friday morning press conference.

Given the circumstances that were in and the precautions that would have to be put in place to come up with a plan to reopen schools with all those new protocols -- how do you operate a school thats socially distanced, with masks, without gatherings, with a public transportation system that has a lower number of students on it -- how would you get that plan up and running?" Cuomo said.

We dont think its possible to do that in a way that would keep our children, our students and our educators safe, so were going to have the schools remain closed for the rest of the year and were going to continue the distance learning programs, the governor added.

Whether or not summer school programs will be able to operate in-person will be determined later in the month.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Schools have asked about summer school and whether well have attendance in schools for summer school. That decision will be made by the end of this month, Cuomo said. Again, nobody can predict what the situation is going to be three and four weeks from now, so were trying to stage decisions at intervals that give us the information, but also enough time for people to make the preparations they need to make.

The governor praised the work that has been done by New Yorks educators in recent weeks, developing remote learning curriculums on the fly to accommodate New Yorks 4.2 million students.

Teachers did a phenomenal job stepping up to do this. It was a hardship on everyone, but we made the best of the situation, Cuomo said.

Schools are now being asked to start developing plans to reopen next academic school year with precautions in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

We want schools to start now developing a plan to reopen and the plan has to have protocols in place that incorporate everything we are now doing in society and everything that weve learned. Were going to ask businesses to come up with plans to protect workers when they reopen; we need schools to come up with plans also that bring those precautions into the school room," the governor said.

HOW WE GOT HERE

New York City schools have been closed since March 16 as a result of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with all schools statewide closed since March 18.

Initially, city schools were slated to be closed until at least April 20, though several extensions have been enacted at the state level since then.

On April 11, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that New York Citys schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year, though Cuomo quickly overrode the mayor, noting that he did not have the jurisdiction to make such a decision.

Legally, I want the metropolitan area [of New York] coordinated, the governor said at the time. I dont want Suffolk doing something that Nassau doesnt do, that New York City doesnt do, that Westchester doesnt do. ...There has been no decision on the schools.

The governor said de Blasio didnt close them and he cant open them." And called de Blasios announcement "just the mayors opinion.
Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah is absolutely fine and observing the norms of the lockdown at his home, confirmed the actor and his son Vivaan.

As India is mourning the loss of two phenomenal actors-Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, Indian cinephiles got another brief jolt after speculations were rife that Naseeruddin Shah is unwell and has been admitted in a hospital. Soon after, well-wishes started pouring in for his good health and the actor was soon trending on social media. To tame the fire down, the actor has now himself stepped up to dismiss such any reports.

In a Facebook post, Naseeruddin Shah thanked everyone for enquiring about his health. He reassured them that he is fine and is observing the lockdown at his house. He further urged everyone to not believe any such rumours. Naseeruddin Shahs son Vivaan also tweeted also tweeted that his father is absolutely fine.

Calling all the rumours about his health fake, Vivaan extended his deepest condolences to Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. Vivaan said that he is praying for both the souls and his heart goes out for their families.

Also Read: Rishi Kapoor cremated in Mumbai: Randhir Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan among others pay their last respects

Also Read: Rishi Kapoor passes away: After Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan reach hospital to support family

All well everyone! Baba's just fine. All the rumours about his health are fake. He's keeping well Praying for Irfan Bhai and Chintu ji. Missing them a lot. Deepest condolences to their families. Our hearts go out to all of them. It's a devastating loss for all of us   Vivaan Shah (@TheVivaanShah) April 30, 2020

One of the most prolific actors of Indian Cinema, Naseeruddin Shah was last seen in 2019 films The Tashkent Files and Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi. Some of his most memorable films include Sparsh, Paar, Iqbal, Junoon, Aakrosh, Chakra, Bazaar, Masoom, Katha, Mandi, Sir, Mohra, Naajayaz, Chaahat, China Gate, Krrish, A Wednesday, The Dirty Picture, Welcome Back, Finding Fanny, Ishqiya and Zindagii Naa Milegi Dobara among many others.

Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor left for the heavenly abode on April 29 and April 30, 2020 after battling neuroendocrine tumour and leukemia respectively. Their demise is a huge loss for not just the film industry but their fans worldwide.

Also Read: Rishi Kapoors last message to the world

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is apparently leaning towards extending the state of emergency imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic for another month.

The 30-day decree imposed by Abe on April 7, which covered Tokyo and six other prefectures, will expire next week at the end of the country's Golden Week holidays. Japan has reported 14,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections with 415 deaths, a situation that has overwhelmed the country's health care system, hobbled its economy and forced it to postpone the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games for a year.

Abe told lawmakers Wednesday that he will consult infectious disease experts about the situation before making a final decision. Government sources say the prime minister will meet with the experts on Friday.
Ito Mai, a 40-year-old Japanese teacher for children with autism in the central city of Da Nang, starts each day with a special cup of coffee.

Ito Mai teaches children at the Uoc Mo Xanh (Blue Dream) Centre for Inclusive Education in Da Nang City how to make a cake.

The coffee is made by Mai and Duy Thai, an autistic teenager. In the kitchen of the Uoc Mo Xanh (Blue Dream) Centre for inclusive education, every day, Mai teaches Thai to make coffee with great perseverance and tenderness.

The kitchen corner then turns into a cafe of sorts as Mai enjoys his coffee and pays Thai a small sum of money, teaching him how to do simple things and recognise money.

I hope such small steps and basic skills will help him find inclusion in life in future, she said.

Mai came to Vietnam in October 2018 under a two-year volunteer programme carried out by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) since 1995.

She chose Vietnam as many of her friends had visited the country and she was told that Vietnamese people are kind and friendly.

She also said that she heard about supporting centres for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims and she was interested in the history of the country.

I want to learn about Vietnamese culture, history, society, social welfare efforts for people with disabilities in Vietnam and then use the knowledge in my volunteer activities, she said.

In addition, I would like to introduce Japanese culture and social welfare for people with disabilities in Japan to Vietnam.

Ito Mai gives food to a boy during lunch at the centre. Teaching living skills to the children always requires patience and love.

With 17 years of experience in caring for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, Mai was selected to come to Uoc Mo Xanh Centre under the Da Nang Association for the Support of People with Disabilities and Orphans. The centre was established in 2014 and is the second home of some 50 children with autism, language disorders, communication disabilities and hearing impairments.

She said that her first six months at the centre were a struggle and she lost motivation as learning the Vietnamese language was too difficult, making communication nigh on impossible.

I was surprised that even though my colleagues encouraged and comforted me a lot, I was always in a depressed mood, she said.

Then Mai realised there she wasn't the only one with problems and saw her Vietnamese colleagues also struggling to overcome the language and cultural differences between them.

This helped me change my emotions and focus on my volunteer activities, she said.

Now, Mai, along with Vietnamese teachers, has taken care of and taught children aged from 8 to 16 with intellectual or development disabilities for one and a half years. The children are now familiar with friendly and smiley Antie Mai.

Every day, I teach the children how to make cakes, how to eat, how to exercise, how to clean themselves, she said, I also teach them maths and writing, shopping at markets and help them with social skills.

Every day here is an unforgettable memory to me, she said, adding that she had been welcomed like a family member.

She recalled a story of a little boy beating the teachers when she first arrived and he was punished by being isolated until he apologised.

Thinking the boy would not understand why he was punished, she spoke to him privately and patiently explained what he had done wrong.

He finally understood and apologised to the teachers and went out to eat with his friends, Mai said, adding that the boy since then had been very close to her and became ready to receive her help.

A Vietnamese teacher at the centre said that Mai always treated the children with love and care.

When she teaches the children, she is very patient, gentle and always tries her best to speak in Vietnamese to the children, she said, adding that she had learnt a lot from the Japanese teacher.

For example, she said, when Mai taught the children to make Japanese-style potato cakes, she guided them very patiently from the very beginning how to peel and clean the potatoes, how to steam and grind, even how to organise seasonings.

Those are simple things to most kids, but to those special kids, they need special ways, she said.

Twice a week, Mai teaches the children to make different cakes, which she uses as a way to teach life skills and offer therapy to the children.

She has also proposed teaching the children to use public transport.

Director and founder of the centre Le Thi Kim Thu said Ito Mais methods were highly appreciated.

Thu said that at the centre, the formation of independent living skills for children with developmental disorders was a focus from an early age.

The educational content also takes many forms as an independent living skills education through daily activities such as personal hygiene, dressing, doing housework, eating and drinking at home and in class, communicating with other people and vocational training.

Ito Mai works very hard and enthusiastically with a sense of responsibility and caring, Thu said, adding that her care has helped many children improve.

Mai said that there were differences in how people with disabilities are supported between Japan and Vietnam.

But the teachers here told me that being close to the child will pay off and I am glad my method did work, she said.

There are indeed no cultural differences or language barriers between me and the children as they do not care about the differences, they are willing to accept me after all, she added. VNS

Hong Minh

Child with autism in Vietnam overcomes societal barriers in integration With the growth of Vietnams young population, recognition of children with autism has increased over the years. The upbringing and education of children with autism is a societal responsibility.
PHOENIX  Arizonans who assemble to worship or protest dont have to keep 6 feet between them to avoid violating the governors executive order and subjecting themselves to arrest and jail, Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Thursday.

In a formal legal opinion, Brnovich pointed out that Gov. Doug Duceys order specifically permits people to engage in constitutionally protected activity, including religion and speech. It said these are allowed if conducted in a manner that provides appropriate physical distancing to the extent feasible.

State Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, who requested the attorney generals opinion, noted that Ducey, in other parts of his executive order, specifically required separation of 6 feet.

So she asked Brnovich whether that would put parishioners and others in legal jeopardy  and subject them to the $600 fine and six months in jail that Ducey said is the enforcement provision of his order  if they were closer to each other.

Brnovich said no.

He pointed out theres no specific distance requirement when things like church services and rallies are at issue, with Ducey instead relying on words like appropriate and feasible.

This flexible language recognizes that what may be appropriate or feasible in one context may not be appropriate or feasible in another context, Brnovich wrote.

Separately Thursday, Townsend and state Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, are moving to try to trim Duceys emergency authority.
Ramadan is usually a time of togetherness, with Muslims filling mosques for hours of prayer and sharing large, lavish meals with friends and neighbors after days of dawn-to-dusk fasting.

But as Associated Press images show, the coronavirus has forced Muslims around the world  from Indonesia, India and Gaza City to Seattle and South Africa  to alter the way in which they are marking the holiest month on the Islamic calendar.

This year, many are confined to their homes, travel is heavily restricted and public venues including parks, malls and even mosques are shuttered.

Ahmad Kamel, his wife, Nadia Chaouch, and their 2-year-old son Yusuf are staying at home in Seattle. An AP photographer recently captured them in front of a computer in their living room watching the nightly Taraweeh prayer livestreamed from a nearly empty mosque. If it werent for COVID-19, they would be at the mosque, then sharing festive, fast-ending meals with friends and neighbors.

Outside the Imam Ahmed Raza Jaame Masjid mosque in Springs, southwest of Johannesburg, three women waiting to receive Ramadan candies recently sat in socially distanced chairs, the correct spacing marked by painted white lines. South Africa is under a strict five-week lockdown in an effort to fight the pandemic.

In New Delhi, a small, solitary group of Muslims could be seen quietly breaking the fast inside the Jama Masjid, one of Indias largest mosques that in a non-pandemic year would be packed with thousands of devotees.

Men wearing masks practiced social distancing during prayer at the Tahara Mosque in Marseille, France, last week, while a solitary man fired a vintage cannon from behind a stone wall on a hill in Sarajevo, Bosnia, to signal the breaking of the fast shortly after sunset.

Muslim-majority countries began imposing widespread restrictions in mid-March, with many canceling Friday prayers and shuttering holy sites. Saudi Arabia has largely locked down Mecca and Medina and halted the year-round umrah pilgrimage.

Story continues

In Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim nation, the capital of Jakarta suspended passenger flights and rail services and private cars have been banned from leaving the city.

But while many are weighed down by anxiety about the pandemic, others have decided to cast those fears aside in favor of honoring religious traditions.

In Indonesias deeply conservative Aceh province, which is governed by Islamic law under an autonomy agreement, many mosques were packed on Friday after the top clerical body ruled that prayers could continue.

One AP image showed hundreds of men, a few with masks but most without, standing shoulder to shoulder at a mosque in the province, despite warnings from global health officials to avoid large gatherings that could spur a rapid spread of COVID-19.

The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, who recover within a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness or death, particularly in older patients or those with underlying health problems.
Pregnant Millie Mackintosh was seen leaving her London home and heading into a cab with her husband Hugo Taylor just hours before giving birth on Friday.

The Made In Chelsea star, 30, showcased her bump in a tight dress as she stepped into the waiting black cab while her husband, 33, followed into the car with suitcases, a new pillow, handbags, a rucksack and gift bags.

The sighting came just hours before the couple revealed they had welcomed their first child in a touching statement released to Hello! Magazine.

Blossoming: Pregnant Millie Mackintosh was seen leaving her London home and heading into a cab with her husband Hugo Taylor just hours before giving birth on Friday

Millie was sporting a skin-tight dress to show off her bump while giving a trademark elegant touch with her classic cream trench coat.

Showcasing the fabled expectant mother glow, the reality star and fashionista was radiant as she went make-up free while leaving her home.

Hugo was every inch the doting expectant father as he followed behind the star with a vast suitcase, gift bags, handbags and new pillows.

Shortly after their sighting, on Friday afternoon, the new parents released their exciting news in a sweet and gushing statement.

Blooming lovely: The Made In Chelsea star, 30, showcased her bump in a tight dress as she stepped into the waiting black cab while her husband, 33, followed into the car

Doing the heavy lifting! Hugo had bags aplenty to load into the car with his expectant wife

Millie and Hugo said: 'We are delighted to announce the arrival of our darling girl who arrived on Friday 1 May at 1:21pm, weighing a very healthy seven pounds.

'We are eternally grateful to the doctors, nurses and midwives for taking such good care of us. Mum and baby are both doing incredibly well and we are looking forward to bringing our daughter home and spending time together as a family.'

The previous day, Millie was in a reflective mood as she looked back at her pregnancy by sharing one month and nine month comparison photos of her bump.

Over and out! The sighting comes just hours after Millie officially signed off Instagram on Thursday, ahead of her baby girl's impending arrival

Strapped up: She nailed comfy maternity wear as she donned a pair of classic single strap Birkenstock sandals

Millie also uploaded a trio of black and white photos cradling her bump and captioned it: 'Signing off for a while - looking back on the last nine months, despite its challenges, it's been a real blessing.

'The unwavering support I've had from you all as a community has been such a comfort to me. Social media, for all its negatives...

'[It] really has some sparkling gems of positivity along the way and connecting with you all has really helped me through my pregnancy struggles.

'When I return I shall continue to be open and honest sharing my experiences and early days of motherhood. Until then, its with a huge, heartfelt thank you from me for all the support. Now onto the next part of the journey!'

All bagged up: Hugo was laden with bags - including the huge suitcase and rucksack

Earlier this month, Millie said while she was uploading 'smiling bump photos', behind-the-scenes she was dealing with a leaky bladder, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and sugary cravings.

Millie wrote: 'As I come close to the end of my pregnancy, (it feels like I've been pregnant forever) Im aware I've been posting lots of smiling bump photos but I wanted to be honest about my experience in recent weeks.

'Dont get me wrong, theres a lot of beauty surrounding growing a human, it feels like a miracle. A miracle that comes with a side portion of crazy old symptoms, soaring hormone levels and physical and emotional challenges.'

Exciting times: Millie announced she was expecting a girl with husband Hugo last November

'See you on the other side!' Millie looked back at her pregnancy with a one and nine month snap of her bump as she told fans she was signing off Instagram on Thursday

Stylish departure: Hugo had Millie's designer bags in hand as they headed to the black cab

Millie announced she was expecting a girl with husband Hugo, 33, last November.

At the time, the television personality told Hello!: 'I'm so excited it's a girl. I would've been delighted with either, but when I found out we were having a girl, I suddenly realised this is what I really wanted.'

Millie and Hugo tied the knot in June 2018 at Hugo's uncle's country estate Whithurst Park, in West Sussex, one year after he proposed during a holiday to the Greek island of Mykonos.

Happy days: At the time, the television personality told Hello! : 'I'm so excited it's a girl. I would've been delighted with either, but when I found out we were having a girl, I suddenly realised this is what I really wanted'

Soon to be three! Millie has been keeping fans up to speed with her baby journey

The couple briefly dated during their Made In Chelsea days back in 2011 and reunited in May 2016 shortly after Millie's split from her first husband, rapper Professor Green, 35.

Millie was married to the musician, real name Stephen Manderson, for two-and-a-half years before they announced their split in February 2016.

The former couple finalised their divorce in May 2016, the same week Millie and Hugo went public with their rekindled romance.
Brown County, which had been among the last counties in the state to see COVID-19 among its residents, has reported its first case.

The positive test in a man in his 20s makes Scott County the only in west-central Illinois county still reporting no cases of coronavirus disease.

The Brown County man is recovering at home.

Morgan County received no new positive cases Thursday, which leaves the countys total at 22. There have been 253 negative tests returned and results are pending in 10 tests, according to a daily briefing by the Morgan County Department of Public Health, Jacksonville/Morgan County Emergency Management, Memorial Health System, Morgan County commissioners and the city of Jacksonville.

Morgan County is scheduled to open a drive-through testing site today at Morgan County Health Department.

Neighboring Cass County, which has seen significant growth in infections during the past week, saw six new cases Thursday, according to the Cass County Health Department. The cases involve a teenage girl, two men in their 30s, a woman in her 40s and two men in their 60s. They are isolated and recovering at home.

The total reported cases in Cass County was 35 as of Thursday.

Schuyler County reported one additional case, bringing its total to two, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Other west-central Illinois counties remained the same: one in Pike; three in Greene; 12 in Jersey; and 30 in Macoupin. Sangamon County cases rose by nine Thursday, to 178.

Statewide, 2,563 new cases of coronavirus disease and 141 additional deaths were reported Thursday.

There are 52,918 cases in 97 counties in Illinois and there have been 2,355 deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The Morgan County test site at West Morgan Street and Dunlap Court will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays for those who meet state health department requirements.

Those who seek COVID-19 testing are required to schedule an appointment prior to arriving by calling 217-479-1817 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

This clinic is valuable to our community and will assist us in better understanding the scope of COVID-19, Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard said.

The drive-through testing site is a collaborative effort between the Morgan County Health Department, Passavant Area Hospital, Morgan County, the city of Jacksonville and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Morgan County and Jacksonville officials have worked diligently to bring testing to our location. Morgan County is a large area with a vast group of people and this allows us to provide necessary testing services to our community, Morgan County Commissioner Brad Zeller said.

 David C.L. Bauer
As states begin to allow businesses to reopen, their employees will be lured back with the promise of a steady paycheck after weeks of unemployment, layoffs or furloughs during the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 60,000 people in the US and infected more than 1 million.

But Americans who refuse to return to work if they don't feel safe could be denied unemployment benefits, despite warnings from epidemiologists and other health officials that the public health crisis is all but over.

Republican lawmakers who have pushed to strip funding for unemployment benefits and public health insurance coverage in their states are eager to reopen, as they brace for a surge in claims for Medicaid and unemployment with a looming recession, declining tax revenues and no plans to raise taxes to fill their coffers.

Without guarantees that there are enough tests or personal protective equipment, re-openings have highlighted a socioeconomic chasm between Americans: one that can afford to stay home, and another that can't afford not to.

"This is a dangerous path to go down," said former health insurance executive turned whistleblower Wendell Potter. "If that indeed happens  businesses open prematurely, more people are exposed and spreading the virus  it defies logic."

Following Donald Trump's invocation of the Defence Production Act to force meatpacking plants to reopen, those workers are on the latest frontline in the president's war against the "invisible enemy" of the coronavirus.

David Michaels, former Assistant Secretary of Labour for Occupational Safety and Health and George Washington University epidemiologist, said officials are telling workers "come in, or stay home and don't get unemployment insurance."

"It's your money, or your life," he said. "That's a terrible choice to offer people."

Workers could lose unemployment benefits if they don't return to work

Another 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance benefits at the end of April, adding to unprecedented jobless claims that have now topped more than 30 million within only a month following the outbreak. Economists say the numbers merely glimpse the scope of the unemployment crisis.

The Economic Policy Institute reported that for every 10 people who successfully filed for unemployment over the last month, three to four others tried to apply but couldn't get through the system, and another two people were unable to because the process was too difficult.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds never issued a stay-at-home order for her state, among only a handful without any such orders.

Now the state's furloughed workers have been warned they will lose their unemployment benefits if they don't return to work when their employers reopen. Iowa Workforce Development said their absence will be considered a "voluntary quit" that disqualifies them from benefits.

Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee have issued similar warnings.

"The reality is that we cannot stop this virus," Governor Reynolds said during a press briefing on Monday. "It will remain in our communities until a vaccine is available. Instead we must learn to live with coronavirus activity without letting it govern our lives."

Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan Show all 13 1 /13 Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan A protester holds a sign comparing Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer to a Nazi during a demonstration at the State Capitol in Lansing over coronavirus lockdown measures AP Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan An armed protester taking part in a demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures outside the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan EPA Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan Vehicles sit in gridlock during a protest in Lansing, Michigan over lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic AP Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan People protest against coronavirus lockdown measures in Lansing, Michigan AP Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan An armed man stands outside the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan during a protest against lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic AFP via Getty Images Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan A 2020 Trump Unity sign is displayed during a protest against coronavirus lockdown measures at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan AP Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan A protester calls for the impeachment of Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer during a demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures in Lansing EPA Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan A slogan on the back of a truck during a protest against coronavirus lockdown measures in Lansing, Michigan EPA Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan Drivers sit in gridlock as part of a protest against lockdown measures in Michigan outside the State Capitol in Lansing during the coronavirus pandemic AFP via Getty Images Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan Protesters wave US flags outside the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, during a demonstration against lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic AFP via Getty Images Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan People protest against coronavirus lockdown measures at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan AFP via Getty Images Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan A protester holds up a banner directed at Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer during a demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures near the State Capitol in Lansing AFP via Getty Images Operation Gridlock: Anti-lockdown protests in Michigan People take part in a protest against lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan AFP via Getty Images

The CARES Act has temporarily expanded eligibility for unemployment through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme, including people who are caring for a sick patient in their home, people told to by a doctor to self-quarantine, and people with compromised immune systems.

Under Labour Secretary Eugene Scalia, who has suggested extended unemployment benefits during the crisis are too generous, the department has explicitly stated that workers can't collect unemployment benefits if they quit working because they are "afraid of getting coronavirus from customers coming to the store".

As states begin to phase limited re-openings of some businesses, the people most likely to be able to return to work are front-facing, low-wage retail employees, from hairdressers and nail technicians to staff at restaurants and bowling alleys.

In roles that are likely to expand as states reopen businesses, essential jobs during the crisis are held mostly by women of colour.

One in three essential workers are women, according to a New York Times analysis of labour and Census data. Women make up nearly nine out of 10 nurses and nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and other pharmacy staff, according to the report.

More than two-thirds of people working as a grocery store checkout worker and behind the register at fast food restaurants are women.

Less than one in five black workers and roughly one in six Hispanic workers are able to work from home, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Less than 10 per cent of workers in the lowest quartile of the wage distribution are able to telework, compared with 61.5 per cent of workers in the highest quartile, the report said.

The Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act triggered $350 billion in loans to companies with fewer than 500 employees. A second $310 billion was approved after the funds were exhausted within days. The Small Business Administration will forgive the loans  if companies keep their pre-pandemic payrolls over two months.

In some states with low work wages, "enhanced" unemployment benefits have outpaced their paychecks. An additional $600 a week for unemployed workers, which has been extended through July, is significantly higher than the $247 weekly benefits paid out by the Louisiana Workforce Commission in that state, for example. The state uses the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25.

Republican lawmakers in the state have organised against Governor John Bel Edwards' extension of a statewide stay-at-home order through 15 May, despite alarmingly high per capita death and infection rates that have outpaced some of the largest cities and counties in the US despite having just a fraction of the population.

Internal documents from the state's party show a coordinated campaign to undermine health warnings and the only Democratic governor in the deep South.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, has said that states facing a fiscal crisis could declare bankruptcy and has objected to "blue state bailouts" suggesting that Democratic leaders would "take advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems that they created themselves".

Laid-off workers face losing their health insurance

A high-level estimate from Health Management Associates says between 12 to 35 million people who receive health coverage through their employer, including their family members who also rely on those plans, could lose their coverage after layoffs during the pandemic.

"Since most adults in this country who are working, and their families, get their coverage through the workplace, it's really showing the absurdity of people having access to healthcare through their employment," Mr Potter said.

Twenty-six million Americans were already uninsured before the pandemic.

Medicaid enrolment could increase from 71 million to 82-94 million, according to Health Management Associates, which is likely to put a crunch on state budgets already constrained by pandemic response.

It's unclear whether states are prepared for a surge in new claims for the federal health plan that serves poor Americans.

Fourteen states have not yet expanded the programme under the Affordable Care Act over fears that their state budget can't cover the cost of the remaining costs of the federally supported programme, leaving millions of America's so-called "working poor" uninsured. The expansion covers the gap in coverage between people previously ineligible for Medicaid but who can't afford insurance through private or employer-provided plans.

Medicaid funding could be in "dire straits" as states are facing a "double whammy of a decrease in tax revenue and the need to pay out more so people have unemployment and access to healthcare" during the crisis, Mr Potter said.

The Department of Health and Human Services has indicated that hospitals and providers will be able to bill the federal government for Covid-19 care to uninsured people, and they'll be reimbursed at Medicare rates, according to Secretary Alex Azar. But details of that plan have not been revealed.

Democrats in Congress have pitched an expansion of COBRA benefits, which allow people to continue health coverage they had under their employer after they've left that job. The programme's intended use as a short-term coverage gap between jobs underscores how dependent Americans are on employment for their healthcare.

A plan from House Democrats would subsidise COBRA premiums for laid-off workers. Private insurers sent a letter to Congress endorsing the plan.

Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Show all 13 1 /13 Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Cheryll Mack, 46, a registered nurse in the emergency department, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift outside the hospital where she works. "The Covid-19 spread has affected a lot of livelihood, a lot of people's lives. It has created a crisis, death in general. So I would like to ask not one single person, but all people worldwide, to converge and join the platform that this is something that nobody can fight individually," said Mack. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Dr Laura Bontempo, 50, an emergency medicine doctor wears her personal protective equipment she uses when she sees patients, while posing for a photograph after a nine-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moments have actually been separating families from patients, there is a no-visitor policy now and taking people away from their loved ones is very challenging," Bontempo said. "I'm used to treating sick patients. I treat sick patients all the time. It's very different knowing that the patient you are treating, is actually a risk to you as well. That's the main difference here. No one who works in hospitals is afraid of treating sick people. Just want to keep staff safe and the patients safe at the same time." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Ernest Capadngan, 29, a registered nurse who works at a biocontainment unit poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moment during the shift was just seeing Covid patients die helpless and without their family members beside them," Capadngan said. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Martine Bell, 41, a nurse practitioner in an emergency department, poses for a photograph after a six-hour shift outside the hospital where she works. "The hardest thing in all of this, has been taking care of fellow healthcare providers. It really hits home and it's really scary when you see someone that could be you coming in and now you're taking care of them. It's also hitting home that once healthcare providers start getting sick, who is going to be taking care of the public," Bell said. "It's very stressful, everyone is on edge. We don't know who's coming in next, or how sick they're going to be, or if we are going to get a whole bunch of people or if we're not going to get no one. It's a really stressful and just a completely unusual time for all of us." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Kaitlyn Martiniano, 25, a registered nurse who works at a biocontainment poses for a photograph after a 12.5-hour shift, outside the hospital. "We have a lot of patients and they are pretty sick right now but we have not yet been hit as hard as New York or Seattle, so I feel like we are very lucky with that so far. Every day you have to just be optimistic." Said Martiniano. "I think the reason that we are not being hit as hard right now is because so many things are closed, and because so many people are staying at home." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Tracey Wilson, 53, a nurse practitioner in an intensive care unit (ICU), poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works. "I had a patient fall out of bed today and I had to call his wife and tell her and she couldn't come see him, even though she pleaded and begged to come see him," Wilson said. "There is a lot of unknowns and with that unknown is a lot of anxiety and stress that we're not used to dealing with." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Meghan Sheehan, 27, a nurse practitioner in an emergency department, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works. "I think the hardest moment has been the fear that lives within all of us. There is a lot of unknown right now. We fear what's going to happen tomorrow, how the emergency department will look next week when we come in. We have fears about our own colleagues, whether they will fall ill. We also fear that we could be asymptomatic carriers and bring this virus home to our families and our loved ones. There has been a lot of fear over our supplies and whether we'll run out. And then obviously there is the fear that we will see patients and not be able to do everything we normally can to help save patients' lives," Sheehan said. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Kimberly Bowers, 44, a nurse practitioner in an ICU, poses for a photograph after a 13-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moment was a young woman who died and her family wasn't able to be here with her," Bowers said. "I think right now, it's just frustrating and scary just not knowing what comes next." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Tiffany Fare, 25, a registered nurse who works at a biocontainment unit poses for a photograph after a 13-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works. "One of the hardest moments was having to see a family member of a Covid patient, say goodbye over an iPad, rooms away. That was a tough one, I can't imagine how hard it would be to be saying goodbye, you can't see your loved one and then they're gone," Fare said. "My team has been really great to me. We've worked really well together and we've really come together in this crisis. We don't really know each other, we all come from different units within the same hospital, so for us to come together and work so well as a team, it's been a journey but I think that's what is giving me hope." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Dr Kyle Fischer, 35, an emergency medicine doctor, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift, outside the hospital where he works. "Since it's a new virus, we don't have any experience with it. For most diseases I am used to seeing it and taking care of it and this, I don't have any starting place. I know what I'm hearing from New York, I've read all of the papers it seems like, but no one knows what the correct answers are, so there's a huge amount of uncertainty and people are really, really sick. So it's hard to second guess whether or not you are doing the right thing when you think you are but you never quite know," said Fischer. Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Julia Trainor, 23, a registered nurse at a surgical ICU, poses for a photograph after a 14-hour shift, outside the hospital. "The hardest moment was having to put a breathing tube in my patient who could no longer breathe for herself and after the breathing tube went in, we called her family and the husband, of course, couldn't visit her because of visitor restrictions at the hospital. So I had to put him on the phone and hold the phone to her ear, as he told her that he loved her so much and then I had to wipe away her tears as she was crying," said Trainor. "I'm used to seeing very sick patients and I'm used to patients dying but nothing quite like this. In the flip of a switch, without the support, they're completely isolated. They're very sick. Some of them recover and some of them don't. But the hardest part, I would think, is them having to go through this feeling like they are alone." Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Lisa Mehring, 45, a registered nurse who works in a biocontainment unit with Covid-19 patients, poses for a photograph after a 12.5-hour shift, outside the hospital where she works in Maryland. "Seeing these new moms have babies has been the hardest moment along with having do their pumping for the new moms and them not being able to be with their newborn children, it's hard to think of the family that they are missing," Mehring said. Photos Reuters Inside US hospital: A day fighting the coronavirus Jacqueline Hamil, 30, a registered nurse in an emergency department, poses for a photograph after a 12-hour shift outside the hospital. "The hardest moment of my shift today, I was in charge, and we had a really sick patient that was in a really, really small room and usually, when we have sick crashing patients, we can have a ton of resources and a ton of staff go in and help with the nurse and the doctors that are taking care of that patient. But due to the patient being ruled out for the coronavirus, we could only have five or six people in the room at a time and putting on all the gowns and gloves and masks and face shields to protect us in case the patient does have coronavirus, it takes a while, so the nurse that was in there, ended up being in the room for you know 6, 7 hours with minimal breaks and it was hard being in charge and knowing that she was stuck in the room and really nothing I could do to help her," Hamil said. Reuters

Mr Potter calls it a bailout.

"It would restore all the revenue companies are standing to lose, with all the elective procedures being cancelled," he said. "Insurance companies will by far come out the biggest winners in this pandemic."

Only 10 per cent of Americans who are eligible for COBRA take advantage of the programme, which leaves former employees responsible for picking up not only their end of the tab but also the share previously covered by their employer, along with other fees. The Kaiser Family Fund found that the average 2019 premium for an employer-sponsored family plan was $20,576 per year.

With millions of newly unemployed Americans, the Democrats' plan still requires participants to absorb other out-of-pocket costs and would lock in existing health inequalities. Americans who aren't eligible for COBRA coverage wouldn't be able to access subsidised care through the plan, and high-cost plans serving higher-income workers would be subsidised along with low-cost, low-coverage plans.

"You still would have a lot of unevenness among those who are newly uninsured," Mr Potter said. "A lot of people will be seeing their health plans continue but they'll still be on the hook for a lot of money out of their own pockets."

Progressive lawmakers have pitched emergency legislation to reimburse out-of-pocket costs for Covid-19 treatment without relying on for-profit insurers. A bill from Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal would cover costs for the uninsured through Medicare.

"It is mind boggling that [Congress] would be willing to spend more money, more taxpayers' dollars, to make sure people have access to care they need" under the COBRA plan, Mr Potter said. "It is maddening to think our elected officials would think that's the preferred choice."
Singapore tycoon O.K. Lim built up his oil empire from a single-truck outfit through hard work and high-risk gambles, a rags-to-riches tale that made him a legend among crude traders. But it all came crashing down when oil markets were plunged into unprecedented turmoil by the coronavirus pandemic and revealed the keen poker player appeared to have overplayed his hand. Lim -- who projected a down-to-earth image but was, according to people who knew him, a "major risk-taker" -- dashed to court seeking protection from creditors for his firm Hin Leong Trading last month. In a bombshell affidavit seen by AFP, Lim revealed the oil trader had "in truth... not been making profits in the last few years" -- despite having officially reported a healthy profit in 2019. He admitted the firm he founded in the 1960s after emigrating from China had hidden $800 million in losses over the years, while it also owes almost $4 billion to banks. Lim took responsibility for ordering the company, one of Asia's biggest oil traders, not to report the losses and also confessed it had sold off inventories that were supposed to backstop loans. Hin Leong -- meaning "prosperity" in Chinese -- is one of the biggest industry casualties yet of the crude market collapse, and its demise last month marks an ignominious fall from grace for Lim. - 'Major risk-taker' - The businessman -- whose full name is Lim Oon Kuin -- started the company with a single delivery truck shortly before Singapore became independent in 1965. It grew into a major supplier of fuel used by ships, and its rise in some ways mirrored Singapore's growth from a gritty port to an affluent financial hub. The firm played a key role in helping the city-state become the world's top ship refuelling port, observers say, and it expanded into ship chartering and management with a subsidiary that has a fleet of more than 150 vessels. The picture that emerges of Lim himself, now in his 70s, is complex. On one hand, he was a low-profile individual who sought to project a humble image -- you would not know he was a wealthy tycoon if you saw him walking down the street, according to those who knew him. But he maintained a firm grip on Hin Leong, with one oil trader in Singapore -- who spoke anonymously -- describing him as a "typical Asian patriarch making all the decisions for the family business". Jorge Montepeque, a veteran crude market executive who did business with Lim for a decade until 2001, said the Hin Leong founder could appear "almost detached" in meetings, as if unaware of what was happening. "But that's not true, he very much knows what is going on... The reality is that he has been a major risk-taker," he told AFP. - 'Too big to fail' - The firm's collapse has prompted a police investigation and sent shockwaves through the financial community, with a government agency offering assurances that the city-state's "oil-trading sector remains resilient". The Singapore oil trade told AFP: "Nobody appeared to have thought that anything was amiss. "The sentiment was that Hin Leong was too big to fail." But it appears that taking risks and failing to hedge against a downturn came back to bite Hin Leong when it was hit by a double blow -- a Saudi-Russia price war and a virus-triggered demand shock. Global oil demand has collapsed by around a third, according to some estimates, as the virus pandemic brings economic activity to a standstill. A slide presentation made by Hin Leong for creditors before it went to court showed the company had total liabilities of $4.05 billion against assets of $714 million. Bank debts of $3.85 billion comprised the lion's share of its liabilities -- with large sums owed to lenders including HSBC, Dutch bank ABN Amro and France's Societe Generale. "What caught many by surprise was that they didn't have the cash. I mean, these guys were big," the oil trader said. Hin Leong did not respond to requests to comment from AFP. Lim has stepped down from his positions as director and managing director, although Hin Leong's final fate is still uncertain at this stage. Observers say that the firm had likely hoped China would contain the virus and the oil market turmoil would be short-lived. But such a strategy, said oil executive Montepeque, was like "taking all your assets and putting them all on the red on the casino roulette". And after reading Lim's confessions, Montepeque said he believed the "game was up" for Hin Leong. mba/sr/rbu/dan SOCIETE GENERALE HSBC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is calling up his counterparts in Indias neighbourhood, as New Delhi stepped up its engagements with the countries in South and South-East Asia in order to pre-empt Chinas new Health Silk Road move to use the COVID-19 crisis and spread its tentacles in the region.

New Delhi is also extending a currency swap facility to its neighbours to help them mitigate the impact of the crisis on their economies, in addition to providing them with Paracetamol and Hydroxychloroquine tablets as well as protective gears for healthcare professionals, face masks and other medical equipment.

The Prime Minister spoke to Myanmars state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi over the phone on Thursday. He underlined the importance of Myanmar as a vital pillar of Neighbourhood First policy of India, according to a press release issued by his office. He conveyed to her that India would stand ready to provide all possible support to Myanmar for mitigating the health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel and transport curbs as well as the lockdowns imposed by many nations around the world to contain it.

Modi spoke to Suu Kyi just days after Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) sent a military medical team to Myanmar to help the South East Asian nation to deal with the pandemic. This was the second medical team Beijing sent to help Nay Pyi Daw deal with the COVID-19 outbreak in Myanmar.

New Delhi took note of the arrival of Chinas military medical team in Myanmar, where the armed forces continued to hold sway even after the victory of the Suu Kyis National League for Democracy in the landmark elections in 2015.

The two other nations China sent its military medical teams are Laos and its iron brother Pakistan.

The Prime Minister also pledged Indias consistent support to Bangladesh to deal with the crisis when he called up his counterpart in the neighbouring country, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday.

China is sending a medical team to Bangladesh too  responding to a request from Hasinas Government.

What caused unease for New Delhi is that Bangladesh asked China to send a team of doctors and nurses, although India had assured all other South Asian nations itself that its Rapid Response Teams of healthcare professionals would be on standby to be deployed in any neighbouring country. Modi, himself, had promised to send the teams on request from any South Asian nations, when he had held a video-conference with Hasina and other leaders of the SAARC on March 15 to work out a strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The only neighbouring country where New Delhi so far deployed its Rapid Response Team of healthcare professionals is the Maldives.

India, however, sent two consignments of medicines, gloves and masks to Bangladesh to help it respond to the pandemic. Besides, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhuvaneshwar will conduct a series of online courses in Bangla on the management of the COVID-19 for the healthcare professionals of Bangladesh on May 12 and 13. New Delhi, earlier, arranged similar webinars in English for all the SAARC nations.

Not only Suu Kyi and Hasina, but the Prime Minister also spoke to Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli earlier this month.

He reached out to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, President Joco Widodo of Indonesia and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore over the past few days. He is also likely to speak to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa soon.

Modis calls to the leaders of South Asia and South-East Asia are just continuation of the process he started as early as on March 15, when he convened a video conference of the leaders of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) to work out a strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and to deal with its economic implications. A senior official in New Delhi said that the Modi government had anticipated that China would try to use the crisis to expand its footprints around the world and that was why India had moved fast to counter as much as possible the communist countrys bid in its neighbourhood.

India recently activated a currency swap facility of $ 150 million for Maldives.

It was activated as a component of the $ 400 million currency swap agreement India earlier inked with Maldives in July 2019. The agreement was a part of the $1.4 billion economic assistance package New Delhi had announced for Maldives in December 2018 to help the just-installed Solih Government pull the tiny island nation out of a $ 3 billion debt-trap with China. The erstwhile regime led by Abdulla Yameen Gayoom had put Maldives into the debt-trap by awarding the state-owned companies of China contracts to build several infrastructure projects, mostly on unsustainable loan terms.

China of late extended support to Maldives to expeditiously build a facility to quarantine suspected COVID-19 patients. It also sent medical supplies to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Even as the Solih Government in Male expressed its gratitude to Beijing, Chinas envoy to Maldives, Zhang Lizhong, utilized the opportunity to seek continuation of the projects, which the communist countrys state-owned companies had embarked on the tiny nation as part of its ambitious and controversial cross-continental connectivity projects under the Belt-and-Road Initiative.

The Reserve Bank of India is also working with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to finalise a $400 million currency swap agreement for the neighbouring island nation.

China already provided a preliminary $500 million concessional loan to Sri Lanka to help it cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sri Lanka had to lease out the Hambantota Port to China for 99 years after its construction by a company based in the communist country resulted in a huge debt burden on the tiny Indian Ocean nation. After the return of the Rajapaksa Clan to power in Colombo  Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President and Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, China has renewed its interests in projects in Sri Lanka, particularly focusing on the ones it could use to expand its geo-strategic influence over the island nation.
NORFOLK, Va., April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE: NSC) announced today the commencement of offers to certain eligible holders (together, the "Exchange Offers") of the Company's outstanding debt securities listed in the table below (together, the "Existing Notes") to exchange Existing Notes for consideration consisting of cash and up to $800,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company's new Notes due 2055 (the "New Notes"), the complete terms of which are set forth in a confidential offering memorandum, dated today (the "Offering Memorandum"), and the related letter of transmittal, dated today (together with the Offering Memorandum, the "Offering Documents").

The table below indicates each series of Existing Notes included in the Exchange Offers:

Cusip

Numbers Title of

Security

(collectively,

the "Existing

Notes") Principal

Amount

Outstanding Acceptance

Priority

Level(1) Reference

U.S.

Treasury Bloomberg

Reference

Page Fixed

Spread

(bps) Cash

Payment

Percent of

Premium(2) Early

Exchange

Premium(3)(4)

















655844CB2 5.100% Notes

due 2118 $800,000,000 1 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 240 0% $30.00 655844AK4 7.900% Notes

due 2097 $225,222,000 2 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 240 0% $30.00 655844BD9 6.000% Notes

due 2111 $121,731,000 3 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 240 0% $30.00 655844AV0 6.000% Notes

due 2105 $184,118,000 4 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 240 0% $30.00 655844AF5 7.050% Notes

due 2037 $178,995,000 5 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 145 0% $30.00 655844BR8 4.650% Notes

due 2046 $600,000,000 6 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 155 0% $30.00 655844BN7 4.800% Notes

due 2043 $291,829,000 7 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 150 0% $30.00 655844BH0 /

655844BE7 4.837% Notes

due 2041 $595,504,000 8 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 150 0% $30.00 655844BQ0 4.450% Notes

due 2045 $500,000,000 9 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 155 0% $30.00 655844CC0 4.100% Notes

due 2049 $400,000,000 10 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 160 0% $30.00 655844BY3 4.150% Notes

due 2048 $700,000,000 11 2.375% due

November

15, 2049 FIT1 160 0% $30.00

_______________________________

(1) All Existing Notes tendered for exchange in the Exchange Offers on or before the Early Exchange Date (as defined below) will have priority over any Existing Notes that are tendered for exchange after the Early Exchange Date. (2) The "Cash Payment Percent of Premium" is the percent (as set forth with respect to each series of Existing Notes in the table above) of the amount by which the Total Exchange Consideration (as defined below and calculated at the Pricing Date [as defined below]) exceeds $1,000 per $1,000 principal amount of such Existing Notes. (3) Per $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes. (4) Holders who validly tender Existing Notes after the Early Exchange Date but on or before the Expiration Date (as defined below) will not be eligible to receive the "Early Exchange Premium" of $30 principal amount of New Notes for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn.

The aggregate principal amount of New Notes to be issued pursuant to the Exchange Offers will be subject to a maximum amount of $800,000,000 aggregate principal amount (the "New Issue Cap"). In addition, the principal amount of each series of Existing Notes that is accepted pursuant to the Exchange Offers will be subject to the "acceptance priority level" (in numerical priority order) as set forth in the table above and as further described in the Offering Documents.

All Existing Notes that are tendered for exchange in an Exchange Offer on or before the Early Exchange Date will have priority over Existing Notes that are tendered for exchange after the Early Exchange Date. If the principal amount of Existing Notes validly tendered on or before the Early Exchange Date constitutes a principal amount of Existing Notes that, if accepted by the Company, would result in the Company issuing New Notes having an aggregate principal amount equal to or in excess of the New Issue Cap, the Company will not accept any Existing Notes tendered for exchange after the Early Exchange Date (even if they are of acceptance priority level 1).

The following is a summary of certain key elements of the planned Exchange Offers:

The Exchange Offers will expire at 11:59 p.m. , New York City time, on May 28, 2020 , unless extended by the Company (the "Expiration Date").

Eligible Holders who validly tender Existing Notes on or prior to the Early Exchange Date and do not validly withdraw such tendered Existing Notes at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline (as defined below), will receive, for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes tendered and accepted, a combination of a principal amount of New Notes and cash with an aggregate value equal to the Total Exchange Consideration (as defined below) as follows:

principal amount of Existing Notes tendered and accepted, a combination of a principal amount of New Notes and cash with an aggregate value equal to the Total Exchange Consideration (as defined below) as follows: an aggregate principal amount of New Notes equal to (x) the Total Exchange Consideration for such Existing Notes minus (y) the Cash Component (as defined below); and

(y) the Cash Component (as defined below); and

a cash payment equal to the Cash Component.

Eligible Holders who validly tender Existing Notes after the Early Exchange Date, but on or prior to the Expiration Date, will receive, for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes tendered and accepted, a combination of a principal amount of New Notes and cash with an aggregate value equal to the Exchange Consideration (as defined below) as follows:

an aggregate principal amount of New Notes equal to (x) the Total Exchange Consideration for such Existing Notes minus (y) the Cash Component and minus (z) the Early Exchange Premium; and

(y) the Cash Component and (z) the Early Exchange Premium; and

a cash payment equal to the Cash Component.



The Total Exchange Consideration and Exchange Consideration may be adjusted as described in the Offering Documents. In addition to the Total Exchange Consideration or Exchange Consideration, as applicable, Eligible Holders with Existing Notes that are accepted for exchange will receive a cash payment representing (i) all or a portion of the accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the applicable Settlement Date (as defined below), and (ii) amounts due in lieu of any fractional amounts of New Notes, in each case, as further described in the Offering Documents.

The "Pricing Date" will be 10 a.m., New York City time, on May 14, 2020, unless the Early Exchange Date is extended, in which case a new Pricing Date may be established with respect to the Exchange Offers. In the event that the Early Exchange Date is not extended, the Pricing Date will remain the same.

The "Total Exchange Consideration" (calculated at the Pricing Date) for the Existing Notes validly tendered on or prior to the Early Exchange Date, and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline, is equal to the discounted value (calculated as set forth in the Offering Documents) on the expected Early Settlement Date of the remaining payments of principal and interest (excluding accrued interest) per $1,000 principal amount of the Existing Notes through the applicable maturity date or par call date (as applicable) of the Existing Notes, using a yield equal to the sum of: (x) the bid-side yield on the applicable Reference U.S. Treasury Security set forth with respect to each series of Existing Notes in the table above plus (y) the applicable fixed spread set forth with respect to each series of Existing Notes in the table above. The Total Exchange Consideration includes the Early Exchange Premium.

The "Exchange Consideration" for the Existing Notes validly tendered after the Early Exchange Date but on or prior to the Expiration Date is equal to the Total Exchange Consideration minus the applicable Early Exchange Premium.

The "Cash Component" means the portion of the Total Exchange Consideration to be paid to Eligible Holders in cash and is equal to (x) the applicable Cash Payment Percent of Premium for such series of Existing Notes multiplied by (y) (i) the applicable Total Exchange Consideration for such series of Existing Notes minus (ii) $1,000.

The "Cash Payment Percent of Premium" is the percent (as set forth with respect to each series of Existing Notes in the table above) of the amount by which the Total Exchange Consideration (as calculated at the Pricing Date) exceeds $1,000 per $1,000 principal amount of such Existing Notes.

The Company will pay interest on the New Notes at a rate per annum equal to the yield, calculated in accordance with standard market practice, that corresponds to the bid-side price of the 2.375% United States Treasury due November 15, 2049 as of the Pricing Date, as displayed on the Bloomberg Government Pricing Monitor page FIT1 plus a fixed spread of 188 basis points.

Settlement for Existing Notes tendered on or before the Early Exchange Date and accepted by the Company is expected to be May 15, 2020 , unless extended by the Company (the "Early Settlement Date"). Settlement for Existing Notes tendered and accepted after the Early Exchange Date is expected to be June 1, 2020 , unless extended by the Company (the "Final Settlement Date"). The Early Settlement Date and the Final Settlement Date are referred together as the "Settlement Dates" and each a "Settlement Date."

Eligible holders who validly tender and who do not validly withdraw their Existing Notes at or prior to 5 p.m. , New York City time, on May 13, 2020 , unless extended by the Company (the "Early Exchange Date"), and whose tenders are accepted for exchange by the Company, will receive the Total Exchange Consideration for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes.

Eligible holders who validly tender Existing Notes after the Early Exchange Date but on or prior to the Expiration Date, and whose Existing Notes are accepted for exchange by the Company, will receive the Exchange Consideration, which is the Total Exchange Consideration minus the Early Exchange Premium of $30.00 per $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes tendered and accepted for exchange.

The cash payable to each holder whose Existing Notes are accepted for exchange will be adjusted as applicable by the accrued and unpaid interest on those Existing Notes and New Notes, to but not including the applicable Settlement Date.

Tenders of Existing Notes in the Exchange Offers may be validly withdrawn at any time at or prior to 5 p.m. , New York City time, on May 13, 2020 , unless extended by the Company (the "Withdrawal Deadline"), but will thereafter be irrevocable, except in certain limited circumstances where additional withdrawal rights are required by law.

Consummation of the Exchange Offers is subject to a number of conditions, including (i) the issuance of at least $300,000,000 aggregate principal amount of New Notes, (ii) favorable tax treatment for the Exchange Offers, and (iii) the absence of certain adverse legal and market developments.

The Company will not receive any cash proceeds from the Exchange Offers.

Subject to applicable law, the Company may in its absolute discretion terminate any Exchange Offer for any reason or for no reason.

If and when issued, the New Notes will not have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities laws. The New Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States or to any U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Company will enter into a registration rights agreement with respect to the New Notes. The New Notes will be unsecured obligations of the Company and will rank pari passu with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of the Company.

The Exchange Offers are only made, and copies of the documents relating to the Exchange Offers will only be made available, to a holder of Existing Notes who has certified in an eligibility letter certain matters to the Company, including its status as a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act or who is a person other than a "U.S. person" as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act. Holders of Existing Notes who desire access to the electronic eligibility form should contact D.F. King & Co. Inc., the information agent for the Exchange Offers, at 800-591-6313 (U.S. toll-free), 212-269-5550 (collect), or at [email protected]. Holders that wish to receive the Offering Documents can certify eligibility at www.dfking.com/norfolksouthern.

This news release does not constitute an offer or an invitation by the Company to participate in the Exchange Offers in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 19,500 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern is a major transporter of industrial products, including chemicals, agriculture, and metals and construction materials. In addition, the railroad operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a principal carrier of coal, automobiles, and automotive parts.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about Norfolk Southern Corporation, including those related to the offering of New Notes and whether or not Norfolk Southern Corporation will consummate the Exchange Offers. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "consider," "project," and similar references to the future. Forward-looking statements reflect Norfolk Southern's good-faith evaluation of information available at the time the forward-looking statements were made. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially from those projected. Please refer to Norfolk Southern Corporation's annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC for a full discussion of those risks and uncertainties we view as most important, including the risks and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as, a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at or by which any such performance or results will be achieved. As a result, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation
Considered a low risk to re-offend, convicted drunk driver Marco Muzzo  serving a 10-year sentence for killing three children and their grandfather  requires a gradual release back into society that includes day parole for six months at a federal community residential home.

The Parole Board of Canada released a panels decision to grant day parole to Muzzo late Thursday, two days after a virtual parole board hearing that included victims but not media or other observers due to pandemic measures imposed by the board.

The panel denied Muzzo full parole, stating a gradual release will allow you to test your new found knowledge with a higher level of supervision, support and monitoring than full parole would provide at this juncture.

You will likely face serious reintegration stressors upon release. You will have to demonstrate your ability to deal with your stress adequately prior to consideration for full parole.

Muzzos day parole plan involves working as a general labourer for his wealthy familys company, close to whatever halfway house he ends up in.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two previously arranged homes are no longer options, the panel noted.

It is an unfortunate consequence of current events that this (home) is not currently accepting new residents, reads the 10-page decision. Because of that, Correctional Service Canada had recommended Muzzo be granted full parole, which Muzzo, 33, was hesitant to apply for but did.

Muzzo full parole plan was to live with his fiancee and work out of his family business headquarters. The board found that plan unviable and that Muzzo is not ready for that form of release.

The board cited changes to Muzzos attitude toward alcohol and its impacts since denying him parole in 2018.

You are more open to accepting your issues with alcohol, and more understanding of the nature of impairment, your triggers and risk factors, noted the panel.

Muzzo, with blood-alcohol levels three times the legal limit to drive, caused a crash in Vaughan in 2015 that killed Daniel, Harrison and Milagros Neville-Lake  aged nine, five and two  and Gary Neville, 65. Two other family members were injured. Muzzo pleaded guilty to multiple impaired driving offences and was sentenced to 10 years in 2016.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Jennifer Neville-Lake, who lost her children and father, wrote that no matter what happened at the hearing, Daniel, Harry and Milly dont get to come back home. My dad isnt coming home to my mom. Nothing changes for me.

After being granted day parole, Muzzo, in a statement issued by the law firm representing him, apologized to the Neville-Lake, Neville and Frias families for the terrible pain I have caused them and their loved ones. I ruined their lives and I take full responsibility for what I have done. I always will.

I was careless and irresponsible when I made the choice to drink and drive. There is no way that I can undo the damage that I have caused. I will live with this for the rest of my life.

Muzzo is forbidden from driving for 12 years following release. In addition, for six months, he must stay away from members of the victims families and sites of memorials, must meet with a mental health professional, stay away from establishments that derive primary revenue from alcohol and not buy, possess or drink alcohol.

Muzzos family built its fortunes in construction, and its business was estimated in 2015 to be worth $1.8 billion by Canadian Business Magazine.

On Sept. 27, 2015, Muzzo was returning from a weekend trip out of country, and had consumed a large quantity of alcohol before and during the flight home. He chose to drive home from the airport, was speeding, failed to stop at an intersection and t-boned the victims van.

Muzzo has not had a drink since and stressed to the parole board that he is committed to never drinking again.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Another batch of health workers has tested positive for the coronavirus disease, bringing the total to 1,694, as the Department of Health names at least 11 facilities with affected employees.

The agency said 638 nurses, 566 doctors, 104 nursing assistants, 66 medical technologists, 32 radiologic technologists, 18 respiratory therapists, 19 midwives, 14 pharmacists and 237 others such as barangay health workers, administrative aids and utility workers, caught COVID-19.

Meanwhile, there are now 256 medical frontliners who survived the illness, after an additional six reported recoveries. The death toll remains at 33 with 24 doctors and seven nurses succumbing to the infection.

The latest total means one out of five confirmed cases is a health worker, DOH pointed out, adding that if this pattern continues, there will be dire consequences.

"Ito'y nakakalungkot sapagkat kung magpapatuloy po ang ganitong trend maaaring dumating ang panahon na magkulang na ang nag-aalaga sa ating mga pasyente," said Health spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire in the DOH daily online briefing.

[Translation: This is unfortunate because if this trend continues, we may reach a point where we will lack personnel who will take care of our patients.]

The department also mentioned several facilities with infected employees, namely the National Center for Mental Health, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Bataan General Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Mandaluyong City Medical Center, Tondo Medical Center, Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, Rizal Medical Center, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital and Baguio General Hospital.

There are at least 65 confirmed cases among NCMH staff, said DOH, of whom 36 are under quarantine while three have recovered. In RITM, there were 45 personnel who caught the disease but 38 of them have already been cured while seven are still isolated.

Meanwhile, the DOH said the NKTI has listed five cases involving employees, with one recovery while the rest are still on quarantine. The number contradicts with the NKTI's earlier report that 23 staff members have been infected with COVId-19.

Vergeire assured that the DOH has reminded hospitals to constantly check their inventory of personal protective equipment. She added that the department also gives daily updates on PPE deliveries to different facilities and has issued guidelines on the use and disposal of PPE sets.
[May 01, 2020] Educators to Speak with NASA Astronaut Aboard Space Station

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Educators from across the nation will have an opportunity next week to talk with a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will air live at 1:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 6, on NASA Television and the agency's website. To honor our nation's educators and in observance of Teacher Appreciation Week, which runs May 4 to 8, NASA astronaut and current space station commander Christopher Cassidy will answer questions recorded by educators from Space Center Houston's international network ofeducators and the Space Exploration Educator Crew. NASA astronaut Nick Hague will give opening remarks via a pre-recorded video and Space Center Houston president and CEO William T. Harris will participate in the question-and-answer session and close the program. Space Center Houston is the official visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center.



Linking educators and students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). For nearly 20 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked on the space station, testing technologies, performing science and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Through NASA's Artemis program, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon by 2024, with eventual human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers  the Artemis Generation  ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

Follow America's Moon to Mars exploration at: https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars Follow NASA astronauts on social media at: https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/educators-to-speak-with-nasa-astronaut-aboard-space-station-301051139.html SOURCE NASA

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Louisiana physicians faced a troubling scenario in early March when coronavirus patients started appearing in the states intensive care units: no one could say for sure how best to treat them.

Now, nearly two months after the state confirmed its first positive case, theyve re-examined drugs and protocols once considered the best bets for saving the lives of seriously ill patients. Some early drugs are out, and treatments that once seemed to have the most promise are being used less frequently. Meanwhile, one drug, remdesivir, has come out on top.

That drug, originally developed by Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola, is awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval that is expected to be fast tracked to next week.

This federal commitment is enough to start reopening from coronavirus, John Bel Edwards says Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday discussed the states coronavirus response with President Donald Trump, calling a recent commitme

Dr. Chris Thomas, the medical director of quality and patient safety at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, said that hes been hesitant about embracing many of the experimental treatments being touted for coronavirus patients.

But ever since the nations top infectious disease doctor, Anthony Fauci, announced this week that remdesivir showed promise, hes been hopeful that instead of anecdotal medicine, infectious-disease experts were now being guided by real results.

Inside the coronavirus battle at Our Lady of the Lake: the fight of their lives Dr. Jonathan Richards tapped on a square of glass as the blue-gowned people he was watching called out for sedatives and started to move more 

It was like my Super Bowl when Fauci said we studied something and there had been data, Thomas said.

A little over a week after the first coronavirus patient was diagnosed in New Orleans, physicians from Tulane Medical Center, Ochsner Health System and LCMC Health created a treatment plan to guide doctors encountering COVID-19.

In addition to guidance on providing supplemental oxygen and other protocols, the document suggested using hydroxychloroquine  an anti-malaria drug used to treat lupus  if remdesivir was not available for hospitalized patients.

LSU Health New Orleans enrolls first patient in COVID-19 treatment trial The LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine has enrolled its first patient in a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effecti

Hydroxychloroquine has since fallen out of favor.

Weve learned it has little, if any, benefits, said Dr. David Mushatt, an infectious disease expert at Tulane University.

Doctors said they are shifting to maintaining supportive care and enrolling patients in clinical trials for remdesivir after the recent large, randomized, double-blind, clinical trial  the gold standard for evaluating drugs  showed promise.

Hospitals across Louisiana are also using it through Gileads expanded access program, which physicians can apply for on behalf of each patient.

Tulane Medical Center and the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System in New Orleans are running clinical trials to measure how well patients do on the drug for five days vs. 10 days and in comparison to patients given a placebo.

Touro Infirmary, Ochsner Health System and Slidell Memorial Hospital are among hospitals receiving the drug through the expanded access program. In Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake learned this week that theyve also been approved for the expanded access program.

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

At a meeting with Gov. John Bel Edwards and President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Fauci said that remdesivir showed a 31% better chance for patients recovering and being released from the hospital. He warned, though, that the drug is not a knock-out, but shows that virus replication can be blocked  an important building block for more drug development.

New Orleans hospitals are trying two experimental treatments for coronavirus patients With a vaccine for the coronavirus not expected to be ready for at least a year, New Orleans hospitals have turned their attention to drugs th

Ochsner Health System Chief Medical Officer Robert Hart said Thursday that they had enrolled eight patients in their remdesivir program. Our Lady of the Lake will be able to enroll 10 patients in their initial uses of it.

Once remdesivir is approved by the FDA, its likely it will only be administered to patients sick enough to be hospitalized since it is received via an IV drip. Limiting the drug to those admitted to the hospital will also help prioritize who gets the drug, which will take time to manufacture and distribute.

Still, some doctors remain skeptical, and are more focused on treating patients with what they know based on more evidence and clinical trials from treating acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is common in the sickest coronavirus patients.

Tulane Lakeside to reopen its ER soon after 6-week coronavirus closure In a sign that the wave of coronavirus patients continues to ebb, Tulane Health System is reopening the emergency room at Tulane Lakeside Hosp

Dr. Stephen Brierre, an LSU Health Sciences pulmonologist and critical care doctor, warned against becoming overly hopeful about remdesivir based on the clinical trial that Fauci trumpeted.

People want us as a medical community to find a primary therapy for this disease and I understand that desire, said Brierre, who works in Baton Rouge Generals coronavirus intensive care units. I do not think, based on the available information, that remdesivir is the answer.

Without knowing which drugs can best treat coronavirus itself, many providers have embraced long-known techniques to treat the problems that coronavirus can wreak on a patients body, especially their lungs.

+3 In doomsday coronavirus scenario, Louisiana hospitals would prioritize patients. See how itd work. A few weeks ago, as Gov. John Bel Edwards warned that parts of the state were on track to run out of ventilators amid a coronavirus surge, Dr.

The sickest coronavirus patients often develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, known as ARDS. Initially, clinicians thought that they needed to intubate those patients early.

Hart said Ochsner rethought that strategy as they saw more and more patients and observed their outcomes.

It became clear that we want to do all we can to keep from intubating these patients, Hart said.

Brierre said that in the earlier days of fighting coronavirus, only 20% of his patients were being treated with less invasive breathing measures, like masks. But he said that number had risen to 52% as of Thursday.

+5 How many health care workers are infected with coronavirus in Louisiana? No one can say for sure Health care workers have been lauded as heroes in Louisiana and across the U.S. since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

Since taking care of the first known critically ill coronavirus patient on March 9, Dr. Josh Denson, a critical care pulmonologist who treats patients at Tulane Medical Center and University Medical Center, said ICU doctors are relying more on symptoms to treat patients and less on diagnostic testing that they once would have given without a second thought.

Now, instead of doing a cat scan, doctors may do a more detailed physical exam. Instead of an X-ray, they listen to the lungs.

Its a more targeted approach, instead of the shotgun approach typically used in ICU, he said.
Omani national Mohamed Abdullah Al Araimi (pictured) was killed outside Harrods

A man from Kuwait has denied stabbing an Omani student to death outside Harrods while trying to stealing his Rolex watch worth more than 41,000.

Badir Rahim Alnazi, 23, is accused of attacking 20-year-old Mohamed Abdullah Al Araimi near the luxury department store in Knightsbridge on December 5 last year.

Mr Al Araimi, who was living in London, had been walking with his friend Nasser Kanoo after going out for a meal when they were allegedly set upon.

It is claimed the defendant, a Kuwaiti national, had tried to snatch a watch worth 41,610 belonging to Mr Al Araimi.

Mr Al Araimi, a King's College politics and economics student whose family is said to be close to Oman's ruling dynasty, was pronounced dead on December 6.

Alnazi handed himself into police on January 8 after the Met Police released CCTV footage and offered a 20,000 reward for information.

Alnazi denied Mr Al Araimi's murder, wounding Mr Kanoo with intent, attempted robbery and possession of a knife on or before December 6 (pictured, scene of the case)

The defendant, of Beaconsfield Road, Brent, northwest London, appeared before the Old Bailey for a plea hearing today. He spoke to confirm his name via video link from custody and entered not guilty pleas to four charges.

He denied Mr Al Araimi's murder, wounding Mr Kanoo with intent, attempted robbery and possession of a knife on or before December 6.

The indictment states that the value of the luxury timepiece is 41,610.

The court heard a provisional three-week trial had previously been set for July 6. A further plea and case management was also fixed at the Old Bailey for June 4.

Matt Barrowcliffe QC, prosecuting, said at an earlier hearing: 'It's essentially a robbery which takes place, and the victim gets stabbed and dies.'

Following his death, Mr Al Araimi's brother Salem Abdullah Al Araimi said in a statement on behalf of his family: 'Our hearts are eternally broken.'
This is the moment two groups of thugs - armed with sticks - fight over a girl during coronavirus lockdown.

The yobs can be seen squaring up to each other as a mass of stunned onlookers watch on.

Kicks and punches are thrown as the men come face to face while some bystanders try to intervene.

Two groups of thugs in Belfast started a fight in the middle of a street during the coronavirus lockdown with onlookers watching on with horror

Some of the fighting men then try to get back into a blue car parked up in the middle of the street.

Others then try to smash the windscreen during the broad daylight brawl.

But locals in the street in Belfast, Northern Ireland blasted them for breaching COVID-19 social distancing.

Jordan Graham posted the shocking video on Facebook.

A man can be seen falling to the floor after a brawl in the middle of a street whilst others hold sticks to defends themselves

He said: 'Can't believe what I am seeing.

'What happened to the message STAY HOME.'

The video has been shared over 9,000 times and has over 3,500 comments.

He added: 'Threats were made, these two lads started kicking off over a girl.

'And then people started getting involved.'

Michael Atherton fumed: 'Two metres apart please people otherwise it's not going away.'

Jasmine Reeve said: 'Everyone in this video should get questioned by the police.

'Social distancing went out the window.'

Sheila Rostron added: 'There's better ways to use that pent up energy, stay home!'

Iain Ballantyne said: 'So much for stay at home and stay safe, nuggets.'

Ealesa Evers quipped: 'What in the Jeremy Kyle is going on here?

'The peasants are revolting!'
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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 2 2020

Distant solidarity: Wearing face masks, dozens of workers take part in a May Day protest in front of the North Sumatra Legislative Council building in Medan on Friday. In the 30-minute rally, the protestors demanded the government cancel deliberation on the omnibus bill on job creation and instead address the struggles of workers facing the COVID-19 crisis. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)

Many Indonesian workers went online to celebrate Labor Day, also known as or May Day, on Friday to avoid spreading and contracting the coronavirus, reiterating their rejection of the job creation bill and demanding protection during the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Since Friday morning, hashtags to commemorate the day, created by workers and unions, have taken up the Twitter world: #TolakOmnibusLaw (RejectOmnibusBill), demanding an end to the deliberation of the omnibus bill on job creation and #BacotanBuruh (WorkersSpeak), which voices the need for labor rights, job protection amid the COVID-19 pandemics.

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New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi has granted exemption to four family trusts linked to promoters of Lux Industries from making open offer to the shareholders of the company following their proposed acquisition of shares in the firm.

The order comes following an application filed by four trusts  Ashok Todi Family Trust, Ashok Bimla Todi Family Trust, Pradip Todi Family Trust and Pradip Shobha Todi Family Trust  seeking exemption from applicability of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations in the matter of proposed acquisition of shares and voting rights in Lux Industries.

Lux Industries is collectively controlled by Ashok Todi, his wife Bimla Devi Todi, and their children; Pradip Todi, his wife Shobha Todi, and their two sons; and Prabha Todi and her two sons, who collectively hold about 73.71 per cent stake in the firm.

The family members form part of the promoter and promoter group of the company.

Ashok Kumar Todi, Bimla Todi, Pradip Kumar Todi and Shobha Todi currently hold 37,30,000 shares, 35,05,000 shares, 44,82,500 shares and 27,52,500 shares, respectively, in the company.

The proposed acquisition involves settlement or contribution of equity shares of the company to the four trusts by Ashok Todi, Bimla Todi, Pradip Todi and Shobha Todi.

Thereafter, the trustees (on behalf of the respective acquirer trusts) will hold 47.52 per cent stake in the company.

The proposed acquisition by the trusts will attract provisions of the Takeover Regulations.

However, the regulator, in an order, granted "exemption to proposed acquirers viz Ashok Todi Family Trust, Ashok Bimla Todi Family Trust, Pradip Todi Family Trust and Pradip Shobha Todi Family Trust from complying with the requirements of ...the Takeover Regulations ....with respect to the proposed acquisitions in the Target Company, viz. Lux Industries Limited, by way of proposed transactions."

It has given exemption on the ground that the proposed acquisition is intended to streamline the succession and welfare of the family members and their lineal descendants, being members of the promoter group of the company.

Besides, the proposed transactions are only in the nature of a transfer of equity shares within the promoters and promoter group of the firm, with no change in the overall promoters and promoter group shareholding in the company.

"There will be no change in control of the target company pursuant to the proposed acquisition. The pre-acquisition and post-acquisition shareholding of the promoters in the target company will remain the same (except that of the transferors and the transferees in the acquisition)," it added.

The exemption has been granted subject to several conditions, including the proposed acquisition should be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Companies Act and that on completion of the proposed acquisition, the acquirers need to file a report with Sebi within a period of 21 days from the date of such acquisition.
Professor appointed to statewide panel

Friday, May 1, 2020 10:30 AM

News, People and Society

Pittsburg, KS

The coordinator of Pittsburg State Universitys early childhood and child development programs, Amber Tankersley, has been appointed to a statewide panel that will inform the future of early childhood education in Kansas.

The Kansas Early Childhood Recommendations Panel is part of the Kansas Childrens Cabinet and Trust Fund; Tankersleys appointment is for one year.

Tankersley, a Joplin resident, joined the faculty at PSU in 2008 as an assistant professor in child development, a program that is part of the Family & Consumer Sciences Department. Now a full professor, she is also the director of Little Gorillas Preschool, which serves approximately 30 children with PSU students as staff.

Tankersley also will oversee the soon-to-be-implemented early childhood unified and birth to kindergarten program. Her students go on to work in preschools, for Parents as Teachers, for Head Start, for Children and Family Services, and for foster care and adoption agencies.

The panel on which shell serve will provide guidance for early childhood programs and services overseen and funded by the Childrens Cabinet.

I was quite pleased that I was chosen, she said. I would like to take what I know about early childhood and hopefully help shape the future for a greater population.
London: Scientists working on a vaccine against coronavirus could know within six weeks whether it will work, they have said.

A person is injected as part of the first human trials in the UK to test a potential coronavirus vaccine. Credit:Oxford University

Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said "several hundred" Britons have now been given the experimental jab, with hopes that "signals" about whether it works could emerge by mid-June.

Human trials began last week, and the team working on the vaccine hope that if it works a million doses could be given to the public from September. A successful vaccine is key to lifting social distancing measures.

Ministers announced a partnership between Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which aims to ensure that a successful vaccine is rapidly rolled out.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Friday announced a fourth step to the mitigation plan she unveiled earlier this week to help reopen and restart Houston's economy.

The mitigation plan announced earlier this week calls for expanding testing, contact tracing and treatment options. The fourth step announced Friday, what Hidalgo called the fourth "T", is teamwork from residents to continue practice social distancing, wear face coverings and to remain vigilant of the virus, despite Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to lift the stay-at-home order and reopen some businesses.

"We can't ignore what is right around the corner," Hidalgo said of a possible resurgence of the virus. "Some see today as a day of celebration...my message to them is not so fast."

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Texas' grand re-opening comes with uptick in cases

Friday marks the first day of a two-phased plan from Abbott to reopen the state. Hidalgo said in a previous press conference that despite her desire to reopen the economy, Abbott's unexpected timeline was much sooner than she had originally planned for Harris County's roughly 5 million residents.

"Reopening doesn't mean mission accomplished, it doesn't mean the virus goes away," Hidalgo said.

Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, CEO of the Harris Health System, said during the conference that while the Houston region has managed to somewhat flatten the curve, the work to overcome the virus "is far from over."

"We are continuing to see new cases of CVOVID19 across our region...people are continuing to die of this pandemic," Porsa said.

As of April 30, the total number of COVID-19 cases had risen to 29,870, marking the second-highest single-day increase, according to the Houston Chronicle's data team. The Houston region's county had risen to 9,230 with 185 deaths.

In accordance with the fourth step to Hidalgo's plan, Porsa advised residents to continue to stay home as much as possible, practice immaculate hygiene and to continue to practice social distancing.

Dr. Umair Shah, Executive Director for Harris County Public Health, added that another component of the county's teamwork approach is for residents to stay cognizant of the people they are interacting with as they venture out into the community in an effort to help scientists and medical workers with contact tracing in the case they contract the virus.

"If you dont remember, that makes our job extremely difficult," Shah said. "That really helps all of us in a situation...if you are tested positive."

Hidalgo said she will reissue another order in conjunction with Abbott's executive mandate and with the Attorney General clarifying which businesses are allowed to reopen.

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com
President Akufo-Addo has said discussions with the World Bank are ongoing to raise more funds to support governments Coronavirus Alleviation Programme.

The President disclosed this at the virtual May Day celebrations held today [Friday, May 1, 2020].

He indicated that the Ministry of Finance had also been instructed to work with the Bank of Ghana to introduce policies that will fortify sectors of the economy.

Equivalent discussions are ongoing with the World Bank to raise more funds, which should be completed soon. I have charged the Ministry of Finance to work with the Bank of Ghana to design innovative policies and find more resources to strengthen the productive sectors of the economy, particularly industry and agriculture, and I understand that the process will shortly yield positive results, said the President

The Finance Minister announced a GHS1 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme that will be funded from the Ghana Stabilisation Fund weeks ago.

Other interventions

Other programmes that are intended to support governments Coronavirus alleviation programme, include the COVID-19 Trust Fund which had received GHS8,750,000 in donations as at April 5, 2020, according to the President.

A few weeks ago, the Minister also sought the support of Parliament to amend the relevant laws to lower the cap of the Stabilisation Fund from US$300 million to US$100 million to enable the government to use the excess funds to bridge the gap created by the economic impact of the pandemic.

Parliament has also approved a US$1 billion IMF Rapid Credit Facility to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ghana's economy.

Ghana is among the International Development Association (IDA) countries that could benefit from temporary debt relief during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ghana currently stands at 2,074. 202 recoveries have been recorded

---citinewsroom
Jersey City, meet your new Ward D councilman.

Yousef Saleh, a former Board of Education candidate and a lifelong Jersey City Heights resident, gained council approval with a 6-2 vote to replace the late Ward D Councilman Michael Yun. Saleh will represent much of the Jersey City Heights on the City Council until a November special election, the winner of which will fill out the remainder of Yuns unexpired term.

Saleh, 31, a senior compliance and regulation officer at JP Morgan Chase, was selected from a field of six candidates.

I just feel Yousef will be better, thats all, Council President Joyce Watterman said. If Yousef does not meet the needs of the Heights, then in November the residents of the Heights can come out and vote against him.

Their voice will be heard.

Yun, 65, died of complications related to COVID-19 on April 6 after more than a week in the intensive care unit at Jersey City Medical Center. Former Assemblyman Sean Connors was an early name that emerged as a possible replacement for Yun, but Connors withdrew from consideration.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to even attempt to fill Michael Yuns shoes. Im ready to get the work done for the Heights and represent them with passion and vigor, and ensure we come out of this pandemic better and stronger," Saleh said. "Making sure the heights has the resources it needs from a local, county, state and federal level, so we can save lives and livelihoods.

Ward E Councilman James Solomon and Councilman at-large Rolando Lavarro interviewed Saleh, Patrick Ambrossi, Cynthia Hadjiyannis, Rafael Torres, Brian Rans, Jocelyn Patrick, and posted videos of their 30-minute interviews with each candidate online Tuesday.

On Thursday, Lavarro and Solomon voted no on Saleh becoming the Ward D councilman and voiced concern with how the process unfolded.

The two councilmen instead supported Patrick, who serves as president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association. Solomon noted that because Patrick committed to not run in Novembers election, her appointment would give the candidates a chance to focus on the race and not be bogged down by council needs, which will require much of their attention.

Jocelyn said one thing to me that stuck with me more than any of the other (five) candidates, Solomon said. She mentioned specific parts of Councilman Yuns legislative agenda that she wanted to advance.

"And she said shes not going to run in November  which made a lot of sense to me, he added.

After Solomon and Lavarro announced they would be conducting individual interviews, Watterman nominated Saleh to fill the Ward D seat, gaining the support of Mayor Steve Fulop who called Saleh "a phenomenal choice.

Saleh ran for a three-year term on the BOE in 2017, but fell short of being elected to one of three open seats. He also served as a student representative on the BOE when he was senior at McNair Academic High School in 2007. We went on to graduate from Rutgers University and earned his law degree at Rutgers Newark.

After Watterman nominated Saleh on Monday, some in the community called on the council to postpone Thursdays vote until May 6. A letter with over 200 signatures asked the City Council to ensure an open, transparent process to fill the Ward D Council seat, to consider all candidates and to not rubber stamp Fulops endorsement of Saleh.

At minimum, Michael Yuns legacy should require that the Council push back todays special meeting to May 6 to ensure that all candidates who have expressed an interest in being considered can be reviewed by the council, as some candidates have not had any conversations with council people even though they have reached out, another letter sent to The Jersey Journal stated.

The letter was signed by former Ward D candidate Moriah Kinberg, former Jersey City Director of Human Resources Mark Bunbury, and Beverly Brown Ruggia of New Jersey Citizen Action, a statewide grassroots organization that fights for social, racial and economic justice

Before the vote took place, Watterman responded to the public belief that all candidates were not spoken to before Saleh was nominated. She said the council met with all the candidates and gave the candidates a chance to speak again before voting.

I want that on the record because the public thinks that the candidates didnt get an opportunity to speak to all of the council people, which is not true, Watterman said.

Lavarro read the letter from the 200 signees into the record, agreeing that the vote should be delayed. Solomon ordered a motion to defer Salehs vote to May 6 but it failed after only Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano joined them.

Solomon blamed Fulop for the publics perception that the process to choose Yuns replacement was done behind closed doors.

I think the reason so many members of the public are upset, just to be frank, is the way the mayor handled it, Solomon said. This is a council decision by law. He was posting names  then blasting a press release out with a recommendation and if you try argue this is a open transparent process  that didnt convey that.
Engineering works on national rail infrastructure will gradually resume in May.

Most works will be carried out at night or on weekends. Residents living close to the construction sites will be informed beforehand. Strict health safety measures will apply.

CFL will offer alternatives during disruption to the rail network.

Overview



 3 May to 12 June: engineering works are carried out at night between Luxembourg City and Diekirch (Monday to Friday).

 9 to 10 May, 16 to 17 May: weekend engineering works between Luxembourg City and Diekirch.

Traine line 30 (Luxembourg - Wasserbillig - Trier)

 9 to 10 May, 16 to 17 May: between Luxembourg City and Oetrange.

Train line 60 (Luxembourg City - Bettembourg - Esch-sur-Alzette - Petange - Rodange)

 30 May to 7 June: between Esch and Rodange.

Train line 70 (Luxembourg City - Petange - Rodange - Athus - Longwy)

 16 to 17 May, 23 to 24 May: between Luxembourg City and Petange.
In the midst of national shortages of testing swabs and protective gear, some medical suppliers and health policy experts are looking ahead to another extraordinary demand on manufacturing: Delivering a vaccine that could potentially end the pandemic.

Making a vaccine is not easy. More than two dozen companies have announced programs to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus, but it may still take a year or more before one passes federal safety and efficacy tests in humans and becomes available to the public.

Here in the United States, more than 300 million people may need to be inoculated. That means at least as many vials and syringes  or double that amount, if two shots are required. To meet that demand, companies will have to ramp up manufacturing; products that doctors give little thought to now could easily become obstacles to vaccine delivery in the future.

Were thinking about the vaccine, but what if the vials it is stored in, or rubber stoppers in the vial or the plungers in the syringes become the constraint? said Prashant Yadav, who studies health care supply chains at the Center for Global Development in Washington.
The Left parties and the trade



unions in West Bengal observed the historic May Day by asking labourers via social media to take precautionary measures during the COVID-19 induced lockdown, instead of informing them of workers' rights in large meetings.

Leaders of the Left Front and trade unions underlined the need for an economic package for both the organised and unorganised sector and urged the government to ensure job security of workers once the lockdown is over.

Due to the lockdown this year, neither the Left parties nor the trade unions organized any central rally in the heart of the city, which is held every year.

"It is a low-key affair in Bengal this year. A few workers maintaining social distancing norms and other precautionary measures organised flag hoisting programmes outside factories. We also addressed the workers via Facebook Live," said Anadi Sahoo, state president of the CITU, the CPI (M)'s trade union wing.

Apart from the CPI(M), other Left parties modestly observed the May Day, taking help of the social media to address their supporters.

West Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose participated in a flag hoisting programme at the CITU state headquarters.

"Till the lockdown is lifted, the central government should transfer a considerable amount of money to the account of labourers so that they can survive.

"After nearly a month, the Centre has taken steps to send migrant workers back to their homes. This should have been done long back. Steps should be taken to ensure they get financially compensated," Sahoo said.

State Labour Minister Purnendu Bose said even as the state government has announced schemes to help migrant labourers and those working in the unorganised sector, which has been badly hit by the lockdown, not much has been done by the Centre.

"We have announced schemes to help the working class. But the centre has taken a half-hearted approach in dealing with the crisis. The Centre should come up with a concrete economic plan to help the unorganised sector and revive the economy," Bose said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After being closed for nearly six weeks, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson wants city restaurants to reopen safely and may take an innovative approach.

Were working on some things, said Stimpson in his Thursday afternoon press conference to the city. Because they dont have the capacity on the inside of the restaurant, is there something we can do to allow them to maybe set up on the outside of the restaurant, in the street maybe if its on Dauphin Street, or a city parking lot, if its adjacent to the restaurant?"

Yes, he added. We are looking at what tools we have available that may allow us to give some flexibility during this crisis.

Dining areas in restaurants in Alabama have been closed to the public since March 19. Restaurants are allowed to sell takeout at curbside delivery. While that has offered some solace to an industry that operates within thin margins, it hasnt fully made up for lost revenues. The ban was extended until May 15.

Stimpson said in his daily briefing that one very frustrated owner gave him a tour of his restaurant in order to show how it could be reopened safely, spreading out tables and limiting the number of people at each one.

Stimpson said that he was keen to show the governor what was possible in Mobile and hoped that it may influence her decision to loosen restrictions on businesses further. Across Alabama, small retailers, public beaches and medical offices were allowed to reopen on Thursday at 5 p.m.

The mayor also said in his remarks that the citys bus service will resume today and that a weekly farmers market in Mobiles Cathedral Square will start back up Saturday morning.

Its the second time in a week that Stimpson has advocated for businesses in Mobile.

Earlier this week he and nine other mayors called on Governor Kay Ivey to allow barbershops and beauty salons to reopen.

Those pleas pleas followed days of negotiations with the governors office and more than a week of planning with barbers and cosmetology professionals around the state, according to Stimpson. The discussions would have helped put in place a series of new hygiene protocols designed to ensure the safety of customers.

Those efforts came after Joel Edwards, the owner of Mikes Barbershop in West Mobile, defied state orders and reopened his store. His stand against the state order gained him admiration from Stimpson and the citys director of public safety, James Barber. The two city leaders took his cause to state officials in Montgomery.

Despite the governor saying she wanted to visit her own hair stylist and beautician, she did not to act on the advice of the 10 mayors. Those businesses also remain closed.

We do respect her decision and we will enforce her decision, said Stimpson press conference Tuesday afternoon. I know, even though she made a comment about her hair and her beautician, and she said it in jest, [she] is serious about grasping the challenge that exists among those workers and she will probably address that as soon as she can.

Stimpson said he thinks an interim order before May 15 will address some of the shuttered businesses.
SMITHERS, B.C. - Hereditary chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia say they will sign an agreement with the federal and provincial governments that affirms their title and rights.

At the centre of the dispute is Wetsuweten opposition to the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline through their territory, which set off demonstrations and blockades that shut down large parts of the national economy in February.

A joint statement from the governments and Wetsuweten chiefs released Thursday says they remain committed to implementing the rights and title of the First Nation through the memorandum of understanding.

No details of the memorandum, which was agreed to in February, have been released.

The statement says theres a lot of work ahead in the negotiation process, including how the three governments will work together.

The Wetsuweten have invited B.C.s Indigenous relations minister, Scott Fraser, and Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, to sign the agreement on May 14.

We look forward to advancing this important work to implement Wetsuweten rights and title as three equal governments, the statement says.

As negotiations proceed on the affirmation and implementation of Wetsuweten rights and title, we will move forward with transparency and openness, and will be further engaging with Wetsuweten house groups, neighbouring nations, local governments, stakeholders and the public.

Although details have not been made public, the memorandum has been framed as addressing broader land claims rather than an agreement over the pipeline. It was reached after days of discussions in Smithers and work on the pipeline resumed after it was announced.

Protests across the country disrupted passenger and freight train service for more than three weeks.

Coastal GasLink is building a 670-kilometre pipeline from northeastern B.C. to an LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat, but the hereditary house chiefs of the Wetsuweten say it has no authority without their consent.

The Wetsuweten are governed by both a traditional hereditary chief system and elected band councils. A majority of its councils have approved the pipeline, but some of the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs oppose it running through their traditional territory.

The dispute also involves other unsettled land rights and title issues, including who has the right to negotiate with governments and corporations, the fact that the land is not covered by a treaty and remains unceded, and a 1997 court case that recognized the hereditary chiefs authority and the exclusive right of the Wetsuweten peoples to the land but did not specify the boundaries.

The pipeline first generated widespread national protests in January 2019 when the RCMP enforced an injunction obtained by the company to dismantle obstacles on a remote logging road in northern B.C.

Larger protests were held across the country this February after the RCMP enforced a second injunction.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2020.
Des Moines Public Schools, Mediacom Deliver Internet During COVID-19 Closure

DES MOINES, Iowa, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 32,000 students enrolled in the Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) resumed their coursework this week as teachers in Iowa's largest school district delivered online curriculum for more than 6,000 sections of classes that students would ordinarily have received in traditional school settings.

The shift to distance learning followed a decision announced by DMPS on April 8 that students would not return to school buildings for the rest of the school year. Instead, the district quickly pivoted to online educational content while deploying a technological infrastructure to ensure that every student had equal access to connect to coursework delivered online. The change affects students in all grade levels, pre-K -12.

"In the year 2020, having an internet connection should be as common as having indoor plumbing," said Dr. Thomas Ahart, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. "In every aspect of our lives, including education, connectivity to web-based, interactive information is a necessity. One of our top priorities at DMPS is education equity, and addressing this need is a big step forward."

To achieve that equity and resume coursework for its students, the school district (DMPS) implemented a comprehensive process that began with a district-wide survey to determine each family's need for computers or a wired home broadband connection. DMPS distributed nearly 21,000 laptop computers to students throughout Des Moines during two weeks in mid-April.

To fill broadband gaps among student families without high-speed internet, DMPS first provided many homes with a mobile hot spot as a temporary solution for immediate connectivity, while also entering into a partnership with Mediacom, the metro area's largest internet service provider (ISP).

Mediacom has added extra broadband installers to its labor force and is in the process of sending technicians to 100 homes each day to install wiring and activate high-speed internet service for families designated by DMPS.

"This is an unprecedented effort to bring Mediacom's Connect-2-Compete service to more families than ever, and to work in partnership with innovative education leaders who are ensuring that the benefits of broadband reach all of its student families, said Steve Purcell, group vice president for Mediacom. "The methodical approach we're implementing in this partnership fills many gaps and puts in place a permanent, robust infrastructure to meet distance learning needs for Des Moines families today, and well into the future."

DMPS agreed to pay the initial monthly costs for the internet service its families receive through a low-cost, bulk purchase. School leaders made that decision to make sure students would have online access to complete the school year; the monthly fee is $9.95 per family. Mediacom donated the labor and installation costs for connecting up to 1,800 student households, and also reduced project costs by waiving the modem lease fees that customers typically pay.

"This is a smart investment for the school district for a number of reasons," added Ahart. "Not only does it support our current phase of distance learning, and prepares us for the possibility of this pandemic continuing further, but it also puts in place the infrastructure for future online learning opportunities as well as simply bringing a valuable resource into the home of every student."

Additionally, this initiative lays the groundwork to reconnect students if distance learning solutions are needed in the future.

These efforts are funded by DMPS in addition to significant contributions from Mediacom and the new DMPS Equity in Connectivity Fund established at the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. Dollars from this effort will help cover the costs associated with internet connectivity and access to computers associated with the DMPS district's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To make a contribution, please donate here.

This cross-industry collaboration of DMPS, Mediacom and the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines was united by the Greater Des Moines Partnership through their future world of work and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

"This is the right thing to do for numerous reasons," said Mary Bontrager, Executive Vice President of Talent Development at the Greater Des Moines Partnership. "Not only do we know the power of bringing organizations together for the betterment of our region, but we also know these students are our future and we need to ensure their access to educational attainment."

MEDIA ASSETS: Access photos and b-roll for this story.

About Des Moines Public Schools

Des Moines Public Schools is Iowa's largest provider of public education, with more than 32,000 students from preschool through high school. DMPS provides a wide range of educational offerings to students, including some of the state's top-ranked Advanced Placements programs, the first International Baccalaureate schools in Iowa, the state's only public Montessori school, and a nationally recognized career and technical education program. The school district serves a diverse student body in Iowa's capital city, with students from a hundred nations around the world.

About Mediacom

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the 5th largest cable operator in the United States and the leading gigabit broadband provider to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Through its fiber-rich network, Mediacom provides high-speed data, video and phone services to nearly 1.4 million households and businesses across 22 states. The company delivers scalable broadband solutions to commercial and public-sector customers of all sizes through Mediacom Business, and sells advertising and production services under the OnMedia brand. More information about Mediacom is available at mediacomcable.com.

About the Greater Des Moines Partnership

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the economic and community development organization that serves Greater Des Moines (DSM), Iowa. Together with 24 Affiliate Chambers of Commerce, more than 6,500 Regional Business Members and more than 365 Investors, The Partnership drives economic growth with one voice, one mission and as one region. Through innovation, strategic planning and global collaboration, The Partnership grows opportunity, helps create jobs and promotes DSM as the best place to build a business, a career and a future. Learn more at DSMpartnership.com.

About Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines

The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines improves quality of life for all by promoting charitable giving, connecting donors with causes they care about and providing leadership on important community issueswe're simply better together. The Community Foundation administers over 2,060 charitable funds and distributed over $51.4 million in grants in 2019. Visit www.desmoinesfoundation.org to learn more.

Contacts:

Phyllis Peters

Mediacom

ppeters@mediacomcc.com

515-707-7148

Phil Roeder

Des Moines Public Schools

phillip.roeder@dmschools.org

515-991-5603

Courtney Shaw

Greater Des Moines Partnership

cshaw@DSMPartnership.com

405-747-8757
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank Hapoalim B.M. has agreed to pay nearly $875 million to the U.S. government to resolve charges it conspired with American taxpayers and others to hide over $7.6 billion in Swiss and Israeli accounts, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.

Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest bank, and its Swiss subsidiary admitted to failing to prevent and "actively assisting" U.S. customers in setting up more than 5,500 secret accounts and sheltering assets to evade taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement on Thursday.

The bank entered a guilty plea before a U.S. District judge, the DOJ said. A lawyer for the bank did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The agreement marks the second-largest recovery by the DOJ in connection with its investigations since 2008 into facilitation of offshore U.S. tax evasion by foreign banks, the agency's statement said.

From about 2002 to 2014, Bank Hapoalim conspired with U.S. customers, employees and others to defraud the United States and file false federal tax returns, according to documents filed in federal court in Manhattan.

As part of the deal, the bank will pay the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the New York State Department of Financial Services, and the U.S. government has agreed not to prosecute the bank for three years.

In another agreement announced on Thursday, Bank Hapoalim and its Swiss subsidiary agreed to pay the U.S. government $30 million for its role in the FIFA money laundering conspiracy.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
COVID-19: What you need to know now
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Linkedin (Reuters) Prague, Czech Republic  Fri, May 1, 2020 21:22 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd56c588 2 Lifestyle Czech-Republic,movies,cinema,coronavirus,COVID-19,lockdown,film,hairdresser Free

The Czech Republic outlined rules on Friday for cinemas, hairdressers and other businesses to re-open on May 11 that include a food and drink ban at the movies as the country eases restrictions aimed at slowing the coronavirus's spread.

Hairstylists will need to wear both a mask and a protective shield and manicurists and pedicurists must also wear gloves, Health Minister Adam Vojtech told a news conference. Their customers must keep two meters apart.

"When it comes to barbers and hairdressers, it is essential that operators have double respiratory protection," Vojtech said. "So, in addition to the mask, there is also a protective shield."

The central European nation of 10.7 million is cautiously opening up its economy amid signs the outbreak has come under control. Schools, shops and restaurants were shut down and a lockdown imposed in March.

The Czech Republic has reported a total of 7,689 cases and 237 deaths. On Thursday, it recorded 103 new cases, the first time since April 21 that daily new infections climbed above 100. Active cases have steadily declined.

The government said on Thursday it would allow the opening of cultural and sport events with up to 100 people as part of a next phase of relaxing restrictions, to start on May 11. That will also include shopping malls and larger shops.

Read also: South Korea drive-in cinemas enjoy sales boom over virus fears

At theaters, audience members must leave every other row empty and couples can sit together at cinemas but must be separated by a seat from others.

"It will not be possible to consume or sell any food, including drinks," Vojtech said, adding that masks need to stay on during the film. "That means no popcorn."

At restaurants with outdoor areas, customers not dining together must sit 1.5 metres apart but can remove their masks while eating and drinking.

The government is hoping a system of tracing and testing contacts of infected people, newly boosted by an army of testers, mobile apps and location data from phones and payment card transactions, will be enough to contain any flare-ups without re-introducing blanket restrictions.

Stores of up to 2,500 square metres reopened Monday, and restaurants, pubs and hotels should open their doors on May 25 in the next reopening stage.
KC Provisionally Accredited Pandemic Life Lesson

Kansas City Public Schools to hold graduation events in July KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Graduation ceremonies will take place the week of July 20 for students in the Kansas City Public Schools system. The district made the announcement Thursday. "The overwhelming preference of our students and families includes a semblance of live, in-person graduations when it is safe to do so.

Heartland Keeps Waiting For Unemployment Insurance

Unemployment continues surge in MO, KS as some await payment Millions more Americans have filed for unemployment this week totaling more than 30 million since the start of the pandemic, including another 70,000 this week in Kansas and Missouri. But some people are still struggling to get help from the state.

Savory Local Blaze

Fire at Gates Bar-B-Q near Emanuel Cleaver and The Paseo kept firefighters busy early Thursday KANSAS CITY, Mo.- A fire at Gates Bar-B-Q kept Kansas City firefighters busy early this morning. Crews were called to the restaurant near Emanuel Cleaver Blvd and The Paseo just after 2:30 a. a. Investigators said an employee reported the fire that started in the kitchen under the range hood.

COVID-19 Scams Abound

Couple warns of stimulus scams after reportedly losing hundreds of dollars KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Sugar Creek, Missouri, couple is warning people still waiting for their stimulus payment not to fall for scams. Wendy Jackson is one of many Americans still waiting for the COVID-19 Economic Impact Payment. Her husband, Richard said his wife decided to take action in finding out the status of the money.

Pop Workout Hotness

Britney Spears says she accidentally burnt down her gym with candles Britney Spears made a shocking confession on Instagram on Wednesday, sharing that she burnt down her gym when she left candles out. "Hi guys, I'm in my gym right now. I haven't been in here for, like, six months because I burned my gym down, unfortunately," Spears, 38, said.

Prez Trump: China Punisher

Trump administration draws up plans to punish China over coronavirus outbreak The Trump administration is formulating a long-term plan to punish China on multiple fronts for the coronavirus pandemic, injecting a rancorous new element into a critical relationship already on a steep downward slide.

COVID-19 Liberate Protesting

Armed protesters entered Michigan's state capitol during rally against stay-at-home order Hundreds of demonstrators - some of them heavily armed - crowded into Michigan's state capitol Thursday afternoon to protest against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's shelter-at-home order. The demonstration began outside the capitol early in the day in heavy rain, but later in the afternoon, police allowed several hundred protestors - many not wearing masks - inside the building itself.

Veep Explanation Time

Biden to address Tara Reade allegation on Morning Joe Former Vice President Joe Biden will appear on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Friday, publicly addressing for the first time an allegation of sexual assault made against him by Tara Reade, a former aide in his Senate office. Reade has claimed that in the early 1990s, when Biden was a senator from Delaware, he assaulted her while they were in the Senate building.

Still Stuck In Northeast

Stuck again. Urban core tradition pictured here . . .

KC Tech Cash Giveaway

Dollars out, impact rolls in: $1M deployed from KC's COVID-19 relief fund, AltCap says Editor's note: The following is part of Startland News' ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City's entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop.

Local Cure Consideration

KC doctors cautiously optimistic about possible COVID-19 drug treatment KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday that a new drug showing promise in clinical trials could be a first step toward a potential COVID-19 treatment. That drug, described on the TODAY Show , is remdesivir, which Fauci called "not the total answer" but "a very important first step."

Spring Warm Up Underway

Friday's temps will push 80 degrees We'll drop back to near 50 degrees for a low. Temperatures will climb to 80 degrees on Friday.

The antics of a longtime American diva inspires this peek at community news, pop culture and info from across the nation and around the world . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
By Timothy Gardner, Steve Holland, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Rania El Gamal WASHINGTON/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - As the United States pressed Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, President Donald Trump gave Saudi leaders an ultimatum. In an April 2 phone call, Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that unless the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) started cutting oil production, he would be powerless to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw U.S

By Timothy Gardner, Steve Holland, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Rania El Gamal

WASHINGTON/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - As the United States pressed Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, President Donald Trump gave Saudi leaders an ultimatum.

In an April 2 phone call, Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that unless the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) started cutting oil production, he would be powerless to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw U.S. troops from the kingdom, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The threat to upend a 75-year strategic alliance, which has not been previously reported, was central to the U.S. pressure campaign that led to a landmark global deal to slash oil supply as demand collapsed in the coronavirus pandemic - scoring a diplomatic victory for the White House.

Trump delivered the message to the crown prince 10 days before the announcement of production cuts. The kingdoms de facto leader was so taken aback by the threat that he ordered his aides out of the room so he could continue the discussion in private, according to a U.S. source who was briefed on the discussion by senior administration officials.

The effort illustrated Trumps strong desire to protect the U.S. oil industry from a historic price meltdown as governments shut down economies worldwide to fight the virus. It also reflected a telling reversal of Trumps longstanding criticism of the oil cartel, which he has blasted for raising energy costs for Americans with supply cuts that usually lead to higher gasoline prices. Now, Trump was asking OPEC to slash output.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters that the administration notified Saudi leaders that, without production cuts, there would be no way to stop the U.S. Congress from imposing restrictions that could lead to a withdrawal of U.S. forces. The official summed up the argument, made through various diplomatic channels, as telling Saudi leaders: We are defending your industry while youre destroying ours.

Reuters asked Trump about the talks in an interview Wednesday evening at the White House, at which the president addressed a range of topics involving the pandemic. Asked if he told the crown prince that the U.S. might pull forces out of Saudi Arabia, Trump said, "I didn't have to tell him."

"I thought he and President Putin, Vladimir Putin, were very reasonable," Trump said. "They knew they had a problem, and then this happened."

Asked what he told the Crown Prince Mohammed, Trump said: "They were having a hard time making a deal. And I met telephonically with him, and we were able to reach a deal" for production cuts, Trump said.

Saudi Arabias government media office did not respond to a request for comment. A Saudi official who asked not to be named stressed that the agreement represented the will of all countries in the so-called OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations, which includes OPEC plus a coalition led by Russia.

Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia have played an important role in the OPEC+ oil cut agreement, but without the cooperation of the 23 countries who took part in the agreement, it would not have happened, said the Saudi official, who declined to comment on the discussions between U.S. and Saudi leaders.

The week before Trumps phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed, U.S. Republican Senators Kevin Cramer and Dan Sullivan had introduced legislation to remove all U.S. troops, Patriot missiles and anti-missile defense systems from the kingdom unless Saudi Arabia cut oil output. Support for the measure was gaining momentum amid Congressional anger over the ill-timed Saudi-Russia oil price war. The kingdom had opened up the taps in April, unleashing a flood of crude into the global supply after Russia refused to deepen production cuts in line with an earlier OPEC supply pact.

On April 12, under pressure from Trump, the worlds biggest oil-producing nations outside the United States agreed to the largest production cut ever negotiated. OPEC, Russia and other allied producers slashed production by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 10% of global output. Half that volume came from cuts of 2.5 million bpd each by Saudi Arabia and Russia, whose budgets depend on high oil-and-gas revenues.

Despite the agreement to cut a tenth of global production, oil prices continued to fall to historic lows. U.S. oil futures dropped below $0 last week as sellers paid buyers to avoid taking delivery of oil they had no place to store. Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell towards $15 per barrel - a level not seen since the 1999 oil price crash  from as high as $70 at the start of the year.

The deal for supply cuts could eventually boost prices, however, as governments worldwide start to open their economies and fuel demand rises with increased travel. Whatever the impact, the negotiations mark an extraordinary display of U.S. influence over global oil output.

Cramer, the Republican senator from North Dakota, told Reuters he spoke to Trump about the legislation to withdraw U.S. military protection from Saudi Arabia on March 30, three days before the president called Crown Prince Mohammed.

Asked whether Trump told Saudi Arabia it could lose U.S. military support, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told Reuters the president reserved the right to use every tool to protect U.S. producers, including our support for their defense needs.

The strategic partnership dates back to 1945, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Saudi King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud on the USS Quincy, a Navy cruiser. They reached a deal: U.S. military protection in exchange for access to Saudi oil reserves. Today, the United States has about three thousand troops in the country, and the U.S. Navys Fifth Fleet protects oil exports from the region.

Saudi Arabia relies on the United States for weapons and protection against regional rivals such as Iran. The kingdoms vulnerabilities, however, were exposed late last year in an attack by 18 drones and three missiles on key Saudi oil facilities. Washington blamed Iran; Tehran denied it.

THIRTEEN ANGRY SENATORS

Trump initially welcomed lower oil prices, saying cheap gasoline prices were akin to a tax cut for drivers.

That changed after Saudi Arabia announced in mid-March it would pump a record 12.3 million bpd  unleashing the price war with Russia. The explosion of supply came as governments worldwide issued stay-home orders - crushing fuel demand - and made clear that U.S. oil companies would be hit hard in the crude price collapse. Senators from U.S. oil states were infuriated.

On March 16, Cramer was among 13 Republican senators who sent a letter to Crown Prince Mohammed reminding him of Saudi Arabia's strategic reliance on Washington. The group also urged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to investigate whether Saudi Arabia and Russia were breaking international trade laws by flooding the U.S. market with oil.

On March 18, the senators  a group that included Sullivan of Alaska and Ted Cruz of Texas  held a rare call with Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Cramer called the conversations brutal as each senator detailed the damage to their states oil industries.

She heard it from every senator; there was nobody that held back, Cramer told Reuters.

The Saudi embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

Cramer said the princess relayed their comments to officials in Saudi Arabia, including the energy minister. The senators told the princess that the kingdom faced rising opposition in the Senate to the Saudi-led coalition that is waging a war in Yemen against Houthi rebels.

Saudi and U.S. officials have said the Houthis are armed by Iran, which Tehran denies. The backing of Senate Republicans over Yemen had proved crucial for Saudi Arabia last year. The Senate upheld Trump vetoes of several measures seeking to end U.S. weapons sales and other military support to Saudi Arabia amid outrage over the Yemen conflict, which has caused more than 100,000 deaths and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Cramer said he made a phone call to Trump on March 30, about a week after he and Sullivan introduced their bill to pull U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia. The president called Cramer back the same day with Energy Secretary Brouillette, senior economic adviser Larry Kudlow and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on the call, the senator said.

I said the one person that you dont have on the call that can be very helpful is Mark Esper, the defense secretary, Cramer recounted, saying he wanted Esper to address how U.S. military assets in Saudi Arabia might be moved elsewhere in the region to protect U.S. troops.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on whether Esper was involved in discussions of pulling military assets out of Saudi Arabia.

BENDING THE KNEE

Trumps oil diplomacy came in a whirlwind of calls with Saudi King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed and Russian President Vladimir Putin starting in mid-March. The Kremlin confirmed Putins conversation with Trump and said they discussed both oil supply cuts and the coronavirus pandemic.

On the April 2 call with Prince Mohammed, Trump told the Saudi ruler he was going to cut them off the next time Congress pushed a proposal to end Washingtons defense of the kingdom, according to the source with knowledge of the call. Trump also publicly threatened in early April to impose tariffs on oil imports from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

After the conversation with the Saudi crown prince, and another the same day with Putin, Trump tweeted that he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut output by about 10 million barrels, which will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!"

Riyadh and Moscow later confirmed they had restarted negotiations.

On April 3, Trump hosted a meeting at the White House with senators Cramer, Cruz, and Sullivan, and oil executives from companies including Exxon Mobil Corp , Chevron Corp , Occidental Petroleum Corp and Continental Resources .

During the public portion of the meeting, Cramer told Trump that Washington can use the billions of dollars it spends defending Saudi Arabia on other military priorities if our friends are going to treat us this way.

The prospect of losing U.S. military protection made the royal family bend at the knees and bow to Trumps demands, a Middle Eastern diplomat told Reuters.

After prolonged and fractious negotiations, top producers pledged their record output cut of 9.7 million bpd in May and June, with the understanding that economic forces would lead to about 10 million bpd in further cuts in production from other countries, including the United States and Canada.

Trump hailed the deal and cast himself as its broker. Having been involved in the negotiations, to put it mildly, the number that OPEC+ is looking to cut is 20 Million Barrels a day he tweeted shortly after the deal.

Riyadh also took credit. Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz told Reuters at the time that the crown prince had been instrumental in formulating this deal.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Steve Holland in Washington, Dmitry Zhdannikov in London and Rania El Gamal in Dubai; additional reporting by Alexandra Alper and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington, and Marwa Rashad in Riyadh; writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Brian Thevenot)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Funding for the first phase of a three-part, $15 million project to transform Grand Avenue in Escondidos historic downtown area into a more pedestrian friendly destination has been secured.

The first phase of The Grand Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project calls for the elimination of one lane of traffic along Grand in each direction between Juniper Street and Escondido Boulevard. Diagonal parking would then be added on one side of the street and possibly both sides between Broadway and Kalmia, creating roughly 100 more parking spaces than exist now.

Between Maple and Kalmia, the medians would be removed and the sidewalk widened on one side of the street between Maple and Broadway. Lighting enhancements and improved pedestrian crossing would also be added.

The first phase has a price tag of roughly $2.6 million, of which a bit more than half is being paid via a grant awarded to the city from the San Diego Association of Governments, the regions planning agency.

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The remaining funds will be provided by the city using Transnet money that had been set aside in reserve last year to ensure adequate funding would be available for street maintenance should the gas tax have been repealed during last Novembers election. It was not, thereby freeing up the reserve funds for other uses.

It is expected that it will take about a year to design the Phase 1 improvements with construction beginning thereafter, the Escondido City Council was told last week.

It was almost exactly one year ago that the council endorsed what is known as the Grand Avenue Vision Plan, which was developed following various community meetings involving downtown business owners, residents and others.

The initial concept for changing Grand Avenue originated roughly five years ago when the Escondido Downtown Business Association (DBA) got involved when the city was contemplating charging for parking in city lots in the area. That wasnt a popular idea, DBA President Alex MacLachlan said Thursday.

We then started looking for alternative responses to that proposal, he said. It grew very slowly from there.

MacLachlan said the DBA is very supportive of the vision plan and happy its got to this point. He added that additional parking along Grand is more important now than ever as the city is considering selling a large parking lot between Grand and W. Valley Parkway to make way for a condominium project.

The overall vision plan includes the eventual construction of three roundabouts along Grand, the largest at the intersection of Broadway and two smaller roundabouts at Kalmia and Maple.

The citys director of engineering services, Julie Procopio, told the council her department will continue to search for grants to fund the remaining phases.

There are other grants that this projects may be well-suited for, she said.

The project has in a sense already begun with the removal late last year of dozens of Eucalyptus trees from the medians along Grand.

I think everyone can see that with the removal of those problematic trees  you can see Grand Avenue again, said Councilman Mike Morasco. Its beautiful. Its going to be great and Im really excited about the evolution of our Grand Avenue project.

Councilwoman Olga Diaz also praised the way the removal of the trees has opened up the area and enabled people to see the surrounding mountains including Bottle Peak due east of Grand. Its gorgeous, she said.

Diaz also asked city staff to come to the council in the future with some ideas of how to fill vacancies that have existed, in some case for a couple decades, in a few large buildings along the street.

And while not officially part of the project, plans to erect a welcoming arch over Grand Avenue at Centre City Parkway were revealed earlier this year. The arch, which is being paid for with private funds, was gifted to the city with the Grand Avenue enhancement project in mind.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
London, United Kingdom  Landmark structures in London are virtually lifeless now that coronavirus-induced stay-at-home orders keep all but the most essential workers from making their way to office buildings. To do so means risking exposure to a virus that has already infected more than 171,000 people and killed roughly 27,000 in the United Kingdom. Streets in the British capitals financial heart now only see the occasional masked pedestrian and ubiquitous cycle couriers.

But Laura, who does not want to reveal her real name for fear of reprisal, still gets on a bus every morning before dawn to go to work in London. The Venezuelan fled political and economic unrest in South America, where she was a teacher. In lockdown UK, she scrubs offices at a bank that has kept some of its key operations running.

Since the crisis began, her already-insecure employment has become even more precarious. While the government has set up a scheme to cover 80 percent of workers wages throughout the crisis, abusive employment practices in the sector mean that was never an option for her.

Laura is one of many workers who, charities and unions worry, are falling through the cracks of the UKs government programmes, designed to protect livelihoods during the pandemic. Those groups also fear chronic under-resourcing of labour oversight coupled with coronavirus-induced restrictions on movement will leave a free hand to abusive employers.

A spokesperson for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), a government agency tasked with investigating labour abuse and regulating key sectors, told Al Jazeera the GLAA recognises some low-wage workers are at risk of exploitation, and that those risks could increase in some areas during the pandemic.



Keeping others safe

For two hours before employees arrive, Laura disinfects their work stations, then spends the rest of the day wiping down door handles, lift buttons, and any other sources of possible contagion.

She works 11.5 hours a day, including breaks. The outsourcing company that hired her considers most of her shift  the time she spends protecting others from the virus  cover hours. Her contract does not guarantee that time.

Before the lockdown, Laura was on a part-time contract with four hours guaranteed every day, but would often be asked to work additional cover hours. Those extra hours meant she had a reliable income upon which she could budget for food, housing, transportation, and other essentials. That all changed after one of the buildings she cleaned shut down.

When this coronavirus thing started, they offered me a cover of seven hours, said Laura. They told me that in order to work those hours, I had to give up on the governments furlough scheme, so I did. I will be paid at the normal rate, but I just started, and Im yet to receive the money, she added, implying this was not as obvious an outcome as one would assume.

Unable to live on 80 percent of her declared income, she continued working on new terms: Fewer guaranteed hours with routine unpaid overtime, usual conditions, and hourly pay that is just above the national minimum wage.

Protecting workers

As the country ground to a halt, the UK government set out a series of unprecedented financial measures to save businesses from bankruptcy and avoid mass unemployment. But some people are falling through the cracks.

The British Cleaning Council estimated in 2017, the sector employed about 700,000 people.

In the cleaning industry, companies not giving [workers] proper employment contracts is the norm, Henry Lopez, the president of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), told Al Jazeera. They would call them to do extra work when in fact they work full-time for the company, he explained,

For workers who didnt have [a contract] at the time this [coronavirus] happened, employers are trying to get away with sacking workers, he said, adding that the union is also asking companies to reinstate workers laid off before the governments lockdown was announced.

Lopez says his union is seeing cases where workers are not being given protective equipment on the job. Supermarkets, he claims, are some of the problematic employers. He says they often dont take any responsibility and let the outsourcing company deal with these workers.

Falling through the cracks

The UK government has pumped seven billion pounds ($8.8bn) into the countrys welfare system, raising the standard unemployment allowance to 409 pounds ($514) a month. Statutory sick pay and support for workers with health conditions who need to self-isolate have also been extended.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts British unemployment will to rise 10 percent as the countrys economy takes a blow worse than the 2008 financial crisis.

More than 140,000 companies applied to the governments coronavirus job retention scheme on the first day it was launched. Under the scheme, the government covers 80 percent of employees wages  up to a maximum of 2,500 pounds ($3,130) a month  while companies are forced to remain on a coronavirus-induced lockdown. A similar scheme was introduced for the UKs estimated five million self-employed workers based on their average earnings.

Supporting the livelihoods of 8.3 million people, the OBR estimates it will end up costing 42 billion pounds ($52bn) over three months.

In a briefing published last month, the charity Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) found the schemes do not cover some categories of workers. Recent job switchers and seasonal workers are unable to get furloughed. Additionally, one in 20 self-employed workers who were not registered as such in the previous tax year is not eligible for help.

Migrant workers, who are often employed in the informal economy and, in some cases, unable to access welfare, are particularly at risk.

The risk of destitution is putting people in a very vulnerable position, Lucila Grenada, chief executive at FLEX, told Al Jazeera.

It is increasing their vulnerability to labour exploitation because the situation will make them desperate to get a job, and more willing to accept dangerous working conditions, she added.

Ana* (not her real name), an Ecuadorian woman in her 40s, had been working for two cleaning companies in London since arriving in the country at the end of last year.

As soon as coronavirus hit the UK, she lost one of her jobs.

I just received a letter that said they no longer needed my services because the company was shutting down. I was only a replacement, Ana said.

Not without difficulties, Ana  a Spanish citizen who arrived in the country earlier this year  managed to get furloughed for her second job. Like many migrant women with a history of informal work, she is not sure whether she can access government benefits. But even that would leave her worried about being able to support her family.

I came here because there wasnt a lot of work in Spain, and my son is studying at university there, costs are high, said Ana. We are living hand to mouth, and we are worried. I will go out and look for work. She knows about the risk of infection, but what choice do I have? To stay this way, it just scares me.

Dolores Modern at the Latin American Womens Rights Service said her organisation has been swamped with calls from women who do not know whether they are entitled to government help.

Many are being dismissed rather than put on furlough simply because the scheme is not mandatory, Modern told Al Jazeera. They have been left out of all the governments plans and unprotected.

Meanwhile, long hours and self-isolation are keeping Laura away from her family as she avoids visits that could put her elderly mothers health at risk. I have my sister and my mother here in London, said Laura, who hopes to find the time to improve her English so that one day she can go back to teaching French and Spanish. I havent seen them in more than five weeks.
The U.S. Supreme Court has some fresh content to offer starting next week to harried teachers and students struggling with remote learning: 10 hours of oral arguments, to be conducted over the telephone because of the pandemic.

The historic arguments in cases involving the Electoral College, President Donald Trumps financial records, religious schools, and other matters have built buzz in the legal community, both because of the technology the justices will use and the fact that the court is offering live access to the audio.

In education, where teachers, parents, and students have grappled with remote technology and other challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, only a relative handful of social studies and civics educators and their students are anticipating the two weeks of unusual arguments. But some of them are stoked.

Im a self-proclaimed Supreme Court nerd, and that side of me was like, Oh, my gosh, said Trish Everett, who teaches political science at the private Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Making the arguments publicly available in real time is monumental.

Being able to take advantage of this rare historic moment is an amazing opportunity educationally, said Everett. Im a big proponent of the idea that if Im excited about something, my students will get excited.

Ali Spagnolo, a 16-year-old junior at Massapequa High School on New Yorks Long Island, has been studying Supreme Court cases as part of her government class, now conducted remotely of course. She plans to listen to some of the arguments live.

Because theyre letting people listen to them live, I think will be incredibly interesting, she said.

Her government teacher, Dan Bachman, said that a handful of his students will listen to arguments live during the first batch of cases next week. Many of his other students are studying for the Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics test, which will be conducted online on May 11.

I was able to find four of my kids who dont have the AP exam, Bachman said, adding that he may set up Zoom sessions during the arguments or after to discuss with his students how the justices and lawyers fared.

Aimee Alexander, a history teacher at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vt., said the May argument session begins the same day she is starting to teach her students about the judicial branch.

Remote learning has been super condensed and she feels lucky to get two or three hours per week with students in a particular course. Most of her students are probably not ready to dive into the live arguments.

But I do have some eager beavers who plan to listen, she said.

Everett, Bachman, and Alexander are alumni of the Supreme Court Summer Teachers Institute, a weeklong event that draws social studies and civics instructors to Washington near the end of the courts term in June. Participants hear from lawyers who regularly argue, they hold a mock oral argument, and they get to attend sessions of the court when opinions are announced.

This year, because of the pandemic, the court is not holding any sessions in its courtroom, and the Summer Institute has been canceled. Instead, StreetLaw , the institutes sponsor (along with the Supreme Court Historical Society), has developed learning materials focused on the unusual May argument session.

There was no way we could have 30 educators gathering in June in D.C., said Lee Arbetman, the executive director of StreetLaw and the co-director of the institute. We have pivoted to these arguments.

Cathy Ruffing, a former classroom teacher and the other co-director, said that teachers who attend the summer institute come with special interest in the Supreme Court and leave it with an almost fanatical devotion to the institution.

Among the teachers we work with, there is definitely a buzz about the telephone arguments, she said.

StreetLaw is steering educators to focus on one of the last cases of the May argument session, Chiafalo v. Washington , about whether states may punish faithless electors, those who cast votes in the Electoral College that go against the U.S. presidential popular vote in their state. The case will be argued May 13, along with a companion case from the state of Colorado.

Ruffing will participate in a webinar previewing the case that is aimed at a middle school audience. The webinar for Chiafolo will take place May 11 on SCOTUSBlog , which is holding similar webinars for all cases in the May session, with some aimed at a law school audience and a few others meant for meant for middle or high school students. (Disclosure: I contribute to SCOTUSBlog, but Im not involved in the webinars.)

The Supreme Court, perhaps concerned that its website might not be able to handle a flood of listeners, is making the live audio feed available to a press pool. C-SPAN plans to present the feed on its various platforms including TV, web, and its radio app for cellphones.
There isnt a perfect game plan out there thats evidence-based and proven for reopening a society in the midst of a pandemic, said Dr. David L. Lakey, a former Texas health commissioner who helped oversee the Ebola crisis in Dallas in 2014 and now serves as the chief medical officer for the University of Texas System.

This is on the more aggressive side of opening things up, he said. Is it wrong or not? I dont know. Its a judgment call. Its going to need to be watched closely, with the ability to take a step backward if it looks like its moving faster than thought.

Dr. Mark McClellan, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who is one of three chief medical advisers assisting the governor and state health officials, said Texas was ready to reopen in the measured way Mr. Abbott had laid out.

Were going to be living with this virus for quite awhile, so we need to figure out ways to get back out, said Dr. McClellan, a physician and an economist at Duke University.

The reopening was a complex, muddled and scattershot endeavor in the second-largest state by both area and population. Mr. Abbotts move superseded all local orders, angering many city and county leaders and adding to the confusion.

A Houston strip club planned to reopen as a restaurant with featured entertainers. Some restaurants required patrons to wear face masks, making eating and drinking a significant conundrum. James B. White, the owner of the Broken Spoke, a honky-tonk in Austin, was preparing to reopen on Friday  until the Alcoholic Beverage Commission reminded him that his establishment sells more alcohol than food and qualifies as a bar and not a restaurant. He called off the reopening.

In a state often defined by division  red versus blue, rural versus urban, black versus white, rich versus poor, immigrant versus native-born  the reopening gave Texans one more thing to be for or against. In Austin, critics of the reopening called for a boycott of reopened restaurants, while in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, a Republican running for Congress, Kathaleen Wall, went on a celebratory four-stop Back in Business tour. The Texas Democratic Party dubbed it the Back in Sickness tour.
Education Minister Peter Weir, whose department is asking schools how successful online learning has been

Schools have been closed for five weeks since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, with many teachers delivering sessions through online apps and websites such as Google Classroom and Zoom

The Department of Education (DENI) has denied claims by an SDLP MLA that 80% of pupils are not taking up online classes during the Covid-19 crisis.

Following a meeting of Stormont's Education Committee on Wednesday, West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan said that officials had "confirmed" that 240,000 of Northern Ireland's 340,000 students are not using online resources.

However, a DENI spokesperson responded by saying that it "does not agree" with Mr McCrossan's interpretation of the figures.

Schools have been closed for five weeks since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, with many teachers delivering sessions through online apps and websites such as Google Classroom and Zoom.

However, concerns have been raised that many young people are missing out as they do not have access to devices or broadband.

DENI has sent principals a questionnaire to find out how successful online learning has been.

Mr McCrossan said it was "hugely worrying" that students in Northern Ireland have not engaged with online classes since schools closed their doors.

"Not only could this impact on educational outcomes and exams, but it also calls into question whether other means of teaching students have been successfully deployed," he added.

"The root causes of this problem need to be investigated immediately.

"I have written to the minister (Peter Weir) requesting that his department review this issue immediately and propose recommendations.

"This could have a hugely detrimental impact on students should online classes be inaccessible for many."

In response, a spokesperson for the department said that its officials had not confirmed the figures that Mr McCrossan had used.

"Secondly, Mr McCrossan would appear to believe that nursery and pre-school children should be engaging daily in online classes as he has included them in the total number he quotes," the spokesperson continued.

"Thirdly, the figures presented show daily snapshots of some aspects of online learning activity, but they do not reflect the totality of such activity, nor would anyone expect all learners to be engaging in online lessons every day."

The department also said that the figures which were quoted related to one of a range of metrics provided by the Education Authority's C2K system, indicating use of the applications they are able to track.

"It is therefore not reflective of the entire access to online learning being made by our schools," the spokesperson said.

"The Education Authority's C2K system has seen a significant increase in online learning activity since schools have closed.

"Pupils also have access to multiple other online learning resources outside of those which can be monitored by C2K, for example, BBC learning websites.

They added: "Additionally, a range of other educational software providers have also made their resources available free during this crisis and schools in Northern Ireland can avail of these online tools.

"Many schools are also making hard copy resources and learning materials available to their pupils."
The grocery store presents a series of new potential dangers during this COVID-19 pandemic, from shoppers not wearing masks (or not wearing them properly) to social distancing issues to how the food is handled.

But the most dangerous place in the store? Thatd be at the cash register.

As CNN reports, the register has emerged as the most dangerous place in the store, according to public health and worker safety experts. No surprise, given that the CDC has suggested that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes.

If a cashier is infected, it exponentially increases the likelihood that a customer will also contact the coronavirus. Its also one area where customers are in close range with workers.

The cashier spot is still the most dangerous since every customer passes this area and stands there for some time while groceries are moving down the counter, as Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Riverside, told CNN.

Walmart and other stores have added additional precautions in recent weeks, including sneeze guards at cash registers, social-distancing markers and increased cleanings of checkout lanes. Supermarkets have also limited the number of customers in a store at one time and increased contact-less payment methods.

But not all stores are requiring employees (or customers) to wear masks. Additionally, self-checkout areas have been crowded, the plexiglass barriers are often ineffective (as customers lean over them) and any time an ID needs to be checked for alcohol purchases, theres more close contact and additional shared touching between employees and patrons.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, told CNN that cashiers need N95 masks as much as health care workers, as well as face shields. He says they should all be sanitizing cash as well.

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The post The Most Dangerous Part of the Grocery Store During Coronavirus Is Unavoidable appeared first on InsideHook.
Three Including Pakistani Army Soldier Killed in Firing by Indian Troops, Islamabad Claims

Sputnik News

08:23 GMT 30.04.2020

India and Pakistan have engaged in around 1,700 ceasefire violations from both the sides since January 2020, resulting in the deaths of several civilians and the injuring of many more. The number of firefight incidents has increased over the past three weeks.

Indian troops targeted Pakistani posts with automatic and heavy weapons in the Kailer sector, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday. Two civilians and one army serviceman allegedly died in the cross-border firing.

The Pakistani Army responded effectively, resulting in heavy losses for Indian troops, ISPR said, adding that "during an exchange of intense fire, a 34-year-old soldier and resident of the Karak district, died". In the Rakchikri sector Indian Army troops deliberately targeted the civilian population, Pakistan alleged.

Due to indiscriminate fire in the village of Kirni, a girl aged 16, and a woman, 52, died while a 10-year-old boy and a 55-year-old woman were injured.

On Wednesday, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC), said the Indian Army will always get a "befitting response" to ceasefire violations along the LoC.

General Bajwa was told about the latest "violations" by Indian forces "deliberately targeting innocent civilians along the LoC" and the army's "response".

India and Pakistan have been engaged in relentless cross-border firefights since the beginning of this month, resulting in the deaths of at least half a dozen civilians from both sides. Dozens more have been injured due to the skirmishes.

The two south Asian rivals have engaged in artillery firing on a nearly daily basis. India has been accused of 805 ceasefire violations and Pakistan of 900 so far.

The already tense relations between the two countries began to deteriorate even further due the February 2019 dogfight but hit a new low with the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, in August.

 Sputnik

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A research collaboration and ensuing friendship between a trauma surgeon in Oregon and a handful of engineers in Florida has resulted in a new ventilator design that requires no electricity and could be a game-changer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Albert Chi, who specializes in critical care and prosthetics, was keeping a close eye on COVID-19 during the early days. He immediately began working with his team at Oregon Health and Science University to develop a new, easy way to replicate ventilators that could be deployed anywhere. Specializing in trauma, Chi as a retired commander of the U.S. Navy Reserve and well versed in extreme conditions.

When Chi had a design, he called his friend and clinical-trial collaborator Albert Manero CEO and co-founder of Limbitless Solutions in Orlando, Florida.

Manero '12 '14MS '16PhD leads the nonprofit based at the University of Central Florida. The team creates prosthetics for children and has been conducting a clinical trial with Chi since 2018. Currently the trial is being adapted for telemedicine per FDA guidelines for responding to COVID-19 to mitigate participants' travel. In the interim, Limbitless pivoted its manufacturing capabilities to produce hundreds of 3D-printed face shield components for local hospitals through a national coalition led by 3D company Stratasys.

Dr. Chi called me and said, 'Hey Albert, I have an idea, When Dr. Chi has an idea, we listen. We were happy to support in any way we could." Albert Manero, CEO and co-founder of Limbitless Solutions in Orlando, Florida

That's when Manero called Limbitless' engineers together to tackle this new challenge. Limbitless printed the pieces in its laboratory for the prototype, which exceeded expectations when it was tested in Chi's lab in Oregon. Within days, OHSU submitted a request to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization to make the 3D-printed ventilators available to support hospitals worldwide battling high caseloads in hot spots due to the pandemic.

Limbitless this week also produced pieces for the first 10 ventilator prototypes, which Chi says will be sent to hospitals nationwide to test and collect feedback while he awaits FDA approval.

How the ventilators work

Chi's ventilator is unique, because it does not require electronics and uses 3D-printed parts, which can be potentially manufactured at hospitals.

Limbitless used printers in its lab at UCF to print the pieces necessary for high quality prints and large-scale distribution. Limbitless key engineers and co-founders, Dominique Courbin '18 and John Sparkman '13 '15, optimized the production of the critical pieces at UCF. The pieces fit perfectly when assembled at OHSU. The coordination between the two teams was critical to rapidly prototype the design, Manero said.

Depending on the printer used, a single ventilator could be manufactured within three to eight hours and made operational with the addition of low-cost springs available at any hardware store. The low-tech ventilators can be replicated anywhere in the world for less than $10 of material, Chi said.

Limbitless shipped the first ventilator pieces back to OHSU on April 17. Chi and his team assembled the first prototype and placed it on an oxygen tank to test it. The goal was to see if it would work for at least 24 hours without any durability issues. Chi's team had already performed extensive modeling and testing in the lab, but the next 24 hours were to determine if OHSU would go after FDA emergency approval.

On April 24, Chi filed with the FDA because the ventilator was still pumping air with no issues 120 hours later.

"Hearing the machine 'breathing' during testing was a really moving experience," Manero says. "The sound is such a reminder of why we continue to do everything we can to support our community in any way we can. It is an example of what teamwork can accomplish to change the world."

OHSU stopped the durability testing of the first ventilator after seven continuous days with zero issues.

"They did such a good job producing the pieces," Chi says "I knew the quality of their work. I knew I could trust them to produce the first 10 prototypes. Our teams are kindred partners just wanting to help save lives. This is the power of heart, mind and a cooperative spirit."

When the ventilator design is approved, Chi said it would not only help hospitals now, but in the future. The ventilators could be used during another pandemic or in remote regions or after a natural disaster when electricity is scarce.

"I feel like all my experiences until this point -- being in the Navy, working in trauma critical care, meeting Limbitless - they all led me here to this moment, where together we can make a difference," Chi says. "It's not just about being a doctor, it's wanting to give back and help anyone in need, which is what I think makes Albert and I such good partners."
Port Arthur mayor implores residents to stay inside

Port Arthur officials took time Thursday afternoon  mere hours before some stores, restaurants and other retail establishments were expected to partially reopen  to make one last impassioned plea to residents, asking them to continue to stay home. Read more here.

Organic small farmers keep produce fresh amid coronavirus restrictions

Donnas Farm revamped its weekly on-site Farm Stand to a drive-thru model to keep customers stocked with farm-to-table goods amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here.

Southeast Texas' new normal

Click through this photo gallery to see how Southeast Texans have adjusted during the coronavirus pandemic. See more here.

Whats reopening in Southeast Texas

With the expiration of the Governor Gregg Abbotts stay-at-home order coming on Friday, here are the retailers preparing to open its door. Read more here.

By the numbers

Click through the slideshow to see a by-the-numbers look at coronavirus in Southeast Texas. Read more here.
Surfers off the Huntington Beach Pier on Friday ignore the governor's order to close Orange County beaches. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times )

Californians have made innumerable sacrifices in the face of the coronavirus crisis. They stopped working. They kept their children home from school. They have worn masks to the grocery store, canceled birthday parties, called off funerals.

And they have done so willingly, for the most part, successfully keeping the number of cases of COVID-19 and deaths much lower than in hot spots like New York and New Jersey.

But when Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered a temporary "hard close" of all state and local beaches in Orange County despite the protests of elected officials, surfers and cooped-up people who just want to dip their toes in the sand after six weeks of stay-at-home orders, he touched a nerve in a state where a day at the beach is akin to a birthright.

As tensions rise over how and when to reopen the state, the beaches have become a flashpoint in a way some many other parts of life like shopping, working and cheering the Dodgers and Lakers have not. Newsom cracked down on the Orange County coastline at a critical moment, when some communities have begun pushing to loosen local restrictions.

Crowds flocked to Orange County beaches last weekend as a heatwave sent temperatures soaring above 90 degrees. Few wore masks. Photos of thousands of people lounging on the shoreline went viral.

Those images spurred Newsom to chastise Orange County beachgoers, saying their lack of physical distancing could prolong the spread of the novel coronavirus in California and put the health of others at risk.

My job as governor is to keep you safe, he said Thursday. And when our health folks tell me they cant promise that if we promote another weekend like what we had, then I have to make this adjustment. I hope its only a very short-term adjustment.

Newsom said Orange County beaches would be reopened soon if the situation improves. But that did not satisfy county leaders and officials in some other coastal communities, who argue they should decide on shore restrictions based on local conditions. Orange County officials argue they had made progress in flattening the coronavirus curve, especially compared to neighboring L.A. County, and that a trip to the beach might do more good than harm.

Story continues

"Medical professionals tell us the importance of fresh air and sunlight in fighting infectious diseases, including mental health benefits," said Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner.

Until now, the delicate decision of whether to keep beaches open has been left to cities and counties, which must balance public health risks with providing equitable access to the outdoors.

Los Angeles County  the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in California with more than 1,000 deaths  closed all 72 miles of its coastline. One fear about keeping Orange County beaches open is that residents from harder-hit counties would flock there, potentially spreading the virus.

Communities in the Bay Area have cracked down on those who violate the rules. San Mateo County officials ordered 275 people off Linda Mar Beach and threatened arrests and citations if people continued to violate the order. Local officials decided this week to close Lovers Point Beach along Monterey Bay due to overcrowding.

The chairman of the Coastal Commission, the gatekeeper of California's beach access law, said he supported Newsom's decision regarding Orange County beaches.

In a statement Thursday, Steve Padilla said that while he recognized beachgoers would be disappointed, the threat of coronavirus spreading remains very real. In March, Padilla was one of the first state officials to announce that he had tested positive for the disease.

I had COVID-19, was hospitalized for three weeks and in ICU on a ventilator for eleven days fighting for my life, so take it from me  we need to listen to the governor and stay home until its safe, Padilla said. "Our coast is a precious resource for all of us but today we should remember what's most precious  life itself and the health of our communities.

The pandemic has upended Californians' relationship with their vaunted coastline. For many, being near the water is healing, especially in times of great stress.

Jennifer Savage, California policy manager for Surfrider Foundation, acknowledged the urgent need to protect the community, as well as the challenges that state and local officials face in navigating the conflict between those who are respecting public health guidelines and those who are not.

It really shows the importance of taking responsibility as individuals, she said. If the beach is crowded, don't go. If you do go to the beach, keep moving, wear a mask, do all the things to make sure that the beach can be open and be the resource that we all want it to be.

Adding to the debate over opening beaches are statements by President Trump that warmer weather could help slow the spread of COVID-19. Experts, however, say theres little evidence that sunnier days make beaches safer.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, said that "while it is true that the UV radiation contained in sunlight is detrimental to the [virus's] viability on surfaces, many beach activities would give the virus an opportunity to pass  not from surfaces  but from person to person."

Andrea Armani, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Southern California, said people also are less likely to wash their hands at the beach or to wear masks.

The governor's announcement about Orange County beaches came after reports that he would go even further, mandating the closure of all state and local beaches  a plan he appeared to abandon.

On Wednesday evening, a California Police Chiefs Assn. memo sent to local police chiefs said Newsom intended to make an announcement on Thursday about closures of all state and local beaches. A law enforcement source confirmed to The Times that authorities were briefed on the plans, which they were told might also include the closure of some parks.

On Thursday, Newsom said the memo to the police chiefs never got to me, and he denied rescinding plans for an order to close beaches statewide.

Weve been consistent, Newsom said. I cant square what others may have said, but this is what weve said.

In the face of mounting pressure from frustrated surfers and beachgoers, Newsom danced delicately around the issue and did not outright address the highly anticipated closures until more than 20 minutes into his daily COVID-19 briefing.

There were outstanding examples of carefully managed beaches in L.A., San Diego, Mendocino and Sonoma counties, as well as the Bay Area, he began. But in Orange County, he said, images of crowded beaches were disturbing and raised alarm bells.

Orange County leaders are pushing back.

San Clemente Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson said she reached out to the city manager and city attorney Wednesday night after she heard about the proposed order, suggesting they review what legal authority the governor had to close city beaches.

Im hoping the governor can cite some valid reason under case law to be doing this to cities because, in my opinion, it appears to be government overreach. Local beaches are under the control of the cities, not the state.

After a roughly two-week closure imposed at San Clemente beaches, the city reopened its sandy stretches last weekend with the caveat that visitors would only be permitted to run, walk, swim, surf or partake in other activities while along the coast. Sunbathing or sitting on the sand was not permitted.

In Newport Beach, Police Chief Jon Lewis and Fire Chief Jeff Boyles said in a joint statement that while there were some people crowded together too closely on the beach, most were practicing social distancing or sitting with their families.

The departments also shared aerial photos captured Saturday afternoon that showed sparse crowds on the citys beaches.

In Huntington Beach, the City Council was holding an emergency meeting to discuss next steps, including possible litigation. Late Thursday, the council voted to seek an injunction against Newsom's order.

"We are both concerned and disappointed with the actions taken today by Gov. Newsom and the state of California," Mayor Lyn Semeta said in a statement.

The city, she said, had worked to discourage overcrowding at the beaches and to keep them safe so residents "can experience physical and mental health benefits from accessing the Pacific Ocean."

"Our experience here locally," she said, "has been that most people are being responsible and complying with social distancing, and given that Orange County has among the lowest per-capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the states action today seems to prioritize politics over data.

Times staff writers Amina Khan, Luke Money, John Myers and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
Hendersonville man sentenced to 17 years on child porn charges

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced a 39-year-old Hendersonville man to 17 years in prison on Thursday after his guilty plea last year on child pornography charges, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced.

Bell also ordered Brian Scott Harden to pay a $5,000 special assessment, serve a lifetime term of supervised release and register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell joined Murray in making the announcement.

According to court documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, law enforcement became aware that on June 13, 2018, Harden was distributing child pornography to another individual via Skype, an internet messaging app that allows users to video chat and share messages, images and videos.

Law officers executed a search at Hardens residence, and seized multiple computer devices, cellular phones and a CD. A forensic analysis of the seized items revealed that Harden possessed more than 600 images of child pornography, including images of children under 12, and material depicting the violent, sadistic or masochistic sexual abuse of children.

As Harden admitted in filed court documents, prior to his arrest, he had been sending and receiving child pornography online for at least two years, authorities said. Harden further admitted that he frequently visited websites and chat rooms online to locate and download child pornography and to trade images with other individuals.

Harden pleaded guilty on Sept. 12 to distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography. Harden is currently in federal custody. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.




New Delhi, May 1 : The Election Commission on Friday announced to hold polls to nine legislative council seats in Maharashtra on May 21, giving Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray an opportunity to become an MLC within the six-month deadline for being elected to either Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad.

The EC has decided to conduct the biennial election in Maharashtra on May 21. In this regard, the notification will be issued on May 4 and the last date of filing nominations will be May 11. The scrutiny of nominations will be on May 12 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature will be on May 14 as per the commission's schedule. The polls will be conducted on May 21 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and the counting will be held on the same day at 5 p.m.

The commission has decided that the election shall be completed before May 26. The election watchdog took the decision after reviewing the matter concerning feasibility of conduct of biennial election for the nine seats of MLC vacated by MLAs in the state of Maharashtra. Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner, who is currently in the US, joined the meeting with the two Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra over video call.

The nine seats of MLC by MLAs became vacant on April 24 in Maharashtra. These seats were earlier held by Neelam Diwakar Gorhe, Hemant Prabhakar Takle, Anand Rajendra Thakur, Smita Uday Wagh, Prithviraj Sayajirao Deshmukh, Kiran Jagannath Pawaskar, Arunbhau Janardan Adasad, Chandrakant Batesing Raghuvanshi and Harisingh Narsu Rathod. The Commission had on April 3 issued an order to defer the elections till further orders in view of COVID-19 circumstances.

The Election Commission took the decision following a letter dated April 30 received by Chief Secretary, Maharashtra in which he has pointed out the various measures taken to control the pandemic and that in the state government's assessment, elections to the nine MLC seats could be held in a safe environment. The state government had assured the EC that it is fully committed to ensuring that the elections are held in totally hygienic conditions with social distancing measures and other conditions imposed by the competent authorities.

Citing the Union Home Ministry's April 29 order concerning permitting the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded due to lockdown orders, the state government reiterated that it would facilitate and ensure that the elections are conducted by following all directions in the matter.

The EC also received a letter dated April 30 from Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for conducting elections in the state.

Koshyari's letter to EC mentioned that Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on November 28, 2019 and pointed out that as per Constitutional provisions he has to become a member of either the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council within a period of six months on or before May 27, 2020. The Governor further stated that the ground level situation is contained and as of now appears to be improving with several relaxations being made by the government.

"Hence keeping in view the entire situation, the Election Commission has been requested to consider working out modalities to hold elections," Koshyari's letter mentioned. The Commission also took note of representations from various political parties - the Maharashtra Vidhanmandal Congress Paksh, the Shiv Sena Vidhan Mandal Paksh and, the Rashtravadi Congress Party requesting Commission to conduct the election, the schedule of which was deferred due to force majeure conditions.

It also decided that the Union Home Secretary, who is Chairperson of National Executive Committee in ex-officio capacity under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, should depute an officer of suitable seniority to ensure that the preventive measures are put in place in keeping with the provisions of the said Act for the smooth conduct of the electoral process for the election.

The EC has also directed the Chief Secretary to depute an officer from the state to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the elections. Further the EC has appointed Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra as observer for this election. The EC also decided to review other deferred elections in the next week.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on April 30 declined a request from opposition parties to convene the dissolved Parliament remarking that the opposition was trying to make political gains at the time of a pandemic. Sri Laka has till now reported a total of 671 cases and seven deaths.

On March 2, Rajapaksha had dissolved the country's parliament, six-months ahead of schedule. He had then called for a snap election on April 25 to elect a new 225 member house. However, election commission in mid-April postponed the elections and scheduled it to take place on June 20 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following which, on April 27, the countrys opposite parties urged Rajapaksha to summon the dissolved parliament while pledging cooperation to tackle the pandemic.

"We urge the president to respond positively to this offer of responsible cooperation by us at this critical time and revoke the proclamation dated 2 March 2020 dissolving parliament so that all of us can jointly fight to eradicate this virus," said a joint statement issued by the opposition parties.

Seven party leaders involved

Read: Sri Lanka Brings Home Its 113 Stranded Nationals, Mostly Students, From India

Read: Virender Sehwag Blames Rahul Dravid For Missing Out On Triple Ton Vs Sri Lanka In 2009

However, a press statement released later by the Sri Lankan leader stated that he had rejected the opposition's call to reconvene the house claiming that they were trying to make political gains. The opposition consisted of seven parties including United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan, All Ceylon Makkal Congress leader Rishard Bathuideen, Jathika Hela Urumaya's (JHU) Patali Champika Ranawaka and former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.

Read: Sri Lanka Records Over 70% Fall In Tourism In March Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Read: Asia Today: Sri Lanka Reimposing Full Curfew Amid Resurgence

In other news, the Sri Lankan government, in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus infection, stopped all passenger flights and ships entering the nation on March 18. Till then, 71,370 tourists had already visited the island nation, Sri Lankan media reported quoting Sir Lanka Tourist Development Authoritys Tourist Arrival reports, for March 2020. However, in comparison, the country had received 2,44,328 tourists in 2019.

(With inputs from PTI/Image credits: AP)
A screenshot from a footage showing two men leaving a gold shop in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City on April 30, 2020 after conducting a robbery. Photo acquired by VnExpress.

Two men wearing face masks pepper-sprayed a gold shop owner in Saigon Thursday afternoon and escaped with gold biscuits and jewelry.

The robbers rode a motorbike to the Kim Phat Dung gold shop on Vinh Loc Road, Vinh Loc Commune, Binh Chanh District, and said they wanted to exchange currency, a service informally provided by many gold shops in the country.

One of them opened a bag, took out a pepper spray and sprayed the owner, while the other used a hammer to smash the shop's glass cabinets.

They escaped with several hundred million dong (VND100 million = $4,300) worth of gold and jewelry, leaving behind the hammer, the pepper spray and a scimitar.

Police are investigating the incident using images of the men caught on camera.

On April 20, a man holding a handgun attempted to rob a Techcombank branch in Hanoi's Soc Son District.

The man, later identified by the police as Tran Huu Trung, came into the bank, pointed the gun at employees and threatened them. When an employee pressed the alarm button, he ran out. No one was injured and no money was lost in the attempted robbery.

Trung, 29, surrendered to the police on April 25.
A company of developer Johnny Ronan has urged the Court of Appeal to overturn last year's High Court decision rejecting the firm's position over building height guidelines.

The dispute centres on whether Dublin City Council was wrong in its interpretation of guidelines about what the maximum height of new Ronan group-built office and residential buildings in the Dublin docklands should be.

Work on the office element - earmarked to accommodate 1,000 workers of US customer relations management company Salesforce - is due to be completed early next year, the court heard. Permission was recently been granted by An Bord Pleanala following a new separate application for a 548-unit residential element brought under the strategic housing process which bypasses the local authority.

The site is in the North Lotts/Grand Canal area which is designated as a strategic development zone (SDZ).

Spencer Place Development Company (SPDC), of which Mr Ronan is a director, had sought to build up to 13 storeys in that SDZ area.

But the city council said the SDZ only permits ten storeys and any increase would have to be on the basis of the SDZ scheme being revised and approval for that is awaited from An Bord Pleanala.

SPDC argued in the High Court the council could already permit the increased height under Urban Development and Building Heights guidelines issued by the Minister for Housing in 2018.

It challenged the council's legal interpretation of the interaction between those guidelines and statutory planning schemes adopted for SDZs.

The council disputed its claims.

A year ago the High Court rejected SPDC's arguments. The court said, among other things, the government guidelines do not supersede the height caps in an SDZ.

SPDC lodged an appeal which took place by remote hearing before a three-judge CoA today. The court reserved its decision.

Eamonn Galligan SC, for SPDC, argued before the Court of Appeal that the High Court erred in its decision. As a matter of law, the council was incorrect in its interpretation of the guidelines, he said.

The council was obliged to and had discretion to apply and/or comply with the guidelines prior to undertaking a review of the SDZ, he said.

Peter Connolly SC, for the council, argued the High Court "got it right".

Counsel said SPDC had argued on the one hand that advices from planners to the council did not form part of the planning decision and on the other that it (council) had fettered its discretion to interpret the guidelines. SPDC was now trying to "square that circle", he said.

There was a fundamental difference between a normal planning application and one brought under an SDZ in which there is no appeal to An Bord Pleanala although the board's approval or revision of the SDZ is required, he said.
In many ways the coronavirus pandemic has sidelined, or at least scrambled, the usual topics of political debate. Former vice president Joe Biden effectively clinched the Democratic nomination without the fanfare he might otherwise have elicited, and the governmental response to the pandemic has been marked by unusual moments of bipartisanship.

But one mainstay of the recent political past has persisted, and even thrived, amid the Covid-19 crisis: rampant misinformation has left citizens unsure of what to believe or whom to listen to. Scam texts, unproven claims about potential cures, rumors that the virus spreads by way of 5G (which have led, in the U.K., to the burning of cell towers): all suggest a moment when figures of authority struggle to gain listeners trust and unreliable sources gain it too easilya fact that bodes ill not only for the present predicament but for the approaching elections.

Forthcoming books by historians, journalists, and academics attempt to make sense of these misinformed times. Their topics include hate-mongering on the internet, the emergence of new, more sensationalist media platforms, and presidential deceptions throughout American history. As several titles show, fake news, far from being a modern phenomenon, has been leading the public astray for decades.

Decades of duplicity

Misinformation is often thought of as a contemporary ill, and President Trump, who has been accused of being dishonest with the media, disseminating fake or misleading news, and benefiting from a disinformation campaign by a foreign government, is often thought of as exceptional in his distaste for the press and his disregard for facts. But Trump and the era he defines are really a culmination of long-running trends, rather than an aberration, the authors of several forthcoming books assert. These titles offer perspectives that contextualize a deteriorated information environment.

For Eric Alterman, a columnist at the Nation and author of Lying in State (Basic, Aug.), the history of presidential dishonesty begins with the Founding Fathers. George Washington, for instance, lied about the permanent residency of people he kept as slaves in Pennsylvania to evade a law that would have compelled him to free them. The bulk of Altermans book, though, focuses on more recent presidents, who, he argues, have used deception to maximize Americas influence.

One of the big factors driving presidential lying for most of American history has been Americas expansion and the desire to increase its power in the world, says Connor Guy, editor at Basic. These falsehoods include Eisenhowers about U.S. military operations in Iran and Guatemala and Nixons about Vietnam, he says, and as Americas power accelerated, so too did presidential duplicities. Every time a president lied, it made it easier and more acceptable for subsequent presidents to lie.

Even Honest Abe engaged in misrepresentation. Lincolns Lie by former George executive editor Elizabeth Mitchell (Counterpoint, Sept.), for instance, looks at a Lincolns manipulation of the press during the Civil War. Together, these books work to present Trump as something of an heir to an unfortunate tradition.

For Guy, this contextualization of President Trump corresponds to a larger conversation about the presidents place in American history. Everyone from Bernie Sanders to Barack Obama has made the observation that Trump is a symptom, not the cause, of the problems were having, he says.

Presidential scholar Harold Holzers The Presidents vs. the Press (Dutton, Sept.), about how various U.S. heads of state dealt with the news media, likewise presents Trump as only the latest commander in chief who has vied with the press for control of the national narrative. Even George Washington had a very uneasy relationship with the press, notes Brent Howard, executive editor at Dutton, and several presidents have acted to limit the medias access or freedoms. Trump isnt necessarily even the worst one in terms of how he handles the press, he adds.

In addition to battling the news media, presidents have had to contend with foreign misinformation and propaganda campaigns, notably ones conducted by Russia or, in an earlier era, the Soviet Union. Rigged (Knopf, July) by David Shimer, a Marshall scholar pursuing a doctorate in international relations at University of Oxford, tracks the history of Russias influence operations and the analog methods, such as letter-writing campaigns and forged newspaper articles, that it employed before social media emerged.

According to Andrew Miller, executive editor at Knopf, Shimer asserts that Russias interference in the 2016 election was just the latest salvo in a conflict thats been in process since at least the Cold War. I actually find that more disturbing in a lot of ways. If you make it not about Trump its about a much more ongoing conflict thats not going to go away once Trump is gone.

New media, new risks

Misinformation has been a fact of geopolitics for a long time, and new technologies have no doubt made it easier to produce and disseminate. Several forthcoming books look at digital platforms that have changed the way Americans encounter and interpret political news.

In The Drudge Revolution (BenBella, Aug.), former New York Daily News investigative reporter Matthew Lysiak (Newtown) examines the blogger Matt Drudge and his influential, sensational conservative website, Drudge Report. Lysiak suggests the website epitomizes a media environment in which brazenly partisan publishers have monopolized readers attention at the expense of more staid mainstream outlets. He argues further that this media environment has served to benefit Donald Trump.

New technologies also allow lay individuals to command large audiences and disseminate highly partisan commentary, misinformation, and hate. In Culture Warlords (Hachette, Oct.), Talia Lavin, whose work has appeared in the New Yorker among other publications, chronicles the time she spent in the corners of the internet occupied by what she calls a bestiary of terrible people, among them white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and so-called incels. In the course of her research, Levin learns about the groups recruiting programs and hate-inciting tactics and discovers the surprising influence some of their members wield: among her discoveries is a white supremacist YouTube channel operated by a 14-year-old girl that boasts more than 800,000 followers.

The path forward

Lies, manipulation, and misinformation have plagued the voting public for generations, and new technologies have only accelerated their profusion. So where to go from here? Some authors suggest that a better understanding of how people process information could help build a better information environment.

In Bad News (Bloomsbury Sigma, May), psychologist Rob Brotherton identifies the psychological concepts that explain peoples vulnerability to fake news, such as negativity bias, or a tendency to engage more with bad news. But he also posits that a fixation on the very concept of fake news may come at the expense of a more nuanced understanding of the problems with the current information environment, according to Anna MacDiarmid, commissioning editor at Bloomsbury Sigma. Issues such as sensationalism, negativity bias, inaccurate facts, and misleading interpretations, she says, are far more pervasive than fake news.

Building a better information environment also means thinking carefully about how to report the news. In Words That Matter (Brookings Institution, June), a group of experts in data analytics, surveys, and content analytics examine how people processed the news during the 2016 presidential election, using data from a Gallup poll that asked respondents what news items they remembered.

Stuart N. Soroka, a professor of communication studies and political science at the University of Michigan and one of the books coauthors, says the data shows not all news is equally memorable. Much of the news about Hillary Clinton that respondents remembered, for instance, pertained to one issue: her use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state. The endless string of scandals, almost weekly, that surrounded Trump, on the other hand, produced no clear story line, Soroka says. The take-home message for journalists from the 2016 campaign is they need to think seriously about the new phenomenon that is Donald Trump, relative to more traditional candidates, such as Joe Biden.

Its a disconcerting suggestion, but, amid the coronavirus pandemic, an oddly fitting onethat the problem with the media ecosystem isnt just that its rife with fake news, but that its rife with real news thats hard to believe.

Daniel Lefferts is a writer in New York City.

Below, more on books about politics.

Agree to Disagree: PW Talks with Tania Israel

In Beyond Your Bubble (Aug.), psychology professor Israel offers strategies for communicating and understanding across party lines.

Politicians and Politicos: Politics Books 2020

Forthcoming books include memoirs by controversial figures, studies of leading politicians, and examinations of the countrys recent, turbulent political past.

2020 Political Books for Children

In the run-up to Novembers presidential election, publishers are courting readers who wont be eligible to cast ballots this year or, in some cases, for many years to come.
Facebook is today rolling out a tool that will allow users in the U.S. and Canada to export their Facebook photos and videos to Google Photos. This data portability tool was first introduced in Ireland in December, and has since been made available to other international markets.

To use the feature, Facebook users will need to click on "Settings," followed by "Your Facebook Information," then "Transfer a Copy of Your Photos and Videos." Facebook will ask you to verify your password to confirm your identity in order to proceed. On the next screen, you'll be able to choose "Google Photos" as the destination from the "Choose Destination" drop-down box that appears. You'll also need your Google account information to authenticate with its service before the transfer begins.

The tool's release comes about by way of Facebook's participation in the Data Transfer Project, a collaborative effort with other tech giants, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Twitter, which focuses on building out common ways for people to transfer their data between online services.

Of course, it also serves as a way for the major tech companies to fend off potential regulation, as they'll be able to point to tools like this as a way to prove they're not holding their users hostage -- if people are unhappy, they can just take their data and leave!

Facebooks Director of Privacy and Public Policy Steve Satterfield, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, essentially confirmed the tool is less about Facebook being in service to its users, and more about catering to policymakers' and regulators' demands.

"...It really is an important part of the response to the kinds of concerns that drive antitrust regulation or competition regulation," Satterfield told the news outlet.

The launch also arrives conveniently ahead of a Federal Trade Commission hearing on September 22 that will be focused on data portability. Facebook said it would participate in that hearing, if approached, the report noted.

Story continues

In Facebook's original announcement about the tool's launch last year, it said it would expand the service to include more than just Google Photos in the "near future."

The transfer tool is not the only way to get your data out of Facebook. The company has offered Download Your Information since 2010. But once you have your data, there isn't much else you can do with it -- Facebook hasn't had any large-scale rivals since older social networks like Myspace, FriendFeed (RIP!) and Friendster died and Google+ failed.

In addition to the U.S. and Canada, the photo transfer tool has been launched in several other markets, including Europe and Latin America.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  An Ohio judge who insisted on holding what legal experts believe was the nations first trial under coronavirus stay-at-home orders agreed on Wednesday to postpone the case, a day after the defendant was rushed from the courthouse to the hospital with COVID-19-like symptoms.

Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald Forsthoefel pushed to start the trial on Tuesday and forced defense attorney Adam Stone to violate a doctors recommendation to self-quarantine after he came into contact with another client who tested positive for the virus. Forsthoefel wanted to continue the trial Wednesday morning, Stone said in an interview.

The defendant, Seth Whited, was released from the hospital Tuesday after a COVID-19 test came back negative. The doctor ordered him to self-quarantine and monitor his symptoms for six days in case the test was a false-negative, Stone said. Forsthoefel ordered both Stone and Whited to break the self-quarantine recommendations and come back into the courthouse Wednesday morning, Stone said.

There was a lively discussion between myself and the judge, Stone said. Ultimately, with the prosecutor joining in, we agreed that it was appropriate to continue the case.

Video of Wednesdays proceedings posted on the courts website showed Forsthoefel, wearing a black face mask to match his black robe, took the bench shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday to tell the potential jurors that he would postpone the trial until May 12.

Some people are more concerned about this and their exposure to the virus than others. And those viewpoints are all over the place, Forsthoefel said from the bench. I count myself as an old person these days. Some of us older folks are probably less concerned than some of the younger folks. But I dont know, thats not a real true, across-the-board statement either.

Leaders of criminal defense groups on Wednesday denounced the judges multiple refusals to delay the trial, despite the Ashland County Prosecutors Office saying it had no objection to a delay. Stone presented the court on Tuesday with a doctors weekend recommendation for him to self-quarantine because he had contact with an inmate at Mansfield Correctional Institution who had later tested positive for COVID-19 as an asymptomatic carrier.

The Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said in a statement that Forsthoefel took an unnecessary risk by forcing a jury to assemble for a non-essential trial and endangered the health of everyone in the courtroom and threatened the defendants right to a fair trial.

Nina Ginsberg, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said her group believes Forsthoefel is the first judge around the country to try to hold a jury trial since states imposed stay-at-home orders.

Weve been expecting this to happen, but I didnt expect it to happen so soon, Ginsberg said. I didnt think wed see judges trying to force jury trials while most of the country is still under stay-at-home orders.

Forsthoefel, one of two elected judges in this largely rural county of about 50,000 people an hour southwest of Cleveland, declined through the courts administrator Tina Carpenter to comment to cleveland.com on his decisions to move the trial forward and the courts efforts to install safety measures.

Carpenter said she did not know that Forsthoefel was likely the first judge to try to hold a jury trial since shut-down orders swept the country in March. She said she thought it was unfair for groups to criticize the judge for attempting to push forward with the trial.

Were coming to work every day, business as usual, Carpenter told cleveland.com. Then all of a sudden, your court is being talked about.

Judges refusals

Whited is charged with endangering children, a third-degree felony, and low-level felonies and misdemeanors that accuse him of hacking into the computer and email accounts of his ex-girlfriend, according to court records. He is free on bond and has waived his right to a speedy trial, and Forsthoefel granted three previous motions to postpone the trial, resulting in a Tuesday trial date.

Stone, on April 7, filed a motion to postpone the trial again, citing the spread of the coronavirus. Assistant prosecutor Victor Perez filed a motion the same day, saying his office did not object.

Forsthoefel denied the motion the following day, writing in his order that Whited should plead guilty, or prosecutors should dismiss the indictment if the sides did not want to go trial.

If its not possible to find a resolution acceptable to the State, the Victim and the Defendant during the 11 months this case has been pending, then this case in (sic) should be tried before other conflicts for witnesses and parties arise during the summer months, or the indictment should be dismissed, the judge wrote.

Stone filed an emergency motion asking the Ohio Supreme Court to step in and stop the trial. The courts justices on Monday voted 6-1 to allow the trial to proceed. Chief Justice Maureen OConnor wrote in the majority opinion that the trial could only proceed if the court refused entry to anyone who showed COVID-19 symptoms or had a temperature of 100 degrees or higher. The Supreme Court also ordered Forsthoefel to excuse any potential juror who expressed concern about participating in the trial. Justice Michael Donnelly, a former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge, cast the lone dissenting vote.

Hours after the denial, Stone filed a motion asking Forsthoefel to reconsider his decision to hold the trial. The motion said that Stone learned over the weekend that another client of his who is inside the Mansfield Correctional Facility tested positive for the virus, and Stones doctor recommended he self-quarantine at home for 14 days to monitor his symptoms and avoid potentially spreading it to others.

Stone said he provided the court on Tuesday morning with a copy of his doctors recommendation. Forsthoefel again refused to postpone the trial.

Trial derails

Jury selection began Tuesday morning with several measures in place.

Forsthoefel closed the courthouse to the public and live-streamed the trial to ensure public access. The judge also split the jury pool into two groups to conduct jury selection in two sessions of fewer than 15 jurors. The court made potential jurors sit in the back of the courtroom instead of the jury box so they could sit six feet apart, moving the witness stand to the center of the courtroom floor and ordering court staff to sanitize the courtroom multiple times a day.

Many jurors wore masks, but not all did, and the court did not have enough to provide one for each juror.

Stone said during the proceedings, he noticed Whited, who was wearing a surgical mask, started to cry. Whiteds face was red and he was sweating, Stone said. They stopped the proceedings, and Stone and his paralegal took Whited into the courts law library, where medical staff took his temperature and found he had a low-grade fever, Stone said.

Paramedics then placed Whited on a stretcher and carried him out of the courthouse, in the presence of some of the potential jurors who gathered in the hallway, Stone said.

Whited was hospitalized for several hours and his COVID-19 test came back negative, Stone said. Still, doctors ordered him to self-quarantine for six days to monitor his symptoms, Stone said.

Stone said that when Forsthoefel ordered Whited to come back to the courthouse on Wednesday morning to resume jury selection, Stone told him to sit in his car in the parking lot. Stone objected to Whited coming into the building, but acquiesced when Forsthoefel ordered him to get his client, he said.

Stone enlisted the help of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Strike Force, a group that sends lawyers to represent lawyers. Attorneys Ian Friedman, Mark DeVan and Daniel Sabol to the courthouse on Wednesday morning after Stone said he would refuse to proceed with the trial and prepared to be held in contempt of court if Forsthoefel ordered it to continue.

Forsthoefel backed down and called off the trial. He told the potential jurors on Wednesday that the court was in jeopardy of not having enough jurors to field a 12-member jury with two alternate jurors, and mentioned the previous days events which were a little out of the ordinary.

Its been an unusual experience for all of us, Forsthoefel said. Were trying to figure out how to do this as things move forward."

Stone still stressed that Forsthoefel went to great lengths to implement as many precautions as possible in order to hold the trial.

He took as strong of measures as you could ask a judge to take under these circumstances, Stone said. I just do not believe that under the current environment with the social distancing requirements, that were in a position as defense attorneys to go forward on these jury trials.

Groups decry judge

The trial has drawn the attention of legal observers around the country as a potential bellwether to show how trials could, or could not, go forward in the COVID-19 age.

Friedman, also the president of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Bar Association, said in an interview that his organization watched the live-stream of the trial and noted several troubling things that show its nearly impossible to hold a jury trial that both adheres to coronavirus-related public health measures and protects a defendants constitutional rights.

Defense attorneys and private investigators will have a hard time tracking down witnesses and interviewing them to get statements, he said.

Orders to remain six feet apart and wear masks make it nearly impossible for lawyers to communicate in confidence with their client while a witness is testifying, Friedman said. Jurors will have a harder time gauging witnesses and defendants facial expressions during testimony if they have to sit in the back of the courtroom, and will not be able to do so at all if witnesses and defendants wear masks over their face, Friedman said.

Even approaching witnesses with documents will be difficult, Friedman said.

Ginsberg said potential jurors might feel pressure during jury selection to say that they are not concerned, or give in to a judges assurances that the court was taking precautions to ensure the courtroom was safe, while secretly being afraid of contracting the virus. The result could be a desire to rush through deliberations to return home, Ginsberg said.

Friedman said he saw that play out on Wednesday. He said he overheard potential jurors who had said during Tuesdays jury selection that they would have no problem serving on the jury during the coronavirus expressing concern in the hallway.

The courts remedies to allay the fears of potential jurors by excusing those in at-risk categories could also result in a jury that does not truly represent the defendants peers, Friedman said.

Peoples well being and right to a fair trial cannot be outweighed merely by a courts concern for expediency, Friedman said.

Ashland County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell said he felt like the trial would have been able to go on successfully with any other defendant.

Absent the defendant having whatever episode that was, wed still be in trial, Tunnell said.

Tunnell did say that measures to screen out those who show symptoms of the virus would not catch those who show no symptoms. Health studies and reports that have come out throughout April show that a significant portion of people who tested positive for the virus -- from 25 to 50 percent -- showed no symptoms.

Theres no way to be 100-percent with this virus, Tunnell said. Thats the push and pull.

The defense groups acknowledge that trials will have to resume at some point, and say that the issues that came up in Ashland County will have to be ironed out well before potential jurors, lawyers, court staff and attorneys are brought into the courthouse. Friedman cited Cuyahoga Countys COVID-19 Legal Task Force, a group of judges and lawyers from all levels of courts and legal practices that hold a weekly virtual meeting to discuss issues as they come up during the pandemic, as a guide for other counties to use to avoid what happened in Forsthoefels courtroom.

Friedman worries that judges forcing trials to go forward without addressing these issues will force many lawyers who fall into higher-risk categories, or have loved ones who do, to go back into a courtroom and risk exposing themselves or their loved ones who are vulnerable to the disease.

When one of those lawyers gets sick and possibly dies, are the judges prepared to accept their responsibility for their role in that? Friedman asked. This is a life and death situation right now.

Read more stories

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Ohio Supreme Court chief justice calls for 'uniform buy-in among judges in response to coronavirus pandemic

Cuyahoga County judges, lawyers create task force to evaluate courthouse response to new coronavirus era'
THERE has been criticism of Limericks traditional May Eve bonfires, with a councillor saying its unfair on front-line services during the pandemic.

Labour member Conor Sheehan says hes angry and disappointed in people after it emerged members of the Limerick Fire and Rescue Service attended a dozen such fires in the city last night.

Our Gardai and fire services are under enough pressure as it is without being called out to deal with this sort of nonsense, he said, I received numerous calls from constituents in Garryowen and St Marys Park concerned about people gathering and bringing out rubbish to burn.

He said that in normal times, he can accept the tradition of the May Eve bonfire.

But right now, with the emergency services under extreme pressure due to the Covid-19 outbreak, it is not the time to be lighting up.

Cllr Sheehan added many people use the bonfires as an opportunity to dispose of household waste.

He said the charred remains of these will put council staff at risk at a time when they are being asked to not collect huge bags of rubbish for fear of cross-contamination.

They will now have to put their own personal safety at risk in order to go out and sift through large amounts of potentially contaminated household waste, he said, These people went out and used this an excuse to burn household waste when the vast majority of us are at home doing our best to get through this crisis by adhering to the guidelines.

He commended the work of An Garda Siochana who prevented a number of bonfires being lit.

Limerick City Fire and Rescue Service attended bonfires from 7pm last evening.

Officers attended scenes at Crecora Avenue, Carew Park, the North Claughan Road, Singland Crescent, Lee Estate, Fairview Crescent, Old Clare Street, Garryowen, Rhebogue Meadows and Kilmurry Court.
A 1950s cult classic, which is a commentary on the contradictory narratives and interpretations of an event, and a constitutional and political crisis which has been averted in Maharashtra, may have little in common.

But, for players in the thick of things, there seems to be a Rashomon effect at work, with them interpreting the same set of events in a different manner like Akira Kurosawas film.

On Thursday, after much back-and-forth over previous recommendations by the Maharashtra cabinet, governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold polls to nine seats in the state legislative council.

On Friday, the ECI announced that elections would be held on May 21. Thus, chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will be able to contest polls to the upper house, averting the constitutional crisis looming large on his three-party alliance government.

Uddhav, who became the first from the Thackeray clan to be elected to a constitutional position, when he was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra on November 28, is not a member of the legislature. Hence, he has to be elected to either house by May 27, failing which he will have to resign.

By implication, the chief ministers resignation leads to the entire council of ministers stepping down.

Though Uddhav was expected to contest the elections for one of the nine seats which were due in April, the coronavirus epidemic led to the polls being postponed. With a crisis looming large, the state cabinet on April 9 recommended that Uddhav be nominated to the upper house from one of the two vacant seats in the governors quota. After Koshyari did not act on this, the recommendation was repeated by the cabinet this week, but in vain.

However, things seemed to have moved after Uddhav spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, and group leaders of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, wrote to the ECI a day later, seeking that council polls be held at the earliest.

Some interpretations of the crisis and its de-escalation, after tense moments for the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi, hinge on the allegation that this is a manifestation of the BJPs withdrawal symptoms after being deprived of power in Maharashtra.

Others claim it is an attempt to vitiate the states political culture or needle the Shiv Sena unnecessarily. Many also call it the BJPs zero-sum game, with a perception being created that the party is playing vendetta politics at a time when the Uddhav Thackeray-led regime is in the thick of a daunting battle against the coronavirus.

But there seems to be near unanimity about a message of the ruling dispensation standing on wobbly legs being sent to the disparate stakeholders who are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

A Shiv Sena minister claimed that the breakthrough may have come after a realisation that in case Uddhav was compelled to resign, he would walk away with a chunk of the sympathy vote. Uddhav is also seen as carving a niche for himself and his party through his addresses to the people of Maharashtra during the lockdown, which have made for good optics so far.

The minister charged that this initial dithering could have been part of a larger ploy to show that the dispensation could be destabilised at will, and indicate to fence-sitting legislators that the threat of Presidents rule was looming large in case of political instability.

Though the Shiv Sena alleges that political considerations played a role in the governors refusal to heed the cabinets recommendation to nominate Uddhav, this is denied by BJP leaders. Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had welcomed the governors decision to make a recommendation to the ECI.

Fadnavis had tweeted that this would prevent Maharashtra from entering a period of instability, while also upholding the values of the Constitution.

BJP leaders also strongly decry attempts by Shiv Sena and Congress leaders to drag a constitutional position (that of the governor) into the rough-and-tumble of politics by attributing motives to a decision that has obvious legal implications.

A senior BJP leader denied there were any political considerations in the governors previous refusal to heed the state cabinets recommendation to nominate Uddhav to the council. The governors quota is meant for distinguished personalities with special knowledge in sectors like art, literature, science and social service. The BJP leader said those nominated to the council from this category were expected to serve in an advisory rather than a decision-making role.

Moreover, no chief minister of Maharashtra had been nominated to the legislature through such a backdoor route. Though some CMs like the late Abdul Rehman Antulay and Prithviraj Chavan had not been members of either house before their appointment, they were elected to the assembly or council later, and not nominated through the governors quota.

The BJP leader claimed that the government had lost the opportunity to get Uddhav elected to the council during the Yavatmal-Washim bypolls earlier this year. The Shiv Senas Dushyant Chaturvedi was elected to the seat, which had been vacated by the partys Tanaji Sawant, who was elected to the assembly.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951, lays down that the election or nomination to a post cannot be done if the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one year. The terms of the two vacant seats in the council end on June 6, which may have led the governor refusing to act on the cabinets recommendation, he pointed out.

He alleged that finger-pointing by the three parties in the government towards the BJP and the governor, was meant to paper over the chinks in the coalition over lack of consensus in decision making. Moreover, there was a chance that if Uddhav was forced to resign and take oath again, the Congress, which is now seen as an unwilling partner in the coalition, may either walk out or set difficult terms for the Shiv Sena to comply with.

This could include positions on contentious issues on which the two parties do not see eye-to-eye like the 5% religion-based quotas for the Muslim community in Maharashtra, contentious legislation like the Citizenship Amendment Act, and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. This could help the Congress consolidate its target constituency, while the Shiv Sena would be caught in a tight spot.

It is claimed that a section of the Congress, including a faction close to former party president Rahul Gandhi, is said to be uneasy at the move to share power with a communal party like the Shiv Sena. Some leaders claim to feel slighted in the larger scheme of things in the government.

A Congress leader admitted that the hectic back-and-forth behind the scenes, which led to the de-escalation of the situation, had underlined the vulnerabilities of the government. He said that the dispensation seems to have sailed through for now, with uncertainty about what lies in the futures vast unknown.

(Dhaval Kulkarni is a Mumbai-based journalist and author of The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the Shadow of their Senas. Views are personal).


Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : POST-PANDEMIC SAFARI INSPIRATION FROM ACACIA AFRICA Industry: Activity Breaks

Recent events have altered our lives considerably, but while our freedom to roam is on hold, we can still escape online and make plans for the future. Ready to inspire your itchy feet, leading adventure travel specialist, Acacia Africa has picked out a list of safari holidays in East and Southern Africa that are likely to be in demand once we start to wander again



(TRAVPR.COM) UK - April 29th, 2020 - Recent events have altered our lives considerably, but while our freedom to roam is on hold, we can still escape online and make plans for the future. Ready to inspire your itchy feet, leading adventure travel specialist, Acacia Africa has picked out a list of safari holidays in East and Southern Africa that are likely to be in demand once we start to wander again.



Arno Delport, Sales & Marketing Manager at Acacia Africa, comments, "Travel can be uplifting, and by providing some much-needed inspiration we are hoping to raise everyone's spirits - every online journey a virtual springboard to new and exciting adventures."



THE CALL OF THE NATURAL WORLD: The end of self-isolation will undoubtedly trigger a desire to rediscover the natural world. Africa is the ideal choice for anyone wanting to get back in touch with nature, the continent home to breathtaking landscapes, abundant wildlife and spectacular migrations. While Kenya plays host to "The Greatest Wildlife Show On Earth," the Masai Mara is a year-round crowd-pleaser for Big Five fans - especially those hoping to catch sight its feline inhabitants, the Big Cat Diary, Big Cat Tales and The Lion King remake all set in the beloved game reserve. Also, part of the annual event, the open plains of the Serengeti burst into life during "Green Season" - roughly half a million wildebeest giving birth over a two or three week period (usually in February). The 13-day Kenya & Tanzania Adventure includes game drives in the Mara, the Serengeti National Park and the neighbouring Ngorongoro Crater - the bonus, an additional three-night stay on the tropical island of Zanzibar. From 1,395pp (no single supplement) + 980pp (Adventure Pass) including all highlights, transport, camping accommodation, most meals, services of a tour leader and driver. Starts Nairobi - ends Dar es Salaam. Year-round departures.



QUALITY FAMILY TIME & TOGETHERNESS: Currently, many of us are separated from our loved ones, a sure sign that 3G holidays will be in demand when the world opens up to travel once again. One of Acacia's family-friendly small group safaris, the seven-day Kruger & Victoria Falls makes stops in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the itinerary including game viewing in the Kruger and Matobo national parks, before coming to a close at the Victoria Falls. Weekly Saturday departures make this the ideal half-term adventure - night flights and zero jet lag an added bonus for those with kids in tow. From 895pp (two sharing) + 590pp (Safari Pass) including all highlights, transport, accommodation (twin-share rooms with en suite facilities), most meals, services of a tour leader and driver. Starts Pretoria - ends Victoria Falls. Year-round departures.



MEETING CHALLENGES HEAD-ON: Crises have the power to wreak havoc, but they can also focus the mind and give us the confidence to meet challenges head-on. For that reason, Acacia claims in the days to come, more of us could find ourselves saying yes to adrenaline-fuelled pursuits. Covering off the best of Southern and East Africa's adventure capitals, the 56-day Grand African Adventure passes through Jinja, Livingstone and Swakopmund - white water rafting down the Nile, bungy jumping from the Victoria Falls bridge and sky-diving over the Namib desert just some of the thrilling pursuits on offer. The trip also features an optional 16-kilometre hike to Livingstonia in Malawi, the exhilarating itinerary combined with safaris in eight countries - gorilla trekking in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park a major highlight. While shorter stints on the continent have become increasingly popular, Acacia expects to see a rise in the number of people taking longer overland trips of five weeks or more, recent events causing people to reevaluate their priorities in life. From 4,450pp (no single supplement) + 1,140pp (Adventure Pass) + 640pp (Gorilla & Chimp Permit) including all highlights, transport, camping accommodation, most meals, services of a tour leader and driver. Starts Cape Town - ends Nairobi. Year-round departures.



MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD: Over the last few weeks, we have seen an outpouring of goodwill - in our cities, across social networks and between nations. A silver lining in otherwise uncertain times, these grassroots humanitarian efforts will likely inspire many more of us to opt for holidays that reflect these same values. In the words of Bill Gates, "It (Covid19) is reminding us that our true work is not our job, that is what we do, not what we were created to do. Our true work is to look after each other, to protect each other and to be of benefit to one another." Keen to give back, we might find ourselves actively volunteering or making a conscious decision to book tours where tourism makes a positive difference to communities and wildlife projects. Travel on the 44-day Rivers Lakes & Mountains, your walking safari in Zimbabwe's Matobo National Park providing support for the Matobo Rhino Trust program; seek out Africa's endangered Wild Dog in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park where conservation efforts have helped to keep the painted dog on the landscape; and traverse dense undergrowth in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - the population of the world's last remaining Mountain Gorillas making a comeback. Covering seven countries, the adventure includes additional wildlife viewing, and a trip with a purpose, an optional half-day of volunteering in Uganda and the opportunity to work alongside local craftsmen in Malawi. From 3,815pp (two sharing) + 880pp (Adventure Pass) + 640pp (Gorilla & Chimp Permit) including all highlights, transport, camping accommodation, most meals, services of a tour leader and driver. Starts Pretoria - ends Nairobi. Year-round departures.



A LONGING TO DISCOVER THE EXTRAORDINARY: The global pandemic has reminded us of our own fragility, and regardless of age, that our time on this planet is limited. That fear might well awaken in us, not just a desire to travel, but a longing to discover the extraordinary. From exploring attractions that are unique to the world to viewing endangered wildlife and engaging with communities whose traditional way of life could well disappear. Book a seat on the 34-day Zanzibar to Cape Town, the camping adventure including a safari with the Kalahari Bushmen (your visit contributing to the survival of this fascinating tribe); an optional underwater safari in Lake Malawi - the freshwater lake inhabited by cichlids, a colourful range of fish found nowhere else in the world, and 24/7 wildlife viewing at Etosha, the national park's waterholes among the best places in the world to see the endangered Black Rhino (Namibia is home almost half of the world's population of black rhino). From 2,820pp (no single supplement) + 300pp (Adventure Pass) including all highlights, transport, camping accommodation, most meals, services of a tour leader and driver. Starts Dar es Salaam - ends Cape Town. Year-round departures.



CHOOSING TO TRAVEL MORE RESPONSIBLY: One of the most dramatic effects we have seen in recent days is the considerable reduction in air pollution while countries are on lockdown. That's cause for everyone to take a more sustainable travel stance when they finally hit the road - Earth Day (22 April) sure to heighten the importance of this message - the 2020 theme focused on climate change. Always looking for innovative ways to reduce its travellers' carbon footprint, Acacia Africa partners with Greenpop, and in the summer of 2019, the operator signed up to help its local suppliers limit the number of single-use plastic bottles on their tours. The Serengeti & Ngorongoro safari vehicles used by Acacia are fitted with new 20-litre water dispensers, each one carrying safe potable drinking water from Arusha. Game drives on Tanzania's "Endless plains" and within the Ngorongoro Crater, are in included on the 11-day Highlights of Tanzania, the Adventure Camping tour priced from 1,395pp (no single supplement) + 600pp (Adventure Pass) including all highlights, transport, camping accommodation, most meals, services of a tour leader and driver. Starts Dar es Salaam - ends Nairobi. Year-round departures.



-ends-



All prices exclude return flight. Independent flight prices available on request. Acacia Africa's Adventure Camping and Adventure Accommodated Tours are aimed at travellers aged 18-39'ish. The operator's Small Group Safaris and Signature Safaris & Tours are open age (from eight years). Acacia offers pre and post accommodation and a wide selection of city breaks and short stays. Acacia Africa (020 7706 4700) SATSA membership No. 1931, Atta membership no. 20151 and ABTA No. W4093 PROTECTED.



Notes to Editors:



An adventure travel specialist, Acacia Africa, will celebrate 25 years of safaris in 2020. The owner-operator has offices in the UK, Cape Town and Zimbabwe, the company leading tours (all of its guides born in Africa) across East and Southern Africa. Acacia's complete collection includes Adventure Camping and Adventure Accommodated Tours (as of 2020, these tours are now open to travellers who are 18-39'ish, with the option for adventurers in their mid to late 40s to join if they wish), Small Group Safaris, Short Safaris & Treks, City Breaks & Short Stays, and NEW for 2020, Signature Tours & Safaris - the itineraries combining South Africa and eSwatini. Outside of their Adventure Camping and Adventure Accommodated product, the majority of Acacia's escorted group tours are open-age and appeal to a wide range of wanderers including, adventurous families with children from eight years. ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content. Share Release :



CONTACT INFORMATION Name: Sam Ward Company: Acacia Africa Phone: 020 7706 4700 Email: mseven7studio@gmail.com Web: PRESS RELEASE TAGS
Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech

Saving lives, reviving economy: PM Modis road map for India post the lockdown

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: A long lockdown comes to an end on May 3. While there is no clarity as yet as to what would open and what would remain closed, the Centre would begin focus on the revival of the economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been busy holding meetings on how to go forward post the 40 day lockdown. The PM's message is clear and that is the first preference must be given to the poor and vulnerable class of society.

PM Modi wants bailout package first for MSMEs, poor and the vulnerable

The government is expected to ramp up activity in Green Zones and allow the same partially in the Orange Zones. However strict restrictions would remain in place, especially in the Red and Containment Zones. There would be a clear emphasis on both reviving the economy, while also saving lives, officials say.

A lot of emphasis would be on the states in the post lockdown period. The Centre would only issue broad guidelines, but the finer aspects on how to exit the lockdown would depend on the states, an official tells OneIndia.

It is not a simple situation and the PM is well aware of it. However, he wants to ensure that all sectors are safeguarded, but also wants to prioritise the packages.

The PM said that there should be a more proactive approach to solve the problems of investors. They should get all possible help from the central and state governments.

Clearance should be done in a time bound manner, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office read.

It was discussed that a scheme should be developed to promote more plug and play infrastructure in the existing industrial lands/plots/estates in the country and provide necessary financing support. During the meeting, the PM directed that the action should be taken for a more proactive approach to handhold the investors, to look into their problems and help them in getting all the necessary Central and State clearances in a time bound manner.

The focus would be on the MSMEs first rather than the corporate sector, government sources said. There have been several meetings headed by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to discuss the issue and the consensus is that the package should first be released for the MSMEs rather than the corporate sector first.

While most ministries are urging for a larger package, the PM is of the view that the focus must first be on the MSME, financial sector, health care and the poor. The MSMEs have taken a big hit owing to the coronavirus lockdown. They have not benefited much from the first package announced by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman and also the announcements made by the RBI.

The government could provide a direct guarantee against fresh loans to the MSMEs. This would ensure that they can raise funds from banks to stay solvent. It may be recalled that MSME minister, Nitin Gadkari had hinted that there was a possibility of setting up a Rs 1 lakh crore revolving fund for the MSMEs.

Rs 10,000 crore funds in the offing for MSMEs says Gadkari

On the corporate sector, discussions would be held after the lockdown ends. It may be recalled that the corporate sector got benefits from the corporate tax cut in September 2019. The rates for domestic companies were reduced to 22 per cent from the earlier rate of 30 per cent.

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Story first published: Friday, May 1, 2020, 9:47 [IST]
(TNS)  Where some people see a chance to improve society, others see a chance to rip someone off.One of the newest avenues for con artists is in the field of telemedicine, in which health diagnoses and monitoring are rendered remotely and electronically. With the coronavirus pandemic still gripping the planet, working remotely has become more of a necessity, and that includes telemedicine.As COVID-19 escalated in America in March, the Trump administration announced the lifting of several federal restrictions on telemedicine. Among the lifted restrictions: Telemedicine providers can waive patient deductibles and copayments during the coronavirus crisis. Normally that could be considered a kickback because it can discourage patients from complaining about charges or encourage medical services to be overused.But the federal government apparently considers those lifted restrictions a calculated risk to promote telemedicine at a time in our country when it's needed most. Pressure is even growing to make those changes permanent.What a wretched idea. That plows fertile ground for fraud, and the feds know it.Investigators recently revealed a vivid example of how telemedicine providers can game the system for their own twisted benefit. Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in Augusta and several other cities throughout the Southern District of Georgia had their identities stolen in a massive nationwide fraud scheme. At a cost of $410 million, it's easily the biggest fraud scheme ever prosecuted in the Southern District's history.Recently the district announced charges against the 22nd defendant in the fraud. Scott M. Hirsch operates the California company JI Medical Inc, which deals in "durable medical equipment" - basically anything from crutches to blood pressure cuffs.Here's how prosecutors say the con worked: Allegedly Hirsch conspired to pay kickbacks to doctors who ordered his company's medical equipment based on telemedicine consultations - only those consultations never occurred. Medicare or Medicaid got billed for the equipment, meaning your tax money allegedly went straight into Hirsch's pocket.Not just his pocket, though. Other charges have been filed against eight physicians, two nurse practitioners, two operators of telemedicine companies and two brokers of patient data."Telemedicine is an important tool for legitimate providers - but paying kickbacks is not part of telemedicine and will not be tolerated under any circumstances," U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine said."Anytime you open a program of this importance in such a short period of time, you are opening the door to all types of fraud," retired FBI agent, forensics expert and attorney Jason G. Weiss told govinfosecurity.com. "COVID-19 was thrust upon us, and medical providers as well as law enforcement are all trying to adapt to this new virtual reality. With the creation of any new program in a rapidly condensed period of time, there will be some level of organized chaos involved, and cybercriminals will try and take advantage of it as was allegedly done here."This huge fraud case couldn't make the message clearer: Telemedicine restrictions were put in place for a reason. Put them back as soon as possible.And if you suspect telemedicine fraud or kickbacks affecting you or someone you know - and that includes COVID-19 fraud - call the FBI hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Winfull Group Holdings Limited (HKG:183), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Winfull Group Holdings

Winfull Group Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman Wai San Pong bought HK$7.2m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.05 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is HK$0.051. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for Winfull Group Holdings share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Wai San Pong.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Story continues

SEHK:183 Recent Insider Trading May 1st 2020

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Winfull Group Holdings insiders own 66% of the company, worth about HK$176m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Winfull Group Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Winfull Group Holdings insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Nice! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Winfull Group Holdings. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Winfull Group Holdings and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Sri Lanka on Friday extended the lockdown in the coronavirus high risk zones of the country, including capital district Colombo, till May 11, saying steps were being made to bring life and institutions back to normalcy.

"The curfew in the capital district of Colombo and three other high risk zones for COVID-19 was due to be lifted on 4 May. This has now been extended till 11 May," an official statement said.

Sri Lanka has recorded 690 confirmed COVID 19 cases with 7 deaths so far.

"Steps are underway to bring life and institutions back to normalcy from May 11," the statement issued from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office said.

All essential services in these areas are to be re-opened by opening the state and private institutions while adhering to health guidelines.

Dr Anil Jasinghe, the country's top health official, said they have taken control of preventing the COVID-19 from spreading in the western province to a large extent.

He said efforts are underway to double the current daily PCR test capacity.

Sri Lanka has registered a major fall in tourist arrivals due to the coronavirus outbreak, with an over 70 per cent decline in footfalls in March compared to the same period last year.

The island nation stopped all passenger flights and ship services on March 18 in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak



Till then in March, 71,370 international tourists visited Sri Lanka, according to Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority's Tourist Arrivals Report for March 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
National Youth Orchestra violinist Isabella Azima playedOde to Joy outside her home in Stratford last Friday. Photo: Mark Williamson

Last week young musicians threw open doors and windows up and down the country to join in on a synchronised rendition of Beethovens well-known Ode to Joy.

The event was organised by the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) for its 164 musicians to take part in after their proposed performance of Beethovens Ninth Symphony at the Southbank this month was cancelled.

Rosining up her bow at her Loxley Road, Stratford, home was King Edward VI School student Isabella Azima, 17. She has been a member of the prestigious NYO since October and also attends the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire, where she studies violin and piano in addition to A-level music, maths and Spanish at KES.

Isabella says: The NYOde-to-joy-a-thon aimed to unite the country in music, to thank those who are working so tirelessly at the moment and to generally help to brighten peoples spirits during this lonely and anxious time.

The event certainly succeeded in spreading joy and encouraging all musicians, no matter their ability, to join in. Thousands of people shared video of themselves playing, with entire streets erupting in music and a curious array of instruments being played too  including bagpipes in Scotland.

Speaking of how she became enthralled by the magic of music as a seven-year-old, Isabella says: My mum had taken me to a Symphony Hall concert to listen to a double violin/piano concerto performed by the Bushakevitz siblings which had me in complete awe. The technicality and beauty of the violin resonated with me and the amount of expression and emotion that she conveyed whilst playing made me want to start.

After winning a place with the NYO, what has she gained from the experience?

It completely changed me as a musician for the better, says Isabella. Playing with such talented people, where the standard is just exceptional, is challenging in the best way. We are all like-minded and there to create amazing music for our audiences and for ourselves. The energy on stage when all 164 of us give it our all is electric and like nothing else Ive ever felt.

Has she got a favourite piece of music?

I love all music which has a message to convey and a story to tell, reckons Isabella. Some of my favourites would have to be Tchaikovskys violin concerto and Shostakovich string quartets (number 2 and 8 in particular). However, I also love Gershwin piano concerto in F  its a brilliant piece!

What about the best ever concert?

Apart from our finale NYO concert at the BBC Proms last summer, which was the most incredible experience, I went to see Sheku Kanneh-Mason play Elgars cello concerto at the Proms, which was amazing, says Isabella. His commitment to the music and the emotion he puts into every performance is truly captivating and seeing someone a similar age to me being so successful inspires me to continue to work hard.

Who would you most like to play with?

I would absolutely love to play with Itzhak Perlman at Carnegie Hall.

Hes been my violin idol since I was little and has always inspired me!

Isabella says she plans to explore a career in music, so watch this space  were sure to be hearing more from the gifted player.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended its Osun State Chairman, Soji Adagunodo, over allegations of malfeasance, maladministration and anti- party activities.

Mr Adagundos suspension was contained in a letter sent to him by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party on Thursday and it was signed by the national secretary, Usman Tsauri.

The PDP asked Mr Adagunodo to quit his position pending when full investigations into allegations against him will be concluded.

He is expected to hand over all the party documents and properties in his custody to the states deputy chairman who shall henceforth act as the chairman.

Mr Tsauri said the decision was imperative as the report of the National Disciplinary Committee of the Party found him culpable of the allegations and complaints against him.

Adagunodo reacts

In his reaction, Mr Adagunodo called on his supporters in the state to remain calm, law abiding and shun any act of violence that may arise from his suspension.

READ ALSO:

He said the party is already handling the matter and it would be resolved amicably.

He said, all loyal party members should remain steadfast and resolute because the current situation is just a phase and it will fade away as usual.
A journalist has been banned from taking trips with Mike Pence, after he contradicted the vice presidents wife, Karen Pence, over claims he had been told to wear a face mask at the Mayo Clinic.

The vice president was widely criticised on Wednesday for not wearing a mask on a visit to the hospital, despite the clinic publicly saying they had told him it was a requirement at the facility.

Voice of America journalist, Steve Herman, tweeted that the vice presidents office had informed all the journalists at the visit that they needed to wear a mask.

All of us who travelled with him were notified by the office of @VP the day before the trip that wearing of masks was required by the @MayoClinic and to prepare accordingly, he tweeted.

Although he was initially told he was banned from future trips, for revealing information that was intended for planning purposes, Mr Pences office later told Mr Herman that his ban can be lifted if he or the organisation apologise for the tweet, according to HuffPost.

The Washington Post obtained a copy of a letter that was sent to the journalists on the trip, which said masks were a requirement.

Please note, the Mayo Clinic is requiring [that] all individuals travelling with the VP wear masks, it read. Please bring one to wear while on the trip.

Recommended Mike Pence wears mask following outrage over Mayo Clinic appearance

During an appearance on Fox and Friends, Ms Pence said that it was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out that they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask.

In a now deleted tweet, the clinic contradicted these claims, and said that officials had told Mr Pence prior to his visit that a face mask is a requirement at the facility.

Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today, the tweet read.

After they deleted the tweet, the clinic released a statement where they reiterated their claims: Mayo shared the masking policy with the VPs office.

Mr Pence told reporters after the visit that because he has tested negative for the virus, he does not need to wear a face mask.

As Vice President of the United States Im tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus, he said.

And since I dont have the coronavirus, I thought itd be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you, he added.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now upwards of one million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 61,288.

The Independent has reached out to Mr Pences team for comment.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trumps new spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, vowed Friday not to lie to reporters from the podium as she made her debut at the first White House briefing by a press secretary in more than a year.

I will never lie to you, McEnany told reporters. You have my word on that. But the briefing that followed included several misstatements and mischaracterizations nonetheless.

McEnany, who joined the White House last month, took the stage behind a podium that had quite literally been collecting cobwebs before the president began the practice of holding his own daily briefings because of the coronavirus.

McEnany said she spends most of the day with the president and is constantly with him, absorbing his thinking. She said she sees it as her mission to bring you the mindset of the president, deliver those facts, so this president gets fair and accurate reporting and the American people get fair and accurate information.

During past administrations, a formal briefing by a White House press secretary would hardly be news. But it was the first such briefing since March 11, 2019, when Sarah Sanders took to the podium for the first time in more than a month and was pressed on comments Trump reportedly made at a fundraiser claiming that Democrats hated Jewish people. Sanders left her post that summer, and her successor, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing during her entire nine-month tenure.

The briefings were must-see TV during the early days of the Trump administration, when viewers would tune in to see Trumps first press secretary, Sean Spicer, spar with the press. But the media-obsessed Trump, who sees himself as his best spokesman, communications director and strategist, came to the conclusion last year that the spectacle had diminishing returns, people close to him said at the time.

The White House has long made the case that the briefings are less important in the Trump administration because the president is so accessible, answering reporters questions on an often-daily basis. Trump had been holding his own daily briefings through much of the pandemic, but scaled back this week amid concerns that he was doing himself political damage and as the White House tries to pivot toward a focus on reopening.

Spicer got off to a contentious early start with reporters when he used his first press briefing to falsely claim that Trumps inauguration had drawn the biggest crowd ever. Sanders briefings were also heated, and she drew criticism for her own false statements, despite once telling reporters, I dont think its appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place.

McEnany took a more genial approach at her debut, calling on every reporter in the room at least once and avoiding personal attacks. Still, she made clear she was there to defend the president and grew more adamant as she brought up newly released documents related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn that she said should scare every American citizen. Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI.

We have a handwritten FBI note that says, quote, We need to get Flynn to lie, quote, And get him fired, she claimed. But thats not what it said.

The message, included on a page of handwritten notes that appeared to recap an internal debate about how best to approach Flynn, reads: Whats our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?

The notes also say: If were seen as playing games, WH will be furious. Protect our institution by not playing games.

McEnany also deflected questions about the numerous sexual misconduct allegations levelled at Trump over the years after his likely Democratic challenger, former Vice-President Joe Biden, on Friday emphatically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s.

The president has swiftly denied all of these allegations that were raised four years ago, McEnany said. He has always told the truth on these issues. Hes denied them immediately, she said, adding that the American people had their say in the matter when they elected President Trump as president of the United States.

At least one new allegation, however, has surfaced since then.

McEnanys performance drew praise from other Republicans who have held the job, including Spicer, who called it a Great debut.

Ari Fleischer, press secretary for President George W. Bush, said being a successful presidential spokesperson requires both substance and style.

It matters how you come across on TV, Fleischer said on Fox News Channel after the briefing. On the substance, she had facts. She had statistics. Oh boy, is she articulate.

He added: On the style, I mean she was just comfortable. You always listen for: Is there a hiccup in the voice? Is she nervous? Is there something about being in that room where you think the pressure might get to her? She was cool and calm throughout it all.

Trump and his new chief of staff, Mark Meadows, shook up the White House communications team in early April, at the height of the coronavirus crisis. Grisham, who had held the titles of both press secretary and White House communications director, rejoined the first ladys office in a new role as Melania Trumps chief of staff.

Grisham, who succeeded Sanders and Spicer, was arguably the nations least visible press secretary in modern history. While she made occasional appearances on Fox News Channel, she preferred to tape her interviews in a studio to avoid having to speak to reporters who gather on the White House driveway to interview officials after they appear on TV via cameras set up outside the executive mansion.
These highlights from all over the map include a classic musical, an otherworldly noir and one of Jane Fonda's most unusual vehicles.

TOUT VA BIEN (95 minutes) Unrated

MUBI

Jane Fonda in '70s film Tout va Bien. Credit:Screenshot

Borrowing a stylistic trick or two from Jerry Lewis, this 1972 account of a strike at a sausage factory is one of the livelier products of Jean-Luc Godards Marxist period (co-directed, as usual, with his comrade-in-arms Jean-Pierre Gorin). Yves Montand and Jane Fonda are the contractually mandated stars.
New Delhi, May 1 : Actor Naseeruddin Shah's brother Lieutenant General Zameer Uddin Shah debunked all rumours of the actor being hospitalised and said that he is "perfectly alright".

Lieutenant General Zameer Uddin Shah ( PVSM, SM, VSM), Retd. spoke to IANS on rumours around Naseer's hospitalisation.

"He is perfectly alright these are enemies of our people who are spreading the messages, I speak to my brother everyday and this news is false and damaging," the actor's brother, who is also a former vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and currently Pro Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, told IANS.

On Thursday evening, a section of the media started floating the news that veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah was hospitalised.

However, his niece Saira Shah Halim confirmed to IANS that the actor was doing "absolutely fine".

"He's absolutely fine, and is observing lockdown with my aunt Ratna in Mumbai, it is fake news," confirmied Saira Shah Halim, niece of the actor told IANS.
Photo credit: Alamy

From Harper's BAZAAR

Tonight, the cast of hit sitcom Parks and Recreation will virtually reunite for a one-time special on NBC.

The telecast is intended to raise funds for Feeding Americas COVID-19 Response Fund, which will enable food banks to continue serving the most vulnerable communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The cast will revive their original characters during the 30-minute special.

Five years after the series finale, the original cast of Parks and Recreation is returning to Pawnee, Indiana, to show us how all our favorite characters are faring during the age of social distancing.

"When you travel, are you practicing social distancing?" asks Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) in NBC's teaser trailer of the reunion special. A disgruntled Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) replies, "I've been practicing social distancing since I was four years old."

Other returning cast members who will be reviving their roles for the special include Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim OHeir, and Retta. You can catch the virtual reunion tonight, April 30, at 8:30 p.m. ET, on NBC.

Photo credit: Alamy

Like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money, said executive producer Michael Schur in a statement. I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes. Our old Parks and Rec team has put together one more 30-minute slice of (quarantined) Pawnee life and we hope everyone enjoys it. And donates!

The proceeds from the telecast will be donated to Feeding Americas COVID-19 Response Fund, allowing food banks to continue serving those vulnerable populations most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

State Farm and Subaru of America will also each make matching donations of $150,000. Combined with NBCUniversal and the creators and cast behind the show, a total of $500,000 in matching donations will additionally be made through May 21.

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Paul Cary, 66, from Colorado was volunteering for FEMA as part of private ambulance firm Ambulnzs State of New York COVID Response team

A paramedic from Colorado who volunteered to help in New York City at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis has died from the disease.

Paul Cary, 66, ended up heading to New York on April 1 to volunteer for FEMA.

He was stationed at the Bronx Zoo where he would assist with the transporting of patients by ambulance all over the city.

It wasn't for another three weeks before he suddenly started to feel ill and quickly become sick.

The dad-of two and grandfather-of-four started to show symptoms of COVID-19 around April 19 or 20 and was admitted to Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx on April 21 where he was placed on a ventilator. He passed away on Thursday.

Despite the fact his age put him in the at-risk category according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ambulnz, a private ambulance service said he was 'adamant' about going.

'We were devastated to learn that our father and grandfather, Paul Cary, became the latest victim to die of COVID-19. Our family grieves his loss, and knows that all his friends and family will miss him greatly,' his family wrote in a statement.

Cary was a dad-of-two and and grandfather-of-four. His family said that he knew of the risks before heading to New York to help in epicenter of the outbreak

Cary's main duty consisted of transporting COVID-19 patients. The grandfather-of-four had been working in the city since April 1st before falling ill around April 19th

Cary worked for Ambulnz, a private ambulance company, but had spent 30 years serving as a firefighter and paramedic for the Aurora Fire Department

'Accepting Paul's commitment to serving others in need, we respected his choice to volunteer to be part of Ambulnz's response team to the COVID-19 crisis in New York City,' his family wrote in a statement to the media.

'He risked his own health and safety to protect others and left this world a better place. We are at peace knowing that Paul did what he loved and what he believed in, right up until the very end.

Cary worked for Ambulnz but had spent 30 years serving as a firefighter and paramedic for the Aurora Fire Department.

'Paul's career is best defined by his kindness and service to others,' a statement from Ambulnz read.

'If you knew Paul, he was extremely devoted to his work and very excited about going,' said Rick Diemert, Colorado's operations manager of Ambulnz to 9News. 'He was very, very devoted.'

Miami nurse Araceli Buendia Ilagan, 63, (left) passed away last month due to complications of COVID-19. So too, Dr. Alex Hsu, 67, (right) who worked at Northwest Medical Center in Margate, also died due to complications of COVID-19

Cary's death is one of hundreds of frontline staff and first responders who have been died during the outbreak.

Three medics, two based in Florida and one in New York, have died due to coronavirus last month after working on the front lines to help patients stricken with COVID-19.

Miami intensive care unit nurse Araceli Buendia Ilagan, 63, passed away from complications of the virus, Jackson Memorial Hospital confirmed.

Dr. Alex Hsu, 67, who had worked at Northwest Medical Center in Margate, Florida, and died due to complications of COVID-19.

In New York City, nurse Kious Kelly, 48, passed away after his hospital Mount Sinai Hospital West suffered a shortage of medical protective equipment that forced some nurses to wear trash bags.

New York City nurse Kious Kelly, 48, (above) passed away last month after his hospital Mount Sinai Hospital West in Manhattan suffered from a shortage of medical protective equipment

A Florida nurse was also killed last month after her husband said she treated coronavirus patients without being given a face mask.

Danielle DiCenso, 33, a travelling nurse stationed in the ICU unit at Palemetto General Hospital, started showing COVID-19 symptoms two weeks after working long shifts with infected patients without the protective gear.

Her husband David found her dead in her living room after she placed herself in quarantine and her condition rapidly deteriorated.

He claims staff at the hospital didn't give her the right equipment, and now their four-year-old son is without a mother.

Danielle DiCenso, 33, is believed to have died from coronavirus after being exposed due to a lack of proper personal protective equipment in the Florida hospital where she worked

Nurse Earl Bailey, 56, assigned to Palmetto General was also said to have been healthy and active but tested positive for coronavirus.

In New York, a nurse from Long Island died early last month after falling ill with a high fever and a cough.

Ali Guillermo, 44, of Patchogue, came to the United States from the Philippines in 2004 and worked a nurse at Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue.

The father of three was admitted to the same ICU unit where he worked to treat patients and placed on a ventilator.

Healcare heroes: Retired doctor Francis Molinari, 70, (pictured left) died after returning to work during the crisis. Florida nurse Earl Bailey, 56, (pictured right) died of coronavirus and also worked in the Palemetto General Hospital where Danielle DiCenso worked

A retired doctor who returned to work at the field hospital at the Meadowlands in New Jersey also lost his battle with coronavirus on April 9, after suffering a shortness of breath while treating patients.

Francis Molinari, 70, told his sister 'I think Ive got this thing', reports NJ.com ,after he jumped back into the field to help with the crisis.

He was still working up to a week before he was hospitalized and seemed to improve slightly before his symptoms dramatically worsened and he passed away.
Airbus, Air Transport Action Group, Avianca, Collins Aerospace, Deutsche Telekom, European Space Agency, Honeywell, IATA, Japan Airlines, Panasonic Avionics and Rolls-Royce among keynote speakers at FlightPlan, an all-day virtual event hosted by Inmarsat Aviation and APEX

The global aviation industry came together yesterday for a unique all-day broadcast event to encourage collaboration during the most challenging and unpredictable time in its history. FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future, hosted by Inmarsat Aviation and the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), saw more than 50 leading voices exchange views on the present and future of aviation. Over 3,000 viewers tuned in from almost 100 countries worldwide for a series of live debates, interviews and news analysis.

Experts voice confidence in eventual bounce-back for aviation industry

Nick Careen, Senior Vice President of Airport Passenger Cargo and Security at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), observed that although the COVID-19 pandemic has "no parallel to draw upon in recent memory the airline industry has illustrated time and time again that if there's any industry in the world that knows how to deal with a crisis, it's this one"

Careen predicted that changes to airline passenger journeys as a result of COVID-19 may include staggered boarding processes, alongside faster adoption of biometrics and self-service technologies in the airport. Christoph Mueller, who has previously served as CEO of Malaysia Airlines and Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Emirates Group, gave some reassuring words of encouragement to airlines: "I have a lot of confidence that at least a lot of airlines will come out of this crisis with a new and regained strength."

In an interactive poll1, FlightPlan viewers were invited to share their own predictions on the COVID-19 recovery phase throughout the day. Highlights from the results included:

Four in ten (43%) predicted that recovery will take from 18 months to three years

Four in ten (44%) said the industry was poorly prepared for COVID-19

Nearly two fifths (36%) stated that governments have helped the industry to navigate the pandemic, but could have done more

9 in 10 (87%) expect to see more deep cleaning and slower turnarounds

86% believe that personal protective equipment (PPE) will become standard for cabin crews in the coming months

8 in 10 (80%) expect thermal scanners to become part of the passenger journey

Only 9% see blood tests for airline passengers becoming the norm

Unified effort essential to tackling aviation's environmental impact

Discussing some of the ambitious sustainability targets the industry has previously set itself, such as net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the experts agreed that collaboration was fundamental. Anko Van Der Werff, CEO of Avianca, argued that "the whole ecosystem needs to work together on this." Paul Stein, Chief Technical Officer at Rolls Royce, added that the impact of single-nation initiatives has been limited and a "coalition of the willing" with industry bodies, airlines, manufacturers and fuel providers is needed.

Encouragingly, industry leaders expressed confidence that COVID-19 will not interrupt progress on sustainable aviation and may even push the topic higher on the agenda. Stein reflected that "the post-COVID-19 world is going to be one that will recognise the fragility of the planetsustainability isn't just going to come back to the point it was before COVID it's going to be an even stronger issue." The FlightPlan poll results reflected this view, with 40% of respondents agreeing that COVID-19 will accelerate the drive to reduce emissions.

Digitisation will catalyse industry recovery and future growth

Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat, spoke about the power of connectivity to drive global development and industry recovery. Although "2019 already feels as though it belongs to a different era", Pearce remarked that the pandemic has not slowed the fourth industrial revolution. "I believe that digitalisation lies at the heart of our ability to first survive this crisis, and then to drive our ability to rebound from it and start to thrive in whatever new reality lies in front of us.

The next generation of passengers were at the centre of a discussion around the need for airlines to continue preparing for the future. Behavioural scientist Rory Sutherland spoke of Generation Z's "incredible need to travel", observing that his own children "don't see it as a privilege they kind of see it as a right". Aviation analyst Alex Macheras delved deeper into their digital expectations, adding that "if airlines are going to better satisfy Gen Z, inflight connectivity will continue to be a driving force." Other experts agreed that these attributes, paired with growing spending power, will put young passengers in the driving seat when it comes to digital transformation in the cabin.

Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: "As we look towards recovery and ensuring long-term resilience, there will be no one-size-fits all approach. However, it will remain important that airlines can differentiate for customers. It's clear that the safety of consumers will continue to be at the forefront in this new world, and that digitisation and innovation will be crucial to driving much-needed efficiencies, reducing environmental impact and improving passenger experience."

Reflecting on the event, Dominic Walters, Vice President at Inmarsat Aviation, commented: "In times of crisis, it's imperative that industries collaborate to find the best way forward. With so many of this year's leading aviation events cancelled, we wanted to connect the industry in a unique and helpful way, and the response has been phenomenal. Together, more than 50 leading voices shared a clear shared message that while the aviation industry contends with a period of extreme uncertainty, these clouds will eventually clear. Now is the time to focus on accelerating our recovery and rebuilding an industry that is stronger, more agile and fit for the future."

ENDS

Notes to the Editor: If you would like to catch up on interviews from the day, FlightPlan will be available on-demand from today (30 April) via https://flightplan.wavecast.io/.

About Inmarsat

Inmarsat is the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications. It owns and operates the world's most diverse global portfolio of mobile telecommunications satellite networks, and holds a multi-layered, global spectrum portfolio, covering L-band, Ka-band and S-band, enabling unparalleled breadth and diversity in the solutions it provides. Inmarsat's long-established global distribution network includes not only the world's leading channel partners but also its own strong direct retail capabilities, enabling end to end customer service assurance.

The company has an unrivalled track record of operating the world's most reliable global mobile satellite telecommunications networks, sustaining business and mission critical safety operational applications for more than 40 years. It is also a major driving force behind technological innovation in mobile satellite communications, sustaining its leadership through a substantial investment and a powerful network of technology and manufacturing partners.

Inmarsat operates across a diversified portfolio of sectors with the financial resources to fund its business strategy and holds leading positions in the Maritime, Government, Aviation and Enterprise satcoms markets, operating consistently as a trusted, responsive and high-quality partner to its customers across the globe.

For further information, follow us on LinkedIn or on Twitter @InmarsatGlobal.

1 Findings reflect the responses of 212 FlightPlan viewers from across the world that participated in the live poll on 29 April

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005395/en/

Contacts:

Inmarsat

Jonathan Sinnatt

Corporate Communications

+44 (0)20 7728 1935

jonathan.sinnatt@inmarsat.com

Robeel Haq

Head of Communications, Aviation

+44 (0)20 7728 1352

robeel.haq@inmarsat.com
The Election Commission said on Friday that polls for Maharashtras legislative council seats will be held on May 21, clearing the way for a process crucial to chief minister Uddhav Thackerays position since he has to become a member of either houses of the legislature by May 27 to remain in power.

Polls for the council  the upper house that is elected by members of the legislative assembly  were initially set to be held in April but were pushed back due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, which has triggered a near-complete ban on the movement of people. The government announced on Friday that some people will be allowed to move between 7am and 7pm from the next week.

This will be the first election for the CM, who heads the Shiv Sena. The decision for him to head the government was taken after elections results on October 24 threw up a split verdict, which led the Shiv Sena to ally with rivals Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress in a coalition that has been named the Mharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

According to Indias constitution, a minister needs to be elected to a legislature within six months of taking oath in the government. In terms of the numbers, the MVA has them. The nine seats to the council are to be elected by 288 members of the assembly. The voting is done by preferential vote method and as per a formula adopted for these elections, roughly 29 votes are needed to elect one member. Based on the strength in assembly, BJP would get four seats, Sena and NCP would get two seats each, while the Congress party would get one, a Sena functionary said, asking not to be named. He added that the paperwork for nomination has been initiated.

The notification for the election will be issued on May 4. According to the schedule, the last day to file nominations is May 11, polling will be held on May 21, and counting of votes would be done on the same day.

Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut called the decision the victory of truth and justice. He also thanked the Centre and EC for the decision which, he said, saved the state from a political crisis.

I, on behalf of Shiv Sena, thank the Centre and the EC because this decision has put a stop to the atmosphere of uncertainty in Maharashtra. There were unfounded fears that if Uddhav Thackeray is not elected to the House, he would have to resign; the government would collapse, Presidents Rule will be imposed. The government under Thackeray was never going to collapse, he said.

MVA partner Nationalist Congress Party also welcomed the decision. Without naming opposition leaders, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said attempts by them to get a backdoor entry vanished with the ECs decision. Many people were hoping that the government would become unstable and they could attempt [to get back in power]. But the declaration of the election has answered all their questions, said Patil.
A new book will dwell on Maharashtras history and evolution from a rich past to the modern times and list its enormous contribution to the tapestry of the countrys culture and thought.

In Shivaji in South Block: The Unwritten History of a Proud People, journalist Girish Kuber talks about Maharashtras politics, history and society.

From the time of the Satavahanas down to the present day, he chronicles many lesser-known tales: the empire that brought the mighty Mughals to their knees to the woman who took the issue of consent in marital sex right up to Queen Victoria.

The book also discusses the evolution of movements of the right and left as well as for Dalit pride, the leader who mentored Gandhi and the man who killed him, the best prime minister India never had, and the uncertain tryst of Shivajis metaphorical descendants with the seat of national power, publishers HarperCollins India said.

The book, whose announcement was made on the eve of 60th Maharashtra Day, is scheduled for release in October.

Kuber said his book delves into where the Marathi Manoos stands today and why he is where he is.

As Maharashtra celebrates the 60th year of its formation, it is an opportune time to revisit the states glorious past. Maharashtra has made several significant contributions to Indian society that are not widely known and has firsts in a number of fields to its credit, he said.

According to Krishan Chopra, publisher, HarperCollins India, Maharashtra is much more than Bollywood and industry and Kuber has given an exciting account of why the intriguing Marathi Manoos is such an important element in understanding the state.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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Luxury Hotel CEO Steps Down Amid Coronavirus Relief Loan Pushback But Controversy Lingers

The president and CEO of Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust is stepping down after the company received pushback over the $30 million it received from the Paycheck Protection Program, part of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief fund passed in March.

Tens of thousands of small businesses are still waiting to receive funds. Companies like Shake Shack and Ruths Chris Steak House received, and later promised to return, PPP loans.

But despite the departure of CEO Douglas Kessler and the controversy, Ashford Hospitality leaders maintain the company and two related companies qualified for the program and will keep the money. The particulars of Kesslers resignation are still not clear.

Kessler will remain with the company until May 14, when Ashford Chief Strategy Officer J. Robison Hays takes over as president and CEO.

I would like to thank Douglas for his invaluable leadership and contributions to Ashford Trust during his considerable tenure, Ashford Hospitality Trust Chairman of the Board Monty Bennett said in a statement. He has been an extraordinary colleague and instrumental in the growth of Ashford Trust since its IPO in 2003. We wish him well in his future endeavors.

Get the Latest on Coronavirus and the Travel Industry on Skifts Liveblog

The executive shift still addresses only one of three companies tied to Bennett that are under pressure over their benefit from a program aimed at assisting small businesses during coronavirus.

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Braemar Hotels & Resorts  where Bennett is chairman of the board of directors  and Ashford Inc.  where Bennett is CEO and chairman of the board  collectively received nearly $59 million in PPP loans, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies issued a joint statement saying they would not return the money to the Small Business Administration.

Since the middle of March, the companies have furloughed or laid off 90 percent of their workforce due to coronavirus hindering business. The Small Business Administration has not publicly released a list of PPP loan recipients, but Ashford claims the hotel industry received less than 3 percent of the initial $350 billion round of PPP loans.

Story continues

Our companies have not crowded out smaller businesses from receiving funds, as some media reports have suggested, the statement continued. The PPP program was specifically intended for companies like ours.

After the initial round of PPP funding ran out, the U.S. government injected an additional $310 billion earlier this month. Industry advocates and politicians are calling for more oversight to make sure the latest round of money gets to small businesses.

Travel industry groups like the U.S. Travel Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association Thursday called for the government to discourage unaffected businesses from applying for PPP loans. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier this week the government will perform a full audit on any company taking out more than $2 million in the small business loan program.

Subscribe to Skift newsletters for essential news about the business of travel.
The tractors arrived in time for the seeding and planting season

EthioLease, the first foreign-owned leasing company, received 44 tractors as part of a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the company signed in February 2020 with the Ministry of Agriculture(MOA) and the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). The agriculture equipment will help ATA farmers' mechanization centers which provide services to clusters of smallholder farmers who cannot afford or do not wish to buy equipment. These tractors are part of the first batch of equipment, in addition to the 13 tractors already handed over to lessees and are a continuation of the company's commitment to the country's agricultural mechanization transformation endeavor.

The collaborative agreement has the potential to reach over 60 centers in the next three years with EthioLease providing over 150 million dollars' worth of agriculture equipment.Speaking on the latest delivery of equipment, EthioLease Board Chairman Girma Wake said: "the arrival of these additional tractors will contribute to utilizing the country's immense potential for agriculture mechanization through leased equipment." He added, "This kind of support will maximize the efficiency of labor and enhance the farmers productivity."

EthioLease is a subsidiary of Africa Asset Finance Company Inc. (AAFC). The company began operations in August after receiving a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia. It was formed to address the equipment and forex shortages in Ethiopia by providing capital goods financing and a wide range of leasing services for multiple sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, energy, food processing (coffee processing), and manufacturing, among other verticals.

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Commenting on the significance of leasing services for Ethiopia's agriculture sector in particular, EthioLease CEO Girum Tsegaye noted that "financial services are a critical enabler for sustainable economic growth which will increase productivity among farmers to ensure poverty reduction and food security as well as significant financial gains."

EthioLease buys and imports equipment and oversees its maintenance and proper use throughout the lease period. Typically, the lessee will have an option to buy the equipment from the company at the end of the lease period.

Since its launch, EthioLease has provided leasing services to address equipment shortages in the agriculture, healthcare, energy, and food processing sectors, including some in manufacturing. To date, EthioLease has signed leasing agreements with more than 60 customers. AS/Dispatch
Prior to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extending Michigan's state of emergency until May 28 on Thursday, the Michigan Senate approved a resolution allowing the senate to challenge in court any executive actions taken by the governor after the Legislatures previous state of emergency extension, which was set to expire on May 1.

The resolution was sponsored by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Stamas, R-Midland.

The Legislature is the peoples most direct representation in state government, yet the governor continues to dismiss and ignore this co-equal branch, Stamas said. The governor has repeatedly chosen absolute power over working together with the peoples representatives. She believes she can unilaterally grab total power over every Michigan family and hold onto that power for as long as she wants.

The people have a voice, and protecting their voices and protecting their lives are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, the governor has decided to go it alone once again and the people of Michigan deserve better.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-4 on March 10 declaring a state of emergency across Michigan to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and she issued EO 2020-33 on April 1 to include a state of disaster related to the pandemic. On April 7, the Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 24 to extend the states of emergency and disaster through April 30.

Senate Resolution 114 stated that without an additional legislative extension, Gov. Whitmer has a statutory obligation to issue an executive order or proclamation declaring the states of emergency and disaster terminated on May 1.

This resolution authorizes the Senate to defend the Legislatures role and the peoples rights by bringing legal action if the governor attempts to extend her emergency powers without legislative approval, Stamas said. Were all facing uncertain and stressful times. My hope is that our governor will change course and work with us to responsibly and effectively end this public health crisis, and that this resolution will not be necessary. In case that does not happen, we need to be able to stand up for our constituents, the people of Michigan, and our system of government.

 Processed by Mitchell Kukulka, mitchell.kukulka@mdn.net
An entrance to a department store in Fukuoka, Japan, where KakaoPay is available. / Yonhap



By Park Jae-hyuk



KakaoPay has expanded in Japan without an intensive marketing campaign amid the ongoing anti-Japan sentiment in Korea and travel restrictions between the two countries over the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company, Friday.



The mobile payment service unit of Kakao said its users have been able to complete payments using QR codes provided by PayPay merchants anywhere in Japan since Wednesday.



When KakaoPay trialed a cross-border service at several stores in Fukuoka last July, the Korean firm joined with Alibaba Group's Alipay, which had 300,000 merchants in Japan as of March last year.



After PayPay  a joint venture of SoftBank and Yahoo Japan  affiliated with the Chinese mobile payment service provider, KakaoPay has been available at PayPay merchants.



PayPay, launched in October 2018, has 25 million users and 2 million affiliated merchants.



KakaoPay, however, did not issue a press release for its recent expansion of services to cover the whole of Japan. It also did not issue a release when it started the test run in Fukuoka in July amid the intensifying "boycott Japan" movement.



Japan is the first foreign country in which KakaoPay launched its service.



But when the company started in Macau last October, it issued a press release.



"For our users to experience KakaoPay conveniently overseas, we began to offer KakaoPay services in Macau," a KakaoPay official said at the time. "As a financial platform provider for various services, we will make efforts to offer a more convenient and rich experience."



KakaoPay denied speculations that the anti-Japan sentiment in Korea was the reason it has refrained from marketing campaigns for its services in Japan.



"We didn't issue a press release in July because our service in Japan was on a trial basis," a KakaoPay spokeswoman said. "We issued a press release for our service in Macau because we launched a full-fledged service there.



"Regarding the recent news, we decided not to carry out aggressive marketing campaigns, considering the government's request for Koreans to refrain from making trips overseas."



However, some Korean internet users still slammed KakaoPay for its expansion in Japan.



Against this backdrop, the Sankei Shimbun reported Thursday that the Japanese government is considering retaliatory measures against the Korean Supreme Court's decision on the possible sale of assets here owned by Japanese companies that were ordered to compensate forced wartime laborers.


Iran's Regime Tries To Silence People, Says Hook After Tehran Announces Arrests

Radio Farda 30 April 2020

The Spokesman of Iran's Armed Forces on Tuesday said Iran's Police and the Revolutionary Guard's militia arm (Basij) have arrested 3,600 individuals for "spreading rumors about coronavirus".

Radio Farda has interviewed the U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook about these arrests and also about the administration's plan to have the U.S. arms embargo remain in place after its expiration in October.

Radio Farda: What is your reaction to Iran's announcement of the arrest of almost four thousand people for spreading "coronavirus rumors"?

Brian Hook: Iran has a long history of suppressing information. It's a Marxist, theocratic, corrupt mafia that runs the country during this entire Corona crisis in the country. The regime has tried to silence people because they don't want the world to know or their own people just how bad the pandemic is in their country. There have already been 6,000 people who've died. They have almost 100,000 confirmed cases, which relative to the Middle East is quite high.

Radio Farda: What procedures does the United States want to use to keep the UN arms embargo in place past its expiration in October?

Under the Iran nuclear deal, one of the big mistakes was to agree that in year five of the deal, the arms embargo on the world's leading sponsor of terrorism expires. And that's going to happen on October 18. So we're about six months away from this happening. Secretary Pompeo and I have spoken about the need to renew the arms embargo. And we have drafted a Security Council resolution. Procedurally it's quite easy to renew the arms embargo. When I was at the UN Security Council, I negotiated the arms embargo and then it was lifted under the Iran nuclear deal in year five, so it's a drafting matter, it's quite simple. You then of course, need to avoid any vetoes and you have to have the sufficient number of votes to get it passed. So we're engaging in diplomacy to try to get agreement with the other four permanent members of the Council on how we can renew the arms embargo.

Radio Farda: President Trump said this week that he has instructed the U.S. Navy to destroy Iranian boats harassing U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf. Are there any concerns that this could trigger a war?

Brian Hook: Well, not sure. I would look at it that way. We were in international waters. And the Iranian regime has a military doctrine of desensitizing the United States from harassment. And I don't know if you saw the videos, but the Iranian swift boats that the IRGC operates exceeded the rules of maritime safety in international waters. The Iranian regime would like to desensitize us so that after doing it a number of times, they could then get within sufficient range to actually kill American soldiers. We're not gonna let that happen. We're going to enforce the rules of the road in international waters. The regime violates them in the Strait of Hormuz in the Bab-el-Mandeb and near Kuwait, which is where the incident took place. And as a matter of self defense, and protecting the lives of Americans, President Trump said that if they do it again the boats will be destroyed.

Radio Farda: U.S. Secretary of State has condemned recently the Mahan Air's delivery of supplies to Venezuela. This has cast doubt on the content of this delivery. Iran has said that it delivered spare parts for Venezuela's petrochemical industry. Do you believe that the content of the delivery was different than what Iran declared?

Brian Hook: Well, Iran regularly claims that Mahan Air is used for peaceful purposes. But there's a reason why Germany and France and a number of countries like the UK, I believe, have all banned Mahan Air landing rights in their country. Because Mahan air is a terrorist airline. It's a dual use airline. The regime uses Mahan air to move commercial passengers and they use it to move terrorists and weapons. So a number of countries around the world have denied rights, landing rights to Mahan Air to protect their the aviation industry in their own country. And we have urged countries we've been working with diplomatically to deny overflight rights to Mahan Air if they're going to be going back and forth. You've got one terrorist regime helping another terrorist regime. And whenever you see that happening, you have to assume the worst. The regime regularly claims things that are false, including that they were helping Venezuela's oil industry. But I think we can probably safely assume it's not limited to that.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-s-regime-tries- to-silence-people-says-hook-after-tehran -announces-arrests/30586067.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Fri, May 1, 2020 15:33 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd5638d3 1 National West-Java,Jawa-Barat,ridwan-kamil,COVID-19,Bandung-West-Java,Greater-Bandung,PSBB,large-scale-social-restrictions Free

Seventeen regents and mayors in West Java who had not previously proposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) have agreed to apply for the status in the province to combat the spread of COVID-19.

We will propose PSBB in the West Java province to accelerate the implementation [of protective measures] in each region, Daud Achmad, the secretary of the West Java COVID-19 task force, said on Thursday.

West Java has, so far, only implemented PSBB at the city and regency levels. The satellite cities of Jakarta that lie within the region  Bogor, Depok and Bekasi  implemented PSBB on April 15 followed by the Greater Bandung area  consisting of the cities of Bandung and Cimahi, as well as as the regencies of Bandung, West Bandung and Sumedang  on April 22.



Ten out of the 27 regencies and municipalities in Indonesia's most populous province have implemented PSBB.



"If the health minister Terawan Putranto approves the request, the remaining regents and mayors [who have not implemented PSBB] will have a legal basis to implement social restrictions in their regions without having to individually request PSBB," Daud said.



He explained that each regent and mayor had the freedom to implement PSBB fully or partially.



"Bogor regency and Greater Bandung for example, have implemented PSBB partially in several districts," he said.



Daud added that PSBB needed to be imposed in West Java because it had recorded 1,009 cases as of Thursday, making it the second-hardest-hit province in the country.



West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said that the province would implement PSBB on May 6 if the request was approved this weekend.



"I advise Bapak and Ibu regents and mayors to start informing the public about PSBB preparations in their regions through social media so residents can prepare themselves," Ridwan said.



Herdiat Sunaya, the regent of Ciamis, said the implementation of PSBB in West Java should be followed by stricter rules to discourage the Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus) in each region.



"We need to be aware of people who are participating in mudik, especially those coming from red zones. We need to impose stricter rules on those travelers," he said.



Majalengka regent Karna Sobahi said many of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the regency were imported. (nal)
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has released the guidelines for the implementation of the phased and gradual easing of the lockdown.

This was announced in a series of tweets posted via the task forces Twitter handle on Friday.

Also Read: Despite Strange Deaths, Ganduje Asks FG To Relax Lockdown In Kano

Prominent amongst the guidelines which were signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, stated that anyone without a face mask in public will be prosecuted.

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It is divided into two sections which comprise the general information on new COVID-19 measures and protocols for the containment of the disease.

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Online Desk

Let's assume weeks of coronavirus lockdown - living with the silence of your neigbourhood, with working from 'home' while not actually being home with your loved ones, and of standing in long queues to buy the limited available supplies - has begun bothering you. What do you do?



Just sit back, be a responsible citizen and start watching a Wes Anderson film. Why you ask?

Well, because, in the words of Patricia, a character from Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, one should 'stop feeling sorry for ourselves because it is not very attractive'.

Anderson's movies offer a perfect escape for anyone feeling anxious or bored in the midst of the COVID lockdown. His offbeat style and quirky sense of humor offer the best antidote.

Known for his distinctive visuals and narration style, Anderson has made 11 films and his twelfth, The French Dispatch starring Timothee Chalamet, was set to release in July, but then Anderson fans might have to wait a little longer given the COVID-19 situation.

Be that as it may, on Anderson's 51st birthday, we look at five films that capture the director at his very best.

1. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

This tale of brothers in search of their long-lost mother might seem like a cliched Bollywood movie. But Wes Anderson weaves a beautiful story out of a strained family relationship, lost connections and the struggle to deal with grief.

Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, The Darjeeling Limited tells the story of three brothers, who haven't met since their fathers death a year ago and are in search for their mother, who left them a long time ago. This brings the three to India.

The comedy-drama revolves around the journey of the brothers, which begins on a train, passes through rural India and finally reaches the foothills of Himalayas where they find their mother only to learn a life-changing lesson.

Another reason to watch the awkward family fable is Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, whose recent death has left a hole in the hearts of many cinema lovers. His less than ten-minute-long cameo, with no dialogues, will bring a smile on your face. Tune in to find out why.

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

A famous hotel, a painting, a murder and one suspect who is trying to prove his innocence. This, in essence, is The Grand Budpapest Hotel.

A whimsical dramedy considered to be one of the best works of Wes Anderson, it is set in the backdrop of Edwardian Europe. The story revolves around a legendary hotel concierge who tries to prove his innocence in a murder he had no hand in. Aiding him in his quest is his loyal lobby boy.

The narrative and the sets of the film will make you feel like you are inside a dollhouse watching the characters do their part.

With Ralph Fiennes in the lead, the movie reminds you of an Agatha Christie mystery, but with a colourful set, classic songs and dark humour thrown in for good measure.

3. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Suzy and Sam share letters, fall in love, plan to run away and have an adventure. They set-off to an island, away from everyone.

But as soon as the word gets out they are missing, a local search party is arranged. This would be the right time to reveal that Suzy and Sam are just twelve-year-olds.

Moonrise Kingdom is a well-crafted romance-dramedy that is weirdly relatable and which will definitely make you laugh.

Wes Anderson makes you realize that though Suzy and Sam are just kids, their tenderness, actions and emotions are that of any other love-stricken adult.

4. Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

'Family isnt a word, it's a sentence'. The film aims to show how.

An estranged family of a former famous personality, Royal Tenenbaum, reunites after 22 years when their father (Bill Murray) announces he is terminally ill.

This awkward, yet comical family fable revolves around three 'damaged' child prodigies who are still coming to terms with the neglect and pressure brought on by the separation of their parents years ago.

The divorce has a Butterly Effect in the lives of these three Tennebaums siblings who deal with pain, love and life in their own ways. Despite the dark undertones of each character, there is something you can take away from each of them in this deadpan comedy.

5. Isle of Dogs (2018)

In this futuristic film, an epidemic hits Japan, and the corrupt mayor issues emergency orders calling for a quarantine. All those capable of spreading this epidemic are banished to Trash Island. Sounds familiar?

Well, replace coronavirus with 'snout fever' and humans with pets -- that is the Isle of Dogs.

Wes Anderson's second animated feature after the Fantastic Mr. Fox revolves around the story of a boy on a mission to rescue his dog from Trash Island with the help of other banished dogs. The visual wonder in this stop motion film will keep you engaged and awed throughout.

A unique way of storytelling with hidden messages is what every Wes Anderson film is about. He has a recurring cast, soundtrack and style, yet each film is distinct from the other and will leave you wanting for more.

Though his style has both been loved and hated, these less than two-hour-long films will take your mind off things in the current pandemic situation.
WASHINGTONThe deadline to lift social distancing guidelines quietly passed on Thursday as the White House pushed a new set of suggestions designed to reopen the U.S. economy now decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The White House is sunsetting the federal guidelines, once a central tenet of its coronavirus response and the focus of the administrations message, in the latest sign of the presidents eagerness to revive the once booming economy upended by the coronavirus crisis. The Trump administration is under economic pressure to shift its strategy from battling the coronavirus to pressing ahead with a message of economic revival that he hopes will help secure his reelection in November.

The administration has pivoted to a three-phase plan that leaves the decision to states, creating a patchwork strategy that some health experts warn could undermine the progress that has been made in stemming the spread of coronavirus.

The social distancing recommendations, released in mid-March and extended from two weeks to span 45 days, called on Americans to work from home and avoid non-essential travel as well as public spaces like restaurants and bars in order to flatten the curve of the number of people infected with COVID-19.

President Donald Trump came under fire for floating the idea of lifting social distancing restrictions as early as April 12, which was Easter Sunday. He changed his tune after he was confronted with a projected death toll of 100,000 to 240,000 if people were allowed to return to public spaces too early.

But as April came to a close this week, Trump said he has no plans to extend the federal recommendations after they expire Thursday, even as his own task force co-ordinator Dr. Deborah Birx suggested that social distancing would exist in some form through the summer.

Theyll be fading out, because now the governors are doing it, Trump said of the guidelines during a meeting with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday.

Despite the number of U.S. coronavirus cases surpassing 1 million, with a grim death toll of more than 60,000, the White House has been eager to paint an optimistic outlook of Americans returning to work by this summer. Vice President Mike Pence told reporters Thursday that most governors have embraced the federal guidelines and have incorporated them into their plans to reopen their states.

The presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, told Fox and Friends on Wednesday that Americans will return to their normal routines as early as June.

I think what youll see in May, as the states are reopening now, is May will be a transition month. he said. And I think youll see by June, a lot of the country should be back to normal and the hope is that ... by July the country is really rocking again.

While the president and his aides have suggested that some governors are ready to allow people to go back to work and reopen schools, his health experts have stressed that states need to meet the requirements of the new Opening Up America Again guidance.

The new federal plan to restart the economy, launched earlier this month, outlines three stages that stagger the end of social distancing based on a two-week period of downward trajectory of coronavirus cases. But the plan is largely predicated on benchmarks including the availability of widespread testing, which governors say is not yet available.

Health experts and state and local officials have expressed concern that opening too soon poses the threat of a deadly second wave of virus spread that would shut down much of the country and choke an already battered economy.

We have no really effective drugs or vaccines, what we have is our behaviour, said Joshua Sharfstein, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. That communication that leads people to take action to protect themselves is the best medicine right now. And when they muddle the message, we dilute the medicine.

More than half of states have announced plans to loosen coronavirus restrictions under the encouragement of the president and the new federal guidance. Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was one of the first to enact aggressive plans to ease stay-at-home orders, despite criticism from the president that it was too soon, allowing gyms, tattoo parlours, salons and massage therapists to reopen April 24.

The president has praised other governors such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who unveiled his plan to reopen all retail stores, restaurants, movie theatres and malls at a 25% capacity level on Friday  a week after Kemps plan went into effect. Other states, including Tennessee and Missouri, have also announced plans to return to business as usual on Monday even as they havent yet met the requirements under the new reopening guidance.

Wendy Parmet, a Northeastern University law professor who specializes in health care and bioethics, said the expiration of the guidelines doesnt change much as states are already calling the shots on when to lift restrictions. But some people could read the presidents decision not to renew social distancing rules as a declaration that the problem is over and public life can resume.

More people may pressure their state and local leaders to lift their own orders, and more people may stop practicing social distancing, she said. Thats dangerous because much of the country has not met the criteria for reopening that the White House set forth in its own Guidelines for Opening Up American Again that were issued.

The federal guidelines still encourage people to limit social gatherings to fewer than 10 people through May 15 while several states are pushing a more gradual approach. Some governors have relied on coordination with neighbouring states: California is moving forward in coordination with Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada; governors from Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have also announced plans to form a joint task force.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned states that dont have the capability to test people and conduct contact tracing to go very slowly.

You cant just leap over things and get into a situation where youre really tempting a rebound. Thats the thing I get concerned about. I hope they dont do that, he told NBCs TODAY show on Thursday.

Fauci cautioned that new cases are bound to occur as states begin opening up public spaces.

There will be blips, he added. Theres no doubt. When you pull back, there will be cases, and what we need to do is make sure (states) have in place the capability of identifying, isolating and contact tracing individuals.

Even as governors weigh reopening schools and businesses against public safety, most Americans say staying at home to combat the coronavirus is more important than jump-starting the economy.

Theres good evidence that most people wont resume normal parts of their lives until they feel safe doing so, said Andy Slavitt, former director of Medicare and Medicaid in the Obama administration. They dont want to feel like these five weeks are wasted.

A CBS News poll released last week found that 70% of respondents believe the top priority should be to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus by keeping people home and social distancing, even if the economy is hurting in the short term.

Even if states begin lifting social distancing restrictions, that doesnt mean the economy is going to improve, Slavitt adds.

If you think about what it takes for employers to feel comfortable hiring again, small businesses to feel comfortable opening and consumers to feel comfortable spending, thats going to require a level of public health results that we havent delivered yet.
Friday nights at Knotz and Tanglez Hair Studio were an event, once. The doors would swing open to reveal a cast of regular customers, gossiping and sipping on cocktails, letting down their hair before their styling appointments began. Many of them came to the Oakland salon straight from work.

But since March, the wrought-iron gates on MacArthur Boulevard have been bolted shut. There are no customers lounging in the waiting area. There are no moments of awe as the salon chair swivels to showcase a perfectly blended wig. There is no revenue.

Ive never been hit this hard, says owner Jocelyn Barnett. Not during the two recessions shes experienced over her 20-year career  in fact, she barely remembers those. Not even when YouTubers began to broadcast natural hair tutorials. Barnett has been paying full rent to her landlord while allowing the other four stylists to defer their booth rent to her, and she cant go on much longer, she says. You have kids at home that still have to eat, you still have to purchase stuff but you dont have any money to purchase it with.

As the Bay Area enters its eighth week of sheltering in place, black hair salons and their customers are hurting like never before. Long considered community hubs, and even pillars, black salons and barbershops have for decades offered generations of entrepreneurs the opportunity to pursue economic freedom. They have been a refuge for their clients, as well as a provider of beauty services that many women say are crucial to their self-esteem and personhood.

The best feeling in the world is when your barbershop is busy and everybody is joining in on the conversation, says Paul Castillo, a barber at Locals Barbershop in San Francisco. Now with shelter-in-place orders extended another month  and little clarity about economic relief  many stylists wonder if their salons will ever feel so joyful again.

Throughout history, black womens tresses have taken on all sorts of significance  about respectability, employability, femininity and beauty  that their owners may never have intended. Some women can tie up a ponytail and get their hair off their backs, literally and metaphorically. Black hairstyles, on the other hand, have sometimes been the subject of racist comment or debate. Hair care has provided many black women a sense of agency and been an important vehicle of self-expression.

For them, salon closures have hit especially hard.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

Since 2002, Renee Dupree has visited San Franciscos Hair Play salon every six to eight weeks to get touch-ups to her relaxed hair. One of her last outings before sheltering in place was her hair appointment. Now shes on the cusp of her touch-up timeline, but her salon remains closed.

Dupree researched how to apply a relaxer at home, but the thought of potentially burning my hair off just so that it would be straight seemed kind of ridiculous. Now, she is considering transitioning back to natural hair, but she feels she wouldnt be able to take the right steps--like doing a Big Chop of her relaxed hair  at home and without guidance from her hairdresser.

Dupree sometimes worries that shes being vain, but ultimately believes her hair is a matter of well-being. So much emotional energy goes into your hair to begin with, she says. So to be in a position where youre forced to make a decision about something that, for some people is really so small, but for you hasnt been, is hard. On TV last month, she watched a protest against the stay-at-home orders in Wisconsin; a white woman hoisted a sign that read, I want a haircut! The stakes are higher than that for her, says Dupree. Yours gets a little long, mine could break off and fall out, so lets recalibrate your need to get a haircut right now.

At the heart of the issue is a difficult question: What is an essential service? Recently, more than 60,000 people across California signed a petition urging Gov. Newsom to allow salons, spas and barbershops to reopen on April 27 with heightened restrictions and sanitation practices. It called for the professional beauty industry to be recognized & deemed as an essential business so we can better serve our community.

That date came and went with no word. Although Bay Area public health officials relaxed some shelter-in-place rules last week, they had not, as of press time, allowed salons to reopen.

Essential to them is not what is essential to us, says salon owner Barnett, referring to local authorities.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

The shutdown has put salon owners in a difficult position. Barnett has applied for several forms of state and private economic relief, and she has even started a GoFundMe campaign to pay rent, but has not yet received assistance. As funds dwindle, she and other owners face difficult decisions. They could accept their losses; break the law and provide in-home services to clients; or find some other source of income.

You want to follow the rules and you dont want to get anyone sick or bring anything back to your family, but the thought of losing your home or car or having nothing to eat is a stressful thing, says Bee Wade, a stylist who works with Barnett. Do I want to be sick or do I want to be homeless?

To get by, salon owner Qiana Newton has turned to full-time wig-making. I still have rent, I have bills to pay, I have a car note. I have everything and Ive been locked out of the (salons) building, Newton says. (Her business, House of Qiana, is among those at Sola Salon Studio in Castro Valley.) Theres also her daughters college tuition and financial support for several family members. Newton is girding herself for a long period of sleepless nights, making enough wigs to support everyone.

For now, stylists continue to hope that authorities ease the restrictions for their salons. For those who can sustain another few weeks or months, another giant question looms: How will salons look when stylists and clients come back  assuming they will even want to. At Knotz and Tanglez, are Friday nights ever going to be the same?

Ikya Kandula is a freelance writer in Oakland. Email: culture@sfchronicle.com
(Alliance News) - Low-cost African airline fastjet PLC said Friday it has continued to suspend flight operations as the lockdowns in South African and Zimbabwe have extended their respective lockdowns.

The company is still looking to raise funds to continue operations, with measures including the potential sale of its fastjet Zimbabwe subsidiary to an investor consortium led by Solenta Aviation Holdings, as well as the sale of one its aircraft.

Currently, fastjet said that based on financial projections, funds available and revised creditor terms, it expects to be able to continue meeting its operational needs until the end of July.

As at April 22, fastjet had cash reserves of GBP1.9 million, of which GBP400,000 is in Zimbabwe.

In addition, fastjet has negotiated a USD600,000 loan facility with Solenta, to aid the company with its working capital.

Shares in fastjet closed 21% lower at 0.095 pence on Friday in London.

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Many of our Frontline Families cant even be on the front line when America needs them most."

The National Military Family Association (NMFA) and Humana Military are joining to respond to the needs of Americas Frontline Families this #GivingTuesdayNow. Together, they will provide critical support for military spouses in medical and mental health professions whose families serve the nation.

These are our Frontline Families: battling COVID-19 at home and protecting America abroad.

Frontline Families face unique challengeslong periods of separation due to military deployments and training, moving every two to three years, and a continual cycle of leaving their newly-developed support systems behind.

Like many American families, most military families rely on two incomes, but for working military spouses the job search starts anew every few years. For the 34% who work in fields requiring licensure and certification like nursing and mental health, the hiring process is long and cost prohibitive. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, this means that some military spouses who work in the health field are sidelined.

Many of our Frontline Families cant even be on the front line when America needs them most, said Ashish Vazirani, Executive Director and CEO of the National Military Family Association. Licenses can cost up to $5,000, and many spouses are forced to apply for new credentials every time they move with the military. Our country and their communities lose out.

Humana Military, a longtime supporter of health and well-being among military families, knows how valuable these Frontline Families are for America.

As a TRICARE health partner for more than twenty years, Humana Military knows that Americas Frontline Families power not only our military but also our healthcare systems and communities at home. Its vital to ensure that military spouses have the resources and training they need to thrive, said Brent Densford, President of Humana Military. Thats why were proud to match every #GivingTuesdayNow donation to the National Military Family Association dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000.

#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity, set to take place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. The day is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropic activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.

The National Military Family Association and Humana Military are pleased to come together this #GivingTuesdayNow for a giving campaign to support Americas Frontline Families. To learn more or donate, visit https://www.militaryfamily.org/giving-tuesday-now.

About NMFA

The National Military Family Association is the leading nonprofit dedicated to serving the families who stand behind the uniform. Since 1969, NMFA has worked to strengthen and protect millions of families through its advocacy and programs. They provide spouse scholarships, camps for military kids, and retreats for families reconnecting after deployment and for the families of the wounded, ill, or injured. NMFA serves the families of the currently serving, veteran, retired, wounded or fallen members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA, and Space Force. To get involved or to learn more, visit http://www.MilitaryFamily.org.

About Humana Military

Humana Military, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Humana Inc., partners with the Department of Defense to administer the TRICARE health program for military members, retirees and their families in the East Region. For more than 20 years, Humana Military has strived to create better health outcomes and simplified experiences for millions of beneficiaries across the United States through TRICARE and other military healthcare programs. High-quality service, cost-effective platforms and progressive approaches to care drive Humana Military to be a thought leader in the industry and an essential partner to the government.

#GivingTuesdayNow is organized by GivingTuesday, in partnership with its global network of leaders, partners, communities and generous individuals. GivingTuesday is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.
Disney has started developing a live-action remake of its 1997 animated feature "Hercules".

Anthony and Joe Russo of "Avengers: Endgame" fame will produce the project for the studio through their production house, AGBO.

Disney has hired Dave Callaham, the scribe of "The Expendables" and upcoming "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", to pen the script for the live-action remake, reported Variety.

The original film, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, was inspired by the legendary hero Heracles, the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology.

In the movie, Hercules (voiced by Tate Donovan) is snatched as a baby by Hades and forced to live among mortals as a half-man, half-god.

Veteran actors Danny DeVito and James Wood had also voice starred in the movie.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After weeks of uncertainty, Bolivias opposition-controlled parliament approved a law late on Thursday calling for the presidential election to be held within 90 days.

The move was condemned by the countrys interim government, which delayed the May 3 elections after putting the country under strict lockdown measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For weeks no new date had been set for an election that was meant to be a rerun of the October vote, which gave a narrow fourth-term victory to left-wing leader Evo Morales. The results were fraught with allegations of fraud, sparking violence and protests that led to the resignation of Morales, who fled the country and said he was the victim of an orchestrated coup. The results were later annulled, and Morales was barred from running again.

Thursdays measure, ushered in by legislative assembly members from Moraless Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, which holds a majority in the congress, mandates that elections must be held before August 2.

Interim President Jeanine Anez, who is a candidate in the upcoming elections, immediately decried the move, accusing MAS presidential candidate Luis Arce of putting the lives of Bolivians at risk in an attempt to regain control of the country.

In Bolivia, voting is mandatory and forcing almost six million people to move on the street in a single day and in the midst of a pandemic will bring thousands and thousands of infections, and this can generate hundreds of fatalities, Anez said in a statement.

Public health workers using disinfectant to clean a street with graffiti on the floor reading: Stay home, take care of your family in La Paz, Bolivia [Manuel Claure/Reuters]

Raul Penaranda, a journalist and political analyst based in the capital La Paz, said MASs latest move is a show of force for the government, and a rejection of its harsh quarantine measures.

This shows an attempt by MAS to polarise the country and to directly confront the government, Penaranda told Al Jazeera.

It also shows that they are rejecting the governments rhetoric and harsh restrictions on movement, he said.

The once-bustling streets of the countrys main cities were left deserted, after Anez suspended public transport and imposed stay-at-home orders that allow residents to leave their homes only once a week. The restrictions have severely affected an economy that is largely based on informal work.

Lockdown measures are expected to remain in place until at least May 10. Stay-at-home restrictions in parts of the country little affected by the pandemic will be relaxed starting May 11, Anez announced in a televised address on Wednesday.

Bolivias interim President Jeanine Anez speaking during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in La Paz, Bolivia [File: David Mercado/Reuters]

Bolivia has 1,167 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 62 deaths from the disease, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Analysts say the delay in elections and the suspension of campaigning events has benefited Anez, a conservative former senator who is hoping to use the crisis in order to showcase her credentials.

On April 15, her government announced it would send each family a cash transfer of $75 for every child enrolled in a public school.

Anezs party has been campaigning with state resources, said Jorge Derpic, assistant professor in sociology, Latin American and Caribbean studies at the University of Georgia.

The opportunity in the limelight, however, could also backfire, analysts say.

The government is also the one that could get hit the hardest by this crisis if they dont do things well and people start protesting, Derpic told Al Jazeera, they could lose all the support they have amassed so far.

There are also signs that Anez, whose government has been accused of authoritarianism and excessive use of military force, is using the delay to clamp down on civil liberties, rights groups say. On March 25, she issued a decree that included a provision that criminalises non-compliance with government measures to combat COVID-19 and punishes misinformation.

The Bolivian government appears to be taking advantage of the pandemic to give itself the power to punish anyone who publishes information the government deems incorrect, in violation of free speech protections, said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales speaking to the presidential candidate for the Movement to Socialism party (MAS) Luis Arce during a meeting of their party, in Buenos Aires, Argentina [File: Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

There are eight candidates officially registered in the first-round vote, but the presidential contest is expected to largely be a three-way race between Luis Arce, Moraless former minister of economics, Carlos Mesa, a former president, and Anez.

Despite widespread discontent over Moraless insistence on running for a fourth term last year, and signs of fracturing within the party, MAS remains the most popular party in Bolivia with a deep, loyal base  and a clear political agenda.

In an opinion poll conducted in March, a third of respondents said they support the MAS, while 18 percent said they would vote for Mesa. Anezs party came in third with 16.5 percent of the votes.

Filipe Carvalho, an analyst with the Eurasia Group says the coronavirus will provide a net neutral outcome for both the MAS and Anez.

Anez now has the opportunity to show competence in responding to the virus, Carvalho told Al Jazeera.

This can be an advantage, he said. But at the same time it puts her under scrutiny to demonstrate how she can respond to the crisis.

For Penaranda, this latest development is likely to play in MASs favour, since government lockdowns have disproportionately affected the countrys working-class and poor, the partys stronghold.

A popular sector that supports MAS is very affected by the quarantine because they cannot go to work, Penaranda said. There is genuine desperation.
We talked about the differences between in-person and virtual, and there are pros and cons to both, said Kelly Gleischman, managing partner at EdFuel, a national organization that is hosting the event and helps recruit and retain education employees. People are excited about it. They can do it from their own home. The downsides are that you dont have that face-to-face interaction. But in the time of covid, I think people are okay with it.
SPRINGFIELD  In its fifth round of funding through the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts has awarded $500,000 to 26 nonprofits.

The money, which came from the statewide Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund, will support organizations providing meals and food, assistance to survivors of domestic abuse, and emergency shelter during the coronavirus emergency.

Gov. Charlie Baker and first lady Lauren Baker announced the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund in April, and Lauren Baker is spearheading the effort. The funds mission is to respond to the crisis statewide, and is focused on supporting vulnerable populations and essential workers.

To date, the Community Foundations Response Fund has raised $4.2 million from 25 businesses and foundations, nearly 400 individuals and families, and the statewide Relief Fund.

With the latest round of funding, the Community Foundation has now awarded $1.8 million in grants.

The nonprofits receiving grants in the latest round of funding are:

Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke (meals and food)

Caring Health Center, Springfield (basic needs and medical supplies)

Center for New Americans, Northampton (basic needs assistance, utility and housing stability)

Clinical & Support Options for the Friends of the Homeless, Springfield (emergency shelter)

Community Action, Greenfield (diapers and basic needs)

Community Health Center of Franklin County, Greenfield (COVID testing)

Craigs Doors, Amherst (emergency shelter)

Enlace de Familias, Holyoke (food, personal care, basic needs)

Gandara Mental Health Center, West Springfield (basic needs, PPE, transportation, housing stability)

Greater Springfield Senior Services, Springfield (meals and food)

Grow Food Northampton (food distribution)

Highland-Valley Elder Services, Florence (PPE)

Hilltown Community Health Centers, Worthington (basic needs, medical supplies)

Holyoke Health Center (medical services)

LifePath, Greenfield (meals and food)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services, Springfield (meals and food)

New England Learning Center for Women in Transition, Greenfield (assistance to survivors of domestic violence)

New North Citizens Council, Springfield (basic needs, utility, housing stability)

Northampton Survival Center (food distribution)

Providence Ministries for the Needy, Holyoke (meals and food)

Safe Passage, Northampton (assistance to victims and survivors of domestic violence)

ServiceNet, Northampton (emergency shelter)

Survival Centers, Amherst Survival Center (meals and food)

WestMass ElderCare, Holyoke (meals and food)

Womanshelter Companeras, Holyoke (domestic violence intervention, sheltering)

YWCA of Western Massachusetts, Springfield (personal protective equipment for residents, staff)

How to give

Donations can be made online at communityfoundation.org or by mail to The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, 333 Bridge St., Springfield, MA 01103

Related content:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Domestic travels will help stimulate the country's tourism for the rest of the year, said the Department of Tourism in a Laging Handa virtual briefing on Friday.

Ang nakikita natin, ang magi-initiate ng movement dito, domestic tourists," said Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. "Mag-uumpisa yan mga domestic travel. Medyo mga short distances muna. Siguro, by land lang muna; and then, siguro, 'yung mga kasama mo, mga pamilya mo, or at least mga kilala mo, kabisado mo 'yung travel history.

[Translation: What we foresee is that domestic tourists will initiate the movement. It will start with domestic travel within short distances at first. Perhaps trips will be by land first; and youll possibly travel with your families or at least people you know personally, along with their travel history.]

The observation was made under the assumption that the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ) have been lifted, and tourism enterprises have begun operating again.

Bengzon added that the DOT estimated a 35 percent plunge in tourism revenues from January to March, with the decline in foreign arrivals amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Baka nasa 85 billion lang ang na-generate natin compared to about 134 billion for the first three months of last year, so malaki po talaga ang impact nito, he said.

[Translation: Perhaps we only generated 85 billion compared to about 134 billion for the first three months of last year, so its impact is really big.]

The country expanded its travel ban on March 12 due to the pandemic to include countries with local transmissions of COVID-19. Only Filipino citizens, their foreign spouses and children, and permanent residents and holders of diplomatic visas are allowed entry into the country.

Bengzon said 43 billion has been set aside for the department in the financial stimulus package bill filed in Congress, which aims to help the government in responding to the crisis.

READ: House seeks more time deliberating proposed COVID-19 response bill

He said approximately 36 billion will be used in to assist tour operators, travel agents, and other tourism enterprises.

[Sila] po ang katulong natin na magpo-promote, magma-market ng Pilipinas, eventually," Bengzon said. "So ang priority po natin, to help them by way of working capital, at saka, du'n po sa wage subsidies."

[Translation: They are our partners to promote, and eventually, to market the Philippines. So our priority is to assist them by way of working capital and wage subsidies.]

Up to tour operators, travel agencies to sell packages

The DOT pointed out that tour packages may be sold by travel agencies and operators amid the quarantine, but they should take note of the restrictions.

'Yung decision kung magbebenta ng mga tour packages, nasa tour operator 'yan or travel agent," Bengzon said. "But we have to keep in mind na may travel restrictions pa sa mga Pilipino na palabas. Tapos, du'n naman sa mga inbound tourists, 'yung mga foreign governments, may travel restrictions din sila papunta ng Pilipinas.

[Translation: Its the discretion of the operators and travel agencies, whether or not they will sell tour packages. But we have to keep in mind that there are existing travel restrictions for Filipinos going out of the country. Foreign governments have also imposed the same for tourists coming to the Philippines.]

The rule also applies to hotels, said Bengzon.

Ang balita nga namin, some hotels are accepting forward bookings towards the end of the year, in the hope that everything will normalize by the end of 2020, he disclosed.

[Translation: We got word that some hotels are already accepting forward bookings, in the hope that everything will be back to normal by the end of 2020.]

In a related development, the DOT said it is currently arranging return flights for some 2,200 local tourists, who were stranded in some provinces and municipalities following the implementation of the ECQ.

But the stranded tourists will have to coordinate with the department to be able to fly back to the countrys capital, it noted.

[Ibigay] 'yung personal details [nila], 'yung contact details [nila]; at saka, ang mahalaga rito, maipakita [nila] 'yung confirmed return ticket [nila] pabalik ng Maynila, kasi 'yan ang magpapatunay na talagang naka-schedule na [sila] bumalik, Bengzon said.

[Translation: They need to give their personal details, their contact details; and most of all, they have to present their confirmed return ticket, because such will serve as proof that they were indeed scheduled to go back to Manila.]

The DOT has so far assisted around 24,000 foreign tourists through its sweeper flights, according to the Tourism undersecretary.

Nag-arrange po kami ng tinatawag na sweeper flights para maibalik 'yung mga stranded foreigners sa iba't-ibang lugar sa Pilipinas, [o] papunta ng Manila, kung saan kumuha sila ng international connection nila pabalik sa kanilang bansa, he said. "Yung ibang sweeper flights, du'n na nanggagaling mismo sa international gateways, katulad ng Cebu.

[Translation: We have arranged sweeper flights to help stranded foreigners go back to some areas in the Philippines, or Manila, where they reached out to their international connections to be able to return to their respective countries. But there are some sweeper flights that have come directly from international gateways, like Cebu.]

The Tourism Department began extending assistance to stranded domestic and foreign tourists in March, following the restrictions on road, rail, maritime, and aviation transport amid the national public health emergency.

On April 24, the Philippine government moved to extend the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and all other high-risk areas in the country until May 15.
Helena Bonham Carter was seen braving the rain as she stepped out for some essentials amid the coronavirus pandemic on Friday afternoon.

The Crown actress, 53, wrapped up warm in a black padded jacket and a red tie dye scarf while out and about in London near her home.

Helena was sporting a black dress over a pair of leggings, teamed with a pair of chunky black trainers with a white platform.

Stepping out: Helena Bonham Carter was seen braving the rain as she stepped out for some essentials amid the coronavirus pandemic on Friday afternoon

The star had her hands full as she carried two plastic bags full of shopping, as she returned home following a trip to the supermarket.

Helena also managed to balance an umbrella in her hand, as she shielded herself from the rain during her walk.

The Harry Potter actress opted for light touches of make-up and wore her locks up with a selection of pretty hair clips.

Cosy: The Crown actress, 53, wrapped up warm in a black padded jacket and a red tie dye scarf while out and about in London near her home

In recent weeks Helena has been spotted out with her toyboy beau Rye Dag Holmboe, 32, who she is currently isolating with.

After meeting the writer, Helena gushed in late 2019 that their romance has been 'a bit of unexpected magic in my life'.

Helena shares son Billy, 16, and 12-year-old daughter Nell with her ex Tim Burton, 61. The Cinderella star had a famously unconventional 13-year relationship with director Tim which ended in 2014.

On finally moving on from Tim, the Enid star - who previously dated Irish actor Kenneth Branagh between 1994 and 1999 - admitted she grew tired of 'grieving' their relationship, and now leads a 'happy' life with her new boyfriend.

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar UK, the thespian shared: 'You break up, you grieve, you get bored of grieving. And then you finally move on...

'I'm very happy with someone else. It's been a bit of unexpected magic in my life.'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday an immediate ban on 1,500 models of military-style assault weapon, responding to a mass shooting and arson spree that left 22 people dead.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time," Trudeau told a news briefing.

"There is no use, and no place for such weapons in Canada," said Trudeau.

The killing spree, the worst in Canadian history, began on the night of April 18 in Nova Scotia and led to a 13-hour manhunt for the shooter, who was eventually shot dead by police.

Police have said the assailant, identified as 51-year-old denturist Gabriel Wortman- had several guns with him and at least one was an assault-style weapon.

Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty for people who currently own assault-style weapons to protect them from liability, and parliament will eventually pass legislation to compensate them for turning in their guns.

But from now on, he said, "it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country."
The light is still more orange than green but the NRL on Friday cleared some significant hurdles in its quest for a May 28 season return.

It was another dramatic day as League Central pushed on with plans to return to the field in just four weeks time, which started with a phone hook-up between ARL Commission chair Peter V'landys and senior players.

Just one day after the Warriors declared they would not travel to Australia until a pay agreement was reached, V'landys talked the Auckland club onto the plane bound for Tamworth on Sunday.

That was interpreted as the Warriors being given clearance to fly to Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the national cabinet and Border Force didn't see things that way.
Applications are now open for students and young farmers to apply for this year's NFU Student & Young Farmer Ambassador Programme.

The programme gives young people between the ages of 18 and 26 years the chance to become a leading voice for farming in Britain.

Over the course of one year, ambassadors will have the chance to undertake numerous initiatives.

These include media training, represent British farming at the Lord Mayors Show, attend the NFU Conference, develop their knowledge on a #StudentFarmer trip and guest-edit the magazine.

Applications are now open. Following a first-stage written application, successful candidates will be invited to a final-stage interview on either 15 or 16 July 2020.

NFU next generation forum chairman, Simon Gadd said: The NFUs Ambassador Programme is a fantastic opportunity for our students and young farmers to develop the skills they need to become an influential part of British agriculture.

British farming is on the brink of great change and we need young advocates to tell its story to the nation."

There will be 8-12 people selected for the programme. The NFU will contact successful applicants regarding the next stage mid-July
Top Mobile County health officials on Friday urged residents to be very cautious about the dangers of COVID-19 in a public letter that put the perspective on the pandemics death toll by comparing it to American lives lost in various wars.

During April 2020, COVID-19 has killed more than 2,000 Americans per day on 16 different days. ... Please remember on D-Day, we lost 2,501 Americans on the beaches of France. On April 21, we lost 2,683 to COVID-19 right here in the USA, wrote Mobile County Health Officer Dr. Bernard H. Eichold II and Mobile County Health Department Chief Medical Officer Dr. Laura Cepeda.

The health officials also said the disease caused by the novel coronavirus killed 21,766 people per month, larger than the monthly death rates of the Civil War (13,635), World War I ( 9,709) and World War II (6,756.)

They noted that COVID-19 has killed more Americans in the last three months -- 62,500 -- than the 58,000 Americans killed throughout the Vietnam War.

It is not over, Eichold and Cepeda said of the coronavirus impact. This is a very dangerous disease and it continues to take human lives. Everyone needs to be cautious.

Related: Follow all of our coronavirus coverage. See photos from Auburns reopening, from Giana Han, below.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) walks to her office after signing the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, H.R. 266, after it passed the House on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 24, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

Pelosi Says House of Representatives May Return in 2 Weeks

The House of Representatives could return to the Capitol in two weeks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday.

Shortly after plans were dropped to return to session next week, amid concerns of a growing number of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases in the District of Columbia, Pelosi said that the House may return to the Capitol as soon as the week of May 11.

Were not coming back this week. Our plan is to come back the following week, Pelosi said at a press briefing in the Capitol.

The House, along with the Senate, was set to reconvene on Monday, May 4. However, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House majority leader, announced the reversal of the decision on Tuesday, noting that he spoke with the House physician about legislators coming back.

The Houses physicians view was that there was a risk to members, Hoyer told reporters on April 28. We hope to come back very soon to consider the CARES2 legislation, he added, referring to another stimulus package that is being considered in a bid to offset some economic losses suffered as states have maintained stay-at-home orders.

The House and Senate voted last week to pass a measure that replenished several funds within the $2.2 trillion CARES Act that was passed in late March, punctuated by several lawmakers wearing masks, including Pelosi, on the House floor.

Pelosi told reporters that while the Democratic-majority House of Representatives plans to return to session in two weeks, this could change, noting that lawmakers are at the mercy of the virus.

The Republican-run Senate returns on May 4 after an extended recess.

When asked Thursday about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) decision to reconvene Monday to advance judicial and executive branch nominees, Pelosi responded: Were 430 members, the decision was made on the strength of our numbers and people coming together.

Now, what they advised the Senate, I dont know. They are 100, were four times that.  I cant speak for the Senate, I just know what our responsibility is in the House.

Congress has not met in regular session since last month, though it has passed major CCP virus relief bills worth nearly $3 trillion.

Although the full House is not returning next week, an appropriations committee plans to meet on Wednesday to discuss the governments CCP virus response. Pelosi noted that other smaller panels, such as the House Small Business Committee, could also meet, if members adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.
Many Brazilians have adhered to the government's preventive coronavirus measures as the deadly bugged has killed and sickened more people in the South American nation than in China.

But some residents are now following President Jair Bolsonaro's lead by completely ignoring them even as Brazil has become Latin America's epicenter.

'At first I thought [the shutdown] was viable. Later, I came to think we will have more economic difficulties, with the poverty there is. There should be a different way so we can be free of this,' said Baldomero, speaking Wednesday in front of the shuttered Copacabana Palace hotel.

Egged on by Bolsonaro, who has routinely scoffed at both the virus and stay-at-home policies, Brazilians like Baldomero are heeding his call for revolt.

Divina Baldomero looked out the window at Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach under a cloudless sky Wednesday and decided to take her first stroll in 40 days.

The 75-year-old restaurant owner had followed her state's governor's call to stay home to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has registered 6,017 deaths and 87,364 infections compared to China's 4,512 deaths and 83,958 sickened people. Experts consider both figures to be significant under-counts due to a lack of widespread testing.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro (pictured with his wife Michelle Bolsonaro) has often minimized the coronavirus' effect in his nation despite causing 6,017 deaths and 87,364 infections, by far eclipsing China's totals 4,512 deaths and 83,958 sickened people

Fernando Ferreira (right), a retired dentist and lawyer, recommended reading the Bible and Albert Camus' The Plague, citing them as evidence pandemics, like COVID-19, have always happened to some degree. He is among a long list of Brazilians who side with President Jair Bolsonaro and said restrictions on commerce are 'absurd'

A man exercises on a bench despite Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach being closed as a preventive measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus

Support for isolation is faltering, particularly among the wealthy, and more people are milling and mixing.

From the sun-worshipers to the Instagram influencers and pro-Bolsonaro protesters, denial is spreading and quarantine is coming apart. But, unlike other countries looking to ease restrictions, Latin America's largest nation is still weeks from the peak in its viral curve.

Bolsonaro argued that the economy needs to get back to work in a national address at the end of March, when he referred to the coronavirus as 'a little flu' and said his history as an athlete would protect him.

Since then, he has doubled down time and again, saying only high-risk Brazilians need to be isolated.

Asked about the grim milestone Bolsonaro responded, 'So what? I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?'

Personal trainer Gabriela Pugliesi would seemingly have little reason to question risks posed by the virus. The 34-year-old was infected last month at her sister's wedding. Several other guests also contracted COVID-19 at the five-star resort with beachfront bungalows.

Coughing and feverish - yet no less bronzed and blonde - Pugliesi repeatedly told her 4.5 million followers on Instagram to stay home and take care of themselves. She recovered in late March, and on Saturday threw a party at her apartment in Sao Paulo, the epicenter of Brazil's outbreak. No one wore masks and in one video Pugliesi posted, she and friends shouted 'Screw life!' into the camera.

Flouting isolation drew an immediate backlash and more than 100,000 people unfollowed her. She also lost about a dozen sponsors, who also bailed on her influencer guests.

Tata Werneck, a TV talk show host, was a fierce critic.

'My cousin is a doctor and arrived home in tears. They already have to choose who to save,' Werneck posted on Pugliesi's account. 'This behavior of yours, even more so because you have so many followers ... is inadmissible.'

Pugliesi apologized then suspended her Instagram account. She didn't respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Neighbors cover the the body of Luiz Carlos Da Rocha as he lies on a street where he dropped dead Tuesday in the Rio de Janeiro slum of Alemao Complex. After more than 12 hours on the street the body of Da Rocha, who the family said suffered from epilepsy, had not been picked up by authorities. Military police said they only can remove corpses in cases of violent death

An elderly woman pulls a grocery cart filled with food donated by a non-governmental agency amid coronavirus pandemic in the Rio de Janeiro slum of Mandela. Many of the residents who are informal workers are receiving food donations as they are unable to work because of the widespread shutdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19

Others in Sao Paulo and elsewhere are defying social distancing, albeit more discreetly. Local authorities said in multiple news conferences that some bars in poor areas are welcoming clients behind closed doors, and police have been called to end gatherings in isolated spots.

On Thursday, the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro extended restrictions on activity and gatherings until May 11. Sao Paulo had previously extended them until May 10. The two states have the largest virus incidence.

Still, a poll by Datafolha showed 52 percent of people surveyed believe even those who don't belong to at-risk groups - the elderly and people with chronic illness - should remain in isolation, down from 60 percent at the start of the month. Among the wealthiest, support for continued quarantine is just 39 percent.

Bolsonaro's hard-core base has staged rallies to shore up support for their leader's views, most recently on Sunday in the capital, Brasilia. Many of the several hundred demonstrators draped themselves in the Brazilian flag, and the few face masks were in the national colors of green and yellow. Most neglected to use masks altogether, even as they shouted into a shared bullhorn.

Not all of Bolsonaro's ministers have fallen into lock-step behind him, but those who don't do so risk losing their jobs.

Luiz Henrique Mandetta, his former health minister, strongly supported the restrictions imposed by state governors and his handling of the crisis was widely praised. But earlier this month, Bolsonaro fired him and appointed Nelson Teich, who has said he sees eye-to-eye with the president.

The family of Carmen Valeria watch her remains as they were placed into a niche by cemetery workers at the Iraja cemetery in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. The family suspects the 76-year-old died from COVID-19

Water utility workers from CEDAE disinfect in the Vidigal favela, which overlooks the oceanfront Leblon and Ipanema neighborhoods, in an effort to curb the spread of new coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro

A health worker holds a photo of a person he said was his colleague, who died of COVID-19, at a protest outside 'Pronto Socorro 28 de Agosto' Hospital in Manaus on Monday. Cases are overwhelming hospitals, morgues and cemeteries across Brazil as Latin America's largest nation veers closer to becoming one of the world's pandemic hot spots

And what do the morning walkers in Copacabana and beach-side Barra da Tijuca, Rio's two hardest-hit neighborhoods, say?

Walking along Barra, not far from Bolsonaro's personal home, 76-year-old Fernando Ferreira, recommended reading the Bible and Albert Camus 'The Plague,' saying they are evidence that pandemics have always happened in history.

The retired dentist and lawyer said local governments' restrictions on commerce are 'absurd.' He pointed to how France is moving to ease its isolation measures, without acknowledging that the European nation's viral curve, unlike Brazil's, has begun to plateau.

Lilia Santiago, a 51-year-old dentist, was ambling with her 77-year-old mother. She insisted forcing everyone to stay home amounts to 'buffoonery,' particularly as poor people in Brazil often live in close quarters under the same roof.

'People at risk, with respiratory problems, auto-immune diseases, should take care, which doesn't mean they can't go out,' Santiago said. 'We can't be locked inside an apartment or house. We need to circulate, but safely.'

'You don't stand next to someone with a cold. Same thing,' she said, echoing Bolsonaro's belittling of the virus' dangers. 'Flu kills more than coronavirus, folks! A lot of things kill more than coronavirus!'

Cemetery workers in protective clothing bury a person who died of COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo on Thursday

A woman walks on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Rejection of quarantine to help contain the spread of COVID-19 is evident among the people soaking up sunshine in the beachside neighborhoods of Copacabana and Barra da Tijuca
In a country with a low literacy rate, art can help spread important information about how to stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak

Humanitarian agencies in Senegal are this week distributing aid as part of an early response to food shortage, which has been caused by the late onset of rainfall last year AU insurance agency, the African Risk Capacity (ARC), has announced.

According to an ARC press statement, the $10.6m are being funded through an insurance policy issued by the agency, based on pre-agreed scientific triggers.

They are part of the $23.1 payouts made to the Government of Senegal and StartNetwork last November to provide early support to those affected by drought during the 2019 agricultural season.

This early action, the statement explained, will help alleviate suffering and reduce the need for the affected populations to resort to negative coping actions such as withdrawing children from schools, eating their seeds, and migrating or selling their farming implements.

The statement said that ARC and Start Network members, including the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Action Against Hunger, Oxfam, Plan International, World Vision and Save the Children, will be acting alongside the Government of Senegal to enable farmers and their families to protect livestock and other valuable assets.

More than 200,000 people are to be helped through cash interventions, and even more people through nutrition and agricultural projects.

The different agencies will be operating in different regions, with Action Against Hunger working in Saint-Louis and Matam; CRS in Diourbel; Oxfam in Louga; Plan International in Thies; Save the Children Senegal in Kaffrine and; World Vision in Kolda.

"It is so important that work is starting at this time and that the people of Senegal who are affected or at risk will receive this help before developing negative coping strategies," the statement quoted Aliou Diouf, Start Network's ARC Replica Manager, as saying.

ARC is a specialised agency of the AU governed by and working with the continental union's member states to improve their capacities to better plan and respond to natural disasters and protect the food security of their vulnerable populations.

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The agency was established by a treaty in 2012 to strengthen government-led disaster risk management and financing systems through enhancing capacity on early warning and risk quantification.

With the support of the UK, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France, The Rockefeller Foundation and the US, ARC assists AU member states in reducing the risk of loss and damage caused by extreme weather events affecting Africa's populations by providing disaster risk insurance, targeted responses to natural disasters.

Since 2014, 32 policies have been signed by member states with $73 million paid in premiums for a cumulative insurance coverage of $553 million for the protection of 55 million vulnerable population in participating countries.
Varian Medical Systems Inc.s VAR second-quarter fiscal 2020 results are scheduled to release on May 4, after market close. In the last reported quarter, the companys earnings missed estimates by 4.1%. It has a positive surprise 0.6% for the trailing four quarters, on average.

Lets take a look at how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

Q2 Estimates Picture

Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal second-quarter revenues is pegged at $780.3 million, suggesting growth of 0.1% from the year-ago number. The same for adjusted earnings per share (EPS) stands at $0.8, indicating a year-over-year fall of 20%.

Key Catalysts

Varians solid Oncology platform is expected to have driven fiscal second-quarter performance. Particularly, the Protons Solutions business is likely to have driven growth during the quarter.

Notably, Varians key radiotherapy solutions  Eclipse and TrueBeam  are currently seeing robust demand from healthcare vendors.

Recently, the company was selected by Penn Medicine to install an additional ProBeam 360 system in a single-room configuration at the Lancaster General Health Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute.

The Eclipse Treatment Planning software and ARIA Oncology Information system have been recently picked by China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan along with its ProBeam 360 system.

However as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic intensified around late-February, overall revenues within the Oncology segment are expected to have been impacted during the quarter.

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Quote

The Halcyon Platform is also expected to have contributed to sales in the to-be-reported quarter.

The CTSI acquisition, which was integrated into the Oncology unit in 2019, is expected to have continued contributing to the topline during the fiscal second quarter. Moreover, with the takeovers of Endocare, Alicon and Boston Scientifics microspheres portfolio, Varian has likely strengthened its Interventional Oncology Solutions arm during the to-be-reported quarter.

Story continues

In January 2020, the company signed an agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital for seven Varian radiotherapy systems. While five of the systems will replace non-Varian systems, one will replace an existing Varian system and another one will be installed in a new vault.

In December 2019, the company received an order for seven TrueBeam machines with six IDENTIFY systems at the National Cancer Center in Singapore. The company also received an order for one Edge system and two VitalBeam systems at the National University Hospital, Singapore.In Brazil, the company received eight orders for Halcyon in the first fiscal quarter. Varian has also been cementing its leadership position in China lately.

These developments are expected to get reflected in the fiscal second-quarter performance.

However, Varian has been facing headwinds in Japan which are likely to have impacted the companys APAC revenues in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Quantitative Model Suggests

Per our proven model, a combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see.

Earnings ESP: Varian has an Earnings ESP of -7.32%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: It carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks Worth a Look

Here are a few medical stocks worth considering as they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around.

Aurora Cannabis ACB has an Earnings ESP of +9.09% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Aphria Inc. APHA has an Earnings ESP of +35.71% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Exact Sciences Corporation EXAS has an Earnings ESP of +2.28% and a Zacks Rank of 2.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>



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T he High Court is due to give its ruling on the first stage of the Duchess of Sussex's privacy claim against Mail on Sunday today.

Meghan Markle is suing Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, over an article which reproduced parts of a "private and confidential" handwritten letter sent to her estranged father Thomas Markle, 75, in August 2018.

The headline on the article, published in the newspaper and online in February last year, read: Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghans rift with a father she says has broken her heart into a million pieces.

A preliminary hearing in the case was conducted remotely last week, with the judge sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in London and lawyers and reporters attending remotely.

Lawyers for the publisher asked for parts of Meghan's case to be struck out at the preliminary hearing. Mr Justice Warby is due to deliver his ruling on Associated Newspapers application at noon today.

The Duchess of Sussex said the newspaper published intimate details about her relationship with Thomas Markle / Channel 5

During the hearing, the judge was told the letter had been published by Associated Newspapers to satisfy the curiosity of readers, which it had deliberately generated.

Lawyers representing Meghan said the publisher had, through a series of articles, stirred up the dispute between her and her father.

But counsel for the publisher argued allegations by Meghan that the articles were responsible for causing the dispute between them are objectionable.

Antony White QC said Meghans contention that her vulnerable father was harassed and humiliated, manipulated and exploited should not form part of her case.

David Sherborne, representing the duchess, accused the publisher of stirring up a dispute between Meghan and her father, and argued it caused the very dispute that it says, justifies the publication of this letter.

In written documents prepared for the hearing, Mr Sherborne said no consent was sought from the duchess in advance of the articles being published.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex farewell tour - In pictures 1 /37 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex farewell tour - In pictures The Mountbatten Music Festival Getty Images The Endeavour Fund Awards Samir Hussein/WireImage Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey AFP via Getty Images The Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham PA The National Theatres Immersive Storytelling Studio The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Chris Allerton The Silverstone Experience PA Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey Getty Images The Endeavour Fund Awards Samir Hussein/WireImage The Endeavour Fund Awards AP The Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham PA The Mountbatten Music Festival POOL/AFP via Getty Images The National Theatres Immersive Storytelling Studio The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Chris Allerton The Silverstone Experience AFP via Getty Images The Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham Getty Images The Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham via Reuters Abbey Road Studios @sussexroyal Abbey Road Studios @sussexroyal The Endeavour Fund Awards Getty Images The Endeavour Fund Awards PA The Endeavour Fund Awards Getty Images The Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham PA Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey Getty Images The Mountbatten Music Festival AP A sustainable tourism summit at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre PA Abbey Road Studios Jeremy Selwyn The Endeavour Fund Awards Getty Images The Endeavour Fund Awards AFP via Getty Images Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey AFP via Getty Images

He claimed this was a deliberate decision taken by the publisher to avoid risk of her seeking to prevent publication, and also to secure the enormous scoop with such a highly sensational story.

Mr Sherborne also said the publisher deliberately misled the public by presenting a false picture of the letter.

He said it did this by leaving out parts of it which demonstrate the claimants care for her father and others, as well as her concern about the UK tabloid media exploiting her father, and the fact that she addresses untruths previously published by the defendant.

Mr White, for the publisher, argued that some of the allegations made by Meghan are irrelevant and not made with a proper legal basis.

In written documents, Mr White said the duchess alleges the publisher was one of the tabloid newspapers which had been deliberately seeking to dig or stir up issues between her and her father.

He said: This is an allegation of seriously improper deliberate, i.e. intentional, conduct to the effect that the defendants motive was to seek to manufacture or stoke a family dispute for the sake of having a good story or stories to publish.

Mr White argued that such complex tests of mental state of the publisher are irrelevant to the claim for misuse of private information.

He added: In this context it appears that the claimant has seen fit to put these allegations on the record without having spoken to Mr Markle, verifying these allegations with him or obtaining his consent (she admits  that she has had no contact with him since the wedding).

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently announced they were stepping back from their Royal duties / Getty Images

It is therefore highly unlikely that she has any credible basis for these allegations of impropriety towards him, or that proper particulars could be given.

Mr White also took issue with the duchesss allegation that the publisher acted dishonestly when deciding which parts of her letter to her father to publish.

He added: It is extremely common for the media to summarise or edit documents when reporting current events, and that is not a basis for an allegation of dishonesty.

It is open to the claimant to say, as she does, that the presentation of the letter was misleading  which is firmly denied  but there is no basis for her to allege that anyone working for the defendant was dishonest in the drafting and editing process.

The duchess is seeking damages from Associated Newspapers for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

Meghan has previously said any damages she may be awarded if she wins her case will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.

Associated Newspapers wholly denies the allegations, particularly the claim that the letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning, and says it will hotly contest the case.

It is understood the Duke of Sussex and Meghan listened online to the parts of the hearing conducted by her lawyers.
File Photo

Chandigarh: Asserting that this was not the time to indulge in petty politics, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday appealed to the Opposition parties not to trigger panic among people by spreading misinformation about the Covid pandemic in the state, but to work unitedly with his government to overcome this unprecedented crisis.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain AmarinderIn an televised address to the people of Punjab, the Chief Minister said there were no mismanagement of the crisis or widespread infections in the state, as was being projected by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Most of the cases now were those that were coming from other states, he said, disclosing that of the new cases reported, only 7 related to local infection while 93 were Punjabis who had come from outside the state.

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The Chief Minister called upon the people not to be worried about the sudden spike in numbers that could be expected over the next few days as more people return to their homes from other states, with the Government of Indias decision to allow the movement of stranded persons.

CoronavirusUrging the opposition to join hands, and work shoulder to shoulder with his government, in the interest of Punjab and its people, the Chief Minister said we have a war at our hands, and it is time not to score brownie points but to show unity.

Citing the example of the appointment of Labour leader Clement Attlee as deputy PM by then Conservative UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, when faced with war against Germany, Captain Amarinder said wars can only be fought and won unitedly. Pointing out that Punjab is going through a difficult time, Captain Amarinder underlined the need for all to work together to save the state and its people. It is a war of Punjab and for its people, he said.

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In an apparent reference to the oppositions criticism of his governments handling of the Covid situation, the Chief Minister said nobody wants to hear negative things at this critical time. People are already going through very negative times, and want to hear positive things and good news, he added.

Warning of possible escalation in the number of Covid cases as more and more stranded Punjabis return from other states, in the wake of easing of norms by the Centre, the Chief Minister appealed to the people not to be afraid of quarantine, which was just a means to ensure that the returnees do not spread the infection among their families, neighbours or others. Quarantine is nothing but a way to keep those coming back to Punjab in isolation while they are tested and given a clean chit by the doctors, said Captain Amarinder, making it clear that every person returning to the state would be kept in institutional quarantine as a preventive measure.

CoronavirusAmid reports of certain people sneaking through the borders to get back home, the Chief Minister appealed to all not to resort to such dangerous measures but to come in through proper channels, with due screening, testing and quarantining. This, he said, was imperative to keep the situation in Punjab under control, as had been done so far, largely on account of the decision to go for curfew early. Nobody will be allowed to go to their home without the mandatory quarantine and doctors clearance, he declared.

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While every Punjabi was welcome to come back home, and those from other states would be facilitated in their return, this needed to be done properly, to ensure that there is no further spread of the coronavirus, said the Chief Minister. On the return of people of other states stranded in Punjab, he said the concerned states would have to make arrangements or the Government of India would have to arrange special trains, given the large numbers involved.

The Chief Minister also appealed to the people to take all due precautions, including wearing of masks, hand hygiene and social distancing, when they step out during the period of relaxation, which he had announced two days ago. These relaxations, aimed at providing some relief to the people, would start falling in place over the next couple of days as the respective DCs finalise their area-wise plans for opening of select shops, by rotation, he assured the people, calling upon them to follow all advice/guidelines given by doctors and expert to prevent the spread of the infection.

PhotoMeanwhile, earlier in the day, the Chief Minister hoisted the national flag, in line with the Punjab Congress partys decision to observe May Day in solidarity with the Corona Warriors, and also as a mark of protest against the Centres discrimination against the state in the matter of extending support to it in the battle against Covid.

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May Day is an occasion to celebrate the toil & sacrifice of our entire working-class population. We ow the progress made by our Nation to all the industrial workers. And in the midst of #Covid19, we are thankful to our Corona Warriors as well. I salute you all! #Labour Day, he tweeted.
Police in Central River region are currently hunting a woman who was impersonating Vice President Touray of The Republic of The Gambia, The Point has been reliably informed.

Meanwhile, one Babucarr Jobe, who conspired with the woman is in custody and is currently detained at the Bansang Police Station as investigation into the matter continues.

The lady who is currently at large at the time of gathering the report posed as Vice President in an elaborate "marabout fraud' scheme to defraud and extort money amounting to D300, 000 from one Gibril Touray.
Comoros has recorded its first case of coronavirus on Thursday, April 30.

The president of the country, Azali Assoumani, confirmed the case during a nationwide address on Thursday evening. He explained that the patient is a 50-year-old Franco-Comorian who has since been admitted to a hospital.

The patient came into contact with a national with recent travel history to France.

The president also explained that contract tracing is being carried out.

Comoros had earlier closed its borders and placed a curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Nationals are also observing Ramadan with mosques closed although no full lockdown.

Mr Assoumani after confirming the index case said, the priority would now be to shield the healthcare system from overload, which would force the government to adopt even more draconian measures.

He added that while other countries who were hit earlier are preparing to go back to normality, our country is entering a critical phase.

According to Aljazeera, the president did not impose a full lockdown because most of the population live off informal work.

At this stage of the pandemic, we cannot afford to adopt measures that could lead to social and economic drama.

An anonymous health worker told AFP news agency that the index case confirmation came rather late. She also reportedly said: only one positive case? The president is funny. The [real] number is much higher.

This makes the country the 53rd African country to confirm a case of coronavirus. Lesotho is now the only country in the continent without a case.

READ ALSO:

There is now a total of 39,627 confirmed cases in the continent, 12,875 recoveries, and 1,655 deaths.

Egypt has the highest number of cases in Africa with 5,895 cases, followed by South Africa with 5,647, Morocco with 4,529, Algeria with 4,154, and Ghana with 2,074. Nigeria follows closely with over 1900 cases.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zadar Ventures Ltd. (the Company) (ZAD - TSX. V) (ZADDF. - OTCQB) (Frankfurt  ZAV0.F) announces that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with France's largest rural Incubator/Accelerator, UNIQORN, based in Sarlat-la-Caneda, a town located in the Dordogne department of southwestern France. The agreement allows the Company to complete its due diligence and planned acquisition of the previously announced Private French AR/VR/XR company.



About UNIQORN

UNIQORN's mission is to give entrepreneurs and their families their lives back while helping them build game-changing technologies. Companies are provided a complete ecosystem for success, with direct access to proven funding sources, top-notch legal and accounting representation, access to the world's most generous business incentives and a dedicated sales and marketing accelerator.

About XR Technology (under due diligence)

This unique solution removes the barrier to entry for XR and enables businesses and clients to build an engaging brand experience across multiple platforms at an affordable cost. Businesses in any vertical can now engage customers, employees, and clients across any platform with engaging interactive AR and VR content. This means that a business can leverage one single set of assets to build unique e-commerce platforms, presentations, training applications, games, and more - in AR and VR.

Company Chairman Mark Tommasi states, We are excited to work with the talented team at UNIQORN to advance our proposed acquisition of a private French AR/VR/XR solutions Company. This relationship allows us to expedite the due diligence process and will offer invaluable local support in all aspects of the business moving for.

The Company advises that it is in the due diligence phase of its review of this business opportunity, and there is no assurance it will be successful in negotiating a definitive agreement to acquire this business, on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all.

Story continues

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mark Tommasi

Chairman

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain certain forward-looking information. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the companys disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contact:

Mark Tommasi

604-682-1643
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Friday expressed gratitude to all the "corona warriors" who have been working hard to keep all the citizens safe from the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing a press conference, General Rawat said India stands together and shows resilience in dealing with the deadly pandemic. Armed forces are solidly behind those fighting coronavirus pandemic, he said.

"We are expressing our gratitude to all corona warriors who are working hard to keep us safe. Our nation stood together and showed resilience in dealing with coronavirus pandemic," said General Rawat.

In a bid to display gratitude to the corona warriors, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will carry out flypast across the country on May 3, he said. IAF will conduct flypast from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kutch in Gujarat on May 3. The flypast will have transport and fighter aircraft.

The Indian Army will conduct mountain band displays near some COVID-19 hospitals in almost every district to express the strength and gratitude for COVID-19 warriors, he said. The Indian Naval ships will conduct special drill and illuminate vessels to convey gratitude to corona warriors, he added.

"We have seen medical professionals working, nurses, sanitisation workers, police, home guard, delivery boys and media. We can not forget people who followed every guideline, we will win together," he said.

The Armed forces will also lay a wreath on police memorials. Several hospitals will also be showered with petals to show gratitude to the frontline medical workers.

Gen Bipin Rawat asserted that it is not proper to conclude that coronavirus is a result of biological warfare. He also clarified that no operational task has been affected or will be affected due to the COVID-19.

Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said, "We have taken all precautions to prevent troops from the coronavirus. Till now there have been only 14 cases in the Army. Five of them have been cured and are back on duty."

Indian Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said, "We are ready for evacuation from the Gulf and are waiting for orders."
Antioch City Council will meet in a special session Friday to discuss removing an official who called for an end to shelter in place in a social media post, suggesting we as a species need to move forward with our place on Earth and should let the coronavirus kill older and weaker individuals.

Mayor Sean Wright said that city officials and residents have questioned the ability of Planning Commission Chair Ken Turnage II. Wright said he called for the special meeting after Turnage refused to resign.

We wish to emphasize that we remain committed to listening to the publics concerns, and we recognize that we have an obligation to the residents of the City of Antioch to act swiftly to respond to their concerns, Wright said in a statement.

It was not clear how many residents had complained or expressed concern about the remarks.

Turnage did not immediately return inquiries seeking comment Thursday.

The controversy started when Turnage said in a Facebook post on his personal page that the shelter in place needs to end.

Turnage started the post by saying this opinion will not be popular and could easily anger some of you before comparing the virus to a human version of a forest fire, according to a copy of the post obtained by The Chronicle and confirmed by City Clerk Arne Simonsen.

A forest fire will burn through and burn off all the dead trees, old trees, fallen brush and scrub shrub sucklings that drain the resources of the forest and causing it to be unhealthy, he wrote. What happens in a standard forest fire is all these portions of the forest are burned off turned into ash that fertilizes the ground.

Turnage went on to suggest that a significant number of deaths, including of older individuals, would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System, health care cost (once the wave subsided), make jobs available for others and it would also free up housing.

He acknowledged that many could die, including healthy individuals  maybe even myself but that is the way of the World!

Yes I am sorry but this would fix what is a significant burden on our society and resources that can be used, he wrote.

Simonsen told The Chronicle that the comments demonstrated poor judgment and added that Turnage, a plain-speaking kind of guy, could have worded his views differently.

To me it was just unfortunate, Simonsen said, adding that the post was a little hard on older people who he considers himself among. People make mistakes. Maybe Im a little forgiving.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

He called a Turnage a very good man who is well-known and runs a general contracting business. His employees love him to death, said Simonsen, who said he expects Turnage to be removed from his position Friday.

I think it was just a poor choice on his part but if you take his whole life at a whole, he said before listing fundraisers and causes that Turnage has supported. People that know him know that its out of character for him.

As of Thursday, Contra Costa County had recorded 27 COVID-19 deaths and 891 confirmed coronavirus cases.

In his statement, Mayor Wright said city officials are committed to maintaining public confidence and trust in our city government.

As public officials in one of the largest and most diverse cities in Contra Costa County, we are called to serve all residents of Antioch; whether young or old, rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, housed or unhoused, he said.

Alejandro Serrano is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alejandro.serrano@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @serrano_alej
(ISRAEL21c)-Israelis receiving daily coronavirus check-ins via text message can thank local startup Diagnostic Robotics for developing the cutting-edge questionnaire that is tracking the spread of the virus with uncanny precision and generating actionable recommendations.

"Last Saturday night, we saw worrying data coming from Migdal HaEmek, Tiberias and Ashkelon," Kira Radinsky, the company's cofounder and chief technology officer, told ISRAEL21c. "On Monday morning, the government issued a lockdown order in those cities."

Diagnostic Robotics has sent its questionnaire to millions of Israelis, including some 2,000 Covid-19 patients. Some 80 percent of recipients answer it.

"People understand the importance of accurate data for Covid-19 treatment," Radinsky explained.

The company is now "working on a media campaign to help raise awareness even more and keep the numbers high."

Technion all-star team

Diagnostic Robotics is based on a decade of research by the 33-year-old Ukrainian-born Radinsky, one of Israel's top tech stars.

When ISRAEL21c first wrote about Radinsky in 2013, she had just received her PhD from the Technion (in which she enrolled when she was just 15 years old) and was starting her own company, SalesPredict.

SalesPredict was bought by eBay in 2016 and Radinsky was named eBay's director of data science and chief scientist in Israel. She left eBay to cofound Diagnostic Robotics last year.

At the Technion, Radinsky developed software to predict disasters including disease outbreaks, violence and natural catastrophes. The algorithms successfully predicted cholera outbreaks in Angola and Cuba.

Radinsky's years at eBay were focused not on disease but rather on predicting which customers would buy which items. When the opportunity arose to get back into the healthcare space, she didn't hesitate.

Radinsky teamed up with two of her colleagues from the Technion-robotics expert Moshe Shoham and graduate Jonathan Amir-and raised $24 million in 2019. With Amir as CEO, Diagnostic Robotics has a team of 100 data scientists, economists, engineers, doctors and designers.

Triage tool

When Radinsky and her partners were dreaming up Diagnostic Robotics, Covid-19 did not exist.

They intended to use predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to reduce the healthcare load on overcrowded emergency rooms by "directing patients to the most relevant medical setting-the emergency department, urgent care clinic or remote consultation," Radinsky tells ISRAEL21c.

Diagnostic Robotics' software "analyzes a patient's medical history and current medical case using AI and NLP technologies," while integrating "multiple sensory output data," such as blood tests and EKG results, along with "billions of medical records and patient historical records" from around the world.

The system was already up and running with several hospitals and HMOs in Israel when Covid-19 hit. Radinsky and her partners quickly realized that, with just a few tweaks, the same platform could be used to triage patients possibly infected with the novel coronavirus.

"A month before the virus hit us here in Israel, we already decided to adapt our existing systems to track its spread in the country. For the past month and a half, we have been working day and night to put the finishing touches on a digital platform that is a one-stop shop for managing the disease," Radinsky said.

The system, dubbed COVID360, is now integrated with all four of Israel's HMOs and the Magen David Adom system-all for free.

The data collection starts with a link to an anonymous questionnaire, available in Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian and Spanish. Recipients are asked to respond daily.

"The platform analyzes a patient's clinical symptoms and underlying health status, generates a personalized risk profile for Covid-19 and provides next step guidance," Radinsky explained.

For doctors and HMOs, a special dashboard enables remote monitoring and risk assessment.

Sample questions

Among the questions asked: "Have you provided face-to-face service to more than 10 people in the past two weeks?" "Do you have one or more of the following pre-existing conditions?" and "Did you measure your temperature over the last 24 hours?"

COVID360 incorporates additional valuable data sources, such as travel between cities, population density and the distance between areas that can help identify how one city will influence another.

Data on the history of morbidity by region is provided by the Ministry of Health. While the questionnaire doesn't collect any identifying details, such as names or telephone numbers, it does ask users to list what street they live on.

The questionnaire is easiest to access via a web link on a smartphone, but mindful that not all populations in Israel have the latest phone technology, a workaround using just SMS-and sometimes even old-fashioned phone calls-is also available. That approach won't help with the epidemiological mapping but can aid in care management.

Perhaps the most dramatic visual coming out of the COVID360 system is a "heat map" showing where Covid-19 infections are most prevalent. This helps the Ministry of Health decide which areas should go into lockdown.

By using historical data, Diagnostic Robotics was also able to determine that the source of the mass infection in the city of Bnei Brak was due to large gatherings for the Jewish holiday of Purim and not the improvised prayer services that took place in the weeks afterward.

When will it end?

One thing Diagnostic Robotics can't predict is when the pandemic will end.

"At the moment, we only have full information for the past two weeks," she told the Israeli business journal Globes. "In order to predict two weeks ahead, we need at least five times this window-in other words going back ten weeks."

Diagnostic Robotics was founded by a powerful Technion triad of entrepreneurs, shown here (l-r): Yonatan Amir, Kira Radinsky and Moshe Shoham.

Once the initial outbreak began spreading outside of China, Diagnostic Robotics predicted it would reach Israel, the United States and other locations, Radinsky said.

COVID360 also can describe Covid-19 disease progression. By surveying millions of Israelis, the system has confirmed that there is an average gap of four to five days between infection and the appearance of symptoms; that the loss of taste and smell can appear as far as 30 days after the start of infection; and that some patients never develop a fever.

Diagnostic Robotics' system is operating in Israel and, as of this week, in cooperation with India's Odisha Covid-19 triage and monitoring platform. Radinsky hinted at additional implementations in the works.

"If anybody needs help, and our system can be helpful for them, we will be helping them," she said.
Hong Kong police used pepper spray on Friday to disperse over a hundred protesters in a shopping mall who were singing and chanting pro-democracy slogans.

The demonstrators sang the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong and chanted Glory to Hong Kong, revolution of our times in the New Town Plaza mall in Hong Kong's New Territories.

As protesters gathered in the mall, riot police stopped and searched some and later told them to leave, saying they were violating social-distancing rules. The police then sprayed tear gas to disperse the crowd before cordoning off the atrium of the mall.

The protest was one of several that went ahead on May 1, Labor Day, despite rules that forbid public gatherings of more than four people.

Small groups of protesters also gathered near Kowloon's Mong Kok and Kwun Tong subway stations.

Organizers initially planned citywide protests but many were canceled, with the organizers urging people to support pro-democracy restaurants instead.

Friday's protests were the latest in a string of demonstrations over the past week in which protesters gathered in shopping malls. They follow the arrest of 15 pro-democracy activists and former lawmakers last Saturday.

The demonstrations are a continuation of a movement that began last June to protest an extradition bill that would have allowed detainees in Hong Kong to be transferred to mainland China. Although the bill was later withdrawn, the demonstrations continued for months before a lull starting in January as the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer rebuffed efforts by the legislature to curtail her executive authority Thursday night, issuing a trio of executive orders that would put Michigan in a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic through May 28.

Shortly after the majority Republican legislature declined to issue an extension of the initial state of emergency, which expires 11:59 p.m. April 30, Whitmer said the crisis isnt over, regardless of what lawmakers believe.

By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk, she said in a statement. "Im not going to let that happen.

Related: Michigan House adjourns without extending coronavirus state of emergency

The first of the three orders terminates the existing state of emergency and disaster declarations, and the second asserts that Michigan remains under a state of emergency under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945.

The final order declares a new state of emergency and disaster under the Emergency Management Act of 1976. The new orders would run through 11:59 p.m. May 28.

The issue will almost certainly end up in court, as both the House and Senate gave its leadership the go-ahead to sue Whitmer if she continues issuing emergency executive orders after April 30.

If she does not recognize the end of the emergency declaration, we have no other choice but to act for our constituents, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, said in a Senate floor speech Thursday evening.

Related: Gov. Whitmer says we are still in a state of emergency during virtual town hall meeting

Whitmers office also indicated she would not sign Senate Bill 858, amended legislation that laid out extension dates for certain executive orders issued by the governor. Notably, one of the provisions in the bill would allow restaurants, bars, gyms and other public-facing businesses to open May 15, albeit with some social distancing restrictions.

The bill does not comply with constitutional requirements and the governor wont sign bills that constrain her ability to protect Michigan residents from COVID-19, according to a statement from the governors office.

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of protesters stood shoulder-to-shoulder both inside and outside the Capitol to encourage lawmakers not to extend the state of emergency.

At one point, a group crowded in front of the entrance to the House floor, chanting, Let us in.

There have been 41,379 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan and 3,789 deaths.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

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One person is dead and five are missing after a military helicopter operating off a Canadian frigate during a NATO exercise crashed into the sea between Greece and Italy, Canadian officials said Thursday.

One body was found and five others aboard the aircraft are missing.

The Cyclone helicopter was deployed on board the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton and was participating in a NATO training exercise off the coast of Greece when the incident occurred, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.

Multiple NATO countries are in an ongoing search-and-rescue operation in the Ionian Sea, hoping to find the five others.

The Royal Canadian Air Forces Cyclone helicopters carry a crew of four, including two pilots, a tactical operator and a sensor operator with space for several passengers.

They are primarily based on naval vessels and used for hunting submarines, surveillance and search and rescue.

(Representative Image)
Police visited the The Pitsmoor Hotel in Pitsmoor Road, Sheffield, on April 24 to discover it was still open. (GOOGLE)

Police were shocked to find drinkers "hiding in the cupboards" of a pub which continued to serve drinks after it was ordered to shut due to coronavirus lockdown rules.

Responding to reports from members of the public, officers visited the The Pitsmoor, Sheffield, on April 24 to discover it was still open.

The pub was found to be in breach of current laws which prevent pubs from opening to customers during the UKs social distancing measures that came into force in March.

Earlier this month, the nearby Staffordshire Arms in Burngreave was still "shamelessly" serving customers after it was ordered to close. Both pubs have now been served with prohibition notices.

However the landlord of both pubs, Paul Greasby, denied the claims, telling the Sheffield Star: I would not wish to make any comment at this stage other than to say that the press reports are wildly inaccurate.

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In one instance there was no-one in the public house at all and in the other instance the only people in the public house were my son and some of his friends.

They were upstairs in the private quarters, no money was taken for any drinks in either instance. Neither of these pubs were at the time open to the public.

The nearby Staffordshire Arms in Burngreave was still "shamelessly" serving customers after it was ordered to close earlier this month. (GOOGLE)

John OMalley, liquor licensing manager at South Yorkshire Police, said in a statement: On Friday night, officers attended the premises and found a number of people hiding in cupboards, the pub was clearly still open for business.

What makes this more significant, is that the license holder has already been served a prohibition notice under the legislation for another premise, The Staffordshire Arms on Sorby Street.

Licenses for both venues are now under review by ourselves and Sheffield City Council, so there could be long-term implications for these businesses."

Story continues

Councillor Bob Johnson, cabinet member for transport and development at Sheffield City Council, said: "These restrictions are in place to protect everyone from the spread of coronavirus.

"Hundreds of people are still dying in the UK amidst this pandemic and whilst I am heartened by the sacrifices the vast majority of individuals and responsible businesses are making during this lockdown period, it seems some appear to believe they can ignore the regulations and in doing so risk spreading the virus.

Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The UK is in its sixth week of social distancing restrictions after the government announced on April 17 that measures would be kept in place for at least another three weeks.

Legislation requires the government to review social distancing measures every 21 days, with the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) set to meet and discuss lockdown on May 7.

However, it is currently unclear if the lockdown will be extended in its current state beyond that date, or if measures will start to be gradually eased from May 7.

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Theres nothing particularly fun about social distancing, but these funny and inspirational decals can bring a smile to customers and employees dealing with the new distancing requirements, said Merrie Casteel, co-founder of SocialD Products.

SocialD products, an Ohio printing company, has launched an entertaining line of products aimed at helping businesses implement mandatory safety practices once they are able to reopen. Their fun and inspirational, customized decals are a welcome surprise compared to boring duct tape on the floor.

Many states will be requiring social distancing signage in order to resume business in the coming weeks. All businesses will need to follow the new rules but they can now maintain the look and feel of their current brand.

The custom decals are available for a variety of establishments including: retail stores, offices, hair and nail salons, restaurants and cafes, veterinarian offices and many more. In addition to their hundreds of funny quote decals, they also offer inspirational and famous quotes as well as standard safety distancing decals. Each industry has packs of 5, 10, 15 and 20 decals with unique sayings.

Businesses can easily select a color to match their brand, and add a logo to customize the decal for their business. Their floor decal line offers 60x 5 floor spacers, 15 circle and square distance markers, and 15 directional arrows.

Theres nothing particularly fun about social distancing, but these funny and inspirational decals can bring a smile to customers and employees dealing with the new distancing requirements, said Merrie Casteel, co-founder of SocialD Products.

Business owners we spoke to across the country really want to be compliant, but also asked for a cost effective and fun way to maintain social distancing -- when it is safe for them to reopen, Casteel said.

The decals are produced in Akron, Ohio and shipped out in 1 day. All orders include free shipping to help businesses get these products in hand as soon as possible.

Products are available immediately on the companys website: socialdproducts.com.

ABOUT SOCIALD PRODUCTS

SocialD Products is a decal printing company located in Akron, Ohio. SocialD Products produces fun and customizable floor decals to help businesses stay compliant with new social distancing guidelines. While SocialD Products is a new division, co-founder Merrie Casteel and her team have 15+ of experience in the printing industry.
Expressing concern over the death of children in Bihar due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), Union Heath Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday assured all support to the state for containment and management of the disease.

During a video conference with Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey, Vardhan took stock of AES situation in the state from the functionaries at grass-root level, a health ministry statement said.

He exhorted all to ensure that AES cases are not neglected or eclipsed by the COVID outbreak, it stated.

As on April 28, fourteen children with AES have been admitted to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Bihar's Muzaffarnagar. Of them, eight have recovered and three are undergoing treatment at the pediatric intensive care unit of the hospital. The rest have died.

Children afflicted with AES often tend to develop hypoglycemia which leads to a sudden drop in glucose level. The disease has been arguably linked to consumption of unripe litchis -- grown in abundance in north Bihar.

"It is painful to know that in a particular time during summer, from May 15 to June, there is always a hike in the rate of death of children due to AES in Bihar," the Union Health Ministry stated.

Vardhan stressed that with proper interventions at multiple levels and timely care, these deaths can be prevented.

"The fight against the AES is an old one and we know it quite well. The issue is to take preventive, pre-emptive and comprehensive measures to prevent it through a systematic approach," he said.

According to the statement, Vardhan asked the state authorities to constitute a committee of experts to keep a round-the-clock surveillance in affected areas and suggest timely preventive action. He further said that with such approach the spike in AES cases can be contained.

"The Health Ministry would provide full support and handholding to the state government through National Health Mission (NHM) for strengthening health systems. Other ministries of the central government, including the Ministry of Women and Child Development, would be requested to provide support as part of immediate and long-term measures," he said.

Vardhan stressed on the immediate need for constituting an inter-disciplinary high-level team of experts drawn from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), AIIMS, Patna, Child Health Division of the Union Health Ministry to guide policy interventions and support Bihar in containing the cases of AES and Japanese Encephalitis.

"We have to ensure that new pediatric ICUs are immediately made functional for such illness, adequate medical facilities with at least 10 bedded pediatric ICUs in nearby districts are provided and ambulance services are made available between 10 pm and 8 am when most of the children develop symptoms of AES such as fever, seizures and altered sensorium," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Stores at Nebraska Crossing werent the only ones that reopened Friday. Von Maur announced that its Westroads Mall store was opening, and Lincolns Gateway Mall also reopened.

Yates had said that he hoped Nebraska Crossing would be the first mall to reopen in North America  to demonstrate best practices and be a test case for safe shopping. Store operators could decide for themselves whether to open.

Yates also had said that the mall purchased infrared no-touch thermometers for stores to use for employees or shoppers if they wanted. The malls website displayed photos of how customers temperatures could be taken upon entry to the mall and said the mall had 10,000 masks to hand out to employees and customers.

Friday morning, almost all the entrances were taped off, including the main entrance, which was closed because of paving work. The north entrance, where a tent had been set up, was open, but no one was seated at the tablecloth-covered table. No one was taking anyones temperature or handing out masks.

When asked later about the checkpoint, Yates said the reporter had arrived before the opening and that security staff was still getting set up for the day.
TUSTIN, Calif., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Lee first realized his affinity for working with children when he began volunteering at his son's elementary school. Although his 15-year career in product management was fulfilling, Michael found himself increasingly inspired by working with students one-on-one in both Math and English class. During his five years volunteering at the school, Michael was introduced to Kumon by parents of his son's classmates. However, it ultimately was his father who convinced him to explore the path to becoming a Kumon Instructor, after witnessing the impact a college friend made as a decades-long Kumon Instructor in New York. Michael is excited to work with local students at Kumon Math and Reading Center of Tustin  South, and have that very same impact on his own community.

"I have witnessed first-hand how easily many kids can fall behind in class, while at the same time, advanced students would feel unchallenged with the general curriculum," said Michael Lee, owner and Instructor of Kumon of Tustin - South. "Because of this, I have come to realize the importance of Kumon's method of individualized study to enable all types of students to reach their full potential."

Michael knew he loved working with children, which led him to start his Kumon journey. It's an attractive business opportunity for many aspiring entrepreneurs, as up to $36,000 in cost assistance is available to help you get started. Many Kumon Instructors are first-time entrepreneurs, as we offer an extensive network of support along the way to opening a Kumon Center. Kumon is a supplemental education program that aims to unlock students' full potential by increasing academic independence, confidence, and study skills. Through daily worksheet study, students that are enrolled in Kumon often end up mastering material far beyond grade level. Learn more about the Kumon Method today.

"The City of Tustin is increasing in academic competitiveness each year, and I hope my Center will become a part of that," said Lee. "I'm looking forward to becoming an asset to the community and to working with schools to help all of our students be the best they can be."

About Kumon Math & Reading Centers:

Kumon is an after-school math and reading enrichment program that unlocks the potential of children, so they can achieve more on their own. As a comprehensive program, Kumon serves children in preschool through high school. The learning method uses an individualized approach that helps children develop a solid command of math and reading skills. Through daily practice and mastery of materials, students increase confidence, improve concentration, and develop better study skills.

About the Kumon Franchise Business

Kumon is an ideal small business for professionals. Kumon Franchisees must have a four-year college degree, be proficient in math and reading, have investment capital of $70,000 and a net worth of at least $150,000. Founded in 1958, Kumon has over four million students enrolled at nearly 25,000 learning centers in more than 50 countries and regions.

SOURCE Kumon

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http://www.kumon.com


University of North Georgia (UNG) student Mike Joseph describes himself as a charismatic person with good communication skills.

"I can talk to anyone, no matter what their background, and make them feel comfortable," said the junior pursuing a degree in kinesiology.

This skill comes in handy as Joseph helps train younger members in the UNG Corps of Cadets' Blue Ridge Rifles. The drill team spins, flips and tosses rifles with exact precision while in formation.

Joseph, who credits fellow cadet and rifle commander Rob Flynn with teaching him the ropes, said his easy-going and social leadership style helps him connect with cadets. But he admits he can transition into a hard and strict teacher when the situation calls for it.

"There are times to hang out and play and times to be serious. I have the ability to recognize the situation and adapt myself to what is appropriate," he said, indicating training sessions and competitions are serious. "Once I put on the uniform, it is game time."

Joseph used his competitive nature and motivation to gain entry into UNG and the Corps of Cadets as well as earn a UNG Military Scholarship. The state offers 42 scholarships each year to high school seniors who attend UNG and commission as second lieutenants in the Georgia Army National Guard after graduating with bachelor's degrees.

His scholarship, however, was not guaranteed. On his birthday, April 24, during his senior year in high school, Joseph received a letter saying he did not receive the scholarship, but his application would remain on file. One month later, his cellphone rang in the middle of class and displayed an unfamiliar number.

"I don't know what made me pick up the phone in the middle of class, but I did," Joseph said. "It turned out to be someone from Cadet Admissions saying I got the scholarship. It was a total shock."

Joseph took advantage of the scholarship and has succeeded at UNG. Along with the Corps of Cadets and its Blue Ridge Rifles, he is a member of the Black Student Union and is the social media chairman.

"It is a space where I can be with other black and ethnic students," said the 21-year-old from Dallas, Georgia.

Joseph plans to parlay his training and experience into his future profession. He hopes to gain entry into UNG's Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.
It is tempting to believe that there are lessons from Jackson, Lincoln or Truman that can be applied today, but I do not think that is how the past informs the present. Human-nature will not change, Lincoln once observed. There will always be leaders who shrivel under the pressure and those who rise to the moment. It is impossible to predict who will fail and who will succeed, who will wither and who will prove big enough for the job. Studying past crises cannot provide a solution to this one, but it can remind us that one day this moment will become history, and there will be future readers judging just how well our leaders acquitted themselves.
"We are pleased to welcome a business leader of Tami's stature to the Deere board," said John C. May, chairman and chief executive officer. "Her wealth of experience in the telecommunications field will be of particular value as we extend our leadership in smart connected machines and precision technologies. Tami's background in marketing and customer support is yet another asset she brings to our board."

Originally from Seattle, Washington, Erwin joined Verizon in the late 1980s as a customer service representative. In subsequent years, her positions included chief marketing officer and executive vice president of wireless operations. She serves on the Verizon foundation board and the Paley Media Center board of trustees.

With Erwin's election, the Deere board will have 11 members, 10 of whom are independent, or non-employee, directors. The previously announced retirement of Sam Allen, the company's former chief executive officer and board chairman since 2010, became effective today.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land - those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity. For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at www.JohnDeere.com.

SOURCE Deere & Company

Related Links

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Fertility services will be allowed to reopen after treatment was stopped due to coronavirus, bringing hope to couples trying for a baby, the Health Secretary has confirmed.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said fertility clinics across the UK can apply to reopen from May 11 if they ensure the safety and protection of staff and patients.

Matt Hancock said strict guidelines 'will ensure staff and patients remain safe'.

Fertility services were temporarily suspended on March 23 2020 in response to the coronavirus lockdown.

Fertility services will be allowed to reopen after treatment was stopped due to coronavirus

Whilst many private clinics may be able to restart services quickly, the Department of Health and Social Care said it recognises that NHS clinics may require longer to achieve the necessary conditions due to factors including the redeployment of staff in frontline roles.

Therefore, Mr Hancock will write to all Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) this week to confirm they are able to begin resuming fertility treatments to those in their area, either through a private clinic or an NHS service, 'to ensure fair provision'.

NHS England and NHS Clinical Commissioners are drawing up guidance for CCGs to put in place a framework for resuming services.

The new guidance will allow clinics to reopen only if they can prove measures to protect staff and patients are in place and will mean individuals and couples looking to start fertility treatment will be able to safely continue to do so.

Social distancing will be required in waiting rooms, telephone appointments could be used where suitable and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment will also be provided where necessary, the Department for Health and Social Care said.

An auditing tool will be used to ensure clinics are complying with the guidelines.

Mr Hancock said: 'Now that we are past the peak, I am delighted to announce the restoration of fertility services.

How other illnesses have been affected by coronavirus battle Cancer: Referrals - when doctors send patients suspected of having cancer to see specialists - have fallen by almost two thirds (62 per cent) and chemotherapy treatments by 30 per cent. UCL study finds there could be 18,000 additional deaths in the next year General surgery: Two million non-Covid operations have been axed, according to the Royal College of Surgeons. Maternity: Gill Walton, the chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said there was a real 'fear' among expectant mothers to attending maternity units, meaning problems could be missed. Mental health: There has been a drop in referrals to mental health services of between 30 and 40 per cent, according to Claire Murdoch, national mental health director for NHS England. Dementia: Professor Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said he had 'very real concerns' about a reduction in diagnoses of dementia due to the closure of memory clinics. Advertisement

'People who are relying on fertility treatment have been worried during these unprecedented times not knowing when they could continue their journey to start a family.'

Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, he added: 'Few families have been untouched by the amazing advances in fertility treatments over the past generation and I know just how time-sensitive treatment can be and how important it is for the families affected.

'And I know that this treatment can change lives for the better forever.

'So when I say thank you for all of you, everybody watching, for staying at home to protect the NHS of course I'm saying thank you on behalf of the lives that you're saving.

'But I'm also saying thanks on behalf of the lives that the NHS can now once again help to create.'

Sally Cheshire, chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, said: 'I am pleased that the HFEA has agreed fertility clinics can apply to reopen from May 11.

'Our priority throughout the pandemic has been to consider how treatment could resume quickly and safely for as many patients as possible and our clear plan sets out how clinics can treat and care for patients safely during the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

'I know that the closure of clinics has been extremely distressing for patients and this will be good news for those wanting to resume treatment and have the opportunity to try for their much longed for family.'

Geeta Nargund, lead consultant for Reproductive Medicine at St George's Hospital NHS Trust, added:'We are delighted that IVF services are opening soon.

'We thank the Government for recognising the distress faced by thousands of women and couples across our nation and acting swiftly to help them.

'We must ensure that effective social distancing and safety measures are put in place so that we can not only help save lives but start creating lives again.'

Natalie Williams, 40, a midwife from Formby, is desperate to have a child with husband Shaun, 39

MailOnline previously spoke to one woman set to undergo IVF, who said that time is 'not on our side' and waiting just a few months will 'reduce our chances massively'.

Days before Natalie Williams, 40, a midwife from Formby, Merseyside, was due to start taking her hormonal medication to prepare her body for IVF, she received the news that her treatment had been cancelled.

Mrs Williams and her husband Shaun, 39, had already taken out a loan to pay for IVF treatment which they are still paying back in instalments.

'We totally understand why they are doing it, but I believe couples should have been given the choice and a disclaimer given to sign with the risks on,' she said.

Freelance writer Seetal Savla, 38, and her husband Neil, 39, from Woodside Park, North London, started IVF five years after seeking fertility advice

Femail also previously spoke to couple's whose treatment had come to a halt.

Freelance writer Seetal Savla, 38, and her husband Neil, 39, from Woodside Park, North London, were going through their fourth cycle of IVF when they received the 'crushing' news that their clinic was postponing their embryo transfer.

The couple suffered a devastating early miscarriage from a surprise natural pregnancy in 2016, and started IVF five years later after seeking fertility advice.

Speaking about the postponement of her IVF treatment, Seetal told FEMAIL: 'Not knowing when we can resume treatment is extremely frustrating because the situation is completely out of our control.

'Given our ages, time is not on our side and thinking about this sobering reality is a source of considerable stress and concern.

'We understand why treatments must be paused, but it is devastating to have to wait longer to complete a cycle and find out where we stand: we are basically in lockdown limbo.'

Seetal admitted her miscarriage made her realise how much she wanted to have children.

'Until then, the relentless pressure to build a family had dampened my desire to do so,' she explained.

'After coming to terms with the miscarriage, we sought fertility advice from our GP and started IVF a year later, first via the NHS and then private clinics. We have had three failed cycles to date.'

The blogger said she hopes her eggs will survive the thawing process in a few months' time - otherwise the couple will have to reassess their options.

Savla described it as a 'crushing disappointment' when their consultant told them their treatment would be postponed following her egg retrieval, Seetal explained: 'In terms of the effectiveness of the delayed treatment, there is a risk that our frozen embryos may not survive the thawing process, in which case that would be the end of the cycle.'

She said their clinic is unable to confirm when the transfer will go ahead due to the constantly evolving situation. The couple are due to speak about their treatment with the clinic next month where they hope to have a better idea of the next steps.

Marketing director Alexandra Matthews, 34, and her husband Edward, 33, a teacher, are both from London

Marketing director Alexandra Matthews, 34, and her husband Edward, 33, a teacher, are both from London and were referred for IVF in March last year after they started trying for a baby in July 2018.

After an early miscarriage in their first IVF cycle, and three further unsuccessful transfers, Alexandra was due to start taking medication last week ahead of a Endometrial Receptivity Analysis test, which takes a small amount of the woman's endometrial lining and uses it to determine the optimum day to transfer the embryo.

The couple were told by the clinic on March 19 that all cycles that had not started would be cancelled, apart from women who had already started taking medication.

Alexandra told FEMAIL: 'It is devastating. The very difficult thing about IVF is the waiting, and you get yourself ready to go through treatment again and it's quite hard to prepare yourself.

'When you are not doing anything you feel hopeless, but when you are in treatment you feel like you are taking action and are more in control.

She added: 'You feel like the hope is taken away and replaced with uncertainty.

'We are lucky we are healthy, and we know there is more going on that is so much worse, and this is more of a personal tragedy.'

The couple, who have been together since 2013, were told by the clinic to look for updates on the website but are yet to be told any further dates for treatment.

Alexandra praised the support from a network of friends going through IVF, adding: 'We totally understand that the measures are a necessity and we know this is the right call made by the necessary bodies.'
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

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The tourism sector, hotels in particular, has been the most affected by travel restrictions as well as concerns over the need to maintain physical distancing.

Government lockdown measures have also seen the sector being classified under non-essential services, meaning they have remained closed and are likely to be the last to return to normal post the coronavirus pandemic.

However even before the pandemic, the industry was already not doing so well, according to Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe president Clive Chinwada said.

Average hotel occupancy were very low with national average occupancies at 41 percent as reported by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA Q3 2019 report).

"Trading in the hotels industry will be zero as facilities were all closed. There has not been any quarantine business to talk about in our market," Chinwada said.

Hotel Group Rainbow Tourism Group Limited the closure of hotels will have a significant impact on the Group's month of April 2020 revenues which traditionally accounts for 6 percent of the total annual revenues.

The Group is yet to quantify the total impact of Covid-19 pandemic on its operations.

Chinwada foresees that, even after lockdown restrictions are lifted, travel is unlikely to fully rebound until a vaccine is found.

"The next 18 months or so are going to be very challenging. There is a lot of work required throughout the travel industry value chain in terms of protocols to manage the spread of Covid-19 and bring back trust and confidence to travellers.

"This will is going to be a complex task and as a result, the revival of the tourism industry is going to take time," reckons Chinwada.

If the lockdown is extended much longer, market watcher foresee a real bloodbath in the tourism industry with establishments closing, employees losing their jobs.

Leading hotelier African Sun has already cut salaries for most of its employees including executives and senior managers by 50 percent as the effects of COVID-19 take a toll on the business which operates 21 hotels in the country.

Listed fast-foods concern Simbisa Brands, despite being classified as a provider of essential services has already announced that it is cutting off contract workers, as well as putting employees on leave, among other cost-cutting measures to mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus.

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The company said it was not generating enough revenue and there is a possibility that sales will drastically decline as businesses struggle to pay salaries which are supposed to feed into consumption.

Industry expert and Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe (TBCZ) President Winnie Muchanyuka said they might be need to cut back post Covid-19 to be able to recover.

Speaking in an interview on UltimateTourism Chat hosted by Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) spokesperson Godfrey Chief Koti, said it is crucial to take this downtime to reflect and check systems and see "how we have been conducting business pre-Covid-19".

"Business at this time need to look at what product and services are going to be critical to for companies to get back as quickly as possible and start operations again."
BANGKOK  Somewhere in turquoise waters, perhaps where the Bay of Bengal meets the Andaman Sea, wooden boats filled with Rohingya refugees are listing, adrift now for more than 10 weeks.

They were prevented from docking in Malaysia, their preferred destination, and Bangladesh, their port of origin. As of this week, rights groups that had been trying to track the boats by satellite lost sight of them. Each boat  there were at least three  carried hundreds of Rohingya Muslims desperate for sanctuary and at the mercy of human traffickers.

I feel like crying, realizing the situation of my brothers and sisters who are still floating in the deep sea, said Mohammad Yusuf, a chief imam in one of the refugee camps in Bangladesh, where about one million Rohingya have taken refuge after fleeing waves of persecution and violence in neighboring Myanmar.

The boats had been caught in what the United Nations has called a dangerous game of human Ping-Pong. The Bangladeshi government balked at accepting them, arguing that it has already taken in many Rohingya and borne a far greater share of the burden in the refugee crisis than any other nation.
Canberra, May 1 : The Australian government is set to discuss and review of the first phase of removing the baseline COVID-19 restrictions on May 8, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.

The National Cabinet, which comprises the Prime Minister, state and territory leaders, was due to consider easing restrictions at a meeting later than that date, but Morrison said the meeting has been brought forward because of Australia's success in preventing the spread of COVID-19, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Australians have earned an early mark through the work that they have done," Morrison told reporters following a virtual National Cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon.

"That decision will now be made next Friday (May 8), and we'll be meeting twice over the course of the next week to ensure that we work through the many things that have to be resolved in order to make those decisions." Leaders attending Friday's virtual meeting were briefed by the Treasury on economic impact that restrictions were having on Australia's economy.

"We need to restart our economy, we need to restart our society," Morrison said.

He said that Australia is currently on track to meet 11 of the 15 criteria for easing restrictions but urged Australians to continue downloading the government's COVIDSafe tracing app.

More than 3.5 million people have downloaded the app since it was launched on Sunday evening but the health department has previously said that in order for it to be effective at least 10 million people should install it.

"There are currently over three and a half million downloads and registrations, of the COVIDSafe app, but there needs to be millions more. The coronavirus is still out there. Our numbers may be low but it's still out there." So far, some restrictions were being lifted on a state-by-state basis rather than nationally.

Northern Territory (NT) Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Thursday revealed the plan to lift most restrictions in the NT, which has had only 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19, by June 5.

Steven Marshall, premier of South Australia (SA), on Thursday night followed by committing to a significant easing of restrictions within three weeks.

SA has had nine consecutive days without a new confirmed case of the virus and Marshall said that the state could return to normal life as early as May 21.

Brendan Murphy, Australia's chief medical officer, confirmed on Friday afternoon that more than 570,000 tests have been conducted nationally.

He said that health authorities will soon begin sample testing the public in an attempt to identify asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19.

As on Friday, there were 6,762 confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia, with 92 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Despite attacks from armed groups and the spread of coronavirus, the runoff vote was held in April.

Malis Constitutional Court has confirmed the results of the legislative election, the second round of which was held in April.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keitas party has won the most seats in parliament but not an outright majority.

The coronavirus pandemic and a threat from armed groups led to a record low turnout.

Al Jazeeras Nicolas Haque reports.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday categorically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, saying "this never happened".

Bidens first public remarks on the allegation by former staffer Tara Reade come at a critical moment for the presumptive Democratic nominee as he tries to relieve mounting pressure after weeks of leaving denials to his campaign.

"Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened," Biden said in an interview on MSNBCs "Morning Joe." Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine whether there is any record of such a complaint being filed, but he said repeatedly that he doesnt believe such a record exists.

"The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files," Biden said

Biden said, "There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept."

Republicans worried about President Donald Trump's increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

"The campaign has issued statements, but he hasnt issued any statements in his own voice. Its not helping, its just damaging  not only to the person who has come forward, but its also damaging the candidate," said former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile.

ALSO READ: 'Everyone's watching' - Joe Biden's VP audition process begins

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hills Senate testimony in the 1990s. Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior for which he apologized.

Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, said, "I believe Joe Biden. Women deserve to be heard but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources, citing a New York Times investigation that she said exonerated him.

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. They pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Biden. Speaking on CNN, she said she was "satisfied with how he has responded", even as she acknowledged "its a matter that he has to deal with".

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clintons private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because its an indictment of Bidens central campaign rationale: that he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a "battle for the soul of America".

"The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump  but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign," said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders organizing director.

ALSO READ| US Elections: Joe Biden wins Ohio's mail-in primary delayed by coronavirus

The silence from the Biden campaign has given Republicans an opening on an issue that was, in 2016, more fraught for the GOP, when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who alleged varying levels of sexual assault and harassment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that Biden will "have to participate in releasing all the information related to" the allegation, a stance he didnt take when Trump faced misconduct accusations.

The GOP argues Democrats arent being consistent, pointing to aggressive questioning and coverage of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced an allegation of sexual assault. Speaking about the allegation for the first time on Thursday, Trump said Biden "should respond" before proceeding to criticize the treatment of Kavanaugh as "an absolute disgrace to our country".

Steve Guest, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said "The left, and their media allies, has one standard for Republicans and another standard for Democrats like Joe Biden. The double standard is appalling."
CNN Philippines (Metro Manila, May 1)  President Rodrigo Duterte marked Labor Day on Friday by reaffirming the governments commitment to protect the rights of all workers through humanization of laws and the equalization of social forces.

He reminded the private sector to do so as well.

The business sector has a shared responsibility in improving the lives of our workers by providing them stable career opportunities and humane working conditions, the President asserted.

Duterte also honored all types of work saying they are vital in helping a country progress. He expressed hopes that all Filipinos rightfully enjoy the fruits of their labor.

"Today, we celebrate the Filipino worker whose hard work serves as the very foundation of our nation's prosperity and growth," he said.

For the first time in Philippine history's Labor Day celebration, various militant groups staged rallies online -- instead of in the streets -- to demand higher wages and safe working spaces as mass gatherings are prohibited to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Amid the pandemic crisis, the rallyists also urged the government to provide concrete plans to help Filipino workers get back on their feet.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government will unveil today (Friday) a recovery plan for the working class.
By Kanupriya Kapoor

LONDON (Reuters) - The coronavirus is roiling global job markets, but the picture is not all gloomy. Finance, technology and consumer goods firms are hiring tens of thousands in the United States and other countries, according to data from Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> professional networking site LinkedIn.

Across seven countries in North America, Europe and Asia, healthcare providers are among the busiest recruiters given the ongoing battle against the novel coronavirus, which has killed over 200,000 people and infected over 3 million people worldwide, LinkedIn said. But lifestyle changes during lockdown are also driving demand for financial consultants, factory workers, animators and game designers, and delivery workers.

Overall, the hiring rate has plunged in the first quarter from the year-ago period, and in late April remains lower than a year ago across most countries surveyed by the platform. But the data offer a glimmer of hope with a gradual uptick in China, where the coronavirus emerged last year and which leads the world in surfacing from a months-long lockdown.

LinkedIn, with over 690 million users worldwide, counts new hires when people add a new employer to their profile. The rate is the number of new hires divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in a country.

The figures, tracked since mid-February, are not corroborated by official jobs data and do not represent the actual number of jobs in an economy. Government figures are usually released with a time-lag of several weeks.

"We are confident that our data is directionally correct in that there has been a huge decline in hiring in the U.S. and abroad," Guy Berger, principal economist at LinkedIn in California, told Reuters.

Hiring in China plummeted 50% during the height of its coronavirus crisis in mid-February from 12 months earlier. Since restrictions were eased in early April, the hiring rate has inched up, and for the week ending April 24 was 3% lower than the same period in 2019.

Story continues

Hiring in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Italy - which lead the world in coronavirus-related deaths - remains hugely depressed, but is falling less rapidly than a few weeks ago as the countries pass the peak of their epidemics.

Retailers including Walmart Inc <WMT.N>, Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> and Instacart have said they would hire a total of over 700,000 workers to meet a surge in demand for groceries and household essentials during the coronavirus outbreak.

Consumer goods manufacturers such as Unilever <ULVR.L>, whose products include soap and shampoo, confirmed on Wednesday it was hiring to fill 300 jobs globally, but declined to elaborate.

Nestle <NESN.S> told Reuters it was looking to fill 5,000 full-time U.S. positions in "a variety of levels across corporate and frontline."

Fidelity Investments, a Boston-based financial services firm, said it had accelerated recruitment because of the pandemic and was looking to fill at least 2,000 full-time roles for financial consultants, software engineers and customer service staff in the United States in 2020.

Companies hiring in the United States and other countries also include Apple Inc <AAPL.O>; ByteDance, the Chinese parent of video-sharing social network TikTok; Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd <4502.T>; and aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N>. These companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

DIRE WARNINGS

The International Labour Organization warned on Wednesday that 1.6 billion workers, or nearly half of the global workforce, especially in the informal economy, could lose their livelihoods.

Record numbers of people have applied for U.S. jobless benefits since mid-March, and the unemployment rate is expected to soar to 16%, White House economic adviser Kevin Hasset said this week, from a 50-year low of 3.5% before the pandemic hit.

Both Italy and France, in lockdown for nearly two months, have seen hiring rates drop by around 70% from a year ago, according to LinkedIn.

Since China is ahead of other countries on the pandemic timeline, improvements there could suggest the same is in store elsewhere, Berger said. Several American states and European countries have begun allowing some non-essential businesses and schools to reopen in the hopes of restarting the economy and allowing a gradual return to normal life.

"It's still slightly early to call it a firm recovery," Berger said, referring to improving prospects in China. "We're not expecting a full recovery but rather it's an indication that parts of the economy will switch on as lockdowns are eased, at least relative to the worst point of the pandemic."

Graphic - Percentage change in year-on-year hiring rate: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/editorcharts/yxmvjokalpr/index.html

(Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor; Additional reporting by David Randall and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
Pakistan has reported a record 990 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 17,439 with 391 deaths so far in the country, the health ministry said on Friday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said Punjab reported 6,340 cases, Sindh 6,675, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 2,627, Balochistan 1,049, Islamabad 343, Gilgit-Baltistan 339 and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir reported 66 cases.

"Another six people died in the last 24 hours, taking the total death to 391," an statement issued by the ministry said.

Among the high profile politicians tested positive for the deadly virus include Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, apart from Governor of Pakistan's southern Sindh province Imran Ismail, a very close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan

The health ministry said that so far 182,131 tests had been conducted, including 7,971 on April 30.

"There were 3,706 patients admitted in 717 hospitals with COVID-19 facilities across the country. The rest of the patients were isolated at homes," according to the ministry.

Advisor on Health Zafar Mirza said that either the end of May or middle of June could be the peak period for coronavirus in the country.

"But it can be different also as we are not sure and monitoring the situation closely, Mirza had told media on Thursday.

The health ministry said that infection was taking toll on the health professionals, as 191 more healthcare providers had tested positive.

Earlier data shared on April 23 showed that 253 healthcare workers were infected, while the new figure showed that the number increased to 444, registering 75 per cent jump.

Those infected include 216 doctors, 67 nurses and 161 other healthcare staff. So far 94 patients have recovered from the virus.

Meanwhile, the leadership of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ruling Sindh province accused the federal government of Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for not providing funds on time to help the province tackle the pandemic.

PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the federal government was sabotaging the Sindh's government efforts against the coronavirus.

"Day and night the Sindh chief minister is attacked. They are attacking the province with the most limited resources," he said at reporters during a press conference on Friday.

PTI leader Shahbaz Gill in a counter attack said the central government would not provide cash "because we don't know where that money goes."

"We will not give you cash. You will transfer it to the accounts of others and use it for money laundering. Prime Minister Imran Khan will not you rob (the country)," Gill tweeted.

With the rise in cases, over 400 members of Tableeghi Jamaat infected with COVID-19 and quarantined at a centre here on Thursday broke open the building's main door to make a failed escape attempt.

"On Thursday a good number of COVID-19 patients mostly from Tableeghi Jamaat members refused to stay (at the centre) and broke open the door in a bid to escape," said Dr Asad Aslam, a doctor and the one supervising the management of the Expo Centre Field Hospital.

"A law and order situation occurred, however, police managed to control the situation and send all those trying to escape back to the centre," he added.
Two more Delhi Police personnel who were part of a Crime Branch team probing the Tablighi Jamaat case tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Friday.

The two policemen were sent to quarantine centres, they said.

Earlier, a Delhi Police constable of the Crime Branch who visited the Nizamuddin headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat in south Delhi had tested positive for coronavirus.

The constable had visited the Markaz building in connection with the probe into the religious congregation held there last month where many people were reported to have contracted the infection.

On March 31, the Crime Branch lodged an FIR against seven people, including Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, on a complaint by the SHO of Nizamuddin for holding a religious congregation here allegedly in violation of the lockdown orders and not maintaining social distancing to contain the spread of coronavirus.

After two policemen, who were on lockdown enforcement duty in northeast Delhi, tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, Special Commissioner of Police (operations) Muktesh Chander wrote a letter to Special CP (armed forces) Robin Hibu informing him about the development.

"They were residing at barrack number 5 of the Khajoori Khas police station. In the same barrack, the staff of commissioner of police reserve was also residing. It is important that they are also tested for COVID-19 and are quarantined immediately. Similar precaution need to be taken for all CP reserve staff at other locations too," the letter said.

More than 21 Delhi Police personnel have tested positive for coronavirus so far.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The mayor of Belleville is making a startling yet uncorroborated claim that he contracted the coronavirus in New Jersey in November, two months before the first confirmed U.S. case in Washington State.

Mayor Michael Melham said he recently asked his doctor, days after a routine physical, to test his blood for COVID-19 antibodies  and got a positive finding on Wednesday.

The claim seems highly unlikely to be accurate. The first case of the coronavirus in the United States was announced January 21. New Jerseys first coronavirus case wasnt diagnosed until early March. And though there has been widespread speculation that coronavirus might have arrived in the United States sooner, those theories are not backed by any scientific study or available data.

Melham, though, said he is convinced he was infected four months earlier. He recounted becoming ill while in Atlantic City attending the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference.

I was definitely feeling sick when I was there, and fought my way through it," he told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.

After returning home Nov. 21 from the convention, Melham said a doctor diagnosed his worsening symptoms  including a 102-degree fever, chills, hallucinations and a sore throat that ended up lasting for three weeks  as a bad case of the flu.

I have never been sicker in my entire life, Melham said, though he acknowledged that he did not have the respiratory problems often associated with the coronavirus.

Now fully recovered, the mayor sent out a press release on Thursday declaring he had the coronavirus in November.

My fear is that there are many who dismissed a potentially positive coronavirus diagnosis as a bad flu, he stated.

Asked about the mayors statements, the state health department declined comment. A spokesperson for Gov. Phil Murphy did not immediately respond to a message.

There has been much discussion, from Facebook posts to medical study groups, in recent weeks on whether the coronavirus arrived in the U.S. sooner than believed, buttressed by reports of some especially aggressive flu cases.

Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told USA Today in March that we will probably find that this disease was here earlier than we thought.

Benjamin also said, though, that it is plausible but not likely that the coronavirus arrived as early as November and December, according to the newspaper. And even then, early cases would have likely been linked to travel to China and not widespread, he said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

In a phone interview, Melham conceded he does not know he had the coronavirus.

Nobody can be sure, he said.

But I am nearly certain, for two reasons: I have never been that gravely ill in my adult life, and the antibodies that I have are the longer-term ones, not the most recent ones, he said.

His test result showed the IgG antibody, which according to Science News lasts longer than the IgM antibody that typically is produced about a week after infection.

Melham said he has done no traveling in recent months, other than a late-January trip to Puerto Rico. He lives alone.

He said his flu diagnosis in November was done over the phone, rather than via a test.

They told me it was the flu, and to ride it out, and thats what I did, he said, adding that he never got the flu shot.

The issue came up during his annual physical.

My doctor only had 10 of these blood tests at his disposal and was willing to give me one because of my daily work with the public," he said.

He said he did not have to pay for the test, but is not sure if his insurance was charged.

Melham drew notice in September upon installing a billboard with his portrait overlooking Route 21, with a message calling on the state to provide water filters to Belleville residents as the city confronted lead issues related to the problems in neighboring Newark.

A registered independent, Melham said he is skeptical of the official U.S. timeline on the coronavirus.

I have never believed this just came in January. I know many people like me who were gravely ill from November into December," he said.

He said he is urging others to get tested for COVID-19 antibodies, and is hopeful that their plasma may someday help with live-saving treatment.

It is my hope that this antibody testing becomes more readily available. More and more testing is needed, so that more and more plasma can be gleaned to hopefully save many lives," he said.

As of Thursday, there were at least 118,652 coronavirus cases in New Jersey, and 7,228 deaths.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
Crisis brings out the best in Pennsylvanians. In the worst times, we come together to conquer the most daunting of challenges. Right now there is no greater example than the men and women staffing health and long-term care facilities. These folks are working around the clock, isolated from family and experiencing unbelievable trauma, all so they can put the health and well-being of strangers ahead of their own. They are genuine heroes and deserve our support.

On April 10, PennLives editorial board attempted to highlight these health care workers who need protection in this devastating time. However, the board also took the bait of an industry looking to use a pandemic to insulate itself from accountability.

The editorial, which was informed by a conversation with Zach Shamberg, the head lobbyist for Pennsylvanias nursing homes, made three broad recommendations for state officials to protect patients and workers in nursing homes throughout Pennsylvania. The first was funding for protective equipment and pay bumps for caretakers. The second was prioritizing those workers when allocating tests and protective gear. These ideas make sense. Only the third idea was troubling -- broad civil immunity for nursing homes.

To borrow a phrase from a childrens game, one of these things is not like the others. The first two aim to provide the best possible care and protections for patients and workers. The third was wrapped in similar rhetoric -- the board parroted Shambergs reasoning on immunity by focusing on workers doing their best in the midst of a crisis. Shielding those workers is a reasonable goal, and folks on all sides are hammering out those details now. But while the nursing home lobby talks about protecting workers, thats not really what theyre after. In truth, the legislation they are pushing provides blanket immunity to nursing homes operators and prevents both patients and workers from holding nursing homes accountable.

This is more than just disingenuous -- it is dangerous. By now, many are familiar with stories from Washington State, where thousands of seniors were infected by COVID-19 while living in facilities that failed to take basic precautions against infectious disease. Here in Pennsylvania, the Brighton nursing home in Beaver County made national news by announcing that possibly 800 of their residents and staff were infected. Brighton has been cited repeatedly in recent years for violating infection control guidelines -- from failure to wash hands or properly clean wounds to leaving a resident with a leaking catheter lying in soiled sheets. Last winter, they were even cited for operating without heat, leaving elderly residents to shiver in the cold. A former nurse there recently described in an interview how they were forced to work in dangerous conditions, without necessary staff or protective gear.

Brighton is just one example of many Pennsylvania nursing homes where a pattern of violating infection control regulations precedes massive and deadly COVID-19 outbreaks. Right now we arent sure if these patterns of behavior endangered the lives of residents or staff. But we do know that if lobbyists get the blanket immunity they want, no one will be held accountable either way. This isnt theoretical. Around the country, corporate cover-ups, incompetence, and dozens of nursing home deaths have been uncovered only after states rushed through similar immunity policies. The loved ones of those patients and staff are left with no recourse.

In this pandemic, Pennsylvanians have embraced shared sacrifice to combat COVID-19. Nursing home operators cloak their calls for blanket immunity in that same spirit. In truth, they aim to only give up accountability, while asking victims to sacrifice their rights. Yes, crisis can inspire the best in people -- but it can also be used to disguise some pretty rotten stuff.

Sud Patel is president of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.
Renowned Northern Irish actor BJ Hogg has died, aged 65.

Hogg was best known for playing Big Mervyn in the BBC Northern Ireland series Give My Head Peace for more than 20 years.

His other credits include HBO series Game of Thrones and BBCs The Fall, which starred Gillian Anderson.

In Thrones, he played Ser Addam Marbrand, one of the chief knights in the service of Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) and old friend of his son, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster Waldau).

He appeared in the first season.

Hogg was also known for his role of the father Lexie in Dance Lexie Dance, which was nominated for Best Live Action Short at the Oscars in 1998.

His film credits included Hunger, Divorcing Jack and Closing the Ring  all of which were short in Northern Ireland.

Hoggs agent Geff Stanton led the tributes to the actor, writing: He was such a great man, a big personality and a terrific actor. His family must be devastated and my heart goes out to them.

Hoggs agent called him a great man, a big personality and a terrific actor (BBC)

The team behind Give My Head Peace called him a fine actor, great colleague and a true friend, adding: Our thoughts are with his wife Elish, son Nathan and daughter Abigail at this time.

Hoggs cause of death is unknown.
rarrarorro/iStockBy BENJAMIN SIEGEL and TRISH TURNER, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- Days after President Donald Trump said the novel coronavirus outbreak would "go away" in the United States, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, faced questions from the House Oversight Committee on March 12 about access to testing.



"You need to make a commitment to the American people so they come in to get tested," Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., said.



After five minutes of questions from Porter, Redfield committed to free coronavirus testing.



"I think you're an excellent questioner, so my answer is yes," he said. Trump signed a bill mandating free coronavirus testing several days later.

I did the math: a full battery of coronavirus testing costs at minimum $1,331.



I also did the legal research: the Administration has the authority to make testing free for every American TODAY.



I secured a commitment from a high-level Trump official that theyd actually do it. pic.twitter.com/RmolCtmNbG  Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) March 12, 2020

The moment, viewed online more than 27 million times, highlighted one of Congress's important oversight tools: the ability to question key public officials under oath, and on camera.



In the weeks since that tense exchange, the importance of congressional oversight has grown given the scale of the outbreak in the country, and the government's $2.7 trillion -- and counting -- spending on the response.



But lawmakers, aides and experts say their efforts to monitor the fast-moving outbreak and spending have been complicated by social distancing and other mitigation efforts, and are off to a slow start.



"It was already going to be difficult. We have an administration that has resisted congressional oversight at every step," Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told ABC News.



"You add to that the fact that everything now has to be done remotely, and you can't have hearings in person, and that Congress's rules tend to not be very flexible," Bookbinder said.



Social distancing has complicated oversight



As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is used to spending several hours a day in secure committee rooms in the basement of the Capitol.



Now, with the committee conducting oversight with a "particular focus" on the coronavirus and the intelligence community -- what agencies learned, when they learned it and what they communicated about the virus -- the panel's work has been "hampered" by some of the necessary physical precautions needed to prevent the spread of the virus.



"There are real constraints when we can't be physically present, and other constraints when we can't get administration witnesses to come and testify on the Hill," Schiff told ABC News.



His staff has staggered their presence in the office suite -- which was temporarily closed after a former staffer tested positive for the coronavirus. Democratic members met in person for the first time this month last week, when the House voted on a new relief package.



"We had our first [bipartisan] video briefing this week," he said, adding that the system has security concerns. "We're going to try to do those every week, but those will have to be all open-source materials, so it puts real constraints on what we can do."



Other panels have made similar adjustments, with staff working from home and members fanned out across the country.



The House Oversight Committee has held conference calls with agency officials and lawmakers, to follow up on investigations related to the administration's response to the coronavirus.



Porter, who also sits on the panel, said the calls have been useful, but leave much less time for questioning of any administration officials.



"It's more like allowing them to tell us what they want to tell us," she said.



And unlike hearings, the calls aren't publicized and visible to the public.



"The American public doesn't know that we're getting those answers," she said.



New oversight measures aren't fully up and running



The new oversight mechanisms created in the $2.3 trillion CARES Act signed into law on March 27 are still getting set up, weeks into the efforts to stabilize the economy and handle the growing outbreak.



The Congressional Oversight Commission, a five-person panel overseeing Treasury and Federal Reserve stimulus efforts whose members are appointed by Democratic and Republican leaders, still lacks a chair to lead the group, even as it nears deadlines to begin producing reports to Congress.



Brian Miller, President Trump's nominee to serve as the special inspector general to supervise the pandemic recovery work at the Treasury Department, will testify before the Senate Banking Committee next week, roughly a month after his nomination. He will still need to be confirmed by the full Senate before he begins his work.



The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), another oversight entity established in the CARES Act that is made up of inspectors general from several government agencies, launched its website this week, roughly one month after its formation.



A group of inspectors general named Robert Westbrooks, a veteran investigator, to lead the group, after Trump removed Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general for the Defense Department initially tapped to lead PRAC, from his Pentagon post.



House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday appointed Democrats to the new House select committee set up to supervise spending across the entire stimulus package, after naming Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the Democratic whip, as chairman earlier this month.



Clyburn said he hopes that the full select committee will gather in Washington next week.



Republicans have been critical of the select panel, and voted against forming it. A spokesman for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday called the panel "impeachment 2.0," and the California Republican said on Thursday that he hasn't decided if his conference will participate in the effort.



For their part, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday pushed Democrats to join their investigation of the World Health Organization and China's messaging around the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.



Trump administration continues to rebuff oversight



The Trump White House has resisted and rebuffed congressional oversight efforts since 2017, and has maintained that posture through the coronavirus outbreak -- compounding the difficulties for lawmakers.



Trump's nomination of Miller, a White House lawyer, angered Democrats who called for an apolitical appointee for the traditionally nonpartisan role.



And in his signing statement for the CARES Act, Trump also said he wouldn't allow that watchdog to share information with Congress without presidential supervision.



"There is zero reason for Trump to cooperate with the House right now," said Kurt Bardella, a former aide to House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who investigated the Obama administration. "His approach has been, No, what are you going to do about it?'"



"The best case scenario is that Joe Biden becomes president, and that everything that happened in the federal government will become fertile ground for investigation by Democrats," said Bardella, now a Democrat and Trump critic.

House and Senate on different tracks



It's not clear when the House will have in-person hearings with administration officials under oath again.



House Democratic leaders, citing guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician, have decided against returning to Washington next week for business, and will wait to return until the next relief package is ready for a vote.



With an even more prolonged recess looking likely, the House has set up a bipartisan task force to determine how committees can best continue their business remotely.



Porter, speaking to ABC News from her home in California, said the chamber has "let six weeks go by in which we have not been doing that required study and getting ready" to conduct oversight hearings remotely.



A House Democratic aide told ABC News that leadership has been working on remote working and voting for several weeks, and is now working with Republicans on a bipartisan agreement on how to move forward with any changes with House rules.



Pelosi told reporters on Thursday that even with the House out of session, "small groups can come back," and that 60 panel meetings have been conducted "virtually or otherwise."



Across the Capitol, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to bring the Senate back next week, to begin resuming regular business and in-person work on the next relief package.



Some committees will resume hearings -- the Senate Intelligence Committee, for example, will hold a nomination hearing for Rep. John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence who has been criticized by Democrats.



And on Tuesday the Senate Banking Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Miller, Trump's pick for special inspector general for pandemic recovery.



As for other committees, some Republican chairmen are anxious to hold oversight hearings, and concerned that some Democrats could use the platforms to embarrass Trump ahead of the 2020 election, according to two senior GOP aides. Leader are also concerned about calling in key administration officials during the pandemic, they said.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Washington, May 1 : US President Donald Trump said he has evidence that the novel coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, an unproven theory that contradicts the country's National Intelligence, which hours earlier had rejected claims of that the virus had an artificial origin.

After learning that government officials pressured intelligence agencies to look for evidence of the COVID-19 having originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Thursday ruled out the possibility of an artificial origin of the virus, Efe news reported.

"The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," it said in a statement.

The federal agency added that the intelligence community "will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan".

This was the first clear response from American intelligence debunking conspiracy theories - both from the US and China - that the virus is a bio-weapon.

But the possibility that the coronavirus could have inadvertently leaked from a research facility has not yet been disproven, said a BBC report.

Hours after the statement, which was unusual for the agency, Trump claimed to be unaware of its content and said he had evidence - which he refused to disclose - that the virus actually originated inside a laboratory in Wuhan.

When asked by a reporter if he had concrete evidence "that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus", Trump replied: "Yes, I have... I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they're like the public relations agency for China." Asked to explain what evidence he had seen, Trump said: "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that." "Whether they (China) made a mistake, or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose?

"I don't understand how traffic, how people weren't allowed into the rest of China, but they were allowed into the rest of the world. That's a bad, that's a hard question for them to answer," he added.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that senior US officials had begun exploring the possibility of imposing punitive measures or seeking economic compensation from China for its alleged mismanagement of the pandemic.

The options being considered include taking away its sovereign immunity so that both the government and victims can file lawsuits against the Asian country, and cancelling some of the debt obligations.

Trump, however, was inclined towards imposing fresh tariffs on China rather than stop paying its debt.

"We can do it with tariffs. We can do it other ways even beyond that without having to play that game," said the President.

This latest development comes as the US currently accounts for the highest number of coronavirus cases, as well as deaths in the world.

As of Friday morning, the cases increased to 1,069,424, with 63,006 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
To use trains or not: MHA to decide soon on how stranded people can be taken back

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: The clamour by the states to run special trains to ferry stranded persons due to the lockdown is increasing.

The Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla in his order earlier this week permitted states to take back stranded migrant labourers, students, tourists and pilgrims. However, the order made it clear that the states shall only use buses as a mode of transport. The order also says that the stranded persons shall be brought back only by road.

States urge Centre to run special trains to transport stranded migrant workers, students

The states have been complaining that it would be a humongous task to bring back stranded persons by using only buses. The states are now urging the Ministry of Home Affairs to tweak its order so as to allow trains to ferry back stranded persons.

A meeting of the top Railway Ministry officials was held to discuss the issue. While there is no official word about the meeting, sources have indicated that special trains may be allowed to operate. The Railways can press services within hours, but the final call is with the MHA, officials say.

Further, ferrying those stranded by road is an expensive option and would require a lot of work for the state administration, which is already stressed due to the COVID-19 situation. Take for instance the case of Karnataka. The state will arrange transport for all the migrant labourers who want to return. The cost is estimated at Rs 10,000 per day for 25 people per bus. The requirement for every one lakh people is 4,000 buses and this would mean it would cost around Rs 4 crore for one lakh. If all workers wish to return, then the cost would be around Rs 8 crore. Karnataka has around 2 lakh migrant workers.
Chilean film-maker Pablo Larrain has an arch, surreal style that has earned comparisons with Yorgos Lanthimos; Larrain's dramas, though, are less wordy and self-consciously surreal than the Greek's, and find humour in the darkest places.

I was blown away by Tony Manero, his 2008 film about a 1970s Chilean serial killer who's obsessed with disco dancing. His 2015 film The Club invaded a snug coastal refuge where Catholic priests accused of child abuse and other crimes are offered refuge. And in Jackie, which was cruelly overlooked during the 2017 awards season, Larrain painted a compelling portrait of JFK's shell-shocked widow in the days following his assassination.

He tends to deal in characters that are cut off, abstracted, unable to fully feel, and that's certainly the case in Ema, a disconcerting tale set in the salty Chilean port city of Valparaiso. When we first meet Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo) and her husband Gaston (Gael Garcia Bernal), it is in the aftermath of a devastating incident. Some time before, they adopted a young Colombian boy called Polo, who looked angelic but turned out not to be.

In fact, before the couple handed him back to social services, he'd disfigured Ema's sister, tried to burn the house down and locked the cat in the freezer. Something seriously amiss then, but as they attempt to recover from the trauma of their ill-advised adoption, all Gaston and Ema can do is blame each other.

She's a young dancer, he's a significantly older choreographer, and they seek solace in the creation of an ambitious new contemporary show. But one gets the sense that Gaston is struggling to hold on to the remote and free-spirited Ema: he scorns her interest in the garish hybrid music reggaeton (with him on that one), and is rightly threatened by her association with a group of female street dancers who are scarily liberated in the sexual department.

Gaston and Ema are a ghastly pair, wallowing in their unhappiness and exchanging strangely calm reproaches about whose fault Polo's behaviour was. "You betrayed him," Gaston tells his wife, "you're a bad woman." "You abandoned him just when he needed you most," Ema counters, "infertile pig!" This last gibe is a reference to Gaston's inability to provide Ema with the baby she craves for reasons not entirely wholesome, and as their relationship breaks down, she begins an affair with a part-time firefighter, and encourages her husband to take up with one of her reggaeton friends.

Expand Close In a bleak montage, we are given a vision of the particular kind of despair that can only be found in loveless sex / Facebook

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The pair, it seems, are collapsing into unhappy bohemian chaos, but Ema's actions are not as random as they seem, and after a magnificently abandoned middle section, Larrain's drama tightens into a bizarre, thriller-ish finale.

From the opening scenes of Ema, when a high traffic light burns mournfully on a quiet Valparaiso street and a silent figure wanders the city brandishing a flame-thrower, you know that something's seriously amiss. Valparaiso offers an alluring backdrop, with its San Francisco-like steep hills and trams, but most of the characters appear to exist on the city's margins and are not particularly enjoying themselves.

In a bleak montage, we are given a vision of the particular kind of despair that can only be found in loveless sex. Ema drags herself, her husband and various friends into a dark orgy that offers little refuge, but we never fully understand her character till the end.

She and Gaston are a truly odd couple: they clearly love each other but, in the aftermath of their trauma, oscillate giddily between tenderness and harsh reproach. The woman from social services wants nothing more to do with them: "Fix your rotten heads before you adopt children," she tells them.

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Good advice, but was Polo damaged goods, like one of those cute rescue puppies that bites you in the arse as soon as your back is turned? It's never quite clear, though Ema's enthusiasm for setting stuff on fire would suggest she wasn't perhaps the parental model. As for the boy himself, he dominates the film despite being absent, like the shark in Jaws, making his eventual appearance inevitably anti-climactic.

Ema's cinematography is gorgeous, unsettling, and accidentally catches the Covid-induced torpor that has now gripped the world. And if Larrain's themes are at times confusing, his drama is compelling, bolstered by the fine performances of Di Girolamo and Garcia Bernal as the bickering couple.

Ema herself is the film's coquettish enigma: at one point, she dances on a promenade overlooking the port of Valparaiso, and her expert jigging looks like the actings out of a child.

Ema (MUBI, free preview today) - 4 stars





Streaming Movies: Your guide to all the week's latest releases online

The Assistant (Amazon, Sky Store, iTunes etc) - 4 stars

The words Harvey and Weinstein are never uttered during the course of Kitty Green's admirably spare drama, but one thinks of the fallen mogul constantly. Julia Garner is Jane, an assistant at a New York film production company who lives in fear of her bullying, predatory boss. He rules the office with a rod of iron and Jane is left to balance the daily humiliations of her subservient role with the possibility of eventual success. In the film's best scene, she goes to visit the human resources manager (Matthew Macfadyen) to report a possible sex assault. "I don't think you have anything to worry about," he tells her, "you're not his type."

Can You Keep A Secret? (iTunes, Amazon, Virgin etc) - 2 stars

Alexandra Daddario heads the cast of this frothy romcom based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella. Emma Corrigan is on a flight from Chicago to New York when she gets the yips during turbulence and spills her most intimate secrets to the man sitting next to her. He turns out to be Jack Harper (Tyler Hoechlin), the owner of the marketing company where she works, and though she expects to get fired on foot of her revelations, he starts romancing her. He does so, though, in a controlling and charmless manner, and despite the winning efforts of Daddario, there's insufficient rom or com to make this film interesting.
It is part of a case brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman against the insurer
In the news release, 4Front Ventures Announces $22 Million U.S. of New Funding, issued 01-May-2020 by 4Front over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that the third paragraph, first sentence (under the Private Placement heading) incorrectly stated the committed capital for the private placement. The correct amount is $4 million. Set out below is the corrected press release in its entirety.

4Front Ventures Announces $22 Million U.S. of New Funding

Company announces binding agreement for sale of its Assets in Pennsylvania and Maryland netting over $18 million U.S. in cash

Company secures $4 million U.S. through private placement

Transactions enable the Company to reach cash flow positive in 2020

PHOENIX, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF) ("4Front" or the "Company") announced reaching a significant milestone in becoming cash flow positive in 2H 2020 through a sale of non-core retail licenses netting in excess of $18 million U.S. and a private placement of convertible debentures of $4 million U.S. The Company expects these transactions will fulfill the Company's stated objectives of being fully-funded and achieving cash flow positivity in the second half of 2020.

Non-core License Sales

Consistent with its stated strategy of divesting non-core assets, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its stake in retail licenses in Pennsylvania and Maryland, netting in excess of $18 million U.S. in cash. The majority of the proceeds from the transaction are expected to be received in the next week, with the remainder closing over the next 45 days pending certain regulatory approvals. Upon receipt of proceeds from the transaction, 4Front anticipates prepaying up to $10 million U.S. of its outstanding debt obligations to entities associated with Gotham Green Partners. The transaction marks a significant milestone in 4Front's goal of streamlining its cost-structure, allowing the company to focus on optimizing vertical operations in core markets such as Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan and California.

Private Placement

The Company has commitments to raise $4 million U.S. in a private placement of convertible debt led by Navy Capital. The financing was contingent on entering into the asset divestiture agreements described above. These conditions have now been satisfied. The placement is scheduled to close on or about May 4, 2020.

The Notes have an annual coupon of 5%, paid-in-kind, and will mature on February 28, 2022. The Notes are exchangeable into subordinate voting shares ("common equivalent") at a conversion price of $0.25 U.S. Some lenders were granted a debenture which allows for the exchange of a portion of their existing equity investments into a security intended to mimic the liquidity preference found in a preferred equity, offering some downside protection on their initial equity investment.

Leo Gontmakher, CEO of 4Front, said, "This is a watershed moment for our company. We believe these non-core divestitures, combined with our private debt placement, put the Company in the enviable position of not needing additional capital to become cash flow positive. Our commitment to a lean corporate structure and focused execution allows us to achieve self-sufficient operations while minimizing dilution to our shareholders. The momentum in our business is strong and we can now turn our complete attention to maximizing growth in our core geographies and expanding our vertical operations to take meaningful market share in nascent adult-use markets.

Chetan Gulati of Navy Capital, said, "We are impressed with 4Front's focus on long-term, sustainable growth and its ability to operate an efficient and lean business during these uncertain times. We believe their low-cost, high-yield cultivation and production facilities in Washington, Massachusetts and Illinois are replicable across multiple geographies and well-suited to driving growth at scale in a production-led industry. We are delighted to support the Company in its next phase of growth."

Strong Business Momentum

4Front's affiliated cultivation and production facilities in Washington state have achieved a dominant position in one of the most competitive cannabis markets in the country. Producing over 25 different products and 300 SKUs, the Company's focus on quality, low-cost production at scale has driven high single digit market share in the Washington wholesale market. 4Front's strategy going forward is to proliferate these product brands and low-cost production methodologies across its license portfolio and eventually beyond.

Progress on this strategy is already underway in Massachusetts as the Company has imported its Washington-grown expertise and achieved cultivation yields of over 400 grams per square foot and introduced its branded products to the market. The Company expects to accelerate further product roll-out and expand production capacity in anticipation of greater penetration in Massachusetts. 4Front also has near-term plans to double production capacity in Illinois before the end of the year and roll-out its brands to patients and consumers in the state, which remains a primary focus area for the Company.

To be added to the email distribution list, please email [email protected] with "4Front" in the subject

About 4Front Ventures Corp.

4Front is a cannabis company designed for long-term success and built upon battle-tested operating capabilities at scale, experienced and committed leadership, and a strategic asset base. From plant genetics to the cannabis retail experience, 4Front's team applies expertise across the value chain. 4Front has invested heavily to assemble a comprehensive collection of management skills and hands-on operating expertise to capitalize on the unique growth opportunity being afforded by the increased legalization of cannabis. For more information, visit 4Front's website.

4Front Investor Contact

Andrew Thut, Chief Investment Officer

[email protected]

602-633-3067

Phil Carlson / Elizabeth Barker

[email protected]

212-896-1233 / 212-896-1203

4Front Media Contacts

Anne Donohoe / Nick Opich

KCSA Strategic Communications

[email protected] / [email protected]

212-896-1265 / 212-896-1206

This news release was prepared by management of 4Front Ventures, which takes full responsibility for its contents. The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in 4Front Ventures' periodic filings with securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements related to future developments and the business and operations of 4Front Ventures, developments with respect to legislative developments in the United States, expectations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, future revenue or Adjusted EBITDA expectations, statements regarding when or if any contemplated or in-progress transactions will close or if/when required regulatory approvals are attained, and other statements regarding future developments of the business. The closing of the transactions described in this news release, including the divesture of Pennsylvania and Maryland assets and the sale of convertible debt, is subject to customary conditions and there can be no guarantee that such transactions will close.

Although 4Front Ventures has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects which have limited or no operating history and are engaged in activities currently considered illegal under U.S. federal laws; change in laws; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. 4Front Ventures disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and 4Front Ventures does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

SOURCE 4Front

Related Links

4frontventures.com


Wales Comic Con to host virtual event this weekend in support of the NHS

This article is old - Published: Friday, May 1st, 2020

Wales Comic Con will be going live this weekend with a virtual event in support of the NHS.

Over the next two days the team behind the popular event will be bringing you panels, activities and giveaways that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home.

Guests include actor Seth Green, British comedian Johnny Vegas, Miriam Margolyes, Mark Sheppard, Rachel Miner, Sylvester McCoy and New Zealander Richard Taylor who is the owner of WETA Workshop, the company behind the magic of Lord of the Rings, King Kong and more.

Starting at 3pm each day streaming online via Twitch.tv and fans can either pay a 4.99 subscription or they can utilise Amazon Prime accounts and subscribe for FREE to watch it all.

You can subscribe right up until the end of the Sunday and still donate throughout if want to give more support!
The family of a Co Armagh man who died after contracting Covid-19 have described the nurses who looked after him at Craigavon Area Hospital as "angels".

Tony Mitchell (70), from Armagh, passed away on Saturday.

He had been diagnosed with the virus on April 2.

He is survived by his daughters Ann, Celia, Philomena and Maureen, and the wider family circle. He was predeceased by his wife Marie.

Mr Mitchell's funeral took place on Monday and the family took great comfort after his friends and neighbours lined the streets near his Banbrook Hill home to applaud as the cortege passed by.

The great-grandfather celebrated his 70th birthday on March 7, but a couple of weeks later developed flu-like symptoms.

His daughter Maureen explained that the family had taken him to hospital on April 1, and just 24 hours later he was diagnosed with coronavirus.

"The first couple of days he was just on normal oxygen and he was doing great," she said. "We were able to phone him to talk but he couldn't really speak for long with his breathing.

"A couple of days after that he went on to the mask for the oxygen so it was going into his nose and mouth. Two weeks after he was admitted I rang the hospital and they said he was back on to the normal oxygen.

"He was sitting up, eating and was in great form but within four hours my sister got a call to say they were going to ventilate him."

After being on the ventilator for one week, Mr Mitchell suffered a heart attack and the family were informed that he only had a matter of hours left.

Despite fighting on for another week, he passed away peacefully at hospital.

"We begged and begged to be at his side but obviously with the government restrictions we couldn't see him," Maureen said. "The nurses were unbelievable and they're just absolute angels. They were just so good.

"His lungs were puckered basically and the fluid built up in pockets. He really had no chance."

A photo, taken at Maureen's wedding in May 2015, was released by the family.

Maureen added: "It will be a great memory for me, it was a great day that day. My wedding was in May and my mummy passed away in the November.

"Me and daddy were very close with me being the youngest.

"He loved us all and we never finished a phone call without saying I love you. We just idolised him. When mummy died he was all we had left."

Mr Mitchell made a living by travelling the country to carry out building work. His daughter said he was an "all-rounder" and could "put his hand to anything".

He was also a successful darts player in the '80s and competed against famous names such as Bobby George, John Lowe and Jocky Wilson.

Encouraging people to stay indoors, Maureen added: "We would have never thought this would have come to our door."
The International Energy Agency estimates global storage capacity could be full by mid-June.

An agreement among the worlds major oil producers to cut output comes into effect on Friday.

It follows a collapse in global oil prices, spurred by a slump in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It seems the deal may have happened only because US President Donald Trump reportedly pressured Saudi Arabia, implying the United States may withdraw military support.

Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid reports.
Q uestions have been raised over how coronavirus tests were counted after Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the "incredible achievement" of the Government in hitting its 100,000-a-day target.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street press briefing, Mr Hancock said 122,347 tests were performed in the 24 hours up to 9am on Friday, adding that testing would help unlock the UKs lockdown.

But changes to how tests were counted in the last few days meant newer home test kits have been counted as they are dispatched.

The overall total also includes tests dispatched to satellite testing locations  such as hospitals that have a particularly urgent need  but does not detail whether the tests have actually been used.

Guidance on the Government website appears to have changed on April 28 to include wording saying home tests and satellite tests were being included.

When he set the target, Mr Hancock said the UK will carry out 100,000 tests every day by the end of April.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the "headline figure shouldnt count tests that hadnt been used, or indeed, might never be used as a completed test".

The Governments national testing co-ordinator, Professor John Newton, insisted at the briefing there had been no change to the methodology but said advice had been sought on counting as new ways of delivering tests were brought in.

He said: There has been no change to the way that tests are counted. As weve developed new ways of delivering tests weve taken advice from officials as to how this should be counted.

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So, the tests that are within the control of the programme, which is the great majority, are counted when the tests are undertaken in our laboratories.

But any test which goes outside the control of the programme, theyre counted when they leave the programme, so that is the tests that are mailed out to people at home and the tests which go out in the satellite.

So that is the way they are counted, have always been counted, and the way we were advised to count them by officials.

He said some 27,497 kits sent out to homes were included in the total alongside 12,872 tests delivered to satellite locations.

All you need to know from the May 1 UK coronavirus briefing

Also at Friday's briefing:

Mr Hancock announced 27,510 people have now died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Thursday, up by 739 on the day before.

The Health Secretary said 18,000 contact tracers to track those who have come into contact with an infected person will be in place by mid-May and the numbers will be expanded if necessary.

He vowed the Government would only allow pupils to return when it was safe to do so. We are not going to re-open schools if it isnt safe," he said.

NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said officials will be studying whether stricter measures will or will not have to continue to apply to the elderly when the lockdown is eased.

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Mr Ashworth said: Labour has repeatedly called for more testing, and increasing testing is an important milestone.

But many would have expected the 100,000 promise to have been met by actually carrying out testing, not simply because 39,000 kits had been mailed out.

The headline figure shouldnt count tests that hadnt been used, or indeed, might never be used as a completed test.

Ministers promised transparency  the public and NHS staff deserve clarity.

One minute silence to NHS heroes who lost lives to the Coronavirus 1 /25 One minute silence to NHS heroes who lost lives to the Coronavirus London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Staff stand outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Shoppers queue in the rain outside Costco in Thurrock during a minutes silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA A minute silence in honour of key workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 Sky News London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA A staff member reacts outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Members of the public, NHS staff, and Police offices, some wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) of a face mask as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, pause for a minute's silence to honour UK key workers AFP via Getty Images A police officer observes a minute silence in honour of key workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 outside 10 Downing Street, Reuters London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA A minute silence in honour of key workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 Sky News London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Staff stand inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA National Shop Stewards Network protesters outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, during a minute's silence which was to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA

Liberal Democrat acting co-leader Sir Ed Davey said: The Health Secretarys arbitrary target of 100,000 tests by the end of April was always a hostage to fortune, and the truth is, he missed it.

Its extremely disappointing the Government have decided to massage the metrics rather than admit they fell short, as this will only undermine public confidence.

Also at Friday's briefing, Mr Hancock said the next phase of dealing with Covid-19  which will include more community testing and contact tracing  will allow the Government to reassert, as much as is safely possible, the liberty of us all.

He told reporters: In recent weeks weve had to impinge on historic liberties to protect our NHS and our loved ones and yet our goal must be freedom.

Freedom from the virus, yes, and we will not lift measures until it is safe to do so.

But also we care about the restoration of social freedom and economic freedom too  each citizens right to do as they please.

But he said that, for now, people must stay at home while the number of cases of coronavirus is driven down further.
President Donald Trump's announcement in March that Google was developing a tool to screen and schedule people for covid-19 tests heralded the yet-to-be-launched website as a way to streamline testing.

But seven weeks later, that tool is available only in a handful of cities, and Google sister company Verily - which was really behind the effort - says it has facilitated slightly more than 30,000 tests as of Wednesday. That's a small portion of the more than 5.8 million estimated tests taken across the nation since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Verily's slow expansion across the United States underscores just how complicated coronavirus testing remains. Mass testing is key to lifting stay-at-home orders, health experts say, and has not been implemented widely enough.

Verily last week rolled out testing with Rite Aid in eight states, including Virginia, New Jersey and Michigan. That's because Verily is reliant on partners - it doesn't conduct its own tests or process the results, and many patients have not heard of it.

When Verily opened a testing site in Stockton, California, this month in partnership with the state, only nine people were tested on the first day. Verily said federal guidelines asked it to cap testing at 250 people a day at each site to conserve testing kits, though that cap was recently lifted. It took two weeks to reach 186 patients in a single day.

The fragmented combination of testing efforts by federal health departments, local health officials, private clinics and corporations is causing communication breakdowns, doctors and other health experts said. That has created confusion for patients and scientists.

"It's not centralized at all," said Yvonne Maldonado, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Stanford University. "We don't have one dial-in number. There's no 911 for public health."

Establishing a foothold in the chaos is even tougher for Verily, the doctors and experts said. That's because the venture, a life sciences company under Google parent firm Alphabet, has roots in technology and research, not in clinical medicine. The company's focus even before the crisis has been on developing the Project Baseline study, which aims to "map" human health by recruiting people to participate in clinical trials that give health-care researchers a window into specific health issues.

The coronavirus testing is part of Project Baseline and operates as a tool to bring together screening, scheduling and results for patients. In California, Verily partners with the state government and multiple private companies to verify screening and actually conduct and process tests. Broadly, it aims to give health officials a view of the virus's spread in different areas.

For coronavirus testing, Verily is relying on partners too and faces an additional hurdle of little name recognition among those searching for testing sites. Ultimately, federal guidelines and common practice drive people to call their doctors when they feel unwell, the experts said.

"It's hard to do laboratory testing when you're not part of an integrated health system," said Alex Greninger, assistant director of clinical virology laboratories at the University of Washington Medical Center.

Verily spokeswoman Carolyn Wang pointed to the fast-moving nature of the coronavirus pandemic to explain the company's limited expansion.

"It's been a really complex and rapidly evolving situation because there are so many interdependencies, including availability of testing supplies and PPE, collaborations to operationalize sites, and community readiness to stand up sites," she said. "We're moving as fast as we can and are proud of how quickly we've been able to assist our partners, including local government entities, with helping to ramp up testing nationally."

Verily was thrust into the national spotlight on March 13 when Trump said during the daily coronavirus briefing that Google had 1,700 engineers working on the screening website. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said they wanted to bring the approach "across the continent."

"Google is helping to develop a website," Trump said. "It's going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby, convenient location."

In reality, Verily had only begun working on launching a small pilot of the website to begin screening people in the Bay Area. The White House announcement sent the company scrambling to roll out a public launch of the project over the weekend after Trump's announcement.

It was the latest in a string of confusing pronouncements around testing by Trump during his daily briefings. He also said that anybody who wanted to get tested could - but the country was struggling with a shortage of tests, and many who sought testing were denied.

The Washington Post has reported that Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was instrumental in the announcement after pressing tech executives to help build a testing website and retail executives to help create mobile testing sites - but the projects were only half-baked when Trump revealed them.

Deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere said in an email that the administration appreciates Google's efforts to "help America defeat COVID-19."

"It is because of President Trump's leadership that he has brought together government and private industry for an unprecedented collaboration to curb the spread of the virus, expand testing capacities, and expedite vaccine development," he wrote.

Verily offers a screening form online that people can fill out - once they connect to it with a Google account, which has raised some privacy concerns. If Verily determines, using public health guidelines, that the person is eligible for testing, it schedules a time for the person to visit a testing site operated by Verily and its partners. But that applies only for those living in one of the handful of locations where Verily offers screening.

Verily partners with diagnostic testing companies to actually conduct the swab tests and then sends samples to be processed at lab processing centers including those run by Quest Diagnostics. Because it does not have its own lab infrastructure, it has to partner with companies at each testing site it sets up, likely slowing expansion.

In mid-March, it started with just two locations in the Bay Area in partnership with the California Department of Public Health. The first weekend, there were reports of people trying to schedule appointments but instead receiving notices that no more appointments could be made at that time.

In California, Verily has expanded to nine sites as part of the partnership with the state, including in the Central Valley and Los Angeles County.

In the Central Valley city of Stockton, the Verily site's slow start confused some officials.

Tiffany Heyer, spokeswoman for the office of emergency services in San Joaquin County, where Stockton is located, said she and others at the office were confused as to why Verily was not immediately meeting its capacity when they had heard of so many people wanting to be tested. Some potential patients told them they were rejected due to screening criteria, something that may have lowered the number.

Verily last week expanded its testing efforts outside California when it partnered with Rite Aid to screen and schedule people to get tested at the Rite Aid chain's 25 testing locations across the country. That more than doubled the number of sites where Verily is screening to 34.

Verily says it has screened more than 175,000 people nationally and found more than 64,000 eligible for testing. Public health guidelines require symptoms or high-risk factors for testing, Verily says, but some private health clinics are starting to test people who do not meet the criteria. A much smaller number of people have been tested because of capacity and no shows.

Verily spokeswoman Rachel Ford Hutman said the company is in talks with multiple organizations to further expand across the country.

But the Rite Aid rollout last week confused some local health officials, who said they weren't aware of many details or Verily's involvement - once again underscoring the confusing communication surrounding testing among different levels of government and companies.

Local health officials are often the ones pointing patients to testing sites and operating information hotlines.

At least five local health authorities in areas where the Verily website now says it has screening said they weren't aware of its involvement. Many had been informed Rite-Aid was setting up operations in the region but only knew that the drugstore chain was working with the federal government.

"You want to work cooperatively, especially during a pandemic," said Angela Musella, health officer of Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission in New Jersey, where Rite-Aid is conducting tests in Waldwick. "It would have been nice to have been consulted."

Rite-Aid spokesman Chris Savarese said he hadn't heard that local health authorities felt uninformed and said he understood the federal Department of Health and Human Services, with which Rite Aid is working, was communicating with them. The drugstore chain decided to work with Verily to help people easily screen and schedule appointments online, he said.

It may not be the solution federal officials touted, but local health authorities in some cities where Verily operates said it's helpful to have more testing options, even if they aren't huge operations.

"I don't know how helpful it will be," said Donna Skoda, health commissioner for Summit County Public Health in Summit County, Ohio, where Rite Aid has opened a testing location. "Except it will give us more testing, and we desperately need more testing."
After the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, India was rocked by yet another tragic celebrity death.

This time, instead of Bollywood, the casualty belongs to Indias rich community of writers and journalists - as famed historian Ronald Vivian Smith breathed his last on Thursday morning.

 @thedelhiwalla

Breaking onto the scene as a reporter for The Statesman in the 1970s, RV Smith developed into a renowned poet and author through the years, developing a particularly strong relationship with the city of Delhi, which was a frequent feature of his work.

He had a reputation for pulling out stories from the citys lanes, bazaars, monuments and graveyards as lightly as a magician bringing out pigeons from his cap.

 RV Smith

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted his condolences, taking a moment to honour the writers legacy and love for his home city.

RV Smith, the chronicler of our great city Delhi passed away this morning. His work kept alive the stories and memories of our city. It's a huge loss especially for Delhiites. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. RIP  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 30, 2020

Descended from Colonel Salvador Smith (1783-1871) of the Gwalior army during British rule, his long career which ended with his retirement in 1996 saw him publish many books - mostly on Delhis history, antiquity, Egyptology, mysticism and the occult.



Several fans and longtime readers were devastated at this loss - having developed a strong relationship with them over decades of skilled storytelling.

Remains of a Writer... what will happen to the lovely Underwood typewriter of Delhi chronicler RV Smith who died this morning... he wrote on it every day... it was given to him by his father... saw this precious scene of him at work... somewhere in Delhi pic.twitter.com/otRQD3U6Gr  mayank austen soofi (@thedelhiwalla) April 30, 2020

Several noted his bonds within Delhis long-standing literary circles,

He loved the company of kind, beautiful women, especially when they happened to be writers... writer Sadia Dehlvi and writer Rakhshanda Jalil with Delhi chronicler RV Smith, who died this morning... captured this memory a couple of seasons ago... somewhere in Delhi pic.twitter.com/zme7zNujV5  mayank austen soofi (@thedelhiwalla) April 30, 2020

In many ways a spiritual successor to Smith, journalist Mayank Austen Soofi AKA The Delhiwalla shared a particularly interesting souvenir gifted to him by the old writer - his old ID card for clocking into work at The Statesman all those years ago.

And his work involves attendance at nightchronicler RV Smiths I-card during his days and nights as a city reporter for Statesmen newspaper in the 1970s... Mr Smith died today... he kindly gifted me this precious Delhi souvenir some years ago... these are his hands by the way! pic.twitter.com/y8cJs2Mdey  mayank austen soofi (@thedelhiwalla) April 30, 2020

IAS Officer Abdaal Akhtar also shared his own moments with the chronicler - pointing out how Delhi needs to stand up and take note of writers whove dedicated themselves to preserving the citys stories and heritage.

RV Smith is no more.

Another city wd hv celebrated its greatest chronicler with memorials & a public funeral. But Smith sahab, like his Delhi - shopping at Kashmere Gate, tongas, dangal on the Yamuna and Raju's biryani at Bada Hindu Rao - will just remain on our dusty shelves pic.twitter.com/JztBvMImVz  Abdaal Akhtar/  (@abdaal) April 30, 2020

Fellow journalist Sunalini Mathew also chimed in with a reminder of Smiths last published story.

His last piece was all that RV Smith's column represented: his Anglo-Indian hertiage, his love of lore, his attachment to his hometown Agra, his understanding of Urdu, and might I add, his interest in women. RIP Mr Smith https://t.co/wSgslcieRK @abaruah64 @THNewDelhi  Sunalini Mathew (@SunaliniMathew) April 30, 2020

We hope that the city remembers him as fondly as he remembered it in his books.


Citing supply chain strains and anticipated shortages as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the agency that manages military commissaries says some stores will start limiting how much fresh meat customers can purchase.

Starting May 1, commissaries within the 50 states and in Puerto Rico will limit purchases of fresh beef, poultry and pork, the Defense Commissary Agency announced Thursday evening. For fresh beef, pork, chicken and turkey, customers will be limited to purchasing two items per visit, according to the announcement.

"There may be some shortages of fresh protein products in the coming weeks," Robert Bianchi, a retired Navy rear admiral and the Defense Department's special assistant for commissary operations, said in a statement. "Enacting this policy now will help ensure that all of our customers have an opportunity to purchase these products on an equitable basis."

Military commissaries, located on military bases around the world, operate on a nonprofit basis and offer food items at cost. Considered a military benefit, they are open to active-duty troops, dependents, retirees and some other special veteran categories.

Related: Millions More Vets and Caregivers About to Get Commissary, Exchange Access

Individual stores will have the ability to increase or decrease limits based on their inventory, DeCA officials added in the release. Some commissaries have already been posting quantity limits on high-demand items, such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

The move to limit meat purchases is a troubling one that comes on the heels of an announcement from Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat-processing companies in the nation, that it was being forced to close down plants due to the virus. Eventually, the company warned, the closures would lead to shortages in stores.

"The food supply chain is breaking," company chairman John Tyson said in a full-page ad that appeared in the New York Times April 26.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order ordering Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to "take all appropriate action under that section to ensure that meat and poultry processors continue operations," calling the plants "critical infrastructure for the nation.

To that end, the administration will purchase $3 billion in excess dairy, produce and meat "to be distributed in order to assist Americans in need as well as producers with lost markets," the White House said in an announcement accompanying the order.

In DeCA's Thursday announcement, Bianchi said the supply chain for commissaries overseas remained strong.

"In addition, we continue to prioritize quantities for our overseas shipments, so we should be able to support the demand," he said. "If we experience any unexpected major hiccups in the pipeline, we will look at expanding shopping limits to other locations."

The release noted that purchase limits were also intended to head off the phenomenon of panic buying, which has led to bare shelves in supermarkets all over the country. As demand spiked, DeCA issued a March 14 directive allowing store managers to implement shopping limits as they saw fit to maintain stock availability. That directive remains in effect.

"We know this is a potentially stressful time for all concerned," Bianchi said. "But together we will meet these challenges and support our service members and their families throughout the duration of this crisis wherever necessary."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Read More: In First, DoD Awards Massive $7.2 Billion Contract to Single Company for PCS Moves
Art director Matteo De Cosmo has died at 52-years-old from coronavirus complications.

The New Yorker passed away back on Tuesday, April 21st, according to The New York Post.

The production professional worked on projects like The Punisher and Luke Cage, among other things.

Tragic: Art director Matteo De Cosmo has died of coronavirus at 52-years-old

Most recently Matteo had worked on Harlem's Kitchen starring Delroy Lindo, which shut down production along with most of the TV world back in March.

Creator/showruner Zahir McGhee said that De Cosmo's positive energy was special to have on set, saying: 'Making television is challenging. But there are people that assure you every day with their talent, passion and smile that anything is possible. Matteo was one of those people.'

'We will miss him. The entire Harlem's Kitchen family extends our deepest condolences to Matteo's wife, Aris, his son, Marcello, and the countless friends and family that mourn his passing.'

Credits: Matteo's credits include Luke Cage, The Punisher, Harlem's Kitchen, The Affair and Madam Secretary

Harlem's Kitchen line producer Gail Barringer also sent her condolences, saying: 'Our NY film community is small. We are shattered to learn of Matteo's passing. He was a true, collaborative artist who brought happiness to every show he worked on. He will be greatly missed.'

Matteo's resume includes the films 21 Bridges starring Chadwick Boseman, And So It Goes directed by Rob Reiner, Precious and others.

In addition to his work on Luke Cage, The Punisher and Harlem's Kitchen his other TV credits include The Affair and Madam Secretary.

Big screen: Matteo's resume includes the films 21 Bridges starring Chadwick Boseman, And So It Goes directed by Rob Reiner, Precious and others

ABC Studios also issued a statement, saying: ' We were heartbroken to learn that Matteo DeCosmo, a talented art director with whom we'd worked on many productions including a recent pilot, has passed away.

'He was a true talent, incredibly creative, and beloved by everyone with whom he worked. We will miss him deeply and our hearts go out to his family and friends.'

De Cosmo is survived by wife Aris and son Marcello.
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Twenty-four counties will begin the process of reopening from the Pennsylvania state shutdown spurred by the coronavirus.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday revealed the specific counties that on May 8 will move from the red phase to yellow  the second of three tiers in his administrations reopening plan. Some businesses will be allowed to open in the yellow counties but many restrictions will remain, like prohibitions on large gatherings and the ban on dine-in service at restaurants.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

At the same time, the Department of Health announced 1,208 new coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, and 62 more deaths statewide. The states case count now totals 46,971 with a COVID-19 death toll of 2,354.

Among the newly reported deaths in and around the Lehigh Valley were six in Lehigh County and 20 in Bucks County, neither of which appears close to reaching the levels of new case reports required for the yellow phase, among other metrics.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

All of the 24 counties moving to the yellow phase on May 8 are in the north-central and northwestern regions. They are Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango, and Warren.

They were chosen because of low per-capita case counts, the ability to conduct contact tracing and testing, and appropriate population density to contain community spread, the governors office said in a news release.

Working together, we Pennsylvanians have flattened the curve, Wolf said in a live-streamed briefing. But he urged caution among areas where some restrictions are lifting -- the administration can still re-impose them if outbreaks occur.

In addition to increasing testing, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the state has developed a plan for contact tracing," which is the system for responding to positive and probable cases, determining who they have been in contact with and monitoring their progress in quarantine.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

When it comes to per-capita case counts, which are measured over the prior 14 days, the north-central and northwestern regions have fared better than the more densely populated eastern regions where results have been mixed. In the Lehigh Valley, for instance, Lehigh County improved its number of new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, while the rate in Northampton County got worse, a lehighvalleylive.com analysis found.

When asked by lehighvalleylive.com on Friday, Wolf did not provide an estimate when eastern Pennsylvania may move to the yellow phase. The timetable, he said, is set by the virus but adherence to safe practices like wearing masks, avoiding large gatherings and hand-washing will help.

To the extent we do those things, we can speed up the process," Wolf said. "We control our destiny here.

The state does not track coronavirus recoveries, but says 180,477 tests to date have come back negative for the pandemic virus.

(Cant see the chart above? Click here.)

Residents of long-term care facilities like nursing homes account for 18% of Pennsylvanias coronavirus cases and two-thirds of the states deaths, according to health department statistics.

The health department has said it has been working to reconcile its data with what has been locally reported by county coroners and other medical sources.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

In the Lehigh Valley, where the official death toll is now 174, the state reported six new deaths on Friday, all in Lehigh County. That county now has 80 deaths among 2,850 cases, while Northampton County has 94 deaths among 2,103 cases, according to the state.

Only two other nearby counties had new deaths listed in the daily report.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

To the south, Bucks County has 20 new deaths in the states Friday report, the most of anywhere in the state. That brings its official death toll to 225 among 3,055 cases.

Montgomery County lost 11 more residents, bringing the death toll there to 362 among 4,406 cases  the case count and deaths are the second most in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphias 12,544 cases and 424 deaths.

(Cant see the table? Click here.)

For more information on the coronavirus, consult your state health department at health.pa.gov and the CDC website.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Inmates from various Michigan prisons have filed a class action lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections, in hopes of forcing the department to increase precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus among inmates.

The complaint was filed Wednesday, April 29, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. It claims MDOC is violating the Eighth Amendment, subjecting inmates to cruel and unusual punishment by not taking necessary pandemic precautions.

"Despite the ticking time bomb that COVID-19 represents, MDOC has failed to implement necessary or adequate policies and practices throughout its prisons," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit asks a judge to make MDOC test all prisoners and staff within 14 days, take daily temperatures of all inmates, immediately test inmates if they show COVID-19 symptoms, increase cleaning precautions, require more social distancing and temporarily release low-level security inmates for home confinement.

"The vast majority of the things they're asking us to do, we've already done," MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz said, citing new policies on sanitizing, testing and personal protective equipment.

Michigan inmates hide coronavirus symptoms to avoid prison quarantine

MDOC has tested 3,619 of its 37,000 inmates, with more than 45 percent of tests coming back positive. Hot spots include Lakeland Correctional Facility with 789 inmates testing positive, G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility with 330 confirmed cases and Parnall Correctional Facility with 170 confirmed cases.

MDOC alone has more cases of the virus than every Michigan county besides Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

All inmates in the Lakeland facility have been tested, Gautz said, with about 56 percent testing positive. MDOC is now testing all prisoners at the Cotton facility, he said. There are plans to test entire populations at some prisons  but not all of them, as the lawsuit demands.

Releasing prisoners early isn't an option, Gautz said, as law mandates prisoners must serve their minimum sentences before being let out.

"That would require us to violate state law," Gautz said. "So that's not happening."

However, MDOC is paroling more inmates in light of the pandemic, averaging 200 to 220 paroles per week instead of the normal 140 per week, Gautz said.

Plaintiff Elliott Abrams, who's up for parole in 2021, is concerned about the virus, since he has a compromised immune system from having his spleen removed.

"He has seen infected inmates removed from the prison in body bags and fears he might be the next one," the lawsuit said.

Jermaine Campbell, an inmate at Cotton, has been eligible for parole since 2012. He has asthma and is susceptible to complications of COVID-19, according to the suit. An officer in Campbells facility tested positive for COVID-19 but continued working, the lawsuit alleges.

"(The officer's supervisor) stated that these officers do not have to self-quarantine and that dying was part of prison life," the lawsuit said. "The attitudes of these prison staff show that they dont care whether inmates live or not. Confronted with such an attitude, Campbell fears for his safety and whether he will live to see the future."

The plaintiffs list a slew of allegations of actions that go against Center for Disease Control guidelines on how to handle the coronavirus.

Common areas and prisoner phones are routinely disinfected, inmates aren't required to be 6 feet from each other at meals, cleaning materials are in short supply and officers and nurses do shakedowns and checkups without changing their gloves, the lawsuit alleges.

While MDOC put some coronavirus policies in place, it has failed to enforce them, the lawsuit says.

Another demand from the plaintiffs is to reopen unused cell blocks in Jackson and Standish  including Cell Block 7 in Jackson, which was used as a prison museum until the end of 2019.

MDOC has opened the Green Oaks facility in Whitmore Lake for temporary housing of prisoners, Gautz said, but there aren't plans to open other facilities.

Were focused on serious issues right now, Gautz said. So lawsuits like this will be resolved in the courts in due time.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

Friday, May 1: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Day of angry protests, political maneuvers sets stage for likely legal battle in Michigan

Michigan inmates hide coronavirus symptoms to avoid prison quarantine

Groups call on Michigan to waive the damn rent during coronavirus outbreak
Australian household power bills are set to fall by up to $109 a year following a government order on living costs.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has imposed a ceiling on what electricity retailers can charge existing customers based on the amount of power they use during the next financial year.

Its determination was announced hours before the competition regulator gave energy companies permission to jointly hatch plans to help customers struggling to pay their bills because of coronavirus.

Australian household power bills are set to fall by up to $109 a year following a government order on living costs. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has imposed a ceiling on what electricity retailers can charge existing customers based on the amount of power they use during the next financial year

The AER-mandated savings will apply to consumers without a controlled load arrangement where high-energy appliances like hot water systems are metered separately.

From July 1, South Australians can look forward to a $109 a year, or a 5.6 per cent reduction in their power bills as customers of SA Power Networks.

Energex customers in Brisbane and the Gold Coast can expect to see a 3.9 per cent or $62 reduction.

Sydney customers with Endeavour won't be so lucky, with their bills falling by just $9 a year or 0.5 per cent.

Ausgrid users in Sydney, Gosford and Newcastle can expect even less relief - just $5 or 0.3 per cent.

From July 1, South Australians can look forward to a $109 a year, or a 5.6 per cent reduction in their power bills as customers of SA Power Networks. Pictured is the Adelaide Convention Centre

Regional New South Wales consumers will in fact pay $3 more a year or an extra 0.2 per cent.

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement

Small business customers are set to do better under the AER's default market offer for 2020-21.

South Australians who employ people can expect a $815 a year saving, equating to an 8.9 per cent power bill reduction.

South-east Queenslanders with Energex are getting a $265 or 4.4 per cent saving.

Every year, the AER sets a default market offer an electricity retailer can charge a customer for their annual usage, but it's not a maximum bill.

The final determination was made after consulting with energy providers but the AER said COVID-19 had not affected the decision.

'Based on the available information, we have decided not to make any form of adjustment to this final determination in response to COVID-19,' the final report said.

Sydney customers with Endeavour won't be so lucky, with their bills falling by just $9 a year or 0.5 per cent. Ausgrid users in Sydney, Gosford and Newcastle can expected even less relief - just $5 or 0.3 per cent. Pictured is Manly on Sydney's northern beaches

'This is primarily due to the current uncertainty about the impacts of COVID-19 and the paucity of information to make an adjustment at this time.'

The announcement was made hours before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission declared wholesale and retail energy companies would be allowed to co-operate in providing financial relief to customers affected by COVID-19.

The interim order allows electricity and gas companies to hold discussions, share information and enter arrangements to help residential and business customers.

'We know the COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant economic impact on consumers and businesses in Australia, which is why we have granted this interim authorisation,' the ACCC's chairman Rod Sims said.
Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") wishes to announce the results of its first drill program completed on the Evelyn Gold Property in Sonora, Mexico. All holes intersected anomalous Au mineralization including hole EVE-20-01 which intersected 0.14 grams per tonne (g/t) Au over an intersection length of 21.9 metres (m) which includes an intersection of 0.37 g/t Au over 5.05 m.

The Evelyn property is located in northern Sonora, within the Caborca Gold Belt ("CGB"). The CGB is hosted by the Sonora megashear, which in turn is part of the regional Mojave-Sonora megashear, which extends from southern California through Arizona and Sonora. The Caborca Gold Belt hosts the Noche Buena Mine (167,200 ounces Au produced in 2018) which is located approximately 9 km southwest of Evelyn and La Herradura Mine (474,200 ounces Au produced in 2018) which is located approximately 30 km to the west of Evelyn. During 2019 and early 2020, the company completed programs of geological mapping and sampling which resulted in the recovery of high-grade grab samples and the identification of NW-SE trending fault and shear zones. Combined with historical mapping, soil sampling, and outcrop sampling, the recent field work has resulted in the prioritization of two target domains: the Cerro Rojo domain in the south and the El Sahuaro domain in the north (see attached map).





Evelyn Geological Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/55254_535bfdfba429baf8_001full.jpg

The Company completed 5 diamond drill holes for a total of 818 m on the property during late February and early March. Four holes were drilled in the Cerro Rojo target domain and 1 was drilled at El Sahuaro. The locations of the holes are indicated on the attached map. All holes contained anomalous Au and four of the holes contained intercepts >0.1 g/t Au (see table below)

Table of Significant Intersections, Evelyn Drill program

Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t EVE-20_01 28.30 50.20 21.90 0.14 incl 28.30 33.35 5.05 0.37 EVE-20-01 114.70 141.70 27.00 0.10 EVE-20-02 56.25 66.75 10.50 0.11 incl 56.25 62.25 6.00 0.14 EVE-20-03 21.75 23.25 1.50 0.22 EVE-20-04 No Significant Assays EVE-20-05 31.80 33.30 1.50 0.41



Notes:

Intercepts are calculated at a 0.10 g/t Au cut-off grade

True widths are not known

Holes EVE-20-01 and EVE-20-02 both which were drilled into the Cerro Rojo domain intersected relatively long intercepts of low-grade gold mineralization which targeted an area where recent and historical grab samples have returned up to 43.9 g/t Au. The drilling has confirmed the persistence to depth of favourable geological characteristics, such as structural and alteration features.

Chief Operating Officer Ian McGavney commented, "We consider the results of holes EVE-20-01 and EVE-20-02 very relevant in our exploration database. These holes will be interpreted within the broader framework of the surface mapping and sampling already completed and we will continue to target high grade Au in the area."

Current Work Activities

EVELYN- Subsequent to the completion of the drilling program, Colibri sent a crew of two geologists and two helpers to complete further detailed mapping and sampling on the Cerro Rojo area and also map and sample several under explored areas of interest outside of Cerro Rojo and El Sahuaro. The work has since been suspended due to the Covid 19 outbreak however, the crew are currently scheduled to recommence activities on May 18th when current restrictions due to the Covid-19 are expected to be eased for areas with minimal cases of the disease. Government suggested precautions will be followed by the team. Going forward, the use of the more detailed maps, surface trenching, ground geophysics (in targeted areas), and 3D modeling will be used to derive additional drill targets.

Samples along the most significant interceptions for holes EVE-20-01 and EVE-20-02 will be assayed by metallic screening to define and evaluate the potential presence of coarse gold that may have impacted the assay reports ("nugget effect"). These assays have also been delayed due to the COVID-19 situation at the labs.

In addition, the Company has also recently completed a 500 Ha high-definition topographical drone survey of Evelyn which will aid in spotting possible structures and support surface mapping, sampling and 3D modelling.

EL MEZQUITE - Colibri has also recently completed a 180 Ha high definition topographical drone survey at its El Mezquite Project near the town Tepoca, Sonora. This work has completed in preparation of a targeted geological mapping program on the project's 300m by 600m "Main Zone" and other select areas of interest in the near term. To date, 362 of grab samples have been taken at El Mezquite of which 36 samples contained gold values of > 0.1 g/t Au and with values up to 3.41 g/t Au. The Main Zone has been covered by a 3DIP and ground magnetic survey and shows several features of interest at depth.

JACKIE - Upon completion of the mapping work at El Mezquite the Company plans to begin a grass roots exploration program at its prospective "Jackie" Project which is 2km south of El Mezquite and borders the "Santana" project held by Minera Alamos. The Santana holds the Nicho and Nicho North deposits which are in advanced stage development and anticipated to be in production in late 2020 or early 2021. New drill results released April 30, 2020 by Minera Alamos highlighted an interval of 247.9m of 0.60 g/t Au. The Jackie's eastern boundary abuts the Santana project and is approximately 6.5km from the Nicho and Nicho North deposits.

QAQC

The drill program at Evelyn has been completed within Exploration Best Practice guidelines. Au assays have been completed at ALS Minerals (ALS) laboratory in Hermosillo, Sonora. Chain of custody has been maintained between the field, logging and sampling, and delivery to ALS. Approximately 14% of the assays completed are control samples which include Certified Reference Materials (CRM or standards) blanks and core duplicates.

Rodrigo Calles-Montijo, MSc, CPG of Servicios Geologicos IMEx. S.C. supervised the Evelyn drill program and has evaluated the QAQC data. Mr. Calles is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and has approved the contents of this release.

About Colibri Resource Corporation

Colibri is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange (TSXV: CBI) focused on acquiring and exploring properties in Mexico. The Company currently has five exploration properties at various stages of exploration in Sonora State.

For further information, please contact:

Ronald J. Goguen, President, CEO and Director

Tel: (506) 383-4274

rongoguen@colibriresource.com

www.colibriresource.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulatory services provider (a term that is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and these statements are based on information currently available to the Company.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55254
Explosions at a Syrian military base housing a weapons warehouse Friday were the result of human error" while moving ammunition, the defense ministry said. Ten civilians outside the base were hurt, a local doctor said.

However, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said the blasts at the base near the central city of Homs were caused by a suspected Israeli rocket attack.

The group said Syrian air defenses were activated before the explosions, suggesting they were responding to an incoming attack.

The Observatory said the warehouse was used by Lebanon's Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the country's nine-year civil war.

The Israeli military, which declined to comment, has in the past targeted Iranian and Iranian-backed targets in Syria, saying it won't tolerate Tehran's increasing influence along its borders.

There have recently been several reports of suspected Israeli strikes inside Syria, the last on Monday, when the Syrian military and state media said Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon fired missiles toward areas near the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing three civilians.

The Observatory said four Iran-backed fighters were also killed.

The divergent accounts for Friday's explosions could not be immediately reconciled.

The Syrian government rarely acknowledges Iran and Iranian-backed groups, which have been instrumental in turning the tide of the war in favour of the government, use its military bases and facilities.

After the blasts, which were heard inside the city, smoke could be seen from a distance. The local health director, Hassan al-Guindi, told state media that 10 civilians were injured as they walked by the site.

The provincial governor, Talal Barazi, said the base houses a weapons warehouse. The Observatory said the explosions damaged the base and sent debris flying outside its perimeters.

Separately, Syrian state media reported late Thursday that Israeli helicopters flew over the occupied Golan Heights firing at unidentified targets and causing material damage.

Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes over the years, most aimed at alleged Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah.

Israeli officials have expressed concerns Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities for precision-guided missiles.

In recent weeks, suspected Israeli attacks included the targeting of Iranian-backed fighters in the desert near the central Syrian town of Palmyra, and an Israeli drone attack on a SUV carrying Hezbollah members close to the border with Lebanon.

In other developments Friday, residents in opposition-held northwest Syria, which is home to 3 million people, rallied against the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, a day after its militants shot at demonstrators and killed a protester.

Thursday's demonstration was called to denounce the militants' plan to set up a crossing point between the opposition areas and towns and villages captured by government forces in March.

The crossing was to help the militants' tax collection from the trade of goods between the areas.

Taxation on otherwise smuggled goods are the main source of income for the al-Qaida-linked group.

The shots killed 41-year-old protester Salah Maree, who was buried Friday.

Ezzeddin al-Idlilbi, an activist who was at the protest in the town of Maarat al-Nassan on Thursday, said Maree had already lost three of his children in the war and was a former political prisoner of the Syrian government.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the most powerful militant group in Syria's opposition-held areas, said it was saddened by the death and that it would suspend the opening of the crossing.

Although the group has sought to distance itself from the al-Qaida network, the U.S and Turkey have placed it on their list of terrorist groups.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Zeeshan Akbar came to Australia in search of a better life, but was instead brutally murdered by two teenagers during a criminal rampage in southern NSW.

The 16-year-old stabber dipped his fingers in the blood of the Pakistani student and scrawled 'IS' on a wall, behaviour described by a judge as 'macabre and callous in the extreme'.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Geoffrey Bellew jailed the schizophrenic teenager for 35 years and six months with a non-parole period of 27 years and six months.

His co-offender, who was 15 at the time, was jailed for 18 years and four months with a non-parole period of 13 years and nine months.

They pleaded guilty to a string of offences including the murder Mr Akbar, who was left to die in a pool of blood inside a Queanbeyan Caltex service station in southern NSW in 2017 .

Zeeshan Akbar, 29, (pictured) was brutally murdered by two teenagers while working at a petrol station in April 2017

They embarked on a 'violent and uncontrolled criminal rampage' on the evening of April 6 and the morning of April 7, which killed the 29-year-old attendant and injured other victims, the judge said.

CCTV footage of the cold-blooded murder was 'quite horrifying in the extreme'.

As the 16-year-old followed the defenceless Mr Akbar to the counter, he removed the knife from his pants and stabbed him from behind in 'an act of unmitigated cowardice'.

The attendant tried to fight back but 'in an uncontrolled and ferocious display of gratuitous violence', the teenager inflicted two further blows with the knife, one of which perforated the heart.

The youths took the cash register and cigarettes, before the older teen dipped his finger in the blood and drew the letters 'IS' on the window.

When arrested, he called out 'Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. I'm going to cut your heads off. There is only one God', suggested Sydney was going to be blown up and he was going to behead every police officer.

While these comments and the IS scrawl were obviously disturbing, the judge was not satisfied the teenager was motivated by any form of extremism in light of his mental illness.

Mr Akbar was killed at the Queanbeyan Caltex (pictured) in southern NSW after he was stabbed three times. His blood was later scrawled across the wall into the letters 'IS' for Islamic State

Their crime spree also included the life-threatening stabbing of a driver they flagged down before taking off in his car.

'The deceased was a young man who came to Australia in 2008 to forge a better future for himself and his family,' the judge said.

'As one might expect, the emotional toll of the deceased's death on his family generally, and on his elderly parents in particular, has been substantial.'

Both teenagers had been in trouble with the law, had disadvantaged upbringings and started using alcohol and drugs from an early age.

The judge was satisfied the 16-year-old's schizophrenic condition contributed to the commission of the offences.

'I am not persuaded that the offender has expressed any genuine remorse, although his plea of guilty is some indication of an acceptance of responsibility,' he said.

A psychiatrist had concluded he remains highly susceptible to violent extremists on account of his mental disorder and low level of functioning.

'Those matters support a conclusion that, at least as things presently stand, the offender is at a substantial risk of re-offending,' the judge said.

He found the co-offender's expressions of remorse were genuine and his prospects of rehabilitation appeared favourable.
The impact of COVID-19 on smartphone sales was drastic, as market analysts noted shipments worldwide dropped by millions in the last few months. While manufacturers are typically nonspecific about sales numbers, IDCs Quarterly Mobile Phone tracker noted this was the largest annual (year over year) decline ever at about 11.7 percent.

Canalys pegged the worldwide drop in Q1 at 13 percent from last year, while Strategy Analytics saw the numbers plunge by 17 percent. According to Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, Samsungs global marketshare is holding steady at over 21 percent, and it remains the worlds top smartphone brand. That continues to be followed by Huawei and Apple, as all the major manufacturers shared in a hit to their sales. The companies that remained flat or showed growth according to the analysts included Xiaomi and Vivo, owing to strong sales in India where some products launched before lockdowns began.

Canalys

And things will likely get worse before they get better, as Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Stanton stated Most smartphone companies expect Q2 to represent the peak of the coronavirus impact.
Lawson said many owners are still weighing whether or not they should reopen. He said many business leaders are concerned about peoples health as well as the lack of opportunities for sales.

A lot of them are hurting financially, Lawson said about local business owners. A lot of them havent made money in several months and with parks not opening, with tournaments not going on, camps not happening, students not here  theres really a concern about what were going to do for the next couple of months to generate income.

Four new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Brazos County on Thursday, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 197. According to the Brazos County Health District, there were no new reported deaths from the virus. Sixteen people have died from the new coronavirus in Brazos County to date.

Medical officials said there are 91 active cases in the county, which is two more than Wednesdays total. There have been 3,617 tests performed.
Married At First Sight's Cathy Evans found herself at the centre of controversy earlier this week.

In a now-deleted Instagram comment obtained by The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Friday, the 27-year-old apologised for her 'poor choice of words'.

The logistics manager reportedly received death threats after being accused of making a racial slur in the comments section of an Instagram post.

'I am truly sorry': Married At First Sight's Cathy Evans, 27, (pictured) has apologised for her 'poor choice of words' after being accused of making a racial slur online

On Wednesday, Cathy shared a close-up photo to Instagram of her platinum locks, captioned innocently with the text 'angel vibes' and a cloud emoji.

Confidential revealed on Friday that the makeup artist was accused by some of making a racial slur, when responding to a follower in the comments section.

When asked about her accent as she 'sounds islander', Cathy reportedly responded: 'I've never had that said to me before, but I'm from New Zealand, so maybe that's why I sound like a hood rat FOB (fresh off the boat?)'

Started innocently: On Wednesday, Cathy shared a close-up photo to Instagram (pictured) of her platinum locks, captioned innocently with the text 'angel vibes' and a cloud emoji

It's understood Cathy received death threats, and has since apologised for her 'poor choice of words'.

As reported by Confidential, she responded: 'I am truly sorry if my comment caused any offence, there was no malicious intent. We all make mistakes.

'This poor choice of words does not define my character or entire being. Just as one good deed does not make you a saint, nor does a bad meal make you fat, and vice versa.'

Comments: As reported by The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Friday, Cathy reportedly responded when asked about her 'islander accent': 'I've never had that said to me before, but I'm from New Zealand, so maybe that's why I sound like a hood rat FOB (fresh off the boat?)'

Cathy was born in Bangkok to a Thai mother and a Welsh father, and was raised in New Zealand.

She has been living in Australia for the past few years.

Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Cathy has found herself at the centre of controversy.

In March, the reality star apologised for using a racial slur in a resurfaced Instagram post from 2015, when she was aged 21.

Past actions: Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Cathy has found herself at the centre of controversy. In March, the reality star apologised for using a racial slur in a resurfaced Instagram post from 2015, when she was aged 21

'I regret my use of this word': In the post, which has since been deleted, she used the N-word while documenting her weight loss

'I was younger and made some foolish decisions': The offensive caption was accompanied by this photo of Cathy posing in her bedroom

In the post, which has since been deleted, she used the N-word while documenting her weight loss.

Cathy told Daily Mail Australia at the time: 'This post is from 2015 when I was younger and made some foolish decisions. I regret my use of this word and am deeply sorry for any offence I may have caused.'

The offensive caption was accompanied by a photo of Cathy posing in her bedroom.

She wrote: 'Me high waisted shorts getting a little baggy but n***a I'm still wearing them cuz I'm cheap af and don't wanna buy new ones.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:06:54|Editor: huaxia

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VALLETTA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Friday that the return of a boatload of migrants to Libya on Easter Sunday was not a pushback but the country's efforts to ensure that they arrived safely in a port that was still open.

The government is under pressure from international organizations for having coordinated the return of the migrants rescued by a Maltese fishing boat and handed them over to the Libyan coastguard on Easter Sunday. They claim Malta breached its international obligations as it knows that the migrants will, in all probability, face inhumane and degrading treatment once returned to camps in Libya.

At a press conference, Abela insisted that Malta had always respected and gone beyond its international obligations.

"There was no pushback... Had it not been Malta that coordinated the rescue, people would have died at sea," said the PM.

"The EU passed with its Frontex plane but did not offer assistance. Others closed their ports. Malta also closed its ports but still coordinated the rescue operation and ensured that the migrants are taken to a port that is still open, thereby saving lives," he said.

He explained that the Search and Rescue Convention stipulates the legal obligations of individual states that are not obliged to carry out the actual rescues but to coordinate such rescues. The obligations also state that countries can use their own assets or send private assets to rescue boats in distress.

Malta on Thursday rescued a group of migrants and commissioned a tourist ferry boat, currently at a standstill due to COVID-19, to house them until a solution to their disembarkation is found.

"We are ready to do anything to save lives. We have nothing to be ashamed of," Abela said, adding that the cost for the Captain Morgan boat being used to temporarily house migrants outside Maltese waters will come from aid by the EU.

"We are not a safe port and we cannot guarantee our resources for rescues... We are obeying international rules," he said.

The migration problem should not be "Malta's alone," he added, calling for the EU to intervene. Enditem
I never meant to kiss Miuccia Prada. Not on the lips, anyway. It was a muggy afternoon in the spring of 2015, and I was in Tokyo at the opening of her new Miu Miu store. I had been waiting in line to congratulate her. The lights above me hung bright and hot, and I knew without looking that I had sweated through the tailored suit Id been given to wear for the occasion. A famous French actress stood two people ahead of me at the front of the line. Her arms Pietad out as she approached the Italian designer, hands landing confidently on Mrs. Pradas shoulders, and, as if tracing the line of a toppled-over parabola, she kissed her  mwah  on the left cheek, and then again  mwah  on the right. The next person followed suit, making it through the exchange without incident. Then it was my turn. I kind of cranked forward and cupped Mrs. Pradas waist the way a high school junior might initiate a slow dance. Then I lurched even closer, barely grazing one side of her cheek on the first try. On the second, determined this time to make contact, I touched the hinge of her lips to mine.

I have tried my best to avoid la bise  a gentle, platonic kiss said to have been introduced to the French by Roman soldiers during the Gallic Wars  ever since. But as the editor of a style magazine whose job includes going to the fashion shows in Paris and Milan twice a year, thats not always easy. And when I fail  as I often do  its rarely pretty. One time, I got a publicists earring lodged between the arm of my glasses and a sprout of unkempt sideburn. Another time, I went in for the initial right-to-right cheek smack (as is customary in Paris) only to realize that the person Id been introduced to was from Italy (where they usually begin on the opposite side). In another instance, after Id absolutely nailed the double kiss, my Belgian acquaintance ruined everything by going back in for a triple-dip. The agreed-upon number of kisses varies not only across countries but across regions within countries. The comedian Julio Torres told me, jokingly, that in his native El Salvador, la bise serves the additional purpose of proving that youre not a bot: We do one kiss, but adding another isnt a big deal. Like, OK, Ill do your captcha.
The Google Pixel 4a was scheduled to launch soon, however, with the Coronavirus pandemic, the plans to launch the phone were delayed in most regions.

However, someone did get their hands on the phone and tweeted a bunch of pictures from the phone and just like every Pixel phone, the 4a camera samples look absolutely phenomenal.

 Twitter/Julio_lusson

Judging from the images shared online, the Pixel 4a looks very clean without any noticeable noise and the colours really do pop. It looks more vibrant than images from its predecessor and even shows the cameras HDR capabilities.

The smartphone is expected to come with a 12MP, however, the sensor has been fine-tuned by Googles computational photography algorithm.

 TechDroider_Google Pixel Community

While Pixel smartphones are known for taking great pictures, we were expected to see new exclusive features for the Pixel 4a at Googles annual I/O event.

The event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, however, we can expect Google to announce their new mid-range phone soon.

Weve seen leaks about the phone including the retail box of the device and a potential release. If rumours and the Leakes are to be believed; the Pixel 4a is expected to launch on May 22nd, around the same time as the cancelled Google I/O event.

Are you excited about Googles new mid-range smartphone? The Pixel 4 never really launched in India last year and it could be Googles first phone in India since the Pixel 3.
Businesses and states depending on large population growth are facing a coronavirus shock with the Morrison government expecting a fall of up to 300,000 people moving to Australia over the next two years.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday revealed the government expects net overseas migration to fall by 30 per cent in the current financial year before crashing by 85 per cent in 2020-21.

This year's budget had assumed a net 270,000 increase in migration for 2019-20 and just a small drop off the following year. An 85 per cent drop would take net migration down to 40,500, the lowest rate in decades.

Scott Morrison has revealed the government expects a large fall in net overseas migration this year and next, prompting concerns about the economic hit facing the country.

Mr Morrison conceded if the forecast drop in migrant numbers were accurate there would be an economic and budget hit but argued this was why the government was looking at pro-growth policies in the wake of the pandemic.




By Park Si-soo







Taiwan's intelligence chief said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "sick" but remains in control of the nuclear-armed nation.







Chiu Kuo-cheng, director of the National Security Bureau (NSB), said the North has contingency plans in the event of Kim's sudden death, according to local









The director revealed this at a government hearing by legislators.







"My answer is from the intelligence that is available and it is not an opinion," Chiu said.







He laughed and refused to reply when asked if Kim was alive, the report said.







When asked about how the bureau had obtained the sensitive intelligence, the director refused to elaborate, citing the need to protect the intelligence service's sources in North Korea.







He assured legislators that contingency plans were ready for a potential power struggle in the region if the North Korean leader did succumb, according to the Taipei Times.






The Centre will offer cheap grains to an additional 3.9 million people, who qualify for subsidized ration under the National Food Security Act 2013 but are out of the public distribution system due to inclusion errors, Union consumer affairs, food and public distribution minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said.

Paswan said his ministry is on a mission to ensure no beneficiary is left behind and has asked all states to issue ration cards to those excluded and send the data so that foodgrains could be allotted to them. Bihar alone has 1.4 million such people, Paswan said.

Once states send their lists, the beneficiaries would get additional ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, a welfare package announced on March 26 to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.

We have asked states to send us the list. We are ready to meet all additional foodgrain requirements. We have enough stocks. Our aim is to ensure everybody has food, Paswan said. Federally held food stocks currently stand at 56 million tonnes, while 6 million tonne are needed for the next three months, he added.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, beneficiaries are being given double their current food entitlement free of cost for the next three months.

Nearly 810 million qualify for subsidised foodgrains under the food security law, under which beneficiaries get 5kg of wheat or rice covers per person per month. The Act applies to 67% of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban pockets).

According to the minister, 3.9 million of these 810 million are still outside the ration system due inclusion and enumeration errors. State governments have to give them ration cards so that we can release their ration, he said.

The Right to Food Campaign activists have said the government should universalize the countrys public distribution system. This implies that nobody is excluded, but the rich automatically exclude themselves.

Paswan said food allocation to beneficiaries was in accordance with the National Food Security Act. A revision of the number of beneficiaries could be done only during the next Census slated for 2021, according to section 9 of the Act.

The Covid-19 lockdown announced on March 24 pushed thousands of internal migrants, especially in cities, into a food crisis. During the initial phase of the lockdown, they were virtually outside the countrys public (grains) distribution network or PDS that offers that offers cheap grains. Many states have now set up community kitchens to serve them.

Subsidized grains are only available to beneficiaries who have eligible ration cards. Most migrants in cities either do not have them or have with their families back in their home states, said Deepa Sinha, who teaches at Delhis Ambedkar University.

Paswan has also approved the on-boarding of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu the One Nation One Ration Card plan. Twelve states are already on board an interstate cluster under the plan. These are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura. Reviewing the progress of the implementation of national portability of ration card holders under the One Nation One Ration Card plan, Paswan monitored the technical readiness of these new states.

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Angel & Crown landlady Mel Keogh with barman Robert Brown. (Liva Puce)

Were taking away the ancient, inalienable right of free-born people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub, said UK prime minister Boris Johnson last month. And I can understand how people feel about that.

Tens of thousands of pubs shut up shop after the prime ministers announcement, and the owners of many pubs and their brewery suppliers fear for their survival.

But the government did not force pubs to shut their doors entirely  and a growing number are finding creative ways to keep them ajar.

The rise of the takeaway pint

You get people saying its so nice to be in a pub again, even if its not for long, said Mel Keogh, landlady of the Angel & Crown, near Bethnal Green in east London.

The pubs chairs may be gathering dust, but it is now open to drinkers popping in for a pint  as long as they take it away. Punters bring their own bottles and queue up two metres apart to take home fresh draught beer. Some even bring plastic milk bottles to stock up.

Keogh expected to mainly draw in regulars for whom the pub on Roman Road is a second home. But she was surprised to see many new faces. Were getting lots of young people out shopping, on jobs or wandering further on their daily walk who havent visited before.

READ MORE: UK alcohol sales in supermarkets jump during lockdown

The pub even had to expand its craft beer range to meet demand, and has started home deliveries too. Czech lager at 2.60 ($3.20) a pint and Indian pale ale (IPA) on tap for under a fiver are proving popular with locals bored of lockdown life.

The takeaway pint is clearly a wider phenomenon, with the collapse in trade forcing the industry to innovate to stay afloat. More than 2,000 pubs, breweries and cideries are now offering collection and delivery services, according to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which compiled its own list. Some pubs are even partnering with Deliveroo.

For Keogh, the boom shows how ingrained pubs are in our culture. She said many customers were passionate about supporting their local. Some tell her theyre stocking up for birthday Zoom calls, and making friends envious by sipping draught beer on the couch.

Story continues

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Takeaway drinks are not the only way pubs are trying to stay trading, or at least stay at the forefront of regulars minds.

Ben Wilkinson, national director of CAMRA, told Yahoo Finance UK one pub he knew was doing a roaring trade after reinventing itself as a fish-and-chip shop. Others are holding online events and quizzes.

Virtual pub quizzes have soared in popularity under the lockdown, and some hope it will boost attendance at real ones in future. People who dont normally go to pub quizzes are doing them, noted Ben Wilkinson, national director of Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

It even caught the attention of the Washington Post, with the US newspaper running the headline: The pubs are closed, but Brits wont give up their quizzes.

Wilkinson also hopes absence could make the heart grow fonder, boosting pub visits nationally after the lockdown. Camras been banging on for years about pubs closing  now people are seeing what lifes like without them. They dont like it very much.

Pubs and breweries on the brink

Takeaway pints at the Angel & Crown. (Mel Keogh)

Yet the short-term outlook for many pubs remains bleak. For some, takeaway and delivery services are not even an option.

Many lack a licence to sell drinks for consumption off site. The government has resisted calls to waive the requirement, despite encouraging restaurants to become takeaways, relaxing other business rules and bowing to pressure to keep off-licences open.

Such new initiatives also wont plug the gap on most pubs balance sheets. Clearly its a really difficult time if youve got no income but still have outgoings, said Wilkinson.

The lockdown is particularly agonising for the Angel & Crowns landlady, who only opened the pub in mid-December. Keogh, 33, had spent her life savings transforming the pub and its past unsavoury reputation, after tiring of office work as a finance analyst.

READ MORE: JD Wetherspoon plans June reopening

Most staff have been furloughed as the pubs income has tumbled. Many of Keoghs elderly regulars are not even leaving their homes, and she has also slashed takeaway prices to keep them affordable for those who do.

Even major pub chains are struggling. Wetherspoons financial statements make plain its sales have been zero since the governments order on 20 March, with its pubs in hibernation.

The woes of pubs, restaurants, and bars are hurting breweries and other suppliers too.

Beer industry leaders say higher supermarket and off-licence sales cannot compensate for pub revenue losses. The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has warned many members with no supermarket links may not survive, with their beer sales down 82%.

Suppliers troubles can then hamper pubs in turn. Every day we face a new challenge, said Keogh, who is now struggling to get hold of cellar gas essential for beer and soft drinks. My supplier seems to have shut up shop, and others wont take on new accounts.

Support not reaching all firms

Wetherspoon sales are 'zero,' with pubs in 'hibernation.' (PA)

The peacetime lockdown has come alongside unprecedented government support for firms, including pubs. But it is not reaching all of them, and not likely to compensate for all the damage.

The Angel & Crown benefited from a grant scheme, but firms have to navigate application systems and wait for cash. Keogh faced several hurdles including a rejection of her initial application. She said it was accepted after she resubmitted it, unchanged.

Around 10,000 pubs are not even eligible for the grant, and many others have not applied. British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) research found just a quarter of eligible pubs had received them in some parts of Britain.

As for the governments more high-profile business loan scheme, only around half of hospitality firms have applied, with many fearful over debt burdens. 57% of those who have were rejected, according to a UKHospitality trade body survey.

Meanwhile other calls for help have fallen on deaf ears. Empty pubs were expected to pay beer duty as normal in April. Many landlords expect full rent eventually, with many only delaying collection. Insurance schemes are providing little help either, with just 1% of UKHospitality members receiving payouts.

Things arent going back to normal

Job losses have mounted since the crisis began, but the governments job retention scheme may have prevented millions more redundancies, including at pubs.

Almost 99% of JD Wetherspoon (JDW.L) staff are among those furloughed. Some 43,000 of its workers are on leave receiving 80% of their wages through the government, capped at 2,500 a month.

The scheme means many pubs can retain staff for now. Wetherspoons hopes to reopen in June, but many firms fear there will be no swift return to business as usual and furlough support could be slashed too soon.

READ MORE: $10bn hotel startup asks high earners to take pay cut as staff furloughed

Things arent going back to normal for a long time even if pubs are allowed to open, said Wilkinson. Itll be phased, and lots of people will still be understandably nervous about getting coronavirus.

The BBPAs chief executive Emma McClarkin warned last week opening pubs with social distancing restrictions would be extremely difficult for staff and customers alike. She warned trade could be half of pre-crisis levels, but staff wage costs will suddenly leap back to normal once the furlough scheme ends.

UKHospitality fears a million job losses if the scheme is not extended, and also want the rules relaxed as furloughed staff currently cannot work.

A report by think tank Reform this week argued firms should be allowed to reintroduce staff part-time as the lockdown eases while still topping up wages through the scheme, preventing a financial cliff edge. The Treasury says it will take into account the lockdown and recovery when deciding on how and when the scheme ends.

Some drinkers may flock back to pubs, but others may also simply lose the habit as well as worry over the virus, according to Wilkinson.

For the CAMRA director, such fears make many pubs recent reinvention as takeaway outlets even more vital. The ones that can do something different are the ones thatll survive.

The takeaway pint could even outlive the crisis. Its better people get their home beer from a pub than Tesco. Itd almost be going back to the 60s and 70s, when pubs had off-sales windows and there were fewer off-licences and supermarkets, he noted.

For now, Keogh remains positive: The pub is a labour of love, but I wanted to give something back to the community. This is even more motivation to keep it going now.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at Berston Field House in Flint, Mich., on March 9, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

GOP Senators Resume Calls for Biden-Burisma Probe to Proceed

The Biden-Burisma investigation is again coming back into focus after the COVID-19 outbreak reset priorities for lawmakers and pushed the probe onto the back burner.

Two Republican senators on Thursday sent a letter to the State Department (pdf) asking for records and interviews with persons of interest regarding Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy company that once employed former Vice President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden on its board.

Co-signed by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the letter requests interviews and documents that pertain to the probe.

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Finance (the Committees) continue to examine potential conflicts of interest relating to the Obama administrations policy decisions with respect to Ukraine and Burisma Holdings, wrote Johnson and Grassley, who serve as chairmen of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and of the Finance Committee, respectively.

The Committees are examining the extent to which representatives of Burisma used individuals with close personal connections to high-level officials within the Obama administration to gain access to and potentially influence U.S. government agencies, they wrote in the letter, which is addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Of particular interest to the Committees are records that relate to Joe Bidens interactions with then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko specific to an investigation into Burisma by Ukraines Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.

Shokin was fired by Poroshenko in March 2016 for reasons the former Prosecutor General claims had to do with his probe into Burisma.

Former Vice President Biden previously expressed that he wanted Prosecutor General Viktor Shakin fired. When did the United States government determine that Shokin should be removed? Johnson and Grassley wrote in the letter. Please explain the justification for that decision and how and when that determination was communicated to the Ukrainian government.

Hunter Bidens reportedly lucrative position on the board of Burisma while his father was in office has drawn the ire of Republicans.

Burisma was at the center of attempts by President Donald Trump in July 2019 to persuade Ukraine to launch an investigation into the Bidens.

In February, state investigators in Ukraine launched a probe into alleged pressure by Joe Biden that led to Shokins dismissal.

Both Bidens have rejected claims of corrupt activities.

In March, Sen. Johnson sought to subpoena Blue Star Strategies, a U.S. firm with ties to Burisma.

As part of the committees ongoing investigation, it has received U.S. government records indicating that Blue Star sought to leverage Hunter Bidens role as a board member of Burisma to gain access to, and potentially influence matters at, the State Department, Johnson said at the time, The Hill reported.

But as the crisis caused by the outbreak of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, grew in severity and upended lawmaker priorities, the focus on the probe waned.

Theres not much we can do for the time being, is there? Johnson told The Hill in March, acknowledging the investigation was on the back burner as the Senate went on an extended recess.

In the letter, Johnson and Grassley also requested interviews with the following members of the State Department: U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Bridgett Brink, U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent, and State Department official Elizabeth Zentos.

The two senators asked for the records to be provided and the interviews to be arranged by May 14 at the latest.
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As protesters gathered shoulder-to-shoulder inside and outside the Michigan Capitol on Thursday, the Republican-majority legislature opted not to extend the states COVID-19 state of emergency.

That means legislative approval for the governors authority to issue executive orders and marshal resources to respond to the global pandemic expired at 11:59 p.m. April 30. But before that, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared the state of emergency wasnt over, issuing a trio of new executive orders that would extend the state of emergency through May 28.

Whitmer also moved to extend an order banning in-person dining at restaurants and bars and the opening of theaters, gyms, salons, casinos and other businesses through May 28.

So where does that put the state of Michigan, where 41,379 people have had confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 3,789 have died?

The court system will likely have the final say.

Related: Michigan House adjourns without extending coronavirus state of emergency

Both the House and Senate gave its leadership the go-ahead to sue Whitmer if she continues issuing emergency executive orders after April 30.

If she does not recognize the end of the emergency declaration, we have no other choice but to act for our constituents, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, said in a Senate floor speech Thursday evening.

Republicans in both legislative chambers argued Whitmer has gone too far with her emergency authority. Some alluded to Whitmers office releasing an email exchange outlining Shirkeys initial proposal for two one-week emergencies in exchange for requiring the legislature approve any future stay-at-home orders, calling her interactions with the legislature during the COVID-19 outbreak improper.

Related: Gov. Whitmer to legislature: Michigan is still in a state of emergency

Sen. Ken Horn, R-Frankenmuth, said Whitmer has insulted, demeaned and ignored this legislature. House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said he still hopes to partner with the governor on COVID-19 response, adding, I hope for the sake of the people of our entire state that she takes our hand and works with us and builds bridges.

But legislative Democrats sided with Whitmer, who said the governor needs flexibility to respond to the outbreak as the death toll continues to rise.

Now is not the time to limit the tools available to our state, said state Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, a coronavirus survivor.

Others criticized the decision to spend money on a lawsuit fighting the governors powers during a pandemic, while the state is expecting billions of dollars in tax revenue losses.

In the middle of a pandemic, are we that petty? Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said.

Related: Protesters brave the rain to send message to Michigan leaders as coronavirus state of emergency debate rages

In a statement, Whitmer said the crisis isnt over, regardless of what lawmakers believe.

By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk, she said. "Im not going to let that happen.

Whitmers office also indicated she would not sign Senate Bill 858, legislation passed along partisan lines in both chambers that laid out extension dates for certain executive orders issued by the governor.

Notably, one of the provisions in the bill would allow restaurants, bars, gyms and other public-facing businesses to open May 15, albeit with some social distancing restrictions.

The bill does not comply with constitutional requirements and the governor wont sign bills that constrain her ability to protect Michigan residents from COVID-19, Whitmers office said in a statement.

Throughout the daylong legislative session, several hundred protesters took to the Capitol lawn and the building itself in an ultimately successful effort to convince the legislative majority not to side with Whitmer.

Protesters from all over the state began gathering around 8 a.m. By 10:30, Michigan State Police estimated that between 600 and 700 people were outside the Capitol. Few wore masks. Some carried firearms, others carried flags or signs.

Related: Protesters tell lawmakers vote no on extending state of emergency, argue freedoms outweigh coronavirus threat

While many of the protesters voiced support for holding lawmakers accountable, the primary concern was Whitmers leadership.

Its been a disaster, how shes handled this crisis, said Livonia resident Patricia Stephanoff. Its basically no consideration whatsoever about using common sense.

Shortly after speakers wrapped up addressing the crowd from the Capitol steps, protesters piled into the Capitol building, causing a backup in the lobby. A line formed outside the doors as people crowded next to each other, disregarding CDC recommendations that people stand six feet apart.

Protesters were allowed in the Senate gallery, but not the House gallery, where some lawmakers were seated to help maintain social distancing on the floor. The decision to close the House gallery to the public resulted in a confrontation between staff and three protesters s day earlier.

On Thursday, a crowd gathered around the entrance to the House floor - an area thats always off-limits to the general public - and chanted, Let us in.

To abide with executive orders, only 275 people are allowed inside the Capitol building at a time, Michigan State Police Lt. Brian Oleksyk said. Once that numbers was hit, officers enforced the rule and would not allow anyone in until more people left the building.

One arrest had been made as of 2 p.m. after one protester assaulted another, Oleksyk said.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

Read more Michigan coronavirus coverage here

Showdown brewing between Whitmer, Michigan Republicans over coronavirus state of emergency

Wednesday, April 29: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Michigan sees 100 more coronavirus deaths, 1,100 new confirmed cases

U.P.s painful dilemma: Almost no coronavirus now, but at what cost?

Protesters of Michigans coronavirus response removed from House gallery

Hospitals cant deny service based on a persons worth, Whitmer orders

Construction to resume May 7 in Michigan

Henry Ford doctor who nearly died from coronavirus was on ventilator 9 days ago, now hes home
Married At First Sight's Jessika Power has undergone yet another transformation.

The reality star, 26, showed off her new chic blunt bob that stops just above her shoulders and decolletage.

Just two weeks earlier, Jessika had gone to the same Gold Coast salon, Blow Bar Lane, to ditch her hefty extensions and try out a lob.

'It's such a weight off!' Jessika Power (pictured) went the hairdresser for the second time in two weeks on Friday to chop more length off her locks

Jessika debuted the new look on Friday, styling the modern cut with a cropped singlet from Kookai and matching high-waisted white trousers.

She added a pop of colour with red lipstick, as well as a subtle caramel-toned eyeshadow and a bold highlighter on her cheekbones.

Jessika was met with the slew of compliments from other MAFS alum, including Tash Herz, Hayley Vernon and Poppy Jennings, as well as Love Island's Kim Hartnett and Margarita Smith.

'Love love love your hair like this,' said MAFS season six star Tamara Joy.

Stunning: The reality star, 26, showed off her new look in a sultry Instagram post, looking chic with a blunt cut that stopped above her shoulders and decolletage

Jessika replied: 'Omg me too. It's such a weight off!'

'I want to do this! Love,' Cathy Evans wrote, to which Jessika commented: 'You would look divine with this hair omg.'

Just two weeks earlier, the Surfers Paradise salon shared a video of the transformation to their Instagram page shortly after Jessika's first visit.

They captioned it: 'Sooo, our girl @jessika_power did a thing. Are you team long or team short? We are LOVING these shorter locks at the moment!'

Chopped! Jessika is known for her lengthy locks, but now she's ditched her signature look for a shorter, blunt bob

'Jess still wears 100g of our Beaded Wefts,' they said, referencing the use of hair extensions to give her look extra body.

Jessika is believed to be self-isolating with new boyfriend, landscaper James Brown, after the couple debuted their relationship earlier this year.

In April, the controversial blonde said she and the 35-year-old father-of-one want to have children together in the near future.

Cute: Jessika is believed to be self-isolating with new boyfriend, landscaper James Brown, after the couple debuted their relationship last month. Last week, the controversial blonde said she and the 35-year-old father-of-one want to have children together in the near future. She is pictured with James' son here

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, Jessika said: 'Jamie and I have actually had the conversation, we're trying to for kids soon.'

Jessika also referred to herself as the 'stepmother' of James' young son, showing that their relationship was getting serious.

'I'm definitely his stepmum, we're full time now and I look after him a lot,' she said.
A hospitalized patient's relative takes a break after he wrote a letter as the only way to communicated with the patient, outside a public hospital in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. (AP)

San Diego: The Trump administration on Thursday suspended immigration court hearings for asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico through June 1, bowing to public health concerns while extending a state of limbo those locked down in Mexican migrant shelters.

With an order suspending hearings through Friday set to expire, the Homeland Security and Justice departments said that asylum-seekers with hearings through June 1 should appear at a border crossing when instructed to get new dates.

They said in a joint statement that authorities will review conditions related to the coronavirus and proceed as expeditiously as possible, raising the prospect of additional delays.

While it is difficult to know precisely, the Justice Department estimated in late February that there were 25,000 people waiting in Mexico for hearings in US court.

A woman who fled Nicaragua with her 9-year-old son said on Thursday that the delays mean more time locked down in a Tijuana shelter, which, like many in the Mexican border city, stopped accepting new migrants and won't let anyone already there leave to work or shop to prevent the virus from spreading.

She moved to the shelter in March after a family that subsidised her rent ended their support due to a job loss.

Mileidy, the woman's middle name, said she showed up at a San Diego crossing for her fifth hearing under heavy rain at 3 am on April 7, an hour ahead of the appointed time. She said she was unable to reach US officials for a new date but learned online that her next hearing was May 7.

About a week ago, Mileidy's attorney got notice that her hearing was delayed again, this time to June 16. She spoke on condition that her full name not be published due to fears for her personal safety.

All of this time in Mexico is nerve-wracking, said Mileidy, who ran out of epilepsy medicine for her son and has been unable to get a new supply.

More than 60,000 asylum-seekers have been returned to Mexico to wait for hearings in US court since January 2019, when the US introduced its Migrant Protection Protocols policy, known informally as Remain in Mexico.

It became a key pillar of the administration's response to an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking families at the border, drawing criticism for having people wait in highly dangerous Mexican cities.

Barely 1% of the nearly 45,000 Return to Mexico cases decided through March won asylum, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Nearly all people represent themselves, with barely 6% having attorneys.

The future of Remain in Mexico has become less certain after the administration temporarily suspended immigration laws using a 1944 public-health law, whisking Mexicans and Central Americans to the nearest border to be returned to Mexico without a chance to seek asylum.

Nearly 10,000 people were expelled in less than three weeks after the emergency move took effect on March 21.

Jewish Family Service of San Diego continues to get 15 to 20 requests a week on its hotline from asylum-seekers subject to Remain in Mexico who wants legal representation, said attorney Luis Gonzalez, who is handling Mileidy's case.

"Right now it's a little challenging to say, 'Yes, I can represent you,' when we don't know when their next hearing will be," Gonzalez said. "We really can't commit to a case."

The Justice Department, which oversees immigration courts, has also suspended hearings for people who are released in the United States through May 15 in response to COVID-19, exacerbating a backlog of about 1.1 million cases.

Hearings continue for people held in detention centers despite calls for a total shutdown from unions representing immigration judges and Homeland Security Department attorneys as well as immigration lawyers.
The artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector is the force behind trade in mercury even as experts warn of the heavy metal's risks to not just health but also the environment.

To keep these dealings going, and feed its appetite for mercury--which is perceived as a cheaper and quicker method, especially for individual players--the sector has resorted to secrecy and corruption.

A report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) titled "Opening the black box: Local insights into the formal and informal global mercury trade revealed" and released in mid-April, reveals that most of the mercury imported into the region ends up in the mining industry, where its use is prohibited.

"Although non-extractive consumption accounts for the majority of the inventoried imports, the stable availability of mercury within the local artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector is suggestive of a prevailing unofficial market," said researchers, who in 2019 mapped formal and informal mercury import and export in East Africa, with a particular focus on identifying illicit trade routes, trade hubs, price and quantity patterns, and key players.

Data on formal mercury trade in East Africa is based on national statistics reported to the UN Comtrade and Trade Map.

Most of the mercury is reported as going into industrial use by 31 chemical companies in the region: 16 in Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, nine in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and six Kampala in Uganda.

However, attempts to reach these companies was unsuccessful as the available telephone contacts went unanswered.

Mercury has become an increasingly controversial commodity in the face of the Minamata Convention, which entered into force in August 2017 and sets out several measures to control the supply of and trade in mercury including the regulation of the informal sector of ASGM, which is the single largest source of mercury emissions, not just in East Africa but globally.

All three countries are signatories to the Minamata Convention, a global treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment from negative effects of mercury.

Only Uganda has ratified the convention (March 2019). The statutory scheme, as it stands, does not prohibit the import of mercury but mandates clearance protocols for mercury imports associated with local industries such as ASGM, agriculture and cosmetics.

In 2015, ASGM emitted an average of 838 tonnes of mercury- or 38 per cent of all sectors' emission- followed by the stationary combustion of coal power plants with 13.1 per cent and cement production with 10.5 per cent.

The trade is controlled by gold dealers as they have financial capital and connections to the global mercury supply chain. At lower levels, it is controlled by local gold dealers, mine pit holders and owners of gold concentration and extraction operations.

Smuggling and bribing

Mercury for usage in ASGM, misdeclaration, smuggling and bribing are common in the trading networks with multi-layered cartel-like structures being well established and generally operating in secrecy," said senior expert on ecosystems and extractives at IUCN NL, Mark van der Wal.

The investigators who followed the mercury routes through the various trading hubs to the ASGM sites, unearthed a web of schemes employed by traders to under-report amounts imported resulting in varying data.

For example, at the international level, there are discrepancies between the data reported to Trade Map and that reported to UN Comtrade.

While Kenya reported to have imported mercury from Mexico (10,708kg), Panama (342kg), India (1,193kg), Vietnam (862kg) and Turkey (4,313kg) in 2018, only Mexico and India reported exporting 10,766kg and 7,763kg of mercury respectively to Kenya in that year.

"This could be due to mercury export bans in the EU and US thus the exporters intentionally do not report mercury exports," said the experts in their report.

Mercury is ubiquitously used in gold concentrate amalgamation around the world. At least 20 million people in the ASGM sector use it on a daily basis to capture gold from the ore, making this technique of gold mining one of the largest contributors of mercury emissions and pollution.

About 98 per cent of all ASGM operators in the region use mercury. Up to one million Tanzanians, 140,000 Kenyans, and 31,622 Ugandans are directly involved in ASGM work.

For the past eight years, Kenya imported an average of 19,070kg of mercury compared with Tanzania at 2,821kg Uganda at 123kg.

"There is a clear indication that especially part of Kenya's officially imported mercury intended for industrial use is redirected to the ASGM sector," said the report compiled by the Centre for Environmental Justice and Development in Kenya, Africa Centre for Energy and Mineral Policy in Uganda and a third partner in Tanzania that did not want to be made known due to fear of persecution.

Investigations found that large-scale informal mercury importers and gold dealers in the three countries create primary and secondary supply flows under the pretext that it was for industrial, medical use, and had links with downstream level wholesale and retail mercury dealers consisting of gold brokers and local dealers who then distribute the mercury to the ASGM operators.

"In Kenya, mercury is formally imported for industrial use, mostly through the port of Mombasa. However, large quantities of this mercury end up being diverted to the Kenyan ASGM sites as well as Tanzania (through Sirare and Namanga borders) and Uganda (through Busia and Malaba borders), going as far as DRC, Burundi and South Sudan," said the report.

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Tanzania is said to use the most mercury in gold harvesting at up to 50 tonnes every year, Kenya and Uganda only use about six tonnes per year.

"The mercury trade network being very secretive and suppliers typically only selling it to familiar buyers, continues to give most miners access to mercury," said the researchers in their report. This is in spite of training and initiatives by non-governmental organisations encouraging miners to adopt mercury-free extraction alternatives.

There have been several initiatives to reduce mercury usage in East Africa, notably the Global Mercury Project around 2006-2008, a very limited number of people use retorts, a device that even though still using mercury, captures 75 to 95 per cent of mercury for reuse.

"Most people working within ASGM are aware of the hazards and either choose to run a calculated risk or mitigate this risk by burning the amalgam in open air," noted the researchers.

"In spite of introduction of mercury-reducing devices such as retorts they have continued extracting gold with mercury."
Virgin Galactic's newest SpaceShipTwo space plane just flew freely above its New Mexico home base for the first time.

The suborbital spacecraft, named VSS Unity, conducted its first unpowered glide flight over Spaceport America today (May 1), notching a milestone on the path to commercial operations, Virgin Galactic representatives announced.

Unity already had numerous glide and other test flights under its belt. The vehicle has even reached suborbital space twice, on piloted test missions in December 2018 and February 2019 . But those flights lifted off from Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California, near the headquarters of The Spaceship Company, the Virgin Galactic manufacturing subsidiary that built Unity.

Video: See Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo soar over Spaceport America

Related: How Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo works (infographic)

SpaceShipTwo Unity completes a runway landing at Spaceport America, New Mexico finishing its first free flight in New Mexico airspace. pic.twitter.com/iJ1sD1cAmWMay 1, 2020 See more

Unity's test campaign had been based in Mojave until February of this year, when the vehicle arrived at Spaceport America beneath the wings of its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane, which is called VMS Eve.

The six-passenger SpaceShipTwo is designed to be carried aloft by WhiteKnightTwo, then dropped at an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters). At that point, SpaceShipTwo's onboard rocket motor kicks on, blasting the vehicle up to suborbital space.

Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity performs its first glide flight over Spaceport America in New Mexico on May 1, 2020. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

That latter step didn't happen during today's glide flight. Unity's pilots, Dave Mackay and C.J. Sturckow, steered the space plane through some unpowered milestones, reaching a top speed of Mach 0.7, before bringing it down for a runway landing at Spaceport America , Virgin Galactic representatives said. (Mach 1 is the speed of sound, which is 767 mph, or 1,234 km/h, at sea level.)

Virgin Galactic took measures to ensure that today's flight was conducted as safely as possible in this coronavirus-pandemic era. The company altered work stations, enforced social distancing procedures and mandated universal mask usage, company representatives said.

"Id like to congratulate our team for reaching this flight milestone, especially during these challenging times," Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said in a statement . "I am grateful for the commitment displayed by everyone involved, not only in helping to support relief efforts in both New Mexico and California, but also for the dedication and creativity which will allow us to continue safely towards our goal of commercial launch."

Virgin Galactic has not announced a target date for initiation of commercial operations, but it's widely expected to happen soon  perhaps sometime this year.

More than 600 people have booked a seat aboard SpaceShipTwo; tickets currently cost $250,000. People who ride the spacecraft will get to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of Earth against the blackness of space, Virgin Galactic representatives have said.
President Donald Trump says he is not happy with China and has asked U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S is also worried about other labs throughout China that are conducting research on contagious pathogens
Chinese health officials were drawing up plans to combat the CCP virus, which they knew to be infectious, days before they informed the public about its potential to spread, according to internal government documents obtained by The Epoch Times.

The CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, originated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. The virus has since spread to over 200 countries and territories, causing more than 61,000 deaths in the United States alone.

China officially confirmed that the virus could be transmitted between humans on Jan. 20, when top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan made the announcement.

Now, internal documents provided to The Epoch Times show that Beijing covered up what it knew, as central authorities were secretly providing directives to regional governments on how to cope with the outbreak.

On Jan. 15, the regional health commission in northern Chinas Inner Mongolia issued a super urgent emergency notice to its municipal counterparts, explaining how medical facilities should respond to a new form of pneumonia. The notice said that Chinas National Health Commission had implemented treatment and prevention measures for local health agencies to deal with the new disease (now known as COVID-19).

Three measures stated in the notice clearly indicated that Chinese officials knew the disease was infectious.

First, it asked hospitals to take measures to prevent the disease from spreading inside their facilities and train staff on such actions. Second, it asked hospitals to set up fever clinics, and to pre-screen and triage anyone experiencing a fever, to determine levels of urgency for treating patients.

Hospitals also were directed to ask those patients if they had been to markets in Wuhan in the previous two weeks. While Wuhan authorities initially claimed that the virus likely originated from a local fresh food market, studies have since shown that some of Wuhans first patients had no link to that market.

Finally, hospitals were instructed to set up special treatment teams that included infectious disease experts, the notice stated.

The Inner Mongolian health commission had no intention of informing the public about these plans, stating that the notice was for internal use only, and cannot be distributed on the internet.

In another internal document, issued Jan. 15 by the local health commission in Xilingol Leagueone of 12 administrative divisions within Inner Mongoliaauthorities also emphasized fever as a key symptom.

The leagues health commission stated that local health agencies must strengthen their management of screening and triage patients with fever, adding that it called for such management based on teleconferences held by officials in Central and Inner Mongolia about the virus.

On Jan. 19, a top Wuhan health official took questions from reporters, saying that he couldnt rule out human-to-human transmission, but its risk was rather low.

On Jan. 23, three days after Zhongs public statement, Chinas National Health Commission publicly released the third edition of a document, titled Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for the New Coronavirus.

The document stated that pneumonia cases reported in some hospitals in Wuhan since December 2019 were confirmed to be an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus. That statement was also included in the second edition of the document, issued on Jan. 18two days before Zhongs announcement.

The second edition, which was leaked to The Epoch Times, was previously kept secret. The notice is marked with the words: not to be disclosed.

The second edition contains a section explaining that medical personnel in hospital departments that treat patients with fever, respiratory problems, and infectious diseases should wear a surgical mask, goggles, and one-time-use protective clothing.

Despite instructions that showing central authorities knew the virus could be spread among medical staff, they kept silent until Jan. 20.

The Inner Mongolian documents showed that local health commissions were already warned about virus prevention measures by Jan. 15. But that day, the Wuhan Health Commission wrote on its website that the risk of human-to-human infection is low.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also initially repeated Chinas claims that the virus wasnt contagious.

Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, the WHO tweeted on Jan. 14.

A recent report by The Associated Press, also citing a series of internal memos, similarly found that Beijing knew of the viruss transmissibility for six days before publicly conceding that on Jan. 20.

It took another two days before the WHOs mission to China issued a statement confirming that human-to-human transmission is taking place in Wuhan.

From The Epoch Times
S Lalitha By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: A Bengaluru-based doctor is getting ready to leave for the UK after the government of that country gave a call for doctors to help the nation manage the COVID crisis and also sent a personal email to her. Dr Roopa Venkatesh, who has a UK residence permit and the licence to practice as a general practitioner there, is making plans to leave for the UK with her 13-year-old son Skanda, who wants to work there as a volunteer.

The Regional Passport Office is viewing this as a special case and is renewing her passport in a very short period. She will travel via any of the special flights that the UK government is organising. Roopa has been living in Bengaluru since July 2016 and has plans to open her own clinic. She lives in Rajarajeshwari Nagar with her husband Venkatesh, also a doctor with a license to practise in the UK. The couple has another son who is eight years old and a three-year-old daughter.

An MBBS graduate from Bangalore Medical College, she went to the UK in 2002 for her post-graduate degree and has lived there for 15 years. With my years of experience as a frontline staffer in UK hospitals, I really think I can contribute much right now. So I have taken this tough decision to leave. I will not be recklessly risking myself though.

There is a huge demand for experienced staff on the teleconsultation front too and I have decided to opt for that role. It will not involve face to face meeting with patients, Dr Roopa told The New Indian Express.

She has treated countless swine flu patients as well as victims of chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq war in the UK. The UK wants her to work there until September at least. Regional Passport Officer Bharat Kumar Kuthati said, Her passport was to expire in July. She submitted her completed application on Monday. Though we are not dealing with public requests, we are doing it for her as a special case bearing in mind the emergency involved in her trip. It will be given to her in a day or two.
Two months ago, life was finally looking up for 33-year-old Mousab, a Syrian refugee living in Tunisias second-largest city, Sfax. He had recently used his savings to open a kebab restaurant and was looking forward to earning enough to marry his sweetheart. Then, in early March, COVID-19 struck.

The lockdown that followed has contained the spread of the virus, with less than 1,000 confirmed cases reported across the country. But the financial impact has been hard on Tunisians and refugees like Mousab.

I have no income because I opened the restaurant about a month before the crisis, explained Mousab, whose restaurant is now shuttered and his dreams of marrying on hold.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has sought to cushion the blow by providing 500 Tunisian Dinars (US$173) in emergency assistance, but Mousab is fearful of what will happen if the crisis drags on.

My biggest fear if the crisis persists is accumulating debts I cannot pay."

My biggest fear if the crisis persists is accumulating debts I cannot pay, such as rent for my house and restaurant. Honestly, it scares me a lot just thinking about it.

Global economic growth is likely to be halved by disruptions due to COVID-19, plunging 40-60 million more people into extreme poverty worldwide, according to OECD and World Bank projections. Worst affected will be those already living on the margins in low- and middle-income countries, where more than 85 per cent of the worlds refugees currently reside.

This harsh reality is already playing out across the Middle East and North Africa region, which along with Turkey is home to more than six million refugees and over 10 million internally displaced people fleeing violence in Syria, Yemen and beyond.

In many of the region's major refugee host countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, large numbers of refugees report having lost their main source of income. In Jordan, the impact on refugee women is profound, with almost all who were working saying they had seen their income source disrupted.

For Syrian refugee Naeem, who has lived with his family in the Jordanian capital Amman since fleeing Damascus in 2014, the current crisis could not have come at a worse time.

Working as a roof tiler on construction sites, he relies on earning enough during the warmer months when jobs are plentiful to see them through the rest of the year. Jordans lockdown has meant he has been unable to work for more than a month.

Weve been in Jordan six years and I never had to ask for help, Naeem explained. But at a time when I should be working the most, there is no work.

"At a time when I should be working the most, there is no work.

His biggest worry is what will happen if he cannot pay the 200 Jordanian Dinars (US$282) in rent he owes by the end of the month.

I know many Syrians who havent been able to pay their rent and their landlords have no choice but to accept it, but our landlord has said thats not possible, Naeem said. If we are not able to pay the rent this month we will have to look for a cheaper place to live.

An increase in evictions or the threat of eviction have been similarly reported by refugees in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia.

In Lebanon, which was already suffering from an economic crisis before the virus brought further disruption, more than half of refugees surveyed in late April reported having lost livelihoods such as daily labour, with 70 per cent saying they have reduced food consumption due to a lack of funds.

We have been living on vegetables for a while now, said Hasna Harbi, a single mother from Homs in Syria living in a tented settlement in Lebanons Bekaa Valley. They rely on the wages of her two eldest sons, aged 20 and 16, to survive, but their earnings have dwindled to almost nothing since the lockdown began in March.

The situation got worse in the last month, Hasna added. I cook smaller portions. We buy less, eat less. I buy bread on credit from the shop.

I cook smaller portions. We buy less, eat less. I buy bread on credit from the shop.

UNHCR is doing what it can to offset the worst of the impact by providing emergency cash grants to those most in need. In certain countries, this includes members of the host communities who find themselves in similarly difficult circumstances.

While refugees that are able to find work are often among the more fortunate, their sudden loss of earnings and associated spending will have a knock-on effect on the wider refugee population and local communities that they help to support.

It will also increase dependence on already overstretched humanitarian resources such as cash assistance, requiring increased donor funding in support of refugees as well as vulnerable host countries.

Mona, a 33-year-old Somali refugee living in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, was forced to close her small beauty salon last month in the run-up to the busy wedding season. With her son and five other relatives relying on her regular daily income of 3,000 to 6,000 Yemeni Rials (US$6-12) to cover their basic needs, the loss of earnings threatens to leave them destitute.

Because of coronavirus we lost our source of income which has made us dependent on others, Mona said. There is nothing like having your own business to make you feel self-reliant and strong. The salon is my familys only hope.

Sudanese refugee Mohammed looks for recyclables at a waste landfill in southern Tripoli, Libya.  Courtesy of Mohammed

Archive photo of Syrian refugee Hasna in her tent in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, in March 2014.  UNHCR/Lynsey Addario

Syrian refugees wait to receive financial aid at a UNHCR centre in at Bardarash camp in Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.  UNHCR/Rasheed Hussein Rasheed

Employees, including Syrian refugees, pack tissues at Al Khamael factory in the Sahab suburb of Amman, Jordan.  UNHCR/Lilly Carlisle

Formerly displaced father Rabih, 45, holds his newborn baby, Mustafa, at their home in Aleppo, Syria.  UNHCR/Hameed Maarouf

Syrian refugee Mousab, 33, had to close his kebab shop in Sfax, Tunisia, amid restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19.  TAMSS/Ghassen Gacem

Inside Syria, where almost 6.1 million people are internally displaced and 11 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, the loss of income and rising cost of food triggered by the current health crisis are exacerbating an already desperate situation.

Rabih, 45, and his family were displaced multiple times after their home in East Aleppo was destroyed in 2012. In 2016, after finally settling in another neighbourhood, Rabih resumed work in the citys textile industry. But with the factory closed since early March, he is fast running out of money and options.

When I go down to the market, I stand there in a panic not knowing what to buy, Rabih said. With so little money and the prices skyrocketing, I buy one vegetable at a time, and [affording] meat is just unthinkable for now.

Those working in the informal economy are among the most exposed as fragile sources of income collapse. This week the International Labour Organization estimated that almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living.

See also: Displaced people urgently need aid and access to social safety nets as coronavirus causes severe hardship

Among them is former engineering student Mohammed, who fled conflict in Sudans Darfur region in 2016 and now lives on a landfill site in the Libyan capital Tripoli, where he and a group of friends earn US$2-5 a day collecting recyclable waste.

Unable to take what they collect for sale due to a city-wide lockdown, Mohammed feels he has no choice but to seek a perilous route out of Libya.

Prices of food and rent went up. Sometimes, we are not even able to go to the market as we are looked upon as carriers of the disease for being foreigners, he said

I will try to cross once again to Europe. I tried to cross twice in the past and failed. I ended up in detention centres every time. But I hope that this time I will make it.

A steady flow of remittances from abroad has also helped to keep families across the region afloat, but given the global nature of the current crisis, even those are now drying up.

"This curfew has negatively affected all of us, and now I cannot go outside the camp for work.

For others, there is little option but to wait and hope that the restrictions can soon be eased. Syrian refugee Farhad lives with his family in Bardarash Refugee Camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Before the crisis, he used to leave the camp each morning to work on construction sites for up to US$18 a day.

I like to work and depend on myself. This curfew has negatively affected all of us, and now I cannot go outside the camp for work, Farhad said.

He and others in the camp have received cash grants from UNHCR to help cover their basic needs during the lockdown, but refugees are also doing what they can to help each other out.

Those who have saved their money in their bright days are now spending it and supporting those in need, Farhad explained. They will get their money back when life becomes normal and the curfew is lifted. This is how it works here: like brothers and sisters, refugees support each other.

Reporting by Chiara Maria Cavalcanti in Tunis, Lilly Carlisle in Amman, Warda Aljawahiry in Beirut, Mona Alhajj in Sanaa, Hameed Maarouf in Damascus, Tarek Argaz in Tripoli and Rasheed Hussein Rasheed in Bardarash Refugee Camp, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Writing by Charlie Dunmore.
The federal government has said it is exploring financial models to help the media industry fulfill its functions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, said the government is not oblivious of the fact that the creative industry is the most hit by COVID-19 pandemic.

He said efforts are ongoing to ensure the resurrection of the industry.

"We are not oblivious of the fact that the creative industry, which comprises the media is the most badly affected in the COVID-19 pandemic and that we are already working towards alleviating the challenges.

"Yesterday, a stakeholders committee held in Lagos on the creative industry and we are almost about getting ready the list of special stakeholders committee that will address the issue of the post-COVID-19 creative industry.

"As soon as we get the terms of reference, we would announce the membership and the terms of reference," he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting every industry, which includes the media and creative industry.

Due to some challenges faced, there are indications some media organisations might not be able to meet their financial commitments or even pay staff salaries in months ahead.

Recently, broadcast stations in South-west Nigeria lamented the decline in revenue and said they may have to shut down their operations.

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Outside Nigeria, Gannett, which owns USA today, recently announced plans to cut salaries and lay-off some staff temporarily after a major loss in advertising revenue amid the economic downturn spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Efforts

Mr Mohammed said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had set aside creative industry financing to ensure the industry is resurrected post-COVID-19.

"Sometimes in 2018, I led a team of the creative industry stakeholders to meet the Central Bank on how to provide finance for the industry.

"The CBN creative industry financing initiative was as a result of that effort. What we need to do is leverage this particular fund made available by the central bank to revive the industry," he said.

He also said that the digital switch over in broadcasting would be a panacea to the creative industry as it was capable of creating thousands of jobs in the country.

The minister noted that engagements are ongoing with various sectors of the media.

"The broadcasting organisation will be meeting with my ministry to explore ways of helping the broadcast industry which we will all agree is one of the biggest victim of this pandemic.

"I have been in contact with leadership of newspapers to get a solution to the ailing economy of the newspapers and the entire media industry," he said.
Poison Control Call Centers Experience High Call Volume After Trump's Disinfectant Comments

One day after the President of the US told citizens that the use of injected disinfectants should be explored to fight COVID-19, poison control centers throughout the country were flooded with calls. The influx of call center traffic comes at a challenging time, as call centers in all industries, and particularly healthcare, are already being bombarded because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Washington, the already overburdened Emergency Management Division had to tweet out warnings like "Seriously. #DontDrinkBleach#DontInfectDisinfectant." And "Please don't eat tide pods or inject yourself with any kind of disinfectant."

The Maryland Governor's office said the call center for the state's Emergency Management Agency received more than 100 calls about ingesting disinfectants as a possible treatment for COVID-19 following the President's comments. New York City's Poison Control Center received twice as many calls after the comments, specifically about exposure to household cleaners and disinfectants. The call center said just 18 hours after President Trump's comments, it had received 30 exposure calls relating to disinfectants. Ten calls were about bleach, nine related to Lysol and 11 were about other household cleaners.

The poison control call center in Illinois was also impacted by an increase in calls after the President's comments. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, public health director in Illinois, told CNN that one call was about use of a sinus rinse comprised of a detergent-based solution, while another was from someone who had gargled with mouthwash and bleach in an effort to kill the COVID-19 virus.

Trump's comments weren't the only factor in the increased number of calls. A recent CDC study found that U.S. poison control call centers had already noticed an increase in calls involving cleaners and disinfectants in March, compared with the previous two years. And the Washington Poison Center indicated a 23-percent increase in overall exposures to cleaners this year compared to last.

With U.S. call centers already overburdened and scrambling to move to a remote work model to ensure the safety of workers, the increase in calls is an unwelcome and unnecessary burden. It should go without saying that ingesting or injecting household cleaners is dangerous, and can result in organ failure and death.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
On the first night of Ramadan, a congregant called me and said with his voice cracking, Imam, God did not answer my prayer. His prayer was that we would be allowed to pray together as a community. For some people, going to their place of worship up to five times a day is the highlight of not only their day but their lives. While some people of faith are successfully adjusting to having their worship services online, for others, their hearts are attached to their place of worship. What if someone told you youre not able to do your favorite activity and then unsympathetically said, Adjust already!?
Earlier this month the Supreme Court agreed to allow DACA recipient respondents in Wolf v. Batalla Vidal, one of the cases challenging the rescission of DACA, consolidated into DHS v. Regents of the University of California, to enter information into the formal record. The filing suggests that a ruling in favor of the Trump Administrations decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, would harm the nations ability to respond to the pandemic created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crux of their argument is that a significant portion of the 649,000 DACA beneficiaries currently work in health services occupations.

A ruling that would jeopardize their ability to remain in the workforce would weaken our nations response to the Novel Coronavirus in the midst of what is perhaps the gravest health crisis this century.

A survey of this group conducted by scholars affiliated with the Center for American Progress (CAP) estimated that about 29,000 DACA recipients work in such health-related occupations as doctors, nurses, clinical technicians, and the like.

Our own independent research suggests that the true number is most likely even higher than their estimate.

Two years ago we developed our own analysis of the DACA population in order to estimate the economic cost--both to the national economy and the government--of its repeal. The studies from that survey were published by the Cato Institute and the Jack Kemp Foundation.

Part of our analysis involved estimating the educational attainment of the DACA population, based on the Migration Policy Institutes (MPI) estimates of the 2014 and 2016 DACA-eligible populations, the Current Population Survey estimates of Hispanic High School drop-out rates, and the National Center for Education Statistics' estimates of post-secondary enrollment of Hispanic High School completers. We also assumed that 45% of all post-secondary DACA students would graduate--roughly equal to the national average. Our simulation estimated that by 2020, there would be about 250,000 DACA-eligibles with college degrees in the US.

We based our estimate on a simulated DACA-eligible population of about 1,250,000 High School graduates by 2020, so our estimate suggests that about 25% of this DACA-eligible population would now have college degrees. This is close to the 2018 Current Population Survey estimate that 25.7% of all Hispanic 25 to 34 year olds with High School degrees have earned Bachelor's degrees or better.

To estimate the occupations of these DACA college graduates we used data obtained from thedream.us, an organization that provides financial assistance to college-enrolled Dreamers. By 2017, just under 3,000 students had received financial assistance from thedream.us. Our data set had 2,560 usable observations from that year, reporting among other things their choice of college major. 2,219 students had declared majors.

Of those students, 22.6% had chosen healthcare-related majors, primarily in Biomedical Sciences, Health Professions and Clinical Sciences, Nursing, pre-Nursing, and pre-Med. If a corresponding 22.6% of our estimated 250,000 DACA-eligible college graduates are currently employed in healthcare occupations, then there are about 56,000 DACA-eligibles who are currently qualified to work in healthcare.

While that number may appear to be dramatically higher than the CAPs estimate of 29,000 DACA healthcare workers, our two estimates are in fact quite consistent. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, there were 649,000 active DACA recipients as of December 30, 2019. That is over 20% below the 825,000 individuals who had applied for and been approved for DACA as of April 2019. And it is only about half of our estimated DACA-eligible population of 1,250,000.

Undoubtedly, the Trump Administration's moves to terminate DACA have deterred many previous recipients from renewing their DACA applications and many otherwise DACA-eligible individuals from applying. Indeed, although there were over 73,000 initial DACA applications in 2016, by 2018 that had shrunk to just over 2,000 new applications.

Thus, the CAPs estimate of 29,000 DACA recipients in healthcare aligns nicely with our estimate of about 56,000 DACA-eligibles qualified to work in healthcare: about half of our healthcare-trained Dreamers are currently not covered by DACA. Our guess is that those who are employed in large hospitals where documented work status would be important have retained their DACA status. Many of those still employed in smaller clinics and nursing homes, where the paperwork is less attended to, have made the rational decision to avoid DACA status. And some fraction of those potential health care workers are no longer available to help us meet the covid-19 crisis, because of the risks that DACA status under the Trump Administration presents to them.

Our research confirmed our prior beliefs that DACA provides numerous economic benefits to the U.S. economy and that the programs opponents fail to consider that its abolition will almost assuredly reduce wages and employment opportunities for native Americans. The fact that such a high proportion of DACA recipients are in healthcare-related fields means that the near-term cost of its repeal would potentially be even greater.
93 people succumbed to the disease over the last 24 hours

Up till now, some 49,000 patients have been discharged from hospitals in Turkey after successful recovery from Covid-19. Fahrettin Koca, the Healthcare Minister said so as quoted by Anadolu news agency.

According to the head of the authority, 93 new lethal cases were reported across the country over the last 24 hours. The overall number of fatalities currently makes 3,174.

The Minister added that the summary number of registered cases made 120,000, as test results of another 2,615 patients proved positive.

Apart from that, Koca added that the number of patients who are treated in intensive care units has decreased. He also said that the number of new cases of infection remains within the expected rate.

The official claimed that on April 30, the doctors performed 42,000 Covid-19 tests. Over 1 million tests have been performed since the epidemic reached the country.

Earlier, we reported that Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin has been infected with Covid-19. He said it himself, during the video conference between the Cabinet and President Vladimir Putin, broadcasted by the local TV.

"I just got a word that the test results for coronavirus that I had passed proved positive. I should stay on self-isolation", he said.

Mishustin also told Putin that the government would keep on working as usual, and First Deputy Premier Andrei Belousov will be serving as the Acting Prime Minister, while Mishustin remains in self-isolation. The Russian leader approved Belousov's candidacy.
Tyre, N.Y.  A woman who has been accused of driving the wrong way on the New York State Thruway and causing a crash that killed two people has been indicted on numerous charges by a grand jury.

Heather L. Seller, 43, of Lyons Falls, faces more than 20 counts of various charges stemming from the Oct. 20 crash, New York State Police said Thursday.

On Oct. 20, Suraj Singh, of Richmond Hill, was driving eastbound on the thruway in Tyre when his car was hit head on by a 2011 Ford Edge being driven the wrong way, police said. Seller has been identified as the driver of the Ford Edge, according to police.

Singh had three passengers in his car: Danpatie Singh, 40, of Richmond Hill, Monica Amelda, 61, of Canada, and Florie Singh, 77, of Guyana, police said. Amelda and Florie Singh both died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to police. Suraj Singh and Danpatie Singh were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and treated for serious injuries, police said. Both survived.

Seller was taken to Upstate University Hospital and also treated for serious injuries, police said.

A grand jury in Seneca County reviewed the case, beginning on Feb. 18, according to police. More than a month later, the grand jury indicted Seller on the following charges:

5 counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide

3 counts of Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree

2 counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree

3 counts of Aggravated Vehicular Assault

3 counts of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree

2 counts of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree

Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated

Driving While Intoxicated

Reckless Driving

Failure to Keep Right

Failure to Use Designated Lane

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
More than twelve farming communities in the Assin South District of the Central Region have reported of the re-emergence of the devastating Fall Army Worms on maize farms in the Area.



The worms have destroyed over 65 acres of maize and vegetables and rendered hundreds of farmers and families disillusioned.



The affected communities are Akufful-Beposo, MbaaMp3hia, Homaho, Appiahkrom, Haruna, Domeabra, Nfanti, Yaw Boamah, Abodweseso, Adadientem, and Beyerden.



The farmers in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the worms have increased in numbers over the last one-month destroying maize and some vegetable farms.



They described the situation as disheartening and a disincentive to farming.



The worms are feeding on virtually every green-leafy-edible. This is very strange because I have not seen worms that eat and multiply with such speed said Mr Kofi Nkyi from Abodweseso.



He said the extent of the invasion required urgent response and a re-energized national effort to wage a relentless war against the pests.



The fall armyworms are super-hungry tinny caterpillars feeding on all our crops. They look dull yellow to gray colour with stripes running down the length of the body and lives on leaves of plants and hatch to re-launch a massive onslaught on food crops, Mr Nkyi added.



They blamed the situation on the non-availability of the recommended spraying chemicals which had forced farmers to use unauthorized and dangerous chemicals meant for spraying cocoa farms.



I have sprayed my farm about three times with chemicals meant for spraying cocoa farms, yet they keep coming in their numbers. I have used two different chemicals to spray my farm but it seems they have not been effective, Mr Enock Baidoo, another farmer said.



The farmers appealed to officials of the District Directorate of Agriculture to get them the recommended chemicals to save their remaining farms.



In response to the farmers' claims, Mr John Tawiah Aidoo, District Director of Agriculture who confirmed the invasion by the worms and urged them to adhere to the best agronomic practices to save their farms.



They should buy the recommended chemicals from the approved agro-inputs stores and stop the use of unscientific methods and concoctions to spray the worms.



Among others, he particularly advised them to grow their maize in lines, spray farms before sunrise and after sunset and inspect their farms regularly for early detection of the nocturnal worms which are not familiar to Ghanaian soil.

Source: GNA









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The same meal at home. The same meal at a diner becomes the same meal to bring comfort. Read more

I hadnt been back home in months, but I owed my parents a visit. In the pre-coronavirus times, these semi-frequent visits were often a last minute, overdue, guilt-ridden decision to spend time with faraway family. Now, I sit home guilt-ridden that I didnt visit enough, lying awake contemplating their well-being and what, if anything, I can do to ensure they are safe.

Unlike most other drives back home to the Hudson Valley, this one was a nearly four hours from South Philly  even with the shortcuts, the traffic in north Jersey heading onto Interstate 87 wouldnt let up. As I pulled into the driveway, I was relieved to stretch my legs but anxiously wondered what family drama or bad news Id be updated on. The front door, as always, was unlocked and propped open.

Hello? I shouted.

I dont know where Mami is. I wonder if my younger sister Ashley is working another late night shift at the hotel restaurant in Midtown. I can hear the whistle of the pressure cooker. Rice probably, I think to myself. I spot her in the kitchen. At 411 shes on her tippy toes overseeing the stove tops, one hand covered in marinade while the other holds a machete-sized knife.

Downstairs the radio is blasting, which means Papis in the garage working on the car or cleaning the car or fixing the car.

How was the drive? Was there a lot of traffic? Did you eat? Wheres Philippe? The usual, just-arrived questions about my partners whereabouts and my appetite. I nod along and swiftly answer in routine: Long. Traffic on the Thruway as always. I ate before I left. Hes got band practice this weekend.

I survey the kitchen and begin to figure out the menu: white rice, a can of kidney beans, and slabs of steak swimming in garlic, oil, herbs, and large, sliced white onions on the counter.

Bistec Encebollado. Or simply, steak and onions. My favorite dish.

Itll be done in 15 minutes if you wanna relax, she says.

Wheres Ash? I asked.

Working, she responds, her head down focused on the ingredients. I turned on the TV as she cooked.

I know better than to bother my mother in the kitchen. It is her sacred space, closed off to others, including my sister and me. Instead, she insists that you eat everything she offers. Volunteers for helping are accepted only during cleanup.

I think about these moments from my South Philly rowhome kitchen under quarantine, as I long to recreate my favorite meals on my own. The FaceTime calls I make to quiz my mom on her recipes is also a way to sneak in a health status update, making sure everyone is OK.

I think about how we used to drive to the Bronx almost every month when I was a kid. My sister and I would be dragged to Western Beef, with its endless maze of grocery items that reflected and catered to Hispanic cultures. Wed shiver as my parents lumbered down value. Wed thaw out later over lunch at El Bohio on East Tremont Ave.

The small Puerto Rican lechonera was always full, always loud  a vocal example of being smothered with love by your Puerto Rican family through heaping plates of comfort food. Waiters behind the counter would shout the days specials to customers in crowded diner seats. The front door would swing open and closed a dozen or so times every couple of minutes as regulars flocked in to pick up food, snag open spots with their families, or just stop by to gossip about the neighborhood.

My order was the same, every time: Bistec Encebollado, with tostones (fried green plantains) smothered in the signature pungent garlic mojo sauce plus a hefty serving of yellow rice and red kidney beans.

While everyone on social media seems to be elbow deep in sourdough, Im enveloped by cookbooks, travel guides, and Google searches on traditional Puerto Rican food searching for my next #quarantinecooking project. Bistec Encebollado became a dish within my reach. I opened my freezer and found a large plastic tub of pork fat that I saved it from my leftover Three Kings Day pernil. Another call to my mom helped to confirm the recipe details that I remember from home, and in that diner.

At El Bohio, the plate featured a pile of long, medium-thick slabs of brown-grey steaks seared and cooked down in rendered fat, with large rings of soft onions smothered in juices from the pan. A perfect mound of yellow rice and a small stew of plump red beans, cubed potatoes, and cured ham on the side. Two fried plantains so flat and crispy and golden they could be cracked in half. A little mojo spooned on top later added with a swirl of ketchup, my controversial choice.

At our tiny dining table plating my partners meal, I felt overwhelmed with pride and gratitude in bringing comfort to my family near and far through our food.

 Alisha Miranda is a Philly-based freelance food and travel writer.

Bistec Encebollado

You can find all these ingredients at any Hispanic-owned bodega or the Goya aisle in your local supermarket (Western Beef will definitely have everything you need).

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

 cups medium-grain white or yellow rice

1 (8-ounce) can red kidney beans

1 pound thinly sliced sirloin steak (similar to cheesesteak cuts)

 large Spanish onion, sliced

 cup rendered pork fat, lard or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

 (1.4-oz.) packet of Goya Sazon

2  tablespoons seasoned salt, such as adobo

 cup white vinegar

 cup beef stock

Pinch of dried oregano

1  cups water

 tablespoon tomato paste, such as Goya Sofrito

1 green plantain

Lime (optional)

TO PREP:

In a large bowl, mix together vinegar, adobo, ground black pepper, and oregano. Trim sirloin steak and excess fat (your preference) and cut lengthwise in half so that you have two large pieces. Pound out steaks to 1/4 inch. Add steak and onions to bowl and toss to combine. Cover marinade bowl; transfer to the refrigerator. Marinate at least an hour or overnight.

Rinse rice until water runs clear. Drain canned kidney beans, reserving juice. Rinse kidney beans with water, until clear.

Rinse plantains with cold water. Slit plantains lengthwise, then rinse again to remove excess dirt, then dice into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

RICE AND BEANS:

Spoon in a small amount of rendered pork fat (or lard or oil) into a cast-iron skillet, large pot, or Dutch oven over low to medium heat. Add rice and stir to coat the grains. Fold in rice and the half of Sazon packet, mixing well. Gently add water. Cover the rice and cook on medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer, stir and cook rice until glistening and soft.

While rice is cooking, use a small pot to cook the kidney beans. Add tomato paste, oil fat/oil/lard or beef stock and reserved bean juice for stewy results. Leave on a low temperature while rice (and steaks) finish cooking.

When rice is done, fluff with a spoon and lightly stir.

BISTEC ENCEBOLLADO:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add beef and marinade to the pan, and brown steaks on each side, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water or beef broth to submerge the steaks, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 35 to 40 minutes, then add onions. Add more water or broth as needed. Continue cooking until onions are soft and translucent, about 20 minutes.

TOSTONES:

Mash each of the 1-inch cubes of plantains until flat. Using a frying pan, heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Fry mashed plantains, one by one, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove plantains to a plate and drain on paper towels. Season to taste with salt.

Serve the steak and onions with a large spoonful or two of rice and beans, then 1 to 2 fried plantains topped with mojo (minced garlic, a squeeze of lime, and a drizzle of oil).
The $30 billion plan approved by the GOP-led House contains about $700 million less than what Parson had sought when he unveiled his spending blueprint in January before COVID-19 began spreading widely within the U.S.

The proposal, which contains about $146 million less than the current years budget, fills some gaps with federal stimulus dollars and prioritizes public school funding for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

But, the House cut money to give state workers 2% raises and slashed funding for the states public colleges and universities, potentially forcing the institutions to raise tuition to cover the loss.

Rowden did not outline what changes hes looking to make, other than to say spending will be down.

Our priorities are inevitably going to be different from theirs, Rowden said. Its going to have less money than we expected.
Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, has acknowledged the hard work of workers which has led to the growth and progress of affairs in the Region.



"I am inspired to congratulate all workers on this occasion for your hard work over the years and to ask for your continuous support in order to put the Western Region on a higher pedestal", he said.



A statement signed by the Regional Minister and copied the Ghana News Agency said the celebration could not take the usual format of pop and pageantry due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the health measures adopted to forestall its spread.



This years May Day Celebration is on the theme: COVID -19 in Ghana: Impact on Employment and Working Conditions.



Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a lockdown around the world and all the affected countries are working assiduously to stop the pandemic.



Globally, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), a total of 81 per cent of the 3.3 billion people have had their workplaces fully or partly closed and restrictions on daily life have led to the closure of many companies and staff lay-offs either permanently or temporarily.



The statement said despite the effects of COVID-19, the invaluable contribution of labour to the socio-economic development and the well-being of Ghanaians cannot go without recognition.

I therefore say Ayeekoooo!!! to all our gallant workers.



Government, the statement said, has instituted and is currently rolling out some interventions to bring relief to both formal and informal sector workers as well as the vulnerable in society.



"A case in point is the free water and electricity as well as some financial support to cushion both the public and private sector enterprises (the major employer) in order to mitigate the impact of the deadly virus on the economy adding, I believe there is consensus on what we all want for ourselves and for our Region to offer the best to the development of the nation."



We want a well-developed network of infrastructure and the highest standard of living for our people. We shall not relent in working hard even in the face of this COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.



The statement said there is the need for the citizenry to stay safe and stay home to avoid the contraction and spread of the disease; the quest and concerted efforts to save lives has become more crucial at the moment, hence the Stay At Home strategy.



The Government is assuring you, workers and businesses in Ghana, that you are its true development partners and your ideas are critical in the management and development of the nation.



The statement appreciated the private sector for raising to the challenge and leading the production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), test kits, hand-washing accessories locally in Ghana, which is a proof that everything is 'doable' in Ghana and therefore, we do not need to rely on imports.



"I look forward to all workers giving of their best at all times even during this pandemic where many of you are working from home. Remember, this too shall pass. We shall continue to be united, re-double our efforts and pool our resources as a people to rebuild our Region and our Homeland Ghana, when this pandemic is over."



He expressed his gratitude and that of the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council to all the frontline workers -being the health care workers, the Rapid Response Teams, the security agencies, media and other critical public servants.



"I also acknowledge the encouragement and prayers of our chiefs, religious leaders and the material/financial support from public-spirited individuals and organizations; not forgetting everybody else whose efforts has brought us this far, We are not going to relax on the rules, let alone let down our guard.



We are in this together. We can all participate in the war against the deadly virus by adhering strictly to the Health protocols and by staying at home; but if you have to go out, wear your face mask".

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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KALEESWARAM RAJ By

After the spread of Covid-19, both individuals and institutions began to behave differently. Distancing is the new rule. Amidst the pandemic, in the UK, the House of Commons sat online for the first time. The prime minister of India interacted with chief ministers by video conferencing. The Supreme Court of India and several High Courts have heard many cases online. The Kerala High Court was a forerunner. On March 30, the High Court passed orders on a few urgent matters. In a first, there was also a live streaming of proceedings. Media reports clearly indicated the emergence of a different variety of judiciary.

Covid-19, which caught hold of the whole world, no doubt, shocked the litigants, lawyers, judges and the administrators of justice. Still, the coronavirus has the potential to recalibrate Indias judiciary, provided we have the political will and an action plan to digitalise the courts, from bottom to the top. The crisis can also be an opportunity.

Digitalisation of the court is not merely about modernisation. The point is its democratisation. Technologists Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen wrote: People will find that being connected virtually makes us feel more equalwith access to the same basic platforms, information and online resourceswhile significant differences persist in the physical world (The New Digital Age, 2013). To put it otherwise, digital technology offers formal equality. Substantive equality is quite another thing.

The former can improvise the struggle for the latter. It is fascinating to see a litigant in Chennai, with the assistance of his lawyer nearby, presenting his case before the Supreme Court through video conferencing. Barriers of money, place, class and status are all demolished momentarily. British author Richard Susskind predicted that online courts are inevitable in the time to come. Perhaps, the future is here!

The legal profession is hierarchical. Many star lawyers are beyond the reach of the poor or even the ordinary citizens. Judges also enjoy an elevated position, as physically visible in a conventional court hall. Access to justice is a myth for a good part of the population. In an open online court, everyone, right from the petitioner to the judge, an outsider to the court staff, is in tiny rectangular spaces, reflecting the new digital equalityanother variety of Article 14 of the Constitution. The problem in India however, is that the internet also is the privilege of a few.

In a way, during the pandemic, the judiciary was materialising its own dream expressed in the judgment in Meters and Instruments Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Kanchan Mehta (2017), which indicated that certain categories of cases can be partly or entirely concluded online. Paperless methods can also reduce overcrowding in the courts, the judgment said. It is estimated that cases filed annually in the courts in India contain about 11 billion sheets, which ecologically means destruction of lakhs of trees.

Digitalisation can act as an effective remedy for laws delays. In 1989, about one lakh cases were pending before the top court, which got reduced to 27,000 in 2003, thanks to computerisation effected in 1990. By uploading documents ranging from the First Information Report in a local police station to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the website, the legal landscape of the country was radically altered. We have the basic platform that can facilitate a digital revolution in our adjudicatory institutions. We need to learn from other jurisdictions as well. The online registry in the New South Wales Supreme Court, the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) in Dubai, Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) in Canada are fine examples. Singapore, China and South Korea also have good models to offer.

E-courts need proper, efficient and fair management. E-registries should be statutorily designed. Those will have to function in accordance with the rules specially promulgated. Timely allocation and utilisation of funds should be ensured. A report by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (2016) notes that policymakers failed to properly estimate the cost of the e-Courts Project in India.

Virtual courts should, however, ensure the basic virtues of conventional judiciary. They should treat lawyers alike. Citizens also should not be discriminated against. Principles of openness, fairness, transparency and accountability cannot be compromised. Barring a few complicated matters and elaborate trials, a good number of cases can be decided in e-courts hereafter. The interactive experiences should be satisfying and encouraging. There has to be a national policy in the matter that can take empirical lessons from the proceedings in different courts during the time of pandemic.

A digital court has to be vibrant and participative. For that, the state should educate and equip the public. Acute poverty and illiteracy are antithetical to egalitarianism. Once we are able to resolve the feudal vices, the e-court can act as a check against monopolisation of the facilities of Indian judicature. It can act against legal plutocracy. It can cultivate a new judicial culture for the people at large. It will, ideally, empower the committed legal professionals across the country to extend efficient services to the needy at a drastically reduced cost. It can help us move closer to a socialist judiciary and thereby to the heart of the Constitution.

KALEESWARAM RAJ

Lawyer, Supreme Court of India

(Email ID: kaleeswaramraj@gmail.com)
A rooster crowed and chickens clucked from a nearby pen as cars quickly lined the dirt road leading to Donnas Farm in Fannett within minutes of the opening of Thursdays weekly Drive-thru Farm Stand.

Brent Heironimus, son of Steve and Donna Heironimus and a key member of the family organic farm business, made his way down the row of cars, handing out a checklist of fresh produce and other organically grown foods available to purchase this week. Some come from other area organic farms, with whom they have collaborated in a co-op style for the weekly farm stand.

Customers fill out their orders, which are then collected by Brent or a volunteer, taking their list to a crew of volunteers and workers who cull their orders from a walk-in cooler packed with the farm-grown goods, which are then bagged and brought out to their cars.

The Thursday evening on-site market started late last year. When the coronavirus pandemic prompted shutdowns, crowd restrictions and social distancing guidelines, the Heironimus family business did what many were forced to do, tailoring their operation to a new model to continue meeting customers needs.

Workers and volunteers keeping the farm-fresh assembly moving wear masks, and while most pay with plastic, the family adds a layer of safety measures for those paying cash.

Next to volunteer cashier and longtime family friend Helen Bertrand sits a plastic container filled with a Thieves brand sanitizer solution. In it float coins and paper bills, which at the end of the day will be laid out to dry and used as change for future customers.

This is what we call money laundering, Steve Heironimus joked. Everything we get in we wash, and everything we give out has been washed. Its just one extra step we try to do for people.

Among those waiting to pick up their orders was Stephanie Barboza of Beaumont. This was her second trip to the weekly drive-thru market.

I havent bought produce at a grocery store and am just coming here, she said. Beyond liking the idea of getting farm-fresh produce for her family, Barboza said she feels there is a personally important safety element to getting her produce here in a more contact-limited fashion.

I have an autoimmune disorder, so I feel like minus all those chemicals and how many people may have handled it before you (at a larger store setting), this feels safer.

She added that were not going out a lot, so we look forward to coming here, too.

After receiving their orders, those arriving with small children are given a little something extra to add to their farm visit experience  a baggie filled with chicken feed, which the children can toss to the chickens before leaving.

Melanie Wright of China, who has been a Donnas Farm customer after finding them at the weekly Farmers Market Saturdays in Beaumont and coming to the Thursday Farm Stand since it started, slowed her vehicle after pick-up so that granddaughter Abby Deshotel, 3, could toss her bag of feed.

We come every week, Wright said. We love it. Wright was wearing a Donnas Farm T-shirt Thursday for their trip to the farm. I should work here! she joked, adding that the family enjoys the weekly trip not just for the food but the experience of buying fresh from the farm.

In addition to the Thursday drive-thru market, Donnas Farm offers another opportunity to buy called Farm Box Fridays. Customers can place orders and pay online, then pick up their boxed orders either at the farm starting at 11 a.m. Friday or at Gather restaurant in Port Neches. Orders can also be filled to some customers by delivery.

Donnas Farm is located at 11073 Koelemay Drive in Fannett, off Green Way at Texas 124 near the Green Acres Grocery.

kbrent@beaumontenterprise.com
The retail industry, rife with bankruptcies and shuttered stores long before the coronavirus, is facing its biggest test yet.

Lockdowns triggered by the pandemic have forced the temporary closures of 263,000 stores, according to GlobalData Retail, and analysts say it remains to be seen how many will be able to reopen.

A number of the nation's most iconic brands are at risk of disappearing, as weeks-long lockdowns and deep economic unrest disrupts consumer spending. More than 100,000 stores could disappear by the end of 2025, according to UBS. There already are signs of distress: Retail sales plummeted 8.7 percent in March, their worst drop on record, and analysts say conditions will only worsen in the coming months.

The crisis accelerates a long-expanding divide between the nation's strongest retailers - like Amazon, Walmart and Target - and its weakest. Department stores and apparel companies have reported huge drops in sales since March, as many Americans hunker down at home. Other sectors, like restaurants and car dealerships, which have notoriously low profit margins, also have been hard-hit.

"The companies with the thinnest margins are the most vulnerable," said Hugh Ray, a bankruptcy attorney for the Dallas-based law firm McKool Smith. "The bread and butter for bankruptcy lawyers is restaurants, grocery stores, and automobile businesses with margins that are too thin to sustain much of an interruption."

Agencies like Moody's and S&P Global Ratings have slashed credit ratings for a number of struggling retailers, scuttling their chances of accessing corporate bonds or government stimulus money reserved for companies in good financial shape. This means that some of the nation's weakest retailers, including J. Crew, Gap and J.C. Penney, have little recourse against mounting losses.

"The question becomes how strong you were going into the crisis," said Mickey Chadha, a senior credit officer at Moody's. "A lot of retailers that were already weak are going to come out of this even weaker, if they come out at all."

In recent weeks, S&P Global has downgraded 50 of the 125 retailers and restaurants it tracks, including Jo-Ann Stores and Party City.

"The traditional retail sector has been distressed for many years, and now this intense shock is pushing more companies to the brink," Sarah Wyeth, sector lead for retail and restaurants at S&P Global. The proportion of retailers the company considers "distressed" has risen from 15 percent to about 30 percent since the pandemic began, she said.

The most vulnerable companies, Chadha said, tend to have two things in common: large swaths of debt and little cash. Many, like Neiman Marcus and J. Crew, are struggling to pay back billions of dollars from leveraged buyouts.

Another category at risk: mall-based department stores like Macy's, Belk and J.C. Penney. Analysts say these companies have been struggling for years as people do more of their shopping online from direct-to-consumer brands. Sears and Barneys New York both filed for bankruptcy last year, and analysts say other major companies like Neiman Marcus will probably follow soon.

"Retailers have furloughed employees. They're taking salary cuts. A lot of them have stopped paying rent, but it's still not enough," Chadha said. "Stores are shut, so there is zero revenue coming in. And they're burning through cash."

He added that even stable department store chains, like Nordstrom and Kohl's, are facing "extreme pressure." Their fates, he said, may depend on exactly how long the pandemic lasts.

The Gap last week warned that it could run out of cash to cover routine costs. The company, which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, didn't pay rent in April and said it is talking to landlords about permanently closing some of its stores.

The newest challenges come on top of years of bankruptcies and store closures that have gutted some of the nation's best known retailers, including Toys R Us and Sears. More than a dozen national brands including Gymboree and Payless ShoeSource filed for bankruptcy last year, fueling thousands of store closures.

Now analysts say the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 55,000 Americans could change the face of the retail industry, which employs 29 million and supports 1 in 4 U.S. jobs, according to the National Retail Federation. It could be years, analysts say, before consumers feel comfortable walking into a shopping mall again.

"From a big-picture standpoint, it's obvious that the pandemic is not going to leave any retailer unscathed," said Chadha.

- - -

The Washington Post's Lenny Bronner and Reuben Fischer-Baum contributed to this report.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The first train carrying migrant labourers stuck in Kerala supposed to leave at 6 pm with around 1,200 persons from Aluva to Odisha will leave a couple of hours later owing to delay in the registration process. The train will have no stops anywhere and will be transporting labourers who had registered themselves with the State Labour Department.

"I have been here for the past eight years, but now we are all returning to our home-town. Along with me is my full family of two kids and my wife... We are scared of coronavirus. We are thankful to all who have made this happen," said an Oriya man waiting in the queue.

"We never thought our return would happen so quickly. We are happy to go back," said another youth.

"The people being transported are those living in Perumbavoor and Aluva," said an official from the labour department. The migrants will be transported to their respective areas within the state, he added. "This is to prevent violation of lockdown rules," said the official.

According to him, a decision on arranging transportation of labourers from other states will be taken in the coming days. "As for the people being allowed to board the train, only those who have cleared the COVID-19 tests will get to board," said the official.

The seating has been arranged adhering to social distancing norms. Facilities to conduct COVID-19 tests have also been arranged at the railway station. According to railway authorities, the entire process is being managed by the state government.

As the news surfaced about the train service resuming on Friday morning, the Aluva station was besieged by migrant labourers enquiring about trains' schedule. All of them were told politely that everybody would be taken on board and that none should create a scene.

At Perambavoor, which has the highest number of migrant labourers, the health and police authorities had opened four registrations counters and those wanting to return stood in a queue for registration.

"There are some more seats to be filled, but the counter will close soon and then those who have been given a token to travel will be asked to board a state-owned bus which will drop them at the Aluva railway station," said a police officer overseeing the registration.

"We are conducting the service as per the request of the state government based on the direction given by the Union Ministry of Railways. The state government decides the destination, selects the passengers and takes care of their transportation to the railway station," said the railway official.

State Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar told media that it was last night that he got information about this train.

"Each coach will accommodate 60 passengers in order to maintain social distancing. Food and water for the journey will be provided," said Sunilkumar.

Early in the day, State Home Secretary Biswas Mehta had told the media about the "rail operation."

"All arrangements are in place for the first train, carrying 1,200 stranded migrant labourers, to leave from Ernakulam for Bhubaneswar in Odisha on Friday evening", said Mehta.

According to the state Labour Department, there are 20,826 camps across the state where 3,61,190 migrant labourers are sheltered.

"All those who are going will have to pay the base fare. Around 1,200 migrant labourers are expected to be on board. Tomorrow we are planning more trains. These are all non-stop trains. We alone cannot do this, as partnering states to which these people are going also have to agree", said Mehta.

"Partnering states and Kerala have to work in tandem as those states have to arrange for quarantine. As and when states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam and Bihar agree, we will be sending more people," said Mehta.

(With inputs from IANS)
Defense giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) will produce an unspecified number of Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target (PATRIOT) Advanced Capability-3 missiles, in the company's "missile segment enhancement configuration," along with associated ground support equipment and spare parts.

The Defense Department announced this contract in the Pentagon's daily digest of contracts awarded to its defense contractors Thursday evening, stating the value of the contract as $6.068 billion and the U.S. Army as the service ordering the missiles.

The PATRIOTs in question, commonly known as "PATRIOT PAC-3," comprise only the missile portion of the PATRIOT air defense system. Lockheed peer Raytheon produces the missile's launcher system and its radar tracker. In addition to the U.S. military, nine allied nations, including Bahrain, Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates -- have signed agreements to procure PAC-3 MSE interceptors from Lockheed.

In a subsequent press release, Lockheed Martin advised that the missiles in question will be delivered to the Army "across FY21, FY22 and FY23 contract years." The Pentagon stated, however, that the "estimated completion date" of the contract is June 30, 2027.

Scott Arnold, vice president of Lockheed's Integrated Air & Missile Defense unit at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, called the PAC-3 MSE "one of the most capable multi-mission interceptors," utilizing "unmatched Hit-to-Kill technology" and "enabling our customers to defend against advanced tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft."

Missiles and Fire Control is Lockheed Martin's smallest major business subdivision, with annual sales of $10.6 billion, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. It is also, however, Lockheed Martin's most profitable business division, generating operating profit margins of 13.5%
[May 01, 2020] Bell MTS expands all-fibre broadband network in La Salle

Direct fibre connections deliver Canada's fastest consumer Internet speeds LA SALLE, MB, May 1, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell MTS today announced the latest expansion of its all-fibre broadband network to approximately 800 homes and business locations throughout the Town of La Salle in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald, which will provide residents with access to the fastest home Internet in Canada and other Bell MTS exclusive services like Whole Home Wi-Fi and Fibe TV. "The Municipality has long identified high-speed Internet access as critical infrastructure to improve the lives of those who live and do business in our Municipality," said Brad Erb, Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Macdonald. "This investment by Bell MTS will help us as we continue to build communities for the future in all areas of the Municipality." Fully funded by Bell MTS, the new network will deliver Internet access speeds of up to 1.5 Gigabits per second, the fastest consumer Internet in Canada. Construction is set to begin in June, with the first customer connections expected this summer. "The Bell MTS $1 billion investment plan for Manitoba is delivering advanced broadband access to more cities, towns and rural communities than ever before," said Dan McKeen, Vice Chair of Bell MTS & Western Canada. "These technology investments are key to supporting the continued economic and social prosperity of Manitoba communities, and we are proud to welcome La Salle to our growing broadband network." La Salle joins over 30 communities across the province that now have access to Bll MTS fibre. Bell MTS is also bringing the world's best Internet technology to Flin Flon and Churchill this summer, and also announced a major new initiative to bring direct fibre connections to approximately 275,000 homes and businesses in Winnipeg.



For more information about Bell MTS Fibe services, please visit BellMTS.ca/Internet or BellMTS.ca/Business. Caution concerning forward-looking statements

Certain statements made in this news release are forward-looking statements, including statements relating to our network deployment and capital investment plans in Manitoba and the expected benefits to result therefrom. They describe our expectations as of the date hereof and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake to update or revise them thereafter.

All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations. For additional information on assumptions and risks underlying certain forward-looking statements made in this news release, please refer to BCE's 2019 Annual MD&A dated March 5, 2020 (included in BCE's 2019 Annual Report), filed by BCE with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities (available at Sedar.com ) and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at SEC.gov ). This document is also available at BCE.ca . About the Rural Municipality of Macdonald

Located southwest of Winnipeg and covering approximately 1,106 square kilometres, the Rural Municipality of Macdonald is one of the oldest municipalities in Manitoba. Home to a diverse population of almost 8,000 residents, the RM of Macdonald is one of the fastest growing areas in Manitoba. Major communities in Macdonald include La Salle, Oak Bluff, Domain, Brunkild, Sanford, Starbuck and Osborne. About Bell MTS

Bell MTS is part of BCE, Canada's largest communications company, and provides advanced broadband wireless, TV, Internet and business communication services throughout Manitoba. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading television, radio, out of home and digital media assets in Manitoba and across Canada. To learn more, please visit BellMTS.ca or BCE.ca . The Bell Let's Talk initiative promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk . Media inquiries: Morgan Shipley

Bell MTS

204-391-2849

[email protected]

@Bell_News

@BellMTS_News Investor inquiries: Thane Fotopoulos

514-870-4619

[email protected] SOURCE Bell Canada

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Following President Muhammadu Buharis directive during his Monday night broadcast, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has issued the guidelines to be followed after the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun is eased from Monday.

Mr Buhari had said that from May 4 to 17, there would be a phased easing of the lockdown in the three states including an 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily curfew.

This, he said, was to ease the hardship of lockdown on Nigerians and prevent layoffs as well as reawaken economic activities, although under strict restrictions.

While some have welcomed this directive, others have questioned the timing, because Nigeria has recorded over 500 cases in the last three days, with total cases nearing 2000, deaths above 50, and more than 300 recoveries.

Concerns have even increased with how, within days of easing its lockdown, West African neighbour Ghana confirmed coronavirus cases surged to over 2,000, a 24 per cent increase.

Lockdown easing directive

The fifth week of lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun is to be relaxed Monday. The guideline for this, signed by the chairman of the PTF, Boss Mustapha, and sent to PREMIUM TIMES Friday, mandates anyone in public spaces to use non-medical face masks.

It also prohibits interstate travels  save for essential travel services  as well as gathering of more than 20 people outside of a workplace.

Social distancing of 2 metres must be maintained between people in workplaces and other public spaces, the directive read, while also stating that ban on all passenger flights and religious gatherings will continue.

Movement between LGAs (except metropolitan areas) is strongly discouraged unless for critical reasons such as healthcare and work, Mr Mustapha wrote in the document.

All inter-state travel for supply chain & services allowed, such as: goods, agro-products with a limited capacity of accompanying personnel, petroleum products, relief items, supplies, construction supplies, registered courier services (DHL, FedEx, etc) and security services.

Although people may go out for work or buy food and exercise, public buses have been asked to reduce their occupancy by half; taxis to 4 persons; and tricycles to 3 persons, the driver inclusive.

Also, civil servants in grade level 14-17 will now go to work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 8.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m., the same time banks are to open.

Schools were also encouraged to continue e-learning and virtual teaching as they will remain closed till further evaluation.

The level of compliance with these guidelines will be reviewed in 2 weeks before additional guidelines for phase 2 is issued, the document concluded.

Lagos remains the hotpot of the infection in the country, but Kano has seen a surge in cases in the last five days, a time within which its figure tripled to over 210 as of Thursday night. The two states are Nigerias largest city with over 30 million combined population.

Lagos, Kano and Abuja account for about 70 per cent of the countrys cases of the disease.
Dear Bel,

Does history repeat itself? In the early 1970s, my father started an affair with an American lady, C, in his office. Shed been sent to the UK because of a liaison with a married man. Dad would invite C to our home at weekends as she was lonely.

At the time, we four children were 14, 13, 11 and six. She was 27. In the end, he moved into a flat with C  and we accepted the situation and visited them.

Sadly, Dad died three years later after a long illness. Nearly 16 then, I visited him at the flat with Mum before he died. It meant so much that he told her how very sorry he was for how he had hurt her. Mum fell to pieces after he died.

Thought of the day Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate; Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summers lease hath all too short a date. From Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare. Advertisement

In 1977, aged 20, I married my husband and we had two children. He became seriously ill in 1985 and was in intensive care. After a whole year, he finally returned to work  a really tough time for us all. In 1990, we had our third child and I was so proud of our happy family.

This all changed 20 years ago when a divorcee, M, came into our lives. She became involved with one of my husbands activities and he started to behave differently  drinking more and finding excuses to help out M.

We argued so much about her and when I found a hidden second mobile, I asked him to leave. Our two eldest were at university so it was just me and the youngest (13) at home. I really struggled, but six months later was getting much stronger.

Eventually, he asked if we could try again. I agreed, but obviously she had to go. It took a long time  and what happened still hurts  but 15 years later I couldnt be happier with our relationship of 43 years.

Now our youngest son, who married in May 2018 (after a six-year courtship), left his wife in January because of a woman, R, at work. Like his father, he has been cruel in words and deeds. It has tipped me over the edge, as my son seemed like another person.

In March, he apologised to his wife, made promises, booked couple counselling, said hed end it with R and look for a new job. All positive. A week later, my daughter-in-law saw an explicit sex text between our son and R. He now says he wants R, not his wife.

Im trying to be so careful, as I dont want to alienate him. He says hes fine and before the lockdown was planning to go away with R. But our daughter-in-law lives round the corner and is in a bad way. Her mum is miles away, so Ive been trying to support her.

It is all such a mess. How much should I be involved?

MAGGIE

This week Bel advises a reader who is afraid her son's extra-marital affair is a result of his own father's cheating

Your first question is very interesting and something I was discussing with my daughter on the telephone recently.

A friend had been dumped (which didnt bother her at all!) by a chap shed been seeing whose father had been habitually unfaithful.

She wondered if the chaps inability to sustain relationships (at the age of nearly 50) was due to his disillusionment with his parents. All his instincts convince him that love is neither true nor lasting.

In your longer letter, you explain that your son, aged 13, regularly stayed with his father while he was seeing M, so who knows what lasting effect that had?

It could have inculcated an idea that life is tough and people get hurt but, you know, chaps have to do their thing. Entering puberty must surely have played its part. With all the changes going on around him, plus those in his own body, he probably had no choice but to toughen up.

You must have confided in him and he saw how you suffered, but later watched you put your marriage back together. I am sure he was glad, but perhaps some damage had been done.

I know thats all speculation, but in telling me three stories  those of your father, your husband and your son  you identify a pattern, rather like a Greek tragedy.

But the really important question comes at the end. You know your son has behaved very badly and hate the fact that hes reminding you of the father who ruined your mothers life. Nevertheless, he remains your son, for better for worse.

That better surely includes doing all you can to support his wronged wife and hoping a good pattern may be repeated  and that he goes back to her as your husband did to you.

You dont mention any children, which is a relief. I would do all you can to give emotional support to your daughter-in-law, show a cool interest in your sons life, but make it clear to him that you refuse to take sides. It may not last with R. He may return to his wife  in which case all your own experience will be needed in helping them put their life back together, in pain but with forgiveness.

My female friend keeps ignoring me

Dear Bel,

A work colleague and I became friends very quickly. I am 33 and she is 29. I spent lots of time offering my help with her various problems and when she was just feeling down.

For example, she had a problem with a boyfriend break-up so I introduced her to one of my friends. I used to buy her chocolates, listen and keep her secrets.

In return, she chatted to me and helped my confidence, so I even took her out for lunch to say thank you. I used to stick up for her when our colleagues were bad-mouthing her behind her back to me.

She was made redundant so contact between us was made more difficult. When she left the office, she forgot some belongings, so I picked them up, took them home and she collected them from my house because she felt she could trust me.

Since then, I have been struggling with the lockdown. So I asked her if she would chat, but communication has stopped for two weeks. Im afraid she has past form when it comes to delays in contacting me.

But now I am frustrated because I can see that she is very active on social media, including with some of the same work colleagues who were bad-mouthing her to me. What would your advice be?

PETER

This is one of those short emails which seems very simple but, I suspect, conceals much more unhappiness than it reveals. You put as the subject of your email, Selfish former work colleague which suggests that your only issue is with her failure to think of others.

She may indeed be very selfish, yet surely it is much more than her alleged character defects that bother you? You sound so wounded, so disappointed, so lost  and very lonely, too. You say you are struggling with the lockdown  which I take to mean more than it actually says.

Do you live alone? I fear theres something here which perhaps makes you more vulnerable than many people  perhaps something in your past history?

Youve skirted round your emotional connection with this young woman, but most people reading your words will assume you fell in love with her pretty quickly.

You are probably a shy man  one who finds the often-brutal casualness of modern social life very hard to join in with. I doubt you are the sort of chap who swipes left very often or who believes he can attract women by means of looks and personality. Instead you tried to be kind to a young colleague to whom you were powerfully attracted.

You gave her gifts, listened to her woes, basked in the attention (her easy chats) which helped your confidence.

Im guessing you were really quite desperate to become indispensable. I also suspect you went to sleep thinking about her and woke each morning looking forward to seeing her at work. You know you did all the running, but you were prepared to put up with it because you loved her company  and (in truth) hoped for love.

Theres nothing to be ashamed of in any of that, even if the sad suspicion that you were being used is now making you thoroughly miserable.

She may even be just the lovely lady you thought she was, with no intention to hurt anybody. But that was then and its over.

It does you no good at all to follow her on social media when she is ignoring you. I feel very sorry for you, yet I believe you have to accept that this person only wanted you as a friend when it was convenient because you worked together.

Now she has moved on and I advise you to do your best to accept that. You feel angry/hurt that she has easy exchanges with those others from work  and yet I have to warn you that perhaps your naked intensity of feeling for her has finally put all brakes on any wish to contact you.

I feel so mean even writing that, but I hate the thought of you continuing to delude yourself that this friendship has any place to go.

I hope for your sake the lockdown ends soon and you can return to work. Until then, you might consider having some online counselling. For example, Relate (relate.org.uk) runs telephone, webcam and live chat services, which may be useful if you have difficulty in forming relationships.

And try hard to counter your lockdown blues by keeping active. Exercise, read, cook, tidy up, make a pile of clothes for the charity shop  anything to keep you away from that phone and her hurtful silence.

And finally... Spring is on hold  but be patient

I wanted a lovely spring-like May time quotation for the column, but now its grey outside and my newly planted Nicotiana is getting bashed by rain.

Im glad I didnt dig out my summer clothes  but made an old friend giggle when I solemnly intoned, Ner cast a clout til May is out like some wise old bumpkin-biddy dispensing ancient wisdom.

But of course, Shakespeare knew it all  that rough winds in May can destroy the buds which would have become glorious blossom, while late frosts make a mockery of our premature summer togs.

Contact Bel Bel answers readers' questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, or email bel.mooney@dailymail.co.uk. A pseudonym will be used if you wish. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Advertisement

I remember May lambing times on my first husbands farm when the nights were bitter, the fields white with frost, but the animals warm and safe in the barn.

All the old myths and customs around spring, in so many cultures, are about new life, sexual activity (dancing around the maypole, anyone?) and renewal  but this year its harder than ever to believe in that.

Everything feels so static, our emotions forced to be as locked down as our actions, otherwise wed go mad.

Im reminded of some lines from the poet T.S. Eliot:

I have heard the key,

Turn in the door once and turn once only;

We think of the key, each in his prison,

Thinking of the key

That quote is from The Waste Land  a title that seems fitting. I keep hearing how friends feel strangely bleak and empty as they wait, wait, wait. A colleague emailed: This really is a strange time. One day I feel fine and the next a creeping anxiety  with no rhyme or reason for the change.

Im sure many of you recognise that. And even though Im used to being isolated at home, Im now longing to break out  like a prisoner scaling a wall.

Yet we must be patient a while longer. Meanwhile, Im renewed daily by all your lovely comments, and if you want to see me making the best of things, check out mailplus.co.uk/tv/feel-well-with-bel
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has set out a plan for Ireland to start to reopen over 15 weeks from May 18 but until then most of the current restrictions will remain in place.

Mr Varadkar said thousands of lives have been saved and Covid-19 infections prevented by the sacrifices people have made.

He said: "Let's finish what we started".

Mr Varadkar added: "While there is still so much that we do not know. Tonight there is hope.

"Hope will drive us forward as we plan to emerge safely from this crisis."

Mr Varadkar said that the coronavirus crisis has been "dispiriting", there has been the "frustration" of living with the restrictions and "uncertainty" of when life will return to normal.

He said there's also been fear of the virus itself, people are lonely in isolation and many have lost their jobs.

Read More

He said many fear losing businesses.

And he said many people have lost their lives.

He said: "I yearn for the day when it stops."

But he explained why the decision has been taken to leave most of the current restrictions in place.

He also confirmed that schools wont re-open until September.

It means the only students who may return to classrooms in the next few months will be Leaving Cert candidates.

Education Minister Joe McHugh is still hoping to bring Leaving Cert students back in July subject to adequate planning and public health advice in order to do the State exam in July and August, his spokesman said.

Planning for the Leaving Cert is still being discussed, including through the Advisory Group set up by the Department involving education stakeholders, the spokesman said. It is still hoped to bring just Leaving Cert students back in July, subject to adequate planning and public health advice.

Fianna Fail said the Leaving Cert should not take place and that alternatives should now be explored to take pressure off parents and students.

The party's education spokesperson Thomas Byrne said: "Given that the Leaving Cert is not mentioned in the road map published this evening and schools aren't opening till autumn and given the preparations are not in place to have a fair Leaving Cert, I'm fully convinced the Leaving Cert should not take place.

"There is no scope for it to take place. Take the pressure off parents and students. I've discussed alternatives with some universities and with the Minister over last few weeks and they do exist."

Higher and further education colleges will also remain closed until the autumn, Mr Varadkar confirmed, but there is no surprise about that as the academic year is coming to a close.

Schools and colleges have been closed since March 12.

Schools were concerned about the practicalities of reopening in May or June.

In explaining why most restrictions will remain in place until then Mr Varadkar said "we have not yet won this fight"

He added: "every day we have too many new cases... and every day we have too many deaths".

He said that scientists and doctors have said that if restrictions are relaxed too soon the health service could be overwhelmed and "everything we've achieve could be lost".

"We must go on for a short time more," he added.

He said there is a plan to ease lock-down from May 18 but two more weeks of "tight restrictions" are needed to "weaken the virus further so it doesn't have the strength to come back".

He said the plan is to reopen the country in a "slow, staged way" of three week intervals, with the fifth phase beginning on August 10.

Mr Varadkar warned that the risk of a second wave of the virus is "ever present" and the country can only move from one phase to the next if the virus stays under control.

In the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment hygiene procedures and social distancing must be maintained.

He said "it will take some time for our lives to get back to normal, a new normal".

Mr Varadkar also said: "not long from now on some summer night we will see our friends again".

The first phase of easing restrictions will begin on May 18, when open air workers, such as builders, landscapers and roofers, will return to work in two weeks time under new plans being discussed by the Cabinet.

Among the measures that could take place then - depending on progress in fighting the spread of the virus - would be the reopening of construction sites.

Garden centres and hardware stores could also reopen on that date.

Social distancing would have to be practised at such businesses.

That date could also see people being allowed outside in groups of four including being able to meet up with non-family members.

Outdoor activities like fishing may also be allowed.

The second phase of easing restrictions will begin on June 8 when some retail outlets, marts and libraries are due to reopen.

Weddings may once again be able to take place in mid August under the governments plan for reopening the country.

Larger social gatherings, including weddings, will provisionally be permitted in the fifth phase of the lockdown exit strategy.

Garden centres, hardware stores, construction sites and other outdoor workplaces are to reopen in the first phase on May 18.

Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland

Meanwhile, older people who have been 'cocooning' are advised they can take exercise away from their homes under proposed new coronavirus regulations being discussed at Cabinet.

Over 70s will be told there is a low risk to their health if they exercise from next week but they will be urged to stay in their homes as much as possible.

And the 2km limit on travel and exercise for the wider population will be extended to 5km from next Tuesday.

The previous coronavirus restrictions were due to expire next Tuesday, May 5.

The chairman of NPHET, Mr Holohan said that if there is continued progress in suppressing the virus the group has a "high degree of confidence" restrictions can start being eased on May 18.

Health Minister Simon Harris said the "indicative roadmap" may be varied depending on the progress in fighting the disease.

"If it's possible to move more quickly of course we will," he said.

He confirmed that under the plan people won't be able to visit family who live more than 20km away until the phase that's due to begin in July.

But he suggested that some children will be able to visit grandparents who are over-70 from phase two which begins on June 8.

Mr Holohan was asked about small weddings, which are due to be allowed in August.

He declined to specify how many people would fall into the definition of a small wedding, saying: "it will depend on the progress we're making."

Mr Harris said: "We are not going to leave one restriction in place longer than it takes to save people's lives."

He confirmed that he is to sign an order tonight to extend the powers of gardai to enforce restrictions until May 18.

Mr Holohan was asked about use of face coverings by the public.

He said medical-grade face masks must be reserved for health workers and patients.

But he said face coverings for the general public in certain circumstances he said they have been recommended in other countries and may form "an important part in easing restrictions" here.

He said the advice may be to use them on public transport and in certain retail settings where social distancing is difficult.

Mr Holohan said work would continue on developing guidance for face coverings in the next two weeks.

He said: "We're not saying rush out and start using them now."

Meanwhile, a number of universities have released details of their re-opening arrangements in the autumn, running into November for first years, eight weeks later than usual.

Dublin City University (DCU) will re-open for continuing students and new postgraduate taught students on Monday October 5.

DCU said the start date for incoming first years remained unclear, but it would be November at the earliest - that is based on the Leaving Cert kicking off on July 29, which is subject to public health advice.

The university said it would bring students and staff physically onto campus only when, and in a manner, that is safe to do so and would continue to be guided by the HSE and the Department of Health.

DCU has also announced that it is planning for dual-mode delivery of teaching, involving both online and face-to-face delivery as appropriate, which will involve revisions to the academic calendar, changes to programme structures, and new approaches to the use of space on campus.

And, in anticipation of social distancing requirements operating through the rest of 2020 and into 2021, DCU said it was unlikely to be able to run any large-group, campus-based activities in the first semester at the very least.

Arrangements across the higher education sector are expected to be broadly similar.

The University of Limerick (UL) also expects to welcome its first years at the beginning of November, but said it would depend on a number of factors including when the Leaving Cert takes place and the CAO offer/acceptance process.

Most other UL undergraduate and postgraduate students will begin on September 28, although some programmes, such as education and health will have different dates.

UL is also planning for a blended approach to teaching and learning, with a combination of online and face to face, such as for laboratory c lasses, studio time and some seminars and tutorials.

This will be limited in order to insure the health and safety of our community and to work within the government restrictions. Any planned approach will need to take account of the possibility that future full or partial closures may well be called for at short notice, the university stated.

UL has also announced that Erasmus and Non EU Exchange mobility programmes will be suspended for the first semester and alternative programmes will be put in place for those students who had been scheduled to study abroad for their autumn semester.

NUI Galway has also pencilled in September 28 as the start state for returning students.

The government has been cautioning all week that changes - if any - to the extraordinary limits on everyday life will be minimal amid continuing concern over the numbers of people still contracting the virus.

Read More

With many restrictions on public movement to remain in place, the Cabinet is also agreeing to extend two social welfare measures that were due to expire on May 9.

The enhanced Covid-19 illness benefit of 350 paid to people diagnosed with the disease or who are a suspected case will now be paid until June 19.

The temporary abolition of the three-day waiting period for jobseekers' benefits has also been extended until the same date.

Ministers have been informed that the extension of illness benefit by further seven weeks will cost the exchequer "in the region of" 30 million and the waiving of the waiting period for jobseekers will cost approximately 2.7m. The money for both will be drawn from the social insurance fund.

The Cabinet was informed that the temporary wage subsidy scheme is due to expire on June 19, while the special pandemic unemployment payment is due to expire a week earlier. Ministers expect that both schemes will have to be extended with some adjustments given the ongoing emergency.
Westerly, RI (02891)

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A few passing clouds. Low 17F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 17F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.
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Linkedin Aloysius Efraim Leonard (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Fri, May 1, 2020 08:52 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd555f4e 3 Lifestyle COVID-19,model-united-nations,cooperation,global-challenges,United-Nations,united-states,China,WHO,Southeast-Asia Free

Don't get me wrong  I love the idea of a model United Nations.

I love the idea about us role-playing to become a delegate of a certain country that we might not even have heard of before but act as if we know everything about the country. I love the idea of making strategies on how as the United States, we should work together with China to solve the latest global health crisis or the upcoming space war. I love the idea of how we can actually meet new people from different backgrounds of studies, showing that international relations students might, after all, be having more competition in their own field in the future.

And I also appreciate that its becoming a trend, especially in Indonesia. Showing the world that hey, apparently as a global citizen, there's hope for us to work together hand in hand to solve pressing global issues.

Just like any other international relations student, I feel obligated to at least taste the feeling of working in the United Nations. And how can we do that, if not through doing a Model UN (MUN)?

An MUN lets you research deeply about the country you were assigned to, thus, letting us learn how to do deep research and understand not only the topic but also the foreign policy of the country we were assigned. Then, it allows you to practice your public speaking abilities. Lastly, it encourages you to negotiate with other delegates that are representing other countries that might or might not have different interests than yours (or they might just not know what is going on and just follow you around).

And if you excel in your performances, the dais, or the one who acts as the moderator and the adjudicator, will give you an award.

But that is not everything. Sometimes, what usually is forgotten is the strategy of someone while theyre doing the MUN conference.

Our strategy in an MUN is the most important thing if what we're looking for is an award. In strategizing, you will try to first name your possible allies, then in the conference, the strategy goes from who is our ally and who is not based on their dominance, on when to speak or when not to, who should we ask for lunch and who is not, to whose idea should we take as our own as it will advantage our bloc.

Yes, the conference can be nasty  but so is our current global politics.

Sure, real-world diplomacy is not only about stealing one's solution and name it our own or who is and is not our ally. Sometimes it goes beyond all that. In real-world diplomacy, we are not looking for awards  we are looking to fulfill most of our national interest, and that could mean the well-being of millions of real people.

In MUN, sometimes a delegate's biggest dilemma is whether to become an ally with other delegates that have a different stance or interest but is our friend. And then you will end up becoming allies anyway and try to find a way so that the dais will see that none of you violates your stance and still gives you an award.

But in real-world diplomacy, even being first cousins  like Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and Czar Nicholas of Russia  does not stop a war from happening.

If right now we are discussing the COVID-19 pandemic in MUN, the delegate of the United States, realizing on how the pandemic is only going to get worse in their own country, as thousands of its citizen dies in a day and its death toll is among the highest in the world; and the delegate of China would consider working together as allies. In addition, there would also be one delegate from a neutral country who will ask them to find common ground for the good of humanity. How so? It will probably be based on the personal beliefs of the delegate that portrays them, on how they feel the COVID-19 has changed much of their lives.

But what about the real situation that we currently face? The US and China are trying to blame each other for the spread of the virus, blame the World Health Organization on its lack of transparency and transform vaccine-making into a race  as the one that creates it first will have greater international leverage. Global coordination is very lacking, every country is fighting the pandemic for themselves without any neutral country trying to make the big powers negotiate and put aside their personal interest for the betterment of humankind.

Another possible scenario in the COVID-19 discussion in an MUN is that the delegates of Southeast Asian countries will be allies, working together as a region to close the big gap of testing capabilities within the region itself. The delegates will probably create a solution in which ASEAN as the regional body will coordinate the creation of mass public testing in the region, funded by a public-private and ASEAN partnership, with experts from Singapore, to first mitigate the cases in the areas where the people are most vulnerable to be infected without showing any symptoms.

Ironically, those are the very ideas that we do not have in the real world  they are only the ideas of children who aspire to be diplomats or those who still believe that global cooperation will solve global problems. Spoiler alert: theres no to little global cooperation in solving this crisis to begin with.

A Model UN conference shows the positive side of the UN. It shows the optimistic side of our current global diplomacy, where rich countries will willingly spend some of their money to help a poor country by giving a transfer of technology, while at the same time, the organization will conduct a cooperation mechanism to start a grassroots movement with local NGOs.

One might see that as the ideal world in which we should live, but most importantly, global leaders should see that as criticism on our current global governance mechanism. It should be seen as an aspiration of the younger generations on how the global issues that we have today can be handled: through cooperation and collaboration, that will eventually still favor our own national interest.

However, a model UN is still a model; it is not the real UN, after all. But at least it shows hope: a hope that someday, we might live in a better world (or not, since the first MUN was done when the UN was still the League of Nations). Only time will tell.

But one things for sure: World leaders and people should see an MUN not only as a competition done by rich and fancy young adults but as a form of resistance and criticism to the system that they control right now. (kes)

***

Aloysius Efraim Leonard is the 2019 Harvard National Model United Nations Diplomatic Commendation awardee. He is currently enrolled as an international relations student at Parahyangan Catholic University, concentrating in international politics and security. In the field of MUN, he has gained several awards, including one from Harvard, and has joined more than 12 model UN conferences both as a delegate and the dais in Indonesia and other countries, such as the United States and Germany.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Ahead of the end of the extended lockdown, the Union Health Ministry has listed 130 districts in the country in red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone on the basis of incidence of cases of COVID-19, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback.

This classification of districts is to be followed by states and UTs till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.

The list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to states for further follow-up action.

Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been designated as red zones in the new classification.

The new classification of districts was announced following a video conference chaired by the Cabinet Secretary on April 30 with chief secretaries and health secretaries of states.

In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and UTs,



Union Health Ministry Secretary Preeti Sudan said, "It is important to ensure that we identify pockets of critical interventions for a focused management of COVID -19 at the field level".

She said the districts were earlier designated as hotspots/red-zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate.

"Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria. This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts," Sudan said in her letter.

A district will be considered under green zone if there has been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district, according to the letter.

Till now any red or orange zone districts could become a green zone if no fresh case of coronavirus was reported for 28 and 14 consecutive days respectively.

In the list, all the 11 districts in Delhi have been classified under red zone (hotspots).

Maharashtra has 14 districts in the red zone, 16 in orange and six in green zone, while Gujarat has nine districts in the red zone, 19 in orange and five in green zone.

In Madhya Pradesh, there are nine districts in the red zone, 19 in orange and 24 in the green zone, while Rajasthan has eight, 19 and six districts in the red, orange and green zones respectively.

Uttar Pradesh has 19 districts in the red zone, 36 in orange and 20 in green while Tamil Nadu has 12 districts in the red zone, 24 in the orange and one district in the green zone.

Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram fall under the green zone.

Telengana has six districts in the red zone, 18 in the orange and nine in the green zone. Andhra Pradesh has five districts in red zone, seven in orange and one in green zone while West Bengal has 10, 5 and 8 districts in the red, orange, green zones respectively.

Some states like Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Meghalaya, Puducherry and Tripura have no red zone districts.

Noting that some states "have raised issues on inclusion of certain districts in red-zone", the secretary highlighted that this is a dynamic list.

The Secretary said based on field feedback and additional analysis at state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate.

"However, states may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as red/orange as communicated by the ministry," Sudan said.

For districts having one or more municipal corporations, the corporations and other areas of districts may be treated as separate units.

If one or more of these units have reported no cases for last 21 days, they can be considered as one level lower in zonal classification, in case the district is in red/orange zone.

District authorities should, however, exercise caution in such areas so that they remain free from COVID-19 cases, she said.

"It is critical to ensure that necessary action for containment so as to break the chain of transmission of virus is initiated in both red and orange zone districts reporting confirmed cases," she said.

The containment zones in these districts have to be delineated based on mapping of cases and contacts, geographical dispersion of cases and contacts.

A buffer zone around containment zone has to be demarcated.

Necessary action should then be initiated in these areas as part of the



Containment Action Plans include stringent perimeter control, establishing clear entry and exit points, no movement except for medical emergencies and essential goods and services, no unchecked influx of population, active search for cases through house to house surveillance by special teams, testing of all cases as per sampling guidelines and contact tracing.

Similarly, in buffer zones, extensive surveillance for cases through monitoring of ILI/SARI cases in health facilities has to be taken up.

"All states are accordingly requested to delineate containment zones and buffer zones in the identified red and orange zone districts and notify the same," she said.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,147 and the number of cases climbed to 35,043 in the country on Friday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON  Newly minted White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany gave the first formal White House daily press briefing in more than a year on Friday.

McEnany, a 32-year-old Harvard Law School graduate and former Trump campaign spokeswoman, fielded questions on a range of subjects from oil reserves to vaccines for coronavirus.

Breaking with the combative model of press briefings adopted by her predecessors in the Trump administration, McEnany maintained a calm and friendly tone with reporters. She answered the questions she could, and she did not denigrate individual news outlets or journalists.

She was also quick to distance herself from previous Trump press secretaries, who were widely criticized for lying to reporters. "I'll never lie to you," said McEnany, whose first day on the job was April 7. "You have my word on that."

At one point, McEnany declined to answer a question about Trump's campaign travel plans, clearly aware that White House officials are prohibited by law from using their official platforms to engage in political campaigning.

Nonetheless, there were several moments in the briefing when McEnany's most recent experience as a Trump campaign spokeswoman shone through.

The last time a Trump press secretary answered reporters questions live on camera was on March 11, 2019, while Sarah Huckabee Sanders was still in the job. Sanders' successor, Stephanie Grisham did not hold a single on-camera briefing in her nine months as press secretary.

On Friday, McEnany said the administration planned to do more daily briefings. "I will announce timing of that forthcoming," she said, "but we do plan to continue these."

The briefing marked the end of more than a year during which Trump has served as the only de facto spokesperson for his entire administration.

The coronavirus pandemic has only served to highlight the president's role as the chief communicator for the White House. Since mid-March, Trump has held near daily live, on-camera briefings about the pandemic, often using the time to spar with reporters and defend his administration against perceived criticism.

By contrast, Friday's briefing with McEnany felt more like a press briefing from the pre-Trump era, before the president had ever labeled the press the "enemy of the people."

The half hour Q&A contained none of the bitterness that had come to characterize White House briefings towards the end of both Sanders tenure and that of her predecessor, Sean Spicer, Trump's first press secretary.

McEnany began Friday's briefing with the sort of announcement that traditionally starts off daily briefings  important enough to sound newsy, but not so newsworthy that the president himself should be the one announcing it. In this case, the announcement was about hospital funding related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Where her training as a Trump campaign spokesperson was most apparent Friday was in McEnany's effusive praise of the president.

One question concerned the victorious tone that was recently adopted by some administration officials when speaking about the coronavirus pandemic, and whether it was appropriate when the virus continues to kill more than 1,000 Americans a day. McEnany didn't just defend the congratulatory style of her White House colleagues, she adopted it.

When senior adviser Jared Kushner "talked about his success story, he was talking about the story of this administration, which is a story of mobilization for the American people, the greatest mobilization of American industry since World War II," she said. "The fact that this president can look the American people in the eye and say, 'I am producing 100,000 ventilators this year alongside the private sector...I'd consider that a great success on behalf of the American people."

In another nod to campaign style messaging, McEnany had two large screens set up to play a video clip from a White House event earlier in the week, one that had been covered by many of the same reporters when it happened. The clip was of an employee from a company that received congressional funding profusely thanking Trump for the help.

And despite McEnany's pledge not to lie, near the end of the briefing she gave a misleading assessment of new developments in the federal case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Flynn was fired in early 2017, after lying to the vice president and the FBI about his contacts with foreign ambassadors. He later pleaded to guilty to lying to the FBI and cooperated at length with the Mueller investigation

. Newly released FBI documents reveal an internal discussion in early 2017 about how to interview Flynn. McEnany on Friday said the documents contained, "a handwritten FBI note that says 'We need to get Flynn to lie,' and get him fired."

But that's not what the note said. The note was part of a series of questions about what the aim of Flynn's FBI interview should be.

McEnany called Flynn's prosecution "a case of injustice." But she dodged follow-up questions about why the president fired Flynn, and why Flynn pleaded guilty.
PROMISING?: Provided by Gilead Sciences, a vial of the investigational drug remdesivir is visually inspected at a Gilead manufacturing site in the United States on Wednesday. The company says its experimental antiviral drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major US government study that put it to a strict test. Photo: AP
Joe Biden on Friday released a lengthy statement rejecting accusations of sexual assault and harassment by former Senate staffer Tara Reid that surfaced in March.

No, it is not true. Im saying unequivocally that it never, ever happened, the former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate told Mika Brzezinski on MSNBCs Morning Joe.

In a lengthy statement, released just ahead of the interview, he also called on the National Archives to release any personnel records related to a complaint that Reade has said she filed in 1993 about an incident in which, she has said, Biden pushed her against a wall, reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his finger  an accusation he flatly denied.

Also Read: Joe Biden Responds to Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Accusation: 'This Never Happened'

Read the full statement below:

Statement by Vice PresideBint Joe Biden

April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Every year, at this time, we talk about awareness, prevention, and the importance of women feeling they can step forward, say something, and be heard. That belief  that women should be heard  was the underpinning of a law I wrote over 25 years ago. To this day, I am most proud of the Violence Against Women Act. So, each April we are reminded not only of how far we have come in dealing with sexual assault in this country  but how far we still have to go.

When I wrote the bill, few wanted to talk about the issue. It was considered a private matter, a personal matter, a family matter. I didnt see it that way. To me, freedom from fear, harm, and violence for women was a legal right, a civil right, and a human right. And I knew we had to change not only the law, but the culture.

So, we held hours of hearings and heard from the most incredibly brave women  and we opened the eyes of the Senate and the nation  and passed the law.

In the years that followed, I fought to continually strengthen the law. So, when we took office and President Obama asked me what I wanted, I told him I wanted oversight of the critical appointments in the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice and I wanted a senior White House Advisor appointing directly to me on the issue. Both of those things happened.

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As Vice President, we started the Its on Us campaign on college campuses to send the message loud and clear that dating violence is violence  and against the law.

We had to get men involved. They had to be part of the solution. Thats why I made a point of telling young men this was their problem too  they couldnt turn a blind eye to what was happening around them  they had a responsibility to speak out. Silence is complicity.

In the 26 years since the law passed, the culture and perceptions have changed but were not done yet.

Its on us, and its on me as someone who wants to lead this country. I recognize my responsibility to be a voice, an advocate, and a leader for the change in culture that has begun but is nowhere near finished. So I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago.

They arent true. This never happened.

While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.

Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.

But this much bears emphasizing.

She has said she raised some of these issues with her supervisor and senior staffers from my office at the time. They  both men and a woman  have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues. News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one  not one  who corroborated her allegations in any way. Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way  as indeed I would not have.

There is a clear, critical part of this story that can be verified. The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files. It is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document their public record: speeches, policy proposals, positions taken, and the writing of bills.

There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.

As a Presidential candidate, Im accountable to the American people. We have lived long enough with a President who doesnt think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. Thats not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth.

I have spent my career learning from women the ways in which we as individuals and as policy makers need to step up to make their hard jobs easier, with equal pay, equal opportunity, and workplaces and homes free from violence and harassment. I know how critical womens health issues and basic womens rights are. That has been a constant through my career, and as President, that work will continue. And I will continue to learn from women, to listen to women, to support women, and yes, to make sure womens voices are heard.

We have a lot of work to do. From confronting online harassment, abuse, and stalking, to ending the rape kit backlog, to addressing the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence.

We need to protect and empower the most marginalized communities, including immigrant and indigenous women, trans women, and women of color.

We need to make putting an end to gender-based violence in both the United States and around the world a top priority.

I started my work over 25 years ago with the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. As president, Im committed to finishing the job.

Read original story Read Joe Bidens Full Statement Responding to Tara Reades Sexual Assault Accusations At TheWrap
Janet Martinez, left, with CIELO, talks with Luis Gabriel, 17, from Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico, while giving him a relief check in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Juan Luis, who moved to Los Angeles from a tiny town in Oaxaca and primarily speaks the indigenous language Zapotec, knew he was missing information about the pandemic changing life around him.

In March, the 24-year-old didn't fully understand why people on the street were wearing masks. He watched news about the coronavirus spreading around the globe on TV at his restaurant job and at the laundry, but the Spanish subtitles moved too fast.

One day, Luis discovered a video on social media that used illustrations to explain in Zapotec what the coronavirus was and how people should wash their hands frequently, not touch their face, and keep their distance from others.

It hit home. Two days later, Luis bought three masks from a street vendor. He began cleaning his hands more frequently and wiping the door handle at his home. He shared the minute-long video with his Zapotec-speaking housemate, who immediately worried about what would happen to her child if she got sick.

"I didnt know how serious it was, said Luis, who arrived in L.A. five years ago and lives in Koreatown. I realized the gravity of what was happening.

The video came from CIELO, a local indigenous organization whose leaders are among activists across the state working to keep Mexican and Central American indigenous communities informed about the pandemic. Advocates have done outreach through phone calls and educational videos, and by broadcasting information on radio stations in native languages.

There is no complete census count on the number of indigenous people from Mexico and Guatemala living in Los Angeles, many of whom work in low-wage service-sector jobs. Their languages can be as different from Spanish as Chinese is from English, and can contain dozens of variants. The city is home to Mexicans who speak languages such as Zapotec, Mixtec and Triqui, as well as Guatemalan Maya who speak languages like Kiche and Qanjobal. Many have only a basic grasp of Spanish.

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Were everywhere and people dont know that, said CIELO co-founder Odilia Romero. They say the food industry is all Latino, the busboys are all Latinos. A lot of the busboys, a lot of the cleaning crew, are of indigenous background, and its crucial they have all that information  how to protect themselves, how to get access to resources  in their languages.

Odilia Romero, left, and Janet Martinez, with CIELO, prepare to drop off relief checks to indigenous people from Mexico and Guatemala in Los Angeles who have lost employment due to the coronavirus. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In rural parts of the state, many indigenous immigrants work as farmworkers. The Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, a group that helps indigenous farmworker families in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, has been transmitting warnings about the virus and price gouging into languages like Mixtec, Zapotec and Purepecha on its radio station, Radio Indigena 94.1 FM.

Executive director Arcenio Lopez said its critical that the information reach farmworkers, who face challenges with social distancing. They frequently have to share rides to work, and families often live together in the same housing unit.

Theres this concern, are these people really understanding, is there a lack of accurate information in their language? he said.

Farther up north, KBBF-FM, a multilingual public affairs radio station in Santa Rosa that serves Latinos and indigenous farmworkers, has been broadcasting information in languages like Mixtec and Triqui.

Rafael Vazquez, a radio station volunteer and professor at Santa Rosa Junior College, is a regular guest on a show with a host who speaks Mixtec. They recently took a call from a farmworker who said that an employer hadnt provided enough paper cups next to water containers  forcing workers to share  or adequate shading to allow for social distancing.

Vazquez and the host explained that farmworkers should report their concerns to legal aid groups like the California Rural Legal Assistance.

The person was asking for information to be provided in Mixteco, he said. I keep hearing from people who are indigenous whose Spanish may not be their first language that they are not getting the information.

Another volunteer, 21-year-old Maribel Merino, has been answering questions on the air in Triqui about where to get food, what to do about rent, and financial assistance. Shes dealt with misinformation. Two Oaxacan Triqui speakers in Solano and Mendocino counties recently told her they hadnt left their homes because they were worried they could be fined.

There are people that dont speak Spanish. They dont know where to get help, they dont know what to do, said Merino. They lock themselves in their house and are scared to go out.

Undocumented indigenous immigrants also have access to fewer government resources. They can't receive unemployment benefits, but the governor of California in April announced a $125-million relief effort to help about 150,000 Californians without legal immigration status. The proposal would offer $500 cash grants for individuals in the U.S. illegally and up to $1,000 for families. The money will be distributed by regional nonprofit groups.

Thats why grassroots-level help, often passed through word of mouth, can be a lifeline.

At Terroni, an Italian restaurant in downtown L.A. where 26-year-old Luis Lopez Resendiz worked for two years as a busboy, most of the kitchen staff were indigenous. Maya dishwashers spoke K'iche'. Cooks would chat with busboys in Zapotec.

After many were told to stop coming in when L.A. restaurants closed for dining, anxious workers reached out to Lopez Resendiz, knowing he worked at CIELO.

They have asked him about how to get food and financial support. Some have worried about not being able to send money to their families back home. They've been troubled by news that people who died of the coronavirus in the U.S. then faced barriers in being transported back home for burial.

Many of them are desperate, said Lopez Resendiz. Theyre looking for jobs to do on the side, but theres nothing. The jobs that are available is at the grocery stores where you can be exposed to COVID-19. But they can also not get a job because they are undocumented.

Odilia Romero talks with Francisco Vasquez Gonzalez, 31, from Oaxaca, Mexico, after giving him a relief check. Vasquez lost his jobs as a cook at two Century City restaurants. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

So far, CIELO has delivered $400 checks to more than 30 families from a grant it received and has also given supermarket gift cards to more than 70 families. It has helped people like Francisco Vasquez Gonzalez, a 31-year-old immigrant from Oaxaca who arrived in L.A. three years ago.

Before the pandemic, Gonzalez would leave his home at 7 a.m. every day and return at midnight. He received daily meals at two Century City restaurants where he worked as a cook, leaving him with very few expenses. Hes lost his jobs at both and has had to stock his home with food for the first time.

I can pay rent, but I wont have enough money to eat, he said.

Others suffering economic hardships have tried to do their part by keeping people from their hometowns informed. Juan Ramos, a 32-year-old K'iche' speaker from Totonicapan, Guatemala, tried unsuccessfully to find a job after he lost work as a busboy at two restaurants.

He arrived in Los Angeles more than a decade ago and has always sent anywhere from $100 to $300 a month back home to his parents. He recently told his mother he didnt think hed be able to send even $50.

I got really sad. I have always helped her," he said. I never thought this could happen in the United States.

Ramos has shared a video from CIELO explaining the pandemic in K'iche' with a cousin who speaks neither Spanish or English well. He advised his cousin, who is in his late 20s, to wear gloves and a mask when riding the bus.

After we showed him the video and explained in K'iche', he understood better, said Ramos. He took more precautions. He started keeping his distance.
FILE PHOTO: A man works to sterilize meat processing and packaging equipment at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto

By Rod Nickel

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - In Cargill Inc's High River, Alberta plant, supplier of more than one-third of Canada's beef, 391 workers were sick with coronavirus when the company suspended operations, according to provincial health officials.

But Maple Leaf Foods <MFI.TO> decided to idle a poultry plant for eight days, in Brampton, Ontario, after just three workers were infected.

In Canada's fight against the pandemic, public health officials are mostly leaving decisions on closing meat plants to the companies, even though the authorities have power to do so. Alberta Health Services (AHS), for example, could close a plant with unsafe conditions, spokesman Tom McMillan said.

The impact of such decisions extends beyond plant walls. They are at the heart of Alberta's two largest community outbreaks, and could foreshadow dilemmas likely to emerge as other industries restart.

Canada's stance contrasts a more active U.S. political role with infected plants, as close-quarters work has led workers in numerous North American plants to fall ill or walk off the job. President Donald Trump ordered meat plants on Tuesday to stay open, and state and local officials earlier pushed successfully for some to close, including Smithfield Foods' South Dakota slaughterhouse.

Jon Nash, President of Cargill Protein North America, said Cargill reduced production at its Alberta plant on April 13 and remained open before closing entirely a week later to avoid wasting food, and because ranchers needed a market for cattle.

Factors outside the Cargill plant, such as crowded households and carpooling, contributed to the spread in High River, health officials said.

Cargill [CARGIL.UL] said on Wednesday that High River would resume reduced production on May 4 after a two-week closure for cleaning and additional safety measures.

Cargill's decision to operate as long as it did before the temporary closure rankled some workers.

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"It absolutely pisses me off," said Jamie Welsh-Rollo, a single mom who seals meat in plastic in the High River plant, and is a United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) shop steward. "We're looked at as numbers."

At least eight Canadian meat plants have closed temporarily due to the pandemic. As of Wednesday, 821 Cargill workers at High River, about 37% of the workforce, were infected, including one death.

And Cargill is not alone. A JBS SA <JBSS3.SA> beef plant in Brooks, Alberta slowed production but remains open after 276 infections and one death.

CAUTION AT MAPLE LEAF

Maple Leaf, in closing its Ontario plant, considered that the city of Brampton itself was a coronavirus hotspot and that the company was short of face masks to supply all 340 workers, said Randy Huffman, its chief food safety officer.

The few initial cases eventually tallied 26 after more testing.

"There were some challenging discussions," Huffman said in an interview. "We needed to have greater confidence that the plant could operate safely."

A deadly illness outbreak 12 years earlier due to contaminated meat in a Maple Leaf plant factored in its response, he said.

While Maple Leaf made the decision to close, it consulted widely, Huffman said - with an occupational health doctor, local and federal health authorities.

"I don't think leaving it up to any one entity is the best outcome."

In rare examples of Canadian authorities stepping in, British Columbia health regions closed United Poultry on April 21 after 28 cases were found at the Vancouver plant, and shut Superior Poultry on April 24 after two initial cases.

In High River, Welsh-Rollo feared passing the virus to her four-year-old son, who has an auto-immune deficiency, and saw problems with Cargill's precautions.

Cargill asked health screening questions in English to workers entering the plant, many of whom are immigrants or foreign workers, she said. The 31-year-old plant was too cramped to make distancing measures effective, she said.

Cargill's Nash said the company has worked closely with AHS on safety protocols, including face masks for workers.

Adrienne South, spokeswoman for Alberta's Labour Minister, said multiple ministries helped ensure the plant's safety but added that "the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the plant."

CFIA said in a statement that it cannot suspend plant operations over coronavirus, since its authority to stop food production over health risks is limited to food safety concerns.

The decisions to prolong operations baffle Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, an institute that analyzes food and agriculture issues.

"I don't understand why it took so long (to close) at High River and I dont understand why Brooks is still operating," he said.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago, Allison Martell and Moira Warburton in Toronto and Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa; Editing by Denny Thomas and Edward Tobin)
Croatia's leftist president walked out of a state ceremony in protest Friday after one of the participants wore a T-shirt displaying a salute used during World War II by a pro-Nazi regime in the country.

This is a deliberate provocation," Zoran Milanovic said. I don't want to be part of it."



The salute is often displayed by Croatia's far-right extremists. Many glorify the WWII Croatian state although tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascists were killed in its concentration camps.

Friday's incident happened during a formal ceremony marking the anniversary of a 1995 military operation when Croatia's army liberated a swath of territory held by rebel Serbs during the countries' 1991-95 war.

Croatian media reported that a man, apparently a former fighter from the 1991-95 conflict, was wearing a T-shirt with the WWII salute which prompted Milanovic's walkout. Other top officials, including conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, stayed.

No one knew they would wear those T-shirts," said Plenkovic. Anyone who died for Croatia has my respect ... we are here to honor the fallen."



Croatia's conservative government has faced criticism for failing to curb pro-Nazi sentiments in the country. The dominant conservative party, the Croatian Democratic Union, has a strong right-wing faction.

Milanovic, who won election in January as the candidate of liberal opposition, has demanded that Croatia's parliament formally outlaws the disputed salute. Croatia's WWII Ustasha regime was notorious for its brutality.

After the war, Croatia became part of Communist-run former Yugoslavia. The country joined the European Union in 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Weeks after India imposed a nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic, authorities have arrested activists who raised their voices against the citizenship law.

On May Day, over 300 teachers, researchers and journalists across India released a statement on the arrests happening amidst the Covid-19 lockdown, in the purported aftermath of the violence in Delhi a couple of months back.

Crackdown on activists

They condemned the arrests and subsequent charges applied under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) targeting Muslims and specifically, those who protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The signatories have demanded a fair investigation into the violence instead of the targeting and framing of individuals and organizations.

This is nothing but targeted misuse by the state, especially during the lockdown during the pandemic to silence and threaten activists, students and organizations that are critical of the central government, Shabnam Hashmi, activist told RFI.

Among those arrested include Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, who are both students of Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi.

Umar Khalid, a former student leader from Jawaharlal Nehru University, has been booked and is role probed by the police. He has been accused of making hate speeches and disseminating propaganda to destabilize the visit of US President Donald Trump in New Delhi.

Zargar is pregnant and in her second trimester. She is a bright student and is languishing in Tihar jail since April 10 for protesting the Citizenship law. The police claim she is the key conspirator but that is complete humbug, Razia Khan, a classmate told RFI.

Both Haider and Zargar were part of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC), a group of students and alumni from the university who spearheaded the anti-CAA protests in some parts of Delhi.

Protesters say the CAA discriminates against the country's nearly 200 million strong Muslim minority and runs against the country's secular constitution.

Story continues

The arrests have been made under a host of harsh legal provisions, including the draconian UAPA, with the police claiming that these protesters were part of a shadowy conspiracy that led to violence in Delhi in February that left 53 people dead.

The UAPA allows investigative agencies to proscribe individuals as terrorists and empowers more officers of the National Investigation Agency to probe cases. A person charged under the act can be jailed for up to seven years.

We condemn the witch-hunt by the police against activists and students who were at the forefront of the democratic upsurge. They are abusing the lockdown to silence and arrest those who oppose government policies, Varun Madan, an academic told RFI.

Instances of crackdowns on other activists have also surfaced from across the country.

A student activist from the Aligarh Muslim University in north India, Mohammad Amir Mintoee, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police a fortnight back where he was reportedly distributing food to the poor.

His colleagues say Mintoee was active in leading a movement against police atrocities on students in December 2019.

Social activists and intellectuals Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha were forced to surrender and the case made out by the police accuses them of Maoist links.

More than 5,000 individuals and over 15 organisations around the world had urged the government to delay Teltumbde and Navlakhas arrest.

Last week, seven people, including three Kashmiri journalists, have been charged under UAPA, which allows the government to proscribe an individual as a "terrorist".

Arrested despite lockdown

Several other media outlets and journalists have been the targets of judicial proceedings sometimes bordering on harassment.

The timing of the police action has raised eyebrows, especially at a time when strict restrictions on the mobility and assembly of people are placed in the country because of the complete lockdown.

Concerns are also being raised about limited access to justice during the coronavirus pandemic. Visits to prisons by lawyers and families have been banned.

Ironically thousands of migrant workers are still left stranded at the borders across the country due to the lockdown, even on a day which is observed every year to pay tribute to the contribution of workers across the world.
Kenyans have rallied to the aid of a widow filmed cooking stones for her eight children to make them believe she was preparing food for them.

Peninah Bahati Kitsao, who lives in Mombasa, hoped they would fall asleep while they waited for their meal.

She used to wash laundry locally but such work is hard to come by now as people have restricted their interactions because of coronavirus.

A shocked neighbour, Prisca Momanyi, alerted the media to her plight.



After being interviewed by Kenyas NTV, the widow has received money via mobile phone and through a bank account that was opened for her by Ms Momanyi, as the mother of eight does not know how to read and write.

Ms Kitsao, who lives in a two-bedroomed house without running water or electricity, has described the generosity as a miracle.

I didnt believe that Kenyans can be so loving after I received phone calls from all over the country asking how they might be of help, she told Tuko news website.

She had told NTV that her hungry children had not been deceived for long by her delaying stone-cooking tactics.

They started telling me that they knew I was lying to them, but I could do nothing because I had nothing.

Her neighbour had come around to see if the family was OK after hearing the children crying, NTV reports.

As part of measures to cushion the most vulnerable from the coronavirus crisis, the government has launched a feeding programme.

But it had yet to reach Ms Kitsao, who was widowed last year when her husband was killed by a gang.

Her neighbour has also thanked the county authorities and the Kenya Red Cross, who have also come to help Ms Kitsao.

Many more households in that neighbourhood of the coastal city are now going to benefit from the relief food scheme too, the authorities say.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
An employee at Keurig Dr Pepper's new facility in Lehigh County tested positive for the coronavirus illness this week, the beverage company confirmed.

As a result of the test, the company on Wednesday postponed shift schedules at the 7352 Industrial Drive manufacturing and logistics center in Breinigsville, Upper Macungie Township, a spokeswoman said.

The affected employees were still paid, spokeswoman Katie Gilroy said.

Postponing the shift schedules accommodated a deep cleaning in addition to and ahead of our usual deep cleaning schedule, Gilroy said in an email. As of Thursday, the facility has since resumed normal operations, she continued.

"Our first priority during this unprecedented time is to keep our employees safe and healthy," Gilroy wrote. "The employee who tested positive is now in self-quarantine, and those who came into close contact with that individual are required to stay home as well. All impacted employees continue to receive pay for scheduled shifts."

Keurig Dr Pepper was projected to create 378 new full-time jobs over three years at the site, formerly home to Kraft-Heinz, officials said last September. The company was formed in 2018 when Keurig Green Mountain joined forces with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Plano, Texas.

Gliroy outlined efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus illness at the facility as follows:

We have implemented extraordinary safety procedures at all of our facilities, including the Allentown distribution facility, in response to COVID-19. The procedures include performing a temperature check and health screening for every employee before being cleared to enter the facility, sanitizing common/high touch areas every four hours, requiring face coverings, practicing social distancing and requiring hand-washing every two hours at a minimum.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.

For more information on the coronavirus, consult your state health department at health.pa.gov or covid19.nj.gov and the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover or a personal story you want to share.
WASHINGTON  Four candidates are angling for the 4th District seat of Democratic Rep. Jim Himes in an election year that is presenting unprecedented obstacles to campaigning and voting.

Jonathan Riddle, of South Norwalk; Michael Goldstein, of Greenwich, and TJ Elgin, of Westport, round out the Republican field, while Brian Merlen, of Stamford, gives Himes his first primary challenger since he ran for the seat in 2008.

Represented by Himes for 11 years, the district is now rated a safe Democratic seat by the University of Virginias Center for Politics. Himes has $2.46 million on hand to support his re-election, latest Federal Election Commission filings show, giving him another powerful advantage over his challengers. His campaign spokeswoman said hes focused on the coronavirus, not the campaign.

Our district is one of the hardest hit in the nation, and his focus is 100 percent on helping guide us through this crisis, Nichola Samponara said.

Riddle, who entered the race against Himes first, has raised the most funds of the challengers and had $8,697 cash on hand at the end of March, latest FEC filings show. Riddle said he stopped fundraising during the coronavirus outbreak.

The challengers come from a variety of backgrounds. Riddle, 30, works in wealth management. Goldstein, 70, is an ophthalmologist and lawyer. Elgin, 30, is the co-owner of a local brewery, while Merlen, 33, is a freelance video editor and producer. Two have run for elected office before, while two are mounting their first ever runs this year.

Jonathan Riddle

Riddle was an independent voter until the summer of 2019, when he registered as a Republican to run against Himes, he said.

Ive always identified myself as fiscally conservative, socially liberal, said Riddle. The Republican Party is far more suited to my view points and there is just absolutely things about the Democratic Party I cant stomach or stand behind.

Riddle has never run for office before or volunteered for a campaign, but got his taste for politics from classes in college and debates with his dad, a private tutor, he said. Peter Riddle is now his sons campaign chairman.

Riddle criticized past candidates for the office for not hitting the pavement in Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport, he said, expressing confidence that he had the strategies to win.

I looked at the way the local politics has gone with AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.] winning in Queens, said Riddle. I looked at her and said Well if she can do that, I can definitely do this.

Of course, coronavirus has upended traditional campaigning, so now Riddle and other candidates said they are focused on winning over Republican Town Committee support to secure the Republican nomination during the virtual convention that will occur on May 13.

If elected, Riddle said he would focus on reforming the rail and highway systems to ease commuting, attracting more business to the state and returning education to a local issue by eliminating the Common Core. He supports the repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) cap which currently limits Connecticut residents federal tax deductions, or adjusting it for cost of living in various states.

He is a conceal-carry permitted gun owner, he said, and supports closing the gun show loophole allowing individuals to purchase weapons at a show without a background check in some states, but he oppose a federal red flag law. On the administrations coronavirus response, he said President Donald Trump worked quickly to implement travel bans and the media is creating negative news.

The job he is doing is the best possible job any president can do and I think he is going to be regarded as one of the best presidents weve ever had, said Riddle. Separate from that is his rhetoric and the way he uses words and belittles people and is a bully, very egotistical; I dont agree with that mentality that he has.

Brian Merlen

Merlen has one main reason why he is running for Congress: he wants to draw attention to the role of Stamford-based opioid-manufacturer Purdue Pharma in the opioid crisis and motivate Connecticut Democrats in Congress to take more action on the issue, he said. Merlen, a Democrat, is clear-eyed that his shots of winning a primary against Himes are low.

I would like to win the seat, but realistically I know a lot of delegates and local incumbents have been telling me I dont have a chance to win the seat, said Merlen. If I dont win the seat, then I hope to influence the Democrats more so on this issue.

An activist, Merlen worked as a video producer with Stamford gallery owner Fernando Alvarez and artist Domenic Esposito to place a huge spoon, stained to symbolize heroin, outside Purdue Pharmas Tresser Boulevard headquarters in 2018. Since 2018, he has worked with Alvarez and Esposito to organize and film protests against the company around the country, Merlen said.

The state of Connecticut is now engaged in litigation against the company, alleging it helped fuel the opioid crisis with deceptive marketing of OxyContin. The Sackler family, which owns the company, gave over $100,000 to Connecticut Democrats over many years and some of those contributions have been donated to substance abuse charities.

The Sacklers gave $17,400 to Himess campaigns from 2008 to 2016. Himes has promised not to take more funding from the family in the future and donated the money to an anti-opioid charity, his spokesman Patrick Malone said.

Merlen grew up in Stamford with disabled parents, he said, and survived a bout with testicular cancer after he graduated from Southern Connecticut State University. Working as a freelancer, hes seen his jobs slashed by coronavirus and is devoting time to local volunteering, he said.

Like Riddle, hes hoping for an Ocasio-Cortez style upset in the 4th District; but unlike Riddle, he also aligns his political views with the progressive Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., he said. He favors Medicare-for-all. He previously ran for state representative and city representative in Stamford, he said, but was unsuccessful in those races.

But after working together on opioid-related activism, Republican Elgin encouraged Merlen to run for Congress, Merlen said.

We thought it was a way for us to further get the message out would be for us to actually take on people who took the Sackler money, instead of just speaking on it, Merlen said.

TJ Elgin

Elgin affirmed that he is coordinating with Merlen and both candidates said they are both considering a third-party runs if they dont win their primaries.

Elgin previously ran for selectman of Westport in 2016 as an unaffiliated candidate, and challenged Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., for his seat in 2018 as a Green Party candidate. He promised to petition onto the primary ballot if he does not receive the nomination.

I anticipate this one is going to be a bit different, Elgin affirmed. When I get through the primaries and get to basically duking it out to the seat, I have other third parties that are going to come to my aid and endorse me.

Elgin grew up in Westport and has been co-owner of Full Moon Brewing in the town since 2017. Recently, Elgin has helped organize and participate in rolling rallies on April 27 and 20 to protest in favor of the reopening of the state and has connected with voters at the events, he said.

To be honest, their versions of essential businesses in the state is not the version that helps anybody, said Elgin. They need to start reopening things. There are so many people who are suffering.

Elgin was arrested for breach of peace and interfering with an officer in Dec. 2019 in Westport, after neighbors mistook him for a burglar. Elgin has alleged police used excessive force and suggested the arrest may have been politically motivated, connected to his candidacy for Congress. He filed a complaint against the Westport police, he said. He has not been convicted on the charges.

Elgin backs Trumps re-election and his moves to restrict immigration during coronavirus. He said he supports House Democrats bill to expand gun sale background checks and wants to reform the health insurance industries, noting hes against pharmaceutical companies and Western medicine for the most part.

Michael Goldstein

A doctor and lawyer, Goldstein is now trying to add member of Congress to his resume. Goldstein resides in backcountry Greenwich and has lived in Connecticut for 30 years, while practicing opthalmology in New York.

He is married with two adult sons. After practicing medicine for years, Goldstein became curious about the law when his son was studying for the LSAT exam.

I looked and said hmm I could do this, Goldstein recounted. Goldstein took the LSAT and attended Pace University for law school at night. He used to practice law with Kern, Augustine, Conroy and Schoppmann representing health professionals, but is no longer active in the field.

Goldstein was exposed to politics through medical advocacy and regulations in New York, but said his heart is in improving life in Connecticut. He decided to run for Congress because he wants to focus on reforming health care policy, which he believes is heading in the wrong direction.

Goldstein supports amending or repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, he said. He wants to reduce the excessive over-regulation of health care, which he said is a factor in driving up costs. He supported modifying laws and regulations to allow independent physicians be more competitive and increase competition. He also supported the status quo of abortion policy under Roe v. Wade.

Goldstein said Trump has done a good job responding to the coronavirus, noting how much catching up the U.S. had to do to ready its health infrastructure for the virus and after a delayed start, due to misinformation on the large part from China. Goldstein supported placing health investigators in every U.S. embassy to help detect virus threats and reducing American dependence on medications produced overseas.

Goldstein also supported Trumps effort for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, while backing a path to citizenship for children who brought into the U.S. illegally, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.

After breaking his leg, Goldstein was hobbling around on crutches in September, mulling over a run for Congress, he said. Advisers told him it was a bad idea. He tuned them out and launched social media profiles for the first time ever.

If you believe in trying to do something, whether or not people discourage you or not, you should just do it and ignore the naysayers, Goldstein said.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
After years of educators staging massive walkouts and lobbying school boards to improve their dismal working conditions, it finally took the coronavirus to succeed in proving that the humble teacher is essential to a functioning American economy.

Parents across the country are at their wits end trying to balance work, running a household and educating their children. Many have come to the conclusion that its all too much, and they have closed virtual school and e-learning for their kids, citing a lack of resources, time or mental energy during a global pandemic.

President Donald Trump has nudged state governors to encourage schools to open up in order to start getting back to normal amid the reality that  until parents have a safe place where children can spend the day  theres no way they could return to full-time work and get the economy revving again.

Teachers find themselves at the center of a conversation that rarely includes their voices. But as an educator myself, I can tell you that its weird finally being considered essential at a moment when some families are throwing in the towel on e-school while others are fretting that their lack of art supplies, computers or internet access will make their children fall even further behind.

Both of these outcomes are bad, but only one reduces education to child care.

Most people understand that there is far more to the teacher-student bond than just safety, activities and a meal in the early afternoon. Still, the reality is that schools daylong services provide a safe place for children to spend their time while parents work. And without that place, things will never return to normal.

In fact, an estimated 32% of [the] workforce has someone in their household who is under 14. Thus, 50 million Americans must consider child care obligations when returning to work, according to economic researchers on premarket.com, the blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

And while many families have a household with an adult who could watch children during the day, the researchers estimated that 11 percent of the workforce do not (or 17.5 million workers).

The longer school closures persist into the recovery of the economy, the greater will be the burden faced by those workers with young children and no obvious child care options, authors Jonathan Dingel, Christina Patterson and Joseph Vavra, wrote in the blog post. Discussions of returning to work ought to include discussion of returning to school.

The American Federation of Teachers, the nations second-largest teachers union, already has a plan for reopening schools safely. The plan includes maintaining social distancing guidelines in classrooms, enforcing smaller class sizes, splitting scheduling and staggering meal and bus times.

But the plans truly do hinge on being able to provide medical-grade masks for school health professionals and nonmedical-grade masks for everyone else. They also rely on the ability to disinfect schools on a regular basis, provide hand-washing and sanitizing stations for students and teachers, and have strict protocols in place to test, trace and isolate new cases of COVID-19 quickly.

That seems implausible even for schools in well-financed districts, and it reads like fiction for the kinds of schools Ive taught in. Ive worked in low-income schools where the sinks in the classrooms dont work, the water in parts of the school contains unacceptably high levels of lead, and the soap in the students bathroom has been taken away because the dispensers have been broken and abused too many times by misbehaving kids.

As a teacher, I want school to open back up as soon as possible. Im even hoping theres summer school for those who want or need it in order to be able to succeed in the fall.

But its going to take a lot of money to prepare school districts, particularly those at the lower income levels, for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. Especially when you take into account that public health experts think that a critical mass of COVID-19 cases will re-emerge in the fall.

The question is: Will those who have the power to provide the money needed to open up schools safely believe that they are investing in students, teachers and education  or in day care?

estherjcepeda@washpost.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:10:12|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A total of 278 Mongolian nationals have been evacuated by a chartered flight from COVID-19-hit South Korea, the country's health ministry said Friday.

The flight landed in the Chinggis Khaan International Airport here, Dorj Narangerel, head of public relations and surveillance department of the ministry, told a press conference.

The passengers arrived in Seoul, capital city of South Korea, from seven other countries before boarding the flight on Thursday night, and they will be isolated at designated facilities for 21 days, Narangerel said.

Mongolia reported 38 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday.

The land-locked country has evacuated more than 2,000 nationals from abroad since mid-March, said the country's State Emergency Commission. Enditem
Azerbaijans Credit Implementing Agency (CIA) NBCO, as a member of the Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA), like many other microfinance organizations (MFIs) of the country, is actively participating in country's various economic projects with the involvement of local and foreign financial experts and partners, Chairman of the CIA Arif Aliyev told local media.

The organization cooperates with the MyELEN Czech portal, which provides assistance in microfinancing various projects. In order to attract private foreign investors, the CIA actively cooperates with the Admore Capital Corporation consulting company. Moreover, the organization continues to cooperate with some credit unions, providing them collection services, as well as services for forfaiting and factoring, said the chairman.

Our organization is actively involved in social projects, providing material assistance to low-income families. So, according to the call of the head of state, as part of the fight against the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, we are transferring funds to the Coronavirus Response Fund. As for the advantages, the NBCO, thanks to the transparency of its activities and reporting, is always open for cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis with various local and foreign organizations. The experience of previous years shows that with fruitful cooperation it is possible to achieve the desired goals, Aliyev said.

Touching upon the topic of restructuring problem loans, he said that a total of 25 percent of the loan portfolio to individuals has been restructured to date.

The fact is that, according to decree of Azerbaijans president, bad loans subject to certain criteria and issued since 2012 were subject to the restructurization. Considering the structural changes made in 2012 in the management of the NBCO, the quality of the portfolio has significantly improved in subsequent years, and as a result, the share of bad loans has also decreased, he said.

Credit Implementing Agency (CIA) is a non-bank credit organization. The CIA was registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 9, 2002 and was re-registered on October 25th, 2002.

In the period from 2002 to 2012, CIA served as the agent-executor of the project on development and lending of agriculture. This project was carried out in accordance with the Credit Agreement dated October 4, 1999 between Azerbaijan and the World Bank.

The project provided short-term loans for the development of farming and small businesses in small agricultural enterprises through credit unions, groups of borrowers and individual farms.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
In upcoming months, the Department of Defense will require that all contractors and suppliers doing business with the Defense Department comply with CMMC standards. In response to increased cybersecurity threats across the defense supply chain, the Department of Defense has established this new security measure to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Federal Contract Information (FCI), and other sensitive data residing on systems and networks owned by defense contractors.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC V1.02) was released in March 2020. The CMMC model will supersede the previous Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement or DFARS 252.204-7012 requirement of cybersecurity self-certification. Instead, contractors will undergo a certification process based on review by an accredited third-party assessment organization.

24By7Security's team of experts will help identify gaps against CMMC requirements. In addition, the readiness service options available include remediation road mapping, preparation of policy and procedures, vulnerability assessments, penetration testing and other services as may be required.

Having conducted over 1000 security risk assessments for highly regulated industries, including government, healthcare, higher education and financial services, the award-winning advisory team is highly experienced in security frameworks and regulations. This experience lends to helping defense contractors prepare their organizations for cybersecurity audits, regulatory compliance, and certification readiness.

"Audit readiness and preparation are the most arduous part of the process," says Sanjay Deo, Founder and President of 24By7Security. "We can guide your organization through the CMMC process in the most efficient and cost-effective manner."

Starting in Fall of 2020, a number of select Department of Defense RFPs will include a requirement that all bidding contractors must meet a minimum of Level 1 of CMMC to qualify. CMMC has five levels. These certification requirements will continue to be phased in over the next several years until it is a prerequisite to bid on any contract with the Department of Defense.

About 24By7Security, Inc.

24By7Security provides a robust menu of Cybersecurity and Compliance services, contemplating security and privacy needs in a variety of industries, including those which are regulated such as Healthcare, Financial Services, Education and others. 24By7Security leverages relevant industry standards such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171 and CMMC. To learn more, visit www.24By7Security.com.

#DontRiskITSecureIT

Press Contact:

Rema Deo

844-55-CYBER ext. 708

[email protected]

Website: https://24By7Security.com

SOURCE 24By7Security, Inc.
AUSTIN, Texas, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a remarkable departure from a recent trend heavily favoring insurance companies against their policyholders in property insurance coverage disputes, the Texas Supreme Court this week closed what would likely have become a favorite insurance company liability escape hatch, and re-opened the door for a wronged policyholder to pursue bad faith damages for an insurer's egregious misconduct. The insured's appellate breakthrough resulted from the work of Gravely Attorneys and Counselors, a powerhouse Texas insurance law firm, according to a statement by Elite Lawyer Management.

The undisputed facts underlying the hotly contested case - TopDog Properties v GuideOne National Insurance Company - concerned significant wind and hail damage to apartment buildings owned and operated by commercial property owner TopDog. The loss was covered by their GuideOne insurance policy.

TopDog claimed that GuideOne intentionally undervalued the cost to repair the damage. After TopDog requested GuideOne reevaluate the damage and even requested the parties submit the disagreement to the "appraisal" process, GuideOne refused, claiming that only the insurance company could request appraisal.

Typically, insurance policies include a process for resolving these kinds of disagreements about the amount of a covered loss  a fair and independent appraisal process that either party can call upon to resolve the disagreement. The policyholder and the insurer each pick an appraiser, and if they are unable to agree, those appraisers then pick a third appraiser  an "umpire"  to break the tie.

GuideOne, however, was up to something else. Rather than allow the policyholder to have fair access to appraisal, GuideOne's policy contained an appraisal clause under which only GuideOne could request appraisal, effectively forcing its policyholder to file a lawsuit just to get its claim paid if GuideOne refused to participate in appraisal. That is what GuideOne did, forcing TopDog to prosecute a lawsuit.

Only after TopDog was forced to incur the expense and delay of filing a lawsuit did GuideOne finally request an appraisal of the loss. After nearly two years of delays, GuideOne's appointed appraiser agreed with TopDog that GuideOne had undervalued the loss by a whopping 98 percent.

Prior to this Texas Supreme Court decision, the case would have ended with GuideOne finally paying only the appraiser's loss valuation even though the property owner had to go through the lengthy claims process and actually file a lawsuit, thus incurring further losses including appraisal cost, attorney's fees, and other expenses involved in waiting years for their legitimate policy payment. Such a rule would actually reward an insurer for deliberately refusing to pay a loss it knew was covered and forcing the policyholder to file a lawsuit, since doing so would cost the insurer no more than if it had paid the true value of the loss in the first place.

After the ruling in TopDog v. GuideOne, the pay-the-appraisal-amount scheme (however late in the process) is no longer a defense for Texas insurance companies facing additional damage claims for using such delay tactics against their policyholders.

"In this landmark decision, the Texas Supreme Court eliminated the insurance companies' get out of jail free card. Unilateral appraisal clauses can no longer protect insurers who refuse to pay obvious covered losses in good faith," said TopDog's attorney Jonathan Lisenby of Gravely Attorneys and Counselors.

Gravely lawyer Brendan McBride adds, "By slamming the door on this scheme, the Texas Supreme Court has made it clear that a policyholder can recover damages other than just the amount of the covered loss, including attorney's fees, prompt payment penalties, and even punitive bad faith damages to punish the insurer's misconduct, regardless of whether an insurer tries to hide behind a unilateral appraisal clause."

Media Contact: Elite Lawyer Management [email protected]

About Gravely: Gravely is a Texas insurance coverage dispute law firm that helps commercial and public property owners recover compensation when their insurance company has incorrectly disputed, wrongly delayed, or fraudulently denied their property damage claim. The Gravely appellate division is active in supporting the rights of Texas property owners and policy holders when legal matters go awry in trial courts. The Gravely Texas insurance bad faith law firm was founded by author and noted attorney Marc Gravely. For more information: www.gravelylaw.com

SOURCE Elite Lawyer Management

Related Links

https://www.elitelawyermanagement.com


I t is physically impossible to practice social distancing in airports, the boss of Heathrow has warned.

Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said maintaining a safe distance from other passengers does not work on any form of public transport, let alone aviation, as he called for practical steps to ensure safe air travel.

The constraint is not about how many people you can fit on a plane, it will be how many people you can get through an airport safely, he explained.

If youve ever been on holiday from Gatwick, you cannot imagine going through there and socially distancing in the summer.

Its just physically impossible to socially distance with any volume of passengers in an airport.

Keeping people two metres apart would reduce capacity on planes by more than half and mean prices would shoot up, Mr Holland-Kaye predicted.

EasyJet has suggested it could leave the middle seats on its aircraft empty when flights eventually resume.

Mr Holland-Kaye set out several alternative practical steps which could be implemented to give passengers confidence that they are safe to fly.

He said: I think thatll be a package of measures including some form of screening. That might be temperature screening as you see in Asian airports.

It will include probably people having less contact with each other, so probably wearing masks when they travel. Less contact between passengers and airport workers.

It will include fantastic hygiene in the airport with sanitisers and deep cleaning and things like that.

I think that package of measures  once we have got the disease under control  will be enough to get people flying again.

The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow last month was down by around 97 per cent compared with April 2019.

The west London airport expects passenger demand will remain weak until governments around the world deem it safe to lift travel restrictions.

It recorded an 18.3 per cent year-on-year decline in demand to 14.6 million passengers between January and March, while earnings before tax and interest fell by 22.4 per cent to 315 million.

The airport insisted its financial position is robust, with 3.2 billion in liquidity, which is sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers.

Mr Holland-Kaye's comments came as Ryanair chief Michael OLeary offered his own analysis of the situation  describing planes prosaically as "aluminium tubes."

Mr O'Leary told the BBC: We should dispense with this notion of keeping empty middle seats, it doesnt achieve any social distancing.

The aisle and the window seat are two-and-a-half feet away from each other  they are not two metres.

There is no way you can have social distancing in an aluminium tube, whether its an airline, its the London Underground, or its a train.

So, I think, what we will have to do though when we do return will be temperature checks at people entering airport terminals and train stations. Anybody with a temperature of over 38 degrees will be refused entry.

And on board we will have face coverings, or face masks for passengers, for cabin crew.

We are disinfecting every aircraft every night. So, yes, I think we can keep people safe.

But the challenge is going to be that the return to some degree of normality, to normal tourism points, is going to take us, probably, a year, two, maybe even three years at this stage.
Australian academic Dr Christiaan De Beukelaer thought he had signed up for three weeks on the high seas, studying life on a cargo sailboat. But as his ship crossed the Atlantic in March, the world changed.

On March 18, when the Avontuur was halfway across the ocean, the ship's owner, Cornelius Bockerman, sent a message to the captain on the satellite phone: "Dramatic times! You will not find the world the way it was before you set sail."

When De Beukelaer, a 34-year-old cultural policy lecturer at the University of Melbourne, boarded the ship in Tenerife  the largest of Spain's Canary Islands  in February, there was a small outbreak in northern Italy but coronavirus seemed "like a fairly bad flu".

There was no internet onboard, so the 15-member crew only learnt about the escalating international crisis from the captain's updates.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Roosevelt Capital Group Inc. (TSXV: ROSV.P) (the "Corporation") is pleased to announce details concerning its proposed arm's length qualifying transaction (the "Transaction") involving a proposed business combination with Cloud DX Inc. ("Cloud"), a private company incorporated under the laws of Delaware.

Cloud DX is a digital healthcare leader with offices in Canada and the United States. Cloud offers a complete remote patient monitoring platform that includes proprietary FDA and Health Canada approved medical devices, mobile apps, clinical dashboard, telemedicine video & text, and EMR integration. This Connected Health platform is used by North American hospitals and clinics to monitor patients after discharge (including COVID-19+ patients), and to remotely care for those with chronic illnesses. Cloud has additional digital healthcare innovations in the validation process including the Vitaliti vital sign monitor, the Pulsewave 2.0 blood pressure monitor and patented, AI-powered Cough Analysis software app. Cloud DX is co-winner of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, a Fast Company "World Changing Idea" finalist, BNN "Top Disruptor" and recent winner of the Waterloo MedTech Startup to Scale Up Award of Excellence.

In connection with the Transaction, Cloud intends to complete a private placement offering of up to US$4,000,000 (the "Private Placement"). The Private Placement shall be in the form of convertible secured promissory notes (the "Notes"), which shall mature eighteen (18) months from the closing date. Note Holders earn 10% per annum interest accrued and paid at maturity or conversion. The Private Placement is expected to be completed in June 2020. In connection with the completion of the Transaction, the Notes shall automatically convert into Newco Common Shares (as defined below).

The Corporation has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Cloud dated April 30, 2020 (the "LOI") pursuant to which the Corporation and Cloud intend to complete the Transaction by way of share purchase, plan of arrangement, amalgamation, three-cornered amalgamation or alternate structure to be determined, having regard to relevant tax, securities and other factors and potentially including a pre-closing reorganization of Cloud, to form the resulting issuer ("Newco") called "Cloud DX Inc." Pursuant to the proposed Transaction, each issued and outstanding Cloud Common Share will be exchanged into 112.01 common shares of Newco ("Newco Common Share") on a 1:112.01 basis so that all of the issued and outstanding Cloud Common Shares will be exchanged for approximately 226,890,756 Newco Common Shares (not including Cloud Common Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement or other Cloud Common Shares reserved for issuance), and each unexercised Cloud Option shall be exchanged for a replacement option issued by Newco with the same terms as the respective option.

Subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("Exchange"), Roosevelt will advance to Cloud, as a secured loan, $250,000, pursuant to Section 8.5 of Policy 2.4 of the TSX Venture Exchange.

It is intended that the Transaction, when completed, will constitute the Corporation's "Qualifying Transaction" in accordance with Policy 2.4 of the Exchange. A more comprehensive news release will be issued by the Corporation disclosing details of the Transaction, including financial information respecting Cloud, further details regarding the Private Placement, the names and backgrounds of all persons who will constitute insiders of Newco, and information respecting sponsorship, once an agreement has been finalized and certain conditions have been met, including:

approval of the Transaction by the boards of directors of the Corporation and Cloud;

satisfactory completion of due diligence; and

execution of the definitive agreement.

Shareholder approval is not required with respect to the Transaction under the rules of the Exchange. However, the structure of the Transaction has not yet been finalized so shareholder approval under corporate law may be required. In the event a final agreement is not reached, the Corporation will notify shareholders. Trading in the common shares of the Corporation will remain halted and is not expected to resume trading until the Transaction is completed or until the Exchange receives the requisite documentation to resume trading.

ABOUT THE CORPORATION

The Corporation is a capital pool company (a "CPC") that has not commenced commercial operations and has no assets other than cash. Except as specifically contemplated in the Exchange's CPC Policy, until the completion of its qualifying transaction, the Corporation will not carry on business, other than the identification and evaluation of businesses or assets with a view to completing a proposed qualifying transaction.

For further information, please contact:

Bruce Bent

Chief Financial Officer

Roosevelt Capital Group Inc.

Telephone: + 1 (905) 567-3431

Email: bbent@msw.on.ca

Robert Kaul

Chief Executive Officer

Cloud DX, Inc.

Telephone: +1 (888) 543-0944

Email: ceo@clouddx.com

www.clouddx.com

Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the Corporation's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, such as terms and completion of the proposed transaction. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements and circumstances discussed in this press release, including the completion of the Transaction, may not occur or could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Corporation, including (without limitation) risks regarding market conditions, economic factors, and the equity markets generally. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, execution of a binding definitive agreement relating to the Transaction, completion of satisfactory due diligence, Exchange acceptance, receipt of requisite regulatory approvals, and if applicable pursuant to Exchange requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approvals, and any ancillary matters thereto, are obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55272
The orange flames that dot the Permian Basin have sparked criticism from investment bankers and shale pioneers who say the energy industry is wasting a valuable resource by burning off natural gas. Yet the flares are proving a bigger contributor to climate change if they are unlit.

The Environmental Defense Fund surveyed more than 300 sites in the Permian and found that roughly 1 in 10 flares was unlit or malfunctioning. That means more gas is being released straight into the atmosphere, contributing a lot more to the basins methane emissions than previously thought.

The findings are part of EDFs PermianMAP initiative, launched last year as a way to quantify the methane emissions from Americas biggest oil field, which until recently was considered a black box.

FLARES: Pandemic is affecting flaring in Permian.

The environmental group used satellite images to identify areas where flaring is prevalent, and then flew helicopters with infrared cameras to detect which sites -- called flare stacks -- were releasing methane. Two surveys have been conducted, one in February and another in late March, and EDF plans a third in the near future.

Flaring is meant to get rid of fuel that companies cant or dont put into pipelines by burning off methane, a greenhouse gas at least 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at heating up the planet. The practice has skyrocketed in the last few years as output in the Permian, which stretches across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, has surged.

Growing methane emissions globally have alarmed climate scientists. Methane levels in the air rose markedly last year, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Even as carbon emissions fall this year, because of lower consumption of fossil fuels during coronavirus lockdowns, EDF expects methane emissions to continue rising. Thats making it difficult for the world to hit the most ambitious goals set under the Paris climate agreement, which require halving global emissions by 2030.

Unlit flares are only the latest headache for the shale industry. Vast amounts of methane is also leaking in the process of extracting and transporting gas. A study published last week showed that Permian oil and gas fields have a leakage rate thats 60% higher than the national average.

The prevalence of flaring has led to calls from some oil companies themselves to get the issue under control, with Pioneer Natural Resources Co. Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield calling it a black eye for the Permian.

Among all the ways that methane emissions could be cut, ensuring that flares are lit to burn it off is among the lowest-hanging fruit.

Its becoming clear that youre not going to solve the methane issue in the Permian Basin without solving the flaring issue, said Colin Leyden, senior manager of regulatory and legislative affairs for EDF.

ENVIRONMENT: Sierra Club sues feds over Kinder Morgan's Hill Country pipeline

Flaring Permits

In Texas, where the bulk of EDFs surveys were conducted, flaring permits are granted by the Texas Railroad Commission. The three-member agency has faced criticism for never having denied a flaring permit and last year issued almost 7,000 orders allowing oil and gas companies to flare or vent gas.

Once a permit has been granted, however, it falls to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to ensure that flares are in compliance with emissions standards.

Typically, violations result in a notice from TCEQ that gives operators of that flare a specific amount of time to get the site back in compliance. If they dont, the agency is authorized to issue penalties.

A representative for TCEQ said the agency has received EDFs findings and is currently reviewing them.

Its clearly not performing the way the industry claims it to be performing, and therefore, it is a larger climate issue than just the CO2 emissions from the flare, EDFs Leyden said, adding that operators should be monitoring their flares better.

So-called auto-igniters are supposed to be standard equipment on a flare, but it appears those are likely failing at an alarming rate, he said.

Faulty Flares

Preliminary estimates show that unlit or faulty flares are responsible for more than 10% of the Permians overall methane emissions. According to EDF, the firms behind malfunctioning flares range from big producers to pipeline companies.

FUEL FIX: Our energy news. Your inbox. A perfect combination.

Flaring issues tend to be intermittent, EDF said, though there were a handful of cases where the site was unlit during both surveys.

Whats unclear is how flaring will be affected by a dramatic collapse in oil prices that started more than a month ago. Rystad Energy, a Norwegian consultancy, said the practice dropped in the first three months of 2020 to the lowest since the third quarter of 2018. As oil producers are forced to shut in wells, the associated gas that comes up with crude is expected to decrease.

Still, that doesnt say much about the performance of those flares, according to EDF.

While flaring may go down in volume, we dont know if operators are able to maintain the same crews to check on these things, Leyden said.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Actors Siddharth and Sharwanand will be teaming up for the first time for upcoming Telugu project from director Ajay Bhupathi, who rose to fame with highly controversial but successful romantic drama, RX100.

According to a report by Deccan Chronicle, Ajay has already roped in Sharwanand and has initiated talks with Siddharth for his next project which is tentatively titled Mahasamaudram.

Siddharth would be an ideal choice for one of the protagonists roles because hes a natural performer. Moreover, since the Telugu audiences havent seen much of him in the last few years, his casting will come as a breath of fresh air, a source was quoted in the report.

Apparently, Ajay recently gave the script to Siddharth, who loved the intensity and depth of his character. If Siddharth comes on board, it will be his comeback of sorts to Telugu cinema after seven years. His last direct Telugu outing was 2013 film Jabardasth, which also starred Samantha Akkineni.

Siddharth was last seen on screen in Tamil horror-thriller Aruvam, in which he played a food safety officer. He will next be seen in Shankars Indian 2, which co-stars Kamal Haasan, Rakul Preet Singh and Kajal Aggarwal in key roles.

Also read: Irrfan Khans wife Sutapa, son Babil pen heartfelt open letter: Its magical, whether he is there or not there

Siddharth, who had worked with Shankar in Boys, was brought in as replacement for Simbu in Indian 2, and he will be seen playing the role of a cop. It is believed that Siddharth plays Senapathys (Kamal Haasans character) grandson who sets out to avenge the death of his father.

Meanwhile, Siddharth recently confirmed that a sequel to his horror hit Aval is in the pipeline. He had said that hes already completed writing the script of the sequel, which will be directed by Milind Rau, who helmed the first part as well.

Siddharth also has another Tamil film titled Takkar in his kitty. It is tipped to be an action-comedy.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
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IFFCO Ghana has donated assorted food items to support the Feed the Frontline initiative of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund (GCPSFund) to support the Feed the Frontline initiative.

The Feed the Frontline initiative is being championed by the GCPSFund to provide hot cooked meals for health care and other professionals at the forefront of Ghanas fight against the coronavirus.

At a short ceremony at the premises of the Ga East Hospital, IFFCO Ghana presented food items costing about GHC40,000 towards the initiative. The items included 10,000 packets of San Marco spaghetti and 600 bottles of Sunny vegetable oil.

Noah Akellasoore Adintoghe, Marketing Manager for IFFCO Ghana Trading Limited said, the company believes in corporate social responsibility and, therefore, donating the food items was a way to support various government initiatives to defeat the coronavirus.

We all need to come on board and support the effort of government and this is the time we need the private sector to participate and so we thought that with the little that we have, we could contribute to this relief effort and we are proud as the IFFCO Group to partner in the fight against this pandemic, Mr. Adintoghe said.

He also appealed to other corporate organisations to emulate his companys gesture.

The Managing Trustee of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, Senyo Hosi, received the donations on behalf of the Fund. He expressed appreciation to the IFFCO Group for the donation and also urged other companies and individuals to donate to support the Fund with cash and kind donations.

The Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund is an initiative led by some business owners to support the fight against the Coronavirus outbreak. Each trustee of the project made a seed contribution of GHC100,000 towards the funding of the project, with an aim to raise a 100 million dollars.

Currently, the Fund is building a 100-bed infectious disease isolation and treatment facility at the Ga East hospital, which is expected to be completed by the end of May. When ready, the fully-equipped facility will serve as the main treatment centre for critically ill covid-19 patients.

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"You must reside in Ward 3, and have been a resident in Ward 3 for at least a year," said borough Manager Christine Hart.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PatientPop announced today that it is working with the Florida Medical Association (FMA) as a preferred vendor to bring the PatientPop practice growth platform and PatientPop Telehealth to FMA members. Association members can now get two months of PatientPop Telehealth at no charge.

The new PatientPop Telehealth solution is easy-to-use, secure, and 100% HIPAA-compliant, delivering everything a provider needs for virtual care including digital patient registration and HD two-way video.

Providers can use PatientPop Telehealth integrated with the PatientPop practice growth platform to attract and retain patients for life, plus provide virtual care when patients need a safe and convenient way to see their doctor.

"The PatientPop Telehealth solution gives our provider members the technology, resources, and tools they need to serve their patients during the COVID-19 national emergency," said Ronald Giffler, M.D., President at the FMA.

"We're looking forward to working with the FMA to bring virtual care to their members at a time when providers need it most," said Jessica Neyer, Senior Director of Strategy at PatientPop. "Telehealth is now providing the continuity of care that patients require, and PatientPop helps practices adopt this technology with a complete, secure, and compliant solution at a critical time."

For more information on how to sign up for PatientPop Telehealth and the PatientPop practice growth platform through the FMA, visit patientpop.com/FMA .

About the Florida Medical Association

Founded in 1874, the Florida Medical Association is a professional association dedicated to the service and assistance of Doctors of Medicine and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine in Florida. The FMA represents more than 25,000 members on issues of legislation and regulatory affairs, medical economics and education, public health, and ethical and legal issues.

About PatientPop

PatientPop is the leader in practice growth with the only all-in-one solution that empowers healthcare providers to improve every digital touchpoint of the patient journey. As experts in the healthcare technology space, PatientPop makes it easy for providers to promote their practice online, attract patients, and retain them for life.

With a commitment to continuous innovation, PatientPop helps practices attract more patients, manage their online reputation, modernize the patient experience, automate their front office, and integrate with the most widely used EMRs for a holistic approach to practice growth. For more information, visit patientpop.com .

Contact:

Tribe Builder Media

Danielle Sabrina

[email protected]

929-367-8993

SOURCE PatientPop

Related Links

https://www.patientpop.com


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 16:35:21|Editor: huaxia

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FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Government forces have repulsed Taliban attacks on Nasay district in the northern Badakhshan province, forcing the militants to flee after leaving 12 bodies behind, district governor Mohammad Ibrahim Qayumi said Friday.

In talks with Xinhua, Qayumi said that the militants launched massive offensive on Thursday to overrun the district headquarters, but the security forces returned fire, forcing the militants to flee after leaving 12 bodies behind. Six more militants were injured, the official further said.

Three soldiers were also wounded in the firefight, Qayumi said.

Taliban militants who have been fighting over the past several months to overrun Nasay district close to Tajikistan border have yet to make comment on the situation in the troubled district. Enditem
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"Cash is not paying anything right now, so it behooves to take some of this capital and deploy it," said Greg Womack, president of Womack Investment Advisers, which owns Berkshire stock.

This year's meeting comes at a critical juncture for Berkshire. Shareholders want clarity about Berkshire's leadership moving forward and with its massive cash pile, many owners are wondering whether the "Oracle of Omaha" has found some attractive investments amid the pandemic plunge in stocks.

The meeting will be held Saturday but, unlike previous years, there won't be a crowd of shareholders swarming leaders Chairman Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger with questions. Instead, the meeting will be held virtually, the questions answered will have been previously submitted and Munger will not be there.

This year's Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting will be like no other as investors look for insight on how the conglomerate will move forward from the coronavirus pandemic and what its future holds.

Berkshire was sitting on more than $120 billion in cash at the end of last year and built up that cash position further in the first quarter. Buffett said in his 2019 letter to shareholders he was looking to make an "elephant-sized" acquisition but noted that valuations were too high.

In 2020, however, the coronavirus outbreak sent stocks tumbling from record levels into a bear market, lowering valuations. The S&P 500 dropped more than 35% from its record high on Feb. 19 to a low reached March 23. The broader-market index, however, then rebounded by more than 28% from that low.

Buffett has used declines like this to make moves in the past. During the 2008 financial crisis, Buffett made special investments in Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

But Buffett has remained unusually quiet this time around.

It would appear, according to the company's first quarter results filed Saturday morning, that Buffett is just building up cash and not buying much stock. So it will be interesting to see what he says on the matter at the meeting.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Munger said Berkshire is being conservative during this pandemic.

"We're like the captain of a ship when the worst typhoon that's ever happened comes," Munger told the paper. "We just want to get through the typhoon, and we'd rather come out of it with a whole lot of liquidity."

But Womack thinks some of that cash can be reinvested in some of Berkshire's existing holdings, given how much they have fallen. "As far as looking at what they own and what value could be out there, financials are a big area," he said.

Bank of America shares are down more than 30% year to date while Goldman Sachs has fallen 22%. Wells Fargo is down over 48% for 2020 and JPMorgan Chase has lost 33% of its value. American Express is down nearly 30% year to date.

Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research, thinks it may be prudent for Berkshire to keep some "dry powder" given its large insurance and reinsurance businesses and the potential losses to those businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Berkshire is also an insurance company, and what we have is an insurance event right now," Seifert said. "Berkshire also has a very big reinsurance business."

"Something that doesn't tend to be top of mind, but maybe should be, is what's their degree of exposure to the pandemic within the reinsurance business," Seifert said.

Insurance losses from the coronavirus outbreak could range between $32 billion and $80 billion across some classes in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, according to broker Willis Towers Watson. That would surpass the claims total from the September 11 attacks.

To be sure, UBS analyst Brian Meredith thinks Berkshire's coronavirus risk is "manageable."

He added that Berkshire's cash hoard "and strong balance sheet will enable it weather the economic downturn better than most companies, in our view, and potentially afford it opportunities to utilize its cash to make acquisitions at attractive prices."
The shops are open and families cycle along in the sunny spring weather in the Netherlands, which has opted for what it calls an "intelligent lockdown" to curb the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast to most other European countries where people are virtually housebound, the Dutch authorities have merely advised people to stay home and to keep 1.5 metres (five feet) of social distance. While restaurants, bars, museums and its infamous sex clubs remain shut, and the famed cannabis 'coffee shops' are open for takeaway only, the outdoors-loving Dutch are otherwise allowed to leave home when they want. Schools meanwhile start to reopen from May 11. "My friend in Belgium has to stay at home and is only allowed to go out to walk her dog in the street. I mean, come on, be serious," says Bianca Kragten, who runs a bike shop in The Hague. Cheerfully ignoring the absence of the tourists who would normally be a major part of her business, Kragten hires out bikes in front of the shop, which she has decorated with little flags to "cheer up" people. "It was total panic for our business in the first few weeks. Then we realised that we were among the lucky ones who were allowed to remain open," she said. - 'Difficult to stay home' - Her neighbour, bookstore owner Marijn de Koeijer, agreed. "I think it would be very difficult to stay at home all day. I'm very happy with the opportunities we have, even if they are limited," he said among his bookshelves a few minutes walk from the central railway station in The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government. The government itself has won the "support of the population" with its measures as they are "easier to defend and explain to the people", said de Koeijer. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte -- who came up with the phrase "intelligent lockdown" -- has been clear on the policy. "We don't work like that in the Netherlands, where the government says 'you have to do this, you have to do that," Rutte told a press conference at the end of March. The authorities have admonished the public when the country's beaches have become too crowded, but while police have closed car parks to stop crowds flocking there at the weekends, they remain open. The Dutch position -- very similar to Sweden's -- also reflects a wider philosophical split in both Europe and the world on how to balance the need to curb the disease against the catastrophic economic damage caused by harsh lockdowns. Rutte, for example, has previously said that it was important to build "herd immunity" and that much of the Dutch population would get the disease -- a controversial concept that appeared to have been backed by the British government at one stage. Dutch policy has not always gone down well with its neighbours though, with Belgium -- one of the worst affected countries -- initially grumbling that the Netherlands was not strict enough. - 'Convince the population' - But the Dutch believe they have made the right choice compared to countries like Italy, Spain, France and Belgium as the lockdowns there drag on and governments struggle to work out how to ease the restrictions. So far, compared with the very heavy death toll and high number of infected in these countries, the Dutch approach seems to be working, with 4,711 lives lost and 38,802 cases reported for a population of just over 17 million. "Governments need to convince the population that these are good measures," said Frits Rosendaal, a professor of clinical epidemiology at Leiden University. The number of coronavirus patients currently in hospital is falling, which shows the Dutch approach "has absolutely had an effect" and that its decision to observe less strict measures than other European countries was "responsible -- medically and economically," Rosendaal said. "The two aren't exclusive. You can't have a healthy economy if half the population is in hospital." At his bookstore, Marijn de Koeijer says business is now down by about half from normal, whereas at the start of the coronavirus crisis it was down by about 70 to 80 precent. "Every book we sell counts," he says.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The Duchess of Sussex has suffered a significant setback in her High Court battle against the Mail on Sunday, as a judge strikes out parts of her case as irrelevant.

The Duchesss legal team will not be allowed to argue in court that the newspaper acted dishonestly, stirred up issues with her father, and had an agenda against her, a judge found.

She is suing Associated Newspapers over the publication of parts of the handwritten letter to her father, which she claims breached her privacy, along with copyright and data protection laws.

In a strike-out hearing last week, her representatives argued they should be permitted to build a picture of the newspapers bad faith and obvious agenda of publishing intrusive or offensive stories about her.

Today, Mr Justice Warby struck out those claims in a written judgement, saying they were irrelevant in law, presented to the court inadequately, or disproportionate to investigate.

The judge said: "Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded.

"Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed.

"I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.

"I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who listened into the hearing from LA - Reuters

He added: "Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form."

A spokesman for Schillings, the Duchesss legal team, said they were surprised to see the ruling suggests that dishonest behaviour is not relevant but noted: We respect the Judge's decision as the strong case against Associated will continue to focus on the issue of a private, intimate and hand-written letter from a daughter to her father that was published by The Mail on Sunday.

Story continues

The duchess is seeking undisclosed damages from Associated Newspapers for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

Sections of the letter were published in the newspaper and online in February last year, with one headline promising to reveal the letter showing true tragedy of Meghan's rift with a father she says has 'broken her heart into a million pieces"'.

The case centres on a letter sent by Meghan to her father Thomas Markle - GMB

Associated Newspapers wholly denies the allegations, particularly the claim that the letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning.

Last week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex listened in to parts of the remote hearing from their home in Los Angeles.

In it, Associated Newspapers applied to strike out three key aspects of the Duchesss submissions: that the publisher had acted dishonestly and in bad faith; that it had "stirred up" conflict between the duchess and her father; and that she was "distressed" by what she claimed was the publisher's "agenda" in publishing negative stories about her.

Antony White QC, for the publisher, said the duchesss contention that her "vulnerable" father was "harassed and humiliated, manipulated and "exploited" should not form part of her case, pointing out she could not know how he felt because they had not spoken since her wedding day in May 2018.

David Sherborne, representing the duchess, claimed the publisher had "harassed" Mr Markle, adding that it had "finally manipulated this vulnerable man into giving interviews", which Mr Markle had later described in one case as "lies and bull---t".

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Mr Justice Warby (bottom left) Antony White QC, (bottom right) and David Sherborne

Mr Sherborne accused the publisher of "stirring up" a dispute between Meghan and her father, and argued it "caused the very dispute" that it says "justifies the publication of this letter".

He argued that his team should be allowed to build a case that the newspaper and its website had an agenda against her, using nine different articles featuring her love of avocados, her New York baby shower, and her wrongly-identified childhood home.

Justice Warby has now ruled they should not be used as part of the case, noting: The costs and time that would be required to investigate and resolve the factual issues raised by the case as currently pleaded bear no reasonable relationship of proportionality with the legitimate aim of recovering some additional compensation for emotional harm.

He added that dishonesty, malice, or bad faith are irrelevant to liability for misuse of private information, saying: Such matters have no role to play as an ingredient of the claim.

The Court needs to keep a watchful eye on the proportionality of litigating matters which go solely to damages, he said.

Associated Newspapers will ask the Duchess of Sussex to pay their costs of in excess of 50,000 for pursuing the strike-out hearing, the MailOnline said.

No date has been set for the full trial yet.
New COVID-19 Testing Updates from Los Angeles Department of Health Opens Eligibility to Asymptomatic Individuals

Thursday, April 30. Los Angeles Public Officials provided news surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. L.A. is entering phase two of the California state governors four-phase plan to open the economy system. Director of Health Christina Ghaly provided clarification and new information regarding testing guidelines at the local testing sites. The Department of Health Services is the entity responsible for testing operations within the Los Angeles County.

The plan to a foreseeable future in the post pandemic era was revealed earlier by the California State Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles is looking to open low risk brick-and-mortars within the next coming weeks. The four-phase plan Governor Gavin Newsom outlined included financial safety and preparedness, opening lower risk workplaces, moving on to opening higher risk workplaces, and then finally ending the stay at home order. However, it has been noted that there is a likelihood of a coronavirus spike amid the four phases to recovery. There is no set timetable for the plan to conclude, but the start date has been established, the second phase is looking to take place in a few weeks.

The L.A. Emergency Operations Center addressed the concern for food security throughout all communities. Supervisor Hilda Solis stated, Having enough healthy food is crucial to everyones health, she continued, Unfortunately many people do not have food, there are residents going hungry right now This is due to the economic hardships that are currently being experienced, the city council member suggested to apply for CALFresh. Los Angeles Public Officials also showed concern about vaccinations, they urge the city, in all age groups, to get vaccinated. However, the focal point is to stay healthy, everyone should do the proper research for what method of preventative care is right for them.

Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County Director of Public Health shared the latest updates on the COVID-19 Virus. Ferrer shared Thursday, April 30. there were 55 additional deaths, 35 of these individuals were between the ages of 65 and over, 29 of them with underlining health conditions. 8 people who died were between the ages of 41-65, 4 of these victims had preexisting health concerns. 3 people were younger than 41, with 2 of them having underlining health issues.

This brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in the L.A. County to 1,111. Barbara disclosed as of April 30. There were 733 new COVID-19 reports. In summary, there is a total amount of 23,182 coronavirus cases in the Los Angeles region. 92% of fatal cases, have had underlining health concerns, it is very crucial for those who have preexisting health problems to stay inside.

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For the 1,020 fatal cases where race and ethnicity were identified; 13% were African American, 19% were Asian, 38% were LatinX, 28% were white, and 1% were identified as another ethnicity. The Public Health Services claim that they are working with community partners to address issues related to access to testing and providing accurate information around COVID-19.

Director of public Health Christina Ghaly shared updated protocols, taking place within testing sites across Los Angeles. The Department of Health lead the operations of local testing sites and new adjustments have been made with these programs. Christina Stated, The county has the responsibility of protecting and supporting the health of over ten million people. The goal is to have equitable access to tests for everyone in the county. There is particular focus on at-risk populations, COVID-19 testing is being used as a tool to provide information for the individual being tested and the medical services that assist them.

Testing is still limited, but the testing operation centers are adjusting to test those within vulnerable populations who are asymptomatic; those are people who may have contracted the virus but show no indication of having it. Anyone with the nine symptoms of coronavirus, essential workers, and those over the age of 65 are all eligible for testing. The information from testing is playing a crucial role of re-opening Los Angeles, on a state and local level it plays as a lighthouse guiding everyone to a new normal.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Lake Erie fishing guides will be allowed by the Ohio Department of Health to begin taking customers walleye fishing on Lake Erie starting Tuesday, May 12 at 12:01 a.m., not Friday, May 1, as reported to The Plain Dealer by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Press Secretary Melanie Amato of the Office of Public Affairs and Communications for the ODH said the charter fishing operations are among service businesses being allowed to open on May 12.

The charter fishing industry had been shut down by the ODH due to the COVID-19 when social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines were implemented.

Amato reiterated that charter fishing guides and their customers will need to diligently follow the COVID-19 protocols mandated by Dr. Amy Acton and the Ohio Department of Health.

Those protocols include:

Require face masks or covering for all clients and customers.

Conduct daily health assessments of employees and employers.

Maintain good hygiene, social distancing and hand washing.

Clean and sanitize workplaces often.

Maintain social distancing practices of 6-feet between people.

Other than the listed protocols, there were no firm guidelines given to Ohios fleet of about 800 Lake Erie fishing guides.

It will be up to the fishing guides to determine how to do this, said Mertz. It will probably mean a reduction in the number of fishermen on a boat, in order to maintain social distancing.

This isnt a one size fits all rule, she added. Business owners will have to analyze their operations and make sure they comply. If a lot of charter captains dont do that, or if there should be a spike (in COVID-19 positives), we could have to shut down fishing charters for the rest of the summer.''

Mertz said she understands charter fishing will be less profitable when downsizing the number of anglers on a boat to accommodate the social distancing rules.

An Ohio rule that also may be lifted soon, said Mertz, is a ban on the sale of non-resident fishing and hunting licenses. Out-of-state anglers and hunters presently cant buy Ohio non-resident licenses. If they already have them, non-residents must self-quarantine for 14 days before fishing or hunting.

More outdoors stories by DArcy Egan:

Greater Cleveland fish stockings trigger family outings amid pandemic: Fishing Report for April 24

Spring trout fishing back on track

Record Ohio walleye run, huge crowds lead to fishing license restrictions, Sandusky and Maumee river closings during pandemic

Are walleye fishermen allowed on Lake Erie if they follow Gov. DeWines social distancing mandate?

Fishing in the age of social distancing: Lake Erie is wide open

Lake Erie walleye numbers in stratosphere, future is bright

Coronavirus cabin fever? Fishing, hunting can entertain kids and families away from crowds
Dublin street artist Emmalene Blake has paid tribute to frontline workers with the help of local children in a series of murals.

Ms Blakes latest mural, which appears on the walls around Kingswood in Tallaght, features drawings and artwork inspired by children about social distancing, as well as thanking key workers.

The Tallaght native has won acclaim for her murals, with chart stars such as Cardi B and Lizzo sharing her images of them with their millions of online followers.

Ms Blake said: This mural is a bit different to the others. I was getting such a positive reaction about the murals from the locals in the community and especially the kids, they love all the pieces.

Expand Close Local children have been getting involved (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook

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I wanted to do something to involve them so I posted on the community Facebook page for children in the area to send in their drawings if they wanted to collaborate on the piece.

I got them to draw pictures and messages of support for frontline workers and other staff who are going to work every day to keep the country running while we get to stay home and stay safe.

I painted a few kids from the area with cans of spray paint or markers in their hands as if they are drawing on the wall and then I recreated all of the kids drawings on the walls.

I am really impressed by the kids work, there is a lot of thought and detail put into all of them. They have taken a long time to recreate.

Expand Close Six-year-old Jack Maher features (Brian lawless/PA) / Facebook

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Ms Blake has spent some four days creating the mural which features healthcare staff, shopkeepers, binmen, gardai and postal staff.

The medical staff deserve all of the credit they are getting but its also good to see even the kids are realising that theres other people still going out risking their health to keep the country running, she added.

The owner of the wall is absolutely delighted with it. She said she has got the best one so far.
The Mathura district administration has tightened lockdown restrictions after two more COVID-19 cases were reported in the old city area taking the total cases in the district to 16, an official said.

The mother and father of a 22-year-old man, who had tested positive for the virus last week, turned out to be COVID-19 positive also after their reports were received on Friday, Mathura District Magistrate Sarvagya Ram Mishra said.

Both the parents were quarantined at a centre on April 25 after their son was found coronavirus positive, the DM said. Now, the couple have been sent for treatment to hospital, Mishra said.

While mobile ATM facilities have been introduced in areas that are sealed for withdrawal of cash, 14 more grocers have been permitted to supply essential commodities in the hotspot areas, the DM said.

The chief medical officer has been asked to take action against a doctor, who came out of a quarantine centre at a hospital in Vrindavan on Thursday on the pretext of purchasing some items, he said.

Meanwhile, the entire staff including the chief medical superintendent and eight doctors of the hospital have been quarantined after a ward boy was found COVID-19 positive, Mishra said.

The samples of the entire staff will be sent for COVID-19 testing, the official said.

Two more patients have recovered raising the number of cured cases to 11, he claimed.

While no relaxation is being extended in the old city area that is a hotspot, the delivery of all essential commodities to the area has been ensured, Mishra stated adding that misuse of passes would invite punitive action.

Meanwhile, Additional District Magistrate S K Tripathi said thousands of migrant workers stuck in Rajasthan would be returning on Saturday to their native places in UP.

Their entry would be subject to clearance after COVID-19 testing at SRC Institute in Magorra village of the district, Tripathi said.

About 6,000 labourers are expected to enter the state, he said.

Once they cross the state border, around 250 buses arranged by the state government will ferry them to various districts according to the place of their destination, the ADM said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Erica Robbie is the editor-in-chief of Local Magazine and Local Weekly as well as the arts & culture editor for the Aspen Daily News. She can be reached at erica@aspendailynews.com or on Twitter @ericarobbie.
McDonald's will reopen 15 restaurants in the UK for takeaway and delivery from May 13.

The fast food business's 1,350 restaurants have been closed since the Government brought in lockdown measures in March due to concerns over staff and customer safety.

But following trials it will bring in a range of social distancing measures as it tries to gradually restart the business, boss Paul Pomroy told workers in an email.

McDonald's 1,350 restaurants have been closed since the Government brought in lockdown measures in March due to concerns over staff and customer safety

As well as providing protective gear and non-medical grade face masks, it will also take employees' temperatures with contactless thermometers when they arrive at work.

It will offer a limited menu and open between 11am and 10pm.

There will be floor markings inside branches telling customers where to stand, a technique used by some supermarkets, and will only accept contactless payments.

Pomroy did not say which 15 restaurants would be among the first wave of reopenings, but added: 'We will open at a pace that allows us to test, learn and listen to your feedback.'
Trees are being cut inside Aarey Milk Colony, Goregaon, during the lockdown period, an environment group told the Supreme Court (SC).

On Thursday, city-based NGO Vanshakti, which had approached the court earlier for the protection of the 1,280 hectares Aarey, filed an interim application alleging illegal tree cutting, slum encroachments and fires in the area and peripheral eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). However, no responsive action was taken by state authorities. HT has a copy of the application filed against the Centre and various bodies of the Maharashtra government including the forest department and Aarey administration.

Despite the SC imposing a stay on tree cutting, illegal felling went on through the lockdown period. Repeated pleas to state bodies yielded no results. Faced with prolonged inaction we were forced to inform the court about brazen violations of previous orders, said Stalin D, director, Vanashakti.

The application listed that close to 40 trees were illegally felled at unit 13 in Aarey on April 19. Two incidents of forest fires (on April 17 and 20) were reported from unit 8, close to State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) Camp, which falls within the Aarey ESZ.

The amphitheatre situated close to New Zealand Hostel witnessed an increase in illegal slum settlements in areas surrounding both Aarey and Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Anti-social elements are taking advantage of the lockdown situation. Any further continuation of such unchecked activity will cause irreparable damage to the ecology of Aarey, read the application.

While the Maharashtra forest department said they had no jurisdiction as the area was not a forest - it is mostly under the dairy development department - the Aarey administration confirmed that they had acted on some of the complaints.

We have written to the local police station to file a first-information-report (FIR) against unidentified persons responsible for tree felling at some units. The process is underway, said Nathu Rathod, chief executive officer, Aarey. Forest fires were reported from areas that do not fall under our purview. There are no cases of illegal encroachments but local residents had dumped debris on an arterial road between unit 13 and 16. We have cleared the debris and instructed our security staff to keep vigilance in the area, Rathod said.

Meanwhile, the afterword was out about the SC application, a group of 30 people barged into the house of a local teacher on Friday, who is a resident and one of the complainants, said Stalin. A mob entered the premises of a citizen activist. The police did not provide any protection nor did they reach the persons house despite repeated requests, he said.

The Aarey police said a non-cognisable offence was filed and they were investigating the case. Rathod said the quarrel had nothing to do with issues related to Aarey.

Home to large biodiversity of flora and fauna, environmentalists have been campaigning for overall protection of Aarey for the past six years.

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Esther, in the book of Esther, was a biblical heroine who saved the Jewish people. She is recognized mostly for her strength, bravery and dignity. She was chosen by the Persian King Ahasuerus to be his wife in a contest, not knowing she was a Jew. When the kings right-hand man, Haman, came up with a plan to kill the Jews, Esthers uncle found her and pleaded with her to spare Israel. Even though she was his wife, she knew she was not allowed to approach him without invitation, and if she did, it could end in death. But she believed she was chosen by God to save her own people and agreed to go in front of the king anyway and won his favor and her people were saved. She didnt let her fear or position stand in her way. Esther is also an incredible example of helping people in need, particularly those who are going through extremely tough and uncertain circumstances. Here are a few lessons from Esthers story.

Trust Your Destiny

In the beginning, Esther tried to hide from King Ahasuerus guards so that she wouldnt have to marry him, but she couldnt avoid her destiny. The leader of the Jews at the time, named Mordechai realized that this wouldnt have happened unless she was truly destined to rescue her people. God places us where we are supposed to be so that we can fulfill our calling. Many Christians wonder what God is calling for their life. This is a question many Christians want to know but have no clue where to start to find the answer. We are drawn to the idea of knowing and pursuing our calling. Thats why so many of us want to know that were on the right path. The reason this question is so significant is because the work we do is important to God. If we know this is significant to God, then it makes sense to ask where God is calling and leading you in life. Esther trusted where she was being led and she was able to do incredible things.

Follow Your Principles

Esther only ate Kosher food, even when she was in the palace. Also, when the king went out of his way to get her to tell him her national origin, she held her ground. Staying grounded in your principles is so important. A great way to understand your calling is through this principle: Nothing is more important in your life than being one of Gods disciples. It is one of the most significant callings that Christians have. A great passage to reflect on when considering your calling is Matthew 6:19-34 which deals with our treasures in heaven. Jesus uses the word treasure to capture the fact that that we all live in pursuit of what weve named or deemed important. It really comes down to this: following our principles and calling is either a thing of the highest treasure to you, and thats demonstrated in your choices, words, and actions every day, or its not.

She Was Led by the Spirit

Whether Esther knew it or not, she was being led by the Spirit of the Lord. Romans 8:14 says, For all those who are led by Gods spirit, these are Gods sons. One of the greatest gifts God offers us is the privilege of being led by the Spirit of God. As children of God, we can expect to be led by the Holy Spirit which will provide us with the wisdom of God to make the right decisions. Our ability to tap into our calling is much easier when we make decisions based on the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. This wisdom will allow us to make decisions today based on knowing what will happen tomorrow. What many people fail to realize is that you can develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit just like you already have with God and Jesus. John 14:26 says, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is not only a personal guide but also a teacher in this life. As a result of this, Esther was able to set an action plan in place. As a result of her leadership, Esther was able to save her people.

We Should Turn to God When Were in Trouble

Esther realized that the salvation of her people would only come through having a special relationship with God so she turned to Him. Ultimately, the way they ultimately achieved salvation was through prayer and repentance. Sometimes God protects us from going through potential problems, and sometimes He miraculously delivers us from problems that confront us. Yet, sometimes we must go through difficult times. When we do, God is always there to walk with us. Psalm 9:9 says, The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. It is comforting to know that God is with you when you are in the midst of trouble. Pray to know God and His peace.

Esther is an inspiring story about a remarkable woman who was willing to risk her life to save her people. She was a woman of principle who was willing to put the lives of others ahead of even her own life. She was an outstanding example of serving others even under the most stressful circumstances. Jesus Christ said, Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends (John 15:13). Most of the time our lives may be pretty routine, but all of us have a few defining moments when we may be called on to put godly principle above personal benefit. What will you do when you encounter defining moments in your life? Esther shows all of us the way, and we can be inspired by her example.
Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism.

This week, several states are lifting shelter-in-place orders, allowing certain businessesmovie theaters, barber shops, bowling alleysto reopen, while many other states and cities have announced plans to gradually do the same soon. We are entering a new phase of the coronavirus crisis, the one where businesses now have to figure out how to operate safely under new conditions. But it remains to be seen if the customers will actually come. Lifting stay at home orders does not necessarily mean that people will stop staying home.

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While politicians across the country grapple with when and how to allow Americans to begin resuming normal life, were all trying to figure out what parts of normal life were comfortable resuming. If the schools reopen, would we let our kids attend? If our favorite neighborhood spot starts serving dinner again, with temperature checks as the requirement for entry, would we go out to eat? If our bosses tell us we can come back to the office, would we take the subway to get there?

Official decisions are one thing. What were comfortable with is another. Slate wants to know what Americans across the country are comfortable with right now, with a vaccine still months away at best. To help us get a sense of this, wed love you to fill out the following survey, and please pass it along to your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors.

Update, May 5, 2020: Thank you to the more than 6,000 of you who took the survey. The survey is now closed. Well publish the results in the coming weeks.
By Trend

International experts highly appreciate the effective and timely preventive measures taken in Azerbaijan amid COVID-19, said Leyla Abdullayeva, spokesperson for the countrys foreign ministry.

Speaking on AzTV state television, Abdullayeva noted that the effectiveness of steps taken by Azerbaijan to combat COVID-19 was highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

She went on to add that first of all, it is necessary to study the experience of other countries in the fight against the pandemic, to cooperate with WHO and to ensure compliance with quarantine regime.

Every country fights the pandemic differently, but there is one goal: to prevent the spread of infection. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of measures taken against coronavirus is crucial. From the very beginning, Azerbaijan took right steps amid the pandemic, said Abdullayeva.

The MFA spokesperson noted that Azerbaijans communication with neighboring countries has been suspended since April 5 with exception for cargo transportation and they were notified that these are temporary measures.

She went on to add that Azerbaijani government is closely monitoring the situation and is taking appropriate steps to return its citizens from abroad.

Abdullayeva said that to date, 15,000 Azerbaijani citizens were assisted in returning to homeland.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 04:02:26|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed the possibility of cooperation against COVID-19 during a phone conversation, local media reported on Friday.

The Daily Sabah said Erdogan and von der Leyen also discussed the possible joint steps that may be taken in the post-pandemic era as well as regional issues.

Turkey has so far recorded 122,392 coronavirus cases and 3,258 deaths, according to the latest figures of the Health Ministry. Enditem
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on the Chinese authorities to invite its experts to investigate the origins of a new type of coronavirus, France-Presse reported referring to the official representative of the WHO Tarik Jasarevic.

WHO would like to collaborate with foreign partners and, at the invitation of the Chinese authorities, take part in the investigation of the animal origin of the coronavirus said Jasarevic.

On Thursday, WHO Representative in China Gauden Galea said in an interview with the British Sky News channel that the organizations experts, despite their requests, did not receive an invitation from China to participate in the investigation of the origins of COVID-19. He noted that taking into account all the available data, WHO is convinced that the virus is of animal origin, and was not created by humans, but the organizations experts need access to a lab in Wuhan to conduct a full study of the source of infection, TASS reported.
Actor Salman Khan is rumoured to have a long-standing feud with late actor Rishi Kapoor who passed away yesterday after fighting an almost 2 year-long battle with cancer at HN Reliance Foundation hospital in Mumbai. While fellow actors lined-up to offer their condolences and prayers to the family on social media, Salman Khan also joined in a line with a tweet that also referred to their feud.

Salman Khan is believed to be not in good terms with Rishi Kapoors family, but in his tweet, he wrote, Rest in peace chintu sirrr, kaha suna maaf, strength, peace n light to family n friends

Rest in peace chintu sirrr, kaha suna maaf , strength , peace n light to family n friends...  Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) April 30, 2020

This feud dates back to the time when Salman Khan and Rishi Kapoor had an argument at Sonam Kapoors reception in 2018. Reportedly, Salman Khan didnt greet Rishi Kapoor at the party that upset the latter and he went on to have an argument with Salmans sister-in-law Seema Khan who was also present at the party.

Following this, in an interview while promoting Race 3, Salman Khan went on a rant about the Kapoor family and even revealed that he was never going to welcome Kapoor at his home and that this equation is not likely to change in the near future. The actor also went on to say If that person keeps on disrespecting me or any member of my family, I refuse to give him due regard. There are one or two families from whom I have not got that respect and love. Thats where it ends. Some people from the industry will never be welcomed in my home.

We're glad that Salman Khan has finally let go of this feud.
Virus hammers plunging world economy but South Korea turns corner

WORLD: A day without a new coronavirus case in South Korea and a potential breakthrough in the hunt for a better treatment spurred optimism yesterday (Apr 30), but catastrophic European figures underlined how much damage the epidemic has already done to the global economy.

CoronavirusCOVID-19deathdrugshealth

By AFP

Friday 1 May 2020, 08:23AM

Successful drug tests may provide a better treatment for severe coronavirus cases, but until there is a vaccine the crisis will continue. Photo: AFP

World financial markets picked up a little on the news on the medical and public health fronts, but deaths continued to mount across much of the world and some of the biggest economies are facing perhaps the most severe recession of the modern era.

Yesterday brought stark official figures from Europe, where the locked-down EU economy was estimated to have shrunk by 3.5% in the first quarter, Germanys jobless total soared to 2.6 million in April from 2.3 million the month before and France confirmed that it had officially plunged into recession.

The European Unions commissioner for the economy, Paolo Gentiloni, dubbed the situation an economic shock without precedent in modern times and official agency Eurostat said the first quarter contraction in the blocs output was the most severe since its statistical series began in 1995.

Germany will experience the worst recession in the history of the federal republic - founded in 1949 four years after World War II left the continent shattered and divided - Economy Minister Peter Altmaier warned, predicting that Europes biggest economy would shrink by a record 6.3%.

Aggressive test and trace

The novel coronavirus strain that emerged in China in December has now killed more than 234,000 people and spread to 193 countries and territories. Reporting standards vary across jurisdictions, but more than 3.3 million cases have been recorded and testing rates are increasing.

Markets nevertheless climbed cautiously higher on Thursday - buoyed by news from Asia, where some of the formerly worst-hit countries have begun to reopen their economies and rebuild everyday life, and the United States, where scientists reported hopeful results in trials for an anti-viral drug.

For the first time since the new COVID-19 disease was detected there in mid-February, South Korea, which for a period had the worlds second-largest outbreak, reported zero new infections, suggesting its aggressive test-and-trace strategy is having results.

This is the strength of South Korea and its people, President Moon Jae-in said as he announced the milestone.

South Koreas death toll is around 250 - vastly lower than that of Italy, Britain, Spain and France, which have each recorded at least 24,000 fatalities, and the United States, which tops the table with a third of global deaths.

Spain may be past the worst of the crisis, however, and is among the European countries planning a staged return to normal economic and social life next month. It recorded 268 deaths yesterday, the lowest daily toll since March 20.

But in Russia, coronavirus cases surged past 100,000 and officials warned that infections had not yet peaked as they extended lockdown measures.

Stuck in cramped flats and struggling with fears of the coronavirus and its economic impact, many Russians are worried about the return of an old demon.

When I found myself alone at home, the first thought I had was ah, its a good time to get drunk, says Tatyana, a recovering alcoholic on lockdown in Moscow.

Iran is also still suffering a serious outbreak. The number of deaths in the country officially passed 6,000 yesterday.

Clear-cut, significant effect

Meanwhile, in the first evidence of successful treatment, a US clinical trial of the drug remdesivir showed that patients recovered about 30% faster than those on a placebo.

The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery, said Anthony Fauci, the top epidemiologist in the United States.

The drug failed in trials against the Ebola virus, and a smaller study, released last week by the WHO, found limited effects among patients in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the diseases original epicentre.

Fauci likened remdesivir to the first retrovirals that worked, albeit with modest success, against HIV in the 1980s, but it is a treatment not a vaccine.

Other labs around the world are searching for a vaccine, and some have reported potential progress, but success could be months or years away and experts warn that only a vaccine will will allow the full removal of restrictions that this year put half of humanity under some form of lockdown.

The US announced Wednesday that economic output collapsed 4.8% in the first quarter, ending more than a decade of expansion. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned worse was to come, and economic activity will likely drop at an unprecedented rate in the second quarter.

The International Labour Organization said half the global workforce, around 1.6 billion people, are in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported there were 46,971 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus in all 67 counties as of 12 p.m., May 1, 2020. There are at least 2,354 reported deaths from the virus.

Click the image to see a data page including an interactive maps for the state. (Please click the link in the previous sentence if you cant see the image)

Click here for a ZIP code breakdown of cases provided by the Pa. Department of Health.

The state is also providing detailed hospital and respirator data here for desktop users and here for mobile users.

PennLive is monitoring the new cases over a two-week period, part of the Wolf administrations criteria for reopening the state. A map and a database for these are below. If you cannot see either embed, please click here for the map and here for the database.

Adams County

140 positive cases and 1,566 negative results with 4 deaths.

Allegheny County

1,319 positive cases and 16,107 negative results with 99 deaths.

Armstrong County

52 positive cases and 683 negative results with 2 deaths.

Beaver County

426 positive cases and 2,085 negative results with 67 deaths.

Bedford County

24 positive cases and 202 negative results with 1 death.

Berks County

2,748 positive cases and 5,620 negative results with 117 deaths.

Blair County

23 positive cases and 979 negative results.

Bradford County

33 positive cases and 693 negative results with 2 deaths.

Bucks County

3,055 positive cases and 8,560 negative results with 225 deaths.

Butler County

180 positive cases and 2,208 negative results with 6 deaths.

Cambria County

31 positive cases and 1,227 negative results with 1 death.

Cameron County

1 positive cases and 50 negative results.

Carbon County

181 positive cases and 1,068 negative results with 15 deaths.

Centre County

96 positive cases and 923 negative results with 1 death.

Chester County

1,432 positive cases and 5,440 negative results with 111 deaths.

Clarion County

23 positive cases and 489 negative results with 1 death.

Clearfield County

16 positive cases and 436 negative results.

Clinton County

32 positive cases and 242 negative results.

Columbia County

289 positive cases and 620 negative results with 13 deaths.

Crawford County

19 positive cases and 689 negative results.

Cumberland County

349 positive cases and 1,519 negative results with 17 deaths.

Dauphin County

601 positive cases and 3,618 negative results with 25 deaths.

Delaware County

3,848 positive cases and 9,064 negative results with 240 deaths.

Elk County

3 positive cases and 159 negative results.

Erie County

87 positive cases and 1,912 negative results with 2 deaths.

Fayette County

81 positive cases and 1,794 negative results with 4 deaths.

Forest County

7 positive cases and 30 negative results.

Franklin County

313 positive cases and 2,940 negative results with 7 deaths.

Fulton County

5 positive cases and 84 negative results.

Greene County

26 positive cases and 421 negative results.

Huntingdon County

40 positive cases and 283 negative results.

Indiana County

63 positive cases and 726 negative results with 4 deaths.

Jefferson County

4 positive cases and 316 negative results.

Juniata County

84 positive cases and 148 negative results with 1 death.

Lackawanna County

934 positive cases and 2,505 negative results with 83 deaths.

Lancaster County

1,820 positive cases and 7,809 negative results with 106 deaths.

The county is reporting 173 deaths as of 1:45 p.m. April 30. Those deaths are in the following municipalities

Christiana: 12 deaths

Columbia: 1 death

East Cocalico Township: 3 deaths

East Hempfield Township: 7 deaths

East Lampeter Township: 1 death

Ephrata Township: 1 death

City of Lancaster: 3 deaths

Lancaster Township: 90 deaths

Lititz: 5 deaths

Manheim Township: 32 deaths

New Holland: 2 deaths

Paradise Township: 1 death

Penn Township: 3 deaths

Providence Township: 1 death

Rapho Township: 5 deaths

Salisbury Township: 1 death

Warwick Township: 1 death

Three non-residents also passed away in Lancaster County.

Lawrence County

65 positive cases and 736 negative results with 6 deaths.

Lebanon County

694 positive cases and 2,631 negative results with 9 deaths.

Lehigh County

2,850 positive cases and 7,305 negative results with 80 deaths.

Luzerne County

2,173 positive cases and 5,009 negative results with 92 deaths.

Lycoming County

71 positive cases and 1,119 negative results with 1 death.

McKean County

6 positive cases and 167 negative results.

Mercer County

65 positive cases and 744 negative results with 1 death.

Mifflin County

37 positive cases and 685 negative results.

Monroe County

1,147 positive cases and 2,735 negative results with 54 deaths.

Montgomery County

4,406 positive cases and 17,509 negative results with 362 deaths.

Montour County

48 positive cases and 2,958 negative results.

Northampton County

2,103 positive cases and 6,381 negative results with 94 deaths.

Northumberland County

95 positive cases and 584 negative results.

Perry County

32 positive cases and 219 negative results with 1 death.

Philadelphia County

12,544 positive cases and 28,278 negative results with 424 deaths.

Pike County

383 positive cases and 1,227 negative results with 15 deaths.

Potter County

4 positive cases and 82 negative results.

Schuylkill County

102 positive cases and 524 negative results with 5 deaths.

Snyder County

33 positive cases and 201 negative results with 1 death.

Somerset County

26 positive cases and 596 negative results.

Sullivan County

1 positive cases and 32 negative results.

Susquehanna County

84 positive cases and 281 negative results with 8 deaths.

Tioga County

16 positive cases and 251 negative results with 1 death.

Union County

37 positive cases and 543 negative results.

Venango County

7 positive cases and 251 negative results.

Warren County

1 positive cases and 175 negative results.

Washington County

116 positive cases and 2,103 negative results with 2 deaths.

Wayne County

102 positive cases and 524 negative results with 5 deaths.

Westmoreland County

393 positive cases and 4,596 negative results with 25 deaths.

Wyoming County

21 positive cases and 160 negative results with 2 deaths.

York County

651 positive cases and 7,111 negative results with 11 deaths.

This data is compiled from the Pa. Department of Health. The state will not be providing recovery data at this time.

Several counties have released their own data maps. Information reported at the county level may not be consistent with the state numbers. Those counties include:

Some medical systems have begun releasing discharge data. Those medical systems include:

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 10:32:40|Editor: huaxia

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WARSAW, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Many mayors of large Polish cities have recently expressed their disagreement with the government on how soon to reopen preschools and nurseries.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Wednesday that preschools and nurseries could reopen on May 6 as long as they follow a strict sanitary regime.

Day-care centers have been closed around the country since March 16, days after the Polish government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday and Thursday, mayors from many Polish cities said they have no intention to reopen preschools and nurseries on the date the government set.

Jacek Jaskowiak, mayor of Poznan, Poland's fifth largest city, said he was not informed in advance, and that it was "mad" to reopen child care centers next week.

Like Jaskowiak, Warsaw's mayor Rafal Trzaszkowski also said he was not consulted before, adding that it is impossible to undertake such instruction right now.

"I am not going to endanger the lives and health of Warsaw's children and the staff of preschools and nurseries without a clear directive from the Ministry of Health," he said.

Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, mayor of the port city of Gdansk, made an ironic remark on Twitter, writing that "each facility will get 13.75 liters (of disinfectant), which will be enough for one day."

Mayors of Lodz and Bydgoszcz also said they cannot reopen day-care facilities before May 11, while Bialystok's mayor gave May 24 as the earliest possible date to reopen. Enditem
Guwahati/Shillong, May 1 : Meghalaya would soon be the sixth COVID-19-free state out of the eight states in northeast India as the state's 10 of the 11 corona patients tested negative while of the total 42 positive cases, Assam's active cases now stand at only nine, Ministers and officials said on Friday.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma told media in Shillong that out of the 11 active cases, 10 were retested and their swab samples were found to be negative.

"The second test of the 11th patient has come out negative and within 24 hours, another testing would be done and if that also comes out negative, the patient would be declared recovered," the Chief Minister said after a review meeting.

The mountainous state had found a total of 12 COVID-19 positive cases out of which 11 were active until Thursday and one person, a doctor, died.

Most of the positive cases are either family members or private hospital's staff.

In Guwahati, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said three more patients following their recovery from coronavirus were discharged from hospitals on Friday. "Only nine active cases remained in the state and were undergoing treatments in various medical colleges and hospitals," he told the media.

Assam's total positive case of 42 exclude a 33-year-old trader from Nagaland's Dimapur who is undergoing treatment at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) since April 12 after he tested positive for coronavirus.

"Nagaland patient also discharged from the GMCH on Friday," Sarma said, adding that most of the nine patients undergoing treatments in various medical colleges and hospitals are expected to be released within a few days.

Of Assam's 42 cases, 37 people directly or indirectly participated in Delhi's Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat congregation while one patient, with a history of foreign travel, died in southern Assam on April 10.

The first patient to test positive for coronavirus in Assam -- 57-year-old ex-trooper of Border Security Force, who was detected on March 31 -- is still undergoing treatment at Silchar Medical College and Hospital. He is a cancer patient too.

While no cases have been reported from Sikkim and Nagaland, three other states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura -- became coronavirus-free last month.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
BRIDGEPORT  All of the citys first responders and residents experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or who believe they have been exposed are eligible for free testing at two different facilities.

The two sites are new. Until this was set up, testing has only been done at Bridgeport and St. Vincents hospitals.

Mayor Joseph Ganim said the testing for police, firefighters and emergency personnel will take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. May 2 and May 6 at Central High School on Lincoln Boulevard.

Individuals must register before 8 p.m. April 30 for the Saturday session and before 8 p.m. Monday for Wednesdays session.

Registration is done online at www.physicianoneurgentcare.com/bridgeport.

Ganim said anyone needing help with registration should call 855-349-2828.

Residents who believe they are experiencing symptoms similar to those caused by COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has the virus can be tested for free at the Southwest Community Health, 46 Albion St. beginning at 8 a.m. May 6.

Ganim said there should be some foundation for those wanting to have the test and not just saying: Oh, I want to get tested.

Well test as many as we can with the number of supplies we have, said Mollie Melbourne, president and chief executive officer of Southwest Community Health.

She said she anticipates being able to do 80 of the rapid tests which provide results in about 15 minutes. The tests are being supplied by the state Department of Public Health and the Connecticut National Guard. She said she expects Southwest will complete at least another 120 of the longer tests through Quest Diagnostics.

She said 15 percent of the people tested April 29 using the rapid procedure were positive for the virus.

We advised those people to stay home and isolate themselves and informed them of what to look out for in the next few days, Melbourne said.

She said symptoms include if a fever remains or increases despite taking Tylenol, increased shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing and persistent chest pain.

Additionally, individuals should be concerned if chills cause intense shivering, if their lips turn blue or they lose the sense of taste or smell.

Melbourne said the testing will take place in the parking lot weather permitting.

Were hoping to offer this every Wednesday if we have can obtain the supplies, she said.

Ganim said testing is critical as the state begins to prepare for reopening.

Testing will help us get there, he said.

The citys two hospitals have conducted 5,914 tests. As of Thursday morning, 1,965 city residents have tested positive for coronavirus.

The mayor said he expects that number to rise as more tests are conducted.

As a result of doing more tests...logic would show more tests would come back positive, he said.
The complaint said Stokes identified himself on the 911 call and said, The gun is still upstairs with the bodies. Stokes told the dispatcher he was sitting outside on the steps. He called 911 a second time and again confessed to killing his family with a shotgun, the complaint said.
(CNN)  Researchers have uncovered the fossil of an early mammal named the "crazy beast" that lived 66 million years ago on Madagascar, and it's unlike any mammal ever known, living or extinct.

This mammal, about the size of an opossum, had a mix of strange characteristics that haven't been seen together before. It highlights evolutionary strangeness that can arise from evolution when it occurs in isolation on islands like Madagascar, which is home to other species, living and extinct, found nowhere else in the world.

The mammal is the most complete and well preserved skeleton of a gondwanatherian, which is a mammal that lived on the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana, which is now the continents of the southern hemisphere.

Fossils from the Mesozoic era, between 65 million and 252 million years ago, are sparse from Gondwana, largely including items such as a single skull, bits of jaw bone and teeth.

But this mammal, which looks a bit like a badger in the artist rendering based on the skeleton, is so well preserved that it includes cartilaginous tissue, small bones and the creature's short tail.

The researchers named it Adalatherium hui, a hybrid name that combines the Malagasy word for "crazy" and the Greek word for "beast." Hui is a nod to the late Yaoming Hu, a study co-author at Stony Brook University.

They believe this particular creature was a juvenile, weighing around seven pounds. But compared to the other Gondwana mammals living at the time, which were the size of mice, it was quite large. And it lived among dinosaurs and ancient crocodiles before the asteroid impact wiped them all out 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period.

It was also incredibly weird.

"Knowing what we know about the skeletal anatomy of all living and extinct mammals, it is difficult to imagine that a mammal like Adalatherium could have evolved; it bends and even breaks a lot of rules," said David Krause, lead study author, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and professor emeritus at Stony Brook University.

The study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The skeleton contains a number of strange features that researchers can't quite figure out.

For instance, Adalatherium had more holes on its face than any known mammal, Krause said in a press call Tuesday. These holes, called foramina, created pathways for blood vessels and nerves, leading to an incredibly sensitive snout that was covered in whiskers. It also had a large hole at the top of the snout that can't be compared to any known mammal that ever lived or is currently living.

Its teeth can't be compared with anything else either. They're structured in a strange way that can't be explained. Krause said its back teeth "are from outer space."

The animal's backbone contained more vertebrae than any known mammal from the Mesozoic era. And it must have walked in a strange way, because the front half of the animal doesn't match the back half. And one of its back legs was bowed.

The forearms and shoulders can be compared to cats and dogs, meaning they were placed under the body -- very unusual for early mammals who walked more like reptiles, said Simone Hoffmann, study co-author and assistant professor at the New York Institute of Technology's department of anthropology.

But the hind legs are the opposite pattern, suggesting that the legs spread out and had more sprawling knee joints like reptiles. Two patterns in one animal means that it walked very differently than anything living today, Hoffman said. But they believe it was capable of running, in addition to other ways of moving.

Adalatherium also had strong, long claws on its back legs, suggesting that it dug using its hind legs.

"Adalatherium is the oddest of oddballs," Hoffmann said. "Trying to figure out how it moved is nearly impossible because, for instance, its front end is telling us a different story than its back end."

Weird island animals and where to find them

Krause and his colleagues have been investigating fossils that belonged to unusual animals living on ancient Madagascar for 25 years. This fossil was found in 1999 at the site of a sedimentary basin in northwest Madagascar. But it was investigated recently.

Multiple expeditions to that basin have revealed the bones of dinosaurs and other vertebrates, or backboned animals, well preserved and buried by the ancient flow of debris in the basin. But they had to collect thousands of specimens just to find a handful of mammal fossils, Krause said.

In 2010, they found the skull of a gondwanatherian. Before that, discoveries of them were largely restricted to teeth and jaw fragments.

Fossils of gondwanatherian fossils were first found in Argentina, followed by discoveries in Africa, India, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Madagascar. At first, researchers believed they were related to sloths, anteaters and armadillos. But they stand on their own, unrelated to anything alive today, "now known to have been part of a grand evolutionary experiment, doing their own thing, an experiment that failed and was snuffed out in the Eocene [Epoch], about 45 million years ago," Krause said.

If the "crazy beast" can be related to anything, it's multituberculates, a group of extinct rodent-like mammals that lived on the northern continents, according to the researchers.

The researchers chalk it up to evolving in the isolated environment of an island. And Madagascar has been an island for a long time. It separated from the Indian subcontinent 88 million years ago and has been on its own ever since.

This allowed animals and dinosaurs on Madagascar, like Adalatherium "ample time to develop its many ludicrous features," Krause said.

Krause's team has found a number of other strange fossils on Madagascar, including a giant, armored, predatory frog called Beelzebufo, a short-snouted herbivorous crocodile called Simosuchus and a buck-toothed dinosaur called Masiakasaurus.

"Madagascar is a pretty weird place," Krause said. "Plants and animals there are not known anywhere else in the world. Evolution on islands leads to that in some sense."

When animals evolve is isolated areas, like islands, they deal with competition, predators and sources of food. This causes them to evolve into species that don't resemble mainland animals, including unusual shapes and sizes.

Researchers call it the "island rule:" small animals increase in size, a form of gigantism, while large mammals decrease in size.

Adalatherium likely disappeared along with the rest of the strange animals on Madagascar 66 million years ago, before the island population began anew with native species like lemurs. But the discovery sheds like on the fascinating mammals that came before the ones we know today. And only more research and discovery will fill in the remaining gaps.

"Adalatherium is just one piece, but an important piece, in a very large puzzle on early mammalian evolution in the southern hemisphere," Krause noted. "Unfortunately, most of the pieces are still missing."

This story was first published on CNN.com "'Crazy beast' fossil discovery shows the evolutionary weirdness of early mammals"
Being in a self-imposed quarantine and in isolation takes a toll on the psyche of an individual. This isnt exactly a new revelation, but the fact that even the best among us are susceptible to it is something that most of us hadnt realised before. We have come to realise this today after a video surfaced online of a doctor in Mathura tried to flee from the quarantine centre set up in a government hospital, on Thursday.

 Twitter/timesofindia

The doctor we see in the video is Dr Piyush Chatturvedi, who, as a report by Times Of India, was under a precautionary, self-imposed quarantine after he came in contact with a coronavirus positive patient. The doctor says that he was stepping out of the facility to get a few things for consumption, and can be seen breaking into a sprint as the police try and stop him.

 Twitter/timesofindia

This shouldnt come as a surprise. Doctors, no matter where they are in the county are in a rather precarious position. On one hand, they are at the forefront of this ongoing war against the virus, and are facing the situation without proper equipment and basic PPEs or personal protective equipment. On the other, they are facing some appalling situations and discrimination, while spending days away from their families and loved ones.

 Reuters

The Mathura chapter of the Indian Medical Association put out a statement condemning the actions of Dr Chatturvedi and all medical professionals in the area who are putting public health at risk in a time like this.

 Twitter/timesofindia

While we agree with the opinions of the IMA, we cannot help but feel sorry for people like Dr Chatturvedi. With that being said, blaming just the doctor cannot be justified. Dr Chatturvedi, and a total of 13 other people at the District Combined Hospital of Vrindavan, came in contact with a COVID-19 patient, who later died. The medical professionals have been put in a precautionary quarantine for days now, and havent been tested as of writing this article.



#Covid_19: UP doctor flees from quarantine, cops chase him down



Watch pic.twitter.com/f3PjFPz2i2  The Times Of India (@timesofindia) May 1, 2020

Clearly, the situation is so grim that even the brightest among us are behaving in a rather sorry manner. This just goes on to show the psychological cost we as a civilisation may have to bear, once this pandemic is dealt with.


BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is concerned about the lack of 'sufficient solidarity' with the developing countries to tackle the destruction of COVID-19 pandemic.



During a virtual press briefing from UN headquarters, the UN Chief called for a worldwide relief package of at least 10 percent of the global economy's output, noting that the developing countries need massive and urgent support to respond to the worst economic and social crisis.



Acknowledging the emergency financing by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and the G20 leading economies' decision to suspend debt service payments for the poorest countries, the UN Chief added that 'even this is not enough.'



He stated that the debt moratorium must be extended to all developing countries that are unable to service their debt, including several middle-income countries.



According to the International Labour Organization or ILO, the global workforce will be hit with the equivalent of the loss of more than 300 million jobs. It is also expected that millions of children risk missing life-saving vaccines and that the number of those officially living in poverty could rise by around 500 million, the first increase in three decades.



Further, Guterres recalled his global ceasefire appeal in March, especially in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, to face the common enemy of COVID-19.



'All our efforts depend on strong political backing', stressed the UN chief.



In order to beat the coronavirus crisis, he urged for 'solidarity, unity and hope'. Guerres also maintained that a smart recovery from COVID-19 needs to go hand-in-hand with climate action and creation of green jobs.



On Friday, the UN would launch a new policy report to advise how best to protect older persons, and an analysis of COVID-19 consequences for persons with disabilities.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Owings Mills-Reisterstown Patch wants to provide a way to share the achievements of our high school graduates, even if it's in a small way. With in-person instruction canceled through May 15 due to the coronavirus, high school seniors are missing out on this celebratory time.

Many proms and graduations have been postponed, and we know many high school seniors are feeling sadness about missing these milestone high school events.



We hope that this will give the community a way to share their pride in our class of 2020 high school graduates.



If you'd like to add your graduate, fill out the form here.

Here are the class of 2020 high school graduates our readers wanted to recognize:

Morgan Elizabeth Boston, Franklin HS and Community College of Baltimore County

Photo submitted by Stephanie Boston.

Morgan will be going to Miami University (Ohio), as a premed-psychology student.



From the family: "We are so proud of you! Continue to pursue your dreams! Not only a high school diploma but an Associate's Degree! You are awesome!"

Briana DeMarcy, Franklin High School

Briana is a Towson University Honors College pre-nursing major.

From the family: "Beyond proud of you and your accomplishments! Cant wait to see what the next four years bring!"

Jaida Garnes, Franklin High School

Jaida will be attending Stetson University majoring in psychology.

From the family: "Congratulations Jaida! We are so proud of you and cant wait to see all of the great things that God has in store for you!"



Daisy Oberfeld, Franklin High School

Daisy will be attending University of Tampa.



From the family: "Thirteen plus years of school have helped prepare you to soar."



Jordan Osterweil, Franklin High School

Jordan will be a University of Maryland Life Sciences Scholar majoring in cell biology & genetics.

From the family: "Congratulations Jordan! We are so proud of your accomplishments!"

Priya Shah, Franklin High School

Priya will be a public health major on a pre-med track.



Story continues

From the family: "We are so proud of you! Keep doing what you love each and every day!"

Simon Spath, Franklin High School

Simon will be attending University of South Carolina - accepted to Darla Moore business school.

From the family: "Congratulations Simon. Youre Amazing and the best has yet to come. Love mom"

Donovan Gill, New Town High School

Donovan will attend CCBC, majoring in mechanical engineering.

From the family: "Congratulations we are so proud of you. Love Mom, Dad, Darrien and DaVaughn"

Sianah Holloway, New Town High School

Sianah will be attending Salisbury University.

From the family: "Congratulations!! This is the beginning of your life. You can do absolutely anything you set your mind to. Happy graduation!!"

Lance A Lucas Jr., New Town High School

Lance would like to pursue a career in law enforcement.

From the family: "Lance I am so proud of you and all you have achieved you are an awesome young man. The sky is the limit. Love Mom"

Joshua Childs, Owings Mills High School

Joshua will be attending Community College of Baltimore County.

From the family: "Joshua is definitely a high achiever who has done well in senior year and loves to film and create videos. He has a successful YouTube channel called Jay The Mogul where he vlogs about teen/young adult life. His creativity, faith in God and genuine care for others will get him far. Congratulations Josh and all seniors!!!"

Jonathan Lewis, Arlington Baptist School

Jonathan will be attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) majoring in Mechanical Engineering

From the family: "Congratulations, Jonathan. We are so proud of you and the young man you have become. Greatness is Your Destiny. Love, Mom & Dad"

Cherie Sewell, Milford Mill Academy



Cherie will be attending NCCU.

From the family: "Congratulations!!!!



Marlayia, Milford Mill Academy

Marlayia will be attending college for psychology.

From a loved one: "Journeys are always here to conquer"

Did we miss your grad? Fill out the form here. Patch will be updating this post until May 31.



This article originally appeared on the Owings Mills-Reisterstown Patch
Chinese military opposes more foreign naval presence in S China Sea

PLA Daily

Source: China Daily

Editor: Wang Xinjuan

2020-04-30 23:38:49

The Chinese military opposes foreign powers bolstering their naval presence in the South China Sea, calling the actions detrimental to regional peace and stability, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday.

The People's Liberation Army will remain highly vigilant and keep monitoring the activities by foreign naval forces in the region, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesman, said in a news release.

Wu made the remarks amid recent "freedom of navigation" operations by the United States Navy. Since mid-April, the US and Australian navies conducted joint military exercises in the South China Sea.

"Reality has proven once again that the US is the biggest facilitator of the militarization of the South China Sea, and is a trouble-maker for the region's peace and stability," Wu said.

"The PLA will remain on high alert, and adamantly safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as the peace and prosperity of the region."

In response to the US Naval Institute's two articles published in early April, which called for the US to encourage the use of privateers to attack Chinese ships by issuing letters of marque - a document authorizing privately-owned ships to capture enemy merchant ships, Wu called the idea "an act of piracy".

"These actions are criminal activities explicitly prohibited under international laws, and will absolutely receive joint opposition and severe backlash from the international community," he said.

Wu said that publicly endorsing piracy has exposed the hegemonic ideas and law of the jungle mentality behind the authors, "and the international community should be on guard against these thoughts".

When asked for comments on Taiwan defense authorities' accusing the Chinese mainland of military coercion and threats against the island, Wu said that Taiwan island is part of China, and PLA activities around the island are aimed to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"Our activities target a few Taiwan secessionists and their activities, not the majority of Taiwan compatriots," he said. "Any form of military resistance against reunification goes against the nation's righteous principles, and is doomed to fail."

As for efforts against COVID-19, Wu said the PLA has sent medical supplies and experts to many countries, such as Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lebanon. The PLA medical teams also held seminars with peers from Pakistan, Singapore and Russia.

"The pandemic is a common enemy to mankind," he said. "The PLA will continue to collaborate with foreign military authorities to jointly tackle the pandemic."

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TOWSON, MD  Patch wants to provide a way to share the achievements of our graduates, even if it's in a small way. With in-person instruction canceled through May 15 due to the coronavirus in Maryland, high school seniors are missing out on the last moments of what should be a happy, celebratory time.



Many milestone events have been postponed for college and high school students alike, and we know many seniors are feeling sadness about missing them.

We hope that this will give the community a way to share their pride in our class of 2020.

If you'd like to add your graduate, fill out the form here. Patch will be updating this post until May 31.

Amber Marie Olson, Towson University

Amber will be attending graduate school for neuropsychology

From the family: "Amber, you always make us proud with whatever you do. You have grown into such a beautiful human being and we're honored to be your parents. Love you with all our hearts! Love, Momma & Dad."

[RECIRC]

Here are the class of 2020 high school graduates from Towson:



Sage Sarai Evans-Rainey, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology

Sage will be attending NYU Tisch on a full tuition scholarship as a dance major/Russian minor and working to complete prerequisites for the DPT program.

From the family: "Dear Sage, we are so proud of how hard you worked to earn this moment in your life! Stay focused and always remember that you are in control of your narrative, tell your stories baby. I Love You, Mom!"

Carl Feibusch, Towson High School

Carl will be attending McDaniel College.

From a loved one: "Carl, im so proud of you and im so happy weve become such great friends and so close. i know youll do amazing at mcdaniel, dont forget about me ;). i love you, baby"

Tyler Parker-Rollins, Towson High School

Photo by Lesley Parker-Rollins.

Tyler will be graduating from Towson High School and will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall.

From the family: "Congratulations, Tyler! We are so proud of you and excited for you! Go Hokies! Love, Mom, Dad, Will & Maya"

Story continues

Joshua Pfeltz, Concordia Preparatory School

Joshua will be attending George Mason University majoring in international relations this fall.



From the family: "Congratulations Joshua! We are so proud of the hard work you've put in over the years and that didn't end when your school had moved to on-line classes. You have taken everything with grace, pride and understanding just as you always do. You shoot for the stars and I know you will achieve everything you've ever dreamed of. We can't wait to see what's to come! Love you! Love, Mom, Dad, Christopher and Cameron"



Danielle Weinstein, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology

Danielle will be graduating from Towson University.



From the family: "Beyond proud of you today and every day! We can't wait to see what the next four years bring. Go forth and be awesome! XOXO"



Did we miss your grad? Fill out the form here. Patch will be updating this post until May 31.

See Also: Maryland Patch Honors Graduates: Tell Us About The Class of 2020

This article originally appeared on the Towson Patch
Blue Ridge Honor Flight feeds medical front line

Chief Nursing Officer Carol Stefaniak and RNs Erika Prezas, Mary Ann Fischer and Jake Freeman greet the Blue Ridge Honor Flight lunch delivery.

Blue Ridge Honor Flight volunteers are used to honoring soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served on the front lines in combat. On Thursday they turned their efforts to workers on the front lines of coronavirus treatment, the world war that is consuming health care providers.

HonorAir cofounder Jeff Miller, Mary Beth Burns and Jimmy Miller drove to Pardee Hospital's emergency room at noon Thursday to distribute two large boxes of sandwiches, fried chidken, chocolate-covered donuts and other items for front-line medical personnel.

"When we talked to the head nurse, evidently a lot of people like Hendough," Jeff Miller said, of the chicken and donut place on Busy Bend. "Were just going to use local restaurants."

Since the coronavirus crisis has grounded the honor flights to Washington for veterans, the organization decided that it would use existing funding to feed front-line health. With the help of Jim Miller, a grading contractor and no relation to Jeff, Blue Ridge Honor Flight had been sponsoring once-a-month free breakfasts at Dixie Diner and wings at South Rock.

"Jimmy Miller goes out and raises most of the money himself and usually writes a big fat check himself," he said. "All of us have to be doing something. We cant just sit and wait for 2021." Feeding today's heroes  workers of the ER and intensive care unit  seemed to be the right choice.

"We just call it feeding the front line," Miller said.

On hand to receive the boxes and thank the donors were Chief Nursing Officer Carol Stefaniak, ER nurses Erika Prezas and Mary Ann Fischer and ICU nurse Jake Freeman.

Blue Ridge Honor Flight will return to the Pardee UNC Health ER on Tuesday night, when late-shift doctors, nurses and other medical personnel will get Chick-Fil-A.
Coronavirus update: Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the indigenous tests kit and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab-based kits for COVID-19 which are being developed by laboratories under the ministry of science and technology will be ready by mid-May. He also quoted that the coming weeks will be crucial for India as the results of some of the research and experiments done by the scientists under the ministry of science and technology will be out.

Good quality antibody test kits along with kits for detection of virus (RT-PCR kits) will be ready by May and all the credits of the research work going in the country goes to the scientists who are working hard to fight the battle against coronavirus. The companies and institutes which have joined hands together for these projects include Dhiti Life Sciences Pvt.Ltd., Sri Ramchandra Institute of Higher Education, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Central University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, and Chennai.

Not just this, the ministry of science and technology is also working on other projects like vaccine against COVID-19 and diagnostics. Harsh Vardhan added that scientists are working on different aspects like researches on molecules for finding a solution against coronavirus, the discovery of new drugs, testing of various new discoveries. Moreover, the ministry has four vaccine candidates whose work is at an advanced stage.

Also Read: Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra cross 10,000, says state health department

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that since the virus is going to stay with us for long we are getting ready with our props to fight this battle. He added that viral sequencing is currently happening in 1000 labs in the entire country under the biotechnology department and 500 labs under the council of scientific and industrial research. Moreover, experts feel that it is high time that India focuses on make in India products by encouraging domestic manufactures.

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Andy Berke, the mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was scheduled to visit New York City in mid-March to speak about the immense economic growth of his small Southern city. The flood of the coronavirus into the United States, however, caused Berke to cancel the trip and  with an ongoing dearth of testing  pump the brakes on sharing financial prospects that have since dimmed.

Remaining in his city of 180,000, instead, Berke became one of the earliest leaders in the South to enact measures to prevent the spread of the virus, quickly closing gyms, bars, restaurants and other nonessential businesses. By March 16, Chattanooga was effectively shut down. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, ordered the same measures a week later statewide, and on April 2, he ordered residents to stay home.

Cases in Chattanooga have remained low, which Berke, a Democrat, sees as evidence that social distancing is working, but he said it's a challenge to responsibly reopen the economy, because testing capacity is still low. Testing for the virus would allow federal, state and local leaders to track the spread of the virus and intervene before it overwhelmed localities.

Image: (Troy Stolt / Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)

"There was a long period of time where we had 40 tests for our community. On top of having very few tests, we couldn't get them processed," Berke told NBC News, explaining that it was all Hamilton County, where the city lies, was able to acquire while also facing challenges in developing relationships with labs.

Testing capacity has since increased, but not by as much as is needed. Nevertheless, Lee announced Monday that the "vast majority" of businesses in the state were allowed to reopen  regardless of whether city officials like Berke or individual business owners felt it was safe to do so. The mayor said he can't promise it's safe if he doesn't know how many cases there are in his community, and he can't do that without help from the federal government to expand the city's testing capacity.

Story continues

The development puts Chattanooga at the center of growing partisan tension between Democratic city leaders in the South who want to pursue a slower approach until testing has increased and Republican governors who want the economy reopened as quickly as possible.

Image: (Robin Rudd / Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)

As the country as a whole lags behind on the amount of testing public health experts say is required for safe reopening, city and state leaders have asked for federal government support with testing as well as economic relief  only to get a muted and even contrary response from President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help?" Trump tweeted Monday morning.

Your health or your paycheck? A devil's bargain

The issues around reopening safely aren't confined to Tennessee. Chattanooga, located on the southeastern border, is part of a tri-state area with Alabama and Georgia, and people from both states commute to the city for work. Decisions made by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who is also moving forward with reopening his state, and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will also have significant impacts on the city and the region.

Jennifer Gregory, the treasurer of the Chattanooga Beverage Alliance, a union representing service workers in the area, thinks her members are being forced to return to the front lines without much choice.

News

"Tennessee doesn't have the adequate or accurate data to be opening," said Gregory, who praised Berke's leadership on the virus. The state has 10,735 reported cases, including 199 deaths, linked to the illness. Hamilton County, the fourth-most populous county in the state, accounts for just 1.4 percent of that.

Gregory knows that many in the city are suffering because of the lockdown, including members of the alliance, but she added, "How do we talk about economies when people are dying?"

"And what does that say to someone who works in a restaurant or Walmart or Whole Foods?" Gregory asked. "That our most vulnerable populations, people that have to be there, are treated with that level of disregard, it's disturbing."

Hamilton County, which controls the local health department, is now testing asymptomatic residents, but Berke is doubtful it will be enough. Nearby Knox County essentially ran out of swabs almost immediately after starting testing, he said, and experts say the country needs universal testing.

Image: Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. (Brad Barket / Getty Images file)

"We're trying to figure out what the actual turnaround time and capacity is," Berke said of the newest testing measures, calling them a "leap forward" but one that barely goes far enough. Chattanooga, he said, can't safely reopen under the governor's plan.

"It fails to account for the growing number of positive cases across the state, and especially in southeast Tennessee," the mayor said about Lee's decision. "It goes against the warnings of public health experts and doctors. It lacks the groundwork we need to ensure that restaurant owners and managers understand their responsibilities and have the supplies they need to keep people safe."

Plans for a rich future dashed

Before the pandemic, Chattanooga had plans to bring new companies to the city, had recorded multiple years of growth and was in the process of revitalizing its downtown. Without access to testing, that all feels in jeopardy. And the lack of testing means residents aren't ready to go back to work, even if their governor says they are.

In November, Volkswagen announced that it would expand its plant in Chattanooga and add 1,000 jobs to build an electric-powered SUV. But five months later, on April 9, the Volkswagen plant announced that it had furloughed 2,500 employees.

Image: Line inspection workers check out a Volkswagen AG 2012 Passat at the company's factory in Chattanooga (Mark Elias / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

Eager to get back up and running, Volkswagen said it would stagger the return of its employees beginning May 3, implementing nearly 100 health measures, including new personal protective equipment and temperature checks for its workers. But the company postponed its plans to reopen Wednesday, citing "the readiness of the supplier base, as well as market demand and the status of the COVID-19 outbreak."

Even as states reopen, city leaders, employers and workers continue to face a difficult question shared by Americans across the country: Can this once-booming economy open again without the coronavirus wreaking further havoc?

"I don't see what has changed in the past four weeks where it's now safer for anyone to go back," said Steve Cochran, a worker at the plant. "Best-case scenario we could test everyone. That's not feasible."

Politics

Before coronavirus shutdowns, "people came to work sick as they could be, because they didn't want to use their vacation," said Cochran, who said he and other employees didn't have sick leave and hadn't been consulted on how to reopen the plant.

"I could go to work and get the virus a lot easier than at the store. There's 3,000 people," he said.

Small manufacturers are affected, as well.

Aaron Hoffman's Chattanooga-based hot sauce company was hoping to grow by 200 percent by the year's end when the pandemic hit. But, Hoffman, the co-founder, has laid off six of his 10 employees, with just one person fulfilling orders drawn from three months of inventory he has left in stock.

"I'm just waiting on the testing," Hoffman said of bringing people back. "I'm not a medical expert. I'm just hanging on to what Dr. Fauci says."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned states wanting to reopen their economies not to leap over things" that would potentially allow the coronavirus to rebound.

Can Chattanooga bounce back?

Chattanooga's relatively diverse economy should insulate it somewhat, as major employers like insurance and distribution centers remain operational, said Dr. William Fox, the director of the University of Tennessee's Center for Business and Economic Research.

But without sales tax, a major source of revenue in a state without earned income tax, the budget of a city like Chattanooga will take a real hit.

Inside An IMAX Corp. Movie Theater Ahead Of Earnings Figures (Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Our city is struggling financially. There is just no other way around it," Berke said  a problem exacerbated by Easter tornadoes that caused an estimated $300 million in damage and displaced more than 400 residents.

In a Hamilton County economic impact survey published in late April, 41 percent of the 243 businesses that responded said they had had to lay off or furlough employees, and more than 50 percent expect to see the impacts last more than seven months. Only 5 percent reported experiencing no impact.

For Nick Wilkinson, the executive director of the Tivoli Theatre Foundation, the stoppage has been devastating  especially as the future remains unclear.

Wilkinson runs the iconic Tivoli Theatre in downtown Chattanooga and two other spaces that put on about 150 shows a year. When the foundation took over the theaters from the city in 2015, it grew the number of shows by around 900 percent, and Wilkinson just acquired a new building while undertaking a $40 million renovation.

Now, that's all on pause, and Wilkinson  like many other business owners  isn't keen to pack his theaters for concerts and plays any time soon without proof that it will be safe for attendees. He also isn't sure how he can go out and try to raise needed money for his nonprofit theaters when there is so much immediate need around him.

The city, he said, can't recover alone.

"It doesn't matter how good Chattanooga has been," Wilkinson said. "At the end of the day, if the cavalry ain't coming from D.C., there is nothing any local small community can do to address the needs they have. It's just impossible."
The dailies on Friday, May 1, have looked at the scientific developments in search of coronavirus cure and the struggles Kenyans continue to face in the wake of the pandemic.

The papers have also reported on how this year's Labour Day celebrations would not be characterised with the usual dance, zeal and enthusiasm due to COVID-19 pandemic.

READ ALSO: Robert Kariuki Kibochi replaces General Samson Mwathethe as Chief of Defence Forces designate

Kenyan newspapers for May 1. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Tanzania parliament suspended after second MP dies

1. The Star

The newspaper reports researchers at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) are exploring traditional herbal medicine in search of coronavirus cure.

According to the publication, the researchers at the institution had developed a herbal medicine known as Zedupex to treat herpes simplex, a common viral disease that causes sores on the mouth and genitals.

The researchers believe the medicine could equally treat COVID-19 and are now exploring its efficacy in combating the deadly virus.

While appearing before MPs on Wednesday, April 29, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe confirmed KEMRI was considering the herbal drug in the ongoing research to find coronavirus treatment.

Zedupex was developed and patented in 2016 and is packed in powder form of 250gms.

The Star newspaper for May 1. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Babu Owino asema DJ Evolve amepata nafuu ila hawezi ondoka hospitalini kufuatia COVID-19

2. The Standard

The newspaper looks at the politics that continue to play out in Nairobi city county following Governor Mike Sonko's treat to pull out of the Deed of Transfer of county functions to the national government.

The defiant governor on Wednesday, April 29, refused to avail crucial documents to the national treasury to effect the transfer of functions to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and necessitate smooth budget allocation to the newly formed organ.

A section of Nairobi county MCAs are now threatening to impeach Sonko for disobeying the Deed of Transfer which he signed in the presence of the president.

The standard newspaper for May 1. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

3. Daily Nation

The daily reports on the uncertainty that has gripped the country over the manner in which this year's Labour Day celebrations would be conducted due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic which has resulted in suspension of public gatherings.

According to the publication, as late as Thursday, April 30, most Labour union officials were not sure how the day would look like unlike in the past when a national venue would have been decorated and set for the event.

Central Organisation of Trade Union (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli who normally plays host to the celebrations said he would be addressing workers from Solidarity Building headquarters in Nairobi.

Daily Nation newspaper for May 1. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

4. Taifa Leo

The Swahili publication reports on food shortages and the struggles many vulnerable families continue to face in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The newspaper in particular looks at the devastating experience a section of families in Mombasa county were going through.

A recent moving incident in an overwhelmed mother opted to cook stones for his family has been cited as a picture of what many families were going through during this difficult moment.

Taifa Leo newspaper for May 1. Photo: UGC.

Source: UGC

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

I lost my eye to the Kenya Police - Michael Maina | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
(Bloomberg) --

In Germany, unions are pushing Amazon.com Inc. to prevent warehouse workers from congregating like bunches of grapes before their shifts. In Italy, where a Covid-19 outbreak hit Amazons main logistics depot, unions staged an 11-day strike that ended after the company granted employees an additional five-minute break to practice better personal hygiene. And in what amounts to the most significant pushback yet, a French appeals court on April 24 upheld an earlier ruling ordering Amazon to sell only essential products in the country to protect the safety of warehouse workers.At Seattle headquarters, some senior Amazon executives expressed concern that the original French court order would set a precedent, according to a person familiar with the discussions. They feared it would require expensive, manual curation of Amazons millions of product listings and prompt regulators and governments to impose similar restrictions on the company in an effort to keep essential goods flowing while protecting workers. That explains why Amazon took the unprecedented step of closing its French operations.

Amazon, which insists its warehouses are safe, said it made the decision to close local depots in part because the penalties for not adhering to the specifics of the order could total billions of euros. The decision was made by a local French court and only applies to the local situation in France, a spokesman said in an emailed statement. It is also specific to only one of our operations activities in Franceour fulfillment centers.

For years, Amazon has mostly prevented organized labor from penetrating its employee ranks, helping keep costs down even as the company offers faster service for its customers. So far Amazon has managed to keep its operations going in the U.S., despite protests at several of its warehouses. But in Europe, the companys handling of the outbreak has provided fresh ammunition for the continents powerful unions and activist regulators, raising the stakes for Amazon in its second-biggest market.

Story continues

The pandemic has made Amazon essential, while also increasing its vulnerability, says Uhsa Haley, the W. Frank Barton Distinguished Chair in International Business and Director of the Center for International Business Advancement at Wichita State University. I predict antitrust and worker-protection legislation of the kind that we saw at the turn of the last century.

Amazon began setting up shop in Europe in 1998, starting with the U.K. and Germany. Today it also operates dedicated web stores in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Turkey. While the European Amazon retail business generates about 13% of the companys $280 billion in revenue  excluding third-party merchant sales and cloud-computing revenue  the continents importance to Amazon cannot be overstated. Some of the companys outposts around the world feature limited selections geared toward digital products that Amazon can sell without expensive physical infrastructure, but the European operations are much like those in the U.S.  with networks of fulfillment centers, legions of third-party merchants selling their wares on the site and full-fledged Prime memberships offering two-hour delivery in more than 20 European cities.

At home, Amazon faces much weaker unions than it does in Europe, where participation hovers close to 23% on average compared with about 10.3% in the U.S. While union membership has declined over the past couple of decades in France and Germany, worker groups can still disrupt or force companies into talks. The European Union and national labor regulation have enforced periodic negotiations on everything from wages to education. In Germany, the retail union Verdi has some 2.1 million members and has staged numerous strikes over the years. While it has found Amazon one of its toughest opponents, Verdi worked to have collective bargaining talks to boost wages for workers at the company and across the retail sector.

Now the continents unions believe fallout from the pandemic has given them new leverage to extract more concessions from the company. In March, French Labor Minister Muriel Penicaud said that it was important to preserve the supply of necessary goods, but Amazons worker safety standards were insufficient. Inspectors were sent to check on employee conditions. The company started temperature checks, increased space between workers, provided masks to employees and stepped up cleaning. But the union SUD Solidarites deemed the measures insufficient and asked a lower court to shut down the centers.

The French court ruled that Amazon must stop selling non-essential items during the lockdown. The company temporarily closed its French warehouses pending an appeal, and, after it lost, Amazon announced Monday it would keep its fulfillment centers closed until May 5 to evaluate the best way to operate in light of the Court of Appeals decision while avoiding fines. France is scheduled to end the lockdown on May 11.

This is our moment to make a global fight, says Sylvain Alias, a SUD Solidarites representative. The coronavirus will leave a lasting mark on Amazon and what they do for workers rights and health.

A group representing unionized Amazon workers in several countries put out a letter on Thursday demanding that Amazon permanently maintain a temporary pay increase that was given to employees who came in during the Covid-19 pandemic. Labor unions dont want Amazon to just focus on virus-related sanitation, CFDT labor union representative Julien Vincent said. They want the company to address broader health concerns that its workers have, including the toll that the physical labor takes on their bodies.

In the statement, the Amazon spokesman said the company has worked with employee groups to implement safety measures and says the dispute is not about safety but rather certain unions leveraging the process of formal procedural consultation with works councils for their own agenda. We are proud of the many changes weve made together to keep our teams safe while serving our customers in France and around the world.

Even in the U.S., where Amazon has taken a hard line with unions and employee activists, there are signs that regulators and workers are becoming emboldened. Amazon is being investigated by New Yorks attorney general over the firing of a worker who complained about working conditions at a Staten Island warehouse and led a walkout. The company has begun a push to reassure workers that coming to work is safe, spraying warehouses down with disinfectant.

Of course, one French court victory doesn't mean organized labor will prevail long-term. While the unions have attempted to join forces internationallylabor groups from the Europe and the U.S. met to discuss strategy in mid-Marchthey have so far failed to disrupt Amazons logistical operations, which were designed to have one distribution center take over if another one goes down.

With a background noise of antitrust concerns, most notably a probe by the European Union looking into Amazons use of data collected from third-party sellers, there may be more political appetite to pass laws that check the company. Frances government has repeatedly called on consumers stuck at home to buy from domestic e-commerce companies rather than the Silicon Valley giant. Dutch politician and former trade unionist Mei Li Vos said that governments will have to protect workers to restart their economies, which provides an opening to strengthen workers rights.

Europe is entering phase 2 with workers needing much more confidence and reassurance to go back to work, said MIT Sloan professor Thomas Kochan, who wrote Shaping the Future of Work. Governments and politicians will pay a lot of attention to the workforce demands, because they need workers to go come back.

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By IANS

LONDON: Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, on Friday lost the opening round of her legal battle against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for publishing a confidential letter to her estranged father last year, with the High Court judge dismissing major parts of her suit, reports said.

The former American actress, who is married to Prince Harry, was seeking damages from Associated Newspapers Ltd for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

However, the judge dismissed as "irrelevant" most of her case, including her claims that the reports were part of a media "agenda" against her.

Justice Warby also "struck out" her allegations that journalists had acted dishonestly and had caused the rift between her and her estranged father Thomas by "digging up dirt" to portray Meghan in a "negative light".

The article had reproduced parts of a handwritten note she sent to her father in August 2018, three months after he was unable to walk her down the aisle following a heart attack, and was made public by him in February 2019.

A preliminary hearing in the case, in which lawyers for Associated Newspapers asked for parts of the Duchess's case to be struck out, was conducted remotely last week.

During the hearing, the judge was told the letter had been published by Associated Newspapers to satisfy the "curiosity" of readers, which it had "deliberately generated", according to British media reports.

Lawyers representing Meghan said the publisher had, through the articles, "stirred up" the dispute between her and her father, with David Sherborne contending that the publisher had "harassed" the elder Markle, and "finally manipulated this vulnerable man into giving interviews", which he had later described as "lies".

But counsel for the publisher argued allegations by Meghan that the articles were responsible for "causing" the dispute between them are "objectionable" with Antony White arguing that Meghan's contention that her "vulnerable" father was "harassed and humiliated", "manipulated" and "exploited" should not form part of her case.

Delivered his ruling on Friday, Justice Warby favoured the newspaper publisher.

"Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded."

Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed.

"I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.

"I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018."

Justice Warby, however, said: "Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form."

In a statement issued after the ruling, a spokesperson for law firm Schillings, which is representing Meghan, said: "Today's ruling makes very clear that the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward.

"The duchess' rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed.

"As part of this process, the extremes to which The Mail on Sunday used distortive, manipulative, and dishonest tactics to target The Duchess of Sussex have been put on full display,"

The statement also said: "Whilst the judge recognises that there is a claim for breach of privacy and copyright, we are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behaviour is not relevant."

According to the Mail, the Associated Newspapers will also ask the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to pay their costs of in excess of 50,000 pounds after the couple refused their offer to deal with the issue out of court to save the High Court having to set up an online hearing during the coronavirus crisis.

Prince Harry and Meghan, who have relinquished their royal duties, are currently living in Los Angeles.
After a hiatus of nearly five months, Air Force Special Operations Command has reinstated parachute, dive and mountaineering training for its operators.

AFSOC spokeswoman Maj. Amanda Reeves said that as of Friday, all units can now resume the training, halted in the wake of two special tactics airmen deaths in the fall.

"AFSOC has now recertified all of its units to conduct parachute, diving, and mountaineering operations," Reeves told Military.com in an email. "Due to operational sensitivities surrounding AFSOC's capabilities and readiness status, we cannot provide an exact number of units affected by the recertification process."

Related: Air Force Halts Parachute, Dive and Mountain Training Ops Following Airmen Deaths

Reeves said that experts from across the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command assessed training operations at each AFSOC unit. Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, the AFSOC commander, then approved each recertification in concert with unit leaders and the AFSOC director of operations.

"Throughout this process, AFSOC maintained our ability to support our host nation, sister-service and cross-[major command] operations," Reeves said. "Our obligation to our airmen has been to ensure our regulations, training, procedures and equipment are as safe as possible."

She added, "We are confident resuming operations at our recertified units, knowing that we are mitigating as many risks as possible when conducting these critical mission sets."

AFSOC ordered the suspension in December to allow officials to inspect associated equipment and review safety procedures. The move followed the deaths of Tech. Sgt. Peter Kraines, a pararescueman with the 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida; and Staff Sgt. Cole Condiff, a Special Tactics combat controller with 23rd Special Tactics Squadron within the 24th Special Operations Wing.

In October, Kraines died "from injuries sustained in an incident while performing mountain rescue techniques in Boise, Idaho," officials said at the time. According to the Idaho Press, which cited the local county coroner's office, Kraines, 33, died from blunt-force trauma sustained after he fell roughly 40 feet in the Black Cliffs area.

Then in November, Condiff fell out of a C-130 Hercules into the Gulf of Mexico during a planned static-line jump during training.

Rescue teams began search efforts immediately, and had canvassed roughly 700 square miles of the Gulf for four days before ending their recovery attempts.

Condiff, 29, was qualified as a static-line jumpmaster, military free-fall jumper, combat scuba diver, air traffic controller and a joint terminal attack controller, according to the command.

Reeves did not provide details on the status of the investigations into their deaths, which officials previously said are being conducted "separately."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.

Read More: Trump Authorizes Activation of More Troops to Fight Drug Trafficking
On Saturday at 8:20pm Armenia time, the official YouTube channel of the TOVMASYAN" Charity Foundation will broadcast a large-scale pan-Armenian interactive online concert, the entire proceeds of which will go to the treatment of coronavirus in Armenia, and the purchase of respective necessary equipment and medicines.

At Friday's press conference, Artak Tovmasyan, President of the TOVMASYAN" Charity Foundation, provided details on the respective commission that has been set up and the goals of the charity.

"I believe this concert is unprecedented," he said. All proceeds will be used to acquire equipment for the fight against COVID-19 in Armenia. An independent public commission has been set up for this purpose. The money collected, all the accounts shall be monitored by our team, and the relevant representatives of our team will decide what medicine will be bought.

Artak Tovmasyan informed that the number of performers who want to join this charity initiative is increasing day by day.

"The concert will be broadcast from Dvin Concert Hall [in Yerevan] where the social distance will be maintained, which prompts all our listeners that this distance must be kept when out," Tovmasyan added. "Our artists from the other countries will join from the pavilion, or from home, which is also a message to stay at home. Regardless of the amount of donation, the names of all the benefactors will be posted on our fund's website and during the YouTube broadcast. The amount of the money is not important, the important thing is their participation in our concert.
Ramy Youssefs brilliant Hulu series Ramy won critical acclaim when it debuted last spring. The actor and comedian from Rutherford went on to win a Golden Globe for his performance in the show.

As the latest episode of SNL at Home reminded us, Youssef bested talents like Paul Rudd to take home the award for best actor in a comedy series.

Now, Youssef is back with the second season of Ramy, which boasts a guest run from Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. Hulu released a trailer for the new episodes Thursday which also features a cameo from former porn star Mia Khalifa.

Youssef, 29, who created the series and serves as a writer and executive producer, plays Ramy Hassan, the son of Egyptian and Palestinian immigrants. In the first season, he explored his Muslim faith, which he continues to do in future episodes.

In the trailer, Ramys sister Dena (May Calamawy) calls Alis character, a sheikh, hot. (Hot priest," a la Fleabag, is so pre-pandemic.) Ramy, who is looking for direction, consults with the sheikh.

I want you to be my teacher," he says. I want to kill my ego.

Last year, Youssef, who is Egyptian American, told NJ Advance Media he wanted to show Arab American Muslims living their lives in a way that was not previously visible on screen.

Caution: clip contains profanity

Part of my desire to make this show was a lack of seeing anything that felt like it, Youssef said. I think that a lot of the stories I would see was kids who are first-generation immigrants, watching them try to rip themselves from their family and their faith and kind of erase. I hadnt really seen anything where someones trying to reconcile the two.

Steve Way, Youssefs real-life friend from Rutherford, co-stars in the series. As part of a deal with A24, which produces Ramy, Youssef is working on an Apple TV Plus series that will star Way. In December, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he wanted to show the perspective and the experience of a disabled person and their family in a real way. Way, a comedian, has muscular dystrophy.

Hiam Abbass and Amr Waked play Ramys parents in Ramy." Mohammed Amer plays Ramys friend Mo and Dave Merheje plays his friend Ahmed. All return for the new episodes alongside Laith Nakli, who plays Uncle Naseem.

The 10-episode second season of Ramy will be available on Hulu May 29.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said that it was a good day for the state as no fresh positive case was reported.

May Day being a public holiday, Vijayan made the announcement through his Facebook account.

"So far 392 people have been cured of the coronavirus and 102 people are currently being treated," he posted, adding: "A total of 21,067 people are under observation at their homes while 432 others have been kept under observation at different hospitals across the state." Currently there are 80 hotspots in the state.

In a related development, ahead of the national lockdown 2.0's end on May 3 and its extension to May 17, there was a fresh classification done by the Centre, which said post May 3, Kerala will have two districts each in green and red zones, while 10 are in the orange zone.

Ernakulam and Wayanad come in the green zone, Kannur and Kottayam are in the red zone, while the remaining 10 districts, including the state capital -- Thiruvananthapuram -- come under the orange zone.

In a letter to all the Chief Secretaries, Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary Preeti Sudan said that a district will be considered under green zone if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district.

"I would like to highlight that this is a dynamic list. The list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to states for further follow-up action in consonance with the directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Disaster Management Act, 2005," she wrote.

Sudan pointed out that it was critical to ensure that necessary action for containment is taken so as to break the chain of transmission of virus is initiated in both red and orange zone districts reporting confirmed cases.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga yesterday said COVID-19 and lockdowns being implemented by most countries across the globe should be used as a wake-up call for governments to focus on home-grown solutions to build their economies.

He said it was inevitable most economies won't be the same in the post-COVID-19 era and that the time to plan forward was now.

VP Chiwenga made the remarks while launching the 360-hectares Command Winter Wheat project at Zhovhe Farm in Beitbridge West.

He said the Government, through the assistance of its partners, had set a budget of $3,2 billion to capacitate farmers to plant a targeted 80 000ha of wheat, with a targeted yield of 416 000 tonnes, to cut the import bill.

VP Chiwenga said it was not sustainable for the Government to continue importing wheat and grain when production could be maximised with effective use of the land and plenty of water bodies that enhance irrigation-based farming.

"This pandemic and the lockdowns throughout the world should be a wake-up call to all in developing countries to depend more on ourselves," said VP Chiwenga.

"Just as our clarion call during the struggle to free ourselves from political bondage was that we are our own liberators, so it is with our economic survival in this area where the proponents of globalisation have been proved wrong.

"I, therefore, urge the private sector once again to embrace the national quest for self-sufficiency by providing a market for small grains to encourage their increased production.

"To this end, they may engage more in contract farming and I wish to commend the Nare Family (TopPick Investments) for processing sorghum into mealie-meal, thereby making it more accessible and affordable to local communities".

VP Chiwenga said the Government had introduced the traditional grains and the winter wheat programmes to enhance its capacity to deal with food and nutrition security nationally.

He encouraged more communal and commercial farmers to register for the two programmes as a way of contributing to the agriculture development initiative.

"The Presidential Inputs Scheme distributed 15 000 tonnes of planting material from the Grain Marketing Board stocks in addition to 2 000 tonnes of certified seed," said VP Chiwenga.

"I also want to implore on seed houses to produce more certified seed to cover the current deficit on the local market. We also welcome development partners who have embraced our programmes."

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VP Chiwenga said in the last few years, wheat yields had been low, resulting in heavy dependence by the country on imports.

This scenario, VP Chiwenga said, had seen the diversion of the much-needed foreign currency to imports at the expense of other programmes.

He said Government was calling upon those with irrigation infrastructure, water, and free land to take up the winter wheat initiative.

"Registration and contracting for the winter wheat programme is in progress in all provinces and I want to urge the CBZ, which is one of our major implementing partners, to quickly deliver inputs to all the farmers so that we achieve our set target," he said.

"Power supply is one of the major ingredients to a successful farming season and it is pleasing to note that ZESA has promised us uninterrupted supplies throughout the farming season."

VP Chiwenga said resources were being mobilised to create a greenbelt between Zhovhe Dam and Beitbridge town (63km), where 10 000 hectares were being opened up for irrigation farming.

Under this model, the Vice President said commercial farmers and the private sector will farm on 7 000 hectares with communal farmers taking up 3 000 hectares.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 07:41:06|Editor: huaxia

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U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort departs from Manhattan of New York, the United States, April 30, 2020. U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort left New York City on Thursday. It arrived in NYC on March 30 to help ease pressure on city hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jie Fischer/Xinhua)
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced that schools, colleges and universities will remain closed through the end of the academic calendar year.

He said the challenge of making schools "safe" for students, teachers and employees would have been too difficult to have them reopen this year.

School districts and colleges have scrambled to set up distance-learning programs and "that actually has worked out well, not perfectly," Cuomo said. "We had to do it in a rush  but it did work. It basically functioned well and teachers did a phenomenal job stepping up to do this."

In an earlier executive order, the governor had waived a requirement that schools have at least 180-days of in-school learning. New York has 700 public school districts with 4,800 schools and 2.59 million students. There are also 1,800 private schools with 4,000 students.

Cuomo also has said that regional reopenings of the state would require schools, businesses and transportation to be restarted in a coordinated basis, because otherwise people who work while their children are in school may not have childcare alternatives. In his remarks Friday, the governor implied that issue may be overcome if the academic school year is scheduled to end in "a few weeks."

But many schools operate through the third week of June.

"Its one thing to say you can figure out how to socially distance in construction  to say were going to figure out that plan and put it in place in the next few weeks is virtually impossible," he said, noting that classroom sizes would need to be reduced and serving children lunches in cafeterias, while adhering to social distancing guidelines, would be impossible to organize in a short timeframe.

It's unclear whether Cuomo's administration consulted with school district leaders on his decision.

"You're at the end of the school year anyway here in a few weeks," Cuomo said. "The big question is going to be (in) September, are you ready to reopen the schools in September ... and if you dont then you can argue you're not going to be ready for a full business reopening."

Late Friday afternoon, Cuomo's office also announced that school elections - which normally take place in mid-May - will now be held by mail-in ballot June 6. Village elections were also rescheduled for Sept. 15 statewide.

There has also not been a decision yet on if summer school programs can open.

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"We must protect our children  our educators," Cuomo said. "With all those new protocols how you would operate a school? ... How does a school socially distance? ... For summer school, you would need to see a drop ... or stabilization in the infection rate."

New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta said keeping schools closed is "the smart choice."

We have said all along that the health and safety of students and educators must be the primary concern during this crisis," he said. "We will work with Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa and state education and health officials on planning a safe and gradual re-opening. We also will continue advocating that summer school programming should be voluntary, with decisions on what is right for students made at the local level."

Many school districts across the Capital Region followed up the state closure news with their own statements, saying they will continue the distance learning, meal distribution and child care for essential workers that is already in place.

Albany City Schools Superintendent Kaweeda Adams said a committee will meet next week to study models from around the country on how to safely reopen schools in the fall.

"One thing we have been looking at is delivering continuity of instruction," Adams said. "We will continue those efforts through the end of the school year and also begin next week to break apart all of the details of what school will look like when we come back in the fall. Will it be smaller classrooms? How do we feed our students in terms of our cafeteria? It all has an impact; all of it is intertwined. We are going to have to look very strategically on how to schedule students when they come back to school."

Rebecca Carballo and Rachel Silberstein contributed
PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister and Chair of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Silveria Jacobs hereby updates the general public for today, Thursday, April 30, 2020, as part of the process to keep the community of St. Maarten informed about the latest developments and the Governments COVID-19 containment, mitigation and response measures.

COVID-19 Cases

Based on the latest available data, as updated by CPS Epidemiologist Eva Lista-de Weever, the counts for April 30, 2020 as of 4:00 PM are as follows:

Self-Quarantine: 145

Self-Isolation: 104

Number Hospitalized: 7 (-1)

Number Tested: 329

Number Positive: 76

Male: 54

Female: 22

Number Negative: 251 (+20)

Number Pending: 1 (-1)

Inconclusive: 1

Deceased: 13 +1

Recovered: 44

Active Cases: 19

This week, CPS launched an educational video on proper mask usage featuring Hygiene and Infection Control Practitioner Glenda Severin. CPS continues to carryout community testing and handing out educational material concerning health aspects in order to provide proper care for persons who are found to be COVID-19 positive. Persons are asked to get tested if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms in order to mitigate further spread of this deadly virus, stated Prime Minister Jacobs.

Today, April 30, 2020, the St. Maarten Medical Centre Outbreak Management Team (OMT) has updated that there are currently seven COVID-19 suspected or confirmed patients admitted to SMMC. Five confirmed patients are in the Mobile Medical Pavilion (MMP), one patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) tent and one patient at SMMC. Of the five patients in the MMP, two are dialysis patients whose conditions have improved and will be discharged soon. The patient at SMMC will also be discharged soon. Additionally, organizations continue to show their support to our medical centre as SMMC have recently been the recipient of surgical masks donated by the Tzu Chi Foundation and Motorworld Group of Companies.

SMMCs Outbreak Management Team also reported that since going into a State of Emergency on April 4th, the number of positive cases has seen a slow yet steady increase as opposed to a steep curve. With increased testing in the community as of late, we are seeing that the infection rate is going down and has dropped below 25% as per April 27th, which may indicate the success of the State of Emergency. This flattening of the curve is the reason to continue adhering to social distancing guidelines and to stop moving while we allow COVID-19 positive persons to recover, preventing a large number of persons within the community from becoming infected when the State of Emergency is lifted.

Today, Prime Minister Jacobs held a strategic ESF meeting with the coordinators of ESFs 5,6,7,9 and 10, along with the Minister of VSA, Minister of TEATT, Minister of Justice and the Deputy Prime Minister to further deliberate on COVID-19 developments and prepare for the EOC meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, May 1, 2020. A press conference is scheduled to be held after the EOC meeting by Prime Minister Jacobs with the same ESF coordinators to update the general public on the decisions taken in the EOC.

Prime Minister Jacobs held a meeting with the Prefet of St. Barths and Saint Martin Sylvie Feucher together with her support staff yesterday, April 29, 2020. During the meeting both parties were able to share updates concerning COVID-19 developments on their respective sides of the island. Prefet Feucher shared that French St. Martin would be starting community testing as of Monday, May 4, 2020, similar to that of CPS community outreach testing campaign currently being carried out on Dutch St. Maarten. Additionally, discussed, were solutions to the challenges being faced with the waivers to cross the borders.

Persons who live in Saint Martin and work in St. Maarten, need to go to the bank on St. Maarten, or have urgent medical appointments, are required to fill in the Travel Waiver (Form Certificate of Exception) which must be signed by the employer and the Prime Minister (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or the Chief of Police (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). This also counts for delivery services.



Persons who live in St. Maarten and work in Saint Martin or have urgent medical appointments should get the necessary waiver signed by their employer and the Prefet of St. Barths and Saint Martin via the online form (https://forms.gle/QugqNVS1nWrCnY9U9) or digital copies can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The people of St. Maarten know that things are difficult. However, I am proud to say that I have seen this nation pull together as one, once again. More and more businesses are getting involved and joining all front-liners in the fight against COVID-19. Your involvement is giving hope to the many persons out there who are struggling at this time. I commend you and I encourage other businesses in the community to follow suit. The name The Friendly Island has not been given to this nation as a mistake, it stands for togetherness. I am proud of this nation. May God continue to bless St. Maarten and her people, concluded Prime Minister Jacobs.
JUNEAU, Alaska - Nearly 70% of this summers Alaska cruise ship voyages have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of expected passengers staying away from the staple of the state's tourism industry.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JUNEAU, Alaska - Nearly 70% of this summers Alaska cruise ship voyages have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of expected passengers staying away from the staple of the state's tourism industry.

Alaska cruise industry representatives delivered the disheartening update to the states Board of Marine Pilots, CoastAlaska reported Wednesday.

Mike Tibbles of Cruise Lines International Association Alaska told board members that 408 voyages have been cancelled so far.

Its a little over 800,000 passengers that will not be coming up at this point, Tibbles said Wednesday.

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Alaska was projected to have a record 1.44 million cruise ship passengers this year. But a federal no sail order for cruise ships is expected to run through at least late July as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.

The cruise ship industry predicted travellers would spend nearly $800 million in Alaska, making the cancellations a major blow to the states economy, especially in coastal communities.

Canada closed its ports to cruise ships until July 1, while Seattles port will remain closed for the duration of Washington states emergency restrictions.

The industry is working on filing updated health and safety plans with federal authorities in anticipation of the resumption of cruises, Tibbles said.

I think everybody realizes that were going to have to do better, Tibbles said. And were going to have to do business differently than what was done before.
The number of staff nurses and midwives owed money from last years pay deal could be in the tens of thousands, according to nurses leaders.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said this is based on a survey of their own members across the country.

The number comes after the Irish Examiner revealed yesterday that thousands of the 30,000 nurses eligible for more pay have yet to be paid it.

And, as the paper reported, most of the 5,000 or so nurses eligible for a 2,230-a-year location allowance have also yet to receive it.

Fianna Fail have called on Health Minister Simon Harris to explain why the money hasnt been paid and to make sure it is.

An INMO spokesperson said: Tens of thousands of frontline nurses and midwives are being short changed and underpaid.

Staff nurses and midwives secured higher salaries and extra allowances following their strike in February 2019, yet many workplaces have still not paid them the agreed monies.

The INMO estimates that approximately a quarter of the major hospitals have paid in full, with the majority still delaying.

At least 9,000 of the full time staff nurses and midwives owed money are employed across the HSEs network of hospitals, some of whom are the biggest in the country.

Of these, 2,348 are nurses employed at Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Kerry, University Hospital Waterford and South Tipperary Hospital.

It is understood that Bantry and Mallow general hospitals have paid or started paying the money owed to nurses.

And it is also understood all the money owed to nurses at the Mercy Hospital has been paid.

A S/SWHG spokesperson said: Nurses or midwives may apply for allowances and same are paid once eligibility is confirmed.

Where staff have applied and have met the criteria, allowances are paid.

They also said any nurse wanting enhanced pay has to make an individual application and meet the established criteria.

And they added: Hospitals with a larger volume of staff require a longer period of time to process and validate all requests.

This can take longer than desired but is necessary to ensure accurate and accountable systems are maintained.

Other hospitals yet to pay all their full time nurses and midwives their new enhanced pay deal include University Hospital Limerick, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, University Hospital Galway and Mayo General Hospital.

A spokesperson for Saolta, which runs the Galway and Mayo hospitals, said: We are working to progress these payments.

At least 890 nurses working full time for the UL Hospital Group-run University Hospital Limerick and Nenagh Hospital are owed more than 1.6 million.

A HSE spokesperson said: As of end March 2020, 3,405 Acute Hospital staff had taken up the enhanced nurse/midwife contract with an additional currently 5,334 in progress.

It is anticipated the rate of implementation will increase significantly.
Not proper to conclude that coronavirus result of biological warfare: CDS

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, May 01: Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat on Friday said it was not proper to conclude that the coronavirus is the result of a biological warfare and there was a need to wait for finding the answer about its origin. He made the comments while replying to a question on the issue at a press conference in presence of the three service chiefs.

"It is not proper to conclude that the novel coronavirus outbreak is the result of a biological warfare. The whole world is trying to find out the answer," the Chief of Defence Staff said.

US President Donald Trump had earlier said that the deadly virus originated from a virology lab in China's Wuhan city before it spread across the world and claimed over 2,33,000 lives and shattered global economies.

But Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community, which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

Ever since the virus outbreak came to light in Wuhan in December, speculation has been rife on whether the viral strain originated from China's premier Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or from its nearby Huanan Seafood Market. The US has launched an investigation into whether the deadly virus "escaped" from the WIV.

China has strongly rejected the allegations. On whether India was looking for an investigation into the origin of coronavirus amid allegations of China's culpability over it, government sources said: "India is focusing on battling the pandemic at this point. We can always revisit this question once this pandemic is behind us."

In his media interaction, Gen Rawat exuded confidence that India will soon be able to come out with a vaccine against the virus. "We are very confident about capability of our scientists," he said.

Gen Rawat held the press conference to announce that the Indian armed forces will conduct fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and play military bands on Sunday to display gratitude to lakhs of people like doctors and paramedics engaged in the country's fight against the pandemic.
Although nurses and healthcare workers are on the frontlines of the fight against the coronavirus, Alyssa Ramsey and Jennifer Franklin are not worried about starting their careers in the midst of a pandemic. In fact, they say they are prepared and ready to help.

Ramsey first sought a degree in business, but after quickly realizing that was not the right path, discovered that her passion for science and her desire to help others led to nursing.

The single mother from Humble is set to graduate from Lone Star College-Kingwood in August.

Ramsey, who works in Cypress as a rehabilitation technician, or nursing assistant, said she feels well prepared to deal with the coronavirus as a nurse. Her job already includes helping patients with everyday activities and tasks that they cannot do for themselves.

Its really made things school-wise and clinical-wise a little crazy because were having to be completely all online when our job is so hands-on and in the field, Ramsey said. So its made it a little bit tough, but at the same time its kind of nice because those of us that do have healthcare jobs outside of school can be there for our companies and be there for our hospitals that need us right now.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT: Lone Star loans ventilators, personal protective equipment to local hospitals

The LSC-Kingwood nursing program teaches vocational nursing, allowing participants to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse or pursue an associate degree in nursing. The vocational program features one year of courses and has about 15-20 students, while the ADN program enrolls or accepts about 80 students every spring and accept another 60-80 transition students who already have an LVN or are a paramedic and are transitioning to the registered nurse role every fall.

Lone Star College-Kingwood Professor of Nursing Marcia Callarman said the coronavirus was probably in the hospitals as early as December, but the nursing program students were there until early March.

Now, as the school has shifted to remote learning and requirements for clinical hours have changed, Calarman said professors are doing their best to teach a hands-on job through discussion and teaching critical thinking.

Weve been doing activities to help them think about things. I mean, really nursing is about critical thinking, and while were missing that patient interaction right now, through our lectures and our meetings that we have with our students, we try to illustrate what its like to take care of a patient with whatever disease process that were studying, Callarman said.

The change in class environment has given Franklin more study time. Instructors are uploading videos, doing power points and are available to their students at any time.

You still miss just that camaraderie I guess, but I am grateful and feel blessed that I am a part of this program, Franklin said.

An evolving workplace

Franklin started off in the cashiers office at Hunstville Memorial Hospital years ago, and after meeting some of the ICU nurses they encouraged her to pick up some weekend shifts.

That experience led the certified nursing assistant to pursue her nursing degree from LSC-Kingwood, which was recommended because she was working full time and the college system is one of the only programs to offer evening options for working students.

She has worked as an LVN in a hospital for two years, but Franklin made the decision to not continue working through the end of her degree. Although she feels a little guilty for not helping fight the coronavirus, she said she would be able to better assist them by completing her degree in August when she hopes to work in a hospital ICU.

I talked to my friends that are currently in the workforce now, it is very real, Franklin said. Its affected them in emotional and mental ways, but you know they sign on to do what we sign on to do as nurses, and thats [to] take care of people and try to save their lives, even if that means risking our own. Its just a different breed of people, you know.

ESSENTIAL WORKERS: How to say thank you to essential workers such as cashiers, nurses, mail carriers, bus drivers and janitors

Callarman said she does not know what the workplace will look like in August when her students graduate, let alone what it will look like tomorrow. She said the program is working to prepare students for the fast-changing landscape.

I believe Houston is lucky when we compare ourselves to other major cities, Callarman said. All I know is that right now, were doing the best that we can with our students to help them get the skills they need to think, to be safe and to practice nursing safely for their patients.

Looking to the future

The summer session will start in the beginning of June. Callarman said they are ready to put into action whatever officials approve, but they cant plan for what is happening in June or August. Her only certainty  their testing schedule for the end of the semester.

Despite the uncertainty, she said they have not had a student question their career choice.

I mean, its really hard to say because the community is opening up. I mean, theyre opening, theyre restaging opening processes starting Friday, Callarman said. Thats either going to be really good or really bad.

FIRST RESPONDERS: From the front lines: Lake Houston area first responders implement new strategies to limit coronavirus exposure

savannah.mehrtens@chron.com
WASHINGTON  Attorney General William P. Barr defended the Justice Departments response to the pandemic on Friday in a rare online question-and-answer session that was marred by vitriolic criticism directed at him over the treatment of inmates in federal prisons ravaged by the coronavirus and other issues.

Mr. Barr was one of nearly two dozen law enforcement officials, including state attorneys general, who participated in a forum on Twitter to field questions about public safety and the coronavirus pandemic. But many people directed critiques and insults with the hashtag #AskAGBarr.

Some accused Mr. Barr of acting as President Trumps personal lawyer, and others called for his resignation. Some users were critical of how Mr. Barr handled the Russia investigation, accusing him of misrepresenting the conclusions in the report before the public had a chance to read them. Why are you covering up for the president who invited and welcomed election interference from a foreign power? one asked.

Others accused him of failing to do enough to protect Mr. Trump and punish his perceived enemies, including Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who led the impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump.
PITTSBURGH, May 1, 2020 - Through serendipity, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health considerably reduced the toxicity of a potential antibiotic against the most feared drug-resistant bacteria, while also improving its stability in fighting infections.

The new antibiotic -- administered via the windpipe to target lung infections -- proved more effective than its experimental predecessor and traditional last-resort antibiotic therapies in fighting drug-resistant bacteria in laboratory cell cultures and mice. And it did so without notable toxic side-effects, according to findings published today in Science Advances.

"We were so surprised and happy," said lead author Y. Peter Di, Ph.D., M.B.A., associate professor in Pitt Public Health's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. "At first, we were skeptical and repeated the experiment -- but yes, it was 20 times less toxic toward red blood cells in our lab. And when we saw similar results in mice, we were really excited."

Antimicrobial resistance is listed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, with someone dying in the U.S. every 15 minutes from an antibiotic-resistant infection. It occurs when bacteria rapidly evolve resistance against antibiotics, making them "superbugs."

The experimental drug that Di's team developed is built from an engineered cationic antimicrobial peptide, or "eCAP," which is a synthetic and more efficient version of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides that form a first line of defense against infections in humans. Developed by co-authors Berthony Deslouches, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in Pitt Public Health's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and Ronald Montelaro, Ph.D., professor emeritus in Pitt's Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, eCAPs work by "punching into" bacteria, thereby destroying them.

The team was working with an eCAP called WLBU2, which was licensed by Pitt spin-off Peptilogics and is entering clinical trials for use in preventing infections associated with knee and hip replacements. They were looking for ways to make WLBU2 more stable so that it sticks around long enough to fight lingering infections in the lungs.

When the lungs naturally defend against foreign invaders, such as bacteria, they secrete mucus and proteins that also recognize and degrade WLBU2. To get around this problem, Di's team constructed a near-mirror image of WLBU2 -- which they call "D8" because that's how many pieces of the molecule flipped sides -- thinking it would be less likely to be recognized by the lung's defenses. It worked -- at four-fold lower concentration than WLBU2, D8 obliterated Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a superbug that plagues post-surgical patients, from blood in the lab.

This was not surprising, Di said. But when stability of a drug is increased, it often translates to higher toxicity because of longer exposure to the active form of the drug. So, the team exposed human red and white blood cells to concentrations of the D8 antibiotic nearly 25 times what would ever be used therapeutically to see if it would have negative effects on the cells. Surprisingly, they found that D8 was considerably less toxic than regular WLBU2, destroying less than 1% of red blood cells and less than 15% of white.

"It's one thing to see that in a petri dish," Di said, "but it's more important to demonstrate the increased safety in a living mammal."

So, the team moved the experiment to mice. While the WLBU2 at higher than 35 micrograms would kill some mice, there were no fatalities with D8 at four times that concentration, the highest dose administered in the experiment, which was more than 100 times the therapeutic dosage.

"This considerable improvement in lowering toxicity, coupled with the new drug's strong stability and activity against superbugs, is good evidence that this compound will be well-suited for clinical applications in treating respiratory infections," Di said, though he cautioned that they do not know why the new drug is less toxic or how well it is tolerated long-term. More experimentation is needed before it can be used to treat people.

The team is exploring its potential use for cystic fibrosis patients whose lives are greatly shortened by drug-resistant lung infections. They also are looking at using it for ventilator-associated pneumonias, which are emerging as serious secondary -- and potentially more deadly -- infections in COVID-19 patients.

###

Additional authors on this publication are Qiao Lin, M.D., M.P.H., and Chen Chen, M.S., of Pitt; and Yohei Doi, M.D., Ph.D., of both Pitt and Fujita Health University in Japan.

This research was funded by National Institutes of Health grants HL091938, HL125128, AI133351 and GM125917.

To read this release online or share it, visit https://www.upmc.com/media/news/050120-di-ecap [when embargo lifts].

About the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, founded in 1948 and now one of the top-ranked schools of public health in the United States, conducts research on public health and medical care that improves the lives of millions of people around the world. Pitt Public Health is a leader in devising new methods to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other important public health problems. For more information about Pitt Public Health, visit the school's Web site at http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu.

http://www.upmc.com/media

Contact: Allison Hydzik

Mobile: 412-559-2431

E-mail: HydzikAM@upmc.edu

Contact: Erin Hare

Mobile: 412-738-1097

E-mail: HareE@upmc.edu
This file photo taken on June 30, 2019 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walking to a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Panmunjom, Korea. A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted at a resort town in the country's east, satellite photos reviewed by a US-based think tank showed on April 26, 2020, as speculation persists over his health. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un remained out of public view for the 20th straight day Thursday amid persisting speculation about his health and who will take over the nuclear-armed communist nation after him.



Kim was last seen in state media on April 11 presiding over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party. State media have since carried reports about him handling state affairs, such as sending messages to foreign leaders, but no photo or video of him has been released.



Sparking speculation about Kim's health was his absence from a key ceremony commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of his late grandfather and national founder, Kim Il-sung. He has never skipped a visit to the mausoleum on the April 15 anniversary since taking office in late 2011.

The rumor mill was further fanned after CNN reported last week, citing a U.S. official, that Washington is looking into intelligence that Kim is in "grave danger" after a surgery. Other foreign media outlets have carried similar reports.



North Korean state media outlets, such as the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper and the official Korean Central News Agency, have put out routine stories, such as Kim sending diplomatic letters and conveying gifts to honored citizens.



They have also reported on the public activities and on-site inspection trips of top officials, including the country's No. 3 leader Pak Pong-ju and Premier Kim Jae-ryong, in an indication that things are business as usual.



South Korean officials have rejected speculations on problems with Kim's health, saying no unusual signs that something might be wrong with the North's leader have been detected, and he is believed to be staying in the east coast region of Wonsan.






NEW YORK, N.Y. -- As Congress was finishing up voting on the $2 trillion coronavirus aid package on March 14, Rep. Max Roses wife Leigh Rose was urgently trying to call the congressman from Staten Island to let him know their adopted son was about to be born in New England.

It was 1:30 a.m., and Mrs. Rose, unaware Congress was still finishing up voting on the CARES Act, initially thought Rep. Rose was sleeping, so she called his roommate Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who told her they were still on the House floor and would quickly try to find him.

Max called me and I said babe, its happening, Mrs. Rose said. And hes like what do we do? And I said, youve got to get up to New England and Im going to jump in the car and drive all night and Ill see you at the hospital.

Mrs. Rose said she packed up, got in her car and drove six hours straight to the New England area to try to make it for the birth of their son.

Their son Miles Benjamin Rose was born at 2 a.m.

As Mrs. Rose arrived to meet her son, after finishing up their vote on the CARES Act, Rep. Rose booked the first flight he could find out of Washington, D.C, to New England to meet his son.

To become a parent during any time is a startling experience, to become parents during the time of [coronavirus] where  your family cant really come over, and so youre just doing it together and youre uncertain, as we all are, about where the world is heading and youre feeling fear, it adds so many challenges to it, Rep. Rose said.

Of course, were all experiencing challenges right now, and nothing compared to the challenges that our frontline medical professionals and our essential workers are facing, but if anything could have brought us closer if bringing us closer was even possible, this has, and we would do anything for Miles and anything for our family.

The couple said they had always wanted to start a family, but after getting married, they discovered Mrs. Rose was infertile and was not a candidate to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

So together, they decided they would adopt a child.

Mrs. Rose said the process was not simple. They started the adoption process in February 2019, hired an attorney, filed paperwork, and then more paperwork, and waited for a birth mother to reach out to choose them as parents.

Nine months later in November 2019, they were matched with their childs birth mother, whose identity and hometown they did not disclose to protect her privacy.

We were authorized to begin the adoption process, we waited, and that was the uncertainty, we were waiting for a birth mother to find us, to want to give us her child and that happened in November of 2019, Mrs. Rose said. We were matched, she chose us, Mrs. Rose said.

After their son was born the couple spent four days together in New England where Rep. Rose continued to work remotely, even making arrangements to send the USNS Comfort Naval hospital ship to New York Harbor from the hospital to help New York City care for patients in its hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mrs. Rose said having a child in the middle of a pandemic presented a number of new challenges.

When you feed a baby formula, you need nursery water and I didnt know if I could get enough nursery water, I didnt know if I would have enough groceries, she said.

The couple drove back to Staten Island on March 18, and two weeks later, Rep. Rose deployed to the National Guard on April 1 to work at the Islands coronavirus hospital at the South Beach Psychiatric Center.

Rep. Rose said he and Mrs. Rose made the decision for him to deploy together so that he could help Staten Islanders during the coronavirus pandemic.

While he was deployed, Mrs. Rose and their son would drive down to Ft. Wadsworth where he was stationed so that he could see his family from 10 feet away.

After he finished up his deployment on April 15, Rep. Rose had to spend another two weeks away from Mrs. Rose and Miles in self-quarantine at their home on Staten Island while Mrs. Rose went to Brooklyn to stay with her family.

Rep. Rose said he will be reunited with his family for the first time in a month on Friday evening.

He said politics is on hold for now as he figures out fatherhood and how to help Staten Islanders and South Brooklynites during the coronavirus pandemic.

Politics right now doesnt matter, not as were facing this significant cataclysmic health crisis and economic crisis  but with that being said, I've also been very clear, very consistent that I want to do this for a long time and I love public service and we have some really significant and incredible problems to try to solve, he said.

Im not perfect and I dont know everything, and we dont know everything and theres going to be a lot to learn about how to balance this profession and raising a child just as so many families have to figure out how to make everything work.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
An extremely rare golden seal dating back to the 1600s that belonged to a Chinese emperor-to-be has been unveiled by archaeologists studying the remnants of a Ming dynasty battlefield.

Amazing images showed the discovery of the ancient power symbol, which weigh over 17 pounds and is 95 per cent pure gold, marks the first time researchers have found an item of gold treasure belonging to the prince and heir apparent of a Chinese imperial throne.

Lead archaeologist Liu Zhiyan, director of archaeometry at the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, called it 'among the most significant finds in recent years' and 'the only one of its kind in the world'.

Amazing images show a centuries-old royal family golden seal weighing over 17 pounds unearthed by Chinese archaeologists studying the remnants of a Ming dynasty battlefield

With the latest discovery, 500 million yuan (56.3 million) has been invested in the construction of a Jiangkou Chenyin museum, which will begin at the end of 2020. Pictured, Jiangkou Chenyin Historic Site on the banks of the Min River

The discovery of the ancient power symbol, which is 95 percent pure gold, marks the first time researchers have found an item of gold treasure belonging to the prince and heir apparent of a Chinese imperial throne

The intricately carved stamp, which measures 10 by 10 centimetres (4 by 4 inches) and has a pure-gold handle in the shape of a tortoise, bears the words 'Shu Shi Zi Bao', meaning 'Treasure of the Shu Prince'.

It is believed that the treasure was deliberately shattered when the monarchy was overthrown during a violent and bloody peasant uprising more than 370 years ago.

The golden seal, along with around 10,000 other artefacts, were unveiled on Tuesday as Mr Liu's team concluded months of excavations at the Jiangkou Chenyin Historic Site beginning on 10th January this year.

It was the third phase of a larger archaeological project which started in the spring of 2017 on the banks of the river Min in the Sichuan town of Jiangkou.

At the start of the low season in November 2019, teams of workers began surrounding the 5,000-square-metre (54,000-square-foot) dig site with an embankment before water was drained away to reveal the riverbed.

Among the finds, more than 2,000 of which were of 'significant value', were gold, silver and bronze coins, ingots, cutlery, adornments and jewellery.

But the golden seal, which was found shattered in four pieces, remains the most noteworthy.

Among the finds, more than 2,000 of which were of 'significant value', were gold, silver and bronze coins, ingots, cutlery, adornments and jewellery. A gold ingot unearthed at the Jiangkou Chenyin dig site in Sichuan of south-western China

It is thought to have been in the possession of Zhang Xianzhong - also romanised as Chang Hsien-chung - who led the peasant revolt which conquered modern-day Sichuan and its largest city of Chengdu in 1644 during the fall of the Ming dynasty

It is thought to have been in the possession of Zhang Xianzhong - also romanised as Chang Hsien-chung - who led the peasant revolt which conquered modern-day Sichuan and its largest city of Chengdu in 1644 during the fall of the Ming dynasty.

'The most plausible theory is that he had the seal split into four pieces to symbolise the end of the Ming dynasty,' Mr Liu noted.

Historical texts claim that when Zhang himself fled Chengdu in 1646 to escape the invading Manchus - founders of China's last empire Qing (1644 to 1912) - he was ambushed by Ming loyalist general Yang Zhan, losing around 1,000 ships as well as the treasures they contained to the depths of the Min River.

'The most plausible theory is that he had the seal split into four pieces to symbolise the end of the Ming dynasty,' Mr Liu noted. A gold coin unearthed at the Jiangkou Chenyin dig site in Sichuan province of south-western China

Zhang, who was known as the 'Yellow Tiger', was slain by the Manchus in January of the following year. A silver ingot unearthed at the Jiangkou Chenyin dig site

Zhang, who was known as the 'Yellow Tiger', was slain by the Manchus in January of the following year.

Mr Liu said: 'During phase three of the dig, we made two very important observations.

'The first is that the artefacts were found deep in the rock and riverbed, meaning they had been there for a long period of time.

'This tells us that this section of the river is very likely the battlefield where Zhang Xianzhong and Yang Zhan crossed swords.

The golden seal, along with around 10,000 other artefacts, were unveiled on Tuesday as Mr Liu's team concluded months of excavations at the Jiangkou Chenyin Historic Site beginning on 10th January this year

'Secondly, we can see from the grouping of the artefacts how Zhang had categorised and organised his treasures when he left Chengdu.

'During the first and second excavations, we found mostly weapons, utensils and adornments, but the third dig revealed treasures such as coins and other valuables.'

Mr Liu said further historical research would be done to determine precisely which Shu prince the seal had belonged to.

According to reports, Zhang's treasures began washing ashore in the town of Jiangkou between the 1950s and 1990s.

The first formal excavation began in April 2017, and the second in January 2018. More than 52,000 artefacts have been unearthed to date.

With the latest discovery, 500 million yuan (56.3 million) has been invested in the construction of a Jiangkou Chenyin museum, which will begin at the end of 2020.

The first formal excavation began in April 2017, and the second in January 2018. More than 52,000 artefacts have been unearthed to date. Pictured, archaeologists working at the dig site
The government of Edo state has accused Adams Oshimhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of holding a politi...





The government of Edo state has accused Adams Oshimhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of holding a political gathering in Benin, the state capital, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.





As a way of curbing the spread of the virus, health authorities had warned against mass gathering.





In a statement on Friday, Osarodion Ogie, secretary to Edo state government, said Oshiomhole was insensitive and his actions undermine the efforts of the government in fighting COVID-19.





Oshiomhole, a former governor of the state, has been at loggerheads over political differences with Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent governor.

The coronavirus pandemic has not only shut the global economy and disrupted the world as we know it, it has led to the loss of over 200,000 lives globally, with Nigeria having its fair share of casualties, the statement read.





It is then most despicable of Comrade Oshiomhole to show such insensitivity by spitting on the graves of these people; endangering the lives of millions of Edo people and undermining the efforts of government at the state and national levels to halt the deadly campaign of this invisible enemy.





Comrade Oshiomhole on Thursday, April 30, 2020, organised what some media outlets have come to term as APC factions mock primaries in Benin City. The meeting was organised by a group of dissidents who make up the EPM with the active backing of Comrade Oshiomhole, who, it was reported, drew up a delegates list for the exercise.





It must be noted that the gathering was held in a house of a member of the EPM, with the attendants numbering over subsisting directives on public gatherings as prescribed by the national and state governments.





For Comrade Oshiomhole to organise this sort of gathering at this dark moment of our history as a nation, he has not only shown disregard for the health and safety of Edo people and Nigerians in general, but also proved that he has no regard for the hard-won reputation of our great party.





The government said the organisers of the event were directly associated with Oshiomhole and had effectively brought the name and integrity of the party to disrepute.





With the alleged action, Edo government said it was also clear that the chairman of the ruling party had no regard for President Muhammadu Buhari and the collective efforts of the various agencies of government to protect and safeguard Nigerians in these dire times.





It is most instructive of the kind of person that Oshiomhole is that at this time that federal and state governments are seeking for security operatives to enforce directives on safety and other public health precautions, he is deploying policemen and soldiers to a location to hold a political gathering. These security operatives should have rather been at borders and other strategic points serving the people and doing right by the thousands of health workers who are in the frontlines serving as shields against this unraveling enemy, the statement further read.





The government urged the police and army to investigate the use of their men for this illegal assignment when there is a national emergency of the kind we are faced with.





The government also called on Buahri to call Oshimhole to do away with acts that show disregard for and divide the APC.





Simon Egbulem, spokesman of Oshiomhole, could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report.




WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus pandemic and he threatened new tariffs on Beijing, as his administration crafted retaliatory measures over the outbreak.

Trumps sharpened rhetoric against China reflected his growing frustration with Beijing over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the United States alone, sparked an economic contraction and threatened his chances of re-election in November.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a range of options against China were under discussion, but cautioned that efforts were in the early stages. Recommendations have not yet reached the level of Trumps top national security team or the president, one official told Reuters.

There is a discussion as to how hard to hit China and how to calibrate it properly, one of the sources said as Washington walks a tightrope in its ties with Beijing while it imports personal protection equipment (PPE) from there and is wary of harming a sensitive trade deal.

Trump made clear, however, that his concerns about Chinas role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing that long dominated his dealings with the worlds second-largest economy.

We signed a trade deal where theyre supposed to buy, and theyve been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus, Trump told reporters. The virus situation is just not acceptable.

The Washington Post, citing two people with knowledge of internal discussions, reported on Thursday that some officials had discussed the idea of canceling some of the massive U.S. debt held by China as a way to strike at Beijing for perceived shortfalls in its candidness on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trumps top economic adviser denied the report. The full faith and credit of U.S. debt obligations is sacrosanct. Period. Full stop, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Reuters.

Asked whether he would consider having the United States stop payment of its debt obligations as a way to punish Beijing, Trump said: Well, I can do it differently. I can do the same thing, but even for more money, just by putting on tariffs. So, I dont have to do that.
Last month, when Gov. Phil Murphy announced New Jerseys first round of closures due to the coronavirus, I found myself drinking pretty much everyday. Not because I wanted to drown out the current state of affairs with copious amounts of booze; it was just simply because there was not much else to do.

We were stuck inside and Im a pretty social person, who was now left to his own devices.

A typical weekday for me in mid-March meant working from home and attempting to unpack at my new apartment. (Yes, I moved in the middle of a pandemic). Id wake up, finish my work, walk to the liquor store, pretend to put away my clothes, drink, play Xbox online with friends and fall asleep.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Even before the threat of what is now a fully-realized pandemic, I found myself in a bit of a rut: I was a millennial in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, less than a year into a career change, searching aimlessly for his purpose in this world, while doing what was necessary to fuel the beast  clocking in, paying bills, trying to get out of debt and somehow still attempting to have some semblance of a social life. Not to mention, I was struggling with yo-yoing weight gain.

Sadly, alcohol had become my escape.

For some of us, this quarantine period has allowed us to slow down a little. And for me, that meant a quest of soul searching. Even though I have a job I love and Im living just a few miles away from one of the greatest cities on Earth, I still wasnt content.

What were some things I always wanted to accomplish, but felt I never had the time to do before? What could possibly have been holding me back?

For the longest time, Ive been trying to lose 30 pounds and maintain that weight loss. Ive wanted to devote more energy to my non-career passions like music, content creation, cooking and learning new skills. It wouldnt hurt to save some money as well.

But if all I did was drink all day, then chances are none of those things were getting done.

So at the beginning of April, I made a pact with myself: No drinking until the tri-states major lockdowns were lifted. It seemed a bit extreme, but I know myself and Im an all-or-nothing kind of guy, when it comes to these kinds of things.

I had no clue  and still have no clue  how long this will last. Im not even sure what I mean by major lockdowns being lifted (maybe when bars and restaurants are re-opened).

But here I am nearly a month in, and I am already reaping the benefits. Ive cooked every day this month, which is definitely a personal record. Ive lost 10 pounds so far from clean eating and working out consistently. Ive had time to take virtual classes for myriad skills, like guitar, fitness and even computer programming. Ive been less anxious, less moody and I never wake up groggy. Overall I feel amazing, and not in some cheesy euphoric infomercial kind of way.

I feel stronger physically, mentally and skill-wise.

Ultimately this has been about building a steady and healthy routine for post-quarantine life. The goal would be to only drink socially a couple times a month, when this is all said and done. After all, we are what we repeatedly do.

The health benefits are fitting during this season of uncertainty. COVID-19 is especially dangerous for folks with weaker immune systems and underlying health conditions. Early evidence suggests its disproportionally infecting and killing black people in the United States.

Even if U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams calls for people to stop drinking and doing drugs amid the pandemic singled out people of color, maybe it wasnt the worst advice for people in general. Other experts have also warned that social distancing can be a death sentence for people already in the throughs of addiction.

I wont say I was that far along. But if youre anything like me, maybe a detox is something you should consider doing as well.

This isnt meant to be condescending. And I know everyones situation is different  so many people are out of work or have had their pay docked (I can relate to the latter).

I just never felt like I drank too much, until I had so much time to think about it.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Tennyson Donnie Coleman may be reached at tcoleman@njadvancemedia.com.
Landmark lit up for #clapforcarers

Tilehurst Water Tower was lit up in blue between 7pm and 10pm last night (April 30) to celebrate the work of NHS staff and frontline care workers.

Thames Water teamed up with illumination expert APS UK to turn the tower blue, following successful teamwork in turning it red for Remembrance weekend in 2018 and 2019.

Tower manager Stuart Hamblin said: "As key workers ourselves, it's important to us to show our support for everyone working to keep the country running and us all safe and well during this very challenging time.

"We've had really positive feedback on the two previous occasions the tower has been lit so we hope the photos, which will no doubt be shared on social media, will help keep spirits up and show our fellow key workers how much theyre appreciated.

"We couldnt do it without our friends at APS so a huge thank you to Richard Alexander and the team for providing the lights free of charge."

Organisers plan to light up the water tower every Thursday night from now.

However, Mr Hamblin advises strongly against visiting Tilehurst just to view the show, warning that this may force Thames Water to reconsider.

He said: "We hope to make the lighting of the tower a weekly occurrence during lockdown but ask that people don't visit the site to take photos and instead follow advice to stay at home.

"We've got lots of photos on our own social media feeds which everyone can see and share so there's really no need for anybody to go out and take their own."

Thames Water tweeted a video of the 'blue tower' and said: "This evening we have turned our #TilehurstTower blue in support of the incredible work our #NHS staff and other key workers are doing."
Southern Universities Plan to Reopen Campuses in the Fall

Higher education institutes across the nation have begun outlining possible roadmaps under which they would reopen campuses for the upcoming fall semester, including three major public university systems in the South: the Universities of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.

The University of Alabama (UA) system is planning to welcome its 38,000 students back in the fall, likely with social gathering restrictions, said chancellor Finis E. St. John IV said in an interview with The Birmingham News.

We are expecting to have a fall semester at all of our universities, St. John told the local news outlet. We are expecting it to be on the regular schedule. We understand that things could happen that make it impossible, but thats what we are planning for at this time.

The UA has formed a system-wide task force to consider possible adjustments to testing measures, cleaning, classroom procedures, housing policies, security, and many others. St. John said there might be smaller classes where students could alternate between in-person and online instructions.

University of Georgia (UGA) President Jere Morehead said in a campus-wide letter that the school is anticipating a resumption of in-person instruction for the fall semester. This situation remains a fluid one, he said, as the University System of Georgia is still monitoring developments related to CCP virus pandemic and receiving guidance from state health officials.

All of us want to get back to an open and vibrant campus and resume normal operations, but that path will not be easy. There are many questions to be answered, said Morehead. UGA resumed online instruction on March 30 and rescheduled the graduation ceremony for Class 2020 to October. There are 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 37,000-person UGA community by the end of April.

Bill Roper, interim president of the University of North Carolina (UNC) system, said school administrators are optimistically seeing indications of improvement and looking forward to welcoming about 239,000 students back to their classrooms this fall. However, there remain underlying health concerns.

Each and every step the UNC System takes will continue to prioritize health and safety, Roper said in a statement. Until a vaccine is developed, many members of our community may not be able to risk teaching or attending in-person classes.

He said school administrators are considering strategies including staggered or shortened academic calendars, while other schools might cut down student headcounts in classrooms and campus housing. The UNC might also utilize improved technology to track student exposure to the virus.

I anticipate that operations at each institution will not be the normal we were all used to prior to COVID-19. But, working together, we will all eventually see our 17 campuses once again operating at full capacity, he said.
Northern Irish comedy actor BJ Hogg has died at 65. He made appearances in popular television shows Game of Thrones and The Fall. The cause of his death is not known.

As per a BBC report, his agent Geoff Stanton said He was such a great man, a big personality and a terrific actor. His family must be devastated and my heart goes out to them, he said. He was just one of the nicest people I know, or knew - he is going to be such a loss, he added.

Also read: Rishi Kapoors son-in-law Bharat Sahni writes heartfelt post: Simply broken today, will never forget the love you gave me

Hogg was most popular for playing Big Mervyn in the BBC Northern Ireland series Give My Head Peace for 20 years. The shows team paid tribute to the actor upon his death with a statement. BJ is part of the Give My Head Peace family. He was a fine actor, great colleague and a true friend. Our thoughts are with his wife Elish, son Nathan and daughter Abigail at this time, it read.

On Game of Thrones, Hogg played a bannerman of House Lannister, Addam Marbrand in the first season. He was also seen on the first and third seasons of The Fall. He was a part of Oscar-nominated short film, 1996s Dance Lexie Dance.

Tim McGarry, of Hole in the Wall Gang tweeted about his death. Everybody associated with #GiveMyHeadPeace is shocked and heartbroken by the sudden passing of our dear friend and colleague BJ Hogg. Weve lost a member of the family. Thanks for all the laughs BJ, he tweeted.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
A man who was reported in the Delaware River at 7:55 a.m. Friday near Delaware Canal State Park in Easton was rescued less than 20 minutes later by city firefighters in a boat south of the sewer plant off Cedarville Road.

Firefighters launched two boats -- one from Scott Park in Easton and the other from the boat launch in Phillipsburg, Deputy Chief Henry Hennings said. Pennsylvania Water Rescue responded as well, but didnt have to put in, Hennings said.

A man was rescued the morning of May 1, 2020, from the Delaware River south of Easton's sewer plant and brought to a waiting ambulance at Scott Park in the Downtown. The water was rushing at the Forks with the Lehigh Rver.Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com

The man was about 60 feet off shore a mile or so south of the state park entrance off South Delaware Drive and struggling to keep his head above water when a firefighter threw him a life ring from the boat and the man was pulled to safety, Hennings said.

The river was running strong at the forks with the Lehigh River in the Downtown following Thursdays rain. It was about 8 feet deep at the toll bridge gauge, about four feet higher than normal but 14 feet below flood stage, Hennings said.

A man was rescued the morning of May 1, 2020, from the Delaware River south of Easton's sewer plant and brought to a waiting ambulance at Scott Park in the Downtown.Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com

It was unclear why the man was in the water, Hennings said. Age and hometown were not immediately available. The man most likely had hypothermia due to the cold water, Hennings said.

Initial reports said he was screaming when first seen and he was able to talk to firefighters in the boat before he was rescued.

A man was rescued the morning of May 1, 2020, from the Delaware River south of Easton's sewer plant and brought to a waiting ambulance at Scott Park in the Downtown. Two boats were sent and this is the second one returning.Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com

Twelve firefighters, five police officers and at least two ambulance crews from the Easton Emergency Squad participated in the rescue, Hennings said.

It was a successful operation, Hennings said. A good way to start the day.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a voluntary subscription.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
John Freeman is retiring from the Wyoming Legislature.

Freeman, a Democrat representing Green River in House District 60, announced he will not seek re-election to the position he's held since 2011. Currently, a race has developed on the Republican side of the ticket between Mark Baker and Ted Barney and with Freeman opting not to run, leaves the Democrat side of the ticket empty as of press time. Filing for public office is scheduled to take place from May 14-29.

House District 60 encompasses approximately two-thirds of Green River.

"It has been an honor to serve in the Wyoming House of Representatives. I'm thankful that I was able to serve in the restored capitol building and meet in the territorial chamber where women were granted the right to vote 150 years ago," Freeman said in a press release.

During his time in the Legislature, Freeman served on several committees for long periods of time. He served on the House Education Committee for 10 years, the Management Council and the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee for eight years, and the Select Natural Resource Funding Committee for six years. He also served on committees related to education and industry, including Select Committee on the Wyoming Value Added Energy and Industrial Plan, the Governor's School Safety Task Force and the Complete College Wyoming Committee. He was also elected to serve as the Minority Caucus Chairman for four years.

Freeman is a longtime educator who currently works at Western Wyoming Community College as a high school transition coordinator.

At Western, he also works as an advisor to the student's Veterans Club and the college's Association of Non Traditional Students. He was a previous high school teacher having taught government and U.S. history in Sweetwater County School District No. 1 at both Rock Springs High School and the Alternative High School. His work in education also helped him represent schools at the Capitol.

"I was there to help the districts, the communities and Sweetwater County's residents," he said.

Freeman worked to reduce unneeded testing on students and helped advocate for the Rock Springs satellite high school and was involved in helping build the new Farson-Eden school and Black Butte High School as a member of the School Facilities Committee. Freeman also helped draft guidelines to fairly evaluate alternative high schools in Wyoming and was an advocate career and technical education, which led to him being appointed to several state committees. Freeman helped change how community college budgets were developed in order to help the colleges create a predictable revenue stream that allowed them to plan for the future.

Freeman was also the original House floor manager to create Wyoming's newest state park -- Quebec 1, a former guided missile command center.

Freeman has lived in Sweetwater County since 1971 and has been active since 1979. He was awarded the Outstanding Citizen award in 1994 for his work developing the Green River's Greenbelt. He was named Green River's Distinguished Citizen in 2017. He has served as the first chairman of the Green River Greenbelt Task Force, is a former Western Wyoming Community College trustee and is a past-president of the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees.

During a short interview with the Star, Freeman said he plans to take more time for himself, though he continues to look for opportunities to continue serving the community.

"But, I'm not in a hurry," Freeman said.
The health benefits of face masks may only be modest Robert Jenrick said. (Picture: PA)

Face masks may have a weak but positive effect in reducing the spread of coronavirus, Downing Street has concluded, as ministers continue to consider what advice to issue.

Boris Johnson suggested that coverings will play a part in his May 7 announcement on how the lockdown measures may be eased.

The Prime Ministers spokesman said: "Ministers are still considering how we move forward with face coverings in terms of the precise advice which we give to the public and once that's ready we will announce it.

"The advice we have received based on the science shows a weak but positive effect in reducing transmission of coronavirus from asymptomatic members of the public where social distancing isn't possible.

People wearing protective face masks wait in line for a supermarket in Brixton, South London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"What ministers need to consider is how best to produce advice for the public on the next steps and that work is still ongoing."

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

6 charts and maps that explain how coronavirus is spreading

The comments come after a minister suggested face coverings only bring modest health benefits and dont necessarily make a huge difference, a government minister has said.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said wearing face masks is a personal choice and while they bring modest benefits, they could help boost public confidence.

His comments come after Boris Johnson suggested measures to ease the current coronavirus lockdown, which are yet to be announced, could include wearing masks.

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Jenrick said: The advice in the past has been that face masks have only quite a modest difference from a health perspective.

He said: They do help us to protect others, and it might be particularly useful if youre asymptomatic  so you dont know if youve got symptoms but you could still be spreading the virus.

The benefits are modest but they might be a way of giving people confidence because many people are understandably very anxious about going out, about returning to the workplace in a safe way.

Story continues

Jenrick continued: Its a personal choice, if you have a face mask, its your choice whether you want to use them, and if you walk around some of our towns and cities today you are seeing more people using them than ever before.

The advice today is that the difference made by a face covering is quite modest  it doesnt make a huge difference but it does make some. So its your choice.

The Housing Secretarys comments echo those of Sir Patrick Vallance, the governments chief scientific adviser, who said evidence showing that masks prevent transmission of COVID-19 is quite weak.

Concerns have also been raised that continued use of masks by the public could deprive NHS and other key workers from the protective equipment they need.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove also suggested there could be a risk that people would act in a cavalier way if told to wear masks.

He told MPs: The scientific evidence so far says face coverings can have an effect in preventing an individual from spreading the disease to others if they have it and are asymptomatic.

But there is also a worry that some people may think that wearing a mask protects themselves, as distinct to protecting others, and therefore they may behave in a manner that is slightly more cavalier.

Coronavirus: what happened today
Tuki the tortoise turns 100

Turkeys oldest tortoise

celebrated his centenary

with a cake made of vegetables

and an animal-packed party

Location: Kocaeli

Tuki is an Aldabra tortoise

one of the largest tortoise species in the world

They originate from the Seychelles

and can reach 200 years of age

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF FARUK YALCIN ZOO, CAN BODUR, SAYING:"Their status is vulnerable. They are endangered species. So, the reason for that is basically habitat loss. So, bottom line is again human factor. So we really need to change our behaviour as consumers, as human beings. We have to decide that we are not the masters of this wild life, we are only a part of this ecosystem. We have to work with this ecosystem, live along with this ecosystem, not try to run it, not try to manage it."
I am writing this letter to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Understandably, this pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives and has limited our ability to engage in collective action on the streets. Instead we have to focus our attention on social distancing and flattening the curve.

Unfortunately, the challenges facing the environment are still as prevalent as before. Polluters are being given greater latitude to pollute. Economic challenges threaten the funding for important environmental resources. And the climate change crisis hangs overhead constantly.

That is why now more than ever it was worthwhile to remember the first Earth Day. On April 22nd, 1970, an estimated 22 million Americans of diverse backgrounds came together for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform. Then Pennsylvanias Environmental Rights Amendment was passed in 1971, guaranteeing our constitutional rights to clean air and pure water.

On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we need to have a renewed era of environmental reform as we move forward. We need to clean up our waterways, stop subsidizing fossil fuels that endanger our health and climate, and, ultimately -- we need to start recognizing that humanity isnt apart from nature but is a part of nature. If we act sufficiently, the 100th anniversary of Earth Day could be a day for celebration, not a date of crisis. Join us as we continue on that journey at https://www.pennfuture.org/take-action

Michael Mehrazar is Field Manager, PennFuture.
MILITANT workers are challenging the Duterte administration to undergo the working class challenge.

In its statement for the Labor Day celebration Friday, May 1, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) dared President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials to step into the shoes of workers and their families who have been forced to subsist on a P5,000 cash assistance for one month.

This Labor Day, we challenge President Duterte and his officials to live how workers experience the crisis with the same policies and financial aid that they provide the Filipino people!" said KMU chairman Elmer Labog.

"Even just for a week, lets see how grounded they are with the programs they have for the people, he added.

This, the labor leader said, means that the officials must not use fancy cars, have no personal aides, zero health insurance for a week, live in a community in Tondo or in San Roque, and pay monthly rent.

"Youre giving us P5,000 a month, or a budget of P1,000 a week. We go to work based on these economic conditions. See if you survive a whole week, Labog said.

He said the challenge aims to make top ranking government officials realize how much of a failure their assistance package is to the estimated two million displaced workers.

"Duterte and his government should realize that the supposed aid programs fail to reach the people who are in dire need," said Labog.

Based on the latest data of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), a total of 2.3 million workers have already been displaced by the enhanced community quarantine being enforced by the government to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

However, DOLE was only able to provide the one-time P5,000 cash assistance to 345,865 formal sector workers due to its limited budget. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)
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With human trials already underway, Oxford University scientists say a COVID-19 vaccine could be available much sooner than projected. Global health experts speaking at a Voice of America virtual Town Hall discuss the clinical trials and the long-term impact of the virus on society.
[May 01, 2020] NMIMS-NPAT 2020 Goes Online: The Era of Exam-from-home is Here

MUMBAI, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SVKM's NMIMS has been a thought leader in educational excellence by envisioning the future trends and implementing new-age learning methodology. The University has been at the forefront of cutting-edge higher education, with industry focussed programs and futuristic curriculum. In the wake of COVID-19, NMIMS has taken the required measures to move the NMIMS-NPAT exam online for the academic year 2020. This is a major step forward in a positive direction which goes beyond online classrooms. Students can now appear in the exam from the safety of their homes, with Online Proctored (OP) test. The deadline to submit application has been extended to 10th May 2020. The NMIMS-NPAT exam dates have also been postponed to 18th May 2020 and 22nd May 2020 from 9th & 10th of May, previously. A new era of digital examination: Organizations around the world quickly switched to work-from-home and soon schools and colleges followed with temporarily closing or switching to online lesson. But it is now time to think beyond lessons and gear up to conduct exams online as well. As education must go on and adapt to the changing times. Not just in curriculum but in method and preparedness for such unprecedented times. The era of Exam-from-Home has begun where aspirants will have n opportunity to simulate an online proctored (OP) test experience. This will commence through a mock test for which the University shall be communicating more information on policies and procedures, computer system, and other requirements.



About NMIMS: SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Deemed to be University is a multi-campus, multi-discipline University with world class infrastructure. It has been revered and acknowledged for excellence in academics, faculty, industry linkage, infrastructure, an illustrious alumni base, innovative curriculum and much more. NMIMS-NPAT 2020 is the entrance test to qualify for undergraduate & integrated degree programs across its constituent schools and campuses in Mumbai, Shirpur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, Indore and Dhule. Admissions are now open for the following undergraduate & integrated programs: B.Tech; MBA Tech. (B.Tech. + MBA Tech.): B.Pharm. + MBA (Pharma Tech.): B.Des. (Humanising Technology); BBA; B.Com (Hons.); B.Sc. Finance; B.Sc. Economics; B.A. (Hons.) Liberal Arts and BBA Branding & Advertising.

Embracing the future: Every challenge is an opportunity to overcome it with newer solutions and approach. In education lies the answer for a better tomorrow and we're ready to continue learning in the lockdown & beyond. We look forward to the post-COVID 19 world with increased digital learning and heightened practices for ensuring the safety of our students. NMIMS-NPAT 2020 Exam-From-home is the first step towards it, for you and us. Students can register online for NPAT 2020 by visiting https://www.npat.in Media Contact:

Asmita Kolte

[email protected]

+91-98920-34542

Public Relations Coordinator

NMIMS-Deemed to be University Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1162287/NMIMS_Campus.jpg

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Oklahoma may be reopening, but Breea Clarks mind is already on what will happen if her state has to shut down again.

People in Oklahoma are probably more unhealthy, the mayor of Norman said, when compared to the rest of the country. Theres more diabetes and people are more overweight, she said, making the states citizens more susceptible during the coronavirus pandemic.

And with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt easing statewide coronavirus restrictions in recent days, Clark cant help but worry what the future holds.

I'm sure he's trying to just get the economy going, but when we have to shut down again, that's going to be awful, Clark, a Democrat, said. It'll be twice as worse as it was before. And I'm hoping I'm wrong. Man, I'm hoping I'm wrong.

The situation playing out in Oklahoma this week mirrors scattered discontent that appeared in other states like Mississippi and Georgia where unhappiness with the state leaders has been palpable from some on the local level as the pandemic reached different inflection points.

Oklahoma is just one of the states moving to re-open from the coronavirus despite the health crisis continuing to plague the nation. But the states reopening push, led by Stitt, has left some mayors questioning the rush while others feel pressured by neighboring cities moving more eagerly to also reopen their doors.

The governor has said on the record that mayors are able to tailor their reopening plans to match their cities, but the facts are very clear: the data in Oklahoma supports a measured reopening, Charlie Hannema, the governors spokesman, wrote in an email.

South Carolina Mayor Warns: Do Not Cross the Georgia Line

That approach hasnt stopped it from being a difficult week in Stillwater, the home of Oklahoma State University, mayor Will Joyce said. If the city was on an island, he said "we probably wouldn't open at this point."

With other places opening around us, that really hinders our ability to make much headway against the public health threat if we're the only entity, Joyce said. If our restaurants are shut down, but everybody else's are open, it's really difficult for us to make much of a difference in the fight.

Story continues

Despite the concerns back home, Stitts push has managed to avoid the public backlash that President Donald Trump levied last week at a similar plan from Georgias GOP governor.

During a press briefing last week, Trump said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemps move to let spas, beauty salons and barber shops opening starting April 24 was just too soon.

But on the same day Trump targeted the Georgia leader, Oklahomas Republican governor was outlining similar measures without anywhere near the conservative blowback that Kemp faced. Thats confounded some in Oklahoma who have clear reservations about the states reopening push.

Stitts office emphasized in an email Thursday that the situations in Oklahoma and Georgia are markedly different.

According to guidance released by Stitts office, personal care businesses like spas and barber shops were able to re-open for appointments starting last Friday if they adhere to strict sanitation protocols and are in communities that do not have more restrictions in place.

Starting this Friday that reopening list grows. Movie theaters, gyms and restaurant dining rooms can start back under similar restrictions, according to a release from the governors office, and tattoo parlors are permitted to resume work with appointments.

We're not flipping on the light switch tomorrow, Stitt said during a press conference Thursday about the phased reopening plan. We're not going back to normal.

But that doesnt mean some cities are strictly following the governors outline.

Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma, has already outlined a gradual re-opening in the city with Friday as a start date. According to the plan, retail stores and restaurants dining sections are among the attractions that can re-open with strict limitations at that point. But hair and nail salons can only open for appointments with restrictions, at the earliest, starting May 15.

Issues with unemployment assistance reaching independent contractors in the state during the pandemic have particularly troubled Clark in her community.

She described having "email after email" of people in the close personal contact industry saying they're terrified to head back to work and asking her not to make them. But then there were others, she said, "saying I'm terrified to go back to work but I have to because I can barely feed my family."

I feel like it is a sham that is endangering people who often depend on that close personal contact, Clark said when asked about the governors re-opening salvo.

Though hes escaped public scorn from Trump, Stitt has been quick to defend his decisions. His office touted in an email Thursday that the states new cases are trending down and are at their lowest levels since April 4, even despite a 36% week-over-week increase in testing volume.

And during a Fox News interview with Chris Wallace last Sunday, Stitt touted the states hospital capacity before saying "we understand that COVID is still here.

People are still going to get it, but Oklahomans are safe and we're ready for a measured re-opening, Stitt said.

In phone calls to smaller cities in Oklahoma, some mayors avoided giving much of a reaction to the governors actions.

In one instance, the mayor of Alva, Oklahoma pointed to the states Open Up and Recover Safely plan instead of talking directly about the governor. He added that his city is following what the governor has passed on.

It allows us to manage our own municipalities the way we see fit," Mayor Kelly Parker, a Republican, said. It doesn't mandate that we follow it, but it gives us guidance if we want to."

Another local leader, Warr Acres Mayor James Mickley said he wasnt sure he wanted to comment.

"I mean, I don't have a problem with it, Mickley said in a brief phone call. I just think it was a few days early and didn't give the mayors much notice on it. But other than that...I'd really rather not comment."

He then emphasized he was 100 percent behind the governor, said the re-opening was just fine, and added he didnt have any problems with what the governor was doing before hanging up the phone.

In other cases, it was more clear the governor is facing mixed emotions from some local leaders.

In an email to The Daily Beast, Jenks Mayor Robert Lee said available hospital capacity and the low number of confirmed COVID-19 cases makes it difficult to justify continuing our shelter in place policy while businesses and the workforce are suffering.

But the mayor of Jenks, a city near Tulsa, said its debatable, that the White House markers for reopening have been reached.

The governors office disputed that in an email, saying the White House guidelines state four gates states should hit to reopen, and Oklahoma clearly hits each one of them.

When it came to Stitt in particular, Lee simply said we've been disappointed in the governor throughout this event.

The governors social media approach was a point of concern for some as coronavirus fears grew in mid-March. One tweet, that has since been deleted, showed the governor eating at a busy restaurant and boasting that it was packed according to the Associated Press.

Starting with tweeting selfies at crowded restaurants while we were urging people to stay in to flatten the curve, to being slow to the punch on securing PPE and testing, his response has been lacking, Lee said. When it came to shutdowns, he was adamant that it was up to mayors. When it came to reopening, he jumped in with little regard for what cities wanted.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Three police 'spy' planes have taken to the skies of Baltimore as part of a controversial six-month surveillance program aimed at reducing violent crime across the city.

Plans for the Baltimore Police Department to use the planes have been in the works for months, but the American Civil Liberties Union tried to block the program claiming it would present 'unconstitutional invasion of personal privacy and freedom'.

Last Friday,a federal court judge dismissed that suit, stating: 'In a city plagued by violent crime and desperately in need of police protections, the public interest clearly does not favor the imposition of a preliminary injunction blocking constitutionally sound police programs'.

The three planes - which took to the skies for the first time Friday - will each fly for up to 12 hours per day, collecting images of the city that may be used to help investigate murders, nonfatal shootings, armed robberies and carjackings.

Around 90 percent of Baltimore's metropolitan area will be tracked.

People captured in the images taken from the aircraft will only appear as single grey pixels, meaning features such as ethnicity will not be identified.

Three police 'spy' planes have taken to the skies of Baltimore as part of a controversial six-month surveillance program aimed at reducing violent crime across the city

The three planes - which took to the skies for the first time Friday - will each fly for up to 12 hours per day, collecting images of the city that may be used to help investigate murders, nonfatal shootings, armed robberies and carjackings

Baltimore has long suffered from a scourge of violent crime, with the city recording more than 300 homicides yearly for the last five years.

In 2019, there were 348 homicides and less than a third were solved.

On Wednesday, Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a statement: 'I take very seriously the utilisation of every tool available to address the unacceptable levels of violence in our communities,' said BPD Commissioner Michael Harrison in a statement.

'I remain cautiously optimistic about the potential of this programme and will allow the data to show us the efficacy of this technology as a potential tool for the department in solving and reducing violent crime.'

Baltimore (pictured) has long suffered from a scourge of violent crime, with the city recording more than 300 homicides yearly for the last five years.

The planes, their pilots, analysts and hangar space will be funded by Texas billionaire philanthropists Laura and John Arnold through their organization, Arnold Ventures, and is expected to cost $3.7 million.

The deal with Arnold, a former Enron trader and hedge fund manager, and his Harvard and Yale Law School graduate wife also pays for grants to enable independent researchers from NYU and University of Baltimore to study whether the program has an impact on Baltimore's violent crime rate.

The new program is being funded by Texas philanthropists Laura and John Arnold through their organization, Arnold Ventures

David Rocah, an attorney for the ACLU of Maryland, argued the surveillance planes would 'supercharge' the impact of the city's existing camera network, which is not 'distributed in Baltimore in a racially neutral way.'

'They are overwhelmingly located in Baltimore's black and brown neighborhoods,' he said. 'The racial impact of this technology is significan

The program was officially unveiled in December, three years after surveillance planes were secretly deployed over Baltimore to gather images of crime scenes.

Commissioner Harrison said police will not have access to live feeds, and instead, officers will receive 'evidence packages' of specific crimes that have already being reported.

In 2016, under a different police commissioner, the department hoped to quietly gather crime scene information using the aerial surveillance tactic. Top city officials were unaware that Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems was trying out its technology over Baltimore until Bloomberg Businessweek revealed it.

Over months, the company captured roughly 300 hours of images. Analysts then zoomed in on crime scenes, moving backward and forward in time among the images to sees suspects arriving and getting away.

The footage was captured using a bank of cameras mounted inside a small Cessna airplane flown at roughly 8,000 feet above the city.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America has awarded a $1M grant to the Howard University Faculty Practice Plan (HUFPP) to improve access to COVID-19 testing in the diverse Washington, D.C. communities located east of the river.

"We're excited to partner with Bank of America to get these critical resources to the areas that need them the most," says Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick. "Many of our patients travel great distances to come to Howard University Hospital, which makes it challenging to seek medical attention at the first sign of illness. Our goal is to meet the community where they live so their access to care greatly improves and hopefully we can reduce the spread of the coronavirus significantly."

Beginning on Tuesday, May 5, Howard University Faculty Practice Plan will host testing at the new Benning Road Center, located at 4414 Benning Road, N.E., Washington, D.C., Suite 2400. The free testing will be available on Tuesdays and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the next three months. Residents can sign up by appointment by calling 202-865-2119, option 3. The team will see patients who are showing symptoms or who believe they are asymptomatic.

"You will not need to have a doctor's prescription in advance to get tested at our location," says Dr. Hugh E. Mighty, Howard University vice president of clinical affairs. "We want to eliminate the obstacles so more people can be tested because we believe everyone should be tested. We want to screen our community neighbors in the areas where there are higher incidents of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes because those pre-existing conditions are linked to the higher incidents of coronavirus that we've seen in African American communities."

As the need increases, the Howard team will look at expanding to include a mobile unit to provide testing options in a second area of the city. In addition to funding the tests and equipment, a portion of the grant will be used to enhance Howard University Hospital's telehealth services. This will expand a doctor's ability to see patients remotely and increase the patient's access to care.

"Once we set up a telehealth system outside of the classic intensive care units, we'll be able to manage multiple ICUS from one location, which brings more expertise to the table," says Dr. Mighty. "We can remotely manage a unit and talk them through what they need, which helps to extend the ICU doctor's reach. We could even extend this across hospitals ultimately."

"Howard University Hospital is on the front lines in this war against the coronavirus and we are proud to partner in getting help to where it is needed the most," says Larry Di Rita, Greater Washington, D.C. Market President, Bank of America.

The Howard University Faculty Practice Plan has repurposed an existing clinic at 4414 Benning Rd NE, suite 2400, to test residents from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. To make an appointment, call 202-865-2119 and Press 3. A prescription is not necessary.

Media Contact: Alonda Thomas, [email protected]

SOURCE Howard University

Related Links

http://www.howard.edu


President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that no employer would retrench workers without going through due process. Buhari said his ...





President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that no employer would retrench workers without going through due process.





Buhari said his government will ensure that no employer would retrench or lay off workers without going through due process of social dialogue, which include consultations with workers and with the Competent Authority, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.





He said this in his message to workers to marks International Workers Day, on Friday.





The message was read on Buharis behalf by Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, during a virtual meeting with Labour leaders via ZOOM, in consonance with the social distancing policy and was contained in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Demi Adesina.





Full text of the speech reads below:





Greetings Nigerian Workers! It is 1st May  May Day today but we know that something is not right not just in our nation but globally. Today is a day set aside for workers to celebrate the success of their historical struggles to have a voice in the world of work. It is equally a day to celebrate their partnership with relevant stakeholders to achieve sustainable development and contribute to the progress of nations in contemporary times. It is a day to mark and acclaim workers productivity in nation  building. But today, May 1, 2020, the usual pomp and ceremony characterized by sounds of drumming and march past by various Trade Unions and their Federations are missing in all the stadia throughout the Federation including our Abuja Eagle Square. This is so because we are fighting an invisible enemy to humanity termed Covid-19 pandemic.





In a bid to win this war, we set up a Presidential Task Force (PTF) made up of the relevant sector Ministers and highly skilled Health Technical Experts The government had to in a well-designed Expert Advice, lock down some States of the Federation where this pandemic is most prevalent  the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Ogun and Lagos States. Lagos State was and still is the EPICENTRE of the disease and of late Kano had to follow because of the new eruptions of Covid-19 in the State.





Offices, businesses, and various forms of out-door activities have been put in abeyance so that WE as opposed to I factor may prevail so that we may live for tomorrow. Yes, it is a common problem and interest and it is at this time that we must be our brothers keeper by ensuring that I protect myself and protect others from me. I, therefore, ask Nigerian Workers both in the Public and Private Sectors with her FORMAL and INFORMAL ECONOMY to bear the stringent measures for a while for our common good. This would enable us put the ravaging pandemic under control and restore normalcy within the confines of relevant guidelines issued by health experts and the Government for safety against Covid-19 in order to curtail its spread.





I acknowledge that it is not easy but nations globally are in a state of war against this pandemic and in a war situation, survival is paramount.





Though the lock-down had been partially lifted in States aforementioned, except Kano State, workers are enjoined to observe subsequent rules and regulations issued to ensure the safety of all Nigerian citizens.





I understand the anxiety which has plagued the minds of workers over the possibility of job losses due to economic downturn caused by the pandemic and lock-down especially in the private sector. In this regard, the Government will ensure that no employer would retrench or lay off workers without going through due process of social dialogue which includes consultations with workers and with the Competent Authority  Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.





Furthermore, I had earlier put in place a Presidential Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) with the objective of developing a credible sustainability plan for repositioning the Nigerian economy now and post Covid-19 crisis period. The ESC is required to specifically explore ways and means of growing our non-oil sector  all in a bid to minimise the adverse effects of the current crisis and to also protect existing jobs and even create new jobs to help absorb the teeming army of the unemployed even before the crises.





I conclude by expressing my appreciation to Medical Doctors and Healthcare Workers as well as their respective organisations, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU). These Health workers are doing a great service for humanity. I thank you all. I have directed that requisite incentives and hazard allowances enhancement and insurance for lives should be taken at these perilous times in favor of our Health Sector workers as a way of showing our appreciation. Also, personal protective equipment for their safety is also guaranteed.





Great Nigerian Workers, your resilience in times of adversity is not questionable. I appreciate you all and I know that with collective will and sense of responsibility, as a team, we shall triumph as a nation.





Observe all the Health Protocols as already established by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in terms of hygiene, wash your hands regularly, observe Social Distancing, and Stay Safe.





God bless you all.





Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria








Denver-based Black Creek Group sold the bulk of its Houston portfolio in January, but is still keen on the Bayou City.

The real estate investment management and development firm closed on the purchase of Port 146, a 140,275-square-foot industrial building at 2020 N. Highway 146 in La Porte, from Clay Development & Construction on April 14.

Andrew Jewett and Jason Dillee of Cushman & Wakefield represented Houston-based Clay in the sale, which adds a second building in La Porte to Black Creeks holdings.

Prime Property: Get Houston real estate news sent directly to your inbox

The company plans to find a tenant for the recently completed building, which is near the Port of Houston, and hold it for the long term. The COVID-19 pandemic did not interfere with the deal, as the company believes the building will be a solid performer.

We really value the location of this asset and its position adjacent to the port, said Mace McClatchy, Black Creeks Dallas-based senior vice president.

The building is suited for bulk distribution tenants such as those handling consumer goods, food and beverage or plastic resins. It also has outside trailer storage.

We try to cast a wide net buying empty buildings so we can capture many different styles of tenant demand, McClatchy said.

Black Creek sold 22 buildings in the local market to Prologis in January as part of a larger portfolio sale by its Industrial Property Trust fund.

The firm, which invests in industrial, office, multifamily and retail properties through various investment platforms, owns 41.3 million square feet across 29 markets. The industrial component totals 35.3 million square feet, including roughly 1 million square feet in the Houston area.

Locally, Black Creek owns six buildings, including three in Stafford, one in northwest Houston and two in La Porte, and 40 acres in Chambers County east of Houston.

Houston investor grows San Antonio portfolio

Sun Holdings Group, a Houston real estate investment and management firm, expanded its San Antonio holdings with the acquisition of the Tradehouse at Bulverde Marketplace apartments.

Built in 2018, the 330-unit complex at 17038 Bulverde Road in north central San Antonio was purchased from NRP Group of Cleveland. It is part of the 104-acre Bulverde Marketplace mixed-use development anchored by H-E-B.

The three-story complex, which offers one- and two-bedroom units up to 1,532 square feet, is accessible to North Central Baptist Hospital and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Amenities include a pool and outdoor kitchens, a social lounge, billiards room and fitness center.

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Sync Residential, the property management arm of Sun Holdings Group, will manage the property, which fits in with Sun Holdings strategy of acquiring Class A properties as long-term investments.

We worked closely with Freddie Mac and Berkadias Cutt Ableson to successfully secure very attractive financing,said Ido Blatt, managing partner of Sun Holdings Group. We look forward to building upon these types of relationships to pursue future acquisitions.

Sun Holdings has amassed a portfolio of 5,500 apartment units across 18 properties, including three in San Antonio. It also owns and operates apartments in Houston, Atlanta, Austin/central Texas and Fayetteville, Ark. The companys principals moved to Houston from Israel in 2014 and formed the Sync Residential division, which employs 141 people, in 2016.

While Blatt said the firm was bullish on the long-term prospect of multifamily, given the double whammy of low oil prices and COVID-19, Sun Holdings is proceeding with caution on Houston investments.

Were hopeful that Houston remains strong and continues to grow, but given the circumstances, were a little bit more cautious, Blatt said.

katherine.feser@chron.com

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Traders illegally dealing in cat meat in Vietnam are being accused of stealing beloved family pets  and business is booming for them because of the coronavirus pandemic, investigators claim.

Piles of cat bones were discovered laid out on pavements in the capital Hanoi this week, from an estimated 100 animals.

Researchers said posters appealing for information about missing pets were pinned outside the markets, hung by devastated owners searching for their stolen pets.

Desperate to find their missing pets, many owners will visit live animal markets in the hope of finding their lost dog or cat to try to buy them back before they are brutally killed for meat, according to the animal welfare organisation Four Paws, which carried out the investigation.

Cats still with collars on were also seen at restaurants.



One street vendor reportedly said: We have had no difficulty sourcing animals because of the pandemic. Pets are still being stolen regularly and sometimes sold by families who do not want them any more.

The investigators said that the pandemic appeared to have increased the particularly brutal trade, because restaurants that were closed to diners were doing more home deliveries than ever.

Four Paws also discovered four in five vendors at popular markets were still selling dog and cat meat. The venues, mostly wet markets, had two to three outlets each selling the meats, the research found.

One seller said they had sold 40kg of cat meat the day before speaking to the researcher, who was Vietnamese.

Vendors also appeared less concerned about keeping their businesses behind closed doors.

Unlike Vietnams dog meat trade, which is neither illegal nor regulated, legislation bans the hunting, slaughter and consumption of cats, following an order by the prime minister in 1998 to keep rat numbers down, so sellers are more secretive than they are about dog meat.

But authorities do little to enforce the legislation, the organisation says.

Piles of cat bones spotted on a pavement (Four Paws)

After the flesh is removed, the bones are used to make balm, believed by some to help joint pain and infertility.

Last month, The Independent revealed how sales of dog and cat meat had risen in Vietnam and Cambodia during the pandemic because people believe it can ward off flu.

This week, investigators who returned reported seeing signs posted by vendors stating Due to Covid-19, we sell dog meat to go.

Katherine Polak, Four Paws head of stray animal care in southeast Asia, said: The cat meat trade is incredibly cruel and affects over a million cats each year in Vietnam.

Given that cat meat, which goes by the name little tiger often fetches a higher price and is seen as a more exotic dish by some, it isnt surprising that in the pandemic stay-at-home orders have given rise to an increase in cat meat eating.

What is surprising, however, is the brazen approach to drying bones of stolen pets in the middle of a public sidewalk during a pandemic.

Recommended Second Chinese city bans consumption of dog and cat meat

She said restaurants reported that not only was business doing well, but many customers were police.

Four Paws says that its previous research has shown that in Cambodia, at least 3 million dogs are involved in the meat trade every year, in Indonesia over 1 million, and in Vietnam, over 5 million.

All aspects of the trade from catching, transporting to slaughtering involves unacceptable levels of cruelty and suffering, making it one of the most pressing companion animal concerns of our times, the group says.

Two Chinese cities have banned consumption of dog and cat meat, and Chinas government has re-classed both as pets, not livestock.

The Independent is campaigning for better regulation of animal markets and trade worldwide.
The meeting of the advisers of the leaders of the Normandy Format summit planned for March 12 is postponed due to the quarantine as Head of the Presidents Office Andriy Yermak reported.

The meeting of the advisers had to take place on March 12 but due to the quarantine, it was postponed. We will hold a phone talk the next week at the level of the advisers; we will also discuss the date of the possible summit of the leaders, he said.

Yermak also noted that the summit should take place in Berlin, most likely, in April 2020.

Earlier, the Trilateral contact group for the solution of Donbas conflict (Minsk talks group) agreed on the creation of an advisory board. It will comprise of representatives of Ukraine and self-proclaimed 'republics' of Donbas (ten from each, with the right for decisive vote), Germany, France and the OSCE (one from each, with the right for conciliatory vote).

Besides, Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Russia Dmitry Kozak believes that the creation of the Advisory Board at the Trilateral Contact group with the participation of the representatives of the Normandy Format will enable the dialogue of Kyiv and Donbas.
Happy May Day to everyone but Mitch McConnell. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

If Americas essential workers could retire on unctuous praise, theyd have no more need for 401(k)s. Over the past two months, politicians in both parties have showered Americas doctors, nurses, grocery-store workers, and delivery drivers in expressions of gratitude. Even the president has paid tribute, lauding the heroism of our doctors and nurses and the bravery of our truck drivers, all of whom he considers warriors, in a sense.

But make no mistake: Republicans do not support these figurative troops. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration and congressional GOP have made preserving the (im)balance of power between capital and labor one of their top priorities. Here, a quick rundown of six different ways Republicans are trying to disempower workers this May Day, both in negotiations over the next round of coronavirus stimulus and through executive action:

1. Republicans top priority for the next coronavirus relief bill is to immunize employers who violate workplace safety standards from the threat of lawsuits.

Late last month, a worker at a meatpacking plant in Missouri filed a lawsuit accusing Smithfield Foods of flouting CDC guidelines for workplace safety. The suit alleges that the Milan plant provided workers with a single safety mask per week, denied them the opportunity to wash their hands, and forced them to work shoulder to shoulder and take breaks in cramped hallways. A judge ordered the plant to comply with federal safety guidelines earlier this week.

Across the country, at least 17 meatpacking workers have died from COVID-19, while hundreds have been sickened.

Nevertheless, days after that Missouri judges ruling, Trump signed an executive order effectively barring state governments from shutting down meatpacking plants for violating safety standards. Invoking the Defense Production Act, the president declared that such facilities were critical to the nations food supply and thus cannot be shuttered for any reason. Trump then told reporters that he intends to issue a separate executive order limiting the liability of meatpacking firms to lawsuits over workplace conditions.

Now, congressional Republicans are working to extend the disempowerment of meatpacking workers to the rest of the U.S. labor force: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have said they will block any further coronavirus stimulus unless it includes provisions insulating employers from the threat of liability lawsuits.

Imagine you are a businessman thinking about reopening, McConnell told Fox News this week, and youve heard that the trial lawyers all over the country are sharpening their pencils getting ready to sue you, claiming that you didnt engage in proper distancing or other issues related to health and safety.

McConnell and McCarthy reiterated this theme in an official statement, declaring, We cannot let a second pandemic of opportunistic litigation enrich trial lawyers at the expense of Main Street and medical professionals.

Of course, if the GOP leaders genuine concern is that frivolous lawsuits will impede recovery while enriching trial lawyers, some compromise could surely be reached. After all, as tools for safeguarding workers rights, liability litigation is a poor substitute for a strong trade union. If McConnells aim is not to subordinate workers rights and welfare to their bosses profit margins  but merely to combat opportunistic litigiousness  then he can offer to abolish state-level right-to-work laws, approve union certification by card check, establish sectoral bargaining, and legalize secondary boycotts in exchange for a temporary liability shield. But he wont, because disempowering workers is the point.

2. To ensure that recently laid-off workers have no choice but to accept jobs in hazardous workplaces, Republicans are vowing to slash federal unemployment benefits.

The crown jewel of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that Congress passed in late March was a dramatic expansion of federal unemployment benefits: By providing all sidelined workers with a $600 weekly bonus on top of state-level UI support, the bill left many unemployed Americans with as much income  if not more  as theyd earned at their lost jobs.

But that bonus is set to expire in July, even as the economic crisis it was intended to mitigate is set to rage on for months if not years. Congressional Democrats are therefore pushing to extend the enhanced benefits  by making them a permanent part of Americas social safety net that automatically takes effect whenever the U.S. unemployment rate is above a certain threshold.

This week, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham assured his constituents that Senate Republicans will never let that happen.

I promise you, over our dead bodies will this get reauthorized, Graham said. The goal is to help people who are unemployed  to make sure that if they get unemployed, theyll have their income intact  but it was never our goal to pay people more to be out of work than at work  if a person is making $23 an hour on unemployment, its going to be hard to get you to go back to work for a $17-hour job.

Of course, one way to solve the problem Graham identifies would be to turn that $17-an-hour job into a $28-an-hour one. But:

3. Republicans have refused to endorse Democrats proposals to provide hazard pay to frontline workers (let alone to put upward pressure on wages for all workers by raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour).

President Trump has made supportive noises about providing frontline medical workers with hazard pay. But neither the White House nor congressional Republicans have introduced any formal proposal for doing so. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have unveiled a plan to provide up to $25,000 in wage subsidies to all essential workers  from doctors and nurses to grocery clerks and delivery drivers. Republicans reportedly consider such benefits too broad and pricey.

4. McConnell hopes to starve blue states of aid until they are forced to cut the pensions of public workers.

The Senate majority leader is no longer (officially) trying to force states into bankruptcy. But Senate Republicans are adamant that they will block any fiscal aid to states that isnt spent directly on combating the coronavirus or that makes it easier for states to avoid cutting public workers pensions. Theres not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations, McConnell recently told right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt.

5. Labor secretary Eugene Scalia is trying to deny unemployment benefits to as many Uber drivers as possible.

In addition to increasing the generosity of federal unemployment benefits, the $2 trillion stimulus package also extended eligibility for those benefits to gig-economy workers. Since then, Trumps Labor Department has been working diligently to ensure that no U.S. worker has it too easy in the middle of a pandemic and burgeoning economic depression. As the Washington Post reports:

New Labor Department guidance says unemployment benefits apply to gig workers only if they are forced to suspend operations, which could dramatically limit options for those workers if their apps are still operating. Other workers also face a high hurdle to qualify for benefits. The guidance says a worker may be able to return to his or her place of employment within two weeks of quarantining, and parents forced to stop work to care for kids after schools closed are not eligible for unemployment after the school year is over. Workers who stay home because they are older or in another high-risk group are also ineligible unless they can prove a medical professional advised them to stop working.

6. Trumps Labor Department is also refusing to enforce CDC guidelines for workplace safety.

Finally, in case you were worried that neutering liability lawsuits wouldnt be enough to safeguard employers God-given right to flout workplace-safety laws in the middle of a pandemic, Trumps Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been declining to require that all firms abide by the CDCs public-health guidelines.

In sum, Republicans dont see Americas essential workers as warriors so much as enemy combatants in a (one-sided) class war.
Sri Lanka: Export earnings fall nearly 42 percent in March 2020

May 01,2020 | Source: Colombo Page

Sri Lankas merchandize export earnings fell by 41.9 percent in March 2020 as the spread of COVID-19 in the country disrupted the production of merchandise, the Export Development Board (EDB) said. According to the monthly exports statistics, the year-on-year export earnings fell to US$ 646 million from US$ 1.112 billion recorded in March 2019.



Apparel sector being the largest contributor has shown a 41 percent decline during the month of March 2020 compared to the same month in the previous year. Some of the other sectors that have recorded a significant decline during the same period include Tea (-22%), Rubber Products (-15.7%), Coconut products (-14.2%), Spices (-36.5%), fruits & vegetable products (-17.4%), fish & fisheries products (-29%) etc.



However analysis at disaggregate level on Coconut Milk Powder, Defatted Coconut, certain Coconut Kernel Products, Coconut Shell Charcoal, Essential Oils, Oleoresins, Ginger, Lemons, Melons & Papayas, Onions, Sweat Potatoes, Processed Food, Rice, Green Gram, Lentils, Organic Chemicals, Electrical Transformers, Boat Building, Petroleum Products etc. show a positive growth during March 2020 compared to March 2019.



Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe noted that even though there is a decline in exports during the month of March 2020, such a decline is expected due to the global economic and trading environment. However the EDB is taking every effort to assist the exporters to resume operations and we firmly believe that exports will be back on track in the near future, he added.



With the release of March 2020 data, the countrys foreign exchange earnings show an overall decline of 19 percent during January-March 2020 in comparison to the same period in 2019 reaching US$ 3.382 billion from US$ 4.176 billion respectively, recording a 32 percent achievement against the annual revised target of US$ 10.750 billion for the year 2020. Merchandise export earnings have recorded US$ 2.577 billion during Jan- March 2020, compared to 3.116 billion last year. Estimates in the services exports of ICT/ BPM, Construction, Financial services, Logistics and Wellness Tourism sectors show an overall revenue of US$ 805 million during the period compared to US$ 1.060 billion last year.



When looking at the disaggregate level of products, even though some of the major sectors show a decline in earnings, certain other sectors show a positive growth during the period under consideration. The following graph shows some sectors with negative growth, the EDB said.
World Socialist Web Site reporters recently spoke to laid off workers from auto plants located in the Sriperumbudur and Oragadam industrial hub near Chennai, the capital of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The workers, who have returned to their home villages, outlined the escalating poverty and dangerous conditions created by COVID-19 and the grossly inadequate response to the pandemic by the central and state governments. They spoke by phone to the WSWS.

The right-wing national government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a three-week coronavirus lockdown on March 24. On April 14, the lockdown, or curfew as it is called in India, was extended until May 3, but without any serious plan to provide for the basic needs of the masses. Hundreds of millions of workers, particularly those working in the so-called informal sector, have been left without any income to purchase food and other basic items.

Sridhar, a Renault Nissan worker, is currently back in Kavalampedu village in Myladudurai district. He denounced Modis central government, along with that of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.

Sridhar Renault Nissan worker (Photo: WSWS)

The coronavirus infection is rapidly increasing on a daily basis, but I see no effective action being taken by any government to contain it. Here in my village, people have not been provided with protective face masks and medical facilities and none of the political parties have visited us to see the conditions facing the people here. The Tamil Nadu government announced that food would be provided to the people but so far no one has come here to give us any food items.

I saw people on television rushing to buy essential food items in Koyambedu market [in Chennai] in the limited time possible during the curfew. The market was crowded and no one was observing social-distancing. The authorities have not made any of the necessary arrangements to protect people from the virus, and as a result, it was reported that a woman was infected while visiting the market.

I only have contempt for the central and state governments and their failure to create a safe environment. [Tamil Nadu Chief Minister] Edappadi even claimed that the virus wouldnt affect poor people, but only the rich. What we see, however, is that the virus is infecting people around the world.

We have to take care of our health and life but I dont trust the government. Modi said every person should take care of the poor in their neighbourhoods, but all these people are facing the same conditions.

Motherson autoworkers protest in Tamil Nadu (Photo: WSWS)

I dont believe in the democracy of these rulersits bogus. Workers are losing their jobs across India and everyday ordinary people are facing hunger. In some areas poor working people have died of starvation and yet the government took no action.

Bala, 44, is a Motherson auto spare parts worker who was recently victimised by management over his role in a more than four-month long strike at the plant. He said: Theres no work for me in my village of Kaveripakkam in Myladudurai. Everyone in the village is facing starvation. The only help we got from the government was just 1,000 rupees [$US13.25] for a month, and some essential items distributed through ration shops.

Sam, a Youngshin Automotive employee from Nagapattinam town, said: My father works in a wedding hall and is paid 10,000 rupees a month. The whole family is now sustained by my fathers income because I was only paid a months salary by my company, and I dont know if they will pay me for the shutdown period.

Sam denounced the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments. The Modi government says people should stay at home during curfew but most of working people are daily labourers. The state government has only provided 1,000 rupees and some ration items since the curfew was announced on March 24. This is not sufficient. Several families in the villages are hungry and go to bed with empty stomachs. Most working people live in small huts and cant stay safe in these conditions.

Recent demonstration of Motherson autoworkers (Photo: WSWS)

Pandian, a worker at Glass Tech, said: Im now at Kallathu, my village in Jayangkondam. I was only paid one months salary by my company, which did not even give us face masks when we were working before the shutdown. I had to travel home in an overcrowded bus.

Ive returned to my village but the local authorities here havent bothered to provide people with masks and theres no basic medical infrastructure. Im currently staying with my parents, who are weavers and used to earn 300 rupees on a daily basis. Their work, however, has stopped since the lockdown began, so we have no income.

Previously, when I came to the village on leave, I could do agricultural work at a government-sponsored rural employment scheme. I was paid between 170 and 200 rupees per day, but now that work has stopped.

Our entire family is facing an economic crisis. Vegetable prices are all increasing and supplies are running out too. We also experience police harassment and attacks whenever we go out to buy essential items for our daily needs.

Raja, 24, a Thai Summit Autoparts plant worker, said: Theres no work for me in my village of Thiruvannamalai. My father is a small farmer but theres been no rain water for irrigation and so we havent been able to cultivate any crops. We have a cow at home and can earn around 3,000 rupees a month selling its milk. We now have to run the entire family on this small income.

Raja explained that his brother worked in Chennai but the company was shut down during the lockdown and so he returned to the village.

When we were in Chennai we shared a rented room and were able to send our parents extra money. Imposition of the curfew, which has continued for over a month, has meant that everyone in the village is confronted with much worse economic conditions. If anyone gets infected by the virus they have to go to a government hospital in Thiruvannamalai, but it lacks basic facilities, including enough beds.

The Tamil Nadu state government, he continued, boasted that it has acted very quickly on coronavirus, but the daily cases of infections are increasing. Modi has allocated very little money to fight the coronavirus. The central and state governments, as well as opposition parties, dont really care for human lives. I oppose all these politicians.

The majority of villagers face food and water shortages. In some places, the people dont even have water facilities, let alone soap. Governments tell people to keep their hands clean and wash with soap. This is very cynical.

State or parliamentary legislators never come to the villages or address peoples problems during difficult times. They only visit during elections. I hate these politicians.

Arul, a Yamaha India worker from Thuraiyur village, said: My father is a construction worker and used to earn 500 rupees a day. For the past five months, however, he has been without a job and so my parents depended on my income, but now Im also without work. The company only paid me one months salary.

Arul said he was worried because some people were still doing agricultural work, despite the risk of virus infection, because they had no food. They say they have no choice but they are also aware that it could lead to their death, he said.
They occupy the lowest rung of the health-care professional ladder and get little glory and recognition for looking after societys most vulnerable people. Advocates say its overdue that personal support workers are afforded the same safeguards and oversight other workers receive.

Support workers, many of whom are ethnic minorities, help dress, feed, clean and toilet residents, tasks that many Canadians, even the families of the frail, find unpleasant.

Precarious work, a patchwork of job descriptions, a hodgepodge education system and the lack of any formal system of licensing and governance are just some of the cracks in the profession, being laid bare by the spotlight on long-term-care homes, where some of Canadas roughly 500,000 support workers are on the front lines of providing critical care to the most acutely ill, advocates say. There are more than 130,000 PSWs in Ontario.

The Ontario Federation of Labour is calling on the government to make sweeping changes, especially in long-term-care settings, where most COVID-19 deaths occur.

The government must mandate a permanent standardization of pay to the top wage rates in the sector, full-time schedules, improved access to benefits and adequate paid leaves for personal support workers, stated OFL president Patty Coates on Thursday.

Its time that the province regulates the long-term-care industry to protect residents, workers, and all Ontarians.

The problem that weve been having for years is that its not regulated, so there is no protection for PSWs, said Ian Da Silva, director of human resources with the Canadian Support Workers Association. There is no governing body, like the College of Nurses, to go to.

While many other health-care professions have licensing bodies and registration databases, PSWs continue to be left out, said Laura Bulmer, professor for the PSW program at George Brown Colleges nursing school.

If they become regulated, its going to enhance the patient care, she said. It helps to set the qualification requirements, so there is only one route to become a PSW.

It will also help us to identify gaps in service.

A provincial pilot aimed at developing PSW registry, led by the Michener Institute, is now underway, said Bulmer.

A spokesperson for the institute confirmed Friday, Michener wrapped up its temporary role in setting up the (pilot) registry in March, so its now back with the province. They did not say when or if the province would roll out such a program.

Michener said it developed and operated the pilot as a risk-based alternative to providing oversight to the PSW workforce.

A note from the institute indicated it included sections for credential checks and police record checks, a setting out of roles and responsibilities of personal support workers and the provision of a code of ethics. It also provided a sample for a complaints portal.

Danjela Gashaj, who worked as a nursing assistant in Albania before immigrating to Canada in 2016, said new immigrants join the PSW sector, which is plagued with constant labour shortages, because they can hit the ground running after a short training program that lasts between eight and 12 months.

Many newcomers worked as nurses back home, but have language barriers in Canada. PSW gives them the means to step closer (to nursing), said Gashaj, who now works at a Toronto hospital while studying to become a registered practical nurse.

We dont mind doing the dirty work.

The job is tough especially for women who make up the majority of the support worker cohort.

Its easy to get injured and burned out, said Gashaj, who said there is high turnover as a result.

Da Silva said PSWs are 600 per cent more likely to be injured than a police (officer) and firefighter.

PSWs typically work in the community (home settings) and facilities such as hospitals and long-term-care homes. Bulmer said the ratio sits at about one PSW per every 12 clients in Ontario.

According to a report last December commissioned by the union Unifor on the PSW shortage in Ontario, long-term-care homes can be short five to 10 PSWs in any 24-hour period, and circumstances are worse in northern Ontario and rural areas.

Bulmer said burnout and general job dissatisfaction are driving turnover: About 33 per cent of that population is leaving the profession every year.

Employers, such as private home-care companies, sometimes designate some workers as residential care workers, which pays a fraction of the value of a PSW, Da Silva said. That undermines the profession and this has been happening a lot in Ontario.

Said Bulmer: Now is the time to get a standardized name for these workers and, hopefully, regulation is down the road.

Workers in the facilities can make up to $25 per hour, while community-based care can be as low as minimum wage and up to about $18 per hour, Bulmer said.

Premier Ford made that wage increase ($4 extra for some front-line staff), but thats temporary, Bulmer said

Glorified s--t cleaners. Thats how people see you, said Asona Fagan, an immigrant from Barbados, who finished the PSW program at George Brown College and now works at a Toronto nursing home.

People only see you changing diapers and cleaning for a living. But theres so much that we do and were not regarded with respect.

Fagan works full-time on overnight shifts at a Toronto nursing home while attending a four-year program for a bachelor of science degree in nursing.

She said the PSW job was hard and stressful before COVID-19, but now, its more nerve-racking going in every day.

Both Fagan and Gashaj said it is unfortunate that it took a pandemic for the public to see the gaps within the long-term-care system and recognize the challenges faced by PSWs in general.

People think that anyone can be a PSW. So why not they accredit us as a health profession? That will be a little step forward,said Gashaj.

Theres also a fragmented PSW education system, as courses are offered by community colleges, private institutions and school boards, she said.

Bulmer said there needs to be a national standardized system of education.

There are people who are coming into the profession that are trained differently and at different levels and thats a problem, she said. There is no watchdog.

Bulmer said many of her students are second-career folks, specifically new Canadians, many of whom have had medical degrees in their country of origin. There are also a good number of people fresh out of high school, who are using the job as a stepping stone into registered nursing.

A survey of 364 PSWs in Ontario by the Canadian Research Network for Care in the Community found 61.7 per cent were over age 40, 96 per cent were women and 46 per cent identified as visible minorities.

The study was published nine years ago, and the proportion of visible minority workers is expected to be even higher now, especially in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to the survey, about 29 per cent of PSWs have multiple jobs and report working in more than one setting.

Canada could learn from countries such as Japan, said Ito Peng, director of the Centre for Global Social Policy at the University of Toronto.

There, all long-term-care workers must be certified and trained under a standardized system, Peng said. Wages are predetermined and employers arent allowed to create a hodgepodge of roles.

Long-term care is the next frontier of our social and health-care system, she said. COVID-19 is really forcing us to think about that now.

Jason Miller is a breaking news reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic
In 1967,[he] wrote a lasting page in art history when, as a 27-year-old curator in Genoa, he mounted an exhibition of five young Italian artists making provisional assemblages of humble materials, which he grouped under the term Arte Povera (poor art). These artists, including Alghiero Boetti, Jannis Kounellis and Luciano Fabro, bridled against the conventions of the Italian academies (and American Pop art), and made a virtue of simple everyday objects: melted wax, rusting iron, fallen leaves, ground coffee, even horses munching hay.  The New York Times
American Airlines and Delta Airlines announced on Thursday that passengers will be required to wear face masks on their flights starting in early May, joining Jet Blue and Frontier Airlines.

The big picture: Flight attendant unions have been pressuring the federal government to mandate face masks on planes, Politico reports. Employees at American and Delta were already required to wear masks.

What's next: American Airlines customers will be required to wear face masks beginning on May 11, while Delta will begin enforcing their policy for customers on May 4.

Delta's guidelines call for customers to wear masks at Delta Sky Clubs, board gate zones, jet bridges and during their flight, whereas American Airlines is only mandating that customers wear masks on flights.

call for customers to wear masks at Delta Sky Clubs, board gate zones, jet bridges and during their flight, whereas American Airlines is only mandating that customers wear masks on flights. American says it will give face masks and sanitizing wipes to customers. Delta did not specify if it would make masks available.

says it will give face masks and sanitizing wipes to customers. Delta did not specify if it would make masks available. United Airlines is "strongly" encouraging customers to wear face masks and will provide them starting on May 4.

Between the lines: Passengers will not be allowed on airplanes if they are not wearing face masks, Delta spokesperson Michael Thomas told Axios in a statement. He said that masks would be provided for any customers who do not have a face covering.

American Airlines said they would give more guidance before the rule goes into place in May.

American Airlines and United Airlines reported first quarter net losses of $2.2 billion and and $1.7 billion on Thursday, as the industry reels from dwindling air travel.

Go deeper: Airlines face a long, slow climb despite federal coronavirus rescue






Automakers are beginning to report U.S. April sales, and as expected the results are not good. Some automakers appear likely to delay their releases until Monday.

Hyundai and its luxury subsidiary, Genesis, reported significant drops compared to April of last year. Hyundai's core brand was down nearly 39 percent; Genesis was off by almost 50%. Only the Tucson managed to sell nearly as well as it did in April 2019. Sister brand Kia finished the month in lock-step with Hyundai, dropping 38% from last April.

Mazda said its sales were down nearly 45% compared to a year ago. The Miata was the bright spot at Mazda, down "only" 29%.

Toyota saw sales fall by 54%, both at the Toyota division and at Lexus. Honda's figures were nearly identical: down 53.8% for the month and 28.1% for 2020. Acura dropped 56.8% in April and is down 30.2% so far for the year.

In late April, TrueCar released ALG forecasts predicting an industry-wide drop of approximately 50% and a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total light-vehicle sales of just 7.7 million units. Year-end auto sales in the U.S. have not hit figures that low at any point in the past four decades, and volumes will pick up again as restrictions ease.

"Like most industries in the U.S., the automotive industry has also suffered significantly from the Coronavirus pandemic," said Eric Lyman, Chief Industry Analyst at ALG. "By the beginning of April, a majority of the states had enacted shelter at home orders along with closures of many businesses in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. Public health concerns mixed with job losses and economic decline led to a dramatic drop in automotive sales."

ALG noted that import brands have largely been hit harder than domestics, largely due to buyer demographics and the composition of their current offerings. Trucks, which sell well in regions where restrictions have been less prevalent, aren't being hit as hard.

Story continues

"Although most automakers saw big declines in sales, the domestic brands such as GM and Ford had a smaller percentage of loss than imported brands when compared year-over-year," Lyman said. "Some of that is attributable to the generous incentive offerings from the domestics, and some of it is due to the higher mix of imports in the states that were initially hit hardest compared with the states that were impacted later."

These regional differences have proven noteworthy even to import manufacturers. Hyundai's Randy Parker, vice president, National Sales, commented on the variance in the company's April sales release:

"Sales varied significantly across regions. We focused on supporting sales in areas that transitioned from showroom retail to digital and contactless retail sales and service. We look forward to supporting our dealers and customers as cities, counties and states slowly re-open and we begin returning to work after this tragic pandemic," Parker said.
A former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has appealed to the State Security Service and the Kaduna State government to secure the release one of his supporters, Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.

Mr Idris, 34, a lecturer and blogger who criticised the governments of Kano and Kaduna and promoted Mr Kwankwasos political cause, was whisked away on August 2, 2019 at his residence in Kaduna State.

Former Governor Of Kano State Rabiu Kwankwaso

Since then, his wherabout has remained unknown, leading to speculations that opposition politicians where responsible for his disappearance.

The family of Mr Idris sued the SSS and police and the Kaduna State government over his disappearance. The police denied knowledge about Mr Idris whereabouts and said efforts were on to rescue him.

Mr Kwankwaso, a former presidential candidate, who frequently appears on radio interviews, has been criticised for keeping mum on Mr Idris ordeal.

Speaking in an instagram video chat with the Ovation publisher, Dele Momodu, Mr Kwankwaso said the failure of the security agencies to rescue Mr Idris was troubling.

He described Mr Idris as a good Nigerian who always work hard to ensure that truth and justice prevail.

We have one of our staunch supporters, a good Nigerian called Dadiyata who is from Kaduna State and he is a lecturer at Federal University Dutsema in Katsina State, who was taken right in his house before his family sometimes last year and up till now, nobody saw him, he said.

We worked so hard through the security agencies especially SSS but yet we couldnt find him. I am now taking this opportunity to appeal to the federal government, the Kaduna State government and all those stakeholders to do whatever they can to bring him back to his family.
Despite social distancing measures across the globe that cautions people against close contact with others, including kissing, hugging, and shaking hands, Switzerland says children below ten years old and grandparents can hug, emphasizing that children are less likely to transmit the coronavirus.

Swiss authorities say it is safe for children under the age of ten to hug their grandparents, revising its official advice on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The country is now slowly lifting restrictions, with some businesses allowed to open and schools to resume in two weeks.

The countrys lockdown came after there was a sudden surge of infections over the past months. Now, the number of confirmed cases topped 29,500, with 1,737 deaths. Health officials say it is now safe to start reopening establishments, provided precautions are observed.

Image Credit: motioncenter / Shutterstock

Only brief meetings

The coronavirus disease is dangerous to certain vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions, and those whose immune systems are weak. People with medical conditions like heart disease, lung disease, and cancer are more likely to experience severe disease.

In various studies on the coronavirus pandemic, children are less likely to suffer from severe COVID-19, but they can still contract the virus, causing mild to moderate illness.

The Swiss health ministrys infectious diseases chief Dr. Daniel Koch said scientists suggested that young children did not transmit the virus, making it safe for them to visit their grandparents, who are vulnerable to COVID-19. However, the health experts said that the contact or meeting should be brief and would not involve babysitting. The children cannot stay with their grandparents for long periods.

Dr. Koch added that when the advice about keeping the distance between children and grandparents was formulated, there was limited information and data on how the coronavirus was transmitted.

Children are practically not infected and do not pass on the virus. And most children are infected by their parents. That is why small children pose no risk to high-risk patients or grandparents. So, it is legitimate that grandparents have physical contact with younger children. If the children get older, for example, from the age of 10, the risk increases, then this contact is no longer desirable, Dr. Koch, head of the infectious diseases unit at the Federal Department of Public Health (FOPH), said.

He added that the recommendation of the countrys health department was based on consultations made with infectious disease experts and pediatricians from major universities in Bern, Zurich, and Geneva. Though the main goal is to protect older adults from the disease, it is not the children who bring danger, but their parents. Hence, they do not recommend that grandparents take care of the children, but short meetings may be allowed.

Note of caution

Now, a top World Health Organization (WHO) says that they are looking into whether grandparents can safely hug children without the risk of getting the deadly virus. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhobe, WHOs emergency program technical head, made the statement after Switzerlands recommendation on easing up lockdown measures, including allowing brief meetings between children and the elderly.

However, Germanys chief virologist Christian Drosten said that there is still limited data to conclude that children could not transmit the virus. Various studies are focusing on children contracting the virus, but it is unclear if they can pass it onto others.

In the United Kingdom and many other European countries, the guideline remains that children should not have contact with their grandparents. The UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that though it is important for families to be together, it is more important that vulnerable people continue to be protected.

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic has now infected more than 3.25 million people, while the death toll has surpassed 233,000. The United States remains the country with the highest number of infections, with over one million confirmed cases. Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have reported high infection tolls, with 213,435, 205,463, 172,481, 167,299, and 163,009 confirmed cases, respectively.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- At the start of Melanoma Awareness Month, L'Oreal-owned SkinCeuticals, CeraVe, and La Roche-Posay, the world leaders in dermocosmetics, and the Melanoma Research Alliance, the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research, announced today the start of a three-year partnership to raise awareness of melanoma and improve detection and treatment.

As part of this partnership, they have issued the L'Oreal Dermatological Beauty Brands-MRA Team Science Award to researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine who are studying how Artificial Intelligence (AI) within dermatologic practices can be used to improve melanoma detection.

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the United States and is one of the most common cancers in young adults, especially young women. While treatments for advanced melanomas have improved significantly in the last decade, melanoma is still the deadliest of all skin cancers and this year an estimated 6,800 people will succumb to the disease. However, when caught early, melanoma is highly curable, making early detection efforts critical.

The award will support work being led by Dr. Roberto Novoa. The partnership is supporting research that will help highlight ideal use-cases and the unforeseen benefits or pitfalls of AI implementation in clinical practice and research with the potential to improve the early detection of melanoma when it is most treatable.

"As the global leader in dermocosmetics, L'Oreal is committed to the science of skin health. We are proud to partner with the Melanoma Research Alliance to help advance this crucial research in skin cancer prevention and detection using sophisticated AI technology," said Group President of L'Oreal USA's Active Cosmetics Division, Marc Toulemonde. "It is our hope that our work together will bring much needed attention to melanoma and the role of dermatologists serving on its front lines."

In addition to funding the Team Science award, L'Oreal and MRA will also raise awareness of melanoma and the need for early detection by directing patients and consumers to the Skin Check Pledge microsite. By taking the pledge, users commit to learning what to look for, performing a monthly-self exam and seeing a dermatologist for an annual exam. Learn more or take the pledge at https://www.curemelanoma.net/skincheck/.

"Dermatologists serve a critical role in the early detection of melanoma," says MRA President & CEO Michael Kaplan. "This partnership with L'Oreal will help us better harness the power of new tools  like machine learning and artificial intelligence  needed to help dermatologists make an even bigger impact in the fight against melanoma."

L'Oreal USA has been a longtime partner of the Melanoma Research Alliance. Since 2013, L'Oreal has granted $1.5 million to advance this important research.

About L'Oreal USA's Active Cosmetics Division

L'Oreal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L'Oreal Group, the world's leading beauty company. L'Oreal's Active Cosmetics Division brands meets a range of different skin care needs from normal to blemish-proned, in healthcare outlets worldwide, including, pharmacies, drugstores, and medi-spas. Thanks to its highly complementary brands, developed and endorsed by health professionals - dermatologists, pediatricians, cosmetic doctors - the division is the world leader in dermocosmetics.

About Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)

Founded in 2007 under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the generous support of Debra and Leon Black, the Melanoma Research Alliance exists to accelerate treatment options and find a cure for melanoma. As the largest nonprofit funder of melanoma research, it has dedicated over $110 million and leveraged an additional $200 million towards its mission. Through its support, MRA has championed revolutions in immunotherapy, targeted therapies, novel combinations and diagnostics. Due to the ongoing support of its founders, 100 percent of donations to MRA go directly to its melanoma research program. MRA's ability to fund wide-ranging research in melanoma is amplified by unique collaborations and partnerships with individuals, private foundations, and corporations. Visit http://www.CureMelanoma.org for more information.

Cody R. Barnett, Director of Communications

M: (717) 880-7100

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE LOreal USA Active Cosmetics Division
These are extraordinary times and we all are in uncharted territory. There is a lot of fear and negativity in all spheres due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. While the Corona Warriors are doing a tremendous job fighting from the frontlines, we at Adgully are embarking on an endeavour to highlight the positive developments during these challenging times.

Adgully is featuring a series of brief interactions with industry leaders in India and find out how they are keeping their spirits up as well as keeping their employees motivated, also how they are joining in the fight against the adverse impact of the global pandemic.

Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom South Asia, has a lot of practical suggestions on how to maintain business continuity in the post-COVID-19 world.

What steps are you and your organisation taking to help out the society at large or those engaged in the war against COVID-19?

At Mediacom level, since most of us are currently working remotely, we are all contributing to the PM Cares Fund. Every employee is doing this and we are sharing our contributions with others to inspire every one and help generate a sizable chunk.

Internally, all employees have also been encouraged to donate a part of their salary. This is being used for migrant workers and frontline workers of COVID-19 at a larger group level.

We are also involved with a host of media houses and trying to get social messaging from brands to larger audiences. This will help disseminate the right messaging from brands on the Dos & Donts in this era of misinformation.

How are you keeping your employees motivated and are encouraging them to give their best, even as they are working from home?

We at MediaCom are demonstrating our People First culture. This is the time to Walk The Talk with our people, who we value foremost. I am ensuring regular interactions with all teams on a daily basis to provide singular POV of what is happening with the organisation. We are spending a lot of time on upskilling our teams and also doing training sessions with our clients.

We are also helping each other in tough times, especially those with limited support, those living on their own. We have identified 20 kids who were not able to travel back home due to the lockdown  The Home Alone Kids. We have connected them to employees staying in the same vicinity and have also given them a SPOC in each city in case of any emergency. Its time that they do not feel alone and lonely and we get together as one community.

At a group level a host of initiatives across wellness, training, games, stand up comedy, podcasts are being organised to keep our teams engaged. These are being attended with a lot of enthusiasm across our teams and locations.

From a work point of view, we are investing a lot of time in doing things we have always wanted to do but never had the time. We are upskilling and reskilling them. Employees have been told to take up at least one initiative every week. We have hundreds and thousands of programmes on our Learning Hubs, which are like training sessions. So, the team decided that every week they will do at least one of them and they are maintaining a tracker which the leadership team is tracking. We understand that the work could be a bit less, and that we are all working remotely, but this is also the time to make sure we are upskilling ourselves. Many clients have also reached out to us and requested if we can organise some training sessions for them as well.

What is most needed in challenging times such as these:

(a) From the general public: The three things -

Be Respectful: This is a huge lesson for everyone. The time has come to realise how interdependent we are on each other. Do not abuse the environment.

Be Responsible: As a citizen. Everything is not about money, everything is not about success, so we have to be responsible and do what is right for society.

Be Resilient: We will get past this and have to hold the team, family, society together.

(b) From the authorities:

They are doing a fantastic job, risking their own lives on the streets so that we are safe. In these difficult times, they need to be extra sensitive towards the daily wagers and migrant workers. Give them all the support and help.

(c) From business leaders:

This is the time to give back to the society. I would humbly appeal to every leader (big or small) to help in whatever way possible so that we are able to get past this sooner. Donations, masks, community kitchens, etc.

Your suggestions for business continuity in the advertising industry in the post- COVID-19 scenario?

This is a good time for us to acquire new skills that will be relevant in the future and be prepared for smooth business continuity post-COVID-19. New job opportunities will emerge in the new world post-COVID-19 and especially the millennials will need to be ready to be able to adapt and embrace that change. There is a lot of unlearning and reskilling that we all need to do to overcome this disruption. Also, new media habits are emerging and they need to be adapted to effectively reach our audiences. What worked in pre-COVID-19 times will not work post-COVID-19.
The second richest man in the world, Bill Gates, has revealed what governments across the world must do for life to get back to normal.

This is coming up as countries are slowly relaxing lockdown restrictions enforced due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gates who is now a leading voice on how to fight coronavirus and has granted numerous interviews on how to fight it since it started, has recommended four things for life to get back to normal

The Microsoft founder released the list ahead of his Thursday nights CNN Town Hall interview with White House Infectious disease expert Dr Fauci .

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READ ALSO  Fani Kayode Blasts Bill Gates Wife Over Comment On Coronavirus In Africa

The list reads:

Testing : Gates suggests various strategies to advance current testing methods including at-home test kits and consistent standards about who can get tested.

: Gates suggests various strategies to advance current testing methods including at-home test kits and consistent standards about who can get tested. Contact Tracing : Gates suggests following Germanys model. Interview everyone who tests positive and use a database to make sure someone follows up with all their contacts. However, this relies on the infected person reporting their contacts accurately and requires a lot of staff to follow up with everyone in person. Gates suggest technology may be more adept at this, such as apps that help you remember where youve been or using cell phones.

: Gates suggests following Germanys model. Interview everyone who tests positive and use a database to make sure someone follows up with all their contacts. However, this relies on the infected person reporting their contacts accurately and requires a lot of staff to follow up with everyone in person. Gates suggest technology may be more adept at this, such as apps that help you remember where youve been or using cell phones. Effective Treatment : Right now, there is no treatment for Covid-19. On Wednesday, Fauci expressed optimism about an experimental drug called remdesevir, which is still in the trial phase. Other drugs like hydroxychloroquine have received a lot of attention but are still being studied. Treatments such as convalescent plasma  drawing blood from patients who have recovered from Covid-19, making sure it is free of the coronavirus and other infections, and giving the plasma and the antibodies it contains to sick people  look promising. But there is no magic drug experts can fully support yet.

: Right now, there is no treatment for Covid-19. On Wednesday, Fauci expressed optimism about an experimental drug called remdesevir, which is still in the trial phase. Other drugs like hydroxychloroquine have received a lot of attention but are still being studied. Treatments such as convalescent plasma  drawing blood from patients who have recovered from Covid-19, making sure it is free of the coronavirus and other infections, and giving the plasma and the antibodies it contains to sick people  look promising. But there is no magic drug experts can fully support yet. A Vaccine: Many countries and companies around the world are working at break-neck speed to develop a vaccine faster  and there are promising signs. Gates is particularly excited about pursuing a new approach called an RNA vaccine.

He said: Unlike a flu shot, which contains fragments of the influenza virus so your immune system can learn to attack them, an RNA vaccine gives your body the genetic code needed to produce viral fragments on its own, So, once your body senses traces of the infection, it attacks it.

As of Thursday, the COVID-19 death toll in the world stands at 231,000 with The US recording over 63,000.
Sarah Courtney saves lives in the most challenging circumstances.

Irelands first female Winchman Advanced Paramedic with the Irish Coastguard hangs from a helicopter above wild, roaring seas to rescue people that no one else can reach.

"When youre standing at the heli door with the rotors going over big seas its pretty intense. We go out in all weather but I have faith in the heli and in the crew  the winch operator and the pilot. I dont have a huge fear factor but thats not to say that the adrenaline isnt on stand-by. Youre super alert."

"If youre coming up to a cargo ship or tanker, they can come 150-feet out of the water, so youre hanging out of the heli over big rolling seas by this immense ship. And the biggest factor in getting you safely onto that deck is the skill of the pilot to hold the plane and the skill of the winch operator to direct the pilot to the exact place  calculating the timing of the waves, the amount of cable you need, the exact positioning to get you on deck. If youre even 2 feet off you could land on an obstacle or get tangled in ropes. Its very technical and very precise."

Despite the high-octane and often remote nature of Ms Courtneys job, the coronavirus has managed to impact her vital work in the skies, creating new challenges and new roles for her and her team at the Heli Rescue 117 in Waterford: "Everybody discovered their new-found love of the mountains in the first few weeks with the coronavirus."

"But since the lockdown it has been quieter with calls mostly offshore to vessels and ships. Our service has also been made more broadly available to the Government, to assist Gardai and to the HSE for transport of medical supplies or personnel or logistical tasks."

Personal protective equipment has been a challenge but the 'work-arounds' found by her employers at the Canadian Helicopters Corporation (CHC) which operates for the Irish Regional Coastguard (IRCG), could, she believes, be replicated in other fields, to reduce huge amounts of disposable PPE being dumped.

"For us with PPE its tricky in the heli as standard coronavirus PPE isnt necessarily appropriate. Loose items are hazardous to the heli during winching. And a Tyvek suit isnt going to go over our immersion suits and lifejackets.

"But we have adapted, CHC management have devised protocols for us to wear our helmet face and eye shields over PPE. And after any calls we decontaminate the aircraft and our immersion suits are washed and sprayed with a detergent that kills any contaminants while not damaging our suits."

"Personally I would love to see a similar approach to PPE across the board where PPE such as clothing, goggles, face shields and even appropriate masks are not single-use but can be used, safely disinfected and re-used. I shudder to think of the quantity of single-use PPE that is being dumped globally on a daily, hourly and by the minute rate at the moment."

Originally from Cork, Ms Courtney worked for the Irish Ambulance Service before joining the coastguard last year.

She said that despite the added pressure of working through a pandemic, "it feels good to be helpful".

"While the threat at present is strong, stress can be mitigated by being prepared and keeping ourselves as healthy as we can," she said.

"Our patient cohort tends to be people out-and-about rather than those with chronic conditions so its our colleagues in the other healthcare settings that have the real challenges right now.

"And not only the healthcare workers but the cleaners, support staff, people working in supermarkets, and those transporting supplies and all the other people that are in the background doing fundamental work to keep us all going."

Sarah Courtney, first female winchman advanced paramedic for the Irish Coastguard.

She said that life as Irelands only female winchman is "pretty much the same as for the lads except that I have to put my hair in a ponytail before I put my helmet on!"

When called to a rescue, the mission is planned, the heli rotors and engines are operating in 6-8 minutes and Ms Courtney plots the route on the navigation system and maps for the pilots as they travel: "As we arrive to a scene the pilots and winch operator assess the situation for landing or winching while I prepare equipment to take with me.

"The winching process involves great skill on behalf of the pilot and the winch operator to get me safely onto a cliff or a moving deck. On the way back from a scene the winch-op and I treat the casualty in the back, before handing them over to our ambulance colleagues to take to ED."

"Everybody always says how cool a job it is but Im not so sure how cool theyd think it is if they were at the heli door! I do love it though."
President Donald Trumps former attorney, Michael Cohen, will not be released from prison early, despite previously being told he would leave due to coronavirus fears.

Last month, Cohen was granted an early release from the federal prison in Otisville, New York, with the remainder of his three-year sentence scheduled to be completed under home confinement.

At the time that he was granted home release, 14 inmates and seven staff members had tested positive for Covid-19 at the prison, according to CNN.

Cohen completed the 14-day mandatory quarantine that was implemented for those being released from prison during the coronavirus pandemic.

However, sources familiar with Cohens situation, told ABC on Friday that his early release has been rescinded.

The outlet also reported that other inmates who were scheduled to be released at the same time as the disgraced attorney, have also had their offers cancelled.

Cohens lawyer, Roger Adler, told CNBC: I am disappointed that Michael was not released after the 14-day quarantine period.

Recommended Michael Cohen to be released from prison early over coronavirus fears

It is my understanding that compassionate release applications are being reviewed by the BOP central office, he said. It is my hope that following that review that Michael Cohen will be released either on a furlough, or transferred to home confinement.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion and campaign finance violations, and reported to prison on 6 May 2019.

Mr Trumps former attorney claimed he violated campaign finance rules under the direction of the president, for the principal purpose of influencing the 2016 presidential election. The president denies these claims.

The 53-year-old is currently serving a three-year sentence, that is due to end in November 2021.

The news comes a day after Charles Harder, a Trump organisation lawyer, warned Mr Cohen that he could be in legal trouble if he releases a promised tell-all book about his time working for the president.

When news broke about the book last month, actor Tom Arnold, who has stayed in contact with the ex lawyer, told the Daily Beast: Its like Jaws  you dont see Jaws very much, but you hear the music, and for Trump he knows Michael is coming and Trump better hear the Jaws music.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now upwards of one million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 64,203.
A tool that can be attached to e-cigarettes to track vaping habits could help scientists develop ways to tackle different forms of addiction.

Experts from Cornell Tech created an 'unobtrusive' monitor that can track when people vape, how deeply they inhale and how much nicotine they consume.

It works across all types of e-cigarettes and the team say it will help gaps in their knowledge on the impact of vaping and how people might be able to stop.

It's called PuffPacket and was built in response to the jump in sales of vaping device - going from $1.5 billion in 2014 to $3.6 billion in 2018, researchers said.

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Developers have created three versions of the PuffPacket device to work across all types of e-cigarettes and have made it open source so other researchers can build one

It's called PuffPacket and was built in response to the jump in sales of vaping device - going from $1.5 billion in 2014 to $3.6 billion in 2018, researchers said

Using PuffPacket could help vapers monitor their own nicotine consumption  harder to track than for traditional cigarette smokers.

Traditional smokers can easily tell how much they've smoked by watching a cigarette burn or seeing how many remain in a pack.

The researchers behind the new technology say it will help them 'better understand the many forces impacting drug cravings and addictive behaviour'.

'The lack of continuous and objective understanding of vaping behaviors led us to develop PuffPacket,' said Alexander Adams, doctoral student at Cornell Tech.

He said the aim was 'to enable proper measurement, monitoring, tracking and recording of e-cigarette use, as opposed to inferring it from location and activity data, or self-reports.'

The team behind the study - the People-Aware Computing lab - are creating a range of sensors and trackers examine consumption and addictive substances.

'We are also developing a range of technologies to deliver minimally intrusive interventions to reduce cravings,' said senior author is Tanzeem Choudhury.

'We hope this can help individuals suffering from substance-use disorders on their paths to recovery,' the professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell institute said.

The researchers developed three versions of PuffPacket with a range of attributes, such as ease of attachment and long battery life.

The device makes use of the e-cigarettes' own signals, as well as Bluetooth technology, to track the intensity, duration and frequency of inhalations.

The data is then transmitted to a smartphone, which captures location, time and activity  such as walking, standing or driving  to help identify what circumstances might be triggering people to vape.

'Getting these correlations between time of day, place and activity is important for understanding addiction,' Adams said.

'Research has shown that if you can keep people away from the paths of their normal habits, it can disrupt them. It creates opportunities for moments of intervention.'

The system has a sensor that tracks how deep people are inhaling, how much nicotine they consume and even what time they regularly use their e-cigarette

It's a complicated but cheap process that involves bluetooth and a smartphone. The PuffPacket is only activated when vaping begins

For example, if someone skips or delays the first vape of the morning  shown in cigarette use to be critical in determining whether they'll smoke less over the course of the day  an app might send an encouraging message.

The researchers sought to make PuffPacket as inexpensive and easy to use as possible in a bid to make it widely accepted.

Affixing it directly to vaping devices and syncing it with phones is expected to yield more accurate results than methods requiring people to record their vaping habits.

When activated by an inhale, the e-cigarettes' electrical signal 'wakes' PuffPacket, allowing it to save battery when not in use.

The researchers released open-source designs for the device, in order to make it easier for anyone studying vaping to adapt PuffPacket for their own experiments.

'The demand is great for understanding the e-cigarette epidemic,' Adams said. 'We wanted to give the community of public health researchers a tool to help them.'

The research was due to be presented at the cancelled 2020 Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Human Computing Interaction but is now available on the Cornell website.
Chandigarh, May 1 : Asserting that this was not the time to indulge in petty politics, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday appealed to the opposition parties not to trigger panic among people by spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic in the state.

In a televised address to the people, the Chief Minister said there were no mismanagement of the crisis or widespread infections in the state, as was being projected by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Most of the cases now were those that were coming from other states, he said, disclosing that of the new cases reported, only seven related to local infection while 93 were Punjabis who had come from outside the state.

The Chief Minister called upon the people not to be worried about the sudden spike in numbers that could be expected over the next few days as more people return to their homes from other states with the government of India's decision to allow the movement of stranded people.

Urging the opposition to join hands, and work shoulder to shoulder with his government, in the interest of Punjab and its people, the Chief Minister said: "It is time not to score brownie points but to show unity." Citing the example of the appointment of Labour leader Clement Attlee as Deputy Prime Minister by then Conservative UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, when faced with World War II against Germany, Amarinder Singh said wars could only be fought and won unitedly.

Pointing out that Punjab is going through a difficult time, Amarinder Singh underlined the need for all to work together to save the state and its people.

"It is a war of Punjab and for its people," he said.

In an apparent reference to the opposition's criticism of his government's handling of the Covid situation, the Chief Minister said nobody wants to hear negative things at this critical time.

People are already going through very negative times, and want to hear positive things and good news, he added.

Warning of possible escalation in the number of Covid cases as more and more stranded Punjabis return from other states, in the wake of easing of norms by the Centre, the Chief Minister appealed to the people not to be afraid of quarantine, which was just a means to ensure that the returnees do not spread the infection among their families, neighbours or others.

Quarantine is nothing but a way to keep those coming back to Punjab in isolation while they are tested and given a clean chit by the doctors, said Amarinder Singh, making it clear that every person returning to the state would be kept in institutional quarantine as a preventive measure.

Amid reports of certain people sneaking through the borders to get back home, the Chief Minister appealed to all not to resort to such dangerous measures but to come in through proper channels, with due screening, testing and quarantining.

This, he said, was imperative to keep the situation in Punjab under control, as had been done so far, largely on account of the decision to go for curfew early.

"Nobody will be allowed to go to their home without the mandatory quarantine and doctor's clearance," he said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister



Bhupesh Baghel on Friday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to run a special train to bring back workers hailing from the state, who are stranded in other parts of the country due to the lockdown, officials said.

In a letter to the PM, the chief minister said that the Centre's decision to impose the nationwide lockdown helped in curbing the epidemic, as a result of which the number of COVID-19 patients in Chhattisgarh is very low, the official said.

The instructions issued on April 29 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for inter-state movement of workers and migrants will prove beneficial in restoring normalcy and economic activities in the state, the CM said in the letter.

Migrants from Chhattisgarh are stuck in other states and are unable to return due to lockdown, Baghel said, adding that the number of such workers is more than 1.6 lakh at present and in view of their economic and mental condition, their homecoming becomes very important.

Chhattisgarh is coordinating with other states to ensure the return of these migrants and an action plan has been chalked out to bring back these workers in buses. However, it would be difficult to arrange buses and other amenities required to bring back such a large number of workers, he said.

It will also be extremely difficult to take care of the safety and convenience of these workers during long distance journeys, Baghel said.

The chief minister suggested that keeping in view the present situation, point-to-point special trains could be run to ensure safety, convenience and hygiene of the migrants.

The chief minister further requested the PM to take immediate decision regarding operating a special train for bringing back stranded labourers from other states.

The state government has already made a request in this connection to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police officers and members of the National Guard of Ukraine stand guard during a protest to demand support from the government for small businesses and easing of lockdown measures in Kiev

By Ilya Zhegulev

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine reached 10,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday and its health minister urged people not to violate lockdown measures that have kept the country's death toll much lower than in much of western Europe.

In an interview with Reuters, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said the lockdown could be lifted and life return to some sort of normality by the summer but the government could not risk a second wave of infections by opening up too soon.

The early introduction of lockdown measures had kept the total caseload manageable and avoided excessive strain on the hospital system, he said.

But the government cannot "open up everything and endanger the entire population of Ukraine, because there will immediately be a big outbreak and a peak in the development of this disease," Stepanov said.

Even after the lockdown is lifted, "there are some things that we will still have to observe, for example, everything related to personal disinfection, protection, everything about handshaking," he said. "COVID changed the world."

Ukraine has 10,406 coronavirus cases and 261 deaths. Medical workers account for 2,063 of cases.

Stepanov said his biggest worry was the high rate of infections among doctors -- about a fifth of all cases. The government has tripled salaries of medical staff working with patients who have the COVID-19 respiratory disease that the coronavirus can cause.

Ukraine is ramping up its testing rate to 8,000-10,0000 a day next month from around 5,820 now, he said.

"In general, the incidence of medical workers is my biggest headache. And I am very worried about this," said Stepanov, who took office at the end of March after his predecessor was fired after less than a month in charge.

Stepanov said the government was increasing stocks of personal protective equipment both to fight coronavirus now and against any second wave of infections.

"At the beginning of the epidemic, personal protective equipment was completely lacking," he said.

Story continues

"THINK ABOUT YOUR LOVED ONES"

The government shut businesses such as cafes, restaurants, markets and cinemas last month, closed its borders to foreign citizens and shut down almost all air and rail travel, causing an increase in job losses.

Anger at the lockdown led to hundreds of businessmen protesting near the government building on Wednesday.

The government has extended the lockdown until May 11 and expects the pandemic to peak in Ukraine early next month. But there are growing signs of public impatience.

"What do we see in the last days? We see rallies, people on the streets, we see traffic jams, we see an increase in the number of people in parks. I understand that being in quarantine for five, six weeks is very difficult," Stepanov told a briefing after the interview.

"When you go out to rallies or when you start violating the quarantine, don't think about just yourself. Think about your loved ones whom you can infect by becoming infected at such events."

(Reporting by Ilya Zhegulev and Pavel Polityuk; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Timothy Heritage)
SACRAMENTO  Hundreds of protesters gathered on the steps of the state Capitol on Friday, in defiance of a statewide stay-at-home order and a recent ban on protests on Capitol property, to demand that Gov. Gavin Newsom reopen California. A confrontation with law enforcement ultimately led to 32 arrests by the end of the rally.

Though people began arriving hours earlier, dozens of California Highway Patrol officers surrounded the Capitol shortly after the official start of the protest at noon, ordering it to disperse. Decked out in American flag paraphernalia and Trump 2020 campaign gear, attendees chanted, USA! USA! and Whose house? Our house! Some waved signs and cameras in officers faces, urging them to defy Newsoms order.

As the crowd began to thin, CHP officers started slowly pushing protesters back off the steps of the building around 2 p.m. and arrested some who refused to move.

As she was being detained, Jeannie Favela of Durham (Butte County) said she was taking a stand for her friends who owned their own businesses.

They cant provide for their families when the economy is shut down, when their small businesses are shut down and they cant work, she said. I have a sign saying all jobs matter, and they do, because everybody is essential.

Many protesters expressed skepticism about what public health experts have said about how widespread the coronavirus is and the severity of COVID-19, the illness it causes. Few wore masks as they crowded onto the lawn outside the Capitol. Cars circled the block, honking their support and a plane flew overhead with a banner that said End his tyranny next to an image of Newsom with a Hitler mustache.

Newsom is facing increasing pressure to begin loosening restrictions on public life. Hundreds of people protested at the Capitol last week as well. After that gathering, the CHP banned large public events, saying the prohibition would remain in place until health officials decide its safe for large groups to assemble.

Conservative activists are suing to overturn some of his orders on nonessential businesses, church services and beach closures.

But the protesters still appear to represent a minority in the state. A poll released Friday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that 70% of California voters are concerned about lockdown measures ending too soon, leading to a resurgence of the coronavirus, compared with 30% who are more worried the orders will extend too long, further damaging the economy. Newsom received 70% approval for his response to the crisis.

The governor this week unveiled a plan for how he would phase in the reopening of businesses and schools and he said Friday that he could be days away from making significant modifications to the stay-at-home order. But he has warned that those changes depend on ongoing social distancing and other behavior that would not cause a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, which have stabilized in California in recent weeks.

At the Capitol rally, Tara Ramos, 44, of Winters (Yolo County), said the numbers reported by the government  52,170 coronavirus cases in California and 2,132 deaths  did not justify a complete shutdown of the state. She said she was protesting on behalf of her family, including her daughter who had lost a job as a groomer at PetSmart and her 15-year-old son, who has special needs and is not able to attend school.

Having my son home all the time is hard, Ramos said. Hes nonverbal, in diapers. He needed that mental stimulation and I needed that break.

Bob Waugh, 60, a retired law enforcement officer from Lodi (San Joaquin County), said Californias response to the crisis followed no logic. While people are stuck home from work, he said, Newsom called last week for a corps of volunteers to help nonprofits that are serving a surge of needy Californians. Waugh said the government was using the situation to exert more control over peoples rights.

Its political posturing, he said. Closing down a country for this long, theres no justification for this.

A similar protest in San Francisco drew about 40 people across the back entrance to City Hall, waving American flags and holding signs, saying things like Scamdemic! and Newsom is a Dictator!

About a dozen cars circled Civic Center, honking their horns, with drivers yelling that they want the stay-at-home order lifted.

Emily Hindsman, 34, stood in her scrubs and in a mask and said the city should reopen because the numbers arent nearly as bad as they were projected to be. A registered nurse who cares for patients who are acutely ill, Hindsman said she realized that lifting the stay-at-home order could lead to an uptick in cases. But, she said, the hospitals have enough room to handle it.

At this point, isolation is worse for the majority of people, she said. The disease hasnt been as bad as they thought it would be.

Daniel Kotzin, who lives in San Francisco, said that shelter in place has been frustrating for his family with two little kids  5-year-old Oscar and 3-year-old Ruth.

There is literally nowhere for me to go with them, he said, as his two children climbed over a statue outside of City Hall. This is my activity with them today.

Kotzin was skeptical that the shutdown had any impact on slowing the spread of the virus, despite the fact that medical experts widely agree that the Bay Areas early and decisive action on a shutdown helped stave off a major surge.

They keep saying the surge is coming, the surge is coming, he said. But it never comes.

Alexei Koseff and Trisha Thadani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com, tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff, @TrishaThadani
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Thirty-one more containment zones have been added in Chennai taking the total number to 233. On April 28, the city had 202 containment zones.

According to latest data released by the Chennai corporation on Friday, Royapuram has 56 containment zones while Thiru-vi-ka Nagar has 49, Teynampet has 28 and Tondiarpet has 25.

Nine of the 15 zones in the city have containment zones in single digits. Manali only has 1 containment zone, while Sholinganallur and Alandur have two each.

Manali only has two active cases while Madhavaram has one. Alandur has three, Perungudi has two and Sholinganallur too has one.

Corporation Commissioner G Prakash in a press meet on Friday said more cases have been observed in north Chennai as congestion is higher there.

In north Chennai, Thiru-vi-ka Nagar has 176 active cases, while Royapuram has 128 and Tondiarpet has 55. The total number of active cases in Chennai is 673.
Almost a quarter of businesses in Ireland shut down temporarily due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, new figures have revealed.

With the country on lockdown, the construction and tourism industries have almost come to a standstill while many restaurants are only operating a takeaway service for customers.
An Aurora mom who was ticketed $880 for standing too long in a park under emergency coronavirus restrictions while out with her teething baby and family dog in mid-April remains shaken by the incident.

I feel paranoid and afraid to leave my house. I have lost sleep over this issue. My anxiety is running rampant. I am stressed and upset. I will be fighting the ticket, said Roxana D., who did not want her last name published out of concern for her privacy and safety.

I have been lucky enough to receive a wonderful response from many people who believe this case is ridiculous. Ive been contacted by multiple legal professionals offering their help. My belief was that this was unjustified.

Premier Doug Ford addressed the issue during his daily briefing Wednesday when a reporter asked whether this and other incidents of Ontario residents being ticketed speaks to some bylaw officers being heavy-handed, even as protesters that the premier referred to as yahoos werent penalized for gathering at Queens Park last month.

The police will determine if theyre going to be ticketed or not. And sometimes you might get overzealous bylaw officers or police, Ford said.

But its using good judgment. And I think the vast majority of our police use good judgment. I love our police, love our bylaw officers. Sounds like, you know, they could have maybe used a little bit of different judgment on those couple of calls. But again, theyre doing an incredible, incredible job.

Aurora has closed its parks during the coronavirus outbreak but people are allowed to use paths to walk through. While the town wont comment on individual cases, it says it can issue fines starting at $880 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protecting Act to help flatten the COVID-19 curve.

All municipal parks and facilities have clear and visible signage indicating closures and an education campaign about the closures and provincial orders was done, the town said in an emailed statement, adding it has only charged two per cent of the more than 3,100 people it has interacted with under the coronavirus restrictions.

Roxana was walking in Edward Coltham Park, near Leslie Street at St. Johns Sideroad, with her baby and almost two-year-old Australian shepherd on the afternoon of April 18 when she saw three older residents clearly not in the best physical condition coming toward her.

Feeling it was her civic duty to physical distance to avoid potential transmission of COVID-19, Roxana said she stood under the edge of a stone gazebo adjacent to the pathway. Unlike the nearby playground, there is no caution tape around the gazebo.

While waiting for the others to pass, she answered a text on her phone.

Having grown up with a phone in her hand, Roxana said she can easily text while walking so didnt pull under the gazebo specifically to use it.

Once I looked up from my phone, I saw the pathway was clear and I started to pull out of the gazebo. As I did, a Town of Aurora  Bylaw- Animal Control car, sped through the park, she said in an email.

I dont know how he managed to get such a car into the park at such a high speed.

The officer asked if she knew the parks were closed and she said she was aware of the restriction.

However, I should make it abundantly clear, I did not physically use any amenities. I merely pulled into an open space to allow for proper physical distancing measures, she said.

The officer explained the zero-tolerance policy, said he had observed her standing for more than two minutes and issued Roxana a ticket.

The incident left her feeling shocked, embarrassed and scared.

She would have gladly moved along if she had been given a warning.

With neighbouring Newmarket encouraging its residents to use parks as long as they dont use park amenities such as picnic tables and benches and practise physical distancing as a way of getting exercise and promoting mental health, differing community rules are confusing, Roxana said.

Getting outside is important, she said.

I am doing my absolute most to keep my mental health in a good place. It is incredibly hard. My baby is teething, my dog is not the type of dog that you cant walk, he gets antsy indoors much like us people, she said.

We have family members who live a literal two-minute walk away and my child has not seen them in two months because we have been adhering to physical distancing rules. Its a heartbreaking situation for many, many people. There is so much uncertainty and sometimes you need to decompress.

I have been isolated, much like many people, from my extended family for weeks. Im doing my best to keep my sanity during this entire situation. Also, giving this little bit of freedom to people will allow them to rejuvenate their ability to bear out the isolation for a longer period of time. Otherwise, isolation can feel like youre being jailed.
We want to minimize our loss, not necessarily by minimizing cost.

Thats the cautionary advice from Cornell University Extension Associate Jason Karszes in response to the COVID-19 situation that has been rapidly changing. Dairy producers must evaluate their options thoroughly and should not be making management decisions in haste.

Karszes words come in the face of dairy farmers across the country being encouraged, asked, or required to reduce their milk production. Many potential options exist for doing so but choosing the right one requires some pencil sharpening. To help producers think through this unique challenge, Karszes and the University of Illinois Michael Hutjens joined the April 29 broadcast of Hoards Dairyman DairyLivestream.

DairyLivestream is a special series of web meetings featuring expert perspective from some of our nations leading dairy professionals. In addition to this weeks guests, Cornell University economist Chris Wolf and University of Wisconsin-Madison Director of Dairy Policy Analysis Mark Stephenson discussed what reducing production could mean for a dairy farms business structure.

A recording of the entire broadcast can be viewed here. This weeks event was sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition.

Keep, sell, change ration

Many immediate thoughts to alter milk production turned to drying cows off earlier than usual, culling more heavily, or adjusting the ration. Hutjens outlined best practices for those strategies as well as a few others. In any case, consider the timeliness of the plan and target its impact, he advised.

How long will a plan need to be effective? Hutjens asked. This will affect the decision made. Then theres the targeting. Calculate how many pounds you need to reduce and how many cows will account for this.

Here are some potential options



Dry-off early  Extending the dry period to 80 or 100 days if cows are already low in milk will immediately drop production. He advised not to add these farther-off cows to current dry cow groups; instead, put them in a different pen or pasture. Here, they can receive a separate, cheaper ration.

 Extending the dry period to 80 or 100 days if cows are already low in milk will immediately drop production. He advised not to add these farther-off cows to current dry cow groups; instead, put them in a different pen or pasture. Here, they can receive a separate, cheaper ration. Culling  Remember to consider how you will replace these animals when the market returns. Do you have enough heifers, or will you need to purchase some?

 Remember to consider how you will replace these animals when the market returns. Do you have enough heifers, or will you need to purchase some? Adjusting the ration  Creating a low-group total mixed ration (TMR) that is less nutrient-dense for the bottom half or third of the herd can reduce production in those cows by 6 to 8 pounds each day. However, this is not the time to pull feed additives out of the ration or alter fresh cow protocols.

 Creating a low-group total mixed ration (TMR) that is less nutrient-dense for the bottom half or third of the herd can reduce production in those cows by 6 to 8 pounds each day. However, this is not the time to pull feed additives out of the ration or alter fresh cow protocols. Reduce from 3x milking to 2x  This change can also result in a 6- to 8-pound drop in daily production, although it may be tougher to implement from a labor perspective. Again, this is not a strategy to consider for fresh cows.

 This change can also result in a 6- to 8-pound drop in daily production, although it may be tougher to implement from a labor perspective. Again, this is not a strategy to consider for fresh cows. Feeding waste milk  If fed to calves, milk should be pasteurized. For a TMR, Hutjens advised adding about 16 pounds in order to keep moisture under 60%. Those nutrients would be valued near $8 per cwt.

Do no harm should be the mindset when making management decisions, he stressed. Fresh cows are particularly vulnerable  production drops initiated in cows 60 to 80 days in milk wont be recovered until the next lactation.

Weighing the timeliness

Which plan is the right one to follow? Right now, there is no single best option, Karszes explained. Rather, a producer must take the time to evaluate each possibility by comparing the numbers and performing various sensitivity analyses.

Use your sounding boards to decide what is feasible, he said. These include accountants and lenders, consultants, veterinarians, and more. Accrual-based financial statements should come into play in those conversations.

Another factor in making these cuts will be the length of this downturn. Wolf explained that what is a fixed cost and what is a variable cost, and therefore what we aim to cover in the short term versus the long term, may change based on when the markets are expected to return. Everyone has the same questions about when life will return to normal. For now, understanding your options and remaining flexible will be the most effective strategy.

To watch the full broadcast and hear the panelists respond to 30 minutes of audience questions on market consolidation, the beef supply chain, and dairy coverage programs, visit the archive of the presentation.

An ongoing series of events

DairyLivestream will continue to dissect various aspects of the dairy markets over the coming weeks. Join us each Wednesday at 11 a.m. (CDT) to hear from dairy leaders and experts. Registering for one event will register you for every week.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2020

April 30, 2020
The OECD Observer online archive takes you on a journey through half a century of public policy and world progress.

Since November 1962, the OECDs experts and leading guests offer insights on the questions facing our member countries with concise and authoritative analysis, and provide our audiences with an excellent opportunity to understand policy debates and consider solutions.

Each edition of the OECD Observer reports on a core theme of the OECDs on-going work, from economics and society through governance, finance, and the environment, and articles are bolstered by tables and graphs.
Major supermarket chains are beginning to report their first coronavirus-related employee deaths, leading to store closures and increasing anxiety among grocery workers as the pandemic intensifies across the country.

A Trader Joe's worker in Scarsdale, New York, a greeter at a Giant store in Largo, Maryland, and two Walmart employees from the same Chicago-area store have died of covid-19 in recent days, the companies confirmed Monday.

Though more than 40 states have ordered nonessential businesses to close and told residents to stay home to stem the spread of the virus, supermarkets are among the retailers that remain open. Thousands of grocery employees have continued to report to work as U.S. infections and death rates continue to climb, with many reporting long shifts and extra workloads to keep up with spiking demand. Many workers say they don't have enough protective gear to deal with hundreds of customers a day. Dozens of grocery workers have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Industry experts say the rise of worker infections and deaths will likely have a ripple effect on grocers' ability to retain and add new workers at a time when they're looking to rapidly hire thousands of temporary employees. Walmart, the nation's largest grocer, is hiring 150,000 workers, while Kroger is adding more than 10,000. Many are offering an extra $2 an hour and promising masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. But finding workers willing to work on the front lines for little more than the minimum wage could be an increasingly tough sell, according to supermarket analyst Phil Lempert.

"One of the biggest mistakes supermarkets made early on was not allowing employees to wear masks and gloves the way they wanted to," he said. "They're starting to become proactive now, but it's still going to be much tougher to hire hundreds of thousands of new workers. We're going to start seeing people say, 'I'll just stay on unemployed instead of risking my life for a temporary job.'"

Some companies have begun installing plexiglass sneeze guards at cash registers and requiring customers to stand 6 feet apart in line. The country's two largest grocers, Walmart and Kroger, are beginning to check employees' temperatures at the beginning of each shift, and will provide workers with gloves and masks.

The added precautions come amid a wave of worker strikes and petitions aimed at getting employers like Amazon, Trader Joe's and the grocery delivery service Instacart, to take additional steps to protect workers. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Those efforts are likely to take on new urgency, analysts said, as supermarket workers across the country begin to see colleagues fall ill from covid-19. More than 356,000 Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Monday afternoon, and nearly 10,500 have died.

A Trader Joe's employee with underlying health conditions died of covid-19 early Monday morning, spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said. The Scarsdale, New York, store where the employee worked has been closed until Thursday to give workers "time to process and grieve," Friend-Daniel said in an email. Employees will continue to be paid during the closure, and will receive an additional two days of paid leave, she said.

Trader Joe's stores in Brooklyn and Philadelphia also were temporarily closed Monday, for additional cleaning and sanitizing.

In Illinois, Walmart employees Phillip Thomas, 48, and Wando Evans, 51, both of whom worked at a store in Evergreen Park near Chicago, died in late March, according to labor advocacy group United for Respect.

A Walmart spokesman said the company is "heartbroken." The grocery giant has hired an outside company to sanitize "high-touch" areas, such as front entrance, carts, registers and bathrooms. It has also started installing sneeze guards at cash register and begun limiting the number of customers who can shop at one time.

In Maryland, Leilani Jordan, 27, a greeter at the Giant's Campus Way South store in Largo, died last week.

"She said, 'Mommy, I'm going to work because no one else is going to help the senior citizens get their groceries," her mother, Zenobia Shepherd, told The Washington Post. "She only stopped going to work when she could no longer breathe."

Her last day at work was March 16, according to Giant spokesman Daniel Wolk. Jordan tested positive for the coronavirus in late March and died Wednesday.

Wolk said the company cleaned and disinfected the store when it found out about Jordan's diagnosis, and is providing counseling for employees.
One person is dead and five are missing after a military helicopter operating off a Canadian frigate during a NATO exercise crashed into the sea between Greece and Italy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

Trudeau said one body was found, and the five others aboard the aircraft are missing.

We hold out hope to find the missing, Trudeau said.

The Cyclone helicopter was deployed on board the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton and was participating in a NATO training exercise off the coast of Greece when the incident occurred, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.

Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canadas top military official, said the ship lost contact with the aircrew on Wednesday evening and that flares were spotted from the water minutes later. Vance said flares would have been automatic when it ditched.

He confirmed the body of Abbigail Cowbrough has been recovered. She was 23.

Canadian Defense Minister Harjat Sajjan said they have recovered the flight data recorder but said the cause of the accident remains unknown at this time.

Multiple NATO countries are in an ongoing search-and-rescue operation in the Ionian Sea, hoping to find the five others.

Vance said the voice and data recorders floated away from the wreckage.

A beacon allowed them to find it.

He said they have placed Canada's Cyclone helicopter fleet on operational pause."

We have to rule out that there is a fleet-wide problem, he said.

The Royal Canadian Air Forces Cyclone helicopters carry a crew of four, including two pilots, a tactical operator and a sensor operator with space for several passengers.

They are primarily based on naval vessels and used for hunting submarines, surveillance and search and rescue.

The Canadian military only started using them on missions in late 2018 after more than a decade of developmental challenges, delays and cost overruns.

The crash is also likely to raise questions about the aircraft.
South Africa: Week-long provincial movement dates announced

As South Africans woke up to partially relaxed COVID-19 lockdown regulations, those who wish to travel between provinces, will be allowed to do so between 1 and 7 May.

The once-off movement of persons comes as thousands of categorised employees began returning to work on Friday.

This comes after Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma this week shifted the lockdown from level 5 to level 4.

South Africa has been on lockdown since 27 March. Announcing the lockdown last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the lockdown, which has had a negative impact on the countrys economy, was for government to adequately address and reduce the spread of the infectious virus.

Regulation 16 (5), relating to the movement of people, any person who was not at their place of residence, or work before the lockdown period and who could not travel between provinces, metropolitan and district areas during the lockdown, will be permitted, on a once-off basis, to return to their places of residence or work and will be required to stay in such place until the end of Alert Level 4.

The Ministry in the statement said persons who wish to make use of the provision are permitted to do so during the period 1 May 2020 to 7 May 2020.

For this purpose, there will be no need for people to obtain and produce a permit in order to cross provincial, metropolitan or district boundaries, said the Ministry.

The security structures will however put measures in place to ensure those who make use of the window will do so once-off, and one-way only.

The Minister in the statement urged all South Africans to recognise the unprecedented crisis facing the country due to COVID-19 and to use the opportunity provided for once off travel responsibly by still adhering to the lockdown regulations.

The Minister has also urged South Africans to unite and work together to defeat this pandemic, said the Ministry.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
In Ohio, DeWine condemned a vile anti-Semitic sign at a statehouse protest and a GOP state senators comparison of steps taken by the states health director to those made by Nazis during the Holocaust. And in Indiana, Holcomb criticized 200 protesters who marched outside the governors mansion in Indianapolis, many of them not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. He called the gathering a perfect petri dish for how this can spread in a city with one-third of the states COVID-19 cases.
South Africa Details New COVID-19 Tax Measures

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

01 May 2020

On April 23, 2020, the National Treasury of South Africa provided further details of the additional COVID-19 tax support measures first announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 21.

These additional measures include a skills development levy holiday, expedited value-added tax refunds, a deferral of the carbon tax, and the postponement of certain changes announced in the 2020 Budget, in particular the proposed restriction on interest expense deductions. They are as follows:

Skills development levy holiday

From May 1, 2020, there will be a four-month holiday for skills development levy contributions (one percent of total salaries) to assist all businesses with cash flow. This provides relief of around ZAR6bn (USD315m).

Fast-tracking of VAT refunds

Smaller VAT vendors that are in a net refund position will be temporarily permitted to file monthly instead of once every two months to provide them with faster access to input tax refunds. SARS is working towards having its systems in place to allow this in May 2020 for Category A vendors (those required to file at the end of January, March, May, July, September and November) that would otherwise only file in June 2020.

Three-month deferral for filing and first payment of carbon tax liabilities

The filing requirement and the first carbon tax payment are due by July 31, 2020. To provide additional time to complete the first return, as well as cash flow relief in the short-term, and to allow for the utilization of carbon offsets as administered by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the filing and payment date will be delayed to October 31, 2020, providing cash flow relief of close to ZAR2bn.

A deferral for the payment of excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products

Due to the restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, payments due in May 2020 and June 2020 will be deferred by 90 days for excise compliant businesses to more closely align tax payments through the duty-at-source system (excise duties are imposed at the point of production) with retail sales. This is expected to provide short term assistance of around ZAR6bn.

Postponing the implementation of some Budget 2020 measures

The 2020 Budget announced measures to broaden the corporate income tax base by: restricting net interest expense deductions to 30 percent of earnings; and limiting the use of assessed losses carried forward to 80 percent of taxable income. Both measures were to be effective for years of assessment commencing on or after January 1, 2021. These measures will be postponed to at least January 1, 2022.

An increase in the expanded employment tax incentive amount

The first set of tax measures provided for a wage subsidy of up to ZAR500 per month for each employee that earns less than ZAR6,500 per month. This amount will be increased to ZAR750 per month at a total cost of around ZAR15bn.

An increase in the proportion of tax to be deferred and in the gross income threshold for automatic tax deferrals

The first set of tax measures also allowed tax compliant businesses to defer 20 percent of their employees' tax liabilities over the next four months (ending July 31, 2020) and a portion of their provisional corporate income tax payments (without penalties or interest). The proportion of employees' tax that can deferred will be increased to 35 percent and the gross income threshold for both deferrals will be increased from ZAR50m to ZAR100m, providing total cash flow relief of around ZAR31bn with an expected revenue loss of ZAR5bn.

Case-by-case application to SARS for waiving of penalties:

Larger businesses (with gross income of more than ZAR100m) that can show they are incapable of making payment due to COVID-19 may apply directly to SARS to defer tax payments without incurring penalties. Similarly, businesses with gross income of less than ZAR100m can apply for an additional deferral of payments without incurring penalties.

Increasing the deduction available for donations to the Solidarity Fund:

The tax-deductible limit for donations (currently 10 percent of taxable income) will be increased by an additional 10 percent for donations to the Solidarity Fund during the 2020/21 tax year.

Adjusting pay-as-you-earn for donations made through the employer:

Employers can factor in donations of up to five percent of an employee's monthly salary when calculating the monthly employees' tax to be withheld. An additional percentage that can be factored in of up to 33.3 percent, depending on the employee's circumstances, will be provided for a limited period for donations to the Solidarity Fund. This will lessen cash flow constraints for employees who donate to the Solidarity Fund.

Legal effect

The above measures will be given legal effect by the two bills published by the Government on April 1, 2020. These are the Draft Disaster Management Tax Relief Bill and the Draft Disaster Management Tax Relief Administration Bill.

Additionally, SARS and the National Treasury will continue to monitor developments with the possibility that extra measures may be announced to assist with COVID-19 relief efforts.
But her practice began seeing routine patients again this week as Colorados stay-at-home order expired. And she is concerned her clinic does not have enough protective gear to go around.

Most of us are afraid to go back, but dentists are like, Ive got a business to run, said Bianca, who asked to be identified only by her first name, for fear that she would get fired for speaking up.

Bianca cleans teeth inches away from peoples faces, and even before the coronavirus struck, she picked up colds and flus regularly from patients. She said she was petrified of getting infected at work or spreading the disease to her family, especially her father, whose immune system has been battered after he underwent six months of chemotherapy.

In Ohio, the authorities said manufacturers could begin operating on Monday. But Kim Rinehart, a worker at a transmission plant in Toledo, said she had heard nothing from her union or her company about when she might return to work. She is collecting unemployment and the additional $600 in benefits, and is feeling fine about staying home, particularly given the states limited testing capacity and the viruss stealth.

If you had a murderer in the plant, and you didnt know where but you knew he was there, would you go back into that plant? she said.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp allowed restaurants to start dine-in service on Monday. But a large group of restaurateurs and chefs have pledged to remain closed for the time being, because it was safer.

One of the chefs, Craig Richards, the co-owner of Lyla Lila in Atlanta, said he did not want anyone to get sick as a result of his decisions. And he is not excited about opening a place that is depressing to visit, with workers in masks.
Wistful royal fans say they miss seeing Princes William and Harry together, after a 2015 DIY SOS special starring the two brothers aired last night.

In the episode, the royals took part in a project to turn derelict streets into homes for ex-service personnel.

The grinning brothers donned personalised hard hats and steel-toe boots as they lent a hand to the ambitious renovations on two streets in Newton Heath, Manchester in 2015.

Their joyful demeanor and appearance in the episode triggered a wave of nostalgia among royal fans, who flocked to social media to bemoan the current state of the brother's relationship in comparison.

Then, William and Harry traded jokes and tried to one-up each other in the spirit of brotherly competition, appearing close and comfortable in each other's company.

William even talked about the importance of brotherhood and family during his appearance on the show.

Now, however, their relationship appears frostier, with constant rumours of a rift and Prince Harry, along with wife Meghan Markle, sensationally quitting the royal family to move to LA.

The brothers looked happy and relaxed in each other's company as they appeared on the DIY SOS special from 2015

The beaming brothers hug presenter Nick Knowles at the end of the episode, which aired again last night

It's a far cry from recent photos of the two together, including this one of them attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London with their wives on March 11, 2019

Here they are pictured at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, London on Commonwealth Day in March 2020. The service was the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's final official engagement before they quit royal life

Harry in particular looked carefree and relaxed as he interacted with builders on the show

After the DIY SOS special aired, several viewers shared their sadness at the breakdown in the relationship between William and Harry.

One watcher commented: 'Just watching the DIY SOS with William and Harry. Hope one day they get back to being mates.'

While another said: 'Ahhh miss seeing William and Harry together.'

A third said: 'Great to see Harry and William there, shame Harry has left now in all honesty.'

Reports of a rift have dogged the brothers in recent years, with insiders claiming Harry was incensed when William warned him he was 'moving too fast' with Meghan in the early days of their relationship.

Speaking in an ITV documentary on his and Meghan's trip to Africa last year, Harry refused to deny the rumours, admitting that he and William are travelling on 'different paths'.

Saddened royal fans have compared the brother's relationship in the episode to now

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now living in Los Angeles with their son, Archie, who will turn one on Wednesday

The brothers briefly reunited in March for the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey, one of Harry's final royal engagements before leaving for North America.

Royal watchers brand their interaction 'frosty' at the event.

Royal photographer Jayne Fincher said their mother Princess Diana would be 'doing everything to be the peacemaker' and mend their relationship and would have been devastated at the current state of it.

Jayne said: 'Shed be shaking the boys heads together saying, "For goodness sake. Whats going on here?" and I think shed be trying to make peace between the girls, too.'

She added that Prince Charles was also likely upset by his sons' relationship, saying: 'Charles must be broken-hearted because hes extremely close to those boys....That must be very devastating for him.'

It comes as sources claimed Prince Harry feels he would have been 'better protected' from the turmoil he has faced in recent months if he was still in the Army.

The Duke of Sussex reportedly told friends he 'cannot believe' how his life has been 'turned upside down'.

He is said to miss the 'camaraderie' of life in the forces. Harry was stripped of his military appointments when he and Meghan stepped back as senior royals on March 31.

He had to give up roles including Captain General of the Royal Marines and Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington.

Harry  affectionately known as Captain Wales in the forces  retains the rank of major and insisted he would 'continue his unwavering support to the military community in a non-official capacity'.

The couple are now living in Los Angeles with their son, Archie, who will turn one on Wednesday.
Karan Johar As Rishi Kapoor

Just two days before Kapoor's death, filmmaker Karan Johar paid tribute to the actor. Karan took to his social media account and shared a face swapped video of the song Main Shayar To Nahin. The clip shows Karan's face mapped over Rishi's while the filmmaker happily lip-syncs to the track. He had captioned the post as, "Raj Kapoor was one of my all time favourite film makers!!!! and Rishi Kapoor is my all time favourite actor!!"

Rishi Kapoor In New York

While in New York for his cancer treatment, Rishi Kapoor had met a Russian fan at a salon who recognized him. While giving him a haircut they played Rishi Kapoor's popular song "Main shayar toh nahin from the 1973 film Bobby. Rishi Kapoor tweeted about the incident on Twitter and wrote, "My anthem played in a salon whilst getting a hair cut. Russian recognized me and played it from his notebook. Thank you Sergie."

Rishi Kapoor And Sridevi

Rishi Kapoor often got trolled on social media due to his tweets, but it came as a shock to many fans when in 2018, the actor said he could not recognise his co-star Sridevi. Kapoor replied to a fan's tweet who had shared a gif from the film Kaun Saacha Kaun Jhoota and asked, "What film is this? And I cannot recognise the actress."

Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored

Back in 2017, Rishi Kapoor launched an autobiography titled Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored. In the book, he confessed many secrets about co-stars, his family and more. A report suggests the actor also talked about his father Raj Kapoor having affairs with leading ladies, and that he could have been responsible for Rajesh Khanna losing a role in the film Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Neetu Singh

Rishi Kapoor and now wife Neetu Singh became good friends after they worked together in the film Zahreela Insaan (1974). But after missing Neetu during an outstation shooting, he realised that their relationship was beyond friendship. Reportedly, he had then sent her a telegram saying "yeh sikhni badi yaad aati hai". A few years later, in 1980, the couple got married and had two children actor Ranbir Kapoor and designer Riddhima Kapoor.

Iconic Scene From Bobby

One of Rishi Kapoor's iconic scene from Bobby was recreated in his film All Is Well, that released in 2015. The original in Bobby showed Rishi Kapoor riding with Dimple Kapadia on a Royal Enfield. Years later, he once again rode an Enfield with Supriya Pathak, who played his wife in the film.

Rishi Kapoor In Bobby

Rishi Kapoor's debut film, Bobby, made him a star overnight, but the film is also responsible for changes in pop culture and filmmaking. Not only did people copy their fashion, but the film also lead to new techniques in filmmaking and music. The actor was asked to sing songs while on set to make the lip-syncing more realistic.
Creative's Questionnaire is an interview series where artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives talk about their work, the challenges that they face, and their inspirations.

Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  If your work is not informed by conscious concern for your community or ecology, then for whom are you creating? says artist and book designer Karl Castro.

Amid the chaos and confusion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing community quarantine, creatives and innovators have stepped up, filling in the gaps unanswered by the government with their own set of skills. Anyone with a sewing machine quickly began churning out facemasks for donation, a group of fashion designers teamed up with the Office of the Vice President to create PPEs for frontliners, and a social movement called #ArtForMedPH saw local artists give commissioned work in exchange for donations to frontliners and affected families.

For Castro and the volunteer-run Citizens' Urgent Response to End COVID-19 (CURE COVID), they saw a lack of understandable information reaching those with minimal or no Internet access at all. So the group released two pamphlets in Filipino that explain what we know so far about the coronavirus and how we should deal with it in the context of the chronic poverty and systemic neglect for social services which has long plagued our nation.

We take for granted that we have access to coronavirus information because of Internet access, but many people do not have that luxury, says Castro. COVID-19 is a tricky concept to understand, and even our top scientists are only beginning to understand its nature and implications. More than urgent food relief and face masks, CURE COVID sees information and human rights as core to the pandemic response.

Outside of volunteering for CURE COVID, Castro is an artist, lecturer, activist, and book designer, having designed titles like Ricky Lees Para Kay B, Rolando B. Tolentinos Almanak ng Isang Aktibista, and Elmer I. Nochesedas Palaspas: An Appreciation of Palm leaf Art in the Philippines, which won Best Design at the 2010 Philippine National Book Awards. In 2016, Castro exhibited a retrospective of 12 years worth of his designs entitled The Secret Lives of Books, in partnership with the Filipinas Heritage Library. He has also designed several posters for filmmakers such as Lav Diaz and Antoinette Jadaone.

As part of CNN Philippines Lifes series of Q&As with creatives, we spoke to Castro about his work, how he defines mentorship, and how activism informs his relationship with art and production. The interview has been edited for clarity.

What do you think are the essential traits of a creative person, especially in your field?

Reading, discipline, imagination, and compassion. Reading, because you must always be aware of the context within which you and your practice exist: who are you, where are you located, who is your audience, what is the objective of your project, who stands to benefit from it  and who will not? Discipline, because like any tool or faculty, the less you use it, the duller it gets; you must find or devise a way to keep one's observational and creative faculties in shape. Imagination, because one must be able to see the invisible, whether because it has been obscured by time or force, or because it has yet to be invented or uncovered. Compassion, because if your work is not informed by conscious concern for your community or ecology, then for whom are you creating?

What is the core philosophy that guides your work?

The main idea is asking: for whom?

For design projects, it's more or less the same: understanding the material (reading, research, etc) and figuring out a solution considering all other factors at play. For art projects, there's more play  I let myself explore and discover new things, which I can then do more deliberately next time.

And how does that relate to your current project?

My latest project is an exhibition called Scenes Reclaimed: CCP 50  Cinemalaya 15. It tackled the histories and impact of two institutions, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Cinemalaya, which both celebrated their anniversaries last year. It was an opportune moment to reflect on the intertwining of cinema, culture, and politics, especially since it's also the Philippine cinema centennial. I was part of the curatorial team with Louise Jashil Sonido and Tito Quiling Jr., led by Patrick Campos. It was a very collaborative effort, and I was in charge of the exhibition design. We are currently finishing the exhibition catalog, which will be released in a limited edition, and made downloadable for free online. We hope it can be a useful introduction to young people on how to approach and appreciate Philippine cinema.

Do you look back at your past work? Why or why not?

Always. It's a constant practice of looking for patterns and being aware of one's development. Creatives don't always feel that they are evolving, but you truly realize what you've done and what you've yet to do when you look at your work with some distance. Looking back provides the clarity and impetus to look forward.

Do you have a mentor? Do you think it's important to have one?

I've been privileged with both formal academic training, as well as alternative learning processes like workshops, immersions, and collaborations. Mentors are important, because there is a lot of value in a sustained and perhaps intense conversation that examines one's chosen discipline. However, it is easy to conflate mentorship with patronage, cliques, and other patriarchal modes of formation. If there's anything I've learned from activism, it's that anyone can be a teacher and anyone can be a student; in this sense, while I have learned so much from eminent people in the creative and academic circles, I have also learned so much from indigenous people, factory workers, jeepney drivers, mothers, children, ordinary citizens. In the classrooms where I teach, I also learn a lot from my students. We should not let schools, grades, and certificates get in the way of getting an education.

How important is social media in your work?

It is important in the sense that it is there, and it is a platform that, whether we like it or not, we must contend with. On one hand, we know it is a toxic venue for mass distraction, disinformation, and surveillance. On the other hand, there are also important conversations happening through these channels. As staggering as the social media environment may seem, we must all remember that the screen only encapsulates a fraction of human and earthly existence, and that there is a much larger world with which we should engage. There is so much knowledge not digitized or photographed, so many people not online, so many experiences beyond the virtual. Let social media be a channel and not a cage.

What skills do you wish you had?

I wish I were more eloquent at speaking. It would be greatly helpful whether in the classroom, in engaging with people on an ordinary day, or in creating educational videos. (Since it's a wishlist, let's also add: singing; riding a bicycle; speaking Bisaya, Ilocano, and other languages; cooking; and committing to a fitness routine. Hehehe.)

What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by people in your field today? How do you overcome them?

The biggest challenge faced by artists, designers, and educators today is how to move forward from the experience of the pandemic. COVID-19 has put a lot of consumption and production at a standstill, and we are forced to confront questions that have long hounded us: Is the work we do necessary? Is it sustainable? Which of the assumptions we have conceived of as "normal" are actually part of the larger problem? How has our creativity contributed to the situation we're in, and how can it help get us out? The pandemic has been both a litmus test and a pressure cooker, catalyzing and putting into starker contrast the various contradictions in our society.

How do I overcome them? I can't say I have, because like everyone else, I am in the middle of these questions. But even before the pandemic, I have understood that the world of creativity is much larger than that of commerce, and that art and design have an important role in shaping societal discourse and values. This is why I have always made an effort to make time for activist work. Being an activist keeps me grounded in experiences beyond my privilege, and reminds me of the long-term goals that may become obscured by the day-to-day distractions of everyday life. In light of the pandemic, it gives me hope.

I encourage everyone to watch The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, a 2009 documentary based on a book of the same title, just a quick search away. It will shed insight on our experience of various disasters, both natural and man-made. I also encourage everyone to join organizations like Concerned Artists of the Philippines and Sandugo. Activists get such a bad rep, especially since there has been a lot of relentless red-tagging lately. I assure you, we're not the godless, brainwashed, violent sickos that we are painted to be. If anyone is interested, just send me a message.

What myth(s) about your field of work would you like to debunk?

A book designer doesn't just do covers. Nope, many times we also do the insides.

Artists always need inspiration. Nope, that's just a fraction of it.

Designers are always craving for coffee. Nope, I don't even drink coffee.

Designers should be obsessed about tools, techniques, style. Perhaps, but don't forget insights and your point of view.

Always, the goal is beauty. Nope, aesthetics is just one aspect of the solutions we craft. Besides, beauty is subjective.

What have you learned from work that you've applied to other areas of your life?

It's not about you!
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The State government may opt for only a partial relaxation of lockdown after May 3. The team of medical experts which held discussions with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday dropped enough indications in this direction. The government, however, is likely to take a final call after the State Cabinet meets on May 2.

Dr Prabhdeep Kaur, Deputy Director of National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, and an ICMR scientist, while speaking to reporters after Thursdays meeting, said the distribution of infection was not uniform across the state and hence, the lockdown could not be relaxed in one go.

She noted that in the past two weeks the number of positive cases has gone up since testing has been ramped up in the State. But the distribution of new cases is not equal in all districts. In some districts the number has gone up while in some other districts, it has gone down, she said.

Going by these indicators, lockdown could not be relaxed in one go across the State, Dr Kaur said adding that it could be done only in a phased manner.

But, we have recommended some indicators based on which the government can decide where the lockdown can be relaxed and where it shall be continued.

Dr Kaur also underscored the importance of continuing certain restrictions even if the lockdown was relaxed in a phased manner.

For example, social distancing is very important. Hand hygiene and mask-wearing are also a must. Since the impact of this virus is going to be there for a long time, we have to change our lifestyle, she added.

Stating that some restrictions could not be relaxed in the present situation, Dr Kaur said, Mass gatherings cannot be permitted for the time being. Some measures such surveillance, contact tracing, isolation of the detected cases and quarantine should be continued. Similarly, community support also will be required for a long time. This infection can be controlled only if we work together."

She further said there should not be frequent interactions between young people and vulnerable groups like the elderly. People suffering from cancer, kidney ailments and diabetes should take treatment regularly.

Update details to get aid

The Agriculture Department has requested the farmers who are yet to get the latest instalments of financial assistance under the PMs Kisan Samman Nidhi, to approach the officials concerned with Aadhaar and bank account details.
The introduction of alternative energy sources brings benefits to the economy and the Azerbaijani population, Jamil Melikov, deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources, said in an interview with local media.

While speaking about the benefits of creating the renewable energy power plants, Melikov stressed that these stations are built in such a way that energy is supplied to the end consumer without losses..

"At the same time, a consumer may sell surplus energy and purchase the missing volumes from the same energy system," deputy chairman added.

"Moreover, the population will receive better energy from these plants than from other sources," Melikov said.

As for the economic benefits of using alternative energy sources, Melikov said that in this situation, the country would save money in gas consumption, which could be exported at a higher price.

While speaking about investments, the deputy chairman stressed that foreign investments worth $400 million provide Azerbaijan with one billion kilowatt-hour energy production potential, while 240 million cubic meters of gas will be saved in the country.

"Knowing and expecting that a regulatory framework will be formed, investors are ready to implement their projects and invest in alternative energy in Azerbaijan," Melikov added. "Thus, Saudi Arabian ACWA Power company and UAEs Masdar company are implementing the projects to build a 240 megawatt wind power plant and a 200 megawatt solar power plant."

"A legislative and regulatory framework for the development of alternative energy is being prepared in Azerbaijan," deputy chairman added. "A bill on the use of alternative energy sources has been prepared."

"The conditions for holding auctions have also been prepared, through which the project executors and investors who are interested in implementing the projects in the field of alternative energy, will be selected," Melikov said.

"The conditions for signing an energy supply agreement have been prepared," Melikov said.

"This is a very important long-term document, according to which the tariff policy stipulated in it is maintained during the period of return of investments from 15 through 20 years, and the state undertakes to purchase energy which is generated by investing enterprises," Melikov said.

"Such aspects are important for demonstrating the guarantees that investors, making investments in the alternative energy market in Azerbaijan, will receive and boosting their confidence," deputy chairman said. "Therefore, it is necessary to prepare an appropriate legislative and regulatory framework to attract investors."

"Today there is a certain tariff policy for the wholesale sale of electricity by the producer to the Azerishig power distribution system in Azerbaijan," Melikov said. "Users of electricity during the construction of own power stations become, on one hand, consumers, and on the other hand, producers."

"Such entities, in accordance with the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers regulating relations in the electric power industry, are called active consumers," deputy chairman said. "The meters are installed for these users and a balance of consumed and produced energy is maintained between Azerishig and an independent consumer."

"A user may sell part of the received energy to the network," deputy chairman said. "At the same time, a user will receive 0.05 qepik (0.02 cents) per kWh at the wholesale tariffs. When using excess energy, a user will pay 0.07 qepik (0.04 cents) per kWh while an entrepreneur - 0.09 qepik (0.05 cents) per kWh."

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
With more than 10,000 reads, Standardbred Canada's digital Twos In Training Report, released on our website on May 1 and brought to you by TROT Magazine, has been very well received throughout the industry.

With quotes from 20 Canadian trainers on 99 of their brightest two-year-old students, and by as many as 35 of North America's leading sires, people have been given a welcome look inside the barns of some of harness racing's next stars.

Now we're pleased to announce that along with Hoofbid -- the new app that is revolutionizing the way to buy and sell horses online -- Standardbred Canada has added some new content to the report.

Revisit the publication now (on pages 8/9) to read our new 'Million Dollar Babies' interview with Tony Alagna and Marcus Melander, in regard to the only two Standardbred yearlings (Maverick & Damien) to ever sell in North America for $1 million or more.

We've also included links to two new videos for you to see -- one of Maverick, showing what a natural he was from day one, in a clip of him jogging one morning last fall, and one of Damien, showing what a character he is, playing with his blanket one recent day in his stall at the Melander Stable.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy, and please stay safe.

A FEW BRIEF TIPS WHEN READING THE NEW PUBLICATION:

To enlarge the magazine/publication, simply click on the enlarge to fullscreen button at the bottom right of the toolbar .

Click anywhere on any advertisement to go to that companys website.

Click anywhere on any of the COSA Fantasy & TROT Fantasy Stable pages to be able to enter your own stable for that contest.

Click on the video image in the top right corner of page 10 to view the video.

To enlarge the magazine/publication, simply click on the button at the bottom right

May2020TwosReport

On May 1, 2020 our world is a different place than its ever been in our lifetime. We dont need to go into numbers or details to explain that statement.

One of the fallouts of this new reality is the pause that has been put on our shared passion of Standardbred racing. We all miss harness racing desperately, and many have been hit both emotionally and financially by this stoppage -- not to mention those that have been hit physically by the Coronavirus itself.

Another fallout of this situation we find ourselves in, is the fact that there will not be a printed May issue of TROT Magazine coming to you in the mail this month, and considering that a recent survey of Standardbred Canada members showed that close to 90 percent of them feel strongly about receiving their issue of TROT each month, we know thats not good news at any time.

We take great pride in the fact that TROT has been sent to you monthly for more than 45 years now, and after approximately 544 straight issues were not pleased at all that it has come to this. The biggest problems currently affecting the printing of the magazine are the uncertainty of the availability of our print-house, and the question of Canada Posts current dependability during the pandemic. Therefore, the decision was recently made by Standardbred Canada that a May 2020 issue of TROT was not to happen, and for that we truly apologize. (Please note that all private subscribers have had their subscriptions extended by two months).

Its not all bad news though, because what weve done for you instead is create something new and different -- a digital publication that weve filled with pages and pages of what many horsepeople love, as we present you with the inside scoop on 99 of the most promising two-year-olds in Canada, trained by 20 of our most prominent trainers. In the interviews conducted, with a focus on their Canadian-sired freshmen first, the trainers have shared with us some of the back stories on the progeny of 35 different sires from all across North America.

In this special publication, we also interviewed some of the people that run Canadas three biggest stallion farms -- Seelster, Winbak & Tara Hills -- to find out their thoughts on the effects of COVID-19 on breeding, racing and the upcoming 2020 yearling sales.

Weve included an interactive poll question for you to participate in as well, and share with you the video, and story behind it, of the Canadian Standardbred that has been viewed on Facebook nearly 2,000,000 times!

Please stay safe, and enjoy Standardbred Canadas special Twos In Training Report, brought to you by your friends at TROT Magazine.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the scheduled end of the extended nationwide lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met key ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman apparently to discuss an exit strategy.

While there was no official word on the meeting, sources said the Prime Minister has been holding discussions during the last few days on various post-lockdown aspects.

Railway and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was also present at the meeting held on Friday morning.

Modi had on Thursday held a series of meetings to discuss strategies to attract foreign investment, promote local manufacturing, and boost the economy that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb its spread.

He had reviewed the state of investments, the defence and aerospace sector, and the mine and minerals sector.

The government had first imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown beginning March 25 and later extended it till May 3.

The lockdown shut businesses, stopped air and rail travel and restricted movement of people and goods.

The near-complete halt in economic activity may result in the country seeing a contraction in GDP growth in the April-June quarter, some analysts have predicted.

In late March, the government had announced a Rs 1.

7 lakh crore stimulus package comprising free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor and cash doles to poor women and elderly.

A second package, aimed at industries particularly small and medium enterprises that have been hit hard by the lockdown, is said to be in works and is likely to be announced shortly.
A s much as we all love and miss the buzz of the capitals dining scene, theres still a special kind of joy to be found in eating restaurant-quality food from the comfort of your sofa.

A lot has changed on the takeaway scene over the lockdown. While some restaurants that usually deliver have closed completely, others are offering delivery for the first time to keep themselves going through these tricky times. If youre having trouble keeping track, were here to help, offering guides to the best restaurants in your local area making deliveries to your door.

The borough of Hackney is one of Londons most exciting foodie districts  and with so much going on, weve had to break it down a bit. This guide will cover Dalston, central Hackney, London Fields, Hackney Downs, Clapton and the bits of Haggerston that are north of the canal.

Keep checking the Eating & Drinking section, however, as guides to the likes of Shoreditch and Hoxton, Stoke Newington and beyond are on their way.

Hackney-dwellers, if were missing one of your local takeaway favourites who are currently delivering, please let us know by emailing ailis.brennan@standard.co.uk. Of course, there are plenty of other restaurants from surrounding areas delivering to addresses in this bit of Hackney, so check out our upcoming east London delivery guides.

Patty & Bun The celebrated burger joint kicked off it return to delivery by reopening its Hackney hotspot. 2 Arthaus Building, 205 Richmond Road, E8 3NJ, via Deliveroo

Oren Chef Oded Oren is offering a changing selection of his Middle Eastern small plates on his Oren To Go menu. 89 Shacklewell Lane, E8 2EB, via Slerp

Snackbar Pickle queen Freddie Janssen is delivering serious snacks, including noodle salads, curry rice bowls and sandos (temporarily closed for refurbishment until May 6). 20 Dalston Lane, E8 3AZ, via Slerp

Yard Sale Pizza The pizza champions are offering no-contact deliveries from all their sites, including Clapton.105 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0NP, via yardsalepizza.com

Mao Chow If you couldnt get a seat at this tiny, critically acclaimed vegan Chinese spot, its now offering delivery (from May 2). 159A Mare Street, E8 3RD, via Deliveroo

Lagom The acclaimed barbecue residency at Hackney Church Brew Co is delivering smoked meats and cheesesteak sandwich kits. 17 Bohemia Place, E8 1DU, via hackneychurchbrew.co

Sutton & Sons The longstanding, family-run fish and chip shop is delivering from its central Hackney location. 218 Graham Road, E8 1BP, via Deliveroo

Peck Peck Sutton & Sons fans who are craving some meat can head down the road to its fried and flame-grilled chicken spin-off. 240 Graham Road, E8 1BP, via Deliveroo

Tonkotsu Its first location to reopen, the ramen favourite will deliver its tonkotsu, chilli chicken and more from Haggerston. 1a Dunston Street, E8 4EB, via Deliveroo

Palm Greens The salad spinner is delivering healthy lunches, all day breakfast and grocery hampers from its London Fields location. Netil House, 1 Westgate Street, E8 3RL, via Slerp

Mildreds The Dalston location of the Soho vegetarian is offering delivering, with food including burgers, curries and enchiladas. Thomas Tower, 1 Dalston Square, E8 3GU, via Deliveroo

The Dusty Knuckle Bakery The restaurant-favoured bakery is making deliveries of fresh bread, pastries and groceries. Abbot Street, E8 3DP, via thedustyknuckle.com

Mangal 1 The legendary Turkish favourite (not affiliated to Mangal 2, which remains closed) is offering delivery and takeaway. 10 Arcola Street, E8 2DJ, via phone only (020 7275 8981), mangal1.com

Lucky & Joy Chinese plates from ex-Moro foodies include red braised pork belly rice bowls and Yunnan smacked cucumbers. 95 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0NP, via phone only (07830 070 627), luckyandjoy.co.uk

Jones and Sons New delivery concept Jones At Home will offer individual dishes, sharing portions of Family Classics, and Sunday roasts. Stamford Works, 3 Gillett Street, N16 8JH, order via catering@jonesandsonsdalston.com

Mamas Jerk The Caribbean favourite is delivering its signature jerk chicken, as well as curry goat and oxtail. 10 Morning Lane, E9 6NA, via Deliveroo

Rosas Thai Cafe The South East Asian mini chain is delivering from all its restaurants, including its central Hackney spot. Railway Arches, 381 Mentmore Terrace, E8 3PH, via Deliveroo

Collection Only

E5 Bakehouse Another bakery popular with top restaurants, select a collection slot to get your daily bread, cakes, cookies and more. 395 Mentmore Terrace, E8 3PH, e5bakehouse.com

Pidgin The Hackney favourites new concept Homing Pigeon offers a weekly changing menu to take away. 52 Wilton Way, E8 1BG, pidginlondon.com

Casa Fofo The deli menu offers cook-at-home meals, with pre-orders only for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 158 Sandringham Road, E8 2HS, casafofolondon.co.uk
Legal experts have described the dismissal of Frank Buyanga's High Court application as unfortunate.

The businessman had made an urgent High Court application against an earlier ruling that compelled him to return their son Alexander Sadiqi to the mother.

Experts who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said the state had no valid reasons to dismiss the application.

"The state's reasons to dismiss the case were weak and not sufficient. I think there is more to this issue that we need to know. This remain a civil matter but it is being twisted to a criminal matter," a Harare based lawyer said.

Some said the state did not have sufficient base to dismiss the application.

"The judge said there was no urgency on the matter yet the state once asked the applicant to bring back the child in 24 hours. That alone shows the urgency of the matter. There was no need for them to dismiss it like that," others said.

There has been revelations that the maverick businessman was being victimised on political grounds.

He has been one of the few targets who are said to be aligned to a certain faction in Zanu PF.

Sources close to the developments said Ms Muteswa could be used to weaken the businessman who is aligned to a certain faction in the ruling party.

"His case is now complicated because it is being used to settle political scores. The twists and turns are clear that it has been an orchestrated game," the source said.

Recently the businessman's lawyers said the issues was being reduced to political.

A recent statement prepared by his South African attorney William Wilcock, Buyanga claims that his failure to get help from authorities after his estranged girlfriend Chantelle Muteswa had kidnapped the boy on March 11, 2020 from a police station has shown how much they (authorities) are captured in the matter.
Four suspects have been arrested for the early morning armed robbery of a Shipley Do-Nuts and another unspecified business. Christopher Calob Batiste, Datavian Lee McDonald and Jadarious Jaymond Polley and an unnamed minor were taken into custody and charged with aggravated robbery and organized criminal activity after the alleged crime spree.

According to a press release from the Katy Police Department, at approximately 5:45 a.m. on April 29, three men in masks entered the Shipley Do-Nuts located at the 1900 block of Katy Mills Boulevard and held the employees at gunpoint.
Actor Rishi Kapoors last rites were performed on Thursday afternoon. The veterans daughter, Riddhima Kapoor, who was residing in Delhi with her husband and children, secured a movement pass to travel to Mumbai.

With no trains and flights available amid the nationwide lockdown, Riddhima had to travel by road. She shared few uploads on her Instagram story, in the last of which, she wrote for her mother Neetu Kapoor, Driving home ma. Enroute Mumbai (sic.)

In her earlier stories, Riddhima shared a few moments with her late father missing him dearly. She wrote, I miss you already. Come back na Papa

Riddhima called her dad a warrior and bid goodbye to him in a social media post.

She wrote, Papa I love you I will always love you - RIP my strongest warrior I will miss you everyday I will miss your FaceTime calls everyday! I wish I could be there to say goodbye to you ! Until we meet again papa I love you - your Mushk forever (sic.)

Actor Rishi Kapoor left to his heavenly abode after a prolonged battle with cancer on April 30, morning. His actor son, Ranbir performed the last rites at Mumbais Chandanwadi Crematorium.

Due to the strict government restrictions imposed for the prevention of the ongoing pandemic, many people were unable to attend the actors last journey. However, Randhir Kapoor, Rajeev Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Anil Ambani were present to pay respects.

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The Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlovic, has said the country will consider buying new aircraft for its national airline and purchasing back Etihad Airways 49% stake in Air Serbia. Ms Mihajlovic noted, Perhaps we will acquire some additional aircraft and we will consider discussion over the buyback of shares from Etihad Airways. Why wouldnt we buy them back? This situation has clearly demonstrated how important it is to have a national flag carrier. There was a lot of criticism directed towards Air Serbia and questions as to why we have a national airline. Now we can see how important it is. Air Serbia has demonstrated its social responsibility. Now it is our turn to create the necessary conditions for it to be able to commercially function.





Ms Mihajlovic added, Air Serbia has grown its route network over the past few years, increased its revenue and indirectly enabled others in the tourism industry to benefit. Air Serbias current losses amount to over thirty million euros, and we estimate for it to at least double by the end of the year. There is no question whether or not we should help Air Serbia. We just have to make an effective and sound program. That doesnt mean simply giving out money, but also creating the necessary conditions for Air Serbia to effectively function. The Minister noted the carrier is ready to resume operations as of May 18, most likely to key European markets including France, Austria and the United Kingdom.





The strategic partnership agreement between Etihad Airways and the Serbian government, unveiled in August 2013, saw the Emirati airline make available a forty million US dollar loan facility to Air Serbia which was converted into equity on January 1, 2014 for a period of five years. This was matched by an equal funding injection by the Serbian government. The two sides each provided further funding through shareholder loans and other funding mechanisms of up to sixty million dollars to meet working capital requirements and support network development. The five-year deal was later extended until further notice, however, Etihads involvement in Air Serbia has been significantly reduced, with the state providing subsidies and funds for the airline over the past few years. Etihad registered an 870 million US dollar loss in 2019 and its equity investments in carriers around the world have unravelled in recent years.
VERNON, CT  Friday was a chance for school system administrators to honor another set of "heroes." The day was dubbed School Lunch Hero day.

The day was meant to recognize the Vernon school system foor service staff not only for the thousands of meals served up curbside since the school have been closed for the coronavirus pandemic but for their normal routine as well.

"The community has been so appreciative of the hard work the school nutrition staff have been doing to feed kids during the COVID-19 crisis," said Elizabeth Fisher, the food and nutrition director for the Vernon school system. "But its important for us to remember that these school nutrition heroes work hard all year long to feed children in school every single day so that they can learn and grow."

(Vernon Public Schools/Elizabeth Fisher)

School nutrition employees must "balance many roles" and follow numerous federal, state and local regulations to "ensure safe and healthy meals are available in schools," Fisher said.

"School Lunch Hero Day provides the opportunity for the community to thank these hard-working heroes, Fisher added.

Federal nutrition standards ensure that school cafeterias always offer low-fat or fat-free milk, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. School meals also meet limits on calories, sodium and unhealthy fats.

(Vernon Public Schools/Elizabeth Fisher)

"The importance and nutritional value of school meals are well documented. For many children, school lunch is the most important and nutrient-rich meal of their day," Fisher said.

To learn more about the school nutrition program for Vernon Public Schools visit

https://www.vernonpublicschools.org/departments/food-services-menus.





This article originally appeared on the Vernon Patch
Hundreds of Chinese ventilators bought by the UK government to help the NHS treat critically ill coronavirus patients have been ditched because they were unsuitable, unreliable and potentially dangerous, it has emerged.

Every device in a shipment delivered from China earlier this month has been rejected by clinicians amid serious concerns that significant patient harm, including death would be likely if they were put to use.

The UK government had heralded the arrival of the ventilators on 4 April as an important step in the countrys fight against the Covid-19 outbreak.

Weve been buying invasive ventilators from partners abroad, including Germany and Switzerland, and today 300 new ventilators arrived from China. Id like to thank the Chinese government for their support in security that capacity, cabinet minister Michael Gove told a press conference that day.

But doctors in the West Midlands, where some of the ventilators were sent, wrote to health secretary Matt Hancock the next week urging for the devices to be replaced.

We believe that if used, significant patient harm, including death, is likely, said a 13 April letter seen by NBC News. We look forward to the withdrawal and replacement of these ventilators with devices better able to provide intensive care ventilation for our patients.

The medics warned the machines oxygen supply was variable and unreliable, its build quality was basic, and its fabric case could not be cleaned properly  vital when treating patients with a highly infectious virus.

The Shangrila 510s model, manufactured by Chinese firm Aeonmed, was designed for use in ambulances rather than hospitals, the letter noted. Its oxygen connection hose was also marked as non-EU, the medics said.

The letter was written by a senior anaesthetist and intensive care doctor at the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust.

A spokesperson for the trust told The Independent: The trust took delivery of, tested, and declined to use the ventilators referred to in this article which did not function to the standards our expert clinicians and the board considered fundamental to the care of complex Covid-19 patients.

The government had ordered the machines amid fears of shortages as Covid-19 cases surged. At the time, the NHS had 8,000 ventilators and it was believed as many as 30,000 would be needed to cope with the peak of the outbreak.

However, that target has since been scaled back as hospitals have not been overwhelmed and many of the most seriously ill patients have responded to treatment without mechanical ventilators.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: The Shangrila 510 ventilator model is not being used and no patients are at risk.

Ventilators pass robust regulatory tests before theyre delivered to NHS hospitals. We currently have around 10,900 mechanical ventilators available, as well as 4,300 non-invasive ventilators.

The department has not responded to The Independents questions about the cost and supplier of the Chinese ventilators.
Vamshi and Revanth Kumar from Ananthapur and Kadiri have been to the Philippines to study MBBS. They died in a road accident on April 6 and now their bodies have been brought back.

After the intervention of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the bodies of two medical students, who died in an accident in Philippines, were brought to their native Ananthapur district on Friday after protracted negotiations. The two students, Vamshi and Revanth, died in a road accident on April 6, and their bodies were brought home after hectic and prolonged negotiations and the State bearing the expenses.

Ananthapur urban MLA Anantha Venkata Ramireddy Kadiri MLA PV Sidda Reddy have conveyed their condolences to the families of Vamshi and Revanth. Vamshi and Revanth Kumar from Ananthapur and Kadiri have been to the Philippines to study MBBS. They have died in a road accident on April 6 and amid lockdown, the families have faced difficulties to bring the bodies to India.

MLA Ramireddy has written a letter to the Chief Minister requesting to look into the issue for the return of the dead bodies. With concern to this, the Chief Minister has requested the Minister of Civil Aviation and said that the entire expenses for the return of the bodies would be borne by the state government. After discussions with the Philippines government in coordination with the central government, the bodies have reached Ananthapur on Friday. The Chief Ministers intervention has given their families to perform final rituals for the dead bodies.

On the other hand Andhra fishermen who have been struck in Gujarat for long time due to lockdown were brought to Andhra. 4,065 fishermen in 65 buses came back to Andhra pradesh .  they arrived, they will be sent to quarantine centres and after completion of the quarantine period, they will be allowed to proceed to their homes, Fisheries Minister Mopidevi Venkatramana said.

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Elisabeth Hasselbeck responds to Meghan McCain slamming prayer during coronavirus pandemic

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Meghan McCain publicly slammed Elisabeth Hasselbeck for saying she was praying while also taking health and safety precautions amid the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, and has since infected millions and killed over 219,600 people worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The dispute between the current and former co-hosts of ABC's talk show "The View" first began last month before federal quarantine guidelines and state lockdowns went into effect. Hasselbeck, who was once a co-host on the all-women talk show, was brought back on as a guest co-host. At the time of her appearance, there were only 1,215 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and no states were on lockdown.

Hasselbeck shared her thoughts about the coronavirus at the time, saying: "I think there can be a fine line between what is taking precaution, and what is panic. Yes, we're going to take precautions, we're going to Purell, pray that God's got us in our tomorrows. We pray that this coronavirus is extinguished, that it stops in its tracks, she said.

Hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin disagreed with Hasselbeck at the time and insisted that the government needed to do more.

Hasselbeck responded by saying, "I think we should prepare, I think we should pray. I'm not going to let coronavirus rule me and let it be an idol ... and I do think our leadership right now is pointing us to say, 'Hey, this is not a panic situation.' This is a precautionary situation, we're going to use Purell, wash our hands  we're going to be okay, guys."

Hasselbecks comments about prayer were slammed by secular progressives in the media along with McCain who said she respects Hasselbeck but insisted her comments were "dangerous." During a guest spot on Bravo network's Watch What Happens Live with far-left host Andy Cohen last week, McCain said Hasselbecks comments were "unfortunate."

"I took this virus seriously from the very beginning, and I thought a lot of this rhetoric was really dangerous," McCain said. "I don't need to co-host with her again, and it's unfortunate, because I've been a huge fan for a long time. Anybody who is screwing around with this virus and putting out misinformation, I just, I don't really have a lot of time for right now."

Hasselbeck responded to McCain's "angry" comments in a post on Instagram Saturday where she also defended her statements on "The View" last month.

"I don't like being misrepresented, so we're going to talk this out right here," the bestselling author said.

"So Meghan, number one, the day I came to The View, it was, like, pre-social distancing orders. We were very early in the cycle with coronavirus.

Hasselbeck said she will "always, always call on God" when "things get scary and when they're unknown."

"It's my first response and it will always be my best defense," she stressed.

Hasselbeck also responded to McCain in her Instagram Stories.

"Dear Meghan McCain, Please know I'm praying for you. I'm not sure why you are taking aim at me I'm not sure why you have gone on the offense against me, but know I will continue to use prayer as my MAIN RESPONSE and my best defense. I'm not sure why you are judging me. We are all doing our best. Be nice. It's a lot more fun that way."
A woman wearing a protective mask walks by a shuttered store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County health officials announced 55 new coronavirus-related fatalities Thursday, pushing the pandemic's statewide death toll past 2,000.

California's largest county accounts for more than 1,100 of those victims, public health officials said.

"Many in our county are mourning the loss of their loved ones, and our community is very much with all of you and you are in our thoughts and our prayers every single day," county Public Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.

The recent surge in the number of cases and deaths linked to the coronavirus pushed California across another sobering milestone, as the state surpassed 50,000 infections by the end of Thursday.

Los Angeles County, which continues to be a hotbed of the coronavirus even as other parts of the state have seen signs that the illness is retreating, confirmed 733 new cases Thursday  boosting the confirmed infection count past 23,000, Ferrer said.

The previous day, Ferrer announced 1,541 new cases, the largest increase reported in a single day since the pandemic began.

The county accounts for nearly half of California's coronavirus cases. Only three other counties  Riverside, San Diego and Santa Clara  have recorded more than 100 fatalities.

Los Angeles County's sharp uptick in new cases is mostly attributable to expanded testing, which health officials say is essential in getting a better sense of how many people have the virus. That data, in turn, could be used to ease California's stay-at-home rules.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that all county residents could now get free coronavirus testing at city-run sites. Previously, only residents with symptoms, essential workers or those in institutional settings such as nursing homes could be tested.

The county, though, didn't go quite that far. Instead, officials announced they would continue to prioritize testing for people with symptoms of COVID-19, including newly recognized ones such as sore throat and sudden loss of taste or smell. Only certain individuals can get tested if they don't have symptoms  such as those who are essential workers, over the age of 65, have a chronic underlying health condition or live in institutional living facilities, such as nursing homes.

Story continues

However, those criteria apply only at county-operated or coordinated sites, meaning county residents who don't meet eligibility requirements can still sign up to be tested at a city-run center.

The city and county use the same portal to book COVID-19 testing appointments, and that system "is able to distinguish" between those who would need to go to a city center compared with a county one, said Dr. Christina Ghaly, the countys health services director.

Asked whether the county and city were sending mixed messages on testing, Ghaly said the two entities were working closely on a rapidly evolving topic.

We think that this is the best approach moving forward, she said. We also believe that this is what is most supported in terms of the clinical evidence about who would benefit from a test.

She said that the "testing supply chain and capacity is still limited across the country," and that eventually, when the supply is no longer constrained and stay-at-home orders begin to be relaxed, the county could move to expand its criteria for those who should be tested.

She also cautioned that testing is not a panacea, and regardless of whether residents have been tested, they still need to follow health orders and stay at home as much as possible, keep their distance from others and wear cloth face coverings when outside their homes.

"I understand that testing can provide individuals with a sense of security and can make people feel more comfortable ... but I want to caution everyone on holding on too tightly to that security because, medically, it is fleeting," she said. "A negative test one day does not mean you won't get infected the next."

For his part, Garcetti said he consulted with county public health department leaders and received positive feedback on the testing plan. But he said his announcement wasn't something that county officials had to sign off on.

Garcetti stressed that front-line workers, people with COVID-19 symptoms and other high-risk individuals remain the priority for testing. But he said Los Angeles now has the capacity to test 18,000 people per day and supply is no issue. Saving lives starts with knowing where the virus is located, he said.

"This is a silent killer," he said. "We know asymptomatic people spread this. I'm never going to let tests go to waste."

Although state- and county-level officials have expressed optimism that California is headed in the right direction, the continued growth in the number of cases and deaths shows the state isn't out of the woods.

Even so, some counties are pushing for Gov. Gavin Newsom to allow them to ease stay-at-home restrictions.

That's particularly true in less crowded, more remote areas where COVID-19 activity has been scant.

Modoc County, one of four California counties that have not reported a single case of coronavirus infection, plans to allow all businesses, schools and churches to reopen starting Friday, as long as people stay six feet apart, according to a statement signed by county officials.

Its unclear whether that would lead to a legal showdown between the county and Newsom, whose statewide stay-at-home order supersedes local laws.

Other counties and cities have already started allowing select activities to resume, or reopening outdoor and recreational spaces that were shuttered to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Newsom cautioned that moving too quickly could have disastrous consequences  citing other locations that saw a rebound in the virus after restrictions were relaxed.

"Look what happened in Japan. Look what happened in Singapore. Looked what happened in China," he said Thursday. "When you pull back too quickly, you put people's lives at risk. People are literally dying."

A major flashpoint this week has been beaches. During the weekend heat wave, thousands flocked to the coastline in Orange County, which, unlike Los Angeles County's, was open to the public.

Although there's dispute over whether beachgoers were abiding by social distancing guidelines  officials in Orange County and elsewhere insist visitors were acting responsibly  images over the weekend drew a rebuke from Newsom, who a source said was considering ordering the closure of all California beaches.

On Thursday, though, Newsom announced a more limited directive. He said all state and local beaches in Orange County must temporarily close.

He cited "specific issues on some of those beaches [that] have raised alarm bells  people that are congregating there that werent practicing physical distancing, that may go back to their community outside of Orange County and may not even know they contracted the disease and put other people at risk, put our hospital system at risk."

In many of the state's coastal areas, Newsom said, "we saw people doing all the right things."

"In areas where we didnt see that, you have to acknowledge that," he said. "You have to own that, and you have to figure that out."

Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said she was concerned and disappointed with Newsom's actions.

The City has put careful thought and invested considerable effort and expense in order to discourage overcrowding and facilitate effective social distancing at our beaches," she said in a statement. "In fact, weve taken Governor Newsoms words to heart in Huntington Beach, to provide public access  in a safe way  so that our residents can experience physical and mental health benefits from accessing the Pacific Ocean. Our experience here locally has been that most people are being responsible and complying with social distancing, and given that Orange County has among the lowest per-capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the states action today seems to prioritize politics over data.

Newsom expressed confidence that this "temporary pause" in Orange County could be lifted "very, very quickly, but weve got to make sure we get this right."

"Why undo all the great progress?" he said. "Lets move this state forward together."

Garcetti said he supported Newsom's decision.

This virus affects all of us. It cares not what a county border is, he said. We don't know the impact of moves for two to three weeks. So if we do things ahead of everybody else, we may not just be endangering our people but endangering other folks who drive in from neighboring counties.

As far as L.A. County is concerned, "we, too, will be looking to relax and figure out how we can once again safely enjoy our beaches," Ferrer said. "Were not there today."

Times staff writers Melanie Mason, Rosanna Xia, John Myers and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.
Public schools Friday began receiving about $260 million in federal aid to help with costs sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and to address learning gaps after the loss of seven weeks of traditional instruction.

One of the priorities for the money should be ensuring all students have access to laptops or tablets as well as internet access, according to the state Department of Education.

More than 200,000 students are going without laptops today, officials said last month.

Other urgent needs are the use of diagnostic tools at the start of the 2020-21 school year to identify the academic needs of students and the crafting of plans for each student, "including extra time and support for students with the greatest unfinished learning from the prior year."

The money, which can also be used for summer school costs, stems from the federal CARES Act, the $2.2 trillion rescue package, which includes $287 million for public schools here.

"This is a real opportunity as a state to take strong steps forward, to be ready and successful when we launch the 2020-21 school year no matter what it looks like," said Jessica Baghian, assistant state superintendent of education.

CARES Act to send Louisiana public schools, child care providers millions of dollars in aid; see totals Louisiana public schools are set to get an estimated $287 million and child care providers nearly $10 million to help offset problems sparked 

Ensuring that all students have internet access in a state where about 30% of households do without is a major challenge.

"But I think from an equity perspective if we have to be in distance learning for any length of time next year this is a matter of fairness that we have to solve," Baghian said.

State officials are also urging local educators to adopt "agile continuous education plans" for possible future closures, including ways to communicate with students daily and to provide feedback on their work weekly.

Nearly 1 in 4 students  about 173,000  are not getting any feedback today, according to a survey by the state Department of Education.

A total of $27 million of the $287 million is being withheld by the state Department of Education to offer grant opportunities for school systems to support critical needs.

The money is being allocated to school districts based on the number of students who live in low-income families. About two-thirds of Louisiana's 720,000 public school students fit that description.

The Jefferson Parish school system is getting the most in the state  $21.5 million.

Others include East Baton Rouge Parish school district, $18 million; Livingston, $4.4 million; Ascension, $3.3 million; Orleans, $7.9 million; St. Charles, $1.4 million, St. Tammany, $6.7 million; St. Bernard, $2.5 million and Lafayette, $10.3 million.

Gov. John Bel Edwards initially closed public schools effective March 16.

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Louisiana schools to remain closed for academic year amid coronavirus, John Bel Edwards says Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday he will order public schools to remain closed for the rest of the academic year because of the coronavirus, 

Edwards later extended that closure for the rest of the academic year, meaning schools are relying on various forms of distance learning and other steps to continue schooling until about the third week of May, when the school year closes.

+2 With classrooms shuttered for the year, Louisiana public schools face these huge challenges Now that classrooms are closed for the rest of the school year because of the coronavirus, local educators face two huge challenges: how to de

A wide range of school groups are offering suggestions on how districts should use the money.

The Louisiana School Boards Association said buying more internet capable devices, curriculum better suited to distance learning and remedial work; and expanded internet access for students and staff should be priorities.

The advocacy group Stand for Children said the money should be used to ensure access and technology devices for all students from kindergarten through 12th grade and for daily communication between teachers and students.

The Louisiana Federation for Children, which advocates for vouchers, said non-public schools and their 167,000 students should not be forgotten as the money is allocated.

Vouchers are state aid for children from low-income families attending troubled public schools to attend private schools, with their tuition paid.

"Without action many non-public schools could be forced to close, dealing a catastrophic blow to participating lower- and moderate-income families," the group said.

Catherine Pozniak, assistant state superintendent of education, said Friday private schools will be getting a share of the money.

Leslie Leavoy, state director of Democrats for Education Reform, said state education leaders deserve praise for their recommendations, which she said will serve as a key resource for districts and schools.

Aside from the $287 million for public schools the state is getting another $50 million called the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund.

Those dollars can be used for both public schools and colleges and universities.

In a letter to Edwards, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, LABI, said some of the $50 million should be used for teacher training and revisions to the curriculum to help keep students on grade level "following weeks of lost learning."

The organization also said some of the funds should be used to improve access and the quality of digital instruction for both public school and college students.

The Louisiana Association of Educators said some of the $50 million should be used for technology access for students, assistance for students with disabilities and professional development for teachers to provide distance learning. The priorities were spelled out in a letter from LAE President Tia Mills to Richard Hartley, education policy adviser for Edwards.
Rural Ireland is likely to be disproportionately affected by the impact of Covid-19 and an ambitious and coordinated tourism plan from public and private stakeholders should be considered to prevent the industry from faltering, according to a new report by consulting and professional services firm, EY Ireland.

Pre-crisis, the accommodation and food sectors accounted for 179,200 jobs in the Republic of Ireland. Today almost 12 percent of those workers are availing of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Tourism was one of the first sectors hit by Covid-19 and is likely to be the last one to recover.

An estimated 10 percent of jobs in Laois are directly dependent on the tourism and hospitality sector, 9 percent of jobs in neighbouring Offaly depend on the sector. This compares with 10 percent in the capital and 10 percent in Cork, with many more supported through the supply chains and associated wages.

As a result, these rural regions are markedly less resilient than others to Covid-19 shocks and will be directly impacted, with fewer alternative sectors that could compensate for job losses.

The development of Irish Tourism is at the heart of the Project Ireland 2040 aspirations to build a more sustainable and resilient economic model, less dependent on Dublin, with a higher focus on indigenous rather than multinational business. It is also an industry that provides joy and inspiration, that helps to energise us and it acts as a gateway for people to experience our society and all it has to offer.

Given COVID-19s scale and impact on global travel, just before the peak tourism season, current forecasts estimate the effects will be felt globally for more than two years, although this could vary from one country to another.

Simon MacAllister, Valuation, Modelling and Economics Partner, EY Ireland commented:

Between 2009 and 2019 there was a 56 percent rise in overseas trips to Ireland by non-residents, but we have seen a near overnight reversal of this as a result of COVID-19. Tourist behaviour will undoubtedly be impacted in the long-term by this pandemic, for geopolitical, economic and possibly psychological reasons.

While intra-EU bookings can be made on a last-minute basis, this approach is unlikely for American tourists, who represent over a quarter of overseas visitors to Ireland every year. The loss of this lucrative market is a concern, given their typically higher daily spend and length of stay versus tourists from other countries.

In the short term, the report recommends implementing a rapid and sustainable financial support package, tailored to the needs of each tourism sub-sector, alongside strategic operational supports. Firms within the sector will also need to adapt their business plans to respond to fast-evolving government restrictions and to target new, local markets.

These measures should be followed by a forward-looking plan. This should aim to build resilience and to capitalise on opportunities in new travel trends that may exist post-crisis such a greater desire to take holidays in un-crowded, rural locations.

As a destination, Ireland has consistently punched above its weight for the last decade and a coherent and consistent Team Ireland approach to promoting our attractiveness at home and overseas will be vital for recovery.

Yannick Cabrol, Economic Strategy Manager, EY Ireland, said:

After the immediate health concerns are addressed, people will have less disposable income due to the economic impact of the pandemic. They are also likely to have a reduced willingness to travel far from home. Our view that the grass is always greener elsewhere and that extensive international travel is essential to human happiness is being challenged.

While we must continue the longstanding Irish tradition of welcoming overseas visitors with our famous hospitality, many of us are turning our thoughts to how we can enjoy our national heritage and natural beauty more. Growing domestic and sustainable tourism will be essential elements of the recovery.
A Florida grandmother walked into her house Tuesday after being out for the evening and found a dead man.

Crime scene technicians carried out evidence in brown bags from a Melbourne, Florida, home as they attempt to figure out what happened there.

I just came home, I just came in the door and someones laying on my floor. I dont know who it is, the woman said. I just saw a head and I ran out the door.

Police said the mans body was on the floor when they arrived, and there were signs of trauma.

Neighbors, like Kim Buttree, are also looking for answers.

Its scary. Because you dont know really what happened, Buttree said.

Neighbors said they heard loud arguments and spotted people coming and going from the house.

The identity of the man who was killed has not been released. Police have not said whether there were any witnesses.

Watch the video above to learn more about this story.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte apologised to Italians on Friday for their economic hardships and promised a brighter future once the lockdown lifts. Italy will begin to emerge from the world's longest coronavirus shutdown on Monday and see whether two months of containment were enough to avoid a new contagion wave. The Mediterranean country's death toll has officially reached 28,236 -- second only to the United States -- but its daily infection rates are back down to levels last seen in early March. The length of Italy's lockdown means its economy is on course to contract more sharply than the eurozone's average. Half the workforce is relying on state support and the same number told a poll published in the Corriere della Sera daily on Friday they were afraid of losing their job. Conte admitted his government was late to pay out more than 50 billion euros ($55 billion) assigned to struggling families and businesses. "There have been and continue to be some delays in the payments," Conte wrote on Facebook. "I apologised on behalf of the government and assure you that we will continue to press for the payments and financing to be completed as soon as possible." - 'The full weight' - The Italian government expects the economy to shrink by about eight percent this year -- slightly less than the 9.1 percent projected by the International Monetary Fund. But Conte warned on Thursday that the drop could reach 10 percent or more if the virus begins to spread again and further containment measures are needed. The health ministry is developing a set of criteria to determine when to sound the alarm about a returning virus threat. These include whether contagion rates were putting an unbearable burden on hospitals and if regions had enough tests and other means to track cases. Conte's government is reportedly only considering reimposing local lockdowns rather than a national one should infection rates edge back up. The disease has been especially damaging because it spread mostly across three regions that account for 45 percent of Italy's total economic output. Conte assured Italians that he felt their suffering and understood their fears. "Many are experiencing anxiety and concern in this crisis because of the closures and the risk to their jobs," Conte wrote. "I have read some of your letters, put myself in your shoes and felt the full weight of what you feel." Conte insisted that Italians will be rewarded for putting up with weeks of uncertainty and discomfort if strict social distancing measures are respected once restrictions ease. He said four million Italians were returning to work on Monday "thanks to the first results" of containment. But a study published by La Repubblica on Friday estimated that 72 percent of those back at their jobs will be men. The country will first reopen construction sites and factories that employ few women. This disparity "will end up burdening women with families with additional housework, risking a further reduction in their job opportunities, which are already undermined by the closure of schools," the study said. Italy's subsequent rounds of easing will see everything gradually reopened over the course of May.
Police in north London have released footage of officers halting a suspicious vehicle after a heart-stopping high speed car chase in Barnet.

Officers in the Trojan Proactive Unit recognised a car with links to criminal activity and set off in pursuit of the driver on April 14.

The driver of the car attempted to evade the policemen in pursuit, with footage showing the patrol swerving in and out of busy traffic as the chase escalated.

Police in north London arrested a man after a high-speed car chase in busy London traffic

Two police cars slammed into the vehicle after it attempted to evade them at traffic lights

A set of traffic lights then provided another obstacle for the officer behind the wheel, but an incredible manoeuvre closed the gap between the cars.

Incredibly, the policeman was able to cut off the angle of the getaway driver and bring him to a sudden halt by slamming into the right side of his vehicle.

Within seconds another unmarked police car sped into view and crunched into the front of the suspect's motor to block off another escape route, while an officer emerged into view to apprehend the escapee.

But the individual in question still refused to give up, with the video appearing to show him grabbing the officer in an attempt to resist arrest.

Footage then shows the driver of the police car jumping out of the vehicle and aiming a yellow stun gun at the criminal to bring a swift end to the conflict.

Stun guns are used by officers as a method of self defence in potentially serious cases and release multiple volts of electricity to temporarily immobilise suspects.

An officer then used a Taser gun to immobilise the suspect after he appeared to resist arrest

Repeated volts of electricity effectively hijack the nervous system and prevent the brain from sending messages to the body, leaving individuals unable to move.

The impact of the electric shock can impair the brain's ability to process information for up to an hour, giving officers plenty of time to make an arrest and avoid any further conflict as they did in Barnet.

It's the second time in the space of two weeks that police have reported a high speed incident after a driver led officers on a 151mph chase near the M1 two weeks ago.

Both incidents could have been potentially more dangerous following the news that speeding offences in London increased by 650% last week.

Those numbers highlighted an eight-fold increase on the same week last year, while police warned of a worrying 75 per cent overall increase in 'extreme' speeding in the capital since the lockdown was put in place.
Ministers are facing demands to spell out their advice on face coverings after Boris Johnson said they would be 'useful' as lockdown ends.

Nicola Sturgeon has already urged Scots to don home-made masks - but not medical-grade ones - in shops and on public transport.

Labour has also been pushing for the move, with London mayor Sadiq Khan calling for the recommendation.

But the UK government has so far refused to change its position, having previously said it did not advise wearing coverings. Downing Street said that work on then policy is still ongoing - despite scientific advisers having conveyed their verdict to ministers last week.

Ministers are facing demands to spell out their advice on face coverings after Boris Johnson said they would be 'useful' as lockdown ends. PIctured, a man shops in London this week

Speaking at the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference last night, Mr Johnson said wearing of face coverings in public will be 'useful' in terms of stopping the spread of the disease when restrictions are lifted

Sources told MailOnline that the PM is believed to favour issuing stronger advice, but there has been resistance from the Department of Health amid fears of shortages.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove voiced concerns earlier this week that people could become 'cavalier' about social distancing once they are wearing a mask.

Work is thought to be ongoing to thrash out what material people should use to create their own makeshift coverings.

In a round of broadcast interviews today, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick admitted that although the benefits of wearing medical face masks was 'modest,' they could help give the public confidence to return to their daily lives.

'The advice in the past has been that face masks have only quite a modest difference from a health perspective, they do help us to protect others, and it might be particularly useful if you're asymptomatic so you don't know if you've got symptoms but you could still be spreading the virus,' he told the BBC.

'The benefits are modest but they might be a way of giving people confidence because many people are understandably very anxious about going out, about returning to the workplace in a safe way.'

Mr Jenrick continued: 'It's a personal choice, if you have a face mask it's your choice whether you want to use them and if you walk around some of our towns and cities today you are seeing more people using them than ever before.

'The advice today is that the difference made by a face covering is quite modest - it doesn't make a huge difference but it does make some. So it's your choice.'

He added that more details would be released in the Government 'road map' next week.

The PM's spokesman said: 'Ministers are still considering how we move forward with face coverings, in terms of the precise advice.

'The advice we have received, based on the science, shows a weak but also positive effect in reducing transmission from... asymptomatic members of the public, where social distancing is not possible.

'What ministers need to consider is how best to produce advice for the public on the next steps and that work is still ongoing.'

Speaking at the daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference last night, Mr Johnson said wearing of face coverings in public will be 'useful' in terms of stopping the spread of the disease when restrictions are lifted.

He also said they would give workers 'confidence' that it is safe for them to venture out, use public transport and go back to their jobs.

'I think what SAGE is saying and what I certainly agree with is that as part of coming out of the lockdown I do think that face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also for giving people confidence they can go back to work.

'You are going to be hearing more about that and that kind of thing next week.'

Mr Johnson has promised to set out a 'comprehensive plan' within the next seven days telling the nation how lockdown will be eased.

The government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been considering the evidence in recent weeks relating to the wearing of facemasks.
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Orange County, CA  Over the past two months, non-violent inmates have been released from prisons across the country in an attempt to prevent massive outbreaks behind bars. Some law enforcement officials have raised concerns over releasing people in jail for marijuana possession, but theyve largely been ignored thanks to common sense. However, law enforcement sources in New York and California are justified in their concerns as dangerous high-risk child rapists have been released.

The number of guards and inmates testing positive for COVID-19 continues to rise across the country  though deaths remain low. As we reported in March, it was only a matter of time before someone who is not exhibiting symptoms brings it in to one of the many prisons across the country. As the multiple cruise ship outbreaks illustrate, once the virus enters a closed space, it explodes and not just on the cruise ship.

Across the country, jails have been moving to set prisoners free. In LA county, inmates with 30 days or less on their sentences were set free. Sheriff Alex Villanueva stated that the department will also limit arrests to only dangerous suspects, decreasing the re-entry level. Also, anyone with a bail of $50,000 or less is being let out.

In New York, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said low-level offenses that dont jeopardize public safety will not be prosecuted at all during the coronavirus outbreak. Authorities are also moving to release certain demographics from the prisons as well.

In Greece, New York, however, officials announced in March that they will be releasing child rapists, raising concerns among many. And now, Orange County, California is doing the same.

On Tuesday, residents of Orange County were issued a warning by District Attorney Todd Spitzer, letting them know that seven registered sex offenders who he said were high-risk were recently released from custody.

KTLA reports, Spitzer said the convicted men spent just days in jail instead of the six months required by law for those registered as sex offenders. Illustrating the reckless nature of such a decision is the fact that all of these violent sex offenders had also been charged with cutting off their GPS monitors or tampering with their tracking devices.

The DA called the men the most dangerous kind of criminal and the most likely to reoffend.

These are not the kind of people who should be getting a break, he said.

It is not the courts responsibility to control the jail population by releasing these dangerous criminals back into our communities, the DA said. The residents of Orange County deserve to have the peace of mind that registered sex offenders are being held accountable and not just let out the front door of a jail by a court commissioner who refuses to follow the law.

On top of the court knowing these men had convictions for tampering with their ankle monitors, all seven of these men have violent criminal records, and five of the seven have been arrested for criminal sex acts against children.

This is the exact same thing that unfolded in New York in March.

As TFTP reported in March, multiple sex offenders were released from the Monroe County Jail as part of a statewide order coming from The Department of Corrections and Community Services or DOCCS.

Just like in Orange County, the release of the dangerous rapists perplexed even the chief of police.

It doesnt make any sense. If you could present an argument to me that makes sense, Im willing to listen. But this doesnt make any sense, Patrick Phelan, the Greece Chief of Police, said.

The inmates were moved to the Holiday Inn Express after the DOCCS was ordered to release low-level technical parole violators. But as stated above, these are not low level offenders.

As WROC points out, among the inmates known to be staying at the Holiday Inn Express are four registered sex offenders. Three of whom are registered as level 3 sex offenders and are deemed by New York courts as most likely to re-offend. All three of the level 3 sex offenders staying at the Holiday Inn Express have been convicted for the rape of minors.

We werent told by anyone, Phelan said. I think good practice would be if youre going to release convicted felons. Some of them very violent some of those level 3 sex offenders, You might want to give law enforcement the heads up.

While TFTP originally applauded the release of low-level drug offenders and those who were rotting in cages for victimless crimes, the idea of releasing violent child rapists shocks the conscience. Whats more, wed be willing to bet that there are still a lot of people in jail whose crimes have no victim, yet child rapists are being set free.

Adding insult to societal endangerment is the fact that as jails release high-risk child rapists, innocent business owners are being arrested for violating states orders to shut down. A friend of mine, Ryan Scott is being criminally charged for keeping his doors open to allow customers in his store. Over the past two weeks, Scott has been repeatedly harassed by police and it came to a head on Thursday when he noted that hed been criminally charged.

I am now being charged criminally for having my store open. Posted by Ryan Scott on Thursday, April 30, 2020

Scott is not alone either. A salon owner is facing the possibility of being jailed for cutting the hair of willing customers. Two women in Texas were arrested for painting nails and trimming eye brows out of their homes  hero cops even went undercover to catch them. Dog groomers, department store owners, and countless others have all faced the wrath of the police state and lost their freedom because government doesnt want them attempting to support themselves.

In the meantime, they are told they can take out loans or attempt to survive on a one time $1,200 check that they may or may not receive  all the while dangerous child rapists go free. This is utterly asinine and nothing short of arbitrary tyranny.

If ever you feel that the state has your interests in mind when they provide their mandatory protection through this system of law enforcement, consider this scenario which completely negates that idea. When a system lets child rapists go free while locking someone in a cage for attempting to be self-sufficient  that system does not have your interests in mind.
Dua Lipa is over the moon for Gigi Hadid!

During a radio interview with New Zealand's The Edge NZ, the singer, 24, spoke about her boyfriend Anwar Hadid becoming an uncle for the first time after news of the 25-year-old model's baby on the way with boyfriend Zayn Malik.

When asked about becoming an "auntie," Lipa expressed her excitement. "Yeah, very exciting news. We're very, very excited," said the Grammy winner, who has been dating Hadid, 20, since summer 2019.

Lipa also said she had been keeping the baby news a secret "for not long," telling the co-hosts that she was in on the announcement "a little before" it was made public.

On Thursday, the mom-to-be confirmed her pregnancy during an appearance on The Tonight Show, telling host Jimmy Fallon, "Obviously, we wish they could've announced it on our own terms, but we're very excited and happy and grateful for everyone's well-wishes and support."

According to TMZ, who was first to report the news, Hadid is 20 weeks along in her pregnancy, and the Hadid and Malik families are very excited about the baby on the way.

RELATED: Baby Makes 3! Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik's Relationship History From VOGUE Covers to Parenthood

Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

Gigi and Anwar's mother, Yolanda Hadid, recently also spoke about becoming a grandmother for the first time.

On Wednesday, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 56, told Dutch outlet RTL Boulevard, "Of course we are so excited. I'm excited to become an Oma in September especially after I lost my mom so recently. But this is the beauty of life: One soul leaves us and a new one comes in. We feel very blessed."

Meanwhile, Lipa recently told PEOPLE that she and her boyfriend have been practicing social distancing from an Airbnb since March. "Its been really great  easy and fun and chill," said Lipa, who released her second studio album, Future Nostalgia.

"Weve been making the most of this because we got all this extra time that we werent expecting to just hang out. Its been an absolute blast, and were learning so much more about each other," she added.

Yolanda and Gigi have been social distancing along with Bella Hadid and Malik at their family farm in Pennsylvania.
The National Youth Organizer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress George Opare Addo also known as Pablo has donated 18 motorbikes to Constituency Youth Organizers in the Volta Region.

According to sources close to the Partys secretariat in the region, the National Youth Organizers effort is to enable swift mobility with regards to campaign and other party activities and also encourage his party executives in the various constituencies especially Youth Organizers to work harder towards the NDCs victory in the 2020 general elections.

The motorbikes have all been registered. They have also gone through the appropriate checks and insured for a year.

In a chat with one of the Youth organizers who were recipients of the motorbikes, he disclosed that George Opare Addo promised to resource the NDC Youth Wing in the run-up to the partys internal National Executive elections and the youth wing is glad that he has been committed to his words.

Pablo told us before his election that he will resource the Youth Wing and Im very happy that he didnt let us down, the source said.

George Opare Addo seems to have demonstrated commitment to the Partys victory. He has been on the move since his election and consistently portrays frantic efforts to make the NDC Youth Wing vibrant through various projects and programmes.

George Opare Addo was accompanied by his two deputies.
A woman wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, runs with Cruise Ships docked in the background at the port of Long Beach, California on April 11, 2020.

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday called for Carnival Corp to hand over a slew of documents related to its response to coronavirus outbreaks on its ships that infected more than 1,500 and killed dozens of people.

The committee, which says it has jurisdiction over maritime transportation issues, made the requests in letters sent to Carnival CEO Arnold Donald, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The letters described cruise ships as "a fertile breeding ground for infectious diseases."

"We would hope that the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic will place a renewed emphasis on public health and passenger safety, but frankly that has not been seen up to this point," the letter reads. "It seems as though Carnival Corporation and its portfolio of nine cruise lines, which represents 109 cruise ships, is still trying to sell this cruise line fantasy and ignoring the public health threat."

Carnival Corp confirmed they have received the letter and said they intend to fully cooperate.

"Our goal is the same as the committee's goal: to protect the health, safety and well-being of our guests and crew, along with compliance and environmental protection," the company said in a statement.

Shares of Carnival were down more than 11% on Friday. The company's stock is down more than 70% since Jan. 1.

The letter is signed by Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who chairs the committee, and Sean Maloney, a New York Democrat and chair of the maritime transportation subcommittee. The congressmen requested a range of documents from the company, including all records that reference the coronavirus. They requested that Carnival begin to deliver the documents by May 15.

While the entire cruise industry has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, Carnival, which is the largest cruise company in the world, has been at the center of several high-profile outbreaks on its vessels. Its Diamond Princess ship was quarantined at a Japanese port in one of the first major outbreaks outside of China, where the virus emerged in December.

Carnival's fleet has had an unusually high number of outbreaks, the letter says. The letter adds that at least nine Carnival-owned ships have reported Covid-19 outbreaks, which have infected more than 1,500 people and killed at least 39 people.

"Our Committee, the U.S. Congress, and the American public need to be assured that the global cruise line industry, and Carnival Corporation & PLC in particular, are instituting necessary measures to ensure that the safety of the traveling public and crew members will be your number one priority when your ships set sail again."

In an April 14 interview with CNBC, Donald said he has high hopes for how the industry will bounce back after the coronavirus pandemic.

"Travel is going to return, travel and leisure, and when it does, we'll return with it. Social gathering at some point will return, and when it does, people will want to cruise," he said on CNBC's "Closing Bell."

In early March, as the virus spread rapidly among some cruise passengers, the State Department warned Americans against traveling by cruise ship. On March 14, the CDC issued a "No Sail Order" for cruise ships and extended it on April 9 for up to 100 days.

The extension order says "that cruise ship travel exacerbates the global spread of COVID-19 and that the scope of this pandemic is inherently and necessarily a problem that is international and interstate in nature and has not been controlled sufficiently by the cruise ship industry or individual State or local health authorities."

With the industry at a standstill, Carnival and its competitors have taken steps to ensure liquidity through what could prove to be a lengthy low- or no-revenue situation. In March, the company fully drew down its $3 billion revolving credit facility. Last month, the company announced it was raising about $6 billion by issuing a mix of debt and equity.

In early April, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund disclosed an 8.2% stake in the cruise operator, which sent shares soaring amid a broader freefall.

"We have found a way to secure financing. It was costly," Donald said on April 14. "It was expensive, but our job is to make sure the company can survive even if there is an extended pause."
The Foreign Policy of Azerbaijan has been extremely effective over the last three years; public diplomacy and education diplomacy have acquired a tremendous priority in the Government of President Ilham Aliyev, US expert in foreign affairs Peter Tase writes in the article Baku State University: Empowering Azerbaijans Foreign Policy And Public Diplomacy  OpEd for Eurasia Review.

An important dimension in Azerbaijans public diplomacy and education diplomacy is the strategic role and pragmatic education policies embodied by Baku State University; graduate and undergraduate programs that this university offers to European, national and International Students. The extensive training in Social Sciences and International Affairs conducted in Baku State University is a tangible contribution in shaping new cadres of diplomats in Azerbaijans Foreign Service and promoting the cultural, educational diplomacy of Azerbaijan.

Baku State University received the status of autonomy from the presidential decree of national leader Heydar Aliyev on June 13, 2000 and began to implement its operations based on this statute. As a premier public university, Baku State University offers 16 majors at the level of Undergraduate (55 bachelors degrees) and 153 masters (graduate) degrees.

The foundations of an effective cultural and public diplomacy have taken shape in Baku State University, through the training of young professionals and diplomats that would represent  at some of the highest diplomatic posts in the world  the best values and assets of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Today, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Elchin Babayev as chancellor, Baku State University has attracted a large number of international students, coming from Poland, Italy, Germany and other countries. Other important fields of study are the German Literature, International Affairs, Geological Studies and Political Sciences.

Thanks to excellent academic performance, Azerbaijan is represented by a graduate of Baku State University in Buenos Aires  Argentina, Ambassador Rashad Aslanov who has provided an emblematic diplomatic service in Latin America, certainly his alma matter has played a significant role. Furthermore, Amb. Mammad Ahmadzada, appointed as the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Italy  who is also a graduate of Baku State University  has revitalized the overall public diplomacy, in his previous diplomatic posts and currently strengthened the cultural and education diplomacy of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Italy. Amb. Ahmadzada has strengthened the bilateral economic partnership of Baku with Rome.

These are two of many successful Azerbaijani diplomats that have embraced the highest standard of academic rigor at Baku State University and constantly promoted the Public Diplomacy concepts at the greatest levels.

It must be emphasized that Baku State University has over 10 linguistic labs that are equipped to train students in various foreign languages. The University library has more than 2.5 million books, and has 12 reading rooms, 5 subscription departments are systematically serving to more than 15 thousand students and academic staff.

The University is equipped with 37 scientific research and teaching labs that conduct research not only in social sciences but also in natural sciences. The Scientific Research Institute of Applied Mathematics and Scientific Research Institute of Physics Problems have more than 200 scientists, professors and scholars. The disciplines of Azerbaijani language, history and literature of Azerbaijan, genetics, nanotechnology, invention of nanomaterials, have also received a growing priority.

At the present BSU is a member of the Association of Universities of Eurasia; Association of Universities of Caspian Sea States; the Association of Universities of Black Sea States; Association of European Universities. In 2002-2004 Baku State University (BSU) led very successfully the Association of Universities of Black Sea States. The University has established bilateral agreements on scientific and technological cooperation, and teachers exchange programs with Lomonosovs Moscow State University, Middle East Technical University, Nice-Sofia Antipole University, Indiana University, Kyiv National University, Vienna University, among others.

In conclusion, the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs have consolidated the public diplomacy strategy, and globally promoted cultural diplomacy that fosters education mobility among European Universities and preserves cultural heritage in Europe, Eurasia and beyond. To accomplish these international commitments, BSU has trained highly qualified professionals that have helped shape a new chapter in Azerbaijans public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and education diplomacy.
Exclusive: US No Longer Party To Iran Nuclear Agreement, EU Foreign Policy Chief Says

Maryam Sinaiee 30 April 2020

In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL on Thursday, the EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said the United States can no longer be considered as a participating member of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

In May 2018 President Trump officially withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran -- officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- which was negotiated by former President Barack Obama.

Commenting on U.S. attempts to extend an arms embargo against Iran given that the United States is no longer a party to the deal, the EU Foreign Policy Chief said: "It's clear that in the statement by President Trump and the U.S. presidential memorandum of last May, they announced that he was ending his participation in JCPOA".

"And I also want to recall that the U.S. has not participated in any meetings of activities within the framework of this agreement since then. So it's quite clear for us that the U.S. are no longer a participating member in this agreement," Borrell added.

The ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran under the Security Council's Resolution 2231 that blessed the nuclear agreement will be lifted on October 18, 2020. The Trump administration has vowed to use all means available to reverse that and extend the U.N. arms embargo in October.

"We're not going to let that happen," the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference on April 29 and added: "In the event we can't get anyone else to act, the United States is evaluating every possibility about how we might do that."

Borrell said the United States has a right to call for an arms embargo, like any other U.N. member, if they wish.

Pointing out that the 2015 nuclear agreement stipulated that the U.N. arms embargo on Iran would be lifted five years later, Borrell said any member of the U.N. Security Council can go to the Security Council and propose another measure. "let's see what the Security Council decides then," he said.

The United States may only count on gaining the support of France, Britain and Germany  the three European sides of the JCPOA. China and particularly Russia -- the other two parties to the JCPOA -- which stand to win major new arms contracts with Iran, are certain to oppose an extension of the embargo. They only agreed to the five-year ban in 2015 as a compromise reached with the Obama administration and if the issue is referred to the Security Council are certain to oppose an extension of the embargo.

Regarding the European Union's approach towards Iran during the coronavirus crisis and the call for sanctions relief and offering a significant sum in humanitarian aid to Iran as well as concerns about how to establish certainty that the money will not be used by Iran to finance proxy wars the EU Foreign Policy Chief said he personally advocates giving aid to Iran and supports Iran's application to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $5 billion loan to combat coronavirus.

"As for the terms of any possible loan, this is the matter for the IMF in line with established procedures to ensure the effective use of such support. It is not the first time that the IMF gives financial assistance with conditionality and they have their ways and means to ensure effective use of the support they have granted," Mr. Borrell added.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/exclusive-us-no-longer- party-to-iran-nuclear-agreement-eu-foreign -policy-chief-says/30585600.html

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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India emerges among the top in the fight against Covid-19  from sunshine to the vaccine to the Covid-19 drug, we have it all right here in India.

Some would say, its been a dreadful few weeks. Holed up in homes and worrying ourselves sick that the virus could appear anytime and destroy us. But when we look at the brighter side, of course, the sky is bluer than ever, the air is fragrant, animals have reclaimed the streets. We are bonding, doing things we only wished we could; we have all become chefs and are expressing more gratitude than ever. The lockdown has helped us get rid of the unnecessary. Has helped us sift through the noise and clutter of our lives. Old friendships have revived. Notes to self have become deeper.

In the fight against Covid-19, Indias pharmaceutical sector has emerged as one of the top fighters against the pandemic. (Photo: Reuters)

But beyond us, the last few weeks have also been a revelation of sorts as India has unravelled before the world. Heres the good news about the last few weeks as India waged a strident war against Covid-19 and imposed the strictest lockdown imposed anywhere in the world. India reported its first case around the same time as Italy.

The country reported its first case of Covid-19 in Kerala on January 30, around the same time the worst affected countries reported their first casualties. Some 80 days later, by April 19, it had a little more than 16,000 cases of coronavirus with over 500 deaths. Italy had 178,000 cases; the United States had 496,535. India was closer to South Korea in numbers.

India is also the most populous amongst all these countries. Italys population is 6.4 crore, while the United States has about 32 crore people; India has a population of 135 crore. Its population density is 464 people per square kilometre. United States density is 36 persons per square kilometre. Covid-19 being a highly contagious virus can spread like wildfire in highly dense areas. Yet, the India story is looking good as compared to the rest of the world. Indias spend on healthcare at 3.6 per cent of GDP is among the lowest in the world; the United States spends about 8.5 per cent of its GDP on health. But in the fight against Covid-19, Indias pharmaceutical sector has emerged as one of the top fighters against the pandemic. The sector is supplying ammunition that the world needs  drugs and vaccines.

India is the largest manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, that is being touted as a game-changer in the fight against the pandemic. India manufactures 70 per cent of the worlds supply of the drug that is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, malaria and lupus. And India stood up to the challenge of being the primary drug supplier to the world and lifted the ban partially to export the drug.

India is the largest manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine and is the primary supplier of the drug to the world. (Photo: AP)

Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer made global headlines  it is partnering with US Biotechnology firm Codagenix to develop a live-attenuated vaccine which can induce an immune response to different antigens of the virus. It is also producing 40 million units of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford without knowing if it works, the Oxford Vaccine Group has said that it hopes to complete human trials on the vaccine in September. And the company is working on a recombinant BCG vaccine shots to improve the innate ability to fight the virus and reduce the severity of Covid-19 in India.

In an interview to Business Today, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute said that the company is looking to produce 20-40 million doses by September-October. And the vaccine would be priced at about Rs 1,000, which is about USD $14. Meanwhile, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has got approval to conduct clinical trials with antiviral drug favipiravir, considered as a potential treatment for Covid-19. The drug has been approved for use as an anti-flu drug with no obvious side effects in helping coronavirus patients recover, according to press reports on briefings by Chinese officials.

Nature could be playing for India as well, there are reports stating that sunshine and summer could ebb the spread of coronavirus. In several parts of the country, temperatures could be touching 40-degree celsius in the next week or ten days.

And finally, the good news is that the RO value for Covid-19 (the basic reproduction number of a disease  which indicates the number of people a patient can directly infect in a healthy population) is down from 1.36 last week to 1.29, according to scientists at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai. A slowing RO brings down the number of affected cases. For the epidemic to end, the RO number needs to go below 1, scientist Sitabhra Sinha said in an interview to a media portal. The RO number was at 1.83 on April 6.

The recovery rate in India has improved from 15 per cent on April 19 to 24.56 per cent now. As India looks towards a staggered lifting of the lockdown and now faces the inevitability of economic displacement that the lockdown has caused, it clearly has done a lot better than several advanced economies of the world.

Definitely not down and out. Fighting strong and on its way to being covid-fit!

Also read: How to revive the health system in India on a war footing
Kaspersky Embedded Systems Security provides advanced protection for ATMs and PoS (point of sale) systems, as well as other Windows-based embedded devices. Thanks to the release of a new version, the solution now can be remotely managed and updated without hassle on devices located in areas with a 2G internet connection.

This enables the solution to effectively protect ATMs, payment terminals and other similar appliances in remote areas without affecting their productivity and service availability. In addition, Kaspersky Embedded Systems Security has been upgraded with a new Network Threat Protection component which prevents attacks on a network layer.

In 2019, Kaspersky Security Network statistics, gathered from the companys solutions, revealed that the amount of malware targeting embedded systems grew by 40% compared to figures from 2018. This suggests that ATMs, PoS and other similar systems are a tempting target for cybercriminals. Nonetheless, their protection can be a challenging task for devices residing in remote locations where a wireless modem is the only option for internet connection, but the area has poor cellular coverage or is not covered by modern wireless standards (such as 3G and above).

Weak communication channels may lead to a conflict between traffic flows responsible for the execution of transactions, banking software updates and management tasks, including the delivery of updates. When a channel is overloaded with traffic between the security solution and its management server, it leads to unstable operation or even a partial loss of control over the device.

In addition, in smaller communities there are only a few cash machines, or just one, available to citizens. If the community is remote enough, a scenario where an ATM goes down because of an overload in traffic or malicious actions would mean serious trouble. For instance, citizens would be left unable to withdraw cash from their accounts until the issue is fixed.

Thats why Kaspersky has optimized the volume of traffic shared by Kaspersky Embedded Systems Security to reduce the payload. Typically, the server periodically sends security policies to the ATM, which returns the applied settings. It allows for monitoring to show that the policies were not changed.

With the updated Kaspersky Embedded Systems Security, the ATM would not send the whole of the acting policies back to the server, thus reducing the intensity of the data exchange. However, it doesnt affect control over the device, as the ability to change these policies on the cash machine is strictly regulated by the security solution.

Thanks to this, and other data exchange optimizations, the solution ensures that functions run smoothly even in regions where only a low speed internet connection, such as that provided by the 2G standard, is available. In fact, its technical requirements for speed starts from 56 kbp/s.

Some people prefer to pay with cash, and in some places, there is just no other option. This means peoples daily lives depend on access to physical currency. So, banks need to provide their customers with means for withdrawing money. Our clients from the banking industry, as they take care of this need, find themselves facing the issue of poor internet connectivity in remote areas. This can affect the quality of their service, which is supposed to be delivered both conveniently and securely. In order to help them solve this problem, we have included low bandwidth tolerance to the list of optimizations we made in the new version of Kaspersky Embedded Systems Security , commented Oleg Gorobets, Senior B2B Product Marketing Manager at Kaspersky.

Mitigating risks of network attacks

Recently introduced Network Threat Protection also improves ATM and PoS security posture against attacks aimed to break into an operating system. This component monitors both inbound and outbound traffic to detect suspicious network activity and blocks the communication between the device and the source of malicious network activity.

In particular, Kaspersky Embedded Systems Security now can detect and block the following activity:


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 20:43:46|Editor: huaxia

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Malaysian Health Minister Adham Baba (C) meets with members of Chinese medical expert team in Putrajaya, Malaysia, May 1, 2020. Malaysia has gained valuable insight on handling the COVID-19 outbreak from the experiences shared by the Chinese medical expert team, Malaysian Health Minister Adham Baba said on Friday. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia has gained valuable insight on handling the COVID-19 outbreak from the experiences shared by the Chinese medical expert team, Malaysian Health Minister Adham Baba said on Friday.

The two-week visit of the Medical Consultant Expert Team from China to Malaysia provided opportunities to government health officials as well as members from the medical faculties of several public universities to exchange experience and technical knowledge.

These include the clinical case management, infection control and prevention measures, clinical research and investigation as well as the role of traditional Chinese medicine in managing COVID-19 cases, Adham said in a statement.

The expert team has provided the Malaysian side better understanding of COVID-19 and identified areas for improvement and possible areas of collaboration with China, he said.

"The shared experiences and knowledge gained from the multiple engagements with the medical expert team has been invaluable, and provided the Ministry of Health Malaysia better understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Adham said the Chines expert team had also advised Malaysia on ways to prevent a rebound of cases, safeguarding of medical personnel and testing procedures among other matters, and had commended Malaysian efforts to fight the disease.

Adham expressed appreciation to the Chinese government for extending their assistance to Malaysia through sharing of knowledge as well as donations of medical supplies during this fight against the outbreak.

He said the visit is "a testament to the close relationship between both countries", and Malaysia looks forward to furthering collaboration with China for the benefit of the community in both countries.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah told a press conference later that the visit by the Chinese expert team has been "mutually beneficial".

Malaysia has been learning from China in policies and action plans as China faced the outbreak earlier then Malaysia, and the Chinese experts has been positive on Malaysia's efforts, said Noor Hisham

"So it gives us a confidence in that sense that we are doing the right thing, exactly what they did," he said, adding that the expert team did emphasize the need for border control to prevent the increase of imported case.

"So today we have eased the restrictions, but we strengthened our border control," he said.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Friday that the country will ease restrictions to allow most economic and social activities to restart next week following the recent decline of the COVID-19 cases.

Malaysia reported 69 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total infections in the country to 6,071, among them 4,210 or 69.3 percent have been cured and discharged. One more fatality has been recorded, bringing the death toll in the country to 103.

The eight-member anti-COVID-19 medical consultant expert team arrived on April 18 for a two-week stay in Malaysia to share experience and expertise on fighting COVID-19 with their Malaysian counterparts.
While some businesses and organizations are allowed to reopen starting Monday under phase one of the provincial governments economic restart plan, several eligible institutions in Brandon arent scrambling to reopen their doors.

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This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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While some businesses and organizations are allowed to reopen starting Monday under phase one of the provincial governments economic restart plan, several eligible institutions in Brandon arent scrambling to reopen their doors.

OAK + IVY salon co-owner Jill Landry told the Sun via phone on Thursday that the announcement that hair salons could reopen on May 4 caught off her off guard. She said the business received a deluge of interest from customers after the news went public.

OAK + IVY Salon co-owners Brittany Perreaux and Jill Landry won't be reopening their business next week, even though they're allowed to. (Submitted)

However, the business is taking a more cautious approach as they try to figure out how to provide their services in a way that mitigates potential health risks and wont be opening immediately.

"Were going to have to change the whole way things operate around here," Landry said.

Part of the problem is that they have yet to find sufficient quantities of personal protective equipment like face masks, gloves and cleaning supplies.

Even though theyve had their doors closed for several weeks now, Landry said that thankfully theyve been able to pay some bills by selling hair and beauty products online and delivering them to local clients.

Landry worried there might be a bit of a backlash after the business posted on their Facebook page that they wouldnt be reopening immediately, but said they havent received any negative comments. She added that its nice to know how much customers value their services.

On social media, several Brandon dental practices cautioned their patients that they might not be opening immediately.

See Library  Page A2

 Library to be delayed in its reopening

Like many health-care providers in Manitoba, dentists have only been able to offer emergency services during the pandemic.

Precision Dental posted on Facebook that they needed to consult with the Manitoba Dental Association to determine best practices before reopening. They also said that a shortage of protective equipment is another obstacle to reopening. West-Man Dental also said theyre waiting to hear back from the dental association and cautioned patients that being allowed to reopen does not mean that things are back to normal.

Another service not reopening its doors immediately to the public is the Brandon Public Library. There are several reasons for that, director of library services Danielle Hubbard said on Thursday.

The first is that the library has been undergoing some renovations while it has been closed to improve the layout of its service desks. That work will be finished in the near future, but it means that the building isnt ready to accommodate guests.

Libraries being allowed to reopen was a surprise to Hubbard, who thought there would be multiple weeks notice before that happened.

Hubbard said that some staff who have been working from home will start to come back next week as they figure out how to reorganize their services to minimize health risks.

However, book deliveries will continue and Hubbard said theyre working out a system where patrons can request books and then pick them up at the front door. Book returns will also start back up next week.

Since books are difficult to sanitize, Hubbard said that returned books will be placed in the librarys currently-unused program room for a one-week quarantine before re-entering circulation to prevent the spread of any illnesses. Staff will be provided with gloves, but the library has to be able to find some first.

The earliest doors might reopen to the public is May 19, and even then there will likely be restrictions in place. The librarys second branch being prepared in Shoppers Mall has gotten its furnishings but is still waiting for books to arrive and likely wont open to the public until things return to normal.

"In the interim, well be doing everything we can to provide people with access to the (librarys) collection," Hubbard said.

Businesses that believe they werent given enough time to prepare for Mondays loosening of restrictions are under no obligation to open yet, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitobas chief public health officer, said during Thursdays daily news briefing.

"Certainly, its important that this is a lifting of restrictions. Its not a directive, so were certainly not directing anyone to ... open their business or to do anything," Roussin said.

"We think its the right time," he said. "We think if the guidelines are followed, this is a safe and cautious approach to it."

Roussin noted the guidelines for reopening can be accessed online.

The complete list of business reopening and restrictions is available online at gov.mb.ca/covid19/.

For businesses that wonder if they will have enough hand sanitizers or personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks, as they reopen, Roussin said wearing non-medical masks is not a requirement under the guidelines, but businesses do need to follow social distancing measures that have been set out and engage in frequent handwashing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"There is guidance out there on how much a company will need; thats not something that we could direct," he said. "Theres such a myriad of practices out there.

"But I think those questions just demonstrate that Manitobans, Manitoba businesses, know how important this is. They know how important this is to go well, because we do not want to be rolling back ... this loosening again."

For those who may feel afraid to reopen their business or return to work, Roussin pointed out once again that this virus will be among us for a long time.

"Theres not going to be a time when this virus is just gone in the foreseeable future, so we cant be in a position ... to have these restrictions on for a year. We have to look at ways to safely do this, and right now looking at the numbers in our community we feel that this is the time (to loosen them a bit)."

 cslark@brandonsun.com and brobertson@brandonsun.com
[May 01, 2020] First Trust to List May Series of the Target Outcome ETFs

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust") a leading exchange-traded fund ("ETF") provider and asset manager, announced today that it expects to launch the May Series of the Target (News - Alert) Outcome ETFs on May 18, 2020. The FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May (Cboe: FMAY) and the FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF - May (Cboe: DMAY) (collectively, the "funds") seek an outcome that provides investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ("SPY" or "underlying ETF"), up to a predetermined upside cap, while providing a buffer against potential SPY losses. The funds are managed and sub-advised by Cboe Vest Financial LLC ("Cboe Vest") using a "target outcome strategy" or pre-determined target investment outcome. Below are the anticipated outcome period values for the May Series of the Target Outcome ETFs.







Ticker Cap* Buffer Target Outcome Period FMAY 14.44% - 22.44% (Net) 15.30% - 23.30% (Gross) 10% 5/18/2020 - 5/21/2021 DMAY 7.54% - 12.54% (Net) 8.40% - 13.40% (Gross) 25%** 5/18/2020 - 5/21/2021

*The cap ranges shown reflect the high and low upside cap based on model pricing for the options package representing a fund's underlying strategy from 4/1/2020 to 4/30/2020. The gross cap is before fees, expenses and taxes. The net cap is after fees and expenses, excluding brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and extraordinary expenses not included in the funds' management fee. The ranges are not actual upside caps but based on a model that seeks to replicate similar market factors utilized when pricing this option trade for market participants quoting FLEX Options. The actual upside cap for a fund will be determined at the inception date of the Target Outcome Period in each calendar year. The upside cap set by a fund on inception date of the Target Outcome Period may be higher or lower than the ranges shown due to prevailing market conditions at the time of the trade. The cap investors will experience may be different than what is illustrated herein. **FT Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Deep Buffer ETF seeks to shield investors against losses from -5% to -30%, over the outcome period. If an investor purchases shares after the first day of the Target Outcome Period, they will likely have a different return potential than an investor who purchased shares at the start of the Target Outcome Period and the buffer the funds seek may not be available. The funds have a perpetual structure meaning that a new Target Outcome Period begins, and the cap and buffer are reset, annually at the end of each Target Outcome Period. However, the funds may be held indefinitely, providing investors a buy and hold investment opportunity. "We are pleased to work with First Trust to offer the May series of Target Outcome ETFs. For investors who may want to reduce their equity risk in this market, FMAY and DMAY provide an opportunity for upside returns to a maximum cap on U.S. Large Cap Equities while protecting against a targeted level of losses," said Karan Sood, CEO of Cboe Vest and portfolio manager for the funds. The two new ETFs represent the latest additions to the suite of Target Outcome Investments, providing advisors with a full arsenal of options-based risk management strategies," Sood added. We believe a buffer against a level of losses can help investors stay invested during volatile times. "Target Outcome ETFs have been enormously useful for investors seeking exposure to potential equity upside, while also desiring some downside protection, especially as volatility spiked earlier this year. Given the level of uncertainty that lies ahead, we also believe these ETFs will be tremendously helpful tools going forward," said Ryan Issakainen, CFA, Senior Vice President, ETF Strategist at First Trust. The funds offer a way to gain access to outcome-based investing-specifically to buffer against a level of downside risk while allowing growth to a maximum cap- eliminating bank credit risk, in a convenient, flexible investment vehicle. In addition to Karan Sood, Howard Rubin, of Cboe Vest, will also serve as a portfolio manager for the funds. The portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the funds. For more information about First Trust, please contact Ryan Issakainen at (630) 765-8689 or [email protected]. About First Trust First Trust is a federally registered investment advisor and serves as the funds' investment advisor. First Trust and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P. ("FTP"), a FINRA registered broker-dealer, are privately held companies that provide a variety of investment services. First Trust has collective assets under management or supervision of approximately $115 billion as of March 31, 2020 through unit investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, mutual funds and separate managed accounts. First Trust is the supervisor of the First Trust unit investment trusts, while FTP is the sponsor. FTP is also a distributor of mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund creation units. First Trust and FTP are based in Wheaton, Illinois. For more information, visit www.ftportfolios.com. About Cboe Vest: Cboe Vest is the creator of Target Outcome Investments, which strive to buffer losses, amplify gains or provide consistent income to a diverse spectrum of investors. Today, Cboe Vest's Target Outcome Strategies are available in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unit investment trusts (UITs), collective investment trusts (CITs), and customizable managed accounts / sub-advisory services. For more information about Cboe Vest and the evolution of Target Outcome Investments, visit www.cboevest.com or contact Linda Werner at [email protected] or 703-864-5483. The information in the prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. The prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact First Trust Portfolios L.P. at 1-800-621-1675 or visit www.ftportfolios.com to obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus which contains this and other information about the funds. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing. ETF Characteristics The funds list and principally trade their shares on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. Investors buying or selling fund shares on the secondary market may incur customary brokerage commissions. Market prices may differ to some degree from the net asset value of the shares. Investors who sell fund shares may receive less than the share's net asset value. Shares may be sold throughout the day on the exchange through any brokerage account. However, unlike mutual funds, shares may only be redeemed directly from the funds by authorized participants, in very large creation/redemption units. If the funds' authorized participants are unable to proceed with creation/redemption orders and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, fund shares may trade at a discount to the funds' net asset value and possibly face delisting. Risk Considerations The funds' shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the fund. One of the principal risks of investing in the funds is market risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular security owned by the funds, fund shares or securities in general may fall in value. There can be no assurance that the funds' investment objectives will be achieved. The outbreak of the respiratory disease designated as COVID-19 in December 2019 has caused significant volatility and declines in global financial markets, which have caused losses for investors. The impact of this COVID-19 pandemic may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, and in either case could result in a substantial economic downturn or recession. In managing the funds' investment portfolios, the advisor will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not have the desired result. A fund may be a constituent of one or more indices which could greatly affect a fund's trading activity, size and volatility. The use of options and other derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. If the reference asset experiences gains during a target outcome period, the funds will not participate in those gains beyond the cap. In the event an investor purchases fund shares after the first day of a target outcome period and the funds have risen in value to a level near to the cap, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain on their fund shares. The funds may invest in FLEX Options that reference an ETF, which subjects the funds to certain of the risks of owning shares of an ETF as well as the types of instruments in which the reference ETF invests. Because the funds may hold FLEX Options that reference the index and/or reference ETFs, the funds have exposure to the equity securities markets. The FLEX Options held by the funds will be exercisable at the strike price only on their expiration date. Prior to the expiration date, the value of the FLEX Options will be determined based upon market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. There can be no guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options and FLEX options may be less liquid than exchange-traded options. The funds' investment strategy is designed to deliver returns that match the reference asset if a fund's shares are bought on the day on which the fund enters into the FLEX Options (i.e., the first day of a target outcome period) and held for the entire target outcome period, subject to a pre-determined cap, or until those FLEX Options expire at the end of the target outcome period. If an investor does not hold its fund shares for an entire target outcome period, the returns realized by that investor may not match those a fund seeks to achieve. In the event an investor purchases fund shares after the first day of a target outcome period or sells shares prior to the expiration of the target outcome period, the value of that investor's investment in fund shares may not be buffered against a decline in the value of the reference asset and may not participate in a gain in the value of the reference asset up to the cap for the investor's investment period. A new cap is established at the beginning of each target outcome period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. As a result, the cap may rise or fall from one target outcome period to the next and is unlikely to remain the same for consecutive target outcome periods. The funds may, under certain circumstances, effect a significant portion of creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind securities. As a result, the funds may be less tax-efficient. High portfolio turnover may cause a fund's performance to be less than expected. A fund may be subject to the risk that a counterparty will not fulfill its obligations which may result in significant financial loss to a fund. As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the funds have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. The funds currently have fewer assets than larger funds, and like other relatively new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the funds' market exposure for limited periods of time. The funds intend to qualify as "regulated investment companies" ("RICs"), however, the federal income tax treatment of certain aspects of the proposed operations of the funds are not entirely clear. If, in any year, the funds fail to qualify as RICs under the applicable tax laws, the funds would be taxed as ordinary corporations. The funds are classified as "non-diversified" and may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the funds may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly concentrated in certain issuers. First Trust Advisors L.P. is the adviser to the funds. First Trust Advisors L.P. is an affiliate of First Trust Portfolios L.P., the funds' distributor. The information presented is not intended to constitute an investment recommendation for, or advice to, any specific person. By providing this information, First Trust is not undertaking to give advice in any fiduciary capacity within the meaning of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any other regulatory framework. Financial advisors are responsible for evaluating investment risks independently and for exercising independent judgment in determining whether investments are appropriate for their clients. Cboe is a registered trademark of Cboe Exchange, Inc., which has been licensed for use in the name of the funds. The funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or marketed by Cboe Exchange, Inc. or any of its affiliates ("Cboe") or their respective third-party providers, and Cboe and its third-party providers make no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds and shall have no liability whatsoever in connection with the funds. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005325/en/

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With Trump pushing to reopen the country, were in this very murky transition point where the signals are quite conflicting about what behavior is sought after, said J. Stephen Morrison, a global health policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In that sense, what Pence did at the Mayo Clinic was very deliberate as a sign of defiance against the authorities  thumbing his nose at the medical authorities who run that institution and signaling to others watching you dont have to buy into this.
Orewa Primary is the latest school on the Hibiscus Coast to implement an enrolment zone.

The area around the school is seeing massive residential development and currently the school does not have a zone. It is working with the Ministry of Education to put one in place.

The school says the change will not impact on currently enrolled students.

Consultation with the school community closes this week, on July 20.

A map of the proposed zone is available on the schools website www.orewaprimary.school.nz
The Temple Bars Tom Cleary says publicans want to know what plan is in place for the industry when lockdown is lifted

Some of Dublin's best-known publicans are telling the Government they do not want to charge extra for pints and are against cover charges, but they need help from the State.

Charlie Chawke, who owns nine bars and employs 400 staff, said his premises, including Searsons in Ballsbridge, are "well capable" of operating social distancing measures.

"But the Government has to set out the requirements and open the pubs up," he told the Herald.

"People are getting very worried. The pubs across Ireland have no revenue.

Trouble

"A lot of them are in trouble. They want to get back to work and get staff working again. If it goes on too long, people will not open any more.

"We need help from the Government. We have to get back to work and put in the restrictions and the Government to set that out."

Tom Cleary, who has run the Temple Bar since 1993, said charging the customer for lost revenue is a non-starter.

"We haven't considered charging extra," he said.

"Our priority is to make sure the customer is happy they're coming to us.

"This is consumer-led. In Temple Bar today, if you opened up, there would be no customers, so you have to make it attractive for people to return to the pub.

"But we want to know as soon as possible - when the virus is under control, when the hospitals are running smoothly and when the health workers are looked after - just what plan is going to take place for the industry."

Six out of 10 Dublin pubs have said they will be forced to permanently shut down if restrictions do not allow them to re-open until next year.

A Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) survey found 60pc of the capital's pub owners have said their businesses will not re-open if they have to stay closed until next year.

In the survey, 76pc of respondents also said they would not support a scenario where restaurants are allowed to reopen but not bars.

However, three-quarters said they were satisfied with how the Government has handled the pandemic.

Seven out of 10 publicans in Dublin are also willing to re-open with restricted capacity and social distancing guidelines.

Sixty-eight per cent of Dublin pubs said they would prefer to try to re-open under strict guidelines rather than wait for a vaccine to be found until the business can return to normal.

LVA chief executive Donall O'Keeffe said that all food providers should be treated the same.
Scientists are working quickly and urgently to make a vaccine against the novel coronavirus so we can get back to our daily lives.

At the earliest, an inoculation won't be available for at least 12 to 18 months, says Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert.

However, there are several hurdles researchers are facing. Academic research takes a while to complete, the majority of clinical trials fail and this is a vaccine that has never been produced before.

So while manufacturers hope to have a jab on the market by August 2021, it could be as long as May 2036, according to projections made by The New York Times.

It comes on the heels of Dr Fauci saying that says 'hundreds of millions' of coronavirus vaccine doses could be ready as soon as January.

The goal of researchers is to make a vaccine available by around August 2021, but a vaccine may take as long as May to August 2036

There are several steps to a jab including academic research, pre-clinical trials, Phases I-III of clinical trials, building factories and FDA approval. Pictured: Scientists work in a lab testing COVID-19 samples at New York City's health department, April 23

If all the steps are followed as they are typically, it could be 16 years before a vaccine is readily available. Pictured: A patient receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for coronavirus at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, March 16

There are dozens of companies either in the early stages of research or with trials for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, currently underway.

Among them include Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sanofi + GSK, Oxford University and the Wuhan Institute.

'If you want to make that 18-month timeframe, one way to do that is put as many horses in the race as you can,' Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, told The Times.

BioWorld reports that at least 254 therapeutics and 95 vaccines for the virus are in development.

While this may provide some hope, 90 percent of treatments that undergo clinical trials are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administation (FDA).

This is for a number of reasons such as human subjects not responding the way animals do, improper dose selection and not analyzing data properly.

China's coronavirus vaccine candidate is 'effective and safe' on animals, study claims A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese researchers has been proven effective and safe after conducting clinical trials on animals, a study from China has said. A research group from the country published the study on Sunday after successfully testing the vaccine candidate on macaques and mice. The medical report also indicated that the inactivated vaccine, known as PiCoVacc, can trigger an immune response in animals to protect them against the virus strain. The new study comes as scientists around the world have been racing to find a cure to the deadly disease. Chinese researchers have launched human trials on three vaccine candidates. According to the report, researchers injected groups of mice and macaques with different doses of the potential vaccine. The vaccine was proven safe and efficient after neither infection enhancement or adverse effects were observed in the study. The scientists also noted that the study provided extensive evidence for the clinical development of potential COVID-19 vaccines, but further vaccine experiments on animals are needed. Yang Zhanqiu, a virologist at Wuhan University, told Chinese media that the results from the study are convincing as macaques are more closely related to humans. Advertisement

According to The Times, most vaccines, from academic research to being available on the market, take 10 or more years.

For example, the newspaper writes that the Pediarix shot - which combines DTaP, Hepatitis B, and IPV (polio) - took about 10 years to develop.

A jab against human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer, took about 15 years and the inoculation against varicella (chickenpox) took 28 years.

But there's one thing about the new virus that separates it from the aforementioned others: it has cousins.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are about 80 percent identical to the new virus.

What's more, the SARS virus and the new virus, called SARS-CoV-2, both use spike proteins to 'hijack' human cells, replicate and spread throughout the body.

The Times reports that this is why researchers developed a PCR test that analyzes whether or not a person is infected so quickly.

Their respective outbreaks, in 2002-3 and 2012, produced mass amounts of research that can give vaccine developers a head start.

Vaccines generally take a long time because there are several steps to go from research to market.

After academic research, scientists perform pre-clinical trials during which data on feasibility, testing and safety are collected.

Then there are three phases of clinical trials: Phase I that tests a few people and looks at if the treatment safe, Phase II that involves about 100 people and looks at if it works, and finally Phase III which tests a few hundred to a few thousand and examines if the vaccine is better than what's already available.

Many months usually pass between the three phases.

From there, companies begin building factories and manufacturing, dependent on FDA- approval, until finally a vaccine is ready to be distributed.

'If we do it the conventional way, there's no way we're going to be reaching that timeline of 18 months,' Dr Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, told The Times.

There are a few ways to speed up the timeline including building factories now, combining phases and vaccinating frontline workers ahead of everyone else. Pictured: Research Associate Parsa Parirokh, of Arcturus Therapeutics, conducts research on a vaccine for the coronavirus n San Diego, March 17

There are a few ways to speed up the timeline, such as beginning some steps now before steps that usually come before are completed.

One example includes starting to build factories now so that, once a vaccine does receive FDA-approval, it can start to be mass produced.

Another way is combine phases such as performing Phase I and Phase II of clinical trials at the same time.

A third method is to ensure that frontline and essential workers are vaccinated ahead of everyone else. That's what Oxford University plans to do in September if its trials prove successful this summer.

And this is all assuming the US develops the first vaccine. If another country beats America to it, we might have to wait even longer as the citizens of that nation get vaccinated.

Dr Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the FDA, wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal earlier this week that it's vital the US manufactures the first vaccine because it will then be the first nation to recover.

'The first country to the finish line will be first to restore its economy and global influence,' Gottlieb wrote.

'America risks being second. While friendly nations will try to share a successful product - to a point - the US can't rely on vaccines from China or even Europe being available in America quickly.'

However, Dr Fauci is hopeful. In an appearance on the TODAY show on Thursday, he said 'hundreds of millions' of coronavirus vaccines could be available as soon as January 2021.

Bloomberg revealed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had launched Operation Warp Speed to quickly come up with a solution to the pandemic.

One of the goals includes 300 million vaccine doses ready by January after Trump rejected the 12-to-18 month timeline.

You always have to say you want a vaccine that is safe and effective and that you can scale it up rapidly,' Fauci said on the morning show.

'What is the plan right now? We're in the early phases of a trial, phase one. When you go into the next phase, were going to safely and carefully but as quickly as we possibly can try and get an answer as to whether it works and is safe.

'If so, we're going to start ramping up production and you do that at risk.

'You don't wait until you get an answer before you start manufacturing, you - at risk - start making it assuming it's going to work and if it does, then you can scale up and hopefully get to that timeline.'
People of all ages are being invited to write about Sligos lakes, rivers and sea including Lough Gill.

Sligo's rivers, lakes, streams and sea have long been associated with Irish mythology, inspiring legends and folklore through the ages. Nature is at its best where there is water and people have lots of stories and memories around watercourses. With changes to our countryside, some of this is being lost, and so a story-writing competition has been launched by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), in partnership with The Heritage Council and The Heritage Officer Programme, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Waterways Ireland, to capture these stories.

The stories can be factual - recording what is special about wildlife, fishing, heritage, traditions and crafts, or just how things were or are - or they can be from your or someone else's imagination.

Karen Kennedy, Community Water Officer with LAWPRO: said: "We hope that everybody in Sligo with an interest in their local waterbody will take part in this exciting competition and share their stories with us."

The competition is open to everyone, with under-18 and over-18 categories and entries can be in English or Irish.

The closing date for entries is the 31st of May. Further information is available at www.lawaters.ie To enter, just write your original story in 600 words or less.
Election Commission of India (ECI) has granted permission for holding elections to the Legislative Council (MLCs) in Maharashtra.

The necessary guidelines will need to be ensured for safety against COVID-19 during the elections, ANI reported.

PTI reported EC is likely to hold MLC polls before May 27.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had written to the Election Commission asking the body to declare elections to the nine vacant seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) "at the earliest".

A cabinet meeting , chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar last week had decided to recommend to Koshyari to nominate Thackeray to one of the two seats of governor nominees in the Council.

Uddhav Thackeray , who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, was sworn in as chief minister on November 28 last year. He has to become a member by May 28, when he completes six months in office. Otherwise, he will cease to be the chief minister.
The latest statistics released by Johns Hopkins University revealed that the U.S. is the most-affected country by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. The situation strikes a chord with the Chinese people half a world away as they can feel the misery currently being felt by the Americans.

They expressed their willing to offer as much help as possible on the internet, saying the world is a small village where insecurity for one is insecurity for all. Such warmth reflects the genuine bond that binds people together.

However, some U.S. politicians are acting on the opposite side, which angers many. Life is invaluable, but they never see the urgency to address the health crisis, even with people crying, body bags being transferred in trucks, and people dying at home. What they are interested in is to shift their due responsibilities through political games.

U.S. media commented that some U.S. politicians focused on two things when the virus was rampant  blaming media and blaming China. Boston Globe said they have blood on their hands.

The stigmatization of China damages international justice. China has made open and arduous efforts in the fight against the epidemic, which is obvious to all and will never be denied by the few who smear the countrys contribution.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres expressed his gratitude to all the people in China who are sacrificing many aspects of their normal lives to prevent the virus from spreading to others. Chief of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also hailed that the high speed and massive scale of China's moves are rarely seen in the world. The quick containment of COVID-19 in China is impressive and sets an encouraging example for other countries, said The Lancet in a recent editorial.

Chinas efforts at all costs have successfully curbed the spread of the virus and saved numerous lives. However, such efforts are slandered by irresponsible politicians who only shift blames. Where is the justice?

The stigmatization of China wont save lives. The novel coronavirus challenges peoples right to life and health. At present, its crystal clear that saving lives is more important than shifting responsibilities, and cooperation remains more significant than groundless accusation. However, it is not what happens with the U.S. politicians who believe making incantations like wizards can help people survive, rather than proper treatment.

The Atlantic said in an article that the White House did not take forceful containment measures at the beginning, which was a major reason for the current explosive spread.

China did a lot of things right at the beginning, like any country where a virus first shows up, said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its sad that even the US, where you would expect to do this well, did this poorly, he added.

The stigmatization of China impedes global efforts to contain the pandemic. As the worlds top power of economy and science, the U.S. boasts abundant economic resources, strong R&D capability and leading medical science. It should have taken more international responsibilities and helped vulnerable countries and regions while taking effective control measures at home. However, the awkward practices of some U.S. politicians would only destroy the global efforts to fight the pandemic, the consensus of building a community with a shared future, and mutual assistance.

China has always adhered to the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, offering assistance for other countries within its capability. Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that China has set a good example for the international community by lending a helping hand to other epidemic-hit countries in a timely manner.

What lies behind the stigmatizing tricks is vicious political manipulation, and this is conspicuous for both the U.S. and the international community. New York Times said that in the U.S., the response to the coronavirus is heavily overlaid with political calculations.

Jim Oneill, the chair of U.K. think tank Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs recently published an article titled Blaming China Is a Dangerous Distraction. For many governments, naming and shaming China appears to be a ploy to divert attention from their own lack of preparedness. At a time when the top global priority should be to organize a comprehensive coordinated response to the dual health and economic crises unleashed by the coronavirus, this blame game is not just unhelpful but dangerous.

The dangerous political virus also needs to be defeated with joint efforts from the world. United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes warned that COVID-19 is not just a health issue, and it can also be a virus that exacerbates xenophobia, hate and exclusion. This point is well proved by the insults and even assaults on the Asians wearing masks in the West.

Its clear that since the outbreak was first reported, people of Asian descent around the world have been subjected to racist attacks, with untold human costs  for example, on their health and livelihoods, Science journal Nature also echoed such point in an editorial.

The virus tests human beings morality and conscience for history, lives and future as the latter make choices between provocation and solidarity. Its unquestionable that if the political virus keeps impacting international justice and the U.S. politicians continue taking the virus as a political weapon, the world will suffer immeasurable losses and pain, which will also leave a very dark page on human history.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
China is likely to emerge from the recession caused by the pandemic faster than other nations. The United States  still reeling from the virus, with more than one million infected and more than 64,000 dead  will probably rely on economic activity in Asia to help prop up its own economy. Part of that involves getting Beijing to comply with a trade agreement signed in January.

China controls a vast supply of the masks and protective gear needed by American hospitals. And if China develops a vaccine first, it will wield a powerful card, one that will bolster its global standing and give it leverage over the health of hundreds of millions of Americans.

Weve entered an entirely new phase of U.S.-China relations, rather than the intensification of the previous one, said Jude Blanchette, a China scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This new paradigm is defined by the proliferation of flash points, the downward spiral of hostility, the rise in zero-sum thinking, and the breakdown of mediating and mitigating institutions.

The rising tensions are propelled by deeply nationalist administrations in both Beijing and Washington, D.C., and domestic populations that are coming to view a rupture in the bilateral relationship as inevitable or even desirable, he added.

Mr. Trump himself has vacillated in his public statements on China. In recent weeks, he has said he is not happy with China. But on March 27, the day after a call with President Xi Jinping of China, Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter: Much respect! Throughout the winter, he praised Mr. Xis handling of the outbreak.

The administrations tougher moves on China are partly a result of growing anger among some White House aides.

Mr. Pompeo; Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser; and Peter Navarro, a trade adviser, have long advocated hard policies on China. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary; Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council; and Jared Kushner, a senior adviser and Mr. Trumps son-in-law, have pushed for a more measured approach. But in late April, Mr. Kushner decided to support a tougher line out of frustration with China over the pandemic and the flow of medical supplies, according to people familiar with his thinking.
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7:35 pm: Updated map shows total worldwide confirmed cases at more than 3.32 million

7:08 pm: Dr. Fauci will not testify at House hearing on coronavirus response

Trump administration health official Dr. Anthony Fauci was blocked by the White House from testifying at a House hearing on the U.S. coronavirus response next week. White House spokesman Judd Deere said while the administration tries to combat the pandemic, "it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at congressional hearings." Read the full report on the White House move from CNBC's Jacob Pramuk here. Chris Eudaily

6:53 pm: What the University of California system needs to reopen in the fall

For University of California campuses to reopen in the fall semester, testing and contact tracing programs must be in place, system president Janet Napolitano said. "If they're going to reopen at all, they're going to need to have a testing plan, a contact tracing plan, a quarantine plan, things of that sort," Napolitano said. The university system has 10 campuses across California and around 280,000 students. Napolitano said the system will offer classes in the fall, but was not certain on how instruction will take place, CNBC's Kevin Stankiewicz reports. "It might be remote. It might be in person. It might be some sort of hybrid," said Napolitano. Chris Eudaily

6:33 pm: BBQ Holdings, parent of Famous Dave's and Granite City, gets $13 million in small business rescue loans

BBQ Holdings, the parent company of Famous Dave's of America and Granite City Food & Brewery restaurants, announced in an SEC filing that the company got more than $13 million in loans from the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Famous Dave's got $7.2 million and Granite City got $5.8 million through Choice Financial Group, a bank headquartered in North Dakota, according to an 8-K. Both loans were funded Friday. BBQ Holdings, which has 126 restaurants, did not announce plans to return the loans. The company released the following statement from CEO Jeff Crivello: "We are extremely thankful to be able to access the PPP Loan program. As a 'nanocap' public restaurant company our access to capital differs greatly from our larger competitors. We require these funds to retain, recall, and pay our loyal employees. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a government required shut down of dining rooms, and with this loan we are able to continue serving our neighbors in the communities we care about so much. After a thorough review and consultation, pursuant to the guidance provided by SBA, we are able to certify with a high level of confidence that we meet the requirements of the loan." There has been outrage directed at the many publicly traded companies that received PPP loans, with many of them deciding to return the funds. The federal government issued guidance last week, encouraging publicly traded companies that received the loans to return the money. Jennifer Schlesinger

6:06 pm: NBA postpones 2020 draft lottery and combine

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Stacy Revere | Getty Images

The National Basketball Association announced that the draft lottery and combine for prospects, which were both set for May in Chicago, are being postponed indefinitely, the league announced. It is unclear how this move will affect the 2020 NBA Draft, which is currently scheduled for June 25. The league, which this week set May 8 as the earliest possible date for teams to begin limited workouts after the season was suspended due to the coronavirus, said it is monitoring the pandemic and consulting with health experts and would share more information on the events at a later date. Chris Eudaily

5:45 pm: CDC issues new criteria for contact tracing apps

The CDC issued new criteria this week for contact tracing apps, a new technology that could help slow the spread of coronavirus. In particular, the CDC recommended an anonymous approach for Bluetooth apps that closely resembles the system proposed by Apple and Google. The CDC criteria opens the door for contact tracing apps to be deployed widely by public health groups in the coming months.  Kif Leswing

5:20 pm: CDC says 3% of surveyed meat processing workers tested positive

File photo Scott Olson | Getty Images

About 3% of workers in over 100 meat processing plants surveyed across the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Major meat processing plants have become hotbeds of infection in recent weeks as the virus spreads rapidly throughout the crowded facilities.In the new CDC report, the researchers said physical work inside the plants makes it difficult for worker to wear protective equipment like masks, the researchers said. They added that some of the surveyed plants have struggled to implement heightened disinfecting protocols.Some workers might feel pressured to go into work even if infected due to socioeconomic circumstances, the researchers said, adding that medical leave and disability policies could be exacerbating the problem. William Feuer

5 pm: Large crowds protest Gov. Newsom's beach ban at Huntington Beach

Demonstrators protest against the state's stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, on May 1, 2020 in California. Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images

Large crowds poured into Huntington Beach Pier on Friday to protest against California Gov. Gavin Newsom's ban on Orange County beaches, which he ordered on Thursday after he said beachgoers had congregated on the shore without following proper social distancing guidelines. Police and sheriff's deputies could be seen on horseback, on foot and on motorcycles pushing back lines of protesters in front of the pier, according to NBC Los Angeles. Newsom said beaches in the southern part of California, including those in Orange, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties, have raised alarm bells. The city councils for both Huntington Beach and Dana Point pushed back on the order after it was issued and voted to take legal action. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said that the order unfairly singled out Orange County beaches and that it "is wrong and fails to recognize the sacrifice made by our 3 million residents, according to a tweeted statement. Newsom said his decision was based on advice from local health officials and data, and that he has confidence in local law officials to carry out the order. Noah Higgins-Dunn tweet

4:45 pm: US lawmakers open probe into coronavirus infections on Carnival cruise ships

A woman wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, runs with Cruise Ships docked in the background at the port of Long Beach, California on April 11, 2020. Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure asked Carnival to hand over documents related to its response to Covid-19 outbreaks on its ships that infected more than 1,500 and killed dozens. The letters described cruise ships as "a fertile breeding ground for infectious diseases." "We would hope that the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic will place a renewed emphasis on public health and passenger safety, but frankly that has not been seen up to this point," the letter said. "It seems as though Carnival Corporation and its portfolio of nine cruise lines, which represents 109 cruise ships, is still trying to sell this cruise line fantasy and ignoring the public health threat." Read the full report by CNBC's William Feuer here. Riya Bhattacharjee

4:30 pm: California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state is 'days, not weeks' away from easing restrictions

A field washing station in Greenfield, California. Brent Stirton | Getty Images

California could be "days, not weeks" away from making significant modifications to its shelter-and-place order, the state's Gov. Gavin Newsom said. "I feel some confidence over the course of the next week we're going to be able to make some announcements that will give people some more confidence in the ability for California to get back on its economic feet," Newsom said. State officials are "very, very close to making some announcements" that would benefit people in the retail and hospitality industries, including restaurants, he added. "If we can hold the line and continue to do good work and just avoid the temptation to get back and congregate with people in ways where we can see an increase in the spread, we'll get there much sooner than many people perhaps think," Newsom said, according to a report by CNBC's Noah Higgins-Dunn. Riya Bhattacharjee

4:13 pm: Dow sinks more than 600 points to start the month

Stocks sank on the first day of the trading month, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 622 points, or roughly 2.5%. The S&P 500 fell 2.8% during the session, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell more than 3% after a week of earnings reports from major tech firms. The Dow is coming off its best month in more than three decades and has drawn optimism from recent improvements from U.S. coronavirus hot spots and from progress on potential treatments. Read more about the markets from CNBC's Fred Imbert and Thomas Franck. Sara Salinas

3:52 pm: Trump says Gilead virus treatment granted emergency FDA authorization

President Donald Trump said the Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization to Gilead Science's remdesivir drug to be used as a coronavirus treatment, CNBC's Will Feuer reports. Earlier this week, Gilead reported "encouraging" early results in treating Covid-19 patients with a shortened regimen of the drug. An FDA Emergency Use Authorization allows physicians to prescribe the treatment on an expedited timeline, without the lengthy reviews typically required. The drug has become something of a bellwether for the broader stock market, with investors hanging hopes on its quick approval and effectiveness. Shares of Gilead ticked higher after Trump's announcement, but were still down on the day as part of a larger sell-off. Sara Salinas

3:45 pm: 7 ways the coronavirus pandemic is changing consumers' behaviors

As consumers ride out the coronavirus pandemic from home, there are a number of ways our shopping habits are going to change permanently. According to brand experience firm Big Red Rooster, there are 7 key changes we might see including more shopping local, protecting our personal bubbles when in physical retailers, and more opportunities to try on clothes and jewelry virtually. Lauren Thomas

3:40 pm: Bank of America CEO says stimulus impact will hit over the next few weeks

3:30 pm: Sen. Romney proposes hazard pay

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, unveiled a plan to give up to $12 an hour in hazard pay to essential workers during the coronavirus crisis. It resembles a measure Senate Democrats released last month to raise wages by $13 per hour for front-line workers such as health care and food service employees. However, Romney's proposed pay bump would last through July, while Democrats favor keeping the wage increase through the rest of the year. As the pandemic ravages the economy and health-care system, Congress could start to craft its fifth coronavirus rescue bill next week, when the Senate returns to Washington. The House will not go back to work until the week of May 11 at the earliest. Jacob Pramuk

2:26 pm: World Health Organization defends its early response to outbreak

A volunteer operates a remote-controlled disinfection robot to disinfect a residential area amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on March 16, 2020. STR | AFP | Getty Images

Facing mounting criticism from President Donald Trump about the World Health Organization's actions early in the coronavirus outbreak, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the group gave world leaders "enough time to intervene." The WHO labeled the Covid-19 outbreak a global health emergency on Jan. 30 and declared it a pandemic on March 11. Tedros said the WHO sent a team to China in February when there were "many unknowns" and the outbreak "was raging," according to a report from CNBC's Berkeley Lovelace Jr. Chris Eudaily

1:59 pm: Texas reopening may be 'more show than go,' Cuban says

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban told CNBC that small businesses in Texas need more support as the state lifts some coronavirus-related restrictions. "There's all these downstream issues that really haven't been addressed yet," he said, such as costs associated with complying with new safety and sanitation standards. "I think it's more show than go, but we'll see what happens." The state's limit on operating capacity also presents challenges for workers who rely on tips, Cuban said. "Unless the employer is going to guarantee them a much higher rate because you're going to have diminished number of customers, then they're not going to want to come back to work," the "Shark Tank" investor and Dallas Mavericks owner said. Kevin Stankiewicz

1:44 pm: San Francisco makes free coronavirus testing available

People who live or work in San Francisco can access a free coronavirus test if they have symptoms, according to a tweet from Mayor London Breed. Insurance is not needed to get a test and results will be provided within 1 to 3 days. Los Angeles became the first major U.S city to offer free coronavirus testing, CNBC's Christina Farr reported Wednesday. Residents can access tests even if they do not have symptoms. Hannah Miller

1:37 pm: Updated map of hot spots in the US, as total number of infections hits 1,070,032

12:50 pm: UK says it's reached 100,000 daily coronavirus tests

The U.K. has quickly ramped up its daily Covid-19 testing this week from 52,000 on Tuesday to 122,347 on Thursday, Health Minister Matt Hancock said. Earlier this month, Hancock said the government would carry out 100,000 daily tests by the end of April. The testing target is being described as a "red herring" by National Health Service providers, CNBC's Sam Meredith and Ryan Browne report. Chris Eudaily

12:22 pm: NY schools to remain closed for the academic year, Gov. Cuomo says

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state's schools and colleges will stay closed for the remainder of the academic year as the state continues to employ distance learning in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. Cuomo said state officials don't believe schools could develop a plan in time to reopen for the school year that would keep students safe. A decision on summer school will be announced at the end of May, CNBC's Noah Higgins Dunn and Jasmine Kim report. Terri Cullen

12:17 pm: Virus blamed for miscarriage

New research has shown that a second-trimester miscarriage in a Covid-19 patient was attributed to a placental infection of the virus, and some U.S. obstetricians have noticed an uptick in still births since the pandemic hit, CNBC's Jasmine Kim reported. Reports suggest that there may be a Covid-19-induced placental infection, according to research published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "This case of miscarriage during the second trimester of pregnancy in a woman with Covid-19 appears related to placental infection with SARS-CoV-2, supported by virological findings in the placenta," the researchers said. Terri Cullen

12:01 pm: Manufacturing tanks in April, but not as much as expected

An employee works to make ventilators at the General Motors Components Holding Plant that is manufacturing ventilators for use during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kokomo, Indiana, April 30, 2020. Chris Bergin | Reuters

The U.S. manufacturing sector came under intense pressure in April, falling to its worst level in 11 years, but economists noted the drop was not as bad as they feared. The ISM Manufacturing Index dropped to 41.5, compared with Street estimates of 35, but down sharply from March's 49.1, CNBC's Jeff Cox reports. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in the sector. Terri Cullen

11:56 am: Second-quarter outlook for some big tech and ad firms is darker than Q1

As earnings season kicked into high gear, companies that rely heavily on ad revenue reported a steep drop-off of advertising in March though it wasn't as dire as analysts expected. The second quarter is likely to be a whole different story. CNBC's Megan Graham reports on what Alphabet, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and some of the biggest ad companies are saying about the current-quarter outlook. Terri Cullen

11:40 am: An Apple app maker is poised to boom amid the crisis

At least one Apple business expects the coronavirus crisis to add to its bottom line rather than weigh on its near-term prospects. The business is app-developer Claris, which sells the low-code application development software called FileMaker. "There is a massive opportunity for low code to help in the Covid-19 situation," said Claris CEO Brad Freitag. Claris has worked with health-care providers to develop apps in as short as one day, according to a report by CNBC's Eric Rosenbaum. One app was developed for a hospital in Europe, which became critical to make real-time medical decisions for Covid-19 patients. Terri Cullen

11:32 am: Mortgage bailout program balloons again as more homeowners put off payments

Getty Images

A growing number of borrowers are delaying monthly mortgage payments as part of the government's bailout program, as the ranks of the unemployed continued to swell due to the coronavirus outbreak. As of Thursday, more than 3.8 million homeowners, or 7.3% of all active mortgages, were in forbearance, according to mortgage data and analytics firm Black Knight. The federal program allows borrowers to delay up to a year's worth of payments, though they must be made up later through either repayment plans or mortgage modifications, according to CNBC's Diana Olick. Terri Cullen

11:15 am: More big employers are talking about permanent work-from-home positions

Companies have been forced to embrace remote working amid stay-at-home orders for all nonessential positions and businesses. With proof that productivity does not suffer, more major employers, including Mondelez, Nationwide, and Barclays, talk about a permanent shift to work from home and reduced office space. Read the full report from CNBC's Adedayo Akala on big employers talking about permanent work-from-home positions here. Melodie Warner

11:10 am: A lottery system is the only fair way to grant PPP loans, Mark Cuban says

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told CNBC the only fair way to operate the federal Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, is through a lottery. Cuban suggested that all applications for small business relief loans go into a repository at the Treasury Department, and then officials would randomly select a certain quantity of loans for approval, CNBC's Kevin Stankiewicz reports. "They see what the total is, and however much money left they have, they go to the next 50,000 until the money is gone," he said. "That's the only way to be objective and fair." Cuban has been critical of the PPP program's roll out." Terri Cullen

10:56 am: Hopes for a cure push biotech stocks to best monthly gain in two decades

scientists' team work Getty Images

Biotech stocks saw the best monthly gain in two decades as investors find hope in coronavirus drug and testing developments that may help mitigate the pandemic. The S&P 500 health-care sector gained 12% in April and the sector's top-performing stocks were diagnostic firms at the heart of the Covid-19 testing expansion. For the month, Hologic surged 42%; Quest Diagnostics soared 36%; and Incyte Corp., which is developing a coronavirus treatment, jumped 33%. Read the full report from CNBC's Bertha Coombs on biotech stocks here. Melodie Warner

10:50 am: Pandemic could last 18 to 24 months, scientists say

The coronavirus pandemic could last up to two years, according to a report published Thursday from scientists at the University of Minnesota. The scientists said that the coronavirus is more contagious than the flu, has a higher rate of asymptomatic transmission, and would continue to circulate after the first wave this spring, according to a report by CNBC's Chloe Taylor. Hannah Miller

10:19 am: Moderna hopes to start making potential vaccine 'as early as July'

U.S. biotech company Moderna is aiming to begin manufacturing an unapproved coronavirus vaccine "as early as July," CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC. The company has entered into a 10-year partnership with Swiss drugmaker Lonza to quickly move forward with manufacturing of the experimental vaccine mRNA-1273, which is now in a phase 1 human trial. The potential vaccine became the first candidate to enter a phase 1 trial in March, though the results of the trial have not yet been released, according to a report by CNBC's Will Feuer. Hannah Miller

10:00 am: Target, Walmart workers and others plan 'sickout' protests over coronavirus safety

Workers are planning to call out of work today as part of a nationwide employee "sickout" involving companies like Target, Whole Foods, Amazon, Instacart, FedEx, and Walmart. They are protesting the slashing of hours, unstable schedules, and the need for greater health benefits. They are also asking for greater safety protections from the coronavirus at their jobs. Read the full report from NBC on workers' protest plans here. Hannah Miller

9:50 am: Coronavirus patients describe symptoms that last a month or more

Teresa Rodriguez Source: Teresa Rodriguez

Teresa Rodriguez said on March 23, she woke up feeling extremely tired, and her health deteriorated quickly from there. It's now been more than a month and she's still battling a lingering headache, cough, and fatigue. Patients diagnosed or suspected to have Covid-19 are posting via online forums and on social media about symptoms that feel endless. Many say it comes in waves. They start feeling better after a few weeks, but it hits them again and persists. Read the full report from CNBC's Christina Farr on coronavirus patients' symptoms here. Melodie Warner

9:40 am: Dow falls 400 points after best month in three decades, Amazon leading tech lower

9:30 am: Exxon reports first-quarter loss on writedowns tied to plunging oil

Fuel prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil Corp. gas station in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Exxon Mobil lost $610 million in the first quarter due to write-downs tied to falling oil prices. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, has dropped more than 70% this year. "Covid-19 has significantly impacted near-term demand, resulting in oversupplied markets and unprecedented pressure on commodity prices and margins," CEO Darren Woods said in a statement. Read the full report from CNBC's Pippa Stevens on Exxon's first-quarter results here. Melodie Warner

9:12 am: Amazon lets some employees work from home through Oct. 2

Amazon employees who can perform their jobs from home will be allowed to continue to work from home until at least Oct. 2. The company said the new timeline applies to workers around the globe, Reuters reported. Amazon did not provide details about how much of its overall workforce works remotely or which roles are included. On Thursday, Amazon said it will spend all of its profit for the second quarter of 2020, at least $4 billion, on its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full report from Reuters on Amazon's extended work from home order here. Elisabeth Butler Cordova

9:04 am: Germany's economic response is an example for the world, union chief says

Germany's approach to employment in the coronavirus crisis is an example of how the world can deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic, the head of the United Nation's labor agency said. Guy Ryder, the director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), told CNBC that under Germany's "Kurzarbeit," or "short-time work," program workers are sent home or see their hours slashed but are paid around two-thirds of their salary by the state. Read the full report from CNBC's Vicky McKeever on ILO Director-General Guy Ryder's comments here. Melodie Warner

7:25 am: Clorox sees 15% sales jump on strong demand

Clorox announced results for its fiscal third quarter, reporting a 15% jump in sales as demand for its cleaning products skyrocketed. Net income and earnings per share also rose year over year, coming in at $241 million, or $1.89 per share. Read the full report from CNBC's Amelia Lucas on Clorox earnings here. Sara Salinas

7:15 am: China's Hubei province, where Covid-19 was first detected, set to relax lockdown

Travelers walk to the exit of the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Wednesday, April 08, 2020, after 76 days of lockdown of the city due to Covid-19. Barcroft Media | Getty Images

China's central province of Hubei, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is reportedly poised to ease lockdown restrictions. Hubei's health commission posted on its official WeChat account on Friday that it will move to lower its emergency response level to the second-highest grade on Saturday, according to Reuters. It marks a major milestone in China's fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Theories about the origins of the outbreak include that it emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital, in December. To date, more than 3.27 million people have contracted Covid-19 worldwide, with 233,704 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Sam Meredith

6:45 am: Iran reports 63 new deaths, death toll at 6,091

Iranian sanitary workers disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine on February 25, 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus which reached Iran, where there were concerns the situation might be worse than officially acknowledged. MEHDI MARIZAD | AFP | Getty Images

Iran reported the number of cases reached 95,646, the health ministry said, according to Reuters. The ministry also confirmed 63 new deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the country up to 6,091. The Islamic Republic is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in the Middle East. Sam Meredith

6:00 am: Spain's death toll climbs to 24,824

Two soldiers of the Military Emergency Unit are seen carrying material to disinfect the nursing and day centre ORPEA Sanchinarro for the second time to stop coronavirus infection on April 01, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. Europa Press News

Spain reported 281 new fatalities over the last 24 hours, the health ministry said, taking the nationwide death toll up to 24,824. The previous day's death toll was 268. The number of cases rose to 215,216, up from 213,435 the day before. Spain has reported the second-highest number of Covid-19 infections worldwide. The U.S. has recorded the most coronavirus cases, accounting for roughly one-third the global total after surpassing the 1 million milestone earlier this week. Sam Meredith

5:20 am: How the gas that gave the world Viagra could help treat coronavirus patients

Viagra pill John Greim | LightRocket | Getty Images
01.05.2020 LISTEN

A Senior Research Fellow of the Department of Labour and Human Resource Studies, School for Development Studies of the University of Cape Coast Dr. Mrs. Angela Akorsu has said that about 87 percent of Ghanaians are in the informal sectors of the Ghanaian economy and that had a great impact on how successful or unsuccessful our partial Lockdown was going to be. She said because most of us are in the informal sector and need to be going out almost everyday to work in order to eek out a living, even though there was partial Lockdown others were compelled to be going out to work.

She was speaking to Benjamin Tetteh on GBC Radio Central's Central Morning Show on the occasion of May Day 2020 on the topic "Covid-19 Effects on Labour" today 1st May, 2020.

Dr. Akorsu said May Day is normally a day to recognise workers contribution to nation-building. She continued that on paper workers are recognised because there is what is called the National Tripartite Committee where workers are heavily represented but as whether that generally benefits workers is as another matter.

Responding to whether workers are properly catered for, she said workers are not a homogenous group and about 87 percent are in the informal economy with a few in the formal economy which is a major problem in our country. "There is no security for informal employees and also they lack social protection which is also very problematic." Women who are in the informal sector like market women normally tend to lose their capital after returning from their maternity leave. Because they have no form of security or insurance but those in the formal sector can enjoy all these as well as their salaries while on maternity leave". She further explained that there is a new trend within the formal sector which is also very disturbing because some people are employed within the formal sector but might not get paid as regularly as prescribed by law and even though one might be employed within the formal sector, she or he is at a disadvantage because s/he doesn't enjoy all the benefits which formal employees within the government sector get. "This is driven by profiteering, greed and sometimes sheer survival of the business on the part of employers within the private sector".

When asked whether government decision to remove the partial lock down was very necessary, Dr. Akorsu explained that, some person cannot feed themselves while at home and because of the extent and nature of our informal sector, government was over burden providing food and other essentials for the less privileged hence the decision to cancel the lock down was good.

"Social protection is very necessary because even when people retire at 60 years sometimes they are unable to fend for themselves and that is not too good because if you're in a country where only 13% are on social security, then that should tell you that, we have problem and have not done well as a country" she explained.

She further added that, "the labour law clearly protects people who are sick and must enjoy all other benefits but some private schools across the country refused to pay the March salaries of their teachers which is within the private formal sector of the Ghanaian economy. "At least March salaries ought to have been paid but others didn't get paid. Even though some people are employed in the formal sector, these problems persist. "The problems of labour are varied depending on where one finds him or herself". There are pressing challenges that are affecting workers within the private formal sector of our society and all these needs to be addressed.

Reacting to whether Covid-19 would have some impacts on labour, Dr. Akorsu said, the International Labour Organisation has said that unemployment is going to escalate and about 50% of the labour force might be affected worldwide.

She further said that when a lot of people are unemployed it serves as a security challenge and increases social vices. This is because everyone needs to survive and must have the basic necessities of life and as such as a country going forward, we need to address some of these social challenges within our society.

One major lesson we can learn post coronavirus pandemic is that in any commercial contract there are responsibilities on both sides of the employer and the employee. There is usually the need for the force majeure clause which protects both the employer and the employee in times like this Covid-19 pandemic. For example, an employee can sue the employer if not paid for staying home because of the COVID-19 because he can make a case that, not coming to work wasn't his or her making and the employer must pay him and the court might rule in the employees' favour. But was quick to add that a force majeure clause can protect both the employee and the employer in circumstances like this.

Dr. Akorsu ended the discussion by thanking all workers and wish all well during this covid19 pandemic.


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Etch A Sketch draws on NASA for space-themed edition of classic toy



May 1, 2020  When the Etch A Sketch debuted for sale in 1960, NASA was still sketching out plans for how to put the first humans into space.



Now, 60 years later, the classic toy is celebrating its anniversary with an astronaut-emblazoned, limited edition inspired by the space agency.



"We wanted something that we felt was perceived as a legacy as much as Etch A Sketch is, and we all believe  and I don't think anyone would argue  that NASA is probably one of the most beloved brands in America," said Arlene Biran, vice president of marketing for activities and building sets at Spin Master, the toy company that acquired Etch A Sketch from its original manufacturer, the Ohio Art Company, in 2016.



Launched for sale on Friday (May 1), National Space Day, the "NASA-Inspired Limited Edition" Etch A Sketch trades the toy's famous red frame with white knobs for a black, graphic-covered motif.



"We went with a dark, deep space design," Biran told collectSPACE.



Depicted to the left of the Etch A Sketch's screen, is NASA's Artemis program Space Launch System (SLS) rocket displaying the agency's logo. On the right, is a spacewalking astronaut based on a photo of STS-64 mission specialist Mark Lee taken in 1994. Both images are set against a starry background.



"And, of course, the iconic knob of our Etch A Sketch are actually moons," said Biran. "They are molded in moon shapes instead of the classic white dial."



NASA oversaw Spin Master's design of the edition, in part to ensure it complied with the agency's rules for use of its insignia.



"They guided us on what was acceptable," Biran explained. "They do not co-brand, so there was a very interesting decision I had to make. If I didn't want 'Etch A Sketch' on the box, I could have just called it 'NASA.' But, obviously it was a collaboration, so we had to be very delicate in the placement."



As part of the federal government, NASA cannot endorse commercial products, hence the need to avoid even the appearance of such.



The NASA-Inspired Limited Edition comes packaged with an overlay that makes it look like the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations are drawn on the screen.



"We decided to go with the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, in terms of the overlay, both because they are recognizable to somebody who is not so deep into space knowledge and also because it can be used as a tracing template," said Biran.



The NASA edition is one of six 60th anniversary Etch A Sketch sets. Other limited models include a Monopoly board game edition, a set inspired by the late Marvel comic book writer Stan Lee and a Rubik's Cube edition. Each retails for $19.99.



The NASA-Inspired Etch A Sketch will be sold through the Spin Master website beginning Friday and at Walmart stores nationwide this summer. As part of the launch, Spin Master will be supporting the next generation of space explorers by underwriting a scholarship awarded by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.



The NASA edition is the first time that Etch A Sketch has worked with the space agency and the closest it will come to flying in space. The "magic screen" needs gravity to work.



"I wish it could [fly], but you couldn't shake the beads to cover the screen. Perhaps you could use it once, but I don't think you could shake it to erase it and do it again," said Biran.



Spin Master's new NASA-Inspired Limited Edition Etch A Sketch celebrates 60 years of the classic toy. (Spin Master/NASA)





The NASA-Inspired Limited Edition Etch A Sketch features a frame depicting NASA's Artemis program Space Launch System rocket and a spacesuited astronaut with a starry backdrop. (Spin Master)





The dials on Spin Master's NASA-Inspired Limited Edition 60th Anniversary Etch A Sketch are molded to look like the cratered moon. (Spin Master)



 2022 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.
Fannie Mae Crumsey, left, and young Juanita Missy Toney next to her not long after 1980 incident

This April 19 marked exactly four decades since one of the more somber events in Chattanoogas history of trying to become a more racially harmonious city.

That was when five black women were injured from gunfire coming from a passing automobile carrying three men on Ninth Street, now M.L.

King Boulevard.

One of the victims was Fannie Mae Crumsey, who was injured from flying glass while working in front of her home at 808 E. Ninth St.

Granddaughter Juanita Missy Toney recalled her familys life being emotionally damaged for a brief period as well afterward.

But 40 years later, Ms. Toney does not talk with a feeling of vengeance regarding the perpetrators, who authorities said had racist motivations. As an admitted Christian, she even discussed forgiveness and possible future reconciliation regarding the three men, saying her career as a mental health counselor has made her realize their actions were likely due to personal issues they were experiencing at the time.

She primarily wants people to remember her late grandmother and wants her positive legacy to endure.

She taught us love and unity and that education was important, Ms. Toney recalled.

Back in February, Randolph McLaughlin, a lawyer who represented Ms. Crumsey and the other four women in a subsequent federal trial related to the case, spoke at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center through the efforts of UTC graduate student Tiffany Herron.

I covered the event, in which Ms. Toney also made brief remarks about her grandmother.

In my effort to identify the several women who spoke, and without the help of a printed program, I accidentally had the name of Ms. Toney and another speaker reversed in a photograph, and Ms. Toney later emailed me.

We had a nice brief phone conversation, I told her I would get the names switched in the online chattanoogan.com, and she agreed to look back on her grandmothers life in connection with the 40th anniversary in a followup story.

We ended up talking over the phone on April 23, a few days after that Sunday anniversary. Of course, something called the coronavirus pandemic had occurred not long after a crowd of 150 or more packed the central entrance area of the Bessie Smith Center on Feb. 20, and lives had been distracted.

As she talked, Ms. Toney said that in April 1980, she was 9 years old and lived with her mother, Annie Mae Crumsey, and her grandmother, and other extended family in the large, still-standing home that had two living units.

Grandmother had raised us, she said. To her, no one could raise you better. She loved us enough to want to raise us.





She added that her grandmother even took in other families on occasion, and her home was known as the place to go for those needing to briefly get back on their feet. She said an Asian family just getting settled in Chattanooga even lived with her for a period, and Ms. Toney said they were jokingly called the Asian cousins.

Ms. Crumsey liked to take care of her yard almost as much as her family, and Ms. Toney even has some of her old bulbs, etc. She liked to work in her yard sometime after dark, and that was why she was outside on that Saturday night when the shooting took place.

Police charged Bill Church, Larry Payne and Marshall Thrash in connection with the shooting of her and Viola Ellison, Lela Mae Evans, Katherine O. Johnson and Opal Lee Jackson. Authorities said the other four had been leaving a nightclub near Ninth and Douglas streets and were shot shortly before Ms. Crumsey was.

In a trial that July, Mr. Church and Mr. Payne were found not guilty, while Mr. Thrash was sentenced on a lesser charge. The soft verdicts set off outrage among those in the black community, and rioting that made national news for several days took place in such areas as Alton Park.

The case did end up having some positives, as the women received a favorable judgment in a subsequent federal jury trial in 1982.

And by then, Chattanooga leaders realized the city did need to show better outward compassion for all its citizens and perhaps create better harmony. So, the renaming of Ninth Street as M.L. King Jr. Boulevard and the Riverbend Festival/Bessie Smith Strut were indirect offshoots of the incident.

When the 1980 shooting incident occurred, Ms. Toney said she remembers another adult making sure she and the other children stayed upstairs and did not come downstairs, in case more shots were coming.

I remember the police and everyone came, she said. Yes, we were nervous and yes we were scared.

Her grandmother was able to recover, she said, and learned authorities had linked both shootings. Ms. Crumsey realized that by pushing for justice and doing her part to testify, she could help others, her granddaughter said.

She had made a decision that it is not about her, its about the rights of others, she said, remembering that her grandmother even spoke in Washington, D.C., on one occasion. Thats what she was doing, making a better world for others.

Ms. Toney also remembered that when news reports referenced that the other four women were shot after walking out of a nightclub, and some criticized the women for such behavior, her grandmother became agitated.

She would say, They were coming out of a nightclub and they were supposed to get shot? That really motivated her. Nobody has the right to get shot at.

Ms. Crumsey had learned to stand up for herself and others at an early age. A hard worker in jobs ranging from working at a baking facility to housekeeping, she had seen a young son get killed after being hit by a garbage truck in the Onion Bottom area around 11th Street.

The tragedy led to an agreement with the city of Chattanooga to hire members of her family and offer more city job opportunities for black Chattanoogans.

She would later have to raise other younger family members, and along the way command respect from everyone, despite her 4-foot, 11-inch height.

Ms. Toney said she was such a positive role model and encourager for everyone, preaching love, justice and the importance of making something of yourself.

Ms. Toneys mother, Annie Mae Crumsey, died in October 1980 from cirrhosis of the liver and other complications just after the shooting and criminal trial, and Ms. Crumsey became the youngsters surrogate mother.

The granddaughter remembers having to go on to the now-closed Joseph E. Smith Elementary on 10th Street, even right after the shooting, before later attending Northside and Chattanooga High.

She graduated from UT-Chattanooga  with her grandmother at her side  and had thought about getting into TV journalism and even interned at WTVC Channel 9.

I was going to travel the world and be bigger than Joan Lunden, she recalled with a laugh of the noted former ABC Good Morning, America host.

However, she soon had a change of heart and realized she wanted to more directly help people as her grandmother did.

So, she received a masters degree  with her grandmother on hand for this graduation, too  and became a licensed professional counselor and mental health service provider.

It took me back to my grandmother, she said of getting into that line of work. Thats what its about, helping others and bringing the community together.

Besides helping others, she also wants to help her grandmothers legacy endure in some way. The old homeplace at 808 E. M.L. King Blvd. is still there and is currently being offered for lease, and Ms. Toney said she would love to see it turned into a museum for maybe her mother and the other women shot in the 1980 incident.

She and some of Ms. Crumseys other grandchildren have also talked about starting some kind of foundation to maybe help troubled youngsters between the ages of 11 and 25, who have come from broken homes or other negative situations.

We want to give back by helping to educate and offer skill training and show love, just the same as she did, she said.

Caring for all was her grandmothers goal, and it continued and became even more a part of her philosophy after the shootings of 1980, her granddaughter added.

After something as traumatic as that, she still promoted love and unity, she said of Ms. Crumsey, who died on April 25, 2005, at the age of 84 and was buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery next to her veteran husband, James Crumsey, who died in 1964.

Jcshearer2@comcast.net
Trump has stepped up pressure on China over coronavirus as the US death toll has risen to the highest in the world.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus originated in a Chinese virology lab but declined to provide any evidence for his claim that is likely to further increase tension with China over the origins of the pandemic.

Trump told reporters at the White House that evidence he had seen gave him a high degree of confidence the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Yes, yes I have, he said, declining to give specifics. I cant tell you that. Im not allowed to tell you that.

The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations, and other officials in the United States have downplayed the idea. Intelligence agencies said on Thursday that the virus was not man-made or genetically modified, but that they were still investigating whether there could have been a lab accident or leak.

Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.





Trump has shown increasing frustration with China in recent weeks over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives across the world and triggered an unprecedented global economic contraction. The US has recorded more deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, than any other country, and the outbreak is threatening Trumps chances of re-election in November.

The Republican president told reporters that US agencies were investigating how the virus first emerged and what China had done to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the world.

Well be able to get a very powerful definition of what happened, Trump said, adding that a report would be made to him in the not too distant future.

He has said previously his administration was trying to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from the Wuhan lab, following media reports it may have been artificially synthesised at a China state-backed laboratory or perhaps escaped from such a facility.

Deepening rift

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday it was not known whether the virus came from the lab.

We dont know if it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We dont know if it emanated from the wet market or yet some other place. We dont know those answers, Pompeo said in an interview with Iowa station Newsradio 1040.

The spread of the coronavirus has contributed to a deepening rift between the Trump administration and China. Beijing has suggested the US military might have brought the virus to China and Trump has said China failed to alert the world to the risks in a timely and transparent fashion.

Other countries have also been drawn into the dispute with Australia under pressure from China over its backing for an independent global inquiry into the virus origins.





Trump also said on Thursday it was possible that China either could not stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread. He declined to say whether he held Chinese President Xi Jinping responsible for what he feels is misinformation about the emergence of the coronavirus.

Trump said of Chinas efforts to get to the bottom of how the virus emerged: At least they seem to be trying to be somewhat transparent with us.

But were going to find out. Youll be learning in the not-too-distant future. But its a terrible thing that happened  whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one. Or did somebody do something on purpose? he said.
The virus can spread via respiratory droplets between people interacting in close proximity, such as coughing, sneezing or talking, according to information from the hospital. Wearing a face covering in public can help protect others if you are infected with the virus and dont know it, since you can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms.
President Trump said Thursday that he had seen evidence to prove that the coronavirus pandemic had spread from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but he declined to detail what that evidence was.

Im not allowed to tell you that, he said at a White House news conference at which he repeatedly accused Chinas government of being negligent in its response to the virus, while leaving open the possibility it was intentionally spread.

Speaking to reporters after an event intended to highlight the administrations efforts to protect nursing home residents from COVID-19, Trump was asked about a statement released Thursday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that stated the U.S. believed the coronavirus was not manmade or genetically modified.

Trump seemed unfamiliar with the finding and pressed the reporter for the name of the official behind the statement, which was attributed only to the Office of Director of National Intelligence.

The reporter asked the president if he had personally seen evidence that the virus originated in a laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Yes, I have, Trump said.

Pressed later on the specific evidence that gave him confidence that the virus had come from a lab, Trump said, I cant tell you that. Im not allowed to tell you that.

Yahoo News was the first to report that U.S. intelligence officials were investigating whether the virus might have escaped from a research facility in Wuhan rather than spreading from a live-animal market, which was the dominant theory at the outset of the pandemic. That is not inconsistent with Thursdays intelligence community finding that it was not manmade or genetically modified. Virology laboratories routinely work on naturally occurring pathogens.

Trump used Thursdays news conference to level a series of attacks against China, including the suggestion that its government could have contained the coronavirus but chose not to.

This is something that could have been contained at the original location, and I think it could have been contained relatively easily, Trump said. Chinas a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. They were either unable to, or they chose not to and the world has suffered greatly.

Story continues

On the question of why the government in Beijing was slow to contain the outbreak of the disease now designated COVID-19 after it emerged in late December, Trump floated a few different possibilities. Asked if he believed China was withholding information on the coronavirus so as to hurt his chances of being reelected, Trump said he didnt want to cast any dispersions [sic], but added that China would like to see Sleepy Joe Biden elected.

Well, China doesnt want to see me elected and the reason is were getting billions and billions of dollars, many billions of dollars a month from China, Trump said. China never gave our country anything. China never gave us nothing.

Pressed on whether he believed China had intentionally let the virus spread, Trump said it was a possibility.

Well they could have done it and Im just saying, well, one of two things happened: They either didnt do it, you know they couldnt do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread, Trump said. And, you know, I would say probably it got out of control, but you know theres another case that how come they stopped all the planes, all of the traffic from going into China, but they didnt stop the planes and the traffic from coming into the United States and from coming into all of Europe? I mean look at Italy, look what happened to Italy.

On whether he planned to try to hold China accountable for the spread of the coronavirus, Trump stopped short.

I want to find out what happened, he said, adding that his administration was investigating the cause of the pandemic.

But at the same time, Trump pointed blame at Beijings government.

They could have stopped it, Trump said of China. They are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. It got loose, lets say, and they could have capped it. They could have stopped it, but they didnt.

Asked what had changed in his assessment of Chinas culpability, after he praised President Xi Jinpings handling of the coronavirus outbreak early on, Trump linked the pandemic with the trade deal the U.S. signed with China in January.

Whats changed is the following: We did a trade deal and everybody was very happy, Trump said, adding, So recently we signed a trade deal with China a number of months ago. Chinas buying billions of dollars worth of our product, our farm product and other product, manufacturing product and its been a great deal. But then we noticed a virus and its not acceptable what happened. It came out of China and its not acceptable what happened.

Trump said that the U.S. would soon have the answer to how the virus originated and that will determine a lot how I feel about China.

_____

Click here for the latest coronavirus news and updates. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please refer to the CDCs and WHOs resource guides.

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In late March, Ryan Grim, of The Intercept, published a story on Tara Reade, a former staffer in Joe Bidens Senate office. She was one of several women who had come forward to say that Biden, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, had, in past encounters, touched them inappropriately. Grim reported that Reades case had been dropped by Times Up, a nonprofit #MeToo advocacy group, because the group viewed Reades allegation against Biden as perilously political. The day after Grims story appeared, Reade granted an interview to Katie Halper, a progressive podcaster, and dropped a bombshell. Biden, Reade said, hadnt just touched her inappropriately, he had sexually assaulted her: in 1993, hed pushed her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers. It happened all at once, Reade told Halper. His hands were on me and underneath my clothes. The Biden campaign denied that this occurred. Until this morning, Biden had not addressed Reade or her statements.

For a long while, the pressotherwise preoccupied with horse race election coverage, then covid-19didnt do much to advance the Reade story, making it easy for Biden to avoid the subject. For weeks, mainstream outlets met it with silence. On April 12nineteen days after Reade spoke with Halperthe New York Times published a piece on Reades allegation, in which the reporters, Lisa Lerer and Sydney Ember, found no further allegations against Biden (aside from those made public last year) and did not speak to anyone from Bidens old Senate office who corroborated Reades account. Two friends of Reades said they did recall hearing about the alleged assaultin detail, at the time it happened, and in more general terms years laterbut neither friend was willing to be quoted on the record. The Times story was criticized online: some progressives said that its delayed publication was suspiciousBernie Sanders was still running against Biden when Reade made her allegation, but had ended his campaign by the time the story came outand others said that the assignment should have been handled by specialist investigative reporters. (Lerer and Ember primarily cover politics.)

ICYMI: Why did Matt Drudge turn on Donald Trump?

Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times, told Ben Smith, its media columnist, that there was nothing nefarious going on. He wanted his reporters to do their due diligence in researching Reades claim. Yet their article was inconclusive, as were similar pieces that appeared, around the same time, in the Washington Post and the Associated Press. Critics on the left continued to insist that the coverage had not given Reade a fair hearing. Others, including a few progressives, concluded that it was time to move on. To those who hectored the media to investigate the allegations about Bidenthe old adage applies: Be careful what you wish for, Joan Walsh, a columnist for The Nation, wrote on April 15. [Reades] allegation against Biden doesnt stand up to close scrutiny. And bullying by the left or right wont change that.

More reporting, however, could change that. In recent days, the story leaped forward. Last week, Grim mentioned, on Halpers podcast, that Reade had told him that her mother hadanonymously, and in general termsreferenced the alleged experience with Biden shortly after it happened, during a call-in segment on Larry Kings CNN show. Grim hadnt included that in his piece, he said, because hed been unable to find a recording. A listener to Halpers podcast subsequently found what appeared to have been Reades mothers exchange with King; Grim published a transcript. The next week, Business Insider published a story, by Rich McHugh, in which Lynda LaCasse, a friend of Reades, confirmed, on the record, that Reade had told her the details of her alleged assault in the mid-nineties, when she lived next door to LaCasse, in California. (LaCasse said that she still intends to vote for Biden in the fall.) A second source, Lorraine Sanchez, who worked with Reade in a different office, told McHugh that Reade told her, around the same time, of being sexually harassed by her former boss.

McHughs story, in particular, finally gave Reades allegation momentum in the mainstream press. (Smith, at the Times, reported yesterday that McHugh first took his findings to Vanity Fair, but was turned away.) As the week progressed, calls for Biden to address the allegation intensified. His campaign continued to deny Reades allegation strongly, but Biden wouldnt personally address it, and journalists who interviewed him failed to bring it up. There were increasing calls, too, for cable news to take the story seriously. Yesterday, in a column titled Why wont TV news book Tara Reade? Smith reported that so far, Reade only had interview offers from Fox News shows, including Sean Hannitys. Reade told Smith that shed rejected those offers and was waiting to hear from hosts with a less partisan orientation.

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This morning, we finally heard from Biden, when he appeared on MSNBCs Morning Joe. To set him up, Mika Brzezinski, the cohost, outlined Reades allegation and addressed critiques that the press had botched coverage of it. She focused on the criticism that the immediate, vociferous coverage of assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh, when he was nominated to the Supreme Court, was evidence of a double standard, compared to the recent reporting on Biden. Brzezinski then played a lengthy reel of the shows hosts insisting, in past episodes, that Kavanaugh was denied due process by the media. We were strong on this, she said afterward. And honestly, very few others were. Brzezinski also spent several minutes recounting, in detail, the many sexual-misconduct allegations against Trump.

Shortly before coming on, Biden released a statement strongly refuting Reades allegation. This never happened, he said. He appeared on air shortly after 8am Eastern. Did you sexually assault Tara Reade? Brzezinski asked. Biden reiterated his strong denial. Brzezinski then asked Biden whether any other staffer had ever complained about his behavior, and whether any such complaint had been hidden by a nondisclosure agreement. Biden said no on both counts. Brzezinski also pressed him repeatedly on remarks he made, during the Kavanaugh hearings, that womens voices should be taken seriously. Women have a right to be heard, and the press should rigorously investigate, he replied. Why is it real for Dr. Ford and not for Tara Reade? Brzezinski asked, referring to Christine Blasey Ford, a survivor of one of Kavanaughs alleged attacks. Biden said that he wouldnt question an accusers motives, but that the facts were on his side. When Brzezinski pushed him on what the facts wereand where they might be foundhe spoke over her, then apologized. The truth matters, Biden said.

What about Reades side of the story? We can expect to hear from her on TV soon; BuzzFeeds Rosie Gray and Ruby Cramer reported yesterday that shes been contacted by every major network. As far as Reade is concerned, though, the damage is already done. I used to think that a Republican talking point was to call the mainstream media biased. So I used to think, Oh, thats just a talking point for them, Reade told BuzzFeed. But now Im living it [in] real time, and I see itlike, I see it for what it is.

Below, more on Joe Biden and Tara Reade:

Papers, please: As the pressure mounted on Biden this week, he faced calls to open up his old Senate papers, which are housed at the University of Delaware, in the hope that they might shed light on Reades allegation. Yesterday, university officials told CNNs Ellie Kaufman and MJ Lee that they are still sifting through the papers, and have no plans to release any of them to the public. In the statement issued before he appeared on Morning Joe, Biden said his Senate papers do not contain personnel records, and that he would authorize the secretary of the Senate to search the National Archives for records of the complaint Reade said she lodged at the time. On air, Brzezinski repeatedly pressed Biden to authorize an investigation of his University of Delaware papers, too.

As the pressure mounted on Biden this week, he faced calls to open up his old Senate papers, which are housed at the University of Delaware, in the hope that they might shed light on Reades allegation. Yesterday, university officials told CNNs Ellie Kaufman and MJ Lee that they are still sifting through the papers, and have no plans to release any of them to the public. In the statement issued before he appeared on Morning Joe, Biden said his Senate papers do not contain personnel records, and that he would authorize the secretary of the Senate to search the National Archives for records of the complaint Reade said she lodged at the time. On air, Brzezinski repeatedly pressed Biden to authorize an investigation of his University of Delaware papers, too. The Biden trap: Early this week, Rebecca Traister wrote, in a widely shared piece for New Yorks The Cut, that the allegation against Biden represents a poisoned chalice for Democratic women who are sticking by him. On Wednesday, Traister told MSNBCs Chris Hayes that Reades story has taken a reverse course compared to recent reporting on sexual assault claims against other powerful figures, such as Harvey Weinstein. It didnt start out as a massive investigative report, Traister said, noting that Reade first spoke out via a podcast. Initially, it didnt have the full, Weve talked to 100 people; weve gone through all these documents.

Early this week, Rebecca Traister wrote, in a widely shared piece for New Yorks The Cut, that the allegation against Biden represents a poisoned chalice for Democratic women who are sticking by him. On Wednesday, Traister told MSNBCs Chris Hayes that Reades story has taken a reverse course compared to recent reporting on sexual assault claims against other powerful figures, such as Harvey Weinstein. It didnt start out as a massive investigative report, Traister said, noting that Reade first spoke out via a podcast. Initially, it didnt have the full, Weve talked to 100 people; weve gone through all these documents. History repeats itself: For yesterdays column on Reade, Smith, of the Times, spoke with Juanita Broaddrick, who has alleged that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978. The handling of Ms. Broaddricks story was one of the most damaging media mistakes of the Clinton years, Smith argues. And the treatment of Mr. Clintons accusers by the Democratic Party and the media alike is one of the original sins that led to todays divided, partisan news environment.



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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
By Associated Press

MIAMI: As much as USD 10 million in US funding for disease prevention in Latin America as well as US support for Venezuelan migrants has been thrown into doubt as part of President Donald Trump's decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization over its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo complaining that freezing funds for the Pan American Health Organization threatened to worsen the plight of Venezuelans suffering at the hands of Nicolas Maduro.

"We believe it is dangerous and shortsighted of the Trump Administration to pause US funding for the life-saving work" by PAHO in Venezuela, the New York Democrat wrote in the letter, which was also signed by Rep.

Albio Sires, chairman of the subcommittee focused on Latin America.

PAHO said this week that the US had suspended its contributions as an extension of Trump's funding freeze for the WHO.

But two US officials cautioned that no final decision had been made. One said the next US payment isn't due until late May and an exclusion for PAHO is being discussed.

Both officials insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The Washington-based PAHO is unique in that it is both a regional office in the Americas for the WHO but also a separately run institution that predates by almost a half century the creation of the United Nations agency.

Only about a third of its funding comes from the WHO, with the rest provided by its 35 member states, of which the US is by far its largest contributor, responsible for 60% of its overall budget.

Currently the US owes PAHO $110 million in assessed contributions for 2019 and 2020.

The State Department and US Agency for International Development would not comment.

Engel in his letter said he was dismayed to learn that $12 million in US funding for PAHO to conduct diagnostics and tracing for the coronavirus in Venezuela and among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia was on hold.

He said US-supported efforts inside Venezuela had saved lives and prevented the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

He said a PAHO-backed measles vaccination program supported by USD 3.

4 million in USAID funding enabled 9 million Venezuelan children to get shots and paved the way for a 90% decline in measles cases from 5,800 in 2018 to less than 600 in 2019.

He cited studies indicating as many as 94% of Venezuelans are living in poverty and 7 million need humanitarian assistance.

PAHO also declined to comment, pointing instead to comments by Dr.

Carissa Etienne, who heads the organization, saying that Trump's freeze in funding for the WHO had been "extended" to include US funding for PAHO.

"Over the years we have enjoyed a very firm collaboration and technical support from the US government," Dr. Carissa Etienne said in remarks to journalists Tuesday.

"This mutual collaboration between the US and PAHO has stood the test of many, many years and it is our hope that we can continue to work in this vein to insure that health and well being come to the majority of people in the Americas."

Trump two weeks ago halted funding to the Geneva-based WHO, arguing that it had mimicked Chinese assurances about the coronvairus' spread, wrongly opposed travel restrictions at the start of the outbreak and was slow to declare the outbreak a global pandemic.

Many philanthropists like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg joined European and African leaders and health experts in criticizing the decision, calling it ill-timed.

PAHO is one of the few ways the US

is able to channel aid to Venezuela since it doesn't recognize Maduro and has no functioning embassy in Caracas.

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, PAHO was also key in brokering contact between Venezuelan health officials and their counterparts in Colombia to discuss ways to stop the virus' spread among millions of poor Venezuelans who have fled the country in recent years and who are expected to overload Colombia's already overburdened health system if the pandemic worsens.

Like the US, Colombia doesn't recognize Maduro. Maduro has consistently rejected US offers of humanitarian aid, calling them an underhanded attempt to destabilize his rule.

The opposition has been similarly reluctant to work with Maduro officials to distribute the aid that has trickled in from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Roman Catholic Church and other sources, seeing it as a tool of coercion.

But over the past year, as efforts to unseat Maduro have stalled and social conditions have worsened, the opposition has quietly eased its objections to working through the socialist government in the belief that regular Venezuelans will benefit and to prepare for eventually assuming power itself one day. One opposition official called the cooperation "a necessary evil."
'These days, you could give the money to your maid or the person who comes to collect your garbage or your watchman; they are struggling to make ends meet.'

'You could help a friend whose business is at risk due to the lockdown and the struggling economy.'

'Even if you lend money to someone in this crisis, it will be more useful to the economy than parking your money in some government fund,' says Praful Nikam.

IMAGE: Migrant workers keep their plates in a queue to reserve their spots ahead of food distribution at a government-run shelter home in Navi Mumbai, April 30, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

Warning: I am going to put forth a drastic premise.

I know it will be rejected by many, but this is something I have been thinking about for the last couple of years and I believe this is the correct time to make it a matter of public discussion.

There has been a lot of debate on the newly formed PM-CARES fund, the already existing Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and state funds like the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and the State Disaster Relief Fund.

The debate has centred around which platform is best suited for donation, how the funds are utilised, the tax exemption provided and the Corporate Social Responsibility (where corporates use part of their funds to support social causes; simply put, corporate philanthropy) involved.

I would like to focus on a few critical points that are not mentioned in these debates.

1. It is wrong!

Yes, I believe it is wrong for a state to seek donations from its citizens as the State is already levying taxes.

It is the State's responsibility to ensure it plans for all kinds of crises management.

In order to keep the economy running in the wake of a crisis, the State needs to push money into the hands of its citizens through various means and channels.

Seeking donations sucks money from the system and runs contrary to the thought of ensuring citizens have enough money to spend to keep the economy in good health.

2. Do governments need donations?

When there is a crisis, we first need to figure out what kind of crisis it is.

If it's not a money crisis, no matter how much citizens or anyone else donates, the crisis will not go away.

And if we consider the funds the government has at its disposal, these donations amount to less than peanuts.

To give you an example: The central government still has around Rs 50,000 crores that is to be given to the states for the welfare of construction workers. The total donation received, by the Centre and the states, for the coronavirus crisis from the public will be less than Rs 10,000 crores.

I don't need to explain further.

IMAGE: A woman waits to receive food distributed by volunteers in Kolkata, April 29, 2020. Photograph: Ashok Bhaumick/PTI Photo

3. Utilisation of donations

Governments are not very good at utilising resources because of the different hierarchies prevalent in the system.

Even in the present crisis, we are centralising the resources, instead of decentralising it, by collecting donations.

The leadership may have good intentions when asking for donations, but the questions of underutilisation, delay, favour, etc, remain.

Donations are meant to support social causes, an area in which a government cannot be considered an expert.

It even goes against the concept of minimum government, maximum governance.

Good governance, in the case of donations, is about formulating laws and rules and leaving its execution in hands of expert non-government and/or private players.

4. Impact on society

The biggest loser when it comes to centralised donations is the social sector.

An NGO creates, over the years, a structure that includes employees, beneficiary relationships, a knowledge base, etc.

When CSR funds and donations are sucked by the government, this sector struggles.

Most industries will get some support from the government but NGOs will not have this benefit.

In the USA, NGOs are the third-biggest job providing sector. In India too, this sector provides a lot of jobs and there probably be many layoffs.

Local NGOs would have spent this Rs 10,000 crore more effectively and at least 1 lakh jobs would have survived for a year.

IMAGE: Women queue to collect rations in Bengaluru, April 30, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

5. Tax benefits and CSR

CSR is based on the concept that the government can't focus on all things and private players need to fill the gap.

Here's a simple example. Let us suppose malnutrition is an issue in one slum in Pune. Obviously, the government cannot come up with a scheme or a policy since it is a hyper-local issue. But an NGO can take it on and resolve the problem.

To support such efforts, 80G and CSR were started so that citizens are motivated to donate for tax benefits and NGOs get resources.

If the government needs money today, it can simply add a new cess or tax or issue bonds. Why does it need to target CSR funds?

6. Focus of the nation

At the moment, fighting the coronavirus is the government's main priority. Which is as it should be.

But the NGOs will continue to focus on education, malnourishment, etc, which are important issues and are affected by the lockdown and the coronavirus.

As the result of COVID-19's impact on the economy, businesses will be forced to tighten their belts. This means the CSR budget will be impacted.

And if the government takes away part of it, then all long-term social projects will suffer.

We may, for example, see more deaths from malnourishment than because of the coronavirus because all resources were diverted to fighting the latter, leaving inadequate finances to combat the former.

IMAGE: Villagers queue to collect food, distributed by volunteers at the Shri Krishna Inter College in Noida, April 29, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

7. PM's fund has CSR validity, CM's fund doesn't

Ideally, CSR money should not go to government funds. But, according to a law passed by the Manmohan Singh government in 2014, the PM-CARES fund qualifies for CSR while a Chief Minister's Relief Fund does not.

CSR was devised to encourage companies to support poor areas and social causes.

If they were allowed to donate to the CM's fund under CSR, then companies in rich states will only donate to the CM's fund in their state to curry political favour.

On the other hand, if they donate to the PM's fund, the money would go to the needy and to the poor areas.

At least, that was the idea.

Unfortunately, most CSR funds are spent in rich areas because of logistical and PR reasons.

The ideal way to spend CSR money is find an issue and focus on resolving it. What happens instead is that the focus today in on the location more than the issue.

8. Political favours

When the prime minister or a chief minister appeals for funds, there are donors who contribute a hefty amount. As a result, the PM or the CM is under an obligation to give preferential treatment to these donors.

Even if they don't feel this sense of obligation, the officers/bureaucrats who work under them have the impression that the donor is close to the leader, so the donor's needs will be resolved quickly and painlessly.

9. Where should you donate your money?

Don't donate to state or central government funds. All it will do is give you a false sense of satisfaction.

It is better to donate to a local NGO.

The government has a lot of funds, but it will not be able to support local needs; these are the needs you can cater to.

These days, you could give the money to your maid or the person who comes to collect your garbage or your watchman; they are struggling to make ends meet.

You could help a friend whose business is at risk due to the lockdown and the struggling economy.

Even if you lend money to someone in this crisis, it will be more useful to the economy than parking your money in some government fund.

I hope reading this has given you some insight into how funds/trusts are utilisation. I hope it allows you to make the right decision before you hit the donate button.

Praful Nikam, a software engineer-turned-social activist, is founder president of Y4D Foundation, a registered charitable trust that works to empower children, the youth and women.
Action figures that represent the people putting their lives on the line to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus and to keep America running during the pandemic will soon be in the hands of children.

Toymaker Mattel announced this week that it will release 16 #ThankYouHeroes action figures and a special five-character set of Little People Community Champions under its Fisher-Price brand. The toys are designed to resemble and support todays heroes, including doctors, nurses, delivery drivers, grocery store workers and EMTs.

Whether these toys are given as a gift to recognize someone working on the front lines, or used as a tool to help children have conversations about how they are feeling, it is our hope that Fisher-Price toys, and play in general, can ultimately make these difficult times easier for both kids and adults, Chuck Scothon, senior vice president of Fisher-Price and global head of Infant and Preschool, Mattel, said in a statement.

Proceeds from the line will benefit #FirstRespondersFirst, an initiative supporting healthcare workers serving on the frontlines of the pandemic. This is the first of several efforts from the California-based company to support frontline workers through its Play it Forward platform.

#ThankYouHeroes will be available for online pre-sale until May 31. Each toy is priced at $20 and $15 of each sale will be donated to #FirstRespondersFirst. Items are expected to ship by Dec. 31, 2020.

We launched #FirstRespondersFirst to support healthcare workers and their families who are on the frontlines of this pandemic, Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, one of the organizations behind the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative, said in a statement. Mattels iconic brands and products speak to something deep within us. So, it will be wonderful to see this new Fisher-Price collection not only bring joy to children but give parents and caregivers a new way to honor healthcare first responders and everyday heroes and their families."

In addition to the action figures, Mattel is making face shields and cloth face masks for medical professionals and has donated toys to organizations caring for children during the pandemic.
While many associate weddings to be a day filled with joy and happiness, it turns out, that isn't always the case.

Writing on anonymous sharing app Whisper, people from around the world have revealed stories of the times they witnessed first-hand people objecting at a wedding.

And while some could barely bring themselves to watch the cringe-worthy moment unfold, others admitted they were 'living for the drama.'

Amongst the most shocking of revelations is one guest who halted proceedings by revealing the groom was a murderer, while another put a stop to the ceremony after discovering the groom was a drug dealer - who has since been put behind bars.

Elsewhere, a heartbroken bride revealed her mother stood up and made an objection at her big day - and she hasn't spoken to her since.

Another, from the US, told how the bride's sister objected at the wedding - before unveiling the groom was a drug dealer. It turns out, she had a valid point

Another, from the US, witnessed a groomsman object before he confessed his feelings for the bride. Awkward!

One wedding guest, from an unknown location, revealed she stopped her friend's wedding because the groom was a murderer

One mortified wedding guest, from an unknown location, revealed her father halted proceedings at her mother's wedding - because he wasn't over her

Another, from the US, told how she was 'living for' the drama when the bride's mother-in-law objected to the wedding going ahead

One bride-to-be, believed to be from the US, recalled her devastation after her mother objected at her wedding. She added she hasn't spoken to her since

One wedding guest, from the US, couldn't get enough of the drama when she witnessed the bride's alcoholic father being kicked out of the wedding after objecting - and that was just the start!

In this instance, this person, from the US, was the one to object at his ex's wedding. It obviously didn't go down too well - because he hasn't spoken to her in three years

One person, from the US, revealed an unknown person stood up to object at her sister's wedding - before declaring his undying love for her
Chris Tyler lost his job at a restaurant on March 15  the same day Mayor Eric Garcetti banned sit-down food service to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in Los Angeles. A couple of weeks later, he and his partner decided not to pay rent for the one-bedroom apartment they share in Silver Lake.

Its a decision that I have made personally that is both political and very much out of necessity, said Tyler, 31. I dont think its an unreasonable choice to make in the middle of a global pandemic.

As California enters its second full month under stay-at-home orders designed to prevent more coronavirus cases, a growing number of tenants are turning their personal economic situations into mass protests, demanding that legislators at all levels of government pass laws to cancel rent until the public health crisis is over.

They call it a "rent strike" and it is just one tactic marking a dramatic new escalation in the long-running fight over affordable housing in California.

Even before the pandemic, more than 9 million tenants  more than half of those in the state  were burdened by high rents, spending more than 30% of their incomes on housing. But now, with many businesses shut down and unemployment rolls exploding, the coronavirus has injected a new level of fear and desperation into that fight.

In March, just as the pandemic was taking hold in California, more than a dozen families seized vacant, government-owned homes in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles. The adults and children, some homeless and some housing insecure, contended that they couldn't follow public health orders to isolate themselves in their homes if they were living in vans and in overcrowded apartments.

With this health crisis and this housing crisis, we need every vacant house to be a home for those who dont have a safe and stable place to sleep in, said Ruby Gordillo, 33, while standing on the porch of a two-bedroom bungalow before moving in with her three children.

Story continues

Ruby Gordillo, middle, lets herself into a home in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles in March. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Although the coronavirus provided an immediate reason, the families had been planning to take over the houses, emboldened by a similar protest last fall. Moms 4 Housing, a group of homeless black mothers, made headlines when they commandeered an empty home in Oakland as a way to protest rampant real estate speculation in the Bay Area city.

The mothers lived in the home, owned by Redondo Beach-based Wedgewood Inc., for two months. And, following their eviction by heavily armed Alameda County sheriffs deputies, Gov. Gavin Newsom helped broker an agreement to sell the house and dozens of other Wedgewood properties to a community trust so that some of the mothers could return.

The Oakland occupation energized renter groups across the country and helped lay the foundation for the rent strikes and demands to cancel rent that have emerged during the pandemic, said Tara Raghuveer, director of the Homes Guarantee campaign for the national community organizing group Peoples Action.

The mothers managed to highlight structural problems that allow corporations to treat homes as financial assets instead of as shelters for low-income residents. Those problems have become more pressing now that millions of newly jobless tenants are being asked to pay rent with little economic relief, she said.

Moms 4 Housing represents an inflection point at the beginning of what will be a new era for the tenant movement, Raghuveer said. It offers people context for the moment in which they find themselves as a tenant experiencing housing insecurity.

It is difficult to know how many tenants in California or across the U.S. are not paying rent, let alone how many have political reasons for doing so.

Nearly 200,000 people nationwide have signed a petition since March pledging to go on a rent or a mortgage strike, with most of them residing along the coasts where rent is highest, according to organizing group Action Center on Race and the Economy.

Also, a survey by the National Multifamily Housing Council, a landlord organization, found that almost 92% of renters in professionally managed apartment complexes paid at least some rent through the first 26 days of April  a percentage that's slightly below the surveys pre-pandemic norm. However, landlord and tenant groups believe fewer tenants will pay in May, as more Americans face unemployment and see their savings dwindle.

The Los Angeles Tenants Union on Thursday held a noisy demonstration downtown, arguing that the eviction protections approved by the city dont come close to what tenants need during the pandemic. Protesters gathered along the blocks surrounding City Hall with signs, chanting "Housing is a human right" and "Food not rent." As they shouted, other demonstrators circled in cars, honking their horns.

Tenants and their supporters hold a protest outside L.A. City Hall on Thursday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Tyler planned to attend but woke up feeling ill. With the restaurant industry in shambles, he said he cant imagine how he will be able to pay past-due rent. Tyler still hasnt received unemployment benefits, and said his landlord is pushing him to sign a repayment agreement that would require rent sooner if he receives government aid.

This isnt an acceptable reality that we should just continue to swallow, Tyler said.

The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment or ACCE, the organizing group connected to the Moms 4 Housing and El Sereno occupations, has signed up more than 12,000 tenants for a rent strike this month, said spokeswoman Anya Svanoe.

For landlord groups, such strikes are a worrying trend. It will make it more difficult to pay mortgages and other bills, they say, and could force layoffs for maintenance workers, ultimately harming tenants.

They think theyre hurting the landlord but its a real chain reaction, said Deb Carlton, senior vice president with the California Apartment Assn. The cause and effect is going to stretch beyond the landlord.

The association has asked its members to stop evicting tenants, cancel planned rent increases and waive late fees for nonpayment. Theyre also pushing the state and federal government to provide substantial funding for rental assistance.

Carlton said tenant organizations should be joining them to lobby for those subsidies instead of calling for rent strikes. She said groups engaged in rent-strike campaigns are using the coronavirus to further political aims they had prior to the pandemic  with some encouraging those who are financially able to pay rent to strike as well  rather than working to ensure that both tenants and landlords can pay their bills.

Were seeing these more aggressive tenant organizations politicizing the pandemic, Carlton said. We think thats reprehensible.

Regardless of whos doing the asking, no level of government has provided large-scale rental subsidies or relief. Garcetti has said the federal government should forgive mortgage and rent payments, but has rejected doing so in L.A. If taxpayers were liable for all payments, he said, the city would go bankrupt in about three months.

Nationally, it would cost about $100 billion to provide federal housing subsidies to low-income renters who already qualify and those who are likely eligible now because of the pandemic, according to an estimate by the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank.

While that amount is significant, its only a fraction of the $2 trillion economic relief package that President Trump signed in March, said Mary Cunningham, vice president of metropolitan housing and communities policy for the Urban Institute. A robust rental assistance program is preferable to waiving rent and mortgage payments because it allows tenants to stay in their homes while ensuring landlords can continue to invest in their properties, she said.



We should give support directly to tenants so they can pay their landlords, Cunningham said. "Then we prevent the ripple effect through the housing market.

Still, she understands why tenants seem to have hit a breaking point with the coronavirus.

Weve had a housing crisis for a long time, Cunningham said. We have really clear evidence for how to solve it. Policymakers havent taken those steps. If a rent strike can put pressure on policymakers to fund rental assistance, then that is a good thing.
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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java  Fri, May 1, 2020 06:32 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd5547a6 1 Politics regional-elections,Surakarta-mayoral-election,COVID-19,coronavirus,Central-Java Free

At least two candidates who are expected to run in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections in Central Java have expressed thoughts about stepping back from the race if the voting day remains set at Dec. 9, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic may not be over by then.

Surakarta mayoral candidate Achmad Purnomo and incumbent Wonogiri Regent Joko "Jekek" Sutopo, both of whom are politicians of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), separately announced that they would soon submit letters of withdrawal for their candidacy to the party's Central Java chairman if there was no change to the election date.

"I choose to focus on handling COVID-19 rather than conducting a political campaign during the pandemic," said Purnomo, who is currently the deputy mayor of Surakarta city.

"I am not sure the pandemic will end before December. If the regional election is going to be held on Dec. 9, I better withdraw my candidacy.

Purnomo verbally conveyed his intention to the PDI-P Surakarta chapter's executive board chairman and the city mayor, FX Hadi "Rudy" Rudyatmo, who expressed full support of the move.

Read also: Three parties ready to nominate Gibran if PDI-P picks another candidate in Surakarta

"We'll soon send a letter to the Central Java PDI-P [chairman] regarding this matter," Rudy said.

Jekek said the government should maintain its focus on addressing the pandemic in the meantime. "There're still a lot to do regarding the outbreak. We can postpone the election, but not the COVID-19 response.

The government and the House of Representatives previously agreed to reschedule the voting day for this year's simultaneous regional elections to Dec. 9 from September due to the health crisis.

The decision was made after a hearing conducted on April 14 involving the House Commission II overseeing home affairs, Home Minister Tito Karnavian, the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP).

The government said it would soon draft a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on the postponement of the voting day, which is scheduled to be held simultaneously in the country's 270 regions.

The KPU previously suggested three alternative dates for the voting day, namely Dec. 9, 2020, March 17, 2021, and Sept. 29, 2021.
By all accounts, Gov. John Bel Edwards has done an exemplary job of guiding Louisiana through the COVID-19 pandemic. Even President Donald Trump, who loudly campaigned against Edwards re-election less than six months ago, heaped praise on the governor just last week for leading the fight against the virus in one of Americas hardest-hit states. Trump invited the governor to the White House, in fact, to tell him so.

Were not out of the woods yet, but Edwards has authorized Louisiana citizens and businesses to take their first tentative steps toward some kind of normal. The governor recently extended his statewide stay-at-home order through May 15, but he lifted significant restrictions on restaurants and retailers effective May 1.

That was welcome news across Louisiana, but not among some Republican lawmakers. State Rep. Alan Seabaugh of Shreveport circulated a draft petition on April 29  the same day Edwards met with Trump at the White House  to use an obscure state law to revoke the governors emergency declaration.

While no doubt concocted as a political ploy, Seabaughs proposal, if passed by the House, would do much more than end the governors stay-at-home order. It also would have revoked school closures, canceled bans on price gouging, ended the suspension of legal deadlines and resulted in a crushing loss of federal funding, Edwards chief lawyer Matthew Block wrote in a letter to legislative leaders.

Commentary: COVID-19 recovery requires balance, but public safety is paramount If theres a conflict between public health and the economy, we should err on the side of public health.

Fortunately, Seabaughs effort was shot down quickly by his own GOP leadership. Both Senate President Page Cortez and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said they couldnt support an effort to overturn the governors emergency order. Cortez noted that U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Metairie  no ally of Edwards  agreed that doing so could jeopardize SBA loans to Louisiana businesses and federal aid to the state.

Unfazed, Seabaugh told his GOP colleagues in an email, This may not be a perfect solution, but it is the only one on the table. Doing nothing is not an option! Actually, doing nothing to undermine the governors fact-based, measured response to the pandemic is not only an option, its the best option. The only thing not an option is doing something dumb  particularly something that jeopardizes millions in federal assistance in the midst of an economic and public health crisis.

Seabaughs ruse wasnt the only Republican move against Edwards. As the Democratic governor was preparing to visit the Republican president, GOP state lawmakers circulated a consultants memo that suggested talking points to use in social media criticisms of Edwards modified stay-at-home order, which follows White House protocols. A copy of the memo was leaked to investigative journalist Lamar White Jr., who published it on his Bayou Brief website.

The detailed three-page memo noted good words to employ, trap words to avoid and anticipated questions from constituents. Interestingly, the first trap word to avoid is Republican. Another, ironically, is partisan.

Heres some better advice to the GOP delegation: Instead of conniving to undermine the governors leadership while avoiding trap words, try avoiding dumb ideas and mindless, destructive partisanship. Those tired  and failed  old ploys represent an unwelcome return to the wrong kind of normal in Louisiana.

Get rid of the collapsed Hard Rock Hotel  now The city and developers need to stop the haggling and get something done.
In Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Lauding Vietnam as one of the countries with the highest economic growth in the world, standing at 7.02 percent last year, the article noted it has enjoyed an export surplus for four consecutive years in the context of falling trade in many countries.

Forbes said Vietnam has made much progress in improving its business environment and restructuring its economy over the past decade. The Global Competitiveness Index 2019 revealed the country had jumped ten places since 2018 to 67th, making it the most improved country.

The World Banks 2020 Doing Business report, meanwhile, ranked Vietnam 70th out of 190 economies based on two main factors: improved access to credit information through data distribution from retailers and upgraded information technology infrastructure that makes paying taxes easier for most businesses.

Its improved business environment has also helped it attract more foreign investment. Pledged FDI surpassed 38 billion USD last year; a ten-year high and representing a year-on-year increase of 7.2 percent.

According to the article, Vietnam has signed 12 free trade agreements to date, including new-generation deals with broader commitments. Impressively, the EU signed a landmark free trade agreement with the country in June 2019 - the first of its kind with a developing country in Asia and paving the way for tariff reductions on 99 percent of all goods shipped between the bloc and Vietnam.

Vietnam is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), it noted.

Lauding Vietnams achievements in terms of how the country dealt with the coronavirus outbreak, Forbes quoted the Financial Times as saying that Vietnam has proved a model in containing the disease in a country with limited resources but determined leadership.

Vietnam shares a 1,100-km-long border with China but had reported only 270 infections and no fatalities as at April 25, it said, adding that succeeding in containing the COVID-19 pandemic domestically allows Vietnam to have more room to play its key role in regional and international diplomatic forums.

Last year, with 192 out of 193 votes, Vietnam was officially elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term. This is the second time it has held the post, demonstrating its desire to contribute to global security and peace and proving it is a responsible member of the UN. Vietnam is also Chair of ASEAN in 2020 - the first time it has held the two positions at the same time. This presents an opportunity for it to take advantage of bilateral relations with other countries and create new momentum for enhancing its role and profile.

Vietnam was among the first in the world to reopen its economy following the COVID-19 outbreak, on April 23. It has maintained socioeconomic stability in recent decades and its favourable business environment and free trade agreements are expected to help increase foreign investment in the future.

International investors should consider investing in Vietnam, Forbes added, as many other countries are now struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of economic recession.
The National Commission for Women on Friday asked the Madhya Pradesh police to ensure the security of a woman who was allegedly raped by seven people, including three minors, in Betul district.

The NCW also sought a detailed action taken report in the matter from Director General of Police (DGP) Vivek Johri.

The 18-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped on the intervening night of April 29-30 when she was returning to her village with her brother on a motorcycle, police said on Thursday.

The accused threw her brother into a well around 8.30 pm and took turns to rape her till 2 am, they said.

The NCW wrote to DGP Johri to ensure the victim's security and that the accused are punished as per the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, which provides for rigorous life term and even death sentence for rape convicts.

"A detailed action taken report is requested on this incident to be sent to the Commission at earliest," the NCW said.

Police have taken five accused, including the three minors, into custody while two are absconding, an official said on Thursday.

The accused have been booked under sections 376 (rape), 365 (kidnapping) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Donald Trump administration doubled down on Thursday on threats to sanction Turkey should it activate the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

We made our position quite explicit to President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, to all the senior leadership of Turkey, and that is the operation of the S-400 system  exposes Turkey to the very significant possibility of congressional sanctions, both those that invoke the [Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act] legislation and additional freestanding legislative sanctions, David Satterfield, the US envoy in Ankara, told an online panel hosted by the Atlantic Council.

Satterfield added, We do not have in our possession the assurances from the government of Turkey that would allow us to mitigate those concerns.

Why it matters: Turkey had initially planned to activate the S-400 system in April, but on Thursday Erdogans spokesman Ibrahim Kalin attributed the delay to the coronavirus pandemic rather than US sanctions threats.

Congress passed the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act in 2017, which requires the Trump administration to sanction any country that makes significant transactions with the Russian defense sector. (Turkey has already paid Ankara for a significant portion of the multi-billion-dollar missile system). Despite bipartisan pressure to implement the legally mandated sanctions from Congress, the administration has gradually moved the goal posts on implementation and now maintains that full operationalization will trigger the penalties. Ankara has already activated the powerful S-400 radar system to test on American-made fighter jets, raising concerns that Russia can spy on sophisticated US military equipment.

Whats next: Nonetheless, Satterfields reference to additional freestanding legislative sanctions may give Ankara cause to think twice before fully implementing the S-400 system. The House passed a broader Turkey sanctions package 403-16 last year after Erdogan launched his offensive against the Syrian Kurds. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has refused to put the bill up for a vote in the upper chamber. But if the Trump administration changes its tune and backs the sweeping sanctions legislation, McConnell would likely reconsider.

Know more: Diego Cupolo examines how Turkeys delay in fully activating the S-400 and the Trump administrations refusal to impose sanctions so far could give Ankara and Washington an opening to start repairing their damaged relationship.
Somali authorities should immediately release radio journalist Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On March 7, an officer with the National Intelligence Security Agency arrested Mohamed, an editor with the privately owned Mogadishu-based broadcaster Radio Hiigsi, who is also known as Abuuja, at his fathers office in the capitals Shibis district, according to his father, Abdiwahab Nuur Mahdi, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Mohamed has not been seen since his arrest, and his family and colleagues have been unable to contact him, according to the journalists father and Radio Hiigsi director Farhan Hassan Omar, who also spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

In an April 22 statement , the Ministry of Information claimed that Mohamed was being held on suspicion of being a member the militant group Al-Shabaab and that he was under investigation in connection with a 2019 murder case.

It is an outrageous infringement on Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuurs fundamental rights that nearly two months since his arrest, the government has failed to produce him in court, or to provide any information about his well-being beyond a sparse statement, said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. The Somali government should free Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur and stop interfering with his work as a journalist.

Mohameds father and Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the secretary general of the local press rights group the Somali Journalists Syndicate, told CPJ that they suspected Mohameds arrest may be tied to a February 26 editorial, aired on Radio Hiigsi and published on the stations Facebook page , alleging a lack of professionalism in the Somali military.

The National Intelligence Security Agency previously arrested Mohamed over that report on February 29, but released him without charge on March 2, according to a statement from the syndicate.

Abdiwahab said that the officer who arrested Mohamed on March 7 was Liban Mohamed, the same officer who had arrested Mohamed on February 29. During the March 7 arrest, Liban said that he wanted to question the journalist and then release him, Abdiwahab said.

Abdalle said that Mohamed told him that during his detention from February 29 to March 2, interrogators beat him and threatened him with a gun, and tried to coax him into confessing that he was a member of Al-Shabaab.

Mohamed told his father that that officers also wanted him to confess to the March 6, 2019, murder of Bahsan Bolay, Abdiwahab said. Bahsan, a Somali political delegate, was killed by gunmen allegedly linked to Al-Shabaab, according to news reports .

Abdalle also told CPJ that Mohamed said officers accused him of criticizing security personnel, and that he had been released on March 2 on condition that he would not write about the security services or speak about what happened during his detention.

Abdalle and Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, the secretary of the Federation of Somali Journalists, another local press rights group, said they believed that the journalists status as a member of a minority clan was part of the reason why he remained in detention.

Farhan described the April 22 statement from the Ministry of Information as an attempt to hide the suffering of the journalist.

If its true, it should have had evidence since he accused of murder. He is held unlawfully and in falsehood, he said.

CPJs calls, text messages, and emails to Attorney General Suleiman Mohamed Mohamud and Deputy National Security Minister Abdinasir Said Musse went unanswered. Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala, the director general of the Ministry of Information, today told CPJ that Mohameds file had been forwarded to the judiciary but said that he could not provide any further substantive comment on the case.

CPJ messaged the National Intelligence and Security Agency on Twitter for comment but did not receive any response. CPJ could not find other contact information for the agency.

On April 20, journalists gathered in Mogadishu demanding Mohameds release, according to posts on social media by the Somali Journalists Syndicate and the Federation of Somali Journalists .




Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to ease the total lockdown imposed.

He made this plea during the inauguration of a seven-member specialised experts to support the States technical committee at the Government House.

On Monday, president Buhari had in a live broadcast announced the total lockdown of the State with immediate effect to stem the spread of coronavirus.

This decision was necessitated by the mass death recorded in the State.

However, Ganduje yersternight asked that the lockdown be eased urgently to mitigate the economic hardship.

According to him, Kano state people were running out of food, especially during the fasting period.

He added that easing the lockdown will enable them restock their homes.

We would engage the presidential taskforce on COVID-19 to seek permission to relax the total lockdown imposed on Kano. We are making this appeal on behalf of our people who are presently running out of food items.

We love the Federal government to relax the lockdown for a period of time to enable people stock their homes, especially now that majority of us are fasting. It will also ease the economic hardship in the state, This Day quoted him as saying.

Ganduje further noted that the government was expanding facilities to accommodate an increasing number of suspects.

Meanwhile, Kano State on Thursday recorded 80 new cases of coronavirus.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 06:52:37|Editor: huaxia

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PYONGYANG, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a phosphatic fertilizer factory on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Saturday.

"All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader who has brought about a new change" in the development of the fertilizer industry, the report said.

Kim was joined by his sister Kim Yo Jong as well as other senior officials, it added.

A completion ceremony of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory, which has been built as the production base of fertilizer, was splendidly held on May Day, the international holiday of the working people of the whole world, the report said.

This was the top leader's first public appearance in state media in more than 20 days. Enditem
A Colorado paramedic who traveled to New York City to help treat coronavirus patients has died of the virus, his family announced Thursday.

"We were devastated to learn that our father and grandfather, Paul Cary, became the latest victim to die of COVID-19. Our family grieves his loss, and knows that all his friends and family will miss him greatly," the family said in a statement.

The 66-year-old paramedic from Aurora leaves behind two sons and four grandchildren.

Through his work with Ambulnz  a private ambulance company  Cary volunteered to lend assistance to the hardest-hit city in the country, despite the fact that his age increased the risk of severe illness from the virus.

"Paul's career is best defined by his kindness and service to others during his time as a Paramedic at Ambulnz, and before that as a Firefighter/Paramedic of more than 30 years with the Aurora, Colorado Fire Department," Ambulnz said in a statement.

Paul Cary. (KUSA)

At a news conference Thursday night, Ambulnz representatives said Cary had traveled to New York City in late March and started work on April 1, NBC affiliate KUSA reported. He was intent on going to New York to help, they said.

"Accepting Pauls commitment to serving others in need, we respected his choice to volunteer to be part of Ambulnzs response team to the COVID-19 crisis in New York City," Cary's family's statement said. "He risked his own health and safety to protect others and left this world a better place. We are at peace knowing that Paul did what he loved and what he believed in, right up until the very end."

Cary was working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stationed at the Bronx Zoo, helping transport coronavirus patients all over the city.

"If you knew Paul, he was extremely devoted to his work and very excited about going," said Rick Diemert, Colorado's operations manager of Ambulnz. "He was very, very devoted."

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Cary started showing symptoms around April 20 and was admitted to Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, where he was eventually put on a ventilator, an Ambulnz representative said.

Health & Wellness

The New York City Fire Department paid tribute to Cary on Facebook.

Paramedic Paul Cary spent a lifetime helping and caring for others, Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said. He bravely served the people of Aurora, Colorado for three decades and then, as the COVID-19 pandemic attacked our city, he bravely came to help New Yorkers as well. All of us in the FDNY mourn his loss.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that the city would hold a special memorial for Cary.

"Paul gave his life for us, and were going to honor him in a particular way," de Blasio said.

"We have lost someone who came to our aid, to our defense," he said. "He did not have to do it. He made the choice to come here to save lives."

"It's very painful, it's heroic ... it just hurts that such a good man has made the ultimate sacrifice for us. So to the Cary family, we honor Pauls sacrifice, we honor what Paul did," de Blasio said. "We honor all of you. We grieve with you."
As the operations of a company expand, it will be necessary to employ people to support the work under various arrangements. It is always advisable to spell out the terms and conditions into a contractual agreement. Once this is done, it defines the scope of work and the respective obligations of each other.

In Ghana, where the period of employment exceeds six months, it is a requirement that such a contract be reduced into writing by the parties.

This article examines the requisite terms and conditions that must be included in general employment contracts. It may, however, vary from institutions depending on the nature of business and scope of work for such institutions.

Contracting Parties

The representative of the company signing all employment agreements must have the requisite capacity and authority to sign for and on behalf of the company. Practically, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Managing Director (MD), or the Human Resource Manager or their nominated persons sign for and on behalf of the company.

Period/Term of Employment

The employment contract must have a date of commencement. However, depending on the scope of work of the employee, the period of employment may have a specific timeline or otherwise. Where the period of employment is specific, it terminates automatically at the end of the period unless the same is renewed by the parties.

Practically, most companies limit the term to six months (probationary period) with the option to confirm after the probationary period on condition that they are satisfied with the employee.

Scope of Work/Duties of Parties

The contract of employment must define the obligations and duties of both the employer and employee. It usually indicates the expectations of the employer, the place of work, designation of the employer, job title, hours of work, and any other obligations expected from the employee by the employer.

The scope of work usually contains statements that require the employee to abide by all company policies and procedures and a commitment to diligently work for the company during the period of employment.

The scope of work is critical as it is used as the basis for an employee to determine the employees capabilities.

Salary/Financial Commitments

The contract of employment must clearly state the gross (without any deductions) and net (after all taxes and deductions) which the employee will be entitled based on the arrangements.

Where there are other benefits and allowances which may include health insurance, accommodation, transportation, travel allowances among other things, the same must be included in the agreement. Practically, most contracts of employment include clauses that have an effect that all expenses incurred by the employee in the course of the employment shall be reimbursed subject to the production of a receipt.

Annual Leave/ Holiday entitlement

The contract of employment must indicate the number of annual leave days the employee is entitled. Legally, the minimum number of days in a calendar year should not be less than fifteen (15) days. It is worthy to note that during the period of leave days, the employee will still be paid the salary.

Employers must note that the annual leave must not be interrupted. That notwithstanding, if for any emergency reason the employee is required back to come back to work, the employee can be recalled on condition that the leave will be taken at a later date.

Practically, to assist management to properly plan leave days and ensure no interruption of work, most employment contracts include clauses that notice of any intended annual leave should be given between two weeks and one month before the due date.

Confidentiality Clause

The contract of employment must include a confidentiality clause restricting the employee from disclosing any corporate information to third parties without consent. The information may relate to trade secrets, corporate information, finance, technical data, and know-how among other things.

This clause is important and a breach is likely to warrant termination in most companies.

Termination Clause

The termination clause in a contract of employment is necessary as it defines the procedures to be taken by both the employer and employee should any of them decide to withdraw from the contract. Legally, termination can be by mutual agreement between the employer and employee, by the worker on grounds of ill-treatment or sexual harassment, where the employee is found on medical examination to be unfit for employment.

The law requires notices of termination to be included per the under listed details;

Where the contract of employment is more than three years, one-month notice or one month pay in lieu of notice

Where the contract of employment is less than three years, two weeks notice or two weeks pay in lieu of notice

In case of weekly contract, seven days notice.

Practically, most contracts of employment go a step further to include the obligations of parties after any termination. This may include the return of all company assets, records, correspondence within a specific period, undergoing medical exit examination among other things.

Other Clauses

The contract of employment must include a clause on disciplinary and grievance procedures, address to which all notices are to be sent to both the employer and employee, whether the company has the right to assign its obligations in the contract among other things.

In conclusion, it is necessary to reduce the agreed terms and conditions between the employer and employee into writing. This helps all parties to know their obligations and limitations in the course of their dealings with each other.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

For all the anticipation around new COVID-19 tests, therapeutics and vaccines, public health experts know that the end of the pandemic will depend also on a low-tech, tried-and-true tacticcontact tracing.

Contact tracing sounds simple: alert anyone who has been in contact with an infected person and prevent them from spreading the disease to others. Yet contact tracing involves a tailored plan for each disease and a dedicated workforce with investigative know-how and people skills.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom included the ability to contact trace among the indicators for loosening state-wide stay-at-home orders.

To ramp up contact tracing for COVID-19 in San Francisco, UC San Francisco has been partnering with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) to provide technical assistance, training and manpower.

We talked to UCSF public health expertsMichael Reid, M.D., MPH, who is leading the UCSF contingent, and Susie Welty, MPH, who is working as a contact tracer while her global health research projects are on holdabout the importance of contact tracing, what it's like to tell strangers they've been exposed to the coronavirus, and the long-term outlook for COVID-19.

Who counts as a contact is the million-dollar question

Contact tracing is different for each disease because the definition of a contact depends on how the disease is transmitted. The transmission risks for measles, which can waft across a room, and HIV, which usually requires sexual contact or needle sharing, are vastly different, for example.

For COVID-19, which is spread primarily through droplets, "we are defining close contacts as anybody in the household or anybody who spent more than 10 minutes in close proximity, less than six feet, from an individual who tested positive," said Reid.

Usually this means family, friends, and people who live or work together. It's less likely to be the grocery checkout person or a stranger on the bus, and those are currently not pursued as contacts for COVID-19, said Reid. As we learn more about COVID-19 transmission and the implications of mask-wearing, the criteria for contacts may change, he said.

What contacts are advised to do also differs by disease. For COVID-19, close contacts are asked to quarantine for 14 days, the upper limit of the incubation period for the disease, and those who are symptomatic are referred for testing.

This is how contact tracing works for COVID-19

SFDPH has a team of professional disease case investigators whose "bread-and-butter is doing the work of understanding transmission risks," said Reid. Within 24 hours of SFDPH being notified of a new COVID-19 diagnosis in the city, a disease case investigator gets on the phone with the patient. They check on the patient's welfare and take a full history of where the individual went and who he or she may have interacted with while symptomatic and in the two days prior, when transmission is also possible.

"Disease case investigators are very skilled at asking probing questions," said Reid. They might say, "It sounds like your symptoms developed last Tuesday. It was raining on Tuesday. Do you remember what you were doing when it was raining?"

The list of contacts, which might be three or 30, is entered into an online system called DIMAGI. From there, Reid's team of contact tracers take over.

When a contact tracer logs into the system, she sees the contacts and their phone numbers. The contacts first receive a text message telling them that SFDPH has important health information and will call them from a specific number. "So we have actually found that a lot of people do pick up their phones," said Welty, who has been working four-hour shifts, five days a week for the past three weeks.

Once she reaches a contact on the phone, Welty goes through a script, first informing the contact that they were likely exposed to the coronavirus. She doesn't reveal who they were exposed to, but sometimes it's obvious, she said, like when it's someone they live with. She tells them they are required to quarantine for 14 days and asks about their living situation: whether they have a separate bathroom to use, whether they can take days off work, whether they have enough groceries. She can refer them to services that will help with cleaning supplies, food, and notifying their workplace.

She asks about any symptoms of COVID-19fever, dry cough, shortness of breathand refers anyone with symptoms for testing. She enters all the information into the online system.

After the initial phone call, contacts receive follow-up text messages for 14 days asking about new symptoms. If they report any, they'll get another call to connect them with testing.

In an average four-hour shift, Welty said she can reach about 10 contacts, but it varies based on how complicated each case is. Sometimes she's just leaving a string of voicemails, other times she's helping a household of eight, interviewing each person individually, referring them to testing, getting them what they need to stay at home.

Wraparound services are essential for quarantine

"I think we've noticed even over the three weeks that we've been doing it, the more that contact tracing is mentioned in the news, people kind of get what we're doing and they're not so suspicious," said Welty.

The fact that Welty is a Spanish-speaker helps. Many of her calls go to the Latinx community, which has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Of the first 70 COVID-19 patients treated at Zuckerberg San Francisco General, 83 percent were Latinx.

Contact tracers can also work with translators. No one asks about immigration status.

"For a lot of the Latinx community there are very hard choices because most of them are essential workers and they need money to feed their families or to pay the rent," said Welty. Contacts are emailed a letter from the SFDPH saying they are legally required to quarantine, which sometimes helps with skeptical employers.

"It is absolutely essential that if you're going to ask somebody to quarantine for 14 days because they've been exposed, that you also provide them with wraparound services to enable that," said Reid. "I think we need a completely new vision for how we support those communities that are most blighted by COVID-19."

COVID-19 surveillance will become routine

Currently, there are about 60 contact tracers in the city, many of them, like Welty, are public health researchers from UCSF's Institute of Global Health Sciences. But you don't need a public health degree to do this kind of work, said Welty, just good communication skills and the ability to build rapport with strangers.

The UCSF team is training others, including medical students, city attorneys and librarians to take over and to build up a standing workforce of about 150 contact tracers for COVID-19.

"Then on an ad hoc basis, we could expand to respond to emerging outbreaks," said Reid.

That may happen as shelter-in-place orders are loosened and people begin to mingle again. "I think as soon as shelter-in-place is lifted is when contact tracing is going to become crucial and critical to our success," said Welty. "Because, really, we're not going to have zero cases, we will have some cases and we really need to catch those nodes before they grow."

Contact tracing will go hand-in-hand with widespread testingtest, trace, test, trace, repeatuntil the cases disappear, which may be never, or until we have a vaccine.

These days, large-scale contact tracing is rare in the United States. The cases that require tracing are mostly HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and the occasional measles outbreak, said Welty, whose normal work is leading large HIV surveillance projects, mostly in Africa. Compared to HIV, COVID-19 does not carry the same stigma or require life-long management, she noted.

"Contact tracing is nothing revolutionary. It's how we beat smallpox and polio," she said.

"Right now, COVID-19 is a standoutlike all hands on deckbut eventually, at some point, when we get to a low enough amount of cases, it will be routinized into all the other disease surveillance."
In this file photo taken on February 7, 2019 US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (lL), Democrat of New York, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, attend a press conference calling on Congress to cut funding for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to defund border detention facilities, outside the US Capitol in Washington.

The claim: Two Democratic lawmakers are trying to ban the Pledge of Allegiance.

An article has been circulating on Facebook linked to a website called NewsRapter that claims that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., "team up to ban the pledge of allegiance." The item is dated April 18.

Without citing any source, the item states: "In a desperate attempt to tamp down the fervor of red-blooded American patriots who revere symbols and traditions more than the values they embody, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Socialist of New York) and Ilhan Omar (anti-American immigrant, now of Minnesota) are teaming up to ban our sacred Pledge of Allegiance. Yes, patriots, theyre coming for our Pledge of Allegiance."

On Facebook, NewsRapter bills itself as "the World wide hub Of latest and tech news. We give news on daily bases (sic) stay with us ad (sic) found whats going on the world."

Its Facebook page offers a link to the NewsRapter site. The site does not provide an "About Us" link describing who owns or edits the page, nor does it claim to be a satirical publication.

Among its recent offerings is one from April 30, headlined "Hillary offers to be Biden's running Mate."

Messages sent to NewsRapter via Facebook Messenger and by email soliciting more information on the site and the claims against the two members of Congress did not elicit an immediate response.

Is there a plan to ban the pledge?

There is no evidence in any public record or legitimate news report of either member of Congress regarding any purported ban on the Pledge of Allegiance.

Regarding the Pledge of Allegiance issue, Omar, during a heated debate on a planned resolution in the House condemning anti-Semitism, questioned the level of support for Israel by some members of Congress, tweeting: "I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee."

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The remark clearly was referring to her views on the support for Israel by some members of Congress and was not about the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag.

The anti-Semitism resolution was proposed in response to comments by Omar, for which she later apologized, suggesting that members of Congress are paid by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to support Israel.

Later, however, she returned to the theme in a panel discussion in Washington, in which she referred to criticism over her earlier remarks. At one point she said, I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is O.K. for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.

Ocasio-Cortez defended Omar against charges of anti-Semitism.

Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman! I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee. The people of the 5th elected me to serve their interest. I am sure we agree on that! https://t.co/gglAS4FVJW  Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 3, 2019

In addition, in July 2019, a website called Taters Gonna Tate ran an item purportedly quoting another member of Congress, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., as saying that the Pledge of Allegiance would be illegal in Michigan, her home state.

Tlaib, a daughter of Palestinian immigrants, and Omar, who was born in Somalia, are Muslims. They frequently are political allies with Ocasio-Cortez.

Taters Gonna Tate, however, bills itself as a satirical site and goes to extraordinary lengths to emphasize that it is not offering straight news. Among its disclaimers to those billing its articles as fake news, Taters Gonna Tate says, "Call it whatever you like. Just dont call it something it isnt. Dont email us asking for a 'source.' Dont inform us that our stories arent true. We have so many disclaimers now that the disclaimers are satirical. We make sure the words 'satire' or 'fiction' appear in EVERY category BEFORE the story. Twice."

The byline on the Tlaib article is given as "Rod Gozinya Satire and/or Conservative Fan Fiction."

Our ruling: False

There is no evidence that either Ocasio-Cortez or Omar is trying to ban the Pledge of Allegiance, based on our research. This is FALSE.

Our fact-check sources

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact Check: Omar, Ocasio-Cortez not trying to ban Pledge of Allegiance
New Delhi, May 1 : As lockdown restrictions are set to ease, banks and ATMs are expected to draw a large number of people, requiring bank administrations to emphasise on sanitisation of ATMs and e-lobbies.

The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) document has asked banks to disinfect ATMs completely with the use of approved disinfectant mediums, among others, including the entry gates and currency chests.

In a letter to the banks, the IBA recently said: "Going forward, the government is planning to open up a lot of activities and complete lifting of lockdown in green zone areas. Hence the banks will also have to resume full-fledged services and at the same time ensure safety of the staff and customers." ATMs come under essential services as they cater to the the common man's need for cash.

As the lockdown restrictions get eased post May 3, people are most likely to throng the ATMs to withdraw cash.

So, preventing them from getting infected will be of utmost importance. Banks propose to use thermal scanners on people using ATMs and also disinfect the touch points after every use.

Further, the beneficiaries of the government's direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes are also likely to visit the ATMs to get their entitled benefits.

The Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana, which offers the poor and the underprivileged support to tide over the coronavirus crisis, also offers benefits through DBT. As of April 22, more the 33 crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 31,235 crore under the scheme, according to the Finance Ministry data.

Further, payments to farmers under the major flagship schemes, MNREGA and PM-KISAN, are also transferred through DBT.

IBA's detailed document of SOP for banks outlines the precautionary measures to be taken as the lockdown is lifted or partially relaxed, whereby it has asked the banks to ensure thermal screening of people entering the branches and offices.

It has also recommended monitoring through the use of the Aarogya Setu app at the entry gates.

Among the suggestions for social distancing and sanitisation of premises, the association has suggested that employees should refrain from going to others' seats and should bring food from home.
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RIMS micro-biology department shut for 3 days after lab technician tests positive for COVID-19

India

pti-PTI

Ranchi, May 01: The micro-biology department of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here has been closed for three days after a lab technician tested positive for COVID-19, health officials said on Friday.

The department's superintendent, Manoj, said the decision was taken as per instructions of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). He said the micro-biology wing would be sanitised during the period of closure.

The technician, who was among three persons who tested positive on Thursday, has been admitted to the COVID-19 ward in the hospital, Manoj said.

Fresh samples would be sent to the Itki Arogyashala in the city during the time the RIMS department is shut, he added.
Breakaway Ariz. UMC congregation leaves church property after losing lawsuit to denomination

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An Arizona congregation that was once affiliated with the United Methodist Church has finalized its departure from a church property that a court determined belonged to the national denomination and not the local congregation.

Camp Verde Community Church, which opted to leave the UMC in 2017, moved out of their church property months after a judge ruled that the UMC Desert Southwest Conference owned the building.

Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata of Desert Southwest told United Methodist News Service in an interview published earlier this month that the whole case brought a sense of deep sadness.

We tried for a considerable amount of time  which is why this has taken so long  to come to a resolution both before and after the legal proceedings were begun, said Hoshibata.

We tried to have conversations with the pastor and members of the church. We agreed to professional mediation. None of it was met with any success.

Hoshibata confirmed in a letter to the conference dated April 15 of this year that the Camp Verde property had fully returned to the possession of the UMC.

The issue between the conference and the congregation, according to Hoshibata, was a difference of opinion on the debate over whether to change the UMCs stance on LGBT issues.

Adhering to the Bible, the UMC's Book of Discipline explains that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching and prohibits the blessing of same-sex marriages or the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals.

While the Desert Southwest regional body supports changing the denomination's position on homosexuality, Camp Verde supported the biblical position on sexual ethics.

[Camp Verde] was upset because of the way the annual conference was moving in terms of being open and accepting, claimed the bishop, as reported by UMNS.

The Christian Post reached out to the Conference and Camp Verde. A conference spokesperson directed CP to the UMNS story, while Camp Verde did not return comment by press time.

Last November, after conference had filed a lawsuit against Camp Verde to keep control of the property, the conference announced that they were closing the building down.

In consultation with former and current members of CVUMC and the cabinet, the bishop has discerned that we will not be able to restart a Camp Verde United Methodist congregation at this time, Desert Southwest said at the time.

Closure of Camp Verde UMC will be presented for confirmation at the Annual Conference in June 2020 where the years of faithful service will be honored and celebrated.

On Dec. 26 of last year, Arizona Superior Court Judge Krista Carman ruled in favor of the conference, arguing that the UMC had control of the property due to a trust clause.
Tappita  Nimba was one of the counties affected by the Ebola outbreak in 2014. The Jackson F. Doe Memorial Hospital, a state-of-the-art tertiary institution in Tappita, Nimba County had one of the biggest Ebola treatment facilities in the country; thus, preparing the hospital and the Nimba County Health Team to effectively respond to the outbreak. The then Nimba Legislative Caucus and the Ministry of Health ensured that all the logistics and financial supports were given to the hospital and County Health Team and even more timely.

With this new coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world, next to Montserrado and Margibi, Nimba is the third county being highly hit by the virus with four cases being recorded and many in quarantine. The county is Liberia's second largest population with 462, 026 people.

Experts have stressed the need for more testing of people as a mean to curb further spread of the coronavirus. More testing allows frontline fighters to trace, isolate and treat patients and curb community transmission.

Recently, the administration of the Jackson F. Doe Hospital, through a Facebook post, averred that the lack of Covid-19 testing Center at the hospital poses threat to health workers including doctors, nurses and laboratory staff.

The hospital, responding to public criticism over the 'unprofessional handling' of the county's second confirmed COVID 19 case in Tappita said the situation was responsible for the treatment of the patient on a clinical basis.

In a FrontPage Africa April 14, 2020 publication, Dr. Philip Sahr, Head of the Nimba County Health Team disclosed that "since the outbreak of the virus in the county, they are yet to have a holding center.

Saclepea and Kpain Town in Electoral Districts Seven and Eight have been identified for use by the government as holding centers, but no funding has been provided to prepare the areas".

Also, the Press Union of Liberia disclosed on its official Facebook page that "the County Health Officer of Nimba has admitted to the inability of the government to honor its responsibility by providing food and other needed materials for the quarantine Journalists as is done for those in Monrovia.

Doctor Philip Sahr attributed the situation to the lack of financial support to the County Health Team by the Ministry of Health for those quarantined or tested positive of the Virus.

From all indications, the county health team is stranded and do not have the ability to effectively respond to the crisis. We believe this kind of constraints put Nimba at the risk of uncontrollable spread of the coronavirus.

US$30k Disaster Management Money On Hold

In the wake of this, we have learnt that some US$30,000 is currently within the coffers of the county's Disaster Management Committee's account, but the Nimba lawmakers appear to be refusing the release of such fund through the County's Disaster Management Committee to respond to the County Health Team's cry about the lack of financial and logistical supports.

We are quite aware that this amount is inadequate for the establishment of holding centers and to provide medical materials and food for those in quarantine in the county, but it could be a huge breakthrough for the County Health Team to carry out early preparation while awaiting national intervention.

It can be recalled, that US$250,000 was raised by the Nimba Legislative Caucus in the 53rd Legislature through the County's Disaster Management Committee and the county administration for the fight against the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

According to the Disaster Management Committee's report, US$220,000 was expended with the net balance of US$30,000 in coffers. Some members of the current badge of Nimba lawmakers have confirmed this amount.

In 2018, the 54th Nimba Legislative Caucus (current), out of some kind-of judgment created a resolution diverting the US$30,000 balance to lawmakers' district projects. From reliable sources, since the creation of the "resolution", the money has not been withdrawn.

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Simply put, the money is still alive and in the account. Amb. Juli Endee, Musa H. Bility and Senator Thomas S. Grupee are signatories to the County's Disaster Management Committee's account.

The Disaster Management Committee remains dormant. In this light, we are calling on the Nimba lawmakers to reactivate the disaster management committee, and, by and through the committee make the money available to the County Health Team.

We are encouraging those few lawmakers who are making some frantic effort to continue their engagements till their colleagues see reasons to release the money. We have no reason to say the 54th Nimba Legislative Caucus will not yield to our call.

Keep safe. Coronavirus is real. May God bless the great people of Nimba County and Mama Liberia.
LONDON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

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About the Research:

This research was conducted online by an independent research consultant company from 29  30 April 2020 with n=2,201 respondents, representative of the UK adult general population (aged 18+ years old). Respondents were weighted in terms of age, gender, location and voting behaviour to reflect the known UK general population.

Intertek is a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide.

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*Intertek research April 2020

Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Denis Moreau, Investor Relations

Telephone: +44 (0) 20-7396-3415

[email protected]

Jonathon Brill, FTI Consulting

Telephone: +44 (0) 20-3727-1000

[email protected]

SOURCE Intertek Group PLC

Related Links

https://www.intertek.com/


Twelve Tablighi Jamaat members, including nine from Thailand, were sent to a temporary jail in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district after they completed their quarantine, police said on Friday.

The 12 people, including nine from Thailand and two from Tamil Nadu, were held on April 2 from a mosque where they were hiding. Their samples and that of a local were sent for testing, an officer said.

One of the persons from Thailand tested positive and was referred to Bareilly. He was later brought here after his report was negative, Superintendent of Police (City) Dinesh Tripathi told PTI.

After they completed 28 days in quarantine, they were sent to a temporary jail on Thursday. The passports of the foreigners were already seized and the Ministry of External Affairs has been informed, the officer added.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown 3.0! PM Modi chairs meet on COVID-19; cases-35,043, deaths-1,147

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Govt identifies Delhi, Mumbai, all metros as red zones post May 3
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Some U.S. intelligence analysts have expressed concern that senior Trump administration officials' pressure to link the coronavirus with a Chinese lab will distort assessments about the virus and they could be used as a political weapon, The New York Times said in a report on Thursday.

Senior Trump administration officials pushed U.S. intelligence agencies to hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory that a lab in China's Wuhan was the origin of the coronavirus outbreak, the report said, citing current and former U.S. officials.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, took the lead in pushing intelligence agencies for more information, according to the report.

"Most intelligence agencies remain skeptical that conclusive evidence of a link to a lab can be found, and scientists who have studied the genetics of the coronavirus say that the overwhelming probability is that it leapt from animal to human in a nonlaboratory setting, as was the case with HIV, Ebola and SARS," said the report.

As COVID-19 deaths continue to increase in the United States, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have tried desperately to deflect criticisms about their blunders by blaming others.

As of Thursday noon, the United States reported more than 1,040,000 COVID-19 cases with over 61,000 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Thursday announced he has tested positive for the coronavirus, as the country's number of confirmed cases surged past 100,000 after its largest daily increase. In a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mishustin said he has to "observe self-isolation" to protect his colleagues, suggesting a temporary acting PM. Putin swiftly signed a decree appointing First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as a temporary replacement. The president assured Mishustin that contracting COVID-19 "can happen to anyone" and that no major decisions would be taken without his input. "I hope that you stay able to work," Putin told Mishustin, who is the highest Russian official to become infected. "Call me as soon as you arrive to the hospital," said Putin, who appointed Mishustin in a surprise decision in January, picking the formerly obscure tax service chief to replace longtime premier Dmitry Medvedev. Putin has not held any face-to-face meetings for weeks, according to the Kremlin website, and was last shown in the same room as Mishustin on March 24. - Infections spiking - A spike of 7,099 confirmed infections in the last 24 hours brought Russia's total to 106,498 cases and 1,073 deaths, according to the government's daily coronavirus update. With its number of cases increasing by several thousand each day, Russia is now the European country registering the most new infections. But Russia's coronavirus death rate remains relatively low and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the country's actions had helped it avoid the catastrophic "Italian scenario". Russia's success was down to "tough self-isolation decisions" and government measures "which convinced people to stay at home," Peskov told the RTVI television channel. He also said Russia had quickly and efficiently increased the number of available hospital beds. The virus has spread to all 85 regions of the country, with Moscow the epicentre with around half the total cases. Russia has the eighth highest number of virus cases in the world after recently surpassing Iran and China, according to an AFP tally. The country has carried out nearly 3.5 million virus tests, health officials said, and is ranked 19th in the world for the number of coronavirus deaths. - Situation 'very difficult' - Medics in Russia have complained of shortages of protective equipment and testing kits and hospital staff are becoming increasingly concerned with deaths in the medical community. Medics and trade union representatives have told AFP that the problem is particularly severe outside of Moscow where staff are at an even greater risk of infection. The Kremlin this week extended until May 11 a "non-working" period when Russians would stay at home but still receive their salaries as part of sweeping efforts to contain the virus. Yet the measure has brought uncertainty to the economy, with business owners struggling to pay full salaries to employees while shutting their doors to customers. The government has been phasing in anti-crisis measures, such as loan payment deferrals or cheap loans, but there is concern that Russians are unable to access the support. Despite the steady increase in cases, Putin said that Russia may begin to gradually lift different quarantine regimes throughout the country from mid-May. Mishustin on Wednesday extended a ban on entry for foreigners into the country, which had been due to expire Thursday, until "the fight against the infection is over and the epidemic situation has improved." The pandemic has thwarted several major political events for the Kremlin this year, with Putin postponing a massive military parade on May 9 commemorating the 75th anniversary of victory in World War II. Many world leaders had been due to attend. The Kremlin also postponed an April 22 vote on landmark constitutional reforms, which would have paved the way for Putin, 67, to potentially stay in power until 2036.
A recently built dam in Uzbekistan has burst, sending water rushing toward villages on the floodplain downstream from the Sardoba Reservoir in the eastern region of Sirdaryo.

Authorities say 11,600 villagers were evacuated on May 1 after the dam on the Sirdaryo River developed a breach at about 6 a.m. local time.

Video footage obtained by RFE/RL shows a gap in one section of the 29-meter-high concrete structure and a torrent of water rushing toward the nearby villages.

Uzbek officials told RFE/RL the breach had weakened the structure and they feared it could cause the entire dam to collapse.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev visited the site on May 1 after the evacuation of the flooded villages began.

RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports that construction of the Sardoba Reservoir dam by Uzbek state builders began in 2010 and was completed in 2017.

Uzbekistan also has signed a $23 million contract with China for the construction of a hydroelectric power station at the site of the dam.

The Chinese hydroelectric project had been scheduled for completion in 2022.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Congress on Friday attacked the government over the plight of the migrant workers, saying fiscal injection for them is the need of the hour. The party has been demanding a second financial assistance package for some time now.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "A fiscal injection especially designed for the migrant labourers is the need of the hour. Recent reports published say that in the duration of the lockdown, we have had an average 20 per cent increase in prices. Is this a double whammy?" "Mismanagement of the migrant workers and the treatment meted out to them show and reflect the approach of this government towards the poorest segments, that too during a pandemic, and reveal a very bizarre development model for India during crisis times," he added.

"Such an approach and lapse suggest a disconnect between India as it exists, and the imagination as it is found in 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. We cannot but help notice the similarities between demonetisation and lockdown, no planning or relief measures for the public." he said.
(Newser)  A sharply worded ruling by a federal appeals court in Chicago on Thursday said the Trump administration policy of threatening to withhold grant money from so-called sanctuary cities to force them to comply with its immigration policies violates separation-of-powers provisions enshrined in the Constitution. The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals also said a freeze of that policy should extend nationwide, rejecting arguments by Department of Justice lawyers that if an injunction were approved in the case it should only apply to the city of Chicago. Broad executive branch powers on immigration don't include withholding money allocated by the legislative branch to pressure cities and states to comply with an executive branch policy, said Judge Ilana Rovner, who authored the 95-page ruling, the AP reports.

story continues below

"Such a concentration of power," she said, "would allow tyranny to flourish."

Congress established the main grant at issue to help local law enforcement buy equipment, including body cameras and bulletproof vests. But Rovner wrote that the Trump administration was wielding the grant "as a hammer to further a completely different policy of the executive branch." Mayor Lori Lightfoot called it "a great victory, not only for Chicago, but for our immigrant and refugee communities everywhere in the country." The city prohibits police from providing federal immigration and customs officials access to people in police custody, unless they are wanted on a criminal warrant or have serious criminal convictions.

(Read more sanctuary cities stories.)
Johnson, 55, and Symonds, 32, announced in February that they were engaged and expecting a child together. At the time they said the baby was due in early summer. No wedding date has been announced.

Johnson's office said Symonds gave birth to a "healthy baby boy at a London hospital" on Wednesday morning, and both mother and infant were doing well.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds announced the birth of a son on Wednesday, just two days after Johnson returned to work following hospitalization for the coronavirus.

Johnson only returned to work Monday after suffering from a bout of coronavirus that left him dangerously ill. He spent a week in London's St. Thomas' hospital, including three nights in intensive care, before recovering for two weeks away from London.

Symonds, an environmental campaigner and former Conservative Party staffer, also said she was sick for a week with COVID-19 symptoms, though she wasn't tested for the virus. The newborn boy is her first child.

Johnson has four children with his second wife Marina Wheeler, from whom he is divorced, and has fathered at least one other child outside his marriages.

The baby is the third born to a sitting British prime minister this century. The wives of leaders Tony Blair and David Cameron also had babies while their husbands were in office.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Johnson planned to take paternity leave. The birth comes as the British government faces big decisions about how and when to ease the nationwide lockdown imposed March 23 to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The measures are due to be in place at least until May 7.

Britain is among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. As of Tuesday, 21,678 people with COVID-19 had died in U.K. hospitals, and several thousand more in nursing homes and other settings.

Johnson's government faces growing criticism over its slowness in getting enough protective equipment to medics and nursing home staff and its struggle to increase the number of tests being performed for the virus.

Johnson had been due to return to Parliament on Wednesday to take part in the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will stand in for him.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who had been due to face off against Johnson in the Commons, tweeted that the birth was "wonderful news." House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle congratulated the couple. "Such happy news amid so much uncertainty -- 2020 is certainly a year they will never forget," he said.
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A horrifying video shows the moment a man becomes unhinged while riding a New York City subway train and pummels an innocent bystander, whom the attacker blamed for starting the coronavirus outbreak.

The footage of the April 23 incident shows the attack taking place on a Bronx-bound, No 4. train as it approaches the 125th Street station around 6.30am.

The attacker is seen in the footage throwing about 40 punches at the bystander, who is Asian and appears to be homeless.

Other riders look the other way while being unable to maintain proper social distancing on the crowded train.

A horrifying video shows the moment a man (pictured in a red ball cap) becomes unhinged while riding a New York City subway train and pummels an innocent bystander whom the attacker blamed for starting the coronavirus outbreak

The footage of the April 23 incident shows the attack taking place on a Bronx-bound, No 4. train as it approaches the 125th Street station around 6:30 am. The attacker is pictured taking his first shot

The victim in the video appears to be a homeless Asian man, says a witness, who was punched about 40 times during the assault (pictured)

Several riders (pictured) look the other way as the violence unfolds on the crowded subway train

The victim is seen in the footage turning away in pain (pictured) as he is assaulted

'The dude was talking about the Asian guy bringing corona over here so we all gotta wear masks  and all of a sudden punches are flying,' a witness, who asked that his name not be used, told The Daily News.

The attacker's mask slips off his face during the roughly 20-second assault.

The man filming says he eventually stopped to intervene - and stepped in again for a second time when the attacker returned.

Some of the other straphangers also came to the victim's aid. He did not appear bloodied or seriously injured afterward, the witness says.

The NYPD says it had not received a complaint about the incident.

The attacker had complained about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio allowing 'trains to be busy and have homeless people,' says the witness.

'He was frustrated how packed the train still is after coming home from a long day working,' the witness said about the attacker's comments.

New York City has had 162,212 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 12,571 confirmed deaths and another 5,295 probable deaths.

Across the country, there have been 1,097,209 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 63,836 deaths attributed to the virus.

The subways have become a hotbed for crime during the outbreak with more homeless people moving into the all-but abandoned trains and creating what Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a 'disgusting' situation for all involved.

Since the pandemic exploded in the city, ridership has decreased by 90 percent as millions of people stopped going to work. Mostly essential workers now ride the trains and often in clusters to stay safe.

Other parts of the trains have been taken over by the homeless, who were able to move in almost permanently without disruption. Crime at the same time has spiked, including complaints of nudity, sexual activity, human waste and even arson.

On Wednesday, Cuomo instructed the MTA to present him with a plan for how to clean every train on the network nightly.

There have also been reports of increased attacks on Asian Americans since the outbreak began and was believed to have originated in a market place in Wuhan, China, last November.

The NYPD has investigated almost a dozen reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans so far this year, the News reports, nearly four times the amount reported a year ago.

The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council says that an online reporting center has received close to 1,500 reports of coronavirus-related harassment, many of them assaults.

'This is a widespread problem with significant ramifications for our communities,' Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the council, tells the News.
TWIN FALLS  People are cash-strapped and stuck at home, but many are making concerted efforts to support local, small businesses. Those efforts are having real impacts.

Our loyal customers are the ones keeping us afloat right now, Black Dragon Games co-owner Chris Bordwell said.

Black Dragon Games mainly sells board games and card games. Theyre the kind of store that typically relies on visitors browsing, holding products in their hands and asking questions in-person. The store normally holds well-attended game nights, which helps bring in business.

Losing in-person browsing and game nights caused a lot of pain. For the first three weeks of the shutdown, the store didnt have a way to make sales.

Ive had a lot of sleepness nights over the last month, Bordwell said. Its scary.

Bordwell said sales are down 62% and at one point all four of the business employees were on unemployment. The stores owners havent paid themselves in weeks, and they dont expect to pay themselves soon.

Were surviving, but I wouldnt say were thriving, Bordwell said.

When Gov. Brad Little announced closure orders a few weeks ago, Black Dragon immediately lobbied for the right to sell products curbside. They recently got the go-ahead for curbside sales, which has given them a boost (plus it allowed the store to rehire one employee). On top of that, the store just launched a website for online sales.

Bordwell said hes confident Black Dragon will be able to ride the pandemic out. But even as restrictions begin to lift Friday, it could take a long time for business to bounce all the way back because game nights will be smaller and people might have less extra money.

The push to support local businesses has been incredibly helpful for many establishments. People have been going out of their way to spend money at restaurants and local shops.

Joey Ortiz is a manager at Scooters Chillin-and-Grillin, a restaurant and bar in downtown Twin Falls. He said carryout orders have been consistent. That has been important for keeping the restaurant going.

Ortiz noted that some of the restaurants regulars have been ordering food two or three times a week.

I feel very appreciative, he said.

Theres a significant contingent of locals who order out at a different establishment every day, Ortiz said. He tries to buy meals at local restaurants, too. Still, for most eateries, carryout orders dont generate enough revenue to keep wait staff employed. Plus, some restaurants have closed and arent doing take out.

The food service industry has been especially devastated by the pandemic, and food service workers make up a large portion of Idahos unemployed. Last week, 15% of Idahos unemployment claims were by workers in the food service and accommodations industries. Almost 1,300 Gem State food service and hotel workers are out of work.

Gift card purchases have also been helpful for small businesses. Many stores have been asking people to buy gift cards now, and some are using some of the money from those gift cards to assist unemployed staff.

Stan Sorenson is the owner of The Barber Shop at Gehrig, Dale and Co. He said gift card sales have been a huge help for him and the five five barbers who rent space in his shop.

The community support has been amazing, Sorenson said. One business bought 50 (gift cards) by themselves.

Unfortunately, the gift cards, while hugely helpful, dont replace all the barbers lost earnings. Also, the barbers who rent space in Sorensons shop are officially self-employed. That means theyve been ineligible for unemployment insurance.

None of that has worked for our group, Sorenson said of unemployment benefits, although he noted that a new program has since come out that could help his barbers get some money.

Overall, many businesses said theyre immensely grateful for the support of the community and loyal customers. Several business owners the Times-News spoke to said repeatedly that were all in this together, and all said theyre eager to re-open.

Continued support will be key, in order to ensure as few businesses as possible have to stay closed, some said.

The push to support local businesses looks to be going strong, many noted. Not all of the support is financial. Sorenson said he greatly appreciates the messages of support hes been getting from his customers.

I bet I get 10 or 15 texts a week just, Hey, were thinking about you, let us know if theres anything we can do, he said.
The cast of Parks and Recreation reunited virtually for a brand new episode to help a worthy cause, Feeding America.

The hit sitcom, which ended its seven-season run in 2015, teamed up with State Farm, Subaru and NBC to match all fan donations at FeedingAmerica.org/ParksAndRec to Feeding America up to $500,000 from now until May 20.

The episode reunited all of the main cast members - Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Retta and Jim O'Heir - along with a slew of memorable guest stars.

Good cause: The cast of Parks and Recreation reunited virtually for a brand new episode to help a worthy cause, Feeding America

Cast: The episode reunited all of the main cast members - Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Retta and Jim O'Heir - along with a slew of memorable guest stars

The special begins with Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) speaking from his family's private fox hunting estate in Switzerland.

He says that his friend Leslie asked him to read a message, asking fans to give to Feeding America website.

The obtuse Bobby asks someone off camera if 'something is going on,' adding he hasn't been watching the news lately, when he looks at the person, aghast, and says, 'What?'

Bobby returns: The special begins with Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) speaking from his family's private fox hunting estate in Switzerland

Website: He says that his friend Leslie asked him to read a message, asking fans to give to Feeding America website

It's revealed that the episode takes place in April 2020, as Leslie video conferences with Ben (Adam Scott), who says he has the most amazing idea.

He brings out his old Cones of Dunshire game, adding he wants to make a Cones of Dunshire claymation movie.

Leslie asks if he's put the caps back on all the cleaning supplies, as she leaves to call Ron, whose number is blocked.

Leslie: It's revealed that the episode takes place in April 2020, as Leslie video conferences with Ben (Adam Scott), who says he has the most amazing idea

Cones of Dunshire: He brings out his old Cones of Dunshire game, adding he wants to make a Cones of Dunshire claymation movie

He wants to talk 'far less,' adding he wants to chat once with a photo of the day's newspaper.

He adds he's been at his cabin hunting meat, so he doesn't have to go to the grocery store.

Leslie, who works for the Department of the Interior still, says she has shut down every national park in the country, while creating a slew of committees (and chairing all of them) but she is only getting two hours of sleep instead of her usual four.

Far less: He wants to talk 'far less,' adding he wants to chat once with a photo of the day's newspaper

Interior: Leslie, who works for the Department of the Interior still, says she has shut down every national park in the country, while creating a slew of committees (and chairing all of them) but she is only getting two hours of sleep instead of her usual four

Ron then calls April, instead of Garry like he was supposed to, as Andy is in another room. When Ron asks why he's in another room, he says he locked himself in a shed.

They call Chris and Ann, who are in separate rooms as well, as Chris reveals Ann has gone back to work as a nurse.

'I'm just helping with outpatient care. We have to do what we can.'

April: Ron then calls April, instead of Garry like he was supposed to, as Andy is in another room. When Ron asks why he's in another room, he says he locked himself in a shed

Chris and Ann: They call Chris and Ann, who are in separate rooms as well, as Chris reveals Ann has gone back to work as a nurse

Chris asks if he's just 'giving' his blood out to anyone, as Chris reveals he's a 'super healer,' one of three along with Megan Rapinoe and a panther at the Miami zoo

Leslie calls Ann, telling her that CHris has been a 'real trooper.'

Ann says they should really call Gary, but she doesn't want to, so they call Tom, who has supposed to be in Bali on his book tour.

Super healer: Chris asks if he's just 'giving' his blood out to anyone, as Chris reveals he's a 'super healer,' one of three along with Megan Rapinoe and a panther at the Miami zoo

Tom: Ann says they should really call Gary, but she doesn't want to, so they call Tom, who has supposed to be in Bali on his book tour

He says he's going through entrepreneurial ideas, like 'teeny tiny iPads for each finger' and lasagna that doubles for toilet paper.

Since time has no meaning, he wonders if a clock that just spins would be a good idea.

Tom is told he has to call Gary, but he just laughs and calls Donna instead, who says that every teacher deserves a new Mercedes, after seeing what her man Ron has been doing in quarantine.

Ideas: He says he's going through entrepreneurial ideas, like 'teeny tiny iPads for each finger' and lasagna that doubles for toilet paper

Tom and Donna: Tom is told he has to call Gary, but he just laughs and calls Donna instead, who says that every teacher deserves a new Mercedes, after seeing what her man Ron has been doing in quarantine

Donna asks who is next on the phone tree, and she calls Garry, who is still the mayor of Pawnee.

Garry inadvertantly puts a dog filter on his head, and he tries to change it and turns into a juggalo.

Leslie says they're doing a media blitz so she wants to include Pawnee, as Gerry has turned himself into a poo emoji, as he starts to get a bit emotional.

Mayor: Donna asks who is next on the phone tree, and she calls Garry, who is still the mayor of Pawnee

Filter: Garry inadvertantly puts a dog filter on his head, and he tries to change it and turns into a juggalo

Poo: Leslie says they're doing a media blitz so she wants to include Pawnee, as Gerry has turned himself into a poo emoji, as he starts to get a bit emotional

Joan Callamezo (Mo Collins) returns with her At Home with Joan show, as Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knoppe come on to talk about social distancing, but Joan tries to sing.

Leslie says people who are alone are susceptible to mental issues, as Joan claims to have an EGOT - revealing she has been banned from all four ceremonies.

Dennis Feinstein (Jason Mantzoukas) returns with a commercial for 'Miracle Cure' that will cure anything, as Perd Hapley (Jay Jackson) returns with his show, Ya' Heard with Perd.

Ben reveals that he is polishing a script that may be the most ambitious claymation movie, but Leslie cuts him off.

Leslie also pleads for folks to donate their time, money and energy.

Joan returns: Joan Callamezo (Mo Collins) returns with her At Home with Joan show, as Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knoppe come on to talk about social distancing, but Joan tries to sing

No EGOT: Leslie says people who are alone are susceptible to mental issues, as Joan claims to have an EGOT - revealing she has been banned from all four ceremonies

Dennis and Perd: Dennis Feinstein (Jason Mantzoukas) returns with a commercial for 'Miracle Cure' that will cure anything, as Perd Hapley (Jay Jackson) returns with his show, Ya' Heard with Perd

A commercial for Dr. Jeremy Jamm (Jon Glaser) comes on, wearing a robe and sporting a weird mohawk, stating he's doing a home dental delivery, saying he will drop off equipment and then talk them through it on the phone.

Jean Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) returns with a commercial, stating he's flush with cash after he was hit by a Porsche, as he reveals his phone number (930) 1-RALPHIO.

He adds that he's also been banned from Cameo for doing his videos naked.

'Please call me I am very sad,' Ralphio says.

Dental delivery: A commercial for Dr. Jeremy Jamm (Jon Glaser) comes on, wearing a robe and sporting a weird mohawk, stating he's doing a home dental delivery, saying he will drop off equipment and then talk them through it on the phone

Flush: Jean Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) returns with a commercial, stating he's flush with cash after he was hit by a Porsche, as he reveals his phone number (930) 1-RALPHIO.

Banned: He adds that he's also been banned from Cameo for doing his videos naked

Lonely: Please call me I am very sad, Ralphio says

Andy comes on the show as his popular kids persona Johnny Karate, who tells kids to 'stay strong and be nice to your parents.'

Andy reveals he's never washed his hands in his entire life, with Leslie questioning that, as Andy says things will go back to normal adding it 'might never happen, but it will eventually.'

Perd ends the segment by saying he's going to look at 'funny photos of doggies.'

Stay strong: Andy comes on the show as his popular kids persona Johnny Karate, who tells kids to 'stay strong and be nice to your parents'

Normal: Andy reveals he's never washed his hands in his entire life, with Leslie questioning that, as Andy says things will go back to normal adding it 'might never happen, but it will eventually.

Leslie calls Ron again, as Ron reveals a 'forrest varmint' broke into the cabin, as he reveals his ex Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally) broke in, hopefully to join them in bed.

Ron calls April, saying he has an idea and he needs her help, as April starts playing drums.

Leslie calls Ben, and Ben says his screenplay makes no sense, and he needs to pay attention to his emotional sense.

Tammy 2: Leslie calls Ron again, as Ron reveals a 'forrest varmint' broke into the cabin, as he reveals his ex Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally) broke in, hopefully to join them in bed

Idea: Ron calls April, saying he has an idea and he needs her help, as April starts playing drums

Another call comes in and it's the whole cast, as Ron says Leslie needs something to lift her spirits, as Andy breaks into his song Bye Bye Lil Sebastian.

Ben is not a fan of the song, but everyone else chimes in and sings the song together, as some start getting emotional towards the end of the song.

Everyone else clicks off as Ron says he said she needed help, and he told them she needed help and they all dropped everything to help.

Cast: Another call comes in and it's the whole cast, as Ron says Leslie needs something to lift her spirits, as Andy breaks into his song Bye Bye Lil Sebastian

Ben: Ben is not a fan of the song, but everyone else chimes in and sings the song together, as some start getting emotional towards the end of the song

He said she should stop worrying about everyone else, and focus on herself, once in awhile.

Awkwardly, Garry comes back on with a weird filter, asking for help with his phone.

The cast then comes back as themselves, asking their fans to please donate to FeedingAmerica.org/ParksAndRec, as the special comes to a close.

It was previously announced that Subaru, State Farm and NBC will match all donations up to $500,000, with all proceeds going to Feeding America.

Filter: Awkwardly, Garry comes back on with a weird filter, asking for help with his phone

Cast: The cast then comes back as themselves, asking their fans to please donate to FeedingAmerica.org/ParksAndRec, as the special comes to a close
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:40:27|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Friday said all citizens in the east Africa country will "soon" be required to wear face masks as the government plans to ease COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

Museveni, in a televised address to mark the International Labor Day, said local manufacturing companies are already producing the masks.

The president is expected to announce measures on Monday to ease a 35-day lockdown.

"Very soon we may require everyone to wear a mask. Local manufacturers have already started making," Museveni said at State House, Entebbe, about 40 km south of the capital, Kampala.

On Tuesday, he said the country would lift nationwide shutdown after the ministry of health concludes a rapid assessment of the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities.

Museveni said the outcome of the survey will be announced on Monday and will determine the next steps the country would take when the 35-day lockdown ends of May 5.

Uganda has reported 83 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 52 recoveries. Enditem
ALTON  Two Alton men suspected of shooting an unintended victim in the head on April 8 were charged Friday with aggravated battery and dozens of other serous crimes.

The victim, a college student, was rushed to a St. Louis hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Charged were Russell B. Bausily, 30, of the 1100 block of Milton Road, and Devonta D. Cotton, 25, of the 800 block of Washington Avenue. Bail on each was set at $1 million.

They are charged with class X aggravated battery with a firearm for allegedly firing a shot that entered a home in the 200 block of Madison Avenue, hitting the St. Louis University student in the head.

Lead Assistant States Attorney Crystal Uhe said the woman was in bed doing school work when the bullet entered her home. She said the suspects were shooting at a passing car, but missed and hit the victim, who was home because of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Uhe said evidence found at the scene of several recent shootings were examined at an Illinois State Police crime lab, which linked several alleged shootings and an armed robbery to the two suspects. She said there were also witnesses who gave information.

Uhe praised the Alton Police Department for tracking down the evidence during a time when movements were restricted because of Corona virus restrictions.

The victim in the Madison Avenue shooting is expected to survive, Alton Police Chief Jason Jake Simmons said April 8.

A car got shot up and one of the rounds penetrated a house where a college girl was doing a term paper in her room, Simmons said previously.

The bullet struck her in the back of the head, and she was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital for treatment.

Because of evidence gathered at the scene and other evidence, Bausily is charged with armed robbery, being an armed habitual criminal and aggravated discharge of a firearm in an April 8 incident in which he is accused of taking money, a cell phone and car keys from two individuals by threatening the use of force.

The armed habitual criminal charge was filed because he was convicted in 2016 of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and mob action. He was accused of shooting at an occupied building in the 800 block of Gold Street in that April 8 incident.

He is also accused of aggravated discharge of a firearm for allegedly shooting at a car occupied by for people on April 5.

In a March 27 case, he was charged with being an armed habitual criminal and aggravated discharged of a firearm in that he allegedly fired at a home in the 700 block of Hoffman Street.

He was also accused of aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated battery with a firearm and being an armed habitual criminal for allegedly shooting a man in the leg on March 25 in the area of Hellrung Park.

Cotton is also charged in the April 8 Gold Street shooting, the April 8 shooting on Madison Avenue and the March 27 shooting on Hoffman Street.

He was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon for after being convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member in 2013.

Cotton is also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and aggravated discharge of a firearm for allegedly shooting a man in the leg on March 25. He allegedly took a shot at a passing vehicle in the area of Hellrung Park.
Around this date Vincent Gill would be dusting down his accordion to be ready for the May Procession, which passed his house in Harbour Row every year on a circuit of Longford.

He would sit outside and as the fervent Catholics of the town passed in their Sunday best, serenade them with a rousing rendition of the Communist anthem 'The Red Flag'.

It was said he was dumped in the canal one year by outraged citizens but it never dampened his enthusiasm for unpopular causes, or getting up the noses of what passed for the local intelligentsia.

As founder and editor of 'The Longford News', Gill had an outlet for his often quirky view of life in small-town Ireland and all its pretentions and snobberies.

His front page headline could read 'No news this week' and, if he had been on the batter and taken no photographs, a big black space where it should be, which could be captioned 'Drinking after hours in Drumlish...' followed by the names of whatever prominent local citizens he chose to ridicule.

Back in the 1950s and early '60 when rural Ireland was gripped with religious fervour and anti-communist sentiments, his paper favoured photographs of scantily clad Hollywood actresses and severe looking members of the Soviet Politburo.

Following his death in April, 1976, Fr John Corkery wrote: "His pen, like a surgeon's lancet, dissected many times the anatomy of Longford's social life, and released the ill humours that tended to poison the system."

He was born on July 3, 1903 in the village of Clondra and his father Patrick was a well-known reporter with the local newspaper, the 'Longford Leader'.

As a young man he became a member of the newly-formed Civic Guards. He used to tell us that after training he was posted to the village of Annescaul, Co Kerry, where unlike his companions he was quite popular.

Ordered to seize some cattle from an indebted farmer he got the next train back to Longford, where he founded his own printing press and newspaper in the family home in 1936.

When I first arrived there in the early 1970s, after the newspaper had been purchased by a young businessman Albert Reynolds to boost his popularity, it seemed as if the house had been built around the printing machines.

His dogs (he had three or four of them) held primacy and if one of them was asleep on a printing machine it couldn't be started, even if it was time for the paper to start rolling on a Thursday night.

His desk was stuffed with unopened letters, some containing cheques for advertising, others invoices for unpaid bills. Amid the detritus of his working life were boxes of old editions of his paper dating back decades and bundles of old copies of the 'New Yorker' magazine.

Gill's eccentric approach to journalism, which didn't always go down well with the locals, endeared him to outsiders.

His memorable headline for a story on a full-blown riot at a Travellers' wedding which spilled out of a local hotel, was 'The bride wore knuckle-dusters and her mother was the best man.'

Gill had a cavalier attitude towards 'news', often finding his own brand of invention more entertaining than reality. But as such it necessitated a lot of research, so he would pack his dogs into the car and do a circuit of various pubs in the county, usually ending up in the pretty village of Ardagh, where he invariably backed his Fiat Mirafiori into the railings on the village green upon leaving Lyon's pub at closing down.

(The locals took it in good part and usually just straightened them the following day. It was never mentioned.)

Through this kind of local knowledge he invented a series of 'Bachelors' Clubs' in various towns, populating them with real people and sharing their invented goings-on.

So-and-so (usually a Farrell) would be "expelled" after being seen down the canal line with a girl, also named, which would provide great hilarity for those who knew the people involved.

He also had a column called 'Town Improvements' which listed the names of those who had left Longford that week, or were in the process of doing so.

The writer Brendan Behan once came to Longford to visit him, but Gill found him a "bit of a bore", he told us.

He did learn one important lesson from him, however - never buy a bottle of whiskey at closing time, buy a few 'Baby' Powers instead. It was a bit more expensive, but if you fell on the way home and a few of them got broken, you'd still have some left.

"In the best Christian tradition, while trenchant in attacking wrongdoing, he had charity towards the wrong-doer," said John Corkery in his tribute to Gill.

"People, who could not themselves make that distinction, were often offended by his writing - but nobody in trouble ever had anything but gratitude towards him."

Vincent Gill was buried on Sunday, April 30, 1976, in Ardagh, Co Longford. It was a beautiful sunny day and just as his coffin was being lowered into the grave a single dark cloud in an otherwise blue sky dumped a shower of rain on the small knot of mourners.

We laughed, it was a typical Gill gesture.
Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle on Friday lost the first round of her High Court battle against the publishers of a UK newspaper, which reproduced excerpts of a letter she wrote to her father.

The 38-year-old former American actress and wife of Prince Harry had filed the claim for alleged breach of privacy and copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the 'Mail on Sunday', in the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

In a ruling on Friday following a preliminary hearing held last week, Justice Mark Warby struck out parts of the claim, including allegations that the newspaper acted "dishonestly" by leaving out certain passages of the letter.

The judge also struck out allegations that the publisher deliberately "stirred up" issues between the royal and her estranged father Thomas Markle, and that it had an "agenda" of publishing intrusive or offensive stories about her.

"I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018, Warby said in his ruling.

"Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form," he said.

Markle's law firm Schillings said in a statement that the ruling did not change "the core elements of this case".

"The Duchess' rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed," a spokesperson said.

"The strong case against Associated will continue to focus on the issue of a private, intimate and handwritten letter from a daughter to her father that was published by the 'Mail on Sunday'.

This gross violation of any person's right to privacy is obvious and unlawful, and the Mail on Sunday' should be held to account for their actions," the spokesperson added.

The case is related to the publication of over five articles, two in the 'Mail on Sunday' and three on 'MailOnline' in February last year.

The articles reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her father six months earlier.

Markle's legal team claims that the letter was "private and confidential" and "detailed her intimate thoughts and feelings about her father's health and her relationship with him at that time".

She is seeking damages for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

The royal, who is now based in the US with Prince Harry and their son Archie, has previously said any damages she may be awarded if she wins her case will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.

Associated Newspapers denies the allegations and is contesting the claims on the ground that Markle had no reasonable expectation of privacy and anticipated publication of the letter.

No date has yet been set for any further hearing in the ongoing case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
F1 is planning some technical changes for 2021, even though it was earlier decided to 'freeze' car design amid the coronavirus pandemic.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that following a video meeting of the technical working group, changes to reduce downforce and the forces exerted on tyres will be applied from 2021.

2021 was expected to be the start of the all-new technical regulations, but they have been delayed until 2022 because of the corona crisis.

The report said the changes to the 2020 cars for 2021 will involve the floor and wings, without compromising "the basic philosophy" of the technical freeze.

As suggested, one purpose of the changes is to help Pirelli, whose 2019 tyres are already being kept for 2020. Now, a very similar design is expected for 2021, after the debut of the 18-inch wheels was delayed for a year.

"We were certainly not planning to use them (the 13-inch wheels) for such a long period of time," Pirelli boss Mario Isola told the Italian source Radiobox.

He said some limited development of the current tyres could be needed for 2021.

"To do this type of evaluation we need the help of the teams, to provide us with simulations to understand what the expected performances are for the end of 2021," Isola added.

"It will allow us to understand if we have to do a small development or if we can use the current tyres, perhaps by increasing the pressure or limiting the camber a little more."

(GMM)
Few hours after President Muhammadu Buhari, announced the extension of the tenure of the Interim Management Committee (IMC), of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), led by Professor Keme Pondei, which covers the period of the forensic audit of NDDC, earlier approved by the Federal Executive Council, under the chairmanship of the President, a group in the region has given the president two weeks to dissolve the board.

In a press release Thursday 30th April, 2020, the body known as Niger Delta Integrity and Development Group (NDIDG), expressed worries that six months into the forensic audit ordered by the president nothing has been done.

The release signed by NDIDG, National Coordinator, Ebiye Johnny, and made available to The Nigerian Voice, said the inability of the interim management committee to commence the audit, has made the Buhari-led anti-corruption fight a mockery before Nigerians and the international community.

According to the national Coordinator who is a prominent stakeholder in the Niger Delta project, "I consider it very important to draw the attention of our amiable President, Muhammadu Buhari to the shocking scandals and contracts fruads in the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC under the Interim Management Commitee IMC as widely reported in the media.

"Mr. President, when you ordered on 17th October, 2019, that a Forensic Audit be carried out in NDDC, from 2000 to 2019, virtually all the leaders and people of Niger Delta region, appluaded you".

He bereted the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godswill Akpabio, whom he quoted to have also promised Nigerians that between three to six months the forensic audit would have been completed.

"Also, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, whom you made supervisor over NDDC, told Nigerians that the Interim Management Committee (IMC) will complete the Forensic Audit in THREE MONTHS or maximum SIX MONTHS.

Hear him, "Mr. President, it is SIX MONTHS already, the Forensic Audit has not even started, not to talk of submitting the audit report to you. THIS IS CONTRARY TO THE PROMISED CHANGE, NEXT LEVEL AND ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT.

"The illegal Interim Management Commitee (IMC), alien to the NDDC Act, was hurriedly inuagurated and given a mandate to provide necessary documents for the Forensic Auditors to do their work, after which the IMC has completed its job".

Mr. Johnny who could not hold back his burning desires to see the needed change in the region for his people alleged that the nine governors from the region arm twisted the president into commissioning a body without a substantive NDDC Board in place.

"Mr. President, you were misled again, in March, 2020, as you also inuagurated the NDDC Advisory Committee made up of the nine governors of Niger Delta region, without a Substantive Board of NDDC in place.

"Subsequently, the Presidential Monitoring Committee on NDDC was also inuagurated, still with no Substantive Board of NDDC.

"In the last few weeks, there have been series of reports exposing the stealing, corruption, mismanagement, fruadulent contracts award and racketing and payments for jobs not executed worth billions of naira in NDDC since October, 2019.

"Mr. President, may be you should be reminded that you appointed Godswill Akpabio as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, and not Minister of Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC. Till date, Godswill Akpabio whom you appointed Minister of Niger Delta Affairs has not told us or given us the people of Niger Delta his plan or blue print put in place by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to be implemented in the Niger Delta region.

While expressing sadness over the development, he said: "We expect that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, should be more concerned on transforming and restructuring the Ministry to achieve the mandate for which the Ministry was established, rather, Akpabio has been fixed on the affairs of NDDC, too bad".
By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkey's planned deployment of Russian S-400 missile defences has been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak but will ultimately go ahead, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Thursday, despite Washington's warnings that Ankara risks U.S. sanctions. 'There has been a delay because of the coronavirus but it will move forward as it was planned,' Ibrahim Kalin told an online meeting hosted by the Atlantic Council, adding that Erdogan had told President Donald Trump several times that he was also interested in purchasing U.S.

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkey's planned deployment of Russian S-400 missile defences has been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak but will ultimately go ahead, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Thursday, despite Washington's warnings that Ankara risks U.S. sanctions.

"There has been a delay because of the coronavirus but it will move forward as it was planned," Ibrahim Kalin told an online meeting hosted by the Atlantic Council, adding that Erdogan had told President Donald Trump several times that he was also interested in purchasing U.S. Patriot missiles.

Reuters earlier this month reported that Turkey delayed bringing online the Russian weapons systems, which the United States says are incompatible with NATO defences and would jeopardise U.S. F35 stealth jets which Turkey planned to buy.

Erdogan previously had said the S-400s would be activated in April but the coronavirus pandemic has focused Turkish efforts on combating the outbreak and supporting an economy which faces a second recession in two years. In recent weeks Erdogan and his government had not raised the issue publicly.

Making the S-400s operational exposes Turkey to U.S. sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) legislation designed to punish countries which buy defence equipment from Russia.

That prospect has been conveyed to the Turkish leadership multiple times, David Satterfield, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey also told the online panel.

"We made our position quite explicit to President Erdogan, to all the senior leadership of Turkey, and that is the operation of the S-400 system...exposes Turkey to the very significant possibility of Congressional sanctions, both those that invoke the CAATSA legislation, and additional freestanding legislative sanctions."

"We do not have in our possession the assurances from the government of Turkey that would allow us to mitigate those concerns," he added.

Turkey says it is also in talks with the United States about trying to secure a swap line from the U.S. Federal Reserve as its foreign exchange reserves are eroded by the economic impact of the pandemic.

Ankara is keen to secure funding from the U.S. central bank if possible, as it is not considering pursing a deal with the IMF.

Satterfield on Thursday confirmed Ankara's contact with the U.S. Federal Reserve. "There are certain requirements set by the open markets committee of the Fed with respect to potential eligibility. They are financial monetary requirements and conditions. They are not politically linked," he said.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Dominic Evans)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Life has taken County Derry artist Conor Larkin on a meandering journey. Liam Tunney tells the story of the Kilrea man who swapped the cleaver for the canvas and never looked back.

Light plays a key role in County Derry artist Conor Larkins work, but for years he carried his own talent with such modesty that it seemed destined to remain in the shadows.

The self-taught artist has taken the scenic route to turning his passion into a profession and began his working life in McAtamneys on Kilreas Bridge Street.

I didnt go to art school or anything, I just left school and got a job in the butchers, he told the County Derry Post.

I served my time in McAtamneys and was there until I was 22 or 23. After that I did a bit of travelling, went to Australia and America and got that out of my system.

When I came back, I spent some time on building sites and picking fruit. Ive only really been painting full time for the past five or six years.

His artistic talent had not gone unnoticed though and was celebrated in the early days by one of his teachers at Crossroads Primary School.

Mrs Magill was the teacher at the time, and she brought my mum in to look at a picture I had painted. I was maybe P3 or P4, he said.

I remember her telling my mother that the painting was above what I should be doing for my age at that time.

That is my first real memory of somebody picking it up. I even remember what it was  it was a lorry with a sunset behind it. I remember that vividly.

Even when I was a butcher, I decorated the windows at Christmas and kept painting old milk churns and that to get a few extra pounds. If I could find a smooth surface, Id paint it.

I would do skateboards and stuff like that when I was at school and I was encouraged by my teachers, but I never took it any further. I was lazy, I suppose.

I ended up getting a job in a glass company and that was the first time I got a job where I was doing something creative.

Conors work at Diamond Glass, in Slaughtneil, involved painting stained glass windows and he began to hone his creative talent, spending more time painting.

Even as the shoots of a possible career change were appearing, Conors professional radar hadnt been finely tuned just yet.

Probably the first few I did, I gave them away. It was easy to me, so I just gave them to people, he said.

The first one I sold was a picture of the Fleadh in Rasharkin. Well, I didnt actually sell it, I swapped it for an amplifier for a guitar.

I had started it, but then realised there were too many people in it and this man approached me and said Look, if you finish that, Ill buy you an amplifier for it.

We were playing in a band together. I play a bit of guitar and sing a bit. I still have the amplifier, but it probably wasnt that great a deal when I look at it now!

Although the talent and ambition were there, there was still the lingering thought that painting was destined only to be a hobby.

It took the intervention of a local man to allow Conor to showcase his talent and provided the confidence boost he needed to move things to the next level.

He said: There was a fella in Kilrea called Brendan McAllister, from Edenbane Art. He does a bit of dealing and he asked if Id paint him a few just to see how it went.

I did a few paintings and never really thought much of them, but he came back a week later to say: Ive sold those, would you do a few more?

That made me realise that people were willing to buy them, and it gave me that bit of encouragement.

If McAllisters support provided the carrot, the stick came in the form of a conversation with a former butchering colleague, while he was still painting stained glass in Slaughtneil.

It was during that recession when things were getting bad. We were down to a three-day week and the stained glass work was getting less and less.

I got talking to one of the butchers I used to work with. Hes actually a chocolatier now and he said: If you dont jump, how are you going to find out if you can do it or not?

Conor jumped, without looking back. Seven years later there is a 16-month waiting list for his commissions, requests for which arrive from all over the world.

His inspiration though, stems from closer to home.

I live down near the Bann in Kilrea and Im out on that road a dozen times a day usually, he said.

There was one day there was a tree and whatever way the sun was shining on it, it got me. I ended up painting it a few times, at different times of the year.

Sunsets and autumn light are great. I get fidgety round that time of the evening and I have to get out and get looking at stuff. Thats what I mostly like to paint.

I also love painting old cottages. Sometimes I would drive round the country looking for old, deserted dwellings. I love the way the light plays on the whitewashed walls.

I think everybody has a nostalgic thing for them. Where I grew up, there was an old man who lived across the fields from us and I used to spend time before I went to school over there.

That was the real McCoy, no electricity or anything. Theres a romance about old houses., but there are less of them now. They conjure up memories for many people.

The Covid-19 lockdown hasnt been too taxing for Conor, who doesnt mind the solitude. It is something to which he has become accustomed.

Im finding it easy enough because Im sort of used to it, he said.

I live out in the sticks anyway so there are days I wouldnt see a sinner, especially when my wife is at work and the weans are at school.

Im pretty much on my own most of the time anyway, but I do miss being able to jump in the car and head off to the coast if I know there is going to be a nice sunset.

I do an online painting demo now every Thursday night from 7 oclock. The first painting we did was a few cottages on an old lane and Im planning to give that away to a key worker.

People are nominating others for it. Somebody on the front line will end up getting that painting. Every wee bit helps.

The Kilrea man carries conversation with the relaxed confidence of a man who has found the holy grail of job satisfaction by turning his hobby into his occupation.

I have done working on building sites, on farms and fruit picking, served my time as a butcher, but while I was doing that, I was always doing the odd wee drawing.

Its what Ive always wanted to do. The dream was always to pack in the day job and paint full time, so I suppose Im living that dream.
The West Bengal government on Friday wrote to the Centre emphasising that there are four red zones in the state and not 10, as mentioned in the list presented during a video conference of the Cabinet Secretary with representatives of states.

Principal secretary of the state health department Bibek Kumar in his letter to the secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare termed the list "an erroneous assessment", and said Bengal, keeping in view the parameters set by the Centre, has earmarked four red zones -- Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur.

Kumar, in the letter, also enclosed a "correct classification of the state's districts and areas in the red, orange and green zones".

Bengal currently has eight districts in the green zone and 11 in the orange zone, he said.

The Union Health Ministry has listed 130 districts across the country in the red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zones, based on incidence of cases of COVID-19, doubling rate, the extent of testing and surveillance feedback.

According to the ministry, West Bengal has 10 districts in the red zone -- Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Malda.

This classification of districts announced at a video conference chaired by the Cabinet Secretary on April 30 with the chief secretaries and health secretaries, will have to be followed by states and Union Territories for a week post May 3 for containment operations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Preach a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against the evils [of misgovernment]. (Thomas Jefferson to George Wythe, 1786).

On April 23, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth District ruled that students in Detroit have been denied a basic minimum education, and thus have been deprived of access to literacy.

The 2-1 decision issued by a panel of the Sixth District Appeals Court reversed, in part, a ruling by US District Judge Stephen Murphy III in June 2018, which said, As plaintiffs point out, voting, participating meaningfully in civic life, and accessing justice require some measure of literacy, but these points do not necessarily make access to literacy a fundamental right.

Niles Niemuth, the Socialist Equality Party candidate for Congress in Michigans 12th District during the 2018 elections, said at the time, Literacy, like all educational issues, is entirely correlated with income. If parents have low literacy skills, their children have a 72 percent chance of reading at the lowest levels themselves.

The terrible growth of social inequality, coupled with deliberate government de-funding of education, has dramatically lowered literacy. A 2017 report by the Detroit Regional Workforce Fund found that 47 percent of Detroiters were functionally illiterate. Nearly one-third of those living in nearby working-class suburbs were also unable to use reading, speaking, writing and computational skills in everyday life situations.

The recent Appeals Court decision has been hailed as a major legal victory by lead attorney Mark Rosenbaum and many in the media. However, as the Appeals Court decision acknowledged, their decision was narrow in scope.

The original class action suit pleaded that students in Detroit were excluded from education due to the decrepit and dangerous conditions of the school buildings, lack of regular teachers and outdated textbooks, among other appalling conditions. Their central argument was that they were, therefore, denied access to literacy. The suit, based on the Due Process Clauses of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, also included claims of the violation of the right to equal protection, arguing that other students in Michigan receive an adequate education while the plaintiffs do not. They also argued that by imposing compulsory attendance at schools in name only, the state was carrying out unlawful detention and could not justify the restriction of the students liberty.

The Appeals Court ruled against the plaintiffs on these two issues, citing their failure to detail how students in other school districts received benefits denied those in Detroit, and that through their arguments regarding literacy the plaintiffs were in fact supporting compulsory education.

The majority opinion, written by Judge Eric Clay, says, While the district court found that Defendants [the state of Michigan] were in fact the proper parties to sue, it dismissed Plaintiffs complaint on the merits.  Though Plaintiffs failed to adequately plead their equal protection and compulsory attendance claims, the same cannot be said for their central theory: that they have been denied a basic minimum education, and thus have been deprived of access to literacy. A review of the Supreme Courts education cases, and an application of their principles to our substantive due process framework, demonstrates that we should recognize a basic minimum education to be a fundamental right.

The suit was originally filed in 2016 while the Detroit Public Schools district was under the control of an emergency manager appointed by Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder, one of many emergency managers appointed by governors of both political parties beginning in 2009. Judge Murphys decision was handed down just months before the mid-term elections of 2018 in which Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, replaced Snyder. Whitmer campaigned as a pro-education candidate and was supported by the teachers unions.

Whitmer and Michigans attorney general, Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, sought to have the case dismissed, claiming that since the district was no longer under state control, the issue was moot. The state now has several choices: the case could be sent back to the original district court and Judge Stephen Murphy, although he will have to abide by the Sixth District Appeals Court decision; the state could appeal directly to the US Supreme Court; or the state could settle with the plaintiffs. This last proposal is what the plaintiffs lawyers are hoping for.

Some education advocates want the case to reach the US Supreme Court, in hopes of establishing a nationwide constitutional right to literacy. As it stands, the Appeals Court ruling applies only in the Sixth Circuit, which includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Should the case go to the US Supreme Court, the Appeals Court ruling would no doubt be overturned.

While the assertion of access to literacy as a fundamental right is significant, the narrow scope of the Appeals Court ruling needs to be examined. The media has largely picked up on the following section of the legal decision (p. 57), emphasizing the importance of literacy for participation in our political system:

Importantly, the right defined in this opinion is narrow in scope. It does not guarantee an education at the quality that most have come to expect in todays America (but that many are nevertheless denied). Rather, the right only guarantees the education needed to provide access to skills that are essential for the basic exercise of other fundamental rights and liberties, most importantly participation in our political system.

On the following page, the decision becomes even narrower:

Rather, the question is whether the education the state offers a studentwhen taken as a wholecan plausibly give her the ability to learn how to read (emphasis added). This statement is linked to a footnote that says, Just because the complaint makes allegations about physics and economics courses too (Dissent at 77), does not mean we agree that those additional areas of study are required as part of a fundamental right providing access to basic literacy (emphasis added).

Reiterating that it is up to the state, not the court, the opinion says, The state is free to fashion its own school system in any number of ways, but however it does so, it must give all students at least a fair shot at access to literacythe minimum level of education required to participate in our nations democracy [emphasis added).

What then, is the content of the access to basic literacy? What does it take to achieve a minimum level of education? Does it include anything beyond reading comprehension at a third-grade level? Michigan was poised to activate its literacy law, which requires students in third grade to be proficient in reading or face grade retention. The school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed this miserable program for a year.

The emphasis on participation in our nations democracy is a red herring. The ruling elite has carried out an unrelenting assault on democratic rights for decades, from the stolen election of 2000 that installed George W. Bush, to the 2020 Wisconsin primaries forcing workers to risk their lives to exercise the right to vote. The educated populace Thomas Jefferson spoke of is today the last thing the capitalist class wants as society becomes increasingly polarized.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on local and state finances. With the future outlook for tax revenue bleak, whatever funding the state might come up with for a settlement to the Detroit schools will be a pittance. Shortly before Judge Murphys ruling in 2018, it was estimated that it would cost $500 million just to repair the decaying infrastructure of Detroit school buildings. Some estimates put Michigans budget deficit over the next two years in the area of $7 billion or more.

Efforts to reform capitalism through the bourgeois legal system are a political dead-end. In 2016, educators in Detroit organized independently of the rotten Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) union and initiated wildcat sickout strikes to bring attention to the appalling conditions in the schools, posting images of rat infestations, mold, broken windows and overflowing toilets on social media while marching at the Board of Education in the cold of winter.

Only through such independent initiative, in unison with the growing wave of wildcat strikes by broad sections of the working class, will educators be able to halt and reverse the assault on public education. The Socialist Equality Party demands that the trillions being squandered on the financial oligarchy be utilized for the social needs of the working class, including a vast expansion of public education. The eradication of illiteracy will require the expropriation of the vast wealth currently controlled by the capitalist class to provide the resources needed so everyone can have a quality education, from early childhood through higher education, free of charge.
The on-going Coronavirus lockdown has made it extremely difficult for people to work. While most of us are working from the comfort of our homes, a lot of the frontline workers are struggling to make ends meet. Can you imagine being a police officer on surveillance duty in a containment area?

Yeah, it's just as scary as it sounds, but the Chennai Police department has managed to find a workaround using technology. They've deployed what is believed to be India's first "Robocop". Here, check it out -

The device that you're looking at is a robot that can be controlled using a remote control and has a camera mounted on its top for surveillance. It's called Robot Cop LD v5.0 and it was deployed in Meenambal Puram Street in Chennai. It's one of the containment areas at the heart of the city.

According to the police, there are over 11 COVID-19 cases in that area, so it's almost impossible for them to enter that particular part of the area and monitor it for any emergency situation. And that's exactly why this robot cop has been deployed.

 Twitter/ @pibchennai

The cops can control the robot via the controller and take it inside the area which is not possible for them to go physically. Thanks to the robot's two-way intercom, they can make any necessary announcements too. They can also listen to the public if they need anything.

The robot also has a LED display to display messages on. Joint Commissioner of Police, East, R. Sudhakar explained how they're using the robot to reach the people inside the containment zones.

In containment zones, we can't enter and visit interior areas. Our personnel had to stand outside barricaded areas. The drones were used to make announcements, he said.

The best about the robot is that it was built in just 4 days jointly by the police, Robothoughts, SCI Fi Innovation, and Callidai Motorworks. The robot has a wireless connectivity range for about a KM, which is awesome.

We're glad to see the companies coming up at full speed to help the department in such desperate times. It's times like these that remind us that we're all in this together and we'll come back stronger.

Source: The Hindu
All business fields have been affected by the epidemic, but IT firms are believed to have bright prospects as they have adapted to the new circumstances.

Soon after the epidemic broke out in Vietnam, many IT firms began going online.



Our staff began working from home on March 26. Only the workers of the administrative division go to the office in shifts to maintain normal operation,s said Duy Tran from KMS Technology.





At MISA, a rehearsal of 2,000 workers working from home was carried out on March 30, or two days before the social distancing policy took effect. The great advantage of the firm is the ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution developed by MISA, which uses high technology to work from a distance.



Prior to that, Dinh Thi Thuy, CEO of MISA, sent a letter to all workers that the company would not lay off workers and cut salaries.



IT firms have introduced new services and solutions useful for businesses during the epidemic. Lac Viet, for example, has launched an app for online meeting and training. M.Tech and Cisco Vietnam have cooperated to offer attractive preferences to clients who buy sets of remote working solutions.

All business fields have been affected by the epidemic, but IT firms are believed to have bright prospects as they have adapted to the new circumstances.

Technology startups are also busy these days, working on solutions. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) said more than 90 startups have registered to provide digital technology solutions to help businesses and individuals maintain their normal operation during the epidemic.



Vulcan Augmetics provides a platform that allows medical units to order equipment. Covid-19 Check developed by Got It helps users check coronavirus inspection possibility. Done Pro Vietnam has introduced a contactless solution of delivering goods to multistory buildings with drones.



A survey by TopDev about Vietnams technology firms in Covid-19 found that IT firms have not been affected much by the epidemic, but they have restricted unnecessary activities in order to maintain cash flow.



Sixty six percent of IT firms adjusted to the new circumstances very quickly in Q1. They maintained normal operation, designed new working processes, and applied a distance working regime.



At FPT, the largest Vietnamese IT corporation, FPT President Truong Gia Binh on April 13, for the first time in the last 32 years, stated that the corporation has shifted to a wartime working mode.



About 22 percent of technology firms said they have cut costs to ensure cash flow. KMS Technology said it has postponed the periodic salary increase plan.



About 7 percent of IT firms said they have laid off workers in their plan to streamline staff. Meanwhile, 5 percent have suspended operation, closed or declared bankruptcy.

Thanh Lich

IT engineer a hot" job in Vietnam Human resources in the information technology (IT) sector have been head-hunted in large numbers by both Vietnamese and foreign employers since the beginning of this year.
A bear who escaped from an enclosure in the Italian Alps and led hunters on a nine-month chase across the country as he committed a catalogue of 'crimes' has been recaptured.

Three-year-old Papillon - given the name in a nod to the 1973 prison break film - made his miraculous escape from a Trento enclosure last summer by scaling over a 13ft fence charged with 7,000 volts.

The 23-stone bear spent the following nine months on the run as he continued to evade hunters.

He damaged bee hives while hunting for honey, shook a caravan with two shepherds inside while trying to empty the bin attached to it, and attacked a herd of cows - only to be scared off by sheep dogs, The Times reported.

WWF Italy pointed out that the bear is a protected species in Italy and described his recapture as a 'defeat for us all'

In July last year Maurizio Fugatti, president of Trentino, issued an order to kill Papillion after it was seen close to inhabited areas.

At the time he said: 'The fact that the bear managed to climb over an electric fence with seven wires at 7,000 volts demonstrates that this specimen is dangerous and a public safety problem.'

But the bear continued to escape capture and after pausing for his winter hibernation, lumbered 350-miles around the northern end of Lake Garda, even managing to cross a motorway.

Papillon recently found he had the mountains to himself amid Italy's lockdown and was filmed rolling around in snow on a sunny day.

Just weeks later though hunters on his trail finally caught up and lured the bear into a large trap near Trione this week.

Papillon continued to evade hunters and lumbered 350-miles around the northern end of Lake Garda, even managing to cross a motorway

They transported the bear back to the enclosure he originally escaped from, where he will be kept company with a female called DJ3, The Telegraph said.

Before his escape Papillon had been part of a programme to reintroduce brown bears into the Alps but was rounded up after feasting on donkey and sheep.

The news he has been caught has sparked outrage from animal rights protesters.

Italian animal welfare group LAV said it would sue the local authority in a bid to release the bear.

A spokesman said: 'He was never a threat to man and will now be given a life sentence. (The bear) has shown exceptional talent for adapting and surviving.'

Farmers' group Coldiretti said mountain dwellers had felt 'vulnerable before an animal whose aggression was scientifically proven'

The World Wildlife Fund agreed, and said: 'His capture is a defeat for us all, it is terrible, sad news for nature conservation and for this country.'

Others expressed relief at Papillon's capture.

Farmers' group Coldiretti said mountain dwellers had felt 'vulnerable before an animal whose aggression was scientifically proven'.

Sergio Costa, the environment minister, expressed dissatisfaction at the bear's recapture. He said he was contacting national parks in Europe in the hope they would be willing hosting the bear.

After years of hunting during which the brown bear population dwindled to just four, the animal was reintroduced into northern Italy in 2000 as part of an EU-funded project called Life Ursus.

Ten bears were transported from Slovenia and the population now stands at around 50.
TDT | Manama

The Health Ministry announced yesterday that 29 more patients have recovered from the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. This was reported by the Ministry on its official account on social networking service Twitter.

The 29 individuals have been discharged from their dedicated treatment centres. Their recoveries bring the total number of discharged patients in Bahrain to 1,218 as of last night, as indicated on the Health Ministrys official website.

It was also announced by the Ministry yesterday that there were 61 new active cases of COVID-19. Of these, 51 are expatriate workers, three are contacts of active cases, and seven are travellers who have returned from abroad.

All new cases have been transferred to treatment centres and are receiving 24-hour care from special medical teams. Their discovery has brought the total number of active cases in Bahrain to 1,497. All of these cases, with the exception of two, are stable.

The total number of tested reached 117,797 as of last night. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced that its textiles department manufactures and has distributed face masks, free of charge, to its employees. This is a voluntary initiative that is within the framework of national efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19, said the Ministry
Emboldened by an outpouring of private sector generosity that eclipsed what it received from state and federal sources, the San Antonio Food Bank is poised to make another plea for public funding to help it feed thousands of families in need as the coronavirus crisis extends into another month.

I am just blown away by our city, Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper said Friday.

Thanks to a series of donations that culminated this week with WOAI-TV/KABB Fox 29s Feeding San Antonio campaign headed by philanthropist Harvey Najim, the Food Bank has received more than $6 million recently, more than double what its received in public funding.

It defies logic when you think of the private support just this week being about twice what the state put in, Cooper said at a drive-thru distribution at the Alamodome that fed nearly 1,900 households Friday.

Josie Norris, The San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer

Its given me an opportunity to go back to the state and help them understand the need so that hopefully they give us at least equal what our private sector is putting in.

William Luther, MBO / Associated Press

On ExpressNews.com: Food Bank plans appeal to USDA for more aid to help area residents

The Food Bank learned last week it would receive 35-40 truck loads of food worth almost $2.9 million in state funds that largely would be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

With its warehouse nearly depleted in early April, the Food Bank pleaded with the state for $12 million. After waiting days for a response, the nonprofit modified its request to $9.6 million.

Then last week, the Food Bank learned it instead would be receiving the $2.9 million aid from FEMA through the Texas Division of Emergency Management in a deal Feeding Texas, a coalition of 21 food banks in the state, helped put together.

Although grateful for the public support, Cooper said its the private sector that has been the driving force in replenishing the Food Banks warehouse.

In a normal week, the Food Bank would provide support to about 58,000 households. Since the pandemic hit South Texas in mid-March, its doubled to 120,000.

Our residents - young, old, rich, poor - are coming together to make sure people get nourished, Cooper said.

The USAA Foundation and Najim donated $1 million each to Feeding San Antonio, a two-day phone drive that was the brainchild of Najim. That drive brought in $5.4 million.

Donations of $500,000 came from the Mays Family Foundation; NuStar Energy and its chairman, Bill Greehey; Conviva Care Solutions; and an anonymous donor recruited by Al Honigblum, managing partner of Pica Pica Plaza Ownership Group and founder of the Lots of Love initiative. The Lots of Love effort itself separately raised about $500,000 for the Food Bank.

Now Playing: Mayor Nirenberg answers the question: "What keeps you up at night?" Video: mySA

Sizable donations for Feeding San Antonio came from several others, including Spurs great Tim Duncan. Many individual donors also phoned in to contribute their economic stimulus checks, organizers said.

Its been week to week for us, watching what products we have in supply, looking for the gaps, the needs, and then trying to procure the food one truck load at a time, one case at a time, one dollar at a time, Cooper said.

To get an infusion of almost $5.5 million from our community so we can continue, it gives you an opportunity to catch your breath in an experience that leaves you breathless.

WOAI-TV sports anchor Don Harris helped Najim organize Feeding San Antonio.

The coordination between Harvey, Eric and our team at the stations was just fun to watch, Harris said. Everyone had a common goal, and nobody seemed to care about who got the credit. Everybody just wanted to help.

Several faith-based donations also have rolled into the Food Bank, including $250,000 from the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonios Together We Can initiative.

Help from the private sector has also come in other forms. On Friday, Papa Johns provided pizza and beverages to about 250 Food Bank staffers and volunteers at the Alamodome during the food distribution event.

Over the seven weeks of the crisis, some weeks have been better than others, and this was a fantastic week, Cooper said of the influx of private funding.

Its the coolest thing. There are so many great things about San Antonio and its traditions. We love Fiesta. We love the Spurs. We love breakfast tacos. What I think we saw this week is San Antonios tradition of service. The tradition of, You are not alone, the tradition of love.

People waiting in line for food at the Alamodome also expressed gratitude for the private support the Food Bank is receiving.

We are a friendly city and we help each other, said Willie Williams, 63. We come together as one.
Beautiful KC Comeback???

KC hair salons expect to be packed once they're allowed to reopen Hide Transcript Show Transcript I FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT RETURNING. REPORTER: TUCKED BACK IN THE CORNER OF THE BARRY TRAIL SHOPPING CENTER -- WE CANNOT PERFORM A SERVICE WITHOUT BEING SIX-FEET FROM YOU TODAY. REPORTER: SALON ON BARRY OWNER JOY BATALIA SAYS THE CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN VERY REAL, BUT SHE REMAINS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT REOPENING, AND DOING IT SAFELY.

Lesson In Persistence

Local community colleges, universities planning for fall in face of COVID-19 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - While many are looking to get back to business, students are focusing on going back to school. The fall may be months away, but planning for college takes time. We looked into what colleges are doing to adapt to their future post pandemic.

Rising Local Biz

Loans help business owners get by, but soon they'll need customers KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The owner of Buffalo State Pizza Company said he can sleep a little easier at night now. Monday, Philippe LeChevin received a loan from the federal government's Payroll Protection Program. The loan will allow him to hire back some of the employees he laid off when business dropped during the stay-at-home orders.

EPIC Cononavirus Tweet Deal To Prez Trump Disrupted

After One Tweet To President Trump, This Man Got $69 Million From New York For Ventilators We may all be at home, but that hasn't stopped our reporters from breaking exclusive stories like this one. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today .

Pandemic Politics To Flesh Out

Where's the Beef? | National Review The answer could affect people's dinner tables - and Trump's reelection chances. merica's meat processing-plants are hard-hit by COVID-19. Speculation runs that the immigrant laborers are less aware of health precautions given in English and that their living situations and the "elbow-to-elbow" nature of work at these industrial butchers and packers make them especially vulnerable.

Conornavirus Covers The World

After lockdown, a world of masks Dismissed as useless, now apparently indispensable-wearing a face mask as protection from the new coronavirus is becoming commonplace around the world as countries begin to emerge from lockdowns. Here is a snapshot of the global measures on masks -mandatory, recommended or optional-provided by AFP bureaus worldwide.

Keep Distance From Doggies

CDC extends coronavirus social-distancing guidelines to pets Now even dogs have to roll over for the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling pet owners that their furry family members need to follow the same social-distancing rules as everyone else during the COVID-19 pandemic - including keeping away from their other four-legged friends.

As usual, we offer a quick look at local pandemic stats and numbers in order to keep track of the pandemic progress and push back . . .Accordingly, here are a few links we're sharing that offer even more context . . .Developing . . .
The Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov arrived with a check in Cherkasy in connection with the decision of the city council to cancel quarantine measures. Stepanov stated this during a briefing.

According to Stepanov, he will visit four medical facilities with verification.

As for the Cherkasy region, for the entire time of the pandemic in Ukraine (in the region, - ed.) 296 cases of patients with coronavirus disease were confirmed. An additional 6 people became ill during the day. 9 deaths from Covid-19 were registered, including Cherkasy region today was also a man who died from Covid-19. And against this backdrop, the Cherkasy city council decided to completely abolish any quarantine restrictions that the government introduced in the country to combat coronavirus," Stepanov said.

He noted that quarantine measures introduced by the government allowed avoiding the peak incidence of coronavirus in Ukraine.

As we reported before, In Ukraine, the situation with the spread of coronavirus allows quarantine mitigation to begin on May 11.
Evoking the first high-speed aerodynamic trains of the 1920s and 30s, which were the setting for numerous historical films, the Streamliner collection is a heroine of the modern-day 7th Art. In the classical arts defined by the German philosopher Hegel, the 1st Art (architecture) and the 2nd Art (sculpture) are admirably reflected in the design of the case and the flowing curves of the bracelet integrated into the highly distinctive links, as well as in the construction of an exceptional movement visible through the sapphire caseback.

Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic  H. Moser & Cie.

 H. Moser & Cie.

Subtly placed between the dial and the movement, its rotor fades away to make way for the spectacle. This perfectly ergonomic distillation of multicultural expertise (the caliber is co-signed with Agenhor) thus joins the ranks of the finest ambassadors of the 12th Art (the art of time measurement). Five years of a quest for perfection have resulted in this watchmaking encounter of the third kind, which sets a new watchmaking milestone inaugurating the third decade of the third millennium.

 H. Moser & Cie.

Collectors will also be fascinated by the world premiere of the flyback function of the hours and seconds indicated in the center on an automatic chronograph. Two pointers mark off the chronograph seconds and minutes, while time indications are provided by two others with a curved outer section creating a 3D effect and composed of Globolight : a ceramic-based material incorporating Super-LumiNovaand a first for hands. Aesthetic prowess is also reflected in the fume dial in a new 1960s-style anthracite gray that reinforces its readability. And since Streamliner is a model by H. Moser & Cie., it is as eye-catching as one would expect.

Since its official launch at the beginning of January in Dubai, many devotees of fine watchmaking have fallen in love at first sight, starting with yours truly. But brand CEO Edouard Meylan is even more delighted by the comments of those who first expressed surprise, or even shock, before being won over by its audacity and the sophistication of its simplicity, once fully grasped. What if the film were called Flyback to the future?

 H. Moser & Cie.

Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic

Case : steel, topped by a gently domed sapphire crystal, sunburst-brushed bezel, screw-in crown, sapphire case-back engraved Limited 100PCS waterresistant to 120m

Movement : mechanical self-winding (Caliber HMC902 by Agenhor), 54-hour power reserve, 434 components, bi-directional tungsten rotor, column wheel

Functions : hours, minutes, chronograph with flyback on the minutes and seconds

Dial : Blackor fume and griffe, hands with Globolight inserts, tachymeter on the flange

Strap: integrated steel, triple-blade folding clasp

Limited edition : 100 units

 H. Moser & Cie.




Immediately after the 2013 elections, President-elect Juan Orlando Hernandez requested to President Porfirio Lobo to name a new leadership in the National Police, this action on its own is a statement and reassurance of Hernandez's commitment to combat drug trafficking and transnational crime. One of the firm policies of Hernandez has been from the very beginning of his administration to purge the police from criminals, especially those proven tied to human right violations, transnational crime, modern slavery and others unlawful activities.

President Hernandez is leading an unprecedented purge of the National Police, resulting in the removal of General Bonilla, along with 43% of the entire police force, including most of the top ranks.

On December 20, 2013, AP reported: "Gen. Juan Carlos Bonilla was removed as chief the police by President Porfirio Lobo, who said he acted after consulting with President-elect Juan Orlando Hernandez" who would take office the following month.

https://news.yahoo.com/feared-39-tiger-39-top-cop-honduras-051013759.html

The method President Hernandez chose for purging the National Police is significant: he empowered respected members of civil society to manage the entire process, thus he guaranteed an impartial screening not subject to personal or political interests. https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1376531-410/omar-rivera-comision-indicios-tigre-bonilla

The Washington DC based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Wilson Center), prepared an extensive evaluation report of the purging process of the national police. In the presentation of the report Eric L. Olson, representative of the Wilson Center for Central America, stressed, "The political will of government authorities, especially that of President Juan Orlando Hernandez and his Secretary of Security Julian Pacheco, to carry on the police reform initiative and make the decisions conducive to achieving the necessary cleaning in the structure of the institution."

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/lap_dye_police-english_final.pdf

https://www.latribuna.hn/2019/05/23/proceso-de-depuracion-de-la-policia-no-tiene-paralelo-en-al-dice-informe-del-woodrow-wilson-international-center/

History is proving that President Hernandez has a strong hand against organize criminal organizations with successful results that have been fundamental for national, regional and hemisphere security.

Moreover, President Hernandez has promoted several key laws to strengthen the judiciary system and the office of the general prosecutor to combat organize crime, including the approval in Congress and the implementation of the extradition law that has put the most wanted criminals in the hands of the US judiciary system, facing fierce domestic resistance and several life threats against him and his family. President Hernandez understood that the extradition law was crucial to deliver drug lords and other criminals to foreign courts outside the influence of any president or any politician to make sure that justice was served.

In partnership with the US and other allies' countries, Hernandez has achieved extraordinary results in reducing drug trafficking. The Government of Honduras, based on other cases where confessed criminals negotiate and give false testimonies seeking reduction of their sentences and other benefits, is concerned that these Honduran confessed criminals are negotiating reduction of their sentences which will allow them to return to the country and reestablished their criminal activities and kingdoms of terror. For that reason, President Hernandez has publicly requested not to negotiate reduction of sentences for the criminals that his government has extradited to the US in order to end their kingdoms of terror and narco trafficking activities. "Reducing sentences of the extradited criminals will be a setback for the war against transnational crime," President Hernandez stated.

These are the facts that speak for themselves: more than 6 thousand people arrested for drug trafficking, 500 disjointed gangs, about 19 thousand kilos of cocaine decomposed, and 1,300 kilos of liquid cocaine, 162 thousand coca plants, more than 175 thousand pounds and about one million marijuana plants seized; in addition 19 narco-laboratories have been dismantled, 263 clandestine landing strips were disabled and nearly 1,800 goods and assets have been seized from these drug traffickers.

It is confirmed by the U.S. Southern Command that during President Hernandez administration drug trafficking through Honduran territory going to the USA market has been reduced from 70 to only 2 percent.

SOURCE President of the Government of Honduras
Filmmaker John M Chu has called out a scam where actors were being asked to audition for the sequels to 2018 hit "Crazy Rich Asians".

The filmmaker decided to set things straight after a Twitter user named Alan Baltes,claiming to be a casting associate, announced that the film's two upcoming sequels were casting for lead roles.

Baltes allegedly asked the budding artiste to pay USD 99 as "submission fee" so as to be considered for the projects.

Talking to Variety, Chu, who is currently working on "In The Heights" adaptation, said he is "disgusted" by the fraudulent activity happening on the social media.

"I kept reading it, and when it said '99 dollars', I was like, 'This is f***ed up. There's so many scams like that in LA anyway and to actually target, specifically, Asian actors, was very frustrating," the director said.

He termed the scam as a direct attack on Asian actors who have only now started to get recognised in Hollywood.

"Asian American actors finally get the opportunity or the hope that there are roles and parts out there. People have this light inside of them to pursue this dream that they never thought was possible before, and to take advantage of that and know that you can take USD 99 for a fake audition is just disgusting," Chu added.

He said such a scam makes things even more difficult for Asian Americans who are facing racial attacks in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, which originated from China.

"To put on top of that this time, when we're being othered and we're being attacked on the streets, is even more disgusting," the 40-year-old director said.

In his response, Baltes said someone sent him the information and "was misrepresenting himself as being with casting".

"The person is no longer in contact with me after I inquired further. They were attempting to get me to send them money for casting calls," he said, adding that he hasn't received any money from any actor.

Chu, meanwhile, made it clear that though open casting call might be a possibility for "Crazy Rich Asians" sequels , no location scouting has been conducted nor any pre-production.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DUBLIN, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Deception Technology Market: Growth, Trends and Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Deception Technology Market was valued at USD 1.19 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 2.48 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 13.3% over the forecast period 2020-2025.

Owing to the higher level of cyber threats, there is an increasing need from the organizations to detect and mitigate advanced risks that have already breached the network. This is boosting the adoption of deception technology.

The current security tools are effective at flagging up anomalies but are not significant at defining their impact and risk potential. These tools result in the generation of many alerts, most of which are needed to be investigated by security teams despite many of them being a waste of time. The resources are spent wastefully assessing these false threats, while the real and present threats can be missed out. By altering the asymmetry of an attack, deception technology helps the security teams to focus on real threats to the network. The scenarios like these have been aiding the deception technology to gain momentum over the past five years.

Currently, many deception solutions have AI and machine learning (ML) built into their core. These features not only ensure that deception techniques are kept dynamic but also help in the reduction of the operational overheads and the impact on security teams, by freeing them from continually creating new deception campaigns. For instance, in October 2019, CSIRO's Data61 signed a significant research project with the cybersecurity firm, Penten, to build AI-enabled cybersecurity defense technology, also known as deception technology that includes cyber traps and decoys. The research will focus on extending Penten's work on applying AI to tackle cyber attackers, using deception technology.



Key Market Trends



Government Sector to Witness Significant Market Growth

Deception technology offers government entities the foundation for an active defense that provides early and accurate detection of in-network threats and the ability to respond to them quickly and decisively. Recognizing the importance of deploying deception to protect critical information, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has included it in drafts of SP 800-160 and 800- 171b .

. The rise of Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks in government is expected to create opportunities for the market over the forecast period. For instance, A prominent attack was code-named Deep Panda and compromised over 4 million US personnel records, which might have included details about secret service staff. Deep Panda is an APT attack against the US Government's Office of Personnel Management, probably originating from China .

. The increasing investments from the government or related regulatory bodies to further prevent the cybercrime onslaught is expected to boost the adoption of the deception technologies over the forecast period. In April 2019 , the NPCC National Cybercrime Program announced a multi-million-pound investment from the UK Government, which states that every police force in England and Wales would have a dedicated cybercrime unit in place.

North America Occupies the Largest Market Share

North America is the largest region for the deception technologies, as the region has a high demand for protection and control systems against cybercrimes. Also, the region has the highest adoption rate of IoT technologies leading to a growing need for data security.

is the largest region for the deception technologies, as the region has a high demand for protection and control systems against cybercrimes. Also, the region has the highest adoption rate of IoT technologies leading to a growing need for data security. The major trends responsible for the growth of deception technology in the North American region include the growing number of smartphone devices and an increase in the adoption of social apps, which generate ample data that contain valuable information. This has significantly increased the risk of cyber threats.

The cyberattacks in the United States have increased dramatically over the past few years. For instance, in March 2020 , the US Health and Human Services Department suffered a cyber-attack on its computer system, part of what people familiar with the incident called a campaign of disruption and disinformation that was aimed at undermining the response to the coronavirus pandemic and may have been the work of a foreign actor.

have increased dramatically over the past few years. For instance, in , the US Health and Human Services Department suffered a cyber-attack on its computer system, part of what people familiar with the incident called a campaign of disruption and disinformation that was aimed at undermining the response to the coronavirus pandemic and may have been the work of a foreign actor. With the availability of adequate infrastructure, the presence of numerous global financial institutions, high frequency of cyber-attacks, and increased adoption of connected technologies are expected to drive the growth of the deception technology market in the North American region.

Competitive Landscape



The deception technology market is highly competitive, owing to the presence of many small and large players in the market. The market is moderately concentrated with the key players adopting strategies, like product innovation and mergers and acquisitions, to extend their reach and stay ahead of the competition. Some of the key players in the market are Symantec Corporation, Rapid7 LLC, and WatchGuard Technologies Inc., among others.



Recent Industry Developments



March 2020 - Attivo Networks and Seminole State College of Florida announced a joint initiative aimed at closing the global cybersecurity skills gap. Beginning Fall 2020, Seminole State College would be among the first institutions of higher education in the United States to incorporate threat deception instruction into the cybersecurity specialization component of its associate and bachelor's degree programs in Information Systems Technology.

- Attivo Networks and of announced a joint initiative aimed at closing the global cybersecurity skills gap. Beginning Fall 2020, would be among the first institutions of higher education in to incorporate threat deception instruction into the cybersecurity specialization component of its associate and bachelor's degree programs in Information Systems Technology. February 2020 - GuardiCore announced several new capabilities in its Guardicore Centra Security Platform designed to help security architects visualize, segment, and protect cloud-native applications, while further simplifying the process for reducing risk to mission-critical business applications through segmentation. The company expanded its Centra Security Platform.

Key Topics Covered



1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition

1.2 Scope of the Study



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET INSIGHTS

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Force Analysis

4.3 Industry Value Chain Analysis



5 MARKET DYNAMICS

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Growing Number of Zero-day and Targeted APT's

5.1.2 Need of Effective Solutions for Early Detection of Attackers

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 High Usage of Legacy Honeypots



6 MARKET SEGMENTATION

6.1 By Deployment

6.1.1 Cloud

6.1.2 On-premise

6.2 By Organization Size

6.2.1 Small & Medium Enterprise

6.2.2 Large Enterprise

6.3 By Service

6.3.1 Managed Services

6.3.2 Professional Services

6.4 By Deception Stack

6.4.1 Data Security

6.4.2 Application Security

6.4.3 Endpoint Security

6.4.4 Network Security

6.5 By End-user

6.5.1 Government

6.5.2 Medical

6.5.3 BFSI

6.5.4 Defense

6.5.5 IT & Telecommunication

6.5.6 Other End-users

6.6 Geography

6.6.1 North America

6.6.2 Europe

6.6.3 Asia-Pacific

6.6.4 Latin America

6.6.5 Middle-East & Africa



7 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

7.1 Company Profiles

7.1.1 Illusive Networks Ltd.

7.1.2 TrapX Security Inc.

7.1.3 Smokescreen Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

7.1.4 Attivo Networks Inc.

7.1.5 Rapid7 LLC

7.1.6 Ridgeback Network Defense Inc.

7.1.7 GuardiCore Ltd.

7.1.8 Acalvio Technologies Inc.

7.1.9 CounterCraft SL

7.1.10 CyberTrap Software GmbH

7.1.11 Fidelis Cybersecurity Inc. (Skyview Capital LLC)

7.1.12 LogRhythm Inc.

7.1.13 WatchGuard Technologies Inc.

7.1.14 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT Security Limited)

7.1.15 Broadcom Inc. (Symantec Corporation)



8 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS



9 FUTURE OF THE MARKET



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lat3tc

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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NJ Cannabis Insider and Advance 360 will be hosting a webinar Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here? presented by Duane Morris on May 13, featuring heavies in the cannabis space to discuss national and regional cannabis policy.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who recently introduced legislation that would make cannabis businesses eligible for Small Business Administration COVID-19 relief programs, will be joining us as the keynote speaker.

As Congress seeks to provide relief to small businesses across America, chief among those being left out are state-legal cannabis businesses that are essential to communities and have met the demands of this crisis, Blumenauer told NJ Cannabis Insider. We should include state-legal cannabis in federal COVID-19 response efforts. Without providing these businesses the relief needed to carry out the recommended public health and worker-focused measures, we are putting these hard-working people  and ourselves  at risk.

Blumenauer represents Oregons 3rd Congressional District and is a leading advocate for cannabis policy reform in the House of Representatives, and the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. Along with the congressman, several industry power players will be taking part in the two-hour panel discussions, they are:

Karen OKeefe

Karen OKeefe is the director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project. In her current role, she managess MPPs grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in many state legislatures. OKeefe has played a significant role in passing more than a dozen major cannabis policy reforms, including managing MPPs state legislative department during the legalization campaigns in Vermont and Illinois.

Chris Melillo

Chris Melillo, senior vice president of retail operations for Curaleaf, is currently tasked with spearheading the companys dispensary expansion rollout and establishing a consistent customer experience for retail stores across the U.S. He previously served as senior director of stores in North America for Nike, and as vice president of stores for DTLR/Villa, a leading footwear and apparel retailer.

Katie Neer

Katie Neer, the director of government affairs for Acreage Holdings, a multi-state cannabis operator. Neer focuses on state regulatory and legislative issues facing the cannabis industry. Prior to her role with Acreage Holdings, Neer practiced law and formerly served as the assistant secretary for general government and financial services in the New York State Governors Office.

Paul Josephson

Paul Josephson of Duane Morris is a constitutional and regulatory litigator who advises CEOs, elected officials, and agency heads on a broad spectrum of matters involving significant public interests or highly regulated by government agencies. He currently represents the alternative treatment center, GTI-NJ, as well as the Gateway Program Development Corporation on the $13 billion Hudson Rail Tunnel project.

Justin Zaremba, an NJ Cannabis Insider editor and a longtime news reporter for NJ.com, will moderate the discussion.

The focused conversation will revolve around medical marijuana, legalization and the hemp and CBD industries during the coronavirus pandemic  while looking ahead at the Nov. 3 national elections.

Audience members will be able to post questions in advance of the May 13 webinar, which starts 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST). After the live event, attendees will have an opportunity to continue the discussion and network in a closed forum, moderated by journalists covering marijuana and hemp industries.

To reserve tickets, go to advance360.com/cannabis-insider-live.

NJ Cannabis Insider, a local sponsor, is a weekly subscriber-based trade journal produced by NJ Advance Media, which has also produced several live events in the past two years. For this event, it has has partnered with Advance Local sister media groups across the country, including Staten Island Advance, Advance Media New York, PennLive, LehighValleyLive, MassLive, MLive, Advance Ohio and Oregonian Media Group.

For more information, you may reach us via email here.
(Photo : Allie/Unsplash) Working from home during the coronavirus pandemic

In a recent survey by the work management platform Asana, they revealed that many employees have begun to adopt online tools to connect with their teams while staying productive at home during the pandemic.

The company surveyed 5,140 full-time employees from April 6 to 15 for its Anatomy of Work: Remote Teams study. These participants are currently working from home in Australia, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US.

Of those surveyed, 62% have full-time knowledge of the tools and used them more since they started working from home, while 19% are using these tools for the first time.

Asana: Only 1 out 5 can adapt to work-from-home technology

The study also discussed the challenges work-from-home employees are experiencing due to the rapid changes of their work environment. More than half (53%) of them reported that they lacked the necessary tools such as a dedicated desk, computer, or a reliable internet connection.

More importantly, the primary challenges they encounter are avoiding stress from the current economic and health crisis, staying motivated, and not being able to switch between work and personal life.

Working from home has led nearly 60% of global employees to work at different hours with 53% taking more breaks, 32% starting their workday earlier, and 28% working later in the evening.

In a press statement, Asana CEO Dustin Moskovitz explained how online collaboration tools can help keep remote teams connected during the pandemic.

"Many teams are navigating the unique challenges related to the rapid move to remote work protocols, in some cases for the first time. Teams need confidence and clarity in their work, and platforms that foster collaboration are essential ways teams are staying aligned, organized, and connected," said Moskovitz.

"This shared experience will serve as a catalyst to bring teams closer together."

Improve productivity at home using these apps

Cooperation improves efficiency and increases productivity. However, it can only be achieved with the best tools.

Primarily, choose software plans that are based on a platform for communication that is accessible from a desktop computer, as well as mobile devices. This way, all employees can be connected all the time.

More so, task management, deadlines, and support should all be incorporated into communication. More importantly, all information should be clear, concise, and simple to use to reduce confusion.

Each employee should be allowed to speak to the right person to address the problems they're encountering and to be able to solve it within a suitable process.

Tech Times has listed some useful apps that can provide strong collaboration for the whole team. Here are some of them:

Zoom

The Zoom app is currently the most in-demand video conferencing app. It is free to download and allows up to 100 participants within a call. It allows screen sharing as well as cross-platform instant messaging.

Basecamp 3

It has a chat room, message board, and a report organizer. It offers a free version with limited access.

Headspace

It is a meditation app that allows two to three-minute quick meditation sessions.

G-Suite Apps

Apps like Docs and Drive can make sharing files easy. Also, Google Meet, which is the upgraded version of Hangouts, allows more secure video conferencing for up to 100 people.

Microsoft Teams

Numerous organizations depend upon this app, which allows managing documents and making calls, among other teams.

Read also: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/248617/20200406/work-from-home-is-the-new-norm-will-the-lockdown-make-this-last.htm

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CyberKnight Technologies is a cybersecurity focused value-added-distributor (VAD), headquartered in Dubai, covering the Middle East with on-the-ground presence in Saudi Arabia and all key Middle East markets.

Our ZTX (Zero Trust Security) framework incorporates emerging and market-leading cybersecurity solutions that protect the entire attack surface, by leveraging AI, to help security teams at enterprise and government customers fortify breach detection, accelerate incident response & remediation, while addressing regulatory compliance.



CyberKnights Art of Cybersecurity Distribution methodology enables strategic partners to achieve greater market penetration, return-on-investment and time-to-value.
Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The Public Utility Commission announced that the former director of wholesale operations for the state grid manager will become the new independent market monitor director charged with detecting and preventing market manipulation strategies in the Texas electricity market.

The commission said the appointment of Carrie Bivens, who until recently was overseeing the day-ahead market, congestion revenue rights auctions, load resources, distributed generation resources and emergency response services for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Herkimer, N.Y.  A Central New York restaurant owner is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reopen businesses shut down due to the coronavirus.

Enough is enough, Scott Tranter told The New York Times in a story published Friday. Ive been looking at the cases and I am not trying to minimize Covid, because its real and its scary ... But its not up here. How are we going to recover if we take away the ability to make a living?

Tranter, who owns Crazy Ottos Empire Diner in Herkimer, is currently only able to offer takeout due to a statewide stay-at-home order. He says hes lost $90,000 over the past six weeks and had to lay off 22 employees, including his children.

Tranter told the Times that hes not upset with Cuomo, but is frustrated because coronavirus is not as widespread in Upstate New York as it is Downstate.

As of Thursday, three people from Herkimer County have died of COVID-19, compared to more than 18,000 deaths across the state, with the majority in the New York City area. Antibody tests conducted by the state Health Department also estimate just 1.3% of people in CNY have been infected by the virus, compared to 21% in the NYC area.

However, a Siena College poll released this week shows most New Yorkers  84%  agree with Cuomos actions confronting the coronavirus pandemic. In the more conservative Upstate New York region, support is only slightly lower at 81%. Those polled also overwhelmingly support the governors order requiring face masks (92%) and the decision to put schools and businesses on PAUSE until May 15 (87%).

Cuomo has outlined a plan to begin reopening the state on a regional basis when they meet 12 criteria necessary to protect public health, including a 14-day decline in hospitalizations. The Un-PAUSE plan includes a phased reopening of priority industries; testing and tracing (at least 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 people); and redesigned workplaces that allow social distancing or telecommuting wherever possible.

Tranter told the Times hed be willing to put safety measures into place if he could reopen his diner, including taking employees temperatures and spreading out customers inside the restaurant.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

CNYs restart after coronavirus hinges on a number you never heard of and cant count

Onondaga County has lowest reported rate of coronavirus deaths in NY

Coronavirus in NY by the numbers: Look back at first 2 months

US coronavirus social distancing guidelines expire: What does that mean?
Morgan County is scheduled to open a drive-through COVID-19 testing site Friday at the Morgan County Health Department.

The test site at West Morgan Street and Dunlap Court will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays for those who meet state health department requirements. Those who seek COVID-19 testing are required to schedule an appointment prior to arriving by calling 217-479-1817 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

This clinic is valuable to our community and will assist us in better understanding the scope of COVID-19, Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard said.

The drive-through testing site is a collaborative effort between the Morgan County Health Department, Passavant Area Hospital, Morgan County, the city of Jacksonville and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Morgan County and Jacksonville officials have worked diligently to bring testing to our location. Morgan County is a large area with a vast group of people and this allows us to provide necessary testing services to our community, Morgan County Commissioner Brad Zeller said.

Dale Bainter, administrator of the Morgan County Health Department, said that aside from social distancing, testing and contact tracing are the most important things we can do to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community and the testing site will allow health officials to increase the capacity for both, as well as provide important surveillance data at the local level.

Dr. Scott Boston, Passavant Area Hospital president and CEO, said the hospital is pleased to partner with the county and city to provide healthcare workers to assist with testing.
By ANI

BRASILIA: A court in Brazil has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to release the results of his coronavirus tests within two days, Brazilian media reported on Friday.

According to the G1 broadcaster, federal judge Ana Lucia Petri Betto has requested "results of all tests that the president has undergone."

The results have to be provided within 48 hours, with each day beyond the deadline punishable with a fine of 5,000 reais ($911).

ALSO READ | Ignorance spreads faster than COVID-19 in Brazil as many defy isolation norms despite 87,000 cases

The ruling reportedly came in response to a petition published in the Sao Paulo official bulletin.

In March, Bolsonaro traveled to the United States with a delegation of which 20 members later tested positive for COVID-19. The Brazilian president himself has undergone several tests, but has consistently rejected testing positive.

Should the court order reveal that he, in fact, was infected and concealed it, the president, who so far felt free to breach social distancing and actively communicated with people on public, can be held liable to the point of impeachment.

More than 85,000 cases of coronavirus infection and close to 6,000 related death have been confirmed in Brazil as of Friday.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid a worldwide fight against the novel coronavirus, the National Press Club and the National Press Club Journalism Institute are joining people around the globe in commemorating World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

The motto for this year's 27th World Press Freedom Day, organized by UNESCO, is "Journalism without Fear or Favor."

During the annual commemoration, organizations and individuals celebrate basic principles of press freedom, evaluate the state of press freedom worldwide, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives.

"Nearly 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote that 'the only security of all is in a free press.' His words stand today as an apt reminder of the crucial link between press freedom and democracy," said National Press Club President Michael Freedman. "In the midst of the current crisis, our reporters on the front lines reinforce every hour of every day why journalism matters."

Yet journalists across the globe continue to be under attack. In dozens of countries, including the United States, journalists are decried as purveyors of "fake news." In many parts of the world, they are harassed, threatened and jailed for indeterminate sentences.

During a global health crisis that has killed scores of thousands and left economic devastation in its wake, access to accurate and complete information is even more important than ever. Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index shows that the number of countries where journalists are considered safe is on the decline. In the time of coronavirus, the impediments to press freedom threaten to be even greater.

"Amid eroding press freedoms and threats to their physical safety, many journalists are under siege, yet they are more important than ever as the world faces an historic crisis," said Angela Greiling Keane, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the club's non-profit affiliate.

The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists and represents some 3,000 reporters, editors and professional communicators worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement.

Contact : John M. Donnelly, NPC Press Freedom Committee Chairman, 202 650 6738; [email protected].

SOURCE National Press Club

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Amritsar: 98 Sikh devotees who returned from Gurdwara Hazur Sahib in Maharashtras Nanded to Punjab have tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19.

Around 300 Sikh pilgrims from Punjab had recently visited the Hazur Sahib shrine in Nanded and then returned to their homes. Upon their arrival, all of them were tested for COVID-19 and out of them, 98 have been found COVID-19 positive.

Om Parkash Soni, Punjab Medical Education & Research Minister, had earlier told news agency ANI, "We did not imagine that such a large number of people will test positive for COVID-19.. We are requesting people to not worry and stay at home. We have to fight COVID-19 and we will win this battle."

However, unconfirmed reports said that over 100 Sikh pilgrims have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Sikh pilgrims were stranded at the Gurdwara Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra's Nanded amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. They started returning to Punjab from April 22 but the order to quarantine them came five days later.

Over 3,500 have returned to Punjab after the Union Home Ministry gave them permission.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, who is under attack from the opposition Akali Dal for negligence in not ensuring proper quarantining of the pilgrims, has blamed the Maharashtra government where his party Congress is part of the ruling Shiv Sena-led coalition.

The Akali Dal has demanded the health minister's resignation, accusing him of not putting up guidelines for testing the pilgrims on their arrival in Punjab.
A further 739 patients have died with coronavirus in the UK bringing the national total to 27,510.

The figure includes those who have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Thursday

The full UK figures were revealed this afternoon by Health Secretary Matt Hancock at the daily Downing Street press briefing.

Mr Hancock also said the Government had met its target to carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April after 122,347 tests were performed in the 24 hours up to 9am on Friday.

Earlier today, NHS England reported 352 further hospital deaths over night, while Northern Ireland saw another 18, Wales another 17 and Scotland another 40.

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The 352 patients in England were aged between 30 and 103. Eighteen of them (aged between 43 and 98) had no known underlying health conditions, NHS England said.

April 8 remains the worst date for hospital deaths  with a total of 863 fatalities occurring on that day alone, according to the health body.

The latests hospital figures come after new analysis revealed that people living in the most deprived areas of England have experienced coronavirus mortality rates more than double those living in the least deprived areas.

For all virus-related deaths that took place between March 1 and April 17, the mortality rate in the most deprived areas was 55.1 deaths per 100,000 population.

By contrast, the rate was 25.3 deaths per 100,000 in the least deprived areas.

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The analysis, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also shows the Covid-19 mortality rate in the most deprived areas of England has been higher among men (76.7 deaths per 100,000 population) than women (39.6).

The update comes as the Health Secretary prepares to deliver details on whether the Government has reached its 100,000-a-day testing target.

The latest testing figures show that in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday, 81,611 tests were carried out against a capacity of more than 86,500.

The deadline for hitting the 100,000 goal passed on Thursday but a time lag in reporting results means it will not be known until Friday whether the target was met.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said he thinks the target will have been a success even if it is not quiet met.

He told Sky News: I think we will either have met it or be very close, and in that sense the target will have succeeded because it will have galvanised people across government, in the private sector and across the country.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

This in itself is just a stepping stone; we need to go beyond 100,000, but we have seen now a very substantial increase in testing in quite a short period of time, so in that sense its been a success, but theres more to be done.
Burma Myanmar Military Condemns EU and UK Moves to Continue Sanctions

Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends a parade to mark Armed Forces Day in 2018 in Naypyitaw. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAWThe Myanmar military said a recent decision by the European Union to extend sanctions against Myanmar military officers, and the UKs support for those sanctions, have hurt the position and dignity of the military as it works to implement its Standard Army reforms.

The EU on April 23 decided to keep sanctions in place against 14 top-ranking Myanmar security personnel. The UK Treasury made the decision public on April 27. The UK left the EU on Jan. 31 but is bound under its exit agreement to continue applying the blocs sanctions for the rest of this year.

The sanctions freeze any UK assets held by the officers and criminalize financial transactions with them, for anyone in the UK. The officers are also barred from entering the UK.

The UK and other Western countries imposed sanctions on the group of 14 military leaders over alleged human rights violations during military operations in northern Rakhine State in 2017.

Myanmar military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy that the sanctions were in keeping with Western countries usual practice. He stressed that they are just continuing with the usual pattern.

Our Tatmadaw [Myanmar military] is building a Standard Army that meets international norms. [The extension of sanctions] tarnishes our political image and afflicts our position and dignity, he added.

The UK follows what the EU does; I havent seen other EU members separate statements on the sanctions, he said.

Former Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw, one of the 14 individuals targeted by the sanctions, was the commander of the Bureau of Special Operations No. 3 until the end of 2017, overseeing the armys Western Command in Rakhine State.

He was allowed to resign from his position by the Tatmadaw in 2018 due to his role in alleged human rights violations. Among the other high-ranking officers sanctioned are former Major General Nyi Nyi Swe and former Police Brigadier General Thura San Lwin of the Border Guard Police Force.

U Thein Tun Oo, director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank formed by ex-military officers, said he didnt think the extension of the sanctions would have any particular impact.

He claimed that the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic rebel group fighting the Myanmar military in northern Rakhine State, was recently active in the west of the Mayu Mountain Range, where the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) was previously active.

He added that the Tatmadaw now has to brace for possible ARSA operations in Rakhine and must be careful as it may come under additional international pressure if and when the ARSA is active again.

According to the information we have, ARSA is gathering its forces to launch operations again, said U Thein Tun Oo.

According to political researcher and former military officer Dr. Aung Myo, sanctions from Western countries will do more harm than good. He said that such actions will push the Myanmar military further away from them as well as from the practices and norms of international armies.

There is little transparency in our country. The Tatmadaw has no tradition at all [of transparency]. It is the job [of Western countries] to talk the Tatmadaw into establishing that tradition, not to isolate them, said Dr. Aung Myo.

The more they shun, the further the Tatmadaw will move away from that tradition, the further [the Tatmadaw] will be from what they want, he added.

The US Treasury Department has also imposed equivalent sanctions against the same Myanmar military officers.

Myanmar expert Bertil Lintner wrote in an article for Asia Times in 2018 that the US sanctions have no impact because the sanctioned officers dont have plans to travel to the US and have no assets there. He suggested that such sanctions will only push Myanmar toward China.

Note: This story was updated on May 1, 2020 to clarify that the decision to extend sanctions was made by the EU, not the UK.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Multiple times a week, I get messages asking some variation of, How are you holding up? I am neither an anesthesiologist, critical care, or ER physician, so Im not three inches away from exposure while intubating patients with coronavirus. I am also not a nurse or respiratory therapist in a room dozen of times a day administering life-saving medications, performing vital assessments, or carefully managing the oxygen lifeline. Im certainly not someone in charge of the hospital operations, and no one relies on me to prepare food, ensure security, or clean the work environment. Finally, Im not working in places that look like war-zones (Bergamo or New York City). I guess Im doing fine.

However, as a hospitalist, I do take care of patients with COVID-19 who are too sick to be discharged. My days have blended together into an eight-week block. I arrive at the hospital in scrubs (new for me), review labs and diagnostics, and start rounding with a N95 mask, face shield, gown, and gloves. I finish after a few hours and am relieved to temporarily remove all the garb. My time spent documenting in the EHR is frequently longer than the time I have spent with patients. In the afternoon, I update families via telephone because no visitors are allowed, and I go back to the wards to evaluate the sickest patients. My day is punctuated by notifications about rapid responses; my patients being upgraded to ICU or by the need for me to pronounce a deceased patient. Overall, Im tired from the never-ending cycle of despair. On further reflection, I find myself shifting between these states:

Fear

Anger

Courage

Transformation

Stress

Fear

Statistics dont help me. My mind doesnt take solace in the fact that the case fatality rate is likely less than 5 percent or that elderly patients are more at risk. All I see scattered over social media, and the news are images of young healthcare professionals succumbing to the virus. In my own patients  mainly those from nursing homes  I see the lonely death without family or friends at the bedside. I also witness the obliteration of their decades of experiences. Horrifying doesnt begin to explain the spectacle. I am hypervigilant and do things like wipe down every keyboard or phone I touch, open door handles with tissues, I religiously put on and take off my PPE, and I come home and strip down in my garage and immediately shower. Yet still, I worry that I inevitably must mess up somewhere along my day, and I wonder if I will fall sick or whether I will expose my family to the virus.

Anger

The target of my anger shifts between inept government officials, healthcare middlemen who have bled our healthcare system dry, a world that thrives on inequality, and some health system administrators who dont seem to prioritize the safety of frontline healthcare workers. My anger quickly abates, though, since I dont have time to focus on the past at this moment.

Courage

I wish I had more. Up until now, I thought I had an iron stomach and steady hands. Until a few years ago, I rarely thought much before jumping into experiences; I traveled carefree (sometimes carelessly) across the world, participated in medical relief work abroad, and worked across the country without thinking twice about uprooting my life. I now worry constantly about the consequences. Turns out, having young children changes your risk tolerance; the thought of your family fills your heart with love and nourishes your soul but also tests your stomach. During some particularly difficult moments in the hospital, I can feel a fluttering for what feels like an eternity before I manage to get my bearings. Seeing all the other hospital staff turning up every day to fulfill their duty gives me courage and inspiration. I, too, put one foot in front of the other and stride through the sliding doors of the hospital.

Transformation

Besides the obvious fact that the pandemic has upended our daily lives  something else feels different. Our society cannot go back to business as usual, and I certainly cant. Up until now, as a physician, Ive taken care of one patient at a time in front of me. Ive fought to ensure that whatever is medically necessary gets done for my patients while they are hospitalized. However, after they have been discharged  I have been largely absent in their care and wellbeing. I definitely havent made myself an activist in any greater cause, and essentially Ive been reactive rather than transformative. Going forward, I now see that I must personally do much more to become involved in activism to fix our broken system. If healthcare professionals continue to stand silently and just do their jobs  nothing will change about the inherently unjust and flawed healthcare system, we have allowed to exist. The existing sick-care-system has allowed the proliferation of chronic diseases, the neglect of the vulnerable, the metastasis of profits over patients ethos, and a complete break down of the doctor-patient relationship.

Stress

Unfortunately, stress seems inevitable for all of us at this time  whether youre an essential worker or whether youre at home protecting against the spread. We each must execute strategies to manage stress, so it doesnt conquer us. In my own experience, step 1 has been to accept things as they are. After this, Ive made it a point to carve out some time for myself and be thankful. Finally, Ive tried to just be present with my family. Ive managed to turn off the news and put down social media. Like many have reminded us  the present moment is the only one we have to lose  and rehashing the past or fretting about the future is futile.

Varun Verma is an internal medicine physician who blogs at his self-titled site, Varun Verma, M.D. He can be reached on Twitter @VarunVermaMD.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/30/2020



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Evelyn Halas and Justin Halas are expecting their first child together.Evelyn and Justin announced on Instagram she's pregnant by writing to fans, "Surprise!!! #BabyHalas is coming! Estamos esperando baby!"Evelyn captioned a photo of two large safety pins to represent the couple, one of which had a tiny safety pin inside it, resembling a baby inside of a pregnant woman's belly.Evelyn then took to her Instagram Stories to thank everyone for their "good wishes" and "love," according to In Touch Weekly."I appreciate it," Evelyn wrote.Following her April 20 announcement, Evelyn showed off her growing baby bump three days later on Instagram."It's not an easy time [to be] pregnant... but I appreciate every single moment!" Evelyn wrote alongside the photo, first in Spanish."Learning how to be again!" she added.Evelyn and Justin starred on Season 2 of .The couple met while they were both attending a rugby match at the 2013 World Games in Colombia. They spent seven days together after meeting and quickly fell in love.After the World Games and Justin flew home to the United States, the couple tried to make a long-distance relationship work. Justin later returned to Colombia for a visit and proposed marriage to Evelyn.Justin was a 34-year-old from San Jose, CA, and Evelyn was a 29-year-old from Cali, Colombia, when she arrived in America on a K-1 visa. Once settled in the United States, she changed the spelling of her name from Evelin to how everyone sees it now, Evelyn.Evelyn and Justin got married in 2014 and decided to live in California together, where they've remained a strong couple ever since.They celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in August 2019, and Evelyn has said she is happiest when snuggling with her husband and watching TV or movies.The fourth season of : Before the 90 Days is currently airing Sunday nights at 8PM ET/PT on TLC, followed by the special spinoff : Self-Quarantined airing on Monday nights.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our webpage!
Amid contradicting reports, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on April 30 that they have no information regarding the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. During a virtual press briefing, Guterres was asked whether any UN official had been in touch with any North Korean official on the medical condition and whereabouts of Norths Supreme Leader.

"We have no information about the situation of Kim Jong Un, said Guterres.

The last reported presence of Kim was during a Politburo meeting on April 11 and since then he has missed key events that paved the way for speculations around his medical condition. The North Korean legislature held its third session on April 12 in the absence of its Supreme Leader. Kim also remained absent from commemorations of his grandfathers birth anniversary, triggering speculations around unusual break away from traditions.

A South Korean minister said that Kim Jong Un may be trying to avoid exposure to coronavirus. Unification Minister Kim Yeon-Chul, who oversees engagement with Pyongyang, reportedly told legislators on April 28 that the absence of North Korean leader from ceremonies was not unusual given his recent records.

The minister had highlighted that many anniversary events including celebrations and a banquet had been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns. He said that there were at least two instances since mid-January when the North Korean leader remained out of sight for nearly 20 days, adding that the absence is not particularly unusual due to coronavirus crisis.

Read: Mike Pompeo Warns North Korea At Risk Of Facing Famine, Says No Sight Of Kim Jong Un

State media silent

However, North Koreas state news agency KCNA has been unusually silent on the condition of Kim which is palpable in its reports. While it has mentioned about the North Korean leader issuing orders and taking other actions as if business as usual, it has neither disclosed the location nor clarified on his health condition.

Read: Kim Jong Un's Sudden Disappearance Brings Spotlight To North Korea

US media had earlier reported that Kim contracted COVID-19 from a Chinese doctor who had flown in to help him with a cardiovascular procedure. Contradictory reports have been emerging since then in which some suggested 'stable condition' while some claimed that the North Korean leader went brain-dead after surgery.

Read: Kim Jong Un's Uncle Gains Relevance Amid Speculations About North Korean Leader's Health

Read: Trump Won't Say Kim Jong-un's Okay; Waffles On North Korean Supreme Leader's Health Again

(Image: AP)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:35:10|Editor: huaxia

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YAOUNDE, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Cameroonian government has partially relaxed COVID-19 social distancing rules as of Thursday, following the continued high number of recoveries and low mortality rate in the country.

The new changes, based on the recommendation of a study on the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, allows access to bars, restaurants and leisure facilities after 6 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute said in a statement Thursday evening.

Public transport including buses and taxis with "the mandatory number of passengers" on board is allowed, said Ngute, stressing the need to wear protective masks and adhere to social distancing.

All other social distancing restrictions will remain in place but are subject to regular reviews, according to the statement.

Ngute said the government will assist companies financially, increase family allowance and exempt certain taxes to support sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.

Since March 18, the central African country has closed its borders and schools, and applied strict social distancing to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus.

To date, Cameroon has reported a total of 1,868 confirmed cases, including 953 recoveries and 61 deaths. Enditem
Los Angeles, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On April 24, 2020 the Armenian-American community commemorated the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, where under the pretense of World War I, the Ottoman Empire undertook the deliberate and systematic genocide of 1.5 million Armenians.

To commemorate the date, a coalition of Southern Californian Armenian community organizations including the Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region brought together Armenians from across America to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by holding a fundraiser for Feeding America, raising enough funds to provide over 5 million meals to Americans in need.

For over 50 years, the Armenian community have taken to the streets across America every April 24th to protest Turkeys active denial of the Armenian Genocide. During the 100th year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015, the protest march brought over 166,000 Armenian-Americans to the streets of Los Angeles - the largest in the history of the city - to protest outside the Turkish consulate.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in lieu of the annual March for Justice, Armenian-American community organizations coordinated an humanitarian fundraiser with a pledge to provide 1.5 million meals to Americans in need in honor of the 1.5 million lives lost during the genocide.

Over the course of less than a week, the nationwide Armenian community came together to raise over $250,000 in support of Feeding America through its campaign. Donations were matched by Tony Robbins via the One Billion Meal Challenge, providing twice the impact.

With every $1 donated to Feeding America, the campaign helped secure and distribute at least 10 meals to people facing hunger throughout the country - resulting in the 1.5 Million Meals for 1.5 Million Lives campaign raising a total of over 5,000,000 meals.

"Feeding America is grateful to the Armenian-American community for its generous outpouring of support and for helping to provide over 1.5 million meals to neighbors struggling with hunger, said Briana Crane, Managing Director of Strategic Gifts at Feeding America. With this help, we can meet the unprecedented need presented by this crisis and implement creative and safe ways to distribute food to millions of families across the country.

I want to thank the Armenian American community for their incredible generosity, said Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Feeding America Catherine Davis via video message to the ANCA-WR. Youve now donated over 5 million meals to people who struggle with hunger. What an incredible accomplishment in such a short period of time. Were so grateful to the survivors and descendants of the Armenian genocide who decided to help the American people through these challenging times. On behalf of Feeding America, I want to thank you for your generosity, youre helping to strengthen all of our communities.

The 1.5 Million Meals campaign also highlighted the shared histories of the American and Armenian people, with this years fundraising efforts also paying homage to Near East Relief and its steadfast service to victims of the Armenian Genocide during their time of need over 100 years ago.

Near East Relief - formed in 1915 - at the encouragement of President Wilson became the first congressionally sanctioned non-governmental organization in the United States and the first major international humanitarian operation of its kind in the world.

With an initial fundraising goal of $30 million, between 1915 and 1930 NER went on to raise over $117 million - the equivalent of $2.8 billion in todays terms - and established over 400 orphanages, refugee centers, hospitals, clinics, and vocational schools throughout the Near East. Due to the efforts of Near East Relief, over 132,000 Armenian orphans and over a million refugees of the genocide were saved.

The American people and the Armenian nation are inextricably bound thanks to the generosity of the American public, and the courage of the NER volunteers in assisting the survivors of the Armenian Genocide, said Armen Sahakyan, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region.

This fundraising campaign is a natural extension of our America We Thank You initiative, as we now come together to assist the American people during these challenging times. Joseph Kaskanian, an ANCA-WR board member said about the planning of this unified community effort.

The Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region has long honored the work of Near East Relief and the generosity of the American people, launching its America: We Thank You, A Tribute to Near East Relief initiative in 2015 to mark the centenary anniversary of the genocide.

Since then, the initiative has seen resolutions passed honoring the Near East Relief and recognizing the Armenian Genocide at the local, state and federal levels, and brought Armenian Genocide education into classrooms across the country.

Many of those saved by Near East Relief would go on to form the Armenian-American diaspora, now a community of 1.5 million committed to ensuring justice for their ancestors and compatriots who perished in the first genocide of the 20th century.

That justice has been long denied, with the Government of Turkey today actively enforcing the erasure of Armenian history and denial of the genocide. Moreover, Turkey - as a strategic partner in a tumultuous region - has long used the Armenian Genocide as a bargaining chip in its relations with Western powers, threatening to suspend its support for counterterrorism operations in the Middle East should any partner formally recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In recent years, as Turkey has continued to devolve into an autocratic regime with little regard for human rights and rule of law, its throttlehold over honest remembrance of the Armenian Genocide has started to weaken. This culminated last year in the historic recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United State House of Representatives and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan and near unanimous support.

In addition to recognizing this historic crime against humanity, both chambers of Congress acknowledged the crucial role played by Near East Relief and the American public in ensuring the survival of the Armenian nation and committed to encouraging public education of both the genocide and the important moment of shared Armenian and American history in classrooms across the country.

An overlooked chapter in American history, the U.S. had been keenly aware of the suffering of the Armenian people during the First World War. Its Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, documented the annihilation of the Armenian nation and reported by wire to the Department of State the dire situation.

Learning of the plight of the Armenians, Foreign Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions James L. Barton and Cleveland H. Dodge, a philanthropist closely involved with missionary work in the Near East - and President Woodrow Wilsons confidant - organized a committee of for the purposes of raising funds to assist the Armenians of the Near East.

Through our America We Thank You campaign, the ANCA-WR has been able to build awareness of this proud chapter of our shared history, introducing Near East Relief into public education, and honoring its work through State and Federal congressional resolutions, Sahakyan remarked.

On this solemn day of remembrance, the nationwide Armenian community came together in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic virtually to raise over $250,000 through the 1.5 million meals campaign. Having far surpassed its original goal, the community as a whole felt that honoring the humanitarian efforts of first responders during this world pandemic is of utmost importance.

It is thanks to the eyewitness accounts of first-responders and humanitarian workers who saw the genocide unfold that the memory of its victims and survivors lives on in the United States today. Their testimony has been integral to the cause for justice and recognition of the Armenian Genocide, with the latest milestone being last years historic, near-unanimous adoption of official recognition resolutions by the two chambers of U.S. Congress. said Armen Sahakyan

Feeding America is a United Statesbased nonprofit organization and one of the largest food relief operations in the country. It maintains a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. Feeding America estimates that as many as 1 in 8 people struggle with hunger in the U.S.

The Armenian National Committee of America  Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

All links and files included in this press release, as well as additional footage of Armenian-American community volunteers assisting in preparing care packages for COVID-19 humanitarian relief, can be found in the Dropbox folder linked here.

Attachment
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesBy ALI DUKAKIS, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- Sources with direct knowledge tell ABC News that the Federal Bureau of Prisons late Wednesday advised Roger Stones team that they plan to delay his surrender date to begin his prison sentence by at least 30 days because of COVID-19.



Stone's lawyer Seth Ginsberg confirmed Thursday to ABC News that BOP said it would delay the surrender date by at least a month. Stone's surrender date was supposed to take place no sooner than 14 days after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled on the motion for a new trial, which she did on April 16.



Asked for comment, BOP told ABC News that as a policy, it does not provide information on the date or location that an individual who is not in custody may enter into BOP custody.



Two weeks ago, and months after Stone's sentencing to more than three years in prison on Feb. 20, Judge Amy Berman Jackson denied the veteran GOP political operatives bid for a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct, writing in her decision that "the conviction is final, and that Stone failed to "[supply] any reason to believe that there has been 'a serious miscarriage of justice.'"



Stones bid for a new trial came just days before Judge Jackson sentenced him to 40 months in prison amid speculation about a possible pardon from Stone's longtime friend, President Donald Trump.



Lawyers for Stone filed their notice of appeal late Thursday -- the last day for them to do so. Attorneys representing Stone on appeal, David Schoen and Ginsberg, wrote that Stone is appealing Judge Jackson's judgement in his criminal case imposing his sentencing, and the judge's recent order denying Stone's bid for a new trial.



In November 2019, Stone, 67, was convicted of misleading congressional investigators on several key elements of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including communications he had with the Trump campaign about the WikiLeaks dissemination of damaging documents stolen from Democrats.



According to the sources, Stone has been given a prison designation by BOP. At Stone's sentencing in February, Jackson recommended Stone serve his sentence as close as possible to his family in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:04:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- As the Chinese people embrace the May Day holiday, they rejoice for the gradually returning normal life, and more importantly, they realize better than ever that victory can only be gained with great struggle.

The five-day holiday does not come easily. China has made great sacrifices in curbing the coronavirus. No efforts were spared in saving lives, men and women, young and old. The nation stands firm and united, with every citizen contributing his or her own strength to prevail over the epidemic.

Now the nationwide battle against the epidemic has gained major strategic achievements. The surging flight and hotel bookings prior to the holiday demonstrate the public is confident that the progress can stand the test of history.

China is not only battling the coronavirus but also a "political virus" disseminated by some Western politicians who care more about re-election than the people's life and shift the blame to China to cover up their own failures in outbreak response.

They are using smear tactics such as ridicule, accusations of human rights violations, racist attacks, and unreasonable demand for reparations from China.

The list of tactics could be longer and the blackmailing could continue, but the massive offensive will not shake China's resolve in promoting its development and cooperation with other countries. The Chinese people will only be more cautious of the selfish and despicable nature of some so-called Washington elites, more united and more confident in the national strength.

The challenges China encountered in the first four months of the year prove again that the road of development is complex and onerous. But the country's step toward the goal of building a well-off society is unstoppable.

After the May Day holiday, China will continue to accelerate work resumption and business reopening. The government will enhance efforts to help companies address difficulties and promote the recovery of pillar industries. China's progress will also help stabilize and reactivate the global industrial and supply chains.

China's victory against the coronavirus will not be final, but a prelude to long-term development. For other countries currently imposing lockdowns and expecting to reopen economies, China's practice also serves as an encouragement that by struggling with determination and perseverance, victory is not far off. Enditem
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero extended her emergency proclamation through May 15, and added a recommendation  not a requirement  that Tucsonans wear masks while out in public.

Romero said shes advocating the use of face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, in an effort to stop transmission of the coronavirus through the air from person to person.

She also is strongly advising employers to provide face coverings to their employees while at work, especially if employees are unable to acquire or make one themselves; and encouraging all businesses, including those providing essential functions, to allow employees to work from home through telecommuting or other means to the greatest extent possible to limit gatherings of employees.

Her proclamation late Thursday otherwise falls in line with that of Gov. Doug Ducey, who the day before announced he is extending his orders that Arizonans should stay home except for essential activities, and that nonessential businesses must stay closed, through May 15. Ducey is allowing some stores to partially open this coming Monday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear a cloth covering over their nose and mouth in community settings in an effort to protect people around them if they are infected but without symptoms.

What I have heard is that that face covering helps with keeping out 95% of what youre breathing in, Romero said. ... I strongly recommend any of the public that have to go out for their needs, for their essentials, that they wear that when theyre in public.
The gunman in Nova Scotia, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, shot 13 people to death and set fires that killed nine others in one of the worst mass shootings in the country's history. Police have said he used a handgun that was obtained in Canada and long guns that he obtained in the U.S., but they have not specifically said what guns he used. The rampage started with an assault on his girlfriend and it ended with 22 people dead in communities across central and northern Nova Scotia. A number of people had disputes with the gunman.
US President Donald Trump has said the World Health Organisation should be "ashamed" of itself, as he likened it to a public relations agency for China amidst the coronavirus pandemic after it originated in Wuhan.

The Trump administration has launched a probe into the role of the WHO on coronavirus, and has temporarily suspended the US' financial assistance to it.

"I think that the World Health Organisation should be ashamed of themselves because they are like the public relations agency for China," Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House on Thursday.

Ever since the virus outbreak came to light in Wuhan in December last, speculation has been rife on whether the viral strain originated from China's premier Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or from its nearby Huanan Seafood Market. The US has launched an investigation into whether the deadly virus "escaped" from the WIV.

China has come under increasing global pressure over lack of transparency in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected over 3,257,000 people and killed 233,400 others across the world.

Besides the US, the UK, Australia and Germany have also called for more transparency from Beijing on the COVID-19 origin.

The US, Trump reiterated, pays the WHO almost USD500 million a year and China pays them USD38 million a year. "Whether it's a lot more, it doesn't matter. They shouldn't be making excuses when people make horrible mistakes, especially mistakes that are causing hundreds of thousands of people around the world to die."



"I think the World Health Organisation should be ashamed of themselves, said the President.

The US is the worst affected nation with a death toll of over 63,000 and 1,069,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The economic fallout is huge, with nearly four million more Americans filing for jobless benefits last week.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged the WHO failed to deliver and misled the world on coronavirus. "The World Health Organisation simply failed to respond in this case," he told Scott Sands of The Scott Sands Show in an interview.

"With respect to the WHO, we know that they had one job, right? A single mission: To prevent the spread of a pandemic. We know that the leader of that organization travelled to China and then declined to declare it a pandemic until everyone in the world knew that was already true," Pompeo told Fox in another interview.

"It's unfortunate, but this is not the first time there has been a virus go around the world from inside of China, and it's not the first time the WHO has failed in its mission. We have an obligation to the American people to do our best to make sure that we fix that, that we prevent those things from ever happening again," he said.

Meanwhile, several Republican lawmakers demanding a Congressional hearing alleged that the WHO parroted the Chinese regime's "disinformation" on multiple occasions, including denying human-to-human transmission of the virus.

They alleged the WHO prolonged declaring COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, chastised efforts to restrict travel, and continued to praise China as a global leader in public health despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

"The WHO's inaction and delay undoubtedly cost American lives. For these reasons, we commend the President's decision to temporarily pause the WHO's funding," the lawmakers said.

Congressman James Comer, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on The Environment, said it would be an utter failure of the Committee to not investigate the WHO's failures to address the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the American people.

Congressman Glenn Grothman, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, said that like many international organizations, it appears that the WHO has been "infected" by anti-Western bureaucrats.

"Had they stood up to the Chinese and their wet markets at some point in the last 10 years, I believe hundreds of thousands of people would be alive today," he said.

The WHO deserves a thorough congressional investigation for its alleged mishandling of the coronavirus response, and for accepting and promulgating a communist Chinese propaganda, said Congressman Chip Roy, a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

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Over the past year, I have closely watched the race for Montana Attorney General. Of the several candidates in the running, one of them  Jon Bennion  is my choice to be the states top attorney.

Ive worked with Bennion for the seven years he has been at the Department of Justice. As Beaverhead County Attorney and in my role as a leader of the statewide prosecutor's association, I have had the opportunity to see Bennion demonstrate his leadership traits, keen intellect and devotion to Montana. I can assure you that Bennion has been a great partner to prosecutors and law enforcement statewide. He brings the right combination of listening to other perspectives, collaborating with stakeholders, and providing leadership by taking on the tough battles.

As many of you know, Montana made massive changes to the criminal code in 2017, many of which have proved disastrous. These changes, labeled justice reinvestment, have made our communities less safe. Bennion rightly opposed those mis-steps, and he will lead Montana to correct those oversights.

On the DUI front, Bennion will continue his efforts to provide more accountability to repeat felony DUI offenders. In the 2019 session, Bennion was instrumental in getting a bill through the legislature to punish those DUI offenders with a fifth, sixth and even a 10th DUI. Unfortunately, the governor vetoed that bill. When elected attorney general, I am confident that Bennion will again be instrumental in making that idea the law.

This is an important position, friends; not a job for a career politician. Jon Bennion is the right person for the job.

Jed C. Fitch of Dillon is the county attorney for Beaverhead County.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his ministers this morning to firm up a post-lockdown strategy as the nationwide shutdown is set to end this Sunday.

Home minister Amit Shah, railway minister Piyush Goyal and aviation minister Hardeep Puri were among those who attended the meeting.

On Thursday, PM Modi held a comprehensive meeting to discuss strategies to boost the economy, with an eye on enhancing investment.

In a statement, the Prime Ministers Office said that the meeting discussed strategies to attract more foreign investments into India as well as to promote local investments in order to give a boost to the economy against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also Watch | PM Modi discusses lockdown exit strategy with CMs: All the key details

The ministry of home affairs has allowed states to bring home stranded students, tourists and migrant workers. The states have begun the work to bring the stranded people home.

The railways deployed the first special train to ferry stranded migrant labourers on Friday, carrying over 1,000 people from Telangana to Jharkhand.

Once restrictions on passenger flights are lifted, airports will facilitate limited domestic and international scheduled flights in phases and may be at 30% capacity to facilitate social distancing, the Airport Authority of India stated in a set of guidelines for resumption of service post-lockdown on Thursday.

Strict social distancing norms will be introduced inside the planes to ensure space between two passengers, Hindustan Times had reported on April 9. According to the SOP, passenger seating arrangement shall be done in such a manner so as to maintain social distancing (1- 1.5 m) among passengers using the chairs.
FDA's lax rules on coronavirus blood tests open U.S. market to dubious vendors FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker administers a rapid, point of care pinprick coronavirus (COVID-19) IgM and IgG antibodies test at a myCovidMD free testing center for under and uninsured people, founded by three black women doctors, in Los Angeles

By Caroline Humer, Joseph Tanfani and Roxanne Liu

(Reuters) - As the coronavirus pandemic engulfed the United States, Joe Shia, a consultant to Chinese medical companies, said he was bombarded with inquiries from American firms who saw a golden opportunity in selling tests to determine coronavirus immunity.

Unlike his typical clients, some firms seeking his help had never before sold medical equipment. Others wanted to register test kits with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration without approval from the manufacturer, or to offer home-based tests, which are not allowed by the FDA. One was in the window business, he said.

"They replace windows and do window cleaning," said Shia, adding that he did not do business with the company. "That is just awful  think about it. Someone who doesn't know anything about medical devices."

As demand escalates for blood antibody tests to determine who might be fit to release from lockdown, an array of distributors with no background or established competency in medical testing have joined experienced companies in an all-but-unregulated marketplace, Reuters found. The rush to obtain, advertise and find buyers for test kits follows the FDA's unprecedented decision last month to allow any company to sell antibody tests in the United States without prior review by the agency.

Pounded by criticism for a delay in expanding diagnostic tests for coronavirus infection, the FDA has swung in the opposite direction in overseeing tests for coronavirus immunity. This take-all-comers approach, Reuters found, has provided an entree for questionable vendors and middlemen  including an electronics salesman hawking an unauthorized home test kit and a former physician convicted in a fraudulent gold-peddling scheme.

"There are literally dozens and dozens of companies jumping out of the blue that I've never heard of, and they are saying to us that, 'If you put money up front before we deliver tests, we can put you first in line for our allocation,'" said Stefan Juretschko, senior director of infectious disease diagnostics at Northwell Health Laboratories, the laboratory testing division of Northwell Health, one of New York's largest hospital systems.

The sums of money up for grabs are vast. Antibody tests can retail for between $25 to more than $100. It is too early to know how many Americans will seek testing and how often. But - conservatively - if tens of millions get tested just once, that translates into a multi-billion-dollar market.

Story continues

Under the FDA's new rules, a vendor must only notify the FDA it is selling a test, affirm the product is valid and label it as unapproved. On its website as of April 29, the FDA listed 164 tests that it had been informed would be offered on the market, more than half of them manufactured in China.

The agency has said it is working with the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to validate tests, including tests already on the market. It is unclear how many antibody test kits have been distributed for sale in the United States.

In a statement to Reuters, the FDA said the aim of its policy was to provide laboratories and healthcare providers early access to the tests. But the agency said that it would adjust the approach as needed.

"Every step we have taken as part of our approach to COVID-19 testing has been a careful balancing of risks and benefits in order to meet the urgent public health needs as we combat this new pathogen," said Anand Shah, deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs, in the statement.

In a separate statement, FDA spokeswoman Sarah Peddicord said some test developers had falsely claimed that their tests were FDA approved, that they could diagnose COVID-19 - the disease caused by the coronavirus - or that they were appropriate for home use.

"When we become aware of these issues, we have and will continue to take appropriate action," she said, including rejecting tests at the U.S. border.

Antibody tests are different from the nasal-swab diagnostic tests that show an active infection. They are blood tests intended to determine who at some point has been infected by the virus and now could be immune. Antibodies, disease-fighting proteins formed in the days and weeks after infection, may protect a person from re-infection, at least for a time, although it has not been proved whether that holds true for the coronavirus.

Propelling demand for the blood tests is a foundering economy, a sharply rising rate of unemployment and a stir-crazy public anxious to return to their former lives.

"Think about it, testing is an emotional thing," said Meg Wyatt, senior director of diagnostics for Premier Inc, a leading buyer of equipment for hospitals and nursing homes. "It's this one single thing that can tell me, am I ok, is my family ok, when can I visit my older parents again? It is a good hook" for sellers.

'NOT EASY TO MAKE'

The entry of unqualified or unscrupulous manufacturers and brokers into the antibody testing business poses risks. Perhaps the greatest one is that they'll sell a test that indicates immunity where there is none - known as a "false positive." That could lead people to return to the community while unwittingly posing a risk to themselves and others, infectious disease experts say.

A team of scientists in California and Massachusetts recently evaluated 14 blood antibody tests now on the market and found significant variation in their performance.

The tests were generally effective at detecting antibodies three weeks after an infection but much less so for more recent cases, said Patrick Hsu, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who was involved in the research.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, whose House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy is investigating the regulation of antibody testing, sent letters this week to the FDA and four of the companies cited in the study. He expressed concern about lax regulation of the testing and has called for the FDA to remove tests that don't meet the agency's usual standards from the market.

Antibody tests are easy to administer, sometimes requiring only a finger prick to derive a blood sample. Some samples are analyzed in laboratories; other test results are readable on a device, like a pregnancy test, within minutes.

But "if you want good quality, (the tests) are not easy to make," said Alberto Gutierrez, who led the FDA's office overseeing diagnostic testing from 2009 to 2017. "They do require a fair amount of expertise."

Some companies that have notified the FDA of their intent to sell kits without securing approval have separately applied for "emergency use authorization (EUA)," a temporary stamp of approval that requires some review but far less than is typical for a medical device.

Nine tests had been approved for emergency use as of Thursday, including those made by Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, an established testing company owned by private-equity firm Carlyle Group Inc.

The company said it made every effort, as did the FDA, to ensure the tests were reliable and accurate.

Chockalingam "Palani" Palaniappan, Ortho's chief innovation officer, said the EUA approval process took about a week, but nonetheless was based on a substantial amount of data, including validation of about 400 test samples.

MONEY UP FRONT

Without a rigorous FDA approval process or enough trusted suppliers, hospitals and others in need of antibody tests say they are left to weed out the good products from the bad.

"All they want to talk about is price and quantity," Wyatt of Premier said of testing companies whose claims strike her as dubious. Those pitches lack the usual scientific documentation and generally are not from established distributors, she added. The offers often are full of misspellings or appeals to emotion such as, "In order to help America," she said.

"It's just been extremely distracting for our member health systems," she said. "They're under such pressure to maximize testing capacity."

Reuters found a number of aspiring antibody test distributors that have made questionable or false claims.

In one case, a distributor called BodySphere claimed in a Business Wire release that it had access to a test that had already been approved for emergency use as a "two-minute" coronavirus "diagnostic" test. BodySphere told Reuters its supplier was Safecare Biotech Co Ltd, based in Hangzhou, China.

Safecare - a client of the Maryland consultant, Shia - told Reuters it had no distribution deal with Bodysphere and that its test takes 10 to 15 minutes, not two, to deliver results. Moreover, Safecare has not received an EUA for its antibody test. And contrary to BodySphere's release, the Safecare test is not diagnostic.

After being contacted by Reuters, BodySphere retracted its claim of receiving an EUA from U.S. health regulators. The company said it mistakenly had believed that the product was authorized.

Another vendor, David Melman, of Tel Aviv, recently sent Reuters an email and press release promoting an "accurate, fast, affordable, easy-to-use" antibody test "designed for everyone at home, providing results within a few minutes."

Melman, who identifies himself on LinkedIn as a sales representative for an electronics firm, has taken on a new title: chief executive of a company called COVI-Labs. He claimed in his pitch that his company's test had received "pre-EUA approval" for the home test - impossible because the FDA does not allow this type of test.

In response to questions from Reuters, Melman said he intends to perform "research and evaluation" on the kit before distributing it and that he would sell the kit for home use in the United States only if it received an EUA from the FDA.

TWO MEN AND A TEST

A fight between two would-be distributors - both of whom had previous run-ins with the law - illustrates the race to cash in on the new testing marketplace.

Edward Joseph Eyring, a 52-year-old former colorectal surgeon in Utah, set up a company and a website in March offering antibody test kits under the name CoronaCide. He notified the FDA of his intent to sell and began talking with potential partners. These included businessman George Todt, who was working as a consultant for a California startup called Wellness Matrix, a publicly traded company.

Todt proceeded to market CoronaCide kits on his own: "Home test kits now! Approved by FDA," he tweeted on March 19. After National Public Radio reported the claim, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspended trading in Wellness' stock.

On April 8, Eyring filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Todt and Wellness pitched CoronaCide kits without his permission and knowing they weren't approved for home use. The trademark suit says those actions damaged CoronaCide - a company that Eyring's lawyer, Anton Hopen, told Reuters was intended to help customers "better cope with the COVID-19 pandemic."

Todt could not be reached for comment. A lawyer for Wellness, William Dailey, said in a statement to Reuters that the company did nothing wrong and wasn't involved in Todt's actions.

Eyring and Todt each have separate histories of defrauding investors.

Todt was sued by the SEC in 2005 for two stock manipulation schemes. In a judgment, he was fined $130,000 and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution.

Eyring allowed his medical license to lapse after he stipulated to making clinical errors and violating accepted professional and ethical standards in 2010 and did not complete the terms of his settlement, Utah state records show.

In 2017, he pleaded guilty to "a pattern of unlawful activity" to resolve charges in Utah that he lured investors into a fraudulent African gold trading venture. In a plea agreement, he said he would pay $473,039 in restitution. He was placed on probation, which ended last month - two weeks before he formed CoronaCide.

He will "take advantage of anybody and everybody he can," said Carolann Fredericks, a nurse in Poughkeepsie, New York, now helping to care for critically ill coronavirus patients. A former friend of Eyring, Fredericks gave Eyring $200,000 for the gold deal, according to an affidavit in the case.

In written responses to Reuters, attorney Hopen said Eyring regrets that he and his investors lost money and has done his best to repay his debts.

WAITING ON CHINA

Though virtually unrestricted by the FDA, many antibody test distributors in the United States have run into obstacles posed by China's export policy.

After European countries criticized the quality of China's coronavirus tests, China adopted a new policy on April 1 that holds up exports of tests until the products have a certificate from the country's regulator, the National Medical Products Administration.

Thus far, China has only certified about a dozen of the 90 China-made antibody tests on the FDA list of prospective sellers, leaving many U.S. distributors without kits to sell.

This past weekend, however, China's commerce ministry said it would loosen those restrictions. It would allow domestic manufacturers to export test kits, provided an authorized trade association verifies that the tests are approved for use in the importing countries.

It was not immediately clear how the move would affect exports to the United States, since FDA approval is not required for antibody tests.

Some medical experts and policy makers say that as the market expands and the stakes grow higher for the tests, the U.S. regulator needs to take on a more assertive role.

Historically, "the FDA has been there as a bulwark for accuracy and reliability," said William Schaffner, an infectious disease professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "If they give up that role, that opens the door to all kinds of mishaps."

(Caroline Humer reported from New York, Joseph Tanfani from New Jersey and Roxanne Liu from Beijing. Carl O'Donnell contributed from New York and Chad Terhune from Los Angeles; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Julie Marquis)
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks to the media at Parliament House on April 11, 2019 in Canberra, Australia.(Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

Australia Gathers International Support for CCP Virus Inquiry

Amid a week of Beijings wolf warrior diplomacy, Australia remains firm on pursuing an independent international inquiry into the origins and handling of the CCP virus outbreak in Wuhan.

Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne told ABC Radio AM on May 1 that Australia was in the process of speaking to other nations to mount a transparent review.

We have been very gratified by the engagement weve had in recent days and in the last week with the prime ministers calls and my own, Payne said.

Following the governments efforts, a resolution has been tabled by the European Union for the World Health Organisation on May 18 that discusses the need for an appropriate review.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Alan Jones on 2GB Radio on May 1: What the world over needs to knowand theres a lot of support for thisis how did it start and what are the lessons to be learned?

That needs to be done independently. And why do we want to know that? Because it could happen again, he said.

Previously, on April 14, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres committed to a review of the CCP virus pandemic after the crisis has passed.

Australias former foreign minister Julie Bishop told ABC Radio on April 30 that she was surprised by Chinas reaction China given they did not want to carry out a credible investigation for the rest of the world themselves.

I think it would have been preferable, of course, had China led a credible investigation into the origins of coronavirus, and I am surprised China has not done that given the impact on the Chinese economy, its society and indeed its reputation, Bishop said.

Bishop also called for rhetoric to scale down and for a more calm and quiet diplomacy.

Bishop said the investigation needs to happen to understand how the virus got into human populations and whether decisions could have been taken that would have prevented its spread.

Speaking to Sevens Sunrise on April 29, Bishop said China had an obligation as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to support an independent inquiry.

China should fulfill its obligations as a member of the UN Security Council Former Foreign Minister @HonJulieBishop says China must comply with an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Latest updates: https://t.co/NkVFH2ldL2 pic.twitter.com/54EYzmM4w0  Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 29, 2020

Australia and China are currently experiencing a cooling of diplomatic relations.

Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye on April 26 threatened that the Chinese public may boycott Australian exports, tourism, and the university sector if the government continued with the inquiry.

Foreign Minister Payne also said on May 1 that Australia would reject any suggestion that economic coercion would be an appropriate response to calls for an independent and transparent review.
The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response of the Centre and AAP government on a PIL seeking free-of-cost medical treatment for over 100 out station patients at AIIMS which allegedly stopped treating them after COVID-19 outbreak.

The plea claimed that the patients were earlier receiving treatment at AIIMS, but after the coronavirus pandemic, the hospital has been converted into an COVID-19 exclusive facility and it stopped providing treatment to these patients.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Yogesh Khanna issued notice to the Centre, Delhi government and AIIMS seeking their stand on the plea which also claimed that these patients and their attendants were being housed in 'rain baseras' (night shelters) where social distancing norms were not being maintained.

The lawyers for petitioner Karan Seth, told the bench that many of these patients are suffering from serious ailments, such as cancer, and therefore, their natural immunity was low and they stood the risk of contracting coronavirus if they live in such conditions.

Delhi government, represented by advocate Anupam Srivastava, told the bench that the issue of providing accommodation to these patients was the responsibility of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and therefore, it should also be made a party in the case.

The court, thereafter, ordered that DUSIB be made a party and issued notice to it also and listed the matter for further hearing on May 8.

It also directed the Centre and Delhi government to "place on record the list of hospitals where these patients could receive treatment for ailments, other than COVID-19, free-of-cost according to their eligibility".

The direction came after the petitioner's lawyers said that assistance through Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK) is only provided to citizens of the national capital and as these patients hail from other parts of the nation, they may not get free-of cost treatment.

Meanwhile, the AIIMS told the bench that its main facility was not an exclusive COVID-19 facility, and the hospital continues to treat patients with other ailments.

The court asked AIIMS to state in its replywhether these patients could be provided treatment there, as they were receiving earlier.

A direction was also issued to the petitioner to prepare a list of patients in respect of whom the PIL has been preferred.

"The said list should include their name, age, the particular ailment that they are suffering from," the bench said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has sickened over 3.25 million people and has killed 233,014 people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.



A safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is necessary to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading. A number of drug companies and research organizations are working on a vaccine for COVID-19.



According to the World Health Organization's database, there are seven COVID-19 candidate vaccines in human testing and over 90 in preclinical evaluation.



In this article, we present to you the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently in human trials - their stage of development, developers, expected time frame, etc.



1. BioNTech's BNT162



BioNTech SE's (BNTX) BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19 infection includes four vaccine candidates, each representing different mRNA formats and target antigens.



The four vaccine candidates under the BNT162 vaccine program are in phase I/II trial in Germany. The dose-escalation portion of the phase I/II trial will include approximately 200 healthy subjects between the ages of 18 to 55. The second part of the study will enroll subjects with a higher risk for a severe COVID-19 infection.



BNT162 is being jointly developed by BioNTech and Pfizer (PFE).



During its earnings conference call on Apr.28, Pfizer said that initial data from the BNT162 vaccine trial is 'expected in May-June, with a potential for emergency use or accelerated approval probably in October and onwards'.



Pfizer and BioNTech plan to initiate trials for BNT162 in the United States upon regulatory approval, which is expected shortly.



BioNTech is collaborating with Fosun Pharma to develop BNT162 in China, where the companies expect to conduct trials.



2. University of Oxford's ChAdOx1 nCoV-19



ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, developed by the University of Oxford researchers, is under a phase I/II study in the UK in healthy adult volunteers aged 18-55 years.



ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine is based on a nonreplicating engineered chimpanzee adenovirus vector, ChAdOx1.



The trial is designed to enroll up to 1,102 participants, recruited across multiple study sites in Oxford, Southampton, London, and Bristol. Results from the trial are expected to be available by May 2021.



Serum Institute of India is collaborating with Oxford University for the manufacture of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine.



3. CanSino's Ad5-nCoV



CanSino Biologics Inc.'s recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine Ad5-nCoV is under phase II trial in healthy adults over 18 years of age in China.



Ad5-nCoV, co-developed with Beijing Institute of Biotechnology and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, is built upon CanSino's adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine technology platform.



The phase II trial is designed to enroll 500 participants. Results from the trial are expected to be available by January 2021.



4. Inovio's INO-4800



INO-4800, being developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INO) is a DNA vaccine candidate to protect against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.



INO-4800 is under a phase I clinical trial in the U.S., and is fully enrolled with all 40 healthy volunteers. The interim immune responses and safety results from the trial are expected in late June.



If all goes well as planned, INO-4800 will advance into phase II/III efficacy trial, which is planned to be potentially initiated this summer.



INOVIO has partnered with Beijing Advaccine and the International Vaccine Institute to advance clinical trials of INO-4800 in China and South Korea, respectively.



The Company has also secured funding from CEPI, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense for the development of INO-4800.



5. Wuhan Institute of Biological Products' COVID-19 vaccine



The COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm), is an inactivated vaccine, which means it is made from inactivated forms of the virus SARS-CoV-2.



According to reports, the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine has entered the phase II portion of a phase I/II trial in participants aged 18 to 60.



In the phase I part of the trial, 96 persons have been administered the vaccine. 'The vaccine has shown good safety so far and participants are still under observation', reports Xinhua, the national news agency of China.



6. Sinovac's PiCoVacc



PiCoVacc, being developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd., is a purified inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine candidate.



This vaccine is under phase I portion of a phase I/II trial in China. The trial is designed to enroll a total of 744 participants - 144 at phase I and 600 at phase II.



The results from the trial are expected to be available by August 2020.



7. Moderna's mRNA-1273



Moderna Inc.'s (MRNA) mRNA-1273 is a novel lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA vaccine, under phase I testing in healthy adults in the U.S.



The trial has completed enrollment of 45 healthy adult volunteers of ages 18 to 55 years and is assessing the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of mRNA-1273.



The phase I trial is led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Full results from the study are expected by June 2021.



Meanwhile, the Company has sought FDA clearance to initiate a phase II study of mRNA-1273 if supported by safety data from the phase I study.



If all goes well, the Company plans to initiate a phase II trial of mRNA-1273 this quarter (Q2, 2020), and will enroll 600 healthy participants across two cohorts of adults ages 18-55 years and older adults ages 55 years and above.



Subject to data from the phase I and phase II studies and discussions with regulators, the Company intends to begin a phase III study of its mRNA-1273 vaccine in the fall of 2020.



Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) are also funding the development of Moderna's mRNA vaccine.



*Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad26 SARS-CoV-2 is expected to enter human clinical trial by September 2020.



When will a vaccine for COVID-19 be available?



Vaccine development is a complex process and it usually takes 10 to 15 years under a traditional vaccine development model. However, there are exceptions. Say, for example, it took 4 fours to develop and get approval for a mumps vaccine that was first licensed in 1948, and in the case of the Ebola vaccine, which was approved in December 2019, it took 5 years.



But given the urgent need to address the ongoing pandemic, a COVID-19 vaccine requires a much-shortened timeline, without compromising long-term safety and efficacy.



With scientists, physicians, funders, and manufacturers coming together as part of an international collaboration, coordinated by the World Health Organization, many experts are optimistic that a COVID-19 vaccine could be available by the summer of 2021.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
CHICAGO, ILProtesters gathered outside the Thompson Center Friday to demand that Gov. J.B. Pritzker lift his coronavirus restrictions and reopen the states economy. The state's modified, extended stay-at-home order took effect on Friday.

According to rally participants, Illinois cannot afford to keep operating under its current state. Illinoisans desperately want to get back to work, they said.

Courtesy: Jonah Meadows/Patch

"Friends that are having to pay their mortgage, that are having to pay bills, they're in a difficult situation, and it should not be a partisan issue," said Froy Jimenez, a Chicago Public Schools teacher and former democratic candidate for the Illinois senate.



Here's What's Reopening Under New Coronavirus Stay-At-Home Order

"We're afraid. Talk to people that are worried about their businesses closing. Talk to people that can't sleep at night because they know they can't afford to support their family anymore," former Lake County Sheriff and current Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Curran said during the rally. "We are desperately worried. We're in this horrible state. Ultimately, we've got to talk reality."



Courtesy: Jonah Meadows/Patch

According to Illinois State Comptroller Susanna Mendoza, the state is on pace to spend an additional $6.2 billion more than it receives in revenue this fiscal year alone if it continues its current rate of spending without a budget. At the same time, Illinois is bringing in about $5 billion less in revenue annually. Protesters argue that the current shutdown is only making the situation worse.



"This is Illinois. This is the worst economy in America right now. We look in terms of our credit rating. We look in terms of our debt. We can't borrow money anymore. Our pension debt is a $130 to $160 billion every year. We are asking to borrow $10 billion. Where is that going? It's going nowhere," Curran said. "We look at our overall debt, we can't pay the bills. You look at all the city workers out here. The reality is, their pensions are done. The train has run out of fuel. We are not getting paid anymore."



Story continues

Courtesy: Jonah Meadows/Patch

Organized by the Republican activist group Freedom Movement USA rally participants are demanding that state and local leaders work together to devise a plan to cautiously allow Illinois residents to get back to work. So far, they said that hasn't fully happened.



"We're here to advocate for not only our governor who has taken some preventative measures, we acknowledge that. We want to encourage the general assembly, members of the state senate, and the House of Representatives to start getting involved in the decision-making of how we should plan on the future of our local Illinois economy," Jimenez said.



Illinois Coronavirus Update May 1  Don't miss updates about precautions in the Chicago area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.



Friday's event was not the first rally to demand the reopening of the state. A similar rally Sunday was held in Springfield, the states capitol, to protest the state's stay-at-home order. Meanwhile, critics, including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, argue that the data continues to show that staying home and social distancing is, in fact, saving lives.

The notion that we are going to open up before the data and the science tell us that were ready is really foolish, and we would be putting lives at risk to do so Lightfoot told the Daily News.

VIDEO: Facebook Stream of Chicago Rally

"I will defend to the death their right to protest  even when theyre wrong," Pritzker said Friday in response to the recent rallies.



In a report by the The Washington Post, Pritzker said officials in Illinois have been collaborating across party lines during the coronavirus pandemic to discuss ways to safely reopen the state.

I have frequent conversations with the elected officials around my state who are not in my own party, and we all share the common goal of opening our economy and getting people back to school and back to normal as fast as we can, but with an overriding concern for peoples safety and health, the governor said.



Protesters argue, however, that more needs to be done, and there should be a balance. The current response to the coronavirus just isn't working, they said.

"It should be noted that we don't want to open up our economy in a reckless way, in an irresponsible way. Quite the contrary. We want to make sure we collaborate, and we hear many voices," Jimenez said. "It shouldn't be all open or all closed. We should find a medium solution in which we have multiple people, debating and discussing what's the best solution for our state."

VIDEO: Mark Curran and Froylan Jimenez speak during the rally





This article originally appeared on the Chicago Patch
The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)



in Maharashtra on Friday welcomed the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to hold biennial elections for nine vacant seats of the state Legislative Council on May 21.

The decision paved the way for Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to enter the state legislature within six months of his swearing-in on November 28, 2019.

State Congress chief and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat said the three MVA partners can win two seats each.

In a tweet, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut thanked the central government and the ECI for allowing the elections, which were earlier postponed to due to coronavirus outbreak, to be beld.

The announcement ended the atmosphere of uncertainty, he said.

State Congress chief Thorat and his NCP counterpart Jayant Patil, both ministers in the Thackeray-led government, also welcomed the announcement, saying it will put to rest the "speculation of uncertainty created by the opposition (BJP)".

Nine Legislative Council seats fell vacant on April 24. The BJP and NCP held three of these seats each, the Congress two and Shiv Sena one.

The 288-member Legislative Assembly forms the electoral college for the polls. A candidate will need at least 29 votes to win.

Governor B S Koshyari had written to the ECI on Thursday, requesting it to hold the elections at the earliest.

After the elections were postponed in view of the corona pandemic,the state cabinet had twice recommended to the governor to nominate Thackeray to be Council on one of the two seats from Governor's quota which were vacant.

But the governor did not take any decision. Earlier this week Thackeray spoke to prime minister Narendra Modi over the issue, Sena sources had said.

On Thursday, Thackeray wrote to the governor, asking him to request the poll panel to hold the biennial elections. Legislature wings of the three allies -- Sena, Congress and NCP -- sent similar letters to the ECI.

Thackeray, who is not a member of either house of Maharashtra legislature, will have to get elected before May 27.

Speaking to PTI, Thorat expressed confidence that the MVA will win six of the nine seats, two each for three members of the alliance.

"During the Rajya Sabha elections, I spoke to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the Congress' demand of two seats in the Council. There should not be any problem," he said.

The BJP, which has 105 MLAs, said it will contest four seats.

If the MVA contests six seats, it will need 174 votes.

The government had bagged 169 out of 288 votes during the trust vote last year.

"We have the numbers," Thorat claimed.

Party position in the Assemblyis as follows: BJP 105, Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54, Congress 44, Bahujan Vikas aghadi 3, Samajwadi party 2, AIMIM 2, Prahar Janshakti Party 2, MNS 1, CPM 1, PWP 1, Swabhimani Paksh1, Rashtriya Samaj Paksh 1, Jansurajya Shakti 1, Krantikari Shetkari Paksh 1 and Independents 13.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TDT | Manama

Bahrains Feena Khair campaign is motivating more and more people to join hands with Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF), with donations rushing in from all corners of the Kingdom, said RHF Secretary-General, Dr Mustafa Al Sayed.

Since the announcement of the campaign, Dr Al Sayed said, donations flooded in from organisations, businesses and individuals to help alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable segments displaying the togetherness of the Bahrain community. The Bahrain TV telethon was an example of the solidarity that Bahraini society enjoys and the One-Nation spirit that Bahrain has been famous for, he added. We are also very proud of the spontaneous support of our expatriate brethren who consider themselves a part of Bahrains progress and future. He also highlighted the global praise Bahrain won for its rapid, systematic and humane response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Led by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, Bahrain mobilised every effort to curb the pandemic. HH Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian and Youth Affairs, National Security Adviser and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) launched the campaign in support. To donate log on to www. rco.gov.bh or bank transfer to the National Bank of Bahrain  Account Name: MOFNE, The National Effort to Combat the Coronavirus COVID-19, IBAN: BH66NBOB00000082109370.

BD100,000 from Sunni Endowments Council

The Sunni Endowments Council is allocating BD 100,000 to the Feena Khair Campaign, said Sunni Endowments Council Chairman, Dr Shaikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al-Hajeri. Dr Al-Hajeri said the Sunni Endowments Directorate would continue paying the salaries of its affiliates, including imams, preachers and muezzins, who are not subject to the Civil Service Bureau, for three months.
Malaysia will allow most businesses to re-open from next week, the prime minister said Friday, easing a lockdown to fight the spread of the coronavirus as the country's outbreak slows. The Southeast Asian nation in mid-March ordered the closure of all but essential businesses as well as schools and asked people to stay home, as cases surged. But the number of new infections has slowed markedly in recent weeks, with fewer than 100 reported most days. In total, the country has recorded about 6,000 cases and 100 deaths so far. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that from Monday "almost all economic sectors and business activities will be allowed to operate subject to conditions". These include ensuring that employees can properly practise social distancing, he said in a televised address. He said that during the lockdown, the country had lost about 63 billion ringgit ($14 billion) as economic activity ground to a standstill. But schools will stay shut as well as businesses that could involve people being in close proximity -- and thus increase the risk of infection -- such as cinemas. Mosques in the Muslim-majority country will also stay closed and people will not be allowed to travel back to their hometowns for the Eid holiday, which falls at the end of May after the holy month of Ramadan.
Mounted police line up to keep protesters on the sidewalk as hundreds of people rally at the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

An Orange County judge rejected a request Friday from Huntington Beach seeking a temporary restraining order against the governor's decision to close county beaches in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

It's a victory for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has asserted that it's too soon to lift the state stay-at-home order. However, the coastal battle in the state is continuing, and an injunction on the governor's order is still possible.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Nathan Scott set a hearing for May 11 to consider the city's request for an injunction against Newsom's order. Dana Point, another Orange County coastal city, had also joined the suit to block the beach closure.

On Friday, hundreds of residents across the state staged protests against the governor's stance on the matter, saying they were fed up with six weeks of restrictions that have curbed their movements and beach visits.

The crowd that descended on the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street in Huntington Beach was significantly larger than a demonstration at the same site near the Huntington Beach Pier two weeks ago. The protesters said they were fighting for their freedom and standing up against what they felt was an abuse of power by the governor.

I served in the Army and fought tyrants and dictators overseas, and this has gone too far, said protester Andrew Norman. I didnt do that to come back here and live under a tyrant in my own country.

Around him, children held up signs that read: "I want to go to school. I miss my friends."

The Orange County beach closure was intended to avert a repeat of last weekend, when thousands flocked to sandy stretches that had been opened, even as shorelines in neighboring Los Angeles County remained closed. L.A. County has reported more than 24,250 cases of coronavirus infection and nearly 1,200 related deaths.

Gareth Davies of Aliso Viejo waves the U.S. flag in Huntington Beach while protesting Gov. Gavin Newsom's closure of Orange County beaches. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Specific issues on some of those beaches have raised alarm bells, Newsom said Thursday. People that are congregating there, that werent practicing physical distancing, that may go back to their community outside of Orange County and may not even know that they contracted the disease, and now they put other people at risk, put our hospital system at risk.

Story continues

The governor said the beaches would be reopened soon if the situation in Orange County improves.

But that didn't satisfy county leaders and officials in some coastal communities, who argue they should decide on shore restrictions based on local conditions.

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Thursday night during an emergency session to seek an injunction against Newsoms order.

Mayor Lyn Semeta said that the beachgoers were maintaining proper distancing over the weekend and that the county has among the lowest per capita COVID-19 death rates in California. Newsom's order, she said, was prioritizing politics over data. Orange County had reported 2,537 cases of COVID-19 and 50 related deaths as of Friday.

During Friday's hearing, city attorneys for Dana Point and Huntington Beach said Newsom had issued his order based on a photograph published by a local newspaper instead of relying on data or local law enforcement.

"A hammer was dropped on the city and the city was placed in a very difficult position, literally overnight, to try and deal with this change and direction," said Huntington Beach City Atty. Michael Gates.

Motorists join protesters rallying at the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Gates said the city wasn't aware of the governor's concern over beach attendance until the order was issued.

"We went to great pains to demonstrate that the pictures [were] taken by a camera at an angle that gives the impression of a very crowded beach," said Dana Point City Atty. Patrick Munoz.

Mark Beckington, California's supervising deputy attorney general, urged the judge to give the state time to assert its authority in briefings before reaching a decision. Beckington said the matter of local control  even for a charter city such as Huntington Beach  wouldn't overrule the state's orders, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other cities were also weighing their legal options when it came to the beach-closure order.

San Clemente Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson said Thursday that she reached out to the city manager and city attorney Wednesday night after she heard about the proposed order, suggesting they review what legal authority the governor had to close city beaches.

Im hoping the governor can cite some valid reason under case law to be doing this to cities because, in my opinion, it appears to be government overreach. Local beaches are under the control of the cities, not the state, she said.

An aerial view of protesters at the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The Newport Beach City Council planned to hold a special meeting over the weekend to discuss the possibility of challenging the directive.

Asked whether he had any concerns regarding enforcement of the states order to close Orange Countys beaches, Newsom said Friday that he has incredible confidence in local law enforcement agencies but also stressed that its not just an enforcement mindset, its also an encouragement mindset.

Again, the only thing  I mean it, the only thing  thats going to hold us back is a spread of this virus," Newsom said. "And the only thing that is assured to advance the spread of the virus is thousands of people congregating together, not practicing social distancing or physical distancing. If we can avoid that, then were going to get to the other side of this with modifications a lot quicker."

Meanwhile, smaller communities across the state that have seen little recorded spread of the virus have been lobbying Newsom to allow them to ease stay-at-home restrictions.

The governor so far has refused, saying conditions are too risky. But one Northern California county appears to be moving ahead anyway.

Modoc County planned to allow all businesses, schools and churches to reopen starting Friday, as long as people stay six feet apart, according to a statement signed by the county health officer, sheriff-coroner, chair of the Board of Supervisors and other county officials.

Angelina Sabadin, 17, center, a high school senior from Upland, joins the protesters in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The health and safety of Modoc County residents is and continues to be our number one priority. This reopening plan was made in the best interest of residents physical, mental and economic health, the statement said.

The county is one of the least populated in the state, with fewer than 9,000 residents, and one of only four in California that have not reported a single case of coronavirus infection.

Its unclear whether the reopening will result in a legal showdown between Modoc County and Newsom, whose statewide stay-at-home order supersedes local laws.

Newsom said Thursday that he was aware of Modocs announced intentions but did not know details of the countys plan. However, he said, Californias stay-at-home order overlays all the orders in the state.

You can go further and be more prescriptive and restrictive, but when you loosen up and you loosen beyond  then its in conflict, and therein becomes the challenge, he said.

In Del Norte County, Sheriff Erik Apperson said he would not enforce restrictions on movement at beaches and outdoor recreation areas. The county's efforts to appeal to the state to open parts of the county, including giving drivers access to state parks, have failed so far.

"This one-size-fits-all response does not serve the people of Del Norte County," Apperson said. "We are already sacrificing more than our share, and frankly we are exemplary in our efforts as a community. Beaches and outdoor recreation are essential aspects of our daily lives here and critical to our mental/physical well-being."

Newsom pointed to examples of other countries that saw a resurgence of the coronavirus after relaxing some of their restrictions.

Look what happened in Japan. Look what happened in Singapore. Look what happened in China, he said. When you pull back too quickly, you literally put peoples lives at risk."

When it comes to matters of public health, the state has wide powers to enact regulations and restrictions, said Julie Nice, a constitutional law professor at the University of San Francisco.

Counties and other local governments may enforce health and safety and sanitation rules, she said, so long as they do not conflict with the states general law.

That doesnt seem to be the case with what Modoc County has proposed, she said Friday.

A protester in Huntington Beach wears a mask that reads "Open California" and carries a copy of the Declaration of Independence. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

From everything I can tell from the governors orders and what the county has said it plans to do, it appears to directly conflict with state law, she said. And I think, as a matter of governmental power, the countys likely to lose against the state.

If such a conflict exists, the county could conceivably argue that the states rules are unreasonable, but Nice said that would probably be an uphill battle.

Just thinking logically, a contagious infection does not respect county boundaries, she said. And so I would be very surprised if any court would find the states statewide rules to be unreasonable, because thats a very low bar.

Should Newsom decide to intervene, Nice said, the governor could negotiate directly with county officials to hammer out a resolution or, barring that, the state could turn to the courts to block the reopening plan.

The general police power of a state, and particularly when its applied in the public health context, puts the courts in a position of really being extremely reluctant to second-guess the judgment calls of the scientific experts, she said.

Not all local governments are seeking to overturn stay-at-home regulations. Fresno Mayor Lee Brand announced Friday that the citys local order is now in effect through the end of May  but it has been modified so some businesses can reopen.

In a video message, Brand said Fresno officials will monitor the situation daily and make changes toward reopening the local economy.

We are still navigating uncharted waters, he said. I believe we have a safe and sensible process to rebuild our economy, get back to work and start restoring our normal lives.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti urged residents  and protesters  to maintain high standards when following social distancing rules.

"Exercise your constitutional rights. That's important," he said. "Whether it's our beaches, our trails, our workplaces or where we protest, we have to be smart."

Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa contributed to this report.
State media report on North Korean leader at ribbon-cutting ceremony after weeks of speculation over his health.

A previous version of this story said Kim had attended a ceremony in Suncheon. That was incorrect as Suncheon is a city in South Korea. The ceremony was in Sunchon, near North Korea's capital, Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days, ending an absence that sparked global speculation about his health.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday that Kim attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertiliser factory in Sunchon, near the capital Pyongyang, with other senior officials, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong.

KCNA said Kim cut a ribbon at the ceremony on Friday and those attending burst into thunderous cheers of hurrah! for the Supreme Leader who is commanding the all-people general march for accomplishing the great cause of prosperity.

Kim was seen in photographs smiling and talking to aides at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and also touring the plant.

The authenticity of the photos, published on the website of the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, could not be verified.

Rumours about the North Korean leaders health swirled after he missed the April 15 birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, the countrys most important holiday, for the first time since he took power in 2011.

US President Donald Trump welcomed Kims re-emergence, saying in a Twitter post: I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!

Medical setback?

Seouls unification ministry reacted to Saturdays report by saying groundless speculation about Kim had caused unnecessary confusion, calling for more careful consideration in future.

South Koreas government, which has a mixed record of tracking Pyongyangs ruling elite, had repeatedly downplayed media reports that Kim, believed to be 36, was in poor health following cardiovascular surgery.





But speculation about Kims health continued, after state-run television footage on Saturday showed Kims leg movements appearing stiff and jerky. One of the images also showed a green golf cart in the background, similar to one he used in 2014 after a lengthy public absence.

Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Koreas Sejong Institute, said the video footage of Kim suggested he is recovering from some sort of medical setback that affected his walking, possibly related to his ankle.

Preparing desks and chairs on the stage seemed a bit rare for such an outdoor occasion, Nam Seong-wook, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University, said of the ceremony.

Kim might have some physical conditions that prevent him from standing too long and he needs to be seated after standing up for a while.

Nam said if Kim is unable to stand for long periods that maybe the reason he did not attend the anniversary event in April at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where he would have had to stand for at least about an hour.

Coronavirus?

South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees engagement with Pyongyang, said it was plausible Kim was absent as a precaution over the coronavirus pandemic.

As with previous public appearances during the global coronavirus pandemic, Kim and his entourage were not wearing masks, unlike the crowd of workers at the ceremony.

North Korea has insisted it has not seen a single case of coronavirus, although experts say that is unlikely.

Analysts said Kim could not appear in public wearing a mask as it would make him appear vulnerable to the North Korean people.

The most likely explanation for Kims absence is with North Korea declaring the coronavirus pandemic an existential threat  he most likely was taking steps to ensure his health or may have been impacted in some way personally by the virus, said Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest think-tank in Washington, DC.





State media previously reported that Kim was carrying out routine activities outside public view such as sending greetings to the leaders of Syria, Cuba and South Africa and expressing gratitude to workers building tourist facilities in the coastal town of Wonsan, where some speculated he was staying.

Tense security crisis

Analysts say Kims health could become an increasing factor in years ahead: He is overweight, smokes and drinks, and has a family history of heart issues.

If he is suddenly unable to rule, some analysts have said his sister, believed to be about four years younger than her brother, would be installed as the leader to continue Pyongyangs heredity dynasty that began after World War II.

But others question whether core members of North Koreas elite, mostly men in their 60s or 70s, would be able to accept a young and untested female leader who lacks military credentials. Some predict collective leadership or violent power struggles.

Following an unusually provocative run in missile and nuclear tests in 2017, Kim used the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea to initiate negotiations with Washington and Seoul later that year. That led to a surprising series of summits, with Kim and Trump meeting three times

But negotiations have faltered in recent months over disagreements in exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament steps, raising doubts about whether Kim would ever fully deal away an arsenal he likely sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

People watch a TV showing a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday [Ahn Young-joon/AP]

It was still unclear what caused Kims absence in past weeks. In 2014, Kim vanished from the public eye for nearly six weeks and then reappeared with a cane. South Koreas spy agency said he had a cyst removed from his ankle.

The former top US diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel, said the pieces of the puzzle of Kims disappearance would take time to assemble.

His reappearance showed that authoritative information about the wellbeing and whereabouts of a North Korean leader were closely guarded, and rumours about him needed to be regarded with considerable scepticism, Russel said.

The rumours had, however, served to focus attention on North Koreas succession plan, which in a monarchical and cult-like dictatorship is filled with risk, and the absence of a designated adult heir compounds that risk many times over, he added.

Analysts say Kim is likely to make another public appearance in the coming days that will be reported by state media.

But Pyongyang probably wont explain Kims recent absence given the secrecy around the leaders health and schedule, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

China, North Koreas key diplomatic ally and the main provider of trade and aid, is eager to maintain stability in its neighbour and avoid the possibility of an influx of refugees.

North Korea is at the epicentre of an extremely tense security crisis, involving a nuclear standoff where tens of millions of lives are at stake, Henri Feron, a senior fellow at the US Center for International Policy, told AFP news agency.

This raises legitimate concerns about the domestic and international instability that his death could cause.
Spike Jonzes new documentary on Apple TV Plus, Beastie Boys Story, is an unconventional rock doc about the trio of merry hip-hop punksters who created their own sound over the course of three decades and became a generation-defining band. Much like the Beastie Boys themselves, the film is a blast of energy, humor and catharsis, a sheer joy thats also imbued with poignancy and pathos. And in its nontraditional form, it reveals something essential about the Beastie Boys and the key to their unique, ever-evolving sound: collaboration.

Filmed in front of a live audience at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, the documentary is a filmed version of a staged storytelling show hosted by Mike D (Michael Diamond) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz), the surviving Beasties (Adam Yauch aka MCA died of cancer in 2012 at age 47). Its a casual, fun slideshow with Mike and Adam, who share the story of their friendship and their career, along with photos and archival footage. Their hits rock the house as the two MCs recount the tale of how the Beastie Boys came together as young punk kids growing up in New York City in the early 80s and found their sound over years of experimentation, trial and error, and painful periods of growth.

Early on, a production goof becomes a running gag, as Horovitz calls out Jonze for failing to project a visual punchline, and Jonze comes on over the PA system as a voice of God, discussing whether or not to include it. Its a clever, deliberate acknowledgment of the filmmaking apparatus, revealing the cameras and teleprompter screens, reminding the audience that this is a construction in its own imperfect way.

Revealing the films own made-ness falls in line with the storys thesis, which is in large part about the Beastie Boys struggle to find and establish their own voice, especially after the runaway success of License to Ill, shepherded by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, driven by goofball party rock parody hit (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party). Recoiling from the industry, they found it by jamming together, following their muses and riding waves of creativity. The Beasties used what was around them to shape their sound: deep cut samples, pop culture references, inside jokes, different instruments and vocal styles, spiritual quests, and at the center of it all, their friendship and the respect for one another that created the safe space for experimentation and growth.

The live performance becomes a crucial element in the films exploration of memory, nostalgia and regret. We see Mike and Adam react in real time to photos and video of themselves with a mix of affection, fondness and embarrassment. I love that photo of you, Adam tells Mike, while Mike asks Jonze to play back a clip of Adams performance in a cheesy 80s movie. They have a loose, playful dynamic together, and as we see who they were then, we also get to see who they are now: Horovitz rueful and sometimes somber, yet still able to immediately turn on the brash Ad-Rock persona; Mike is goofy and prone to silly yet accurate vocal impersonations.

The power of the project lies in its willingness to hold the beloved musicians simultaneously as their past and present selves, and to share that with fans who joined them for their musical, philosophical and political journey, having grown and changed too. Beastie Boys Story is so much more than just the story of the Beastie Boys: Its a treatise on the tragedy and beauty of time, loss and memory, and one of the purest celebrations of friendship and creativity.

BEASTIE BOYS STORY

4 stars

WHERE: Streaming on Apple TV Plus
The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation on Behalf of Bank Hapoalim B.M. Investors (BKHYY)

The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces an investigation on behalf of Bank Hapoalim B.M. ("Hapoalim" or the "Company") (OTC: BHKYY) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

On March 7, 2019, Hapoalim issued a pressrelease announcing that the bank was increasing its provision "in relation to the exposure stemming from the investigations of the U.S. authorities, by approximately USD 246 million" for an aggregate total provision of $611 million.







On this news, the price of the Company's American depositary receipts ("ADR") fell $1.09 per ADR, or over 3%, to close at $33.16 per ADR on March 11, 2019, thereby injuring investors.

Then, on April 30, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced that the Company "agreed to pay approximately $874.27 million" as part of its deferred prosecution agreement for criminal misconduct.

On this news, Hapoalim's ADR price fell during intraday trading.

Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert): twitter.com/FRC_LAW.

If you purchased Hapaolim's ADR, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005473/en/
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, tasked with Japan's coronavirus measures, met with a panel of experts Friday and said social distancing efforts under the state of emergency should be kept in place for a while to prevent a resurgence of infections.

Nishimura quoted experts on the government-commissioned task force as saying the spread has slowed but not enough. If we relax the measures with insufficient decrease, infections will immediately bounce back and our effort so far will entirely go to waste, Nishimura said.

The experts recommended that the current measures should be kept in place. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a month-long state of emergency on April 7 in Tokyo and six other urban areas, requesting residents stay at home. He later expanded the guidelines to the entire country. Requests for nonessential business closures were also issued in Tokyo and several other prefectures.

Abe said Thursday he planned to extend the state of emergency beyond its scheduled end on May 6 because infections are spreading and hospitals are overburdened. He is expected to announce a decision within days.

Local governors in hard-hit areas and health experts concerned about the collapse of medical systems have called for a month-long extension.

Japan has 14,281 confirmed cases, up 182 from the day before, with 432 deaths, according to the health ministry tally Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On Thursday, April 30, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper announced that he's a new dad!

During a two-minute segment at the end of CNN's Town Hall, Cooper revealed that his son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, had been born on Monday evening via surrogate.

"On Monday, I became a father," he said. "I've never said actually said that, before, out loud and it still kind of astonishes me."

CNN's @AndersonCooper is a dad.



"On Monday I became a father. I've never said that out loud and it astonishes me," he said Thursday at the end of the #CNNTownHall.



"I have a son."



Wyatt Morgan Cooper was born on Monday weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces.https://t.co/Gsg9MgwyzM pic.twitter.com/sforNP3sBF  Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) May 1, 2020

Turns out there's a lot of family significance behind the sweet name!

The baby's first name, Wyatt, comes from Cooper's father, who died when the anchor was just 10 years old.

"He's named after my dad ... I hope I can be as good a dad as he was," Cooper explained.

According to the Social Security Administration's baby name ranking, the name Wyatt has been steadily growing in popularity for years. In 2000, it wasn't even one of the top 100 names in the United States, but by 2018, it was the 26th most popular name in the country.

Cooper Family Portrait (Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

The middle name, Morgan, is a family name that comes from Cooper's mother's side of the family.

"I know my mom and dad liked the name Morgan, because while I was going through her things recently, I found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me, and Morgan was on the list," Cooper said.

Story continues

As a first name, Morgan is much more rare than Wyatt  according to the Social Security Administration, it was only the 164th most popular name in 2018. It peaked in popularity in the year 2000, when more than 9,502 children were given the name.

Cooper said that he wished his family was able to meet their newest relative.

"I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt," Cooper wrote on Instagram. "I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and Wyatt, and that our family continues."

"So that's Wyatt Morgan Cooper," the proud father said. "He was 7.2 pounds at birth, and he is sweet, and soft and healthy, and I am beyond happy."
"Thor: Love & Thunder's" Taika Waititi hosted an Instagram watch-along of "Thor: Ragnarok" on April 9, with suprise guest appearances from Tessa Thompson and Mark Ruffalo. But now, the story seems more about what was said more than who showed up.

According to Variety, Waititi squarely shot down the idea of Silver Surfer appearing in the film, but did say that "Space Sharks" - similar to the Acanti, which are commonly enslaved by the Brood empire for use as spaceships - would be in the film.

Space sharks in "Thor" comics. (Image credit: Dave Cockrum (Marvel Comics))

The writer/director did dodge questions on what Christian Bale's role would be in this fourth Thor film, and if Tom Hiddleston would reprise his role here.

"Thor: Love & Thunder" is scheduled to hit theaters Feb. 18, 2022.
Operatives of Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 28-year-old man identified as Godday Robinson for alleged rape, stealing, and attempted murder of a 17-year-old girl who refused his sexual advances.

This was contained in a statement released by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi.

According to the statement, the suspect was arrested following a report received by the policemen attached to Agbara area command that a young lady was lying unconscious in a ten feet deep pit in a nearby bush.

The victim, upon regaining consciousness after being taken to a hospital, disclosed that she was robbed, raped, and dragged further into the bush and dumped as Godday thought she had died.

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READ ALSO  Nigerian Man Arrested After Shooting From Balcony In UK (Video)

The area commander identified as ACP Bolanle Muritala gave a matching order to his detectives that the suspect must be traced and apprehended owing to the strength of the victims explanation.

The detectives swung to action immediately, traced the suspect and got him arrested on the 24th of April 2020.

When interrogated, Godday confessed to committing the crime but blamed it on the devil.
Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism.

I have a vague timeline in my head: I know better than to think that life will return to normal once my states shelter-in-place order is lifted. I have been trying, instead, to think about when life will return to normal as being connected to a different milestonethe creation of a vaccine, which will stop us from getting sick in the first place. Maybe you have been thinking about this too. If you have, the timeline you are probably working with is 12 to 18 months, maybe edging into two years. We are talking at least a year, Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organizations health emergencies program, said in March. It will take at least a year to a year in a half to have a vaccine we can use, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said, also in March. The reality is, it will take over a year in my expectation to really find a new vaccine, a pharma CEO told the press back in January.

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The thing to note with the timeline is people often caveat it with a statement, if everything goes perfectly.   Matthew Watson

That timeline feels  long. And, though we might be able to get back to some kind of normalcy with the help of testing and therapies, its actually on the shorter side of when we will get a vaccine. Everybody would love to say yes, we can achieve an 18-month vaccine turnaroundbut its a goal, says Maria Elena Bottazzi, a virologist at Baylor who is working on a couple possible vaccines against COVID-19. If you look historically, weve never been able to develop a vaccine with that timeline. Ebolas vaccine, for example, took five years to develop, following the 2014 outbreak; a more typical timeline is 10 years. Were trying to break a record heremaybe its not going to be four or five [years], maybe its three, maybe its two, maybe indeed its 18 months, Bottazzi says. In other words, the phrasing that has become almost boilerplate is maybe not quite as reliably correct as you (and I) might wish it were.

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There are more than 70 COVID-19 vaccine efforts globally, at least; with so many, its reasonable to be optimistic that we will have a vaccine in some kind of record time frame. There are even a few that are posed to break the record: one from a company called Moderna that began trials in humans in March (this is the one that Fauci is referring to in his estimates), one from a group at Oxford that claims it could even have doses available by fall. Yes, it says it might even have some doses by the fall.

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The thing to note with the timeline is people often caveat it with a statement, if everything goes perfectly,  says Matthew Watson, an analyst at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. I think thats really important to pay attention to. Things rarely go perfectly.

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Its easy to skim past those words on a page, though, so Ive unpacked what theyre referencing. Heres what could go wrong, because it has before.

Theres Not Enough Money

It seems like this should be a nonproblem, with governments, philanthropic organizations, and drug companies realizing their efforts behind vaccinating against the coronavirus might be the most pressing concern of our time. But money has already hampered our timeline for getting a vaccine for a novel coronavirus, perhaps significantly. The reason we dont have a vaccine for SARS, or MERS, close cousins of the novel coronavirus, is because the outbreaks and accompanying funds stopped before researchers could develop a vaccine. Bottazzi and her collaborators have samples of a SARS vaccine stored in a freezer in Texas, a vaccine that could possibly offer some meaningful protection against the novel coronavirus now. Its possible that if theyd had the funds to take that SARS vaccine through clinical trials, we literally would have had a viable vaccine against the new coronavirus  yesterday.

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Obviously, now that theres money available, theyre picking up work on that vaccine again. But its not an instantaneous process to get funding. We still dont have it all, says Bottazzi, who, when we spoke in late April, was still waiting to start testing the SARS vaccine in humans. We cannot start a clinical trial a little bit. You have to have all the funding. That means convincing agencies handing out funding that your vaccine is one of the right ones to invest in by writing grants.

The mechanics of securing funding still slow individual projects. But the coronavirus is such a huge problem now that funding overall is perhaps one of the smallest hurdles, and somewhat irrelevant to the current optimistic timeline, at least for a first vaccine. But money has been a problem already, and it could be a problem down the line.

The Vaccine Fails Safety and Efficacy Tests

This is the actual science portion of getting a vaccine to market. As Fauci put it at a March 26 briefing, safety is just as important as efficacy: The worst possible thing you could do is vaccinate someone to prevent infection and actually make them worse. And until you do the clinical studies, theres no assurance that any vaccine will work, says Bottazzi. Vaccines often fail, says Nancy Connell, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Thats why the world community is pushing several vaccines forward at once.

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Typically, a vaccine is developed in a lab, then injected in animals to see if its effective, then into a small group of a few dozen healthy people to test for adverse reactions, then into a larger group of a few hundred people, and then in thousands of subjects. Researchers are speeding things up by starting clinical trials (for safety) as animal testing (for effectiveness) is still underway, or quickly moving to test out vaccines on a larger group of human test subjects.

This is  good and also bad. Its reassuring and concerning how quickly vaccine development is happening, Timothy Lahey, an ethicist and vaccine researcher at the University of Vermont Medical Center, told Slates What Next TBD. The faster you push a vaccine into larger groups, the higher the risk of some rare side effect popping up, which is a good reason for the process to take so long, typically. But our circumstances are currently extraordinary. We are not comparing [rapid vaccine development with] doing nothing and everyone is safe and fine, says Thomas Bock, co-founder of Apandemic, a group of industry folks and scientists working on therapies and vaccines. We really are comparing people dying with the risk of potential side effects.

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Even promising early data arent much assurance that a vaccine will make it through the full gamut of trials. Vaccines use antigensthe spike part on the outside of the novel coronavirus to prod the body into producing an immune response. Traditional vaccines do this by putting a little bit of dead or hampered virus into the body; RNA and DNA vaccines basically hand bodies some instructions to make the antigens themselves. Because the body does some of the work, the vaccines can be faster to tweak and produce for clinical trials. But also, none of them have ever made it to market. Its hard to say why, says Bottazzi, who is working on classic approaches herself: It might be that theyre not giving the right responses. I dont know, because when these technologies are advanced by for-profit entities, you dont see the negative data. We dont see where the bottlenecks are. At any rate, one key thing to keep in mind: One of the early candidates, from Moderna, is an RNA vaccine.

We Dont Have Enough Doses

Getting a vaccine that works is only one part of the battle. After the clinical trials are over, now comes the big problem of making a hundred million, several hundred million, or a billion doses, says Connell. Yes, everyone in the world is (probably) going to want this vaccine.

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Getting a vaccine that works is only one part of the battle.

One way companies like Moderna are getting ahead is by ramping up production of doses before clinical trials are completed. Even before you know something works, at risk, you have to start producing it, said Fauci in the March press conference. That didnt happen with the Zika vaccine, which, according to Fauci, was a mistake. (Hopeful estimates gave a Zika vaccine a timeline of less than two years from when WHO declared Zika an international public health emergency in February 2016, but cases slowed before human trials were finished. Though having one could still save lives, theres no Zika vaccine on the market. Yes, we do this all the time, it turns out.)

Producing so many doses will require creating new facilities or commandeering those used for other vaccines. Critics of RNA and DNA vaccines point to the fact that we already have the established infrastructure to make traditional vaccines. Governments are trying to build potential manufacturing capacities for [RNA and DNA vaccines], but they are not there yet, says Thomas Lingelbach, the CEO of Valneva, which is working on a traditional approach to a COVID-19 vaccine. Not that its easy to just start producing any vaccine by the billions. He plans on using a facility that was intended for Valnevas chikungunya vaccine, whether for Valnevas vaccine or perhaps another companys if Valnevas is unsuccessful. These are complicated biological processes, no matter what technology you use, says Lingelbach. Its a manual process too, featuring human beings in safety gear. Its not like producing a car, he says.

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Supply shortages like those that have plagued other steps of the coronavirus responsereagents for tests, protective gear for hospital workerscould be an issue during vaccine manufacturing too. A simple chemical supply chain issue hampered production of the swine flu vaccine in 2009, leaving cities with far fewer doses than residents, during a national emergency.

People Cant Access the Doses We Do Have

Yes, theres the possibility that anti-vaxxers will not accept the necessity of a vaccine, especially one that has been sped through development, for themselves or their children. Or maybe not. One saving grace of this current situation: It can be hard to see the point of a vaccine for a disease that is no longer an issue, like measles, because it has been kept at bay by vaccines. The novel coronavirus is still, clearly, an issue. Plus, not everyone needs to get the vaccine for it to be effectivejust about 70 percent of the population does, thanks to herd immunity.

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Anti-vaxxers get a lot of attention, but there are other factors we should be concerned about when it comes to getting people to actually receive vaccinesnamely, health care inequality, both in the States and abroad, as Dan Engber explained last year in Slate. It might not be hard to imagine going to your local CVS to get a COVID-19 vaccine. But this is easier to do if you have insurance, live in an area with easy access to health care services, and have the ability to take paid time off from work for an appointment. A Reuters story on measles notes that parents in Madagascar might walk for miles to get a vaccine, which can in turn cost many times a familys daily budget.

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Researchers are already thinking about how mass vaccination could go faster, through delivery methods that do not require a trained clinician to handle an injection. At the University of Pittsburgh, for example, researchers are working on a vaccine that comes in a Band-Aid-like patch, covered in hundreds of tiny painless microneedles (similar to a delivery mechanism already used in acne treatments). In a future coronavirus season, your vaccine could be handed over a drugstore counter or arrive in a slim padded envelope in the mail.

We Drop the Ball in the Long Haul

Its very possible that well need a few vaccines to get us through this pandemic. Maybe an early vaccine is only somewhat effective, or can only be produced in small quantities or only in a handful of countries. Having more than one will help fill the gaps left by the first. And then we might need updated versions of the vaccine year after year, the way we do for flu as the virus mutates.

We face a future where outbreaks from diseases jumping from animals could be more common, and some researchers are already worried about problems beyond making it past this one single finish line. Whats going to be the real business model thats going to allow for sustainable funding, not only for coronaviruses, but for the whole ecosystem infectious diseases? says Bottazzi. Its not like after 18 months we have a vaccine and thats it, all the work stops. Its forever.
Nearly 1,200 Bihari migrants stranded in Rajasthan will board a special train from Jaipur to Patna on Friday night.

An official of the North Western Railway said only the migrants identified by the state government will be allowed to board the special train after proper screening by medical teams.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave permission to the railways to run special trains for migrants and those stranded in different parts of the country.

Thousands of migrants were stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk home hundreds of kilometres away.

"Only those who have been identified by the state government will be travelling in the special train. The migrants will be brought to the railway station by state government officials and they will board the train after screening," NWR CPRO Abhay Sharma said.

He said nearly 1,200 migrants are likely to travel in the train where the seating arrangement will be in accordance with social distancing norms.

The schedule of the next train will be decided as per the requirement of the state government, the official said.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot welcomed the Centre's decision of running special trains to ferry migrants to their native places.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - U.S. prosecutors announced new charges Thursday linking Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to drug trafficking, raising the pressure on a close ally of the Trump administration.

The Honduran president was not charged. But the indictment alleged that former national police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla oversaw the shipment of tons of cocaine on behalf of Hernandez and his brother Tony, a Honduran ex-congressman convicted in U.S. court last year of trafficking cocaine.

Bonilla was charged with conspiring to send cocaine to the United States and committing weapons offenses. He said he was not guilty.

The Trump administration has drawn closer to Hernandez, who has been receptive to its immigration policies in Central America, even as U.S. justice officials have repeatedly alleged he is connected to narcotics trafficking. During his brother's federal trial in New York last year, prosecutors said Hernandez had received a $1 million bribe in 2013 from Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

In March, U.S. prosecutors said a different accused trafficker, Geovanny Daniel Fuentes Ramires, had delivered a $25,000 bribe to Hernandez that same year.

The Honduran president has denied those charges. The presidential palace issued a statement on Twitter on Thursday saying that the references to Hernandez in the latest case were "100% false" and showed that "allegations originating from confessed drug traffickers aren't credible."

The statement said that upon taking office, Hernandez had purged the police of corrupt officials, leading to the removal of Bonilla. "President Hernandez did that because he had nothing to fear," said the statement.

The conservative Hernandez recently concluded an agreement to take in asylum seekers who are turned away at the U.S. border. President Donald Trump noted that cooperation last week, when he tweeted that he had promised to send the Honduran president lifesaving ventilators for the country's covid-19 victims.

The administration's cordial tone toward Hernandez amid the drug allegations contrasts sharply with its attitude toward Venezuela's leftist leader, Nicolas Maduro.

The Justice Department has charged Maduro and senior members of his government with narcoterrorism. Prosecutors accuse the socialist government of turning the South American country into a transshipment point for cocaine bound for the United States. The U.S. government, which does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela's president, is offering $15 million for information leading to his capture or conviction.

Adriana Beltran, a Central America analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, said that there was a "wealth of evidence" that senior Honduran officials were colluding with organized crime - but "the White House is still more interested in halting the flow of irregular migration than in tackling one of the greatest ills in Honduras, which is systematic corruption."

The charging document released Thursday accused Bonilla, 60, of taking bribes in exchange for providing information to cocaine traffickers and helping them pass through police checkpoints. In a news release, prosecutors said the former police chief used violence "to protect the particular cell of politically connected drug traffickers he aligned with." That cell, the statement said, included Hernandez and his brother.

In 2011, prosecutors said, Bonilla helped kill a rival drug trafficker who was trying to take over part of a trafficking route used by Tony Hernandez and his accomplices.

Bonilla rejected the charges and said some of them amounted to a vendetta by drug traffickers he had pursued.

"I have never been a friend of drug traffickers, nor of those politicians that, according to the allegations, dedicated themselves to these kinds of illicit activities," he said on the Honduran news program Hoy Mismo.

Bonilla, known as "the Tiger," is in Honduras, where he does not face any charges. He served in the police force from 1985 to 2016, according to the charges, and held the top job from 2012 to 2013, under then-President Porfirio Lobo. Juan Orlando Hernandez was leader of the Honduran Congress from 2010 to 2013. He became president in 2014.

The Honduran government did not say whether it would extradite Bonilla to the United States.

Hernandez, who began a second term in 2018 after a disputed election, was the target of widespread protests last year. But with the country now on a strict coronavirus lockdown, there have been few signs of opposition activity.

Eugenio Sosa, a political analyst in Tegucigalpa, said the latest allegations of drug corruption were a major problem for Hernandez because they formed part of a pattern.

"Today he's trying to gain legitimacy through the way he's handling the pandemic," he said. "But this latest event, the indictment of Bonilla, will be quite a blow."

- - -

Sheridan reported from Mexico City.
A British company called Meggitt told employees Thursday that it will lay off 118 at its McMinnville factory, citing fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

The layoffs begin May 18, according to a filing with state workforce officials, which indicated Meggitt expects the cuts to be permanent. Meggitt makes polymer components for the aerospace, defense and energy sectors.

Meggitt had 391 McMinnville employees in 2017, according to the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership. The company said it is cutting its global workforce by 15% but will continue operating its McMinnville factory.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in a significant reduction in demand across our aerospace business in 2020, as our customers adapt and scale back their activities to reflect the reduction in global air traffic," Meggitt said in a written statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The coronavirus epidemic is doing lasting damage to the states economy. Oregon shed 360,000 jobs in the first six weeks of the outbreak, more than 1 in 6 jobs statewide.

Early cuts focused on the restaurant and lodging sectors, which began shutting down in March to contain the epidemic. But declining economic activity is now hitting other industries, triggering a growing number of manufacturing layoffs as demand for factory products dries up.

Manufacturers including Precision Castparts, railcar maker Gunderson and Evraz Steel have made significant cuts during over the past several weeks.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bounce in stocks is likely to face a test in the coming weeks as investors try to gauge whether countries and U.S. states emerging from lockdowns can arrest a sharp fall in economic growth without provoking a resurgence of coronavirus cases.

The S&P 500 <.SPX> has rallied about 30% off its March lows, fueled by monetary and fiscal policy designed to stimulate the economy after the United States ordered country-wide lockdowns to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has surpassed 1 million cases in the United States.

With some optimism that the virus is peaking, 22 states, accounting for 38% of gross domestic product, may be open within the next 10 days, according to a tally by Fundstrat.

If you see a number of cases for a particular state that has opened up early starting to increase... that is going to be a worrisome sign," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth. "Because then this progress that we have made starts to get halted and... the market becomes more nervous that this is going to be a more protracted, slower restart.

Investors are eager to look forward after the devastation the shutdowns have already wrought. Data this week showed the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace since the Great Recession.

Another measure of the fallout will come next Friday, when the U.S. government releases the country's employment report for April. The U.S. economy is expected to have shed 20 million jobs for the month, according to a Reuters poll.

As states allow certain businesses and activities to resume, investors are seeking to determine if an eventual recovery will be "V-shaped" or one that is more drawn out.

A study by Goldman Sachs found that initial reopening timelines in other countries have often proven "too optimistic" and recovery is quicker in manufacturing and construction than in consumer services.

Story continues

One state in focus is Georgia, which lifted a ban on eating in restaurants this week. Texas and Florida, two of the most populous U.S. states, also announced plans to start reopening imminently.

Investors will also keep a close eye on reopenings in Germany, Europe's largest economy, as well as other countries.

In China, for example, "simply opening has not necessarily resulted in a return of consumer buying," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. That issue is particularly important in the United States, where consumer spending accounts for more that two-thirds of economic activity.

The metrics investors will be looking at include state-level information on unemployment claims or less-conventional data, such as online restaurant reservations, according to Mona Mahajan, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors.

Market watchers also say how asset prices react will be telling, in particular the performance of "cyclical" sectors such as financials <.SPSY>, industrials <.SPLRCI>, energy <.SPNY> and materials <.SPLRCM>, which are expected to be stronger in an expanding economy.

Those sectors have outperformed this week, a potential sign that investors may be taking profits in market leaders such as technology and rotating into areas that have lagged.

Typically, when you come out of a recession you do see the cyclicals start to lead a little bit, Mahajan said.

"There is still some wariness about how this reopening goes," she added, "but broadly speaking, if you start to see a little bit of a rotation, it may be because we are getting more (investor) confidence in that reopening."

Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors, is also closely watching shares of banks, which "sit at the heart" of bankruptcies and credit defaults. The S&P 500 banks index <.SPXBK> has slumped 35% so far in 2020.

"If their performance tends to do a bit better," Arone said, "it might signal to me that folks are pricing in a recovery that might be coming sooner or better than perhaps anticipated."

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Dan Grebler)
Authorities in Dak Lak Province are planning to rescue an injured elephant that can't return to the wild.

The injured elephant wanders near residential area

On April 29, Huynh Trung Luan, director of Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre, said an injured elephant had appeared in Buon Don District before moving to Cu Jut District. They have assigned employees to monitor the animal and will ask foreign experts to help treat the elephant.



The elephant is around 11 years old and weighs 1.3 tonnes. It was rescued once before at Yok Don National Park in May 2013. He suffered from injuries on his trunk and right foot after stepping on a trap. He was named Cu Sut. After a week of treatment, he was released to the wild but it seemed like the couldn't reintegrate into any herds while his injuries started worsening.



Luan said, "His foot was injured so he didn't wander far. He mostly stays near the residential area. Last week, he destroyed the crops in Tan Hoa Commune so the employees had to go to the village to give warnings about the elephant and propose safety measures."



He went on to say that they were preparing plans to rescue him for a second time but faced some difficulties amid the Covid-19 pandemic. They can't invite foreign experts from South Africa and Holland to Vietnam yet.



According to the plan, they will anesthetize the elephant and bring him to a temporary treatment area. They will check to see if there are any objects like trapping wires in his foot. Dtinews

Herd of elephants spotted in Quang Nam forest A herd of eight elephants have been seen in the central province of Quang Nam.
Markets regulator Sebi has imposed a total penalty of about Rs 34 lakh on two persons for violating insider trading norms and disclosure lapses, among others, in the matter of Incap Financial Services.

In two separate orders on Thursday, the regulator levied a fine of Rs 19.7 lakh and Rs 14 lakh on Arvind Babulal Goyal and Pooja Arvind Goyal, respectively.

The regulator conducted a probe between December 2010 and February 2011 in the shares of Incap.

During investigation, Sebi found that Arvind and Pooja were 'person acting in concert' for acquiring shares in Incap and had the obligation of making an open offer, but failed to do so.

Thus, they failed to comply with the norms of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) regulations.

It was further revealed that both of them failed to make disclosure for change in shareholding as PAC, thereby violating the insider trading norms (PIT), Sebi said.

In addition, Arvind failed to implement the Model Code of Conduct for prevention of insider trading norms and further did not provide information with respect to non-implementation of the code of conduct thereby, violating the PIT norms.

Also, he indulged into fraudulent trading and created false appearance of trading in the scrip of Incap and manipulated trading volumes by executing synchronised trades, selftrades and reversal of trades and violated the norms of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices).

In a separate order, Sebi imposed a fine of Rs 7 lakh on stock broker Artha Vrdhhi Securities Ltd for misutilisation of clients' funds, thereby violating theSCRA(Securities Contracts Regulation Act).

The regulator, in its investigation, found that the stock broker pledged securities of its clients and misused the funds raised through it for its own purpose.

Separately, the regulator imposed a penalty of Rs 6 lakh on stock broker ISS Enterprises Ltd for failing to settle accounts of inactive clients.

In another order, Sebi levied a fine of Rs 2 lakh on brokerage house Shriram Insight Share Brokers Ltd for failing to maintain maintenance margin.

Under Sebi norms, brokers need to maintain initial and maintenance margin of a minimum of 50 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, in the records of clients.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The five missing crew members of a Canadian navy helicopter that crashed during a NATO operation this week into the Mediterranean Sea are presumed dead, officials said Friday. The search and rescue mission undertaken on Wednesday has now officially been transformed into a recovery effort, the Canadian defense ministry said in a statement. So far, the body of one crew member from the Cyclone Sikorsky CH-148 helicopter, Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, has been recovered and identified. "The missing five members who were aboard the aircraft are now officially considered missing and presumed deceased," the statement said. "Additional remains have been discovered during the search, but cannot be identified at this time." The accident took place Wednesday -- the helicopter was headed back to the warship HMCS Fredericton after a training mission when contact was lost. NATO ships and aircraft took part in the search and rescue mission, supported by Greece, Italy, Turkey and the United States. "NATO allies will be continuing recovery efforts at the scene as HMCS Fredericton departs for port in Italy," the Canadian ministry said, adding that the warship would arrive in Italy on Saturday. Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said the helicopter's cockpit voice and flight data recorders had been recovered and would be analyzed in Canada. The cause of the crash is so far "unknown," he said. The Canadian frigate and submarine-hunting helicopter had been deployed since January 20 on NATO's Operation Reassurance, aimed at deterring Russia intervention in eastern and central Europe. All crew from the Canadian navy helicopter that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea are now presumed dead
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the nation with a congratulatory message on the occasion of the International Workers Day.

The message reads:

Dear compatriots,

I congratulate all of us on International Workers Day.

Labor is the only tool to solve the problems existing in our reality; based on the logic of human and national dignity, we can defy through hard work the challenges facing us.

Labor is the most creative platform for human cooperation. Modern civilization has been created thanks to cooperation. And therefore, the most important essence of labor is not only the use of existing opportunities, but also the creation of opportunities for others.

My wish is for all of us to perceive work in this way because I continue to believe that personal effort and the productive work of that effort are the formula of solving all our problems. Efficiency is important, but efficiency is impossible without education, knowledge, skills. In turn, education implies work, and I see the solution of all our problems in the education-labor-training formula.

Dear people,

Many of you are now working online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are working under great pressure and risky conditions. We highly praise those employed in healthcare, law enforcement, security, manufacturing industries and food import, medical items and medicines, since they helped maintain the countrys viability during the crisis.

We appreciate all those employers who kept the existing jobs despite economic difficulties; who did not resort to cuts as they benefited from the governments anti-crisis programs; who did everything to minimize losses and continue to develop.

Despite the crisis, the government of Armenia will carry on with the policy of economic development by promoting labor and supporting working people.

Our anti-crisis programs first of all address those people and companies that have complied with the Labor Code and the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia. We thereby not only honored our working citizens, but also took advantage of the fact that it was easier to identify registered workers in case they lost their job during the crisis.

Having a registered job is an important guarantee for the protection of workers rights, and I call on all employed citizens to get their jobs registered and support the government in protecting their legitimate rights.

Dear compatriots,

The Armenian people are known as hardworking, creative, talented people. And with their work and creative talent the Armenian people will build the homeland of their dream. This process has started; it will continue and will triumph despite the crisis.

Congratulations on May 1! Long live creative work!
Vera Grigg, from Dagenham, who was aged 14 (pictured) when the war began, remembers VE Day being celebrated with bonfires and people dancing in the streets

The voices  preserved like national treasures  will be forever vivid. How varied they are too: the clipped tones of the BBC Home Service announcer, the growl of Sir Winston Churchill, the excitable chat of a Yorkshirewoman and the laid-back lilt of a Jamaican.

All are describing what it felt like to be there on VE Day. Can you hear colour, bustle, joy, loss? Such things are hard to convey in audio, but an astonishing four-minute soundscape, compiled from the archives of the Imperial War Museums and available for us all to listen to on the VE Day Bank Holiday, somehow manages it.

In that time we hear 11 voices, each giving a very different account of the day. There are no back stories, no explanation of who these voices belong to (Weekend has pieced these together from the archives), but the impact is powerful all the same.

Vera Grigg, from Dagenham, was 14 at the time, and had seen far too much for a child of her age.

Evacuated to Norfolk for most of the war, she returned to witness bombing raids on her hometown, a target because of the Ford car factory. She lost her father, their home was bombed and she witnessed neighbours stumbling from the rubble.

Her abiding memory of VE Day is of the colours red, white and blue. And of joy. We fished out a Union Jack, which had survived the bombing, she recalls in a clear chiselled voice. We headed out and there were bonfires, and people dancing in the streets.

Catherine Bradley was 26. Born in Sheffield, she had served as a driver with the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Shed had a narrow escape from a V1 rocket so knew she was lucky to be able to celebrate. She was in the middle of the throng that charged down Whitehall and on to Buckingham Palace on VE Day.

Everybody was shouting, We want Winnie, Catherine recalls in a voice heavy with Yorkshire warmth, describing the sight of the prime minister on the balcony of the Ministry of Health building in Whitehall.

Samuel King who was aged 21 when the celebrations took place, said women were crying and it was jolly. Pictured: Cigar in mouth, Winston Churchill salutes the crowd with a V for victory on the big day

It was fantastic. He came out and saluted to us with his cigar. Then we got to Buckingham Palace and it was all, We want Liz, we want George. It was absolutely fantastic. There were people up lampposts singing Land Of Hope And Glory.

Now, of course, we have a fuller picture of every aspect of that momentous day  one where London was awash with colour, flags, and hope. But the footnotes are just as fascinating.

Revellers at the time wouldnt have known that Churchill almost appeared on that balcony without his famous cigar. He was en route to Whitehall when he realised he didnt have one, so sent his detective back for it.

I must put one on for them, he insisted. They expect it.

The celebrations went on everywhere. On the day, Samuel King, 21, a Jamaican aircraftsman, who served with the RAF from 1944 to 1946, and eventually emigrated here aboard the Empire Windrush in 1948, took a bus from his base to Weston-super-Mare.

I got off the bus and a woman ran out of a pub and said, 'Jamaican, come on, drink rum, the war is over.' Everybody was happy, jumping about I was glad to be alive

You can actually feel the partying in his lilting Caribbean voice.

I got off the bus and a woman ran out of a pub and said, Jamaican, come on, drink rum, the war is over. Everybody was happy, jumping about I was glad to be alive.

'Women were crying. They were going to see their husbands they hadnt seen for two years. It was jolly, jolly, jolly.

Compiled from thousands of hours of recollections, the soundscape may only last four minutes, yet it gives a snapshot of what it was like to witness that day. Its the voices of the people that pack the emotional punch, though. They are urgent, excited, jubilant, bereft.

What comes across is the sheer diversity of voices, accents, experiences.

The Imperial War Museums are asking households across Britain to take a moment on Bank Holiday Friday, 8 May, to visit their website and listen to this soundscape, and put ourselves in the shoes of those who did live through it.

The timing could not be more poignant, with every household having been in lockdown under a different sort of cloud, wondering what it will feel like to see clear skies again.

Listen to Voices Of War on the Imperial War Museums website on 8 May, iwm.org.uk/history/victory.

Bonfires, fishpaste sarnies... and a giant teapot! Its extraordinary what sticks in your mind as a youngster, as these glorious memories of VE Day from stars and civilians alike prove Lady Anne Glenconner who was aged 12 when VE Day took place, remembers feeling sad that her uncle David Coke (pictured) wasn't there for the celebrations By Brian Viner for Weekend Magazine LADY ANNE GLENCONNER Former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret (then 12) I was at school just outside London and we had a day off as holiday. I dont know why my parents sent me there because so many doodlebugs overshot London and we had to sleep in the cellars for two terms. You could hear them, then there was that awful thing when they stopped and you counted [to work out where it might hit]. On VE Day we had a big lunch with a special pudding. We were thrilled by that. My uncle David Coke was a Battle of Britain pilot but survived that, then was shot down in North Africa and killed. I remember feeling so sad that we were celebrating and he wasnt there. AUDREY BARBER Retired nurse (then 17) We had a large house in Bedfordshire with a tennis court. It was a mile outside the village and my father invited all the locals to a VE Day party. We had a gramophone and all danced on the tennis court. Mind you, a farmer, who must have been 50, took a liking to me and I found it rather difficult to get away from him. I had two older brothers who were still serving  one had flown in the Battle of Britain, aged 18, and the other was in Burma  and so werent there at the party. It went on very late, I recall, and everybody walked home. Hardly anyone had a car and in any case, petrol was rationed. REV PETER COBB Clergyman (then 17) The war wasnt very present in Bournemouth, though it was said that Hitler was planning to make it his seaside resort if he occupied Britain. I used to lie in bed hearing the incessant drone of bombers flying overhead on their way to bomb Liverpool and Manchester. I had a very good friend whose relatives had had to leave London because of the V2 rockets, and on VE Day I danced waltzes in the street with his sister-in-law, to a wind-up gramophone. She was quite a bit older than I was, but I felt very grown-up. JOHN CUPPER Retired art gallery curator (then three) John Cupper who was aged three, claims VE Day is his very first memory. Pictured: A sailor and his girlfriend celebrate VE night in the capital VE Day is my very first memory. We didnt have celebrations during the war, so this huge one had an enormous impact on me. There was a colossal bonfire on some open land opposite our house on Hoo Road in Kidderminster  its all built up now  and someone had made an effigy of Hitler which was placed on top of it. I was worried about this. I remember standing on my mothers right, holding her dress, and saying, He was a nasty man, Mummy, wasnt he? I needed reassurance that it was OK to burn him. I can picture it so clearly, and my parents and two older sisters always remembered it too. MIMA MEIKLE Retired nurse (then 15) In 1945 my father, a major in the Army, was in India running an Italian prisoner of war camp. I was at Clarendon School in Malvern. My best friend was called Ruth, and she and her three sisters, who were all at the school, were the granddaughters of Emperor Haile Selassie. He and his family had been driven out of Ethiopia by Mussolini, so he lived in Bath, and I remember him taking us out for tea. On the evening of VE Day, my brother and sister and I cycled the short distance from our village into Malvern. Wed been told there was to be a bonfire at the top of Worcestershire Beacon, the highest point of the Malvern Hills. At some point I got separated from my siblings and I recall seeing lots of Polish soldiers in their uniforms. They must have had a camp nearby. One of them held my hand  which might be why I remember it all so clearly, because Id never held hands with a man before. Oh dear, dear, dear. I havent told anybody this before, not even my sister Jennifer, whos three years older than me and still alive, living in Australia. His hand was a bit clammy, as I recall. Eve Warton who was aged 21 (pictured), said she was very heavily pregnant on VE Day and worried that her husband would be going to fight the Japanese EVE WARTON Former Wren (then 21) We were thrilled to bits at beating the Nazis but I was very heavily pregnant on VE Day so I didnt dance in the street. I was also worried because Iain, my husband, was due any day to go and fight the Japanese, so the doctor, not realising the baby was still terribly underweight, brought it on so Iain could see it before he went. He came back but had lost a leg. Archibald McIndoe, the plastic surgeon who treated all the burnt pilots, was a family friend, and he pointed out that at least Iain would have a tin leg under his trousers, whereas nobody could cover up the faces of his poor boys. People talk about VE Day but its worth emphasising that the war was by no means over. GILLIAN REYNOLDS Radio critic (then nine) We lived in Liverpool and when we knew VE Day was coming, I was sent house to house to collect money for a street party. Everyone brought out their tables and laid them end to end. I remember fish-paste sandwiches and cakes made by a neighbour that looked delicious but were inedible  they had so much baking powder they dried up your mouth. JILLY COOPER Novelist (then eight) I can certainly remember finding out that the war was over. I was at home with my mother; Daddy worked at the War Office. Mother heard the news on the wireless. She said, Pinch me, darling, so I know Im awake. So I gave her a little pinch and she burst into tears. I asked, Whats the matter? But she said, Weve won! Then she wiped her eyes with her apron and we ran into the street. Everybody was cheering and yelling. It was heavenly. Jilly Cooper who was aged eight (pictured), recalls her mother wiping her eyes with her apron, before they ran into the street to celebrate VE Day. Right, Pat Skilling who was aged 17 (pictured), said he went into the West End to join the joyous crowds on VE Day PAT SKILLING Retired advertising executive (then 17) I was a veterinary student, living in Earls Court, London, with my mother in a flat owned by the wife of a colonel in the Desert Rats. My father had been killed earlier in the war. He was a volunteer fireman and was on his motorbike when he had a head-on collision with a Canadian lorry driving on the wrong side of the road. The colonel joined us for the VE Day celebrations. We went into the West End, which was hugely exciting because it was incredibly crowded and there was great joy everywhere. BARRY CRYER Comedian and writer for stars including The Two Ronnies, Morecambe & Wise, and Bob Hope (then ten) Barry Cryer (pictured) who was aged ten, revealed he doesn't have any memories of VE Day but Humphrey Lyttelton who he worked with, claimed he played his trumpet outside Buckingham Palace that day I have no memories of VE Day myself. But jazz band leader and entertainer Humphrey Lyttelton, who I worked with for years when he hosted the radio show Im Sorry, I Havent A Clue, always claimed he played his trumpet outside Buckingham Palace that evening. Later, though, he wondered if hed imagined it. But two of his band eventually obtained a BBC recording from outside the palace on VE night, and you can clearly hear a trumpet. They gave it to Humphrey, who said it was his best-ever present. It all came back to him  it was definitely him. MICHAEL PARKINSON Broadcaster (then ten) Michael Parkinson who was aged ten (pictured) remembers bunting going up and seeing the street party tables I remember bunting going up and seeing the street party tables. Whenever there was a funeral, one lady was always called upon because she had the biggest teapot in our village, Cudworth near Barnsley  she could make tea for 20 people. So I remember this teapot standing in the middle of the table. It took two people to lift it. Now I always think of teapots when I think of VE Day. Advertisement

An evacuee's VE Day in the countryside

Dorothy who is now aged 94 (pictured), admits she missed a lot of thing that she could do in Bedford, when she returned home

By Nicole Lampert for Weekend Magazine

Like more than a million others, Dorothy King had spent six long years away from her family when VE Day finally arrived. As a child evacuee from south east London she had been shunted around households, and VE Day meant returning home was imminent.

Dorothy was 17 then and had recorded her wartime stories in diaries, now in the Imperial War Museums. In Bedford where she was living, every home had flags out, and schools had a day off.

I have cycled along feeling very happy, Dorothy, now 92, wrote. It was sunny, children were riding with Union Jacks on their bikes and there was a Bank Holiday atmosphere.

Her mother wrote to her from London, where the noise and lights were so loud it was hard to sleep.

Streets were decorated and bonfires were lit, which people danced around doing Knees Up Mother Brown. One house had a German flag hanging out  a red one with a swastika on it  with a notice to the effect that his son had captured it at Narvik.

Dorothy didnt go to any big parties but enjoyed watching others have fun.

One of my most abiding memories is the lesson with my piano teacher the next day, she says now. He was a German-Jewish refugee and said he was walking by the river and saw people doing the hokey cokey. He thought it was a folk dance.

Dorothy had been evacuated to Maidstone a few days after starting secondary school aged 11 in 1939.

Dorothy was evacuated a few days after starting secondary school. Pictured: An entry about VE Day from Dorothy's diaries

We were marched down the streets by volunteers and handed out, she recalls.

Over the years she moved five times. I was very homesick, but you get used to things. Everyone I lived with was very kind and I was well fed. During the day I had school and my friends, but I was miserable in the evenings.

For many evacuees it was a positive experience. Carry On actor Kenneth Williams fondly described how he left his bullying father to be cared for by a retired vet who taught him drama and diction, and then there were the four Burns brothers.

They left two bug-infested rooms in east London for Wytham Hall in Oxfordshire, with servants, their own beds, hot water and peacocks in the grounds. But for a few it was awful. They were badly cared for and had their food parcels taken, or were treated as servants.

Dorothy loved the countryside and her new friends. But we had to grow up faster, she recalls.

You couldnt look for the same sympathy from a foster parent as you would get from your own.

In 1941 her school was moved to Bedford when Maidstone became a Luftwaffe target. I remember one early raid, she says. I was outside with friends and we saw planes we didnt recognise, then bombs falling and great clouds of smoke.

She returned home with mixed feelings. When I got back I missed a lot of the things I could do in Bedford, recalls Dorothy, who now lives in Scotland. And everything had changed.

But a year later I started university in London, moved out of home, and began a new life for myself, with new friends.'
analysis

Kenya has started negotiating a withdrawal from Somalia by 2021. The country is set to leave as Ethiopia's influence continues to rise.

Kenya has achieved a lot since it intervened in 2011. Its intervention was a "game changer", contributing to a momentum that led to al-Shabaab losing all major Somali cities. But it has fallen short of its goals to subdue al-Shabaab and end terrorism in Kenya. And it will leave a Somalia where its rivals are gaining power and challenging Kenyan national interests.

The intervention

Kenya's public motive for intervening in 2011 was self-defence. Its defence forces moved into Somalia to stop al-Shabaab attacks and improve the country's internal security. Since then, al-Shabaab has lost territorial control over all of Somalia's larger cities. In 2012, Kenya reclaimed Kismayo. In the same year, it convinced Ethiopia to join the fight.

The combined forces of Kenya and Ethiopia were redeployed under the African Union Mission to Somalia. This was crucial in containing al-Shabaab between 2012 and 2016. This combined force weakened the terror group to the point that it is now unable to hold territories within Somali cities.

But this still does not mean that the intervention was successful. Since it began, al-Shabaab has launched three large attacks in Kenya. In 2013, it attacked Westgate Mall in Nairobi. In 2015, it attacked Garissa University in northeastern Kenya. And last year it attacked the Dusit Hotel complex, also in the capital.

By late 2019, al-Shabaab's infiltration in Kenya's northeast intensified, and locals are increasingly accommodating their presence.

The situation in the area around the coastal town of Lamu is similar. Al-Shabaab is taking advantage of animosities between the Muslim Bajunis and the Christian elite who settled in the area in the 1970s.

Broadly speaking, Kenya has managed to curtail al-Shabaab activities in trouble spots in Kilifi and Mombasa. The country also managed to return a large number of foreign fighters to Somalia without much blow-back. Yet the intervention of 2011 failed to keep Kenya completely safe.

Nor did it fully vanquish al-Shabaab. The group is still strong, despite having lost much of its territory. It is richer than ever, propelled by its efficient taxing of the Somali business community, tolled checkpoints and investments, including some in the agricultural sector. Its leadership structure remains intact, with many key officers having served more than four years.

Kenya's dilemmas

Kenya's withdrawal from Somalia will have its own drawbacks. For one, it will abandon its long-time allies inside Somalia. Thus, it will lose leverage with both Addis Ababa and Mogadishu.

The government of Somalia's president, known as Farmajo, has increasingly been at odds with Kenya. The two countries are currently in a diplomatic row over their shared maritime border.

Second, Farmajo's agenda to place his preferred candidates in political office in Somalia's regional states has challenged Kenya's allies in Somalia and especially the regional state of Jubaland.

It has become clear that Farmajo is willing to draw Ethiopian forces as well as the Somali National Army into his quest to consolidate power by appointing political allies. This has pitched Ethiopia against Kenya, and created tension. Ethiopian forces have recently intervened in support of the Somali government in Mogadishu, targeting the enemies of the Farmajo government. That government has been increasingly willing to use military force against the opposition (as well as the Somali media, and against the regional state of Jubaland, led by Kenyan ally Ahmed Mohamed Islam "Madobe".

Kenya leaves a Somalia where neighbouring Ethiopia plays an increasing role, and also works against Kenya's former allies. Also, there are stronger totalitarian tendencies on the part of the Somali presidency than before.

Its withdrawal will leave Ethiopia with a dominating position in the African Union Mission to Somalia. As Ethiopia's alliance with Farmajo is strong, this is bad news for the Somali opposition, including allies of Kenya.

By withdrawing, Kenya has also let its allies down. It has shown that it cannot be trusted to stay the course. Yet the withdrawal follows a wider pattern in Kenyan politics, wherein the 2011 intervention was the exception.

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Kenya's foreign policy strategy has traditionally been passive and restrained. It has held back from the more aggressive politics of all of its neighbours. In the past, this strategy served Kenya well, and the country avoided much of the turmoil that plagued neighbouring countries like Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and even Tanzania. A Kenyan withdrawal is thus a return to Kenya's traditional foreign policy, and saves Kenyan lives and resources.

Kenya's relationship with Ethiopia has been the cornerstone of its regional foreign policy, and a Kenyan withdrawal can repair the relationship. But that will be done on Ethiopia's terms, enhance Ethiopian power in Somalia and leave Kenya with fewer allies within Somalia.

This is the dilemma faced by Kenyan decision-makers today, and their choices will have far-reaching consequences.

Stig Jarle Hansen, Associate Professor of International Relations, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 05:20:24|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 million Americans have applied for jobless claims during the six-week period since mid-March, indicating the ballooning economic cost of COVID-19 shutdowns and pointing to a deepening recession.

In the week ending April 25, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased by 603,000 from the previous week to 3,839,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

"New jobless claims continue to trend lower but remain extremely high," Mark Vitner, senior economist of Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in an analysis.

"This equates to nearly one out of every five workers losing their job in a little more than a month, and suggests the unemployment rate will at least briefly approach 20 percent over the next few months," Vitner said.

Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana, however, noted that the newly released jobless claims data points to "a deceleration of the huge losses from early April."

"This is still one of the top five weeks on record, but the slowing losses indicate the bulk of job losses may be behind us," Hicks told Xinhua via email. "As the economy begins to re-open, these losses will continue to slow."

As COVID-19 shutdowns rippled through the workforce, initial jobless claims spiked by 3 million to reach a record 3.3 million in the week ending March 21, surged by 3.34 million to reach 6.87 million in the week ending March 28, totaled 6.62 million in the week ending April 4, fell to 5.2 million in the week ending April 11, and then dropped to 4.4 million in the week ending April 18.

The new data from Bureau of Labor Statistics also showed that the four-week moving average, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 757,000 to reach 5 million.

Hicks noted that the data doesn't capture how many of these workers might have already been recalled or found new jobs.

The report also showed the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 12.4 percent for the week ending April 18, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous week's unrevised rate.

Hicks, however, said the current U.S. jobless rate is likely over 20 percent already, considering a lag in data.

Economists at the McKinsey Global Institute argued that the COVID-19 pandemic could hurt as many as 57 million U.S. workers, if furloughs and reduced hours and pay are included, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The jobless claims data came one day after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter contracted at an annual rate of 4.8 percent amid the COVID-19 impact, the biggest quarterly decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

"The weekly initial unemployment claims data are one of the best examples of just how quickly the economy went from firing on all cylinders to being parked on the side of the road," Vitner said.

"While industry detail is not available, we suspect the trend in layoffs has shifted," Vitner noted. "The first wave was dominated by displaced leisure & hospitality workers, workers at doctor & dentist offices and administrative positions in general."

"A larger portion of more recent job losses have likely been in manufacturing, logistics and professional services," he continued. "The criteria for receiving benefits have also widened to include many contract workers, which may be one reason claims fell less than expected this past week."

Many states are seeing a re-opening of their economies, as the coronavirus has killed over 61,000 people nationwide and infected more than 1 million as of Thursday afternoon, according to a data-tracking tool developed by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

"I think the evidence strongly backs the aggressive initial shelter-in-place orders," Hicks told Xinhua. "However, as we learn more about the disease, easing some of those restrictions seems wise."

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, a major accounting firm, wrote in a blog Wednesday that "other countries have stepped up much more than the U.S. to test, track and blunt losses associated with the virus."

"Wait-and-see is not an option for an economy hit by such an extraordinary external shock," she said. Enditem
The news this week has been absolutely bonkers, to the point where hyperventilating has now just become a precursor to opening up your social media feed. Trump, for example, is tweeting support for armed protestors that oppose stay at home orders, despite his own administration suggesting guidelines that states only reopen after a 14-day downward trajectory of cases.

This, like many other of his actions, are so shockingly contradictory and terrifying that all we can do is throw up our thrice-washed hands and ask, "what in the hell is going on right now?"

We don't have an answer for you, but we're beyond shit hitting the fan and more like shoveling dump trucks of manure into a wind turbine. Here's a piece reporting that Trump is pushing spy agencies to find links between Wuhan labs and the novel coronavirus. It's the type of thing that echo's George W. Bush's claims of "Weapons of Mass Destruction," but even if coronavirus was a Chinese lab experiment gone wrong (or right depending on what strain of conspiracy theory glue you're huffing) is now the time for this? We're still square in the middle of the epidemic. Do we really want to tease war with China while we can't even leave our homes?
BRIDGEWATER, N.J., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampersand Records USA today announced a new Coronavirus Comedy Song by DUCK VENUS (fictitious character) aka Dark Venus and featured on her YouTube channel. The song paints the picture (in cartoon style) what would happen if a Duck got the virus.

"We already know how contagious the Coronavirus is amongst humans," says Dark (DUCK) Venus, who started her YouTube channel back in 2018. "But what would happen if an animal were to be the transmitter?"

Animal Spreads COVID-19 [WHAT THE QUACK!] New Coronavirus Comedy Song New coronavirus comedy song, What the QUACK, released on YouTube

The story (which is purely fictional) portrays a little cute duck that catches the virus and in turn, innocently starts a chain reaction of infection in her small farm community.

"Under the current lockdown, I think a lot of people will enjoy this new release," says Robert Harris, CEO at Ampersand Records USA. "The song (which is original) is memorable as well."

The lighthearted scenes follow the "paths of the pathogen" as the victims unknowingly spread the virus from one person to another. With a surprise ending, the little duck finds a way to seek revenge on the real source of the virus.

"What the QUACK" video is currently public- visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMuU1aGeQbk



About Ampersand Records USA:

Since 1977, Ampersand Records USA has produced music of various styles for many major record labels which includes Universal UMG (Johnny Cash- The Great Lost Performance), Atlantic, Mercury, Sony as well as hundreds of independent labels.

Media Contact:

Robert Harris

Ampersand Records USA

(908) 685-0588

[email protected]

SOURCE Ampersand Records USA
Broken window in hotel room View Photos

Sonora, CA  A Stockton man had to be tased after throwing items, including the bed mattress, and breaking a window at a Sonora Inn.

Sonora Police were called to the Heritage Inn on South Washington Street around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday for a report of a guest screaming and breaking items. Chief Turu VanderWiel relays that when an officer arrived at the room suddenly its front door window was broken out from inside.

With a Tuolumne County Sheriffs Officer called in for back up, the next half hour was spent trying to get 30-year-old Robert Thomas Geyer to exit the room, reports Chief VanderWiel, who recounts, Geyer had pulled apart the beds mattress. He details, He had the pad portion of it up against the wall. He wasnt barricaded behind it that we could tell Officers were able to get a shot on him with the taser and take him into custody.

Geyer was booked for felony vandalism and for being under the influence of a controlled substance, but the exact drug was not identified. As the image box pictures show there was a lot of damage to the room, but the Chief did not have a total amount.

VanderWiel added that Geyer was not supposed to be here, sharing, He told the officers he was just here to get out of Stockton, so based on that information he was in our area without essential business. Obviously, that is against the governors stay-at-home order.

The Chief also relayed that Geyers crimes were not considered a violent or serious crime to others, so he will be released under the coronavirus zero bail rules.
UN envoy says Myanmar army still committing 'crimes against humanity'

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 1:39 AM

The UN's special rapporteur on Myanmar's human rights situation has accused the country's military of targeting "civilian population" in two states to an extent that could amount to "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity".

"While the world is occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Myanmar military continues to escalate its assault in Rakhine State, targeting the civilian population,"said Yanghee Lee at the end of her term as the UN rapporteur in a statement on Wednesday.

She said the Tatmadaw the Armed Forces of Myanmar  is inflicting immense suffering on the ethnic communities in Rakhine and Chin states, and "is systematically violating the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and human rights."

The outgoing UN rapporteur said the Myanmar military's conduct against the civilian population of Rakhine and Chin States "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Yanghee Lee said the Myanmar army's recent air and artillery strikes in civilian areas in Rakhine and neighboring Chin State have "killed and injured scores of adults and children," and the military has prevented some of the injured from accessing urgent medical care.

She added that schools, houses and "even an entire village of up to 700 homes" had been burned or destroyed.

The UN expert said the military has arrested, tortured or killed dozens of men. After burning up to 700 homes in Tin Ma village in Kyauktaw on 22 March, 10 men disappeared. One man was found shot dead and decapitated bodies were later located in a nearby river.

A United Nations fact-finding mission has previously found that "the gravest crimes under international law" have been committed in Myanmar and called for genocide trials.

Myanmar and its de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyiare under international pressure to improve their treatment of the Rohingya after a bloody military crackdown in 2017 sent around 750,000 civilians fleeing into Bangladesh and prompted genocide charges at the UN's top court.

Thousands still remain in Myanmar under apartheid-like conditions, confined to camps and villages and denied access to healthcare and education.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently approved a long-awaited full investigation into the crimes against the Rohingya minority.

Myanmar has long considered the Rohingya to be "Bengalis" from Bangladesh even though their families have lived in the country for generations.

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Amazons profitless future

The service we provide has never been more critical, Jeff Bezos said yesterday when announcing Amazons latest financial results. Indeed, the e-commerce giant reported a whopping $75.5 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 26 percent from the same time a year ago.

But profit fell faster than expected, as costs spiked to meet increased demand from homebound consumers. Mr. Bezos said that pandemic-related expenses would consume all of the companys profit in the current quarter  and that it was part of a deliberate strategy:

If youre a shareowner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat, because were not thinking small. Under normal circumstances, in this coming Q2, wed expect to make some $4 billion or more in operating profit. But these arent normal circumstances. Instead, we expect to spend the entirety of that $4 billion, and perhaps a bit more, on Covid-related expenses getting products to customers and keeping employees safe.

Its a return to form, in a way, to when Amazon spent all of its cash to build market share instead of generating big profits. In the 20 years through 2016, Amazon made a cumulative net profit of around $5 billion  less than what it made in the past two quarters.

 With so much attention focused on Amazon during the pandemic, not least when it comes to the safety of its warehouse workers, choosing not to turn a huge profit could be seen as a shrewd move.
Victoria will tap into the Chinese Communist Party's $1.5 trillion Belt and Road Initiative to boost the local economy, declaring the infrastructure network crucial to rebuilding after the coronavirus crisis.

The state's determination to stick with the program is set to spark division between Victoria, NSW and the federal government, which is sceptical of China's building initiative amid the global fallout over the origins of the pandemic.

The program has seen Beijing prop up infrastructure across Asia, Europe and South America. China is rolling out a "health silk road" to deliver medical equipment and tele-health services to developing countries as it comes under increasing pressure from advanced economies over its handling of the coronavirus.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Credit:Jason South

A Victorian government spokeswoman said the Belt and Road Initiative would create opportunities for Victorian businesses and local jobs. "[These] opportunities will be more important than ever as we rebuild from this crisis," she said.
Rajasthan now has fewer districts in the Covid-19 red zones classified by the Union health ministry, while Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 19 such districts, according to an official letter.

Following the videoconference by the Cabinet secretary with chief secretaries of states on April 30, the list classifying districts as red, orange and green zones was sent to all states.

Rajasthan has eight districts in the red zone, 19 in the orange zone and six in the green zone.

The letter from Union health secretary Preeti Sudan, accessed by Hindustan Times, said district will be considered a green zone if it has recorded no confirmed Covid-19 cases so far, or if no cases have been reported for 21 days.

According to the list, Uttar Pradesh has 19 districts in the red zone, followed by Maharashtra (14), Tamil Nadu (12), Delhi (11), West Bengal (10) and Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (nine districts each).

Of the 733 districts in the country, 130 are in the red zone, 284 in the orange zone and 319 in the green zone.

In an earlier classification done on April 15, 170 districts were in the red zone, 207 districts the white zone and 353 were in the green zone. At that time, Rajasthan, with 12 hot spot districts, was among the top five states  the others were Tamil Nadu (22), Andhra Pradesh (16), Maharashtra (14) and Uttar Pradesh (13).

On April 15, the Union health ministry had designated districts as hot spots or red zones, orange zones and green zones based on cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate.

In the latest list, districts have been designated across the various zones by broad-basing the criteria. This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback, officials said.

According to the latest classification for Rajasthan, the districts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Nagaur, Banswara and Jhalawar are in the red zone.

Tonk, Jaisalmer, Dausa, Jhunjhunu, Hanumangarh, Bhilwara, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Udaipur, Dholpur, Sikar, Alwar, Bikaner, Churu, Pali, Barmer, Karauli and Rajsamand are in the orange zone, while Baran, Bundi, Ganganagar, Jalore, Sirohi and Pratapgarh in the green zone.

This is a dynamic list. The list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to states for further follow-up action in consonance with the directions issued by Ministry of Home Affairs under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the letter said.

The Union health ministry has allowed states to designate additional red or orange zones based on feedback from the field and additional analysis at the local level. However, states may not relax the zonal classification of districts, the letter said.

The ministry added that for districts having one or more municipal corporations, the areas under these bodies and other areas of districts may be treated as separate units.

If one or more of these units have reported no cases for last 21 days, they can be considered as one level lower in zonal classification, in case the district is in Red/Orange Zone. District authorities should, however, exercise due caution in such areas so that these areas remain free from COVID19 cases, the letter said.

Public health expert Dr Virendra Singh said Rajasthan has been able to flatten the curve due to lockdown and curfew in affected areas. The state is among the top states in terms of testing. It is continually increasing its testing capacity, targeting 10,000 tests a day from 8,000 currently. It is because of these efforts that some Rajasthan districts have transitioned from the red to orange zone, he said.

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Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan revealed Thursday that the state's National Guard is protecting 500,000 coronavirus tests flown in from South Korea at a secret location over concerns that the federal government will interfere and confiscate them.

Hogan and his Korean-born wife Yumi worked with South Korean authorities over 22 days to secure half a million tests for his state after conflict between governors and the Trump administration about the level of testing being made available.

The tests landed at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on April 18 where Hogan revealed the National Guard and state police had established a 'Fort Knox' like protection over them.

This was the first Korean Air plane to ever land in the airport as the governor said he wanted to avoid the tests having to cross over state lines because of previous reports of the federal government interjecting to confiscate equipment.

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Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan told The Washington Post Thursday of the measures he took to ensure that the federal government did not interfere with the delivery of 500,000 coronavirus tests to the state. He said the National Guard created 'Fort Knox'

The Maryland National Guard is seen here on April 18, securing a delivery of 500,000 tests from South Korea. Gov. Larry Hogan said he called in the National Guard to protect the shipment from the federal government he feared would interfere and confiscate it

Maryland @GovLarryHogan on whether he was concerned that the federal government would seize the tests the state procured from South Korea. He says the tests are being guarded by the National Guard at an undisclosed location. https://t.co/uGcUi6U5rL pic.twitter.com/15BhHmLzql  Washington Post Live (@postlive) April 30, 2020

'It was just so important to us. We were making sure that that plane took off from Korea safely, landed in America safely and that we guarded that cargo from anyone who might interfere with us getting it to our most in need,' the governor told the Washington Post.

'We landed it there with a large contingent of Maryland National Guard and Maryland State Police,' Hogan, a Republican, added.

'Because this was an enormously valuable payload. It was like Fort Knox to us because it's going to save the lives of thousands of citizens.

'There had been reports of, for example in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker told the story of his planeload that came in with masks was basically confiscated by the federal government,' Hogan continued.

'He then had to get Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, to fly in a second mission on a private plane to try and bring that equipment in and there were a couple of other state with similar stories.'

On April 3, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker revealed that Kraft arranged a shipment of more than 1 million N95 masks after the federal government seized a previous order bound for the Bay State.

Baker said the state had put in an order for masks with BJ's Wholesale Club.

The 500,000 tests were protected by the Maryland National Guard and state police as they arrived to Baltimore-Washington Airport. Gov. Larry Hogan revealed that 'Fort Knox' was created around the airport over concerns the federal government would attempt to interfere

The order landed in the Port of New York and New Jersey, but Marylou Sudders, the Massachusetts secretary of health and human services, told The Boston Globe that she believes it was impounded by customs officials on March 18.

Sudders said she believes customs officials confiscated the shipments and placed it in the federal stockpile.

'They take what we order,' Sudders said, referring to the Trump administration.

Named Operation Enduring Friendship, Maryland's mission to secure the 500,000 tests from Korea's LabGenomics was led by first lady Yumi Hogan, a fine artist.

Born in South Korea, she became a citizen in 1994 and negotiated with authorities there so that Maryland could make the $9.4 million purchase. South Korea had a surplus of tests but a policy of not selling to states.

Operation Enduring Friendship, Maryland's mission to secure the 500,000 tests from Korea's LabGenomics, was led by Maryland first lady Yumi Hogan, a fine artist, pictured here meeting the tests as they arrived on a charted Korean Air plane on April 18

Maryland governor Larry Hogan tweeted this picture as he met 500,000 tests arriving to Baltimore-Washington Airport in Maryland from South Korea on April 18

Gov. Hogan said that they had worked over 22 days with the Korean embassy, the state department in South Korea, eight different state agencies and scientists to complete the complicated process.

'We made sure it landed at BWI airport instead of Dulles [in Washinton D.C.] so it's the first time a Korean Air passenger plane has ever laded at BWI,' he said, adding that the tests are now being guarded at a secret location by the National Guard, who are also working to distribute them.

'We've about 1,300 members of the Maryland National Guard who've been activated and another 800 who are on standby and ready for activation in an eight-hour period,' he said.

'These are citizen soldiers who are really stepping up and helping other citizens in need.'

Both Hogans were present on April 18 to welcome the chartered 777 Korean Air plane when it landed.

Gov. Hogan said that they made the decision to secure the tests for themselves after conflict with the federal government, which states have called on for help in the effort to ramp up testing.

President Donald Trump took a swipe at the governor after news of the test delivery was announced earlier this month.

During a press conference on the Monday after the tests landed, Trump accused Hogan of not understanding the White House's handling of the coronavirus situation.

'Some of the governors, as an example, the governor of Maryland, did not really understand the list,' Trump said while describing a call Vice President Mike Pence had with governors earlier that day.

'He did not understand too much about what was going on, so now I think he'll be able to do that.'

Trump asserted that Hogan could have saved a lot of money by calling Vice President Mike Pence about the tests.

'I don't think he needed to go to South Korea. I think he needed to get a little knowledge  would have been helpful,' Trump said at the briefing.

Hogan didn't entertain the comments and said that he did what the president and told governors to do.

'The president said that the governors are on their own and they should really focus to getting their own tests. And that is exactly what we did,' he said.

'Message changed yesterday, I'm not sure why.'

Hogan confirmed the administration pointed to federal labs as a way to meet the state's testing needs.

'We've been pushing to get NIH to help us with testing for more than a month now, but it was a productive meeting overall,' Hogan said.

Hogan said the April 18 shipment does not include everything needed to conduct all the tests, such as lab capability and swabs, though the state has acquired and continues to work to find the other needed components from other suppliers.

On Wednesday Hogan mandated universal testing for all nursing home residents and staff in Maryland, as reports came that the tests from Korea have not yet been used, ten days after they landed.

According to the Washington Post, the tests were hung up by regulatory hurdles and shortages of other supplies that have throttled testing capacity nationwide.

As of Thursday evening, Maryland had more than 21,700 confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 1,100 deaths.

Hogan is facing increasing pressure from his fellow Republicans to reopen the state but said that he estimated that the first phase could happen in early May.

The governor said he is primarily focused on a downward trend in hospitalizations and intensive care unit bed use, neither of which has happened.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-30 23:29:14|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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KIEV -- Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said that COVID-19 quarantine measures would be eased for small businesses starting May 11, Ukrinform news agency reported on Thursday.

It is vital for the government to open food markets since a significant share of the agricultural products in Ukraine is distributed through them, the official said.

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JUBA -- The World Bank on Thursday has approved a grant of about 40 million U.S. dollars in social protection to provide income security for poor and vulnerable South Sudanese amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Thursday warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.

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NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with senior ministers of his cabinet to discuss strategies to attract more foreign investments and promote local investments in order to give a boost to the economy against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, said an official statement.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home Minister (Internal Security) Amit Shah, Minister for Commerce & Industries Piyush Goyal, and other senior officials.

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DAR ES SALAAM -- Tanzanian Members of Parliament on Thursday urged the government to create more centers for testing COVID-19 to enable speedy and mass testing.

Peter Serukamba, the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee for community development, said the centers for COVID-19 testing should be created at zonal referral hospitals across the country.

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HANOI -- Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the sixth day in a row, with its total confirmed cases remaining at 270, according to its Ministry of Health.

The country on Thursday confirmed that one more COVID-19 patient had recovered, and a discharged patient had tested positive for the virus again, with its total cured cases being 219, Vietnam News Agency reported.

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BELGRADE -- At a ceremony held here on Thursday, Serbia awarded military memorial medals to the six-member Chinese medical expert team for their contribution to Serbia's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Serbian army's most prestigious military awards were handed out to the doctors by Serbia's Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin at the "Dom Garde" military facility in the presence of military officials and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo.

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BRUSSELS -- The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed a total of 7,594 lives in Belgium after 111 new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, the public health institute Sciensano confirmed on Thursday.

The same period saw 660 news cases, bringing the total to 48,519 since the pandemic hit the country, said Sciensano in its daily bulletin.

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DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan has registered the first 15 coronavirus cases, the country's Health Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the 15 cases have been confirmed respectively in the capital of Dushanbe and the northern province of Sughd. Enditem
New Delhi, May 1 : The Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has found some good news with a 93 point improvement in the Moscow-based Round University Ranking (RUR). The varsity has been ranked at 538 positions among the world's 1,100 universities assessed, improving its position from 631 last year.

At the national level the university has been ranked at 10th position, which is also an improvement from 11 last year. This is despite the incidents of violence and strike that rocked the campus last year and early this year.

Among the four key areas of the university activities, the JMI scored maximum in teaching. The university has been ranked at 186 worldwide in teaching, 684 in research, 794 in international diversity and 677 in financial sustainability.

Speaking on improvement in rankings the Vice Chancellor of varsity Najma Akhtar said, "Teachers are the backbone of any academic institution. Without their contribution no academic institution can excel. I give full credit for the improvement in ranking to the teaching faculty of Jamia Millia Islamia", she added.

The RUR World University Ranking assesses higher education institutions across the borders since 2010 until now. Over the 10 years, 1100 world's leading universities from 85 countries took part in the RUR Rankings.

RUR Ranking evaluates universities performance by 20 indicators grouped into four key areas: teaching, research, internationalisation and financial sustainability.

"Together, we are facing a truly unprecedented situation related to world pandemic. Although universities all over the world are working online, we believe that common challenges will help the academic sector stay even more connected", RUR said while releasing the ranking amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovidiu Dugulan/iStockBy WILLIAM MANSELL and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 233,000 people worldwide.



Over 3.2 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations' outbreaks.



Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the hardest-hit country, with more than 1 million diagnosed cases and more than 63,000 deaths.



Here's how the news is developing Friday. All times Eastern:

1:20 p.m.: NJ governor threatens to re-close parks



In New Jersey, which has seen more than 121,000 diagnosed cases and at least 7,538 deaths, Gov. Phil Murphy is warning residents to avoid gathering when they enjoy the warmer weather this weekend.



Murphy said during the first weekend in April, when temperatures warmed, he saw "extremely troubling" behavior as people ignored social distancing rules.



If that happens again, Murphy warned he "will not hesitate to re-close the parks."



"If we do well together, then we can most likely take other steps sooner," he said.

Noon: NY schools closed statewide rest of academic year



In New York, state schools and colleges will remain closed the rest of the academic year and will continue with distance learning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.



Meal programs and child care services for essential workers will continue, he added.



A decision on summer school will be announced at the end of May.

11:45 a.m.: Funeral home's license suspended after decomposing bodies found



The Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Brooklyn, New York, has had its operating license suspended, according to a statement Friday fro New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.



Zucker's office said earlier it was investigating the funeral home after as many as 100 decomposing bodies were found there in unrefrigerated trucks.



Zucker called the funeral home's actions "appalling, disrespectful to the families of the deceased, and completely unacceptable."



"A crisis is no excuse for the kind of behavior we witnessed at Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home, and we are holding them accountable," Zucker said.



Police responded to reports Wednesday of a foul odor outside the funeral home and discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in two U-Haul trucks and a U-Haul van.



New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the circumstance "unconscionable" and noted the city has been transferring some of the coronavirus victims to freezer trucks for preservation.



FEMA is building long-term storage for corpses as part of its Disaster Portable Morgue Unit with a capacity of nearly 3,000.

11:20 a.m.: FEMA to start shipping PPE to nursing homes



The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it will ship 14-day supplies of personal protective equipment to more than 15,400 Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes.

My entire family survived COVID-19. Here's what I wish I knew earlier



The PPE shipments -- eye protection, surgical masks, gowns, gloves -- will start next week with a focus on major cities, FEMA said. By the beginning of July, nursing homes in all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam, will receive shipments.

10:25 a.m.: 'Heroic' Colorado paramedic who came to help NYC dies from virus



In hard-hit New York City, "this virus is tragically still alive and well," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.



New York City saw 2,637 confirmed new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, and 202 people in the city died on Thursday, he said.



"We have to realize that numbers like that tell us there's still a real fight ahead," de Blasio said.



"If you open the door a little bit ... it comes back strong," he warned.



De Blasio announced Friday that Paul Cary, a paramedic from Aurora, Colorado, who came to New York City to help during the crisis, has died from the coronavirus.



After three decades of serving the people of Aurora, "he made the choice to come here and save lives," De Blasio said.



"Paul gave his life for us," the mayor said, calling him "heroic."



De Blasio said a memorial will be created in New York City to honor him and "to remember all those who came to our defense."



As the weather warms, New York City is opening streets to pedestrians and bicyclists to ease crowding.



The first streets will open on Monday with 4.5 miles inside parks and 2.7 miles of streets adjacent to parks, de Blasio said.



Gatherings still remain off limits and the minute police know about a gathering, it will be shut down, de Blasio warned. He said if New Yorkers want to reach "normalcy," they cannot participate in or condone a gathering.

Even on sunny days like today, people should still continue to practice Social Distancing!



We all have to do this together New York!



Lets keep it up! pic.twitter.com/0EvlTVBCXS  NYPD Central Park (@NYPDCentralPark) April 28, 2020

Subways will shut down from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to allow proper cleaning and disinfecting. This is believed to be the first time the subway has had a regularly scheduled, system wide halt in the 52 years of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).



At least 98 MTA workers have died from the coronavirus, MTA Chairman and CEO Pat Foye said.

9 a.m.: Alaska Airlines to require passengers wear face coverings following Delta, United, American, JetBlue



Alaska Airlines on Friday became the latest airline to announce it will require passengers wear face coverings. The airline's new policy will take effect May 11.



Passengers must wear face coverings beginning May 4 on United Airlines, Delta Airlines and JetBlue Airways. American Airlines travelers must wear face coverings beginning May 11.

8:24 a.m.: Two investigations launched after decomposing bodies found at Brooklyn funeral home



New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zuckers office is investigating the Andrew T. Cleckley funeral home in Brooklyn, where as many as 100 decomposing bodies were found in un-refrigerated trucks.



Funeral homes and morgues must be accountable for their actions or lack thereof, and we will do everything under our authority to protect health and safety, the commissioners office said in a statement.



Abandoning, neglecting, abusing or failing to treat with dignity and respect, a dead human body entrusted to the licensee, is a violation of misconduct under public health law.



The Brooklyn District Attorneys office is also investigating.



Police responded to reports Wednesday of a foul odor outside the funeral home and discovered dozens of decomposing bodies in two U-Haul trucks and a U-Haul van.



New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the circumstance unconscionable and noted the city has been transferring some of the coronavirus victims to freezer trucks for preservation.



The Federal Emergency Management Agency is building long-term storage for corpses as part of its Disaster Portable Morgue Unit with a capacity of nearly 3,000.

5:51 a.m.: Four inmates dead, 600 test positive at BOP prison



Four inmates have died of COVID-19 at Terminal Island prison, a low security federal correctional institution in San Pedro, California.



Another 600, nearly 60-percent of the prison population, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.



"The government has a responsibility to protect people in its care, including inmates," Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragan, whose district includes Terminal Island, told ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV in a statement. "The leadership at Terminal Island has clearly failed to do that."



"There are alternatives that can keep non-violent inmates safe, like home confinement. We need prison leadership to consider those alternatives, especially to the vulnerable, and stop the spread of this disease at Terminal Island," Barragan's statement said.



Inside the Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities, there are 1,692 federal inmates and 349 staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19 nationwide. There have been at least 33 inmate coronavirus deaths in BOP facilities, according to the organization.

3:08 a.m.: City votes to legally challenge Newsom beach closure order



The Huntington Beach City Council voted to pursue a legal challenge to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's beach closure order Thursday night.



Governor Newsoms mandate to close all beaches in Orange County today was a jarring decision that significantly impacts us here in Huntington Beach, Mayor Lyn Semeta said in a statement. Given that Orange County has among the lowest per-capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the action by the state prioritizes politics over data, in direct contradiction of the Governors stated goal to allow science and facts to guide our response to this horrible global pandemic.



The council voted 5-2 to seek "any and all legal actions necessary" to challenge Newsom's order.



Newsom said photos of overcrowding at beaches with little social distancing gave him no choice but to protect public health by ordering the beaches close.



"Everyone saw those images and we're all concerned about that. ... That's what ultimately led to this decision," Newsom said Thursday.



California has more than 50,000 diagnosed COVID-19 cases, with at least 2,036 deaths across the state.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., April 22, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/Pool via Reuters)

US Will Not Let Iran Purchase Arms After UN Embargo Expires: Pompeo

The United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. prohibition expires in October, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on April 29.

We will work with the U.N. Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales. And then in the event we cant get anyone else to act, the United States is evaluating every possibility about how we might do that, Pompeo said at a press briefing.

The embargo on conventional arms sale was imposed on Iran by the U.N. Security Council as a part of the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015 in a separate resolution, and is due to expire on Oct. 23 if no action is taken, Pompeo said. This will allow China, Russia, and other countries to sell conventional weapons to Iran, he added.

Pompeo added that the United States was urging the E3 states of France, Germany, and the UK as signatories of the Iran nuclear deal to take action to prevent the Ayatollah regime from obtaining conventional weapons, which is within their capacity to do, Pompeo said at the press briefing on April 29.

A U.S.-drafted resolution to extend the embargo has been given to the three countries, a U.S. official confirmed. But U.N. diplomats said it has not been shared with the remaining 11 U.N. Security Council members, according to Reuters.

P5+1 and Iran representative pose prior to the announcement of an agreement on Iran nuclear talks on April 2, 2015 at the The Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2018, the Trump administration withdrew the United States unilaterally from the Iran deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying that it had failed to prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons and allowed Iran to support terrorist activities.

Read More Why the US Pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal

Several European diplomats said that Washington may not be able to spark a sanctions snapback because it has already pulled out of the deal but Pompeo disagreed.

The United States has the right to invoke snapback in a way that will prevent this expiration of the arms sales under the provisions of the U.N. Security Council resolution, which re-imposed sanctions on conventional arms sale until October, he told Fox News on April 30.

President Trump is committed to using every tool we have to prevent the Iranians from getting more conventional arms. I am convinced that we have the capacity to do that, Pompeo said, adding that the United States has no intention of making another deal.

The Iran nuclear deal was signed by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States), Germany, the European Union (EU), and Iran. Its purpose was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

Upon withdrawal from the deal, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iran aimed at cutting off the revenues the [Iranian] regime uses to bankroll terrorist groups, foment global instability, fund nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and enrich its leaders, the White House said at the time.

The E3 countries and the EU continued to support the JCPOA after the U.S. withdrawal, and have urged Iran to comply with the deal.

An Iranian governments spokesman made the announcement on Jan. 5 that Iran would no longer abide by the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal intended to curb its burgeoning nuclear program.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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The World Health Organization is holding a briefing Friday on the coronavirus, which has infected more than 3.2 million people worldwide and killed at least 233,704, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Earlier this week, WHO officials said they are investigating whether the coronavirus causes some children to develop a rare inflammatory disease.

Health officials in the U.K. warned doctors over the weekend that Covid-19 could be causing a rare inflammatory condition in children. Britain's Pediatric Intensive Care Society said Monday the National Health Service alerted it to a small number of critically ill children presenting with "an unusual clinical picture."

WHO also warned world leaders last week that they will need to manage around the coronavirus for the foreseeable future as cases level off or decline in some countries, while peaking in others and resurging in areas where the Covid-19 pandemic appeared to be under control.

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid -19 outbreak.
Shashi Tharoor

Asserting that incidents and comments against Muslims were bound to attract negative reactions abroad, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said it is more important to change the domestic reality than do damage control, while referring to India's criticism in the Arab states over alleged "Islamophobia".

What matters is not what the government says but how it is perceived because of what it does, or let others do, Tharoor said, and alleged that the Modi government has "shamefully failed" to curb the appalling behaviour of many of its "most rabid supporters", including some in high positions.

"Let us not forget that 'Ramzade/Hara.....' comment came from a minister, and the latest remark from a BJP MLA in UP telling people not to buy vegetables from a Muslim vendor," Tharoor said.

His remarks were an apparent reference to 2014 comments reportedly made by Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, and the recent controversy triggered by Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Suresh Tewari who allegedly asked people not to buy vegetables from Muslim vendors. The BJP on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to Tewari for his remarks.

In an interview to PTI, Tharoor alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, throughout the last six years, been too slow to "condemn his party's bigotry and has condoned overt expressions of Islamophobia from his own camp".

"The attitude that India loves Muslims so long as they are outside India, but insults them at home, is not tenable in a world of instant global communications. The mounting number of incidents and statements against Muslims in India was bound to attract negative attention abroad," the former Union minister said.

His remarks came in the backdrop of angry reactions from UAE royal princess, Kuwait government and other leading citizens from various Arab countries after some people blamed Muslims for spreading COVID-19 in several parts of India following a spurt in coronavirus cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin here.

Also, the 57-member prominent international Mulim grouping, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), recently accused India of "Islamophobia".

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Thursday dismissed all such allegations and highlighted Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's regular conversations with their counterparts from the region in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, to stress the closeness in ties.

Responding to the criticism in Gulf nations and by the OIC, Tharoor said the backlash is not surprising.

"While I welcome the PM's and the Foreign Minister's attempts at damage control, it is far more important to change the domestic reality than to issue reassuring statements," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Asked about plea by several Indians stuck in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and his request to the prime minister and the external affairs minister to expedite their evacuation, Tharoor said every nation has a responsibility towards its citizens.

He claimed that the government's argument is that a large number of travellers from abroad would place an unsustainable degree of strain on the country's healthcare and quarantine facilities.

"If that was true 40 days ago, it is no longer true now. We must bring our own citizens back. It is not just a matter of their rights, but of what's right  morally, emotionally and constitutionally," the Congress leader said.

Tharoor also demanded that in these difficult times of the pandemic, the Centre must give the state governments their dues.

It is shocking that GST dues have not been paid despite states, and the Congress calling for this for more than two months, he said.

"Give the states their own money, so they don't have to beg for resources to combat the virus. In addition, yes, extra support will be needed for those states facing a larger COVID-19 burden," Tharoor said.

"The ordinary people of our country also need financial help so they can help themselves. We have been calling for Rs 7,500 to be put into every Jan Dhan account. This is far from happening, several weeks after we suggested it," he said.

Asked about Kerala doing well in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and whether other states need to emulate its model, Tharoor said Kerala has been a model state in terms of its social development indicators for a long time, but the practices and systems it has built up take generations to entrench.

Kerala spends a large portion of its state resources on health care and public education, promotes literacy and women's empowerment, and gives village-level local authorities autonomy and funds, he said.

Other states should emulate it, but it will take them a long time to reorient their current practices to get there, he added.
Top African health officials say the continent has taken what appear to be effective measures in curbing the spread of coronavirus. While they note that lockdowns in some countries have had positive effects in slowing transmission, scientists say that the enduring economic and social harm of lockdowns could soon trump scientific considerations. Experts spoke to journalists a day before the continents hot spot, South Africa, prepared to ease its restrictions.

Health officials across the continent have mostly succeeded in urging leaders to implement strict measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. And it may be no coincidence that the sub-Saharan African region continues to have the worlds lowest caseload, and the fewest number of deaths.

But the crisis is far from over, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization regional director for Africa.

In terms of the situation in Africa, we are continuing to see an increase in cases. I think our outbreak is continuing," she said. "We are seeing case fatality rate in the region of about 3.9 percent. We have a couple of countries that have a higher case fatality rate. What is very encouraging, and I'd just like to emphasize this, is that we have a number of countries that have reported zero cases over a couple of weeks." She said the "admittedly relatively small countries" of Namibia, Mauritania and Seychelles had put in place some early measures, "starting with testing, contact tracing, which have produced some results. And then we are very concerned about West Africa, where we are seeing community spread in a significant number of countries compared to others.

In South Africa, the country with the continents highest caseload, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize said the strict 35-day lockdown  which officially ends Friday  had made a difference.

We are actually seeing a slightly different trajectory that has pushed the peak of the epidemic to around September, in the best-case scenario, or maybe July, in the worst-case scenario. This is going to be related to how we ease off the lockdown, so the president has called for a risk-adjusted easing of the lockdown to take into account food security issues, to take into account the economic recovery that needs to be supported, he said.

Mkhize noted that the reopening will be slow and not drastically different from the current situation. The next lower stage will include a curfew, limits on outdoor exercise, and the obligatory use of face masks in public. Large gatherings remained banned, and many so-called nonessential businesses remain shuttered.

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Professor Kojo Ansah Koram, an epidemiologist in Accra, Ghana, says its decisions like this that keep leaders up at night: How do they protect public health while also keeping other sectors of their country strong?

If you are in a place like Accra," Koram said, "where there is a large majority of people in the informal sector, for example, then that advice has to be weighed on, or has to be taken in addition to what will happen to that population, which probably have to go out on a daily basis to get their daily bread. And so you can make your pure scientific advice, but you have to be aware that it has to be managed in the context of all the other things.

As of Wednesday, Africa had about 23,000 reported cases of COVID-19 and just over 900 deaths, fewer than any other region in the world.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said his state is now on the right track in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic even as his government has drawn flak for mismanaging the situation. In an (email/telephone) interview with Ranjan, Chouhan spoke about how he has faced the pandemic challenge from day one since taking office last month. Edited excerpts:

Covid-19 was the challenge you faced after taking office. How is the situation a month later?

..it is a challenging time not only for the state but for the whole country. Right from the moment when I was sworn in, my full focus has been on preventing the Covid-19 spread and safeguarding lives and making sure we have all the arrangements to combat the menace. The situation is constantly improving. A large number of infected patients have recovered and are recovering. We have distributed ayurvedic, herbal and yunani medicines among people to improve their immune system. Today, our medical system is much stronger against this infection. Tests are being conducted in 11 laboratories. We have also used IT at its optimum level...for monitoring the situation and running the state machinery and maintaining social distancing. ...the wheat procurement is going on in the state.

You have blamed the previous Congress government for doing nothing in fighting Covid-19. What did you expect it to do?

It could have taken preventive measures that we did as soon as taking over. There were fewer medical facilities. If the Congress government was aware of this impending crisis as its leaders claim, what did it do? Nothing. They were involved in their internal party conflicts instead of taking care of the state and its people.

The Congress has alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party was focused on toppling its government and did not understand the situation...

They are making such comments to hide their failure. Why did not the Congress government take early preventive measures? They are doing what they do best: blaming us and levelling false allegations. We have taken quick decisions... It is the timely implementation of the lockdown, which has helped in controlling the infections. This is not the right time to make political moves and hurl allegations. They [Congress] should contribute in fighting the pandemic.

What went wrong in Indore and Bhopal that they have emerged as major hotspots and Madhya Pradesh as one of five worst-hit states by Covid-19?

Initially, there were fewer cases primarily in Jabalpur. There was a rapid increase in the number of cases around major cities like Indore and Bhopal. Members of Tablighi Jamaat [who attended a congregation at the groups Delhi headquarters that later emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot] came back... They are also the reason for this sudden rise as they responded reluctantly and did not come forward willingly and thus indirectly spread the virus. Indore is also a prime commercial centre and densely populated. A number of people from Indore travel abroad. Initially such people hid their travel histories and somehow came into contact with others and this resulted in spreading the infection.

Over 100 employees of the health department have also got infected. Has the responsibility been fixed and action taken in this regard?

We are fighting a terrible epidemic. Our officers, health workers and administrative personnel have been at the forefront of fighting this war. They were ready like warriors in the service for the public risking their lives. Unfortunately, they got infected. However, taking cognisance of the infection among them, I have asked for a detailed report. Without knowing the facts, it would not be right to say what went wrong. Their contact history is being investigated and we are trying to find out about the cause of their infection.

What is your response to a central teams visit to Indore and its suggestions?

The team has appreciated Madhya Pradesh for its efforts. The death toll has been brought under control and special care is being given to Indore. The team has suggested some measures based on their nationwide experience. Its guidance will definitely help.

What is your strategy to contain the disease and are there special plans for boosting economic activities?

I have instructed authorities that there should be effective implementation of the strategy to identify, isolate, test and treat. The strategy is simple and involves following lockdown guidelines and social distancing. It involves staying at home, staying safe and no entry, no exit from containment zones. It is a question of life and death. Safety and security of the common man is our top priority. As soon as the situation comes under control, the lockdown will be lifted and normal life will be back on the track.

We have to let small economic activities across the green zones. We have also allowed small businesses to run but with safety measures. Many industries are operating from April 20. All protective measures should be followed at workplaces.

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A senior personel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) James Mbam have been arrested in Ebonyi for allegedly smuggling two persons into the state.

The official who is serving in Orumba Umunze in Anambra State was arrested in Afikpo North local government area with the two persons he was carrying on his motorcycle.

The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Internal Security and Border Peace, Stanley Okoro Emegha confirmed the arrest in Abakaliki.



Mr Emegha noted that the NSCDC personnel who was arrested by the members of the Ebonyi State Neighbourhood Security Watch was arrested at Timber shade axis of the Afikpo/Abakaliki Express road in Afikpo North Local Government Area.

I received a call from members of the Neighbourhood Watch at Afikpo North Local Government Area of a personel of the NSCDC who was carrying two persons in his motorcycle coming to Abakaliki

The Neighbourhood Watch members informed me that the man was coming into the state from Orumba Umunze In Anambra State and has already gotten to Afikpo North having passed Ishiagu in Ivo LGA, and Amasiri in Afikpo North LGA boundaries before he was stopped and arrested at the Timber Shade axis of the express road.

The Commissioner noted that in line with the state governments policy that any indigene of Ebonyi State that gets to the boundary should not be sent back, they were taken to the withholding centre.

 I directed that the NSCDC staff be arrested alongside the two passengers he was carrying and brought to Abakaliki.

He said they will be tested for COVID 19 and that anyone who tests negative will be allowed to go home.

Mr Okoro said the NSCDC official, however, denied bringing the two passengers from outside the state.

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Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has directed civil servants on Grade Level 12 and above in the state to resume work on May 4.

Mr Bello gave the directive on Friday in Lokoja, in a message issued to commemorate this years Workers Day.

The statement, signed on his behalf by the state Head of Service, Deborah Ogunmola, congratulated workers on this years celebration, lauding their resilience and commitment to duties.

READ ALSO:

He also expressed appreciation to the workers for their dedication and services to the state, and challenged them to contribute more to its growth and development.

Mr Bello urged residents to continue to adhere strictly to the protocols and other precautionary measures put in place to checkmate the rampaging COVID-19 disease by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and World Health Organisation.

(NAN)
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic President-elect Arayik Harutyunyan on Friday issued a congratulatory message on International Workers' Day.

"The guarantor of the inviolability of the borders of the homeland is the soldier of the Armenian Army, and the one who keeps the rear strong, the one who builds the countrythe man who constantly works, creates. Only the working hand will ensure the well-being of himself, his family, and then the state.

We will continue to encourage the process of creation of new jobs, ensuring of adequate wages, and protection of the work interests of the working man as a key direction of state policy, the statement reads, in particular.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, right, speaks during a Coronavirus Task Force news conference in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 21, 2020.

The White House says it blocked key Trump administration health official Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying at a House hearing on the U.S. coronavirus response next week.

The House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies wanted Fauci, who has emerged as one of the most trusted voices on the virus, to appear at a Wednesday morning hearing on how the government has handled the pandemic. The panel was "informed by an administration official that the White House has blocked Dr. Fauci from testifying," committee spokesman Evan Hollander said in a statement.

White House spokesman Judd Deere also confirmed the White House stopped the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from appearing before the House. He said that while the administration tries to combat the pandemic that has now killed more than 60,000 Americans, "it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at congressional hearings."

"We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time," Deere said in a statement.

But the White House late Friday gave the health official the green light to testify before the Senate Health Committee on May 12, NBC News reported.

A spokesperson for committee Chairman Lamar Alexander said he "looks forward to hearing from Dr. Fauci and other administration officials."

The Senate, unlike the House, maintains a GOP majority.

As the White House faces backlash for its early efforts to slow the outbreak's spread and ramp up production of coronavirus tests and medical supplies, it has chafed at most efforts to oversee its actions. On top of regular committee hearings in the House, Democrats also set up a select committee to monitor how the administration implements an unprecedented series of rescue packages that contains more than $2.5 trillion in federal spending.
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For any festival, the week before announcing the years slate of films is typically a period of relief and anticipation: your pics are locked in, the directors have been notified and the schedule is coming into focus. But for Torontos Hot Docs  the largest dedicated documentary festival in the North America  that period happened to coincide with the near-breakdown of the larger social order due to COVID-19, and the fest, initially scheduled to run April 30-May 10, was postponed.

Nonetheless, Hot Docs has endeavored to make the best of an unprecedentedly bad situation.

The guiding light for us has been to try and simplify our decision-making process by looking at our core vision, says Hot Docs executive director Brett Hendrie. And that vision is to celebrate and showcase documentary film and to support filmmakers. Everything weve done and are trying to do, we bring back to that mission.

Since Hot Docs is a hub of business activity and acquisitions, the directors decided to go ahead with industry screenings  albeit virtual ones  allowing online access to the entire slate to buyers during the dates the festival was initially scheduled to run. This wasnt necessarily something that was brand new to Hendrie, either  back in 2003, when fear of SARS was running rampant in Toronto, Hot Docs did online programming as well.

Obviously the world is a much more sophisticated place, technologically, than it was back then, he says.

Per Hendrie, the festival already has more than 500 registered participants for its online screening platform.

Weve definitely heard from buyers that theres a strong appetite for completed or nearly completed content. Were on track to have record or

near-record buyer participation in our market he says.

Second, the festival made sure to release its originally scheduled lineup. Featuring 226 films, more than half of them directed by women  including Hannah Reinikainen and Lia Hietalas Always Amber  the festival features such highlights as the premieres of Hong Kong Moments, The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show and AKA Jane Roe, as well as Larry Flynt for President, Meat the Future and Mein Vietnam.

Story continues

When we postponed, we kept hearing from filmmakers saying, When are you going to announce, we want you to announce, says programming director Shane Smith.  Weve got the official sanction of Hot Docs, and with that laurel we can start working and promoting our films. So we tried to see how we could continue to facilitate interaction and business, because our mandate continued to be supporting these filmmakers in any way we can, on any platform we can, in any way that helps.

Of course, attracting the attention of buyers and agents and facilitating sales is only part of a festivals mandate. As for getting its films out in front of the public, the festival is still looking at options. It was initially postponed until the summer, although Hendrie acknowledges that timing is looking less likely. The fest has already launched a partnership with Canadian broadcaster CBC, Hot Docs at Home, which features selections from the program and past iterations across a variety of platforms. Hendrie says the festival staff is also very actively investigating a virtual [public] event if it makes sense for the filmmakers, and if we can do it in a way that honors their work.

And theres certainly plenty on the slate that could strike a chord.

[Screening submissions], we tended to see films that were looking at events of the past through a new lens, through a new perspective, and how that can impact things looking forward. We tend to forget history, and in some ways this pandemic were in is a perfect example of that: either not listening to what were told or not remembering what happened in times past, Smith says. This is the beauty of a long-form feature documentary, that it can look into things that we thought we understood when we were living through them but didnt have that 10,000-feet-view that a documentary filmmaker is able to give us.

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"As a regional medical organization in Massachusetts, we are left to our own devices to secure PPE products for our nurses and doctors battling the COVID-19 pandemic," says John DeMalia, President and CEO of Community Health Connections. "We learned about Massive Technologies through a trusted associate, and understandably had concerns about paying upfront for these respirator masks. However, we learned it's the current situation in China and since most global PPE is manufactured there, it's been a challenging situation to navigate. We appreciate Massive Technologies' relationships with their Chinese manufacturing partners as our masks were made in one day and delivered by FedEx to a nearby airport in China. We did experience transportation delays getting our masks from the commercial carrier in China, so I'm hopeful our next order of PPE supplies will be larger, enabling the use of Massive's private air cargo transportation services to dramatically speed up deliveries," says John DeMalia. "With this private air cargo service, we can cut the delivery times from 30 to 3-days, which would be fantastic for the safety of our medical staff and patients."
Local News, Arts & Culture

By Ls Cohen Published: May 01 2020

We dug into the archives and found these great old pictures of the Rough Riders in Montauk.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication.

In the late 1800s, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were quarantined and convalesced at Camp Wikoff in Montauk after fighting in Cuba.

According to a 1998 article in the New York Times about the 100 -year anniversary of the troops stay there, the huge camp, which was spread over most of Montauk, lasted from mid-August to late October, 1898, while the men recovered from battle wounds, yellow fever, malaria and typhoid.

As was typical of wars of that era, more soldiers were felled by disease, poor medical care and bad food than by enemy bullets. In Cuba, the heat, abundant mosquitoes and poor sanitary conditions took a harsh toll, the paper reported.

Below we present some images of when Montauk was home to Roosevelt's Rough Riders and more than 20,000 other soldiers of the Army's Fifth Corps.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-det-4a15026 (digital file from original)]

Cavalry horses at Montauk Point. Detroit Publishing Co., publisher. 1898 or 1899.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-det-4a16622 (digital file from original)]

General Young at Montauk Point. Detroit Publishing Co., publisher. 1898 or 1899.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-ppmsca-37753 (digital file from original item)]

Theodore Roosevelt in conference, Rough Riders military camp, Montauk Point, New York. Photograph showing Theodore Roosevelt (center right) talking with another soldier while other troops are working with supplies or engaged in other activities, Montauk Point, New York.

Contributor: Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer. 1898.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-det-4a15025 (digital file from original)]

Boys of the 71st N.Y. at Montauk Point after return from Cuba. Detroit Publishing Co., publisher. 1898 or 1899.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-det-4a15022 (digital file from original)]

Boys of the 71st N.Y. at Montauk Point, after returning from Cuba. Detroit Publishing Co., publisher. 1898 or 1899.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-ppmsca-37758 (digital file from original item)]

Soldier on horseback, Rough Riders military camp, Montauk Point, New York. Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer. 1898.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-DIG-ppmsca-37760 (digital file from original item)]

Soldier standing at camp cook area, Rough Riders military camp, Montauk Point, New York. Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer. 1898.

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. [LC-USZ62-92486 (b&w film copy neg.)]

Soldier and eagle mascot beside "H" Troop flag. Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer. 1898.
On March 10, Gov. Ned Lamont, with full support from legislators, declared a state of emergency. By March 18, schools and all non-essential services had been closed. At that time, we had a few confirmed cases and no deaths. Today, after six weeks of shutdowns, social distancing, and 32 executive orders constraining all aspects of life, Connecticut reports roughly 500 new COVID-19 cases and 100 COVID-19 deaths each day. Although I am an elected state representative, I have no say in any of these orders which are impacting residents in my community. There is some degree of desensitization to the daily lives being lost. I humbly ask a question  is it possible that our strategy is misplaced and we need a change of course?

There are three elements which need to be addressed immediately. First, we need to stop the loss of lives in our nursing homes and our senior population. Second, we need to evolve our containment strategy and have a transparent reopen process. Finally, we need to make sure that during this national emergency, we continue to respect democracy and not trample upon our sacrosanct value.

Today, our highest priority requires a focus on our elderly, vulnerable population. The situation at nursing homes and assisted living facilities is severe. The 221 nursing homes in Connecticut have approximately 22,000 residents and have lost more than 3 percent of their residents as a result of COVID-19. We need to act firmly to prevent a catastrophe. In our current strategy, we have prioritized social distancing in our overall population and not done enough to protect our most vulnerable population  seniors in our nursing homes. The only executive order has been to prevent seniors from having visitors.

I ask our administration for a war footing response immediately to stop the loss of lives: First, prioritize availability of testing for impacted nursing homes and their staff. Every resident, visitor and worker in a nursing home needs to be tested 100%, no exceptions. Second, we need to provide the highest-grade PPE - N95 masks, gowns and gloves in large quantities to all nursing homes and senior facilities. Third, we need to provide immediate substantial hazard pay to all nursing home workers via Medicaid  these facilities cannot retain employees at $12/ hour. Finally, we have to move COVID-19 positive patients into separate facilities when possible. The state has created two surge facilities in Sharon and Bridgeport, but this is not enough. We may need to help setup special facilities like those in New York City (the Javits Center) with the help of the federal government.

Our containment strategy needs to evolve with an objective to ensure the fewest number of deaths and a health care system which is not overwhelmed. The governor has entrusted a 47-member Reopen Connecticut task force led by an ex-Pepsi CEO which will work behind closed doors. He has locked out all representatives out of this discussion. The timeline being provided by the task force is weeks and months. This strategy is unacceptable. Rather, our strategy should be to quarantine the hotspots and vulnerable populations. Had we, on March 15, quarantined anyone who came from New York, we would have done better. Going forward, I suggest our containment strategy should be by county or perhaps even more granular by town based on objective criteria. A town of 40,000 with 30 cases (less than 0.1 percent) in eastern Connecticut has the same restrictions today as Stamford, where 5 percent of the population is infected. Research from Sweden and other countries is showing that moderate rather than absolute social distancing among a healthy population is a better strategy.

It has become clear that this pandemic will take a few months, if not more, to subside. During these difficult times, we need to ensure liberty, freedom and democracy. These are not only values for normal times, they are our values for all times. I suggest that all executive orders and appointments should be debated virtually by the legislature. Such debate should be available for our citizens to view. Any action which constrains the freedom should be limited, temporary and should be justified vigorously by town and state administration. Finally, there needs to be more analysis and accountability of decisions being made.

I respect and support our executive leadership and fully appreciate that they are working under uncertainty and difficult circumstances. We are at a pivotal point in this emergency. Success requires we leverage our democratic institutions, not curtail them. Success requires us to be nimble and evolve our plan to reflect the situation on the ground. Success requires a change in strategy.

Harry Arora is a state representative in Greenwichs 151st district.
MIAMI  A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a telecommunications specialist are accused of stealing personal protective equipment, toilet paper and other supplies from an agency warehouse in Florida amid shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

The officials, who were not authorized to discuss the case and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, say it was not clear exactly how much of the supplies the men took or what they intended to do with them but the matter was serious enough that both were suspended and the agent was asked to hand over his gun pending an internal review.

Special Agent Javier Hernandez and the telecommunications specialist whose name was not disclosed are just the latest employees of the DEAs high-profile Miami field division to be accused of misconduct.

Hernandez is suspected of swiping an array of items including PPE, toilet paper and batteries from storage in the early weeks of the pandemic, the officials said, and the telecommunications specialist also took materials from the warehouse but returned them after a supervisor confronted him about a missing supply of toilet paper. Its not clear whether the men are accused of acting together. The incident raises questions about security measures at the DEA facility in Weston, about 20 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, and how the case was handled. The Broward County Sheriffs Office said it had no record of the allegations, which federal authorities instead referred to the DEAs Office of Professional Responsibility for an internal investigation.

The DEA declined to comment on the allegations. Asked about the case in a recent interview, Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon told the AP he couldnt talk about specific situations but that the DEA has the highest standards for its personnel and we intend to maintain those standards.

Hernandez declined to comment. His attorney, Louis Robbio, said its possible Hernandez had been retaliated against for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint involving his earlier transfer from Puerto Rico to the DEAs tech division in Miami.

Mr. Hernandez emphatically denies any wrongdoing at any time in his entire career with DEA or as an officer in the Army, Robbio said in a statement. Any allegations you may have been told about are rumors and innuendo and not based on facts.

The DEAs Miami field office has been rocked by two major scandals in the last few months alone.

Federal prosecutors recently charged former standout DEA agent Jose Irizarry with conspiring to launder money with a Colombian drug cartel he was supposed to be fighting. Irizarry is scheduled to stand trial in August in Tampa.

Investigators also wiretapped a retired DEA supervisor from the same office last year as part of an investigation into whether sensitive case information was leaked to attorneys for suspected drug traffickers in Colombia.

__

Mustian reported from New York. Investigative researcher Randy Herschaft contributed to this report.
Dr. Jonathan Sherin, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, counsels a man who is homeless in Hollywood in October 2019. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times)

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to increase in Los Angeles County, with more than 23,000 people infected so far, fear and anxiety have gripped residents worried about jobs, health and an uncertain future.

The county has recorded a massive uptick in calls and texts to its mental health help line as residents obey Safer-at-Home orders to remain socially distant, officials say. Such quarantine instructions put people at greater risk of anxiety, depression, insomnia and post-traumatic stress, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Friday during a news conference that kicked off Mental Health Awareness Month.

The county has received roughly 4,000 calls per week in April, which is approximately a 25% increase over April 2019. People who have never utilized mental health services are reaching out for help during the coronavirus pandemic, Barger said.

"There is nothing wrong with asking for help," she said. "It is a sign of strength in an uncertain time."

Telehealth services are available for one-on-one appointments, clinics remain open and mobile units have been deployed to reach those who are homeless and vulnerable.

County officials are encouraging residents to utilize its mental health services by calling (800) 854-7771 or texting "LA" to 741741.

As part of an initiative titled We Rise 2020, the county Department of Mental Health is also offering free access to the mediation and mindfulness mobile app Headspace through 2020. An annual subscription to the app is typically around $100.

No individual is unaffected by the crisis, Mental Health Department Director Dr. Jonathan Sherin said. Whether someone is a front line worker, has suffered financial loss or is fearful of being infected or infecting someone else, COVID-19 has disrupted every life, he said. Such obstacles have longstanding effects.

"The challenges we face emotionally are not just present now in the pandemic, but will likely stay with us for some time."

The county typically recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month each year with in-person events that draws roughly 50,000 people. Sherin said that as such efforts necessarily move to the virtual space this year, he hopes thousands more will participate.

"We all share the same challenges," he said. "We, as a county, must come together."
The Gurdwara Hazur Sahib at Nanded was on Friday sealed by local authorities after several pilgrims who returned to Punjab after visiting the shrine tested coronavirus positive, officials said.

The Gurdwara Langar Sahib in the premises, which serves food to all visitors, has also been closed, they said.

Hazur Sahib, also known as Takht Hazuri Sahib Sachkhand, is among the holiest Sikh shrines in the country.

At least 115 of the over 3,500 pilgrims who returned from the Nanded gurdwara have tested positive for coronavirus, according to Punjab government figures.

"The gurdwara and langar (community kitchen) have been closed from Friday," the official at Nanded said.

Gurdwara superintendent Gurvinder Singh Wadhwa said, "District and civic officials reached the gurdwara in the morning on Friday and directed that it be closed and the langar service be stopped."



The batch of pilgrims who left from Nanded to Punjab had been tested at the local government hospital for the virus and none showed any symptoms, he said.

The pilgrims had made halts at Indore, one of the country's worst coronavirus-affected cities, Bhilwara and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and Bhatinda in Punjab en route, gurdwara functionaries said.

Baba Balwinder Singh of Langar Sahib said there are some 175 people from different states in the complex.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mr. Sherman continued, "Parkside at the Beach is another example of selectively adding to our portfolio. The property is exceptionally well located, fronting highway 98 and less than 2 miles to Pier Park, a 2+ million square foot destination open-air shopping center owned by Simon Property Group with over 250 retail, dining and entertainment options. Parkside also serves as the premier multifamily property in the market with kitchen islands, quartz counters, stainless appliances and resort style amenities."

PAC purchased Parkside at the Beach utilizing a first mortgage loan from Freddie Mac bearing interest at a fixed rate of 2.95% per annum for a 10-year term. The loan is interest only during the first two years and amortizes based on a 30-year schedule. There are no loan guaranties provided by PAC or our operating partnership. John Isakson, Chief Financial Officer of PAC said, "Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has rapidly impacted all markets, we were able to close on terms previously agreed to with Freddie Mac. This favorable debt complements this acquisition, providing for enhanced cash flows and projected returns."

About Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.

Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE: APTS) is a real estate investment trust engaged primarily in the ownership and operation of Class A multifamily properties, with select investments in grocery anchored shopping centers, Class A office buildings, and student housing properties. Preferred Apartment Communities' investment objective is to generate attractive, stable returns for stockholders by investing in income-producing properties and acquiring or originating real estate loans. As of December 31, 2019, we owned or were invested in 123 properties in 15 states, predominantly in the Southeast region of the United States. Learn more at www.pacapts.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "trend", "will", "expects", "plans", "estimates", "anticipates", "projects", "intends", "believes", "goals", "objectives", "outlook" and similar expressions. Because such statements include risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, those disclosed in PAC's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PAC undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

Additional Information

The SEC has declared effective the registration statement (including prospectus) filed by the Company for each of the offerings to which this communication may relate. Before you invest, you should read the final prospectus, and any prospectus supplements, forming a part of the registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the offering to which this communication may relate. In particular, you should carefully read the risk factors described in the final prospectus and in any related prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference in the final prospectus and any related prospectus supplement to which this communication may relate. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Company or its dealer manager, Preferred Capital Securities, LLC, with respect to its Series A1/M1 Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering, will arrange to send you a prospectus if you request it by calling John A. Isakson at (770) 818-4109, 3284 Northside Parkway NW, Suite 150, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.

The Series A1/M1 Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering prospectus, dated October 22, 2019, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183219000097/a424b5-2019seriesamshares.htm

SOURCE Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.pacapts.com


Fairfield Fire Assistant Chief Erik Kalapir

FAIRFIELD  A town resident received medical attention Thursday after mistakenly using a bleach solution to perform a nasal rinse instead of distilled water, according to the Fairfield Fire Department.

Assistant Chief Erik Kalapir said in a release that dispatchers received an emergency call from the resident Thursday afternoon, then put her in touch with the Connecticut Poison Control Center at UConn while firefighters responded to the scene.
Jasmine Yarbrough is preparing to welcome her first child with Karl Stefanovic.

The designer, 36, is making sure everything is perfect ahead of the arrival of her first child.

The blonde beauty has already started decorating the nursery inside of her rented Sydney mansion.

'Countdown is on!' Jasmine Yarbrough is preparing to welcome her first child with Karl Stefanovic

In a recent Instagram post, Jasmine gushed that she was daydreaming of 'meeting my baby girl'.

She's doing plenty of reading ahead of the birth, and is currently getting through Sheila Heti's Motherhood.

Jasmine is due to welcome her little bundle of joy in May.

'My snoo has arrived!' The blonde beauty has already started decorating the nursery inside of her rented Sydney mansion

To ensure that she stays fit and healthy, the designer has been walking her and Karl's German Shepard.

She also bought a baby seat for her car to ensure that everything is perfectly prepared for the baby's arrival.

In April, Karl told Daily Mail Australia that he's been helping build the baby's nursery.

'We're slowly getting a nursery together,' he said.

'I've had a fair few boxes arrive at the door and I've had to get the allen keys out.

'Car's all ready!' She also bought a baby seat for her car to ensure that everything is perfectly prepared for the baby's arrival

'I've helped build the cot, they've got this breast-feeding chair thing that I've put together. This is not easy stuff for a guy like me. But we are all ready to roll now.'

The Today show host also said he 'cant wait' to welcome a baby with Jasmine.

'I can't wait,' he said. 'We discussed it very early on in our relationship and I was very excited about the prospect of having a baby.

Fitness: To ensure that she stays fit and healthy, the designer has been walking her and Karl's German Shepard

'We do have a very loving relationship and to have a baby as an expression of that love is incredible.

'It's never an easy thing and I think that kids are a miracle and we just can't wait to meet this little girl. Just to shower her with all the love that we have.'

Karl and Jasmine have rented a luxury waterfront mansion as they prepare to welcome their first child.

Baby joy! In a recent Instagram post, Jasmine gushed that she was daydreaming of 'meeting my baby girl'

The $7.3million property on Sydney's lower north shore has plenty of space for a growing family, with a total of four bedrooms across four levels.

The Today host, 45, and his shoe designer wife, 36, used to rent a five-bedroom home in Mosman but moved out ahead of Jasmine's due date in May.

In December, Karl and Jasmine celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary after tying the knot in late 2018 in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Luxury: Karl and Jasmine have rented a luxury waterfront mansion on Sydney's North Shore as they prepare to welcome their first child (pictured)

One of four: The $7.3million property on Sydney's lower north shore has plenty of space for a growing family, with a total of four bedrooms across four levels

The picture perfect couple confirmed they were expecting a baby girl in February.

As the number of COVID-19 cases in Australia continues to grow, Jasmine is worried about her husband being exposed to the virus at Channel Nine's Willoughby studios.

'She's really worried about me bringing it back to the house [from work], so I'm taking as many precautions as I can,' he told The Kyle and Jackie O Show this year.

Karl and his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn share three children: Jackson, 20, River, 12, and Ava, 14.
Smaller organizations dont have all the tools and they dont have the knowledge, so they dont know theyre now a target, says Bruce Phillips, senior vice president and chief information security officer at WEST. They dont realize these tactics exist.

Having an awareness of the kinds of cyber scams that are currently bilking Americans out of millions is critical knowledge for mortgage professionals who want to keep their clients vigilant and secure while also protecting their own firms.

Scams likely to target clients

Scott Herman, CEO of IDIQ, says many scams have been built off the back of the government stimulus money many Americans are still waiting to receive. Hermann says people are calling random victims and pretending to be with the IRS, the government or even one of the countrys biggest banks in an attempt to glean their personal data. These types of scams can be especially effective with the elderly, who often dont know to be suspicious of such behavior.

When people make these calls, a lot of the time its a shot in the dark, Hermann says. They dont even know if that persons gotten their check or not. But if you call enough people, youre going to find 20 who deal with the bank youre pretending to be.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 17:31:33|Editor: huaxia

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PYONGYANG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has received a reply from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.

The message, which Kim received on Tuesday, expressed thanks to Kim for extending a message of congratulations and good wishes on the occasion of Syria's independence day, the KCNA said.

The message expressed the belief that the historic relations between the two countries would grow stronger in line with the common interests of the peoples of the two friendly nations, it said.

It also wished Kim good health and the DPRK people prosperity.

Kim had earlier sent a message on April 22 to Al-Assad to thank him for his note on the 108th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, founder of the DPRK and grandfather of Kim Jong Un. Enditem
President Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis has produced a political emergency for the White House, with a raft of signs suddenly pointing to possible big trouble when he faces re-election six months from now.

The state of play: His favorability rating, mostly stable throughout his presidency, has ticked down in Gallup to 43%, from 49% on March 22  and a furious Trump blew up at his campaign team last week, snapping at campaign manager Brad Parscale: "I am not f---ing losing to Joe Biden," AP reported.

The backdrop was a series of swing-state polls showing real trouble for Trump, and a string of polls showing older voters  a bedrock group for the president  drifting to Biden.

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), a Trump loyalist who's up for re-election, said during an off-the-record conference call this week, according to CNN: "The state of Georgia is in play"  a jarring read on a traditionally red state where Trump beat Hillary Clinton by five points.

Trump led in Florida polls in March but is now modestly behind Biden, per the Tampa Times.

A senior White House official, reflecting the view of many in Trump's orbit, told Axios: "I think you can take a snapshot of the first of May, and itll be incredibly different than the first of November."

"The likelihood youll have several months of job growth and a better economy in November is a real thing."

Behind the scenes: Trump administration officials privately tell Axios' Alayna Treene and Margaret Talev that the virus has made them more worried about the election than theyve ever been.

Trump had been riding a strong economy his entire time in office. Now, the Nov. 3 outcome could well depend on whether he's able to conjure signs of recovery out of this calamity, with 26.5 million jobs lost in five weeks.

Between the lines: All this comes amid yet more West Wing turnover, with aides divided about how to respond.
CALGARY, Alberta, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (Gran Tierra) (NYSE American:GTE) (TSX:GTE) (LSE:GTE), announces that the Company will release its 2020 first quarter financial and operating results on Monday, May 11, 2020, after market close. A conference call to discuss the 2020 first quarter results will be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Mountain Time) the following day, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Details of the conference call are as follows:



Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2020 Time: 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Mountain Time) North America: +1-844-348-3792 (Toll-Free) United Kingdom: +44 (0)80 0028 8438 International: +1-614-999-9309

Interested parties may also access the live webcast on the investor relations page of Gran Tierras website at www.grantierra.com. An archive of the webcast will be available on Gran Tierras website until May 19, 2020. In addition, an audio replay of the conference call will be available following the call until May 19, 2020. To access the replay, dial toll-free 1-855-859-2056 (North America), or 1-404-537-3406 (outside of Canada and USA), conference ID: 8886507.

About Gran Tierra Energy Inc.

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. is an international oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in Calgary, Canada, incorporated in the United States, trading on the NYSE American (GTE), the Toronto Stock Exchange (GTE) and the London Stock Exchange (GTE), and operating in South America. Gran Tierra holds interests in producing and prospective properties in Colombia and prospective properties in Ecuador. Gran Tierra has a strategy that focuses on establishing a portfolio of producing properties, plus production enhancement and exploration opportunities to provide a base for future growth.

Gran Tierra's Securities and Exchange Commission filings are available on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at http://www.sec.gov, and Gran Tierras reports filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators are available on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com .

Contact Information

For investor and media inquiries please contact:

Gary Guidry, President & Chief Executive Officer

Ryan Ellson, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Rodger Trimble, Vice President, Investor Relations

Tel: +1-403-265-3221
Gigi Hadid Confirms Zayn Malik And She Are Expecting Their First Child; Models Mother Reveals When The Baby Is Coming
During the amnesty period, the firearms cannot be used or sold, but they may be exported if their owners have the proper permits. An exemption to the amnesty rules will be made for those who use the weapons for sustenance hunting until a replacement can be acquired.
Alfonso Salazar, 56, was on death row for murder and kidnapping and had been in hospital since April 21

A death row inmate became the third prisoner in Arizona to die from the coronavirus.

A federal public defender whose office represented Alfonso Raymond Salazar says the inmate died Thursday at a hospital from complications of COVID-19.

Salazar was sentenced to die in the 1986 killing of 83-year-old Sara Kaplan in Pima County.

Salazar was sentenced to death in 1988 after he, along with another man beat and strangled Kaplan with a telephone cord.

They broke into her home by prying open metal security bars from a window, the station added.

Before being taken to the hospital on April 21, Salazar was housed at the Florence prison. The jail accounts for 35 of the 50 cases of the coronavirus cases in state prisons.

Florence prison, pictured, located about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, has had its medical care described as 'poor' and is the subject of pending litigation

Federal public defender Dale Baich called the prison's medical care 'poor' and said it is the 'subject of ongoing litigation'

Salazar was the first Arizona death row inmate to die from the virus, and federal public defender Dale Baich said seven other death row prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19.

Baich called the prison's medical care 'poor' and said it is the 'subject of ongoing litigation.'

One of the sick inmates told KJZZ that he and the others are being isolated in a dirty, cockroach-infested building.

The Florence facility accounts for 35 of the 50 coronavirus cases in state prisons.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office is examining Salazar's death and hasn't yet determined a cause of death.

The Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry didn't immediately return a call on Friday seeking comment.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks but it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
WASHINGTON - The Senate is set to convene Monday but the health risks from the coronavirus are being laid bare as the Capitol physician says there is no way to quickly test the 100 senators and staff.

Its a high-profile snapshot of the national testing shortfall as the Trump administration strives to resume business as usual to kick-start the economy.

The sooner we can have testing, the safer well be, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

As Congress prepares to partially return next week, the legislative branch will be a changed place, after all but shuttering for more than a month amid the virus outbreak.

Senators are being advised to wear masks, stay six feet apart and keep most of their staff working from home, according to official guidance provided to top staff.

Republicans will resume their private lunches, but it will be just three senators to a table. Democrats will have lunch by conference call.

Testing though, and the stark lack of it, is sounding alarms.

On a conference call Thursday, the Capitol physician said his office does not have a testing system available for instant virus checks, as happens at the White House, according to a Republican familiar with the call with GOP chiefs of staff.

Instead, the physician said the office only checks those lawmakers who are showing symptoms. Test results can take up to seven days, he told them.

The U.S. Capitol remains closed to visitors, a shutdown extended to mid-May, and the Washington, D.C., region remains under stay-home orders.

This is a dangerous moment in our region, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., whose district includes the surrounding suburbs that are home to many federal workers.

While the Senate has scheduled key public hearings, guidance from the Senate Rules Committee says people can view the proceedings online. Several House committees are also expected to hold hearings.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells office is expected to send out additional guidance ahead of Mondays scheduled reopening, officials said.

The House declined this week to bring its 400-plus members back into session after the Capitol physician warned it was not worth the health risks.

McConnell has declined to say if he consulted with the physician in deciding to resume Senate operations.

I think we can conduct our business safely, McConnell said this week on Fox.

Lawmakers are especially concerned about the hundreds of cooks, custodial staff and maintenance workers needed to run the vast Capitol complex, many who commute from the region that remains a virus hot spot.

The Capitol physician was privately briefing House lawmakers Friday.

A memo from the Office of the Attending Physician said it continues to recommend teleworking for all Congressional offices.

But one Republican, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, in a strict reading of the Constitution, said lawmakers must be present.

If some of my colleagues in the Senate are really concerned that they wont survive the process of doing what they were hired to do, then perhaps they should consider another line of work, Lee said in a statement.

As Congress considers the next coronavirus aid package, the Senates attention will largely be focused on what McConnell calls the personnel business  confirming the presidents judicial and executive branch nominees.

Among those are Justin Walker, a McConnell-backed nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often seen as stepping stone for future Supreme Court nominees.

Also facing a nomination hearing will be John Ratcliffe, the Republican congressman from Texas who is President Donald Trumps choice to be the new director of the Office of National Intelligence.

Schumer said the Senate instead should focus on congressional oversight of the federal coronavirus response.

Democrats have called on Trump to implement a national testing strategy, using the wartime Defence Production Act to ensure a steady medical supply swabs, lab supplies and other testing materials as states consider easing off stay-home restrictions.

For the next aid package, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the states and cities are seeking as much as $1 trillion to prevent layoffs as costs skyrocket during the pandemic and revenues plummet during the economic shutdown.

Republicans are resisting what they call a bail out for state governments. GOP senators heard privately this week from Hank Paulson, the former Treasury Secretary, about strategies used during the 2008 financial crisis.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
The worlds first budget detachable Chromebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook, is now available for pre-order following a brief hiatus in orders. Spotted at Best Buy by Chrome Unboxed, this is actually the second time the device has been put up for presale. It was first put up by the retailer earlier in the week before being marked as coming soon.

The gadget, which features a detachable folio-style keyboard on a 10.1-inch display platform, was originally set to ship by May 11. Now, Best Buy lists the gadget as becoming available as of May 6. Other retailers such as Amazon still have the device listed as unavailable. The detachable laptop comes in at just $299.99.

What is the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook?

Now, being the most affordable detachable, as its IdeaPad branding implies, doesnt mean this device is a slouch. Lenovo first introduced the IdeaPad Duet Chromebook at CES 2020 and packed it with respectable hardware. The tablet-sized Chromebook ships in a dual-tone aluminum build in a silvery-blue and gray finish. Substantial bezels surround the 10.1-inch display, likely to give users a place to grip the gadget when in tablet mode.

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At the front, Lenovo included a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera alongside an LED indicator. Thats so that users can see when this detachables 10-hour-rated 7180mAh battery is full or dying. Charging takes place via a single Type-C port. An 8-megapixel auto-focus camera resides at the back for world-facing shots.

That camera hardware isnt best-in-class but it is serviceable. And Lenovo incorporated a dual-array mic and dual speakers to make the experience even better.

The keyboard, meanwhile, has some pretty good specs too. To begin with, its stand allows for a 0- to 135-degree free stop. Meaning it can be placed at any angle between those. 18mm key pitch and just 1.3mm key travel should allow for a comfortable typing experience. As should this gadgets weight, at just under 1lb.

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Under the hood, a MediaTek-built Helio P60T chipset takes the lead. Thats an octa-core SoC backed by ARM G72 for graphics and 4GB LPDDR4x RAM. Storage is ample compared to other devices in the price range too at 128GB.

Rounding out the perks, Lenovo has also said its IdeaPad Duet Chromebook will receive 8-years of update support. Thats as compared to the 6-years Chromebooks typically see from their launch.

When will your pre-order arrive?

Best Buys pre-order for the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook doesnt seem to indicate users will be waiting long. Reservations are expected to ship, the site says, by May 20. So, buyers should see their devices arrive within just a couple of weeks.

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Conversely, this is the second time Best Buy has listed the device too, as noted above. In fact, the retailer first listed the device this week. And its not immediately apparent why that is.

The company may simply have listed too early or it may have run out of stock. In the latter case, that could mean that some consumers will still see their devices arrive by May 11. Or it may not arrive until the later date if the initial listing was a site-specific error. errors.
I was very tortured about asking for accommodation, Dr. Deutsch said. I love clinical medicine, I really like my job  I dont enjoy being away from it. But she has been impressed with her employers response to her needs, and is happy with her current role.

How should I approach my employer?

The first thing to do is get a doctors note, Martin said. Its not always legally required, but it can be a persuasive thing for your employer, she said. Make sure to talk to your doctor about the details of your job first, and how you would like them specifically modified. Otherwise, the doctor may request conditions you know are impossible.

You always want to be savvy to how youre approaching  you dont want to escalate or go over your supervisors head, Morris said. She recommends starting a casual conversation with your direct supervisor about your needs and what has been requested by your health care provider. If talking to your supervisor doesnt work, and your company has a human resources department, H.R. is your next step for a discussion.

When you have the conversation, you should explain to your employer that your job is important to you, that your family relies on your income and that you remain committed to the role and can continue to do it well, even if you require temporary modifications. Employers may have negative assumptions about pregnant workers commitment levels, so tackling those assumptions up front is always important and explaining the value of your income to your supervisor is helpful, Morris said.

What if my request is refused?

One option is to take a leave, which Morris described as the option of last resort. There are a few states where you may be able to collect a portion of your paycheck from short-term disability insurance. If a pregnant worker isnt able to work because of coronavirus risks, they may also be eligible to collect unemployment insurance or pandemic unemployment assistance  you can find out how to apply in your state by using this benefit finder. Dont be deterred if the process seems complicated, or the applications are difficult to access while states are scrambling to get their programs up and running, Morris said.

Pregnant workers may also be able to access paid leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Brafman said. If workers have other children at home and there is no available child care or school, and their employer has fewer than 500 employees, they are entitled to up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave.

But an issue with the act is the number of exceptions for health care providers and emergency responders, Brafman said. If youre a pregnant nurse, for example, and live in a state without additional pregnancy protection laws, you may not be able to access leave if your employer chooses not to provide it.
A pair of brothers have been left devastated after a quadruple tragedy in which all four of their grandparents were killed by coronavirus.

Kevin Luwel, 33, and Kenneth, 28, from Belgium, said they barely had time to come to terms with the fact that their first grandparent died before the second, third, and fourth deaths happened.

Kevin said: 'When we lost the first one, we were of course sad, but it really hit us when we lost the second one. When it happened a third time, it became incomprehensible. But now with the fourth death it's just too much. Too much, too fast.'

Their grandfather Eduard 'Warkel' Luwel, from Rummen, was the first to contract the killer bug, which the brothers suspect the 86-year-old caught during kidney dialysis treatment. After a short battle with the virus he died on March 31.

They said they found comfort that 'he was not lonely in the hospital for long'.

Jacqueline Cuypers (left) and Eduard Luwel (right) were the brothers' first set of grandparents to succumb to the virus. The brothers believe Eduard contracted coronavirus while receiving kidney dialysis treatment

Tragically Eduard's wife Jacqueline Cuypers, 80, had just received the devastating news her husband had died when she was told she also had the bug.

Her health rapidly deteriorated and was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties.

'There she was alone in her room, fighting for her life, while she had to deal with her husband's death. That was hell for us as a family. We could call and video chat with her, but still. That's not the same,' Kevin said.

Jacqueline succumbed to the virus after nine days in hospital, unable to see family or friends because of social distancing measures.

The brothers said they 'sincerely thought' their grandma would survive the illness, but she passed away after nine days in hospital shortly after her husband also died from coronvirus

The brothers said they were floored by their grandma's death and 'sincerely thought' she would survive.

'She thought so too. We were even laughing with her on day five. She had every reason to carry on living. Her newest great-grandchild is on the way. She definitely wanted to get to know the baby,' Kevin said.

They were able to speak with their grandma over video chat one last time before she died.

Jef Vanhaeren was the third grandparent to die, and succumbed to the virus at home, shortly after his diagnosis. The brothers said he refused to go to hospital because he didn't want to die alone

The fourth grandparent to die was 80-year-old Dora Joooken, who also passed away in her home

'She was there and listened but showed little emotion. Maybe because of the morphine. Still, it was important to see her. I had to see with my own eyes how bad she was to believe it.'

Just two weeks later the grieving brothers were dealt another devastating while the making funeral arrangements for Eduard and Jacqueline .

Their other set of grandparents, Jef Vanhaeren, 84, and wife Dora Jooken, 80, had caught coronavirus.

Jef died first, shortly after his diagnosis. The brothers said he refused to go to hospital because he didn't want to die alone.

The brothers were able to speak with their grandma over video chat one last time before Jacqueline (above with husband Eduard) died. 'She was there and listened but showed little emotion. Maybe because of the morphine. Still, it was important to see her. I had to see with my own eyes how bad she was to believe it'

A month later Dora passed away at home, which they said 'meant that she also died alone'.

The brothers said their lives revolved around their grandparents and that both sets lived healthy and independent lives in their own homes. All four had played key parts at Kevin's wedding just two months ago.

He said: 'There was the occasional illness but that's just part of being old. One was a kidney patient and had difficulty walking but he was still strong.'

Kevin Luwel, left, pictured with his brother Kenneth. Kevin said: When we lost the first one, we were of course sad, but it really hit us when we lost the second one. When it happened a third time, it became incomprehensible. But now with the fourth death it's just too much. Too much, too fast'

Kevin said the family had followed Belgium's lockdown rules and his grandparents stayed indoors. They didn't run errands and kept away from family and friends in a bid to stay safe.

He said his grandparents had a 'hard time' in isolation because they deeply missed visits from grandchildren and great-grandchildren, which is 'what they lived for'.

The brothers said they are particularly devastated because they stayed away from their grandparents so that they wouldn't catch virus.

Kevin added: 'We told ourselves we would make up for the lost time later, but they still got the virus. And now we can never make up for that lost time.'

Belgium has so far seen more than 48,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus and close to 7,600 deaths from the disease.
Syracuse, N.Y.  More than 100 protesters packed the sidewalk and street in front of Syracuse City Hall Friday, demanding an end to the statewide shutdown intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Protesters waved flags, carried signs and circled the block in vehicles in protest of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administrations policies that have closed businesses and schools and restricted social gatherings.

RELATED: GOP county executive on coronavirus protesters: None of them have by job, OK?

Similar rallies were held in cities across the state.

About a dozen vehicles circled the block, honking horns and shouting.

Many waved American flags or Trump 2020 flags. Others carried signs with phrases like Cuomo you suck or another that said Cuomo for President ... of Red China. Still more said things like Let the Healthy Work.

In March, Cuomo signed a series of executive orders requiring non-essential businesses to close. He also shut down schools. Friday, Cuomo announced schools would remain closed for the rest of the year.

The policies came as New York City emerged as the worldwide epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 18,000 people have died from the disease throughout New York state, mostly in the Downstate area.

The shutdown was an effort to flatten the curve of the virus, Cuomo has said. Friday, he touted it as a success that he said has saved thousands of lives by slowing the transmission of the virus.

In attendance at the Syracuse rally were local Republican Party leaders who have been critical of Cuomos handling of the pandemic.

Cayuga County GOP Chairwoman Roberta Massarini was one of the first people to arrive and carried a Dont Tread On Me flag. Her husband owns a brewery in Ovid and she said production there has dropped to about 10 percent of what is typical.

Its time to reopen, to get back to work, Massarini said. All the models were wrong. Central New York is not New York City.

Onondaga County GOP Chairman Tom Dadey attended also. He said he came out to exercise his First Amendment rights. He added that Upstate New York should be allowed to reopen as soon as possible, and shouldnt be governed by the same policies as Downstate, where infection rates are much higher.

I think the businesses are smart enough to figure out the reopening here, he said. I think we should open sooner rather than later and we should do it safely.

Other people came dressed in red, white and blue attire. A few men wore tactical vests and carried what appeared to be gas masks.

Ashley Perrin came from Hannibal in Oswego County, along with her three young children. Her husband owns a small business and is worried about the impact of the shutdown, she said. She has friends who have been hurt economically.

For her, the rally was about individual freedoms. She said she doesnt like to see all the restrictions telling free citizens what they can and cannot do.

Jeff Goldberger came from Skaneateles. He said he is concerned that the shutdown policies are unconstitutional, particularly orders banning gatherings of people. He said he showed up to exercise his First Amendment rights.

He also said he was concerned that shutdown policies would make the virus last longer, since they prevented people from developing an immunity.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Gov. Cuomo closes NY schools for rest of academic year due to coronavirus

Onondaga County has lowest reported rate of coronavirus deaths in NY

Possible coronavirus spread reported at grocery store, wireless dealer

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
COVIDSafe app users have been warned to ignore a new email scam that demands users pay a fine for leaving their home.

The bogus email has been circulating under the guise of a My Gov account and demands reparation from users for unnecessarily breaching the COVID-19 restriction.

'We would like to inform you that you have been recorded as leaving your home on three occasions yesterday,' the email reads.

'A fine of $10 has been added to your my.gov account.'

COVIDSafe app users have been warned to ignore a new email scam that demands users pay a fine for leaving their home (stock image)

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Scamwatch has since tweeted of the hoax (pictured) and urged users to immediately delete the email

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Scamwatch has since tweeted of the hoax and urged users to immediately delete the email.

'Don't be fooled by this COVIDSafe alert email impersonating myGov. It's a scam. Don't click on the links, just delete the email.'

The COVIDSafe app uses Bluetooth technology to track users who come in close contact with people who have tested positive to coronavirus.

More than 3 million Australians have already downloaded the app since its launch on Monday.

Though within that short time frame, Scamwatch has counted more than a thousand coronavirus-related scam reports.

'Scamwatch urges everyone to be cautious and remain alert to coronavirus-related scams. Scammers are hoping that you have let your guard down,' Scamwatch said.

'Do not provide your personal, banking or superannuation details to strangers who have approached you.

'Scammers may pretend to have a connection with you. So it's important to stop and check, even when you are approached by what you think is a trusted organisation.'

A hoax Facebook post was made earlier in the week and claimed the federal government was tracking user movements through text message.

A hoax Facebook post (pictured) was made earlier in the week and claimed the federal government was tracking user movements through text message

'Please register your reason for travel by calling 1300 1MY GOV) within 15 minutes of receiving this SMS. Thank you,' the message ended.

The post's caption said: 'So this is the real reason they want the corona app (sic) out to control us.'

Eight copies of the post were viewed more than 250,000 times before Facebook superimposed a message it was 'false information' - having been checked by AAP FactCheck and other fact-checkers.

The Australian Federal Police told AAP FactCheck via email they were investigating the message.

'The AFP is aware of an alleged hoax involving the COVIDSafe app and is currently investigating the matter,' the email said.

The Department of Health, which maintains the app, told AAP FactCheck the Facebook post was 'a hoax message' and that it was 'abhorrent scammers would attempt to use the COVIDSafe app, a public health tool, to try and catch out Australians'.

'The COVIDsafe app doesn't have any geolocation capability, it does not track your location, only the proximity of your phone to other people's phones that have downloaded the app and cannot monitor a person's location at any time,' a department spokesman said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:46:26|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Two "highly dangerous terrorists" had been killed in the restive North Sinai province, Egypt's armed forces said in a statement on Friday.

"Amid continuous efforts to eradicate terrorism, and after receiving an intelligence information about the location of terrorist hotbed in a farm in North Sinai, the security forces killed two terrorists in an exchange of fire," the statement said.

Several automatic weapons, large amount of ammunition and explosive devices had been found in the farm, it added.

The operation came one day after a military officer and eight soldiers had been killed in a blast in North Sinai region.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has mourned the Armed Forces martyrs in a Facebook post, saying "the terrorists have killed our heroes and sons. They are still trying to take away our country from us, but with God's help and Egypt's strong army we are capable of destroying their malicious hopes and treacherous souls."

Egypt has been countering terrorism since the ouster of late President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Enditem
There is emerging red alert in the Nigerian presidency over acts of treachery in the highest hierarchy of the government in the country. The media office of President Muhammadu Buhari has raised alarm over perceived invasion of the State House, Abuja, by Enemy of the State on treachery mission of leaking official documents of the President.

The Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had raised alarm that an Enemy of the State struck in Nigeria on Monday, describing the incident as real-life act of sabotage from somebody who does not wish his own country well at all, and who derived a sinister kind of pleasure from undermining the system. The Enemy of the State was said to had leaked the draft of the presidents national broadcast on Monday which was circulated in the social media before the time of the broadcast on Monday evening.

Adesina had narrated that President Muhammadu Buhari was to broadcast to the country by 8.00p.m. to give an update on the battle against COVID-19, and what becomes of the lockdown that had lasted four weeks, particularly, in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun States. He added that Kano was also a point of heavy interest, with the strange deaths ravaging the state.

Adesina decried that as the country waited for the President with great expectations, a purported copy of the broadcast began to circulate on social media from about 4.00p.m.

The S.A Media said that after looking at the circulating document, within one minute he knew it was a rogue copy, noting the inconsistency paragraphing of the fake broadcast copy in circulation. He said: it was completely different from the one I had been part of producing, and which had been recorded for broadcast by the President.

Adesina added that he carried out inquiry to trace the point of betrayal of the president with the leaked document from its origin to the conclusion stage, and found that someone spirited out the draft speech and fed it into the social media while yet to go through scrutiny and editing to get the final copy which was recorded for broadcast by the president.

Adesina had declared: I made a few phone calls to those of us involved with the script, right from origination, which was from outside the Presidency, to final editing, which I did, and the conclusion was easy to reach. Somebody had spirited out the original draft, which had gone through many stages of fine-tuning in terms of content and language, and thinking that it was a world exclusive in terms of artifice and underhand action, he fed it into the social media.

Who would do such a thing, except an Enemy of the State, someone who wants to ridicule the government, cause utmost confusion in the polity, and smirk his lips in malevolent pleasure, as the government, and possibly the media handlers of the President were flagellated, and taken to the cleaners.

Adesina, however, said the culprit has been arrested.

The act is wholesomely unpatriotic in all its ramifications. Rather than Adesinas concept of Enemy of the State, the presidency may look inward for enemy from Within. There are indications that the incident portrays loss of confidence in the current government and cracks in the Buhari administration.

Like Adesina noted, sensitive documents in the presidency would be leaked in same manner if accessed by the perpetrator.
Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser is the latest politician and third Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI ) leader to test positive for COVID-19 that has infected 16,353 people across Pakistan, according to Dawn. The speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Asad Qaiser, as well as his son and daughter, have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus.

'I have quarantined myself in my house'

"My Coronavirus test has returned positive. I have quarantined myself in my house," Qaiser announced in a tweet on Thursday. His announcement comes three days after Sindh Governor Imran Ismail tested positive for Covid-19. According to media reports, more than 150 doctors and health workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and five have died in Pakistan.

'Worst hit due to lockdown will be poor'

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday warned that the Coronavirus crisis could continue for months and lockdown was not a solution to the pandemic, as the total number of the COVID-19 infections rose to 16,117 with 358 deaths so far in the county.

"We don't know if the current situation will continue for six months or a year," Khan said while addressing the media along with his top advisors. "I know that the worst hit due to the lockdown will be poor."

Khan said the government so far disbursed 81 billion rupees among 6.6 million deserving families under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme. He said the third category of the programme covered all provinces and Sindh was given the maximum relief funds under the Ehsaas programme.

READ | Rishi Kapoor's funeral: Alia Bhatt consoles an emotional Neetu; Ranbir stands still

He said the COVID-19 brought major devastation in counties like the United States and Italy, but the circumstances are quite different in Pakistan. He said the death rate in the country from the virus was lower than feared. Khan said the COVID-19 Tigers Force would be made operational from next week and would be asked to go the rural areas and help the people.

READ | Rishi Kapoor passes away aged 67 at Mumbai hospital; team issues statement

Planning Minister Asad Umar said that the Coronavirus was still under control in the country. It is true that we have a big number of cases and deaths. The number of deaths will increase in the coming days but our situation is not as bad as other countries," he said. He said that easing of the lockdown after May 9 will depend on whether people were following the restrictions and social distancing measures or not.

READ | Karnataka allows resuming all industrial activities outside containment zones from May 4

READ | Devendra Fadnavis hails Guv's decision on MLC polls, conveys best wishes to CM Thackeray

(With agency inputs)
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Dana Point city councils voted on Thursday to challenge California Governor Gavin Newsom's order to close all beaches in Orange County. The governor announced the crackdown over concerns that crowds last weekend were jeopardizing public health.

Huntington Beach City Council now plans to file an injunction challenging the constitutionality of the governor's order, CBS Los Angeles reports.

"Huntington Beach has never been one to just roll over and take these mandates from the governor," said Huntington Beach city attorney Michael Gates. "We're going to be fighting the order on a constitutional basis. We're fighting for the city. We're fighting for our decision makers locally who have done a good job managing this crisis. We're also fighting for the citizens of Huntington Beach."

California Governor Newsom Orders All Beaches In State To Close

A kite is flown as people gather at the beach on April 30, 2020, in Huntington Beach, California. Getty Images

Newport Beach City Councilman Kevin Muldoon introduced a motion to join other Orange County cities in filing litigation. Dana Point City Council also voted to join the other cities and to seek a temporary restraining order to stop the state.

Newsom said Thursday that the closures are "not an indictment of people that want to go the beach," but rather an expression of his sincere desire to keep residents safe. As of Thursday, California reported a total of 48,917 confirmed coronavirus cases. The state's death toll stood at 1,982.

The governor said modifications to California's stay-at-home order could be weeks, not months, away if it stays the course. "The only thing that will delay (reopening) is more weekends like last week," Newsom said.

US-HEALTH-VIRUS-BEACH-HEAT

People enjoy the beach amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in Huntington Beach, California, on April 25, 2020. APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)

Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said she was disappointed by the governor's mandate.

Story continues

"We are surf city," she said. "We are a beautiful coastal town. Our beaches are so important to us." Orange County Sheriff Barnes released a statement tonight implying he wouldn't arrest anyone or try to enforce the mandate. "From what I saw, the vast majority of the people on the beaches last weekend acted responsibly," he wrote. "No one should fear being subject to a criminal violation for seeking out and exercising healthy activities." Both Huntington Beach and Newport Beach said they plan to issue warnings to try to enforce the governor's orders.

Contributing: Audrey McNamara

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Twenty-five more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the UT to 639, officials said.

All fresh cases are from Kashmir division. Also, 31 more patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals in the Valley.

Government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said,25 new cases and 31 people have recovered; Total count in UT now 639. Out of these active cases are 384six in Jammu and 378 in Kashmir.

The daily media bulletin said out of 21,695 samples collected, 21, 056 have tested negative till May 01.

Till date, 71,837 people in contact with suspected cases have been enlisted for surveillance, which includes 8,109 in home quarantine, 185 in hospital quarantine, 384 in hospital isolation and 8,430 under home surveillance. Besides, 54,721 persons have completed their surveillance period.

According to the media bulletin, out of 639 positive cases, 247 have recovered and eight have died.

Providing district-wise breakup, the bulletin said, all 26 positive cases in Jammu have recovered; in Udhampur there are 20 cases of which two are active; in Rajouri out of four cases, three have recovered and only one is active; all four cases from Samba district have recovered. Kishtwar had only one positive case which has recovered while Kathua, Ramban and Reasi have one active case each.
COVID-19 is still on the rampage; doesn't appear ready to surrender anytime soon. All affected countries are doing all they can to contain the pandemic.

In Ghana, West Africa's worst-hit nation, it appears the success we claim we are chalking against the disease is more of talk, rather than anything expected through the established guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO outlined six steps that any country can take, regardless of its size or scenario, to fight the virus and to avoid deaths.

1. Expand, train, and deploy your public health force.

2. Implement a system to find every suspected case.

3. Ramp up testing capacity and availability.

4. Identify and adapt key facilities you will use to treat and isolate patients.

5. Develop a clear plan to quarantine contacts.

6. Refocus the whole of the government on suppression and containing COVID-19.

Like I said earlier, granted that the WHO has provided the above to guide afflicted countries to conquer the disease, Ghana from the look of things appears not to be "aggressive" and has not "gotten ahead of the disease" as Information Minister would want to have us believe.

Since the time of lifting the partial lockdown ( in just 11 days), Ghana's case count has almost doubled; moving from 1,042 cases to 2,074 cases.

H.E. John Mahama in his Digital Conversation with Ghanaians had indicated that the Akufo Addo led Govt's decision to lift the partial lockdown was likely to present a situation as deadly as a "Russian Roulette", exactly which we have landed in as a country.

Assessing Ghana's strategy towards the COVID-19 fight, a Virologist at KCCR, Dr. Michael Owusu has been blunt that the country and its leaders don't appear to have a national strategy.

"I have seen the strategy of Nigeria. I have seen the strategy of USA but unfortunately I have not seen the strategy of Ghana when it comes to COVID-19", he said in a health related radio interview on Joy fm.

And this position which some of us wholly share, has been corroborated by renowned Pathologist, Prof Agyemang Badu Akosah who did not only corroborate that position but made a dire revelation, that data including "test results on COVID-19 are somehow being managed to look suitable".

I ask; what national strategic sense does it make for instance that a Government will lift a lockdown when the rate of spread - community spread or persons with unestablished or known travel history is 87% to the extent that our case count has rather scaring-ly doubled?

Instead of lifting it, shouldn't it rather be the time that Government will make the restrictions more extreme to limit movement (disease spread) and embark on more contact tracing, testing and treatment?

Is it not intriguing that Health workers cannot get PPE to use to save human lives but Govt backed Ghana's Electoral Commission has enough PPE provided it to use during a supposed new voters' registration exercise? The latest we have gathered is that Govt had attempted to save its face from the disgrace by quickly donating some locally produced - cloth-made face masks to the health workers of Korle-Bu, an offer which was rejected.

Why give quality N95 face masks to EC for an unnecessary exercise and give inferior ones to those who needed it most? Government priorities.

Is it not again intriguing that at the time Government is saying it is embarking on an aggressive enhanced contact tracing, there are health workers across the country who had been exposed to COVID-19 patients and were informed their mucus samples would be taken for tests but has for about 2 weeks now not been contacted for same?

A typical case is at the Ho Teaching Hospital, an Accountant of the Hospital who tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been in isolation, came into contact with some of the workers in the Hospital during his visit to the wards and the decision was that the exposed workers needed to be tested. As we speak, no effort had been made to contact these persons for the test.

What seemed to have exacerbated the issue is that these workers were also not asked to self quarantine as they continue to report for duties.

That aside, there actually are some health workers across the country of which are 13 medical doctors and a sizable number of nurses etc who have contracted the disease and have been seeking medical care.

There are others who were also exposed to persons who tested positive and had their mucus samples taken for testing but have been waiting on end (past the 14 days gestation period) for the test result as they languish in quarantine.

Now, as to why the reluctance to act on the consistent appeals of health workers that Health Authorities and Government must provide temporary accommodation facilities near hospitals for workers so that in an event they (health workers) get afflicted by COVID-19, they would not end up endangering the lives of their families and community, action is yet to be taken on it.

Or the reluctance is because someone is unable to see how he or she can make a cut on that urgent need of the poor health worker?

Let me hesitate to add that Government had for no unjustifiable course withdrawn the laudable Aayalolo bus arrangement it coveted from Citi TV meant to convey health workers.

Are we really fighting to conquer the pandemic?

I have listened to Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on Asempa fm's "Eko Sii Sen" claim that request for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has gone down, justifying same with supposed number of calls related to PPE and received at the Government's call centre.

My jaw dropped instantly when I heard Kojo Oppong Nkrumah say so because it is common knowledge that PPE had become the most sought after need of hospital facilities across the country, especially those in the specific areas recording COVID-19.

The media is awash with some of those reports, one of which is Korle Bu medical doctors are reported spending their personal resources to buy PPE for work. The situation is not different from Maamobi General Hospital and others.

Checks at Ho Trafalgar Hospital for instance, revealed that as a result of unavailability of PPE, relatives of patients that are Emergency and C/S cases have to buy face masks (meant for health workers use) from chemical shops to accompany the patients, otherwise attention wont be given.

Evident enough, at the time Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was making the claim on radio, a memo from Keta Government Hospital appealing to benevolent persons to assist with PPE was in circulation which some of us saw on social media.

Timely enough also, H.E. John Mahama was prompt when the matter got his attention, supplying the Hospital with PPE just as he did for all the Regional, Teaching hospitals among others across the country.

One other issue related to isolation of COVID-19 patients, in the Volta Region, a communication by the Volta Regional COVID-19 Team had gone to the effect that the remaining 10 COVID-19 patients would be moved from their various individual places of isolation to the Ho Teaching Hospital (Trafalgar) but that has since remained a usual rhetoric.

The saddest part, however, for some of us is that Volta Region has a Medical Doctor as a Regional Minister and it is under his watch that we are witnessing the sheer recklessness and ineptitude.

I thought Volta Region having a Medical Doctor as a Regional Minister would serve as a model region for others in the containment of COVID-19 but that is not the case.

Are these the men - a first class team promised us??

Writer: Koku Mawuli Nanegbe (The writer is the News Editor for the Catalyst Newspaper)
By this point in the pandemic, we have internalized that the coronavirus could affect any of us. But COVID-19 is not an equal-opportunity killer, either. No one is immune, but in the United States, the disease has killed a disproportionate number of a few different demographic groups: men, older adults, and black people, according to preliminary data.

Scientists are scrambling to analyze and understand these disparities, says Lisa Cooper, a public health doctor and the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity. But as states report more demographic data, she remains optimistic about the potential for intervention right now. We might be able to learn what some of the best practices are and share them, she says. Heres a look at what scientists currently understand to be the reason for some of these differences in mortality rate.

The Age Gap

The coronaviruss devastating effect on older adults has been heralded since the virus first emerged in China. All evidence indicates that an infected patients risk of dying from the coronavirus increases with every additional decade. In one study, published in the Lancet in March, researchers compiled data from 38 countries that suggests the virus kills up to 13.4 percent of patients 80 and oldercompared with an overall estimated case fatality rate of 1.38 percent.

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The primary reason is likely immunological, Cooper says. As people age, their immune system function declines as existing responders like macrophages and T cells slow down, and the body produces fewer new lymphocytes. With a weak immune system, its harder for the body to mount a defense against an invader, whether its the common flu or a novel virus. This is further exacerbated by preexisting conditions, like kidney, liver, heart, and chronic lung disease, from which many older adults suffer. What happens is not only the infection theyre fighting, but theyre going into multisystem organ failure at the same time, Cooper says.

The result is striking: One analysis from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that people with no underlying conditions had a fatality rate of 0.9 percent, but for people with cardiovascular disease, the fatality rate was 10.5 percent, and for people with respiratory disease, it was 6.3 percent. Even people with hypertensiona condition that affects an estimated 100 million Americanshad a fatality rate of 6 percent.

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Of course, the same things that put older adults at risk, like immunocompromised status or living with a chronic illness, can affect people of any age. In the United States, hundreds of people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s have died from the coronavirus. Many appear to have had underlying conditions, including asthma, diabetes, and hypertension. But some of these cases cant be explained by prior health issues, leading some scientists to speculate that there may be a genetic component to coronavirus deaths, or perhaps they are the paradoxical result of an overactive immune system, which can occur when the body triggers a cytokine storm and ends up attacking its own tissue.

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In addition to these biological realities, Cooper says there may also be social factors contributing to the coronaviruss outsize effect on older adults. Many of the most fragile older adults in the United States live in group homes, where theyre cared for by the same handful of aides and nurses. The first major COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, for example, occurred at a nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, where 37 people ultimately died.

The Gender Divide

Immune function may also explain the sex-based differences in COVID-19 deaths. While men and women have roughly similar rates of COVID-19 infection, more men are dying from the disease in every country. In China, where the virus originated, 64 percent of the dead were men. In Italy, 63 percent of coronavirus deaths have been among men. Though American data is still being gathered, in New York City, the epicenter of the North American outbreak, men made up 55 percent of known COVID-19 hospitalizations but 62 percent of fatalities as of April 3.

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No one is certain what is driving this gendered gap in mortality. Its likely there isnt a single answer. Social factors may be at play. Globally, men are more likely than women to smoke, and smokers appear to be more vulnerable than nonsmokers to the coronavirus. Men are also less likely to wash their hands or, when they do wash, to use soap. They are also less likely to seek medical care. But none of these explanations can entirely account for the profound and persistent gender gap, suggesting there may be a more fundamental explanation to the problem.

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A growing body of research on sex-based differences in the immune system may offer important insight. Biologically, females tend to have stronger immune systems: They have two X chromosomes, which store immunologically valuable genes and microRNA, and produce more estrogen, which may assist in immune cell activity. (Testosterone, by contrast, tends to suppress inflammation.) This allows women to mount a quicker and stronger response to infection, and coronavirus is no exception: A preprint paper suggested Chinese women with the virus had a higher level of antibodies than men did.

Persistent Racial Inequalities

In the United States, racial minorities have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. In New York City, the virus has been twice as deadly for Latinos and black people than for white people. Nationwide, some of the highest infection rates in the country have been on Native American pueblos in New Mexico. In Michigan, where black people make up about 14 percent of the population, theyve accounted for 40 percent of the deaths. While states have been slow to release COVID-19 demographic data, experts expect similar disparities in other parts of the country.

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The difference in this disease that we see in ethnic minorities is not due to biological factors.  Dr. Lisa Cooper

There has been a tendency to blame minorities, and black people in particular, for their coronavirus-related suffering. Ibram X. Kendi wrote in the Atlantic, To explain the disparities in the mortality rate, too many politicians and commentators are noting that black people have more underlying medical conditions but, crucially, theyre not explaining why. Or they blame the choices made by black people, or poverty, or obesitybut not racism.

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But, as Cooper points out, racism is certainly to blame. The difference in this disease that we see in ethnic minorities is not due to biological factors, she says. Rather, it starts with structural racism. Because of long-standing issues like redlining and policing, black people are more likely to live in communities without opportunities for exercise, recreation, and the purchase of healthy food. Add to that chronic stress, and you have increased rates of underlying conditions like hypertension and asthma. And then, because of gaps in employer-sponsored health insurance and the near absence of paid sick leave, people with hourly jobs arent able to self-isolate, and they also arent always afforded the protective equipment or private conveyance they need to stay healthy in their front-line jobs. So the risk of infection is highand the subsequent risk of hospitalization, intensive care, and even death are elevated too.

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You have a lot of things that shape the choices that people can make to be healthy, Cooper says.

Even when black people receive health care, they often face profound bias. For example, providers tend to implicitly undervalue black pain, and redlining has led to minorities living in communities where hospitals lack adequate resources to treat even the patients who make it in. The case of Rana Zoe Mungin reveals the tragic potential of the current system. As the Appeal reported in April, the 30-year-old Brooklyn resident tried to get treated for her coronavirus symptoms three times before she was finally admitted to the hospital. At one point, the EMTs she called to take her to the hospital decided her labored breathing was not an infection but a panic attack, and left for their next call. Often the most pernicious obstacle, the one that affects Black women regardless of their income, education, or baseline health, is what Mungin faced in her attempts to get treatment: simply not being believed or deemed worthy of treatment, Erin Clare Brown wrote in the Appeal. Mungin died on April 27 from complications of COVID-19.

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These issues will not be easy to solve, whether theyre inherent to the immune system or entirely human-caused. More data will help us understand the true scope of the problem. Its helped older adults: Since it first became clear in China they were at a disproportionate risk of death, many Americans have worked to protect the elderly by encouraging them to shelter in place. But that lifestyle has only worked with the support of government programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, and community action in the form of food deliveries. Seeing the cost to other populations ought to force us to grapple with these structural problems that have long existed in American health care.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Limited on Friday said that it has recorded zero sales for the month of April 2020 due to lockdown.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited had zero sales in the domestic market, (including sales to OEM), in April 2020. This was because in compliance with the Government orders all production facilities were closed, the company said in a BSE filing.

Meanwhile, following resumption of port operations, the first export shipment of 632 units was undertaken from the Mundra port, ensuring that all guidelines for safety were followed, the company added.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to contain the coronavirus disease.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

As more and more tests were made available and completed, the number of cases of COVID-19 in Washington steadily grew. The number of confirmed cases statewide as of Sunday climbed to 15,185 including 834 deaths, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

As of Sunday there were 6,449 cases in King County according to King County Public Health's dashboard. That included 459 deaths.

The outbreak had reached 38 of Washington's counties this week, the majority of which were still in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Skamania, Asotin, Wahkiakum, Pend Oreille and Pacific counties were the latest to report their first cases.

To read the latest updates about the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington state and the U.S. at large, scroll down.

May 1

Inslee to extend Washington's stay-at-home order through May 31

Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday announced he would extend Washington's stay-at-home order through May 31 and announced a phased approach for reopening the state to prevent a rise in the number of novel coronavirus cases.

"I'm pleased to say that we are starting our careful phased science and data driven process to reopen Washington's economy while we are remaining absolutely steadfast in our commitment to the health of Washingtonians," Inslee said during a news conference Friday.

During the news conference, Inslee said Washington will reopen in four phases.

"We have not won this fight against this virus," Inslee said.

To read the full story from reporter Becca Savransky, click here.

Inslee preparing to announce plan to re-open state in phases

Gov. Jay Inslee is set to announce an extension of his stay-at-home order Friday but is also expected to give additional details about his plan to gradually reopen the state in phases.

The current stay-at-home order is set to expire Monday but will "remain in place for some period of time," Inslee told KOMO News on Thursday. "We will talk about that (Friday) but also talk about how we will phase coming back in, in a safe way."

To make that happen, Inslee says the number of new COVID-19 cases needs to go down and testing capacity will need to be ramped up. On that front, there was good news Thursday as Inslee announced the federal government is now set to deliver 500,000 new swabs and 430,000 transport media -- components of material used to preserve the samples on the way to the lab.

The question is when the tests will be able to be put to use.

To read the full story, click here.

Multiple Seattle farmers markets to open this weekend with new rules

While many Seattleites said a wistful goodbye to local farmers markets, as they were some of the last businesses to close in mid-March as a result of stay-at-home orders, a few more will reopen up for visitors this weekend.

For the first time since March 8, the West Seattle farmers market will reopen its doors this coming Sunday, May 3.

With a few tweaks, of course.

The Neighborhood Farmers Markets has worked closely with the City of Seattle and Seattle-King County Public Health to reopen safe, permitted farmers markets.

"Agriculture is the most essential act, and the farmers markets serve as the essential link between farmers and eaters," the Neighborhood Farmers Market said in a statement. "This weekend, we need you to help protect public health and our community by following new guidelines."

To read the full story from reporter Christina Ausley, click here.

Seattle to close down 11 more miles of streets to cars

Seattle is closing down 11 more miles of streets to traffic in the coming days to give people more space to socially distance when walking or exercising outside.

The addition of 11 miles of "Stay Healthy" streets builds on the city's previous announcements, creating a total of 20 miles of streets that will be closed to traffic and open for people to walk, bike and exercise.

The streets included are in the Lake City, Aurora Licton Springs, Ballard and Delridge/Highland Park neighborhoods. Lake City streets will be closed Friday, and the rest of the neighborhoods will be closed to cars early next week, according to the city. Maps of the streets included can be found here.

To read the full story from reporter Becca Savransky, click here.

Seattle Mariners Dee Gordon creates customized masks, donates to healthcare workers

Seattle Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon is helping those on the frontlines and the general public get the protection they need to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The MLB veteran has partnered with the streetwear brand Uncognito to create masks customized with his signature lightning bolt logo, a nod to his nickname, "Flash." For every mask purchased, one receives a free KN-95 protective mask and another mask gets donated to healthcare workers in need.

The Dee Gordon-edition masks, which are designed as face wraps, will be available for purchase until 12 p.m. PDT on Sunday, according to gouncognito.com. All the proceeds of the purchases are going to Dawn Rising, a non-profit organization that supports survivors of domestic abuse in South King County.

To read more from sports reporter Ben Arthur, click here.

Here's what we know about the opening of Washington's businesses

It has been more than 100 days since Washington's first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus. Since then, life as we know has been virtually upended.

Businesses were shut down, schools were closed and people were asked to stay home as much as possible -- and practice social distancing when out. Now, after weeks of officials gradually putting into place stricter social distancing measures to slow the spread of the virus, Gov. Jay Inslee has finally started to announce plans to ease some restrictions.

But it'll take time. Inslee has said the process of lifting the orders will be long and will be guided by data, not dates. If the state allows everyone to resume their normal lives too soon or too quickly, it could result in another surge in cases of the virus and hospitalizations.

The governor said he and public health experts will be looking at several metrics when making decisions, including the availability of testing, the number of free hospital beds and amount of personal protection equipment for healthcare workers and the risk reopening things could have on the community's most vulnerable.

To read the full story from reporter Becca Savransky, click here.

Kirkland's EvergreenHealth moves on to second phase of COVID-19 treatment trial

Kirkland's EvergreenHealth will move forward with clinical research on remdesivir as a potential COVID-19 treatment after initial findings suggested positive results, including reducing recovery time.

The trial, known as the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial, involved 1,063 participants across 68 trial sites and is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Remdesivir is an experimental anti-viral medication developed by Gilead Sciences.

The first phase of the trial found that participants receiving remdesivir recovered 31% quicker than those who received the placebo. The mortality rate for the group receiving remdesivir was also lower than the placebo group's rate, suggesting a greater survival benefit.

To read the full story from reporter Callie Craighead, click here.

Alaska Airlines to require passengers to wear masks

Alaska Airlines says passengers will soon need to wear face masks on flights due to the threat from coronavirus.

In a statement Friday, the Seattle-based airline said face masks will be mandatory beginning May 11. And employees who cant maintain six feet of distance between passengers and other employees will also be required to wear masks.

In light of COVID-19, were in a new era of air travel and are continually updating our safety standards to better protect our guests and employees, said Max Tidwell, Alaska Airlines vice president of safety.

To read the full story from the Associated Press, click here.

Seattle kicks off Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month with virtual celebration

Festivities to kick off Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month and celebrate the cultural richness of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Seattle will take place May 3 via livestream.

Live events will include a hum bow eating contest, musical performances, karaoke and a conversation with former KIRO 7 anchor Patranya Bhoolsuwan, who recently wrote an article about the racism against Asian Pacific Islanders during COVID-19 that was published in the "International Examiner."

The event will also highlight local businesses and community resources to take advantage of during the current pandemic.

To read the full story from reporter Callie Craighead, click here.

April 30

Hundreds of thousands in Washington likely lost health insurance amid coronavirus outbreak: Analysis

Hundreds of thousands of people across Washington state likely lost their health insurance coverage over the past several weeks since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a new analysis.

The state's Office of Financial Management estimated 272,900 people lost their health insurance coverage between March 15 and April 18. The uninsured rate in the state grew from about 6.7% at the beginning of 2020, to an estimated 10.2%, according to the report, bringing the total number of uninsured people across the state to about 794,700.

For workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic, the report estimated about 51% were now uninsured.

The analysis "simulated the changes in employment as of the week ending on April 18, 2020, using the 2018 American Community Survey."

To read the full story from reporter Becca Savransky, click here.

Everett's Paine Field to scan body temperature before flying

Paine Field in Everett announced that it will begin screening passengers' body temperatures before flights to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus and other illnesses.

The technology, an Elevated Body Temperature Detection System, is contact-free and was developed by Athena Security to provide accurate, mass screening for elevated temperatures that may indicate illness.

"The technology being deployed at Paine Field is the latest in a line of similar technology that has been used effectively for years in Asia and other parts of the world," wrote the airport administration in a statement.

To read the full story from reporter Callie Craighead, click here.

Pike Place Market to host first ever drive-thru Annual Flower Festival

Although a handful of cancelled spring and summer events might have some Seattleites a little down, Pike Place Market is still giving a thumbs up to its 12th Annual Flower Festival.

Throughout flower farmers peak season of April to December, the market supports 30-40 small flower farms each day. With the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, these farmers have not been able to sell their iconic bouquets.

But come May 9, the market will dole out a kaleidoscope of fresh spring and summer cuts.

With a few tweaks, of course.

To read the full story from reporter Christina Ausley, click here.

Report: Seattle has biggest year-to-year increase in unemployment rate of any US city

As the economic impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak are being felt all over country, a new report is indicating that Seattle's increase in unemployment is actually the highest of any city in the nation, showing just how much damage the virus has wreaked on the Puget Sound economy.

The report from personal finance website Wallethub compared unemployment rates in US cities and found that Seattle experienced an 86.92% increase in the unemployment rate between March 2020 and March 2019, the highest year-to-year increase in the country.

The breakdown of numbers show that while only 12,843 people in the city were unemployed last March, that number nearly doubled to 24,006 unemployed residents in March 2020.

To read the full story from reporter Callie Craighead, click here.

King County providing beer, cigarettes to keep addicts in quarantine

Convincing potential COVID-19 patients to stay in quarantine is taking a controversial turn in Shoreline.

King County officials are giving addicts beer, cigarettes - and until recently marijuana - so they won't leave a recovery center.

Officials with the Department of Human and Community Services call it harm reduction and point out no tax payer money is being used.

Some neighbors said it makes sense. Others called it a big mistake.

The Shoreline facility is set up for people suspected of having COVID-19 but who can't quarantine at home, or they don't have a home. Some also have addictions and threaten to leave when physical withdrawals begin.

To read the full story, click here.

This story will be updated regularly as more information and news becomes available about the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington. To read more coverage, click here.

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Jalandhar, Patiala and Ludhiana in Punjab are among the 130 districts declared as red zones by the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MOHFW).

The three of the 22 districts in Punjab were listed among the red zones on Thursday, a day the state saw its sharpest spike in coronavirus positive cases.

The Centre, according to a letter sent by secretary, MOHFW, Preeti Sudan, declared 284 districts as orange zones and another 319 as green zones in the country. Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Bathinda and Fazilka in Punjab have been declared green zones and the remaining 15 are orange zones.

In the previous list of hotspots, released on April 15, the four districts of Mohali, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar were identified as red zones with large outbreaks.

The districts were earlier designated as hotspots/red zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate. Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria. This classification is multi-factoral and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance, feedback to classify the districts, Sudan wrote to chief secretaries of all states after a meeting held by the Union cabinet secretary with them. The districts have been being considered under green zones if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case in the past 21 days in the district. The MOHFW secretary said that based on feedback and additional analysis at state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate. However, states may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as red/orange as communicated by the ministry, she wrote.

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The two Toyota pickups manufactured in San Antonio, the Tundra and Tacoma, saw plummeting sales in April  but they easily outperformed the rest of the Japanese automakers vehicle lineup.

Toyota and other major auto manufacturing are experiencing the pain: With the national economy reeling from travel and stay-at-home restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, few drivers are in the market for a new vehicle.

Nearly 7,150 Tundras were sold in the U.S. last month and 14,187 Tacomas, down 19.4 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively, from April 2019.

Toyotas overall vehicle sales dropped 53.9 percent in April from a year earlier. Toyotas full-size sedan models were the hardest hit: Camry sales declined 63.7 percent last month while Avalon sales fell 74.7 percent.

Another Toyota vehicle that saw severe sales drops was the Sequoia, an SUV. Its sales declined 56.1 percent. Only 260 were sold in the U.S. in April.

Production of the Sequoia is scheduled to shift to Toyotas San Antonio plant after Toyota moves all production of the Tacoma to Mexico, a move expected to happen in late 2021. That would leave the Tundra, the automakers full-size pickup, as the star of the South Side facility in terms of sales.

With sales of around 120,000 in 2019, the Tundra has a fraction of the buyers of trucks such as Ford-150 and the Chevy Silverado.

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In April, however, the Tundra posted the smallest percentage drop of any of the more than a dozen vehicles sold by Toyota in the U.S. Analysts attribute the smaller decline to the Tundras use as a work vehicle in construction, ranching and farming.

The Tundra is less of a discretionary buy, said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at the automotive website Edmunds.com

She said the Tacoma is also used for work, which helped reduce sales declines.

The April sales are impressive given that many dealerships were closed, she said of both vehicles.

Toyota officials attempted to put a positive spin on the overall April numbers, saying 84,696 vehicles were sold in the U.S. in April was better than the 50,000 theyd expected to sell because of the pandemic.

Weve hit bottom, said Bob Carter, Toyotas head of U.S. Sales, in a statement. It was a much better month (across the industry) than we anticipated.

Overall, the auto industry in the U.S. saw around a 55 percent decline in sales in April from April 2019.

Analysts said a problem for Toyota is that it has continued to manufacture sedans, which are losing favor with consumers, while their American automaker have largely focused on SUVs and pickups.

Vehicle sales are expected to increase as stay-at-home orders are lifted, but the question is by how much.

The problem is that we dont expect a huge rebound in sales in either May or June, despite some extremely generous incentives being offered by dealers in an attempt to move inventories, which have become extremely bloated, said Garrett Nelson, senior equity analyst at CFRA.

Toyota sales could also be affected by the companys late arrival to competitive financing deals on its vehicles. It lags major American manufacturers, said Mark Schirmer, a spokesman for Cox Automotive.

Our team did a quick look at Toyota incentives and does appear that Toyota did not move into widely into zero percent until early April, when many of the Detroit brands had done so in mid-March,  he said.

Schirmer said Toyota initially offered financing at zero percent for 48 months before shifting to zero percent for 60 months. Many of its competitors were offering zero percent for 84 months.

This put Toyota at a disadvantage, as we know the zero percent offers were hot last month, he said.

Toyota is scheduled to reopen its South Side San Antonio factory and 12 others in the U.S. and Canada on May 11 in what has turned into a seven-week shutdown. Originally, the plants were supposed to close for just two days for deep cleaning, but worker health and safety issues related to the pandemic and declining sales increased the length of the shutdown.

Randy Diamond covers aviation, energy and manufacturing in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Randy, become a subscriber. randy.diamond@express-news.net
See also: Joe Biden, the necessary Dem sacrifice

The awful truth is dawning on too many Democrats: Joe Biden is too ravaged by mental infirmities and is too compromised in his treatment of women to be able to hold together their coalition and avert disaster at the polls in November. Despite all the downsides of dumping their presumptive nominee, in particular the inevitable demand that runner-up Bernie Sanders replace him  a certain electoral disaster in their view  they have no choice.

The corporate media dam has collapsed (emphasis in original):

On Thursday morning, ABC finally gave in and covered the latest. On Wednesday night, liberal host Chris Hayes featured the story in depth for over eight minutes. Keep in mind that, as of Tuesday morning, the whole MSNBC network only had accumulated 4 minutes and 39 seconds. Hayes admitted that during #MeToo there have been moments "when we have heard about accusations against someone that we find ourselves desperately wanting not to believe." Like, presumably, the Tara Reade case. The host struggled and stammered in parts of the segment, but he admitted that the credibility of Reade is "rising[.]"

Until yesterday, I agreed with Geoffrey P. Hunt that Biden would remain the nominee. But then something happened, as Hannah Bleau of Breitbart reported:

Planned Parenthood finally took a position on the allegations of sexual assault lodged against Joe Biden (D) after weeks of silence, with Planned Parenthood Action's acting president stating that survivors "should be heard, listened to, [and] taken seriously" and calling for the Democrat Party's presumptive nominee to "address this allegation directly." "At Planned Parenthood Action Fund, we believe women," Alexis McGill Johnson, Acting President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement. "We know how important it is that survivors be supported and listened to  survivors of sexual violence not only seek care at Planned Parenthood health centers every day, they are also dedicated staff members and supporters," she continued: We believe that survivors should be heard, listened to, taken seriously, and treated with respect and dignity. Saying we believe survivors doesn't mean only when it's politically convenient. This isn't a fringe issue, it's one that affects all of us. This crosses political party, race, gender, income level, and sexual orientation. Any person seeking elected office  and especially the highest office in the land  needs to address allegations of sexual assault and harassment seriously, both as a systemic problem and with a sense of personal responsibility. We all have much work to do to make our country a safer place, free of sexual violence. Johnson added that Biden "must address this allegation directly." "Our country is hungry for leadership on this issue," she added. "Now is the time to give it to them."

No other group  not labor unions, not trial lawyers, not even the teacher unions  carries more weight among the donkeys than Planned Parenthood, guardians of the human sacrifice ritual at the heart of progressive politics in America today. And Planned Parenthood understands that its own legitimacy is at stake if it is seen as protecting a sexual predator.

It is no longer possible to use Democrats' dominance of the mainstream media to lock out the accusations against Biden by Tara Reade from public notice. It is just too easy to make them look bad by comparing what hacks like Kirsten Gillibrand said about Brett Kavanaugh with their position on Biden. Planned Parenthood does not want Kavanaugh's critics to look like stupid and corrupt hypocrites.

Nancy Pelosi's answer to a question about the allegations against Biden did no good for the cause, either.

"I respect your question," Pelosi told the reporter. "I don't need a lecture or a speech." Pelosi said she supports the #Metoo movement that gave way to victims of sexual harassment speaking out against powerful politicians, celebrities and media figures, but she said she stands by Biden. "There is also due process. And the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden," Pelosi said.

If the Democrats have to observe due process in their charges against Republican nominees to the Supreme Court, they might as well give up. Smears are all they have in their armory.

As for Joe Biden being Joe Biden, there are a lot of awkward pictures of "handsy Joe" touching women and little girls in unwelcome ways. And he has a history that has largely been overlooked in recent years  until now. Lefty Alexander Cockburn writing in lefty CounterPunch wrote in 2008 (hat tip: Rod Dreher):

Biden is a notorious flapjaw. His vanity deludes him into believing that every word that drops from his mouth is minted in the golden currency of Pericles. Vanity is the most conspicuous characteristic of US Senators en bloc , nourished by deferential acolytes and often expressed in loutish sexual advances to staffers, interns and the like. On more than one occasion CounterPunch's editors have listened to vivid accounts by the recipient of just such advances, this staffer of another senator being accosted by Biden in the well of the senate in the week immediately following his first wife's fatal car accident.

Biden was young, single, and perhaps trying to drown his sorrows in the arms of the legions of comely young women attracted to the corridors of power in DC.

Geoffrey Hunt raises the question of a replacement for Biden. But, Liz Peek writes in the Hill about the creature that will not give up:

Hillary Clinton continues to hover in the wings, ready to step forward should Joe Biden fail. Don't look now, but Joe is failing. Not only has his campaign been rocked by sexual assault allegations from one-time staffer Tara Reade, but the public is beginning to give up on the former vice president. A new Emerson College poll showed 57 percent of likely voters think President Trump will win reelection in November. Remember, Establishment Democrats put forward Uncle Joe because he was the "safe" candidate, bound to defeat Trump. Oops.

And Mickey Kaus reminds us that Dems have a very awkward precedent:

Whether or not the voters believe Reade's story, it's now accumulated enough evidentiary heft to subtly change the power dynamics of the Democratic race, and the party itself. The reason is Al Franken, or more accurately the Franken Precedent. Back in late 2017, it looked like Franken was going to weather the charges of inappropriate conduct against him, until Democrats apparently decided to sacrifice him, presumably in part to demonstrate that they could police their own (unlike the Republcians, who were at the time running controversial Judge Roy Moore for a Senate seat in Alabama). The coup was quick and brutal. First, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand posted on Facebook a call for him to resign. Then, in quick succession, 13 more Democratic women senators (and a majority of the entire caucus) joined her. Whether Franken was guilty or innocent -- and he'd asked for a hearing -- his position became untenable. The day after Gillibrand's shiv, he announced his intention to resign. (Chuck Schumer had told him to be out by 5 P.M.) If it looked like an orchestrated takeout, that's because it probably was. Biden'-- even if innocent -- is now in a position where he must constantly worry about getting Frankened. By whom? Well, by the same sorts of powerful Democrats who helped him win the nomination (perhaps by helping orchestrate the well-timed withdrawals of Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg). I'm not saying there's some shadowy committee of power brokers  but there are still power brokers: e.g., Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, James Clyburn, Barack Obama, maybe even Hillary Clinton. Maybe even Bill Clinton. They can talk to each other.

As I write, Biden is being interviewed on Morning Joe, and contrary to expectations, the questions are not all softballs. Mika Brzezinski is pushing hard on release of his archives at the University of Delaware, and Biden is refusing.

Tick, tick, tick.

Graphic credit: Gage Skidmore.
About 6:45 p.m. an assailant ran past the fireman and several of his friends who about talking near an alley or gangway and fired thirteen times at them near the 9900 block of South Yale Avenue in the Fernwood neighborhood, Langford and police said.
Today, Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's leading association for the project management profession, announced the launch of its latest online course, Basics of Disciplined AgileTM. The eight-module, self-paced online course helps practitioners get started with Disciplined AgileTM practice. Each module immerses agile practitioners in real-life scenarios that illustrate context-driven options to optimize a team's Way of Working (WoW). The modules allow practitioners to see how teams, in a variety of industries and situations, use Disciplined AgileTM to make better decisions and achieve better results.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200430005527/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

PMIs focus is on enabling people to be able to execute on their objectives and deliver more value. As the work ecosystem is evolving at pace and with ever increasing complexity, project professionals are being asked to tap into and implement different approaches to deliver this value, said Sunil Prashara President and CEO of PMI. Agile approaches and the Agile Mindset are an important part of the course for project managers and change-makers across the globe. Choosing the right approach is becoming ever more important in turning ideas into a reality.

After completing this course, practitioners will be able to:

Describe what business agility is and how it is core to the value proposition of Disciplined Agile.

Discuss what is involved in choosing and evolving your Way of Working (WoW) and why it is critical for your team.

Discover how Disciplined Agile is a hybrid tool kit that extends and improves on techniques such as Scrum and Kanban.

Apply a guided continuous improvement (GCI) strategy to evolve their WoW to become more effective over time.



There is no one size fits all approach to apply agile approaches to projects and product initiatives. Thats why Disciplined Agile provides guidance on what strategy to use in any situation to increase your chance of success, said Mark Lines, Vice President, Disciplined Agile at Project Management Institute. No matter where you are starting from a certification perspective, the new Basics of Disciplined Agile course will help you understand at a high level how Disciplined Agile can help you build a stronger foundation of business agility.

PMI acquired Disciplined Agile in August of last year to help organizations and individuals holistically navigate agile. This includes everything from a certification that tests and validates their understanding and application of agile principles and practices to learning how to identify and leverage the best approach to meet the needs of the project at-hand.

Through this acquisition, PMI furthered its commitment to provide a full continuum of products, services, training and certifications to project managers, agile leaders, and their teams wherever they are in their careers.

Registration and course information are available here.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's leading association for those who consider project, program or portfolio management their profession. Through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research, we work to prepare more than three million professionals around the world for The Project Economy: the coming economy in which work, and individuals, are organized around projects, products, programs and value streams. Now 50 years in the making, we work in nearly every country around the world to advance careers, improve organizational success and further mature the project management profession through globally-recognized standards, certifications, communities, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities. As part of the PMI family, ProjectManagement.com creates online global communities that deliver more resources, better tools, larger networks and broader perspectives. Visit us at www.PMI.org, www.projectmanagement.com , www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200430005527/en/
Clockwise from top left: Jay O. Sanders, Maryann Plunkett, Sally Murphy, Laila Robins and Stephen Kunken in the livestreamed world premiere of the Apple Family play "What Do We Need to Talk About?" written and directed by Richard Nelson. (Public Theater)

In a recent article for Vogue magazine on how the theater will survive the pandemic, playwright Matthew Lopez, author of the epic gay drama The Inheritance, made an assertion that I think deserves closer scrutiny.

What is certain is that our hunger for stories has grown even more insatiable, he writes, in a conclusion that attests to the enduring place of drama in our lives.

I dont know about you but I feel surfeited with stories at the moment. With television streaming at us from every direction and electronic warehouses of books available for download with a click, I find the problem isnt an insufficient supply of narrative but a deficit of attention compounded by an oppressive quantity of choice.

My own appetite seems to have diminished of late. Trapped at home, I would have thought Id be binge-watching my way through the pandemic. But instead Im nibbling at programs like a finicky cat, sniffing at whatever bowl is put before him only to indifferently turn away after a few bites.

I miss going to the theater, yet I feel little temptation to explore the libraries of performances that have been made available online. Many of the higher-profile offerings Ive already seen in the theater. And as for the rest, well, no, I dont particularly want to spend my evening watching a staged reading of Hamlet by an unknown company or a deconstructed classic by a renowned German troupe (with or without English supertitles). I have enough on my viewing plate and would rather not live glued to a screen, as though my existence were a cramped economy flight between birth and death.

Early in the pandemic, I texted a friend that I'd finally discovered Im a Maslows hierarchy of needs guy. I was responding, somewhat grouchily, to a sector of the theater community that was reacting as though the coronavirus crisis was most acutely experienced through the shuttering of Broadway theaters, the postponement of the Tony Awards and the dashed dreams of actors cast in now-canceled shows.

Story continues

Sure, I was sympathetic to the stagehands and costume shop workers newly out of work. But no more so than I was to the taxi drivers, retail clerks and waiters who are similarly wondering how they're going to make next months rent. Call me callous but the fate of our hospital system straining under the weight of desperately sick patients seemed more urgent to me than the budgetary death spirals of experimental theater companies.

In advising her friend and fellow poet Robert Lowell against incorporating his private marital letters into his poetry, Elizabeth Bishop conveyed a sentiment that is all the more striking for having come from one of the 20th centurys greatest American poets: But art just isnt worth that much. She wasnt by any means demeaning her lifes work. She was clarifying literatures place in the moral universe.

The arts dont trump all other values and obligations. Indeed, theres a category for artists who believe their creativity should be prioritized in all weather: narcissist. Most in the theater community understand this and have used their platforms to advocate for causes beyond their narrow professional interests.

It was refreshing to hear Center Theatre Group managing director and chief executive Meghan Pressman at last weeks L.A. Theatre Speaks panel make the point that theaters should be lobbying their elected officials not for money (as there are more pressing needs) but for a seat at the political table. Rebuilding the cultural sector is going to take collective muscle, but first we must deal with the humanitarian crisis.

Storytelling isnt in danger of going extinct, and if the last 2,500 years of theater history has taught us anything it's that the stage cannot be suppressed. The financial misery ahead is unthinkably bad for both institutions and individuals, but this dire news isn't exclusive to the arts.

As someone who has devoted his life to listening to tales told publicly in the dark, Im surprised by how unmoved I am in this hour of need by Lopez's assurance that storytelling is a fundamental part of human nature. Perhaps Im turned off by the way the forces of mass production have co-opted this instinct and made narrative another canned commodity rolling off the Netflix and Amazon conveyor belts.

When writers wax sanctimonious about their contributions to human society, they sometimes lose sight of their own complicity in the cultural industrial complex. The higher-cause defense can seem glaringly at odds with the triviality of so much of the work.

My expectations were modest when I tuned in to the Public Theaters premiere of Richard Nelsons What Do We Need to Talk About? Conversations on Zoom." Set in the current pandemic, this new addition to Nelsons Apple Family plays (directed by the author) was livestreamed on Wednesday and is available to watch for free via YouTube and the Public's website through Sunday.

The previous four plays (anthologized under the subtitle Scenes From Country Life after Chekhovs Uncle Vanya) follow a tightly enclosed dramatic format: The Apple siblings sit around a table in Rhinebeck, N.Y., and discuss the state of their lives. In a program note, Nelson wrote, It is my hope that these plays are about the need to talk, the need to listen, the need for theater, and the need to be in the same room together.

Being in the same room is no longer possible for audience members, and even the characters for the most part have to keep apart. Richard (Jay O. Sanders), a lawyer whos been working in Albany for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and is ready for retirement, is at the home of his sister Barbara (Maryann Plunkett), a high school teacher who has just been released from the hospital after a scary bout of COVID-19. Their sister Marian (Laila Robins), an elementary school teacher whose daughter ended her life in suicide, is drinking wine and trying to stay in control. The youngest sister, Jane (Sally Murphy), a freelance writer trying to corral her fears, is holed up in her bedroom while her partner, Tim (Stephen Kunken), an actor and restaurant manager, is quarantined in the second bedroom as he recovers from his own brush with the illness.

The talk pretty much echoes the family conversations taking place on Zoom tic-tac-toe boards across the nation. How are you buying groceries? Whos sick? Do you know anyone who died? Whats happening with work? How are you coping with the anxiety?

In holding the tape recorder up to our own small talk, Nelson risks a banality of the theatrical kind. The play, which I experienced after a long Zoom meeting of my own, initially made me question what Nelson thought he was accomplishing in offering a simulacrum of our repetitive pandemic dialogue.

The actors, grooved by years of ensemble work, give beautifully cohesive performances. And the abundance of theater references (including an anecdote about the actor Mark Blum, who died in March of complications from COVID-19) offers consoling company for the New York arts community. But its not until the true conversational subject of What Do We Need to Talk About?  death  emerges that the play takes artistic flight.

Of course the characters have trouble directly confronting what Henry James reportedly called the distinguished thing as it advanced upon him. Art provides a conduit to mortality. There's discussion of "The Cherry Orchard" and an impromptu game (inspired by Boccaccio's "The Decameron") of telling stories to distract from the horror of the plague. But it's Bachs Mass in B Minor, which comforted Barbara while she was in the hospital, that creates a different register for shared consciousness as the music trickles from her phone.

Joan Didion began "The White Album with the line We tell ourselves stories in order to live. The deeper truth might be that we tell ourselves stories because we must die. Nelsons play, a hotline response to a national emergency, is a minor-key offering. But the experience reminded me that its not stories that Ive grown weary of. Its storytelling that avoids the fact of loss or manipulates and exploits it. Storytelling that pretends we have all the time in the world. Storytelling that has come to believe its own public relations.

Long live stories that tell us the unvarnished truth.
On Friday 8 May, the 75th anniversary of VE Day takes place, coinciding with the early May bank holiday.

The occasion, which is also known as Victory in Europe Day, is regarded as one of the grandest celebrations in British history, during which festivities took place in 1945 to mark the end of the Second World War.

The Queen is due to deliver a special televised address at 9pm on VE Day, the same time that her father, King George VI, announced Nazi Germanys surrender on the radio.

What does VE Day commemorate?

Recommended How young Princess Elizabeth celebrated VE Day among crowds in London

VE Day commemorates the formal acceptance of Nazi Germanys surrender by the allied forces at the end of the Second World War.

On 30 April 1945, with Berlin surrounded by opposing forces, the leader of the Nazi party Adolf Hitler died by suicide.

Karl Donitz succeeded him as the German head of state, going on to negotiate an end to the war with the allied forces, which was made up of nations including Britain, the US, France and Russia.

While VE Day marks the surrender of Nazi Germany after six years of fighting, it did not signify the absolute end of the Second World War.

Some fighting continued around the world, with Japan surrendering in August following the destruction caused by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs and the war coming to an official end on 2 September.

Prime minister Winston Churchill alluded to this fact in his radio address on 3pm on 8 May 1945, stating: We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.

Mrs Pat Burgess of Palmers Green, North London waves a newspaper containing the news of Germanys surrender in World War II (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

According to English Heritage, the allied forces originally planned on celebrating VE Day on 9 May.

However, news of Germanys surrender spread at such a fast rate that on 7 May, an announcement was made on BBC radio that the following day would be a national holiday.

The term VE Day had been in circulation since around September 1944, with the allied forces anticipating a victory.

How was Victory in Europe Day celebrated 75 years ago?

In order to ensure members of the public could celebrate VE Day in an appropriate fashion, licensing hours at various establishments were extended on VE Day and dance halls stayed open past their normal closing times.

According to Imperial War Museums, the Board of Trade announced that people would be able to purchase red, white and blue bunting for decorations without having to use ration coupons.

Canadian troops entertain the crowds in Leicester Square while waiting for the broadcast of the Kings VE Day speech (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

In London, crowds of thousands packed the streets in areas including Trafalgar Square and the Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace, where the King, Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret waved at them from the balcony.

The teenage princesses were even able to join in the festivities, hiding in plain sight as they danced the conga through the Ritz and called at the gates of Buckingham Palace for the King to appear once more.

We stood outside and shouted, We want the King... I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life, the future Queen Elizabeth II later recollected.

VE day, held to commemorate the official end of World War II in Europe, is celebrated by crowds at Trafalgar Square (Photo by Fred Morley/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In addition to appearing with the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, Churchill also made an appearance on the balcony of the Ministry of Health Building in Whitehall, where he delivered an impromptu speech.

The wartime prime minister reportedly shouted to the crowds: This your victory, to which they replied: No, its yours!

When it came time for King George VI to deliver his radio address to the nation, the monarch paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the war.

People look at the crowded Champs Elysees Avenue from the Arc de Triomphe as Parisians gather in the streets of the French capital (AFP via Getty Images)

Let us remember those who will not come back... let us remember the men in all the services, and the women in all the services, who have laid down their lives, he said.

We have come to the end of our tribulation and they are not with us at the moment of our rejoicing.

In the French capital, thousands of Parisians flocked to the streets to mark the occasion, while in the US, President Harry Truman ordered that flags remain at half mast in tribute to the late President Franklin Roosevelt, who died on 12 April 1945.

In some countries, VE Day took place the following day due to the time difference, such as in New Zealand.

How is the commemorative event being honoured this year?

On Friday 8 May at 9pm, the Queens special VE Day address will be broadcast.

The speech will be aired on the television on BBC One, on the radio and across the royal familys official social media channels.

The BBC will also air a pre-recorded video message from Prince Charles, who will read an extract from his grandfather King George VIs diary from VE Day describing the days events, including the royal familys Buckingham Palace balcony appearances.

The Queens message will form the centrepiece of a televised musical event VE Day 75: The Peoples Celebration, which will begin at 8pm.

After the broadcast on BBC One, the public will be invited to take part in a country-wide sing-a-long of Dame Vera Lynns wartime anthem Well Meet Again.

A two-minute silence will be held on the day at 11 am and a broadcast of Churchills victory speech will be aired in the afternoon.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Three soldiers were injured as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday by resorting to unprovoked firing, a defence spokesperson said here.

"On 01 May 2020, at about 1530 hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) along the LoC in Rampur Sector, District Baramulla," defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.

He said three soldiers were injured in the ceasefire violation. "Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," he added.
DeVos said each school could develop its own system to award the emergency assistance. While prioritizing students with the greatest need, DeVos also said colleges should consider establishing a maximum funding threshold for each student to ensure funds are meted out as widely as possible.
Hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis, Ivorian women in artisanal fisheries also see it as an opportunity to address long-postponed issues

by Joelle Philippe

After weeks of meetings with national authorities and partners, USCOFEP-CI suggests a plan to improve living and working conditions for women fish processors, and asks for some of the EU SFPA sectoral support funds to be redirected to the fight against Covid-19.



Since mid-March, social distancing and other restriction measures have progressively been applied by the Ivory Coast government to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Women in artisanal fisheries, organized via the Union of cooperatives USCOFEP-CI, have left no stone unturned to ensure the continuation of their activities so that food can be on the plate for their families but also for the Ivorian population. Fish accounts for an average of 22% of protein intake in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries, this exceeds 50%.



It is not possible for women in small-scale fisheries to stop their activities because, given their small means, they live from day to day, explains Micheline Dion Somplehi, president of USCOFEP-CI. Women fish vendors, for example, have to go out and sell the little fish they can buy every day, otherwise their families have nothing to eat.



Restriction measures to fight Covid-19 pandemic are taking a terrible toll on artisanal fisheries as the men and women involved have close contacts at all stages of the value chain. However, for USCOFEP-CI women, prevention is key and this is why, from the last weeks of March, they have been sensitizing in several landing sites for people to keep social distancing and to respect hygiene measures. We raise awareness so that people wash their hands when they enter the market, and wear gloves.



he demand for these hygiene products has increased in this turbulent period and USCOFEP-CI women several times had to contribute from their savings to buy the sanitary kits. In some landing sites, they control the access to reduce the amount of people interacting and forced every client to wash their hands.



For USCOFEP-CI women, this health crisis shows the lack of decent working and sanitary conditions in artisanal fisheries, and they see this pandemic as an opportunity to address these issues. After several discussions with the fisheries ministry, they have identified a series of recommendations, which include measures to fight against Covid-19, coupled with a long-term plan to improve their working conditions.



CAN THE EU-COTE DIVOIRE SFPA HELP?

Cote dIvoire is a net importer of fish. Of the more than 400,000 tons of fish needed per year, approximately only 75,000 tons are landed by the local sector, including industrial and artisanal fishing; the rest, is imported from Mauritania, Senegal or China (cartons of frozen fish).



The current protocol of the EU-Cote dIvoire Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) encourages EU shipowners to sell a certain quantity of faux thon (damaged or undersized tuna, or by-catch which is not used by the canneries) directly to Ivorian cooperatives of women fish processors, and the SFPA sectoral support comprises a fund to assist them for the purchase of the fish.



At the beginning of March 2020, for Women International Day, when Covid-19 crisis was at their door USCOFEP-CI held a meeting to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the SFPA.



The non-availability of the faux thon sold directly to the women fish processors means that they only have access to raw material sold by middlemen at prohibitive prices. Women buy the fish at 325 CFA francs per kilo, and sell the processed product at 375 CFA francs per kilo. But the costs incurred by women are more than 5 times higher than the expected benefit. Women fish processors work at a loss. To face the challenges of the epidemic, the materialisation of the promise to make available faux thon, - we would need 10.000 tons annually-, would be a godsend, USCOFEP-CI notes. But the Covid-19 crisis has delayed the landing of faux thon further.



In its plan to improve women working conditions, the USCOFEP-CI reiterates its commitment to support the implementation of the EU-Cote d'Ivoire Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, with the objective of improving the living and working conditions of its members, while contributing to food security and the job creation.



To that end, USCOFEP-CI requires the supervised landing of faux thon and its direct sale to women fish processors, to make it possible to have remunerative prices and bypass the abusive middlemen.



The organisation also wants the SFPA sectoral support to have a special focus on women fish processors needs, both on the short term for mitigating the impacts of Covid-19 on their communities, and on the longer term to allow them to work in better hygiene and health conditions, including by improving the fish landing and fish processing infrastructures.

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
Not at all. It just seems like a lot of back-and-forth talk.

Yes. I'm growing very worried over what might happen.

If it keeps up, I might be a little more concerned.

I think there are much larger things to concern us as a country.

It's hard to tell; I can't take the leader of either country seriously.

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By Azernews





By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has sent 3.83 million barrels of oil to Belarus since the beginning of 2020, head of SOCARs PR and Event Management Department Ibrahim Ahmadov told, local media reported on April 30.

Since the start of the year, SOCAR sent 2.05 million barrels of Azerbaijani and 1.78 million barrels of non-Azerbaijani oil to Belarus, Ahmadov said in an interview with Vestnik Belneftkhim. (Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Chemistry).

SOCAR Trading, a subsidiary of SOCAR conducts the bulk of operations on the sale of Azerbaijani and non-Azerbaijani oil on the basis of spot contracts to Belarus, Ahmadov said.

We seal mainly one-time agreements, and then new agreements arising at the request of the buyer. Our foreign trade operations are also carried out all over the world. The main consumers of the Azerbaijani oil are the Mediterranean countries and, in part, the Black Sea countries. There is also a convenient logistics opportunity for oil transportation to Belarus, Ahmadov said.

The official added that SOCAR is pleased to sign an agreement on the transportation of 1 million tons of Azerbaijani oil to Belarus in 2020.

Belneftekhim concern is our reliable partner, and we are ready to sell oil for refining at Belarusian refineries on mutually beneficial conditions, Ahmadov said. He added that a decision on long-term cooperation can be made in the coming months, he underlined.

As Ahmadov informed, SOCAR delivers oil to the Yuzhny port near Odessa and then the Belarusian partners will choose the optimal logistic delivery route to their refineries.

Note that in the period of March-April, in total, Socar Trading supplied the Belarusian concern Belneftekhim four batches of oil.

SOCAR sent the first tanker of Azerbaijani oil to the Belneftekhim by tankers from the Turkish port of Ceyhan to Belarus on March 5.

SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev and PM of Belarus Sergei Roumas met on March 2 in Belarus and reached an agreement on strategic cooperation both in the current year and in subsequent years.
Although different countries around the world have taken largely similar approaches to facing the coronavirus pandemic by aiming to reduce human contact, it has become clear that their decisions have different consequences for different groups of people.

For many of us, it simply means adapting to working from home, reducing travel and reorienting our social lives to digital platforms. But for others, the COVID-19 global crisis has overlapped with pre-existing conditions of displacement to make what was already an uncomfortable life even less bearable. This is the case for thousands of asylum seekers who have been deported and held back on EU borders.

In the past three years, the border between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia has become a gathering point for asylum seekers aiming to reach western EU countries. Its also where they are stopped and pushed back by Croatian police. Those who are able to reach this border after months travelling across the Balkans, remain blocked on the Bosnian side of the frontier, where the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has set up temporary reception camps in the towns of Bihac, Cazin and Velika Kladusa

Benedetta Zocchi , Author provided

Many of those caught in the attempt to cross the frontier report being beaten up and threatened by Croatian police officers. Humanitarian organisations struggle to keep track of the numbers of people passing through but the camps tend to be full most of the time. Consequently, most newcomers are no longer allowed within IOM facilities and are forced to sleep on the street of find shelter in abandoned buildings.

Lockdown without isolation

The first case of COVID-19 in Bosnia & Herzegovina was recorded in the city of Banja Luka on March 5 and the government declared a state of emergency 12 days later. People under 18 and over 65 were told to stay home for a month and a nationwide 8pm curfew was imposed.

The IOM camps immediately closed their gates so that no one was allowed to come in or to go out. In Bihac and Velika Kladusa, the situation has added another layer to what was already an emergency.

Story continues

The two camps of Bira and Miral amount to little more than tents and containers hosted inside former factories. They have very poor hygiene conditions, no light and limited access to humanitarian support. Some of the people hosted in Bira have declared they are not receiving enough food or medical help. There is only one doctor in the camp and social distancing is not an option. Some of those who showed COVID-19 symptoms have not been able to self-isolate.

Outside the camps, some of the central supermarkets in the towns of Bihac and Velika Kladusa have stopped selling food to migrants. They were already kept out of most cafes and restaurants so their options are now extremely limited.

Most recently, drastic new measures were taken as a new camp was set up 30km from the city of Bihac, in an area called Lipa. local police have started deporting migrants, catching them around town or forcefully removing them from the squats they are occupying, to bring them to the new camp, in which they will be confined at least as long as the lockdown is in place.

Just a year ago, the European Commissioner for Human Rights criticised Bihacs mayor Suhret Fazlic for setting up an open-air camp in the mountain area of Vucjak. Migrants who were sent to Vucjak called it jungle camp as is was situated in a completely isolated area, on the site of a former dump, with no access to electricity or drinkable water.

Fearing being sent to the new jungle camp, migrants are pushing forward more rapidly with their attempts to cross the frontier. That, in turn, means local Bosnian and Croatian police forces are using up valuable resources to chase and remove them from the border area. All this is happening against a background noise of Serbian interest groups suggesting these vulnerable Muslim migrants pose a threat to already precarious equilibrium between Serbians and Bosnian Muslims.

Many of us like to think we are all facing the same threat in this virus. It is a great leveller that doesnt distinguish on the basis of class, race or gender. Yet the policies we put in place to manage it clearly do. Migrants who were already struggling to access basic resources are being pushed further onto the margins of locked down societies.

For asylum seekers displaced across Europe, the new global imperative of distancing was implicitly in place even before the pandemic crisis. These people are forever being asked to be somewhere else. In Europe, even in the face of a pandemic, different human lives have different value.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Benedetta Zocchi receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarship
London, May 1 : The UK government is "likely to get very close to or meet" its target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said.

Speaking to the BBC about the target for daily tests on Thursday night, Shapps said that "the point is to have available tests".

"At the beginning of the week we only had 5,000 home tests available, we now have 20,000 available and it's the reason we are quite likely to get very close to or meet the 100,000 target." A government source also told the BBC that they were "fairly confident" that testing numbers "will be where our projections forecasted them to be".

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who now chairs the Commons health committee, said it would be an "enormous achievement" to reach 100,000 tests.

"Of course 100,000 is in some ways an arbitrary number but setting a target like that is how you get things done in a big bureaucracy like the NHS," he told the BBC.

These remarks come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the UK was now "past the peak" of the outbreak.

Speaking at the No 10 briefing for the first time since recovering from COVID-19, Johnson said the government was "massively ramping up" testing, and added that he would set out a "comprehensive plan" next week on how to restart the economy, reopen schools and help people travel to work following the coronavirus lockdown.

Johnson said that to avoid the "disaster" of a second peak the UK must keep the R rate - the number of people to which one infected person will pass the virus - below one.

The UK has so far reported 172,481 coronavirus cases, with 26,842 deaths.
Diane Abbott was reprimanded by Sir Keir Starmer last night after she took part in an online forum with some of the most notorious figures from Labour's anti-Semitism crisis.

The former shadow home secretary dialled in to the call on video-conferencing service Zoom alongside people including Jackie Walker, who was thrown out of the party for gross misconduct after she said Jews financed the slave trade.

During the meeting one activist, Jo Bird, who was suspended from Labour then reinstated for making jokes about 'Jew process', claimed the party was not dealing adequately with cases of anti-black racism because it was prioritising anti-Semitism cases.

The call was organised by the hard-left group Don't Leave - Organise, which was set up by John McDonnell's Labour Representation Committee and fringe group Jewish Voice for Labour.

It was also addressed by Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a former shadow immigration minister under Mr Corbyn.

Diane Abbott was reprimanded by Sir Keir Starmer last night after she took part in an online forum with some of the most notorious figures from Labour's anti-Semitism crisis

The call was also addressed by Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a former shadow immigration minister under Mr Corbyn

Last night anti-racism campaigners accused Sir Keir of 'moral and political cowardice' in failing to suspend the two MPs from the party for sharing a platform with such speakers.

A spokesman for the Labour Party said MPs who took part in the call on Wednesday night had been 'reminded of their responsibilities'.

She said: 'The previous comments made by some of the individuals on this call are completely unacceptable. These are not people who support the values of the Labour Party.

'This is being made clear to the Labour MPs who attended the call in the strongest possible terms and they are being reminded of their responsibilities and obligations.'

Last night Sir Keir told the BBC: 'The MPs concerned have been spoken to in the strongest terms. Those people who have been expelled do not share the views of the Labour Party.'

Labour is under investigation by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over its anti-Semitism problem, and earlier this week former deputy leadership candidate Dawn Butler admitted the party would be found guilty of institutional racism.

The Zoom call was also attended by Tony Greenstein, who was expelled over anti-Semitism allegations.

Ms Abbott dialled in to the call on video-conferencing service Zoom alongside people including Jackie Walker (pictured), who was thrown out of the party for gross misconduct after she said Jews financed the slave trade

According to the Jewish Chronicle, both Miss Abbott and Miss Ribeiro-Addy gave speeches in which they offered their responses to the recently leaked report into Labour anti-Semitism.

Rather than addressing anti-Jewish racism, both MPs attacked the anti-Jeremy Corbyn wing of the party, blaming it for December's devastating general election defeat.

Both MPs remained connected to the Zoom meeting as other speakers either denied or downplayed anti-Semitism claims.

At one point a Labour activist named Nushi addressed the meeting, saying: 'Ken Livingstone was expelled from the party for saying in truth a historical statement.'

Salma Yaqoob, who stood to be Labour's West Midlands Mayoral candidate, claimed the EHRC had become 'weaponised and politicised' and said she was a 'victim of right-wing smears' over allegations of her own anti-Semitism.

She added that 'racism was weaponised by the right'.

Miss Bird told the meeting that Labour members had 'died' after receiving disciplinary letters in anti-Semitism cases.

Neither Miss Abbott nor Miss Ribeiro-Abby sought to correct Miss Bird over her claim - or over a further claim that anti-Semitism cases were 'over prioritised' while cases against black members were 'de-prioritised' - when they directly addressed her question during the meeting.

Jo Bird (pictured), who was suspended from Labour then reinstated for making jokes about 'Jew process', was also on the call

When she delivered her own remarks, Miss Abbott said the leaked document proved 'the right wing' of her party 'would rather lose a General Election then see it under genuine left wing leadership'.

Critics accused Sir Keir of not going far enough in reprimanding the two MPs.

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies, said: 'It is completely unacceptable that Labour MPs should be sharing platforms with those that have been expelled from the party for anti-Semitism.

'Indeed, this breaches the Board of Deputies' ten pledges that Keir and the other Labour leadership contenders signed up to. We would urge Labour to take swift and decisive action to show that this is a new era, rather than a false dawn.'

Euan Phillips, spokesman for Labour Against Anti-Semitism, added: 'When Sir Keir signed the Board of Deputies pledge, there was an expectation that as party leader he would honour those pledges. Today he has failed to do so.

'Instead of removing the parliamentary whip and insisting that Jennie Formby suspend their party membership, as he could have done, Sir Keir has demonstrated a disappointing level of moral and political cowardice.'

Tory MP Andrew Percy, co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-Semitism, said: 'Keir Starmer promised to tackle anti-Semitism in his party.

'If he's committed to this, it's time for him to show he'll keep his promises and take action against those who fail to call out views and language that aren't fit for public life.'

One former Labour minister said: 'He can't afford to fail a test like this. He has to step up and keep the promises he made.'

In a statement, Don't Leave, Organise said the contributors to the discussion following the speeches were chosen by the meeting organisers without the agreement of the speakers.

'All comments and contributions were based on the political points under discussion by members of the audience exercising their right to participate in a free discussion at an open meeting,' the group added.
MADISON  The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear oral arguments early next week in a lawsuit seeking to block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers stay-at-home order.

Evers issued the order in March. It was supposed to expire on April 24, but state Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm extended it until May 26 at Evers direction.

The order closed schools, shuttered nonessential businesses, limited the size of social gatherings and prohibited nonessential travel.

The governor and the states public health leaders have said the order is designed to slow the virus spread. But Republicans have grown impatient with the prohibitions, saying they are crushing the economy.

Republican legislators filed a lawsuit directly with the conservative-controlled Supreme Court last month challenging the extension. They have argued that the order is really an administrative rule, and Palm should have submitted it to the Legislature for approval before issuing it. Evers has countered that the executive branch has broad authority to combat communicable diseases.

Conservative justices hold a 5-2 majority. On Friday afternoon they ruled 6-1 to accept the case and scheduled oral arguments for Tuesday morning via video conference. The arguments are expected to last at least 90 minutes.

The ruling said the court will consider whether the order was really an administrative rule and whether Palm was within her rights to issue it unilaterally. Even if the order doesnt qualify as a rule, the court said it will still weigh whether Palm exceeded her authority by closing all nonessential businesses, ordering all Wisconsin persons to stay home, and forbidding all nonessential travel.

Liberal Justice Rebecca Dallet cast the lone dissenting vote, opposing taking up the lawsuit. The ruling didnt include any explanation from her.

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It was a day of celebration and some furry cuddles at a Colorado-based animal welfare organization when the staff welcomed 96 dogs rescued from captivity.

Non-profit National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) posted a video on Feb. 3, 2020, of its staff busy offloading the dogs that had arrived at Lilys Haven, the Peyton-based facility named after the very first dog rescued by the organization. It turned out that the canines had their first taste of freedom that day, as many of them had been kept in confinement for years.

Those 96 dogs came from multiple different places, Theresa Strader, the founder and executive director of NMDR, told The Epoch Times in an interview.

This is typical of the long journeys that Strader and her dedicated team make across the state and the country, making 10 or 12 stops on average to pick up more dogs. She said that the majority of the February batch of dogs were very social and in really pretty good shape.

The relatively good condition of the group that arrived on that day ensured that most of them were ready for adoption once they received appropriate medical care and were spayed or neutered.

Because so many of them were sweet and friendly, they went home, theyre going home quickly, Strader said, adding that about 10 of the original batch hadnt been adopted yet.

Mill Dog Rescue Over the years, they've rescued more than a thousand dogs from shut-down dog mills in America. Credit: National Mill Dog Rescue    Inspired     

Strader said that many of those that did remain are considered seniors being 8 years plus or 5 t0 10 years old. While puppies and younger dogs are often adopted first, the old-age factor can sometimes slow people down on the adoption side.

The NMDR has been working for over 13 years to liberate dogs from inhuman conditions in breeding operations. The idea for the organization was born when Strader received an email in 2007 about a large-scale Italian Greyhound breeder going out of business and auctioning over 500 remaining dogs off.

It was a life-changing experience for me to see dogs, so many dogs living that way, Strader said. Within just a minute of being on the property, I knew that I was going to do something different[be] the voice of this population of dogs.

The tireless animal rescuer shared that her team has brought in a staggering 15,000 more rescues from puppy mills around the Midwest.

Every single time I go down the roads rescue dogs is more special than the time before, Strader said. Its never changed for me. Its always so incredibly rewarding. I just feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this work.

She said that the amazing support from people, adopters, and volunteers is what makes all the difference and they are able to keep this mission alive and well.

The reward is insurmountable, she said. When we go to bed after the rescue, were tired and were happy, super happy. Go back the next day and see those dogs in a totally different environment, knowing that their life is going to change forever is the best feeling in the world.

In addition to the large commercial operations, Strader receives many dogs from local pet stores that are marking off these canines as retired.

By rescuing these dogs when they have outlived their usefulness in producing puppies, NMDR saves them from being euthanized. Strader said she would rather work with breeders if it meant sparing the lives of these dogs.

[Dog breeding] is a legal business in the United States, whether anybody likes it or not. Thats a fact, Strader said. I would rather work directly with them, treat them like I would any other human being, and give the dogs an opportunity for a future. And weve been very successful with that model. Im very grateful.

They give us their dogs, they dont have to do that. They can do it the old way and just kill everybody, she added.

Strader also underscored that breeding animals remains largely unregulated in the states, which means that NMDR non-profit wont be going away anytime soon.

Our mission doesnt change by much, she said. We continue to do now what weve always done. Its just as the [industrys] standards are improving, and were certainly supporting the efforts towards improving the standards, the dogs that were seeing are healthier, more social, and perhaps a little younger.

National Mill Dog Rescue is here forever and ever as the clearinghouse for these dogs, she added.
A Connecticut Virtual Team Hope Walk, hosted by the Connecticut Chapter of the Huntingtons Disease Society of America, will be held May 17.

Team Hope is HDSAs largest national grassroots fundraising event. Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and communities walk together each year to support HDSA's fight to improve the lives of people affected by HD and their families.

A virtual walk is a real walk, but on your terms: You get choose your own course, you can walk in your driveway, neighborhood, in your house and even on treadmill! Sign up now and participate in the virtual walk by raising money and awareness.

Only virtual walkers who raise $100 or more will be mailed a Team Hope T-shirt after the event All donations go towards HDSA

Huntingtons disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a persons physical and mental abilities usually during their prime working years and has no cure. Every child of a parent with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene that causes Huntingtons disease. Today, there are approximately 41,000 symptomatic Americans and 200,000 at-risk of inheriting the disease. In less than 10% of cases, juvenile Huntingtons disease (JHD) affects children & adolescents. JHD usually has a more rapid progression rate than adult onset HD; the earlier the onset, the faster JHD progresses. HD is described as having ALS, Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases - simultaneously. HD is characterized by a triad of symptoms, including progressive motor dysfunction, behavioral disturbance and cognitive decline.

The Huntingtons Disease Society of America is the premier nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by HD. From community services and education to advocacy and research, HDSA is the worlds leader in providing help for today and hope for tomorrow for people with HD and their families.

To learn more about Huntingtons disease and the work of the Huntingtons Disease Society of America, visit www.HDSA.org or call 800-345-HDSA.

Amazing Grace food pantry hopes to help more people

MIDDLETOWN  The Amazing Grace food pantry is hoping to serve the population of laid-off workers or those whose hours have been cut as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency presently has enough nonperishable items, allowing them to offer clients a full box of food that will last a week or more, according to St. Vincent dePaul Middletown Executive Director Maryellen Shuckerow. There is plenty of food, she said.

Curbside pickup is available.

Only 10 people who lost their jobs have stopped by to avail themselves of the service, she added.

Her agency is offering takeout meals from its soup kitchen Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m to 12:30 p.m.Those wishing to donate to the effort can visit the food pantry Wednesday and Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 16 Stack St.

To drop off items for the soup kitchen, stop by the 617 Main St. facility from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or call 860-344-0097 for after-hours donations. St. Vincent de Paul is also welcoming donations of face masks.

For information, visit svdmiddletown.org. New food pantry hours are Wednesday and Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Help is available for CT Water customers

CLINTON  Connecticut Water is reminding customers that help is available for those who are having trouble paying their water bills. Affected customers are encouraged to contact Connecticut Water before their accounts become past due. The companys Help 2 Our Customers assistance program provides for bill reductions and payment plans so customers dont fall behind.

Having safe, reliable water for hand-washing, hygiene and sanitation is vital to the health and well-being of our customers and the community, and we are doing our part to ensure customers have water service by halting shutoffs for nonpayment, said Maureen P. Westbrook, president of Connecticut Water. There is a cost to providing water service to those who need assistance. We ask customers who are able to make timely payment of their water bill to do so. Those payments help us assist customers who are financially impacted by COVID-19 and continue to support our commitment to deliver safe and reliable water service.

Connecticut Water is also alerting customers to scams that are circulating demanding payment of utility bills. As a reminder, the company does not call customers demanding immediate payment or threatening to shut off water service if they do not pay over the phone. Customers should not provide any personal or financial information if they receive such calls; instead, call the water company at 800-286-5700.

More information on Connecticuts customer assistance programs can be found at ctwater.com or through the customers local social service agency and community support organizations.

PURA webinars: Maureen P. Westbrook, president, and Arthur J. ONeill, vice president of customer service, both of Connecticut Water will be participating in two webinars being hosted by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on May 5. The webinars will provide information on resources available to customers of regulated public utilities to assist with managing utility bills that accrue during the COVID-19 crisis. More information on the PURA webinars and a link to event registration are available at ct.gov/PURA/Press-Releases/2020/PURA-Announces-May-5th-Webinars

Flag sponsors sought

Downtown Middletown is once again planning its annual display of patriotism and support for military families. American flags are available to downtown businesses for a minimum donation of $25 per flag.

These flags are a way to show support and to prepare for Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day. We have ordered brand new American Flags for the 2020 Season.

For many years and again this year, Middletown Fire Department will attach new flags and the Alarm Division of the City of Middletown will install the flagpoles on Main Street, creating a show of patriotism with cooperation between the City, Central Business Bureau / Middlesex Chamber and the Downtown business community. For information, contact Daniellelee Smith in the Chamber office at 860-347-6924 or email dsmith@middlesexchamber.com.
WASHINGTON  Vice President Mike Pence was photographed Thursday wearing a mask while visiting a General Motors plant in Indiana in what appeared to be a tacit acknowledgment of the criticism he has received for traveling the country without one.

Pence drew intense criticism for flouting the guidelines of the Mayo Clinic, which asks all visitors to its campus in Minnesota to wear masks, during a stop there this week.

It was not the first time he has refused to don a mask since resuming a heavy travel schedule representing the administration at graduations, hospitals and factories across the country. But because he appeared to be defying rules put in place by one of the countrys most renowned medical facilities, it seemed to strike a nerve.

At the time, Pence explained that because he was tested regularly for the coronavirus, he was not at risk of contributing to asymptomatic spread and therefore did not need to wear a mask  an argument that experts immediately dismissed.

He did not address the fact that he appeared to have ignored the Mayo Clinics own guidelines. After his visit, the clinic posted on Twitter that it had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today. The clinic then deleted the tweet, with no explanation.

But in his first public outing since then, Pence seemed to accede to public pressure by covering his face, a rare moment of backing down from a position on the part of an administration whose philosophy is often to double down in response to criticism.

Administration officials said that Pence wore the mask in deference to GMs policy at the plant he was visiting. They also said Pence was never informed of the Mayo Clinics policy, and indicated Pence would continue to appear without a mask at other events. Karen Pence, the second lady, also said in a television interview on Fox News on Thursday that her husband had not been made aware of the mask policy.

Mayo Clinic shared the masking policy with the vice presidents office, said a spokeswoman for the clinic, Ginger Plumbo.

The episode incited major blowback, both for Pence and for the medical center. Former patients of the Mayo Clinic said they were livid at the exception apparently made for the vice president.

Kenneth Rinzler, a lawyer based in Washington, said he underwent open-heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in 2010 and described himself as eternally grateful to the team of medical experts there.

But he wrote to the institution this week, saying he was beyond shocked and completely heartbroken to have just watched Vice President Mike Pence walk around inside one of the buildings, and in particular visit a group of people apparently donating blood, without wearing a mask and violating every basic tenet of social distancing.

Susie Watson of Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, who said she spent four months at the Mayo Clinic in 2018 and 2019 when her husband underwent a bone marrow transplant there, said she also wrote to the institution this week in alarm.

Although we appreciate your email Covid-19 updates, we were very upset to see that Mike Pence visited the campus and did not wear a mask, she wrote in an email she also shared with The New York Times. We think it is fair to ask why you didnt insist that he wear one. It really makes us wonder about your judgment.

President Donald Trump has also expressed distaste for the look of a mask and has said he does not plan to wear one himself. He is expected to travel to Arizona next week to tour a Honeywell plant, and he has said that he intends to visit the critical battleground state of Ohio soon, too.

It remains to be seen whether Trump will concede to covering his face on trips away from the White House.

Pence was visiting a General Motors plant in his home state that had been converted into a ventilator production site. Last month, Trump used the Defense Production Act to force General Motors to step up efforts to manufacture ventilators.

Its amazing to think this floor was empty about a month ago, Pence said. It was a partnership to meet a vital need for Americans struggling in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The boy, identified as Marshawn Williams, was transported from the fire station to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he was pronounced dead at 7:59 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiners office.
Guests look at Baidu's products at the annual Baidu World Technology Conference in Beijing on Nov. 1, 2018. (Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images)

US Senators Propose Bill to Ban Federal Staff from Using Beijing-Backed Tech

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) plan to introduce a new bill aimed at banning federal employees from using tech platforms that are under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Companies like Tencent and Huawei are espionage operations for the Chinese Communist Party, masquerading as telecom companies for the 21st century, said Cruz in a press release.

Cruz added: Prohibiting the use of these platforms and stopping taxpayers dollars from being used to capitalize Chinese espionage infrastructure are common-sense measures to protect American national security.

Congress is currently in recess until at least May 4, as part of social distancing measures to prevent the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, from spreading.

The bill, named Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping (C-CAS) Act of 2020, would require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to put together a list of technology companies that they believe are subject to influence or control by the Chinese regime.

The Secretary of State would be required to submit the list annually to Congress.

The proposed bill would prohibit U.S. federal employees to conduct official business over any social media, computer or smartphone application, or telecommunications technology, produced, operated, or hosted by companies on the list.

The bill identified five Chinese tech companiesHuawei, Tencent, ZTE, Alibaba, and Baidusaying that they would assist the CCP if called upon, to conduct espionage or gain insight into the profiles, activity, or location of foreign users via their products.

Chinas national intelligence law, which went into effect in 2017, allows Beijing access to all data stored within its national bordersmeaning data on Chinese servers could be accessed by the Chinese regime as well.

The bill also cites unspecified Chinese documents that show Chinese tech companies such as Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu have assisted the Chinese military in developing technology.

Currently, Chinas Central Commission for the Development of MilitaryCivil Fusion, a government body established by the central government in 2017, oversees the militarys advancement by leveraging cooperation with private industry and universities.

And during a September 2019 conference, top U.S. State Department official Christopher Ford singled out the aforementioned five Chinese companies, noting that there is a deep record of cooperation and collaboration between them and Chinas state security apparatus.

Ford said Chinese documents have shown products by Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, Lenovo, and other tech firms have been used to research and produce weapons and equipment for the Chinese military.

Also, Chinese military-civil fusion documentation specifically calls out Huaweis 5G work for special appreciation in support of Chinas push to develop its military industrial capabilities, as well as contributions by Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu, Ford said.

Citing national security risks, the U.S. government has already banned Huawei from taking part in the countrys rollout of the next-generation 5G mobile networks.

The bill would also ensure that U.S. funding would not be used to subsidize or fund U.N. contracts with any such companies on the list, the press release stated, pointing to a recent case of a potential partnership between the United Nations and Tencent.

On March 31, Tencent announced on its website that it would provide videoconferencing and digital dialogue tools to the United Nations as the global body carried out a campaign to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

Fox News reported on April 30 that the partnership has not been finalized, citing Lisa Laskaridis, a U.N. spokesperson.

The United Nations decision to partner with Tencent, a glorified surveillance arm of the Chinese Communist Party, is stupid and dangerous, Hawley said according to the bills press release.

Tencent is the operator of two popular Chinese social media apps, QQ and Weixin, the latter also known as WeChat.

WeChat complies with the Chinese regimes censorship rules, and also extends its monitoring and censorship to U.S. app users. For example, it has blocked users from sending or viewing content from U.S.-based media outlets known for their reporting on the Chinese regimes abuses, such as the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times and Voice of America.

Hawley condemned Chinese tech firms, saying, they actively conspire with the CCP to conduct international surveillance and present an ongoing threat to the United States and our allies. American taxpayer money should not fund U.N. contracts that benefit the Chinese Communist Party, he said.
U.S. Department of Education announced this week that an additional $39.5 million  made available by the CARES Act -- is headed to 71 colleges and universities in Tennessee.

Here are U.S. Senator Lamar Alexanders tweets on this announcement:

The ??@usedgov? announced today an additional $39.5 million is headed to 71 colleges and universities in Tennessee to help ensure learning continues during the global pandemic caused by COVID-19.

This includes $30.4 million for Tennessees 6 Historically Black Colleges and Universities #HBCUs, and 39 other institutions. For a full list, click HERE: help.senate.gov/download/cares

This funding is made available by the CARES Act and is in addition to the $237.1 million the ??@usedgov? provided to 127 Tennessee colleges and universities on April 21.
The United States condemns Russia's widespread use of punitive psychiatry in the occupied Crimea against people who oppose the occupation.

U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE James S. Gilmore said this during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, April 30, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We condemn Russias continued widespread use of punitive psychiatry against Crimeans who oppose the occupation," he stressed.

The American diplomat noted that at least two Crimean Tatar political prisoners, Yashar Muyedinov and Raim Aivazov, remained in weeks-long punitive psychiatric detention.

In addition, on April 20, the FSB ordered three other Crimean Tatars who had been arrested in raids last month to be subjected to psychiatric detention. "These are old tactics that have occurred in the past, and were left behind and now are reemerging against political opponents," the ambassador said.

ish
Researchers have discovered a system of ridges spread across the nearside of the Moon topped with freshly exposed boulders. The ridges could be evidence of active lunar tectonic processes, the researchers say, possibly the echo of a long-ago impact that nearly tore the Moon apart.

"There's this assumption that the Moon is long dead, but we keep finding that that's not the case," said Peter Schultz, a professor in Brown University's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and co-author of the research, which is published in the journal Geology. "From this paper it appears that the Moon may still be creaking and cracking -- potentially in the present day -- and we can see the evidence on these ridges."

Most of the Moon's surface is covered by regolith, a powdery blanket of ground-up rock created by the constant bombardment of tiny meteorites and other impactors. Areas free of regolith where the Moon's bedrock is exposed are vanishingly rare. But Adomas Valantinas, a graduate student at the University of Bern who led the research while a visiting scholar at Brown, used data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to spot strange bare spots within and surrounding the lunar maria, the large dark patches on the Moon's nearside.

"Exposed blocks on the surface have a relatively short lifetime because the regolith buildup is happening constantly," Schultz said. "So when we see them, there needs to be some explanation for how and why they were exposed in certain locations."

For the study, Valantinas used the LRO's Diviner instrument, which measures the temperature of the lunar surface. Just as concrete-covered cities on Earth retain more heat than the countryside, exposed bedrock and blocky surfaces on the Moon stays warmer through the lunar night than regolith-covered surfaces. Using nighttime observations from Diviner, Valantinas turned up more than 500 patches of exposed bedrock on narrow ridges following a pattern across the lunar nearside maria.

A few ridges topped with exposed bedrock had been seen before, Schultz says. But those ridges were on the edges of ancient lava-filled impact basins and could be explained by continued sagging in response to weight caused by the lava fill. But this new study discovered that the most active ridges are related to a mysterious system of tectonic features (ridges and faults) on the lunar nearside, unrelated to both lava-filled basins and other young faults that crisscross the highlands.

"The distribution that we found here begs for a different explanation," Schultz said.

Valantinas and Schultz mapped out all of the exposures revealed in the Diviner data and found an interesting correlation. In 2014, NASA's GRAIL mission found a network of ancient cracks in the Moon's crust. Those cracks became channels through which magma flowed to the Moon's surface to form deep intrusions. Valantinas and Schultz showed that the blocky ridges seemed to line up just about perfectly with the deep intrusions revealed by GRAIL.

"It's almost a one-to-one correlation," Schultz said. "That makes us think that what we're seeing is an ongoing process driven by things happening in the Moon's interior."

Schultz and Valantinas suggest that the ridges above these ancient intrusions arestill heaving upward. The upward movement breaks the surface and enables regolith to drain into cracks and voids, leaving the blocks exposed. Because bare spots on the Moon get covered over fairly quickly, this cracking must be quite recent, possibly even ongoing today. They refer to what they've found as ANTS, for Active Nearside Tectonic System.

The researchers believe that the ANTS was actually set in motion billions of years ago with a giant impact on the Moon's farside. In previous studies, Schultz and a co-worker proposed this impact, which formed the 1500-mile South Pole Aitken Basin, shattered the interior on the opposite side, the nearside facing the Earth. Magma then filled these cracks and controlled the pattern of dikes detected in the GRAIL mission. The blocky ridges comprising the ANTS now trace the continuing adjustments along these ancient weaknesses.

"This looks like the ridges responded to something that happened 4.3 billion years ago," Schultz said. "Giant impacts have long lasting effects. The Moon has a long memory. What we're seeing on the surface today is testimony to its long memory and secrets it still holds."
This article will be regularly updated with new information on the Google Pixel 4a (this is a preview article)  both official teasers and credible leaks, rumors, and insider claims  as it becomes available in the run-up to the release of the upcoming Android smartphone. The last update was made on July 16.

The Google Pixel 4a is the next smartphone Google will announce. This will be a new mid-range offering from the company, and a direct successor to the Pixel 3a. That is why were here to talk about the Pixel 4a, in the form of a preview. Well basically share everything (important) we know about the Pixel 4a thus far.

The Google Pixel 3a was announced back on May 7 2019. Now, it was rumored that Google will announce the Pixel 4a during Google I/O this year, but Google I/O got canceled. Well, there will still be a Google I/O but not the way were used to. Click here to know more.

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In any case, the Google Pixel 4a launch date got moved because of it, allegedly, well talk more about that later on. The Pixel 4a is expected to offer mid-range specs, and a flagship-grade camera, just like its predecessor. Its also expected to bring an updated design, and an affordable price tag. The device will be available in both 4G and 5G variants, it seems.

A more modern design, while retaining plastic build

The Google Pixel 4a surfaced several times thus far. The phone appeared in both renders and real-life images. Considering that most of those images came from reputable sources, its safe to say that we know the design of the phone at this point. As you can see in CAD-based renders shown below, the Pixel 4a will be made out of polycarbonate (plastic). That is not surprising, as the same happened to its predecessor. Its a good cost-cutting choice on Googles part.

The device will not include thick bezels above and below the display this time around, though. It will have rather thin bezels all around, and a display camera hole in the top-left corner. The phone will also include a flat display, not a curved panel. That is not only a more affordable option for Google, but the option that most consumers will prefer.

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A capacitive fingerprint scanner will be placed on the back, the same as on its predecessor. Back there, Google will include a single camera, probably the same camera sensor as on the Pixel 4. Its power / lock, volume up, and volume down buttons will be placed on the right. The power / lock button will offer a different color variant, a complete contrast to the phones color. Googles branding will also be placed on the back, by the way. Even the case maker ESR shared some images of the device.

Real-life images of the Pixel 4a also surfaced, as already mentioned. These images not only show the front and back sides of the device, but one of its cases as well. This seems to be one of Googles fabric cases, as you can see below. Based on the images weve seen since then, these real-life images are probably spot on. Do note that an early prototype is shown here, though, as not even the companys logo is placed on the back yet. Its also worth noting that the Active Edge feature probably wont be included.

Google officially confirmed its design by accident

The newest leak of the phone came directly from Google. The company accidentally leaked the device on the Google Store, and thus pretty much confirmed its design. It will look exactly as previous rumors suggested, it seems. You can check out the render Google leaked down below.

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The XL variant allegedly wont be coming or will it

According to a report that surfaced in April, Google is not planning on releasing the Pixel 4a XL. This is quite an interesting choice by the company, as the Pixel 3a XL was announced last year, in addition to the Pixel 3a. The Pixel 4a will include a larger display this time around, so perhaps Google though that an XL variant is not necessary.

We are only guessing here, of course, as the report itself did not really share a reason for the omission of the XL variant. There are people out there that prefer huge smartphones, so they may be let down by this. Still, as already mentioned, the Pixel 4a will have a larger display, so the vast majority of people will probably be happy with it.

Following the rumor that weve mentioned, a new one surfaced. Well, this is more of a leak than a rumor. The Pixel 4 XL presence has been confirmed, in a way. The device has been spotted on a Vietnamese website. Truth be said, we dont know what to believe at this point, so its 50:50.

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Mid-range specifications, and a flagship-grade camera

Now, in terms of specs, we dont have the full picture just yet, but quite a bit of info surfaced. The Google Pixel 4a is expected to include a 5.81-inch fullHD+ OLED display. The resolution will be 2340 x 1080, and this wont be your fancy high refresh rate display. It will be a 60Hz panel, it seems, at least based on reports.

The Snapdragon 730 64-bit octa-core processor is expected to fuel the device. That is one of Qualcomms mid-range processors. Its not its best mid-ranger, but its nothing to scoff at either. The phone will not include 5G support, by the way, in case you were wondering. Thats another good call by the company, as that would unnecessarily drive the phones price tag up.

The device will include Googles Titan M security chip, while the Pixel Neural Core will not be included. The device will include 6GB of RAM and pack in a 3,080mAh battery on the inside. Both 64GB and 128GB storage variants will be available, and both will include the aforementioned RAM count.

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In terms of charging, you can expect it to support 18W fast wired charging. Wireless charging likely wont be included, which is a shame. The phone is made out of plastic, and can easily support wireless charging. This may change, of course, but Google probably did it as yet another cost-saving opportunity, as its not an essential feature.

In terms of cameras, you can expect two overall. A 12.2-megapixel camera will be placed on the back of the device. That camera will likely be the same as the one on the Pixel 4. It will support both OIS and EIS, and will be capable of recording both fullHD and 4K video. It will ship with an f/1.7 aperture lens, and 1.4um pixel size. PDAF will also be supported. If youd like to check out some sample shots, two leaked out.

A front-facing camera will probably also be copied from the Pixel 4. If that ends up being the case, you can expect an 8-megapixel unit with an f/2.0 aperture lens. That sensor comes with a 1.22um pixel size. It is worth noting that a secondary TOF camera will not be included in this package. Even the camera review surfaced ahead of time, you can check out some samples by clicking here.

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A 3.5mm headphone jack will also be included in the package, along with Type-C USB port. Needless to say, Android 10 will come pre-installed on the device. Pigtou also shared the probable dimensions of the device, the Pixel 4a will measure 144.18 x 69.46 x 8.2mm (9.13mm with a camera bump). That is pretty much all the spec information that we have at the moment. If youd like to see where the Pixel 4a stands in the 2020 Pixel lineup, click here, as it seems to be the smallest Pixel phone this year.

It is also worth noting that the device even got reviewed prior to its launch. That is not all that surprising considering that the same thing happened with the Pixel 3 series last year. The phone got reviewed in a YouTube video.

The phone will cost the same as the Pixel 3a last year

Evan Blass has leaked some images of billboards which showed off the Pixel 4a design and confirmed its name. On top of that, those billboards revealed the phones price tag. The Pixel 4a pricing will start at the same point as the Pixel 3a pricing last year. The base model will set you back $399.

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Just to be clear, that price tag will probably be for a 64GB storage variant of the phone. The 128GB model, which more people will probably be interested in, will be a bit more expensive. Its price tag did not leak out, but if we had to guess, wed say that it will cost $439, or something along those lines.

Now, a separate rumor surfaced later on, suggesting that the Pixel 4a may cost even less. The 128GB storage variant of the device with 4GB of RAM (base model), is rumored to start at only $349, thats $50 less than the initial rumor suggested.

The Pixel 4a will be shipping to consumers in October?!

The information regarding the phones availability is not yet entirely clear. Several rumors surfaced. May 22 was discovered in the database of Vodafone Germany a while back. A separate rumor claims that the device will not be launching until June. That goes for the US launch, which will be first no matter what way you spin things. A third rumor, and most recent one, says that the Pixel 4a launch has been delayed. The phone is now expected to arrive on July 13, and become available sometime in August or even possibly in October.

The Pixel 4a was supposed to launch during Google I/O, but the launch date has been moved. The phone will probably launch on July 13, while the time it will go on sale is still a mystery. If we had to guess, wed say its coming in July, the only question is, when. The device may even launch with a Pixel 5 name instead, if a recent rumor is to be believed. Based on the leaks, the Google Pixel 4a will ship in at least three color options. The phone will be available in Just Black, Barely Blue, and Clearly White colors. Google may introduce some additional color options, though.
The house of representatives has maintained that poor Nigerians should not be denied free electricity during the lockdown period because the rich who are the minority would profit from it.

According to a statement by the House spokesman, Benjamin Kalu, he added that threatening poor Nigerians with disconnection at this time is definitely not the way to go.

It is not in doubt that the economic conditions occasioned by the pandemic has made it harder for low-income customers and businesses to pay their electricity bills, threatening them with disconnection, he said.

The call by the House for free electricity for Nigerians is borne of a realization that similar measures have become necessary to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians as we try to battle and emerge from this pandemic.

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Read Also: Despite Strange Deaths, Ganduje Asks FG To Relax Lockdown In Kano

We, therefore, maintain that it is unconscionable to the over 100 million low and middle-income earners in Nigeria whose income has been affected by the pandemic, to deprive them of this electricity tariff reprieve for fear that it would benefit the rich who do not constitute up to 10% of Nigerias population. It amounts to a disturbing case of punishing the majority for the sake of the few.

We must, therefore, consider the example of other nations, including Ghana which innovated ways to absorb the electricity tariffs of all lifeline customers (persons who consume zero to 50 kilowatts-hours a month) and provide a 50% relief for higher-income residential and commercial customers.

We are faced with unprecedented times in the history of Nigeria and it behoves a responsible federal government to innovate ways to alleviate the suffering of people.
Almost a quarter of Irish businesses have ceased trading temporarily while almost half had availed of the temporary Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme according to a new business survey from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The online survey was sent to a sample of 3,000 businesses. Statistician, Colin Hanley, said 23.3% had ceased trading temporarily, 0.6% had ceased trading permanently, and 76.0% continued to trade.

"However, Covid-19 has impacted sectors differently: In Construction, 70.8% of enterprises had ceased trading either temporarily or permanently, while in Accommodation and Food Services 88.1% had ceased trading.

Of the Government supports available to businesses, 47.1% said they had utilised the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, while 51.6% stated that they had not availed of any supports.

Separately, the government is being urged to include alternative lenders alongside the pillar banks as channels for the expansion of the Governments lending support for SMEs.

Linked Finance, a peer-to-peer lending platform said it is vital to ensure funding is deployed rapidly, and that this will be helped by leveraging the strong SME relationships held by several non-bank lenders.

The company's Chairman Michael Cawley wrote to the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD to outline the companys concerns and request a meeting to discuss how SME lending supports can be improved.

Linked Finance believes the current approach is not working because on the demand side, the administrative burden required of firms to qualify is excessive. On the supply side, the extent of Government guarantees is insufficient for lenders to be willing to deploy capital given the extent of uncertainty out there.

Niall Dorrian, Chief Executive of Linked Finance said: The clock is ticking for Irish SMEs and its vital that the Government moves quickly to expand the lending support it can provide.
When hundreds of thousands of people in the Balearics and millions across the country, along with a never ending list of companies, have had to endure pay cuts, bonus reductions and the loss of all extra financial incentives, Palmas left wing coalition council this week rejected a proposal to freeze wages and use all non essential cash to create an emergency war chest to help the municipality at large.

The motion was tabled by the far right party Vox, the party everyone appears to love to hate despite it being the third largest party in Spain now, with the backing of the Partido Popular.

Obviously politics influenced the decision of the members of the ruling left wing group but now is not the time for petty spats, now is the time for politicians on all sides to stand united and think and act in the interest of the general public and the local economy.

In Congress on Thursday, the president of the autonomous government in Aragon told the house that his main interest is not saving the jobs of politicians, in particular the prime minister, but saving peoples lives.

Obviously that fell on deaf ears in Palma where there are rumours of civil servants having their wages frozen and their summer and Christmas bonus payments shelved to save money. So what makes Palma council so special?

Shame on those who vetoed the proposal.
In the quest to invent a rapid testing kit for Covid-19, the African nation of Senegal stands out. The new testing kit priced at a reported Rs 75 is pitched to be cost-effective and efficient in tracking coronavirus cases in different countries.

Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19



Imag for representation/Reuters

According to a Hindustan Times report, the researchers in Senegal are drawing upon their experience in dealing with Ebola to develop this kit which will cost $1.



These researchers say the kits used for testing dengue and other types of fever can be modified to test for Covid-19.

Senegals Institut Pasteur de Dakar developed the Covid-19 testing kit can reportedly deliver results in about 10 minutes.



Well done #Senegal #Africa 4leveraging your past experience & innovative solutions in the war against #covid19. $1.00 quick diagnostic testing kits and an3D printed ventilator that costs $60.00 vs an imported one that could cost $16,000 - a great example - see Aljazeeras Report pic.twitter.com/L28X7fBogU  Arunma Oteh (@aoteh) April 26, 2020

Researchers have already commenced validation of the diagnostic testing that will allow people to conduct the tests at home.

The testing kit was developed in collaboration with Mologic, a British biotech company. However, the Covid-19 test kits wont be ready for distribution until June, after necessary testing must have been concluded.

The updates also confirmed that the testing kit can be used at home for a simple test using the saliva or a blood sample of the individual. Similar to how a pregnancy test kit works, a bloodline appears to indicate the presence or absence of the COVID-19 antibody.

Image for Representation/Source/The Sun

Mass manufacture of the testing kits is set to start immediately in the United Kingdom and Senegal once it meets regulation standards.

Al Jazeera quotes Dr Amadou Sall as saying that the plan is to ensure this test benefits the whole of Africa. There is no need for a highly-equipped lab. It is a simple test that can be done anywhere. The idea is to produce 2 to 4 million kits, not just for us but for African countries, he said.

Senegal has the highest rate of recovery across Africa, and the third-highest in the world, Aljazeera says. As of April 20, Senegal reported only three COVID-19 deaths, according to a WHO report.

Amadou Sall of the Institut Pasteur, in the capital Dakar, said Senegal expects to produce up to four million kits that officials could distribute across the continent.
The Gogglebox cast had distinctly mixed reactions on Thursday night to the first mystery box challenge on MasterChef: Back to Win.

Judge Melissa Leong chose the varied selection of ingredients, which included taro, whiting, coriander and chicken feet.

While siblings Tim and Leanne Lai both love traditional chicken feet, they weren't expecting one MasterChef contestant to use them as an ingredient for ice cream.

The dish the Gogglebox cast couldn't stomach: The couch critics asked 'why would you do that?' after a MasterChef star made chicken feet ice cream. Pictured: Lee and Keith

Ben Ungermann decided to make chicken fat caramel ice cream, using a typically savoury ingredient for a sweet dish.

Tim and Leanne were simply baffled by the concept, while Anastasia Katselas and Faye Kontos had a far more dramatic reaction.

'Why the f**k would you do that?' Anastasia asked.

Unique take: Ben Ungermann (pictured) decided to make chicken fat caramel ice cream for the first mystery box challenge, using a typically savoury ingredient for a sweet dish

'You know what the ice cream's called?' Matty Fahd asked his wife, Sarah Marie, and friend Jad Nehmetallah, whom they were speaking to over video chat.

'Gela-TOE!' he said, prompting Sarah to joke she was concocting her own recipe for 'breast milk ice cream' while nursing her baby son, Malik.

MasterChef judges Melissa, Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen all praised the daring dish, but 59-year-old Goggleboxer Lee wasn't quote so enthusiastic.

But... why? While siblings Tim and Leanne Lai (pictured) both love traditional chicken feet, they weren't expecting Ben to use them as an ingredient for ice cream

'I don't care if Bulla makes it, I'm not eating it!' she said.

Gogglebox Australia recently celebrated its 100th episode, and Foxtel is reportedly set to announce a celebrity spin-off which will air in September.

The celebrity edition is tipped to star KIIS FM radio presenter Jackie 'O' Henderson, according to TV Blackbox.
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) took a firmer hold on the UK, the government introduced a lockdown on March 24, 2020, in an all-out attempt to flatten the curve of infections. While the number of deaths has fallen in response, a new study published in the journal medRxiv in April 2020 reports that the pandemic is also associated with increased anxiety and depression in UK adults experiencing isolation.

Study: The impact of the COVID19 pandemic and initial period of lockdown on the mental health and wellbeing of UK adults . Image Credit: Tiwiplusk / Shutterstock

The study was motivated by the need to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health and wellbeing. The researchers used a convenience sample, recruited via social media, and an online survey collected data.

All participants were above 18 years, spoke English, and were residents of the UK at the time of the outbreak. The data comes from the first two weeks of the government lockdown, where users were asked to fill out an online survey, which included elements from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, WHO-5, and OXCAP-MH - all tests to measure mental wellbeing.

The test was aimed at discovering if mental health was affected by five factors:

Whether the subject was experiencing coronavirus symptoms Whether the subject was in a group that was vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 Whether the subject was an essential worker Whether the subject was in isolation because of COVID-19 The community interactions that the subject was experiencing

The data used by the study came from approximately 600 people participants. Three-quarters were female, with an average age of 37 years. The overwhelming majority were white, and most were employed.

Over a quarter of the participants said they were being treated for mental disorders, such as mood disorders in a fifth, and neurotic disorders, stress-related conditions, and somatoform disorders, a group of psychiatric disorders that cause unexplained physical symptoms, in about 14% of the participants.

The study found that people who were experiencing coronavirus symptoms or in a vulnerable group did not display significant differences in mental health and wellbeing. Both these groups made up over a tenth of each of the total number of participants.

Greater anxiety and depression were experienced by those who self-isolated before the lockdown due to coronavirus symptoms. This group had lower levels of overall wellbeing and quality of life, as compared to those who did not. People who felt isolated to a greater extent after the lockdown began shared these characteristics.

Those people who felt that COVID-19 might threaten their livelihood  about 46% - said that they were more depressed and enjoyed a lower quality of life. Essential workers (about a third) were much less depressed than the average.

On the other hand, those who believed that the pandemic had actually encouraged more people to be kinder towards each other made up over two-thirds of the group. These people were less depressed and said their quality of life was higher, on average, with better wellbeing, compared to those who did not appreciate greater kindness from other people during the lockdown.

The same feelings were reported by those who said the local community had drawn closer together since the lockdown began. Finally, people with a sense of being supported by the social system as a whole or in any part were happier, less depressed, and had both a higher sense of wellbeing and greater quality of life.

What do the results mean?

According to the study, current general anxiety and depression scores are higher than normal, and more so in women than men. The study suggests that the absence of significant pathological depression or anxiety in essential workers may be due to the importance of their work and/or public recognition of their efforts (though it acknowledges that their findings are open to interpretation).

The association of depression and anxiety with isolation and poor social support emphasizes the need for newer ways of keeping people connected and supported during times of poor social contact.

The OXCAP-MH tool used in this study gives value to individual freedom to do ones own thing, in terms of both self-identity and competence.

There are some significant limitations to the study: the sample was restricted to those who fill out forms on social media, while males, as well as black and minority ethnic groups, were underrepresented. The fact that the data was collected over a relatively short time frame limits the conclusions that can be drawn.

The study forms a small part of a long-term tracking program to understand how the pandemic and the lockdown affected mental health and wellbeing. The preliminary results indicate the need to study this area more, to design policies in public health emergencies that alleviate the impact of sweeping measures on mental health.

Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
[May 01, 2020] dunnhumby Launch "Customer First Retail and COVID-19" Webinar Series with Retail Leader

dunnhumby, the global leader in Customer Data Science, and Retail Leader announced today the complimentary webinar series, "Customer First Retail and COVID-19: Life After the Curve" which will begin on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 12:00 EDT. During the four part webinar series, which will run from May through the end of July, Retail Leader and Progressive Grocer editorial director Mike Troy and dunnhumby experts will tackle how retailers need to adapt their Customer Strategy now for life after the curve, and possible implications for their customer engagement, category management, and pricing and promotions strategies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005482/en/ dunnhumby, the global leader in Customer Data Science, is partnering with Retail Leader to co-host webinar series, "Customer First Retail and COVID-19: Life After the Curve," beginning May 5, 2020 (Graphic: Business Wire) "The speed at which COVID-19 has turned every food retailer, every grocery worker and every consumer's world upside down has been mind numbing," said Jose Gomes, President of North America for dunnhumby. "In just days, consumers have had to adopt new behaviors, dramatically impacting how they shop, work and go about their daily lives. And, vulnerable consumers now rely on online ordering and delivery services they were once reluctant to try. The goal of this webinar series is to empower retailers now on how to prepare to successfully serve their customers after the 'COVID curve'." Session 1: Customer First Retail Strategy and COVID-19: Life After the Curve





Date: Tuesday, May 5

Time: 12:00pm Eastern Daylight Time During the first webinar of the series, dunnhumby's Jose Gomes, President for North America, and Eric Karlson, Head of Strategy for North America, will discuss:

dunnhumby's model of the three phases of the COVID-19 pandemic

Insights and learnings from retailers around the globe

How retailers should prepare to adapt their customer strategy for the "new normal" of customer behaviors and expectations Session 2: Customer First Engagement and COVID-19: Life After the Curve

Date: Thursday, May 28

Time: 12:00pm EDT During the second webinar, dunnhumby's Emily Turner, Head of Customer Engagement for North America, and John O'Reilly, Head of Customer Development for North America, will discuss: The future of loyalty and reward programs and what retailers should do now to better align with the emotional and functional needs of customers after the curve

Communications strategies and tactics that are improving the digital customer experience

The best practices likely to continue to drive and grow customer engagement post COVID-19 Session 3: Customer First Category Management and COVID-19: Life After the Curve

Date: Thursday, July 9

Time: 12:00pm EDT During the third webinar, dunnhumby's Daryl Wehmeyer, Head of Category Management for North America, and John O'Reilly, Head of Customer Development for North America will discuss: dunnhumby's model of the current and future phases of the Coronavirus pandemic and implications for category management

Customers' attitudes about shopping during COVID-19

How Retailers should manage their assortments during and after the Covid recovery to prepare themselves for the new normal Session 4: Customer First Price & Promotions and COVID-19: Life After the Curve

Date: Thursday, July 30

Time: 12:00pm EDT During the fourth and final webinar of the series, dunnhumby's Ted Eichten, Head of Price and Promotions for North America, and John O'Reilly, Head of Customer Development for North America will discuss: Pricing strategies you can implement now to prepare for possible grocery price volatility and increased customer price sensitivity

Best practices to ensure promotions and trade funds deliver optimal results, based on customer preferences

The importance of capturing margin with the least impact to Customers as spending begins to normalize Registration for the webinar series is free, and is available at: https://bit.ly/2SsBE3Z. About dunnhumby dunnhumby is the global leader in Customer Data Science, empowering businesses everywhere to compete and thrive in the modern data-driven economy. We always put the Customer First. Our mission: to enable businesses to grow and reimagine themselves by becoming advocates and champions for their Customers. With deep heritage and expertise in retail - one of the world's most competitive markets, with a deluge of multi-dimensional data - dunnhumby today enables businesses all over the world, across industries, to be Customer First. The dunnhumby Customer Data Science Platform is our unique mix of technology, software and consulting, enabling businesses to increase revenue and profits by delivering exceptional experiences for their Customers - in-store, offline and online. dunnhumby employs over 2,500 experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas working for transformative, iconic brands such as Tesco, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Procter & Gamble, and Raley's. For more information, visit www.dunnhumby.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005482/en/

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Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Friday that he wishes to make public the sexual harassment complaint filed by Tara Reade, the woman who says he sexually assaulted her decades ago when she worked for him in the Senate.

Biden wrote to Secretary of the Senate Julie Adams requesting assistance in determining whether 27 years ago a staff member in my United States Senate office filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment.

I request that you take or direct whatever steps are necessary to establish the location of the records of this Office, and once they have been located, to direct a search for the alleged complaint and to make public the results of this search, the former vice president wrote.

I would ask that the public release include not only a complaint if one exists, but any and all other documents in the records that relate to the allegation, Bidens letter read.

New: Joe Biden writes a letter asking the Secretary of the Senate to take or direct whatever steps are necessary to locate the complaint by @ReadeAlexandra, and to publicly release it along with any and all other documents in the records that relate to the allegation. pic.twitter.com/tQcEd1SWI8  Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 1, 2020

Bidens letter added that the National Archives had informed him that the record, if it exists, would have remained with the Senate. He had originally said he believed such a record would be housed in the National Archives.

Reade went public with graphic details of her claim on March 25. She alleges that in 1993 when she was a staff assistant working for Biden, she was told by a top staffer to bring the Delaware senator a duffel bag in a Senate building. When she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her.

Story continues

In early April of last year, before he announced his run for the Democratic nomination, Reade alleged along with several other women that Biden had touched her inappropriately. She says she filed a complaint with a congressional personnel office that mentions sexual harassment she was subjected to by Biden but not the alleged assault.

Facing mounting pressure from both sides of the aisle to address the allegation directly, Biden appeared on MSNBC on Friday morning and denied the claims.

No, it is not true, Biden said. Im saying unequivocally it never, never happened.

More from National Review
For everyone managing a pension or investment fund, Shell's decision to slash its dividend by two-thirds and suspend promised share buybacks will be a profound shock.

The loss of 8billion of cash (over a full year) will put enormous pressure on trustees who depend on big oil to come through in troubled times.

It will seem all the more cruel in that BP, which is more heavily geared, chose in the first quarter to brave out Covid-19 and the oversupply of crude.

The loss of 8bn of cash (over a full year) from Shell cancelling its dividend will put enormous pressure on trustees who depend on big oil to come through in troubled times

This is a truly historic moment for Shell, with broker Bernstein pointing out that if this is a permanent cut, it will be the first since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Through the geopolitical turmoil of the last century, big oil had been a fixture of commercial life with the giants dominating stock market indexes until challenged by Silicon Valley.

The big question to pose about the action taken by Shell's chief executive Ben van Beurden is whether he is showing Dutch prudence, rejecting the gung-ho Anglo-Saxon model, or sending a fundamental message about carbon fuel.

Shell publicly has pledged to be a net-zero emissions company by 2050 and has set a up a panoply of management tools to achieve its goal.

Or could it be using the pandemic and the oversupply of energy to move that agenda forward more aggressively?

Looking at the underlying numbers there was no obvious reason why Shell should be punishing investors now.

Van Beurden has slashed capital spending and highlighted that the group has 32billion of cash and credit facilities to hand. It could almost certainly have maintained the payout without having to borrow.

Maybe Shell knows something about the future prospects for the crude price that rival BP doesn't. Alternatively, it is virtue signalling and wants to be seen as the Greta Thunberg of big oil.

Lame horse

The big surprise from the first quarter UK bank results so far is the scale of the bad loan provisions. At Lloyds the 'impairment'  as the banks like to call them  came in at 1.4billion, which explains why underlying profit tumbled 74 per cent to 558million.

The scale of the provisions, which have caught analysts on the hop, is largely due to regulatory and accounting changes after the financial crisis.

In 2007-09 the banks were slow to recognise bad loans and the true scale of the horror was not disclosed until later on when they were bailed out. In 2020 the banks are being encouraged to come clean up-front.

We can only imagine the scale of the damage that awaits the second quarter when Covid-19 (government loan guarantees or not) comes through strongly.

The main Bank of England concern about the provisions is that they are not overdone, undermining confidence in the banking system, when it is doing all in its power to maintain financial stability.

The Bank takes the view that the main lenders have the capacity to meet the needs of borrowers without damaging the safety of the system.

The release of capital buffers to bridge the 'Covid-chasm' should, on the Bank's calculus, allow an additional 190billion of lending if necessary.

The market should not obsess about capital ratios  which could fall dramatically from the standard 14 per cent  without putting the banks at risk or requiring a capital infusion.

The regulators want to see the banks do more to support business in its hour of need without turning a pandemic into a banking shock. It is an awkward tightrope to walk and shows why being a one-trick domestic, consumer-focused, banking pony, such as Lloyds, isn't necessarily the best place to be.

Clean heels

Durex may provide the sexiest headlines for Reckitt Benckiser's first quarter. But it is domestic hygiene and health which have come into their own in the age of Covid-19.

Even without Donald Trump's unwanted and dangerous free advertising, that most unfashionable of products, Dettol, was going great guns and chief executive Laxman Narasimhan is having to fire dormant production lines.

Health brands such as Mucinex cough syrup also are doing a roaring trade. Indeed, RB is outpacing global cleaning rivals Unilever and Procter & Gamble.

It is possible that in the first weeks of the pandemic, home stockpiling is stealing sales from the future. But judging from our own household purchases we have all rediscovered that cleanliness is next to godliness.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, at one point almost every U.S. state had imposed lockdown orders. Some states have begun to relax these orders and many others are considering easing their restrictions.

Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) analyzed the health and economic effects of states partially reopeninglifting emergency declarations, stay-at-home orders, and school closuresas well as fully reopening all of the above as well as businesses and restaurants. Assuming that any policy change would occur on May 1, 2020, we present resulting projections at the national level and for individual states.

At the national level, PWBM projects that:



If states do not reopen before June 30, cumulative national deaths due to coronavirus would rise to around 117,000 by June 30 (including deaths prior to May 1). GDP on June 30, 2020 would be 11.6 percent lower than GDP one year earlier (Year-Over-Year or YOY). About 18.6 million jobs would be lost between May 1 and June 30.

Partially reopening would cause 45,000 additional deaths by June 30, relative to not reopening. GDP on June 30 would increase by 1 percent, from an 11.6 percent YOY loss without reopening to a 10.7 YOY loss with partial reopening. About 4.4 million jobs would be saved, for a total of 14.0 million jobs lost between May 1 and June 30.

Fully reopening would lead to an additional 233,000 deaths by the end of June relative to not reopening. GDP on June 30 would increase by about 1.5 percentage points relative to not reopening. Almost all net job losses between May 1 and June 30 would be eliminated.

If, however, individuals see full reopening as a return to normal and as a result relax their own voluntary social distancing practicesbehaving in a manner consistent with Feb 1, 2020cumulative national deaths would reach 950,000 by June 30. Job losses would turn to a net positive of 4.1 million in jobs gained, erasing some of the job losses prior to May 1.

For more information and state-specific estimates, see the full PWBM coronavirus reopening simulator.

Media inquiries: Contact Wharton Media Relations, (communications@wharton.upenn.edu), +1 (215) 898-8036

About the Penn Wharton Budget Model

PWBM is a nonpartisan, independent applied research organization housed at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. PWBM works directly with policymakers and staff, serving as an honest broker by providing accurate, accessible, and transparent economic analysis of the fiscal and economic impact of public policy without advocacy. PWBMs estimates are regularly referenced by policymakers and top news outlets. For more information, visit https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/

About the Wharton School

Founded in 1881 as the worlds first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With a faculty of more than 235 renowned professors, Wharton has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Educations individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 99,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. For more information, visit http://www.wharton.upenn.edu.
The Gujarat government did not



hold any event in celebration of the 60th foundation day of the state on Friday in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

In his video message, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani urged the people to take a pledge on the state's foundation day that they will wear masks, practice social distancing and wash hands regularly to keep coronavirus at bay.

He urged the people to celebrate the day at home and called upon them to come together to defeat the virus.

Rupani also asked the people to upload their videos of taking pledge to fight COVID-19 on social media and share it with the hashtag 'VijaySankalp'.

In a video message, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel urged the people to come together and free Gujarat from the pandemic by observing social distancing norms and wearing masks.

Among many other leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the people of state on the occasion.

"Many congratulations to the people of Gujarat on the Foundation Day. People of Gujarat are known for their determination. Gujaratis gave their special contribution in many fields. I wish that Gujarat keeps achieving new milestones in the future too. Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat," he said.

Gujarat was carved out of Bombay State on this day in 1960.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PHILADELPHIA, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New data released today by PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) show projected COVID-19 cases by county based on when and how aggressively communities reopen non-essential businesses. Overall, the findings indicate that even our most densely populated cities have opportunities to begin safely reopening as temperatures riseif they take a measured approach.

The new data updates a model the researchers first released on April 22 and includes two additional weeks of information across the 211 counties with ongoing outbreaks that they are tracking. The updates reveal that weather is having a greater impact on the spread of COVID-19 than previously indicated. Rising temperatures appear to be reducing the risk for large second peaks of coronavirus cases during the summer in many locations, as long as communities remain cautious in their reopening strategies.

"The warming spring temperatures have made me more optimistic about our ability to manage transmission of this dangerous virus even in our country's hardest hit areas, as long as our communities are cautious and vigilant as they reopen," said Dr. David Rubin, director of PolicyLab at CHOP and a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "Still, for those living in areas where the forecasts from our models look good, we would warn against complacency. No matter where you live, our ability to safely return to normal activities depends on developing strong plans to safeguard workers and consumers, protecting each other in public by minimizing crowding and wearing protective masks, and by ensuring we have the capacity to test and identify new cases quickly and quarantine the sick."

The model, known as COVID-Lab: Mapping COVID-19 in Your Community, was developed by researchers at PolicyLab at CHOP and the University of Pennsylvania to track and project COVID-19 transmission across 260 U.S. counties (211 with active outbreaks). The new data forecast the number of coronavirus cases communities could experience over the next 120 days if they relax social distancing measures, defined by travel to non-essential businesses. The model illustrates four scenarios in which social distancing practice reduces from its current national average of 70%, back to either 50% or 33%, as compared to normal activity in February before the epidemic began. The model also considers two options for reopening: May 15 or June 1.

"While we're encouraged to see evidence that communities across our country could begin to safely reopen soon, our models are not yet able to project into the fall to forecast what a resurgence of cases could look like with a rise in cooling temperatures," said Dr. Gregory Tasian, faculty member at PolicyLab, assistant professor of Urology and Epidemiology and senior scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "Fall not only brings cooler weather, but the start of flu season, so every community will need to implement strategies to continue to protect those most vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19 and to reduce the risk of additional widespread outbreaks."

Utilizing data from a variety of publicly available sources, the researchers built their model to observe how social distancing, population density, and daily temperatures affect the number and spread of COVID-19 infections over time across a county, accounting for population characteristics, such as age, insurance status and smoking prevalence. The model shows that social distancing policies, population density and temperature are all important factors in the spread of COVID-19, with social distancing being the strongest predictor. The team will continue updating the model based on policy changes and mitigation strategies that counties make to forecast viral transmission well into fall and winter when they anticipate more counties will have significant outbreaks. The data are publicly available in the form of interactive maps and graphs, here: https://policylab.chop.edu/covid-lab-mapping-covid-19-your-community

"What's unique about our model is that we built it with the underlying assumption that every community is uniquely experiencing the impacts of COVID-19," said Dr. Jing Huang, faculty member at PolicyLab at CHOP, assistant professor of biostatistics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, and a senior scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "Local data will be the most important tool we have to make informed decisions about how to protect workers and families as we lift shelter-in-place directives and begin to define our new normal."

About PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is dedicated to achieving optimal child health and well-being by informing program and policy changes through interdisciplinary research. Founded in 2008, PolicyLab is a Center of Emphasis within the CHOP Research Institute, one of the largest pediatric research institutes in the country. With more than 30 highly regarded faculty and 60 passionate staff who bring expertise from myriad of fields covering health, research and health policy, our work focuses on improving public systems, improving health care delivery and improving child health outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.policylab.chop.edu .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lauren Walens, Strategic Ops & Comms Director

PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

[email protected] or (734) 904-2181

SOURCE PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 25 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces were using sniper rifles and mortars of different calibers.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) will discuss COVID-19 updates today during its previously scheduled first quarter 2020 earnings call.

COVID-19 Stage 1 assumptions have been updated based on April visibility, 2020 Ongoing Earnings Guidance affirmed based on Stage 1 impacts

PNM to file in May for decoupling in lieu of the planned general rate review

Q1 2020 Earnings Results remain unchanged from April 13, 2020 preliminary earnings report

COVID-19 UPDATES

The company continues to monitor load trends during COVID-19 and has made adjustments to the projected impacts to load by customer class based on April activity. Stage 1 continues to assume that these expectations carry through May and fall within guidance, while Stage 2 carries these assumptions through July and guidance could possibly be at risk.

As a result, management affirmed its 2020 consolidated ongoing earnings guidance of $2.16 to $2.26 per diluted share. On the call, management will also review liquidity, rate base and earnings growth targets and other long-term business fundamentals that remain intact.

KEY REGULATORY UPDATES

Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) has announced that it is deferring its general rate review planned for the second quarter of 2020 in response to the challenges that COVID-19 has created for customers.

Instead, PNM plans to file a full decoupling proposal in May 2020 for residential and small commercial customers. This change better aligns customer non-fuel charges with the associated fixed costs of the system providing electricity service.

PNM joined other New Mexico utilities in filing a request on April 27, 2020 with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for the deferral of incremental COVID-19 related costs to a regulatory asset that will be included for recovery in a future rate review.

Q1 2020 EARNINGS RESULTS

The company reports no changes to its first quarter 2020 earnings results previously reported on a preliminary basis on April 13, 2020:

PNM Resources (In millions, except EPS)



Q1 2020 Q1 2019 GAAP net earnings (loss)

attributable to PNM Resources ($15.3) $18.7 GAAP diluted EPS ($0.19) $0.23 Ongoing net earnings $14.2 $9.0 Ongoing diluted EPS $0.18 $0.11

FIRST QUARTER CONFERENCE CALL: 11 A.M. EASTERN FRIDAY, MAY 1

PNM Resources will discuss these items during a live conference call and webcast on Friday, May 1st at 11 a.m. Eastern. Speaking on the call will be Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources chairman, president and CEO, Chuck Eldred, PNM Resources executive vice president, corporate development and finance and Don Tarry, PNM Resources senior vice president and CFO. Supporting materials for the call will be available ahead of time on the company's website at http://www.pnmresources.com/investors/results.cfm.

A live webcast of the call will be archived at http://www.pnmresources.com/investors/events.cfm .

Listeners are encouraged to visit the website at least 30 minutes before the event to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

Investors and analysts can participate in the live conference call by pre-registering using the following link to receive a special dial-in number and PIN: http://dpregister.com/10142356. Telephone participants who are unable to pre-register may participate in the live conference call by dialing (877) 276-8648 or (412) 317-5474 fifteen minutes prior to the event and referencing "the PNM Resources first quarter conference call".

Background:

PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) is an energy holding company based in Albuquerque, N.M., with 2019 consolidated operating revenues of $1.5 billion. Through its regulated utilities, PNM and TNMP, PNM Resources has approximately 2,761 megawatts of generation capacity and provides electricity to more than 790,000 homes and businesses in New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit the company's website at www.PNMResources.com.

CONTACTS:

Analysts Media Lisa Goodman Ray Sandoval (505) 241-2160 (505) 241-2782

COVID-19 Impacts

The company cannot predict the extent or duration of the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, nor its effects on the global, national or local economy, including the impacts on the company's ability to access capital, or its effects on the company's financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. As previously reported in our Form 8-K on March 30, 2020, the company issued materials that discussed potential impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic under different planning scenarios, including consolidated earnings guidance.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements made in this news release for PNM Resources, Inc. ("PNMR"), Public Service Company of New Mexico ("PNM"), or Texas-New Mexico Power Company ("TNMP") (collectively, the "Company") that relate to future events or expectations, projections, estimates, intentions, goals, targets, and strategies are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that all forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and estimates. PNMR, PNM, and TNMP assume no obligation to update this information. Because actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, PNMR, PNM, and TNMP caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. PNMR's, PNM's, and TNMP's business, financial condition, cash flow, and operating results are influenced by many factors, which are often beyond their control, that can cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of risk factors and other important factors affecting forward-looking statements, please see the Company's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q filings and the information included in the Company's Forms 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which factors are specifically incorporated by reference herein.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. Ongoing earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes the impact of net unrealized mark-to-market gains and losses on economic hedges, the net change in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities, pension expense related to previously disposed of gas distribution business, and certain non-recurring, infrequent, and other items that are not indicative of fundamental changes in the earnings capacity of the Company's operations. The Company uses ongoing earnings and ongoing earnings per diluted share (or ongoing diluted earnings per share) to evaluate the operations of the Company and to establish goals, including those used for certain aspects of incentive compensation, for management and employees. While the Company believes these financial measures are appropriate and useful for investors, they are not measures presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company does not intend for these measures, or any piece of these measures, to represent any financial measure as defined by GAAP. Furthermore, the Company's calculations of these measures as presented may or may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company uses ongoing earnings guidance to provide investors with management's expectations of ongoing financial performance over the period presented. While the Company believes ongoing earnings guidance is an appropriate measure, it is not a measure presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company does not intend for ongoing earnings guidance to represent an expectation of net earnings as defined by GAAP. Since the future differences between GAAP and ongoing earnings are frequently outside the control of the Company, management is generally not able to estimate the impact of the reconciling items between forecasted GAAP net earnings and ongoing earnings guidance, nor their probable impact on GAAP net earnings without unreasonable effort, therefore, management is generally not able to provide a corresponding GAAP equivalent for ongoing earnings guidance. Reconciliations between GAAP and ongoing earnings are contained in schedules 1-2 of Exhibit 99.1 of the Company's preliminary earnings report on April 13, 2020.

SOURCE PNM Resources, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.pnmresources.com


President Donald Trump on Friday refused to comment on reports out of North Korea that leader Kim Jong Un made a public appearance amid rumors the dictator was seriously ill or deceased.

'I'd rather not comment on it yet,' the president said as he left to spend the weekend at Camp David. 'We'll have something to say about it at the appropriate time.'

And when asked if Kim was alive Trump said: 'I don't want to talk about it.'

President Donald Trump on Friday refused to comment on reports out of North Korea that leader Kim Jong Un made a public appearance

State media reported Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory

State media reported Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory - the first time state media has reported him making a public appearance since speculation about his health began last month.

Kim 'attended the ceremony' on Friday and 'all the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!'' when he appeared, the Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported on him inspecting fighter jets at an air defence unit.

Trump has been cryptic in his comments when asked about how Kim is doing.

The North Korean leader hasn't been seen in public in nearly three weeks and is been rumored to be dead, alive, or in a vegetative state.

'I understand what is going on, I cannot just talk about him right now, just hoping that everything will be fine. But I do understand the situation very well,' Trump said Thursday at the White House.

President Donald Trump continued his series of cryptic comments on the health and well-being of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un

Kim has been rumored to be dead or alive or in vegetative state; he was last seen above on April 11

President Trump and Kim Jong Un have become close; the two met in June 2019 at the Demilitarized Zone

Trump, the first American president to met with a North Korean leader, has a warm relationship with Kim, who he has met with twice. The leaders have also exchanged letters and Trump, at point, said he 'fell in love' with Kim.

But now the dictator's medical condition is unknown, raising questions about the stability of government in Pyongyang and the security of the country's nuclear weapons.

Trump has remained coy about what he knows.

'I can't tell you exactly. Yes I do have a very good idea,' Trump responded when asked about it. 'But I can't talk about it. I just wish him well. I've had a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un,' he said earlier this week at a press conference.

North Korea is a difficult country for intelligence agencies to penetrate given its police state and near isolation from the rest of the world.

South Korea's government has said Kim is alive and is handling state affairs normally at an unspecified site outside the capital. But the country hasn't cited its sources.

Speculation concerning Kim's health began to gain momentum after he failed to turn up at the celebration of his grandfather's birthday on April 13, one of the country's biggest calendar events.

It marks the first time he has ever missed the celebration.

There has been much speculation to what happened, including he had complications after heart surgery or was suffering from the coronavirus.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

TamaleFit and Fitness Centre in Tamale in the Northern region has fed over 1,000 vulnerable people in the Northern Region.

The beneficiaries who live around the Tamale metropolis received bags of rice, oil, tomatoes and other ingredients to support them through the covid-19 pandemic era.

TamaleFit assisted the vulnerable in society due to the hardship during the covid-19 pandemic era which has greatly affected businesses across the globe.

As part of the companys corporate social responsibility, TamaleFit decided to support the vulnerable and needy in society.

The Chief Executive Officer of TamaleFit, Joseph Tiibe notes that the most affected in the Covid-19 are women and children in the society which motivated the company to stretch a helping to them.

 most of our mothers in the region are traders and they work in the various markets but due to covid-19 they cant even make GH 5 a whole day in the scorching sun and thats sad and they need to survive . He said

He indicated that the world is battling the deadly Covid19 pandemic that has brought the world to a standstill and has led to a decline in commercial activities and called for individuals, organizations and institution to come to the aid of the vulnerable in society.

Mr. Tiibe assured that the company will support more vulnerable people in the region as and when the opportunity comes.

Established a year ago, the centre has fast become the best fitness facility providing mainly physiotherapy through its well equipped modern gym facilities.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg today launched a child rights driven campaign with Danish NGO Human Act to support UNICEFs efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and protect children from its direct and knock-on consequences. These include food shortages, strained healthcare systems, violence and lost education.

Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child-rights crisis, said Thunberg. It will affect all children, now and in the long-term, but vulnerable groups will be impacted the most. Im asking everyone to step up and join me in support of UNICEFs vital work to save children's lives, to protect health and continue education.

The campaign is being launched with an initial donation on behalf of Human Act and the Greta Thunberg Foundation to UNICEF of $200,000. Greta Thunberg was recently awarded for her global activism by Human Act who granted her foundation the prize money of $100,000. This sum will now go to UNICEF along with an additional $100,000 from Human Act.

The time is now, there isnt a day to lose. We must unite together in this fight.



Thank you @GretaThunberg and Human Act for supporting our COVID-19 response.



Join Greta and help vulnerable children and families today.   UNICEF (@UNICEF) April 30, 2020

Proceeds from the campaign will go directly towards UNICEFs emergency programmes to fight COVID-19, including through the provision of soap, masks, gloves, hygiene kits, protective equipment, life-saving information and other support to healthcare systems.

A report issued this month by the United Nations warned that children risk being among the biggest victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. While children have been largely spared from the direct health effects of the disease up to this point, the crisis is having a profound effect on their overall wellbeing. All children, of all ages and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by the mitigation measures implemented to stem the spread of the disease.

UNICEFs global COVID-19 response focuses on working with partners to help reduce the transmission of the virus and mitigate its impact on children while ensuring that essential services for children continue. This includes:

Ensuring access and availability of key supplies and services for children, women and vulnerable populations.

Scaling up messages about handwashing with soap.

Supporting governments with the procurement of personal protective equipment for health care workers, including gowns, gloves and masks as well as oxygen concentrators and medicines.

Supporting distance learning opportunities for children who cant access school.

Providing mental health and psychosocial support to children and families affected.

Helping maintain essential immunization and other services for children.

The coronavirus pandemic is the greatest struggle the world has seen in generations, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. Children and young people are among the most severely impacted by the knock-on effects of COVID-19, so it is only natural that they would want to do something about it. Through her activism, Greta Thunberg has proven that young people are ready to take a stand and lead change in the world. UNICEF is very pleased that Greta and her supporters have not only chosen to take a stand against this pandemic, but to do so in partnership with UNICEF.
By Stuart Rabner

Each May 1, Law Day programs are held throughout the country. They highlight the importance of the rule of law and the critical role courts play in our democratic society.

To give meaning to those ideals, citizens must have access to the court system. But that is being tested as we celebrate Law Day this year.

When COVID-19 drew attention earlier in the year, the State Judiciary took steps to prepare for the looming crisis. We knew it would not be possible to protect the public and court employees if thousands of people continued to come to courthouses each day. So we consulted with the Department of Health. We then cut back on in-person proceedings like jury trials and other events in early March.

We also made a decision early on that the court system needed to function not just for emergencies but also for countless other proceedings the public depends on. Victims of domestic violence and newly arrested defendants cannot wait for months to appear before a judge. The same is true for civil litigants struggling to get relief and people fighting to protect their constitutional rights.

Because of recent changes to the criminal justice system, courts in New Jersey began to conduct remote proceedings on Saturdays in 2017. We built on that experience and quickly extended virtual proceedings to civil, family, and corporate disputes.

We first needed to ensure that judges and staff could use different technology platforms and conduct proceedings remotely. With that in mind, we effectively closed the courts for two days in mid-March so that IT experts could train judges one by one -- more than 400 altogether -- on how to operate technology unfamiliar to them and run court events from their homes.

Since the end of March, about 95% of judges and staff have been working from home. And they are working. Using Zoom, Scopia, Microsoft Teams, and Polycom, the court system conducted more than 17,500 court events involving more than 128,000 participants from March 16 through April.

Although not all proceedings can be handled remotely, judges are hearing motions and appeals, hosting conferences, and trying to resolve disputes -- just as they did before the pandemic. They are also presiding over other important events.

A judge performed a wedding outside of the courthouse while observing social distancing, to help ensure medical coverage for a newly married spouse with cancer. A couple in New Hampshire that could not travel to New Jersey adopted a baby boy during a virtual proceeding -- one of many such adoptions. A court employee who could not leave Puerto Rico has been providing interpreting services for child protection hearings from her parents house. And probation and pretrial services officers have been diligently monitoring defendants while taking essential safety precautions. In short, thanks to the creativity, professionalism, and obvious determination of staff and judges, New Jerseys justice system has been up and running during this crisis.

Weve also begun to resume work in other areas. Some municipal courts started hearing cases remotely last week, and more will be doing so on May 11. In addition, were exploring ways to conduct virtual grand jury proceedings, working together with the Attorney General, the Public Defender, and a group of stakeholders. The cooperation of lawyers, in general, has helped make the transition to a virtual court system more effective.

On Law Day and every day, courts are essential to our society. For that simple reason, we will continue to do our best to promote access to justice and the rule of law -- and serve the public at this challenging time.

Stuart Rabner is the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

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Casey Anthony may have been found not guilty in the death of her two-year-old daughter Caylee, but she's pleaded guilty to a traffic violation.

Anthony, 34, who was accused in 2008 of killing her daughter but squeezed her way out of justice's net, was charged with speeding in Palm Beach County.

This time, she pleaded guilty, and for her honesty she was charged $256, which she paid on time.

According to a copy of the ticket obtained by DailyMail.com, Anthony was at the wheel of her lightning blue 2016 Ford Escape around 9.30am January 25. She was going 69 mph in a 50 mph-zone.

Casey Anthony was pulled over for going 69 mph in a 50mph zone in her blue Ford Escape around 9.30am on January 25

According to court records obtained by DailyMail.com, Anthony pleaded guilty in writing and paid a $256 fine

Anthony was traveling on Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, not too far from the county jail, when she was caught on the laser-powered radar of Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputy David Varone.

According to court records, she pleaded guilty in writing and sent a check to pay for her fine.

Varone didn't return calls and texts requesting his comment.

Anthony moved to West Palm Beach, within view of President Donald Trump's Palm Beach residence, shortly after a jury in Orlando found her not guilty of killing her daughter.

She moved in with Pat McKenna, the private investigator who worked on her defense team and helped clear O.J. Simpson of double murder in 1995.

Anthony has been working for McKenna's agency and reportedly tried to launch a career in photography.

While she started appearing in public more frequently, including at local festivals, bars, restaurants, gyms and even anti-Trump protests, Anthony has continued to shun the limelight.

The speeding ticket was her second traffic ticket in just over a year. In November 2018, she was nailed for going through a stop sign without stopping in the tiny town of Lake Clarke Shores, also in Palm Beach County.

She pleaded guilty in that case at first, according to court records, but then changed to no contest. She attended on-line driving school and paid a $264-fine when the traffic magistrate withheld adjudication, allowing her to keep all her points on her license.

Even if the court records don't reflect it, chances are she lost three points and her car insurance premiums increased with the speeding plea.

Anthony didn't return calls and texts for comment.

She's been living in West Palm Beach since a jury found her not guilty of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee

Anthony was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to law enforcement for her refusal to help police find Caylee

Anthony became a household name in the summer of 2008 when her daughter Caylee, who was about to turn three, was reported missing by her grandmother.

For four harrowing months, authorities and volunteers searched the Orlando area for Caylee.

In time, a cadaver dog picked up the little girl's scent in the trunk of Anthony's car. And, despite authorities not recovering a body, a grand jury indicted Anthony on capital murder and other charges.

Caylee's skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area near Casey's house in December 2008 after a meter reader alerted authorities.

It took more than two years to bring the case to trial as Anthony remained in jail. She faced the death penalty.

The circus-like trial was broadcast live on national networks. Prosecutors portrayed Anthony as a party girl who preferred getting drunk and high over taking care her child. They also established she lied to authorities during the search for the toddler.

But in the end, in July 2011, a jury of seven women and five men deliberated for 10 hours and 40 minutes before handing down a verdict of not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Anthony, however, was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to law enforcement for her refusal to help police find Caylee. Antony originally claimed Caylee vanished with a babysitter.

After the trial, Anthony moved in with Pat McKenna (pictured) the private investigator who worked on her defense team and helped clear O.J. Simpson of double murder in 1995

Anthony has been working for McKenna's agency and reportedly tried to launch a career in photography

Anthony was sentenced to time served.

In an interview three years ago, Anthony admitted she lied to police about working at Universal Studios, the babysitter, telling two people that Caylee was missing and receiving a phone call from Caylee the day before she was reported missing.

In January, Anthony won the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed against her by Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found Caylee's remains.

Kronk sued because he claimed Anthony's defense team engineered a smear campaign against him.

In a 2017 interview, Anthony addressed her status as pariah.

'I don't give a s--- about what anyone thinks about me, I never will,' she said. 'I'm OK with myself, I sleep pretty good at night.'
By Peter Roff



After the COVID-19 crisis ends, an enterprising business student could make quite a name for themselves by looking at the role the U.S. telecommunications industry played in helping Americans through the pandemic. It's quite a story and it needs to be told.



Consider where we'd be if it weren't for the phone, cable and satellite companies keeping us connected. The rapid migration online included everything from the classroom to the doctor's office, demonstrating America's resilience and resourcefulness. The internet is where we're going to see our families, order vital supplies, stay up to date on the latest advisories, and remain plugged into civilization.



It's a good thing the internet is an American product, governed largely by American ideals. If, say, the Chinese were in charge, the official response to the crisis might have restricted access to the web or shut it down completely.



However, in the face of this threat, mobile devices will also play just as important a role as the networks that connect them. Because the vast majority are manufactured elsewhere, it will be up to the U.S. International Trade Commission to preserve access to mobile devices and smartphones other than those offered by Chinese companies.



Whether the net remains free and open depends on many factors. The People's Republic of China has an unfair advantage in the global race to 5G as it has, through its Huawei subsidiary, developed technologies it is trying to force the rest of the world to adopt. And if they end up dominant, it would be a clear and present danger to the future of global commerce and the free flow of information.



The Commerce Department is in the process of finalizing regulations aimed at limiting American firm's sale of chips to Huawei, and the Justice Department has charged them with conspiracy. But that's only a start. What's needed is a government-wide effort to blunt the impact of Huawei's global efforts to make it the provider of choice for the rest of the world's 5G needs.



American consumers must maintain their access to the latest smartphones and tablets manufactured by companies other than Huawei. But an obscure Irish company called Neodron, which has recently filed patent complaints with the ITC, could make that difficult, if not impossible.



Neodron, which is backed by some of the same people who brought us the mortgage securities financial crisis, has filed two complaints with the ITC alleging that virtually every non-Chinese smartphone and tablet maker  Apple, Amazon, Motorola, LG, and Samsung, among others  is infringing on patents related to touchscreens. And, since the commission's sole remedy would be an exclusion order, the result would be a ban on the import of all devices found to be infringing on the patents at issue.



That means over 90 percent of all smartphones and over 90 percent of all tablets would be banned from the U.S. market. Virtually the only device manufacturers left would be Chinese companies. They'd have not only unprecedented access to American markets, but control over them. And, as we've seen over the past several months as the COVID-19 virus has spread, they are not to be trusted.



It's critical to both short- and long-term U.S. economic and national security that the ITC dismisses the Neodron complaint. The U.S. government has no business giving away to our potential enemy the kind of strategic advantage that we could never get back. They're bad actors on the world stage, operating by their own set of rules when it suits them and not at all interested in being good global citizens.



China is out to dominate every aspect of the world economy, and we'd be foolish to let that happen.





Peter Roff (RoffColumns@gmail.com) is a senior fellow at Frontiers of Freedom and a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. His commentary was distributed by Cagle Cartoons Inc.


115 new cases of coronavirus were



reported in Pune district since Thursday night, taking the total number of cases to 1,815, a health official said on Friday.

With seven deaths of COVID-19 patients reported on Friday, the death toll has now reached 99 in the district.

"In Pune municipal limits, a total of 102 new cases of infection were reported, taking the city's total to 1,607.

"In Pimpri Chinchwad, with no new cases, number of COVID-19 cases stood at 113," the official added.

In rural Pune and Pune Cantonment area the number has gone up to 95 with 13 more cases, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When rescuers found Frankie living under a house in the Melbourne suburb of Geelong, they saw that his right eye was deformed, and even more amazingly, in addition to his normal, pointy cat ears, he had an extra set of smaller ears, as well.

The unusual 10-week-old kitten was found along with his brother, and they were both brought to the Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS) for assessment and treatment. The unconventional-looking kitten was given the name Frankenkitten, or Frankie for short.

One of the shelter volunteers, Georgia Anderson, soon became enamored with Frankie. He would have been in a lot of pain, but the first thing he did when I picked him up was purr and rub his face on mine, she told The Dodo. I told the girls in the vet clinic that I would foster him for recovery after his eye removal.

Besides the pain from his eye operation, Frankies prognosis looked positive, provided that he could get some downtime in a safe place, which is exactly what Anderson was able to provide.

Ive probably fostered around 80 cats and kittens in the last year, Anderson added. In addition to all those that have found temporary refuge at her house, Anderson also has three cats of her own: Toothless, Mina, and Lucius Malfoy, as well as a rescued beagle named Dudley. At first, her plan for Frankie was just to give him a place to recuperate.

When I got him home, he was very dopey and in pain, but still had so much love and affection for me, the kids and other animals, she said. By the next morning, Id decided that I wanted to keep him. Seeing the way he fit perfectly into her house (four ears, one eye, and all), Anderson couldnt help but give him a forever home.

As for Frankies special anatomical featurehis extra set of earsthey appear to be a genetic abnormality. Cats presenting with 4 ears have typically only been found in feral cat populations, so the main theory is that it is a result of long-term multigenerational inbreeding, Anderson explained via Facebook. Frankies extra ears do affect his directional hearing ability somewhat but dont seem to cause many other problems. In addition to eye trouble, though, Frankie has other issues, such as problems with his hind leg, intellectual disabilities, and not least of all, his teeth.

None of this seems to affect his playing, as he is constantly tearing around the house, Anderson adds. Her three other foster cats have provided an excellent social environment that Frankie quickly made himself part of. He is often seen zooming around the house with his siblings, and he loves rough-and-tumble play, according to Anderson.

(Courtesy of Frankenkitten) Frankie has also gained a huge following online with adorable pictures of him on Facebook and Instagram. In addition, hes also created a special bond with his human brother, Andersons son Arthur. Theyre great together, she told the Geelong Advertiser. Above all, Anderson doesnt want people to see Frankie as an object of pity or as a disabled cat. As she posted on his Instagram account, Never, ever feel sorry for me. I am a HAPPY cat. Frankies human mom hopes that his story will encourage others to take a chance on pets that might look a little different on the outside but have a lot of love and life inside of them.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has expressed fears of a possible constitutional crisis if the country fails to combat the COVID-19 pandemic before the December 7 elections.

According to him, the 1992 constitution does not provide clarity on who should steer the affairs of the nation if the sitting Presidents tenure expires in unforeseen circumstances.

He made this observation in Parliament today, Thursday, April 30, 2020.

The President has assured that he does not want to go even one day beyond the constitutional mandate that he has to administer the affairs of this country. So, Mr. Speaker, we all have to look at the Electoral Commission to put in the required measures towards the conduct of the election because, the constitution as we all recognize is a bit ambivalent beyond January 7, 2020, when elections cannot be conducted or even in the case of any force Majeure who should be the President.

The conduct of the December 7, 2020 polls remains uncertain given that many of the electoral activities in the build-up to the polls have been put on hold until further notice as a result of the pandemic.

While many continue to cast doubts on the ability of the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new voters' register ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, several others have already begun looking into the practicalities of some constitutional provisions to be considered for the present situation.

However, Mr. Mensah Bonsu who doubles as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs has said the current situation in terms of lapses in the constitution calls for more drastic measures.

There is a bit of some lacuna except to say that for Parliament that in case of any emergence, provision is made and expressed under the constitution on how the life of Parliament is extended by one year in any event not more than four years everything by 12 months. In that period, who becomes the Head of State?

Is it the Speaker in the absence of the President and Vice President, that is a bit troubling to us as a nation. In any event, the same constitution provides that when the speaker acts as President within three months, there should be the conduct of an election to elect a President. So there is a bit of conflicting situation in the constitution. So Mr. Speaker until all of us agree on something else, noting responsible could be done so I hope that the appropriate thing is done.

CJ can't take over as President if COVID-19 hampers 2020 elections

Aside from the legal and constitutional arguments that have been advanced to minimize the risk and political implication of holding or cancelling the election in the face of the outbreak, there is a school of thought that believes that the Chief Justice as head of the Judiciary could rise to the helm of affairs as President.

But, renowned media practitioner and Host of Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere, has ruled out any possibility of the Chief Justice ascending to the highest office of the presidency in case there is no general election due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus in Ghana.

He has explained how impossible that option would be since it has no grounds in the country's legal framework.

He clarified that: We will not get there with the issue about the Chief Justice. It is fundamental to explain that in terms of hierarchy, that is the most important people of the state, there is a President, Vice President, Speaker of Parliament and Chief Justice. The law does not actually contemplate the Chief Justice running the show as President because the law provides for what the Vice President does under circumstances for him to perform the functions of the President. It also provides under what circumstances it brings the Speaker.

Election 2020 in limbo?

The Electoral Commission suspended its planned compilation of new voters' register because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It was initially scheduled for April 18, 2020, but no new date has since been announced.

The EC has said it wants to ensure that the register that is used on the election day is more credible and efficient than the existing one hence the need for a new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS).

The move for the new register has however been met with opposition from key political stakeholders, including the main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The President's ban on all public gatherings, conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, religious activities included political rallies and all other related events as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Already, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has suspended its April 25, 2020, parliamentary primaries indefinitely amidst the COVID-19 scare.

---citinewsroom
A rucksack containing an amplifying signal device was seized from Muntean

A Moldovan 'burglary tourist' was jailed for ten months after travelling to the UK to steal luxury keyless cars, including a 37,000 BMW, using high-tech devices.

Vadim Muntean, 31, was arrested at the wheel of his Mazda after a policeman patrolling an affluent suburb in Cheshire following a spate of burglaries saw him and an accomplice in the area.

The officer seized a rucksack from Muntean which contained an amplifying signal device which can help users steal cars without keys, a tracker jamming device so the vehicle cannot be tracked once stolen plus a GPS system.

Vadim Muntean, 31, was caught with high-tech devices used to steal keyless cars. File photo shows two relay boxes - the larger white box and smaller blue box work together, showing a real-time communication between the two when both lights are live

His phone was also found to contain messages identifying several vehicles and their registration numbers including a BMW worth 37,000.

Further inquiries revealed Muntean had arrived in the UK a week before the incident and it is thought he was planning to return to his native Moldova following the vehicle thefts.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Muntean was jailed for ten months and his accomplice Semion Lazur, 28, who lives in a serviced apartment in Crumpsall was locked up for eight months after both admitted being equipped for theft. Both face being deported following their release.

The arrests occurred on October 30 last year after the pair were spotted loitering in a cul-de-sac in the upmarket suburban village of Woodford.

Keyless cars are targeted by tech-savvy criminals who can gain access in as little as 20 seconds. Graphic illustrates two thieves using relay boxes to unlock a vehicle (file photo)

Prosecutor Julian King said: 'An officer had been on mobile patrol in an affluent housing estate where houses are expensive and where expensive cars are parked along the residential driveways.

'An officer saw a blue Mazda and spoke to the occupants. Mr Lazur was in the front passengers seat and Mr Muntean was driving.

What is an amplifying signal device? An amplifier device can increase the power of a signal. It works by picking up the low frequency wireless signal that locked cars regularly emit to detect when their owners fob is near. The device re-transmits that signal at a higher frequency through a separate laptop-sized device, which can send it across much longer distances. That allows the laptop-sized device to silently connect with the actual key fob, creating a long-distance bridge that connects it to the car. The real fob then replies to a series of challenge/response security messages to verify its authenticity, and then the car unlocks. Advertisement

'The officer asked what they were doing and they said they had come to see a mate. They appeared to be agitated and the officer told Mr Muntean to switch the ignition off.

'The officer then opened a rucksack and found the devices at which they appeared even more agitated and were arrested.

'Mr Muntean's phone contained messages identifying several vehicles registration numbers including a BMW worth 37,000.

'When arrested they both denied wrongdoing at interview. Mr Lazure said he had settled in the UK in 2016 and Mr Muntean said he had arrived just a week before the incident.

'He claimed Mr Lazure told him to drive to the estate and that he didn't know what was in the rucksack. He denied being involved in attempted burglary and said he had been visiting a friend.

'Neither have previous convictions in the UK or abroad.'

In mitigation for Muntean, defence lawyer James Preece said: 'He asks me to say he is really sorry for the offending and is remorseful.'

Passing sentence, Judge John Potter said: 'You were both on a housing estate planning a serious of burglaries and thefts of motor vehicles.

'As a consequence police started a surveillance operation on the estate. In the early hours a police officer was on the estate conducting observations.

'He saw a blue Mazda and was suspicious of the manner in which it was being driven. He stopped it and asked you both a succession of questions to which you both provided untruthful answers and appeared agitated.

How does a tracker jamming device work? Jammers have numerous antennas that can jam mobile phone signals, as well as GPS signals. Different antennas are used for different bands of frequencies to be jammed. They can intercept tracking systems used to detect stolen vehicles. Low cost jammers can be vehicle mounted or via an extra power socket, or powered with a rechargeable battery. Source: SENTINEL report Advertisement

'They then searched the vehicle and found a rucksack, and in it there was a relay system and signal blocker used for the theft of high-performance cars.

'They also found your phones and an examination of them revealed suspicious activity by both of you suggesting you were trying to steal cars.

'The cars being targeted were fitted with tracking systems which the items in the rucksack were designed to block.

'You planned to go to this housing estate, choose a high-performance motor vehicle and use the equipment to steal it, no doubt for significant financial gain.

'This is serious dishonest behaviour with the potential to cause serious harm to the car owners you would have stolen from.

'At police interview you both told the police a pack of lies.

'There was high culpability as you were acting together, and there was sophistication and a degree of planning. The prison will liaise with the Home Office and you may be deported upon release if you do not have the right to remain here.'




Nigeria Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, has begged Nigerians to give-out their building to be used as isolation centers for COVID-19 patients.

Naija News Understands that the health minister made this known t during the press briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja earlier today .

According to Ehanire, the nation isnt running out of space just yet. However, he believes it is important to let people know in the event that the nation runs out of isolation centres.

I have appealed to citizens to make their property available temporarily for this purpose. There are many property owners who will come up and donate to state governments for a period of time to be used for this function. We are not out of space now but we are making the appeal ahead of time so that we have these facilities ready.

Naija news however recalls that Lawmakers at the Lower Chamber of the National assembly has called on the Presidential Task Force Chairman, Boss Mustapha, and its committee to present themselves over strange deaths in Kano.

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A journalist who had worked for some of China's most powerful propaganda outlets has been jailed for 15 years after being accused of attacking the ruling Communist Party, a court has ruled.

Chen Jieren, a former editor-in-chief in the People's Daily group, is said to have posted a series of 'false', 'negative' and 'slanderous' articles about officials on his social media accounts since 2015.

He then used the influence of his reports to extorted large sums of money from the officials, a regional court alleged in a statement yesterday.

A picture released by the court of Guiyang county in China's Hunan province shows Chen Jieren (centre) attending the trial on Thursday with two other defendants, including his brother

China's state broadcaster CCTV aired a 17-minute programme in August, 2018, to list Chen's alleged crimes. The programme also showed Chen apparently confessing to his wrongdoings

The news comes as China faces international scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including questions over whether authorities covered up crucial information that could have prevented it spreading globally.

A number of high-profile activists, including two citizen journalists, have disappeared or been detained for criticising Beijing's response to the crisis amid an escalating crackdown on non-state-approved reports.

Chen's sentence is one of the harshest moves yet against free speech by China's government under President Xi Jinping, who has muzzled the press and ordered Chinese media outlets to serve the interests of the ruling Communist Party.

Chen was born to a farming family in the southern province of Hunan and went to the Law School of Tsinghua, one of China' most distinguished universities.

He served several key posts in the Chinese state-run media groups, including the editor-in-chief role of People's Forum magazine under Communist mouthpiece People's Daily.

He was sacked by People's Daily while working as the editor-in-chief of a provincial sub-channel in 2011 for 'dishing out too much criticism against the government' and 'serving as an informant for the US', according to Voice of America.

Chen's sentence is one of the harshest moves yet against free speech by China's government under President Xi Jinping (pictured in 2018), who has muzzled the press and ordered Chinese media outlets to serve the interests of the ruling Communist Party

Chen worked for several Chinese state-run media outlets including the People's Daily. The picture shows an area of Beijing, where the People's Daily's headquarters is situated

Chen and his family were detained by police in June, 2018, on suspicion of blackmailing and carrying out illegal business, according to US-based Chinese news site Radio Free Asia.

According to the article, it was suspected that his detention was related to several articles he had published, which accused an official in Hunan of gross misconduct and malfeasance on the post.

In August that year, state-run Xinhua News Agency listed several alleged crimes Chen had committed in a lengthy report that branded him as an 'internet pest'.

The report accused Chen of running a family-style online criminal gang with an 'evil' nature.

Citing police, Xinhua said Chen had set up 21 accounts on social media platforms including Weibo and Toutiao.

It is said he had used these accounts to publish more than 3,000 negative articles and his fabricated reports had sparked more than 200 cases involving negative public opinions.

On Thursday, Chen was convicted of 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, illegal business operations and bribery', a court in central Hunan province said in a statement posted online.

The charge of 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble' is a catch-all that Chinese authorities sometimes use against people who criticise the regime.

The court statement said Chen had posted 'false' and 'negative' information online 'to hype relevant cases under the guise of providing legal advice.'

It said Chen was part of an 'evil force' along with his ex-wife and three other people that illegally accrued 7.3 million yuan (822,000, $1 million) from their activities.

The news comes amid an escalating crackdown from the Chinese government on non-state-approved reports during the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing has faced criticism over its handling of the outbreak, including punishing whistleblowers and detaining activists

The Chinese Human Rights Defenders watchdog said Chen was convicted 'apparently to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms', calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

It said Chen had been also worked for and sacked by other state media outlets including the China Youth Daily and Beijing Daily.

Since then he had published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media.

The group accused Chinese authorities of denying Chen a fair trial.

Chen has been jailed for 15 years for 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble', a catch-all that Chinese authorities sometimes use against people who criticise the regime

China has faced criticism after authorities in the coronavirus origin city of Wuhan reprimanded whistle-blowers who sought to raise an early alarm about the virus, prompting accusations that the cover-up may have fuelled the pandemic.

Authorities also clamped down on Chinese citizen-journalists reporting on the pandemic's effects.

China in February expelled 13 US journalists with the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal who were among foreign outlets reporting extensively on the coronavirus in China.

Beijing said the move was in retaliation for new restrictions on the number of Chinese nationals who can work for its state-run propaganda outlets on US soil.

But the expulsions have prompted alarm, with media organisations and the three newspapers warning that the action imperils 'access to critical information' about the pandemic.

Chinese freedom of expression has always been tightly controlled by the Communist Party but that grip has become suffocating under Xi.

Ren Zhiqiang, a prominent Communist party member who criticised Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, is being investigated on suspicion of a 'severe violation of discipline and law'. In this file photo from 2012, the then real estate mogul is seen in his office in Beijing

Three Beijing-based internet activists also have disappeared and are believed to be held by police for archiving censored coronavirus news stories online, a source said. Chen Mei (left), Cai Wei (right) and Cai's girlfriend surnamed Tang allegedly went missing on April 19

A Chinese court last year sentenced 'cyber-dissident' Huang Qi, whose website reported on sensitive topics including human rights, to 12 years in prison for 'leaking state secrets.'

Space for independent discussion has shrunk further this year as Xi's government has sought to deflect blame for the virus, which scientists believe emerged from a wild animal market in Wuhan.

Ren Zhiqiang, an outspoken Chinese Communist Party critic and millionaire property tycoon, was detained after he penned an essay fiercely critical of Xi's response to the outbreak.

Three Beijing-based internet activists also have disappeared and are believed to be held by police for archiving censored coronavirus news stories online, a relative of one of the activists said this week.

Xu Zhiyong, an outspoken activist who openly called Chinese President Xi 'not clever enough' and demanded the leader step down over 'the coronavirus catastrophe', could be facing months of torture in secret detention, human rights groups have warned.

Coronavirus whistle-blowers remain missing two months after exposing the true scale of the outbreak from Wuhan

The whereabouts of activists Chen Qiushi and Fang Bing are still a mystery

The two had sent shocking reports from Wuhan before vanishing in February

Their videos showed corpses being loaded and hospital overrun by patients

Two whistle-blowers who tried to inform the world about the true scale of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan are still missing two months after vanishing from the public sight.

The whereabouts of Chen Qiushi and Fang Bing have been a mystery since February, and Chinese officials have not publicly commented on them.

The citizen journalists had sought to expose the true scale of the outbreak from the then epicentre by uploading videos to YouTube and Twitter, both banned in mainland China.

All of their dispatches revealed a grim side of Wuhan unseen on state-run Chinese media outlets.

Chen, 34, who went to Wuhan to report about the coronavirus outbreak independently, has not been heard from since 7pm local time on February 6, according to posts on his Twitter account

Chen, 34, has not been heard from since 7pm local time on February 6.

He arrived in Wuhan just before the city went into lockdown in hopes of providing the world with the truth of the epidemic, as he said himself.

His reports detailed horrific scenes including a woman frantically calling family on her phone as she sits next to a relative lying dead in a wheelchair and the helpless situation of patients in the overstretched hospitals.

He had been planning to visit a 'fang cang' makeshift hospital before evaporating.

His disappearance was revealed by a post on his Twitter account, which has been managed by a friend authorised to speak on his behalf.

His mother has posted a video calling for his safe return.

One of his latest posts on his Twitter read: 'Chen Qiushi once said he would be safe if all of us were brave enough to tell the truth and speak our mind. Is he safe now?

'Chen Qiushi has been out of contact for 83 days after covering coronavirus in Wuhan. Please save him!'

Fang Bin (pictured), a Wuhan resident, went missing on February 9 after releasing a series of videos, including one showing piles of bodies being loaded into a bus (below)

Fang Bin, a Wuhan resident, went missing on February 9 after releasing a series of videos, including one showing piles of bodies being loaded into a bus.

He had been arrested arrested briefly before disappearing, it is alleged.

His last video showed hazmat-donning officers knocking on his door to measure his body temperature.

Fang is seen in the video trying to fend off the officers by telling them his temperature is normal, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Another journalist Li Zehua, 25, also disappeared for about two months.

Li Zehua (pictured) is a former reporter of CCTV and said to be last heard on February 26. Li was likely targeted by secret police after visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a report said

A former employee of state broadcaster CCTV, Li was reporting from Wuhan independently. He was said to be last heard on February 26 before going missing.

Before that, he had visited a series of sensitive venues in Wuhan, such as the community that held a huge banquet despite the epidemic and the crematorium which was hiring extra staff to help carry corpses, RFA added.

The news outlet said Li was likely targeted by secret police after visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Kcriss226I'm Kcriss, here is something about me si... https://t.co/ETjY7QaacY via @YouTube  Kcriss Li (@KcrissLi) April 22, 2020

The 34million institute has been at the centre of conspiracy theories, which suggest that the killer virus originated there.

On April 22, Li reappeared in a public sight through a video on Twitter.

He claimed he was detained by plainclothes police on February 26 and was interrogated for 24 hours at a police station for 'visiting sensitive places' in Wuhan.

He said he was then taken into quarantine , first in a hotel then in his hometown.

He stressed that officers had treated him politely. He said he was given three meals a day and allowed to watch the state news programmes.
Luxembourg's horeca sector is ringing the alarm bells: the current crisis forces restaurants, hotels, and cafes into a precarious situation. A potential relaunch date would ease fears and allow the sector to prepare itself.

Luxembourg declared a state of emergency nearly two months ago, shutting down all of the country's bars and restaurants in a bid to slow the spreading of the virus. The gastronomy sector is feeling the sting of the ongoing crisis. The lack of a relaunch date makes it challenging to plan in advance.

RTL's Joel Detaille spoke to people from the horeca sector about a situation that threatens to become dramatic. It is a recurring tale of woe: "We understand. The health and safety of all of us comes first but it slowly starts to really hurt," Luxembourg's restaurant and bar owners agree. A potential relaunch date would ease some of the concerns.

Jerome Bigard is the co-founder and managing director of Concept Partners, a company that runs 13 venues in Luxembourg. According to Bigard, "we need to have a date in order to know when to reinstall the entire machinery, when to buy stocks of food or draw up schedules."

The government has not yet set a relaunch date as officials want to gauge the true extent of the current spreading of the virus.

"Pissenger Hutt" and "Wicki Beach" manager Luc Frings similarly hopes to receive more concrete answers soon. "My biggest concern is how it will start," he explained. If restaurants are forced to operate at reduced capacity, individual venues may have too many employees to cover the costs. "A dangerous situation could arise," Frings said. In other words, the question of which conditions and restrictions will apply once restaurants can reopen is also crucial.

Concept Partners CEO Christophe Diederich meanwhile stressed that it would be impossible for venues to survive without state support after the relaunch. The situation begs another pressing question: would it still be profitable to reopen restaurants if restrictive measures have to be observed? Diederich answered this question with a resounding no: "It is absolutely not profitable. [...] It is a fact that, if we reopen tomorrow state support such as short-time working schemes, no restaurant in the country would be profitable."

HORESCA president Alain Rix warned that many smaller venues will not survive the crisis. State support is important but currently insufficient, he said. Rix concluded that it will not be possible for the hospitality sector to weather the storm if the restrictions continue to apply. The sector urgently needs a relaunch date. Official decisions should not be made at short notice, he stressed.

The hospitality federation drew up a position paper outlining its views about a potential exit strategy to the government. Rix explained that discussions with the ministry of middle classes were ongoing.

The federation is also in favour of reducing the value-added tax on alcohol sales from 17% to 3% as a temporary support measure. The extension of short-time work schemes beyond the state of emergency is also a crucial step in the right direction, according to HORESCA.
According to a security researcher working with Forbes, Xiaomi has been collecting browsing data from users who are using Xiaomi phones and the built-in browser. And the fun part is that the browser does so even in incognito mode or even when using the privacy-conscious DuckDuckGo web browser.

Gabriel Cirlig, the security researcher, is using a Redmi Note 8 as a daily driver and noticed that the device records pretty much everything he does on the phone and sends the data to servers in Russia and Singapore, although the domains are hosted in Beijing. We are talking screens, websites visited, folders opened, settings he changed, music played on the default app, etc.

The data itself is poorly encrypted using the base64 format, so it was very easy for him to transcribe the data into plain text.

Cirlig went even further and downloaded the ROMs for Xiaomi Mi 10, the Redmi K20 and the Mi Mix 3 and found the very same security vulnerability on all of them. Another security researcher, Andrew Tierney, found the suspicious behavior on the Mi Browser Pro and the Mint Browser too.

Xiaomi has responded to the allegations saying that Forbes findings are misleading and untrue. A spokesperson for the company said that Xiaomi complies with all local laws and regulations on user data privacy and the collected browsing data has been anonymized. As to why Xiaomi is collecting it, it's because the firm is trying to improve the user's browsing experience and it's a standard practice. More importantly, the data can't be traced back to a specific user. However, Gabriel Cirlig sent a video to Xiaomi showing how the browser sends its history to the said servers even in incognito mode.

Source
A pizza shop owner has shared an invoice from Grubhub that shows the expensive fees restaurants face when relying on third-party delivery services.

On Wednesday, Giuseppe Badalamenti, a consultant and owner of food truck Chicago Pizza Boss, uploaded a screenshot to Facebook of the March invoice a client of his received from Grubhub.

Stop believing you are supporting your community by ordering from a third-party delivery company, Badalamenti captioned the photo. Out of almost $1,100 of orders [the] restaurant you are trying to support receives not even $400.

In the photo, which has since been shared more than 2,000 times, it shows that the total amount of pre-paid orders for the restaurant in March was $1,042.63.

However, after Grubhubs fees and commissions are deducted, the final amount distributed from the delivery service to the restaurant comes out to $376.54, which Badalamenti wrote is almost enough to pay for the food.

According to the invoice, costs such as commission, delivery commission, processing fees and promotions are all deducted from the money that restaurants partnered with Grubhub make each month.

Recommended The DIY meal kits to buy from your favourite restaurants

The invoice has been met with shock on social media, where people have announced their intentions to avoid using the third-party service and instead rely on the delivery services offered by the restaurants themselves.

Wow. I realised they got commissions, but I had no idea how much. I think I'll try calling the restaurant directly rather than use Grubhub, one person commented.

Another said: I have used Grubhub and DoorDash in the past but never again. I had no idea how much the restaurant gets shorted. When you know better you do better.

On Grubhubs website, it explains the various fees it charges restaurants for its services, which can include a phone order commission rate that applies to food and beverage totals and delivery fees for orders placed via the routing phone number listed on Grubhub.

According to the delivery service, it also charges an order processing fee of 3.05 per cent + $0.30 for each order.

In a comment under his post, Badalamenti accused the company of "predatory" behaviour.

"The small guys don't have negotiating power and the leverage the big guys do but do not want to be forgotten about," he wrote. "These companies make your customers their customers. It is predatory to a degree. They suggest other foods and other restaurants."
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana has today donated PPEs to the Ga-East Municipal Hospital in Kwabenya.



This is keeping in line with the Banks brand promise to be Here for Good, particularly in times of adversity and its commitment to support emergency relief and aid those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana to the tune of GHS 1 million.



The PPEs comprising N95 masks, disposable coveralls, and surgical gloves have been donated as the country marks the celebration of International Workers Day and in appreciation of the continued sacrifice of all frontline workers.



Asiedua Addae, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana Limited, while presenting the items said, We are extremely grateful to our health and frontline workers for their dedication towards the fight against COVID-19. Today, we decided to join the country in commemorating International Workers Day by ensuring theyre adequately resourced through the provision of PPEs so they can continue to play them all so important role of tackling this pandemic from the frontline.



At Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited, we live up to our brand promise Here for Good, and more so, delight in all those who do good for our country. We hope the PPEs will continue keeping you safe as you fight against COVID-19, she added.



Receiving the items, Dr. Oduro Mensah, Chief Medical Officer, said, Today is May Day, and as we celebrate workers, what we are most in need of is equipment. These PPEs come in handy and will be put to good use.



In previous weeks, as part of its GHS1million commitment to support the fight against COVID-19 in Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank has donated 1000 PPEs and a portable Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) equipment to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research respectively.



The PCR is to assist Nogouchi to conduct widespread testing and detection of COVID-19 in Ghana. Ends



For more information or interview opportunities, please contact:



Asiedua Addae



Head, Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing



Tel: +233 302 669688



[email protected]



Note to editors



Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited



Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited is Ghanas premier bank established in 1896. We are part of a leading international banking group, with a presence in more than 60 of the worlds most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.



The Bank is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and has been one of the leading stocks over a sustained period. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.



For more stories and expert opinions please visit www.sc.com/gh Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Standard Chartered Ghana Limited on Facebook.com/StandardCharteredGH

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Being a Queen is more than just wearing a crown, waving to people, smiling and shaking hands during royal engagements, and giving inspiring speeches. The head of the monarchy also has to deal with controversies in and outside the Buckingham Palace.

Having to reign the British monarchy for the last 68 years (and counting) is already enough to say that Queen Elizabeth II is one strong independent woman. But looking back in history and all the royal scandals that she has survived over the years, we can conclude that Her Majesty is the fiercest female leader in history.

Below are some of the biggest royal scandal the now 94-year-old monarch has endured and survived throughout the years.

Princess Margaret Falls For A Married Man

Even before officially getting crowned, Queen Elizabeth II already faced a royal scandal back in 1952, and it is done by none other than the Queen's youngest sister, Princess Margaret.

It all started when the Princess began secretly dating Captain Peter Townsend, a Royal Air Force officer who is a married man when their relationship started. The scandal escalated quickly in 1953 when Townsend divorced his wife and proposed to Princess Margaret.

The rules of the Church of England prevents a member of the royal family to marry a divorcee, so Margaret and Townsend's relationship eventually fell apart in 1955.

Prince Charles Cheating And Divorce Scandal

It all started in 1992 when Princess Diana's phone conversation with an alleged lover was leaked to the media. Not long after, Prince Charles also had a leaked phone call with ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Charles and Camilla's conversation showed that the two are still in love with each other despite being married to respective spouses. In one of their conversation, the Prince of Wales joked about wanting to turn into a tampon so he could live inside Camilla's trousers. The following year, Charles and Diana parted ways and officially got divorced in 1996.

Princess Diana's Death

A year after her divorce, the Princess of Wales was killed in a fatal car crash in Paris. While it was purely an accident, several conspiracy theories arose that associated her death with the royal family.

One of the most resounding theories is that Diana got pregnant with her then-boyfriend Dodi Fayed. The theory suggested that the royal family could not accept that an Egyptian Muslim could be the stepfather of the possible future King of England, so they plotted to kill Diana.

Prince Andrew And Jeffrey Epstein Connection

Due to the analysis of legal papers and flight logs, Prince Andrew's friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was revealed. Just recently, the scandal blew up after one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts, came to light and claimed that she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York three times between the years 1999 to 2002.

The 59-year-old royal tried coming out clean through a BBC interview, but everything backfired to him, leading for the Prince to quit on his royal duties.

Kate Middleton's Topless Photos

It was in 2012 when then newlyweds and kid-free couple Prince William and Kate Middleton decided to take a break from their royal duties and have a vacation in France. They chose to spend their alone time in a secluded place owned by the Queen's nephew, Viscount David Linley.

The couple enjoyed their time away from the public eye that Kate even decided to break free and go topless while lounging beside a pool. However, paparazzi hiding behind the bushes were quick on their lenses, and the next thing we know, Kate's naked bikini shot was all over the internet.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge later on won a lawsuit against the company that published that photo, and "Closer" was ordered to pay $118,000 in damages.

Megxit

And of course, Queen Elizabeth II's latest ordeal, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior members of the royal family. Earlier this 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a bombshell announcement to quit as working royals.

Insiders claim that Harry did it to protect his wife and son Archie from the scrutiny of media and the public. The Sussexes are currently living a private and independent life in Meghan's native city, Los Angeles.

READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth II's TRUE Feelings About Prince William's Wedding, REVEALED!
Luanda  A message of congratulations from the Angolan President Joao Lourenco addressed to the former Zambian Head of State Kenneth Kaunda was delivered Wednesday in Lusaka by the Angolan ambassador to that country, Azevedo Francisco.

The information is expressed in a press release from the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressing that in the letter, Joao Lourenco refers that the celebration of Kenneth Kaunda's (96) years symbolizes the health and vitality of one of the biggest pillars of the struggle for the liberation of Africa, from the yoke colonial.

During the short audience held at the former president's official residence in Lusaka, the Angolan ambassador also delivered a souvenir, symbolizing the friendship between the two peoples, in addition to a letter signed by the leaders of the Angolan community living in Zambia.

In response, the note underlines, Kenneth Kaunda thanked the Angolan President for his gesture, whom he described as a brother.

Kahunda expressed his desire to visit Angola in the post-pandemic period to personally thank the Angolan President for the friendship and interest he has been demonstrating.
The Catholic Church in Germany has admitted making itself 'complicit in the war' by not opposing the Nazi regime, a new report reveals.

For decades the Catholic Church has been accused of staying silent over the crimes of the Nazis and even acting to 'bolster' the Third Reich.

In response, the Church has long defended World War II's Pope Pius XII and avoided saying the ecclesiastical institutions failed.

But a new report from the council of Catholic bishops in Germany describes how bishops 'made themselves complicit in the war' by not clearly opposing Adolf Hitler.

It also says that bishops did not share the Fuhrer's racial ideology, but they still helped support 'both soldiers and the regime'.

The report into the role of bishops between 1939 and 1945 states hundreds of priests accompanied the Wehrmacht on the front-lines to offer spiritual guidance, according to The Times.

Adolf Hitler talking with the apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Cesare Orsenigo (left) during a reception in Berlin in December 1939

Papal delegate Monsignor Cesare Orsenigo leaving Hitler's office after being received with diplomatic Corp by Hitler

It also says thousands of church properties were converted into military hospitals, and tens of thousands of nuns carried out their 'duty to the fatherland' by working as nurses.

The 23-page document does not address the period before the Second World War and Hitler's rise to power when he was appointed chancellor in January 1933.

It states: 'Inasmuch as the bishops did not oppose the war with a clear ''no'', and most of them bolstered the [German nation's] will to endure, they made themselves complicit in the war.

'The bishops may not have shared the Nazis' justification for the war on the grounds of racial ideology, but their words and their images gave succour both to soldiers and the regime prosecuting the war, as they lent the war an additional sense of purpose.'

Some Jewish groups and historians have said Pius, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, did not denounce Hitler during the Holocaust and did not do enough to save lives.

He has been accused of doing little to help those facing persecution by Nazi Germany and failing to speak out forcefully against the Holocaust, in which around six million Jews were killed.

His defenders at the Vatican and beyond say he used quiet diplomacy and encouraged convents and other religious institutes to hide Jews.

Cesare Orsenigo pictured sitting to the right of Adolf Hitler as he talks to Joseph Goebbels in an undated picture

Pius XII meeting with people from Rome's San Lorenzo district, after a violent bombardment caused severe damage to the buildings and the entire neighbourhood during WWII

On March 2 the Vatican opened up its archives on the wartime pontiff to allow scholars to probe the accusations he turned a blind eye.

When Pope Francis announced the opening of the archives last year, he said the Church was 'not afraid of history'.

But this new report, released days before the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, was described by one prelate as a 'confession of guilt'.

It states that when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, bishops were 'faced with the question of how they would conduct themselves in the war', with all but one calling for their followers to do their patriotic duty.

The entire Vatican archives on the Pope Pius XII (pictured) were opened on March 2

Monsignor Cesare Orsenigo, the Vatican ambassador to Germany during Hitler's rise to power, 'was frankly jubilant' over his election, according to some historians.

Orsenigo said Hitler saw Christianity as essential to private life and the German state and saw the co-operation of the Nazis as essential for the German Church to defeat Bolshevism, which had persecuted the religion in Russia.

On July 20, 1933, the Vatican signed an agreement with Nazi Germany that set the parameters of the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the newly formed government.

The Concordat was Hitler's first international agreement and it vastly enhanced his respectability in Germany and around the world.

The new report argues many were motivated by nationalism and anti-communist sentiment and sought to preserve the Church by avoiding a confrontation with the state.

Right Rev Heiner Wilmer, bishop of Hildesheim and head of the conference's foreign affairs committee, said: 'For all its ''inner distance'' from Nazism and its sometimes open opposition, the Catholic church in Germany was part of a society at war.

'Even if we can perceive that the bishops' perspective on events shifted over the course of the war, they did not pay enough attention to the suffering of others.'

Three months after VE Day, the bishops issued a statement acknowledging that 'many Germans, including from our ranks, let themselves be beguiled by the false lessons of Nazism'.

But the Church also denounced the Nuremberg trials against leading Nazis in 1946 as an un-Christian act of revenge.

And on Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939, churches flew swastika flags and prayed for the 'Fosterer and Protector of the Reich'.

Pope Pius XII, head of the Catholic Church from March 2, 1939 to his death on October 9, 1958, blessing faithful at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican in an undated photograph

Pope Pius XII blessing worshippers and attendees during the Urbi et Orbi apostolic blessing at St Peter's Square in the Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI, who himself served in the Hitler Youth as a boy in Nazi Germany and is a defender of Pope Pius, accelerated the process to open the archives ahead of schedule so that researchers could have their say.

But he also moved Pius one step closer to possible sainthood in December 2009, when he confirmed that Pius lived a life of 'heroic' Christian virtue. All that is needed now is for the Vatican to determine a 'miracle' occurred.

Pope Francis said in 2014 that the miracle had not been identified, suggesting that the process would remain on hold, at least for now.

Father Norbert Hofmann, the top Vatican official in charge of religious relations with Jews, said in March: 'I don't think you will find a smoking gun. Pius XII was a diplomat and he was a very shy character and a very, very cautious man.'

Officials warned that the process of studying the millions of pages of documents from six different archives will be measured in years, not days, weeks or months, and will require patience.

The documentation includes the archives from the Pius secretariat of state - the main organ of church governance, which includes the Vaticans foreign relations with other countries - as well as those of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or CDF, and the Vatican office responsible for mission territories.

The CDF documents, for example, include case files of priests disciplined for pro-Nazi political activity, said Monsignor Alejandro Cifres Gimenez, archivist at the doctrine office.

Studying of the papal documents was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak when Italy went into lockdown on February 21.
We told him our whole story and why we were moving, she said. A couple of days later, he got an email from casting, from HGTV, that said, Were putting together this new show, and this is the criteria. If you come across someone, let us know.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Rallo emailed the casting director back and said he had just met the Jordans and that theyd be a perfect fit. Two months later, in October, they filmed for the show.

Comcast bumps Turner Classic Movies off basic subscription package, outraging fans Last week, Comcast/Xfinity bumped Atlanta-based Turner Classic Movies off its basic subscrip

It all happened really, really fast, Kristi said. We tried to get out of there before winter. With the winters in Minnesota, we would have been stuck there. When we left in December, there was already snow, and it was negative 20 degrees. So that was our literal hurry  to try and get out of there before winter set in.

Josh, who now works in cyber security, said filming the show was fun but added stress to the moving process.

Filming the show was something we wanted to do for ourselves to capture our journey and have it as a keepsake, he said. Its funny that now its over  it wasnt that bad.

OCNJ Property For Sale To Be Featured on HGTV Ocean City, NJ- An Ocean City, NJ home located in the north end of the island at 809 First S
JESUSLANDAnyone who spends any appreciable amount of time around teens and pre-teens, say 11 years of age and up, has likely heard the kid at one time or other utter the magic satanic words "shit" and/or "fuck." There's a pretty good reason for that: Everyone shits, and a fair number of people aged 16 and up fuck, and even a few younger kids are aware of that. Life doesn't exist without shitting and fucking.

One would think that even the censor-happy crowd at the ultra-conservative Parents Television Council would have been tipped to those truisms, but no. Rather, they're just released a "report" titled "Teen-Targeted Broadcast TV Can Be Vulgar ... But Stranger Things Are Happening on Netflix," where apparently PTC supporters sat down and watched 255 episodes found in 23 Netflix categories rated TV-14 or TV-MA by the companyvia VidAngel, of course, the company that automatically censors content for its viewersand wouldn't'cha know it? "[E]very single program contained multiple uses of the 's-word' and almost every Netflix original program rated as appropriate for teens (TV-14) had at least one use of the 'f-word.'" [Emphasis in original.]

Our findings clearly demonstrate that Netflix is marketing explicit content to children," charged PTC President Tim Winter. "Explicit profanity like the f-word and s-word are nearly ubiquitous on Netflixs Teen programming, revealing an apparent disconnect between what Netflix deems appropriate for teen viewers and what the average parent might consider appropriate.

"Shit" and "fuck" utterances are "explicit programming"? What world do these people live in? (Word of warning: Don't click on any website that has "hub" as part of its name.)

PTC has a problem with the fact that 25.9 percent of the "teen" titles offered on Netflix have a TV-14 rating, while 40.8 percent are rated TV-MA (as in "mature audiences"and who says a modern-day teen can't be reasonably "mature," at least when it comes to the TV fare he or she watches?). Worse, though, are the "Netflix Originals" series, where 31.3 percent are TV-14 and a whopping 55.2 percent are TV-MA. Among the worst offenders in that category are the sci-fi/drama/horror series Stranger Things, with 257 mentions of "shit" and 11 "fuck"s (yes, apparently someone counted all those naughty words); Atypical, a coming-of-age series featuring an autistic teen looking for romance, with 58 shits and 3 fucks; low-rated sci-fi drama Rim of the World with 44 shits and five fucks; supernatural-themed drama Locke & Key, with 52 shits and two fucks; and the one season of high school-centered comedy/drama On My Block that VidAngel had available, which had 48 shits and four fucks.

"Words like 'f*ck' and 'sh*t' were once unthinkable for dialogue on programs rated as appropriate for 13- and 14-year old children; but on Netflix they are becoming ubiquitous," the PTC report claims. "Either the content is being rated inaccurately, or there has been considerable 'ratings creep' with the criteria used to determine an age-based rating. Neither option allows parents to do their job effectively."

The question is, what's "effective" or worthwhile about shielding kids from hearing the words "shit" or "fuck"? If a kid is 13 years old or older, he or she needs to know what "fuck" means lest the (presumably hetero) kid starts fooling around, a penis goes into a vagina and there's a surprise nine months later. And as for "shit," what possible harm is there for a kid to learn one of the words commonly used for what comes out of his/her ass?

If all of that is "ratings creep," it's high time for itand although PTC makes the bulk of its money scaring parents into trying to protect their kids from everyday words and images that, short of living in a cave on a mountainside, they are bound to see as they go through life, the company must be getting pretty desperate if they're targeting "shit" and "fuck."

UPDATE: Ruh-roh #2: Not only do these religio-conservative morons have a 19th century view of "certain words," they also don't want kids exposed to the possibility that religions other than Christianity and Judaism exist in the world.

"Take Netflixs Never Have I Ever as an example," wrote Jessilyn Lancaster, managing editor of The Movie Guide, a conservative publication closely allied with PTC. "The new streaming series is loosely based on the life of actress/writer Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project). While much of her content is not appropriate for children, few adults would find the humor offensive or excessive. While I previously considered content rated TV-14 to be appropriate for myself and my husband, Never Have I Ever left us appalled.

"I was aware that Kaling was raised as a Hindu, and expected some references to the false religion in the pilot episode. I was not prepared for an extended prayer to the idolatrous Indian gods in the first act. I was also aware that Kaling has made some sexual jokes and innuendos in her previous work. I was taken aback to hear a teenaged girl reference male body parts, teachers discussing female body parts, and for a sophomore in high school to point-blank ask someone to have sex with her. The dialogue, too, was insulting, with at least one F-bomb (and multiple references to said word) in the 30-minute pilot." [Gratuitous capitalization omitted; emphasis added.]
T he City regulator took unprecedented steps to end a row between insurers and firms over disputed Covid-19 claims on Friday by asking the High Court to rule on whether insurers are liable to pay for the shutdown.

In major escalation of its powers, the Financial Conduct Authority said it will seek a court judgment to decide if insurers are liable to pay out on some business interruption claims, which have become the focal point for the row..

The move is designed to provide clarity for both sides and accelerate what could have become a lengthy and costly legal battle.

Insurers like Hiscox and RSA have come under fire in recent weeks for not paying out on the policies, which trigger if a business is forced to shut, arguing they do not cover the coronavirus pandemic.

Some small firms say they are entitled to payouts and fear without them they could go under.

One of the largest groups, Hiscox Action Group, is launching legal action against Hiscox over claims.

To end the uncertainty, the FCA will submit a small sample of the most commonly used BI policies for the court to decide on.

The decision should bring clarity on whether insurers are liable although firms can still take legal action.

The FCA has previously told insurers to deal with coronavirus claims in a timely manner but todays move is unusual because it rarely gets involved in commercial litigation disputes.

Some said it was a spectacular overreach of powers.

Litigation is common in commercial insurance, and therefore we are surprised that the regulator has stepped in to deal with individual cases, said RBC Capital.

The Association of British Insurers said it was a welcome step. The British Insurance Brokers Association said it was a step in the right direction.

The ABI estimates that the UK industry is liable for 900 million of BI claims from Covid-19, the bulk of estimated 1.2 billion total bill from the pandemic.

Separately the FCA also called on insurers to refund premiums if their policies are not used due to coronavirus.

So far the issue has focused on car insurance as many people are no driving but the FCA also said areas like boiler cover should be considered for refunds.
Hong Kong hit back on Friday at Washington and London for condemning the arrests in April of 15 pro-democracy activists, saying that their criticism was unfounded and grossly irresponsible.

Police arrested the activists, including Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, 81, and millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, on 18 April, in the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year.

Foreign governments and human rights groups condemned the arrests, with Britains Foreign Office saying at the time that the right to peaceful protest was fundamental to Hong Kongs way of life and authorities should avoid actions that inflame tensions.

In its strongest response to the criticism so far, the Hong Kong government said the remarks by the United States, Britain and the European Parliament were totally unfounded and amounted to a serious intervention in Hong Kongs affairs.

The allegation by some that those arrests amounted to an attack on Hong Kongs freedoms ... is absurd and can hardly stand the test of any law-abiding jurisdiction, a spokesman for the government said.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a one country, two systems style of governance that grants it broad freedoms, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary, not seen in the mainland.

Critics say Beijing is increasingly encroaching on those freedoms, which the central government rejects.

The 15 activists were arrested on charges of organising and participating in anti-government protests last year that crippled parts of the city and posed the gravest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus and measures adopted to curb its spread have seen a relative lull in protests this year, although smaller demonstrations have emerged in the past week amid renewed concerns over Beijings tightening grip on the city.

Fuelling those worries, questions have been raised in recent weeks over the role of Beijings institutions overseeing the citys affairs - the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and Liaison Office.

The government said criticism over remarks by the offices only illustrates an ignorance of the constitutional order of Hong Kong.
Update:

Officials have found 2-year-old Aurora Lopez safe, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said.

BCSO issued an Amber Alert on before 7 a.m. Friday, saying the girl's grandmother Sherry Lee McGill may have possibly abducted the girl and may have been heading to Oklahoma.

Nearly two hours after the alert was issued, Department of Public Safety troopers spotted McGill's vehicle traveling on Interstate 35 in McClennon County near Waco.

Lopez was found safe and returned to her family.

It is unclear if McGill was taken into custody.

Original story:

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office issued an Amber Alert on Friday for 2-year-old Aurora Lee Lopez, who was last seen in San Antonio. BCSO said she may be in grave danger after a possible abduction.

The girl weighs 20 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Her clothing description is unknown.

In connection with the abduction, police are searching for the girl's grandmother, Sherry Lee McGill, who was last heard from in San Antonio. She is described as weighing 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Her clothing description is also unknown.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

McGill is driving a black 2012 Honda Accord with the Texas license plate number KTR2989 and may be headed to Oklahoma, BCSO said.

Anyone with information, call BCSO at 210-335-6000.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include the correct law enforcement agency that issued the Amber Alert
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said some of the criticism towards his administrations investment in the health sector during his tenure was from uninformed minds.

President Nana Akufo-Addos announcement of the construction of hospitals in 88 districts across the country has provoked debate about the investment done in the sector prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the abandonment of health facilities started by successive governments.

According to the president, the pandemic has exposed the weakness in the countrys health system following years of under-investment.

But the former President in Facebook live on Thursday, April 30, 2020, dubbed A Digital Conversation On Ghanas COVID-19 Situation, Health Care and Infrasture said some criticism of his healthcare interventions were misguided.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana has also provoked quite a useful debate for the need for a more robust and effective health system. It has become obvious that the system must not only be responsive to the immediate and longterm health needs of our people but also withstand emerging global public health challenges such as this novel infectious disease we are facing.

It has been widely acknowledged that some of the critical investments that we [NDC administration] made in the health sector has been extremely useful and enabled Ghana to lessen the impact of this pandemic on our people and our nation. This acknowledgement bears out the vision and clear thinking that went into the massive investments we made in the health sector. There were uninformed and snipped remarks at the time with some questioning why many facilities were constructed we were acutely aware however that these investments were necessary to modernise a very fragile and weak health system, he said.

---citinewsroom
He travelled over 3,000 km to take his friends body from Chennai to Mizoram, and now he has donated the money he received as reward to the Chief Ministers Relief Fund to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Twenty-three-year-old Raphael AVL Malchhanhima, a native of Hmawngbu village in Mizorams southernmost Lawngtlai district, on Thursday donated Rs 5,000 to the CMRF.

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga hailed the youth as a hero for his noble deeds.

"Faith in humanity just got restored again! After his selfless and heroic act of accompanying the mortal remains of his friend for more than 3000 km, Raphael AVL Malchhanhima donated Rs 5000 to the CM Relief Fund from a government-designated quarantine centre," he tweeted.

Malchhanhima said he had contributed in his own small way as he was aware of the hardship being faced by the people of his state.

"I know my state is currently grappling with the crisis that has caused people immense hardship. I am a man of limited means and there is very little that I can do for my state. I have donated Rs 5,000 for the war against the coronavirus," Malchhanhima told PTI.

After completing his education up to class 10, he started working at a Chennai hotel to supplement the familys income. His father is a missionary under the Mizoram synod of the Presbyterian Church of India.

Malchhanhima is currently quarantined at a state facility in Aizawl.

"I am spending good time here. The government is providing us all it can. I am happy with the care it is giving us," he said.

He urged others to also contribute to the CMRF, no matter how small the amount is.

Malchhanhima had brought home the mortal remains of his close friend Vivian Lalremsanga (28), who died of cardiac arrest in Chennai, along with two samaritans -- Jeyantjiran and Chinnathambi, the ambulance drivers -- after a back-breaking four-day journey.

Kima Ralte, a delivery boy, also won praise from the Mizoram chief minister for donating Rs 100 from his savings to the CMRF to fight the pandemic.

"When it comes to the love you have for your state; Kima Ralte comes second to none," Zoramthaga hailed Ralte in a tweet.
The long-time head of Deutsche Bank's Asia-Pacific business is retiring in July and will be replaced by Alexander von zur Muehlen, one of the architect's of the lender's massive restructuring last year that included the closing of its equity sales and trading business.

Werner Steinmueller, who joined the bank from Citigroup in 1991, will retire from the German lender's management board on July 31 and continue to serve in an advisory role until the end of the year, Deutsche Bank said on Friday.

Muehlen, the bank's global head of group strategy, is an "excellent in-house successor" to Steinmueller, who has served as the bank's Asia-Pacific chief executive since 2016, Paul Achleitner, chairman of Deutsche Bank's supervisory board, said.

"As a recognised strategist and internationally experienced capital markets expert, he possesses all the skills and attributes needed to develop our Asia-Pacific business and further advance our regional strategy," Achleitner said in a statement.

Muehlen joined the bank in 1998 and had served in a variety of roles, including co-head of debt capital markets in Europe, group treasurer and co-head of global capital markets.

As head of group strategy since 2018, Muehlen played an important role in the bank's efforts to reshape itself under Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing.

Sewing replaced John Cryan as the bank's top executive in 2018 and moved to increase the bank's profitability by shrinking its investment bank, cleaning up its balance sheet and charting a course he described as a return to its roots. The bank has struggled to keep pace with its American rivals and gain scale in the retail business at home.

Deutsche Bank flirted with a merger last year with German rival Commerzbank, but the potential tie-up was unpopular with shareholders and merger talks ultimately fell apart in April last year.

The bank instead said it would exit equity sales and trading, resize its rates business and accelerate the wind-down of its non-strategic operations, while targeting 6 billion (US$6.6 billion) over a three-year period. That would include as many as 18,000 job cuts globally.

Story continues

In an interview last year, Steinmueller said the capital released by closing the equity trading operations would allow the company to reinvest in its Asian business, expand its corporate bank in parts of the region and add jobs in its wealth-management business " its fastest growing business in Asia.

"Asia-Pacific is a market for investment for the bank," Steinmueller told the South China Morning Post at the time. "We are a growth area and getting the investments."

The change in leadership in the region comes at a challenging time for lenders.

The coronavirus pandemic weighed on bank profits in the first quarter and forced lenders from HSBC to JPMorgan Chase to take billions of dollars in provisions for bad loans as the global economy has ground to a halt.

In the first quarter, Deutsche Bank reported a net loss of 43 million and set aside 506 million for potential loan losses.

"While the current environment is challenging, we will continue the disciplined execution that you've seen from this management team over the past two years," James von Moltke, the Deutsche Bank chief financial officer, said on a conference call with analysts Wednesday.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
The United States department of justice says it will retrieve any part of the repatriated Abacha Loot that is improperly diverted. ...





The United States department of justice says it will retrieve any part of the repatriated Abacha Loot that is improperly diverted.





In a letter signed by Stephen Boyd, the assistant attorney general, and addressed to Charles Grassley, chairman of the senate committee on finance, the US said the repatriation of $311.8 million was done based on conditions.





The agreement directs that the returned funds be used exclusively for certain specific defined purposes,





Constraining the use of the funds in this way promotes transparency and facilitates monitoring and auditing by independent bodies, as well as by the interested public.

These funds will be dedicated to specified segments of larger, on-going crucial infrastructure projects in Nigeria for which these and other funds have been appropriated under Nigerian law.





The infrastructure projects are said to be monitored by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).





The department shares a firm commitment to rigorous and accountable oversight to ensure that repatriated funds are not re-stolen or otherwise diverted to an illicit or inappropriate purpose, Boyd said.





The agreement also prohibits certain expenditures. Among the expenditures that are specifically disallowed is any use that would benefit the alleged perpetrators of the underlying criminal conduct, including the current governor of Kebbi state, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.





Should any of the partiesincluding the United Statesconclude that any of the returned funds had been used for an ineligible expenditure, a claw-back provision would then obligate the FRN to replace fully any such improperly diverted monies.





Conditions for the repatriation were listed to include:





Funds would be used for infrastructure projects

Progress on the construction is monitored by an independent international engineering firm before progress payments are made

Financed projects are audited by an additional, outside, independent auditor and monitored by an additional, independent civil society organization

Auditor and CSO will be chosen through a competitive and transparent bidding process that would involve the US, the bailiwick of Jersey and Nigeria

No funds can be disbursed by the NSIA unless and until these oversight bodies are in place and the CSOs work plan has been approved by all parties

Important documents concerning the disbursement of funds and the progress of the projects will be made available to the public

Anti-corruption clauses in all contracts and subcontracts, along with annual certifications by all contractors and subcontractors acknowledging their ongoing obligations and agreeing not to make ineligible expenditures

In February, the US department of justice said its Nigerian counterpart is hindering its efforts to recover the allegedly laundered money from the UK and accused Bagudu of being a part of a network controlled by Abacha that embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria.
Press Release

1 May 2020

Hospitality Net has created another curated list of the most read how-to articles to help you navigate the coronavirus disruption.

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Visit the Coronavirus special coverage for a live stream of relevant news to insights, market reports, opinions, webinars and more.

Duty of Care, which for hotels is the legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of its guests, has always been an important aspect for hotel operations. Though many hotels are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many hoteliers are already concerned with how they will need to exercise Duty of Care once they reopen. Not only will government standards resulting from the pandemic dictate new requirements from businesses, but the public's expectations for health and safety will also be markedly different than before.

Policymakers around the world have enforced an unprecedented shutdown of public life to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. As a consequence, entire sectors of the economy have seen their revenues collapse to zero. At the time of this publication, it appears that the shutdown will be a matter of months rather than just a few weeks. Yet, to date, no coherent political-economic strategy exists on how businesses may potentially survive a prolonged period without any revenues. Many hospitality and retail businesses are about to be sacrificed in the name of public health.

Check-ins and check-outs are performed virtually. Before entering the hotel, guests must have their temperatures taken by one of the two nurses stationed at the hotel's entrance. Anyone with a fever is not permitted into the hotel. Only one guest is permitted to use the elevator at a time.

Worldwide, this is a dark time for the travel industry. As global destinations remain closed and travel company operations continue to be wound down, the industry will increasingly look to its marketing functions to provide campaigns of hope or more simple communications to maintain their engagement with customers and let them know they are still operational, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

A hotel stay that doesn't include a breakfast buffet, an in-room minibar and a coffee station would have been inconceivable to many Americans three months ago. But the onset of the coronavirus has prompted a sea change that could alter everything from how guests check in and eat to how rooms are cleaned.

The tourism sector needs to be prepared for considerable changes in consumer demands when restrictions are lifted and demand for travel returns. In particular, the lodging industry needs to be prepared for guests now demanding the highest levels of hygiene and sanitation, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

In the hospitality world, Bill Bensley needs no introduction: He's designed 200+ boundary-pushing, jaw-dropping hotels in 40 countries; he's completely redefined and "rewilded" luxury hospitality in Asia; and he's a true sustainability pioneer. And no one does it all with more humor and honesty

COVID-19's impact on consumer opinion and behavior seemed to evolve daily throughout March, especially with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a global pandemic on the 11th. To understand the effects on sentiment and future international travel plans, STR captured the views of travelers across 4 key markets: the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia.

"The death rate in the Navy during Spanish-American War," writes Darrell Huff in his classic, How to Lie with Statistics, "was nine per thousand. For civilians in New York City during the same period, it was sixteen per thousand." The American Government used these statistics to entice young people to join the Navy, proving that, paradoxically, "it was safer to be in the Navy than out of it."

Recent surveys from sources like the Global Business Travel Association and a new BVK survey focusing on US traveler's recovery preferences show that travel's "new normal" won't look like anything we've seen before.
The blind king who led troops into battle: a bust of King George V of Hanover

Offered for private sale, this masterful sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugene Guillaume of Queen Victorias deposed, blind cousin is a portrait of majesty and pathos

On 27 June 1866, King George V of Hanover led his troops into combat against the mighty Prussians at the Battle of Langensalza. Against the odds, he emerged victorious  a feat impressive not just because the Prussian army was greater in size and resources, but because George was completely blind. He was proudly accompanied on the battlefield by his son, Ernest Augustus, but their celebrations were short-lived: enemy reinforcements would surround the Hanoverians and force George V to surrender two days later. The Prussian prime minister, Otto von Bismarck, duly annexed Hanover  as he did the other kingdoms that had unsuccessfully sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (of which the Battle of Langensalza was part).

The northside of Schloss Cumberland  the palace in Upper Austria built by George Vs son, Ernest Augustus  photographed in 1907

Deposed from his throne, George V settled with Ernest Augustus and the rest of his family on the outskirts of Vienna. Hed never see Hanover again, remaining in exile until his death in 1878, aged 59. In tribute to his late father, Ernest Augustus commissioned a marble bust of him 13 years later. A renowned aesthete, he chose one of the great sculptors of the day, Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugene Guillaume, for the task. The Frenchman, who counted Napoleon and Beethoven among his previous subjects, was director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and would go on to earn the highest rank in his countrys Legion of Honour, the Grand Croix.

Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Eugene Guillaume (French, 1822-1905), King George V of Hanover (1819-1878). Carrara marble. 37 in (95.6 cm) high; 29 in (75 cm) wide; 16 in (42cm) deep. Offered for private sale at Christies. View decorative arts currently offered for private sale at Christies



Guillaume invested George with an unmistakable sense of nobility: from the tilt of his head, and high-collared tunic, to the ermine robe over his slightly off-set shoulders. And then, of course, theres the Order of the Garter chain, featuring an exquisitely carved figure of St George at the bottom. Viewers are left in no doubt of the subjects majesty. However, theres also much pathos in his eyes. Theyre all but shut, reflecting not just the blindness that afflicted George from childhood but, more figuratively, the fact that in his final years the light of Hanover didnt shine upon him.

The future Queen Victoria was born three days before George, and the pair enjoyed much time together growing up. As a young prince George had his portrait painted at Windsor Castle

Its a portrait of great poignancy. Of a man who met a tragic end, but whose beginnings had seemed so auspicious. The House of Hanover had been providing Great Britain and Ireland with monarchs since 1714. George  like his cousin, the future Queen Victoria  was a grandchild of King George III. She was born three days before him, in May 1819, and the pair enjoyed much time together growing up. George spent his youth between Germany and England, and as a young prince had his portrait painted at Windsor Castle by Sir Thomas Lawrence (a work that today hangs on the Grand Staircase at Buckingham Palace). Victoria assumed the British throne ahead of George upon the death of their uncle, William IV, in 1837. However, a Salic law of succession (prohibiting female rulers) meant that she couldnt assume the Hanoverian throne from William IV as well. George would thus become King of Hanover, the two crowns being split for good.

The family of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (seated), at Schloss Cumberland in 1914, showing in the background the marble bust of King George V of Hanover by Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Eugene Guillaume

Relations between the cousins grew strained after the Austro-Prussian War. Till his dying day, George refused to accept his loss of sovereignty, and took any chance to stir up anti-Prussian sentiment in Hanover from afar  launching two daily newspapers and a military unit. He lamented that the British hadnt intervened on his behalf in 1866. Likewise, that Victoria had discouraged him from taking up exile in the UK. (The Queens stance was presumably one of geopolitical diplomacy, her eldest daughter being married to Prince Frederick William of Prussia.) As much as anything, then, Guillaumes bust evokes a lost age when royal houses across Europe were part of an intricate web of personal connections  while recalling, at the same time, an early fray in that web, which would unravel for ever in the First World War.

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Taking a break from brewing craft beer, craft coffee, and craft right-wing rallies, the city of Portland has given us what may very well be the best defining photos of the coronavirus pandemic.

It looks like a scene from Fallout: Horny. Those are dancers from the Lucky Devil Lounge, and until all *gestures vaguely at the outdoors* this happened, it was a perfectly functional strip club. However, when folks in Oregon started staying home, the dancers noticing a sharp decline in business. The state of Oregon went to an "essential businesses only" policy pretty soon after.

Luckily, Portland is nothing if not full of creativity. After club owner Shon Boulden jokingly tweeted wondering if it would be a good idea to convert to a food delivery service, he got a surprisingly positive response. Completely ignoring the old rule of "don't eat the food from a strip club," Boulden went ahead and started "Boober Eats." Uber Eats, not giving a single shit about the $1800 worth of t-shirts bearing that name that Boulden had printed up, hit him with a cease-and-desist. Boulden knew there were bigger fish (and other culinary options) to fry than fighting Uber in court, so he changed the name to "Food 2 Go-Go" and kept the show go-going.
Playboy tycoon James Stunt is to be charged with money laundering and forgery, the Mail can reveal.

But the bankrupt former gold bullion dealer is already protesting his innocence, telling his followers on Instagram: This is the biggest fit-up.

Mr Stunt, 38, who was once married to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone, will be summonsed to appear in court in July.

He has been under scrutiny by detectives investigating alleged proceeds of crime.

Mr Stunt, 38, who was once married to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone (pictured together in 2011), will be summonsed to appear in court in July

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman told the Mail last night: The CPS has made a decision to charge James Stunt with offences of money laundering contrary to section 327 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and forgery contrary to section one of Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, following an investigation by West Yorkshire Police.

A court date has been arranged for July 9, 2020 at Leeds Magistrates Court. Requisitions will be issued in the next seven days.

Janes Solicitors, representing Mr Stunt, said: Our client denies any criminality and will be contesting the charges.

Mr Stunt told his 90,000 Instagram followers in a video message that he was innocent, adding: So whats the headline? A man they have arrested got charged with money laundering? I will be tendering a defence.

I hope this goes to trial and you can explain how James Stunt, the biggest clueless guy ever, is not a money launderer.

I have to now prove my innocence, and I wont just use my photographic memory.

James Stunt is prosecuted for money laundering  this is the biggest miscarriage of justice.

Last June, James Stunt was declared bankrupt and, in March this year, his 11million luxury cottage in Belgravia, central London, was repossessed

Once worth an estimated 3billion, Mr Stunt had his assets and cash frozen at the High Court in 2018 at the request of the CPS in a proceeds of crime restraint order.

Last June, he was declared bankrupt and, in March this year, his 11million luxury cottage in Belgravia, central London, was repossessed along with his two apartments overlooking Chelsea Harbour, each worth 5million.

Mr Stunt, who updates his Instagram followers almost daily, recently posted: They managed to take my actual house. They already took two other properties, two luxury apartments. This has already cost me 50million.

Mr Stunt had an acrimonious divorce from Miss Ecclestone, with whom he has three children, in 2017.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday commissioned a 118-bed isolation and treatment centre within the Gbagada General Hospital.

The isolation facility adds to the number of treatment facilities the state has, increasing the capacity for managing COVID-19 in the state.

While inaugurating the new facility, Mr Sanwo-Olu said it would be manned by highly skilled volunteer health workers, trained in infection prevention and control as well as COVID-19 case management.

This brings the total number of isolation and treatment centres to five in Lagos, while the state has a bed-capacity of 558.

The state government had previously commissioned a 110-bed isolation and treatment facility at Onikan, while another 70-bed facility was inaugurated at the Landmark Exhibition Centre, Eti-Osa local government.

Lagos also has a 100-bed Isolation and Treatment Centre at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba and another 60-bed capacity at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

As of Friday, Lagos has 755 active cases of coronavirus. Apart from these, 199 patients have recovered and have been discharged, while 20 have died from COVID-19 infection in the state.

READ MORE:

The state government has earlier disclosed partnership with the private sector in the treatment of COVID-19 cases, and approved the First Cardiology Consultants Hospital, Ikoyi as a private hospital managing COVID-19 cases

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Health in the state, Akin Abayomi, said at a press conference in April that plans to have more bed-capacity are in view.

Mr Abayomi said the state will set up a 150-bed capacity Isolation and Treatment Centre at the Infectious Disease Hospital and another 300-capacity permanent facility within the same premises, making a total of 450-bed capacity in view.

These facilities, he said, would be ready in the coming months.

Lagos has the highest confirmed cases in Nigeria, with 976 cases out of the 1932 cases nationwide.

On Thursday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) lamented the inadequate bed spaces across Nigeria, especially in Lagos, for treating COVID-19 patients. The NCDC said only about 3,500 bed spaces are available across Nigeria for COVID-19 patients while the number of patients was on the rise.
[May 01, 2020] Evans Bancorp, Inc. Completes Acquisition of FSB Bancorp, Inc.

Evans Bancorp, Inc. ("Evans") (NYSE American: EVBN), parent company of Evans Bank, N.A. ("Evans Bank"), announced the completion of its acquisition of FSB Bancorp, Inc. ("FSB") and its primary subsidiary, Fairport Savings Bank ("Fairport"). This transaction strengthens Evans' presence in the Western New York region. Under the terms of the merger agreement, FSB stockholders received, at the election of the holder, for each share of common stock, par value $0.01, of FSB either (i) $17.80 in cash or (ii) 0.4394 share of common stock, par value $0.50, of Evans, subject to the allocation and proration procedures contained in the merger agreement. "The acquisition of FSB advances our growth objectives and strategy by expanding our geographic footprint into a nearby MSA and leveraging the scale of our combined organization to diversify our client base," said David J. Nasca, President and CEO of Evans. "We are very excited to welcome the talented team members of FSB and to continue to provide customers with the relationship service they know and desire." In accordance with the merger agreement, Kevin D. Maroney has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Evans. Mr. Maroney, 62, has served as FSB's Chief Executive Officer since January 2018 and as President and a director since 2017. Mr. Maroney first joined Fairport in 2004 and has served in a number of executive and senior management roles, including as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, positions he held from 2004 to October 2017. Based on financial information reported as of December 31, 2019, the combined company would have total assets of approximately $1.85 billion, deposits of approximately $1.56 billion and loans of approximately $1.50 billion. Fairport customer relationships will continue business as usual until the banks' systems are integrated and Fairport banking offices are rebranded as Evans Bank, which is anticipated to occur in August 2020. About Evans Bancorp, Inc. Evans Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company and the parent company of Evans Bank, N.A., a commercial bank with $1.5 billion in assets and $1.3 billion in deposits at March 31, 2020. Evans is a full-service community bank, with 15 financial centers providing comprehensive financial services t consumer, business and municipal customers throughout Western New York. Evans Insurance Agency, a wholly owned subsidiary, provides life insurance, employee benefits, and property and casualty insurance through ten offices in the Western New York region. Evans Investment Services provides non-deposit investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds.



Evans Bancorp, Inc. and Evans Bank routinely post news and other important information on their websites, at www.evansbancorp.com and www.evansbank.com. Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. When used in this news release, or in the documents incorporated by reference herein, the words "will," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "seek," "look to," "goal," "target" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the impact Evans expect the proposed merger (the "Proposed Transaction") to have on the combined entities operations, financial condition, and financial results, and Evans' expectations about its ability to successfully integrate the acquired business and the amount of cost savings and other benefits Evans expects to realize as a result of the Proposed Transaction. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of Evans' management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risk that the businesses of Evans and FSB will not be integrated successfully, the possibility that the cost savings and any synergies or other anticipated benefits from the Proposed Transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the businesses of Evans and FSB, disruption from the Proposed Transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with employees, customers or other parties with whom Evans has business relationships, diversion of management time on merger-related issues, risks relating to the potential dilutive effect of the shares of Evans common stock to be issued in the Proposed Transaction, the reaction to the Proposed Transaction of the companies' customers, employees and counterparties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Evans. We refer you to the additional risk factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Evans for the year ended December 31, 2019, the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by FSB for the year ended December 31, 2019 and any updates to those risk factors set forth in Evans' and FSB's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings, which have been filed by Evans and FSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC (News - Alert)") and are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Because of these and other uncertainties, actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to herein. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Evans does not undertake any obligation, and specifically declines any obligation, to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new, updated information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005352/en/

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Third Coast Underwriters (3CU), a national workers compensation insurance company, is expanding into Florida and Wisconsin. With the expansion, the company will offer its workers compensation coverage in 21 states.

Under the direction of Mike Valiante, vice president of Business Development, Underwriting and Data Analytics, the 3CU team will explore opportunities for appointing agents and identifying qualified customers within the new areas.

Eleven years after launching as a specialized provider of workers compensation insurance to complex operations, 3CU continues its growth after reaching an important milestone in 2019, when it surpassed $100 million in written premium for the first time in its history.

Through geographic and segment expansion of its workers compensation business, 3CU continues to partner with customers to provide proactive, consultative service to manage complex operations and challenging exposures that require unique workers compensation solutions.

Third Coast Underwriters is a member of AF Group. Insurance policies may be issued by any of the following companies within AF Group: Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, Accident Fund National Insurance Company, Accident Fund General Insurance Company, United Wisconsin Insurance Company, Third Coast Insurance Company or CompWest Insurance Company.

Source: AF Group

Topics Carriers Florida Workers' Compensation Underwriting Wisconsin
American business magnate and philanthropist, Bill Gates, on Thursday said it could take as long as two years or at least nine months before a vaccine can be found to tackle the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives across the globe.

Mr Gates said as of April 9, 115 different COVID-19 potential vaccines were being developed globally.

The co-founder of Microsoft Corporation said although scientists across the globe are in a frantic race against time to get a suitable vaccine to halt the death toll created by COVID-19, safety and efficacy are the two most important considerations.

Mr Gates, who penned down his thoughts in his regular publication, The GatesNotes, The Insider Edition, also highlighted some of the global processes needed to fast-track the process of getting a competent vaccine to save billions of lives across the

Anthony Fauci has said he thinks itll take around eighteen months to develop a coronavirus vaccine. I agree with him, though it could be as little as 9 months or as long as two years, Mr Gates said.

Mr Fauci is the director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is regarded as Americas most trusted voice in the fight against the ravaging pandemic.

Although eighteen months might sound like a long time, this would be the fastest scientists have created a new vaccine, Mr Gates said. Development usually takes around five years. Once you pick a disease to target, you have to create the vaccine and test it on animals. Then you begin testing for safety and efficacy in humans.

Safety and efficacy are the two most important goals for every vaccine. Safety is exactly what it sounds like: is the vaccine safe to give to people? Some minor side effects (like a mild fever or injection site pain) can be acceptable, but you dont want to inoculate people with something that makes them sick.

Efficacy measures how well the vaccine protects you from getting sick. Although youd ideally want a vaccine to have 100 per cent efficacy, many dont. For example, this years flu vaccine is around 45 per cent effective, Mr Gates added.

One of the questions I get asked the most these days is when the world will be able to go back to the way things were in December before the coronavirus pandemic. My answer is always the same: when we have an almost perfect drug to treat COVID-19, or when almost every person on the planet has been vaccinated against coronavirus.

The former is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Wed need a miracle treatment that was at least 95 per cent effective to stop the outbreak. Most of the drug candidates right now are nowhere near that powerful. They could save a lot of lives, but they arent enough

Mr Gates wrote about the 115 different COVID-19 potential vaccines being developed.

I think that eight to ten of those look particularly promising. Our foundation is going to keep an eye on all the others to see if we missed any that have some positive characteristics, though.

Trial phases

Mr Gates also took time to explain the phases any competent vaccine must pass through before it can be used globally.

The software developer said for safety and efficacy, every vaccine goes through three phases of trials.

Phase one is the safety trial. A small group of healthy volunteers gets the vaccine candidate. You try out different dosages to create the strongest immune response at the lowest effective dose without serious side effects.

Once youve settled on a formula, you move onto phase two, which tells you how well the vaccine works in the people who are intended to get it. This time, hundreds of people get the vaccine. This cohort should include people of different ages and health statuses.

Then, in phase three, you give it to thousands of people. This is usually the longest phase, because it occurs in whats called natural disease conditions.

You introduce it to a large group of people who are likely already at the risk of infection by the target pathogen, and then wait and see if the vaccine reduces how many people get sick, Mr Gates explained.

Mr Gates said after the vaccine passes all three trial phases, you start building the factories to manufacture it, and it gets submitted to the WHO and various government agencies for approval.

Compressing process

Mr Gates, however, said in view of the urgency of getting a vaccine to tackle COVID-19, global leaders can actually speed up the process to get the lifesaving medication to over 7 billion of world population.

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This process works well for most vaccines, but the normal development timeline isnt good enough right now. Every day we can cut from this process will make a huge difference to the world in terms of saving lives and reducing trillions of dollars in economic damage. So, to speed up the process, vaccine developers are compressing the timeline, he said.

In the traditional process, the steps are sequential to address key questions and unknowns. This can help mitigate financial risk, since creating a new vaccine is expensive. Many candidates fail, which is why companies wait to invest in the next step until they know the previous step was successful.

The billionaire said for COVID-19, financing would not an issue.

He noted that governments and other organisations (including Gates Foundation and an amazing alliance called the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) have made it clear they will support whatever it takes to find a vaccine.

So, scientists are able to save time by doing several of the development steps at once, he said. For example, the private sector, governments, and our foundation are going to start identifying facilities to manufacture different potential vaccines. If some of those facilities end up going unused, thats okay. Its a small price to pay for getting ahead on production.

Fortunately, compressing the trial timeline isnt the only way to take a process that usually takes five years and get it done in 18 months. Another way were going to do that is by testing lots of different approaches at the same time, he added.

Coronavirus has continued its rapid spread across the globe. There are now more than three million confirmed cases in 185 nations with more than 200, 000 fatalities
Dukono on Halmahera in Indonesia has been in permanent activity for years, often producing ash plumes that drift around the northern part of the island and have become normality.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The issue of the appointment of the Azerbaijani prosecutor general was discussed at the plenary meeting of the country's parliament held on May 1, Trend reports.

The candidate of deputy prosecutor general, head of the Anti-Corruption Department under the Azerbaijani prosecutor general Kamran Aliyev was nominated for the post of prosecutor general upon Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs proposal.

Information on the matter was presented by the Head of Department for Relations with Political Parties and Legislative Authority of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Adalat Veliyev.

Veliyev noted that the activities of Kamran Aliyev are highly appreciated by the state.

After discussions, the issue was put to the vote and adopted by the parliament.
When a toy poodle named Peaches came trotting into Andrew Bullochs salon with her owner a few weeks ago, the dog groomer didnt realize it would be the last client hed be seeing for a while.

Bulloch, after all, had been told by a provincial government hotline that he could stay open for business as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But while Peaches was getting her fur trimmed, nails clipped, and ears checked, a City of Toronto bylaw enforcement officer entered John Andrew Pet Spa near Yonge Street and York Mills Road and threatened him with a $100,000 fine for non-compliance with the provinces Emergency Order closing non-essential businesses.

He brushed off Bullochs objections.

He said, these are the rules, and youre breaking them. Theres no room for interpretation.

Well, there clearly is, said Bulloch, one of thousands of groomers across the province left wondering just what the rules are during the pandemic.

Bulloch had called the Stop the Spread Business Information Line set up by the provincial government in the wake of the emergency order. He was told that as a dog groomer, his business qualified as essential under section 11 of the order, which also lists veterinary clinics and other businesses that deal with animal health.

Small business advocates say the patchwork approach to enforcement across the province  whether its for dog groomers or other businesses looking for clarification  simply isnt fair.

Its incredibly frustrating for business owners who are just trying to do the right thing, said Ryan Mallough, the Ontario regional director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Everyone understands the need for some places to be closed.

Alysha Mohamed, who runs Paws in the Six grooming and doggy daycare, had a similar run in.

She called the line twice, once when the initial list of essential businesses came out March 24, then on April 4, when the original list of 75 essential businesses was trimmed down to 44. Both times, she was told yes to daycare, no to grooming.

When she noticed other groomers were still open, she called again. This time, she was told groomers could be open. So she opened. A few days later, she got a visit from a bylaw enforcement officer who told her she had to close.

Its ridiculous that the citys coming up with its own definitions, said Mohamed.

Its an issue thats more widespread than just with dog groomers.

Mallough said many small businesses are getting conflicting or incomplete advice from the information line, while others are simply having the emergency order read out to them from the website when they call. If they decide to stay open based on hotline advice, theyre getting threatened by local police or bylaw enforcement.

Theyre having to play Russian roulette with local enforcement, said Mallough.

Similar businesses in neighbouring cities or towns are effectively operating under different sets of rules, Mallough said, adding that raises huge issues of fairness.

There are different interpretations in different cities. And there are different interpretations by different parts of government in some cities. The health department might say one thing, bylaw enforcement might say another.

A spokesperson for the City of Toronto said its merely following the rules.

The province established the list of essential businesses and the city is carefully applying the list of essential businesses using the words and phrases chosen by the province, Jasmine Patrick said via email.

Patrick said the city cannot comment on what it is alleged to have been stated by the Stop the Spread Business Information Line. She pointed out that the provincial governments own Stop the Spread website says that any information given out by the hotline shouldnt be considered legal advice.

Rebecca Bozzato, a spokesperson for provincial economic development minister Vic Fedeli said business owners should take a close look at the list of essential businesses before deciding whether or not to stay open. Bozzato added the provincial government was leaving enforcement to local police, the Ontario Provincial Police and local bylaw enforcement officers.

The emergency orders issued under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) provides police services and other provincial offences officers with the authority to enforce compliance around the closure of facilities mentioned in the order. The Ontario government cannot direct investigations nor their outcomes, said Bozzato.

Meanwhile, groomer Terry Bowen decided to play it safe and stayed closed after checking the website and calling the hotline. He decided it wasnt worth risking a $100,000 fine.

Theres just complete confusion, Bowen said of the conflicting government messages.

Also he pointed out that dog grooming is more than just about keeping Rover looking good.

Dogs which dont shed can get really nasty hot spots and lesions if they dont get groomed, and they can get ear infections, said Bowen. Its also a matter of protecting human health, he said.

I had one client who noticed deer ticks on their dog, and they called me right up. I had to tell them I couldnt help. Deer ticks are the ones which carry Lyme disease, said Bowen.
(Photo : Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash) HIV Outbreak May Be Lurking During Coronavirus The Pandemic, Experts Say (Photo : Pixabay) HIV Outbreak May Be Silently Brewing During The COVID-19 Outbreak: Experts Raised Concerns On The Silent Outbreak

While the coronavirus continues to affect many communities, other serious diseases are still present. HIV is another virus that people should worry about as it could be silently lurking during the pandemic.

According to ABC News's previous report, medical experts are concerned about the increase of HIV positive cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was explained that the ongoing HIV cases around the world have faded into the background since public health experts have become focused on preventing COVID-19 infections. Experts are currently voicing out their concern that a silent HIV outbreak may be brewing.

"What we are seeing reminds us of the 80s and I am worried that the pandemic might set everyone back," said Jasmine Budnella, a drug policy coordinator at Voices Community Activists and Leaders-New York or VOCAL-NY, in the report.

VOCAL-NY is also known for providing services that focus on ending the drug war, helping the homeless, and addressing other issues that affect the poor.

According to the report, the United States has developed different programs, in recent years, to help level off the rate of new HIV infections.

The programs are primarily in the form of needle exchange programs that distribute clean needles to people who inject medicines. Medical experts are also focused on distributing new medicines capable of stopping the spread of HIV.

Experts say a silent HIV outbreak may be brewing during the pandemic

According to ABC News, the needle exchange programs have been shut down and many free HIV clinics have closed their doors because the coronavirus pandemic has caused many cities and local health departments to divert their resources and medical personnel to combat the outbreak.

"People have been reusing and sharing needles, sharpening old needles with rocks, or cleaning them with bleach and then injecting because they are unable to access new and clean supplies," said Budnella in the report.

Sheila Vakharaia, the deputy director in the department of research and academic engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance, clarified that it has always been a challenge to get syringes to those people who need them because of limited resources and the stigma regarding with the drug use.

Currently, it is nearly impossible for the people who previously relied on needle exchange programs to seek help.

Vakharia explained that many people have resorted to sharing syringes or cleaning them without proper supplies because of the lack of resources which could increase the infection rate of blood-borne infections like HIV.

A recent report of Harm Reduction Ohio stated that over 50% of needle exchange sites have closed their doors while the remainder of the affected programs are experiencing cuts in their funding.

To resolve the issue, needle exchange programs across the nation are rushing to find new ways to keep the people engaged with their medical experts and to continue serving the most vulnerable.

The Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition is one of the organizations that's creating new ways to reach out to people. AHRC is currently providing mail-in HIV testing kits to lessen the expected rise of HIV infections while adhering to social distancing policies.

But despite the greatest efforts done by different organizations, Budnella stated that an outburst in HIV transmissions could be experienced because people are forced to share syringes.

"In the moment of COVID, everybody is seeing it slamming in our faces that we need back up systems in place to avoid the circumstance we are experiencing now," she said.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Release: National Guard will be in Greene on Monday to help fit healthcare workers' masks
Parts of Pennsylvania are preparing to lift some restrictions of the statewide shutdown. The Lehigh Valleys progress toward that goal is mixed.

A lehighvalleylive.com analysis of available data shows that the rate of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people over the last two weeks  one essential metric Gov Tom Wolfs administration is using to determine which areas are eligible to begin reopening  has improved in Lehigh County, but grown worse in Northampton County over the last week.

The situation in nearby counties is similarly jumbled: The rate of new COVID-19 cases is worse in Bucks and Montgomery, but improved in Berks, Monroe and even Philadelphia.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

The goal set forth last week by Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine is to see counties head below a rate of 50 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people over two weeks.

A list of what counties will on May 8 move from red to yellow  the second tier of Wolfs three-tier reopening plan  is to be released sometime Friday, though Wolf told media on Thursday that the list was yet to be drafted.

(UPDATE: 24 Pa. counties will move to the yellow phase)

We will be looking at all of the things, Wolf said. We want to keep people safe.

This chart shows Gov. Tom Wolf's plan for reopening Pennsylvania, with different regions moving through three phases.

Data available as of Thursday afternoon shows 40 of Pennsylvanias 67 counties appearing to meet that threshold, scattered throughout the central and western regions.

In more densely populated eastern Pennsylvania, however, the situation is different.

A week ago, Northampton County had about 232 new cases per 100,000 people over the prior 14 days; Lehigh County had 258. This week, Northamptons two-week rate rose to about 247 new cases per 100,000 residents while Lehighs dropped to about 216.

Philadelphia, which has the most cases and deaths of anywhere in the state, improved, going from 320 new cases per 100,000 residents over two weeks to 291.

Near the Lehigh Valley, the two-week rate of new cases in Bucks County rose from 200 to 233. And in Montgomery County, it increased from 205 to 212.

But in Berks County, the two-week rate of new cases dropped from 379 per capita to 304. In Monroe County, which, when accounting for population, has also been hard hit by the virus, the two-week new case rate fell from 181 to 135 per 100,000 people.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

The measurement is also being applied regionally. The Lehigh Valleys counties are considered to be the southernmost in the Northeast region, which extends through the Poconos to the New York state border. Last week, the region had 208 new cases per 100,000 residents over two weeks. This week, the rate is 180.

The adjacent Southeast region, which includes Berks County and Philadelphia, last week was at 244 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. This week, it dropped slightly to 237.

The new cases metric is, as Levine described it Thursday, necessary, but not sufficient" on its own to determine when it is reasonably safe to progress from the red level to yellow. State officials are also considering testing availability, hospital capacity, disease forecast models, and an areas proximity to a hotspot in their decisions.

But, Levine said, if a county is significantly above that target level of 50 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks, its much less likely to go to yellow."

If theres a resurgence of coronavirus in a region, the state reserves the ability to close it down again.

Even as areas do progress through the tiers, masks will still be required, restaurants will still be closed to dine-in service and large gatherings will still be prohibited. Wolf, in a conference call with media on Thursday, said Pennsylvanians will have to adjust to a new normal, one with an infectious disease circulating in a way not seen in the last 60 to 70 years.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Rachel Levine, pictured at a news conference in March, say that the rate of new coronavirus cases over two weeks, hospital capacity, disease forecast models, and a region's proximity to a COVID-19 hotspot will all play into the decision to begin lifting shutdown restrictions by region. If the virus shows a resurgence, they can shut the area back down again. (Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com)

Moving from the more-stringent red lockdown to the gradual societal reopening laid out in the yellow phase is all about learning how we interact in this new world. Absent a rapid-fire vaccine or cure, social distancing and mask-wearing are a part of daily life for the near future. Businesses and workplaces will need to find new ways of operating.

We have to behave differently or were all going to get sick, Wolf said.

The stay-at-home order aimed to buy Pennsylvania time to ramp up testing capacity and avoid overwhelming the health care system, an attempt to to buy time in the crudest of ways, Wolf said.

U.S. governors are trying to navigate the uncharted waters of the pandemic in a way that keeps people safe, but also does the least damage, Wolf said. In many ways, he said, those are just irreconcilable goals. Individuals are going to have to decide what this means for themselves in many ways. Will their choices be driven by the hope of protecting a loved one from getting sick?

A lot of this is going to be invented as we go, Wolf said. Weve learned about how to contain the disease. Now we have to learn how to live with it.

It will not be a quick return to normal regardless, but it will be even longer for areas going backward  and others nearby.

Editors Note: This story has been updated to correct a calculation error that resulted in one day of counts being inadvertently omitted. This error did not change the overall trends.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
Drew Barrymore and Walmart are reportedly being sued after allegedly copying a fabric design studio's patterns to sell pillows.

The actress, 45, has previously claimed she was 'proud' that all of her Flower Home by Drew Barrymore pillow designs were 'completely her own and original'.

However Rule of Three Studio has disputed Drew's claim and insisted that Drew has 'ripped off' their work, in a copyright infringement suit obtained by Tmz.

Law suit: Drew Barrymore and Walmart are reportedly being sued after allegedly copying a fabric design studio's patterns to sell pillows (pictured in November 2019)

In the suit, the fabric design company claim that Drew and her brand copied their Turkish Plume pattern to pass off as her own and sell at Walmart.

The legal documents allegedly reveal that Rule of Three released their Turkish Plume print pillow in 2015, while Drew launched her own collection in 2019.

The company are now reportedly suing to stop sales and for all of the profits from the design plus any additional damages.

Claims: In the suit, the fabric design company claim that Drew and her brand copied their Turkish Plume pattern to pass off as her own and sell at Walmart

Similar? Rule Of Three studio's design (left) Flower Home by Drew Barrymore design (right)

Rule of Three Studio told the website that their pillows are sold for between $315 and $565, while Drew's aren't currently appearing on the Walmart website.

MailOnline have contacted Walmart and Drew's representative's for comment.

Drew first released her boho collection in March last year, as she expanded her business empire by collaborating with budget store Walmart.

Proud: The actress, 45, has previously claimed she was 'proud' that all of her Flower Home by Drew Barrymore pillow designs were 'completely her own and original'

The star launched her 200-piece collection, which includes a wide range of homeware including, furniture, rugs, vases, bed linen and wall art.

The range starts at $37 for a throw pillow, and $39 for a set of three coordinating vases right up to $899 for a pink velvet sofa and $699 for a watercolour loveseat.

Drew told People magazine at the time the mismatched, floral-rich nature of the collection was inspired by her godmother, Anna Strasberg and her best friend, Lynn von Kersting, the co-owner of LA restaurant The Ivy.

Collection: Drew first released her boho collection in March last year, as she expanded her business empire by collaborating with budget store Walmart

Home living: The star launched her 200-piece collection, which includes a wide range of homeware including, furniture, rugs, vases, bed linen and wall art

Drew claimed that her travels also played a huge part in her designs, she said: 'I wanted a collection filled with things that felt like they came from different places around the world.

'Your home should be joyful and make you feel inspired.'

For Drew, the new range expanded her influence. She is already the boss of Flower Beauty, Flower Eyewear, Flower Press and her production company, Flower Films.
Chandigarh, May 1 : A total of 263 stranded people, mainly Britons, on Friday left for their destinations in a special flight from the international airport in Amritsar in Punjab, officials said.

Qatar Airways flight with 221 Britons and 42 Indians departed from Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport to Heathrow via Doha, Special Chief Secretary K.B.S. Sidhu, who is in-charge to monitor statewide coronavirus cases, informed in a tweet.

The British government on Thursday announced seven further charter flights to bring over 2,000 stranded British travellers home from India.

Once these flights are completed, over 15,000 British travellers will have been brought back from India on 59 flights chartered by the government, it said in a statement.

It said the Amritsar to Heathrow flights will ply on seven days consecutively from May 5.

Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, said: "Our charter programme has already helped more than 10,000 British travellers return home from India by ensuring flights to the UK have run every day since 8 April, with thousands more due to depart in the coming days." Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India, said: "This fifth round of flights brings the total number of planes we have organised from India to 59. There have been daily departures from across the country for weeks, which have helped thousands of people get back to their friends and families in the UK."
"While this pandemic has been difficult for the auto industry, April sales for Subaru were better than expected," said Thomas J. Doll, President and CEO, Subaru of America. "We are immensely proud of our retailers' efforts and perseverance in this difficult market. Through our partnership with Feeding America, Subaru and our retailers have also come together to provide 50 million meals * nationwide to assist those having difficulty accessing and purchasing food. We want to thank our retailers for their participation in this initiative, making them more than a typical car dealer."

"April sales are reflective of the current state of the automotive industry during an unprecedented time, but our customer's confidence in the quality and capability of Subaru vehicles remains as strong as ever. Awards like Kelley Blue Book naming Subaru the 'Most Trusted Brand' of 2020 are more important now than they ever have been," said Jeff Walters, Senior Vice President of Sales. "Our retailers continue to provide safe car-buying environments and expand methods of vehicle service, in addition to continuing to care for their local communities."

Carline Apr-20 Apr-19 % Chg Apr-20 Apr-19 % Chg

MTD MTD MTD YTD YTD YTD Forester 9,431 14,782 -36.2% 48,511 55,438 -12.5% Impreza 1,857 4,819 -61.5% 12,146 18,598 -34.7% WRX/STI 1,368 2,197 -37.7% 5,908 8,400 -29.7% Ascent 3,954 6,512 -39.3% 19,578 25,585 -23.5% Legacy 1,358 2,991 -54.6% 7,893 11,210 -29.6% Outback 8,058 16,381 -50.8% 40,673 58,189 -30.1% BRZ 105 287 -63.4% 497 1,106 -55.1% Crosstrek 4,489 9,319 -51.8% 26,005 35,516 -26.8% TOTAL 30,620 57,288 -46.6% 161,211 214,042 -24.7%

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, Subaru and its retailers are following the most up-to-date guidelines from the CDC, adapting services and undertaking enhanced measures for cleaning and sanitation to help support the safety of employees and customers. In addition, many stores are providing alternative methods of vehicle service  including pick-up and drop-off, expanded service loaner fleet, and mobile repair. For information on the Subaru Payment Deferment Program, please contact your local Subaru retailer or visit Subaru Motors Finance.

* $1 helps to provide at least ten meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $190 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Dominick Infante

Director, Corporate Communications

(856) 488-8615

[email protected]

Diane Anton

Corporate Communications Manager

(856) 488-5093

[email protected]

Nicholas Saraceni

Corporate Communications Specialist

(856) 488-3330

[email protected]

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.
The World Bank has approved the allocation of an additional $150 million to Ukraine to help protect the poorest and most vulnerable.

The World Bank announced this in a press release of April 30.

"The World Banks Board of Executive Directors approved today $150 million in Additional Financing for the Social Safety Nets Modernization Project, to enhance and improve social assistance for low-income families in Ukraine," the statement reads.

A total of $50 million of this additional financing will be used as part of Ukraines emergency response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Thousands of Ukrainian families are already facing difficulty paying for housing and utility services because people are losing their incomes. Pensioners cant afford to buy even basic medicines and food due to rising prices. It is important to help those people by making social payments swifter and more targeted, said Alex Kremer, World Bank Acting Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. The additional financing will also support start-up grants for small businesses, known in Ukraine as the Hand of Help, which will support the poor in learning new skills, finding a job, or opening a business.

Hand of Help is an initiative developed by the World Bank and Ukraines Ministry of Social Policy. During 2017-2018, under the ongoing Social Safety Nets Modernization Project, micro financing was provided to support people who were internally displaced as a result of the conflict in Donbas, as well as the poorest among the population. Thanks to the project, 230 people have started new businesses in the Kharkiv, Poltava, and Lviv regions, and in some territorial communities in Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, and Donetsk.
The province's decision not to reopen schools in any capacity is being questioned by a child psychologist who says students are falling way behind and may lose a year's worth of learning.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province's decision not to reopen schools in any capacity is being questioned by a child psychologist who says students are falling way behind and may lose a year's worth of learning.

"Were now going to be talking six months of children out of school," said Jen Theule, an associate professor in school and clinical psychology at the University of Manitoba. "Were not talking learning loss, well be re-teaching an entire grade."

In-person interactions with teachers and peers are critical in a childs development, especially for children younger than 10, Theule said.

A mother and expert in childrens mental health and education, she questions why creative ideas for resuming classes are missing from the province's plan.

Jen Theule, associate professor of psychology at the University of Manitoba, says in-person interactions with teachers and peers are critical in a childs development, especially for children younger than 10 . (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

Premier Brian Pallister has made clear his government has no plan to allow students to return to class before the end of the academic year.

"The intensity of the presence of a large number of kids in a school makes social distancing all but impossible," Pallister said Wednesday, before noting the end of the year is fast approaching.

He made the comments moments after introducing Manitoba's reopening plan, which includes allowing non-essential businesses to reopen next week.

As far as Theule is concerned, there are safe options, and governments across the globe have tested some of them.

In mid-April, Denmark reopened schools with drastic changes to the pre-pandemic routine: class sizes were reduced, students are only allowed to play in small groups and they are required to wash their hands hourly. Danish school employees must prioritize outdoor learning, prevent parents from entering schools and ramp up sanitation.

In the U.S., President Donald Trump has urged states to reopen schools. In rural Idaho, administrators are mulling asking siblings to sit together on school buses, spaced out from other students.

We have to acknowledge teachers expertise. The idea that parents could do this is almost amusing. If all parents could do this, we wouldn't have a public school system.  Jen Theule, associate professor in school and clinical psychology at the University of Manitoba

Closer to home, Quebec plans to reopen elementary schools in two weeks in areas where there have been few COVID-19 cases. Classes will be capped at 15 students and those who live with people with health conditions will be barred from attending. One Vancouver school has already welcomed back students with "exceptionally high learning needs" to receive face-to-face instruction.

Discussion about any such measures in Manitoba have been secretive, if they have taken place at all.

Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen did not agree to an interview this week. Instead, his office provided a general statement that noted the department is working with stakeholders on the file.

The Manitoba Teachers Society did not provide comment on the subject either, redirecting a query to a quote from president James Bedford in a prepared release: "The safety of students and of all education staff is of the utmost priority, and teachers are committed to ensuring that our students continue to learn during these uncertain times."

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For parents, common concerns include their children's safety and ability to be asymptomatic carriers, as well as the unknown.

"At least if they had more information at this point then they could prepare," said Brenda Brazeau of the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils. A member of a provincial task force on the COVID-19 education response, Brazeau has yet to hear any discussion about what reopening schools could look like.

Meanwhile, Theule said it's important Manitobans start to consider their options.

"We have to acknowledge teachers expertise," she said. "The idea that parents could do this is almost amusing. If all parents could do this, we wouldn't have a public school system."

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
By Trend

A woman aged 92 has recovered from coronavirus in Azerbaijan, Trend reports on April 30 citing the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers.

The oldest patient infected with coronavirus in Azerbaijan  92-year-old Aghabeyim Akhundova fully recovered and was discharged from the hospital.

The resident of Boladi village of Lankaran district had the coronavirus symptoms, namely, severe cough, in early April. Akhundova went to the doctor and her results of coronavirus tests were positive.

Then Akhundova was placed in one of the special treatment hospitals where patients with coronavirus were treated. Thanks to the efforts of doctors, the 92-year-old woman recovered and was discharged from the hospital.

Akhundova expressed gratitude to the doctors.

"I periodically coughed and could not understand what happened to me, Akhundova said. The doctors paid special attention to me. I express my gratitude to them, they took care of me. Presently, I have no health problems. I eat and sleep well.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Seberg screenwriters Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse are in talks to write a new G.I. Joe movie for Paramount and Hasbro, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

The new film is a follow-up to Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins and will be the third live-action film based on the G.I. Joe toy line. The new sequel will focus on the origins of the fan-favorite character known for his masked face, black commando uniform and ninja training.

Snake Eyes, which wrapped production before the pandemic, centers on the early days of Snake Eyes, when he tries to become a member of the Arashikage Clan, a ninja kinship-based in Japan. According to G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide, the Arashikage worked as shadowy assassins for generations, using deception to earn their keep as ninjas, as well as developing a reputation for being able to perform impossible tasks.

Also Read: 'Crazy Rich Asians' Breakout Henry Golding in Talks to Play Snake Eyes in 'GI Joe' Movie Spinoff

Robert Schwentke, the director of Red and R.I.P.D., directed Snake Eyes, which starred Crazy Rich Asians breakout star Henry Golding played the lead ninja commando. The film will be released on Oct. 16.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra grossed more than $300 million worldwide back in 2009 on a reported production budget of $175 million, not including prints and advertising. The 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson as Road Block grossed $375.7 million on a budget of $155 million. Channing Tatum, who played Duke in the first two films, was killed off early in Retaliation after complaining to Howard Stern how much he hated the role.

Best known for writing Kristen Stewart drama Seberg, Shrapnel and Waterhouse did an uncredited production polish on Snake Eyes. The pair are also writing The Great Machine for Legendary which is an adaptation of Brian K. Vaughans Eisner Award-winning comic book, Ex Machina.

Story continues

Shrapnel and Waterhouse are repped by Grandview, Curtis Brown, and attorney Sean Marks.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.

Read original story Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse in Talks to Write New GI Joe Movie At TheWrap
Curious just how far your dollar goes in San Antonio?

We've rounded up the latest places for rent via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to locating affordable apartments in San Antonio if you've got up to $1,100/month earmarked for your rent.

Read on for the listings. (Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

1107 Austin Highway (Terrell Heights)

Listed at $1,002/month, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 1107 Austin Highway.

The building boasts a swimming pool and a gym. Cats and dogs are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

According to Walk Score, this location is moderately walkable, is bikeable and has some transit options.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

5810 UTSA Blvd.

Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment situated at 5810 UTSA Blvd. It's listed for $1,004/month for its 680 square feet.

When it comes to building amenities, anticipate garage parking. You can also expect a walk-in closet, a dishwasher and a mix of hardwood floors and carpeting in the apartment. Good news for pet lovers: This rental is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

According to Walk Score, the area around this address isn't very walkable, has some bike infrastructure and has some transit options.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

4900 USAA Blvd.

Here's a 992-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 4900 USAA Blvd. that's going for $1,005/month.

In the unit, you can expect a fireplace, a dishwasher, hardwood flooring and a walk-in closet. For those with furry friends in tow, this property is pet-friendly.

Per Walk Score ratings, this location isn't very walkable, isn't particularly bikeable and has some transit options.

(See the full listing here.)

Henderson Pass (North Central Thousand Oaks)

Finally, check out this 972-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that's located at Henderson Pass. It's listed for $1,005/month.

The unit comes with a dishwasher, a walk-in closet and a mix of hardwood floors and carpeting. Pet owners, take heed: This property is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

Walk Score indicates that this location is somewhat walkable, is somewhat bikeable and has some transit options.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

Working with a tight budget? Here are the cheapest rentals recently listed in San Antonio.

This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Additionally, read on for five marketing tips for real estate agents to showcase local market expertise.

Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
Presidential candidate Joe Biden today released a statement addressing a sexual assault allegation by former senate staffer Tara Reade.

They arent true. This never happened, Biden wrote in a statement that talked about his years advocating for women to be heard and such allegations to be investigated.

Reade is one of several women who last year accused Biden of uncomfortable kissing, hugging or touching. Reade made the new allegation during a podcast interview in March. The campaign team for Biden has said the assault claim is false, but the statement today is Bidens first lengthy response.

Reade said the incident happened in 1993 when Biden was in the Senate and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Reade was 28 and joined the office in 1992 managing interns.

While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny, Biden said in his statement. Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.

Biden went on to call for the secretary of the senate to ask the National Archives to identify any record of the complaint Reade says she filed over the incident.

If there was ever any such a complaint, the record will be there, Biden said.

President Donald Trump, whos been accused of sexual assault or harassment by more than a dozen women, mentioned Tara Reades allegations against the former Delaware senator in response to a question about attacks on Biden by his surrogates and campaign.

I dont think theyre going hard with him with regard to Tara Reade, Trump said of his allies. I think he should respond.

Politics podcaster Katie Halper first reported on Reades allegations, saying that Reade was told to meet Biden in a semiprivate hallway to deliver a duffel bag to him. Halpers report said Biden pushed Reade up against a wall and reached under her skirt.

In subsequent reporting, other friends of Reades have come forward to say she told them about the incident at the time.

This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it, Lynda LaCasse, who lived next door to Reade in the mid-'90s, told Business Insider.
Riddhima Kapoor Missed Dad Rishi Kapoor's Funeral, Now Off To Mumbai By Road To Be With Mom Neetu Kapoor
The role of a regional chairman is to provide political leadership and direction in the affairs of the party. His mandate is to encourage the internal structures of the party from the branches through to the constituency functions through the empowerment of human skills.

For the betterment of the region, he is to liaise with opposition political parties in constant round table discussions of the road map to the development of the region. A wise and level headed leadership is needed particularly when that political party is in power. The regional chairman and his lieutenants are responsible for the policy direction of the region. As Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah once said, the party is supreme ie, it gives birth to the government.

Kwabena Owusu Sekyere, NPP Regional Chairman of Ahafo Region who wants to seek national attention does not represent the intellectual community of the region. His commentaries on National Issues can be likened to the proverbial village champion who happened to visit Kumasi to show his physical strength and was ridiculed by thugs in Kejetia.

In a publication https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Asiedu-Nketia-Chairman-Ampofo-leadership-most-bogus-NDC-has-ever-had-NPP-Chairman-938722 he not only sold his ignorance, but has brought the intellectual capacity of the government in Ahafo into question.

The concept of political decentralization in the 4th republic was built on the NDC ideals. And the role of leadership of the NDC cannot be questioned when it comes to contribution to national development and regional integration. The President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo recognizes the intellectual worth of President John Dramani Mahama, Chairman Ofosu Ampofo and Johnson Asiedu Nketia and has not on any platform, called these persons and the offices they occupy as bogus. He appreciates their contributions and achievements even though they are political opponents.

For the records

The History of Ahafo Region cannot be written without the mention of one John Dramani Mahama.

The now famous cocoa roads was launched in Ahafo on 21st October 2015. The cocoa roads project is a John Mahama novelty.

As for the records in the health sector, agricultural industry, extention of electricity, school infrastructures and skills empowerment, it is still unmatchable.

*Political Elites In Ahafo*.

Within the NPP, Ahafo is fortunate to have the CEO of Venture Capital Yaw Owusu Brempong, Freda Prempeh MP who is the Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Evans Opoku Bobie MP as the Ahafo Regional Minister and Benjamin Yeboah Sekyere MP is the Deputy Regional Minister.

The regional chairman should utilize the potentials and offices of these government appointees to resource persons and personalities in the region in as much as none of them will encourage him to bring to the mud, the intellectual reputation of Ahafo.

COVID-19

When political leaders in other regions are contributing to help contain the spread of COVID-19, Kwabena Owusu Sekyere seem not to care for his region. How much does nose mask cost that he cannot lead and marshal his team and resources to get it produced and distributed. When government was looking for companies to produce, could he not have lobbied and recommended Ahafo companies? Leadership is in the effective use of the brain.

The late elected regional Chairman Francis Opoku Sarfo aka Chairman Jerry will be rolling in his grave that the person who took over from him is running down the region. The Ag. Regional Chairman should be responsible in words and do the needful.

Edem Koku Edem,

Ahafo.
On 8 May, 1945, amid the rubble of Berlin, news from London that the war was over filtered through on the radio. Red Army soldiers hunted for alcohol, female soldiers washed their clothes  an almighty party was being planned.

But one woman did not celebrate that day. Elena Rzhevskaya, a young Soviet interpreter, spent the evening too nervous to let her hair down.

Just a couple of days earlier she had been entrusted with a horrendous secret: the shattered jawbone of Hitler, rescued from the ruins of his bunker after his staff burnt his body.

Only two officers knew what I was carrying and I had to keep my tongue, she revealed years later. The relic, later taken back to Moscow and examined to ensure it matched Hitlers dental records, was kept in a small satin-lined wooden box.

Berlin: Soviet soldiers raise their flag on the Reichstag with the German surrender imminent

As Soviet soldiers in Berlins streets let off ammunition into the night sky, Rzhevskaya poured wine for her colleagues with one hand while clamping the little box to her side with the other.

Can you imagine how it felt? A young woman like me who had travelled the long road from Moscow to Berlin; to stand there and hear that announcement of surrender, knowing that I held in my hands Hitlers remains. For me it was a moment of immense solemnity and emotion; it was victory.

It was not until 10.43pm, Berlin time, on 8 May, that the war was officially over in Europe  hours after Churchill had taken cheers on the balcony of the Ministry Of Health. That was when the final surrender was signed after endless wrangling between the Allies as to the correct procedure.

The end had been inevitable since Hitler shot himself on 30 April and the last pockets of resistance in Berlin fell to Soviet forces on 2 May. Field Marshal Montgomery took the surrender of German forces in north-west Germany, Holland and Denmark on 4 May.

The unconditional surrender of all German forces took place in the early hours of 7 May in the presence of General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, at his headquarters in Reims, northern France.

Elena Rzhevskaya, pictured, a young Soviet interpreter, spent the evening too nervous to let her hair down. Just a couple of days earlier she had been entrusted with a horrendous secret: the shattered jawbone of Hitler, rescued from the ruins of his bunker after his staff burnt his body

One of those witnessing the momentous event  and thus one of the first Brits to celebrate victory in Europe  was Susan Hibbert, a secretary for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.

Shed spent the previous 24 hours typing various versions of the surrender, and once the Germans, led by General Jodl, left the room, those remaining celebrated quietly.

We had champagne but we didnt have any glasses so we had to drink it out of Army mess tins. We passed them round and had a few sips, she says.

It was wonderful to be part of it but we were exhausted, all I and the other secretaries wanted to do was go to bed. Then I was asked to do one more job. I had to type the signal informing the War Office in London that the war in Europe was over.

That most momentous message simply read: The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 02.41, local time, May 7th, 1945. The war was over. VE Day would be celebrated the following day.

This should have been the end. But Joseph Stalin insisted a show be put on in Berlin on 8 May too. So senior Allied commanders flew in during the morning and the surrender was signed once again, this time by Field Marshal Keitel, the German chief of the armed forces. The Russians were represented by General Georgy Zhukov, their most famous soldier.

Paris: US troops at the Arc de Triomphe. Fernand Picard, a Parisian engineer, recalled plunging into the Paris crowd, which were drunk on the joy of victory

Keitel ostentatiously removed his glove to sign the document, and when he left the room, he arrogantly saluted the Allies with his field marshals baton.

Only then could Zhukov and the British representative, Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder, allow themselves to smile. The alcohol started to flow and Zhukov was seen doing the Russkaya folk dance for his generals.

It was just one of the memorable scenes in an astonishing day that saw celebrations around the world from New York to New Zealand.

Elsewhere in Germany, soldiers from the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats, celebrated in Hamburg with a church parade followed by rum punch drunk beside bonfires on which swastikas were burned.

News soon penetrated prisoner of war camps. At Stalag IV-C in the Sudetenland, where Corporal Bert Ruffle of the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, had been a PoW since Dunkirk in May 1940, a man was in the middle of a song in the concert hall when a soldier bounded onto the stage shouting, Its over, lads. The war is finished! Were free! There was total mayhem.

Pictured: Adolf Hitler just before Germanys defeat

A picture of Hitler was ripped from the wall and replaced with a picture of George VI, a Union Flag was unfurled and the whole hall started singing the National Anthem. That was when Bert started to cry.

In Heemstede in the Netherlands, a neighbour interrupted eight-year-old John Schwartzs piano lesson, bursting in with the news, The war is over! People got their flags and thronged the streets where pancakes were cooked with flour dropped by the RAF.

Audrey Hepburn, Johns cousin who was then 15 and would go on to be a Hollywood star, made herself sick by drinking a whole can of condensed milk. The poor girl was malnourished having spent the end of the war hiding with her mother in her grandparents cellar.

Across Europe, the joy was tempered by the horrendous losses. Fernand Picard, a Parisian engineer, wrote in his diary, Today we plunged into the Paris crowd, which is drunk on the joy of victory.

'From the Gare St Lazare to the Place de la Republique, we followed the stream of people flowing along the Boulevard, draped with the Allied colours.

But Henri Chobaut in Avignon recorded, Of course last night was one great booze- up, but people are jaded from suffering for so long.

In Rome, Sgt Len Scott in the Royal Army Pay Corps wrote a letter to his wife. He claimed that despite a certain amount of feeble cheering, the celebrations in the Italian capital passed as uneventfully as a church parade.

On the other side of the Atlantic, VE Day was greeted with joy  5,000 police were mobilised to control the crowds in Times Square in New York  alongside indifference and sadness.

That was partly because Roosevelt, the president who had dragged the United States into the war, had died three weeks before.

Taking his place, Harry Truman broke the news at a press conference in the Oval Office. Our rejoicing is sobered by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler, the president said, before adding, I only wish Franklin D Roosevelt had lived to witness this day.

Flags were ordered to stay at half-mast, as they had been since FDRs death.

New York: A kiss in Times Square captured the mood on VE Day. Betty Barr, who was aged 13, said they had nothing except rumours until American planes wrote in the sky 'V - V - V'

His sombre tone, however, could not quell the hundreds of thousands who gathered in downtown Manhattan. Later Truman, also celebrating his 61st birthday, wrote to his mother about the German surrender: Isnt that some birthday present?

North of the border in Canada, celebrations got completely out of hand. In Halifax the authorities closed all liquor stores and an orgy of looting and smashed glass ensued.

Many on the far side of the world felt in no mood to celebrate. As Churchill said on VE Day, Let us not forget that Japan with all her treachery and greed remains unsubdued.

In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald posed the question, Since when has it been customary to celebrate victory halfway through a contest?

Thousands of British soldiers and civilians were interned in the Far East. One was Betty Barr, aged 13, who was held with her family at the Lunghua camp for over two years.

We had nothing except rumours that must have come from secret radios, Betty said. And then in May 1945 we saw American planes in the sky writing V  V  V so we knew Germany had been defeated.

It would not be until 14 August, after nuclear bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that Japan would surrender. For many British in Asia it was to be a long wait. But at least the end was in sight.

VE DAY The countdown: The first action-packed four months of 1945 before the surrender  as they happened 4 January 1945 Dr Geoffrey Fisher is named the new Archbishop of Canterbury by King George VI. He later officiates at Princess Elizabeths wedding and her coronation. 25 January The Battle of the Bulge is won by the Allies. It had been a surprise attack in Belgium by some 250,000 Germans against just 80,000 Allied troops. 27 January Italian Jewish chemist and writer Primo Levi is among those liberated from Auschwitz in Poland. But he doesnt make it home to Turin until October, after long train journeys. 13 February American Kurt Vonnegut is a prisoner of war held in Dresden when the city is struck by 1,300 Allied bombers. It inspires him to write Slaughterhouse-Five. 17 February Churchill tells the Saudi king, who bans smoking at a lunch, My religion prescribed as a sacred rite cigars and alcohol before, after and, if need be, during all meals, and the intervals between. 24 February The 18-year-old Princess Elizabeth is made Second Subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, after joining at her own insistence. Among the skills she learns are how to drive and service a vehicle. 28 February Princess Elizabeth accompanies King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to a musical revue by the Royal Canadian Navy at the Hippodrome Theatre, called Meet The Navy. 14 March The first Grand Slam, a huge ten-ton bomb designed by Sir Barnes Neville Wallis of Dambuster fame, is dropped on Bielefeld viaduct in Germany, destroying more than 90 metres of the structure thanks to its shattering earthquake effect. 26 March Former prime minister David Lloyd George dies at home in Wales. After announcing the news in the House of Commons, Churchill says, I do not think we can do any more business today. 29 March The last bomb of the war falls on British soil. It is a V-1 flying bomb, or doodlebug, which lands in a field near a sewage farm in Datchworth in Hertfordshire. There are no casualties. 12 April After 12 years as president, wheelchair-bound Franklin D Roosevelt dies from a massive stroke. A statue of him standing, albeit with a stick, will be erected in Grosvenor Square in London in 1948. 14 April An estimated 133,000 watch Englands footballers thrash Scotland 6-1 at Glasgows Hampden Park, including two goals from Tommy . Scotlands Matt Busby  wholl go on to manage Manchester Utd  has a penalty saved. 15 April Since 1943 Hitler has sent out his Fuhrers orders of the day. The last is released today  it is a hopeless call for resistance against the Bolshevik onslaught. 16 April Aussie airman Graham Williams is freed from a PoW camp. Weeks later he gets a standing ovation at Lords, playing cricket for Australia against England. 20 April Legless Ace is Back is the headline as Wing Commander Douglas Bader, freed from Colditz by American soldiers, arrives home saying, I feel very fit. 25 April Fearing Hitler may make a last stand in the Alps, the Allies bomb his Berghof, or mountain house, in Bavaria. Direct hits cause huge damage. 30 April With Soviet troops less than 500 metres from his bunker in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide, shooting himself with his pistol. His wife Eva Braun dies alongside him after taking cyanide capsules. 1 May After the news of Hitlers death, Churchill is asked in the House if he has any comment to make on the war situation. Yes, it is definitely more satisfactory than it was this time five years ago, he replies. 7 May At 2.41am General Alfred Jodl, German Chief of Operations, signs the unconditional surrender in the temporary American HQ, a school house in Reims in northern France. 7 May The BBC requisition a camera at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire, where Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are filming Brief Encounter, in a desperate scramble to get cameras to beam out pictures of VE Day to Britain and the Empire. 8 May 6am After weather forecasts were banned for intelligence reasons in wartime, todays papers finally carry one. Wind freshening; warm and sunny at first but rain can be expected later. 8 May 9am St Pauls Cathedral, a symbol of Britains defiance throughout the war, begins the second of its ten packed services of thanksgiving that will run throughout the day. 8 May 1pm The Savoy Hotel offers a VE Day lunch to jubilant diners for the price of 5 shillings, including the patriotic dishes La Citronette Joyeuse Deliverances and La Coupe Glacee des Allies. 8 May 9pm After Winston Churchills speech at 3pm, King George VI speaks at 9pm  and then the party really gets going. Churchill returns to the balcony of the Ministry of Health to conduct the crowd and join in singing Land Of Hope And Glory. Advertisement

My parents' very different wars

By Julian Champkin for Weekend Magazine

The Second World War affected everybody. It changed their lives and what they did afterwards. Most people, in the services or not, had new experiences in the war, sometimes exciting, often terrible. And those experiences made many reluctant to go back to their previous humdrum lives.

Both my parents fell into that category. My mother Kate was born in 1922 in Orpington, Kent. When she was 21 she joined the WRNS, the womens branch of the Royal Navy.

They sent her to Scotland where she plotted the positions of convoys on huge maps as part of the war against U-boats. In 1944, she was stationed near Portsmouth at Eisenhowers HQ, Southwick House, where he was planning the invasion of France.

Julian Champkin said his mother Kate, joined the women's branch of the Royal Navy at age 21. Pictured: Julians mother (back row, centre) with fellow Wrens at Southwick House, Portsmouth, in 1944

She left the WRNS in 1946. But instead of returning to Orpington she went to Holland to work for the Naval Attache at the British Embassy. The Dutch people looked after her very well.

As part of the embassy staff she was wined and dined and taken sailing by Dutchmen keen to impress her. Certainly life there was more exciting than it would have been in suburban Orpington.

My father Peter Champkin had an altogether harder war. He was born in 1918, went to school in Canterbury and wanted to go on to university. But his father was a banker who had no patience with such ambitions.

He found his son a place in a bank, and from the age of around 17 my father went in every day. He was, I imagine, miserable.

Julian said his father's 21st birthday was the day Hitler invaded Poland. Pictured: Julian's father Peter

But on 1 September, 1939, everything changed. It was my fathers 21st birthday and the day Hitler invaded Poland. My father joined up, and soon found himself in France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). He was one of those left behind as a rearguard at Dunkirk, and spent the next five years as a PoW at Stalag VIII B Lamsdorf, in Silesia.

The guards disappeared just before the Soviets reached the camp on 17 March, 1945. As my father described it, a Russian tank pushed down the barbed wire gates and when the hatch opened a woman climbed out!

Instead of handing over the prisoners to the British, the Russians held them, effectively as hostages, for months. It wasnt until the end of the year that many, my father included, embarked for home.

During those years as a prisoner he promised that if he ever got back to England he would never work in a bank again. He kept his promise and wrote poems. He sent them to university professors and a man called Tom Henn at St Catharines College, Cambridge, liked them and asked him to study English there.

So my father went to university in the end. He published five books of poetry, and he never did go back to the bank.
Tencent Intros Enterprise HD Cloud Conferencing in Malaysia

Video conferencing and chat have become a key communication capability that has arisen during the Coronavirus pandemic. Across the globe, as entire communities go into lockdown to fight the virus, many are using these conferencing tools to stay in touch and be productive. For remote workforces especially, cloud communications tools are very important to success with work from home initiatives.

In light of this increasing need for multi-country conferencing capabilities, Tencent Cloud has announced its conferencing solution VooV Meeting for the market in Malaysia.

The cloud computing arm of Tencent is delivering this solution as a way for enterprises to seamlessly connect their employees and partners from across the world.

VooV Meeting is a cloud conferencing too. Boasting extensive network capabilities and stability. Included is secure multi-person cloud conferencing, High-definition video, and can connect up to 300 participants at the same time.

The offering also integrates with WeChat's ecosystem so users can share their meeting links and join meetings via WeChat's mini-program without having to download other applications.

Additional features include a beautification tool for faces, decreased ambient noise, and the ability to blur the background as well as share screens and even watermark video.

Businesses already making use of the offering have said it is helping them to maintain seamless communication during the Coronavirus pandemic. This includes Asiasoft Malaysia, China Construction Bank Malaysia, and Green Packet Berhad.

Joel Wong, VP of Customer Experience and Enterprise Agility from Green Packet commented on the ways its been able to maintain productivity with VooV Meeting.

"Since our government has issued the Movement Control Order as a COVID-19 pandemic countermeasure, the entire company has begun to work from home. To maintain business continuity and productivity, we have selected Tencent's VooV Meeting app as our primary communications platform that enables us to maintain close communications and collaboration across our global offices and business partners. We find Tencent's VooV Meeting app to be an extremely effective platform for communications and collaboration because of its ease of use, its extraordinary audio and video performance, and most importantly, its fundamental platform stability and security."

"We are glad to gain the trust of these Malaysia partners in using our services for their business communications. Built on Tencent Cloud's cutting-edge technology and Tencent's experience in the internet, audio, and video communications fields in the past 21 years, VooV Meeting can provide exceptional stable coverage globally, outperforming other industry players," said Poshu Yeung, Vice President of Tencent International Business Group.

Tencent recently announced it has partnered with the United Nations and will take part in its 75th-anniversary campaign. As part of the partnership, it will be providing the VooV Meeting solution to facilitate the largest global dialogue to be held to date.

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Edited by Maurice Nagle
By Trend

The availability of life insurance is important not only for doctors, but also for those involved in other spheres in Azerbaijan, Musa Guliyev, chairman of the Azerbaijani parliaments committee on labor and social policy, told Trend.1213

"It would be better if those involved in all spheres, insure their lives, the chairman said. This insurance is especially important for those working in emergency conditions, namely, the representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, doctors, etc."

Guliyev stressed that life insurance can be applied in both mandatory and voluntary forms.

While commenting on the need for new workwear for doctors, the chairman stressed that this is not required.

The main thing for a patient and a doctor not to transmit infection to each other, Guliyev added. "For this purpose, it is necessary to comply with hygiene standards. In accordance with the current conditions, protective clothing should be worn. The World Health Organization regularly recommends which protective clothing should be used in a particular situation.

However, there are epidemics of such diseases that are transmitted through blood, insects, rodents and so on, rather than through respiratory droplets, Guliyev said. In this case, there is no need for doctors to wear a special uniform. Taking the above mentioned aspects into account, it would be more correct to choose a uniform and protective tools in accordance with the nature of the infection."

Meanwhile, chief infectiologist of Azerbaijan Jalal Isayev believes that a life insurance system for doctors is a good idea.

The doctors are in direct contact with patients, and therefore, despite wearing uniform, the safety issue remains extremely important, Isayev said.

"Wearing uniform during a pandemic is extremely important, he added. However, after the pandemic is over, there is no need for doctors to wear uniform. This also applies to infectious disease doctors. Wearing a traditional white coat will be sufficient. A doctor must accurately diagnose a patients disease and accordingly take protective measures."

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Veteran fashion designer Ritu Kumar feels that the unprecedented situation prevailing in the world might set the clock back by one or two decades.

When it comes to the impact on domestic fashion, she feels local craftsmen and artisans are affected the most. She feels to revive the Indian handloom sector and bring it back on track, the government will have to step in.

Kumar, launched her Spring/Summer 2020 collection inspired by Rabaari philosophy, inspite of the lockdown and economic slowdown, due to the pandemic. She says that the fashion industry has been hit to a great extent with the almost all of the inventory produced for Spring and Summer stalled. Thus resulting in designers unable to create for the coming seasons.

The veteran shares her views on the impact of the lockdown on craftsmen, artisans, and the shift that the Indian handloom sector might see post lockdown. She also speaks about the losses that the fashion houses might register because of market closure, while giving some advice for designers and artisans.

Read excerpts:

Q. What India and the world are experiencing is unimaginable. What do you think will be the future of the textile industry and craftsmanship?

Kumar: Well, it is a little early to say because we havent overcome the virus yet or found a long term solution to control its spread. But from what it looks like, I have a feeling it is going to change in a way, which will set back the clock by one or two decades, in the way we think about clothing and fashion. The ones who will struggle the most in their way out will be the local craftsman and artisans.

Q. A majority of Indian artisans who are highly skilled labour are daily wagers. How do you think they will be impacted?

Kumar: Luxury goods perhaps will be the last to get back into the flow of things. As for the heavy craftsmanship, two things may happen- one is that maybe people will start appreciating the work of craftsmen and try and buy more handlooms. Handcrafted things are more classical so people should focus on these avoid fashion fads; on the other hand since the bridal market will always exist (albeit it might scale down to a large extent), craftsmanship will also always exist, but on a smaller level as compared to the past.

Q. Do you see a major shift in the Indian handloom sector?

Kumar: The handloom sector in any case is having a lot of problems with its existence. So I feel that for the handloom sector, the government will have to step in, as well as for the craftsman sector. Both of these are sectors that cant afford to have the middlemen taking a large chunk.

For instance, they cannot afford high rent in malls. And if they sell through another agency, the percentage that the agency charges makes the garment inaccessible. So if the government is giving help to other small sectors they can also help the handloom as well as the handicraft sectors with financing and perhaps some retailing facilities.

Only then will it have a chance to survive, otherwise it is going to be very difficult for them to keep their bread and butter together.

Q. Designers all over the world and in India often source from local communities. Given the situation, its unlikely for the chain to be active in the coming 6-8 months. Comment

Kumar: The multinational companies with very deep pockets have taken over internationally in most design houses and they run them as big operations. So the chance somebody gets in Paris to be able to locally buy anything is very low, because they will have to go to the high street malls or high street shops and they will get the same thing in Paris, London, Tokyo and New York.

Ours is the only country and of course the East, where you have the facility of being able to source locally. We have a very rich textile culture which at the moment is in the hands of the handicrafts. We can still go and pick up a bandhani dupatta, can go to Dilli-haat and buy a kurta. We are still in the fortunate position of being able to do that. While the rest of the world has to wear what their fashion dictates.

But I think that also is going to change because fast fashion is perhaps going to re-think its priorities and see how much the market is willing to bear.

Q. You have launched SS20 collection, but with the current crisis there is expected to be an inevitable loss this season. What are you thoughts on this?

Kumar: I think most businesses and most fashion houses are going to lose a complete season with the 5-6 week block out and production timing for the next season. In India, I think all our collections might be less dated as our collections are not very season oriented; they remain oriented towards the requirement in India.

Our designs dont go into a winter-summer cycle. They are more festive season oriented and our colour palette follows the hues of Holi, Basant, Diwali. We dont follow the colour palette of the year, rather work on what Indian women prefer.

But having said that, it has hit the fashion industry to a great extend with the whole amount of SS20 inventory stalled, leaving us unable to create something special now for the coming seasons.

Q. In light of Covid-19, please tell us more about your contribution to the local communities?

Kumar: We have taken up an initiativeto help flatten the curve by producing and disturbing precautionary masks made of cotton, which are reusable and washable. The masks are being currently manufactured in our factory at Gurugram, Haryana with a manpower of 20 workers and successfully delivered via civil defence DC Gurgaon.

These personal protective face masks are to aid the most affected local communities. They are being distributed to residents of the slums in Haryana to keep them safe and protected daily. So far, we have delivered 20,000 masks and aim to produce 2000 a day to achieve 50,000 pieces.

Q. A message for your fellow designers and the local artisan communities?

Kumar: Well, I do want to share that in all my years in business it has never been one smooth ride and this one seems to have hit the world harder. Its time to reflect upon the garment and fashion industry and assess the situation leading to the recessionary trend in the market. So, I think the time is to evaluate, create classic styles, and do things that are more reasonable to ones lifestyle rather than things only for the runway.

Also, it has been a long time since one has had this itinerary with so much time on your hands, it gives you some thing to think about and reassess ones life, the reality of it and how we are always rushing. Im certain as a community, we will come out of this stronger with a clear perspective. Creativity is ever-evolving and we should never stop challenging ourselves.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed. Only the headline has been changed.)

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As representatives of teachers, parents, superintendents, administrators and education staff, we salute the medical personnel and first responders who work hard to keep us safe. We also thank the postal service, supermarket workers, janitors and those who sanitize and clean public spaces, and all others who are called upon to help meet our needs in this health crisis.

Educators also stand at the center of this new challenge. Teachers and staff, working with school board members and municipal leaders, provide critical community outreach to families and children, including lessons, meals and services. Teachers have worked hard to preserve the fabric of daily life for students and families, and schools continue to contribute to the local and state economies.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Connecticut educators have worked to quickly construct an unprecedented distance learning system. Their efforts have made the best of a difficult situation, and provided the best possible continuing education for Connecticuts children.

We are ready to meet the challenges ahead  sustaining distance learning, protecting the health of students and educators, and being ready when it is safe to return to our schools and classrooms. That transition will be critical  this crisis has underscored dramatic inequities, and resources will be necessary, now more than ever, to intervene with students who will surely require additional emotional and academic support.

At a time when our country needs skilled workers with a solid educational foundation, we cannot allow the pandemic to worsen achievement for students in the greatest need, and undermine the progress of Connecticuts education system. Continuing to invest in education is critical not only to the future of Connecticuts students, but also to the economic health of our states families and communities.

It is imperative for Connecticut to provide the resources needed for education in these challenging times. The state can support this effort by:

 Ensuring that Education Cost Sharing (ECS) dollars flow to towns as promised in the second year of the biennial budget, directed to municipal Boards of Education to be used for their intended educational purposes.

 Protecting educator and support staff jobs. Layoffs of educators, which will severely hurt students, education, and local and state economies, should not be considered as the solution to budget issues. Educators and support staff make the greatest difference in our students lives, and federal and state dollars should be provided to ensure that no layoffs occur.

 Requiring that federal stimulus dollars for education supplement and do not supplant ECS dollars. The additional federal funding is intended to close the educational gaps caused by the coronavirus. That includes meeting the challenge of delivering equity and fairness for all students, and providing student re-acclimation and remediation once back in the classroom.

In the great recession that began in 2009, some school districts cut staff, eliminated programs, and canceled commitments and contracts for local business. This widened the gap in equitable opportunities for students, and harmed the state economy by reducing consumer demand, business investment, and jobs.

Cuts in essential services such as education deepen economic hard times, damage local property values, and dramatically slow the states recovery. Thats why we all stand together supporting this statement and our public schools  Connecticut Education Association, American Federation of Teachers-CT, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, Connecticut Association of Schools, Connecticut Federation of School Administrators, and the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association.

When we protect our investment in education and students, we protect the integrity of our schools, and the future of our state and every town.

Fran Rabinowitz is executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. Jeff Leake is president of the Connecticut Education Association. Jan Hochadel is president of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut. Other contributors to this piece include Glenn Lungarini, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools; Jennifer Falotico, president of the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association; and Gary Maynard and Paul Stringer, co-presidents of the Connecticut Federation of School Administrators.
Commentary Embracing Isolation: Reflections on the Value of Confinement Amid COVID-19

Downtown Yangon is virtually deserted during the government-ordered stay-at-home period to curb the spread of COVID-19 in mid-April. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

I was a good prisoner. Prison authorities kept us political prisoners confined 23 hours a day in our tiny, dim, airless cells, deprived of all our rights. But I was that rare breed of prisonerthe one who was happy with their restrictions.

I had a reason to be.

During the 1990s I spent seven years, eight months and 25 days locked up in various prison cells of Myanmars military regime. Thats 2,825 daysor 67,800 hours.

Ive been motivated to calculate my imprisonment in days and hours by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has required people all over the world to self-isolate and stay at home. We dont know how long we will be required to remain in isolation and distance ourselves from other human beings, or adhere to the nighttime curfews, travel restrictions and lockdowns imposed by our governments.

After a few months of this, however, many people are growing impatient with such a restricted life. Look at the many countries that have imposed tough penalties on those citizens who, chafing at being confined, defy the rules. Look at the United States, where some governors are lifting lockdowns under pressure from residents who cant take it anymore, psychologically or economically.

Its understandable; humans are highly social beings. Inevitably, there will be times in life when we cant do what we want, or when our routines are disrupted. Now, our world is confronting one of those inevitable moments.

Prison forced me to face such a moment.

In prison, occasionally we experienced what we inmates referred to as a golden age. A golden age was basically a period when the restrictions were at their least draconian. Such periods occasionally occurred under more flexible and relaxed jail authorities.

During these golden ages, we were not locked up for 23 hours a day. We could spend hours (sometimes, say, from morning until late afternoon) outside our cells, walking around in the compound of our cellblock or visiting other cells within the compound. In prison, this is a great freedom, and all the political prisoners enjoyed staying outside or visiting each other to engage in conversation.

I chose not to indulge in this freedom, however. Instead, I imprisoned myself in my cell. Unlike other prisoners, I preferred confinement to the cellto be required to spend many hours thereover the freedom to move around outside it.

As mentioned above, I had a reason: to read books in order to keep learning. Only reading books and news magazines, I was sure, would help me gain more knowledge, to catch up with the outside world and to learn the English language. I couldnt read books outside the cell because reading any kind of book or document was strictly prohibited throughout my time of imprisonment. Thats why I liked being locked up. So I could read the whole day and night with no distractions.

The most apt description I can think of would be to call it a double confinementan extra self-confinement within the confinement. Doubly confined, I kept to a strict timetable from wake-up time till bedtime, in which I managed to read more books and study more topics than I would have otherwise. Thats mostly what I did during my lengthy imprisonmentread religiously.

So, I was a good prisoner who was happy with the harsh restrictions. But my self-containment caused my fellow political prisoners to worry about my health. They said my habit of keeping myself mostly in the cell had caused me to become pale and feeble. Wanting to help, they pulled me out of the dim corner of my cell to force me to get some fresh air, stretch my limbs and socialize with them in the compound of our cellblock.

My self-imprisonment had a single aim: to defy the will of the dictatorship, which had thrown me into a dark cell in which my spirit was to be broken, my resilience was to be shattered and I was to be deprived of all knowledge.

My determination was two-fold. I didnt merely want to survive the hardships of prison; I wanted to defeat the will of the dictatorship to break me physically, psychologically and spiritually. Today, as a free man, my double confinement achieved its aim: I have my life back.

Perhaps I unwittingly applied the 10,000 hours theory put forward by Canadian journalist Malcolm Gladwell in his 2008 book Outliers. According to this theory, people need at least 10,000 hours of practicein addition to talentto achieve mastery in something. For me, the achievement was my defiance of the dictatorship, as I had not only survived physically and psychologically, but I had grown intellectually.

So, isolated and forced to stay at home by the coronavirus pandemic, what will become of us?

Now, its as if we are all stumbling through the dark, relying not on our eyesight but our imagination. (In fact, thats how I came to see prison lifeits a kind of walk in the dark; you have no idea where you are heading or where you will end up, as you are not your own master. In such a situation you could well be walking toward something badeven toward death.) Nobody can predict whatll happen tomorrow. But thats nothing new for us, or for the world. Nobody ever knows what tomorrow will bring.

So, the only thing to do is to keep walking, even if its dark, but with imagination and determination. Sooner or later, the sun will rise. And if you can manage a good nights walk, you will be the one who benefits when things return to normal. Cheers!

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Chennai: Tamil Nadu has witnessed a significant rise in coronavirus cases from the first week of April. Despite a recovery rate of 54%, the state has seen a daily spike of over 100 cases in the last three days. On Tuesday, the state has 121 cases, 104 on Wednesday, and 161 on Thursday.

Even as the second phase of the nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end on May 3, the latest central government data on the classification of districts has revealed that 36 of Tamil Nadus 37 districts fall under the Red and Orange Zone. This indicates that the lockdown relaxations are highly unlikely in large parts of the state as 12 districts are under the red zones while 24 of them are under the orange zone.

According to the state government data, 26 districts fall under Red zones, 10 under Orange, and only Krishnagiri district come under the green zone. The state government has considered the districts with 15 or above cases, with a doubling time lesser than 4 days as Red zones. The districts marked in Orange are the ones with less than 15 cases or no new case in the last fortnight. Green districts are those which have no new cases in the last 28 days.

In the last 3 days alone, the state has recorded 386 new cases, of which over 80% are from Chennai alone. The state has so far recorded 2323 coronavirus positive cases and has seen 1258 recoveries and 27 deaths.

Currently, there are 1035 active cases in the state, of which 702 belong to Chennai. This is a serious cause for concern, given how the capital city has the highest density of population in the state. Chennai has also seen cases among the frontline health workers besides policemen, journalists, vegetable vendors, among others.

The state government has attributed the sudden spike in cases to the higher rate of testing. The state-provided data says that 1.10 lakh people have been tested so far, while as many as 9643 samples were tested on Wednesday alone. The testing has come a long way when compared to April 1st when even the total samples tested were merely 2,726.

The month of April has seen the state government announce and implement a slew of measures to contain and COVID-19 cases, including a door-to-door screening campaign that involved health and civic bodyworkers. Each worker would cover about 150 homes in a Containment Zone (within a 5km radius and 2km buffer of every positive case reported) and screen the residents for any symptoms such as fever, cold, cough, breathlessness etc.

The screening also kept track of vulnerable groups such as senior citizens and those with other health complications. The government machinery would also recommend testing, isolation, and other measures as required.

Chennai Trade Center, the citys largest exhibition venue too has been converted into a quarantine facility, when the need may arise. The facility has been taken over by the Chennai Corporation and over 600 quarantine beds have been placed in the various exhibition halls.

The citys Corporation is also considering the use of government and private schools as quarantine facilities, to meet the requirements that may arise in the coming weeks. The city currently has over 10,000 quarantine beds, in addition to the hospital beds.

A major cause for concern in Chennai has been a recent revelation by the head of the civic authority at a press meet, who stated that 98% of the new cases in Chennai were asymptomatic. This indicated the high risk of exposure in the densely populated city.

There is evidence and clear statistics from some Western countries and few of their states of a large number of asymptomatic cases. A study in California stated that for every 1 positive case that gets recorded, there could be anywhere between 10 to 100 asymptomatic cases, thus leading to the conclusion that there is always a possibility of the virus spreading like wildfire," Dr Subramanian Swaminathan, a top Infectious Diseases specialist, told WION.

"Every person who is asymptomatic would act as a carrier of the virus, without himself/herself knowing about it and could end up transmitting it to several others. In most cases, it is the aged, those with other medical complications that are in a vulnerable stage, he added.
A row has erupted after the Jawaharlal Nehru University announced that it will be organizing a special webinar on Leadership lessons from Ramayana. National Students' Union of India (NSUI), a youth front of Congress party, has expressed skepticism over the webinar alleging it to be a propaganda of the Central Government and the JNU vice-chancellor.

Reacting to the resistance, former Member of Parliament Pavan Varma has called out the 'artificial and illiterate secularism' and condemned those who are opposing the webinar on Ramayana.

What is wrong in JNU having a web seminar on the Ramayana? The epic is a storehouse of wisdom. Gandhiji called it the greatest book in devotional literature. This reflex, artificial and illiterate secularism is condemnable.  Pavan K. Varma (@PavanK_Varma) April 30, 2020

READ | JNU To Teach Lessons From Ramayana To Help Students Build Leadership Skills Amid COVID-19

READ | 'Ramayana' Star Arvind Trivedi Debuts On Twitter, #RavanOnTwitter Trends

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has decided to offer Leadership Lessons From Ramayana in the first week of May to help its students, faculty members and staff cope with the crisis brought about by the coronavirus outbreak. This is one of the many seminars which the university has planned to conduct for its students, faculty members and staff to cope up with the COVID-19 crisis.

In a video message, Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said, Why a webinar on leadership lesson from Ramayana at JNU? Well, Mahatma Gandhi himself said that there is no one greater than Rama. (Mahatma) Gandhi emphasised that Rama taught us to uphold truth justice, equality, and equanimity even in adverse circumstances. There is a great deal to learn from Ramayana to enrich our lives, particularly, in these challenging times over a virus outbreak.

READ | Lakshman's Reply To Parshuram From 'Ramayana' Turns Meme Favourite; Check Out More Memes

READ | 'Two India's - One Watching Ramayana, Other Fighting For Survival': Kapil Sibal Attacks

In Harijan (1946), Mahatma Gandhi wrote: To me Rama is the all-powerful essence whose name, inscribed in the heart, removes all sufferingmental,moral and physical. This is over inspiration to organize the webinar on Leadership lessons from Ramayana at JNU on 2, 3 May, 2020. pic.twitter.com/2cuGqEpJ37  Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) April 30, 2020

About Rama, in 1946, Mahatma Gandhi said: He is one without a second. He alone is great. There is none greater than He. He is timeless, formless, stainless. Such is my Rama. He alone is my Lord and Master. JNU organizes leadership lessons from Ramayana. All from JNU are welcome. pic.twitter.com/lWAz98E7rB  Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) April 28, 2020
Photo: (Photo : Screenshot from Facebook)

The mother of a 26-year-old son who threw a crowded house party at their home in Chicago - violating Illinois' stay-at-home order since March 21 - was shocked by her son's actions. She said that she was out working as a first respondent when it happened.

Mother is clueless

The mother asked to remain anonymous because of her job. However, she said that she had no clue about her son's house party on Friday night. She only realized what happened only after three days when police arrived to issue her a citation.

The woman said that the police asked her if she was aware of a party in their house and she denied it, saying that she is not aware. The police then showed her the video of the party.

The mother was astounded to see the video - now going viral - showing the crowded house party with people drinking and dancing while standing close to each other.

The woman stated that she returned from a full 24-hour shift to a clean and spotless house with nothing out of place. So, she suspected nothing.

The mother was angry with her son, as she has been taking social distancing measures seriously because of risks associated with her job. Hence, she has not been able to see her family in two months.

According to her, as someone who is social distancing, she does not condone her son's type of behavior.

Son Explains What Happened

Her son, Janeal Wright, said that he invited 20-30 people to the house to celebrate and remember the lives of their two friends who had died recently due to gun violence. The son also admitted to deactivating their house's video doorbell so his mother would not be alerted to any visitors.

But just like any normal house parties, the crowd grew from the original number of attendees to nearly 200. The video also shows the party-goers in close quarters, and with very few people wearing face masks.

Wright reasoned out that them being young and millenials, they did not know the severity of their actions. He added that the situation does not feel serious enough for them; however, they now know the error and mistake of what they have done.

Wright's comments referred to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's press briefing on Monday calling the said house party foolish and reckless.

Lightfoot said that what happened had gone against all the things that they have been talking about, to all the things that most Chicagoans understand and know and putting themselves at risk. The mayor also added that the scene was extremely distressing.

Lightfoot forbids and shuts down any sympathies for Millenial ignorance. She explains that their generation is already considered as functioning adults who are expected to be dependable and responsible especially during a pandemic.

Chicago police reported that they have alerted the Chicago Department of Public Health that will follow up with the attendees to ensure that all possible risks from the party are monitored.
With the Delhi government planning to categorise COVID-19 cases by wards instead of districts, parts of the national capital are likely to be out of the 'red zone' classification and expect lockdown relaxations after May 3, sources said on Friday.

Currently, the Union Health Ministry has designated the entire national capital, which has 11 districts, a 'red zone' in its new classification. The city has 272 wards.

The sources said Lt Governor Anil Baijal has directed the authorities to come up with a detailed plan on ward-wise mapping of red, orange and green zones.

According to an official, an area with three or more cases of COVID-19 is declared a red zone while those with one or two cases are identified as orange zone.

The Centre on Friday announced that a "limited" lockdown, including suspension of inter-state travel, air and train services, will continue to remain in force for another two weeks throughout the country from May 4 but some activities would be allowed after classifying areas into red, orange and green zones.

In a meeting chaired by Baijal on Friday, Health Secretary Padmini Singla made a detailed analysis of spatial distribution of COVID-19 cases, containment zones and ward-wise mapping of red, orange and green zones.

"The Union Health Ministry designates any area as red, orange or green zone on district level. Delhi has only 11 districts and it is geographically different to other states.

"Once the ward-level categorisation plan is ready, it will be sent to the ministry for its approval. If we get permission, Delhi, which is entirely in red zone, will have orange and green zones as well," the sources said.

Baijal has asked the Health Department to develop an action plan to convert red zones into orange zones and green zones, and handhold field machineries in maintaining the green zones.

The sources said that for instance, Delhi, which currently has 100 containment zones, will have 37 orange zones and 63 red zones once the ward-level categorisation is complete.

"Total six lakh people are living in 100 containment zones and it is three per cent of the total population while one per cent of the total area has been declared containment zone.

"Only 11 containment zones have populations of 10,000 and above," the Health Department said in its presentation.

The LG directed all stakeholders to scale up their efforts to rein in the pandemic.

He advised field officials to delineate containment zones properly to ensure their effective management.

The number of coronavirus cases in Delhi increased to 3,515 on Thursday, with three fresh deaths being reported, according to data shared by the Delhi government.

Till Wednesday, the national capital recorded 3,439 cases and 56 fatalities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijan's air defense units have carried out drills at the combined-arms training range, the Defence Ministrys press service said on April 30.

The drills are aimed to improve the skills of the military personnel in managing surface-to-air missile systems.

"During training, combat crews fulfill the guidelines for getting Ildirim (Lightning) surface-to-air missile systems into the starting position and preparing it for combat use", said the report.

The drills were held in line with the combat training plan for 2020 approved by the Minister of Defense

In the meantime, the troops of the Nakhchivan garrison held special training sessions with the commanders of the engineer sections on 29 April. "

During the training sessions, the servicemen performing engineering support tasks improved their skills to act both individually and collectively", the ministry said.

The ministry also noted that the passage for motorized rifle and tank units was organized in the terrain with natural and artificial obstacles using engineering equipment.

"The military personnel worked out explosive skills", the report added.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Jim Mone/AP

On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence toured the Mayo Clinic. Unlike others in his group, the doctors and the nurses  in fact everyone in the building  Pence was not wearing a mask.

The clinics policy since April 13 has been mandatory masks for all. Theyll even give you one if dont have your own, like a posh restaurant that requires ties.
Kentucky AG sues gov. over restrictions on travel, calls for resumption of in-person church services

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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed a motion in federal court Tuesday, challenging Gov. Andy Beshears travel ban as unconstitutional. He also urged him to stop targeting faith-based gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic and allow congregants to start gathering in person at church again.

The First Amendment provides the citizens of this country with the specific, enumerated right to practice their religious beliefs, free from targeting and discrimination, Cameron said at a press conference. By specifically banning faith-based mass gatherings while allowing other secular organizations and activities to continue operation, Gov. Beshear has deliberately targeted religious groups. This pattern of targeting continued when the Governor ordered state police to track the license plates of those who attended a faith-based gathering on Easter Sunday, and it continues even this week as he allows some businesses to resume operations.

Through an executive order on March 19, Beshear banned faith-based mass gatherings while providing exemptions for secular organizations and activities, including typical office environments, factories, and retail or grocery stores, Camerons office noted.

The order says even though permitted secular activities involve the presence of groups of people, they can continue as long as individuals maintain appropriate social distancing. Faith-based gatherings are allowed no such exemption.

Kentucky law gives the Governor broad power during a state of emergency, but it does not give him the power to violate the First Amendment by discriminating against faith-based practices, Cameron noted. We cannot, in good faith, move forward from this health crisis together if we have allowed faith-based groups to be unfairly targeted during the process. Governor Beshear should immediately rescind the executive orders targeting faith-based gatherings, and, if he doesn't, then we will be forced to file a lawsuit and allow a judge to determine whether his order, as it pertains to religious groups, is constitutional."

Earlier this month, Beshear also issued executive orders restricting travel into and out of the state, except under certain limited circumstances, to help manage the spread of the coronavirus. Anyone entering or returning from out of state was told to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Two anonymous plaintiffs from Marshall County filed a lawsuit recently against both Beshear and Cameron, challenging the constitutionality of the orders. On Tuesday, Cameron filed a motion to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff instead of a defendant.

Kentuckians have a fundamental and constitutional right to freely travel from one state to another, Cameron said in a statement. While the spread of COVID-19 requires Kentuckians to follow CDC recommendations for social distancing and use caution when traveling, the Governors order is overly broad by banning nearly all travel. If the Governor is going to ask Kentuckians to surrender their constitutional right to freely travel as part of the fight against COVID-19, such a restriction must be narrowly tailored. The sweeping scope of his travel ban, if left unchecked, creates a dangerous precedent.

Violating the travel ban could be prosecuted as a Class A misdemeanor which in Kentucky is punishable by 90 days to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $500.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 17:13:11|Editor: Lu Hui

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QINGDAO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Liaoning aircraft carrier formation Thursday returned to a military port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, after nearly one month of trans-theater training in the far seas.

The training was a routine arrangement in the annual plan, featuring a long duration, many subjects, high intensity and complicated air and sea situations, said a military statement, noting that the formation's far seas training in real combat conditions has improved and its integrated combat capability has got tested. Enditem
Create Aid is the Instagram Art Sale Showroom where artists donate their piece and buyers donate money to a charity of their choice in exchange for the artwork.

Since launching on March 22nd, Create Aid has raised over 15,000 for charities all over the world and its not stopping anytime soon.

Today, Friday, May 1st, sees an exclusive Wolfwalkers drawing by Oscar nominated Tomm Moore, co-founder of Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny and director of one of the most highly anticipated animated feature movies to be released in 2020.



Create Aid is the brainchild of Dublin Artist and Award Winning Childrens Show Creator Chris Dicker who was looking for a way to help frontline staff and charities affected by Covid-19. He decided to ask the animation community to share their artistic talents and the response was immediate.



To date over 200 pieces of art have been sold by over 120 artists, including 50 children. No money exchanges hands with Create Aid. We post the pieces on Instagram and if someone wants to buy it, they comment under the picture and it's sold. The buyer has 48 hours to send proof of their donation to a registered charity, anywhere in the world and then the artist covers p&p and mails the work to them, explains Chris.



Donations so far have been made to dozens of different charities including Front Line Heroes, The Mater Foundation, ISPCC, Daffodil Day and The Father McVerry Trust. Every charity is open to benefit from Create Aid.



On Friday and Saturday nights, the showroom is open for a special donated piece to be auctioned between 9pm and 11pm.



Friday, May 1st, sees an exclusive Wolkwalkers drawing by Oscar Nominated Tomm Moore, co-founder of Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny and Director of one of the most highly anticipated animated feature movies to be released in 2020.

Saturday, May 2nd sees an original piece titled Squishy donated by twenty-year-old Mayo artist Hetty Lawlor, a finalist on Portrait Artist of the Year in 2018.



Irish Actress and Writer Amy Huberman is currently painting a dog portrait which will be available for auction in the coming weeks.



Donations have also come from across the world including Bob Peterson, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, and director at Pixar Animation Studios. Bob has worked on movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Up.

This bespoke piece of Roz from Monsters, Inc. whom Bob also voiced, sold for 450 with a donation made to Daffodil Day.



Its not just traditional art that is being donated - If you created it, you can donate it, enthuses Chris.



Sunday is when kids Take Over Create Aid between 12-3pm. Parents send in photos of their children with their artwork and all pieces are priced at 10. Its always been a sell out. Kids are aware of what is going on and want to do their bit to help, says Chris.

We couldnt do this without the kindness and generosity of the artists. It really is a whole community coming together, to donate and buy the pieces and we couldnt do it without them!



So if youre an artist looking to donate your work or if youre thinking about donating to charity or just looking to peruse an online gallery - be sure to go check out Create Aid on Instagram.

Create Aid Twitter - https://twitter.com/create_aid



Create Aid Instagram - https://instagram.com/create_ aid?igshid=brgwi3no85on

Artists Donate Piece = Buyers Donate to Charity
New Delhi: As India tries to gain control over COVID-19 pandemic, the period of lockdown, global recession and changes in consumer behaviour are the three factors which will shape the course of economic activities going ahead, says a report.

According to Dun & Bradstreet's latest Economy Forecast, the changes in consumer behaviour will determine the segments that are likely to flourish after the pandemic is brought under control.

"As countries are providing fiscal and monetary stimulus, it remains to be seen how much the loss in the economic activity gets recovered, to what extent the income inequality is being narrowed and the degree to which the productivity levels are restored. All these factors will help decide which economies will emerge out to be stronger post this crisis," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Economist Arun Singh said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 to combat the coronavirus threat. It was later extended till May 3.

According to Dun & Bradstreet, the nationwide lockdown has led to a near halt of all non-essential activities in the industrial sector, and supply chains have been significantly disrupted with daily movement of trucks falling to less than 10 per cent of normal levels.

"The lockdown has led to near halt in manufacturing units and left millions of short-term migrant and casual workers without jobs," Singh said.

Moreover, depressed global demand has led to a collapse in global commodity markets.

"The collapse in global demand is depleting the savings and increasing the debt levels of households, corporates and the governments and will most likely create a channel for a new round of debt crisis," Singh said.

He further added that "as debt levels increase and loans turn bad, the banking sector might face challenges and this can cause a financial turmoil, further depressing the income and widening the inequality levels across the world including India".

According to the Union Health Ministry, the death toll due to the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 1,147 and the number of cases climbed to 35,043 in the country on Friday.

Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 32.57 lakh and the death toll has topped 2.33 lakh.
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A team of researchers focusing on convalescent plasma at the Cipto Mangungkusomo General Hospital and the University of Indonesias School of Medicine has called on survivors of COVID-19 to donate their blood plasma to help treat patients with the coronavirus.

The donated blood plasma will be used on COVID-19 patients who are severely ill, team member Robert Sinto said as reported by tempo.co on Thursday.

Eligible donors are those who have been declared free of COVID-19 through two swab tests and must be at least 18 years of age, he added.

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The response of the auto industry in times of national peril is legendary. Detroits reputation as the Arsenal of Democracy, producing the tens of thousands of bombers and tanks that helped the Allies win World War II, is well-deserved.

In the pandemic of 2020, the challenge is again enormous, but the materiel needed to prevail is less familiar territory to the foundries, stamping lines and assembly plants that normally produce sedans and sport-utility vehicles. Now it is medical equipment. And automakers are also making provisions for owners, who still need to repair, maintain and possibly even replace cars.

Car companies around the world have stepped up. In the United States, Ford Motor is shifting production to air-purifying respirators, gowns and test collection kits, and General Motors is making ventilators and face masks. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is involved with ventilator production in Italy, and Toyota is offering the expertise of its Toyota Production System Support Center to companies seeking to begin manufacturing vital supplies. Smaller targeted assistance projects have popped up from many car companies, often to provide personal protective equipment: The shop that builds engines for the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team has jumped into the production of breathing assistance equipment.

Other makers have established more direct programs, focused on essential health care workers. In England, Aston Martins heritage workshop is providing free labor for emergency repairs to the vehicles of health service workers. Mazdas Essential Car Care program in the United States goes several steps further, offering free oil changes and what it calls enhanced cleaning for most make and model cars  not just Mazdas  to all health care workers. A $500 credit is available to eligible first responders and health care professionals on new Honda and Acura vehicles financed or leased through the companies financial services arm. Hyundais First Responders Program has similar provisions.
That Express-News photograph  showing long, tightly packed lines of cars and pickups at a San Antonio Food Bank giveaway has been all over the place.

After seeing it in the newspaper or at ExpressNews.com, you mightve found it sprawling across the pages of the New York Times or on CNNs Reliable Sources, 60 Minutes or ABC News, among many other news outlets. The picture even turned up on the celebrity-stalker site TMZ. And its been endlessly retweeted.

Shot by staff photographer William Luther with a drone, it showed an estimated 10,000 people lined up at Trader Village, a flea market on the citys Southwest Side, for a mass food distribution on April 9.

At that point, official statistics didnt come close to reflecting the enormity of the economic damage being done.

We now know that between March 15 and April 11, two days after the big food giveaway, 71,000 workers in Bexar County filed unemployment claims with the Texas Workforce Commission. That was the fourth highest total in the state, after Harris, Dallas and Tarrant counties.

And those were the ones whod managed to successfully file their claims with TWC. Thousands of others couldnt get through the agencys overwhelmed and haywire system.

Like all great works of photojournalism, Luthers picture cut to the chase, showing us plainly what wed been struggling to articulate in words.

Books that will be written about this calamity will almost certainly include that photograph.

Heres what the Wall Street Journals Peggy Noonan, one of the countrys best columnists, had to say about it: What was most disturbing about the 10,000 people who showed up before Easter at a San Antonio food bank is this: They were people in cars. They were not the poor. They were working and middle-class people in line for free eggs and bread in America.

Now Playing: See the viral video of San Antonio's Food Bank that changed the narrative of the coronavirus pandemic. Video: Kin Man Hui San Antonio Express News, William Luther San Antonio Express News, Michel Fortier

Ive been thinking about the picture a lot this week, mostly because of the contrast with where we are now.

The virus is still spreading, and the job losses continue. But the pace of both is slowing.

On Thursday, TWC reported 14,007 people in Bexar County filed unemployment claims in the week ending April 18. The week of April 11, the total was 15,718. And the week before that: 20,056. The wave looks like its crested.

The federal Paycheck Protection Program, which has provided forgivable loans to small businesses that rehire laid-off workers, has plenty of faults. One of the biggest had been allowing big companies with sufficient cash on their balance sheets to benefit at the expense of small employers. (As Express-News staff writer Patrick Danner reported, Taco Cabanas owner, Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc., returned $15 million in PPP loans last week.)

Yet the program has helped. We dont know yet how many jobs it saved, but we know about 135,000 Texas businesses received $28.5 billion of PPPs first-round funding of $349 billion. The average loan was $211,400.

Whether or not you believe hes capitulating to President Donald Trump and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in doing so, Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to allow shops, malls, restaurants and movie theaters to reopen is a morale boost. A small move toward normal.

Maybe the worst of the economic crisis, the starkness of which Luther captured in that photo, is over and were moving gingerly into the recovery phase. Maybe  if you can say that after news that the national economy contracted 4.8 percent in the first quarter.

There was an additional reason the Food Bank photo was top-of-mind for me last week.

To most people who have seen it, if dont they dont live in San Antonio, it was a window onto the desperation then building in their own cities and the country at large. For San Antonians, it was that and a little more.

To state the obvious, San Antonio was hurting before the pandemic, despite its ultra-low unemployment rates. It remains one of the poorest big cities in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau.

Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on what local jobs paid as of May 2019, when the San Antonio regional economy was reflexively described as strong and stable. It wasnt a pretty picture.

The biggest category of San Antonio-area jobs was office and administrative support, with a mean hourly wage of $18.02  9 percent below the national mean. The second largest jobs category: food preparation and serving, which paid a mean wage of $12.01 an hour, 6 percent below the U.S. mean.

Combined, officer workers and cooks and servers made up a quarter of the areas workforce.

With the hospitality industry weighing in as San Antonios third largest, the regional economy was especially vulnerable to the initial shocks in March  the convention cancellations and hotel closures, followed quickly by city and county orders to close bars and restaurants to in-house customers.

When we come out of this deep downturn, those workers and many others in San Antonio will still be vulnerable. They still wont have the education or more highly valued job skills.

The local, state and federal governments are assisting the citys unemployed workers now. What are they going to do after the crisis?

Did policymakers get the picture?

greg.jefferson@express-news.net
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In January, President Donald Trump kicked off his 2020 campaign in Toledo, my home city and a city Im honored to represent in Congress. Nationally, Ohios 9th Congressional District, which spans Lake Erie from Toledo to Cleveland, ranks 407th of 435 congressional districts in terms of median household income. The outsourcing of jobs and unbalanced trade agreements have hit our region very hard for decades. Now, the recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic rubs salt in the wound.

When I voted for the CARES Act, which included a record $2.3 trillion in assistance to offset the damage caused by a rapidly deepening recession, I did so in order to direct a fair and immediate allocation of federal resources to our already economically strapped region. The text of the legislation gives distribution preference based on population. I agree.

Unfortunately, the people of northern Ohio and I are still waiting to see what Donald Trump does for a region that he promised the stars in January.

At the insistence of Republican senators, the act tilts its preference for financial support to cities of more than 500,000 people. But not a single city in northern Ohio meets that population standard. Toledo and Cleveland are both excluded from direct funding, even though each could easily satisfy the threshold if their greater metropolitan areas were counted. In fact, the only city in Ohio that qualifies for direct funding is Columbus.

Just because northern Ohio communities are not as densely populated as the countrys largest cities is not any reason to shortchange our workers, families, and businesses during a global pandemic. People here work hard and pay their federal taxes, too. They have earned their fair share.

Ive done the math. Cuyahoga County should receive close to $215 million. Based on the text of the legislation, Toledo would be due close to $48 million, Lakewood $9 million, Parma $13.7 million, Sylvania $3.3 million, Maumee $2.4 million, Sandusky $4.3 million, Lorain $11.2 million, and Elyria $9.4 million. These figures set the bar for the minimum allocation that communities in northern Ohio should receive back from the Treasury, based on their population. A citizen of northern Ohio should not be worth less than one in Columbus, New York City, or Los Angeles.

Our region hosts the busiest port on the lower Great Lakes, Americas leading solar company, First Solar, some of the largest automotive manufacturing plants on the continent, critical steel production platforms, and so much more.

Northern Ohio is a tightknit economic region. Unfortunately, its communities have faced massive budget shortfalls due to lost revenues and expenses related to COVID-19. City and county executives must choose between tax hikes on an already overwhelmed community or cuts to life-saving services, including first responders, firefighters, or other front-line workers at a time when they are needed most.

Im pleased to support a bipartisan group of Northern Ohio city and county officials in their bid for direct funding. The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) have written to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asking that they receive direct funds on behalf of the communities they represent.

TMACOG serves as the coordinating agency for Northwest Ohio counties, including, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Wood, and Fulton, home to more than 700,000 people, while NOACA serves more than 2 million people in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lorain, Lake, and Medina counties. As local units of government under Ohios state constitution, the text of the CARES Act intended for these entities to be eligible for funding.

As regional coordinating agencies, TMACOG and NOACA should play a leading role in coordinating policy solutions to complex regional challenges, such as COVID-19.

Our regions unemployment levels are rising dramatically. Our first responders and front-line health care workers are heroic. Were not a capital city. But we are significant. Our people need help. Now, we need the Trump administration to follow Congress lead and fulfill the presidents promise to aid our region when it is needed most.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur represents Ohios 9th Congressional District in Washington, D.C. The district reaches along the Lake Erie shore from Toledo to Cleveland.

Editors note: This op-ed was updated at 10:48 a.m. to correct the number of people served by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency in its five-county area.

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions, comments or corrections regarding this opinion article to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
President Trump said through a spokesman on Friday that private schools with "significant endowments" should consider returning any Paycheck Protection Program loans they have received. (Nati Harnik / Associated Press)

Elite private schools, including Brentwood School in West L.A., drew criticism Friday from President Trump, who said through a spokesman that those with "significant endowments" should consider returning money they have received from a federal coronavirus aid program.

The president has made clear that he does not believe private schools with significant endowments should be receiving [Paycheck Protection Program] money and those that have should consider returning it," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

Trump's comments followed earlier statements on Friday by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, who stepped up his previous criticism of private schools that have taken loans from the $660-billion PPP, which is designed to help small businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis and is part of the federal CARES Act that was signed into law March 27. Mnuchin went a step further than Trump, saying in a tweet that such schools "should return the loans."

Both Trump and Mnuchin's children attend exclusive private schools that have received PPP loans. The Times reported Thursday that Brentwood School, where at least two of Mnuchin's children are students, took funding of an undisclosed sum.

Barron Trump, one of the presidents sons, attends St. Andrews Episcopal School in Potomac, Md., which said in a statement Friday it would keep the PPP money it received.

A representative of Brentwood did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Deere, the White House spokesman, also referenced Trump's previous statements on aid for universities. Harvard was among those in line to receive another form of funding under the CARES Act but opted not to take it following critical remarks from Trump.

Calling Harvard's endowment "one of the largest ... maybe [in] the world," Trump said last month of the aid: They shouldnt be taking it."

Brentwood School, a K-12 facility with more than 1,100 students on two campuses, said Thursday that its PPP loan would help it navigate a future that could include a potential decline in enrollment and charitable giving, accompanied by increased demand for financial assistance and other escalating expenses. In 2017, the school had an endowment of $17.4 million, according to Internal Revenue Service data.

Story continues

UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard criticized Brentwood's decision to accept a PPP loan, contrasting the institution with public schools that he expects to struggle financially amid the pandemic.

Thats not a good look," said Howard of Brentwood's move. Theres just something thats not equitable about that.

Officials at several other expensive L.A.-area private schools  where high school tuition costs range from 38,000 to $44,000 a year  told The Times that their administrations opted to not apply for PPP loans, which are forgivable if certain parameters are met.

Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Marlborough School in Hancock Park, Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica, and Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada Flintridge did not apply for the funding, their representatives said.

This week, Mnuchin has been critical of another well-heeled L.A. organization that received a PPP loan. In a CNBC interview Tuesday, he called it outrageous that the Los Angeles Lakers received a now-returned $4.6-million PPP loan.

Allocations of the PPP funding have come under intense scrutiny, with several other high-profile businesses and organizations, including Shake Shack Inc., saying they would give back their loan after facing public pressure. Mnuchin has threatened to hold participating companies criminally liable if they do not meet criteria for the program, whose loans are designed to help pay for workers salaries.

On April 26, the Small Business Administration, which backs the PPP loans, issued revised guidelines for the program that make clear big, public companies with other financing options shouldn't seek the money. It also cautioned entities receiving the loans that they might be asked to certify the funding was required for continued operation.

The new guidance made at least one private school think twice. Polytechnic School in Pasadena said it received a PPP loan on April 24, but after reviewing the SBA's updated directive, decided Thursday to reverse course.

"We determined, based on the new guidelines, that we would return the funds," said John Bracker, head of school at Polytechnic. He added that the school already is "seeing some financial impacts" and anticipates "broader and more profound consequences on our community in the months to come."

Brentwood's leadership also outlined the pandemic's effect on the school, saying in its Thursday statement that the dramatic and enduring impacts of COVID-19 will continue to affect our school financially, and in other ways, over the course of at least the next year."

Founded in 1972, Brentwood's board members include actress Calista Flockhart and investor Lance Milken, son of billionaire Michael Milken, the former junk bond king. Tuition ranges from $37,500 a year for kindergarten through fifth-grade students to $44,000 for sixth- through 12th-grade pupils.

Brentwood has said that salaries and benefits for faculty and staff are the schools largest operating expense, and it noted that its endowment does not contribute interest income to our operating budget.

We rely on donations beyond tuition revenue each year to balance our budget, the school said.

Brentwood's $17.4-million endowment as of 2017  the most recent year for which data were available  is lower than some of its peers. Harvard-Westlake had an endowment of $146.8 million in 2018, Polytechnic's was $75.3 million in 2017, and Malborough's was $50 million 2016, according to IRS data.

Schools are typically reluctant to pull from their endowment to fund operating costs. Some donations to an endowment have restrictions on how the money can be used. However, in the case of Malborough, the girls school said in a statement that its "strong endowment" and "recognition that there are many organizations with much greater need than ours" led to its decision to not seek PPP funding.

Lower-cost private institutions, including Catholic schools, have been hit hard  and many were struggling financially before the pandemic. All 240 schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese applied for PPP funding, with 39 successful so far. Tuition is typically $5,000 to $10,000 a year, with financial aid available. Now many families are simply unable to pay.

The Diocese of San Bernardino has received no funding to date, even though 20 of its 26 schools reported a sudden drop in tuition revenue. The result has been layoffs or salary reductions for 110 out of 741 employees even as schooling continues via distance learning, spokesman John Andrews said.

The federal support would be a major help  a huge thing, Andrews said.

Private prep schools may not be the first entity that comes to mind when considering aid for small businesses. But thats what they are, and times are tough for many of them, said Mary Menacho, interim executive director for the California Assn. of Independent Schools, the organization for 224 private schools in the state.

All of these schools are small businesses when it comes down to it  [and] have really bent over backwards to keep their programs going and their people employed, she said.

Times staff writer Sonali Kohli contributed to this report.
Aer Lingus intends to axe 900 jobs from its workforce, it has told unions.

The airline, part of IAG, employs a total of 4,500. The job cuts are likely to be made across the company, with pilots and cabin crew among those to be hit, its understood.

News of the layoffs comes after Ryanair confirmed this morning that it will cut about 3,000 jobs, close bases and impose pay cuts of about 20pc for remaining staff.

The precise nature of the cuts at Aer Lingus will emerge following consultation with unions. Its also not known at this stage what the timing of the job cuts will be.

IAG also owns British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Level.

Earlier this week, it said it will cut 12,000 jobs at British Airways.

IAG, which is headed by former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh, bought Aer Lingus in 2015 for 1.36bn.

Before the pandemic, Aer Lingus had been rapidly expanding its route network to North America and was one of the best performers in the IAG group.
A property developer accused of using "standover tactics" has been bailed because of delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nicholas Bochrinis is accused of going to a suburban Melbourne business with co-offenders in September 2019 to get money from their victim over an unpaid debt.

Property developer Nicholas Bochrinis has been granted bail because of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit:

Two of the co-accused allegedly punched, kicked and threw the victim down a set of stairs before they bashed him again.

Mr Bochrinis, 46, is accused of standing by and warning others at the Rowville business not to intervene.
I also turned to old-fashioned books for solace and inspiration for future trips. Laura Catenas new book, Gold in the Vineyards: Illustrated Stories of the Worlds Most Celebrated Vineyards, was published by Catapulta in March, just in time for her book tour to be canceled. Catena gives an engaging, minimalist account of renowned wineries and vineyards, including, of course, her familys Adrianna Vineyard in the Andes foothills of Mendoza in Argentina. Drawings and infographics provide as much information as text  the modern way to impart knowledge in the age of short attention spans and twitchy fingers. And yet, Catena catches the classic elements: ambition, hardship, even sex and violence when she describes the scandalous connection of Tuscanys Antinori wine dynasty with the Medicis in 16th century Florence. Great fodder for your next dinner party.
The holy Takht Hazur Sahib



Sachkhand Gurudwara and Gurudwara Langar Sahib in Nanded in Maharashtra were sealed on Friday after a batch of pilgrims who left from here to Punjab were found infected with the coronavirus during tests conducted in the northern state, officials said.

The number of COVID-19 patients in this batch that left from Nanded, some 250 kilometres from here, to Punjab stands at 148 as on Friday, an official said.

"The gurudwara and langar (community kitchen) have been closed from Friday," he said.

Speaking on the issue, Superintendent Gurvinder Singh Wadhwa said, "District and civic officials reached the gurudwara in the morning today and directed that it be closed and the langar service be stopped."



Wadhwa added that the batch of pilgrims who left from here to Punjab had been tested at the local government hospital for the virus and none showed any symptoms.

The pilgrims had made halts at Indore, one of the country's worst coronavirus-affected cities, Bhilwara and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and Bhatinda in Punjab en route, gurudwara functionaries said.

Baba Balwinder Singh of Langar Sahib said there are some 175 people from different states in the complex at the moment and no one is allowed to go out or come in due to the outbreak.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(JNS)The coronavirus pandemic has given rise to some of the most complex and significant medical-ethics dilemmas in recent history, namely the question of triaging ICU care and, by extension, deciding who shall live and who shall die. As society begins to contemplate how to readjust to the new normal and eventually lifts isolation measures, new and similarly challenging ethical questions will arise.

One such question that has not yet received much discussion, but which I believe requires our communitys attention, revolves around the rush to develop a vaccine. While it could take well over a year before a vaccine is available, the associated ethical issues will likely arrive much sooner.

One reason developing a vaccine takes so long is that researchers have to randomize test subjects into two groups. Group A gets the vaccine; group B gets a placebo. Researchers wait to see if more people from group B get sick than those in group A. If that happens, it is a sign that the vaccine is effective. However, it can take months before researchers get their answer because, in its simplest form, this kind of study depends on waiting for people to be naturally exposed to the viruswhich takes even longer with social distancing measures in place.

To speed up things, an alternative is something called a challenge study. In a challenge study, just like the traditional study above, some people are given an experimental vaccine and some are notbut unlike with the traditional approach, everyone in a challenge study is deliberately exposed to the contagion. Researchers then compare the two groups: the vaccine versus the control. Running a study in this manner could save months, and thousands if not millions of lives. However, deliberately exposing people to the coronavirus involves risk: some may get very sick, and some may die.

How do Jewish law and values guide us in this? When it comes to taking risks in general, Judaism obligates us to attempt to help those in need, such as for instance jumping into a river to save a drowning person. But the degree of risk one is required (or permitted) to take to save life is a matter of debate.

The general consensus is that although one is not obligated to put his or her life at risk to save another person, it is praiseworthy to do sounless there is a significant risk, in which case doing so may be forbidden. The rabbis encourage us to make a cost-benefit analysis of the level of risk versus the potential good. For example, kidney donation, which carries some risk, is encouraged but not required, whereas bone-marrow donation, which carries negligible risk, may be viewed as obligatory when performed to save a life.

For that reason, I believe once plasma donations from those who have recovered from the coronavirus are shown to be safe and effective in treating current coronavirus patients, it can be seen as an expectation of Jewish law that those who have recovered must make such blood donations if they are able to.

In Jewish law, hatzalat harabim, or saving the many, is given more weight than saving the individual when it comes to risk. For example, in the Purim story recounted in the book of Esther, Queen Esther was permitted to risk her life by approaching Ahasuerus since it was to save the entire community.

Similarly, the Talmud relates that in the city of Lod, the Roman emperors daughter was murdered and the Jewish community was blamed. The emperor threatened the Jews with mass execution unless they could produce the murderer. To save the Jewish people, two innocent brothers, Lilianus and Pappus, stepped forward and falsely confessed to the crime. Only they were executed by the Romans, sparing the rest of the Jewish community. Many rabbinic authorities have permitted voluntary self-sacrifice to rescue the broader community, based on Esther and the Talmudic praise for these righteous brothers.

On the other hand, other rabbinic authorities argued that although saving the community is a very high value and some level of risk is acceptable to this end, these stories do not prove that one who is not currently in any danger may opt to risk his or her life for the sake of the community, since the brothers in Lod, and Esther, would have died along with their community anyway.

This brings us back to the challenge study.

I believe that the lesson here is that it certainly would be permitted for a Jew to serve as a participant in a challenge study associated with rapidly developing a vaccine for coronavirus, and indeed, would be a very pious act. This even according to the stricter opinion, since the level of risk for those in such a study is relatively lowonly young, healthy people would be accepted, and would receive careful medical oversightand because everyone in the world is at risk for contracting the coronavirus; the participants were already at some risk just by living in society.

Participating in the study simply transfers the risk to a controlled setting, while at the same time potentially significantly benefiting all of society, and thus is a mitzvah.

The Jewish community should endorse such protocols, and if a Jew has the opportunity to enter such a study, he or she should enthusiastically do so.

Rabbi Jason Weiner is senior rabbi and director of spiritual care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

This article was first published in the Jewish Journal.
Bollywood icon Rishi Kapoor is no more. The 67-year-old actor breathed his last on Thursday morning at the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai, after a long battle with illness.

True to his unfiltered nature, Rishis memoir Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored was a candid and entertaining account of his life. The book featured an emotional foreword written by his son and actor Ranbir Kapoor.

As I sit down to analyse my relationship with my father, I would say that the most precious gift he has given my sister Riddhima and me is that we can love our mother unconditionally. He showed us by example that she was at the centre of all our lives and our home. With her as our bedrock, none of the ups and downs in our lives could really touch us, he wrote in the foreword.

Also Watch | RIP Rishi Kapoor: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, family attend funeral in Mumbai

The second gift is that he has been a good husband to my mother, Ranbir wrote. While Rishi had his fair share of intense fights with wife Neetu Kapoor, he truly loved and immensely respected her, setting an example of a successful marriage for Ranbir and Riddhima.

Ranbir, who made his Bollywood debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Saawariya in 2007, was inspired by Rishis work ethic. I saw his enthusiasm even at that age, after all those years in the industry. He had it in him to better his craft, go shopping for his costumes or examine every minute aspect. He is that kind of man; very detail-driven. This is something I deeply admire, he wrote.

Though Rishi did not experiment too much in the first two decades of his career, he worked hard to reinvent himself in his second innings, Ranbir said. Talking about their equation, he said that their relationship was one of complete reverence.

Also read | Rishi Kapoor dies at 67, Live Updates: Actors funeral to take place in evening, Kareena Kapoor and Alia Bhatt reach hospital

Ranbir admitted that his relationship with Rishi was formal but added that there was no sense of loss or vacuum. He wrote, I do wish sometimes that I could be friendlier with him or even spend more time with him. Sometimes I wish I could just pick up the phone and ask him, Dad, how are you doing? But we do not have that. We do not have a phone relationship. Of course, he does message me.

Ranbir said that he would want to be friendlier and more connected with his own children. Having said that, I love my father dearly and have immense respect for him. Im inspired by him and never want to let him down. I know he has only my best interests at heart. His confidence in me and my work makes me take pride in it. I persevere that much harder because of this, he wrote.

Ranbir revealed that though Rishi appeared to be boisterous and loud, he was actually very reserved and bottled up his emotions. He added that his father got himself into a spot sometimes with his frank speak on Twitter, but had no agenda and no hidden motive.

Also read: Rishi Kapoor, Bollywoods original chocolate boy, dies at 67, Amitabh Bachchan says hes destroyed

Praising Rishis performances, Ranbir wrote, I can honestly say I do not see anyone on the same level as Rishi Kapoor. There is a certain naturalness about him, a certain spontaneity. And he was like this way before anyone else. Most actors of the earlier generation had a distinct style to their acting, but my father was very natural and effortless. The way he enacted his songs, the way he serenaded his heroines on screen was laudable.

Ranbir lauded Rishi for being able to entice an audience despite not having a toned physique. See Chandni, Deewana or Bol Radha Bol, or for that matter any of his work in the 1980s and 90s, and you will see that, despite his weight, his charm remained infectious, he wrote.

Now, with his second innings  Agneepath, Do Dooni Chaar, Kapoor & Sons, and others  my father is winning more accolades and awards than he ever did in his first stint. Nothing can keep a good actor down. A man who has withstood the test of time for forty-four years in showbiz must have something special in him  theres little else I need to say in summing up here, he concluded.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Even under normal circumstances, nursing can be a stressful profession. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbates it.

New research led by Marian Reven, a Ph.D. student in the West Virginia University School of Nursing, suggests that aromatherapy may reduce nurses' on-the-job feelings of stress, anxiety, exhaustion and being overwhelmed. Her pilot study results appear in the International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy.

"If we can improve our nurses' emotional reserves and give them more resiliency by using aromatherapy--give them a place to step back, to do some mindfulness--we're doing a good thing at the other end of it by improving patient care," she said.

In an eight-week study, she and her colleagues--WVU researchers Janelle Humphrey-Rowan and Nina Moore--provided aromatherapy patches to 19 nurses who worked at the Infusion Center at the WVU Cancer Institute. The nurses affixed the patches to the badges they wore on lanyards around their necks. The patches were infused with a citrusy blend of essential oils: lemon, orange, mandarin, pink grapefruit, lemongrass, lime and peppermint.

"I sat down with people from the WVU Cancer Institute's Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, and we smelled three different oil blends," said Reven, a registered nurse with WVU Medicine and certified, registered aromatherapist. "When they smelled this blend, everybody's face lit up, and they were immediately happy."

Cutting stress levels in half

The nurse participants wore aromatherapy patches on their ID badges for four-to-eight-hour stretches, on eight separate occasions, while working at the infusion center.

Before and after wearing the patch each time, study participants completed a survey about their moods. They reported how strong certain emotions were, on a scale of one to 10.

The researchers found that participants felt significantly less stressed, anxious, fatigued and overwhelmed after wearing the aromatherapy patches. The levels of anxiety and fatigue they reported fell by 40 percent, and their stress levels and feelings of being overwhelmed decreased by half.

"Oncology nurses face a type of stress that is unique," Reven said. "There are so many cancers that are considered chronic illnesses that oncology infusion center nurses probably see these people for years instead of months. They know them. They get very invested in their lives."

"It's a stressful job," said Laurie Theeke, professor and director of the Ph.D. Program at the School of Nursing and nurse practitioner in the Department of Family Medicine. "You're dealing with life or death or chronic illness every day. And people in all of the health professions are stressed. This doesn't just have application to nursing. It's about workplace stress."

Stressful times, lonely patients

Aromatherapy might improve patients' moods, too, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospital patients can't receive visitors.

"I work nightshift weekends," Reven said. "Last weekend, several of the patients tugged on my heart strings. They missed their family and friends so much during this time of 'no visitors.' I just wanted to be able to do something more for them. An aromatherapy patch with lavender or citrus might have helped.

"As a nurse, I spend a lot of time at the bedside of very ill people," she added. "I often think, 'How would I feel if it was me?' I get very sad sometimes watching the suffering, and yes, I personally use aromatherapy to help with my resiliency."

Loneliness isn't just unpleasant. It's also a predictor of depression, functional decline and mortality.

"People do die of loneliness," Theeke said.

The research results also suggest that aromatherapy might make people outside of healthcare settings feel better as they shelter in place to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. After all, a patch on an employment badge isn't the only way to use essential oils. Someone can plug in an essential oil diffuser or simply add a drop of pure lavender essential oil to a teaspoon of lotion.

Reven emphasized the importance of buying essential oils only from reputable sources.

"There are two professional organizations that can give the layperson credible information about where to find essential oils and how to use them safely: the Alliance of International Aromatherapists and the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy," she said.

But you don't have to buy anything special to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy. Common household items, used during common household tasks, can be enough.

"Baking is aromatherapy," Reven said. "Cutting up an orange is aromatherapy. We need some aromatherapy all the time."

###

Citation

Title: West Virginia University oncology nurses don aromatherapy patches: A pilot feasibility study

Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340487906_West_Virginia_University_Oncology_Nurses_Don_Aromatherapy_Patches_A_Pilot_Feasibility_Study
Senior Congress leader H K Patil has urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to prohibit liquor in the state, saying the lockdown provided an opportune time to make this decision.

Karnataka has been free of liquor for nearly 48 days now, with the government having shut all retail sales, including bars and pubs, due to the coronavirus-driven lockdown.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

Without our knowledge, were stepping into an intoxication-free, civilized society and there are immense benefits, Patil said in his three-page letter to Yediyurappa, pointing out that prohibition of liquor was a long-pending demand made by civil society and womens groups.

There is no shortage of people who say that it wont be smart to cut a source of revenue to the state exchequer. But there is peace in families now and it has helped children get a good upbringing instead of facing cruelty, Patil said. Exploitation of our sisters has stopped. Our sisters, who went to sleep by covering themselves with clothes wet from their tears after going through hell are now spending their nights in peace, he argued.

The need of the hour, Patil said, was to prohibit liquor as it also led to misuse of power and corruption, besides destroying families and leading the society astray.

Urging Yediyurappa to make the revolutionary decision, Patil said there was no better time than now to ban liquor.

Successive governments have battled the demand to ban the manufacture and sale of liquor. Excise accounts for nearly 18% of the states own tax revenue, which no party in power can afford to let go.

When the Congress was in power with Siddaramaiah as the chief minister and Patil as a minister in his Cabinet, the demand to prohibit liquor was outrightly rejected.

It is impossible for the government to ban liquor, Siddaramaiah, the then CM, told the Legislative Assembly in 2017. Liquor prohibition has not worked anywhere. Look at Gujarat, which is supposed to be a dry state. See for yourself how well the liquor ban is being implemented, he said, adding that liquor prohibition will need a national policy.

Siddaramaiah was responding to the Opposition BJPs demand for prohibition of liquor.

And it is the BJP that is now in power.
Queen Elizabeth is well-known for collecting corgis, horses, and brightly colored outfits, but royal fans may not realize that shes also an avid stamp enthusiast. The 94-year-old monarch is quite proud of her collection and as it turns out, the hobby isnt just a bit of fun  its also quite lucrative.

In the unlikely event that the monarchy was abolished tomorrow and taxpayer funding dried up overnight, the queen would have to draw upon her personal wealth for survival. And besides her properties, art collection, and pricey cache of jewels, Her Majesty also has about $100 million worth of assets in stamps.

Queen Elizabeth | TOLGA AKMEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth loves showing off her stamp collection

Most visitors to Buckingham Palace will expect to be offered a cup of tea with the queen, but they might be slightly surprised when Her Majesty trots out her impressive stamp collection to show off. Yet according to one royal expert thats exactly what she loves to do.

The queen loves showing her stamp collection to visitors, say heads of state who stay at Buckingham Palace, Phil Dampier told Fabulous Digital, as The Sun reported.

It is one of her pride and joys, not only because she owns some of the worlds most valuable stamps, but also because she has built on a family treasure and feels she has done her father and previous monarchs who owned it proud.

Queen Elizabeth | Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images

The queen does not own the worlds most famous stamp

Though her collection includes multiple rare and valuable finds, Queen Elizabeth lacks one very famous stamp that shed no doubt love to own. This is the highly coveted British Guiana 1c magenta from 1856, of which there is only one surviving version in the world.

The stamp most recently sold for $9.8 million at Southebys to famed shoe designer Stuart Weitzman. Like the queen, Weitzman is an avid collector, a hobby hes been keen on since childhood.

One rare stamp would complete the queens collection

British Guiana One-Cent Magenta stamp | Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Its not just that Her Majesty wants the stamp because of its value  that single stamp is the final piece to complete her collection of British Imperial stamps. This is a collection of stamps related to the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.

Though she wasnt prepared to spend more than $9 million on the missing piece, Queen Elizabeth no doubt covets that single missing stamp for her very impressive collection.

The royal stamp collection has been passed down through generations

George VI | Kurt Hutton/Getty Images

Though Queen Elizabeth has expanded her stamp collection, the majority of her treasured stamps came to her through inheritance.

Members of the royal family have been collecting stamps since 1864 and the first noted collector was Prince Alfred. He eventually sold his collection to his brother Edward VII, who then gave it to his son, George V. The treasured stamps were so valued that each monarch has employed an official curator to manage them.

George V was also a serious collector and was elected honorary vice-president of what later became the Royal Philatelic Society of London. His son George VI was Queen Elizabeths father and eventually, the stamp collection made its way to her through him.
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Leftist trade union CITU, on the



occasion of May Day on Friday, urged the West Bengal government and private bus operators to give financial assistance and other aid to lakhs of distressed transport sector workers in the state to enable them to tide over the crisis brought about by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

State unit president of CITU, Subhash Mukherjee said that workers in unorganised sectors like public transport were facing hardships due to the lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

He said that though the lockdown has to continue in view of the extraordinary situation caused by COVID-19, the interests of the workers in the unorganised sector must be looked into to prevent them and their families from starving.

Private bus operators have also urged the state government to provide financial aid to workers employed in the sector.

General secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, Tapan Banerjee said, "Financial aid apart from providing ration to the distressed workers is an absolute necessity for them and their families to survive."



He said the state government should transfer a certain amount of money to the bank accounts of every worker in the unorganised sector to enable them to tide over the crisis.

The Bus and Minibus Samannoy Samity (coordination committee) has recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Road Transport and Highways and MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari to consider inclusion of public transport in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, its general secretary Rahul Chatterjee said.

"This will help operators and workers of the public transport sector avail the facilities and grants provided by the Union MSME Ministry," he said.

Noting that the passenger transport business has come to a standstill owing to the lockdown, Chatterjee said that the central and state governments should urgently consider providing financial assistance to all the persons involved in the sector.

He has also written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikary over the issue.

The West Bengal government had recently announced that intra-district private bus services will commence in 'green zones' of the state but each vehicle can carry only up to 20 passengers, who must be seated by maintaining social distancing.

Private bus operators, however, said it would not be economically viable to run the vehicles with only 20 passengers and expressed their inability to provide the services.

Bus operators' associations have said that either the state government should give them subsidy for running the vehicles or it may requisition the buses for plying the vehicles on different routes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
01.05.2020 LISTEN

Former President John Mahama, says he plans to expand the training of doctors in Ghana to address critical deficits in the countrys healthcare sector upon a return to power.

According to a Ghana Health Service report, the ratio of doctors per population in 2016 was one doctor to 8,481 persons; well below the World Health Organisations standards of 1 physician per 1,000 population.

But the figure worsens in individual regions like the Upper East Region where the ratio was one doctor to 25,878 persons.

In the Western Region, the ratio is one doctor to 20,659 persons.

Mr. Mahama, in a Facebook live address on Thursday evening, said this means that there is space to increase the number of health personnel in all these areas.

To do this, he said a potential administration under him would look to expand training for doctors in particular at the University of Health and Allied Sciences and the University of Development Studies.

We have the possibility and we have the plan, if we get elected, to look at the University of Health and Allied Sciences and expand the training of medical professionals in those institutions.

He added that in the University of Development Studies, his administration would expand the numbers of doctors that we are able to train in that institution.

Mr. Mahama also proposed fast-tracked medicine courses from biomedical students.

We have the biomedical science students who can transition to do a medical degree in four years so if we get some of these biomedical students onto a fast-track medical degree, we can turn out several more doctors than we currently doing.

Per a public sector human resource gap analysis, Mr. Mahama said the NDC conducted, to achieve an optimal level of health delivery in Ghana, the Ghana Health Service will require and addition 86,000 health personnel.

---citinewsroom
North Korea's state news agency on Saturday released this photo of Kim Jong-un, which it said was taken Friday at a fertilizer plant. His sister, Kim Yo-jong, is in the background.Credit...KCNA, via Yonhap



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he may be seriously ill.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim attended the ceremony Friday in Sunchon with other senior officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong, who many analysts predict would take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published several photos of Kim wearing black and smiling as he looked around the factory and cut a red ribbon, his sister looking from behind. Seemingly thousands of workers, many of them masked, stood in lines at the massive complex, releasing balloons into the air.

The images gave no clear sign that Kim was in discomfort. He wasn't seen with a walking stick, like the one he used in 2014 when he was recovering from a presumed ankle surgery. However, one of the photos at the factory showed a green electric cart, which appeared similar to a vehicle he used in 2014.





Another image of Kim released by the state news agency, also said to have been taken Friday at the factory.Credit...KCNA, via Yonhap

KCNA, via Yonhap

KCNA, via Yonhap



It was Kim's first public appearance since April 11, when he presided over a ruling Workers' Party meeting to discuss the coronavirus and reappoint his sister as an alternate member of the powerful decision-making Political Bureau of the party's Central Committee. That move confirmed her substantial role in the government.

Speculation about his health swirled after he missed the April 15 birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, the country's most important holiday, for the first time since taking power in 2011.

The possibility of high-level instability raised troubling questions about the future of the secretive, nuclear-armed state that has been steadily building an arsenal meant to threaten the U.S. mainland while diplomacy between Kim and President Donald Trump has stalled.

Some experts say South Korea, as well as its regional neighbors and ally Washington, must begin preparing for the possible chaos that could come if Kim is sidelined by health problems or even dies. Worst-case scenarios include North Korean refugees flooding South Korea or China or military hard-liners letting loose nuclear weapons.

''The world is largely unprepared for instability in North Korea,'' said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. ''Washington, Seoul and Tokyo need tighter coordination on contingency plans while international organizations need more resources and less controversy over the role of China.''

Following an unusually provocative run in missile and nuclear tests in 2017, Kim used the Winter Olympics in South Korea to initiate negotiations with Washington and Seoul in 2018. That led to a surprising series of summits, including three between Kim and Trump.












Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 05:17:20|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Thursday announced one COVID-19 death, bringing the total deaths in the country to three.

A 92-year-old woman who contacted with an infected person died Thursday afternoon in the capital Tripoli, the center said in a statement.

The number of total COVID-19 cases in Libya so far is 61, including 18 recoveries and 3 deaths, according to the center.

Libyan authorities have taken a series of measures against COVID-19, including imposing a curfew, closing airports, border crossings, mosques and educational institutions, and banning mass gatherings and movements among cities.

Libya reported its first COVID-19 case on March 24. Enditem
Tabloid reporters are very much like Americas Commander in Chief: They dont need to get bogged down with research or trouble themselves with accurate information, because they simply know stuff. They have what the president, a self-confessed stable genius," calls "a natural ability."

Donald Trump has proudly proclaimed that he knows "more than anybody" about the economy, the US government, campaign finance, ISIS, social media, TV ratings, lawsuits, politicians, technology, infrastructure and drones, among his many talents.

He knows more than "any human being on Earth" about renewable energy, and more about taxes than anyone "in the history of the world."

This week's tabloids prove that like the president, reporters can know more than anyone about a subject without having to concern themselves with petty details like facts.

"Coronavirus Is Chinese Bioweapon!" screams the cover of the 'National Enquirer,' more than two months after its cover last featured the headline: "China created killer virus to destroy America." Back then, an inside spread declared: "Coronavirus Is Chinese Bioweapon Gone Rogue!"

So why is the same old story back on their front page? Because last time they were just making it up, but now there's actually a complaint that has been filed with the International Criminal Court in the Hague against the People's Republic of China claiming that the coronavirus is a Chinese-produced bioweapon.

The complaint is coincidentally filed by the same American attorney who went to court in Dallas, Texas, to sue China for $20 trillion in damages for unleashing coronavirus. Good luck collecting that.

The only problem: none of the supporting "evidence" offered to the ICC in any way proves that coronavirus was a bioweapon, nor was released from a lab near Wuhan.

But who needs evidence when you've got a headline?

The British Royal Family, as ever, make easy targets for the tabloids who clearly know more about the Royals than anyone who ever set foot in Buckingham Palace.

"No More Kids For Heartbroken Kate!" reports the 'Enquirer.' "Why Queen Ordered William's Wife to Stop At Three!"

Duchess Kate has allegedly "been forced to abandon her life-long dream of having six children!" Evidently Kate recently said, in a passing comment to a member of the great unwashed, that her husband doesn't want more children, happy with the three they already have.

The 'Enquirer' isn't taking this lying down.

"The Duchess has been BANNED from adding to their brood," claims an unnamed courtier, who would naturally be privy to any birth control advice given by the Queen to her daughter-in-law. It seems reasonable to assume that Her Majesty would be dispensing regular prophylactic advice to her grandsons' wives.

But why has the Queen forbidden William and Kate to have any more children? Are the Royal coffers really so depleted that they cannot afford to support another aristocratic welfare case?

No. The all-knowing tabloids realize that the Royal Family is nothing more than an elaborate soap opera, and like the cast of any long-running show are more concerned with audience ratings and popularity,

As the 'Enquirer' explains: "Queen Elizabeth's told them the family's future survival rests on their shoulders  and Kate is so popular, they can't afford her to be off the public stage for months n maternity leave."

That's the sort of insight you only get from reporters with years of true inside knowledge.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan dominate the cover of this week's 'Globe,' which reveals: "Harry's New Nightmare! Meghan Divorce Ultimatum. Forbids him to make peace with the royals."

The Royal renegades are famously self-isolating at their new rental home in a gated community in Los Angeles, venturing out only to walk their dogs and make charity food deliveries, and yet the tabloids, with Trump-like knowledge beyond normal human capabilities, can tell us of the drama unfolding behind closed doors.

Meghan has allegedly issued an ultimatum to Harry, who hopes to reconcile with his estranged Royal family: My Way or the Highway!" Harry is desperate to "make peace with the royal family," but Meghan told him: "It's me or them!" according to "a high-level source" (maybe a Venice Beach stilt-walker?) Prince Harry reportedly "fears she'll take away his little boy!"

Just in case it's unclear what the 'Globe' thinks of the Duchess, the mag reports: "Queen Meghan's in total control."

It may sound like bullshit, but that's exactly what the 'Globe' brings us with its next Royal story about Prince Charles' plans for his British cattle ranch: "Charles' Bullcrap Stings William!"

Charles reportedly has plans for a herd of 500 beef cattle, producing 4.8 million pounds of manure to use on his organic farm, which evidently "stinks" for William and Kate who live nearby, according to the 'Globe.'

But as any farmer can tell you, an average 1,100 lb beef steer produces on average 106 lbs of manure daily, or 38,690 lbs a year, which means that 500 steer will produce 19.345 million pounds of manure annually  four times the amount that William and Kate are supposedly worried about. Who's full of bull now?

"Meghan's Mercy Missions Backfire!" reports the 'Enquirer.' "Duchess flaunts designer duds & fancy rides doing 'charity' gigs."

The rag claims that Harry & Meghan's "first charm offensive exposed them as phonies," according to unnamed sources (i.e. whoever is in the 'Enquirer' break-room making coffee) because Meghan wore a designer shirt and shoes while distributing charity food and being driven in a luxury Porsche SUV. The nerve! As any self-respecting tabloid journalist knows, the appropriate form of dress when doing charity work is sackcloth and ashes.

Perennial tabloid victim Angelina Jolie is targeted by the 'Enquirer' with an unsubstantiated claim that she aims to write a book, reporting: "Angie's Tell-All Rocks Hollywood!"

The 'Enquirer,' armed with the sort of insight and expert knowledge that is only acquired through decades of intimacy with the actress, concludes she must be planning to write about ex-husband Brad Pitt's boozy brawl on a private jet, her "best sex ever with a woman," her "often bitter estrangement from her Oscar-winning dad, Jon Voight," her "weight woes"and "cancer fears."

How do they know that? Because Jolie couldn't possibly be writing a book about her decades of humanitarian work, the joys of adopting children, or the environmental causes she espouses, could she?

The world's media are in the dark (as of writing) about what precisely has happened to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, allegedly clinging to life after what has variously been reported as a heart attack or a medical procedure gone wrong.

But the 'Enquirer' has succeeded where the CIA has failed, and penetrated Ryongsong Palace to reveal to its geopolitically astute readers: "North Korea's Kim Targeted For Death  By His Sister! Tyrant fights for life after poisoning."

Thanks to the incredible 'Enquirer' undercover team of reporters embedded deep within the Royal Palace, we now know that: "Kim Jong Un is fighting for his life after an assassination attempt engineered by his cruel and calculating sister!"

Why does the US government waste billions each year on the CIA, when the 'Enquirer' can do a better job at a fraction of the cost?

Surely if anyone deserves a Noble Prize for journalism, it's these guys?

The 'Globe' promises readers the secret story of the ""Booze Horror Brian Dennehy Took To Grave."

But the actor, who died on April 15, never took his hard-drinking past "to the grave" like some untold secret. In fact, Dennehy discussed his past alcoholism frequently, after revealing his struggles in an interview with Life magazine in 1990, and notably after quitting booze in 2001. Sober for almost two decades, it was one thing he certainly didn't take with hm to the grave.

Thankfully we have the uncannily accurate 'Globe' team of guess-your weight reporters who know just by looking at celebrities how much they weigh, to the precise pound. And like Donald Trump, they're never wrong.

Amazingly, the stars seem to love to weigh nice round numbers: Chrissy Metz  300 lbs. George Wendt  450 lbs. Lizzo  250 lbs. Jack Nicholson  350 lbs. Garth Brooks  300 lbs. Trisha Yearwood  200 lbs.

It's as if the stars have all got together and are having a private bet on the side who can maintain their weight at the nearest round figure.

Not that they're encouraged to have round figures if they're celebrities.

The Globe isn't about to let anyone gain an extra pound or two, and hurls the headline: "Thunder Thighs" above a photo of Amy Poehler in black jeans. It's accompanied by the equally sensitive caption: "There's a fat chance skinny jeans will ever look good on pudgy Amy Poehler."

No fat-shaming to see here, move along.

'People' magazine devotes its cover to "HGTV's Ben & Erin Napier  Small-Town Sweethearts to Superstars."

Seriously  Who are these people? Since when did restoring houses make one a superstar?

Fortunately we have 'Us' mag to bring us the inside scoop of one of Britain's youngest royals in its cover story: "Louis Turns 2! Inside the Life of a Little Prince!"

Sex! Drugs!! Teletubbies!!!

No such luck.

Louis's life is every bit as exciting as you'd expect from a two-year-old: "playdates, painting, baking with the Queen," promises a headline, as if Her Majesty routinely settles down in the kitchen with a Magimix and a roll of Pillsbury dough.

Worse yet, the story is yet another of 'Us' mag's trademark bait-and-switch stories, where the content hopelessly fails to match the enticing headline.

Despite its prime billing, the story amount to just one modest-sized paragraph, revealing next-to-nothing of the prince's private life. Louis hasn't even baked so much as a chocolate chip cookie with the Queen  it's just something "Louis will be introduced to" once he's old enough. Along with fox-hunting and pheasant shooting, though 'Us' somehow failed to include those in the list of Louis's activities.

An actual fact somehow slipped into the story  probably an editing mistake  revealing that Louis has "been raised to eat healthy" but was allowed cake for his birthday on April 23. Like most two-year-olds, and a certain unnamed current occupant of the White House, Louis lives a life of blissful ignorance in the lap of luxury.

But despair not  we have 'Us' mag's crack investigative team to tell us that Brooke Burke wore it best, that Nikki Bella sets out crystals beneath every full moon "to restore their beautiful energy," and that the stars are just like us: they walk their dogs, take out the garbage, and clean the house. Three things that Donald Trump almost certainly never does, though I'd wager that he knows more about those subjects than any human that ever walked the planet.

Onwards and downward . . .
Edward M. Cody was called home on April 23, 2020.

He was one of four children born to the late Will and Ellen Cody on Nov. 16, 1937, in Chattanooga. Edward graduated from Howard High School (Class of 1954) in Chattanooga and continued his post-secondary education at Clark Atlanta University (Class of 1958) in Atlanta. He later received an academic scholarship to attend Michigan State University and began his career as a professional educator in the Detroit Public School System for several years until his retirement.

On Dec. 14, 1955, Edward was inducted into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity where he continued to be an active and contributing member until his death.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother; sister, Billy Cody; niece Barbara Ann Davis; two nephews, Ira Ward Davis and Allen Cody; and brother-in-law, Roy C. Davis Sr.

He leaves one sister, Barbara Jane Davis of Dallas, Georgia; one brother, Amos Cody of Randal Town, Maryland; several nieces, nephews, cousins, and very devoted friends, James and Hazel Bowles.

Services are private, and interment will be in Shepherd Community Cemetery, Chattanooga.

Arrangements are entrusted to Advantage Funeral & Cremation Services Franklin-Strickland Chapel, 1724 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, Tn. 37404, 423 265-4414.
North Koreas supreme leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public since 12 April. He even failed to appear at Day of the Sun celebrations on 15 April, when Pyongyang commemorates the Stalinist state's legendary founder, Kims grandfather, Kim Il-song. Speculation about the supreme leader's whereabouts is rife, but can we get a hint from the North Korean media?

Pyongyang watchers are scrutinising the North Korean state-controlled press for answers on the possible whereabouts of Kim, but clues are hard to find.

The Korean Central News Agency and the website of the Rodong Sinmun (Labour News), published in Korean, Chinese and English, stopped giving information on the activities of Kim Jong-un three weeks ago.

The column containing Rodong Sinmun's most prominent news item, the "Supreme Leader's Activities" is frozen on 12 April with the announcement that the "Political Bureau of the Central Committee (CC), Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Meets under the Guidance of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un."

On the same day, Kim inspected a "Pursuit Assault Plane Group". Both articles carry pictures of the leader.

After that: no more pictures, no more appearances.

The most important date of North Koreas calendar, the Day of the Sun (15 April), birthday of Kim Il-song, the President for Life who founded the nation in 1948, thus came and went  without his grandson Kim Jong-un being present at the festivities and parades.

The world started speculating. Hong Kong Satellite TV, claiming dependable sources in the north, said Kim had died,Japanese weekly Shukan Gendai claimed the North Korean dictator was in a vegetative state after complications following heart surgery.

Meanwhile, North Korea-watching website 38North reported that a train was spotted on three different occasions  the last one on 29 April - at the private station of Kim Jong-uns compound in the city of Wonsan, but no indications were given regarding the whereabouts of Kim himself.

Story continues

Chatting with Assad

The Pyonyang press then started to multiply indications that Kim was still around.

On 26 April the KCNA reported that the Supreme Leader expressed gratitude to the construction workers in Samjiyon City at the border with China, where Kim wants to expand the family holiday resort.

A day later, both KCNA and Rodong Shinmun reported that the Supreme Leader had received a reply from President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria, who thanked Kim for his good wishes sent on the occasion of Syrian independence day, 17 April. None of these reports included pictures.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to confirm that the North Korean leader is alive, saying he wished Kim Jong-un well after days of speculation over the dictator's whereabouts.

Not too distant future

Asked if he had new information about Kim's health, Trump said "yes, I do have a very good idea, but I can't talk about it now. I just wish him well.

"I hope he's fine," Trump continued, speaking at a White House press conference. "I do know how he's doing, relatively speaking."

Trump said the media would "probably be hearing in the not-too-distant future" about Kim.

But a North Korean defector claims he is 99 percent sure that Kim Jong-un is dead, saying that Pyongyang could announce the news this weekend.

Ji Seong-ho, who was elected as a member of the South Korean parliament last April, told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that he had been informed that Kim died last weekend after cardiovascular surgery.
ALBANY, N.Y.  The New York State Department of Labor announced it has directed all New York-based employers to proactively provide New Yorkers with the information they need to file for unemployment benefits.

In a directive sent to over 320,000 businesses, the DOL reminded employers of their legal obligation to provide employees with their employers NYS Employer Registration Number, Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), and full employer name and address.

The Department of Labor has identified missing or incorrect FEINs as the number one reason New Yorkers unemployment benefit applications cannot be immediately processed  once that information is provided via a phone call, DOL can complete the claims process.

Applying for unemployment benefits can seem daunting and overwhelming, especially during a public health crisis, and we all have a responsibility to help ease the burden on New Yorkers who are out of work, NYS Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said in a news release.

The number one reason New Yorkers applications are incomplete is because they are missing Federal Employer Identification Numbers  and today we are reminding businesses they are legally required to provide this information so former employees can easily file complete applications and access the benefits they deserve, Reardon added.

When applying for unemployment benefits (including both traditional unemployment insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) New Yorkers are asked for information to identify their former employer, which is used to validate an individuals wage history. This includes their former employers Federal Employer Identification Number and the business entitys formal, legal name.

While this information is included on New Yorkers tax forms, including their W2, many people do not keep it readily available  evidenced by the fact that the DOL has identified a missing or incorrect FEIN as the number one reason New Yorkers unemployment applications cannot be processed. When an unemployment application contains a missing or incorrect FEIN, it is marked by the DOLs system as partially-complete, and requires a phone call between the applicant and a DOL representative to resolve.

Under New York State Labor Law, employers are required to provide this information to employees upon the termination of their employment. In the directive sent to over 320,000 New York-based businesses, the DOL reminded businesses of this legal obligation and provided an easy-to-complete form that they can use to communicate the information going forward.

In addition, the DOL directed employers to proactively provide this information to employees who have already lost their jobs due to coronavirus-related impacts.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor has received and processed 1.4 million completed unemployment benefit applications and distributed over $3 billion in benefits.

In addition, the DOL has launched a tech surge to increase its capacity to serve New Yorkers and rolled out a streamlined application that allows individuals to seamlessly apply for either traditional unemployment insurance or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
Few people visit a makeshift clinic for COVID-19 tests at regional healthcare center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Friday, as the country reported yet another single-digit increase in the number of coronavirus infections with just nine new cases. /Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



Crackdowns against undocumented foreign migrant workers will be postponed in order to better protect vulnerable people amid a fall in the number of new COVID-19 infections, the country's top infectious disease official said Friday.



"In order to stably manage the spread of COVID-19 and to prevent the possibility of massive infection clusters, it is important to take care of people in any blind spot. The highly contagious virus can be spread again if these people fail to visit clinics due to their status," said Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip during a regular press briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong.



The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said it will conduct virus testing for all people in the vulnerable social group including the homeless and foreign workers for better containment. To encourage their participation, the health authorities will not collect their personal data during testing.



This is part of the government's efforts to carry out thorough quarantine measures for areas with a large population of undocumented immigrants and other socially disadvantaged people to prevent the spread of community infections in advance. Some 380,000 undocumented immigrants are estimated to be living in the country.



According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), nine new infections were detected Thursday, bringing the nation's total to 10,774. The death toll rose by one to 248.



Korea has recorded daily new infections in single digits for three consecutive days. Of the nine new cases, one was a domestic infection, while eight were imported.



A total of 9,072 people have been released after recovery, the KCDC said. Daegu, once the nation's epicenter, reported no new cases for a second day in a row.



The government is set to relax more restrictions early next week with the slowing number of new infections. The country eased some restrictions on social distancing guidelines in mid-April. Despite the positive signs, the government is still calling for people to comply with social distancing measures during a six-day holiday that began Thursday.



"The government will do its best to manage the quarantine situation so it can start implementing social distancing in daily lives on May 6," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a meeting to discuss the government's continued response to COVID-19.



A final and detailed decision on the relaxed measures will be made Sunday based on the number of new local and imported infections. Chung said the government will discuss ways to open public institutions such as museums and art galleries starting next week, while he urged the health authorities and citizens not to loosen their grip on containment efforts, considering the fast-spreading nature of the virus for which there currently is no vaccine.


(Photo : U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Brooks / Wikimedia Commons) A US Navy Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II of Strike Fighter Squadron 147 during flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The F-35 stealth fighters are among the aircraft that will potentially armed with the new hypersonic cruise missiles.

U.S. fighter jets and bombers will carry hypersonic cruise missiles in the near future as the U.S. Air Force initiated the search for companies that could help build an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile.

The U.S. Air Force is looking forward to starting a new program on hypersonic cruise missiles soon as the military branch reaches out to the defense industry to learn more about this weapon technology, according to a report on Defense News.

Asking Information From the Industry

The U.S. Air Force requested companies to submit information for a "solid rocket-boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic, conventional cruise missile" that could be shot from its existing fighter and bomber aircraft.

U.S. Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper said that any information that will gather from this request would help the service in deciding whether to start funding a new hypersonic cruise missile program. It will also help determine how fast they can field the new weapon. Roper added that the program would take advantage of the results of the research conducted by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Air Force Research Laboratory and tap a company that could help accelerate the design into production.

Roper said that they do not know how fast it would take to develop this technology; that is the reason the U.S. Air Force is reaching out to the industry. But he expected that they could develop it quickly considering how far scramjet technology has matured.

Initial Design by Q4 of F.Y. 2021

The U.S. Air Force targets to have an initial design by the last quarter of the fiscal year 2021. The design should incorporate ramjet, scramjet, or dual-mode propulsion rather than using boost-glide systems. Boost-glide systems are currently being used in the hypersonic weapon systems in progress with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Roper said that there are many advantages in fielding both air-breathing and boost-glide hypersonic missiles. He explained that "boost-glide weapons fly just below space, above the thick atmosphere where scramjet missiles would fly. The scramjet missiles will engage on specific missions and targets that cannot be taken care of by boost-glide weapons.

The U.S. Air Force is taking the fast development of weapon technology in the different parts of the world seriously, and they do not want to be caught off guard. They are exploring scramjet technology and hypersonic cruise missiles to make sure that they do not cede any ground on these new technologies. Roper said that they would have greater flexibility with this as a whole. "That's one reason we are interested in accelerating technology. It's mature, and it's ready. It will give our operators greater flexibility," he added.

Also, Roper said that the U.S. Department of Defense also aims to expand the number of manufacturers of hypersonic weapons. "One of the reasons I'm excited about starting a hypersonic cruise missile program is that we will have different suppliers. It's a very different technology," Roper explained.

Roper said that he is exceptionally impressed by what new manufacturing techniques are enabling when it comes to scramjet technology. "I entered this job thinking scramjet will probably be a step behind boost glide. I am delighted to say that I was wrong. Scramjet is much more mature and ready to go than I originally thought," he added.

It seems that the U.S. Air Force will undertake a new program involving hypersonic weapon technology just months after scrapping the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW). The HCSW was on track for conducting flight tests until it was dropped in favor of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ALRRW). Roper said that the U.S. Air Force chose ARRW because it was cheaper compared to HCSW, and B-52 bomber planes and F-15 jets can carry large quantities of it. Both ARRW and HCSW are boost-glide weapons produced by Lockheed Martin.





Also Read: US Air Force Unveils First Official Image Of B-21, Its Next-Generation Stealth Bomber

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CNN Philippines (Metro Manila, May 1)  The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that 30 more coronavirus cases among overseas Filipinos, bringing the total number to 1,707.

202 have died from the disease, while 455 have recovered or were discharged from the hospital.

"Across the globe, the DFA records an average of almost 43 new COVID-19 cases daily among Filipinos abroad for the past month," said the department in a tweet.

There are 46 countries or regions worldwide with Filipinos confirmed to have caught the virus, said the department. Most of these cases have been recorded in Europe and the Americas.

Over 3.26 million people have gotten infected with COVID-19, while more than 233 thousand have died.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a daily news conference at 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday.

Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given the clearest indication yet that British people will probably be told to cover their faces in at least some public places.

"As part of coming out of the lockdown, I do think face coverings will be useful," he said on Thursday.

The UK prime minister's remarks appeared to contradict Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who this week said there was only "weak science" supporting the use of masks during the coronavirus crisis.

Johnson's government is yet to decide whether to formally advise the wearing of masks, and one of Johnson's representatives on Friday insisted that the prime minister hadn't preempted the decision.

Face coverings are meant to help keep infected people from spreading the virus; their use alone is not considered effective in preventing people from catching the virus should they come in contact with it, so even places like the US that have recommended them have still urged people to maintain social distancing.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suggested that people should wear face masks when they return to work, just days after UK government ministers advised against the wearing of face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson on Thursday said that face coverings would be "useful" in terms of slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus and that they would give people "confidence" to return to their workplaces.

"What I think SAGE is saying, what I certainly agree with, is that as part of coming out of the lockdown, I do think face coverings will be useful," he said at Thursday's Downing Street briefing, referring to the government's science advisory committee.

"Both for epidemiological reasons but, also, for giving people confidence that they can go back to work. You're going to be hearing more about that and that kind of thing next week."

Story continues

The UK government is still deciding whether to formally recommend the use of masks or face coverings in public. A representative for Johnson on Friday insisted that his comments on Thursday did not preempt that decision.

"What the PM was doing was answering a question and pointing out what the advice from experts says," the person said.

"Ministers are still considering how we move forwards with face covering in terms of the precise advice we give to the public. And once and that's ready we'll announce it.

"I don't think the PM was preempting the decision  he was just answering a question."

The person added: "The advice that we have received based on the science shows a weak but positive effect in reducing transmission of coronavirus from members of the public where social distancing isn't possible.

"What ministers need to consider is how best to produce advice on next steps, and that work is still ongoing."

Scotland has already advised people to wear face coverings

A couple wearing surgical masks outside the Embankment tube station on March 4 in London.

Getty Images

Johnson's remarks came as he declared the UK to be past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak and pledged next week to set out a "comprehensive plan" on how he would start to reopen the economy, workplaces, and schools.

While the UK government has not yet officially advised the general public to wear masks amid the coronavirus outbreak, many people in the UK have started to wear them and other face coverings. In Asia, since the 2002 SARS outbreak, many commuters wear masks on a daily basis to slow the spread of viral infections and protect against pollution.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in mid-April began recommending that people cover their faces in crowded public areas to try to slow the virus' spread. It had resisted issuing such guidance out of fears that face coverings would give people a false sense of security that might discourage social distancing and also that the public would end up competing with hospitals for surgical masks and N95 respirators, which are in short supply around the world.

Face coverings are meant to help keep infected people from spreading the virus; their use alone is not considered effective in preventing someone from catching the virus should they come in contact with it, so the CDC has still urged people to maintain social distancing and wash their hands frequently.

Johnson's comments came just two days after his Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, suggested that face masks could make people "complacent" about the threat of the coronavirus.

Matt Hancock, the UK health secretary, also said this week that there was only "weak science" supporting the Scottish government's decision last week to recommend the wearing of masks.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister, recommended that Scots wear masks in enclosed spaces where social distancing is hard to enforce.

The prime minister's comments also appear to contradict comments made by Angela McLean, a scientific adviser on the SAGE committee, at Tuesday's Downing Street briefing on the coronavirus.

She said there was "weak evidence of a small effect" that wearing a mask would be an effective means of preventing the spread of the virus.

"The answer is clear that the evidence is weak and the effect is small, and we have passed that on to our colleagues in government with which to make a decision," she said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
If things go as advertised, Pennsylvanians should learn sometime later Friday about which parts of the state can plan for a limited economic reopening and relief from statewide stay-at-home coronavirus pandemic orders effective May 8.

Which begs the question: Does my area have a chance?

We took a fresh look at new case totals through midnight April 29 - the most publicly-discernible of the Wolf Administrations metrics - and heres the hard truth: For most of us in south central Pennsylvania - including Harrisburg, Lancaster and York - its looking like maybe next time.

The lone exception is Perry County, the smallest in our eight-county region, where the rate of 28.1 newly-diagnosed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks is cruising along well below the states baseline of 50 for an area to be considered for a move from red to yellow.

All seven other counties are above 50, making it seem unlikely that were going to see quick changes in status for most residents in our nearly 1.9 million population region.

Next closest are the southern border counties of York and Adams, with case prevalance rates of 55.2 and 68.0, respectively. That feels close enough that some of the Wolf Administrations other metrics - COVID-19 testing capacities, a robust ability to do contact tracing, the ability to quarantine clusters of new patients - might come into play.

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has repeatedly stressed that the case-count threshold will not be the only thing looked at in the phased reopening process. But she also said Thursday that if we see a county which has significantly more than fifty per one hundred thousand, its much less likely to go to yellow.

So, it feels more likely this morning that those counties may be just a couple of more good social distancing days away.

We also give a special distinction to Cumberland County, perched due west across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg.

Cumberland, at first blush, seems to be nowhere close to consideration for a move to the yellow stage with a new case prevalance count of 81.3, and rising over the last week. But Cumberlands counts appear to be significantly inflated by bad outbreaks at a handful of the countys nursing homes.

The state Health Departments case counts show infections among nursing home residents soaring from 30 on April 16 to 160 as of April 30, accounting for more than 60 percent of all new positive tests in the county over those two weeks. (Another 35 new cases were identified as nursing home staff.)

If you back out just the residents cases, on the argument that they are effectively isolated from the population-at-large, Cumberlands adjusted new case prevalance figure drops to 30.0.

Levine has said that kind of nursing home carve-out is not likely at this point, and a Temple University professor of epidemiology and biostatistics backed her up on the point in an interview with PennLive Thursday.

I would err on the side of still including them (the homes) because you have the licensed practical nurses, the people who are making sure the food is cooked, the administrative staff that are probably still having to show up in offices at those nursing homes that are going to be at the gas pumps, and in the grocery store, and in the drive-through line, assistant professor Krys Johnson said.

While theoretically its a closed system for the residents, its not a closed system for the working staff thats still as essential as it gets, and they still need to access all those services around the county.

The four other counties in our regional analysis are much farther away from stated goal: Dauphin, 106.7 new cases per 100,000 as of Monday night; Franklin, 131.6; Lancaster, 145.7; and Lebanon, 208.8.

As you can see from the map above, the prognosis looks much better for western Pennsylvania and the most of the rest of the 'T' that runs up the central of the state and then spreads out across the northern tier counties. Wolf and Levine had said those regions would be among the first considered for their staged reopening plan, and their case numbers continue to look good.

A top physician at Pittsburgh-based UPMC said Thursday the rate of new cases is declining across most of its hospital network.

Im happy to report that in Allegheny County, and in the vast majority of counties that UPMC serves in Pennsylvania.... the number of COVID-19 positive cases have been declining, said Dr. Don Yealy, the networks emergency medicine chair.

We expect that on May 8th, well still be below the fifty cases per one hundred thousand that the Commonwealth is looking for to consider loosening those restriction that exist. We expect to reach that same rate across virtually all the counties and areas that UPMC serves, with the possible exception of south central Pennsylvania," Yealy said.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced a three-phase plan to reopen Pennsylvania last month by red, yellow and green stages.

Keep in mind, the yellow phase isnt exactly a return to normal activity. For counties moving into that status, more businesses could open up, to be sure. But working from home will still be encouraged, masks will still be required in public and gyms, casinos, movie theaters and restaurant dining rooms will still be closed. Gatherings of more than 25 would be barred.

This chart shows Gov. Tom Wolf's plan for reopening Pennsylvania, with different regions moving through three phases.

The one-week heads-up is designed to give local officials and business owners a fair chance to prepare. State officials have not defined thresholds for moving a region from yellow to green.

Fridays announcements here come as more than a dozen other states have begun to partially reopen their economies and restart public life, raising concerns among health experts about another spike in COVID-19 cases that may not be detected in official numbers for two weeks.

Pennsylvanias reliance on a specific new case prevalance metric to guide the reopening here appears to be unique among our neighboring states. Many of Pennsylvanias regional neighbors are pegging their reopening plans more broadly to declines in COVID-19 hospitalizations, and in the use of intensive care beds.

But Temples Johnson endorsed it Thursday.

I think its really good that we have that metric and I dont think its unattainable," she said. "I think its a conservative measure for good reason considering less than ten percent of our population has been exposed to it (the coronavirus) and I think that we dont know if... immunity occurs and if so for how long.

One potential concern raised by some local elected officials is that as the state continues to ramp up testing capacity, that will inherently increase the number of positive results, making it harder to hit the 50-case-per-100,000 threshold.

Johnson sees that as a possibility in the near term, too, but I think thats OK for the time being because we would much rather continue to have those more pro-active measures in place early on," she said. "Once we get to where weve actually finally tested enough people, then we would pretty quickly thereafter start seeing things drop off.

Levine, for her part, said because testing will largely be limited to persons with COVID-19 symptoms at least for the rest of the spring, she doesnt see a major uptick in cases happening from those numbers alone.
Police officers are searching for two suspects in an armed gold shop robbery in Ho Chi Minh City, a source told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday.

The heist took place in Binh Chanh District on Thursday, the source said.

Two masked people arrived at a gold shop in Binh Chanh on a motorbike at around 12:45 pm on that day, according to preliminary information.

They asked the shop owner, K.P.D., to exchange an amount of U.S. dollars kept in their bag for Vietnamese currency.

In Vietnam, many choose to carry out foreign currency exchange transactions at gold shops instead of banks.

The two suddenly pepper-sprayed D. when he was concentrating on the exchange.

They went on to break the shop windows with a hammer and take away many gold necklaces estimated to be worth several hundred million Vietnamese dong. (VND100 million = US$4,300)

D. dashed out of the shop to shout for help when the two were grabbing the jewelry.

So the two quickly fled on their motorbike, leaving behind an iron hammer, a bag, two canisters of pepper spray, and a machete.

Binh Chanh police have investigated the scene, collected statements from witnesses, and retrieved security cameras to identify the robbers.

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The failure of the NHS to provide adequate protective equipment for its employees--including basic items such as gloves and masks--has been among the many unpleasant shocks of the covid-19 crisis for healthcare professionals.

Yet there is a murkier scandal about the procurement of these everyday items that the NHS has yet to face, writes Jane Feinmann, freelance journalist in The BMJ today.

Mahmood Bhutta, consultant in ear, nose, and throat surgery at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, who founded the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group in 2006, says he feels "ashamed as a doctor to be wearing gloves manufactured using human exploitation."

Feinmann explores allegations of abuse around the production of medical gloves and the use of child labour to make surgical instruments destined for the global market.

Bhutta has been instrumental in helping to improve conditions for workers who make healthcare goods, yet labour abuses have continued--with the response to the coronavirus pandemic now bringing about an increase in the suffering of thousands of workers.

It's a view reflected in the UK Government's Modern Slavery Statement, published on March 18 2020, which includes a promise by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to 'take active steps to drive this increasingly pervasive evil out of our supply chains.'

With the World Health Organization warning that the "chronic global shortage of personal protective gear is among the most urgent threats to virus containment efforts," reports have emerged that a temporary reduction in the production of gloves in Malaysian factories--part of the national lockdown--has been reversed.

What's more, lobbying by the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association throughout March was supported by both the EU and the UK in communications that appeared to make no mention of forced labour concerns, notes Feinmann.

For example, in a letter dated 20 March, reported by Reuters, the Department of Health and Social Care urged Malaysian authorities to prioritise the production and shipment of gloves that are of "utmost criticality for fighting covid-19."

In a further statement on 30 March 2020, an NHS Supply Chain spokesperson told The BMJ that the organisation "takes all allegations of labour abuses in its supply chain very seriously and we have a range of contractual arrangements and initiatives in place to try and prevent such situations arising."

Feinmann acknowledges that taking action against modern slavery is not straightforward, with the potential for action at government level to backfire.

But demands to end forced labour and debt bondage is not happening in medical trade, according to migrant worker specialist, Andy Hall. Rather than introducing sanctions, he says "a better response is for organisations to reward or benefit suppliers demonstrating good working conditions."

Bhutta argues that healthcare professionals "should care enough to do something about a situation that is unethical and illegal and affects the mental and physical health of hundreds of thousands--whether through propagating poverty, risking bodily injury, or through stress and depression from long working hours and a lack of respect at work."

For him, lessons should be learnt from the difficulties of getting supplies of PPE during the covid-19 emergency. "We've learnt how reliant we are on manufacturers overseas and how precarious our supply chains can be."

And he suggests that "by offering a fair price and asking suppliers to show respect for workers, backed by financial or contractual rewards, we can develop long term mutually beneficial relationships."

###

Peer reviewed? No

Evidence type: Investigation, Opinion

Subject: Labour rights violations
As the sun set on Gladstell Plaza Wednesday night, two workers geared up to disinfect Burger Fresh in Conroe before reopening day.

Hallelujah, its about time, Conroes Burger Fresh Owner James Canada said, preparing to welcome customers to his dining room again with the help of the two men seen spraying down each table and chair.

When the pandemic hit, those two men, Will Evans and John Townsend, said they decided they wanted to help their friends and community. After doing some research, they launched ProTech Disinfect as a new professional service for commercial and residential-insured places to maintain a healthy environment, including against germs and viruses.

We started doing this as a side business to try to get businesses opened up quicker, safer and faster to get the economy rolling in Montgomery County, said Evans, a Consolidated Communications worker now dressed head to toe in white protective gear.

The professional disinfectant company claims the products it uses is CDC, FDA, and EPA approved from a company that has been in business for 45 years. The co-owners said they can serve commercial buildings, hospitals, schools, daycare facilities, churches, emergency vehicles, residential, and air condition systems.

Protech Disinfect focuses on Montgomery County and its surrounding areas. It has already landed a contract for 16 apartment complexes, including in Houston, Conroe, The Woodlands and San Antonio. The business plans to service the common area, gym, office area, mailbox area, and offers a special for people in apartment in the complex to help sanitize their units as well.

Casserole is key

Burger Fresh Owner James Canada claims his business was saved by selling and delivering casseroles to-go and promoting the business on social media.

Burger Fresh has seen a positive response to delivery and to go orders, averaging about 60 people per day  half of what the business would normally see when the dining room is open. Canada believes his business is fortunate, noting it delivered food to youth shelters, hospital workers, and first responders. He plans to keep the casseroles due to the success.

Canada said he knows several businesses that have closed and that will never reopen. He was thrilled to learn Gov. Greg Abbott would be allowing for some businesses, including restaurants, to reopen at 25 percent capacity. Burger Fresh has removed 75 percent of its dining room tables in anticipation.

Canada and his daughter estimated over 60 percent of the restaurants in town had to close their dining rooms at least temporarily due to the pandemic. They estimated a list on a private Facebook group showing restaurants that will reopen on Friday remained at only about 30-40 percent of the total restaurants in the area.

I think they have been way to slow letting things open back up again, James Canada said. I have friends that have other businesses and they are really, really hurting.

Back to normalcy

Outside the eatery on Wednesday, a customer carried a to-go order home.

Im glad we are finally getting back to normalcy, some normalcy, said Conroe resident Terry Truett.

Texas Restaurant Association board president Jim Hallers, who is also a managing partner of Citizens Grill and Tailgators Pub & Grill in Magnolia, does not currently have the exact number of restaurants that have currently closed but confirmed people are announcing they are not reopening.

In Montgomery County, he said there are over 100 members in the restaurant association and hundreds of hundreds of restaurants in the area. He is aware of at least a handful of permanent closures in Montgomery County, but suspects there are more.

Its definitely there, Hallers said. The big thing is if things dont change there is going to be a bunch more coming. Thats the big interest behind trying to get open. Although at 25 percent occupancy, hardly, no one makes money, but we feel it is an important step to 50 percent occupancy maybe some of the places can at least break even.

As the restaurants reopen, he encourages a process of constant cleaning and sanitizing, including servers after each guest interaction. He noted some restaurants are making some changes to protocols to keep people safe such as by employee health checks, offering paper menus and single use utensils.

Its literally between each guest interaction, he said. Dont pick up something from one customers table and go to another table and bring them something without having washed your hands. Thats how you stop the virus transmission from contact service to contact service.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Abigail Spencer

Abigail Spencer took a nasty tumble while attempting to perform a back handspring for a coronavirus relief video.

The Timeless star revealed the news Thursday night on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself in bed with one arm held up in a cast.

"So. I broke my wrist yesterday doing a backhand spring in a charity video for Covid relief in my front yard. (True story)," she began. "It was my 'special skill' no one knows I can do. (That was the premise of the video & I used to be a gymnast) Nailed the first one... the second one nailed me. Full crunch fest. It looked like my hand was making a getaway from my arm. I couldn't believe it. Went into major deep breathing and sobbing. And sobbing & breathing. Ambulance came and rushed me to the hospital."

Spencer, 38, said it was "very scary" to go to the hospital alone, especially as she didn't want to take any resources away from coronavirus patients, but that her "wonderful paramedics" reassured her that "it was a true emergency."

Story continues

"They hated they had to wear masks because they want their patients to see their faces & are adjusting to the new normal," she wrote. "I could feel their caring energy mask et all. They got me through. Friends... It's SO broken. And I'm very lucky. Could be much worse."

"Thank you Linda & Michael & @kristavernoff at #GreysAnatomy for helping my find my incredible ortho. Our healthcare heroes. And @stephanieschuster & @jacobskid for taking care of me," she continued. "I am in tremendous pain. I've never broken anything or gone under or had surgery."

"Alas, 10 am tomorrow surgery commences. My spirits are high. Looking forward to relief and what my dreams will be like," she added. "Thank you to my healing community and outpouring of love from my sweet friends & family. Pain is a teacher. Healing inevitable. This too shall pass. One moment at a time. I'm much stronger than I thought. And just as I was getting antsy in the quarantine... the universe said be still a little longer. Sending love to you all and anyone in pain right now. I feel you. Any & all positive, healing energy vibes & prayers sent my way would be greatly appreciated in the next few days! Be well."

RELATED: Abigail Spencer Was 'Honored' to Be at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Royal Wedding

Speaking to HuffPost Australia earlier this month, the former Suits star discussed what she's been up to as she hunkers down at home with her 11-year-old son during the pandemic.

"I'm so lucky I'm so close with my friends," she said. "It's nice to be in regular touch, the Zoom meetings ... I actually just before this [interview] had a Zoom birthday dance party for a really good friend of mine, so those are increasing."

"It's an interesting time, it's an important time for all of us to take it seriously and to be at home," she added. "And take this collective pause and do whatever we can to keep each other safe. It feels so collected, like this connected tissue, and yet we're more isolated than ever, and yet I feel we're all having this shared experience of sorts."
Britain must immediately start construction on new customs posts that will be needed to carry out checks on trade with Northern Ireland, the EU has said.

The European Commission says the urgent building of the facilities needs to start now to be ready for 1 January, when the Brexit transition period is due to end and new controls begin.

Under the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson, there will be new bureaucracy and checks on trade between different parts of the UK: on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, in both directions.

A communique to member states written on Thursday states: All implementation measures that may require the creation of new facilities (such as new posts for the performance of official controls, or new customs offices) need to commence immediately to ensure that relevant facilities are operational on 1 January.

The Independent understands that EU officials havent been told of any progress the UK has made on the infrastructure.

The note says implementation of the agreement as a whole must be well under way by 1 July 2020 but says construction of border posts at British ports on the Irish Sea is among measures which have to be taken even earlier to ensure they are completed on time.

But the coronavirus pandemic means there is uncertainty in the UK about which construction projects can proceed with social distancing measures in place.

Boris Johnson falsely claimed during last years election that there would be no additional checks on trade inside the UK under the deal, despite it being written in black and white in the agreement he signed.

Theresa May had previously said no British prime minister could accept such conditions, but Mr Johnson effectively capitulated on the point while covering his tracks politically.

The EUs briefing note says that as a priority the UK must get on with implementing the introduction of customs procedures and formalities in Northern Ireland for all goods traded between Northern Ireland and Great Britain as well as the introduction of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements checks for all goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

The prime minister is refusing to extend the Brexit transition period, which would give the UK more time to implement the withdrawal agreement before it crashes out. Under the treaty, a decision to extend would have to be made next month at the latest, to give both sides time to prepare for a cliff-edge no-deal.

All implementation measures that may require the creation of new facilities (such as new posts for the performance of official controls, or new customs offices) need to commence immediately to ensure that relevant facilities are operational on 1 January European Commission

The commission is also warning that the UK has just 30 days to start a major upgrade of its VAT and customs computer systems that will be needed to process new checks within the country.

Most time-critical is the area of IT systems and databases supporting customs, VAT and excise processes, the note says.

In order to ensure full functionality and inter-operability of relevant systems by 1 January, commission services and the UK administration need to be working together at full speed and be ready for the necessary technical implementations, which in our technical assessment need to start by 1 June at the very latest.

Discussions are currently taking place on implementing the Northern Ireland protocol on the so-called joint committee, an EU-UK body set up by the withdrawal agreement that oversees policies.

Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Show all 37 1 /37 Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-Brexit supporters celebrating in Parliament Square, after the UK left the European Union on 31 January. Ending 47 years of membership PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Big Ben, shows the hands at eleven o'clock at night AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro Brexit supporters attend the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage smiles on stage AFP/Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square People celebrate in Parliament Square Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A Brexit supporter celebrates during a rally in Parliament square AP Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Police form a line at Parliament Square to prevent a small group of anti-Brexit protestors from going through to the main Brexit rally PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Nigel Farage speaks to pro-Brexit supporters PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square JD Wetherspoon Chairman Tim Martin speaks as people wave flags Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit supporters wave Union flags as they watch the big screen AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit Party leader, Nigel Farage arrives Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit supporters gather AP Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Ann Widdecombe speaks to pro-Brexit supporters PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Brexit supporters wave Union flags as they watch the big screen AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square People wave British Union Jack flags as they celebrate Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Pro-Brexit demonstrators celebrate on Parliament Square on Brexit day Reuters Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A pro-Brexit supporter jumps on an EU flag PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square AP Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A man waves Union flags from a small car as he drives past Brexit supporters gathering AFP via Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square A pro-Brexit supporter pours beer onto an EU flag PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square An EU flag lies trampled in the mud Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square Getty Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square PA Brexit celebrations in Parliament Square AFP via Getty

The first meeting took place on 30 March via teleconference, with Michael Gove leading for the UK side and commissioner Maros Sefcovic leading for Brussels. A UK government source close to its negotiating team said the agreement imposes legal obligations on both sides.

Asked about the note, the Boris Johnsons spokesperson said: The European Commission have chosen to publish its technical note to set out its own views on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol. It was not shared at recent meetings with the UK nor has it been agreed by the UK government.

Most strikingly, the note appears to miss out the fundamental objective of the Northern Ireland protocol. There is no mention of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement or the peace process anywhere in this seven-page document.

We are committed to complying with our legal obligations under the protocol, just as we expect the EU to comply with theirs. We will continue to take forward discussions on the implementation of the protocol.
You're the governor. You decide when and how to reopen the state and guide us through the next steps of the coronavirus crisis. How would you do it? Take this poll.







.
Testing and contact tracing programs for the coronavirus will be required for University of California campuses to reopen in the fall, system president Janet Napolitano told CNBC on Friday.

"They will all have to meet minimum safety standards to reopen," Napolitano said on "The Exchange." "If they're going to reopen at all, they're going to need to have a testing plan, a contact tracing plan, a quarantine plan, things of that sort."

The UC system has 10 campuses across the state; all serve undergraduates except UC San Francisco.

Napolitano said the university system, which has around 280,000 students, will definitely offer classes in the fall, but it remains a question of how that instruction will be given.

"It might be remote. It might be in person. It might be some sort of hybrid," said Napolitano, a former governor of Arizona and secretary of Homeland Security.

Each campus across the system is in the process of developing a specific plan for the fall, she said. She said students will be informed "well in advance of what the campus is going to offer as they make their decisions of whether or not to actually enroll."

Colleges and universities across the U.S. shifted this spring from in-person instruction to online classes as the threat from the Covid-19 outbreak intensified. But there is now significant focus on how  or whether  in-person classes can safely resume in the coming months.

Christina Paxson, president of Brown University, told CNBC last week that colleges "have to try" to welcome students on campuses in the fall, but stressed the importance of doing so safely. She said one likely change would be doing away with large, in-person lectures in favor of smaller classes.

Higher education institutions also are facing financial pressures, despite steps from the federal government to send them aid as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed in March. A portion of that aid is supposed to go to students.

The University of California system suffered financial losses in March of around $600 million, Napolitano said. Half came from lost revenue at the university system's medical centers, while the rest is attributable to refunds on housing and dining fees as campuses shifted online, she said.

"We're waiting for the April numbers," she said, "but they'll be larger."
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says private schools with significant endowments should give back federal relief loans after it was revealed the elite school his children attend was among those to receive a handout.

Brentwood School, an elite K-12 school in West Los Angeles where two of Mnuchin's children are enrolled, received an undisclosed amount of aid through the government's $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program.

The school sent a letter to parents last week informing them it had received the stimulus package loan in mid-April and that it would 'help us enormously as we move forward into a financially ambiguous future', according to a copy obtained by the LA Times.

It said the loan would help given the expected decline in enrollment and charitable donations.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says private schools without significant endowments should give back federal relief loans after it's revealed the elite school his children attend was among those to receive a handout

The most recent data on Brentwood's endowment was not available but filings from 2017 show it was at $17.4 million.

The school lists on its website a $4.2 million goal for annual donations.

Yearly tuition at Brentwood School - of which actress Calista Flockhart is a board member - starts from $37,500.

Following the revelation, a spokesperson for Mnuchin said he was not aware if Brentwood had taken out a loan.

It came around the same time a New York Times report revealed other elite schools, including Barron Trump's St Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, had also received loans.

Soon after, Mnuchin tweeted: 'It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments have taken #PPP loans. They should return them.'

Earlier this week, Mnuchin blasted the Los Angeles Lakers for taking $4.6 million in federal aid intended for small businesses, which the team later returned.

Mnuchin said he wasn't aware if Brentwood School had received a loan but later tweeted that schools with endowments should not be receiving handouts

Brentwood School, an elite K-12 school in West Los Angeles where two of Mnuchin's children are enrolled, received an undisclosed amount of aid through the government's $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program

'I'm not a big fan of the fact that they took a $4.6 million loan,' Mnuchin told CNBC.

'I think that's outrageous.'

He added that he 'never expected in a million years' that the Lakers would have taken the loan.

The team qualified for the loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was created to infuse small businesses with $349 billion in emergency loans for payroll and other bills.

The Lakers, valued at $4.4 billion, are the NBA's second most valuable team. The team returned the federal loan money after learning the fund had been depleted.

Mnuchin vowed earlier this week to audit all loans over $2 million through the government's ending program after uproar over publicly traded companies receiving multi-million loans.

Ivy League schools have also been criticized for netting millions in bailouts despite swimming in billion-dollar endowments.

Harvard gave back its $8 million loan after being called out by President Donald Trump when he lumped the school in with large companies that had taken taxpayer funds meant to help prop up small businesses shut down due to the pandemic.
Carlsbads Cavern City Air Terminal is getting $69,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds for improvements.

Carlsbad City Councilors Tuesday night approved a measure authorizing the City to apply for and accept the funds.

The proposed use of funds will be to support the airport operations for maintenance of aircraft parking areas, said City of Carlsbad Community Development Director Ken Britt in a memorandum to City Councilors.

These areas are in need of resurfacing to make them usable again, Britt concluded in the memo.

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said assistance from the CARES Act helped multiple government functions in Carlsbad and Eddy County, including Cavern City Air Terminal.

Our airport plays an important role to the economy of our community and will continue to do so as we move to get Carlsbad back on its feet, he said.

Cavern City Air Terminal is one of 50 airports across New Mexico receiving over $25.2 million in federal grants to sustain critical operations and connect the state and rural communities to resources they need, read a news release from New Mexicos Congressional delegation.

The funds are part of the $2 trillion CARES Act that the entire New Mexico delegation voted to pass Congress in March, the press release indicated.

While all New Mexicans should stay home as much as possible to slow the spread of coronavirus and protect our neighbors and health care professionals, local airports need to stay open to sustain communities across the state, said Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) in the news release.

This funding will help support rural economies, ensure that rural communities can continue to access the resources and goods they need, and help get frontline workers to where they are needed as quickly and safely as possible.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said declines in air travel due to COVID-19 devastated airports across New Mexico.

Im proud to support this critical funding from the CARES Act that will help ensure local airports in New Mexico can continue to provide essential service that connects frontline workers to all of our communities, Heinrich said in a press release.

I will keep doing everything I can to secure the resources New Mexico communities need both to protect our health and safety during this public health crisis and to fuel a strong long-term economic recovery.

Other southeastern New Mexico airports receiving CARES funds:

Artesia Municipal, Artesia, $30,000

Lea County Regional, Hobbs, $1,096,589

Lea County Airport, Jal, $20,000

Lea County-Zip Franklin Memorial, Lovington, $20,000

Roswell Air Center, Roswell, $1,233,016

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.



2020 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.)

Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com

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In 2017, Jens Korner was appointed CEO of ad pepper media International N.V. (ETR:APM). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for ad pepper media International

How Does Jens Korner's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that ad pepper media International N.V. is worth 64m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as 596k for the year to December 2019. We note that's an increase of 103% above last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at 275k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below 184m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be 418k.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of ad pepper media International. On a sector level, around 57% of total compensation represents salary and 43% is other remuneration. ad pepper media International is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation

As you can see, Jens Korner is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean ad pepper media International N.V. is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at ad pepper media International has changed from year to year.

XTRA:APM CEO Compensation May 1st 2020

Is ad pepper media International N.V. Growing?

ad pepper media International N.V. has seen earnings per share (EPS) move positively by an average of 46% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 7.5% over last year.

Story continues

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has ad pepper media International N.V. Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 53% over three years, ad pepper media International N.V. has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by ad pepper media International N.V., and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.

Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've picked out 1 warning sign for ad pepper media International that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than ad pepper media International, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
(Natural News) Nearly 900 workers have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in north-central Indiana, according to a report. The food processing facility at Cass Countys Logansport saw 890 people at the plant infected with the coronavirus after all of its 2,200 workers underwent testing.

The facility, which produces 3 million pounds of pork daily, is one of several Tyson Foods plants across America that have been closed due to the COVID-19.

The combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to close, Steve Stouffer, of Tysons beef-and-pork subsidiary, said to the Associated Press.

Meatpacking facilities struggling with the virus

The Tyson plant was initially closed after 47 people in Cass County tested positive for the coronavirus. A number of these cases were traced back to Tyson employees, resulting an initial report of 146 infections.

In response to these initial cases, the company temporarily suspended production at the plant on April 20 to allow for cleaning and sanitizing, with production resuming under a limited capacity the next day. Further testing on April 23 resulted in more positive results  eventually hitting 890 cases  forcing the plant to be closed on a more long-term basis.

Tysons Cass County plant is just one of many meatpacking facilities in the United States that has struggled to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Preventing the spread of the virus has proved challenging in these facilities, where workers work side by side on production lines and often share locker rooms, cafeterias and rides to work.

Several other meat facilities have temporarily closed due to outbreaks of the virus. These include a Smithfields foods plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a Redwood Farms Meat Processors in Estherville, Iowa and a JBS USA plant in Worthington, Minnesota. Other plants, on the other hand, have remained open or resumed production after pauses for testing and sanitation.

As a result of the closures, an estimated 25 percent of the countrys pork processing capacity either sits idle or is working at reduced operating speed, said Steve Meyer, an economist with Kerns and Associates in Ames, Iowa.

These closures, Tysons Stouffer warns, will have consequences for consumers.

Closing facilities have serious implications to the national food supply for American families, local communities, growers and farmers, Stouffer said. When a facility closes, the availability of protein for consumers across the nation will only decrease.

Prices of pork are already starting to rise as a result, with some warning of an impending shortage of certain products at grocery stores. At the same time, the excess supply caused by the shuttered plants is causing hog prices to plummet, hurting farmers.

Executive order signed to stave off meat shortage

To prevent a meat shortage, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday, designating meat processing plants as critical infrastructure; compelling them to stay open.

And well be in very good shape, the president said when asked about the order. Were working with Tyson, which is one of the big companies in the world. And we always work with the farmers. Theres plenty of supply, as you know. Theres plenty of supply. Its distribution. And we will probably have that today solved. It was a very unique circumstance, because of liability.

The president said that the step would ensure an ample supply of meat for U.S. consumers; however, it provoked swift backlash from unions. The latter stated that the administration needed to do more to protect workers in the meatpacking industry.

To protect Americas food supply, Americas meatpacking workers must be protected, read a statement from the United Food and Commercial Workers. The reality is that these workers are putting their lives on the line every day to keep our country fed during this deadly outbreak, and at least 20 meatpacking workers have tragically died from coronavirus while more than 5,000 workers have been hospitalized or showing symptoms.

Responding to safety concerns, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture stated that it fully recognizes the need to keep workers and inspectors safe during the COVID-19 national emergency.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com 1

TheEpochTimes.com 2

NYTimes.com

UFCW.org
The New Mangalore Port Trust



(NMPT) has extended a helping hand to daily wage labourers working for the Indian Coast Guard here by providing relief materials during the lockdown period.

Coast Guard commander DIG S B Venkatesh, a member of the CSR committee of NMPT, thanked the port trust chairman A V Ramana for the noble gesture.

Venkatesh said the officers and personnel of the ICG will contribute one day's basic pay from their monthly salary from March till September towards the PM-CARES Fund.

The public sector iron ore company KIOCL Limited contributed Rs 10.10 crore to the PM-Cares Fund as part of its corporate social responsibility and also one-day salary collectively by all the employees amounting to Rs 23.72 lakh, company chairman-cum-managing director M V Subba Rao said in a release here.

Besides this, the company deposited Rs 4.46 lakh to the Food Corporation India for procuring 200 quintals of rice for providing to migrant labourers in Dakshina Kannada district, on a request from the DK Deputy Commissioner.

KIOCL also distributed personal protective equipment(PPE) to healthcare workers and sponsored grocery items to BPL card holders in the district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
VX-20, one of the U.S. Navys test and evaluation squadrons at the services premier air-test facility in Patuxent River, has just retired their Grumman C-2A Greyhound, BuNo 162142, which they lovingly referred to as The Old Gal. The aircraft has been serving faithfully at Pax River in both test and support roles since 1992. Old Gal went up for one last hurrah before the cameras before shutting down her engines for the last time on March 19th. She is destined for display at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum with some of the long-serving test airframes at Pax in the near future. The types original test pilot at Grumman, Dave Seeman, was on hand to witness this fond farewell.

Interestingly, this particular Greyhound was involved in testing the U.S. Navys latest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78, as late as this past January when she took part in evaluating the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), a new generation of aircraft catapult driven by a linear induction motor instead of the more traditional, steam-powered versions more typically seen on carriers. Indeed, the Ford is pioneering this style of equipment. EMALS is apparently lighter and easier/cheaper to maintain and, due to its smoother action, less stress-inducing to both the airframe and aircrew it helps hurl into flight. VX-23, also based at Pax River, took part in these same trials, fielding their examples of the F/A-18F Super Hornet and EF-18G Growler to evaluate their performance on the carriers new catapult and arresting gear. Interestingly, while the Greyhound performed flawlessly, with no major squawks in its systems, the same was not so true for the latest generation jets involved in the exercise. Indeed, the Old Gal had to fly back to shore to pick up spares for those aircraft!

More details on the final flight celebrations are available HERE.
The National



Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches in two locations in Kozhikode on Friday in connection with the maoist case against two college students.

NIA sources confirmed the searches, but did not divulge any details.

Theagency had on April27filed a chargesheet in the Ernakulam NIA Special Court against two college students Allan Shuaib (20) and Thwaha Fasal (24), who were arrested and another abscounding accusedC P Usman, 40 in themaoist case.

It had said "the invesitgation had revealed that all the three are members of the proscribed terrorist organisation CPI(Maoist) and had conducted secretmeetings and unlawful activities for furthering the cause of the outfit.

Thwaha and Allan, who were arrested by state police last year under the Unlawful Activities PrevenentionAct (UAPA), were students of journalism and law respectively and the CPI (M)'s branch committee members in Kozhikode district.

Subsequently, the case was taken over by the NIA.

Meanwhile,the police conducted a search on Friday at the house of C P Jaleel, a Maoist, who was killed in an encounter in Wayanad inMarch last year.

The CPI(M) had in February expelled Allan and Thwaha from the party for their alleged Maoist links.

According to Malappuram Superintendent of Police, U Abdul Kareem, the search was conducted on a tip off that few affiliates of Jaleel and his brother were staying in the house at nearby Pandikkad.

"Other than the family of Jaleel, three men and three women were found in the house. Three of them were relatives of the family and three are outsiders," the SP told PTI.

Some documents and electronic gadgets have been recovered from Jaleel's house, the officer said.

"No one has been arrested. The police team has recovered few pamphlets, phone memory cards and few sim cards from the house. We are keeping a vigil on them," he said.

Jaleel along with three other members of his armed gang had arrived ata resort in Lakkidi demanding food and money.

He had been shot dead in a police encounter in March last year.

Maoists living inside the forest bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu often make flash visits to nearby markets in Wayanad and Malappuram districts to mobilise food materials from residents and shops in the vicinity.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New York Man Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Stimulus Checks Worth $12,000

New York resident Feng Chen was arrested Tuesday after authorities caught him stealing stimulus checks from mailboxes in the Brooklyn area.

A criminal complaint was filed against the 31-year-old man from Brooklyn on Wednesday, and he has been charged with theft of mail after officers recovered nine Economic Impact Payments (EIP)better known as stimulus checksfrom Chen.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York, the stolen stimulus checks totaled more than $12,000.

For many families, these stimulus checks are a lifeline in these difficult times and anyone who tries to cut that lifeline will face the full weight of the law, stated U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue.

Chen made his initial appearance via videoconference Wednesday afternoon, the statement read. If convicted, he is facing a maximum of five years imprisonment.

This Office will vigorously prosecute all those who seek to take advantage of the public health crisis, Donoghue said.

Officers with the New York Police Department spotted Chen early on Tuesday, looking inside a medical collection bin at a closed medical office in Sunset Park, according to the statement.

The NYPD continued to observe Chen that morning after he left the medical office and walked toward a nearby residential building where he then examined mail left at doors. He continued to walk into the gated area of a second residential building and left carrying what appeared to be mail.

Once Chen realized he was being watched by police, he quickly tossed the mail on the sidewalk. Officers exited their vehicle, apprehended Chen, and recovered nine EIP checks totaling more than $12,000, along with other stolen mail, including credit cards, multiple checks, and opened envelopes and letters, bearing the names and mail addresses of various individuals.

The COVID-19 crisis has placed tremendous stress on underserved communities across this country, stated U.S. Postal Inspector Service Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett.

The Economic Impact Payments are, in many cases, the lifeline needed by these individuals to stay afloat during this crisis. When Mr. Chen stole these checks, he robbed recipients of these much-needed funds. Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement partners have no tolerance for the theft of mail, especially during these unprecedented times.

More than half of eligible Americans have received their stimulus payments since they started being sent out earlier this month, but tens of millions of people are still waiting for their cash. (U.S. Secret Service/CNN wire)

NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said the department recognizes all too well how the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak presents an opportunity for a variety of malicious, criminal scams.

In this case, I applaud our alert detectives and federal partners for interrupting an alleged scheme to victimize New Yorkers by stealing important mail and stimulus money meant to aid them during this unprecedented crisis, Shea said.

From NTD News
The high number of cases in Mumbai means that overstretched doctors have to wear extremely uncomfortable PPEs for long periods of time.

Editor's note: This series will focus on the difficulties faced by the medical fraternity at COVID-19 hospitals, their duty hours, access to protective gear, facilities they get during quarantine, how are their families coping with this new reality across different states in the country. This is the sixth part of the series.

***

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in India, there has been much discussion on the availability of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for medical personnel. However, an aspect that statistics cannot bring to light is the extreme discomfort that doctors go through while wearing the PPEs.

Doctors in Mumbai are going through a particularly harrowing time, with the metropolis presently being the city that is worst-affected by the disease. Till 25 April, Mumbai has reported 4,870 COVID-19 cases. The high number of cases means that overstretched doctors have to wear PPEs for long periods of time.

Amit Ganvir, a doctor at the Jaslok Hospital at Mumbais Pedder Road, testifies to the difficulties of wearing the requisite protective equipment for long periods of time. For the first two days that he worked with coronavirus cases, his team worked on two shifts of six hours each per day. This meant that the doctors would get two PPE kits per day. Later, as more and more patients began to be admitted and the hospital started facing shortages of PPEs, doctors began working for 12 hours straight.

Ganvir said, If one removes any part of the equipment for even a short period, then it will be considered as contaminated and cannot be used again. So, once we wear the PPEs, it is not possible to even drink a glass of water or empty the bladder for the next 12 hours.

He added, We also face difficulties when we wear hoods which are plastic headgears that are necessary when we perform procedures to put patients on ventilators. Due to our breathing, the face shields get foggy within about three minutes, after which it becomes difficult to see properly. Because I know how to swim, I can hold my breath for about thirty seconds longer. But this is not possible for everyone. Also, if the face shield becomes foggy before the procedure is complete, we have no choice but to remove it. This increases the risk of infection for us, but there is no other way.

Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates

The Union health ministrys guidelines on the rational use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) recommend using the full PPEs in intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency units, especially when aerosol-generating procedures are being conducted. Aerosol-generating procedures include various kinds of ventilation, nebuliser treatment, etc. Doctors who conduct these procedures are considered to be at high risk for the novel coronavirus.

According to the official guidelines, the components of PPEs are goggles, face-shield, mask, gloves, coverall/gowns (with or without aprons), headcover and shoe cover.

Doctors rue having to stay away from families

Many doctors in Mumbai have been staying away from their families for a long time due to concerns that they might end up infecting their loved ones, particularly those with weaker immune systems. However, this inevitably takes a psychological toll.

Click here to read the complete series

On this issue, Ganvir said, I have not gone home since just after Holi (which was on 11 March) as I do not want to risk infecting my family members. It is certainly a difficult time for those have been away from their families since the coronavirus outbreak. No one is used to staying away from home for such long periods.

He added, A very small percentage of doctors  perhaps 5 percent  have been going home in the past few weeks. Some of them are newly married or have small children. The doctors who have been going home have been taking extra precautions. They avoid close physical proximity with their family members and wear masks even when they are at home. After all, medical professionals know the risks of transmitting the virus to those around them.

Ganvir said, The situation is even worse for people whose families stay outside Mumbai. While they do speak to their families over the phone, they have not met their family members for a very long time now.

Among the doctors who do not go home, some doctors stay in the hospitals quarters, while for some, hotel rooms have been booked. Presently, doctors deal with COVID-19 patients for seven days at a stretch, after which they have to remain in quarantine for the next seven days.

Further, hospital personnel who are suspected of having been exposed to the COVID-19 virus are quarantined for 14 days. One of them was Vijaykumar Narwade, who is presently working in the ICU section of the Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) Hospital.

Narwade, along with several other hospital personnel, was earlier quarantined for 14 days after he dealt with a patient who later tested positive for the virus. However, he later tested negative.

He recalled, During the period when we were in quarantine, our families would be especially worried about us. They would call to check on our health multiple times in a day, and would sometimes video call as well. They would also be concerned since we were eating hospital food. But we had no choice  we had to eat that food, whether we liked it or not. It would not have been proper to complain.

Narwade also expressed concern about doctors facing stigma and discrimination from people around them. He said, I have read and seen news about doctors facing stigma from communities, being forced out of rental accommodation, etc. That is certainly a worry for us. I personally have not faced any disrespectful or impolite behaviour from anyone till now. However, I can see that people are apprehensive about being around me if I wear a doctors apron.

Citing instances of people being fearful of being around doctors, he said, Recently, when I went to a petrol pump near the GT Hospital to refuel my bike, an attendant asked me to stand away from the others, rather than join the line. At a medical store, too, a shopkeeper asked me to wait outside and tell him what I needed from there.

Narwade also pointed out that PPEs for doctors are extremely uncomfortable, particularly in Mumbais rising heat. On the issue of availability of this equipment, he said, Adequate PPEs are available as of now. But I dont know what will happen if there is a major rise in cases.
The COVID-19 death toll in Indore



district of Madhya Pradesh rose to 72 with four more patients succumbing to the infection, a health official said on Friday.

Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Praveen Jadia said that four patients died in the hospitals in Indore city over the last two days.

One of the deceased is a 95-year-old woman, while three others are men aged 75, 55 and 42, he said.

"These patients were already battling with high blood pressure, TB, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other illnesses," Jadia said.

According to him, as 28 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the number of people infected in the district has increased to 1,513.

Of them, 242 patients have been discharged from hospitals, he said.

The analysis of the latest data shows that the COVID- 19 death rate in the district till Friday morning was 4.76 per cent.

The urban limits of the district have been placed under curfew since March 25, after the first patient of coronavirus was found in Indore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Chinese startup that develops augmented-reality products for use in manufacturing and gaming has found a promising growth area in the midst of a global pandemic - wearable glasses that measure temperatures on the move.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019, Hangzhou-based startup Rokid developed a pair of glasses to help screen for symptoms. Rokid Vice President Xiang Wenjie says demand has risen for the company's T1 glasses, developed in only two weeks, after it sold roughly 1,000 pairs to governments, industrial parks and schools.

"Apart from fixed temperature measurement, T1 can provide portable, distant and prompt temperature checking, which would be a great help," Xiang said.

Equipped with an infrared sensor and a camera, the glasses allow the wearer to "see" peoples' temperatures.

Rokid says on its website that it completed a round of "billion-dollar" financing in 2018, led by Singapore state investor Temasek, Swiss bank Credit Suisse and others.

The company said it is now is upgrading the T1 to take multiple temperature readings simultaneously for use in places like malls andA airports.

One office park in Hangzhou is replacing fixed thermometer stands with glasses after a flood of employees returning to work made temperature checks a headache for property management.

"With more new products coming out, especially these glasses, we think we can use them to conduct contactless temperature measurement, they are very efficient when faced with a big crowd of people," said Jin Keli, president of Greentown Property Management.

Rokid is not the only Chinese tech startup involved in the fight against COVID-19. Thermal imaging systems made by face recognition giant SenseTime have been installed in railway stations across China.

The new coronavirus, first detected in Wuhan, the capital city of China's central Hubei province, has so far killed more than 4,600 people and infected nearly 83,000 in mainland China.
Back in 1966, our government created an organization for computer research: Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, which developed the Internet.

One of its primary objectives was to create a secure communication network for our military. If one link was interrupted, then multiple alternate paths could carry messages.

We now have glaring and potentially catastrophic security problems that could be alleviated by the internet.

Our nations government officials are now at risk when they meet face-to-face in Washington. And, according to media reports, our military is preparing plans to evacuate government officials if the environment becomes intolerable.

Theres no physical reason officials have to meet face-to-face in Washington. They could adapt internet software to meet virtually. Members of Congress could work from home as many others are now doing.

I cant speak to legal restrictions, but we should be hopeful restrictions can be overcome. We should be hopeful because such a change would have significant advantages.

We could benefit from having stay-at-home representatives.
Looks like technology won't be coming to the rescue after all.

Apple and Google had proposed what at first blush had seemed a promising plan to employ peoples smartphones to carry out contact tracing, letting them know if they had been close to someone with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. But upon further inspection, it quickly became clear that the plan promised much more than it might realistically be able to deliver.

A couple of problems: Not everyone has a smartphone, and only half of those who do would be willing to participate.

Seems the best way to go about tracing who has had contact with whom might still be the old-fashioned way: charting it out person by person. Thats exactly what Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Bakers so-called army of contact tracers has been doing, with an apparent good bit of success, too. The Baker program could well serve as a model for other states looking to contain and slow the spread of the virus, to flatten the curve of growth.

When tech giants Apple and Google announced that they would be deploying apps that would allow people's smartphones to use Bluetooth technology, rather than GPS, to tell when someone had been close to an infected individual, the plan was seen as having real potential. But a few cold, hard facts blow that promise completely away. First, a recent survey by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland found a 50-50 split regarding willingness to take part. That's simply not enough to have the program much matter.

Also, while it can seem as though everyone has a smartphone (and is generally looking at it at any given moment), this is far from the case with older people, the folks most vulnerable to suffer serious effects from COVID-19. In fact, just 53% of those 65 and older currently have smartphones, and ownership falls off further in even older age groups.

Looking to find out if that nice, quiet old guy up the street has been in close contact with someone carrying the virus? Such information won't be on his phone, because the only one he's got still has a cord and is on the wall in his kitchen.

Someone hoping to find out where hes been would need to give him a call and speak with him.
Parkinson's disease is the second most prevalent neurological condition following Alzheimer's disease. Those with the condition typically experience movement difficulties, cognitive deficits, comorbid affective disorders, and sleep difficulties.

Image Credit: Jne Valokuvaus/Shutterstock.com

Due to the progressive nature of the disease and the deliberating effects of the symptoms, researchers continue to investigate its etiology actively. New research has successfully identified neuropathological changes that precede the onset of symptoms by 20 years.

Identifying Early Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease

Researchers at King's College London have successfully identified the earliest neurological markers of Parkinson's disease (PD) that can predict the likelihood of someone developing the condition 20 years before they present with any symptoms.

It is hoped that by studying the early stages of PD, appropriate treatments can be devised to help slow down the progression of the disease, which has been a great difficultly for many researchers.

So far, research has successfully identified an association with PD and decreased dopamine levels in the substantia nigra. As a result of this, many treatment options aim to relieve symptoms by increasing dopamine levels in the brain. However, no cure currently exists for the disease.

The study, published last year in journal Lancet Neurology, has identified alterations within the serotonergic neurotransmitter systems in the brain in the very early stages of PD.

Changes in The Serotonin Systems

The researchers scanned the brain of 14 individuals aged between 20 and 40 who had an atypical genetic mutation that drastically increases their risk of developing idiopathic PD by the time they reach their late forties or fifties.

Specifically, the sample were carriers of the dominant A53T point mutation for the -synuclein (SNCA) gene. The mutation derives from a small number of villages in northern Greece and in those who have emigrated to Italy.

Based on previous research within this population, the team hypothesized that such carriers have irregularities within their serotonin neurotransmitter systems. This pathology present before a PD diagnosis was thought to be linked to the onset of the disease.

Half of the participants at the time of the research had been diagnosed with PD, while the other half were not currently presenting with symptoms.

The 14 participants underwent a set of assessments and brain imaging and their data compared against 65 individuals with confirmed idiopathic PD and 25 healthy controls.

When analyzing the results, the team found that the genetic mutation carriers had significantly lower levels of serotonin which is typically involved in movement, cognition, and mood.

This pathology was evident prior to any presentation of movement difficulties or changes in the dopamine system.

Implications

The team's research contrasts with what is currently understood about the onset of the disease. However, the promising results could lead to the development of screening tools that could identify those most at risk and lead the way for novel treatment.

For example, Professor Marios Politis, the Chief Investigator of the researchers noted, "Our results suggest that early detection of changes in the serotonin system could open doors to the development of new therapies to slow, and ultimately prevent [the] progression of Parkinson's disease."

However, before this can be achieved, the results would need to be replicated in larger sample sizes and more affordable scanning technology produced.

What is Parkinson's?

Parkinson's is a progressive neurogenerative disease. Those with PD experience the following main signs and symptoms:

A resting tremor characterized as involuntary shaking of the limbs which typically originate in the arm or hand.

Rigidity characterized as tension and stiffness of the muscles.

Bradykinesia defined as slowness of movement.

A range of additional physical and psychological symptoms may also be experienced. These include constipation, anosmia, erectile dysfunction, mild cognitive impairment, and anxiety and depression.

There is a long latency between the loss of dopamine and the onset of the symptoms. As a result, some of the symptoms may not present until approximately 70-80% of the dopamine neurons have been lost.

Considering this, researchers have highlighted the importance of identifying individuals in the intermediate stages of the disease in order to develop neuroprotective strategies of treatment.

Biomarkers of Parkinson's

The neuropathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease include the presence of Lewy bodies containing a protein called -synuclein in the brain and the depigmentation of dopamine. It is not currently well understood what triggers some of these hallmarks to arise.

However, several genetic mutations have been shown to be associated, including GBA1, VPS35, -syn, PINK1, and LRRK2 mutations.

A range of other biomarkers has also been identified including orexin, MHPG, and ApoA1.

Orexin

Orexin is a type of neuropeptide hormone found in the hypothalamus. Its primary function is to regulate bodily functions, including those involved with sleep and cardiovascular function. Research has shown that those with PD have lower amounts of orexin-A which has a negative relationship with PD severity.

3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG)

MGPG has shown promise as a biomarker. It can help practitioners differentiate between neurodegenerative conditions such as PD, dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer's disease by analyzing its concentration in the serum, and cerebrospinal fluid.

ApoA1

Apolipoprotein (ApoA1) in addition to apoE, a similar apolipoprotein, transport lipids in the brain. Research has shown that those with PD often have lower concentrations of apoaA1 in the cerebrospinal fluid and can, therefore, be used as a biomarker for the disease.

Sources Wilson, H., Dervenoulas, G., Pagano, G., Koros, C., Yousaf, T., Picillo, M., Polychronis, S., Simitsi, A., Giordano, B., Chappell, Z. and Corcoran, B., 2019. Serotonergic pathology and disease burden in the premotor and motor phase of A53T -synuclein parkinsonism: a cross-sectional study. The Lancet Neurology, 18(8), pp.748-759. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(19)30140-1

El-Agnaf, O.M., Salem, S.A., Paleologou, K.E., Curran, M.D., Gibson, M.J., Court, J.A., Schlossmacher, M.G. and Allsop, D., 2006. Detection of oligomeric forms of -synuclein protein in human plasma as a potential biomarker for Parkinsons disease. The FASEB Journal, 20(3), pp.419-425.

Berendse, H.W., Booij, J., Francot, C.M., Bergmans, P.L., Hijman, R., Stoof, J.C., and Wolters, E.C., 2001. Subclinical dopaminergic dysfunction in asymptomatic Parkinson's disease patients' relatives with a decreased sense of smell. Annals of Neurology: Official Journal of the American Neurological Association and the Child Neurology Society, 50(1), pp.34-41.

NHS (2019). Parkinsons disease: symptoms. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms/

Wang, E.S., Sun, Y., Guo, J.G., Gao, X., Hu, J.W., Zhou, L., Hu, J., and Jiang, C.C., 2010. Tetranectin and apolipoprotein AI in cerebrospinal fluid as potential biomarkers for Parkinsons disease. Acta neurologica scandinavica, 122(5), pp.350-359.

Vermeiren, Y. and De Deyn, P.P., 2017. Targeting the norepinephrinergic system in Parkinson's disease and related disorders: the locus coeruleus story. Neurochemistry international, 102, pp.22-32.

Imperatore, R., Palomba, L., and Cristino, L., 2017. Role of orexin-A in hypertension and obesity. Current hypertension reports, 19(4), p.34.

Emamzadeh, F.N., and Surguchov, A., 2018. Parkinsons disease: biomarkers, treatment, and risk factors. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, p.612.

Further Reading
South Africa: COVID-19 presents opportunity for equal economy: President

Re-emerging from the ruins of the economy-crippling COVID-19 pandemic presents South Africa with an opportunity to arise with a renewed economy that addresses the countrys social deficiencies.

This was the potent message delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a livestreamed address on Workers Day.

South Africans will have to dig deeper than any other moment, since the advent of democracy, to rebuild our nation, said the President on Friday.

Beyond this grave health emergency, we should see this as a time of possibility and opportunity for renewal. It is a time to work together as South Africans to create a more just and inclusive country.

He said the pandemic has illustrated the generous spirit of South Africans to succeed against what was seemingly insurmountable odds and difficulties.

Lets work together to emerge from this pandemic with a more humane society marked by an economy that is more inclusive, more equitable and where South Africans prosper, said the President.

He said labour, business and civil society must join with government in a new social compact for national reconstruction, saying the country needs to put in place a comprehensive and far-reaching economic recovery programme that does not merely return the economy to where it was.

It needs to produce a new, transformed economy, more inclusive and a more people-centred economy that focuses on social outcomes. It must be an economy that prioritises worker participation and ownership, it must be a gendered economy that bridges the great material divide between men and women, creating opportunities for women in all parts of the economy.

The President added that infrastructure is going to be a key part of the countrys recovery, saying it will drive investment in local production, local job creation, and demand for SMMEs and expand the capacity of the economy.

We are called upon to consider unorthodox ways to revive our economy, he said.

He conceded that achieving would be hard but not impossible.

Government has over the past few weeks unveiled risk adjustment measures and economic relief interventions. These are aimed at easing the impact of the virus on South African businesses and citizens.

These efforts have been bolstered by efforts of many South Africans who have come across in many formation in the lengths and breadths to identify and assist those who are in need, said the President.

He applauded the leading role of labour movements in calling for bold action to assist workers, informal traders and the unemployed.

Trade unions have looked beyond the needs of their members to the needs of those in society and are most vulnerable. As we respond to the health and economic impact of Coronavirus, we must also address social effects, from students being out of classrooms for prolonged periods to the potential in the rise in gender-based violence, he said.

All indications, he said, are that the Coronavirus will be with South Africa for many more months and that its effects will be with the country for a very long time.

This, he said, calls on the country to adjust its way of living and working to this reality.

We are a resilient and resourceful people but much will be asked of all of us to overcome this pandemic. We are grateful to all the people of this country for action they have taken and the sacrifices theyve made to safeguard the health of our nation. We are particularly thankful to the working people of this county. We thank you and we salute you, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The International Energy Agency expects carbon dioxide emissions to decline by 8 percent this year due to the devastation the coronavirus wreaked on energy demand.

The agency said in the new edition of it Global Energy Review that the annual drop in oil demand this year could reach 9 percent, which translates into a loss of 9 million bpd. This would make 2020 oil demand equal to the average levels in 2012.

Coal demand will also fall substantially, by 8 percent, the IEA said, driven by lower electricity demand. The same is true of natural gas demand, although the authority did not provide specific demand drop figures for full-2020, although it did mention that gas demand fell by 2 percent during the first quarter.

There is good news for renewables, however. According to the IEA, demand for energy from renewable sources will actually increase this year, bucking the trend. This would be possible thanks to low operating costs and preferential access to many power systems.

Right now, however, the state of energy demand is dramatic. Every week, according to the IEA, countries in full lockdown are experiencing a 25-percent drop in energy demand. For countries on partial lockdowns, the rate of energy demand loss is a little lower but still significant, at 18 percent a week.

The silver lining is in the emissions. At 8 percent less, these would be 2.6 gigatons lower than emissions in 2019 and equal to levels from a decade ago. This would also be the largest ever annual contraction in CO2 emissions: six times larger than the previous record reduction of 0.4 Gt in 2009  caused by the global financial crisis  and twice as large as the combined total of all previous reductions since the end of World War II.

On the flip side, the economic recovery could add more emissions than were eliminated this year.

By Irina Slav for Oilpice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
By Trend

The issue of the appointment of the Azerbaijani prosecutor general was discussed at the plenary meeting of the country's parliament held on May 1, Trend reports.

The candidate of deputy prosecutor general, head of the Anti-Corruption Department under the Azerbaijani prosecutor general Kamran Aliyev was nominated for the post of prosecutor general upon Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs proposal.

Information on the matter was presented by the Head of Department for Relations with Political Parties and Legislative Authority of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Adalat Veliyev.

Veliyev noted that the activities of Kamran Aliyev are highly appreciated by the state.

After discussions, the issue was put to the vote and adopted by the parliament.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
LONG ISLAND, NY  The coronavirus crisis has hurt many local businesses across Long Island. However Hometown Flower Co., Long Island's first and only mobile flower truck, seems to have been made for a situation like this and is looking to support other businesses in the process.

Long Island native Jaclyn Rutigliano, whose grandparents and parents were both florists, and her husband, Marc Iervolino started the business last year. The two, who are the only employees working for their company, buy flowers from local farmers and deliver them all across Long Island. Instead of a storefront, the two run their business out of a 1976 Ford f100 pick up truck nicknamed "Baby Blue."



Photo taken in April 2019 by Priscila Korb

Their business also consisted of people renting out the truck for events, so with people cancelling or postponing upcoming summer events, this means the business has been taking a bit of a hit in that area.

"That was difficult in the beginning," Rutigliano said. "Last year, a lot of business was coming through people booking through weddings or renting to trucks or other events, so we were anticipating moving away from the retail side of things based on how the first season went."

However the coronavirus, their spring season starting earlier this week will mean that the business will be focusing on deliveries and their subscription service. Rutigliano said that "things are insane" this week due to the fact many people are looking to support small businesses now more than ever.

"As soon as COVID hit we immediately crossed our fingers and hoped that people would find us," she said. "We communicated that our local flower farmers are growing and they need support. We're doing really well because we're set up exactly for this. We hand deliver everything with mask and gloves and we source everything locally it's pretty easy for people."

In fact, Rutigliano says that they have even received orders from towns they have never been able to "break through" in before.

Story continues

"For some reason, last year we resonated very well with the South Shore/Suffolk towns and not really anything in Nassau or the North Shore, but we are seeking orders come through from all over long island and the the sentiment is 'I want to support local business, I love that you guys work with local farmers,'" she said. "There's really this vibe of wanting to support local."

With Mother's Day approaching, Hometown Flower Co.has already received many orders for deliveries during the holiday weekend between May 8 and May 10. In fact, Rutigliano says they have received five times more orders than they did the same time last year.

Photo courtesy of Hometown Flower Co.



"At a time when people are really tightening their belts because of the economy and everyone is out of work, flowers are something that is relatively inexpensive compared to taking mom out for an expensive dinner or gifting jewelry, flowers are quick and easy and bring a little bit of sunshine," she said.



So what's the secret to keeping this small business afloat? Rutigliano, who actually previously worked in marketing and public relations, advises other business owners not to underestimate the power of social media as well as partnering with other local businesses.

Hometown Flower Co. has recently partnered with Sail Away Coffee to offer a special bundle for Mother's Day. She also partnered with North Fork Doughnut Co, Bango Bowls and Coastal Kitchen and Cocktail in Bay Shore for a Mother's Day Brunch package.

"There's strength in partnering with like-minded businesses," Rutigliano said.

Rutigliano says she wants people to know they are still open and ready to serve the community. While weddings have been cancelled, Rutigliano said she still has delivered small bouquets and boutonniere for people who chose to have smaller "quarantine" or "social-distancing" weddings during this time. The business is also booking events for the fall and next year, with the hope that the flower truck season will start sooner rather than later.

"Stay strong, hang in there, we're here for you to bring a little bit of joy during these times and we're all in this together and we all have to support each other and the more we can look after our small businesses and help out our community the better," she said.

This article originally appeared on the Babylon Village Patch
Racing Point's boss has played down speculation that Toto Wolff is set to get involved in the team.

The Silverstone based team's owner is Lawrence Stroll, who is also the new chairman of the Aston Martin road car company.

Stroll will rename the team Aston Martin for 2021.

So after it emerged that Wolff has joined Stroll in buying into Aston Martin, the logical next step for the Mercedes boss could be getting involved with the new Aston Martin works team.

When asked if Wolff would be an asset to Aston Martin, Racing Point boss Otmar Szafnauer told Sky: "Yeah, absolutely. He's done an amazing job at Mercedes.

"But I can't see him having a stake in our team, for example," he added.

"The road car company, having shares in that, is completely different than having shares in a loss making Formula 1 team."

Szafnauer said he hasn't even spoken to Wolff since Melbourne.

"I've seen him on a couple of these Zoom calls but I haven't asked him that question," he said.

"Knowing Toto like I do, I think he's absolutely right - it was a good time to buy if you look at the share price and the trend.

"Toto's pretty smart at that stuff - he's made a bit of money doing these sorts of things," Szafnauer added.

(GMM)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Front line workers will not be required to pay for mental health services, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during Fridays press conference.

Cuomo said nearly half of Americans have said their mental health has suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic; having a job and being able to move about freely one day and jobless, working from home, and stuck inside the next day has taken its toll.

Conditions frontline workers face every day when they go to work is also taking its toll on their mental health.

The governor said he will be instructing direct insurers to waive all cost sharing, copays and deductibles for any mental health services for essential workers during the coronavirus crisis.

Our frontline heroes are risking their health and mental health every day, Cuomo said. Cost shouldnt be a barrier for them to get help.

Instances of domestic violence have all gone up dramatically; 15% in the month of March and doubled to 30% in April.

New Yorkers across the state can call 844-863-9314 for emotional support. Cuomo said nobody should be shy or have second thoughts about calling the number if they are in need of support.

HOSPITALS WILL BE ASKED FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON NEW PATIENTS

There were 289 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the state total to 18,564 confirmed deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Thats still tragic and terrible. All the good news for me every day; this number for me just wipes that away, Cuomo said.

New Yorkers were able to change the trajectory of the virus spread from upward to downward by about 100,000 cases but there are still approximately 1,000 new hospitalizations per day  a number that is still too high.

Cuomo said hospitals will be asked to ask each new patient more specific questions  are you an essential worker, are you taking public transportation, where are they coming from -- to find out why the virus continues to spread and have a more targeted response.

To get this level of granular detail and get it to us on a nightly basis it will be a significant administrative burden, he said. These are not questions that the healthcare system ever asks but since its down to 1,000 new cases per day, i will say to the hospitals i understand its a burden. It is important that we get it now.

The number, while it appears as though it is plateauing, is still too high.

That is still too high a number of new cases every day. Its a lot better than where we were but 1,000 every day is still a high infection rate and a burden on the hospital system, he said.
(TNS)  Public health experts warn that quick, effective contact tracing is key to reducing the spread of the coronavirus. It turns out theres an app for that  several apps, actually.Massachusetts isnt implementing mobile contact tracing because of privacy concerns, but the governor hasnt dismissed the idea altogether.Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday that the state has looked into electronic contact tracing programs, but he is concerned about what data could be collected from residents across the state.He also said a contact tracing app could deter people from participating. Smartphone apps these days are typically associated with the undetected, often clandestine, collection of user data for surveillance and commercial purposes.The state contact tracers ability to connect with coronavirus patients and other individuals is because theyve fostered trust, which Baker said is crucial to the programs success.If you talk to some of the folks who are making these calls and talking to people on the other side, its not a clinical conversation per se. It is a trust conversation, Baker told MassLive Tuesday afternoon during a news conference at the Massachusetts State House. People ask questions. People are looking for information. Its a much more free-flowing and open dialogue than I think a lot of the people who are doing this were expecting.The Baker administration has looked into using smartphone technology to bolster the states COVID-19 response.Bakers office reportedly reviewed a paper by a coalition of scientists and tech executives recommending strategies recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. One of the key recommendations was mass, voluntary use of an app in which people would self-report any symptoms they may have before going to work or school after the state reopens.Baker said Thursday that he spoke with Google and Apple about their contact tracing efforts. The technology giants are working on a joint initiative to expand contact tracing using Bluetooth signals.Meanwhile, MIT researchers are developing their own app called Private Kit, but the team has not publicly disclosed which states and municipalities are on board.What I said about this from the beginning is that I dont see this as an either-or. I think it needs to be done in a way that doesnt subtract from the importance of sort of the credibility of our tracing program, Baker said. I think its certainly something we should try to figure out how use it but to make it better.The states contact tracing program has recruited 1,000 workers to make calls to people who tested positive for or were exposed to the coronavirus. The team has also gotten help from 80 local boards of health and the nonprofit coordinating the program, Partners in Health. Since its launch earlier this month, the program has reached 5,000 people.With its current team, Massachusetts program has roughly 15 contact tracers per 100,000 people, compared to 4 contact tracers per 100,000 people in New Zealand and 7 per 100,000 in Iceland, according to an April 10 report by the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University. But those countries are smaller and also had lower numbers of coronavirus cases.Technology might be necessary to speed up COVID-19 tracking because it spreads much more quickly and undetected than other viruses that have been monitored through contact tracing, such as Ebola or HIV, according to the report. Yet researchers cautioned against a program that implements technology without responsibly managing data and protecting users privacy.To increase the chances that these efforts will be effective, trusted and legal, use of technology in the contact tracing space should be conceived of and planned with extensive safeguards to protect private information from the beginning, the report states.South Korea, whose contact tracing plan is seen as a model, used patient data in addition to interviews. They reviewed medical records, cellular GPS records, credit card transactions and other information that would be considered too invasive in the U.S.Sinagpore launched a mobile app that uses Bluetooth signals to determine when users are close to each other. The records are stored for 21 days and can be used by health officials to identify those who may have been exposed to a virus. Although downloading the app is voluntary, critics argue it promotes government surveillance white paper published April 16 by the American Civil Liberties Union raises concerns about the personal information that could be collected, or even unintentionally exposed, by people who voluntarily download an app. If launched effectively, however, the ACLU argues an app that uses Bluetooth signals would work better than a location-tracking system. The technology would be more accurate, leading to fewer false positives, and could avoid compiling geolocation data that can be incredibly revealing and privacy-invasive.Austria, Denmark and Germany are all looking into contact tracing apps that monitor Bluetooth signals , though the apps would be used on a voluntary basis.Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said its too early for the state to successfully implement a contact tracing app. Even if it found one that respects user privacy, as Baker suggested, the state would need to improve its testing capacity before expanding the contact tracing program using a mobile app.Even if someone gets a text saying theyve been exposed, they cant even get a test, Crockford said. Public health officials told us state is doing the right thing by and large.Crockford said the states best strategy at the moment is to continue the measures the Baker administration already put in place: social distancing rules, the stay-at-home advisory and interview-based contact tracing.If the state did pursue a contact tracing app, privacy advocates and public health experts recommend taking steps to limit data collection and safe, brief data storage.The ACLU recommends rolling out a smartphone app that is voluntary, temporary and secure, as well as an app that limits how much data it collects.A voluntary app means no penalties for failing to download the app, the ACLU argues. That includes not making a residents ability to go to work or shop for food contingent on whether the app is installed and running.An ideal contact tracing app would not only avoid collecting data that isnt necessary for the COVID-19 response, but also would have firewalls in place to protect the data that is compiled and shared to state health officials, according to the ACLU. Some suggestions include keeping data encrypted, separating key data from identifying markers such as phone numbers and IP addresses, submit key data in large batches and destroy the data periodically.Massachusetts has hit what Baker describes as a plateau in coronavirus cases. The number of hospitalizations are down, but the state hasnt seen a steep decline in new cases. The latter is key for the state to reopen and start to move past the outbreak.On Thursday, Massachusetts health officials announced 157 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 3,562. Altogether, 62,205 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the state Department of Massachusetts.Baker hasnt ruled out using smartphone technology for contact tracing, but he said its implementation would need to be done in a way that makes people comfortable.There are some confidentiality and privacy issues associated with this, he said, but thats an ongoing discussion were having with the folks that are involved.
A fuel tanker conveying 45,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, has exploded in Obalende area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The fuel tanker was said to have fallen in front of NNPC Filling Station and caught fire, with officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Fire Services battling to put out the fire.

Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, Director General, LASEMA, said the agency received a distress call on the incident concerning a 45000 litres capacity tanker loaded with PMS which was ablaze having fallen on its side directly in front of the petrol station.

Effort to combat the flames by the agencys officials and men of the Lagos State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service is on going .

The fire has been curtailed and very soon it will be extinguished. The station and surrounding buildings protected.

We appeal for calm and urge members of the public to keep away and allow the responders to complete their work, he said.

Video Below:




When a natural disaster like an earthquake strikes, a community can literally be shaken to its core. One way to assess how well and how quickly that community recovers is to measure how, and how quickly, its hospitals and wider healthcare systems can become fully functional again and take care of its patients. Predicting the trajectory of that recovery is no easy task.

That's because the resilience measures of a healthcare system are dizzyingly complex. They span everything from the availability of hospital staff, to the protection of critical equipment, to the state of the roads for ambulances to travel on, to the efficiency by which hospitals can transfer critically ill patients to different hospitals.

Hussam Mahmoud, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University, and his students spend a lot of time thinking about how to define and describe "community resilience." Mahmoud and graduate student Emad Hassan have created a modeling tool that could help city planners and emergency managers understand the full functionality and recovery of a healthcare system, in the wake of a natural disaster.

"We set out to develop models allowing us to understand, what is the demand on a hospital healthcare facility after an event like an earthquake," Mahmoud said. "When we started looking into this, we were shocked to learn that there are no models currently that allow you to understand, what is the demand on the hospital, how is the hospital being impacted by the natural disaster, how is that going to impact demand and capacity, and how will that change over time?"

Their model, described in a forthcoming issue of the journal Reliability Engineering and System Safety, has wider implications for use in other disasters, including pandemics, like the one the world is experiencing now with COVID-19.

Healthcare as a complex network

In their paper, Mahmoud and Hassan seek to understand healthcare systems as complex networks that can be visualized as nodes of different functionalities. These include number of staffed beds, hospital staff availability, housing functionality, patient waiting time for treatment, and even things like the probability of patient X going to healthcare facility Y. The availability of water, power, transportation and telecommunication also support hospital operation and factor into the model. And the researchers define healthcare not just by physical metrics, but also by quality metrics, like the level of customer satisfaction - measured by things like patient wait time.

To develop and test their framework, the researchers applied it to a virtual community called Centerville, which was developed as a research tool by researchers at the CSU Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience, a National Institute of Standards and Technology Center of Excellence of which Mahmoud and Hassan are contributing members. The researchers applied an earthquake scenario to Centerville - an imagined mid-sized U.S. community of 50,000 residents with commercial and industrial zones, schools, fire stations and hospitals - to see how it would fare. Using the virtual environment helped them highlight the capabilities of their model and the impact of decisions made as the community recovered.

Pandemic applications

The purpose of Mahmoud and Hassan's work is to define the parameters needed to be measured by communities to assess how prepared they are for natural disasters. In the wake of COVID-19, Mahmoud said, they have begun using their model to theorize and predict how hospital networks can better manage pandemics by identifying gaps in resources and potential bottlenecks according to different worst-case scenarios. They are now working with the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health to further refine the model and apply it to pandemic planning.

###

Link to paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095183201930924X?via%3Dihub

Read more about first author Emad Hassan's work in community resilience: https://engr.source.colostate.edu/ph-d-students-research-will-help-hospitals-and-schools-recover-in-crises-improve-communities-social-stability/
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The list of Canadian agricultural commodity producers in dire distress is growing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted consumer patterns and meat processing plant shut-downs in the U.S. and Canada is wreaking havoc on supply chains.

Bud Robertson / Brandon Sun files Dan Sawatzky, general manager of Keystone Vegetable Producers Association Inc., wants the province to follow Prince Edward Islands lead and help potato farmers.

The latest commodity group to be hit with significant shortfalls is Manitobas potato producers who have had their contract volumes cut back by about 16 per cent after enduring a couple of years of harvesting challenges.

Frozen french fry producers McCain and Simplot  both of whom have large plants in the Portage la Prairie area  are reacting to the consumer demand realities after restaurants have been forced to close for the past six weeks throughout North America.

Dan Sawatzky, general manager of Keystone Vegetable Producers Association Inc., is looking for the province to buy down the supply now sitting in producers storage  similar to what the government of Prince Edward Island has done  and then allow them to trickle back into the system.

"We dont know what the full effect will be yet," Sawatzky said. "But we do know it will be quite deep."

Tim Smith / Brandon Sun files Bill Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, is concerned the immediate impact felt by beef, pork and potato producers could have lasting effects.

Its another indication of the mess the agri-food industry is in and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is getting frustrated at the lack of support its industry is receiving.

On Thursday, the CFA said it has asked the federal government to provide an agriculture and agri-food emergency fund of $2.6 billion as a first phase of support for the industry.

In an interview with the Free Press, CFA vice-president Keith Currie said that was an aggregate number the organization came up with two weeks ago. He said the need has grown even more since then.

"We made it clear this is just Phase 1," he said. "The damage is piling up quickly to the point our food security is in jeopardy."

Bill Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, who is also on the board of the CFA said that KAP does appreciate the support the agriculture industry is getting from both the federal and provincial governments through existing business risk management programs.

But he said, "As an industry, we are concerned that the immediate impact felt by beef, pork, and potato producers in Manitoba could have a lasting effect. Both demand and price have been negatively affected by shifts in consumption and processing capacity."

Currie said that the CFA is grateful for the $50 million that the federal government announced a couple of weeks ago to assist in landing temporary foreign workers but it will not be enough.

"We are not looking for special treatment. We are looking for fair treatment," he said. "We know that agriculture and the agri-food industry can be an economic driver coming out of COVID-19 to provide a floor for the economy in Canada. It is not going to be the tourism industry or the airline industry or automotive industry or the restaurant industry."

Currie said the original ask of $2.6 billion is a very small portion of the several hundred billion dollars of relief the federal government has already promised other sectors of the economy.

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Last week, the Canadian pork industry made an impassioned plea for support as prices fell and weanlings were being given away and some producers in the country were being forced to euthanize full grown pigs after huge processing plants in Canada and the U.S. were being temporarily shut down because of worker infections.

Andrew Dickson, general manager of Manitoba Pork, said the messaging from the federal government is that they want to stick with support that comes from traditional business risk management programs in place.

"They want to make it work. They have told us they are talking with their provincial colleagues to come up with something in the existing suite of programming," Dickson said. "And the province is in the same boat when we spoke to them earlier this week."

He said that in the meantime, while futures pricing into early next year are picking up, it remains confusing to understand what prices are doing.

"They are generally holding their own but it is all subject to change," he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has once again claimed that the federal government has been unfair in its support to the federating states in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

NCDC is building laboratories in Lagos, Ogun and Kano, without building in Rivers State, Mr Wike said on Thursday while receiving the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, who was recently posted to Rivers State. This is a state that is exposed to several foreign and local visitors with no single federal intervention.

Mr Wikes remark is contained in a statement from his media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu.

Mr Mukan replaced Mustapha Dandaura, the former police chief in the state, who was redeployed to Abuja on April 17.

Mr Dandaura was transferred out at a time the Rivers State government ordered the arrest of oil and oil-related workers accused of entering the state in violation of a lockdown order.

Governor Wike told the new police chief Nigeria would suffer, if the nations leaders continue to politicise COVID-19.

The governor said he was criticised when he demanded federal support to fight the coronavirus.

But the northern governors and the Kano State government has demanded for assistance.

Initially, the Kano State governor criticised the federal government over lack of support. When the support came, he said the federal government is doing well. If they also support Rivers State, we will also commend the federal government, he said.

The governor urged the police and other security agencies to work with the new Task Force on Border Closure so that Rivers could be properly secured.

Mr Wike, according to the statement, said containers coming into the state with essential products must be thoroughly checked to prevent people from being ferried into the state.

Mr Wike said his administration will support any police commissioner posted to the state. He, however, said the new police chief would be transferred immediately Abuja discovers he is working well.

The Rivers governor recently criticised the federal government for giving a N10 billion grant to Lagos State to fight the coronavirus while abandoning other states of the federation.

Mr Wike said Lagos is Nigerias commercial hub, but that Rivers, as the nations oil and gas hub, produces a greater percentage of the nations wealth and therefore deserves federal support.

One wonders why Federal Government should single out a state out of 36 states to give support. Does it mean that support will come when a state has a record of over 50 infected persons?

No state should be seen as more important than any other state. This is a Federal Republic. No state is superior to others, the governor said.

Rivers State is entitled to support from the Federal Government. Every day, we are inundated with letters from the Federal Government to allow oil companies to fly in expatriates to drill oil. Then we ask, what is the status of those coming from Lagos? Nobody has told us their status as regards coronavirus.

If they come to Rivers without us knowing their status, what will be the implication assuming they have the virus?
Will Microsoft prove to be resilient in the global pandemic and its aftermath? The answer suggested by the software titans latest results is: Yesbut its complicated.

Like Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet Inc., Microsoft reported relatively strong numbers for the March quarter. Revenue for the fiscal third quarter rose 15% to $35 billion, beating Wall Streets projected 10% rise. Operating income jumped 25% to nearly $13 billion, keeping overall margins on pace with prior quarters. Microsofts share price rose 2% following the results Wednesday.

Unlike Facebook and Google, Microsofts results didnt mask a sharp deterioration in its core business near the end of the period. In fact, the coronavirus pandemic proved helpful to the company in many ways as a surge of workers sent home ended up buying new Windows laptops and jumping on chats and video calls through the companys Teams platformall while their homebound children logged on to Xbox consoles to play Minecraft." Teams daily active user count has surged to 75 million compared with 20 million reported by the company three months ago. The company also noted that Xbox Live now has 90 million active users, up from 63 million in the same period last year.

Such diversification is a selling point for Microsoft in a world facing the possibility of a deep recession, but it doesnt make the company immune to the pandemics fallout. Even its powerful cloud and software businesses are facing challenges in signing large deals as much of the corporate world has had to slash budgets. The company projected June-quarter revenue below Wall Streets forecasts for two of its three business segments on Wednesday, with Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood citing changes to sales dynamics" as part of the justification.

Nor is Microsoft immune to the global advertising slump that will hit Google and Facebook hard this quarter. This is particularly true for LinkedIn, which Microsoft acquired in 2016 for more than $26 billionits largest deal ever. The professional social network makes most of its money through ads and fees paid by job recruiters. Its prospects have dimmed as U.S. unemployment numbers alone have shot up by more than 26 million in the past five weeks.

Investors have sent Microsofts share price up 13% so far this yearthe second-best performance among big techs next to Amazon.com. That has also vaulted the companys market value to $1.3 trillionback above Apple Inc. And the gains look largely justified, as the companys business diversity has given it strong exposure to the right areas while limiting damage from others. But even safe harbors can experience a little rain.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Continuing to serve also enables experts to communicate accurate information directly to the public. Fauci has harnessed his official position to speak to Americans across a wide range of media, debunking myths and inaccuracies that spout from the same White House briefings he attends. On CNN, for instance, Fauci went out on a limb by acknowledging that more lives could have been saved if the administration had acted sooner. Even in the briefing room, his occasional facepalm speaks volumes. Perhaps thats why 78 percent of voters approved of Faucis response to the crisis, compared with 46 percent for Trump, in an early April Quinnipiac poll. Only 23 percent of Americans have high levels of trust in what Trump is telling the public about the crisis, while 60 percent say hes not listening to health experts enough, according to a late April Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. Politico reports that new White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and new communications director Alyssa Farah will control media appearances for experts like Fauci and Birx going forward. But presumably, for now, at least theyll be allowed to make appearances. For many Americans, its comforting simply to observe that there are some serious professionals who help set policy.
New Delhi: The legendary actor Rishi Kapoor left this material world for his heavenly abode on April 30, Thursday at 8.45 am in Mumbai's Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital where he was admitted the day before. He was 67.

The veteran actor battled Leukemia for two long years and underwent treatment for it in New York where he stayed for almost a year. He is survived by wife and actress Neetu Kapoor, children Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and actor Ranbir Kapoor.

Daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, who stays in Delhi was unable to attend her father's last rites due to lockdown to fight the deadly novel coronavirus. She, however, got the permission to travel by road after Delhi police issued a pass to her to travel to Mumbai.

Besides Riddhima, her industrialist husband Bharat Sahni, daughter Samara and few other family members got the permission.

While she is en route Mumbai which is a 1,400 kilometres journey from Delhi by road, Riddhima got emotional and shared her Enroute journey picture on Instagram along with other pictures with father Rishi Kapoor, asking him to come back. Here's a screengrab:

The last rites were performed on April 30, Thursday evening at the Chandanwadi Electric Crematorium in Mumbai. Rishi Kapoor's wife Neetu Kapoor, sister Rima Jain, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor along with other relatives and friends paid a tearful adieu with a heavy heart to the man who brought charm alive to the silver screens.

Family members and close friends reached the venue to pay their last respects. Rishi Kapoor's mortal remains reached the crematorium in a flower-decorated ambulance from Sir HN Reliance Foundation hospital as the legendary actor truly deserved a befitting farewell on his final journey.

Here's wishing the family strength and positivity to sail through these tough times.

May his soul rest in peace!
Russia Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Thursday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and he would will self-isolate.

IMAGE: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Photograph: Reuters

According to Sputnik, the Russian prime minister announced the same during an online conference with President Vladimir Putin.

Mishustin urged people to take the threat of coronavirus and its infection seriously.

The 54-year-old announced that he will remain in self-isolation for the time being, but added that his cabinet will continue to operate and that he will stay in touch.

"In light of this situation, I would like to address all Russian citizens to take the threat of the coronavirus infection and its spread seriously. We have the May celebrations ahead of us and I urge all of you to stay home and follow all safety rules to prevent the spreading of the disease", Mishustin was quoted as saying.

His first deputy, Andrey Belousov, will be filling in for him in his position.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished his Russian counterpart an early recovery and said New Delhi stands with "close friend" Moscow in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

"My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health," Modi tweeted in Russian and English. "We stand with our close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic."
A popular theory about The Matrix and John Wick has been officially debunked because of coronavirus.

Ever since it was announced that the fourth instalments of each franchise would be released in cinemas on the same day, fans have been wondering whether this was an intentional move.

The theory goes that both The Matrix 4 and John Wick: Chapter 4 would serve as two parts of one story that reveals Keanu Reeves hitman has actually been Neo (also played by Reeves) the entire time, trapped in a Matrix-style simulation.

However, because of the many film delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, John Wick: Chapter 4's release date has moved from 21 May 2021 to 27 May 2022.

Director Chad Stahelski previously said: I mean, Matrix was only four weeks in when this all happened. So, Keanus gotta go finish his commitment up on The Matrix, which is a big deal and which I think will probably take him until the end of the year. Then we have to go into our prep mode and then well start.

As Stahelski mentioned, The Matrix 4 has also had its production shut down, but director Lana Wachowski is yet to comment on a change to its release scheduling.

Should the new John Wick film change release dates, it would certainly put an end to any high-concept theories relating to a crossover between the two films.

It seems like this particular theory was too good to be true, even if it seemed entirely plausible (read more on it here).

The 27 worst film sequels of all time Show all 27 1 /27 The 27 worst film sequels of all time The 27 worst film sequels of all time Zoolander 2 Like a reliable friend  or a movie franchise worth millions of dollars  Zoolander returned for another film. In place of a funny script and a decipherable plot, the sequel shoves in endless celebrity cameos. Skrillex, Susan Boyle and Justin Bieber are one of the 39 celebrities that appear in the film, but the force of star power fails to make Zoolander 2 enjoyable. Rex Features The 27 worst film sequels of all time I Still Know What You Did Last Summer An island getaway becomes the setting of predictable kills and lazy thrills in this sub-par slasher. Jennifer Love Hewitt, haunted by the events of the first film, leads a cast running for their lives. The implausibly gullible teen characters still scream, the red herrings are still obvious, and we still know how its all going to end. Columbia Pictures The 27 worst film sequels of all time Jaws 2 Jaws 2 sees the great white original reduced to a lukewarm b-movie filled with bad special effects and clumsy editing. The only positive thing about Jaws 2 is that all the characters are so annoying that its actually pretty satisfying watching them get eaten alive. See also Jaws 3, 4 and 5. Rex Features The 27 worst film sequels of all time American Psycho 2 He might have been a crazed narcissist, but Patrick Bateman deserved better than this sequel. Thankfully, no one actually remembers that American Psycho 2 exists, or that Mila Kunis is the lead, which is good because it ruins the ambiguous ending of the original film. No amount of peppermint sheet masks could ever clean this mess of a movie up. Rex Features The 27 worst film sequels of all time Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Deciding to leave Baby in the corner, Havana Nights shares little with the original Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayzes simmering dance instructor becomes a charisma deprived pool boy. Our heroine has been replaced by an uptight WASP and worst of all theres no overhead lift. Your eyes will be left hungry for more. Lionsgate The 27 worst film sequels of all time Titanic II Even if you dont like James Camerons 1997 Oscar-winning behemoth, its hard to forget the iconic image of a ship and its passengers meeting their watery doom. The digital effects of Titanic II, however, look like a childs version of the originals visuals. The plot  about a boat literally named Titanic II that takes its maiden voyage 100 years after the first  is equally creaky. The Asylum The 27 worst film sequels of all time The Sting II Ten years after the original film, Mac Davis and Jackie Gleason fill in for Paul Newman and Robert Redford in this heist remake. Considering the movies clumsy mobster dialogue and slow-moving plot, the audience in 1983 might have felt like they were the ones who had really been hoodwinked. Universal The 27 worst film sequels of all time Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 The original Blair Witch changed the face of horror forever, inspiring hysteria with its cheap but innovative found-footage hook. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 has better production values, but manages to be far less clever. A group of students visiting the first films location find themselves in danger, and the plot unravels from there. Haxan Films The 27 worst film sequels of all time Rambo First Blood: Part 2 John Rambo is stripped of any the nuance he had in the first film, becoming an all-American macho cliche and increasing his body count through cartoonish violence. The ex-soldier tears through Vietnam to rescue American prisoners of war as a one man army, seemingly impervious to bullets or logic. If the absurd plot doesnt jar for you, the politics probably will. The 27 worst film sequels of all time Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Given the global recession that hung over this follow-up to the original 1987 Wall Street, director Oliver Stone could have made a far more interesting and timely film. A cast including Michael Sheen and Shia LaBeouf provide diminishing returns in a tale of greed that ultimately pulls its punches. Fox The 27 worst film sequels of all time Weekend at Bernie's 2 You may ask yourself how its possible to make a sequel to a film based on two friends pretending a corpse is still alive in order to party. The makers of Weekend at Bernies 2 were probably asking themselves the same thing in 1993. This tired comedy never crosses over from stupid into funny, despite many of the cast returning to try and recapture the dubious magic. Entertainment Film Distributors The 27 worst film sequels of all time S. Darko The sequel to Donnie Darko toys with the concept of time, by wasting yours. The dialogue is awful, the acting wooden, and you dont even get to see an angsty black haired Jake Gyllenhaal in all his blue-eyed glory. Director of the original, Richard Kelly, was so offended by S. Darko he described the experience of watching it as horribly violating. Fox The 27 worst film sequels of all time Little Fockers Robert De Niros reputation continued to devalue with the third installment of the Meet The Parents series. The title indicates how much effort was put into this family comedy, which relies on under-the-belt hits to wring any laughs out of its audience. The 27 worst film sequels of all time Now You See Me 2 This follow-up to the flashy 2013 film squanders the only reason it would have a sequel, and somehow is not named Now You See Me Now. The sleight-of-hand magic here is all style and no substance, and the endless overcomplicated reveals of characters tricking each other become very irritating. Rex The 27 worst film sequels of all time Mulan II Mulan is a gender-bending, brave heroine who refuses to conform to society's expectations of her. That is, until she reappears in the Disney sequel as a devoted wife who is more than willing to comply with her husbands demands. Now even her pet dragon Mushu doesnt like her. Sky The 27 worst film sequels of all time Son of the Mask Jim Carrey is replaced by Alan Cumming in this low-budget comedy sequel, which manages to be both frantic and boring at once. Director Lawrence Guterman tries to make up for the lack of Carreys signature comedic vim by adding a baby and a dog, but their antics cant distract from the ugly production design. Sky The 27 worst film sequels of all time Grease 2 Danny and Sandy flying off into the sunset should have been the end of Grease. But money-hungry film execs brought us back to Rydell High for sequel fans were hopelessly undevoted to. "I hated that film with a vengeance and could not believe how bad it was," said Sandy stand-in Michelle Pfieffer years later. "At the time I was young and didn't know any better." Paramount The 27 worst film sequels of all time Dumb and Dumber To Stupider even than its title, the Farrelly brothers sequel puts its stars (Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels) through an overlong retread of past material. The broad humour feels decades out of date, and the energy that propelled the original through its juvenile jokes is gone. Its hard to imagine who was the target audience for these gross-out sight gags. Hopper Stone, SMPSP The 27 worst film sequels of all time The Birds II: Lands End Hitchcocks 1963 film The Birds was a masterclass in suspense. The birds that menace Tippi Hedron and the other inhabitants of Bodega Bay become genuinely disturbing through a slow, atmospheric build of tension. This made-for-TV sequel has the same avian threat, and some of the same cast, but none of the classic thrills. MCA Home Video The 27 worst film sequels of all time Basic Instinct 2 Sharon Stone had bad instincts when she agreed to this film. Even a new take on her iconic leg-crossing interrogation scene couldnt save this sequel from one of the worst rotten tomato ratings on record. It managed to make less than $6m Stateside on a $70m budget. Rex Features The 27 worst film sequels of all time Cruel Intentions 2 Amy Adams tries her best to tear into her role as a sadistic, sex-obsessed bully but the script for Cruel Intentions 2  strictly speaking, a prequel, but sssh  is so bad that even she failed to save it. When her stepbrother Sebastian moves into her Mums Manhattan mansion, she barges into his shower and warns him, "no one is going to threaten my cushy life". What teenager would ever say "cushy life"? Columbia The 27 worst film sequels of all time Mean Girls 2 Did a Mean Girls sequel happen if Tina Fey wasnt around to write it? No, no it did not. A Plastics vs nerds turf war in the pits of the high school jungle just doesnt work without Feys tight one-liners. In Mean Girls 2 we hear none of the on Wednesdays we wear pink that's why her hair is so big. It's full of secrets you cant sit with us zingers that made the original film so magical. Paramount The 27 worst film sequels of all time Blues Brothers 2000 Although the soundtrack had its fans, this film is essentially a remake of the 1980 original without one half of the titular Blues Brothers (John Belushi died in 1982). Bafflingly, he is replaced by a 10-year old child in sunglasses. Its half as funny and nowhere near as infectiously fun, but if you only care about the music, that might not matter. Sky The 27 worst film sequels of all time The Godfather Part III Infamous for ruining what would have been, in many critics eyes, a perfect trio of movies, The Godfather Part III delivers a slow anti-climax. The film has its defenders, but given the calibre of the first two Godfathers, this last instalment is the black sheep of the family. Paramount The 27 worst film sequels of all time The Next Karate Kid A young Hilary Swank stars in the fourth Karate Kid film, a precursor to the modern trend of rebooting ailing franchises with a female lead. Pat Morita as Mr Miyagi is charming as always, but the script is mostly recycled. There are a couple of interesting differences: Swank has a pet hawk, Buddhist monks dance to the Cranberries, and theres almost no fighting. But whats a Karate Kid sequel without the Kid or the karate? Columbia Pictures The 27 worst film sequels of all time Staying Alive It might be called Staying Alive, but you wont want to after watching this sequel. Six years after our hero Tony Manero made white polyester bell bottoms popular, we check back in on him as he auditions for a new Broadway musical called Satans Alley. There are far too many romantic subplots, oiled up chests and loincloths to make this film okay. Paramount Pictures The 27 worst film sequels of all time Speed 2 Keanu Reeves wisely didnt pick up the phone for this Razzie-winning action thriller. The speeding bus rigged by a bomber in the 1994 film is bizarrely replaced by a cruise ship here, making the action a lot slower and more boring. Poor Sandra Bullock is given nothing interesting to do, and surely must have been tempted to look for a lifeboat. Sky

Earlier this year, the worlds first glimpse at Reeve and Carrie-Ann Moss in character as Neo and Trinity since 2003s The Matrix Revolutions surfaced on the internet, showing a completely different look for Reeves character.
Chilean operator group Entel has earmarked an investment fund of US$371 million for 2020.

Of this total, US$264 million will go towards domestic operations, with its Peruvian subsidiary receiving US$105 million and the remaining $2 million spent on improving its call centres across both markets.

Entel president Juan Hurtado said that over US$100 million of the Chilean investment would be spent on improving the 4G capacity and coverage of Entels mobile unit. Additionally, the group was eyeing the possible initial deployment of the 5G network towards the end of this year, depending on when the public tender is completed.

Under these plans, Entel would invest US$67 million into its domestic offering, with the majority of this funding the rollout of fibre optic infrastructure. The group would spend US$50 million on enterprise services such as big data, cloud, cybersecurity and IoT.

Entel will also expand coverage in Peru with an investment of US$70 million to boost its 4G network capacity. Additionally, it has earmarked US$8 million for improving its fixed enterprise offering.

The groups general manager Antonio Buchi noted that high demand for telecoms services during the Covid-19 pandemic makes [Entel] very resistant to complex scenarios like this, even more so with all the needs that now arise from connectivity in the whole of society.

Without technology, today our health system would not be working, nor could we be working, studying or informing ourselves as we are doing. We are doing everything to ensure a normal operation, he added.
A Miami federal court judge has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release more than 1,200 undocumented immigrants detained in three South Florida detention centers.

As part of U.S. District Court Judge Marcia G. Cooke's ruling, any person who has a non-violent criminal offense or underlying medical history will be eligible to be release under certain guidelines.

Detainees could be subjected to wearing electronic ankle bracelets, physical or phone check-ins and parole.

Prisoners at Krome Processing Center in Miami-Dade County, the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven and the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach have continuously complained about their fears of contracting the coronavirus and the lack of preventive measures from ICE to contain the outbreak at the facilities.

'There is recorded evidence demonstrating that ICE has failed in its duty to protect the safety and general well-being of the petitioners,' Cooke wrote in her 12-page court ruling. 'Social distancing at Krome is not only practically impossible, the conditions are becoming worse every day.'

Undocumented detainees sleep in a room at Broward Transitional Center, one of three South Florida detention facilities were more than 1,200 ICE inmates have been ordered to be released by a Miami federal court judge

Activists and family members protest outside one of three South Florida detention centers which were included in a Miami judge's court ruling that ordered ICE to released more than 1,200 non-violent undocumented immigrants

Cooke slammed the federal immigration agency for not providing detainees 'masks, soaps and other cleaning supplies' and for failing to promote social distancing at the three jails.

Under Cooke's ruling, ICE was given three days to demonstrate an outlined proposal to decrease its prison population by hundreds.

'Accordingly, there is sufficient evidence in this record to determine that the present conditions at the three detention centers constitute a violation of the Petitioners' Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights.'

The Miami Herald reported as many as 100 Krome detainees who have been exposed to COVID-19 were segregated together and placed in dorms without masks and sanitizers. Personal protective equipment was reportedly only provided to Krome workers.

It sparked a federal lawsuit in April.

Mexican national Miguel Torres, 38, is one of 600 prisoners at the center and said he and other inmates looked to other options to protect themselves from possibly being infected.

Undocumented inmates have complained of conditions at the Krome Processing Center which were described by a Miami federal court judge as "cruel"

A woman participates in Friday's protest outside Krome Processing Detention Center in Miami-Dade County in support of the 600 undocumented immigrants being held by ICE. Her sign reads: 'Nobody deserves to die in detention'

'Some of us start praying and others just hide under the covers,' he said. 'We don't have masks, so our blankets and God are all the hope we have.'

Torres revealed the detainees have taken up on the role of caretakers for their other fellow inmates, including 78-year-old Ramon Gomez, who are too sick to look after themselves.

Gomez, a native of Nicaragua and a married father-of-four, is serving time for several criminal offenses, moves around in a wheelchair and can barely walk, causing him difficulties to make it to the bathroom on time.

'He's just weak so he soils himself,' Torres added.

Nelson Varela, a former Venezuelan detainee, tested positive for the deadly coronavirus three days after he was released from Krome on April 20.

Varela, who wife and two children tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, said he started feeling flu-like symptoms after he was forced to join at least 60 other men who were placed in lockdown because they had been exposed to an inmate who tested positive for the pandemic.

Activists and family members held a demonstration outside Krome Processing Center in Miami-Dade County to call for undocumented immigrants to be released by ICE

Several dozen family members, health care workers and activists gathered outside Krome on Friday morning in support of the detainees.

'It's horrible to see what happening there,' Maria Bilbao, a community activist with United We Dream, told DailyMail.com on Friday. 'It's people who have been detained for more than a year, year and a half.'

Cooke's decision comes a week after Miami U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman ruled that although he could not approve the release of almost 1,400 undocumented immigrants from the three facilities, ICE should be required to draft a plan speed up their court-supervised release.

Two guards at an immigration detention center in Louisiana have died after contracting the coronavirus in the last six days, raising new questions about whether the U.S. government is adequately protecting 30,000 immigrants in custody and the staff guarding them.

Relatives of both Carl Lenard, 62, and Stanton Johnson, 51, said the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, had at one point prevented them from wearing masks as the virus spread through the facility.

Lenard died early Saturday, according to his family. He tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, though his cause of death is still undetermined. His widow, Margarette Lenard, said she now has COVID-19 as well and several relatives have symptoms of the virus.

Johnson died Tuesday, according to his mother, Joyce Johnson, who also said that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

ICE has tested just 705 detainees, according to its publicly released figures. The agency recently said it would receive 2,000 tests a month from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ramp up testing of detainees.

According to ICE figures, 449 detainees and 36 guards have contracted COVID-19. Four guards have died of the virus.
(Newser)  A group of up to 100 people, many of them elderly, will be traveling from across America to return to work Mondayand Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists it can be done safely. The Republican declined to say Thursday whether Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, had advised against bringing back the Senate after more than a month away, Hill reports. Around half the country's senators are over 65 and four of them are over 85. "We can modify our routines in ways that are smart and safe, but we can honor our constitutional duty to the American people and conduct our business in person," McConnell said, arguing that if workers like doctors, nurses, and truck drivers can "man their own duty stations" during the pandemic, senators should as well.

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House Democrats say they canceled plans to bring the House's 430 lawmakers back on Monday on advice from Monahan. The physician told Senate leaders that tests would be available for senators and staffers showing symptoms, but there are not enough tests for all 100 senators, sources tell Politico. Democrats including 86-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest senator, have urged McConnell to reconsider the plan. Returning "sends the wrong message to the American people, most of whom are being asked or directed to stay at home," Feinstein wrote to McConnell. Officials say returning senators will be asked to wear masks at all times, except when giving speeches. (Read more Senate stories.)
Nay Myo Lin, editor-in-chief of Voice of Myanmar, is driven away from Chanmyathazi Township Court in the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, April 9, 2020.

Press freedom in Myanmar has sharply deteriorated over the past four years, disappointing high hopes for Aung San Suu Kyis civilian-led government, which pledged greater liberty for journalists but performed worse than the previous military-led administration, media watchdogs and journalists in the country say.

During her four years at the helm of the democratizing former military dictatorship, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi broke a key 2015 general election promise to support freedom of expression, instead allowing journalists to be prosecuted under repressive and vaguely worded laws.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Myanmar 139 out of 180 countries this year, observing that media freedom is clearly not one of the priorities of the government led by the Lady of Yangon, a reference to Aung San Suu Kyi who took office for a five-year term in April 2016.

The country slid one spot from its raking by RSF in 2019, marking the latest in a series of successive drops since the state counselor came to power.

We had already expected this [result] before this index was released, Zayar Hlaing, a member of the Myanmar Press Council, said about the latest RSF ranking.

We know Myanmars press freedom condition is deteriorating, he said. We have seen several cases of the government filing charges against the journalists during these years. There were charges against journalists filed by the military. There were also cases where some journalists were arrested.

The two biggest news stories from Myanmar in recent years  the scorched earth expulsion of 740,000 Rohingya Muslims to refugee camps in Bangladesh in 2017 and a 16-month-old war involving the Arakan Army (AA)  both have shown Myanmars military in an a harsh light, prompting United Nations war crimes investigations.

Prosecution numbers

Currently there are as many as 62 journalists being prosecuted under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, according to Maung Saungkha, executive director of Athan, an activist organization he founded to promote the right to freedom of expression in Myanmar.

Thirty-four of the cases against the journalists were filed under Section 66(d) of Myanmars Telecommunication Law, he said. The statute prohibits the use of the telecom network to defame people and carries a maximum two-year prison sentence.

Eight cases were filed under Section 17 of Myanmars Counter-Terrorism Law, four other journalists were charged with defamation, and the remaining cases were filed under various other charges, Maung Saungkha said.

In a time like this, it is undeniable that the condition of press freedom in Myanmar has been deteriorating annually, he said as the world prepares to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Thar Loon Zaung Htet of Khit Thit News and Khine Myat Kyaw of Narinjara News were charged in March for violating the Counter-Terrorism Law by interviewing members of the AA, the rebel ethic military that is fighting government forces in western Myanmars Rakhine state.

Similarly, police arrested Voice of Myanmar (VOM) editor-in-chief Nay Myo Lin at his home in Mandalay on March 31 for the publication of an interview with the AA spokesman, but prosecutors later dropped the charges. Nay Myo Lin faced up to life in prison if he had he been found guilty of charges filed under two sections of Myanmars Counter-Terrorism Law.

The sections of the law they charged me under includes the phrase anyone who violates the terms, meaning that journalists are no exception, he said. It severely limits press freedom and the rights of journalists. The police said my news organizations work violated the sections of the law regardless of how we did our reporting.

Nay Myin Lin said that police told him if his news organization conducted any additional interviews with the AA, he could be charged again for conspiring with an illegal organization under the Unlawful Associations Act.

It is very terrifying because it is the military that doesnt like journalists broadcasting the voices of members of insurgent groups, he said. They dont like any kind of coverage of armed conflicts either.

Reuters Myanmar reporters Wa Lone (L) and Kyaw Soe Oo (R) gesture as they walk toward the gate of Insein Prison in Yangon after being released under a presidential amnesty, May 7, 2019. RFA Sharp reversal

Numerous other examples of journalists arrested under the current government abound.

Aung Kyi Myint, who uses the name Nanda while reporting for privately owned broadcast outlet Channel Mandalay TV, received a two-year prison sentence for using social media networks to provide live coverage of a demonstration against a cement production factory in central Myanmars Mandalay region in May 2019 when police beat protesters.

He was accused of using violence against police and soldiers, though there was no evidence to support that, according to a statement issued by RSF in August 2019.

In a case that made international news headlines, two Reuters news agency journalists in Myanmar spent more than 16 months in jail on charges of obtaining state secrets while reporting on the killing of a group of Rohingya by government soldiers in volatile Rakhine state.

They were released in a presidential amnesty on May 6, 2019, shortly after winning a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the murders.

Conditions in Myanmar, which endured five decades until 2011 of rule by a brutal military regime that had jailed even Aung San Suu Kyi, mark a sharp reversal from previous statements made by the countrys leaders in recent years.

During World Press Freedom Day in 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi appealed to the media to contribute to ongoing democratic transitions in the country and pledged to enact a News Media Law.

We all have to work to create laws related to the media and give protection to journalists, she said at a ceremony marking the occasion. It is the ruling government administrations responsibility to make these laws effective.

In 2019, President Win Myint said in a statement during a World Press Freedom Day ceremony in Yangon that media freedom is essential for Myanmar to become a robust democracy.

News Media Law

Press freedom advocates say given the current situation, the News Media Law drafted in 2014 may never be approved during the final year of the NLD governments five-year term.

The draft law introduces some guarantees for media freedom, such as the prohibition of censorship and the recognition of specific rights of media workers, though critics note that its safeguards are heavily qualified and insufficient to meet international standards.

We dont have any laws protecting the press freedom and freedom of expression, said PEN Myanmar secretary Han Zaw. The existing laws do not give any protection, and we are not in the position to amend them.

As long as we cannot create a legal environment that offers protection for press freedom, there will be challenges and prosecutions of journalists, he added.

Amid the crackdowns on press freedom, journalists are under further pressure in doing their jobs amid the coronavirus crisis.

In the meantime, the COVID-19 crisis early this year has hit the already struggling print media pretty hard, said Ah Mann, editor-in-chief of 7 Days News journal. There are more and more added pressures on the media industry. We are barely surviving now.

The worst part is we are witnessing one bad news story after another with some newspapers laying off many of their staffers, he said. Some newspapers are planning to suspend their circulations.

The Myanmar Times, a major privately run newspaper, recently suspended more than 70 employees, including 30 journalists to reduce operational cost and lack of steady income amid the COVID-19 crisis.

A much-criticized internet service blackout in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin states, ordered by the government for security purposes amid armed conflict in the region, is also preventing journalists from reporting news about the fighting.



Reported by Nandar Chann, Thant Zin Oo, and Zarni Htun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Maung Nyo. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Even after quitting his royal duties due to his scandalous association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew is still being haunted by the horrors of such friendship until now.

In the recent development of the case linking the Duke of York to the now-deceased sex offender, victims of Jeffrey Epstein are now demanding to look into the details of communication between the estranged friends.

In the hopes of shedding light on Prince Andrew's sex trafficking involvement, victims are now pressuring the court to seek documents showing the detailed texts, emails, and calls between the two.

Based on the documents obtained by a U.K. news outlet, the lawyers of Epstein's victims would like to see the detailed communication to know if the 60-year-old Prince had "engaged in any sexual act while at any of Jeffrey Epstein's property."

These latest demands were done on behalf of an alleged victim, only identified as "Priscilla Doe."

Doe claims that when she was still 20 years of age, Epstein forced her to give sexual favors to his rich friends in exchange for help that will favor her dancing career.

The new court request will also cover the time when the Duke is accused of sleeping with Epstein teenage sex slave Virginia Roberts Guiffre.

Although Prince Andrew repeatedly denied the claims, the victims are still demanding the details of the contact done when Epstein attended parties at Windsor Castle and the royal family's Sandringham estate homes.

As of writing, Andrew's spokesperson declined to comment on the latest development of the case.

Some people fear that looking into the details of this information might incriminate Queen Elizabeth II's son. A friend of Andrew said that this new move is only a "cynical attempt by U.S. law firms to keep their case in the public eye."

Prince Andrew Snubbing The FBI

Last month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that they are still having a hard time getting the full cooperation of Prince Andrew in the probe of Epstein's case.

U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said that despite the Duke of York's press release to cooperate with the investigation fully, the Prince has "completely shut the door" on giving his voluntary cooperation.

According to reports, Prince Andrew's lack of cooperation is not only based on his own decision, as he was merely persuaded not to work hand-in-hand with the investigating body.

It turns out that Queen Elizabeth II's son has been connected to Epstein's alleged pimp, Ghislaine Maxwell, and she convinced the Duke to completely snub the authorities saying that it will not do him any good.

Controversial BBC Interview

In November 2019, Prince Andrew tried to come clean through a BBC interview that eventually backfired on him.

During his interview with Emily Maitlis at the Newsnight, the Prince honestly said that he did not regret his friendship with Epstein.

He also denied Virginia Roberts claims that they slept together. He also expressed doubt on the authenticity of the infamous photograph where he was seen all arms around Virginia and fellow sex slave Ghislaine Maxwell in Epstein's London home in 2001.
The nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir. The operations were rather intensified and resulted in the killing of the highest number of terrorists belonging to different Pakistan-based outfits in April. In fact, April has been the most successful month for security forces in the last year, according to official data.

Out of 60 terrorists killed so far this year, 46% (28) were in April. The last time the Jammu and Kashmir police, army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) eliminated so many terrorists in a month was in May 2019 (28).

Eighteen terrorists were killed in January while seven each in February and March. While 20 belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen, eight were from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), six from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), three from Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) while 20 were unidentified. Some of those killed were top commanders  Jahangir Wani (HM), Sajjad Nawab Dar (JeM) and Muzzafar Ahmed Bhat (LeT). Most of them were traced to Pulwama (16) and Shopian (12) and killed in gunbattles.

An official involved in counter-insurgency operations, who did not wish to be named, said, Pakistan-based terrorists have tried to take advantage of Indias national lockdown to foment trouble in the Valley. In fact, there were reports in 36-37 days, since lockdown was announced, that terrorists have come out of their bunkers, from inside the jungles as they were asked to intensify attacks against security forces.

Zulfiqar Hassan, special director-general, CRPF (Jammu & Kashmir), said, Terrorists have tried to take advantage of the lockdown but intelligence-based counter-terror operations are continuing in full swing and there is great synergy among all the forces.

Last year, 152 terrorists were killed in Jammu & Kashmir, with 11 in April, according to official figures.

In 2018, the security forces killed 215 terrorists including 22 in April. The maximum number of terrorists killed in a month-- 39-- was in November 2018.

Pakistan has also resorted to continuous ceasefire violation in March and April to help terrorists sneak into Jammu & Kashmir. It has been trying its best to fuel terrorist activities while the world is focused on fighting the pandemic, army officials said.

Pakistan has violated the ceasefire around 1,400 times this year. This number was 3,168 in 2019 and 1,629 in 2018.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh last week asked Indias top military commanders to ensure the countrys adversary is not allowed to exploit the Covid-19 situation.

The army has been dealing with an increase in infiltration attempts by Pakistan-backed terrorists looking to stir trouble since the Centres move to revoke Jammu & Kashmirs special status in August last year.
Explosions rocked a Syrian military base housing a weapons warehouse Friday in the country's central Homs province, and a local official said the cause was not immediately clear.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syria war, said an Israeli rocket attack was suspected.

It said the weapons warehouse, south of the city of Homs, is for Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which has backed Syria's armed forces in the nine-year civil war.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports. But it has in the past targeted Iranian and Iranian-backed targets inside Syria, saying it won't tolerate Tehran's increasing influence along its borders.

In the past month, there have been several reports of suspected Israeli strikes on targets inside Syria, the last on Monday.

Friday's explosions wounded 10 civilians walking nearby, Homs health director Hassan al-Guindi told local Syrian media. Smoke columns could be seen from a distance and the sound of explosions echoed into Homs city.

Gov. Talal Barazi said it wasn't clear what caused the explosions.

He said the military base includes a weapons warehouse but didn't name Hezbollah. The Observatory said the base has been used by the Lebanese militant group for years.

It said the explosions caused damage to the base and reported flying debris that reached outside its perimeters.

Syrian state media also reported late Thursday that Israeli helicopters flying over the occupied Golan Heights fired at several unidentified targets causing material damage.

Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of strikes over the years, most aimed at alleged Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah.

In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision-guided missiles.

In recent weeks, suspected Israeli attacks include the targeting of Iranian-backed fighters in the desert near the central Syrian town of Palmyra, and an Israeli drone attack on a SUV carrying Hezbollah members close to the border with Lebanon.

Two days after the drone attack, Israel accused Hezbollah of provocative activity, including multiple attempts to breach the border along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier, and said it would complain to the U.N. Security Council.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A campaign poster of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is burned by protesters. He won his 2017 reelection bid amid allegations of fraud. (Rodrigo Abd / Associated Press)

Even as the Trump administration moved ahead on a controversial immigration agreement with the Honduran government, U.S. law enforcement has indicted another senior Honduran official on drug-trafficking charges that implicate the country's president.

In charges filed Thursday in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors accuse a former commander of the Honduran police of conspiring to import tons of cocaine into the United States and illegally using weapons and "destructive devices" to "violently protect" politically connected traffickers.

Known as El Tigre  the Tiger  Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares long enjoyed U.S. support even as evidence of human rights atrocities and drug-running mounted against him.

The indictment alleges that Bonilla was operating on behalf of President Juan Orlando Hernandez and his brother Tony, who was found guilty in the same court late last year of running a multimillion-dollar "state-sanctioned" narcotics trafficking network.

The president, who has denied wrongdoing, has continued to maintain close relations with the White House and has been received in the Oval Office by President Trump on several occasions.

The reason appears to be Hernandez's willingness to cooperate with controversial U.S. immigration measures.

One of those is an agreement signed in September in which Honduras pledged to accept non-Honduran migrants removed from the United States after being denied a chance at claiming asylum there.

On Thursday, the Trump administration took a step toward implementing that agreement by publishing it in the Federal Register.

The move comes as U.S. border authorities, citing coronavirus guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, move to quickly expel thousands of Mexican, Honduran, Salvadoran and Guatemalan migrants, including, for the first time, asylum seekers and unaccompanied children.

The Trump administration appears to be moving toward relying more heavily on Honduras to take the migrants it doesn't want. Guatemala recently stopped accepting them after officials there said over 100 of its nationals deported from the U.S. had tested positive for the coronavirus.

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Normally, deportees must be returned to their home countries. But the administration has pressured some Central American nations to accept designation as "safe third countries."

The strategy has drawn heavy criticism from migrant rights advocates.

"This would be illegal and inhumane at any time because Honduras is incredibly dangerous and lacks a functioning asylum system," Yael Schacher, senior U.S. advocate for Refugees International, said in a statement. "In the midst of a global pandemic, with Honduras on lockdown and under a state of emergency, it is absolutely unconscionable."

Last week, Trump announced he was providing ventilators to Honduras and El Salvador as they begin to grapple with COVID-19 cases  and pointedly left Guatemala off the list.

Critics of the Trump administration were quick to note the dichotomy between how it deals with the Honduran president on immigration and how federal prosecutors view him.

"Today's news [reflects] the disconnect and contradictions within the administration," said Adriana Beltran, director of citizen security at the Washington Office on Latin America. "The rhetoric by the [White House] and U.S. officials painting Hernandez as a strong partner is counterproductive and damaging in terms of helping Honduras strengthen the rule of law and tackle corruption and other issues that are driving migration."

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Bonilla, 60, operated within Honduran security services from 1985 to 2016  a period that included de facto military rule, the U.S.-backed, Honduras-based war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government and more recent years of rampant corruption.

Hernandez has been president since winning election in 2013. He won a controversial second term in 2017.

Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in statement that Bonilla was operating on behalf of the Honduran president and the president's brother when he "oversaw the transshipment of multi-ton loads of cocaine bound for the U.S., used machineguns and other weaponry to accomplish that, and participated in extreme violence, including the murder of a rival trafficker, to further the conspiracy."

"Now Bonilla Valladares has been marked as an outlaw and charged with crimes that could send him to a U.S. prison for life, the statement said.

Efforts to reach Hernandez, Bonilla or his attorney for comment were not immediately successful.

Bonilla, speaking to La Tribuna newspaper in Honduras, said he was surprised by the indictment and would be happy to testify in court. He said he had never engaged in drug trafficking and could document a long history of cooperation with U.S. authorities.

Human rights activists and others who have followed the long, tortured history of Honduras and its relationship with Washington cheered the indictment.

For years, I and others warned U.S. administrations that General Bonilla was not to be trusted, based on reports implicating him in drug trafficking and other crimes, including murder," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement. "Those warnings were ignored, and our Embassy treated him as a credible partner. That was inexcusable."

Leahy called for the State and Defense departments to reconsider delivering aid to a government "whose leaders are involved in corruption and violations of human rights.

Dana Frank, an emeritus professor of history at UC Santa Cruz who has written extensively on Honduras, said the indictment offered "further and sickening evidence" that President Hernandez "not only took funds from drug traffickers and arms dealers in exchange for his election, but promoted a known death squad leader to the very top of the police at their behest."

Times staff writer Molly O'Toole contributed to this report from Washington.
A circus trainer has brought lions into his apartment to perform his act during Egypts coronavirus lockdown.

Ashraf el-Helw posted a video online of his big cats performing tricks in his Cairo flat and said he is planning to film more.

The 26-year-old, the third generation in a lion-training dynasty, claims he wants to encourage people to stay at home during the pandemic.

Egypts government has imposed nightly curfew and ordered many businesses to shut to contain the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 5,500 people and killed 392 in the country.

Mr el-Helws first video on 20 April received an enthusiastic response from some viewers, but animal rights activists have criticised the footage and said it raises questions about how the lions are treated.

This is irresponsible and foolish behaviour, said Dina Zulfikar, an animal rights activist who sits on the board of Egypts largest zoo. They are not pets, they are wild animals.

She added bringing wild animals into private homes was against the law, and warned Mr el-Helws social media profile gave an unrealistic impression of how dangerous lions are.

His family have been doing circus shows with lions for over a century. His grandmother was a renowned circus performer, Mahassen el-Helw, the Arab worlds first female lion trainer. She was known as the iron woman for her stern stage demeanor.

Mr el-Helws grandfather, Mohammed, was killed in 1972 during one of his shows by Sultan, a lion who tore him to pieces in front of horrified spectators.

There have also been reported incidents of several other family members being attacked during shows in recent years.

Ashraf el-Helw and his five-year-old African lion Joumana in his home in Cairo (AP)

Mr el-Helw's older sisters  Luba, 38, Ousa, 35, and Bushra, 28  are also professional lion trainers at Egypts National Circus.

Founded in 1966, the circus is housed in a tent beside the Nile, drawing mostly school groups and working-class families for its evening shows.

Mr el-Helw said he was six years-old when he started working with the animals. By age 16, he was doing performances.

Since I opened my eyes to the world, I found lions around me, he said.

The familys big cats are kept on their farm an hour outside of Cairo, with Mr el-Helw bringing them into the city for the videos.

After filming is over, they go back to the farm, where the family have some 40 other animals including monkey and other large cats.

During a recent visit to his flat by an Associated Press reporter, Mr el-Helw showed off Joumana, one of the familys female lions.

He prompted her to put her paws on his shoulders and the two moved as in a dance. In another trick, the lioness obeyed a command, a light prod with a stick, to walk across a plank, stepping over Bushra.

They are like my children, said Bushra, giving Joumana a loving pat on the back.
Government officials in a small coastal town in Spain have sprayed down a local beach with a diluted bleach solution in the hopes of protecting residents from COVID-19.

The decision was made by Agustin Conejo, a local official in Zahara de los Atunes, in the southern province of Cadiz, whose residents will begin emerging from six weeks of COVID-19 lockdown over the next month.

But the decision has been slammed by environmental groups who say it will kill invertibrates, affect sea birds' mating season and affect fishing.

Conejo said the decision to spray bleach was made to protect minors and children who would be returning to the beach, but in retrospect, acknowledges the decision was a bad move.

The local government in the Spanish town of Zahara de los Atunes sprayed the beach with bleach to protect locals from COVID-19 as they begin to emerge from lockdowns, a decision that was widely criticized

'I admit that it was a mistake, it was done with the best intention,' he told the BBC.

The spraying was done with a number of tractors and small trucks equipped with long fumigation misters that released the diluted bleach solution across the beach and nearby dunes.

Maria Dolores Iglesias, who heads an environmental volunteer group in the Cadiz region, says she saw these trucks run over at least one egg filled nest from the many species of migratory birds that use the dunes for mating.

'They have devastated the dune spaces and gone against all the rules,' Iglesias said.

'It has been an aberration what they have done, also taking into account that the virus lives in people not on the beach. It is crazy.'

Residents of Zahara de los Atunes have been on lockdown for six weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the local government wanted to prepare the beaches for the public as they began loosening restrictions on movement

The Spanish chapter of Greenpeace warned the move would not only disrupt the mating season for local birds but disrupt the ecosystem for invertebrates that help support the local fishing ecosystem as the bleach leeches out into the sea.

'[This] is not one of Trump's ideas,' the group posted on Twitter in shock. 'It is happening in Zahara de los Atunes.'

Provincial officials also criticized the decision to spray and say they're considering fining the city for the move, but no final decisions have been made.

Local activist Maria Dolores Iglesias described the decision as absurd. 'The beach is a living ecosystem. And when you spray it down with bleach, you're killing everything you come across,' she said

According to Iglesias, bleach sprays can be useful for city streets and other urban spaces, but said it would have a genuinely destructive effect on the beach landscape, killing off even the insects.

'It's totally absurd,' Iglesias Benitez said.

'The beach is a living ecosystem. And when you spray it down with bleach, you're killing everything you come across.'
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Sadiq Khan is at the mercy of militant unions which are threatening to use the coronavirus crisis to demand a new deal for workers - amid warnings London's transport network will buckle under the pressure once the lockdown eases.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash - who represents Tube workers - today wrote a column demanding a new deal for all his workers, including higher pay and a public service, 'free from the grip of private speculation.'

For Khan, it raises the spectre of a lengthy negotiations with unions who could use the safety fears of their workers to demand a raft of concessions including better pay and hours.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told MailOnline the unions had Sadiq Khan 'over a barrel': 'As always with Labour politicians, Sadiq Khan is completely in hock to his Union paymasters.

'Unions have always had our politicians over a barrel. One positive aspect the public sector has found amid the crises has been an ability to change their way of working and delivering their service more efficiently; if only TfL under Sadiq Khan's leadership could do the same.'

This comes after a leaked report by the London Strategic Co-ordination Group (SCG), seen by the BBC, said the network would be unable to cope with an influx of commuters.

It stated the capacity of the Tube and buses would be cut to 15% and 12% respectively compared with normal levels, if a six-foot space between passengers was enforced. And that it would take four weeks to get TfL up and running back to normal levels.

The RMT union yesterday used the report to insist that it 'will agree to nothing that compromises the health, safety and livelihoods of members after insisting that there was 'zero chance' staff would return without PPE.

In a column in the Morning Star this morning, he added: 'One thing is for sure, once it is proven as safe enough for us to move out of the lockdown and begin the process of moving back to some kind of normal operation things will never be the same again.'

He boasted about negotiating with transport bosses: 'RMT has called out those employers at every turn and we have exposed their failures as leverage to force them back into line'

'One thing is for sure, once it is proven as safe enough for us to move out of the lockdown and begin the process of moving back to some kind of normal operation things will never be the same again.'

'If rail and other services can be taken over wholesale by the state to protect them during a crisis then they can be taken over on a permanent basis when that crisis subsides as a public service free from the grip of private speculation.

'There must also be no more talk of austerity and our colleagues in health and social care should get the pay and the resources they have proven so publicly that they deserve. Their fight will be our fight.

'Clapping our essential workers on a Thursday evening is fine and shows exactly where the public stand. But that support has to be transformed into a new deal for the whole country and the services and the staff that we value so dearly when this emergency eases.'

Finn Brennan, ASLEF's organiser on the Underground, said: 'London Underground need to urgently engage with unions so that, together, we can work out how services can be increased in a way that is safe. Safe for passengers, and safe for rail staff. If they don't, then we risk the service collapsing completely. There is no point in pretending that social distancing is possible for passengers on the Underground. That is why other major metro systems are insisting that masks are worn.'

Passengers at Canning Town Underground Station, waiting for a Jubilee Line train this morning

Levels of transport activity among the public have plunged since lockdown - although there has been a slight uptick over recent days

Passengers on a jubilee line train at rush hour this morning, where social distancing was impossible

Sadiq Khan is at the mercy of militant unions which are demanding a new deal for workers. Right, RMT General Secretary Mick Cash is today forcing through a new deal for workers, demanding higher pay and a public service, 'free from the grip of private speculation.'

The platform at Canning Town underground Station was packed this morning, amid a vast reduction in services

Getting London back on its feet: Sadiq Khan's plan to get the Capital's transport network moving again Sadiq Khan has implemented a number of changes to the TfL network amid the crisis. Face masks: Last week the London Mayor called for compulsory masks to be worn on tubes and buses after 26 Transport for London (TfL) staff members died of coronavirus. Khan also said that once the lockdown is lifted 'all of us' may need to wear face masks in order to stop the spread of Covid-19. Free bus travel: He also confirmed bus travel would be free from April 20 as passengers are forced to board using only side doors to protect drivers Contactless Tubes: Khan said that commuters using the underground will 'not be required to touch in' with their payment card or device. Protective glass: In terms of other ways TfL was trying to protect workers on the network, aside from wearing masks the London Mayor said authorities had introduced protective glass, and anti-viral cleaning. Social distancing: Bus passengers told to sit away from the driver to keep staff safe Bus boarding: Middle-door boarding on buses was rolled out from April 20. TfL trialled the boarding change on 140 buses across nine routes, with the operator saying it was 'confident' that the low number of people travelling meant people could keep a safe distance between each other. Khan had been slammed for the trial period, with many claiming he was 'wasting time' by introducing the measure. Advertisement

Khan announced his plan for re-opening London yesterday including compulsory face masks on the Tube, staggered start times for offices and schools, and admitting that bars and restaurants would remain closed for some time.

A number of London councillors have also hit out at the Mayor this morning, after Councillor Selina Seesunkur shared a picture of a packed Tube and accused Mr Khan of 'negligence.'

She added: 'You have completely failed to manage any part of this lockdown.'

Conservative Mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey hit out at Khan for spending millions on creative arts during the pandemic.

He said: '2.3 million on concert venues or 2.1 million for PPE (masks and gloves) to protect 60,000 TfL workers, for 30 days. Sadiq Khan has made his choice. I know what mine would be.'

Mr Bailey told MailOnline: 'Instead of going to war with the unions, playing politics or blaming the government for his failings, the Mayor should immediately start to address some of the issues that stand in the way of London going back to work.

'He can start to rebuild confidence in the network by immediately sourcing and providing PPE for all 60,000 transport staff. Then, he needs to show some actual leadership and do whatever he can to get tube capacity up to a level that will allow Londoners to social distance when traveling. Londoners are past the point of excuses - what we need is a guarantee that TfL will be ready to meet the increased demand.'

Latest figures show tube journeys during lockdown are down 95%, while bus passengers are down 85% on last year. This suggests social-distancing and lack of staff will mean tubes could only take another 10% of passengers, while buses will have capacity for just 3% more people.

Tweeting an image of a busy carriage, Cllr Seesunkur wrote: 'This is the @TfL central line at 6.30am today. My sister is trying to get to work (#hospital). It was empty when she boarded @SadiqKhan this is s complete failure on your part. You have completely failed to manage any part of this #lockdown. Negligence springs to mind!

Mr Cash wrote today: 'RMT has called out those employers at every turn and we have exposed their failures as leverage to force them back into line.

'One thing is for sure, once it is proven as safe enough for us to move out of the lockdown and begin the process of moving back to some kind of normal operation things will never be the same again.

'If rail and other services can be taken over wholesale by the state to protect them during a crisis then they can be taken over on a permanent basis when that crisis subsides as a public service free from the grip of private speculation.'

London commuters this morning admitted that an unofficial lifting of the coronavirus lockdown was underway as they returned to the capital's underground network, leading once again to busy carriages and packed platforms.

The past few weeks of lockdown have witnessed London's Tubes being used mainly by key workers or building workers.

Many of the key workers have hit out at Mayor Sadiq Khan, fuming they are forced into busy Tubes on a daily basis and say construction workers using the packed trains 'outnumber NHS staff'.

But fears of more packed trains have increased as passengers from other walks of life also descend on the transport network as offices and shops reopen and people become more relaxed about social distancing.

Many of those leaving or entering Ealing Broadway station in west London spoken to by MailOnline were not NHS staff.

John Katlin, 40 admitted that he was going to visit a friend in Neasden because of the 'boredom of the lockdown.'

He said: 'I'm getting on the tube because you can't continue caging people like animals. We've got to go out to work and socialise, it's what humans need to do to survive.

'This is the second time this week that I'm getting on the tube. It's been very busy, like pre-lockdown days. It's not that easy to find a seat or maintain social distancing but I want to see my friend and I'm not worried about coronavirus.'

Bank worker David Hayes, 26 who was boarding a central line train to Northolt said: 'I've been using the tube for the las two weeks of lockdown. But this week is the busiest it's ever been.

'Things are slowly creeping back to normal. The government might say that there are no changes to the lockdown, but people are just lifting it themselves. The underground is definitely a lot busier as are the roads and buses.'

IT worker Frank Youkhana, 54 revealed that he was using public transport for the first time after his central London office reopened but had decided to cycle part of the way so that he would not have to get the bus to the underground station.

He said: 'The train was more packed than I thought it was going to be and I can assure you, not all the passengers were key workers. I was a little nervous because it wasn't that easy to maintain social distance.

'There was a man near me who started coughing so I got up and moved seats. But life is slowly returning to normal and most of us don't have a choice. You can't keep people in lockdown forever.'

NHS worker Teresa James, 60 has been travelling each day on the Central Line during the lockdown to Hammersmith Hospital.

She said: 'This week has been the busiest so far. People are creeping back out and getting on public transport either to go to work or even socialise. It's crazy; if you ask me, the lockdown is not strict enough.

'I couldn't find a seat today and it's impossible to maintain a two-metre distance from other passengers. If we continue like this, we are just asking for another coronavirus disaster.'

London had the highest mortality rate, with 85.7 deaths per 100,000 people - more than double the national average of 36.2 fatalities. The map breaks down each borough by level of deprivation

The map on the left shows clusters of coronavirus deaths (highlighted in green) in all 32 boroughs in the capital. On the right, lvels of deprivation in each area in London are highlighted from purple (least) to white (most) based on what percentage of the population is living in poverty

London , the heart of Britain's outbreak, had the highest mortality rate, with 85.7 deaths per 100,000 people - more than double the national average of 36.2 fatalities. The second worst-hit area was the West Midlands, where the death rate is 43.2 per 100,000, closely followed by the North West (40)

Commuters travelling on London's underground network this morning had to queue before packing on the carriages

Ms James revealed that she has become so concerned about busy tube trains that she has started wearing a mask.

'They need to put on more trains and ensure that people continue to work from home because people are becoming very relaxed about the lockdown. If you ask me, if your work is not essential, you should not be on the tubes or buses.'

Quality manager Baci Hoxha, 40 said that he had started using the underground after his office in Paddington partially reopened.

He said: 'I used the underground for the first time since the lockdown started. I feel very uneasy because you just don't know who you are sitting or standing next to. But what can you do? People have to work and normal life has to start again.'

Labourer Dara Henry, 28 fumed: 'I get the Central Line every day and if you ask me, things have been back to normal this week. It was impossible to get a seat, the carriage was packed, and nobody was speaking.'

Recruitment manager Gillian Igoe, 31 added: 'Everything has got a lot busier and normal life is slowly returning. I think people are just getting bored.

'My office has re-opened and I've got to get the tube so what can I do? You can't sit at home forever.'

Plans to ramp up services follow TfL's decision to furlough 7,000 staff on Monday, after the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan claimed the network was financially 'struggling' and would run out cash 'by the end of [April]'.

Mr Khan's comments were later corrected by a TfL spokesman who revealed the network has reserves of 1.2bn, which was 'sufficient to operate the city's core transport'.

Mr Cash described the report as a 'wake up call for anyone pushing to lift the lockdown and get transport services jacked up in preparation', adding that 'any such moves are fraught with lethal danger and once again it is transport workers right in the front line'.

'RMT has made it clear from the start of the crisis that this trade union will agree to nothing that compromises the health, safety and livelihoods of our members. That remains our position,' he said.

'It would be gross negligence for the Government to loosen their own social distancing guidelines on the transport network. Our members are entitled to the same levels of protection as the wider public.

'RMT has issued clear guidance to our members that they have a right not to be forced to work in an unsafe environment and we are reiterating that guidance in the light of this leaked report.'

TfL revealed that placing 7,000 on furlough would allow the organisation to access funding from the Government's Job Retention Scheme, saving the organisation 'an estimated 15.8m every four weeks'.

MailOnline has contacted Transport for London for comment.
LYNDHURST, Ohio -- Although the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will be counting until May 8 ballots that were postmarked by April 27, the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School District is confident that what is left to be counted will not overturn unofficial results posted Tuesday (April 28) evening.

The unofficial count has the levy passing by a margin of 4,348 votes (59.2 percent) to 2,998 (40.8 percent). If those numbers hold as expected, the district, despite the coronavirus causing jobs and wages to be lost, will have passed its 6.9-mill levy -- 5.9 mills of which will be used for general operations and 1 mill for permanent improvements within the districts buildings.

The health emergency postponed the originally scheduled March 17 election, which the State of Ohio then changed to a mail-in election set to conclude April 28. Mail-in ballots had also been sent in prior to March 17.

The district had made the pitch that it had been fiscally responsible with taxpayers money, in that it hadnt been to the ballot asking voters for more money in just over seven years. The usual cycle has districts turning to voters every third or fourth year.

By approving the levy, the owners of a home valued at $100,000 will pay an additional $20.13 per month, or about $241.50 per year.

On behalf of everyone in the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Schools, we thank the community for their support of Issue 32 and their recognition that the district has remained fiscally responsible over the last eight years, Superintendent Linda N. Reid said in a written statement.

We especially credit the citizens for realizing the need, even despite the postponed election due to the unprecedented coronavirus emergence.

The community understood the continued value of how a strong, successful and well-funded school district keeps a community strong. We thank our civic leaders for their endorsement, the many volunteers for their tireless drive and the community for their support.

Board of Education President Cassandra Jones said she understands what residents who are paying for the levy are going through due to the coronavirus crisis.

I want people to keep in mind that the decision to go forward with the levy by the district was definitely weighed before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Jones said. "So, I want people to keep that in mind.

"Unfortunately, considering the rules that are there as far as elections, once those dates are locked in, they are locked in. I dont believe you can retreat on those actions, but the numbers were there.

I think we serve a community that values public education, she said. So I do want to say thanks to every single player that has supported, objected, spoken in regards to, explained the pros and cons, and even expressed the concerns about their financial situation in choosing to support us in this endeavor.

"I do acknowledge that it could possibly be a hardship for many, especially more so now with the COVID situation now in place, but I appreciate the fact that people still believe in us, that they have allowed us to continue to do what we do, and I still say that we went this many years without a levy. Weve proven ourselves to be fiscally responsible, and I think they do trust us, over all.

I told a neighbor the other day that this board, and a lot of staff, do live, work and play in this community," she said, "so just as we are asking people to allocate their resources to support us, some of us are doing the same thing.

Jones said that some of what the levy money will go toward can already be seen. She mentioned that, with students now learning online from home, that the district has made sure every student has a Chromebook, even going to the point of delivering them to students who did not already have one.

We went into (a technological) area we didnt think wed have to go into, she said of the virus effects, so theres already an increase in technology.

Lyndhurst Mayor Patrick Ward was a big levy supporter, hosting a question-and-answer session with residents and district leaders Feb. 6 at the citys community center.

The superintendent, the board members, all of us are relieved, Ward said of the levys passage. "I think they made a good case for the need, and the voters responded to that.

"The impact of this current pandemic crisis, I dont know. I dont know how many people cast absentee ballots before March 17, before the full impacts of this were known."

Ward said he began to worry when the election was delayed because he felt there was a good momentum for passage going into the March 17 election.

I thought that, after everything that happened (because of the virus), people might say, I need to rethink this. But they didnt, and it passed by a comfortable margin," Ward said.

Our schools operate efficiently," he said. "We have confidence in our board and our superintendents leadership. We have a good communication between us, which is extremely helpful. And the students who are graduating from our system, I think were seeing a real good product, and I think that was well communicated to the community and they supported it.

Read more from the Sun Messenger.
This man seen leaving a Target store on Friday, April 17 is sought by police for allegedly carjacking a vehicle later that night at 17th and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, then allegedly striking and critically injuring Temple University student Emily Ocelus in a hit-and-run collision on the 1500 block of Willington Street. Read more

Philadelphia police released video Thursday of an alleged carjacker who they say critically injured a 21-year-old woman in a hit-and-run collision on April 17 in North Philadelphia.

The victim was identified by her family as Emily Ocelus, a Temple University student from Worcester Township, Montgomery County.

Its heartbreaking, Ocelus aunt Jennifer Kidwell said Thursday. The family has been unable to visit Ocelus at Temple University Hospital because of the coronavirus pandemic and has had to communicate with her via FaceTime, Kidwell said. Shes scared, shes traumatized, shes in extreme pain.

Police said the driver is believed to have been at a Target store earlier that day, based on a receipt found in the SUV he was first driving and video obtained from the store. The store video showed a man fitting the description of the carjacker entering with a woman, then both leaving with carts full of merchandise.

About 10 that night, police said, the man crashed the SUV into a car on 17th Street near Diamond. He then got out of his vehicle, as seen in the video released by police.

Police said the man then jumped into the back seat of a car driven by a 23-year-old woman, who had observed the accident in her rear-view mirror while on 17th. He ordered her to drive, but she refused, and he pushed her out of her car and drove away, police said.

While driving that vehicle, police said, he struck a pedestrian  Ocelus  several blocks to the south, on the 1500 block of Willington Street.

Police  who did not identify the pedestrian  said she suffered severe trauma to her legs, a broken pelvis, and a large cut to one leg, and was taken to the hospital, where she was in critical condition.

After hitting the pedestrian, the man drove away, but crashed the car a short while later in an abandoned lot on Smedley Street, then ran off, police said.

Kidwell, 47, of Pottstown, said her niece had her sixth surgery Thursday and should make a full recovery, but its not known how long she will have to stay in the hospital.

Ocelus, who graduated from Methacton High School, was living in an off-campus apartment near Temple, where she is a part-time business major, her aunt said. The family set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical and rehab expenses.

Anyone with information about the carjacker or the people seen in the store video is asked to call Detective Waring or Detective Callahan at Central Detectives, 215-686-3048, or the tip line at 215-686-TIPS (-8477).
NASA/JPL-Caltech

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a ventilator that NASA employees developed to treat COVID-19.

This FDA authorization is a key milestone in a process that exemplifies the best of what government can do in a time of crisis, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a news release. This ventilator is one of countless examples of how taxpayer investments in space exploration  the skills, expertise and knowledge collected over decades of pushing boundaries and achieving firsts for humanity  translate into advancements that improve life on Earth.
A man who allegedly held up a CBD gold dealer while wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a Glock pistol has been charged with staging one of the biggest armed robberies in Victorian history.

Armed Crime Squad detectives allege $3.9 million of gold bullion, jewellery and cash was discovered buried at a rural property near the Gippsland town of Dollar.

A man has been charged over an armed hold-up at the Melbourne Gold Company. Credit:Justin McManus

Karl Kachami, 48, from Hawthorn East, was charged on Thursday night with armed robbery, theft, false imprisonment, armed with criminal intent, common law assault and two counts of non-prohibited person in possession of a hand gun.

Mr Kachami, who has previously provided budget accommodation to backpackers in Fitzroy, is alleged to have entered a building at 227 Collins Street at 9.40am on Monday, before taking a lift to the seventh floor.
LUXEMBOURG, April 30, 2020and are available on Tenaris's website at ir.tenaris.com.



Tenaris has also filed today its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionand from Tenaris's website at ir.tenaris.com.

Holders of Tenaris's shares and ADSs, and any other interested parties, may request a hard copy of the 2019 reports, free of charge, through our website at ir.tenaris.com/tools/printed-materials .

Tenaris also published the convening notice for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 2nd, 2020, at 15:00. All materials for the meetings, which include the total number of shares of the Company and voting rights as of the date of the convening notice, the Shareholder Meeting Brochure and Proxy Statementor at the Company's registered office in Luxembourg. In addition, shareholders registered in the Company's registry can obtain electronic copies of these documents free of charge by sending an electronic message to the following electronic address: investors@tenaris.com .

Tenaris is a leading global supplier of steel tubes and related services for the world's energy industry and certain other industrial applications.

Giovanni Sardagna

Tenaris

1-888-300-5432

www.tenaris.com
Hi there! I work with Elsie, Emma and the team to manage our sponsorship program at A Beautiful Messwhich also means I get to work with our great brand partners, which I love. Before joining the ABM team, I worked at an advertising agency in Springfield, Missouri that gave me some great insights into how agencies work, which helps in my current role quite a bit. Sponsorships can be a scary word to use when talking about creating content, a lot of people are either scared of it or apprehensive of how people will respond to hearing somethings sponsored. This might make me sound crazy, but when I see sponsored content, one of the first things I think of is how cool is it that this brand has made a decision to support small businesses and a lot of small media companies (thats us, bloggers!!). Julie Blanner gave an amazing session at Haven last year about that mental shift and how companies are not only ran by amazing girl bosses, but they rely on sponsored content as a primary revenue source.

Part of why I wanted to share tips on how to work with brands is to be transparent so readers know how and why we do it, and why we appreciate it SO much when you are excited about it too. The overwhelming majority of the content we create at ABM is done at our own expense so that we can share it freely, which the team loves to do. Its because of our amazing brand partners that were able to support our business and continue to create that free content. So, although its important to pick authentic fits (spoiler alert: thats one of the tips below), sponsored content is something to be proud of and excited about. Below are three tips I wanted to share about finding, working with, and growing sponsorships.

1. Know your worth

Your content is worth something. Its one of a kind and unique. Knowing your worth is the first step to a positive relationship with brands. All brands have marketing budgets and are looking for ways to expand their reach. You can take a look at this post as an example on how ABM structured their first sponsorship program. Weve grown and adjusted since then as channels have grown, platforms diversified, and to respond overall to the growth of influencer marketing, but as a baseline or starting point, this formula is fantastic. Trey actually had my position before me and I will forever be grateful to him for how he started our sponsorship program! Regardless of your pageviews, followers, or impressions (although those are important), your content is worth something. Your engagement may be through the roof, you might have an audience that will buy anything you recommend  no matter what it is, know what unique value you can bring to a brand and dont be afraid to tell them! You could be exactly what theyre looking for.

2. Pick authentic fits

Sometimes we get offers from brands that we cant take. Im not saying Oh, look at the offers we get, by any means. What I mean by that is weve established guidelines around what types of brands we will and wont work with. One example is around our clean beauty guidelines. As a company, weve decided to make our best effort to only buy, support or promote clean beauty brands. Are we perfect? Of course not. Were always learning and growing. But, with that in mind, we wont accept a partnership from a beauty brand that has artificial fragrance in its ingredient list. Two rules of thumb we have for picking sponsors are: Is it a brand we already use in our homes? Or are we interested in this product/brand even if we havent tried them yet? Using those two as guidelines allows us to explore new and cool things that we may share with our readers (usually well ask for a sample or trial period before kicking off the campaign or fully executing a contract) or that we know we actually use or would or have bought on a regular basis.

Its also important from a brand standpoint (and this ties into my third tip) that brands love it when youre excited about their products. If you are genuinely a fan and think it would resonate with your audience, its a win-win-win. If its not something you would normally promote, the brand might get beautiful content out of it, but you could lose your reputation with your audience and the brand could see the disappointing engagement and feel taken advantage of, too.

3. Its all about relationships

One of the biggest things (that I think is easy to forget when working with brands) is that behind the other computer youre emailing a person. Maybe someone whose followed your blog for a long time, or just really thinks your content resonates with their campaign. Theyre typically excited about the partnership and to see what ideas you have to share their product! By remembering were all people working together for a common goal, sharing great content is not as intimidating. My biggest advice on this piece is to get everyone on the same page upfront. Have a kickoff call where you talk about the content idea and the expectations around how the brand will be integrated. That way, there are hopefully no surprises when it comes to execution and everyone stays excited and proud of the end result. If expectations are managed from the beginning, it goes a long way in building and maintaining great relationships and even friendships with the brands for which youre working on content.

Hope this helps you either in working with your sponsor partners or to understand a bit of what goes on behind the scenes for bloggers who do! We also recognize more people are looking for ways to earn a living or side income online through blogging or other social media platforms, so we wanted to offer up some tips that could hopefully be helpful. Thanks for reading! -Claire

Credits // Author: Claire Shaffer. Photo: Emma Chapman. Photo edited with A Color Story Desktop.
Doctors have urged people to maintain social distancing guidelines and stay at home over the long weekend.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) warned the public to continue to keep their guard up because this Covid-19 virus has not been beaten.

Speaking ahead of the bank holiday weekend, Dr Padraig McGarry, president of the IMO, said healthcare workers had huge appreciation for the sacrifices the public were making.

IMO urges public to keep vigilant ahead of the long weekend https://t.co/IBDKcWo95R  Irish Medical Organisation (@IMO_IRL) May 1, 2020

He added: As tough as it is to be apart from loved ones and friends for such a long period of time, we must remember that we are doing the right thing by keeping our distance from each other and following the guidelines of the Government and public health experts.

The extraordinary sacrifices that the public have made have had a huge impact and will not be forgotten.

However, we must continue to keep our guard up because this virus has not been beaten yet.

Every decision we make can be the difference between life and death and will have significant repercussions down the line.

Whether those repercussions are positive or negative depends on us all.

Dr McGarry said the virus could be overcome by maintaining the solidarity across Ireland.

A guide to social distancing alongside a statue of Christ on the grounds of the Church of Sacred Heart in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

The shockwaves from the virus will be felt in Ireland for a long time, and people need to prepare for the fact that a return to some kind of normality wont come overnight, but rather in planned phases, he added.

He urged people to stay at home over the long weekend, but also to seek medical help if they needed it.

He continued: Covid-19 has had a massive effect on us all, but other healthcare needs have not gone away because of it.

Our healthcare workers are still here providing assistance and treatment for a range of issues in a safe environment so make sure you get in touch with your GP or emergency services immediately if you experience any symptoms that concern you.
Spoiler alert, Josh Gad says he is totally in love with the promising idea of Ariana Grande playing Meg in the exciting upcoming "Hercules" live-action remake.

Ariana Grande has just recently belted out Meg's very own love ballad back on her appearance in ABC's "Disney Family Singalong," and Josh Glad, who obviously has quite the pull in the Disney universe, would definitely not be opposed to the thought of seeing her taking a full role on the big screen.

Although this sounds like exciting news, everything is still just speculation especially since the project was just recently announced.

Aside from Ariana Grande, it was also said that the filmmakers behind the blockbuster classic Avengers: Endgame will be the ones that nailed the roles of the director of this upcoming live-action remake.

Josh Gad on Ariana Grande

According to Josh Gad in his interview with Variety, "She would amazing as Meg, she would be perfect, I would love to see that happen," showing strong signs that he himself is very much interested in the concept of Ariana as Meg in Hercules.

Gad said that he was pretty good and that he felt like he definitely has a fair share of amazing projects to continue with the Walt Disney Company, but he does not yet want to personally take another role in a live-action remake of a classic animated movie.

Gad also pointed out that he would much rather prefer to cast Danny DeVito again since it seemed like the best option to him. Hercules is the latest Disney animated classic that has just recently been announced to be getting a new live-action remake.

Right after the previous The Jungle Book, Mulan, Aladdin, and of course, Beauty and the Beast, in which Gad himself stars at Le Fou.

Gad had also slipped right back into the character he once played in the amazing "Singalong," in which he performed a lively rendition of "Gaston" right alongside his partner in crime, Alan Menken and Luke Evans.

He has also slated the reprised role once again for the "Beauty and the Beast" prequel series which is currently in the works at Disney Plus. This should add to the lengthy credits all lined up under Gad's belt which even includes a certain snowman from no other than Frozen, and even the upcoming Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel.

Read Also: The Walt Disney Company Unveils New Baby Yoda, Black Panther Facemasks and More! Here's How to Pre-Order

What is known about the upcoming Hercules

All that's known about the latest re-telling of the most famous Greek mythological character's story is that Joe and Anthony Russo, the Avengers filmmakers, will be producing this through their very own AGBO production company.

Disney has also been reported to have hired The Expendables scribe Dave Callaham to be the one doing the pen on the film!

Aside from just Ariana Grande as Meg, fans can also expect an awesome action-filled film due to the directors involved which is something quite uncommon for the classical cartoon live-action remakes so far.

Read Also: Not Coronavirus: Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, and Jurassic Park Star Irrfan Khan Dies But Not From the Pandemic: Find Out More
OTTAWA

April 30, 2020

Canada

Canada

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Canada's

Canada

Canada

Once signed up, Get Updates on COVID-19 will send emails directly to Canadians any time there is an important information update on COVID-19. In every email, there will be a link to more information on Canada.ca/coronavirus.

During the first week of its testing phase, over 10,000 Canadians subscribed to Get Updates on COVID-19 on Canada.ca/covid19updates.

Canadians who choose not to register for the Get Updates on COVID-19 email notification service will still receive emergency notifications on their mobile phone through provincial and territorial Alert Ready text notifications or "Amber Alerts". The email service is separate from existing provincial and territorial emergency alerts.

The ArriveCan app is an alternative to paper forms and limits physical contact between travellers and Border Services Officers and Quarantine Officers. This helps to protect both the travellers and the officers.

The ArriveCan app will not be used to automatically track people's location through their phone or via GPS, nor is it a surveillance tool. The protection of Canadians' information is a priority for the Government of Canada , and any tool used to collect personal information undergoes a rigorous privacy assessment.

/CNW/ - COVID-19 is a global public health challenge that continues to evolve rapidly. The pandemic has greatly changed the daily lives of people around the world, including in, and in response, the Government ofis developing digital tools to keep Canadians safe and informed.Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, together with the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Digital Government and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, announced two new additions to the Government ofsuite of virtual tools to support the health and wellness of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.Get Updates on COVID-19 is a web-based email service that provides subscribers with critical information related to the pandemic. Developed by Health Canada, the Canadian Digital Service (CDS), and Service Canada, subscribers to the service will get emails directing them to important and authoritative content on the Government ofCOVID-19 website, Canada.ca/coronavirus.In addition, the ArriveCan app, developed in collaboration with the Public Health Agency ofand the Canada Border Services Agency, has been launched across the country. It allows travellers returning toto input their 14-day isolation or quarantine information quickly, easily and securely upon arrival. The app works by digitizing the information collected under the current paper form that travellers must complete. This required information includes flight or border crossing details, whether travellers are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, and whether they have quarantine accommodations.Get Updates on COVID-19 and ArriveCan will join the government's suite of digital tools, including the Canada COVID-19 mobile app, which features a symptom tracker, a self-assessment tool, and information on mental health and substance use support through the Wellness Together Canada portal. The app is free and available on Canada.ca/coronavirus and through the Apple App Store and Google Play."We continue to act to make sure Canadians have access to updated and accurate information on the virus. I encourage all Canadians to use the Canada COVID-19 mobile app and the other digital tools to stay informed, to check your symptoms and to find help if you feel unwell or unsure."The Honourable Patty HajduMinister of Health"The collaboration happening across government and with other sectors to bring forward innovative digital solutions, such as Get Updates on COVID-19, to help address the challenges our country is facing during the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. Today's announcement is yet another example of how we are supporting Canadians and improving access to important information and resources."The Honourable Joyce MurrayMinister of Digital Government"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been taking an all-of-government approach to creating solutions that help Canadians stay informed and remain healthy. The ArriveCan app is another example of how we are working together across government to find innovative ways to limit the spread of COVID-19."The Honourable Bill BlairMinister of Public Safety and Emergency PreparednessCanada COVID-19 mobile appCOVID-19 Self Assessment ToolGet Updates on COVID-19ArriveCan AppSOURCE Health Canada
[May 01, 2020] Data shows U.S. hospitals are losing $1.4B in daily revenue, due to patient volume decline

CHICAGO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospital patient volumes dropped dramatically and quickly since the end of February as both patients and doctors reprioritized or delayed normal services. According to data gathered by the Crowe Revenue Cycle Analytics (Crowe RCA) software, with the exception of those in New York City and San Francisco, health systems across the United States experienced an average decline in patient volume of 56% between March 1, 2020, and April 15, 2020. This equates to an estimated national decline of $1.44 billion in net revenue per day for hospitals with more than 100 beds. The Crowe report, "Hospital Volumes Hit Unprecedented Lows," looked further into this topic. Crowe is a public accounting, consulting and technology firm with offices around the world. The Crowe RCA solution captures every patient transaction for nearly 1,500 hospitals and more than 100,000 physicians nationally for purposes of automating hindsight, accounts receivable valuation and net revenue analyses. Within its benchmarking database, Crowe analyzed a portfolio including 45 states and comprising 707 hospitals within Medicaid-expansion states and 445 hospitals in non-expansion states, as of 2019. Crowe combines financial transaction information with 835/837 account-level data to produce comparative metrics. "Hospitals and governments prepared for a surge in patient volume to treat those infected with the novel coronavirus," said Brian Sanderson, managing principal of heathcare services at Crowe. "However, any possible surges that might have been expected due to COVID-19 patient volume appear to be dramatically offset by a significant decline in volume in all other areas."



According to the report, in a sample of hospitals in San Francisco, one of the earliest cities impacted by the pandemic, outpatient volume increased 35% over a two-week period, and inpatient volume increased 21% during the same period (versus historical volumes)  and then dramatically decreased. Nationally, the service mix impact is particularly remarkable. Currently, inpatient admissions are running more than 30% below norms (compared to January 2020). Emergency room visits are down 40%. Observation services are down 47%. Outpatient ancillary services are down 62%. And outpatient surgery volume is down 71%.

The report also shares findings from a few states. Although California has seen some hot spots of COVID-19 activity, overall patient volume is down 50%. Florida has seen overall patient volume drop 47%. Texas has seen overall patient volume drop 56%. And in Illinois, which has not yet seen the predicted surges of COVID-19 hospital care, overall patient volume is 59% below norms  driven by a 76% reduction in outpatient surgeries. According to Sanderson, each hospital's revenue recovery program likely will be unique, but all will need to address the following operational and clinical challenges: The average hospital will need to run at 110% of previous capacity for six months straight to recover this lost patient volume.

Pent-up demand for elective surgeries will require prioritization to make determinations such as whether clinically critical or highest-efficiency procedures should come first, and which specialties will retain operating room block time.

Furloughed employees might not all return or all return at once, despite the need for higher throughput.

Several revenue cycle processes have changed due to temporarily relieved requirements for authorizations, copay forgiveness and new rules regarding charge capture and telehealth.

Many patients will be hesitant to return to clinical settings unless reassured that the environment is free from contagious elements. "In many ways, America's hospitals are and will remain ground zero for the COVID-19 crisis," said Sanderson. "Despite government monetary relief and supply assistance, the economic effects of March and April 2020 will affect the operations of our healthcare system long after the curve flattens or dissipates." To download a copy of the report, please visit Hospital Volumes Hit Unprecedented Lows. About Crowe Revenue Cycle Analytics (Crowe RCA) benchmarking data

Nearly 1,500 hospitals and more than 100,000 physicians use the Crowe RCA solution to capture every patient transaction for purposes of automating hindsight, accounts receivable valuation and net revenue analyses. The benchmarking database spans 45 states and comprises 707 hospitals within Medicaid expansion states and 445 hospitals in non-expansion states as of 2019. About Crowe

Crowe LLP is a public accounting, consulting and technology firm with offices around the world. Crowe uses its deep industry expertise to provide audit services to public and private entities. The firm and its subsidiaries also help clients make smart decisions that lead to lasting value with its tax, advisory and consulting services. Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the best places to work in the U.S. As an independent member of Crowe Global, one of the largest global accounting networks in the world, Crowe serves clients worldwide. The network consists of more than 200 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 130 countries around the world. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/data-shows-us-hospitals-are-losing-1-4b-in-daily-revenue-due-to-patient-volume-decline-301050987.html SOURCE Crowe LLP

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Trump warned Saudis to cut oil production or lose US military support: Reuters

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 2:44 PM

US President Donald Trump had warned Saudi Arabia earlier in April that he would end American military support for the kingdom if Riyadh did not end its oil price war with Russia and cut production.

In a phone call on April 2, Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that unless his country started cutting oil production, he would be unable to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw US troops from the kingdom, Reuters reported Thursday, citing four sources familiar with the matter.

Trump told the Saudi ruler he was going to "cut them off" the next time Congress proposal a bill to end Washington's military support of the kingdom, according the source with knowledge of the call.

The US president also publicly threatened in early April to impose tariffs on oil imports from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The threat to suspend a 75-year strategic alliance between Washington and Riyadh has not been previously reported.

The crown prince was so shocked by Trump's threat that he ordered his aides to leave the room so he could continue the discussion in private, a US source who was briefed on the discussion told Reuters.

A senior US official told Reuters that the administration notified Saudi leaders that, without production cuts, "there would be no way to stop the US Congress from imposing restrictions that could lead to a withdrawal of US forces."

Trump delivered the message to bin Salman, the monarchy's de facto ruler, 10 days before OPEC and non-OPEC partners agreed to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June.

The fast-growing coronavirus pandemic has crushed demand for crude oil, decreasing the prices.

Despite the agreement to cut a tenth of global production, oil prices continued to fall to historic lows. US oil futures dropped below $0 last week as sellers paid buyers to avoid taking delivery of oil they had no place to store.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell towards $15 per barrel, a level not seen since the 1999 oil price crash, from as high as $70 at the start of the year.

Low prices have been wreaking a havoc with US shale industry which involves higher costs.

The week before Trump's phone call with bin Salman, US Republican Senators Kevin Cramer and Dan Sullivan had introduced legislation to remove all US troops and missile systems from the kingdom unless Saudi Arabia cut oil output.

Separately, a group of nearly 50 Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives signed a letter on April 8, warning the monarchy's de facto ruler of "reciprocal responses" if Riyadh refused to cut crude oil output.

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The authorities of



Barak Valley in Assam have joined hands with the All India Radio to impart audio lessons to students of classes 9 and 10 to minimise their academic losses.

Initially, students of Cachar and Hailakandi districts will be covered from May 3 to May 8 by the programme in which recorded lectures of teachers will be aired, an official release said here.

Barak Valley has another district, Karimganj, but the authorities have not announced anything for it so far.

"The educational broadcast will enable students to learn through the medium of radio while sitting in their homes. The idea behind the initiative is to engage the students and to reach out to them during the nationwide lockdown," Hailakandi Inspector of Schools Rajiv Kumar Jha said.

The radio classes are being initiated at the instruction of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) for students not having access to the internet or do not have smartphones, he added.

"The SEBA has already started information and communications technology (ICT) enabled distance learning programme covering the syllabus of secondary classes," Jha said.

He said teachers have been selected from Cachar and Hailakandi districts and they will be delivering lessons as per curriculum for the students of classes 9 and 10 through the radio from coming Sunday to Friday.

"The lessons will be aired on the All India Radio, Silchar, during day time for which time slots have already been specified by the station. Recorded lectures of government school teachers will be relayed and students can listen to them," he added.

The SEBA is exploring all options to reach out to students online and offline to minimise the academic loss due to coronavirus lockdown, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nine people have died and hundreds of families displaced as floods continue to wreak havoc in different parts of Nyanza, Western and Rift Valley.

The heavy rains pounding the region left five people dead in Bomet County, two in Bungoma, and one each in Trans Nzoia and West Pokot.

Three bodies of the victims have not been retrieved from Sisei and Kipsonoi rivers in Sotik and Konoin constituencies, respectively, in Bomet, where at least 200 families have been displaced.

"Two male adults suspected to have been drunk drowned while taking a bath at Kipsonoi river," said Mr Stanley Mutai, the Bomet senior county disaster management officer.

Mr Mutai said divers had been dispatched to retrieve the bodies in the Wednesday midday incident.

Governor Hillary Barchok said his administration will donate foodstuff and iron sheets to the affected families mostly in Chepalungu, Bomet East and Konoin constituencies.

In Bungoma, a sombre mood engulfed residents of Chetambe in Webuye East following the death of a young couple.

Mr Alex Wekesa, 23, and his eight-month pregnant wife, Rachel Nekesa, were found dead on Wednesday morning after their house was submerged following a landslide.

HOMELESS

Their bodies were found in the morning by Mr Bernad Wafula, Wekesa's brother.

In Trans Nzoai, a 22-year-old boda-boda rider was on Wednesday evening swept away as he crossed Samakoli River.

His uncle, Moses Tumwet Kiptegei, from Salama village said the incident happened at around 7pm.

Dan Kibet Ayeba's body was found Thursday morning at Cheptargei; it was taken to Kitale County Referral Hospital mortuary.

In West Pokot, a man drowned after his vehicle plunged into River Kotoruk on the Makutano-Kapkoris road in Kapenguria town.

The body of the man identified as Sammy Ruto, a Safaricom engineer, was found a few metres from the bridge early Thursday.

West Pokot deputy police boss Julius Kyumbule said the man was driving from Kapkoris heading to Makutano Township when he lost control.

Many families were also rendered homeless in Namanjalala, Kwanza, Trans Nzoia County, after River Sabwani broke its banks.

About 2,000 residents have been displaced while crops at Sabwani, Maliki, Marinda, Kobos and Buyanzi villages have been destroyed.

"We appeal to the government and well-wishers to come and assist us since we have lost everything," said Amos Waliaula.

RELIEF FUND

Across the border in Bungoma, 15 families in Likuyani have been rendered homeless after flood waters submerged their homes on Tuesday night. The water was flowing towards river Kipsangui.

The effects of the floods in the North and South Rift have also been felt further downstream in parts of Nyanza and Western, where Lake Victoria has swollen and broken its banks.

In what has been termed as one of the worst calamities to have hit the region in decades, over 8,000 people from Kisumu, Busia, Homa Bay, Siaya and Migori counties have been forced to flee their homes.

Kisumu has designated new evacuation centres after an estimated 32,000 people were affected.

In Homa Bay, more than 600 households in Kobuya and Wang'chieng locations in Rachuonyo North Sub-County have been displaced after River Miriu burst its banks.

Kenya Red Cross Secretary-General Asha Mohammed appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance on Wednesday, saying both food and non-food items were needed.

MISSING LOCALS

The Council of Governors will donate Sh9.4 million to cushion families affected by the landslides and floods.

"County governments have set up a fund in which every county will contribute Sh200,000 to support counties that are experiencing floods and landslides," Governor Oparanya said last week.

Elgeyo-Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos has urged the government to expedite the process of relocating people from the Kerio Valley escarpment.

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"The entire escarpment strip in West Pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties is a crisis in waiting. Our people have been over the years exposed to landslides and floods. The permanent solution for this crisis is a reclamation of the escarpment and relocation of people to safer grounds," Mr Tolgos said.

This comes as Rift Valley Regional Coordinator George Natembeya clashed with leaders from West Pokot over the move to call off the search for more than 20 people missing following the Chesegon landslide.

The leaders have said many people are still unaccounted for, but Mr Natembeya maintains that the exercise was concluded "after a through search along the width and breadth of the tragedy scene".

Mr Natembeya spoke on Wednesday when he visited victims of the tragedy who are recuperating at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

Reported by Brian Ojamaa, Gerald Bwisa, Oscar Kaikai, Titus Ominde, Onyango K'Onyango, Wycliffe Kipsang, Barnabas Bii, Vitalis Kimutai, Elizabeth Ojina, Dickens Wasonga, Victor Raballa, George Odiwuor and Justus Ochieng'.
Yesterday, armed protesters demonstrated against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home orders. They carried guns and demanded that state police let them on the House floor, effectively storming the Capitol with firearms in order to threaten their local politicians. This morning, Michigan representatives went to work wearing bulletproof vests  all because they chose to try and protect their citizens during an unprecedented pandemic.

Protests against lockdowns have become a common sight on national news. The protesters claim that they are fighting for workers, who are facing economic ruin because of social distancing and business closures. Even some left-wing outlets, like Jacobin, have suggested that they are motivated by "legitimate economic grievances."

But the protests are not about economics. They are about hate, and they are about power.

The right and the far-right are trying to use the Covid-19 crisis to rally support for the next election, to intimidate their opponents, and to delegitimize Democratic governments and the left. The goal of the protesters is not economic justice. It is right-wing hegemony. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous.

Many reporters have identified far-right infiltration and influence in the current round of protests. The Proud Boys, a far-right group dedicated to "Western chauvinism" and street violence, have taken part in protests in Florida and Portland, Oregon, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They've also been involved in Michigan protests. A man named Phil Robinson, whose Facebook page celebrates Norse Paganism and features white nationalist memes, has similarly whipped up fervor in Michigan over the past few days. Christian Yingling, quoted in a piece about the Pennyslvania protests, was a leader at the violent fascist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

Rally-goers have generally been fairly open about their right-wing sympathies. Many wear Trump MAGA hats. Confederate flags have been displayed at rallies across the country, including in Michigan, a union state. Tea Party groups have been heavily involved in protest organizing.

The protesters partisan affiliation is clear. But their economic commitments are much less so. They insist that they are trying to help working people by ending stay-at-home orders. But it doesn't take much thought to realize that forcing states to rescind orders in itself will not help working people.

As long as the virus is a serious danger, citizens are going to be reluctant to gather in large groups to attend restaurants, movies, festivals, or conventions. More, rescinding stay-at-home orders in many cases puts working people at greater risk.

If the state has shut down businesses, workers who are laid off can receive unemployment benefits. But when the state opens some businesses back up, workers must either return to work or lose benefits. When states are pushed by protesters to reopen while the virus is still rampant, workers have to choose between their health and economic ruin. Far from giving workers more power, the protests are designed to help bosses literally work their employees to death.

If protesters actually wanted to help workers, they would be demonstrating for larger government payments to individuals, more aid for small businesses, and more money for state and local governments. They would demand free healthcare, and a general moratorium on debt collection.

All of that would involve putting pressure on Trump and the Republican Party, because they are the main barriers to expanding aid. These are the people who reflexively reject measures that might give workers more power and more choices. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's main priority right now is a law to prevent workers from suing businesses that force them back to work unnecessarily during a deadly pandemic.

Protesters do not want to pressure Republicans, though, because they are Republicans themselves. Since Trump first began his run for the presidency in 2015, many commentators have claimed that his supporters are motivated by economic anxiety, and by a hatred of a status quo that has left them with fewer resources or options, economically left behind. This argument never held up to much scrutiny. But rarely has it looked so weak as now, when Trump supporters are actively fighting to expose poor people to disease, and doing nothing to hold Republicans accountable for blocking aid.

The protests are, in any case, not really about policy. They are about propaganda. The goal is to convince the news media that there is a broad consensus against stay-at-home orders, even though more than two-thirds of Americans support them. That is meant to boost Trump, who has claimed that Americans should go back to work sooner rather than later, because he believes (confusingly) that that will end the recession and boost him in the November election.

More than that, though, the protests are a way for mainstream and far-right groups to mingle and egg each other on. They want to take the anxiety caused by the crisis and channel it into conspiratorial, fact-free rage at the right's many enemies: China, New York, immigrants, or Democratic governors and elected officials. The right wants practice in enraging its loyalists to pick up guns and go out and terrorize people, not for any nameable cause, but simply in the name of rage itself.

We face real economic challenges right now, and there's a lot of reason to protest our government's handling of them. People are suffering; the government should help them. But the right-wing protestors in Michigan and elsewhere don't want to help people. They want to express anger, resentment and hate. They want to test boundaries and see if they can intimidate Democratic politicians into changing their stances. Those tactics, coupled with armed militias on our streets, look a lot like the beginnings of a fascist state.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 04:39:59|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday reiterated that the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 is "natural in origin."

Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told a virtual press conference from Geneva that scientists who are examining the genetic sequences of the virus have assured "again and again that this virus is natural in origin."

Answering a question from the press, Ryan said that for WHO the real question now is what the natural host for this virus is and how the animal human species barrier was breached.

"The purpose of the understanding is that we can put in place the necessary prevention and public health measures to prevent that happening again," he said.

Last month, the WHO said that all available evidence has suggested that the new coronavirus has an animal origin, and is not a virus "manipulated or constructed" in a lab or somewhere else.

WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib told a press conference on April 21 that there is certainly an intermediary host, another animal, that transmitted the disease from bats to humans.

"WHO is, as I said, a science-based organization, and we think the origin is animal," the spokesperson said, "It (the novel coronavirus) most probably has its ecological reservoir in bats, but how the virus came from bat to human is still to be seen, to be discovered."

She pledged that the WHO welcomes all countries to support efforts to find the origin of the virus, noting that several working groups, including Chinese experts, are very active trying to find the origin of this virus. Enditem
Co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates has provided a list of things that must be done to enable life return to normal again. Gates sai...

Co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates has provided a list of things that must be done to enable life return to normal again.





Gates said he is particularly excited about pursuing a new approach called RNA vaccine, with code needed to produce viral fragments on its own.





Gatess list contains what governments across the world must do if life is to go back to normal.





The billionaire businessman has been adding his voice, making suggestions on ways to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.





In an interview with White House Infectious disease expert Dr Fauci, on Thursday night, Gates listed four things that would help fight the pandemic.





The number one on his list is testing. Gates said that countries must improve and develop various strategies to advance current testing methods including at-home test kits.





The billionaire also said that contact tracing is key.





He said Germanys model of interviewing everyone who tests positive and using a database to make sure someone follows up with all their contacts would be useful. Gates suggested that technology may be more adept at this, such as apps that help you remember where youve been or using cell phones.





He mentioned effective treatment but noted that right now, there is no ready vaccine for the treatment for Covid-19, as other drugs like hydroxychloroquine have received a lot of attention but are still being studied.





Gates finally talked about getting a vaccine which many countries and companies around the world are working at break-neck speed to develop.





Talking about the RNA vaccine Gates explained, Unlike a flu shot, which contains fragments of the influenza virus so your immune system can learn to attack them, an RNA vaccine gives your body the genetic code needed to produce viral fragments on its own, So, once your body senses traces of the infection, it attacks it.
Ghana's Parliament has amended the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2015 to exempt withdrawals from third-tier provident funds and personal pension schemes from tax.

This is to cushion individuals who have lost their jobs or capital due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

This amendment in fiscal terms will amount to 639 million Ghana cedis if all funds are withdrawn under the given circumstances.

The house also approved a request to waive taxes on personal emoluments of health workers for April, May, and June and additional allowance for frontline health personnel for March, April, May, and June 2020.

A Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare briefed the house on government's rationale for these policy decisions.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some economic challenges for businesses. Some sectors of the economy have suffered losses which may lead to some employees being laid off permanently and the folding up of businesses of some self-employed businesses. Such persons may require funds to sustain themselves.

One ready source of funds will be contributions to the third tier provident funds and personal pension schemes. Mr. Speaker, withdrawals from the third-tier and personal pension schemes before retirement are however subject to tax if they are withdrawn before 10 years by contributors in the formal sector and before five years by contributors in the informal sector. Mr. Speaker, the government has decided to exempt such withdrawals from tax for employees who lose their jobs permanently or whose businesses collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Exemptions will be equivalent to 15 percent to the withdrawals.

But Ranking Member on Parliament's Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson says the government should extend a similar gesture to SSNIT contributors to attain some relief amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

There is something all of us must understand and find a clever way to make sure this happens. Mr. Speaker, as we speak, the government owes SSNIT some money. The government can decide to pay SSNIT and ask SSNIT to be able to take up that mandate. Government alone as a state cant take up the responsibility of paying the wages and salaries of private-sector workers. It cant.

There are several ways the government can engineer and do this. One of the ways for us to encourage SSNIT to take up the burden of contributors is by paying some lump sum to contributors in times like these when businesses are struggling. It will be prudent for all of us to reconsider and debate this and encourage asset to come to before us with an amendment law to enable pensioners and contributors to withdraw some monies to support their businesses.

Paying contributors tokens would be illegal -SSNIT

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) poured water on the National Democratic Congress flagbearer, John Mahama's request for the trust to support contributors with some money because of the hardship brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Mahama said SSNIT contributions are not only meant for pensioners but also works as a form of insurance to cushion members from difficult times such as COVID-19 hence his call.

Social security contributions are essentially an insurance scheme made not just for pensions in old age before we die. They are also made to help contributors in times of adversities such as this. Not all will come out and queue for food, but as has been done in other countries like St. Lucia, I think a token payment to all contributors of a certain token sum over three months would have afforded many the assurance of feeding their families during this abnormal times, he said.

But SSNIT in a statement noted that such support as suggested by Mr. Mahama would be illegal.

The benefits His Excellency is suggesting that we pay do not exist in law. To do so will constitute an illegality and a contravention of the provisions of the National Pensions Act, 2008, Act 766.

SSNIT also stated that the Trust is a creature of law emanating from the National Pensions Act, 2008, Act 766 which governs the administration of SSNIT and all other pension schemes in the country.

---citinewsroom
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Even before a novel virus swept around the world, Anna Davis Abel wore a mask to protect herself from getting sick.

The 25-year-old writer lives with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that makes her more susceptible to catching a virus or an infection. Davis Abel's doctor cleared her to travel to a literary conference in San Antonio in early March. Then she developed a sore throat and low-grade fever several days after arriving home in Morgantown, W.V.

Consulting a nurse on the phone, Davis Abel was told to manage her symptoms at home. But her symptoms only worsened, so she secured an appointment with her primary care doctor.

"At that point, I was, like, taking shot glasses of Sudafed," she said.

Given the spread of the coronavirus and a chronic condition that left her vulnerable to a more serious case of COVID-19, she was concerned she'd been infected. To find out, her doctor first ordered tests to evaluate whether Davis Abel's symptoms were caused by some other respiratory disease. According to the doctor's notes in her medical record, "we needed to rule out all other viral possibilities before being eligible for the COVID-19 test."

"Unfortunately at this time, COVID-19 testing is very limited and is not widely available to most patients," the record noted.

Davis Abel tested positive for influenza Type B.

Then the bill came.

The Patient: Anna Davis Abel is a 25-year-old graduate student studying creative writing at West Virginia University in Morgantown. She is insured through an Aetna plan the university offers.

Total Amount Billed: WVU Medicine charged Davis Abel $2,121 for the visit and testing, according to records. Aetna initially paid $1,584.54 for these services. Abel was responsible for the copay, the remaining amount of her deductible and a coinsurance cost of 20%. In total, she owed $536.46.

The Providers: Davis Abel visited the WVU Healthcare University Town Centre clinic for her primary care appointment. A laboratory within the WVU health system processed her testing for respiratory disease. Both sites were in-network for her plan.

Medical Services: A BioFire Respiratory Panel was used to test a specimen collected from the back of Davis Abel's nose and throat for more than a dozen respiratory diseases.

What Gives: Congress has taken action to make COVID-19 testing more affordable for consumers with health insurance.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires private insurers to pay for certain services and items related to testing at no cost to the patient. A second piece of legislation, known as the CARES Act, expanded the number of tests and services insurers must cover at no cost. The latter law also requires health plans to reimburse out-of-network providers for their services. However, experts said, there are gaps in these federal protections that may expose patients to unexpected medical bills.

The guidelines state that insurers are required to cover the cost of an appointment without cost sharing only if the doctor orders or administers a COVID-19 test. Even if the patient shows symptoms and receives other care related to the novel virus, without a test the patient may be on the hook for the cost of the visit, said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University.

"They're getting a battery of other tests," said Corlette. "But because there's not enough (COVID-19) tests, they can't get this protection."

A national shortage of COVID-19 tests complicates a patient's ability to qualify for the federal safeguard. Despite efforts by the federal government and the private sector, some resources needed to increase testing remain scarce, said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.

This reality means some medical providers, like Davis Abel's doctor, must rule out other respiratory diseases before ordering a COVID-19 test, leaving some patients with a difficult choice. Do they seek medical attention and risk a high medical bill? Or do they forgo care altogether?

A second hole in these federal protections may leave patients holding the bill for their COVID-19 test, experts said. The law prohibits insurers from charging patients for testing, but it does not block medical providers from doing so. If an insurer does not cover the total amount charged by a provider, the patient may get balance-billed, or slapped with a surprise charge.

Guidance from the federal Department of Health and Human Services says that that should not happen because almost any patient can be considered at risk for COVID-19 right now, but it's unclear if or how that will be enforced.

Davis Abel's appointment was on March 11, making her ineligible for the protections offered by the federal laws. By then, however, Aetna had pledged to cover COVID-19 testing without cost sharing. The hospital system then sent Davis Abel a bill for the remaining amount.

WVU Medicine declined to comment on the case.

It's unlikely Davis Abel is the only patient getting charged for care, according to Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Pollitz said insured consumers may get dinged with a bill if they get care from an out-of-network provider even though the federal protections also require insurers to cover that cost.

Consumers may find protection from these bills through a requirement attached to federal relief funding for medical providers. Health care facilities that receive any of the $100 billion from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund are not allowed to balance-bill patients for COVID-19 treatment. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

Resolution: Aetna retroactively covered Davis Abel's bill from the hospital after reporters made inquiries. In a statement, the insurer said it is waiving claims after receiving information from her provider that the services were related to COVID-19 testing.

It also said Davis Abel represents a "unique" case and is not aware of whether other members have submitted claims for services they needed to obtain a COVID-19 test. The insurer said it would waive additional testing related to the novel virus if the provider deemed those services necessary.

Before Aetna took action, two strangers read Davis Abel's story on Twitter and sent her the full amount for the bill. She used the donations to help pay for a medical bill from a previous procedure.

Nearly 10 days after her appointment, Davis Abel received a drive-thru COVID-19 test offered by the same clinic. Her primary care doctor, who ordered the test, said in an email to Davis Abel that new data suggested patients could fall ill with the coronavirus and the flu at the same time.

Davis Abel's fever and coughing had not subsided. Eight days after the test, she received her result. Negative for COVID-19. She did not pay for the test.

The Takeaway: Experts recommend that insured patients educate themselves about their health care plan. Seek care at an in-network provider whenever possible. Call the insurer to find out exactly what COVID-19 care it covers. Several insurance companies have pledged to waive cost sharing for treatment.

Uninsured consumers may be able to get a free COVID-19 test several ways, Pollitz said. One way is to visit an outpatient testing area at a facility that received relief fundingthe law bars the provider from balance-billing patients for care related to the coronavirus.

Another option is through Medicaid. States may now use the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled to cover the cost of testing uninsured residents who qualify.

A third way consumers could receive a free COVID-19 test is through the National Disaster Medical System. That network of health care providersgenerally activated in response to an emergencytreats patients and then charges the federal government for their services, said Pollitz. However, she acknowledged, it may be difficult to find a provider who participates in the program.

"The problem right now is the supply of them," Sara Collins, vice president for health care coverage and access at the Commonwealth Fund, said about COVID-19 tests. "But once that changes, people need to be confident that they're not going to be stuck with a big bill."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

2020 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Mr Koshyari must uphold his constitutional responsibility to facilitate the government elected by the people and not destabilise it using his discretionary powers. File photo

Maharashtra, which is struggling to stymie the onslaught of Covid-19, is also staring at a political crisis. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, sworn in on November 28 despite not being a member of the state legislature, must become one before May 28 lest his government come crashing down, paving the way for Presidents rule.

Mr Thackeray owes his precarious position to two factors: the vicious coronavirus pandemic, which nobody had foreseen, and governor Bhagat Singh Koshyaris indecision regarding a recommendation sent by the state Cabinet to nominate Mr Thackeray as a member of the legislative council from the governors quota. Mr Koshyaris inaction on the Cabinets recommendation only helps the Bharatiya Janata Party, which suggests that the governor is not acting as a non-partisan.

Article 164(4) of the Constitution states that a minister, who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the legislature, shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a minister. In Mr Thackerays case, the period ends on May 28. Earlier, he was planning to get elected to one of the nine legislative council seats, falling vacant on April 24. However, that is not possible now, as the Election Commission of India has suspended all elections due to the pandemic.

As per convention, the Maharashtra governor nominates 12 members to the legislative council based on the recommendation of the state council of ministers. Former governor K. Sankaranarayanan had appointed 12 members in June 2014, as recommended by the then Congress-NCP government.

However, two of those members resigned from the council before the 2019 elections and joined the BJP. Now, the present state Cabinet has recommended that Mr Thackeray be nominated to one of these vacant seats.

The governor may reject the Cabinet decision citing Section 151 A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, which states that there is no need to hold a by-election for a seat for which the remainder of tenure is less than one year. However, Mr Thackerays is an extraordinary case as elections have been suspended in the country. Even if Mr Koshyari accepts the Cabinets recommendation, Mr Thackeray would remain a legislator for just over a month and will have to again be elected to the state legislature. But that problem can be addressed when it arises. Right now, Mr Koshyari must help resolve the looming uncertainty in the state.

As per the Article 74 of the Constitution, if the Union Cabinet sends a recommendation to the President and he does not agree with it, he can send it back once to the Cabinet to reconsider its decision. But if the Cabinet sends the same recommendation to the President after reconsideration, the President has to accept it. The same law should be applied to the relationship between the governor and state government. Even assuming nominating members to the legislative council from the governors quota is his discretionary power, that power must be used in the larger interest of the people.

Maharashtra is facing its biggest challenge in fighting the coronavirus. The state has reported the highest number of cases and deaths. In such a situation, political instability is the last thing the state needs. Mr Koshyari must uphold his constitutional responsibility to facilitate the government elected by the people and not destabilise it using his discretionary powers.
YEREVAN.  Zhoghovurd daily of Armenia writes: The [new] national security strategy [of Armenia] is in its final stage, it will be presented to the public in the coming months. This was reported by the office of the Security Council in response to a written inquiry from the Zhoghovurd daily.

And here, the office of the Security Council informs that the mentioned terms are also connected with the current state of emergency in Armenia due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. As it is known, by the decision of July 16, 2019, the Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan had to present the new strategy within a year.

The office of the Security Council also informs: "One of the features of this strategy is that it is based on a national approach to planning and ensuring national security.

Thus, the strategy includes foreign political and military, as well as othersocial, economic, energy, healthcare, scientific, information, and cybercomponents for ensuring security."
Getty

Its the question on every sweatpants-clad telecommuters mind, right after What should I have for lunch? and Will I get laid off soon?

Can people lucky enough to have jobs but stuck working at home during the pandemic catch a break on rent and utilities for what now amounts to their office?

The answer is complicated, at least if youre talking about tax breaks. (The Daily Beast previously examined state and national policies around rent, evictions, and foreclosures here.)

In the past, employees could deduct unreimbursed expenses incurred on the job from their annual tax returns. That changed with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which eliminated many federal-level write-offs, though a number of statesincluding New York, California, and Pennsylvaniahave preserved them in their own codes.

But theres an easy solution, according to accountant Robert Russo, who runs a firm bearing his name in Manhattan: Get your employer to cover them.

Fox Hydroxychloro-Queen Laura Ingraham Trashes Promising New Treatment

That may not be feasible for many workers whose companies are struggling during a pandemic recession, but it has tax advantages of its own, both for the worker and corporate.

For employees, the best thing to do is work up a reimbursable allowance, Russo told The Daily Beast. It's not income for you, and it's a deduction for the company.

Those who find themselves freelancing, possibly due to a recent change in their employment situation, have more options. For instance, unlike people on payroll, they can write off some of the expenses associated with their residence.

But, as Russo explains, that means actually establishing a distinct section of your house or apartment where you worka legit home office. The Internal Revenue Service wont let you get away with claiming the couch where you also watch TV or the table where you eat dinner. And forget about your mattress.

Its an area that can be clearly delineated to the IRS, he said. You need to reconfigure your home so you have a separate space.

Story continues

The accountant said he asks clients to draw their pads floor plan and identify which part they use exclusively for work purposes. They can then deduct a proportionate amount of their rent, utilities, insurance, and even hired cleaning servicesthough the latter may not be on many peoples budgets right now, for pandemic reasons.

Historically, some self-employed people have feared taking this deduction would trigger an audit. Russo, however, asserted such concerns are overblown.

If an independent contractor wants to reduce their odds of an audit even further, he suggested they form an S corporation, a business structure that is not taxed separately from the income of its owner. The founder of the new firm (that is, the self-employed person) puts themselves on the payroll of this entity, pays themselves a salary out of its revenues, and can bill the corporation to reimburse the cost of running their home office. That cost becomes a deductible business expense.

Further, with a home office, previously non-deductible commuting costs can become travel expense write-offseven if the travel right now is largely confined to, say, a short trip to a job site.

The 2017 tax law also allows the self-employed to write off a full fifth of their profit or taxable income, whichever is smaller. This qualified business income deduction is available to individuals making less than $163,300 a year and joint filers with an income beneath $326,600. But while many states mirror the U.S. tax code, severalincluding New York, California, Virginia, and Wisconsindid not adopt this deduction, meaning independent operators living in those may only claim it on their federal returns.

Those who have seen the recession upend their life, remaking them as contractors, may also convert personal devicesa desk, a chair, phones, computers, printers, tablets, and other electronicsto professional use and write off their current value.

But with all these options comes a central responsibility that dates long before the novel coronavirus ever reared its head: maintaining careful files of relevant documents and receipts. After all, sooner or later, the taxman will, in fact, come.

Never be afraid to take a legitimate deduction, Russo said. You just need to be prepared. You need to keep track of your records.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Soyo  National Police Commander, Commissioner-General Paulo de Almeida, has been since Thursday morning in the municipality of Soyo, northern Zaire province, to assess the readiness of the personnel deployed along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Speaking to the press, the police high ranking officer said that the visit is meant to assess security at the fluvial (river Zaire) and maritime borders, which are illegal entry points for many citizens from DRC.

Paulo de Almeida made reference to some measures adopted by the authorities in this exceptional regime.

They include the closure of land and river borders with neighbouring countries to halt the spread of covid-19 in the country.

He has already had a meeting with the members of the corporation in the region, and this afternoon he should visit some border posts along the river channel with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zaire province shares 310 kilometers of border with the DRC, 120 kilometers of land border and 190 kilometers of river border, across the Zaire river.
Spotify has been accused of stealing trade secrets from VoxTonePRO, a Canadian company specializing in online audio branding, in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

This is a case about a big business stealing from a small business, the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, said.

The lawsuit claims Spotify copied VoxTonePROs platform allowing advertisers to make affordable audio spots. The two companies had a number of meetings between 2016 and 2017, the lawsuit said, and that Spotify suggested a partnership between the two companies could be in the works, if they have access to VoxTonePROs technology. Spotify later dropped its talks with VoxTonePRO in May 2017 and launched Spotify Ad Studio, its automated platform for creating cheap ads, later that year.

Also Read: 'This American Life' Episodes Finally Come to Spotify

Before [Spotify] had meetings with VoxTonePro, Spotify had no system for self-service voiceover ad creation, the lawsuit said. But after several meetings with VoxTonePRO  during which it learned details of VoxTonePROs platform and led VoxTonePRO to believe that a partnership was coming  Spotify scrambled to launch a platform just like VoxTonePros. Having gotten what it wanted from VoxTonePRO, Spotify brushed VoxTonePRO aside.

Spotify did not immediately respond to TheWraps request for comment.

VoxTonePRO is seeking an unspecified amount in damages; the lawsuit claims the company is entitled to recover compensatory damages, including opportunity costs and exemplary damages in an amount to be proven at trial.

The lawsuit claims approximately 30% of Spotifys total ad revenue by mid-2019 stemmed from trade secrets stolen from VoxTonePRO.

Earlier this week, Spotify reported revenue of about $2 billion for the first quarter. The streaming heavyweight now has 130 million paying customers, following Q1.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Read original story Spotify Stole Trade Secrets to Develop Its Ad Platform, Lawsuit Claims At TheWrap
Melissa Valenzuela's body was found days after she was reported missing by her family on March 20. (Mesa Police)

4 Arizona Women Arrested After Missing Mom Is Found Dead: Officials

Four women were arrested for kidnapping an Arizona woman who was found dead several weeks ago, according to authorities.

Melissa Valenzuela, 34, was found dead on March 23, or about a week after she was seen at her home in Mesa. Mercedes Gomez, Christina Gomez, Melissa Servin, and Nadine Chavez were arrested in connection with her death.

The four women each face federal kidnapping charges, officials said, KNPX reported.

Valenzuelas family reported her missing by her family on March 20 and was last seen three days before that with Christina Gomez and Mercedes Gomez, said court documents obtained by the news outlet.

Her body was found three days later. Authorities ruled it a homicide.

Mercedes Gomez, Christina Gomez, Melissa Servin, and Nadine Chavez (Maricopa County Sheriffs Office)

Witnesses reported seeing a woman who appeared to be in distresses at a home on the day Valenzuela was seen last, AZFamily reported.

One witness allegedly told officials they saw Chavez, Christina Gomez, Servin, and other females pushing or dragging the female victim, who was screaming for help and for someone to call 911 into Chavezs home, said a police statement obtained by People magazine.

The witness said someone from the group covered the victims mouth and they forced the victim into the residence, the statement added.

Witnesses reported women cleaning up outside the residence, and that there was a fight that led to her death, authorities said in a police report.

Valenzuelas family issued a statement about her death.

We are very grateful for the Mesa Police Departmenttheir time and commitmentbecause without their hard work we would not have these arrests. We continue to pray that the justice system will, in fact, serve justice to Melissa. To anyone with information, and to the women who have already been arrested, there is grace in salvation for you in doing the right thing and telling the truth, the statement read, KPNX reported.

Her family told KPNX that she was a mother of three sons.

She was so loved, her sister, Jessica Valenzuela, told news outlets. She loved spending time with the family, she was so happy and so funny and she smiled all the time.

Her sister added: Shell never see her sons prom, shell never meet her grandkids, and she looked forward to all those things.

Reports have said that the four suspects are due in court on Monday.

Police have not said where Valenzuelas body was found. They also didnt elaborate on the cause of death.
It looks like Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas' love is the real deal.

In honor of her 32nd birthday on Thursday, the Knives Out star took to Instagram to not only thank her 2.8 million followers for the well-wishes, but to make her relationship with the A-lister very, very official.

Ana shared a series of snapshots from what looks like an intimate, desert getaway she and Ben took in honor of her special day.

"Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and love! Cheers to another great year," she captioned the post.

In addition to a scenic selfie, Ben snapped photos of the Cuban-Spanish star enjoying a chocolate cake and a room filled with birthday balloons.

Why Ben Affleck Was Ready For Another Shot at Love

Ana and Ben, 47, were first romantically linked early last month when they visited her hometown of Havana, Cuba. They've since explored their budding romance on a vacation in Costa Rica and have lately enjoyed some downtime in Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Ben and Ana are quarantined at his house, where they have been together since returning from Costa Rica," a source recently told E! News. "They have a simple daily routine which includes walking Ana's dog and ordering food... Every other day, Ben has been visiting his kids and Ana stays behind at the house."

Happy birthday to Ana! Check out more photos from her birthday trip above.
Nearly 900 people at a Tyson Foods pork plant in Indiana have tested positive for coronavirus and more than 120 cases have been reported at Triumph Foods beef factory in Missouri.

The latest tally of infections add to what has already become a mounting meat crisis across the United States as dozens of processing plants have closed or reduce production due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

So far, about 20 meat plant workers have died of coronavirus during the pandemic and a further 6,500 have fallen ill.

At the Tyson Food plant in Logansport, Indiana, 890 of the 2,200 workers - about 40 percent of employees - have tested positive for coronavirus in less than a week.

The pork processing plant has been shut for 14 days in a bid to curb the spread after employees started testing positive.

Meanwhile 126 workers at the Triumph Foods beef plant in St Joseph, Missouri have now tested positive for coronavirus.

The latest infections add to what has already become a mounting meat crisis across the United States as dozens of processing plants have been forced to close or reduce production due to COVID-19 outbreaks and supermarket shelves are stripped bare

Some of the largest slaughterhouses and processing plants across the United States have been forced to close in recent weeks due to outbreaks among workers. Others plants have slowed production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick

The local health department started testing all of the more than 2,200 workers at the plant after 92 asymptomatic employees tested positive. A further 32 employees who were experiencing symptoms have now tested positive and they are waiting for results for 1,500 others.

That Missouri beef plant still remains open amid the outbreak.

Cases at a JBS beef facility in Greeley, Colorado have doubled from 120 to 245 in just three days after it reopened this week following a two-week shutdown after an outbreak. A sixth employee at the facility has now died, according to a union official.

Some of the largest slaughterhouses and processing plants across the United States have been forced to close in recent weeks due to outbreaks among workers.

Others plants have slowed production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick.

The temporary closures across the country has stoked global fears of a meat shortage amid the coronavirus pandemic as farmers are forced to cull livestock because they're running short of space to house animals.

John H. Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods, said this week that the food supply chain was 'breaking' and warned of the potential for meat shortages as a growing number of plant closures have left farmers with fewer options to market and process livestock.

'There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed,' he said.

'In addition to meat shortages, this is a serious food waste issue. Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation.'

INDIANA: Almost half of the employees - nearly 900 - at the Tyson Food plant in Logansport, Indiana have now tested positive for COVID-19. Photo courtesy of WPTA

MISSOURI: 126 workers at the Triumph Foods beef plant in St Joseph, Missouri (above) have now tested positive for coronavirus. The local health department is testing all of the more than 2,200 workers at the plant. Photo courtesy of KQTV

IS MEAT FROM AFFECTED FACTORIES SAFE TO EAT? Experts agree that there is little to no risk of contracting coronavirus from food, even from meat packing plants affected by worker outbreaks. Coronavirus is transmitted mostly through close contact with contagious individuals. 'Currently there is no evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 associated with food,' the USDA said in a statement. The FDA says: 'We want to reassure consumers that there is currently no evidence of human or animal food or food packaging being associated with transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.' As well, coronavirus is known to be quickly killed at temperatures above 135 degrees. Cooking meat according to instructions should kill any harmful pathogens present. Advertisement

President Donald Trump took executive action this week when he ordered meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing infections and the impact on the nation's food supply.

The order uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves that are already being stripped bare across the country.

The executive order, released Tuesday, said the closure of just one large beef processing plant could result in 10 million fewer individual servings of beef in a day.

It immediately drew backlash from unions that said the White House was jeopardizing lives and that at-risk workers required more protection.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said earlier this week that 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the US have died of the virus.

An estimated 6,500 are sick or have been exposed while working near someone who tested positive, the union said.

One Tyson employee, a Texas woman in her 30s, wrote in Medium post that Trump was sacrificing lives for profit.

'He says we're part of critical infrastructure, that we're essential workers. Well, I don't feel critical. I don't feel essential. I feel sacrificial,' she wrote.

'This is about money. This is what they're always telling us: If the production chain stops for a minute, the company loses $700,000.

'This is about how if Tyson had to close to handle the virus, they would have to pay us while we stayed home.

'It's not about the food supply chain.

'We have enough meat in America to last us a couple weeks, or a month. People could also just not eat bacon burgers for a little bit. Tyson could clean out the plant and make sure the workers were healthy. This is about money.'

'I'm not naive, but it's hard to accept that to Tyson corporate, we are completely replaceable. If I died today, there'd be somebody in my job tomorrow. To my loved ones, I am not replaceable.'

Many stores - including this Ralphs in California - have brought in policies limiting the number of products each customer can buy to prevent hoarding and keep stocks up, but still gaps have appeared on shelves

The temporary closures across the country has stoked global fears of a meat shortage amid the coronavirus pandemic as farmers are forced to cull livestock. Pictured above is Brooklyn, New York

Meat prices have soared and store owners have limited the number of products each customer can buy in order to keep products on the shelves, but stocks have still run empty (pictured, a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York)

The crisis is set to get worse despite Donald Trump using the Defense Production Act to force processing plants to keep going, with supplies running lowest in late May (pictured, a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York)

The world's biggest meat companies, including Smithfield Foods and Tyson Foods, have halted operations at about 20 of its slaughterhouses and processing plants as the pandemic continues.

It is unclear how soon meat processing plants may reopen.

The companies say they are checking workers' temperatures, working with local health officials and taking other steps to prevent the spread of the virus.

Following various outbreaks at its facilities, Tyson has temporarily suspended operations at its pork plants in Waterloo and Perry in Iowa and in Logansport, Indiana. It has also idled its beef facilities in Pasco, Washington and Dakota City, Nebraska.

The company is completing cleaning at those facilities and screening its workers for the virus.

Virginia-based Smithfield, which is owned by China's WH Group Ltd, has closed its plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, indefinitely after an outbreak infected 853 workers there.

The company has also temporarily shuttered plants in Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Smithfield Foods tells judge it needs more 'flexibility' on coronavirus guidelines because staff need to work close together as plant workers refuse to go back to work while the US faces meat shortages

The world's largest pork producer told a judge in Missouri on Thursday that it needs more flexibility in their attempts to comply with federal workplace coronavirus guidelines - such as social distancing - because they need staff to work side by side.

The comments from a lawyer for Smithfield Foods came as a judge weighed whether to issue a mandatory injunction requiring the company's meat plant in Milan, Missouri, to abide by federal guidelines.

The lawsuit, filed by a worker identified only as Jane Doe, accuses the Virginia-based company of not doing enough to protect workers.

The world's largest pork producer told a judge in Missouri on Thursday that it needs more flexibility in their attempts to comply with federal workplace coronavirus guidelines - such as social distancing - because they need staff to work side by side

The worker's attorney, David Muraskin, told the judge that the pork processing plant is not requiring workers to stand 6 feet apart, is using 'small, flimsy' plexiglass to separate workers in break rooms, and is not performing adequate testing for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

US District Judge Greg Kays offered no timetable Thursday on when he would issue a ruling in the Missouri case. Kays earlier issued a preliminary order telling Smithfield to follow guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Milan is in a remote area of northern Missouri. While hundreds of meat plant workers across the country have tested positive for the coronavirus, Sullivan County, where Milan is located, has no confirmed cases, according to the state health department. But Muraskin said the 'risk of harm' merits the injunction.

During the court hearing, Muraskin also cited concerns that Smithfield is paying sick leave only to workers who have tested positive for the virus and are quarantined, while CDC guidance calls for workers with symptoms to stay home.

'They believe they can pick and choose which CDC guidelines to follow,' Muraskin said.

Smithfield attorney Alexandra Cunningham told the judge that the company is doing everything it can to protect workers, consistent with OSHA and CDC guidelines. But she said addressing issues like social distancing 'requires a level of judgment' that has some flexibility.

'We are doing what we can as fast as we can,' Cunningham said.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Normandy Four countries, the need to provide the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with an unlimited access to the occupied territories was emphasized.

"We also paid attention to the challenges that the coronavirus pandemic poses to address both the safety and health of citizens in the occupied territories. It was repeatedly emphasized that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and the International Committee of the Red Cross should be provided with a full and unconditional access to the occupied territories to effectively fulfill the tasks assigned to them," Kuleba said at an online briefing following the ministerial conversation.

According to him, the foreign ministers mainly discussed security issues.

"And this once again demonstrates that any political discussion in the Normandy format is based on the principle of "security first." This is a fundamental principle, and we do not plan to backtrack from it," Kuleba explained.

In addition, the minister added that the issues of a socio-economic nature were discussed, in particular, how people from the occupied territories can receive pensions.

"I informed about the measures taken by the Ukrainian government to ensure that people from the occupied territories have access to pensions. And we emphasized once again that these issues should be resolved in accordance with the Minsk agreements exclusively in the legal field of Ukraine. This is very important," Kuleba said.
There has been a significant increase in cybercrime against women, especially sextortion, during the COVID-19-induced lockdown with "caged criminals" targeting them online, say experts.

The nationwide lockdown imposed from March 25 to April 14, and then extended to May 3, aims at preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus that has claimed 1,147 lives and infected 35,043 people in the country.

According to National Commission for Women (NCW) data, 54 cybercrime complaints were received online in April in comparison to 37 complaints received online and by post -- in March, and 21 complaints in February. The panel is taking complaints online due to the lockdown.

Cyber experts, however, said the numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

"We received a total of 412 genuine complaints of cyber abuse from March 25 till April 25. Out of these, as many as 396 complaints were serious ones from women, (and these) ranged from abuse, indecent exposure, unsolicited obscene pictures, threats, malicious emails claiming their account was hacked, ransom demands, blackmail and more," said the founder of the Akancha Foundation, Akancha Srivastava.

The organisation works for education and empowerment of people by imparting knowledge on cyber safety.

Srivastava said on an average she has been getting 20-25 such complaints daily, while before the lockdown the number was less than 10 per day. This is a "significant" increase, she said.

"This is just the frustration and anger that is coming to the fore as there is no other release right now. This is a form of frustration as they (cyber criminals) are caged right now," she said.

"Men are morphing images and threatening women. There is a whole racket going on where women are getting these emails that your phone and laptop has been hacked, and if you don't deposit money my account I will send your morphed images, and share it with all your contacts," Srivastava added.

Vineet Kumar, founder and president of Cyber Peace Foundation, said specially the cases of sextortion have increased during the lockdown.

Sextortion is extorting money or sexual favours from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity through means like morphed images.

"People are getting into relationships online as they are under lockdown and sextortion cases are being reported to us," he said. Kumar said in these times people are connecting through technology but forgetting the security component.

"Immediately after lockdown, we saw a rise in cases of misinformation, fake and women getting duped online when they click on malware links which gets all their information on phone, turns on the camera and microphone, and captures their intimate moments. These are then used for blackmailing," he added.

Many women do not want to make official complaints in these cases, he said.

"Cyber Peace has been receiving complaints through its channels and it has been seen that people are reluctant in filing complaints. They want us to handle things unofficially," Kumar said.

"Whatever official figure that is being quoted is just the tip of the iceberg as a majority of women do not report cybercrime because they worry about the social stigma associated with it," he said.

Vandana Verma, founder of InfoSec Girls, said when the whole country is locked down, people are working from home and spending a lot of time on the internet. So, even cyber criminals are becoming innovative and craftier in their techniques, she said.

"Like sending specific phishing emails or themed emails for the current COVID-19 situation to people and getting their confidential details like address, phone numbers. These emails appear to have come from legitimate sources like the government in the form of advisories when they are not at all related to the government in any form," Verma said.

"Creation of fake profiles, cyber bullying, online stalking are bigger challenges at this time. Insensitive comments on posts are also intimidating," she said.

Verma advised that such cybercrimes can be prevented through education on technology.

"How to securely use the digital media, creating strong a password and spreading awareness on phishing emails, fake videos and securely sharing content on the internet can help a lot in safeguarding women," she said.

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said often it is seen there is lack of awareness among women on where to reach out when something happens.

"There is cyber police in every district who they can contact. They can reach out to us also if they need help," she said.

She advised women to remain careful in the cyber space. "We are talking to women on how to protect themselves in cyber space. We advice women to not share their personal pictures or details on social media as it's not safe.

Women should realise that at times people known to them can also take advantage," said Verma.

CSC e-Governance Services India, which holds the license for providing internet services, recorded an increase in data consumption to 4.7 terabyte (TB) as on March 30 from 2.7 TB on March 10.

"Based on the growth trend, data consumption on the CSC SPV network is estimated to have increased by close to 100 per cent till date," CSC SPV CEO Dinesh Tyagi told PTI on April 5. He said that a major spike in data consumption has been recorded since the time lockdown started.

There are more than 60 crore internet users in India and out of this about 29 crore are in rural areas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Taking a human rights-based approach, the project will equip both journalists and citizens with skills to recognize, track and expose disinformation and misinformation campaigns" says Rachel Pulfer, Executive Director of Journalists for Human Rights. "We are pleased to build on our Canadian project and continue this high demand work across Africa and the Middle East, because in a pandemic having access to the right information saves lives."

In Canada, JHR's project 'Fighting Disinformation through Strengthened Media and Citizen Preparedness in Canada', funded by Canadian Heritage's Digital Citizen Initiative, has trained both journalists and the general public in strategies to recognize, track and expose disinformation campaigns on social media. This project has set the foundation for the international work JHR is announcing today.

Now more than ever, debunking myths is crucial to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to health is dependent upon the realization of other human rights, including press freedom and access to information.

"Journalists are as important in these crises as health workers. We do not treat sick people or prescribe drugs for patients, but our role in giving timely, accurate, balanced information can save lives, reduce suffering, and enhance transparency and accountability of aid efforts" says Kolubah Akoi, a JHR trained journalist who reported from the frontline of the Ebola crisis in Liberia and is now covering COVID-19.

Global issues require global solutions. JHR will continue to mobilize our efforts, our expertise and our experience wherever we can to contribute in the fight against COVID- 19.

Our thanks to CNW for sponsoring this announcement

About Journalists for Human Rights

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) trains journalists worldwide to cover human rights issues ethically and objectively. For 16 years, Canada-based JHR has worked with 15,565 journalists around the world. Currently JHR operates sector-wide programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Syrian journalists in Turkey, South Sudan, the Middle East, and with Indigenous communities in Canada. For more information, please visit www.jhr.ca

SOURCE Journalists for Human Rights (JHR)

For further information: For media inquiries please contact: Janine de Vries, Director of Operations, Journalists for Human Rights, 416 904 6193, [email protected], www.jhr.ca

Related Links

www.jhr.ca


This piece originally appeared in the Conversation

Gay bars have been shuttered by public-place closure orders during the coronavirus pandemic. In March, more than half of U.S. states issued statewide closure orders for bars and restaurants, decimating the nightlife industry. This has left LGBT people without a place to gather in public and LGBT workers without employment.

But gay bars were already closing their doors before the virus hit. Their decline began sometime around 2002 and has since accelerated. My research shows that as many as 37 percent of the United States gay bars shut down from 2007 to 2019.

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On the one hand, this decline can be seen as a sign of shifting attitudes toward LGBT people; on the other hand, their closure represents the loss of a vital community space. Unfortunately, gay bars in communities where theyre needed mostwhere they serve the most vulnerable segments of the LGBT populationwill have the most difficult time rebounding from the crisis.

Acceptance comes with a cost

Whats behind the trend?

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In this era of increasing LGBT acceptance, theres growing competition from straight establishments. I go wherever I want with my friends, one former employee of a gay bar told Talking Points Memo in 2015. Every bar is a gay bar. In addition, the debut of geolocating smartphone dating and hookup apps like Grindr also heralded an era where cruising for sex one of bars primary offeringscould be conducted anywhere, anytime.

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The Great Recession also hammered bars and full-service restaurants, pushing some vulnerable establishments to the edge. And in coastal cities, gentrification is blamed for pushing gay bars out of the neighborhoods they helped make hip.

Not all gay bars face equal risks of closure, however. Bars serving women and people of color, along with those that cater to men interested in fetishes, kink and BDSM, faced closure rates of over 50 percent between 2007 and 2019. Similarly, bars serving working-class and poor LGBTQ people are more likely to be pushed out by gentrification than bars that serve middle-class and white gay men. And in the nations interior, economic and population declines have eroded patron bases.

A community hub

The mainstreaming of LGBT people is a positive sign of progress, but something is lost when gay bars close.

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They were once the only places where LGBT people could gather in public. Today, they are often the only place where they regularly do. Going to a gay bar is still a rite of passage for every LGBT persons coming out.

A wellspring of modern LGBT politics and social life, theyre still hubs for political organizing. Theyre the training ground of Americas Next Drag Superstars, and the place some parents call for advice about their childs coming out. Theyre also fundraising powerhouses and regularly host events for queer cancer survivors, gender affirmation surgeries or burial fees.

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Big cities have many gay bars and LGBT organizations, but most places only have one or two gay bars. In many smaller municipalitiesfrom McAlester, Oklahoma, to Lima, Ohio, to Dothan, Alabamathe local gay bar is the only public place that caters to an LGBT crowd. When one of them closes, whether its due to the coronavirus or an owners retirement, entire regions are left without an LGBT community hub.

Grappling with an uncertain future

Some well-known establishments from big cities have responded to the coronavirus closures by moving their programming online.

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New York Citys Maries Crisis began broadcasting show tune sing-alongs on Facebook. Chicagos Sidetrack rushed to produce new episodes of its drag talk show, IMHO Show, for YouTube. San Franciscos Stud moved its weekly Drag Alive! to the live-streaming network Twitch. In greater Los Angeles, Latino nightclubs Club Cobra and Club Chico began broadcasting go-go dancers and drag queens on OnlyFans.

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Gay bars like Stud have moved events online for their housebound patrons. These shows, however, represent a mere fraction of the bars regular weekly schedules, and virtual tip jars dont bring in the same cash as the regular live shows did. Still, its something, and for LGBT people with disabilities, these online offerings are often more accessible than the physical places.

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Partial relief comes in other forms, too. Some states, like New York and Ohio, have relaxed rules to allow carryout liquor sales, giving some bars a revenue stream. In bigger cities, supporters have established relief funds for the LGBT nightlife workers sidelined by COVID-19 closures. Bars like Milwaukees This is It! have taken to GoFundMe to plead for donations.

But shuttered gay bars outside of big cities dont have the resourcesnor the national reachto move content online or raise money. Because these bars in smaller cities are often the only LGBTQ address for multi-county regions, their temporary closure leaves already-isolated LGBTQ people even more isolated than ever. As one gay bar owner told The Daily Beast, The vast majority of bars dont operate with margins to be able to sustain themselves for two weeks, four weeks, or eight weeks without cash flow.

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If these temporary closure orders become permanent business failures, bars are unlikely to reopen quickly. Investors are required to open a bar in expensive, gentrified coastal cities. Savvy business owners may be able to declare bankruptcy and eventually reopen, but nearly all gay bars in Americas interior are mom-and-mom and pop-and-pop shops. These owners sometimes commingle personal finances with the professional, and lack the lines of credit to bounce back quickly.

The extent to which the stimulus package will help gay bars remains to be seenall small businesses are in a state of limbo as they await relief funds. But the pathways for financial support for independent contractors and gig workers are even more cumbersome and convoluted in many states. These are the people not on the payroll who provide the sparkle to LGBT nightlife: the DJs, drag queens, dancers, and security guards.

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True, gay bars were never all things to all LGBT people. Caring about them means reckoning with their histories of exclusion of women, of transgender people, of people of color. Scholars once described them as the primary social institution of gay and lesbian life, but they havent been that for years. For many LGBT people they never were, even among the white gay men they primarily served. There are long histories of gay bars excluding those under 21, the undocumented, the disabled, and those in addiction recovery.

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But only a pessimist would condemn bars for these exclusionary sins, while only a willful optimist would celebrate the closure of what is often the only place for LGBT people to find like-minded others to celebrate in our queer ways.

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Whether 37 percent fewer gay bars is a lot or a little depends on where you stand. True, there are fewer of them now than at any time in the last 40-plus years. There were more gay bars during the depths of the AIDS crisis, even. On the other hand, there are still over 800 across 46 states, with new ones appearing each year. Gay bars may be in trouble, but theyre not disappearing.

Nonetheless, the pandemic threatens the most vulnerable establishmentsand their loss affects those of us in the LGBT community who have the least to lose.

Whats It Like to Attend a Queer Sex Party  on Zoom?

Bryan Lowder, Christina Cauterucci, and Rumaan Alam host this months episode of Outward, Slates LGBTQ podcast.
Indias king-sized effort to repatriate tens of thousands of Indians stranded abroad will start from the Gulf countries and will entail deployment of not just commercial planes but also the biggest warships and planes of the defence forces, people familiar with the development told Hindustan Times on Friday.

The government will start from the United Arab Emirates, home to 3.4 million Indians, and move next to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, a government source said. Expats from Kerala would be the first ones to be brought since the state has created the infrastructure to accommodate about 2 lakh people at quarantine centres and hospitals.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday reviewed the work done so far to carry out the repatriation plan at the foreign ministrys Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan office in central Delhi.

Once executed, officials said, this would be a record-setting exercise.

Indias evacuation of 1,70,000 civilians from Kuwait during the 1990 Gulf war is still considered to be the worlds largest evacuation exercise of civilians by air. India had then operated a little less than 500 flights, mostly by Air India, over two months. More than 25 years later, the feat also inspired the Akshay Kumar-starrer Bollywood flick Airlift.

A top government official told Hindustan Times that this time, over 1,90,000 people would be brought home in the first phase alone.

Blue collar workers would get the first priority to be flown home in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis directive. Among them, those who are facing health problems of any nature, have had a bereavement in the family or cite any other humanitarian ground would be taken in the early round of flights.

The government hasnt decided yet when the first repatriation flight will take off from India.

It will happen soon, an official said, stressing that India or the world hadnt seen anything of this kind in the past.

Apart from planes of commercial airlines including Air India, the official said the armed forces had also pooled in their resources.

The Indian Air Force would be deploying its largest transport planes including C-17 Globemaster III, which was also used to evacuate Indians from Yemen in 2015 , as well as the C-130J Hercules. The Indian Navy, on the other hand, is ready to send its largest ships including INS Jalashwa.

Officials said passengers and crew of the planes and warships would have to maintain social distancing norms. This means that we will to make twice as many trips, one official said.

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CHICAGO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- We are proud to announce Google Cloud has joined the HITEC community as a Gold-level Corporate Partner. This partnership highlights Google Cloud's commitment to advancing diversity and to working collaboratively to develop the next generation of Hispanic technology leaders.

HITEC is the leading executive leadership organization for Hispanics in technology. HITEC's vision is to connect, inspire, and grow influential Hispanic technology executives while developing the next generation of leaders.

"We're honored to welcome Google Cloud to the HITEC Familia," said Omar Duque, HITEC President. "We are excited to partner with an organization that has such an impactful footprint in the technology industry that will collaborate with us to share best practices and resources for talent growth and facilitate connections with the best and brightest Hispanic executives in technology."

"Google Cloud is proud to partner with HITEC in our shared commitment to building and supporting teams that are representative of our global community," said Carlos Granda, VP, Customer Success, Google Cloud and a 2019 HITEC 100 recipient. "I'm looking forward to Google Cloud and HITEC's ongoing collaboration and I am excited to further support Hispanic executives and businesses through this partnership."

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud provides organizations with leading infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions. We deliver enterprise-grade cloud solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology to help companies operate more efficiently and adapt to changing needs, giving customers a foundation for the future. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems.

About HITEC:

Founded to increase Hispanic representation in the diversity-challenged technology industry, HITEC is a premier global executive leadership organization of senior business and technology executives who have built outstanding careers in technology. HITEC's premiere network spans the Americas and is focused on building stronger technology and executive leaders, leadership teams, corporations, and role models in a rapidly changing, flatter, and technology-centric world. These global leaders include executives leading Global 1000 corporations while others lead some of the largest Hispanic-owned technology firms across the Americas. HITEC enables business and professional growth for its members and fills the executive pipeline with the next generation of Hispanic technology leaders.

SOURCE Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Torq Resources Inc. (TSXV:TORQ), ("Torq" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Tracy George as Corporate Secretary of the Company, effective May 1st, 2020.

Ms. George has ten years of experience providing administrative, governance, regulatory compliance, AGM management and financing transaction support to numerous public companies, in the position of Group Corporate Secretary of Universal Mineral Services Ltd., a private company providing services to Torq and other publicly listed entities.

A Message from Michael Kosowan, President & CEO:

"On behalf of the Board, I'd like to welcome Tracy in her official capacity with Torq. We have appreciated her contributions to the Company through her role with Universal Mineral Services and we look forward to working more closely with her as a key member of the Torq team."

The Company will grant to Ms. George 100,000 options, which are exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant.

On Behalf of the Board,

Michael Kosowan

President and CEO

For further information on Torq Resources, please contact Natasha Frakes, Manager of Corporate Communications at (778) 729-0500 or info@torqresources.com.

About Torq Resources

Torq Resources Inc. is a junior exploration company with the goal of establishing a tier-one mineral portfolio. The Company's management team has raised over $500M and monetized successes in three previous exploration companies. Torq is continually reviewing and acquiring new precious metals targets on the path to discovery.

Forward Looking Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking information is information that includes implied future performance and/or forecast information including information relating to, or associated with, exploration and or development of mineral properties. These statements or graphical information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different (either positively or negatively) from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Torq Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/587964/Torq-Appoints-Corporate-Secretary
A FORMER presidential candidate, Frans Migub /Goagoseb, and two other men have been arrested for assaulting a transgender woman at Gobabis.

/Goagoseb and another man were arrested on Wednesday evening while the third man was arrested on Thursday, according to the police's regional crime investigation coordinater for Omaheke, deputy commissioner Chris Kalimbula.

"The two suspects were arrested on the principle of common purpose. They participated in the crime, one of them helped tie up the complainant and might have assisted in assaulting her together with /Goagoseb" Kalimbula told The Namibian. Another suspect filmed the assault, after which the video recording that he made went viral.

The three men are charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and are due to remain in custody until a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old complainant who was assaulted remains at a safe location guarded by the police.

/Goagoseb was thrown into the spotlight after a video recording in which he whips the transgender woman went viral on social media this week.

Rights Not Rescue Trust of Namibia (RNRT), which is led by human rights activist Nicodemus 'Mama Africa' Aoxamub, is expected to meet justice minister Yvonne Dausab on the issue in coming days.

Various organisations dealing with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have called on Namibians to desist from sharing the video recording of the assault.

In the video recording, /Goagoseb is heard saying "this moffie, he eats my money" (sic), and accusing her of having defrauded him.

"Moffie" is a derogatory term used for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex community.

/Goagoseb was the presidential candidate of the Namibian Democratic Movement for Change in the 2009 general elections, in which he received only 1 760 votes (0,22% of the total) and was placed 11th out of 12 presidential candidates.
RTHK: Malaysia detains hundreds of refugees and migrants

Malaysia on Friday detained hundreds of refugees and migrant workers for illegally living in the country, rights groups said, at a time of movement and travel restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

There has been growing public anger in recent days over the presence of migrant foreigners with some in Malaysia accusing them of spreading the coronavirus and being a burden on government resources.

Malaysia has around 2 million registered foreign workers but authorities estimate many more are living in the Southeast Asian country without proper documents. Malaysia does not formally recognise refugees, regarding them as illegal migrants.

The arrests followed immigration raids in a neighbourhood in capital Kuala Lumpur where thousands of migrant workers and refugees live, according to human rights groups and photos shared on social media.

Human Rights Watch and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network said over 700 migrants were taken into custody including young children. Malaysian police and the immigration department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said a "small number of asylum seekers" had been detained and it had informed by authorities that refugees and asylum-seekers were being held for the purpose of identity verification.

A Malaysian official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the foreign workers, mostly from South Asia, were detained because they did not have the necessary permits and that more raids would be conducted in the coming days.

Rachel Tan, programme officer at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, said the arrests were a "criminalisation of a people who toil in difficult and dangerous work conditions".

The neighbourhood where the raids took place was close to an area with three buildings that had been placed under strict lockdowns last month after a surge in coronavirus cases there.

Around 9,000 people live in the buildings, most of whom are foreign nationals, and 235 of them have tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, the government has said.

Malaysia has reported a total of 6,071 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths, and its prime minister said on Friday that most businesses will reopen from Monday following six-week long curbs that have caused a damaging economic slowdown.

Photos shared on social media showed dozens of migrant workers lined up in close quarters as authorities watched from the sidewalk. Some officials were seen wearing full protective equipment, while the migrant workers only had masks on.

Other photos showed dozens of migrants packed in trucks that typically carry illegal foreign nationals to immigration detention centres, which are known to be cramped and unhygienic.

"This is not at all humane," rights advocate Tan said. "Even innocent children and babies were being dragged onto the trucks like cattle."

Migrant workers have been a particularly vulnerable community during the pandemic. In neighbouring Singapore, thousands of infections have been linked to migrant worker dormitories. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Prakash Swaminathan By

Online Desk

Ajith Kumar has always been a trendsetter. The choices he's made as an actor have been unique, often not fetching success in his own words -- but he stuck to his instincts boldly.

It distinctly reflected in the scripts he picked, be it Kadhal Kottai or Vaali, Citizen or Mugavaree. These are decisions which any hero at that point would have hesitated to make. But Ajith's willingness to take risks is what makes him special.

In 2007, he did Billa which was unlike anything Tamil cinema had seen until then. The star in him took precedence over the actor.

But things changed quickly in the new decade after the actor could not strike gold with Asal in 2010.

Ajith decided to experiment, banking on his gut feeling and went on to change the way Tamil cinema saw a mass hero.

Here's how the birthday boy who turns 49 today redefined Tamil cinema in the 2010s:

Making evil characters cool again

Around 2010, it was a strict no-no among mass heroes. They had to keep their image clean.

Many would say Rajini and Kamal did such roles but their grey journey started way back and they were constantly in touch with that side.

Ajith probably missed playing a grey character for a long time until he banked on Venkat Prabhu (right after Goa) with his 50th film, the golden number.

The result was an uber mass film, Mankatha, which had enough high points to keep audiences entertained from start to end.

IN PICS | Here are some rare photos of actor Ajith on his birthday

Ajith was an unleashed rogue who cherished every bit of this character. The performance left everyone awestruck - stars, critics and fans alike.

So much so that every mass hero who never wanted to mess with his image decided to make an exception.

Actor Suriya as 'Athreya' in 24 movie. (Photo | YouTube Screengrab)

Multistarrers

Unlike other film industries, multistarrers were a bit rare in Tamil cinema. There were some exceptions but actors were very unsure about acting with equals.

In Mankatha, apart from playing a character with shades of grey, Ajith also partnered with seasoned actor Arjun Sarja, paving the way for more such films in the future.

In 2012, Ajith played a cameo (Amitabhs role) in Sridevis comeback movie English Vinglishs Tamil version.

In 2013, he joined hands with Arya and Nayantara for Arrambam - a more acceptable modern-day multistarrer.

Even today, a movie filled with stars is not frequent in Tamil but films like Jilla, Thani Oruvan, Vikram Vedha, Petta and Master are giving hope.

Actors Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi from 'Vikram Vedha' movie. (Photo | YouTube Screengrab)

Playing his age

Though the debate is still open, the notion that stars need to look good is still there, irrespective of whether they abide by it or not.

In a shocking move, Ajith decided to sport a salt and pepper look in Mankatha and won the hearts of the masses on a large scale.

IN PICS | 10 films where Ajith the actor outshined 'Thala' the star

Many thought it would be a one-off since in his very next film he opted for full black hair.

But Ajith again brought it back, kept it for all his performances and also made it a point to be vocal about his age in his movies.

Eventually, even the biggest stars who wanted to remain young on screen forever showed their age.

Actor Vijay as Rayappan in 'Bigil'movie. (Photo | YouTube Screengrab)

Sequels

Weirdly, sequels never took off in Tamil cinema for a long time. Maybe it was a superstition or it was some jinx.

There were one or two films, for instance, Kamal Haasans Japanil Kalayanaraman (1985) which in all likelihood is the second part of Kalyanaraman (1979) but it never had the sequel tag attached to it.

Well, it all changed with Billa 2 in which Ajith went back to trace the life of David Billa, thus breaking the mould.

Soon more sequels started with the Singam series, Maari, Pizza and many more.

Dhanush-starrer 'Maari 2'. (Photo | YouTube Screengrab)

Even though the previous decade had one of his best commercial films, it also had moments when the star took the backseat.

In 2020, his next film is with director Vinoth titled Valimai. Heres to a very happy birthday and another successful decade for Ajith.
CAIRO - Libyas eastern-based forces trying to capture the countrys capital bombed civilian homes on Friday, killing at least two people, health authorities in the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli said.

The intensified bombardment of the city by forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter came just days after their unilateral cease-fire declared for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The Tripoli-based government rejected the overture, blaming their rivals for sabotaging past peace efforts.

The health ministry in Tripoli also said that three civilians, including a woman, were wounded when rockets crashed through their roofs in the Zinata neihborhood, burying them under the rubble.

Hifters so-called Libyan Arab Armed Forces launched their assault on Tripoli last year, backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. For months his forces, bolstered by shipments of powerful missiles, jets and drones, held an advantage over the coalition of fractious militias defending the beleaguered Tripoli government. But Turkeys escalating military support for the U.N.-supported administration has recently shifted momentum of the conflict.

Western forces have thwarted Hifters advances, recaptured coastal cities near the Tunisian border, attacked Hifters key western airbase and tightened their siege on his stronghold of Tarhuna. On Friday, their Facebook page reported launching at least three airstrikes on fuel tankers supplying Hifters forces and a bus full of militiamen. It warned humanitarian convoys carrying food and COVID-19 supplies to steer clear of areas of fighting or seek permission for the deliveries.

On both sides, fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilians. While Hifters forces fire into densely populated neighbourhoods and even target medical facilities  at least eight times last month, the World Health Organization reported  the forces defending Tripoli have displaced at least 3,100 civilians from Tarhuna and killed over a dozen in Turkish drone attacks last month.

The idea of a meaningful compromise between east and west Libya has become even more far-fetched following Hifters dismissal this week of the 2015 U.N.-brokered unity deal.

U.S. Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said he spoke on Friday to Aguila Saleh, speaker of the east-based parliament, and stressed the importance of respect for democratic processes and the U.N.-brokered political process, undermined by Hifters action.

Meanwhile, as the intractable conflict and the coronavirus pandemic loom over Libya, the migrants who pass through the war-torn coastal country hoping to get to Europe are uniquely vulnerable.

On Friday, the U.N. migration agency said 51 migrants, including three women and two children, were intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to the western city of Zawiya. Some 30 people, among them a pregnant woman, were taken to a detention centre, while the rest managed to escape, according to IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli.

Libya, a major conduit for migrants fleeing war and poverty across Africa and the Middle East, is notorious for its crowded detention centres run by militias and rife with abuse. Over 1,500 migrants are currently detained, according to the IOM.

With temperatures rising and the war worsening, the U.N. refugee agency has reported an increase in migrant departures from Libya despite a lack of rescue missions along the precarious central Mediterranean route. All charity rescue vessels have halted operations because of COVID-19 restrictions, while Malta has announced its resources are too strained by the pandemic to conduct rescues.
New York: South Korea has presented "a very ambitious green deal" plan for its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the United Nations to recommend other countries follow suit.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he hopes many countries will follow the "remarkable example" of South Korea, which he said has been "extremely successful" in addressing the pandemic and is planning to tackle climate change in its recovery from it.

The green deal includes a ban on new coal-fired plants and a reduction of emissions from existing coal-fired plants.

Koreans observe social distancing as they gather to celebrate Buddha's birthday and pray for the defeat of the coronavirus pandemic at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul, South Korea. Credit:Getty Images

"We hope that this example of the Republic of Korea will be followed by many other countries in the world," Guterres said.
Eleven ambassadors of European countries registered a demarche with Israels Foreign Ministry on April 30, warning against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex parts of the West Bank this summer. The ambassadors from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Finland as well as the EU envoy met in a videoconference with the ministrys deputy director for Europe, Anna Azari, to formally express their protest. The ambassadors addressed the Likud-Blue and White unity agreement of April 20, which allows Netanyahu to bring a proposal for applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank up for a vote as early as July 1.

A European diplomatic blitz against annexation has been mounting. EU foreign ministers discussed the issue at their monthly meeting on April 22. But with a lack of consensus over wording, EU high representative on foreign affairs Josep Borrell issued a warning on his own, stating, "The European Union reiterates that any annexation would constitute a serious violation of international law." Israel was quick to point out the inter-European disaccord and highlight the lack of a common EU statement.

Netanyahus traditional allies within the union, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, evidently objected to Borrells stern warning and their ambassadors in Israel did not join the April 30 demarche. But the multiplicity of European warnings clearly shows that European member states are determined to campaign against annexation.

Shortly after Borrells statement, French envoy to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere told the Security Council, Such steps, if implemented, would not pass unchallenged and shall not be overlooked in our relationship with Israel. Representatives of Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Estonia expressed appreciation for Israel-Palestinian cooperation against the novel coronavirus pandemic, but warned against any unilateral action by Israel in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Israel has been preparing for such a blitz. Foreign Minister Israel Katz congratulated Germany on April 30 for its decision to ban Hezbollah activity on its soil and designate it as terror group, and called on other European states to follow Germanys lead. This was the sort of news that Jerusalem was hoping to hear from its allies in Berlin, not the message expressed later in the day at the videoconference by German ambassador Susanne Wasum-Rainer.

But Jerusalem is currently more worried about anti-annexation statements from the other side of the globe. Joe Bidens senior foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken said April 29 that the US presidential candidate opposes unilateral annexation of parts of the West Bank. Apparently to soften the blow, Blinken added that Biden does not intend to relocate US Embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv.
By Yury Garcia GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuadorean journalist Augusto Iturburu's could not visit him in the hospital during his two-week battle with coronavirus, and was unable to give him a traditional burial as the disease ravaged the country's largest city of Guayaquil. The Iturburu family instead held a virtual ceremony this week to honor Augusto, thanks to an online service created in response to a pandemic that has overwhelmed the country's health services and at times left bodies in the streets for hours.

By Yury Garcia

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuadorean journalist Augusto Iturburu's could not visit him in the hospital during his two-week battle with coronavirus, and was unable to give him a traditional burial as the disease ravaged the country's largest city of Guayaquil.

The Iturburu family instead held a virtual ceremony this week to honor Augusto, thanks to an online service created in response to a pandemic that has overwhelmed the country's health services and at times left bodies in the streets for hours.

"No member of our family could enter the cemetery to say goodbye to him," said Iturburu's brother Nelson in a telephone interview. "So I thought it would be nice to participate in this memorial, so that everyone can remember my brother Augusto."

Ecuadorean media company GK this week launched the service called "Voices of Memory," which creates websites using photos of those who died and messages from friends and family, who will be able to visit the sites for several weeks.

The service is open to anyone in the country, said Maria Sol Borja, who is in charge of the project. But it has been principally used by families in Guayaquil, where the vast majority of cases and deaths have taken place.

Ecuador as of Thursday had reported 24,934 coronavirus infections and 900 deaths. Another 1,453 are suspected to have died of COVID-19.

But in the province of Guayas, where Guayaquil is located, the total number of deaths from all causes reached 13,000 in March and April, compared with around 4,000 in the same period in 2019, according to official data.

The government in mid-March banned mass gatherings including religious ceremonies and vigils. Funeral homes are only authorized to transport bodies from morgues to cemeteries.

Families complain that they cannot obtain the remains of deceased relatives, and in some cases say they have received misidentified bodies. [L2N2CD08S]

Other simply receive a box of ashes from health authorities and feel they needed some type of farewell ceremony.

"We are processing all that is happening, it is new, it scares us, we do not understand it," said Gabriela Valarezo, 30, a graphic designer who lost her father-in-law to coronavirus. "Losing someone and not being able to be near them is very hard."

(Writing by Alexandra Valencia and Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Morgan McCane once thought she was dumb. Yeah, thats the word she used. She wasnt, of course. She was just a not-atypical middle-schooler, unmotivatedalso her wordand caught up in talking a lot.

So caught up that, for the young Axis, Alabama native, what happened in the classroom was far, far less interesting than what happened in the hallways.

So caught up she was placed in classes deemed for students with true challenges, academic and otherwise. Special classes. Yep, her word.

I was like, Maybe I am dumb, McCane says now. Maybe I wont go to college.

She wasnt, of course. And she did.

She wasnt dumb at all. And on Friday, McCane was confirmed as an honors graduate from Alabama State Universityvirtually, of course, as will every member of Americas historic coronad Class of 2020.

Shes a third-generation (and then some) Hornet. Her grandmother and siblings, her mother, an aunt and uncle, and a handful of cousins are also ASU alums. (Dad matriculated at rival Alabama A&M, which produces many classic debates each fall.)

Shes also only 19, making her one of the youngest graduates in ASU history. One of because, well, for an institution founded by nine former slaves nearly 150 years ago, records can get a bit murky.

McCane entered ASU two years ago with a bucketful of college credits60, in fact, earned on nights and weekends in classes at Bishop State Community College in Mobile.

She was clearly more motivated than she thought. Though not surprisingly, considering the models in her own homeparents Howard and Latitia are college graduates, as is older sister Maegan, a graduate of the University of Alabama, also at 19.

She was the first one to do this, Morgan says proudly.

Axis (pop: fewer than 1,500) is nestled between two larger hamlets, Mount Vernon and Saraland. A snippet between two places, McCane calls it. From Mobile, the town is just over 16 miles away. Were the crust of Mobile, McCane says.

It was Latitia who flipped the motivation switch for her youngest, by then a sophomore at Citronelle High School. She pitched the idea of at least obtaining a two-year degree from Bishop State Community College while still in high school.

Years before, Lititia told Morgan she was going to be somebody, kicking and screaming. The youngster was still void of motivation back then (Id be like, Whatever, Morgan says). But broached with the notion of earning college creditremember Maybe I wont go to college?she thought, Cant go against mom.

She began with one class, in a classroom where she was surrounded by students at least a decade older. Morgan has just turned 15.

She didnt take it seriously, initially. Until she began witnessing how seriously her classmates were taking it. And how they embraced her. They worked so hard, she recalls, and they treated me as an equal.

The number of classes increased with each semester. McCane attended Citronelle by day, disembarked the after-school bus for classes at Bishop State at night. She also took weekend classes. I had to change everything about my thought process, my study habits, and buckle down, she says. Id never done that.

As she grew closer to new classmates, McCane endured strains with peers at Citronelle. I felt like I was living two lives, she says. I was surrounded by adults [at night and on weekends], then I was around all these children [during the day]. I started feeling like Bishop State was really my life.

She rarely even shared the existence of life with fellow high-school students, not after the first confidant told her she was so full of herself. It made me feel bad, McCane says.

A lot of people [at Citronelle] werent trying that much, she says. I only met two or three people who wanted to go to college. I was makin moves.

Even with ASU running through her veins, McCane didnt visit the campus in Montgomery until the summer before she turned 16. She went to ASUs Camp 3T, where teenagers attend classes in acting, singing, dancing and oral presentation, and stay in the dorms.

I was in love, she says.

With so many college credits and an associates from Bishop State, McCane was admitted to ASU as a transfer student, which allowed her to qualify for a full scholarship. I gotta give them a shoutout, she says. When I realized I could graduate with no debt, I told them I was going to make the deans list every semester.

She did, of course.

McCane will soon begin working at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, a division of Huntington Ingalls, the nations largest military shipbuilders. (Her parents work there, too.)

Just before Fridays virtual commencementperhaps the first virtual college commencement in this unique graduation seasonMcCane offered sage advice for someone else who might be unmotivated. Who might not feel college is for them.

Who might feel dumb.

Change I cant to I can," she says. If you dont think you have it in you, its only because youre not self-motivated. The moment you become self-motivated you can do anything. I never thought Id be here. The moment I changed that mentality and began thinking, I can, my whole outlook on my future changed.

When you place yourself therewherever it isit can manifest. Just start saying it.
Martha Kalifatidis gave fans more than they bargained for when she shared a photo of herself wearing just a grey cardigan and nothing else, on Friday.

The 31-year-old Former Married At First Sight star knelt seductively on her bed, completely naked expect for the cropped cardigan, which strategically covered her bare breasts.

'Essentials only,' Martha captioned the raunchy Instagram photo, which showed her holding her camera phone in front of her face as she snapped a mirror selfie.

Stripped down: Martha Kalifatidis gave fans more than they bargained for when she shared a photo of herself wearing only a grey cardigan on Instagram on Friday

Fans seemed to love the risque photo, flooding Martha's comments section with complimentary remarks.

'Omg SEX,' wrote one person, while another added, 'OK cool can I borrow your body thanks.'

'NOW THAT'S A GREEK GODDESS,' commented another fan, adding a series of heart eyes emojis and referencing Martha's Greek heritage.

Fanning out: Fans seemed to love the risque photo, flooding Martha's comments section with complimentary remarks

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia in March, Martha spoke about relocating to Sydney from Melbourne with her longtime boyfriend, Michael Brunelli.

'It was really stressful. I'm not going to lie, it was so stressful. It really tested the relationship for a minute, but I think that's normal with a move,' she admitted.

'They say moving house is equivalent to getting a divorce stress-wise. But we lived to tell the tale, Michael and I!'

Taking the plunge: In an interview with Daily Mail Australia in March, Martha spoke about relocating to Sydney from Melbourne with her longtime boyfriend, Michael Brunelli

And she confessed living with Michael, 28, for the first time had been a learning curve for both of them.

'We spent a lot of time together back in Melbourne, but we weren't living together. Living together is different,' she added.

'We have still got a lot to learn about each other. We've got a lot to learn about living together, but that's part of being in a relationship, and we're getting there.'
Hemant Kumar Rout By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha on Thursday posted its second highest single day spike in Covid-19 cases with as many as 17 persons testing positive at Jajpur.

While the total number of cases rose to 142, Jajpur has become the second Covid hotspot of the State with 36 patients.

All the new persons are contacts of West Bengal returnees, who have already tested positive. The highest single day rise was reported on April 5 with 18 cases detected in Bhubaneswar.

ALSO READ | COVID-19: From 19, Jajpur coronavirus cases spike to 36 in 24 hours

The new cases included 16 from Katikata containment zone under Dasarathpur block of the district.

Among them, six are women, two three-year-old children and nine men. Most of the cases are asymptomatic.

They had come in contact with six persons who had returned from Bengal on March 29. The WB returnees had tested positive between April 23 and 25 after completing 14-day institutional quarantine.

Sources said, the six had gone home after completion of their quarantine period and spent time with family and friends before their samples were drawn on the basis of their travel history and came positive.

Of the 36 cases in Jajpur district, Katikata alone accounts for 22 cases.

Katikata was sealed and aggressive contact tracing launched after six persons tested positive. Of the 269 families in the area, 200 samples have been collected so far. Further collection of samples are on. The containment period has been extended, said I&PR Secretary Sanjay Singh.

Of the four hotspots in the State, Jajpur has the highest 35 active cases after the recovery of one patient. While Bhubaneswar and Balasore have 19 active cases each, Bhadrak has 17 cases.

WB returnees contribute a major share of cases as 70 of the total 142 are linked to the neighbouring state. Meanwhile, two persons from Rourkela have recovered on Thursday.

With this, the total number of active cases stands at 100. The WB link to the spurt in cases has become a cause of worry as lakhs of migrants from the most virus-burdened states will be on their way back the coming days.
Police in Hong Kong fired pepper spray at a crowd in a Shatin shopping mall on after they planned a public singalong as part of the city's ongoing pro-democracy movement, with police out in force after the authorities turned down an application to hold a Labor Day march in the city.



Dozens of riot police charged into Shatin's New Town Plaza mall ahead of the planned "sing with you" event, to be faced with people hurling insults and chanting "Free Hong Kong! Revolution now!"



Police began cordoning off sections of the mall, as businesses hurriedly shuttered up for the day. Some journalists were among those pepper sprayed, government broadcaster RTHK reported.



Police were also out in force in Mong Kok, stopping and searching people and vehicles at the junction of Soy Street and Portland Street, and ordering passers-by not to stand around watching.



Local residents and shoppers also chanted slogans and insults at police, who cordoned off at least one entrance to the Langham Place shopping mall and threatened bystanders with pepper spray.



Police then broadcast a message telling people to leave for public health reasons, as gatherings of more than four people have been banned under coronavirus restrictions.



Trade unionists who were handing out leaflets to passers-by in lieu of the planned Labor Day march were also forced to leave, according to former lawmaker and General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) Lee Cheuk-yan.



'The police can't even count to four'

Lee said the trade unionists shouldn't have been forced to leave, as they were complying with social distancing requirements.



"The whole thing was actually ridiculous," Lee told RFA. "I suspect that the police can't even count to four."



"They quoted the [coronavirus] restriction order ... and I said there were only four of us and that we were very far apart -- 1.5 meters between each person," he said. "I told them they should charge me ... but they didn't."



Labour Party district councilor Chiu Yan Loy said police were using the coronavirus restrictions as a pretext for dispersing labor union activists who tried to present a petition to government headquarters in Admiralty on .



Labour Party deputy chairman Mak Tak Ching was taken away and accused of obstructing police duties.



"There were only four members of the Labour Party and the League of Social Democrats there, yet the police said Mak Tak Ching was the person responsible for the activity," Chiu told RFA.



"They asked to see his ID, but Mak Tak Ching didn't, so the police took him away."



'Clearly, there is a political aim'

HKCTU chairperson Carol Ng said the group had only intended to hand out leaflets.



"There was no intention to get people to gather," Ng said. "We thought that we could stay within police restrictions."



"The HKCTU had no way to foresee that there would be other events taking place, but we were still targeted by the police," she said. "Clearly, there is a political aim in this restriction of people's right of assembly."



Plans by Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam to allow the extradition of alleged criminal suspects to face trial in mainland China sparked mass street protests beginning in , soon followed by widespread public anger at police use of force against peaceful demonstrators and demands for fully democratic elections.



Lam has since formally withdrawn the hated amendments to the city's extradition laws, but has stopped short of meeting protesters' demands for an amnesty for arrestees, an independent public inquiry into police violence and abuse of power, an end to the description of protesters as "rioters," and fully democratic elections.



Frontline protesters, eyewitnesses, journalists and human rights groups have repeatedly said that the majority of violence during the protests has originated with the Hong Kong police, who have been widely criticized for the excessive use of tear gas, water cannon and pepper spray, as well as both non-lethal and live ammunition weapons, on unarmed protesters.



Medical personnel and rights groups have also slammed the handcuffing and arrests of voluntary medical staff, including nurses and doctors, during the siege of the Polytechnic University by riot police in .



Reported by Wong Lok-to and Man Hoi-tsan for RFAs Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
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Ive been involved in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Middle East and North Africa for more than a decade  and, until now, thought Id seen it all.

Then along came the coronavirus.

I never imagined that such a sudden and fast-moving crisis could cause a spiritual explosion in this volatile region  and leave millions of people so hungry to see and hear what real Christianity is about.

Even before COVID-19, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was engulfed by complex crises  oppressive governments, lack of personal freedoms, rampant unemployment, grinding poverty, protracted wars, massive refugee populations, religious persecution, and human rights violation.

The people of this region have suffered intensely, over and over again. Now coronavirus has infiltrated their lives. And millions are asking: Why us? Why more suffering? Where is God in all this?

With a struggling and suppressed Church in much of the region  and now strict lockdown measures in place  its illegal for committed Christians to get the gospel out to the multitudes that are desperate for honest answers and real hope at a time like this.

But there is a way! Technology is at this very moment turning the coronavirus into an unlikely apostle for the Lord Jesus Christ in the very cradle of Christianity. Across the Middle East and North Africa, Christian satellite television and social media channels have seen a huge surge in viewer numbers and online engagement since the lockdowns started in March.

Stuck at home, people in countries like Iran and Turkey  generally not regarded in America as being receptive to the Christian faith  are clamoring to know why their Christian neighbors have hope and peace amid this current crisis.

In coronavirus hotspot Turkey, where 99 percent of the population is non-Christian, more viewers have contacted our SAT-7 TURK television channel each day in the past few weeks than any day in the previous five years since Turkish-language broadcasts began. SAT-7 TURK is the only Christian channel broadcasting throughout the entire nation.

In Iran, another virus hotspot, viewers calls and messages to the live, Farsi-language Signal show  beamed into millions of homes across the nation  jumped to seven times the usual number last month, as Iranians rattled by the pandemic turned to our hosts for reassurance and practical advice.

One viewer shared how God was looking after her family, even though we dont even have any loose change. She told other Signal viewers: Were living in faith, and were praying for everyone else.

Across the Middle East and North Africa, SAT-7 KIDS Facebook audience has soared more than 500 percent as children stream videos offering encouragement and hope based on Bible passages.

On social media, 160,000 people watched God, Fear, and the Coronavirus, one of our mental health programs, featuring a well-known church leader and psychiatrist.

On the air 24/7, SAT-7s programs are a lifeline for those who have no hope in countries like Lebanon, where a quarter of the population are refugees fleeing turmoil and bloodshed in neighboring Iraq, Syria, and Palestine.

Suffering people, those Jesus called the least of these, dont just need to hear the gospel  but they need to also see real faith lived out in the lives of genuine followers of Christ. Thats why SAT-7 connects people through live programs, meeting people where they are in life and offering practical support for right now as well as eternal hope through a Christian worldview.

When viewers and social media users ask: How can I protect my family from the coronavirus? we provide current advice from recognized health experts. We show fearful viewers that the Christian faith is both practical and relevant for todays crises  and that the Bible is a living love letter from God to all peoples everywhere.

I know this part of the world can seem distant, and many of you reading this will have difficulties and burdens of your own. But this is a crucial hour for the Middle East and North Africa  a time like no other when millions of scared, hurting people are locked inside yet openhearted to the gospel. Please, will you pray for them?

The coronavirus could be the apostle God uses to end this regions spiritual lockdown and set its people free.
Conditional settlement agreement with Senvion realised

Roblon upgrades profit guidance for the 2019/20 financial year

In accordance with the settlement agreement, Senvion will pay Roblon USDm 6.6 (approx. 45 DKKm) shortly after the sale of Ria Blades by Senvion on April 30, 2020. According to the settlement agreement between Roblon and Senvion, the project contract is terminated with immediate effect, and no further claims will exist between the parties.

Based on the expected payment under the settlement agreement with Senvion, Roblon is upgrading its profit guidance for 2019/20. The Groups revenue guidance is unchanged in the range of DKKm 260-280 (2018/19: DKKm 267.2, ex. Senvion DKKm 241.8), but the guided profit before tax is upgraded to DKKm 65-70 (2018/19: a loss of DKKm 19.7, ex. Senvion a profit of DKKm 4.4) against the previous guidance in the range of DKKm 20-25.

In relation to COVID-19, Roblon in Denmark is complying with the Danish governments request that Danish companies take every possible precaution to contain the spread of the virus. A number of similar strict precautions have been taken at the Groups production facility in North Carolina, USA, which remains in full operation.

At this time, Management assesses that, overall, Roblon will be able to execute the business activities that form the basis of our full-year guidance. However, the COVID-19 situation may have an as yet unknown negative effect on Roblons revenue and profit.

Sale of head office

Roblon has initiated the prospective sale of the Groups head office in Frederikshavn. The Company has signed an agreement with an external commercial real estate agent to explore the possibilities of selling the head office, which is listed at a cash price of DKKm 32.5.

After the sale, the Groups Danish activities will be located at Roblons facilities in Grum, which currently house production and various administrative functions. As well as generating positive synergies in the day-to-day operations, this initiative is also expected to have a positive impact on Roblons result, liquidity and equity going forward. The potential sale of the head office has not been factored into the profit guidance for 2019/20.

Story continues

Frederikshavn, 30 April 2020

Roblon A/S

Jrgen Kjr Jacobsen Lars stergaard

Chairman of the Board Managing Director and CEO

Enquiries regarding this announcement should be addressed to:

Managing Director and CEO Lars stergaard, tel. +45 9620 3300

Attachment
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Cara Santana has been keeping her head high as she self-isolates from COVID-19.

The 35-year-old Vida actress told the spring issue of Retreat Magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday, that she has felt 'anxiety' during this difficult time but has used journal writing, positive affirmations and a course on happiness from Yale University to stay balanced.

'Having just celebrated 16 years of sobriety, I think being honest with who you are and taking the time to get to know yourself and to take a critical look at who you are is the most important thing you can do,' said the beauty who has been linked to Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe for 13 years.

Hard time: Cara Santana has been keeping her head high as she self-isolates from COVID-19. The Vida actress told the spring issue of Retreat Magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday, that she has felt 'anxiety' during this difficult time

She added, 'I don't think advice diminishes with age and a lot of what I was feeling as a young person that led me down the road of addiction, which I believe is a disease, was that I didn't recognize that so much of that inherent worry and fear created so much insecurity, and drugs and alcohol were just an escape.

'So,if you just make things right with yourself, you can get right with anything.'

Cara also said that it is important for a woman to give herself happiness.

When asked 'What should every woman try at least once in her life?' she said: 'A good orgasm. To give yourself a good orgasm. That's what it is. To be able to have the power to own your sexuality.'

Positive moves: But has used journal writing, positive affirmations and a course on happiness from Yale University to stay balanced.

Healthy gal: 'Having just celebrated 16 years of sobriety, I think being honest with who you are and taking the time to get to know yourself and to take a critical look at who you are is the most important thing you can do,' said the beauty who has been linked to Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe for 13 years

As far as the pandemic, she said it has taught her to be more mindful.

'Nothing is guaranteed and that we have to be creators of our vision and our own life and our own business because, at a moment's notice, it could be taken away,' began Cara.

'As a woman, especially at this time, its about really owning your worth and owning your creativity and owning your work, because all we have is ourselves,' noted the Salem actress who was photographed at Sofitel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills.

'Given that the total landscape of our world has changed, It's been a really interesting time to reflect and reconnect,' shared the Beverly Hills Chihuahua star.

'As I have been self-isolating in my home in Los Angeles, I was looking for opportunities to connect with myself and use this time to re-centre and come out of this, different than when it started.'

Her escape: She added, 'I don't think advice diminishes with age and a lot of what I was feeling as a young person that led me down the road of addiction, which I believe is a disease, was that I didn't recognize that so much of that inherent worry and fear created so much insecurity, and drugs and alcohol were just an escape'

Her love: The couple have been together for 13 years and seemed to have hit a rough patch earlier this year when he was spotted with other women, but she did not bring him up in the interview

And Cara feels this is a time for everyone to self-reflect.

'I think just the journey that I've been on since the beginning of the year of really reconnecting to myself and trying to figure out what drives and fulfills me, coinciding with a time of literally, quarantine, where I have no external gratification whatsoever, has forced me to be internal,' added the El Paso, Texas native.

'I do think it has happened for a reason. I think everything does and every situation is what you make of it.'

Cara added she still feels like life is happening. 'Do our circumstances define us, or do we define our circumstances? I want to use this time to the best of my ability and hopefully come out of it with a greater understanding of myself and the world that I live in and society in general.'

Private talk: Cara also said that it is important for a woman to give herself happiness. When asked 'What should every woman try at least once in her life?' she said: 'A good orgasm. To give yourself a good orgasm. That's what it is. To be able to have the power to own your sexuality'

Her mother sent the star an article from Business Insider about universities offering free courses.

'I thought was a bit of my mom trying to get me to go back to college like she always wanted me to do,' she said.

Yale's course called The Science of Well Being by Dr Laurie Santos takes scientific research and data to prove that people can have an impact on their well being and create a life that is happier and more fulfilling.

'Its a 10-week course with a mix of reading, writing and watching lectures by Professor Santos, and it has been fascinating,' she said.

Staying stable: As far as the pandemic, she said it has taught her to be more mindful. 'Nothing is guaranteed and that we have to be creators of our vision and our own life and our own business because, at a moment's notice, it could be taken away,' began Cara

'I'm so grateful for this time to be able to do it.'

And she says that she took a happiness test which surprised her.

'I think of myself as a pretty happy person so I thought I was going to get a 10. I got a 3.5, so there is so much more that I could be doing to create a much more centered well being for myself.

When asked if she feels like it's 'divine intervention' to allow 'you to go back into yourself and seek that happiness' she replied, 'I believe everything happens for a reason and I believe that the universe is far more powerful than we could ever be.

Hopeful: 'As a woman, especially at this time, its about really owning your worth and owning your creativity and owning your work, because all we have is ourselves,' noted the Salem actress

'I think that part of the silver lining and potentially why this all sort of happened is that we as a society have gotten to a place where we have lost a full connection with ourselves.

Time heals: 'Given that the total landscape of our world has changed, It's been a really interesting time to reflect and reconnect,' shared the Beverly Hills Chihuahua star

'We go, go, go! We're always looking for the next thing. I feel at times that we've lost our moral compass. We've disconnected from our values, were destroying the planet, and literally, this pandemic has caused everyone to stop,' said the star who was photographed by Filbert Kung and styled by Aisha Rae for Retreat.

'I feel like we can either come out of this the same or we can come out of it differently, in a good way.'

The brunette has been seen with her fiance Jesse lately as they seem to be self-isolating together.

The couple have been together for 13 years and seemed to have hit a rough patch earlier this year when he was spotted with other women, but she did not bring him up in the interview.

Sources have said the pair had been having 'ups and downs' for some time. 'They truly have been on and off several times throughout the duration of their relationship. Recently, they hit a breaking point and have been having issues,' an insider spilled to E! News earlier this year.

Cara and Jesse 'own a home together, and have made the mature decision to self-isolate together with Jesse living in the guest house.'

Though she would not touch on Jesse, she did share what makes her feel happy.

One of her solutions is doing 'morning pages.'

'Every morning when I get up before I do anything, I write three pages of just free thought, whatever comes out. When I don't have anything to write, I write that I don't have anything to write and suddenly something comes,' said the cover girl.

Inside: 'As I have been self-isolating in my home in Los Angeles, I was looking for opportunities to connect with myself and use this time to re-centre and come out of this, different than when it started,' she mused

'That's a great way of cleansing any anxiety that I've woken up with and allows me to get everything that's been garbled in my mind out so that I can start the day fresh.

'At night before I go to bed, I have a journal at my bedside and I write a gratitude list.

'They can be big or small, like Im grateful for my dog or Im grateful for the opportunity to shoot the cover for Retreat Magazine, or whatever it is just to remind me of the things that I do have in my life.

'When I go to bed at night, Im going to sleep with positive thoughts.'

Write it out: One of her solutions is doing 'morning pages.' 'Every morning when I get up before I do anything, I write three pages of just free thought, whatever comes out. When I don't have anything to write, I write that I don't have anything to write and suddenly something comes,' said the cover girl

And she said she would tell her younger self to be 'honest.'

She added, 'I still try and tell myself now is just, not to sweat the small stuff. I think like one of my worst qualities is that I take everything to heart and everything matters to me. I really stress about things like what we're facing right now, and how significant this issue is.

Wow: The star has been documenting her life on lockdown to her 782,000 followers, and posed up in her lingerie for a sizzling snap

'When I look back at the things that I have gotten upset about or that I worry about, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter.

'My other favorite saying is like not to take criticism personally but to take it seriously, and I think that's important to reflect and to try to navigate the feedback that you get productively.'

She said her best vacation was in Paris and her worst was this year with Devon Windsor.

'She was getting married in St Barts, and my best friend, Olivia Culpo, and I were each others dates. So we traveled together and shared a villa. I've never been to St. Barts so I was very excited.

'We traveled all day from LA to Miami, spent the night in Miami, flew from Miami to St Croix and then took a boat from St Croix to St Barts and the minute we got to St Bart's I came down with the worst flu.

She was sick the entire trip.

'I couldn't keep anything down. I had chills and a fever and I spent the entire vacation in St Barts during this beautiful wedding by myself, except 10 minutes of the ceremony watching them say I do.

'It was the absolute worst trip of my entire life.'

Season three of Vida, which is on Stars, starts airing 26 April, and it's the final season of the show. 'I'm proud and excited about it, so I hope everyone will tune in to watch.'

She is also designing Apt. 9 + Cara Santana for Kohls over the past year. 'I'm looking to continue to bring accessible, affordable clothing to all women very soon, directly from me to them.'
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn exits a vehicle as he arrives for his sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington on Dec. 18, 2018. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Grassley Calls on Barr to Intervene in Flynn Case, Criticizes FBI and DOJ

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday publicly called for Attorney General William Barr to intervene in the case of former White House national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

Grassley also criticized the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for their handling of the case against Flynn, dubbed Crossfire Razor,part of the larger investigation the FBI had begun in 2016 into alleged ties between Russia and the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump, also known as Crossfire Hurricane.

Grassley, who was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee through the start of the Russia probe, wrote on Twitter: New DOJ docs seem 2back Lt Gen Flynns claim that FBI/DOJ/Mueller team railroaded 30yr veteran in Russia probe. For yrs, Ive asked for DOJs Flynn records. Their response: nothing 2see here.

Obviously not true! Time to put all cards on the table. Transparency brings accountability.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 4, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

He continued: FBI/DOJ screwed up so many times in Russia probe, very reasonable for AG Barr + impartial judge 2take close look at Flynn case. Accused deserves fairness + Public deserves accountability + Prosecutor/investigator/lawyer misconduct deserves consequences.

Grassleys comments come after FBI files unsealed by the Justice Department on April 29 showed that an FBI official had questioned whether the bureau was trying to catch Flynn in a lie in an interview to prosecute him or get him fired.

Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017 to one count of lying to FBI agents during the interview on Jan. 24, 2017. The interview had focused on Flynns phone calls with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak in 2016. Flynn in his guilty plea said that he made false statements about a conversation he had with Kislyak.

Several emails released on April 29 showed that some of the officials involved in the interview had discussed whether to warn Flynn that lying to a federal officer is a crime; Flynn didnt receive that warning during the interview. The FBI also appeared to have had the transcripts of calls between Flynn and Kislya, but some top FBI officials at the time decided that Flynn shouldnt be shown the transcripts during the interview, according to emails.

On Thursday, Grassley called for actions to be taken against those who violated Flynns constitutional rights.

Many of my colleagues r rightfully calling for prosecution of ppl who violated Flynns constitutional rights, he wrote. MORE IMPORTANTLY the whole country needs to know how his rights were violated. TRUTH getting out is most important so this FBI abuse wont be repeated again on someone else.

He also called on Barr to intervene in the case, writing, AttGen Barr: its so obvious the unconstitutional punishment that GenFlynn has had for four long years u need to intervene and #FREE FLYNN.

Grassley, who now serves as the Senate Finance Committee chairman, also noted that the newly unsealed documents were stamped with SCO as in Special Counsels Office.

Did Mueller have these docs? Why did his team sit on them? What else is Mueller team that cost taxpayers $30+ million hiding? he asked. The ppl deserve answers 2restore faith in federal law enforcement agencies.

Flynn was the first Trump campaign official to be charged by the special counsel Robert Mueller. The charge Flynn pleaded guilty to was unrelated to the alleged collusion. Mueller, who took over the FBIs investigation in May 2017, finished his investigation in March 2019 and found no evidence that Trump or his campaign knowingly colluded with Russia.

Flynn has not been sentencedhis sentencing has been repeatedly delayed to allow him to cooperate with authorities on other cases and to resolve his defense teams request last year to disclose alleged exculpatory evidence.

In January, Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea because of the governments bad faith, vindictiveness, and breach of the plea agreement, his legal team wrote in a court filing (pdf) at the time. Flynn said that he only entered a guilty plea because his former lawyers hadnt represented him effectively at the time.

Flynns current lawyer, Sidney Powell, who has said the case should be dismissed for government misconduct, said in an April 24 court filing that evidence in the newly released material showed that Flynn was deliberately set up and framed by corrupt agents at the top of the FBI.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a call with Fox News on Thursday that the new materials could well warrant additional charges against some of the top officials at the FBI.

Petr Svab contributed to this report.
This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.

Americas technology superpowers are a little nervous. Thats sensible, and also terrifying.

Financial reports filing in from Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and others show the big tech companies are holding up OK  great, even. As expected, so far the big and powerful are growing, hiring and spending as many other businesses fight just to survive a pandemic-driven economic freeze.

But even the tech titans have lots of shrugs and buts. Theyre confident about the far-off future, yet cautious about whats on the horizon. No one wants to be overly optimistic or overextended.

This might be posturing; its tacky to gloat when many millions of people have lost their jobs. But the worrying feels genuine. When the most successful companies are anxious, you know were in scary times.
A special court here on Friday



extended till May 8 the CBI custody ofbusinessmen-brothers Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan of DHFL group in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

The duo was arrested last Sundayfrom a quarantine facility at Mahabaleshwar in Satara district, nearly 50 days after they were booked in a case of bribery against former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor.

The Wadhawans were produced before a special court here on Friday as their previous remand ended.

The central probe agency sought their further custody saying that it needed to probe the "deeper conspiracy" between the Wadhawans and Kapoor.

The agency alleged that there are more than 150 shell companies controlled by the Wadhawans, which they want to examine.

Besides, there are several companies floated by Rana Kapoor and his family and it needed to check whether they (Wadhawans) had any transactions with these companies, the agency said.

Defence advocate Subodh Desai opposed the CBI's plea saying their custody was not required as everything was on record.

However, the court extended the custody till May 8.

The Wadhawan brothers are named as accused in the CBI FIR pertaining to swindling of money by Kapoor and others, the officials said.

The agency has alleged that Kapoor, 62, entered into a criminal conspiracy with Wadhawan for extending the financial assistance to DHFL through Yes Bank in return for substantial undue benefits to himself and his family members through companies held by them.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April to June, 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL).

In return, Wadhawan allegedly "paid kickback of Rs 600 crore" to Kapoor and family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor.

Besides the CBI, the duo was also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tenants looking for beachfront homes in Sydney have been encouraged to make the most of plummeting rental prices brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ric Serraro from Raine & Horne in Double Bay said they have seen up to 30 per cent price drops on some properties in the city's exclusive eastern suburbs, including at Bondi Beach, due to the health crisis.

'The tenants have got more choices, if you're looking to move into a suburb where you thought you may not have been able to afford, now may be the time,' he told Nine News.

A two-bedroom apartment across the road from Bondi Beach has dropped its weekly rent from $920 to $650 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tenants looking for beachfront homes in Sydney have been encouraged to make the most of plummeting rental prices brought on by the coronavirus pandemic (pictured: A house up for rent in Manly)

Facebook groups are filled with desperate tenants hoping to find new housemates (Pictured: A room for rent in Woollahra Sydney)

Rental prices have been reduced across Sydney and a number of rooms in highly sought after areas are now on offer

Another two-bedroom apartment just minutes from Australia's most famous beach reduced the rent from $650 per week to $500 per week for the first four months.

'Offering a minimum 12-month lease with a rent reduction for four months during COVID-19,' an advertisement read.

The reductions come after many renters left the market due to the health crisis; either moving back in with parents to save money or expats going back overseas.

Australia was also forced to shut its borders to control the outbreak, stopping migrants from entering the country.

'Each year we get about 240,000 new migrants that come through on a net basis and that translates into a lot of underlying demand for new accommodation and we're just simply not getting that now,' Louis Christopher from SQM Research said.

A two-bedroom apartment across the road from Bondi Beach has dropped its weekly rent from $920 to $650 due to the health crisis

This two-bedroom apartment - just minutes from Australia's most famous beach - was reduced from $650 to $500 for the first four months

'This is a tenants market clearly and it's going to be great for tenants over the course of the next six to eight months.'

Rental property prices have also been slashed on the Northern Beaches.

A four-bedroom home in Fairlight, which neighbours Manly Beach, has been discounted by $445 per week.

'Property has been significantly reduced to $950 per week for the first 6 months of the lease agreement, rental will then return to market value of $1,395 per week,' an advertisement read.

Rental property prices have also been slashed on the Northern Beaches. A four-bedroom home in Fairlight, which neighbours Manly Beach, has been discounted by $445 per week
Askamore: Parish News - A new webcam has been installed in St Brigid's Church, Kilrush. Private celebrations will be live-streamed through the webcam from Kilrush. To participate spiritually in the Mass, go to churchmedia.ie. Weekday Masses: 9.30 a.m. Saturday: 6 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m.

HOLY COMMUNIONS - Ballyellis Holy Communions will be deferred till September and Ballyroebuck Holy Communions are deferred till September 27.

Askamore Fun Quiz

1. What year was Askamore Community Centre first transformed into a Santa Village at Christmas to raise funds for Bosnia Refugee Aid?

2. What well known clergyman who is still serving in a nearby parish, was the curate in Askamore from 1958 -1972?

3. What Olympic Gold Medal Winner opened the second Squash Court in Askamore Community Centre in the late 80's?

4. What year did Askamore-Kilrush start up their own Macra Na Feirme Branch?

5. What was the location for the pageants performed in the area in the years 1998 and 2000?

Answers will be printed in next week's Askamore notes.

Carnew

AGRICULTURAL SHOWS CANCELLED

All Agricultural shows have been cancelled, and that includes Tinahely show on the August Monday.

CHURCH CEREMONIES

Carnew parish has Mass on Saturday evenings at 7.30 p.m., Sunday morning at 11 a.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings starting at 7.10 p.m. with rosary. These can be got on Facebook and go into Carnew Tomacork Parish. Coolfancy is live on Facebook on Saturday evenings at 7.30 p.m. go into Coolfancy parish. For Kilrush-Askamore you go into google and put in churchmedia.ie click on the three bars in the right hand corner, click on churches and then on St Brigid's Church Kilrush and then on the play button in the black box, Masses are on Monday to Friday 9.30 a.m., Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday morning 10 a.m.

Communion in Ballyellis is now September 20 and Ballyroebuck September 27 all going well.

COVID-19

To play our part and to help our health system, please do as we are asked by the government, stay at home, wash your hands regular and do social distances.

If you need your groceries/Medicine collect the following are available to do it for you, our local GAA by contacting Michael Rock 087 6425162, James Doran 087 2028669, John Mullen 086 4177808, Fr Chris Hayden 087 2035440, Rev Ruth Elmes 086 0621009, our local fire officer Martin Shannon and our local garda.

You ring your local shop/pharmacy to arrange your order, pay for it and then arrange with these people to collect your items.

USEFUL NUMBERS

TINAHELY AREA - Tinahely Pharmacy 0402 38168; Centra Main Street 0402 38777; Chambers Gala 0402 38148; Centra Lugduff 0402 38733; Murphys Victuallers 0402 38127; Murphys Hotel (Meals) 0402 38109.

CARNEW AREA - McGirrs Pharmacy 053 9426202; Candys Carnew 053 9423751; Centra Carnew 053 9426129.

SHILLELAGH AREA - Walkers 053 9429110.

HACKETSTOWN AREA - Hacketstown Pharmacy 059 6471282; SuperValu Hacketstown 059 6471555; Londis Hacketstown 059 6471120.

Gardai Tinahely 0402 38102; Gardai Carnew 053 9426102; Gardai Baltinglass 059 6482617.

Carnew Primary Care 076 6959090 HSE Corona Help Line 1850 24 1850.

Coolgreany

Community Alert

Coolgreany Community Alert would like to acknowledge the generosity of the Redmond Brothers from the Ashdown Park and the Amber Springs Hotels for their excellent efforts in providing a number of dinners each day for members of our local communities around the district, and a special thanks to our local volunteers for delivering those meals each evening.

Please remain on the lookout for all our senior citizens and everyone who may be living alone, we have put together a small team of volunteers who are more than willing to help anyone who may need messages or prescriptions to be picked up and delivered to their homes, or in any other way that help is necessary. We are particularly willing to support our senior citizens or those who are living alone and cannot get out by organising the collection of a hot meal in the evening.

If anyone of our senior citizens need some small household items attended too, or help with other small chores please feel free to contact 087 4605166 where we can help with these chores, this support can be organised at your convenience.

School Enrolment

Scoil Iosagain Coolgreany is now open for enrolments for the coming new school year starting in September. Due to the fact that the school is now closed, enrolment forms can now be made available by phoning 085 8570276 for help. Thank you.

Birthdays

Congratulations and best wishes to Jack Curran, Kilcarra, who celebrates his fifth birthday on Wednesday, April 29. Hope you have a great day Jack with lots of presents. Birthday greetings also to Leona Kealy, Newtown, who celebrated her 11th birthday on last Saturday, and congratulations to Aaron Terry Keogh, who will celebrate his 10th birthday on Wednesday, April 29. Have a nice day everyone.

Tidy Towns

Well done to Maureen, who was observed on the Coolgreany to Inch road last week picking up rubbish from the ditches which would have been thrown from cars etc. She is definitely making a huge effort to keep the village and local roads clean, but a bit more community support needed to keep the village looking good as we come into the summer months how about a bit more support everyone.

The Tidy Towns Committee are seeking to support of all our community in helping to keep our village tidy by picking up all rubbish in the vicinity of your own home, and also by helping in the watering of the flowers and flower beds etc.

Golden Circle

Following the new guidelines from our government, our tea dance planned for Easter Monday in the Arklow Bay Hotel is now cancelled.

Our trip to Bloom in the park, scheduled for May 28 is now also cancelled as the event is not going ahead, if you have paid for this trip already then please contact Gertie to arrange a refund. All other events are currently going ahead and will be revised if necessary in accordance with government guidelines and advice.

Local Notes

Please remember to forward all notes to me by 8 p.m. on Thursday evening for inclusion in the following week's paper. Phone 087 4605166. Email danken9@gmail.com. Thank you for your cooperation.

Craanford-Monaseed

Church Notes

Daily Mass is being broadcast live from the parish Facebook page at 10 a.m. every morning. Apart from parishioners logging on, we have had visitors from other parts of the county and country and abroad tuning in live. You are all very welcome among us always but never more so than during these difficult and trying times.

ONLINE MASS INTENTIONS - 10 a.m. Sunday, May 10: Paddy Doyle, Ballydarragh.

Recent dead: Rosie Doyle, Gorey Hill. RIP.

CRAANFORD FIRST HOLY COMMUNION - Because of current restrictions this has been rescheduled to Saturday, September 26, at 11 a.m. We are hopeful that, by then, we will be able to proceed.

PARISH OFFICE - Due to the restrictions imposed it is necessary for us to close the parish office. However, Brian will continue to work from home and can be contacted Monday to Friday between the hours of 9.30 a.m. and 12.30 a.m. at 087 3633965. We will continue to publish our newsletter but online only. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to continue posting copies to Nursing Home residents for the coming period, but we will resume this as soon as things return to normal. The Newsletter will be posted on Facebook each week. Email copies will be forwarded as usual. Should you wish to receive it in this way please contact Brian. Also, should you have notices you wish to include please email them to craanfordlocalnews@gmail.com before Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

VISITS TO SICK AND HOUSEBOUND - Out of concern for the wellbeing of our sick and Housebound I will not make my April visits to them with Holy Communion. However, I am always available on request. In the event that pastoral support is needed in Monaseed please also contact me (087 6923280) as Fr Felix is cocooning and should not be involved in pastoral work at this time. I will keep the situation under review and normal activity will hopefully resume as soon as possible. In the meantime, stay safe. Fr Richard.

TROCAIRE BOXES (OFFERINGS) - Please keep your Trocaire Boxes for return at a later date. You may put your donation in any envelope and mark it 'Trocaire' and return it to Craanford-Monaseed churches when our normal service resumes. If you can convert small coin to larger coin or notes this would help greatly in the counting of the collection. Thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

Condolences

Heartfelt condolences to the Sheehan Family Glandoran on the sad passing of Rosie Doyle Gorey Hill. May the family be comforted in the knowledge that the community while separated physically keeps you all in their thoughts and prayers at this sad time.

Thank You

A heartfelt thank you to all who are taking the time to support a little boy Dan Donoher from Co. Laois, who literally needs life saving treatment in the US For more information see any social media platform #doitfordan. With your efforts and support you are making a difference.

GAA club notes

A huge thank you to all our essential workers who are keeping all of us supplied with the necessary health, food and fuel supplies that are required during these very challenging times. A particular word of thanks must go to all our frontline workers who are our unsung heroes and are going above and beyond and who deserve huge praise for all they are doing during this critical time.

A big shout out to all in the community who are helping each other during these times of need, your actions do not go unnoticed and are very much appreciated.

All GAA activities including the weekly lotto sales are cancelled for the foreseeable future. All names below can be contacted if required to help in these present circumstances.

COMMUNITY HELP

Under current circumstances we all understand that people in our community will experience difficulties in the coming days and weeks or may be unable to leave their houses. Craanford Fr O'Regan's GAA and camogie club are ready to help people in need, whether its collection of groceries, medical supplies or prescriptions needing collection, we are HERE TO HELP our neighbours and elderly people who need us any time.

Please do not hesitate to call any of our volunteers in all areas of our community: Anita Kavanagh 086 8362789; Liam Poole 087 6509975; Elaine Byrne 087 2841128; Ronan Bairead 087 9075101; Joanne O'Halloran 085 1434498; Tony O'Toole 089 4653395; Pat Redmond 083 3972237; Nicola Doyle 089 4653395; Peadar Whitty 087 9422322; James Browne 086 1260412; Peter Kenny 087 2437301; Katie Kenny 087 3650929; Stuart Byrne 086 3282754; Nicola Cooney 087 6700400; Patrick Murray 087 2289364; Jim Kenny 087 3863229; Margaret Doyle Ballydarragh 087 2334776; Ollie Doran 087 2101293; Mick Curran 087 6741427; Luke Byrne 087 7177380; Patrick Kavanagh Island 087 2508981; Liz Furlong 087 2317020.

Kilanerin-Ballyfad

GAA CLUB NOTES

There was no jackpot winner in the club lotto draw on the 20th. There were seven match-three winners, so the jackpot was almost won. The numbers were 5, 10, 13 and 18. The next two draws are on Tuesday the fifth and Monday, May 18. The jackpot is now at 4,100.

CHURCH NOTES

Both Churches in Kilanerin and Ballyfad are open everyday for private visits. The parish office is closed for the moment any queries ring parochial house 0402 37120 All public worship is cancelled but Mass is celebrated in the parish every day sadly in private phone or text your intentions to Fr Browne at 086 8926260.

A group of Parishioner volunteer drivers are available to collect and driver emergency supplies or medication please call the parochial house for more details.
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press release

Monrovia  The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) through its Customs Department has seized a huge quantity of substandard pharmaceutical products smuggled into the country.

The substandard pharmaceutical products including Vitamin C, Vitamin B-2, Cold Caps and Amoxicillin among others, were concealed in 18-boxes on-board three Guinean commercial buses.

The medicines, valued at US$10,000, were discovered by officers of the LRA Anti-Smuggling & Investigation Unit (ASIU) after a thorough search of the Guinean commercial buses that brought the products to Liberia. The buses were intercepted following a tip-off from Customs informant.

The medicines were illegally imported into Liberia through the Liberian-Sierra Leonean border post at Bo Waterside in Grand Cape Mount County by four individuals who are not licensed to import medicines, the LRA says.

The seizure is part of an on-going regional customs enforcement operation under the auspices of the World Customs Organization (WCO) code name "Cripharm V" which is targeted at combating the illicit flow of pharmaceutical products.

Meanwhile, the LRA has turned over the seized medicines to the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) for onward inter-agency coordination and action.

Speaking during the presentation of the products to the LMHRA, Assistant LRA Commissioner for Customs Enforcement Blamo Kofa said the Authority remains committed to facilitating legitimate trade while ensuring the protection of the people of Liberia.

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He said even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the LRA remains vigilant in carrying outs its mandate relative to cross border trade and ensuring social protection for the people of Liberia.

The Managing Director of the LMHRA Keturah Smith thanked the LRA for the seizure, describing it as laudable.

She called for more collaboration between governmental agencies with the aim to ensure the protection of the health of citizens by working together to eliminate illegal importation of medicines and other harmful products into the country.

In a related development, the LRA Anti-Smuggling Unit recently intercepted a 20-foot Container with Hazardous Chemical (Sulphuric Acid) imported from the Netherlands without permit and in violation of Liberia General Business Law and the Environmental Protection and Management Law.

The March 28, 2020 response and seizure were triggered by an alert from Customs Risk Management Unit and is also part of an on-going Customs regional enforcement operations under the auspices of the World Customs Organization (WCO) code name Alamba 2020, targeted at combating the illicit flow of precursor chemicals used to produce Improved Explosive Devices (IED's).

Imported by York Trading Inc, the dangerous chemical was turned over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said that restrictions in the areas marked as red zones will not be eased even after the coronavirus lockdown ends on May 3.

Addressing a press briefing, Uddhav said, The areas marked as Red zones will be under strict observation even after lockdown ends on May 3. The Red zones will not open. This means Mumbai, Pune & Nagpur cities which have seen a rise in COVID-19 cases will not be opened after lockdown ends on May 3.

Maharashtra Chief Minister said the state stands firm in battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Answering queries about what will happen after May 3, the day the national lockdown is set to end, he said the ''priority of the government is to save lives.''

"We will surely give relaxations after May 3 seeing the condition of specific areas but be cautious and co-operate, else whatever we have achieved in the past few days will be lost. So, we will go ahead with patience and caution," Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said through a video conferencing.

The Shiv Sena chief also urged the people of Maharashtra ''not to panic'' and expressed hope by saying we are going to win this war with your help.

I want people to not panic about COVID-19. It's only about starting the treatment on time. From few days old babies to 83 years old people have recovered and gone home. People on ventilators have also recovered well, the Maharashtra Chief Minister said.

Calling lockdown as a ''speed breaker'', Uddhav said that without it coronavirus COVID-19 figures would have been very high.

The CM assured that his government would do everything to help those stranded in other states.

For sending people of other states to their homes and bringing ours back, there is a system. One needs to follow rules and guidelines. Do not rush and make a crowd. It will be in the process. If panic and indiscipline persists then we may withdraw the permission, he warned.

He added that his government is taking good care of all policemen who have been tested positives. Out of total positive cases, 75-80% are mild or very mild cases. We have done nearly 2 Lakh testing, he said.

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state with 9,915 cases and 432 deaths. 1593 people have been cured and discharged in the state. (Latest update by the state health department puts the number of confirmed cases at 10,498 and death toll at 459).

Gujarat is just behind Maharashtra in terms of both the number of cases and fatalities. As per the data provided by the Union Health Ministry, 4,082 people are confirmed to have contracted the virus while 197 succumbed to the disease. (As per latest state govt data, 4395 cases and 214 deaths are confirmed in Gujarat).

State of Madhya Pradesh recorded 65 more COVID-19 cases, taking the state`s tally of coronavirus cases to 2,625. According to the state Health Department, the tally is inclusive of 137 patients who have lost their lives to the highly contagious virus.

Today is the thirty-eighth day of Indias nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 3. The Centre on Wednesday hinted that the ongoing nationwide lockdown is likely to be extended beyond May 3 but many districts will "considerable relaxations" from restrictions.

The nationwide lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus threat. The 21-day lockdown which ended on April 14 was further extended till May 3.
Gov. Phil Murphy will hold his daily briefing Friday in Trenton to provide updates on the coronavirus pandemic that has surpassed 110,000 confirmed cases in New Jersey.

The 1 p.m. press conference at the Trenton War Memorials George Washington Ballroom will be streamed lived on the governors YouTube channel.

Murphy will be joined by state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, health communicable disease service medical director Dr. Edward Lifshitz and State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick Callahan.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

On Thursday, Murphy met with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss more widespread testing and financial aid to the state to help recover from the pandemic. He then traveled back to Trenton afterward for the daily briefing.

State officials reported 118,652 total positive COVID-19 tests as of Saturday morning, with 7,228 deaths related to the virus since the first case in New Jersey was reported March 4.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.
When flying starts post lockdown, flying times may come down significantly with passenger airlines set to get access to defence airspace. Senior aviation officials have confirmed to Hindustan Times that Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting with Department of Military affairs allowed the use of this hitherto segregated airspace.

This is a reform suggestion that has been pending for several years, said the senior official. It means that you can fly in straight lines instead of avoiding defence areas. It will significantly bring down costs.

To be sure, it still doesnt mean the airlines will be allowed to fly over strategically important defence assets and areas.

Due to social distancing norms necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, planes will not be allowed to fly to full capacity. The access to defence airspace will help bring down fuel costs.

A statement from the Prime Ministers office said: The Indian Air Space should be effectively used in such a manner that the flying time is reduced, benefitting the travelling public and also helping airlines save costs in close co-operation with the Department of Military Affairs.

A spokesperson for air carrier GoAir said: Overall, this initiative will benefit the industry, with less flying time for the passengers, and also enable better emissions. However, the exact benefits can be known only after the routes are published.

Usually, there are height restrictions over defence areas and populated areas. But if they agree, then that means that civil airlines will be able to use their airspace too, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur, Addl Director General, Centre for Air Power studies.

``It could make substantial difference. For instance, If you go from Delhi to Chennai, you would avoid ammunition depots like Jabalpur. With this decision, you dont have to do that anymore, said Group Captain VP Singh. That means a shorter flying time.

While this will help ailines cut costs, what will help even more, a pilot said on the condition of anonymity, would be to reduce the tax on aviation turbine fuel.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister also cleared the handing over of six more airports on a public private partnership basis.
Detectives in Strand Road are appealing for information following the report of a robbery in the Strand Road/Rock Road area of Derry yesterday.

It was reported that sometime between 2.30pm and 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, a man was approached by a male armed with an unknown weapon and ordered to hand over his phone.

The phone was handed over and the male made off on foot into a nearby building.

Enquiries were carried out and a 27-year-old man was arrested a short time later on suspicion of robbery.

He has since been released on bail pending further police enquiries.

Detectives are appealing for anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident to contact them in Strand Road on 101 quoting reference number 850 29/4/20.

Or, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Matty Simmons, who helped launch National Lampoon magazine and was instrumental in bringing into being its most famous side project, the 1978 movie National Lampoons Animal House, died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.

His son Michael confirmed his death.

In his 2012 book, Fat, Drunk and Stupid: The Inside Story Behind the Making of Animal House, Mr. Simmons gave a succinct version of his unusual career path: The Diners Club begat Weight Watchers Magazine, which begat the National Lampoon, and that begat Animal House.

Mr. Simmons was a press agent in New York, with clubs and restaurants among his clients, when, in 1949, Frank McNamara, a businessman, and Ralph E. Schneider, a lawyer, asked him if he wanted to help them bring an idea they had to fruition. They envisioned a card that people could use instead of cash to pay for restaurant meals.
In todaysdrama column, I review a webcast production offrom St. Paul, Minnesota. Heres an excerpt.

* * *

Why cant theater companies throughout America revive important small-cast plays, using Zoom to let the actors perform from their respective homes? Im not talking about a one-shot reading but a full-fledged productionone, however, specially tailored to the unique properties of Zoom.

Now comes the answer, not from Broadway but from Park Square Theatre, a Minnesota troupe new to me whose plans to perform The Diary of Anne Frank for more than 12,000 students in St. Paul were sabotaged by the pandemic. Instead of abandoning the production, the members of the cast, who were already using Zoom to work on their lines, decided to move the entire show to the web. Ellen Fenster, the director, restaged the production with the technical assistance of Aaron Fiskradatz, a local theater artist and Zoom technologist. Billed as a special online production created by artists in isolation, it is far more than a mere stopgap: It is the most stirring staging of Anne Frank I have ever seen, a version that employs the unique properties of Zoom in a way that heightens the intrinsic drama of the play itself

Adapted for the stage in 1955 by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Anne Frank is a dramaturgically old-fashioned but nonetheless thoroughly sound dramatization of the story of a Jewish teenager from Amsterdam who hid from the Nazis with her family, setting down her day-to-day experiences in a diary that she left behind when the Franks were found and imprisoned by the SS in 1944. Though Anne died in a concentration camp, her diary survived, and the stage version, which was filmed exceptionally well by George Stevens in 1959, remains a regional-theater staple. Small wonder: It tells an emotionally overwhelming story with a simplicity that brings it within reach of just about any cast imaginable, students and amateurs included.

This production, however, is in no possible way amateurish. It is acted by a very, very strong 10-person ensemble led by Sulia Rose Altenberg (Anne) and Michael Paul Levin (Mr. Frank), each member of which appears in costume in a separate Zoom box, seated in front of neutral-colored backdrops of varying shades. They speak directly to the unseen audience, using simple, sparing gestures but making no attempt to suggest physical interaction until the plays climax.

* * *

Read the whole thing

The climactic scene from George Stevens film version of The Diary of Anne Frank:
Kanye West has been a controversial figure as of late. Controversy aside, his talent is undeniable, as is his famous marriage into the Kardashian family. That said, when West isnt spending time with his family in Los Angeles, hes probably either touring or at his Wyoming ranch. A lot is happening on Wests 4,000-acre ranch, but one weird thing thats also happening is the fact that West has a lot of vehicles there. Heres a look at Kanye Wests Wyoming ranch and the massive fleet of vehicles that roll around on it.

Kanye West | John Shearer/Getty Images for MTV.com

Whats happening on Kanye Wests Wyoming ranch

At the core of Wests ranch, which is actually called West Lake Ranch, is a dream. As GQ said, other than a makeshift studio that West built on the property, West Lake Ranch isnt all that different than what it looked like when he bought the land. But, even when West isnt in Wyoming, hes always thinking and planning for the future of West Lake Ranch.

West has had a profound effect on many things. While hes mostly impacted music and fashion, GQ said that hes currently planning on changing the world as we know it. West told GQ that he wants West Lake Ranch to be a Yeezy Campus and that what West and his team does there will be a paradigm shift for humanity. Currently, it looks like West is using West Lake Ranch to experiment with futuristic buildings.

The buildings that West and his architects are planning are domes and, as one of Wests architects told GQ, have a big sustainability aspect. Whether or not Wests plans for these buildings will change the world remains to be seen. But, in the meanwhile, West has 4,000-acres of land that he and his team needs to travel across, so naturally, he has a lot of vehicles.

The fleet of vehicles on Kanye Wests ranch

Like many Americans who may live or work on a ranch, West has a fleet of trucks on his Yeezy Campus. GQ said that West had an army of Ford F-150 Raptors, all of which were painted black. Each Raptor starts at about $53,000, so West spent a good amount of money on this fleet of Raptors.

But thats not all. GQ said that West also had a handful of UTVs from an unknown manufacturer. When these UTVs arent enough, GQ said that West also has 10 SHERP ATVs. When these ATVs arent enough, GQ said that West also has a tank, a Ripsaw EV2 to be precise. Unsurprisingly, all of these vehicles were also painted black.

A look at the SHERP ATV and the Ripsaw EV2

According to SHERP, its ATV is a Russian-made ATV that can conquer almost any obstacle in its way. Its not very powerful, as it only has a 44-hp engine, but power and speed isnt what it cares about. Due to its design, it can climb over objects that are over 2-feet tall. Theres a lot of rocky terrain that surrounds the Yeezy Campus, so this feature makes the SHERP ATVs invaluable. The SHERP ATV also has a lot of options but each one starts at about $120,000.

The craziest vehicle on Wests ranch, however, has to be his tank, the Ripsaw EV2. According to Ripsaw, the EV2 was actually designed for the U.S. military, but the U.S. military decided not to buy it.

Still, it was designed with war in mind, and as a result, it has some impressive features. Ripsaw says that it can have an engine that gets up to 1,500-hp all the meanwhile being extremely tough and agile. Like the SHERP ATV, the EV2 can also conquer almost any terrain. The EV2 starts at $550,000 but Ripsaw also offers many options for it.
One person has died in a fire outbreak that occurred at the Oando filling station, Obalende area of Lagos, while 16 others were injured.

This is the second filling station to have encountered a fire incident this week.

Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Director General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said the fire occurred when a Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) tanker spilled its content in the front of the filling station.

He said one person died in the fire, while 16 others sustained different degrees of injuries. This includes a fire fighter who sustained serious injuries from the fire.

The agency received a distress call on the above incident concerning a 45, 000 litre capacity tanker loaded with PMS which was ablaze having fallen on its side directly in front of the petrol station.

Scene of fire outbreak st Oando filling station, Obalende area of Lagos, Scene of fire outbreak st Oando filling station, Obalende area of Lagos, Scene of fire outbreak used to illustrate the story

Efforts to combat the flames by the agencys officials and men of the Lagos State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service have been successful and the fire has been extinguished and the station and surrounding buildings protected.

Unfortunately, the inferno has resulted in a single (1) fatality, fifteen (15) minor casualties and one (1) major casualty (injured) who happens to be a Lagos State Firefighter. He has been subsequently transferred to the Lagos State General Hospital for treatment while minor casualties received on the scene medical attention, Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said.

He urged members of the public to keep away and allow the responders to conclude recovery and also clear the road for vehicular movement.

A similar fire outbreak occurred on Monday at a NNPC filling station, on Kayode Street, off College Road, Ogba area of the state.

The fire razed a part of the filling station and a car mart nearby. No fewer than 30 cars were burnt in the fire.

LASEMA said the fire occurred when a tanker with 33,000 litres of diesel gutted fire while discharging its content into an underground tank. No fatality was recorded.
Dilip Yadav, 24, feels himself a luckiest person, as he is among more than 1,000 migrant workers coming back home from Telangana to Jharkhand in a special train provided by the ministry of railways.

Resident of Chando village in Jharkhands Daltonganj district, Yadav said over phone, I am very happy that I am on the train and returning home. Yadav went to Hyderabad from Daltonganj in December last year and worked as construction labourer there.

Another worker Santosh Kumar Singh, 27, who is in the same train, said over phone that they were allowed in the train after proper screening. He expressed happiness over the treatment provided by the railways in the train. We are being provided food in time and facing no problem, Singh, who is also the resident of Daltonganj, said.

They are not alone but over 1,000 workers, most of them belonging to Jharkhands Daltonganj and Garhwa district, travelling in the train are also happy returning home after 38 days of lockdown. The special train is expected to arrive at Ranchis Hatia station by 11pm on Friday.

We are expecting the train to arrive at Hatia station by 11pm, Chief public relation officer-cum-senior divisional operation manager of Ranchi division, Neeraj Kumar said.

The Jharkhand government is all prepared to receive the first lot of migrant workers coming in a special train from Telangana and the workers arriving from West Bengals Burdwan district in three buses in Jharkhands Sahibganj district.

The workers who are travelling by train would be sent to the respective districts, mostly by tonight. The joint secretary of state disaster management department, Manish Tiwary, said, The workers arriving by trains would be sent to their respective districts where they will be screened and quarantined.

State transport department is arranging 50 private buses to ferry the workers to their respective districts.

A senior official from the transport department, who did not wish to be named, said, Most of the workers coming by train belonged to Daltonganj and Garhwa district. We need at least 50 buses to ferry them to their destinations from Hatia station. They will be sent to their respective districts tonight.

He further said three buses were also sent to West Bengals Burdwan district to bring the workers stranded there. One police and a magistrate have also been sent in each bus, who would ensure implementation of social distancing and screening there. Average 25 workers would come in one bus, the official said.

Chief minister Hemant Soren has been demanding from the Centre to allow special trains to bring Jharkhands migrant workers, as it is a big challenge for the state to bring workers from distant states such Mumbai, Gujarat, Telangana, Bengaluru and others.

We have readied the work plan for the workers and students stranded outside. I would like to appeal to them to not worry. The state government will bring you back safely to the home, said Hemant Soren in special appeal.

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Dalgona is an old-school Korean confectionary that first saw popularity decades before the viral challenge. Here's the scoop, from Seoul's Cafe Cha

SEONGDONG-GU, SEOUL / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / While there have been millions of Google searches for "dalgona coffee" in recent weeks, few outside of Korea know that the resulting photos of whipped drinks made of just sugar, water, and instant java have very little to do with dalgona itself.

In fact, dalgona is a Korean word that refers to an old-school honeycomb sugar confectionary that became popular and adored by children in the 1960s after the Korean War.

While still hot after being cooked, it appears fluffy - not unlike whipped cream, before being poured into moulds and hardened into candy. The dessert, similar to toffee, is known for the unforgettable combination of saccharine sweetness and a slight bitter aftertaste.

Beyond the viral challenge that first made it a common utterance in March 2020, the closest thing to real "dalgona coffee" is being served out of a trendy Korean milk tea bar called Cafe Cha. The cafe has gained a loyal following of its own since 2019 and, in just a few short months, has grown into 6 locations, including one in upscale Aoyama, Tokyo, to meet the growing demand for its original dalgona-inspired recipes.

"All Koreans have memories of dalgona," explains Cafe Cha's founder Kenny Hong

Kyoung-soo of the cafe's popularity. "As children, we queued up at the street stalls and ate the sticky toffee on sticks whenever we could afford it after school. If we ate cleanly around the shape, we would win a free one!"

Cafe Cha has propelled the confectionary from a fading collective memory into a modern day

f oodie sensation, thanks to its minimal interior design and innovative recipes, both unmistakably crafted to the Instagram era. K-pop stars like Serri from Dal Shabet, as well as fashion and food influencers, join the daily lines to get their fill of dalgona-inspired drinks and freshly baked scones before they're sold out.

The cafe's signature dalgona milk tea is prepared by an unusual brewing method: crushed assam black tea leaves are subjected to high temperatures in a special teaspresso machine, extracting a maximum amount of concentrated tea in under a minute. The richly-flavoured tea is combined with milk and topped with crushed dalgona. Customers are encouraged to wait 5 to 10 minutes before sipping, leaving time for the dalgona to melt, thereby sweetening the drink naturally.

Meanwhile, the cafe's signature dalgona latte is a freshly-poured latte topped with crunchy, flavourful dalgona that can be scooped, or melted into the drink to create an unforgettable taste.

Freshly baked scones also get the K-style dalgona treatment: the light and fluffy dalgona scones are coated with the hot candy before it hardens into a crunchy, sweet layer.

Thanks to the dalgonacoffeechallenge that has taken the internet by storm, Cafe Cha is seeing renewed interest in dalgona outside of Korea, and welcomes the chance to introduce this traditional treat to the world.

"One of the reasons dalgonacoffeechallenge went viral was because it only requires three ingredients that everyone can pull out of their pantries during quarantine," Hong says. "Dalgona is actually quite hard to make at home without burning it! We challenge you to make the real honeycomb toffee dalgona at home!"

For media inquiries, hi-resolution images, or collaborations, please reply to: info@cha-seongsu.com

Freshly baked scones get the dalgona treatment
A group of 19 juveniles, ranging in age from nine to 16, have been accused of stealing nearly 50 cars worth more than $1million from local dealerships over the last two months, according to North Carolina authorities.

Since the suspects began stealing cars on March 17, authorities said at least 20 car heists were pulled off and are believed to be in connection with the minors.

18 of the thefts happened at dealerships in Winston-Salem, while an additional two dealerships were targeted just 15 minutes east in Kernersville.

At least 14 dealerships were made victims in the crime spree.

'As a result of these crimes, forty-six (46) vehicles were reported as stolen in Winston-Salem,' said a press release on Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.

The vehicles are reportedly worth around $1,138,718. All but six of the nearly four dozen cars have been recovered.

A gang of 19 kids stole 46 cars from several North Carolina dealerships, including this Parkway Ford in Winston-Salem

The stolen vehicles came from at least eight dealerships, including Lexus, Audi, Volvo, Honda, Ford, Subaru, Toyota and Chevrolet.

For the majority of the thefts, the juveniles reportedly swiped keys for new cars or for cars being serviced at the dealerships. Many of the dealerships were hit more than once.

Authorities said they have tried, but failed to secure custody of the juveniles.

The reason why is unclear, but the North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced it was trying to lower the number of minors in detention amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities said the stolen cars were worth around $1million and all but six of the vehicles have been recovered

The department said they've been utilizing electronic monitoring instead.

'Detectives have sought, and thus far have been denied, secure custody orders from the Forsyth County Department of Juvenile Justice for the involved juveniles,' the release said.

However, as of Friday four of the children were taken into custody and three more had minor charges that didn't warrant an arrest,' WFMY reports.

Those kids who avoided arrest will most likely face some sort of penalty.

Mekeal Stewart Binns (pictured in mugshot) charged with possession of a stolen vehicle in connection to the crime spree

Parents could also face consequences for their children's actions, including fines, civil penalties or jail.

Additionally, one adult named Mekeal Stewart Binns, 19, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle in connection to the crime spree. He is being held at the Forsyth County Detention Center.

It's unclear what role authorities think Binns played in the heists.

Lt. Amy Gauldin of the Winston-Salem Police Department told Winston-Salem Journal that some of the juveniles are repeat offenders and have stolen several cars.

Many of them were going out for joy rides most likely out of boredom, Gauldin said.

North Carolina, that has 10,509 coronavirus cases and 378 deaths, extended its stay-at-home orders through May 8.

Schools, as well as retailers and other businesses, shuttered due the outbreak.

Capt. Steven Tollie explained that the group of juveniles may have told their friends how to steal cars.

'Their success in the early stages certainly exacerbated the problem,' said Tollie.

Authorities the group of children completed 18 heists, including at least one at the Flow Honda (pictured) in Salem-Winston

'These other kids saw them with a new car, and they shared how they acquired it.'

Local authorities are working with auto dealerships to help them implement better security around the building and protect car keys from potential thieves.

'Thats a bunch of cars, and its a bunch of money. I am hoping that we get this investigation progressed to the point we can get this stopped,' said Tollie.

Authorities are asking that anyone with information regarding this investigation contact the Winston-Salem Police Department at (336) 773-7700 or CrimeStoppers at (336) 727-2800.
by Melani Manel Perera

The head of the Negombo Grand Mosque said that Muslims decided to show our solidarity. Hence, they picked the seniors home run by Catholic nuns in Negombo. We gave them medicines, food rations, healthcare products and more. We donated 100 bags of rations worth 2,000 rupees each to the church in Katuwapitiya, to be handed out to the needy in the village affected by the attack.

Colombo (Asia News)  Several Muslim community and youth groups, as well as school children, recently commemorated the victims of last year's Easter Sunday attacks. To remember all of them, even to console wounded hearts, they raised money for those in need, and two songs were released to build hope.

Muslims have been offended, accused of the ruthless attack on Easter Sunday. But it's not true, said Movulavi Mohomad Salman, head of the Grand Mosque in Negombo, speaking to AsiaNews.

We have had good relations with Buddhist and Christian communities for many years. In particular, in Negombo we know nuns, religious, Buddhist monks and lay people. But this was upset by the absolutely wicked behaviour of a group of extremists.

We have been attacked, he noted. We want to make people understand that the Muslim community is not like that and it does not stand with the attackers. We also want to show our love, respect and generosity for our Buddhist and Christian brothers and sisters.

For this reason, "the Negombo Muslim mosque committee has decided to show our solidarity and our love for people, but people really in need, with the aim of remembering all our brothers and sisters killed in the attacks on Easter Sunday on 21 April 21.

We have therefore chosen the seniors home run by Catholic nuns in Negombo. We gave them medicines, food rations, healthcare products and more. We donated 100 bags of rations worth 2,000 rupees each to the church in Katuwapitya, to be handed out to the needy in the village affected by the attack.

The difficult situation of people facing the lockdown period was forgotten. Hundreds of food kits were distributed at the Negombo police station, the Angurukaramulla temple, HQI police, Dalupotha church, the Grand Street church as well as in the Jaela and Negombo areas.

Another group of young men and women from Negombo who work in the area expressed their affection to those in need at such a difficult time.

Fathima Carder, a Catholic mother of two, whose own mother is Muslim, works at the coordinator of the Negombo division of the National Peace Council (NPC). She told AsiaNews that, with the great help of the NPC, they were able to express their solidarity and good heart, remembering all those who were taken away in last year's ruthless attack.

Nimal Perera, coordinator of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement project, told AsiaNews that "youth groups from different NAFSO districts wrote a song as a tribute to our brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives on 21 April 2019 in Colombo-Kochchikade, Negombo-Katuwapitiya, in the churches of Batticaloa and other places.

This is a tribute to all those families who lost loved ones as well as an appeal by our youth in different districts from different ethnic groups and different faiths: A single voice to safeguard life and protect humanity in our society, today.

We released a song, Unity Building up of Hope, after observing two minutes of silence, along with everyone in Sri Lanka, at 8.45 am on 21 April 2020.

The following song was written, produced and released under the auspices of the Youth for Unity and Promotion of Peace and Reconciliation programme of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) in Negombo.

"It is not a rainy cloud / What you see in the sky ... But the bombs we have blasted / the black smoke rising up ... My son be a gusty wind / daughter be a pouring rain ... Dousing flames lit by us / Become the cooling breeze for us ... Think of tomorrow of our country / Yearning to become one family ... Throwing off caste and creed / Country bounded in deep love ...
Churches, Christian charities and youth organisations are working together to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee over the four-day Bank Holiday from June 2-5 and a new website has been created to celebrate the Queen's 70 years of faith and service.

Churches, Christian charities and youth organisations are working together to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee over the four-day Bank Holiday from June 2-5 and a new website has been created to celebrate the Queen's 70 years of faith and service.

Eckling Grange cares for the elderly Despite some bad press, there are some Care Homes where 'Care' really does mean 'what it says on the tin', and a star example of this is the Norfolk Christian residential care home, Eckling Grange, at Dereham. Read more

New Commission to look at use of Norfolk churches A new Church Buildings Commission has been launched with the purpose of looking at the church buildings across Norfolk and Waveney in terms of their use and sustainability. Read more

Norfolk link to teaching opportunity with TCKs A Norfolk couple working in Asia have been helped by teachers of Third Culture Kids, and a programme is now inviting more people to get involved with it. Read more

Norfolk charity seeks mentors for prison leavers Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate Mentor support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk. Read more

Prayer and Worship week for Sheringham church Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham has launched a Prayer and Worship week as they seek Gods guidance for 2022 Read more

South Norfolk church schools are set to merge The Diocese of Norwich St Benets Multi Academy Trust has been given the green light to amalgamate Harleston CE Primary Academy and Archbishop Sancroft High School into one All Through School. Read more

Norwich conference looks at how to tackle spiritual abuse Following a series of revelations about high-profile Christian leaders, a group of Norfolk churches is organising a conference to look at spiritual abuse and godly leadership. Read more

Revelation vacancy for Centre Manager The Revelation Christian Resource Centre and Cafe is seeking to appoint a Centre Manager. Read more

Gardening morning at N Norfolk Christian centre The Pleasaunce Holiday Centre in Overstrand is holding a work-party morning on Saturday February 5 and would like as many people as possible to join in to help get the gardens ship-shape. Read more

Poringland Bible teachers look at a building project The Way of the Spirit is starting the New Year with a meeting in Poringland to explore the Book of Nehemiah. Read more

House of Genesis needs part-time support worker The House of Genesis is seeking a part-time (20 hours per week) Support Worker to contribute to the day-to-day running of the charity, which provides accommodation to homeless adult men in Norwich. Read more

Church marriage  open to all? Regular contributor Philip Young shares with us his personal view on whether churches should marry same-sex couples. Read more

Christian retreat centre has new Chair of Trustees Paul Dunning has recently been appointed as Chair of Trustees of the Quiet Waters Christian Retreat Centre. He explains how he got involved and how others can do the same. Read more

Magdalene Group: Women's Specialist Practitioner The Norwich-based Magdalene Group needs a Womens Specialist Practitioner to provide gender and trauma-informed support to women experiencing multiple disadvantage and provide support to female sex workers and victims of sexual exploitation and coercion. Read more

Ringsfield Hall offers residential trips on Norfolk border Ringsfield Hall provides children with outdoor residential opportunities through school trips. Activities relate to nature, care for the planet and very special care and respect for the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of each child. Read more

Ministers outreach at Sheringham model boat lake Local Christian, Graham Pickhaver has been sharing his testimony by giving out tracts at the model boating lake in Sheringham. Read more

Chance to meet Norwich Christian leaders at lunch Christian church and ministry leaders are invited to the first Transforming Norwich lunch of 2022 on Wednesday January 26 at St Stephen's Church in Norwich city centre. Read more


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The global coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of many significant events including graduations.

Every year, graduates look forward to dressing up in a cap and gown, walking across a stage and listening to a commencement speech, typically delivered by someone noteworthy. On Sunday, Lisa Price, the founder of hair care brand Carol's Daughter, will deliver a virtual commencement address on Facebook Live.

"Whether you're graduating from college, high school or stepping up into first grade, I would like to invite you into my kitchen on Sunday, May 3 for your very own commencement address, Price said in a YouTube video. "Calling on the future leaders to join me in Lisa's kitchen."

Price's' multimillion-dollar beauty empire started from humble beginnings in her Brooklyn-based apartment kitchen where she would mix fragrances and oils to create beauty products. Today, the company carries a wide variety of hair and body care products in mass retailers nationwide gaining loyal celebrity clients including Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Erykah Badu.

In 2014, Carol's Daughter became a part of L'Oreal's USA group, and in 2017, Price's company made history by becoming the first beauty brand on exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

PHOTO: Lisa Price will deliver a 2020 graduation commencement speech on May 3 via Facebook Live. (Courtesy of Carol's Daughter)

"One of the many things this unprecedented moment has shown us is that love, hope, leadership, and resolve are critical traits our future leaders will need," said Price in a statement. "Those traits helped me build and sustain a company in the fickle beauty industry, so I'm honored to be able to share some of my lessons with these graduates live, from where I started my entrepreneurship journey."

(MORE: Oprah Winfrey, Miley Cyrus and more to take part in virtual graduation for class of 2020 )

Carol's Daughter founder Lisa Price will deliver virtual 2020 commencement speech originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
BLACKROCK LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (the "Company")

LEI: UK9OG5Q0CYUDFGRX4151

Voting Rights and Capital (Article 15 Transparency Directive, DTR 5.6)

In conformity with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 5.6.1R, the Company would like to notify the market of the following:

As at 30 April 2020, BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc's capital consists of 39,259,620 Ordinary Shares of 10 cents each, carrying one vote each, excluding 2,181,662 ordinary shares held in treasury.

As at 30 April 2020, the total number of voting rights for Ordinary shareholders in BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc is 39,259,620.

Shareholders should use 39,259,620 as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company.

All enquiries:

Sarah Beynsberger

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, Company Secretary

Tel: 0207 743 2639

1 May 2020
In a bid to remind people to stay safe, stay home, spy robots are reportedly roaming around parks and heavily populated areas in Singapore. In order to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, Singapores Public Utilities Board are now using robots to make sure there are no large gatherings in public spaces. According to an international media report, the O-R3 shares data collected through its 360-degree surveillance camera with public health officers.

Stay safe, stay home, the bot says in a robotic tone to remind people to keep a safe distance. Even though the device shares data with the authorities, the Public Utility Board reportedly said that they will not use the bot to enforce safe distancing rules or catch errant members of the public.

READ: New Zealand Cafe's Social Distancing Trick For Serving Coffee Lauded, Netizens Approve

As per reports, the O-R3 has originally used for security monitoring at reservoirs, however, to keep people safe and to curb the spread of coronavirus, the government decided to use the device to raise awareness. The robot is remotely controlled with a battery life that lasts up to one kilometre. While speaking to an international media outlet, the Public Health Utilities Board said that the trial runs with the bot have been encouraging and they plan to fine-tune the machines abilities further.

Some of the phrases that the device uses reportedly include, "Gatherings in this park are not allowed" and "Please practice safe distancing at all times and do not loiter at this park.

READ: TikTok User's Pizza Pan Cleaning Videos Tickle The Internet, Netizens Laud Her Dedication

Coronavirus outbreak

Singapore currently has nearly 16,169 confirmed coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed 15 death in the country. Singapore has become the country with the highest toll from the COVID-19 in Southeast Asia after the cluster outbreak was detected at the overseas workers' dorms, confirmed media reports.

Meanwhile, over three million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed worldwide with over 233,000 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe. The United States, Italy, Spain, and France are the worst-hit countries due to the pandemic with around 62% of the death toll reported from these four countries alone.

READ: Woman Documents Daughter's Home-makeover Project For Their Pups, Leaves Netizens Amused

READ: COVID-19: Netizens Share Hilarious Lockdown Memes, Say 'everyday Is Same'

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
A Circuit Civil Court judge has approved a settlement offer of more than 19,500 to a then-five-year-old Co Wicklow girl who was injured in a hit and run accident in 2015.

In a remote hearing, barrister Karen Nolan, who appeared with solicitor Liam Moloney for the girl, now 10, told the court the driver of a stolen car had fled the scene after his uninsured vehicle had rear-ended the family car of the girl's mother Aoifanna Phibbs.
Two Beaumont hospitals are seeking plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to help perform a potentially life-saving therapy on their most critical patients after supplies from Houston and elsewhere have ran dry.

LifeShare Blood Center, the largest supplier for Southeast Texas hospitals, is hosting a blood drive on May 8 at their Beaumont office to help supply Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas and Christus St. Elizabeth.

RELATED: Baptist gains life-saving treatment to help critical coronavirus patients

The treatment uses blood from patients that have recovered from the virus that is spun into plasma before being transfused into critically ill patients, most of which have been put on ventilators. The plasma contains antibodies created by the immune systems of the donors that has been shown to help boost the immune system of patients in clinical studies.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration previously authorized an emergency provision that gave research hospitals approved to conduct the therapy the ability to include other facilities under their permissions, expanding access to the possible life-saving treatment and collecting more data to prove its effectiveness. Baptist was able to gain approval under Minnesotas Mayo Clinic.

Since the treatment requires donations from people who contracted the virus at least 28 to 30 days before the blood draw and match the blood type of the patient, hospitals will need large volumes of plasma to treat more patients.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

Donors must be 14 days out from a negative COVID-19 test or 28 days out from their last day with symptoms before donating. Donors must also be at least 16 years old.

LifeShare is requesting potential donors to contact their doctor to fill out an eligibility form and send it to specialdonations@lifeshare.org or present it at their donation appointment. Donors can call 318-673-1436 for more information if needed.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jdickjournalism
STAMFORD  Fighting hunger is an ongoing battle  and even moreso during the coronavirus  and many residents of a 15-floor, 336-unit building in Stamford are combining their efforts to aid the cause.

Residents of 101 Park Place at Harbor Point on Washington Boulevard donated nonperishable food items to a local food pantry. CORT Furniture Rental, a vendor of 101 Park Place property manager Greystar Real Estate Partners, picked up the items on Thursday and made the delivery to a food pantry.

CORT has partnered with Move For Hunger, a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes the relocation industry to reduce food waste and fight hunger. Janice Richman, a resident at 101 Park Place, hatched the idea and Greystars 101 Park Place community manager Danielle Burrows executed the plan.

We do a food drive during the holidays, but I had this idea and went to Danielle, Richman said. I felt it would be good if we put bins in all the elevator vestibules, that way we can maintain social distancing. Danielle sent out emails and we are keeping it going every night. It has been a whole building-wide effort.

Burrows praised the outpouring of support residents have exhibited to help feed the needy.

Its amazing, we have a lot of generous people in the building, Burrows said. Weve also done a lot of charity events for St. Judes Childrens Hospital. With this food drive were doing, we have some people here who are unemployed, due to COVID, but they still found a way to donate.

According to Burrows, food baskets were placed in each elevator bank throughout the building, totaling 30 baskets.

Our hope is to spread the word and share the blueprint in order to encourage the many other large apartment communities in the area, Richman said. While a small gesture, so many rely on the food pantry to feed their families.

dfierro@greenwichtime.com
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Linkedin Vaidotas Beniusis (Agence France-Presse) Vilnius, Lithuania  Fri, May 1, 2020 18:09 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd569a8e 2 Lifestyle coronavirus,COVID-19,Airport,Lithuania,drive-in-theater,cinema Free

Hundreds of movie fans flocked to Lithuania's main international airport on Wednesday night to a drive-in cinema created in the shadow of planes grounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

Organizers of the Vilnius International Film Festival (Vilnius IFF) teamed up with the city's airport to create the Aerocinema drive-in.

They want to offer people the opportunity to go out for a movie amid the month-long coronavirus lockdown that has shuttered cinemas.

"We're offering people a new type of travel through the cinema on the airport tarmac," organizer Algirdas Ramaska told AFP, standing in front of a screen as tall as a five-storey building.

"We were dreaming about it for a while, but it could only come true after aviation virtually came to a halt," he added, referring to the flight ban imposed in mid-March in a bid to stem the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.

Social distancing measures were in place for Wednesday's screening of this year's Oscar-winning film, South Korea's Parasite.

Around 150 cars on the airport tarmac were parked at least two metres apart, with a maximum of two people per vehicle.

"I felt both strange and excited, when I saw the sun setting, a big screen and planes all around," movie-goer Jolita Vaitkute, 24, told AFP after the screening.

Read also: South Korea drive-in cinemas enjoy sales boom over virus fears

"We can't enjoy flights or cinema right now (under lockdown), but tonight we got both at the same time," she added.

Tickets go for 15 euros ($16) per car with proceeds going to the Vilnius IFF, which operates on a non-profit basis.

Last year, Vilnius airport served five million passengers but it has been eerily empty since mid-March when the Baltic EU state imposed its lockdown.

Although some passenger flights will resume on May 10, Ramaska said he expected the drive-in cinema to continue operation through May as air traffic will remain low for some time.

Among the first EU members to ease lockdown restrictions, Lithuania has already reopened open-air restaurants and cafes, along with shops and libraries as infections slowed but cinemas remain closed.

Vilnius mayor Remigijus Simasius has offered cafes free use of public spaces saying he wants the capital to become "one giant outdoor cafe".

The health ministry confirmed 1,375 cases of the novel coronavirus, including 45 deaths as of Wednesday in Lithuania, a eurozone nation of 2.8 million people.
More than 117 million people are likely to make trips in China during the five-day May Day holiday
Even as the Centre declared both



districts in Goa as 'green zones' in connection with the novel coronavirus outbreak, Chief Pramod Sawant on Friday said the fight was far from over despite the state having no active COVID-19 cases.

He said the need now was for the people of the state to adopt a "modified lifestyle" with priority to health.

"With the efforts of our #CoronaWarriors and support of the people of Goa, our state has now been classified as a green zone by the Government of India. The war against COVID-19 is far from over," he said on his Facebook page.

"We must continue our fight against this virus by adopting a modified lifestyle which gives priority to safe health norms such as sanitization, wearing of face covers, social distancing and staying at home during the lockdown period," he added.

Meanwhile, state health minister Vishwajit Rane dedicated May 1, celebrated internationally as Labour Day, to the frontline staff fighting the outbreak.

All seven persons who were detected with the infection in Goa have since recovered and have been discharged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At the dawn of the enlightenment era in Europe, traditionalists were divided into two camps. One camp believed that universal laws are unchangeable and hence they should be considered supreme. The other camp of traditionalists insisted that since god is omniscient and omnipotent, only he is supreme. This second camp had spearheaded the anti-enlightenment campaign and become anti-West and anti-modernity. The West and modernity are not the same. But traditionalists continued to reject both because they are seen as going against their belief of the omnipotence of god. Such orthodoxy can be found in eastern religions too, but they largely believe in the omnipresence of the divine. Hence, they regard universal laws to be divine also.

In the present coronavirus pandemic context, I am invoking this to highlight God will save us propaganda of some ill-informed religious leaders. The challenge today is not in tracking down Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, the head of the Tablighi Jamaats Nizamuddin Markaz. The real challenge is to encourage an unknown number of participants at the Markaz event in March who are hiding in different places, including in some mosques, to come forward. Several of them are foreigners. A number of participants at the Markaz tested positive and are undergoing treatment. But the remaining ones, who refuse to come out for voluntary testing, are a threat not only to themselves, but to the community and beyond.

Besides the misplaced orthodoxy of the omniscience and omnipotence of god and the propaganda of a conspiracy against Islam, the other factor that is preventing these participants from coming out is the stigmatisation of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). But this is misplaced. It is just a virus for which the vaccine is yet to be found.

Stigmatisation in the individual context will result in suffering for the individual. But if the stigma is extended to a community or a religion, it leads to larger consequences. Recall what happened in Italy. The initial stigmatisation of the Chinese as the carriers of the virus led to a reaction among the liberals of voluntary hugging and deliberate intermixing with the Chinese. The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, launched a Hug a Chinese campaign on February 1. While there is no conclusive evidence to show that the campaign was responsible for the rise of Covid-19 in Italy, it was an ill-conceived campaign at a time when social distancing should have been the norm.

There will be a conservative reaction to stigmatisation too. If a community is blamed for it, then the reaction would be further ghettoisation. The radicals will get an upper hand. Those trying to communalise the discourse must understand this. What Maulana Saad did was akin to what Dario did in Florence. Around the time that the Markaz event was being held, people had voluntarily refrained from celebrating the most boisterous of all festivals like Holi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken the initiative of cancelling Holi celebrations at his residence. Many other festivals such as Baishaki, Bihu and Vishu were all converted into private events. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cancelled its annual conclave of over 1,500 delegates in the second week of March for the first time in its history. But Maulana Saad decided to go ahead, and his decision had consequences.

His thoughtless actions are what the majority of Indians are condemning. Efforts are on to locate and encourage the participants and those who subsequently came in contact with them to come forward for voluntary testing. Just as the Markaz and Maulana Saad dont represent the entire Muslim community, a few reckless rants spewing venom against Muslims on social media dont represent Indian society. It is here that the campaign about Islamophobia becomes misplaced and intriguing.

Teaching tolerance to India is like carrying coals to Newcastle. Close to 200 million Muslims live in India. They live in peace, enjoying equal, if not preferential, treatment. No Indian leader has endorsed communal propaganda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has upheld the unity of 1.3 billion Indians. The RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, said that: If some people, out of fear or anger, refuse to follow the guidelines, it shouldnt lead to blaming of their entire community. He also decried efforts to create a wedge between the communities by cautioning, Some people will use this anger to divide the nation.

We shouldnt allow that to happen. Every sensible member should come forward to encourage their respective communities to follow the rules.

India is safe for all its 1.3 billion people, including Muslims. We are all together in this fight against the virus. Unfortunately, we also face a challenge from a growing breed of Modiphobes. Many of them are Indian. For them, the removal of Article 370, which was applicable to Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in Jammu and Kashmir, becomes an anti-Muslim act. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which doesnt affect a single Indian, becomes anti-Muslim. This is because they are blinded by their hatred for Modi and so attempt to build a false narrative. And many well-meaning people end up falling for this.

Ram Madhav is national general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, and director, India Foundation

The views expressed are personal
The African Union (AU) has raised $25 million for the COVID-19 Response Fund and an additional $36.5 million to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

AU Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa, made the announcement during a virtual meeting with Chairpersons of the AU Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the regional body established the AU COVID-19 Response Fund in a drive to raise additional funds for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The continental body also set out an intensive lobbying of the international community, including the international financial institutions, for a comprehensive, robust economic stimulus package for Africa.

To spearhead the continent's economic response to the pandemic, five African Union Special Envoys were appointed to follow up on pledges, mobilise further international support and campaign for international participation in the AU's COVID-19 economic intervention.

The five envoys are Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, Dr Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda, Mr Tidjane Thiam of Cote d'Ivoire, Mr Trevor Manuel of South Africa and Mr Benkhalfa Abderrahmane of Algeria.

President Ramaphosa said the appointment of a special envoy from the Central African region is also on the cards.

The AU has addressed the virtual Summit of the G20 and a virtual joint meeting of the World Bank and IMF, underscoring the need for a comprehensive, robust economic stimulus package for Africa.

In these engagements, the AU called for, among other measures, the allocation of more Special Drawing Rights Allocations to Africa to provide much-needed liquidity to central banks, the corporate sector and SMEs.

"We also argued for a waiver of all interest payments on multilateral and bilateral debt. This would provide the necessary fiscal space for African governments to devote all available resources to response and recovery.

"This economic injection should support both the continent's immediate humanitarian needs and place the continent on a path towards economic recovery," said President Ramaphosa.

The need to ensure trade and investment flows are not further disrupted by measures inconsistent with WTO rules was also emphasised.

African business leaders propose debt standstill

A week ago, President Ramaphosa chaired a video conference meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly with 21 African business leaders to obtain their support for the AU COVID-19 Strategy.

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The meeting expressed its full support for a two-year debt standstill and a proposal to develop a plan for the restructuring of both private and bilateral debt. It was further stressed that grants from the World Bank to the poorest countries must be additional to what had already been planned.

Support the WHO

Updating the meeting on the response from the international community, President Ramaphosa the response has been positive with various partners making pledges, offering debt relief measures and providing concrete support in the form of medical supplies.

He called on African countries to unequivocally support the World Health Organisation and its Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

A further call was made for all African countries to support the pledging initiative, which starts on 4 May and which is spearheaded by the European Union to mobilise significant resources towards finding a vaccine.

Lift economic sanction on Sudan & Zimbabwe

The President also expressed the urgent need for economic sanctions against Sudan and Zimbabwe to be lifted, in order to provide the necessary space for these countries to devote their resources to the fight against COVID-19.

"It is clear that this virus knows no borders or nationality. In our response, it is therefore essential that we remain guided by the principles of unity, solidarity, collaboration and cooperation among African countries," said the President.
There might be more to it: Mr. Kim seems to be ensuring that he is moving out of his famous grandfathers shadow.

The Supreme Peoples Assembly, the North Korean Parliament, revised the Constitution in April and August of last year, and Mr. Kim was described as the one who represents the state, a phrase competing with Kim Il-sungs title (the head of the state) while he was president. The revisions also granted Mr. Kim the right to appoint and recall diplomatic representatives, a power that not even his grandfather possessed.

The North Korean state medias propaganda has been magnifying Mr. Kims image while de-emphasizing the accomplishments of his grandfather after the collapse of the summit between Mr. Kim and President Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February of last year. The glorification of Mr. Kim above his forefathers was obvious during the partys founding anniversary in October.

This year, for the first time since Mr. Kim came to power in 2012, Pyongyang did not hold a large-scale national meeting attended by officials, foreign visitors and citizens marking Kim Il-sungs birthday.

Another key feature of Kim Il-sungs birth anniversary celebrations has been the publication of an editorial in Rodong Sinmun, the party paper, dedicated to glorifying his achievements. This April, the birthday editorial was published three days late  a remarkable decision that likely was made at the higher levels of the Workers Party. Neither questions about Mr. Kims health nor concerns about quarantine explain the belated publication of the newspapers birthday editorial.
Sound sleep can be hard to come by in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, but its vital to good health and a strong immune system.

The right bedding, mattresses and accessories help to create a peaceful environment that sets the stage for more restful nights. Here are a few options to consider.

Bear Mattress

If youre tossing and turning, maybe its time for a new mattress. Bear Mattresses are made of environmentally friendly materials, including multi-layered memory foam engineered to disperse body heat and provide enough support to keep pressure off your hips, back and shoulders in any sleep position. Celliant covers harness body heat to promote a better nights sleep and help you wake up with more energy. The company recommends using a platform bed, adjustable base or Bear Foundation instead of a traditional coil box spring with a Bear Mattress. You can also put it on a hard, flat surface like the floor.

Cost: $500/twin$900/California king; the company is currently offering 20 percent off + two free pillows. CODE: Hello20.

Brooklinen Classic Hardcore Bundle in Window Pane

Enjoy hotel-level luxury at home with Brooklinens 270-thread-count, 100 percent cotton percale sheets. Perfect as we head into spring and summer, these crisp, cool sheets are designed to keep sleepers from getting overheated. The Hardcore Bundle includes flat and fitted sheets, two pillowcases, and a matching duvet cover. Comes in multiple colors, patterns and sizes.

Cost: From $189. Brooklinen is having a 20 percent off sitewide sale to celebrate the companys birthday; CODE: BDAY.

Frontgate Rumi Velvet Quilt in Deep Teal

If you love the luxe look, this velvety soft bedcover brings elegance to the bedroom. Its thick enough to snuggle under without feeling hot or heavy. Flip over the textured top and youll find a smooth 200-thread-count sateen back. The quilt is machine washable and comes in blush, deep teal, indigo, dove gray and ivory. Available in queen and king sizes.

Cost: $224.25$261.75 (originally $299$349)

Helix Sleep Mattress in a box

Helix Sleep prides itself on mattresses customized to every preference and body type, including a model for big and tall sleepers. You can either pick from a list of mattress options on the companys website or take an online quiz about yourself and your sleep habits, and Helix Sleep will come up with a mattress customized to your needs. They can even craft mattresses for couples with two different sides to suit each sleepers preference.

Cost: $600/twin$1,249 for the most popular model, the Midnight (pictured); the company is currently offering $100 off any mattress + 2 free pillows. CODE: TOPRANK100

Herzig 650-thread-count cotton sheet set from Wayfair in Baby Blue

The sateen weave in these 650-thread-count 100% cotton sheets gives them a subtle shimmer, and the fitted sheet has a deep pocket that fits oversized mattresses up to 18 thick. With 19 solid colors to choose from through Wayfair, youre sure to find one that suits your decor. Includes flat and fitted sheets, and two pillowcases.

Cost: $57.99/twin$106.99/California king (Prices are slightly higher for certain colors.)

Homesick Candles in Miami and Beach Cottage fragrances

Even with travel plans on hold, you can dream about a vacation with a little aromatic help from Homesick Candles, scented to evoke favorite places and memories, whether yours involves a Beach Cottage or Grandmas Kitchen. You can also choose a fragrance that promises to call to mind a favorite faraway country, city, or state, from the mountain spruce of Alaska to the maple and apple synonymous with Vermont.

Cost: $29.95/13.75-oz. candle

Parachute Home Down Alternative Side Sleeper Pillows

Say goodbye to stiff necks and punching your pillow to fluff it up. One of Parachute Homes bestselling items, this medium-density pillow offers just the right balance between support and plushness for those who sleep on their sides. It features a 3.5-inch gusset to take the strain off your neck and shoulders, hypoallergenic microfiber fill and a sateen cotton shell cover.

Cost: $89 standard; $99 king

Snowe Down Alternative Comforter, available in lightweight and all-season versions

Fans liken it to sleeping wrapped up in a cloud. This bestseller from Snowe is feather-light but still warm and fluffy, just like real down, but made of hypoallergenic, machine-washable microfiber with a 330-count cotton sateen cover. Available in queen and king sizes in a breathable lightweight version as well as a slightly weightier all-season version that packs 40 percent more fill.

Cost: $150$200 + 10 percent off your first order

Swanwick Sleep's Classic Night Swannies blue-light-blocking glasses, shown in tortoiseshell; also available in black

Created by Australian brothers James and Tristan Swanwick to solve their own battle with sleepless nights, Swannies by Swanwick Sleep are blue-light-blocking glasses that you wear in the hours before bedtime. Devotees swear that the orange-tinted specs help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up feeling more refreshed. Also available with prescription lenses.

Cost: from $74 for Classic Night Swannies, the companys bestselling model
Kashmiri Pandits on Friday paid rich tributes to famous poet Sarwanand Koul Premi who along with his son Virender was killed by terrorists in the valley 30 years ago on this day.

Premi was also a well-known freedom fighter and a famous scholar.

With the country under lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus, Kashmiri Pandits across the country organised several online programmes to pay homage to him on his death anniversary.

Many on social networking sites credited the late poet with enriching Kashmiri language and literature and promoting communal amity through his writings.

They said people loved the multi-dimensional personality of Premi, who was a Gandhian, an academician, an author and a writer.

Some said he dedicated his entire life to the welfare of common people, irrespective of caste, creed or religion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The ASX 200 finished down by more than 5 per cent on Friday, with the market failing to build on record gains posted in April.

The benchmark index ended the session down 276 points, or 5.01 per cent, at 5245.9.

The new month on the ASX is set to start on a down note after April's record surge. Credit:AAP

The ASX closed out a stellar month on Thursday, with the market notching gains of close to 9 per cent, the best monthly performance since 1988. However, industry experts and fund managers werent surprised after the rally fizzled out on Friday.

There [was] definitely a sea of red for the first day of May, but weve had a particularly strong period for April. Youve probably got a little bit of profit taking happening, senior investment advisor at Shaw and Partners Craig Sidney said.
Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles announced Friday that the Clerks Bonny Oaks Tag and Title office located at 6135 Heritage Park Dr. will reopen with controlled access on Monday.

The County Courthouse Tag and Title office will remain closed until further notice. All motor vehicle applications will be processed at the Bonny Oaks branch office.

Due to COVID-19 concerns and Governor Bill Lees Stay-at-Home recommendation, the Clerks office has been closed to the public, and offered limited services online and by appointment.

Mr. Knowles said, The Monday opening will also include the Miscellaneous Tax Courthouse Office located at the County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave., Room 201. Citizens needing to visit the courthouse Miscellaneous Tax Office with licensing needs, other than tag and title, must schedule an appointment by calling 423-209-6500. Services needing an appointment include driver license, REAL ID, marriage, notary, boat, game and fish and business licenses.

We respectfully request anyone experiencing illness or having a fever refrain from visiting the Clerks office until completely recovered. Social distancing will be adhered to by clerk personnel. Authorities will be directing traffic and control access per local health department guidelines. Contagion barriers have been installed at all locations and Hamilton County residents are encouraged to wear masks and gloves while visiting the office.

To avoid a visit to the office, motorists needing to simply renew a vehicle registration should consider visiting www.countyclerkanytime.com. Tag renewal applications are also accepted by mail. The address for applying is: County Clerk, PO Box 24868, Chattanooga, TN 37422-4868. These orders are processed and mailed the same day.

The urgency to apply for a REAL ID by October 1, 2020 has been extended a full year by the Department of Homeland Security now delaying the requirement to October 1, 2021.

Standard driver license renewal and duplicate applicants can avoid visiting the office by utilizing the Department of Safetys e-Services portal .

Because of the distancing requirements, we expect longer lines and waiting periods contrary to the service we have always endeavored to provide.

"Weve been advised by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation that administers the states Air Pollution Testing Program, that emission centers will tentatively reopen May 11. We anticipate the State providing updated emission information in the near future.

"We appreciate the publics understanding during these unprecedented times.
A man tried to smuggle 36 illegal immigrants through the Interstate 35 checkpoint in a sealed tractor-trailer, authorities said.

Agents said the case unfolded early Thursday, when a commercial 18-wheeler arrived at the Border Patrol checkpoint on mile marker 29.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:38:04|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Friday released a report on the clustered COVID-19 cases in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province since April, urging medical institutions nationwide to draw lessons from them.

Clustered cases related to imported cases have occurred in Harbin and Mudanjiang, two cities in the province, since April, said the document made public by the National Health Commission.

The cases involved nosocomial infections in multiple hospitals, featuring a long duration and a large number of confirmed cases, it read, adding that they had a vile social impact and brought new pressure to consolidating the hard-won achievements in the country's epidemic prevention and control efforts. Enditem
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Pro-life activists ordered to pay Planned Parenthood over $1.2M for expose on baby body parts scandal

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A federal judge has ordered a group of pro-life activists behind a series of undercover videos taken at Planned Parenthood facilities and abortion conferences to pay more than $1.2 million in damages to the corporation.

U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California released an order Wednesday against individuals connected to the Center for Medical Progress.

At issue was an Unfair Competition Law claim brought by Planned Parenthood and the plaintiffs California Business & Professions Code.

Orrick ruled in favor of the claim, citing a jury verdict from last November that found CMP, its founder David Daleiden, and activists including Troy Newman of Operation Rescue guilty of violating several laws when investigators went undercover at Planned Parenthood facilities and events.

In addition to issuing an injunction banning those named from attending Planned Parenthood events, Orrick also found them liable for large sums of money.

This includes $1,259,370 in damages related to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, plus other damages and attorneys fees.

 the illegal and fraudulent prongs of the UCL are satisfied given the jurys verdict that defendants engaged in numerous illegal and fraudulent acts in California and emanating from California, against California-based plaintiffs and others, committed in violation of California law, Federal law, and the laws of other jurisdictions, wrote Orrick.

In a statement released Thursday, Operation Rescue noted that Newman intends to appeal the order, arguing that he and his fellow pro-life activists did nothing wrong.

It is no longer in dispute that Planned Parenthood sold aborted baby parts for profit and that our video evidence was authentic. They admitted it during our trial, Newman said.

Now Planned Parenthood wants us pay a price so the world could find out the sordid truth of their illegal babies-for-cash scheme.

In 2015, CMP released a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers violating the law, including profiting from the sale aborted babies' limbs, tissue and organs.

Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood's senior director of medical services who performs abortions up to 24 week gestation in Los Angeles, was captured in one video filmed at a restaurant on July 25, 2014, saying that clinics perform partial birth abortions to secure fetal body parts. She also detailed how they alter abortion procedures to procure limbs and organs, despite the risks these manipulations my cause to the woman's health.

"We've been very good at getting heart, lung, liver  I'm not gonna crush that part," says Nucatola. "I'm going to basically crush below, "I'm not gonna crush above, and I am gonna see if I can get it all intact."

The undercover videos prompted a wave of pro-life activism at the federal and state level, with pro-abortion critics claiming that the footage was edited to falsely smear abortion providers. However, complete video footage was released to show that none of the videos were selectively edited.

Daleiden, Newman, and other pro-life activists connected to the undercover videos have since found themselves dealing with years of legal battles over their actions.
Twenty-one migrant labourers stranded in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district for over one month due to the lockdown were sent to their homes on Friday, an officer said.

The labourers who were staying at a relief camp in Gauchar were sent in a bus to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab via Haridwar, Revenue Officer Sohan Singh Rangad said.

They were medically examined before being sent off, he said, adding that medical teams used to examine them regularly even during their stay at the camp.

The labourers got emotional while leaving the relief camp and thanked the police, the administration and the medical teams for taking good care of them.

There were 20 labourers from Uttar Pradesh and one from Punjab, Rangad said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The discovery of suitable drugs that could help treat diseases is a long process. However, computer-aided drug design and simulation could speed up the process and also increase the possibilities say experts. This form of drug design and simulation could soon be the gold standard in drug development.

Frontera and Longhorn  leading the way

A supercomputer called the Frontera is one of the fastest there is. It has been used to predict the characteristics of novel drugs. Leading researcher Thomas Cheatham, professor of medicinal chemistry and director of the Center for High-Performance Computing at the University of Utah and Rodrigo Galindo, a professor on his team are working with Frontera. Frontera is assisted by Longhorn, an IBM/NVIDIA system at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). Longhorns task is to generate new molecules and compounds that could be used for the treatment of the deadly COVID-19 infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Medicinal chemists are using the team and the machines.

What happens during drug development?

An array of possible molecules and compounds are selected for the treatment of a disease. The researchers explain that at the molecular level, they have a potential energy field that helps them bind and interact with the atoms and organisms around them. These molecules twist and bend to alter their shape when they interact with the host or organism proteins around them. These force fields between the molecules and the proteins around the cells can be challenging to predict and may often influence the final utility of the drug molecule.

Amber

Amber (Assisted Model Building with Energy Refinement) is one of the significant tools that experts use in simulating the force fields that influence a drug molecule within its cellular environment. Cheatham is one of the primary researchers on the team developing Amber. Amber has been evolving to its present form since 1978. It has undergone a sea change from what it was at the start. At present, it is relatively accurate in predicting the cellular environment force fields that the potential drug molecule would encounter in real life.

Experts say that Amber is capable of matching experimental results with an accuracy of less than half an angstrom (A). An angstrom is one hundred millionth of a centimeter or 10-10 meters. Cheatham and Galindo have used Amber on the molecules that are candidate drugs and simulated the biomolecular environments for the candidates so as to see their applicability in medicine. They explained, The goal is to understand the structure, function, dynamics, and energetics of biomolecular systems in their native environment, with water and other ligands.

Representation of the coronavirus main protease with a peptide inhibitor. [Credit: Cheatham Lab]

Progress in drug development

At the start of their work, the duo was working on two lead molecules that were principally copper-containing compounds and were being tried to fight cancer. These molecules were experimentally modified using computer-aided design and simulations to see if their alterations in the DNA could allow them to remain protected from degradation within the body. During that time, the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The NSF RAPID was supporting the initial work that started in 2015.

Cheatham and Galindo now started working on potential molecules that could kill the novel coronavirus that was fast reaching almost all corners of the world, infecting millions and killing thousands. During the initial phase, the duo was working on funded research to bring out a possible drug candidate that could treat Ebola virus infection. The team was using crystal structure studies using the Rosetta software suite to select the best possible candidate with optimum amino acid side chains stuck to the basic peptide backbone template. Once the molecule was found, they used Amber to simulate the biomolecular environments and optimize the structures of the candidate molecules.

Fight against COVID-19 and hope for the future

Galindo explained that they had in hand over 2,000 molecular models that could be used against the COVID-19 infection using Longhorn and Frontera supercomputers at the TACC. They then applied for 2.7 million node hours on Blue Waters. This is a GPU-based system found in the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). They were granted their requirements through the COVID-19 HPC Consortium. This consortium is a public-private one that is working to match researchers with the resources so as to accelerate research against the coronavirus.

For this effort, they have identified a COVID-19 main protease crystal structure. The protease is an enzyme that can break down proteins and peptides. This structure is in complex with a peptide inhibitor N3. The team explains that they would be working with the Ebola peptide design to see if their COVID-19 protease holds up.

Once their molecule is ready and selected, they would be made into circular modified peptides at the Schmidt lab in the Medical Chemistry department at the University of Utah.

Cheatham said, Our hope is that we find a new peptide inhibitor that can be experimentally verified in the next couple of weeks. And then, we will engage in further design to make the peptide cyclic to make it more stable as a potential drug. The hope is we can, in the next few months, find and experimentally verify a better peptide inhibitor for the COVID main protease.
Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government on Friday wrote a letter to the Centre stating that its assessment of 10 coronavirus COVID-19 red zones in West Bengal is 'erroneous'.

According to Zee Media sources, the letter has been written by West Bengal Principal Secretary (Health) Vivek Kumar to Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan in which he stated that the Health Ministry's assessment of 10 red zones in the state is flawed.

In his letter, Kumar maintained that there are only four red zones: Kolkata, Howrah, North-24 Paraganas and Purba Medinipur.

"With regard to the presentation made in the Cabinet Secretary`s video conference with the states on April 30, 2020, at 3 PM, as many of ten districts of West Bengal were shown in the Red Zone. This is an erroneous assessment," the letter said.

"Based on the current parameters of Government of India for categorization of areas for COVID-19, the districts in the Red Zone are only four: Kolkata, Howrah, North-24 Paraganas and Purba Medinipur," it said.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Union Health Ministry has classified districts across states and union territories as red, orange and green zones with 130, 284 and 319 such zones respectively across the country as on April 30.

The ministry`s data said there are 10 red zones, 5 orange zones and 8 in green zones in West Bengal.

The lockdown relaxations announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are not applicable in red zones.

Today is the thirty-eighth day of Indias nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 3. The Centre on Wednesday hinted that the ongoing nationwide lockdown is likely to be extended beyond May 3 but many districts will "considerable relaxations" from restrictions.

The nationwide lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus threat. The 21-day lockdown which ended on April 14 was further extended till May 3.
T en fire engines and around 70 firefighters have been battling a blaze in a block of flats in south east London.

Crews rushed to a reported fire on the 13th floor of a high-rise on Abinger Grove, Deptford, in Lewisham, just before 7am on Friday morning.

Smoke was seen billowing out of the building and the apartment was alight.

Residents were evacuated from their flats and firefighters had the fire under control an hour later.

The residence is on Abinger Grove, Deptford, in Lewisham / Google StreetView

London Fire Brigade took 22 calls concerning the fire and crews from Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Deptford, Lewisham, Peckham New Cross and surrounding stations all attended.

No injuries have been reported and its cause is under investigation.

It is the third flat fire in as many days after a blaze broke out in an underground car park beneath an apartment block in nearby Hither Green on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday night a huge fire tore through a block of flats in Acacia Road, Wood Green. No injuries were reported in either fire.
The relationship between Mr. Harrigan and Craig, the only child of a widower, begins as purely professional and turns into a genuine friendship. Nothing more. The year is 2004. The old man doesnt pay Craig that well, just $5 an hour, and sends him a scratch-off lottery ticket in a greeting card four times a year: birthday, Valentines Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When Craig wins a dollar here or $5 there, its a big deal.

But a few years pass, and as an 11-year-old, Craig lusts for the brand-new iPhone that can connect him with all sorts of information far outside his small Maine hometown. He gets one for Christmas, and in February, the card from Mr. Harrigan yields a lottery ticket that wins him $3,000. He decides to buy Mr. Harrigan a phone, too. At first the man demurs, but when Craig demonstrates its access to the internet, financial news and more, the financial wizard inside him comes to life and Harrigan decides to keep it. Soon, the phone is a favorite of his.

When Mr. Harrigan dies a few years later, Craig is the one who finds his body.
From Friday onwards, the city police will return all the vehicles seized during the lockdown. The vehicles will be returned according to their seizure dates. The ones seized the earliest will be returned first.

But confusion still prevails over the fine amount, for which the police are waiting for the court order.

Tweeting about the decision, city police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said: Its decided to return the Corona seized vehicles from 1/5/20 onwards. Those seized first will be returned first. The documents will be verified, and vehicle returned. This has approval of Hon CM and HM. We are doing the paperwork to ease the process.

The police said they had seized about 50,000 vehicles in the city following the lockdown. The vehicles, including cars, autos and bikes, were seized since the owners had come out without valid passes or had no emergency to defy the lockdown. Many ventured out in search of tobacco or liquor, said an officer who was part of the seizing operation.

The confiscated vehicles have been parked near the respective police stations or vacant areas close by. The police have maintained a record of the vehicles, along with the registration number, owners name and the rider caught with the vehicle. They have maintained the date, time and place of seizure.

We will only return the vehicles to the rightful owners after verifying the documents, a senior official said, adding that the process would take a week. Vehicles wont be released if the documents are not produced.

Though the police initially wanted to release the vehicles on May 3, it advanced the process by two days after the government relaxed the lockdown norms.

High court to decide on fines

A PIL had been filed in the high court regarding the seized vehicles. The police urged the court to give them the powers to release the vehicles. The court reportedly allowed the police to release them collecting fines for the bikes, cars and autos. We havent received the high court order and we cannot say what the exact fine amount would be for each type of vehicle. But the process would begin from Friday, Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Soumendu Mukherjee said.
Following a recent Wall Street Journal report on Amazon's use of third-party seller data, the House Judiciary Committee has called on Jeff Bezos to testify before Congress. In a letter signed by a bipartisan group made up of four Democrats and three Republicans, the committee says it believes Amazon may have committed a crime by misleading the government about its practices.

The Wall Street Journal report the letter references was published earlier this month. More than 20 former Amazon employees told the paper that the company had been used proprietary seller data to help design and price in-house products. The claim directly contradicts both Amazon's stated policies on the matter, as well as earlier testimony the company had provided to the House Antitrust Subcommittee. Last July, Nate Sutton, Amazon's associate general counsel, told lawmakers, "we do not use any seller data to compete with [third-party sellers]."

"If the reporting in the Wall Street Journal article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the Committee about the company's business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious," the letter says. "If these allegations are true, then Amazon exploited its role as the largest online marketplace in the U.S. to appropriate the sensitive commercial data of individual marketplace sellers and then used that data to compete directly with those sellers."

The letter comes after Senator Josh Hawley called for a criminal antitrust investigation into the claims. When the report first came out, Amazon said it "strictly prohibt[s]" workers from using private seller data. It also said it had launched an internal investigation into the situation.

As CNBC notes, Jeff Bezos is the only CEO of one of the big-four US tech companies -- Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook -- to have not testified before Congress. Amazon is currently the subject of a House Antitrust Subcommittee investigation as well. According to Bloomberg, the Federal Trade Commission has also launched a probe into the company's practices.
Covering COVID-19: W&M alumni reporting from front lines of pandemic

Reporting on the front lines: This weeks Community Conversation focused on journalism in the time of COVID-19. President Katherine A. Rowe spoke with Weijia Jiang '05, who works for CBS News as the networks White House correspondent, and David Culver 09, an international correspondent for CNN based at the network's Beijing bureau. Screen shot Photo - of - Hide Caption

Weijia Jiang remembers stepping on to William & Marys campus for the first time and thinking this is just what college is supposed to be.

Jiang, a graduate from William & Marys Class of 2005, now works for CBS News as the networks White House correspondent. She credits the university for nurturing a sense of curiosity that still drives her work today.

I am forever grateful for that intensity and openness to allowing us to explore and to satisfy our curiosity, she said. That curiosity helps you carve out your entire career, whatever field you choose.

Jiang recently joined her colleague David Culver 09, an international correspondent for CNN based at the network's Beijing bureau, for a special installment of President Katherine A. Rowes Community Conversation series, which is being streamed online weekly through May 13.

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This weeks conversation focused on journalism in the time of COVID-19. The conversation was pre-recorded because of the time difference between the U.S. and China, where Culver is based.

This is a moment when we're appreciating the value of every pillar of American democracy, Rowe told the two correspondents. At William & Mary, we have a long tradition of educating journalists that goes back more than 200 years. It's particularly thrilling to know that our alumni continue to be prominent leaders in the fourth estate.

Today, Jiang and Culver work for national news outlets, reporting on and within the front line of the COVID-19 crisis. Yet, Rowe reminded viewers, they both cut their teeth at the student-run television station WMTV.

My major in philosophy offered the most solid background I can think of for a journalist, Jiang said. That was critical thinking skills and understanding an argument, the need to explore both sides of an argument. I think back to my classes and how hard they were, how our professors challenged us, and I still use them.

Culver said that during his time at William & Mary, his professors played an important role in influencing his future career.

At that point, he said. They made me want to live up to the standards that they were setting.

Both journalists said they feel a great sense of responsibility right now to provide the public with up-to-date, accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

People are desperate for the best, the newest, the clearest information about the virus, and in particular, what the federal government is doing to control it, to mitigate it, and to help people just make it through the day, Jiang said. So it's up to us to deliver that information.

Rowe said that accurate information is vital to our wellbeing, adding that, as humans, we are hardwired to dislike uncertainty.

We will go to almost any lengths to eliminate it from our lives, she said. I will say that the coverage that you are both and your colleagues are pursuing for us is one of the key ways in which we are diminishing uncertainties. We're really grateful for that.
Marvin Schick, a pioneering advocate for the rights of Orthodox Jews to maintain their religious practices in the places they worked, died on April 23 at his home in Brooklyn. He was 85.

The cause was a heart attack, his son Avi said.

Mr. Schick grew up in an America where Orthodox Jews often faced painful choices in trying to earn a living: turn down jobs that demanded they forgo yarmulkes and remain beyond sunset on the eve of Sabbath or resign themselves to flouting their religious traditions. That began to change sharply in the 1960s because of activists like Mr. Schick.

In 1965 he founded the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs, known as COLPA, which successfully brought lawsuits and sought new legislation. And as a liaison to the Jewish community for Mayor John V. Lindsay of New York, he carved out other accommodations for the Orthodox. In the wake of such ferment, American society and law became more sensitive to the sometimes arcane needs of the Orthodox.

Municipal hospitals and jails offered kosher food. Government agencies and public utilities paved the way for Orthodox communities to set up eruvim  demarcated boundaries between which Orthodox followers were allowed to carry small items like keys and push baby carriages on the Sabbath. Orthodox Jews in the military were allowed to retain their yarmulkes and beards. And after a lawsuit brought by COLPA, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company agreed to accommodate the schedules of those who observed the Sabbath.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:52:53|Editor: huaxia

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by Saud Abu Ramadan

GAZA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- For several weeks, loads of imported goods have piled up in the stores of Mohammad Shurab, a Palestinian merchant from Gaza, with few customers coming to buy as COVID-19 worsens the economy in the besieged strip.

Like other merchants and importers in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Shurab complained of passing "hard days" due to the economic recession and the weak trade movement, which led to big financial losses.

"Over the past few weeks, I have imported a huge number of clothes to sell to my customers during spring and summer seasons and also during Eid al-Fitr, the feast that comes at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan," Shurab told Xinhua.

He said that the anti-coronavirus precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus have weakened the commercial movement and the purchasing power.

The Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip had declared a state of emergency and imposed a series of precautionary measures that have been going on for around 45 days to prevent the pandemic from reaching the enclave, a home for 2 million people.

Gaza merchants believe that the major reason behind the aggravation of the crisis is the accumulation of financial debts and a severe drop in the trade activity.

Talal al-Maqadmah, another Palestinian merchant, who runs a local commercial company in Gaza, told Xinhua that because of the state of emergency, "we were unable to get back our financial rights from other vendors and customers."

"Over the past few weeks, banks in Gaza returned dozens of checks because merchants don't have enough bank balances to pay for these checks," he said. "The purchasing power is very weak, so we don't have enough cash to deposit in the banks and fill the shortage in our bank balances."

Amid the recorded economic and commercial losses, several local export and import companies in Gaza called for urgent support to overcome the current crisis.

Waddah Bseiso, head of the Gaza-based woods industries union, told Xinhua that no tax exemptions are provided to the merchants either by the government or by electricity and telecommunication companies to help them overcome the current crisis.

"Operations of export had nearly stopped in the Gaza Strip and caused relative losses to the commercial companies," Bseiso said. "To solve this problem, we need the efforts of the government and the private sector's establishments to rescue these companies from bankruptcy."

The Palestinian Popular Committee to Challenge the Israeli Siege imposed on Gaza said in a statement that the estimated monthly losses in the economy in the Gaza Strip hit 200 million U.S. dollars amid the pandemic crisis.

Jamal Al-Khudari, chairman of the committee, noted that most businesses had stopped, and there are a severe economic recession and a shortage in financial liquidity, "not only because of coronavirus but also because of more than 13 years of Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip."

He warned that the ongoing crisis will likely push the rates of poverty and unemployment in the coastal enclave to its highest peak. Enditem
In this April 10, 2020, photo, a note shows the ban on selling alcohol In the liquor section of a supermarket in Bangkok, Thailand. Bans on sales of alcoholic beverages were imposed in all 76 Thai provinces in April, and authorities in Bangkok announced Thursday, April 30, 2020 that the ban would be extended through the end of May in the capital city, and was expected to be extended in the other provinces as well. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

BANGKOK (AP)  Drinkers in Thailand desperate for a tall beer or a nightcap after a three-week ban on alcohol sales are out of luck. Authorities in the capital, Bangkok, have announced that the ban, imposed in April to fight the spread of the coronavirus by discouraging irresponsible social gatherings, will be extended until further notice.

The ban was imposed for varying lengths of time in all 76 provinces and is likely to be renewed in all of them. Bars and restaurants were already closed in March, except for takeout and delivery.

Niks Anuman Rajadhon, the owner of two cocktail bars in Bangkok, said his business was greatly affected by the March closures, leaving him little cash flow to take care of his 14 employees.

When the closure was imposed, we understood and cooperated with the state to control the pandemic. We adapted our business by selling bottled alcohol drinks and drink vouchers that can be used when the bars are reopened, he said Thursday. But the ban on selling booze announced April 9 was like the last nail hammered into our coffin, completely sealing off business."

Now that the ban is extended, I am very stressed, he said. It is like committing murder on the industry.

There was urgency to the ban in early April, when new cases of the coronavirus were ballooning and a holiday notorious for alcohol-fueled merrymaking was looming. The Songkran New Year holiday was postponed and official celebrations canceled, but there remained concerns that impromptu drinking parties could not be policed.

When the ban on selling alcoholic beverages in Bangkok was announced on April 10, there was a rush to liquor stores and supermarkets to stock up in the few hours before it came into effect. It has already been extended once and had been set to expire on Thursday.

The industry's importance is reflected in the ranking of Thailands billionaires by Forbes magazine. No. 3 Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdis empire was built on liquor, and Santi Bhirombhakdi, from the family behind Singha beer, is No. 15.

Story continues

I understand the governments intention to control the outbreaks by stopping people from partying, as Thai people culturally love group drinking as a way of life, said office worker Napaporn Chokchatchawan, who had expected only a monthlong ban and bought five bottles of liquor just before it took effect. But from the consumers point of view, just closing pubs and restaurants should be enough to decrease the risk of the virus spreading.

Extending the ban will also sicken people who have alcoholism problems, she added. The city has offered free treatment to people suffering from such problems.

Several other countries have instituted bans on alcohol sales, either in selected areas or nationwide, to curb gatherings. They include Barbados, Grenada, Colombia, Mexico, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Greenland.
"The ICANN Board finds that the public interest is better served in withholding consent as a result of various factors that create unacceptable uncertainty."

ICANN, the entity that oversees web addresses, said on Friday it voted against a $1.1 billion deal to sell control of .org domains to a private investment firm. The decision follows persistent protest and activism "from internet pioneers and officials including California's attorney general [Xavier Becerra]," reports Joe Menn at Reuters on Friday.

This means the dot-org domain WILL NOT be sold to the private equity firm Ethos Capital, a story we've been covering here on Boing Boing since the beginning.

Excerpt from Reuters:

The surprise plans by the Internet Society to sell the Public Interest Registry to a newly formed for-profit firm, Ethos Capital, announced in November, provoked alarm from many of the more than 10 million entities that use the .org suffix, associated with non-profit organizations. ICANN, the Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers, which gave the assignment of .org to the Internet Society and retains some rights, said on Thursday it was rejecting the deal. In particular, it cited concerns that there would be a drive to reward Ethos stockholders while repaying $300 million in debt taken on during the transaction.

You can read the official announcement from ICANN here. It's a little hard to follow, unless you're used to reading legalese  so here are some tweets from observers and reporters who've been following the dot-org potential sale controversy for a long time.

After a thorough evaluation process, the #ICANN Board is withholding consent to the request for a change of control of the Public Interest Registry (PIR). Read Board Chair Maarten Botterman's blog for more information > https://t.co/qz8ub99lOt pic.twitter.com/oFrM0pulyM  ICANN (@ICANN) May 1, 2020

BREAKING: ICANN has voted to REJECT the sale of the .ORG registry to private equity firm Ethos Capital. This is a major victory for the millions of nonprofits, civil society organizations, and individuals who make .ORG their home online. #SaveDotOrg https://t.co/K2qk85c3Ug pic.twitter.com/sFLcwZqU1B  EFF (@EFF) May 1, 2020

Phew. That sale would have been a travesty of governance of public things. https://t.co/z4ETrJk0nx  Tim Berners-Lee (@timberners_lee) May 1, 2020

Breaking news: The non-profit .ORG domain registry used by fandom entities like @leaky and @ao3org is safe from profiteering hands!https://t.co/UJOkSmrfCn  Wizarding News  (@HPANA) May 1, 2020

The only reason ICANN did the right thing "for now" was a huge public backlash that didn't reach critical mainstream until it was nearly too late. But thankfully it did, & it prompted (among other reasons) intervention from powerful people who prevailed to stop this greedy deal. https://t.co/9c6nqSiax1  Joe Ortiz (@LeoJTravis10) May 1, 2020

ICANN Board Resolution: https://t.co/T0QyssEyBC "The above decision is without prejudice to PIR to submit a new notice of indirect change of control & entity conversion for consideration if PIR successfully achieves an entity conversion approval through the Pennsylvania Court" https://t.co/RaTcYZ8504  Caroline Greer (@CarolineGreer) May 1, 2020

Fantastic news as the efforts to stop the sale of the dot-org domain have succeeded. Covered the issue with @elliotharmon of @EFF on a @lawbytespod episode late last year https://t.co/OK6B5HdlhI https://t.co/dX321m4TI4  Michael Geist (@mgeist) May 1, 2020

GOOD NEWS: @ICANN have voted to reject the proposed sale of the .ORG domain to private equity firm Ethos Capital! This is a huge win for the countless civil society orgs, and individuals around the world that make .ORG their home online. #SaveDotOrg https://t.co/bJOXjrIQRQ pic.twitter.com/RYHXFNk3G3  Access Now (@accessnow) May 1, 2020

Just because #ICANN grudgingly did the right thing doesn't mean that this is the end. The schemers are all still there, but next time they'll adapt their tactics. Heads must roll, to remove those who caused this fiasco. https://t.co/UoT6hpDcii  George Kirikos (@GeorgeKirikos) May 1, 2020

Yay! Congrats to everyone who pitched in on what I thought was an impressively widespread and strong roar of disapproval.

[Any scrap of good news these days is like cool water in the desert.] https://t.co/crhPMHMuTA  Tim Bray (@timbray) May 1, 2020

This is amazing news  and literally means *space* for nonprofits and civil society organisations on the internet. https://t.co/YuBxPbpkV2  Katrin Fritsch (@KatrinFritsch) May 1, 2020

Indeed, now we must make sure the governance of .org domains is done with the interests and values of civil society and the public interest going forward  https://t.co/IvZJh9VdjU  Marietje Schaake  (@MarietjeSchaake) May 1, 2020

[via techmeme]
People lay flat on their backs in the street, held hand-made signs and chanted on Thursday night in front of San Francisco Mayor London Breeds apartment as part of a die-in rally to decry a shortage of hotel rooms to shelter the homeless during the pandemic.

Physicians, homeless residents and members of Faith in Action, the Coalition on Homelessness and Do No Harm Coalition organized the event after San Francisco failed to meet a Sunday deadline  set by the Board of Supervisors  to secure more than 8,000 hotel rooms for vulnerable people.

People cant shelter in place without shelter, said the Rev. Sadie Stone, a protest organizer. People cant wash their hands without access to soap and water, and people cant stay healthy if they dont have anywhere to rest.

City leaders had secured nearly 2,500 hotel rooms as of Thursday, of which roughly 1,100 were occupied. The Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ordinance April 14 requiring the city lease 8,250 rooms by April 26.

During the rally, nine people lay motionless in the street, clutching flowers as a symbol of the homeless residents who could die during the pandemic, Stone said.

Organizers decided to stage the rally outside Breeds home, leaving signs tucked into her front gate, because they said the mayor is in a position to put homeless residents into hotel rooms, Stone said.

We know she has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, but at the end of the day, she gets to go home, Stone said. And for thousands of people in San Francisco, they dont have that option ... (Breed has) the power to help change that.

Last month, Breed said the supervisors deadline was unrealistic, and on Monday, she said staffing and logistics have been major hurdles, in addition to other challenges.

As I have said time, and time, and time, and time again, there is a difference between a goal and what we all desire to do, and what reality is, she said during a news conference.

San Francisco police arrived and asked protesters to move to the sidewalk because they had blocked off part of the street. Officers removed the signs from Breeds doorstep. Breed did not show up, and it was unclear if she was home.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Olivia Park, a medical student who came to protest, said she and other health professionals are completely heartbroken and devastated when they have to discharge unsheltered people back onto the streets, especially during the pandemic.

Anna Bauman / Anna Bauman / The Chronicle

I think a lot of us lose sleep over it, she said. To be treating other humans this way, to really die on the street, I am at a loss for words.

R. Gandy, a native San Franciscan and Breeds neighbor, said she ran over to see about the commotion when protesters gathered and yelled. She stayed to chat with some of them, saying she prefers tackling issues through dialogue.

Homelessness has been going on before she became the mayor, so I don't know what you guys want her to do  at least shes trying to do something, Gandy said. I think when you are going to address homelessness, you need to address the whole problem  its gentrification.

Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2
You can love Justin Amash or hate him, but you can no longer take him seriously.

Amash left the Republican party because of disagreements with President Donald Trump. I understand that. Amash even voted to impeach Trump.

He has stated in the past that President Trump needs to be defeated. Wednesday, he announced he is seeking the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party.

Amash says he is running to win the White House.

He won't. I don't think he could. A third-party candidate hasn't even won an electoral vote since George Wallace in 1968 - even though John Hospers received an electoral vote from a faithless elector from Virginia in 1972.

Amash isn't even a Libertarian. When he left the party that got him elected as a Congressional Representative in Michigan with the solid support of Betsy DeVos and her family, he didn't join the Libertarian Party - he went Independent. Now, he wants to be the Libertarian candidate. He hasn't had an epiphany, at least not in his policy positions. His epiphany was that Libertarians have ballot access.

The only other possible conclusion is that Amash spent his time in quarantine watching Tiger King like everyone else in America and wanted to catch a ride on the Joe Exotic publicity machine. Side note, Joe Exotic ran for President and Governor of Oklahoma as a Libertarian for the same reasons that Amash is. If that isn't enough to disqualify him, I don't know what it will take.

Some people use the basic logic that Amash is more conservative than Joe Biden, so he will hurt Trump's re-election bid.

Maybe.

Some political scientists point to exit polls and say that Ross Perot took more votes from Bill Clinton than George H.W. Bush. Exit polls have a natural bias that comes from people wanting to say what they think they should say to an in-person interviewer.

Amash claims he wants to beat Trump, but does his candidacy help accomplish that?

Will Trump supporters leave for Amash? I doubt it. But will conservatives who don't like Trump vote for him instead of Biden? Of course. In a state like Michigan - Amash's best bet to win votes - he could pull enough votes away from Biden to keep him from winning an important swing state.

There is no empirical evidence to determine which side Amash would hurt the most. Duverger's Law is clear that winner-take-all elections favor - and can help create - a two-party system. Because of the American system of choosing electoral winners, anyone in the race other than the two main parties makes the system less efficient.

Third-party candidates can't win outside of a very specific set of circumstances, but they have a huge effect on the election because of the impact they have on the two main candidates.

There is plenty of evidence that Amash could never win. He can't even win an electoral vote. He probably won't even win the Libertarian nomination.

After all, Libertarians might want to nominate an actual Libertarian. A friend of mine - who beat Joe Exotic in Oklahoma - confirmed that Libertarians don't, in fact, like being the fall back party for unsuccessful Republicans.

"I like Amash," Chris Powell said. "But it really rankles that last summer he chose Independent and only now when he wants something is he willing to officially sign on with us."

I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Even when they make sense, I am more of an Occam's Razor guy - the simplest answer is almost always right. If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras - unless you're in a zoo. Then, maybe it's a hippo.

You should really be able to tell the difference between a zebra and a hippo. If you can't, you might think that voting for Justin Amash makes sense. Fun fact: It does not.

If you want Donald Trump to stay in the White House four more years, head down to the Trump store and buy some signs. If you want anyone but Trump to win, voting for anyone other than Biden is silly.

No matter how many candidates there are, only two will ever count. If you don't vote for Biden, you are voting for Trump. Amash could have run as a Republican, but he knew he had no chance.

Why would he have a chance as a member of a third party? The answer to that question is he obviously won't. Trying to figure out why he is really running is the kind of thing that makes me think zebra when I hear hoofbeats.

Kent Bush is the editor of the Rapid City Journal.
Kapoor (left) was born into a prolific dynasty which has produced four generations of actors

Bollywood mourned a second loss in as many days as celebrated actor Rishi Kapoor, whose career spanned half a century, died Thursday aged 67 after a prolonged struggle with cancer.

The news came as a severe blow to the Hindi movie industry and film lovers, who were already reeling from the death Wednesday of the internationally renowned actor Irrfan Khan, aged 53.

"Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully... today after a two-year battle with leukemia," his family said in a statement.

Fellow-actor Amitabh Bachchan was among the first to mourn his death, tweeting: "I am destroyed".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute, calling him "a powerhouse of talent", while Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan hailed him as "one of the greats".

Industry megastar Shah Rukh Khan recalled how Kapoor had welcomed him into the Bollywood movie business when he was a newcomer in the 1990s.

"Few men have the capacity for grace as he did, fewer still have the large heartedness of feeling genuine happiness for the success of others," Khan wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

Kapoor was cremated Thursday at a private ceremony in Mumbai under heavy security, with his family urging fans to follow India's restrictions on public gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Bona fide Bollywood royalty, Kapoor churned out hits as a romantic hero

Born September 4, 1952 into the prolific Kapoor dynasty -- which has produced four generations of actors including his son, Ranbir -- he made his debut in the 1970s epic "Mera Naam Joker" ("My Name is Joker").

He received India's National Award for best child actor for his performance in the film, which his father Raj produced, directed and starred in.

But it was his later persona as a romantic lead that won him legions of fans.

They flocked to cinemas to see him sing, dance and charm his way into their hearts in films such as the 1973 superhit "Bobby" and the 1975 thriller "Khel Khel Mein" ("While Playing").

- Bollywood royalty -

His trademark look -- a sweater tied around his shoulders as he courted chiffon sari-clad leading ladies in the Swiss Alps -- became shorthand for stylish Bollywood romance.

He was frequently cast opposite Neetu Singh -- who he later married and raised two children with -- jewellery designer Riddhima and Bollywood heart-throb Ranbir.

He was frequently cast opposite actress Neetu Singh, who he later married

Bona fide Bollywood royalty, Kapoor churned out hits as a solo hero, playing a lovelorn youth in the 1976 romance "Laila Majnu" and a rockstar in the 1980 musical thriller "Karz" ("Debt").

But he also felt secure enough to take second billing in blockbusters such as the 1977 comedy "Amar Akbar Anthony" -- starring Bachchan and Vinod Khanna -- although he'd frequently steal the show.

He enjoyed an easy chemistry with male and female co-stars, playing Bachchan's younger brother in the 1981 melodrama "Naseeb" ("Destiny") and his son in the 2018 film "102 Not Out".

- Versatile star -

As Kapoor grew older the romantic roles dried up, allowing him the opportunity to display greater versatility.

He terrified audiences as a human trafficker in 2012's "Agneepath" ("Path of Fire") and won applause for his portrayal of a cantankerous porn-watching grandfather in 2016's "Kapoor & Sons".

His forays behind the camera were less successful.

A 1999 directorial debut "Aa Ab Laut Chalen" ("Come, Let's Go Back Now") was panned by critics, becoming the last movie produced under the R.K. Films banner established by his father.

As Kapoor grew older, the romantic roles ceased, allowing him the opportunity to display greater versatility

In a 2016 interview with talk show host Simi Garewal, he praised members of Bollywood's younger generation for taking more chances with their work.

"We in our times never got a chance to (do) one film at one time... we survived," he said.

He was never afraid to speak candidly, whether about his movies -- most of which deserved to be forgotten, he joked to Garewal -- or about his struggles with alcoholism.

In recent years he won a legion of new and younger fans with his frank, and often funny, tweets.

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2018 he sought treatment in New York, but was looking to resume work shortly with plans to film a remake of the 2015 Hollywood production "The Intern".

He was forced to return to hospital this month, where, his family said, "the doctors and medical staff... said he kept them entertained to the last.

"He was grateful for the love of his fans... they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears."
New Delhi, May 1 : Within days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a sudden countrywide 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country, Pushpa Devi along with her two daughters, one son and differently-abled husband started a walk from the national capital. They were part of a growing crowd.

They made their way back home to Aligarh after catching a bus from Anand Vihar terminus, but a significant lot continued to remain stranded in different states, often with very little to eat and almost no money to buy milk for their kids. However, as the Centre allowed them to return home and a multi agency, multi state effort has kicked in, this turns out to be India's biggest logistical nightmare amid a pandemic that has shut India's economy.

Buses versus Trains: This Wednesday, after detailed deliberations, the Union Home Ministry brought a smile on the face of countless migrant workers like the ones who had hoped to travel to their respective states and gathered at Mumbai's Bandra Terminus. It issued fresh guidelines for interstate movement to allow stranded migrant labourers, tourists and even students to return them home. Thus far, only movement of essential commodities were allowed among states. States must arrange for sanitized buses for transportation, it said.

But many states said it is not unfeasible to move such a large number of migrants through buses. They said, not only enormous numbers of buses will be required but it will take forever for them to reach back. Four instance, travel between Meghalaya and Rajasthan can take days, which are separated by 2,224 kms. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot wrote to Modi questioning the feasibility of using buses for transport, while Bihar's Deputy CM Sushil Modi asked for trains.

After running a test train this morning at 5 AM between Telangana and Jharkhand, the government has okayed special trains for bringing started irate labourers home. While the Railway Ministry has been entrusted to work out a plan, it needs appointing nodal officers, ascertaining genuine applicants, ensuring social distancing while getting the job done of ferrying hundreds and thousands of laborers from across India.

States already on the go: The Uttar Pradesh government has said that it has arranged for 1,000 buses to ferry the migrants back home. Buses were scrambled for Kanpur, Ballia, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Faizabad, Basti, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Amethi, Rae Bareli, Gonda, Etawah, Bahraich and Shravasti.

Around 1,200 migrants left for Jharkhand on a special train inside which 54 passengers were allowed in each bogeys instead of 72.

Meanwhile, Kerala minister VS Sunil Kumar said that another special train is scheduled to depart Kerala's Ernakulam this evening for Odisha's capital city Bhubaneswar. Over 1,000 people are traveling in that train.

Meanwhile, the first bus carrying 30 students, who were stranded due to the nationwide lockdown in Rajasthan's Kota, arrived in West Bengal on Friday morning, the police said. "We are really happy to be back after so many days of lockdown. We were in real trouble there. We must thank our state government for taking such an initiative," said Rajiunnisa, a student from Murshidabad, who got stuck in Kota due to the shutdown, while speaking to IANS.

Matter doesn't end with homecoming This will not be an easy task, to say the least. First of all the railway ministry needs to determine the number of trains that need to be run and on what route. Each train needs to be run under capacity to ensure social distancing. Screening before travel as was proposed for travel through buses will also be a herculean task.

Once the passengers reach, it remains to be seen whether they are quarantined for 14 days by the state governments and if they do, whether it will be in a government facility.

The challenge will be all the more severe for states like Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that send the maximum number of migrants. For instance, a day before Modi had announced the lockdown, around 40,000 migrant workers had reached Bihar. To ensure the state does not face a COVID-19 outbreak, the Bihar Government had put them in a special facility at borders and let them go home only after due screening. Screening 40,000 workers takes time and hence the state had to arrange for their stay and food while arranging social distancing within that facility. Needless to say it costs crores of rupees too.

Once the new tranches of migrant workers reach these three states, it will be a logistical nightmare where they need to be screened, kept away from each other, fed and provided medical assistance when needed.

It also means, appointing nodal people down to the level of village panchayats who will ensure the migrants who return stay in quarantine and keep a watch whether they develop any symptoms.

BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe says, " The government is mindful of the robustness of the exercise. But it is also mindful of the fact that migrant laborers were to go home. That's why the Centre is taking the states along. It is indicative of its empathy towards the migrant laborers." (Anindya Banerjee can be reached at anindya.b@ians.in)
A picture of the USNS Mercy as it docks at the Port of Los Angeles on March 27, 2020. Los Angeles hasnt been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy has not had to play its envisioned role of being a safety net in order to allow hospitals to focus on treating those infected with the virus. (Mark J. Terrill/AP photo, File)

Navy Hospital Ships, Once Thought Critical, See Few Patients

About a month ago, with Los Angeles girding for a potentially crippling surge of CCP virus cases, a massive white Navy hospital ship chugged into port: a powerful symbol of the governments response to the pandemic.

The USNS Mercy, with 1,000 hospital beds and giant red crosses on its sides, was welcomed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Both officials were making grim predictions that LA could soon look like New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, and Garcetti noted the ship immediately became his citys largest hospital.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, center, speaks next to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, in front of the hospital ship USNS Mercy that arrived into the Port of Los Angeles on March 27, 2020. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

That day may have been the high-water mark for the Mercy, which suffered a virus outbreak among its crew and was the target of a train engineer who hijacked a locomotive and crashed it near the ship. He told investigators he thought the vessel was part of a government plot.

Ultimately, Los Angeles hasnt been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy has not had to play its envisioned role of being a safety net in order to allow hospitals to focus on treating those infected with the virus.

The Mercy is not alone: As virus infections have slowed or fell short of worst-case predictions, the globe is dotted with unused or barely used temporary hospitals. The Navys other hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, left New York on April 23 as the outlook improves there. It treated 182 patients.

Since arriving at the end of March, the Mercy has treated just over 70 non-coronavirus patients for everything from heart and lung conditions to gastrointestinal problems. On April 30, it had just nine patients on board. Its 750 medical crew members cycle through to provide treatment but otherwise are staying at local hotels to avoid another outbreak.

Medical personnel assigned to the hospital ship USNS Mercy docked at the Port of Los Angeles treat a non-COVID-19 patient from a Los Angeles-area medical facility on March 29, 2020. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Erwin Jacob Miciano/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

Even with hundreds of empty beds, there are no plans to send the Mercy home to San Diego.

Were encouraged by data which suggest the curve is flattening, but the threat remains, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, said in a statement. When appropriate, we will work with the city and state to determine if the mission is complete.

Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the California governors Office of Emergency Services, said talks are ongoing about how the ships medical workers can be used elsewhere.

Officials around the world have offered similar assessments of other temporary hospitals: Their lack of use reflected the need to over-prepare, and they could still be used in a second wave.

But the longer the Mercy stays in port with few patients, the harder it will be to justify the costs, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a conservative-leaning Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

There was a need to reassure people that something was being done, and hospital ships are very good for that, said Clark, a former special assistant to the chief of naval operations.

But he warned: Once its need passes, it can turn from a symbol of commitment to a symbol of inefficiency.

FEMA estimates the Mercys mission will cost it about $7.5 million, though the final bill will not be known until the assignments been completed, the agency said in an email to The Associated Press.

Military officials did not immediately provide a figure for costs on their end.

According to a military briefing document to the U.S. Northern Command obtained by the AP, the defense secretary approved $3.5 million for the Mercy to help cover expenses starting April 20 for the following month.

The Mercys Capt. John Rotruck said the ship can accept more patients. But those decisions are up to federal, state and local officials, and the health care facilities.

We just havent had a request, he said.

And the Mercy does have limitations. It can accept only patients not infected with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus commonly known as novel coronavirus and who are mobile.

The Navy recently expanded its mission by sending 40 doctors, nurses and corpsmen, most of whom were on standby to serve on the ship, to a state-run, skilled nursing facility near Los Angeles, and more personnel are available, Rotruck said.

For most people, the new CCP virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death, and nursing homes have been hit hard.

This is not the first time Navy hospital ships have been criticized for being underused; the Comfort was when it was deployed in 2017 to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

The USNS Naval Hospital Ship Comfort departs via the Hudson River, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (John Minchillo/AP photo)

In the pandemic, the Comfort also took flak because it was initially not allowed to treat virus patients, even as hospitals in New York City became overrun.

Following the outcry, the ship did end up treating COVID-19 patients.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week federal protocol also prevented the ship from accepting residents of a Brooklyn nursing home that lost 55 people to the virus.

Nonetheless, Cuomo said the ship had saved lives.

The 894-foot-long (272 meter-long) converted supertankers are the largest military hospital ships in the world. They were built in the 1980s to treat war casualties; they have assisted after major natural disasters.

While their capabilities run the gambit from treating bomb injuries to replacing pacemakers, the ships wide-open treatment bays are not designed to handle highly infectious diseases that require keeping patients far apart.

Still, President Donald Trump said the ships were proving so valuable that the government was looking to build two more of a similar size. Experts believe smaller, faster ships would better serve todays needs.

The Mercy, meanwhile, has been reconfigured as nine crew members recovered from the outbreak.

About 300 to 400 crew members come on board daily to staff 250 beds, staggered over three shifts. While not on board, some crew drive vans to pick up doctors at hospitals or do in-take when new patients are transferred, Rotruck said.

Some are taking time off, having worked long hours when the ship was treating about 20 patients a day, Rotruck said.

We were able to be a relief valve in anticipation of something that didnt quite get as bad as anybody thought that it might, he said.

By Julie Watson. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
The government's new COVIDSafe contact tracing app may interfere with Bluetooth-connected medical devices such as those used by people with diabetes.

The smartphone app  which has had more than three million downloads since its launch on Sunday  uses Bluetooth to keep track of which phones have been close to each other for more than 15 minutes in order to identify and get in touch with people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

The COVIDSafe tracing app uses Bluetooth to help contact people that may have been exposed to COVID-19. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But Diabetes Australia is warning users of certain monitoring systems that COVIDSafe could cause problems.

"We have received reports from a number of people with diabetes who have downloaded the Australian Government COVIDSafe app to their smartphone that they have experienced connection problems with their continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) apps," the non-profit said in a Facebook post.
Our Brother's Place homeless shelter in Center City. A resident died of coronavirus there earlier this month after a number of people living outside the Convention Center were brought into the shelter. Read more

A man living in a Center City homeless shelter died of the coronavirus on April 2 after an outbreak of the disease infected more than three dozen people at the facility, The Inquirer has learned.

The death occurred 10 days after the city violated federal protocol by breaking up a homeless encampment at the Convention Center and bringing some of its inhabitants into the shelter.

The man is the only known homeless person among 5,700 shelter residents in Philadelphia to die from COVID-19, city officials said. In a statement, they described the encampment as dangerous" and said that moving people into the shelter was absolutely the right thing to do, a humane intervention.

A 46-year-old man who died was from Puerto Rico and had been living in Our Brothers Place at 907 Hamilton St. since October 2016. He had suffered from various health conditions, making him very vulnerable to the illness, according to Misty Sparks, director of entry-level programs at Bethesda Project, a homeless service provider that operates the shelter for the City of Philadelphia. She declined to provide his name or other details.

After an unknown number of people were brought into Our Brothers Place from the encampment on March 23  the city says just a handful  32 of 149 residents there contracted the coronavirus between March 26 and April 14, Sparks said. Quarters were so tight, with people sleeping 18 inches apart, she added. Five staff members also tested positive for the disease.

A day before the city broke up the encampment, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a ruling saying: Unless individual housing units are available, do not clear encampments during community spread of COVID-19. ... This increases the potential for infectious disease spread.

In a statement, city officials counted 8 outbreaks in our 41 shelters in the past six weeks, with a total of 50 residents contracting the virus so far. That means 64% of all cases have occurred at Our Brothers Place.

My staff is out of its minds," said an advocate for Philadelphias homeless community. They cant believe how irresponsible the city has been. Weve been lucky so far. But were petrified that the virus can spread through a congregant population like wildfire.

City informed

Sparks had been asked by the citys Office of Homeless Services to discuss the outbreak at Our Brothers Place in a weekly telephone meeting with about 100 homeless-service providers and advocates on April 17.

While the city kept minutes of every previous meeting, it did not make available any record of the call in which Sparks described the death, a veteran homeless advocate said.

The advocate, like several others quoted in this article, was granted anonymity in exchange for frank assessments of events surrounding the death, and other related issues.

City officials took pains to keep the death under wraps, according to an advocate with decades of experience.

Last month, officials declined to confirm the death when The Inquirer initially asked about it.

Michael Hinson, president and COO of SELF, the largest provider of emergency housing in the city, said: I cannot see any benefit for withholding information about this death. It helps to have this information so we can help those in the shelter system.

Liz Hersh, director of the citys Office of Homeless Services, disputed the notion that officials were hiding the tragedy. Nothing could be further from the truth, she said. It simply takes us a few days to get information out, she said, adding, We have been very transparent about what were doing.

One advocate said that moving people whod been living outside into Our Brothers Place only to have someone die 10 days later was almost cause and effect. At the time, we were like, You cant do this. Its not safe.'

Eva Gladstein, deputy managing director of Health and Human Services for the city, disputed the idea that moving people from the street hastened the virus to spread throughout the shelter.

Its a false correlation, she said. Its a large shelter that tends to house older people susceptible to illness, she said, adding there are no data to connect the COVID-19 status of those whod been in the encampment to the men living in the shelter.

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Addressing the apparent violation of CDC regulations, Gladstein said that the agency issued its guidance less than 24 hours before the encampment was dispersed. Meanwhile, the city had been working for six months to move people out of the encampment of 70 people that had spawned criminal activity. She added that it was important to bring people in from the cold.

David Fair, a member of the board of SELF and the deputy commissioner for AIDS in the Philadelphia Department of Public Health in the early 1980s, disagreed with the citys decision-making.

They were fully aware of the CDC ruling, he said. Everyone was. All they had to do was not bring people into the shelter. Its not that complicated."

101-degree fever

In a report she compiled, Sparks wrote that one man from the Convention Center encampment displayed symptoms of the virus  including a 101-degree fever  and was denied entry to Our Brothers Place. In retrospect, advocates believe that others from the Convention Center who did move into the shelter might have been symptomatic.

The first known case of coronavirus in the shelter was discovered on March 26, three days after the encampment was closed, said Sparks, who added that the person had not come from the encampment.

Apart from the one death, Sparks said, 27 of the 32 in the shelter who contracted the virus have recovered. Three are still hospitalized, and one is in quarantine at the Holiday Inn Express.

The five staff members who became sick have recovered, Sparks said.

Other cities more progressive

For weeks, providers and advocates in the homeless community have been growing increasingly angry and frustrated with the city. They point to places such as San Francisco and Boston where homeless people living in shelters who are vulnerable to COVID-19 but not yet sick are quartered in hotels or dormitories to limit the spread of disease.

Other cities are doing much more progressive things to protect the homeless, Fair said.

Another advocate added: I dont get the citys lack of urgency. This is not a question of whether food at the Holiday Inn Express is nutritious. This is about living or dying.

City officials pointed out that Philadelphia hasnt suffered a large number of deaths in shelters, proof that theyre doing things right by making facilities less dense.

Last week, the city announced that it would allow shelter residents who are over 65, with underlying conditions, and who have been exposed to the virus but are not yet sick, to live in 250 rooms of the Holiday Inn Express and the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Center City.

An advocate said the number is well short in orders of magnitude to house those who would benefit. Michael Hinson of SELF agreed: There are tons of locations, like city buildings and churches, that the city has not yet fully utilized.

Providers and advocates planned to send a letter to the city outlining their fears.

Meanwhile, those who live in shelters are growing more anxious.

Im 62, Im diabetic, with heart trouble, said a resident of a South Philadelphia shelter. "We sleep close, and Im so afraid of this virus, especially for black men, who seem to catch it like its nothing.

Im scared, for real, for real.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the citys push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.
Resistance

The crimes of the Nazis, the greatest ever committed against humanity, generated some of the noblest and most self-sacrificing actions in the struggle against their barbarism. For both reasons, this dark period continues to be an important subject for historians and artists alike. The fascist threat has far from disappeared and opposition to it will once again require courage and moral determination. It is all to the good the population be reminded of that.

Resistance and The Resistance Banker deal with two lesser-known but significant episodes in the opposition to Nazi terror in occupied Europe.

Scripted and directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz, Resistance is the tale of how the future world-famous mime Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) became a member of the French Resistance during World War II.

Jesse Eisenberg in Resistance

The movies prologue begins on Kristallnacht, the brutal 1938 pogrom, when Jewish parents comfort their young daughter minutes before being arrested and killed by the Gestapo. Why do they hate us? the child asks. Hitler is just blaming us for the suffering of the working class. She soon becomes one of the tens of thousands of children orphaned and in need of protection.

The movie proper opens the same year at a time when Marceau (Jesse Eisenberg) is still Marcel Mangel. The teen labors in his fathers butcher shop in Strasbourg, in eastern France, but prefers to perform in cabaret clubs, honing his skills as an actor and mime.

His friend Emma (Clemence Poesy) is in the resistance, along with Marcel's cousin Georges (Geza Rohrig) and brother Alain (Felix Moati), sheltering scores of German children whose parents were murdered by the Nazis. Marcel decides to join them and uses his artistry to assist with the daunting project.

In the Jewish Resistance in France (Organisation Juive de Combat, or OJC), Marcel is popular with the children. He forges identification papers and courageously succeeds in rescuing his brother Alain from the deadly clutches of the Germans. When the OJC moves a group of children to the south of France, it enters the territory supervised by the notorious Nazi Klaus Barbie (Matthias Schweighofer), the Butcher of Lyon, a sadistic killer. Seeking information on the Resistance, Barbie mercilessly tortures Emmas sister to death. (After the war, US intelligence services made use of Barbie for his anti-Marxist efforts, aiding his escape to Bolivia.)

Marcel Marceau in 1962 (Photo creditHarry Pot, Nationaal Archief)

In one of the most chilling scenes in Resistance, Marcel and other Resistance members are leading children on a perilous escape through the Alps to Switzerland with Barbie in hot pursuit. Having been taught by Marcel to climb trees and hide in plain sight, the orphans narrowly evade the Nazi bloodhounds.

The films postscript explains that Jewish Resistance groups in France saved 10,000 children during World War II. The Nazis are estimated to have killed a horrifying total of 1.5 million children, including Polish, Romani, mentally and physically disabled and, above all, Jewish children.

Resistance is bookended by scenes in which General George Patton (Ed Harris) lectures his troops in 1945. The director inserts Patton into the narrative in an unnecessary tribute to the US military, even as American troops are poised to threaten his own country, Venezuela. This adds an element of political cloudiness.

It is entirely commendable that the director brings Marceaus resistance history to light, but the movie too often tilts toward complacency. While Eisenbergs characterization of the great mime is somewhat lackluster, Schweighofers terrifying Barbie manages to bring considerable harsh reality to the screen.

Resistance is not a great film, but the Marceau story is the stuff of great drama. (Marcel and his younger brother, Alain, whose father perished in Auschwitz, adopted the name Marceau in homage to Francois Severin Marceau-Desgraviers, a general of the French Revolutionary Wars.)

The kids loved Marcel and felt safe with him, Marceaus cousin and fellow resistance fighter Georges Loinger told the Jewish Telegraph Agency in 2007, after Marceaus death. He had already begun doing performances in the orphanage, where he had met a mime instructor earlier on. Speaking of the escape through the Alps, Loinger revealed that the kids had to appear like they were simply going on vacation to a home near the Swiss border. Loinger died in 2018, at the age of 108!

Marceau commented on his work in the resistance: I will speak only briefly about my own deeds. It is true that I saved children, bringing them to the border in Switzerland. I forged identity cards with my brother when it was very dangerous because you could be arrested if you were in the underground.

I also forged papers, not to save only Jews, and children, but to save Gentiles and Jews, especially Gentiles because there was a law in Vichyoccupied Franceto send the young French men, who were eighteen, nineteen years old, to factories in Germany to work for the German Army.

The Resistance Banker

Director Joram Lursens The Resistance Banker is based on the real-life story of Dutch banker Walraven van Hall (Barry Atsma), who concocts a scheme to finance the Dutch Resistance to the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Walraven, or Wally, is a well-to-do banker with a loving family and comfortable existence. Appalled by the encroachment of the Nazi war machine, he and his brother Gijs (Jacob Derwig) set up an underground, shadow banking operation to pay the families of sailors who are working for the Dutch government in exile and to support and buy weapons and supplies for the Resistance.

As more money is needed, they expand their efforts to forging treasury bonds, swapping them for genuine bonds in the vaults of the Dutch State Bank. The stolen money is used to pay striking railroad workers, who are crippling the German Armys movement of troops and supplies.

Barry Atsma and Raymond Thiry in The Resistance Banker

In this regard, it is worth noting that in February 1941, there was a general strike in the Netherlands organized by the then-illegal Communist Party against the Nazis anti-Jewish arrests and pogroms. The strike is considered to be the first mass protest against the Nazis in Europe. After three days, the strike was brutally suppressed by German forces.

Wally adopts the underground name of van Tuyl, a famous Dutch pirate of the Age of Sail. He functions under the noses of the Nazis (Were smarter than the Germans, anyway), including the relentless Dutch fascist, anti-Communist and anti-Semite Meinoud Rost van Tonningen (Pierre Bokma) who quips that in this country, only the sun rises for free.

Wally is an organizer of tremendous skill, audacity and heroism. Toward the summer of 1945, however, a doomed Third Reich ratchets up its repression and a terrible betrayal tightens the noose around Wallys neck.

The Resistance Banker is made and acted with genuine commitment. The bleak cinematography bolsters the tension-filled scenes depicting a country in the vise-grip of fascism. Fockeline Ouwerkerk plays Wallys wife Tilly, an intrepid supporter of her husbands valiant undertaking.

[Walraven] starts out resisting the resistance, Lursen said in an interview. In the end, he becomes the spider in the web of the whole resistance.

There is a running joke throughout the movie, whose punchline is only revealed at the films end: What is the similarity between the Nazi Rost van Tonningen and the Dutch flag? They will both be hanging at the end of the war! (In fact, Rost van Tonningen did die at the end of the war, although allegedly by suicide.)

All in all, The Resistance Banker is a more artistic and more cohesive film than Resistance.
A betting shop manager who broke a work colleagues jaw during a fight at a late night work leaving do has been awarded 6,000 for his unfair dismissal.

Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudication Officer, Catherine Byrne found that the betting shop managers behaviour on the night was reckless and dangerous.

However, Ms Byrne stated that in circumstances where the other man in the fight was issued with a final written warning by the betting company for engaging in the same behaviour, then the decision to dismiss the betting shop manager was not reasonable and the sanction of dismissal was excessive.

Noting the reckless and dangerous behaviour of the betting shop manager on the night, Ms Byrne stated: In the context of this complaint, where the behaviour that caused the dismissal resulted in a serious injury to another person, I am mindful of the effect of a finding that a dismissal is unfair, and the implication that such behaviour might be condoned.

Ms Byrne found that the dismissal was unfair and has ordered the betting company, which operates a network of betting shops, to pay the 6,000 compensation.

Recounting the events that led to the mans dismissal, Ms Byrne stated that on Saturday, September 8th 2018, the betting shop manager went to a pub and nightclub for a leaving do for a colleague.

She stated that the betting shop manager and a work colleague became involved in a scuffle outside the nightclub after the work colleague had earlier punched the manager inside the night-club.

In this encounter outside the night-club, the betting shop manager punched his colleague in the face causing serious injury to his jaw and mouth.

The gardai were called and took statements from witnesses.

Ms Byrne staled that it was apparent that, at the time, both men were very drunk.

The betting shop manager was sacked for gross misconduct by his employer on September 27, 2018 for causing an injury to a colleague and bringing the reputation of the company into disrepute.

The betting firm stated that the dismissal of the manager was justified by reason of his serious misconduct, his seniority in the betting shop and for failing to act in a manner to avoid the outcome that resulted in an injury to his colleague.

The firm argued that the severity of the blow that caused the injuries was, on the balance of probabilities, indicative of the managers intention to cause not just an injury, but a serious injury.

As a result of the assault, the betting firm stated that it lost the trust and confidence required of a person in his role in the company and his position as a manager was compromised.

The company argued that the company was entitled to find the other worker less culpable, as he was less senior than the complainant.

The betting manager argued that he hit his colleague in self-defence and that he was dismissed on an erroneous finding of assaulting a colleague.

He told the WRC that his colleague punched him in the face for no reason, and he fell backwards causing him to spill the drinks of customers at a nearby table in the night-club.

The manager said that his face was marked by this unprovoked punch and that his face was red and bruised.

The manager decided to go home and when he was outside the nightclub waiting for a taxi, the complainant said that his colleague approached him in an aggressive manner, saying well sort this out now.

The manager said that he felt threatened and he threw a punch to keep his work colleague back from him.

Ms Byrne found that the betting managers colleague made the first punch in the night-club and he followed the manager outside and began a conversation again, with the purpose of clearing the air.

Ms Byrne stated that the betting manager then swung at him, and broke his jaw.
The Maharashtra forest department has decided to cancel the annual waterhole wildlife census this year across all national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The census was scheduled to take place on May 7.

The waterhole census is a citizen-science conservation exercise focusing on close interaction with nature and it is the first time in 30 years that it has been called off, said Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Maharashtra forest department. Even if it is done with just our staff, at least two persons would be required to stay at each location across all sanctuaries, increasing the risks during the current Covid-19 scenario. As far as scientific inference, we are not dependent on this exercise for wildlife estimation, said Kakodkar.

Since it is easier to spot animals during the full moon in summer, the census is conducted annually on Buddha Poornima when forest officers and volunteers keep vigil on waterholes atop machans (platform erected on a tree or at a height from the ground). Last year, 591 animals, including leopard and deer, were spotted at Mumbais Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) by 85 volunteers and 80 forest staff.

Tourism activities across all 49 wildlife sanctuaries including tiger reserves, six national parks as well as protected forests in Maharashtra have been stopped until further announcement, said Kakodkar. All bookings stand cancelled. Due to this, animals have been occupying areas, including those dominated by humans where they are not normally seen, he said.

TADOBA ONLINE SAFARI GETS 20,000 DAILY VIEWS DURING LOCKDOWN

The forest department has been uploading daily digital tours of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur (at www.mytadoba.org) during the lockdown. The medium has got over 11,600 subscribers and has been getting 20,000-plus views per day since the third week of April. The idea is to provide a glimpse of the wonders of this reserve that citizens may be missing out on, but have still access to from the comfort of their homes during the difficulty of the lockdown, said Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Maharashtra.

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A Bulverde company lost a court fight challenging the Small Business Administration's policy excluding bankrupt companies from a $659 billion loan program set up to provide aid to desperate small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

In ruling against Asteria Education Inc. Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta said he didnt have the authority to substitute his judgment for how SBA chief Jovita Carranza administers the Paycheck Protection Program.

Sometimes I make decisions Im not particularly happy about. This is clearly one of them, Gargotta said in denying Asterias request for a temporary restraining order. (I have) a great deal of sympathy for the position the debtors in.

On ExpressNews.com: Bankrupt San Antonio-area business sues SBA over rejected PPP loan

Asteria develops software and other materials for teachers to prepare students for placement exams. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, citing a sharp decline in sales and cash flow issues.

Asteria applied for a $700,000 PPP loans through two lenders, but both applications were denied because of its ongoing bankruptcy case.

The company last week sued the SBA in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Antonio, alleging that the agency overstepped its authority in barring companies in Chapter 11 from participating in the loan program.

Nothing in the CARES Act, which authorized the loan program for small businesses, prevents a company in bankruptcy from receiving a loan, Asteria stated in its complaint.

The loan application, however, contained language that said a company cant be approved for a loan if its involved in a bankruptcy.

The agency told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that Carranza, in consultation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, determined that providing PPP loans to companies in bankruptcy would present an unacceptably high risk of an unauthorized use of funds or nonrepayment of unforgiven loans.

Paul Keiffer, a Dallas attorney who represents Asteria, declined to comment on Gargottas ruling. Aseteria is considering its options, Keiffer said.

Asteria official Galina Wexler said in a court filing this week that the company would suffer immediate and irreparable harm if it didnt get a PPP loan.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

Asteria had 25 to 30 employees at the time of its bankruptcy filing. Since then, it has cut pay for staff and officers and announced furloughs beginning May 26.

Due to the adverse impacts that COVID-19 has had on Debtors business, Debtor needs assistance with meeting its ordinary operating expenses  especially payroll to prevent further pay cuts, furloughs and layoffs, Wexler said in the court filing.

Similar litigation is playing out in other areas.

A judge overseeing the bankruptcy of an Edinburg ambulance company last week called the bankruptcy restriction in PPP loan applications discriminatory toward debtors. The judge ordered the SBA to remove the restriction and consider the loan application.

Asterias case is different from the ambulance companys, Gargotta said.

While (Asteria) has an important business, it is not of a critical nature, he said.

Qualified businesses can receive loans under the PPP for 2 times their average monthly payroll up to $10 million. The loans may be fully forgiven if the money is used for payroll and expenses, such as rent, utilities and interest on debt.

Congress originally funded the program with $349 billion, but the money was lent in less than two weeks. A second round of funding provided $310 billion.

Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering banking and civil courts. To read more from Patrick, become a subscriber. pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD
Last week, Stanfords Board of Trustees announced that the university would not directly invest funds from its endowment in coal mining companies. Even the strongest advocates of this action acknowledge that it is a symbolic gesture with little direct effect on the coal industry or global greenhouse gas emissions. But if a university administration wants to take symbolic (or real) action on climate change, is coal divestment a wise choice?

Casting climate change mitigation as a moral crusade rather than a difficult public policy challenge is problematic. Mining and burning coal indeed lead to serious environmental impacts. Some of these can already be dealt with cost-effectively; others cannot  at least not yet. But unlike past targets of divestment  such as apartheid in South Africa and, arguably, tobacco companies  coal also produces something of great value, in the form of energy and energy-derived products that we all benefit from.

Those who claim that Stanford is not dependent on coal or coal-derived products are flat wrong. Coal is a major component in the production of the steel that goes into all the buildings sprouting up around the campus and the cement used to make the concrete that goes into them. Many other items purchased by Stanford are produced using electricity generated from coal either in the United States or, more likely, in China, where more than 80% of electricity comes from coal.

Yes, coal can be substituted in power generation with natural gas, which cuts greenhouse gas emissions by about half. In fact, the U.S. has achieved substantial reductions through just such substitution. But fast-growing Asian countries do not yet have the luxury of cheap natural gas extracted from shale. They will continue to consume increasing amounts of coal as the most affordable and available source of power.

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Because coals negative attributes go hand in hand with important positive ones, and all of us are complicit in coal production and use, the moral equivalence with past divestment campaigns is a false one. In fact, I have serious concerns that making such an equivalence will only exacerbate the political divisions that have paralyzed Washington on climate.

Climate change policy is difficult because CO2-emitting processes are so thoroughly integrated into modern life, alternatives remain expensive and climate mitigation requires the nettlesome allocation of economic sacrifice around the world.

Painting evil fossil fuel companies as the principal obstacle to a better future only keeps us from staring these hard realities in the face. And, in the process, it may alienate the very people we need to be part of the climate policy solution.

How, then, can universities take action on climate change in a way that plays to their research and educational strengths while helping to move the climate debate toward real action?

There is wide agreement that the most cost-effective way to reduce the carbon content of the energy services we consume is to set a price for greenhouse gas emissions. The money raised from pricing carbon can be refunded to consumers so households are no worse off in aggregate. This policy is referred to as a revenue-neutral carbon tax (or fee), and it has drawn support from both sides of the political aisle.

In addition to having direct benefits for climate change mitigation, such a policy in the U.S. would send a powerful message of leadership to other large emitters that otherwise can take cover behind the relative climate inaction of the worlds most significant economy.

There are many important details that need to be worked out before such a policy can be implemented on a national scale. What better place to work them out than a university campus? So I issue this challenge to my own as well as any other university that wants to be a leader in meaningful climate action: Why not implement a university-wide, revenue-neutral carbon tax?

Heres how it would work. Stanford (or your alma mater) would set a dollar-per-ton tax on all greenhouse-gas-emitting activities on campus. Students would pay an extra amount on their term bills for their emissions. Faculty and staff would have the tax taken out of their paychecks. Electricity use, consumption of campus transportation services, gas-emitting activities in research laboratories and buildings, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste disposal would all be assessed.

The tax could even be extended to include the carbon content of products purchased by the university, and by students and faculty at stores on campus. Just as in a national program, the carbon content of each product would need to be quantified and the corresponding carbon tax assessed on each purchase.

Stanford could then use the proceeds from this carbon tax to reduce the tuition and fees charged to students and to increase the salaries of faculty and staff in a revenue-neutral manner. Designing such a scheme would require addressing many substantial scientific, economic and political challenges. But solving these challenges should be right in the sweet spot for a major research university like Stanford.

The design and implementation of the tax would be a university-wide initiative involving students and faculty. The rich experience of the many who participate could subsequently be put to work helping to implement effective climate policies in other settings, including Washington.

Isnt this what a major research university is supposed to do: engage in innovative research and teaching that positively and productively contributes to the public policymaking process?

Frank A. Wolak is director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development and a professor of economics at Stanford University.
New Delhi, May 1 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said Delhi will continue the trail of Plasma therapy as it has approval from the Centre.

"The Centre has only said that Plasma is on trial and it is not an official treatment. Delhi will continue the plasma trial as we have approval from the Centre," Kejriwal said while speaking to the media.

He also said that he is happy that most of those who recovered in Delhi are ready to donate the plasma.

On the students stuck in Kota in Rajasthan, Kejriwal also said that 40 buses from Delhi will go to Kota to bring back the students.
The NHS has launched a probe after a senior official set up his own online business privately selling PPE during the coronavirus crisis, it has been reported.

David Singleton, 42, a senior NHS official in London - who has reportedly been working at the Nightingale hospital - launched the business two weeks ago to trade in visors, masks and gowns, according to an undercover investigation by the Guardian.

The company created on April 15 - named Sure Stock - marketed PPE to the private sector as well as NHS clients but made no reference to the fact Singleton, from Essex, has a role in the health service.

The website offered a range of PPE including protective face shields, or 'smart visors', which were priced at 19,500 for minimum orders of 10,000 units.

The NHS has launched a probe after a senior official set up his own online business privately selling PPE during the coronavirus crisis, it has been reported. Pictured: staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital wearing various items of PPE

His involvement was revealed in a phone call when an undercover reporter posed as a client. During the conversation Singleton said he was running the business - trading as a 'sales agent' between suppliers and buyers of PPE -, according to the publication.

Singleton says he told his superiors in the NHS about the business and was told there was 'unlikely to be a conflict'. However it is understood the disclosure was under review and had not yet been approved.

The NHS have launched an immediate investigation.

'We take any potential conflicts of interest extremely seriously and as soon we became aware of these allegations an internal investigation was started,' a spokesperson said.

On his now-deleted LinkedIn profile it said he is a head of procurement for the NHS in London.

David Singleton, 42, a senior NHS official in London - who has reportedly been working at the Nightingale hospital - launched the business two weeks ago to trade in visors, masks and gowns, according to an undercover investigation by the Guardian

During the phone call with the undercover reporter, Singleton said he was 'currently an NHS employee' but said his role did not involve buying 'any products'.

'I deliver services,' he said. 'So none of the suppliers that I'm working with do I have any interactions with during my day job.'

When he was asked if he was exploiting his position in the NHS he said he was not directly involved in responding to the PPE shortage in the NHS as he didn't purchase or procure the products.

The company created on April 15 - named Sure Stock - marketed PPE to the private sector as well as NHS clients but made no reference to the fact Singleton, from Essex, has a role in the health service. Pictured: a medical worker in PPE tests a key worker in London

However internal emails seen by the Guardian suggest he may have been involved in the procuring of the products. The NHS declined to comment on the email evidence.

In his emailed statement, Singleton said Sure Stock has not and will not sell PPE and related equipment to the NHS, adding that 'any such allegation is false'.

However, a photograph on the website showed a visor with the NHS logo on the front. The company also appeared to offer deals for NHS clients. 'For our NHS heroes your price is fixed!' the website stated, according to the publication.
Instead of hospitals and pharmacies, masks and protective suits were being sold in Epicenter K chain of stores

On April 23, Ukrainian Mriya aircraft delivered a record amount of humanitarian aid with medical supplies to Ukraine. However, as it turned out, instead of hospitals and pharmacies, masks and protective suits first ended up on the shelves of the Epicenter K chain of stores, co-owned by one of the current MPs.

Volodymyr Zelensky personally met at the Hostomel airport the world's largest transport aircraft An-225 Mriya with a medical cargo of Chinese production on board. The Presidents Office said on that day that the aircraft had delivered humanitarian cargo from Tianjin. We draw your attention to the word humanitarian and move on.

What was on board

Volodymyr Zelensky at the Hostomel airport president.gov.ua

Zelensky said: Our Mriya brought to Ukraine 12 million masks - for both hospitals and pharmacy chains. In addition, it brought about 260,000 medical goggles for our doctors and more than 100,000 protective suits of the 5th level of protection.

The presidents website reported that more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid had been delivered from Tianjin, China.

Medical cargo from China Open source

The head of the Antonov State Enterprise, Oleksandr Donets specified that there were 103 tons of cargo on board.

Letters from MP

On April 29, it became known that the parliamentarian Oleksandr Hereha (parliamentary group For the Future) wrote to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and his parliamentary colleagues with an offer to buy anti-epidemic medical supplies in his Epicenter K company.

Oleksandr Hereha Open source

An important detail. According to Ukrainian law, parliamentarians must not engage in working or business activities, with the exception of teaching, scientific or medical activities. They also cannot be members of the board, other executive or managing bodies, or be members of the supervisory board of an enterprise or organization with the goal of making a profit.

As of April 29, 2020, according to Opendatabot, Epicenter K LLC belongs to the family of Oleksandr and Halyna Hereha (51.3% and 47.97%, respectively) and Tatyana Surzhyk (0.73%).

Going back to Herehas letter, which, by the way, was printed on the parliamentarian form. It was published by Ukrainian Truth news agency.

Parliamentarian form of Oleksandr Hereha pravda.com.ua

As of April 29, 2020, according to Opendatabot, Epicenter K LLC belongs to the family of Oleksandr and Halyna Hereha (51.3% and 47.97%, respectively) and Tatyana Surzhyk (0.73%).

Going back to Herehas letter, which, by the way, was printed on the deputy form. It was published by Ukrainian Truth news agency.

Dear Vitali Volodymyrovych! (Vitali Klitschko  112.international) Last week, Mriya plane delivered to Ukraine a large batch of medical masks, glasses, sterile overalls of the 5th degree of protection, as well as other anti-epidemic products. All of them have European and Ukrainian quality certificates. When a large batch is ordered, the price will be lower (the price list of the goods is attached). If you are interested, we ask you to contact persons in the Epicenter K company.

Journalists addressed the contact persons indicated in the letter. The representative of the company Olha noted that one can really buy masks and other goods at Epicenter K.

Answering whether the cargo delivered by Mriya was passed on a charity basis to hospitals and pharmacies, she noted that it came on a commercial basis, we are purchasing.

Everyone can make a mistake

Herehas assistant Olha Hryhorieva noted that the letter to city mayor was sent by mistake by another assistant, who allegedly mixed up the addresses.

Well, there was only one such letter addressed to the Kyiv City State Administration. It was the only one. And it was a mistake. It should not have come out. But the assistant made a mistake. It is the only one like that. It was assistants is own initiative. I think that the MP will be looking into things. But this was one such letter, and it was the mistake of the assistant. We are all human beings, everyone can make a mistake, Ukrainian Truth cited Hryhorieva.

At the same time, the interlocutors of the news agency in the parliament said that such letters from Hereha come to everyone to MPs boxes.

Is cargo humanitarian?

The Deputy Head of the Office of President Kyrylo Tymoshenko who also met Mriya in Hostomel commented on scandal, which was gaining momentum to Strana.ua.

The whole plane was paid for by the Epicenter, it was also Epicenter and the other businessmen who paid for the entire cargo. They did it themselves, without us. All humanitarian aid was also paid by the businessmen directly. We just met the plane, because its Mriya, and this is a cargo for Ukraine. Neither the budget nor our fund paid anything for cargo and aircraft, Tymoshenko said.

It should be noted that website of the Presidents Office as of April 23 did not mention a commercial party aboard Mriya.

On April 30, another plane came to Ukraine from China, which delivered 400,000 respirators and 50,000 protective shields for doctors.

According to Tymoshenko, in total, 25 planes with medical products came to the country from China: flights were organized by the Presidents Office using charity funds.

We allowed commercial organizations, primarily pharmacy chains and retailers, to bring goods. First of all, these are ordinary masks for the population. Commercial organizations pay for these planes, flights from China to Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Office of the President explained.

He expressed opinion that this initiative helped to reduce the cost of masks in pharmacies, where a month ago they cost 20-25 UAH (about 1 dollar).

We overcame the crisis, which was our task. So the Healthcare Ministry makes all further purchases, it has already begun to buy them. In the future, they will be delivered both by air and by sea, by trains from different countries. The task of the Office of the President was to overcome the crisis, so we say that it was the last flight, Tymoshenko said.

Kyiv bought masks from Epicenter

At the briefing on April 30, the Kyiv Mayor Klitschko reported that Pharmacia Municipal Enterprise bought masks from Herehas company for sale in communal pharmacies.

On April 1, Pharmacia Enterprise purchased 50,000 masks from the Epicenter before the masks ordered by the city arrived. Pharmacia purchased the masks from the Epicenter, and not for budgetary funds, Kyiv Mayor said.

He added that at the beginning of quarantine, when there was an shortage of protective equipment, Epicenter provided the city with 100,000 masks free of charge.

As for the proposal from Hereha, according to Klitschko, such letter from the MP was indeed registered in the office of the Kyiv City State Administration on April 28.

The mayor said that the city authorities would consider it in accordance with the current legislation, and noted that before that there were no letters like this from Hereha addressed to the Kyiv City State Administration.

Epicenter and quarantine

Despite quarantine, the company did not close its shopping centers. On the contrary, it was decided to organize the sale of protective masks, antiseptics, household disinfectants, in order to continue to fulfill the social mission, as indicated on the Epicenter website.

The companys statement of March 17 said that the company will spend 1% of its turnover on the purchase of medical equipment and protective equipment.

Working in the regular mode, we expect to direct 1.5  1.9 million dollars monthly to help the country purchase medical equipment, masks, disinfectants and protective equipment, the statement said.

Thus, the hypermarket continued to work during quarantine as a chain of hardware stores providing the population with essentials.
Digital neurological therapeutics firm SynPhNe on Friday said it is looking to raise USD 5.25 million (over Rs 38 crore) through institutional investors to fund expansion in India.

The company is currently building its distribution network in India by establishing franchising and distributor channels all over the country, SynPhNe said in a statement.

The network will be first established in the metropolitan cities followed by tier-II and tier-III towns, it added.

"We are planning to raise USD 5.25 million this year through institutional investors. Since inception, we have raised USD 5 million, out of which USD 1 million came through Research Grants and the rest USD 4 million from the Angel Investors. We plan to use these proceeds for expansion,"SynPhNe India Pvt LtdDirector and CEOAbhijeet Pandit said.

The company's endeavour is to reach out to as many patients as possible. It has already established a strong foothold in Singapore and Mumbai, he added.

The company is looking to expand its footprint to Thane, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Thrissur later this year, Pandit said.

Keeping the current times in mind, SynPhNe has also adapted its business model and started online sessions for existing and new patients, the statement said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The pound depreciated against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as US-China trade woes intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs against China over the coronavirus crisis.



Trump said on Thursday that he is confident the new coronavirus emerged from an infectious diseases lab in China.



But Trump refused to give details on what made him reach that conclusion.



Trump indicated that Beijing's role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus was taking priority than the initial trade deal reached last year.



U.K. stocks fell at the end of the trading week, with coronavirus worries and weak earnings updates from the likes of Apple and Amazon weighing on sentiment.



Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared that the U.K. was officially past the peak of coronavirus infections - but asked people to continue to comply with lockdown restrictions.



Final survey data from IHS Markit and Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed that UK manufacturing activity contracted the most on record as the outbreak of coronavirus, or covid-19, pandemic caused substantial disruptions in the sector.



The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 32.6 in April from 47.8 in March. The flash reading was 32.9.



Data from the Bank of England showed that UK mortgage approvals declined to a seven-year low in March as measures to contain the spread of coronavirus started to affect housing market.



Mortgage approvals fell to 56,161 in March from 73,674 in February. This was the lowest level since March 2013 and below forecast of 60,000.



The pound fell to 1.2533 against the greenback, from a high of 1.2600 seen at 6:00 pm ET. Next key support for the pound is seen around the 1.22 mark.



The pound edged lower to 133.96 against the yen, after rising to 135.08 at 8:00 pm ET. If the pound falls further, 131.00 is likely seen as its next support level.



The pound slipped to a 2-day low of 1.2072 against the franc from Thursday's closing value of 1.2155. The next key support for the pound is seen around the 1.17 mark.



The pound declined to 0.8757 against the euro, its lowest level since April 24. The pound is seen finding support around the 0.89 level.



Looking ahead, U.S. ISM manufacturing index for April and construction spending for March are scheduled for release in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Major supermarket chains are beginning to report their first coronavirus-related employee deaths, leading to store closures and increasing anxiety among grocery workers as the pandemic intensifies across the country.

A Trader Joe's worker in Scarsdale, a greeter at a Giant store in Largo, Md., and two Walmart employees from the same Chicago-area store have died of COVID-19 in recent days, the companies confirmed Monday.

Though more than 40 states have ordered nonessential businesses to close and told residents to stay home to stem the spread of the virus, supermarkets are among the retailers that remain open. Thousands of grocery employees have continued to report to work as U.S. infections and death rates continue to climb, with many reporting long shifts and extra workloads to keep up with spiking demand. Many workers say they don't have enough protective gear to deal with hundreds of customers a day. Dozens of grocery workers have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Industry experts say the rise of worker infections and deaths will likely have a ripple effect on grocers' ability to retain and add new workers at a time when they're looking to rapidly hire thousands of temporary employees. Walmart, the nation's largest grocer, is hiring 150,000 workers, while Kroger is adding more than 10,000. Many are offering an extra $2 an hour and promising masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. But finding workers willing to work on the front lines for little more than the minimum wage could be an increasingly tough sell, according to supermarket analyst Phil Lempert.

"One of the biggest mistakes supermarkets made early on was not allowing employees to wear masks and gloves the way they wanted to," he said. "They're starting to become proactive now, but it's still going to be much tougher to hire hundreds of thousands of new workers. We're going to start seeing people say, 'I'll just stay on unemployed instead of risking my life for a temporary job.'"

Some companies have begun installing plexiglass sneeze guards and requiring customers to stand 6 feet apart in line. The country's two largest grocers, Walmart and Kroger, are beginning to check employees' temperatures at the beginning of each shift.

The added precautions come amid a wave of worker strikes and petitions aimed at getting employers like Amazon, Trader Joe's and the grocery delivery service Instacart, to take additional steps to protect workers. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Those efforts are likely to take on new urgency, analysts said, as supermarket workers across the country begin to see colleagues fall ill. More than 356,000 Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Monday afternoon, and nearly 10,500 have died.

A Trader Joe's employee with underlying health conditions died Monday morning, spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said. The Scarsdale store where the employee worked is closed until Thursday to give workers "time to process and grieve," Friend-Daniel said. Employees will continue to be paid during the closure, and will receive an additional two days of paid leave, she said.

Trader Joe's stores in Brooklyn and Philadelphia also were temporarily closed Monday, for additional cleaning and sanitizing.

In Illinois, Walmart employees Phillip Thomas, 48, and Wando Evans, 51, both of whom worked at a store in Evergreen Park near Chicago, died in late March, according to labor advocacy group United for Respect.

A Walmart spokesman said the company is heartbroken. The grocery giant has hired an outside company to sanitize "high-touch" areas, such as front entrance, carts, registers and bathrooms. It has also started installing sneeze guards at cash register and begun limiting the number of customers who can shop at one time.

In Maryland, Leilani Jordan, 27, a greeter at the Giant's Campus Way South store in Largo, died last week.

"She said, 'Mommy, I'm going to work because no one else is going to help the senior citizens get their groceries," her mother, Zenobia Shepherd, told The Washington Post. "She only stopped going to work when she could no longer breathe."

Her last day at work was March 16, according to Giant spokesman Daniel Wolk. Jordan tested positive for the coronavirus in late March and died Wednesday.
It is a concept that has been around since the 1950s when it originated in Germany (although some put its year of origin even earlier); in the decades since, there has been enough research to show that its cons far exceed its pros; yet it has lingered on.

It, of course, is the open office, and the coronavirus disease, Covid-19, may have finally killed it.

As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe in February, most workplaces around the country (and the world) began to implement rules among employees to avoid clusters, maintain physical distance, wear masks, sanitise hands. and avoid biometric entry. Many put in place strict deep cleaning protocols. And finally, all suddenly discovered the merits of WFH (work from home).

Once the lockdown is lifted and at least some employees look to rejoin work -- many will work from home; for instance, Indias largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services has said that up to 75% of its global workforce will work from home by 2025 -- one of the most important questions facing organisations is simply this: Can the open office plan, marked by a lack of cubicles such that all employees are required to sit or work in clusters, still make sense in a world ravaged by the ongoing pandemic?

The straightforward answer? No

The open office was aimed at improving collaboration and proficiency among employees. By the turn of the century, and after a few decades of cubicles, the open office became the norm. Different types of furniture, which demarcated different spaces of work, was a distinct feature of the open office floor plan: hubs for private meetings, longer tables around which larger groups could gather for meetings or scribbles, single or two-seater sofas for more private conversations and glass-walled meeting rooms that also offered the same transparency that marked the rest of the office. Work desks became workstations where clusters of employees would be seated, often sharing resources such as lamps and telephones, and that great luxury of the modern workplace -- coffee machines.

In a post-Covid-19 world, this translates into zero social distancing, not to mention multiple shared surfaces. In other words, heightened risk of transmission of Sars-Cov-2. Sorry, but thats how everyone thinks now.

We are looking at a complete 180-degree shift [in offices]. The whole premise of how offices have been designed has been about collaboration and people coming together. Now the premise about people coming to office is about social distancing. So the whole focus will be on how to get people to interact in such a way. The communal spaces that the open office plan allowed for will not be possible anymore. It wont be possible for three people to sit on a sofa and have a discussion, said Aparna Piramal Raje, author and columnist on business and design.

Neetish Sarda, founder of Smartworks, a firm that offers co-working spaces across nine cities in India, said that his company instituted workplace measures on March 20 itself, five days before the nationwide lockdown was announced. The measures, which included disinfecting all surfaces and floors, temperature checks using an infrared thermometer at entry points, placement of sanitizer bottles at high touchpoints and emphasis on hand wash/sanitization while entering office spaces,mandatory masks , sanitising packages, physical distancing , and preventing sharing of dishes or drinks and eatables, will also be enforced once the lockdown is lifted, he said.

Will companies redesign the office space altogether?

US-based furniture maker Steelcase recently released a report-cum-catalogue titled Navigating Whats Next: The post-Covid workspace has some thoughts on that. Planning for now also means retrofitting the workplace, based on a common-sense approach that adheres to governmental and global health guidelines, including physical distancing, adding barriers, cleaning and safety measures, it said.

Work environments in the future will require reinvention as science-based evidence and emerging technologies offer new solutions. Planning paradigms of the past were driven by density and cost. Going forward they need to be based on the ability to adapt easily to possible economic, climate and health disruptions, the report added.

Some of the more immediate suggestions it offers includes reconfiguring desks, or pulling them apart to reduce face-to-face orientation, which can be achieved for instance, by turning workstations through 90-degree angles which would prevent workers from working directly across or behind one another. It also suggests using open spaces for meetings of more than five people as well as leveraging flexible furniture with movable whiteboards and screens to create boundaries.

Shields between people  such as those made of material like plexiglass or plastic  will make a comeback, Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo! Inc., recently told a magazine. I think people are going to want protection, plexiglass or whatever. There will also be more teleconferencing, absolutely less flying  you will teleconference with customers, the longtime Silicon Valley chief executive told Marketwatch in an interview.

Bimal Patel, director of Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management Private Limited  the architecture firm mandated to develop New Delhis Central Vista  said that it was too early to think of lasting design changes.

The most interesting thing that has emerged out of the present crisis is not so much this idea that we may need to make lasting [design] changes in the long run but that a lot of people, particularly in the service industries like our own, have discovered the potential of working online. We [at HCP] have discovered that there is quite a lot of stuff that we can manage to do (without coming into the office). [Of course,] when we do come, it will be because we need to sit around a table, and draw on the same drawing, or stand around a drawing and discuss it. There is work that we all need to do that will bring us close together.

In the short run, he said, the important thing for firms to figure out is how many people can actually stay away from the office so as to reduce the number of people coming in to work.

Though Patel may not agree with this, his remark highlights a larger question -- forget open offices, do we even need offices?

Around the world too, organisations are beginning to rethink work schedules of employees to stagger their return, and enable more people to work from home. Global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield is testing a design concept called the Six Feet Office to help employees stay six feet apart. This includes signage that helps people recognise distance, usage of disposable desk covers, and ensuring that people walk only clockwise through the office space to minimize bumping into each other.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers pulse survey among 305 US companies published on April 27, found that more than three-quarters (77%) were putting new safety measures in place, while others said they were taking steps to promote physical distancing, such as reconfiguring workspaces (65%). More than half the companies (52%) were planning on changing shifts and alternating crews to reduce exposure, while 49% of the companies said they were planning to make remote work a permanent option for roles that allow it.

Indian furniture maker Godrej Interio has a four-person team, called the Ergonomics and Workspace Research Cell, whose mandate is to study issues commonly faced in offices  like noisy colleagues  and publish findings that eventually guide their product design team. When the global pandemic hit and offices around the globe and India began to close down, it began to study the challenges of working from home.

Our aim is to reach 10,000 [respondents] so the research is still ongoing. We asked questions like, what are the issues people face; how can we help them stay productive? Our focus is on the health and well-being of people, said Sameer Joshi, an associate vice president in the marketing division of Godrej Interio who leads the team. Based on the findings, a work from home range of 40 furniture items will be rolled out once factories open, Joshi said.

We are getting a lot of interest from corporates to supply furniture for home. So were taking these learnings and quickly adapting [them] to reconfigure [existing] home furniture [models]. Indian homes are denser, theres often no space for a separate office. Same piece of furniture is used by multiple users, unlike the office. The solution has to be flexible enough so that it adapts to different users, Joshi said.

At a time when the world stares at yet another economic recession, it is crucial to ask whether firms will make such additional investments in office spaces or infrastructure to enable people to work from home. Raje said it would be in their own interest to do so.

For the first time, many organisations will have to think of their employees being in a kind of life and death situation [inside the office]. In most industries, you dont think about this, unless youre in the manufacturing space or in the armed forces. So, if you view it from that perspective, then certain investments have to be made. [Of course] somebody has to bear that cost. Maybe that cost may come out of employee salaries, she said.

Or they may simply come out of the savings companies hope to make from rent payments.

(With inputs from Abhishek Behl)
Sonora, CA  Small business loans and a new survey to help local officials better advocate for businesses needs and struggles during the COVID-19 emergency are now out, as documented in a new myMotherLode.com blog.

According to Tuolumne County Director of Business Innovation and Assistance Cole Przybyla, who spoke on Wednesday with Small Business Administration (SBA) officials in Fresno, loan applications are being processed.

His office has created a ten-question disaster assistance survey available (by clicking here) for business operators that will help local officials in their advocating efforts at the state and federal level that will provide quantitative data on the impacts of COVID-19 to businesses.

Przybyla provides more details and resource links relating to both as well as to Tuolumne County and City of Sonora hosted Business Recovery Plan public webinars going on through the end of May every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a myMotherLode.com blog posted here.




Haiti - Social : Impact of the pandemic on humanitarian operations





Child protection activities involving large groups have been suspended. However, actors are continuing select routine activities in small groups while respecting physical distancing and/or on an individual basis to ensure ongoing service delivery such as case management, psychosocial support, home visits and cash assistance.



Preventive activities in the nutrition sector, including active screening for malnutrition at the community level, were suspended. In some localities, health institutions receive only emergency cases and are being frequented less and less by population to avoid exposure. As a result, malnourished children sometimes do not get the necessary care.



Food insecurity is expected to increase significantly in the context of COVID-19. While the impact is currently being assessed, regular response activities have been adapted to the new context by introducing hygiene measures and carrying out sensitization on the spread of the virus with the beneficiaries.



During the week of 6 to 12 April 2020, the WFP and its partners distributed 349 tons of food to 4,869 households (24,345 people) in the departments of Grand'Anse, Nippes, West. In the coming weeks, distributions will continue in the departments of Ouest, Grand'Anse, Artibonite, Nippes and Nord for a total of about 10,000 households.



At the same time, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partners are organizing a distribution of seeds and seedlings for 9,900 vulnerable households for sowing/planting in the spring season 2020, in the departments of Grand'Anse, North-West, North-East and Nippes. FAO is also purchasing vegetable seeds, veterinary drugs and goats to assist 13,000 vulnerable households in the same departments, which will benefit from vegetable production (9,500 households, 60% of which are women heads of household), veterinary treatment of their sick animals (2,500 households) and restocking of small livestock (1,000 women/girls heads of household) starting May 2020.



Additional funding is urgently required to continue activities in response to food insecurity.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole has warned State Governors against cutting salaries of workers as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

There have been fears that state governments may cut wages of workers and sack some due to decline in revenue.

Also Read: May Day: Gbajabiamila Salutes Nigerian Workers, Tasks Them On Productivity

But Oshiomhole, in an article published to mark Labour Day appealed to the governors to Be sensitive to the poor condition of workers during this difficult time.

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According to him, cutting salaries of workers, Can only bring about a vicious cycle of poverty.

Oshiomhole advised governors to rather reduce cost of governance instead of slashing wages or retrenching workers.
A Victorian Supreme Court decision ordering Google to pay $40,000 to a prominent criminal lawyer for defaming him by "publishing" a news story that appeared in its search results has led to calls from experts for a rethink of the legal definition of publishing.

Melbourne lawyer George Defteros, whose clients have included gangland identities such as Mick Gatto, successfully sued the US-based search engine for linking to a June 2004 article in The Age which followed his arrest on charges of conspiring to murder notorious underworld identity Carl Williams and others. The charges were dropped in 2005.

Lawyer George Defteros outside court in Melbourne in 2019. Credit:Paul Jeffers

In a decision on Thursday, Victorian Supreme Court Justice Melinda Richards said Google became liable as a publisher of both a "snippet" of the article in search results and the full article, headlined "Underworld loses valued friend at court", from February 11, 2016.

This marked a "reasonable time" after Mr Defteros' law firm asked Google on February 4 to remove the article from search results. Mr Defteros' lawyers appeared to accept Google could rely on the defence of innocent dissemination before that date, she said.
Patients are being advised not to stay away from their GP as it may lead to a heightened risk of medical complications down the line.

Since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in early March, GPs have noticed a decline in the number of patients presenting for regular check-ups at their surgeries.

Anxiety and fear of the virus has created a 'non COVID sick' category in society, and is the reason for a decline in GP visits, which is now a major concern among health professionals.

Dr John Chute of the Fairies Cross Medical Centre in Tralee says this a serious side effect of the lockdown which may have implications for early medical intervention in patients.

"It's quite serious because of the potential for late presentations, that would be a big fear for us," Dr Chute said.

"People are basically afraid to see their doctor in case they are referred to a hospital; people are afraid of going into hospital at the moment."

The virus is changing the way GP practices operate with full waiting rooms expected to be a thing of the past once restrictions are lifted. Minimising the risk of infection by thoroughly cleaning surgeries and wearing protective equipment have also been stepped up.

"We would be wearing full PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) in the surgery, which is changed after every patient. We have protocols for seeing patients as normal, but we allow only one patient in at a time for our protection. People may find it unusual to see me in full PPE for something that is pretty minor; this would be a slightly unsettling environment, especially for children."

He explains that patients are asked to wait in their cars before seeing the doctor. These changes are proving difficult for GPs given the one-to-one nature of their work.

"It's a very inefficient and messy system at the moment," Dr Chute explains.

"Telephone consultations have rocketed, particularly on Mondays because of the carry-over from the weekend. Our footfall to the surgery has dropped dramatically, and we only see around six to ten people a day, face to face. We now prescribe online, and this means a patient doesn't have to get signed prescriptions as we email it direct to the pharmacist. That has been a complete change. I think IT will certainly be used more in the future," Dr Chute explains.

He added that current practise is likely to continue until at least autumn, and that there is now a genuine fear among doctors of contracting COVID-19.

"This fear is hard to comprehend at times. I qualified in 1996 and, as a class, we have a WhatsApp group that we keep in touch through. There is definitely a fear that one of us is going to succumb to it. Over 100 doctors have died of the virus in Italy, which is amazing. It would play on your mind.

"[But] Come in to us as normal. We have a full nursing service here every morning and it's absolutely safe to come in to me or the nurse for whatever reason.

"Just expect a few delays as we have to change after each patient. But I must say that 99 per cent of the people have been very understanding."
Since starting in Wuhan, China roughly four months ago, the coronavirus outbreak has gone on to infect millions of people worldwide and has killed more than 230,000.

There are now indications the public health crisis could last another 18 months to two years, and countries should prepare for the worst-case scenario, according to a new report from epidemiological experts in the U.S.

The virus caught the global community off guard, and its future course is still highly unpredictable; there is no crystal ball to tell us what the future holds and what the end game for controlling this pandemic will be, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota said in its report.

The four experts who put the study together looked at three different scenarios of how the public health crisis could unfold in the coming months. The report focuses on the temperate Northern Hemisphere, which encompasses the United States, the report said.

Similar predictions, though, can be made about the Global South, where a lack of robust health care infrastructure, including a shortage of personal protective equipment, and the presence of other infectious diseases could result in the pandemic becoming even more severe, according to the study.

To help form their predictions and guidance, the experts looked at previous public health crises, including the SARS and 1918 influenza epidemics. Some of the scenarios the experts put forward have occurred during past pandemics, according to the report.

One looks at if the spring wave of COVID-19 is followed by a series of repetitive smaller waves in the summer and then consistently over a one- to two-year period, eventually diminishing gradually in 2021.

Another scenario shows the spring wave being followed by a larger wave in the fall or winter of 2020 and one or more smaller waves in 2021. This is what happened during the 1918 flu, and some CDC officials are anticipating a winter resurgence of the virus to be far more deadly than the current wave.

The third situation looks at if the current coronavirus wave is followed by a slow burn of ongoing case occurrences without a clear pattern. This trend has not occurred during previous influenza pandemics, the report noted.

Whichever scenario the pandemic follows (assuming at least some level of ongoing mitigation measures), we must be prepared for at least another 18 to 24 months of significant COVID-19 activity, with hot spots popping up periodically in diverse geographic areas, the report said.

Noting that COVID-19 spreads more easily than the flu, the report found that the outbreak likely will not be halted until 60% to 70% of the population is immune to the viral respiratory infection.

The experts recommended government agencies and health care providers prepare for the worst-case scenario of no vaccine being available and no herd immunity developing. Authorities should also develop strategies to ensure protections for medical workers during COVID-19 surges, the study said.

Public officials should message their citizens that the pandemic will not be over soon and that people need to be prepared for potential periodic resurgences of the disease over the next two years, according to the report.

As the pandemic wanes, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 will continue to circulate in the human population and will synchronize to a seasonal pattern with diminished severity over time, the experts wrote.

The release of the report comes as several states in the U.S. are beginning to prepare to reopen their economies and lift social distancing guidelines, despite the United States being one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

As of Friday, there were more than 1 million confirmed cases of the disease in the U.S. and roughly 60,000 total coronavirus-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Massachusetts General Hospital COVID-19 simulator has found fatalities could increase by the thousands as well if states do away with restrictions prematurely.

Massachusetts has seen some of the highest numbers of infections and deaths in the nation, with more than 62,000 total cases of the virus and 3,562 coronavirus-related fatalities identified as of Thursday.

A vaccine to prevent the disease is not expected to be available until January, and there is currently no recommended medical treatment for the respiratory infection.

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People are seen gathering on the Corona del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, California, on April 25, 2020. (Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

Newsom Put Politics Over Data With Beach Closure Order, Newport Mayor Says

A mayor in Californias Newport Beach has accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of placing politics over data with the decision to close the beaches in Orange County.

Mayor Will ONeill pointed to data showing that every beach community in Los Angeles Countywhere the beaches have been closed for a monthhad higher rates of infection than Orange Countys open beach communities.

Without speaking to a single local official in Newport Beach, Governor Newsom has put politics over data, and substituted his will for our judgment from 428 miles away in Sacramento, ONeill wrote on Twitter. Los Angeles County closed their beaches over a month ago and data now shows that every single Los Angeles County beach community has a higher per capita COVID infection rate than Orange Countys open beach communities.

Any restriction that invokes health and safety to shut down freedom of movement needs to be grounded in data to show that such activities are direct threats to health and safety. That showing was not made today. OCs forty-two miles of beaches can and should be safely opened, ONeill added.

Newsom ordered all beaches in Orange County to be closed on April 30, explaining that were guided by health.

Were guided by your health and the health of others, Newsom said.

Newport Beach City Council earlier this week voted to reject an ordinance that would have closed beaches for the next three weekends.

There were over 1,000 emails sent to city officials expressing views on the matter before the vote, including 664 asking for beaches to stay open and 391 wanting them closed.

The council asked city workers to ramp up enforcement of social distancing measures, which include people staying six feet from individuals they dont live with. More police officers and lifeguards will be on the beaches in the coming days, the city said in a press release.

The vast majority of the beach visitors this weekend were practicing social distancing, but many were not, the city said in its statement.

According to statistics shared during the council meeting, some 90,000 people went to beaches over the past weekend.

San Clemente, where some beaches are also open, delayed taking action on a similar proposal. The city announced beaches were reopening on April 25.

Crowds gathered on the beaches on April 25 and 26 as temperatures soared and many beaches nearby remained closed, including Los Angeles County beaches and most in San Diego County.

Newsom, a Democrat, reacted to photographs showing throngs enjoying the sand, calling them an example of what not to see and what not to do if state residents want to continue making progress against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

The reality is we are just a few weeks away, not months away, from making measurable and meaningful changes to our stay-at-home order, the governor said, referring to his harsh mandate that has largely kept people confined in their homes since mid-March.

This virus doesnt take the weekends off. This virus doesnt go home because its a beautiful sunny day around our coasts, he added.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Few workers have cause to celebrate May 1, International Workers Day, this year. COVID-19 has been accompanied by another pandemic  of job loss and economic insecurity. Domestic workers, primarily women, have particularly precarious jobs and often do not qualify for government support.

In mid-March, as New Yorkers prepared for a mandatory lockdown, a person posted on my towns Facebook group asking what type of protective equipment she should provide to her house cleaner. Replies came fast and furious. Clean your own home and pay them anyway! Cancel and pay! But in many other communities, and around the world, the response is different.

Domestic workers organisations and the media are reporting devastating stories of domestic workers catapulted into economic crisis across every region. Faced with lockdowns, social distancing restrictions, and in some cases their own economic hardship, many employers have dismissed their domestic workers or suspended them without pay. The loss of income is devastating for many domestic workers who may have little or no savings.

Others, especially live-in domestic workers on migrant visas such as those in the Middle East, might find themselves with extra responsibilities and longer hours, with children out of school and other household members at home.

The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 67 million domestic workers globally and that 80 percent of them are women. Yet 90 percent of them are excluded from protections such as paid sick leave and unemployment benefits. This is particularly the case in Asia, Latin America and Africa, where the largest numbers of domestic workers are concentrated.

Despite this bleak picture, there are also promising examples of action by private employers, governments and labour groups to create safety nets for this vital group of workers.

In South Africa, domestic workers who are registered with the government are provided six weeks of paid sick leave in a three-year period, and are covered by the Unemployment Insurance Act, which provides up to 238 days of unemployment benefits. Gaps remain  those workers who are not formally registered with the government cannot access these benefits.

France uses a voucher system for social security safety nets and paid leave for domestic workers, easing administrative formalities for employers and contributing to relatively widespread coverage.

A World Bank compilation of emergency relief measures during the pandemic shows that many exclude domestic workers entirely. But some countries are taking steps toward inclusion. Argentinas president, Alberto Fernandez, issued an executive order providing approximately $155 to domestic workers and other low-wage workers as emergency financial relief.

Spain extended unemployment benefits for the first time to domestic workers on March 31. Registered domestic workers can receive 70 percent of one months salary if their hours have been reduced or they lost their jobs since the lockdown began. This benefit is smaller than for other workers and not enough to sustain workers through an indefinite crisis but is a step towards bringing domestic workers benefits closer in alignment to those of other workers.

Workers organisations are campaigning to end these gaps, pressing governments to include domestic workers in their relief measures. They are using social media and other means to urge employers to continue paying domestic workers even when they cannot work due to social distancing restrictions. In Brazil, the National Federation of Domestic Workers and Themis, a gender equality group, is campaigning for employers to suspend domestic workers with pay or to provide them with adequate protective equipment. Their high-profile webinar explained domestic workers rights, with speakers including former President Dilma Rousseff.

In the United States, the National Domestic Workers Alliance is well on its way to raising $4m to distribute to domestic workers. While domestic workers may qualify for economic relief varying by state, a significant proportion are undocumented migrants who cannot access government benefits.

Domestic workers perform essential work, caring for the most important parts of peoples lives  our children, our parents, our homes. Once restrictions lift, employers would do well to remember how much they missed these services.

These caregivers deserve safety nets on par with other workers and treatment with dignity. The few positive models should become the new norm.

If you are an employer, pay your domestic worker full wages during lockdowns. If you are a politician, push for the full inclusion of domestic workers in emergency relief funds, including direct cash assistance that does not require formal employment registration or migrant status.

And we should all push for longer-term change. In 2011, the International Labour Organization adopted the Domestic Workers Convention, now ratified by 29 countries. These countries are obliged to ensure that domestic workers have legal protections on par with other workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted deep inequalities in how womens work is valued and compensated, and the dire consequences when crises hit without safety nets. But the pandemic also provides an opportunity to make long-overdue changes so that women workers emerge stronger than before. And that would give us a real cause for celebration next Labour Day.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Since Kristin Choo has been staying at home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, she admits shes probably drinking more these days.

With both my adult children staying here while working from home, we are having real family dinners again, said Choo, a West Brighton resident and freelance writer. Dinner seems to come together at about 7 p.m., right after clappy time. And it seems a good time to pour some wine and settle down for the evening.

And Choo isnt alone.

Since Kristin Choo has been staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic, she admits shes "probably drinking more these days."

The wine industry -- unlike most other businesses -- hasnt been adversely impacted during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, wine sales were already up nationwide by 66% by the week ending March 21, according to Nielsen, a U.S. information and data firm. And alcohol sales in general spiked by 55% during the same time period, according to the company.

Many local wine store owners report a spike in sales as people seem to be drinking more while they are sheltering in place.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

With restaurants closed, that market is surviving because of retail store sales, said Lorie Honor, who with her husband, Robert, owns the Stapleton-based Honor Wines, which has been in business for eight years. Everyone employed in the wine trade -- distributors, sales reps, warehouses, truck drivers -- they are all getting by because of retail store customers like ours.

She said sales are up and comparable to the volume that is usually reserved for the busy season, which is typically November and December.

Pam Brech maintains a six-foot distance from Lorie Honor as she picks up wine.(Courtesy of Lorie Honor) - . Courtesy of Lorie HonorCourtesy of Lorie Honor

But unlike season buying, which is somewhat predictable, current wine-buying is all over the place, said Honor, who has launched a doorstep delivery service during the pandemic.

Many customers are on their third and fourth case since the quarantine. Some want the same thing and some want to try new things. Some are drinking in the day and want wines with lower alcohol and some want some big, plush, comfort wines, like Malbec. Some are really staying at about $150-$180 a case every time, and some are splurging on some Napa, and Bordeaux more than usual, she added.

But some wines are selling more than others, and with many people out of work, they are opting for lower-cost varieties.

Ive noticed a real uptick in California Cabernet and Chardonnay sales and requests. Maybe theres a comfort in thinking of sunny California, or a nostalgia over a trip to Napa in better days. Or maybe the wines are just easy to drink and a pleasure to pour and re-pour. Friendly reds like California Cabernets, Cotes Du Rhones and anything from Southern Italy in the $13-$18 range are being enjoyed all over the Island, said Honor.

VIRTUAL WINE PARTIES

I wouldnt say I have been drinking more, but I have had the opportunity to participate in a few virtual gatherings with friends and family that included drinking, including a happy hour with friends, an 85th birthday celebration with family, and a fabulous wine tasting with Honor Wines, said Laura Parenti-Norden, and Annadale resident and owner Bozos Army & Navy Store, Great Kills.

And it seems that people dont want to drink alone during the pandemic.

Due to social distancing and the mandated closures of all social venues, many people have taken to virtual wine parties during the coronavirus pandemic.

I wouldnt say I have been drinking more, but I have had the opportunity to participate in a few virtual gatherings with friends and family that included drinking, including a happy hour with friends, an 85th birthday celebration with family, and a fabulous wine tasting with Honor Wines, said Laura Parenti-Norden, an Annadale resident and owner of Bozos Army & Navy Store, Great Kills.

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The Ector County Health Department website reported no new positive cases on Friday, the third straight day without any new cases. The total remains 78 cases, with three probable cases. ECHD reported that 58 people have recovered. There have been 1,300 tests taken, with 1,118 negative results and 104 pending results. ECHD has contacted 1,047 people during contact tracing.

With drive-thru testing, 129 people have called to be tested. The drive-thru testing has conducted 28 tests; all are pending.
EAST ALTON  First responders and veterans are getting their just desserts, thanks to Blue Ice Creamery at Eastgate Plaza in East Alton.

Owners Kelley Shirley, a U.S. District Court deputy clerk for the Eastern District of Missouri, and Kyle Shirley, retired from the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marshals Service in East St. Louis, are giving back to those who served on the frontlines today and yesterday.

The Veterans Assistance Commission of Madison County, overseen by chairman Brad Lavite, teamed with the firm to give ice cream to several agencies. The commission started buying ice cream for police and fire departments in the northern half of Madison Country, then migrated to the southern half, which Lavite and Kyle Shirley coordinated. The commission buys the ice cream at wholesale cost; the Shirleys give it away.

Ive been somewhat involved with the VAC on a couple things, Kyle Shirley said. Brad said he wanted to do this with a veteran-owned business, during the COVID-19 pandemic. I said, That would be awesome, wed love to help.

The men realized some veterans might not be able to pick up the ice cream, so they delivered it. They then developed a way veterans and members of fire and police departments could stop by Blue Ice Creamery at their leisure between 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. any day but Sunday.

The VAC put some money on the books here, Shirley said. Someone might need dairy free, no sugar added  everybodys included.

Several neat things started since this COVID virus, he said. Several individuals come in and buy a gift certificate and keep it here for anyone whos in need.

An individual who wishes to remain anonymous purchased a $200 gift certificate for Wood River postal employees, Shirley said. They came in, left it here, for both the East Alton and Wood River postal employees to be able to come in and get ice cream, soda, hot dog, whatever they want.

More Information Eastgate adds local flavor Blue Ice Creamery over the next few weeks is bringing new signature ice cream flavors to the shop at 127 Eastgate Plaza, in East Alton. The business will partner with Mr. Poncho's Mexican Restaurant and Grill to offer a flavor based on the cinnamon-flavored Mexican drink horchata in honor of Cinco de Mayo. It also will partner with J.J. Thermo's Bar and Grill to serve a different flavor each week representing Greek and Indian cultures. Blue Ice Creamery's community-voted flavor of the week is scheduled to resume later this year on Facebook. Through through next week, the shop is serving sea salt caramel Heath. See More Collapse

Next week, in honor of National Nurses Day Wednesday, the firm will give away ice cream to several Metro East hospitals, the Madison County Health Department and the Madison County Emergency Management Agency.

Most will pick up, Shirley said. They take photographs of agencies members when they come to pick up the goodies and post them on their Facebook page.

A frequent customer who works for the Alton Catholic Childrens Home also inspired the Shirleys to plan a free ice cream social for the homes young residents when the coronavirus prevention conditions allow it.

I was talking to the Alton childrens home before COVID-19 about the event but havent been able to do it, Shirley said. So right now we are asking those who buy a gift certificate just for those in need, if theres any money left on it, if we can use it for the Catholic Childrens Home. We want to make sure the kids know people care about them.

Shirley, 34, who lives near Fosterburg, took early retirement from the U.S. Marshals Service due to a fifth surgery for a back injury suffered during an arrest. He wanted to do something outside of law enforcement, so he and his wife opened Blue Ice Creamery in February 2019.

The business offers 24 flavors of hard-serve ice cream, as well as no sugar added ice cream, dairy free ice cream (froconut), sorbets, smoothies and made-in-house waffle cones.
- Sierra Leone's minister for innovation and technology was feeding his daughter when he was expected to attend a zoom meeting

- He then carried her on his back for the rest of the call as he did his presentation

- Bored from the meeting's monotony, the 10-month-old baby girl eventually fell asleep

- Other leaders shared photos of them working from home while attending to their children

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Over the last decade, many full-time employees have made the bold decision to resign from their jobs and pursue a home-based business.

The primary motivator for people making this decision is the need for independence, as well as a desire to choose their own hours, and to have more time for their families.

READ ALSO: Nairobi woman narrates how Ghanaian lover conned, left her homeless

Sierra Leone's minister for technology for innovation and technology was feeding his daughter when he was expected to attend a zoom meeting. Photo: David Moinina.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Death of a hero: Top ER doctor who treated coronavirus patients dies

However, the ongoing global pandemic created a greater influx of people working from home as one of the World Health Organisation approved measures of curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Sierra Leone's Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) for the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation David Moinina Sengeh created a perfect image of what it is like to work from home.

READ ALSO: Thika couple appeals for financial help to treat 11-month-old daughter admitted with pneumonia at Kijabe Hospital

After feeding the little girl, he then carried her on his back for the rest of the call as he did his presentation. Photo: David Moinina.

Source: Twitter

There are some challenges that everyone working from home must overcome in order for them to be successful and for Sengeh, his challenge is his daughter.

Taking to Twitter to narrate how he had to deal with his 10-month-old daughter while attending a zoom meeting, the CIO left many tweeps inspired while others could not help but adore his girl.

"Working from home? How did you join your last zoom call? As minister, I started my last call feeding my 10-month-old, then carried her on my back for the rest of the call," he tweeted .

Strapped on his back, the little girl posed with a cheeky smile as though she understood what she had put her father into.

She, however, fell asleep after she got bored with the presentations that were going on in the meeting and we can only hope her father was able to finish the meeting uninterrupted.

"The presentations helped her sleep. I invite you to share with the world how you worked from home as a leader," he added.

READ ALSO: Ghana's COVID-19 cases jumps 2,074 with 212 recoveries

Several other leaders also shared photos of themselves nursing and attending to their children while working from home to encourage each other.

"I work from home in the laundry room while holding Google meetings with my students, while also navigating remote learning with my six-year-old son,' wrote Jason Matthew.

"Got into my cassava farm this morning and prepared a place for pumpkin which will be planted in two days time. Rightnow I am in the office as a medical personnel," said Irene

Rent advance exceeding 6 months could land you in jail in Ghana - Atta Akyea | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
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Today we'll take a closer look at United Overseas Australia Limited (ASX:UOS) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations.

A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for United Overseas Australia. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on United Overseas Australia!

ASX:UOS Historical Dividend Yield April 30th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 40% of United Overseas Australia's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. A medium payout ratio strikes a good balance between paying dividends, and keeping enough back to invest in the business. One of the risks is that management reinvests the retained capital poorly instead of paying a higher dividend.

In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. United Overseas Australia paid out 0.7% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservative and suggests the dividend is sustainable. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Story continues

With a strong net cash balance, United Overseas Australia investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective.

Remember, you can always get a snapshot of United Overseas Australia's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health.

Dividend Volatility

From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. United Overseas Australia has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. Its dividend payments have declined on at least one occasion over the past ten years. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was AU$0.015 in 2010, compared to AU$0.025 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 5.2% per year over this time. The dividends haven't grown at precisely 5.2% every year, but this is a useful way to average out the historical rate of growth.

It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. United Overseas Australia might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? It's not great to see that United Overseas Australia's have fallen at approximately 3.6% over the past five years. If earnings continue to decline, the dividend may come under pressure. Every investor should make an assessment of whether the company is taking steps to stabilise the situation.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that United Overseas Australia's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. First, we like that the company's dividend payments appear well covered, although the retained capital also needs to be effectively reinvested. Second, earnings per share have been in decline, and its dividend has been cut at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than United Overseas Australia out there.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. To that end, United Overseas Australia has 4 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
By Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO: Divina Baldomero awoke, looked out the window at Rio de Janeiros Copacabana beach under a cloudless sky, and decided to take her first stroll in 40 days.

The 75-year-old restaurant owner, like most Brazilians, had been adhering to her governor's call to stay home to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

But on this day she decided to ignore that, urged on by the view of President Jair Bolsonaro that the shutdown is wrongheaded, will wreck the economy and that anyway, the virus isnt all its cracked up to be.

At first I thought (the shutdown) was viable. Later, I came to think we will have more economic difficulties, with the poverty there is. There should be a different way so we can be free of this, said Baldomero, speaking Wednesday in front of the shuttered Copacabana Palace hotel. Her legs, virtually unused for more than a month, began trembling after seven minutes of standing.

ALSO READ | It's your fault: Brazil PM Jair Bolsonaro blames governors for COVID-19 crisis as tally nears 80,000

Egged on by Bolsonaro, who has routinely scoffed at both the virus and stay-at-home policies, Brazilians are heeding his call for revolt.

Support for isolation is faltering, particularly among the wealthy, and more people are milling and mixing.

From the sun-worshipers to the Instagram influencers and pro-Bolsonaro protesters, denial is spreading and quarantine is coming apart. But, unlike other countries looking to ease restrictions, Latin Americas largest nation is still weeks from the peak in its viral curve.

Bolsonaro first staked out his argument that the economy needs to get back to work in a national address at the end of March, when he referred to the coronavirus as a little flu and said his history as an athlete would protect him.

Since then, he has doubled down time and again, saying only high-risk Brazilians need to be isolated, even as the official count of cases rockets past 87,000 and deaths surpass 6,006 more than the amount suffered by China. Experts consider both figures to be significant under-counts due to a lack of widespread testing.

ALSO READ | Brazil's Supreme Court authorizes investigation of President Jair Bolsonaro

Asked about the grim milestone Bolsonaro responded, So what? Im sorry. What do you want me to do?

Personal trainer Gabriela Pugliesi would seemingly have little reason to question risks posed by the virus.

The 34-year-old was infected last month at her sisters wedding. Several other guests also contracted COVID-19 at the five-star resort with beachfront bungalows.

Coughing and feverish  yet no less bronzed and blonde  Pugliesi repeatedly told her 4.5 million followers on Instagram to stay home and take care of themselves.

She recovered in late March, and on Saturday threw a party at her apartment in Sao Paulo, the epicenter of Brazils outbreak. No one wore masks and in one video Pugliesi posted, she and friends shouted Screw life! into the camera.

Flouting isolation drew an immediate backlash and more than 100,000 people unfollowed her. She also lost about a dozen sponsors, who also bailed on her influencer guests.

Tata Werneck, a TV talk show host, was a fierce critic.

My cousin is a doctor and arrived home in tears. They already have to choose who to save, Werneck posted on Pugliesis account. This behavior of yours, even more so because you have so many followers ... is inadmissible.

Pugliesi apologized then suspended her Instagram account. She didnt respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

ALSO READ | Crammed, corrupted and scary: Coronavirus spreads fear through South America's unruly prisons

Others in Sao Paulo and elsewhere are defying social distancing, albeit more discreetly. Local authorities said in multiple news conferences that some bars in poor areas are welcoming clients behind closed doors, and police have been called to end gatherings in isolated spots.

On Thursday, the governor of Rio de Janeiro state extended restrictions on activity and gatherings until May 11; Sao Paulo had previously extended them until May 10. The two states have the largest virus incidence.

Still, a poll by Datafolha showed 52% of people surveyed believe even those who dont belong to at-risk groups  the elderly and people with chronic illness  should remain in isolation, down from 60% at the start of the month. Among the wealthiest, support for continued quarantine is just 39%.

Bolsonaros hard-core base has staged rallies to shore up support for their leader's views, most recently on Sunday in the capital, Brasilia. Many of the several hundred demonstrators draped themselves in the Brazilian flag, and the few face masks were in the national colors of green and yellow. Most neglected to use masks altogether, even as they shouted into a shared bullhorn.

Not all of Bolsonaros ministers have fallen into lock-step behind him, but those who don't do so risk losing their jobs. Luiz Henrique Mandetta, his former health minister, strongly supported the restrictions imposed by state governors and his handling of the crisis was widely praised. But earlier this month, Bolsonaro fired him and appointed Nelson Teich, who has said he sees eye-to-eye with the president.

And what do the morning walkers in Copacabana and beach-side Barra da Tijuca, Rios two hardest-hit neighborhoods, say?

Walking along Barra, not far from Bolsonaro's personal home, 76-year-old Fernando Ferreira, recommended reading the Bible and Albert Camus The Plague," saying they are evidence that pandemics have always happened in history.

The retired dentist and lawyer said local governments restrictions on commerce are absurd. He pointed to how France is moving to ease its isolation measures, without acknowledging that the European nations viral curve, unlike Brazils, has begun to plateau.

Lilia Santiago, a 51-year-old dentist, was ambling with her 77-year-old mother. She insisted forcing everyone to stay home amounts to buffoonery, particularly as poor people in Brazil often live in close quarters under the same roof.

People at risk, with respiratory problems, auto-immune diseases, should take care, which doesnt mean they cant go out, Santiago said. We cant be locked inside an apartment or house. We need to circulate, but safely."

You dont stand next to someone with a cold. Same thing, she said, echoing Bolsonaro's belittling of the virus' dangers. "Flu kills more than coronavirus, folks! A lot of things kill more than coronavirus!
MUSCATINE  This week has certainly had some ups and downs, said Muscatine Mayor Diana Broderson.

May 1 was the day that 77 counties in Iowa reopened some of their businesses and offices due to low or improving COVID cases, but Muscatine is not among them.

Its a little bit scary that we were in one of the 22 counties that hasnt been opened up yet, but we have seen more activity with the coronavirus here in our county, so it makes sense, Broderson said.

She said the week brought good and bad.

Thursday, April 30, saw the highest amount of deaths  5  in one day so far. This brings the death total in the county to 16 as of May 1. Any time we have a death in Muscatine County is heartbreaking for all of us to think of their loved ones and those lost lives.

Broderson had also noticed that the number of new cases each day was staying small and even seeing a bit of a decline on some days.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI), one of North America's largest designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories, today announced the amendment of its $400 million revolving line of credit. This amendment, coupled with support received from vendor partners and landlords, helps to fortify the Company's near-term liquidity as it addresses the continuing impacts of COVID-19 and begins to reopen stores in select geographies.

As a result of the amendment, the Company is restricted from paying dividends and making share buybacks. Additionally, the amendment redefines the components for calculating the leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage ratio to adjust for certain temporary impacts due to COVID-19.

Chief Executive Officer Roger Rawlins, stated, "We are committed to preserving the long-term sustainability of our business during these unprecedented times, and these actions will provide greater financial flexibility and liquidity for our operations. We continue to leverage our strategic pillars of delivering differentiated products, offering differentiated experiences and focusing on new growth opportunities to serve our customers while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic."

Further details about the amendment to Designer Brands' revolving line of credit are included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on May 1, 2020.

About Designer Brands

Designer Brands is one of North America's largest designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories. The Company operates a portfolio of retail concepts in nearly 1,000 locations under the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, The Shoe Company, and Shoe Warehouse banners and services footwear departments in the U.S. through its Affiliated Business Group. Designer Brands designs and produces footwear and accessories through Camuto Group, a leading manufacturer selling in more than 5,400 doors worldwide. Camuto Group owns licensing rights for the Jessica Simpson footwear business, and footwear and handbag licenses for Lucky Brand and Max Studio. In partnership with a joint venture with Authentic Brands Group, Designer Brands also owns a stake in Vince Camuto, Louise et Cie, Sole Society, CC Corso Como, Enzo Angiolini and others. More information can be found at www.designerbrands.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties and on information available to the Company as of the date hereof. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its annual, quarterly and current reports, as filed with the SEC, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "plans," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will" and "would" or similar words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's operations. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

SOURCE Designer Brands Inc.

Related Links

http://www.DSWinc.com


The attempts of the Russian Federation to influence the lifting of sanctions due to the Covid-19 pandemic are hopeless as Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba earlier reported on Facebook.

It is noted that Dmytro Kuleba held a phone talk with his Austrian colleague Alexander Schallenberg.

The foreign ministers discussed the situation around the European sanctions against Russia. Both ministers concluded the consistency of positions toward the necessity of maintenance of the sanctions of the international society.

The attempts of Russia to cancel the sanctions due to the coronavirus are prospectless. It is important when countries-partners have the common view not only of the past but of the present, the Foreign Minister said.
Where Technology, Public Health and Government Meet

Alana Lerer 11 works in Washington, D.C., to help shape the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By: A.C. Shilton Thursday, April 30, 2020 02:32 PM

Alana Lerer 11, government relations manager at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

Like many people working in public health, Alana Lerer 11 had long worried about the lack of funding in her field. In fact, in 2019, as part of her position as government relations manager at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Lerer tried to secure $100 million in funding for 2020 and $1 billion over the next 10 years for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Congress offered $50 million for the next fiscal year and wouldn't commit to that level of funding beyond 2020.

As COVID-19 began to spread, Lerer, who was a psychology major at Muhlenberg and who went on to earn a master's in public health, says she and her colleagues realized the urgency of the moment. "We know public health gets a boost in the face of a crisis," she says. Lerer and her team worked with the lawmakers crafting the third COVID-19 relief package, the CARES Act, to secure an additional $500 million in funds for the CDC. These funds will be crucial in preparing for what comes next with COVID-19.

Trying to influence emergency legislation is just one of the many ways Lerers job has shifted from busy to frenetic in the past two months. HIMSS focuses explicitly on issues relating to technology and information management in public health and healthcare. These are two issues crucial to the fight against this pandemic.

"We're working on ways to modernize our data infrastructure and surveillance to enable data to move in a faster, more efficient way between systems," she says. For example, right now, results from COVID-19 tests need to be shared in real time with both local and state health officials. Some states have better sharing capabilities than others. And, of course, there's an urgent need to ensure privacy as agencies move data between them.

Lerer is also working on growing access to telehealth. "It's exactly what we need right now in order to social distance," she says. But there's at least one big issue: "A significant portion of the country doesn't have high-speed broadband access."

Now that more patients are taking advantage of virtual visits, we can expect a new normal even after the public health emergency ends. HIMSS, with the help of their diverse membership, is exploring how to shape the new normal for telehealth. From Lerers seat on the front lines in public health policy, it's pretty clear that the old normal is over.

"We can't go back to complete business as usual in a lot of ways. This has exposed so many issues in our current system," she says.
The Department of Health has announced there are now 5,951 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa.

This is an increase of 304 cases over the figures reported yesterday.

The department also announced there have been 13 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 in South Africa.

This brings the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in South Africa to 116.

As we have undertaken only to report fully verified deaths, we would like to indicate that there has been a delay in assessing and verifying some of those reports, the department said.

We wish to express our condolences to the families of the deceased and salute the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients.

The full provincial breakdown of COVID-19 cases in South Africa is below.

Province Number of cases Western Cape 2,507 Gauteng 1,507 KwaZulu-Natal 1,006 Eastern Cape 691 Free State 118 Mpumalanga 35 North West 35 Limpopo 34 Northern Cape 18

Pending disaster

Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka has stated that South Africas economy is already over the brink and argued that people should be allowed to go back to work.

Speaking to The Nielsen Network, Wierzycka said the government needs to start unlocking distribution channels for businesses to survive.

The obvious channel is online sales. Why are online sales not permitted? It is one way for small businesses to trade, she said.

Wierzycka warned that South Africa is heading for a humanitarian crisis, with people running out of food and money.

She said thousands of people are already queuing for 15 hours to get food parcels  something which has never happened in South Africa before.

More people are going to die in this country from hunger, desperation, violence, and social unrest, she said.

Every day which passes we are plunging deeper into the abyss. In two weeks, we will struggle to contain the social unrest, Wierzycka said.
The company that sells the highly sought N95 masks used to shield healthcare workers from airborne transmission of the coronavirus filed three additional lawsuits in Florida on Thursday alleging that companies in St. Petersburg, Orlando and Atlanta fraudulently claimed to be authorized 3M distributors and could allegedly supply state emergency operators with the product at inflated prices.

The lawsuits were filed against TAC2 Global of St. Petersburg, King Law Center of Orlando, and 1 Ignite Capital LLC of Atlanta, for attempting to sell the masks to the Florida Department of Emergency Management in the last month.

This makes four lawsuits filed by 3M in Florida its effort to crack down on possible profiteers attempting to take advantage of the pandemic. In the last week, the company also filed lawsuits in Indiana and Wisconsin and has now filed a total of 10 cases in the U.S. and Canada.

We are grateful that in each of these cases, the false offers were reported to 3M, and the attempts to deceive public officials did not succeed, said Ivan Fong, 3M senior vice president and general counsel in a statement. We will continue to take legal action in cases like these and are working closely with national and international law enforcement to help stop the perpetrators of these unlawful and unethical schemes.

The companies were among dozens that attempted to sell 3M masks to state emergency managers as officials across the globe scrambled to get access to protective equipment for healthcare workers. The masks normally sell for less than $2, and 3M has not raised its prices.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a protective face mask during an April 17, 2020, press conference at the Urban League of Broward County to announce that Floridas first two walk-through coronavirus testing sites will open in Broward County. They will open for testing on Saturday, April 18, in Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach and will start with 200 tests per day, DeSantis said.

The company authorizes only certain distributors to sell its product but, as demand soared, unconventional suppliers emerged to fill the void and Florida officials were willing to deal.

A Miami Herald analysis found that the state signed nearly $400 million worth of single-source, no bid deals for the masks with dozens of companies that claimed to have the 3M products, including Shark Brands, the marketing company run by Shark Tank celebrity Daymond John, Miami real estate company Liquidus, Miami-based construction company CDR Maguire, and Miami lobbyist Manny Reyes.

Story continues

The companies offered prices that ranged from $1.40 apiece from 3M distributor W.W. Grainger, to $8.95 per mask from Consolidated Disaster Services. The companies being sued by 3M to date do not include any of the purchase orders signed by the state and reviewed by the Herald.

As the Herald/Times reported, only a fraction of the 90 million masks the state sought have actually materialized, and Jared Moskowitz, the director of the Division of Emergency Management, has said he was willing to pay the prices because the state was desperate to get the masks to health care workers. He also said that many people were duped.

3M is seeking injunctive relief to require the companies to cease illegal activities and said it will donate any damages recovered to COVID-19-related nonprofit organizations.

According to the complaints, these claims were incorporated into an email and itemized quotes provided by the companies to the emergency operations center.

Not only does such price gouging further strain the limited resources available to combat COVID-19, but such conduct justifiably has caused public outrage which threatens imminent and irreparable harm to 3Ms brand as Defendant and similar pandemic profiteers promote an improper association between 3Ms marks and exploitative pricing behavior, the complaint states.

3M does not  and will not  tolerate individuals or entities deceptively trading off the fame and goodwill of the 3M brand and marks for personal gain. This is particularly true against those who seek to exploit the surge in demand for 3M-brand products during the COVID-19 global pandemic, which already has claimed tens of thousands of lives worldwide and over 1,000 lives in Florida.

The Florida cases include:

 In federal court in Tallahassee, 3M sued Atlanta-based 1 Ignite Capital LLC, Institutional Financial Sales LLC, and its president, Auta Lopes, for attempting to sell 10 million N95 respirators to the Florida Division of Emergency Management at nearly 460% percent over list prices, falsely claiming that it was working with 3M.

 In federal court in Tampa, 3M sued St. Petersburg-based TAC2 Global LLC for claiming to be a 3M distributor and for trying to sell DEM 5 million to 10 million N95 respirators and hand sanitizer at highly inflated prices. TAC2 falsely claimed to be a 3M supplier.

 In federal court in Orlando, 3M sued King Law Center for twice pretending to be affiliated with 3M as a vendor and escrow agent and for trying to sell DEM 5 million N95 respirators at 460% over list prices.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas
A driver who almost speared his car into police in a terrifying drug-fueled car chase has offered up a pathetic excuse to justify his actions.

Dominic Reece Bryham, 25, told Brisbane Supreme Court he was 'going through a bad time' when he got behind the wheel on April 4 in 2019.

Bryham was flagged down by Surfers Paradise police after they spotted him driving on the wrong side of the road and swerving in and out of traffic.

After he was stopped, the ice-addict drove directly at police and before swerving to miss the officers at the last moment, according to the Sunshine Coast Daily.

Dominic Reece Bryham (pictured), 25, told Brisbane Supreme Court he was 'going through a bad time' when he got behind the wheel on April 4 in 2019

After he was stopped, the ice-addict drove directly at police and before swerving to miss the officers at the last moment (stock image pictured)

Bryham, who was serving a suspended sentence and parole at the time, was spotted by police later that morning but again attempted to flee the scene.

The apprentice carpenter attempted to turn around but crashed into a police car and another vehicle before dodging traffic through a red light.

He was once again tracked down by police who found him in a car park with a shotgun, ammunition, a knife and a raft of drugs.

Bryham's defence layer said despite their client's offending he was likely to secure employment once he completed his carpentry apprenticeship.

They said Bryham struggled with an ice addition but argued his interest in sport would 'keep him away from drugs and alcohol'.

In her sentencing, Justice Helen Bowskill said she was reminded of the recent deaths of four police officers in Melbourne who were killed in a brutal roadside crash.

'You would have come within a hair's breadth of killing someone,' she said.

She sentenced Bryham to four years in jail and he will be eligible for parole on April 9 next year.

Bryham was also banned from driving for two years.
In this global crisis, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have shouldered the battle.

One such frontline warrior returned home to a warm welcome. She had been in the intensive care unit department of a hospital treating COVID-19 patients.

The doctor got to return home after 20 days of continuous service. Upon her return, her family and colony neighbours sprinkled flowers on her. In a video posted online, children can be seen standing with hand-drawn messages of solidarity as the doctor tears up because of the gesture.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi retweeted the video on his official Twitter account. He wrote, Moments like this fill the heart with happiness. This is the spirit of India. We will courageously fight COVID-19. We will remain eternally proud of those working on the frontline.

Moments like this fill the heart with happiness. This is the spirit of India.We will courageously fight COVID-19.We will remain eternally proud of those working on the frontline. https://t.co/5amb5nkikS Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2020

Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal also posted the video on his social media handle. He wrote, A fitting welcome for a corona warrior.

A fitting welcome for a Corona Warrior pic.twitter.com/zx3vrE8vRd Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 30, 2020

Earlier this day, PM Modi had wished for a speedy recovery of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 30 (Thursday). Modi tweeted both in Russian and English.

My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health. We stand with our close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. @GovernmentRF Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2020

He wrote, My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health. We stand with our close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.
B udget airline Wizz Air has resumed a portion of its flights from Londons Luton airport today.

Adhering to the governments advice against all non-essential travel, the airline plans to operate 10 per cent of its scheduled flights for passengers with essential journeys.

It will operate these flights with enhanced health and safety measures due to ongoing social distancing regulations, including new distancing measures for passengers while boarding.

The airline said in a statement that cabin crew will hand out sanitising wipes to passengers and will be required to wear masks and gloves on all flights - and flights will also be disinfected overnight.

The flight schedule will be to selected airports in Europe, including Budapest, Burgas, Lisbon, Sofia, Tenerife, Tel Aviv and Varna, pending no further restrictions.

Wizz Air UK's managing director, Owain Jones says: "The protective measures that we are implementing will ensure the most sanitary conditions possible.

"We encourage our customers to watch our new video on how to stay safe when travelling, as well as for more details on our new health and safety measures."

Wizz Air's new timetable comes as Ryanair announced it would cut 3,000 jobs as part of a restructure.

The low-cost airline made the announcement as it revealed it expects to operate under one per cent of its schedule between April and June.

Earlier this week, British Airways announced it would make up to 12,000 staff redundant, including a quarter of its pilots.
Most car insurance companies are returning billions of dollars to their customers. This happens because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics show that travel dropped about 50% since shelter-in-place restriction began. Drivers can expect to receive relief anytime between now and June, depending on the insurer. No matter the method the insurer chooses to offer the relief, it will be automatically applied to the customers' accounts.

Car insurance companies are offering money-back in three different ways:



Refunds. Car insurance companies like Allstate, Liberty Mutual, American Family, AAA, Nationwide, and others are offering refunds ranging from $50 per covered vehicle to 15-25% of a customers premium.

Credits. This is another method used by car insurance providers to offer relief to affected customers. Major insurance providers like State Farm, Geico, MetLife, Mercury Insurance, and USAA are among those who are giving credits between 15 and 25%.

Temporary premium reductions. Some insurance providers are helping their customers by offering a temporary premium reduction for the months of April and May. Among those providers, there is Farmers Insurance.

For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/

Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.

In these difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many drivers are facing financial difficulties and are having trouble paying for their insurance bills. Fortunately, more and more car insurance companies understand that we are all facing difficult times and are willing to help their customers by offering them relief in one form or another, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.
Donald Trump will leave the White House for the first time in more than a month as he departs for Camp David Friday evening after the president has expressed several times his desire to get out of Washington, D.C.

The president will spend the weekend at Camp David before heading to Arizona next week, as he revealed he's feeling anxious to leave the White House after spending weeks there in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.

The president has been at the White House since March 9, after being forced to cancel his massive reelection rallies and halt all other travel-related campaign events as coronavirus spread through the country and social distancing and stay-at-home orders were implemented.

And just like many other Americans, Trump has become stir-crazy after nearly two months of remaining in his residence.

'I'd like to get out,' Trump said at an event with business leaders at the White House Wednesday. 'This is the most beautiful house in the world, in my opinion, but I think there's just a great demand to get out.'

Donald Trump will leave the White House for his first trip in more than a month after sequestering and cancelling massive rallies and other travel-related campaign and presidential events in the midst of the coronavirus crisis

Trump will depart for Camp David for the weekend Friday evening before heading to Arizona next week and then to Ohio. Here the president is pictured with Vice President Mike Pence at Camp David in 2017

The president returned to the White House March 9 from the campaign trail where he was holding rallies every few days  and since then has had minimal reprieves from the residence since then

'I'm going to Arizona next week,' Trump revealed his plans to the room. 'And I'm going to, I hope, Ohio very soon.'

'And we're going to start to move around, and hopefully in the not too distant future we'll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other,' he continued.

A poll out last week showed presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden up nine points in Arizona. The poll was a troubling sign for Trump as Arizona hasn't voted blue in a presidential election since 1996.

Ohio, a rust belt state with 18 electoral college votes, is also an important state for Trump's reelection in November.

Trump insisted that his trip to Arizona would be 'industry' related, indicating it would have something to do with combating the coronavirus.

Many states are considering when to lift lockdown and stay-at-home orders, while several others  mainly in Middle America  have already started the process.

Trump held a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina in March, and since then has had very few instances of leaving White House grounds.

One of his only day trips since sequestering in the White House was to attend the launching of the hospital ship USNS Comfort from Norfolk en route to New York to help relieve hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.

He also visited CDC headquarters March 6, spent the weekend in Mar-a-Lago and visited FEMA headquarters March 19.
A handshake says a lot about someone, a way to size up a competitor or customer quickly. Is the grip firm, exhibiting confidence? Or weak, like a fish?

Handshakes close deals too, including some of the most famous in history. Pennzoil, the Houston oil company, bought Getty Oil in 1984, sealing the deal with a handshake. New York-based Texaco muscled in with a higher bid and the question of who owned Getty centered around a simple concept: Is a handshake a contract, akin to a written document with signatures and ink and a lot of fancy legal language?

In Texas, deals are done over handshakes and the Houston jury awarded Pennzoil $10.5 billion.

But as we move physically further apart as the coronavirus spreads, nobody wants to shake hands anymore. No one wants to share the same conference room either. So how will people in the energy industry greet each other, signal that a satisfactory deal has been reached, telegraph theyre the smartest one in the room?

One alternative is the nod, a slight tilt of the head down and then back up. It can work. But like the handshake, its not so easy to pull off well.

Posture and eye contact are really important, said Jamie Belinne, who runs the career center and academic internship program at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. Nodders have to stand with purpose and signal a sense of power.

Im entitled to be in the space and Im comfortable, she said.

Then there is the wave, which is starting to catch on. But it cant be too limp.

Move your hand from your wrist back and forth a few times, recommends Michael Blankenship, an energy lawyer who represents midstream and upstream clients at Winston & Strawn in Houston.

You need to give it oomph and meaning that you care, he said.

Elbow bumps were an alternative for a time, but the act faded quickly because its hard to practice social distancing by tapping elbows, and they required clumsy body-blocking moves.

Fist bumps are too germy.

An OPEC meeting in March included an awkward foot shake for the cameras between OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Each put their right foot out and rubbed it against the other, but it looked more like they were playing a popular party game than saying hello.

Handshakes may be history  at least until theres a vaccine for the coronavirus. But the need for personal connection hasnt gone away, one local business leader said.

People want to have that moment of eyeball-to-eyeball, person-to-person exclusive contact, said Bob Harvey, CEO and president of the business group Greater Houston Partnership. Its that moment you acknowledge someones existence and their significance to you.

Harvey said hell try elbow tapping if social distancing rules are eased, and hell give the wave a try. But what will replace the phrase a handshake deal in the Texas oil market?

Thats a good question, said Harvey, laughing. We have bigger issues to worry about right now.

lynn.sixel@chron.com

twitter.com/lmsixel
At the same time, scrutiny of the labs research has underscored what biosecurity experts say are significant risks inherent in the kinds of research the Chinese scientists were conducting. Academic studies examined by The Washington Post document scores of encounters with animals that are known hosts to deadly viruses, including strains closely related to the pathogen behind the coronavirus pandemic. While the scientists wore gloves and masks and took other protective measures, U.S. experts who reviewed the experiments say the precautions would not necessarily protect the researchers from harmful exposures, in caves or in the lab.
We are pleased to recognize Dr. Scott Tiplitsky as a UroLift Center of Excellence for his commitment to providing consistent care to BPH patients using the UroLift System treatment, said Dave Amerson

NeoTract, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) focused on addressing unmet needs in the field of urology, today announced that Scott Tiplitsky, M.D., UroPartners, LLC in Mt Prospect, IL, has been designated as a UroLift Center of Excellence. The designation recognizes that Dr. Tiplitsky has achieved a high level of training and experience with the UroLift System and demonstrated a commitment to exemplary care for men suffering from symptoms associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate.

Recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines, the FDA-cleared Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH. The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue.

The UroLift Center of Excellence program is designed to highlight urologists who are committed to educating their patients on BPH and the UroLift System as a treatment option and consistently seek to deliver excellent patient outcomes and experiences.

We are pleased to recognize Dr. Scott Tiplitsky as a UroLift Center of Excellence for his commitment to providing consistent care to BPH patients using the UroLift System treatment, said Dave Amerson, president of the Teleflex Interventional Urology business unit. This achievement has helped many patients experience durable, longterm relief from the burdensome symptoms of BPH while preserving sexual function*1,2.

Over 40 million men in the United States are affected by BPH, a condition that occurs when the prostate gland that surrounds the male urethra becomes enlarged with advancing age and begins to obstruct the urinary system. Symptoms of BPH often include interrupted sleep and urinary problems and can cause loss of productivity, depression and decreased quality of life.

Medication is often the first-line therapy for enlarged prostate, but relief can be inadequate and temporary. Side effects of medication treatment can include sexual dysfunction, dizziness and headaches, prompting many patients to quit using the drugs. For these patients, the classic alternative is surgery that cuts, heats or removes prostate tissue to open the blocked urethra. While current surgical options can be very effective in relieving symptoms, they can also leave patients with permanent side effects such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and retrograde ejaculation.

About the UroLift System

The FDA-cleared UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a minimally invasive transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. Clinical data from a pivotal 206-patient randomized controlled study showed that patients with enlarged prostate receiving UroLift implants reported rapid and durable symptomatic and urinary flow rate improvement without compromising sexual function*1,2. Patients also experienced a significant improvement in quality of life. Over 100,000 men have been treated with the UroLift System in the U.S. Most common adverse events reported include hematuria, dysuria, micturition urgency, pelvic pain, and urge incontinence. Most symptoms were mild to moderate in severity and resolved within two to four weeks after the procedure. The Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines. The UroLift System is available in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Learn more at http://www.UroLift.com.

About NeoTract | Teleflex Interventional Urology

A wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated, the Interventional Urology Business Unit is dedicated to developing innovative, minimally invasive and clinically effective devices that address unmet needs in the field of urology. Our initial focus is on improving the standard of care for patients with BPH using the UroLift System, a minimally invasive permanent implant system that treats symptoms while preserving normal sexual function*1,2. Learn more at http://www.NeoTract.com.

About Teleflex Incorporated

Teleflex is a global provider of medical technologies designed to improve the health and quality of peoples lives. We apply purpose driven innovation  a relentless pursuit of identifying unmet clinical needs  to benefit patients and healthcare providers. Our portfolio is diverse, with solutions in the fields of vascular and interventional access, surgical, anesthesia, cardiac care, urology, emergency medicine and respiratory care. Teleflex employees worldwide are united in the understanding that what we do every day makes a difference. For more information, please visit http://www.teleflex.com.

Teleflex is the home of Arrow, Deknatel, Hudson RCI, LMA, Pilling, Rusch, UroLift and Weck  trusted brands united by a common sense of purpose

# # #

For Teleflex Incorporated:

Jake Elguicze, 610.948.2836

Treasurer and Vice President, Investor Relations

Media:

Nicole Osmer, 650.454.0504 nicole@healthandcommerce.com

*No instances of new, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction

1. Roehrborn, J Urology 2013 LIFT Study

2.McVary, J Sex Med 2016

MAC00968-01 Rev A
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that state and local governments are seeking up to $1 trillion for coronavirus costs, a stunning benchmark for the next aid package that's certain to run into opposition from Senate Republicans.

Pelosi acknowledged the federal government may not be able to provide that much.

But she said money for heroes is needed to prevent layoffs as governors and mayors stare down red ink in their budgets.

Many jurisdictions are facing rising costs from the health pandemic and plummeting revenues in the economic shutdown. The best way Americans can support front-line community workers, Pelosi said, is to make sure they don't lose their jobs to budget cuts.

This is something of the highest priority," Pelosi said. It honors our heroes. Nurses, transit bus drivers and other workers "are risking their lives to save lives, and now they're going to lose their jobs, she said.

The $1 trillion price tag comes after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shifted his tone, suggesting he is open to considering additional funds in the next coronavirus relief bill.

But the eye-popping figure would be on top of the nearly $3 trillion Congress has already approved to salvage the economy and confront the health crisis.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said, We'll see what happens. Trump said, "If we do that, we'll have to get something for it.

Congress is partially reopening next week as the House convenes key committee hearings and the Senate gavels into session after being shuttered for more than a month during the pandemic.

But the legislative branch will be a changed place.

Senators are recommended to wear masks, keep 6 feet apart and have most staff work from home, according to official guidance. At the private Republican lunches, it will be just three senators to a table. Democrats will have lunch by conference call.

Senators are raising alarms about the health risks of resuming operations.

On a conference call Thursday, the Capitol physician said his office does not have a testing system available for instant virus checks, as happens at the White House, according to a Republican familiar with the call with chiefs of staff.

Instead, the physician said the office only checks those lawmakers who are showing symptoms. Test results take up to seven days, he told them.

Notably, key public hearings may not have many members of the public, under guidance from the Senate Rules Committee that says people can view the proceedings online.

Officials are especially concerned about the hundreds of cooks, custodial staff and maintenance workers needed to run the vast Capitol complex for the 100 senators.

The House declined this week to bring its 430 members back into session after the Capitol physician warned it was not worth the health risks. McConnell has declined to say if he consulted with the physician in deciding to resume Senate operations.

As the new aid package takes shape, McConnell said Thursday on Fox that he's willing to consider money for the states but isn't about to send federal dollars to bail out overspending.

We're not interested in borrowing money from future generations to send down to states to help them with bad decisions they made in the past unrelated to the coronavirus epidemic, the GOP leader said.

McConnell insists any fresh funding must be tied to liability reforms to prevent what he calls an epidemic of lawsuits against doctors, hospitals and businesses reopening in the pandemic.

In meeting with Trump at the White House, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said his state alone may need $20 billion to $30 billion.

This is a big hit, Murphy said. We don't see it as a bailout." Economic wreckage from the coronavirus outbreak threatens McConnell's own home state as well.

Kentucky's state government faces a revenue shortfall, according to a budget report issued Thursday.

The grim projections could force Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to make painful budget cuts at a time when the virus outbreak has shuttered many businesses and put hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians out of work.

Beshear said he made a pitch for additional federal assistance in a Thursday conversation with McConnell.

I appreciate him hearing me out, Beshear said at his daily briefing. Now I hope that he will be able to act." In outlining priorities for the next package, Pelosi said the new funding for state, county and city governments could be spread out over several years.

The California Democrat said governors have asked for $500 billion, and county and city governments are requesting a similar amount.

We're not going to be able to cover all of it, Pelosi said.

But to the extent the federal government can provide funds to prevent widespread layoffs, she said, that's our goal. Congressional leaders staked out priorities for the next, fifth round of aid, even as key senators sounded alarms over the health risks of reopening the US Capitol.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To successfully sue a business for COVID-19 transmission, a patron would have to prove that he or she contracted COVID-19 from the business and not from some other source. However, most people infected with COVID-19 currently have no reliable way of identifying the source of their infection. The gap of three to 11 days between infection and illness, the difficulty of recalling all of ones contacts during that interval and limited testing for the virus present formidable obstacles to establishing causation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 02:30:21|Editor: huaxia

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A medical worker prepares to enter an intensive care unit in Sant'Orsola-Malpighi hospital in Bologna, Italy, on April 29, 2020. (Photo by Gianni Schicchi/Xinhua)

-- Italy sees highest daily coronavirus recoveries;

-- Spain to set time slots for outdoor activities;

-- PM says UK "past the peak" as COVID-19 deaths rise to 26,711.

BRUSSELS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

ROME -- Italy on Thursday recorded the highest daily number of coronavirus recoveries since the emergency started in late February, the country's Civil Protection Department said.



The country registered on Thursday 4,693 new recoveries, the highest daily figure since the emergency began, bringing the nationwide total 75,945, according to the latest data released by the Civil Protection Department.

The death toll on Thursday was 285, bringing the total to 27,967 in the country. The new infections on the day were 1,872, bringing the total number of cases, combining infections, fatalities and recoveries, in Italy to 205,463.

A nurse gives a book and a rose to a patient at a hospital during Saint George's Day in Barcelona, Spain, April 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Francisco Avia)

MADRID -- The Spanish government will set time slots for outdoor activities, in line with social-distancing regulations, to prevent further contagion from COVID-19, Transport Minister Jose Luis Alabos said on Thursday.

Speaking on radio station Cadena Ser, Alabos said the government was working on "a set of measures that will see certain hours agreed with regional and local governments" for people to be allowed outside.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week that adults would be allowed to take "individual exercise" outdoors from May 2. However, when children were allowed out for an hour with a parent on Sunday, there were numerous examples of people failing to follow social distancing rules.

A man cycles past a display of signs designed by local artist Peter Liversidge in support of the National Health Service (NHS) in London, Britain, on April 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that the country is "past the peak" of the COVID-19 outbreak as another 674 patients have died, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in Britain to 26,711.

"We are past the peak of this disease" and are "on the downward slope", Johnson told reporters during his first Downing Street daily press briefing since his recovery from COVID-19.

Johnson said he will publish a "comprehensive" plan next week, which will cover three things: how Britain can restart the economy; how can the country get children back to school and get people into work.

Pedestrians wearing face masks are seen in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2020. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/Xinhua)

BERLIN -- Germany has registered 1,478 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising its total cases to 159,119, said the federal government's agency for disease control and prevention on Thursday.

The trend that the daily new cases between 1,000 and 1,500 continued, lower than last week. "This is a pleasant development," said RKI President Lothar Wieler.

At the height of the pandemic in Germany, more than 6,000 new infections were recorded in a single day by the RKI.

Portuguese soldiers wearing protective gear disinfect a high school in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 29, 2020. (Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)

LISBON -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced on Thursday that Portugal will enter a 'state of calamity' as of May 3 after the 'state of emergency' ends on May 2.

"The Council of Ministers today approved the transition from the 'State of Emergency' to the 'State of Calamity'," Costa told reporters after the Council of Ministers.

The 'state of emergency,' which was first declared on March 18 and renewed twice on April 2 and 16, will end at 23:59 local time on May 2.

A staff measures the body temperature of a man who is about to enter a court in Athens, Greece, on April 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS -- Greece announced on Thursday that COVID-19 infections totaled 2,591, with 140 deaths, since the start of the outbreak in the country on Feb. 26.

Since Wednesday, 15 new cases were diagnosed and one patient died, officials told a regular press briefing at the Greek Health Ministry.

Currently, 38 people were being treated in intensive care units with an average age of 67 years old, while 74 have been discharged from ICUs.
Delhi High Court has directed authorities concerned to allow a candidate to participate in the second round and other subsequent rounds, if any, of all-India counselling for NEET-PG 2020 as per his eligibility.

However, Justice Rekha Palli did not allow candidate Abhishek V to get accommodated in the first round of counselling of NEET-PG 20 observing that he has approached this court after the expiry of an entire fortnight from the date of the first round of counselling.

Keeping in view the amount of preparation and hard work which goes into qualifying for examinations of such nature, the respondents willingness to accommodate the petitioner in this regard and the sheer effort invested by the petitioner in securing a meritorious position on an all-India basis, the interest of justice requires the petitioner to be permitted to participate in the 2nd round and other subsequent rounds, the court in its order on Thursday.

The court directed that the petitioner be allowed to participate in any future rounds of counselling organised by the respondents for NEET-PG 2020, notwithstanding his non-participation in the first round.

It is also directed that his nonparticipation in the first round of counselling shall not be held as a ground to prejudice his chances to secure admission to a college of his preference, in these subsequent rounds, the court said.

It is further directed that the petitioner will also be entitled to participate in any state counselling, as per his eligibility conditions and domicile, it added.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Abhishek V, a participant in the National Entrance Eligibility Test 2020 for admissions to post-graduate medical courses (NEET-PG 2020), who sought directions to the Medical Counselling Committee to permit him to submit his medical college preferences within the first round of counselling of NEET-PG 2020.

Abhishek, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, had appeared in the NEET-PG 2020 on January 5 and the results were declared on January 30. The petitioner claimed that he had registered on the concerned website on March 10 for the first round of all-India counselling but the results of the first round declared by NEET on April 9 did not include his name.

Subsequently, he received an e-mail on April 11 about the refund of the amount.

Additional solicitor general advocate Maninder Acharya, appearing for the Central government, told the court that all-India counselling has already concluded on April 11 and that the petitioner is at fault for approaching the court after a substantial delay.

She submitted that granting any relief to the petitioner as prayed for would cause grave prejudice to the other candidates, however, assured the court that the respondent has no objection to the petitioner participating in the second or any other subsequent rounds based on eligibility.
"After listening to the market, we wanted to make a great product even better," said David Skiver, Program Manager for Connectivity at Havis. "We're excited about the innovative, increased protection we're now able to offer with this suite."

Havis, Inc., is pleased to release updated Panasonic Laptop Docking Stations with new designs that offer increased connector protection. These connector covers will be standard features that prevent accidental damage to the dock's connector pins when the laptop isn't present.

"After listening to the market, we wanted to make a great product even better," said David Skiver, Program Manager for Connectivity at Havis. "We're excited about the innovative, increased protection we're now able to offer with this suite."

Havis is committed to continually reevaluating and iterating its products. These new models demonstrate our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible solutions for CF-20, CF-33, and CF-54/55 customers in Public Safety, Utilities, and other markets.

"Our customers depend on mission-critical equipment, and we depend on their input," said Brett Young, Public Safety National Sales Manager at Havis. "Based on the feedback we received from hands-on users, we've enhanced our Panasonic laptop docks to push device uptime even higher and to offer the most reliable solution possible."

Toughbook certified and UL safety tested, the new connector cover docks are backward compatible for existing fleets. All docks are available entirely in black and are shipping now.

From vehicle-specific consoles to unique device mounts to K9 transport systems and more, Havis offers a dash-to-trunk line of purpose-built and innovative solutions that provide extreme officer protection. For more information, contact media@havis.com or visit http://www.havis.com.

ABOUT HAVIS

Havis, Inc., is a privately held, ISO 9001:2015 certified company that manufactures in-vehicle mobile office solutions for public safety, public works, government agencies, and mobile professionals. For more than 80 years, the Havis mission has been to increase mobile worker productivity with industry-leading products that are built to the highest safety and quality standards and are designed with comfort in mind. Havis is dedicated to responsible intellectual property management and fosters ongoing innovation. Its patent and trademark portfolio demonstrates commitment to consistently researching and developing unique products and solutions for mobile industries around the world. Havis currently employs more than 300 people, with headquarters in Warminster, PA, and additional locations in Plymouth, MI, and globally. For more information on Havis, please call 1-800-524-9900 or visit http://www.havis.com.


New Orleans city officials laid out a three-phase plan on Friday for re-opening the city that will depend on a continuing decline in new coronavirus cases and widespread testing.

The phased reopening -- if all criteria are met -- won't start until after May 15, when Mayor LaToya Cantrell's stay-at-home order expires.

Coronavirus in Louisiana: 151 new cases, 25 deaths in Orleans and Jefferson, see statewide data Health officials are reporting 43 new positive cases of coronavirus in New Orleans and 108 new cases in Jefferson Parish bringing the total fo

The city is focused "on the data, not the date," Cantrell said at a press conference Friday.

New Orleans has been one of the cities hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak. A total of nearly 6,500 residents have tested positive for the virus and 437 have died.

But the past three weeks have seen declines in the number of new cases reported each day, which peaked in early April. A continued decline will be a key factor in determining if the city can begin to allow businesses to reopen, Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said.

The city must also have the ability to test 4% to 5% of its population each month, or about 500 to 600 people each day, Avegno said. That many people have been tested in the city on many, but not all, days in the past week.

Officials are still working on another requirement for reopening: making sure those who contract COVID-19 can be isolated and all of their contacts traced.

Once those criteria are met, the city could begin allowing "low-risk" businesses to open with guidelines for protective equipment and social distancing. Exactly what types of businesses those would be has yet to be determined, but they must be able to operate without large numbers of people crowded into one spot, Avegno said.

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Those who can work from home should continue to do so.

A second phase will allow more businesses to reopen.

In both phases, those at high risk, such as seniors or those with underlying conditions, will be urged to stay home.

And no large gatherings will be allowed, according to the city.

A final phase will come only after there is a vaccine or widespread immunity in the population, according to the city.

John Bel Edwards on dining outdoors during stay-at-home order: 'I would feel comfortable' Gov. John Bel Edwards said Friday that, while he has no immediate plans, dining outdoors at a restaurant has appeal during a beautiful weekend

"That will largely resemble pre-COVID-19 life, although some restrictions may remain necessary," according to a press release from the city.

As the city reopens, officials will be monitoring both the number of new cases and the hospital capacity in the region to ensure that things are not getting worse.

"If at any time there is a spike in cases or deaths or hospital capacity or any of the other markers we're talking about, we may have to reimpose restrictions," Avegno said.
A housing charity has called on the Government to extend the three-month ban on evicting tenants.

In March, housing minister Eoghan Murphy announced a temporary ban on evictions and a pause on rent increases for an initial period of three months while the Covid-19 crisis continued.

Threshold welcomed the latest figures that show a fall in homelessness in March, but it warned that trend could quickly reverse if the Governments moratorium on evictions and rent increases is not extended.

Some 9,907 people were homeless at the end of March, a drop of 241 from February.

Threshold chief executive John-Mark McCafferty said: We are hopeful the moratorium on evictions is preventing the regular flow of people from the private rented sector into homelessness.

As we anticipate a further extension of #Covid19 restrictions, we urge the Government to extend the moratorium on #rent increases and #evictions in order to reduce the huge level of fear and distress out there among tenants. https://t.co/uJRHQu8PPi pic.twitter.com/jij5nvnR4r  Threshold (@ThresholdIRE) April 29, 2020

Renters have been disproportionally affected by Covid-19. There are many renters who have lost their jobs and suffered major cuts in income as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, and they are facing into a reality of substantial rent arrears.

Some landlords are showing flexibility and forbearance, but others are not. Unless the ban on evictions is extended beyond the current deadline of June, the recent modest gains in terms of the homelessness reduction will be reversed very quickly.

If the moratorium on evictions results in an ongoing fall in homelessness during the pandemic, then serious consideration must be given to changing the terms on which a tenant can lose their home.

Three-quarters of eviction notices we deal with at Threshold are no-fault evictions. Tenants in Ireland can still have their home taken away for no reason. This must change.
Spring is in the air and it should be festival time in Croatia but the global coronavirus crisis, compounded by Zagrebs worst earthquake in 140 years, has severely limited life for everyone.

Not to be defeated, UNHCR and its partner the Festival of Tolerance (FOT) are bringing some of the best refugee-related films of recent times to viewers stuck at home via a free online programme.

The coronavirus doesnt discriminate. Why should you? says the revised film programme, called The Festival of Tolerance and UNHCR Croatia Recommend

No packed theaters at this year's festival A screenshot from Feras Fayyads 2017 documentary Last Man in Aleppo, that is part of the festival's program

Films on offer include Last Man in Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad, a documentary about the White Helmets rescue organisation in Syria, and the award-winning film Uvoz (Import), directed by Ena Sendijarevic. This tells the story of a Bosnian family given refuge in a small Dutch village. In fine Balkan tradition, one absurd situation leads to another as the newcomers try to adapt to an unfamiliar environment.

Altogether 20 movies will be available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through April and May on FOT online platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

At this difficult time, more than ever, we know how important home is; a place of safety, comfort, intimacy and joy, said FOT director Natasa Popovic. We are all worrying about coronavirus but humanitarian issues have not gone away. In cooperation with UNHCR, we recommend films for our long days in isolation that emotionally address the subject of refugees.

The worst of crises requires the best of humanity. Refugees need  we all need  solidarity and compassion now, more than ever before, said Giuseppe Di Caro, UNHCRs Representative in Croatia.

Like citizens all over the world, Croatians are living in partial lockdown because of the coronavirus. As of 23 April, the government had confirmed 1,981 cases and 48 deaths in the country. The virus has not been detected among asylum seekers or refugees, who are included in general, national measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

On top of coronavirus, people in the capital of Zagreb are struggling with the aftermath of an earthquake on 22 March that killed a child, injured 20 and caused considerable destruction. No refugees or asylum seekers were affected.

As the crisis grips, UNHCR and its partners have adapted their activities in line with advice from health authorities. This may mean working remotely but it does not mean being remote from those in need.

UNHCR and its partners continue to support refugees and asylum seekers. Legal advice and psychological counselling are being given, if not face to face then online or over the phone.

Refugees and asylum seekers are included in the government response to COVID-19. UNHCR has supported the authorities by delivering sanitizers to two adult centres in Zagreb and Kutina and two homes for unaccompanied children in Zagreb and Split.

When it comes to the virus, there is a realisation that nobody is immune and refugees and locals share the same risk.

While we fully understand fears associated with the spreading of the disease, discrimination cannot be the answer, Di Caro said. The coronavirus does not discriminate. The sick include holidaymakers, international businesspeople and even national ministers, located in dozens of countries spanning all continents.

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Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested two teenage boys for attacking a man with pepper spray and snatching his phone, which caused him to fall off his motorbike and die.

Officers in Hoc Mon District confirmed on Thursday they had apprehended Truong Huynh Long and Nguyen Van Cuong, both 17.

The victim was H.N.G., a 63-year-old resident of Binh Tan District.

Early reports said that G. was riding his motorcycle on Pham Thi Giay Street in Hoc Mon District on Monday afternoon when Long and Cuong approached the man on a motorbike and snatched his mobile phone, which the victim was holding in his hand.

G. decided to chase after the thieves and ended up being attacked with pepper spray.

He lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a drain on the side of the street.

The victim fell on the ground and was knocked unconscious, while the phone snatchers escaped.

G. was later brought to the hospital by some local residents, but he succumbed to his serious injuries.

Police officers launched an investigation and managed to identify the suspects as Long and Cuong.

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The Green Party can forget its 7% carbon emission reduction demand if it decimates farming and rural Ireland, Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said.

Mr Coveney said he and his party will not tolerate any move which unfairly hurts farmers and rural towns even if it means causing a second general election.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Coveney said bluntly: I am not going to put farmers out of business.

Reflecting the deep level of unease in his party about the Green Partys red-line that a 7% reduction in carbon emissions must form part of any programme for government, Mr Coveney said he wants to work with the Greens in government, but commitments made must be realistic.

Nothing has been ruled out effectively. But, there are some things you simply cant say yes to without figuring out how its going to be done, he said.

But he was adamant he would prefer to have another election than sign up to measures that would jeopardise Irish farmers.

Well, if it decimates rural Ireland, were not doing it. Okay, lets be very clear on that right you know we are not going to sign up to a programme for government decimates rural Ireland. Thatll never happen. Okay, even if that means another election, he said.

We will discuss with the Green Party about some of their concerns around agriculture and I think that they understand our perspective and we understand theirs.

Mr Coveney said he and his party are up for a discussion which looks at how the 7% target could be achieved across many sectors including agriculture but reiterated it cannot be about putting farmers out of business.

I am absolutely committed to a, a comprehensive response on climate action. Our current climate action plan which Richard Britain is primarily responsible for putting together commits Ireland to just over 3% per annum reductions, he said.

Im not ruling out 7%, Id love to really interrogate that number and what would be necessary to make it happen to then decide politically cannot be done in a way that we can bring the public with us, he said.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan TD at Leinster House on Kildare Street, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Mr Coveney made clear that as of now, the Green Party are the favoured coalition partner for him and his party but said their carbon reduction demand needs to fully interrogated as to how the country would get there.

We can agree to two targets, without actually having a roadmap. And then spend the next number of years, struggling to meet the targets that we set for ourselves, I mean that mistake has been made in the past on emissions, he said.

What wed like to do with the Green Party is to start a process of a real detailed discussion. If necessary, with the input of experts to look at how far Ireland can go in terms of delivering a significant Climate Action Plan that can reduce our emissions significantly over time, he said.

But its got to be based on a plan that is doable, and we need to ensure that that plan doesnt impact on, on our capacity to rebuild an economy or capacity to get people back to work in the context of Covid-19, Mr Coveney added.

The Tanaiste, who led his partys negotiations with Fianna Fail, said to be fair to the Green Party, their response to our framework document was a serious one.
If anyone was foolish enough to actually think that human technology had the planet's natural forces safely under our control, the disruptive effect of COVID-19 has been only the latest reminder that it doesn't.

A main message of the new environmental documentary Planet of the Humans is that despite our powerful economic grip on the world  or more likely because of it  we have started a planetary tire fire that even our greenest leaders seem unable to cool.

To say the movie, backed by rabble-rousing filmmaker Michael Moore and made by his longtime associate Jeff Gibbs, is controversial is an understatement.

Offering it free on the internet during the COVID-19 lockdown has helped attract more than 4.6 million views since the film's Earth Day release last week.

But it has also attracted a wave of outraged criticism, not from the expected anti-environmental crowd, many of whom seem to quite like it, but from committed environmentalists themselves.

The film tars several well-known green leaders  including Al Gore, who helped bring climate change awareness to the people in the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth  as being in the pocket of big business.

Willy Kurniawan/Reuters

Like many documentaries, especially those from Moore, this film is a polemic, using tendentious language and clips to make its argument stronger even at the expense of objectivity.

Rather than proving its claims with economically sound and up-to-date facts, it often feels like an attempt to manipulate viewers who just don't know any better  like Moore's anecdotal evidence about Canadians not locking their doors in his 2002 movie, Bowling for Columbine.

Anecdotes are a great tool to illustrate a point but only if the point is a truthful representation.

Displacing old tech takes trial and error

For instance, images of rusted, abandoned windmills in Hawaii are not representative of a wind energy industry that has been successfully operating around the world for decades. As with any technology, constant maintenance is essential.

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Pictures of a crumbling solar site make no mention of the fact that it was in the process of being replaced by a better one. The film uses footage and interviews referencing technology that is more than a decade old without revealing it.

It fails to address the essential fact that any new technology must pass through many stages and have many failures while trying to challenge tried and true existing systems.

Antara Foto/Widodo S Jusuf/Reuters

In its apparent effort to make the case that fighting climate change is not enough and that industrial capitalism continues to erode the earth's resources even when directed toward green projects, the film uses the tricks of gotcha journalism.

In one instance showing grainy found footage of an environmental leader who seems to avoid mentioning he has accepted money from the Rockefeller Foundation, which funds energy and development projects around the world, as if it implied business collusion, without ever presenting evidence of it.

The movie has been justly criticized for using out-of-date information, such as misleading video clips of older models of solar panels to demonstrate the failures and inefficiencies of photovoltaic panels.

"It's like doing a documentary on the uselessness of mobile phones but only examining the [1990s] Motorola Ultrasleek," wrote infuriated technology writer Ketan Joshi.

Solar and wind getting cheaper

Many of the arguments used to condemn some green energy initiatives misrepresent their reliance on the carbon economy, including the idea that building green infrastructure creates more lifetime carbon than burning the energy equivalent in oil; that solar and wind energy projects need fossil fuel backup; and that battery-powered electric cars run on energy from coal-powered plants.

As green technologies have gone mainstream and cheap, many for-profit alternative technologies are now operating without subsidies, which they could not do if they used more energy than they produced.

Integrated power grids, where deficits in one area are supplemented with energy stored in hydro dams or batteries or from places where the wind is blowing or the sun shining mean that in many areas, emergency backup gas generators are hardly used.

Chris Helgren/Reuters

Fossil fuels are still required to manufacture electric cars and the batteries they run on, which have their own environmental impacts, and to feed the electricity grids that keep them running. But in some places, including parts of Ontario and B.C., they are charged to all intents and purposes virtually carbon-free.

One place to find modern answers to some of the film's arguments is a portion of the media empire owned by Michael Bloomberg, one of the business leaders condemned in the film. Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which keeps abreast of green developments from a hard financial perspective, just this week reported that solar and wind are now the cheapest sources of new power for two-thirds of the world's population.

Biomass a green industry letdown

Refuting all of the film's economic arguments and the ways in which they're out of step with the fast-moving, capitalist green tech sector would take many columns and leave no time to address the few things this film gets right.

The movie has some core messages that are worth seeing.

One is to open our eyes to the scale of industrial biomass plants that burn mostly trees but more loosely have used garbage and macerated tires to make electricity and that it is not the environment-friendly industry it was once thought to be.

Another valid lesson is the power money has to reset the green agenda, turning what was a grassroots action into a profit centre and subtly co-opting the movement's objectives. This is what capitalism does. It can't help itself.

But it is a reminder to environmental activists to keep governments and companies focused on moving that agenda forward.

The final and most valid point the film makes is that as we use the power of capitalism to fight climate change with efficient windmills, sleek electric cars and better batteries, we must not lose sight of the fact that we only have one world, and we must share it.

As activist Greta Thunberg told the UN Climate Action Summit last year, the pursuit of endless economic growth is just not worth the money if it leads to mass extinction. Once we live in a world where only humans are left, it really doesn't matter how good our intentions were.

Follow Don on Twitter @don_pittis
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The World Health Organization has been generous with its praise throughout this pandemic. China, Singapore and Ireland have all received plaudits for their handling of the coronavirus crisis. Now that a new turning point is in sight, with the infections spread slowing and draconian lockdown measures being gradually lifted, the WHO is promoting the Swedish way of doing things. Sweden represents a future model if we wish to get back to a society in which we dont have lockdowns, the WHOs Mike Ryan said, praising the way Swedes are trusted to self-regulate.

Swedens hands-off approach to lockdown has certainly been different to that of other countries, from France and Italy to the U.S. and China. Large public gatherings are banned but restaurants, bars and schools have stayed open, and social distancing is encouraged rather than enforced by police. Trust in the public is high, and so is the publics trust in the strategy. Swedes seem happy with the global attention. Many countries are starting to come around to the Swedish way, Anders Tegnell, the countrys chief epidemiologist, told USA Today.

But like so many stories of national exceptionalism in this crisis  the U.K. at one point was convinced it could avoid strict closures, painting them as unscientific, before eventually doing a U-turn  this one is debatable and premature.

U.S. President Donald Trump, no doubt annoyed at stories in the American media heaping praise on the Swedes, tweeted one obvious riposte this week, noting the high price that Swedes have had to pay in terms of Covid-19 fatalities. Swedens 2,586 deaths compare poorly with Denmarks 452, and Norways 207. Taking population into account, Sweden has suffered more deaths per million people than the U.S. (although deaths aren't always counted in the same way).

When looking at all-cause mortality  which is probably a better gauge of the real level of coronavirus deaths  Sweden has been hit with very high excess deaths since the start of the year, according to the European body monitoring these statistics. In Denmark, theyve been low.

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The counterargument is that Sweden has accepted more deaths in exchange for trying to achieve group immunity more quickly and protecting its economy from lasting collapse. Several big countries in Europe with stricter lockdowns have suffered more excess deaths and greater economic damage than Sweden while being more aggressive about halting infections. But they felt they had no other way to relieve their overrun hospitals, a problem that Sweden doesnt have.

We dont know what other nations might have gone through if theyd followed the Swedish model  France estimates its own lockdown saved 60,000 lives. We also dont know how much immunity has been acquired by the Swedes. An official report estimating that a third of Stockholms population would develop antibodies to the virus by May 1 was withdrawn after an error.

We do know that Swedens Covid-19 journey hasnt been exceptional. Like other countries, it has experienced a surge in deaths in care homes, where about one in three virus deaths is estimated to have taken place. Visiting relatives and staff are expected to self-regulate but, according to reports, they dont always do so. The Swedes have also had a lack of systematic testing and equipment shortages.

Things might have been even worse without the Swedes demographic and cultural defenses. This is a population that does social distancing already in many ways. More than half of the country lives in single-person households, working from home is common and access to fast broadband is everywhere. But Swedes are becoming increasingly unconcerned about keeping their distance as time goes on, as images of packed restaurants indicate. Public-health officials have warned about their behavior. In Stockholm theyve threatened to shut bars and restaurants.

At the same time, migrant workers in the country are being infected disproportionately, according to a recent national survey. The hyper-individualist expectation to self-regulate looks too complacent for immigrant communities who lack access to information.

Sweden may very well turn out to be a relative winner of sorts, especially economically. It will probably experience a shorter and less severe slowdown than its European neighbors, says Torbjorn Isaksson, an analyst at Nordea Bank. That will cheer the lockdown critics such as Swedish industrialist Jacob Wallenberg, who in March warned of the long-term damage of putting economies in deep freeze. Whether thats much of a win for an economy where trade accounts for 89% of GDP is doubtful. Leapfrogging European Union trading partners in a single market thats been paralyzed by the virus scare cant be that meaningful. And it probably wont be fondly remembered.

Given that we havent reached the end of this pandemic, more circumspection might be in order. Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said: Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. As we approach a turning point in the crisis, its tempting to look back and single out winners as the model to follow. But we dont know whats going to happen next. None of us has lived through it yet. And that includes Sweden.

Elaine He contributed graphics to this piece.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

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Ryanair Holdings will cut 3,000 jobs and said it will challenge some 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in state aid being doled out to keep its European competitors afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Irish discount carrier on Friday added to a mounting employment toll that includes 12,000 cuts at British Airways and 5,000 at SAS. The reductions represent about 15% of Ryanair's workforce, and would include pilots and cabin crew.

The remaining staff will take a 20% pay cut, Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. O'Leary expects demand to bounce back slowly, while warning that government bailouts of airlines will spur ticket discounts, worsening the effects of weak demand on pricing and industry profit.

"The people who went in weakest, which is the legacy airlines, Air France, Alitalia, Lufthansa, have either been nationalized or are receiving extraordinary volumes of state aid," O'Leary said. "These are going to hugely distort the level playing field for aviation in Europe for three to five years. What we're facing now is a historic decline in air traffic in Europe for the next 12-18 months."

Ryanair shares fell as much as 6% in London, with markets closed in Dublin and other European cities because of the May 1 holiday. U.K. discounter EasyJet dropped as much as 8.3%, while IAG, the parent of British Airways, declined as much as 5%.

Ryanair said in a statement that it will carry less than 1% of its normal passenger volume in its fiscal first quarter and doesn't expect a full recovery until summer 2022 at the earliest.

O'Leary has consistently railed against bailouts, saying that they are in breach of European Union competition and state aid rules, and said the carrier will challenge them in court. Carriers across the region are asking for help to survive the coronavirus crisis that has grounded much of Europe's air traffic, endangering not only the airlines but connections that keep tourists flowing to Rome and Paris and help power Germany's export economy.

British Airways sister airlines Iberia and Vueling on Friday said they reached agreements for a combined 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in Spanish government-backed loans. Lufthansa, Germany's flagship carrier, remains locked in negotiations over a mutibillion-euro package of assistance. In the U.K., billionaire Richard Branson is seeking additional investors in a bid to gain access to state-backed loans. The French and Dutch governments last week extended a lifeline to Air-France-KLM valued at as much as 11 billion euros.

The fight over who eventually gets access to state aid will expose the creeping protectionism in Europe, where most if not all carriers were at some point state owned, enmeshed in a sense of national pride when air travel was still a novel and exciting concept. The question becomes whether national governments will come to the rescue of their favorite carriers, especially when many of them were already struggling with overcapacity and cut-throat competition.

Much of the future of the aviation industry will depend on when there will be a common international standard for resumption of flights, according to Heathrow Airport CEO John Holland-Kaye. "If we can't agree that and we require social distancing until a vaccine or cure comes in - it's 12 to 18 months in time -- then I think many airlines and airports will have gone bankrupt in that time or will be nationalized."

Balpa, which represents some of Ryanair's pilot said that there had been no warning or consultation by Ryanair about the job losses.

"Ryanair seems to have done a U-turn on its ability to weather the COVID storm," Brian Strutton, general secretary of Balpa, said in a statement. "Aviation workers are now facing a tsunami of job losses."

Ryanair said it expects flights to resume in July, and that "it will take some time for passenger volumes to return." The company is working on reducing deliveries of 737 Max narrow-bodies from Boeing Co. and Airbus SE A320-series jets from leasing firms.

Ryanair has 150 higher-capacity Boeing jets on order with options from another 60. The Max has been grounded for over a year following two fatal crashes and Boeing now expects the plane to return to service in the third quarter of 2020.

"We would still like to take some if not all of those aircraft," O'Leary said. "We need to rightsize the company for what is going to be 3-5 years of very grim trading for Ryanair."
Scientists have outlined ways by which people can change their behaviour to adapt to life during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggestions that can be useful in combatting racially driven bias, fake news, and help better manage stress.

The review research, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, focuses on phenomena linked to COVID-19, connecting existing studies to potential courses of action in several areas, including group threat, fake news, social norms, stress, and coping.

"Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and poses significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioral sciences are likely going to be very helpful for optimising pandemic response," said study co-author Jay Van Bavel from New York University in the US.

"This interdisciplinary review points to several ways in which research can be immediately applied to optimize response to this pandemic, but also points to several important gaps that researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months," added co-author Robb Willer from Stanford University in the US.

Referring to recent attacks on ethnic Asians in predominantly white countries, the scientists said pandemics may, in fact, present opportunities to reduce religious and ethnic prejudice.

"Coordinated efforts across individuals, communities, and governments to fight the spread of disease send strong signals of cooperation and shared values, which allow people to re-cast others who were previously considered out-group members as in-group members," they wrote in the study.

To effectively curb the menace of fake news, the scientists said a "pre-bunking approach," could be used, which centers on psychological inoculation.

Based on earlier studies, they said preemptively exposing people to small doses of misinformation techniques, including scenarios about COVID-19, can reduce susceptibility to fake

The current research noted another preventative approach to counter fake which involves subtle prompts that emphasise accuracy such as asking users to judge the veracity of a single neutral headline.

According to the scientists, such prompts can improve the quality of the content that users share, and could be easily implemented by social media platforms.

"How much people change will be influenced by aspects of the social and cultural context," the researchers wrote in the study.

"The fact that people tend to follow social norms and cultural mores can sometimes have undesirable consequences," they said.

Citing an example, the scientists said the continuous exposure to examples of people going out might explain why it was difficult to convince Italians to stay at home after the COVID-19 lockdown of March 11.

"But they also report that understanding these features of the social environment, such as social norms, social inequality, culture, and polarization, can help identify risk factors and successful messages and interventions," they added.

According to the researchers, our decisions are influenced by social norms --what we perceive others are doing, or approve/disapprove of -- and that "informational influence" occurs when people use others' behaviour as input for reasonable interpretations and responses.

This effect is stronger when people are uncertain and outcomes are important such as during a pandemic, they added.

However, the scientists cautioned that our estimates of people's behaviour are also frequently inaccurate.

People can underestimate the frequency others engage in health-promoting behaviours like hand washing, and overestimate their unhealthy ones such as not properly covering one's mouth when coughing, they explained.

In order to effectively change behaviours by correcting misperceptions, the scientists pointed to the importance of public messages that reinforce health-promoting norms and not highlighting extreme or uncommon behaviours, such as panic buying.

The scientists also noted the value of online forums as hubs for mutual support, in particular, among individuals with rare illnesses, and psychological well-being amidst the lockdowns and physical distancing measures enforced in several parts of the world.

They pointed to technologies, such as FaceTime and Zoom, as valuable tools in generating empathy and connection.

Van Bavel and Willer also recognised the potential barriers to these tools for seniors.

"Special attention should be placed on helping older adults, who might be less familiar with these technologies, to learn and acclimate to the potential richness of digital connections," they wrote in the research.

"By applying the knowledge gained from earlier research, we hope that public health experts will be better equipped to communicate effectively and drive behavior change in a manner that yields global benefits," Willer added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seoul, May 1 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un remained out of public view for the 20th straight day amid persisting speculation about his health and who will take over the nuclear-armed nation after him, the media reported on Friday.

Kim was last seen in state media on April 11 presiding over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party. State media have since carried reports about him handling state affairs, such as sending messages to foreign leaders, but no photo or video of him has been released, reports the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency.

Sparking speculation about Kim's health was his absence from a key ceremony commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of his late grandfather and national founder, Kim Il-sung.

He has never skipped a visit to the mausoleum on the April 15 anniversary since taking office in late 2011.

The speculations escalated after a CNN report last week, citing a US official, said that Washington was looking into intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" after a surgery.

But North Korean state media outlets, such as the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper and the official Korean Central News Agency, have put out routine stories, such as Kim Jong-un sending diplomatic letters and conveying gifts to honored citizens.

On Friday, the Rodong Sinmun urged North Koreans to rally around their leader, said the Yonhap News Agency report.

"We must stay absolutely loyal to our leader and trust him no matter how strong the storm hits us," the newspaper said.

The Minju Choson, the North's cabinet newspaper, also carried a similar report.

They have also reported on the public activities and on-site inspection trips of top officials, including the country's No. 3 leader Pak Pong-ju and Premier Kim Jae-ryong, in an indication that business was going on as usual.

Meanwhile, South Korean officials have rejected the speculations, saying there were no unusual signs that something might be wrong with the North's leader, and he was believed to be staying in the east coast region of Wonsan.

It is not rare for Kim Jong-un to disappear from the public eye.

His longest absence from public view was in September 2014, when he disappeared for an unprecedented 40 days and returned limping.

Seoul's intelligence agency later said that he had a cyst removed from his ankle.
(Newser)  Michael Flynn is trying to get his case dismissed, with his lawyers arguing that newly released FBI documents show that agents set him up before interviewing him in 2017. "What is our goal?" reads one handwritten note. "Truth and admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" The former national security adviser eventually pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the Trump transition to the White House. Here are some early takes on the new developments, from both sides:

Unfair: At Bloomberg, Eli Lake writes the FBI went after Flynn over obscure violations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse, as they say, but at the same time justice demands that the law be applied fairly and consistently," he writes. "Flynn was being squeezed for crimes that are rarely, if ever, enforced. He relented only under financial pressure and a promise that his son, who worked with him in his consulting group, would not be prosecuted." Lake wonders if Democrats would be so quick to forgive the FBI tactics if the target were in the Obama administration.

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Not unfair: The idea he was "set up" is absurd, writes Randall D. Eliason at the Washington Post. " Any witness interviewed by the FBI has essentially three choices: tell the truth, lie, or assert the right to remain silent," he writes. "The FBI had no way of knowing which option Flynn would choose when he walked into the interview. All Flynn had to do was tell the truth, or tell the agents he wasnt comfortable talking to them. He chose instead to lie."

The idea he was "set up" is absurd, writes Randall D. Eliason at the Washington Post. Any witness interviewed by the FBI has essentially three choices: tell the truth, lie, or assert the right to remain silent," he writes. "The FBI had no way of knowing which option Flynn would choose when he walked into the interview. All Flynn had to do was tell the truth, or tell the agents he wasnt comfortable talking to them. He chose instead to lie." Dismiss: Toss the case, writes law professor Jonathan Turley at the Hill. "These new documents further undermine the view of both the legitimacy and motivations of those investigations under former FBI director James Comey," he writes. "For all of those who have long seen a concerted effort within the Justice Department to target the Trump administration, the fragments will read like a Dead Sea Scrolls version of a 'deep state' conspiracy."

Toss the case, writes law professor Jonathan Turley at the Hill. "These new documents further undermine the view of both the legitimacy and motivations of those investigations under former FBI director James Comey," he writes. "For all of those who have long seen a concerted effort within the Justice Department to target the Trump administration, the fragments will read like a Dead Sea Scrolls version of a 'deep state' conspiracy." Business as usual: Actually, "framing what happened to Flynn primarily as a 'deep state' conspiracy to take down Trump obscures the reality that this is a routine and completely legal FBI practice that will continue unless there are serious statutory reforms," writes at Scott Shackford at Reason. He points to a similar tactic used against Martha Stewart. "What the agency did to Flynn was wrong, not because he worked for Trump, but because it is wrong to induce an otherwise not-guilty person to break the law," argues Shackford. "And it's something FBI interviewers do regularly so that they can use their dishonesty as leverage when there's little evidence of actual criminal behavior."

(Read more Michael Flynn stories.)
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At a time when health-care policy continues to loom large as an election issue in the

US, it would be all too easy for some Americans to look wistfully across the pond at

one of the most prominent alternative models to their own  Britain's National Health

System.



Judging from the events of recent months, however, a better paradigm would be that

of Germany  whose BMG has once again stunned the world with the Hansel-and- Gretel magic of Teutonic management. Although at present it is not wise to take any

circulated statistics at face value, by all accounts Germany's COVID-19 per-pop deathrate is multiple-times lower than the UK's.



Failure



In the broadest framework, logically it must be that the NHS has failed in at least one

of what are the only two overall defining-possibilities.



Firstly, as one of the largest, richest and most centralized health systems in the world,

the NHS should have been well-placed to foresee and plan for any such emergency as

the COVID-19 outbreak. Its centralized state organization gives it access to various

governmental departments; and its public presence is so much greater than that, say,

of an isolated scientist working for a rural hospital in a third-world country.



Yet Britain proved ill-prepared. In both senses of the expression, it was sitting pretty.

Further, in the UK, any criticism of the NHS is met with incredulous and affronted

disavowal. In Britain's media, the National Health System is depicted as a 'victim' of

China's alleged wrong-doing.



The second overall possibility is that the pandemic is not as severe as the media has

led many people to believe  and thus it was not the case that the NHS proved unequal

to dealing with the crisis. Yet, by that hypothesis, has the NHS allowed, urged and

even collaborated with a manipulation of statistics by the media?



Britain's tabloids often boast of some oldster 1980s half-celebrity who has died 'after'

contracting COVID-19. But there is little clarity on whether the death is a result of the

disease itself, or whether he or she simply had recovered from COVID-19 six weeks

previously  but the defeated virus still showed present upon testing.



Of course, the NHS will claim that its problem is underfunding. Yet the UK is

relatively rich: a G7 member. While British citizens are able to opt for private

schemes such as BUPA, within the state apparatus the NHS is something of a

monolith. It is a big and powerful player.



According to the online King's Fund, government funding for the UK Department of

Health and Social Care has risen on average by 3.7% a year since the founding of the

NHS. The previously planned budget for this year was a hefty 140.4 billion Pounds.

By contrast, the online Institute for Fiscal Studies records that, between 1980 and

today, Britain's armed forces lost half of their former slice of the overall UK

budgetary pie.



Indeed, a cynic would question whether some health professionals in the UK might

fuel a politicization of events in order to big up the NHS's claim on national finances.

At the local level, hospitals could be budget-bidding against each other for allocation

of resources; and individual staff might seek to justify emergency overtime-payments

even when the outbreak was not severe in their region.



What is Unique to the UK's Experience



Even if all the above were true, though, Britain's health-care system would not be

much more culpable than that of any other richer industrial nation. What makes the

UK unique is a strange and perverse rush to a type of hero-worshipping of the NHS:

one that demonstrates several features common to Communist states.



To begin with, as said, there is the neurotic absence of open discussion as to whether

the NHS has failed in a way that possibly makes it at all blameworthy.



Similarly, Britain's media is ever keen to support the idea of increased public spending for the UK's Department of Health. Very rarely does public debate focus on

where that funding should stop  or whether the NHS might be already be overfunded. There is almost no discussion of optimum scales, or of disequilibrium, just as

back in Communist Russia a national press often supported the financial claims of the

bloated Soviet military-establishment.



There is also a misappropriation of language. Nurses are termed as 'NHS heroes', said

in a schwartzy, accusatorial tone of insistent certainty, as though nothing in the world

is of a higher ideal than is the Welfare State. Some supermarket chains now offer 10%

discount to NHS staff, even to non-medical personnel. This political-think is

reinforced throughout on digital billboards, governmental TV-infomercials, and upabove piped-warnings.



Meanwhile, any public figure who is feeling low in celebrity status can claim

victimhood by 'coming out' with the virus  soon to recover. Prince Charles, Nadine

Dorries (the Junior Health Minister), and Bojo himself are self-dramatizing examples.





A perhaps more shocking element is that quintessential Communist strategy of

enticing children into the self-righteous cult. Practically every other house-window in

the UK now is festooned by a child's crayon drawing of a colorful rainbow  with

words such as 'Thank you NHS' clumsily chunk-typed underneath. Children's

pavement art of rainbow colors so bedecks many a sidewalk.



On seeing an approaching adult, some parents will order their children aside as though

to demonstrate revulsion. Another Stasi-like instrument is that neighbors can snitch on

or personally confront those not deemed to be sufficiently following social-distancing

rules.



The element of a communal ritual, meanwhile, is manifest in mass participatory

'clapping'. On certain evenings, at a designated hour, all UK citizens are invited to

step out of their homes and into the street, there to clap their hands enthusiastically in

order to show solidarity for the NHS. Millions do so.





Shelter-in-place is itself reminiscent of a political curfew. The difference between the

UK and the US is that Trump and Middle-America have been able to see the dangers

of this potential repression. Many American commentators have questioned the

predictive models that originated in London, such as the Imperial College graphs.



Perhaps the apotheosis of the cult was the UK's Easter Sunday headline: 'The NHS

has saved our Boris'. All the wording of a warped religion is there evident. Meantime,

churches are shut for organized worship, again without any US-style dissension. Of

note too is that England has a history of a state (Anglican) religion.



Negative Consequences for the NHS itself



With the consequential crash in Britain's economy, it is only a matter of time before

the NHS must actually stand to have its finances downsized. In addition, with

headlines such as the Daily Mail's threat of a 'reckoning' for Beijing, there could be

further budget-cutting repercussions  owing to negative changes in international

trade and defense policing.



Similarly, there is the 'moral hazard' of an established culture of self-certificating at

home on sick-pay. Hypochondriacs and scrimshankers will be emboldened as

goldbricks. Those who become ill through self-neglect, carelessness and overindulgence will see opportunity to thrive on the resources that should be reserved for the genuinely sick.



For those people who do suffer from a serious illness, and are therefore labeled as

vulnerable, being forced into prolonged quarantine and heightened social-isolation

might add to psychosomatic stressors. Safety directives can see older folk with

underlying health-issues now almost cordoned off after the manner of medieval

lepers. Such a negative disorientation from regular human interaction can lead to

depression  and an anxious tendency to slip up in any self-administration of medical

safeguards. As they might express it in Grandpa's lay terms: 'all this fuss is enough to

make anyone ill.'



More immediately, the NHS's inattention to regulate which, when and how many

medical staff should wear protective clothing now means there are shortages in PPE

and respiratory equipment. If a second and more serious pandemic were to follow

soon, the UK would be left compromised.



Let's hope the NHS hasn't cried wolf.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-30 23:20:24|Editor: huaxia

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ANTANANARIVO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- President of the Comoros Azali Assoumani confirmed Thursday afternoon the first COVID-19 case during his address to the nation.

According to Mr. Assoumani, a 50-year-old Comorian was confirmed Thursday by the health department as the first case of COVID-19 in his country.

"The patient was admitted to the local hospital on April 23 for cough, sore throat, fever and difficulty breathing," said Assoumani.

"The patient's state of health is gradually improving and the identification of people who have been in contact with him is still in progress," said Assoumani.

In addition, Mr. Assoumani said that the government have already ordered the closure of all borders and schools, among others, as the country's precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Enditem
Talking tough: US President Donald Trump meets with Chinas President Xi Jinping at the G20 leaders summit in, Japan last year. Photo: Kevin Larmarque/Reuters

US President Donald Trump has said he believes China's handling of the coronavirus is proof that Beijing "will do anything they can" to make him lose his re-election bid in November.

In an interview in the Oval Office, Mr Trump talked tough on China and said he was looking at different options in terms of consequences for Beijing over the virus.

Mr Trump has been heaping blame on China for a global pandemic that has killed at least 60,000 people in the US and thrown the economy into a deep recession, putting in jeopardy his hopes for another four-year term.

The Republican president, often accused of not acting early enough to prepare the US for the virus, said he believed China should have been telling the world about the coronavirus much sooner.

Asked whether he was considering the use of tariffs or even debt write-offs for China, Mr Trump would not offer specifics.

"There are many things I can do," he said. "We're looking for what happened."

China says it has no interest in meddling in the US election.

"China will do anything they can to have me lose this race," said Mr Trump.

He said he believes Beijing wants his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, to prevail to ease the pressure he has placed on China over trade and other issues.

"They're constantly using public relations to try to make it like they're innocent parties," he said of Chinese officials.

He said the trade deal that he concluded with Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at reducing chronic US trade deficits with China had been "upset very badly" by the economic fallout from the virus.

A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that an informal "truce" in the war of words that Mr Trump and Mr Xi essentially agreed to in a phone call in late March now appeared to be over.

The two leaders had promised that their governments would do everything possible to co-operate to contain the coronavirus.

In recent days, Washington and Beijing have traded increasingly bitter recriminations over the origin of the virus and the response to it.

However, Mr Trump and his top aides, while stepping up their anti-China rhetoric, have stopped short of directly criticising Mr Xi, who the US president has repeatedly called his "friend".

Mr Trump also said South Korea has agreed to pay the US more money for a defence co-operation agreement but would not be drawn out on how much.

"We can make a deal. They want to make a deal," Mr Trump said. "They've agreed to pay a lot of money. They're paying a lot more money than they did when I got here [in January 2017]."

The US stations roughly 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-'53 Korean War that ended in an armistice, rather than a peace treaty.

Mr Trump is leading a triage effort to try to keep the US economy afloat through stimulus payments to individuals and companies while nudging state governors to carefully reopen their states as new infections decline.

He sounded wistful about the strong economy that he had enjoyed before the crisis, which has seen millions of people lose their jobs and the faltering of GDP.

"We were rocking before this happened. We had the greatest economy in history," he said.

He said he is happy with the way many governors are operating under current strain but said some need to improve.

There was some good coronavirus news in the US too, as Gilead Sciences Inc said its experimental antiviral drug remdesivir was showing progress in treating virus victims.

Mr Trump has also been seeking an accelerated timetable on development of a vaccine.

"I think things are moving along very nicely," he said.

At the end of the half-hour interview, Mr Trump offered lighthearted remarks about a newly released Navy video purportedly showing a UFO.

"I just wonder if it's real," he said. "That's a hell of a video."
A hero nurse who served on the frontline in Afghanistan alongside her son is now fighting a 'new war' against coronavirus in an NHS hospital, MailOnline can reveal.

Joan Glen, 61, is doing gruelling 12-hour shifts wearing full PPE equipment as a theatre nurse treating Covid-19 patients.

The mother-of-three who lives near Chester says the circumstances are eerily similar to her experience treating badly injured soldiers in wartorn Afghanistan.

'It is just like a war here in our hospitals, just another kind of war,' she said in an exclusive interview with MailOnline.

'It was frightening out there and it's frightening here now - this is like a war but this is an invisible enemy.

Joan Glen, a hero nurse who served on the frontline in Afghanistan alongside her son, is now fighting a 'new war' against coronavirus in an NHS hospital

The 61-year-old is doing gruelling 12-hour shifts wearing full PPE equipment as a theatre nurse treating Covid-19 patients at a hospital in Cheshire

The mother-of-three says the circumstances are eerily similar to her experience treating badly injured soldiers in wartorn Afghanistan. 'It was frightening out there and it's frightening here now,' she said.

'Out in Afghanistan we were fighting the Taliban but this is a virus  you can't see it but it's deadly.'

Mrs Glen was a captain in the Liverpool 208 Unit of the Territorial Army serving as a theatre nurse for four months between July and October 2007.

She was based at Camp Bastion  the British base in notorious Helmand province where troops experienced ferocious battles against the Taliban.

Her son Christopher, then 22, served in Afghanistan at the same time and was injured when his helicopter crashed. Thankfully he was not badly hurt.

Mrs Glen, who has six grandchildren, came home shortly afterwards followed by Christopher and is now working at a Cheshire hospital where she has been treating Covid-19 patients for the last few months.

She is now drawing on her battlefield experience to help her through the frontline battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking from her home near Chester, Joan said: 'When we were in Afghanistan we could see the enemy and there were attacks every day.

'We could see who they were  they were the Taliban with bullets and bombs but here the virus is invisible.

'Out there we had the tools to fight the enemy with all the material weapons we had but now we don't really have weapons against the virus as there is no vaccine at the moment.

'We have nothing to fight it with. But just like in Afghanistan we have casualties coming into our hospital.

'It's so sad that some patients are dying alone without their relatives. It is like Afghanistan where the soldiers died from their injuries without their loved one by their side.'

Mrs Glen was a captain in the Liverpool 208 Unit of the Territorial Army serving as a theatre nurse for four months between July and October 2007. She was based at Camp Bastion  the British base in notorious Helmand province where troops battled the Taliban

Her son Christopher, then 22, served in Afghanistan at the same time and was injured when his helicopter crashed. Thankfully he was not badly hurt

She is now drawing on her battlefield experience to help her through the frontline battle against the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: With Ross Kemp

Mrs Glen said working in hot PPE also brought back memories of her time in Afghanistan

She added: 'It was 52 degrees and it was difficult working in that heat. 'But staff now are wearing PPE equipment for hours on end and it is very hot and difficult and uncomfortable.

'The injuries were visible out there but you can't see the injuries with coronavirus. 'You don't know whether you are going to get it and if you get it you don't know how bad you are going to get it.

'You just don't know. Patients are scared  it is scary.'

Mrs Glen and her son are among the very few mothers and sons to have served simultaneously on the battlefield.

Christopher, now 34, served as a senior aircraftman in the RAF's tactical communications. but has now left the military.

Her other two sons also served in the RAF in Afghanistan but again have left the armed forces.

Mrs Glen, who worked as senior operating nursing sister at Clatterbridge Hospital on the Wirral, only joined the Territorial Army when a friend suggested it when her marriage fell apart in 2001.

Mrs Glen said working in hot PPE also brought back memories of her time in Afghanistan She added: 'It was 52 degrees and it was difficult working in that heat. 'But staff now are wearing PPE equipment for hours on end and it is very hot and difficult and uncomfortable'

The grandmother of six added: 'It's so sad that some patients are dying alone without their relatives. It is like Afghanistan where the soldiers died from their injuries without their loved one by their side'

In 2006 her entire 80-strong TA unit was told it would take over the running of the military hospital at Camp Bastion for four months. 'Having seen what I did in Afghanistan I am so much more aware of how lucky most of us are,' she added. 'But this is a new test for us'

In 2006 her entire 80-strong TA unit was told it would take over the running of the military hospital at Camp Bastion for four months.

Mrs Glen said it was a 'terrifying prospect' made all the more nerve-wracking by the news that Christopher would also been deployed two weeks after her.

In Camp Bastion she worked side-by-side with the doctors as they operated on soldiers who had been wounded in explosions, vehicle crashes, or fierce fighting with the Taliban.

But one day she received an email from Christopher saying he had been injured a few hundreds miles away.

It just read: 'Mum, I've been in an accident. Our helicopter crashed. It was pretty terrifying and the aircraft is destroyed but I'm OK, don't worry. It was a lucky escape.'

Mrs Glen said: 'It was very scary for me but thankfully he wasn't badly hurt. His commanding couldn't believe it when he told him his next of kin was in Camp Bastion.'

Back in the UK, she remarried Ian Glen and the couple were together for six years before Ian died from cancer in 2016.

'Having seen what I did in Afghanistan I am so much more aware of how lucky most of us are,' she added. 'But this is a new test for us.'

Mrs Glen, who is widowed, said she was very proud to work for the NHS alongisde her colleagues: 'They are absolutely fabulous and brave. And it is wonderful when people come out to clap for us on Thursday nights'

'Social distancing is difficult for everyone. I miss my family now  I miss not seeing my grandkids but I didn't see my family when I was in Afghanistan too.

'But I'm very proud of being a nurse at the moment and very proud of all my colleagues.

'They are absolutely fabulous and brave. And it is wonderful when people come out to clap for us on Thursday nights.

'They have done it in my street and it is very emotional.'
There were some lingering questions over whether the government changed its policy for counting tests to make its target. While officials insisted they had not changed the rules, they acknowledged having counted more than 27,000 home test kits, and more than 12,000 tests sent to satellite testing centers, at the time they were mailed rather than when they were returned to labs, with results.

Regardless how many tests Britain has conducted, medical experts said the government had yet to build a contact-tracing operation to match its testing capacity. Drawing so much attention to the 100,000 number, critics said, was mostly a public-relations stunt.

The number of people tested is meaningless, said Dr. Bharat Pankhania, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of Exeter Medical School. If you fail to deliver on contact tracing, then you are testing as a ceremony rather than as a way to contain and isolate the outbreak.

Other experts, however, said there was merit to setting a numerical goal for testing, given Britains slow start. In March, officials decided to abandon testing and tracing in the general population in favor of testing only those people with symptoms serious enough to hospitalize them.

When there is a political priority to do something, then it can happen, said Professor Devi Sridhar, director of the global health governance program at the University of Edinburgh. Now we need the same effort and priority given to tracing and isolation, as it goes in a package: test, trace, isolate.

To some extent, the government is a victim of its penchant for using numbers to reassure the public it has a coherent plan. On March 19, in one of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons early public statements on the crisis, he said that he believed the British people could send the virus packing within 12 weeks.
As global supply chains for Halal products have been disrupted by the pandemic, Vietnamese companies have been urged to further tap the halal market which has export value of US$34 billion a year, experts said.

Customers shop at a Halal-certified store in HCM City.

Cao Thi Thanh Van, deputy director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), said the disruption in global supply chains was both a challenge and an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to make inroads into the global supply of Halal products.

Some businesses have been actively seeking new markets, including the Muslim market. However, the market has specific standards that Vietnamese firms must study and follow, she said.

The Muslim community represents a major potential market for Vietnamese exports, although many Islamic countries have imposed specific standards that local businesses must strictly follow in order to gain entry into the market, according to Van.

Ramlan Osman, sales director at the Halal Centre in Viet Nam, said more than 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide only consume Halal-certified products with annual consumption demand reaching $2.8 trillion.

Most of them live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries in the Middle East.

Since only a few of these countries produce halal products, the market potential is huge.

Entering the markets would improve Viet Nams ability to sell products and open up greater export opportunities for local firms.

Viet Nam has great potential to develop a halal economy. With Viet Nams GDP growth increasing on average of 6 to 7 per cent per year, Viet Nam has a strong base for halal industry development.

Viet Nam also has an advantage in raw materials for halal production such as coffee, rice, seafood, spices, beans and vegetables, among other items.

Businesses must first obtain Halal certification, which meets strict religious requirements and complies with food safety and hygiene standards imposed by Muslim countries, before products can be sold in the market.

However, the requirements and standards can vary among countries, so local firms should consult with their partners to fully grasp standards set by each particular market.

Of the 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide, one billion are from Asia.

Many countries are exploiting the Halal market. Among the seven countries with the highest exporting rates, only two are Muslim countries, Malaysia and the UAE.

Malaysia has developed its Halal Industry Master Plan 2.0, which aims to create Halal Malaysia, with a globalised culture and economy.

Meanwhile, the UAE plans to become an Islamic economic centre, focusing on Islamic finance and Halal.

Demand for imported Halal products is valued at about $34 billion per year. Exports of halal products from Viet Nam to these markets currently total about $10.5 billion.

The online event was organised by ITPC and Halal Viet Nam Centre.  VNS
As the US energy industry got hammered by both the impact of COVID-19 on global demand and a Russia-Saudi oil war, US President Donald Trump lit up the phones, making clear to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known by his initials MBS) that they had to stop the free fall in prices.

In an April 2 call, according to Reuters, Trump warned MBS that unless the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut back on production, he might not be able to stop congressional legislation calling for the withdrawal of US forces from the kingdom.

Ten days later, Russia and OPEC cut production.

This all can probably be scored as both a win for US presidential diplomacy and a sign of the enduring centrality of Saudi Arabia in US energy and security policy, as the partnership enters a new, post-COVID-19 era.

Trump and MBS finish what Putin started

The oil price collapse and the COVID-19 crisis are linked at the start, as Daniel Yergin explains in Foreign Affairs. When Chinas economy began to shut down in January and February with the early outbreaks of COVID-19, global demand for oil dropped by 6 million barrels per day. In March, Saudi Arabia proposed dramatic cuts in production to maintain price stability; Russia wanted to keep the previous OPEC+ agreement in place. They couldnt agree, and both sides cranked up production. Prices fell from $56 per barrel in February to approximately $23 per barrel this past week  the lowest monthly average in years.

Putin also had his sights on dealing the US energy and fracking industry a setback. The United States had become a net energy exporter in 2019, but the decline in both demand and prices set back US energy production from its apex. The Energy Information Agency predicted the United States would be a net importer again in 2020.

Trump, who in principle welcomed low oil and gasoline prices, especially in a down economy, rallied to action following a revolt by Senate Republicans from oil-producing states, who were now willing to join anti-Saudi legislation unless the kingdom stopped the price war.

That led to Trumps call with MBS (as well as a flurry of calls with Putin), a new OPEC deal and at least a slowdown in the free fall in prices.

Karen Young explains here that the new OPEC+ deal to end the price war was essential, but it alone cant resurrect demand or eliminate excess supply during a global recession that the International Monetary Fund has termed the "great lockdown." And there may be a role for cheap oil to help get the economy started again.

Putin may have gotten in over his head by taking on the kingdom in an oil war. In the rush both to preserve market share and ding the US energy industry, the price war with Saudi dropped the cost of oil production below the $42 per barrel break-even point for Russia. The new deal involved more of a cut than could have probably been agreed upon with the kingdom in early March. As Maxim Suchkov explains, some key figures in Russia questioned Putins course and considered it a win for Trump and MBS.

Managing differences

Over more than seven decades, the US-Saudi partnership has at times involved managing different approaches  on oil prices, Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, human rights, etc.  to chart a course that works for both sides, or at a minimum manages differences and diminishes the risk of conflict.

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi set back the kingdoms ties with members of Congress, the media, and nongovernmental organizations that have been critical of its human rights record. Saudi Arabia, along with Iran and Syria, also just received the lowest score in the region in the latest annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

It is worth noting, however, that the kingdom last month abolished flogging as a criminal punishment, and while many draconian penalties remain on the books, they are much less frequently enforced than in the past.

The Trump administration is also not taking sides in the Saudi-UAE-Egypt-Bahrain dispute with Qatar, which hosts the regional headquarters for US Central Command. Trump has developed his own strong relationship with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar. Washingtons interest is that they all bury the hatchet. There are some occasional signs of a thaw. For now, it seems to be a cold peace, and the business of the Gulf Cooperation Council on security matters proceeds, if mostly at the working level.

Setting the agenda

Despite these differences, a daunting agenda for the coming years requires even deeper cooperation: on energy prices, following a global recession; counterterrorism, to combat a comeback of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State; Israeli-Palestinian issues, with the threat of Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank; Iran; and many more.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic the World Bank warned that fragile and conflict states in the region  Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and the West Bank/Gaza  faced endemic instability and crisis. Those dire projections just got a lot worse with coronavirus and low oil prices. US and Western donors will be tapped out for the foreseeable future, and Gulf oil producers also face economic uncertainty. But these fragile and conflict states will need regional diplomatic and economic support to have a chance at post-conflict stability and growth, and to avoid becoming failed states and havens for terrorists.

It's hard to imagine any of these issues being managed without close and intense US-Saudi cooperation, working with other regional partners.

MBS, in some ways, is still learning on the job. He is just 34 and has been crown prince for only three years. The kingdoms Vision 2030 is no PR stunt; visitors attest to dramatic changes. He has pushed advocates of radical Islam to the margins. Criticized for its conduct and targeting during the war in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition is on a diplomatic surge, recently extending a cease-fire to back UN-brokered diplomacy.

The crown prince prefers to buy American, rather than Russian or Chinese. There are voices in the kingdom, and throughout the Gulf, advocating a turn east, toward Beijing, as an alternative to the United States. That does not seem to be the inclination of MBS, and its probably in Washingtons interest to keep him closer to the American and Western orbit.

There may be times in the future when the United States will need to call out the kingdom and put the relationship on the line, as Trump reportedly did last month. Sometimes friends and partners need to go the mat, if required. But the relationship matters. Given the daunting challenges the region faces in the coming years, the United States doesnt need a Saudi problem to add to them.
Investigators on Thursday arrested a man theyre calling a second shooter in the hostile mob ambush of a New Jersey State Police detective, who was shot while investigating a home invasion in Salem County last weekend.

Tremaine M. Hadden, 27, of Bridgeton, was taken into custody by State Police and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault on a police officer and several weapons charges, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal told NJ Advance Media on Friday.

Hadden allegedly fired at Det. Richard Hershey about 10:40 p.m. Saturday at the Harding Woods mobile home park on Harding Highway in Pittsgrove, Grewal said.

Grewal said Hershey was investigating a home invasion that occurred hours earlier and was interviewing witnesses when a hostile mob packed into a caravan of five cars rolled up.

While Trooper Hershey was conducting his interviews, he was attacked by members of that caravan, Grewal said. Hershey was not in uniform and was driving an unmarked car but he made it clear that he was with law enforcement, Grewal said.

He identified himself, he told them to disperse. They got out of their cars, a number of them did, Grewal said.

Grewal said multiple shots rang out and that the detective and a woman, who was part of the caravan but not charged, were each shot in the leg and taken to a local hospital.

The woman has been released from the hospital and Hershey remained admitted as of Friday morning, authorities said.

Grewal said Hershey fired back but it was unclear if he hit anyone. Its also unclear as to whether the woman was shot by Hershey or another member of the caravan.

Bullet holes were found in vehicles and several shell casings were at the scene. Police seized one firearm and are looking for others as they continue to analyze evidence, Grewal said.

On Sunday, police arrested Najzeir J. Naz Hutchings, 21, of Bridgeton, on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault on a police officer and weapons charges. Grewal said Hadden and Hutchings were in separate cars.

Najzeir J. Naz Hutchings, 21, of Bridgeton, is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a New Jersey State Police trooper on Saturday.

Its not yet clear who fired the shot that struck Hershey, but Grewal said it didnt make a difference because both men allegedly tried to kill him. He said police continue to investigate the shooting and may make other arrests.

Two other members of the caravan, who allegedly were armed with guns  Kareen Kai Warner Jr., 19, and Colby Opperman, 18, both of Bridgeton  were also arrested on Sunday and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. Those three men are being held in the Salem County Jail.

Both Grewal and State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan called Hershey heroic. He came back at 10:30 or so at night in the midst of a pandemic to investigate that case, to find out what happened, to prevent any retaliation or anything far worse from happening, Grewal said.

Callahan said he has been in daily contact with Hershey and said he continues to recover. Hes got a long road ahead of him, Callahan said.

Five woman were charged in the home invasion at a Pittsgrove mobile home park that occurred hours before a state police detective was wounded while investigating that incident.

Five women were charged in the earlier home invasion.

Maria E. Betancourt, 39, of Vineland, Iramari Lazu, 22, of Bridgeton, Yomari Lazu, 43, of Bridgeton, Jazmin Valentin, 32, of Bridgeton, and Mayra S. Roblero, 52, of Bridgeton were each charged with second-degree crimes of aggravated assault, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, and third-degree offenses of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.

The alleged home invasion assault was retaliation because the victim was believed to have spoken derogatory information toward (Iramari) Lazus family earlier, according to affidavits in the case.

Iramari Lazu was among the members of the caravan who later confronted Hershey, authorities confirmed.

The assault was captured on a Facebook Live video, according to complaints, though it doesnt indicate who recorded it.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.
Prior to the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19, the term unprecedented was as rare as its meaning, only really uttered for the sake of hyperbole if at all.

Now this phrase has become more commonplace in everyday life than discussions about the weather, because it really is the best way to describe what we are all living through.

Self-isolating, social-distancing and furlough were all phrases that would have seemed peculiar to use at the start of the year.

Now theyve become instinctual as we all stay indoors and limit interactions to help curb the spread of this disease.

John Holland-Kaye, who is development director and designate CEO at Heathrow, in the new Terminal 2, The Queen Terminal, at Heathrow Airport on its first day of operation

These measures have taken their toll on a number of sectors, but few more so than aviation.

It is not just about taking us on our summer holidays.

Millions of tourists fly in every year to enjoy the sights across Britain (and spend billions on hotels, restaurants and theatres), as well as international students and business people.

Many of the business people you may see in an airport are part of an export industry of services, in which Britain is a leader.

Others are travelling to set up export deals that keep Britains factories busy.

And if you are on a long haul plane to New York, Tokyo or Mexico City you might not realise that under your feet are the goods that Britain exports.

Passengers from the Holland America Line ship Zaandam walk through arrivals in Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport, after flying back on a repatriation flight from Florida on April 4

Fresh Scottish salmon, high tech engineering parts, pharmaceuticals.

Anything high value, with a short shelf life, or which is required just in time goes in a box on a plane, not a container on a ship.

That is why we remain open for emergency flights carrying urgent PPE for the NHS (such as this weeks brilliant Mail Force airlift) and to repatriate Brits stranded abroad, and visitors stranded in the UK.

Britains global supply chain relies on daily long haul passenger flights to our main trading partners, which is why Heathrow handles 40 per cent of British exports. These trade routes are only viable if passengers are flying.

Every time we open a new destination for passengers, we open a new market for Britains exporters. But the opposite is also true.

When people stop flying, our economy dries up. If aviation doesnt restart before July, there will be no tourists this season (and no summer holidays for us).

Aviation has been hit extremely hard by the coronavirus lockdown as many trade routes are also only viable if passengers are flying

But, perhaps more importantly, without long haul passenger flights, factories will be idle, salmon wont be farmed, drugs wont get to the people who need them.

An unprecedented health crisis could become an unprecedented social and economic crisis.

Once the lockdown is lifted, and the threat of Covid-19 is brought under control we need to get Britain flying again.

The biggest priority will be safety, for passengers and aviation workers  which means visible and consistent checks at airports.

That is why we are calling for the UK Government to take control in setting a Common International Standard for aviation health screening, just as they have done for security screening.

This will probably require a package of measures to be agreed between countries to ensure that everyone is safe when they leave and safe when they arrive.

There will certainly be minimal contact in the airport between passengers and staff, excellent hygiene standards, and wider use of PPE  maybe we will all use face masks when we travel.

There has been talk about social distancing on planes.

That would cut the number of seats by half, pushing up the cost, making travel inaccessible for hard-working families and deeming many routes unviable.

While it may work for a month or so, it is not the answer for the next 12 to 18 months while the world waits at home for a vaccine.

A better solution may be to make sure that only low-risk passengers get into the airport in the first place, with checks either away from the airport before you fly, or as you enter the airport.

And above all, they need to be consistent, unlike the checks we are seeing in airports across the world today.

Britains global supply chain relies on daily long haul passenger flights to main trading partners, with Heathrow handling 40 per cent of British exports

Right now, the Government has the opportunity to take urgent action in this area, ensuring that this unparalleled challenge is met with an equally striking, strategic and well-researched approach.

They must act fast and set out what the future of bio-security will look like that will ensure safe travel when non-essential journeys start, giving the economy the best chance of a reset.

Predictions are being made of a world in which social-distancing is the new normal, where holidays, celebrations, reunions, travel and economic growth are put on hold indefinitely.

Our Government can prevent this dystopian future becoming a reality by combating this challenge head on with an unprecedented response.

As Her Majesty the Queen said, We will meet again, but only if her Government takes decisive action now.
For decades, the fast-food drive-through has been a greasy symbol of Americana, a roadside ritual for millions of travelers with a hankering for burgers and fries.

Now, the drive-through, with its brightly-colored signage and ketchup-stained paper bags, has taken on a new importance in the age of social distancing.

Over the last month and a half, the coronavirus pandemic has forced small, independent restaurants to close and Michelin star chefs to experiment with takeout. But despite the chaos, the nations drive-throughs have continued to churn out orders, providing a financial reprieve for chains like McDonalds and Burger King even as fast-food workers have become increasingly concerned about the threat of infection.

While restaurant dining rooms sit empty, many people have started treating drive-throughs like grocery stores, making only occasional trips but placing larger orders. Popeyes has introduced family bundles to capitalize on the demand for bigger meals. Taco Bell is offering a promotion  free Doritos Locos Tacos on Tuesdays  that has increased traffic at some of its drive-throughs, overwhelming employees. And dine-in chains like Texas Roadhouse have converted empty parking lots into temporary drive-through lanes.
You are all heroes. At a time like this, did you not come as soon as I asked to meet you?  In the last several hours, this land has surprised me no end. We did not have enough ventilators  they were provided to us by private hospitals. It is difficult to arrange for the minimum of 800 PPE kits we need per day. But early this morning, PPE kits worth around Rs 80 lakh arrived at our airport  a local industrialist friend got them here in his own aircraft with his own money. This morning, when Dr Sridevi from the medical college stepped out to get her newspaper, an unidentified man was waiting for her with a whole bundle of N95 masks. He handed them over, saying, Doctor, you will need these, and left without even telling her his name. You may not think twice about any of this because you are natives of this city, but for me, these are all miracles.

Does this sound like a heartfelt speech delivered by a politician during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic? Well, it is not.

This is a monologue from the critically acclaimed 2019 Mollywood hit Virus. Mollywood, the nickname for the Malayalam language film industry based in the southern Indian state of Kerala, is not as widely known internationally as Bollywood, but it is held in high esteem by cineastes and critics within India. The speech I quoted above was delivered in the film by Paul V Abraham, a bureaucrat in Kerala.

In the scene, Abraham is trying to convince ambulance drivers to continue transporting patients to hospitals amid an outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus. One of the drivers is upset because he feels their justifiable hesitation to continue with their work has been misrepresented. If something bad happens to us during a trip, who will look out for us? he asks. Im just saying this because we are being painted as villains. Abrahams speech is a response to this lament, and with it, he convinces everyone in that room to resume work.

Virus is based on a true story. It is a retelling of Keralas 2018 battle with Nipah, a deadly virus that is zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.

In May 2018, when Nipah struck Kerala, which is admired across India for its lush greenery, high literacy rate and other progressive human development indices, the authorities were well aware of the damage it can cause. The virus killed 105 people in Malaysia in 1998-99 and forced the authorities to order the culling of 1.1 million pigs, which led to debilitating trade losses. It also killed dozens of people in different regions of Bangladesh between 2001-2015 and in India in 2001 and 2007.

Two decades after its identification, there is still no vaccine to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus, although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has placed it on a list of priority diseases for which there is an urgent need for accelerated research and development.

Kerala has a high population density. So when the first few cases of Nipah virus were identified in the state two years ago, many feared that the disease could spread rapidly. It would have calamitous consequences for the local population, the economy and India at large.

The state administration, however, swiftly swung into action and contained the outbreak at its onset. In June 2018, less than six weeks after the identification of the first Nipah case, the only two affected districts in the state were declared Nipah free. Seventeen people had died by then, but the local government earned praise in India and abroad for speedily stopping a localised outbreak from turning into an epidemic.

Virus, directed by Aashiq Abu and written by Muhsin Parari, Sharfu and Suhas, recounts the clinical efficiency with which politicians, bureaucrats, the healthcare fraternity, sanitation workers and the public joined hands to nip the tragedy in the bud.

Abus film is a far cry from the 2011 Hollywood flick Contagion, which has been an object of global fascination since the novel coronavirus began gradually extending its grip across continents this year. Cinephiles have been struck by what appears to be the films foretelling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Director Steven Soderberghs star-studded medical drama is about a far more lethal contagion than the novel coronavirus and the social chaos it causes. The anarchy and devastation portrayed in Contagion bear an uncanny resemblance to what we are experiencing today. The film fills audiences with dread by showing them how bad things can get during a pandemic.

Abus Virus, which belongs to the same genre as Soderberghs Contagion, has a vastly different impact on the viewer.

After watching Contagion, you are afraid to touch a lift button or your face. The film leaves you with a fear, Abu told me when I interviewed him for this write-up. We decided that our film should give people hope, not fear.

To offer that hope, Abu did not need to delve into fiction. The news media had widely chronicled the Kerala governments meticulous response to Nipah in 2018. The director and his team also spent several months on research, meeting bureaucrats, medical professionals, Keralas health minister, scientists and the other real-life characters depicted in Virus.

In his film, Abu merely transposed what actually happened in Kerala during the outbreak to the cinematic medium and portrayed with precision how the states leaders and medical professionals treated those infected by the virus, identified and quarantined individuals who had been exposed to them, investigated their links to Patient Zero, painstakingly tracked down the original source of the virus and prevented new infections, all the while coordinating with the central government in New Delhi.

Watching the film now not only allows audiences to see what could have happened if political leaders responded to the outbreak of COVID-19 the way Kerala authorities responded to the Nipah outbreak in 2018, but it also gives them hope by demonstrating that even the deadliest outbreak can be contained with efficient leadership and hard work.

Therefore, during the coronavirus pandemic, there are lessons to be learned from Virus and the real-life events on which it is based.

In Virus, multiple-award-winning actor Revathy plays Kerala Health Minister CK Prameela  a character based on the real-life Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja who led the states anti-Nipah taskforce in 2018. Revathy told me in an interview for this article that the film portrays the maturity and responsibility with which the minister and her associates tackled the Nipah outbreak, and presents a blueprint for how to effectively respond to future outbreaks.

Revathy also said she believes the film can serve as an educational tool amid the ongoing pandemic. How a virus can spread is beautifully mapped out in the script, she said, watching it now can help us understand, for instance, how coronavirus can stay alive on certain surfaces for a certain number of hours and so on.

The film basically tells us to stay safe by following the guidance of doctors and the WHO and not to panic.

Awareness-building was one of the goals Abu and the scriptwriters had in mind when they chose to make Virus a medical procedural rather than pivoting its plot around a single individuals poignant experience.

The story of 28-year-old nurse Lini Puthussery, who died after treating Keralas first Nipah patients, for example, could have easily been at the centre of the film. The touching farewell note Puthussery wrote to her husband when she fell ill with the virus had made the rounds on social media and was even reported on by national newspapers and websites. Abu said he was first drawn to the story of Keralas Nipah outbreak when he read about Puthussery on social media. A conventional approach might have been to build the film around the suffering and sacrifices of a nurse who captured the hearts of the Kerala public.

Rather than using Puthusserys tragedy as the primary ingredient in a soppy tearjerker, however, Abu opted to make a film about the communitys successful response to the virus.

The Nipah outbreak, he told me, happened in a community, in a state, so we thought we should tell the story on a bigger canvas, because it was a huge effort, so everyone should be complimented or referred to.

Viruss star lineup was also assembled to underline the teamwork and community spirit that got Kerala out of the crisis. We wanted to pay respect to the heroes and victims, so we tried our best to get in as many familiar faces, as much star value to each and every character as we could, Abu explained.

Award-winning actor Rima Kallingal, for example, played nurse Akhila  a character based on Puthussery  in the film. Tovino Thomas, a young matinee idol, played Paul V Abraham, the bureaucrat mentioned at the start of this article. His character is based on UV Jose, the then collector of Kozhikode district.

Despite its ultimate positivity, Virus is not a tale of sugar n spice and all things nice. It is a tension-ridden suspense saga that, among other things, tails a student of community medicine (played by the popular activist-cum-star Parvathy) and a senior virologist (Kunchacko Boban) as they try to identify patient zero and understand how he caught the deadly virus.

Virus also features closed-door meetings in which New Delhi is shown putting pressure on the Kerala government to view the Nipah outbreak in the state as an act of bio-warfare. The film portrays the central governments representatives focusing on the supposed patient zeros travels to the Middle East and the increasing interest he demonstrated in religion before contracting the virus. The mans name makes it clear that he is a Muslim.

The film leaves it to the viewer to decide whether Islamophobia played a role in the central governments suspicions about him, but it raises important questions about how politics shapes the authorities response to a disease outbreak. Indias central government is led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whereas the Kerala government is headed by a Communist party that prides itself on its secular values.

In some ways, Contagion is about what not to do during a medical apocalypse, while Virus is about what to do to avoid one. As mental wellness experts underline the need for optimism in these troubled times, it is worth wondering whether Contagion, as gripping as it may be, is an ideal watch when real-world events are increasingly mirroring the disastrous developments in the films storyline.

If you are looking for cinema in the same genre that will not psyche you out in the middle of this health emergency, Virus  uplifting in comparison  is a safer option. Contagion, after all, is a hypothetical worst-case scenario, while Virus is a best-case scenario inspired by a true story. Contagion is about the devastating spread of a disease, Virus is about how the spread of a deadly contagion was efficiently stemmed. Most importantly, Contagion is about the worst that human beings can be during a catastrophe, Virus is about the best that we have been while averting one.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Monday reiterated her call for a global inquiry and denounced Chinas attempt at economic coercion. Hours later, Penny Wong, a top figure from the opposition Labor Party, said she hoped China was not threatening Australia, adding that the inquiry was the right thing to do for humanity. On Wednesday, Andrew Forrest, a mining tycoon who is Australias most prominent advocate of deeper relations with China, said he, too, believed it was common sense to conduct an investigation, although he urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to wait a few months.
Kuwait will provide all cooperation to India's massive evacuation plan to bring back Indians wanting to return to their country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Gulf country's envoy here said on Friday.

The Indian government is working on a mega plan to deploy a raft of naval ships as well as military and commercial aircraft to evacuate thousands of Indians stranded in the Gulf and other regions after the nationwide lockdown ends, official sources had said on Wednesday.

The government has already reached out to several states asking them to make necessary arrangements for the Indians when they are brought back home under the multi-agency operation.

Kuwait Ambassador to India Jassem Al-Najem extended his gratitude and appreciation to the Indian government for the facilities provided to evacuate Kuwaiti citizens stranded in India last Friday and Saturday through Kuwait Airways airlines.

The Ambassador also thanked the Indian government for sending a 15-member medical team and providing two tonnes of medical equipment by a special military aircraft which reached Kuwait on April 11 as a humanitarian gesture to help fight the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indian medical team in coordination with its Kuwaiti counterparts carried out its work for two weeks, the Kuwaiti Embassy said in a statement.

The Ambassador highly appreciated the Indian government's gestures to continue supply of medicine including Paracetamol tablets and foods to Kuwait, the statement said.

Ambassador Al-Najem highlighted the Kuwaiti government's efforts to evacuate all illegal workers of different nationalities, including Indian nationals who were granted general amnesty by Kuwait and offered to send them back to their respective countries free of cost and by its own civil airlines.

Kuwait is looking forward to working with the Indian government to implement its massive evacuation plan to bring back the Indians who are willing to come back voluntarily to India after the complete lockdown ends, the statement said.

Earlier, the Ambassador had reiterated in a press statement made to the Kuwait Agency lauding the historic relationship between Kuwait and India.

The joint committee meeting between the two countries was scheduled for the first quarter this year but due to the coronavirus, has forced postponement of the meeting and Kuwait and India are working on a new date mutually acceptable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
'That was the summer of 1963 - when everybody called me 'Baby', and it didn't occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy was shot, before The Beatles came, when I couldn't wait to join the Peace Corps and I thought I'd never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman's."

This is the opening voice-over of the 1987 coming-of-age classic Dirty Dancing, and the monologue is spoken by Frances 'Baby' Houseman, an 18-year-old heading off on the family summer holiday where she'll meet, learn to mambo with and ultimately bed, streetwise dancer Johnny Castle.

For me, it was the summer of 1991, when everybody just called me Rachel. It was before Bertie Ahern was elected, before the Spice Girls and girl power, and Mary Robinson was President.

'Baby' is en route to Kellerman's, a fictional Butlins-esque holiday camp in New York state, but I was decamping to a mobile home in a picturesque seaside town in Donegal. I would return there every year until I was 18, meeting up with the same close-knit bunch of friends I made that first summer.

Fine days were spent outdoors, much of it on the water messing about on borrowed kayaks or windsurfers. Mini snorkelling expeditions took us out along the conch-shaped bay's cliff-lined edges, our final destination a sheltered inlet where we would hurl ourselves into the clear water from what, at the time, felt like a great height, but couldn't have been more than 8ft. On wet days, we could be found in the village's makeshift arcade, home to a few Pac-Man machines and a ripped pool table.

And in the evenings, we hung out together, chatted and listened to music - that summer we had the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack stuck on repeat.

My friends and I had all seen the film earlier that year when it made it on to terrestrial TV for the first time. That airing sparked a resurgence in interest in the film that saw the album's 1987 Oscar-winning big-ticket ballad, '[I've Had] The Time Of My Life', return to the Irish charts after a four-year hiatus.

Musically, I am not sure why it appealed so much to a bunch of Irish pre-teens. It was a strange brew that nodded to its retro setting and its 1980s roots in equal parts. But the mix of classic 1960s hits, Latin-infused instrumentals and schmaltzy new material sung by artists who, even in 1987, would have kindly been referred to as veterans, provided the soundtrack for that summer, and many more to come.

Sometimes we would sing and dance along to it, sometimes play out entire scenes, ping-ponging lines back and forth. I remember once re-enacting the film's famous 'log scene' (look it up) while standing on long boards all the time crooning the lyrics to Bruce Channel's 'Hey! Baby' across the bay.

It's only now, with the benefit of hindsight, that I can see how modern this retro film was. 'Woke' Baby is an ardent feminist who wants to put the world to right, and the film touches on some relatively weighty issues, including class, politics and abortion. The whole reason Baby and Johnny start dancing together is so she can fill in for his dance partner Penny, who wants the night off to have a backstreet abortion.

Video of the Day

That subplot went over our heads at the time, but the fizzing sexual tension, ubiquitous dry-humping - sorry, dancing - and the inescapable lure of Patrick Swayze's brawny bad boy did not go unnoticed. In fact, as the summers passed and our surging hormones fell into synch with Baby's own, it all become even more pertinent.

And my fondness for Dirty Dancing and its music has not waned in the intervening years. It has the power to instantly transport me back to those endless, care-free summers in Donegal when I was so blissfully happy, it almost hurts to remember them.

Every now and then, I meet up with some of those same friends from almost 30 years ago, and it's never too long before we log on to Spotify and search for our favourite album.

We didn't have a hunky dance teacher to lust after, I didn't even know what a watermelon was, let alone have the opportunity to complain about carrying one, and we definitely didn't get to play charades in the west lobby, but I most definitely had the time of my life those summers.
Ending an over-two-month closure due to the coronavirus outbreaks, South Korea will conditionally reopen state-run museums and libraries starting next week, the government said Friday.



Starting Wednesday, 24 key national history and art museums, as well as libraries, across the country will reopen their doors to the public under certain conditions in compliance with the government-advised social distancing guidelines, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the culture ministry.



The guidelines require the institutions to prohibit guided group tours or other sorts of gatherings and to keep the list of visitors and their contact numbers.



For libraries, book rental services will not be allowed until a future notice, except in the Sejong outlet of the National Library of Korea. Requiring visitors to wear protective masks is also one of the conditions.



The facilities subject to the reopening include the National Museum of Korea and its 13 regional branches, the four outlets of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the three arms of the National Library of Korea.






A Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a telecommunications specialist have been accused of stealing personal protective equipment, toilet paper and other supplies from an agency warehouse in South Florida amid severe nationwide shortages caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Law enforcement officials speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity said say it was not clear exactly how much of the supplies the men took or what they intended to do with them, but the matter was serious enough that both were suspended, and Special Agent Javier Hernandez was asked to hand over his gun pending an internal review.

Hernandez is suspected of stealing an array of items including PPE, toilet paper and batteries from storage in the early weeks of the pandemic, the officials said, and the telecommunications specialist also took supplies from the warehouse but returned them after a supervisor confronted him about missing toilet paper.

DEA Special Agent Javier Hernandez and a telecommunications specialist at the Miami field office are accused of stealing personal protective equipment, toilet paper and other supplies from this agency warehouse in Weston, Florida

It's not clear whether the men are accused of acting together. The incident raises questions about security measures at the DEA facility in Weston, about 20 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, and how the case was handled.

The Broward County Sheriffs Office said it had no record of the allegations, which federal authorities instead referred to the DEA's Office of Professional Responsibility for an internal investigation.

The DEA declined to comment on the allegations. Asked about the case in a recent interview, Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon told the AP he couldn't talk about 'specific situations' but that the 'DEA has the highest standards for its personnel and we intend to maintain those standards.'

Hernandez's attorney, Louis Robbio, said it's possible the agent had been retaliated against for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint involving his earlier transfer from Puerto Rico to the DEA's tech division in Miami.

Hernandez through his attorney denied any wrongdoing, suggesting that he had been retaliated against for filing a workplace complaint (stock image)

'Mr. Hernandez emphatically denies any wrongdoing at any time in his entire career with DEA or as an officer in the Army,' Robbio said in a statement. 'Any allegations you may have been told about are rumors and innuendo and not based on facts.'

Hernandez and the unnamed telecommunications specialist are just the latest employees of the DEAs high-profile Miami field division to be accused of misconduct in the last two months alone.

Federal prosecutors recently charged former standout DEA agent Jose Irizarry with conspiring to launder money with a Colombian drug cartel he was supposed to be fighting. Irizarry is scheduled to stand trial in August in Tampa.

Investigators also wiretapped a retired DEA supervisor from the same office last year as part of an investigation into whether sensitive case information was leaked to attorneys for suspected drug traffickers in Colombia.
UNION TOWNSHIP  A male driver and a female front-seat passenger are dead after veering left of center along Ind. 130 and into the path of an oncoming semi-trailer truck on Thursday, according to the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

The victims were a 17-year-old teen boy, who was the driver, and a 20-year-old woman who was in the front passenger seat, said Porter County Coroner Cynthia Dykes. The identities of the victims have not been released pending notification of family members, the coroner said.

The crash occurred at 1:35 p.m. west of County Road 625 West, Porter County Police Cpl. Benjamin McFalls said.

It is not known why the driver of the westbound Ford passenger car veered into oncoming traffic, according to police.

The driver and passenger were reportedly found dead when police arrived.

A second female passenger, riding in the back seat of the car, was flown out for medical care and her status is unknown, according to McFalls.

The driver of the eastbound truck, who tested negative for alcohol consumption, was not injured in the crash, McFalls said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent his well-wishes to Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin, who tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday has wished Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin an early recovery from coronavirus and said India is with its close friend Russia in the fight against coronavirus pandemic. He tweeted that his best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health. India stands with its close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

After British PM Boris Johnson, Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin has become the second world leader to test positive for coronavirus. Mishustin announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus in a video conference with President Vladimir Putin. He said that he will practice self isolation but will stay in touch with the cabinet on key policy issues. Mishustin also urged everyone to take the threat of coronavirus seriously.

Until his recovery, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov will perform his duties. Wishing him an early recovery and good health, Putin said on the conference that what happened to him can happen to anyone. It is impossible to avoid communication while drafting decision, no matter how much you limit contacts.

Also Read: Coronavirus: Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin tests positive

My best wishes to Russian PM Mishustin for early recovery and good health. We stand with our close friend Russia in efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. @GovernmentRF  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2020

Also Read: Indias pharma capabilities will remain available for assisting world: PM Narendra promises Canadian counterpart

Russians PM spokesperson Boris Belyakov said that Mikhail Mishustin restricted his interactions with people to video calls during the pandemic. The limited number of people who were in touch with him will now be quarantined and tested for coronavirus. In Russia, the number of coronavirus positive cases has reached 106K, including 11,619 recoveries and 1,073 deaths.

Mikhail Mishustin held a meeting with deputy prime ministers on additional measures to ensure economic development during the #coronavirus, to support families with children, and individual programmes for the development of the regions for 20202024 https://t.co/fyVYckB6CS pic.twitter.com/0BBvOVuit3  Government of Russia (@GovernmentRF) April 20, 2020

Also Read: US imposes new rules on exports to China, directs foreign companies to seek approval before shipping goods

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Though domestic petroleum depots are full, the Vietnam Energy Association (VEA)

wants to buy oil to store.

As the crude oil price has fallen to a record low, VEA and some businesses, including the national oil and gas giant PetroVietnam, believe that now is the time to buy oil for storage.



Paul Sankey from Mizuho Bank believes that the price will be negative again when the worlds storage capacity fills up by the end of May.



However, experts warn that it would be risky to buy oil for storage because there is still no policy on the activity, and that the bottom fishing deal may lead to big losses.



Nguyen Quang Dung, deputy CEO of Petrolimex, said the inventory level of enterprises, including Petrolimex, is high because of the continued price falls. He declined to say whether more oil should be bought for storage.

As the crude oil price has fallen to a record low, VEA and some businesses, including the national oil and gas giant PetroVietnam, believe that now is the time to buy oil for storage.

A large part of the petroleum products in stock was bought at high prices before.

In principle, petroleum distribution companies have to store products at a certain level to satisfy market demand as stipulated in the governments Decree 83.



The challenge for Vietnam is the lack of national depots. There are only two oil containing depots belonging to Dung Quat and Nghi Son Oil Refineries, while the two depots are full because of the high inventory level of the refineries.



Regarding the suggested plan on chartering tankers to store oil, a representative of PetroVietnam said it is not feasible because of limited financial capability.



A senior executive of a large enterprise in the south also said buying oil for storage was a solution applied by his enterprise in the past, but the conditions are different now.



The stockpile is too high, while the revenue has dropped dramatically. We are sure of taking loss in Q1. Depots are all full. If we buy oil at this moment, we dont know where to put it, not to mention the risk in prices, he said.



Despite the complaints about the lack of depots, VEA still insists on buying oil for storage when the price is low.



VEAs chair Tran Viet Ngai said oil should be bought when it is cheap.



Every year, Vietnam needs 2.5-3 million tons of DO and FO as fuel for power plants. Some thermopower plants use oil as the only fuel to generate electricity. And they have depots.



Ngai urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to grant quotas to enterprises to import oil and petroleum products when the prices are low.

Le Ha

Will Vietnam issue oil bonds? Some experts have suggested issuing oil bonds to store oil and petroleum products as oil prices now are low.
Representative image

Niche bike manufacturer Royal Enfield on Friday said it sold 91 units last month due to suspension of production activities amid coronavirus pandemic. Due to complete halt in operations, Royal Enfield has reported sales of 91 units for the month of April, the company said in a statement.

The company, a part of Eicher Motors, said it suspended operations and production across its factories, technology centres in India and the UK, all company offices and dealerships in the country starting March 23, 2020.

For the month of April, Royal Enfield's manufacturing facilities across Tiruvottiyur, Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal in Chennai and the entire supply chain including the company's dealerships across India, remained closed in compliance with the government directives, it added.

The company will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as per the regulatory and administrative guidance, it noted.
On April 30, a man cleaning his dead mother's apartment in Manhattan found a badly decomposed body stashed in a freezer. According to the cops, the corpse was so degraded that they could not tell if it belonged to a man or a woman. However, investigators at the scene said that it may have been stored in the freezer for at least 10 years.

The decayed body inside a freezer

The deceased tenant's son arrived at the apartment around 9 a.m. to pick up a couple of things. According to Asmir Basim, the super of the building on Broadway at W. 150th St. in Hamilton Heights, the son opened the freezer and started screaming. The body appeared to be a woman who is very decayed.

Basim described the freezer as a standalone chest unit and cops said that the freezer was duct-taped shut. Officers were immediately called to the fifth-floor apartment at about 1:30 p.m on April 30, hours after the gruesome discovery.

The cops are now trying to know the name of the deceased and how the person died. They are also investigating the possibility that the decomposed body is the dead woman's mother, according to the building staff. Basim said that the woman who lived in the apartment would never give him access to work in the apartment. He added that she seemed like a lovely lady who was always very pleasant.

The city medical examiner's office is now conducting an autopsy to know the cause of death of the deceased person.

Also Read: Nearly 70 Veterans Found Dead in Long-Term Care Facility in Massachusetts

Similar Incident

This is not the first incident of finding decomposed bodies inside homes. In February 2020, the body of a man was found at a derelict house in Pembroke, Wales. A police spokesman said that officers were immediately alerted to foul smell from an abandoned building in the Parsons Road area.

The police spokesman added that upon investigation they discovered the partially decomposed body of a black male. An on-call doctor attended the location and certified death. The site has been cordoned off for processing and efforts are underway to identify the deceased as well as confirm the circumstances of his death.

Also in February, the decomposed body of a 47-year-old woman was found in her Phoenix home. According to Prem Balram from Reaction Unit SA, the woman was found lying face down on her floor in her Foresthaven home by a relative. Balram added that their operations center received a call from a female reporting the discovery.

In July 2019, Norma Turiano Woods was found dead in her home on the Southwest Side. The police were called to a home in the 5900 blocks of Stoneybrook Drive after someone discovered the woman's body.

When the officers arrived at the house, they saw that a window had been broken in front of the home and they smelled decomposition. The officers kicked in the door and found a woman in her late 80s who had been dead for some time, according to the sergeant.

The adult son of the woman, who the police said has mental disabilities, was found in the kitchen, but the man did not contact the authorities. Police said that they took the man to a hospital as a precaution.



Related Article:Minnesota Father Throws Newborn Baby After Losing Temper

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As the saying goes, When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That is exactly what American Red Cross teams around the world are doing. Our staff and volunteers commitment to helping others in tough times shines through, especially now.

We are using creative solutions to support global Red Cross and Red Crescent teams amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Though you may not be able to see facial expressions behind a mask, our teams love for the mission translates into action.

Delegated to Do Good

The American Red Cross has made a $720,000 contribution to international Red Cross efforts to help mitigate the spread of this virus around the worldand has deployed (both physically and virtually) specialists in mental health, communications and data management. Here is a snapshot of other ways we are partnering with international Red Cross and Red Crescent teams to prevent and protect communities around the world.

Nepal: To prevent the spread of COVID-19 in communities, the American Red Cross along with Nepal Red Cross are working together. To best help migrant workers who return to Nepal during the pandemic, in coordination with the government, weve set up over 30 quarantine sites where we are providing comfort kits to people who are unable to go back to their hometown for 14 days. We have installed over 70 handwashing stations in an effort to mitigate spread of the virus. Across eleven local radio channels we are broadcasting prevention information in local dialects so everyoneno matter their language or their reading levelcan learn how to stay safe during this time.



Bangladesh: There is a strong need to shield a very vulnerable and dense population of displaced people in Coxs Bazarhome to the worlds largest refugee camp. The American Red Cross is on the ground, alongside the Bangladesh Red Crescent, mobilizing and equipping volunteers. All Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers are involved with hygiene promotion in the camp, working to reduce contamination in a congested setting. More than 3,400 volunteers (who are all camp residents) are participating in a house-to-house awareness campaign to ensure their neighbors are aware of the risks and learn how to stay healthy. First-hand information is provided on how to identify symptoms and report suspected cases to local health facilities immediately. Public places where people used to gather have now been turned into hygiene hubs with extra handwashing facilities installed. In addition, pivoting to meet the current need, textile-related livelihoods activities are making facemasks to help prevent spread of the coronavirus.

Indonesia: The American Red Cross has been supporting the immense efforts of the Indonesian Red Cross (locally known as Palang Merah Indonesia)which has mobilized about 1,600 staff and volunteers to reach more than 700,000 people through handwashing campaigns and mask distribution.

Myanmar: Across townships in Myanmar, the American Red Cross is working alongside the Myanmar Red Cross to spread awareness about the symptoms, precaution, and prevention measures related to COVID-19. Together, we are reaching communities using print materials to spread the word faster with more than 8,000 posters and 20,000 stickers, and have provided as many as 4,900 services at community quarantine facilities. The Myanmar Red Cross has implemented temperature screening checkpoints across communities in Myanmar. Teams are offering mental health support to families dealing with effects of the virus and stress of the pandemic. Relief efforts are also targeting a particularly vulnerable population: migrant workers along the Myanmar/China border. Red Cross volunteers share prevention information and emotional support with returning migrant workers at public parks/spaces, markets, highway junctions and at their homes.

El Salvador: We are working with the Salvadorean Red Cross to promote hygiene and sanitation. Staff and volunteers are educating families about how to stay safe from the coronavirus and other respiratory diseasesas well as how to avoid spreading it to neighbors and family members. The Red Cross is delivering meals to people across the country that have no income as a result of the pandemic. Volunteers are also delivering water and food packages containing rice, beans, oil, sugar and more. Red Cross teams are using creative methods to reach the general public by delivering material on how to prevent COVID-19 through games, coloring books and other activities with the aim to minimize the impact of stress and anxiety.

Colombia: The American Red Cross is collaborating with the Colombian Red Cross volunteers on health promotion and disease prevention activities such as hand-washing education, the installation of antibacterial gel dispensers and establishing hygiene and sanitation best practices within communities. The Colombian Red Cross is helping Venezuelan migrants and host communities by assisting at basic medical care facilities in areas such as: pediatrics, gynecology, psychiatry, general medicine and pregnancy consultations. Friendly spaces have been created in Riohacha and Arauca to help children and adults overcome stress, anxiety and trauma during this trying time.

Mexico: The Mexican Red Cross and the American Red Cross launched a podcast to help keep the public safe from spread of the virus. Red Cross teams are promoting hygiene and sanitation practices to combat the spread of this pandemic.

Panama: Due to the huge demand and shortage of personal protection equipment, the American Red Cross provided the Panamian Red Cross with 300 N95 masks. Virtual sessions aimed at mental health support are being provided,with the help of psychologists and medical specialists.

Haiti: The American Red Cross is supporting the Haitian Red Cross COVID-19 response plan by promoting behavioral changes and encouraging hygiene practices. In two main regions of the country, the South and North West, the Red Cross is promoting hygiene and helping stop the spread of misinformation on COVID-19. During these activities, trained volunteers with protective equipment demonstrate hand washing techniques and distribute prevention kits filled with masks, gloves and hand sanitizers. More than 1,000 volunteers and as many as 50 Red Crossers are working to reach over 35,000 families throughout the country.

Bahamas: The Bahamas Red Cross has continued working through this pandemic by making needed adjustments. Its meal delivery programaimed at older adultsoperates with contactless delivery and workers are outfitted with gowns, masks and gloves. Volunteer caseworkers have shifted appointments to video chats and phone calls. At all Red Cross buildings, more handwashing stations were installed, and increased cleaning measures are being taken to disinfect and sanitize every surface. Mental health support is also available to residents dealing with the stress of the pandemic, often compounded by continued stress from the aftermath of the hurricane with volunteer caseworkers manning a 24-hour-hotline. Alongside the American Red Cross, the Bahamas Red Cross continues to provide clean water and hot meals to people impacted by Hurricane Doriana storm whose effects are still being felt throughout the islands.

Stop the Spread

The American Red Cross will continue to stay on mission and support local Red Cross and Red Crescent teams around the world. As the coronavirus continues to gain ground, we will maintain ours. Together, we can help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Become a Volunteer

In the face of disasters like COVID-19, the American Red Cross and global Red Cross Red Crescent network join together to ease peoples suffering. Find out how you can volunteer to help disaster victims at home and across the globe at redcross.org. For more information about American Red Crosss work around the world, visit redcross.org/international.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 23:00:43|Editor: huaxia

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DAMASCUS, May 1 (Xinhua) -- An explosion took place in a storehouse of cooking gas cylinders in a town in the northern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria on Friday, killing four people and wounding 23 others, state TV reported.

The explosion left damage in buildings near the storehouse in the town of Nubol, said the report.

The wounded people were taken to hospitals to get treatment, said the report, adding that some of them are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five people were killed in the explosion.

Nubol and the nearby Zahra towns were besieged by the rebels in 2013 for three years before the Syrian army and allied fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah group broke the siege in 2016. Enditem
(Newser)  Joe Biden will finally address the sexual assault allegations lobbied against him by former aide Tara Reade. Politico reports the Democratic presidential contender will appear on MSNBC's Morning Joe Friday to break his silence on the matter. Co-host Mika Brzezinski said he would appear at the top of the 8am hour. Previously, Biden's camp has only directed reporters to a statement from his deputy campaign manager and communications director that denies the allegations but says Biden "firmly believes that women have a right to be heardand heard respectfully" and that all such claims should be investigated by an independent press.

story continues below

Meanwhile, Reade spoke to Fox News Thursday and said that the three former Senate aides she made complaints to about Biden at the time have either denied she did so, said they don't remember her doing so, or claimed not to even know herbut that the formal complaint she ultimately filed to the Senate personnel office would prove those former staffers are lying. Biden's Senate records are stored at the University of Delaware and are sealed until he has left public life for at least two years. Reade is calling for them to be released now. "I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," she says. (Democrats have been getting antsy with Biden's silence on the matter.)
AMMAN, May 1 (Reuters) -

Israeli helicopters fired several rockets from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on targets inside southern Syria, Syrian state media reported on Friday, the latest in what intelligence sources say is an increase of strikes against Iranian-backed militias.

Opposition sources in the area said several militia posts near Quneitra were targeted in the attack, which reports said caused only material damage.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.

Bases and convoys run by Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which has a strong presence in the Syrian Golan Heights, have been hit by Israel in recent years.

Israel was stepping up its raids in Syria at a time when world attention and the region, including Syria, was distracted with tackling coronavirus, a regional intelligence source said.

Two weeks ago, an Israeli drone attack targeted a car carrying forces from Hezbollah in southern Syria along the border with Lebanon without causing casualties.

A few days later, Israel struck central Syria near the ancient city of Palmyra, in what regional intelligence sources said were Iranian-backed outposts and a command center.

Israel has acknowledged in recent years it had conducted many raids inside Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.

After Syria announced last Monday it had intercepted airstrikes by Israel near the capital Damascus, Israeli defense minister Naftali Bennett told Israeli media that Israel would step up its campaign against Iran in Syria.

Bennett appeared to confirm Israel was behind that airstrike on what Western intelligence sources said were Iranian bases.

"We have moved from blocking Irans entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there, and we will not stop, Bennett said in a statement.

"We will not allow more strategic threats to grow just across our borders without taking action, We will continue to take the fight to the enemys territory, Bennett said.

The Syrian army later said Monday's strike killed three Syrian civilians and injured several others from shrapnel that hit their homes.

Israel says Iran's military presence in Syria, where its militias are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al Assad's forces, is a strategic threat and claims Tehran seeks a permanent presence along its northern borders.

The threat of direct confrontation between arch-enemies Israel and Iran has long simmered in Syria, with Israel regarding Iran as its biggest threat.

Assad has said Iranian forces are welcome to stay in Syria after years of military victories in which Iran and Russian have played a key role in bringing back most of the country back under his control.
(TNS)  After overcoming legal challenges, the controversial Baltimore Police surveillance program will launch its first flight Friday, police announced.The Aerial Investigation Research (AIR) Pilot Program will fly three planes over Baltimore during the next six months to gather information they hope will help investigate murders, nonfatal shootings, armed robberies and carjackings. Last month, the citys spending board approved the program, which is being paid for entierly by Texas philanthropists Laura and John Arnold through their organization, Arnold Ventures.I remain cautiously optimistic about the potential of this program and will allow the data to show us the efficacy of this technology as a potential tool for the Department in solving and reducing violent crime, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a statement Thursday.The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland has lobbied against the program after an earlier launch 2016 was made public. That program, which wasnt shared with the citys political leaders or the public , was later suspended.The ACLU sued the police department over the program, and filed an emergency injunction to keep the program grounded, but a federal judge ruled last week that the program does no violate privacy rights of city residents and allowed a trial run of the flights to proceed.In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett cited Baltimores continued high homicide rate.In a City plagued with violent crime and clamoring for police protections, this Court is loathe to take the extraordinary step of stopping the AIR program before it even begins, he wrote.The ACLU has said it will appeal the decision.If allowed to stand, this ruling is a decision that the city, and the country, will come to regret, ACLU staff attorney David Rocah said in a statement. "Baltimore is a city with a terrible history of racism and lack of accountability for abuses by police, which only further compounds our concerns about this programs potential for misuse. We are hopeful that the courts will eventually recognize the serious constitutional issues here and stop the persistent aerial surveillance program.To guard against any potential misuse, and to build public trust for the program, the department has said it will rely on civilian auditors to make sure the planes and data are being used for the intended purposes. All data that isnt analyzed or used as part of active investigations will be stored for 45 days and then destroyed.
York Regional Police have charged four people with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a man in a 2018 shooting.

On Dec. 24, 2018, police received a call about gunshots in the area of Barnwood Drive near Bayview Avenue and Stouffville Road around 9:30 p.m.

When officers arrived they found a 33-year-old man suffering from injuries. He was taken to hospital where he died as a result of his wounds.

The man was identified as Soheil Rafipour of Toronto.

On Tuesday, a third suspect was charged and on Thursday, after a search warrant was conducted, a fourth person was arrested in relation to the incident.

Thomas Sliwinski, 41, and Marena Leachman, 21, both from Brantford, are facing first-degree murder charges.

Two men with ties to the tow-truck industry were arrested and charged on March 17 and 18.

Mohamad El-Zahawi, 38, of Toronto and Abdelaziz Ibrahim, 23, of Hamilton were both charged with first-degree murder.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the homicide unit at 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7865 or email homicide@yrp.ca
THE Department of Justice has declined to comment on reports of a cluster of coronavirus cases at a Direct Provision Centre in Limerick.

Sources from within Hanratty's Hostel have confirmed to the Limerick Leader that a number of residents have tested positive for the deadly condition.

It comes after the majority of the centre's 100 residents  predominantly asylum seekers  were tested on Wednesday.

The Limerick Leader understands the results came back on Thursday night, and a number of residents were removed from the centre then. A further group were taken away this Friday.

An ambulance, and a number of health workers, dressed in protective suits, were witnessed outside the centre last night at around nine o'clock.

The occupants have moved to a secure isolation facility.

A resident in the facility at Lower Glentworth Street - who did not wish to be identified - said: "We are scared. We are waiting to see if there any more results. I'm worried myself. Two people who tested positive come from my landing. So it's a big thing. I have an underlying condition too."

It's understood the testing was carried out after a number of residents expressed their concerns to management.

In a statement, John Lannon, the director of the migrant rights organisation Doras Luimni said they have huge concerns at the risk of a coronavirus outbreak in Direct Provision centres.

"Many like Hanratty's are overcrowded, with people who are strangers to each other made to share rooms in cramped conditions, with little option throughout the centre for social distancing. We have been providing hand-sanitiser to residents since the beginning of the outbreak, but what needed to be done was to move people out to other accommodations around Limerick, at least for the duration of Covid-19, so that unrelated individuals are not sharing bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms," he said.

Doras Luimni had been looking at securing vacant university accommodation in an effort to reduce the number of people in a room.

With outbreaks happening in a number of Direct Provision centres around Ireland, we can now see that the Department of Justice responses to date have been inadequate. We hope that our clients and friends in Hanratty's, who we work with daily, stay safe and well, they added.

Hanratty's Hostel referred queries from the Limerick Leader to the Department of Justice.

A spokesperson for the department said: "We dont confirm cases or clusters for any person. Issues relating to testing are solely a matter for the HSE and the chief medical officer.
Tripoli  'For migrants and refugees like me, the virus hasn't changed that much.'

I'm writing this on my phone, from a room in the Libyan capital that I share with seven other refugees. Inside my building, there has been no electricity for several days. We don't have any running water. Outside, there is a war and a global pandemic.

Tripoli is nothing like the place I grew up, in Sudan's South Kordofan province. In my Nuba Mountains hometown of Lagawa, the air always smelled fresh, and my primary school held classes under a baobab tree. Our food was homegrown.

In Libya, I live about six kilometres from a front line. I hear rockets whistling overhead, and I smell the dust that gets thrown up into the air whenever the fighting that has been going on for a year now kicks off.

The calm that I remember didn't last in Lagawa. Fighting broke out between the army and rebels in 2011, when I was 20, and my home was shelled. Two of my brothers and a cousin were killed. There were mass arrests based on tribe, and executions. I ran to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where I thought I would be safe and could attend university, where I wanted to study medicine, or maybe political science. But there I found a country ruled by force, where I was discriminated against because of where I came from. I could not speak freely, and I was not free.

I wasn't planning on becoming a refugee, nor was I hoping to cross the Mediterranean and put my life in danger. Instead, I tried to get a visa to leave Sudan, but was refused at every turn. Eventually, I followed the journey that so many young people from sub-Saharan Africa make to Libya. I found myself here in 2018. It took time, but last year I managed to register as an asylum seeker.

So here I am, at 28, working at a grocery store for the limited hours it is open because of COVID-19, in the middle of a war. As of 29 April, there are 61 confirmed cases and two deaths in the country. Libyans are panicking about the virus, and buying everything they can. There are lots of rumours spreading about it, and nobody really knows what's true.

But for migrants and refugees like me, the virus hasn't changed that much. Fear has always been a constant, and life has never been secure. We have become used to uncertainty, unsure if we will have somewhere to sleep at night or not. I now understand why people try to cross the sea, but I have lost many friends to the Mediterranean and for me it's a last resort. I'm still waiting to see if the UN will be able to help me start a new life somewhere else.

I'm not sure if things are worse for me now that the coronavirus is here. I've been through much scarier times, both in Sudan and in Libya. When the fighting first erupted last April, I was stuck with other refugees and one Libyan family for 23 days in the middle of clashes in the south of Tripoli. We couldn't escape and had very little food. We were under siege, drinking bad water. Nobody could rescue us, but eventually we made it out on our own.

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That time was far more frightening than anything I'm dealing with now. Of course I don't want to get the coronavirus, but it doesn't feel like there is much I can do.

During the day, my roommates and I try to keep away from each other, chatting from a distance. But at night there isn't much we can do, given that we sleep in such close quarters. It is so hard to find affordable accommodation in Tripoli that we don't have any other options.

Some people thought that the coronavirus would bring people together. But that hasn't happened. It hasn't stopped the war, not when there is power and money at stake.

There is one place in Tripoli that makes me feel at peace: a church downtown. I volunteer there, helping the woman who runs it communicate with other migrants and refugees who go there for help. I fight for their rights. But for now, because of the restrictions on movement, I can't even go there.

In my years fleeing home, I've found that while I can count on some NGOs and international organisations for basic assistance, for the most part I have to find my own way. Life for me is a constant struggle. That was true before the pandemic, and it will be true after.

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Were going to be a little different when we emerge, in terms of staffing levels. That will have to change, Hollenbeck said, adding that so far employees have been furloughed with pay and health insurance. The store has not yet received word on its PPP application. Were going to have to reimagine what our business model is. ... We have focused for so long on being a community space and a gathering space, and it doesnt look like thats going to be the main focus until maybe next year.
Three Delhi Police constables of the metro unit were suspended for indiscipline after they lied about coming in contact with a fellow policeman who tested positive for COVID-19, a senior officer said on Friday.

The three were posted at the Shastri Park Police Station where a sub-inspector (SI) tested positive for coronavirus on April 28. The trio later claimed that they had performed duty with the infected policeman and should be sent home to self-isolate, police said.

"They claimed about coming in contact with the SI who tested positive for coronavirus but upon checking, we found that they had lied to skip duty," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro) Harendra Kumar Singh said.

According to another senior officer, the 57-year-old COVID-19 positive policeman was either at home or in the investigation officers' room at the police station for the last few days and had not gone out, a senior police officer said.

Instead of lying, the constables could have applied for leave or undergone a medical rest. Police are already rotating their staff so that no personnel is burdened, the officer said.

The sub inspector had fever on April 21 and was sent home after a medical examination. On April 23, his COVID-19 test was conducted at RML hospital and the report came out positive on April 28, following which he was admitted to Safdarjung hospital, police said.

Three other police personnel, who actually performed duty with the sub inspector, were tested at the Lady Hardinge Medical College and their reports are awaited. They have been sent for home isolation, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A watchdog report to the U.S. Congress has warned that Afghanistan is likely to face a health disaster in the coming months brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The April 30 report by the U.S. Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has heightened concerns that the pandemic could derail stalled peace efforts brokered by the United States.

The spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has significantly impacted Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan's numerous and, in some cases, unique vulnerabilities -- a weak health-care system, widespread malnutrition, porous borders, massive internal displacement, contiguity with Iran, and ongoing conflict -- make it likely the country will confront a health disaster in the coming months," the report concludes.

The pandemic has forced the closure of border crossings, disrupting commercial and humanitarian deliveries.

SIGAR, which monitors billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan by the United States, warns that rising food prices are likely to worsen as the crisis continues.

Afghanistan has confirmed nearly 2,200 coronavirus cases and 64 deaths, according to local news reports quoting the Afghan Health Ministry.

Taliban militants fighting U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan signed a deal with Washington in February -- raising hopes that formal peace talks between the militants and Afghanistan's central government could start soon.

The Taliban committed to severing ties with terrorists and preventing terrorists from using territory under its control to launch attacks against the United States or its allies, including the Afghan government.

In exchange for those guarantees, the United States agreed to withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan by July 2021.

Since signing the deal, Taliban militants have escalated attacks on Afghan security forces.

Last week, the Taliban rejected a proposal by the Afghan government for a cease-fire during the holy month of Ramadan.

The latest SIGAR report said the international coalition has declined to make data available for public release about the number of Taliban attacks launched during the first three months of 2020.

It was the first time publication of the data has been held back since 2018 when SIGAR began using the information to track levels and locations of violence, the report said.

SIGAR said the coalition justified holding back the information because it is now part of internal U.S. government deliberations on negotiations with the Taliban.

Peace talks are supposed to begin after the Afghan government releases some 5,000 Taliban prisoners from custody.

In return, the Taliban also is supposed to release about 1,000 Afghan troops and civilian government employees it is holding.

As of April 27, the Afghan government had freed nearly 500 Taliban prisoners, while the militant group had released about 60 of its captives.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
R | 2h 10min | Adventure, Crime, Drama | 24 May 1991 (USA)

I saw Thelma & Louise, Ridley Scotts paean to feminism in 1991 with an acting school ex-classmate. I observed the drug-like effect that one of the films minor characters was having on her, and I made a note to keep an eye on the career of a young actor whose golden hair and ripped abs were only part of his already formidable X-factor. You can always spot a star being born, like Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World, Jack Black in Bob Roberts, and Tim Robbins in Bull Durham.

Brad Pitt stars as a small-time convenience store and gas station robber in Thelma & Louise. (MGM)

Though I myself didnt bliss out over the then unknown Brad Pitt in like fashion, director Scotts panoramic, drop-dead-gorgeous lensing of Utah and Arizonas red-rock mesas, buttes, otherworldly desert dreamscapes, and the glorious highways that bisect them are like potent drugs to bikers.

Like Easy Rider before it, I immediately needed to own this movie. I owned it on VHS, then DVD, had the soundtrack on my iPod, still own it, and still want to carve those red-rock canyons on two wheels, with a couple of extra gas cans strapped to my Harley.

That said, and despite the fact that it was a zeitgeist film with a powerful influence thats long since entered the American cultural lexicon, Ive realized a few things about Thelma & Louise. I think feminism wins the fight here. But its not at all a fair fight.

Sweet Southern Gals

Tall, beautiful, sweet, docile, easily intimidated Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis) and her older, equally pretty, kind, but significantly more hard-bitten diner-waitress friend Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) are twangy-talking bosom-buddies who decide they need to get outta town and go fishing.

Susan Sarandon (L) and Geena Davis star in Thelma & Louise. (MGM)

They dont know much about fishing. Louise packs her entire wardrobe, and Thelma drops the snub-nose revolver gifted by her husband, daintily, via thumb and forefinger, into her luggage as an afterthought.



What do they need a vacation from? Waitressing, house-wifery, and the two complete idiots theyre involved with: Thelmas Corvette-driving, gargantuan-egod rug-salesman hubby Darryl (Christopher McDonalds hysterical, cartoonish character-study of bullying) and Louises eternally sighing, louche, noncommittal, lounge-musician boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Madsen).

Christopher McDonald stars as Thelmas loser husband Darryl in Thelma & Louise. (MGM)

Off they go in Louises faded turquoise 1966 Thunderbird convertible, leaving sleepy Arkansas quickly fading in the rearview mirror, and we find ourselves (mostly due to McDonalds hilarious shenanigans) well-primed for a screwball road-buddy comedy.

Our girls make a pit stop, decide to throw back a couple of margaritas and Cuervo shots, do a little boot-scootin to the rousing country band, and here comes sweet-talking local predator Harlan (Timothy Carhart), who before long is slapping around and attempting to rape Thelma up against a car in the parking lot. Suddenly, its not funny anymore.

Louise to the rescue with Thelmas handgun; however, Harlans so insufferably, sneeringly unapologetic that Louise caves in to her omnipresent PTSD (due to her own similar past experience) and blasts Harlan to kingdom come. Should have blown out his knee instead, but she nails him square in the heart. A crime of pure passion, it is. And how can we not cheer a little bit?

Our heroines hit the road, headed for Mexico, across the Oklahoma flatlands and into the Chihuahuan high desert of southeastern Arizona (all of which looks incredibly romantic when seen from a classic T-bird).

What began as a weekend romp segues into a wild (and Wild Turkey-fueled) transformative odyssey, with hellhounds (of law enforcement) on their trail. Theirs is a tragically snowballing metaphorical acid trip, a shadow rite of passage: liberation, maturation, and empowerment begat by a fateful descent into criminality.

Toxic Males

There are signposts and further pit stops along the way, and all of them are various forms of despicable men. One such Pitt-stop is a cowboy-hatted, hitchhiking, hayseed-hottie juvenile delinquent (conveniently named J.D.), who romances naive Thelma till shes cross-eyed, teaches her how to rob a convenience store, and then robs her blind.

Then theres the redneck suicide jockey (fuel-tank trucker played by Marco St. John) whom they pass and re-pass out on the highway. When he refuses to curb his disgusting catcalls and obscene gesticulations, they seduce him off the road and, using their Learned-it-off-the-TV! firearm skills, flatten his tires and blow his 18-wheeler sky-high. Isnt that fun? Whats even more fun is that director Scott didnt tell actor Marco St. John that the rig was going to actually blowthe ensuing reaction is priceless.

Who else is nasty? The nazi highway patrolman (Jason Beghe) who pulls them over for speeding. Normally nice Thelma, her latent talent for commandeering dicey situations via cop-speak blossoming forth from her like unto Pallas Athena springing from the brow of Zeus, orders him into his patrol-car trunk. Blam!! Whyd you shoot the car? Air holes. Annnd the nazi cop starts bawling like a baby. Isnt that fun?

Louise (Susan Sarandon, L) and Thelma (Geena Davis) turn the tables on a state trooper, in Thelma & Louise. (MGM)

Whats even more fun is the MTV-like follow-up scene, where a weed-addled Rastafarian bicyclist (Noel L. Walcott) in full race-sponsored spandex regalia, water bottle and giant spliff in hand, blows marijuana smoke into that selfsame air hole because he fancies in his blissed-out stupor that he hears a disembodied voice coming out of it.

So thats Darryl, Jimmy, Harlan, J.D., the dirty trucker, and the nazi cop, whose despicable-ness all conveniently contribute to the outlaw desperation, moral demise, and eventual martyrdom of two lovely ladies.

Combine that with the scenic road trip and binge drinking, which allow Thelma and Louise to feel liberated and alive as never before. Stir in the fact that they get to blow away bad guys and be alpha-dominant. It all presents as a veritable scorecard of various high-five-able comeuppances to delight females and feminists everywhere. All of which somehow conspires to make this feel like quite a legit state of affairsthis business of two perfectly normal women robbing stores, shooting guns, blowing stuff up, and driving off cliffs. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis both earned Oscar nominations.

What Do Women Want?

Thats the classic question mark that sits above every mans head. Does feminist action-fantasy Thelma & Louise answer it? This stylized, half-comic, half-tragic saga of desperado heroines on the lam begins realistically, goes all anarcho, outlaw-biker-gonzo, swipes the ending off Butch Cassidy, and then pretends to the throne of late 60s, early 70s feminism by facilely laying the blame at the feet of six bad men.

And Jimmys not really a bad guy. Neither is the cophes just a family man doing his job (maybe he poses a little bit). So, four toxic males. Actually, Darryl and J.D. are not exactly toxic but more resoundingly ugh and mehyou can see, deep down, that J.D.s actually a misguided kid with a good heart. So two truly toxic males.

Susan Sarandon (L) and Geena Davis star in Thelma & Louise. (MGM)

Why is it, I wonder, that women from all walks of life are going on the all-female Woman Within Weekends, the female counterpart to the all-male New Warrior Training Adventure, which likewise mines, in mytho-poetic fashion, tribal life for clues and revived understandings about how the roles of the feminine and masculine are meant, by tradition (and therefore prescribed by the gods), to be played? Why is it that dyed-in-the-wool feminists and very butch, sworn man-haters are coming out of there embracing the traditional notions that females should be feminine and serve their families?

Ancient wisdom says yang is the light and yin is the darkness; yang is order and yin is chaos, yang is white and yin is black, yang is good and yin is evil. Both are needed to create everything in the cosmos. But darkness and chaos attributed to women  seems unfair. Do men get all the good stuff?

It all makes sense if viewed from a particular perspective that says the primordial, original souls of human beings switch off and alternately incarnate physically, first as male, then as female, and then back again. We switch back and forthand so fairness and balance is created over the long run. How about that? Kinda gets you thinking.

But, regardless of its feminist stacked deck, Thelma & Louise is still one of the most fun movies youll ever see.

Louise (Susan Sarandon, L) flattens a truckers tires as Thelma (Geena Davis) looks on delightedly, in Thelma & Louise. (MGM)

Thelma & Louise

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christopher McDonald, Brad Pitt, Michael Madsen, Timothy Carhart

Rating: R

Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Release Date: May 24, 1991

Rated: 4.5 stars out of 5 for fun, 1.5 stars for dividing and conquering the sexes



Mark Jackson is the senior film critic for The Epoch Times. Mark has 20 years experience as a professional New York actor, a classical theater training, a BA in philosophy, and recently narrated the Epoch Times audiobook, How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World: https://www.thespecterofcommunism.com/en/audiobook/

Rotten Tomatoes author page: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/mark-jackson/movies
Air force will fly pasts, the Navy will be out in the sea and display their strength by lighting ships on sea shores, General Rawat said.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, accompanied by the chiefs of Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Airforce, in a press conference today said the military will conduct fly-pasts, shower petals on hospitals from air and light up ships as thanksgiving to doctors, nurses, essential workers who have been fighting the novel coronavirus aa front line warriors and making every possible efforts to save and serve the nation.

On May 3, there will be some special activities as a gesture of special gratitude by all three forces. The Air Force will be conducting fly pasts from Kashmir to Kanyakumari across the length and breadth of the country,  said Bipin Raw at.

Air force will fly pasts, the Navy will be out in the sea and display their strength by lighting ships on sea shores, General Rawat said.

It was the first that General Rawat did a press conference after taking charge as the Chief of Defence Staff, a post created by the government to integrate 3 wings of the armed forces.

At a time when the nation is fighting COVID-19, the defence services must operate beyond the mandate to support the people and government in whatever way we can, General Rawat had said last week.

The coronavirus cases in India has crossed the 35,000 mark with toll over 1,152.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced a two week extension in the nationwide lockdown starting from May 4. The new deadline for lockdown is now May 17. All public places, transport will remain shut.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Open source

Member of the Bundestag Robby Schlund commented on the initiative of the Chairman of the Political Council of Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk to create a Parliamentary Dimension of the Normandy Format.

The plan of Viktor Medvedchuk is a very interesting plan we heard it in the past and we spoke together and we need this support, this is very necessary. It is a great idea that the parliamentarians speak about solutions in the Eastern Ukraine, The initiative should help implement the peace process in the Eastern Ukraine, Robby Schlund noted.

He also spoke about the results of the conversation after the presentation of the Parliamentary Dimension concept.

After the talk with Mr. Medvedchuk in Berlin and with other politicians, we spoke about a structure concept. {We worked] also with the other parties in the parliament, in particular with opposition parties which are not so easy to work with. We spoke with other members of the German Parliament from the opposition parties and they said: Okay, we would like all the support to this process. And after the corona crisis, we should plan a travel and we would like to invite the actors in Berlin, we can make a round table with different parties and speak about Medvedchuk's plan. And we hope that we get invitation from Mr. Medvedchuk - maybe somewhere in Europe or maybe in the future in Ukraine, he said.

As we reported before, the idea of Parliamentary Dimension in the Normandy format was proposed by Viktor Medvedchuk, the Chairman of the Political Council of Opposition Platform - For Life Party. He also headed the inter-factional parliamentary association in the Verkhovna Rada "Parliamentary dialogue for peace: Ukraine - Russia - Germany - France". It should help to attract the parliaments of the countries of the Normandy format to resolve the conflict in Donbas.

Note that meetings have already been held with MEPs of the European Parliament, French senators, members of the German Bundestag and the State Duma. They praised these peace initiatives, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A suspect (name undisclosed) who leaked Nigerian Ruler, Muhammadu Buharis Monday night broadcast has been arrested.

Recall, that before Buharis 8pm address to the nation, a version of his broadcast was already in circulation leaving many to wonder how a highly confidential piece could have been leaked to the public.

Confirming the arrest, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Nigerian Ruler, Femi Adesina, on Thursday April 30, said the suspect was tracked through the digital trails emanating from the leak.

He said that the Enemy of the State was careless to have perpetrated such an evil act forgetting that in the current age of technological advancement, everything done in the online space leaves a digital trail.

Adesina revealed that before the end of same Monday, that digital trails had narrowed down to the culprit and was apprehended immediately.

He said that the suspect accessed the wrong copy of the broadcast and had the intention of pushing it out to the public before the 8pm broadcast to cause confusion.

Many suggested the leak came from someone within the Regimes inner caucus, but Mr Adesina debunked such claims saying there is no evidence to back it up.

He described the act as a sabotage from somebody who is not patriotic and does not wish Nigeria well.

He said he glanced through the document which was in circulation as at 4pm and immediately discovered that it a rogue copy which completely different from the one he was part of producing in preparation for the 8pm broadcast.

He highlighted some differences between the real copy and the fake one which include: Most noticeably the paragraphing, grammatical and spelling errors in the rogue copy absent from the real one, the date the lockdown would be eased (2nd May in the rogue copy and 4th May in the real copy).

Mr Adesina expressed his displeasure at how the culprit and like minded persons in the public would derive pleasure in ridiculing and undermining the government. He said that If it were possible to stick a knife into the governments belly in, they do it without hesitation.

He was also surprised at how many newspaper houses published the wrong broadcast from the rogue copy in circulation stating that was what the culprit wanted.

Criticisms from the public blaming the media office of the President for the leakage, were also dismissed by Mr Adesina as ignorance.

He stated that they have protocols in place which are strictly followed when releasing information from the media office of the President. One of them include placing an embargo for a particular period of time, on releasing copies of the presidential speech.
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The worldwide 3D printing communityis stepping up to alleviate the shortage of medical equipment needed to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Participants include entrepreneurs and hackers, companies in the 3D printing industry, automobile makers, aircraft manufacturers, universities, and even a shipbuilder.

Some are offering free 3D printer files for download and use. Others are designing equipment. Still others are offering to produce medical equipment for the cost of the materials. Some are offering to connect medical and healthcare organizations to 3D printing facilities.

The 3D printing industry has set up a Discord server for members to discuss or organize printing projects to deal with the pandemic.

There will be a mixture of options, but, at this time, most are trying to assist any way they can, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Not everything will be free, but its good to see a mixture of options, he told TechNewsWorld.

Life-or-Death Difference

In the United States, GM, Ford and Tesla are planning to produce or assist in producing respirators or ventilators. Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased more than 1,200 ventilators from China, which he is distributing to hospitals.

In other parts of the world, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ferrari and BMW are planning to make medical products using 3D printing.

Aircraft maker Airbus and Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia also are going to 3D print ventilators.

A public spreadsheet enables makers worldwide to crowdsource 3D printing services for components like the oxygen valves.

Ive been watching this for several days now, and its amazing how these people are stepping up, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The involvement of companies from outside industries, like auto and aircraft manufacturing, shows that these industries are willing to step up and address this critical problem themselves rather than sitting back, hoping someone else will, he told TechNewsWorld.

This will make the difference between life and death to a massive number of people as this pandemic peaks in the United States, and the practices that result could massively reduce the pain of the next pandemic, particularly if the healthcare organizations buy 3D printers and gain the capability to print their supplies, Enderle added.

Many Hands

California-based Airwolf3D has volunteered to 3D print respirator valves and custom medical components for free.

Its also offering remote technical support for medical personnel who want to learn about 3D printing.

The company is charging only for materials at cost, a spokesperson said.

With its large format printer, hotness and heated chambers, Airwolf3D said it can print large parts in engineering-grade materials. It also can manage complex geometries using water soluble support.

The company extrudes its own filament and has an unlimited supply of ABS material, according to the spokesperson.

ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) is a thermoplastic polymer used in injection molding applications.

Airwolf3D said it can produce thousands of units.

Airwolf3D is working with Scripps Health and the University of California at Irvine to fulfill emergency orders for medical equipment.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Smile Direct Club, a teledentistry company, is offering to turn out medical equipment on demand with its more than 60 HP 3D printers.

Its devoting almost all of the capacity to this effort, said Dan Baker, global head, supply chain.

The company can print, assemble and ship more than 7,500 face shields a day and will begin shipping them shortly, he told TechNewsWorld.

Smile Direct Club also will produce test kit swabs and the replaceable Lowell Makes mask respirator, as soon as it is validated as an alternative to the N95 mask. It will print, assemble and ship the masks nationwide once validation is received.

Barcelona, Spain-based BCN3D will use its 63 3D printers to undertake scientifically validated safe projects to combat the worldwide medical device shortage. People with ideas can contact it at covid19help@bcn3d.com.

China-based architectural 3D printing company Winsun has dispatched 15 3D printed quarantine rooms to Xianning Central Hospital in Hubei Province, just outside Wuhan. Made from urban construction waste, the rooms have their own water and electricity.

A consortium led by Spains Leitat Technology Center, which includes HP, Navantia, and Airbus, has developed a respirator with 3D printable parts. The device alreadyhas been tested in two hospitals using an artificial lung.

Meanwhile, 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys is making 5,000 3D printed full-face shields for healthcare workers, and said the job will be completed Friday.

Stratasys also is offering help in other areas to battle the pandemic.

3D printer manufacturer Roboze is printing 100 respirator valves for free, and has pledged to continue supporting requests for critical medical device components at no charge.

iMakr, a 3D printing reseller, has donated its first run of 3D-printed face shields from its new printing farm in New York to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.

Free PPE Face Shield Designs

The Global Center for Medical Innovation on Tuesday published free design files for those who want to produce face shields for healthcare providers.

They had been downloaded 45 times by Wednesday, by small private businesses, to large publicly traded companies, to large government sectors actively engaged in fighting COVID-19, said GCMI Medical Affairs Liaison Emily Blum, M.D.

GCMI is collaborating with the Georgia Institute of Technology to make prototype face shields that are awaiting regulatory approval.

Manufacturers have offered to make GCMI anywhere from 2,000 face shield units up to 100,000 per day, Blum told TechNewsWorld. The ultimate production goal is well over a million face shields a month, at which point GCMI can request special funding for full execution into the market.

GCMI is looking at all options for distribution  free and paid-for.

More than ever, we need people and industries come together to deal with the situation at hand so that we can put it behind us quickly, Tirias McGregor said. I fear that without a nationwide plan, countries  especially the U.S.  are at risk.
Since Gov. Greg Abbot announced that Texas would begin to reopen on Friday, May 1, some Katy-area restaurants have been working hard to move closer to normal operations. Others are taking a bit more time.

By county and city orders, Houston-area restaurants have been serving only to-go, curbside and delivery options since March to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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The reopening comes with conditions though. For one, restaurants must not exceed 25 percent of their maximum capacity. Parties must sit at least 6 feet from other parties, and entrances need a hand sanitizing station. These are just a few of the mandated conditions.

Evan Rhodes, a manager at Tads Louisiana Cooking, which is located at 1425 FM 1463 in Katy, said the restaurant staff has been focused on getting into compliance with Abbotts order and ready to reopen.

Ive been working night and day for the last three days since he made this announcement. Ive already got my entire dining room set up. Everything is spaced 6 feet apart. Were at 25 percent capacity, said Rhodes.

The restaurant has also extended its capacity with two patios. Tads will have sanitizing stations throughout the restaurant and alcohol wipes to give to guests at tables, plus two workers focusing entirely on sanitizing surfaces and areas.

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While Rhodes said the takeout business at Tads has been steady, he is looking forward to having a dining room open again. He said they have lost no staff members since the pandemic started and added that a lot of the decor inside has been changed out over the past weeks.

Tads hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. for dining and 10 p.m. to midnight for late night drinks and appetizers. Due to the limited seating for now, reservations for the seafood restaurant are recommended.

Rays Mexican Restaurant Manager Armando Abarca said the cantina at 870 S. Mason Road in Katy is ready to meet all requirements and serve great food and drinks like it normally does. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Abarca said the restaurants owner wanted to get the dining room up and running again as soon as possible.

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Not all restaurants and eateries are so quick to enter into the reopening process.

Blockhouse Coffee & Kitchen has locations in Katy and Richmond. The location at 9910 Gaston Road, Suite 170, Katy, opened in March just days before COVID-19 started hitting Texas. Both locations have been temporarily closed since April 15 as a precaution to help curtail the spread of the virus and make sure they are safe places for its customers and families, according to its website.

Co-founder Cody Frederick said for now, he plans to open both locations on Wednesday, May 6, and serve coffee, eats and pastries from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

We are still working on our internal planning for reopening both Blockhouse locations, and Gov. Abbotts health protocols are helping us better know what to focus on, said Frederick.

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He said for coffeehouses, the limit on capacity seems more manageable. However, he has concerns for other types of food service businesses.

I can see a path where coffee shops survive while operating at 25 percent dining room capacity  it wont be fun, but survival is possible, he said. Its much harder to imagine how casual dining and fine dining restaurants can weather those circumstances for long.

Midway Barbecue is located at 6025 Highway Blvd., Katy . A manager said they will not be offering dine-in service yet but continue their takeout options, at the general managers discretion.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
01.05.2020 LISTEN

Ahead of the AU ministerial meeting on the 5-6th of May that will be discussing the trade response to COVID-19 and the state of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), a number of business leaders have signed a joint letter calling for ministers and Heads of State to ensure they stick to the deadline of July 1 for the Agreement to come into force.

The letter has been written in response to rumours in international media that the AfCFTA date of July 1 will be postponed until next year. The signatories say that there is no legitimate reason to postpone the AfCFTA even if they understand that a staggered approach can be used given current circumstances.

One of the signatories of the letter is Paulo Gomes, former Executive Director of the World Bank and Chair of Executive committee of AfroChampions. The AfroChampions network has been mandated by the African Union to coordinate private sector discussions around the AfCFTA. He said that ministers meeting next week had a duty to respect the current deadline.

"We understand that certain parts of the AfCFTA are sensitive. The rules of origins and tariffs need time but we can start with trading of essential goods. That will send a strong message to the world that we are serious about the AfCFTA and to African businesses. The private sector is the biggest beneficiary of the AfCFTA and with supply chains being disrupted globally, it is even more urgent that we have a functioning system within the continent to create continental supply chains."

In the letter, the signatories acknowledged that governments had been right to ensure that the immediate response was a health one. But the looming crisis is economic and the AfCFTA is an important tool to help stimulate investment and to create African value chains.

They said that there is no reason why the negotiations can't being virtual. With the world in lockdown, we have seen scientists come together virtually to develop a cure against the virus, which shows that negotiations and talks can take place virtually.

They also call for the work of the Secretariat which includes the recruitment of its staff can also continue, to ensure the Secretariat is operational as soon as lockdowns are effectively over.

The signatories are part of the AfroChampions network featuring some of the biggest names in Africa's private sector and whose patrons include Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo, former Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria respectively.
Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We can see that China Medical System Holdings Limited (HKG:867) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt Dangerous?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for China Medical System Holdings

How Much Debt Does China Medical System Holdings Carry?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that China Medical System Holdings had debt of CN693.9m at the end of December 2019, a reduction from CN1.47b over a year. But it also has CN1.37b in cash to offset that, meaning it has CN673.8m net cash.

SEHK:867 Historical Debt May 1st 2020

How Healthy Is China Medical System Holdings's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that China Medical System Holdings had liabilities of CN1.55b due within 12 months and liabilities of CN107.1m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had CN1.37b in cash and CN1.68b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it actually has CN1.39b more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus suggests that China Medical System Holdings has a conservative balance sheet, and could probably eliminate its debt without much difficulty. Succinctly put, China Medical System Holdings boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!

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And we also note warmly that China Medical System Holdings grew its EBIT by 18% last year, making its debt load easier to handle. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if China Medical System Holdings can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. While China Medical System Holdings has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Over the last three years, China Medical System Holdings recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 95% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Summing up

While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that China Medical System Holdings has net cash of CN673.8m, as well as more liquid assets than liabilities. And it impressed us with free cash flow of CN2.2b, being 95% of its EBIT. So is China Medical System Holdings's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with China Medical System Holdings .

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
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Truth trumps fiction once again in Bad Education, Cory Finleys whipsmart and wickedly fascinating take on a 2002 scandal about trusted educators who embezzled more than $11 million from the public-school system in Long Island, New York. A stellar Hugh Jackman, like youve never seen him (or Wolverine) before, tackles the complex role of Long Island school superintendent Frank Tassone, a hero in the posh district for making Roslyn High fourth in the country by getting top seniors into Ivy League colleges, which brings cheers from parents and students  he knows all their names  and ups the real-estate value of the neighborhood. Everybody wins.

Maybe thats why no one notices right away that Tassone and his assistant superintendent for business, Pam Gluckin (the ever-amazing Allison Janney), have their hands in the kitty. The exception is Rachel (a terrific Geraldine Viswanathan of Blockers), a sophomore used to writing puff pieces for the school paper. Its Tassone, of all people, who urges Rachel to act like a real journalist and ask hard questions. Thats when Rachel discovers discrepancies in the competing bids to build a $7.2 million skywalk for Roslyn High. Where do you get that kind of dough when the school ceilings are leaking? Its just the tip of the iceberg for a bigger fraud being perpetrated on taxpayers.

More from Rolling Stone

Working from a devilishly clever and detailed script by Mike Makowsky (I Think Were Alone Now), who was himself a student at Roslyn Middle School at the time, Finley dodges the banal trap of pointing fingers to investigate how venality happens, especially to good guys. And thats what Tassone and Gluckin once were, back in their day as underpaid servants of the public trust who had to stand by and watch as the fat cats  such as the school board president (a dynamite Ray Romano)  raked in salaries that hit the million mark. If youre Tassone, you start by charging a quick pizza to the school credit card before you move on to European vacation trips on the Concord, paying off your mortgage, and dressing in designer duds that edge you out of the classroom and into the corridors of power. Without ever condoning criminality, Finley astutely traces its roots. In his striking 2017 debut film Thoroughbreds, Finley showed how quickly two teen girls could go from fantasizing about murder to the real thing.

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All credit to Jackman for digging deep into the human side of Tassone, a closeted gay who keeps a photo of his late, alleged wife on his desk to discourage amorous mothers. A furtive lifestyle came early to Tassone who lives in Manhattan, away from prying eyes, with his age-appropriate life partner (Stephen Spinella) while supporting a former student (Blindspottings Rafael Casal) he hooked up with during a school convention in Vegas. The younger man, an exotic dancer-turned-bartender, flatters Tassones youthful sense of himself, which he maintains with facelifts and Botox treatments paid for by the same creative book-keeping that Gluckin uses to remodel her houses and keep family members on the payroll.

As it happens, its Gluckin who gets nailed first and Tassone who throws her under the bus, spinning the facts to clear himself and to buy her silence by making sure she keeps her pension even after shes canned. His argument to the board is that a scandal of this magnitude would kill the schools hard-won prestige and end its days as a cash cow for the entire community. The cover-up is a hustle on par with P.T. Barnum, the famed promoter who Jackman played in The Greatest Showman. But the board members go along with it, accomplices in their own defeat.

Ironically, its Rachels expose in the school paper that brings down Tassones house of cards. And Finley tracks the ruination without hype or mealy-mouthed moralizing. Jackman could have parodied Tassone as a pathetic sadsack, Instead he lets us see a man who truly dedicated himself to his school and the students he once taught literature from Shakespeare to Salinger. Tassones tragic flaw is hubris, the feeling that he could talk his way out of anything.

Not this time. You can Google what happened to Tassone after his conviction. No spoilers needed since Jackman lets you see the loss and devastation in his every look and gesture. Its a career-best performance from a movie star with a genuine actors depth and range. Bad Education is going directly to HBO on April 25th, which means Academy rules will deny Jackman the Oscar nomination he so richly deserves. In the end, the audience is rewarded with

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Los Angeles, CA, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Draganfly Inc. (CSE:DFLY) (DFLYF) (3U8.F) (Draganfly or the Company), an award-winning, industry-leading manufacturer within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), and unmanned vehicle sector (UVS), announced today that the CEO of the Company, Cameron Chell, will be featured on CNN with Julia Chatterley.



The segment on CNN will focus on Draganflys position as a North American based drone systems developer and recent announcement it has been selected as the exclusive global systems integrator for a project with Vital Intelligence Inc., a healthcare data services and deep learning company in conjunction with the University of South Australia, using technology developed with help from the Australian Department of Defence Science and Technology Group.

I am incredibly honoured to share the Draganfly story with Liz Chatterley on CNN, said Cameron Chell, CEO Draganfly. And specifically how drones and Draganfly in particular are helping with the fight against COVID-19.

Cameron Chells segment on CNN with Julia Chatterley will air at 900AM EST on Monday, May 4th.

About Draganfly

Draganfly Inc. (CSE: DFLY; OTCQB: DFLYF; FSE: 3U8) is the creator of quality, cutting-edge, UVS and software that revolutionizes the way people do business. Recognized as being at the forefront of technology for over 22 years, Draganfly is an award-winning, industry-leading manufacturer within the commercial UAV and UVS space, serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections and mapping and surveying markets. Draganfly is a company driven by passion, ingenuity and the need to provide efficient solutions and first-class services to its customers around the world with the goal of saving time, money and lives.

For more information on Draganfly, please visit us at www.draganfly.com .

For additional investor information, visit https://www.thecse.com/en/listings/technology/draganfly-inc , https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/DFLYF/overview or https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/aktie/draganfly-inc.

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Media Contact

Arian Hopkins

email: media@draganfly.com
The creator of new 'pandemic drone' technology designed to help limit the spread of coronavirus has warned that it could be used to monitor the public.

University of South Australia Professor Javaan Chahl, who leads the team behind the drone and works for the Department of Defence, said the technology could be used by governments or companies to monitor and target specific citizens.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has sensors and computer vision technology that can monitor temperature, heart and respiratory rates of people in a crowd, along with spotting those coughing and sneezing.

Defence Chair of Sensor Systems Professor Javaan Chahl, who leads the team behind the drone, said the technology could be used by governments or companies to monitor and target specific citizens

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has sensors and computer vision technology that can monitor temperature, heart and respiratory rates of people in a crowd, along with spotting those coughing and sneezing

The pandemic drone is being developed in collaboration with the University of South Australia (UniSA) and drone maker Draganfly.

Researchers involved said the drone could measure heart rate and breathing rate with high accuracy - within 16 to 32 feet of people.

And it uses special algorithms to spot someone sneezing and coughing.

Professor Chahl believes the UAV could be a viable screening tool for the COVID-19 pandemic.

'It might not detect all cases, but it could be a reliable tool to detect the presence of the disease in a place or in a group of people.'

Chahl said the technology was originally envisaged for war zones and natural disasters, as well as remotely monitoring heart rates of premature babies in incubators.

'Now, shockingly, we see a need for its use immediately, to help save lives in the biggest health catastrophe the world has experienced in the past 100 years.'

He hopes to deploy the drone in six months in various hot-spots where 'the most amount of detection is currently required.'

'There's a lot of discussion going on at the moment about how we manage that privacy so that you don't take away people's freedom, or start imposing on them unnecessarily,' he said

The virus is spread from person to person and has now infected more than 531,000 with more than 23,000 deaths reported around the world. The drones creators hope to deploy the drone in six months and in various hotspots

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS? Like other coronaviruses, including those that cause the common cold and that triggered SARS, COVID-19 is a respiratory illness. The most common symptoms are:

Fever

Dry cough

Shortness of breath

Difficulty breathing

Fatigue Although having a runny nose doesn't rule out coronavirus, it doesn't thus far appear to be a primary symptom. Most people only become mildly ill, but the infection can turn serious and even deadly, especially for those who are older or have underlying health conditions. In these cases, patients develop pneumonia, which can cause: Potentially with yellow, green or bloody mucus

Fever, sweating and shaking chills

Shortness of breath

Rapid or shallow breathing

Pain when breathing, especially when breathing deeply or coughing

Low appetite, energy and fatigue

Nausea and vomiting (more common in children)

Confusion (more common in elderly people)

Some patients have also reported diarrhea and kidney failure has occasionally been a complication. Avoid people with these symptoms. If you develop them, call your health care provider before going to the hospital or doctor, so they and you can prepare to minimize possible exposure if they suspect you have coronavirus. Advertisement

But Professor Chahl also warned the technology could be used to monitor people after the coronavirus.

'I might think it's a very bad idea to use drones to chase people around who might be sick. But perhaps others might have different ideas,' Professor Chahl told ABC's 7.30.

'And it's very hard to restrain them from using it like that once the genie is out of the bottle.'

His warning came after police in the US city of Westport, near New York, were trialling the software but stopped due to privacy concerns.

'There's a lot of discussion going on at the moment about how we manage that privacy so that you don't take away people's freedom, or start imposing on them unnecessarily,' he said.

Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell said his company will use its sensor, software and engineering expertise to work with UniSA to integrate and deploy for government, medical and commercial customers.

'We are honoured to work on such an important project given the current pandemic facing the world with Covid-19. Health and respiratory monitoring will be vital not only for detection but also to understand health trends,' Mr Chell said.

The coronavirus began in China December 2019 and has since spread to nearly every country in the world.

The virus is spread from person to person and has now infected more than 531,000 with more than 23,000 deaths reported around the world.

Drones have become very helpful during the pandemic, as many countries are using the technology to monitor people who defy lockdown or quarantine advice.

The Chula Vista Police Department in San Diego, California has invested in two drones that cost $11,000 each and plan to fit the devices with speakers and night vision cameras after last week Governor Gavin Newsom ordered residents to stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

China had also used drones to spray disinfectant over villages and cities that have been hit by coronavirus.

Officials had hoped that the disinfectant will prevent the killer virus from spreading further although it is not yet known how effective this will be.

One villager in the city of Heze, Shandong, offered his personal drone which was used to disinfect an area of 172,000 square feet in a single morning.

The unmanned aerial vehicles are proving to be a much faster method of delivering public hygiene than traditional means either on foot or by lorry.
Royal Dutch Shell cut its dividend for the first time since 1945, cutting its payout by two-thirds.

While U.S. shale drillers face the prospect of near-term bankruptcy, the oil majors are also getting hit on all fronts. Upstream profits are down because of the collapse of oil prices. Downstream units are getting killed because of the evaporation of gasoline and jet fuel demand. The LNG trade was also cyclically down heading into the pandemic; now it is deteriorating to even lower levels. All the while Big Oil was dishing out dividends at an unsustainable rate  they were borrowing to cover dividends even before the pandemic.

That makes Shells decision understandable and somewhat inevitable  and something that even the company admitted. It is of course a difficult day, but on the other hand, it is also an inevitable moment, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said on Bloomberg TV. We basically have a crisis of uncertainty. Uncertainty about demand, about prices.

Maybe even uncertainty about the viability of some of our assets given all of the logistical issues we have, he said.

Shell has way more debt than its peers, and maintaining hefty dividends would only exacerbate that pressure. The problems have been building for a while, Alastair Syme, oil analyst at Citigroup Inc., told Bloomberg. All roads lead back to the high price paid for BG and the burden that this acquisition put on the companys financial structure. Shell spent more than $50 billion five years ago to purchase BG Group, making Shell one of the largest LNG exporters in the world.

Shells total oil and gas production is also expected to fall sharply in the second quarter, down to between 1.75 million and 2.25 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 2.7 million boe/d in the first quarter. A big chunk of that is because Shell will have to shoulder some cuts as part of the OPEC+ cuts; Shell operates in some member countries, such as Nigeria. Related: Brent Oil Price Could Double By December

Even the massive capex cuts that Shell has already taken were not enough. As a result, the dividend needed to be reduced. The new, smaller shareholder payout, is affordable, van Beurden said.

Its also not wise or prudent or even responsible to pay out a dividend if you know for sure that you have to borrow for it, deplete your liquidity and, at the same time of course, also reduce the resilience in a world that is going to be totally unpredictable for some time to come, he said.

Shells decision was not received well by Wall Street. Its stock was slammed after the announcement, down 12 percent during midday trading. Meanwhile, BPs and ExxonMobils stocks were only down 6 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

But the move will increase scrutiny on some of the other oil majors. Most of them also have dividends that they cannot afford, at least over the long run. ExxonMobil maintained its dividend but froze it, ending years of steady increases. ConocoPhillips also maintained its dividend, even as it said it would cut production even deeper, slashing output by 420,000 bpd in June.

Shells dividend reduction came a week after Equinor slashed its dividend. The divide between how European and American oil companies approach the dividend is stark. Related: The Death Of U.S. Oil

Beyond the initial disappointment from investors, Shells decision is arguably the more prudent course of action. RBC Capital Markets argued that the dividend cut will allow Shell to pivot more easily through the energy transition.

Most importantly, Shells Ben van Beurden argued that the oil market may not return to normal. Lifestyles will probably be altered for some time to come, whether that is because of the economic bandwidth that people will have or businesses will have, or whether it is because of attitudes, he said on Bloomberg TV. We do not expect a recovery of oil prices or demand for our products in the medium term.

Will demand ever go back to where it was? That is hard to say, van Beurden said, admitting that the odds of peak demand arriving this decade has indeed gone up.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
New Delhi/Islamabad, May 1 : In a scathing verdict against the Imran Khan government, Human Rights Commission said that Pakistan's record of human rights violations last year was "greatly worrisome" due to systematic curbing of political dissent which is likely to worsen further.

In its annual report released on Thursday, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said, "The year 2019 will be remembered for the systematic curbing of political dissent by various means, constraints to the freedom of the mainstream media, digital surveillance, and the over-regulation of social media spaces." Curbs on freedom of opinion and expression continued to escalate, the commission said pointing out that it had become "more difficult to speak or write openly -- if at all -- on 'sensitive' issues such as enforced disappearances, or to criticise state policy or security agencies in these areas" for journalists in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular.

The report, a copy of which IANS accessed, said that this year, for the first time, HRCP's annual report on the state of human rights in Pakistan reflects the realities of provincial autonomy and federalism as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.

"Strong-arm tactics employed allegedly by state agencies forced many journalists to resort to self-censorship or even resign from their posts," the report said.

Several thousand media persons lost their jobs and a number of newspapers and magazines shut down, largely due to the financial squeeze imposed when government advertisements were withdrawn and previous dues withheld, the commission said.

"Concerns over a concerted campaign against Dawn resurfaced when a mob besieged the newspaper's offices in Karachi and Islamabad, chanting slogans in favour of an intelligence agency." In October, Steve Butler of the Committee to Protect Journalists was denied entry to Pakistan to attend the Asma Jahangir Conference.

The government's proposals to establish one regulatory authority across the media and special tribunals to hear complaints against the media, were "a means to gag the media further". Pakistan's Internet freedom ranking declined even further in 2019, due to a "problematic cybercrime law, Internet shutdowns, and cyber-attacks against political dissenters, justified on the grounds of national security." The right-to-information laws have remained underused, without yielding the larger public good they were aimed at, the commission said.
Technavio has been monitoring the Omega 3 products market and it is poised to grow by USD 16.13 bn during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200430005638/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Omega 3 Products Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. AKER BIOMARINE AS, Archer Daniels Midland Co., BASF SE, Bellamy's Australia Ltd., Cargill Inc., Koninklijke DSM NV, Nestle SA, Orkla ASA, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and Unilever Group, are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

The health benefits of Omega 3 products have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Omega 3 Products Market 2019-2023: Segmentation

Omega 3 Products Market is segmented as below:

Product Functional Food and Supplements Infant Nutrition Pharmaceutical Pet Food and Feed

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR32022

Omega 3 Products Market 2019-2023: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our Omega 3 products market report covers the following areas:

Omega 3 Products Market Size

Omega 3 Products Market Trends

Omega 3 Products Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increasing popularity of vegan Omega 3 products as one of the prime reasons driving the Omega 3 products market growth during the next few years.

Omega 3 Products Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the Omega 3 products market, including some of the vendors such as AKER BIOMARINE AS, Archer Daniels Midland Co., BASF SE, Bellamy's Australia Ltd., Cargill Inc., Koninklijke DSM NV, Nestle SA, Orkla ASA, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and Unilever Group. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the Omega 3 products market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Omega 3 Products Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023

Detailed information on factors that will assist Omega 3 products market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the Omega 3 products market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the Omega 3 products market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of Omega 3 products market vendors

Table Of Contents :

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Preface

2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2018

Market size and forecast 2018-2023

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT

Market segmentation by product

Comparison by product

Functional food and supplements Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Infant nutrition Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Pharmaceutical Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Pet food and feed Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Market opportunity by product

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America Market size and forecast 2018-2023

APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Europe Market size and forecast 2018-2023

South America Market size and forecast 2018-2023

MEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Increasing popularity of vegan Omega 3 products

Technological innovations

Increasing online sales of Omega 3 products

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

AKER BIOMARINE AS

Archer Daniels Midland Co.

BASF SE

Bellamy's Australia Ltd.

Cargill Inc.

Koninklijke DSM NV

Nestle SA

Orkla ASA

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc

Unilever Group

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200430005638/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

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UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
Soyo: National Police guard in Angola's northern Zaire province arrested Wednesday five citizens of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for an attempt to smuggle about 11,000 liters of fuel to their country.

The offenders were trying to transshipping the product to a craft vessel bound for the DRC, according to the police communique that has reached Angop.

The seizure took place in Santo Antonio river channel, as part of an operation conducted by the staff of the 2nd Border Guard Police Unit in Soyo.

The fuel (gasoline and diesel) was forwarded to the General Tax Administration (AGT), while the detainees are kept in police custody.

Soyo shares a river (Zaire river) and maritime border with the Central Congo region and Democratic Republic of Congo.
People wearing protective face masks walk on the main shopping street in Munich, Germany during the coronavirus crisis on April 30 2020.

Germany's approach to employment in the coronavirus crisis is an example to the rest of the world as to how to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic, the head of the United Nation's labor agency said.

Guy Ryder, the director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), told CNBC that countries, like Germany, that were able to maintain employment in the 2008/2009 global financial crisis and "enabled the continuity of processes and of institutions," came out of that downturn much quicker.

He said Germany's "Kurzarbeit," or "short-time work," program during the current pandemic has similarly set an example as to how deal with this economic crisis.

Under Germany's system workers are sent home or see their hours slashed but are paid around two-thirds of their salary by the state.

It used the scheme in the last crisis, with an average of 1.1 million people affected by Germany's economic contraction in 2009. While it cost the German government around 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion), by the end of that year the unemployment rate stood at 7.6%, lower than it was in 2008.

"Germany came out all that much better and I think these are lessons which I think apply pretty directly to what we're living through now," said Ryder.
The UN mission in Libya has urged warring parties to resume military talks that were launched in Geneva in January aimed at achieving a lasting ceasefire.

The call came after eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar declared a unilateral truce, rejected by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord.

Pro-Haftar forces have been battling to seize the capital Tripoli from the GNA since April 2019.

Two civilians were killed and two other wounded Friday as rockets struck the Zenata district south of the capital, the GNA said.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), in a statement late Thursday, urged the rivals to "immediately halt all military operations and resume the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks -- on a virtual basis, if needed" because of the coronavirus.

A military commission comprising five GNA loyalists and five Haftar delegates held talks in January but the dialogue was suspended after a second meeting the next month.

A January ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia has been repeatedly violated.

UNSMIL urged "all parties to refrain from any provocative acts or statements that threaten the prospects for a genuine truce and its sustainability".

"This includes attempts to use periods of calm by one side or the other to reinforce their position," it said.

Haftar's camp said Wednesday it would cease hostilities for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in response to international calls for a truce.

The move came after several setbacks for his forces in the past weeks.

The GNA said Thursday it did not trust Haftar and that any ceasefire "needs to have international safeguards and mechanisms" to monitor its implementation and violations.

Foreign military involvement has exacerbated Libya's conflict, with the United Arab Emirates and Russia backing Haftar and Ankara supplying the GNA.

World leaders at a Berlin meeting in January committed to ending foreign meddling and to upholding a 2011 weapons embargo, but the UN has since warned that both sides have continued to receive arms and fighters.

UNSMIL on Thursday called on "member states who are directly fuelling the conflict through their provision of weapons and mercenaries and the international community as a whole to use their influence to respect and enforce the arms embargo".

The battle for Tripoli that has left hundreds dead, including dozens of civilians, and more than 200,000 displaced.

Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The first is establishing connections to a funding organization. The study noted that 92 percent of foundation presidents and 83 percent of full-time staff members are white. In general three-quarters of white people have entirely white social networks, the report found.

How do you get connected to the decision makers? asked a co-author of the report, Peter Kim, who is Bridgespans chief learning and innovation officer and co-leader of racial equity strategy. Those peer networks are largely white. If youre not in those networks, how do you get in?

The second is building rapport, which can be more difficult when the funder and recipient do not have common experiences, creating unconscious bias. Thank you for coming in is different than saying, I have to reach out to that person we both know, Mr. Kim said.

The third barrier is creating the measurement reports and statistics that funders seek. Studies that measure a programs impact over time, for instance, can be costly and time consuming. Such requirements also call into question whether the funder trusts the recipient.

The data came from Echoing Green, which has been collecting racial and ethnic statistics on applicants to its fellowship program for decades. The fellowships are considered one of the most competitive social entrepreneur programs  about 1 percent of the 3,000 applicants are accepted  and serve as a respected credential afterward.

The reports analysis tracked the efforts of fellowship finalists and semifinalists to get funding. It found that minority fellows lagged behind their white peers.

Folks who are left standing are the best in class, said Ms. Dorsey, a former fellow. Despite that, these leaders of color are still struggling to gain funding.
Claiming to allow digital media companies to broadcast and monetise live streamed content quickly and easily, independent video platform provider JW Player has launched Live Channels.





On offer immediately, Live Channels is said to enables an event to start live streaming directly from an encoder in under 30 seconds with replays available in under a minute. Multiple latency settings are offered, allowing live streamers to select the option that works best for their viewers - wherever they are and however they are accessing content.Dashboards and application programming interfaces (APIs) provide flexible workflows to monitor and adjust the status of the stream. Viewers can be reached across mobile, desktop, and connected TV, plus multiple social channels at the same time.JW Player says that with its new product, brands, web publishers and broadcasters can now deliver time-sensitive content to their viewers at broadcast-quality with minimal effort. Live Channels is said to offer a simple workflow to reach and monetise audiences with content across all devices and platforms, including web, mobile, OTT apps, and social.Weve seen a 400% increase in live streaming across the JW Player network over the last month as audiences seek timely news as well as content like fitness classes and religious services. explained JW Player co-founder and chief product officer Jeroen Wijering. But its more than just a temporary spike. We see significant growth in average viewing sessions and return visits for sites that stream live content, especially with news and sports, so we have built a solution to make it easy for media companies to effectively and easily add engaging live broadcasts to their sites.
Code for America (CfA) has appointed as its next CEO Amanda Renteria, a veteran of U.S. government and politics who has two decades of varied experience in the public service arena.Renteria will take over leadership of the nonpartisan and nonprofit national civic tech group immediately, Code for America announced Friday. CfA Board Chair John Lilly issued a statement praising Renteria and describing her as a trailblazer, who has opened doors for women, the Latinx community and people of color. Over the last 25 years, shes risen to the highest levels of government and politics. She will be a game-changer for Code for America.Renteria, a native of Californias Central Valley region, has a long resume that includes serving as chief of operations at the California Department of Justice, working as economic policy adviser for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and becoming the first Latina chief of staff in the U.S. Senate while working for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan. Renteria has local government experience too, having worked early in her career as a budget analyst for the city of San Jose, Calif. Perhaps most prominently, in 2016 Renteria was the national political director for Hillary Clintons presidential campaign.In recent years, Renteria waged an unsuccessful campaign for governor of California in 2018. She has also served as chairwoman and interim president of Emerge America, which is a nonprofit group that works to recruit, train and support Democratic women running for elected office.Renteria succeeds CfA leader Jennifer Pahlka, the groups founder and executive director who stepped down Jan. 31 . Pahlka, who is still a member of CfAs board and a vocal proponent of the group and the American civic tech community, had held her position since CfAs inception in 2009. Pahlka first announced her intention to step away in May 2019 , describing the decision as one in the lineage of growing tech companies in which founders step aside to bring in leadership that can take increasingly complex organizations to new levels. For the past three months, Zeryn Sarpangal and Lou Moore have served as interim co-CEOs of the organization.In a recent phone conversation with, Renteria shared her views on the importance of Code for America  with an emphasis on what can be learned from the current COVID-19 crisis  as well as her vision for the groups future.Renteria described CfAs accomplishments over the past decade as incredibly remarkable, noting that they had carefully and intentionally done meaningful work aimed at building technology into government in ways that both reached and benefited real people, particularly members of vulnerable communities.In many ways, a crisis such as the COVID-19 outbreak emphasizes the importance of digital service delivery for government, Renteria said, with everyone forced to shelter at home and unable to visit government buildings in person. During this time, CfA has seen demand increase for its GetCalFresh food benefits assistance work in California. It has also seen its staffers and members of volunteer brigades in high demand at the community level, working on projects that range from a PPE website for San Jose, Calif., to online food maps for young students in Philadelphia who typically rely on school meals.She also praised the Code for America Brigade Network as vital to the future of the work.The Brigade Network is one of the things that makes Code for America so special, Renteria said. Theyre spread out across the country; theyre the eyes and ears of whats happening on the ground in our neighborhoods; and, they bring the energy to this movement.As for her vision for the future , Renteria spoke of continuing to focus on human-centered design in CfAs tech work that puts the needs of end users  including members of the countrys most vulnerable communities  at the center of all they create. She said her background as a daughter of former farmworkers in the small town of Woodlake, Calif., has given her a special understanding of how important it is to include the entirety of American communities in the innovations government embraces.I think about the world I grew up in a lot in terms of people who are right now picking fruit in the fields or the people working in grocery stores to make sure we have food on our tables, Renteria said, and oftentimes those are the people who can feel invisible.
A North Belfast man training to become a priest has put his studies on hold to return to the health service as it battles the coronavirus pandemic.

Brother Chris Gault (30), who is originally from the Antrim Road, went back to work at the Mater Hospital, where he was a junior doctor, on Wednesday.

The Queen's University graduate moved to Dublin and joined the Dominican Order in 2018, undertaking a course in philosophy as part of his training.

After the Government issued an appeal asking former medics to return to the health service, Mr Gault decided to sign up.

"I talked to my superiors and they were happy and encouraging," he told the Irish News.

"I just volunteered. The trust and the health service is undergoing a lot of change.

"They are adapting to a lot of change in these current circumstances. I never wavered. Once the backing came, I was happy to go for it. My skills are quite limited in comparison to a lot of my colleagues, who I met today and who were so welcoming.

"They have been on the front line (and) their training is better than mine.I will be looking to support them. They are true heroes (and) I have a great admiration for them."

Mr Gault admitted he felt a little "rusty" ahead of his return and explained he would be working in a supporting capacity until he felt back up to speed.

"This is a response according to need, not my desire," he said.

"I'd rather be living my religious life in my monastery, praying with my brothers, but this was a response at a time of need.

"It is extraordinary and it is temporary. While it is needed, I am here to help."
Haftar's LNA Announces Ceasefire in Libya During Holy Month of Ramadan

Sputnik News

02:56 GMT 30.04.2020(updated 03:48 GMT 30.04.2020)

CAIRO (Sputnik)  The Libyan National Army (LNA) headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar will cease hostilities during the holy month of Ramadan, which started on 24 April, LNA spokesman Major General Ahmad Mismari said.

"Amid this blessed reason as well as responding to the calls of brother and friendly nations for the cessation of hostilities during this holy month, the main command of the armed forces announces the cessation of all hostilities", Mismari said in a televised conference on late Wednesday.

He pointed out that any breach of truce by the LNA's rivals would be followed by a harsh response.

On Monday, Haftar announced that the LNA was quitting the Skhirat agreement, which had led to the formation of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). He also said that the LNA was now taking control of the country.

The situation in Libya escalated on 13 April when the Tripoli-based GNA said that it had launched a rapid offensive west of the country's capital and taken control over the cities of Sabratah and Surman. A day later, an official from the GNA's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Tripoli-based forces had captured the coastal area from the city of Misrata, located east of the capital, to the city of Zuwara close to the Tunisian border. On 21 April, Chairman of Libya's High Council of State in Tripoli, Khalid al-Mishri, expressed hope that the LNA would be defeated during Ramadan.

Libya has been torn apart between two rival governments, an elected parliament in the country's east, supported by the LNA, and the GNA in the country's west, for years since the assassination of the country's long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A Sputnik

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A Spirit Airlines flight was diverted to Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday, April 30, after a fight erupted onboard

Police said the fight began when a passenger became upset about people being too loud while he was trying to sleep, according to the Associated Press.

The flight from Los Angeles to Detroit was on the ground at Des Moines International Airport for about two hours before it took off again, AP reports.

One passenger was taken off the plane but was not arrested, said Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek.

It appears that he was the victim of the assault but initiated the dispute on the flight," Parizek said. "It started because he wanted to sleep and he protested other people, including a flight attendant, talking too loudly.

Parizek said Des Moines police did not have jurisdiction in the case because the fight occurred over Nebraska.

The investigation into the altercation is continuing.
- The rains that have resulted to floods and other deadly earth movements have seen the deaths of over 20 people

- The death toll in West Pokot mudslide led to at least 18 deaths with three police officers dying after being swept away by floods in Baringo county

- In Tana River county an elderly man who was marooned by water for over three days was rescued by Kenya Red Cross on Friday, May 1

- River Nzoia and River Sabwani in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties have left a trail of destruction and displaced hundreds after bursting their banks and sweeping away bridges

- Landslides have been experienced in Bungoma, Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu counties where hundreds have also been displaced

Heavy rains pounding most parts of the country have continued to wreak havoc on humans, causing deaths, displacement of people, destruction of infrastructure and other property.

The rains which caused floods in most parts of Nyanza region have also affected the larger Rift Valley and Coastal regions where there have been rare earth movement phenomena and mudslides that have killed over 15 people.

READ ALSO: Hodari wa hesabu: Kenyans impressed by MP Babu Owino's maths skills during live lesson

Tana River

In Tana River county, Kenya Red Cross volunteers rescued an elderly man marooned by floodwaters for three days.

Residents of Mokamoka village had fled the area when the water levels began to rise but the old man was unable to escape until help came three days later on Friday, May 1.

READ ALSO: Former javelin world champion Julius Yego turns to masonry amid COVID-19 and it's interesting

The elderly man survived by climbing on a tree where he stayed until help found him.

Baringo

As at Friday, May 1, three police officers died after they were swept by flood waters in Baringo county, North of Rift Valley.

The officers were returning to their base from Kabarnet town where they had attended a security meeting.

Police reports indicated that 12 officers were aboard the lorry. Five however survived.

While the bodies of the three had been recovered, a search mission for the other missing officers is still going on.

Rift Valley Regional Police Commander Marcus Ochola said the officers were crossing a river between Yatia and Chemoe area at around 7.30pm when the lorry was swept away by water at the sand lugger.

READ ALSO: I've never done business with government, CS Kagwe on COVID-19 expenditure

"The vehicle the officers were in got stuck. Raging waters swept them away as they were trying to push the vehicle," Ochola said.

Elgeyo Marakwet

In Elgeyo Marakwet county, residents of Kiptoit and Kapchel in Keiyo North were forced to move to safer grounds following a massive landslide following heavy rains on Thursday, April 30, night.

Authorities have cautioned motorists not to use Kapchelal-Kabulwo road. Photo: Davis Bwayo/TUKO.co.ke

Source: Original

Uasin Gishu

More than 200 families from Waitaluk Village Turbo constituency narrowly escaped death following a Thursday, April 30, night landslide linked o heavy rains pounding the area.

The families are now camping out in the cold after they ran to safer grounds fearing the phenomena could reoccur. Photo: Davis Bwayo/TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Over 30 bulldozers storm Ruai as gov't evicts people from land linked to Ruto

No casualties were recorded following the incident and area MP Janet Sitienei has appealed on Interior and Devolution ministries to come to her people's rescue.

West Pokot

One week ago at least 18 people died while 22 are claimed to be still missing in Chesegon area following a massive mudslide West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet.

Trans Nzoia

More than 100 families living along River Sabwani in Namanjalala and Bidii areas have been left homeless and crops swept away by floods.

River Sabwani in Bungoma county broke its banks and destroys crops. Photo: Titus Oteba/TUKO.co.ke

Source: Original

River Sabwani swelled and burst it banks causing havoc to communities living around.

In Cherangany area heavy rainfall has caused destruction of roads and bridges.

Bungoma

Nzoia River has burst its banks and destroyed crops, submerged houses and causing destruction and displacement of people in Mitua/Soysambu ward.

Area MCA Stephen Wafula has appealed to the county special programmes and emergency response team to rescue affected households.

"My people are suffering. The water caught them unaware and were unable to rescue anything apart from their lives. They need food, shelter and other basic human needs for survival," said Wafula.

The same river has burst its banks in Maraka ward, Webuye East constituency causing more making locals to move to Webuye town which is a little bit higher ground.

In Chesikaki ward of Mt Elgon constituency, area residents of Chemondi have sought refuge in higher areas following the landslides linked to the heavy rains.

Stanley Kabero , a resident said the landslide destroyed houses and affected the terrain making movement of people nearly impossible. Photo: Davis Bwayo/TUKO.co.ke

Source: Original

"Heavy rocks are rolling down the lower areas. We have lost quite most of our farm produce," he said.

Busia

River Malakisi in the border of Bungoma and Busia counties has also swollen to the brink and has caused panic among communities living in these areas.

Transport has been severely affected after Malakisi River swept away a bridge connecting Malakisi town and Sango market in Bungoma.

Kisumu

Over 500 families have been displaced in Ombaka area, Nyando sub-county.

The marooning waters are as a result of back flow of water from Lake Victoria.

The ongoing downpours that is being experienced in Nyanza region has created -imbalance between the inflow and the outflow of the waters in the lake leading to floods.

According to Kenya Red Cross, about 32000 people are feared to be displaced by floods in Kisumu county.

The society urged residents living in areas prone to floods, landslides and mudslides to move to higher and safer grounds.

Reports By: Davis Bwayo, Titus Oteba, Naomi Akoth , Thaddeus Asesa and Ben Kerich, TUKO Correspondents.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

The Kariobangi man raising five weeks old twins on his own | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Some ride-hailing services will be allowed to operate at reduced capacity in areas under general community quarantine, Malacanang said on Friday.

"Sa GCQ, pwede po ang taxi; pero 'yun nga po, limitado po ang pasahero. 'Yung mga TNVS po, mga Grab, limitado po ang pasahero, pero [sa] GCQ lang po, hindi sa ECQ," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing.

[Translation: Taxis will be permitted, but their passengers will be limited. The same applies to TNVS or Grab. But again, these will only be allowed during the GCQ, and not the ECQ.]

Roque maintained that motorcycle taxis will remain prohibited, as they violate social distancing rules.

He noted that a distance of one meter is required between drivers and passengers for public transport to be allowed to operate.

The Department of Transportation earlier said that carpooling services will not be permitted in areas under GCQ in observance of the physical distancing measures. The Inter-Agency Task Force, however, has yet to release specific guidelines on the matter.

On Friday, select public transport vehicles were allowed to resume operations in areas with low to moderate risk of coronavirus transmission.

President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the entire Luzon under the enhanced community quarantine on March 17, which banned all manner of public transport. He has moved to extend its implementation until May 15 in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and all other high-risk areas.
Dar es Salaam  The Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA) has blocked the intended award of a $5.7 million (about Sh13 billion) tender to run business lounges at Terminal III of the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) over flaws in evaluation of bidders.

PPAA ordered Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) to restart the tender process, saying there was no sufficient evidence that Tourvest Holding Limited, the company that won the tender, had the required experience to carry out the work.

The decision follows an appeal filed by Ms VIA Aviation JV with National Aviation who claimed the national carrier bent rules to award the tender to a company that allegedly lacked experience.

"It is the authority's conclusion that the award to the proposed bidder is not proper in law. We hereby nullify the intended award. The respondent (ATCL) is ordered to re-start the tender process in accordance with the law," said PPAA panel chaired by retired justice Sauda Mjasiri.

Yesterday, ATCL managing director Ladislaus Matindi declined to comment on the development, saying any comment from him at this stage could jeopardise some actions.

"Ethically, I cannot give any comment. Any comment from me will have the effect of being advantageous or disadvantageous to us or to those who participated in the tender," said Mr Matindi. ATCL floated in December last year the multi-billion tender for design, develop, supply, develop and operate business lounges at JNIA.

Ms VIA Aviation's tender was disqualified during preliminary evaluation over failure to submit Tax Clearance Certificate.

Dissatisfied with the exclusion, the company filed for administrative review of the decision by ATCL but lost the case.

The company advanced to PPAA, arguing that its failure to submit tax clearance certificate was not fatal omission to warrant disqualification at the preliminary stage.

It's further contention that ATCL intended to award the tender to a company which lacked experience despite having quoted a higher price.
The Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, along with the three armed services chiefs, will address the press at 6 this evening.

It is not known what the feature of discussions would be, but it is likely to focus on the Covid-19 efforts and the way forward in the post-lockdown phase for the services. The nationwide lockdown is set to end on May 3.

The Army has issued an alert to its personnel warning them against the possibility of their phones being hacked by Pakistani agencies using a malware carrying an app similar to Indias Aarogya Setu, two army officers said on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

On April 17, Army chief General MM Naravane condemned the relentless ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, saying the whole world is battling the coronavirus pandemic but the neighbouring country has not stopped stirring trouble.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh last week asked Indias top military commanders to ensure that the countrys adversary is not allowed to exploit the Covid-19 situation at a time when the Pakistan army continues to violate the ceasefire on the Line of Control to help terrorists sneak into Jammu and Kashmir.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Creating an investment fund of at least $13 million from public and philanthropic sources could help double the amount of solar power generated in Cuyahoga County in five years, according to a study financed in part by the county government.

Researchers with the Coalition for Green Capital, a Washington D.C. nonprofit that works with governments to help find financing for clean energy, recommend that the fund, or green bank, be used to make long-term or low-interest loans to small-scale solar developers.

The loans from the fund would in turn allow the developers to borrow up to $17 million from conventional lenders and enable them to install solar panels on small businesses and then sell the electricity that is generated to the businesses at fixed rates, the study states.

The study, an advance copy of which was given to cleveland.com, reports that smaller-scale solar developers struggle to finance such projects in the county because of tight profit margins and solar energy being more expensive than energy generated by coal and natural gas.

One catch, not addressed in the study, is that Cuyahoga County budgeted no money for such a project this year or in 2021. County Executive Armond Budish has since called for deep spending cuts to address anticipated losses in revenue due to the coronavirus crisis.

The two philanthropies that helped fund the study  the Cleveland Foundation and George Gund Foundation  also are not ready to say how much they would be willing to commit to the idea, one of several Budish proposed in a 2019 climate change action plan.

The Gund Foundation is seriously considering an investment, John Mitterholzer, senior program officer for the environment, told cleveland.com on Thursday. But he declined to disclose an amount. The Cleveland Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Budish nonetheless issued a statement expressing support for the bold and exciting idea. It positions us well to come out of the current COVID crisis by tackling another crisis that may not be top of mind for some but that continues to loom.

Finding money to establish the self-sustaining loan fund and finding an organization to administer the fund will be the first step, county Sustainability Director Mike Foley told cleveland.com.

Foley said he agrees with the Coalition for Green Capitals conclusion that investing in solar arrays for small businesses should be a priority. Small businesses wouldnt have to pay for panels, and could access energy at a fixed rate, he said.

By the green bank first focusing on such projects, Cuyahoga County could significantly and quickly increase its solar output.

Over five years, the projects would create more than 450 jobs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of removing 140,000 passenger vehicles from area highways or planting 11 million seedlings, the analysis found.
STORY LINK Pound Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) Exchange Rate Falls as UK Manufacturing PMI Hits Historic Low in April

GBP/JPY Exchange Rate Falls as UK Manufacturing Suffers From Covid-19 Crisis

Japanese Yen (JPY) Rises on Surging Safe-Haven Demand

GBP/JPY Forecast: Could Easing UK Lockdown Restrictions Boost Sterling?

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The Pound to Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate fell by -0.8% today, with the pairing currently trading around 133.874.Sterling struggled today after it was revealed that UK consumer credit growth and mortgage approvals had fallen to their lowest since 2013.Mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to just 56,200, while net flows of consumer credit fell to the annual rate of 3.7% in March, its lowest since June 2013.Today also saw April final UK Markit Manufacturing PMI confirm fears of a downturn in the UKs industrial sector. The figure slumped to a worse-than-expected 32.9 confirming a record low.Rob Dobson, the Director at IHS Markit, commented:UK manufacturing suffered its worst month in recent history in April, as output, orders books and employment all fell at rates far surpassing anything seen in the PMI surveys 28-year history.Huge swathes of industry were hit hard by company closures, weak global demand, lockdowns and social distancing measures in response to COVID-19. The only pockets of growth were seen at firms making medical and food products.As a result, Pound (GBP) investors have become increasingly anxious over the UKs economic health going forward.The Japanese Yen (JPY) has remained resilient today despite fears that Japans GDP could be set to shrink by -22% in the second quarter.Japans NIKKEI said in its statement:Japan's economy is expected to contract by an annualized 21.7% during the April-June quarter, it's worst showing since the end of World War II, as the coronavirus crisis sends business and consumer activity into an unprecedented stall, a Nikkei survey shows.Meanwhile, JPY is benefiting from its safe-haven status as the US Dollar plummeted on a slew of negative American economic data. As a result, the Japanese Yen has become a favoured haven for investors as the coronavirus continues to ravage the global economy.In Japanese economic news, today saw the release of the Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI for April, which fell deeper into contraction territory at 41.9.Joe Hayes, an Economist at IHS Markit, commented:The outlook for goods producers in Japan will be strongly linked to the global recovery, when that eventually happens. However, the latest figures show that until we're past the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and export demand can begin its slow recovery, a sizeable chunk of Japan's manufacturing economy is set to remain effectively shut down.Japanese Yen (JPY) investors will be looking ahead to Wednesdays release of the Bank of Japans (BoJ) Monetary Policy Meeting Minuets. However, if the bank is notably downbeat in its assessment of the Japanese economy going ahead, then we could see JPY shed some of its gains.The GBP/JPY exchange rate could edge higher next week if Downing Street outlines its coronavirus lockdown easing plans. Any further hopes that Britains economy could recover sooner rather than later would prove Pound-positive.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

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Yanukovych Ready to Cooperate With Ukraine's Investigators on Euromaidan Killings, Lawyer Says

Sputnik News

12:26 GMT 30.04.2020(updated 12:46 GMT 30.04.2020)

KIEV (Sputnik) - Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is ready to cooperate with Ukrainian investigators regarding the killings during the Euromaidan protests in 2014, lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk said on Thursday.

"Today we will submit to the State Bureau of Investigation a statement signed by Viktor Yanukovych, which is addressed to all judicial and law enforcement bodies of Ukraine, that he [Yanukovych] will fully cooperate with them to find out the truth about the events of 2014, in particular, about executions on the Maidan and surrender of Crimea," Serdyuk wrote on his Facebook page.

The day before, Serdyuk said that Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko and ex-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko are attempting to conceal their and their "Western handlers'" involvement in the shooting of police officers and civilians that transpired during the 2014 Euromaidan coup.

The Euromaidan protests kicked off late in 2013 and lasted for several months, with protesters demanding that the government of then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich sign an association agreement with the European Union.

On 20 February 2014, during the Euromaidan mass protests, unidentified gunmen opened fire on protesters and police officers in central Kiev, killing 53 people.

On January 24, 2019, Kiev's Obolonsky district court found Yanukovych guilty in the treason case and sentenced him in absentia to 13 years of imprisonment. The ex-president denies his guilt, qualifying the case as politically motivated.

Crimea reunified with Russia in 2014 following a successful referendum on the matter on the peninsula. While Western countries and Kiev have not recognized Crimea's new status, Moscow has insisted that the referendum was carried out in line with international law.

A Sputnik

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Laura Pike and partner Jordan Gallaway isolate with daughter Rumi, who was born during the bushfires, at their home in the Eastern Suburbs on April 20 in Sydney, Australia. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

New South Wales CCP Virus Restrictions Ease

New South Wales (NSW), the state hardest hit by the CCP virus with almost half of the nations cases, has eased social gathering restrictions starting on May 1.

A government website details what people can and cant do. Among the new rules, two adults and any dependant children are allowed to visit another household, so long as social distancing is practiced at all times. Visitors also need to take extra care around those over 70 or people with a preexisting condition.

The state initially enforced the lockdown for 90 days (pdf) which would have restricted outdoor movements and public gatherings until the end of June.

The restrictions have eased because the number of new CCP virus cases has dropped markedly. However, four new cases were reported on April 30.

One consideration for the decision was to alleviate loneliness and anxiety as people have been at home in isolation for over a month since the stay-at-home orders began.

Lifeline, the nations leading crisis hotline service, experienced almost 90,000 calls (pdf) in Marchthe most in its 57-year history.

13 Deaths at NSW Aged Home

The CCP virus cluster at Newmarch House confirmed another death.

Anglicare Sydney is deeply saddened to advise of the death of a resident at Newmarch House on the afternoon of Thursday 30 April who had tested positive for COVID-19, they said in a media statement.

The 74-year-old man was a resident of the Anglicare-run home which has seen nearly 60 cases since the cluster began on April 11.

An employee who worked for six consecutive days while suffering very mild respiratory symptoms introduced the virus to Newmarch, according to the operator.

This is the 43rd CCP virus death in NSW, taking the national death toll to 93.

Relatives of the residents at Newmarch House criticised the aged care for a lack of communication, to which the nursing home responded by allowing window visits.
On April 7, Wisconsin held a statewide election for party primaries and a critical state Supreme Court seatin the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, decisions by Wisconsins Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court, and state legislators effectively blocked vote-by-mail procedures that could have assured more ballots were cast safely. A week later, the Kentucky Legislature overrode the governors veto to further tighten voter ID requirements even while DMV offices remain closed, making it even harder for many voters to cast their ballots.

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These developments, which endanger voters health in addition to their civil rights, are just a more baldfaced iteration of ongoing attacks on the fundamental institutions of democracy. Before the pandemic, Wisconsin officials had already purged more than 200,000 voters from the rolls, disproportionately affecting black and brown voters in a crucial November swing state. In Georgia, now-Gov. Brian Kemp faces a lawsuit over his infamous voter suppression campaign, which in 2018 undermined voter access especially in communities of color through a range of tactics from voter purges to faulty election machines, likely leading to Kemps narrow victory over Stacey Abrams. These battles are becoming especially fraught as Republican lawmakers and strategists double down on a strategy of democracy-rigging as their main pathway to maintaining political power.

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Even efforts to expand the franchise are fraught. In 2018, Florida voters approved a landmark state constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to more than 1 million formerly incarcerated people; within months, the state Legislature passed a bill requiring these new voters to pay off their legal fines and fees before registeringa move that could cut the number of new voters in half. Congress has passed a landmark democracy reform bill, H.R. 1, that covers everything from voting rights to redistricting reform to public financing of elections and more. But there are already concerns about what this Supreme Court will doespecially after years of systematically undercutting democratic processes with rulings that gutted campaign finance regulations and the Voting Rights Act. And the Republican Partys newfound opposition to expanding vote by mail to allow people to vote safely in the pandemic makes the thinking clear: the fewer votes overall, the better for the GOP.

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The hard truth is that despite our proclamations of American commitments to democracy, we have a constitutional system that from its founding has been premised on a deeply undemocratic, restrictive view of who counts and who should have political power. This reality is not just evident in the constitutional sanction for slavery but in the systematic concentration of political power through mechanisms like the Electoral College. Whats more, the history of American democracy has consistently been shaped by a push to maintain political power in the hands of a white elite, resisting efforts to enfranchise and empower black and brown communities. Todays felony disenfranchisement laws and limits on the right to vote, for example, have their roots in the backlash against the postCivil War efforts to emancipate and empower black Americans. That backlash led to the rise of Jim Crow and the persistence of systematic voter suppression today.

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But we have a history of radical, democratizing transformation as well. In that moment after the end of the Civil War, we remade the Constitution. For a brief moment, America sought to create a democracy freed of the vestiges of slavery and committed to a fuller realization of the ideal of democratic inclusion. The vision of Reconstructionand the backlash against itis instructive for us today. Now, as then, the fight over voting rights is really a proxy battle over political power and fundamental questions of race and membership in the polity. Now, as then, we need to think about democracy reform at its most transformational level: amending the Constitution, radically remaking our political institutions to emphasize equality and inclusion, taking head-on the racialized opposition to voting rights expansion.

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Even with the 1865 passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, black Americans understood, real liberation would require a wholesale transformation of political and economic institutions, including expanding the right to vote, desegregation and access to public spaces and public accommodations, and economic empowerment and redistribution. Further legislation and constitutional amendments would be required, leading to the 14th and 15th Amendments assuring birthright citizenship, equal protection, due process, and voting rights. Congress passed civil rights laws mandating equal access in public spaces and empowering the government to enforce these rights. For a moment, these provisions secured a high-water mark for black electoral power as hundreds of black elected officials were swept into office at all levels of government.

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Todays dogged efforts by GOP policymakers and judges to restrict voting rights make a lot more sense when we see them as a deliberate strategy by an increasingly minoritarian coalition to maintain political power by suppressing the political voice of black and brown voters in particular. This same strategy drove the violent dismantling of the expansive vision of democracy advanced in the Reconstruction era constitutional amendments and legislation. Paramilitary white supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the White Leagues attacked and intimidated black voters, specifically to fracture the emerging multiracial coalitions of freedpersons and working-class whites who for a brief moment threatened to upend the traditional concentrations of political and economic power at the top. Southern states passed black codes, laws aimed to quietly restore racial segregation and de facto forced labor.

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Like today, the nail in the coffin for this inclusive vision of democracy came from the Supreme Court. In 1876, the court voided the murder convictions of white supremacists who, in 1872, massacred 80 to 150 black Americans specifically to overturn the results of a local election in Louisiana that had handed power to freedpersons. In 1883, the court struck down the Civil Rights Act as beyond the scope of congressional power, imposing limits on the reach of the 14th Amendment that continue to kneecap efforts at tackling racial and economic inequities to this day. These rulings effectively ended federal civil rights enforcement in the South and gave the green light to the rise of Jim Crow.

Even Reconstruction era reformersmostly white and male leadersproved uneasy with the realities of multiracial democracy and balked at defending a full-blown affirmative right to vote for black Americans. Black advocates pushed a bolder vision for the 15th Amendment that would have nationalized election administration, taking power out of the hands of state officials hostile to black enfranchisement, and included provisions to assure equal access to elected office, not just to the ballot. Instead, Congress passed a watered down 15th Amendment that ultimately had little force and did nothing to stem the rising tide of Jim Crow.

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Real democracy must encompass more than the right to cast a ballot once every few years.

It wasnt until nearly a century later that the civil rights movement of the 1960saided by a historically aberrational Supreme Court under Earl Warren willing to push for desegregation of schools and uphold new transformative reforms like the Voting Rights Actrestored the promise of Reconstruction and emancipation, helping dismantle Jim Crow. Even then, the same patterns of backlash, some violent and some more subtle in the form of changing public policy and grassroots opposition to desegregation, reasserted segregation in other guises, from white flight to housing discrimination to the rise of the New Jim Crow of the mass incarceration crisis.

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Viewed in the light of this history of racialized violence and the efforts to hoard political power, Trumpism is better understood not as an aberration but a continuation of the struggle for American democracy. We need to set our sights beyond just voting Donald Trump out of office. We must use this critical moment to drive the kind of transformative change that makes good on the promise of Reconstruction.

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First, democracy requires structural reforms that dismantle the persisting patterns of racial hierarchy and unequal political powerand reforms that are built to withstand the backlash that inevitably follow. Passing democracy reform bills in Congress (like H.R. 1) and in the states is a start. But just as Reconstruction created the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, so too should we today push for a constitutional right-to-vote amendment that constitutionalizes protections against voter suppression and rigged elections, and finally corrects a systematically unequal political system that disproportionately prioritizes white voters through the Electoral College and an unequal Senate.

Second, we need to be prepared for these democratizing reforms to be undercut by opponents who will seek to ignore or undermine these new rulesas was the case in the 1870s and in the more recent dismantling of the Voting Rights Act by our current Supreme Court. That means local elections for judges, state legislators, and prosecutors are just as essential as the presidency to install officials who are truly committed to defending democratic institutions.

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Third, we need to take a broad view of what liberation and enfranchisement today requires. Real democracy must encompass more than the right to cast a ballot once every few years. Especially when we look at the experience of black and brown communities, its clear that the right to vote doesnt mean much unless it is closely tied to broader changes to the economic and social conditions that produce racial hierarchy and economic inequality. We need to accompany democracy reforms with policies that empower workers, limit corporate power, and address the concentration of environmental harms and poverty in black and brown communities.

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And we need to bring democracy all the way down, directly empowering working families and especially black and brown communities to control the kinds of day-to-day governing decisions that directly affect economic and social well-beingdemocracy in the ballot box as well as on the administrative bodies from the zoning board to the water utility to the federal regulatory state. We could create direct representation for the most affected and systemically marginalized communities on administrative boards and commissions that have significant power to shape economic realities. Imagine how different policies would be if black and brown communities had representation on the zoning boards that shape urban planning decisions and hear grievances against developers that dont do enough to invest in the local neighborhoods. Or if communities like Flint or Baltimore had more direct control over the still-poisoned water utility system, now run by state officials and privatized firms with little accountability to the public. Often we relegate high-stakes socioeconomic policy decisions to administrative bodies that are easily swayed by well-resourced interest groups. But we have in other moments created more participatory and responsive administrative institutions: In the war on poverty, grassroots groups fought for more direct community control over poverty-reduction agencies, while in recent years, U.S. cities have adopted international experiments with participatory budgeting.

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Reconstruction was not a blueprint, and suffered from its own limitationsparticularly its silence on womens rights and uneasy relationship with immigration. But the experience of Reconstruction reminds us of the realities of power and violence that have historically blocked efforts at democracy reformand the level of aspiration we should have in 2020 and beyond. Ending Donald Trumps presidency in November is critical. But that action alone cannot tackle the deep inequities of race and power that continue to hobble American democracy. If we are to build a truly inclusive democracy, we need to remember the transformative emancipatory vision of Reconstructionand push to transform our Constitution and our political institutions across the country.
By PTI

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday requested the Centre to extend stimulus measures for various sectors, particularly manufacturing, to overcome the economic distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic and consequent lockdown.

In a 10-page letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Reddy highlighted the contribution of different sectors to the state and the national economy and sought specific incentives to each of the sub-sectors, mainly the micro, small and medium enterprises.

"Given the current pandemic, the manufacturing sector in the state is in great peril and needs support in order to sustain itself and prosper in the long run. In addition to piling up of inventory due to trade and export restriction, the absence of the workforce has also hit the industry very hard. While all the markets are shut down, the uncertainty around future demand looms over the sector," the CM pointed out.

ALSO READ| Fearing COVID-19, villagers stop last rites of migrant who died after walking 250 km

Exports from Andhra Pradesh crossed Rs 98,983 crore in the 2018-19 financial year, with major items being pharmaceuticals, textiles, processed food, aqua products and electronic items, apart from engineering goods.

"Due to the current lockdown the world over, many of the industries in Andhra Pradesh are not able to export. I would like to reiterate that the impact on MSMEs is likely to have a cascading effect across the value chain even after the lockdown restrictions have been eased owing to global slowdown in demand," Reddy noted.

He sought creation of a 'fund of funds' for supporting MSMEs in terms of additional liquidity to meet their wage liabilities during the shutdown. He also wanted extension of interest-free working capital term loans to the exporters to cover the cost of wages, rent, and utilities.

Additional duty drawback of at least two per cent on all exports made during the period of April 1 to September 30, 2020, should be extended.

Referring to the agriculture and allied sectors, the Chief Minister said more than 20 per cent of state GDP came from it as it had over 3,000 food processing units, commodity-based cluster projects, mega food parks, Multiple Agriculture Export Zones and cold chain-related infrastructure.

He wanted the Centre to defer GST, electricity charges and duties, provide short-term collateral-free loans and resume export of aqua products to US, EU and Asia quickly.

ALSO READ| One more discharges from hospital in Vizag; total active COVID-19 cases now at three

He also requested the Centre to create warehousing and cold storage infrastructure at ports with special quality testing infrastructure and target new markets for exports that could fetch higher prices for our produce.

Reddy sought immediate release of funds for projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (Rs 102 trillion) and announcement of stimulus/revival packages for strategic sectors like real-estate. For the automobile sector, he wanted the central government to extend GST rate cuts for new vehicles.

"The automotive sector has already been facing weak demand for the past one year. The shutdown due to the pandemic has exacerbated its problem and will significantly impact the sector," the Chief Minister pointed out.

He wanted the Centre to extend BS-VI deadline by six months and also defer GST payments for the sector to boost liquidity.
Aizawl/Itanagar, May 1 : The Union DoNER Ministry has asked the Arunachal Pradesh government to include the 65,875 Chakma and Hajong tribals in the COVID-19 and lockdown related relief aid, officials and NGOs said on Friday.

Different organisations have criticised the Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh governments for depriving the Chakma and Hajong tribals in the COVID-19 and lockdown related relief aid in the two northeastern states. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, however, has denied the accusation.

DoNER Ministry's Joint Secretary Rambir Singh in a letter to the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar said that Suhas Chakma, Director of the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister against massive hunger and starvation during national lockdown among 65,875 Chakma and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh.

"This is due to their exclusion from economic package for vulnerable section in these difficult times of Covid-19 pandemic," Singh in his letter quoted the letter of RRAG, a New Delhi based rights group.

The DoNER Ministry Joint Secretary in his letter, which is available with IANS, requested the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary to take up the issues on priority.

RRAG Director Suhas Chakma in a statement said: "The food relief has been provided to about 40 per cent of the extremely poor Chakmas and Hajongs like the daily wage labourers under the Diyun circle (under Changlang District of AP) on April 30. Hundreds of families under Diyun circle are still suffering from starvation." He said: "For the last 56 years, Chakmas and Hajongs faced discrimination as a matter of state policy and their exclusion from the COVID-19 economic package, which is the humanity's largest humanitarian crisis in recorded history, exposes this state policy. It is not only at Diyun circle but in other areas such as Miao, Chowkham, Kharsang, Bordums, the Chakmas and Hajongs are facing massive food shortages because of their exclusion." "Because of discrimination and exclusion in the last 56 years, overwhelming majority of the Chakmas and Hajongs have been reduced to daily wage labourers and these people require relief under the COVID-19 the most," said RRAG Director.

There are accusations of discrimination in another northeastern state Mizoram too.The Mizoram Chakma Alliance Against Discrimination (MCAAD) leader Paritosh Chakma said they urged Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga to include hundreds of Chakma tribals from Mizoram who have been stranded in various parts of the country due to the COVID-19 related lockdown and provide them relief under the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

"Though the Mizos stranded in different parts of the country are getting financial and other supports from the Mizoram government but the Chakma tribals are deprived," said the MCAAD, another Delhi based organisation.

Paritosh Chakma said that over 1,000 Chakmas, comprising migrant workers, travellers and students from Mizoram stranded in Delhi, Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu and other states.

"We are writing letters once again to Mizoram Chief Minister and Chief Secretary to extend government financial and other assistances to the stranded Chakmas in different states in the country," Paritosh Chakma told IANS.

According to MCAAD, Chakmas of Mizoram constitute 8.8 per cent of Mizoram's total population of 1.1 million.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
K eir Starmer today accused Boris Johnson of being too slow in the battle against coronavirus and called for more than twice as many tests and staff to trace infections.

In an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard, Labours new leader demanded more ambitious targets from the Prime Minister for a tracking and tracing programme to avoid a second peak after the country moves out of lockdown .

Sir Keir said the interim target of 100,000 tests a day set by Health Secretary Matt Hancock should be raised to a quarter of a million tests every 24 hours.

Instead of 18,000 contact tracers, the officials who will form a front line against a fresh outbreak, Sir Keir said 50,000 was a more realistic number to keep the nation safe. Both demands will be put to the Prime Minister directly when they hold talks next week.

He also said the 750,000 volunteers who answered the call to help beat Covid-19 should be harnessed to help identify potential carriers of the virus.

The Labour leader has called on the Prime Minister to move faster and firmer on testing / Getty Images

Calling on the Prime Minister to move faster and firmer, he said: Almost every country that has managed to get to the next stage has had testing and tracing as part of the strategy. The UK needs to do that too.

That means hitting the 100,000 tests a day target, but then going further. The Prime Minister previously promised 250,000 tests a day. The Governments advisers will know whether that is precisely the right target. But I do believe the Government should recommit to such an ambition.

Sir Keir was lacerating about Mr Johsnons record in the crisis, saying he had been slow, slow at every turn. He went on: And it looks like we are going to be slow on the exit strategy because we are now behind quite a lot of countries in Europe and behind Scotland and Wales.

He welcomed progress on recruiting officials to trace future cases, continuing: But that cannot be the limits of the Governments ambitions. For tracing to succeed, I believe we should be looking at a figure closer to 50,000.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons / PA

And the Government should look at recruiting from the army of volunteers who signed up to support our National Health Service.

This is what I will be suggesting to the Prime Minister when we speak next week.

In the interview - conducted at opposite ends of a long conference table to conform with social distancing in the official Leader of the Oppositions office - Sir Keir revealed how coronavirus had forced him to rethink his strategy to reach out the voters across the country. In key points he:

Revealed that Labour will not call for the Health Secretarys resignation if, as many critics predicted, the Government missed its target to test 100,000 people a day by the end of April. Figures are due to reveal tomorrow if the goal was achieved or not. I dont think calling for resignations is constructive opposition at this stage, he said.

Declared that he will assert his clear mandate to crack down on factionalism that unchecked could destroy the party. Its absolutely necessary. If we just spend time taking lumps out of each other, were going to lose the next general election, he warned. factionalism will destroy the Labour Party if we dont unify.

Insisted he is tough enough to tackle Labours divisions, saying: Having been DPP [director of public prosecutions] for five years, and run an organisation of eight or nine hundred thousands staff, I now you have to take tough decisions and Ive taken them, repeatedly, as leader in that organisation, and Im not going to duck tough decisions now.

Called for a pay rise for NHS staff and carers, saying: We need to revalue what counts. We cant go out and clap carers every Thursday night at 8pm and then go back to business as usual. Many are underpaid and undervalued.

Vowed that winning the next election due in 2024 would be paramount and promised to use his Call Keir e-tour of the country to listen to people who dont vote Labour or who have stopped voting Labour. He stressed: Voting here [at the Commons]and losing is not changing lives. And if youre in Opposition, youre losing.

Revealed he has only had two proper conversations ever with Mr Johnson - one when he was elected Labour leader and the second when they discussed coronavirus by phone this week. We dont mix in the same circles, you wont be surprised to hear.

Sir Keir batted away questions about his leadership pledge to seek to bring back European freedom of movement, saying he would first listen to voters and wait to see what deal the PM gets in post-Brexit talks. He declined to speculate if European judges would have a say, or whether it would require a new EU treaty.

Sir Keir said he had had two proper conversations with Boris Johnson / PA

He rejected criticism of a 25,000 donation to his campaign from the founder of gambling firm Bet365, which was only disclosed after the result came in, saying he followed the party rules to the letter.

Sir Keir said he spoke to all the living former Labour leaders on the day he was elected, Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. He declined to say if he had had nay talks with Blair and Brown since, citing confidentiality.

He said he had never talked with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who had a warm relationship with Blair, but had talked to most editors from across the media.

Asked if he would accept a 1 million donation, as Mr Blair did to great controversy from F1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone, he said none that size had been offered to him, but all donations must be done in the right and proper way

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

Asked why he did not give a shadow cabinet job to Yvette Cooper in the reshuffle that saw the return of Ed Miliband, he said; Yvette is doing an incredible job as chair of the [Home Affairs] select committee, as is Hilary [Benn, chair of the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union]. I want them to continue that scrutiny.
Head of emergencies Dr Michael Ryan said WHO teams have listened again and again to many scientists who have looked at the gene sequences and the virus.

He said the global body is "assured" that the strain is natural in origin, however, he stated that it is important to establish the natural host of the virus to enable a better understanding about how to prevent future outbreaks.

The news comes as the US President said he was confident that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of the coronavirus, before again criticising the WHOs early response to the outbreak.

Most scientists believe the virus emerged at a market in the Chinese city, linked to an animal that has not yet been identified.

The WHOs Emergency Committee on the Covid-19 pandemic recommended on Friday that the outbreak remains an international public health emergency, its highest level of alert.

The US president speculated that China could have unleashed Covid-19 on the world due to some kind of horrible mistake, and even put forward the idea the release was intentional.

Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised WHO's response to the pandemic / Getty Images

It comes as his intelligence agencies said they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab .

US intelligence agencies have debunked a conspiracy theory, saying they have concluded that coronavirus was not man-made or genetically modified

Speaking at the White House, Mr Trump said: Its a terrible thing that happened.

Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose.

The Chinese government said that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing.

Mr Trump has repeatedly blamed China for its handling of the outbreak, criticising the country for restricting domestic travel to slow the virus but not international travel to keep it from spreading abroad.

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Certainly it could have been stopped, Mr Trump said during an event in the East Room on his administrations efforts to aid seniors during the outbreak.

They either couldnt do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread.

It got loose, lets say, and they could have capped it.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals.

TODO: define component type apester

He also criticised those in the US who say China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on better controlling the epidemic situation at home.

Many countries are relaxing strict lockdown conditions, as bleak new figures underlined the pain inflicted by the disease and added to pressure on leaders to restart their economies.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surpassed a staggering 30 million and the European economy shrank a record 3.8 per cent in the first quarter as hotels, restaurants, construction sites and manufacturing were frozen by lockdowns.

Lay-offs amount to one in six American workers and encompass more people than the entire population of Texas.

Some economists say the US unemployment rate for April may be as high as 20 per cent  a figure not seen since the Depression of the 1930s, when joblessness peaked at 25 per cent.

Chinas ancient Forbidden City in Beijing has reopened, with all tickets for the May 1-5 holiday period sold out, and a limit of 5,000 visitors a day, down from the earlier maximum of 80,000.

Beijing has also reopened its parks and museums, with controlled entries, about three months after hundreds of millions of people were ordered into a near lockdown as the coronavirus outbreak erupted in the central city of Wuhan.

China has reported 12 new cases, six of them brought from overseas, and no new deaths for the 16th day.

In the US, where large numbers of people are still dying from Covid-19, health officials are warning of the danger of a second wave of infection, and some employers and employees have expressed fear of going back to work.

The virus has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide, including more than 61,000 in the US, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Confirmed infections globally topped 3.2 million, with one million of them in the US, but the true numbers are believed to be much higher because of limited testing, differences in counting the dead and concealment by some governments.
A former police lieutenant in Georgia, who taught students about the dangers of sexting, resigned to avoid getting fired after an internal investigation revealed dozens of Snapchat messages and texts that he had sent to middle school girls.

Former Cartersville Police Department Ryan Prescott, who worked as a local school resource officer, sent dozens of messages to three girls that the department deemed, 'unprofessional and inappropriate'.

During one exchange, Prescott - who went by the name Bubba Ryan on Snapchat - discussed the sexual orientation of one of the girls. 'Do all your friends know you like girls butt? Lmao' he asked before asking the youth to also 'send me a pic of her.'

Former Cartersville Police Department Ryan Prescott, who worked as a local school resource officer, sent dozens of messages to three girls that the department deemed, 'unprofessional and inappropriate'. He is pictured in a department photo

During one exchange (pictured), Prescott - who went by the name Bubba Ryan on Snapchat - discussed the sexual orientation of one of the girls. 'Do all your friends know you like girls butt? Lmao' he asked before asking the youth to also 'send me a pic of her'

Details of the messaging were revealed in a recent public records request of the probe's findings, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Prescott, who was the school resource officer at the Carterville Middle School, resigned on March 5, the same day the investigation concluded that he violated Cartersville Police Department standard operating procedures, the documents say.

They cited three sections that he violated, including 'professional image,' 'social networking' and 'conduct unbecoming'.

The investigation was ordered by Police Chief Frank McCann March 2 after he was contacted by the assistant superintendent for the Cartersville School System, according to the documents.

School officials by then were already aware of messages between Prescott and the three middle school students.

Prescott was interviewed the following day and placed on paid administrative leave.

Prescott, who was the school resource officer at the Carterville Middle School (pictured), resigned on March 5th, the same day the investigation concluded that he violated Cartersville Police Department standard operating procedures, internal documents say

A day later, he sent the chief his resignation, in lieu of termination, the Constitution Journal reports.

While interviewed during the investigation, Prescott acknowledged that he taught several classes at the school, including 'Sexting and Social Media', but admitted that he wasn't familiar with all platforms, including Snapchat.

An eighth grader showed Prescott how to use the social media app, and that's when Prescott began messaging the student and two other girls, the investigation found.

Prescott had told investigators that he was trying to build a 'trusting' relationship with the student who taught him Snapchat and set up his account, because he worried she was being bullied.

'When confronted with the comments he exchanged with the students, Prescott agreed that they may appear inappropriate but that was not his intent,' the internal documents show.

Investigators combed through 20 pages of Snapchat and text messages.

Among the messages, Prescott also wrote to several students claiming he was intoxicated. The former cop denied he was drunk and also shot down an accusation he was attempting to 'groom' a student.

Prescott also sent messages to several students claiming he was intoxicated. The former cop denied he was drunk and also shot down an accusation he was attempting to 'groom' a student

In one of his messages he tells a girl that he was 'drunk texting everyone.'

Parents interviewed by cops said they had seen inappropriate messages between the students and the former police lieutenant. None were sexual in nature, the parents said.

However, the parents also say they had heard Prescott was more explicit with other youth, the documents say.

In another message, Prescott tells a female student to delete the messages and not tell anyone because 'rumors will spread.'

One parent said she was concerned by the number of messages more than the content, with one exception. Prescott, according to the parent, had sent a message saying, 'Ill give you a finger up too butthead.'
President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, advised former Vice President Joe Biden to "fight" a sexual assault allegation against him from 27 years ago.

Tara Reade recently filed a complaint with Washington, D.C., police saying that Biden sexually assaulted her while he served in the Senate in 1993. Police have moved the complaint to "inactive" status.

Biden on Friday denied the allegation, saying that "it never, never happened."

Trump weighed in after Biden's denial, which marked the Democrat's first public statement on the matter. "I would just say to Joe Biden, 'Just go out and fight it,'" Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Dan Bongino.

"He's going to have to make his own decision, I'm not going to be telling him what to do," Trump added. "Biden is going to have to go out and fight his own battles."

Trump, who is set to face Biden in the presidential election in November, called Reade "credible" in the interview, but suggested that in dealing with allegations like hers, he likes "to get in front of it and I just deny it."

Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. He has denied the allegations, repeatedly.

He won the White House in 2016 despite the bombshell disclosure of an old tape from the TV program "Access Hollywood" that revealed how he had bragged about groping women's genitals without their consent. The tape came to light weeks before the election.

Trump has also been accused of sexually groping and harassing multiple women. One accuser, the writer E. Jean Carroll, claims in a civil defamation lawsuit that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.

"I've been falsely accused by people that I've never even seen, I've never even seen many of these people. And some of these people, I met them  zero interest, OK? Like zero," Trump said.

"And all of a sudden you become a wealthy guy, you're a famous guy, then you become president, and people just  people that you've never seen, that you've never heard of make charges. So I guess in a way you could say I'm, I'm sticking up for him," he said, referring to Biden.

Reade shook up Biden's presidential campaign in March when she claimed on a podcast that Biden pinned her to a wall and used his fingers to penetrate her in an office building on Capitol Hill when he was a senator from Delaware.

Trump allies have been using Reade's allegations against the former vice president.

Biden himself, breaking weeks of silence on the issue, addressed the allegation Friday morning in an interview with MSNBC. In a statement released just before the interview, Biden cited "the full and growing record of inconsistencies" in the accusations and said: "They aren't true. This never happened."

Multiple other women have accused Biden of inappropriate and unwanted touching since he launched his campaign a year ago.

-- CNBC's Dan Mangan, Tucker Higgins and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
Flexibility in payment of dues to the government, railways and banks can help steel players overcome the liquidity crisis in the steel sector triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a top Tata Steel executive has said.

Also some relief in the duty on steel making raw materials can help Indian steel industry become more competitive, Tata Steel CEO and Managing Director T V Narendran said in an interview to PTI.

"The industry has already represented to the government on a number of issues including some flexibility on payment of dues to the government, railways, banks etc. so that we can tide over the liquidity crisis. This also includes some support on exports as we are more dependent on export markets than domestic markets.

"The government had been engaging very closely with the industry on the support required to tide over this COVID-19 crisis," he said while replying to a question about the steps required to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.

The MSME sector is struggling. The standalone downstream units did not get the permission to operate for the first three weeks of the lockdown as they were not seen as continuous process plants and remained shut, he said adding the government spending on infrastructure is required soon and all dues to industry that are stuck should be released to help the flow of money through the economy.

There is also a need to work aggressively to attract foreign investment into India and focus once again on the Make in India programme. This crisis can and should be converted into an opportunity, he said.

When asked whether players also expect some relief in duty cut on raw materials, Narendran said the government can play a vital role in helping the industry as import duties on any raw material particularly metallurgical coal, which is not available in India and has to be imported, just add to the cost of doing business and reduces the competitiveness of the Indian industry.

Speaking on the impact of the lockdown, the CEO further said in the initial days, the challenge was to keep the plants running even at lower utilisation levels. The construction industry, which is a steel consuming sector, was also significantly impacted. The steel industry was dependent on export markets for orders.

"However, over the last few days we are starting to see some pick-up in domestic consumption as some of our customers have got permissions to start work. I can see a revival of some activity as more contracts are being awarded and more sites are getting permission to operate.

"Also, the best thing the government can do to revive the economy is to accelerate the spending on infrastructure. It not only allows money to flow back into the economy, but also creates employment opportunities for semi-skilled workers across the country and also helps bring down the cost of doing business through better infrastructure.

"We are a capital-intensive industry with significant fixed costs and so operating at less than optimal capacity is not ideal for us. I expect the steel demand to pick up post lockdown as construction and industrial activities will pick up. It may take two or three quarters to come back to normal," he said.

The industry veteran also cautioned that there will be a need to check imports in post lockdown period as some countries may try to dump in their products into India taking the undue advantage of the situation.

"We need to be watchful on imports so that we don't become a dumping ground for other countries. To be fair to China, so far, we have not had a problem and in fact India is now exporting steel to China. But we are also watchful about Japan and Korea as over the last few years the problem has been of exports from Japan and Korea to India rather than from China to India," the CEO said.

To a question related to the impact of COVID-19 on steel companies' expansion plans, he said "while in the long run India can and should have a large and healthy steel industry because it is blessed with raw materials and a growing market, in the short and medium term the focus should be to restore the financial health of the industry."

"So, I would assume for the next two to three years the focus will be more on deleveraging over growth and then as the financial health of the industry improves, we can look at growth again," he added.

Another steel consuming sector auto has also been impacted due to the lockdown.

He said the auto industry has been significantly impacted and all auto customers of the company were closed till recently. Some of them have now got permission to operate their plants but they are also struggling to get their inbound supply chain and vendor ecosystem to operate.

"They also need to see their dealerships open and liquidate inventories already in the system. On the one hand, they may get impacted by people postponing discretionary purchases but on the other hand we may have people moving from public transport and shared vehicles to own vehicles to reduce the risk of exposure to the pandemic," he added.

As the government focuses on construction and infrastructure, a pick-up in demand for commercial vehicles may be seen. "But I think we are in for a few challenging quarters," he said.

Speaking on the company's Europe operations, he said Europe is not under a complete lockdown and hence Tata Steel has been operating at about 70 per cent of the normal levels there.

"We see the activity starting to pick up again after Easter. In South East Asia, till recently we did not have a lockdown in Singapore and so were fairly normal apart from the usual slowdown due to the current context. Thailand plants are still operating but demand conditions are weak due to the pandemic," Narendran added.
JUPITER, Fla. -- May 1, 2020 -- In recognition of his high-impact work advancing the field of RNA-targeting medicines, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded Scripps Research Chemistry Professor Matthew Disney, PhD, a prestigious Research Program Award, to aid Disney's development of treatments for incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and frontotemporal dementia.

The NINDS Research Program Award is designed to enable creative scientists with a proven track record to focus their time and talent on advancing science rather than on writing grant applications. It lasts for five years, is extendable for up to eight, and in Disney's case, is worth up to $11 million cumulatively.

"Matt Disney's work has changed the landscape of what scientists now consider 'druggable targets,' and in the process, reinvigorated research on multiple incurable diseases, including muscular dystrophy, ALS and advanced, metastatic cancer," says Douglas Bingham, executive vice president of Scripps Research. "That this prestigious NIH award program has now gone to two of our Florida-based scientists in four years speaks to the world-class, high-impact biomedical research we do."

In 2017, Florida-based Neuroscience Professor Ron Davis, PhD, was among the inaugural group of 30 scientists to receive the NINDS Research Program Award. Davis studies both basic and applied neuroscience, and has discovered biological mechanisms underpinning memory and forgetting, while searching for new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Disney says he plans to use the Research Program Award to advance new treatments for some of the most challenging brain diseases.

"There are millions of patients and their families that have invested their time and their own tissue samples to advance the development of targeted therapeutics," Disney says. "They are awaiting development of new approaches that can be advanced into medicines for brain and nervous system diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS and multiple rare genetic diseases."

Essential for life, RNA carries out fundamental duties in our cells. It templates genes, builds proteins, and regulates multiple cell activities, including how much of a particular protein gets manufactured from our DNA. Controlling, silencing or repairing RNA, especially toxic RNA that might be garbled, expanded or broken, has been a goal of many scientists through the years. By designing a sort of computational and mathematical decoder, Disney has succeeded against tough odds.

"Our work has developed new ways in which the RNAs that directly cause these disease can be manipulated with chemical probes and in some cases, we can use the body's own defense system to erase disease-driving RNSs," Disney says. "Armed with these tools and approaches, we are attempting to set a foundation to develop drug-discovery technologies that may allow treatments to emerge. This award will allow us the freedom to pursue these new directions and take risks to go after multiple diseases at once."

RNA is built of simple stuff, just four nucleic acids. Under an electron microscope, it appears more like loose yarn fragments than the large, sweater-like protein structures most drugs reliably target. As a result, many scientists had written it off as an undruggable molecule.

By defining those relatively rare, stable RNA structures, and then matching those forms to a database he built of complementary small-molecule drugs, Disney built a system for identifying RNA drugs for multiple diseases. His system has identified compounds now under study as potential disease-modifying treatments for conditions including Fragile X syndrome, muscular dystrophy and inherited ALS.

Beyond ALS and muscular dystrophy, Disney's RNA-modifying tools are showing great applicability to cancers and a variety of other rare genetic disorders, Disney says.

In addition, because many viruses are made of RNA, Disney's technology can be used to identify new classes of antiviral drugs. His team is now developing drug candidates to attack the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of pandemic COVID-19.

"Often times viruses, including coronavirus, have specific folds in their RNA that allow them to integrate with the host's protein manufacturing machinery to replicate," Disney says. "We're designing small molecules that target these structures in the RNA to short-circuit this process and serve as lead therapeutics. In principle this could be scaled to every seasonal viral outbreak we're going to be challenged with."

A founder of Expansion Therapeutics in San Diego, Calif. and Jupiter, Florida, Disney has also been recognized with the 2019 Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Chemistry from Tel Aviv University, the 2018 Weaver H. Gaines BioFlorida Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the 2015 National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award.

###

About Scripps Research

Scripps Research is an independent, nonprofit biomedical institute ranked the most influential in the world for its impact on innovation. With campuses in La Jolla, California, and Jupiter, Florida, we are advancing human health through profound discoveries that address pressing medical concerns around the globe. Our drug discovery and development division, Calibr, works hand-in-hand with scientists across disciplines to bring new medicines to patients as quickly and efficiently as possible, while teams at Scripps Research Translational Institute harness genomics, digital medicine and cutting-edge informatics to understand individual health and render more effective healthcare. Scripps Research also trains the next generation of leading scientists at our Skaggs Graduate School, consistently named among the top 10 U.S. programs for chemistry and biological sciences. Learn more at http://www.scripps.edu.
(Alliance News) - Surface Transforms PLC on Friday said it has raised GBP300,000 through an open offer.

Shares in the company - which manufactures carbon fibre reinforced ceramic materials - were untraded on Friday morning in London, last quoted at 15.10p each, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP22.2 million.

Surface Transforms said it received valid acceptances from shareholders in respect of 10.9 million open offer shares - amounting to GBP1.4 million - in the "heavily oversubscribed" open offer which is to be scaled back to 2.3 million open offer shares. It added that it is exploring alternative ways to satisfy the additional demand of 8.6 million shares.

"We are delighted by the outcome of the open offer made available to all shareholders, combined with the placing of shares to certain institutional shareholders. I would like to thank all shareholders for their support, as evidenced by this very encouraging response. We are extremely pleased that current shareholders continue to support our strategy to become a series production supplier of carbon ceramic brake discs to the larger volume OEM automotive market," said Chair David Bundred.

The open offer was launched following a placing of 10.8 million shares in April which raised GBP1.4 million to be used to provide the company with sufficient working capital to enable it to continue operating should Covid-19 impact the business in a material manner.

By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
U.S. Secretary of State Commends the Coalition's One-Month Extension of Ceasefire in Yemen

Saudi Press Agency

Thursday 1441/9/7 - 2020/04/30

Washington, April 29, 2020, SPA -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today commended the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for extending unilateral ceasefire in Yemen for a month.

Pompeo said in a press briefing that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Government have answered the special envoy's call to lay down their weapons to stop fighting and focus on defeating the corona pandemic, asking the Houthis to do the same.

He added that all parties must facilitate humanitarian access, and the Yemeni Government and Yemeni Government institutions must observe the unity and territorial integrity of Yemen,

--SPA

01:40 LOCAL TIME 22:40 GMT

0031

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TDT | Manama

Bahrain today joins the rest of the world in observing the International Workers Day, marked worldwide on May 1 annually to celebrate the working class and labourers across the world. The day presents Bahrain an opportunity to highlight workers achievements and contributions to the nation-building and development, said Labour and Social Development Minister, Jameel Humaidan, marking the occasion. The minister said he salutes the Bahraini workers for their dedication in serving the homeland at all times. They play a major role in facing the exceptional challenge of the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

The Kingdom, the minister said, has launched unprecedented measures to fight COVID-19 outbreak, as well as initiatives to protect the workers rights and safety, without distinction. In this regard, Humaidan valued highly HM the Kings directives to ensure the stability of the labour market. A BD4.3 billion financial and economic stimulus package was launched by the Kingdom to mitigate the impacts of the virus at the local level. The measure included paying the salaries of more than 100,000 Bahraini private-sector workers, supporting taxi and bus drivers, as well as driving trainers, and paying full salaries of the staff of kindergartens and nurseries for three months.

The measures also included re-directing all the programmes of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) to support companies that have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The minister asserted that the Government of Bahrain is keen on consolidating workers rights and providing them with a safe and secure environment at all worksites and accommodations. The minister hailed His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas great appreciation of workers, and constant keenness to take care of them under all circumstances. In addition to honouring outstanding employees, the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) and the Bahrain Free Labour Union Federation (Al-Hurr) hold annual celebration under royal patronage as part of the Labour Day activities planned.

The minister said the government, led by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, is keen on supporting and preserving labour rights to ensure their professional stability. Humaidan further highlighted the unwavering support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to developing the labour market and ensuring quality job opportunities for the citizens.
Deepak Lal, another of those wonderful Indian economists that India exported to the West, passed away on April 30. He was deeply suspicious of governments and politicians. That could have been one reason why he quit the foreign service in 1966 after just three years.

It was an inspired decision. He would never have fitted into the bureaucracy, where brilliance is sneered at. For five years, from about 2014, whenever he was in India, he and I sat in adjacent chairs at the weekly editorial meetings of this newspaper. He would shuffle in with his walking stick, mask and, in the summer, his ...
Workers moving bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Wednesday.

AP Photo/Craig Ruttle

Fifty bodies were found in trucks outside a Brooklyn funeral home, several news outlets reported this week.

The owner told The New York Times that he ran out of space inside because of the influx of bodies.

A neighboring business told the police that fluid was leaking out of one of the trucks, according to the Associated Press.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Brooklyn funeral home resorted to storing 50 corpses in four rented trucks after its facility was overwhelmed with bodies, New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker confirmed on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

The police were called to the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home on Wednesday after neighbors complained about a bad smell coming from the trucks.

According to The New York Times, the police found several dozen decomposing bodies inside a U-Haul rental and what "seemed to be a tractor-trailer." The AP added that a neighboring business called 911 over leaking fluids from one of the trucks.

The New York State Department of Health issued the funeral home two summons, according to The Times.

According to the AP, Zucker told all funeral homes that "any of that kind of behavior" would not be tolerated.

The Times reported that the owner, Andrew Cleckley, said he was "overwhelmed by the relentless tide of bodies during the pandemic." He added that his chapel was filled with more than 100 bodies and he "used the trucks for overflow storage."

"I ran out of space," he told The Times. "Bodies are coming out of our ears."

He also told The Times he was unable to buy a refrigerated trailer because of shortages.

The health agency is investigating the funeral home, which could have its license suspended. Additionally, a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office told The Times it was also investigating the incident.

"I have no idea in the world how any funeral home could let this happen," Mayor Bill de Blasio said, according to the AP, adding that the funeral home could have asked state regulators or the city police for help.

Story continues

De Blasio called the incident "absolutely unacceptable."

"They have an obligation to the people they serve to treat them with dignity," he said of funeral homes, according to The Times.

The Times said it was unclear what penalties Cleckley might face.

Mike Lanotte, a spokesman for the New York State Funeral Directors Association, told the AP that funeral-home employees had raised concerns about storage but that he hadn't heard anything as extreme as what happened in this funeral home.

Funeral directors across the country have said they're overwhelmed by the pandemic and don't have the infrastructure to handle the number of bodies they're getting.

Pat Marmo told the AP that his funeral home in New York City was struggling to keep up with the increase of bodies and that he was pleading with families to insist they have hospitals hold on to their dead loved ones for as long as possible.

"This is a state of emergency," Marmo told the AP. "We need help."

There have been close to 64,000 recorded COVID-19 deaths in the US and almost 24,000 in New York state alone.

Read the original article on Insider
Molepolole  Ranks Residence has accommodated health personnel from Scottish Livingstone Hospital as its contribution towards the fight against COVID-19.

The Molepolole-based lodge manager, Ms Abigail Rankokwane, said through the gesture, they were assisting government to reduce the spread of the virus.

She noted that health workers were at a higher risk of contracting the virus, saying that they should be kept in a safe environment.

She added that it would also ensure that no contagious diseases were passed to their families.

Ms Rankokwane also said they had measures in place to ensure maximum guest satisfaction and safety as well as to ensure compliance with health regulations. Employees, she said, were provided with personal protective clothing (PPE) to ensure that both guests and workers were protected.

She said loge workers were also sensitised on COVID-19 through discussions and sharing information from the Ministry of Health and Wellness. She added that they were also trained on the use of PPE and handling cleaning chemicals. "Sanitisers are also placed in each room and some areas around the facility," she said

The manager noted that everyone at the lodge observed social distancing at all times and washed their hands with soap regularly.

She also said guests were provided with meals in their rooms and that disinfectants were used to clean rooms.

Ranks Residence started operating last year and the total cost of accommodating the health workers is over P77 000.

Source : BOPA
Emily Ratajkowski was glimpsed stepping out with her beloved dog Colombo in Los Angeles this Friday.

The 28-year-old supermodel slipped into a tight white tank top and a pair of flared jeans to emerge from lockdown.

Stringing her sunglasses from her plunging neckline, Emily made sure to take the precaution of wearing a face mask.

Off she goes: Emily Ratajkowski was glimpsed stepping out with her beloved dog Colombo in Los Angeles this Friday

She has lately posted a string of sizzling modeling shots to her Instagram page to promote her apparel line Inamorata.

The I Feel Pretty actress initially started Inamorata in 2017 as a swimwear line but it has expanded its remit and is releasing a new Mesh Collection.

Emily showcased her enviably trim figure in some sheer ensembles from the collection as she posed up a storm for Instagram.

The 28-year-old supermodel slipped into a tight white tank top and a pair of flared jeans to emerge from lockdown

She is hunkering down in Los Angeles with her hunky producer husband Sebastian Bear-McClard and their dog.

Although they were initially hunkering down in New York City, the American epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, they flew to Los Angeles on April 15.

The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention issued an advisory on March 28 asking 'residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.'

Smoldering sensation: She has lately posted a string of sizzling modeling shots to her Instagram page to promote her apparel line Inamorata

Looking fab: The I Feel Pretty actress initially started Inamorata in 2017 as a swimwear line but it has expanded its remit and is releasing a new Mesh Collection

Sebastian is a producer whose credits including the Safdie brothers movie Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler, who calls Emily's husband 'SeBo.'

Emily, who while showing Vogue around her vast LA apartment in 2015 said she was for a platform to 'redistribute wealth in this country,' got married in February 2018.

She made a splash with her surprise courthouse marriage to Sebastian in New York City, wearing a $200 Zara trouser suit.

Looking fab: Emily showcased her enviably trim figure in some sheer ensembles from the collection as she posed up a storm for Instagram
GRETNA, La. - More than a dozen states let restaurants, stores or other businesses reopen Friday in the biggest one-day push yet to get their economies up and running again, acting at their own speed and with their own quirks and restrictions to make sure the coronavirus doesn't come storming back.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this March 30, 2020, file photo, workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in the Staten Island borough of New York protest conditions in the company's warehouse. Essential workers will strike nationwide on May Day to demand safer conditions during the coronavirus outbreak, while other groups plan rallies against tight stay-at-home orders they say are crippling the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

GRETNA, La. - More than a dozen states let restaurants, stores or other businesses reopen Friday in the biggest one-day push yet to get their economies up and running again, acting at their own speed and with their own quirks and restrictions to make sure the coronavirus doesn't come storming back.

People in Louisiana could eat at restaurants again but had to sit outside at tables 10 feet (3 metres) apart with no waiter service. Maine residents could attend church services as long as they stayed in their cars. And a Nebraska mall reopened with plexiglass barriers and hand-sanitizing stations but few shoppers.

I feel like I just got out of jail! accountant Joy Palermo exclaimed as she sat down with a bacon-garnished bloody Mary at the Gretna Depot Cafe outside New Orleans.

Meanwhile, the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19 won emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In a major study, remdesivir shortened patients' recovery time from 15 days to 11 on average and may have also reduced deaths.

The virus has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide, including over 64,000 in the U.S. and more than 20,000 each in Italy, Britain, France and Spain, forcing lockdowns that have shuttered factories and businesses, thrown tens of millions out of work and throttled the world's economies.

In this Tuesday, April 28, 2020, photo, Pornsupa Hattayong gives haircuts to a medical worker treating COVID-19 patients for free at Bangkok Metropolitan Administration General Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The 43-year-old hairstylist is boosting the morale of frontline medical workers by dispensing free haircuts at Bangkok hospitals since Thailands hair salons have been closed for more than a month, to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

President Donald Trump said Friday that hes hoping the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States will be below 100,000, which he acknowledged is a horrible number. Trumps predictions of the expected U.S. death toll have changed over time, with his earlier 60,000 projection now being eclipsed. But he said at a White House event that maybe millions of lives have been saved by shutting down the economy.

With the crisis stabilizing in Europe and in many places in the U.S., countries and states are gradually easing their restrictions amid warnings from health experts that a second wave of infections could hit unless testing for the virus is expanded dramatically.

In much of Colorado, people could get their hair cut and shop at stores again, though stay-at-home orders remained in place in Denver and surrounding counties. Wyoming let barbershops, nail salons, gyms and daycare centres reopen. In Maine, golf courses, hairdressers and dentists opened.

A riot police points the pepper spray to journalists as pro-democracy activists gather outside a shopping mall during the Labor Day in Hong Kong, Friday, May 1, 2020 amid an outbreak of the new coronavirus. May Day usually brings rallies and celebrations rallies marking international Labor Day. This year it's a bitter reminder of how much has been lost for the millions left idle or thrown out of work thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hotels near South Carolina beaches opened and state parks unlocked their gates for the first time in more than a month. But in Myrtle Beach, the states most popular tourist destination, hotel elevators will be restricted to one person or one family  a potential inconvenience at the area's 15- and 20-story resorts.

Texas reopening got underway with sparse crowds at shopping malls and restaurants allowing customers to dine in, though only at 25% capacity in most places. A video posted on social media showed a city park ranger in Austin getting shoved into the water Thursday while asking people in a crowd to keep 6 feet (2 metres) apart from each other. Police charged a 25-year-old man with attempted assault.

At Gattusos Restaurant in Gretna, Louisiana, Kent and Doris Alimia and their daughters, Molly and Emily, celebrated Molly Alimias 22nd birthday at one of the outdoor tables, which were screened by plants in wooden planters 5 feet high.

Surfers wait for waves as the sun goes down the day before the beach is scheduled to close during the coronavirus outbreak, Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Newport Beach, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday temporarily closed Orange County's coastline after large crowds were seen there. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Its a nice change of scenery to actually get out of the house, Molly Alimia said.

Outside Omaha, Nebraska, Jasmine Ramos was among a half-dozen shoppers wandering the open-air Nebraska Crossing mall. Most wore masks.

I do think its a little soon, but its kind of slow and there arent a lot of people here, so Im not too worried, Ramos said.

Protesters from the communist party-affiliated PAME union wearing masks to protect against coronavirus, march during a May Day rally outside the Greek Parliament, in Athens, on Friday, May 1, 2020. Hundreds of protesters gathered in central Athens and the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to mark May Day, despite appeals from the government for May Day marches and commemorations to be postponed until next Saturday, when some lockdown measures will have been lifted. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Restrictions were still in place in Arizona, but warnings from police and health officials didnt stop Debbie Thompson from serving food Friday inside her Horseshoe Cafe in Wickenburg, a town of 6,300 people about 65 miles (105 kilometres) west of Phoenix. Cheered on by a few customers, Thompson was not arrested, but she later received a call from the state Department of Health Services telling her to stop violating Gov. Doug Duceys stay-at-home order.

Around the country, protesters have demanded governors reboot the battered economy. More than 100 people chanted and carried signs in front of Chicagos Thompson Center, where Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has an office, to call for an end to the statewide lockdown.

Pritzker has said he will not lift his order until it's safe, and several counterprotesters expressed support for his position. Nurse anesthetist Benjamin Salazar held up a sign that read, Stay home. We are getting tired of seeing people die.

Riot police enter the shopping mall to disperse the protesters during the Labor Day in Hong Kong, Friday, May 1, 2020 amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong police deployed pepper spray during a protest in a Hong Kong shopping mall on Friday, as they dispersed over a hundred protesters who gathered to sing and chant pro-democracy slogans. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the states Riot Control Act as she sealed off all roads to nonessential traffic in the city of Gallup, population about 20,000, to help control a surging coronavirus outbreak in the former trading post on the outskirts of the Navajo reservation.

In the hardest-hit corner of the U.S., New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said schools and colleges will remain closed through the rest of the academic year. A New York City nursing home on Friday reported the deaths of 98 residents believed to have had the coronavirus  a staggering death toll that shocked public officials.

In Washington state, where the nations first COVID-19 case was confirmed in January, Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday that he is extending the states coronavirus stay-at-home order through at least May 31 and that he will ease the restrictions in four stages. Washington also had the first deadly cluster of cases in the U.S., at a Seattle-area nursing home.

A pedestrian passes a boarded up business while wearing personal protective equipment to protect against coronavirus, Friday, May 1, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

And in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday that her stay-at-home order remains in effect through May 15 despite Republicans refusal to extend her emergency declaration.

Elsewhere around the world, Beijings Forbidden City, the imperial palace turned museum that is one of Chinas biggest tourist attractions, started welcoming visitors again, and Bangladesh began reopening factories.

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In the U.S., Shani and Sergei Oveson were excited to resume dine-in seating at their small Salt Lake City restaurant, which has seen an 85% drop in sales since mid-March. Their place, the Ramen Bar, had only half the normal seating capacity because of social-distancing requirements.

Anti-government protesters help a friend wounded during a scuffle with Lebanese army soldiers after the protesters tried to destroy bank windows during May Day protests near the Lebanese Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, May 1, 2020. Hundreds rallied outside the country's central bank and in other parts of the country a day after the prime minister said he'll be seeking a rescue program from the International Monetary Fund to deal with a spiraling economic crisis. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Were really excited to be open, but at the same time were scared that the virus will reignite and well have to close again, Shani Oveson said. Owning your own business can be so scary financially, we have to risk getting sick to survive.

___

Schulte reported from Gretna, Nebraska. AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak




Three men have been arrested by the Katsina State Police Command for allegedly insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State.

The Police gave the identities of the men as 70-year-old Lawal Abdullahi, Bahaje Abu, 30, and Hamza Abubakar, 27.

According to a statement by Gambo Isah, spokesman of the Katsina police command, the three men were arrested after uploading a video on social media in which they insulted President Buhari and Governor Masari.

The attention of the Katsina state police command has been drawn to a viral video on social media showing one Lawal Abdullahi, alias IZALA, m, aged 70yrs of Gafai quarters, Katsina, Katsina state, who was contemptuously insulting the President and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, federal republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, and his excellency, the executive governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, CFR, Isah statement said.

Consequently, the commissioner of police, Katsina state command, CP Sanusi Buba, ordered for investigation, which led to the arrest of the trio of Lawal Abdullahi Izala, m, aged 70yrs, Bahajaje Abu, m, aged 30yrs and Hamza Abubakar, m, aged 27yrs all of Gafai Quarters, Katsina, Katsina state.

In the course of investigation suspects confessed to the committing the offences.

The police also used the opportunity to warn other members of the public to desist from using social media to insult others.

To this end, the command wishes to warn members of the general public that the police will not fold its arms and watch while disgruntled elements violate the sacred laws of the land.

Any person found taking undue advantage of the social media to insult others, contrary to the provisions of the Cyber Crime Act, will face the wrath of the law, Isah added.

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Internet-based companies have built an industry around collecting consumer data to fuel targeted ads and create new products. Now businesses from Facebook to smart thermometer companies say they can repurpose that informationand their data collecting expertiseto help manage the coronavirus pandemic.

Public health experts say that medical testing of individuals remains their top priority but that consumer data can be valuable for spotting new outbreaks and tracking whether people are obeying stay-at-home directives. Privacy advocates, who are typically skeptical of how technology companies handle consumer data, are generally supportive, too.

Theres no doubt that crowdsourced data can be useful in combating COVID-19, says Justin Brookman, director of privacy and technology policy for Consumer Reports. And a lot of the applications were seeing show that data can be used in privacy-preserving ways, by either aggregating the data or only collecting and using it with clear permission.

Tech companies already have access to some kinds of data, such as what people are searching for online. However, in some cases consumers can choose whether or not to participate.

Heres a breakdown of the major initiatives getting underway, what data they use, and what they promise for the fight to control the coronavirus.

Symptom Tracking Surveys

The next time you log in to Facebook, you may be invited to complete a survey asking whether you have COVID-19 symptoms. This kind of syndromic surveillance is meant to detect regional upticks in disease symptoms.

Syndromic surveillance is important because it generates information so quickly, says Denis Nash, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at the City University of New York School of Public Health. Diagnostic tests are obviously critical, he says, but that all happens days or weeks after someone becomes infected.

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The Facebook survey is being conducted by the Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center. CMU Delphi Research wont share individual survey responses with Facebook, and Facebook wont share information about who you are with the researchers, Facebook says in a blog post.

Facebook says over a million people responded to the survey in the first two weeks, and the first results were published last week.

Apple-Google Coronavirus Phone App

Apple and Googles proximity tracking apps are set to launch in May. Their system is meant to tell people whether theyve come near someone with a coronavirus infection, and should therefore take precautions such as self-quarantine.

Heres how it works. Download an app and your phone will keep a log of other phones it comes near over a 14-day period. If the owner of one of those phones also downloads the app and later receives a COVID-19 diagnosis, they can share that information. Then youll get notified. If youre the one to get a diagnosis, you can send out an alert that reaches other people.

The details are complicated, but here are two critical points, from a privacy perspective: Its all opt-in, and much of the data is interpreted on your phone and not ever shared with the technology companies.

Peter Eckersley, an artificial intelligence ethics and privacy researcher, has become a leading proponent of the use of technology to track the pandemic. Apple and Google have picked a really good model, he says, one that could preserve individual privacy while providing individuals and health officials with important information.

If millions of people participate in the Apple-Google project, and its combined with wide-scale testing and other components of contact tracing, the effort could help save hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of lives, Eckersley says.

There are plenty of scenarios where you launch these apps and they are ineffective, he says. But there are also scenarios where we might change the course of the pandemic. Its really worth doing.



DNA Research Projects

The genetic testing companies 23andMe and Ancestry always ask new customers for permission to share their data with medical researchers. Millions of consumers have opted in over time, and both companies now say they are embarking on large-scale studies to search for genetic clues that predict how severely a patient will react to a coronavirus infection.

Ultimately, we want to publish our research findings in order to help provide more insight on COVID-19 for the scientific community, Joyce Tung, Ph.D., 23andMes vice president of research, said in a press release.

The companys customers are already being asked to participate in surveys for these projects. Researchers contacted by Consumer Reports say DNA data might not yield coronavirus insights quicklyor ever. But if the research does bear fruit, it could help scientists develop treatments or a vaccine.

Location Data

Location data siphoned from consumers smartphones is a goldmine for targeted advertising. During the pandemic, technology companies have started supplying it to public health researchers.

Researchers are using location data to study how closely groups of people are following well-publicized exhortations to restrict day-to-day travel. A coalition of academics called the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network is using such data to advise governments on which social distancing messages work best.

In addition to sharing data with researchers, Apple, Facebook, and Google are publishing charts on travel patterns that anyone can browse through. Its interesting stuff.

Location data brokers such as Cuebiq, Foursquare, Unacast, and X-Modewhich collect location information through phone appsare releasing similar information. The results are already being put to use. In Los Angeles, daily mayors reports on the citys response to the pandemic include mobility data from Apple and Unacast.

The data can be useful in terms of identifying where were likely to see problems, says John Swartzberg, M.D., a clinical professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeleys School of Public Health. The data could be combined with rates of emergency room visits, deaths, intensive care unit admissions, and other details.

That kind of dataset would be fabulous, Swartzberg says. Its crazy that we havent been doing it already.

Smart Thermometer Data

Kinsa sells a smart thermometer that uploads users temperatures to the cloud, where the data can be used to track the spread of a disease. During the pandemic, Kinsa says it has been able to identify regional spikes in body temperature, which you can see on the companys US Health Weather Map. Data from other wearable technology companies, such as the Oura Ring and Fitbit, are being used for similar projects.

Were still in the exploratory stages, but its a good way to get a rough geographic breakdown of whether or not theres disease activity in a given area, says George Rutherford, M.D., a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, who is using Kinsa data to track the coronavirus.



These datasets have shortcomings. Early adopters who run out to buy a smart thermometer might not represent the general population, and there isnt enough data for most regions. But, Rutherford says, youre not trying to get a perfect estimate of the prevalence or incidence of temporal disease in the population. What you want to do is follow trends.

As long as the flaws and biases in the data stay the same over time, its still totally useful, he says.

Search Trends

Googles ocean of search data is often used by public health researchers, and in the past it has proved to be particularly useful in tracking the flu.

You can get a glimpse of the kind of data available through Google Trends, which shows spikes in search terms, filtered by date or location. The company now has an online hub for search trends related to COVID-19 that may reveal clues to where new outbreaks are emerging.

In a New York Times op-ed, data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz wrote searches for the phrase I cant smell and other COVID-19 symptoms may be able to predict regional spikes in diagnoses. The data could even reveal underreported symptoms before doctors pick up on them.

Theres some real utility here, Rutherford says. We need the data to get down to the county level before its useful, but this is similar to the kind of surveillance were doing in a lot of other areas. The more data the merrier.





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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2020, Consumer Reports, Inc.
(Natural News) People with blood and lung cancers are three times more likely to die from the coronavirus (COVID-19), according to a new study. The study also found that cancer patients were more likely to be admitted to intensive care units or require mechanical ventilation.

The research team, led by Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, says that the findings could help doctors closely monitor COVID-19 patients with cancer. This would allow them to treat these patients as soon as they test positive, reducing the risk of them being hospitalized.

Cancer patients at higher risk

The study, published in the online journal American Association for Cancer Research  Cancer Discovery, looked at 641 patients from 14 hospitals in Wuhan, China  ground zero for the global pandemic. Of these patients, 105 had some form of cancer.

For the cancer patients, the study looked at risk factors including cancer type and severity, as well as the treatment that the patients were receiving.

The researchers expected that coronavirus patients with cancer would be at high risk of having severe symptoms, being admitted to the ICU or requiring a ventilator. However, they found that those with blood and lung cancer  regardless of the stage of their cancer  were more likely to die from COVID-19, compared to those with other forms of cancer.

The study found that patients undergoing immunotherapy and surgery were at higher risk of developing critical symptoms and death, compared to other therapies. Radiotherapy was the only treatment that did not show a significant difference in the number of so-called severe events, in comparison to patients without cancer. (Related: Cancer prevention: 6 Ways nature helps you fight cancer.)

Patients with stage IV cancer, where the cancer cells are widespread to other organs in the body, were also at high risk, regardless of the type of cancer involved.

In terms of their average stay in the hospital, COVID-19 patients with cancer also tended to stay longer. They averaged 27 days at the hospital compared to 18 days for those without cancer.

These findings indicate that cancer patients appear more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, the authors wrote.

Since this is the first large cohort study on this topic, our report will provide the much-needed information that will benefit global cancer patients, they added.

The study did not look into why people with blood and lung cancers have higher death rates. However, the research team suggested that these patients have more compromised immune systems than those with other kinds of tumors.

Certain cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are known to attack the immune system. As a result, patients with these cancers have reduced numbers of immune cells, making them more prone to severe infection.

In addition to this, patients with these cancers tend to be older, which is another risk factor.

Confirming long-held suspicions

The new study lends support to earlier suspicions that cancer patients were more vulnerable to the coronavirus. American Cancer Society (ACS) Deputy Chief Medical Officer J. Leonard Lichtenfeld stated that the study reflects what we had heard previously  that cancer patients are more susceptible to the virus, and that the course of the infection is worse and the outcomes are worse.

The study does paint a worrying picture for cancer patients during the ongoing pandemic. As healthcare systems continue to get overwhelmed by COVID-19, cancer patients find themselves pushed to the side. In New York City, over 1,000 patients have found that their cancer-related surgeries have been delayed.

According to Dr. Arnold Baskies, chairman of the Global Cancer Control Advisory Council for the ACS, doctors generally use a risk-benefit system to assess which patients need immediate treatment, based on guidelines put out by the governing societies of their individual specialties.

With the new study on the vulnerability of cancer patients to COVID-19, some of these guidelines may now need to be rethought.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

CancerDiscovery.AACRJournals.org

NYPost.com 1

NYPost.com 2
New Delhi, May 1 : The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) felicitated North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) sanitation workers for their unwavering courage and labour on Labour day.

IYC thanked all the sanitation workers and other corona warriors, who are working day and night with unwavering courage and absolute determination, to pull out the country of the current pandemic.

IYC president B V Srinivas said, "We as a nation must be thankful towards these Corona Warriors who are fighting a battle on our behalf. Never has the challenge been stronger and more challenging, but the unwavering courage of these warriors, has indebted the whole nation." IYC felicitated sanitation workers at their headquarters and honoured them with shawls, corona safety kits and ration kits.

"We must take, whatever small steps we can for ensuring the well-being of these warriors and today's felicitation and the kits distributed to them were the least we could do to acknowledge the efforts of these people," said Amrish Ranjan Pandey, IYC Media incharge.
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Sister Patricia McGowans teaching style was distinct: She had the ability to be stern without ever losing empathy.

Sister Patsy, as her students called her, was known for the phrase Deal with it, but it was uttered without harshness and with a note of understanding. She was tough but good, her niece Dr. Amy Fenwick, a trauma physician, said.

Sister McGowan, whose 60-year teaching career ranged from elementary school grade to the college level, died on April 19 at St. Johns Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. The cause was complications of Covid-19, Dr. Fenwick said.
As the US recorded more than 2,000 deaths on three consecutive days, President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on China on Thursday.

He said that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of itself, and likened it to a public relations agency for China. He also claimed that coronavirus, which has shattered economies, emerged from a virology lab in the Wuhan city of China. "I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they are like the public relations agency for China," Trump told reporters in the East Room of the ...
Meghan Markle has lost the first ruling in her case against the Mail On Sunday.

Meghans lawyers appeared in court virtually last Friday as Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) argued parts of her case against them should be struck out.

In a ruling handed down on 1 May, the judge agreed with ANL, meaning parts of Meghans argument will not be heard in a future trial.

The Duchess of Sussex is suing ANL, the publishers of the Mail On Sunday and MailOnline, over their decision to publish extracts of a letter she wrote to her father in the months after her wedding to Prince Harry.

The 38-year-old argues the letter was private, but ANL says it was not obviously confidential.

ANL said parts of her case were irrelevant to the issues she was suing over - breach of privacy and copyright.

Read more: Why is Meghan Markle suing the Mail on Sunday?

Harry is supporting Meghan in the court action. (WireImage)

In the ruling, Mr Justice Warby said the parts of Meghans case which should be struck out include allegations the defendant acted dishonestly, and in bad faith, and deliberately dug up or stirred up conflict between the claimant and her father.

Claims she was distressed by an obvious agenda of publishing intrusive or offensive stories about [her] intended to portray her in a false and damaging light are also struck out.

Mr Justice Warby said the argument presented by the duchesss team of dishonesty was not essential to her case of breach of copyright, and that it was inadequately pleaded.

The judge said Meghans argument that ANL had stirred up a dispute between her and her father was impermissibly vague.

In their argument, Meghans team, from Schillings law firm, had listed nine other articles which they said showed there was an agenda against the duchess, to portray her in a negative light.

But they wont be able to present these at the trial after the judge struck those out too.

In the ruling, he explained: Much more detail would be required to enable the pleaded claims to be fully understood and dealt with.

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The duchess is being represented by law firm Schillings. (Getty Images)

Mr Justice Warby added: I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the heart of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018.

In a statement issued after the ruling, a spokesman for law firm Schillings, which is representing Meghan, said: Todays ruling makes very clear that the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward.

The duchess rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed.

As part of this process, the extremes to which The Mail on Sunday used distortive, manipulative, and dishonest tactics to target The Duchess of Sussex have been put on full display.

The statement continued: Whilst the judge recognises that there is a claim for breach of privacy and copyright, we are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behaviour is not relevant.

We feel honesty and integrity are at the core of what matters; or as it relates to the Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers, their lack thereof.

Nonetheless, we respect the judges decision as the strong case against Associated will continue to focus on the issue of a private, intimate and hand-written letter from a daughter to her father that was published by The Mail on Sunday.

This gross violation of any persons right to privacy is obvious and unlawful, and The Mail on Sunday should be held to account for their actions.

David Sherborne is the duchess's lawyer. (Getty Images)

Meghans team is not going to appeal the ruling - but ANL is seeking costs of about 50,000 for the High Court appearance.

In an article on MailOnline, they said: Associated Newspapers will also ask the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to pay their costs of in excess of 50,000 after the couple refused their offer to deal with the issue out of court to save the High Court having to set up an online hearing during the coronavirus crisis. Meghan's costs are said to have been 60,000-plus.

Antony White, who represented ANL in the virtual court last week, said it was objectionable for the duchess to say the newspaper had stirred up a dispute between her and her father.

Meghans team, led by David Sherborne, says it was the newspaper who caused the rift by exposing paparazzo photos of Thomas Markle in Mexico as fake, and then used the rift to justify publishing the letter.

They also say Meghans father was vulnerable and was harassed by reporters. Her teams evidence includes a section of a letter written by the 75-year-old to his daughter in which he calls one of the articles lies and bulls***.

In the strike out hearing, White said Meghans team was arguing a point of a complex mental state which is irrelevant to the claim for misuse of private information.

Read more: Meghan Markle's father was manipulated by journalists, duchess's lawyer claims in court battle

Meghan launched legal action after the South Africa tour. (WireImage)

White also took issue with Meghans claim the paper acted dishonestly. Her team has used examples of other articles published by ANL which it says forms evidence of an agenda against the duchess.

Of the letter, White added: It is extremely common for the media to summarise or edit documents when reporting current events, and that is not a basis for an allegation of dishonesty.

It is open to the claimant to say, as she does, that the presentation of the letter was misleading  which is firmly denied  but there is no basis for her to allege that anyone working for the defendant was dishonest in the drafting and editing process.

Read more: Eight times the Royal Family has sued the media

Meghan and Harry are believed to have dialled into the virtual hearing on Friday, which was held in front of Mr Justice Warby at the Royal Courts of Justice.

She has previously said she will donate any damages won to an anti-bullying charity.

Associated Newspapers wholly denies the allegations, particularly the claim that the letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning, and says it will hotly contest the case.

Read more: The 360: Were Harry and Meghan right to ban Britain's tabloids?

The duchess is suing over five articles, two which were published in the Mail On Sunday and three online. The main article headline was: Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghans rift with a father she says has broken her heart into a million pieces.

The letter was written to her father in August 2018, after he missed their wedding in May 2018, claiming he had suffered a heart attack and could not fly.

He released the letter to the Mail On Sunday after it was referenced in a People magazine article, during an interview with five of Meghans friends.

Meghan denies sanctioning the interview with her friends or having any knowledge of it before it was released.

A date for trial has not yet been set.
DARIEN  Operators of the Birds Eye Foods plant here say they will reopen the plant this weekend, after combating a coronavirus outbreak that infected about 100 employees. The plant shut down manufacturing operations April 19 after an outbreak was detected among the estimated 800 people employed at the frozen vegetable plant, W880 County Road X in the town of Darien.

Walworth County health officials have verified a Birds Eye outbreak  defined as three or more cases  but the county has not provided details of the situation.

Darien Town Chairman Cecil Logterman said he has talked with plant management, and he feels assured that Birds Eye officials have worked hard to contain the public health issue.

Theyve been a good neighbor, Logterman said. I think theyre doing the best they can.

Conagra Brands, which owns Birds Eye, said manufacturing operations were suspended April 19 when about 20 employees tested positive for coronaviurus, also known as COVID-19. In a statement issued today, Conagra said the company has since been working to get employees tested, and will continue to pay employees who must stay home because they were infected or were exposed to someone or are not feeling well.

We have been proactive to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by using physical distancing techniques, screening temperatures, encouraging the use of masks and increasing the sanitation throughout the facility, the company said.

Some warehousing operations continued temporarily until April 26 to ship inventory that had already been prepared to go out.

The company said it plans to resume manufacturing operations May 3 provided we have a healthy workforce.

Many employees of Birds Eye live outside Walworth County, so any of those employees infected with coronavirus would be reported as local cases elsewhere, not Walworth County.

Conagra, based in Chicago, said the company could not estimate how many of the estimated 100 infected employees live in Walworth County. Logterman said residents in the Darien area have been aware of the Birds Eye outbreak, but he has seen no evidence of local alarm.

Theres probably a general concern, he said, but that is kind of low.

Logterman said he is encouraging all residents to follow public health guidelines and take steps to protect themselves from the virus.

Conagra said its top priority is the health and safety of its employees.

When the facility resumes full operations, the company said, we will continue to use our rigorous plant maintenance, sanitation processes, and other preventative measures to maintain a safe work environment.

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Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High 46F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

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Cloudy. Low 26F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Moderna Inc., one of the leaders among US companies developing experimental vaccines against the coronavirus, entered a pact with Lonza Group AG aimed at manufacturing 1 billion doses a year.

The companies announced a global agreement under which the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical company will ramp up output of the proposed vaccine, which is based on a novel technology that relies on genetic material called mRNA. They expect the first batches to be produced in the US in July.

The agreement is one of several partnerships being struck between drugmakers as they rush to bring protection against Covid-19 to the market. On Thursday, AstraZeneca Plc announced an agreement to make an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, eyeing production capacity for 100 million doses by the end of the year.

Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic

Because prospects for drugs to treat Covid-19 remain uncertain, rolling out vaccines on a widespread scale could be key to reopening economies from lockdowns. Otherwise new waves of infections could emerge, potentially on a seasonal pattern like the flu. If Moderna and Lonza reach their target of 1 billion doses a year, that would be enough for more than one-eighth of the worlds population.

With dozens of projects under way around the world, the Trump administration wants to make shots available for Americans by the end of 2020. Richard Hatchett, head of the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has said cooperation between drugmakers could accelerate the process of bringing out a vaccine, which normally would take a year or more.

New Technology

Modernas experimental shot induces the bodys own cells to make virus-like proteins that stimulate an immune response and prepare for an actual infection. It was one of the first proposed coronavirus vaccines to enter human trials. The company said it plans to begin the next phase of studies this quarter.

Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak

The pact with Lonza will enable a tenfold increase in manufacturing, which Moderna has already begun, according to a statement.

Shares of Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have more than doubled since the start of the year as its studies of its vaccine candidate have advanced.

The smaller players in the race wont be able to produce a vaccine in large quantities on their own. Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., another US biotech company in the first stage of testing an experimental vaccine, said Thursday that it agreed to expand a manufacturing collaboration with Germanys Richter-Helm Biologics.

A partnership between Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline Plc announced last month brought together a pair of pharmaceutical giants with manufacturing might. Sanofi will test its experimental coronavirus vaccine with Glaxo supplying so-called adjuvants, additional ingredients that improve efficacy and make it easier to produce shots in larger quantities.

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(Natural News) During the month of March, propaganda agents of Chinese origin spread plenty of misinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) to the point that needless fear and panic spread quickly across the country, according to United States intelligence officials.

These communist Chinese operatives reportedly engaged in a coordinated campaign to amplify misinformation messaging about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), which was apparently so effective that the White House National Security Council was forced to issue and announcement declaring it all to be fake.

Six anonymous U.S. intelligence officials from six different intelligence agencies allegedly told The New York Times that Chinese agents were busy spreading lies about a national lockdown that was supposedly imminent back in mid-March. But as we know, President Donald Trump never actually issued a national lockdown.

Please be advised that within 48 to 72 hours the president will evoke what is called the Stafford Act, one of the fake messages supposedly stated, pretending to be from a top White House official who was supposedly in the know about what was about to happen.

Just got off the phone with some of my military friends up in D.C. who just got out of a two-hour briefing, this fake message went on to state. The president will order a two-week mandatory quarantine for the nation. Stock up on whatever you guys need to make sure you have a two-week supply of everything. Please forward to your network.

This message and others ended up spreading on social media, sparking panic among some who rushed out to fill their pantries with storable goods. However, as we now know, the whole thing was fake, and no national quarantine was ever ordered at the federal level.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, warns about how a nationwide quarantine would actually end up being nationwide death camps:

Chinese agents also lied about the U.S. putting troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters

These same unidentified U.S. intelligence officials further told the Times that communist China lied about a supposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan to put military troops in place all across the country to help prevent looters and rioters.

This fake message was sent alongside the others warning about a Trump-imposed national lockdown, which was supposedly contingent upon these troops first being put in their assigned locations. But this, too, was not true and never actually happened, though troop movement has reportedly been observed in some parts of the country.

The Chinese agents responsible for this fake news blitz used both text messages and encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp to deliver this false information. These mediums are much more difficult to trace than social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Because so many people received these fake messages on their phones back in mid-March, the National Security Council (NSC) tweeted a public message stating that no national quarantine or lockdown was coming, and that all of the latest guidance protocols for the pandemic would be coming from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Two of the U.S. officials, however, stated to the Times that they do not believe that these fake messages were actually created by Chinese agents, but rather amplified and spread further by them. As to the true origins of the messages, the officials reportedly did not specify.

Communist China, meanwhile, has vehemently denied that it played any role in the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) disinformation campaign. The regime told the Times that the relevant statements are complete nonsense and not worth refuting.

More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheBlaze.com

NaturalNews.com
WEST HAVEN  Just as Tyler Newkirk was putting the finishing touches on his popular Easter/spring gift shop and readying to open, nonessential businesses in the state were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At first I was relieved because I wanted me, my family and my customers to be safe, said Newkirk, owner of Tyler Newkirk Craft Co. located on his grandfathers B & B Farms

But then weeks passed, with no end in clear sight.

Loyal customers who said their spring decor isnt the same without Newkirks unique goods, urged him to sell online - but he resisted until now because he delights in people experiencing the stores ambiance.

He will hold a Facebook Live sale from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, walking viewers through the shop and talking about his merchandise, much of it handcrafted by him and others. The virtual shopping trip will be on his Tyler Newkirk Craft Co. Facebook page and will remain there for viewing at any time.

At first I didnt want to because I like seeing people, he said of taking the shop virtual. Its not really a money thing. I want people to see the store.

Customer Margi Maher of Milford said shes never missed one of his openings, as he remakes the store for every season, plus Christmas, and she will be there for the Facebook Live tour.

You want everything when you walk through that door, Maher said, noting Newkirks merchandise is unique. Its eye candy to me. You want to touch everything and hell let you.

Marie Whelan of Hamden said she and other family members are ready to shop Saturday via Facebook Live.

I love his shop. Im happy hes doing this, Whelan said. I like how its very different from a lot of modern decorations. They have more of a vintage feel.

Shoppers who like what they see on Facebook Live can private message Newkirk for prices, other information and to order. Merchandise will be delivered or made available for curbside pickup.

While its not all about the money for Newkirk, he admits money matters somewhat because he has rent and other bills to pay. Newkirk is a senior drama major at Southern Connecticut State University who loves decorating.

I think its going to go well, Newkirk said. Its kind of like a QVC thing. People are going to have a ball, Im going to have a ball.

Some of the items for sale are by local crafters, including fragrant soy candles by Lisa Adams, totes and hats by Jordan Garganos No Name Outfitters (Garganos proceeds go to charity), and Beyond the Sea nautical crafts by Patricia Thompson.

Newkirk also has a wide variety of spring wreaths - his specialty - his own decoupage Easter eggs, British pottery that he found at antique sales, soaps and lotions from Shore Soap Co, seashell frames, loads of throw pillows and houseplants.

Plants that make your house happy, Newkirk said. Everything is colorful in the shop.

For those still in Easter mode, there are plenty of bunnies and chicks, too - fake ones, of course

Cute things you wont find anywhere else, he said.

Newkirk said he can pack stuff away for next year. The summer line will be displayed soon, then fall and Christmas.

Newkirk, who specializes in costume and design at school, said he learned about crafting and decorating from his three creative grandmas: Judy, Barbara and Paula  who continue to create with him.

His shop is situated on his grandfather Bob Newkirks popular B & B Farms at 668 Jones Hill Road.

B & B Farms is considered one of West Havens local gems, is visited by thousands in spring, summer and fall who feed the horses and sheep, buy flowers, eat ice cream and bask in the views and warmth of the Newkirk family.
The company announced today, the deployment of the Doctor-Vid.com platform for Doctor/Patient scheduling of E-Video sessions solving the immediate issues caused by the global lockdown challenges being created by the COVID19 Pandemic.

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc (OTC PINK:SMKG) releases a Tele-Medicine platform with a rich suite of features enabling Doctor's and their Assistants to manage scheduling, messaging, notifications and remote sessions by E-video, with a selection of the most popular E-Video Conferencing utilities available in the markets. Additionally, the E-billing allows for Pre or Post Pay for the sessions.

How it works? The current integrated solutions include, Go-to-Meeting, Google Hangouts and Zoom. The Doctor's can simply select their preference and activate with existing credentials or opt-in by signing up for a service package.

Massimo Barone CEO stated "The need for Business Continuity and Digital Transformation has combined to become a priority and to manage the simple day-to-day scheduling of meetings which has become a challenge specifically for the Health Industry as a whole. We have the flexibility of retooling our applications to meet the immediate needs of various industries or markets. We see this as a long-term solution offering and expanding the platform into a marketplace for all various types of Clinics and Practices, including introducing claims processing and payments distribution. Our focus is the billing and payments component with the added benefit of now having virtualized our main platforms to meet the needs of our clients"

SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc (OTC:SMKG) is an industry leader in FinTech & PayTech specialized industry applications for the cloud and mobility to global markets. SMKG is an entrepreneurial boutique technology company, providing business intelligence and digital transformation strategies with a proprietary portfolio of applications and wireframes for banking, enterprises, retail e-wallets, Digital ID-EKYC, digital workforce, events management, education, and ride booking industries. For more info visit www.smartcardmarketingsystems.com or visit our business applications marketplace at www.Emphasispay.com

Massimo Barone CEO mbarone@smartcardmarketingsystems.com

SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc OTC:SMKG 1-844-843-7296 News@smartcardmarketingsystems.com

We seek safe harbor.

SOURCE: SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588009/SmartCard-Marketing-Systems-Inc-OTCSMKG-Announces-The-Release-of-the-Doctor-Vidcom-Platform-for-Tele-Medicine-Remote-Patient-E-Video-Sessions
A road accident took place Friday in Armavir Province of Armenia.

At around 7am, a car hit the back of a truck that was parked on the side of the Yerevan-Armavir motorway, shamshyan.com reported.

As a result, the driver of the carArtem Krutov, 33, a Kyrgyz citizen temporarily living in Karin village of Aragatsotn Provinceand his passengerViktor Chilingaryan, 31, a resident of Ashtarak townsustained injuries and were taken to the Vagharshapat town hospital.

Krutov underwent a sobriety test, and it turned out that he had been driving under the influence.
The Times Union has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists work, consider a digital subscription.

Total COVID-19 cases:

 308,314 in New York state, including 24,039 deaths. 927,438 total tested.

 1,102,679 in U.S., including 64,804 deaths. 164,015 recovered. 6,551,810 total tested.

 3,127,126 worldwide, including 213,792 deaths. 939,223 recovered.

Note: The figures include presumed COVID-19 deaths. The number of positive confirmed cases is cumulative and includes people who have recovered as well as those who died.

Additional resources:

 Where to get tested for COVID-19.

 Here are the latest cancellations and postponements.

 For a detailed map, check out the Times Unions New York Coronavirus Tracker

 To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter.

 Share stories about people helping others in our Facebook Group.

Friday's latest updates:

5:02 p.m.: FDA allows emergency use of drug for coronavirus

U.S. regulators on Friday allowed emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster.

It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19, which has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide.

The FDA said in a statement that Gilead Sciences intravenous drug would be specifically indicated for hospitalized patients with severe disease, such as those experiencing breathing problems requiring supplemental oxygen or ventilators.

President Donald Trump announced the news at the White House alongside Gilead CEO Daniel ODay and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn.

The FDA acted after preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that the drug, remdesivir, shortened the time to recovery by 31%, or about four days on average, for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

 The Associated Press

___

4:30 p.m.: Two more Rensselaer County residents die of COVID-19

Two more Rensselaer County residents have died after contracting COVID-19, officials announced Friday.

One of the deaths was an 86-year-old resident of the hard-hit Diamond Hill nursing home in Schaghticoke. The other was a 39-year-old Nassau man.

To date, 20 residents of the county have died after becoming infected with the novel coronavirus. A dozen of them were residents of Diamond Hill, which has now had 25 residents and 12 employees test positive for the virus.

County Executive Steve McLaughlin wrote a letter to the state health commissioner on Friday asking for COVID-positive residents of the home to be moved to Samaritan Hospital in Troy.

We have got a major problem over at Diamond Hill and its a state-licensed facility, not a county-run facility, he said. We think that the only place that makes sense is the hospital because otherwise its just spreading and spreading.

Across the county, 320 residents have tested positive for the virus and 170 have recovered. Six residents were hospitalized as of Friday, with one in intensive care.

___

2:28 p.m.: Warren County assisted living facility resident dies of COVID-19

Warren County officials said Friday that another resident of the county has died from the novel coronavirus, bringing the county's known death toll from the virus to 14.

The person who died was a resident of an assisted living facility in the southern part of the county and succumbed to the virus while hospitalized, the county said.

Of the 14 deaths so far, seven have occurred within the walls of a nursing home, five have occurred at a hospital, one has occurred at an assisted living facility and one has occurred within a private residence.

Countywide, 172 residents have tested positive for the virus, up from 146 reported Thursday. Of those, 103 have recovered. Three residents were hospitalized with the virus on Friday.

___

2 p.m.: Schenectady County sees rise in positive COVID-19 cases and quarantines

The number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus pandemic has jumped to 495 with 687 individuals under quarantine.

There are 19 people in the hospital, 257 in isolation, and 336 recoveries.

The virus has caused the death of 27 people.

___

12:21 p.m.: Troy teachers thank Samaritan Hospital staff

The Troy Teachers Association delivered free meals to Samaritan Hospital to say thanks for keeping the Troy community safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. The teachers dropped off 25 pizzas, salads and paper products from The Eatery at Carols Place.

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11:58 a.m.: Cuomo says schools will remain closed through end of school year

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced that schools, colleges and universities will remain closed through the end of the school year.

He said the challenge of making schools "safe" for students, teachers and employees would have been too challenging. Read more

___

11:51 a.m.: Albany County says another resident at its nursing home has died

The resident, a man in his 70s, was one of three people who have died of complications of COVID-19 since Thursday. Read more

___

11:26 a.m.: Saratoga County reports 355 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date

That's up from 349 reported as of Thursday. An additional 188 residents are suspected but not confirmed to have the disease.

Eleven residents are currently hospitalized with the illness.

On Wednesday, county officials reported in a Facebook Live video that 393 residents have recovered from the illness, a figure that includes those who were presumed but never confirmed to have the virus.

The known death toll from the virus in the county stands at 14.

The county released a data dashboard this week on COVID-19 trends in the county. View it here.

___

8:20 a.m.: Albany County receives grant to help with COVID-19 fight

The county is receiving a state grant and repurposing other grant money, a total of $318,777, to support its efforts against the pandemic. The money will go to the county health department and pay for items like overtime, hiring additional staff, housing infected residents and creating monitoring kits.

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6:04 a.m.: Lawmakers seek more inmate releases, safer prison conditions

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision on Thursday listed that 197 of its more than 41,100 inmates are currently positive for the infectious disease, and that there have been 10 fatalities. More than 1,000 of the department's 29,000 employees have tested positive, and two have died, the agency reported.

The figures from DOCCS places the rate of infection and deaths among inmates below the general population of New York.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Still, state lawmakers say more must be done.

Forty New York legislators signed a letter sent to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo this week urging him and top state corrections officials to improve conditions in prisons and release more inmates whose poor health may put them at risk if they contract COVID-19. Read more

___

5:52 a.m.: Schenectady may have to lay off dozens of cops, other staff

Local governments and school districts confronting lost revenue and the cost to operate during the coronavirus pandemic face a multitude of challenges. School districts are weighing whether to ask voters - many of whom have lost jobs - to approve school budgets that exceed the property-tax cap. County governments are trying to come up with ways to bring back workers and comply with social distancing rules.

In Schenectady, the word out of the mayor's office is grim.

In what he described as a "worse case scenario,"Mayor Gary McCarthy said Thursday the city could be forced to lay off upwards of three dozen police officers if it doesn't get tens of millions of dollars in federal aid threatened by a political stalemate in Washington and the coronavirus pandemic.

And those potential cuts will likely extend to the fire department and other departments.

McCarthy mentioned that Schenectady was slated to initially receive about $11.6 million in the Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) program, which provides state aid to all New York cities other than New York City, and 137 towns and villages. He said that could be cut by about 20 percent.

On the federal side, Schenectady was in line for about $34 million, a figure that then dropped to about $16 million and then nothing for municipalities with a population below 500,000, said the mayor.

"If that happens, we're in trouble," added McCarthy. Read more

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Thursday: Known case counts, hospitalizations, recoveries and deaths

More than 2,500 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus had been reported in 11 Capital Region counties and 142 deaths had occurred. Known case counts, hospitalizations, recoveries and deaths are available below by county.

Albany County: 1,120 cases, 37 hospitalized, 10 in ICU, 562 recovered, 41 deaths

Columbia County: 205 cases, 14 hospitalized, 6 in ICU, 92 recovered, 13 deaths

Fulton County: 71 cases, 3 deaths

Greene County (as of April 29): 130 cases, 50 active, 80 resolved, 7 hospitalized, 5 deaths

Montgomery County: 54 cases, 34 recovered, 2 under medical care, 1 death

Rensselaer County: 305 cases, 165 recovered, 9 hospitalized, 2 in ICU, 18 deaths

Saratoga County: 349 cases, 10 hospitalized, 122 recoveries (as of April 14), 14 deaths

Schenectady County: 472 cases, 18 hospitalized in the county (regardless of patient's county of residence), 318 recoveries, 27 deaths

Schoharie County (as of April 29): 39 cases, 6 hospitalized, 31 recovered, 1 death

Warren County: 146 cases, 4 hospitalized, 99 recovered, 13 deaths

Washington County: 135 cases, 65 recovered, 6 deaths

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Thursday: Troy Sgt. Randall French succumbs

Detective Sgt. Randall French, the city police officer who for more than a month battled the effects of COVID-19, died Thursday.

"It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you of the line of duty death of Troy Police Detective Sergeant Randall C. French," Police Chief Brian Owens said in a prepared statement.

"Detective Sergeant French succumbed to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, after a long and tough fight." Read more

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Thursday: Rensselaer County executive says test sites coming soon

Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said Thursday that the county believes it has reached "agreements in principle" with two medical providers to operate test sites in the county.



The sites are expected to be up and running in the coming days, and specific details will be announced when agreements are finalized, he said.



"We believe we have agreements to have two separate testing facilities located and operating in our county as early as next week," he said. "This is great news for Rensselaer County in our efforts to beat back COVID-19."



"We support expanded testing in Rensselaer County and recognize more testing is needed to treat those is need and help map out a return to normal life," he added.



McLaughlin has expressed frustration on numerous occasions about the county's lack of test kits. He asked the state in April to provide 5,000 kits  a request that was supported by local town and village supervisors, the county Legislature, and the county's delegation to the State Legislature.



"We believe 5,000 test kits would be a good way to expand testing in the initial stages, and remain hopeful our request will be granted," he said.

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Thursday: Rensselaer County reports 11 new cases

The 11 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus bring the county to 305 cases. One of the new cases is an 80-year-old male resident of the Diamond Hill adult care facility in Schaghticoke.

The county has had 18 deaths. Currently nine residents are hospitalized and two are in ICU. About 600 residents are in monitor quarantine. There have been 2,996 tests administered to residents. The county had 12 cases cleared for recovery, bringing the total to 165 cases.

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Thursday: 4 die in Schenectady County

Four more residents died overnight, the county said Thursday afternoon, bringing the county's total to 27. The victims were all older than 80, three were men, one was a woman. The county has recorded 472 positive cases so far.

___

Read more updates from Thursday
Once you get past the mask, which would be creepy even if it wasn't emitting an angry red light, in the above piece, titled "Skin: 5," you realize it's not even the weirdest thing about the video. The sweatpants, the Coors Light, the environmentally friendly reusable straw, and the mask -- that cost more than three months of your rent -- all come together to say something about wealth and celebrity, it's just not clear what. Unsettling masks are a recurring motif in her body of work, as seen in a later video in which she dons a fancy robe to sweep her foyer hilariously ineffectively.
THE corporate equivalent of panic-buying toilet paper is coming to an end.

European companies have largely stopped maxing out their credit lines after unprecedented help from governments and central banks calmed the coronavirus panic.

Executives at Deutsche Bank, HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered say some corporate clients are starting to repay that credit, increasingly confident they will be able to tap public markets if needed.

The rapid drawdowns in March put risk officers at many European banks on alert as they exacerbated a depletion of capital cushions.

As that trend ebbs, it removes one headache from the banks as they stare into the worst recession in almost a century.

"You had this situation where companies were saying 'crikey - I'd rather have the cash in the bank'," rather than just a promise that credit is available, Andy Halford, chief financial officer of Standard Chartered, said in an interview.

"After three to four weeks, people realised this wasn't a banking crisis, and that sitting there with cash without great purpose wasn't a great move."

As the pandemic spread across Europe in March and governments imposed lockdowns, companies including EasyJet, Rexel, Crest Nicholson Holdings and Loxam announced they had largely - and sometimes, completely - exhausted their credit lines.

Several said they didn't really need the banks' money, and tapped credit as a precautionary measure. Standard Chartered said in a presentation on Wednesday that as drawdowns peaked in March, about $5bn (4.6bn) of loan facilities were used by clients. But in the week of April 14 to 20, a net $200m was repaid.

By the end of March, the situation reached a turning point, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said.

"In the early days of the crisis, the capital markets were not open, or open to the degree that they are now," Mr Quinn said on a conference call as the bank reported earnings this week.

"As the capital market started to reopen and liquidity was available in those markets, we have seen a number of clients addressing their liquidity requirements."

In Germany, Deutsche Bank saw 18bn drawn by clients in the first quarter.

By the end of April, the lender was observing the same trends as its British counterparts.

"We have seen drawdowns slow and repayments pick up," said Stefan Hoops, head of corporate banking.

Bloomberg
The scope and severity of challenges facing the higher education community require a renewed focus and commitment from all leaders in the sector, said Henry Stoever, AGB president and CEO.

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), the premier organization representing higher education governance, today released Top Strategic Issues for Boards 2020-2021, a biennial resource for trustees. The new edition provides an in-depth overview of the most pressing issues that confront higher education institutions and require strategic oversight and innovative thinking from board members. As colleges and universities face a changed landscape, the COVID-19 pandemic intersects with many of these issues, and its impact on them is covered throughout the publication.

The strategic issues that are detailed in the publication include:



restoring public confidence in higher education;

strengthening board capability and accountability;

meeting the needs of students and bridging societal divides;

preparing for further market disruptions;

helping presidents and institutions innovate; and

finding more effective ways to manage a welter of risks.

The scope and severity of challenges facing the higher education community require a renewed focus and commitment from all leaders in the sector, said Henry Stoever, AGB president and CEO. Our nations college and university governing boards are facing a monumental task. They must help address the immediate pandemic crisis, but they also must face a multitude of other challenges in the higher education enterprise. This substantive resource can help board members move from advisors to change agents.

The publication points out that institutional responses to combating COVID-19, such as mandated online learning, will have major implications for academic instruction. It states, The fact that massive open online courses have neither decimated face-to-face instruction nor doomed the residential collegiate model does not mean online distributed learning technologies have lost their power to disrupt. But the coronavirus pandemic also underscored their utility, as campuses across the country sent students home and switched to online classes for all.

According to the Babson Survey Research Group, 30 percent of American college students took at least one class online in 2016, the fourteenth consecutive year of increase.

Merrill Schwartz, AGBs senior vice president of content strategy and development, sees this trend growing in the wake of COVID-19. This pandemic undoubtedly will accelerate the trend of online learning, as institutions seek ways to operate more efficiently and students become more accustomed to it. Even before the pandemic, students living on campus chose to take some courses online because they enjoyed the flexibility.

A complimentary e-book version of Top Strategic Issues for Boards 2020-2021 is available for AGB members at AGB.org/TopStrategicIssues. It is also available for purchase in hard copy with a membership discount. Both the digital and print versions include questions designed to guide board discussions on each issue. A new appendix helps facilitate broader board conversations about strategic thinking and planning, and the boards work on institutional viability and operational efficiency.

About AGB

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) is the premier membership organization that strengthens higher education governing boards and the strategic roles they serve within their organizations. Through our vast library of resources, educational events, and consulting services, and with nearly 100 years of experience, we empower 40,000 AGB members from more than 2,000 institutions and foundations to navigate complex issues, implement leading practices, streamline operations, and govern with confidence. AGB is the trusted resource for board members, chief executives, and key administrators on higher education governance and leadership.
Whether you believe that ghosts are real or not, you cannot deny the fact that as far as horror and paranormal films are concerned, The Conjuring and the subsequent films in the series has its own special place.

 Warner Bros.

It certainly is not the scariest of horror films, there are way better movies that legit make you afraid of switching the lights off when you go to sleep, but over the years, people have simply been unable to put the house and the incidents that the Perron family lived through, out of their minds. The original house, called the Arnold Estate was obviously not the same house where the film was shot.

 Wiki Commons

So when we got to know that a group of paranormal researchers are going to live stream from the house to raise funds for COVID-19 focussed charities, we were excited. But we also wondered, what must be going on at that infamous house now.

 New England Legends

Before we begin, just a little factoid: After the film was released, a couple from Rhode Island, Norma Sutcliffe and Gerald Helfrich, bought the house and tried living there. However, because of obvious reasons, they sold the house again, this time to a couple named Cory and Jennifer Heinzen who turned the house into a museum of sorts.

 Press Herald

Apparitions, Strange Shadows & An Eerie Feeling

 New England Legends

The Heinzen reported that while they were renovating parts of the house, they would often see shadows and apparitions in broad daylight inside the house. Several of the workers who worked at the house had the same complaints. As per an interview they gave to a popular celebrity and gossip news channel, TMZ, the Heinzens claimed that when they bought the house from the previous owners, the real estate broker, as well as the previous owners, never went into the house themselves and instead preferred to stay out of the house, citing an eerie and uncomfortable feeling.



Inexplicable Sounds & Knocks

 New England Legends

The Heinzens also claim that often people would hear some inexplicable sound, and walls creaking when there was absolutely no reason for them to creak. They also claim that the workers, often during their lunch breaks could hear someone walking inside, on the stairs, which would make a creaking sound. They have also reported that often someone would knock on the door, and whenever someone went and answered it, there would be no one around.



Sudden Changes In Temperature

 New England Legends

North America, thanks to its geographical location is a very cold place. Most of the times, the area where the house is situated in, Harrisville, Rhode Island, is a cold place. For a long time, the Heinzens could not get their central heating systems to work properly. No matter how many times they repaired it, some or the other issue would always crop in. Some rooms of the house were extremely cold, and some, were unusually warm.



Things Moving By Themselves

 Warner Bros.

Cory Heinzen, who is also a paranormal investigator, once stayed a night at the infamous place, and claimed that although nothing evil or atrocious had happened, the night was busy. Speaking to a local daily newspaper, Press Herald, Cory said, We had doors opening, footsteps and knocks. He also claimed little things, such as bottles or water and food containers, were not in the places where they had been left, as if they had been moved around.



Satanic Rituals & Graffiti

 iStock

One of the main reasons why Norma Sutcliffe and Gerald Helfrich sold the house off, was because miscreants would often break into the house, and conduct some satanic rituals, and sacrifice birds, and farm animals inside the house. Although not paranormal in nature, this certainly was deeply disturbing and scary in its own manner. This practice, the Heinzens say, has although stopped, but they still get trespassers who behave rather strangely when confronted.



The house will be live-streamed for a week in May, and will be organised by the Heinzens who say that all the proceeds will go to a number of charity organisations that are fighting COVID-19. It will be interesting to see how the live-stream turns out to be. More interesting, will be the insights that Corys fellow paranormal investigators will provide. But will something exciting be caught on tape yet again? Who knows?
The minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, described as highly regrettable the retrenchment of airline staff and other service providers.

In his May-Day message signed by the spokesperson of the ministry, James Odaudu, the minister said workers in the aviation industry were among the hardest hit economically by the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world.

This is especially with the grounding of passenger flights and shutting down of services globally.

It is highly regrettable that airlines and other service providers are being forced to cope with the option of either sending their staff on compulsory leaves or reduction of their wages as occasioned by the redundancy caused by COVID-19 scourge.

He said the federal government was aware of the dire situation in the aviation sector and will do whatever is practically possible to mitigate the consequences of the total lockdown in the industry and create an enabling environment for the sector to bounce back.

Speaking on the Workers days, he assured aviation workers of better days ahead.

He, however, expresses the belief that theres a bright future for the Nigerian aviation industry after the dark times that it presently faces, hoping that the pandemic will be short-lived.

He also appeals to both private and public workers in the sector to keep hope alive as there are reasons to believe that the industry will come out of the current situation stronger, and in a better situation to improve the welfare of its employees.
Community Resource Guide

for Covid-19

by James M. Manheim, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds, Jan Schlain, Chuck Warpehoski

From the May, 2020 issue

ISSUU version





Where to Turn

General Resources

...continued below...

Housing

Hunger

/needfood. (734) 761-2796.



Meals on Wheels is providing meals for homebound adults on a reduced schedule. (734) 998-6686, med.umich.edu /aamealsonwheels /



Internet Access The Ann Arbor District Library 's buildings might be closed, but the WiFi is still running strong. For the strongest signals, try the Downtown Library staff parking lot or the lots at the Westgate and Malletts Creek branches.



Comcast customers who can't pay Internet service fees because of the crisis should contact the company. Go to corporate.comcast.com /covid-19 or call (734) 224-6850 or (800) 934-6489. The company says it will not disconnect service or assess late fees during this period.



Comcast also has temporarily opened its Xfinity WiFi hotspots to non-subscribers. Look for "xfinitywifi" in your list of networks to see if one is available near you.



AT&T (att.com /help /covid-19 / ) and Verizon (verizonwireless.com /support /covid-19-faqs ) are suspending service termination and late fees for customers affected by the pandemic.



Utilities All basic City of Ann Arbor services are continuing during the shutdown, including water and sewer service. Water shutoffs are suspended during a statewide moratorium.



DTE customers with a sudden loss of income or medical condition, as well as vulnerable seniors, can call (800) 477-4747 to determine eligibility for payment assistance. Consumers Power customers: (800) 477-5050. Both companies are suspending shutoffs to low-income and senior customers during the crisis.



--James M. Manheim



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Covid-19 Q&A



Q: Do I really have to keep social distancing?



A: Yes. "What everybody needs to do is to act as if there's a low risk of exposure every time they go out," advises Susan Ringler-Cerniglia of the Washtenaw Department of Health. Social distancing, handwashing, and quarantine help "by slowing the spread of illness to not overwhelm the health systems. That's what this is all about."



Even people who feel fine can be infected with the novel coronavirus--and infect others. When the navy belatedly tested the entire crew of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in April, it found that more than 600 were infected--but most had no symptoms.



Q: What if I think I may have Covid-19?



A: You have a bit of a cough, maybe a fever. What should you do?



According to Ringler-Cerniglia, it's likely to be a while before mass testing for people with mild symptoms is available in the U.S. "We hope that our ability to test people quickly and in mass numbers will continue to improve," she says, but in the meantime, "the medical advice and the medical treatment is really the same with and without testing.



"We want you to stay home. We want you to isolate yourself from anyone else in the household as much as possible. Many people who get this can recover on their own that way."



Consult your doctor by phone, and be prepared to seek treatment quickly if needed--the infection can progress very rapidly. "This virus is no joke," according to Sergeant Eugene Rush of the Washtenaw County Sheriff who contracted Covid-19. "It has taken a toll on me like no other. I consider myself to be pretty healthy ... but the virus is so powerful that it will make you feel like you're dying."



Call your doctor if you experience: Fever that does not come down with medication.



Vomiting or diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours or any bloody diarrhea.



Shortness of breath.



Symptoms that keep getting worse and feel unmanageable. If you do not have a doctor, call the Washtenaw County Health Department at (734) 544-6700 and leave a message. Health Department staff check messages multiple times per day.



Call ahead to the emergency department at Michigan Medicine (734-936-6666) or St. Joseph Mercy (734-712-3000) or call 9-1-1 if you have: Difficulty breathing/inability to catch your breath.



Chest pain.



Feel faint, light-headed or unstable in any other way. At press time, testing is by referral only. Michigan Medicine patients and employees can call (734) 763-6336. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital patients can call (833) 247-1258.



If testing expands as Ringler-Cerniglia hopes, local institutions are working to make it more accessible. "We recognize that not everyone has access to a car to access the drive-in testing locations," says Neel Hajra, CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. "We're working with local partners to see if we can deploy capital to expand testing to the most vulnerable communities in the county, which are also the ones hardest hit by Covid-19."



Q: What if I don't have insurance?



A: If you do not have health insurance, the Washtenaw Health Plan can assist you in securing coverage. Ringler-Cerniglia advises that you don't wait until you experience symptoms to line up coverage. Call (734) 544-3030 or email whp@washtenaw.org.



The St. Joseph Mercy Neighborhood Family Health Center in Ypsilanti (stjoesannarbor.org /neighborhood-family-health-center , (734) 547-7977 accepts all insurances and treats county residents without insurance. Ypsi's Corner Health Center (cornerhealth.org 734-484-3600) provides services to people ages twelve to twenty-five regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. The three Packard Health (packardhealth.org) locations accept Medicaid and offer sliding scale fees: Ann Arbor West, (734) 926-4900; Ann Arbor East, (734) 971-1073; and Ypsilanti, (734) 985-7200.



Q: I feel fine, but someone in my house has a fever and cough. What should we do?



A: "The last thing we want to do is have someone become sick in that household and then have everyone else get sick in that household," says Ringler-Cerniglia. "Anybody with any symptoms should do the best they can to isolate from everyone else."



If someone in your household is infected, if possible have that person sleep in a separate room and avoid food preparation, Ringler-Cerniglia advises, and everyone in the household should wear a mask.



As he recovers from Covid-19, Sergeant Rush is following this advice with his family. In a Facebook Live video shared by the sheriff's office, he revealed, "My oldest son, I'm pretty sure he does have it, he does have quite a few of the symptoms. So we are quarantining in the house in different sections of the house."



Q: What about my other health care needs?



A: Many health care providers are rescheduling non-essential visits or turning them into video visits or e-visits. Michigan Medicine has changed the location for many of their still-scheduled outpatient visits to reduce risk of transmitting Covid-19. If you have a non-Covid-related healthcare appointment scheduled, contact your provider for current information.



Many pharmacies are also offering free delivery of prescriptions to reduce virus transmission.



Q: Between coronavirus anxiety, social distancing, and my kids out of school, I'm at the end of my rope. Where do I turn for mental health care?



A: Washtenaw County Community Mental Health CARES team operates a 24/7 crisis line during the Covid-19 response for support and resources about any mental health question. Call (734) 544-3050 or text "share" to 741741.



The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has created a "warm line" staffed by individuals with a lived experience of mental illness. Washtenaw County Community Mental Health Director Trish Cortes describes it as "another resource for folks if they just need to talk to someone who understands what it's like to be someone that lives with mental illness or just needs support." The warm line is available daily from 10 a.m.-2 a.m. at (888) 733-7753.



Many counselors and therapists have moved their treatment online. "I never wanted to do telehealth conferencing, but because of the situation I've been doing it," says Su Hansen, a therapist in private practice. "And I've been very, very surprised that it has worked so well."



Q: Being isolated is making my elderly neighbor really anxious. Is there anyone who could check in on her?



A: Jewish Family Services (734-769-0209, jfsannarbor.org) is offering telephone reassurance to all seniors who need it from a trained volunteer. Email jsinger@jfsannarbor.org to arrange.



Q: Any advice for managing my own stress?



A: This pandemic is stressful for everyone. The health department advises that you find ways to stay connected to your loved ones, maintain a schedule for your day, limit information overload, and practice deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, or other methods of meditation.



Many local wellness practitioners are offering online sessions. Rec and Ed has launched aarecedonline.com with remote classes in yoga, arts, music, gardening, and more. Mindful City Ann Arbor (mindfulcityannarbor.org) has transitioned their popular "Being in Tune" free guided mindfulness meditation to online.



Q: I've been drinking way too much since this started. Where can I find substance abuse help?



A: "Addicts and alcoholics are pretty creative," observes Jim Balmer, president of Dawn Farm (dawnfarm.org). Social media groups and online mutual aid groups have proliferated during the pandemic.



Glynis Anderson, CEO of Home of New Vision (homeofnewvision.org, (734) 975-1602, says they're still "connecting people to recovery coaches and case managers," using phone screenings to direct people to the appropriate level of care and phone or telemedicine sessions for recovery coaching. For a list of SMART Recovery and All Recovery online meetings, see their website or call them at (734) 975-1602 for a screening. Huron Valley Area Intergroup maintains a directory of online 12 step meetings at hvai.org and offers a helpline at (734) 482-5700.



Information about Covid-19 testing availability, and medical guidelines are changing rapidly. These answers are accurate as of press time. Please visit washtenaw.org /covid19 for up to date information from the Washtenaw County Health Department.



--Chuck Warpehoski



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COMMUNITY SERVICES



A selection of the most essential services for surviving the pandemic. See also "Where to Turn" on the first page of this guide.



Child Care



Child Care Network. childcarenetwork.org. CCN's office is closed, but it is partnering with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) to connect essential workers with licensed child care programs. Intake online at helpmegrow-mi.org /essential .



Hunger



Food Gatherers, 1 Carrot Way, (734) 761-2796. foodgatherers.org. Food rescue program and food bank supplies a network of food pantries and meal programs. Drive-through pickup of prepackaged boxes or ready-to-eat bagged meals. Donations accepted Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Food Gatherers and Michigan Medicine are accepting donated food and personal protective equipment at the U-M North Campus Research Complex (2800 Plymouth, loading dock 90). 1-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Most gifts are tax-deductible under the CARES Act.



Community Action Network (CAN). (734) 994-2985. canwashtenaw.org. Food pantries and distributions at the Arrowwood Hills, Bryant, Hikone, and Green Baxter Court community centers remain open with extended hours.



Jewish Family Services, (734) 769-0209. jfsannarbor.org. Specialty food pantry (kosher, halal, gluten free) offers delivery during the pandemic--order online or by phone (prompt six). Home meal delivery.



Meals on Wheels, 2025 Traverwood, Suite F. (734) 998-6686. med.umich.edu /aamealsonwheels / Delivers meals to homebound adults Tues., Thurs., Sat. (quantities sufficient to cover non-delivery days).



SOS Community Services (101 S. Huron, Ypsilanti, 734-961-1206, soscs.org). Food pantry open without appointment. Pick up pre-bagged groceries. Tues. 1-6:30 p.m. & Wed. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.



SNAP and FAP: Food Assistance Program recipients are not required to report qualifying work activities during the pandemic. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients may get benefits up to the maximum amount allowed. Application helpline: (888) 544-8773.



Ann Arbor Public School food distribution: To-go breakfasts and lunches available at many locations, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. See a2schools.org /Page /15641 for information. If you cannot make it to a pickup location, call the the AAPS Food Service Hotline at (734) 994-2265.



Ann Arbor Community Center, 625 N. Main. (734) 662-3128. Food pantry currently by delivery only.



Hope Clinic, 518 Harriet, Ypsilanti, (734) 484-2989. thehopeclinic.org. Evening hot meals, emergency groceries, and produce/pantry appointments.



Peace Neighborhood Center, 1111 N. Maple. (734) 795-5422. peaceneighborhoodcenter.org. Food pantry Tues. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Thurs. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., & Fri. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Fresh produce, lunch, breads.



SOS Community Services, 114 N. River St., Ypsilanti. (734) 485-8730, info@soscs.org. Food pantry open Tues. 1-6:30 p.m. and Weds. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. for appointments and walk-ins. Pre-packaged fresh produce, bread, canned, and boxed items available for all; receive a bag of food at the door. No more than six individuals in the pantry at a time. Call for more information.



St. Andrew's Episcopal Church breakfast program, 306 N. Division, (734) 663-0518, ext. 206. breakfast@standrewsaa.org. Hot carryout breakfasts for pickup only.



Housing



Housing Access for Washtenaw County, (734) 961-1999. Point of entry to all county homeless shelters. HAWC is still operating the call center for those in a housing crisis and in need of emergency shelter; no walk-ins at this time. Shelter diversion is being implemented as much as possible.



Shelter Association of Washtenaw County (SAWC), 312 W. Huron, (734) 662-2829. annarborshelter.org. SAWC is currently operating two off-site locations, a hotel and a congregation site, to reduce the head count at the Delonis Center homeless shelter. Delonis is functioning as an overflow with additional beds for anyone seeking emergency shelter.



Non-residential services are still available, though those coming to Delonis Center can expect a longer process to access resources, including a health screening at the door and limitations on the number of people in the building at a time.



The PORT/PATH team, embedded within Washtenaw County Community Mental Health (CMH), continues its outreach to people who are homeless and mentally ill.



Peace House (Jimmy Hill Memorial House), 3501 Stone School Rd. (734) 249-4198. ask.missiona2@gmail.com. Private "house of hospitality" open to serve the homeless Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m-5 p.m. & Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner at 3 p.m. Food delivery available.



Michigan Ability Partners. mapagency.org. Food pantry is stocked and they are delivering to housing and payee clients on request. Weekly deliveries to the Grant Per Diem (GPD) program.



Business/Nonprofit Support



Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Short-Term Cash Flow Loan Program. aaacf.org. Loans of $5,000-$50,000 to 501(c)3 nonprofits.



Washtenaw County Small Business Emergency Relief Fund. washtenawsbf.com. Working capital grants of up to $5,000 to local small businesses. Oversubscribed and not currently taking applications. Donations still needed.



micovidcare.com. Website where local businesses post information on how customers can support them and/or their staffs during the shutdown. Businesses use the main address to post requests. Supporters view them at micovidcare.com /directory .



savemifaves.org. Statewide site where customers can buy gift cards to support businesses suffering in the shutdown. Use the "town" pulldown to find Ann Arbor businesses.



Student Aid



Eastern Michigan University student emergency fund (up to $750). emich.edu /gameabove /forms /



emergency-fund.php



University of Michigan student emergency fund. deanofstudents.umich.edu /article /student-emergency-funds



Washtenaw Community College Student Emergency Fund (up to $500). (734) 973-3300. wccnet.edu /succeed /personal /financial-emergency.php



Pet Services



Humane Society of Huron Valley. 3100 Cherry Hill, (734) 662-5585. hshv.org. Adoptions, drive-up and telemedicine vet appointments, fostering for pets whose people are undergoing treatment or otherwise unable to care for them. Apply online for help buying pet food at hshv.org /get-help /bountifulbowls /bountifulbowlsapplication .



Transportation



TheRide buses are currently free, but service frequency has been reduced and digital signs advise "essential trips only." Visit TheRide.org for the latest information. The AirRide bus to and from Metro Airport and the new D2A2 Ann Arbor-to-Detroit express bus have both been suspended until further notice.



Parking in public parking structures in downtown Ann Arbor is free. Careful, though--you still have to feed the on-street parking meters.



Unemployment Benefits



Expanded unemployment benefits are available for those who've lost work because of the pandemic and shutdown. For the first time, independent contractors filing 1099 tax forms are also now eligible for benefits.



File by phone (866-500-0017) or online (michigan.gov /uia ). Filing days are based on the first letter of the applicant's last name: people with names beginning with A-L apply by phone on Mon. & Weds., online Mon., Weds. & Fri. People with names beginning M-Z apply by phone Tues. & Thurs., online Tues., Thurs., and Sun. Makeup days: Sat. online, Fri. & Sat. by phone.



Veterans Services



Washtenaw County Veterans Affairs. washtenaw.org /959 /Veterans-Affairs . Office is closed, but providing case management remotely and continuing to do intakes and move homeless veterans into grants-per-diem (GPD) and permanent housing.



--Jan Schlain



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GOVERNMENT SERVICES



City of Ann Arbor



"The City is 100 percent committed to the uninterrupted provision of basic services" during the Covid-19 shutdown, says mayor Christopher Taylor. "We will continue to provide basic services in absolutely all circumstances, which includes police, fire, water, wastewater, and solid waste."



The most visible change may be in the police department, where all officers have been issued N95 masks and gloves and other protective equipment. "We may act a little differently," advises AAPD chief Mike Cox. "We might want you to have a conversation outside of your home, maybe on your porch."



"The City as an organization does not provide direct human services," Taylor notes. "The most direct human service function that the City performs is the provision of housing through the Housing Commission. We as landlords have committed to no evictions."



On April 6, in a meeting via video conference, City Council approved $200,000 of emergency spending for the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. These funds will be used for rent subsidy to prevent future evictions, increased security to protect vulnerable and high health risk populations, and food security for residents.



Washtenaw County



County government rarely gets the attention that city government does. With Covid-19, however, county government is leading the local response through its health department, community mental health, sheriff's department, and more.



The health department coordinates the responses of healthcare, governmental, and other organizations. For example, healthcare providers, laboratories, and hospitals all report their testing results to the department. It uses them to form an overall picture of the disease spread, and also for individual follow up. With Covid-19, "we contact each and every person diagnosed to "make sure that, first and foremost, they're getting the care that they need ... We also go through a very detailed timeline of where they've been and who they've been in contact with." Everyone who's had close contact with them, such as attending a social gathering, riding in the same car, or living in the same household, gets a "direct, personal notification."



Sheriff's Department "It's important to us because we care about the people in the jail. It's important to us because we care about the community." That's how Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton explains the changes his department is making in jail operations and deputy patrols.



The jail average daily count last year was 365. In mid April it was 151. Clayton says arrests are down, and some individuals have had their sentence or bond status changed through judicial review. Everyone entering the jail facility is screened, and so far, no prisoner had the virus. "We have had to quarantine a couple of incarcerated individuals that were suspected on being infected," Clayton emails, "however their test came back negative."



Economic Development To help address the economic hardship caused by the pandemic, the county has joined the Song Foundation, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Bank of Ann Arbor, and others to create the $1.3 million Washtenaw Small Business Emergency Relief Fund (washtenawsbf.com). Demand "has been incredible--far exceeded the funds available," observes Jenn Cornell Queen of SPARK, which is administering it. Grant applications are closed, but the fund is still accepting donations to expand its impact.



Ann Arbor Public Schools "At this time, even before our critical mission of teaching and learning, we are attending to issues of health and safety first," Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Swift wrote to families following Governor Whitmore's executive order closing schools for the rest of the school year.



All local school districts are rolling out plans to support student learning, maintain school feeding programs, provide technology needed to support online learning, and support the educational needs of students in special education.



The AAPS central resource page (a2schools.org /COVID-19 ) links to a trove of detailed information. For instance, the district's "continuity of learning plan" including three supported online platforms: (Google Classroom, Moodle, and SeeSaw) and providing students with iPads and Chromebooks. AAPS has delivered almost 2,000 devices, as well as mobile hot spots to those without high speed internet access.



For tech support, the district's family help desk is open Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (734) 997-1222.



Many students depend on free or reduced breakfast and lunch during the school year, and AAPS spokesperson Andrew Cluley says the district "distributed over 100,000 meals in the first month, thanks to many community partners including Peace Neighborhood Center, Community Action Network, Avalon Housing and several other housing developments in the community. We are serving approximately 2,000 students every time we distribute food."



Special Education The school closure and social distancing is hard on all students, especially for students with special education needs. AAPS support staff has been in direct contact with families to discuss student services during the closure.



AAPS also offers online resources and a parents of special needs student helpline at (734) 994-2318. While most of the hotline calls have been technology-related, Cluley shares the story of how one parent, "called in tears in need of some immediate help dealing with their child, she was grateful and relieved to know that a trained staff member was available to help and comforted when she heard a live voice and not a recording."



Schools Donations



"As they delivered meals to the families with the greatest need, our staff was hearing that the families needed more than just food. They were also in desperate need of things like toilet paper, diapers, feminine hygiene products, and laundry detergent," reports Nancy Shore, Ann Arbor Public Schools Strategic Partnership and Volunteer Coordinator. By working with AAPS families, vendors, and partners, the district has been able to help fill these needs.



"The generosity of the community has been tremendous, but we still struggle to keep up," Shore explains. Shore was able to secure a donation of 450 rolls of toilet paper from the district's paper goods vendor-but all were gone in just one day of food distribution.



"Of course the families we are supporting are overjoyed for the help," notes Shore, "but what I didn't expect is how much it would mean for the donors. People appreciate being able to help-it gives them a sense of purpose to give back." To donate, visit a2schools.org /supportstudents or email partners@a2schools.org.



--Chuck Warpehoski



[Originally published in May, 2020.]










Representative Image

Amit Patni

The Indian economy is facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions due to COVID-19. The nationwide lockdown has disrupted business and manufacturing operations across the sectors.

Not only have revenues been impacted, but companies also have debt obligations, fixed costs like salaries and rentals to contend with, and CAPEX plans which now stands deferred.

Over and above all of these, there prevails an acute uncertainty as to when the situation will come back to business as usual, and entrepreneurs can breathe a sigh of relief.

It is at times like these that the role of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs) who have proven their acumen in different business spheres can be of invaluable help, tiding over the crisis that is staring at the countrys economy.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

So what can UHNIs do?

There are numerous ways in which a UHNI or business can contribute to the nations economic growth.

Due to the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, there have been disruptions in the supply chain as most entities across sectors are dependent on vendors from China. This is a great opportunity for businesses and businessmen to promote the Make in India campaign.

Wherever possible UHNIs should look at import substitution and ensure raw materials are sourced from within the country, from SMSEs which will, in turn, help them sustain.

During tough times like these, it is important for businesses to adopt a more human approach towards their employees. Be it through employee-friendly HR policies or ensuring continuation of employee benefits and no pay cuts. Supporting employees during their difficult times will earn their loyalty for a lifetime.

Our country has one of the largest startup ecosystems which is brimming with entrepreneurial talent. There are several first-time entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs who need capital, mentoring, technical expertise, and market/customers for their products and services.

Investing in Indian startups and avenues will provide the necessary boost to economic growth.

Additionally, by providing microfinance through set-ups like non-banking finance company  microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI), small businesses can be supported to sustain themselves during the crisis. This, in turn, will have a long-term positive impact on the economy.

Philanthropy is an activity that gives immense contentment. By supporting the under-privileged sections of the society during times of lockdown  monthly rations, some money inho hand, food packets, and shelter to the large migrant population/workforce will be a much-needed service.

To sum up, taking a more pro-active approach which is in line with their core family business values and culture, something that has played a pivotal role in the success of their business, UHNIs can help the society at large in pandemic time.

(The author is Director, Campden Family Connect)

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
By Express News Service

DEHRADUN: A 56-year-old woman who was tested positive for COVID-19 died in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh on Friday morning. This is the first recorded death of COVID-19 patient in Uttarakhand.

The officials of the state health department said that the reason of the death was multiple organ failure as the woman had other health complications. Amita Upreti, director-general, state health department said, "The deceased had a brain stroke and was shifted through three hospitals before coming to the AIIMS. We can only determine the reason as COVID-19 infection after proper examination and audit and post-mortem."

Currently, there is a total of 57 positive cases in the state. The woman was tested positive on April 28. A total of three positive patients from the AIIMS have surfaced least week including two staff and one patient.
A group of Queensland taxi licence owners have been ordered to pay the state government's costs after the Supreme Court ruled against them on two grounds of a potential billion-dollar compensation claim.

Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, who has been supporting the claim, vowed to take action in the High Court to try to claw back some of the money lost across the sector since the legalisation of ride-sharing services in 2016.

Standard taxi licences in Brisbane were selling for more than $500,000 just six years ago. Credit:Michelle Smith

The value of Brisbane's taxi licences has plummeted in recent years amid the rise of ride-sharing companies such as Uber, Ola and DiDi.

Standard taxi licences in Brisbane were selling for an average of more than half a million dollars in 2014 but that price had dropped to $103,828 in 2018.
UPPER THUMB  Because Americans have never faced the impact and restrictions COVID-19 is imposing, there is a lot of uncertainty and fear.

To help with that, the Tuscola County Health Department has a hotline to address COVID-19, and Tuscola Behavioral Health Services recently instituted a hotline to discuss concerns.

I have talked to the sheriff and List Psychological about this," said Ann Hepfer, who is the health officer for both the Tuscola County Health Department, and the Huron County Health Department. "They have seen an increase in those who are very nervous about being out of a job and feeling disconnected. We started the second week in March when this virus started and put together information (to address concerns).

TBHS provides community mental health services so it is considered an essential service; and as such, continues to provide mental health services. Emergency Services are available 24/7. To receive service, call 989-673-6191 or 1-800-462-6814, and updates can be found on the website www.tbhsonline.com.

The hotline is for anyone. A person does not need to be using community mental health services to receive assistance, but it does not take the place of therapy/counseling.

Tuscola County Commissioner Dan Grimshaw, who serves on the TBHS Board, said there is a concern that there could be more suicides, more abuse, and alcoholism bought on by the stress the virus is causing.

The first Executive Order was dated March 24," said Tuscola County Undersheriff Robert Baxter. "From March 24 to April 22 weve had 19 domestic violence cases. In 2019, we investigated six for the same time frame.

There are many possible reasons why domestic violence cases have increased," he said. "They range from people spending more time together, more alcohol consumption and drug use while being together, and peoples routines have been changed.

And, although anxiety is high, suicides have not been so far.

The numbers are low and relatively the same for the same time period last year, noted Baxter.

According to Hepfer, she is worried for children right now.

Im concerned about the trauma this is having on children," she said. "The social isolation and not being with their peers. They have seen mass shootings over the last few years, and seniors who cannot graduate in the traditional way.

Hepfer and Grimshaw noted, some employees will be nervous about the virus and about going back to work when restrictions start to be lifted.

We are resilient," Hepfer said. "We know how to take care of ourselves, and there are others to depend on. Im confident we will get through this, but it will take a while.

The emotional and financial impact of the virus will be more than the 2008 economic crisis because it is effecting so many more people, noted Grimshaw.

A key concern is the unpredictability of the virus because it has never been encountered before, so it is a process of learning as time goes by.

We are a trauma influx community, she said. "Things are changing every single day in the state.

Health care systems across the state are trying to deal with this disease that so little is known about.

Right now our medical system here is not taxed," Hepfer said. "There is no COVID in our hospitals here. They are in Covenant  and it is getting full so we have to be careful not to overwhelm that system. They are the experts in dealing with this.

This is overwhelming the healthcare system (in parts of the state)," she said. "If we had not taken the drastic measures that we did, you would have seen a lot more infection. I belief that is very true. This virus is highly infectious.

Testing for the virus is limited because there are not enough kits.

Testing (cannot be done) for when someone coughs or for sneezing because testing too early gets a false negative as it has not reached its viral mode yet, it doesnt show up on tests, she explained. We have learned to wait this out. Put them in quarantine and isolation then do testing.

Everyone wants to be tested, but if the testing is done too early, the person who tested negative can convert to a positive.

Even with a negative tests you cannot let your guard down, she said.

"That (result) is only for the day the test was done," Hepfer said. "Tomorrow the person could then test positive because at the time of testing did not have enough virus load to test positive. People do not understand that testing is not cut and dried.

Hepfer said COVID-19 is a lingering illness that sets a person up to have pneumonia, and that is part of the reason for the shortage of ventilators. With most illnesses, ventilators are used for a short period of time, but not so with this virus.

(COVID patients) that go on ventilators could be on them up to at least 21 days," she said. "That is part of the reason for the shortage. It wasnt expected to need so many, and they are used longer than usual. My job is not to be a cheerleader. It is for people not to get sick in the first place.

I believe there will be some things opening May 1, but things will have to be rolled out slowly," she said. "We cant let our guard down.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield warned the virus could have a second wave coming in the fall along with flu season, which could be more disastrous than the current outbreak, especially for states that lift lockdowns too soon for economic reasons.

He is encouraging governors to continue social distancing, more testing along with contact tracing for a few more months.
The first day of May is Law Day. We set aside May 1 of each year to celebrate the rule of law and

the role of law in our society. The American Bar Association, our nations largest legal

organization, describes it in these words: Law Day provides an opportunity to understand how

law and the legal process protect our liberty, strive to achieve justice, and contribute to the

freedoms that all Americans share. Law Day originated in 1957 when then American Bar

Association President Charles S.

Rhyne foresaw a special day for celebrating our unique legal

system. President Dwight D. Eisenhower first proclaimed Law Day in 1958, explaining that a

day of national dedication to the principle of government under laws would afford us an

opportunity better to understand and appreciate the manifold virtues of such a government and to

focus the attention of the world upon them . In 1961, the United States Congress officially

designated May 1 as Law Day, U.S.A.



We pride ourselves on proclaiming our nation as one of laws and not of men. We subscribe to the

proposition that the rule of law must be supreme. President Eisenhower and the ABA were

speaking to these concepts in promoting a special day to celebrate the legal process and a

government under law. An essential component of having a government under law and adhering

to the rule of law is our court system, both federal and state. Our courts fulfill this critical role in

our democracy by protecting personal rights and liberties, resolving disputes between the people

and their governments, having public trials and hearings, and adjudicating cases.



This Law Day finds us in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has resulted in a huge

death total, many thousands infected with the virus, massive job losses, school and business

closures, and a public in pain and fear. Many of our citizens are sheltering-in-place and under

orders not to venture from their homes for any but the most essential needs. For these reasons, this may be the most challenging Law Day in our history.



The federal courts have not been immune from the devastation of the virus. Courts do much of

the publics business in open trials, hearings, and proceedings. Courtrooms can be busy places

with juries, lawyers, litigants, court personnel, and spectators. To protect the health and safety of

these participants, it was not possible to proceed as courts did prior to the health emergency.

Courts adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, including the social

distancing recommendations. Courts authorized court employees to work from home. Some

courthouses limited hours, limited public access, or closed altogether in the interest of public health

and safety. Trials and hearings were broadly continued, with the expectation that in a few months,

cases could proceed in a safer environment.

Even in the face of COVID-19, the role and function of the courts remain. The courts are adapting

to the emergency conditions and devising alternative means of fulfilling their functions. Most

courts authorized hearings by telephone conference so that the participants could participate in

hearings remotely and not have in-person contact. The United States Supreme Court, for the first

time in its history, is conducting oral arguments by telephone conferences. Some courts have held

video hearings, arguments, or conferences. With both video and audio technologies, the public is

free to watch or listen to the proceedings.

Even as we struggle with the consequences of COVID-19, courts across the country are carrying

on their work in innovative ways. The United States Supreme Court is rendering important

decisions. The appellate and lower courts are rendering important decisions, including on

restrictions placed on the public during the crisis. During this emergency, some governors and

mayors have issued orders that, on a temporary basis, restrict personal liberty and freedom. Some

citizens have challenged these orders and filed cases in the federal courts. Cases involving the

right for churches and other religious institutions to remain open, the right to abortion, and the

right to purchase firearms have all come before our courts and been addressed. The courts are still

resolving disputes.

On Law Day 2020, our courts have adapted to the health emergency and have worked to fulfill

their essential role and function in our democratic-republic form of government. The United States

Supreme Court still functions, the Courts of Appeals still function, and the lower courts still

function. The rule of law still prevails.

Curtis L. Collier

United States District Judge

Chair, Eastern District of Tennessee

Civics and Outreach Committee

Carrie Brown Stefaniak

Law Clerk to the Honorable Curtis L. Collier

President, Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association

Meredith L. Compton

Law Clerk to the Honorable Curtis L. Collier
A new directive by the government of India has made the Aarogya Setu app mandatory to download for all offices in both public and private sector. As a result, employees across all these offices will be compulsorily required to download the Aarogya Setu app, as the government looks to impose stricter contact tracing surveillance to further restrict and eradicate the Covid-19 pandemic from India. Furthermore, any individual living in all of the identified Covid-19 containment zones in India will also need to download the Aarogya Setu app compulsorily.

The directive has also implied that offices in the private sector will be allowed to reopen in a staged manner, soon. The directive issued by the government states, "Private offices can operate with upto 33% strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home. All Government offices shall function with senior officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above at full strength, and the remaining staff attending upto 33% as per requirement."

Earlier, in April, all central government employees were on Wednesday asked to immediately download the 'Aarogya Setu' mobile application and to come to office when the application shows "safe" status for commuting, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. "Before starting for office, they must review their status on 'Aarogya Setu' and commute only when the app shows 'safe' or 'low risk' status," it said.

The officers and staff are advised that in case the app shows a message that he/she has a 'moderate' or 'high risk' calculated on the basis of Bluetooth proximity ("recent contact with infected person"), he/she should not come to office and self isolate for 14 days or till the status becomes 'safe' or 'low risk', the Personnel Ministry said.

In a communique issued to all departments, it said all the officers, staff (including outsourced staff) working in central government should download 'Aarogya Setu' application on their mobile phones, immediately. The Aarogya Setu application developed by the government helps people to assess themselves on the risk of their catching the coronavirus infection. A senior officer -- Joint Secretary (administration) -- in all the departments would ensure strict compliance of the instructions, the order said. "Ministries/departments may issue similar instructions to all autonomous, statutory bodies, PSUs etc attached to them," it added.

Officers of the level of deputy secretary and above have already joined the offices following the government's instructions. All central government departments have been asked to call only one-third of the staff below deputy secretary level on rotation basis to the offices.

(With inputs from PTI)
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on the global economy over the past few weeks, as city centers around the world have emptied out. But it was more than just day-to-day life that ground to a halt. So did international conflicts. As a result of the coronavirus, one of the greatest sources of friction in the Middle East has found itself engulfed in a rare state of tranquility. The entire Temple Mount has been shut down to visitors, worshippers and tourists alike, and now that it is empty, the clashes that constantly plagued the sacred site have all but disappeared.

A worried Israel has been keeping close tabs on events on the Temple Mount ever since the coronavirus broke out across the region. One police source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that serious concerns about mass gatherings at the site were expressed in meetings behind closed doors. He claims that local Muslims ignored Health Ministry directives and hundreds and even thousands gathered to pray in the mosques and outside them. The fear was that this would lead to a coronavirus outbreak in East Jerusalem, which would soon spread to the rest of the city.

Though Israel appealed to the leaders of the Waqf, the Islamic religious trust managing the site, to enforce cautionary measures at the site, they received little cooperation. Then suddenly, on March 15, the Waqf made the surprising announcement that the Temple Mount compound would be closed to visitors in order to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. At the same time, the Israeli Police announced that it had placed a blanket ban on Jews visiting the site for the same reason.

Jewish activists who visit the site regularly in order to show a presence there now claim that they were sold out as part of a deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah. As they imagine it, the deal that was reached banned Jews from ascending to the Temple Mount in exchange for the site being closed to Muslims. According to Tom Nissani, chairman of the group Students for the Temple Mount, Netanyahu sold us out as part of a deal with Abdullah. He said that Israel is now preventing a handful of Jews from visiting the site, even though Jewish groups followed all the rules. And it was all in exchange for a ban on large gatherings of Muslims to prevent mass infection. He accuses Israel of paying off the Palestinians by limiting the movement of Jews there, to save the Muslims from themselves." He added, "What makes the situation even worse is the fact that the Waqf controls who gets into the site, even though it is supposedly closed. Hundreds of Muslims, disguised as workers, visit the site every day and hold prayers without taking any precautionary measures. Meanwhile, Jews are denied access. It is absurd.

Haram al-Sharif [the Arab name for the site] has been closed for almost a month and a half, Muhammad Badran of Jerusalems Silwan neighborhood told Al-Monitor. There are live broadcasts of the prayers on TV. While it is true that people with connections can visit the site with special permits from the Waqf, ordinary people cant go there. When asked about the alleged deal between Israel and Jordan, Badran said that it was necessary. If you tell Muslims that they cant go up to the Temple Mount because it is dangerous, why are Jews allowed to go up there? Thats why they immediately responded, If we cant go up, you cant go up either, he noted.

Over the past few days, members of Nissanis group organized several demonstrations near the Temple Mount to demand that Jews be granted access to the site. The Waqf seems to be following these developments in Israel, as evidenced by its stern response this week. Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque Omar al-Kiswani sent a message to Israel, threatening that if Mughrabi Gate is opened to Jewish visitors, the Waqf would open all the sites gates to Muslims, and that Israel would bear full responsibility for the damage this would cause to public health.

Nissani is concerned about the alleged precedent set by denying Jews access to the site. Acting stealthily, without any public discussion, the government of Israel has made a cruel decision to deny Jews access to the Temple Mount, all in order to please the Waqf, he said. The coronavirus is just an excuse. After making the illegal decision to deny Jews the right of conducting religious rituals at the site, the government is now preventing Jews from making pilgrimage there for all sorts of nebulous reasons. Netanyahu doesnt care about the Temple Mount, and he doesnt control the site. It is really controlled by the Jordanians. How ironic that as Israel marks 72 years of independence [April 29], it turns out that it doesnt really control the site on the ground.
Former Vice President and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden speaks during a press event in Wilmington, Delaware, on March 12, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Denies Sexually Assaulting Senate Staffer

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has denied a sexual assault allegation from a woman who worked for him in the early 1990s when he was a U.S. senator.

I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They arent true. This never happened, Biden, 77, said in a statement on May 1.

Tara Reade, 56, filed a police report against Biden in early April, accusing him of assaulting her at the U.S. Capitol in 1993. The probe into the matter is inactive.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, on May 1, 2020. (MSNBCs Morning Joe via AP)

Biden responded to the allegation more than a month after it was made. He was able to avoid being questioned on the matter during over a dozen interviews conducted by various media outlets.

While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny, Biden wrote in the statement.

Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened. And it didnt, Biden added during an appearance on MSNBCs Morning Joe.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, on May 1, 2020. (MSNBCs Morning Joe via AP)

The former vice president said that no one else who used to work for him has corroborated Reades allegations. Some others have stepped forward to recount being told of what allegedly happened in the mid-1990s.

Biden also said the complaint Reade said she filed wouldnt be in his Senate files, which are being shielded from public access by the University of Delaware. The document could only be in the National Archives, he added. Biden is requesting the archives release the complaint if it is there.

The National Archives told The Epoch Times: Any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate. Accordingly, inquiries related to these records should be directed to the Senate.

A spokeswoman for Adams office told The Epoch Times that legal counsel determined the Secretary has no discretion to disclose any such information as requested in Vice President Bidens letter of May 1.

Requests for comments sent to Reade werent returned.

In a statement after Bidens remarks, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network called for the former vice president to release any and all records that may be relevant, including those housed at the University of Delaware, in addition to any Senate records housed at the National Archives.

We urge him, his campaign, and former staff to cooperate fully and provide complete transparency, Heather Drevna, vice president of communications at the group, said in the statement.

Then Sen. Joe Biden (L), speaks to reporters on March 12, 1993. (J. David Ake/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump told reporters late Thursday that the allegation could be false.

I know all about false accusations. Ive been falsely charged numerous times, Trump said at the White House.

The Republican, who is running for reelection, has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.

Biden has received support across the Democratic Party after Reade filed the report, including from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and possible vice presidential candidate Stacey Abrams.

Wearing a scarf over her mouth and nose, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is surrounded by security and staff as she arrives for her weekly news conference during the COVID-19 pandemic at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on April 24, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nearly 1,900 boxes of records relating to Bidens decades in the U.S. Senate were delivered to the University of Delaware in 2012. Although they remain sealed to the public, multiple people from the Biden campaign have accessed the files since spring 2019, a university spokeswoman told Business Insider.

Andrea Boyle Tippett, a university spokeswoman, didnt respond directly when asked to confirm the report.

She said in an emailed statement that the university received Bidens Senate papers as a gift.

We are currently curating the collection, a process that takes a significant amount of time. As the curating process is not complete, the papers are not yet available to the public, she said.

The college shifted its position on the release of the documents just before Biden announced his presidential bid last year. It said the papers would be sealed until at least Dec. 31, 2019, or two years after Biden retires from public life.
Its been a hectic month for Lauren Lester and Josh Thomas of Birmingham, but they were ready to get out this afternoon and shop.

The two have spent the last six weeks, like others, on coronavirus lockdown. But they were among the first out as Gov. Kay Iveys Stay at Home order ended at 5 p.m. A few retailers were ready to welcome back shoppers, and a few customers were anxious to return.

The stores of the Summit have seen lots of joggers and carryout diners since mid-March, but not the usual crowd of people in and out of retail stores.

However, Lester and Thomas also work in healthcare, so they havent exactly been idle at home like others. They came to the Summit location of Mountain High Outfitters, where Thomas left with a pair of shoes that were on sale.

We just wanted to go somewhere, Thomas said, through his surgical mask.

Will Krueger stands outside Mountain High Outfitters at The Summit in Birmingham Thursday, April 30, 2020, with hand sanitizer for returning customers.

Meeting the two outside under a tent was Will Krueger, an employee standing near a bottle of hand sanitizer. His nose and mouth were covered with a buff - a facial covering like a bandana without the need for a tie. Its been the second best selling item at the store over the last month.

Beginning tomorrow, May 1, masks will be legally required in Birmingham city limits, which include the Summit, under a new ordinance issued by the mayor and city council. But tonight not all customers at the Summit this afternoon wore one.

Store manager Zach Vorenkamp said he was 100 percent ecstatic to see the order lift, and was ready to open the minute it lapsed. The store has maintained curbside service over the last month, but they also used the time to deep clean, put markings on the floor for customers and rearrange merchandise throughout the store. Still, the experience has been weird, he said.

Its allowed us to do a lot of creative stuff without having 100 to 200 customers every day, he said. This is a fairly busy time of year for us usually, with Easter sales, Spring Break, people getting ready to go to the beach. I dont expect it to be that busy but I think people are ready to get back out.

As Krueger stood outside, cars slowly made the loop around the parking lot, easing past store fronts, looking to see which were open. Most did not opt to open their doors Thursday evening, but it didnt keep away the curious. Other Birmingham area retailers plan to reopen Friday.

A sign and a mannequin greet customers returning to South Boutique in The Summit Thursday, April 30, 2020.

In another part of the Summit, customers were coming into South Boutique, where Emily Singleterry and Laura Swindle were there to greet them. Singleterry, the manager, wore a mask reading Faith.

The last month has been different, she said.

At the same time, weve had a lot of customers reach out over that time, and weve been very grateful, Singleterry said. One of the first customers asked if it was OK to try on a hat. Singleterry told her it was fine - everything was being regularly deep cleaned, she said.

The two stores plan specials for consumers who return, with a focus on the issue of honoring the people in the front lines, Vorenkamp said. At Mountain High, if customers buy certain brands of shoes, the store will donate a free pair to healthcare workers. At South Boutique, healthcare workers can receive a discount on purchases.

In any case, those working and shopping seemed to be happy to not still be in their homes. Krueger, who would have been in the midst of his senior year at Mountain Brook High School, said the last month has been pretty boring.

I was looking forward to seeing new faces, he said. At the same time, youve got to be careful.
Riddhima Kapoor had wished father Rishi Kapoors funeral on Thursday and has now confirmed that shes been driving to Mumbai to reach home. Turning down rumours of flying to Mumbai via a chartered plane amid lockdown, Riddhima shared a glimpse of her drive to Mumbai on her Instagram stories.

Sharing a picture of the car window on her Instagram stories, Riddhima wrote, Driving home maEnroute Mumbai, along with a heart emoji.

Riddhima posted heartbreaking notes on her Instagram stories post Rishi Kapoors death.

Riddhima was the only close family member who couldnt attend Rishis funeral. She had posted an emotional note, saying she will miss her strongest warrior every passing day. Papa I love you I will always love you - RIP my strongest warrior I will miss you everyday I will miss your FaceTime calls everyday, Riddhima wrote on Instagram while sharing a selfie with her father.

Also Watch | RIP Rishi Kapoor: PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi & other politicians pay tribute to veteran actor

I wish I could be there to say goodbye to you ! Until we meet again papa I love you - your Mushk forever, she concluded with a heart and distraught emoji.

Rishi, who died on Thursday after a two-year battle with cancer, was cremated at the Chandanwadi crematorium in south Mumbai in the presence of close family. He died at H N Reliance hospital in south Mumbai at 8.45 am at the age of 67. His body was brought to the crematorium in an ambulance at around 3.45 pm directly from the hospital amid tight police security due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Also read: Rishi Kapoors son-in-law Bharat Sahni writes heartfelt post: Simply broken today, will never forget the love you gave me

Family members including wife Neetu Singh, son Ranbir, Kapoors brothers Randhir and Rajeev, Kareena Kapoor Khan, along with husband Saif Ali Khan and actor Abhishek Bachchan and Ranbirs girlfriend Alia Bhatt and Anil Ambani were among the few present at the funeral.

Keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown rules laid by the government, family members and friends present at the crematorium were seen wearing gloves and masks.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Merry and bright?

On tonight's all-new Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the Kardashian-Jenner family faced unexpected tension as they prepared for Christmas. The drama first started when Kim Kardashian stepped down as host of the family's annual Christmas Eve party.

Per the KKW Beauty boss, her husband Kanye West didn't "want the responsibility to have the Christmas Eve party at our house this year." Understandably, the mother of four "felt bad" about this decision as mom Kris Jenner was so upset when she took over the yearly bash.

"I don't want her to think that I'm not grateful," Kim relayed to sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian.

The SKIMS mogul shared the bad news with Kris while at Kourtney's Poosh.com event. Hilariously, Kim revealed she told her mom in public so the latter wouldn't make a seen.

"You know how people when they're like dating and they invite them to a public restaurant to break up with them? So, I thought I would do it in a public setting and tell you so you can't really get mad at me," North West's mom told Kris. "I am breaking up with the Christmas Eve party, I can't do it this year."

Kardashians' Christmas Cards Throughout the Years

Thankfully, the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch maintained her composure, but revealed she was unable to reclaim the party. "It's a good thing you have a lot of brothers and sisters," Kris quipped.

During a family dinner, Kris revealed who she felt should take the reins for Christmas Eve.

"I think the perfect solution is if Kourtney, you wanted to volunteer for Christmas Eve," the 64-year-old E! personality declared. "Your birthday party turned out so beautifulthe way you had it set out."

As Kim and Khloe voiced support for their mom's idea, Kourtney agreed to host the party. Yet, as Kris suggested that youngest daughter Kylie Jenner be allowed to host Christmas Day, Kourtney vetoed that idea.

Story continues

"I'm not not doing Christmas morning! That's what I care about, is doing Christmas morning," Kourtney explained. "Kylie's will be too over the top, she'll have a chefLike, I don't want that."

Later on, Kourtney explained that she was "happy to lend my home for the party," but refused to miss a "magical morning" at home with her kids. Thus, she informed her family that she'd be staying home on December 25.

Unfortunately, Kylie issued a similar ultimatum as the family met to plan their Christmas Eve bash. As Kylie explained to the group, she didn't think it was fair that "Santa only goes to Kourtney's house."

"The best part about Christmas morning for me growing up was Santa visits your houseI just want that for Stormi [Webster]," the lip kit mogul defended.

Kylie Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Keeping Up With The Kardashians

As the conversation continued, the family decided to open presents at their respective homes before heading over to Kourtney's house. While Kylie, Kris and Kim liked the idea of having "a cute brunch," Kourtney and Kendall Jenner were eager to keep things simple.

"I think that if we could take the day and not be waited on, like why don't we do our own thing?" the supermodel suggested. "That's kind of what I enjoy about Christmas morning."

Before the final party planning meeting, Kris and Khloe gave Kourtney a list of demands for Christmas morning. For starters, Khloe requested that brunch be ready upon their arrival, including three big carafes of hot water, coffee and hot cocoa.

Of course, Kris piled on by reminding her oldest child to "make it look super cute." Unsurprisingly, Kourtney didn't love the idea of thermoses filled with "nasty hot chocolate."

"You can pick whatever you want in there," Khloe remarked to Kourtney as Kris rolled her eyes. "You can put anything in it from f--king Switzerland."

"You guys are so pleasant to have over on Christmas morning, maybe I change my mind," Mason Disick's mom jokingly threatened.

Kardashian-Jenner Christmas Party 2019

During a confessional, Kourtney noted her family "is so picky" and that she just wanted her loved ones to "enjoy the moment." The spat was cut short with the arrival of the party planners.

After watching Kourtney light up over the plans for the party, Khloe realized she may've crossed a line with her instructions. "We're kind of f--king annoying," Khloe admitted as she praised her sister's openness to their ideas.

By Christmas Eve, all the tension had simmered, and the family was able to enjoy a fabulous party at Kourtney's place.

"The party couldn't be more special," Kourtney gushed. "It just had so much love and warmth and feeling."

From woodsy decorations to a performance by Sia, the holiday party was one of the Kardashian-Jenners' best to date. As for Christmas morning? Kourt stayed up until 3 a.m. to meet everyone's demands, which earned her Kris' stamp of approval.

"She made it perfect," the momager concluded.

For all of this and more, including Khloe's adventure as Kris' assistant, be sure to watch the recap video above!
Days after Centre allowed the states to bring back their residents stranded in other states, Uttarakhand has initiated the process to bring its migrants with a slew of measures. On Friday, it held a detailed meeting chaired by state chief secretary with all the senior administrative and police officials.

The state government has identified about 76,000 migrants stranded in various states of the country who are willing to return. The figures were ascertained with the number of applications received on the state government web portal where the government sought had details of people willing to return, said officials.

Amit Negi, secretary of state disaster management department, who is looking after the states response to the pandemic, said, We have started an application process in which about 76,000 migrants stranded in other states have registered themselves to come back.

Negi said, The major states where our migrants are stranded are Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. We are making arrangements to bring them by state buses in coordination with the governments of respective states. From tomorrow, substantial work will start on this after a detailed meeting was held with all the district administrations and senior government officials of the state on Friday.

The senior bureaucrat also informed that the government is in talks with other state administrations to to bring the migrants in their state buses which would come to Uttarakhand to pick their own.

Similarly our buses will also be carrying the migrants of other states where they will be heading to bring ours. We are coordinating with the other state governments to make this process a smooth one, said Negi adding As of now, the government has no plans to bring the migrants through trains.

Earlier on Thursday, the government had appointed two nodal officers including an IAS officer-, secretary transport Shailesh Bagauli and an IPS-- inspector general (State Disaster Response Force) Sanjay Gunjyal to look after the evacuation process of migrants from other states.

The administration has also started the online registration process for the migrants on a government website and a web-portal. The migrants stranded in other states can avail the arrangements made by government by registering themselves on the website named smartcitydehradun.uk.gov.in and portal named dsclservices.in/uttarakhand-migrantregistration.php.

The registration can also be done by the migrants family members on their behalf while providing essential details like the addresses of the place where they are stranded and the place in Uttarakhand where they want to come. They also have to provide their Aadhaar number or details of any other government issued ID cards apart from the contact number of a person from their place in Uttarakhand.

Ashok Kumar, director general (law & order) Uttarakhand police, while informing about the evacuation process of migrants said, Police is making a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the evacuation process. It will soon be revealed once made. Police will fully help the administration in the process.

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The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) on Wednesday, April 29 submitted its interim report to Government. At a small ceremony held at the Ministry of Justice, TRRC Chair Dr. Lamin Sise handed over copies of the report to Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou for onward transmission to President Barrow.

Handing over the report, Dr. Sise apologized for the slight delay in submission but expressed delight that the Commission has now finished work on the interim report and will now focus on completing its mandate and working on the final report. He reminded the Minister that per the provisions of the TRRC Act, the Interim Report just covers the Commission's activities during its first year of existence and does not contain any recommendations. The recommendations will be part of the final report of the Commission.

Receiving the Interim Report on behalf of President Barrow, Minister Tambadou thanked Chairman Sise and all the Commissioners and staff of the TRRC for what he called the wonderful job they have done so far. The TRRC, he said "has set the bar so high as far as transitional justice and truth commissions are concerned around the world." Minister Tambadou assured the TRRC team that he would duly transmit the report to the President and would do all he can to continue supporting the important work the Commission is doing.

In brief remarks, TRRC Executive Secretary Baba Galleh Jallow said the Commission is grateful for the continued support of the Gambia Government and the Justice Minister in particular, and especially for their non-interference in the work of the Commission. He said the fact that there is no government interference in the Commission's work is particularly important because it safeguards the integrity of the TRRC process.

The brief handing over ceremony was attended by Mr. Hussein Thomasi, Special Adviser to the Justice Minster and TRRC Deputy Executive Secretary Musu Bakoto Sawo.

The Interim Report is available on the TRRC website (www.trrc.gm) and Facebook page.
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans military officials have visited military units and sections of the "Gazakh" border division guarding the state border with Armenia, the website of the State Border Service reported on May 1.

Azerbaijani presidential aide, Chief of the Military Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Colonel-General Maharram Aliyev and Chief of the State Border Service (SBS) Colonel-General Elchin Guliyev met the servicemen of the State Border Service and reviewed the service and living conditions.

Furthermore, the officials familiarized themselves with the defense infrastructure on the state border, and inspected the constructions carried out for this purpose.

At the same time, with the participation of the head of the Executive Power of Gazakh district Rajab Babashov, the issues of implementation of the measures planned in this direction in a short period of time were also discussed.

The generals held a service meeting with the leadership of the Gazakh separate border division, gave necessary instructions to strengthen the combat readiness of military units, to ensure the inviolability of the state border and the safety of personnel, and further to raise the fighting spirit of border guards.

Chief of the State Border Service (SBS) Elchin Guliyev had inspected military units and sections of the "Gazakh" separate border division on 7-9 April as well.

It should be noted that Armenian intensified its infiltration and sabotage attempts on the border with Azerbaijan by shelling the border-combat points of the State Border Service nearby several various villages of Gazakh district, from March 5.

As a result of the ceasefire violations by Armenian armed forces between March 5 to April 4, two Azerbaijani border guards were killed in Gazakh districts Gushchu Ayrim and Salahly villages on March 5 and March 7 respectively.

Armenian forces violated the cease-fire regime on the border on several occasions in the reported period, targeting servicemen and civilians.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
- Photos of a standstill in business activities at the Aflao border have surfaced online after President Akufo-Addo announced the closure of the borders

- Traders and others who earn a living from business activities in the area have raised concerns about their source of income

- According to them, it is likely that hunger, rather than COVID-19, would lead to their deaths

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Traders who earn a source of income from business conducted close to the Aflao border, have opened up about their challenges.

According to them, the continuous closure of the border has led to serious economic challenges.

They added that they are certain they will suffer more from the closure of the border than from the coronavirus.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Ghana's COVID-19 cases jump to 2074 with 212 recoveries

YEN.com.gh understands that there has been a fall in the operation of commercial motorbikes and this has negatively affected most of the youth in the area.

Per a report by myjoyonline, one of the operators of such bikes, Emmanuel, revealed he now finds it is difficult to get passengers in so as to earn a living.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Source: UGC

According to him, caring for his pregnant wife and family has become a challenge since the border was closed.

Traders close to the border add that they are afraid of food shortage since they purchase most of their needed items from Togo.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Source: UGC

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that President Akufo-Addo extended the closure of the borders after an earlier ban.

The move was to prevent the importation of the COVID-19, which has so far crippled local economies of communities along the countrys border and Aflao in the Ketu North Municipality of the Volta Region.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Source: UGC

In another report, award-winning rapper, Sarkodie, pleaded with President Akufo-Addo, to open the borders so some Ghanaians stuck outside the country could return home.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Man who survived recounts experience with virus

Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Playstore now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Rent advance exceeding 6 months could land you in jail in Ghana - Atta Akyea | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
WILLIAMSPORT  A Penn State communications major from New Jersey claims he and other students are due a refund because the cost of on-line instruction is less than classroom education.

Tyler Thomson contends in a suit filed Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court that Penn State constructively evicted the students when it closed the campus and on March 16 transitioned to on-line classes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The universitys decision deprived students from recognizing the benefits of in-person instruction, access to campus facilities and other benefits and services for which they paid fees and tuition, the suit states.

The complaint, which Thomson hopes will be made a class action to include all students, seeks a declaration Penn State has wrongfully kept monies paid for tuition and fees and an order that requires repayment.

The suit accuses the university and its board of trustees of breach of contract and unjust enrichment because they have not reduced or refunded tuition accordingly.

Thomson states he is not suing to recover monies paid by taxes but for fees and monies paid for services not received.

Penn State has a practice of not responding to pending litigation. However, it previously announced students with housing and food service contracts would receive prorated refunds for their room and board fees.

Thomson contends he and other students chose to enroll at Penn State for in-person instruction instead of seeking an online degree. The level and quality of online instruction is lower, he claims.

By going to on-line instruction, students are missing face-to-face interaction with professors, mentors and peers, access to facilities like computer labs and libraries, extra-curricular activities, hands-on learning and networking opportunities, he claims.

Penn State recognizes the inequality between the value of in-person and online instruction by charging significantly lower tuition for its World Campus program, Thomson claims.

This means before the pandemic, the university acknowledged the value of an online education was worth between 44 and 80 percent less than the same degree earned on campus, he said.

The suit alleges some professors are uploading pre-recorded lectures that do not allow for student interaction and others just upload assignments without any video instruction.

Thomson claims by being forced from campus he cannot participate in activities for which he and other students paid fees.

Penn State switched to remote learning on March 16 thus depriving students of approximately 47 percent of the semester for which they had contracted, he claims.

The suit charges the university refuses to offer any pro-rated discount or refund of the spring semester tuition.

But, it points out, Penn State is providing a discount for students who planned to take summer courses on campus but now forced to take them online.

In asking Judge Matthew W. Brann to certify the case as a class action, Thomson points out Penn State has about 90,000 students and it would be impracticable to join them individually.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on Thursday, as signs the U.S. crude glut was not growing as quickly as many had feared brought an upbeat close to one of the most volatile months for oil trading in history. Fuel demand worldwide slumped about 30% in April.

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on Thursday, as signs the U.S. crude glut was not growing as quickly as many had feared brought an upbeat close to one of the most volatile months for oil trading in history.

Fuel demand worldwide slumped about 30% in April. Even after major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia agreed to slash production by nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd), U.S. crude futures closed on April 20 at a record low in negative territory.

That collapse in U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures made traders frantic to avoid taking delivery as the front-month contract expired, forcing traders to pay $37.63 a barrel at settlement to get rid of their contracts.

Prices have recovered somewhat but remain sharply down year to date.

On Thursday, the last day as the front-month, Brent futures for June delivery rose $2.72, or 12%, to $25.26 a barrel by 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June rose $2.57, or 17%, to $17.62.

Brent, the international benchmark, is on track to gain about 12% in April after falling more than 65% over the prior three months. WTI, meanwhile, is on track for its fourth month of declines, with a 12% loss in April and a 70% fall so far this year.

The more actively traded Brent futures for July, which will soon be the front-month, were up about 6% to $25.77 a barrel.

Volume in WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were set to top 35 million contracts in April, which Refinitiv data puts as second only to the previous month's 40.9 million record.

U.S. crude inventories grew by 9 million barrels last week to 527.6 million barrels, Energy Information Administration data showed, below the 10.6 million barrel rise analysts expected in a Reuters poll.

"If we see a continuation of this trend in the coming weeks, it could suggest the worst might be behind the oil market," ING's head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said.

Western Europe's largest oil producer, Norway, said it would lower output from June to December, cutting production for the first time in 18 years as it joined other major producers' efforts to support prices and curb oversupply.

The crisis prompted Royal Dutch Shell Plc to announce its first dividend cut since World War Two.

U.S. oil and gas company ConocoPhillips said it would sharply reduce oil production in coming weeks, aiming to shut in 35% of its total output by June.

Storage concerns continue to weigh with the International Energy Agency saying global capacity could peak by mid-June.

Rate of change in global primary oil demand https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/yxmvjolbopr/energydemand.JPG

U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would soon release a plan to help U.S. oil companies.

Nine companies including Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp have agreed to rent space to store 23 million barrels of crude in the U.S. emergency oil reserve.

(Additional by Noah Browning in London, Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Koustav Samanta in Singapore; Editing by Alexander Smith, Jason Neely, Mark Potter and David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
" " One of the most widely recognized images of the abolitionist, circa 1870. HB Lindsey/Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Harriet Tubman's legacy of defiance and bravery doesn't require an Instagram account to remain legendary. Still, the discovery of a never-before-seen image of Tubman, younger than she usually is in photos, is pretty exciting stuff. Even better, the image can be yours, if the price is right, at a March 30 auction at New York City-based Swann Galleries. Check out the picture below:

Only a handful of known images of Tubman are currently in circulation, which isn't surprising given that cell phone cameras and selfie sticks were still a long way off when she was alive. The newly found pic depicts Tubman circa 1865-68, just after the conclusion of the Civil War, making her between 43 and 46 years old. (Her exact birth date isn't known.) Most other pictures of Tubman, whose birth name was Araminta Ross, were snapped between the late 1800s and her death in 1913.

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The photo provides a timely visual of Tubman just after the period she spent squiring slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Seated and sporting a fashionable full white patterned skirt, black blouse and overlapping white collar, the petite woman is in stark contrast with her larger-than-life legacy. It also illustrates how the small, easy-to-overlook woman could move virtually undetected around the country as a Union spy and scout. In fact, she provided valuable intelligence regarding locations of ammunition depots, cotton warehouses and slaves, which led to several successful raids by the Union.

The photo was discovered in an album that Emily Howland, one of Tubman's friends and fellow activists, previously owned. The entire photo album, which includes two photos of Tubman, has an estimated value of $20,000$30,000. Tubman historian and author Dr. Kate Clifford Larson said in a story published by Auburnpub.com that she has received many potential photos of the abolitionist over the years, but this is the first that actually depicts Tubman, much to her joy. "There's no doubt in my mind about the provenance of the photo and that it is Tubman," she said. "I had never run across it."

Now Thats Cool In addition to liberating hundreds of slaves by way of the Underground Railroad, Tubman also led the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina, which freed more than 700 slaves. This feat made her the first woman ever to lead an armed mission in the Civil War.
Since January, when the Education Department began withholding 12% of her paycheck for a past-due student loan, Elizabeth Barber, 59, has teetered on the edge of poverty.

The $12.89 an hour that Barber earns as a home health aide in Penfield, New York was barely enough to cover her utilities and mortgage before her wages were garnished. With every dollar lost, Barber has fallen further behind, especially as her hours have been reduced amid the pandemic.

When Barber learned about a federal relief plan for defaulted borrowers, she believed the financial strain would ease. But every paycheck she has received, even as recently as last week, has been shorted.

"I need every dollar I earn at work to survive each day," Barber said. "I don't understand why the government keeps taking my money away after it passed a law that says they will stop."

Barber is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed late Thursday against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Education Department, accusing them of mismanaging a federal order halting involuntary collection for past-due student debt during the pandemic.

The Trump administration last month imposed a 60-day moratorium on the collection of defaulted student loans by the federal government, which Congress codified in the stimulus package and extended through Sept. 30.

But the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group involved in the case, has received dozens of complaints from people who are still being shorted on their paychecks at a time when they can least afford it.

"Congress passed emergency legislation to ensure that these borrowers would keep their paychecks," said Persis Yu, a staff attorney at National Consumer Law Center, which represents Barber and other borrowers alongside the National Student Legal Defense Network. "Sure, it's administratively challenging, but the system has to work and the bottom line is these borrowers need their money."

The Education Department estimates about 285,000 people were subject to involuntary collection between March 13 and March 26. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, demands the department immediately suspend garnishment for Barber and all other affected borrowers.

The Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The allegations mirror accusations made previously by advocates and reported by The Washington Post. People familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the department sent emails to employers instructing them to halt the garnishment. But most of the emails remained unopened, and the department failed to send formal letters, the sources said. Barber said her employer has yet to receive word from the department.

Notifying an employer to stop withholding money from the borrower's paycheck is a key step in ending involuntary collection. Because it can take employers a couple of weeks to fully process and cease collection, getting the notices out as fast as possible is essential.

The Education Department has said it has been trying to speed things up by first calling and emailing employers, who most likely are not physically in their offices to receive mail. Any money that is seized before an employer takes action is being refunded to borrowers, according to the department.

But Barber said she has yet to see a dime.

Several of her paychecks have been garnished since the passage of the stimulus last month, compounding an already precarious financial situation. There is a lien on Barber's house. She has tried to stay on top of the $10,000 in student debt she amassed from attending Nazareth College a decade ago, but other bills have taken priority.

"I am so worried about how I will get through this," Barber said. "I have no money in the bank."
In Ryan Murphys new Netflix limited series Hollywood, post-war Tinseltown is reenvisioned with an imaginative what if? approach.

The show tells a fictional narrative about a group of actors and filmmakers trying to break into the industry following the end of World War II. While characters like Darren Criss director Raymond Ainsley and David Corenswets actor Jack Costello are not based in history, much of the story is drawn from or inspired by real peopleincluding heartthrob Rock Hudson and Oscar winner Hattie McDanieland events from the golden age of Hollywood.

I wanted to do something where I gave some, if not all of these people a happy ending, Murphy tells TIME. How do I make a commentary on the power of Hollywood to change hearts and minds? I decided to put together a fictional alternative-universe Hollywood and then populated it with some real people, and other fictional characters loosely based on real people.

Below, read about the aspects of Hollywood based in history.

Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong circa 1930; Michelle Krusiec as Anna May Wong in 'Hollywood' | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images; Saeed Adyani/Netflix 

When viewers first encounter Anna May Wong (played by Michelle Krusiec) in Hollywood, she tells Criss director Raymond Ainsley that audiences dont want a leading lady that looks like me.

My entire career: oversexed, opium-addled courtesans; dangerously exotic Far Eastern temptressesthats what they wanted to see from someone who looks like me, she says.

In real life, Anna May Wong was also extremely vocal about the discrimination she experienced as the first Chinese-American star in Hollywood. Wong found fame in silent movies during the 1920s, but she also found herself sidelined by the racist structures in place in her industry and beyond.

The Anna May Wong story is one of the most shocking stories in Hollywood history, and so many people dont know about her, Murphy says. Here was a woman who was clearly an incredibly beautiful and talented movie star, who was relegated to these sidekick roles even though she had shown that she had great talent and range.

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Due to the miscegenation laws that prevented even the suggestion of interracial relationships onscreen, Wong was often cast as dragon ladies, villains or submissive slave girls or servants, while lead roles went to white actresses in yellowface. The most egregious of these instances was when Wong was passed up for the role of O-Lan in The Good Earth, despite an excellent screen test and, crucially, being the only Chinese-American actress in Hollywood at the time. The role went to Luise Rainer, who won her second consecutive Oscar for her performance.

She was significant in that she was actually outspoken in the time when there werent any roles for her, says sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen, the author of Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism. People can look back on her roles and might think, Oh, she played into stereotypes, but those were really the only roles possible. As for The Good Earth, Yuen explains that even though the characters in the film were Chinese, They had already cast Paul Muni, and because he was a white actor, there couldnt be any insinuations of any romantic relationships.

In Hollywood, Wong gets an opportunity to take a role that doesnt play into stereotypes. In reality, she set off for Europe in 1928, where she became the first international Asian-American star, acting in films and plays and hosting her own cabaret. In the 1950s, she became the first Asian-American actor to be the lead in a U.S. TV series, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong.

The shows revisionist history draws a stark contrast to the reality that theres still much more work to be done when it comes representation in Hollywood. To date, no Asian-American actress has won an Academy award in a lead acting category, and roles intended for Asian actors continue to go to white actors.

Asian Americans in particular, we are an invisible minority, Krusiec tells TIME. She adds that the alternate universe of Hollywood gives Wong, in a way, a chance to been seen for the leading lady she could have been. [Playing her] was this journey of her really being seen and being given a chance to have her wrongs righted.

Hattie McDaniel

An image made of a photograph of Hattie McDaniel that hangs at the Theater at Howard University; Queen Latifah as Hattie McDaniel in 'Hollywood' | Tracy A WoodwardThe Washington Post/Getty Images 

Just think, what would Hattie McDaniel do? Camille Washington, an aspiring actress played by Laura Harrier, is told while shooting a scene in which she plays a housemaid. Camille nods and redoes the scene in a caricatured, high-pitched voice, pleasing the studio heads.

In 1940, McDaniel became the first African-American actor to win an Oscar, for her role as Mammy, a housemaid and former slave, in Gone with the Wind. House servants, cooks and maids were often the only kinds of parts available to African-American actors, and over the course of her career, McDaniel took on more than 70 such roles. In Hollywood, Camille faces this obstacle herself. Thats a white role, honey, shes told when she inquires about a more substantial part in a crime drama.

Though she was able to build a career and make a name for herself, McDaniel was also subject to criticism, from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and others, for perpetuating negative stereotypes. McDaniel disagreed with their assessment. I have never apologized for the roles I play, she wrote in The Hollywood Reporter. Several times I have persuaded the directors to omit dialect from modern pictures. They readily agreed to the suggestion. I have been told that I have kept alive the stereotype of the Negro servant in the minds of theatre-goers. I believe my critics think the public more naive than it actually is.

Murphy says he is fascinated by McDaniels story because it is equal parts triumph and tragedy. She was the daughter of a slave and she did make a wonderful living and win an Academy Award, but she was also denigrated and she wasnt given other opportunities.

Later in the series, McDaniel comes to life in Murphys fictional Hollywood, played by Queen Latifah. She becomes a mentor to Camille, a newcomer to an industry rife with racism, and tells her not to let anybody shame her. She also shares her experience of being barred from the hall where the Oscar ceremony took place the year she won, because the venue had a no colored policy. This much is authentic to historical events: the 12th Academy Awards were held at The Ambassador Hotel, which had just such a policy. A special favor had to be called in for McDaniel to be allowed in the building at all, and once she was, she was seated at a small table far from the action.

Camille Washington

Laura Harrier as the character Camille in 'Hollywood'; Lena Horne circa 1945; Dorothy Dandridge circa 1955 | Saeed AdyaniNetflix; Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images; Donaldson Collection/Getty Images 

Camille Washington, played by Laura Harrier, is a fictional character inspired by Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge, according to Murphy.

[Camille] was loosely based on their struggle, he says. They were beautiful and incredibly talented, more talented than many of the actresses who were getting great opportunities, like Lana Turner, and yet they just could not get beyond a certain level.

In Murphys fictional world, Camille gets the opportunity to play a leading rolethough not without having to fight for it first. This plotline, Murphy says, imagines what it might have looked like if Dandridge and Horne had received more opportunities early in their careers.

Though Dandrige and Horne were considered trailblazers, both struggled to win quality parts for much of their careers. Horne, who was under contract at MGM Studios, had little opportunity outside of roles in race movies, films targeted at African-American audiences, and musical numbers which were cut from films when they played in the South. Dandridge appeared in a number of uncredited roles, but eventually played the lead in Bright Road (1953) and then Carmen Jones (1954), for which she became the first African American to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. (She lost to Grace Kelly for her performance in The Country Girl.)

Hollywoods happier ending for Camille epitomizes what Criss character, Raymond, wishes studio executives would realize: Movies dont just show us how the world is, they show us how the world can be.

Henry Willson and Rock Hudson

Henry Willson and Rock Hudson; Jim Parsons as Henry Willson and Jake Picking as Rock Hudson in 'Hollywood' | 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock; Netflix 

Rock Hudson was one of the most sought-after leading men during the 1950s and 1960s, playing opposite stars like Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor and Lauren Bacall. But he spent the majority of his career and his life in the closet. Hudson, who was born Roy Scherer, Jr. in Winnetka, Ill., kept his personal life under wraps due to the intense homophobia in both the industry and the world at the time.

Long before he landed in Hollywood, he understood that if he wanted to be accepted, the very essence of who he was would have to be edited out of the frame, writes Mark Griffin in All That Heaven Allows, a biography of Hudson.

Hudson, who made more than 60 films during his career, was extremely private about his personal affairs. He had a short-lived marriage with his agents secretary in 1955 to quell rumors about his sexuality. In 1985, at the age of 59, he became the first major celebrity to go public with an AIDS diagnosis, which brought worldwide attention to the disease. He died just a few months later.

For Murphy, the decision to include Hudson as a storyline in Hollywood was deeply personal. The revisionist portrayal of the show gives the actor (played by Jake Picking) the chance to come out at the start of his career, which he does by holding his boyfriends hand on a red carpet.

In order to get that success in Hollywood, to get those romantic comedies with Doris Day, he literally had to live a lie, Murphy tells TIME. I think people in the industry like Elizabeth Taylor and Claudette Colbert, people who were his friends certainly knew he was gay, but he definitely had to live a lie. I was interested in, what if Rock Hudson was rewarded and not punished for being who he was?

While much of the show reimagines what life would be like for Hudson as an out gay man, theres also a darker storyline drawn from Hudsons real-life experience. In the show, the actor is encouraged to hide his sexuality by his controlling and predatory talent agent, Henry Willson (Jim Parsons), who uses their professional relationship to sexually abuse Hudson.

In real life, Willsonwho was credited with starting Hollywoods beefcake craze of brawny, hyper-masculine menwas known for both his shady dealings and star-making prowess as a talent agent. (In addition to making Hudson a household name, he was also responsible for launching the careers of Lana Turner, Troy Donahue, Rory Calhoun and others.) It was an open secret in Hollywood that Willson was gay and that he had his own version of the casting couch for many of his clients.

Henry Willson was sort of the original Harvey Weinstein, in many ways, just an absolute monster, Murphy says. Rock Hudson, by the way, tried desperately for 20 years to get away from Henry Willson, and it was very hard for him because Henry Willson was very close to a lot of studio executives and also people in the mob. So not only do you fear for your work, you feel like youre going to be killed.

The Mid-Atlantic Accent

Saeed Adyani/Netflix

If youve ever watched an old Hollywood movie, and certainly almost anything starring Katharine Hepburn, and thought, wait, why are they talking like that?, a scene of an elocution class at Ace Studios in Hollywoods second episode has the answer.

Its not I have a doody. Its duty. Liquid u. And the article a is pronounced ah, studio exec Ellen Kincaid, played by Holland Taylor, teaches the class. Then, she asks where the mid-Atlantic accent comes from.

The middle of the Atlantic, responds Claire Wood (Samara Weaving).

And who lives in the middle of the Atlantic? Kincaid follows up.

No one, Camille chimes in.

Kincaid goes on to explain that the Mid-Atlantic accent is made-up. No one actually speaks this way naturally, but it takes on some British inflections that add some refinement to the otherwise flat and grating American dialect. You ladies will do very well to speak in this dialect at all times.

Though the accent is not an organic one, it was widely used by the American upper class. Also called the Transatlantic accent, it was a middle ground between British and American accents. It required speakers to drop the r when it was the last letter of any word (mister would become mistah), emphasize ts and lose any harsh vowels (ah rather than a, as Kincaid instructs). It was often taught to students in elocution classes at private schools and became a posh way of speaking associated with the well-off, who used it to come across as sophisticated and worldly. It can also be heard in Franklin Delano Roosevelts fireside chats.

Mid-Atlantic was officially codified by linguist Edith Skinner in her 1942 book Speak With Distinction. From then on, it was the dialect of choice for Hollywood. But the accent eventually dwindled, as the American middle class grew, and a new wave of directors like Francis Ford Coppola and John Cassavetes set out to make films that were more grounded in the realities of that middle-class life.

Ernies Gas Station

Dylan McDermott in 'Hollywood' | Saeed Adyani/Netflix 

The gas station was the portal that eventually took me into an exclusive world where high-class sex was everything, wrote Scotty Bowers in his memoir, Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars. Bowers, who called himself a fixer, was likely Murphys inspiration for Dylan McDermotts character, Ernie.

In the show, Ernie recruits good-looking Hollywood outcasts trying to make it big to work at his gas station. But when a customer rolls up, more than likely in a luxury car, and utters, I want to go to Dreamland, its more than just gas the workers will have to serve up to the A-list clientele.

In real life, Bowers moved to Los Angeles after serving in the war and ended up working at a Richfield Oil gas station on Hollywood Boulevard. One day, Canadian actor Walter Pidgeon drove up to the station and asked Bowers, What are you doing for the rest of the day? Thus began Bowers role as Hollywoods pimp.

Commonly referred to as Mr. Sex, Bowers developed a network of sex workers, and Pidgeon helped spread the word. Bowers claimed to have set up trysts for a number of A-list celebrities, including Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Randolph Scott, and even arranged orgies for Cole Porter, who is depicted as a customer in Hollywoods first episode.

Bowers, who died in 2019, would end up playing a crucial role in the LGBTQ community. At a time where actors had to abide by morality clauses, gay sex was illegal and queer people were shunned by society, Bowers helped stars live out their sexual identities while keeping the encounters confidential. In 2018, West Hollywood honored Bowers by presenting him with a proclamation recognizing his contributions to LGBTQ history.

Peg Entwistle

Bettmann Archive

In Hollywood, writer Archie Coleman (Jeremy Pope) bases his screenplay Peg on the real-life story of Peg Entwistle, the aspiring British-born actress who made headlines for jumping to her death off the H in the then-Hollywoodland sign in 1932. Coleman, a black screenwriter, explains that his rationale for centering his screenplay on Peg, a white woman, is that he can identify with her fears of never being able to break into an exclusive film industry.

Born Millicent Lilian Entwistle, the actress found success on Broadway in the 1920s and 30s (according to the BBC, so much so that Bette Davis cited her as one of her acting inspirations). Entwistle decided to move to Los Angeles in the hopes of becoming a movie star, but the film industry proved much more difficult to break into than the stage had been. When Entwistle finally landed a role in David O. Selznicks Thirteen Women, she believed it would change her luck.

But because Entwistles part had a lesbian subtext, it was mostly cut from the final film after previews when the moralistic Hays code deemed the storyline offensive, a devastating professional blow from which she never recovered.

Entwistle reportedly fell into a depression and began drinking, before taking her own life by climbing the maintenance ladder on the H of the famed sign and jumping to her death. The following day, a hiker found her body, along with her shoe, a jacket and her purse, which contained a suicide note that read: I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.

She was a really hard worker, she finally got a part in a movie, and it was going to hopefully lead to other roles, says Murphy. But when that didnt happen, she became that cautionary tale, that person that Hollywood ate up and spit out, this victim who couldnt take it anymore.
Texas school administrators worst fears about the sweeping school finance legislation approved during the last legislative session are about to become a reality.

House Bill 3, which carried a $6.5 billion price tag for the biennium and included an additional $5 billion in property tax relief, was hailed as one the best things to happen to Texas public education in a long time.

But even as educators and administrators applauded the move, they also fretted there were no designated revenue streams to underwrite the plan beyond 2021. The 86th Legislature relied on nonrecurring sources of revenue to fund full-day care for qualifying 4-year-olds, expand dual language and dyslexia programs, provide teacher raises and increase services to low-income students.

There were well-founded concerns among educators  who have struggled to operate an inadequately funded public school system for decades  that the increased funding would be short-lived. What would happen in the next biennium when the cost for the 2022-23 budget would increase to $13.5 billion, they asked. What was Plan B in the event of an economic downturn?

Those questions remain unanswered as school districts prepare their budgets for the next school year in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forced business closures have substantially reduced local and state government budgets. Plummeting gas and oil prices are painting a grim economic future. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is expected to issue a revised revenue estimate for the current state budget, which runs through August 2021, in July. The only question is, how awful will these numbers be?

School administrators are preparing for the worst. As they look to the 2020-21 school year, they are eyeing slower expansion of pre-K programs, elimination of pay raises and even the possibility of layoffs, the Express-News reports.

All this comes at a time when public schools are facing a great need and have emerged as key community centers, providing meals, checking on students and scrambling to bridge the digital divide. School administrators should be focusing their energies on dealing with the expected learning slide due to COVID-19s disruption of regular classroom instruction. The digital divide and parents inexperience in home-schooling have made online learning an unequal experience and left many students behind.

Instead, school officials are having to figure out how they can stretch budgets even further. They have been down this road before. In 2011, lawmakers cut $5.4 billion in public school funding to balance a post-recession revenue shortfall.

That slashing of funds left school districts reeling and resulted in a lawsuit, marking the seventh time since 1984 school districts looked to relief over the level of state spending on public education.

In 2016, the Texas Supreme Court found the states public school finance system is constitutional but deeply flawed.

It is safe to say that the current Texas school system leaves much to be desired. Few would argue that the state cannot do better, wrote Justice Don Willett in the 100-page opinion issued almost four years ago.

State leaders vowed to address the inequities. Now, it looks like all the public education funding gains made last legislative session will be lost, and once again the states budget will be balanced on the backs of the states public school children, and at the expense of the future.
The name Life Sign usually brings back memories of the 1993 Little Brown Jug for most people in harness racing, but the Hall of Famer was certainly more than his herculean effort at Delaware, Ohio.

Life Sign (Abercrombie - Three Diamonds) was bred by Brittany Farms of Versailles, Ky. and was foaled on April 30, 1990. He was owned throughout his career by George Segal.

The Little Brown Jug effort of Life Sign will be remembered by many as one of the most amazing performances in harness racing. It also marked the end of a long Jug drought for Hall of Fame trainer Gene Riegle.

"Gene really didn't have much luck with the Jug until Life Sign," announcer Roger Huston told Trot Insider in a recent interview. "He did alright in the Jugette but he was kind of stung on the Jug for so many years."

In 1991, Riegle had to scratch pacing colt Artsplace from the Little Brown Jug days before the event. One year later, it would appear that Western Hanover would be able to give the Ohio-based trainer that coveted Jug title. Ron Waples and Fake Left had other plans.

Coming into the 1993 Little Brown Jug, the dominant horses in the division were the Bill Robinson-trainer Presidential Ball and Riyadh. Presidential Ball had won the North America Cup and the Meadowlands Pace, while Riyadh trucked into Delaware having captured two legs of pacing's Triple Crown -- the Cane Pace at Yonkers Raceway and the Messenger at Rosecroft Raceway. Huston thought Riyadh had a strangehold on the division and would leave Delaware with the Little Brown Jug and Triple Crown.

"I have to admit, my favourite that year was Riyadh. I thought, at that time, that Riyadh was the best horse I'd seen on a racetrack."

Fans of harness racing would have to wait a few years for a Triple Crown winner. Life Sign emerged victorious after a race that driver John Campbell has stated on multiple occasions that wasn't one of his best tactical efforts.

Huston wondered if perhaps one change to the race could spelled disaster for Life Sign.

"Right off the top of my head, I don't think Life Sign would have won the race if Riyadh had gone right down the pike in the second heat. They went to the quarter in :27 and the second quarter was in :29. They got to the half in :56 so Life Sign being hung really wasn't that much of a problem because they weren't going that fast.

"If I recall correctly he was at the pylons for no more than five or seven seconds, if it was that much. He was hung and then he came in and he was right back out. The reason I think Campbell came back out, just trying to read his mind, was because they were going so slow. And he thought 'well, shoot, I'm not going to let him steal it!' so he came back out and kind of just sat there. He didn't force the issue or anything like that. I think the third quarter they paced something like :27.4, which was not all that fast either. And then when he asked the horse and Life Sign did come on, he won by about half a length over Riyadh...I really think if Riyadh and Morrill had gone right down the pike, Life Sign would have never won the race."

Here's the 1993 Little Brown Jug second heat, with hosts Earl Lennox, Frank Salive and Marty Adler

Huston was thrilled to finally interview his longtime friend Gene Riegle in the Delaware winner's circle after a Little Brown Jug victory. He was no stranger to winning races like the Jugette as the dam of Life Sign, the great Three Diamonds, won the filly companion race to the Jug in 1982. (Ironically, that was the year that filly sensation Fan Hanover opted to race against the boys and win an edition of the Little Brown Jug that was remembered for a number of different reasons.)

"Emotionally I was tickled pink to see Gene Riegle in the winner's circle. I remember the first time I ever met him at the Urbana Fair in Ohio, and I had dinner with him underneath the grandstand at a church area that served meals. The other thing that stood out over his career was at Hilliards, at a county fair close to Columbus. Gene came up to me and said 'can I wear your boots today?' I had the old Butler harness boot on, with the zipper in the front. I said 'yeah, why?' and he said 'I forgot my driving boots and left them at home in Greenville.' So we switched shoes and he wore my driving boots and I wore his dress shoes that afternoon. There aren't too many people that can say they've walked in Gene Riegle's shoes, but I did.

"We were just great friends throughout his career so I was more of a Gene Riegle fan than a Life Sign fan, and it meant a lot to me as I'd announced Gene from the early 1960s when I first started right up until he quit driving and continued on as a trainer."

In his Jug victory, Life Sign set three Standardbred world records for fastest first heat on a half-mile track (1:52, fastest mile in Jug history), second heat on a half-mile (1:52) and two-heat race on a half-mile (3:44), a record that would stand for nine years.

Racing against the likes of the aforementioned Presidential Ball and Riyadh as well as Village Jiffy, Native Born, Ready To Rumble, Lotta Soul, Beastmaster, Broadway Blue and Broadway Jate over the 1992 and 1993 seasons, Life Sign was campaigned by Riegle to a record of 18-10-5 in 35 starts. The pacer didn't miss the board as a three-year-old and only missed the board twice as a freshman, finishing fifth in both of those races, thus never missing a cheque in his career.

Life Sign - 1993 Breeders Crown (Freehold Raceway)



As a stallion, Life Sign has sired 490 in 1:55, 355 $100,000 winners and 123 $250,000 winners. His eight millionaires include 2002 Horse of the Year Real Desire, 1998 Meadowlands Pace winner Day In A Life, two-time American-National winner Peruvian Hanover, 2002 Pacing Classic winner Life Source, 1998 Two-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year in the U.S. and Canada Island Fantasy, longtime Open class performer Image Of Dawn, 2003 Two-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year in the U.S. and Canada I Am A Fool and 2002 Art Rooney winner Ashlees Big Guy.

Life Sign was inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2013. He passed away on August 14, 2014 at Australia's Morley Park Stud at the age of 24.
Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist who provided US President Donald Trump with the slogan for prematurely sending workers back to factories (the cure cant be worse than the disease) has published an article endorsing a policy of allowing large portions of the US population to be infected with COVID-19.

In an article titled Is Sweden Doing It Right? Friedman advocates a policy of herd immunity that would lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.

While the term herd immunity may sound like a scientific theory, as a policy prescription for the COVID-19 pandemic it is nothing of the sort. It is rather an argument for allowing substantial sections of the population to be infected with a deadly disease.

Friedman argues that Sweden has essentially opted for a strategy of herd immunity through exposure by not implementing widespread government-imposed lockdowns.

While there is widespread scientific and public debate about Swedens policy in fighting COVID-19, Friedmans characterization that the country is simply allowing its population to be infected en masse is a gross oversimplification.

Dr. Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that nothing could be further from the truth than to say that Sweden has not put in place control measures and has just allowed the disease to spread. Ryan noted that while the country has closed high schools and universities and banned gatherings of over 50 people, it has not carried out compulsory closures of businesses and instead urged citizens to voluntarily stay home.

Swedens failure to carry out widespread lockdowns has been fiercely criticized by doctors, scientists and academics, thousands of whom have signed a letter urging the government to pursue a more aggressive policy. These critics point to the fact that the country has suffered a substantially greater outbreak than its neighbors, with 244 deaths per million people, compared to Denmark (76 per million), Norway (38), Finland (37) and Iceland (29).

But regardless of whether herd immunity is the explicit strategy in Sweden, Friedman argues that it should be the explicit strategy in the United States. He declares, herd immunity is our goaleither from vaccination or from enough people building natural immunity. Those are the only ways to achieve it.

The difference is, however, that herd immunity through mass infection will cost the lives of hundreds of thousands, or millions, of people, while vaccination will kill none. To argue this way is to claim that guns and chemotherapy work the same way because both stop cancer.

Friedman continues:

"But when youre in a struggle with one of Mother Natures challengeslike a virus or a climate changethe goal is not to defeat her. No one can. Shes just chemistry, biology and physics. The goal is to adapt.

"Mother Nature does not reward the strongest or the smartest. She rewards the species that are the most adaptive in evolving the chemistry, biology and physics that she has endowed them with to thriveno matter what she throws at them."

The conclusion that Friedman wants his readers to draw is that any measures to stop the spread of the virus go against nature. If people die, this is part of the natural process of evolution. These social-Darwinist ramblings contradict established scientific consensus, not to speak of all human progress. One might as well declare that all of modern technology and scientific medicine goes against Mother Nature and her laws.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO has made clear that COVID-19 can and must be contained through massive programs of quarantine, contact tracing and isolation. These policies have proven effective in containing the virus in China, Korea and Singapore.

In this, COVID-19 is like SARS, MERS, Zika and Ebola, which have been contained and all but eradicated through the standard methods of scientific collaboration and the application of aggressive public health measures for fighting infectious disease.

But despite the warnings of public health experts, throughout the months of January, February and March, the Trump administration failed to prepare for a global pandemic that was clearly coming. The United States had no significant COVID-19 testing capacity till March, has far less testing capacity than is necessary, and still does not have any significant contact tracing infrastructure.

The WHO has, moreover, made clear that long-term immunity to COVID-19 has not been proven, and thus herd immunity to the novel coronavirus remains theoretical. Even the creation of a vaccine, however critical, is not guaranteed.

The containment of COVID-19 through long-established public health measures is, by contrast, not simply a theory. It remains the most rapid, effective and resource-efficient method to save countless lives.

Stripped of his trademark obfuscations and half-truths, Friedman is arguing for the US government to do nothing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

As Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post recently noted, at the fatality rate of 0.6 percent, the United States could potentially experience 1 million deaths if half the population became infected and no efforts were made to limit the contagion through social distancing, a vaccine or proven therapeutics.

Or, as a group of researchers noted in an article in the Washington Post, Using expert estimates that 40 to 70 percent of Americans will be infected with the new coronavirus, a death rate of 1 percent would translate into 1.4 million to 2.3 million people succumbing to the diseasea number closely aligned with early predictions of the likely death toll in the absence of mitigation measures such as a vaccine or social distancing. And that does not account for survivors left with serious heart, lung, kidney and neurological damage.

Friedman, who has been a leading proponent of US military interventions throughout the world that have killed millions of people, is the subject of a biography titled The Imperial Messenger. In this case, he is the messenger of the US oligarchy not in its murderous policy abroad, but at home.

The most shocking element of Friedmans article is the fact that it does not represent some bizarre alternative reality, but is, in fact, a description of US policy. From the beginning, the Trump administration downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic and refused to make any serious preparations to contain it. Even as cases continued to rise despite widespread lockdowns, the White House began to agitate for a premature return to work, despite the absence of measures necessary to contain the disease.

Now, with the back-to-work campaign in full swing, US capitalism is demanding that lives be sacrificed for profit. As usual, Friedman is the bluntest advocate of this homicidal policy.
CHICAGO (May 1, 2020): Stay-at-home orders caught many medical practices and health care systems off guard, leaving them ill-equipped to rapidly adopt an efficient telemedicine platform so they could keep providing time-sensitive care to non-COVID-19 patients. To help organizations rapidly introduce telemedicine as an alternative option, a urology group in North Carolina developed a guide that enabled them to convert all in-person visits to telemedicine in three days. They report their experience in an "article in press" appearing on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website ahead of print.



The guide, which the authors call a toolkit, uses a common electronic medical record (EMR) system, Epic, and widely available video portals like Google Duo and Doximity, to overcome social distancing edicts. The toolkit relies on eight essential elements readily available in any medical organization new to telemedicine. "One of our motivations for preparing the toolkit was to make it instantly available to any type of organization, large or small, that has an electronic medical record system," said lead author Catherine Matthews, MD, FACS, FACOG, professor of urology and gynecology, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, N.C.



The eight essential components to successful telemedicine adoption are: an existing EMR, a one-hour training session for providers and staff, patient education on accessing the portal, availability of hardware like smartphones and video-capable computers, integration of new billing and coding functions, information technology support, an audiovisual platform, and patient and caregiver buy-in.



"The first thing you have to figure out is which video platform is going to work most consistently," Dr. Matthews said. Through trial and error, she and her coauthors decided on pairing up the Epic EMR with the Doximity provider networking app. Patients can access the Doximity platform through a link sent in a text message, eliminating the need for them to download an additional app or log into an online portal.



The article acknowledges other options available for telemedicine: the MyChart video capability incorporated in the Epic EMR system, and even services such as FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, and Google Duo.



However, in reporting on their experience, the Wake Forest Baptist urology group found disadvantages to some of these alternatives. MyChart, for example, requires patients to sign up for the patient portal and download two separate apps. "It can take quite a bit of time for staff to educate patients about this option," Dr. Matthews said. "Patients not only have to have the device and Internet access; they have to have enough aptitude to complete those three separate steps." For providers using their personal devices, platforms like FaceTime and Skype disclose their personal cell phone or e-mail information. Doximity masks that personal contact information with the organization's office number.



Another key component is the ability to teach both staff and patients quickly how to use the technology. "After selecting the platform, engaging the office staff to be on board with virtual visits is the next most important step," said coauthor Whitney Smith, MD, a fellow in the female pelvic health service at Wake Forest Baptist Health. Staff training involved a one-hour session with a mock patient visit. The goal, she said, was to replicate all the key steps of the in-person visit in the virtual visit, from front desk check-in and nurse chart review to exam and checkout.



"Telemedicine is currently built as a physician platform," Dr. Matthews said. "We changed it to be inclusive of nurses; we engaged our nursing staff into the platform so that they continue to do the same roles that they do in person."



Days before the patient's telemedicine appointment, a nurse calls to notify the patient the visit is being changed from an in-office to telemedicine, and then walks the patient through the connection process. On the day of the visit, the nurse calls again 15 minutes before the visit to review the chart, "just like they would if the patient was there in the office," Dr. Matthews said.



About three and a half weeks into their telemedicine experience, the Wake Forest Baptist Health urology physicians see about 15 patient visits via telemedicine a day compared to 30 in-office visits, Dr. Smith added. Despite a lower total number of visits, Dr. Matthews noted that a high rate of new telemedicine patient visits convert to surgery scheduling. "Anecdotally, the efficiency from a surgical subspecialty perspective of the translation of new patient appointments to scheduling of future surgeries is currently 20 to 25 percent," she said. "So a surgeon who's not engaging in telemedicine is losing out on an opportunity to identify patients who will need surgery in the next two to three months."



There have been barriers to wider implementation of telemedicine. Reimbursement for telemedicine services had been one, but in March the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a waiver that removed payment restrictions. Another barrier can be technology. Small percentages of people still don't have smartphones or home computers, and internet service can be limited, especially in some rural areas. Dr. Smith said that the group had concerns about some elderly patients not having access to technology. "However, they've been able to engage younger family members to help them with the technology, and actually we've had very good success with that," she said. For patients who don't have video capability, the CMS waiver accommodates voice-only visits.



###

In addition to Dr. Matthews and Dr. Smith, study coauthors are Anthony J. Atala, MD, FACS; Ryan Terlecki, MD, FACS; and Erin Kelly, MSN, ANP-BC, all with the department of urology at Wake Forest Baptist Health.



The authors have no relevant financial disclosures to report.



"FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.



Citation: Implementation Guide for Rapid Integration of an Outpatient Telemedicine Program amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of American College of Surgeons.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2020.04.030.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 82,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit http://www.facs.org.
Our perception of time during the coronavirus quarantine is influenced by such things as a paucity of memorable events. (Ty Wright / Bloomberg)

Think about your first day in quarantine. Does it feel like a lifetime ago? Or does it feel like yesterday?

Many people staying at home as a result of the coronavirus crisis are noticing time pass more strangely than usual. While some complain of days dragging on and on, others have taken to social media, explaining they feel the past several weeks have flown by eerily quickly.

Wow idk if its just me or what but time feels like its going fast while in quarantine. Weird. I swear Im not going insane... yet.   K.G. (@heyitskriz) April 16, 2020

Turns out, science can provide some insight into why our perception of time is a little wonkier than normal while in quarantine. Here's what the experts say:

Why do some feel as though time is passing unnaturally quickly?

Time does seem to be going really fast, agrees Claudia Hammond, author of "Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception," noting that its our perception of time that feels unusual, separate from the way time actually works. In our minds, time can warp very easily, she says. But why does this happen?

For those staying at home during the pandemic, it has a lot to do with our worlds shrinking to the bare minimum  staying at home for the vast majority of the day, with trips outside only for exercise or a visit to the grocery store. For the most part, we are not taking part in particularly memorable activities, like getting drinks with a friend, going to a sporting event or traveling, says Marc Wittmann, an author and research fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health in Freiburg, Germany. Now, there are fewer signals differentiating a Sunday from a Monday.

Is it just me or is time flying by unreasonably and psychotically fast every day? YOUD THINK ITD BE THE OPPOSITE whats happening   K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) April 18, 2020

And if youre doing the same thing every day  the new normal for many in quarantine  theres no need to remember each day specifically. Even if time passes slowly in the moment, it's likely that nothing will stand out upon looking back, causing you to perceive time has passed by quickly in the long run, Wittmann explains.

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The more emotional a memory, the longer perception of time duration." This is why a weekend vacation will often feel longer than a weekend spent at home. And right now, many in quarantine are experiencing the opposite of a vacation, Hammond notes. Were not making loads of new memories now, so we dont think lots of time has passed.

James Broadway, an instructor of psychology at Lincoln Land Community College in Illinois, who has studied the brain's perception of time, notes a similar phenomenon occurs when we age. The older we get, the fewer novel events we experience, which causes time to feel as if its going by faster than it did earlier in our lives. Hammond points out that a similar phenomenon can happen to people who are sick or incarcerated. Time will pass slowly as its experienced but then feel as if its gone by quickly in retrospect.

However, if you've felt as though time has taken a long time to pass during the pandemic, even retrospectively, you're not alone. Adrian Bejan, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke University, believes its possible the novelty of the quarantine experience could actually explain why weeks may feel like theyre dragging to some.

The brain remembers the unusual, he explains, and if our new routines are suddenly different, our brains would be bombarded with images worth remembering. This would then result in the perception that time is moving slowly over the quarantine experience, though it's likely time will feel as though it's speeding up again as the quarantine becomes more familiar.

Its also important to note not everyone has the relative luxury of feeling bored at home while in quarantine. Many people are busier than ever, whether theyre working in a hospital on the front lines of the coronavirus or at home balancing a full work schedule while trying to home-school their children. Its possible people who are busier than ever during the coronavirus crisis will look back and feel as though this period of their lives lasted longer than normal, Hammond suggests. When they look back, it will be the other way around, she says.

What can we do about it?

Our altered perspective of time can be useful during quarantine. Normally, when were bored, we have a plethora of options in front of us, like going to the gym or meeting up with friends. Now, were being challenged to spend time alone or with others in our household. This could be a chance to learn how to cope with boredom and isolation, Wittmann explains. Learn to be at ease with being with yourself."

If youre feeling anxious and have difficulty coping with being alone, its helpful to have a goal, he says. Whether youre aiming to exercise more or clean your apartment regularly, having a physical task to complete may help assuage feelings of stress and take your focus off the passage of time. This is a rare occasion in which you can take advantage of having more time at your disposal to do new things, Bejan says. If youve always wanted to take time to paint, read more books or accomplish other quarantine-friendly activities, now could be the moment.

Finding events to look forward to can be similarly helpful in passing the time, Hammond notes. Though we cant look forward to vacations or physical outings with friends, she suggests re-creating the feeling of having plans by scheduling a virtual happy hour on Friday night or creating a Sunday afternoon film club, which youre able to look forward to all week long. Make the weekends different from the weekdays, recommends Hammond.

Meditation may also be soothing for those suffering from anxiety in quarantine, Broadway suggests, saying, Its a really good opportunity to embrace doing nothing." If all else fails, Bejan suggests those in quarantine get into the habit of looking at things you were previously overlooking. Focus on minute details  the way the trees look on your street, the way the steam floats off your tea. After a few minutes of taking your mind off the passage of time, you might be surprised to find time has a funny way of speeding up after all.




A piquant picture of the post-pandemic world appeared in the spa town of Lazne Bohdanec east of Prague when a Czech police patrol ordered a bevy of nudists to cover up -- with face masks, the new fig leaf. The police penetration of their idyllic parks led to deep consternation: nudism brought them close to nature, of course, but also helped them tan. That objective stands compromised because of the pigmentation difference between the masked and unmasked parts of the body.

The minor turbulence in nudist parks notwithstanding, the Czech Republic and many countries of Eastern Europe are feeling a little more satisfied than their West European cousins in how they have controlled coronavirus. There is intense debate that borders between nations be sealed for longer than imagined. The balkanisation of Europe is thus on the cards. There is, in Hungary, that looming figure of strongman Viktor Orban causing a flutter in libertarian hearts as he accords efficiency, with an iron fist, precedence over freedom. He calls his system illiberal democracy. Does Narendra Modis India also qualify for such a change in name?

It would be disingenuous to hint that our own Mr Modi takes notes from Mr Orban at dictation speed. There is just a coincidence:

In form and feature, face and limb/ I grew so like the Hungarian/ That folks went taking me for him/ Though Im a vegetarian!

Yes, the way in which Mr Orban has consolidated power in the guise of fighting coronavirus bears resemblance. Mr Orban has appropriated emergency powers for good; there is so far no declared emergency in India. The PM does not need a formal emergency. His hold on the people is absolute. Can Mr Orban, or any strongman anywhere in the world, bring a nation to its balconies beating pots and pans? Mr Modi recreated the festival of Diwali lights in his very own image.

There could be some similarity with Mr Orban in the way medics in the battle against coronavirus are being protected. Any interference with epidemiological isolation will attract a six-year jail term in Hungary. Mr Modi, in his ordinance, has gone one better: there is a seven-year jail term and a Rs 50,00,000 fine if anti-corona doctors are obstructed.

The perverse will say God has blessed Mr Modi with luck. Just when the economy was in a nosedive, came the pandemic, inviting a lockdown which has devastated the economy. The historian, like the godi (lapdog) media, will explain away record unemployment and looming hunger on the virus.

Ek na shud, do shud -- goes the Persian saying, which means: the second has come as if one were not enough. Mr Modi was gifted with more grist to his mill of communalism.

The international Markaz, or centre of Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim reform moment, headquartered in Delhis Nizamuddin, erupted last month with coronavirus cases. Tablighis from a dozen-odd countries held a seminar on their mission. They are an innocuous group: they do not convert, nor do they preach jihad. But in appearance they look like the two groups.

One must fall back on the testimony of Delhi journalist Shishir Gupta. He reported that national security adviser Ajit Doval visited the Markaz on March 28, strangely at 2 am, to meet Jammat chief Maulana Saad Khandalwi, who is since missing or in a Saharanpur safe haven.

After this meeting, the Markazs sixth to eighth floors (only deep insiders have been to the highest floor) were cleared of devotees. In peak season, the Markaz can accommodate 10,000 devotees. During the conference in March, there were 6,000 Tablighis in the Markaz.

A question the media has chosen not to ask: which official agency has over the years given the Jamaat permission to build floors upon floors of structures that are brazenly illegal. Two floors were added in the last two years. The Nizamuddin police station shares a wall with the Markaz. The Archeaological Survey shows no interest in recovering Ghayasuddin Balbans palace, the earliest such building in the area, that the Tablighis have encroached. Its interesting, meanwhile, that the Nizamuddin basti, its social texture, totally divorced from Tablighis, has not reported a single case of the virus.

It cant be denied that infected Tablighis somewhat stupidly travelled in all directions  the Andamans, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kashmir, etc.

Meanwhile, what is one to make of the BJP leadership accelerating cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act -- Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, Omar Khalid and Jamia students associated with the anti-CAA agitation which ballooned into the Shaheen Bagh movement. One had somehow, perhaps naively, expected a more cooperative post-corona atmosphere instead of a more confrontational one.

All of this is happening at a time when the lockdown is increasingly in bad odour. Experts like Dr Satyaprakash Muliyil, former principal of Vellore Medical College, Dr Mathew Varghese of St. Stephens Hospital and Prof. Johan Griesecke, an internationally-recognised Swedish expert, have been advocating herd immunity as the preferred option. The theory is that the coronavirus has come to stay, just as dengue and chikungunya have become an unfortunate part of our lives.

What does Mr Modi do now? Does he lift the lockdown and face the risks? If there is a spike in cases, he will face flak. And if there is a no spike, the lockdown decision will begin to look like a government-made economic disaster. In any case, when and how does the lockdown end?

Has Veer Abhimanyu entered the Chakravyuh, and there is no Arjun or Krishna to guide him out of it?
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Stephanie Wesik to the company's Board of Directors and as company President. The title of President will come from Bob Blink who will now be fully committed as CEO.

Stephanie Wesik has over 15 years of experience in private equity and venture capital, working with early stage companies across industries (both public and private), and strategically directing their development from incubation to maturity. She also has experience working with governments to successfully acquire funding.

Over the last year and a half, Ms. Wesik has worked with TransCanna to plan, direct and manage the company's various international acquisitions. Prior, Stephanie was Director of Investor Services & Strategic Development for Wesley Clover, a private, global investment management firm and as Executive Director of Alacrity Canada.

"I am extremely pleased to be asked to contribute to TransCanna's acceleration in a greater capacity during a pivotal time for the company," says Wesik. "Our larger-scale facility is about to become licensed, growing our operations by a factor of twenty and poising us for explosive growth."

The company also would like to announce the amicable resignation of Arni Johannson for personal reasons, Johannson's role as Chairman will be assumed by Douglas Mason, current director. Johannson will remain as an advisor and assist on the execution of the Company's defined strategic plan.

"I have been working with Stephanie since the company began the acquisition of Lyfted Farms. As a group we have become cohesive and work extremely well together. Stephanie Wesik is a natural leader with a solid understanding of our industry," says Bob Blink, company CEO. "I'd also like to thank Arni Johannson for the exceptional work he has done at the board level over the past year. It has been a challenging environment to say the least, and we are fortunate to continue looking to his expertise in his new capacity, he adds.

About TransCanna Holdings Inc.

TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California based, Canadian listed company building Cannabis-focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com.

Glenn Little, Corporate Communications

Glenn.L@TransCanna.com

604-349-3011

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55274
LANSDALE  What do school security staff do when students are out of schools for more than a month?

North Penns Coordinator of Safe Schools and Emergency Management Chris Doerr gave an overview this week of how staff are still working to secure students, their belongings, and their facilities, even as the ongoing coronavirus crisis enters a third month.

Even though were not meeting in person, in schools, student safety continues to be our top priority. It just takes a little bit of a different form, Doerr said.

During the districts Safe Schools committee meeting on Monday, Doerr outlined how district security staff are monitoring internet filters and programs meant to detect any concerning activity when students are learning from home, instead of in school.

The webcams on students Chromebook devices are disabled, by default, Doerr said. Although students are able to turn them on to chat with teachers, if they have parental permission, the cameras cannot be accessed remotely: they have to be turned on by the person using it.

School counselors are continuing to check in online, with both students and department heads, and staff are giving students resources and information about teen talk and crisis hotlines when necessary. The districts Safe2Say Something hotline for reporting any worrisome behavior has seen a decline in reports since schools were closed, Doerr said, and staff are working on ways to keep those resources easily available.

We have signage in front of folks faces at the schools. The challenge is, how do we keep that in front of their faces when theyre at home? he said.

Security staff have been on hand at all five pickup sites for the districts ongoing free lunch program, and have been continuing with online training and planning activities when not onsite, Doerr told the committee. Security staff have also helped the districts technology department deliver devices like those laptops to students who need them.

Weve been making in-person deliveries as far away as west Philadelphia, making sure the kids in our district have, in their hands, the tools they need, he said.

Programs and planning that would normally take place over the summer, like reviews of emergency security plans and upgrades, are currently being discussed and done whenever possible. That process entails a district-wide emergency operations plan as well as building-specific plans for all schools and other facilities, Doerr said.

Theyre only ten-month workers, so at the end of the school year theyre done, and I dont typically have access to them, to help with that process, Doerr said.

Right now, theyre all working, so theyre able to dig into things like, if were going to add surveillance cameras at a school, Take a look at this, tell me what you think. Ive been able to use their services in ways theyre not used to, he said.

Security staff have also helped with an initiative Assistant Superintendent Todd Bauer is overseeing: making sure everything left in the buildings in mid-March gets back to the student or teacher who left it there.

As recently as last week, the building principals at the secondary level sent home a survey, or Google form, asking students What do you have in the building, that you would like to retrieve? Or, would like us to retrieve?' Bauer said.

Staff will develop a procedure for returning items to students on a voluntary basis. Most likely, students will not be allowed in buildings, so theyll likely arrive at an assembly point where security staff outside can contact those inside to find specific sets of belongings.

We would radio into the building to Get that bag that belongs to, Todd Bauer, and then deliver it to a table outside, where a parent or student could get out and get it, Bauer said.

One other ongoing project related to school safety has had to be put on hold: a district climate survey, meant to measure opinions on how safe students feel and the availability of safety resources, was begun in 2019 but has been tabled for 2020.

North Penns safe schools committee next meets online at 6 p.m. on May 27 and the full board next meets at 7 p.m. on May 12. For more information visit www.NPenn.org.
The face coverings are only available in North America so far. (ShopDisney)

Disney is establishing itself as a Force for good during the coronavirus pandemic, announcing a new line of reusable cloth face masks that feature some of the studios most popular characters, from Baby Yoda to Mickey Mouse.

Available for pre-order now on in North America on Shop Disney, these themed face coverings are expected to ship in June, and Disney is also donating one million masks to children and families living in some of Americas most vulnerable communities.

The masks are not currently on sale in the UK. A spokesperson for Disney tells Yahoo: The face masks arent currently available on shopDisney in Europe, but we will continue to explore opportunities to provide these products to our fans around the world.

Marvel Cloth Face Masks 4-Pack Set (Photo: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)

Drawing on its extensive catalogue of brands, Disney is releasing its masks in themed four-packs for $19.99 (around 16).

The individual collections include Star Wars, Marvel, Disney Princesses, Pixar, Mickey Mouse and other classic Mouse House characters.

Disney Princess and Frozen Cloth Face Masks (Photo: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)

In addition to its donation of 1 million masks, Disney will direct all profits raised from online sales to the humanitarian aid organisation, MedShare, up to $1 million from now until 30 September, 2020.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Cloth Face Masks (Photo: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)

Available in small, medium and large sizes, these masks are both for the young and the young at heart.

Read more: What does science say about face masks?

They also follow the CDCs current recommendations for non-surgical, non-industrial grade face masks, and can be regularly cleaned and re-used by following instructions available on Shop Disney.

Pixar Cloth Face Masks (Photo: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)

Disneys new line of cloth masks are just one part of its other charitable outreaches during the pandemic. The company has also donated upwards of 100,000 N95 masks to the states of New York, California and Florida, as well as Washington, D.C., as well 175,000 rain ponchos to hospitals in need of additional protective garments.

In a press conference on Thursday, prime minister Boris Johnson said face coverings will be useful as the country looks to move past governments restrictions on movement to slow the coronaviruss spread.

Story continues

What I think (the scientific advice body) Sage is saying, and what I certainly agree with, is that as part of coming out of the lockdown, I do think that face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also for giving people confidence they can go back to work, Johnson said.

His remarks seemed to run against past Public Health England advice, which said masks play a very important role in clinical settings, such as hospitals, but theres very little evidence of widespread benefit from their use outside of these clinical settings.

Earlier this week, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said her administration was recommending the public start wearing a covering in certain situations.
(Photo : REUTERS/Johanna Geron) The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken December 2, 2019.

Facebook rolls out on Thursday, Apr. 30 a photo transfer tool that makes it easier to remove photos and videos from social media networks. The tool, which was initially launched in Ireland in December, is now available in the United States and Canada.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus to End in December? Data Scientists Predict End of Pandemic With A.I. Model

The content that will be removed from Facebook is transferred directly to Google Photos, allowing data portability.

This feature is part of the Data Transfer Project Facebook made with Apple, Twitter, and Google aims to give users an easier way to transfer data as well as providing greater control over their data.

In February, the tool was made available in Latin America and the Asia Pacific, then in March. They expanded to more countries in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Latin America, South East Asia, and Africa.

To access the photo transfer tool, click on "Settings" and select "Your Facebook Information."

Then, look for "Transfer a Copy of Your Photos or Videos" and follow a quick identity confirmation.

Next, users may download the content or transfer the content to Google Photos. This will require logging into a Google account for authentication.

Responding to privacy and competition issues

Over the past couple of years, Facebook's Director of Privacy and Public Policy Steve Satterfield told Reuters that the company had received calls from policymakers and regulators.

Satterfield said the company is required to make it easier for people to choose new providers and move their data to new services. This feature is in response to questions on its business practices, particularly towards competition.

The U.S. launch also comes right prior to a Federal Trade Commission hearing on Sept. 22 to check on the "potential benefits and challenges of data portability."

"So it really is an important part of the response to the kinds of concerns that drive antitrust regulation or competition regulation," Satterfield told Reuters.

Satterfield said Facebook hopes to allow users to transfer data such as their contacts or friend lists onto another platform to protect user privacy.

READ ALSO: [BREAKING] Xbox Faces Lawsuit Due to Alleged Intentional 'Drifting' Controllers

The Data Transfer Project

The Data Transfer Project allows users to easily move their data between online service providers whenever they want, including Facebook, Alphabet's Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Apple. It was launched in 2018.

It enables a "seamless, direct, and user-initiated portability of data between two platforms." This is useful for users who are trying out a new service, leaving service, and backing up data.

Meanwhile, project contributors also look at letting users transfer data such as emails, playlists, and events in the future.

Facebook said in the statement that the company had enabled people to download their information from Facebook for almost a decade.

The photo transfer tool is based on code developed through the Data Transfer Project and will be available worldwide for the first half this year. The company also promised to prioritize privacy and security.

In January, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a statement on Data Privacy Day has promised to provide users more control over their privacy.

From alerting all users to reconsider their privacy settings, alerts for third-party logins, and allow them to have more control over the off-Facebook activity.

Read also: Breach! 8.6 Million Individual Cars Got Exposed in England's Camera Traffic Database

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
FILE PHOTO: Southern EU Countries Summit in Nicosia

Reuters

Josep Borrell, the European Union's (EU) chief diplomat, has denied watering down a disinformation report that was critical of China but admitted China did put the pressure on.

Two versions of the disinformation report have been seen  as well as emails between diplomats that The New York Times got hold of  and the second report, which was published, no longer included labeling China's efforts as a "global disinformation" campaign.

Despite Borell's denial, European politicians were sceptical, with one telling the diplomat his team had been "caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The European Union's (EU) chief diplomat has denied watering down a coronavirus disinformation report that was critical of China. But European politicians are skeptical, with one telling the diplomat that his team had been "caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

On Thursday, the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell told the European Parliament in Brussels that China had been trying to assert its influence on the report, the South China Morning Post reported. But he said that was normal diplomacy, and the pressure hadn't been successful.

He said: "Did China put pressure? Look, it's clear and evident that China expressed their concerns when they knew the document that was leaked. They expressed their concerns through the diplomatic channels."

"I can assure you that no changes had been introduced to the report published last week to align the concerns of a third party, in this case, China. There is no watering down of our findings. We have not bowed to anyone," he said.

The report, which was described as a "routine roundup of publicly available information and news reports," included information about China's attempts to limit tying the coronavirus to Wuhan, the city where it originated. The report first made headlines on April 24, when The New York Times reported that pressure from China had led to it being softened.

Story continues

The Times got its hands on emails from EU diplomats, including one from Lutz Gullner, a European Union diplomat, who wrote to his peers: "The Chinese are already threatening with reactions if the report comes out."

China has been trying to limit negative press connecting it to the coronavirus, as it pushes an aggressive foreign policy agenda.

Then came the changes. The first report said: "China has continued to run a global disinformation campaign to deflect blame for the outbreak of the pandemic and improve its international image. Both overt and covert tactics have been observed."

The second report's language was softened. While it remained critical of China, it had removed the words "global disinformation."

Borrell said the revisions were simply part of a typical editing process.

Yet Thierry Mariani, a French member of the European Parliament, said the diplomats had been "caught with their hand in the cookie jar," according to The New York Times.

Hilde Vautmans, a Belgian member of the European Parliament, pressed Borrell on which Chinese official had been putting on the pressure, and how. But he declined to clarify.

Vautmans said: "I think Europe needs to know that. Otherwise you're losing all credibility."

The report didn't point to China's disinformation alone. Russia was also included.

Read the original article on Business Insider
THE TURKS and Caicos Islands welcomed nearly 1.6 million tourists in 2019 - the greatest number of visitors the territory has recorded in one year.





It surpassed the previous maximum of 1.4 million in 2018, rising nine percent to break records for the second year running.





The 2019 Tourism Statistics Report published on April 24 said cruise ship arrivals accounted for the majority of the visitors, and showed an increase of nine percent to 1,111,818.





Grand Turk Cruise Centre hosted 354 ships, compared to 320 in 2018.





Land-based arrivals saw a similar growth of ten percent to 486,739 during the year - the highest number of international airport and fixed based operations visitors to date.





This is the result of "strong demand from the main sources coupled with increased airlift capacity, more diverse accommodation facilities and the sustained recovery following hurricane season 2017, the report said.





The American market maintained its dominant share of total arrivals accounting for 82 percent of the destinations land based visitors.





Increases in the Canadian and European arrivals were also achieved at a 20 percent rise each, while 29 percent more tourists visited from South America.





The only decrease was arrivals from other Caribbean nations, which dipped from 10,395 to 7,348.





The report, prepared by the Sharissa Lightbourne, statistical officer of the TCI Tourist Board, also highlighted the growth of the vacation rental market.





Vacation rentals such as Airbnb and HomeAway listings increased by 11 percent to 1,737 when compared with 2018.





The listings are composed of entire homes, private rooms and shared room rental types.





The TCI Tourist Board currently keeps record of all registered properties and their associated room counts for units comprising of four bedrooms or more.





It is seeking to put into place a vacation rental registry that will be able to capture all available accommodation units across the territory.





Jennifer Pardo, senior marketing executive for the TCI Tourist Board, put the positive changes down in part to the promotion of the TCI as a "number one tourism destination.





She explained that it won several awards in 2019 which are "a testament to the destinations continued success in the market.





New flights from cities such as Chicago were added which "will continue to make way for increases in both visitor arrivals and the room inventory in the destination.





Pardo also said the territorys success is down to a renewed commitment to promote sustainable tourism and spoke of the ban on plastic and polystyrene.





The board launched its first Sustainable Tourism Symposium in November 2019 to educate industry stakeholders on the importance of sustainability.





"The Tourist Boards resolve to work hand in hand with our stakeholders to promote the destination has not wavered.





"There has been multiple partnerships for various press trips and tradeshows.





"This allows for the creation of a unified message and the reduction of cost while maximising the output and exposure, she said.





Sister islands

In the report, Pardo said the promotion of the sister islands is the top priority of the TCI Tourist Board.





Promotional and marketing materials such as maps, brochures, the website and social media pages are continuously updated in both print and digital formats, she said.





The traditional methods of marketing such as advertising in print media and attending various tradeshows in the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America are still being used.





Promotion of culture and heritage tourism is also being used to market and promote the sister islands.





"The Turks and Caicos has a rich culture which includes delectable local delicacies, handmade crafts and many historical sites such as the Conch Bar Caves, the Cheshire Hall Plantation and the Grand Turk Lighthouse among others that are being advertised and used to attract tourists on a global scale.





The concept of dual vacations is also being heavily promoted by the TCI Tourist Board, Pardo explained.





"The Turks and Caicos offers our visitors a destination within a destination, each island has a unique identity and subculture.





"The islands are also easily accessible by short ferry rides and flights which makes it ideal for island hopping.





"A strong emphasis is now being place on splitting your trip and having day trips to islands such as North and Middle Caicos if youre staying in Providenciales or splitting the nights across two to three different islands to get the true Turks and Caicos experience.





The primary source of data for the report is the embarkation/disembarkation card that all visitors to the TCI fill out upon arrival.





This form is collected in cooperation with the Ministry of Border Control and Labours Immigration Department.





Air visitor data card counts are reconciled against daily counts by the Immigration Department and the TCI Airport Authority to ensure accuracy.





The full 2019 Tourism Statistics Report and past reports can be accessed at http://turksandcaicostourism.com/visitor-statistics/ (By Rebecca Bird)




BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Azerbaijan is one of the leading countries in combating coronavirus pandemic, Head of the Country Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Azerbaijan Hande Harmanci said at a press conference, Trend reports on May 1.

As a result of softening the quarantine regime from April 27, a repeated increase in the number of infected people is possible after 7-10 days. In this case, an extension of the special quarantine regime may be considered, said Harmanci.

She noted that the fight against the pandemic continues, and people must continue to follow the necessary rules so that the number of infected people does not increase.

The representative added that a strict quarantine regime also had an extremely negative effect on economic activity.

The main recommendations of WHO are currently related to the protection of human health. In order to protect themselves from the virus, it is important to keep social distance, said Harmanji.

She emphasized that Azerbaijan is supporting the global fight against the pandemic, and is one of the leading countries in this fight.
MIAMI  David Garcia, 42, owner of Little Havana restaurant La Camaronera, is struggling to keep his business afloat.

The landmark Miami seafood establishment  founded by Garcias father and uncles after they immigrated from Cuba  was set to have a successful year.

Then the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe  and business is down by 80 percent.

Im just trying to keep everyone employed, he said. These people need to eat.

La Camaronera is located in Little Havana, one of South Floridas most iconic areas and a destination for locals and tourists from around the globe. Considered the heart of the city's predominantly Latino community, the neighborhood is mostly occupied by single-owner businesses, some run by several generations of families, starting with the wave of Cuban immigration in the 1960s.

Though Florida's governor has announced a limited reopening of certain businesses in the state on May 4, this won't apply to South Florida, which has the majority of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Many business owners in the Miami area worry they wont survive the pandemic.

About 90 percent of these businesses are micro-businesses, said Bill Fuller, one of Little Havanas main developers and owner of its signature music venue Ball & Chain. Most are places where the business is an embodiment of the person herself, and her culture.

Suzy Batlles Azucar ice cream shop is a great example, he said.

Turning to delivery, searching for loans

Batlle opened Azucar on Little Havanas famed Calle Ocho, or Eighth Street. Batlle has used her grandmother's signature Cuban recipes to make her well-known ice cream. Her best-selling flavor is Abuela Maria, paying tribute to the classic Caribbean snack of guava, cream cheese and the famous Maria brand of biscuit cookies.

I make ice cream that everybody who was in Cuba 50 years ago used to have, Batlle said. I have had old men approach me, crying, saying they havent had this taste in their mouth since theyve been in Cuba. Thats why I started Azucar  to allow people to relive their memories from long ago."

Story continues

In the nine years since she opened her company, it has grown to employ 33 people across two locations  Miami and Dallas.

Little by little, we have really catapulted into success, she said. Like Garcia, she thought this was going to be her best year yet.

Batlle now has completely reinvented her business model. Before, she relied entirely on foot traffic. Now, were delivering to peoples homes. I spend eight hours in my car every day delivering ice cream, she said.

She said she's worked tirelessly to obtain help from the federal governments Paycheck Protection Program, (PPP) which authorizes forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees.

On Day 1, I went to my bankers  two huge banks that should have been able to fund me  and I did not get funded by either, even though Azucar qualifies [for the loan]. Ive called, sent emails  no call back, no follow through, nothing," she said.

But Batlle found guidance from a group of small restaurateurs in the community. Because of them, I learned to apply for the loan through a small local bank. Now my request is in the underwriting phase, so it's under review, she said.

Little Havana's landmark Domino Park - otherwise known as Maximo Gomez Park - shuttered its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Julia Logue / NBC News)

Garcia also sought help through the PPP program. Echoing Batlle, he said, I bank with a small bank, and from what I gather, that has been an easier process. It is so unfortunate that we are seeing big companies receive some of these funds."

Garcias father and uncles founded La Camaronera when they left Cuba in 1964, after Fidel Castro's communist revolution. The brothers ran a fishing company in Cuba until the government confiscated their business, he said.

Initially just a seafood market, La Camaronera has evolved into an iconic restaurant drawing a loyal local following.

The rewarding part is that we have really evolved, and [our customers] know my father and my uncles, and know that I am the second generation. Theyve seen us expand from only a stand-up counter market into a family restaurant, Garcia said. Theve watched the American dream happen for my family."

I just did payroll this week, and I cant sustain another two weeks of doing what I did this past week. And that is without paying ourselves, he said. We are all kind of holding on. How much longer can we sustain this? I dont know.

In the event that these small businesses do close, Florida has been among the slowest states to process unemployment claims, making it extremely difficult for those without a job to access critical safeguards.

Despite uncertain future, "just another hurdle"

Even when nonessential businesses open again, Little Havana will face economic obstacles.

Of the 3.5 million people that visit Little Havana each year, most are tourists, many of them international. Given the pandemic, the unpredictability of the consumer base poses an existential threat to the community.

The consumer that we have is one that flies, stays in hotels, wants to spend his or her time on the beaches, and plans to go out at night. That is the biggest concern  how long will it take for life to return to that level of normal  and for these people to return to Little Havana? Fuller asked.

Business owners say, however, that Little Havana was built by survivors.

These days, Little Havana is not just made up of Cubans, but also Ecuadorians, Hondurans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, you name it," Garcia said. "And we all have one thing in common: We are all people who have left our countries to start over. We had to work tirelessly, and we had to reinvent ourselves. That instilled a drive within us."

Now, we are going to fight to get success back, just like we did before," he added. "And we will. We will rebuild again. This is just another hurdle.

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China could have stopped the spread of COVID-19, but it did not. US President Donald Trump made such a statement, RIA Novosti reported.

It could have been stopped, since it has come from China, Trump told a news conference at the White House.

The US President noted that China either failed to stop the spread of this disease or did not do so.

The American leader stated that they have signed a trade deal, but it is now secondary, compared to what is happening with the virus, and this situation is unacceptable.
American authorities have approved an experimental drug for emergency use on coronavirus patients, as more US states eased pandemic lockdowns despite another spike in deaths from the disease. The approval is the latest step in a global push to find viable treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus, which has left half of humanity under some form of lockdown, hammered the world economy and infected more than 3.3 million people. Remdesivir, an antiviral drug initially developed to treat Ebola, was given the green light on Friday after a major trial found that it boosted recovery in serious COVID-19 patients. "It's really a very promising situation," President Donald Trump said on Friday at the White House, where he was joined by Daniel O'Day, CEO of Gilead Sciences, which developed Remdesivir. The drug incorporates itself into the virus's genome, short-circuiting its replication process. Its approval came as the US leaders struggled with growing pressure from citizens wearying of stay-at-home orders. With about 1.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 65,000 deaths, the United States has the highest tolls of any country, and Trump is keen for a turnaround as the world's largest economy reels with tens of millions left jobless. "Hopefully, we're going to come in below that 100,000 lives lost, which is a horrible number nevertheless," said Trump, after suggesting earlier in the week the country could expect 60,000 or 70,000 fatalities. Texas became the largest US state yet to ease curbs, while anti-lockdown demonstrations were held in several states -- including California, where officials had re-closed beaches beginning Friday to avoid a repeat of last weekend when crowds flocked to the shoreline. In Huntington Beach, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, several thousand people rallied to denounce Governor Gavin Newsom's beach shutdown order. "It was the straw that broke the camel's back," protester Monica Beilhard fumed. "It was uncalled for, unnecessary and people out here are making that known," she said. - 'Slow, phased' reopening - Governments around the world are struggling to balance the immense political and economic pressure to ease lockdowns with the need for public health measures against the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 236,000 people. Several European countries have begun to lift restrictions, with authorities in some of the hardest-hit parts like Spain reporting signs that the pandemic there was slowing. Britain announced that it had hit its target of conducting 100,000 coronavirus tests a day, a step toward eventually lifting lockdown rules in the UK -- which this week overtook Spain to record the world's third-highest death toll. But Ireland extended its lockdown by two weeks to May 18, with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar saying the nation will reopen "in a slow, phased, staged way" after that. In Asia, India announced that the lockdown on its 1.3 billion people -- the world's biggest -- would continue for two more weeks from May 4. And in Singapore, the government said Saturday that pet food stores and hair salons will be allowed to reopen on May 12. Most of the city-state's infections have been detected at dormitories housing migrant workers, and their confinement was extended to June 1. The virus restrictions also put a damper on May Day celebrations worldwide on Friday as many labor unions delayed their rallies and some held online events, while a determined few hit the streets in facemasks in defiance of lockdown orders. - Sharp rhetoric - May Day carried extra significance this year because of the staggering number of people put out of work by the pandemic, with the global economy in a tailspin and facing its worst downturn since the Great Depression. Stock markets tumbled again on Friday after President Trump's unproven allegation that the virus may have come from a lab in Wuhan -- the central Chinese city where the disease first emerged late last year. Beijing has rejected the accusation, and scientists believe the virus jumped from animals to humans. The White House has accused Chinese authorities of mishandling the outbreak and putting American lives at risk. The disease overwhelmed healthcare infrastructure when it hit the United States, putting immense pressure on medical workers. Some US medics relied on experience in other countries to fight the virus. David Callaway, a doctor and academic who formerly worked on disease response in conflict-hit nations such as South Sudan and Iraq, said he found overseas epidemics easier to handle in some ways. "Family and loved ones, you can put them in a box and you use them as a source of motivation and inspiration when things get rough, but you know they are safe," he told AFP. "A pandemic at home, you know that your family and your loved ones are still at risk, their lives hang on the line." burs-qan/gle
Jacksonville Beach, Florida, on April 17.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The Florida Department of Health has withheld coronavirus death data compiled by the state's medical examiners for more than a week, the Tampa Bay Times reported on Wednesday.

The health department prevented Florida's medical examiners from publishing their death tally on their own after the Times found a discrepancy between their count and the department's count, the report said.

Dr. Stephen Nelson, the chairman of Florida's Medical Examiners Commission, said state officials told him they would remove the cause of death and the case descriptions from the medical examiners' death data, the Times reported.

Last month, attorneys for the state health department unsuccessfully sought to withhold the Miami-Dade County medical examiner's death data from the Miami Herald.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Florida's Department of Health has stopped publishing the state's medical examiners' coronavirus death data after finding that their count was about 10% higher than the state's official tally, the Tampa Bay Times reported on Wednesday.

The health department has withheld the medical examiners' data for more than a week, according to the Times.

The Times reported that state officials said earlier this month that they wanted to review the data following the newspaper's report about the discrepancy with medical examiners' figures. But the Times said on Wednesday that they had not provided details on "what they plan to remove."

The state health department is still releasing its own numbers, with less detail than the medical examiners' data.

Dr. Stephen Nelson, the head of Florida's Medical Examiners Commission, told the Times that state officials told him they would strike the cause of death and the case descriptions from the medical examiners' tally, even though such information has always been in the public record.

Story continues

"The State of Florida remains dedicated to providing Floridians with transparent information regarding COVID-19," a health department spokesperson told Business Insider. "Medical examiner data is still included in DOH data as the Medical Examiner Commission reports it to the State."

But Nelson said that without the cause of death or case descriptions, the medical examiners' death toll cannot reflect the actual number of coronavirus deaths.

"This is no different than any other public record we deal with," Nelson told the Times. "It's paid for by taxpayer dollars and the taxpayers have a right to know."

Some local medical examiners' offices have continued to release their own tallies, according to the Times.

A spokesman for the health department told the Times that it was recently in talks with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about "privacy concerns for the individuals that passed away related to COVID-19." The medical examiners' tally does not include names but does include other demographic information.

This may be the first time Florida officials have successfully withheld coronavirus death data, but it is not their first attempt to do so.

Last month, attorneys for the state health department tried to prevent the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office from providing death data to the Miami Herald, the Herald reported.

The Herald found through public records it obtained that Christine Lamia, a deputy general counsel for the health department, told Christopher Angell, an assistant county attorney, that the data should be withheld.

"As we discussed, it is the Department of Health's position that the information requested in the request below should not be released as it is confidential and exempt from public record disclosure," Lamia said in an email to Angell on April 2.

This article has been updated.

Read the original article on Business Insider
New Delhi/Islamabad, May 1 : Last year, Pakistan awarded death penalty to at least 584 people, out of which 17 were convicted for "blasphemy", and 15 were executed.

This was revealed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its annual report released on Thursday. The report, a copy of which has been accessed by IANS, said, "The state of human rights across the country is indeed dire." According to a report submitted to the Law and Justice Commission, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had overturned the death penalty in 78 per cent of 310 judgments between 2010 and 2018, "either acquitting the accused, commuting the sentence, or ordering a review".

Yet, "death penalty was awarded in at least 584 cases in 2019, while 15 people were executed, 12 of them in Punjab. As of December 2019, at least 17 people convicted of blasphemy were still on death row," the Human Rights Commission said in its report.

In December, a Multan district and sessions court had handed down a death sentence to academic Junaid Hafeez on charges of blasphemy. "The decision dismayed human rights observers, given that Hafeez had already spent six years in solitary confinement," the commission said.

The criminal code of Pakistan punishes blasphemy against Islam. Though blasphemy laws were enacted by the British colonial authorities in the undivided India, Pakistan under military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq made them more stringent in its drive to Islamise the country. Pakistani Parliament in 1974, under Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, had declared Ahmadi Muslims as non-Muslims.

Many people who were accused of or opposed blasphemy in Pakistan were murdered. In 2010, Asia Bibi was sentenced to death by hanging on a flimsy charge of blasphemy.

A year later, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Roman Catholic and Pakistan's Minister for Minorities Affairs, was killed in Islamabad for defying threats over his efforts to reform blasphemy laws.

Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by his security guard in 2011 for supporting Asia. Since 1990, 62 people have been murdered following blasphemy allegations, as per media reports.

Between 1987 and 2017, 1,500 people in Pakistan were charged with blasphemy and 75 of them were killed, as per the Center for Social Justice.
May 1, 2020

U.S. Oil & Gas Plc.

("US Oil" or the "Company")

Notice of AGM

U.S. Oil & Gas Plc, the oil and gas exploration company with assets in Nevada, makes the following announcement:

The Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") will be held on 26 May, 2020 at 11.00 a.m. at the Alexandra House, the Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 C7H2, Ireland.



Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, U.S. Oil and Gas plc has put in place new arrangements to protect the wellbeing of its people and its shareholders. The proceedings will therefore be conducted via teleconference from the company's headquarters, Alexandra House, the Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 C7H2. Full details are outlined below.



Notice of the AGM, a form of proxy and the Annual Report and Accounts (see also www.usoilandgas.us) for the period ended 31 July 2019 (the "Documents") were posted to shareholders on 29th April last, including information on how to use the electronic voting facility.



AGENDA

Ordinary Business

To receive and consider the financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2019 and the reports of the Directors and Auditors thereon Re-election of Dr. Brian McBeth as a Director To re appoint Smith & Williamson Chartered Accountants as Auditors

Special Business

Authorisation of Directors to allot shares Authorisation to allot equity securities otherwise than in accordance with statutory pre-emption rights

Proxy voting

We strongly advise our shareholders to submit their proxy forms by post or electronically to ensure their vote counts at the AGM given that no personal attendance at the AGM is permissible under current government regulations.

Conference call details

Please find below the conference call details:

Republic of Ireland: +353 (1) 4897200

Conference ID: 195354#

Copies of the Documents will be available for inspection for one month from today's date,

free of charge, from the Company's registered office at: Alexandra House, The Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The statements in this communication reflect the current thinking of the Board and the Company's present plans. The Company reserves the right to alter plans in the light of developing knowledge and circumstances. Shareholders' attention is drawn to the note below concerning Forward-looking Statements.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information". Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: business plans and strategies of US Oil and Gas; operating or technical difficulties in connection with drilling or development activities; availability and costs associated with inputs and labour; drilling and exploration costs; the speculative nature of oil exploration and development; diminishing quantities or quality of reserves; synergies and financial impact of completed acquisitions; the benefits of the acquisitions and the development potential of properties of US Oil and Gas; the future price of oil; supply and demand for oil; the estimation of reserves; the realization of reserve estimates; costs of production and projections of costs; success of exploration activities; capital expenditure programs and the timing and method of financing thereof; the ability of US Oil and Gas to achieve drilling success consistent with management's expectations; net present values of future net revenues from reserves; expected levels of royalty rates, operating costs, general and administrative costs, costs of services and other costs and expenses; expectations regarding the ability to raise capital and to add to reserves through acquisitions, assessments of the value of acquisitions and exploration and development programs; geological, technical, drilling and processing problems; treatment under governmental regulatory regimes and tax laws.

All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements

THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENTS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

Neither this announcement nor the information contained herein constitutes an offer or solicitation by U.S. Oil and Gas Plc for the purchase or sale of any securities nor does it constitute a solicitation to any person in any jurisdiction where solicitation would be unlawful.

For further information contact:

Brian McDonnell, Chief Executive Officer +353 (1) 631 9022

About U.S. Oil & Gas:

U.S. Oil & Gas plc is an oil and gas exploration company with a strategy to identify and acquire oil and gas assets in the early phase of the upstream life-cycle and mature them. The Company's

main asset is in Nye County, Nevada where it holds the entire share capital of US-based company, Major Oil International LLC ("Major Oil"). Major Oil has acquired rights to exploration and development acreage in Hot Creek Valley, Nye County, adjacent to the oil and gas rich Railroad Valley area of Nevada, both of which are part of the Sevier Thrust of central Nevada and western Utah, USA.

For further information please refer to our website at: www.usoilandgas.us

###
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification on Friday allowing special trains to ferry migrant workers, tourists, students, and other persons stranded at different places. "Movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places is also allowed by special trains to be operated by the Ministry of Railways (MoR). MoR will designate nodal officers for coordinating with states/UTs for their movement. MoR will issue detailed guidelines for social distancing and other safety measures to be observed at train stations, train platforms and within the trains," the notification read.

The special trains will run from point to point based on the request of the concerned state governments as per standard protocols.

Passengers will be screened by the departure states before onboarding. Once the passengers are found asymptomatic, only then will they be allowed to board the trains. Additionally, the departure state's government will bring the passengers in batches to the stations on buses that will be fully sanitised. Social distancing and other precautions must also be strictly followed during the process, stated MoR.

Once the passengers arrive at the destination, the destination state's government will make all arrangements to screen and quarantine (if necessary) the passengers, stated the railways ministry.

Special trains that have been planned for today are from Lingampalli to Hatia, Aluva to Bhubaneswar, Nasik to Lucknow, Nasik to Bhopal, Jaipur to Patna and Kota to Hatia.

This notification comes after Indian Railways ferried 1,200 migrant workers stranded in Telangana to Jharkhand. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren also said that two special trains will leave Rajasthan's Kota for the state with students on board, today. "I thank the Central Govt and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on behalf of the people of Jharkhand for their help," said Soren.

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown relaxation likely post May 3; new guidelines soon; total cases-35,043

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown: Indian Railways' first train ferries stranded migrant workers from Telangana to Jharkhand
"Well, the bad times are now upon us, courtesy of the made-in-China pandemic," Hartcher wrote. "And what has China's official representative in Canberra done? Ambassador Cheng has openly threatened Australia with trade boycotts."

The article details how the Chinese Communist Party has been working for years to systematically undermine Australia's sovereignty, while maintaining "the smiling mask of friendship".

In the opinion piece, Hartcher states that Ambassador Cheng Jingye "has done Australia a great service. He has taken off the mask."

The article in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age this week that sparked the most debate was China's man in Canberra has unmasked the regime's true face by political and international editor Peter Hartcher.

"Why? Because Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week dared to suggest an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic."

Ambages Fardel Sedilo earned the respect of 204 readers, responding: "Let's call China's bluff. That could mean no Chinese students at our universities and the universities would then be forced to return to their original purpose, that is, educating Australians. It could mean the cancerous spread of high-rise apartment blocks built solely for the purpose of selling them to overseas Chinese would stop. It could mean that more industries and manufacturing could resume again in Australia, instead of just relying on imported goods made in China. It could mean a stop in the over-fishing of lobsters to sell to the Chinese markets and Australians could then have the opportunity of enjoying them. China's threat of a boycott? Bring it on."

Romster countered this view writing: "To suggest fewer Chinese students will lead to universities returning to their original purpose: educating Australians, shows an enormous ignorance, which is backed by the rest of your post. For a start, these Chinese students bring a lot of cash to the universities, which better funds resources and research, and enables access to everyday Australians who otherwise could not afford it. As for industries manufacturing here instead of China, no they won't. They'll simply relocate to other cheap labour providers such as Vietnam or Bangladesh. Not selling lobsters to Chinese means less over-fishing and more for us? Not if there is less over-fishing, kinda defeats the purpose and point!"

They found common ground on one point, though. With Romster ending his comment by saying: "However, yes, we should not be so reliant on China for trade, too many eggs in one basket."

Bluestocking added this view: "Funds from overseas students provide money for research, but if the quality of the actual education being provided at universities is lowered to accommodate poor language skills, that is a very poor outcome for everyone. Ranking universities by research output is problematic.
Two boys in Colorado Springs have been accused of using counterfeit money to buy cellphones from people over the internet, authorities said Thursday.

The boys, whose names were not released, were detained after Colorado Springs police searched a home in the 5500 block of Descanso Circle East, officials said. Police did not say if the boys face any charges.

"Evidence was recovered from the location" that "linked the juvenile males to the crimes," and could be connected to other cases, police said.

RELATED:
DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Thursday called on all Libyan parties to commit to the U.N.-supervised political process to end the war, while at the same time saluting the eastern Libya based-army led by General Khalifa Haftar.

The UAE statement did not comment directly on Haftar's declaration on Monday that his army would take power, ripping up a 2015 political agreement that has been the basis for all international peacemaking efforts.

The UAE "commends the Libyan National Army for conducting anti-terror operations," a statement by the Emirati Foreign Ministry said, expressing "its categorical rejection of the Turkish military intervention" in support of the rival, Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

The statement expressed the UAE's support for a political solution based on the Berlin conference, calling on "all parties to commit to the political process under the supervision of the United Nations."

Responding to the UAE's statement, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy said the remarks were an attempt by the UAE to "hide their two-faced politics" and said it was providing aid to "putschists" in Libya.

Turkey backs the GNA, Libya's internationally recognised government, and has signed a military cooperation agreement to help it repel an Haftar's offensive. Ankara has repeatedly urged world powers to stop supporting Haftar's forces, which it deems "putschists."

"The UAE's actions disrupting international peace, security and stability not just in Libya, but all the region, including Yemen, Syria and Africa, are well known to the international community," Aksoy said in a statement.

"We call on the UAE leadership to avoid taking a hostile stance against our country and to know its place," he said, and added that solving the Libyan crisis hinged on backing the GNA and adhering to the 2015 political agreement.

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli in Dubai and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Alison Williams and Matthew Lewis)
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

When the person at the top is malignant and self-serving, unethical behavior cascades through the organization and becomes legitimized.

What traits do we look for in our leaders? Ask someone what distinguishes a forceful leader, in business or politics, and they're likely to mention self-confidence and charisma. Great leaders, we say, are bold and strong-willed. They have a vision for creating something new or remaking a company or a country. They challenge conventional wisdom and are slowed by neither self-doubt nor criticism.

These are the individuals whom corporate boards tend to select as CEOs, especially in times of upheaval, when the status quo is failing. They're adept at self-promotion and shine in job interviews. Then, once they're in power, we find out who they really are.

Sometimes they're as good as their promise. But many turn out to be not just confident but arrogant and entitled. Instead of being bold, they're merely impulsive. They lack empathy and exploit others without compunction. They ignore expert advice and treat those who differ with contempt and hostility. Above all, they demand personal loyalty. They are, in short, raging narcissists.

Charles A. O'Reilly, the Frank E. Buck Professor of Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business, studies how the personalities of leaders shape the culture of organizations and the behavior of those who work in them. In a paper with Jennifer Chatman of the University of California, Berkeley, he reviews the literature on narcissistic leaders, encompassing more than 150 studies, and draws some somber and urgent conclusions.

"There are leaders who may be abusive jerks but aren't really narcissists," O'Reilly says. "The distinction is what motivates them. Are they driven to achieve some larger purpose? Do they really want to make the company or the country better, or accomplish some crazy goal like making electric cars mainstream and maybe colonizing Mars along the way? Or is it really all about their own aggrandizement?"

When their self-admiration has some basis in reality, narcissistic leaders can achieve great things; that was certainly the case with Steve Jobs at Apple. But over the past decade, researchers have grown increasingly concerned by the destructive effects of narcissists on organizations. Cautionary tales abound, from Enron to Uber to Theranos.

True narcissists, O'Reilly says, are self-serving and lack integrity. "They believe they're superior and thus not subject to the same rules and norms. Studies show they're more likely to act dishonestly to achieve their ends. They know they're lying, and it doesn't bother them. They don't feel shame." They are also often reckless in the pursuit of glorysometimes successfully, but often with dire consequences.

But even worse, narcissists change the companies or countries they lead, much like bad money drives out good, and those changes can outlast their own tenure, O'Reilly says. Divergent voices are silenced, flattery and servility are rewarded, and cynicism and apathy corrode any sense of shared purpose in a culture where everyone's out for themselves. In the extreme, they can destroy the institution itself.

Why Do We Empower Them?

Anyone who was bullied as a kid is familiar with the consoling notion that bullies don't really believe they're better than usthey're "just compensating" for low self-esteem. They present as confident and assertive to mask some inner pain, and we take solace in their secret suffering, maybe feigning pity for their brokenness.

Unfortunately, that generous assessment is not always true.

"That's the classic case of vulnerable narcissism recognized in psychiatry," O'Reilly says. "But in the last decade or so, there's been an outpouring of research on what's called grandiose narcissism. These individuals have high self-esteem. They are much more agentic, more extroverted, and really more dangerous. And evidence shows that they're achieving high positions in organizations, getting promoted and making more money than normal people."

Such individuals seek positions of power where they can be admired and can demonstrate their superiority. And they tend to gain those posts because they look like prototypical leaders. "There must be 20 or 30 studies that demonstrate this," O'Reilly says. "If you gather a group of strangers and give them a task, those who are more narcissistic are much more likely to be selected as leaders."

O'Reilly thinks we may especially tend to choose narcissistic leaders in times of turmoil. "In the last few decades, big companies like automakers and banks have been threatened by technological disruption. So you could imagine that in anxious times people are looking for a hero, a confident person who says, "I have a solution.'" They may be the only ones who are confident in such times.

"By the way," he adds, "I haven't researched this, but I think venture capitalists love these people. For their business model, which is to invest in 10 companies hoping that one pays off big, it makes sense. If I'm a VC and I see one startup that's headed by an introverted engineer and another that's led by someone who says, "Yeah, I'm going to change the word, and if you don't get it, then you're a bozo'I'm going to go for the visionary spiel." In a way, it's an investment model predicated on grandiosity.

Tallying the Damage

Because narcissists are fundamentally driven by their own self-interest, lack empathy, and are less constrained by ethical standards, they can cause tremendous harm once in power and can even put the organizations they lead at risk, O'Reilly says.

Field studies have shown that narcissistic CEOs are more likely to engage in fraud and other types of white-collar crime, manipulate earnings, and pursue aggressive tax avoidance. And a 2013 study of U.S. presidents found that those who scored higher on the narcissism scale were more likely to abuse their authority (not to mention, on a personal level, their marriage vows).

Along with Bernadette Doerr of UC Berkeley, O'Reilly recently published the results of three experiments showing that narcissistic people in general have lower levels of integritymeaning their words and deeds do not alignand that that they are more likely to lie, cheat, and steal in order to prove their special status.

Ascending to a position of power only reinforces these tendencies, O'Reilly says. "Being elected or appointed to office validates their sense of entitlement. At the same time, even without narcissism, power disinhibitsit encourages people to indulge their worst instinctsso now you've got the two working together."

And when narcissists do achieve some success, it reinforces their belief that they know better than others, so that they feel even more justified in ignoring the advice of experts and relying on their own instincts. "Success chips away at their hold on reality," O'Reilly writes in his review.

Not surprisingly, studies also show that narcissists' belief in their superiority is based on scant evidence, validated neither by objective measures of intelligence or competence nor by performance reviews from peers or subordinates. One recent paper on corporate decision-making found that grandiosity in leaders was associated with greater risk-taking but not better financial returns.

As a result, narcissists often feel they don't receive the admiration and credit they deserve, and they can seem pathologically consumed with resentment. That can take the form of petulance, aggression, unhinged public rants, and abuse of underlings. Narcissistic CEOs often involve their firms in costly litigation. In the narcissist's worldview, other human beings must be either acolytes or enemies.

But the gravest danger posed by such leaders is that their malignant influence guides the behavior and expectations of othersand ultimately shapes the culture of the organization or polity in their own image. Studies of businesses show that self-serving, unethical behavior at the top cascades through the organization and becomes legitimized, or at least normalized.

"Once they're in power, narcissists consolidate their position by firing everyone who challenges them," O'Reilly says. In their place rise a plague of toadies, opportunists, and enablers equally guided by self-interest and short on scruples. "So you end up with these individualistic cultures with no teamwork and low integrity. We've documented this in a bunch of Silicon Valley tech firms."

When you join a new company, you figure out how you need to behave to fit in, he says. "If you see that the path upward requires you to scheme, suck up, and withhold information, then you have a choice: You can either do the same or not, in which case you're going to be excluded and probably eliminated."

He points to the struggles of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to turn the company around after its founding CEO, Travis Kalanick, was forced out. "Once you create these cultures, it's very hard to change them. There are long-term consequences."

Follow the Trail

O'Reilly's hope is that by pulling together the lessons from what is now a large body of research on narcissistic leadership, we can learn to better distinguish between real transformational leaders and the self-dealing look-alikes who exploit our hopes and fears to gain power.

If you're evaluating candidates for high office, you really need to look beyond the self-presentation, he says. "Too often, when boards select CEOs, especially outside CEOs, they do it through interviews. But interviews play to the strength of a narcissist. And you can't just look at performance, because they can fake performance"blithely taking credit for others' work and even falsifying results.

"What would really be far more illuminating would be to go talk to the people who've worked for them and with them in the past. You have to get data from people who have seen that person operating. But that typically isn't what happens."

It's up to the hiring teams and voters who select leaders, O'Reilly says, to do the proper background checks: "We're not helpless. The information is out there."

And as research shows, the stakes are highbecause, as O'Reilly says, "These people aren't going to change."

Explore further Narcissistic CEOs weaken collaboration and integrity

More information: Charles A. O'Reilly et al. Transformational Leader or Narcissist? How Grandiose Narcissists Can Create and Destroy Organizations and Institutions, California Management Review (2020). Charles A. O'Reilly et al. Transformational Leader or Narcissist? How Grandiose Narcissists Can Create and Destroy Organizations and Institutions,(2020). DOI: 10.1177/0008125620914989
A 54-year-old COVID-19 patient hailing from East Champaran district breathed his last at a Patna hospital on Friday, taking the death toll to three in the state, a top official said here.

Principal Secretary, Home, Sanjay Kumar said the patient had been admitted to the NMCH hospital here on April 27 and his death was caused by cardiac arrest.

He also said that the patient had a serious case of terminal oropharyngeal malignancy (cancer of mouth and throat) and he apparently contracted the infection at Mumbai, where he had been eking out a living.

The 54-year-old man, a resident of Banjaria in East Champaran, had returned from the western Champaran on April 20 along with two other residents of the village. All of them tested positive for coronavirus on April 26.

This is the third instance of a COVID-19 patient dying in Bihar.

On March 21, a Munger resident, who also suffered from renal failure, died at AIIMS-Patna, a day before test reports confirmed that he was infected with coronavirus as well.

A 35-year-old man from Vaishali district, who suffered from multiple ailments, including tuberculosis, typhoid and brain fever besides having tested positive for COVID 19, died while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Patna on April 17.

Bihar has reported 466 coronavirus positive cases so far.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Premier Gladys Berejiklian wants residents to exercise caution as they take advantage of easing restrictions on social contact, with nine new COVID-19 cases across NSW and another death at Newmarch House.

The NSW Premier said about half of the nine cases were from community transmission, and urged people to continue turning up to testing clinics over the weekend, even for mild symptoms.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian addresses the media on the latest developments of the coronavirus pandemic. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Ms Berejiklian said those planning to take advantage of easing restrictions allowing groups of two adults to visit other people's homes "to do that with caution, especially if youre with vulnerable people."

NSW now has 3025 confirmed cases of coronavirus after nine people, including three Newmarch residents, were diagnosed on Thursday. While 43 people have died with the virus, another 2293 have recovered.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, NASA has been going all-out for its future space missions. The space agency has recently chosen three private space companies to work together for the development of its Lunar Landers that are planned to bring astronauts to the Moon.

The companies that were selected are Elon Musk's SpaceX, CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezo's Blue Origin, and IT company Dynetics. The three agencies will work together to manufacture the landers that will be used by astronauts for future Moon missions, NASA announced Thursday.

A grand endeavor in space

The spacecraft will deliver the astronauts from the lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back. NASA has given each a sizeable contract worth $579 million for Blue Origin, $135 million for SpaceX, and $253 million for Dynetics.

Each company will use the finances in undertaking the necessary steps towards the endeavor. It will cover the next ten months as they try to overthrow each other in a race for number one.

NASA has previously stated how it wants its spacecraft to be designed like, and it has now delved into working with smaller space agencies who are at the forefront of the space race with their brand-new and innovative productions.

.Jim Bridenstine, a NASA administrator, said that the three chosen companies show a lot of potential for success in the road to the Moon.

The three are now in direct competition with each other to see who will be the first to bring their previous proposals into reality. Each of the projects is unique and very distinct in comparison to one another.

The path Blue Origin has taken is the utilization of a three-stage lander. The spacecraft will detach its landing engines upon leaving the Moon's surface to reduce the payload that it needs to carry.

Read Also: [VIDEO] Two Black Holes Dancing In Space Caught By NASA's Spitzer Telescope Shows Remarkable Pattern of Fluidity

SpaceX, on the other hand, plans on using its general-purpose 'Starship' spacecraft, which is a Super Heavy rocket that features a reusability mechanic designed to carry the payload to Earth's orbit and other cosmic bodies such as Mars.

The third contender Dynetics is going with a lander that could be fitted and launched on any rocket for ease of use.

Wide support for space missions

The associate administrator of NASA's human exploration and operations mission directorate Doug Loverro stated the leading agencies in the space race were chosen to work with NASA. He also said they only need one last piece to send astronauts to the Moon successfully, and once they have it, the mission will move forward.

The endeavor is the first time since the 1960s and 1970s that astronauts have gone to the Moon.

The upcoming program is named the Artemis Mission, which was called after the Goddess Apollo's twin sister depicting its relationship to the historic event. The project aims to bring the first-ever woman onto the Moon by 2024, along with the next man on the Moon.

The project came four years earlier than what was initially planned. NASA originally planned to build the 'Gateway,' which is a lunar space station. Astronauts would initially dock at the space station before transferring to a lander and roaming around the surface.

Vice-president Mike Pence ordered NASA to accelerate its programs by four years in what is considered to be a political move to coincide the landing with the end of Donald Trump's term as president.

To meet the demand, NASA it was to set aside the 'Gateway' mission in favor of the lunar landing, which will, later on, develop to become the sustainable lunar program planned for 2028 in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Bridenstine spoke with politicians and received unanimous support for the endeavor but was told to garner the approval of Congress the budget increase of approximately $3 billion this coming 2021 to support the lunar landing with a previous budget of $22.6 billion.

Read Also: NASA Arms Its Astronauts With Lunar Flashlight To Search For Water On The Moon During Artemis Mission's Extended Stay
State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha said shes fielded a lot of questions from constituents about whether their personal data will be sold by the private firms hired by Nebraska. She also questioned whether the state had been totally transparent about the contracts, which werent shared with state lawmakers until six days after they were announced.

I think that (the governor) took this contract because it was convenient. This company acted the fastest, Hunt said. She also asked whether any Nebraska firms had been offered the lucrative contract.

The World-Herald obtained and reviewed the contracts, asking a law professor who specializes in contracts to look at the privacy protections.

Edward Morse, a professor at the Creighton University School of Law, said that one clause in the service agreement with Domo, a software firm involved in the contract, allows it to use de-identified and aggregate data to improve its product and deliver benchmarks and similar reports.

But Morse said that clause doesnt present a significant personal privacy concern because the data allowed to be retained cant be traced back to any one individual.
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa on Friday, May 1, said he is open to the conduct of an investigation into the alleged human rights violations committed by his men while enforcing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) protocols.

"As I have said, all those who are accusing the PNP that we have committed many cases of human rights violations, we are open to a (full investigation)," he said.

Gamboa maintained, however, that policemen have been bombarded with reminders to uphold human rights at all times and observe maximum tolerance in dealing with the public amid the ECQ.

"On our part, we keep on reminding our policemen and if ever there is an incident that transpired, we will have an impartial investigation...," he added.

The PNP has been widely criticized for some incidents arising from their enforcement of ECQ rules.

These incidents included the killing of former Army soldier Winston Ragos in Quezon City following a confrontation with policemen over an alleged ECQ violation; the manhandling of a foreigner residing in Dasmarinas Village; and the beating of a fish vendor in Quezon City.

Gamboa earlier defended Police Master Sergeant Daniel Florendo, the police officer who shot and killed Ragos, saying he was merely following instructions to act first when confronted by an armed suspect.

Ragos was later confirmed to have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Florendo was charged with homicide and placed under restrictive custody while the investigation is ongoing.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government also defended Senior Master Sergeant Roland Von Madrona who was caught on video manhandling Javier Parra in an attempt to arrest him.

Parra, who cussed at Madrona, argued with the police officer over his household staffs failure to wear a face mask while watering the plants outside his residence.

Charges were filed against Parra for alleged violation of Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code (Disobedience to a Lawful Person in Authority), Republic Act 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act), and City Ordinance 2000-089, for not wearing a face mask while outside residence.

Story continues

The PNP was also criticized after a policeman allegedly barged into the premises of a posh condominium in Taguig City and yelled at residents who were seen loitering in the clubhouse and other common areas.

The local government of Taguig had defended the officer, saying he was asked to respond to reports of ECQ violations in the area.

Meanwhile, Gamboa said they were considering the procurement of tasers to pacify unruly individuals.

"Yes, it's part of the plan of the PNP. We call that non-violent or those equipment other than the firearm. Aside from tasers, there is this equipment that will gather people using a machine. All of these things are being evaluated by the Directorate of Logistics under the procurement management community who deliberates on what to procure," he said.

The PNP will be turning over P220.3 million to the National Treasury. The amount came from the voluntary contributions of PNP personnel to help the government in providing aid to those greatly affected by the ECQ.

As of Friday, 96 PNP personnel have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, or Sars-Cov-2, which causes the coronavirus disease. Three had died and 12 have recovered. (SunStar Philippines)
The Tennessee State Review Board will meet to examine proposed nominations to the National Register of Historic Places on Wednesday, May 20, at 9 a.m. The meeting will be held via WebEx. Information on attending the meeting remotely can be obtained by visiting the Tennessee Historical Commissions National Register webpage the morning of the May 20 meeting.

The Board will vote on eight nominations from across the state:

 Dixie Mercerizing Company  Hamilton County

 Downtown Chattanooga Historic District  Hamilton County

 Arch Bridge  Hardin County

 Sulphur Fork Bridge  Montgomery County

 Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Synagogue  Shelby County

 Ward School  Trousdale County

 Higgenbotham Turnpike (Trail of Tears segment)  Warren and White Counties

 Wayne County Courthouse  Wayne County

Those nominations that are found to meet the criteria will be sent for final approval to the National Register of Historic Places in the Department of the Interior. The Tennessee State Review Board is composed of 13 members with backgrounds in American history, architecture, archaeology, or related fields. It also includes members representing the public. The National Register program was authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The public is invited to attend the WebEx meeting.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nations official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. It is part of a nationwide program that coordinates and supports efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic resources. The Tennessee Historical Commission, the state agency that is designated as the State Historic Preservation Office, administers the program in Tennessee.

For more information or copies of the nominations contact Rebecca Schmitt at Rebecca.schmitt@tn.gov .

Visit http://tnhistoricalcommission.org to find out more about the programs.






Dear Editor:

It is time that our congressional representative, Antonio Delgado, became a cosponsor of H.R. 2407. The bill promotes justice, equality and human rights for children globally by prohibiting any U.S. foreign aid money from contributing to the military detention, interrogation, abuse or ill treatment of children in violation of international humanitarian law.

The bill sets a clear statement of policy declaring, It is the policy of the United States to promote human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation and to declare Israels system of military detention of Palestinian children as a practice that results in widespread and systematic human rights abuses amounting to gross violations of human rights inconsistent with international humanitarian law and the laws of the United States.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz (Endless Trip to Hell, March 16, 2019): Theyre seized in the dead of night, blindfolded and cuffed, abused and manipulated to confess to crimes they didnt commit. Every year Israel arrests almost 1,000 Palestinian youngsters, some of them not yet 13.

Of course, children under 18 are abused in many places around the world, including in our own criminal justice system as well as in our immigration detention centers. Hopefully, this bill will bring to light the need to protect all children from inhumane treatment during arrest and incarceration.

If you live in New Yorks 19th Congressional District, please sign the open letter to Rep. Delgado at bit.ly/2z06hHj.

Fred Nagel

Rhinebeck, N.Y.
Britney Spears dedicated a throwback Thursday post to her toyboy Sam Asghari, who's in quarantine at his Beverly Hills apartment while she's confined to her $7.4M five-bedroom mansion in Thousand Oaks.

'I miss sunny bike riding days with this man,' the 38-year-old Grammy winner - who boasts 123.1M social media followers - lamented.

'I feel we have been quarantining for so long ughhhhh dear God I have missed him!

'TBT': Britney Spears dedicated a throwback Thursday post to her toyboy Sam Asghari, who's in quarantine at his Beverly Hills apartment while she's confined to her $7.4M five-bedroom mansion in Thousand Oaks

The 38-year-old Grammy winner lamented: 'I miss sunny bike riding days with this man. I feel we have been quarantining for so long ughhhhh dear God I have missed him!'

According to ET, the 26-year-old fitness trainer calls and FaceTimes Britney 'every day' and she revealed Wednesday that she has 'actually lost weight from missing him.'

Her separation from Asghari might be due to him being in contact with his two nurse sisters - Maddie is 'pulling 12-hour shifts at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center' while Fay is a 'board certified aesthetic injector.'

Spears could be concerned about exposing her sons - Sean, 14; and Jayden, 13 - with ex-husband Kevin Federline, whose custodial rights went from 5050 to 70-30 in September, according to TMZ.

The change came after the bipolar pop star's 30-day stint at an 'all-encompassing wellness facility' ended a year ago.

'Recovery': The 26-year-old fitness trainer reportedly calls and FaceTimes Britney 'every day' and she revealed that she has 'actually lost weight from missing him' (pictured Wednesday)

'#nurselife': Her separation from Asghari might be due to him being in contact with his two nurse sisters - Maddie (L) is 'pulling 12-hour shifts at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center' while Fay (R) is a 'board certified aesthetic injector' (pictured April 13)

'My boys!' Spears could be concerned about exposing her sons - Sean, 14; and Jayden, 13 - with ex-husband Kevin Federline, whose custodial rights went from 5050 to 70-30 in September (pictured August 4)

Eyebrows raised when Britney revealed Wednesday that she burnt her home gym down 'six months ago' after accidentally leaving two candles lit, but luckily no one was harmed.

Spears has been under court-ordered permanent conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears (and various attorneys) since being put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold way back in 2008.

The former Mouseketeer has been dating the Iranian-born model since shortly after October 2016 when she cast him as her love interest in her Slumber Party music video.

'One thing lead to another!' Eyebrows raised when the bipolar pop star revealed Wednesday that she burnt her home gym down 'six months ago' after accidentally leaving two candles lit, but luckily no one was harmed

On the payroll: Britney has been dating the Iranian-born model since shortly after October 2016 when she cast him as her love interest in her Slumber Party music video

Give back? Spears has publicly thanked all of the 'workers putting so much time and dedication into helping us during the coronavirus,' but she has not made donations or volunteered for remote benefits like her peers (pictured Wednesday)

Britney has publicly thanked all of the 'workers putting so much time and dedication into helping us during the coronavirus,' but she has not made donations or volunteered for remote benefits like her peers.

On March 17, Spears' Broadway-bound musical Once Upon a One More Time canceled its April 14-May 17 run at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre due to the fast-spreading respiratory illness.

The Mississippi-born blonde has been enjoying an extended career hiatus ever since the January 2019 cancellation of her Las Vegas residency Dominion.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 04:23:54|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- NASA scientists have found that ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland accounted for roughly half-inch sea level rise between 2003 and 2019, according to a NASA release on Thursday.

Using the most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument NASA has flown in space, scientists have made precise and detailed measurements of how the elevation of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over the 16 years.

The results provide insights into how the polar ice sheets are changing, demonstrating definitively that small gains of ice in East Antarctica are dwarfed by the massive losses in West Antarctica, according to NASA.

The scientists found the net loss of ice from Antarctica, along with Greenland's shrinking ice sheet, was responsible for 0.55 inches (14 millimeters) of sea level rise between 2003 and 2019, which was slightly less than a third of the total amount of sea level rise observed in the world's oceans.

The findings came from NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2), which was launched in 2018 to make detailed global elevation measurements, including over Earth's frozen regions. Enditem
Published on 2020/04/30 | Source

Thanks to proven stories and huge fixed fans, the 'remake' craze in the drama market has now become a trend.

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Amid a series of dramas adapted from web dramas beyond Japanese dramas, the recent remakes of popular British original dramas is drawing keen attention.

Until now, British remakes have often been made only in investigative and genre pieces. But JTBC's "The World of the Married", a remake of the BBC drama "Doctor Foster" aired in 2015 and 2017, is encouraging as it heats up the small screen despite cultural differences with the West. "The World of the Married" easily surpassed the 20% viewer rating (Nielsen Korea's national standard) within a month of its airing. It seemed to end in divorce, but the fiercer second act begins with her husband Lee Tae-oh (Park Hae-joon) signaling revenge against Ji Seon-woo (Kim Hee-ae).

The original "Doctor Foster" caused a whirlwind in Britain following the psychology of the main character Gemma Foster. The average number of viewers was over 10 million in Britain alone, making it one of the most popular dramas of the year. "The World of the Married" has strengthened its probability by adding human relations and psychological descriptions intertwined with school ties and delays, while keeping the rapid development and psychological tension alive in the original. On top of that, director Mo Wan-il's tense composition of the scene and Kim Hee-ae's delicate emotional performance are adding strength and creating a sensation.

As such, the key to the remake of British dramas is to emphasize the genre's merits and consider domestic sentiment. More than just a remake, it needs to be restructured. OCN's "Life on Mars" (2018) increased immersion with an omnibus-style storyline that solves various cases by using 'time slip' as a material for remake of the BBC drama of the same name. The Korean version of "Life on Mars" depicts a retro investigative drama in which Han Tae-joo (Jung Kyung-ho), a principled smart detective who chases a serial killer, meets Kang Dong-cheol (Park Sung-woong), an instinctive detective who doesn't need evidence and procedures. and sets up details by using Korean characters and backgrounds while maintaining the original framework.

Based on the BBC drama "Luther", MBC's "Less Than Evil" (2018-2019) was successful with ratings of around 10%, dealing with a close collaboration between psychopaths and serial killers. Shin Ha-kyun, who played Idris Elba of "Luther" as detective Woo Tae-seok in "Less Than Evil", completed a brutal crime reality by portraying himself as a ruthless character with anger control disorder.

In some cases, cultural differences between the U.K. and Korea have been neglected due to their inability to reduce the gap. The OCN mystery sensual thriller "Mistress", which deals with the twisted relationship between four women with secrets and men involved in them, was set up as adult rated, bringing about unconventional settings such as infidelity and murder from the original work, but failed to localize it, leaving it at only 1% in viewership.

In the future, BBC original dramas are expected to be released continuously and the remake craze of British dramas is expected to continue even after "The World of the Married". First of all, BBC's popular drama "Undercover" is expected to be remade this year. The original story deals with a political conspiracy that comes to light as Maya, a lawyer who was nominated for Britain's first black female prosecutor general, begins to doubt her husband, who she has been married for 20 years. In the remake, Lee Mi-yeon and Ji Jin-hee are on the lead list, while PD Song Hyeon-wook of "Oh Hae-Young Again" and "Beauty Inside - Drama" is at the helm, currently discussing the formation on JTBC. Also, a drama based on the BBC sitcom "Uncle" is under discussion for the first half of next year. It is a delightful music drama about an unemployed uncle and a 12-year-old nephew, and writer Park Ji-sook in charge of the screenplay.

A drama production company official said, "The globalization of the story has arrived. As the OTT market becomes active, the boundaries between Eastern and Western dramas are also disappearing. Just as the "Kingdom" series is spreading to the West through Netflix, British dramas, which used to be limited to hardcore fans, are also in line with the sentiments of Korean viewers and are gaining public sympathy", he said. "The recent increase in the number of remakes of British dramas means that the level of Korean drama production has risen to the level of Western countries".

Another official said, "As seen in the 'Sherlock' series that has caused a global craze, British dramas have a unique narrative structure, such as reasoning, investigation and thriller. This unique tension-filled storytelling has expanded once again through "The World of the Married", opening up new possibilities for 'British Dramas'".
The coronavirus moved so rapidly across the globe partly because no one had prior immunity to it. Failure to check its spread will result in a catastrophic loss of lives. Yet some politicians, epidemiologists and commentators are advising that the most practical course of action is to manage infections while allowing so-called herd immunity to build.

The concept of herd immunity is typically described in the context of a vaccine. When enough people are vaccinated, a pathogen cannot spread easily through the population. If you are infected with measles but everyone you interact with has been vaccinated, transmission will be stopped in its tracks.

Vaccination levels must stay above a threshold that depends upon the transmissibility of the pathogen. We dont yet know exactly how transmissible the coronavirus is, but say each person infects an average of three others. That would mean nearly two-thirds of the population would need to be immune to confer herd immunity.

In the absence of a vaccine, developing immunity to a disease like Covid-19 requires actually being infected with the coronavirus. For this to work, prior infection has to confer immunity against future infection. While hopeful, scientists are not yet certain that this is the case, nor do they know how long this immunity might last. The virus was discovered only a few months ago.
Vietnam reports no new Covid-19 cases for seven days

A medical staff tests samples of people for the novel coronavirus in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

Vietnam has seven days with no new coronavirus infections and 15 days without community transmission.

Of the country's 270 Covid-19 cases to date, 51 remain active and 219 have been discharged from hospitals. The 51 include 12 patients who relapsed.

Vietnam began buying Covid-19 medicines for a possible 10,000 infections, but Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called a halt to this, the Government Office announced Thursday.

But localities need to have contingency stocks, the PM said. He noted that with 270 confirmed cases out of an almost 100 million population, Vietnam is among the countries with the lowest infection rates.

A 16-year old girl in the northern province of Ha Giang was discharged on Thursday.

On the same day "patient 92", a 21-year-old Vietnamese student who had returned from France, relapsed 15 days after being discharged from Ho Chi Minh City's Cu Chi field hospital. The fourth relapse in HCMC took the national count to 12.

Most of the 51 patients being treated are in stable condition, with 15 of them testing negative for the virus at least once.

Over 47,000 people are in quarantine, 272 in hospitals, over 12,000 at quarantine facilities and the rest at home.

The Ministry of Health has instructed medical facilities to perform more check-ups at home or through phone or the Internet.

The pandemic has spread to 210 countries and territories so far, claiming over 233,700 lives.
An academic stuck at sea due to the coronavirus crisis has spoken about the moment he learnt the world was a different place from when he first set sail - as he attempts to return to Australia.

Christiaan De Beukelaer boarded the Avontuur cargo sailing ship in Tenerife - the largest of Spain's Canary Islands - in February with the intention of spending three weeks learning about life at sea.

But as COVID-19 rapidly spread across the world and governments moved to lock down society to control the outbreak, the 34-year-old's voyage was drastically interrupted, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The 15-member crew were halfway across the Atlantic Ocean on March 18 when the ship's owner Cornelius Bockerman contacted the captain via the satellite phone.

The message said: 'Dramatic times! You will not find the world the way it was before you set sail.'

Christiaan De Beukelaer boarded the Avontuur cargo sailing ship in Tenerife - the largest of Spain's Canary Islands - in February with the intention of spending three weeks learning about life at sea

Without internet on board the vessel, Dr De Beukelaer, a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Policy at the University of Melbourne, only learnt of the rapidly changing health crisis through the captain's updates.

The ship sailed into the Caribbean's French Antilles but was not allowed to dock amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak.

They were then allowed to anchor in Honduras for three hours to load on extra cargo after three weeks at sea. Dr De Beukelaer is currently docked in the Mexican port of Veracruz but no one is allowed onshore.

The Dutch 44-metre schooner will set sail this weekend for Hamburg, as it is the only port willing to accept them. Upon arrival, the Melbourne-based academic will need to figure out how to return home to Australia.

'It could take anything from five to nine weeks to reach the Azores...And then from there, it all depends on the weather, the north sea,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

He will be without internet once back at sea and will rely on the captains updates for information on the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dutch 44-metre schooner will set sail this weekend for Hamburg

'We're so disconnected from the world. It's almost as if the whole pandemic is something that is happening like in a distant galaxy somewhere,' he said.

Dr De Beukelaer shared a picture of the vessel to his Instagram page on April 16.

'This has been my home for the last six weeks, and will be for another ten weeks at least,' he wrote.

'We're fifteen people aboard the Avontuur. And we're picking up coffee and cacao in Honduras, Belize, and Mexico to sail in it back emission-free (or almost) back to Germany. Hope to see you in Hamburg when we arrive!'

Dr De Beukelaer, who was born in Belgium, was supposed to sit his Australian citizenship exam on May 1, which he intends to reschedule.

The 34-year-old said it is difficult to imagine what his life will be like when he returns to Melbourne.

'I think I'll have to give my sanity a good check after I get back rather than now because this is just - we're in it. There's nowhere we can go. We have to just make this work,' he said.
In a suburb of Senegal's seaside capital Dakar, Tidiane Konte clutches in his hand the "last receipt" he received from his brother in Spain.

"The last time he sent us money was in February," said the 56-year-old unemployed father, whose brother works as a farmhand in northern Spain.

Since the appearance of the novel coronavirus, remittances from Senegalese migrants in Europe have dried up, cutting off a crucial supply of cash to many struggling households.

Despite being a regional economic bright spot, the West African state is still poor.

Some 40 percent of Senegalese live on less than $1.9 (1.75 euros) a day, according to World Bank, and many rely on help from relatives abroad to break even.

Konte, for example, said he had received 422 euros from his brother in February -- nearly five times Senegal's minimum wage.

"We're not eating meat anymore," said Konte, describing the effect of the cut-off.

His situation is one echoed across the country of some 16 million people, and further afield, as most of Europe has had to remain at home to slow coronavirus infections.

According to the World Bank, migrant remittances are set to drop 20 percent to $445 billion this year, down from $554 billion in 2019.

In some poor countries, remittances can be equivalent to a third of GDP. The reduction in remittances caused by coronavirus is the largest drop in recent memory.

Dilip Ratha, the lead economist for migration and remittances at the World Bank, told AFP job losses linked to containment measures were mostly to blame.

He added that the loss of the lifeline "has a direct impact on nutrition, health and education outcomes" for recipients.

In Senegal, a finance ministry official said the government was expecting a reduction in remittances "on the order of 30 percent" in 2020.

Three million migrants

Senegal has so far been spared a coronavirus outbreak on a par with those in Europe or the United States, having recorded fewer than 1,000 cases and 10 fatalities.

The government reacted swiftly to the threat, shutting borders, restricting travel between cities and imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew. By JOHN WESSELS (AFP/File)

The government reacted swiftly to the threat, shutting borders, restricting travel between cities and imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

But the measures are having an outsize effect on Senegal's large pool of precarious informal workers, many of whom depend on remittances.

Senegalese authorities estimate that some three million citizens are working abroad, often in the former colonial power France, or in Spain and Italy.

Together, they send back some two billion euros a year, according to the World Bank, a sum equivalent to 10 percent of Senegal's GDP.

Counting informal cash transfers, the real size of remittances is probably double that number, an official at Senegal's foreign ministry said.

With lockdown policies having ground Europe to a halt, there are indications that struggling families are even sending money to their stranded relatives abroad.

"I myself have done four transfers destined for Senegalese in Europe, whose families wanted to help them," said a bank employee, who requested anonymity.

From milk to millet

The problem is being felt all over the country.

In Senegal's southern Casamance region, Fatou Seydi, who is the first wife in a polygamous marriage, said that times had turned bad.

"We're managing, with difficulty, to put three meals (on the table)," she said.

Her husband is a farm labourer in Spain who usually sends home between 300 and 450 euros a month in order to feed his family of 15.

Abdoulaye Cisse, a young radio journalist from the same region, is in a similar position. He said he could no longer count on his brother, who was working in southern Italy.

"He says he has money but he can no longer send it because of the lockdown," Cisse said.

The eight members of his family have since replaced their usual breakfast fare of milk and bread with millet porridge.

Senegalese migrants who returned home to visit family have also found themselves stuck.

For example, Abdoulaye Balde, 45, said he could not get back to Barcelona where he has worked as a green grocer for some 20 years.

"I know I've lost my job," he said, adding that he used to send home 450 euros a month to his mother, two wives and two brothers and sisters.

"I have no income here," Balde added.

Senegal's government has earmarked some 20 million euros to "assist, support and protect" migrant workers abroad.

To help the poor at home, it has also launched one of the largest food drives in West Africa, meant to supply one million needy households with essentials such as rice and cooking oil.
Korea has issued the highest level fire alert following a massive forest fire in Goseong, Gangwon Province, Friday. Yonhap





By Do Je-hae







Cheong Wa Dae held a meeting late Friday evening to check on the situation regarding a forest fire in Goseong, Gangwon Province, which broke out a few hours earlier.







Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office, convened a teleconference at 11:05 p.m. Minister of the Interior and Safety Chin Young and Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo took part in the meeting, according to the presidential office.







"Centering on the safety of the residents, the meeting was arranged to check the situation, including evacuation and measures to prevent the spread of the fire as well as the operation to extinguish the fire to be resumed early in the morning," said Yoon Jae-kwan, vice presidential spokesperson, in a text message to reporters.







"We plan to mobilize all available resources such as fire helicopters, fire trucks, and firefighters to put out the fire as quickly as possible."







President Moon Jae-in/Yonhap





Ahead of the meeting, President Moon Jae-in instructed relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the residents, particularly the elderly and prevent the fire from spreading to residential areas, according his office.







About 1,600 people, including villagers and soldiers stationed in the region, were evacuated to safety zones such as elementary schools.







The fire prompted the authorities to issue a level-3 warning, the highest-level in the national fire alarm system. The level-3 warning is issued when it is necessary to mobilize firefighters from all over the country to put out the fire.







Jeong Moon-ho, fire commissioner at the National Fire Agency (NFA), headed for the scene at 10: 35 p.m., as well as more than 500 firefighters from stations across the country, except for Jeju, according to the NFA. No casualties have been reported as of 2:30 a.m., Saturday. The fire started from a house around 8:04 p.m., Friday.







The Goseong area suffered another massive fire in April 2019.







It is the second time for the nation to experience a devastating disaster this week, following the deaths of 38 workers from a fire at a construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday.


CHARLESTON  A man was shot early Thursday while trying to force entry into an occupied apartment in Charleston, police said.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting at 4:43 a.m. in the 2200 block of Ninth Street, Charleston police said in a statement. One adult male was airlifted from the scene to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana for treatment of a gunshot wound, police said.

Detective Joel Shute said a preliminary investigation has determined that the subject was wounded while allegedly attempting to enter an apartment by force. Shute said an occupant in the apartment reportedly shot his firearm at this subject and hit him as the door was breaking open at its frame.

Shute said all parties involved in this incident have been accounted for by police and are being interviewed by investigators. He noted that investigators have not been able to interview the wounded man yet because he is continuing to receive medical treatment. He said their investigation report will be forwarded to the Coles County State's Attorney's Office, which will make the determination on filing charges in court.

The Charleston Police Department reported that it will release more information as it becomes available.

The 2200 block of Ninth Street is located between Roosevelt and Edgar drives along the south side of Eastern Illinois University's campus. The apartment building where the incident occurred is located off campus.

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When Melissa Leong was appointed a judge on MasterChef, she chose not to delete her earlier criticisms of the program on Twitter.

"There's no point in sanitising your past," says the 38-year-old food writer and TV presenter. "I believe everybody deserves to evolve and change their perspectives. To be human is an ongoing process."

MasterChef judge Melissa Leong. Credit:Network 10

Leong's remarks were hardly incendiary  she joked about former contestants falling back on their plan B jobs  but they proved irresistible to the tabloids. Given the upheaval surrounding Network 10's hit cooking competition last year, this is no surprise.

In July, 10 pulled the plug on judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris. Network sources blamed their 'unreasonable' pay rise demands while the trio denied this, insisting they only wanted more freedom to work on other projects. Some observers predicted their absence would trigger a ratings rout; instead, Leong and fellow judges Jock Zonfrillo and Andy Allen have given the show its biggest audience in years.
Xiaomi smartphones reportedly tracking privacy web usage and phone usage for millions of users. A seasoned security researcher found disturbing amounts of usage being tracked and data being harvested that could reveal individual identities.

Xiaomi smartphones arent as innocent as they look. While the world (led by the US) waves a stern finger at Huawei, alleging the presence of backdoors for the Chinese government to spy on foreign users, a seasoned cybersecurity researcher has found smartphones manufactured by Xiaomi are backdoors with phone functionality,

As reported by Forbes, a security researcher discovered his Redmi Note 8 has been monitoring almost everything he did on the smartphone and sent the data to remote servers owned by Chinese giant, Alibaba. The researcher found disturbing amounts of usage being tracked and data being harvested using a shoddy encrpyption standard, that can be easily decoded to plain text and leave individual identities exposed.

Xiaomi is tracking your every move

Gabi Cirlig, a noted security researcher found his Redmi device was recording all the websites he visited using the default Xiaomi browser, including his search engine queries on Duck Duck Go and Google. All the items viewed in the news feed, as well as activities in the incognito mode. Furthermore, he found the device was monitoring the folders he opened, the screens he swiped to (even the status bar and Settings page) and all the data was being sent to servers in Singapore and Russia, owned by Alibaba and rented by Xiaomi.

Forbes also reached out to another cybersecurity specialist Andrew Tierney who confirmed the massive data leak happening out of Xiaomi smartphones. He found the same tracking code in Xiaomi browsers available on Google Play Store that have over 15 million downloads.

While only the Redmi Note 8 was caught red-handed harvesting user data, firmware for the new Mi 10, Redmi K20, and the MI Mix 3 also had the same browser code, proving the expensive flagships arent quite innocent either.

The harvested data is encrypted but can be easily cracked

Forbes reported that even the way Xiaomi is sharing the data is suspicious. Upon reaching out to Xiaomi, the publication learnt the data was being encrypted when transferring to protect user privacy. However, the researcher was quickly able to decode a chunk of information because the encryption standard followed can be cracked easily. It reportedly took him only a few seconds to see what was behind the encryption. The report claims Xiaomi uses Base64 encryption standard, something that has been known to be intercepted by malicious players and decoded into plain text without much of a hassle. This leaves millions of Xiaomi users at risk of their data being stolen and used for frauds and scams.

My main concern for privacy is that the data sent to their servers can be very easily correlated with a specific user, the researcher told Forbes.

Xiaomi confirms harvesting user data

Xiaomi denied the allegation in a statement to Forbes. claiming the research is flawed and added privacy and security are top concerns for the company. A spokesperson did confirm, however, that the devices are collecting browser data but the information was anonymized so that it cant be tied to an individual. The spokesperson also said users have consented to such tracking.

Xiaomi also cited behavioural analytics as a reason for harvesting user data. The company is using the services of a behavioural analytics startup called Sensors Analytics, based out of China. The domains where the data is being sent to have references to the company, with an API present in the phone to facilitate the harvesting.

That Xiaomi and Sensor Analytics are working together is confirmed by the Xiaomi spokesperson. The startup even has Xiaomi listed under its client list. However, the spokesperson maintained that the data is only stored on servers owned by Xiaomi and not shared with Sensor Analytics or any other third-party companies.

We have reached out to Xiaomi independently to enquire about the allegations, and as of publishing the article, the company is yet to get back with an official statement.

UPDATE:

Xiaomi released a statement to Digit.in claiming the research done by Forbes is flawed. and that they misunderstood the communication explaining the companie's data privacy principles. Here's the statement -

"Xiaomi was disappointed to read the recent article from Forbes. We feel they have misunderstood what we communicated regarding our data privacy principles and policy. Our users privacy and internet security is of top priority at Xiaomi; we are confident that we strictly follow and are fully compliant with local laws and regulations. We have reached out to Forbes to offer clarity on this unfortunate misinterpretation."

The company also wrote out a detailed blog post explaining its side of the story. We have broken it down for you here.

UPDATE 2:

Xiaomi has issued an update to the Mi Browser, Mi Browser Pro and Mint Browser app on Google Play which includes an option to opt out of aggregated data collection in incognito mode.

"We thank you all for your attention, suggestions and dedication during the past few days to further improving the overall user experience of our products and services," Xiaomi wrote in its blog.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

Trend:

An online meeting was held between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in UKs Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development (Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas) Wendy Morton, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend on May 1.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mammadyarov congratulated Morton on her new appointment.

The parties discussed a number of issues included in the agenda of bilateral cooperation relations.

Touching upon the current global situation, the sides exchanged views on the measures taken by both countries within the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and on the issues of mutual support.

Mammadyarov also answered Mortons questions regarding the current stage of negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Morton stated that the UKs position on the conflict is clear and once again emphasized that the UK supports Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Then the parties exchanged the views on other issues of mutual interest and, in particular, discussed energy projects.
The FTSE 100 closed down 2.34 per cent or 138.15 points at 5,763.06 and the pound was at $1.25 against the dollar.

The Royal Bank of Scotland saw its first-quarter profits halve compared to the same period in 2010, as the lender set aside over 800million against a likely spike in bad loans due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ryanair said it expects up to 3,000 jobs to be lost as part of a restructuring of the airline. It also revealed it expects to operate under 1 per cent of its schedule between April and June.

House prices were 3.7 per cent higher on an annual basis in April, and 0.7 per cent higher compared to March, according to mortgage lender Nationwide. However, the group said the effects of the coronavirus were not fully captured in April's figures.
Protesters have rallied in state capitals across the country in recent weeks, urging governors to ease social distancing restrictions and allow businesses to reopen as the economy craters in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, its Oregons turn.

A group calling itself Oregon Uniting for Liberty plans to rally in Salem at noon. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 700 people say on Facebook that they plan to attend the event, with another 2,000 interested.

Similar protests in other states, most notably Wisconsin and Colorado, have drawn thousands of participants. In rare cases, counter demonstrators have also shown up, some of them medical professionals who say the protests are helping spread the novel coronavirus.

The Oregon event differs from those in other states in that organizers arent exclusively riled up by the toll Gov. Kate Browns social distancing mandates have taken on the economy. Instead, they argue those measures are unconstitutional deprivations of personal liberties.

You cant just place citizens under house arrest and enforce their orders, event organizer Adam Ellifritt said.

Still, he said the organizations claims of government overreach are a small part of its argument against social distancing restrictions.

That is a component of what were talking about, he said. But mostly, wed love to see businesses across the board, everyone affected to reopen.

The Bend resident said hes suffered a loss of $12,000 in April because of the stay-home orders. Business at his advertising agency has fallen off, Ellifritt said, and hes since had to lay off his four-person work force. They now work for him on a contract basis.

Ive been hit pretty significantly, he said.

Ellifritt said his opposition to Browns restrictions on businesses stems from the publication of Stanford University studies released earlier this month claiming Covid-19 infections were much more widespread in February, leading some to believe the disease is less fatal than originally reported. Many of those studies are controversial among the medical community  they havent been peer reviewed, for example.

State and federal health officials say social distancing mandates are necessary to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus and ensure hospitals arent overburdened by patients who contract Covid-19, the disease it causes.

Still, Ellifritt said event organizers agree the novel coronavirus poses a serious threat to public health. Theyre advising folks with underlying medical conditions consider staying home.

And even if Brown begins easing social distancing restrictions, Ellifritt said he and other members of Oregon Uniting for Liberty understand businesses wont be running at full capacity once theyre allowed to open.

The fact is, a good number of people are still very fearful of this virus and theres a deadly component to this for people 45 and up, Ellifritt said. I dont think youre going to have a packed restaurant in Portland at full capacity anytime soon.

Oregon law permits the governor to declare emergencies in portions or all of the state and allows her, in a public health emergency, to order evacuations, regulate the sale of food and other goods, and limit entry into and within public spaces. It also allows her to take any other action that may be needed  to protect public health during a declared health emergency.

Social distancing orders have halted business so severely that Oregon faces a backlog of 100,000 unemployment claims as the state agency that processes them has been battered by requests since mid-March.

Rally organizers write that social distancing mandates that have shuttered state parks and prohibited mass gatherings infringe on their First Amendment rights, particularly to practice their religion and assemble.

They insist the event isnt political, although similar rallies across the country have largely drawn Republican demonstrators, many of them showing support for President Donald Trump. And Oregon Uniting for Libertys website lists among its priorities a push to organize campaigns to replace sitting legislators.

Polls show the organizations protest is largely against popular mandates.

In Oregon, 82% of those polled by Portland-based DHM Research in mid-April said they supported coronavirus mitigation measures. Ninety-five percent of Democrats said they agreed with the measures, as did 72% of Republicans. Statewide, just 6% of respondents said they strongly oppose Browns stay-home orders.

Even a majority of those who lost their job in the last month, about 83%, signaled support for social distancing measures. About three in four Oregonians told DHM they would be comfortable with businesses reopening only if the state conducted widespread testing and the number of confirmed cases consistently declined for at least two weeks, neither of which have happened.

The rally still has its supporters. Oregon Women for Trump is organizing a caravan from Keizer Station to the state Capitol hours before the event begins.

And FreedomWorks, the conservative activist network backed by billionaire fossil fuel barons David and Charles Koch, lists the Oregon event on its website. The same site links to a guide on how to plan such rallies.

Ellifritt, the event organizer, said Oregon United For Liberty has heard from Oregonians across the state interested in attending.

This isnt a Democrat or Republican issue, he said. Its a people issue. And theyre done.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano

Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com.

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.

Oregons education reporters are looking for parents who would like to speak with a journalist about the effects coronavirus is having on families across the state. Would you like to chat with one of us?
Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Minister for Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo incurred the wrath of Nigerians yesterday when he endorsed the lockdown lift engineered by president Muhammadu Buhari.

Keyamo took to his Twitter account to urge necessary precautions among Nigerians resuming normal activities. The tweet has however drawn irate responses, as the senior Advocate has been accused of being a government tool.

Those whore designated to resume normal activities as from Monday should remember that they must take all necessary safely precautions not only for the sake of themselves, but for the sake of the loved ones theyll always return to meet at home at the end of the days activities  Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) April 30, 2020

Nigerians have viewed the lockdown with mixed opinions, with some supporting the month old lockdown.

Ghana eased it lockdown, they hailed. Nigeria eased lockdown, they wailed.

Nigerians sometimes confuse me?  HENRY Okelue (@4eyedmonk) April 27, 2020

Many other Nigerians however bewail the compulsory stay at home order, citing poverty and inadequate funds as reasons for the ineffective lockdown.

Lockdowns are meant to slow the spread while govts prepare adequate hospital facilities and emergency provisions, test and isolate all open cases, and engage an economic recovery plan. What has Nigeria actually done with its lockdown? Are we simply waiting for the virus to go?  Ayo Sogunro  #Transformist (@ayosogunro) April 24, 2020

An extended Lockdown may lead to a food security crisis in Nigeria The lockdown of state borders means food supply chains are idle.. That means food prices are going to keep rising. Because the supply obviously cant match demand. Secondly, the planting season is here..  William Ukpe (@William_Ukpe) April 25, 2020

The lockdown has further been blamed for the increased crime rate, and Keyamo has been heavily criticized for not fulfilling his role as Minister for Employment.

Hon. Keyamo trended in March when he stated that the Covid-19 pandemic was divine punishment. The senior lawyer has also come under fire recently for asking for free Cable Television for Nigerians, who pointed out that most people could not afford television sets.

Nigerias president Muhammadu Buhari had on Apr. 27th announced a phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in Abuja, Ogun and Lagos states from May.

The curfew will be lifted under very strict measures, including a ban on interstate travel. Nigerians have also been mandated to use of face masks and follow a curfew from 8 pm to 6 am.

Existing restrictions on large social and religious gatherings will also remain in place. Schools have further been directed to remain closed until further notice.

In a turn of events, Keyamo has threatened to resign his appointment if the 774,000 jobs approved by President Muhammadu Buhari under the special public works programme of NDE for unskilled labour in rural areas are hijacked by politicians.

Keyamo issued the warning while speaking at the inauguration of the inter-ministerial committee yesterday, on extended special public works across the 774 local governments of the federation.
This article has been updated to clarify that Lieutenant Commander Matthew Meury said in his motion that he had "personally reviewed information that many others do not have".

When Trisha Garcia received notice of an emergency custody motion from her ex-husband on March 26 she was not surprised. Since 2011 when the couple separated, Garcia had been involved in continuing litigation over their three children. In 2017, Matthew A Meury, a US Lieutenant Navy commander, gained full custody of the pairs children. He spent years trying to prove Im an unfit mother, Garcia said.

But this time, it was different  Meury filed an ex-parte motion (for only one party) stating his 15-year-old son and 13-year old daughters should stop visitation with their mother due to the COVID-19 crisis sweeping the United States. Garcia, 44, a registered nurse, in the post-anaesthesia care unit in a Washington hospital was deemed a safety risk to her children. Ive been a critical care nurse for 23 years and I have no drug, alcohol or mental health issues, Garcia said. But he has time, money and power.

In the motion, Meury stated that due to his position in the Navy, he personally reviewed information that many others do not have and it was imperative his ex-wife stop visitation.

Since the motion was ex-parte, Garcia was able to present her case by phone. She said she informed the judge she does not see COVID-19 patients and has all the proper protective gear. Washington state Pierce County Commissioner Barbara McInvaille agreed with Meurys motion and denied Garcia access to her children until the COVID-19 crisis had passed.

What does that say for all healthcare workers right now  should all essential workers lose visitation with their children? Garcia asked.

For my ex, this isnt about coronavirus, its about control. My children are devastated. My daughters cried for hours, they need their mother right now, Garcia told Al Jazeera.

Through his lawyer, Meury refuted Garcias charges saying she does not tell the truth, struggles with mental health issues, and he lives in an area where there is a very low rate of virus infection. His lawyer also said Garcia wants to paint herself as a victim of her job, but that is simply not accurate.

Garcia was among the dozen of COVID-19 emergency custody motions reviewed by Al Jazeera that have been filed since the crisis began. Cases include an New Jersey-based emergency room nurse who did not want to drive her asthmatic children to cross state lines, an Oklahoma-based clinic worker who lost custody of her children during the pandemic, and a Westchester-based mother whose ex-husband banned her from their conesting arrangement due to virus fears.

A woman puts her son to bed during the outbreak of coronavirus disease [File: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters]

In addition to the emergency filings, Al Jazeera interviewed several parents who were considering disregarding custody plans due to conflicting state shelter-in-place orders. Each of the 50 states has issued different restrictions on social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, leading to mass confusion for parents who share custody in different states. Cases include a Maryland-based mother who is immune-compromised and does not want to send her eight-year-old to Illinois to see his father due to fears he will be exposed and an Iowa-based mom who does not want to expose her child COVID-19 by visiting her father, an essential worker.

Its terrible out there, said advocate Danielle Pollack of Child USA, a Philadelphia-based think-tank focusing on child protection issues. COVID-19 has descended and courts have given very little guidance. What was troubling in the system beforehand has been exacerbated, parents dont know what to follow.

Few courts have issued guidance about how parents should handle custody arranges especially if there is continuing litigation. Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch, who presides in Washington state and is a member at the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, does not believe this guidance is the role of the courts. Each state, each country, each court is different, she said. She advises parents to review the states shelter-in-place or emergency orders and then consult with a lawyer. But courts are open, and if people have an emergency they should file.

Turned into a weapon

Statistics detailing how many court custodial orders are in place are hard to come by, but a 2015 US Census report found that one-quarter of Americas children have a parent living outside of the house. Most of Americas divorced couples finalise a shared-parenting agreement without intervention. Researchers have found that approximately one in five families turn to the courts to define custody plans. In high-conflict cases that litigate custody before the courts, studies have found that 25-50 percent have a history of violence.

COVID-19 can be turned into a weapon by an abusive ex-partner to have courts vacate parental rights, said Joan Meier, a clinical professor at George Washington School of Law, and founder of DVLeap, which files appeals pro-bono in domestic abuse cases. Courts have to issue guidance with extreme sensitivity.

A young girl runs on a deserted street inside an area under lockdown due to coronavirus disease [File: Joy Malone/Reuters]

Ann, a Cincinnati- based labour and delivery nurse who did not want to release her last name due to safety fears, said her ex-husband has been holding her 11-year-old twins since the COVID-19 crisis began. He does not want their children to be with her during the crisis. In text messages shared with Al Jazeera, he wrote: Feel free to call the police, I doubt they will respond. In a later message, he wrote: No matter what I am not going to comply until the Governor lifts the order.

Due to safety fears, she said she is hesitant to file an emergency order to return the child, as her ex-husband has a long history of alcohol abuse. Often he misses court-ordered breathalyser testing, and when he drinks, she said, he becomes more abusive. She fears filing for an emergency order will cause him to retaliate.

Parents have to understand that courts arent punishing them, but looking out for the best interests of the child, said Marcia Zug, a professor at University of South Carolinas School of Law. Zug, who has written frequently about family law and policy, said the courts are currently in a period of great unknown with the pandemic, but will look at the parents case history before making any decisions. Courts have made custody decisions previously based on health emergencies, she said, and even though decisions are more amorphous now, they will probably use those guidelines during the COVID-19 crisis.

In the future custody plans will have pandemic clauses, said Zug. The best plan for now is for parents to figure it out between themselves and compromise.

A swing sits empty on a playground outside Achievement First charter school in Providence, Rhode Island [David Goldman/AP Photo]

Recovery nurse Garcia said she does not have that option because compromise has never been possible with her ex-husband. She has not seen her children since March 8, and credits her nursing profession with keeping her going.

On April 28, 2020, the judge decided to overturn the visitation order allowing Garcia to see her children again. The judge ruled that halting custody due to the novel coronavirus was against the states specific emergency orders. In the order the judge wrote: The father has failed to provide any specific threat to the children by interaction with their mother other than speculation and conjecture.

Starting the first weekend of May, Garcia will be able to have visits with her three children.

I found out and just wept. I miss my kids so much, Garcia said. No parent and no child should ever have to go through this.
What goes up must eventually come down, including satellites that are currently orbiting the earth. After their work is done, they will be deliberately tossed back into the atmosphere where they will burn up in the high altitudes. Little, if any, will actually hit the ground. But sometimes a satellite fails and falls back to earth unpredictably, posing hazard to human population, wildlife and the environment. And what if the satellite contained an active nuclear reactor?

During the Cold War period, both the United States of America and the Soviet Union launched dozens of nuclear-powered satellites into space. The first was Transit-4A, launched by the US in 1961. It was one of numerous satellites launched between 1959-88 to provide satellite navigation service to the US Navy. It was the first satellite navigation system before GPS. The Transit system had a total of 41 orbiting satellites, of which a handful of them were nuclear-powered. Many of them, while no longer functional, are still in orbit with their reactor core intact.

Between 1964 and 1978, the US launched a further seven nuclear-powered satellites for the Nimbus program. The Nimbus satellites helped meteorologists study the earths weather, its changing climate, the ozone layer, sea ice and so on. The technology and lessons learned from the Nimbus missions are the heritage of most of the Earth-observing satellites NASA and NOAA have launched over the past decades. Out of the seven Nimbus satellites, two are still in orbit.

The Soviet Union began launching nuclear satellites into space in 1965. For the next 22 years they launched over thirty satellites, each carrying a small nuclear reactor on board to power the various instruments. These satellites were mostly of reconnaissance type meant to spy upon the US Navys vessels and submarines. The satellites used radar to detect marine traffic, and because the radar signal rapidly loses power with distance, the satellites had to be placed in low earth orbit where there was significant drag from air molecules. The air resistance prohibited the use of large solar panels, leaving nuclear power as an attractive and probably the only alternative.

The majority of these satellites carried type BES-5 nuclear reactors fueled by uranium-235. Because of space and weight constraints, the fuel was highly enriched to weapons-grade level so that the reactors were fast, efficient and small, not to mention, extremely powerful. A typical BES-5 nuclear reactor weighed less than 400 kg and generated 100 kW of thermal power, of which about 3 kW was converted to usable electric power. The reactor was mounted inside a separate unit that could be jettisoned further up into space into a higher orbit once the satellite reached the end of its operational life. This way the dead satellite could safely re-enter earths atmosphere without the risk of radioactive contamination. But as far as space missions are concerned, things dont always work out as planned.

Cosmos 954

Cosmos 954 (also spelled Kosmos 954) was launched on 18 September 1977 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It orbited the earth between 259 and 277 kilometers every 89.5 minutes. On board was a liquid sodiumpotassium thermionic converter driven by a nuclear reactor containing around 50 kilograms of uranium-235. Within weeks of launch, the satellites orbit became erratic and it was understood that Cosmos 954 would have a very short life. As Soviet operators struggled to control their failing spacecraft, they realized that Cosmos 954 would fall back to earth very soon. To make matter worse, the system which was intended to dispose the spent reactor core into a safe orbit failed.

In a rare gesture of responsibility and accountability, the Soviet Union preemptively notified the United States, as well as all nations that lay directly under the flightpath of the ailing satellite, about a possible radioactive fallout. In a series of secret meetings with the US, officials of the Soviet Union provided details about Cosmos 954s nuclear reactor. The US in turn warned its NATO partners that Cosmos 954 was expected to fall, and offered to help clean

up any radioactive contamination that might result.

Cosmos-954 BES-5 type reactor scheme

On 24 January 1978, a few minutes before sunrise, Cosmos 954 entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke up over Canada. Debris from the satellite fell along a 600-kilometer path from Great Slave Lake to Baker Lake, including portions of the Northwest Territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The subsequent search and clean-up operation cost Canada nearly CA$14 million, while the US spent some USD 2.5 million. Canada later billed the Soviet Union CA$6 million, of which only half the amount was paid.

The original satellite was believed to have weighed between 4 and 5 tons. Of this, only about 65 kilograms of material was recovered. Except for one large fragment, all were radioactive.

An immediate concern after the fall of Cosmos 954 was that a sufficiently large part of the core might have survived re-entry and crashed through the ice to become submerged in water, where it might have become critical. This is because water acts as a moderator, slowing down neutrons and allowing the chain reaction to start. Experts calculated that as little as 22 kg of highly enriched uranium could become critical under these conditions. Despite extensive search, the core was never found. It was concluded that the core had disintegrated almost completely.

In a paper published in August 1984 in Health Physics, the authors noted that at least a quarter of the reactor (about 7 to 8 kg) had fallen in the form of fine particles less than 1mm in diameter. These micro particles fell like an invisible slow fog on the Northwest Territories and on the barren Arctic and sub-Arctic land. The remaining three quarters evaporated into a fine mist and remained suspended in the atmosphere for years, before slowly descending to the earths surface. By this time, radioactive decay would have removed most of the shorter-lived radionuclides posing little health risks. As for the millimeter-sized particles, the authors noted that if an individual accidentally swallowed one, it would pass through the digestive tract and out of the body within 48 hours, giving the person a radiation dose no more than a conventional X-ray.

Looking for radioactive debris. Photo: Nevada National Security

Incidentally, Cosmos 954 was not the first nuclear-powered satellite to fail. In 1973, a launch failure of a similar satellite caused the reactor to drop into the Pacific Ocean north of Japan. Another Soviet spy satellite, Cosmos 1402, malfunctioned and fell into the Indian Ocean in 1983. The ejection system failed to jettison the reactor to a higher orbit causing the reactor to fall separately a few days later over the South Atlantic Ocean, completely disintegrating as it did so.

There is a possibility that such an event could occur again in future. There are many nuclear-powered satellites launched during the Cold War period that are still orbiting the earth. Although their orbits are high and currently stable, collision with space debris and meteorites could knock them out of their designated orbits and towards earth.

Nuclear power is still used in space exploration, such as in rovers and scientific instruments on another planetary body, but no longer to power earth orbiting satellites. The hazards from a possible failure far outweighs any potential gain from such a system.

A piece of the satellite lying in snow. Photo: Library and Archives Canada

A Cosmos 954 debris at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

References:

# Atomic Energy Control Board, Canada, https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/12/595/12595268.pdf

# CIA, https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP85B01152R000200260006-4.pdf

# Health Physics, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6480350

# Alexander F. Cohen, https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1316&context=yjil
Brett Callaghan, above, was arrested and charged with allegedly detaining and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl

A father charged with raping a young girl he abducted from a Sydney skatepark was interested in 'anything sexual', according to his former gay lover, but his former flame never saw any sign of anything like what is now alleged.

Brett John Callaghan, 37, is charged with the chilling crime of plying a 12-year-old girl with drugs and subjecting her to 11 hours of sexual abuse.

The unemployed father allegedly lured the girl from the Thornleigh skatepark, in north-west Sydney, on Tuesday - where he had his own daughter by his side.

Callaghan's former lover told Daily Mail Australia he met the alleged predator about 2015 and was shocked at the seriousness of his latest alleged crime.

The man - who did not want to be named - said his encounters with Callaghan were purely sexual, and that at the same time they were hooking up he was also in a relationship with a woman.

The 12-year-old girl was allegedly taken to Callaghan's granny flat (pictured) at the back of his parent's property in Dural, where she was drugged and subjected to close to 10 hours of horror

The 12-year-old girl had been at Thornleigh's skate park (pictured) when she went missing on Tuesday afternoon

'He was always into anything sexual, but no, I never saw any sign of anything like this week's (alleged) incident coming - it was a curveball,' he said.

'I was introduced to him through my friend - she was married but had been sleeping with him before me.

'With us it was never anything more than sex. He would just come over and leave. We were never dating and at the time he had a girlfriend.

'He was always in between jobs and seemed to just like life without responsibilities.'

Callaghan stands accused of 'kissing and rubbing' the child's legs while keeping her in the granny flat behind his parents property at Dural between 4.30pm on Tuesday and 1am on Wednesday.

Court documents claimed he had abducted the girl from the skatepark at 3.30pm, at which time he was with his own daughter.

Callaghan then allegedly assaulted the girl during the drive to his house and again as they drove the 20 minutes to his granny flat.

The girl wasn't reported missing until 5.30pm when she failed to meet her parents at Hornsby Westfield, as they had arranged.

It took a further seven-and-a-half hours for detectives from the NSW Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad to storm into Callaghan's unit and free the girl.

Hornsby Local Court magistrate Bruce Williams heard on Wednesday how Callaghan had allegedly 'administered' drugs to the girl after collecting her from the park.

Callaghan's former lover told Daily Mail Australia he met the alleged predator about 2015 and was shocked at the seriousness of his latest alleged crime

Police released images of the offender being taken into custody on Wednesday

He is yet to be charged with drug-related offences, but a police spokeswoman said it is 'still an ongoing investigation'.

Police allege the schoolgirl had left friends at the Westfield earlier in the afternoon to meet Callaghan and his child at the park, meaning she was missing for some 11 hours in total.

'We will allege that once they left in the car and went to a home at Dural, she was sexually assaulted,' child abuse and sex crimes squad detective superintendent John Kerlatec said on Wednesday.

A court hearing shortly following his arrest yesterday heard evidence from a sex crimes squad detective who said Callaghan was 'quite obviously under the influence of illicit drugs'.

Prosecutors sought permission from the court to take his DNA on Wednesday, but the officer said 'he's shown he's clearly not capable of giving consent in his state,' according to the Hornsby Advocate.

Callaghan was then charged with three separate offences, including aggravated sexual intercourse, and sexually touching another person without consent, as well as another count relating to the alleged abduction.

The alleged victim was taken to Hornsby Hospital (pictured) for an assessment and the other child is now in the care of relatives

Child abuse and sex crimes squad detective superintendent John Kerlatec said on Wednesday the family of the young girl were 'distraught'

A police prosecutor told Parramatta Local Court on Thursday that police had since obtained DNA samples from Callaghan under an interim order.

Prosecutors are still seeking the final approval of the court so those samples can be used as evidence against Callaghan.

Callaghan's Legal Aid lawyer signalled he would fight the forensics order in court in two weeks' time and that his client will consider applying for bail. He did not appear in court on Thursday and he was formally refused bail.

The alleged victim was taken to hospital for an assessment and the other child is now in the care of relatives.

A crime scene was established at his home and a car was seized a short distance away, which will be forensically examined.

Callaghan will return to Parramatta Local Court on May 14.
For fans of the Kentucky Derby, the first Saturday of May will feel far from normal. Just like a lot of other major spectator events, the Run for the Roses has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Fortunately-- at least so far-- the first leg of the Triple Crown has only been postponed until Sept. 5, and not next year, like the Olympics (and even that new date is on shaky ground).

This is the second time the Kentucky Derby has been postponed in its 146-year history. The first time was in 1945, when the race was moved to June 9 after Germany surrendered in World War 2.

There will be a void in a lot of hearts without the beloved spring tradition, and a solemn new ad from Woodford Reserve -- the Kentucky Derbys presenting sponsor -- pays homage to the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports during this time of social distancing. Set at a vacant Churchill Downs, the spot features Kentucky Cellist Ben Sollee playing a solo rendition of My Old Kentucky Home in the Derby Winners Circle.

But even without the official race, there are still so many ways to celebrate Derby Day. For those who enjoy limited-edition memorabilia, theres still time to snag the 2020 commemorative Derby bottle of Woodford Reserve (find out what stores have it here). This years bottle features art from Louisville artist and former Atlanta Braves player Richard Sullivan.

The 2020 commemorative Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby Bottle (Courtesy, Woodford Reserve)

And if youre a bourbon enthusiast looking for a rarer piece of history, some online retailers have the 2019 and 2018 bottles designed by Keith Anderson, the first African-American artist and first Brown-Forman employee hired to create the commemorative bottle art.

Saturday, there will also be a full day of cocktail classes, history, and -- yes -- races.

HERES THE KENTUCKY DERBYS LIST OF THIS YEARS DERBY PARTY COCKTAILS

Woodford Reserve and Churchill Grounds have also designed Derby at Home, a day-long virtual experience honoring the history and pageantry of the Derby while raising money for people impacted by the global pandemic.

Fellow Brown-Forman brand Old Forester will also host a separate live event Saturday evening, a revival of the 1945 Kentucky Turtle Derby.

Here are six Derby things to watch on Saturday (All times CST)

8 a.m: Take a virtual tour of Churchill Downs

For more tours and videos, including a DIY fascinator tutorial, heres the full #KyDerbyAtHome schedule.

1 p.m.: Bourbon, Horses & History:

For Woodford Reserves first cocktail portion of Saturdays program, the bourbon brands Master Distiller Chris Morris will demonstrate how to make the perfect Mint Julep and talk about the history of thoroughbreds, bourbon and Derby. For those who dont want to imbibe in spirits, Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall, whos expecting her first child this year, will share mocktail recipes inspired by Derby cocktail classics.

Mint Juleps made with Woodford Reserve (Credit, Woodford Reserve)

2-5 p.m.: The First Saturday in May: The American Pharoah Derby

NBC will re-air the legendary 2015 Kentucky Derby that began American Pharaohs historic Triple Crown run.

2:45 p.m.: A Global Toast to Derby

The Woodford Reserve Toast is a new Derby tradition that started three years ago. It happens live on NBC about 90 minutes before the Derby race starts.

Its a great moment in time when everyone can stop and celebrate the Best of Kentucky, McCall told Al.com in an email.

At 2:45, Morris and McCall will toast to celebrate the First Saturday in May and a look forward to Derby Day in September. The live video will stream on Woodford Reserves YouTube Live channel. Those tuning in to the NBC rebroadcast will see a different version of the Woodford Reserve toast-- McCall recorded a special version of the toast last week on a Louisville horse farm.

Chris Poynter (left) and Elizabeth McCall Of Woodfood Reserve. (Credit: Woodford Reserve)

5:45 p.m.: Triple Crown Showdown: The Kentucky Derby

Triple Crown Showdown is an animated horse race. The computer-generated imagery will feature the 13 past Triple Crown winners in a 1.25-mile race at historic Churchill Downs. In lieu of betting, fans can visit www.KentuckyDerby.com to choose their favorite horse to win the race and can join Churchill Downs in making a charitable donation to COVID-19 emergency relief efforts. Churchill Downs has pledged to match up to $1 million of donations, for a total potential donation of $2 million.

6:05 p.m: The Old Forester Kentucky Turtle Derby

When the Derby was first postponed in 1945, there was still a race on the original day. But instead of horses, it was a turtle race. Old forester will recreate the turtle race of 1945, and on Saturday evening, eight turtles will face off in a crawl, broadcast on the Old Forester YouTube Channel.
By Trend

A subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC - ADY Container LLC has started to transport cargoes in containers by railway on favorable terms to Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja, Georgia, Turkey, European countries, Russia, Central Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, a source in ADY Container told Trend.

The cargoes are transported in 20-, 40-, 45-foot containers. The company also renders door-to-door services.

ADY Container LLC is a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and was created for efficient and centralized management of container transportation and to improve the quality and safety of cargo transportation by railway.

This company deals with all container platforms and container transportation by railway in Azerbaijan. ADY Container renders the services by using its own installation (fitting) platforms and various containers at container platforms located in Baku, Sumgait, Ganja, Khirdalan, Astara and Alat.

The company has a 10,000-square-meter-hangar, various types of containers, multi-tonnage cranes and other technical equipment in the Baku terminal for fast and safe transportation of goods.

ADY Container also renders online services to the customers as part of increasing the availability and efficiency of the service.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
01.05.2020 LISTEN

President Nana Akufo-Addo has nominated Mr. Francis Boateng as the new Managing Director for the Tema Oil Refinery according to Citi News sources.

He replaces the immediate MD, Kweku Asante Berko, who resigned over allegations of his involvement in a bribery scandal by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S.A.

TOR has been without a Managing Director since April 15.

Mr. Francis Boateng was until his appointment, the General Manager for Commercial Operations at the Ghana National Gas Company.

He was previously engaged as a consultant, working in the capacity of Contracts and Fuel Manager during the project implementation phase of a 350MW Combined Cycle Power Plant for Cenpower Generation Company Limited (Cenpower), an Independent Power Producer (IPP) company in Ghana.

Profile of Francis Boateng

Cenpower's project is noted as being the first private sector Greenfield project financed IPP in Ghana, and the first thermal IPP in Ghana, funded by 6 commercial banks and 6 Development Finance Institutions with a 15 year debt tenor.

Mr. Boateng's role was primarily a commercial/technical one, requiring strong interfaces with the Legal, Finance and Technical disciplines as well as Project Sponsors and Lenders.

His responsibilities required leadership of an effective Contracts and Fuel team and encompassed the negotiation and management of Fuel (LCO and Diesel) Supply Agreement, Gas Supply Agreement, Power Purchase Agreement and EPC Contract among others.

Prior to Joining Cenpower and while working on Ghana's Gas Commercialisation Project at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr Boateng was selected in 2011 to be part of an eight-member Project Implementation Unit (PIU), tasked to set up the Ghana National Gas Company and develop its groundbreaking Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project. Mr Boateng served in the capacity of Project Controls Manager for two years as a key member of the PIU team during both the project development and implementation phases.

In recognition of his commercial/technical knowledge and acumen, Mr Boateng was subsequently offered and accepted the role of Commercial Manager responsible for the gas purchase, sales, marketing and distribution on the project, where he managed the initial effort to negotiate critical agreements for the procurement of up to 150 MMscf/d of wet natural gas from the Jubilee field, for processing and subsequent sale of treated products including lean gas for power generation and industrial feedstock and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to local bulk distributors for onward sale and Condensate.

Mr. Boateng has over 20 years project-related work experience including extensive international experience in the petroleum and power industries working on projects located in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Nigeria, United Kingdom and Ghana. He has worked for and on behalf of world renowned organisations such as Kellogg Brown and Root, Fluor Ltd, Shell and Chevron. Projects executed have included those with a total installation costs in excess of twelve (12) billion United States dollars.

Mr. Boateng is an old student of St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast. He holds a BEng (Hons) Degree for Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Kingston University in the United Kingdom and an MBA from Henley Business School in the United Kingdom.
Aerial photo taken on April 30, 2020 shows the Mount Qomolangma base camp at the foot of the peak in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. China on Thursday initiated a new round of measurement on the height of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

MOUNT QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday initiated a new round of measurement on the height of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak.

The measurement team, consisting of members from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the national mountaineering team, has arrived at the base camp of the peak for training on mountain climbing and surveying skills in the high-altitude region, making preparation for the measurement planned in May.

A total of 53 members from the MNR have conducted preliminary leveling, gravity, global navigation satellite system and astronomical surveys since March 2.

The measurement mission is being organized by the MNR, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Administration of Sport and government of Tibet Autonomous Region.

Located at the China-Nepal border, Mount Qomolangma is recognized as a symbol of the friendship of the two countries. According to a joint statement signed between the two countries last October, the two sides will promote cooperation in different fields, including addressing climate change and protecting the environment, and jointly announce the height of Mount Qomolangma and conduct scientific researches.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal, the 60th anniversary for human beings to reach the summit of Mount Qomolangma via the north ridge, as well as the 45th anniversary for China to accurately measure and announce the height of the peak for the first time.

Li Guopeng, a team leader from the MNR, said the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and homegrown surveying equipment will be applied to the measurement.

The team will use aerial gravity measurement to improve the accuracy, and the three-dimensional technology will provide a visual demonstration of the natural resources of Qomolangma, according to Li. The measurement team will climb to the summit to obtain reliable data.

Li said results can be applied to various research fields including plate motion in geodynamics. The team will also collect the latest data on snow depth, weather and wind speed at the summit to facilitate glacier monitoring and ecological protection.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chinese surveyors have conducted six rounds of scaled measurement and scientific research on Mount Qomolangma and released the height of the peak twice in 1975 and 2005, which was 8,848.13 meters and 8,844.43 meters respectively. Enditem
It's a tough time for cinema fans all over the world. With back to back losses that are going to feel painful and heavy for a long time, there is a collective sense of grief all around. One day after Irrfan Khan's tragic demise, Rishi Kapoor passed away in Mumbai on 30th April.

Twitter

He breathed his last at age of 67 at Mumbais HN Reliance Foundation hospital. A very few members of his family and friends from the fraternity could show up for the funeral because of lockdown and restrictions.

In the pictures that were circulated on social media, Ranbir Kapoor was seen standing numb and clueless while performing the last rites of his father. A teary-eyed Alia Bhatt was seen consoling a sobbing Neetu Kapoor.

Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Randhir Kapoor too showed up to bid a final goodbye to the legendary actor.



Rishi Kapoor's colleagues and co-actors are in a state of shock.

Even though they could not be there to pay their last respects, many took to social media to pour down their feelings.

After attending his funeral and the last rites, Alia Bhatt got nostalgic and she penned down an emotional note for him, saying he brought goodness in her life.

Instagram

"What can I say. About this beautiful man... who brought soo much love and goodness into my life. Today, everyone speaks of the legend that is Rishi Kapoor... and though I've known him like that all my life... for the past two years I've known him as a friend, a fellow Chinese food lover, a total cinema lover, a fighter, a leader, a beautiful storyteller, an extremely passionate tweeter and a father!"

Alia has shared that she has received immense love from Rishi Kapoor over the past two years.

"In these past two years, the love I have received from him is like a warm hug that I will always cherish! I thank the universe for giving me this opportunity to know him... today probably most of us can say he is like family - because that's how he made you feel! Love you, Rishi Uncle! Will miss you forever! Thank you for being you," Alia penned.

Along with her post, she posted a picture of little Ranbir in the arms of Rishi Kapoor.

"Beautiful boys," she captioned the image.

Shah Rukh Khan, who made his Bollywood debut alongside Rishi Kapoor in the 1992 film "Deewana", feels the late actor's blessings helped him scale greater heights.

"As a young man entering the daunting world of films, I was insecure about the way I looked and afraid that I was not talented enough. The thought of failing meant nothing though, because even if I failed, I would have worked with the greatest actor I knew of - Rishi Sahib," SRK tweeted.

"On the first day of the shoot, he sat for my scene to finish after pack up, then with that famously radiant smile on his face he said "yaar tujhme energy bahut hair. That day in my head I became an actor! A few months ago I met him and thanked him for accepting me in that movie, he had no idea how he had encouraged me," he added.

Shah Rukh also mentioned how badly he will miss Rishi Kapoor's gesture of patting his head every time the two met.



"Few men have the capacity for grace as he did, fewer still have the large-heartedness of feeling genuine happiness for the success of others. I will miss him for many things, but more than all of them, I will miss him for his gentle pat on my head every time we met. I will keep it in my heart always, as the 'Ashirwaad' that made me who I am today. Will miss you, Sir, with love, gratitude and immense respect...forever," Shah Rukh wrote.

Along with the post, he also shared a still from "Deewana". Apart from "Deewana", SRK also shared screen space with Rishi Kapoor in a relatively unknown film of 1995 called "Jaadu", besides the 2012 release, "Jab Tak Hai Jaan".

Salman Khan wrote:

Rest in peace chintu sirrr, kaha suna maaf , strength , peace n light to family n friends...  Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) April 30, 2020

Superstar Rajinikanth said it all in just a few words.

Heartbroken ... Rest In Peace ... my dearest friend #RishiKapoor  Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) April 30, 2020





This loss and void will forever be felt by the Indian film industry.
As Ireland enters a crucial phase in the fight against the virus, the three principal response agencies that make up the Midlands Steering Group (An Garda Siochana, the HSE and the Local Authorities) have thanked people for their work on stopping the spread of Covid-19.



Ahead of the May Bank Holiday weekend, representatives of, An Garda Siochana, the HSE and Offaly County Council are appealing to everyone in Co. Offaly to continue their impressive efforts.

In an effort to deter people from travelling more than two kilometres, local authorities have closed many amenities and attractions such as playgrounds. Anna Marie Delaney, Chief Executive of Offaly County Council has urged people not to allow everyones hard work to be undermined and to #Stay Safe and, where possible, #Stay at Home.



Joe Ruane HSE Midland Louth Meath Community Healthcare has acknowledged that the collective actions of communities in the region is clearly making a difference but it is crucial that everyone keeps up those efforts:

We know its hard, especially in terms of being apart from families and friends but it is helping to protect and keep our communities - especially vulnerable people and healthcare workers - safe. I want to particularly appeal to young people - we in the healthcare community need you to keep that effort going for another while.



John Scanlon, Garda Chief Superintendent for the Laois Offaly Kildare Division, highlights that there will be a very visible Garda presence across Laois, Offaly and Kildare this weekend:

Our members will operate an extensive network of checkpoints across both counties this weekend, checking public compliance with the travel restrictions in place as part of Covid-19 public health guidelines. There has been very good compliance with the travel restrictions and we want to thank the public for this. However, it is vital that this continues over the coming days and weeks. It will save lives. In particular, we would ask people who are thinking of travelling to parks, tourist locations or holiday homes outside of the two kilometre limit this weekend not to do so. If you are stopped at a checkpoint, you will be turned back.



The Midlands Regional Steering Group urges everyone to please play their part and #Stay Safe, # Stop the Spread this May Bank Holiday weekend.




Turbulence on the stock market brought on by the coronavirus crisis has led to a surge in online trading.

It has also boosted demand for shares in companies that specialise in this industry.

Billionaire Hargreaves Lansdown co-founder Stephen Lansdown found the companys stock was so sought after that, when he launched his latest sale of shares, he had to increase the amount up for grabs twice.

Stephen Lansdown found the companys stock was so sought after that, when he launched his latest sale of shares, he had to increase the amount up for grabs twice

The 67-year-old was intending to sell 100million of stock but this was increased to 135million and then, finally, to 160million.

Landsown, who set up the company 40 years ago with Peter Hargreaves, sold 10.32m shares  or a 2.1 per cent stake in the group.

He originally owned 27 per cent of the company when it floated in 2007 but has pared this down to what is now a 6.5 per cent stake, worth around 440million at current prices.

Lansdown said the decision to sell off another chunk now was so that he could free up money to make other investments and spread the risk. Shares in Hargreaves Lansdown, which drew criticism for its close ties with disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford, fell 12.6 per cent, or 208.5p, to 1440.5p last night.

Pharmaceutical company investors, on the other hand, were given a shot in the arm by more coronavirus-related advances.

Stock Watch - Conroy Gold and Natural Resources Conroy Gold and Natural Resources shares bounced after it found another outcrop of gold in an area it is exploring in Ireland. The deposit is in a zone of land close to its Glenish gold target where the company wants to build its first mine. AIM-listed Conroy has also been scouring local archives, uncovering historical data that shows there could be even more of the yellow metal in the area. Shares jumped 17.2pc, or 1.65p, to 11.25p.

Astrazeneca rose 1.4 per cent, or 115p, to 8322p after it signed a deal with Oxford University to develop a Covid-19 vaccine together.

Under the partnership  which would prioritise the UK  Cambridge-based Astrazeneca could produce 100m doses by the end of the year if a treatment currently undergoing trials is successful.

And Oxford University spin out, Oxford Biodynamics, rose 15.3 per cent, or 9.75p, to 73.5p after some of its technology was selected to be used in a Glasgow University study focused on understanding how different people respond to treatments.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals stock also climbed, rising 1.7 per cent, or 39p, to 2370p after it committed to its final dividend and reported a pandemic-driven spike in demand for its products in the first quarter.

Glaxosmithkline secured a win after US regulators approved its ovarian cancer treatment Zejula for use in all women regardless of their genetics  vindicating Emma Walmsleys decision to buy Tesaro, a Massachusetts-based pharmaceuticals firm, in late 2018. But shares fell 1 per cent, or 16p, to 1661p.

The wider stock market was also in the red, dragged down by an 11.4 per cent slump in Shell shares, which fell 165p to 1286.4p.

The FTSE 100 fell 3.50 per cent, or 214.04 points, to 5901.21, while the FTSE 250 fell 2.26 per cent, or 380.88 points, to 16454.46.

Cost and dividend cuts were the dominant theme on the stock market yesterday, which was overrun by companies reporting first-quarter results.

Security services giant G4S rose 5.1 per cent, or 5.25p, to 109.2p as it eyed 100million in savings this year and cut its dividend.

Wealth manager St Jamess Place lost ground (down 5.6 per cent, or 50.8p, to 851.4p) after trimming a third of its final dividend, while Glencore (down 4.9 per cent, or 7.62p, to 147.1p) said it would cut spending by as much as a quarter to manage during the pandemic.

Elsewhere, coronavirus disruption continued to bite Tui (down 8.1 per cent, or 27.9p to 316.5p) after it extended holiday cancellations until mid-June.

Shareholders in aerospace and defence group Meggitt (down 6.6 per cent, or 19.7p, to 279.3p) werent roused by the company inking a contract to equip a live-fire training facility in the Middle East.

Gulf Marine Services, however, rocketed 68.3 per cent, or 2.56p, to 6.32p after receiving a takeover proposal from Dutch group Seafox.
The supply chains linking the United States, Mexico and Canada have grown so robust and sophisticated in the decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed that they have come to feel almost borderless. The interiors of many Boeing airplanes are now made in Tijuana, the city where Lockheed Martin does some of its electrical work. Both military and civilian aircraft are constructed using components sourced across North America.
An endangered numbat has been filmed peeking out of a log and showing off its long tongue.

Wildlife photographer Mark Jackman travelled to Boyagin Nature Reserve, 130km south-east of Perth, hoping to catch sight of a yawning numbat.

The Yallingup man and his partner drove at less than 5km/h for several days just to find the elusive marsupial and capture a few seconds of footage, the ABC reported.

Mr Jackman said: 'This one was just sitting on top of a log and we stopped and it just dropped into that log and it just kept on poking its head out for about 20 minutes. It was really curious about us.'

Adorable footage captured an endangered numbat (pictured) at Boyagin Nature Reserve in Western Australia as it peeked out of a log

The endangered numbat is often difficult to photograph due to its shy nature.

'When you see one it's like you are looking at something that shouldn't be alive, it should be extinct,' Mr Jackman said.

His footage showed the numbat peeking out from a crack in a log and tentatively sniffing the air.

The marsupial then opened its mouth in a big yawn and stuck out the long pink tongue it uses to hunt for termites.

THE AUSTRALIAN NUMBAT The numbat is a termite eating marsupial unique to Australia It is an endangered species and only around 1000 remain They are only found in south-west Western Australia Numbats grow to be about 25 centimetres long with pattern rusty orange and grey-black fur Numbats use their front paws to scrape away soil and lick termites with their long tongue Source: Australian Wildlife Conservatory Advertisement

Mr Jackman explained it was the first time he had managed capture a numbat unfurling its tongue.

'I was very excited and very careful not to bump the tripod,' he said.

Conservationists have estimated there are only about 1,000 numbats left in the wild but say shareable pictures and social media could help bolster public awareness.

Mr Jackman said the natural behaviour of a numbat models the current messages of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

He wrote on Instagram: 'Staying at home at the first sign of any possible danger is a survival instinct of the numbat.

'Only leaving when it's safe again, inside it's own territory for essential food gathering, alone at social distance.'
If theres one thing getting Nahanni Fontaine, the MLA for St. Johns, through this Unprecedented Time, its that shes still able to work.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If theres one thing getting Nahanni Fontaine, the MLA for St. Johns, through this Unprecedented Time, its that shes still able to work.

"There have been a couple of days where Im like, Oh, Im about to go crazy if I stay in the house one second longer, but the thing about being an MLA is youre constantly working  even if youre in isolation" she says. "Im so grateful that Im working. It keeps the mind busy."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Nahanni Fontaine says Chilly Dog, her German shepherd/greyhound mix, gives her great motivation to keep active and get out the house.

Fontaine thinks of herself as a pretty adaptable person, able to roll with the day-to-day upheaval and the learning curves working through a pandemic has thrown her. But shes also an empathetic person. "There have been a couple times where Ive broken down crying," she says.

"Ive always said that I believe being an MLA is a sacred responsibility that you have for people. So to see the way many Manitobans have been really struggling has been hard. You feel so helpless to help, right?"

And so, she has been baking, every day, for her constituents, community groups and beyond. Bundt cakes, cookies, cupcakes, scones, cheesecakes  you name it, shes baked it.

"Its an act of love," she says. "Its a tangible loving, caring thing that I can do. If I can make people happy with some sweets, thats what I try to do."

Here are five things Fontaine cant survive without during the pandemic.

1. Technology (phone, iPad, computer)

KAY SCANLON / LOS ANGELES TIMES FILES Fontaine had never used video-conferencing but now uses it once or twice a week.

"That has been, literally, the connection between myself and constituents in Manitoba and Manitobans in general. I remember seeing on Twitter people saying, Are (MLAs) even working? For me, personally, Im constantly on my phone or my iPad or my computer reaching out and chatting with folks and advocating for folks. I dont think people really realize how much advocacy people have needed throughout all of this, and help to navigate all the different systems and concerns. Im so grateful for the technology that we do have now that were actually able to work from home. I had never used (video-conferencing app) Zoom  I didnt even know what Zoom was  and now were using it once or twice a week."

2. KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Fontaine has two KitchenAid Stand Mixers.

"I have two of them  one Ive had for years and years, and I actually got a second one last Christmas or the Christmas before, and Ive used them every single day. Yesterday, I baked about 125 cookies to support Indigenous women who are making 50 bagged lunches for some of our homeless citizens. I packed them up, and I have little stickers that I got made a little while ago that say Baked with love from Nahanni. Honestly, I use them every day. Ive given baking everywhere  to health-care providers, to community organizations, to different constituents  not only in St. Johns but all over Manitoba."

3. Chilly Dog, her German shepherd/greyhound mix

"Hes my rescue from the Humane Society. I think if you have a dog, it allows you and forces you to get out of the house and go for a walk. My dog is really big, so he needs at least an hour-and-a-half or two hours of walk every day. I couldnt live without him because he really does force you to go for a walk and get out of the house. I love my Chilly Dog  Im obsessed with him  and hes been amazing throughout this and you can tell hes so happy everyone is home all the time."

4. Weights

ALLEN MCINNIS / MONTREAL GAZETTE FILES Fontaine and her son have both gotten into lifting weights.

"Luckily, we have a couple of weights in the basement that I had actually invested in months ago  and who knew they were going to come into such use? I certainly needed them because everything is closed, but more importantly, my son has really needed them; hes 18 and, in the last year, really started getting into weight lifting. So we both will work out downstairs with our limited weights and our little, little cheap bench, but cheap as it may be, its been a life-saver."

5. The 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice

"Its something I go to all the time, especially on planes. Its literally, like, six hours long and Ive watched it so many times. I think you have moments where youre like, Ugh, what do I do now? so Im just going to throw that on and be happy for however long. You want something that gives you a sense of familiarity and that youre just used to."

BBC FOR MASTERPIECE Pride and Prejudice gives Fontaine "a sense of familiarity".

Brian Mayes

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Brian Mayes says getting out for a run is his biggest stress reliever  hitting the new track at Victor Mager School always cheers him up.

With the snow gone and the weather getting warmer, many Winnipeggers are taking to the outdoors to relieve the stress of social distancing. Brian Mayes, city councillor for St. Vital, is no different.

An enthusiastic runner, hes spent the entire month of April doing a tour of Winnipegs running tracks with the intention of securing money to provide much-needed upgrades so that anyone who wants to get their endorphins flowing will be able to do so on a safe, well-maintained track this summer.

Mayes is enjoying the extra time spent with his family and his dog and using the slower pace of life to catch up on reading and TV, especially Game of Thrones (no spoilers, please).

1. Running

"I have been a daily runner for over 40 years and I have been able to clear my mind during this crisis by running through St. Vital. Running on the new track at Victor Mager School always cheers me up."

2. Family dinners

"My wife is a professor and during the day she is in one room of the house preparing lectures, while my two teenage sons are doing schoolwork in separate rooms. But we have had all four together for dinner every night during the pandemic  its been wonderful family time."

"We took a ton of books out just before the shutdown, and my wife has been using the Libby app to read books online," says Mayes.

3. Library books

"We took a ton of books out just before the shutdown, and my wife has been using the Libby app to read books online."

4. Dog walking

"Our dog, like many dogs, loves having everyone at home full-time. Four or five walks a day. I do the early morning and before-bedtime walks, and I think we both enjoy the time together."

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

5. Game of Thrones

"My guilty pleasure. I had never seen an episode before the pandemic, but my older son and I are binge-watching. A bit heavy on the nudity and gore, but the politician in me loves the wheeling and dealing."

HBO Game of Thrones is Mayes' guilty pleasure.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

frances.koncan@freepress.mb.ca
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OTTAWA, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 29, 2020 / The Canadian Survey of Business Conditions (CSBC), a joint effort between Statistics Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, provides the most detailed insight yet into the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian businesses."The survey is Canada's first comprehensive view into how our businesses are adapting, managing or, sadly, failing as the COVID-19 shutdown continues. Insights from more than 13,000 businesses bring into focus the time pressures businesses face to avoid closing their doors permanently. At the same time, the survey also shows how quickly the businesses that can are adapting to social distancing and preparing for the re-opening of the economy. The survey will provide critical information for governments as they develop and deliver their programs," said Trevin Stratton, Chief Economist at the Canadian Chamber."Today's official release of the data collected from thousands of Canadian business owners represents the innovative and unprecedented solutions needed to address the impacts of the Covid-10 pandemic. The unique partnership and collaboration between our two organizations demonstrates what can be achieved when organizations work together to provide the insights needed to navigate the way forward. Through this collaboration we have advanced our collective ability to better understand the issues and challenges faced by Canadian businesses. Today's results will provide an accurate picture of true impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian economy and will enable the best decisions at public and private sector tables across the country," - Anil Arora, Chief Statistician of Canada.Select findings examining the urgency of business stabilization include:How much of a cash buffer did businesses have going into COVID-1942.2% couldn't operate longer than 60 days without a source of revenue51.1% couldn't operate longer than 90 days without a source of revenueExtent to which businesses have experienced a decrease in demand80.9% have experienced a medium to high drop in demand for services or productsChange in business revenue in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 201910.5% experienced an increase in revenue14.3% saw no change in revenue17.9% experienced a decrease in revenue of up to 20%53.5% experienced a decrease in revenue of over 20%Length of time businesses can remain partially or fully open amid social distancing measures17.5% say no amount of time amid social distancing22.2% say they could open for no longer than 3 months amid social distancing11.9% say they could open between 3 and 6 months amid social distancingOnly 32.1% say they could remain open longer than 6 months amid social distancingStaffing decisions taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic38.1% have reduced staff hours or shifts40.5% have laid off staff"The data clearly shows clearly thousands of businesses are quickly approaching permanent closures. We are now six weeks into the shutdown, which is too late for many, but countless companies can still be saved if we move fast enough to help them. Policy measures like the wage subsidy and the Canada Emergency Business Account will certainly help many businesses, but we're on the clock to get money into the hands of all businesses that need support," added Stratton.Select findings exploring the resiliency of Canadian businesses include:17.9% of businesses have altered methods of production35.4% of businesses have altered products or services offered45.4% of businesses are using new methods to interact with customers44.5% of businesses are testing working from home11.6% of businesses are testing e-commerce10.6% are trying new staff training62.3% of businesses say they can return to a state of normal operations within one month of social distancing measures being removed"Many businesses are proving resilient in adapting to the crisis by altering products, services and production methods. The data shows a large increase in e-commerce, as well as many firms testing working at home practices. Most businesses can return to normal operations within one month of the removal of social distancing measures, which is promising, but the largest firms report a longer lag time of 1-3 months. Policy makers should keep these numbers in mind as they consider reopening and recovery measures," said Stratton.The CBSC examined issues like the COVID-19's impact on businesses, how businesses have adapted to the ongoing situation, challenges they continue to face and those they expect as the recovery begins. The survey compiled 13,037 responses and was in market between April 4, 2020 and April 24, 2020. For more information about the survey, click here.About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce - Because Business MattersThe Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that support our families, our communities and our country. We do this by influencing government policy, by providing essential business services and by connecting businesses to information they can use, to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers, businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our great nation.-30-For more information, please contact:Canadian Chamber of CommercePhil Taylorptaylor@ chamber.ca (preferred and fastest response time)Statistics CanadaMedia Relations at statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca SOURCE: Canadian Chamber of Commerce
By Sachin Ravikumar and Nidhi Verma BENGALUR/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd , operator of the world's biggest refining complex, reported a 39% slump in its March quarter profit, the steepest drop since December 2008, as a sharp fall in oil prices and lower fuel demand hammered its dominant energy businesses.

By Sachin Ravikumar and Nidhi Verma

BENGALUR/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd , operator of the world's biggest refining complex, reported a 39% slump in its March quarter profit, the steepest drop since December 2008, as a sharp fall in oil prices and lower fuel demand hammered its dominant energy businesses.

The company, India's largest by market value, posted consolidated profit of 63.48 billion rupees ($845 million) in the three months ended March 31, missing analysts' expectation of an average 105.20 billion rupees by a wide margin.

A dramatic fall in global oil prices and an unprecedented drop in oil demand due to the coronavirus pandemic has forced global oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc to cut its dividend for the first time since World War Two on Thursday.

Brent crude lost an unprecedented two-thirds of its value in the first three months of 2020 as the health crisis crushed demand and oil producers delayed supply cuts.

This is the first decline in its quarterly profit in three years.

The conglomerate led by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, in the last decade diversified to establish large telecoms and retail operations, but the energy division still accounts for the lion's share of overall revenue.

The company's profitability in March quarter was dented by an inventory loss of about 42.45 billion rupees ($565 million).

Refiners like Reliance buy and store crude oil for weeks, before processing it into fuel and petroleum products. An inventory loss is booked when oil prices drop by the time crude is processed into refined fuels.

Reliance said gross refining margin, the profit earned on each barrel of crude oil processed, was $8.90 per barrel in the March quarter, less than the $9.20 in the prior quarter but better than the $8.20 a year earlier.

However, revenue at its telecom business Jio grew in double-digits as more Indians signed up for cheap voice-calling and mobile internet. Jio's subscriber base at the end of March stood at 387.5 million.

Its retail business, which runs 10,000 stores selling groceries, consumer electronics and apparel, reported a modest 4% rise in revenue, hurt in part by India's nationwide lockdown.

Overall, Reliance's consolidated revenue from operations fell 2.3% to 1.39 trillion rupees.

Profit pressure for the group forced Ambani to cut the pay of some top oil-and-gas division employees by up to 50%.

DEBT REDUCTION

"The announcement of pay cut ahead of results signifies some tough times for the company at least for the next few months," said Deepak Jasani, head of research at HDFC Securities.

The oil-to-telecoms giant on Thursday unveiled the terms of a rights issue, its first in nearly three decades, to raise money and eliminate net debt by the end of this year. Its net debt at the end of March was $21.4 billion.

Reliance set a price of 1,257 rupees per share for India's biggest rights issue of 531.25 billion rupees with a ratio of 1:15. Its stock closed at 1,466 rupees on Thursday.

"The rights issue size was higher than expected, though staggered payment would provide some time to shareholders to subscribe. The debt reduction plan now seems achievable though with some possible delays," said Jasani.

Reliance has formed a joint venture with BP Plc to sell refined fuels in India and recently struck a deal with Facebook Inc to sell about 10% stake in its digital arm, Jio Platforms, for $5.7 billion.

The company said it has received additional interest from global investors for a deal similar to Facebook and an announcement could be made in coming months.

It is also in the process of selling a 20% stake in its oil-to-chemical business to Saudi Aramco <2222.SE>.

The deal with Aramco was on track to close, the company said after it missed the deadline for closing the deal by March.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Nidhi Verma; Additional reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal in New Delhi; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Lisa Shumaker)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The fourth Kenyan to die of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom has been identified as Wangula Khasiani.

Khasiani, an accountant by profession, succumbed to the virus while undergoing treatment at a hospital in London on Saturday, April 25.

The late Khasiani is among 18 Kenyans who have died of Covid-19 abroad, according to a tally that was released by the government on Tuesday.

The Kenyan community in the UK mourned his passing and added that there are five other Kenyans who are presently undergoing medication for Covid-19 in various hospitals in the country.

"Our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers are with his family. May his soul rest in peace," a post shared by the community read.

The community said that Kenyans in the UK have organised themselves in various groups to support each other.

It said that 50 percent of Kenyans in the Diaspora work in social and healthcare and most others working in logistics, retail among other sectors that are still operating and that they were aware of how vulnerable most of these are.

DEATHS ABROAD

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau said that most of the deaths had occurred in the US, with the majority of the deaths being recorded in New York and Boston.

According to Macharia, there is one Kenyan who is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in a Sweden hospital in critical condition.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, the government has directed that families whose kin die abroad to bury them there but those insisting on bringing their bodies back to Kenya must do so at their own cost.

"Families willing to bring home the bodies of their relatives will have to bear the costs or allow them to be cremated in a foreign land," said Macharia.

The number of Covid-19 fatalities abroad is slightly higher compared to the 14 who have died in Kenya.

Some 26,097 people in the UK have died after testing positive for Covid-19 as of April 28 according to Public Health England (PHE) and for the first time the tally includes daily figures of deaths outside of hospital settings.
DUBLIN, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Bath and Shower Products Industry: Growth, Trends and Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global bath and shower products market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period, 2020-2025.



The market is primarily driven by the increasing awareness about health and hygiene among the people worldwide. Moreover, the rising disposable income and increasing living standards of the consumers are also leading consumers to opt for more expensive and aesthetically appealing bath and shower products with different fragrances and effective ingredients. In addition, frequent launches of enhanced products such as seed oil or vitamins infused shower gels, have further contributed to the growth of the market.



However, the growing awareness towards the use of chemical substances in such bath and shower gels, like sodium lauryl sulfate, dioxane, parabens, etc., that is considered as a harmful substance for the skin, is expected to hinder the growth of bath and shower products market.



Key Market Trends



Rising Demand for Baby Bath & Shower Products



The baby bath and shower products sector recorded a significant growth of the global market owing to the increasing awareness about health and hygiene. Furthermore, innovation and frequent launches of enhanced products have further contributed to the growth of the market. For instance, Johnson & Johnson offers a 'Vita-Rich Revitalising Body Wash', that is made of grapes and seed oil extracts, and helps to revitalize the skin. Also, the growing affinity of the consumers towards organic and natural bath and shower products with specific ingredients has helped to boost sales of these products. Therefore, players such as Azafran, Green People, and GAIA Skin Naturals, has launched organic baby products including shower gel.



North America to Dominate the Global Market



North America accounted for the largest market share, followed by Europe. The evolving buying patterns of consumers is the primary growth driver of the market in this region. Also, consumers in the region demand for natural and organic compositions, along with scent and moisturizing properties. Furthermore, factors such as rising penetration of e-commerce and social media are contributing to the growth of the North American market.



Competitive Landscape



The global bath and shower products market is competitive and fragmented in nature owing to the presence of many regional and domestic players. Emphasis is given on the merger, expansion, acquisition, and partnership of the companies along with new product development as strategic approaches adopted by the leading companies to boost their brand presence among consumers. Key players dominating the market include L'Oreal, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., and L'Artisan Parfumeur among others.



Key Topics Covered



1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Study Deliverables

1.2 Study Assumptions

1.3 Scope of the Study



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Market Drivers

4.2 Market Restraints

4.3 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.3.1 Threat of New Entrants

4.3.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers/Consumers

4.3.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

4.3.4 Threat of Substitute Products

4.3.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry



5 MARKET SEGMENTATION

5.1 By Type

5.1.1 Shower Cream/Gel

5.1.2 Bar Soap

5.1.3 Shower Oil

5.2 By User

5.2.1 Adult

5.2.2 Baby

5.3 By Distribution Channel

5.3.1 Supermarkets/Hypermarkets

5.3.2 Convenience Stores

5.3.3 Online Retail Stores

5.3.4 Others

5.4 By Geography

5.4.1 North America

5.4.1.1 United States

5.4.1.2 Canada

5.4.1.3 Mexico

5.4.1.4 Rest of North America

5.4.2 Europe

5.4.2.1 Germany

5.4.2.2 United Kingdom

5.4.2.3 Russia

5.4.2.4 France

5.4.2.5 Spain

5.4.2.6 Italy

5.4.2.7 Rest of Europe

5.4.3 Asia-Pacific

5.4.3.1 China

5.4.3.2 Japan

5.4.3.3 Australia

5.4.3.4 India

5.4.3.5 Rest of Asia-Pacific

5.4.4 Rest of the World

5.4.4.1 South America

5.4.4.2 Middle East & Africa



6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Most Active Companies

6.2 Most Adopted Strategies

6.3 Market Position Analysis

6.4 Company Profiles

6.4.1 L'Oreal

6.4.2 Unilever PLC

6.4.3 Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

6.4.4 L'Artisan Parfumeur

6.4.5 Plum Island Soap Co.

6.4.6 Estee Lauder Inc.

6.4.7 Colgate-Palmolive Company

6.4.8 Avon Beauty Products Pvt. Ltd.



7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4kh7

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



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Research and Markets

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He had no official Harvard affiliation, yet Jeffrey Epstein had his own office, key card and Harvard phone line. He would often swing by on weekends to host dinners with academics he wanted to meet.

According to a university report released on Friday, Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier who killed himself in jail last year, visited Harvard more than 40 times after he was convicted of sex charges involving a minor in 2008.

The report documented more extensive ties than had been previously known between Mr. Epstein and the university, which was one of a number of powerful institutions that he used to help burnish his image. Harvard said it had placed one professor, Martin A. Nowak, on paid administrative leave in response to the findings.

In a letter to the Harvard community, the universitys president, Lawrence S. Bacow, said the university had also donated $200,937 in unspent gifts from Mr. Epstein to organizations that support victims of human trafficking and sexual assault.
The recovery of China's manufacturing sector remained solid last month but a challenge emerged from external uncertainties, officials and analysts said on Thursday.



The official purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector came in at 50.8 for April, versus 52 the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

That marked the second consecutive month of manufacturing activity expansion in China, after February's PMI revealed a steep contraction due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia pandemic.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below reflects contraction.

Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the bureau, said economic order and production activity continued to normalize last month, with 99.7 percent of surveyed large and medium-sized manufacturers having resumed work.

Yet the sector expanded more slowly than in March, Zhao said, with production outpacing the recuperation of market demand, and rising uncertainty in foreign trade.

The subindex for new orders dropped to 50.2 in April from 52 a month earlier, the bureau reported. The gauge for new export orders slipped to 33.5 from 46.4 in March.

More than half of the respondents said orders were in short supply, Zhao said, with some saying export orders had been canceled while their production was underway.

Analysts cited sluggish demand, especially externally, as the biggest downside risk to China's economic recovery after the pandemic sparked recession risks across the globe.

On Thursday, the euro area reported a 3.8 percent drop in GDP during the first quarter of the year, compared with the final quarter of last year. The United States said on Wednesday that its first-quarter GDP shrank by an annualized 4.8 percent.

To deal with the external challenge, analysts said the two sessionsthe annual meetings of China's legislature and top political advisory body, to be held in late Maywill unveil a stimulus package focusing on expanding domestic demand and rescuing hard-hit sectors.

"The package of macroeconomic policies must be implemented urgently," said Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist at CEBM Group, a subsidiary of financial media outlet Caixin.

The privately surveyed Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI for April, unveiled on Thursday, returned to contraction territory at 49.4, with the sub-index for new export orders falling to the lowest level since December 2008.

A Nomura research note said Beijing may budget this year's fiscal deficit higher at 3.5 percent of GDP during the two sessions, compared with 2.8 percent last year, and have a broad fiscal deficit ratio of about 13 percent when off-budget debts are calculated.

The increased debt would be used for financial relief to help enterprises, banks and households survive the pandemic shock, the note said.

Infrastructure would be another spending focus, said Wu Chaoming, chief economist with Chasing Securities, adding that would inject momentum into manufacturing activity.

China has preapproved 2.29 trillion yuan ($325 billion) worth of local government special bonds to fund infrastructure projects and create demand. All the bonds are expected to be issued by the end of this month.

The official manufacturing PMI will likely remain in expansion territory for the rest of the year as the stimulus package filters through, Wu said, although downward risks from external uncertainties still exist.

The NBS said the nonmanufacturing PMI improved to 53.2 last month, versus 52.3 in March, with a quicker recovery in the services and construction sectors.
A problem with herd immunity is that the share of people who must be protected against infection varies from pathogen to pathogen. Protection from smallpox requires that 95 percent of individuals be able to resist the disease, whereas 85 percent should be resistant to polio. Measles requires 80 percent protection for herd immunity, which explains outbreaks in areas that have experienced even marginal increases in anti-vaccine sentiment. An even greater fraction of the population must be immunized against some pathogens, since certain people (e.g., the elderly, cancer survivors and other immune-suppressed individuals) may be susceptible to infection even if they received a prior immunization. Consequently, immune-suppressed individuals should be counted among the nonimmunized. We dont yet know the threshold of protection that will be protect against SARS-CoV-2, butbut what it certain is that the virus is highly transmissible between people and has the potential to create asymptomatic super-spreaders, who could unknowingly begin anew waves of new infection. Consequently, we need to push on all fronts to deploy safe and effective medicines in the short term (within the next year) and vaccines over a longer time frame (perhaps two-to-ten years). In the meantime, we must acclimate to a chronic new consisting of social distancing and assisting the heroic work of disease-tracking epidemiologists, who will, by the end of summer, be confronted by both influenza and the inevitable return of SARS CoV2.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Eighteen more inmates and a jail employee from the Zamboanga City Reformatory Center tested positive for the coronavirus disease, local officials reported on Friday.

The provincial task force said the infected patients have been separated from the other inmates. The facility earlier reported two other COVID-19 cases involving detainees, including one who passed away on April 20.

Zamboanga City now has 30 cases of COVID-19 and remains under enhanced community quarantine.
HOUSTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hicks Thomas LLP has again been named one of the top commercial litigation firms in Texas by the prestigious 2020 Chambers USA guide released April 24. Hicks Thomas Partner Robin L. Harrison also again earned individual recognition in the guide for his commercial litigation expertise.

The Chambers USA guide is one of the most sought-after listings among business lawyers. Law firm and lawyer rankings published annually by London-based Chambers & Partners involve intense research, a careful review of case work and extensive interviews with attorneys and clients.

Chambers USA describes the firm as an "accomplished team of commercial litigators with a wealth of trial experience," and notes that the firm "handles a wide array of contentious matters, including intellectual property and breach of contract claims [and is] especially active in oil and gas disputes."

Chambers quotes one of the firm's clients who said, "The team's particular strength is the ability to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions. The lawyers are very well versed on legal strategies."

A second client calls the firm, "committed, communicative and results-oriented." Another added, "the lawyers are very responsive, highly communicative and a constructive partner with us."

Mr. Harrison is described as "terrific" and "a strong choice to handle high-stakes commercial disputes, including intellectual property and breach of contract lawsuits." Commentators also describe Mr. Harrison as "very effective in the courtroom." Mr. Harrison is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He also is recognized by Best Lawyers in America for commercial and oil and gas litigation and has been recognized by Thomson Reuters' Texas Super Lawyers listing every year since 2004, including being named one of the top 100 lawyers in Houston in 2018 and 2019.

Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier commercial litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation. In addition to Chambers USA, the firm and its lawyers have been recognized by U.S. News and World Report's Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, Thomson Reuters' Texas Super Lawyers, and Lawdragon 500. With offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont, Amarillo, and Sacramento, California, the firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving complex commercial matters, oil and gas, environmental and toxic torts, construction, products liability, corporate ownership disputes, securities, banking, insurance coverage, trade secret misappropriation, and professional liability. To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.hicks-thomas.com .

SOURCE Hicks Thomas LLP

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Cuba's foreign minister laid the blame for an attack on the Cuban Embassy in Washington Thursday on what he described as "increasingly hostile rhetoric" by the US State Department and the US Embassy in Havana against the island nation.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made the charge after complaining the Cuban government has received no information from the Trump Administration about the attack, nor any details about the perpetrator.

According to Washington police, a man armed with an assault rifle was arrested after opening fire outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington early Thursday, his bullets tearing holes into the walls and pillars near the front entrance in what authorities suspect was a hate crime.

The gunfire broke out around 2 a.m. outside the embassy in northwest Washington.

Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the scene after neighbours reported hearing gunshots, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Officers found the man, Alexander Alazo, 42, of Aubrey, Texas, armed with an assault rifle, and they and took him into custody without incident, police said.

The US has tightened sanctions against Cuba for its support for Venezuela.

It has criticised the Cuban government on a variety of issues, including human rights, leading to increasingly strained relations between the two Cold War adversaries.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 00:20:01|Editor: huaxia

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WUHAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Hubei, the central Chinese province hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, saw a steep fall in tourist numbers on the first day of the five-day May Day holiday.

Twenty-two major tourist attractions that have reopened in the province had received 109,664 visitors as of 2 p.m. Friday, down 86.97 percent year on year, according to the provincial culture and tourism bureau.

The tourism revenue plunged 95.46 percent year on year to 6.79 million yuan (960,000 U.S. dollars), it said.

To avoid crowding and guard against risks of potential infection, the bureau earlier said tourists should make bookings before visiting local scenic sites, and tourist flow should be limited to no more than 30 percent of the maximum tourist capacity.

Yang Yunyan, vice governor of Hubei, announced Friday that the province will lower its novel coronavirus emergency response level from the highest to the second-highest starting May 2.

No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Hubei Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday. This marks that Hubei has had no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 27 consecutive days since April 4.

Meanwhile, in Hubei, the areas outside Wuhan have reported no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 57 consecutive days.

Hubei was cleared of confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday. Enditem
Cancun police arrest 3 with gun, crack cocaine

Cancun, Q.R.  Cancun police have arrested three for gun and drug possession in SM 237 of Cancun Thursday after the trio were found with weapons and crack cocaine.

In an informative release, police say the three were taken into custody at the junction of Prolongacion and Tulum Avenues where police were on a surveillance route. It was at the junction they detected the three. After a review of their persons, police discovered 166 street doses of crack along with a scale and .380 automatic weapon.

Two of the 3 arrested in Cancun on weapons and drug charges

Arrested were 29-year-old Oscar F.C.C. of Yucatan, a Cancun taxi driver, 35-year-old Alberto V.C.C. and 18-year-old female , Guadalupe M.C.O. (no photo) from Mexico City.
New Delhi, May 1 : The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday wrote to the Director Generals of Police of West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh in two separate matters where women were subjected to violence.

The NCW said that it has written to Virendra, Director General of Police of West Bengal, for taking appropriate action in an alleged assault on a nurse in West Bengal. The commission said "it is reported that a Staff Nurse of Chandannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital was stopped by Police at a Naka Checkpoint, while she was going to join her emergency duty with another person, from her Singur residence, she was allegedly harassed and slapped by a lady cop. The commission also said that the duo was reportedly detained by the police who took them to Chandannagar Police Station, even after showing her documents and lockdown pass to the police personnel on duty." The NCW accused the police for insensitivity towards the health worker in the period of distress prevailing worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic. In another incident the NCW has written to Vivek Johri, Director General of Police of Madhya Pradesh, in which an 18-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by 7 men, including 3 minors while returning to her village in Madhya Pradesh with her brother.

The Commission has asked Johri to submit a detailed action taken report at the earliest. The Commission has also asked the DGP to ensure the security of the woman and the minors and the accused be punished as per the enactment of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013.
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, which is in an advanced stage of manufacturing a vaccine for COVID-19 in partnership with Oxford University, which is undergoing human trial, tells Sudhir Suryawanshi that production is being started so that the vaccine is already available for use as soon as the trials are successful. Excerpts from the interview:

How much time will it take for the COVID-19 vaccine to be ready and how effective will it be?

We have been working closely with Dr Adrian Hill from Oxford University on the vaccine development. While the clinical trials have already commenced in the UK, we are initiating production as well hoping that when the trials are successful, we will have the first batch of doses ready for use by September or October.

What will be the cost of the one vaccine for people and how many vaccines will be available or produced in a month?

Its too early to comment on the pricing at this point, but we will surely keep it affordable. We aim to manufacture 4-5 million doses per month, following which we aim to scale up production to 10 million doses a month, based on the success of the trials.

We are looking forward to manufacturing up to 20-40 million doses by September-October. If the trials are successful, we will make the product available in as many countries as possible, including India.

Is Maharashtra or the Central govt helping and playing any role in producing this vaccine?

Yes, we have got full support from the governments and they are looking into it quite proactively.

Are you also making COVID-19 testing kits to scale-up testing for coronavirus?

We have recently partnered with Mylab and will be ramping up the production of COVID-19 testing kits, taking it from 1.5 lakh units per week to 20 lakh units per week. Additionally, we are amplifying our efforts to develop an efficacious vaccine while also strengthening our robust infrastructure to manufacture the same in large quantities. To reduce dependency on imported products to manufacture testing kits in association with Mylabs, we have additionally partnered with Syngene International for the purpose.
In a major setback to two agencies - Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing multiple corruption and money laundering charges against aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar, a Delhi court on Friday granted him bail in connection with a case related to alleged violation of the foreign contribution regulation act (FCRA) by his non-profit organization  Advantage India.

The bail order by Delhi court allows Talwar to walk out of Tihar jail by evening. He had earlier been granted bail in other matters.

The Special CBI Judge - AK Kuhar at Rouse Avenue Courts, granted the bail to Talwar on Friday through video conferencing after hearing arguments from both ED and his lawyer.

Talwars counsel  Tanveer Ahmed Mir told HT  For past more than one year since he was brought to India and arrested, Deepak Talwar was incarcerated in several cases. The allegations against him are imaginary. We have been fighting throughout and got him anticipatory bail in two each cases of CBI and ED and regular bail in those cases. He will finally be able to go to his home.

Mir argued before the court that Talwar was in jail for almost 15 months while agencies have not been able to present any evidence against him.

EDs counsels Amit Mahajan and Nitesh Rana argued that Talwar should not be granted bail as he is involved in serious economic offence.

Officials familiar with the development said the ED will now have to approach the high court to get his bail cancelled.

Talwar was brought from Dubai in January 31 last year. He is being investigated in different aviation deals and FCRA (foreign contribution regulation act) violations by his NGO. Both ED and CBI had taken his custody last year.

CBI filed a chargesheet against him in March this year alleging that his NGO received Rs 90.72 crore under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme for carrying out social activities but it was diverted for some other purposes. EDs money laundering probe is based on CBI FIR.

In aviation deals, Talwar is accused of receiving payments to the tune of Rs 272 crore during 2008-09 from private international airlines in lieu of securing favourable traffic rights using his contacts, due to which Air India had allegedly suffered huge losses. Both CBI and ED have claimed that he arranged kickbacks for the public servants to make Air India give up profit making routes in favour of private airlines.

Deepak Talwars son Aditya Talwar is also under investigation in the aviation cases. He is currently based in Antigua and Barbuda.

Deepak Talwars name had also appeared in the Nira Radia tapes and later 54 times in the controversial visitors entry register of former CBI director Ranjit Sinhas residence.
Arab League condemns Israeli plan to annex parts of occupied West Bank

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 5:20 PM

The Arab League has vehemently denounced the Israeli regime's plan to annex much of the occupied West Bank, saying such a move amounts to a "new war crime" against the Palestinian nation.

"The implementation of plans to annex any part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including the Jordan Valley... and the lands on which Israeli settlements are standing, represents a new war crime... against the Palestinian people," foreign ministers of the 22-member regional organization said in a joint statement during a virtual conference chaired in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo on Thursday.

The Arab diplomats also urged the United States to abide by UN resolutions and "withdraw its support for plans and maps of the Israeli Occupation devised under the cover of the so-called American-Israeli deal of the century."

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also criticized the Tel Aviv regime for "taking advantage of the global pre-occupation with confronting the coronavirus epidemic to impose a new reality on the ground."

"This step, if taken, would eliminate the possibility of embodying an independent, sovereign, geographically connected and viable Palestinian state. This step, if completed, would end the [so-called] two-state solution," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said, for his part, during the meeting.

Palestinians have expressed outrage at the Israeli regime's plans to further consolidate its grip on territories it has seized in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War.

A US State Department spokesperson said on Monday that Washington is prepared to recognize Israel's annexation of the West Bank, and application of the Tel Aviv regime's law on the occupied areas.

The statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was confident the US would give Israel the approval within two months to move ahead with the de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates roundly condemned US' readiness to recognize the Israeli regime's annexation of occupied territories.

The ministry said in a statement that it "condemns in the strongest terms" such statements and considers them "an extension of the unqualified US bias to the [Israeli] occupation and its expansionist colonial policies at the expense of the territory of the State of Palestine."

Last week, the UN's special Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov warned Israel not to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, stating that such a move would be a "devastating blow" to the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and would violate international law.

Separately, the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the bloc does not recognize Israeli rule over Palestinian land, and that it will "continue to closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and will act accordingly."

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8x8 Express Will Enable the UK's Five Million Micro-businesses to Set Up a Business Number in Minutes, Complete with Secure Video Meetings and Team Chat

8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud communications platform provider, today announced the availability of 8x8 Express in the UK. 8x8 Express offers a complete business phone system, enabling the UK's five million micro-businesses to set up a professional cloud communications system in minutes with no additional support required.

With a readily available pre-configured package, 8x8 Express offers even the smallest businesses, with as little as one or two people, a professional phone system that meets the unique requirements of modern workplaces including dedicated business phone numbers, unlimited UK calls, auto-receptionist, voicemail, intelligent call routing, secure video conferencing and team chat, all accessible from desktop and mobile applications.

For smaller organisations, cloud communications enables them to remain competitive in a fast-moving environment, and can also be used as a sales and marketing tool to help maintain a professional brand and gain more customers. Creating connections and positive experiences through their community of contacts is also critical; a recent 8x8 study found that over half of consumers are more likely to recommend a business after having had a positive experience.

"Cloud based solutions for enterprise communications are expected to experience an accelerated pace of growth in the post Covid-19 period than what was forecasted prior to the pandemic," said Oru Mohiuddin, Research Manager, European Enterprise Communications and Collaboration, at IDC. "It is a growing view that remote working will become a new norm when we return to normal, and communication systems that can facilitate remote collaboration will be key for business success. Frictionless communication, intuitive interface, robust security measures and easy deployment and provisioning will be vital and vendors offering simple one-stop solutions will be the clear winners in the European UC&C market."

"To remain competitive and thrive, organisations in the UK require consistent and connected communications tools that support the customer experience," commented Samuel Wilson, Chief Customer Officer and Managing Director of EMEA. "The goal of 8x8 Express is to help eliminate complexity in procuring, setting up and managing a business phone system with no need for additional IT support. Offered at a competitive price, it is tailored to meet the needs of both small organisations and new businesses."

8x8 Express includes the 8x8 Video Meetings solution, powered by Jitsi open-source technology, which offers effortless team collaboration with HD video conferencing that allows instant screen sharing. For added convenience, guests can join meetings via the 8x8 Video Meetings app on their smartphones or directly via a compatible browser from their laptop or computer, with no additional software to download.

8x8 Express also includes:

Unlimited calling in the UK

Call handling including call forwarding, auto-attendant and ring group call distribution

Voicemail

Integration with Google Calendar and Office 365/Outlook calendar tool

8x8 Virtual Office desktop and mobile apps provide anytime, anywhere access to business phone number, user directory, voice calls, recordings, video meetings and chat across multiple devices

Secure HD video meetings of unlimited duration for up to 50 participants

Compatibility with a selected range of Poly desk and conference phones

A new local number or ability to port to an existing business phone number

Availability

8x8 Express is available now in the UK as a 30-day free trial through easy online sign-up. After the 30 days, the service is 7.99 per user per month with unlimited call time and no long-term contracts. For more information or to get started, visit 8x8 Express now.

About 8x8, Inc.

8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT) is transforming the future of business communications as a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of voice, video, chat, contact centre and enterprise-class API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform. 8x8 empowers workforces worldwide to connect individuals and teams so they can collaborate faster and work smarter. Real-time business analytics and intelligence provide businesses unique insights across all interactions and channels so they can delight end-customers and accelerate their business. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

8x8 and 8x8 X Series are trademarks of 8x8, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005095/en/

Contacts:

8x8 UK Media contact:

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For the first time, former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke out against the allegations of sexual assault while he was a senator in 1993.

I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago, said Biden in the statement. They arent true, they never happened.

Tara Reade, one of several women who last year accused Biden of uncomfortable kissing, hugging or touching, made the assault claim during a podcast interview last month. The New York Times reported that Reade had filed a police report on the alleged assault in early April.

In a report filed with Washington, D.C., police, Reade alleged that in 1993, Biden pinned her against a wall, kissed her and placed his hand under her skirt. Reade said he propositioned her but stopped after she pulled away.

The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint, Biden said.

You can read the full statement here:

Statement by Vice President Joe Biden:

April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Every year, at this time, we talk about awareness, prevention, and the importance of women feeling they can step forward, say something, and be heard. That belief  that women should be heard  was the underpinning of a law I wrote over 25 years ago. To this day, I am most proud of the Violence Against Women Act. So, each April we are reminded not only of how far we have come in dealing with sexual assault in this country  but how far we still have to go.

When I wrote the bill, few wanted to talk about the issue. It was considered a private matter, a personal matter, a family matter. I didnt see it that way. To me, freedom from fear, harm, and violence for women was a legal right, a civil right, and a human right. And I knew we had to change not only the law, but the culture.

So, we held hours of hearings and heard from the most incredibly brave women  and we opened the eyes of the Senate and the nation  and passed the law.

In the years that followed, I fought to continually strengthen the law. So, when we took office and President Obama asked me what I wanted, I told him I wanted oversight of the critical appointments in the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice and I wanted a senior White House Advisor appointing directly to me on the issue. Both of those things happened.

As Vice President, we started the Its on Us campaign on college campuses to send the message loud and clear that dating violence is violence  and against the law.

We had to get men involved. They had to be part of the solution. Thats why I made a point of telling young men this was their problem too  they couldnt turn a blind eye to what was happening around them  they had a responsibility to speak out. Silence is complicity.

In the 26 years since the law passed, the culture and perceptions have changed but were not done yet.

Its on us, and its on me as someone who wants to lead this country. I recognize my responsibility to be a voice, an advocate, and a leader for the change in culture that has begun but is nowhere near finished. So I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago.

They arent true. This never happened.

While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.

Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.

But this much bears emphasizing.

She has said she raised some of these issues with her supervisor and senior staffers from my office at the time. They  both men and a woman  have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues. News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one  not one  who corroborated her allegations in any way. Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way  as indeed I would not have.

There is a clear, critical part of this story that can be verified. The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files. It is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document their public record: speeches, policy proposals, positions taken, and the writing of bills.

There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.

As a Presidential candidate, Im accountable to the American people. We have lived long enough with a President who doesnt think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. Thats not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth.

I have spent my career learning from women the ways in which we as individuals and as policy makers need to step up to make their hard jobs easier, with equal pay, equal opportunity, and workplaces and homes free from violence and harassment. I know how critical womens health issues and basic womens rights are. That has been a constant through my career, and as President, that work will continue. And I will continue to learn from women, to listen to women, to support women, and yes, to make sure womens voices are heard.

We have a lot of work to do. From confronting online harassment, abuse, and stalking, to ending the rape kit backlog, to addressing the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence.

We need to protect and empower the most marginalized communities, including immigrant and indigenous women, trans women, and women of color.

We need to make putting an end to gender-based violence in both the United States and around the world a top priority.

I started my work over 25 years ago with the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. As president, Im committed to finishing the job.

__________________

Got a news tip or want to contact MassLive about this story? Email newstips@masslive.com or message us on Facebook orTwitter. You can also call our news tips line at 413-776-1364.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has commended the Kebbi State Government for releasing N2.4 billion as part payment of gratuities and leave grants for junior staff.

The Kebbi State Chairman of the congress, Umar Alhassan, said the release of the fund would enhance the lifestyle of retired workers, adding that the leave grant will also enhance workers welfare.

Mr Alhassan made this known in a statement to mark the 2020 May Day Celebration on Friday in Birnin Kebbi.

The chairman described the gesture by Governor Atiku Bagudu as commendable and worthy of emulation by other governors, in a bid to alleviate the plight of workers.

He, however, appealed for extension of similar gestures to senior staff to enable them benefit from what he described as kind effort.

Mr Alhassan also called on members of the congress to reciprocate the gesture by supporting the present administration at all levels, to pave way for more democratic dividends.

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Besides, the unionist appealed to the state government to convene a mini economic summit in order to fashion out other ways of generating revenue for the state.

He said the summit, if organised, will not only be a source of revenue mobilisation to the state but also reduce over dependence on oil, which may no longer be feasible.

Mr Alhassan urged the government to also ensure that agricultural inputs were supplied to the farmers early enough to further encourage farming activities across the state.

On Ramadan fasting, the chairman called on the Muslim Ummah to use the period to pray for Almighty Gods intervention to bring an end to COVID-19 pandemic.

He commended the efforts of the state government in curbing the spread of the disease in the state.

The labour leader enjoined all civil servants in the state to continue to adhere strictly to preventive measures against the pandemic as directed by experts and government.

(NAN)
Athens: Greece's Migration Ministry says Finland has agreed to take in 100 unaccompanied refugee children and 30 adults, expanding the number of European countries which have begun taking in young asylum-seekers from Greece.

The children, and the adults who will be reunited with family members already in Finland, will be relocated by the end of May, the ministry said, adding this was "a decision of practical solidarity" by the Nordic country.

Unaccompanied children from overcrowded refugee camps on the Greek islands are transferred to Germany last month. Credit:Getty Images

Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, including thousands of unaccompanied children, are living in squalid conditions in overcrowded camps on several Greek islands after arriving from the Middle East, Asia and Africa via the nearby Turkish coast. Many more are housed in camps, apartments and other shelters across the mainland.

The ministry said the agreement came in a call between Deputy Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos and senior Finnish Interior Ministry official Olli-Poika Parviainen.
Priti Patel yesterday conceded the latest rise in knife crime was 'appalling'

Priti Patel yesterday conceded the latest rise in knife crime was 'appalling' - as she vowed a tough new approach.

In a frank admission, the Home Secretary said that an overall fall in recorded crime could not mask the misery caused by a sharp rise in knife offences, which are at a record high.

Official figures released last month showed that knife crimes in England and Wales rose by 7 per cent last year to 45,627.

The figure represents a 49 per cent rise on 2011, when comparable records began.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Miss Patel said the figures were 'terrible' but vowed a tough new approach which would mean thugs caught with a knife 'going down'.

The Home Secretary hailed the encouraging statistics which show a 5 per cent fall in recorded crime last year.

But she admitted that the figure obscured the devastating impact of knife crime, county lines drugs operations and other serious crime.

'The figures are appalling,' she said. 'There is something so corrosive around knife crime that we absolutely have to break.

The Home Secretary said that an overall fall in recorded crime could not mask the misery caused by a sharp rise in knife offences, which are at a record high (pictured, police attend the scene of a stabbing in Ilford, east London, April 26, 2020)

'There are things that we are doing. More officers - 100 per cent that is going to make a difference.'

She also said measures are being put in place such as knife crime prevention orders.

She added: 'If you are caught with a knife, quite frankly, you will be going down and that is the right thing.'

Miss Patel also said that 'police leaders', such as mayors and police and crime commissioners, are still not doing enough to prioritise tackling knife crime.

She singled out London Mayor Sadiq Khan as someone who 'should be doing more' following a wave of stabbings last year in the capital, which now accounts for about a third of total knife offences.

The Home Secretary said London Mayor Sadiq Khan 'should be doing more'

An aide said that Miss Patel was focused on getting to grips with knife crime, adding: 'When she says she wants to see these people going down, she means it.'

The Home Secretary said she had been moved by conversations with the families of knife crime victims.

'I've met far too many families who I have sat with in heartbreaking circumstances, whose children have died because of knife crime,' she said.

'I have heard of horrible stories of children who have gone to A&E, who have been stabbed but are too frightened to divulge information on who has done that to them because they are too frightened.

'That is the stuff we have to grip - it is the only way we are going to save lives.'

The interview is the first Miss Patel has given to a newspaper since she was hit by a wave of bullying allegations earlier this year following the resignation of her permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam.

The allegations are being investigated by Sir Alex Allan, the Prime Minister's adviser on the ministerial code.

A report this week said that Miss Patel was set to be cleared and a Whitehall source told the Mail that Sir Alex had found 'no evidence' to back the bullying claims.

Downing Street claims the investigation is 'ongoing' but with Boris Johnson having already declared he will 'stick with Prit', few are expecting her to go anywhere.

Miss Patel also said the lockdown has resulted in 'phenomenal stories of crime-busting' as criminals are finding it harder to blend in.

She said: 'When everyone else is at home, the guys who are out and about looking a bit shifty, they're the ones being zapped.'

Her tough talk - and uncompromising defence of the police - has helped her win the support of rank and file officers.

But when asked if she could hack it on the front line herself, she suggested not.

'I have met so many recruits and they say the training is pretty intensive - it is boot camp stuff, quite physical. To be quite frank, I'm not cut out for that kind of stuff.'

This week she held a video call with half a dozen new officers at Lancashire Constabulary to mark the milestone of recruiting an extra 3,000 police - a stepping stone on the way to the Government's pledge to take on an extra 20,000 in three years.

Miss Patel has taken a hands-on approach since her appointment last summer, attending a number of drugs raids.
China, which differs with Nepal over the height of Mount Everest, has begun a new survey to measure the altitude of the world's highest peak.

A measurement team from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the national mountaineering team has arrived at the base camp of the peak for training on mountain climbing and surveying skills in the high-altitude region, making preparation for the measurement planned in May, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

A 53-member team from the MNR have conducted preliminary levelling, gravity, global navigation satellite system and astronomical surveys since March 2.

The measurement mission of Mount Everest is being organised by the MNR, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Administration of Sport and government of Tibet Autonomous Region.

China's new survey to measure the height of Mt Everest is significant as its calculation of the world's highest peak is four metres less than Nepal's measurement.

The Chinese official media in 2018 has contradicted a media report that China had recognised the mountain's height as 8,848 metres, quoting Ang Tshering Sherpa, the former head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

China has not changed its measurement of the height of Mount Qomolangma, the Chinese name of the Mt Everest, which stands at 8844.43 metres above the sea level, state-run Global Times reported in February 2018.

Subsequently Xinhua quoted the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geo-information (NSAG) as confirming the height at 8,844.43 metres above sea level.

The peak of Mt Everest played a significant role in the settlement of the boundary between Nepal and China, as Beijing earlier claimed the whole mountain as part of its territory after it took control of Tibet.

But it was finally settled in 1961 after the intervention of the ruling Communist Party of China founder Mao Zedong, who suggested that the boundary line should pass through the summit of Mt Everest, which was agreed by Nepal.

Since then more and more international climbers are reportedly using the Tibetan side of Mt Everest as China has improved infrastructure facilities compared to that of Nepal.

China which closed Qomolangma National Park in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region as a precaution following the coronavirus outbreak reopened it on Friday coinciding with May Day holidays.

Nepal closed all of its Himalayan peaks including Mt Everest in March in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

In its report on Thursday Xinhua said this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal, the 60th anniversary for human beings to reach the summit of Mount Everest via the north ridge, as well as the 45th anniversary for China to accurately measure and announce the height of the peak for the first time.

Li Guopeng, a team leader from the MNR, said the home-grown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and home-grown surveying equipment will be applied to the measurement.

The team will use aerial gravity measurement to improve the accuracy, and the three-dimensional technology will provide a visual demonstration of the natural resources of Mt Everest, according to Li.

The measurement team will climb to the summit to obtain reliable data.

Li said results can be applied to various research fields including plate motion in geodynamics. The team will also collect the latest data on snow depth, weather and wind speed at the summit to facilitate glacier monitoring and ecological protection.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chinese surveyors have conducted six rounds of scaled measurement and scientific research on Mt Everest and released the height of the peak twice in 1975 and 2005, which was 8,848.13 meters and 8,844.43 meters respectively, the Xinhua report said.

Meanwhile, Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant said it has teamed up with China Telecom to set up the world's highest 5G base station on the altitude of 6500 metres.

The stations are expected to cover the summit of the mountain. The two installations will be the world's highest terrestrial 5G base stations, Global Times reported on Thursday.

"The 6,500-metre-high point will likely be the highest place where Huawei is able to build a 5G station, but whether the signal can extend as high as the summit at 8,848 metres still needs to be tested. We are striving to make that happen," Zhang Bo, Huawei project manager who has been on site for 20 months, said.

The cost of building five 5G stations in the extremely difficult terrain could reach 10 million yuan (USD1.42 million) but its value is worth more than that it publicises 5G technology and China's strength in it, the report said.

The 5G stations will help mountaineers from across the world communicate better. It could also prove to be helpful for rescuing workers and researchers, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COVID-19: Belgium Extends Corporate Tax Return Deadline

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

01 May 2020

On April 29, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced changes to the deadline for the submission of annual corporate tax declarations due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Under the changes, companies whose year-end fell between October 1, 2019, and December 30, 2019, inclusive, will have seven months to file their corporate tax declarations. This period begins on the first day of the month following the month the taxpayer's tax year ended. Should the deadline fall on a weekend or a public holiday, it is moved forward to the next working day.

The new deadline applies to all companies regardless of legal status and filing method (electronic or manual).

For companies with a financial year-end prior to October 1, 2019, the existing rules apply. This means that corporate tax returns must be filed no earlier than one month after the date of the annual general shareholders' meeting and not later than six months after the end of the accounting year. However, due to the COVID-19 virus, companies may, under certain circumstances, request to postpone their annual general meeting by a maximum of 10 weeks.

Companies can also request to further extend the corporate tax return deadline if they cannot meet the existing revised deadlines.
Dileep V Kumar By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid its battle against Covid-19, the Health Department has received some worrying news. The department has stumbled upon a report that warns of the difficulty in distinguishing between dengue fever and novel coronavirus, as symptoms like fever, headache, diarrhoea, sore throat, and seizures are common to both. What has the department worried is the arrival of pre-monsoon showers and the likelihood of clustering of dengue fever cases in various pockets of the state as a result.

Citing some cases in Singapore and Indonesia where doctors couldnt differentiate between Covid-19 and dengue fever, public health experts said it was high time the state medical board and the state expert committee for Covid-19 discussed the matter in detail and came out with advice.

The dengue outbreak in Kerala has become an annual affair now and the arrival of pre-monsoon showers will only escalate the problem. If dengue and Covid-19 are difficult to distinguish because of their shared clinical and laboratory features, the state has a serious problem at hand, said a Health Department official.

In the report  published by international medical journal The Lancet, Singapore-based doctors mention two patients in Singapore with false-positive results from rapid serological testing for dengue. The duo was later confirmed to have the SARS-CoV-2 infection.In one of the case studies, a patient with three days of fever and cough consulted a regional hospital. He was discharged after a negative rapid test for dengue. When the fever persisted, he went to a primary healthcare clinic. His worsening cough and dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing) led to the testing for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR which returned positive, said the officer. The study report concludes with the warning that failing to consider Covid-19 because of a positive dengue rapid test result has serious implications for the patient and for public health.

The key takeaway of the report is the importance of recognising false-positive dengue serology results in patients with Covid-19. A strategy to address this is the need of the hour as it can put health workers at huge risks, said the officer.

Different viruses

An infectious disease specialist of government medical colleges said dengue fever and Covid-19 were caused by different viruses. The first is caused by the flavivirus, while the other by coronavirus. Though initial symptoms are similar, the distinction can be made as the disease progresses, said the expert, who did not wish to be named.

Dr Anup R Warrier said, Not really. Its because in dengue there is a decrease in the number of leukocytes (found in the blood and bodys primary defence against infection) with the higher-than-normal amount of lymphocytes (a subtype of white blood cells (WBC)) and with low blood platelet count. In the case of Covid19, one will have normal WBC count and normal platelet count. B Ekbal, chairman of the Covid-19 expert group, remained unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.

Total dengue fever cases reported till April 30 93

2019

4,651 persons contracted dengue fever Deaths14
Giving a fillip to the Polavaram multi-purpose project, the Andhra Pradesh government, after a long gap, has released Rs 1,962 crore largely for main dam related works and rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced families.

The amount has been released even as the state was awaiting disbursal of over Rs 3,000 crore by the Centre which has agreed to bear the entire cost of over Rs 55,500 crore for the project, a top official of the Water Resources Department said.

Declared as a national project under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, Polavaram is a multipurpose major terminal reservoir project on river Godavari for development of irrigation, hydro power and drinking water facilities to East Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, West Godavari and Krishna districts in the state.

Of the total sum released on Thursday, over Rs 1,252 crore would be utilised on the Polavaram main dam and related works, the official said.

Another Rs 600 crore would be spent on rehabilitation and resettlement (R and R) of the project displaced families, while Rs 110 crore would be spent on the Polavaram Right and Left main canals and distributaries. According to officials, this is the first time that such a large quantum of money has been released for the project in one go.

The last allocation was made more than a year ago, that too for pending bills clearance. The state has so far spent Rs 11,800 crore on Polavaram. Of this, the Centre has reimbursed Rs 8,577 crore. Initially the project cost was pegged at over Rs 54,000 crore but later it has been enhanced to Rs 55,549 crore including Rs 33,010 crore for rehabilitation and resettlement.

As the project executioner, the state government, spends money from its budget and the Centre later reimburses it. The Union government still has to reimburse over Rs 3,000 crore, already spent by the state on the project, the Water Resource Department official said.

"Our focus mainly is now on R and R and we will be stepping up those works. Simultaneously, the other works of the project will also gain pace," the official said.

The ongoing lockdown has affected the Polavaram works due to non-availability of steel and cement. The supplies have started again after the lockdown restrictions were eased.

Though the original plan was to complete the project spillway works by June, the impact of lockdown could delay it further, the official said. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy who reviewed the Polavaram works on Wednesday, asked the officials to try to complete the spillway works by June.

As the heavy flood in river Godavari left many villages in the region inundated for several days last year, the Chief Minister wanted the Water Resources Department to step up the R and R works and relocate the project-affected families to prevent its recurrence.
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, on Monday said what many in her caucus have been saying for weeks: A guaranteed income to help Americans struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic is worthy of attention. As recently as just a few months ago, an income guarantee was widely written off as unrealistic. But two-thirds of the members of the House Democratic caucus now support the idea of some kind of cash payment that would continue until the end of the crisis.

The pandemic may have precipitated this change of heart, but the pandemic alone isnt why we need a guaranteed income. The American economy is plagued by instability and fragility, much of it caused by staggering levels of inequality. If we want to create a more resilient economy and country, a guaranteed income should be permanent American policy, not just an emergency measure to help with this crisis.

Over the past several decades, legislators and policymakers of both political parties, obsessed with economic efficiency, lowered taxes and reduced regulation on the assumption that those policies would create a healthier economy and a better society. They spoke of a free market, with rules that were supposedly impartial and fair, even though political power has always shaped markets to reward some and harm others.

We have ended up with an economy that is not only unjust but also stunted in its growth and more fragile than before. The coronavirus crisis has heightened and made more vivid what was already clear to many: The unfairness of our economy is a matter of life and death for millions of Americans.
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There are so many believers who aim at great things, yet they find themselves settling for the lowest common denominator. They remain contented in a life of compromise when they could be experiencing the power of God. They stay in the shallow end of the Christian life when they could cross oceans. They live on spiritual junk food instead of the royal banquets.



Does this sound like you? If so, there is hope. Every believer can live the abundant life Christ promised (see John 10:10). We simply need to yield to the work of Gods Spirit in our lives.

In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, the apostle Paul declares, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.

Here, Paul was saying to the believers in Corinth, I long to speak to you on a deep spiritual level, but you are still acting like babies! You arent even living by the power of the Holy Spirit.



I grieve at how true this is of so many of us today.



How often do we attempt to live the Christian life without Gods help? How often do we read the Bible without going to the Author directly? How often do pastors and church leaders go rogue in their biblical interpretation because, long ago, they grieved or quenched the Holy Spirit?



In 1 Corinthians 2:12, Paul says, What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. We have the Spirit of God Himself living within us  the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11). We need to live like the world no longer.



The challenge is this: When we become born again, our sinful nature does not just disappear. The Greek word Paul uses for the flesh is sarx, and it refers to the old nature before Christ came into our lives. Sarx is the natural mind before Christ transformed our minds. Sarx is that sinful nature that dominated us before Christ came in. Sarx is like an automatic gate that opens up the moment the devil and the world push the button. If youre not living in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, its because you have allowed your flesh to open the door, permitting the world and the devil to enter.



The Lord has given us the three musketeers to defeat the world, the flesh and the devil: (1) a renewed nature, (2) His Word and (3) His Holy Spirit. Through them, we may live victoriously, above the enemies who are trying to get us down.



So, whats the key to living the Christian life? Its simple. The moment-by-moment prayer of every Christian should be, Holy Spirit, take over. I give You control. Fill your mind with Gods Word and surrender daily to His work in your life  for He is a gentleman, and He will not take control unless you allow Him to.



Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the one who opened our blind eyes to the Truth. He is the one who helps us grow in the knowledge of God. He is the midwife who delivered you when you were born again. He is our tutor, teacher and instructor  and He is eager to give you discernment, wisdom, understanding, power, and favor with God and man. He should be your best friend  for you cannot live the Christian life without Him!



No one, when they are born again, immediately becomes a spiritual giant. We grow into that greatness by submitting day by day to the Holy Spirit of God, as we are filled day by day by that same Holy Spirit  that wind of God that can pull our sails when we ask Him to  as we live under the authority of His book.



Ask yourself these questions:

Have I grown in my faith?

Have I grown to trust God more deeply?

Have I grown in the Word of God over the past year?

If the answer is no, its OK. You can start right now by allowing these words to be your moment-by-moment petition to God: Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Have Your way in my life today.
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(Kitco News) - Gold prices are posting modest losses in early U.S. trading Friday even though global risk appetite has down-ticked to end the trading week and begin a new month. Late this week the gold market has ironically tended to follow the direction of the U.S. stock market. June gold futures were last down $6.10 an ounce at $1,688.00. May Comex silver prices were last up $0.017 at $14.915 an ounce.

Global stock markets were mostly down in overnight trading. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward lower openings when the New York day session begins. On this last trading day of the week and first day of the month, the past few days grim economic data and corporate earnings reports may be driving home to traders and investors the reality of the Covid-19-induced damage being inflicted on the global economy. Still, despite 30 million Americans losing their jobs the past few weeks, the U.S. stock indexes just finished one of their best months ever and are in near-term price uptrends on the daily charts. Some U.S. states are starting to partially reopen their businesses today.

U.S. President Trump is ramping up his negative rhetoric toward China and on Thursday again suggested China suppressed Covid-19 information in the early stages in China, even hinting China may have purposely unleased the virus from a laboratory. Trump also threatened more tariffs against China.

In other news, the European Central Bank said on Friday Euro zone economic growth could decline by 12% in 2020.

In the background and not yet impacting markets, but worth mentioning, is the extended absence in public of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un. In normal times this matter might get paid more attention by the marketplace.

The important outside markets see Nymex crude oil lower and trading around $18.35 a barrel in June futures. The oil market has made a strong rebound this week after the June contract hit a low of just above $10.00 on Tuesday. The U.S. dollar index is slightly weaker again today. The greenback bulls have faded badly this week. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield is trading around 0.6% this morning.

U.S. economic reports out today include the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), the ISM manufacturing report on business, construction spending and auto industry sales.

Technically, the gold bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage but are now fading and need to show fresh power soon to keep alive an uptrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls next upside price objective is to produce a close in June futures above solid resistance at the April high of $1,788.80. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,666.20. First resistance is seen at $1,700.00 and then at $1,707.80. First support is seen at todays low of $1,676.00 and then at $1,666.20. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5

July silver futures bulls and bears are back on a level overall near-term technical playing field. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the April high of $16.505 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $14.00. First resistance is seen the overnight high of $15.15 and then at $15.25. Next support is seen at todays low of $14.82 and then at $14.715. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.0.
A senior Queensland public servant has been jailed for using taxpayer funds to buy expensive teak furniture, an electric scooter and a $935 silk jacket while earning up to $367,000 a year.

The state's former chief scientist, Suzanne Miller, used a government-issued credit card for personal spending 18 times between August 2014 and June 2016.

Queensland's former chief scientist Suzanne Miller is facing sentencing. Credit:AAP

She bought overseas flights and accommodation in Scotland, an outdoor storage shed, dinosaur show tickets and a drum kit.

Miller transferred money from the credit card into her own bank account and twice used it to pay her mortgage.
Moving our face-to-face conference to a fully online format presents the unique opportunity to spotlight the best of what the online modality affords  meaningful collaboration and the ability to reflect and connect with colleagues around the globe.

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) announced today that its annual OLC Innovate Conference is moving to an all-virtual format for 2020. OLC and conference partner MERLOT will gather the digital learning community, online, June 15-26, for OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference (#OLCInnovate). This years theme, Building Bridges in Digital, Blended and Online Learning, frames a 10-day online program that highlights inspiring innovators and thought leaders from higher education, K-12, military, health care and workforce education.

The current health environment requires us to create a new OLC Innovate Conference experience  one that leans heavily on our mission of reaching and engaging anyone, anywhere, anytime, said Jennifer Mathes, Chief Executive Officer for the Online Learning Consortium. Moving our face-to-face conference to a fully online format presents the unique opportunity to spotlight the best of what the online modality affords  meaningful collaboration and the ability to reflect and connect with colleagues around the globe. We look forward to gathering our community for this reimagined event, and the opportunity to celebrate our collective resilience and dedication to forging connections without boundaries.

Conference Co-Chairs Tina Rettler-Pagel of Madison College and Janet Smith of the University of Arizona, along with Executive Conference Co-Chairs Kaye Shelton of Lamar University and OLCs Jennifer Mathes have worked diligently with Program Chairs Keegan Long-Wheeler of the University of Oklahoma and Kate Miffitt of California State University, and the OLC conference team to transition OLC Innovate to its all-virtual format while retaining its ability to address all experience levels through a variety of session formats that encourage broad attendee participation.

Featured Speakers

The OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual program includes an exciting lineup of innovators, including featured speakers:



Maha Bali, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching for American University in Cairo, will deliver a keynote address about Centering Critical Care During Crises.

Michael L. Torrence, Ph.D., President of Motlow State Community College, will keynote the conferences HBCU Summit (one of four summits included with conference registration). Dr. Torrence will present, The Future of Everything: The Educational Complex.

Flower Darby, Director of Teaching for Student Success at Northern Arizona University, will participate in a fireside chat about COVID-19 and Online Teaching. Darby is also confirmed to keynote OLC Accelerate 2020 this November.

Unique Program Elements

Registration for the virtual conference includes live-stream and on-demand recordings of more than 300 sessions, including keynotes, featured sessions, education sessions and industry showcases. The program also includes four targeted summits  HBCU, Research, Community College and the Leadership Network. There will also be opportunities to connect with peers through virtual social and networking activities including happy hours, game socials, guided meditation sessions, and networking coffee breaks.

Registration for OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual is now open. Full program details are available on the conference website: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/attend-2020/innovate/.

About Online Learning Consortium

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner  anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including, best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, community-driven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies and corporate enterprises. Visit http://onlinelearningconsortium.org for more information.
Emma Watkins has explained how the popular children's group decided to create timely songs during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Wiggles recently released a single about hand washing in collaboration with UNICEF, as well as a song about social distancing.

The 30-year-old Yellow Wiggle revealed that many young children weren't able to understand the 'abstract concept' of social distancing.

Educational fun! The Wiggles' Emma Watkins (pictured) has explained how the popular children's group decided to create timely songs during the coronavirus pandemic

'As adults, we know we need to stand a certain distance away from each other,' Emma told ET Canada on Thursday.

'But generally if the children are being kept in isolation with their own family, they're already at home so that idea doesn't really apply to their own parents, for example, or their siblings. But social distancing for them really means not being able to see grandmother on the weekend.'

Simply titled Social Distancing, the song and accompanying clip featuring all four members of The Wiggles was released on YouTube in March.

'I'm so glad we ended up doing it': The Yellow Wiggle, 30, explained on ET Canada that many young children weren't able to understand the 'abstract concept' of social distancing

In the music video, Emma dressed up as a grandmother while the lyrics explained why children could not visit their grandparents.

The Wiggles demonstrated the distance people should stand away from each other, as well as other ways to communicate with loved ones, such as video chat.

Their hand washing song wasn't actually created with COVID-19 in mind, but became a timely and important number for them by chance, and UNICEF approached them about revisiting the song earlier this year.

Timely: The Wiggles' hand washing song wasn't actually created with COVID-19 in mind, but became a timely and important number for them by chance, and UNICEF approached them about revisiting the song earlier this year

Child friendly: In the video for Social Distancing, Emma dressed up as a grandmother while the lyrics explained why children could not visit their grandparents

'I'm so glad we ended up doing it. And obviously the hand washing song is really important for now, but it's so important in general for children across the world in so many different countries,' Emma said.

The Wiggles were forced to cancel their Fun and Games Australian tour due to the pandemic, but the album has recently hit shelves.

The new album has a mix of Wiggles' classics, as well as nursery rhymes and 'game' songs, perfect for bringing the family together.
NEW HAVEN  Because he has not been able to visit school children in their classrooms since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Justin Elicker invited a number of them to a virtual press conference Thursday where he told them it was pretty unlikely that the schools will reopen this spring.

Ryan Martinez asked what are the plans for September? Elicker said Gov. Ned Lamont promised to make a decision on schools two weeks before May 20.

We are waiting for that and I am pretty sure he is going to close schools for the rest of the year, Elicker said. The mayor said unless something pretty dramatic happens, the city wants to open schools in the fall, but it will have to be careful how they do it.

Elicker said they will have to think about social distancing and opportunities for kids to wash their hands as well as making sure everyone wears masks.

He told another young questioner that his primary goal continues to be addressing income inequality and that the pandemic was making those problems even worse.

To give an indication of the extent of people who have lost their jobs, the mayor said more than 5,600 people from New Haven have applied for unemployment benefits and have gotten them since March 15.

The mayor also talked about ShopRite, which has a food delivery system for people who receive SNAP benefits, but they dont deliver in New Haven because they dont have enough vehicles. Elicker said they are exploring the use of New Haven school buses to deliver food to families who order online using SNAP.

In other news that came out of the press conference, Elicker said he is willing to close down more streets for pedestrians to take over to increase exercising, if residents call for that.

English Drive and Farnam Drive near East Rock were recently closed for those reasons. He told the kids that exercise is not just for physical fitness, but it also helps a lot with mental health.

He told Eleanor Matz that he felt it was worth setting up the gym at Career High School as a place where the homeless can recover from the coronavirus

I think the site has been going really well, the mayor said. An average of five people have been staying there daily. Im grateful we dont have any more than that as it is an indication that social distancing is working.

The first question came from Jadan Martinez how asked how kids will be home schooled when their parents have to go back to work and schools are not open?

Elicker said city officials were talking about that Thursday morning with some 15 nonprofits who also are trying to figure out what they want to do this summer. He said some options are running the Youth at Work program and/or run run city park programs.

The mayor said he did not have an answer yet as they discuss how much they can go back to the programming that they used to offer, without jeopardizing the health and safety of people. He said they will continue to look for creative ways to have programs for young people where they can be safe.

Elicker said this might include keeping them home with some Zoom meetings. He said another potential option is having young people volunteer for the nonprofits, for instance helping with food distribution. Potentially then, maybe they are paid through Youth at Work funds.

Elicker told the students that the city made 95 meal drops to seniors on Wednesday, packages that contained five meals each. He said they did this in conjunction with many nonprofits. He said there will be more food drops this weekend.

The mayor also advised the public that two of the citys testing site for the coronavirus, the CVS/Abbott site on Sargent Drive and the new site at Day and Chapel streets was closed Thursday because of a forecast for heavy rain. They will be open Friday.

As he typically does at these press conferences, Elicker reported that the city now has 1,619 positive cases of the coronavirus, a sizable jump from Wednesday. A total of 59 residents have died.

He said they often will get multiple updates in a day from the State Department of Health and he thinks the small number yesterday is just balancing out today.

So we dont think the jump is an indication of even more cases, he said. The mayor said most of he deaths were seniors with underlying medical problems.

We are very sad that those individuals that are very much apart of our community will no longer be with us, he told the school children on the Zoom meeting.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
A naval warfare officer originally from Truro, N.S., is among five military members missing after their helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke was one of six Canadians aboard a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter when it went down Wednesday into international waters between Greece and Italy.

Sub.-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, a marine systems engineering officer, is the first known casualty of the crash.

The other four missing members are:

Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald, pilot, originally from New Glasgow, N.S.

Capt. Kevin Hagen, pilot, originally from Nanaimo, B.C.

Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, air combat systems officer, originally from Trois-Rivieres, Que.

Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, airborne electronic sensor operator, originally from Guelph, Ont.

Pyke, 34, loved his job and cared deeply about others, said his distant cousin Lynette Casey.

"He had the biggest heart of anybody that I know," said Casey. "He had this smile that it wouldn't matter what kind of mood you're in, if he smiled and you saw him, it would just make you smile."

Lynette Casey

Casey said that while she and Pyke were related, she only really got to know him in the last decade or so. The two volunteered together at the Rawdon District Volunteer Fire Department, and Pyke also volunteered for the fire department in nearby Gore.

He was missed by the departments after he got into the navy a couple of years ago  a job he loved, said Casey.

She recalled seeing him for the first time after he began working for the Canadian Armed Forces.

"There was something different about him. He seemed happier," she said. "It was like he was finally doing something he wanted to do and really wanted to do."

Lynette Casey

Casey learned early Thursday morning that Pyke was on the helicopter. What proceeded, she said, was "a very emotional day."

"I just didn't want to believe it, I guess that's how my morning started," she said. "And then it was like everything I was seeing, I kept thinking, 'No, this can't be real.'"

Story continues

If she could see Pyke again, Casey said, "I'd give him a big hug, that's for sure."

She said Nova Scotia has already seen its fair share of tragedy in recent weeks, after 22 people were killed by a gunman last month.

'He was always smiling,' says uncle

Rodney Hart, who married Pyke's aunt nearly 20 years ago, described Pyke as an "infectious person" with a good sense of humour and a caring disposition.

"Once you met him, you automatically became his family. He would help anybody, do anything for anybody, nothing too big or too small," he said.

"He was always smiling. He'd make everybody laugh.  There were times he was funny, there were times he was downright hilarious."

Hart said his thoughts are with the other families affected by the tragedy.

"I feel bad for them all," he said. "There's five of them right now that nobody knows where they're at or anything, so I can just imagine what they're going through."

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Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Credit: University of California, Los Angeles

By now, we're all familiar with the immense strain the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on our health care system, with many medical facilities across the country overburdened by high demand and limited supply as they attempt to deal with an influx of affected patients.

But the crisis has also highlighted other health care challenges, including those related to health equity and the striking disparity in risk and outcomes among racial and ethnic groups. Current data show, for instance, that African Americans and Latinos are much more likely than others to be infected and die from the disease. Still, demographic information remains sparse, especially for groups like Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and a professor of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, is working to address these concerns. She spoke to us about the need to collect data on underrepresented groups, what this means for navigating COVID-19 and future public health crises, and how a new tool developed by the center can help policymakers, journalists and others better understand the pandemic.

How is the COVID-19 pandemic shedding light on the nation's health care system?

In a pandemic, we're all at risk, and timely access to health care is crucial in order to diagnose, control and treat patients affected by the disease. Like other public health crises, this one is testing the ability of our health care system to handle the heightened demand for services.

I would say our challenges fall into three broad categories: the availability of care, issues of cost and insurance, and cultural issues that affect those seeking care.

There is a mixture of private and public health insurance coverage in the U.S., and research has consistently shown that cost is a barrier in seeking health care services. It's important to keep in mind that there are still nearly 28 million Americans and 3 million Californians who have no health insurance at all, as well as large numbers of underinsured people.

In fact, when the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research conducted its annual California Health Interview Survey in 2018, nearly 45% of Californians said they had delayed receiving medical care due to the cost or because of a lack of insurance. That's nearly half the population. So people are understandably worried about out-of-pocket costs for testing and treatment.

Other barriers to access include a lack of trust in the health care community among certain segments of the population and a lack of culturally competent carethat is, health care providers who understand the cultural influences of different racial, ethnic or socioeconomic groups and are able to provide health care in a way that is sensitive to those influences. This is especially important because racial and ethnic minorities are poised to become a majority in the U.S. in the next few decades. Researchers and medical professionals have called for greater cultural competency as the nation gets increasingly diverse.

This crisis is illuminating all of these public health barriers, as well as the system's inability to respond to the needs of everyone who is impacted, since COVID-19 affects individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, races and ethnicities.

Which groups have been most affected by COVID-19 and why?

Recent reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies show that black and Latinx groups are being disproportionately impacted by the disease. Black Americans, in fact, are becoming infected with COVID-19 and dying from it at a far higher rate than any other group in America. The reasons for this are not completely clear, but we do know that black Americans suffer disproportionately from certain underlying health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity that have been linked to a higher risk of death from COVID-19. A lack of trust in the health care system and lack of insurance may also be contributing factors.

And Latinos fall behind other racial and ethnic groups in coverage and access to health care, which may contribute to poorer health outcomes.

Good demographic information is the key to understanding how and why different groups are affected by the coronavirus, but so far, data are sparse and are especially lacking for such racial and ethnic groups as Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians and Alaska Natives.

For example, California data suggest a disproportionate burden in COVID-19 infections and deaths for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, but the data are reported only for single-race, non-Latinx Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, even though more than half of this group are multiracial. In the U.S., 62% of American Indians and Alaska Natives are either multiracial or Latinx, and the risk to this community may be hidden if their cases are reported under the multiracial or Latino category.

There are also concerns in the Filipino community, particularly regarding risks to Filipino health care workers. In California, 1 in every 5 nurses is Filipino. Yet the COVID-19 risks are masked for this group because racial statistics include them within the aggregate Asian category.

Generally, there is a paucity of data for these groups and others across the research, and the way that data are broken up do not accurately reflect the picture of what is going on as far as cases and death rates.

Immigrant groups are also at risk, particularly with the current "public charge" legislation, which makes immigrants who receive public benefits like food stamps, housing assistance and, importantly, Medicare ineligible for visas and green cards. This has created a reluctance among these communities to seek public services like health care. The COVID-19 situation is exacerbating these fears and can ultimately lead to worse health outcomes for immigrants as well.

Why is collecting data on additional racial and ethnic groups important?

More data across the nation's diverse mix of racial and ethnic groups translates into greater representation and fairness. This is why I lead the California Health Interview Survey with a health equitycentered framework. The survey collects and reports disaggregated racial and ethnic data on Californians beyond the major racial and ethnic groupsit includes Latinx, white, black, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, Hawaiian Native and Pacific Islander, and othersand does so in English and six other languages.

Our approach essentially means that researchers and other health care experts looking at this disease can obtain a more accurate picture of what is really going on and why these differences in health care access and outcomes are occurring.

For COVID-19, policymakers have just passed legislation to support demographic data collection efforts during this unprecedented time. It's imperative that these data are available to ensure that this pandemic does not further widen the existing health gaps. Data help to identify and address disparities in our health care system that should not go unnoticed.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has created a new tool for examining the COVID-19 pandemic. What is it and how can it be used?



The tool is a dashboard called COVID-19 Rates and Risk Factors by California County and is presented by the center's California Health Interview Survey, or CHIS. It shows various factors cited by health care experts that may be related to COVID-19 cases and deathssuch as underlying chronic conditions and food insecurity.

The data are derived from CHIS, as well as the American Community Survey and the California Department of Public Health. It is publicly available and should be used by researchers, journalists and any individuals who simply want to look at possible factors related to the incidence of COVID-19 in a given community.

The information can also be used by people to advocate for more resources for their counties, and it's important data for legislators to better understand their communities to make more informed decisions.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Official website of the President of Ukraine

Ukrainians who were released as part of an exchange with Donbas "republics" underwent an observation that lasted for 14 days. All tests for coronavirus infection are negative. This was announced by the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko.



According to Kyrylenko, during the observation, each of these people were tested with the use of rapid tests and two PCR studies.



Thanks to the medical staff who stayed with them for two weeks, took care and provided the necessary assistance, he wrote.



Kirilenko also noted that the majority of those released from captivity need psychological and medical rehabilitation.



"They will receive it in specialized medical institutions. The state will pay the expenses associated with the stay and meals of people in the observation," head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration added.

Related: Prisoner swap: who returned to Ukraine from captivity in occupied Donbas, list



As is known, on April 16, 20 citizens of Ukraine who were illegally detained in the temporarily occupied territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions were returned to the territory controlled by Ukrainian government.

Earlier, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to work more actively on the release of Ukrainian prisoners in the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea. Kuleba said this during an online briefing, the press service of the MFA reports.



Of course, we paid attention to the issue of exchanging held individuals and welcomed exchanges that have taken place. But, of course, we are still far from implementing the all for all formula for exchanging so we need to move forward. Here, Russia and Ukraine should continue to interact. I emphasized the need to release the Ukrainians held in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the occupied Crimea, and called on my Russian counterpart to carry out active work on them," Kuleba said.



He added that for his part he confirmed his readiness for cooperation so that Ukrainians would return home not only from the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but also from the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea.
Oregon political candidates in legislative and statewide races can continue to accept contributions that vastly exceed the caps voters approved in 2006, Secretary of State Bev Clarnos staff announced Friday afternoon.

The states political races have been awash in cash for decades thanks to previous court rulings that such limits violated the Oregon Constitutions free speech provisions. Eight days ago, the state Supreme Court flipped that precedent and declared that limits on political contributions are indeed constitutional.

Clarno and staff for Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, respectively a Republican and a Democrat, concluded that the Supreme Courts ruling on Portland metro-area contribution limits does not revive the state level limits that Oregon voters approved under Measure 47 in 2006. Their reasoning is unclear: Clarnos staff said only that her decision was based on an opinion from the Department of Justice, and a Department of Justice spokeswoman said the agency issued a verbal opinion.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, Kristina Edmunson, declined to make anyone from the agency available to outline the opinion delivered verbally to the secretary of state. Probably best to ask the secretary of state, since our role is serve as their legal counsel, Edmunson wrote in an email.

Through a spokeswoman, Clarno also declined to describe the Department of Justice opinion she relied upon to make her decision.

Rosenblum, who is running this year for her third term as attorney general and faces no serious opposition, did not weigh in on the opinion since she would be affected by the limits, Edmunson said. Deputy Attorney General Fred Boss was involved," she said.

Friday was a good day for big money donors and the campaigns they support in Oregon. In Multnomah County, a judge ruled Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler can continue to spend funds he amassed before the Supreme Court ruling, because Wheeler was following a lower court decision that held local contribution limits were unconstitutional.

With less than three weeks remaining until Oregons May 19 election deadline, candidates are still taking in cash, and many of the contributions exceed the 2006 donation limits of $100 in a legislative race and $500 in a statewide race. Clarno announced her decision less than two hours after The Oregonian/OregonLive inquired whether she had yet provided guidance to candidates, given ongoing fundraising, the large donations pouring in and the proximity of the election.

Clarnos and the Department of Justices opaque decision baffled some observers and is likely to draw a legal challenge. Dan Meek, a Portland attorney who has led efforts to limit political money and argued the case that led to last weeks Supreme Court opinion, said he believes the court ruling did make Measure 47 active. He said he is considering whether to ask the Supreme Court to clarify its ruling to make that clear.

I think if I ask the Supreme Court to resolve this they might do it because it is such a pure issue of law and they already addressed it in 2012, Meek said. Starting over from scratch  with a new lawsuit  you wouldnt get a decision from the courts until the election is over anyway.

Thats the outcome legislative Democrats hoped for earlier this year, when they introduced a bill to delay political contribution limits until July 2021 in anticipation of just such a Supreme Court ruling. Republicans did not publicly oppose the bill, but their walkout over a climate change plan also killed the campaign finance proposal.

Last week, Gov. Kate Browns former top lawyer Misha Isaak told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he believes Measure 47 can only take effect if courts also uphold the spending limits that the measure included. The Supreme Court did the opposite and upheld the lower courts decision to invalidate the metro-area spending limits also at issue in the case.

Meek contends that Measure 47s contribution limits are now in effect. He cites a 2012 state Supreme Court decision that said in part Measure 47 will become effective if the courts overturn a landmark 1997 campaign finance ruling, Vannatta vs. Keisling. Meek says thats what the Supreme Court did last week.

In the week since the Supreme Courts latest ruling, candidates of both parties running for the Legislature and statewide offices have accepted contributions of thousands of dollars. Jolee Wallace, one of three Republicans in the May primary vying to replace Sen. Herman Baertschiger Jr. of Grants Pass, took in $15,000 from the political action committee for Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, and $10,000 from the Oregon Realtors political action committee. Sen. Mark Hass, a Beaverton Democrat running for secretary of state, accepted $15,000 from The Pape Group heavy equipment company. And Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, took $5,000 from Paramount Gold Nevada Corp., which wants to open a gold mine in Malheur County.

Reporter Rob Davis contributed to this report.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
In this time of uncertainty and increased isolation, HTC is doing its part to make working from home as easy possible with a new app called VIVE Sync.

This is a VR meeting and collaboration app for businesses. As an alternative to options like Zoom or Google Meet, VIVE Sync provides a way for businesses to have a little bit more of an interactive meeting with employees and co-workers.

Because meeting in person physically isnt really an option right now. So, why not allow teams to meet virtually? HTC officially announced this new app today, but its not currently available in a fully finished state.

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The VIVE Sync app is available only as a beta for now

HTC did release the VIVE Sync app today. However its still only in a beta form. Its also free though.

So any businesses that decide to use it arent having to shell out any extra money that they might be trying to save. The appeal here is that you can technically still meet up. And as opposed to a video conference call its easy to understand why HTC might have wanted to offer something like this.

The app will eventually release in a final product state and when that time comes HTC may end up charging for it. The company doesnt mention anything at all about a price though. So it may stay free even after its no longer in beta.

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Up to 30 participants are supported at a single time

Perhaps the only downfall of this over something like Google Meet or Zoom is that it doesnt support as many people. Those tools can support quite a large number of participants. Google Meet for instance supports up to 100 people now.

VIVE Sync will support up to 30 which is nowhere near the same amount. That being said, it definitely seems like it may be geared towards smaller teams.

The app currently supports a pretty wide array of features, with more on the way in future updates. Currently available features include OneDrive Support, the ability to design custom avatars, personal notes, 3D drawing, 3D model reviews, conference tables and auditorium seating, and VIVE ecosystem support.

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Though it doesnt support recorded sessions or non-VR participants right now, it will down the road. HTC also plans to add host controls and expanded hardware compatibility. It already supports every VIVE headset including the Cosmos Elite.

But eventually HTC wants VIVE Sync to support Oculus Rift and Quest headsets, the Valve Index, and various models from the Windows Mixed Reality platform.

Any businesses that want access to this tool can download it straight from HTC at the VIVE enterprise website.
MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y.  A Danbury woman was seriously injured when a wrong-way driver collided with her car on the Saw Mill Parkway in New York, according to the Westchester County Police Department.

The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on the Saw Mill Parkways northbound lanes, just north of Marble Avenue in Mount Pleasant, N.Y.

After the crash, police said, the northbound lanes between Marble Avenue in Thornwood and Grant Street in Pleasantville were closed for more than four hours as a result.

Police said 42-year-old Anthony Rodriguez, of Loudon Street in Yonkers, N.Y., drove along Grant Street in Pleasantville before he turned left and started driving south  the wrong way  on the Saw Mill, police said.

He apparently made the left turn too soon and headed southbound in the northbound lanes of travel, according to police.

The department said no charges have been filed against Rodriguez as the investigation is still ongoing.

Rodridguez, driving a 2019 Honda Pilot, crashed into a 2008 Volkswagen GTI being driven by 32-year0old Shaniqwa Dickerson, of Danbury, according to police.

Dickersons car was also hit by another vehicle that was driving behind her in the northbound lanes, police said.

Dickerson, who suffered serious injuries, was transported to the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla by the Pleasantville Volunteer Ambulance Corps, police said.

The Danbury woman was in critical but stable condition Wednesday morning.

Police said the circumstances of the collision remains under investigation by patrol officers from the Accident Investigation Unit and detectives from the General Investigations Unit.
NEW HAVEN  A city man who tested positive for COVID-19 was arrested and kept separate from those he could potentially infect before being released on bail Wednesday, police said Thursday.

Stratford police Wednesday notified New Haven police that a New Haven man was in their custody on a warrant from New Haven.

New Haven police transported the man from Stratford to the detention center in police headquarters at 1 Union Ave.

Police said during the intake process, the 49-year-old man told detention officers he was infected with the coronavirus. Officers had the man taken to the hospital by ambulance, where he was confirmed to have the virus but not in need of hospitalization.

The police officers brought the man back to lock-up, completed the intake process and put the man in a predetermined section of the facility where others being detained would not be exposed to him.

That same day, officers notified the citys health department, Superior Court and Stratford police that the man had tested positive for the virus. Police also completed the booking process, released the man on bail and decontaminated areas of the facility he had been in.

The man, who was not further identified by police, is expected in court Friday.

Assistant Chief of Patrol Renee Dominguez said this incident highlights a detention process put in place by Lt. Nicholas Marcucio at the start of the pandemic.

The revised protocols are designed to safeguard the health of everyone entering or working in our pre-trial detention facility, Dominguez said.

The assistant chief said police worked with the health department and began to issue and require everyone wear PPE, designated a wing in the facility for detained coronavirus or symptomatic individuals, put a system in place to decontaminate the facility as needed and started to require police supervisors review all custodial arrests before the person goes inside the facility.

When appropriate, Dominguez said, the arresting officer can grant a misdemeanor summons instead of taking the person into custody to prevent potential exposure.

Dominguez said the procedures have reduced the average number of custodial arrests to four or five each day, compared to previous years when the average was usually about 15 to 16 per day.

Having fewer people in the facility allows for better separation and spacing between occupied cells, Dominguez said.
WARSAW (Reuters) - Nine former Polish prime ministers and presidents urged voters on Thursday to boycott next month's planned presidential election, arguing that the ballot, to be held by post, could be unconstitutional and did not guarantee voter confidentiality. The group included Lech Walesa, who helped overthrow communism as head of the Solidarity trade union movement

WARSAW (Reuters) - Nine former Polish prime ministers and presidents urged voters on Thursday to boycott next month's planned presidential election, arguing that the ballot, to be held by post, could be unconstitutional and did not guarantee voter confidentiality.

The group included Lech Walesa, who helped overthrow communism as head of the Solidarity trade union movement. Former European Council president and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk and some opposition presidential candidates have already said they would not take part in the May poll.

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has sought to go ahead with the election amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by proposing changes to the electoral code allowing for the vote to take place exclusively by post.

Critics, including human rights groups and election observers, say the legislative changes, which have still yet to be approved by parliament, have been rushed through and could stop the elections from being free or fair.

"The procedure of voting by post in this form and time, as is proposed by the ruling party, are pseudo-elections. We will not take part," the leaders said in a joint statement.

"The Constitution allows for a state of emergency which would allow for moving the election term while maintaining political stability."

Opinion polls show fewer than 30% of Poles are likely to cast ballots if the vote is held on May 10 as scheduled.

The head of the Supreme Court, a chamber of which could judge on the validity of the election, ended a six-year term on Thursday, opening the way for PiS to pick a supporter of its contested judiciary overhaul to replace her.

(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The Rajasthan government on Friday said migrants returning from other states will be kept under 14-day quarantine.

About 10 lakh people have registered through the helpline number issued by the state government, Health minister Raghu Sharma said.

"It is difficult to screen infected migrants coming from outside the state as most of the cases are asymptomatic. They will be sent to requested area by district collector only after arranging home quarantine or institutional quarantine," he said.

The health minister said the Centre has permitted the state to bring back migrants via a special train. "Railway officials are in talks with the chief secretary of the state," he said.

Instructions have also been given to arrange government quarantine centres for the poor and destitute, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - A prominent Democrat suggested Thursday that the Senate's return to work next week would put support workers on Capitol Hill - many of them racial minorities - at undue risk of contracting covid-19.

The comment from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a former presidential candidate, was an implicit criticism of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to convene the chamber after a month-long hiatus prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, and it highlighted significant discomfort on Capitol Hill over a return to legislative business - even with social distancing precautions in place.

"We're going to be pulling people [into the Capitol] against the rules of the city," Booker said on a conference call organized by Senate Democrats. "We are now going to have thousands of people coming to work against the rules that they've established. I do not know what the health justification of that is."

While many lawmakers hail from parts of the country where infections have been relatively limited, that has not been true of the Washington metropolitan area, which thousands of Capitol workers call home. Nearly 2,000 new cases were reported Thursday in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia - the second-highest total since the pandemic began.

District Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has issued a stay-at-home order effective through May 15, as has Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, has issued an indefinite stay-at-home order.

McConnell, R-Ky., is standing by his decision to return the Senate to work Monday, dismissing criticism that the move will unduly put lawmakers at risk. He has maintained that the Senate can operate safely with the appropriate precautions.

"We're going to honor our constitutional duty to the American people and conduct our business in person," McConnell said Thursday during an interview on Fox News Channel, arguing that if bus drivers and other essential personnel need to report to work, then so do lawmakers.

In a conference call on Thursday, the attending congressional physician, Brian Monahan, told GOP senators that his office does not have enough tests for every senator every day, the way the White House does with anyone coming in close proximity to President Donald Trump. The physician will continue the practice of limiting tests to those showing symptoms of the disease, according to a Republican who was on the call and requested anonymity to speak freely.

Politico first reported on the call.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., reached the opposite conclusion this week on the House returning to Washington, citing advice from Monahan.

Pelosi told reporters at a news conference Thursday - one held at the Capitol, while other congressional leaders have stuck to conference calls - that Monahan's advice was "it's better to wait" given the continued rise in local cases.

"Now, what they advised the Senate, I don't know, but they are a hundred [members]. We are four times that," she said. "I can't speak for the Senate, but I know what our responsibility is in the House."

Pelosi said Thursday that the House could return as soon as May 11 if there is new coronavirus relief legislation to vote on. On Monday, House leaders announced that the House would return May 4, before reversing course less than a day later, citing Monahan's advice and the potential impact on the Capitol workforce.

House committees may meet in the interim, Pelosi said, and she expressed fresh support for a proxy-voting proposal that would allow lawmakers to authorize a colleague to cast floor votes on their behalf.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Thursday he remained skeptical of proxy voting but supported the ability of certain committees to meet and advance their work while other lawmakers kept their distance from Washington.

McCarthy also expressed doubts about proposals to use videoconferencing technology to advance bills in committee. "We're not prepared for that," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday that McConnell did not consult with him on the decision to return senators to Washington next week and that he did not know whether McConnell consulted with health authorities before doing so.

"I want to make sure that the workers are protected in every way, and many of them are people of color," he said on the call, which focused on a Democratic report highlighting racial disparities in the virus's impacts. Democrats, Schumer added, would look "very, very carefully" at health and safety guidance for Capitol operations to see whether protections were adequate.

Booker went further in questioning the racial equity of calling the Senate back, musing about the "lines of workers coming in that are essential workers to the functioning of the Senate - see them being disproportionately minority."

McConnell spokesman Doug Andres, said the majority leader consulted with Schumer weeks ago in setting the May 4 return date and said further health and safety guidance would be issued this week.

Voting in late March on a $2 trillion relief bill, senators took rudimentary precautions, including extending the duration of votes to discourage close contact on the Senate floor. The House returned to Washington last week to vote on a subsequent relief bill, and similar precautions were taken. Most members wore masks on the House floor, though a notable minority - most of them Republicans - chose not to wear them.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the oldest member of the Senate, asked McConnell in a letter Wednesday to reconsider his decision, in the interest of "public health and sending the right message to the nation." She cited, among other things, the diagnosis of several covid-19 cases among Capitol Police officers, as well as construction workers on the House side of the Capitol campus.

"This is not the time to back off of protective measures when the disease is not yet in check," wrote Feinstein, 86. "Clearly the coronavirus is present at the Capitol."

Schumer has not gone so far to call McConnell's decision a mistake but has instead encouraged Republicans to use their time in Washington to conduct oversight of the response to the pandemic.

Scheduled Senate business for next week includes the confirmation of an inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a hearing for President Trump's nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and an Armed Services Committee hearing on the national security implications of allowing a portion of the telecommunications spectrum for 5G cellular service.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Thursday, after presiding over a brief Senate meeting where no business was conducted, that he was confident that the chamber could conduct its business safely amid the pandemic. He noted that Pelosi has "been here awhile" in Washington, coming to the Capitol for TV interviews and her news conference Thursday.

"I don't know why some other people feel more concerned," he said, adding, "I don't begrudge a senator expressing their personal concerns, but that shouldn't mean that the entire Senate ceases to function [and] we simply can't be seen doing our job if we're going to be passing trillion-dollar bills without even being here and debating."
Well before Megxit was announced and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry left the U.K. for a new life in Los Angeles, California, there were rumors of turmoil within the British royal family. Though theyd been as thick and thieves for the majority of their lives, there were rumblings of a disconnect between Prince Harry and Prince William.

As William began to shoulder more responsibility as the future Crowned King, it seemed that Harry was cast in the background. Royal insiders also suggested that the elder prince was concerned his young brother was rushing his romance with Meghan.

Almost a year and a half after the Sussexes wed, Prince Harry addressed the reported strife between himself and his brother. However, despite Megxit and amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it appears that the pair may be on the way to mending their fragile relationship.

Prince Harry and Prince William have very different outlooks on life

For years, Harry and Williams differing personalities is what made them stand out. Unfortunately, their different views on life began to interfere with their relationship with one another. However, when addressing the strife between himself and his older brother, Prince Harry made it clear that there was still a lot of love there.

Part of this role and part of this job and this family, being under the pressure that its under, stuff happens but were brothers, Prince Harry revealed in ITVs Harry and Meghan: An African Journey. Well always be brothers, and were certainly on different paths at the moment, but Ill always be there for him, and hell always be there for me. We dont see each other as much as we used to because were so busy, but I love him dearly, and the majority of the stuff is created out of nothing, but you know, as brothers you have good days, you have bad days.

Much of their different perspective seems to stem from the tragic loss of their mother Princess Diana in 1997. They just have entirely different parallel narratives about a whole bunch of stuff, ITV anchor Tom Bradby explained to Good Morning America. One of which is about their mothers death. Harry feels quite simply that the press killed his mother and is now in danger of trying to damage his wife. William has a more nuanced view of that.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may revise their Megixt plan

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Sussexes had to rush their move to LA, and its not at all what Harry expected it would be. Aside from volunteering, the pair have been unable to be out and about to fly to the U.K. to check in with the royal family.

[Harry] cannot believe how his life has been turned upside down, an insider told Daily Mail. Its not simply the big move that has made the prince weary, its also life following the pandemic.

The biggest issue really has been the timing, a royal insider told Express. Moving at the moment is incredibly difficult. Harry and Meghan have uprooted their life and have been unable to properly immerse themselves into LA life and get settled. Harry is hoping that once the lockdown is lifted things will be a lot easier and they will fall into step with the pace of life there.

At present, the royal family is set to reevaluate Megxit in 2021.

Prince William and Prince Harry are more connected then theyve been in recent years

Prince Harrys feelings of isolation amid the pandemic have led him to mend fences with his family, especially his older brother. Harrys admitted its hit home that Charles and the Queen arent going to be around forever, an insider told Us Weekly.

This realization has prompted the royal brothers to leave their differences in the past. Meghan told her inner circle of friends that Harry has been communicating with Prince William and the Queen on a pretty consistent basis, an insider told Daily Mail. She said this world crisis has actually brought them all closer together, especially Harry and his brother. Harry has made it very clear to them that he will do whatever he can to help from Canada. Meghan said they are grateful, especially Harry, that they could spend time with his family before all this insanity began.

Were just glad that tension between the pair is easing. Hopefully, they will totally back in sync by the time the pandemic comes to a close.
A team of robots zigzags through shelves in a pharmacy, busily picking up medicines. Not far away, humanoid nurses rush through wards taking temperatures, while a few floors below, a cooking machine prepares nutritious food for the patients. Long criticized as being a job-stealer and poor substitute for humans, robots have won newfound praise in the battle against the deadly COVID-19 as efficient and contagion-proof war heroes.

A robot disinfects the public area in a Fangcang hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province. (Photo/Peoples Daily Online)

This sci-fi transformation is underway in many cities around China, as the government and tech giants find the most efficient and safe way to grapple with the outbreak while limiting contamination and spread of the virus, rolling out new robots to take on heroic roles in this deadly battle.

Through these successful cases of high-tech companies fighting the epidemic, we have seen the benefit of applying ADP technologies to effectively solve the toughest problems in containing the virus, said Zhao Xiaolei, head of UNIDOs investment and technology promotion office in Shanghai.

The COVID-19 outbreak provided a silver lining for China, one of the worlds most influential tech innovators and a country that has long prioritized the development of robotics. According to International Data Corporation, a global provider of market intelligence, China will become the largest region for drones and robotics systems, with overall spending of $46.9 billion, while spending for robotics systems in China will see a five-year compound annual growth rate of 23.5 percent.

Robot heroes

Countless robots made by Chinese companies have been introduced to Wuhan, Chinas COVID-19 epidemic center since February, providing services and care for people under quarantine or practicing social distancing.

A robot that can take care of the patients in a Fangcang hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province. (Photo/Peoples Daily Online)

On February 27, Xiao Jia, a delivery robot created by the Artificial Intelligence Institute of Wuhan University, started working at the Leishenshan makeshift hospital in Wuhan. The robot can deliver medical equipment and analysis reports, and also bring hazardous and contaminated medical waste to designated positions.

Our robot is equipped with a number of sensors and advanced algorithms, and can calculate and optimize its routes, avoiding obstacles on its way, as well as charge itself and work for at least 24 hours, said Luo Bin, the robots designer. He further noted that the robot was protected by medical materials, allowing standard sterilization procedures to sufficiently clean it in a matter of minutes.

Robot nurses designed by CloudMinds tech company followed their lead and also joined the battle against COVID-19 in Wuhan in March. The company worked with Wuhan Wunchang Hospital and China Mobile to open a field hospital staffed by robots. Patients at the hospital wore smart bracelets and rings that synced with CloudMinds AI platform, allowing their temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen levels to be monitored. Some robots provided patients with food, drinks, medicine and information, while others sprayed disinfectant and cleaned floors.

In addition to robots that provide medical services, humanoids that can do housework are also used to improve the lives of patients and medical workers under quarantine. Two cooking robots, created by FXZ, a tech company based in Heilongjiang province, have been working in makeshift hospitals in Wuhan. The robots, which can store over 200 recipes, can cook for 1,200 people in an hour.

Robot chefs are virus-proof. They dont have to worry about catching the disease or giving it to others, and they can efficiently provide nutritious meals to our patients and medical staff, said Li Hui, the company owner.

Wuhan is not the only city that has been using robots to tackle the pandemic. In Suzhou, a spray robot can disinfect an area of 40,000 square meters in an hour, while in Shenzhen, robots are being used in hospitals and public areas to provide consulting services, answering peoples questions regarding the virus.

Robots have also become part of ordinary households during the pandemic. Iflytek, a Chinese tech company that specialises in AI robots and automatic speech recognition, has developed a medical calling robot that can make 900 phone calls in one minute to notify citizens of urgent announcements. The usage of the companys education robots has risen 226 percent year-on-year, while the usage of nursing robots has risen 10 percent.

Future development

The pandemic has provided China, the worlds largest producer of robotics, a trial ground to test its ambitions in the industry. China has been making robotics a priority in its future development plans for decades. According to the Promotion of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan (2018-2020) published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China aims to realize mass production and applications of public and home service robots by 2020.

According to Xinhua, due to its rapid development of big data, 5G and AI, Chinas robotics industry is set to grow quickly after the pandemic. The service robot market in China is estimated to be valued at nearly 4 billion US dollars by 2021.

Currently, our robots are mainly used to do easy and repetitive tasks. More research is needed to improve algorithms, automatic speech recognition and image recognition, so that the robots can perform more complicated missions, as well as become more intelligent, Wang Chen, a robot engineer from Tsinghua University told Xinhua.
An online seller who was deemed too sexy by local authorities in February was convicted and handed a six-month suspended sentence by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, according to a relative.



Ven Rachana, who goes by Thai Srey Neang online, used to sell clothes on Facebook and was arrested by local police was dressing provocatively, after Prime Minister Hun Sen mandated the arrest of all sellers who use indecent pictures to sell product online.



Ven Meta, Ven Rachanas sister, said the online seller was convicted last week on April 24 and handed a six-month sentence, which had been reduced to two months and 15 days. She was unclear when exactly Ven Rachana would be released but said it could be around May 5.



The online seller was arrested on February 20 and had been charged on February 24 with producing pornography, for dressing up in the clothes she was selling and posting the pictures to her Facebook page.



We dont know yet, we will know that by May 5 they will process documents for her release, Ven Meta said. When she comes out, we will be told what to do.



Ven Meta said it was unclear if her sister will be permitted to sell products online, which is the primary income for the family. When VOA Khmer spoke to the Family in march, they were at risk of losing their family home, which was also used as an office to sell clothes online.



When she came out, we dont know how would we be instructed to sell, and in what way? Ven Meta said. The current [economic] situation now equal to zero.



Y Rin, spokesperson for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, and Nuth Savana, spokesperson for Prisons Department, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.



Chim Channeang, deputy secretary general of the Cambodian NGO Committee on CEDAW, did not agree with governments order to arrest and convict women for how they dressed, under the guise of protecting traditional values of Cambodian women.



She added that such arrests would only intensify social pressure on women to behave in a certain way, while not acknowledging that these women have been victimized.

She could lose her business or when she returns. She would face embarrassment, meaning she would be withdrawn, Chim Channeang said.

Itll drive our society to keep having a negative mindset towards women. Not only for her but for other women as well, she said.



Bunn Rachana, director of women rights organization Klahaan, said additionally it will be hard for Ven Rachana to earn an income because it was likely she would face discrimination and people would not value her or look down on her.



Thus, the question is that whether such discrimination would see her as a culprit and harm her business, Bunn Rachana said.
As malls in Huntsville reopened today after being shuttered for more than a month because of the coronavirus pandemic, shoppers said they were surprised and disappointed to find most stores remained closed.

Retails stores in Alabama were allowed to reopen beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday when Alabamas Stay-At-Home order ended and was replaced by a new Safer-At-Home mandate. But some malls  including Bridge Street Town Centre and Parkway Place in Huntsville  waited until today to welcome back customers. And some of their largest retailers remained closed.

It was quiet inside Parkway Place, Huntsvilles traditional-style shopping mall off Memorial Parkway, just after the 11 a.m. reopening. Some corners of the mall were dark, as major retailers like Belk and Dillards did not reopen.

Cynthia Doub and Leigh Fling were among the first people to shop at the mall. Without the crowds that typically formed during the pre-pandemic days, Doub and Fling made their purchases and walked outside by 11:30 a.m. Clutching shopping bags, Doub and Fling  both Huntsville servers who are out of work because restaurants and bars are still closed  said they bought new sandals and work shoes for when they return to their jobs.

But, Doub said she was disappointed by how many stores were closed. Fling nodded her head in agreement.

I was really hoping we could get in early, right after everything opened and beat the crowds, Doub said. But theres not many stores open.

Fling said she was surprised to see so many people shopping without wearing masks.

While an ordinance in Birmingham, Alabamas largest city, requires people to wear masks in public, masks arent required in Huntsville or by Alabamas statewide coronavirus health order, though the order strongly encourages people to wear face coverings in public.

Also, elected leaders and public health officials are encouraging people to wear masks while shopping or during other public activities.

[Related: Whats the right way to wear a face mask? No-sew way to make your own]

The state health order allowing retail stores to reopen restricts occupancy to 50 percent and requires adherence to social-distancing guidelines, such as maintaining six feet between people.

To help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, some Parkway Place features, like the massage chairs and children's play areas, were closed.

Because so few people were inside the mall this morning, Fling said, maintaining distance wasnt a challenge.

Embrel Vaughn said he felt a sense of freedom being back at the mall, but said it was a strange experience being inside the quiet, sparsely populated building.

Vaughn also said he was disappointed that so many stores remained closed.

You hear the mall is opening back up and you think stores will be open, he said.

Across town at Bridge Street, Wendi Busing and her mother, Rita Seaton, were among the few people enjoying a warm, sunny afternoon at the open-air shopping destination. Shortly after finishing a takeout lunch near the water, the women held shopping bags filled with shoes, bracelets, a candle and hand towels. Seaton said she was shopping for gifts for friends who are feeling down during the pandemic.

As malls in Huntsville reopened on Friday, May 1, 2020 after being shuttered for more than a month, many stores remained closed and few shoppers returned.

We needed to be out and get some fresh air, Busing said.

The women said they were surprised to see so few people at the shopping center.

We were hoping the businesses would have customers, Seaton said.

But equally as surprising was the number of stores that remained closed, Busing said. Shed hoped to be able to shop at Bath & Body Works.

The women said they felt safe at the shopping center, where they wore masks and used hand sanitizer.

Tenautica Lynch of Town Creek said she hoped arriving at Parkway Place shortly after its reopening would allow her to visit her favorite stores before crowds formed.

But almost none of the stores are open, Lynch said as she waited to enter a shoe store. I like being here with fewer people and no crowds, but Im still disappointed.
ALBANY - Police officers, emergency workers and the public lined city streets Friday as Troy police officers escorted the body of Sgt. Randall French to a funeral home in Averill Park.

French, a Troy police officer since 2003, died Thursday after weeks of fighting COVID-19 at Albany Medical Center Hospital.
Petrol is cheaper at Broken Hill than on the Peninsula

Petrol is cheaper at Broken Hill than it is on the Peninsula, according to a Blackwall resident who monitors local petrol prices.

Mr Allan Nash said he started posting comparison petrol prices daily to community group social media sites about a month ago.

"All I do is post the list of petrol prices on the Peninsula compared to other nearby suburbs and people can make up their own minds, but blind Freddie can see how ridiculous it is.

"You can actually buy fuel cheaper in Broken Hill than at a Peninsula petrol station.

"The figures speak for themselves," Mr Nash said.

"Like the Shell, Caltex and BP at West Gosford, for example, are all far lower prices, no matter what fuel you buy, they're all cheaper.

"It will be interesting see whether the new United service station that's going to open on Ocean Beach Rd will follow the prices of the Empire Bay United where prices are not necessarily the cheapest but still reasonable, or whether it will join the cartel.

"We've heard all the reasons from the fuel companies before but none of them hold water.

"To say there is a lack of competition mystifies me - five service stations on the Peninsula sounds like competition to me."

"The petrol stations on the Peninsula know there are many elderly people on restricted licenses who can't get their petrol anywhere else and I don't think the coronavirus crisis has made a difference to prices because they were high before Covid-19 and they've been high during the pandemic too."

Member for Gosford Ms Liesl Tesch said she had written to oil companies to demand an end to appallingly high petrol prices on the Peninsula.

"Despite plummeting global fuel prices, Peninsula fuel prices are sitting over 35 cents per litre higher than Gosford fuel prices and the average fuel price in NSW," she said.

"Petrol companies have been price gouging Peninsula residents for too long and I'm disgusted by the inaction.

"I've written to the Australian representatives of the big oil companies on behalf of all residents and demanded an end to this appalling behaviour."

Ms Tesch said Peninsula prices had always been higher than others on the Central Coast and she had worked hard to try and boycott the fuel prices, speaking in State Parliament about the issue over the years.

"This recent fuel price stunt by the Peninsula petrol stations has fired me up even more," she said.

"The entire world is in upheaval, dealing with the global coronavirus pandemic and locally we are experiencing the virus, the fear and the economic downturn, yet petrol companies seem oblivious to the vulnerable communities on the Peninsula.

"It disgusts me to see how these companies are ripping off Peninsula residents who are doing it tough, while local businesses and locals in general are doing their very best to support their community.

"The trouble is that by petrol stations over-charging, they're hurting the businesses around them because people who go elsewhere to get their petrol will likely be shopping elsewhere too and that is a loss for Peninsula businesses."

Ms Tesch said the only oil company yet to respond was a "wishy washy" reply from BP saying it was a "geographical" matter.

"The hairpin bend at the bottom of Woy Woy is not a geographical excuse, considering delivery trucks also have to go over Rip Bridge to Empire Bay where the prices are cheaper," she said.

Ms Tesch said Mr Nash had been following the price hikes for years.

"He's right - this has been going on for too long and enough is enough," she said.

Ms Tesch says she'll continue to fight for what's right.

"I will continue to fight for a fair price, and I urge you all, if you can, to fill up somewhere else."
An 11-year-old boy was shot in east London on Friday night, police said.

Officers were called to an address in Kerry Drive, Upminster, at 9.30pm and found two people suffering injuries. A man, believed to be in his 40s, had cuts to his head.

Police said they were not sure if his injuries were caused by the firearm discharge.

Forensic officers continued to examine the scene of a shooting in Upminster this morning after an 11-year-old boy suffered life changing injuries in the attack

A man in his 40s suffered head injuries in the attack which took place last night

No arrests have yet been made following last night's gun attack in Upminister

According to the Metropolitan Police: 'The condition of the man has been assessed as not life-threatening or life-changing. The condition of the boy has been assessed as not life-threatening but may be life-changing.'

Officers said a number of suspects escaped before police arrived.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: 'Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area as part of reassurance patrols over the weekend and are encouraged to approach officers to speak about any concerns.'

A large area around the crime scene was sealed off and examined by forensic officers.

One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was close to calling police to the house before the shooting.

The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, grew frustrated with the house's apparent refusal to abide by social distancing guidelines put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said: I don't know if its suspicious or not.

'I've seen the house in question have BBQs when the weather has been nice.

'There's been 10 or so people out there, on two occasions, where I've seen kids run up and down the alley.

A number of suspects had made off prior to the arrival of police, Scotland Yard said

Enquiries are underway to establish the full circumstances (pictured, police in Upminster)

'I dont want to be identified. I dont want someone with a gun threatening me at my door.'

Neighbour Marilyn O'Connor, 70, said: 'I heard loads of police cars last night but I didnt know what was going on.

'I then read on Facebook that a small boy has been shot this morning.

'It's just so unnerving. This is a quiet place, it's a leafy suburb. You wouldn't expect something like that to happen in a place like this.'

Refurbisher Lee Wingate, 52, who has lived at a neighbouring property for 18 years, said he was unsure whether it was a random attack.

He said: 'What is anyone doing with a gun around an 11-year-old? It just shows you don't know what's happening behind closed doors.

'It's dead quiet round here. It's a dead end.

'The only reason why anyone would want to come by here is if they're going to the park.

'We've been here 18 years, and the quiet is why we came here. No one gives anyone any grief or bother. Ill be shocked if anyones heard anything.

'The problem police will have is that these are all bungalows. The bedrooms are at the front and the lounge is in the back. No one will hear anything with their TVs on.'

Peter Frost, 71, retired, said: 'We didn't hear anything as we've got double glazing.

'There's been a lot of confusion. First we thought a woman's been attacked, then someone's been stabbed, and now a boy's been shot.

'This is a quiet road, lots of retirees around here.

'It's a nightmare for that poor boy to be left with injuries like that.

'You just hope he'll be able to live as best a life as he can, get by, and hopefully he'll recover. I'm sure everyone will be behind him.'

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 101 quoting reference 7285/01May.

People can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers if they wish to remain anonymous. The can be called on 0800 555 111.
Bobonong  Dr Enock Mulomba says contact tracing in Bobonong will run for an indefinite period.

The process started on April 27 and Dr Mulomba said he was not in possession of statistics of the contacts of the contacts since they had barely started.

Dr Mulomba said the ACHAP team arrived in Bobonong on April 26. He also noted that the village had never recorded a positive COVID-19 case.

Dr Mulomba explained that Bobonong was a red zone because of the contacts that the villagers had with two confirmed cases of COVID-19.

For his part, greater Selibe Phikwe District Health Management Team (DHMT) coordinator, Mr Mpaphi Mbulawa noted that the process was basically to trace the contacts of the contacts.

He also noted that there were two contacts in Bobonong hence the contacts of the contacts.

<i>Source : BOPA</i>
New York, April 30, 2020 -- Swaziland police should stop intimidating and harassing local journalists for reporting critically about King Mswati III and should allow them to write freely without the threat of treason charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On April 23, police officers raided the home of Eugene Dube, the editor and publisher of the privately owned news website Swati Newsweek, and seized his three mobile phones, a laptop, and work documents, according to local news reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ by phone and messaging app.

Officers took Dube to a local police station in Nhlangano, the capital of Swazilands southern district, where they interrogated him for about seven hours about two recent articles in Swati Newsweek critical of Mswati III, and then brought him before a magistrate to record a statement, he said.

Dube told CPJ he was released without charge, but said the officers did not return his devices or documents.

On April 24, a police officer in Matsapha went to the home of Mfomfo Nkhambule, a Swati Newsweek reporter who wrote one of the articles that Dube was questioned about, brought him to a local police station, and interrogated him for two hours about the articles, Nkhambule told CPJ via messaging app and a phone call.

Dube told CPJ that police were unable to find Mthobisi Ntjangase, the reporter who had written the other article about the king.

Swazi police should stop threatening journalists like Eugene Dube and Mfomfo Nkhambule for writing critically about King Mswati III, and should instead champion their right to report freely, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. The era of the king can do no wrong has long been relegated to the annals of history, and the police should rather focus their resources on fighting real criminals, not the press.

The journalists said they were questioned about an April 8 opinion piece by Nkhambule, entitled King Reckless on Swazis Health, which accused the government of failing to adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and an April 14 article by Ntjangase, based on an interview with the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters of Swaziland, a radical political group, who said that removing the king is possible.

During his interrogation, police questioned Dube about why he gave a platform to the Economic Freedom Fighters, and insisted that the monarch was immune from criticism, saying he could face charges of high treason, Dube said.

At the polices request, Dube wrote a statement explaining the stories, and wrote that he was trying to alert the Swazi people and the government to lapses in the official COVID-19 strategy, he said.

After his release, police warned Dube that their investigation was still ongoing and said they would return if he continued to criticize the king, said Dube, adding that they kept his devices for further investigation.

Left: Mfomfo Nkhambule (Photo: Kirsten Nkhambule). Right: Eugene Dube (Photo from Dube).

Nkhambule told CPJ that the police questioning was exhausting, and said that the officers wanted me to understand that I had erred in writing about the king.

The officers threatened him with jail time and treason charges for his writing, and said they would return once their investigations concluded.

Nkhambule said that officers previously interrogated him at police headquarters in Manzini on March 12 and questioned him for four hours over articles he had written about the monarch last year for another online publication, Swaziland News. He said officers seized his laptop and two mobile phones during that arrest and had yet to return them.

During that questioning, an officer threatened to throw Nkhambule out of a second floor window and said that police would claim he had tried to escape, he said.

Dube said he and Nkhambule are hoping to raise funds for their legal support and to ensure that their laptops and telephones are returned and police stop harassing them.

Police commissioner William Tsintsibala Dlamini on April 24 threatened that authorities would come down hard on journalists who wrote negatively about Mswati III and said the law would take its course, the privately-owned weekly publication Independent News reported .

In a statement sent to CPJ, government spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini alleged that Dube operated an unregistered media outlet and denied that the journalists were being persecuted for criticizing the king.

The statement said that anyone who reported fake news about COVID-19 would face prosecution.

Under regulations passed last month , anyone found spreading false news about the virus is liable to face up to five years in jail or a fine of 20,000 emalangeni ($1,082),

His statement said that those regulations were in line with others in the region.

In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic it is more important than ever that people rely on truthful, transparent information from their government, media and anyone with access to communication tools, he wrote. We find that journalists with integrity and ethical practises have no trouble abiding by these regulations.
Seven more people, including two with a travel history to Tamil Nadu, tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha on Friday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 149, officials said.

Of the fresh cases, four were reported from Jajpur district, two from Bolangir and one from Balasore.

The state now has 93 active cases. Fifty-five patients have recovered and one has died of the disease.

Bolangir district in the western part of state has reported the coronavirus infection for the first time and the two patients, aged between 18 and 22 year, had a travel history to Tamil Nadu, a senior official said.

Jajpur district has emerged as a new trouble area for Odisha, reporting four more cases on Friday. The district has so far reported 21 positive cases in the last 24 hours, of them Katikata gram panchayat under Dasarathpur block alone reported 17 patients.

One person with a travel history to Kolkata tested positive for coronavirus in Balasore district.

The state health and family welfare department said 16 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured persons to 55.

Of the total 149 COVID-19 cases, Bhubaneswar tops the list with 47, followed by 40 in Jajpur, Balasore (20), Bhadrak (19), Sundergarh (10), Kendrapara, Kalahandi and Bolangir districts two each and Cuttack, Puri, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Keonjhar and Koraput districts detecting one case each.

Now, 15 of Odisha's 30 districts are affected with coronavius.

As more than 90 per cent of cases in Balasore, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts have been linked to West Bengal, the health department appealed to people to not hide their travel history.

Those who have returned from West Bengal recently must come forward for COVID-19 testing, it said.

"They may seem healthy but they could be infected and spread infection," the department said, adding that such people are advised to contact local BDOs, tehsildars, sarpanchs and remain in isolation at home.

The department said COVID-19 testing is free.

A total of 2,437 samples were tested for COVID-19 on Thursday. Altogether 34,133 samples have been tested in the state since the outbreak of the disease.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 60% of households across the state have responded to the census as of this week, according to census data. The rate of response is slightly higher than how households are responding across the country. As of this week, nearly 55% of households in the U.S. had participated in the census.
Comoros has announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case, as Lesotho remains the only country in Africa without Coronavirus.



"On this day of April 30, 2020, the government declares the first case of COVID-19 on the Comoros," President Azali Assoumani said during an address to the nation on Thursday evening.



The case involves a man in his 50s who came into contact with a French-Comorian national with recent travel history to France.



"The patient's medical condition is gradually improving," Azali assured, adding that his contacts were being traced.



Borders are closed in Comoros while a curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. is in effect. But Assoumani said he is yet to impose a full lockdown because most of the population lives off informal work.



"At this stage of the pandemic, we cannot afford to adopt measures that could lead to social and economic drama," he added.



The president also confirmed that contact tracing is being carried out. But a healthcare worker who did not wish to give her name told AFP news agency the announcement came "rather late".





"Only one positive case? The president is funny. The [real] number is much higher," she said.



The new development leaves Lesotho as the sole African country without a confirmed case of Coronavirus.

Source: AFP









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On April 22, 1970, two Baltimore boys, Robert Lee Harris, 8, and his friend, Robert Adkins, 7, started out for school, unaware they were about to begin a harrowing adventure.

Instead of Public School 230, the pair of second graders would somehow end up in a strange place hundreds of miles away called Solvay, New York.

Their odyssey, they said, began on their walk to school.

We were going to school, Adkins said, and this other kid bumped into me. So, I called him a brat.

The other kid retaliated and socked Adkins in the eye, took their jackets and took off running.

Adkins and Harris followed and chased the boy into the Bayview Freight Yards, where they lost sight of him.

We got tired and sat down to rest, Adkins remembered later, and the other boy came back and said he threw our coats into that railroad car.

That railroad car was called a chemical hopper. It was described in 1970 as being similar to a covered coal car but with hatches on the top instead of being open. The ends of the car were sloped, and the inside walls were curved.

Young Harris climbed to the top of the car and was running across it when he tripped on the metal catwalk and fell into an open hatch.

He cut his nose and started to bleed, his chum said. I told him not to climb out, Ill help you.

- Clipping from the April 28, 1970 Post-Standard shows Robert Lee Harris and Robert Adkins, of Baltimore, at St. Jospeh's Hospital after being rescued from a chemical railroad car at Allied Chemical in Solvay the day before.. Heritage MicrofilmHeritage Microfilm

Once inside, both Adkins and Harris found no way out of the car and calls for help went unanswered.

That afternoon, the train pulled out of Baltimore and stopped at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where it sat idle for two days. The car then traveled to Corning before arriving at the Allied Chemical factory in Solvay on April 27.

They yelled for help at each stop, but no one heard them. For five days they went without food and drank only falling raindrops from the open hatch.

We slept a lot on the soft stuff in the car, said Harris, it was white and stung when you sniff it.

It was chemical soda ash, which was not caustic but very abrasive.

(Adkins suffered tiny cuts to the bottom of his feet after taking off his shoes and socks after the ankle-deep ash kept filling his shoes.)

While the boys were travelling north, their families and the police were looking all over Baltimore for them.

Police originally thought the boys might have drowned in the Chesapeake Bay and a search of the waterfront occurred for several days. Later, they searched wooded area around the boys homes and stopped people on the street asking if they had seen them.

Harris and Adkins had their pictures appear in Baltimore newspapers.

Robert Harris six brothers and sisters would not go back to school until their brother was found.

And I couldnt make them, said their father, Raymond. My oldest son, 20, who works, stayed on the job half a day. The rest of the time he went hunting for his brother.

I was half frantic, said Robert Adkins mother, May. I held everything inside me until I heard they were found.

That came on the morning of April 27, 1970.

Allied employees, John Kennedy, Leo Todeschini and William Amarel, all of Solvay, heard voices coming from inside the car, and with the help of others, pulled them to safety.

(It is a miracle that no one closed the top hatch of the car, which would have suffocated the boys.)

We hollered and hollered and then a man said, what are you doing down there, Adkins said. When he pulled me up, I bumped my head and got a headache.

Shocked by what they discovered, Adkins said the workers told him, Go home and dont come back."

"But I didnt know where I was, he truthfully responded.

The pair were taken to the dispensary at the Allied plant, where they washed, drank and ate for the first time in five days.

Allied plant manager, James Cambell, bought them pajamas to replace their tattered clothes and they were taken to St. Josephs Hospital.

The lack of water had affected their kidneys, doctors said, but they would get over it.

At the hospital, the boys became instant celebrities and had their pictures taken and they signed autographs.

Cherry soda, ice cream sandwiches and orange ice pops helped them regain their strength.

- Clipping from the April 29, 1970 Post-Standard shows Robert Lee Harris and Robert Adkins, of Baltimore reuniting with their families at St. Joseph's Hospital. Heritage MicrofilmHeritage Microfilm

On April 28, Allied Chemical flew the boys families to Syracuse on the companys Falcon twin engine jet.

The childrens playroom on the fourth floor of St. Josephs Hospital was the scene of a joyful reunion, the Post-Standards Nevart Apikian wrote, with the mothers running in and hugging and kissing their sons with cries of honey, baby, darling, and Im so happy youre safe and were here to take you home.

Mrs. Adkins thanked all the people who were so good to us here and to the boys and the men who found them.

Her son looked forward to plane ride home, much better than the bumpy ride in the chemical car.

It will be nice and smooth, he said.

Read more

1952: With everyones eyes on the sky, Central New York experiences flying sauceritis

1985: New Coke unveiled but receives a flat reception at CNY taste test

Wings and a prayer - Vietnamese pilots escape before the fall of Saigon

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.

Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
A petition to recall Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have to wait a bit longer to have its language reviewed by the state due to a notification error by election officials.

The petitions language was scheduled to be reviewed Thursday, April 30 by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers via a virtual meeting, however, the governors legal counsel took issue with how Whitmers office was notified of the petition.

Michigan Election Law requires the board of state canvassers to notify an officer who is being petitioned for recall at least three days prior to a hearing. But the notification didnt come from Johnathan Brater, director of elections and secretary to the Board of State Canvassers. It was sent instead by Melissa Malerman, of the Secretary of States Bureau of Elections, whom Brater asked to make the notification.

The board acknowledged that Brater has often asked staff to make such notifications on his behalf. But the governors counsel said it was an improper notification that would make Thursdays hearing procedurally defective."

Aaron Van Langevelde, vice-chair of the Board of State Canvassers, called the claim a disingenuous argument by the governors counsel." The board considered a change to the rule, but decided to table it for future discussion.

The proposed petition to recall Whitmer was created by Chad Baase, 39, of Albion. He said the governor has destroyed the Michigan economy and violated the civil rights of residents by imposing restrictions on business and recreational activity in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Protesters tell lawmakers vote no on extending state of emergency, argue freedoms outweigh coronavirus threat

Its not just the stay home order, Baase said. She has stomped on the peoples rights in so many ways. There will be so many businesses that wont be able to open up again because of the hurt she has put on them.

"A lot of people are suffering and they cant even get through the unemployment system because of computer problems.

Baase withdrew his petition less than two hours before Thursdays meeting after he learned of the notification error. He plans to resubmit the language Friday, May 1, with some minor technical wording changes based on other issues raised by the governors counsel.

Whitmer declared a state of emergency March 10 as the state reported its first two cases of COVID-19. Since then, there have been 41,379 confirmed cases and 3,789 deaths associated with the virus.

The governors state of emergency declaration, which is slated to expire at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, gives the governor and her administration additional executive authority to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. She has also temporarily closed all non-essential businesses and asked residents to stay home and practice social distancing when possible to limit the spread of the virus.

Baases recall petition specifically takes exception to Executive Order 2020-42, which extended a prior order to temporarily suspend activities that are not necessary to sustain or protect life.

Once hes given clearance for his recall petition language, Baase said he has residents across the state who have expressed interest in helping him collect signatures. They would need to collect more than 1 million signatures from registered voters in 60 days or less to trigger a recall election.

Baase said he also plans to file a lawsuit to ask the court to allow recall petitions to use electronic means to collect signatures during the health crisis. A recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg ordered that Michigan political candidates be allowed to electronically submit signatures for nominating petitions. That ruling did not address recall petitions.

If Im able to get this to go the way I can make it go where Im allowed to collect electronic signatures -- Im sure the court will side with me on that -- I dont think itll take more than a few weeks to collect the signatures I need," Baase said.

During Thursdays board of state canvassers meeting, member Julie Matuzak said she has concerns about the use of electronic signatures, especially if it becomes the new standard.

Citing the states K-12 online education during the outbreak, she said its been proven that different parts of the state have different circumstances regarding reliable internet and computers.

If we move toward electronic signatures on petitions, that presents a real problem in terms of access and who gets to do this or not, Matuzak said. We havent had to deal with it yet, but probably will have to deal with it in the not too distant future.

Baases effort to recall Whitmer isnt his first attempt at a recall. In October 2017, he tried to recall Albions mayor and mayor pro tem. The petition was withdrawn due to the financial burden a special election could create for Albion taxpayers, Baase wrote in a letter to the county clerks office.

But the petitions sponsor said he believes the effort played a role in then-Mayor Garrett Browns unsuccessful campaign to retain his office in November 2018.

The man behind the Whitmer recall petition is an entrepreneur who paints and maintains water towers. In February, he was paroled from prison, where he was serving two years and six months to 20 years for a 2014 conviction of making a false report or threat of terrorism.

Baase said he was intoxicated when he sent a series of threatening Facebook messages related to a custody case for his two children. He has since learned to use the proper legal protocols to get things done," he said.

This is not about me. This is about the governor and her behavior and how she has harmed the people of Michigan."

CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home ( door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

More from MLive:

Judge rules Michigan stay-at-home order doesnt infringe on constitutional rights

Michigan House adjourns without extending coronavirus state of emergency

Protesters pack into Capitol, chant let us in when blocked from House proceedings

Michigan unemployment claims surpass 1.26M in 6 weeks
Washington: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has gone on the front foot to forcefully deny an allegation of sexual assault by a former staff member, his first public remarks about an accusation that has been generating increased public and media attention in the US.

Biden appeared for an interview with MSNBC's Morning Joe program and released a statement on Medium on Friday (Saturday AEST) to respond to the allegations by his former Senate aide Tara Reade. She has said in multiple media interviews that Biden assaulted her in 1993, when he was a US senator.

"I recognise my responsibility to be a voice, an advocate, and a leader for the change in culture that has begun but is nowhere near finished," Biden wrote in the Medium post.

"So I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They aren't true. This never happened."
The mainstream media inundate the American public on a daily basis with the coronavirus's death toll in flashy headlines in an attempt to criticize the Trump administration' response. While reporting on the increasing death toll daily, progressive and mainstream outlets make disingenuous comparisons to death tolls in past wars and catastrophes. MSNBC'S Morning Joe reported that the virus will "kill more Americans than were killed in Iraq, Afghanistan." Vox posted that "the coronavirus has now killed more people in the U.S. than the 9/11 terror attacks." The Washington Post, NPR, CNN, and many other outlets gleefully reported that the U.S. coronavirus death toll now exceeds U.S. losses in the Vietnam War.

The death toll and havoc wrought by the Chinese virus are no doubt real. However, media coverage of the virus intentionally lacks even a hint of perspective and aims to sow fear.

In 1968, roughly 16,000 U.S. servicemembers died in Vietnam. That same year, the Hong Kong influenza (H3N2) caused the deaths of roughly 100,000 Americans. While undoubtedly a tragedy, the U.S. and state governments did not issue any stay at home orders, nor did they shut down the American economy. In 2018, 67,367 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. The media don't sensationalize and hype the annual overdose death toll, which exceeded the U.S. death toll of the entire Vietnam War. Since 2010, roughly 12,00061,000 Americans die of the flu on a yearly basis. During that period, media coverage claiming that more Americans died of the flu than on 9/11 was nonexistent.

The fake news media are attempting to create a visual comparison to manipulate and confuse the American public. However, in life, perspective is necessary.

It must be asked: why are the media throwing all perspective out the window and hyping the death toll? Some of the coverage can be chalked up to ordinary sensationalism, another negative characteristic of the modern media. However, the main catalyst in the death toll coverage is political. Prior to the pandemic, prominent progressives prayed and hoped that the U.S. economy would crash in order to "get rid of Trump." HBO's Bill Maher callously exclaimed, "Can I ask about the economy? Because this economy is going pretty well. I feel like the bottom has to fall out at some point. And by the way, I'm hoping for it. Because I think one way you get rid of Trump is a crashing economy. So, please, bring on the recession. Sorry if that hurts people, but it's either root for a recession or you lose your democracy." NBC's Richard Engel was on Maher's show and agreed with Maher's sentiment, arguing that "short-term pain might be better than long-term destruction of the Constitution." Former 2020 Democrat presidential contender Congressman John Delaney accused the other presidential candidates of "cheering on a recession because they want to stick it to Trump."

The progressive and mainstream media despise President Trump and his supporters. The media have an incentive to keep America shut down and prevent the economy from rebounding. To that end, the media will stop at nothing to prevent President Trump's re-election in 2020, even if that means financial ruin for a sizable portion of the American population.

While the threat from the virus (particularly to the elderly and vulnerable groups) is real, the fake news media's coverage is a disgrace and destroyed whatever sliver of credibility the institution still had. The media disingenuously hype the virus's death toll and push for draconian, job-killing policies that are disproportionate to the threat while at the same time shielding the Chinese regime from any criticism.

Regular Americans and their elected leaders must maintain a semblance of perspective and push back against media propaganda. No other group, save for the Chinese Communist Party, has done more damage to the American economy and our way of life than the media in 2020.

The author is an attorney, military officer, and veteran of the Afghan war. Views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect official policy of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or U.S. government.
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Co was awarded a $6.07 billion contract from the U.S. Army for the production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors and associated equipment, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The interceptors are for the U.S. Army and several international customers who have the Patriot missile defense system, which is made by Raytheon Technologies.

Delivery is expected in fiscal 2021 through 2023. (Reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Home heating costs will rise thanks to a carbon tax hike that kicks in today - sparking calls for the Government to defer the measure.

Announced in last October's Budget, the higher carbon tax on petrol and diesel was implemented on the night of the Budget. But the increased carbon tax on home-heating oil, gas, coal and briquettes was delayed until the start of May, a time when households use less energy.

The cost of an average household's annual gas bill will go up by 14 from this month.

This means carbon tax will now add 61 to the average natural gas bill, according to calculations by energy price comparison site Bonkers.ie.

Read More

This month's rise will add 14c to the price of a bale of briquettes, taking the total carbon tax on the fuel to 59c.

And a 40kg bag of coal will be 63c dearer from this month on.

A 900-litre fill of a tank of home-heating oil will rise by 15 due to the higher tax from today. Carbon tax now adds 65 to the overall cost of a tank of oil.

Chairman of the Consumers' Association Michael Kilcoyne called on the Government to defer the rises until after the pandemic has passed.

"This is very bad timing. There are around one million people depending on social welfare, so this carbon tax rise should be deferred because of the situation people find themselves in."

Mr Kilcoyne said the increase would hit older people who are cocooning, and it would be keenly felt in rural areas. And he warned that carbon taxes could rise even further in the years ahead if the Greens form part of the next government.

Asked if it could be deferred, a spokesman for Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe would only say the tax rise takes effect from today.

Carbon tax was hiked by 6-per-tonne in October's Budget, and the Government insisted that the 90m in additional resources would be ring-fenced for climate action.

The tax is intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and is part of Ireland's strategy to support a greener and cleaner environment.

The tax does not apply to electricity, where the PSO (public service obligation) levy is applied. That levy adds 38.68 to electricity bills a year, when VAT is included, and is partly used to subsidise wind farms.

Daragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie said it was a bad time to be raising taxes.

"With all that's going on right now due to Covid-19 and with hundreds of thousands of people having been laid off, this government tax increase couldn't have come at a worse time."

He said that the carbon tax rise would reverse price cuts announced recently by a number of energy suppliers.

He added that there was a huge debate worldwide as to whether a carbon tax was effective in reducing CO2 emissions given people still needed to heat their homes and use energy for the most basic of day-to-day tasks.

A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) last summer found that increasing tax on fossil fuels disproportionately hurts low-income earners, single-parent families and rural dwellers, unless the revenue generated by it is carefully shared out.
Bengaluru, May 1 : With agricultural activity and harvesting in full swing, the South Western Railway ferried tractors to Gujarat and Rajasthan from Dodaballapur in Karnataka amid the extended lockdown, an official said on Friday.

"We have transported 175 tractors and farm equipment of Tafe to Kankaria near Ahmedabad in Gujarat in one rake of NMG (newly modified goods) wagons on April 29 from Dodballapur near Bengaluru, covering 1,720 km in 2 days," the official told IANS in a statement here.

Likewise, another rake with 175 Tafe tractors and farm equipment was sent to Kanakpura in Rajasthan, covering 2,160 km within 3 days.

"The tractors and farm equipment will help the farmers in both the western states to plough their field for sowing in the kharif season after summer," asserted the official.

Agriculture activities were fully restored from April 15 across the country after the 21-day first phase of lockdown ended on April 14 to enable farmers and growers resume production.

"We have also been transporting essential goods, foodgrains, raw materials, medicines and personal protection equipment (PPEs) for healthcare workers to other states from Hubli and Mysuru stations in our zone," said the official.

The zonal railways is also operating freight and parcel trains on many routes to rush essentials and medicines.
A new antibiotic developed to fight 'superbug' lung infections could be used to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia in COVID-19 patients, a study has suggested.

Researchers have shown that the drug can successfully combat potentially fatal lung infections in both mice, as well as human cells grown in the laboratory.

The medication could help to extend the lives of cystic fibrosis sufferers, who are vulnerable to infections that affect their breathing.

It also offers the hope of potentially slashing deaths rates from the coronavirus by stopping secondary infections from colonising a patient's airways.

This is a particular problem for critically ill patients on ventilators  who are especially prone to developing pneumonia.

Scroll down for video

A new antibiotic developed to fight 'superbug' lung infections could be used to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia in COVID-19 patients, a study has suggested

The powerful drug is a so-called 'engineered cationic antimicrobial peptide', or 'eCAP', that works by 'punching into' bacteria  thereby destroying them.

They are a synthetic and more efficient version of the naturally occurring antimicrobial proteins that form a first line of defence against infections in humans.

The team was working with an eCAP called WLBU2 when they stumbled on a way to both make it less toxic and, at the same time, more effective.

'We were so surprised and happy,' said paper author and epidemiologist Peter Di of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

'At first, we were sceptical and repeated the experiment  but yes, it was 20 times less toxic toward red blood cells in our lab. And when we saw similar results in mice, we were really excited."

The compound is administered via the windpipe to target lung infections  and performs better than current last resort antibiotics, without side effects.

Antimicrobial resistance claims around 700,000 lives a year  a figure set to rise to 10 million by 2050, the World Health Organisation has warned.

It occurs when bacteria rapidly evolve an immunity to drugs  making them harder to combat.

The researchers admitted that the breakthrough came by chance as they looked for ways to make WLBU2 more stable, as so it might stick around longer.

The drug has already been licensed for clinical trials to measure its effectiveness against the infections that can follow knee and hip replacement operations.

When they constructed a near mirror image of WLBU2, dubbed 'D8', they found that it could eliminate the superbug Pseudomonas aeruginosa  which can plague post-surgical patients  at a fourth of its predecessor's usual concentration. .

In tests, it was found to be much less poisonous than regular WLBU2, killing fewer than 1 per cent of red and 15 per cent of white blood cells.

This was despite the researchers exposing the blood cells to nearly 25 times as much of the antibiotic as would ever be used therapeutically.

'It is one thing to see that in a petri dish, but it is more important to demonstrate the increased safety in a living mammal,' said Professor Di.

In mice, more than 35 micrograms of WLBU2 would likely prove fatal, yet there were no fatalities when D8 was administered at four times that amount  or 100 times the therapeutic quantity.

'This improvement in lowering toxicity, coupled with the new drug's strong stability and activity against superbugs, is good evidence this compound will be well-suited for clinical applications in treating respiratory infections,' said Professor Di.

The team is exploring D8's potential application in cystic fibrosis patients, whose lives can be greatly shortened by drug-resistant lung infections.

They are also are looking at using it to help combat ventilator-associated pneumonia, which has emerged as serious secondary  and potentially more deadly  infection in patients with COVID-19.

The researchers do not yet know why D8 is less toxic, or how well it would be tolerated in the long-term  so more test will be needed before the drug can be used to treat people, Professor Di added.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  As the country marks Labor Day today, the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) called for increased protection for workers amid the new normal economy after the COVID-19 crisis.

ALU-TUCP Spokesperson Alan Tanjusay appealed to the Employment Compensation Commission for the expansion of health and death insurance coverages among workers who got infected with the virus.

Tanjusay also cited the current COVID-19 health packages offered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation as insufficient to compensate the hight cost of medical treatment of infected workers.

Hindi sapat yung sa PhilHealth dahil unang-una, dapat miyembro ka," said Tanjusay. "Hindi rin 100 percent ang coverage ng PhilHealth."

[Translation: The PhilHealth coverage is not enough because first, you need to be a member. The PhilHealth coverage is also not 100 percent.]

Under the agencys full payment policy, if a patient positive for COVID-19 was confined from February 1 to April 14, PhilHealth will pay in full all costs incurred during the hospitalization.

If a patient was admitted from April 15 onwards, there are already case rates implemented for hospitalization. PhilHealth will cover 43,997 for patients with mild pneumonia; 143,267 for those with moderate pneumonia; 333,519 for those with severe pneumonia; and 786,384 for those with critical pneumonia.

ALU-TUCP asked all employers to also compensate workers who underwent the mandated 14-day quarantine period.

Sa kasalukuyan, walang bayad at hindi malinaw kung sino ang magbabayad if either the government or the employers, said Tanjusay.

[Translation: At present, it is not paid and it is not clear who will pay for it. Is it the government or the employers?]

He pointed out the need for more labor protection as the country will enter a new normal economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, which may affect contractual workers.

He also explained that many businesses are expected to migrate to e-commerce or resort to the digitization of their operations, to lessen human interaction and the risk of COVID-19 in their offices.

Kung papunta lahat doon, maraming mga kababayan natin, lalo na ang mga contractual workers, ang mawawalan ng trabaho at mawawalan ng pag-asa na silay magiging regular pa, said Tanjusay.

[Translation: If they will go into that direction, many of our countrymen, especially contractual workers, will lose their jobs and lose their chance of being regularized in work.]

Also included in their call for workers protection in the new normal economy are the strict sanitation measures in workplaces and enforcement of corporate health protocols such as how the workers will travel going in and out of the offices and their office interactions.

ALU-TUCP also urged the government to increase financial assistance to workers affected by the enhanced community quarantine. The labor group estimated there are around eight million workers in the formal sector who were affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Tanjusay stressed that out of the 2.3 million workers who applied in the Department of Labor and Employments COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program, only 300,000 workers were given the 5,000 emergency subsidy for laborers.

So ang aming panaawagan kay Pangulong Duterte mismo na mag-allocate ng karagdagang pondo roon sa DOLE cash assistance na ipinapatupad dahil marami na pong nakikinabang, marami ng qualified at gumagana na yung distribution system - yung remittance ng pera from government to workers, he said.

[Translation: So our call for President (Rodrigo) Duterte is to allocate the additional funds in the DOLE cash assistance being implemented because many will benefit, many are qualified, and the distribution system is working which serves as the remittance of money from the government to the workers.]

The Labor department announced on April 29 that 300,000 more formal sector workers currently processed under the CAMP will receive financial aid as the agency realigned 1.5 billion of its 2020 budget.

The DOLE previously suspended CAMP last April 16 due to the agencys pronouncement that its funds are almost depleted.
According to the latest briefing by the Health Ministry, 1,993 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 35,043.

According to the latest briefing by the Indian Health Ministry, 1,993 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 35,043. The total number of deaths is now 1,152.

The MHA has just extended the national lockdown by two weeks from the 4th of May.

According to reports, there will be relaxation in green and orange zones, subject to local jurisdiction. Restrictions in red zones will continue as they have been. Certain activities, such as non-essential inter-state travel, the opening of restaurants, cinema halls, social and cultural gatherings will remain prohibited throughout. Interstate travel for essential goods and only travel approved by the MHA will be allowed.

Green zones will now be districts with no new cases in 21 days, down from 28 days previously

A letter from the Union Health Ministry to Chief Secretaries said that now districts with no new cases in the last three weeks will be called green zones. Previously, no new cases had to be reported for 28 consecutive days for the city to classify for the same. The letter added that red zones have gone down from 170 to 130, but green zones have also fallen from 356 to 319.

Special trains will take migrants, students back to their home state: Centre

Two days after allowing migrants to return to their home state following inter-state discussion, the Centre said that special trains will carry stranded migrants, students and tourists back. Previously, only vehicles carrying essential goods were allowed to cross state borders.

The first train left for Jharkhand from Telangana this morning; only 54 passengers per compartment were allowed, compared to the usual 72. Passengers were screened before admittance to the train.

Goa will provide free quarantine to returning residents

Goa CM Pramod Sawant tweeted saying that all those residents who return will be sent to quarantine facilities for free and taken care of until they are cleared. He promised that residents would be released right after testing negative for COVID-19. The Goa government, like all other state governments, is scheduling the return of stranded residents across the country.

Sikh pilgrims test positive after returning to Punjab from Nanded, Maharashtra

Nearly 4,000 Sikh pilgrims had travelled to Nanded, Maharashtra and were stranded at the Gurudwara there once the lockdown was announced. About 3,500 have made their way back to the state since April 22. However, 183 have tested positive so far and have sparked concerns of a major outbreak in the state. The local health ministry has been criticized for not quarantining the returnees right away.

Punjab has over 500 reported cases so far and has announced a 2-week extension of curfew following the 4th of May.

Delhi, Maharashtra warn private hospitals to not turn any patients away

Allegations of refusal of care and admission across private hospitals have compelled local authorities in Delhi and Maharashtra to issue strong warnings against such practices. Delhi has issued three warnings and said that if there are any further reports, hospitals and clinics can lose their licences. Essential services such as dialysis and chemotherapy must be kept running, even in these difficult times. Maharasthra said the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 would be enacted against those who flout the rules.

Maharashtra crosses 10,000 cases

Maharashtra now has 10,498 cases after reporting 583 new cases yesterday. 27 deaths were reported as well, taking the total to 459.

Twenty of the deaths were reported in Mumbai, taking the total to 290 there. Pune is also badly affected with 90 deaths reported.

According to local reports, over 80% of the deceased had underlying conditions.

For more information, read our article on Home remedies for mild cases of COVID-19.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that schools and colleges in the state would remain closed for the rest of the academic school year. Any decision about summer school would be decided later in May, he added.

Schools shut down in March as the coronavirus quickly spread through the state and inundated the healthcare system.

In response to the closures, teachers switched to virtual learning while schools found ways to still deliver meals and assist with childcare for essential workers during the pandemic.

Mr Cuomo recently extended its NY Pause, the states form of stay-at-home order, through 15 May but did not discuss what would happen to schools until his official announcement on Friday.

We dont think its possible to reopen schools in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe, Mr Cuomo said.

The governor and his office also asked schools to come up with a plan for how they can continue social distancing measures in the autumn. But no one could provide information on what exactly this would look like.

New York City Schools chancellor Richard Carranza told principals during a phone call this week that there was a 50-50 chance that facilities would open in September to welcome the new academic year, the New York Post reported.

We are moving full steam ahead for a September opening of schools, but always planning for any eventuality, Mr Carranza added in a Tweet shared on Wednesday. Grateful every day for the hard work of all of our dedicated educators and support staff in serving our 1.1 million students.

Decisions to keep schools closed through the academic school year comes as New York continues to flatten its Covid-19 curve.

In the last couple of weeks, the states reported a decline in hospitalisations and death rates due to the novel virus.

On Friday, the state reported 289 new deaths, which is the lowest number of deaths in a single day from Covid-19 in weeks. Despite the curve flattening, Mr Cuomo has implored residents to stick with social distancing measures to further curb the spread of the coronavirus.
A failed project to turn the Lone Star Brewery into The Pearl of the South Side may rise from the ashes. A local developer is buying the former Lone Star Brewery complex in a last-minute deal reached days before the property was set to be sold to one of the current owners lenders.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta on Thursday approved Lone Star Brewery Development Inc.s proposed sale to an affiliate of GrayStreet Partners for $14.45 million.
Nairobi  President Uhuru Kenyatta has promoted Lt. Gen. Robert Kibochi to take over from General Samson Mwathere who will retire on May 11.

The changes were announced late Thursday by State House.

In the changes, State House said President Kenyatta had promoted Major General Levi Mghalu to Lt. General and Brigadier Jimson Mutai to Major General.

"Further to these promotions and in line with the recommendation by the Defence Council, I have today made the following appointments:- Gen. Robert Kibochi to Chief of Defence Forces designate; Lt. Gen. Levi Mghalu to Vice Chief of Defence Forces designate; and Maj. Gen. Jimson Mutai to Commander of the Kenya Navy designate," a statement from State House said.

All the changes will take effect on May 11, when General Mwathethe will retire.

Addressing the top military brass at State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta praised Mwathethe for exemplary work during his tenure.

"Since your appointment as the Chief of Defence Forcesfive years ago (May 2015), we have seen significant expansion in our military and enviable improvement in the defence capability of our forces;thus giving Kenyans confidence that their borders are well protected from any external aggression," the President said.

He cited the Blue Economy as one of Mwathethe's major achievements, having been the Chairman of the Implementation Standing Committee.

The Committee, the President said, has made substantive progress in re-establishing the Kenya National Shipping Line, as part of the Blue Economy Programme.

"Once fully completed and operational, this will, indeed, enable us, as a country, exploit the potential we have in the blue economy, and consequently create thousands of jobs for our young men and women. It is my hope that you and I will continue collaborate in this effort," the president said.
Gurugram: The Haryana governments latest direction on Thursday to resume industrial operations across the state had paved the way for smaller units, which have less than 10 workers, and those which have workers on the project site or at factory premises, to function across the state. The government also said that out of the total of 22 districts, permission to large business units in 14 districts that are in the green zone can be obtained at the click of a button through the governments Saral portal. However, for the remaining eight districts of the state, including Gurugram, permission to operate large units would have to be sought from the district administration.

For industries, commercial establishments and construction projects employing less than 10 workers in any of the 22 districts of the state, there is no need to seek permission from the state government and these units may resume operations subject to social distancing norms and other requirements, mentioned in MHA (ministry of home affairs) guidelines, said a government notification issued Thursday.

Permissions in eight districts -- including Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh, Sonipat and Panipat -- would be based on the number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases identified in a block, zone or town; if the number reaches 10, the permission to operate will cease, said a government spokesperson on Friday.

Also, business units in all 22 districts of the state having labour on site would be allowed to operate, with all the workers present in their premises, as per standard operating procedure (SOP), the order said.

TVSN Prasad, additional chief secretary, Haryana, who drafted the revised guidelines for industrial and commercial establishments, issued after a cabinet meeting on Thursday in continuation of the previous guidelines of April 19, said: In a district like Gurugram, which is a sensitive zone in light of Covid-19, the administration has to assess block-wise cases. In case in any block, 10 coronavirus cases have come up in the last 28 days, all permissions will be withdrawn from industries. This is a clear guideline and the district administration has to assess this.

The decision to grant permissions on the basis of block-wise assessment has, however, left business and industry owners dejected as they were hoping that change of Gurugrams status from red to orange zone will bear positive results and eliminate the need for permissions. Though owners welcomed the decision of the government to let run smaller units without added permissions, they said there was no clarity on how the workers will travel to work and from and who will issue passes for them.

Giving some hope, VS Kundu, chief executive officer, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, who is also the monitoring official for Covid-19 in the district, said that they will facilitate permissions to industries faster in line with the directions of the state government. We will try to accelerate the process so that industry and business owners can resume operations, as it is crucial for the workforce to earn their livelihood, he said, adding that an additional option will be soon made on the Saral portal for permissions to industrial units.

City-based industrialists, however, said they want more clarity from the government on whether industrial units below 10 persons can resume operations without the intervention of the administration or not. They also want the government to clear the confusion among industry owners who said they want proper and clearer guidelines for a sensitive district like Gurugram.

Though Udyog Vihar comes in Gurugram block which has Covid-19 cases, not a single case was found in this industrial township. The parameter of 10 cases in a block is harsh; we will have to shut down our industries and send back all workers and then wait for directions from the government, said Sanjiv Puri, a garment export business owner.

A group of industry owners, who called on officials of the department of industries and commerce (DIC) in the city, also said that they did not get any definite answers regarding resumption of industrial units.

Although we were told that companies with less than 10 workers can start operations, it is not clear who will issue passes. There is a need for more clarity on the issue, said Deepak Maini, chairman, Industrial Development Association, Sector 37.

Industrialists also said that with the Delhi border sealed and strict curbs on movement, it is difficult for even those workers who have valid passes to reach Udyog Vihar or units in Manesar. We have sought clarifications from the government regarding the status of industry in the city in light of this notification, said JN Mangla, president, Gurgaon Industrial Association.

They say the guidelines issued by the government have also unnerved them as if businesses do not resume operations within seven days of permission, the permit will be withdrawn and the firm will be sealed.

Ashok Kohli, president of Chamber of Industries, Udyog Vihar, said, This is a very confusing guideline. We do not know if these guidelines allow us to resume operations or are asking us to wait for the Covid-19 virus to subside.
Kolkata, May 1 : The first bus carrying 30 students, who were stranded due to the nationwide lockdown in Rajasthans Kota, arrived in West Bengal on Friday morning, the police said.

The bus carrying 30 students along with two parents came to Asansol in Burdwan district, crossing over the West Bengal-Jharkhand border.

Earlier on April 27, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had taken personal initiative to bring back over 2,500 students from Kota and assured them in a social media post that that they would be returning to their homes soon.

Sources said the students will come to their home state in 95 different buses.

"We have made arrangements for their refreshments at the Banspota area on Durgapur Expressway, as they are travelling from a distance. There are arrangements for thorough medical check-ups of the home-bound students as well by the state health department at the checkpoint," an official said.

The buses will travel to three different zones in the state -- Kolkata, Siliguri and Asansol. All the students will go through health check-ups before and after boarding the buses.

"We are really happy to be back after so many days of lockdown. We were in real trouble there. We must thank our state government for taking such an initiative," said Rajiunnisa, a student from Murshidabad, who got stuck in Kota due to the shutdown.

Meanwhile, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government has also started the process of transporting migrant labourers of Bengal, who have been stranded in different districts within the state.
On Friday, Gujarat saw 326 new cases and 22 deaths reported on Friday, the toll of affected people in the state rose to 4,721 and number of deaths reached to 236. The spurt again came from the capital city of Ahmedabad, from where 267 new cases were reported.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health), said of total new cases, 267 were reported from Ahmedabad, 26 from Surat, 19 from Vadodra and remaining from other districts.

So on Friday, the worst five affected districts of the state were Ahmedabad (3293 total cases), Surat (640), Vadodra (308), Rajkot (58) and Bhavnagar (47).

The health staff in Gujarat is on their toes 24x7 to cure the COVID-19 patients, especially those with co-morbid conditions. In such a scenario, the health experts are provided online guidance to crucially ill patients. Around 24 children, 3 pregnant women and 68 senior citizens who were critically ill due to COVID-19 have availed the benefits of tele mentoring program and recovered successfully, Ravi said.

With 49 positive cases reported from Gandhinagar and 21 from Botad district, chief minister Vijay Rupani appointed two senior secretaries, who will supervise the works and measures being taken for curbing the transmission of the virus, effective implementation and provide guidance to the district administration. Rajeevkumar Gupta, additional chief secretary (Forest and Environment) and Sanjeev Kumar, Managing Director, GSPC, have been appointed for Gandhinagar and Botad districts, respectively, said a government statement.

Ashwani Kumar, secretary to CM said the process to send back stranded labourers from Gujarat has started with launch of a helpline number --- 1070. The stranded people are required to file an online application on Digital Gujarat Portal including migrant workers, he said.

The CM has made it clear that only asymptomatic people will be allowed to enter the state. All those with cough, fever, cold and other such symptoms will not be permitted to enter Gujarat. Similarly , all those who are completely healthy will be allowed to return to their home state from Gujarat, Kumar said.

He added that all the migrants willing to return home from Gujarat will undergo necessary medical examination and all those who are completely healthy will be provided with a certificate stating the same. The CM has directed the District Collectors to undertake this work at Primary and Community Health Centres. A team of health workers will be appointed in urban areas for the same.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat police in connection with spreading fake messages and rumors, so far 479 crimes have been registered and 938 accused have been arrested.
The number of coronavirus cases



in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat reached 3,293 after 267 new cases were reported since previous night, a health official said on Friday.

Moreover, 16 persons died in the district due to the infection during this period, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

The death toll in the district thus reached 165, the highest in Gujarat, said Ravi.

Across Gujarat, with 326 new patients being detected since previous night, the number of coronavirus cases in reached 4,721 on Friday.

Twenty-two patients died during this period, taking the death toll due to coronavirus to 236 in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sahaya Novinston Lobo By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: With Koyambedu Wholesale Market emerging as a hotspot for COVID-19, officials imposed a ban on 1,500 retail shops operating out of there. Now, this has resulted in a shortage of vegetables across the city. Areas like T Nagar, Mandaveli, Teynampet, Mylapore, Saidapet, Kotturpuram and Nandanam ran out of stock on Thursday.

These retail and semi-wholesale shops supply to city vendors about 10-20 kg of vegetables. Now with the clampdown, most shops cannot access the market. The fruits and flower shops, which were shifted to Madhavaram, could not operate in the new site as necessary arrangements are yet to be made.

1. Residents wait in queue to buy groceries at a supermarket in Vyasarpadi | P Jawahar

SS Muthukumar of the small and semi-wholesale vegetable shop owners association told Express that the association consisting of 1,500 retail traders were not called for talks by the CMDA authorities over allocation of space by Chennai Corporation. We are willing to talk on allocation of space for continuing the retail trade outside Koyambedu Wholesale Market, he added.

The market association is issuing a certain pass for retail vendors across the city and only a few are able to get them, says Amsar Amir who owns a shop in T Nagar.Four days after the intensive lockdown and with only three days left for the second phase of the lockdown to come to an end, buying resumed with frenzy with people making a beeline in front of grocery shops.

Forced to sell at higher price

We will have to purchase at least two or three sacks (25kg per sack) of vegetables. Hence we purchase from other people. In turn, we are forced to sell vegetables at a higher price, said R Sankar, who has opened a small retail shop in Nungambakkam.
A Good Neighbourhood

Therese Anne Fowler

Headline Review, $32.99 Credit: When a successful North Carolina businessman buys and clears a block of land on which to build his dream house, the back-fence neighbour is horrified by the effects this has on her own beloved trees. The burgeoning love story of these two peoples offspring, Xavier and Juniper, is told by a sort of group narrative voice representing the neighbourhood, and it follows a terrible downward path towards a chilling end. Therese Anne Fowler telegraphs all her punches clearly and early, so within the first few pages we know there is going to be a funeral, and by about 25 pages in we are almost certain that we know whose, and fairly sure that we know why. In spite of this clarity, which robs the book of some narrative tension it might have used to good effect, this is still a gripping story of racial prejudice and the damage it wreaks. Rest and Be Thankful

Emma Glass

Bloomsbury, $24.99

Credit: It cant have been deliberate but the timing of this novellas publication borders on the uncanny. Laura is a paediatric nurse, on the edge of burnout as the emotional and physical intensity of her work and the selfishness and petulance of her partner render her perpetually tired and hungry. Emma Glass herself works in London as a childrens nurse and theres a clear ring of authenticity and conviction about her descriptions of that experience, in all its heartbreaking and graphic detail. Laura is in a bad way, physically unkempt, with her consciousness straying into strange territory. Because the story is told in her voice, it is almost impossible to tell the difference, as she herself cannot, between reality, hallucination, dream and nightmare, which makes the abrupt ending both as spooky and as frustrating as Im sure it was meant to be. Non-fiction PICK OF THE WEEK

Inferno

Catherine Cho

Bloomsbury, $29.99

Credit: Three months into motherhood Catherine Cho was diagnosed with post-partum psychosis. Her memoir, incorporating family and personal history, charts her descent into hell. She and her husband were living in London when she unwisely suggested they take the baby to the US to meet the extended family. The stress of the journey induced the psychosis, and within days she was paranoid, hearing a demonic God speaking to her and seeing demons everywhere: in passers-by, in her sons eyes. By the time she reached a psychiatric hospital she was in fragments, with practically no sense of self or reality. Her record of clawing her way back to sanity  with the help of husband and family  in movingly astute writing amounts to a kind of Dante-esque journey through the inferno of madness into recovery. Captain Cooks Epic Voyage

Geoffrey Blainey

Viking $34.99 Credit: Like the best historians Geoffrey Blainey is an excellent storyteller and here he has an epic tale to tell. In this revised version of the earlier Sea of Dangers  mindful, among other things, of the controversy now surrounding Cooks arrival and the problematic nature of terms such as discovery  Blainey engagingly documents that first voyage in which Cook was charged with observing the transit of Venus, then with finding the missing continent, Terra Australis Incognita. He didnt find it because it didnt exist as geographers then imagined it, but he charted New Zealand and mapped the east coast of Australia  so changing the way the west mapped the world. Thrown into this is a French expeditionary ship and the race for colonial possessions. Blainey covers the big picture while incorporating vivid details such as the salty sea dogs on the Endeavour smelling land before they saw it.

Cry Me a River: The Tragedy of the Murray-Darling Basin

Margaret Simons

Quarterly Essay, $22.99 Credit: This is not so much a tale of troubled waters as the lack of water and its effects on the farming landscape ofAustralias food bowl. Margaret Simons drove from one end of the basin to the other and brings home the immensity of the area in a detailed essay reminiscent of John Steinbecks non-fiction: at one point she stops in a town with a population of seven. While it is an analysis of a critical water problem, it is also a portrait of the area  Simons likening the network of rivers to a tree with roots at the Murrays mouth and its branches extending east to Toowoomba. When she started the Darling was not flowing, by the end it was. But the problems  environmental, political and the damaging greed of water hoarding  remain, and central to a solution is the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Come

Rita Therese

Allen & Unwin, $29.99
The federal Pell Grant program provides need-based grants to millions of college students every year-and costs the government over $30 billion annually.But even with that large investment, Pell Grant students in North Carolina borrow more student loans and drop out of college at higher rates than their peers. According to data from the University of North Carolina system, Pell Grant students are more likely than non-Pell students to take out loans. In the UNC system, 84 percent of Pell students receive loans, while only 46 percent of non-Pell students take out loans.Of students who do take out loans, UNC Pell Grant students also tend to have higher levels of debt. On average, Pell students borrow $3,000 more in loans than non-Pell borrowers.That average holds true when comparing groups of students who did not graduate and those who did graduate.For students who started college in 2012 or 2013 and did not graduate, Pell students accumulated $9,917 in debt after six years, while non-Pell students accumulated $6,500. For students who did graduate, Pell students had $24,740 in student debt after six years, while non-Pell students had $21,500.Pell Grant students are also less likely to graduate than non-Pell students. From the same UNC data, 67 percent of non-Pell students graduated, while 62 percent of Pell students graduated.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo smiles during a news conference at the State Department, in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2020. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo



The United States is preparing for any eventuality in North Korea as it monitors the regime closely amid unconfirmed reports about leader Kim Jong-un's ill health, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday.



Speaking on a radio program, "The Scott Sands Show," Pompeo said it is unusual, but not unheard of, that the North Korean leader has not appeared in public for over two weeks.



Kim was last seen presiding over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party on April 11.



"But beyond that, I don't have much that I can share with you today," Pompeo said.



"We are continuing to monitor closely. We are working to make sure we're prepared for whatever eventuality there is. And President Trump's made clear whatever is going on, we have a very singular mission, and that's to implement the terms of the deal from Singapore, which involves making sure that that country doesn't have nuclear weapons and that we get a brighter future for the North Korean people."



Pompeo has repeatedly stressed that the U.S. remains focused on denuclearizing North Korea regardless of what may happen inside the regime.






Technavio has been monitoring the vacation rental market and it is poised to grow by USD 62.97 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 7% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005035/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Vacation Rental Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. 9flats.com Pte Ltd., Airbnb Inc., Booking Holdings Inc., Expedia Group Inc., Hotelplan Holding AG, MakeMyTrip Pvt. Ltd., NOVASOL AS, Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd., TripAdvisor Inc., and Wyndham Destinations Inc, are some of the major market participants. Although the technological advances will offer immense growth opportunities, inconsistent service quality and stringent government regulations will challenge the growth of the market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Technological advances has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, inconsistent service quality and stringent government regulations might hamper market growth.

Vacation Rental Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Vacation Rental Market is segmented as below:

Material Managed by Owners Professionally Managed

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40053

Vacation Rental Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our vacation rental market report covers the following areas:

Vacation Rental Market Size

Vacation Rental Market Trends

Vacation Rental Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies adoption of effective promotional strategies as one of the prime reasons driving the vacation rental market growth during the next few years.

Vacation Rental Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the vacation rental market, including some of the vendors such as 9flats.com Pte Ltd., Airbnb Inc., Booking Holdings Inc., Expedia Group Inc., Hotelplan Holding AG, MakeMyTrip Pvt. Ltd., NOVASOL AS, Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd., TripAdvisor Inc., and Wyndham Destinations Inc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the vacation rental market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Vacation Rental Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist vacation rental market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the vacation rental market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the vacation rental market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of vacation rental market vendors

Table Of Contents :

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Preface

2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 07: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY MANAGEMENT

Market segmentation by management

Comparison by management

Managed by owners Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Professionally managed Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by management

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Instant bookings

Rapid growth of online booking

Adoption of effective promotional strategies

Other trends

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

9flats.com Pte Ltd.

Airbnb Inc.

Booking Holdings Inc.

Expedia Group Inc.

Hotelplan Holding AG

MakeMyTrip Pvt. Ltd.

NOVASOL AS

Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd.

TripAdvisor Inc.

Wyndham Destinations Inc.

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Boris Johnsons Conservative government continued discussions with big business and trade union leaders yesterday to map out a mass return to work.

Talks continued despite Wednesdays announcement of thousands more people who perished in care homes of COVID-19 being added to a grim death toll that has now reached nearly 27,000.

Yesterday, deaths continued to mount, with 674 new fatalities announced, taking the official total to 26,711. Deaths in hospitals in England alone surpassed 20,000. Of the new deaths, 169 people died outside hospital either in care homes or in the community.

The continuing loss of life barely registered with a national media obsessed with reporting which chain store is opening its doors, when the lockdown exit strategy will be announced, and with Johnsons new baby. Only the Daily Mirror and Independent front paged with the horrific death toll, but even then the story was placed below a photo of the baby joy smiling faces of Johnson and partner Carrie Symonds.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands inside 10 Downing Street, London, Tuesday April 28, 2020. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)

Speaking at his first daily Downing Street press conference in five weeks, Johnson piled lie upon lie, declaring that for the first time we are past the peak of this disease  and on the downward slope.

This was as the Daily Mail noted: Revised UK figures including deaths outside hospitals showed that there have been nine days when the death toll topped 1,000ranging from April 7 to as recently as April 24.

Over 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the 48 hours prior to yesterdays briefing. Johnson lied about the first phase of the pandemic being over even as 6,032 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the previous 24 hoursthe second highest daily total in the UK so far. These were on top of the 4,076 new cases of COVID-19 reported Wednesday and brought confirmed cases to 33,175 in the last week alone.

Johnson claimed that the government did the right thing at the right time. This is another lie. Any decrease in the rate of infection, as indicated in the fall of the reproduction (R) value of the virus to between 0.6 and 0.9, as claimed by government science adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, and fall in the rate of deaths, is the result of measures that the government was forced to implementsocial distancing and the lockdownthat it now proposes to abandon.

In particularly offensive comments, Johnson declared his government had worked wonders and avoided an uncontrollable and catastrophic epidemic where the reasonable worst-case scenario was 500,000 deaths. Instead, the UK had come through some huge Alpine tunnel and we can see the sunlight and pasture ahead of us.

Nursing Notes reported yesterday that at least 156 health and social care workers are believed to have died of COVID-19. Yet Johnsonwhose government has brought the National Health Service to its knees through billions in cuts, destaffing and privatisationdeclared, At no stage has our NHS been overwhelmed, no patient went without a ventilator, no patient was deprived of intensive care, we have five of the seven projected Nightingale wards.

This conceals the fact that as part of its herd immunity policy, the population was told to stay away from hospitals and self-isolate if they had COVID-19 symptoms. Some were refused admittance to hospital, were not tested and died, as they were not deemed a priority. Others died because they were so ill when they attended hospital that they could not be saved.

A new study published by scientists at the University of Liverpool found that a third of patients admitted to hospital in the UK after being infected with COVID-19 died there. A huge number of the deaths have taken place outside hospital, with care homes for the elderly and vulnerable transformed into killing fields.

Johnson responded to questions from journalists as to why the UK death rate was so high and what lessons could be learned by deferring to Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty, who said that no lessons could be learned while a pandemic was under way but only when it ended.

Giving his government a clean bill of health was vital as Johnson announced that next week he would outline a plan to restart the economy. Answering a question from the BBCs Laura Kuenssberg, Johnson said, We mourn for every life lost, before adding that we mourn for the economic damage as well that the country is sustaining 

His main concern was the risk of a second bout or a second bad spike of COVID-19 because that would really do lasting economic damage and thats why weve got to calibrate our measures and make sure we unlock the economy gradually.

These plans have been in the making for weeks, formulated in ongoing discussions between ministers, business leaders and the trade unions. The Financial Times reported Thursday, The government is set to issue detailed workplace by workplace guidance on how Britain can safely go back to work, as the prime minister prepares to announce that coronavirus is being contained.

Alok Sharma, business secretary, is aiming to produce by the weekend around 10 papers setting out in granular detail how the economy can start to reopen once Mr Johnson orders the easing of the lockdown.

According to the FT, only token measures will be put in place to ensure workers safety, with the main advice centred on employees washing their hands. Government officials say the papers will include advice to restrict access to communal spaces, such as canteens; greatly enhanced use of hand washing and sanitising; and the avoidance of face-to-face work.

Under the new guidance office workers will continue to be advised to work from home where possibleavoiding congestion on public transportwith revised shift patterns in all sectors to help maintain distance in the workplace.

This is pie in the sky. During the lockdown between 7 million and 10 million workers have been daily forced to use overcrowded public transport networks, particularly in London.

The Daily Mail reported that Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and Vauxhall are finalising plans to resume operations. Some major retailers are already fully back in operation ahead of any measures to be announced next week. Yesterday, hardware chain B&Q opened all its 288 stores, after opening them gradually from April 14. McDonalds, British Steel and construction firm Persimmon are to reopen this month.

Confederation of British Industry director-general Carolyn Fairbairn outlined its five-point plan for a gradual, successful reopening of the UK economy based on conversations with unions, health workers, transport leaders and international peers.

Writing in the Financial Times, she declared, Businesses are rightly impatient to get back to work.  Impatience must not be confused with recklessness. Restarting must be done with the utmost care. Move too soon and the UK will be back to square one with renewed controls. But while it may not yet be time to end lockdown, it is time for a restart plan, time for government to work with business like never before. The country must be prepared for the complexity of revived economic activity. The government is starting to make strides on this. It should accelerate.

There is no scientific rationale for any return to work by anyone but essential workers. It is being carried out under conditions in which only a fraction of the population have been tested for the virus. On Wednesdayweeks after the government claimed that 100,000 tests a day would be carried out by the end of Apriljust 81,611 tests were conducted. The previous day only 52,429 people were tested.

Most advocates of a return to work, including Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, insist that schools should be reopened as a first stepclaiming that the young are barely affected by the virus. But a study led by German virologist Christian Drosten, reported yesterday, found that even though children tend to have far milder symptoms of the disease, those infected seem to have the same levels of coronavirus circulating in their body as adults. The danger exists that were schools to reopen, they would serve as transmission areas for the spread of the virus. The study warned, We have to caution against an unlimited reopening of schools and kindergartens in the present situation, with a widely susceptible population and the necessity to keep transmission rates low.  Children may be as infectious as adults.
May 20 would be the day that currently closed businesses, including restaurants, stores and hair and personal care shops, could take baby steps toward a new normal in Connecticut, with mandatory social distancing and aggressive sanitizing in place.

The slow reopening depends on a decline in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continuing, Gov. Ned Lamont and the co-chairs of his Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group said Thursday.

Restaurants would be limited to outdoor service, with no bar areas open. Some offices would be allowed to open, but the state would encourage companies to keep employees working from home, if possible.

In the initial phases, people over 70 would be encouraged to to stay home. Everyone in public would be required to wear a mask, especially restaurant employees. Restaurant restrooms, in particular, would be targeted for relentless sanitizing, especially in light of the viruss ability to linger in the air and on some hard surfaces.

I hope people follow the rules, said Indra Nooyi, co-chair of the advisory group, during a 70-minute tele-conference Thursday with reporters and Lamont in the State Capitol.

The announcement came on a day when 89 new fatalities brought the statewide total to 2,257 in the pandemic.

A decline of 41 hospitalizations, for a current total to 1,650,marked the eighth straight day of reduced COVID-19 inpatient numbers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests 14 days of decreasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the benchmark for states to consider reopening.

The May 20 date is still just a proposal by the advisory group. Lamont said he will make a decision public next week on whether to close school for the rest of the academic year. Many people expect schools not to reopen until the fall at soonest.

The virus has affected older state residents the most, with 58 percent of the fatalities in people 80 or older, and 80 percent in people age 70 or older, according to the state Department of Public Health.

We know that certain members of our community are hit particularly hard by this pandemic, Lamont said. Were going to focus on those communities: the African American community, the urban communities, those who live in denser populations. Its the right thing to do, but its also the smart thing to do, because if you want to make sure this pandemic stays under control, we want to do everything we can to make sure there are no flare-ups around the region and around the world.

Baby steps

Under the tentative reopening plans, jobs representing 30 percent of the more than 400,000 people who have filed for jobless claims would restart. While there are about 160,000 restaurant employees statewide, many of them idled in the shutdown, outdoor dining-only would not return them all to work.

Were going to have to work our way through it, said Josh Geballe, Lamonts chief operating officer.

In response to the outline, Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, expressed a mixed response.

We fear it would not be nearly a big enough step to save thousands of restaurants on the brink of going out of business, Dolch said in an early evening written statement. Were asking the group to be flexible as they refine these plans, and we stand ready to help them do it. There are ways to project customers while still opening the economy, and we have put those ideas on the table.

Asked what he envisions for the state in the summertime, Lamont said, I think that the consumers and the people of Connecticut you might find are cautious.

He stressed the need to watch what scientists and public health officials say, and said he would rethink plans for allowing stores and restaurants to reopen if hospitalization rates rise again.

As many as as 42,000 state residents would tested each week by May 20  a dramatic rise from about 15,000 a week at the current rate.

Testing gives the consumer confidence that were doing everything we can to keep them safe, even at, say that open-air restaurant, Lamont said, stressing that much more personal protective equipment has arrived in the state and will become more readily available.

Lamont and Dr. Albert Ko, a Yale epidemiologist and co-chairman of the advisory committee, acknowledged that many concerns remain to be worked out  such as restaurant patrons using bathrooms, the way tables are laid out and so forth. Generally, the idea will be to meticulously clean and disinfect surfaces and maintain six feet of distance between customers who arent living in the same household.

Certainly the recommendations are going to be to continue to shelter in place for the elderly, Ko said. This is a virus which is very transmissible. This is a virus thats not going to go away, even with our best public health and control measures. We are always going to have the threat of resurgence.

Ko doesnt see an effective vaccine coming for another year or a year-and-a-half.

The various calculations for reopening include the proximity, length and intensity of personal contacts, such as one-on-one care in barber shops and hair and nail salons. Decisions by Lamont are from discussions with industry professionals and business groups. Labor interests are also represented in the group, though the AFL-CIO said Thursday that four labor representatives out of nearly 50 people are too few.

Breaking down the impact

Lamont pegged the total value of non-government economic activity in the state at about $245 billion a year. About $106 billion of that remains open, including essential retail, construction and manufacturing that has continued during the pandemic. Still, he said, 11 percent of the newly unemployed came from those sectors just the same, because of loss of demand.

Another 29 percent of the unemployed  about $38 billion in total output  comes from businesses that could have stayed open but didnt, including some child care facilities, landscaping and some stores.

About $77 billion of state output is from the sectors that are still open with employees working remotely, including technology, insurance, finance and professional services. That group accounts for have about 12 percent of the unemployment currently.

Finally, about $24 billion of the states economy, just 10 percent, is shuttered  restaurants, salons, bars, tourist attractions, events  that chunk accounts for 48 percent of the people thrown out of work, Lamont said.

While theyre not a big piece of our overall economy, they are an enormous piece of our unemployment rate, he said.

Nooyi said it is premature to talk about how many employees would return to work right away.

Its consumer demand and if Georgia is an example, consumers are staying away, said Nooyi, noting that the southern states attempt to reopen has indicated a very tentative consumer base that is mostly staying home. So we have to figure out how to do marketing programs to bring consumers back into these establishments.

She believes that by mid-June it will become clearer which employees are returning to work.

Kaitlyn Krasselt contributed to this story.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
The Thai King and Queen have been photographed inspecting PPE made by the Bangkok military, just weeks after the controversial ruler rented out an entire hotel in Germany to self-isolate from coronavirus.

The 67-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known as Rama X, was snapped at the King's Close Bodyguard regiment in Bangkok with his fourth wife Queen Suthida, aged 41.

Pictures show an army chief grovelling on the floor as he bows down before the ruler. Others soldiers were also spotted crawling on their knees as the monarchs strolled around the regiment.

One photo captured Queen Suthida embroidering a facemask on a sewing machine before handing it over to her husband.

Thai Army Chief General Apirat Kongsompong (centre) is pictured on his knees bowing before Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Thai Queen Suthida as she embroiders a facemask that will be donated to the public

Queen Suthida, who is the King's fourth wife, passes over the finished facemask to her husband

The Thai King (above left) inspects soldiers producing hand sanitizer as bottles are stacked on shelved behind him

Thai Queen Suthida is seen above wearing head protection. The white cap is part of PPE being produced by the military which will be donated to people in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus

The couple's appearance at the regiment comes just a month after the King jetted off to Bavaria in Germany.

While there he booked out the entire 4-star Grand Hoel Sonnenbichi, with permission from the local district, and brought up to 20 members of his harem along, according to local tabloid Blid. It was unclear whether his four wives were stayed at hotel, too.

Around 119 members of the royal entourage brought along with the King were believed to have been sent back to Thailand amid concerns they had contracted Covid-19.

Queen Suthida, the King's fourth wife, stands above soldiers producing the PPE as another kneels before the King in the background

Above, the soldiers embroider their own face masks as the King and Queen look on

The King left the luxury German hotel in early April and returned to Bangkok to attend the Chakri Festival. The event commemorates the establishment of the royal dynasty, making it an unmissable party for the ruler.

The King has been criticised before over his jet-set lifestyle and for spending lockdown in Germany instead of with his nation, and is facing increasing resistance within his kingdom.

News of his apparent self-isolation in Germany was met with anger by thousands of Thai people who condemned their leader online under the slogan 'Why do we need a king?'

Insulting the monarchy is a crime, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn is said to have booked out the entirety of the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in Germany so he could self-isolate with a harem of 20 concubines

Thailand was the first country outside China to record a case of coronavirus in January, but reported only 42 infections before the start of March, according to statements from the Ministry of Public Health.

Official figures show close to 3,000 confirmed cases of the killer bug and 54 deaths.

Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since a 1932 revolution ended absolute royal rule, but the monarchy remains a central part of traditional Thai culture. Some consider the King to be semi-divine.

The regiment producing the PPE is the oldest unit in the Thai Army and it's main role is to provide security to members of the royal family and guard the palaces.
A luxury hotel chain chairman got $126million in loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) after spending $50,000 on hiring two lobbyists who are allies of Donald Trump, it has been reported.

A few weeks before the companies received the sum, Monty Bennett hired Jeff Miller, former vice chairman of Trump's inaugural committee, and Roy Bailey, a top fundraiser for the president's re-election campaign, according to the Washington Post.

Bennett is the chairman of the Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts boards.

Miller and Bailey are believed to be some of at least 25 people connected to the Trump admin who are currently working as lobbyists for companies with particular interest in the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ashford Inc. and Braemar Hotels & Resorts are chaired by Monty Bennett (left). The companies had Jeff Miller (right) former vice chairman of Trump's inaugural committee, lobbying for them

Roy Bailey is a top fundraiser for the president's reelection campaign. They are pictured with Tina Bailey

Miller is a veteran GOP operative who ran former Texas governor Rick Perry's presidential bid in 2016 and he now works at Brian Ballard's PR and lobbying firm, Ballard Partners, with other Trump administration alumni.

Ballard is a Trump fundraiser and Florida state records show that he was registered as a lobbyist on behalf of the Trump Organization in 2016, and prior to that year. Records show that Ballard started lobbying for Trump in 2013.

The Trump alumni includes the former director of legislative affairs for Vice President Pence and the former senior director of Cabinet affairs at the White House.

Bailey is a fundraiser for Trump's re-election campaign.

Ballard's business partner is Pam Bondi  a Florida-based attorney who served as counsel to Trump during his impeachment trial.

Nuclein is the maker of a handheld coronavirus testing device. They paid Ballard $10,000 to lobby Vice President Mike Pence's office and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Nuclein is seeking regulatory clearance from the Food and Drug Administration, according to lobbyist records compiled on a system by the Post and ProPublica.

South Carolina disinfectant, NanoPure, hired Ballard on March 18 to help them get approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as effective against coronavirus.

Nanopure official Scott Alderson confirmed to the Post: 'We are doing everything we can to fast-track its approval and to hopefully save lives.'

'As they move forward at the EPA, we will be assisting them,' Ballard partner Justin Sayfie, said.

Ballard also counts Laundrylux as a client. 'They hired us to assist in being identified by the federal government as an essential-business industry so that people could wash their clothes,' Sayfie told the Post.

A few weeks before the $126million loan, the companies hired two Trump allies. Monty Bennett looks after Ashford Inc and Braemar Hotels & Resorts

Miller is a veteran GOP operative who ran former Texas governor Rick Perry's presidential bid in 2016 and he now works at Brian Ballard's (pictured) PR and lobbying firm, Ballard Partners, with other Trump administration alumni

Ballard's business partner is Pam Bondi  a Florida-based attorney who served as counsel to Trump during his impeachment trial

A week after hiring them, the Department of Homeland Security added laundromat services to the list of essential businesses allowed to remain open.

Laundrylux owner Neal Milch said he was introduced to them by a friend and did not seek them out for their Trump admin connections.

In March, Ballard helped Fidelity National Financial as they sought for document services related to home sales to be added to the list of essential services.

Shannon Flaherty McGahn was a counselor to Mnuchin until January 2018.

McGahn, who is married to former White House counsel Donald McGahn.

The SBA has said that loans are given on a first-come-first-serve basis.

However many small businesses have complained they missed opportunities to receive payouts. Alongside several other big-name brands, Ashford Inc.  chaired by Monty Bennett  was criticized for scooping up loans intended to help lesser-known companies.

Now it has been reported that Bennett's companies may have had help from people who used to work for the president or are closely connected.

DailyMail.com didn't immediately receive a response to a request for comment from Ashford Inc.

'The government is picking winners and losers in industries, so being able to have an understanding of . . . the pulse of this administration and thought patterns, and their processes as to how they got to these decisions years ago, provides help,' a lobbyist and former Trump official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post.

Shannon McGahn (right)  who was a counselor to Steve Mnuchin until January 2018 and is married to former White House counsel Donald McGahn (left), joined the National Association of Realtors (NAR) later that year. A NAR spokesman said she is working 'to make sure the self-employed, independent contractors and small-business owners are protected and represented on the Hill in any legislative responses to this pandemic'

Disclosures show that Arcturus Therapeutics, a preclinical drug-trial company developing a coronavirus vaccine, paid Barry Bennett's (pictured) lobbying firm, Avenue Strategies $30,000 in the first quarter of 2020. Bennett was a senior adviser to Trumps 2016 campaign

Disclosures show that Arcturus Therapeutics, a preclinical drug-trial company developing a coronavirus vaccine, paid Barry Bennett's lobbying firm, Avenue Strategies $30,000 in the first quarter of 2020.

Barry Bennett was a senior adviser to Donald Trumps 2016 campaign.

Bennett told the Post he was hired to develop a 'strategy to communicate with the federal government'. His company has sought information from the HHS and its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority on behalf as Arcturus plans to start trials of Lunar-Cov19 this summer.

'There are many challenges in the country, but the need hasn't gone away for people to talk to the federal government,' Bennett told the Post about his increase in business since the outbreak.

Shannon McGahn  who was a counselor to Steve Mnuchin until January 2018 and is married to former White House counsel Donald McGahn, joined the National Association of Realtors (NAR) later that year.

As part of its nonpartisan congressional advocacy team, they are lobbying Congress on coronavirus relief issues and real estate small businesses and contractor matters.

NAR spokesman Patrick Newton said they are working 'to make sure the self-employed, independent contractors and small-business owners are protected and represented on the Hill in any legislative responses to this pandemic.'

'Those people retain a lot of influence because they built out the DNA of the executive branch,' Jeff Hauser, founder and director of the Revolving Door Project at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank told the Post.

'It is the policy of the Trump Administration to ensure that all current and former employees comply with obligations under applicable ethics rules,' White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

Former officials are only prohibited from lobbying their former agency, however they can be lobby another.

An anonymous official said 'we have cautioned' the current employees involved about not continuing communications with lobbyists.
2 types of guns N.S. shooter used in rampage now banned in Canada

Two types of firearms used by a gunman who recently took the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia are on a list of more than 1,500 "military-style assault weapons" that were banned in Canada on Friday, said the country's public safety minister.

Police have said the gunman had several semi-automatic handguns, as well as two semi-automatic rifles, but haven't specified the calibre of those firearms or whether any of them had modifications.

On Friday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair declined to identify the weapons, saying that should be left to the RCMP.

"But I can tell you that every firearm begins legally and then moves into an illegal market," he said.

"And I can say with some confidence that the two long-guns that were involved in that investigation, without identifying them, are included on today's list."

CBC

The changes, which took effect immediately on Friday, mean the weapons can't be legally used, sold or imported in Canada.

Both Blair and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referenced the Nova Scotia shootings in their remarks, with Blair saying it "deepened our resolve to move forward as quickly as possible" to introduce regulations.

RCMP believe gunman got most firearms from U.S.

But it's unclear how such a ban could have prevented the Nova Scotia gunman from obtaining the weapons he used, if at all.

That's because Friday's announcement targets legally-purchased firearms and investigators have said they have a "fairly good idea" that the gunman didn't have any kind of licence to possess firearms in Canada.

Investigators have said they believe all but one of the gunman's weapons were obtained outside of Canada, in the United States.

Irvin Waller, an emeritus professor at the University of Ottawa and author of the book, Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime, doesn't think the ban would have made any difference had it been passed sooner.

Story continues

"One of our big problems is that it is always going to be relatively easy to get guns across the border from the United States," he said.

While there is evidence that a ban like the one announced Friday "will save some lives," Waller said it needs to be taken in context with what the government does to reduce handgun violence, which typically accounts for the majority of gun homicides in Canada.

He pointed to the Liberals' promise to tackle demand for handguns by getting to the bottom of why people use them, including youth who are drawn to gang violence.

"When they actually do that, we will see significant reductions in that sort of violence," Waller said.

Scheer blasts ban

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accused the Liberals of using the pandemic and the "immediate emotion" from the Nova Scotia shootings to push through "major firearms policy changes."

"Taking firearms away from law-abiding citizens does nothing to stop dangerous criminals who obtain their guns illegally," Scheer said in a statement.

Earlier this week, RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell acknowledged the gunman had a weapon that could be described as a military-style assault weapon, though he declined to provide further details.

Some witnesses described the gunman as "carrying a long-barrelled weapon," Campbell said, while two people who were shot and survived, including RCMP Const. Chad Morrison, said they were shot with a handgun.

Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

It's unclear how many of the 22 people died from gunshot wounds and how many perished in several fires the gunman lit.

The structures he torched included his own home and garage in Portapique, N.S. That has made it difficult for police to verify statements from witnesses that indicated he had a "significant" cache of ammunition and weapons, Campbell has said.

Investigators are also piecing together how the gunman obtained weapons from the U.S. and whether anyone helped him.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is "working closely" with the RCMP and its intelligence and criminal investigation teams consider it "a top priority," according to a statement sent by an agency spokesperson late Thursday.

The RCMP didn't respond to questions sent on Friday, after the federal ban was announced.

Ban 'could have a long-term impact,' says professor

Blake Brown, a history professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax who has written and taught about gun control in Canada, said the federal ban likely won't bring international firearms trafficking to a halt.

But, it can prevent the numbers in legal circulation from growing  and Brown said there's certainly a percentage that end up getting moved into illegal circles.

He noted earlier this year, four AR-15 rifles were stolen from a locked safe in an Aylesford, N.S., home. While it's unclear who took them and for what purpose, he said there's a good chance they are now being used in criminal activity.

"If [the ban] reduces the number of those firearms in circulation, even in legal hands, it could have a long-term impact," Brown said.

New list leaves out weapons used in high-profile murders

Although the new federal list is a long one, covering about 1,500 models, Brown noted this doesn't capture the specific weapons used in some high-profile murders.

He pointed to the SKS rifle, a "very cheap," non-restricted weapon that can be bought at many chain hunting and sporting stores for $300 or less.

It was used in the three murders carried out by two young men in northern British Columbia last summer, as well as another Nova Scotian tragedy when military veteran Lionel Desmond killed his wife, his mother, his 10-year-old daughter and himself in 2017.

Trudeau promised to pass legislation in the coming months to provide "fair compensation" to people who own the now-banned firearms.

"You could, for example, have an AR-15 and sell it to the government and then take that money and go buy a gun, which basically has the same characteristics like an SKS," Brown said.

"If you're trying to target semi-automatic weapons  it doesn't seem like they're trying to prohibit all of those, just some of them."

Brown said it might be easier to affect the illegal flow of weapons if the ban captured all semi-automatic weapons based on capability, following the lead of countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

If you are seeking mental health support during this time, here are resources available to Nova Scotians.

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Employees at work during the visit by the French president to the Amazon factory in Boves, near Amiens, northern France on October 3, 2017. (Photo: YOAN VALAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Amazon workers across the world are formalizing their activism with the creation of the Amazon Workers International. Its first action is a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Amazon Director of UK Customer Fulfillment Stefano Perego in which the group demands the company makes permanent certain steps Amazon has implemented amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of the global health crisis, Amazon made some positive changes -- changes that workers want to ensure stay long beyond the pandemic. Those changes include an increase of $2 per hour and an extra five minutes' worth of break time. The company also got rid of productivity feedback, which incentivizes workers to do more, faster.

"They're talking about taking that away," Christian Zamarron, an Amazon warehouse worker in Chicago, told TechCrunch. "I don't think they should take it away. These are things we need not just during a pandemic but all the time."

As of April 24, Amazon said it would extend the increased hourly pay through May 16.

"Weve extended the increased hourly pay through May 16," Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski told TechCrunch. "We are also extending double overtime pay in the U.S. and Canada. These extensions increase our total investment in pay during COVID-19 to nearly $700 million for our hourly employees and partners. In addition, we are providing flexibility with leave of absence options, including expanding the policy to cover COVID-19 circumstances, such as high-risk individuals or school closures. We continue to see heavy demand during this difficult time and the team is doing incredible work for our customers and the community."

Amazon Workers International formed after about 40 Amazon warehouse workers around the world gathered in Madrid a couple of months ago. The organization represents Amazon workers from six countries: Germany, Poland, Spain, France, Slovakia and the United States.

"Each country has its own laws but from our conversations at our convenings, we just see that we all have basically the same issues, Zamarron said. "In Europe, especially, they've seen the necessity for international solidarity and how that makes them stronger."

Story continues

While Zammarron's list of grievances with Amazon is long, what tops his list is retaliation.

"That needs to end," he said.

Toward the end of March, warehouse workers in Chicago went on a number of safety strikes in "response to Amazon's complete disregard for our lives with positive COVID-19 cases spreading through our warehouse," Zamarron, who helped organize the actions in Chicago, said. "They've been retaliating these past weeks trying to scare us and trying to shut us up. We've been fighting back."

Regarding retaliation, Amazon said in a statement to TechCrunch that it respects the rights of employees to protest and recognizes their legal right to do so, "but these rights do not provide blanket immunity against bad actions, particularly those that endanger the health, well-being or safety of their colleagues."

In March, Amazon fired worker-activist Chris Smalls, who helped organize a protest at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York.

"We did not terminate Mr. Smalls employment for organizing a 15-person protest," an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch. "We terminated his employment for putting the health and safety of others at risk and violations of his terms of his employment. Mr. Smalls received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines. He was also found to have had close contact with a diagnosed associate with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and was asked to remain home with pay for 14-days, which is a measure were taking at sites around the world. Despite that instruction to stay home with pay, he came onsite further putting the teams at risk."

NY Attorney General Leticia James has since said she's considering taking legal action against Amazon. Then, more recently, a group of Amazon workers at a fulfillment center in Minnesota protested the firing of a worker who stayed home for fear of giving her kids COVID-19. Shortly after the protest, Amazon reinstated the worker.

Already, Amazon warehouse workers have filed unfair labor practice charges and have more on the way, Zamarron said. Still, he said he's already seen Amazon change a lot of safety policies. Amazon started providing masks, taking temperatures and providing hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.

"And maybe the biggest thing they did was they slowed down the work," he said. "They decreased the amount of work so that actually helps in maintaining some social distancing. And these were immediate changes after our safety strikes. Before that, they were basically operating as if everything was normal."

But workers still want to make it known that their coworkers are continuing to get sick. In the letter, workers say Amazon lacks in the transparency department. Amazon, however, maintains that when it confirms a case of COVID-19 among workers, it communicates that to other people who work at that same site.

This letter of demands is just the first of what we're seeing from AWI.

"Our international solidarity will definitely grow," he said. "This is a very important aspect of what we're doing and what any worker movement should do, which is expressing coordinated international demands and coordinated international actions."
After six weeks of lockdown, many Britons are facing decisions about what to do with their increasingly out-of-control hair.

And Phillip Schofield is no different as he showed off his hilarious hair styling attempts on Instagram.

The TV personality, 58, shared his 'lockdown hair options', with one smart and styled and the other with his hair unkempt and out of control.

'Lockdown hair options': Phillip Schofield, 58, showed off his wildly unkempt hair (right) during lockdown before he slicked it back (left)

In the first black and white snap, Phillip looked smart as he slicked back his hair while wearing a buttoned-up polo shirt.

And in the second picture, the presenter appeared as if he had just woken up and smirked with his silver tresses spiked in all directions.

The This Morning host also posted his smart hair style on his Instagram stories where he captioned the black and white snap: 'If ya can't cut it, slick it.'

'If ya can't cut it, slick it': The This Morning host looked smart as he wore a buttoned-up polo shirt with his silver locks slicked back

It is not the first time the Dancing On Ice presenter has updated his fans on the state of his hair.

Phillip took to Snapchat earlier this week to add a close-up of his mane before adding 'this is getting ridiculous' alongside a pair of scissors.

Phillip recently moved out of the 2million family home he shared with his wife Stephanie, and admitted that he 'misses hugs' on Monday's episode of This Morning.

Wild: The TV personality took to Snapchat earlier in the week to add a close-up of his mane before adding 'this is getting ridiculous' alongside a pair of scissors

Moving out: He recently moved out of the 2million family home he shared with his wife Stephanie (pictured together at their home in 2018)

The presenter and his co-host Holly Willoughby spoke to Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes about how she's coping in lockdown.

Miriam, 78, said that she 'needs people' in her life and it's 'vital' for her due to her extrovert personality.

To which Phillip admitted: 'I miss hugs.'

With Miriam adding: 'Oh I miss hugs so much. It's difficult, I can't hug myself as I am too fat to wrap my arms around myself. It's what we miss.'

The star said that she is keeping in touch with her partner, Heather Sutherland, by using video call service Zoom.

Interview: The presenter, 58, and his co-host Holly Willoughby spoke to Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes about how she's coping in lockdown

'Extrovert': Miriam, 78, said that she 'needs people' in her life and it's 'vital' for her due to her extrovert personality

The amusing insights come after the father-of-two revealed he is gay earlier this year.

He has since amicably moved out of the 2million family home in Oxford which he shared with Stephanie, his wife of 27 years, and their daughters Molly, 27, and Ruby, 24.

Phillip is now living in a flat in London but it is not clear if his new home is temporary or permanent.

Sophisticated: The This Morning presenter (pictured alongside co-host Holly Willoughby) is known for his usually well-groomed silver locks

In February, when Schofield discussed his decision to come out, he insisted: 'We'll always be a family' and it's clear they remain close.

He also insisted he still loves Steph as much as he did when they met 'if not more'.

Staff at the TV studios have been made aware of the star's change of address, including the drivers who ferry him to and from the studio.

'Always a family': Phillip, his wife of 27 years, Steph, and their two daughters are pictured above. It is not clear if his new home is temporary or permanent

A source said: 'There has been talk for weeks that Phillip isn't living with Steph any more, that he had moved out for good and had a new home. He has a place in central London.

'It's not as big but it's the beginning of a new life for him. It very much also seems as though their marriage could well be over.'

Schofield surprised fans on February 7 by issuing a statement on social media declaring that after 27 years of marriage, he was 'coming to terms with the fact that I am gay'.

Inside: Their Oxford home features a rustic kitchen, airy conservatory and high-tech wine storage

In a follow-up, he took his place on the This Morning sofa besides co-host Holly Willoughby to further pour his heart out.

Writing on Instagram about his decision to come out, he said: 'With the strength and support of my wife and daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.

'My inner conflict contrasts with an outside world that has changed so very much for the better. Today, quite rightly, being gay is a reason to celebrate and be proud.'

He later admitted in a newspaper interview that it was too early to say if he and Steph would stay married.

'It has taken me a long time to get here, I am not rushing to get to any other place,' he said.

'We will always be a family... And where the wind blows us I don't know. But I still love Steph as much as when we first met. More probably.'
The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia agreed to hold next talks in a month with the aim of preparing conditions for a summit of the Normandy Four leaders.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said this after a Normandy format video conference on Thursday, April 30, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Not only the pandemic impedes the holding of a new summit, but also the fact that the implementation of the agreed decisions has become more complicated ... The condition for the new summit is the implementation of the agreements already reached," Maas explained.

Maas said that many of the elements agreed in Minsk and Paris have yet to be implemented. These compromises, which are the result of long and hard negotiations, mustnt be destroyed, including through inaction, the minister added.

He emphasized that the purpose of the current meeting was to give a new impetus to this process and create "pressure" to implement what can be done, namely in issues of creating new checkpoints, mine clearance, detainee exchanges, etc.

Both Western partners are pleased that Russia and Ukraine confirmed their commitment to continue to implement the Paris agreements.

ish
Texas has recorded the highest number of coronavirus deaths in one day since the outbreak started, despite being hours away from its planned reopening.

A total of 50 people died from the disease in the state on Thursday, bringing the state's toll to 782, according to The Houston Chronicle.

The state also recorded its largest increase in infections in one day since 10 April adding 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 and bringing its total to more than 28,000.

The numbers come as governor Greg Abbott plans to go ahead with measures to restart the state's economy during the coronavirus pandemic and relax lockdown measures on Friday.

The governor will let the state's stay-at-home order expire as scheduled on Thursday and allow businesses to begin re-opening 1 May.

A select number of businesses will be allowed to re-open including malls, movie theatres, retail stores and restaurants, however, they can only operate at 25 per cent of their maximum capacity for the next two weeks.

This strategic approach to opening the state of Texas prioritises the health and safety of our communities and follows the guidelines laid out by our team of medical experts, the Republican governor said Monday.

As Texas ramps up testing, there will be more positive cases, Gov Abbott spokesman John Wittman said. The hospitalisation rate has remained steady and the fact remains Texas has one of the lowest death rates per capita in the country, showing the success of our efforts.

The Texas Democratic Party issued a statement attacking Gov Abbott's decision to reopen.

Today is a dark day in Texas, the statement said. Abbotts decision to let Texas stay-at-home order expire is reckless, irresponsible, and puts all of us at risk.

The 119 reported deaths over the past three days mark the worst period of casualties from the disease since the first recorded death in the state on 17 March.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
South Korean media recently reported the disturbing case of a high-school teacher who scolded and humiliated a student in front of the class, causing him to take his life that same day.

On April 26th, 2020 ethics professor at Youngshin Middle School in Pohang City referred to only as A, for personal privacy reasons, was convicted of child abuse and sentenced to 10 months in prison and had his teaching license suspended for 5 years. His crime: shaming a 9th grade student in front of the whole class after catching him reading a light manga novel, and causing him to end his own life, because of the humiliation. The teachers sentencing sent shock waves through South Korean social media, with some users accusing the teacher of bullying, and other expressing fears that the case set a precedent that will put fear into other teachers, preventing them from being strict when they need to be.

Photo: NewsPoole.kr

The tragic events that led to the untimely death of young Kim Gun Woo unfolded on March 25, 2019. During ethics class, he was caught reading a copy of Wise Mans Child, a light manga novel by Japanese author Tsuyoshi Yoshioka, by his teacher. A subsequent investigation later revealed that A himself had asked the students to spend the class reading, but the ethics teacher reportedly had a problem with Kims choice of reading material.

After seeing that the illustrations in the manga novel Kim Gun Woo had borrowed from a classmate featured girls wearing skimpy bathing suits, he took the student to the front of the classroom and scolded him for reading a racy manga, accusing him of looking at pictures of naughty girls in bikinis. As punishment, he made Kim do push-ups in front of his colleagues for 20 minutes.

When the ethics class was over and his mates went out in the schoolyard for PE, the humiliated Kim Gun Woo stayed behind and scribbling a message in his ethics textbook. It was the last thing he did before jumping from a 5th floor window and ending his own life

Photo: NewsPoole.kr

I dont want to live anymore Thank you for giving my colleagues a perfect excuse to tease and bully me. You dont even know what light novels are. Its a whole sub culture, but you dont care. How do you know theyre inappropriate? I know I am not without fault in this but you have violated my privacy and I feel completely humiliated. Please dont scold [the classmate who lent him the book] Kim Gun Woos final message read.

Police started an investigation into Kims tragic end immediately, and by August of 2019, in light of the uncovered evidence, the boys heartbroken parents filed a complaint against A. A year after the students death, Daegu District Courts Judge Shin Jin Woo issued a verdict against the ethics teacher: 10 months in prison and then 5 years of having his teaching license suspended.

The accused is at fault for psychologically abusing the student and causing him to take his own life. Plus, considering that the accused showed no interest in settling with the victims family, the verdict had been inevitable, the judge motivated her decision.

Photo: NewsPoole.kr

It turns out that A had shown no regret for his actions and instead blamed the boys family for letting Kim read books like that at school. He also defended his previous record, telling the court that in all his years of teaching at the school, Kim was the first one to have taken his own life after being confronted.

The sentence sparked a heated debate on South Korean social media, with some people praising the judge and accusing A of unnecessarily bullying and shaming Kim Gun Woo in front of his peers, and carrying the blame for his tragic death, and others claiming that the teacher had really done nothing wrong.

Thats not teaching, that is using his position as a teacher to be abusive and violent, one person commented.

The book is not racy though. Its PG-15. So there is really nothing wrong with Kim reading that book. At most, Kim should have gotten into trouble for reading in class. But honestly, I remember my teachers holding office hours and allowing reading. So personally, I cant understand why the teacher reacted so psychopathically, someone else chimed in.

Photo: NewsPoole.kr

But there were also those who defended the teacher, and called the sentence unfair.

If Kims death is this teachers fault and he deserves 10 months in prison, the teacher I had in high school should have been sentenced to f*cking death, a person wrote.

This limits schools and teachers from doing what they need to be doing. Yes, the scolding may have been over the line. Yes, the student may have felt humiliated and made a choice to take his own life. But to blame the teacher and make them pay the price? What kind of a verdict is this? an outraged social media user wrote.

Kim Gun Woos case has once again drawn attention to sensitive issues like student shaming and corporal punishments not only in South Korean schools, but all over the world.

Sources: NewsPoole, eDaily via KoreaBoo
Beginning Friday, a student information update is available online for parents of returning students currently enrolled in Hamilton County Schools.

The district needs information updated for all returning students in kindergarten through eleventh-grade for the 2020-2021 school year. The information update replaces the prior registration required of returning students.

Parents or guardians may update information by logging into their PowerSchool Parent Portal at any time before May 22.

Updating information in PowerSchool is essential for schools to have up-to-date contact details to allow the best possible communication between school and the home. The vital information also provides schools with current emergency and dismissal contacts for children. Completing an update will save parents and guardians time because the only information that has changed will need to be entered into the system.

A link is provided to the parent portal on the Hamilton County Schools website at www.hcde.org, as well as a short video walking parents through the information update process on PowerSchool. Additional assistance is also available by contacting the PowerSchool contact at the local school. The school contacts will be available to assist with difficulties logging on to the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

New student registration will open June 1, for students who will be new to Hamilton County Schools for the fall.
Employers and universities have welcomed the growing debate on pushing back the Japanese academic year's start to September, hoping to encourage more students to study abroad and expand the nation's pool of globally competitive talent.

The debate has gained momentum as a way to allow students, who have not been able to go to school since the new school year began in April, to start over in September. But the move would also bring Japan's academic year in line with the global norm.

"Without a change in environment, the dialogue won't move forward," Sojitz CEO Masayoshi Fujimoto said. "We should actively promote the idea."

The trading house has adopted a flexible hiring process that accommodates new graduates on unconventional schedules. But "it would be a big plus for companies if we can hire students who are studying abroad and those in Japan at the same time," Fujimoto said.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology began serious discussions in March on moving the school year to fall as schools were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. And the debate picked up pace in recent weeks as concerns grew over long-term school closures.

"We want to consider various possibilities as we plan to reopen our schools," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told lawmakers Thursday. The government set up a team that day to look into the changing the academic year.

As of now, Japan does not send that many students abroad. Just 4% of Japan's university students studied abroad as of 2017, well below the average for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. There had been attempts in the past to shift the academic calendar to lift this share.

"It will make studying abroad and exchanges easier," said Kansai University President Keiji Shibai. "Overseas students can also put Japanese colleges on their lists." Shibai did caution that there will be a significant impact on various levels, including on students currently studying for college entrance exams.

A September start "means I'd be able to study abroad without worrying how our terms line up," said a student in her final year of high school in Tokyo.

The University of Tokyo in 2011 began considering a fall start to its year but ultimately ruled it out as no other colleges expressed interest. Waseda University and Keio University instead adopted a quarter system that gives students more openings to go abroad.
States like Georgia, Texas and Colorado have begun lifting stay-at-home orders without a robust army of public health workers to quickly identify people whove come into contact with coronavirus patients, worrying health experts that the states could be at heightened risk for a new wave of infections.

Members of President Donald Trumps coronavirus task force have warned a reopening risks erasing weeks of progress in slowing the virus if states dont have an extensive system for identifying patients and tracing their contacts. The number of contact tracers states need depends on factors like infection rates, testing availability and population density. But those moving to relax restrictions have far fewer contact tracers per capita than many of those remaining locked down for at least a few more weeks.

Texas will begin reopening restaurants, stores and movie theaters this week with just 1,100 contact tracers, about a quarter of what Republican Gov. Greg Abbott hopes to eventually have in place.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whose aggressive reopening was criticized by Trump, wants to deploy 1,000 contact tracers across the state and is looking to interns to help fill the ranks. The state health department, acknowledging the tracking program isnt fully up to speed, said its so far enlisted just 300.

In Florida, where stores and restaurants will begin reopening Monday, the health department has just 500 contact tracers in a state with about 35,000 reported cases. In some of the most populous counties, the number of tracers is in the single digits.

Those efforts stand in stark contrast to other states like Massachusetts and California, which are taking more cautious approaches to reopening. Massachusetts, the first state to announce an ambitious contact tracing operation during the pandemic, hired some 2,000 people last month. California is amassing a force of 10,000 paid and volunteer tracers, building on an already robust disease tracking system across the state.

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Gov. Brian Kemp speaks as other officials standing behind during a press conference to provide an update on the state's efforts regarding COVID-19, after reporting the first death in Georgia related to coronavirus, at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday, March 12, 2020. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

The governors in states with sparser contact tracing programs said dire unemployment numbers have left them little choice but to begin gradually sending people back to work while case counts still grow, even if it means reopening before they can fully bolster public health measures. They say weeks of unprecedented shutdowns have ensured their health care systems wont be overrun if the number of coronavirus cases creeps upward, and they can move swiftly to reimpose lockdown orders should new hot spots emerge.

We are looking at depression-level unemployment, Kemp said earlier this week. Were facing hardships now trying to feed everybody.

But even when these states hit their hiring targets for contact tracers, public health experts said they are still likely to have fewer than needed to prevent a second spike of infections. Thousands of potential new contacts to track are being added every day in these states, and many have inadequate ability to quickly identify new cases through testing. Health experts also warn the job of meticulously tracing contacts gets only more difficult as more people reenter the workforce and go about their daily lives.

If its not done in a methodical, reasonable way, itll undo all the strong work weve done in the community, said Dr. Umair Shah, who leads the public health department in Harris County, Texas, an area that includes Houston and is more populous than several states.

Contact tracing programs, paired with expansive testing, have been credited with controlling the spread of Covid-19 in countries like South Korea and New Zealand. Public health experts and lawmakers have called for the U.S. to establish a national program of contact tracers numbering between 100,000 and 300,000  far more than the nearly 2,000 state and local health departments had before the novel coronavirus emerged.

Public health departments, already suffering from years of funding cuts, face an unprecedented challenge. While their small teams of disease detectives are used to tracking sexually transmitted diseases, which are slow to spread, or viruses like the measles for which there is a vaccine, theyve never attempted to thwart an easily transmittable virus thats quickly spread to over 1 million Americans and killed at least 64,000.

Experts, including former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Medicare chief Andy Slavitt, this week called for a $46 billion national investment to help states trace contacts and isolate people outside of their homes. That plea came even after Congress last week cleared $25 billion for testing other public health measures, including contact tracing.

Before Texas imposed its stay-at-home order, contact tracers in Houston on average were speaking to about a dozen contacts of newly infected people, said Kirstin Short, who heads the city health departments epidemiology office. That number was cut in half under the lockdown measure set to expire this week.

Social distancing was working, Short said. But were anticipating that as these restrictions are loosened, those potential contacts are going back up again.

Polls have shown widespread support for social distancing measures, so many residents in reopening states may still be cautious. Some localities, including Denver and Boulder County, Colo., are breaking with governors to keep their stay-at-home orders in place. And in states where a governors reopening orders have wiped away local rules, mayors in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, are pleading with residents to stay home.

The Trump administration has largely shifted responsibility to the states for coronavirus testing, as well as contact tracing, providing little guidance about how many workers states should hire or how they should be deployed. Thats led to a patchwork of state responses, with some building up an army of contact tracers ahead of reopening.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced his hard-hit state will hire as many as 17,000 tracers to track down a virus still infecting thousands by the day.

"That is an overwhelming scale to an operation that has never existed before," Cuomo said.

Elsewhere, some local health officials say there is a large gap between states plans for hiring contact tracers and the situation on the ground. In Colorado, where stay-at-home orders were peeled back this week, local health officials estimate at least 1,000 contact tracers are needed, but the state currently has just 56 and has enlisted help from 20 students at the University of Colorados School of Public Health. Colorados health department said its working with public health agencies and others to identify gaps to inform our planning and hiring moving forward.

Theresa Anselmo, executive director of the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials, said public health departments may ultimately need to hire as many as 5,000 people. In addition to tracing possible new infections, staff also must make sure people can safely isolate.

We need staff to ensure that people who are asked to quarantine are successful in doing so, Anselmo said. We need people making sure they have the food they need, that they have their medications, rent and utility assistance, etc.

Many states are also exploring the use of apps to help track who has been around an infected person, which could encourage more people to get tested and quarantine on their own. These apps could reduce the workload for contact tracers, but the technology is still under development, and privacy concerns will likely limit how widely the public embraces these apps.

In Georgia, where residents this week returned to restaurants, movie theaters and nail salons, the state is testing an app to help the contacts of infected people monitor and report their symptoms. Health officials hope to roll it out statewide next week.

Ultimately, health experts say contact tracing alone wont be enough to stamp out Covid-19. The virus is still moving too quickly and an ongoing lag in testing will make it difficult to quickly identify new infections, especially since many people are carriers without showing symptoms.

A virus will outpace the contact tracers  always, said Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvards School of Public Health. I dont want to say its futile, but its difficult.
Dispute was huge distraction for Afghanistan when coronavirus crisis was worsening and Taliban was stepping up attacks.

A bitter feud between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah appeared closer to a resolution on Friday after Abdullah said the two men had moved forward in talks.

We have made progress in negotiations and reached tentative agreement on a range of principles. Work on details is under way to finalise the agreement, Abdullah said on Twitter.

Abdullah previously served as Afghanistans chief executive under a power-sharing deal with Ghani, but lost that post following last years presidential elections that Ghani won amid claims of fraud.

Instead of accepting defeat, Abdullah proclaimed himself president, a title he uses to this day, though the international community only recognises Ghani.

The dispute has proved a huge distraction for Afghanistan at a terrible time, with the coronavirus crisis worsening daily and the Taliban stepping up attacks despite a deal they signed with the United States in February.

We hope to finalise the political agreement at the earliest so that we can pay undivided attention to tackling COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring a just, dignified and lasting peace, and confronting the security and economic challenges in a spirit of national unity and solidarity, Abdullah tweeted.

Glad to assure the people of AFG that efforts by respected national personalities to resolve the political crisis have borne fruit. We have made progress in negotiations & reached tentative agreement on a range of principles. Work on details is underway to finalize the agreement.  Dr. Abdullah Abdullah (@DrabdullahCE) May 1, 2020

Ghanis office did not immediately comment.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Afghan official told AFP news agency that Abdullah has made a multipronged proposal to Ghani.

The offer would see Abdullah appointed to lead eventual peace talks with the Taliban while also getting a 50 percent share of the government including several high-ranking positions for his allies.

Abdullah would also gain the title of executive prime minister, the official said, stressing that Ghani has not accepted the proposal.

On Thursday, Ghanis second vice president, Sarwar Danish, confirmed that Abdullah would be leading the countrys peace council.

Efforts are underway to finalise an agreement with Dr Abdullah within the framework of a National Participation Government, Danish said.
Gov. Kate Browns office has unveiled draft guidelines for how businesses might resume operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidelines include maintaining strict social distancing and potentially recording customers IDs in case health officials need to trace who came in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus. Brown plans a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Friday to introduce COVID-19 testing and contact tracing plans as part of her guidelines for reopening Oregon.

Consider keeping a record of name, contact information and date/time of visit for customers/visitors for purposes of contact tracing if needed. Businesses should inform customers/visitors of the reason the information is being collected and how the information will be used, says a draft of employer guidance posted on the governors coronavirus website.

The draft offers this suggested language for what to tell customers: This business is collecting basic information to share with public health in the event a COVID-19 case is identified associated with this business.

Restaurants and bars would have to limit seating. Patrons might wait in their vehicles until told their table was ready. Video lottery could resume but with six feet of social distancing required.

Liz Merah, one of Browns press secretaries, cautioned that the drafts are subject to change.

These documents are a product of our sector-specific working group discussions with business owners and other stakeholders, Merah wrote in an email response to questions. Generally speaking, the goal is to develop guidance for these business sectors that will keep employees and patrons safe from COVID-19 as we work to gradually and safely reopen Oregon.

Brown plans to reopen the Oregon economy in phases. Businesses have been seeking clarity in how they can keep their staffs and their customers safe, said Katy Brooks, CEO of the Bend Chamber of Commerce.

Each business sector has been working on plans to keep customers apart, which is a top priority.

They really want their customers to feel very comfortable coming back, Brooks said. Some of the industries are looking at some of these guidelines as very difficult to implement, and were working through that with the Governors Office right now.

Brooks is particularly concerned about the impact on the child care industry, where restrictions on the number of children per provider could put some out of business. The margins on child care are so slim, and if you are not at full capacity, you lose money, she said.

The draft guidelines encourage businesses to consider health checks for employees and customers, such as screening for temperature and respiratory symptoms. Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, Douglas County public health officer, said that optional approach strikes the appropriate balance.

I think this guidance is pretty broad and allows people to do what they want to do, said Dannenhoffer, who also is a member of Browns COVID-19 Medical Advisory Panel. The world has a lot of experience in shutting things down. The world has very little experience in opening things up, and so were going to be kind of feeling our way around here.

The draft guidelines allow people to choose to congregate in groups no larger than 10. Whether in a restaurant, on a trail or at the beach, six feet of social distancing would be required between groups but not within the same group.

Retail stores would need to limit the number of customers so as to maintain six feet of distance, as well as keep customers and employees apart.

Oregonians would be asked not to travel more than 50 miles from home unless necessary to obtain essential services.

Other proposed rules include:

 Continued closure of playgrounds, picnic shelters, water parks, pools and other recreational facilities prone to attracting crowds.

 No customer self-service operations, such as buffets, salad bars, soda machines and growler refilling stations.

 No seating at restaurant bars or counters.

 No reusable menus unless they can be cleaned between customers.

 No karaoke machines, pool tables or bowling.

 Businesses should encourage employees and customers to wear face masks, except when restaurant or bar patrons are seated at a table.

 Specific sanitation measures and informational signs would be required at each business.

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A blast in a remote part of Nepal has killed four children, police said on Friday, with suspicion it was caused by old ordnance left over from a decade-long Maoist insurgency.

The children, aged from five to 13, had taken cattle to graze in a forest in the northwestern district of Rolpa on Thursday when they found a device and played with it, probably mistaking it for a toy, said police official Shanta Kumar KC.

It may have been abandoned during the conflict, he said. Authorities were investigating.

The Nepalese Civil War began with the Maoist rebellion in Rolpa in 1996 and caused 17,000 deaths before ending with a peace deal in 2006.

The former rebels are now part of the ruling Nepal Communist Party.

Unexploded ordnance from the war still causes casualties.

Reuters
Turn them into little citizen scientists by giving them a backyard tally sheet.

Prime birding season is here. From late April till mid-May, many migratory birds are returning from their tropical overwintering spots to colder regions of the U.S. and Canada. It is "a season of ardent song and courtship displays, as birds make claims to nesting territories and try to attract mates." Sometimes the cacophony is so loud it's hard to decipher individual songs.

Many children and teens participate in bird counts at this time of year, especially if they're part of nature clubs or scouting groups, but due to the shutdown rules, these outings have been cancelled. This is a blow to birding organizations that rely on this influx of citizen-sourced data. Meanwhile, families are also trying to homeschool, an undertaking made all the more challenging by limited resources. All together, this creates a great opportunity: Turn backyard birding into your family's science class this month.

Not only will kids learn about the actual bird species frequenting their backyards, but they'll become familiar with the concept of citizen science, when scientific research is conducted by volunteers who do not have formal education in a particular area. Drew Monkman and Jacob Rodenburg describe citizen science in their fabulous Big Book of Nature Activities (also cited in first paragraph):

"Participants can become the 'eyes' and 'ears' for professional scientists... Dentists are becoming lepidopterists, plumbers are contributing to our knowledge of lizards and grade-three students are tracking monarch butterflies. In the process, people feel more engaged with the scientific process and the natural world in general."

Several organizations are asking for kids (and adults) to compile data on birds and submit it online. Birds Canada is hosting its annual Bird Blitz throughout the month of May, with a downloadable bird tally sheet and identification guide tailored to specific regions and the date. Cornell University's annual Global Big Day is May 9, when people are asked to observe birds within a 24-hour period and submit findings online. (You can use the free eBird app.) It's a pretty big deal, as the website reveals:

"Last year, 35,209 eBirders from 174 countries collected an astounding 92,284 checklists in a single day. Will you join us on Global Big Day to make 2020 the year that we surpass 100,000 checklists of birds in one day? Help us set a new checklist record!"

Kids may find they enjoy the act of birdwatching. In stressful, uncertain times, it can be a profoundly peaceful activity. When a Girl Scouts troop in New York City had its annual birding trip cancelled this month, the troop leaders urged the girls to stay in their own backyards or hike solo with immediate family members to make bird observations. Reuters quoted 11-year-old Jordan Miller, a Girl Scout Cadette: "Its relaxing to just look outside. It gives you something to focus on instead of having your mind going to all these fears. You can calm down, looking at trees and seeing these majestic creatures flying. Its cool."

So how do you start? Birds Canada offers some suggestions.

Get your tally sheet ready, then choose a day in May or participate several times. (I plan to tack up a tally sheet on the wall and let my kids add to it whenever they make observation while playing outside.) Spend an hour or more observing birds and look for the following features  size, shape, colors, patterns, songs and calls, behaviors and habitats. If you don't know what type of bird it is, use these details to identify it in a list of regional species. Sketching birds is another helpful way to learn to identify them. Here's a short tutorial:

Last but not least, remember that birds can be anywhere: "Be observant, using eyes and ears to find birds in all the different habitats that make up your space. Birds can be found on the ground foraging for food, taking shelter in shrubs or trees, flying across the yard or high up in the sky!"
An Amazon logo seen on a fulfillment center in Michigan. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Amazon (AMZN) has told staff who are able to work from home that they can do so until at least October, further raising the prospect of a permanent shift towards remote working due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an email to staff, Amazon management said that employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are now welcome to do so until 2 October.

We will continue to evaluate the situation, the company said, noting that working from its office may become another option before then.

In a statement, Amazon confirmed the decision, noting that it had made investments so that those who do choose to work from its offices could remain safe.

READ MORE: Heathrow Airport passenger numbers plunge 97% in April

It has invested significant funds to develop physical distancing, deep cleaning, and temperature check protocols, and has made face masks and hand sanitiser available, Amazon said.

The online shopping giant has faced criticism for the conditions that workers must endure during the pandemic, however.

Last month, Amazon fired two corporate employees who criticised its policies on climate change and publicly condemned the conditions at its warehouses.

Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa said that a lack of safe working conditions put staff and the public at risk during the pandemic.

The company also fired a New York-based warehouse worker who had organised a protest against working conditions.

Amazon said that worker had been fired, not because he organised a protest, but because he refused to stay at home after coming in contact with an employee who had become infected with coronavirus.

READ MORE: Ryanair cuts up to 3,000 jobs and O'Leary takes pay cut

The company says it has introduced mechanism to keep its employees safe, and has increased pay for warehouse workers by $2 an hour.

A significant proportion of Amazon employees normally based at offices have been working from home since 12 March.

The companys global headquarters is located in Seattle in Washington, which is one of the hardest hit US states.

Story continues

Many large Seattle-based employers told their staff to work from home at the beginning of March, as the scale of the outbreak became apparent.

The sudden shift to working from home for millions of employees across the world could precipitate a permanent shift in working patterns, experts have said.

A significant proportion of firms have already made investments in home-working setups for their employees.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin will work from home from Thursday as a precaution against possible exposure to the coronavirus, her office said.

The decision was made after Marin was told a close contact of someone who had been working at her official residence last week had tested positive on Wednesday.

"The possibility of exposure is extremely low," the office wrote in a statement, adding Marin was symptomless and feeling well.

The individual, who was also asymptomatic, did not meet the prime minister, her family members or her advisory staff when working at the residence, the office said.

(Reporting by Anne Kauranen; editing by Nick Macfie)
KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Geely Holding Group and its local partner DRB-HICOM, who jointly own and operate Malaysia's national carmaker Proton, has handed over an assortment of medical aid to the Malaysian government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said Thursday.

The donation, consisting of disposable three-ply surgical masks, protective medical clothing, medical goggles and PL 700 ADV ventilators, will be distributed to 55 hospitals located throughout Malaysia that have been earmarked by the Ministry of Health, said Geely.

In addition to the medical supplies, Proton has loaned 50 units of the Proton X70 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to the Ministry of Health to ease their logistical operations and the carmaker has also produced 60,000 units of face shields at its Malaysian factory, according to Geely.
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The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the dedication of NHS staff. None more so than ICU doctors and nurses who treat the most critical ill amongst us.

Photographer Christopher Bobyn of Nine, BBC News Scotland was granted exclusive access to the NHS ICU at Hairmyres hospital, in East Kilbride Scotland over a period of 12 hours.

According to the BBC, Hairmyres Hospital normally has one intensive care unit, but now they have now added two Covid wards and two ICU areas for Covid patients.

The primary ICU has been running at 240% capacity for most of the pandemic, and it is now been equipped to accommodate up to 400%.

The photos showcase the realities of working in a high intensity job as so many on the NHS frontline are doing at this difficult time.

Clad in cumbersome but life-saving PPE, healthcare workers continue their work under the added strain of an increased infection risk.

Hairmyres Hospital's Dr Austin Rattray leads the overnight ICU team of 30 nursing staff and clinical support workers, three consultants and two junior doctors.

Many of the staff at the ICU have been brought in from other departments, specially retrained to help with the coronavirus effort.

The doctors and nurses help other members of staff put on their PPE at the beginning of their shift

Dr Austin Rattray leads the overnight ICU team of 30 nursing staff and clinical support workers, three consultants and two junior doctors

NHS staff with their names on their equipment so patients and their colleagues can recognise them

A nurse checks up on a patient recently removed from a ventilator. Strict isolation is in place to limit the spread of the virus, meaning families are not permitted into the ICU to visit desperately sick relatives

Doctors monitor a patient in an induced coma, usually patients are kept sedated but alert but not if they have coronavirus

Anaesthetic trainee Katie Maguire, showing the marks left by her PPE after a 12-hour shift. She does not normally work in intensive care, but has been drafted in during the pandemic

A doctor oversees his team as they put on their PPE for the night taking care not to leave any inch unprotected

The ICU team works together seamlessly as they discuss a patient's treatment

A doctor examines a patient's chest ex-ray to make sure there is no fluid in their lungs

A coronavirus patient is lifted by in the ICU team, in preparation for a chest X-ray. He was one of five patients requiring extensive 24-hour care throughout the night

Covid-19 patient Lynn Plunkett is recovering after time spent in the ICU. She says: 'The doctor asked me if I should be resuscitated if needed. I said you keep me alive no matter what. I have my first grandson being born in two weeks and I need to meet him. You keep me alive no matter what.'

The dramatic moment the medical team 'prones' a patient whose oxygen levels suddenly dropped dangerously low, turning the patient on to their front side to ease their breathing

Doctors in the ICU help a desperately ill patient breath with the aid of a pump

ICU charge nurse Morag Malcom monitors the breathing of a desperately ill patient

Doctors tend to a patient in the ICU at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride

One coronavirus patient has been unable to breath without a ventilator for 23 days

An NHS staff member in full PPE finds a quiet moment to pose for a photograph at the end of her shift

A doctor adjusts a patient's apparatus whilst checking his or her vital statistics

Nurses and doctors cooperate to treat a patient who has been admitted to the ICU
(Newser)  This year, a commencement speaker will address all high school and college graduates across the country, and that speaker is Oprah Winfrey. Facebook has recruited the 66-year-old talk show host to give a virtual commencement address to be streamed on the social network at 2pm EST on May 15, reports the New York Times. Winfreywho has delivered some 19 commencement speeches as of last May, per Fast Companyactually needs to write two speeches for 2020 as she's also agreed to virtually address Chicago public schools' graduating seniors in mid-June. In speaking to graduates across the entire nation, Winfrey will be joined by artists Lil Nas X and Miley Cyrus, actresses Awkwafina and Jennifer Garner, and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, Facebook says. (Read more Oprah Winfrey stories.)
Protests against covid-related government restrictions continued to spread on Friday as a coalition of gun activists, vaccine opponents and anxious business owners used the organizing power of social media to build increasingly visible and vocal opposition movements in several states.

Crowds waving signs, honking horns, and demanding an immediate relaxation of measures imposed to slow the pandemic gathered in Chicago, Raleigh, North Carolina, Los Angeles and Sacramento, California, on Friday. More protests were planned for the weekend, including in the state capitals of Kentucky, Oregon and New Hampshire, despite polling consistently showing that most Americans support public-health restrictions by governors and mayors even as the economic toll mounts.

The protests at first were mostly small and scattered, often organized by a few ardent gun-rights activists, but the events drew mainstream attention and support this week, and dozens more are planned for the coming days. Hundreds of protesters in Michigan - many of them carrying guns and wearing military gear and some shouting at officers wearing protective face masks - entered the state Capitol in Lansing on Thursday.

"What an incredibly beautiful and freedom-invoking vision," said Karen Kirkpatrick Hoop, 49, a consultant in the insurance industry who drove two hours to attend the protest in Lansing with her two children, demonstrating alongside members of militia groups dressed in army fatigues and carrying rifles. "This is an international movement of people that are fed up with an increase in government control."

Images of that protest and others - some of them doctored to make the crowd appear bigger or alter the messages of the protesters - spread around the world through news reports, as well as links on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, underscoring the social media savvy of the protesters and their potential to create similarly vivid new scenes around the nation.

The growing political stakes were heightened overnight as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, hours after the protest, extended stay-at-home restrictions until May 28, prompting President Donald Trump to tweet Friday morning that she should "give a little, and put out the fire."

Many of the protesters are motivated by the deepening economic crisis caused by the pandemic and frustration with the stay-at-home orders issued by governors and mayors across the country. In Washington, D.C. truckers parked near the White House on Friday, honking their horns, to protest low rates for freight during the pandemic.

"We're compassionate people, and we care about lives. Our whole movement is because we care about lives. Not only people directly affected by covid, but for the millions of people who have filed for unemployment and are lining up a food banks, and the business owners who have worked for years to build their business," said Jeremy Wood, a home supply business owner who is a spokesman for the "The Great 48!," a private Facebook group of Arizona business owners that has more than 25,000 members and is organizing a protest for Sunday.

Others active in the burgeoning movement question the legality of the restrictions and whether they are an overreaction to a pandemic that has killed more than 64,000 Americans since the end of February and infected more than 1.1 million.

"If this was as bad as everybody says, the employees at Kroger and Walmart should be dropping like flies, and they're not," said Lee Watts, a Kentucky chaplain organizing a protest planned for the state Capitol steps on Saturday. Kentucky has had 240 covid deaths, and dozens of grocery workers have died from coronavirus across the U.S., according to the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union that represents them.

In many cases the protests, which have been supported by conservative megadonors, have ties to a host of darker Internet subcultures - people who oppose vaccination, white supremacists such as the Proud Boys, anti-government conspiracy theorists known as QAnon, and people touting a coming civil war.

These groups see the coronavirus crisis as a vehicle to spread their beliefs, said Devin Burghart, president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a nonprofit group that monitors far-right activity and has been tallying the protests. More than 100 such events in 32 states are planned for the coming days, Burghart said. But he added that it was unclear how many were actual events or merely the work of local and far-flung activists throwing up a Facebook page to try to build more momentum for their causes.

"By organizing on Facebook, these groups are harnessing the coordinated power of the Internet to stage flash protests in public places - strategies that were once tactics used by left-wing movements like Black Lives Matter," said Joan Donovan, Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. "Now though, it threatens the health of the protesters and the police who must enforce stay-at-home orders."

The protests also are fueled by an Internet echo chamber of medical misinformation that has been amplified by conservative news personalities, some business leaders and by President Trump.

A debunked viral video by two California doctors, for example, claiming that covid-19 is no deadlier than the flu was touted on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. YouTube's removal of the video landed the doctors an appearance on the Tucker Carlson show on Fox, adding to its legitimacy and its reach.

Erica Pettinaro, 28, who works part-time as a medical assistant and doula near Flint, Michigan, said she is suspicious of the death toll reported from covid-19 and does not believe that the government should be counting people who contract the virus and die of pneumonia, even though the term describes any infection that invades the lungs

Pettinaro, a mother of five, co-founded Michigan United for Liberty, a group that has sued Whitmer over the restrictions imposed during the pandemic and urged businesses to open Friday in defiance of the state order. The group organized Thursday's protest at the state capitol.

She thinks states are "fluffing" their numbers because they have a perverse incentive: "The more deaths and cases that you have, the more federal funding you get," said Pettinaro.

The group's members have attended and organized protests that have rattled the state capitol in recent weeks, drawing heavily armed militia members and creating a spectacle that made international news." Its Facebook page has more than 6,700 followers, and it now has a website. It has offered legal assistance to business owners who face prosecution for opening in defiance of the governor's shutdown orders.

Some of the more visible protests include elements that appear designed to become Internet memes and make the protests appear bigger than they are or change the messages on signs. In one instance, a sign carried by a protester in California that said "Give me liberty or Give me Death" was changed to one that appeared to blame former president Barack Obama for the coronavirus.

Earlier this month, a video of an Idaho mother who was arrested after letting her kids play on a playground that was surrounded by police tape went viral in far-right circles, pushed out by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

The mother, Sara Walton Brady, is an anti-vaccine activist with connections to a number of conservative groups, said Donovan. The video was live-streamed on Facebook by supporters, and the incident followed an earlier anti-quarantine demonstration in Idaho organized by anti-vaccine activists, the gun rights group Second Amendment Alliance, and the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a politically prominent conservative group in the state.

Brady did not reply to calls and texts seeking comment.

Shortly after Brady's arrest, far-right anti-government activist Ammon Bundy staged a protest outside the home of the Idaho police officer that arrested her, prompting several copycat standoffs against police, said Burghart, of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.

"Creating spectacles for media isn't new, but now organizers are working to ensure that the protest is optimized to be live-streamed, tailored to become a meme," said Renee DiResta, technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory. "The audience for a local protest is much bigger than the local community. It's the ideological community online."

Even though the hate group Proud Boys were not early protest organizers, they have shown up at protests to spread their ideas. Members have appeared or spoken at rallies and demonstrations in Michigan, Colorado, Nevada, and Florida, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Group members have spread xenophobic messages, including blaming China and Chinese people for the virus.

In Michigan, the protests come as Whitmer, the first Democrat to lead the state in nearly a decade, continues to draw the ire of Trump, whose response to the pandemic she has called inadequate. Trump railed against her on television and in briefings, at one point calling her ungrateful and saying that he had instructed Vice President Mike Pence, who is coordinating some of the pandemic response, to not call "the woman in Michigan."

Whitmer's own national profile, meanwhile, has risen, spurring speculation that the Biden campaign is considering asking her to join his ticket.

But this has not helped her standing with Republican lawmakers, who dominate the statehouse. The governor remains in a tense standoff with Republican lawmakers, who say she does not have the authority to extend the emergency declaration and laid the groundwork to sue her Thursday. Friday, after extending the emergency declaration over the objections of Republicans, she reflected on the demonstrations that had drawn heavily armed protesters to the capitol.

"Yesterday's scene at the capitol was disturbing, to be quite honest," she said. "Swastikas and Confederate flags, nooses and automatic rifles do not represent who we are as Michiganders. This state has a history of people coming together in times of crisis."

- - -

Dwoskin reported from Oakland, Calif., and Balingit from Lansing, Mich. The Washington Post's Julie Tate contributed to this report.
P olice have shot dead a man after a stabbing attack at a shopping centre in Western Australia.

Several people were said to have been injured by the attack, which took place in the coastal town of South Headland, Pilbara.

Two of the injured people are said to be in a serious condition.

Witnesses have told local media they saw a man, believed to be in his 30s and wearing a high-vis uniform, waving a knife at shoppers before attacking people in car parks near the mall.

Police were called just before 10am on Friday to reports of a man attacking shoppers at the South Hedland Square shopping centre.

"The male who died is the person who was engaged by police, and he received a gunshot wound," said WA Police.

"Police will investigate the circumstances surrounding how these people received the injuries," the statement said.

Other witnesses claim they saw police taser a man multiple times before he was shot dead by the police.

A shop employee told the Sydney Morning Herald that he saw a man running with "multiple tasers" in his back.

"He was running pretty fast with tasers in his back, I dont know how many tasers he had in his back, it looked like a lot," said the shop employee.

He pushed one of the police officers on the ground and I think he was about to lunge at another one of the police with the knife, thats what it looked like to me.

Police were shouting, 'Stop drop, stop drop, stop drop', screaming at him just to drop the knife, it was a big knife, a big knife."

Port Hedland Commissioner Fred Riebeling said one of the victims is a council employee who works at a local theatre.

He told the Australian Associated Press: "It's all really upsetting.

"If there's five or half a dozen people injured, half the town will probably know someone involved."

WA Police Union President Harry Arnott said a team had been deployed to assist members involved in the incident and their colleagues.

Mr Arnott said in a statement: "Our information indicates our members acted to protect the community and themselves, and without their intervention this incident would be significantly more tragic for the Hedland Community.

"This incident again highlights the unique and dangerous job that police officers do."
Amidst the current situation affecting most of the world, we cant deny theres a number of positive outcomes evident in everyday life.

Indeed, there is a cloud above us of things that inevitably make us want to return to normalcy. Our daily activities are greatly missed, especially the social aspect upon which we depend to function.

This isolation has connected us more than ever by reaching out to friends and family to make sure theyre OK.

But lets not forget there are a number of industries being tested to the limits, the hospitality sector being one of them. Safe to say, the Napa Valley community has shown overall resilience.

Wineries and retailers conducting virtual tastings has been one of the most successful venues to stay afloat.

For restaurants, the take-out option has given some sense of stability, not only to the businesses but also to the thousands of patrons that benefit from having their favorite food at home.

During the last few weeks we have taken breaks from home cooking and recipe trials to support our local establishments. Thankfully, options are vast, and we are slowly working our way through the available fare.

Here a list of the top experiences, prices and hours of operation vary daily in some cases.

Compline Wine Bar and Restaurant, owned and operated by Matt Stamp MS and Ryan Stetins has consistently delivered a range of dishes crafted by the great Chef Yancy Windsperger. Our choices were their famous cheese burger with duck fat fries, crab dip and the spring green salad around $50. It paired perfectly with a bottle of Hirai Junmai sake.

NapaSport in South Napa has been raising the bar with their menu. Executive Chef Arnaud Drouville, who just relocated from Thailand a few months ago, has been showing off his talent with a number of new dishes aimed to deliver an experience and manage to keep it pocket-friendly. We recently enjoyed the paella for four, which should read for six and the fall- off-the-bone pork ribs prepared in a unique spiral shape and a mouth- watering glaze. For pairing we picked up a bottle of 2018 Illumination Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley, all under $100 and plenty of food!

Fume Bistro, the ultimate neighborhood spot north Napa, has consistently kept the locals well fed. We ordered a variety of dishes to satisfy the cravings. Seared salmon, BBQ ribs, grilled artichokes and the lemon-parsley risotto, along with a half bottle of 2017 Comte LaFond , all just over $100.

We are lucky that Chef Curtis, Jessica and the team at Miminashi in Napa have been featuring a rotating menu every Friday. Along with mixologist Andrew Salazars libations pre-batched and ready to go. We ordered the delicious spicy shrimp gyoza , not one but two orders (that good), and also the Magurodon bowl with big eye tuna, steamed rice and all the goods. To pair Andrews El Diablo cocktail with tequila, ginger and cassis. Total: $70.

Chef Gary Penir, the talented mastermind behind GP Cuisine, decided to delight his followers with a series of Saturday pop-ups, featuring some of his favorite dishes available for pick up at La Taberna on Main St., Napa. A couple weeks ago, we couldnt resist his menu and we ordered the pho and Khao Soi Gai, which stands among the top ever tasted. $30 for both. The spicy Asian-inspired fare called for a number of Rieslings including 2018 Benevolent Neglect Nelson Family Vineyards Mendocino.

New kid on the block, Hal Yamashita Napa has been offering variations of their menu to go. We decided to dig into their list and ordered a variety of rolls including Spicy California Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Japanese Wagyu Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Edamame and Chicken Karaage. Although we dont usually think of sushi as the ideal take-out option, this was incredibly fresh. They also offer their sake list to go for a killer price. We ordered Katafune Tokubetsu Honjozo Genshu. Total just over $150.

Without a doubt one of the top comfort foods is BBQ. Its presented with many options in the valley, we have tried two so far during the shelter in place.

Bounty Hunter Napa always out performs with the Platter that includes brisket, pulled pork and ribs for $42, paired beautifully with the 2015 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley.

The other contender The Q in North Napa with Kelley Novaks can-do attitude and her skills, alongside Gene, they deliver a great BBQ Combo with zesty sauces, the famous Leslie Rudd slaw and the cauliflower trio. Total under $50. Paired with an Italian favorite 2017 Meroi Sauvignon from Friuli.

For a midday snack we tried Tarlas Beef and Lamb Doner Kebab Gyro, which has kept us dreaming since, $16

The highly anticipated return of Blanchards Fried Chicken couldnt have come fast enough. Chris and Lauren delivered their best pieces yet alongside the Gruyere Mac n Cheese, slaw and their famous biscuits. Total under $50, paired best with M Brugnon Champagne.

One of Napas best-kept secrets, The Dutch Door, tucked on Randolph Street, keeps us coming back to indulge in their now famous Korean Fried Chicken Sando and their Kale Yeah! Bowl to balance the goods. Under $30, paired perfectly with their neighbors 2016 Gambling & McDuck Chenin Blanc Suisun

Thank you to all restaurants and wine retailers for staying open and keeping our community going. Looking forward to sharing more experiences!

Wine is like people, youll find the ones you cant live without and the ones that you can.

Eduardo can be reached at eduardo@sakedrinker.com.
Three Delhi police constables, who were on duty at Shastri Park metro police station, were suspended on Thursday after they allegedly lied that they had come in contact with a policeman who had tested positive for Covid-19 and therefore should be sent into home quarantine.

Senior officers said, once caught, the constables confessed that they were scared of catching the infection while on duty and therefore made the excuse to evade duty amid the pandemic. Their suspension is yet to be revoked, police said.

A senior officer said that on Wednesday, the three constables had informed the east district control room that they had worked closely with a sub-inspector, who allegedly later tested positive for the virus. When officials from the control room checked with their police station in Shastri Park, it was found that they were lying and that they had cooked up the story. The matter was then reported to senior officers, said a police officer, who did not wish to be named.

Deputy commissioner of police (railways) Harendra Kumar Singh said when the three constables were caught lying, they said they were apprehensive about going to field duty amid the virus outbreak. As a disciplinary action, they were all suspended from their duties. Their suspension is yet to be revoked, the DCP said.

Meanwhile, four more Delhi police personnel tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking the total number of infected policemen to 40.

Two of them - a head constable and a constable  are members of Delhi Polices crime branch, which is probing Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and his associates in connection with the religious congregation in a six-storey building in the Nizamuddin area in March, in violation of government orders. The policemen were sent to isolation and are under treatment. Their family members have been asked to quarantine themselves at home, said a senior officer who did not wish to be named.

The two others, both constables, who were also tested positive on Friday are from Khajoori Khas police station. The two men were living in the police station barracks with four other constables from the reserve force. The police are now getting the other four also tested for coronavirus.

On Thursday, a Delhi Police sub-inspector from Amar Colony police station  whose duty was at Okhla Mandi  had also tested positive for Covid-19.

Of the total 38 police personnel infected with the virus so far, five have already recovered and have been discharged from quarantine facilities they were admitted to.

The five discharged policemen include three constables from the Chandni Mahal police station, one assistant sub-inspector (ASI) from the traffic police unit and his batchmate, who was deployed at the AIIMS Trauma Centre police post.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Newly released data shows a growing number of coronavirus-related deaths and positive cases inside psychiatric facilities across New York, with nearly a dozen cases confirmed at South Beach Psychiatric Center, Ocean Breeze, where the facility is also managing through staff absences and new state guidelines.

According to the states Office of Mental Health (OMH), 288 out of 3,487 voluntary and involuntary patients across the states two-dozen facilities have tested positive for the virus, as of Wednesday.

The death toll had reached 41, including 32 patients who tested positive for the virus, and nine who were suspected to have it, according to an OMH spokesman.

As of Wednesday, three facilities reported more than five deaths -- Creedmoor in Queens, Pilgrim in Long Island and Rockland Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg. Other centers with five or fewer deaths are not obligated to report the number due to health privacy guidelines.

Last week, the Gotham Gazette reported it had identified close to 20 resident deaths in just two psychiatric facilities in downstate counties, while OMH was still reporting just 10, implying the data being released was not keeping pace with the actual numbers.

Earlier this month, the commissioner of the state Office of Mental Health, Ann Marie T. Sullivan, told the work force that while the agency had faced every level of catastrophes over the decades, the pandemic was challenging us in a way that a blizzard never could, according to a New York Times report.

Sullivan reportedly asks for a moment of silence every day at 3 p.m. to reflect on the workers, family members and friends who have been lost.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

INSIDE SOUTH BEACH PSYCHIATRIC CENTER

At SBPC, OMH officials reported Wednesday that 11 out of 277 inpatients had tested positive for the virus since March 20.

The number of deaths is anywhere from zero to five, based on state reporting guidelines.

When a person being admitted or treated in-patient at SBPC has tested positive for COVID-19, state guidelines instruct them to be quarantined in a room by themselves, with a bathroom thats off-limits to healthy residents.

The quarantine guidelines havent been an issue, according to a staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity with the Advance/Silive.com.

State guidelines also say roommates should sleep head to toe, which has not been administered at SBPC, the source said.

A NEW FRONT LINE

As of Thursday, about a dozen staff members at SBPC were out sick, according to the staff member.

Statewide, officials reported 466 out of about 13,286 OMH staff members had contracted the virus, and unlike hospitals and nursing homes, there have been zero reinforcements to fill the shortfalls, according to OMH spokesman James Plastiras

And although the SBPC campus hosts both an emergency hospital and a drive-through testing site, which are steeped in both state and federal staff and funds, the facility has not been the beneficiary of extra resources.

Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for psychiatric facility employees has also been a concern around the state, as the needs of medical facilities and other front line workers combine for an overwhelming demand.

After some clashes with unions at a Westchester facility over the gear, PPE recently was augmented by the state across its facilities, according to OMH.

STATE GUIDELINES

While SBPC staff members have remained vigilant in checking their own temperature and being cognizant of possible symptoms, many have opted for surgical masks in lieu of face shields to carry out their duties, the staff member said.

In my case, and for others, the surgical masks are lighter and more comfortable," he said. Im just very cognizant of my distance when I speak to patients.

According to OMH guidelines, therapists and other staff members at all facilities have been instructed to eliminate group treatments and modify meal and medication distribution," Plastiras said.

However, the SBPC worker said optional group meetings are still being held in some parts of the building, partly as a way to "give (patients) something to do.
English French

MONTREAL, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dios Exploration Inc. (Dios) is pleased to announce closing of a final tranche of a non-brokered private placement in the amount of $401,000 pursuant to which 4,010,000 flow-though common shares were issued at the price of $ 0.10 each.



The net proceeds will be used for exploration work on Dios wholly-owned K2 property, which is adjacent in strike SW to Azimut Exploration inc.'s Elmer property in the James Bay region, Quebec. Work completed by Dios on K2 has delineated 3 km long WI target electromagnetic conductor and ATTILA gold-copper-silver prospect, which is southwest of Azimut Explorations Patwon gold discovery, bearing similarities in some host rocks (felsic intrusive), alterations and 3 networks of quartz veins. K2 property is underlain by same stratigraphy as Azimuts Elmer property, north of Opinaca Fault regional structure.

The President and CEO, Marie-Jose Girard added: The K2 property covers 78 sq. km of highly prospective rocks for gold (148 claims). Drilling targets have already been defined by our team following recent field work. Dios has been working on K2 for the last few years and these funds added to the March financing will enable us to start first ever drilling in that area, for instance on WI target 3 km long electromagnetic conductor, which is not outcropping, but adjacent soil sampling returned high gold values, and highly altered felsic rock boulders with 1-20% pyrite were observed.

Securities issued under this financing will be subject to a hold period of four months. This private placement is carried out pursuant to prospectus exemptions of applicable securities laws and is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. There is a finders fee of $18,000 in connection with this financing to be paid to an arms length party in common shares of Dios. This press release was prepared by Marie-Jose Girard, Geo M.Sc., President of DIOS, Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101.

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements", for example the planned use of proceeds. All statements in this discussion, other than those of historical fact, that address future exploration programs and events or developments that the company expects, are considered forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the

policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
As lockdowns start to be relaxed across the world, many people are looking forward to getting out and about again. For the moment, social distancing measures are still in place, but some photos shared online and in media outlets seem to show people standing much too close together in public, which has provoked outrage. But be careful: the camera doesnt always tell the truth.



This photo of the seafront promenade in Bournemouth in the United Kingdom, posted in a Daily Mail article on 26 April, infuriated some locals as it appeared to show large numbers of people flouting social distancing rules and thronging the boardwalk. Comments lambasted people out walking as selfish and said that they would be to blame if the infection rate started to rise.





But Luke Williams, a local resident, spotted some clues in the photo that suggested it wasnt all as it seemed. He wrote a thread on Twitter showing how the locations in the photo are much further apart than they appear, and it went viral.





In the photo, people, objects and buildings look like theyve been compressed together. This effect can come from different photographic techniques, such as using a telephoto lens, cropping a shot taken with a wide angle lens, or simply changing the cameras position or employing inventive framing.



In Copenhagen, the same scene  from two different angles



The Danish media TV2 sent two photographers on to the streets of Copenhagen on 24 April to highlight this phenomenon. Each photographer took a photo of the same scene, but from a different angle, and using different effects. The results were remarkably different.







There have been other examples of photographers using effects that compress images. Local journalists in Jacksonville, Florida, came under fire for showing images of a packed beach when people claimed that in fact the majority of people were following social distancing rules.





In the UK, the member of parliament for the coastal region of Hove criticised journalists for unfairly representing the local community.







So before you jump to criticise others for not respecting preventive measures, watch our report on this phenomenon below:






Mr John Alex Hamah, a veteran Trade Unionist, has urged government to appeal to the United Nations to supply the country with its tents to be used as isolation centres for COVID-19 patients.



Mr Hamah said the UN tents were now lying idle due to the cancelation of conferences as part of measures to control the spread of the corona virus.



He expressed worry at the confusion being created in parts of the country over which facilities should be used for the quarantining and isolation of patients saying "it is an issue if not swiftly settled may undermine the national peace, tranquility and unity we need to fight and conquer the Coronavirus pandemic."



In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, he said the UN would readily accede to Ghana's request as according to him, the COVID-19 was more dangerous and destructive than even World War II.



Mr Hamah therefore appealed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to take steps to contact the UN Secretary General to plead for the supply of the tents and their compliments describing the tents as more impressive and functional than some luxurious hotel apartments and would therefore come in handy in Ghana's handling of the pandemic.



Touching on this year May Day observation, he congratulated Ghanaian workers for their immense contributions towards the building of the country and urged them to do more.



The veteran trade unionist said he was solidly behind the stand of organized labour's call on government to immediately engage stakeholders on the best way to resolve the hardship on workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Company releasing joint statement with Cass County Health Department, Cass County Government and City of Logansport

SPRINGDALE, Ark., May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN), announced its plans to resume limited production at its Logansport, Indiana, facility next week, following a plant tour with local health and government officials, a union representative, and medical professionals. The pork processing facility temporarily halted operations on April 25 to test its team members for COVID-19.



Team members were asked to self-isolate until their results returned. The company is working with local health officials on verification of test results and will communicate with team members prior to the restart date, while following CDC guidance on safely returning employees back to work. Workers who test positive or have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will be directed to reach out to their health care provider, continue to self-isolate, and encouraged to take protective steps to care for themselves. Workers who test negative will be asked to return to work, provided they remain asymptomatic.

Weve taken additional precautions to reassure team members that they are returning to a safe work environment and have made additional changes to continue supporting them during this global health crisis, said Todd Neff, senior vice president pork.

While the facility was idled, we added more workstation barriers, installed more hand sanitizer dispensers, and did additional deep cleaning and sanitation. Were also now screening employees for additional symptoms and designating monitors to help enforce social distancing, while following the CDC and OSHAs guidance for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers.

In addition, the Logansport facility is the first of several Tyson plants to receive a mobile health clinic, operated by Matrix Medical Network, to provide community-based services ranging from diagnostic (PCR) testing for COVID-19, assist with the environmental design of the facility to mitigate the risk of the virus spread, as well as conduct daily on-site clinical screening.

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The company has doubled its bonus for employees . Team members who cannot come to work due to illness or childcare will continue to qualify, but bonus eligibility will depend on attendance. Tyson Foods also increased short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30 to encourage team members to stay home when they are sick.

Tyson Fresh Meats has worked well with local community leaders to make sure its re-opening plan is safe, said Dr. Dori Ditty, health officer of Cass County Health Department. We toured the plant and feel the additional measures implemented will allow employees to work safely, while continuing to follow CDC guidelines and recommendations. Well continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure the safety of employees.

Tyson has taken strides to help keep their employees safe during this trying time, while employees received paid time to get tested, said Cass County Commissioner, Ryan Browning. We recognize Tyson as being a vital partner in the food chain and the livelihood of our agricultural community and are pleased with all the measures they continue to implement, including the mobile medical clinic.

The decision to reopen the Logansport plant has my full support, said Logansport Mayor, Chris Martin. Weve all taken actions to do more to stop the spread of COVID-19. Tyson is taking more precautions with the extra measures seen during the plant tour. The company is doing the right thing and going above and beyond to make their team and community safe. Our Cass County health officials have worked endlessly to protect the community and were doing our part by recently signing an executive order to help prevent the spread of the virus in the city.

Tyson Fresh Meats recently announced its plans to temporarily halt operations at its Dakota City, Nebraska, beef plant for additional deep cleaning and sanitation. The group also voluntarily idled its locations in Waterloo and Perry, Iowa, and Pasco, Washington, while team members undergo testing and plants complete deep cleaning of the facilities.

While this is an incredibly challenging time for the food industry, as it is for all Americans, Tyson is proud of our team members and their commitment toward our mission to put food on the tables of millions of homes around the country.

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods, Inc. is one of the worlds largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Wright, Aidells, ibp and State Fair. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere its available and raise the worlds expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 141,000 team members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit TYSONFOODS.COM .

About Cass County Health Department

Cass County Health Department is in Logansport, Indiana. It serves approximately 38,000 residents in the rural community. The Cass County Health Department works closely with the local hospital, law enforcement and government to promote health and safety throughout the community.

About Cass County Government

Founded in 1829, Cass County is home to 37,689 people as of 2019 with its county seat in Logansport. Cass County government protects and serves citizens of the county.

About the City of Logansport

Located in northern Indiana, Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County. Logansport ranks as one of the 10 safest cities in Indiana according to BackgroundCheck.org, and is situated within a half day drive to Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Detroit.

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HLI YANG, 479-290-2122, Hli.Yang@tyson.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:42:09|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The South African government is keen to "restart as many economic areas as possible "if the country can avoid a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel said on Friday.

The government is taking responsible steps to deliberately reopen the economy in phases, Patel told Parliament's two committees on trade and industry.

But this must be done with the safety of the South African people at the forefront in ways that allow livelihoods to be preserved, while protecting the productive assets of the nation and sustaining as much of the economy as it can, Patel said.

He was speaking as the country entered level four restrictions following five weeks of a level five lockdown. Under level four, about 1.5 million people are allowed to return to work in certain economic areas.

South Africa, Patel said, does not need to stay at level four for a specific number of weeks but can move rapidly to a lower level should risks be mitigated.

The initial return to work will be based on the national level and will progressively be expanded to provincial and district level, enabling workplaces to adapt to the level of infections and healthcare readiness in localities, according to Patel.

Should the country avoid a sharp increase in the levels of infections with the return to work of large numbers of workers and expanded testing and healthcare facilities, the economy could shift to level three as soon as possible, Patel said.

He emphasised that the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the South African economy in deep ways due to the closure of many companies during level five restrictions.

"Work is still underway to establish the extent of the impact," he said.

The estimated impact on the economy varies at the moment, and will be driven by the trajectory of the virus both in South Africa and globally, said Patel.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) will fall by 5.8 percent in 2020.

Patel said the stimulus package worth 500 billion rand (about 26.6 billion U.S. dollars) announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month is not an elitist package as it includes the Unemployment Insurance Fund, which is an "absolute lifesaver" for low-level paid workers.

Duma Nkosi, Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition, said his committee commends the responsible and decisive manner in which the government is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We know that the lives of our people come first, and we will be guided by this principle. At the same time, we recognize the difficulty in the balancing act of keeping our people safe and reopening the economy, as these are interlinked,"he said. Enditem
Passengers are able to avoid crowds in airports as they go through a separate terminal for private jets. Security controls at private jet terminals are also faster than in commercial terminals and there are no queues.

This is not the only reason; once lockdown is over and travel for pleasure is once again an option, traveling by private jet charter means you can easily and quickly access the remotest parts of the US hassle-free. Joining a private jet tour is a common way for well-to-do worldly travelers, with destinations and adventures still on their bucket lists, to explore the world in the lap of luxury, comfortably. Increasingly this style of travel has become popular with many people and with the increase in demand noted at more than 45% compared to last year, this option is becoming a reality for more travelers than ever.

Best USA Hiking Holiday Destinations By Private Jet Charter

The USA is a vast country with varied countryside. There are many different hiking destinations throughout America, and you will undoubtedly find the best hiking destination for you within the borders of one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

Lost Coast Hiking Trail, California

This trail runs 24.6 miles (39.6 km) between Mattole and Black Sands Beach near Shelter Cove. The southern Lost Coast Trail continues further into Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, eventually reaching Usal Beach, about 32 miles from Black Sands Beach. Luckily logging companies have attempted to construct a road to run alongside this trail and have failed, leaving it free for hiking devotees to enjoy the amazing and glorious views.

Trans-Catalina Trail, California

The Trans-Catalina Trail is a long-distance trail that traverses Santa Catalina Island off the coast of southern California. From the eastern terminus at The Trailhead in Avalon out to Parsons Landing on the West end, then looping back to Two Harbors, the Trail's official length is listed as 38.5 miles or 61.96 kilometers. A tough route to follow, exposed, and rugged, this path is not recommended in the summer as the temperatures can hit 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Longs Peak, Colorado

Longs Peak is a high and prominent mountain summit in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,259-foot frontier is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, southwest by south of the Town of Estes Park, Colorado. Not for the faint-hearted as a hike to the summit can take up to 16 hours. This hike walk is considered by devotees as challenging but satisfying.

The Narrows, Utah

The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park, Utah, United States. It is situated on the North Fork of the Virgin River, upstream of the main canyon. The Narrows is the premier hike in the park and on the Colorado Plateau. 16 miles long, if you start at Chamberlain's Ranch, the Narrows ends 15 miles later at the top end of the Riverside Walk. Add another mile of walking on the Riverside Walk to get you to the Temple of Sinawava and the finish line.

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park is a state park of California in the United States. Located in the Napa Valley, it contains the farthest inland coast redwoods in any California state park. The 1,991-acre park was established in 1960. The Park offers camping, picnicking, swimming, and hiking trails that go through stands of coastal redwoods as well as forests of Douglas fir, tanoak, and madrone. But best of all it's located in the heart of the beautiful Napa Valley wine country. Making the dual hobby of hiking and drinking wine very acceptable!

For some hiking is a way of life; the great outdoors is something to be celebrated and cherished. Hiking is, without a doubt, the best way to get to know your country, and private charter jet travel is by far the best way to start and finish your trip. Make this the first thing on your post-COVID-19 bucket list.
Uber has launched a new service that lets you book a ride by the hour so you can get your essential travel done.

The 'Hourly Driver' service has a base rate of $59 an hour and you will be charged per minute thereafter.

It will be temporarily available in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast from April 30.

Visit Business Insider Australias homepage for more stories.

Uber has rolled out a feature in Australia which lets you book a car for an hour.

The rideshare giant is piloting a temporary new service called 'Hourly Driver' which lets you book a driver and a car by the hour so you can get your essential travel done. You can go from home down to multiple stops like the supermarket and the chemist, without having to interact with many people in between.

The option is available in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast from April 30.

Drivers are eligible for it if they also qualify for Uber Comfort and Premier trips, meaning they have higher ratings, more spacious cars and more experience on the Uber app.

How Uber's 'Hourly Driver' works

To access the new feature, you first enter your first stop in the Uber app as you usually would. You can update each stop along your trip, including your final destination.

Once you've entered your stops, select 'hourly driver' which shows you the base fare for the first hour - $59  which excludes any tolls or government levies. From there, you confirm and request your ride.

There is a one hour minimum for this service and you'll be charged on a prorated basis per minute afterwards. Uber also recommends using its in-app messaging to give your driver a heads up on how long you think you'll need them for.

"The safety and well-being of everyone who uses the Uber app is always our priority, and across the country, people will continue to see in-app messages reminding them to 'travel only when necessary' before selecting a trip option on the Uber app," Uber said on its website.

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"But if people need to undertake essential travel, we want to help them do so as safely as possible."

In April, Uber launched a parcel service for businesses as the demand for delivery jumped and the need for ridesharing dropped amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Verge, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said gross bookings in Seattle are down by 60-70% amid the pandemic, with the company assuming similar drops in other cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City.

"What weve seen is that Australian businesses are facing fairly extraordinary circumstances and unprecedented demand for e-commerce platforms and more particular delivery of goods, Dom Taylor, the general manager for Uber Australia and New Zealand, told Business Insider Australia in April. So what weve seen is that theres an opportunity for Uber to be part of the solution to help support Australian businesses during these really tough times."

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Young Caucasian woman in red coat walking in the field at sunset

When Haley DelPlato returned home to Long Valley, NJ, from Colgate University during winter break of 2012, she knew she needed help. She was suffering from anorexia, depression, and anxiety, and was determined to get well again. Her parents made appointments with a local therapist who claimed to specialize in a wide array of mental health issues, but DelPlato said she quickly determined the provider wasn't equipped to treat all of her symptoms or conditions.

"I thought it was strange that she was recommending eating behaviors that were essentially disordered," DelPlato told POPSUGAR. "But I thought she was just trying to connect with me because I definitely wasn't a fan of being there, in general. In hindsight, it was clear she wasn't qualified to be considered 'specialized' in eating disorders."

"Thank God I had my family as a support system because the treatment that I received was not as tailored to what I was going through as it could've been."

DelPlato struggled to find adequate, specialized treatment in her region until she located an outpatient facility in Ridgewood, NJ. The only problem? It was roughly an hour and a half away per trip. Regardless of the distance, DelPlato's parents woke up early to make the trip five days per week for eight months. "My dad would pick me up and drop me off and that obviously puts a lot of strain on my parents," explained Haley. "It was a long commute - and similar to a 9 to 5 job - which meant it was a huge adjustment for my family."

Although DelPlato felt well enough to return to college in the fall of 2012, finding mental health specialists who suited her needs was extremely challenging. Eventually, she returned to New Jersey to seek additional treatment at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and has been better ever since. "In hindsight, it's sad to me now," she said, looking back on her initial experience seeking therapy in her hometown. "Thank god I had my family as a support system because the treatment that I received was not as tailored to what I was going through as it could've been."

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DelPlato's experience is just one example of how individuals living outside of metropolitan areas need access to mental health specialists and care - access that's often difficult to come by.

Related: 9 Ways to Not Let Things Get to You So Much - Even During Stressful Times

Why are people in rural communities at a disadvantage?

For folks living in rural communities, the vast amount of space combined with smaller concentrations of people can make finding a mental health specialist challenging. "The smaller population in rural areas - and often the stigma against seeking help - does not produce a demand for mental health specialists, placing these communities at a disadvantage," Danielle Steelesmith, a post-doctoral scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told POPSUGAR. "They do not have easy access to mental health care, must travel further, and often wait longer periods of time because services are often not readily available in their community."

Lauren Paulson is an assistant professor of psychology at Allegheny College who's done significant research on this topic. Experts in her field have broken down the "unique concerns of rural residents" into three distinct categories:

Accessibility: Rural residents typically need to travel long distances to receive services and are less likely to have mental health services or recognize an illness and seek care.

Availability: It has been well-documented that chronic shortages of mental health professionals exist in rural areas.

Acceptability: Because of the negative stigmas associated with mental health issues, individuals are less likely to ask for help. "The close-knit nature of small communities can heighten public and self-stigma around seeking treatment," explained Paulson. "There is decreased privacy and anonymity in places where 'everyone knows everyone.'"

According to the Rural Health Information Hub, the fact that suicide rates are higher in rural areas is definitely cause for concern. In fact, there are nearly twice as many suicides in the most rural counties compared to the most urban counties, which experts say is in part due to the lack of access mental health care.

Related: I Took a Chance and Adopted a Dog Who Had a Week to Live, and My Life Changed Forever

Why can going to a primary care physician for mental health concerns be problematic?

Although primary care physicians in rural areas are doing their best to cater to every resident, they often have a lot on their plates. "Due to the shortage of mental health professionals, sometimes you are the only provider in town," said Paulson. "Therefore, most rural mental health practitioners have to work from a generalist perspective. In other words, you have to be prepared for everything. You need to be able to work with a wide range of populations and diverse issues and mental health concerns."

Jackson Rainer, PhD, a clinical psychologist and author of Rural Mental Health Issues, Policies, and Best Practices who practiced in rural communities in western North Carolina and South Georgia, said that general practitioners have typically been eager to work with him given his expertise. "I was welcomed with open arms," he told POPSUGAR. "The medical practitioners had worked to try to clean up problems that they were insufficiently adept at. So they would call on me and we'd collaborate very, very well."



"Sometimes rural practitioners question if they are working outside of the scope of training and practice."

Addressing all types of conditions and diseases can be particularly hard if physicians do not have specific training, expertise, or the necessary support system - yet still need to care for patients with diverse needs. "[Treating patients without the proper expertise] can be a challenge, as sometimes rural practitioners question if they are working outside of the scope of training and practice. This is then further complicated by a lack of colleagues to consult with," said Paulson. "Rural mental health professionals can experience feelings of professional isolation because they do not have easy access to supervision, training, consultation, or networking opportunities. Combine this with heavy and sometimes complicated caseloads, the struggle to manage privacy and boundary issues, and rural mental health professionals are at increased risk for burnout."

Despite being a major asset to the rural communities he worked in, Dr. Rainer admits that he experienced some challenges where specialized training was concerned.

There were a great deal of issues related to privacy, and I had to work double time to maintain that integrity."

"I was the country doctor and I was asked to treat everything from anxiety to depression, to schizophrenia, to eating disorders, to personality disorders to psychosis," Dr. Rainer explained. "I had been trained in graduate school years ago working with adolescents and adults, but when I moved to North Carolina I had to retool and get other training in child and family work, so I went back to school. Doctors who were unwilling to see [a multitude of patients with different needs] in the rural community were seen as being withholding and their competency was questioned."

Additionally, working in less-populated communities leaves little in the way of privacy, both professionally and personally. "In the small town, most of my clients knew where I lived," said Dr. Rainer. "They would see me in the grocery store. I would see a client Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and then would teach them in Sunday school. The boundaries were very different. There were a great deal of issues related to privacy, and I had to work double time to maintain that integrity. There was such a need and there were so many significant problems. I did the best I could and I burned out."

What are the long-term effects of having limited access to adequate mental health care?

"While drug addiction and suicide are concerns in all communities, individuals living in rural areas may be at an increased risk due not only to limited access to mental health care, but also because they have reduced access to other programs and social support in the community," explained Steelesmith. "Economic issues and isolation are often worse in rural communities than urban ones. This phenomenon can result in more feelings of despair. Compounded with a lack of mental health care to address the stresses caused by these things, it can lead to individuals seeking out other means of coping such as drugs or suicide."

"Economic issues and isolation are often worse in rural communities than urban ones."

Paulson agrees that feelings of isolation can further complicate existing mental health issues. "Untreated mental health conditions can lead to numerous disruptions in an individual's life that continue to feed into the mental health issues they are facing," she said. "Isolation can be a big issue in rural areas where people are not interacting with others and are unable to move beyond their own thoughts and struggles. Further, mental health conditions can lead to job loss and less interaction with friends and family, causing further isolation for these folks. Providing treatment for mental health issues could help break these cycles."

What's being done to give rural residents more access to mental health care?

Although there's certainly a long way to go, mental health professionals are trying to give rural residents resources, but types of care vary based on an individual's needs. "It's important to highlight that there is tremendous variation and heterogeneity in rural cultures and that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' implementation strategy," explained Paulson. "I believe successful programs can identify existing strengths and resources and best practices and adapt them to address the community's needs."

Fortunately, new types of technology - like telehealth services, where you can speak with professionals virtually - have done wonders for individuals living in rural communities.

"Providing internships in a rural setting and recruiting people who have connections to rural areas is vital.

"Telehealth care is becoming more common to improve access to both health and mental health care in rural areas," said Steelesmith. "Specific population groups who may be at risk due to economic or other concerns have also been targeted to ensure they know how to access emergency mental health services." Unfortunately, the use of telehealth services vary by area, and many rural communities haven't taken advantage of such services yet. "These services are growing rapidly but the rates of use are uneven across the country," said Paulson.

Giving individuals more ready access to self-improvement and educational and financial resources is also a step in the right direction. "Offering loan repayment programs and state tax waivers [has been beneficial]," said Paulson. "Providing internships in a rural setting and recruiting people who have connections to rural areas is vital. And offering mental health services in schools and community-based supports such as crisis lines, suicide prevention training and screening, fostering connections will also help."

What resources can people in rural communities use if they're having a mental health crisis?

The farming community has several local and national options - like the Farm Crisis Center - to help individuals in need of services. "There are also larger hospital and healthcare systems based in urban areas reaching out to rural areas to provide services and link these communities," explained Steelesmith. She added that: "If individuals in rural areas are in a crisis, there is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). There is also the crisis text line (741741) anyone can access. Organizations such as local chapters of National Alliance on Mental Illness can also connect individuals in rural areas with local resources."

As for DelPlato, finding the right therapist was key to her recovery. "Taking the guesswork out of finding a qualified therapist is so important," she said. "It's what deters so many people. I will honestly say if my parents didn't do it for me in those beginning stages, I wouldn't have done it myself. I've had the same therapist for years now, so it's definitely become a maintenance thing, but I'm really doing well now."
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, health experts constantly discover new symptoms. The common symptoms of COVID-19 that are known in the public are fever, cough, shortness of breath, and chills, but some doctors have reported symptoms in some patients that are less obvious, including what is called "COVID toes" and other skin conditions.

COVID toes

The director of Global Health and Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Esther Freeman, said that "COVID toe" cases look similar to chilblains or pernio, which is a condition of inflamed blood vessels caused by cold temperatures.

Freeman said that they are seeing the inflammatory response that is normally seen when someone was exposed to the cold temperature, like when someone who has been playing outside with set socks. But, in the COVID-19 setting, experts are seeing it in warm climates and they are seeing it in patients who have been indoors and sheltering in place.

According to Freeman, it is not unusual for a virus to cause a rash, which is why dermatologists are not surprised that COVID-19 could cause skin symptoms. She said that what is surprising are the so-called "COVID toes" because it is a symptom that health experts have not seen in other viruses.

Also Read: Asthma Drug May Help Dial Back Severe Effects of COVID-19

Freeman has been seeing patients through telehealth video and said that aside from seeing skin symptoms in her own patients, she has also received examples of these symptoms from health care providers all over the world. Freeman said that "COVID toes" have been seen in both adults and children. They are usually present along with more typical coronavirus symptoms, and sometimes they are the only symptom the patient is showing.

Skin conditions linked to COVID-19

There are some physicians who also reported seeing skin conditions that look like morbilliform rashes, chickenpox, or hives. A team of dermatologists from Belgium and Oregon has also studied toe and skin infections in relation to COVID-19. In a case report that was published in JAAD, they stated that it is important for dermatologists to recognize the signs.

The researchers wrote about a man who had purplish and painful plaques on his toes and the outer side of his feet for three days. The 23-year-old man had a low-grade fever and dry cough several days before that.

After a skin examination, the said patient tested positive for COVID-19. The researchers noted that he has diagnosed with COVID-19 infection-induced chilblains, which is the medical term for skin sores. The same cases have been observed by Belgian and French dermatologists but had not been previously reported because of the lack of testing.

According to the study, young patients presenting with chilblains have lacked criteria sufficient to allow for a COVID-19 PCR test. Because of the outbreak of chilblains, concurrent with the increase of COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 has been widely suspected as the etiology.

The study looked at the COVID-19 chilblains cases in young adults and children, whose feet have been more affected than their hands. The chilblains may be the inaugural symptoms of COVID-19 and fever and dry cough may be minimal or even absent.

Related Article: How Sniffing Peanut Butter Can Save Lives of Asymptomatic COVID-19 Carriers

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Three members of a family of daily-wage labourers, who were walking all the way home to their village in Uttar Pradesh from Delhi were killed in a tragic accident on the outskirts of Aligarh on Friday, police said.

The group of five people had left their home in Narela locality of Delhi on Monday for an arduous 500-kilometre walk to their village in Fatehpur district. They covered 130 kilometres to Aligarh in three days, according to the police.

The five people crossed the city on Thursday night when the driver of a wheat-laden tractor on G T Road near Madrak area agreed to carry them for a few kilometers as he was going in the same direction, the police said.

As they were boarding the tractor-trolley, a truck came up from behind and rammed into the vehicle around 2 am.

Ranjit Singh (44) and his cousin Dinesh (37) died on the spot, while the latter's wife Santkumari (32) was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead.

Ranjit's wife Ramwati (40), who escaped unhurt along with her son Bhagirat, told the media at the district hospital that she had three other children in their village, including her daughter Mamta (18), who was set to be married later this month.

Police said the family had been informed and were expected to arrive on Friday night.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After weeks of silence, former Vice President Joe Biden vehemently denied allegations by a former aide who claims he sexually assaulted her 27 years ago. They arent true, the presumptive Democratic 2020 nominee said in his first public statement on the allegations. This never happened. Biden released a long statement Friday morning before going on MSNBCs Morning Joe to discuss the allegations by Tara Reade that have been getting increased attention in the media over the past few weeks.

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In late March, Reade, who worked as a staff assistant in Bidens Senate office, accused Biden in an interview of pinning her against a wall in 1993, reaching under her skirt and pushing his fingers inside her. Reade, who worked in Bidens office from December 1992 to August 1993, had previously detailed claims of inappropriate touching that made her feel uncomfortable but did not accuse him of sexual assault. For weeks, pressure has been growing on the former vice president to address the allegations as Bidens campaign only issued a denial from a deputy campaign manager. Former staffers also said they did not recall Reade ever raising any complaints about Bidens conduct.

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When he finally did speak up Friday, Biden made his position clear. No, it is not true. Im saying unequivocally it never, never happened, Biden said when asked on MSNBC about the allegation. And it didnt. It never happened. In his statement, Biden emphasized the work he has done to combat sexual harassment and said that women should be heard, not silenced when they step forward. But at the same time, it is important to subject their stories to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny, he added. Biden called on responsible news organizations to valuate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in Reades story. Biden also noted that everyone who worked for him denied Reade ever raised issues with them but pointed out there is a clear, critical part of this story that can be verified. That refers to Reades claim she filed a complaint with a congressional office and has called on Biden to release records of his time in the Senate that are at the University of Delaware. Biden said those papers do not contain personnel files but called on the Senate to ask the National Archives to release any record of the complaint. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there, he said.

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Joe Biden, asked on @Morning_Joe if he sexually assaulted Tara Reade:



No, it is not true. Im saying unequivocally it never, never happened. And it didnt. It never happened. pic.twitter.com/nXIAdGloG5  MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 1, 2020

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Reades allegations have gained ground in recent weeks as several news outlets talked to a friend who said Reade told her about the alleged assault at the time. Her brother also confirmed parts of her account although his story has evolved as he first told the Washington Post that Biden had inappropriately touched her neck and shoulders but days later said he recalled his sister had told him Biden had put his hand under her clothes. A video has also emerged that appears to show Reades mother calling into CNNs Larry King Live in 1993 to discuss problems her daughter experienced while working for a prominent senator. More recently, a former neighbor also came forward to say that Reade told her about the alleged assault in the mid-1990s. Others, however, have said that Reade spoke positively about her work in Bidens office.

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During the interview with MSNBC, Biden said he was not going to go in and question her motive and was not going to attack her but did highlight that there are so many inconsistencies. When he was asked what he would tell Reade, he once again raised the question of what could be behind her claims. I dont know what is motivating her. I dont know what is behind any of it but it is irrelevant, he said. It never happened. It never happened, period.

For more on the allegation against Biden, listen to this weeks Political Gabfest.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, on Thursday, extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for another 14 days.

Mr Obaseki, had on April 19, announced 10-day dusk to dawn curfew to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Also Read: Godwin Obaseki Appoints New Chief Of Staff

The governor announced the extension at a media briefing in Benin on the progress made so far to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

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The governor also declared one Amaka Okoro wanted for absconding after testing positive for COVID-19.

He urged anyone with useful information to contact relevant authorities.
By Mark Peterson



Today, I want to go into more detail on point number 8 in my series of ten evidences for Korea having a peaceful and stable history. Actually, I have revised my list and included at number 9 Korean slavery. Yes, slavery. Korea has the longest held, unbroken chain of slavery of any country in the world. But we will look at that next time. This time, I want to emphasize number eight, which was civilian control of the military and add to that concept of civilian control, the idea that the king relied on the civilian government and did not yield control to the military or to the eunuchs. At the outset, I must add that Korea did have one weakness in its civilian control of the court, and that was the influence of the royal in-laws.



Last week's article listed the "Top Ten" evidences of Korean history as remarkably and uniquely peaceful and stable. If differs from the list I posted several weeks ago when I began this series. We will look at the new item, number 9, slavery, next week. And therefore in this article, I will write more about the stable governments of traditional Korea by combining what was once two items: the balance of civilian and military control and the control of the court by the king and the civilian officials in his court.



Last week I wrote about the preeminence the civilian officials at the court. The passing of the "munkwa," civil service exam was the highest honor in Joseon society. Actually, achieving a high government office, was a higher honor, but the access to government positions was through passing the munkwa. The second highest honor was passing the "sama" exam (which came in two parts: "saengwon," and "jinsa"), we can call it the secondary civil service exam. The third level exam was the mukwa, the military exam. There was a clear pecking order.



Korean genealogies, "jokbo," show an interesting phenomenon. A line of descendants, over several generations, will have some success in the exam. There are times when a father and son will pass the exam. And there are times where brothers will pass the exam. Over time, we see successful lineages will have a representative pass the exam every generation, or every other generation, or every fifth or tenth generation. Such a line of descent will spread out over the generations, but some of these lines are clearly munkwa lines  that is, they have members over time pass the exam. At the same time, there are lines of fathers to sons to grandsons and onward that have success in the mukwa, the military exam. Within a jokbo we can see munkwa lines and separate mukwa lines. They don't crisscross.



The thing that is interesting is that once a line starts to pass the military exam, almost never will the descendants in that line pass the munkwa civil exam! This is not just an esoteric choice for taking an exam. It has ramifications on the ground. Social interactions were determined by which line one belonged to. Marriage relationships were tied to which branch one belonged. Civil exam-passing family segments, would intermarry with other civil exam-passing families. And military lines would intermarry with other military lines.



And one more aspect of this tradition that can be seen in the genealogies is that at times there is a line of civil exam passers that after several generations of success in the civil exam, one line within the descent group will find success in the military exam. And thereafter descendants can only find success in the military exam. Never again will a descendant of the first man to diverge from the civil tradition and pass the military exam find success in the civil exam.



Both traditions, civil and military were part of the "two ranks and files" of the "yangban"  the common word for an aristocrat, or gentleman.



The king relied on his civil exam passers. The highest ranking officials, the Prime Minister, and his Vice Premier of the Left and Vice Premier of the Right, were predominantly civil exam passers. However, the Joseon court very cleverly maintained prestige for the military exam passers. As mentioned last time, half of the counties were set apart for having a military magistrate. These counties were not on the frontiers. There was no reason that each county had such a designation; it was arbitrary, but it was for the sake of having a balance of plum assignments between the civil and military officers.



After the Choe military dictatorship in the early Goryeo period, Korea never surrendered ruling authority to the military again, until the time of Park Chung-hee.



And finally, though Korea had eunuchs in the court, the eunuchs never took over administration. In China, the eunuchs had great power and often controlled the emperor, or a lazy emperor virtually abdicated decision-making to the eunuchs. But in Korea, the king and the civilian officials kept control of the government for centuries.





Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.


NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020: An aerial view of beach-goers playing volleyball on a nice day at the beach despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's hard closure, which is still in place in Newport Beach, CA, on May 4, 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) (Allen J. Schaben/Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Thursday night during an emergency session to seek an injunction against Gov. Gavin Newsom's order to close Orange County beaches.

The governor ordered Orange County beaches closed on Thursday despite opposition from local leaders who argue they should decide whether it's safe to hit the sand.

Over the weekend, thousands flocked to Orange County beaches, which remain open even though Los Angeles County beaches are closed.

Specific issues on some of those beaches have raised alarm bells, Newsom said. People that are congregating there, that werent practicing physical distancing, that may go back to their community outside of Orange County and may not even know that they contracted the disease and now they put other people at risk, put our hospital system at risk.

Newsom said Orange County beaches would be reopened soon if the situation improved.

The council voted 5-2 to approve filing for an emergency injunction to block Newsom's closure order.

Earlier in the day, Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said the city invested considerable effort and expense to discourage overcrowding at the beaches and worked hard to ensure the public had safe access to the beach for exercise and their mental well-being.

Our experience here locally has been that most people are being responsible and complying with social distancing, and given that Orange County has among the lowest per capita COVID-19 death rates in California, the states action today seems to prioritize politics over data, Semeta said in a written statement.

In a statement on Thursday, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said his intention is to not take enforcement action on this order.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The Albuquerque NAACP is asking the FBI to investigate a racist attack that includes the threat of a lynching directed toward Charles Becknell Jr., director of the Africana Studies program at the University of New Mexico.

Albuquerque NAACP President Harold Bailey said late Thursday in a statement that the civil rights organization is extremely disturbed and agitated about the racist and threatening messages sent to Dr. Charles Becknell Jr.

The threats came in two separate special event request forms that were submitted just after midnight on Thursday, as well as separate email and Facebook postings.

According to a report made to UNM police, the forms were forwarded to UNM police by an employee who works for the Special Events Office.

In the name of event line, the anonymous applicant wrote Ku Klux Klan Lynching; the location of the event was listed as Charles Becknells house, with the date of the event listed as May 4, 2020, and the estimated attendance at 666. In the notes line, Kill all (N-word) was written.

In a second form, under organization/department making the special event request, the applicant listed (N-word) killers, the same designation listed as the applicants contact name.

Becknell subsequently informed UNM police that, on April 27, the Facebook page for the department had a posting, saying, If you actually taught something besides hatred, youd be more well received.

In a separate email sent to the Africana Studies program, also just after midnight on Thursday, the sender wrote F (N-word), I hate (N-word), Destroy (N-word) and Kill (N-word).

Bailey said the NAACP wants to know what measures law enforcement will take to ensure Becknells safety, and to identify the writer or writers of the racist and threatening messages. Bailey has also asked the FBI to investigate the matter.

Charles Becknell Jr. is the son of the Rev. Dr. Charles Becknell Sr., who is state president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
With a multitude of businesses expected to reopen in The Woodlands in a limited fashion on Friday, local officials are working to help with the process as best possible.

J.J. Hollie, executive director of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, said the chambers overall goal is to support local businesses at all levels, and he and his staff are working to provide any information, resources or collaboration needed from member businesses and others seeking help.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: AG's office calls Harris vote-by-mail statements 'misleading'

(Businesses) are very expectant, they are very hopeful with Gov. Abbotts message about a logical, safe, responsible reopening of the economy, that people feel good about that. But we still need to have the relief packages. We need to get the Paycheck Protection Program re-funded. We need to get the economic injury disaster loans processed through SBA. Unfortunately, there are a lot of businesses that simply dont have enough reserves to hang on for two or three or four months, Hollie said. We need to get the economy open in a safe, logical way for those businesses. and we need to get funding to them to bridge the gap.

As for preventive measures for businesses, such as implementing social distancing by spacing out tables in restaurants, cleaning and disinfecting regularly or limiting customers inside a store at one time, Hollie said he and the chamber staff are working overtime to relay government-approved advice about limiting exposure to the coronavirus and maintaining worker and customer safety.

The issue has been muddled by conflicting orders and interpretations of the reopening issue from the governor and Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, who has a looser view of what can open.

THE LATEST: As Keough awaits Abbott clarification on reopening plan, Montgomery County COVID-19 cases reach 602

Nick Wolda, president of Visit The Woodlands and communications director for The Woodlands, said the visitors bureau has been working on assisting local businesses, but the township has a somewhat limited role in advising businesses.

The Woodlands Township is generate a daily e-letter since mid-March with all types of updates and resources for our residents in Montgomery and Harris counties. We have been very active in social media across several channels. We are actively gearing up for the Retail-To-Go and will be heavily communicating this program, Wolda stated in an email.

The Visit The Woodlands mission is a nonprofit entity that promote tourism and convention use.

During the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, the entitys staff have been working to promote hotels, restaurants and other businesses still open in a limited manner yet under their umbrella of assistance. A continually-updated website has promoted diners and eateries in the township with hours of operation and details of their to-go and curbside offerings.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Heres what changes as Texas begins reopening on Friday

We have seven hotels open this week running an occupancy in the 30-plus percent range, Wolda said on April 27.

The Woodlands Mall to open Tuesday

Rachel Wille, a senior public relations and social media specialist in the Retail Division for Brookfield Properties, who owns The Woodlands Mall, said the mall will reopen at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The mall will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Wille said in an email to The Villager. New measures have been implemented to help ensure the health and safety for all who enter the mall, including hand-sanitizing stations, touch-free interactions, frequent and intense cleanings and social distancing directions. We are working diligently to provide a safe, clean environment where people feel comfortable shopping, dining and enjoying their time.

MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox

Wille also said due to state mandates on dining restrictions, the food court seating area will stay closed. Food court tenants that are open can only offer carryout.

Market Street opens Friday

Beginning Friday, stores and eateries in Market Street will be able to open for business at 25 percent capacity, following the governors statement, said Noemi Gonzalez, marketing director for Market Street.

As the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic has continued, several Market Street tenants that had been deemed essential and stayed open will continue to stay open, Gonzalez said, including H-E-B, LensCrafters, Relax the Back, The Joint, Thrive Drip Spa, Tide Cleaners (Vogue) Wells Fargo as well as several restaurants that have had curb-side service

jeff.forward@chron.com
A hospital in Istanbul recently witnessed the most heartwarming moment when a cat walked in while carrying its sick kitten in its mouth for treatment. The pictures of the cat and the baby kitten has been shared on various social media platforms. In a series of adorable, heart touching photos, the cat can be seen carrying the kitten in its mouth and looking for medics to help her out.

A few of the pictures also showed the medical staff helping the furry animals. One social media user who claimed to have been involved in the incident first-hand wrote, Mother cat brought a kitten to hospital emergency and we helped it. There was a veterinarian. Kitten is fine and healthy right now. While another Twitter user, who shared the photos said, Today we were in the emergency of the hospital, a cat brought her baby in her mouth to the emergency room.

Bugun hastanenin acilindeydik, bir kedi agznda tasdg yavrusunu kosa kosa acile getirdi pic.twitter.com/lS7acpuWmg  Merve Ozcan (@ozcanmerveee) April 27, 2020

READ: New Zealand Cafe's Social Distancing Trick For Serving Coffee Lauded, Netizens Approve

Yavrusu biraz haylaz biri, annesi buldugu yerde kapp goturuyor pic.twitter.com/GYvBXt3UQz  Merve Ozcan (@ozcanmerveee) April 27, 2020

Purrfect love

Indian Revenue Service official, Naveed Trumboo also shared the incident on Twitter. With hundreds of likes and comments, the pictures have gone viral. One internet user said, Purrfect love....Ill be going now (sic). Another wrote, Beautiful. Perfect. Love.

As strange as it may seem, a cat walked into a hospital in Turkey seeking help for its sick kitten. Mother's love works in mysterious ways. pic.twitter.com/kD54sONpgL  Naveed Trumboo IRS (@NaveedIRS) April 30, 2020

READ: TikTok User's Pizza Pan Cleaning Videos Tickle The Internet, Netizens Laud Her Dedication

Awhhhh   fatih  (@fatiniqaaa) April 29, 2020

God bless all the mom's (human and animal) around the world   Black African  (@T_rawkz) April 29, 2020

READ: Woman Documents Daughter's Home-makeover Project For Their Pups, Leaves Netizens Amused

Im gonna cry  Baby Cakes (@tj_bumble) April 30, 2020

As strange as it may seem, a cat walked into a hospital in Turkey seeking help for its sick kitten. Mother's love works in mysterious ways. pic.twitter.com/kD54sONpgL  Naveed Trumboo IRS (@NaveedIRS) April 30, 2020

READ: COVID-19: Netizens Share Hilarious Lockdown Memes, Say 'everyday Is Same'
Kelly Lee, head of the Office of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, which Mayor Kenney eliminated from his revised budget proposal. Read more

In his new budget to cope with the revenue loss driven by the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Jim Kenney on Friday proposed the elimination of the citys Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy  a $4 million cut that would end grants to hundreds of cultural groups in the city.

The shutdown of the arts office would also spell an end to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, which this fiscal year distributed over $3 million to community organizations all over the city.

The Cultural Fund is the only such support offered by the city to its growing population of artists, performers, and arts organizations. In the last year, the Cultural Fund disbursed 349 grants, the most in its 25-year history.

The Art in City Hall program, administered by the arts and culture office, is also eliminated, leaving exhibition spaces throughout City Hall with a barren future, and depriving artists of an opportunity in a period of shriveling opportunities.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

The mayor also slashed Mural Arts, proposing to reduce its funding from $2.45 million to a little over $2 million. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, whose building is owned by the city, had its support cut from $2.55 million to just over $2 million. In his budget, Kenney said, These organizations have demonstrated outside fundraising capacity.

In explaining his budget, Kenney said the epidemic had forced him to propose a drastically revised spending plan for the coming fiscal year, which starts June 1, one that emphasizes core municipal services.

In an email sent to arts leaders around the city, Maud Lyon, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, called the moment difficult and extremely distressing.

We know that many of the recommended cuts and funding reductions will tear into the essential fabric that makes our sector so vibrant and diverse, she wrote. Most notably, the elimination of the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and the defunding of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund have the potential to destabilize our community in a way we have never experienced.

Many in the citys arts and cultural community were stunned by the recommended elimination of the office and fund.

Kelly Lee, head of the office, could not be reached for comment Friday. She is reportedly moving to a new position in the city government.
Seton Youth Shelters has a deadline of December 31, 2020 to find a new place to shelter youth in crisis being taken in at its Boys House. Setons North Lynnhaven Road shelter location has been a cornerstone of the organization since 1985. Seton Youth Shelters was established in 1984 as Mother Seton House, Inc., by three local clergy and a few citizens who were concerned about the vulnerability of runaway and homeless girls living on the streets. Initially, girls were sheltered in the homes of host families but soon the number of girls in need of assistance grew to the point that St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Virginia Beachs Kings Grant community stepped forward to provide the use of their rectory to house up to 11. In 1999, St. Aidans Episcopal Church partnered with Seton on a second shelter enabling the organization to provide shelter, counseling and support for boys in crisis at the former rectory of St. Nicholas Catholic Church.

Seton Youth Shelters has been an indispensable resource for the Virginia communitywithout pausesince 1985. The timing could not be worse for us, and for the thousands of youth we serve each year. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost support, we now find ourselves searching for a shelter for the hundreds of boys we serve each year. We need both a short-term and a long-term solution to this emergency, Executive Director, Jennifer Sieracki, explains. Seton made a promise in 1985 to provide shelter, counseling and support to our regions most vulnerable runaway, homeless, and more recently and frequently, trafficked youth. That promise includes a commitment to never charge a youth or their family for the lifesaving and critical shelter, outreach and mentoring services which we provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Seton Youth Shelters is facing unprecedented revenue losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next year from loss of annual fund, event, and corporate donor donations as a direct result of COVID-19. This threatens Seton Youth Shelters ability to provide the most vulnerable in Hampton Roads with a safety net, and the loss of the Boys House presents even greater challenges ahead. Sieracki continues, The need for our services will only increase over the next few months, as we are a microcosm of our community, in both achievements and in adversity. Right now, our community is in a state of crisis. COVID-19 is creating stress and hardships on youth and their families, and this stress and hardship continue to bring those youth onto the streets and into our shelters and related programs. Without us, these children will have nowhere to turnnowhere to gobut onto the streets and into the hands of predators. For their safety, our doors must remain open.

Seton Youth Shelters is the regions only organization devoted exclusively to providing shelter, street outreach and mentoring services to youth 9 up to 18. Each year hundreds of boys and girls, ages 9 up to 18, arrive at our two Virginia Beach residential sheltersoften in the middle of the night, sometimes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Our professional staff welcomes them with food, shelter, clothing, school supplies and the counseling and support necessary for them to either return to their families or continues on to another safe, home environment. Setons Outreach Program, visits area schools, events, and neighborhoods, reaching out to thousands of youth, offering crisis intervention, counseling, and shelter optionsa lifeline for this vulnerable population. Our Mentoring Children of Prisoners program gives children of incarcerated parents the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to reach their full potential.

To learn more about Seton Youth Shelters, visit setonyouthshelters.org or our Facebook page at facebook.com/setonyouthshelters. For information about how to help, contact Jennifer Sieracki at 757.963.5795 x 105 or email jsieracki@setonyouthshelters.org.

###
The Bawku East Small Scale Farmers Association (BESSFA) limited in Garu district of the Upper East Region has presented Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and disinfectants to six Municipal and District Health Directorates within the bank's operational areas.

The beneficiary health institutions include; Bawku Municipal, Binduri, Garu, Tempane, Pusiga, Nakpanduri and Bukpurugu.

The items are worth Ghc 40,000 include Veronica buckets, hand gloves, hand sanitizers, liquid soap, nose masks and plates.

The General Manager of BESSFA Bank limited, Alhaji Hayatudeen Awudu Ibrahim who presented the health equipment on behalf of the Board of Directors of the bank said, the donation was in support to government to help stop the spread of the coronavirus which has so far infected 2,074 cases with 17 deaths.

Alhaji Hayatudeen said the support stems from the cries of frontline workers in the area for appealing for personal protective equipment against the deadly virus.

According to him, the bank cherishes its customers hence the support to prevent the deadly disease.

Alhaji Yahatudeen added that the bank exist for its customers and without them, the bank cannot exist.

Mr. Cosmos Atawaje Minyila, Head of the Tempane District Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, who received the items commended the Bank for the donation.

He indicated that the items had come at the right time to guarantee the safety of workers and frontline staff who are helping in the fight against the virus.

The District Chief Executive for Garu, Emmanuel Asore Avoka expressed gratitude on behalf of the districts for the kind gesture.

Mr. Avoka noted that government alone cannot fight this pandemic alone and hence called for more support from other philanthropists and public spirited individuals to assist in their small way to kick out covid-19.
North Wales Police are handing out around two fines a day for breaches of lockdown rules

This article is old - Published: Friday, May 1st, 2020

Latest figures published by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) show that 299 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) have been recorded by forces in Wales up to 27 April for breaches of lockdown regulations.

As part of social-distancing measures, new regulations were introduced on 27 March to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

They enable police officers to issue individuals with 60 fines if they failed to comply after officers have engaged with them, explained the risks to public health and encouraged voluntary compliance.

A total of 9,176 FPNs have been handed out between 27th March and 27 April across England and Wales.

In North Wales, police have issued 70 FPNs for lockdown breaches within the same timeframe, the second-highest of the four Welsh forces.

Thames Valley Police has handed out the most FPNs, 649 closely followed by the Met (634) and Lancashire Police (633) Cheshire Police have issued 96 FPNs.

The regulations were tweaked in Wales last week to make it clear that people who go out for essential reasons must return straight home afterwards.

NPCC Chair Martin Hewitt said: As the latest provisional figures on the number of fines issued show, the vast majority of people continue to do the right thing, staying at home in order to protect the NHS and help save lives.

The figures also show our use of the enforcement powers remains proportionate with just 0.02 per cent of the population being issued with a fine

I want to thank people for continuing to follow the regulations  I recognise its not easy and that this is a challenging time for us all.

Our approach of  engage, explain and encourage, and only as a last resort, enforce will continue. It is working.

I urge the public to keep going, keep following the advice: stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.

Staying at home
Three more COVID-19 patients



were discharged from hospital in Assam on Friday, taking the total number of cured persons to 32, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

One patient from Nagaland, who was being treated in Guwahati, was also discharged from hospital, Sarma told a press conference here.

"He came to Guwahati after getting treatment at a Dimapur hospital. On April 12, we tested him and found his reports to be positive. His health was deteriorating at that time. Now, with the help of our doctors and medical team, he is completely cured," Sarma said.

Two were released from Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and one each from GMCH and Golaghat Civil Hospital.

"Assam had a total of 42 COVID-19 patient, of which one had died. After releasing these three patients, our recovery has gone up to 32 and there are nine active cases now.

"From the beginning, we had not considered the Nagaland case in our tally. So our total cases remain at 42," he said.

The minister said that after Friday's development, there will be no patient in Morigaon and Golaghat districts, while Nalbari became free from COVID-19 on Thursday.

Talking about the classification of different areas, Sarma said: "No district in Assam has been put in the red zone in the updated list by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

"Three districts have been placed under orange zone -- Dhubri, Goalpara and Morigaon. Rest, all are in the green zone. However, Bongaigaon's status did not feature in the list. It will be updated later."



The districts placed in the orange zone were in red before the update on Friday.

On Thursday, four fresh cases were reported from Bongaigaon, taking the total to five in the district.

Sarma said around 250 people in the district have been placed under institutional quarantine on Friday, while another 500 under home quarantine.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Recently, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were spotted out and about on the streets of Los Angeles as new photographs of them surfaced after officially stepping down as senior members of the royal family.

Experts believe that the pair look so happy and in love, as well as seeming light, happy and care-free.

Royal expert Judi James spoke to the Daily Mail about their first public outings, where they delivered charity packages to residents in their new community.

As per the expert, "There's an air of the rom-com about this couple's body language now they've quit the royal nest and become the beautiful actress with her undercover price, doing good deeds in the US rather than formal royal appearances in the UK."

Though they may look in love with the photos, it was obvious that Meghan Markle is the dominating person in their marriage.

Many body language experts have seen is that the Duchess of Sussex is reportedly calling the shots and leading the way for her and Prince Harry.

"She's the one in the lead, as they pick out the homes to visit, clutching the address and often walking ahead," one expert said while analyzing the snaps of their house-hunting excursions.

Harry and Meghan papped as they deliver food to a charity in Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/bto1VnEizH  Femina (@FeminaIndia) April 20, 2020

Prince Harry Body Language

James, however, added that the Duke of Sussex's mood is hard to read.

"His splayed chest and the way his arms are held away from his sides as he walks does suggest a level of confidence and enthusiasm, but overall he looks like a man being tentatively shown the ropes by his wife."

The body language expert revealed that Prince Harry's eye expression looks wary and worried that sometimes he often looks down and then looks at Meghan for additional support.

The difference between both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is that the 35-year-old Duke looks less active in creating a PDA, unlike his wife. It could also be because he is aware that cameras are pointing at them, something he said he isn't always comfortable with.

Meghan Markle Controlling Prince Harry?

Ever since stepping down as senior royal members, many news of Meghan Markle controlling Prince Harry surfaced.

Aside from Prince Harry's reported rift with Prince William, he started to spend less and less time with his brother, Kate Middleton, and his old friends.

A source told Page Six, "He stopped being the laddish, relaxed character he had been, he became more private and withdrawn."

But then it all started when Prince Harry decided he wanted to protect Meghan Markle, who has a tough time with the British press.

Though he loves her and wants her to be happy and safe, the source speculated that Meghan Markle had taken control of his life.

"Everyone is convinced Meghan is the driving force between this move to quit the royal family."

Apparently, Meghan Markle is reportedly the one who most wants to be back living in California, where she reportedly feels happy and "away from the restrictive politics of Buckingham Palace."

Meghan Markle the Manipulator?

In another article published in Life & Style Weekly on its March 30 issue, reported that former staff members of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have started divulging details about their experience working with them, especially Meghan Markle who was described to be "sly and manipulative, full of backhanded compliments."

Other palace staff also reportedly felt terrible for the Duke of Sussex because of Meghan Markle's "controlling ways."

It was also reported that staff have gossiped among themselves about how Prince Harry was totally under Meghan's thumb.

"When they disagreed on something, all she had to do was pout, and he would let her get her way."

READ MORE: Meghan Markle Guilt: Prince Harry Suffering From Choosing Wife Over THIS
JUNEAU, Alaska - Nearly 70% of this summers Alaska cruise ship voyages have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of expected passengers staying away from the staple of the states tourism industry.

Alaska cruise industry representatives delivered the disheartening update to the states Board of Marine Pilots, CoastAlaska reported Wednesday.

Mike Tibbles of Cruise Lines International Association Alaska told board members that 408 voyages have been cancelled so far.

Its a little over 800,000 passengers that will not be coming up at this point, Tibbles said Wednesday.

Alaska was projected to have a record 1.44 million cruise ship passengers this year. But a federal no sail order for cruise ships is expected to run through at least late July as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.

The cruise ship industry predicted travellers would spend nearly $800 million in Alaska, making the cancellations a major blow to the states economy, especially in coastal communities.

Canada closed its ports to cruise ships until July 1, while Seattles port will remain closed for the duration of Washington states emergency restrictions.

The industry is working on filing updated health and safety plans with federal authorities in anticipation of the resumption of cruises, Tibbles said.

I think everybody realizes that were going to have to do better, Tibbles said. And were going to have to do business differently than what was done before.
Ellen Degeneres is continuing to feel the heat from former staffers over her alleged behind-the-scenes bad behaviour.

The latest accusation comes from a former bodyguard who worked to protect the TV host at the 2014 Oscars, Tom Majercak, a senior manager of operations for Security Imagery Specialists (SIS).

In a damning interview with Fox News, Majercak describes DeGeneres as being "cold," alleging she would not give him any eye contact, and treated him in a "demeaning" manner.

Feeling the heat: Ellen DeGeneres has been hit with more claims of bad behaviour, this time by a former bodyguard who said she refused to give him eye contact at the 2014 Oscars

"I'm holding their hands and walking them through individuals and large groups of people. Ellen is the one person that I've been assigned to - and I've been assigned to quite a few celebrities - that has never taken the time to say hi to me," Majercak claimed to Fox.

However, the former security official - who left his security company last year - claimed he spent "a lot of time" with Ellen's wife Portia De Rossi, who was "very pleasant and carried on a conversation."

"It started going negatively when she introduced me to Ellen and Ellen pretty much just gave me a side glance out of her eye and didn't even say 'hello,' or 'thank you for protecting my mother, my wife and me,'" Majercak added.

Pictured: Tom Majercak was selected to serve as Ellen DeGeneres' executive protector at the 86th Academy Awards, Fox News claims.

At home with Ellen: DeGeneres has also been slammed by her own TV crew for poor communication and severe pay cuts while she hosts show from home

"It was very cold and it was very sly and it was actually kind of demeaning in the way that she treats people other than those who are in her circle."

The Fox report says that representatives for DeGeneres did not respond to their request for comment.

"When you see her on TV, people fall in love with her but it is a false facade and bravado," he added. "You start hearing these stories and I was like, 'Man, there's got to be more to this.' She's not the person she portrays to be that she's playing off of society. That's my opinion."

Majercak says he felt compelled to speak out about DeGeneres after seeing recent reports of her behaviour, particularly from transgender YouTube star NikkieTutorials, who also described the host as 'cold.'

Friend to the stars: The 2014 Oscars became famous for this selfie, after Ellen cajoled the A-List crowd to take this picture

The 25-year-old Dutch beauty influencer, whose real name is Nikkie de Jager, opened up about a January interview in a new piece for local magazine &C, in which she compared The Ellen Show to 'Teletubbies after dark'.

Nikkie, who first voiced her upset over the interview during an appearance on Dutch show De Wereld Draait Door in February, added that she was disappointed by her treatment in the studio - where she was greeted by an 'angry, overworked intern'.

'Maybe I'm being naive, but I expected them to welcome me with confetti: "Welcome to The Ellen DeGeneres Show!"' she said in an interview.

Not all bad: Ellen's bodyguard had nothing but nice things to say about her wife Portia de Rossi

'But instead I got greeted by an angry intern, who was a bit overworked. I expected a Disney show, but I got a Teletubbies after dark.'

During her appearance with De Wereld Draait Door, Nikkie also revealed that Ellen didn't even say hello to her when she arrived, telling host Matthijs van Nieuwkerk: 'It's really nice that you came over and said hello to me... She didn't.'

Ellen has also been criticized by her TV crew for poor communication and severe pay cuts while she hosts show from home with non-union production staff during lockdown.

Did she just check her mentions? Ellen has been feeling the heat lately, for her alleged 'mean' behaviour behind-the-scenes

The Ellen DeGeneres Show's main stage crew, which is comprised of roughly 30 people, received 'no communication' about issues like pay and working hours for over a month, an insider told Variety in a recent report.

To make matters worse, the crew was also 'furious' upon learning that the daytime talk show host hired a non-union tech company to help DeGeneres broadcast daily from her home in California.

Two sources at Ellen's show, speaking to Variety under conditions of anonymity, said that 'higher-ups in production would occasionally answer phone calls but reveal little' about their status.

Crew members finally heard from production executives last week, when they were told to expect a whopping 60% pay decrease, even while the show continues airing.

Serve and protect: A former bodyguard of Ellen is speaking out

Meanwhile, Ellen herself is said to have a $77million per year contract for her talk show. Her total net worth is estimated to be a whopping $330million.

Sources added that there are only four of the core crew members who are currently working on the remote version of Ellen, according to Variety.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Television made it clear the crew is still getting paid, though they confirmed their hours are reduced.

'Our executive producers and Telepictures are committed to taking care of our staff and crew and have made decisions first and foremost with them in mind.'

Still, insiders speaking to the industry publication claim that for over two weeks, from late March until April 9, the crew were never told how much they would be paid.

No comment: Ellen has not yet responded to any of the rumours and claims

Things began turning sour for the renowned talk show host when her alleged 'mean' behavior became a talking point on Twitter last month.

Comedian Kevin T. Porter kicked the entire social media movement, when he sent out a tweet urging people to message him 'the most insane stories [they've] heard' about DeGeneres in an effort to raise money for the Los Angeles Food Bank.

Shortly after posting, Porter was flooded with written accounts by various Twitter users who claimed to have had less than savory interactions with Ellen - who he labeled as 'notoriously one of the meanest people alive' - over the years.
They live in the COVID-19 hotspot of Los Angeles County.

And Kylie Jenner was rattled to learn someone 'so close to home' tested positive for the virus.

The reality star, 22, expressed her fears in a new teaser for Keeping Up With The Kardashians, without identifying the individual who contracted the disease.

'It's just scary': Kylie Jenner was rattled to learn someone 'so close to home' tested positive for the virus

'It's just scary when someone so close to home has tested positive,' she said in an grim tone.

This upcoming season will see the family coming to terms with the health crisis and locking down in their homes indefinitely.

The preview begins on a happy note, however, depicting the family's glamorous, pre-pandemic life.

In those simpler times, Kris is heard telling the girls that she has to go to rehab after we see what appears to be footage of staggering around holding a giant bottle of vodka, though it is unclear if this is just some sort of prank.

Rattled: The reality star, 22, expressed her fears in a new teaser for Keeping Up With The Kardashians, without identifying the individual who contracted the disease

Uncertain times: This upcoming season will see the family coming to terms with the health crisis and locking down in their homes indefinitely

Safety measures: Kris Jenner is seen adjusting to the new normal of wearing a face mask outside

Kim is then seen getting stressed as she visits husband Kanye West's fashion show in Paris as she struggles to make it on time.

However, then Kim's voiceover shifts the tone of the clip when she says: 'The White House says that the coronavirus is serious.'

The family begin filming themselves using their iPhones as they hunker down at home.

Before quarantine: Kris is heard saying she wants bonding time with her daughters

Happier times: The new episodes will start before the pandemic struck

Putting on a fashion show: Before the pandemic, Kanye puts on a fashion show in Paris

We also see the gang in various states of distress as they grapple with social distancing and self-isolating between their many homes in Los Angeles, California.

Things end with Kris getting emotional saying she's missing her daughters, as Khloe posts a video from her bed promising: 'We're going to get through this.'

KUWTK airs tonight at 8/7c on E!
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A 45-year-old man in Imo has been arrested by the police for chaining and torturing his three children in a room.

The man, identified as Ochieze Chinedu Jude, was alleged to have chained his three children, Success aged 12, Richard, 11 and Confidence, and locked them in a room where he subjected them to bouts of torture on the suspicion that they were responsible for his poverty.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said the command acted based on credible intelligence, and arrested the man on April 26th in Aboh, Umulolo, Okigwe LGA, then rescued the three children in the process.

Read Also: Man Arrested For Allegedly Poisoning Bags Of Garden Eggs In Enugu

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Ikeokwu said, Preliminary investigation revealed that he kept his children in chains and locked them up in a shop, and goes to hit the kids with a hammer intermittently claiming that they the architect of his misfortune.

The children have been rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment, while the suspect will be prosecuted accordingly, the statement added.
As nearly every state commits to keeping its schools closed for the remainder of the current school year, a group representing state education officials nationwide has taken inventory of all of the issues they must address when they eventually reopen buildings and welcome students back for in-person learning.



The conversation is shifting from the initial rapid response questions of how to ensure students safety and well-being when schools suddenly closed this spring to slow the spread of coronvirus and toward a broader menu of concerns related to academics, contingency planning, and communicating with the public, said Carissa Moffat Miller, the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

While [that initial concern] remains, there is also this real need to turn toward whats next, she said Thursday.

Her comments came as CCSSO unveiled a restart and recovery framework, outlining elements education officials must plan for when they determine how to reopen school facilities in a nation that still faces the possibility of a resurgence of the pandemic.

The organization has met remotely with state school chiefs since the start of broad school closures in March, compiling the list. It plans to work with those officials to drill down into more specific logistics, offering best practices, resources, and a decisionmaking framework for reopening within the next 30 to 60 days. The move comes as some other organizations have complained federal guidance on school reopenings lacks clarity and consistency.

CCSSO has previously convened state leaders to navigate issues that affected both policy and practice, like the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

CCSSO hopes the recovery work will help state leaders build flexible approaches that can adjust to factors like changing disease rates and the emergence of new treatment options. Some governors and school chiefs, in states like Maryland and Washington, have already suggested closures could continue into the fall if the virus resurges in their areas.

The CCSSO framework considers four major buckets of questions while recognizing that strategies for any one issue, like transportation or facilities use, could affect practices in other categories, like continuity in education, Moffat Miller said.

A single decision creates a cascade of 16 or 17 more decisions, she said.

Here are the four categories of concerns CCSSO has identified for states school reopening plans.

Continuity of Learning

States must consider how to assess and address academic needs as they reopen schools. This may include summer school, the use of diagnostic tests to measure learning loss from students who had inadequate access to remote learning, and special supports for targeted populations, like students from high-poverty families, the framework says.

Schools may also consider new approaches to minimize crowds of students, like blended learning or staged reopening. And, they should consider professional development for distance learning and strategies to ensure adequate internet access for all students should remote instruction continue, the framework says.

Conditions for Learning

Issues in this bucket relate to the heightened needs related to social, emotional, and physical well-being students may experience as they return to school.

States should consider access to supports, like counseling services and free school meals for students, the outline says. It also calls for schools to consider health and safety protocols and family and community engagement strategies to help seek input and support as educators face what many have referred to as the new normal.

Leadership and Planning

This category of issues includes planning for how schools will respond to a reemergence of the virus, seeking communication and input about the use of federal coronavirus relief funding, and communicating plans to the public.

Policy and Funding

CCSSO, which helped advocate for federal waivers from some of ESSAs testing, spending, and accountability requirements, plans to continue advocating for resources at the federal level , the outline says. Governors also project revenue shortfalls that will lead to dramatic cuts to education spending in some areas, and state education leaders will continue to collaborate about how to mitigate the effects of those cuts, the organization says.



See: Coronavirus Aid Might Not Prevent Cuts to School Funding, Analysis Shows

Photo: Austin Independent School District bus driver Antonio Fajardo Espinoza wipes down buses with antibacterial cleaner in March. The district installed WiFi on all school buses to act as hotspots for students without home internet access during coronavirus-related school closures. Around the country, state and district leaders are planning for when and how to reopen schools. Julia Robinson for Education Week

Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa .
For many of us, our precious childhood memories are mostly about the food we ate, especially candies. For those from Tamil Nadu, childhood is incomplete without those delicious, crunchy kadalai mittai. One bite and it's pure nostalgia!

It took a five-year-long wait for Kovilpatti Regional Kadalai Mittai to get a GI tag. According to a TOI report, members of the Kovilpatti Regional Kadalai Mittai Manufacturers and Retailers Association, based out of Kovilpatti and some towns and villages in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu will have an exclusive right over the tag.

According to the New Indian Express report, Deputy Registrar of the Registry, Chennai, Chinnaraja G Naidu, said the coveted status was granted to Kovilpatti Regional Kadalaimittai Manufacturers and Retailers Association in Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi district.

For those unaware, GI tags are granted for products originating from and having unique qualities corresponding to a geographical area. The tag gives exclusive right to its holders over the uniqueness of the product.

Instagram/studentsofcalicut

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Sanjai Gandhi, an expert in intellectual property and counsel for the retailers association, said Kovilpatti kadalai mittai was originally prepared during village festivals using palm jaggery and groundnuts from nearby districts.



The candy is produced from groundnuts and organic jaggery obtained from specific locations. Water from the Thamirabarani is used to enhance its taste, reports the New Indian Express.

It gets its unique flavour from the use of the special Theni jaggery. While regular jaggery is brown, hardened and sold in round lumps, this is fresh, pale and in soft triangular blocks.

Though the application seeking GI tag for the sweet was made by the Kovilpatti Regional Kadalaimittai Manufacturers and Retailers Association on July 3, 2014, the same was published in the official GI journal only on November 29, 2019 inviting objections if any, reports TOI.
Beijing: A journalist who had worked for some of China's most powerful propaganda outlets has been jailed for 15 years after being accused of attacking the ruling Communist Party, court documents showed.

Chen Jieren was convicted on Thursday of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, illegal business operations and bribery," a court in central Hunan province said in a statement posted online.

The charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" is a catch-all that Chinese authorities sometimes use against people who criticise the regime.

The verdict against Chen comes as China's leadership faces international scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with questions over whether authorities covered up crucial information that could have prevented it from spreading across the globe.

Chen, who had once worked for the People's Daily, the Communist Party's main mouthpiece, had posted "false" and "negative" information online, according to the court's statement.

"The defendant published false information on blogs, WeChat public accounts, WeChat moments and other We-media to hype relevant cases under the guise of providing legal advice," it said.

The court said Chen worked as part of an "evil force" group along with his ex-wife and three other people that illegally accrued 7.3 million yuan ($1 million) from the business.

The Chinese Human Rights Defenders watchdog said Chen's conviction was "apparently to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms", calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

It said Chen had been sacked from state media outlets including the China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and People's Daily.

Since then he had published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media, including WeChat and Weibo channels, it said.

The group accused Chinese authorities of denying Chen a fair trial.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- More than a thousand years ago, people from across the Southeast regularly traveled to a small island on Florida's Gulf Coast to bond over oysters, likely as a means of coping with climate change and social upheaval.

Archaeologists' analysis of present-day Roberts Island, about 50 miles north of Tampa Bay, showed that ancient people continued their centuries-long tradition of meeting to socialize and feast, even after an unknown crisis around A.D. 650 triggered the abandonment of most other such ceremonial sites in the region. For the next 400 years, out-of-towners made trips to the island, where shell mounds and a stepped pyramid were maintained by a small group of locals. But unlike the lavish spreads of the past, the menu primarily consisted of oysters, possibly a reflection of lower sea levels and cool, dry conditions.

People's persistence in gathering at Roberts Island, despite regional hardship, underscores their commitment to community, said study lead author C. Trevor Duke, a researcher in the Florida Museum of Natural History's Ceramic Technology Lab.

"What I found most compelling was the fact that people were so interested in keeping their ties to that landscape in the midst of all this potential climate change and abandonment," said Duke, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Florida department of anthropology. "They still put forth the effort to harvest all these oysters and keep these social relationships active. These gatherings probably occurred when different groups of people were getting together and trying to figure out the future."

Duke and his collaborators compared animal remains from shell mounds and middens - essentially kitchen trash heaps - at Roberts Island and Crystal River, home to an older, more prominent ceremonial site. Their findings showed Crystal River residents "pulled out all the stops" for ritual feasts, regaling visitors with deer, alligator, sharks and dozens of other dishes, while at Roberts Island, feasts consisted of "oysters and very little else," Duke said.

The Roberts Island ceremonial site, which was vacated around A.D. 1050, was one of the last outposts in what was once a flourishing network of religious sites across the Eastern U.S. These sites were characterized by burial grounds with distinctly decorated ceramics known as Swift Creek and Weeden Island pottery. What differentiated Roberts Island and Crystal River from other sites was that their continuous occupation by a small group of residents who prepared for the influx of hundreds of visitors - not unlike Florida's tourist towns today.

"These were very cosmopolitan communities," Duke said. "I'm from Broward County, but I also spent time in the Panhandle, so I'm used to being part of a small residential community that deals with a massive population boom for a month or two months a year. That has been a Florida phenomenon for at least two thousand years."

Archaeologists estimate small-scale ceremonies began at Crystal River around A.D. 50, growing substantially after a residential community settled the site around A.D. 200. Excavations have uncovered minerals and artifacts from the Midwest, including copper breastplates from the Great Lakes. Similarly, conch shells from the Gulf Coast have been found at Midwestern archaeological sites.

"There was this long-distance reciprocal exchange network going on across much of the Eastern U.S. that Crystal River was very much a part of," Duke said.

Religious ceremonies at Crystal River included ritual burials and marriage alliances, Duke said, solidifying social ties between different groups of people. But the community was not immune to the environmental and social crises that swept the region, and the site was abandoned around A.D. 650. A smaller ceremonial site was soon established less than a mile downstream on Roberts Island, likely by a remnant of the Crystal River population.

Duke and his collaborators collected samples from mounds and middens at the two ceremonial sites, identifying the species present and calculating the weight of the meat they would have contained. They found that feasts at hard-strapped Roberts Island featured far fewer species. Meat from oysters and other bivalves accounted for 75% of the weight of Robert Island samples and roughly 25% of the weight from Crystal River. Meat from deer and other mammals made up 45% of the weight in Crystal River samples and less then 3% from Roberts Island.

Duke said evidence suggests that Roberts Island residents also had to travel farther to harvest food. As sea levels fell, oyster beds may have shifted seaward, possibly explaining why the Crystal River population relocated to the island, which was small and had few resources.

"Previous research suggests that environmental change completely rearranged the distribution of reefs and the ecosystem," Duke said. "They had to go far out to harvest these things to keep their ritual program active."

No one knows what caused the widespread abandonment of most of the region's ceremonial sites in A.D. 650, Duke said. But the production of Weeden Island pottery, likely associated with religious activities, ramped up as bustling sites became ghost towns.

"That's kind of counterintuitive," he said. "This religious movement comes on really strong right as this abandonment is happening. It almost seems like people were trying to do something, create some kind of intervention to stop whatever was happening."

###

Thomas Pluckhahn of the University of South Florida and J. Matthew Compton of Georgia Southern University also co-authored the study.
Michael Gove announced the arrival of the ventilators from China at the start of this month - Shutterstock

The UK purchased 250 "unreliable" ventilators from China that could have caused significant harm to patients, doctors said after the equipment had arrived.

Their warning came soon after Michael Gove announced that the Government had secured the ventilators earlier this month.

Nine days later, a five-page letter raising serious concerns about the equipment was sent to a senior NHS official by a senior anaesthesia and intensive care doctor at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust on behalf of a group of clinicians from the area.

The revelation comes after The Telegraph reported that the Government was seeking a refund for millions of coronavirus antibody tests shipped in from China after they were found to be too unreliable for public use.

"We believe that if used, significant patient harm, including death, is likely," the clinicians' letter said, according to the US network NBC News, which saw it. "We look forward to the withdrawal and replacement of these ventilators with devices better able to provide intensive care ventilation for our patients."

The doctors warned that the ventilators' oxygen supply was "variable and unreliable" and said the build quality was "basic". They added that the machines' fabric cases could not be cleaned properly and that they had a "non-EU" oxygen connection hose.

In addition to these problems, the Shangrila 510 machines, manufactured by Beijing Aeonmed Co. Ltd, were designed for use in ambulances rather than hospitals.

The Department of Health and Social Care, which oversees the purchase of NHS equipment from abroad, did not respond to a request for comment. However, it told NBC News that it was aware of the doctors' concerns and had raised them with the manufacturer. None of the ventilators are in use.

The Shangrila 510model is thought to cost up to 2,300, meaning a batch of 300 was likely to have cost the taxpayer almost 700,000.

Story continues

Dr Ron Daniels, a senior ICU doctor in another NHS region covering Birmingham, said his trust had also been sent a small number of the same model.

While he did not see them himself, he is aware of the concerns raised and told The Telegraph: "It's possible that this was a hasty purchase that prioritised numbers and public perception over and above need.

"It came at a time of unprecedented demand for ICU capacity. If their build quality was sufficient and they had the after-sales care, that would be different. But I understand there was not even an oxygen sensor, which would be absolutely below the acceptable standard.

"The decision making may well have been well meaning, but was ill judged."
A $2 pack of Vetta's pasta has been crowned the winner of the best dried pasta of 2020 after Australian shoppers voted for their favourite brands.

Consumer review website Canstar Blue rounded up the top seven supermarket brands including Barilla, San Remo, Aldi's Remano, Coles and Woolworths.

More than 1,700 shoppers surveyed in the annual review were asked to rate the popular pantry staple based on taste, texture, variety, value for money and overall customer satisfaction.

Australian shoppers have voted for their favourite dried pastas of 2020. The top seven brands include Barilla, San Remo, Vetta, Zafarelli, Aldi's Remano, Coles and Woolworths

Best dried pasta 2020 1. Vetta - $2 2. Remano (ALDI) - 89 cents 3. Coles - 80 cents 4. Barilla - $2.40 5. San Remo - $2.60 6. Woolworths - $1.20 7. Zafarelli - $2 Advertisement

Vetta took the lead for its 'healthy' pasta range as the brand prides itself on producing premium products using top-quality Australian durum wheat.

The brand edged out the competition as the only brand to score a stellar five-star rating for overall satisfaction, taste, texture and variety. It received four stars on value for money.

A 500g pack of Vetta SMART pasta costs $2 at most supermarkets.

Remano, which is one of Aldi's exclusive brands of pasta and pasta sauce, finished as the runner up after earning a creditable five stars on value for money but scored four stars for taste, texture and overall satisfaction, with three stars on variety.

A 500g of Remano pasta costs 89 cents at Aldi.

Vetta (left) edged out the competition as the only brand to score a stellar five-star rating for overall satisfaction, taste, texture and variety, while Aldi's Remano finished as the runner up

In third place, supermarket-own label Coles dominated the value for money category with five stars, while Barilla stood out in the variety category

Aussies' favourite varieties of pasta: Spaghetti: 38%

Penne: 21%

Fettuccine: 10%

Fusilli/rotini (spirals): 10% Source: Canstar Blue Advertisement

In third place, supermarket-own label Coles dominated the value for money category with five stars - but scored four-star ratings for texture, variety and overall satisfaction, with only three stars for taste.

The prices range between 80 cents and $1.20 for a 500g pack.

Italian family-owned pasta producer Barilla stood out in the variety category, scoring five stars - but received four stars for taste, texture and overall satisfaction and finished on three stars for value for money.

The brand stocks more than 30 pasta shapes for customers to choose from. A 500g pack of Barilla pasta costs from $2.40 in most supermarkets.

San Remo (left) scored its only five stars in the variety category, while Woolworths (right) scored four stars in texture, variety and value for money

Zafarelli scored four stars for value for money

San Remo scored its only five stars in the variety category, as it provides a wide assortment of pasta, with more than 100 products to choose from.

The brand scored four stars for texture but fell short with three stars for taste, value for money and overall satisfaction.

The prices start from $2.50 for a 500g pack in most supermarkets.

Woolworths scored four stars in texture, variety and value for money but fell short in taste and overall satisfaction with three stars.

The supermarket-own label offers a selection of pasta products at affordable prices, starting from $1.20 for a 500g pack.

Zafarelli scored four stars for value for money and rounded out its results with three stars across taste, texture, variety and overall satisfaction.

The brand first launched in Australia in 1985 and has since expanded its range to include more than 15 pasta shapes, including spaghetti, penne and lasagna sheets.

A 500g of Zafarelli pasta start from $2 in most supermarkets.
Good Morning, welcome to Information Nigerias Newspaper headlines for today, 1st May 2020.

Here are the major headlines.

Obiano Orders Compulsory Use Of Face Masks As Workers Resume On Monday

Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, has ordered civil and public servants in the state, including primary and secondary school teachers to resume work on Monday, May 4th, 2020.

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We Are Struggling With Bed Spaces In Lagos Isolation Centers  NCDC

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) says it is struggling for bed spaces to treat COVID-19 patients in Lagos state.

Palliatives: We Cant Publish Names Of Beneficiaries  Minister

Sadiya Umar-Farouk, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, says names of beneficiaries of government interventions cant be published.

Discontinue Lockdown  Ayade Urges FG

Governor of River State, Benedict Ayade has called on the Federal Government to allow healthy Nigerians work and move freely amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Father Who Locked Out Son Who Returned From Abroad Bags Appointment In Ekiti

The Ekiti state government has appointed the man who refused to welcome his son over fear of Covid-19 after sneaking into the state as an ambassador of Covid-19 response in the state.

Planned Deportation Of Northern Youth Is Unlawful  Zamfara Warns Osun

Zamfara State Government has described the plan by its Osun state counterpart to deport Northern youths who allegedly sneaked into Osun as unlawful.

Mass Death: I Wont Let You Down  Buhari Writes Kano State Residents

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the people of Kano that he would not let them down regarding the mass deaths in the state.

19 Nigerians Killed During Lockdown  Amnesty International

Amnesty International has reported that since the lockdown directive was instituted in Nigeria, 19 citizens have so far been killed by security operatives.

People Are Sneaking Into Osun From The North  Osun Governor

Osun state government has raised the alarm that people from the north are currently sneaking into the state despite the lockdown put in place.

Sanwo-Olu Announces Measures To Ease Lockdown In Lagos

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu says he will formally inaugurate a committee on controlled easing of the Lockdown in the state on Thursday.

Nigeria Will Overcome Economic Woes From Dwindling Oil Price  Lawan

Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan says the country would overcome its current economic challenges as a result of dwindling revenue from crude oil sale.
Kansas Prisons Are Fighting A Lawsuit To Release Prisoners To Reduce COVID-19 Spread LAWRENCE, Kansas - As coronavirus cases have climbed above 100 in state prisons, the Kansas Department of Corrections is enmeshed in a legal battle that could result in thousands of inmates being released.

Progress report on this legal move and humanitarian outcry that urges authorities to let criminals lose in order to flatten the curve inside prison walls. Read more:
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/epson-recalls-power-adapters-sold-with-epson-scanners-due-to-burn-and-fire-hazards

Recall Summary

Name of Product: Power adapters sold with Epson scanners

Hazard: The power adapters can overheat, melt and catch fire, posing burn and fire hazards.

Remedy: Replace

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled adapters and contact Epson to receive a free replacement adapter.

Consumer Contact:

Epson USA toll-free at 888-367-2656 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or online at www.epson.com and click "Support" for more information.

Recall Details

Units: About 314,000 (In addition, 25,000 in Canada)

Description:

This recall involves the power adapter sold with Epson V-series (V30/V33/V37/V300/V330/V370) scanners. The recalled adapters are black with a power cord that connects to the scanner and to an electrical outlet. "EPSON" and internal part code "EADP-16CB B" are printed on the label of the adaptor.

Incidents/Injuries: Epson is aware of 15 incidents worldwide of the adaptor melting or catching fire, resulting in property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Sold At: Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Walmart, and department stores nationwide from January 2010 through December 2015 for between $55 and $80 for the scanner and adapter.

Importer: Epson America Inc., of Long Beach, Calif.

Manufactured in: China (Adapter), Indonesia (Scanner)

Note: Health Canada's press release is available at: https://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2020/72345r-eng.php

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This recall was conducted voluntarily by the company under CPSC's Fast Track Recall process. Fast Track recalls are initiated by firms, who commit to work with CPSC to quickly announce the recall and remedy to protect consumers.

About U.S. CPSC:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals  contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

For more lifesaving information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC or sign up to receive our e-mail alerts. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline

Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:

800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)

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Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

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Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.

Phone: 301-504-7908

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Recall Number: 20-116

SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

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Many small business owners who have been approved for Paycheck Protection Program loans (PPP) are realizing that the loan isnt as forgivable as theyd hoped.

The amount a small business can qualify to have forgiven must primarily be payroll costs. The SBAs rulemaking has stated that at least 75% of the forgiveness request must be payroll costs but can also contain up to 25% of other approved expenses under the law such as rent, mortgage interest and utilities. That rule seems to be widely understood and so long as small business owners are spending 75% of their PPP funds on payroll this rule wont frustrate small business owners when it comes time to forgiveness.

For details on the PPP loan program in general, please refer to my prior article here.

Unfortunately, there is an additional restriction on loan forgiveness requests which penalizes a small business if they do not bring back the same number of workers they had before the pandemic. For example, if you were a small business who had 10 employees prior to the pandemic, and now, after receiving your PPP loan funds you only have 6 employees, then your loan forgiveness request will be reduced to 60% of the total amount of eligible expenses. If the small business brought back 10 or more employees, then there is no reduction in the forgivable loan amount. In other words, small businesses who have kept or who re-hire their entire workforce are rewarded while those who cant are punished. The fact of the matter is, that many who can't bring back their workforce are those who have been hurt the most.

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The pre-pandemic time period used to determine the number of full-time equivalent employees is either January 1, 2020 to February 29, 2020, or February 15, 2019 to June 30, 2019. The business owner can choose either time period and a smart one will choose the period when they had a lower number of full-time equivalent employees.

Using the example of a small business that received a PPP loan of $60,000 that prior to the pandemic had 10 full-time equivalent employees but has only retained or brought back 6 employees over the eight weeks following their loan funding, let's go through both the 75% Payroll Cost Rule and the Full-time Equivalent Employee Rule to see what amounts a small business borrower would be eligible to have forgiven.

Total PPP Loan = $60,000

75% Payroll Cost Rule (applies from PPP loan funding for 8 weeks)

Amount spent on payroll costs = $30,000

Amount spent on rent = $4,000

Amount spent on utilities = $2,000

Total Amount Spent = $36,000

Payroll costs of $30,000 represent 83% of the total qualifying expenses ($36,000) to be requested and as a result, there is no need to reduce the forgiveness request based on the 75% payroll cost rule.

Side note: If non-payroll costs exceeded 25%, then the forgiveness request is reduced until no more than 25% of the amount to be forgiven is qualifying non-payroll costs. The payroll costs are always 100% eligible for forgiveness but the non-payroll costs will need to be reduced until they are no more than 25% of the total amount requested to be forgiven.

Full-time Equivalent Employee Rule

Even though the small business had a PPP loan of $60,000, they only spent $36,000 on qualifying expenses. They met the 75% payroll cost rule and the entire $36,000 is eligible for forgiveness but only after applying the full-time equivalent employee rule.

Full-time equivalent employees after PPP funding (8-week period) = 6

Full-time equivalent employees pre-pandemic = 10

Ratio of Employees Retained (amount eligible for forgiveness) = 60%

The amount eligible for forgiveness of $36,000 is then multiplied by 60% to get the final amount eligible for forgiveness of $21,600.

In the end, the small business who received a $60,000 PPP loan, spent $36,000 on payroll and other qualifying expenses (within the 75% rule), but then had their forgivable amount reduced down to $21,600 as they were only able to bring back 60% of their pre-pandemic workforce. At the end of the 8 weeks, they will be eligible for loan forgiveness of $21,600 and will need to re-pay the remaining $38,400 to the bank where they received the PPP loan. This amount is subject to 1% interest and must be repaid within two years from the date they obtained the loan.

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Side note: There is an additional reduction calculation if you bring back workers but reduce their pay from the pre-pandemic time-period by more than 25%.

The reality is that small business owners are penalized harshly if they cant bring back employees. In advising business owners in my law firm, weve already seen this to be a major concern and have heard of small business owners who are unable to bring back their workers as those workers' unemployment benefits are more generous than the pay they received when working in the small business. Other business owners are struggling with shelter in place orders being extended, are still unable to open, and are reluctant to simply re-hire workers when theres uncertainty about whether the PPP loan will just be more debt or whether it will actually function like true stimulus for the small business owner and be forgiven.

The law did provide one work-around for businesses that had already reduced their workforce over the past couple of months (February 15, 2020 to April 26, 2020). Under this work-around, a business can avoid the forgiveness reduction for having a reduced workforce over the eight week period so long as they have the same number of employees by June 30, 2020 that they had on February 15, 2020. This work-around is technical but is an option for businesses who have to delay bringing their employees back into June. Presumably, the guidance from SBA and Treasury will address this as they begin to focus on forgiveness questions and away from loan application and qualification questions.

Robert Scott, a Regional SBA Administrator who was part of the SBA team that launched the PPP program, said the SBA is aware of the harshness of the rule and how it hurts many small businesses who cant bring back all of their workers. Unfortunately, this restriction was built into the CARES Act itself so theres not much the SBA can do to assist or provide regulatory relief as it will literally take an act of Congress to change.

Small business owners should be very cautious with the PPP dollars they spend and need to make sure that they understand what amounts will be forgiven and what amounts will be nothing more than additional debt on their business. Dont assume that just because you were given a certain loan amount that you can use all of those funds for business expenses. Keep in mind, this isnt the Small Business Protection program, its the Paycheck Protection Program. Consequently, small businesses who are counting on loan forgiveness should ensure that at least 75% of the loan funds are being spent on payroll costs. They must also realize that if they are unable to bring back the same number of employees from the pre-pandemic time that the amount eligible for forgiveness will be reduced.

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The Singapore government is setting up on-site community care facilities in the most affected dormitories for COVID-19 positive migrant workers who are clinically well or display mild symptoms, health authorities said on Friday.

Patients will be moved to the Community Care Facilities (CCFs), set up by the Inter-agency Task Force, immediately after diagnosis instead of waiting to be transferred to an off-site medical facility, they said.

Off-site CCFs are set up in locations such as D'Resort, a local holiday complex, as well as Singapore Expo and Changi Exhibition Centre.

The mega exposition sites are being readied to accommodate foreign workers who have been moved out of COVID-19 infested dormitories.

On-site Community Recovery Facilities (CRFs) will similarly be set up to look after patients who are no longer infectious and are transferred out of the CCFs.

After the workers recover, our aim is to help them stay healthy and enable them to work when their employers resume business, said the task force, which is in charge of handling the COVID-19 outbreak in dormitories.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that many of the measures put in place have shown some progress.

"The number of new cases in the community has come down. However, the number of new infections in our dormitories remains a challenge," Channel Asia quoted Gan as saying.

Some of the recovered workers will return to their disinfected dormitories, and the task force will designate specific Blocks for Recovered Workers (BRWs) within these dormitories to house the workers.

Within the BRWs, workers must observe enhanced safe distancing measures, and inter-mingling with residents of other blocks will be strictly prohibited.

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said this phase of taking care of the foreign workers as they recover will be an "enormous challenge".

"Many workers will be rehoused, and they will have to get used to new friends. Many employers will have to adjust to their workers being in different locations with new arrangements.

"We will have to develop new strategies to monitor the health of the workers. This is a very important aspect of the recovery phase," Teo was quoted as saying.

And it's critical that we get this phase done well, so that work and business can resume safely," she said.

For dormitories that are less affected, the task force will adopt a combination of approaches including aggressive swabbing to contain the infection and isolation strategies.

To better support the healthcare needs of workers at Factory-Converted Dormitories, the task force provides additional medical posts at foreign workers' Recreation Centres.

These medical posts serve a combined catchment of 760 Factory-Converted Dormitories housing about 65,000 workers. They are managed by private healthcare groups, such as Raffles Medical Group, ParkwayHealth and AcuMed Medical Group.

The task force also gave an update on the provision of meals to 43 purpose-built dormitories. More than 10 million meals have been served, with special meal runs for residents observing Ramadan.

About 300 employers indicated that they owed salaries to their workers, according to media reports.

The Manpower Ministry is actively tracking and engaging these employers to ensure that they eventually make payments to the workers.

Seven employers are reportedly in financial difficulties and may not be able to pay their workers. For such cases, the Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund will step in to provide relief.

The task force also facilitated access to remittance services, both physical and digital, so that workers can continue to remit money back to their families.

Meanwhile, the authorities extended the stay-home period of foreign workers, including Indians, in the construction sector by two weeks until May 18 as the COVID-19 infections among the community continue to rise. The total number of cases in the country has reached 17,101, the health ministry said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over 5,000 migrant labourers returned to Uttar Pradesh on Friday from Madhya Pradesh in 155 buses and their medical check-ups were being conducted, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said.

He said 5,259 labourers from Madhya Pradesh arrived in the state and 1,341 labourers belonging to MP were sent to their native place in 50 buses.

Awasthi said 6,500 migrant labourers from Rajasthan and 1,500 from Uttarakhand will be returning to UP on Saturday.

"The exchange of labourers with Madhya Pradesh has been completed. Their medica examination is being conducted again," he said.

Briefing reporters about a high-level meeting held by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Awasthi said so far around four lakh migrant workers have arrived from Delhi and 12,000 from Haryana.

"This work is being done in a phased manner," he said.

In the meeting, Adityanath asked the nodal officers to remain available on phone round-the-clock to ensure smooth return of migrant workers to the state.

The UP chief minister wrote a letter to his counterparts in Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra on Thursday, asking for the details of migrant workers stranded due to the lockdown imposed across the country to contain the spread of coronavirus, Awasthi said.

Adityanath reviewed the arrangements made for quarantine of all those returning to the state and stressed that there should not be any laxity in their medical examination.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Donald Trump claimed he has seen evidence the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, as he threatened tariffs on Beijing over its role in the global pandemic.

The US president's assertion was immediately undermined by his intelligence chief and by his top diplomat, who said: "We don't know precisely where it began."

Lockdowns that have crippled the global economy for weeks continued to ease, with South Africa allowing some industries to reopen from Friday, joining parts of Europe and some US states that have begun to emerge in the last few days.

A staff member wearing a face shield points instructions at a bus station in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. By STR (AFP)

But the good news was tempered by data showing a further haemorrhaging of jobs, with 30 million Americans newly unemployed since lockdown began, as businesses lose customers.

Underlining the slump in consumer demand, Irish airline Ryanair said it was slashing 3,000 positions, forecasting passenger numbers would not recover until mid-2022.

While death rates slowed in most of Europe, the global toll from the pandemic has now topped 230,000.

Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.

A physiotherapist gives a high five to a patient at the "middle care" unit for the COVID-19 infected patients at the Erasme Hospital in Brussels. By Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD (AFP)

But speculation has swirled about a top-secret lab, reinforced by internet rumours and right-wing shock jocks -- and increasingly taken up by the US president.

Asked if he had seen anything giving him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak, Trump replied, "Yes, I have."

He refused to give details.

Elite Indonesian navy frogmen wearing protective gear keep watch at a port in Jakarta as over 300 Indonesian crewmembers of the Explorer Dream cruise ship are brought ashore for testing and quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By ADEK BERRY (AFP)

However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated he had not seen definitive evidence.

"We don't know precisely where it began," he said.

"We don't know if it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We don't know if it emanated from the wet market or yet some other place. We don't know those answers."

A Muslim man in protective gear offers funeral prayers for a policeman who died from COVID-19 at a graveyard in New Delhi. By SAJJAD HUSSAIN (AFP)

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said analysts "will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine" the origin of the outbreak.

Beijing has denied the lab was the source of the virus.

Last month foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: "(World Health Organization) officials have repeatedly stated that there is no single evidence that the new coronavirus was produced in a laboratory."

An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the Chinese city of Wuhan -- US President Donald Trump said he had seen evidence pointing to the lab as the source of the novel coronavirus. By Hector RETAMAL (AFP/File)

"Many well-known medical experts in the world also believe that the so-called laboratory leak hypothesis has no scientific basis,"

Trump is making Beijing's handling of the outbreak a major issue for his November re-election campaign.

When asked about reports that he could cancel US debt obligations to China, Trump said he could "do it differently" and act in "more of a forthright manner".

"I could do the same thing but even for more money, just putting on tariffs," he said.

Eurozone gloom

The latest jobless claims by another 3.84 million Americans mean roughly nine percent of the US population have filed for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks.

Shoppers keep social distancing rules as the queue up outside a market in the Peruvian city of Piura. By Sebastian ENRIQUEZ (AFP)

The depressing US data compounded a tough message from European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde.

"The euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime," she warned.

Armed protestors try to enter the chamber of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing during a rally organized by Michigan United for Liberty demanding the reopening of businesses. By JEFF KOWALSKY (AFP)

ECB economists expect output in the 19-nation currency club to shrink by "five to 12 percent" this year, she added.

Lockdowns ease

Nuns sing and clap to show their appreciation of Britain's NHS (National Health Service) workers and other frontline medical staff at St. Anthony's Convent of Mercy, in Sunderland north east England. By Oli SCARFF (AFP)

The coronavirus has infected at least 3.2 million people so far, with Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin becoming the latest high-profile figure to test positive as his country's caseload surged past 100,000.

But there was some reason for cheer.

Germany accelerated plans to start lifting its anti-virus lockdown, preparing gradually to ease curbs on public life and reopen religious institutions, museums and zoos -- having restarted shopping last week.

Health workers celebrate as they watch a 16-year-old patient who recovered from COVID-19 leave hospital in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. By Yuri CORTEZ (AFP)

"It remains absolutely important that we stay disciplined," said Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Italy, once the world centre of the outbreak, said it was hoping to reopen two major airports next week, but would move slowly.

"We cannot allow the efforts made to be in vain because of rashness at this delicate stage," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

A staff member wearing a face shield points instructions at a bus station in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. By STR (AFP)

And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself battled COVID-19, said his country -- which has the world's third-highest death toll, behind the US and Italy -- would publish a roadmap next week on easing restrictions.

Malaysia said Friday it would re-open for business next week, while Australia's government said it could begin easing restrictions soon.

"We need to restart our economy. We need to restart our society. We can't keep Australia under the doona," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, using a local term for a duvet.

All happening at the zoo

The stay-at-home rules have left zoo animals around the world short of visitors.

A staff member wearing a face shield points instructions at a bus station in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. By STR (AFP)

In Singapore, keepers have taken a colony of African penguins to the children's playground to give the attention-starved birds a bit of stimulation.

And in Tokyo, aquarium bosses were asking members of the public to Facetime lonely eels, fearful that the shy creatures are forgetting what humans look like.

"Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by," said Sumida Aquarium. "Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?"

For those who prefer their creatures virtual, Nintendo's smash-hit "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" was offering lockdown solace.

"Right now, watching news on TV can really be scary, but in this game, it's just as if nothing is happening, it's all quiet and peaceful," said Kanae Miya.
Just 54 of the health staff who answered the 'Be On Call for Ireland' recruitment drive in the battle against coronavirus have taken up their posts so far, the Irish Independent can reveal.

Concern has been raised about the "startling" low number of staff that has been put in place after a campaign that led to 73,000 people applying.

The high-profile recruitment campaign was launched on St Patrick's Day to bolster the capacity of the health service to tackle the Covid-19 crisis.

But while more than 1,600 candidates have been successful at interview, the HSE has confirmed that just 54 people have been placed in jobs.

The latest HSE figures show that 31,000 applicants - or 42pc - did not have relevant healthcare skills, while 13,000 others were administrative staff who were not needed.

Read More

Aontu leader Peadar Toibin raised concern over the numbers who have been placed in jobs, six weeks after the recruitment drive began.

The Meath West TD said the campaign was "a wonderful example of the goodwill and community solidarity of Ireland, being harnessed in this critical battle against Covid-19".

He said it was "startling" that, out of 73,000 applicants, just 54 people were "actually operating as staff in the health service".

Mr Toibin added: "Granted, not all of the 73,000 people were suitable to work in the health service but this initiative was launched over 40 days ago."

He listed challenges facing the health system, including ramping up of coronavirus testing and the "heavy toll" lockdown is having on people in terms of mental health.

He also said that hospital avoidance by non-coronavirus patients was having a "negative effective on the lives and health of so many ill people".

Mr Toibin added it was pivotal that the full capacity of the health service was utilised.

The HSE said that 'Be On Call For Ireland' was one element of a large recruitment campaign taking place across the health service that has resulted in more than 1,000 clinical and other staff being recruited.

A statement said that almost 1,000 of these had been hired by the HSE's national recruitment service since the declaration of a national health emergency.

It said that as of Wednesday evening, 1,617 candidates from the 'Be On Call for Ireland' initiative had been successful at interview.

A total of 470 had completed the recruitment process, including Garda vetting and reference checks, and 54 individuals had taken up their posts.

The HSE said the initiative was aimed at creating "an additional reserve pool of 'job-ready' staff to support the health service during the pandemic".

The campaign was said to be targeted at qualified healthcare workers who were not already working in the sector.

It said 31,000 applicants did not identify as having relevant healthcare skills and they had been advised to register with the various volunteer initiatives that had been set up.

A further 13,000 were management or administration candidates but any such roles that arise in the HSE are being filled by redeployment from elsewhere in the public and civil services.

Read More

This allows enhanced support to the health service by staff already being paid by the Exchequer.

Around 29,000 applicants registered as health workers but 10,000 were already working in healthcare. The HSE does not want to divert such staff from the work they are already doing.

Approximately 1,000 were not licensed to practise within their profession. A further 1,000 candidates unsubscribed from the process themselves.

The HSE said around 3,000 applicants were being appointed into the health service through other routes.

That left the possible applicant pool with 14,000 candidates.

The HSE said it was the 14,000 who identified as nurses, doctors, ambulance staff, cleaners, dentists, radiographers, physiotherapists and other types of healthcare workers that it was focusing on to bring to a 'job-ready' status as a reserve to be deployed "as needed".

Around 7,000 have been contacted to ascertain their ability to work during this crisis.

Former Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh is among the healthcare staff who have returned to Ireland to work on the frontline during the Covid-19 crisis.

Grainne (25), from Buncrana, Co Donegal, is now helping patients in Ireland after working as a nurse in the UK.

She said: "I started back on Monday, I'm in Letterkenny University Hospital and it's very busy, as expected.

"It was good to get back into the swing of things and there's great morale in the hospital considering everything that's going on.

"Everyone was just really happy to have to have more staff."

She said her application took a few weeks to be processed from when she applied in early March, as she had to re-register to work in Ireland, and because of the large volumes of workers who answered the HSE's recruitment calls.

"I was anxious to get back, but they did say that they had quite a lot of applications to go through because there were a lot of people who hadn't worked in a while, or people that are retired and then were going to come back and get re-registered.

"A lot of people came home from other countries and stuff so they had a lot of applications to go through."
One of Melbourne's largest independent schools has taken up the federal government's offer of an advance on funding, but maintains its plan to resume classroom teaching will only go ahead when state medical advice says it's safe.

Wesley College, which has thousands of students across its three campuses, attached the condition to its application for funding under the Morrison government's incentive to encourage independent schools to resume face-to-face teaching by June 1.

Wesley College Principal Nick Evans says the school will act on advice from Victoria's Chief Health Officer. Credit:Penny Stephens

Education Minister Dan Tehan on Friday extended the application deadline for the scheme, which promises to bring forward 25 per cent of federal payments for willing schools, until midday on Saturday.

On Friday evening the minister said more than 500 schools from all states and territories had already made applications.
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Employees at some of America's biggest companies are coordinating a 'mass sick-out' to protest unsafe working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Hundreds of workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Target and Walmart have either called out sick or are walked off the job Friday afternoon in a push for hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and additional cleaning supplies.

The employees have become essential workers during the COVID-19 outbreak, but say bosses aren't doing enough to keep them mitigate their chances of contracting the virus.

While small groups from each of the companies have been petitioning for safer working conditions since the middle of March, Friday's sick-out marks the first time they have combined efforts to create a large-scale 'movement'.

The sickout falls on International Worker's Day, and organizers are also calling for customers to boycott buying products from the listed companies for the entire day.

Pictures taken outside an Amazon fulfillment center on Friday afternoon, showed workers brandishing placards which read 'Capitalism Is The Virus' and 'Capitalism Kills'.

Hundreds of workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Target and Walmart have either called out sick or are planning to walk off the job Friday afternoon in a push for hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and additional cleaning supplies. A protester is seen outside Whole Foods earlier this month

Protesters outside Amazin's fulfillment centerin Staten Island, New York are pictured Friday

The protest outside Amazon's Staten Island warehouse was one of many scheduled to take place in front of large retailers across the country Friday

Christian Smalls, a former Amazon worker who was fired from the company in March after organizing a strike over safety conditions, is helping to organize Friday's sickout.

He told The Washington Post that workers at about 25 Amazon warehouses are 'expected to walk out at midday and petition in front of the facilities'.

'The virus is killing some of our employees - this is a matter of life or death,' Smalls stated.

Workers in more than a dozen Amazon factories have tested positive to COVID-19, and at least one worker has died.

However, Amazon - which also owns Whole Foods - has hit back, claiming labor groups are 'spreading misinformation and making false claims' about the company.

'The statements made are not supported by facts or representative of the majority of the 500,000 Amazon operations employees in the U.S. who are showing up to work to support their communities,' spokeswoman Rachael Lighty told The Post.

Christian Smalls, a former Amazon worker who was fired from the company in March after organizing a strike over safety conditions, helped organize Friday's sickout. He is pictured at right

Supporters of the ex-Amazon employee turned out in force and called upon the online retail giant to provide their frontline workers with hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and additional cleaning supplies

Healthcare workers also turned out to show their solidarity with frontline employees in the retail sector

Dozens of workers were seen keeping six feet apart from one another as they stood outside the Staten Island warehouse

One masked protester brandished a sign which read: 'Treat your workers like your customers!'

The daughter of one essential worker was seen at the New York protest

Police were on hand during the protests, but there was no reports of misbehavior after workers at the warehouse walked off the job Friday lunchtime

One protester took aim at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with her sign

Meanwhile, Target says they are 'distributing protective equipment, deep-cleaning checkout lanes, limiting customer traffic and adding plexiglass partitions' to keep their employees safe.

They say only a small number of their 340,000 frontline workforce is likely to partake in the sickout.

However, one Target employee in Virginia told NBC News that he and his co-workers would be participating in the sickout.

Despite the protests, Amazon - which also owns Whole Foods - has hit back, claiming labor groups are 'spreading misinformation and making false claims' about the company

Workers in more than a dozen Amazon factories have tested positive to COVID-19, and at least one worker has died. Protesters are calling for more adequate safety protocols

'As workers, we have agency, we have the ability to change things, and we don't have to be passive spectators in our political and social lives,' they stated.

And it appears that they have public sentiment on their side.

Hundreds of posts shared on social media Friday came from consumers saying they would not be purchasing products from the companies until employee demands are met.

Charles Booker, who is running for Congress, wrote on Twitter: Our lives are not commodities. Our labor does not define our humanity. This is why we organize. When necessary, this is why we strike. On#MayDay2020 and everyday, I stand in solidarity with workers and organized labor. Proud to be on the line with you.'

Another Twitter user stated: 'It's my birthday. Please boycott @amazon'.

One public policy expert predicts a public relations disaster of companies do not yield to some of the demands - given public sentiment is on the side of the workers

Posters in support of the customer boycott have been shared widely on Twitter

One public policy expert predicts a public relations disaster of companies do not yield to some of the demands - particularly given that Amazon and Instacart have seen demands soar amid nationwide stay-at-home orders.

'If their sales are going up, but they are not passing any reasonable pay on to workers, it could be a huge PR disaster for some of these companies,' a Molly Kinder, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Post.

On Wednesday, activists protested outside the Washington, DC home of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, calling on him to increase safety protocols for workers.

More than one million Americans have tested positive to COVID-19, and more than 63,000 have died.

On Wednesday, activists protested outside the Washington, DC home of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, calling on him to increase safety protocols for workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 21:55:39|Editor: huaxia

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SARAJEVO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A batch of medical supplies, donated by eastern China's Shanghai city, has been delivered to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Chinese embassy in BiH announced on Friday.

The medical supplies, which include 3,000 N95 masks and 18,000 KN95 masks, were handed over to Sarajevo mayor Abdulah Skaka a day earlier by the Chinese ambassador Ji Ping.

"I am grateful to the city of Shanghai for providing these medical equipment to Sarajevo, which fully demonstrates the friendly and cooperative relations between Sarajevo and Shanghai," said the mayor.

"Sarajevo is ready to continue its cooperation and cultural exchanges with Shanghai and other cities in China," he added.

So far, BiH has reported 1,757 cases of COVID-19 and 69 deaths. Enditem
Russia ready to sell Iraq S-400 missile systems upon Baghdad request: Ambassador

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 5:59 PM

Russian Ambassador to Iraq Maksim Maksimov says Moscow is prepared to provide Baghdad with advanced S-400 air defense missile systems once the Arab country makes an official request for the military hardware.

"The Russian side has, thus far, not received an official request in this regard. There is no doubt that recent developments have increased interest in [procurement of] air missile defense systems, especially the S-400 system," Iraq's Arabic-language al-Ahad news agency quoted Maksimov as saying on Thursday.

He noted, "It is too early to set out the details. Therefore, I say that we (Russians) will meet the Iraqis' request once they make such a bid."

The remarks come after the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee submitted an in-depth study to the country's caretaker prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi earlier this month, requesting the acquisition of the long-range, surface-to-air missile defense system.

"The committee has presented a comprehensive study to the prime minister, demanding approval for the purchase of the advanced S-400 air defense system. The issue has already been discussed with relevant figures at the General Command of Armed Forces, and now awaits the premier's agreement," Badr al-Ziyadi, a member of the committee, told Arabic-language al-Sabaah newspaper on April 18.

The United States has already warned Iraq of the consequences of extending military cooperation with Russia, and striking deals to purchase advanced weaponry, particularly S-400 missile systems.

Former US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on February 22, 2018 that Washington has contacted many countries, including Iraq, to explain the significance of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), and possible consequences that would arise in the wake of defense agreements with Moscow.

Back on August 2, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed into law the CAATSA that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

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NASA on Thursday awarded almost $1 billion in contracts to three space companies including those owned by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to develop lunar landers as the United States seeks to return human beings to the Moon.

The human landing system contracts were given to Musk's SpaceX, Bezos' Blue Origin and Dynetics, who receive $967 million.

The three will compete against each other over the contract period, ending February 2021, when NASA will decide which of them will have an opportunity to perform demonstration missions.

"America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

"This is the first time since the Apollo era that NASA has direct funding for a human landing system, and now we have companies on contract to do the work for the Artemis program."

The human landing system is one of the core elements of the Artemis mission, along with the Space Launch System rock, the Orion crew capsule headed by Lockheed Martin, and the Gateway, a small space station that will orbit the Moon.

The announcement comes as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 230,000 people since it first emerged in China late last year, and has ground the global economy to a halt.

Bridenstine said it was more important than ever for the mission to go forward.

"I want to say that it's important that this agency do this now, because our country, and in fact the whole world has been shaken by this coronavirus pandemic," said Bridenstine.

"And yet, we need to give people hope. We need to give them something that they can look up to, dream about, something that will inspire not just the nation but the entire world."
CoronaVirus (Covid-19) has been declared as pandemic (an epidemic occurring worldwide) by World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11.03.2020. While many consider Covid-19 as a message from nature to mankind, in this Article we will examine the impact of Covid-19 on contractual obligations of the parties in India.

In order to contain the spread of Covid-19, lockdowns have been ordered in major part of the world by respective governments which have severely affected supply chains, trade and commerce. In such situationthe question arises, whether the parties are still bound by their mutual contractual obligations?

Usually, when a contract is broken, the suffering party is entitled for compensation/damages for loss under S.73 of Indian Contract Act, 1872 (Act) or can seek specific performance of the Contract under Section 10 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 from the party which is in breach. However, a contract the performance of which subsequently becomes impossible is governed either by Chapter III of the Act (more particularly Section 32) if a contract has Force Majeure Clause or if the Force Majeure event de hors the contract then such contract is dealt with provisions of Section 56 of the Act.[1]

Effect of Covid-19 on Contracts having Force Majeure Clause

Force Majeure (or Viz Major in Latin) means superior force like natural disasters or certain acts of man of a disruptive and unforeseeable nature, such as war-like situations, labour unrest or strikes, epidemicsetc which prevent the parties from fulfilling contractual obligations. Force Majeure clause in a contract savestheparty obligated under a contract from liability of non-performance for something over which it has no control.

When the circumstances contemplatedin a Force Majeure clause by the parties to a contract exists, Section 32 of the Act is triggered which deals with Contingent Contracts[2]. As per Section 32, contingent contracts to do or not to do anything if an uncertain future event happens, cannot be enforced by law unless and until that event has happened. If the event becomes impossible, such contracts become void.

To avoid the misuse of Force Majeure clause in a contract the approach of the courts usually has been of its strict interpretation. If a particular contract specifically mentions spread of an epidemic or pandemic, it will be much easier for the courts to allow invocation of the Force Majeure clause in the times of Covid-19 though it may not be allowed in every case. If spread of an epidemic or pandemic is not specifically mentioned in the Force Majeure clause of a contract rather the said clause has general wording like extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the parties, in such case the invocation of Force Majeure clause for Covid-19 depends on the nature of contract and circumstances. The question is whether the circumstances contemplated in the Force Majeure prevented the performing party to fulfill its contractual obligations? If the answer is in affirmative, then Force Majeure clause can be invoked. Where the obligation of the performing party is of such nature that it is not affected from spread of Covid-19, the Force Majeure clause will not be attracted despite the fact that Force Majeure clause may specifically mention spread of epidemic.E.g. The Courts have in many cases held that Force Majeure clause is not attracted for money payment obligations under a contract.

Further, invoking a Force Majeure clause does not always necessarily amount to contract becoming void/voidable as Force Majeure clause itself sometimes only provide for an extension of deadline for the completion of the obligations under the contract e.g. usually the Force Majeure clauses in contracts ofReal Estate Industry often provide for extension of deadline to finish the project. There are other Contracts like providing essential services which are usually exempt from lockdowns in Covid-19, thus Force Majeure clause may not be attracted for such contracts unless circumstances created by Covid-19 prevented a party to fulfill its obligation.

The party claiming Force Majeure is usually under a duty to show that it has taken all reasonable endeavors to avoid or mitigate the event and its effects. This depends on the specific facts and circumstances of each case whether the measures taken to mitigate are considered sufficient. Test of reasonableness is applied to determine the same. The party intending to invoke the Force Majeure clause is usually under obligation to intimate the opposite party of its intend to invoke the Force Majeure clause.

Effect of Covid-19 on Contracts without Force Majeure Clause

In cases where contract does not have Force Majeure clause (or where supervening circumstances are not covered in Force Majeure clause) and such circumstances are created wherein the party obligated is prevented from fulfilling his obligations,then Section 56 of the Act is attracted. In such case the affected party can claim relief from liability of breach of contract under Section 56. In order to succeed in aclaim under Section 56 it has to be established that the performance of the contractual obligations either became physically impossible or because of such unforeseen event, the object of the Contract itself was frustrated[3].

It has to be seen in the facts and circumstances of each contract whether because of Covid-19 the conditions mentioned above for invoking Section 56 of the Act actually exists or not, then only the liability of the parties for breach of contract can be decided.

Another relevant consideration to determine the liability of the parties under Contract at the time of Covid-19 is whether time was essence of contract or not. As per Section 55 of the Act, where a party to a contract promises to perform his obligation under the contract within specified time, then delay in its performance make the contract voidable at the option of promisee, if the intention of the parties under the contact is to make time essence of the contract. Where it was not the intention of the parties to make time essence of the contract, the contract does not become voidable because of delay in performance, rather it only makes the defaulting party liable to pay compensation.

In cases where time is essence of the Contract and obligated is prevented from fulfilling his obligation because of Covid-19, the Contract is voidable. However, where time is not the essence of the Contract, even if there is delay in performance of Contract due to lockdown for Covod-19, the parties are liable to fulfill their obligations under the Contract as soon as the impossibility of performance is removed. The promisor however can avoid the payment of compensation for delay if he shows that despite all reasonable endeavors to avoid the delay, the delay could not be avoided because of impact of Covid-19.

Legislative or Administrative Intervention

A contract is dissolved when legislative or administrative intervention has so directly operated upon the fulfillment of the contract for a specific work as to transform the contemplated conditions of performance[4]. But an intervention of temporary nature which does not uproot the foundation of the contract will not dissolve the contract as held in Satyabrata Ghose vs Mugneeram Bangur & Co.[5] In this case the commencement of work under the Contract was delayed as considerable portion of land involved in the Contract was requisitioned by the State during Second World War for military purposes. The Company attempted to cancel the contract on the ground that because of supervening events its performance had become impossible. Mukherjea J held as under:

Undoubtedly, the commencement of the work was delayed but was the delay going to be so great and of such a character that it would totally upset the basis of the bargain and commercial object which the parties had in view? The requisition orders, it must be remembered, were, by their very nature, of a temporary character and the requisitioning authority could, in law, occupy the position of a licensee in regard to the requisitioned property.. But when there is no time limit whatsoever in the contract, nor even an understanding between the parties on that point and when during the war the parties could naturally anticipate restrictions of various kinds which would make the carrying on of these operations more tardy and difficult than in times of peace, we do not think that the order of requisition affected the fundamental basis upon which the agreement rested or struck at the roots of the adventure.

In the above stated case, as time was not the essence of the Contract, despite administrative intervention due to Second World War, the contract was held to be enforceable after the conditions created by World War were removed. Similarly, if current lockdowns (Administrative Intervention) does not upset the basis of a contract, such contract is enforceable after lockdown is removed.

The effect of the administrative intervention is to be seen in the light of the terms of the contract and if the terms show that the parties have undertaken an absolute obligation regardless of the administrative changes, they cannot claim to be discharged. This was held by the Honble Supreme Court in Naihati Jute Mills Ltd. vsKhyaliramJagannath[6]. In this case there was an agreement to purchase raw jute to be imported from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The buyer was to supply import license. However, there was change in rules which mandated that to obtain a license buyer had to show that he had equal quantity of Indian jute. Thus, buyer could not supply import license and was thus sued for breach. He pleaded frustration caused by change in government policy. It was held that had the govt. completely forbidden imports, S. 56 would be applied. The Ld. Judge observed that the clauses of the contract indicate that the Appellants were conscious difficulty in getting the license in time.[7]

Commercial Hardship

The change in circumstances must be such which upset the very purpose of the Contract. Thus, in SachidraNathvs Gopal Chandra[8] where Defendant took certain premises on lease at high rent because British troops were stationed in the town. After some months the locality was declared out of bound for British troops. The question was whether this frustrated the Contract. It was held that the Contract is not frustrated as it was mere commercial hardship. Therefore, if the impact of Covid-19 is to merely make the performance of contract more expensive or dilatory it is not sufficient to frustrate the contract as it does not bring about a fundamentally different situation.

Conclusion

There is no one size fit all situations which can cover all kinds of contracts in these testing times. The terms & conditions alongwith facts & circumstances of each contract have to be analysed on the basis of legal principles some of which are enumerated above to determine whether Force Majeure Clause of a Contract can be invoked thereby triggering Section 32 of the Act. Similarly, the terms and condition of each contract without Force Majeure clause (or where Covid-19 circumstances are not covered in Force Majeure Clause) have to be analysed to determine whether it can be covered under Section 56 of the Act. However, Force Majeure Clause or Frustration under Section 56 of the Act is unlikely to be attracted for contracts where time is not the essence, as Covid-19 and consequent lockdown is a disruption of temporary nature only. Further, Section 56 of the Act cannot be invoked merely because Covid-19 has made the contract more onerous commercially.

The situation presented by Covid-19 is unprecedented and the current legal precedents are not adequate to deal with situation of such magnitude. Therefore, new jurisprudence can evolve as and when the Courts take up such cases wherein parties are either trying to avoid or enforce the contracts in the times of Covid-19. There is also the possibility of Courts allowing the principles of equity to take sway in appropriate cases during the time of Covid-19 and this is where Honble Supreme Court can lead the way.

[1]Energy Watchdog and Ors.vs. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and Ors. MANU/SC/0408/2017 [Civil Appeal Nos. 5399-5400, 5347, 5348, 5364, 5346, 5351-5352, 5415, 9635-9642 of 2016 and 9035 of 2014 decided on 11.04.2017 [2] Ibid [3]SatyabratavsMugneeram AIR 1954 SC 44 [4] See McCardie J in Blackburn Bobbin Co vs T.W. Allen [5] AIR 1954 SC 44 [6] AIR 1968 SC 522 [7] Ibid. [8] AIR 1949 Cal 240



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Failure to vaccinate everyone will give rise to new variants, says UN chief

Faith vs safety in burials: COVID-19 remains in dead bodies for 9 days says Centre

Red zone-green zone classification to be revised weekly: Centre to states

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 01: As the second phase of lockdown nears its end, the centre has informed states about the new guidelines for monitoring and classification of hotspots or containment zones severely affected by COVID-19, based on evidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback.

With recovery rates increasing there is going to a change in identifying hotspots, the health ministry informed.

"The districts were earlier designated as hotspots or red-zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate. Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria."

"This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration the incidence of cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts," Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan wrote to Chief Secretaries of states after a video conference was chaired by Rajiv Gauba with chief secretaries and secretaries of health.

Here is how the Centre is classifying coronavirus zones

A district will be considered under green zone if there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district.

"It is further highlighted that based on field feedback and additional analysis at the state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate. However, states may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as communicated by the Ministry."

The list will be revised weekly and states can add additional red and orange zones but cannot relax the classification.

"Containment zones need to be based on mapping of cases and contacts, geographical dispersion of cases and contacts," it said.

The guidelines also stressed on establishing clear entry and exit points, stringent perimeter control, no movement except medical emergencies, essential services, no unchecked influx of population, and people transiting need be recorded.

As of now, there are 130 Red Zones and 284 Orange Zones. In all, there are 319 Green Zones in the country.
DIXON (BCN)

The Solano County coroner's office has identified a man who died in a solo vehicle crash in Dixon on Thursday afternoon as Floyd Merchant, 79, of Sacramento.

Merchant was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on the on-ramp to eastbound Interstate Highway 80 just west of Pitts School Road around 3 p.m., the California Highway Patrol said.

The vehicle went off the road and struck a tree and a building, callers to the CHP said.

The female driver of the vehicle, who was arrested on suspicion of DUI, and another passenger suffered major injuries, CHP Officer Miguel Camarena said. The driver's name was not available Friday morning.

Merchant was pronounced dead at 4:11 p.m., the coroner's office said.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
(Photo : REUTERS/Joe Skipper) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A with the seventh batch of SpaceX broadband network satellites, at the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 22, 2020.

NASA on Thursday, Apr. 30, awarded three corporations contracts worth $967 million to construct spacecraft capable of landing human beings on the Moon. The new space race that NASA hopes would propel the United States back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

Blue Origin, the space outfit owned by Jeff Bezos; Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, a Reston, Va.-based statistics technology firm; and Elon Musk's SpaceX received contracts. That gives NASA three options that could compete against each other as NASA scrambles to meet an ambitious White House mandate to put humans at the Moon by 2024.

Boeing, one of NASA's key contractors whose software experienced setbacks and delays, also submitted a bid but was not selected.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said they can meet the 2024 deadline despite the Boeing's rocket that could send astronauts to the Moon might be delayed again.

Still, The Washington Post said the contract is a step towards getting the U.S. Crews to the Moon fast and creating what NASA hopes becomes a permanent presence on the Moon's surface.

ALSO READ: NASA Finally Adds Space X, Blue Origin to the CLPS

Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos' space company planned to construct a crewed lunar lander last year. Blue Origin announced it'd partner with industry giants Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper in the effort.

"We have put together a national team to go back to the moon," Bezos said in October.

Blue Origin had formerly unveiled its lunar lander concept, known as Blue Moon. Bezos said Blue Origin might construct the lunar lander despite Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper have other goals.

CNBC reported that Lockheed Martin plans to return astronauts from the Moon's surface. At the same time, Northrop Grumman would create the "transfer element," which brings the lander in orbit around the Moon. Draper, on the other hand, would develop the systems' guidance and flight avionics.

The Blue Origin's blueprint would release on more than one rockets, along with the enterprise's New Glenn or United Launch Alliance Vulcan. Both New Glenn and Vulcan are under development, with first launches scheduled next year.

SpaceX

Elon Musk's space employer bid its giant Starship rocket for HLS, which the company has been building and testing out at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

SpaceX said the "lunar optimized Starship" might bring a group from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface under NASA's Artemis program.

"A lunar optimized Starship can fly many times between the surface of the Moon and lunar orbit without flaps or heat shielding required for Earth return," the company told CNBC.

The rocket is designed to be reusable so that SpaceX can launch and land it more than once, like a commercial airplane. Starship's shiny external appearance is due to the form of stainless steel that SpaceX is using to construct the rocket.

Starship recently surpassed an essential milestone in its development. The rocket prototype effectively carried out a pressured, cryogenic check on Sunday.

ALSO READ: Elon Musk Updates: New Planet-Spying Space-Based Telescopes, Automated Traffic Lights, and More!

The Dynetics team

Science and technology corporation Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of defense contractor Leidos, teamed up with Sierra Nevada Corporation to develop its lunar lander. The businesses have been quiet about the proposal, since confirming in January that Dynetics was won a bid for HLS.

NASA said that Dynetics full lunar lander team consists of extra than 25 subcontractors. The employer's two-level lander might release on a ULA Vulcan rocket.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Martha Streeter is a sixth-grade science teacher at Jefferson Middle School and typically gets her students actively involved with Earth Day celebrations, cleaning up the grounds in and around the school.

As a science teacher, Im very passionate about taking good care of the earth. I teach my students, as well as my kids, that its important to be conscientious every day about what is good for the community and the planet, she said.

With school not meeting in person, she took the opportunity to celebrate Earth Day (April 22) with her family this year.

The family rode their bikes to the Midland Mall and spent the afternoon picking up the accumulation of trash in the woods by Marshalls, one area she saw needed cleaning up in the community.

I usually do this with students at school, but this year, it was the perfect opportunity to help clean up our community as a family, Martha said. It is something we do on a regular basis in our neighborhood as well.

We need more people like Martha and her family in our community. They took it upon themselves to go over to the woods near the Midland Mall where they spent part of their day picking up garbage, paper and trash that people had thrown on the grounds. They filled so many bags and I am very proud of them for their community service, says Jean MacDonald, Marthas aunt who nominated the family to be featured in the Daily News' Modern Heroes series. This was a selfless act and a very kind act. Community members that reach out to help in different ways makes for the betterment of our city. It just shows that Martha and her boys are thinking outside the box and making use of their time spent socially distancing into a positive thing. We need more families guiding their children to help protect our planet as they grow up.

It is something the Streeter family plans on doing again.

We focused on making as big of a dent as we could for the day and I hope to get the boys back there again soon, she said. It is important that the boys see the value in helping the community around them.
About 113 health workers in Nigeria have, so far, tested positive for COVID-19, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said.

Mr Ehanire last week announced that at least 40 health workers in Nigeria have tested positive to the virus.

He had said apart from the over 40 health workers there are others "who have been quarantined in the last 2 weeks due to exposure and have not been able to contribute to efforts of the health sector."

On Thursday, Mr Ehanire while responding to questions at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing said the number of infected health workers has increased to 113, about 6 per cent of the total 1,728 infected persons.

"Latest figures we have is that there are about 113 people in the health sector infected with COVID-19. Although they are not all public health workers, there are good numbers from private hospitals," he said.

He explained that only health care workers with training in infectious diseases control are eligible to handle COVID-19 patients.

"If you hear us speaking here frequently against trying to treat coronavirus in private clinics, we are actually referring to those people who do so without having necessary precautions and training because they risk infecting themselves and go home and give this infection to their family.

"Healthcare workers who have no training have no business handling coronavirus," he said.

The federal government had earlier barred private hospitals from treating COVID-19 cases, saying many of the health workers there are not trained to handle such a disease.

At least 17 private hospitals in Lagos have admitted that their staff have been exposed to COVID-19 through patients.

The hospitals were subsequently barred from admitting any patients while their buildings were disinfected.

The federal government has now asked private hospitals willing to treat COVID-19 patients to register with their state's health ministry and ensure proper training of staff.

As of April 29, a total of 1,728 persons have been confirmed to have COVID-19 in the country. Although 307 persons have been successfully treated and discharged, 51 deaths have been recorded.

Healthcare workers at risk

Healthcare workers are at risk of exposure to COVID-19 virus as they are the first responders to patients.

On April 4, Aliyu Yakubu, a medical doctor aged 60, died at the Nigeria Air Force Reference Hospital, Daura, Katsina State, after contracting the deadly virus. A week later, his wife and children tested positive for COVID-19.

Due to their vulnerability to this disease, health workers have been advised to take extra precautions in handling suspected cases.

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Mr Ehanire noted that Personal Protective Equipment have been made available for health workers.

He also said health workers who cannot handle the COVID-19 pandemic have the option of leaving.

"It is important for healthcare workers to understand that nobody is forced or conscripted to handle the coronavirus.

"Those who cannot handle it have the option of requesting to be excused and someone else will come in.

"The pressure on health care workers if they have a crisis can be quite severe and I do think that mental health counselling can be extended to those who feel they are impacted in that way," he said.

Allowances

Following numerous complaint by health workers and their unions, the federal government announced its decision to give 5,000 front line health workers life insurance, which has been fully paid for by the Nigerian insurance industry.

"A special COVID-19 hazard and inducement allowance of 50 per cent of Consolidated Basic Salary will also be paid to all health workers in Nigerian Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centres (FMCs), and designated COVID-19 centres for the first three months in the first instance.

"40 cent of the Consolidated Basic Salary would be paid as special COVlD-19 Hazard and Inducement Allowance to health workers at special Non-Public Hospitals and clinics in the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for same three months' period," the minister of state for health, Olurunnimbe Mamora, said.

He also said 20 per cent of the Consolidated Basic Salary will be paid to all health workers directly managing COVlD-19 at the Infectious Diseases Hospitals (IDH) isolation and treatment centres.
Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Liudmyla Denisova during personal and online meetings with the families of Ukrainian political prisoners, who are illegally detained in the territory of the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied area of Crimea, has stated that the process of negotiations for their release is ongoing.

"Of course, they were most worried when their relatives are at home. I said that the process of negotiations on the release of our fellow citizens is ongoing. I provided comprehensive information about the features of this process. At the same time, I noted that it is now necessary to establish communication between the relatives of prisoners and representatives of the official Ukrainian side, who are directly involved in the negotiation process," she said Facebook.

Denisova announced that the family members of Ukrainian political prisoners who are illegally detained in the territory of the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea will be included in the working group at the President's Office.

The participants in the meeting also discussed the adoption of a bill on the status of citizens of Ukraine who are illegally detained in the territory of the Russian Federation, the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea.

"We raised the issue of providing state legal assistance for all citizens who are illegally detained by the aggressor country. I assured that I will do my best to ensure that every Ukrainian who is currently in captivity is provided with such assistance," the ombudsperson emphasized.
Technology: Singapores new contact-tracing smarthphone app called TraceTogether. A similar app is due to be unveiled in Ireland next week

As the world watches governments introduction of contact-tracing apps, new research from Trinity College Dublin suggests that the involvement of Google could cause privacy problems in at least one contact-tracing model.

Adrian Weckler talks to Professor Doug Leith, chair of Computer Systems at the School of Computer Science and Statistics at TCD, who has taken a close look at Googles involvement in Singapores OpenTrace platform, used for its TraceTogether app.

His paper, jointly compiled by TCD research fellow Stephen Farrell, concludes that Googles Firebase Analytics could mean that supposedly anonymous users might be identified. It also warns about potential ad-targeting associated with the same technology.

All of this comes after reports that the Irish contact-tracing app has undergone a recent design change, potentially involving Google in its makeup.

And it comes as Google and Apple intensify their joint approach to contact-tracing, offering more data about how their API might work.
Friday marks the first day of Gov. Greg Abbotts effort to reopen Texas, concluding the statewide stay-at-home order and allowing some businesses to open their doors to 25% of their allowed occupancy.

Mayor Pete Saenz said opening up more public spaces worries him, but hes not against what Gov. Abbott is doing.

Someones got to make that move, that call, and Im glad he did. But at the same time Im glad were keeping all the other measures in place as well, Saenz said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Saenz said if there is a spike in cases after this opening, he expects the state to provide all necessary resources to help local governments deal with the pandemic.

We have made several requests for assistance to the state and have yet to receive it, he said.

After 64 health care professionals at Laredo Medical Center were found to be positive with COVID-19, the City of Laredo and the hospital made concurrent requests to the state for 73 emergency health care personnel. The hospital made the request with the Texas Disaster Volunteer Registry, the city through a State of Texas Assistance Request.

But the state never responded to the request, and only continued to tell Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Landin that they would get back to him, Landin said.

And the longer they pushed it back, the more local health care professionals recovered, left quarantine and got back to work. The city later refined its request and asked for fewer personnel, but have still yet to receive anything, Landin said.

Ultimately its us that are going to fight, and we are fighting, Saenz said. We cant really be too dependent on the federal government or the state government, because they have so much to take care of.

Landin noted that the state has been very responsive to the city in providing personal protective equipment through the Regional Advisory Committee. The city was able to disburse tens of thousands of pieces of medical equipment to local hospitals, freestanding emergency rooms, the Health Department and even funeral homes.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
Garden worker Robert Nilsson presents some chicken manure to fertilise lawns in the Stadsparken park in Lund, Sweden amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The move is an attempt to dissuade residents from gathering there for the traditional celebrations to mark Walpurgis Night. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency/AFP)

A Swedish town has turned to a traditional source to try to prevent coronavirus spreading during an annual festive event on Thursday - chicken manure.

The university town of Lund, in the south of the country, began spreading chicken droppings in its central park to put off would-be revellers who would usually come on April 30 to celebrate Walpurgis Night.

The occasion, marking the shift away from dark, chilly winter days towards brighter spring and summer days, is typically celebrated with picnics, parties and bonfires across the country, and regularly attracts thousands of students.

The City park (Stadsparken) is closed in Lund, Sweden, on April 30, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. - Garden workers fertilized lawns with chicken manure in an attempt to aviod residents from gathering there for the traditional celebrations to mark Walpurgis Night. (Photo by Johan NILSSON / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo by JOHAN NILSSON/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

"This is a park where usually 30,000 people gather, but with COVID-19 this is now unthinkable," the town's mayor, Philip Sandberg, told news agency Reuters.

"We don't want Lund to become an epicentre for the spread of the disease."

Sweden has taken a softer approach than many other countries to preventing the spread of the respiratory disease that the coronavirus can cause, asking rather than ordering people to maintain social distancing.

In line with this policy, authorities have requested people avoid gathering for this year's Walpurgis Night, but have not banned festivities.

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The authorities fear young people, especially students, will still want to enjoy a picnic and drink in the park.

"Most students in Lund and other parts of Sweden respect the recommendations ... although even a small number of people still going to the park can become a big risk," Sandberg said.

Walpurgis Night celebrations take place across Sweden every year (Getty images)

"Lund could very well become an epicentre for the spread of the coronavirus on the last night in April," the chairman of the local council's environment committee, Gustav Lundblad, told the Sydsvenskan newspaper.

Defending the decision to spread a ton of chicken manure in the park, he said: "We get the opportunity to fertilise the lawns, and at the same time it will stink and so it may not be so nice to sit and drink beer."

Story continues

The origins of Walpurgis Night date back to pagan celebrations of spring.

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Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan on Friday apologised for his controversial social media post that prompted the BJP to demand his removal.

He said a tweet posted by him earlier this week was "ill-timed and insensitive" in view of the country facing a medical emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Khan came under attack over his post on alleged "persecution" of Muslims in the country. He tweeted it on Tuesday.

"I realise that my tweet was ill-timed and insensitive in view of our county facing a medical emergency and fighting an unseen enemy. I apologise to all whose sentiments were hurt," Khan said in a statement.

He said his tweet on April 28 wherein he thanked Kuwait for taking note of the "persecution" of Indian Muslims in the context of the northeast Delhi violence has "pained" some people and it was never his intention.

Khan also accused a section of media of "distorting and fabricating" the content of his tweet.

A legal notice has been sent to a channel in this regard, he said.

Citing the tweet and a Facebook post by Khan, the BJP has demanded his removal from the post of Delhi Minorities Commission chairman.

A delegation of Delhi BJP MLAs met Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday and also demanded registration of a case against him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Joe Biden went on television this morning to deny Tara Reades allegation that he sexually assaulted her many years ago. Mika Brzezinski did the questioning and she pressed Biden fairly hard.

My only complaint about her performance is that she didnt ask Biden about the recent corroboration of Reades claim that she complained to others about Bidens behavior during the period following its alleged occurrence. I would love to have heard Biden deal with a comparison of the level of corroboration of Reades allegation and the level of corroboration of Christine Blasey Fords claim against Brett Kavanaugh.

There are those who believe Biden is mentally impaired and wont make it to the finish line this campaign season. They may be right, but this interview doesnt support that view, in my opinion. If I were defending Biden in a sexual harassment case, I would be reasonably satisfied with his performance.

This is not to say there were no weak spots in his responses. There were. However, the weaknesses are inherent in the position Biden finds himself in, not so much in the quality of his answers.

Bidens biggest inherent problem is the position he took during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Back then, he declared:

For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, youve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what shes talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts.

Asked about this statement, Biden first misrepresented his past position. He claimed he said if a woman comes forward her claim should be taken seriously and vetted.

Brzezinski kept pressing, and later in the interview Biden did say there should be a presumption in favor of a woman who brings forward these kinds of allegations. Biden added, though, that in the end what matters is whether the allegation is true, and Reades allegation isnt  it has been disproved.

These are the only two ways Biden could coherently have dealt with the question. He tried them both.

Actually, however, Reades allegation of assault hasnt been disproved. If she gets the presumption, the presumption hasnt been overcome. I dont believe any fair trier of fact would conclude that it has been.

At various points in the interview, Biden raised three reasons why Reade shouldnt believed. He noted how old her allegations are. But the same was true of the allegations against Kavanaugh.

Biden also said there are inconsistencies in the story Reade has told. But during the Kavanaugh hearings, he said that a woman making these kinds of allegations gets the presumption whether or not she forgets the facts.

Finally, Biden said that he has no recollection of Reade complaining about sexual misconduct and no one on his staff recalls this, either. But even if Reade is wrong in saying that she made a formal complaint, this amounts only to her having forgotten a detail. Its clear now that she complained to friends and family. If the case turns on whether Reade complained, she wins.

Furthermore, it hasnt been established that Reade did not make a formal complaint. In this connection, Brzezinski pressed Biden as to why he wont authorize a search of his Senate papers, which are housed at the University of Delaware.

Bidens answer was that these papers dont include personnel files, which is where a complaint by an employee about a Senator would be contained. Such files are kept by the National Archives, and Biden has asked the Archives to search for any complaint by Reade.

This is the best answer Biden could have given, short of agreeing to a search of the University of Delaware files  something he plainly doesnt want to do.

However, the answer raises questions and Brzezinski asked them. Why not, in the interest of maximum transparency, have the Delaware papers searched anyway? Because, said Biden, they contain lots of confidential information about, for example, his talks with foreign leaders.

Then why not just search the papers for Reade? Biden seemed not fully to understand what this means. He reverted to his insistence that there are no personnel files at the University of Delaware.

Brzezinski also asked why Biden changed the timeline for making his papers publicly available, pushing that date well beyond this years election and the expiration of Bidens presidency (if there is one). Biden cited the confidential and sensitive nature of many of these documents. I think its normal that once Biden realized he might run for president in 2020, he decided to push back the date for public access to his documents.

Now that Biden has issued his unequivocal denial and been interviewed for almost 20 minutes, the question is whether the interview will satisfy the public generally and liberal feminists in particular. I think Biden has given liberal feminists the fig leaf they wanted. The fig leaf doesnt quite cover all of the relevant parts, but most feminists will pretend it does, I suspect. The loser will be the MeToo movement, not Joe Biden.

As for the public at-large, I dont believe it cares much about what Biden did or didnt do to Tara Reade all those years ago.

Here is the interview:


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 00:20:32|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will continue to make all-out efforts to safeguard employment and relieve burdens, Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR government Matthew Cheung said Friday on the occasion of Labor Day.

Cheung made the remarks on a social media platform, saying that the COVID-19 epidemic has hit Hong Kong economy hard, and both local unemployment and underemployment rates have reached new high in recent years.

The official said many workers are now faced with salary cuts, unpaid leave and even job cuts, and he understood how hard they are. The government promised to forge ahead with more than 60 relief measures under Anti-epidemic Fund to support companies and workers, he said.

Cheung thanked workers for their valuable contribution to Hong Kong society and economy, emphasizing that a harmonious labor relation is essential to economic recovery and stable development in society.

He urged parties from both labor and capital to work together to tide over current difficulties.

In response to the demands of different labor groups, a HKSAR government spokesperson Friday said that the government would continue to spare no efforts in improving workers' benefits and protection, and enhancing occupational safety and health in various industries at a pace commensurate with Hong Kong's overall socio-economic development. The government would take into account both employees' interests and employers' abilities to afford the benefits, despite the severe blow dealt by the COVID-19 epidemic to the local economy.

The spokesperson said that the government has rolled out relief measures of unprecedented scale, including the one-off measures in the 2020-21 Budget and two rounds of measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund totalling 287.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (37.08 billion U.S. dollars), around 10 percent of local gross domestic product, with a view to preserving the vitality of the economy and relieving people's financial burden.

The government will launch as soon as possible the Employment Support Scheme under the second round of Anti-epidemic Fund, with a total commitment of 81 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.4 billion U.S. dollars), to provide time-limited financial support to employers to help them retain employees who will otherwise be made redundant, the spokesperson said.

Moreover, the government has earmarked 6 billion Hong Kong dollars (773 million U.S. dollars) to create around 30,000 time-limited jobs in the public and private sectors in the coming two years for people with different skills and academic qualifications, the spokesperson said. Enditem
1st April 1770: A print from a painting showing Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779) taking possession of New South Wales, taken from the collection of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Victorian Health Officer May Face Probe For Comparing Cook to CCP Virus

Victorian Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen may face an investigation from Victorias Public Sector Commission for her controversial remarks on Twitter on April 29, in which she compared Captain Cook coming to Australia in 1770 to the CCP virus pandemic.

Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 or Cook 1770?  Dr Annaliese van Diemen (@annaliesevd) April 29, 2020

On April 29, van Diemen wrote on Twitter: Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID 19 or Cook 1770?

Victorias Public Sector Commission will investigate whether van Diemen contravened the Public Administration Act.

The Australian reported on May 1 that acting public sector commissioner Julia Griffith responded in writing to the request for an investigation into the comments from James Newbury, shadow assistant minister for freedom of information.

Griffith wrote: The commission will consider the matters you have raised in accordance with the objectives, functions and powers of the Victorian Public Sector Commission under the Public Administration Act 2004. Following these considerations, I will advise you further.

Critics Want Her Fired

The comments on Twitter came as Australia celebrates the 250th anniversary of Captain Cooks arrival to Australia. It sparked strong criticisms from both state and federal politicians.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also voiced disapproval.

Morrison told Alan Jones at 2GB Radio on May 1 that he found the comments very disappointing.

He said van Diemen was doing an applaudable job as a medical officer in Victoria and she should keep to her expertise, as those sort of comments dont inspire confidence.

On the same day, Peter Dutton expressed his disapproval on Nines Today program, saying van Diemen was unfit for her position.

I think she should go. I think its pretty obvious in the middle of a pandemic the second highest medical officer in the state of Victoria should be concentrating on the people of Victoria and the crisis associated with COVID-19, he said.

Earlier on, Victorian Liberal frontbencher Tim Smith described the comments as ill-timed and disgraceful.

Whats with the culture wars crap from a state health bureaucrat at a time like this? Comparing the extraordinary first voyage of Captain Cook where he charted the East Coast of  for the first time to a deadly virus is disgraceful. Youve lost the plot. https://t.co/BlnO45eKH9  Tim Smith MP (@TimSmithMP) April 30, 2020

Whats with the culture wars [expletive] from a state health bureaucrat at a time like this?' he said on Twitter on April 30. Comparing the extraordinary first voyage of Captain Cook where he charted the East Coast of [Australia] for the first time to a deadly virus is disgraceful.

Victorias Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier called on the deputy chief health offer to stand down, saying she should not be political.

The Deputy CHOs comments are divisive. She holds a snr position giving advice to the Premier & Ministers on #COVID19 that are impacting all Victorians. She should be impartial not political. #NeedsToGo #springst https://t.co/OoD0cC4uOa  Georgie Crozier MP (@georgiecrozier) April 30, 2020

The Deputy CHOs comments are divisive. She holds a senior position giving advice to the Premier and ministers on COVID-19 that are impacting all Victorians. She should be impartial, not political, she wrote on Twitter on April 30.

Federal Liberal member for Higgins Katie Allen shared the same view, saying it was not appropriate for a public health expert to make such political comments.

Sensational comments like this are unhelpful at a time when our public health experts should be focussed on an appropriate response to covid  not using a health crisis to make a political statement #COVID19 https://t.co/dlmxNb9CkH  Katie Allen MP (@KatieAllenMP) April 30, 2020

Sensational comments like this are unhelpful at a time when our public health experts should be focused on an appropriate response to COVID  not using a health crisis to make a political statement, she wrote on Twitter on April 30.

Supporters Say Criticisms are Irrelevant

Among the critics were supporters, including the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. He dismissed the criticism against van Diemen, saying she posted them on her day off.

My priorities are very clear, and thats not changing, he said at a press conference on May 1. People have died, so many people are out of work, were a long way from the end of this, thats whats dominating my thinking, not tweets, he said.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos also said the criticism of van Dieman is irrelevant.

The Deputy Chief Health Officer is doing an outstanding job protecting Victorians from this deadly pandemic. Criticism from angry MPs is irrelevant to the fight against this virus. #springst  Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) April 30, 2020

The Deputy Chief Health Officer is doing an outstanding job protecting Victorians from this deadly pandemic. Criticism from angry MPs is irrelevant to the fight against this virus, she posted on her Twitter on April 30.

Van Diemen was appointed as Deputy Chief Health Officer in November 2019. She has worked at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services since March 2016.
Defensive end Jake Saltonstall, named a junior college All-American in his one season at Foothill Junior College, has signed with New Mexico for the 2020 season, UNM announced Thursday.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound native of Morgan Hill, California recorded 52 tackles, with 18 losses and 9 sacks. He also blocked two kicks, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had one pass breakup during his teams 10-1 campaign.

I chose UNM because it was a place I felt like I could call home for the next three to four years, said Saltonstall, per UNMs press release.

The Lobos still have one scholarship available for 2020.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2020) - Pike Mountain Minerals Inc. (CSE: PIKE) ("Pike" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a proposed private placing financing (the "Financing") of up to 3,500,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.05 per Unit to raise gross proceeds of up to $175,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle to the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.06 per common share for 18 months following issuance of the Warrant. Completion of the Financing remains subject to the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Corporate Update

The Company announces the resignation of John Meekison as a director of the Company to pursue other interests. The Company thanks him for his work in helping successfully complete its initial public offering in September 2019.

The Company also announces that Ms. Carmen Amezquita Hernandez is resigning as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective May 1, 2020. The Company sincerely thanks Ms. Amezquita Hernandez for her service. To replace Ms. Amezquita Fernandez, the Company will appoint Joel Leonard as Chief Financial Officer. Mr Leonard will also act as Corporate Secretary. Mr. Leonard is the founding Partner of JCL Partners Chartered Professional Accountants and has acted as a consultant for various public reporting entities since January of 2016, specializing in financial reporting, audit, and internal control implementation.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"R. Timothy Henneberry"

R. Timothy Henneberry

Chief Executive Officer

For more information, please contact:

R. Timothy Henneberry: (250) 743-8228

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance and, include, without limitation, the completion of the Financing. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "appear", "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "approximate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "would" and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of Pike relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks, including the risk that the Company is not able to locate suitable purchasers for the Financing or does receive the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward- looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/55220
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 1, 2020 10:03 627 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd55a5c7 1 World diplomacy,health,COVID-19,multilateralism,intellectual-property,patent,vaccine,WHO,WTO,Foreign-Ministry Free

As countries and private institutions rush to produce a viable vaccine for COVID-19, concerns over the possible monopoly of drug patents have sparked an international debate on the need to maintain equitable and affordable access to these solutions.

Indonesia has made it a point to ensure that multilateral efforts are actively pursuing this objective, its top diplomat said, given how strict access to patented drugs can be under existing norms.

When a vaccine has been developed or the drugs currently undergoing clinical trials have been acquired, the next question to ask is whether all countries have access to these vaccines and medicine at affordable rates, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters in a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

This is very relevant considering there are international patent regimes that are prone to monopolizing innovations that all mankind needs access to.

Read also: 'These talks lift my spirit': Jokowi turns to foreign allies to discuss COVID-19 strategy

The novel coronavirus, which surfaced in China late last year, has killed nearly 230,000 people and infected close to 3.2 million worldwide, according to an AFP tally.

Experts have warned that only a vaccine will allow the full reversal of restrictions that have put half of humanity under some form of lockdown.

There are still no proven vaccines or antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19, with most patients only receiving palliative care. But scientists around the world are working on experimental treatments in the hopes of a return to normalcy, despite mounting deaths and deepening economic woes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 120 vaccines being developed worldwide, with six already undergoing clinical trials.

Experts have been quick to point out how the current patent system is not fit for purpose, with suppliers accused of turning a profit by denying access to life-saving medicine.

Read also: Patents vs. the pandemic

But discussions are under way to enable wider access to some patented drugs and medical supplies, said World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) director general Francis Gurry earlier this week.

The international legal framework does foresee a certain number of flexibilities for countries to be able to deal with [...] health emergencies, Gurry said, as quoted by Reuters.

He said WIPO was involved in discussions with various parties to see what might be done in this regard.

Minister Retno hinted that Indonesia was determined to make good use of such flexibilities under WIPO and the World Trade Organization (WTO)  the latters Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement essentially allows countries during an emergency to grant compulsory licenses to companies to produce a patented product.

[...] The main objective is to provide equitable and affordable access to vaccines for developing countries and least developed countries, she said.

For all the uncertainty that critics say Indonesia has caused with its COVID-19-related decision making, its foreign service has been decidedly clearer with its intentions.

With more than 10,000 people infected and nearly 800 deaths recorded as of Thursday, the nation stands to benefit from the global rush to find an affordable cure.

Read also: An examination of Indonesia's death toll: Could it be higher?

Retno said Indonesia has been consistently raising the issue of equitable access in various international forums, including at the Ministerial Coordination Group on COVID-19 (MCGC) meeting earlier this week that gathered 12 like-minded nations.

The ministrys director general for multilateral cooperation, Febrian Ruddyard, argued that equitable access was best served by the multilateral system, where nations stood as equals and vulnerability to the pandemic was a measure for priority access.

[...] Without the principle of multilateralism, powerful [nations] with large populations would feel entitled to gain early access [to vaccines], Febrian said in a virtual briefing on Thursday. This is the moment of truth for the multilateral system to deliver.

At the MCGC, Minister Retno tabled a proposal to establish a joint platform to share information on production capacities for medical supplies, which is expected to help meet surging demand  including through joint production schemes.

The Indonesian ambassador in Ottawa [Canada] will lead the discussion on the Indonesian non-paper, she said.

The government is also participating in the WHOs Solidarity Trial, a multi-country study to analyze untested COVID-19 treatments in search of viable solutions. As many as 22 hospitals across the country have participated in the trial, Retno said.

Read also: Indonesia interested in joining WHOs multinational trial for COVID-19 treatments

Indonesia has so far cooperated with nine countries, nine international entities and 76 NGOs to procure medical supplies, including personal protection equipment and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

It is also collaborating with external parties on the development of treatment and vaccines.

The government is keen to tap into WHOs Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator scheme, which aims to speed up vaccine development, said Kamapradipta Isnomo, the ministrys director for international organizations for developing countries.

The initiative will see participating countries pledge a total of 7 billion euros (US$7.66 billion) toward short-, medium- and long- term plans to counter COVID-19.

This is a scheme we want to access, Kama said.

Meanwhile, state-owned Indonesian pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma is looking to cooperate with United States-based Gilead Sciences, which has its experimental antiviral drug remdesivir in the final stages of clinical trials.

American scientists hailed on Thursday a potential breakthrough in the remdesivir trials, AFP reported, but experts warned that multiple patents were still in force in most of the world for such treatments, threatening the affordability and supply of the new drugs.

Pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma is also working with the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology and a number of international partners to develop blood plasma to help patients with moderate symptoms.

Bio Farma is also seeking to work with the Bill Gates-backed Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and with Chinese vaccine producer Sinovac Biotech to locally produce a vaccine in Indonesia.
The recent 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's landing at Botany Bay was always going to be contentious. It was an inauspicious start to European intrusion. Cook wrote that when he approached the shore, the Indigenous people watching "all made off except two men who seem'd resolved to oppose our landing". Cook threw some beads ashore in a bid to befriend them, but then felt the need to fire three shots of his musket, one of which struck one of the Indigenous men.

Having finally scared them off, Cook made it to shore, and his place in Australian history was assured. But how disputed a figure the British explorer has become has been highlighted by, of all people, Victorias Deputy Chief Health Officer, Annaliese van Diemen. In a post to her personal Twitter account on Wednesday, she wrote: Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 or Cook 1770?

Victorian Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen Credit:Scott Barbour

It took little time for her tweet to become a target. Liberal health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier led the charge, calling for Dr van Diemen to resign, while former opposition leader Matthew Guy was not far behind, calling it an example of how the state is governed by "hard left nutters". Even Prime Minister Scott Morrison decided to weigh in: "I applaud the work she is doing as a medical officer in Victoria, that's her expertise. I would strongly suggest she keep to that, because those sort of comments don't inspire confidence."

The Prime Minister has a point. For a senior government official entrusted with giving advice on the deadliest pandemic in a century to be offering up such historical analogies on social media is completely out of bounds. Even a cursory read of the heated debate that has unfolded to mark Cook's anniversary should have given her some pause for thought before sending out her views.
BATON ROUGE, La., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- First National Bankers Bankshares, Inc. (FNBB, Inc.) promoted Pax Mogenson to President of its banking subsidiary, First National Bankers Bank (FNBB), at its Board of Directors meeting held on April 27. Jim Hudson will remain Chief Executive Officer of FNBB.

"We are pleased to announce that effective June 30, 2020, Pax Mogenson will assume the position of President of FNBB as part of our management succession plan. This promotion was approved by our Board of Directors at our April Board meeting held this week. Our Board of Directors and our Executive Management team began jointly crafting our long term management succession plan a few years ago. Pax's promotion continues our process of building a new executive team to lead the bank into the future," said Joseph F. Quinlan, Jr., FNBB, Inc. Chairman.

"Pax will continue to work closely with Jim in leading Bank-wide strategic initiatives in his new role. We are incredibly proud of Pax and the job that he has done in leading the expanded Louisiana-Mississippi Region and taking on a number of other leadership roles and special projects since his arrival in Baton Rouge in the summer of 2018," said Joseph F. Quinlan, III, FNBB, Inc. Chief Executive Officer.

First National Bankers Bankshares, Inc. is a holding company with four subsidiaries serving the correspondent bank needs of community financial institutions across the southeastern United States. First National Bankers Bank, chartered in 1983, has offices in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Birmingham, Alabama, Little Rock, Arkansas, Lake Mary, Florida, Ridgeland, Mississippi, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Memphis, Tennessee. The total assets as of December 31, 2019 are $837 million. The Board of Directors are elected from its community bank shareholders.

SOURCE First National Bankers Bankshares, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bankers-bank.com


New Delhi: Tech giant Google has announced that it is making its premium video conferencing product Google Meet, free for everyone.

The service will be available for roll out over the coming weeks, Google said.

Starting in early May, anyone with an email address can sign up for Meet and enjoy many of the same features available to our business and education users, such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions, and layouts that adapt to your preference, including an expanded tiled view.

Google further added that everyone who uses Meet has a secure and reliable experience from the start. Beginning next week, Google will be gradually expanding its availability to more people.

Though users might not be able to create meetings at meet.google.com right away, but they can sign up to be notified when its available.

Meet will be available to anyone for free on the web at meet.google.com and via mobile apps for iOS or Android. And if you use Gmail or Google Calendar, youll be able to easily start or join from there, the search engine gaint said.

Those having existing Google Account can sign in at meet.google.com to get started. If you dont have a Google Account, you will have to create one.

How to make calls in few easy steps on Google Meet

Sign up for the free version at meet.google.com.

Enter your details and agree to terms of service, and push Submit.

Google will send you a notification. Now follow these steps:

- Click Start new meeting, or enter your meeting code.

- Choose your account

- Join meeting

Meetings are limited to 60 minutes for the free product, though Google said it will not enforce this time limit until after September 30.
Chevron Corp. said it opposes U.S. government bailouts for oil companies that havent prepared themselves well enough for a historic crash in crude prices thats leading to unprecedented shutdowns in the shale patch.

As companies that have not positioned themselves in a way that would be prudent coming into a tough market, a bailout reinforces the moral hazard argument, chief executive officer Mike Wirth said Friday in a Bloomberg TV interview. Market cycles are a part of our industry  they always have been  and we dont need the government to come in and protect us from a part of our industry that we know and that we should prepare for.

The U.S. Federal Reserve revamped its Main Street Lending Program Thursday in ways that will allow battered oil companies to qualify for the aid after industry allies lobbied the Trump administration for changes. For weeks, oil industry advocates have warned the original program structure would prevent beleaguered drillers from accessing capital under the program.

Wirth said, however, that certain programs for companies that have been well managed and now find themselves in a short-term squeeze could make sense.

Anything should be measured, it should ensure the taxpayers are properly compensated for the use of the tax dollars and should be pretty limited in application and duration to really help through the most difficult times, he said.

Read more about:
THE Windhoek City Council on Wednesday approved a proposal to conclude a three-year employment contract with Windhoek City Police chief Abraham Kanime, who is due to be paid close to N$2,5 million a year, despite strong objections from opposition councillors.

Windhoek mayor Fransina Kahungu confirmed the approval to The Namibian on Thursday, adding that Kamine had already signed the contract.

Kanime's contract was approved at a stormy city council meeting, of which the legality was contested by opposition councillors.

Kanime was due to end his service as head of the Windhoek City Police at the close of April, after he resigned from the position in January this year, following more than a decade at the helm of the Windhoek City Police.

Kanime turns 60 during May. After his resignation, he was, however, offered a new contract to stay on as the city's police chief for the next three years.

His new contract will see him receiving a pay package of about N$2,47 million per year, or close to N$206 500 per month.

Kanime was handed the new contract to allegedly avoid uncertainty and a leadership vacuum at the Windhoek City Police.

Kahungu said Kanime will be reporting to the City of Windhoek's chief executive officer and the municipality's management committee.
Kremlin Says There Are No Signals That Russia Sanctions May Be Eased

Sputnik News

03:44 GMT 30.04.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  There are currently no signals that Russia sanctions may be eased by the Western countries, and this issue is not discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the talks with foreign partners, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"There are no such signals. The Russian party never touches upon the issues related to the sanctions, and the Russian president never touches upon the matter related to the sanctions during the dialogue with his vis-a-vis", Peskov told the RTVI broadcaster on Wednesday.

Peskov also said that the US had not given up the idea to deter Russia but apparently had no money for this amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and the crisis it caused worldwide.

"Now, as [the United States] also announced a program to support the economy and so on, it just has little money. So I wouldn't draw such far-reaching, conceptual conclusions", he explained.

In mid-April, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold phone talks but did not mention sanctions imposed on Russia. Speaking to the reporters, Peskov explained that the Russian president does not raise the issue of sanctions when he speaks to the heads of state who used such restrictions against Russia.

A Sputnik

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OTTAWA, April 30 (Reuters) - Canada is set to announce it is banning 11 categories of assault rifles and other weapons, including those that have been used in mass shootings, a security source said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has long promised to clamp down on firearms, citing a spike in gun crime.

Officials said the new measures - which will apply to about 125,000 weapons - had been in the works for months and were not directly prompted by a shooting rampage in Atlantic Canada earlier this month.

A gunman armed with weapons that included an assault rifle killed 22 people in Nova Scotia. Police said nine of the victims died in fires the man had set, while the rest were shot

The new ban will further tighten gun controls that are already stricter than those in the United States. The source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, said the announcement could come as soon as Friday.

"We have long been committed to strengthening gun control in this country, including banning military style-assault weapons," Trudeau told reporters on Thursday.

"There is no need in Canada for guns designed to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time," he added, saying an announcement would be made in the coming days.

The news was first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. A spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair - who has overall responsibility for gun control - declined to comment.

Among the weapons that will be outlawed are the AR-15, used by a gunman to kill 26 adults and children in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in the United States, and the M4, M14 and M16 assault rifles.

Other weapons on the list include the Ruger Mini-14 rifle, used in a 1989 Montreal mass shooting in which 14 women were killed, as well as carbines such as the CZ Scorpion, Beretta CX4 Storm and Swiss Arms Classic Green.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 11:58:23|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Premier of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state Gladys Berejiklian has described the COVID-19 related deaths of 13 people at a Sydney nursing home as "horrific" and called for a federal inquiry into the facility's handling of the matter.

Berejiklian told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Friday that the operators of Newmarch House aged care home in Western Sydney were mishandling what is Australia's second largest virus cluster, and that the federal government should intervene.

"What's happening there isn't acceptable and unfortunately you do notice a difference in the way people who run these aged care homes across the nation are dealing with the issue and unfortunately this particular operator has been left wanting on a number of levels," Berejiklian said.

Health authorities confirmed on Friday that a 74-year-old man had died at Newmarch House after contracting the virus, taking the total number of deaths there to 13. Also on Friday, three new cases were confirmed, raising the total to 59 cases, including 22 staff and 37 residents.

The outbreak at the facility has been attributed to a COVID-19 infected nurse who worked six shifts despite displaying mild symptoms. The facility's first fatality, a 93-year-old-man, was confirmed on April 18, with new infections and deaths quickly accruing since then.

On Thursday the Sydney Morning Herald reported that communication with the families of elderly residents had been inconsistent, leaving many in the dark and extremely worried for the welfare of their relatives.

Berejiklian affirmed her support for the national cabinet's stance that families should not be prevented from visiting their loved ones in aged care during the pandemic.

"Often cutting off that human contact or that visit can be detrimental to the health of the residents, but also their family," she said.

"This is a terrible reminder of how vulnerable older Australians are to the virus and that is something that we need to consider." Enditem
Cancer patients face high mortality from COVID-19

Bronx, NY (May 1, 2020) People with cancer who develop COVID-19 are much more likely to die from the disease than those without cancer, according to physician-researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The study, published today in the online edition of Cancer Discovery, is the largest so far to assess outcomes for patients with cancer who have also been infected with COVID-19.

"Our findings emphasize the need to prevent cancer patients from contracting COVID-19 and--if they do--to identify and closely monitor these individuals for dangerous symptoms," said Vikas Mehta, M.D., M.P.H., a co-lead author of the study, a surgical oncologist at Montefiore and associate professor of otorhinolaryngology--head and neck surgery at Einstein. "We hope that our findings can inform states and communities that have not yet been so severely struck by this pandemic about the unique vulnerability cancer patients face."

The study involved 218 cancer patients who tested positive for COVID-19 from March 18 to April 8, 2020 at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York City, one of the regions in the United States hit hardest by the pandemic. A total of 61 cancer patients died from COVID-19, a dramatically high case-fatality rate of 28%. (The mortality rate for COVID-19 in the United States is 5.8%, according to the World Health Organization.)

"A key element is that mortality appears to be more closely related to frailty, age, and co-morbidities than to active therapy for cancer," said co-senior author Balazs Halmos, M.D., M.S., director of the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program at Montefiore and professor of medicine at Einstein.

"Our data suggest that we should not stop lifesaving cancer therapies, but rather develop strategies to minimize potential COVID-19 exposures and re-evaluate therapies for our most vulnerable cancer populations," explained co-senior author Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., director of the division of hemato-oncology at Montefiore and professor of medicine and of developmental and molecular biology at Einstein.

The time period during which these patients were treated was earlier in the epidemic when testing was almost exclusively done in sicker, symptomatic patients who required hospitalization. This may partially explain the high fatality rate within the study's cancer population. However, even when compared to mortality rates in non-cancer patients at Montefiore and across New York City during the same time period, cancer patients demonstrated a significantly higher risk of dying from COVID-19.

As a group, COVID-19 patients with hematologic (blood) cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, had the highest mortality rate: 37% (20 of 54 patients). For patients with solid malignancies, the mortality rate was 25% (41 of 164). Striking differences were observed among specific solid cancers: the mortality rate for patients with lung cancer was 55% and colorectal cancer was 38%, compared with mortality rates of 14% for breast cancer and 20% for prostate cancer.

Certain underlying conditions--older age, hypertension, heart disease, and chronic lung disease--were significantly associated with increased mortality among cancer patients with COVID-19.

A detailed analysis of patients with cancer who died from COVID-19 shows that more than half of these individuals--37 of 61--had been in places with a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19, such as nursing homes, hospitals or emergency departments within the 30 days before being diagnosed with COVID-19. This was before widespread social distancing had been implemented.

Montefiore has already changed clinical practice as a result of the study's findings, by using telemedicine and early and aggressive social distancing for cancer patients, and by opening a dedicated cancer outpatient and inpatient clinical service. It has also instituted bilingual peer counseling and deployed social workers and food deliveries to its at-risk population.

Montefiore is able to quickly identify patients with a known history of cancer who test positive for COVID-19 based on a daily collection and collation of data across the health system. This allows the care team to act immediately to ensure appropriate care for these individuals and track outcomes.

###

The study's other co-lead authors are Sanjay Goel, M.B.B.S., and Rafi Kabarriti, M.D. The paper is titled "Case Fatality Rate of Cancer Patients with COVID-19 in a New York Hospital System."

Additional Montefiore-Einstein authors are: Daniel Cole, M.D., Mendel Goldfinger, M.D., Ana Acuna-Villaorduna, M.D., Kith Pradhan, Ph.D., Raja Thota. M.S., Stan Reissman, M.S.W., Joseph A Sparano, M.D., Benjamin A. Gartrell, M.D., Richard V. Smith, M.D., Nitin Ohri, M.D., Madhur Garg, M.D., Andrew D. Racine, M.D., Ph.D., Shalom Kalnicki, M.D. and Roman Perez-Soler, M.D.

This study was supported in part by the Albert Einstein Cancer Center (P30CA013330).

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2019-20 academic year, Einstein is home to 724 M.D. students, 158 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 265 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,800 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2019, Einstein received more than $178 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit http://www. einstein. yu. edu , read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube.

About Montefiore Health System

Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 11 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and close to 200 outpatient care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit http://www. montefiore. org . Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

This story has been published on: 2020-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Nebraska church leaders said Thursday they will proceed cautiously with the resumption of worship services upon expiration of the coronavirus pandemic-based ban on church gatherings next week.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has lifted the ban effective May 4, although social distancing expectations will remain in place.

The Rev. Christopher Kubat of St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Hastings and the Rev. Richard Snow, Nebraska District president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, appeared with Ricketts at the governor's daily coronavirus news briefing.

"People who are at risk should stay at home," Kubat said, and so should those who live or associate with them.

"My sense is that numbers will be down," he said. "People are wary."

Snow said he believes "a lot of congregations will wait until June" to resume worship services, especially larger church congregations. In most cases, churches have transitioned to streaming worship services online or holding services outside similar to a drive-in theater.

Under the governor's revised direction for worship services, families living in the same household could sit together but would be required to maintain 6 feet of separation from other worshipers, and nothing could be passed from hand to hand during church services.

The easing of restrictions on worship services applies, too, to weddings and funeral services, including those in settings outside of churches.

But the general 10-person limitation for gatherings remains in effect statewide through May, essentially banning large wedding receptions and funeral luncheons.

Kubat said his church already has rescheduled weddings in view of the state's limitation on social gatherings.

During a wide-ranging briefing, which included questions on a report in the Salt Lake Tribune questioning the accuracy of a coronavirus testing company that has been employed by Nebraska to conduct tests here, Ricketts fielded a suddenly rare question about property taxes.

"Do you remember the days when we used to argue about property taxes?" Ricketts exclaimed. "Those were the good old days. I'd love to be arguing about property taxes now."

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon
By Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) - Apple Inc reported sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations Thursday, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook saying China sales were "headed in the right direction" as that country reopens from the novel coronavirus.

But Cook said it was impossible to forecast overall results for the current quarter because of uncertainty created by the virus. Shares declined 2.4% to $286.56 in extended trading.

With its global brand, few American companies have been exposed to the spread of the coronavirus like Apple, whose iPhone sales declined in the March quarter as device sales were forced to online-only in many places. Sales of subscription services such as streaming television content rose with billions of people locked in their homes, which pushed the overall number of subscribers to paid apps and services on Apple's devices to 515 million.

China, where the virus was first detected, is both a major market for Apple, supplying about a sixth of its overall sales, and is also home to most of Apple's contract factories.

Apple saw China sales of $9.46 billion, down less than a $1 billion from a year ago, a potential sign of how the company will fare as other markets emerge from lockdowns.

Apple slowly reopened Chinese stores, with all running again by mid-March. "As compared to February, we saw a nice improvement in March and a further improvement in April. China is headed in the right direction," Cook told Reuters in an interview.

Apple reported overall sales of $58.3 billion and earnings of $2.55 per share for its fiscal second quarter ended in March, above year-ago results of $58 billion and $2.46, and above analyst estimates of $54.5 billion and $2.27, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Cook said the first five weeks of the fiscal second quarter, "it was an incredible time where we were growing very fast and we were set to essentially come in at the high end of our guidance" of between $63 billion and $67 billion in sales.

Story continues

But the quarter changed quickly, and Apple broke with its usual practice of providing an estimated range of sales for the current quarter.

"Rather than pretend we can project it, we're being very straightforward and saying we lack the visibility to do it," Cook told Reuters.

Apple stores outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea remained shuttered. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Cook said that Apple plans to reopen retail stores in Austria and Australia in one to two weeks and a small number of stores in the United States in the first half of May.

Lockdowns forced Apple to release its newest iPhone SE 2 mostly via online sales. Cook said that he was pleased with early sales of the new device, along with new Macs and iPads released during the fiscal second quarter. "As compared to the last part of March and the beginning of April, we've seen a better second half of April," Cook told Reuters.

Cook declined to comment on whether Apple faces supply chain disruptions for devices that will be released later this year. He said Apples supply chain was back up and running at full-throttle at the end of March.

Apple on Thursday also said it would buy back another $50 billion of its own stock, a smaller figure than in past updates to its capital return program, but "we expect them to use those funds aggressively," said Brian Pirri, a principal at Apple shareholder New England Investment and Retirement Group. "They also managed to do all of this with only a $14.3 billion drawdown on their cash holdings, which still sit at a whopping $192.8 billion."

Apple said iPhone sales were $29.0 billion, down from $30.9 billion the year before compared with analyst estimates of $28.4 billion, to data from FactSet.

Sales for Apple's services segment, which includes iCloud storage as well as its streaming services for music and television shows, were $13.4 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $12.9 billion, according to FactSet data. Cook said Apple had 515 million subscribers to apps and services on Apple's platform, up by 125 million from one year earlier. Cook said during a conference call with analysts that Apple News reached 125 million monthly active users, up from 100 million in January.

"The group was quiet on AppleTV+, and we wonder how many subscribers were added in the quarter, especially following updates from rivals like Netflix and Disney+," said Sophie Lund-Yates, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Apple's wearables and accessories segment, which includes Apple's AirPods and Apple Watch, were $6.3 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $6.7 billion, according to FactSet data.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-01 22:30:55

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PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Atlas Energy Group, LLC (OTCQX:ATLS) (the "Company") announced today that, following lengthy discussions with the lenders (the "Lenders") under its first and second lien term loans, as amended (the "Loans"), it has completed an exchange pursuant to an exchange agreement (the "Exchange Agreement") with the Lenders. Former members of management of the Company hold an approximately 12% interest in the Loans. The original principal balance of the Loans on March 31, 2016 was $70.9 million.In consideration of the Company's significant liquidity issues, declining resources and increasing debt, the Company believes this restructuring is the only practicable way to satisfy its outstanding obligations of approximately $108.5 million under the Loans and provide for an orderly and expeditious resolution of the Company.Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, in consideration for the satisfaction and discharge of all obligations of the Company under the Loans, the Company transferred to the Lenders (the "Exchange Consideration"):an 80.01% membership interest in Atlas Growth Partners GP, LLC and 500,001 common units representing limited partner interests in Atlas Growth Partners, L.P.;1,250,000 shares of stock of Falcon Minerals Corporation (valued at $2,850,000 as of April 28, 2020);$1,100,000 in cash; and3,165,405,210 newly issued common units of the Company (which represents an amount equal to 99% of the Company's fully diluted pro forma voting and economic interests).The parties have agreed that the newly issued common units of the Company will be valued at the volume weighted average trading price per common unit over the five consecutive trading day period ending on the tenth trading day after the date of this announcement.Following the transfer of the Exchange Consideration, the Company's primary remaining asset is 100% of the membership interests in Titan Energy Management, which owns a 2% preferred member interest in Titan Energy, LLC, an exploration and production company. At this time, the Company does not anticipate an economic recovery from its interests in Titan Energy Management.As a result of the transaction, the Company expects that its unitholders may recognize cancellation of indebtedness income ("CODI") equal to the excess of the adjusted issue price of the Company's obligations under the Loans over the value of the Exchange Consideration. The CODI will be allocated to the Company's unitholders who held their units immediately prior to the effective time of the Exchange Agreement and will be reportable on such unitholders' separate tax returns.Following the transaction, the Company expects to proceed toward an orderly liquidation and dissolution, subject to approval by the holders of a majority of its outstanding common units.For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.atlasenergy.com , or contact its investor relations department at investorrelations@ atlasenergy.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsCertain matters discussed within this press release are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. The Company does not undertake any duty to update any statements contained herein (including any forward-looking statements), except as required by law. This document contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future financial and operating results, resource potential, and the Company's plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and other statements that are not historical facts. Risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those associated with general economic and business conditions; changes in government environmental policies and other environmental risks; the availability of drilling equipment and the timing of production; tax consequences of potential balance sheet and other transactions; and global health conditions, including the impact of COVID-19. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update such statements, except as may be required by applicable law.Contact:Investor Relations1-877-280-2857SOURCE: Atlas Energy
A student at Boston University filed a class action lawsuit against the school on Wednesday seeking reimbursement of tuition, fees and housing costs after on-campus classes were stopped in March.

The suit filed in federal court on behalf of Julia Dutra, an undergraduate from New Jersey studying film and television, argues that since on-campus activities were canceled, the university is obligated to provide refund for certain services.

The complaint against the school said the administration made the correct decision in halting on-campus classes as students were about to return from spring break. A final decision regarding the closure of residence halls and moving classes to online formats came on March 22.

However, the suit claims the decision should result in a refund for students since the university cant deliver promises it made to student when they agreed to attend the school.

The complaint shows that Boston University President Robert Brown admitted the virtual learning is not the same to in-person classes.

Our hope is that virtual technology will allow us to stay connected as we study and interact remotely, but I know it will not be the same, Brown said according to the complaint.

The suit also points to Boston University highlighting its campus activities as a benefit to enrolling at the school. As classes went online, activities were also canceled.

A college experience is more than classes, the complaint said, but also includes access to facilities, labs, study rooms, intramural activities, student art, clubs, and other campus-related activities. Those werent provided during the second half of the spring semester.

[Students] did not choose to attend another institution of higher learning or to seek an online degree, but instead chose to attend [Boston University] and enroll on an in-person basis, the complaint said.

The complaint also said specific fees as part of tuition are meant for certain services. A community service fee is intended to support student organizations. A health and wellness fee is intended to cover campus health centers, recreation centers and gyms.

Students no longer have access to any of those services despite having paid the fees to utilize the services for a full semester.

While Boston University has announced a pro-rated refund on room and board fees and meal plan costs, the complaint says it is unfair and insufficient.

As early as March, students around the country filed complaints regarding tuition reimbursement through petitions on change.org. A petition listed in the complaint had more than 2,100 signatures.

Last month, Brown announced classes at BU may not return to campus on 2021 due to fears related to the coronavirus.

The Recovery Plan recognizes the possibility that the beginning of the fall term may have to be delayed and that a January reopening may be necessary, the school said. "In which case, summer 2021 academics would replace those now planned for fall 2020.

As a result of the cancellations and closures, the university laid off 1,636 part-time student employees on April 3.

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Contrary to Punjab governments claims on increasing its testing capacity to between 1,600 and 1,800 samples a day for Covid-19, the state health department has got results of a mere 876 high-risk Nanded returnees to date. Over the past five days, since these persons started arriving from April 26, the state has taken 3,443 samples of these persons and 240 have been found positive. The total number of persons who have returned from Nanded is 4,060. The figures are from a state media bulletin released at 7pm on Friday that puts the total number of positive cases at 585.

A careful perusal of the media bulletin also confirms that the testing is lower than the government claims. On Friday, the department took 1,971 samples, but the pendency of reports showed an increase of 930 to 4,369 samples from 3,439 in Thursdays 7pm figure. The total number of tests conducted till Thursday was 21,205.

A senior government functionary involved in Covid-19 management admitted that on average only 1,000-1,100 tests had been carried out over the past three days.

Punjab health Minister Balbir Sidhu said the sudden arrival of Punjabis from outside the state could be the reason behind delay in testing. We have adequate testing capacity and test are also being done in already earmarked containment zones.

The state government has testing facilities at Government Medical Colleges in Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot and in DMC Ludhiana. Samples from Punjab are also being sent to PGIMER, Chandigarh, and the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh. The health department also roped in a private player Lal Path Labs to collect samples in Fazilka district.

Over 11,000 have returned in 5 days

Figures with health department reveal that more than 11,000 Punjab natives have entered Punjab over the past five days. In addition to around 4,000 Nanded-returnees, the figure includes 7,000 from other states, and 732 from Rajasthan, including 150 students from the coaching hub of Kota.

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[May 01, 2020] Marcus & Millichap, Inc. to Report First Quarter 2020 Financial Results on Thursday, May 7, 2020

Marcus & Millichap, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), a leading national brokerage firm specializing in commercial real estate investment sales, financing and research and advisory services, announced today it will report its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 on Thursday, May 7, 2020, after the close of market. The Company will host a webcast and a conference call that day to discuss the results at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The call will be hosted by Hessam Nadji, President and Chief Executive Officer and Marty Louie, Chief Financial Officer. WEBCAST INFORMATION A live webcast of the call will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of Marcus & Millichap's website at www.MarcusMillichap.com and will be archived upon completion f the call. The Company encourages use of the webcast due to potential extended wait times to access the conference call via dial-in.



CONFERENCE CALL For those unable to access the webcast, callers from the United States and Canada should dial 877-407-9208 ten minutes prior to the scheduled call time. International callers should dial 201-493-6784.

REPLAY INFORMATION For those unable to participate during the live broadcast, a telephonic replay of the call will also be available from 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 7, 2020 through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 21, 2020 by dialing 844-512-2921 in the United States and Canada or 412-317-6671 internationally and entering passcode 13701353. About Marcus & Millichap, Inc. Marcus & Millichap, Inc. is a leading national brokerage firm specializing in commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research and advisory services. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had 2,021 investment sales and financing professionals in 82 offices who provide investment brokerage and financing services to sellers and buyers of commercial real estate. The Company also offers market research, consulting and advisory services to our clients. Marcus & Millichap closed 9,726 transactions in 2019, with a sales volume of approximately $50 billion. For additional information, please visit www.MarcusMillichap.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005141/en/

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By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: A sexual assault allegation is Joe Biden's first big challenge as the Democrats' presidential nominee, fueling Republican attacks and leaving many in his own party in an uncomfortable bind.

Biden's campaign has denied the allegation from his former Senate staffer Tara Reade, who has said Biden assaulted her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the 1990s. But the story garnered fresh attention this week after two of Reade's associates said she previously told them about elements of her allegations.

Republicans worried about President Donald Trump's increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

ALSO READ | Joe Biden sexual assault accuser confided in family, neighbour, was fired for voicing concerns: Report

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

The tension is heightened because Biden himself has said nothing about the allegation.

Like many Americans, he has spent the past several weeks at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Biden has participated in a handful of local and national interviews, during which he wasn't asked about the allegation. He will be interviewed Friday morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe and is expected to face questions about the accusations.

Ahead of that appearance, Democrats urged a more forceful response.

The campaign has issued statements, but he hasnt issued any statements in his own voice, said former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile. Its not helping, its just damaging  not only to the person who has come forward, but its also damaging the candidate.

Lis Smith, a top strategist on Pete Buttigiegs presidential campaign, also called on the Biden campaign to speak up.

These accusations have not been found to be credible, so its in the Biden campaigns interest to nip this in the bud directly and do it quickly, she said.

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hill's Senate testimony in the 1990s. Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior for which he apologized.

Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, said, I believe Joe Biden, citing a New York Times investigation that she said exonerated him.

Women deserve to be heard," she said, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. They pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Biden. Speaking on CNN, she said she was satisfied with how he has responded," even as she acknowledged it's a matter that he has to deal with.

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clintons private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some, most notably women, say they are paying close attention to the allegations, which gave them pause.

Alex Sink, a donor and former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, said she was not happy to read about the allegations against Biden. While she still plans to vote for him, she worried his campaign was too quick to categorically deny Reade's story.

They put themselves immediately out on a limb by saying, It didnt happen, we categorically deny it, its not true, Sink said.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because its an indictment of Bidens central campaign rationale: that he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a battle for the soul of America.

The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump  but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign, said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders organizing director.

The silence from the Biden campaign has given Republicans an opening on an issue that was, in 2016, more fraught for the GOP, when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who alleged varying levels of sexual assault and harassment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that Biden will have to participate in releasing all the information related to the allegation, a stance he didn't take when Trump faced misconduct accusations.

The GOP argues Democrats aren't being consistent, pointing to aggressive questioning and coverage of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced an allegation of sexual assault.

Speaking about the allegation for the first time on Friday, Trump said Biden should respond before proceeding to criticize the treatment of Kavanaugh as an absolute disgrace to our country.

Steve Guest, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said the left, and their media allies, has one standard for Republicans and another standard for Democrats like Joe Biden.

The double standard, he said, is appalling.
The latest in event cancellations due to coronavirus concerns comes from St. Paul. The small Willamette Valley town has canceled all events of its 85th annual rodeo, a Fourth of July highlight on Oregons summer calendar.

In a Facebook post Friday, event organizers stated theyve looked at every possible avenue to continue but were unable to find an answer. There will be no rodeo, nor any other related events for the summer of 2020. The rodeo is generally held over the Fourth of July, with events beginning June 30. The celebration normally features a trail ride, pancake breakfast, Fourth of July Parade, carnival, fireworks, Wild West Art Show, and other community events.

The Facebook post quotes St. Paul Rodeo President Randy Ernst: Our first responsibility is to the health and safety of our community, our members and rodeo fans. The post was verified by the rodeo office Friday morning.

Organizers hope to continue the beloved rodeo in 2021. Those who are holding tickets for St. Paul Rodeo events should contact the rodeo office at 503-633-2031.

The Molalla Buckeroo, another Fourth of July rodeo favorite in the Willamette Valley, had posted no news about its 2020 plan by midday Friday. The Buckeroo has been going on for more than 100 years. Calls and emails requesting updated information on this years event were not immediately returned.

The St. Paul Rodeos cancellation is the latest Independence Day celebration to fall off summer events calendars. Portlands Waterfront Blues Festival, which typically features July Fourth fireworks, announced its cancellation in March. Vancouvers Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular was canceled in April, and earlier this week Seaside officials called off the Oregon coast citys Fourth of July celebration.

Visit this post for a list of other canceled popular events originally scheduled for the next few months.

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Newswise  George Dehner might take exception to those who say the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented.

This pattern of the appearance of a novel infection that spreads pandemics is as old as a human story. Once we began to settle in the towns and be connected to larger groups of populations that can sustain this sort of rapid infection element like a virus or some other thing, you have pandemics, said Dehner, associate professor of history at Wichita State University.

Nor would Dehner say that the pandemic was entirely unexpected.

COVID-19 itself was not predicted, but something like COVID-19 has been predicted for 25 years. COVID-19 is not a surprise to people who have been doing this sort of modeling he said. You cant pick which one it will be, but the fact that some sort of animal disease leapt into the human population and spread globally would not come as a surprise to anybody who does that sort of research.

Dehner, a world environmental historian who examines the intersection of humans and disease in the modern era, presented Influenza pandemics since Russian Flu: Do they provide insight to COVID-19?on April 22 as part of a Fairmont College of Liberal Arts and Sciences series, Perspective on the Pandemic.

During his presentation, Dehner focused on the Russian flu of 1889, Spanish flu of 1918, Asian flu of 1957, Hong Kong flu in 1968, and the H1N1 virus of 2009 as compared to todays COVID-19. He spoke about the role of transportation and centralized federal responses.

Lessons from Spanish flu

Spanish flu is probably the best one to compare because COVID-19 and Spanish flu share some similar attributes. However, he cautions that all of this discussion with COVID-19 has to be taken with a grain of salt because a lot of the information is still coming in.

During the discussion, Dehner shows graphs of the social distancing responses employed by particular cities during the 1918 pandemic.

Spanish flu has been used as an example for examining what we call social distancing. You have an example of a successful early case in St. Louis, Dehner said. You can also see in St.Louis that while they flatten the curve on the front half, they remove those restrictions, and then we had a second peak. Heres when social distancing worked, and heres what happened when you removed it.

Though the terms social distancing, social bubbles and the 6-foot rule have become ubiquitous in our daily conversations, theres historical precedence to their efficacy.

What were doing at the moment in terms of social distancing  because its really the tool we have at hand thats most effective  thats certainly based upon the experience of events before. We also have lessons that exist in the past, particularly Spanish flu, when social distancing ends. Theres an enormous amount of pressure for ending social distancing because of the economic impacts, but thats also comparable to Spanish flu that was the same issue, Dehner said.

Knowledge is power

But there are also key differences between COVID-19 and the Spanish flu of 1918.

Number one, theyre completely different organisms, so we have to be cautious about saying Lets plug in COVID-19 for Spanish flu, because they are completely different organisms, Dehner said. We have differences today where we know a lot more about COVID-19 than they ever knew about Spanish flu in 1918. With that is the possibility of creating either medical intervention treatments that will be effective and ultimately a vaccine. These are things that exist today that are different that didnt exist for Spanish flu. In Spanish flu, they didnt really understand that it was a virus. They were looking for a bacterial cause.

Historical perspective on the pandemic

Dehner said that the mortality rate for COVID-19 is settling in at about 1%, which means that 99% of people recover from it. However, because its so infectious, Dehner said, there are a lot of people who are going to contract it.

This is something that in a couple of years, we will probably have a protective vaccine, and well be much better able to handle it, he said. I dont have the same fear that I would have or something that has a 2.5% mortality rate like Spanish flu does or when you start talking about SARS, which had somewhere around 17%, or you look at MERS that had about a 30% rate. You look at avian becoming human transmissible, you were looking at 40 to 50% mortality based upon a very small number of cases because youre only seeing people in the hospital. Those numbers I found much more frightening, but I dont want to a soft petal COVID-19 because 1% is still a very high mortality rate.

As a historian, Dehner sees almost an instructional manual on how to deal with pandemic crises.

We have a record of dealing with pandemics. Understanding how we have responded in the past, both at the local level in terms of the university and the town but also at the federal level, one thing I think future historians are going to look at very minutely is why our particular response during this time has taken the path it has, he said. It hasnt followed what had been templates before. As a historian, I would like to argue that understanding the impact of pandemics in the past is something that we can usefully consider as we examine what to do today.
Ammo Grrrll is thinking about the end in WHAT WILL GET YOU  YOU JUST NEVER KNOW. She writes

Im afraid I have some bad news, dear readers. I think Steve Martin put it best when last I heard him in concert 40 some years ago. Near the end of his flawless and hilarious standup set, he said, Well, I think weve all managed to have a pretty good time tonightconsidering were all going to die.

Yes, in the midst of trying to figure out what the mortality rate is for the Wuhan Virus when we have no damn idea what the denominator is, I must remind you that the mortality rate for everyone currently alive is 100%. I know. Bummer. It appears that the underlying condition that guarantees eventual death is being mortal. Who knew?

And so we must do the best we can to make what time we have count. Love God and your fellow humans; eat often and well; laugh a lot; do something useful and productive; connect with friends; have some babies; be kind; try to stay healthy and happy.

It appears that the cunning plan I had to avoid the death that took my maternal Grandfather when I was six  I just wont close my eyes  may be ineffective after all. On the other hand, my plan to be blessed with good genetics for longevity is panning out nicely. My other three grandparents lived well into my early adulthood and my own parents both lived to 95, with Daddy still soldiering on, going for a family record. His paternal grandmother lived to be a thorn in her daughter-in-laws side to the age of 96. She was a rock-ribbed Republican who received an autographed framed photo of President Kennedy on the occasion of her 90th birthday. She hung it in a closet. Face to the wall. After he was murdered, she did face it front, out of respect, but it remained in the closet.

But back to our cheery subject at hand  death. So, a couple of weeks ago, early evening, I dutifully donned my outdoor mask (homemade out of a festive cloth napkin and two matching hair scrunchies) and took off for the quarter-mile round trip hike to our group mailboxes. When what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a huge gaggle of neighbor ladies, a few men, not one of whom was the Magical Six Feet from another, four firetrucks, four police vehicles and an ambulance. Yikes! All the First Responders sported more long gloves than Southern girls on a homecoming float.

I did not spot the problem immediately, but when I did, I jumped about two feet and possibly blurted out a bad word! Because there was a small white Ford SUV sideways on the rock and cactus strewn lawn of the house at the end of our street. The vehicle had been stopped only by the house itself or it might have gone all the way to Casa Grande. By the grace of God, the occupants of the house were not in the part of the house that was smashed into. Structural damage is such that the poor residents cannot live in it for three to six months. And thats IF the Wuhan Woes do not prevent handymen from getting access to the property. And IF building materiel is in stock! Amazingly, the driver was not seriously injured.

So here we geezers all are, worried about an unpleasant, sometimes lethal virus. We are hiding in our houses with masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and 300 rolls of toilet paper. Then it turns out that our house is the least safe place we could be when a deranged old lady  Joe Bidens somewhat less senile sister?  guns her vehicle and, with a long blocks running start, rams it full speed into our abode. What are the chances?

Meanwhile, controversial reports appear that suggest that house-hiding is actually preventing the herd immunity that apparently is a good thing, and the reason your Mom made you go play with the kids you didnt even like who had the Chicken Pox.

We just dont know what will get us and that makes us anxious and crabby. Its a capricious world. A high school classmate did two tours in Vietnam, came home to our safe little Minnesota village, and ran off the road and hit a tree. Killed instantly.

On the other hand, when my aunt was in her 60s, she had a routine complete checkup at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. She was shocked when a doctor told her she had an inoperable heart valve issue that would likely lead to her death within two years. Naturally, she found this news very upsetting and spent most of those two years being anxious and depressed. It turned out that that doctor was only off by a couple of decades, so no harm, no foul. She died a few weeks before she turned 90. It wasnt even from the heart valve, but from a fall.

Respected medical personnel flaunting medical degrees in stuff like epidemiology and infectious diseases  and never forget that SOMEBODY was last in every class at med school  tell us that we have a couple of options: EITHER we have to test 330 million people twice a day, minimum, before we can ever go eat in restaurants again  OR, maybe we must all hide under our beds until nobody anywhere on Planet Earth ever has the Wuhan Flu again. Your mileage may vary, as it did with the prediction by Walzing Matilda, Minnesota Governor, that he was determined to lower the anticipated Minnesota deaths from 74,000 to 50,000 by destroying the economy. So far, there have been 343 deaths, so, well done there!

It may seem like a trivial point to some, but when your government lets out hardened and dangerous criminals so they dont get flu  very nearly including the Green River serial killer who murdered 48 women  but sends undercover sting operatives to suss out illegal nail painters and hairdressers, it may be time for a massive coordinated march on every statehouse. With masks and gloves and six feet apart, it goes without saying. Heck, Antifa already has set the precedent with masks.

Where would you be more safe than in a nail salon where the nail lady is wearing a mask?

My hair takes care of itself. It is in a long ponytail held by one of 10,000 scrunchies I own in vibrant colors. Its color is what some might erroneously call Grey when it is clearly Platinum Blonde. My husbands hair, on the other hand, is beginning to bear more than a slight resemblance to Buckwheats. Or Albert Einsteins. But you know whose hair is perfectly coifed and colored? Every single moronic news-head and politician! What a lucky coincidence.

Evidently, THEIR hairdressers are Essential Personnel, but ours can go fly a kite. Just not outdoors. Alone. On a beach. Ya basta! Enough, already! Let our people go. Out.
After the publication of Politik.ams report about the incident in the government summer house between Armenias Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan and Vilen Gabrielyan, director of the Scientific Centre of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise, there was a new fight between them, Politik.am reported

According to Politik.ams governmental source, Gabrielyan, seeing the news about the incident in the government's summer house, hurried to the government building to demand an "explanation" from Avinyan, and accused him of organizing a media leak about what had happened between them. Avinyan said that he had nothing to do with the publication of that news, but Gabrielyan insisted that he did not believe him.

Mutual cursing was followed by a fight.

This time, too, the dispute between the two officials was stopped with the intervention of the security officers.
Nicolas Maduros regime in Venezuela is paying Iran in gold for help with Venezuelas crumbling oil industry, U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said at a conversation with Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute this week.

Over the past few weeks, Iran has been sending more and more planes to Venezuela, Abrams said.

Our guess is that they are being paid in gold, he said, referring to the payment for Iran, at the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington think tank.

Those planes that are coming in from Iran that are bringing things for the oil industry are returning with the payments for those things: gold, Abrams said.

In April alone, Venezuela loaded 9 tons of gold, worth around US$500 million, on airplanes for Iran, in exchange for Iranian help for repairing Venezuelas crumbling refineries, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg this week.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also mentioned the Iranian-Venezuelan cooperation, saying, We are deeply concerned about Irans destabilizing behavior in Venezuela- over the last few days, Iranian aircraft have transferred unknown support to the regime.

Over the last few days, multiple aircraft belonging to Mahan Air have transferred unknown support to the Maduro regime. Birds of a feather. This is the same terrorist airline that Iran uses to move weapons and fighters around the Middle East. These flights must stop, and countries should do their part to deny overflights, just as many have already denied landing rights to this sanctioned airline, Secretary Pompeo said at a press conference earlier this week.

The U.S. has stepped up pressure on the Maduro regime in recent months, the latest being ordering U.S. supermajor Chevron to wind down its Venezuelan operations by the end of the year. Halliburton has also said it will suspend most of its operations in Venezuela, after Washington tightened the noose around Caracas by banning U.S. oil companies operating in the country from drilling for oil, transporting it, or providing any equipment for use in Venezuela.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A doctor provides care to a patient in a hotel converted into a makeshift hospital for patients infected with coronavirus, in Chelles, near Paris, on April 22, 2020. LUCAS BARIOULET | AFP via Getty Images

The fight against the coronavirus pandemic is as much about dispelling fake news and debunking conspiracy theories, as it is a global health crisis. Disinformation and false remedies have been making their rounds on social media and digital platforms as the world clamors for more information about the mysterious disease which has killed more than 233,000 and infected over 3.25 million people globally. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the fight against the coronavirus is now an "infodemic" of misinformation. UN secretary general tweet: "There seems to be barely an area left untouched by disinformation in relation to the Covid-19 crisis," said Guy Berger, director for policies and strategies in communication and information at UNESCO, according to an article on the U.N. website earlier this month. Believing and acting on false information can be gravely dangerous. After U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that consuming or injecting disinfectants could help fight Covid-19, health experts fired back swiftly and warned that such unsound medical advice "could seriously harm people." Trump later tried to walk back on those comments. Experts who spoke to CNBC debunked the following myths about the coronavirus that are spreading.

Will strong sunlight protect me from Covid-19?

No, exposing yourself to the sun  or to temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) will not stop you from contracting the disease, according to the World Health Organization. The virus can be transmitted anywhere, even countries with hot and humid weather, WHO said. Much of Southeast Asia has a tropical climate. But the region has not been spared from a surge in coronavirus cases  Singapore has more than 16,000 cases while Indonesia has nearly 10,000 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In the Saudi Arabia, where the desert sun can get hotter than 50C (122F) at the peak of summer, more than 21,000 cases have been reported, according to Hopkins. Extreme heat can kill the virus, but that degree of heat will also kill the person, said Dr. Leong Hoe Nam, infectious disease specialist from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, in an email to CNBC. He said 90C of heat for 15 minutes will effectively destroy the virus, but no human can survive the intensity of that level of heat either. Conversely, "there is no reason to believe that cold weather can kill the new coronavirus or other diseases. The normal human body temperature remains around 36.5C to 37C, regardless of the external temperature or weather," said the WHO.

Trump had also speculated that exposing people to "ultraviolet or just very powerful light" could help kill the coronavirus, but experts warned about its dangers. While the virus is susceptible to ultraviolet (UV) light which can make it harder for the virus to reproduce, you can't possibly get UV light inside your body, as it will be blocked by your skin, explained Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center, during a video interview with CNBC. All that UV light will do is to increase the risk of skin cancer, Offit said.

Can I drink vodka or whiskey to wash out the coronavirus?

Just last month, hundreds of people in Iran reportedly died after ingesting methanol  a false remedy for Covid-19 that was spreading through social media. The number of deaths as a result of ingesting methanol has since risen to 700, according to a recent report by the Associated Press. While alcoholic beverages, including vodka, could make you "a little drunk," they are not useful for treating the virus or for preventing the virus infection, William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, told CNBC. He added that alcoholic beverages would be of no effect on the coronavirus, or any other virus. "It doesn't make any sense to try to wash out the virus at all, or even to rinse out the mouth with ... an alcoholic beverage."

You can never consume enough alcohol to kill all the virus in your body without first killing yourself. Paul Offit director of the Vaccine Education Center

Other experts warned that trying to kill the coronavirus with alcohol could come at the expense of one's own life. "Alcohol kills the virus. But at very high concentrations that will scald ... the lining in your mouth, your nose and your throat. You certainly kill the virus but you kill yourself too," Leong said. Offit concurred, adding that "you can never consume enough alcohol to kill all the virus in your body without first killing yourself." Apart from consuming alcohol, spraying alcohol or disinfectants all over the body would not help kill the coronavirus either, according to experts. "Alcohol is useful as a hand disinfectant, a hand sanitizer  but taking it either internally or over the body is not useful at all," Schaffner said. Instead, experts recommend good hand hygiene, including washing hands with soap and water several times a day, as well as the use of hand sanitizers.

Does it mean I don't have the virus if I can hold my breath for 10 seconds without discomfort or coughing?

Another dangerous claim that's spreading on social media is a so-called self-check test which falsely claims that people who are able to hold their breaths for 10 seconds, without coughing or discomfort, do not have the virus infection. The false claims have been spreading on Facebook and Twitter. Dr. Faheem Younus, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, debunked that myth. "Most young patients with Coronavirus will be able to hold their breaths for much longer than 10 seconds. And many elderly without the virus won't be able to do it," he tweeted. Dr Younus tweet The World Health Organization pointed out, "The best way to confirm if you have the virus producing COVID-19 disease is with a laboratory test. You cannot confirm it with this breathing exercise, which can even be dangerous." According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are two kinds of tests available: viral tests and antibody tests. A viral test allows you to determine if you presently have the infection, while an antibody test shows if you have been previously infected before.

Was the virus caused by 5G networks?
Martha Kalifatidis always looks put together and well styled in her Instagram photos.

But on Friday, the Former Married At First Sight shared a less than chic picture of her nails.

The 31-year-old, who has been in lockdown at her Bondi home with boyfriend Michael Brunelli, was seemingly in dire need of a manicure.

Call the manicurist! Former Married At First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis (pictured) showed off her dirty fingernails in Instagram Story post on Friday

She shared an image on her Instagram story which showed her nails and wrote: 'I actually have raisin toast under my nails and that was yesterday's breakfast.'

The reality TV also shared a post by celebrity manicurist Tom Bachik and jokingly asked if 'he could come over' to fix her nails.

Martha's candid photo comes after she shared a photo of herself wearing just a grey cardigan and nothing else.

She shared an image which showed her nails and wrote: 'I actually have raisin toast under my nails and that was yesterday's breakfast'

In the Instagram post, she knelt seductively on her bed, completely naked except for the cropped cardigan, which strategically covered her bare cleavage.

'Essentials only,' Martha captioned the raunchy Instagram photo, which showed her holding her camera phone in front of her face as she snapped a mirror selfie.

Fans seemed to love the risque photo, flooding Martha's comments section with complimentary remarks.

'Omg SEX,' wrote one person, while another added, 'OK, cool can I borrow your body thanks.'

Stripped down: Martha gave fans more than they bargained for when she shared a photo of herself wearing only a grey cardigan on Instagram on Friday

'NOW THAT'S A GREEK GODDESS,' commented another fan, adding a series of heart and eye emojis, and referencing Martha's Greek heritage.

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia in March, Martha spoke about relocating to Sydney from Melbourne with her longtime boyfriend, Michael.

'It was really stressful. I'm not going to lie, it was so stressful. It really tested the relationship for a minute, but I think that's normal with a move,' she admitted.

'They say moving house is equivalent to getting a divorce stress-wise. But we lived to tell the tale, Michael and I!'
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley has taken a swipe at Meghan

Meghan Markle was behind hers and Prince Harry's decision to leave Britain as she is in the 'driving seat' of their marriage, Stanley Johnson has claimed.

The Prime Minister's father took a swipe at the Duchess of Sussex and said there is a 'cultural difference' between British and American women.

Prince Harry and his actress wife left the UK earlier this year and are currently searching for a home in Los Angeles, California, where Meghan was born.

According to Johnson, father of Boris, the Duchess of Sussex was the driving force behind their decision.

Writing in Saga magazine, the 79-year-old said: 'Whose decision was it, I wonder, to build a new life in North America?

'I can't help thinking that Meghan, as we must now call her, played a leading role here.

'Possibly, this is down to a basic cultural difference between British women and their transatlantic counterparts.'

He drew a comparison between the couple and his parents, Wilfred and Irene as he added: 'I'm thinking of my mother, for example. After my father recovered from his war wounds, he decided to return to the West Country and became a farmer.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are seen in LA wearing masks as they deliver meals to residents

'My mother, who went to Cheltenham Ladies' College and Oxford University, and imagined that she might marry a diplomat, spent her next 36 years in the old, remote Exmoor farmhouse that I still have today.

'She took to heart the famous words in The Bible's book of Ruth: 'Whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest, I will lodge'.

'The Duchess of Sussex clearly has tremendous charm and talent, but I'm not sure she sets great store by the book of Ruth.

Boris (right) alongside his father Stanley who has weighed in on Meghan and Prince Harry's decision to leave the UK

'For a man, home may be simply the place he hangs his hat. But for a woman, certainly for an American woman like Meghan, choosing where to live is an absolutely key decision.

'You and your spouse can't both be in the driving seat.

'To adapt Princess Diana's famous saying, there's not always room for two people in a marriage!'

He added: 'Personally, I am very sad to see them go. Their charity work was fantastic, particularly the support they gave to wildlife conservation and women's issues.'

In January, Meghan and Harry stunned the world when they announced they would be quitting their royal duties, become financially independent and split their time between North America and England.

Since then the couple have wound down their UK foundation and shut their Buckingham Palace office.

Meghan and Harry pictured arriving at Mansion House in London in March to attend the Endeavour Fund Awards

They finished carrying out their final round of royal duties in Britain last month, and are planning the launch of their new non-profit organisation in the coming weeks.

The Sussexes are yet to flesh out what their new entity will look like, other than outlining it will support their 'global charitable, campaign and philanthropic work'.

After declaring their decision to step back from their royal duties, Meghan and Harry set up base at a rented waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island in Canada.

However, they quickly moved to Los Angeles in March when Canada announced it would be closing its borders to the US.

They are now believed to be in lockdown in the Hollywood area with ten-month-old baby Archie.
Families with loved ones dying in nursing homes will be allowed controlled visits where safe to do so under a draft voluntary coronavirus code of practice for aged care to be unveiled on Friday.

Advocates for elderly Australians are pushing for the code to be made mandatory with statutory enforcement powers to force aged care providers to lift blanket lockdowns, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned.

Aged care operators are working on a voluntary code to facilitate visitation. Credit:Virginia Star

National cabinet, made up of state and territory leaders along with the Prime Minister, will meet from 10am on Friday to discuss the aged care code of conduct along with the COVID-19 surveillance plan, mental health recovery and principles to guide the return of professional and recreational sport.

Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates said providers could too easily cite safety concerns to justify visitor bans that were causing harm, saying some residents with dementia were being denied visits by spouses who ordinarily visited daily to feed them.
Delhi Police on Friday filed the first charge sheet over the February rioting in north-east Delhi, naming three men including Shahrukh Pathan, a man who was pictured pointing a pistol at a policeman in the Maujpur neighbourhood.

The 350-page charge sheet was filed in the Karkardooma court against Pathan, 23 and two others who were arrested by the crime branchs Narcotics Cell, said a senior police officer, adding that the three remained in jail.

According to the charge sheet, Pathan was the first person to be formally arrested in connection with the Delhi riots after being booked by the Jafrabad police. He was initially booked for attempt to murder, assault on a public servant, disobedience of an order passed by a government servant and under the Arms Act.

During investigations, we also added IPC {Indian Penal Code} sections pertaining to rioting with a deadly weapon, unlawful assembly of people guilty of an offence with a common intention, and harbouring an offender, the senior police officer cited above said, requesting anonymity.

The last section was pressed against Kaleem Ahmed, a resident of Kairana and friend of Pathans, who allegedly provided Pathan a safe house during his days on the run. Ahmed was arrested during the investigation.

Pathan, a resident of Ghonda in north-east Delhi, was arrested from Shamli in UP on March 3 after allegedly remaining in hiding for over a week since he was caught on camera, said the officer. The weapon he allegedly used to fire three rounds and then point at a policeman was a 7.65 mm pistol, said the officer. We had recovered the pistol and two live rounds from Pathan, said the officer.

None of three rounds Pathan is allegedly to have fired on February 24 hit anyone, said the officer about the investigation.

The third person to be charge-sheeted in this case is Ishtiyak Mallik, also a resident of Ghonda. Our investigation found Mallik to be rioting with Pathan during the time he fired, said the officer.

Pathan is the son of an alleged local drug peddler of north-east Delhi and was released from jail on bail in one such case just weeks before the riots, said another officer.

While the father has multiple drug-related cases registered against him at various police stations in north-east Delhi, the shooting in north-east Delhi was Pathans first known criminal act, said the officer.

On the first main day of the riots, on February 24, Pathan was caught on camera allegedly pointing a pistol at a head constable, Deepak Dahiya. While no one was hurt in that confrontation, police said Pathan had managed to escape from the scene of the rioting.

Pathans photographs also revealed that guns were being used by rioters. Thereafter, rioters had a free run with firearms, leaving many dead and several others with gunshot wounds. At least 53 persons were killed in the rioting.

While the police went onto file nearly 700 first information reports (FIRs) and detain or arrest over 2,200 suspects, they have come in for criticism from many quarters for allegedly arresting more Muslims than Hindus and booking them under stringent laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police have maintained that their probe has been sincere and impartial.

All the arrests have been made based on scientific and forensic evidence, including video footages and technical evidence, said a police statement.

The riots started as clashes between opponents and supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) before acquiring a communal colour.
If the engine of the virus that causes COVID-19 is an enzyme that needs regular gas, Remdesivir is diesel.

Thats how Matthias Gotte, chair of medical microbiology and immunology at University of Alberta, describes the antiviral drug originally developed for Ebola. It showed some promise in reducing recovery time for coronavirus patients in a clinical trial sponsored by the American National Institutes of Health, and top U.S coronavirus expert Anthony Fauci shared the early results of the trial Wednesday.

If that engine is blocked than the virus is blocked, said Gotte, who showed the drugs effect in a lab setting as part of preclinical research to justify human trials partially funded by Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company behind Remdesivir.

You can roll a bit for a couple of kilometres and then you stop. Thats exactly what happened with genome synthesis. So the genome is not further generated or synthesized and thats why the virus cannot spread.

The news of a potential treatment for the disease thats killed over 230,000 and shut down the world was enough to move the stock market. It was so promising that the drug will now become part of the standard of care for COVID-19 patients, Fauci told reporters at the White House.

On Friday afternoon the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fast-tracked Remdesivir for use for American COVID-19 patients.

While it may provide a ray of hope, others say its too soon to tell and there are serious concerns with the way the results were shared. And dont expect to see it as an approved treatment for COVID-19 in Canada just yet.

The randomized placebo-controlled trial, seen as the gold standard type of study, of over 1,000 patients in several countries found that the drug improved median recovery time from 15 days in the group given a placebo to 11 days in the group given Remdesivir, Fauci said. Thats a statistically significant difference, he added, without actually sharing the full study.

It did not find a statistically significant difference in the mortality rate, but that trended better at 8 per cent in the Remdesivir group vs. 11.6 per cent in the placebo group, he said.

It is a very important proof of concept, because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus, said Fauci. It reminded him, he added, of 1986 when they did the first such trial for an early HIV drug.

It had a modest effect, but that was not the endgame. Because building on that every year after we did better and better, we had better drugs of the same type, and we had drugs against different targets.

They will now compare Remdesivir with other drugs and try different combinations, he added. We think its really opening the door.

Two other Remdesivir studies also recently came out. One study of 237 patients with COVID-19 did not find it helped. That study, published in The Lancet, had to be stopped because the outbreak was brought under control in Wuhan, China, and there werent enough participants to continue.

The other was released by Gilead, the pharmaceutical company thats behind Remdesivir. It found similar rates of improvement in patients who got a five-day course, compared to a 10-day course, according to the company. But it did not have a control group who didnt get the drug.

Health Canada has not approved Remdesivir for COVID-19 and its still considered an experimental treatment for the disease.

Patients can only get it though applying to Health Canadas Special Access Program (SAP) on a case-by-case basis, or through a clinical trial. The agency has approved 12 of these special requests so far.

Health Canada is working with international regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to share scientific information on drugs and vaccines for COVID-19, said spokesperson Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge in an email. We are also aligning requirements for safety and efficacy where possible to expedite the review and approval processes.

Two clinical trials have been approved in Canada. One is run by Gilead Sciences. The other, at Sunnybrook hospital, is part of a global trial with the World Health Organization dubbed SOLIDARITY.

Dr. Srinivas Murthy, an infectious disease and critical care specialist and associate professor with the University of British Columbia, sits on the global steering committee for SOLIDARITY.

The news of the NIH study will have an impact on that trial, he said, but the question is how much and what those impacts are.

Fauci said he took the unprecedented step of sharing results of the trial before the actual data was published, because of an ethical obligation to let the people in the placebo group know.

The study has not been peer-reviewed, the process where other scientists evaluate it independently. Many preprints, studies that have not yet been submitted for publication or are still under review, have been shared online to get out information as soon as possible during the global pandemic.

But researchers havent even seen the full study and data on the NIH trial, so we cant actually say anything yet, outside of it may have promise, said Murthy.

Murthy deemed it very problematic that it was released in such a scattershot format without ability to make decisions from that data.

This isnt a clinical trial that were doing in peacetime, he said. Everyone is waiting for these results and any glimmer of hope will be seized on by patients and clinicians.

Toronto infectious disease physician Andrew Morris said people might not realize how unprecedented this is for a medical trial to be released in a press conference, without any peer review and an opportunity to really look at this.

For Fauci to say this has become a standard of care with no plan to make it a standard of care, that is unbelievable, he said, adding Remdesivir is not easily available. Patients in other trials may now demand Remdesivir, given the news, even though right now we know very little about the actual study.

All process is out the window.

The University of Albertas Gotte also said its important to wait and see the paper and peer review. But Fauci is very credible and doesnt want to raise hope where no hope is justified.

Its good news. But at the same time we have to caution also that it is not a game changer, he said, calling it a very important first step in an incredibly short period of time.

Its certainly a milestone met but it is not a miracle drug.

Officials at the World Health Organization, quizzed about the drug during their daily press briefing in Geneva on Thursday, were also cautious.

The WHOs scientists want to look at the broader context of the overall data on Remdesivir though their own internal review process, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, including the eventual results of the ongoing SOLIDARITY trial.

It can sometimes take a number of publications to determine what the ultimate impact of a drug is and if it actually helps patients and save lives, he said.

Theyre all fervently hoping that one or more of the treatments currently under trial will be that drug.
I have another friend (sorry for bragging), whose boring desk job ping-ponged his fragile psyche between misery and mania from the jump. Like your work, his involved a lot of downtime. I will tell you how he filled it, but first, a warning: If you start doing what I am about to describe, you will likely find it hard to stop.

Go to Google Maps on your computer. In the bottom right corner of the screen is a cartoon of a small orange man. Click him and drag him to a location on the map to replace the aerial view with eye-level images of that spot. Clickety-click around. Zoom out and pick a new area. Do this until the workday ends.

You have just lost hours exploring the world via Google Street View.

Google Street View is not exhaustive  Venezuela, for instance, has no coverage  but there are millions of photographed miles to examine. Some websites will generate a random Street View location for you: One click and youre (haltingly) zooming along a lake in Norway. The service GeoGuessr makes panoramas a game, the object of which is to pinpoint the location on a world map using clues like street signs and environment.

Besides improving your knowledge of geography and killing time, my friend insists, this activity will enrich your world with cultural color. Whats that, you say? Budapest? Gosh, I hope so  because now, my friend says, when someone mentions Budapest, he has a rough idea of its architecture and topography, having spent hours wandering through the city via interactive photo panoramas.

If and when you tire of the world, ask your boss if you might coordinate a low-burden and/or tax-deductible volunteer opportunity, like a blood drive or a company meal donation to a local food bank or hospital. This will allow you to exercise your organizing muscles while making the company look good. After youve done that, reward yourself with several hours of Google Street View.

Incidentally, my friend who spent his work days viewing Earths streets from his computer eventually quit his job to backpack across Southeast Asia. Hopefully this option will again be viable in the future.

How Can I Convince a Multinational Corporation to Hire My Dog?

Ive seen conflicting reports about the pros and cons of dogs at work. What is your take on this topic?  Tim

I love dogs, which is why I would never force one to become the most disrespected, despised, wretched creature on Gods earth: a co-worker.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Sunny. High 76F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low around 55F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Fears over being identified as a COVID-19 patient could also harm black residents and people in the country without legal permission, who have complicated relations with police, Demacopoulos said. She said that those qualms could exacerbate the viruss prevalence in those communities should people feel discouraged of getting tested out of concern of ending up on a list.
Thomas Treutler, managing director of the Vietnam offices of Tilleke & Gibbins

Vietnams favourable policies have helped bring in more and more investment and increased exports. Foreign invested companies (FIEs) now account for 68 per cent of all of Vietnams exports. Importantly, projects involving foreign direct investment (FDI) have created many good jobs helping raise the GDP. As of early 2019, FIEs were directly employing 3.6 million people and indirectly employing another six million.

FDI has come a long way in over the past more than 30 years. Such investment picked up fast in the early to mid-1990s, with the lifting of the US embargo of Vietnam and investors from around the world heading to the country. A quarter of a century later, FIEs now contribute about 20 per cent of Vietnams GDP.

There have been some key policy changes that Vietnam made over the years to help attract investment.

Trade deal participation

Vietnam has taken well-calculated steps to participate in key multilateral trade organisations and build strong bilateral relationships which have bolstered investments into the country. Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), entering into bilateral trade agreements with the United States and others, and more recently joining major free trade agreements such as that with the European Union, Vietnams investment numbers continue to rise.

At the same time, via these agreements, other nations have gained access to the Vietnamese market and the competition has raised the quality of products and manufacturing processes in this country.

Decentralisation

In the early to mid-1990s, all FIEs had to be approved at a central level, which caused significant delays in the issuance of licenses. However, the government later decentralised the licensing process so that such projects could be approved at the provincial level or by industrial zone (IZ) boards of management, and can often be approved in weeks or a few months at most.

Clear timelines within which application dossiers had to be acted up were prescribed under the law, which added transparency to the licensing process. Similarly, representative offices can now be approved by the local departments of industry and trade.

This deregulation, combined with a relaxation of administrative burdens as well as advancements such as one-stop application centres and online filing of documents, has led Vietnam to be a country where investments are approved in a transparent fashion, and signals that the country is open for business.

Other changes levelled the playing field between local businesses and FIEs, such as having both types governed by common regulations under the Law on Enterprises and the Law on Investment rather than having a separate law on foreign investment. Initially, Vietnam only allowed overseas companies to have a term of 20 years, but this was later extended to 50 years.

Global supply chain diversification should bode well for Vietnam in the near future, Photo: Le Toan

Industrial/high-tech zones

In one 1988 issue of Sai Gon Giai Phong, in the first year of effect of the newly adopted Law on Foreign Investment, there appeared an editorial relating to the idea of having something called Saigon Export Processing Zone in order to try to attract business as had been carried out successfully in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea since the late 1970s.

Export processing zones became a reality and Vietnam soon started developing IZs, and later high technology zones.

IZs provide outstanding infrastructure for manufacturing to flourish. Over the years, the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai near Ho Chi Minh City, and Bac Ninh and other northern provinces near Hanoi, have become manufacturing hubs, in part due to their investor-friendly policies, and this spread throughout many regions and provinces. In 2019, 65 per cent of all investments in Vietnam were in the manufacturing sector, which is a good signal for the future.

Intellectual property

In the 1990s, Vietnam was often criticised as not being strong in protecting intellectual property (IP) rights, and this was often cited as a reason the country would struggle to attract research and development (R&D), or value-added manufacturing operations. However, with Vietnams accession to the WTO, and the implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights in Vietnam, Vietnams IP laws have for the last 15 years been compliant with international standards.

Importantly, over the last 15 years, laws have constantly improved and even surpassed those of neighbouring countries. Vietnams courts, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Vietnam IP Research Institute in recent years have supported innovative multinational companies in enforcing complex patent rights in the areas of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and electronics.

For example, several patent infringement cases in Binh Duong were ruled in favour of research-based pharmaceutical innovators, and significant amounts of damages and attorney fees were awarded.

The Vietnamese courts are building capacity in IP and there has been a major shift towards handling cases in civil courts, thus paving the way for compensatory damages and attorney fees for rights holders which adds to the deterrent effect.

These recent developments have sent a strong signal to investors that Vietnam is a safe country in which to conduct R&D, and high-tech industries can flourish in the country. Similarly, Vietnams 389 Committee, market surveillance departments, and economic police are very active in combating counterfeit goods.

Tax and customs reforms

Over the years, Vietnam has consistently taken steps every few years to make its tax regime applicable to investors and employees more and more attractive. Vietnam, while still having relatively high personal income tax (PIT), has taken steps over the years to improve its PIT regime especially to help local employees. In the mid-1990s, with Vietnams onerous supplemental PIT system, effective tax rates could balloon to over 70 per cent for local employees. Those large tax rates hindered FIEs from offering high salaried positions to local employees in some cases.

However, supplemental income tax was eliminated, the playing field was gradually levelled, and the effective PIT rates became manageable. This helped create more opportunities for all. In 2004, Vietnam eliminated its tax on repatriated profits, which helped make the tax regime more attractive to investors.

Other tax policy changes also helped make Vietnam a more attractive destination to investors, such as the introduction of the VAT system, and reductions in corporate income tax (CIT). The CIT rate was reduced from 25 to 22 per cent in 2014, and then down to 20 per cent in 2016.

Vietnamese customs authorities participate in a broad range of international projects to co-ordinate activities, introduce modern technology, and introduce best practices in clearing goods and monitoring shipments for IP rights violations. Other key advances were the elimination of export permits and export quota, which liberalised the trade sector and led to increased trading prospects.

Open law policies

In the early 1990s, law firms such as Tilleke & Gibbins, which set up a representative office in 1992, moved toward Vietnam, followed by other firms when the Ministry of Justice started licensing foreign law firms. Major global accounting firms have also been active in Vietnam for 25 years. These organisations, along with outstanding local law firms, have helped guide investors and help facilitate funding into Vietnam. The country has had an open policy marked by excellent co-operation between the MoJ and law firms, to allow these organisations to operate broadly and make a strong contribution.

Institutional partnerships

The government, through its relevant ministries and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), has fostered excellent co-operation with foreign business associations such as the VCCIs European and US counterparts and others.

Through individual dialogues with business associations and the Vietnam Business Forum, foreign investors have had a good and consistent opportunity to provide input to the government on policies to help the business environment. This co-operation has led to many good initiatives in reducing administrative burdens for businesses, and the introduction of beneficial policies for investors.

Poised for a bright future

Given Vietnams outstanding performance in controlling the ongoing coronavirus situation which has included strong public policies, transparency, and providing international aid to other countries, Vietnams leadership role in the region has been highlighted, which is very timely given that this year Vietnam is appointed as ASEAN chair.

With this strong regional leadership position, coupled with the fact that many nations want to diversify their supply chains, the country should be poised to receive more quality investment in manufacturing this year and next.
Australian mother-of-two Sara Connor will be released from Balis horrific Kerobokan prison in July.

The 49-year-old from Byron Bay has spent the last four years in the notorious prison, after the fatal bashing of a police officer in Kuta in 2016.

Ms Connor's ex-boyfriend and David Taylor, from the UK, is serving a six-year sentence for his part in the officer's death.

In 2017, Ms Connor was found guilty of fatal assault in company after police officer Wayan Sudarsa was killed on Kuta Beach in August 2016.

Ms Connor previously said the 'nightmare' was supposed to be a relaxing holiday, resulting in her spending four years apart from her now teenage children.

She will be deported to Australia after being released.

Ms Connor (pictured) is to be released from a Bali jail after four years, after being imprisoned over the death of police officer Wayan Sudarsa on Kuta Beach in August 2016

The mother-of-two (pictured) s spent the last four years in the notorious prison, after the fatal bashing of a police officer in Kuta in 2016

An Indonesian court found that Taylor had beat Mr Sudarsa, a police officer of 35 years, with multiple objects.

This included a mobile phone, the officer's own binoculars and a Bintang beer bottle.

Ms Connor was found to have put her arm around the policeman's neck and sat on his stomach.

The tragedy began when she touched down in Denpasar airport, and met up with her boyfriend Taylor to have drinks before going to Kuta Beach and cuddling at the water's edge.

Australian Sara Connor (pictured) is seen being taken to testify at her boyfriend David Taylor's trial at Denpasar Court on January 30 2017

Ms Connor soon noticed she had lost her purse, and a suspicious Taylor confronted the police officer and began frisking him - but the situation violently escalated.

The mum, whose children are now 13 and 15, claimed she was bitten by Mr Sudarsa when trying to separate the pair, and ran away, ending her involvement.

Taylor, 'in fear of his life', struck Mr Sudarsa over the head with a beer bottle, he claimed.

When Mr Sudarsa was motionless, Taylor took the officer's identification cards.

At Ms Connor's trial, the judges said she cut up Mr Sudarsa's ID cards not to protect his identity and stop them from being stolen, but because she panicked and felt guilty.

Taylor later told Ms Connor the police officer was 'passed out' on the beach.

Ms Connor (pictured with ex-boyfriend David Taylor, from the UK) has spent four years in the notorious Bali prison

Ms Connor (pictured, left) holds a walkie talkie as she re-enacts the events leading up to the police officer's death, with boyfriend Taylor (right) nearby

They had no idea, they claimed, of the seriousness of Mr Sudarsa's injuries.

Dr Dudut Rustyadi, who performed the autopsy on Mr Sudarsa, told their trials it would have taken him at least two hours to die and had someone intervened he might have been saved.

Instead, Ms Connor and Taylor returned to their hotel, cut up Mr Sudarsa's cards and left for nearby Jimbaran later that morning.

Two days later, Ms Connor turned on her mobile phone and learned of his death.

She has since offered $2,500 in compensation offered to the policemans widow, and has always maintained her innocence.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 10:51:26|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Jan. 30, 2020 shows the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

- White House's ill-disposed bid to blame the WHO, as well as its tactics of pressure and coercion, have exposed once again its long-standing hegemonic mindset, which seeks to put "America first," even though doing so could hurt the common interests of the world.



- Since the United States is the institution's largest donor, U.S. politicians believe that the UN health body should only act on behalf of Washington's interests.



- U.S. politicians have simply slapped their own faces when attacking the WHO for so-called cover-ups



by Xinhua writer He Fei

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- To some politicians in Washington, nothing is more valuable than their political self-interests -- not even human lives. Their recent ever-escalating attacks on the World Health Organization (WHO) over the coronavirus pandemic is the latest case in point.

In a desperate attempt to shift blame for Washington's clumsy handling of the pandemic, some White House politicians, notably U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have rushed to accuse the WHO of withholding critical information after the outbreak, being "China-centric," and mismanaging the pandemic response.

More blatantly, Washington has also decided to suspend funding to the UN health body, even suggesting that it might create an alternative agency.

Medical staff of Xiaotangshan Hospital clean up a ward after the hospital cleared all COVID-19 cases in Beijing, capital of China, April 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

The truth is that the WHO has been faithfully performing its responsibilities since the outbreak. It alerted the world of the disease as early as Jan. 5, kept the international community duly updated on the progress of the situation, and coordinated a global drive against the pandemic.

The world body has facilitated the shipping of millions of units of personal protective equipment to 105 countries, and lab supplies to more than 127 countries, and is leading a global effort to develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for the virus.

Washington should be the last entity to criticize the WHO over so-called transparency issues. It has been receiving real-time information about the coronavirus from U.S. officials and experts at the WHO from the outset, and even often knew in advance what the agency planned to do or announce, according to U.S. media. Those U.S. politicians have simply slapped their own faces when attacking the WHO for so-called cover-ups.

Medical workers carry a patient from an ambulance to George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C., the United States, on April 27, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Obviously, Washington has tried to scapegoat the WHO to deflect the blame for its inept and chaotic pandemic response at home, as the U.S. caseload has topped 1 million -- some one third of the world's total -- and more than 60,000 have died.

The White House's ill-disposed bid to blame the WHO, as well as its tactics of pressure and coercion, have exposed once again its long-standing hegemonic mindset, which seeks to put "America first," even though doing so could hurt the common interests of the world.

In the eyes of those Washington politicians, money equals power. Since the United States is the institution's largest donor, they believe that the UN health body should only act on behalf of Washington's interests. That is a toxic legacy of America's notorious money politics.

So when the WHO warns against Washington's moves to politicize the pandemic, and does its work in an objective, fair and science-based manner, those Washington politicians must have felt betrayed.

U.S. hegemonic bullying runs counter to the will of the global community, including many Americans. Many world leaders from the Group of 77, as well as from countries including China, Germany, France, and Italy, have voiced firm support for the group.

Photo taken on April 17, 2020 shows a flag carrying "Unity is Strength" on a building window in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

At the moment, the fight against the pandemic remains arduous and many factors about the deadly virus remain unknown, meaning the WHO has become more indispensable than ever as a source of guidance.

To weaken the group is akin to throwing the pilot out of a plane while a flight is in progress, as German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas recently said.

For more than seven decades, the WHO has led countries worldwide to combat the threat of deadly diseases such as polio and malaria, and aided in the elimination of smallpox in the 1970s through many years of joint work.

Yet, in an age of a ravaging pandemic when nobody is safe until all are safe, those self-centered Washington politicians' dangerous attempt to portray this bellwether of international pandemic containment as a scapegoat will only put more lives, including those in America, on the line.

If they continue down the wrong path, history will record that many died in the pandemic not just because of the deadly virus, but also because of a hegemonic superpower's reluctance to own up to its due responsibility. 
Kuala Lumpur, May 1 : The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased xenophobia against the Rohingya living in Malaysia as the government pushes back boats with hundreds of members of the Muslim minority trying to reach the country's shores, a media report said on Friday.

Around 100,000 Rohingya refugees live in Malaysia, said the Efe news report.

Last week, at least 350,000 people signed various campaigns on Change.org, which were later deleted, calling on the Malaysian government to expel all Rohingya from the country.

"The campaign is highly orchestrated with an onslaught of materials being generated to deliberately stir up reactions, anger, hatred and xenophobia," Lilianne Fan, director of the NGO Yayasan Geutanyoe (Geutanyoe Foundation), which is dedicated to working with refugees, told EFE.

"The campaign has generated a lot of fake news that plays on very sensitive issues, including that Rohingya demand Malaysian citizenship, that Rohingya come to marry Malaysian women... that Rohingya are potential terrorists.

"These are not issues that are arising spontaneously, they are being generated by a hate campaign," she added.

Fan believes that one of the factors in the uptick in xenophobia against the Rohingya was "insecurity about COVID-19", of which 6,002 cases have been detected in Malaysia and 102 people have died, causing the closure of borders and strong containment measures which have also caused the majority of Rohingya to lose their jobs.

Malaysia has for years been one of the preferred destinations for Rohingya fleeing the oppression they suffer in their country of origin, Myanmar.

In the Muslim-majority Malaysia, the Rohingya have found a safe haven, compared to their home country, and can find work in sectors such as construction, but their position is extremely precarious as most are not officially recognized as refugees and have to live as illegal immigrants in a society that often views them with suspicion, the Efe news report said.

The recent hate campaigns against refugees began after the Malaysian Navy on April 16 intercepted a boat with about 200 Rohingya approaching its coast and, claiming that "undocumented immigrants" could bring COVID-19, they pushed it back out to sea where it is still stranded.

That same day, another boat arrived in Bangladesh with 396 severely malnourished Rohingya after two months at sea, during which around 100 people may have died, according to Doctors Without Borders.

According to UN figures, between 2012 and May 2015, some 170,000 Rohingya from Rakhine state put themselves in the hands of human smuggling networks to flee to Malaysia or Thailand, but the authorities of those countries managed to dismantle these networks in mid-2015, so the use of these routes was reduced to a minimum.

At the time, it was estimated that a little more than 1 million Rohingya lived in Rakhine, but in August 2017, the Myanmar Army launched a violent military campaign against them after Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army insurgents attacked police and military posts.

The military operation, for which Myanmar has to defend itself against accusations of genocide before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, caused the exodus of some 725,000 Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh. There they continue to live in the world's largest refugee camp complex.
Our donors have blessed us with more personal protective equipment than we need, and we would like to pay it forward ... We know that this donation is merely a drop in the bucket compared to the huge need, but for now its all we have. We pray that we can help in increasing measures UMMA Executive Director Robert Montgomery said.
Irrfan Khan, the 53-year-old Bollywood icon who straddled both Indian and Western cinema carving a remarkable 30-year career, lost a long battle with cancer on Wednesday.

He was the most nuanced actor I have worked with. I am forever his dedicated fan, said Marc Webb, who directed Khan in Hollywood blockbuster, The Amazing Spider-Man.

Khan played a ruthless Oscorp executive Ranjit Ratha in the 2012 edition of the Marvel Comics franchise.

In Irrfan, power and gentleness coexisted perfectly. When he sings to his new wife at the bathroom door in The Namesake or speaks of his father in Life of Pi, his talent is positively mystical, said Webb.

Hollywood actress Bryce Dallas Howard, who starred with Khan in Jurassic World, called the Indian actor a treasure of a human being.

Irrfan and I filmed our first scene together for Jurassic World. I remember being so struck by him, she told Al Jazeera.

In his presence, there is permission to be spontaneous, playful, interesting, and interested.

I loved acting with him so much. He always had a sparkle in his eye and would discover each moment afresh and anew, again and again, said the 39-year-old actress.

Howard poses at the premiere of Jurassic World in Hollywood, California in this June 9, 2015 photo [Mario Anzuoni/Reuters]

Howard said Khan  who played the role of Simon Masrani, the owner of Jurassic World, in the 2015 film  never settled for a predictable rhythm.

Every moment was a brand-new thought and possibility for him, she told Al Jazeera. He was like this in life as well, so present, so awake and connected to life.

Howard said she loved her conversations with Khan and learning about his family, home, and the people he worked with.

He loved India. He loved his community. He was a treasure of a human being and undoubtedly in a league of his own. His work remains, thank god, but he will be hugely missed by so many, she said.





Danny Boyle, who directed the critically-acclaimed and runaway financial success, Slumdog Millionaire, said Khan was a wonderful actor and a pivotal figure in the making of the film.

He brought to it a wonderful dignity and calmness. And calmness is an extraordinary quality he was able to harness in most of his work, said Boyle.

In Slumdog Millionaire, based on a novel by Indian author Vikas Swarup, Khan played a police inspector who is sceptical of a slum boy winning a reality TV game show.

Boyle said Khan was pivotal to his 2008 film because Peter Rice, an executive in Fox Searchlight, wanted the British filmmaker to cast the Indian actor.

He [Rice] said whatever you do get a part in it for Irrfan Khan. And I will be forever grateful to him for that, Boyle said.

Danny Boyle, right, winner of best director award for Slumdog Millionaire, shows his Oscar to Indian film star Anil Kapoor, centre, and Irrfan Khan [File: Chris Carlson/AP]

The 63-year-old filmmaker said Khan effortlessly bridged the two cultures.

He was one of those who effortlessly made that journey across back and forth, back and forth.

Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee, known for some of the biggest films in Hollywood, roped in Khan to play the older version of Pi, the main character, in the 2012 adventure drama, Life of Pi.

Irrfan was a great artist, a true gentleman and a brave fighter. His passing away is cinemas loss. We will miss him dearly, Lee told Al Jazeera.

Khan acted in almost 100 films, winning awards and the admiration of his peers for his nuanced performances.

He received the Independent Spirit Award for supporting actor in 2006 for the Indian-American drama The Namesake and a viewers choice award at the Cannes festival 2013 for his role in the Indian romantic drama, The Lunchbox.

In a tweet, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Khan was an incredible talent and left his imprint on global cinema.

Gone too soon. When he is on screen, you cant take your eyes off of him. He lives on in his films, tweeted Hollywood filmmaker Ava Duvernay.

A grateful fan of #IrrfanKhan here. Gone too soon. When he is on screen, you cant take your eyes off of him. He lives on in his films. pic.twitter.com/aA9RAjsxSl  Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 29, 2020

Khan played a wide array of roles, including an intensely tormented lover in Maqbool, an adaptation of Macbeth, and Hamlet-inspired Haider, a Bollywood film set in the disputed Kashmir region.

He managed to walk off the screen and come home with us, wrote film critic Shubhra Gupta in the Indian Express newspaper.
Chief Medical Officer with the Ministry of Health Dr Roshan Parasram said today that the Trinidadians who were stranded in Suriname as a resul
Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M Chu has called a disgusting scam surrounding the films sequels a direct attack of Asian American actors.

Chu was outraged to find that a Twitter user named Alan Baltes, claiming to be a casting associate, announced that the films two follow-ups were casting for lead roles via what he described as live Zoom auditions.

Baltes requested he be paid a $99 submission fee by those who wanted to be considered for roles.

Chu told Variety: I kept reading it, and when it said 99 dollars, I was like, This is f***ed up.

He continued: Theres so many scams like that in LA anyway and to actually target, specifically, Asian actors, was very frustrating.

Asian American actors finally get the opportunity or the hope that there are roles and parts out there  people have this light inside of them to pursue this dream that they never thought was possible before, and to take advantage of that and know that you can take $99 for a fake audition is just disgusting, Chu added.

To put on top of that this time, when were being othered and were being attacked on the streets, is even more disgusting.

Baltes, who protested his innocence to Variety, blocked Chu, but not before the director notified Warner Bros legal department after becoming aware of the tweet.

Baltes emailed in response: Someone sent me the information and was misrepresenting himself as being with casting. The person is no longer in contact with me after I enquired further. They were attempting to get me to send them money for casting calls.

In 2018, Baltes seemingly made money for a similar post associated with Jurassic World: Dominion, which prompted director Colin Trevorrow to write: Anyone who requests money for an audition isnt on the level.

Baltes account is now deactivated.
Donald Trump has called Michigan protesters good people and implored the state governor to ease stay-at-home measures, just one day after armed residents intimidated lawmakers.

The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire, Mr Trump tweeted on Friday, addressing Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal.

The president and his followers turned against Ms Whitmer for her stricter stay-at-home orders, with some accusing her of taking the power too far during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing on Thursday to protest stay-at-home measures and implore lawmakers to lift them. Among these protesters were people armed with rifles, which the state allows residents to legally carry as long as theyre visible to police.

State Senator Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat, tweeted on Thursday that some of her colleagues were so concerned about armed demonstrators in the Capitol that they decided to wear bulletproof vests to work.

Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bulletproof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today, she wrote, sharing an image of men holding guns in the Capitol.

When contacted by The Independent, the senator shared a picture of her colleague Senator Sylvia Santana, a Democrat, wearing a bulletproof vest and face mask while working.

Protesters called their movement on Thursday American Patriot Rally and was organised by Michigan United for Liberty group. The demonstration mirrored that of the Operation Gridlock protest 15 April, and protesters were spotted in the crowd carrying Trump memorabilia and chanting lock her up at the governor, a resurgence of what the presidents supporters chanted against Hillary Clinton.

Video footage captured inside the Capitol showed protesters raising guns into the air as they shouted chants of let us in outside the House chamber. Most of them were not wearing face coverings or practising social distancing.

Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan Show all 11 1 /11 Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A demonstrator shouts next to two masked security guards at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan during a protest against stay-at-home orders AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan Armed members of a milita group at the state Capitol building in Lansing, Michiga, during a protest against coronavirus lockdown measures REUTERS Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A protester at the state Capitol in Lansing holds a sign comparing Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer to Adolf Hitler during a demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan An armed protester takes part in a demonstation against lockdown measures at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan AP Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A protester holds a sign saying 'Bill Gates is evil' at a demonstration against stay-at-home orders at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan. Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and a billionaire philanthropist, has warned of the dangers of viral pandemics AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan Protesters take part in a demonstration at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan against stay-at-home orders AFP/Getty Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A protester holds a pro-Trump sign at a demonstration against lockdown measures outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan Armed protesters take part in a demonstration at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan against lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A protester holds a sign reading 'Every job is essential, get workers back to work safely now' during a demonstration at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan over lockdown measures AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A protester with a US flag painted on her face takes part in a demonstration at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan against lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic AFP via Getty Images Armed protests against stay-at-home coronavirus measures in Michigan A protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask holds up a sign reading 'Stay Free' during a demonstration against lockdown measures at the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan AP

The reason behind their protest was Michigans state of emergency was expected to expire on Thursday, and the Republican-lead Legislature was considering if they would give approval to Ms Whitmer to extend it. The state of emergency order gives the governor power to enact other orders, such as stay-at-home measures.

But Republicans instead advanced a bill that they would not approve an extension to the original declaration. In response, Ms Whitmer extended the states current emergency declaration through an executive order by citing authority under a 1945 state law.

While some members of the legislature might believe this crisis is over, common sense and all of the scientific data tells us were not out of the woods yet, Ms Whitmer said in a statement Thursday.

By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk, she added. Im not going to let that happen.

The stay-at-home order was previously extended until 15 May to the dismay of protesters.

The governor also issued a fourth executive order on Thursday that extended the previous order requiring theaters, bars, and casinos to remain closed. Restaurants are only allowed to operate through carry-out and delivery services.

Ms Whitmer did promise to ease some of her restrictions as Michigan passes its peak in Covid-19 infections. One of the exceptions she made was allowing construction projects to resume on 7 May. But she could face a legal battle with Republican lawmakers and residents by extending the state of emergency without the Legislature.

Already residents filed a lawsuit against the governor by claiming the stay-at-home measures infringed on their constitutional rights. But a Michigan judge sided with Ms Whitmer in the lawsuit.

"Although the Court is painfully aware of the difficulties of living under the restrictions of these executive orders, those difficulties are temporary, while to those who contract the virus and cannot recover (and to their family members and friends), it is all too permanent," Judge Christopher M Murray wrote on Wednesday.

Michigan has the seventh-most coronavirus cases with more than 40,000 confirmed infections. As of Friday, 3,789 people died from the novel virus.

Senator Dayna Polehanki shared on Thursday some colleagues, like Senator Sylvia Santana (pictured), are wearing bulletproof vests to work as armed protesters storm the Michigan State Capitol (Senator Dayna Polehanki)

The presidents decision to incite frustration among Michigan residents about their stay-at-home measures could be focused around political gains for the 2020 election.

Whether Michigan will swing red or blue come November remains up in the air, with former Vice President Joe Biden currently leading over Mr Trump in the key state, according to a Fox News poll. So the president firing up his base in the state could work to increase his support.

Previously, the president tweeted to "liberate" three states - Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia - from their stay-at-home measures. Minnesota and Virginia are also key states during the 2020 election and have Democratic governors.
A federal judge has denied a request to decertify voting machines being used by Philadelphia, Northampton County and one other county in the battleground state of Pennsylvania before Novembers presidential election.

In a Wednesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia said the plaintiffs, including former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and several supporters, made allegations that are "baseless and irrational."

The motion to decertify the ExpressVote XL stems from the 2018 settlement of a lawsuit that accused Pennsylvania of violating the constitutional rights of voters in 2016's presidential election because its voting machines were susceptible to hacking and barriers to a recount were pervasive.

As part of the settlement, Gov. Tom Wolf's administration pledged to require counties to replace their voting machines before 2020's elections.

Stein's group sued again last November, contending that certifying the ExpressVote XL violated the settlement agreement, in part because the machine does not meet the agreement's requirement "that every Pennsylvania voter in 2020 uses a voter-verifiable paper ballot."

Wolf's administration had defended its certification of the machines. Northampton County first used the machines last fall when problems led to undercounted returns in a county judicial race.

The machines maker, Omaha, Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software, blamed the incorrect results on human errors in formatting the ballot. Ultimately, election workers counted the vote on paper ballots.

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Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Friday denied that he sexually assaulted a former Senate aide, delivering his first public comments about an allegation that has prompted a collision between the presidential race and the #MeToo movement and forced a difficult reckoning in a party determined to unseat President Donald Trump in November.

In a lengthy written statement and later a television interview, Biden said unequivocally that former Senate aide Tara Reade's claims that he reached up her skirt and penetrated her in 1993 were untrue.

"This never happened," said Biden, who also insisted that women like Reade deserve to be treated with respect. Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," he repeated himself: "It was 27 years ago, this never happened, and when she first made the claim, we made it clear that it never happened, and that's as simple as that."

The allegation has pushed the topic of sexual assault to the forefront of the campaign after a primary cycle that featured a field with multiple female candidates and Biden's pledge to name a woman as his running mate. Though Biden has prided himself on a long record of promoting women, his campaign also has been marked by struggles as the longtime politician has tried to keep up with cultural shifts reflected within his party.

His emphatic denial calmed some allies, but Biden left open questions of whether records exist that could shed more light on Reade's nine-month employment in his Senate office. He said relevant documents would not be found in his Senate papers, which are closed to the public.

Any complaint that Reade filed would be held at the National Archives, Biden said. (Reade has said she filed a report on an earlier allegation of harassment but not sexual assault. She said she cannot recall the office to which she filed it and does not have a copy.)

But a spokesperson for the Archives said it had no control over the release of such records and that any documents "would have remained under the control of the Senate." A Senate resolution requires such personnel records to remain out of public view for 50 years.

Washington Post photo by Carolyn Van Houten

On Friday evening, Biden's campaign released a letter addressed to the secretary of the Senate asking for help determining whether Reade filed a complaint. "I would ask that the public release include not only a complaint if one exists, but any and all other documents in the records that relate to the allegation," Biden wrote.

Democrats were split Friday on whether Biden's remarks represented a turning point, even as they and women's groups unified on a central theme: that the nation's alternative in November was worse than Biden. More than 20 women have accused the president of sexual misconduct over the years; he has denied every accusation even as he was caught on a 2005 video bragging in vulgar terms about grabbing women between the legs.

NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily's List, which raises money for female candidates who favor abortion rights, issued a joint statement that only partly defended Biden as it reflected the complicated nuance for a party seeking to support women who make misconduct allegations as well as its presumptive nominee.

"We now need him to lead us forward to create the sort of systems where survivors' claims are taken seriously and justice and healing are possible," the groups said of Biden. "This debate is about the next election, the most critical of our lifetime," the statement said, adding, "Trump presents a threat to our communities, our freedoms, and our most cherished institutions and has never addressed the multiple credible allegations of sexual assault against him."

Biden's comments came after a week of immense strain for him and his campaign as they confronted the biggest test yet of his bid for the white house. Until Friday, Biden's campaign had denied Reade's accusation, but the candidate himself had not addressed it. Reade did not reply to requests for comment Friday and gave no immediate public response.

Biden appeared to carefully consider his words to avoid inflaming concerns that he was slighting Reade. "Women have a right to be heard," he said but added that "in the end in every case, the truth is what matters."

Biden said he had not tried to contact Reade and declined to offer a theory for what he contended was a false claim. "I'm not going to question her motive," Biden said of Reade, adding, "I don't understand it."

Trump, however, weighed in on the allegation against Biden for the second straight day. Speaking on "The Dan Bongino Show," a podcast hosted by a Trump ally, the president said he found Reade "very credible" and compared her positively to women who had accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of misdeeds. As he did Thursday, he also raised the possibility that Reade's account could be false.

Biden's decision to address the allegation came amid a growing political problem: Democratic pressure on Biden to speak up began to eclipse in recent days the ideas and themes he was trying to promote.

Some of Biden's top allies and some campaign aides have been frustrated at Biden's slowness in responding to Reade's allegation. Other campaign advisers, however, have suggested that the topic was not breaking through to voters.

By day's end, Biden allies said it was not clear what would happen next.

"He's now on the record, that had to happen," said Jennifer Palmieri, who served as Hillary Clinton's communications director in 2016. "I also know it's not going to get resolved in day."

Biden's MSNBC interview, held from his makeshift home television studio in his Delaware home, featured occasionally tense exchanges with co-host Mika Brzezinski.

In one, Biden repeatedly resisted the idea of releasing his Senate papers, which are held by the University of Delaware. The papers were to have been released two years after Biden left office in 2017 but are being kept private until two years after his public life ends, a more distant standard.

The former vice president told Brzezinski that there was nothing about Reade in his papers because they do not contain personnel records.

"Why not just do a search for Tara Reade's name?" Brzezinski asked.

"Who does that search?" Biden replied. Brzezinski suggested that the university or a commission could conduct it. Biden disagreed.

Reade has said that she filed a complaint with a congressional human resources or personnel office but did not remember the exact name. The Washington Post could find no record of a complaint.

"I don't remember any type of complaint she may have made," Biden said in the MSNBC interview when asked whether he remembered Reade or the complaint. (An aide later said that Biden did not remember Reade.) "It was 27 years ago, and I don't remember. Nor does anyone else that I'm aware of."

Biden said that his papers contained "confidential conversations" with the president and heads of state and that he did not want them to be made public while he was actively pursuing public office.

Republicans seized on the topic, accusing Biden of shielding unflattering records from public view, even as Trump has gone to historic lengths to block efforts to prevent the release of documents pertaining to his taxes, health records and business dealings.

For Democrats, the more significant matter was how the party and its presumptive nominee would navigate defending him while acting as champions for women who are willing to come forward with credible allegations against powerful men.

The uncomfortable struggle prompted shifting responses from some Democrats. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said in an interview with WNYC on Wednesday that the allegation against Biden should be "investigated seriously" after host Brian Lehrer asked whether there should be a probe into the accusations.

Asked to clarify his comments Friday, Jeffries did not repeat his call for an investigation and sent the following statement: "Vice President Biden has addressed the allegations, vigorously denied them and agreed to publicly release any document connected to this matter. It is now in the hands of the voters."

Some groups said that Biden's decision to name former senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., this week to the committee that will help him select his running mate raised fresh concerns about Biden's commitment to combating sexual harassment. Dodd, in the 1980s, allegedly behaved inappropriately with a waitress at La Brasserie in Washington, according to a GQ article that described an encounter involving Sen. Edward Kennedy in graphic terms. Neither Dodd nor a spokeswoman responded to requests for comment.

Biden received some praise for his comments - the hashtag #IBelieveJoe trended on Twitter - but also heard calls for further action. Several advocacy groups have pushed the Biden campaign to give an address on the importance of combating sexual harassment and sexual violence, according to a person familiar with the effort.

"I am pleased that the Vice President directly addressed these allegations and by how he addressed them," former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams said in a statement. Abrams is seen in the party as a possible vice presidential nominee. Other potential running mates were silent.

Former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat supporting Biden, tweeted some of the strongest notes of support for him. "The story has been heard and vetted. No staffer remembers it. No complaint found. Move on," she wrote.

Tina Tchen, president and chief executive of Time's Up Now, a group that aims to combat harassment and discrimination, released a statement saying Biden "sat down and directly addressed the allegation against him with the seriousness it deserves, something that the current president has never done."

William Jeffress, a lawyer who headed the vetting of Biden during Barack Obama's vice presidential search, said he oversaw a team of nearly 10 lawyers who spent nearly two months digging through records and interviewing dozens of people about Biden. He said Reade's name never came up, so they never spoke with her.

"This kind of complaint - not just Tara Reade, but any kind of complaint about Senator Biden on sexual harassment - never came up," he said. "We just never had an occasion to interview anyone on an accusation like this because we found no such accusation."

Reade's sexual assault accusation was the first made against Biden, although several women said last year that he had made them feel uncomfortable with his close contact.

Reade said last year in interviews with The Post and with other news outlets that Biden had put his hands on her shoulders and neck when she was working in his Senate office. She said she had complained about it to senior aides in the office, but those aides told The Post that they had no recollection of Reade's claim.

Last month, in a podcast interview, she alleged that the then-senator had assaulted her after pushing her against a wall somewhere on Capitol Hill.

The Post published a detailed examination of her account two weeks ago in which one of her friends confirmed that Reade had told her of an incident shortly after she said it had occurred. Reade's brother, Collin Moulton, also told The Post that she had told him in 1993 that Biden had touched her neck and shoulders. Several days after the interview, he said in a text message to The Post that he recalled her telling him that Biden had put his hand "under her clothes."

In an interview published by Business Insider on Monday, Lynda LaCasse, a former acquaintance of Reade's said that Reade told her of an alleged assault in the mid-1990s, when they lived in the same California housing complex. LaCasse on Wednesday confirmed those details to The Post.

Lorraine Sanchez, who worked with Reade in California after Reade's tenure in Washington, told Business Insider that Reade had told her she "had been sexually harassed by her former boss while she was in DC and as a result of her voicing her concerns to her supervisors, she was let go, fired." Reade has given various reasons for her departure.

Several days before those comments, a 1993 call to Larry King's CNN talk resurfaced in which a woman whom Reade identified as her now-deceased mother called to discuss unspecified "problems" her daughter was having with her employer, whom she called "a prominent senator."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites, Mike DeBonis and John Wagner contributed to this report.
3 million Gift Targets Internationally Significant Immunology Advances at Imperial College London and at Barts Health NHS Trust in Collaboration with University College London

LONDON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities today announced 3 million of support to advance scientific initiatives at two of London's leading medical institutions. The work will focus on immunology research to accelerate COVID-19 treatment and prevention. These are among the highest-impact medical initiatives in the UK and have the potential to increase the international scientific community's understanding of the virus and materially reduce the time and cost of developing and producing a vaccine at scale. With this UK donation, the Partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities have mobilized $20 million in support of COVID-19 relief efforts globally since mid-January.

"We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the doctors, nurses and researchers battling COVID-19 both on the frontlines and in the laboratory," said Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel. "My partners and I are proud to support these heroes who are working tirelessly to protect our communities and bring us out of this pandemic."

Specifically, these UK initiatives will aim to:

Build a cutting-edge and scalable vaccine development platform for COVID-19 and beyond

The 2 million donation will advance Imperial College London's initiative focused on rapidly developing a highly scalable, low-dose self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine for COVID-19 at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional vaccine development efforts. An saRNA vaccine makes multiple copies of itself once injected, making it possible to induce immunity with very low doses. By capitalizing on this innovative vaccine platform, this initiative aims to develop a COVID-19 vaccine that could be scaled to millions of doses in 2020. Learn about opportunities to support Imperial's COVID-19 response.

"Citadel's generous support will accelerate Professor Robin Shattock and his group's crucial research to develop a novel vaccine for rapid and affordable deployment," said Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London. "From virology and epidemiology to testing, tracking and tracing, this multinational, multidisciplinary struggle needs visionary donors like Ken Griffin and his partners. Philanthropy is critical in accelerating our efforts to defeat coronavirus."

Scale a bioresource repository at NHS Nightingale field hospital for international research to advance COVID-19 treatments and vaccine development

The 1 million donation will enable Barts Health NHS Trust's initiative, in partnership with University College London and Queen Mary University of London, to create one of the world's largest bioresource repositories for COVID-19 before, during, and post-exposure. Researchers are collecting biosamples weekly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from 1,000 frontline healthcare workers at the new NHS Nightingale field hospital. This serial data and sample collection in a high-exposure population will enable researchers to answer critical questions about immune response and risk factors, and will inform treatment and vaccine development efforts for scientists in the UK and across the globe. Learn about opportunities to support Barts' COVID-19 response.

"The funding from Citadel will enable us to expand our library of data to encompass the whole spectrum of COVID-19, from asymptomatic to severe disease," said Professor Charles Knight, Chief Executive of NHS Nightingale Hospital London. "This data will enable the group of researchers led by Professor James Moon to understand more about disease severity and will help scientists around the world answer questions related to COVID-19. In this pandemic environment, collaborative science is essential, and the COVID-sortium Healthcare Worker Bioresource provides an exemplar of such an approach."

About Citadel

Citadel is one of the world's leading alternative investment managers. Citadel manages the capital of prominent investors from around the world including retirement programs, endowments and foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. For more information, visit www.Citadel.com.

About Citadel Securities

Citadel Securities is a leading global market maker, delivering a broad array of fixed income and equity products to banks, broker-dealers, government agencies, corporations, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds. For more information, visit www.CitadelSecurities.com.

COVID-19 Relief Efforts

The Partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities have deployed a multifaceted COVID-19 philanthropic program across the spectrum of relief, ranging from PPE and humanitarian aid, to supporting funding gaps to help those most affected, and accelerating scientific initiatives. The relief efforts began in mid-January and with this announcement total $20 million, including to:

- Provide humanitarian aid and physical supplies in Wuhan, China

- Support the U.S. State Department's COVID-19 relief efforts that delivered over 17 tons of aid to and repatriated over 800 Americans from Wuhan, China

- Fund vaccine development through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

- Establish temporary food distribution sites at 500 Chicago Public Schools making food available for 355,000 students and their families

- Support Chicago's emergency food distribution plan by providing an additional 4.5 million meals for those facing food insecurity

- Provide personal protective equipment and supplies for first responders in Chicago

- Partner with the New York Community Trust, Bloomberg Philanthropies and others to establish a $75 million fund to support NYC nonprofit organizations

- Develop a rapid-response testing program with the goal of nationally scaling testing capabilities to 100,000 people per day with a target of 500,000 tests per day at Weill Cornell Medicine

- Utilize antibody testing to understand the scope of prior infection and immunity and triage staffing for the NYC workforce at NYU Langone Health

- Scale a serology testing initiative to identify people with COVID-19 immunity and enable previously affected healthcare workers to redeploy at Mount Sinai Health System

- Develop and use immune therapies to prevent infection in frontline healthcare workers and help stop disease progression in the critically ill at The Rockefeller University

- Determine the efficacy of prophylactic drugs, focusing first on preventing infection in frontline healthcare workers at Weill Cornell Medicine

Media Contact:

Greentarget

Dafina Grapci-Penney

citadel@greentarget.co.uk

+44(0) 203 963 1891

Citadel

Megan Ingersoll

media@citadel.com

+1 212 651 7685

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On Friday, May 1, Pavel Koroliov, deputy head of the occupying power of the annexed Crimea passed away. This was announced by the "head of government" of Crimea Serhiy Aksyonov at a meeting of the headquarters to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Crimea.Realii reports. This early morning (May 1, - 112 International), our colleague, Pavel Koroliov, deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, died. He was a man of a system, he came from the capital and did a lot for Crimea, Aksyonov said.It is noted that the cause of death is not revealed. Koroliov died at the age of 61.Pavel Koroliov was appointed deputy chairman of the government of the annexed Crimea in December 2016. Reassigned to the same position on November 7, 2019. Previously, he served as Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia.
Coronavirus left pastors wife unconscious for weeks but he prayed until she woke up

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The day Pastor Leonard Himes rushed his 63-year-old wife, Claudette, to a local hospital in mid-March, she was feverish, confused and she thought she had the flu.

Nevertheless, Himes, an associate pastor at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, told Fox 5: I prayed with her and I said I loved her, and I said were going to trust in the Lord and Savior to heal you."

Little did Himes know that Claudette would end up testing positive for the new coronavirus and would be hospitalized for the next three weeks with a breathing machine in Emory St. Josephs intensive care unit.

"He tells me the stories of how bad it was, what I went through. It was mind-blowing," Claudette, who has no memory of the battle she fought, said. I just thought that I had the flu."

Claudette spent 12 and half days on a ventilator at the hospital and her husband was unable to see her in person for 18 days.

The pastor, who has been married to Claudette for eight years, recalled how challenging it was.

In a normal circumstance, you can be by the side of your loved one and care for them and pray with them, and be there to at least know whats going on. But through this pandemic, the severity of it, we had to be totally separate, he said.

Things looked grim after 11 days when Claudette remained in the ICU with no obvious signs of improvement. Pastor Himes said he asked the hospital chaplain to install a baby monitor in his wifes room so he could talk to her even though she was unconscious. He sensed though that Claudette could still hear his voice and he just kept speaking to her in faith.

"I was able to read to her, and pray for her, and just let her know it was going to be OK," Himes said. "The nurse and the chaplain that were in the room attending to her turned the camera back at them and they were just sobbing, with tears running down their face.

The morning following that moment, Himes would get a call that his wife finally woke up.

Claudette was sitting up in bed, extubated, and breathing on her own," he recalled his sister telling him.

Himes believes his wifes revival was Gods answer to his prayer.

What I do know is God is real and He answers prayer. And He answered this one, he said.

And Gods blessing came just days before Claudette would celebrate her birthday.

"Can you imagine having a birthday and someone telling you that you might not have made it?" she said. "And to breathe Gods air? Oh, my God, Im just blessed."
The next meeting of the World Health Organizations (WHO) COVID-19 Emergency Committee will be held in 90 days, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday, Trend reports citing TASS.

"In accordance with the International Health Regulations, I will reconvene the COVID19 Emergency Committee again in 90 days, or sooner if needed," he said.

The COVID-19 Emergency Committee that consists of 18 experts and 13 consultants held a videoconference meeting on April 30. After the meeting, the WHO chief said that the committee "unanimously agreed that the outbreak still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern." The emergency regime has been in force since January 30.

"We accept the committees advice that WHO works to identify the animal source of the coronavirus through international scientific and collaborative missions, in collaboration with the OIEAnimalHealth and the FAO of the UN," the WHO chief said. "As we have done clearly from the beginning, we will continue to call on countries to implement a comprehensive package of measures to find, isolate, test and treat every case, and trace every contact."

"We will continue supporting countries to sustain essential health services, including vaccination, care for women during pregnancy and childbirth, and care for non-communicable diseases, including mental health conditions," he pledged.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 3.2 million people have been infected worldwide and more than 230,000 deaths have been reported.
Buenos Aires was filled with whistles and noise - people beat in pots, opposing the release of prisoners because of the coronavirus, RIA Novosti reported.

Currently, a number of Latin American countries have decided to change their policy towards prisoners and imply house arrest or to release a number of prisoners - not convicts for particularly serious crimes.

COVID-19 cases have been reported in many prisons (in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Colombia). Some officials expressed concern that the release of criminals could lead to new cases of infection.

The issue of mitigating the preventive measure for prisoners is also being discussed in Argentina, however, as President Alberto Fernandez said earlier, this issue is at the discretion of the judiciary.

A call was made to speak out against a possible decision to release the prisoners.

The protests began the day before, but today they were especially noisy. People in Buenos Aires, who are quarantined and cannot walk the streets, went to the balconies of their houses, shouting and knocking on pots and pans to draw attention to the issue. The noise was heard even in the luxurious district of Puerto Madero. According to TN, the action was held throughout the country.

Almost a week ago, prisoners rioted - dozens of prisoners climbed onto the roof in one of the prisons in Buenos Aires. They demanded a release under house arrest to prevent COVID-19 infection.
Typically, the company would expect to make around $4 billion in operating profit in the next quarter, Mr. Bezos said. Instead, he added, we expect to spend the entirety of that $4 billion, and perhaps a bit more, on Covid-related expenses getting products to customers and keeping employees safe.

The company said those costs included pay increases, declines in warehouse efficiency because of social distancing and $300 million for testing its work force for the virus.

Amazons stock price has reached record highs this year. After Mr. Bezos warning, though, which came after the markets closed, its shares fell more than 5 percent.

Recent months have been one of the most tumultuous periods in Amazons history. In March, it became overwhelmed by the surge in orders as millions of Americans heeded public health mandates to stay home. For the holiday season or its summer Prime Day special, the company spends months planning, but the Covid crisis allowed no such preparation, Brian Olsavsky, the companys finance chief, said in a call with Wall Street analysts.

The number of products that Amazon shipped rose 32 percent in the latest quarter. A year earlier, the increase was just 10 percent.
Continuing to navigate through our trading playbook and constantly looking for unique opportunities to exploit, it remains clear that the U.S. economy has taken an unprecedented hit but you have to ask yourself, who has been hit worse and who might not economically recover from this?

Remembering back to the 2008 financial crisis, there was a focus on the four main European economies (Italy, Spain, Germany and France) and the impact the crisis played on debt to GDP ratios. Four countries within this (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) known as the PIGS had gone on unsustainable paths requiring massive policy and austerity measures to provide stability to the global economy.

Now Im not saying Europe did anything wrong this time around, as this virus has affected us all, but I believe that from a Euro area viewpoint, the ECB will ultimately need to double the size of the economic bailout package over the coming months as funding needs and fiscal responsibilities become clearer. The Pandemic Emergency Programme (PEPP) will need to add Fallen Angels, which are companies thats credit ratings have fallen into the sub-investment category. This will do two things: it will further extend the lives of zombie companies and cause GDP to remain below pre crisis levels for multiple years to come. Once the expansion of the program weighs in on the Euro currency itself, we should see a precipitous decline similar to that of July 2008 where the Euro went from 1.5985 (downward blue arrow) to 1.2326 (upward blue arrow) just four months later in October.

During this time, we saw gold futures in the U.S. sell off from $989/oz down to $681/oz. because the U.S. Dollar appreciated, and the Euro Currency declined.

Feeling that we had the idea correct and not getting the results we wanted, we were left to ask ourselves, was there a better way to play it? Therefore, from a tactical standpoint and an intermediate term perspective; Gold in Euro terms may be the most rewarding way of holding it.

Most will argue that all central banks are printing like mad and I cannot agree more, but given the size of the economic downturn, the ECB is far behind the stimulus curve. Once policy measures are stepped up over the coming months, the chart pattern of Gold in Euro terms should continue to outperform. What we are trying to do is diversify away from being the victim of currency fluctuations and potentially benefit from a declining Euro and rising Gold price as seen in the chart below.

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There are two important events that we must pay attention to next week that will play a role in the price of Gold and the Euro currency. First, on May 5th the German Constitutional court is scheduled to give its verdict on QE and second is the Eurogroup meeting scheduled for May 8th.

From a trading perspective we have been using multiple strategies to try and take advantage of the expected long-term price appreciation in the precious metals markets. If you are unfamiliar with strategies involving futures or options, we at Blue Line Futures are here to help.

Remember there are many factors that could affect the direction of the metals markets so be sure to stay up to date on the developments by registering for a Free two-week trial of the Blue Line Futures Morning Express Research Reports by clicking on the link here: The Blue Line Express Two-Week Free Trial Sign up
Luanda  Multi-sector Commission for the Prevention and Combat of Covid-19 received Thursday biosafety materials, including 10, 000 face masks, from the Chinese Machinery Engineering Corporation.

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Multi-sector Commission gets biosafety materials

The initiative was confirmed by the company's representative, Chen Si, stating that the move contributes to the Angolan government effort focused on combat Covid-19 spread.

Chen Si stressed the importance of the Angolans and foreign residents to join the fight against disease.

"The use of masks is one of the weapons to curb the contamination of pandemic which is causing enormous damage in the world," he said.

Another batch is designed for ministerial departments to ensure the protection of its employees, he said.

The initiative, he said, also serves to reinforce the bonds of friendship and solidarity with the Angolan people.

Angola has so far 27 positive cases, including two deaths, seven recoveries (two discharged from hospital) and 18 active patients hospitalised.

State of Emergency in Angola has been in force since 27 March.
George Poikayil By

Express News Service

KASARAGOD: Thulasi M (33), a resident of Iriyani, gave birth to a premature boy in E K Nayanar Memorial Cooperative Hospital, Cherkala, in the early hours of April 29. Just after a day in the neonatal ICU, the doctors sent the 8-month-old child and mother home on Thursday.

"Please take care of the baby. You will be safer home," a doctor reportedly told Thulasi.

Fifteen days ago, when she visited the hospital with severe pain, she had to wait for five hours before she was admitted. All the 28 beds were full. When she was admitted, Thulasi had to share the cramped room with another pregnant woman. "The other woman's mother slept on the floor, and my mother had no space. She sat on edge of the bed the whole night," she said. The next day, the doctors sent her home after giving painkillers.

"In these corona times, the proximity with other patients scared us," she said. Stressed gynaecology wing The General Hospital -- which has been converted to a COVID Care Centre -- is running its gynaecology and obstetrics department from the cooperative hospital since March 27. It posted its three gynaecologists in the hospital. The cooperative hospital, on its part, gave up 14 rooms -- with 28 beds -- for the General Hospital. In the past month, the three doctors helped 228 women give birth in the hospital -- that is more than 7 births every day.

The lockdown and the shifting of mother and child hospital to Chengala have not affected the number of patients. In March, the General Hospital saw 250 births, just 22 more than April. "The number of patients is too high and the number of beds is few. We are forced to discharge mothers to admit pregnant women," said a doctor.

Better facility in GH

In General Hospital, at any given point of time, there would be 50 pregnant women or new mothers admitted to the labour ward. Last week, a woman from Kottur came around 9.30 pm, and the doctors sent her back as there was no space.

"But between 12.45 am and 3.30 am, three other pregnant women in labour pain came and we had to take them directly to the labour room," said a staff. But the labour room has only two beds for waiting and two birthing tables, and all were occupied.

"They said they were ready to sleep on the floor. But we made the women share the beds," she said. By 8.30 am, the woman from Kottur returned. "Half of the time we are busy finding persons to discharge," said a nurse. On Wednesday, Shajida* from Kasaragod gave birth around 9.45 pm. After two hours, she started bleeding. She had to be shifted to an ICU, but there is no ICU, said a staff. The doctors administered three units of blood -- two on Wednesday and one on Thursday.

"We hope the bleeding stops. We don't have the luxury of keeping a patient in the hospital for more than 24 hours," said a doctor. The government doctors are lucky because the cooperative hospital's in-house gynaecologist is on leave. "If she returns and starts admitting her patients, our patients will have to be on the floor," said a staff.

The doctors were also forced to assign the narrow caregiver's bed for new mothers and children. "It is risky. The mothers will be very tired but they cannot sleep peacefully because the child is lying next to them," said a doctor. The three government gynaecologists are working round the clock at the cooperative hospital because there is not duty medical officer or emergency medical officers. Health workers said more women were coming to government hospitals because of several reasons.

"There are routine patients for government hospitals. Some women said their husbands have lost jobs in the Gulf and are in room quarantine there. So, they don't have the money to go to private hospitals. Some women, who used to go to Mangaluru, said private doctors in Kasaragod were not taking new patients so they had to come to government hospitals," said a health worker.

Doctors and other health workers said the district administration should take a decision is restoring the gynaecology wing in General Hospital. Though there are no active COVID cases in the General Hospital now, the district administration is reserving the 100 beds when the influx from the Gulf begins soon.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has called for the sacking of Victorias deputy chief medical officer, Dr Annaliese van Diemen, after she likened coronavirus to Captain Cook's arrival in Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also weighed in saying Dr van Diemen should stick to her day job.

Dr van Diemen created a stir with her Twitter comment on Wednesday  the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival in Australia.

"Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID-19 or Cook 1770?" she wrote.

Peter Dutton (left) has called for Dr Annaliese van Diemen (right) to be sacked after she compared COVID-19 to Captain Cook. Source: AAP

Mr Dutton has described the senior Victorian health official as unfit for that office and said she should go.

I think it's pretty obvious in the middle of a pandemic the second highest medical officer in the state of Victoria should be concentrating on the people of Victoria and the crisis associated with COVID-19, Mr Dutton told the Today Show on Friday.

Instead she is off running culture war debates. I think if there is any integrity in the system she should be punished.

Calls to sack health officer after she compared coronavirus to Captain Cook. Source: Twitter

Scott Morrison says comments were very disappointing

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he found the comments "very disappointing".

"She clearly wouldn't get the job as chief historian," he told 2GB radio on Friday.

"I applaud the work she is doing as a medical officer in Victoria, that's her expertise, I would strongly suggest she keep to that, because those sort of comments don't inspire confidence.

"People should stick to their day jobs.

Deputy leader of the opposition Richard Marles, also appearing on the Today show, said Dr van Diemens comments werent particularly helpful.

I think the anniversary of Captain Cook and COVID-19 are two very separate and different things. I think the Deputy Health Officer Should be focusing on her job, he said.

Opposition Health spokesperson Georgie Crozier described Dr van Diemens comments as highly inappropriate.

Story continues

The Deputy Chief Health Officer has a role in providing advice to the premier and state ministers on the COVID-19 pandemic, not an inaccurate history lesson to Victorians, she said in a statement on Thursday.

This is divisive commentary at a time when we are being told to work together.

Senator defends Dr van Diemen

Northern Territory senator Malarndirri McCarthy told the Today show on Friday Dr van Diemen is doing an amazing job in Victoria.

Let's face it, Captain Cook is a controversial figure. You only have to talk to first nations people across the country to realise that there is a lot to be said.

Naturally the timing of this, obviously people will be very concerned, but I just don't think calling for her sacking is the way to go. She is doing a terrific job, along with the State Government in Victoria in trying to protect the people of Victoria, she said.

There are 1,364 cases of coronavirus in Victoria and there have been 18 deaths in the state.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Donald Trump listen during a signing ceremony for H.R. 748, the CARES Act in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 27, 2020. (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)

Republican Congressional Leaders Push for Liability Protections

The top Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives said they wont support a fifth package aimed at CCP virus relief unless it includes liability protections for business owners.

As the nation continues fighting this pandemic and parts of our economy begin to emerge from shutdown, Senate and House Republicans are united in our demand that health care workers, small businesses, and other Americans on the front lines of this fight must receive strong protections from frivolous lawsuits, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in a joint statement.

Senate and House Republicans agree these protections will be absolutely essential to future discussions surrounding recovery legislation, they added.

Congress has passed four packages amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation funded expanded testing, a huge program centered around loans for businesses, and the production of personal protective equipment.

If another so-called rescue package is passed, it needs to include these liability protections so that all these brave workers and brave businesses that will be reopening are not subjected to the second epidemic, McConnell said during an appearance on Fox News Americas Newsroom on Thursday.

We dont need an epidemic of lawsuits in the wake of the pandemic, he said, asserting hospitals and other businesses could be sued. In an earlier appearance on the network, he called such protections his red line.

But Democratic leaders have dismissed the idea of liability protections.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) talk to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 21, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters this week, I dont think at this time of the coronavirus that theres any interest in having any less protection for our workers.

We dont need any prescription from anybody about mythology or just excuses not to do the job. Its really sadits disgraceful, because there is such tremendous need, she added.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during an appearance on PBS Newshour on Tuesday he hadnt seen McConnells proposal.

But I will tell you, if its going to help big CEOs, and not help the workers or hurt the workers, thats not going to happen. Why does McConnell have to keep drawing these lines in the sand that he later retreats from? he said.

Democrats want another $500 billion in the next bill for state governments and additional funds for local governments.

Republicans have repeatedly indicated opposition to approving more money for state and local governments, with McConnell proposing states struggling to balance their budges declare bankruptcy if the financial woes stem from issues that arent related to the pandemic.

The point is, we are not interested in borrowing money from future generations to send it to states to help them with bad decisions theyve made in the past unrelated to the coronavirus epidemic, he said during another appearance on Fox.
My Complaint to the CBC Ombudsman

The following is a complaint filed by Anders Corr, publisher of the Journal of Political Risk and founder of Corr Analytics, to the CBC Ombudsman over CBCs reporting on The Epoch Times special edition. The text of the complaint is published here with Dr. Corrs permission.

Date : April 30, 2020 5:23:43

Title : Mr.

First Name : Anders

Last Name : Corr

Platform : CBC News Network

Program : Online article and video

Subject : Some Canadians see claims in Epoch Times about origin of virus as racist and inflammatory

Message : Dear CBC Ombudsman,

I put details of my complaint here in this Twitter thread (including screenshots of the print and video problems).

To top it off, @CBCNews broadcast video with the banner "Canadians Upset by Epoch Times: Paper falsely claims COVID-19 a Chinese bioweapon". But the @EpochTimes articles do nothing of the sort. Read them here: https://t.co/fFtMkbGXld pic.twitter.com/7JDWweNChy  Anders Corr, Ph.D. (@anderscorr) April 30, 2020

Basically, the article, located here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/epoch-times-coronavirus-bioweapon-1.5548217

was changed twice (at least its headline and photo captions) and its headline is based on very thin information. Corrections on claims of racism and inflammatory speech were not issued. The current version of the headline claims that Canadians (plural) see claims in Epoch Times (ET) about origin of virus as racist and inflammatory, yet only one Canadian is quoted as saying this in the article.

The other Canadian (a postal worker) quoted on this matter was given anonymity, and his quote is incorrect yet still appears in the article. He apparently said (after an ellipsis so we dont really know the context) that the article had hatred. There is no evidence provided by the authors for such an allegation.

The postal worker also said, Theyre saying the coronavirus is part of a bio-warfare agenda by the Chinese people. It would be more accurate, I think, to say that one of the authors in one article (by Nyquist) at the end asks for an investigation of linkages between the Wuhan outbreak and Chinas ambitions related to deadly microbes. Nyquist states that China has not been entirely transparent on this matter, and explicitly leaves open the possibility that Chinas officials are innocent.

The article also repeats the claim (found to be false by a judge in the U.S. recently) that Falun Gong is a cult. The judge found that Falun Gong is a religion.

There is no evidence of any actual cult, racism, or hatred in the ET articles provided by the authors to buttress these very serious claims. Lacking any actual evidence of a cult, racism, or hatred, it seems that finding and broadcasting such opinions from Chinas government and a couple of members of the Canadian public who make such accusations is irresponsible and tendentious journalism.

Im very saddened to see The Epoch Times, linked to a persecuted minority religion in China, being treated in this way by Canadas national broadcaster.

Best regards,

Anders Corr.

Anders Corr has a bachelors/masters in political science from Yale University (2001) and a doctorate in government from Harvard University (2008). He is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, and has conducted extensive research in North America, Europe, and Asia. He authored The Concentration of Power (forthcoming in 2021) and No Trespassing, and edited Great Powers, Grand Strategies.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
He said he had no problem with families asking for money back, even though the lost value is not the fault of any educational institution. But he also said that he had no earthly idea how to put a value on the loss.

It may depend on the institution, what it costs to educate an undergraduate and how much subsidy, if any, a student receives.

At public universities, the state government is generally subsidizing at least part of the cost for in-state students. Families might quite reasonably assert, however, that any subsidy comes from taxes that theyve already paid.

At well-endowed private institutions, there is sometimes a different subsidy, even for those who pay the full sticker price: The cost to educate a student is higher than the cost of tuition, room and board.

Consider a school with an $80,000 retail cost to attend. If the total amount of money necessary to educate a student is $100,000, then philanthropy may be providing everyone at least $20,000 of value more than anyone is paying out of pocket. (That $20,000 would effectively pay for the last fifth of the school year, which happens to be about the same period that many students will have been in online classes.)

Perhaps you can find some solace in thinking about this period as one of having lost the opportunity to benefit from a subsidy, not one where you wasted tuition. And if thats cold comfort or it doesnt apply to your non-subsidized school, consider Professor Zimmermans second question: Who should pay your refund?

Its tempting to suggest that schools  particularly well-funded ones  tap endowments. Brown had $4.2 billion as of the middle of last year, but it cant just get at all of it. Many investments are not liquid. Others are restricted by law to whatever use the donor specified. At Brown, the endowment is actually made up of hundreds of such separate funds, according to a spokeswoman.
Authorities in Texas this morning rescued a two-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted from her home by her grandmother.

The disappearance of Aurora Lee Lopez had sparked an Amber Alert, with officials saying the missing toddler was in grave and immediate danger.

According to a press release from the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, the child was taken by her grandmother, 49-year-old Sherry McGill, from a residence in the 8500 block of Tuxford in San Antonio at around 1am on Friday.

Texas troopers on Friday found missing Aurora Lopez, 2 (left), whose alleged abduction by her grandmother, Sherry McGill (right), had sparked an Amber Alert

McGill was said to be traveling in her black 2012 Honda Accord (stock photo)

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office announced Aurora's rescue in a Facebook post

It was believed McGill was heading to Oklahoma with her granddaughter.

At around 8.25am, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers spotted McGill's black 2012 Honda Accord with license plate KTR2989 traveling on IH-35 in McClennon County.

The troopers pulled over the sedan near a 7-11 store and were able to safely take custody of Aurora.

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office stated that officers are currently working to reunite the toddler with her family in San Antonio.

McGill was reportedly detained by the officers, but it is unclear if she was arrested in connection to her granddaughter's alleged abduction.
S ome 450 UK coronavirus patients will be recruited to take part in a new trial of a "promising" Covid-19 drug.

Researchers are launching a study into a Japanese-manufactured medicine that could aid with treatment.

The trial will see participants split into three groups.

A third will receive favipiravir - an anti-viral drug produced by Fujifilm Toyama Chemicals in Japan, another set will be given a combination of hydroxychloroquine, zinc and azithromycin, while a third group will be given existing standard care for coronavirus.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital in London are participating in the trial, which also involves Imperial College and the Royal Brompton Hospital.

University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium aims to start a trial on up to 200 patients at a later date.

Chief investigator of the study, Professor Pallav Shah, said the pioneering trial represents a unique opportunity to compare different treatments.

He said the study will target early cases of Covid-19 in the hope of finding a treatment which prevents patients progressing into intensive care, reduces the length of their hospital stay and limits their infectiousness.

"Hypothetically it looks very useful, very promising; when you look at the drugs effectiveness in vitro, it looks very good, the professor, who works on respiratory medicine at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, said.

Some participants will receive standard NHS care, while others receive medicine / PA

But being a clinician and a scientist, we always want to see the data  before we can recommend it.

He added: Im confident that we will gain some knowledge and this will give us some very good answers."

Patients with symptoms such as breathlessness and a fever will be approached to take part in the study before swab results even come back to ensure treatment can be given early.

During the trial patients will be kept in hospital initially for at least a day and receive 10 days worth of treatment.

Prof Shah said current standard care for Covid-19, which most patients in the UK receive, includes being given oxygen, fluids and broad-spectrum antibiotics, but not direct antiviral drugs.

Loading....

He said favipiravir is an oral antiviral drug which inhibits viral RNA, helping to stop the virus from replicating.

It was originally designed for flu pandemics, with Japan using it for this purpose since 2014.

He revealed small Covid-19 studies on the drug have been carried out in China, on around 30 or 45 patients, where they had seen some benefit.

Laboratory testing has also suggested that it might be effective, with the drug also having been used in relation to Dengue and Ebola.

TODO: define component type apester

It looks like a very promising treatment, but we wouldnt know whether its effective until we get the results," he added.

It looks very safe, it looks pretty promising, otherwise we wouldnt really be testing it.

Hydroxychloroquine was originally used to treat malaria but is now also used as an inflammatory against conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Azithromycin is an antibiotic that is effective against respiratory infections.

Prof Shah said hydroxychloroquine could act to help pump zinc into cells and help improve peoples immune function.

The UK arm of the trial is being supported by CW+, the official charity of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which is trying to raise 2 million for the project.
New Delhi, May 1 : While the government has been urging employers to pay their employees in view of the nationwide lockdown owing to the spread of deadly COVID-19 virus, it is the corona warriors in the national capital who have been forced to manage without salaries.

The teachers of North MCD's schools and nurses of various hospitals in North MCD have accused the civic body for not paying their salaries for over three months now. Over 8,000 teachers of 714 schools run by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD), who have been working day and night in food distribution and door-to-door awareness campaign against COVID-19, have found themselves entangled in a political tussle between the BJP-led North MCD and the AAP state government.

These teachers claim that they have not received salaries since February leaving them out of cash and the lockdown period has only worsened the effects with shopkeepers denying them credit facilities. "They have deployed us on food distribution duties and told us to visit every door to screen people for COVID-19, but what about the salary? Last salary that we received was for January, since then not a single penny has been credited to our accounts," Ramnivas Solanki, President of MCD Teachers' association said.

Ramnivas claims that the association has written to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and the Mayor for the same but all efforts have gone in vain. "Chief Minister's office said that our plea was forwarded to the concerned office for appropriate action. But we are yet to get fruits for our efforts," he added.

The situation was similar for nurses deployed in the North MCD hospitals where they are yet to receive salary for three months, while they report to duty everyday.

"Last salary we got was for January, since then we got nothing. We spoke to many officials but no results," Indu Jamwal, President Nurses Welfare Association, Hindu Rao Hospital said. Jamwal added that apart from Hindu Rao hospital, nurses in all hospitals and dispensaries in North MCD's jurisdiction are yet to receive their salaries.

The only thing that Jamwal said has brought hope was a message by Standing Committee Chairman, Jai Prakash, who has assured that the nurses will be paid their salary on Friday. "But having said that, the chairman did not clear if we will get complete three months' salary or just one month's salary," Jamwal added.

Meanwhile the Mayor of the North MCD has blamed the financial condition of the civic body for the debacle as he promised to pay all salaries when the civic body gets funds. "I respect our COVID-19 warriors. They are working very hard on the job and it is due to the lack of finances with North MCD that we were not able to pay them on time. However the 'warriors' should be assured that as soon as we get funds we will pay everyone," North MCD Mayor Avatar Singh said.
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REGINA - Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is telling residents in the northern part of the province to stay put as the region deals with an outbreak of COVID-19.

Moe said the minister of government relations has spoken with leaders in the area and a decision was made to further clamp down on travel.

Non-essential travel between northern communities will be prohibited through checkpoints, he said.

Were asking people to stay home in the north, Moe said at a news conference Thursday.

If you can stay at home, not just in your community  but at home, were asking you to do so.

The government had already restricted some travel into the north.

On Thursday, Saskatchewan reported six new cases of COVID-19, with new infections in two areas hit by outbreaks  La Loche and Lloydminster.

The province has so far recorded 389 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths related to the illness.

Officials are working to ramp up testing in the remote Dene village of La Loche, about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

Another outbreak in Lloydminster, on the Saskatchewan-Alberta boundary, has been tied to the citys hospital, where some staff and patients have been infected.

Both communities wont be participating in the first stage of the provinces plan to relax public health restrictions and allow some businesses and services to reopen in the coming weeks.

Moe said restricting travel is especially being asked of residents in and around La Loche. About 100 health-care workers are being dispatched to assist with testing and contact tracing there.

It is also set to receive $20,000 from the province to help with public safety and food security during the pandemic.

Two other communities  La Ronge, about a four-hour drive north of Saskatoon, and Stony Rapids, near the boundary with the Northwest Territories  have opted out of the provinces travel restrictions.

Also Thursday, Moe announced school-based daycares initially reserved for children of essential workers will be expanded to include children of parents soon heading back to work under the reopen plan  dentists, hairstylists and retail employees.

A date for expanding the capacity of child-care centres was not initially included in the provinces reopen plan. But Deputy Premier Gord Wyant said Thursday that parents planning to go back to work need the support.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2020
Buyers and sellers have deserted the national property market amid the coronavirus pandemic, with new figures showing a modest slowdown in prices in Sydney and an outright drop in Melbourne.

CoreLogic on Friday reported house values in Sydney rose by 0.3 per cent through April, while in Melbourne they fell 0.4 per cent.

The performance was in stark performance to recent months, with both cities recording an average monthly growth rate of 1.7 per cent in the six months to March.

House price growth has slowed or dropped across the country's major capital cities as buyers and sellers desert the market. Credit:Arsineh Houspian

Values were up by 0.3 per cent in both Brisbane and Perth; the only other city to record a fall was Hobart, where they edged down 0.2 per cent.
President Donald Trump Thursday hinted at imposing tariff on China, but ruled out considering cancelling US debt obligations to the country as a punishment for the coronavirus.

He said debt cancellation is a "rough game" and may harm the sanctity of the US currency.

"We can do it with tariffs. We can do it other ways even beyond that without having to play that game (cancel US debt obligations). That's a rough game," Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House when asked if he would consider having the US not pay its debt obligations to China as a punishment for the virus.

Several countries including the US and its allies like Germany, Britain and Australia are holding China responsible for the spread of coronavirus. There have been multiple voices in these countries on ways to seek compensation for the losses inflicted by the pandemic.

"Well, I can do it differently. I can do the same thing but even for more money just by putting on tariffs. So I don't have to do that. You know, it's approximately USD1 trillion, a little bit more as I understand it, $1 trillion. But we can do that in probably a little bit of a more forthright manner," Trump said.

"You start playing those games (debt cancellation), and that's tough. You know, we have the dollar to protect. We want to protect the sanctity of the dollar, the importance of the dollar. It's the greatest currency in the history of the world. It's become stronger. We have a very strong dollar. That's why we're borrowing at zero, zero interest rate," he said.

"You know, you say oh gee, we owe you a certain amount of money; we're going to keep it. But when you start playing that game, you're really hurting the sanctity, the importance of the greatest currency on the earth. But we can do it in other ways. We can do it with tariffs. We can do it other ways even beyond that without having to play that game. That's a rough game," Trump said.

Meanwhile, Congressman Clay Higgins demanded that China be held accountable for the spread of the virus.

"The Chinese Communist Party knowingly misled the world on coronavirus. They should be held to account for their deception," he said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an interview to Fox news asserted the same. "We have an obligation to do our best to hold those accountable who have inflicted so much harm, so much damage to the global economy and to the lives of Americans and people all across the world," he said.

"We will, for the moment, focus on the things that help keep people safe, and then there will come a time when not only the United States but I think the entire world will come to understand what took place, and I think in the end the Chinese Communist Party will ultimately be held accountable for what they did," Pompeo said.

"The cost that has been posed on the United States economy not only monetary, but we've had now more than 50,000 people whose lives have been lost. We've got to get the economy cranked back up, but all of this is a direct result of the fact that this virus came out of China.

"The Chinese Communist Party has a special responsibility to explain how this happened, to let the world come in to see what took place," he said in another interview to Simon Conway of Newsradio 1040.

"They tell me all the time they want to be our partner, they want to cooperate with us. Reliable partners, reliable countries share information; they open up.

"They dont  when a doctor wants to report on what's happening in their hospital, they don't shut them down and tell them you can't talk about that. That's not how reliable partners work, how cooperating countries work. We need the Chinese Communist Party to begin to be a better partner here for lots of reasons," he asserted.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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A police delegation led by Rajasthan Director General of Police Bhupendra Singh held an interaction with Sapta Shakti Command Army Commander Lt Gen Alok Kler here on Friday.

During the interaction, the Army commander appreciated the proactive steps taken by the state government to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

He also complimented the stellar role played by the Rajasthan police in maintaining the law and order situation while enforcing provisions of the lockdown, a defence spokesperson said.

Lt General Kler also assured the delegation about the Army's readiness to render any form of assistance that may be required by the state government in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
kim severson

Hold on. I got to feel it. OK, here we go. Hi, this is Kim Severson. Hi. Hi. Hi. This is Kim Severson. OK, here we go. OK. I just have to focus again. So I write about food for The New York Times. And I live in Atlanta. And I have a child. And I have a partner. And I have a house. I cook 12 or 15 meals a day, it feels like. I do all the dishes. And I try to process being in this pandemic, which is crazy. Its a lot in a day. One thing I lose sight of is myself. So, if I can, I take 10 minutes, slip away to the kitchen, and make myself a perfect cup of tea or a delicious little snack. And for me, the best thing is to make a perfect piece of cinnamon toast. Cinnamon toast is something you probably dont think about eating, I dont think about eating, but all were doing these days is thinking about eating. So I started with some bread, and it doesnt matter if its, like, the squishy white bread you grew up with or a special kind of sourdough loaf you made yourself. I have this piece of kind of dense, white, very yeasty, sweet-smelling, almost brioche-like bread, which is perfect for cinnamon toast. It goes into the toaster. Now the thing is you have to toast it so that its just the right amount of brown, not too light and not too burnt. So you may have to run it through the toaster twice, but what else do you have to do besides babysit your cinnamon toast? Its toasting. We just sit here and wait for it to toast. OK. All right. I have a very awkward relationship with my toaster. I can never pick exactly which number it needs to go on, so Im constantly fidgeting with how long to toast. And its still toasting. OK. All right. I grew up with five kids in my family, and we didnt always have a ton of money. Sometimes we had a little more money than others. But my mother always would buy whatever that bread that the supermarket turned out in their bakery. It sort of has the allure of being home baked. I think she was trying to be slightly aspirational, a little bit more than a loaf of Wonder Bread or Sunbeam or whatever. OK, so the toast here is not quite how I want it. Its close, but were going to have to put it in for another shot. Remember when we used to have restaurants? We had ash things, coated in ash, and then charcoal was a flavor component. I dont like that in my cinnamon toast. So were getting very close. Almost. I think paint dry and watching toast toast are two things that are similar. However, I will say that this smells better than paint drying. OK, its toasty. Its just got a little dark around the edges, and also the crust is  you can even hear that. Thats a knife against the edge of the crust. Its actually sturdy enough. And so now comes the butter application. And the thing is, I have to do this while its warm because if you wait too long, youre going to ruin the effect. So you have to spread the butter on. As soon as the toast is cool enough where you can hold it with the edge of your finger, then you start spreading on the butter. Youve got to be thick with the butter. You want it to get melty and thick. This is really no time to worry about your caloric intake or the possible health effects of eating this butter. Because I think right now, the last thing thats going to be a problem for you healthwise is the butter on this toast, so just butter 

[guitar riff]

 with complete abandon. OK, and then it kind of starts to soak into the bread, and you want the butter to go all the way to the edge. So then you have to have a perfect mix of cinnamon and sugar. Now my mom used to have a shaker that had cinnamon sugar in it so we could just kind of do it yourself when we came home from school, but Ive mixed mine up perfectly I think. And then you want to go a little bit high when you sprinkle. You dont sprinkle too close to the toast, so you get a more even coating of the cinnamon.

[bang]

Sorry about that. I had a kitchen-towel fail. I had reached over to get the kitchen towel because my fingers were buttery, but were back. OK, so now, it seems like a lot of fuss for cinnamon toast.

[chewing]

OK, the thing about the cinnamon toast is that one bite and I am exactly back in my moms kitchen after school, and I feel completely safe and happy. And thats really all Im looking for right now: safe, happy and delicious. My mom died a few years ago, and Ive really thought about what shed say about the current situation we find ourselves in, and I find myself talking to her. And so I get to have this little piece of cinnamon toast and have a moment with my mom. Im going to cry now. I know Im, like, crying now. Jesus. [LAUGHS] Yeah, its true though. Ive been thinking about her, what she would think about all this. You know, its something. She grew up in  she was a kid of Italian immigrants. Grew up on a farm. They didnt have electricity for a while, and Im sure that she would tell me to count my blessings and just get on with it. So maybe not the coziest thing, but thats probably what she would say. Just like get your [EXPLETIVE] together. [LAUGHS] And then the other thing that she would always tell me to do is go find somebody else who has less than you and help them out. And so maybe you can go make someone whos feeling badly a piece of toast today. [SNIFFING] Im dying. Do I have to send you a check for this therapy? Or are we OK? [LAUGHS] Oh [EXPLETIVE]. OK. Im done. This is not easy. OK, the only thing that would make this better is a perfect cup of tea, and no one is more obsessed about their tea than the Brits. And we have the perfect Brit 

mark thompson

OK, so I think we can go. And this now should all record for posterity.

kim severson

 my bosss bosss bosss boss, Mark Thompson.

mark thompson

Excellent.

kim severson

OK. Im going to stop this.

mark thompson

My name is Mark Thompson. Im the chief executive of The New York Times Company. And as you can hear, Im a Brit  or to be more exact, half British, half Irish. And what that means is when were looking for comfort  we have great literature, we have great music, we have all of those things, of course. But what we turn to more than anything else is a nice cup of tea. And so I thought Id teach you [INAUDIBLE]. So dont let me  I swear like a trooper, so Ill do the last bit. Hot tea got my country through two world wars 

archived recording I have to tell you now this country is at war with Germany.

mark thompson

End of the British Empire, the breakup of The Beatles.

archived recording 1 Who broke it up? archived recording 2 John. archived recording 3 John did. archived recording 4 Yeah.

mark thompson

The 2008 financial crisis.

archived recording The worlds central banks act together to slash interest.

mark thompson

And yes, even that recent spot of bother with Harry and Meghan.

archived recording A deal has been agreed on the future of the duke and duchess of Sussex.

mark thompson

So it should be able to get you through the coronavirus too. The spine of the day, in many ways, is tea. And it begins in the morning with breakfast tea, which means quite a strong, punchy, black tea. Weve got a range of teas. We can introduce you to the teas, and Ill go through the process, which, of course, begins with water. So were just going to add the water to the kettle. Its an obvious point, but Ill make it anyway. It wants to be fresh water. Dont live with the water youve already got in the kettle. Pour it out. Start from scratch. You want it to be absolutely fresh water. Quite honestly, one of the most disheartening things about American life is not the politics, not the incredible social division. Its the way so many of you make tea. Heres a scenario. You walk into a fancy hotel or a restaurant, and you order a cup of tea. The waiter brings it, and what comes is a glass which is full of kind of tepid water, and theres this thing, this kind of plastic pyramid which isnt in the water. Its sitting on the side. The whole things getting cold. The bills $10, and they obviously want a nomination for a James Beard Award. So much of our life, and indeed so much of the food we have, is kind of instant. We expect it instantly. Teas different. You have to wait for the tea. The tea kind of happens on its time rather than your time, and theres something very pleasing to me about that  about a process. You know, its not a natural process. Its a rather amazing human invention. The whole idea of curing tea leaves, preserving them and then bringing them back to life with water is a rather amazing human discovery. We want the water to be at a rolling boil when it hits the tea leaves. It wants to be really boiling. Thats the thing that just jerks the tea back into life and makes it kind of zesty and delicious. Now I have to say, theres an incredibly lively debate in this house about how much tea you actually put in. The way I was taught by my beloved mother was one teaspoon per person and one for the pot. So if its two people, small tea pot, you put in three teaspoons. My wife Jane thinks thats completely wrong. Its far too strong and makes a kind of stewed, kind of bitter thing. I shouldnt set myself up as any kind of real tea expert. Im not. But I did learn at the feet of a real tea expert, my mother. My mother was the ninth child of an Irish country policeman. They lived in County Donegal. So lots of children, very little money. And what really kept them going  and this was true of households all over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland  was tea.

[clinking]

What Ive got here in my hand is a British supermarket blend. Its rather beautiful tea, this one. You cant see it, but its still discernible. Sometimes tea is very  even very good tea is very ground, its very small and very dense. This has got lovely  you can still see the fibers of the leaves. Its got a royal warrant from the queen. So who knows? Maybe Her Majesty, The Queen is is bent over a stove in Windsor Castle even now making this exact same cup of tea for Prince Philip. You can hear the kettle boiling, so Im just going to go and pour the water over the tea leaves now. Were going to get it right onto the tea leaves. And I think  you probably cant hear, but thats pretty much boiling as it hits the tea. My particular way of doing it, Im going to turn the gas off, and Im going to give it one stir. Put the lid on, and were going to just leave that. Im going to leave that for five minutes.

[classical music]

On a more serious note, Ive decided to finally bite the bullet and work my way through the Bach cantatas, of which there are 200. Im reading David Copperfield, which is absolutely fantastic. I mean   fantastic National Theater production of One Man, Two Guvnors. Its perhaps not his best novel, but its so kind of luminous and its   unbelievable, the greatest music ever written, written by one guy, [INAUDIBLE] its a Goldoni comedy, which is really  Its one of these bildungsroman. Its about a young man from childhood making his way in the world, and Ive always loved those books. So the teas now been sitting for five minutes, and were going to pour it. Ive got a little rather nice sort of a tea strainer. Im going to pour it into the cup. Im going to put the strainer down. Ive got some 2 percent reduced-fat milk. Im going to add the milk. This is tea the way my wife likes it. Its not quite as strong as Id like, but its got quite a good color to it. How would I describe the color? Its a sort of, its very hard to describe. Its kind of  its probably not, I suppose in the end, a very nice color. Its a kind of putty color with a little bit of orange in it maybe. Its very good tea. Thats very good tea. Its got a freshness to it. Its light. Its quite flowery, and its got that briskness, that little kind of sizzle on  its almost like a kind of savory sensation. Its not really a taste. And it just speaks of something which is fresh and alive. Thats the miracle of tea. It somehow comes back to blooming life on your tongue. Theres going to be some sips here followed by some sort of payoff thought. Now what am I going to say to the crowd?

[doorbell rings]

Hang on a second. Excellent. A case of wine has turned up. Now youre talking. [LAUGHS] Ill do another episode on that. Right, lets get back to this. Right, so Im just going to  OK, Ill just [INAUDIBLE] a bit. Pour a second cup. That  and good. One stir. And Im going to take another cup to my wife Jane, whos still in bed. And shes reading Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon, and I am going to bring her a cup of tea. A nice cup of tea. So thats a possible ending. Actually, I need to get back to my emails. But teas going to make those emails go a little bit better.

[music]
(Bloomberg) -- Telefonica SA and billionaire John Malones Liberty Global Plc are exploring a combination of their U.K. operations, people with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that would reshape the British telecommunications industry.

The companies are discussing bringing together Telefonicas O2 wireless unit and Liberty Globals Virgin Media business, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. If they reach an agreement, a transaction could be announced as soon as next week, the people said.

Liberty Globals class A shares rose almost 15% in New York trading Friday, while Telefonicas American depositary receipts closed up 6.4%.

A tie-up would add to a long history of dealmaking by Malone, who earned the nickname Cable Cowboy while at the forefront of the American pay-television industry in the 1990s. Combining forces in the U.K. would help Telefonica pare its debt and deliver on a new strategy meant to streamline its global empire.

The potential deal would be the biggest in the U.K. telecommunications industry since 2015, when former monopoly BT Group Plc agreed to buy mobile operator EE Ltd. for 12.5 billion pounds ($16 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Telefonica is scheduled to announce its first-quarter earnings on May 7. No final decisions have been made, and talks could still fall apart or be delayed, the people said.

A representative for Telefonica declined to comment. A spokesperson for Liberty Global couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

New Street Research valued a potential takeover of O2 UK at $15.8 billion, assuming 50% of the 5.2 billion pounds in cost savings of combining with Virgin goes to O2 owner Telefonica.

This deal has been mooted for a while, and makes a lot of sense given the trend toward fixed and wireless network convergence, said Matthew Howett, founder of London-based analyst firm Assembly Research.

A deal that brings together a fixed-line operator with a mobile provider is more likely to be approved by regulators than mobile-to-mobile consolidation, Howett said. It doesnt reduce competition in mobile, and preserves the four-player market that Ofcom and others have been committed to, he said, referring to Britains telecommunications regulator.

Story continues

Mobile, Television

The discussions come at a time when dealmaking has been crippled globally by the coronavirus pandemic. April was the worst month for deals globally since 2004, with a smaller volume of announced deals than even in the depths of the global financial crisis. The potential transaction would be the largest since the Covid-19 outbreak.

O2, a pure-play wireless carrier, had 34.5 million customers using its network at the end of December, according to the company. O2 reported 7.1 billion euros ($7.8 billion) of revenue last year, accounting for about 15% of Telefonicas total, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The talks mark another attempt by Telefonica to pursue a deal involving its O2 unit. In 2016, European antitrust regulators blocked Telefonicas planned $15 billion sale of the business to billionaire Li Ka-shings CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the owner of rival operator Three.

Virgin Media offers pay-television, broadband, and phone packages in the U.K. It also sells mobile services that run on BTs network. That partnership is set to shift to Vodafone Group Plc when the current agreement runs out late next year.

Liberty Global generated almost 40% of its revenue from Virgin Media last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It bought the business in 2013 through a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $16 billion at the time of announcement.

Restructuring Plan

Telefonica announced a restructuring plan in November that will see it focus on four main markets, including the U.K., while scaling back its presence in Latin America. The Madrid-based company also said at the time it was looking to monetize some infrastructure assets and would take an open approach to deals.

Malone made his name selling cable provider Tele-Communications Inc. to AT&T Inc. for $48 billion in 1999. He pursued a decade of rapid expansion in the European telecommunications industry with Liberty Global starting in 2005 before making a series of divestments in recent years.

Liberty Global last year completed the sale of its German and eastern European operations to Vodafone Group Plc for 18.4 billion euros ($20 billion). The group also offloaded its satellite TV unit and sold its Austrian division to Deutsche Telekom AG in 2018. Another deal to sell Liberty Globals Swiss business to Sunrise Communications AG fell apart last year following opposition from the buyers largest shareholder.

In 2018, Liberty Global spun off some of its operations to form a separate vehicle called Liberty Latin America Ltd. That company then pursued a takeover of rival regional carrier Millicom International Cellular SA, though talks fell apart after the parties failed to reach an agreement on valuation.

(Updates with analyst estimates in eighth paragraph)

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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LHASA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Qomolangma National Park in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region is to reopen as of Friday to end a temporary closure amid the COVID-19 epidemic, local authorities said Thursday.

Friday marks the beginning of the five-day May Day holiday this year.

The national 4A tourist attraction, located in the Tingri County of Xigaze, is home to a tourist base camp of Mount Qomolangma and also a viewing platform that can view five mountain peaks at an altitude of over 8,000 meters.

Tourists are not allowed to enter the core area of the Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve ahead of the base camp around the Rongpo Monastery, according to the Xigaze municipal government.

Tourists are also urged to obey related environmental protection and rubbish management regulations to better conserve the environment of the world's highest mountain.
The coronavirus ground nearly all business in Canada to a temporary halt. Now it's also threatening one of the nation's main drivers of long-term growth: foreign students.

While Canadian universities are still admitting international students for the fall, there's growing unease among applicants over the halt in travel and visa processing.

Asfar Lathif recently accepted an offer from the University of British Columbia master's program in genome science. But the 21-year-old, who lives in Chennai, India, is worried about getting all his approvals in time since it's been difficult to gather the necessary documents amid government shutdowns.

"It's a problem. With the covid-19 situation, I'm finding it difficult to get through the study permit process," Lathif said. "I am hoping lockdown is over before July."

There were more than 642,000 foreign students in Canada at the end of last year, helping power the biggest increase in immigration to Canada in more than a century. Encouraged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's open-door policies, the flood of newcomers has won praise as a form of "human stimulus." Any reduction could worsen the economic blow from the pandemic.

The government, which had been planning to increase immigration levels until the virus hit, has stopped issuing student visas while shutdown restrictions remain in effect. That means any foreign student accepted into a Canadian education program will have to remain in their home country until further notice.

A date for resuming visa service will depend on how the pandemic develops. But even once the government begins processing them again, it's possible a cohort of students will choose to take a semester off or a gap year.

"It's not just going to be a function of regulatory barriers but also a willingness of people to cross borders," Andrew Agopsowicz, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said by phone. "I would not be surprised to see declines in international enrollment in the fall if this continues."

The 2019 foreign student tally marked a 13% increase from the prior year and a 95% jump since 2014. Overall, the country took in a net 488,000 people from abroad last year, driving the fastest population growth in three decades.

Many Canadian universities say it's too early to tell whether enrollment figures will drop, with final numbers not due until classes start in September. McGill University in Montreal is among those that have pushed deadlines for students to confirm admission back to June 1, while others like the University of Toronto and UBC have kept their May 1 cutoffs.

Lathif said he is considering delaying his arrival at the Vancouver school until January if the situation doesn't improve. Students like him are crucial to Canada's higher educational institutions as they pay higher fees. They make up more than a fifth of the post-secondary student body and bring in close to $4.3 billion (C$6 billion) in tuition annually, according to a Royal Bank of Canada report.

They're also seen as a natural pipeline into the Canadian labor force. International students contribute C$21 billion annually to the nation's economy, according to government data. India was the top country of origin for students, with a total of 139,740 study permits issued last year. China, South Korea and France rounded out the top four.

The issue is being discussed at the highest levels of government in both Canada and India. Trudeau spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday about the pandemic and the agenda included Indian students already in Canada and those hoping to arrive this year, according to New Delhi's envoy in Ottawa.

High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria has been in touch with federal authorities, the provinces and universities regarding the study permit concerns of incoming students. "In terms of intention, Canada continues to be very welcoming," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Trudeau has announced a series of measures aimed at helping post-secondary students who face declining employment opportunities this summer. A monthly stipend is available and students can also get paid for volunteer work, but those programs apply only to citizens and permanent residents. Limits on the number of hours international students can work while classes are in session, however, have been lifted.

Schools are stepping in to fill the gaps. The University of Toronto has provided over C$2.3 million in emergency groceries to more than 2,000 students and is working on offering micro grants over the summer that would allow them to get paid for doing Covid-19 related work. Other universities are offering virtual job fairs and online career-planning discussions for students.

"One of the priorities of the university is to keep them engaged as best we can," said Joseph Wong, U of T's vice-provost of international student experience. "Our skilled labor market is dependent on international talent having been educated here. So for the Canadian economy, it's critical."
By Andrew Osborn and Polina Nikolskaya MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's nationwide tally of confirmed coronavirus cases surged past the 100,000 mark on Thursday after a record daily rise in new infections, days after President Vladimir Putin warned the peak of the outbreak was yet to come. The world's largest country by territory, Russia has been on lockdown since Putin announced the closure of most public spaces in late March to limit the scope for the virus to spread.

By Andrew Osborn and Polina Nikolskaya

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's nationwide tally of confirmed coronavirus cases surged past the 100,000 mark on Thursday after a record daily rise in new infections, days after President Vladimir Putin warned the peak of the outbreak was yet to come.

The world's largest country by territory, Russia has been on lockdown since Putin announced the closure of most public spaces in late March to limit the scope for the virus to spread.

Russia this week overtook China and Iran in the number of confirmed cases arising from the global pandemic. But though Russia is rising up the table of nations with the highest number of confirmed cases, it has so far recorded far fewer deaths than many of the hardest-hit countries.

Russia's nationwide case tally now stands at 106,498, its coronavirus crisis response centre said on Thursday. It said 101 people diagnosed with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, had died in the last 24 hours. That raised the official overall death toll up to 1,073.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that federal and regional authorities were doing everything they could to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"The situation in Russia is genuinely better than in many European countries because Russia succeeded in using a time lag of several weeks to urgently expand the health system's capabilities," said Peskov.

The figures showed it was too early to relax and walk the streets as normal however, he added.

Although authorities have rushed to build new hospitals or convert existing ones, the country's health system is showing signs of strain.

An April 27 decree issued jointly by the health and education ministries and seen by Reuters shows that medical students, including future paediatricians and dentists, are being asked to do practical training in dedicated coronavirus hospitals from May 1, despite not specialising in infections.

The mother of one Moscow obstetrics student told Reuters that authorities have yet to explain how work would be organised or say whether students would be paid.

"Many (students) are now talking to their lawyers...Many are just filling in documents, but won't go," she said.

Russia is now in its fifth week of a lockdown that, together with the collapse of oil prices, has put the economy on course for a 4-6% contraction, according to the central bank.

Putin, addressing the nation on television on Tuesday, said the lockdown measures would have to be rolled over for another two weeks. "The situation is still very difficult," he said. "We are facing a new and perhaps the most intense stage in countering the epidemic."

(Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Polina Ivanova, Olesya Astakhova and Ekaterina Golubkova; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A Delhi resident, who turned 100 on Thursday, got an amazing surprise amid the lockdown. K. K. Mehra got to celebrate his special day with his daughter Purnima Khanna and her family, all thanks to Delhi Police who helped them with a movement pass for the occasion. Not just that, SHO Netaji Subhash Palac Amit Kumar Tiwari, along with his team, also got a cake to make Mehras day extra special.

While the centenarians family celebrated the day with him, the cops also did their part by wishing him through a video call. Mehra was elated by this gesture and also blessed the cops for all their efforts.

Purnima Khanna (standing) with her father K. K. Mehra and younger sister Meera Malhotra.

The family was more than happy and they expressed their gratitude for getting the chance to celebrate such an important day despite the difficult situation.

Cops handing the cake to Khanna.

Birthday cake for K. K. Mehra from Delhi Police.

Purnima Khanna told Hindustan Times that she requested Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava for permission and received a call from the department regarding the same. After getting the permission, she visited her father and along with her sister Meera Malhotra , who stays in the same building as their dad, celebrated his birthday.

This isnt a one off instance. Police departments from different corners of the country are trying their best to make it memorable for others who have their birthdays during this time of the lockdown  especially for the elders and kids. Case in point these policemen from the Haryana Police Department who visited an elderly mans house with a cake to make sure he was wished.

Also Read | Punjab Polices special surprise for this childs first birthday. Watch




Haiti - DR : Haiti strengthens health surveillance at the Dominican border





The Government through the Ministry of Public Health and with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), developed during the month of March 2020, the protocol of detection, referral, management and monitoring of Covid-19 cases on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.



According to official figures, nearly 65,000 movements of people were recorded at the Haitian-Dominican border through the 4 official crossing points and the 46 unofficial crossing points during the period from March 16 to 26, 2020. At the time of their arrival, some Haitian migrants already show symptoms of illness.



To cope with this situation, the Haitian government requested the support of IOM and PAHO to set up a strict control of these migrants after their entry into the national territory for the early detection of suspected cases of Covid- 19, and prevent the spread of the disease.



As part of the implementation of this protocol, measures have been put in place in Ouanaminthe and Belladeres where a medical team has been deployed to receive and check migrants.



Spaces for quarantining suspected cases awaiting transfer to case management institutions have already been identified and all preparations to make them functional are underway (rehabilitation work, availability of materials and medical staff).



This protocol, based on the WHO provisional guidelines "Management of sick travelers at ports of entry, airports, seaports and international border crossings in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak", will be implemented also works in other important official border crossings like Malpasse and Anse-a-Pitres.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















The following items were taken from Lincolnshire Police Department reports and releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt.

Drugs

Kyle A. Rankin, 35, of the 770 block of Wortham Drive, Mundelein, was charged April 24 with driving while license revoked and possession of a controlled substance at Olde Half Day Road and Half Day Road. Rankin is scheduled to appear in court June 12.

Speeding

Sofia Herrera, 51, of the 1100 block of Pine Street, Waukegan, was charged April 21 with speeding more than 26 mph over the limit at Half Day Road and Berkshire Lane. Herrera is scheduled to appear in court June 17.

Wumi F. Adelowotan, 30 of the 4700 block of Arbor Drive, Rolling Meadows, was charged April 25 with speeding more than 26 mph over the limit at Half Day Road and Schelter Road. Adelowotan is scheduled to appear in court June 10.

Mahmoud R. Husain, 18, of the 10400 block of Knollwood Drive, Adelphi, Maryland, was charged April 25 with speeding more than 26 mph over the limit at Half Day Road and Wood Creek Road. Husain is scheduled to appear in court June 10.

James P. Whelan, 59, of the 400 block of McCormick Drive, Lake Forest, was charged April 27 with speeding more than 26 mph over the limit at Milwaukee Avenue and Tower Parkway. Whelan is scheduled to appear in court June 10.

Di Tang, 37, of the 10100 block of Girard Avenue, Denver, Colorado, was charged April 29 with speeding more than 26 mph over the limit at Half Day Road and Wood Creek Drive. Tang is scheduled to appear in court June 10.

Liam F. Blackley, 18, of the 23400 block of Apple Hill Lane, was charged April 30 with speeding more than 26 mph over the limit at Half Day Road and Riverwoods Road. Blackley is scheduled to appear in court June 17.

Domestic battery

Serguei Kobets, 47, of the first block of Cambridge Lane, was charged April 25 with domestic battery and resisting an officer in the first block of Cambridge Lane. Kobets was transported to Lake County Jail and scheduled to appear in court April 26.
In the latest twist in the family drama involving the Syrian president and his internationally sanctioned billionaire cousin, businessman Rami Makhlouf denied charges of dodging taxes and issued a rare direct plea to his maternal cousin, Bashar al-Assad.

We are not evading taxes. We are not manipulating the state and the country, because you are our people, Makhlouf said, addressing Assad directly.

In his post, Makhlouf claimed his telecommunications company paid 12 billion Syrian pounds ($23 million) in taxes last year and shared half its revenue with the state.

After reports about a donation we planned to make during the holy month of Ramadan to assist our people, things went out of control," he said. "We received threats to stop our work simply because we dared to publicly offer assistance to the needy, he said.

Makhloufs unprecedented statement came after the government ordered the seizure of assets belonging to him and other powerful businessmen as part of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign aimed at padding the states war-drained coffers.

In August, unconfirmed reports circulated that Makhlouf had been placed under house arrest for refusing to help pay off Syrias debts to Russia. In December, Syrian officials froze Makhloufs assets and ordered he pay 11 billion Syrian pounds ($21 million) in fines for importing oil and gas without first paying customs duties.

The value of the Syrian pound has plummeted due in part to the financial crisis in neighboring Lebanon, tough international sanctions and mounting war debts owed to Assads main backers Russia and Iran.

Syrias economic concerns, however, havent kept Makhlouf's son from flaunting the familys riches. On social media, Mohammed Makhlouf regularly poses alongside his Dubai mansion, luxury cars and private jet.

Makhlouf, who is the primary owner of state mobile provider Syriatel, is believed to have controlled up to 60% of Syria's economy before the civil war.

In 2008, the US Treasury Department sanctioned him for benefiting from public corruption and in 2011, the European Union followed with its own sanctions against Makhlouf for his alleged role in bankrolling the Assad regime.
Further affecting the already strained relationship with the Asian Giant, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is already formulating a plan to punish China. This is due to the fact that Trump's party is still asserting that China is responsible for the coronavirus pandemic.

Based on multiple sources inside the White House, the administration considers using various tools in order to impose the so-called punishment. There have been talks of sanctions, cancellation of U.S. debt obligations and even drawing up new trade policies in order to make it clear to China that the administration knows that they are responsible for the health crisis.

According to CNN, one official in the administration who wanted to remain anonymous said that the camp is trying to be careful on the steps to take since the economy may be affected. He also added that it is crucial to get the economy going again.

However, the said official stressed that the administration will find ways to show the Chinese that their actions which led to the outbreak are reprehensible.

Meanwhile, the intelligence community is under massive pressure from the administration. This is because senior officials are already pushing to find out if there is truth to the theory that the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China causing the worldwide crisis.

In connection to this, the intelligence community issued a statement saying that they are already focusing their resources on the matter, as they would during the time of any crisis. The statement also said that the IC is continuously examining the emerging information in order to determine the true origin of the outbreak.

Read also: Trump Reveals Strategy to Ramp Up COVID-19 Testing

Earlier this month, there have been reports saying that the government was already looking into the theory that pointed out that the virus came from a laboratory. However, there have been no reports that supported this yet.

In addition, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Mark Milley said that based on the evidence available, it points to the direction of the virus' natural origin.

China: "We are not the enemy"

With the news that Trump's administration is already concocting plans to punish China for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Communist Party of China responded by saying that Trump should be focusing more on battling the virus. They urged the US leader to stay keep his attention in fighting the virus, rather than finding someone to blame.

Moreover, as Trump claims that he already has evidence that the coronavirus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, US politicians continue to criticize Beijing's response to the outbreak. However, China continues to deny the allegations and criticized Trump, saying that he is trying to shift the attention for his administration's poor handling of the epidemic.

In addition, Geng Shuang, spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry said that the US should be aware that the virus is the real enemy and not China. Furthermore, Shuang also denied the allegations that Beijing is attempting to use the pandemic to obstruct Trump's plans of reelection.

Related article: China Crying 'Blackmail' After World Leaders Accuse Them of Creating Pandemic

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The World Health Organization extended its declaration of a global health emergency on Friday amid increasing criticism from the Trump Administration about its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move comes exactly three months after the organizations original decision to announce a public health emergency of international concern on Jan. 30. At the time, only 98 of the nearly 10,000 confirmed cases had occurred outside Chinas borders.

But the pandemic continues to grow. More than 3.2 million people around the world are known to have been infected, and nearly a quarter million have died, according to official counts. There is evidence on six continents of sustained transmission of the virus.

All of this has led experts in the W.H.O.s emergency committee to reconvene to assess the course of the outbreak, and to advise on updated recommendations, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organizations director-general.
The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare shortcomings in Ontarios long-term-care system, which is tasked to look after some of our most vulnerable populations.

One of those shortcomings is a lack of up-to-date information about deaths and outbreaks in seniors homes.

The Star has found that data reported daily by Public Health Ontario vastly under-reports the true number of people dying in these settings. Thats because the provinces official daily tally of fatal cases from the COVID-19 pandemic does not yet include hundreds of confirmed deaths in long-term-care homes, due largely to reporting delays.

More current, home-by-home information is now also being released via the Ministry of Long-Term Care, but these numbers have their own limitations; theyre often out of date and they dont include detail on outbreaks in Ontario retirement homes or hospitals, for instance.

The Star has built an interactive map of every COVID-19 outbreak in Ontario to help you navigate this lack of official information. Its based on a database of every publicly available record of outbreaks in an Ontario long-term-care facility, retirement home, hospital or shelter. It includes records from Ontarios 34 public health units, official data, public statements from facility managers and our reporting. It will be reglarly updated.

Heres what we learned building it:

The staggering scale of Ontarios worst outbreaks

As of May 6, the Orchard Villa long-term-care home in the GTA city of Pickering is home to the provinces deadliest outbreak, now with 62 dead among 257 cases, including 62 staff infected.

Its far from the only facility facing an appalling death toll.

Nearly 400 people are dead in just 10 Ontario long-term-care homes alone. Forty-four seniors facilities, including three retirement homes, have seen 10 or more residents die. At these homes, more than 1,300 staff have now tested positive.

Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national seniors advocacy group, said infection control is very difficult in long-term care for three reasons: inadequate staffing, poorly designed buildings, and low vaccination rates for vaccine-preventable diseases among residents.

If Ontario solved those problems, she said, we would be in a much better position to fight off future epidemics which are predictable or pandemics which have been unpredictable.

What the seniors home numbers say about Ontarios overall toll

What share of Ontarios total deaths from COVID-19 have come in a long-term-care home?

Its a simple question, but we cant give you the answer.

Thats because the data on the total number of fatal cases in Ontario is missing hundreds of seniors home deaths that we know of, and have confirmed.

In total, the Star counts at least 1,052 confirmed deaths in 226 long-term-care home outbreaks, and another 115 deaths in a retirement home.

But delays in reporting mean we know hundreds of these have not yet been added to the official tallies put out by the provinces public health units, which had reported a total of 1,429 deaths as of May 6.

Have more than 80 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario happened in seniors homes?

We dont know.

The missing cases mean these two totals are simply not comparable. For the best example of this, take Toronto: The citys official total lists 469 fatal cases; we count 469 deaths in long-term-care and retirment homes alone.

Incompatible numbers Reporting delays mean you cant simply compare the number of deaths in Ontario seniors homes to the official overall tally. 469 COVID-19 deaths reported in Toronto, as of May 6 469 The Stars count of COVID-19 deaths in Toronto seniors homes, as of May 6 Source: TORONTO PUBLIC HEALTH, STAR RESEARCH

If the data arent kept up-to-date in a reasonable fashion, then we arent able to respond effectively to whats going on, said Todd Coleman, an epidemiologist and professor at Wilfrid Laurier University. Were only able to respond with the data that were given.

The concentration of cases in the GTA

Nearly two-thirds of Ontarios 7,089 confirmed resident or staff cases of COVID-19 in seniors homes have come in the GTA. Long-term-care and retirement homes in the city of Toronto also have by far the most reported cases, with 2,731 reported as of Thursday evening, or nearly 40 per cent of the provinces total.

That concentration is easy to see on the Stars map, where serious outbreaks cluster around the Golden Horseshoe.

Coleman noted that some public health units in the GTA might have higher numbers of deaths due to their proximity to the area covered by Toronto Public Health.

We know that this disease has spread through international travel routes, with Toronto being one, if not the most, travelled city in the country, Coleman said. The cases likely started earlier there and radiated out.

Ed Tubb is an assignment editor and a contributor focused on crime and justice for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @edtubb
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

Trend:

The list of conditions for permission to foreigners and stateless persons for temporary residence has been expanded in Azerbaijan, Trend reports on May 1.

This is reflected in the amendment proposed in the Migration Code, which was discussed at the meeting of Azerbaijani Parliament.

According to the amendment, the right for temporary residence in Azerbaijan will also be granted to foreigners and stateless persons who receive professional education in the country.

Currently, article 45.1.9 covers the condition of the case of full-time education in general educational institutions and in higher and secondary special educational institutions of Azerbaijan.

After discussions, the amendment was put to a vote and adopted in the third reading.
ICU Doctor Manages Care for COVID-19 Patients in Delaware

Dr. Mike Benninghoff 95 credits preparation and collaboration for his teams treatment successes.

By: Heather Mayer Irvine Friday, May 1, 2020 08:34 AM

Dr. Mike Benninghoff 95 (at left) with his team in the ICU

Dr. Mike Benninghoff 95 has been working around the clock with this team at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, to oversee the treatment of its COVID-19 patients.

For the past six weeks, Benninghoff, section chief for critical care, has treated numerous patients in the intensive care unit. Benninghoff, who was a biology and natural science double major at Muhlenberg, relies heavily on evidence-based approaches and the experiences from other medical institutionslargely from New Yorkto help him decide the best course of action to take in his own hospital.

By and large, weve gotten it right, he says.

Despite these unprecedented times, Benninghoff says the biggest difference in how he normally practices medicine is a lack of contact with patients familieshospitals generally are not allowing loved ones to visit COVID-19 patients. That, and having meetings at all times of the day and night, he says.

From a leadership standpoint, our care guidelines and workflows are similar, he says. Weve had good outcomes, which is good for morale.

The challenge, he says, is not knowing what exactly needs to be done when it comes to treatment and safety protocols, because the evidence and guidance change so frequently.

Our goal is to get patients home and healthy, but were not dealing with robust evidence to recommend one treatment over another, for example, Benninghoff says.

But because guidelines for preventing the transmission of and treating COVID-19 are so in flux, it presents a unique opportunity to call upon the global healthcare network.

With listservs and social media blogs, there is so much information. We spend hours every day communicating with providers across the world, he says. Its a neat time to practice [medicine]. Thats the most unique thing about this pandemic.

Benninghoff acknowledges that life may not return to normal, at least for the foreseeable future, but has faith that if people follow evidence-based guidelines, the virus can be managed.

I suspect that life will be different for some period of time to come, he says. Its important that we use evidence-based science for decision-making regarding social distancing. Let the epidemiologists, governors, scientists and frontline healthcare workers do their work, and dont rush to open things back up.
The police in Lagos have arrested 65 suspects for holding a birthday party in a hotel in Lagos, thereby violating the lockdown order of the state.

Bala Elkana, the Lagos police spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday that the police were hinted about the illegal gathering and the consumption of hard drugs by the party rockers.

Mr Elkana said the fun seekers were arrested on Wednesday at 84 Park Hotel, Augusto Close, Oko Oba by operatives from Area G Command and Oko Oba Division.

"The suspects were arrested for holding a birthday party and consuming some substances suspected to be hard/illicit drugs.

"Some of the suspects were found in the swimming pool catching fun, in total neglect of the social distancing regulations and the lockdown order," Mr Elkana said.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police said the suspects are within the range of 16 to 45 years and that they confessed to have left their various homes to the hotel in defiance of the sit at home order.

Mr Elkana said the hotel was sealed off for defying the directive of the government.

"The manager of the hotel was equally arrested and the hotel is sealed off by the relevant agency of the State Government.

"Investigation is ongoing and the suspects will be charged to court," he said.

Meanwhile, the commissioner of police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, urged citizens to continue to be law-abiding. He also urged parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their wards and prevent them from acts that contravene the laws of the state.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the Lagos police had arrested 39 persons in a hotel for clubbing and striptease last week.

The strippers were arrested at a hotel in Idimu area of the state over an act which violated the social distancing directive of the government.
Market Movers

- While the market waits for the critical OPEC+ production cut deal to kick in, early data on OPECs April production suggests that it hit 13-month highs in April--30.25 million bpd. That 30.25 million bpd is a month on month increase of 1.61 million bpd. The largest increases were from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which produced 11.3 million bpd and 3.85 million bpd respectively. For Saudi Arabia, this is a record. The new production cut deal goes into production on May 1, and the OPEC MOMR showing official April production data will be published on May 13, to which the market will react with falling prices. Between May 1--when the production cuts are set to begin--and the report, look for OPEC members to attempt to calm markets by providing interim production insights to highlight the action they are taking to reduce production. In reality, it will be difficult for countries to come up with such a sharp decrease in production that would start immediately on May 1, given the high volumes OPEC kicked out in April.

- Last week, as we detailed, Chevron and Halliburton were forced to wind down operations in Venezuela after the U.S. refused to extend sanctions waivers. And this week, more change is afoot, with Maduro replacing Manuel Quevedo - the now-former Energy Minister and PDVSA head - with two new figures. For the PDVSA head, Maduro chose the first cousin of Hugo Chavez, Asdrubal Chavez, who had served on the Citgo board until he was ousted by Maduros opposition last year. For oil minister, Maduro chose an alleged drug trafficker, El Aissami. PDVSA documents this week also showed the state-run oil giant is considering bringing in private oil companies to operate and even own oil assets as the country struggles to regain some lost sway in the oil markets.

- The United States oil industry is hemorrhaging. With most oil companies pumping at an expense that far surpasses the current price of WTI, some shale companies--such as Whiting and Diamond Offshore Drilling--have already filed for bankruptcy, and hundreds more may follow. The Trump Administration was looking for publicly palatable ways to extend lifelines to the oil industry without it being seen as a bailout. The first step was to make available storage space to nine oil companies. The problem, however, is far greater than freeing up oil storage space. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve changed the rules surrounding its Main Street Lending program to allow larger companies to tap the funds, to waive the requirement that a company be in good standing as of March 2020 and to allow the funds to be used to refinance existing debt--a clear win for the oil industry that for the most part, has been shut out of these funds.

- A week ago, all the grand-standing coming out of Washington was that Trump could potentially impose a crude import ban as a fleet of Saudi tankers approached with some 40 million barrels of oil to dump on the market. This is a problem for Trump, who is under pressure to take a stance with the Saudis, which he has avoided doing so far. This Saudi oil is essentially a direct action against the U.S. shale patch, and if it reaches the shore, there will be a problem--but everyone has now gone quiet on this oil now.

Discovery, Development & Deals

- The biggest disappointment on the discovery scene this week (or this year) is an abrupt slap in the face to Lebanons long-awaited dreams of getting in on the East Mediterranean hydrocarbon bonanza--the same Levant Basin power that Israel now holds in this massively contested offshore hotspot. French Total SA came up dry in its first well drill. Total leads the international consortium for Block 4, with a 40% interest. Italian Eni also has a 40% interest, with a 20% interest for Novatek. The well was completed on April 26th, reaching a depth of 4,076 meters. While it found traces of gas, the well failed to encounter a reservoir in the Tamar formation, thus missing its main objective.

- ADNOC (the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), and ADPower (the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation), have issued a joint tender for the development and operation of the MENA regions first high-voltage, direct-current, HVDC, subsea transmission system. The system will connect ADNOCs offshore production facilities to ADPowers onshore grid with the most advanced technology.

Earnings & Cuts

- BP announced a $4.4 billion net loss in Q1 2020, citing supply and demand shocks. This compares to a $2.9 billion after-tax profit in Q1 2019. BPs Q1 production fell 2.8% to 3.7 million bpd. Q2 will see additional production outages. BP reaffirmed its intention to sell its $5.6 billion Alaska-based Hillcorp business as part of BPs $15 billion divestment program.

- Three of Chinas oil majors--CNOOC, PetroChina, and Sinopec--are slashing capex to the tune of $19 billion for 2020, including for international projects. That China is moving away from its rigorous pump at almost any cost strategy to sustain its oil habit is particularly telling as to just how hard the coronavirus has hit oil demand and oil prices.

- Shell cut its dividend for the first time since the 1940s, reducing it by 66% to 16 cents a share after first-quarter profit fell by nearly half. The company also suspended the next tranche of its share buyback program. New measures could save Shell almost $30 billion this year. Shell added after the quarterly results that the pandemic would change the oil industry forever.

- ConocoPhillips said it would cut 35% of its total output by June compared to 2019 production levels, after losing $1.7 billion in Q1. This is the second production cut the company announced in the last couple of weeks. ConocoPhillips is now expecting to cut a total of 460,000 bpd by June.

- Oilfield services companies with a presence in Alaska have announced layoffs in the state, including Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Peak Oilfield Services.

- Mexicos Pemex has come up with a plan to save between $4 billion and $5 billion over the next couple of months as the sting of the coronavirus eats away at oil majors all over the world. Part of its cost-cutting will come from reducing travel for its personnel and the suspension of medical expense reimbursements.

- Norways government has proposed a temporary tax break to support the oil and gas industry with measures that would provide $10 billion of liquidity in 2020-21. The companies would be allowed to write-off investments more quickly, effectively postponing tax payments for years. Norway will also be reducing crude oil production by 250,000 bpd in June, and then maintaining a 134,000-bpd lower rate of production for the rest of the year.

- Chevron is cutting its 2020 capex by $2 billion. It is the second spending plan cut in a bit over a month. The capex targets for 2020 are now 30% lower than their original plan for this year.

- Exxon shocked markets with a surprise loss of $610 million for Q1--it is the first quarterly loss since its merger in 1999. Exxon announced it would cut its spending by one-third, to just $23 billion.

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict

- Libyan militia commander Khalifa Haftar has ordered his troops to halt operations during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, though the Government of National Accord (GNA) has not publicly agreed to a ceasefire on its end, which is more an issue of trust at this point. The past few weeks have seen an uptick in sporadic violence in Tripoli and indiscriminate shelling of medical facilities by Haftars LNA forces. Overall, the GNA will view Haftars Ramadan ceasefire as buying time to regroup and resupply. But the general has also lost important territory outside the capital, despite his declaration on Monday of a popular mandate to assume control of Libya as a whole. Haftars declaration was not well received among his usual external supporters. Haftar is losing his footing and his Monday declaration was a desperate, failed attempt to regain control after what appears to be a split with the authorities in the east, who have been putting together plans for reconciliation with the GNA.
VANDERBILT, MI  A man accused of sexually assaulting a minor is facing 21 additional charges related to a standoff with police.

Joseph Alan Doyle, 47, of Vanderbilt, was charged in April with five counts related to sexually assaulting a minor under the age of 13. The armed standoff occurred when police arrived at his Vanderbilt residence on April 9 to take him into custody.

Doyle armed himself with a .22 caliber handgun in a locked room in the basement of the residence, according to the Michigan State Police Gaylord Post. A MSP bomb squad eventually entered the room and arrested Doyle.

Doyle has now been charged with eight counts of assault with intent to murder; nine counts of felony firearms; three counts of assaulting, resisting, obstructing a police officer; and one count of discharging a firearm in a building, according to MSP.

He was already charged with two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct of a person under 13 and three counts of second-degree CSC of a person under 13. Doyle is being held in the Otsego County Jail on a $1 million bond.

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Irelands health minister said the Government will not make any decision on easing restrictions that will undermine the health of the Irish people.

Simon Harris said the Government will not risk public health as it meets to discuss the next stages of the coronavirus lockdown measures.

We will not anything that will undermine the health or lives of anyone in this country, of their families or their communities, Mr Harris said.

This will be a plan of how you outline safely setting about opening your country.

People dont want us to go backwards.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has advised the Government on the next stages of the lockdown following its meeting on Friday morning.

Cabinet is now debating the advice and recommendations before Taoiseach Leo Varadkar makes an official announcement which is expected later on Friday.

Nphet is expected to call for the current guidelines to be extended with little or no relaxation of the restrictions in place.

Meanwhile Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has said it would be too difficult to ease lockdown laws on a regional basis across Ireland.

Earlier this week, Independent TD John Halligan said there is a case to be made for easing restrictions in various counties, adding that Dublin has some of the highest infection rates.

However, Ms Doherty told Newstalk FM that such a plan would be too difficult to implement.

I think it would be a very difficult situation, not only to communicate but also to police, for want of a better word, she said.

If all of the restaurants opened in Kildare, for example, I know where all of the people in nearby Meath would be heading to.

It is very difficult  we are one nation and the fact that some of our more rural communities have been blessed to have less cases of Covid-19 is absolutely great for them as it has exposed them to less risk.

So, it doesnt mean we should expose them to an increased level of risk.

As we reopen our society and bring more people into society, that is going to cause an increased level of risk for everybody.

For people living in rural communities  the majority of ICU beds are in our cities so the capacity of being able to treat people as a nation, does not come on a regional basis or per town and per county.
All around Sioux City, Iowa, on Friday, restaurants were opening their doors to socially distanced customers. Treadmills were starting to roll as Iowans unleashed their quarantined frustrations at the fitness center. Shopping centers echoed with the footfall of patrons for the first time in weeks.

But not so in the city itself, home to the fastest growing coronavirus infection rate in the country.

"Now's not the time," said Bob Scott, Sioux City's mayor. "We're not even close to being ready."

As America's piecemeal reopening gathers pace, states are each making their own choices about how quickly to move toward what passes for the new normal in the age of covid-19. Numerous states joined the ranks Friday of those that have eased restrictions as April's stay-at-home orders expired.

But within many states, there are still divisions: Even as rural and suburban areas reopen, cities are staying firmly shut.

The approach reflects the uneven toll of a virus that is drawn to density and has attacked urban centers with abandon, even as more sparsely populated areas have been spared.

The advantage of staggered reopenings that take into account those differences is seductively clear: By opting for a "targeted approach," Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds argued this week in announcing the reopening of 77 of the state's 99 counties, hard-hit places can stay hunkered down as those with low or declining infection rates can swing back to life.

"I shouldn't punish half of the state when we've got a significant spike in eight areas," Reynolds said.

Yet experts say that opening some places and not others carries its own peril: The approach could make it both more difficult to enforce social distancing in cities and more likely that the novel coronavirus will continue its spread into the countryside.

"People want to go to restaurants. They want to visit their friends. They want to travel," said Nadia Abuelezam, a Boston College epidemiologist. "So how do you convince people that if you live on one side of a line, you can't leave your home, but if you live on the other, you can?"

Scott worries about exactly that - and more. His northwest Iowa city has rapidly become a coronavirus hot spot - case numbers were doubling every two or three days this week - as meatpacking workers fall ill. The nearby Iowa countryside, by contrast, has been relatively unaffected.

But as those surrounding counties open up - even as his city of 80,000 stays closed - Scott worries his residents could inadvertently spread the virus beyond city lines.

"After seven weeks of being cooped up, people are going to want to go out," he said. "And they're going to want to go to those counties where the restaurants are open."

Despite the drawbacks, the staggered approach to reopening across a state is one that has been embraced by a number of governors, Republican and Democrat alike.

Iowa's neighbor Missouri is doing it. Both states are Republican-run. Colorado, led by Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, allowed personal training and dog grooming to resume this week. But not in Denver, where stay-at-home orders have been extended until May 8. When New York starts to reopen, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said it will be in the rural upstate, well before downstate New York City gets the chance.

Other states have implemented a more uniform approach. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, for instance, has insisted that his loosening of restrictions on nonessential businesses be applied statewide, despite protests from leaders in cities such as Dallas and Austin who have argued the moves are premature.

Even when cities have a choice, some mayors have found the idea of staying closed unappealing if the rest of the state is opening up.

In Oklahoma, cities had the option to keep their stay-at-home orders in effect even as the governor lifted statewide rules. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, was torn by the choice.

On the one hand, the city of 400,000 wasn't meeting a critical prerequisite for easing social distancing: a 14-day decline in new cases. Numbers were, in fact, still rising locally, even as they fell statewide. Bynum's health director said it wasn't time. Bynum agreed.

But with the rest of the state due to resume much of its normal economic activity, the mayor decided that resistance was futile.

"There's not a glass dome over Tulsa protecting us. We don't exist within a bubble," said Bynum, who had shut down the city earlier than the state and whose case count stood at just over 500 as of Thursday. "We would be asking people to keep making sacrifices in the name of public health when people in other communities are not and continue to spread the virus into our community."

Bynum said he "hated" the choice and believes that case numbers will rise. But he hopes the spike can be mitigated if reopened businesses rigorously enforce social distancing, including requirements that customers stay apart from one another.

"This isn't a celebration. We can't go back to life as it was," Bynum said as the city prepared for a Friday relaunch of restaurants and other businesses.

Even a limited reopening is still out of reach in St. Louis, where the city and the adjacent counties account for some two-thirds of Missouri's more than 7,500 cases.

Most businesses statewide will be permitted by Gov. Mike Parson to reopen on Monday. But not in St. Louis or the surrounding county. Mayor Lyda Krewson, a Democrat, said the reopening of her city of 300,000 will have to wait until case numbers have had sufficient time to fall from their peak, and that she and the governor agreed it made sense to pursue different approaches.

"Clearly one size doesn't fit all," she said. "We're in a different situation than other areas are."

Krewson said her city's outbreak had disproportionately struck poorer and predominantly African American neighborhoods. In those areas - and across the city - the question of when it's safe to reopen is a wrenching one, pitting economic needs against public health.

"People want to open back up. They're also afraid of it," she said. "No one wants a second wave of covid."

Up the Missouri River, in Sioux City, the first wave is still proving tenacious. The surrounding county had just 158 cases of coronavirus as of last Thursday. A week later, the total was up to 851, a sixfold increase, as clusters of infection broke out among workers at area meatpacking plants.

"It exploded overnight," said Scott, the mayor.

He said he spoke with Reynolds before she announced her reopening plans and urged her to keep his county closed. Most residents and business owners, he said, have been supportive - despite the economic pain of staying shut for at least several more weeks.

"Most businesses recognize that we've got a problem. By rushing to reopen, we could make it worse," Scott said.

It's a worry that is shared 20 miles down the road, in the small city of Le Mars, Iowa, where the surrounding county has only had 12 confirmed cases. Mayor Dick Kirchoff said there is inevitable concern that number could jump as restaurants reopen Friday, and as Sioux City residents are tempted to come visit.

But Kirchoff said he trusted business owners to reopen responsibly. "They know what the rules are, and they're preparing to follow them," he said.

And at least at first, caution will be a powerful ally. "People are not going to be knocking down the doors to get in," he said.

Yet experts fear the restraint may not last. Abuelezam, the epidemiologist, noted there will be a significant lag between when states reopen and when signs of a renewed outbreak emerge. In the meantime, people could become bolder in embracing risk - and thereby accelerate the spread.

That's just one reason Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, a Democrat, said he would have preferred to see the entire state - not just cities - stay shuttered. His city had the nation's fourth-fastest-growing infection rate as of Thursday, and he noted that other Iowa outbreaks were also rising fast. Without a coordinated response, he said he worried it will be extremely difficult - if not impossible - to control the spread.

"We're in the middle of a massive uptrend in the number of cases not only in our county but across the state," Cownie said. "We have to be very, very careful moving forward."
Museums are chock-full of stories.

At the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, these are stories from around the world.

And many of these stories are available online.

As the stay-at-home order from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham continues through May 15, there are plenty of options to view the worldly art via the museums website at internationalfolkart.org.

The museum staff has been diligently working to put up current exhibitions, as well as unlocking exhibits from the past.

Khristaan Villela, executive director, welcomes the opportunity for online content.

He says putting some of the exhibitions online opens the museum up to the world.

During these distance learning times, MOIFA is also doing community outreach by making art kits available to children in and around Santa Fe.

Its important to keep education at the forefront, he says.

To read more on what MOIFA is offering, see Page 8.

Streaming continues to be popular for many households around the state.

Inside this weeks issue, there are reviews of Chris Hemsworths latest film, Extraction, which is streaming on Netflix.

On Apple TV Plus, Beastie Boys Story is streaming. Those reviews can be found on Pages 4 and 6, respectively.

I got a chance to catch up with Bria Henderson, who can be seen in the Hulu series Mrs. America.

Henderson is fairly new to the film industry, yet managed to snag a role in this star-studded miniseries. See the story on Page 3.

The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs recently launched its virtual concert series, Our Fair New Mexico. This weeks concert will be performed by Marlon Magdalena. To read more about Magdalena, see Page 15.

Another week has come to a close, and many thank-yous go out to the readers for reading Venue and the Albuquerque Journal for the latest news.

Respectfully,

Adrian Gomez

Venue editor
The Government is considering closing down workplaces which breach social-distancing rules.

The measure may be introduced as part of plans to reopen the economy.

The Health and Safety Authority would inspect businesses to see if guidelines are being met, and if not, they would be closed, according to the Irish Independent.

DCU Professor at the School of Nursing, Anthony Staines, said businesses will need to change how they operate.

Prof. Staines said: "I think the message that we all really need to absorb is that this virus is probably not going to go away, it's going to be part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

"I hope I'm wrong, I might be wrong, but if it is we're going to have to change what we do and part of that is giving the HSA the authority to ensure that social distancing happens at work. It has issues for all sorts of work spaces."
In a show of camaraderie,



residents of a village in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district have come to the aid of other villagers who have been quarantined after coming in contact with a COVID-19 patient.

A young woman from Mawtharia, a village of 70 households, contacted the disease while working as domestic help for Dr John Sailo Ryntathiang, the only person to die of COVID-19 in Meghalaya so far.

The woman has been sent to a COVID-19 hospital in Shillong while 35 persons from 18 households, including her family members, have been home quarantined. Their samples have tested negative for the disease, village headman B Suting said.

The 'dorbar' or village committee has taken it upon itself to provide food, water and other essential commodities to the home quarantined families by maintaining social distancing and also ensure that they are not stigmatised, he said.

Their initiatives have also been praised by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.

"A sense of responsibility came to our minds upon hearing that there is a COVID-19 patient from our village. In fact, most of our village now looks like a quarantine centre as 18 families have been placed under home isolation," Suting told PTI.

The village headman said he had called up the emergency helpline number and informed the Block Development Office, following which necessary isolation procedures were undertaken.

"The swift response of the Health officials and Mylliem Block Development Officer (BDO) Peter Passah helped us avert a potentially dangerous situation," he said.

Suting said he is optimistic that the COVID-19 patient from the village will recover.

M Kurkalang of Ka Sengbhalang ki Kynthei, a women welfare organisation, praised the village committee for handling the situation effectively.

"They took care of the families leaving no room for stigmatisation. They supplied food, water and other essential commodities to the affected families by maintaining social distancing," she said.

The villagers have formed a COVID-19 committee to strictly implement the quarantine measures. The local youths are monitoring the movement of people in the village and ensuring that the residents follow the lockdown norms, wear masks, maintain social distancing and hygiene, BDO Peter Passah said.

ASHA workers are monitoring the health of the home quarantined persons, Passah added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
POLICE are investigating after thieves attempted to steal a cash machine from a garage in Charvil.

The incident happened in the early hours of April 30 at the Texaco petrol station in New Bath Road, which has a Co-op shop on site.

Residents say the heard a loud noise and the sound of police helicopters at around 2.45am.

Thames Valley Police set up a cordon at the scene and confirmed that no arrests have been made.

The force said that no money was taken during the incident, but appealed for anyone with information to call 101.

A spokesman for Co-op said: There was an incident at our Charvil store in the early hours of April 30 where there was an unsuccessful attack on the communitys cash machine.

We would like to thank the police for the speed of their response and we appeal for anyone with information to come forward. The store is open to serve the community.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Hon. Ernest Arthur has donated items worth 15,000 Ghana Cedis to the Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital.

The items include Veronica Buckets, hand sanitizers, liquid soaps, jumbo tissue papers, and 240 waste bins. In addition to the items, he presented a cheque of Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (5,000) to the hospital.

He explained that part of the donation was sponsored by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly and the other part, in his capacity as the Parliamentary Candidate of the Cape Coast South Constituency.

Presenting the items, Hon. Ernest Arthur expressed his appreciation to the staff of the hospital especially frontline health professionals who are taking care of Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

The Mayor of Cape Coast underscored the importance of the hospital to health delivery in the Cape Coast Metropolitan Area. This according to Hon. Arthur informed his decision to donate to the hospital.

Receiving the items on behalf of the Hospital, Dr. Derrick Bonsu, the Medical Director of the Hospital expressed his appreciation and thanked Hon. Ernest Arthur and the Metropolitan Assembly for the gesture.

"We are grateful to you for this gesture and I must say that this hospital is your hospital and the hospital of the people of Cape Coast. Beyond COVID-19 treatment, we continue to provide other services to the people so I invite everyone in the city who needs healthcare to visit our facility for quality healthcare", he added.

Furthermore, the Medical Director indicated that the items apart from supporting the treatment of COVID-19 patients will solve some of the problems the hospital faces.

Present at the presentation were Mr. Abban Ghansah, the Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Cape Coast South Constituency, Mr. Franklin Appiah, 2nd Vice Chairman, Mr. Kweku Baffoe Appiah, Protocol Officer of the Metropolitan Assembly. Also present were Mr. Justice Abekah, the Administrator of the hospital, some staff of the hospital, and executives of NPP, Cape Coast South Constituency.

The Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital is one of the four COVID-19 treatment centres in the Central Region.
The three skulls were unlike hundreds of others in the 16th-century mass grave uncovered at the San Jose de los Naturales Royal Hospital in Mexico City. Their front teeth were filed decoratively, perhaps as a ritual custom, unlike those of los naturales, the Indigenous people who made up the majority of bodies at the colonial burial site. Archaeologists concluded the three individuals were most likely enslaved Africans, but they needed more evidence to be certain.

Now, researchers have extracted genetic information from the individuals teeth, confirming they were Africans, perhaps among the earliest to be stolen from their homeland and brought to the Americas.

We studied their whole skeletons, and we wanted to know what they were suffering from, not only the diseases but the physical abuse too so we could tell their stories, said Rodrigo Barquera, a graduate student at the Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany. It has implications in the whole story of the colonial period of Mexico.

The findings, published Thursday in Current Biology, offer a glimpse into these peoples lives before their forced voyages and add insight into the infectious diseases that the trans-Atlantic slave trade may have brought into the New World.
01.05.2020 LISTEN

Body withdrawals at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) mortuary have increased from five to sixty a week as bereaved families have resorted to private burials.

The move was as a result of President Akufo Addos appeal to decongest the various morgues across the country as a result of the ban on public and social gatherings to halt the spread of CONVID-19.

President Akufo-Addo on March 15, 2020, in a televised broadcast, declared a ban on all public gatherings as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country.

On Sunday, April 26, 2020, the president in his 8th address to the nation on the coronavirus update extended the ban for another two weeks.

Private burials are permitted, but with limited numbers, not exceeding twenty-five (25) in attendance, President Akufo-Addo said.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman for Mortuary Workers Association, Ebenezer Asrifi, in an interview with Otec News reporter, Kwame Agyenim Boateng, on Friday, May 1, 2020, said the presidents appeal has created spaces at the facility as more bodies are withdrawn every day.

Bereaved families are withdrawing their loved ones for private burials, creating enough spaces to keep new ones. We are encouraging them to organize burials to save them from incurring more mortuary costs, he added.

Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wore a T-shirt on television emblazoned with the words that woman from Michigan, a cheeky reference to President Donald Trump's dismissal of her.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined her onetime nemesis, Pete Buttigieg, for a friendly virtual chat on a late-night show. And Stacey Abrams speaks of her political ambition to almost anyone who will listen.

The audition to become the next vice president has begun.

And while the coronavirus has upended virtually every aspect of American life, there's one constant: The veepstakes competition that unfolds every four years is one of the most unpredictable, often awkward, rituals of

That's especially true this time as the pandemic has overtaken the presidential campaign, forcing those thought to be in the running for the No. 2 spot to be even more creative in getting noticed.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden began the process of selecting a running mate in earnest on Thursday by announcing a committee to vet potential candidates.

The panel's work will likely last through July, he said, meaning months in which some candidates will appear up one day only to fade and potentially be replaced with someone who isn't on anyone's radar the next.

Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign, said the search for a running mate often takes twists and turns because it's one of the few things a nominee can control after a primary spent largely reacting to surrounding political forces. He said reverberations from the choice can last for years.

This is the first time in the campaign that the candidate is back in charge of something," he said.

Everyone's watching. Everyone in the party, world leaders, business leaders and congressional leaders, because, in a way, it lays out the nominee's decision-making process, and it answers the question, Does he have one or not?



Biden has limited some of the mystery by promising to pick a woman, a potentially important move as he faces scrutiny after a former Senate staffer alleged he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. Biden's campaign has denied the accusation.

Those thought to be under consideration for the vice presidency typically go to great lengths to avoid talking about it much less audition for it. But that tradition is fading away this year.

Abrams, the former Democratic Georgia governor candidate, has been vocal about wanting the job, framing her lack of subtlety as the type of honesty her parents instilled in her growing up. Whitmer insists she won't be intimidated by Trump, and Klobuchar has positioned herself as a friendly Midwesterner who can overcome old rivalries.

Others, including Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have said they'd accept the vice presidency if Biden offered it.

Final selections can hinge on gut feelings or political calculation. They sometimes are built on personal relationships. Often it's about arrangements of simple accommodation.

Jimmy Carter, the former Georgia governor and political outsider, in 1976 picked Walter Mondale, a Senate stalwart who boosted the nominee's credibility with Washington power brokers. That same year, Gerald Ford was seen as sometimes overly accommodating politically, which made the take-no-prisoners Senate style of his friend Dole appealing.

By selecting Mike Pence in 2016, Donald Trump helped solidify his standing with religious conservatives. That was crucial when Pence stood by Trump after a tape emerged of him bragging of grabbing women by their genitals, nearly sinking the campaign.

An important part of the modern process is visibility. Most of Biden's possible choices have been on media blitzes. When a decision appears imminent, reporters will scrutinize online flight information, attempting to decipher who is traveling where and when, often camping outside the homes of presumptive choices, hoping to glean clues by their comings and goings.

It wasn't always that way.

Mondale first injected a dose of reality television by winning the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination and summoning potential running mates to his home in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota attracting a great deal of media attention each time.

Vice presidents had always been picked in secret and were standby equipment, and it wasn't considered important, which was stupid, Mondale said in an interview.

Until we got into it ... and the public started to see that, 'Yes the vice presidency is important.'" Like Biden now, Mondale saw the process from both sides, as the chooser and the chosen.

I had some ideas of what it involved and what I needed to do, he said.

But I don't think anybody's really ready for this. Another key factor weighing on Biden's choice is age since, at 77, he would be the oldest American president in history, should he win.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Syracuse, N.Y.  Mayor Ben Walsh will furlough 104 city employees until the end of July, saving the city between $240,000 and $360,000, he said today.

Walsh announced the furloughs Friday as part of the citys effort to make up for a multi-million dollar revenue shortfall caused by the COVID-19 shutdown. Walsh cautioned that there are more difficult decisions to come.

Most of the employees being furloughed are crossing guards and employees who staff recreational programs like pools and camps within city parks. They will be eligible to collect unemployment while on unpaid leave.

We do intend for this to be temporary, Walsh said. This became a decision we couldnt avoid.

Walsh also said he will freeze all non-essential spending starting May 1. He said that would likely save hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

City finance officials are projecting a $24 million decline in sales tax revenue over the next 15 months  more than initially expected. More than half of that decline is expected in the current fiscal year, which ends July 1. Sales tax money is the citys largest source of income, accounting for about one-third of all revenue.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also considering slashing state money to cities by 20%, which could cost Syracuse another $14 million next fiscal year.

Syracuses property tax collection rate has declined about 8% compared to last year. Other revenue streams like fees and fines have also declined.

Walsh used those projections to underscore the need for federal aid to citys like Syracuse. Hes spent several weeks lobbying for relief funding. Congresss first round of stimulus money only went to metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 residents, skipping Syracuse.

Without significant federal aid, theres a lot more difficult decisions to come, he said.

Walsh said bankruptcy is not an option for Syracuse. Neither is a fiscal control board.

The Common Council is expected to vote on the citys 2020-21 budget next week.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Gov. Cuomo closes NY schools for rest of academic year due to coronavirus

Onondaga County has lowest reported rate of coronavirus deaths in NY

Possible coronavirus spread reported at grocery store, wireless dealer

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, people have had their own theories surrounding the novel coronavirus.

Some say it was a bioweapon created to create chaos around the world, some say it is spreading due to 5G, and all kinds of baseless assumptions that dont really have any evidence to support them.

Reuters

And recently, POTUS Donald Trump made a statement that added more fuel to the fire of these theories. In a recent event that turned into a press conference, he was asked, Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?



To this, Trump responded stating, Yes, I have. And I think the WHO (World Health Organisation) should be ashamed of themselves. When he has later asked if he has directly seen any evidence of the virus originating in the virology clinic in Wuhan he said, I cant tell you that. Im not allowed to tell you that.

Scientists are tired of telling people it isnt lab-grown

Scientists have been tirelessly looking for the source of the novel coronavirus and several studies has have revealed that the virus cannot be developed in a laboratory setting, or is manmade.

According to immunologist Nigel McMillan from the Menzies Health Institute Queensland, "If you were going to design it in a lab the sequence changes make no sense as all previous evidence would tell you it would make the virus worse. No system exists in the lab to make some of the changes found."

Reuters

Another study that was investigating the genomic data of SARS-CoV-2 -- particularly the receptor-binding domain (RBD) sections of the virus -- to find out how it mutated into the life-threatening disease that has halted our world.



Scripps Research immunologist Kristian Andersen, said in the study, By comparing the available genome sequence data for known coronavirus strains, we can firmly determine that SARS-CoV-2 originated through natural processes.

She added, Two features of the virus, the mutations in the RBD portion of the spike protein and its distinct backbone, rules out laboratory manipulation as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2.

What if the samples were leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology?

"There is no evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, explains University of Sydney evolutionary virologist, Edward Holmes.

He further stated, The closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2 is a bat virus named RaTG13, which was kept at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There is some unfounded speculation that this virus was the origin of SARS-CoV-2. However, RaTG13 was sampled from a different province of China (Yunnan) to where COVID-19 first appeared; and the level of genome sequence divergence between SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 is equivalent to an average of 50 years (and at least 20 years) of evolutionary change. Hence, SARS-CoV-2 was not derived from RaTG13.

Reuters

He also emphasised that bats arent the only source of the coronavirus explaining, In addition, we know that viruses related to SARS-CoV-2 are also found in pangolins. This suggests that other wildlife species are likely to carry relatives of SARS-CoV-2.



He concluded, In summary, the abundance, diversity and evolution of coronaviruses in wildlife strongly suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is of natural origin. However, a greater sampling of animal species in nature, including bats from Hubei province, is needed to resolve the exact origins of SARS-CoV-2.
A man attacked his ex-partner with a knife in a city centre park, leaving her with a slash wound from her forehead to her cheek, it is alleged.

Eddie Johnson (39) is accused of inflicting a "nasty" injury on the woman, who needed seven stitches to her face.

He appeared in Dublin District Court on assault and weapons charges after he was arrested in connection with the incident yesterday.

Judge Grainne Malone remanded him in custody for a week after no bail application was made on his behalf.

Mr Johnson, of no fixed address, is charged with assault causing harm to a woman at Wolfe Tone Park, Jervis Street, Dublin 1 on April 28.

Knife

He is also accused of unlawful possession of a knife in the incident.

Garda PJ Gallagher told the court he arrested the accused yesterday and brought him to Store Street Garda Station, where he was charged at 12.39am yesterday morning. Gda Gallagher said he would be objecting to bail.

Judge Malone asked him what was alleged.

Gda Gallagher said it was alleged the accused attacked his ex-partner at Wolfe Tone Park at 3pm yesterday, using a knife and inflicting a wound to her face.

The alleged victim sustained a "nasty injury", from her forehead to her cheek and required seven stitches to her face.

Defence solicitor Ruth Walsh said she was not making a bail application at this time and there was consent to the accused being remanded in custody.

Judge Malone said jurisdiction would have to be considered in the case, to determine whether it can be dealt with at district court level or if it will be sent forward for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

She asked the garda if he wished her to consider jurisdiction but he said the directions of the DPP were awaited and the judge instead deferred this.

She remanded the accused in custody, to appear in Cloverhill District Court on May 6, by video link.

Mr Johnson, dressed in a striped jumper and wearing a face mask throughout the brief proceedings, was not required to address the court.

Theft

The charges against him are under the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person and Firearms and Offensive Weapons Acts.

Separately, he also is charged with theft and public order incidents in a city centre convenience store.

Mr Johnson is charged with public intoxication, threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and stealing food items worth 5 at Londis, Westmoreland Street, in April 4 last.

He has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to any of the charges.
Workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, FedEx and several grocery delivery services are planning mass walkouts following complaints that they have not been provided with sufficient protection from the coronavirus, following a series of workplace protests and other actions as their employers see record profits.

Retail worker organisers announced that employees plan to walk out or call in sick on Friday as part of an unprecedented strike among some of the biggest US retailers to demand stronger workplace protections, including hazard pay, guaranteed paid sick leave and sufficient protective gear.

Meanwhile, hundreds of nurses at dozens of hospitals across the country are staging protests to demand personal protective equipment while treating Covid-19 patients over the last several weeks.

The strikes include warehouse and grocery workers with Amazon and Whole Foods, which is owned by the tech and retail giant, and gig workers with delivery services Instacart and Shipt, which is owned by Target.

Mass protests on 1 May, or International Workers Day, follow several other actions among non-union essential workers, including walkouts among Amazon workers in New York and hundreds of Instacart workers in March.

Meatpacking plant workers, sanitation employees, bus drivers and other workers have also planned strikes and walked off shifts over the past month as the US death toll climbs to more than 63,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Retailer strikers also are urging customers to avoid crossing the virtual picket line through massive boycotts, which have been amplified across social media.

A union representing workers with grocery retailer Trader Joe's,which is not named among the protests, has encouraged workers who are not "at risk" to join.

Nurses at 139 hospitals in 13 states, representing more than 95,000 nurses, will also hold workplace protests to demand "optimal" personal protective equipment in the face of the pandemic, following the coronavirus-related deaths of more than 60,000 people in the US, including 60 nurses.

National Nurses United executive director Bonnie Castillo said: "Nurses signed up to care for their patients. They did not sign up to sacrifice their lives on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic ... On this day that celebrates the labour movement and working people, union nurses are standing up to demand the protections they need now."

The nurses union is demanding officials provide them with air-purifying respirators, single-use N95s, coveralls that cover the head and feet, and gloves.

"Otherwise, hospitals will remain fomites for infection ... and nurses and health care workers will continue to get sick and sidelined, die, and be unable to care for the next wave of patients," a union statement said.

Amazon has reported spending more than $800m on coronavirus-related work protections. Walmart claims it performs daily temperature checks and provides some protective gear to its retail and warehouse workers, and Target has reported deep cleaning its stores.

Instacart workers also declared victory last month after the company agreed to provide personal protective gear following protests, though some workers have said they have yet to receive any, or have received only broken supplies.

Whole Worker, a group of Amazon-owned Whole Foods employees, has maintained a growing list of confirmed coronavirus cases among its workers. It has identified at last 263 cases, including two deaths, across 136 stores, as of 1 May, according to the group.

A group of Amazon workers has tallied at least 500 cases among employees across 125 facilities.

A statement from Amazon worker organisers on Wednesday said: "Because of the failings of our employers, many of our fellow employees have contracted this deadly virus and some have died ... Although there have been some changes in company policies, they are not enough to adequately protect us."

On Thursday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reported that the company saw a 26 per cent increase in sales in the first financial quarter, while the company's net income fell 31 per cent and shares fell by roughly 5 per cent as Amazon spent more to address a spike in orders from the retailer
Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, says 113 health workers have been infected with COVID-19. As of Wednesday evening, Nigeria had...





Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, says 113 health workers have been infected with COVID-19.





As of Wednesday evening, Nigeria had recorded 1,728 COVID-19 cases, out of which 307 patients have been discharged while 51 persons have died.





Speaking at the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja on Thursday, the minister said the surge in cases can be attributed to increased community transmission and the conduct of more tests.





Addressing a question on the figures of infected healthcare workers in the country, Ehanire said about 113 workers have been affected.





He said most of the infected healthcare workers are from private hospitals, thereby urging those unqualified to treat the virus to desist from doing so.





The minister said about 80 percent of infected persons would have mild or no symptoms, 15 percent would have fairly or severe symptoms and less than five percent would have critical symptoms.





He asked infected patients not to be worried as the recovery rate of the virus is at least 95%.





There are not so many people in the health sector who are infected (with COVID-19). The latest figure we have is that there are about 113 actually. And they are not all public health workers, there are a good number from private hospitals, he said.





If you hear us speaking frequently against trying to treat coronavirus in private clinics, we are actually referring to people who do so without having necessary precautions and training.





This is because they risk infecting themselves and they go home and give this infection to their family and that is not the right thing. So the health workers who have no training have no business handling coronavirus.





For those who do not have equipment, we have said that we have provided equipment and PPE for all those who are out there. There are one or two places where we have heard that there is tightness in its supply and we have tried to send them over there.





But let me remind you that there is a global shortage of PPE, many countries are struggling but we are doing everything we can to make sure that our frontline workers have these requirements and we also have a stockpile that we can send quickly to make sure there is no shortage.





The minister added that the federal government is looking at domestic production to meet up demand of personal protective equipment (PPE).




Iran has key role in keeping security of Persian Gulf: Leader

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 5:06 AM

Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution says Iran has a key role in keeping the security of the Persian Gulf, and the presence of extra-regional forces threatens any initiative that could benefit the people of the region.

In a series of tweets published on the Twitter page of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, the Leader also said that the Persian Gulf belongs to the nations living there, and those are the ones responsible for ensuring its security.

"Iran with its long coastlines has a key role in keeping the security of this region. By God's grace we will do our part. This is our historical, geographical and regional duty," said one the tweets, which were posted on the occasion of the National Persian Gulf Day.

The Leader also said that a "wise and rational collective policy" in favor of the people of the region cannot be achieved while foreign forces are present in the Persian Gulf.

Earlier in the day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also reminded the United States to whom the waterway truly belongs.

"The Americans should know that this waterway is called 'the Persian Gulf.' It is not called 'the New York Gulf' or 'the Washington Gulf,'" President Rouhani told a cabinet session in Tehran.

The remarks came against the backdrop of Washington's incessant acts of military adventurism in the Persian Gulf region.

"They should understand the circumstances [surrounding the body of water] by taking into consideration both its name and the nation that has preserved it for thousands of years, and, therefore, stop hatching plots against the Iranian nation every day," Rouhani stated.

US President Donald Trump alleged in a recent tweet that he had ordered the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian gunboats that "harass" American ships, following a recent confrontation between US warships and Iranian military boats in the waters.

The IRGC denounced the American vessels for their "unprofessional and perilous" behavior in the waterway, and said they had "caused trouble" for one of the elite force's logistics ships that was on a routine patrol.

A US Navy statement claimed that about a dozen IRGC boats had approached several US naval vessels in the Persian Gulf "in dangerous and harassing" ways.

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While attributing the UNIPASS hitch to the sabotaging activities of some detractors, Amfo-Sefah, debunked the misinformation out that nothing was happening at the port; but rather explained that there were two sides to what was currently happening in Tema port.

In a statement, he said Freight forwarders and traders who have bill of entries (BoE) already logged unto the system and we're at various stages of the clearance systems could go ahead and clear.

The problem is with applications and entry of new declaration, which the system does not accept, hence the stand still at the Tema port, the statement explained.

According to the statement, some of the stakeholders acted in bad faith, which resulted in the challenges, but gave the assurance that things would work.

Even though the commissioner General wrote to all stakeholders announcing the implementation and deployment of the new national single window Integrated Customs Management System ICUMS it also directed GCNet to continue running their GICCS platform alongside the ICUMS-uni-pass platform, to enable all existing BoEs that are already logged in the GICCS-GCnet system to complete their clearance cycle whiles the ICUMS-Uni-pass receive New applications from UCR,CCVR stage to the final clearance cycle.

The directives, he said, were communicated to GCnet, West blue, ICUMS-Uni-pass and all stakeholders per letters with reference numbers; CG/GRA/ICUMS-PN/04/20 Of 24th April 2020; CG/GRA/ICUMS/04/20 Of 24TH April 2020, and CG/GRA/ICUMS-3/04/20 Of 27th April 2020.

This was to ensure that freight forwarders and traders who have already been issued with Customs Classification and Valuation Report CCVRs'' from the old Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System PAARS which is been managed by west blue utilize their CCVR's.

However, he said, the freight and trade community only to turned up to work on Tuesday to surprisingly find out that Gcnet systems were down.

The statement called on all stakeholders that failed to play their roles to render an apology to traders and freight forwarders in Tema port and compensate them for the loss of time and money. 

The black man is capable of managing his own affairs This is a famous quote by the first president of the republic Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, it's about time state institutions managed their own affairs to forestall some of these challenges in the near future.

Activities at the Tema Port came to a standstill on Monday when it was realized that the new port management platform that Government contracted CUPIA Korea to install had been encumbered with difficulties.

The difficulties coming in the very early days of the implementation of UNIPAS, led to misinformation in the public that the UNIPAS system which government tried to replace GC Net's system with is not good.

The CFT statement congratulated Ghanaian workers on the World Labour Day.

---GNA
ALEPPO, Syria  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has been restructuring its ranks in northwestern Syria's Idlib, taking advantage of the cessation of hostilities and the relative calm that followed the cease-fire agreement signed between Russia and Turkey March 5.

HTS was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the UN Security Council in 2018 and international sanctions were imposed on the group.

It has made changes in the leadership of the armed formations, intensifying military training in camps scattered throughout the areas in northern Idlib. The group is working to attract more recruits exploiting the difficult living conditions in Idlib and unemployment among young people to attract new fighters.

On April 14, HTS military wing announced the establishment of three new military brigades, led by close associates of the HTS leadership. The Talha bin Ubayd Allah Brigade will be headed by Abu Hafs Binnish, the Ali bin Abi Talib Brigade will be headed by Abu Bakr Muhain and the al-Zubeir ibn al-Awwam Brigade will be headed by Abu Mohammad Shura, the statements read.

Abu Hafs Binnish, who is from a city of the same name in Idlibs countryside, is the most notorious among the appointed leaders of the newly formed brigades. Binnish is the son-in-law of HTS leader Mohammad al-Joulani, a connection that has allowed him to take up leadership positions in the extremist group.

Abu Bakr Muhain and Abu Mohammad Shura are members of the group's Shura Council and also Joulanis cronies, but are less known than their associate since they are from outside Idlib and out of the spotlight.

HTS leaders called the decision to create new brigades a step of paramount importance for pumping new blood into the group.

On April 19, HTS media office issued a statement commenting on the new formations, reported the groups Ebaa News Network. HTS constantly seeks to develop and raise efficiency at several levels, including personnel military training and staff preparation in terms of arms, military industrialization and management.

It went on, These changes are in line with the preparations of the revolutionary forces on the ground for the upcoming stage, which requires the mobilization of all forces and armies to rise to the challenges of the revolution and defend the region against the attacks of the occupier and its militias.

Mahmood Talha, a journalist based in the Aleppo countryside and works with the local opposition network Thiqa News Agency, told Al-Monitor, Should the cease-fire remain in place in Idlib, these changes would  diminish the role of the more hard-line groups within HTS that are dissatisfied with the Russian-Turkish agreement and want the battles to resume in Idlib.

HTS is already suffering major defections from its ranks and poor military performance, evident during the recent battles against the Syrian government forces at the beginning of 2020. In an interview with a journalist close to the group in mid-February, Joulani said that his group still needs more organization.

Hussein Nasser, a former correspondent for the Turkish Anadolu Agency, told Al-Monitor, HTS is trying to take advantage of the calm resulting from the cease-fire in Idlib to make changes in preparation for the upcoming period and to pump new blood into its ranks with new recruits after the heavy losses it incurred in battles with the regimes forces and the Russian airstrikes.

Nasser added, The group began appointing local leaders and removing those who are considered extremists in the international arena, especially non-Syrian leaders. The newly formed brigades are all headed by Syrian commanders within the group. This is, of course, another of HTS schemes since its inception in 2012 to be removed from the list of terrorist organizations.

An opposition military source who asked not to be named told Al-Monitor, The announcement of the new military formations is merely a show of strength and an attempt to convey a message to the Turkey-backed forces that HTS continues to expand and still has what it takes to defend its presence in Idlib.

Increasing the number of brigades is important in light of the defections within the group and the power imbalance between its military formations. It is also very important to have as many leaders that are close to Joulani as possible, the source concluded.
As Europe cautiously looks to lift coronavirus lockdown measures, countries across the continent are considering reopening schools, a key move toward re-establishing something close to a normal way of life.

NBC News' correspondents explain what's happening:

Spain

Parents in Spain are reacting with frustration after the government said schools will stay closed until September, one of several measures Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled Tuesday that will see most social distancing restrictions lifted by late June.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

"Having no school does not help getting the country back on its feet," said Laure Headricks, an American mother of three teenagers who has lived in Madrid, the capital, for eight years.

She said it was devastating for children to continue without social interaction, classroom learning and the security of a routine, and she added that the decision made it "impossible" for parents to return to work and rebuild their incomes.

Sanchez has said that child care options would be made available for parents who can't work from home and who have children younger than 6.

Image: Lauder Headrick

Italy

In Italy, which has the most coronavirus deaths in Europe, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte suggested at a news conference Monday that schools could remain closed for the rest of the academic year.

"It is extremely difficult to bring together the right to education with the right to health," he said. Conte added that scientists predict that infection rates could spike again in a week or two.

"We cannot afford to reopen schools now, also taking into account that the average age of our teaching staff is among the highest in Europe," he said.

Image: Giuseppe Conte (Filippo Attili/Palazzo Chigi Press Office / Reuters)

France

Younger French children can return to school starting May 11, with junior high schools opening in mid-May and senior schools in June.

Attendance will be voluntary, and President Emmanuel Macron has said it is up to parents to decide whether they are comfortable sending their children back to their schools.

Story continues

But some teachers have expressed concern about their own health after France's scientific committee on the pandemic response recommended a reopening date in September. France, like Spain, has more than 24,000 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel has issued general safety guidelines and a target date of Monday for schools to reopen.

But because the instructions are open to interpretation by regional leaders, the process has been chaotic at times. Some states moved quickly to put students back in classrooms but lacked clear plans to accommodate children whose parents may have been infected.

Last week, some older students in Berlin were allowed back to their classrooms, as many must take their final exams, known as Abitur, to graduate from high school.

"It's been quite difficult to stay focused and motivated, because it's quite hard to keep a good balance right now," said Karol Wenz, 19, whose first exam had been scheduled for April 3.

IMage: Katleen Thielemans and her children

Belgium

Schools will start to reopen in a staggered manner based on age groups. Children ages 5 and 6 will return first, along with most senior high school students.

"It would have felt strange that it would be back to normal immediately, so I understand the gradual reopening," said Katleen Thielemans, 43, a human resources manager and mother of two young children. "Safety measures are being taken very seriously."

Class sizes will be limited to 10 children, who will be obligated to wear masks, while kindergartens will remain closed through the end of May.

Denmark

The government reopened nurseries and primary schools on April 20.

"We decided it had to be the smaller children," Education Minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil told NBC News. "They gained less from the distant learning than, for instance, the older pupils and students."

Returning children have been encouraged to adapt their behavior to fit new social distancing guidelines, for example by playing tag by touching only one another's shadows to minimize physical contact. But the reopening of schools still raised concerns for many families.

"I think there was a lot of kind of nervousness amongst some of the parents," said Riyong Kim, alongside her 7-year-old daughter, Siena, who attends a state elementary school, Kongevejens Skole. But she understood the balance that needed to be struck.

"We've got to do our work. They're really, really bored," she said.

Carl Nasman reported from Berlin, Tesa Arcilla from Brussels, Helena Humphrey from Paris, Molly Hunter from Copenhagen and Willem Marx from Madrid. Malou Visco Comandini contributed reporting from Rome.
Donald Trump made more questionable claims on Friday about his administrations response to the pandemic  but, yet again, without providing data to support his claims about how many lives his team has saved.

He again claimed his government has saved hundreds of thousands of lives, before inflating that claim first to 1 million, then 1.5 million, then 2.1 million and then 2.5 million lives saved.

After weeks ago saying up to 200,000 Americans are likely to pass away from the coronavirus, then saying around 60,000 people would die, the president on Friday again revised his death toll estimate.

Hopefully were going to come in under that 100,000 lives lost, he said before leaving the White House for a weekend at Camp David.

The presidents remarks came as the number of confirmed cases in the United States approached 1.1 million with 64,200 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Moments, later Mr Trump told reporters for the second consecutive day that he is considering new tariffs on Chinese products to punish the Asian giant for what he claims is its covering up that the Covid-19 virus had gone public on its soil.

He also again criticised GOP Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who Mr Trump says went too far with his order to reopen that state, which could now be a 2020 presidential election swing state.

I want to see us open safely. But I didnt like the spas and tattoo parlours. And I wasnt thrilled about that. I said nothing about Georgia other than that. I like the states opening, they will be opening, the president said.

Whats more, he again was asked about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly has fallen ill after an undisclosed surgery. I dont want to talk about it, the he said, of the man he once threatened with nuclear weapons but now claims to love.

He spoke after his new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, formally briefed reporters. She vowed to never lie at the podium, repeated his claims about China and the coronavirus, and repeated his charges that the FBI was out to get his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, no matter what their investigation of him turned up.

He also departed the White House for the first time since a long weekend in Florida in early March as his poll numbers against his presumptive general election foe and approval ratings both have taken a downward turn.

One Quinnipiac University poll taken earlier this month shows 52 per cent of older voters disapproving of Mr Trumps handling of the outbreak; thats up from 48 per cent the previous month.

More broadly, Quinnipiac this month found seniors nationally favour former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, over Mr Trump by a wide margin, 55 per cent to 40 per cent.

But, in a Thursday morning tweet, the president, as he often does with what he perceives as bad news, dismissed all 2020 polls, writing: FAKE POLLING, just like 2016 (but worse)!

That was part of a revised White House communications strategy to have the president focus more on what his administration is doing to help states get the countrys economy open again  and his own re-election campaign.

He held only one daily coronavirus press briefing, on Monday, instead holding more shorter events during which he took questions from reporters and giving afternoon remarks, also taking questions.

Such quick-fire back-and-forth sessions give the president more control over the questioning as he seems more inclined to interrupt journalists or move on than when at the briefing room podium.

At Camp David, Ms McEnany said the president will meet with staff and conduct phone calls with other world leaders. The topic of what she called a working weekend will be the Covid-19 pandemic.
OTTAWA - Members of Parliament have issued a mandatory summons to Canadian World Health Organization expert Bruce Aylward, after he turned down repeated invitations to testify to a House of Commons committee.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/4/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bruce Aylward, Team Lead WHO-China joint mission on COVID-19, speaks to the media about the COVID-19 after returning from China, during a press conference, at the World Health Organization, WHO, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Keystone via AP, Salvatore Di Nolfi

OTTAWA - Members of Parliament have issued a mandatory summons to Canadian World Health Organization expert Bruce Aylward, after he turned down repeated invitations to testify to a House of Commons committee.

Aylward is the renowned epidemiologist who led a team of WHO experts to China to study the COVID-19 outbreak in February.

He and the WHO have come under criticism by some in Canada for his report on China's ability to curb the spread of the viral disease, which has since become a worldwide pandemic.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in particular has raised concerns about the accuracy of the WHO's data on COVID-19, and China's influence on the international organization.

"This committee was tasked unanimously with studying Canada's response to COVID-19," Conservative health critic Matt Jeneroux said of the Commons health committee's mission.

"The WHO has played a key role in that response. The government has been relying on data from the WHO and has been implementing measures here in Canada based on the WHO's recommendations."

The committee has invited Aylward to testify by video conference from Geneva, Switzerland, twice in the last month.

He turned them down and the WHO instead offered to answer written questions.

NDP health critic Don Davies said while written answers would be helpful, the chance for MPs to ask questions would be far better.

"I would note for the record that Dr. Aylward has done interviews ... with media outlets," Davies said Thursday. "The WHO has been willing to make Dr. Aylward available to answer questions to the media, so I don't see any principled reason why they would not make Dr. Aylward available to this committee to answer similar questions.

The committee voted unanimously Thursday to issue a mandatory summons, but it can only be enforced once he returns to Canadian soil.

Aylward's final report upon his return from China at the end of February included praise for China's methods and effectiveness in slowing the spread of COVID-19.

He noted that during his time in China there was a steep decrease in new cases in the country, fever clinics were seeing fewer and fewer people showing up for assessments and treatment beds were opening up.

"This decline in COVID-19 cases across China is real," he noted in his report.

The accuracy of that data and China's transparency about the true extend of the epidemic at the time have since been called into question in Canada and abroad.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2020.
(Newser)  NASA had good news for Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk but bad news for Boeing Thursday. Bezos' Blue Origin company and Musk's SpaceX have been selected, along with Alabama-based Dynetics, to develop spacecraft that can land people on the moon, the BBC reports. Under contracts totaling just under $1 billion, the companies will submit competing designs for moon landers. Boeing, which usually plays a key role in NASA spacecraft programs, also submitted a bid but was not selected, reports the Washington Post. NASA says its engineers will work with the companies on their designs; they should be able to choose by next February which lander will bring people to the moon for the first time since 1972.

story continues below

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tells the Post that the Artemis mission is "starting to feel very, very real" and he is confident that the agency can meet President Trump's goal of bringing people to the moon by the close of 2024. The project was behind schedule and over budget even before the pandemic, but Bridenstine told reporters Thursday that he was confident Congress would approve funding despite the huge amounts being spent on coronavirus relief, the New York Times reports. "Its important that this agency do this now, because our country and in fact the whole world has been shaken by this coronavirus pandemic," he said. "And yet we need to give people hope. We need to give them something that they can look up to, dream about." (Read more Artemis missions stories.)
Friday, May 1st, 2020 (7:25 pm) - Score 13,071

The owners of fixed cable TV and broadband ISP Virgin Media UK (Liberty Global) are reportedly discussing the possibility of a merger with the owners of mobile operator O2 (Telefonica). Assuming the two sides are able to reach an agreement then its claimed that a deal could be announced as soon as next week.

According to Bloombergs sources, no final decisions have been made and the talks could still fall apart or be delayed. At this point regular readers of ISPreview.co.uk will recall that, over the years, Virgin Media has been linked to more than a few potential mergers or asset swaps (Vodafone in particular has long been a big talking point and so has O2  here), although so far none have ever come to fruition.

In theory it makes perfect sense for Virgin Media to combine their fixed broadband business with a dedicated mobile operator, which would enable them to more directly target arch rival BT in the retail space. BT has invested heavily to create a new all IP converged network, where mobile and fixed line connectivity could become almost seamless, although not all consumers are keen on such solutions. Likewise Virgins fixed lines could help to fuel data capacity for 5G mobile etc.

On top of that if Virgin Media does proceed with their often mentioned proposal to separate the fibre network from their retail ISP business (e.g. the fibre network would go wholesale under the Liberty Networks company and expand into new areas via FTTP) then having a full mobile side would help to boost their consumer proposition.

However, one potential problem could be the fact that Virgin Media has already signed a 5-year contract with Vodafone, which will see the latter taking over their Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) platform from EE (BT). Under that deal Virgin Mobile will start to transition on to Vodafones network from the end of 2021 (here).

Suffice to say that if any major changes are planned to the Vodafone arrangement then theyll have to happen soon in order to avoid bigger complications further down the line. Preparing for a switch of mobile platform is a very complicated process, which requires plenty of preparation so as to avoid upsetting existing customers (TalkTalk has some experience of this and eventually got out of the MVNO game altogether).

Telefonica has of course been looking to float or sell O2 UK for some years now, although in the past year they appeared to have given up on that course and were instead focusing upon a plan to improve their UK network. At this point readers may recall that a proposed merger between O2 and Three UK failed following competition concerns by the EU and Ofcom, although a deal between Virgin Media and O2 seems unlikely to run into any big problems (two different types of network).

UPDATE 2nd May 2020

One other thought we had concerns Sky Broadband, specifically their Sky Mobile division as that uses an O2 based MVNO platform. More than a few reports have suggested that Sky could become an ISP customer of Liberty Networks in the future, assuming that project proceeds.

In any case the above deal could mean Sky also taking mobile connectivity from direct rival Virgin Media, which might prompt them to switch supplier to Three UK or Vodafone.

UPDATE 4th May 2020

Now its official (here).
Kim Jong-un has made his first public appearance in 20 days, according to state media in North Korea.

The absence of the countrys leader over the last three weeks triggered rumours he was dead or in a coma after failed heart surgery.

However, the official Korean Central News Agency said Kim attended a ceremony on Friday to mark the completion of a fertiliser factory near Pyongyang.

They reported he attended with senior officials including his sister and putative successor Kim Yo-jong. Photographs released by the North Korean government appeared to confirm this.

Speculation about Kims health began after he missed the birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung on 15 April.

Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits the newly built Pyongyang Orphans' Primary School on 2 February 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a women's company under Unit 5492 of the Korean People's Army in November 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects the test-fire of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location in July 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un celebrates the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location in July 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a potato at the Samjiyon Potato Factory in North Korea in October 2018 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse through a forest in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 EPA Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a block of frozen fish at a processing facility in North Korea in November 2018 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un celebrates the succeful launch of a strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile in August 2016 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Donald Trump as they meet for the first time at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore in June 2018 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump share a glance as they meet in the Demilitarised Zone in Panmunjon, Korea in June 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects mushrooms at Pyongyang Mushroom Farm AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a super-large multiple rocket launcher ahead of a test in September 2019 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects an apple farm in South Hwanghae Province in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects an apple farm in South Hwanghae Province in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects dental wares at a newly built factory in June 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits Farm No 1116 in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits a motor factory in November 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in August 2017 AFP/Getty

It was the first time he was not present for the important holiday in North Korea since taking power in 2011.

Over the next two weeks state media reported that Kim was carrying out routine activities such as sending greetings to the leaders of Syria, Cuba and South Africa.

However he has not made a public appearance since presiding over a ruling Workers Party meeting to discuss the coronavirus on 11 April.

On that day he reappointed his sister as an alternate member of the decision-making political bureau of the partys central committee.

The next day the government issued an undated picture of Mr Kim inspecting an air defence unit.

Last week Reuters reported that China had sent a team of medical experts to North Korea. However it was unclear what, if anything, was wrong with the North Korean leader.

On Monday Donald Trump said he had a good idea how Mr Kim was doing and hoped he was fine  without elaborating on what he knew.

And earlier this week a South Korean minister said the North Korean leaders unexplained absence could be due to him being afraid of contracting coronavirus.

In 2014, Kim vanished from the public eye for nearly six weeks and then reappeared with a cane. South Koreas spy agency said he had a cyst removed from his ankle.

Additional reporting by agencies
It is basically over

6-12 months

In another year or years

It was never a real pandemic

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By Costas Pitas and Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain was now past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak and promised to set out a lockdown exit strategy next week, despite rising deaths and criticism of his government's response.

By Costas Pitas and Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain was now past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak and promised to set out a lockdown exit strategy next week, despite rising deaths and criticism of his government's response.

Holding his first news conference since recovering from COVID-19, and a day after his fiancee gave birth, Johnson offered hope to locked-down Britons, but urged them to stick with restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus.

"I can confirm today that for the first time, we are past the peak of this disease. We're past the peak and we're on the downward slope, and we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term," Johnson said.

Britain now has the second-highest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe with more than 26,000 deaths.

That has put pressure on the government over its response to the outbreak - which lagged some European peers - and is fuelling caution in lifting restrictions on movement in case that leads to a second spike.

"It is vital that we do not now lose control and run slap into a second, an even bigger mountain," Johnson said.

But, with rising unemployment and many companies crippled, the government is coming under pressure to outline an exit strategy.

Johnson promised to set out next week a "menu of options" on how the lockdown could be relaxed, but said the exact dates of any change would be driven by scientific advice and data.

The government is also facing questions over its likely failure to meet a target health minister Matt Hancock set of carrying out 100,000 daily tests for the virus by the end of April, with testing seen as key to ending the lockdown.

Johnson returned to work on Monday having recovered after being infected with the virus, which left him gravely ill in intensive care at the peak of the outbreak.

Delaying any paternity leave, he earlier headed a virtual meeting of his cabinet.

Johnson imposed strict economic and social limits six weeks ago to slow the spread of the virus, and his ministers have since repeatedly refused to discuss when it will end. Instead, the government has set five broad conditions which must be met before restrictions can be relaxed.

"It's thanks to that massive collective effort to shield the NHS (National Health Service) that we avoided an uncontrollable and catastrophic epidemic, where the reasonable worst case scenario was 500,000 deaths," he said.

A first review into the lockdown must come before May 7 and scientific advisers have been presenting ministers with a menu of options over how it might be eased.

"I will be setting out a comprehensive plan next week to explain how we can get our economy moving... how we get our children back to school, back into childcare ... and third, how we can travel to work and how we can make life in the workplace, safer," Johnson said.

The opposition Labour Party has accused the government of being slow to react to the crisis by delaying the lockdown and then failing to ramp up the provision of protective equipment to frontline staff and the number of tests.

Johnson said that 81,611 tests had been conducted on Wednesday - continuing a significant increase in recent days, but supporting the view that the 100,000 target is unlikely to be met by the Thursday's deadline.

NHS Providers, a body representing hospital, community and ambulance services in the state-run health service, said the 100,000 target was a "red herring" which could be distracting attention from ensuring those who needed a test got one.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Smout, Writing by William James; Editing by Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper, William Maclean and Stephen Addison)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Child trafficking is on the increase in parts of drought-hit Opuwo and Ruacana, where some desperate parents who are not registered for any State grants are said to be swapping their daughters for money to survive. This resulted in the arrest of a South African national, Kenneth Karner (66), for human trafficking and child sex.

The suspect appeared before the Outapi Magistrate's Court in Omusati region following his arrest at a filling station, when he was found viewing pornographic material on his telephone, and this led to his interrogation.

The control prosecutor said Karner, accused of trafficking in persons, offered the biological parents N$2 500 for each of the minor girls that he stands accused of having sexually exploited and for having performed immoral acts with them.

Karner made his first appearance in court at Outapi in the Omusati region last week and the presiding magistrate, Eden Amutenya, postponed his case to Wednesday this week for bail application.

Karner arrived in Namibia through Oranjemund in the //Kharas region on 10 March this year as a tourist. He then proceeded to Kamanjab and Opuwo in Kunene region, where he allegedly received two minor girls, aged 14 and 15, from their biological parents, allegedly for sexual exploitation.

Martha Hasheela, a control prosecutor at Outapi Magistrate's Court in Omusati region, explained that poverty led some Himba parents to exchange their minor girls for cash because of the economic hardships brought about by drought.

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"He paid N$2 500 for each girl in order to "travel" with them. What we have discovered mostly in this type of cases is that these people, because of lack of sufficient support from government, poverty and unemployment, are pushed to survive on tourists, who pay them small amounts of money in order to take pictures of them," she explained.

She said the money generated is being used to buy food.

"The reality of the marginalised people in Kunene and Omusati regions, such as Himba, Dhemba, Aatjimba and Ngambwe, is they don't even go to school and they too survive on this practice. It is because of this vulnerability and desperation that they end up being exploited by some of these tourists," she emphasised.

She suggested that to minimise and prevent such cases from occurring, government needs to support these marginalised communities. Furthermore, the prosecutor said there is no possibility of the parents being prosecuted in the matter.

Warrant Officer Anna Kunga narrated police officers reportedly spotted the accused person at a filling station and decided to question him. She said, during interrogation, his mobile phone and a camera in his possession were taken after pornographic content involving the two minors was found.

Karner is accused of contravening Section 3 (2) of Combating of Trafficking in person, Act 1 of 2018. Alternatively, the contravention of Section 14 of Combating of Immoral Practice, Act 21 of 1980 as amended in Act 7 of 2000.
As the federal government's social distancing guidelines expire Thursday, to be replaced by less stringent advice, health officials expressed alarm that some governors may relax the measures prematurely and that the public will become complacent while an estimated 20,000 new cases of the disease caused by coronavirus are reported daily.

With the number of coronavirus deaths increasing by more than 1,000 each day, they say the danger is not over. And without the testing capacity to safely send people back to work, or enough workers to conduct large-scale contact tracing - meaning tracking all the people an infected individual has come into contact with - social distancing remains the most effective way to limit the spread of the virus.

Administration officials say the distancing measures have been replaced by White House guidance on how states should reopen - which include less stringent social distancing recommendations. But health experts say that does not offer individuals clear recommendations about how to navigate their daily lives and could unleash new outbreaks in states that push to reopen too early and too fast.

"You don't want people to misconstrue the expiration of these guidelines as a recommendation that it's OK to go back to your normal life, because it's not," said Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said that neither the agency nor the administration had offered a clear explanation on why states could begin to relax such measures.

He added that the CDC should clearly state that "as you start to reduce social distancing, there will be more cases of the disease."

Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said the CDC was under pressure to defer to the states despite the disease's rampant spread because of White House eagerness to get the economy up and running again.

"I'm not sure they're being driven completely by the science here," he said. "They're trying to do the best they can given that they're being driven to some extent by the White House."

Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the White House coronavirus task force, said on Wednesday that social distancing measures were part of the administration's reopening guidance for states. Several senior administration officials echoed that, saying it is now up to state and local officials to decide how best to reopen, given the virus's uneven spread throughout the country.

But some of those officials have expressed concern that some states are moving ahead too quickly, including South Carolina and Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, allowed tattoo parlors, hair and nail salons and bowling alleys to reopen on April 24. Trump rebuked Kemp's decision during a briefing last week.

That decision also reportedly blindsided the governor's health advisers and many local officials.

"Reopening the state and relaxing social-distancing measures now is irresponsible and could even be deadly," Democratic Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms wrote in The Atlantic. "I strongly believe that our health-care system is not overwhelmed because we have been socially distancing. And while staying at home may be inconvenient for many people, there is nothing essential about going to a bowling alley during a pandemic."

On March 16, the administration announced an initiative called "15 days to stop the spread" that urged people to work from home whenever possible, avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people, and not eat or drink at bars, restaurants and food courts. Trump extended the guidelines for another 30 days at the beginning of the month, through April 30.

The administration's reopening guidance still urges states to incorporate social distancing, but it relaxes the recommendations. The initial phase urges individuals to avoid socializing in groups of more than 10 people when people are unable to remain six feet apart, and says individuals should maximize physical distance from others in public.

"The current guidelines, I think you can say, are very much incorporated in the guidance that we're giving states to open up America again," Pence said.

A senior administration official said the CDC will keep the guidance on how to "stop the spread" in 30 days on its website, until it is replaced with finalized recommendations from the White House. That is expected to include expanded guidelines to allow the phased reopening of schools and camps, child-care programs, certain workplaces, houses of worship, restaurants and mass transit, representing the most detailed guidance to date.

"They have a bit of a muddled message about what people should be doing, and that you don't know based on who's talking what message you're going to get," said Joshua Sharfstein, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "A really important thing to understand when we don't have a highly effective treatment or vaccine - communication is the medicine. Communication is getting people to take actions to protect themselves.

"If that message is muddled," he said, it undermines the response.

The administration's guidance that people wear face coverings in public will remain in place, and there is no planned end date, a senior administration official said.

Some officials and experts said it made sense to defer to the states on when and how to reopen, but they raised concern that allowing the social distance guidelines to expire without clear and detailed advice on how to reopen could cause confusion.

Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said the biggest concern from his members is that the CDC has only just started putting out detailed guidance on how various businesses can safely reopen.

"We're making decisions on it right now," he said. "It is a little concerning when we know through the media that there's more materials out there than are necessarily being disseminated - we would like to have access to all of that."
WASHINGTON  U.S. intelligence agencies dont believe the COVID-19 coronavirus was created by humans or genetically modified in China, a controversial finding that comes as President Donald Trump increasingly tries to pin blame on Beijing for the global pandemic.

The intelligence community concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified, according to a statement from the DNI office on Thursday.

The statement goes on to say the nations intelligence community will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, referring to the Chinese city where the virus was first reported.

The findings come as Trump ratchets up pressure on China over its pandemic response. He said hes ordered an investigation into how the virus emerged as conspiracy theories  some promoted by key Trump supporters  circulate suggesting that it may have been created at a lab, or escaped from one, in Wuhan. The statement Thursday suggested that probe is already underway.

The origin of the virus has emerged as a flashpoint in the pandemic and ratcheted up tensions between the Trump administration and China. The president and senior officials including Secretary of State Michael Pompeo had made a habit of referring to the outbreak as the Wuhan virus or the China virus before toning that language down as the U.S. continued to rely on Chinese shipments of medical equipment to stem the outbreak.

That restraint appears to be ending.

As we do in all crises, the communitys experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security, according to the statement.

The move comes as Americans increasingly disapprove of Trumps handling of the outbreak and the U.S. economy plunges into recession, with about 30 million people losing their jobs over the past six weeks. Some 55% of Americans disapprove of Trumps handling of the pandemic, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Wednesday, while other surveys show the president trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden nationally and in key swing states.

While the assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies undercuts the idea that the virus was deliberately made or modified from an existing virus, it doesnt rule out the possibility that the virus escaped, accidentally or deliberately, from a Chinese lab, a notion Chinese officials have rejected.

Yet China helped escalate the blame game with the U.S. in March when a foreign ministry spokesman shared speculation on social media that American military personnel introduced the virus to Wuhan.

Trump said in an interview with Reuters published Wednesday that Chinas response to the disease was focused on a desire to see him lose in November. The president, who has previously praised his relationship with President Xi Jinping, provided no evidence for why China would deliberately mishandle an outbreak that has killed more than 4,600 of its citizens. Regardless, Trump said he was considering various ways to punish Beijing.

China will do anything they can to have me lose this race, Trump said in the Oval Office interview. He didnt elaborate what punitive actions he might take, but added: There are many things I can do.

Trump also said that the U.S. trade deal with China had been upset very badly by the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. The slowdown has made it more difficult for China to meet purchasing pledges included in a phase one trade pact reached between the two sides in January.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded Thursday that the country had no interest in interfering in internal U.S. affairs. For some time, certain U.S. politicians, in disregard of the facts, have attempted to shift their own responsibility for their poor handling of the epidemic to others, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters, reiterating a past complaint in response to a question about Trumps remarks.

Chris Strohm and Billy House of Bloomberg News wrote this story.

2020 Bloomberg News

Visit Bloomberg News at www.bloomberg.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Ending the Government's near-50billion wage subsidy scheme in June is 'tantamount to economic suicide' as firms will be forced to make mass redundancies without further help, according to business leaders.

Just days after British Airways warned of 12,000 job cuts, business only expect to recover slowly as workers and consumers stay home and social distancing measures are put in place.

It means a lot of firms  particularly on the High Street and in travel and tourism  will be unable to afford to pay all their staff once the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme ends in June.

Crunch time: A lot of firms  particularly on the High Street and in travel and tourism  will be unable to afford to pay all their staff once the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme ends in June

They are currently able to send staff home on 80 per cent of their wages, which are covered by the Government up to 2,500 per month.

The Office for Budget Responsibility said it expects the furlough scheme to cost 49billion.

Business groups estimate that around a third of the 3m jobs in UK retail are in areas which are severely affected by the lockdown, with many shut down completely.

Most High Street firms have placed their staff on furlough while stores are closed.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, told MP's on the business committee: 'The Government really mustn't turn off the tap once restrictions are lifted at the end of June. We don't have that cliff-edge while trading remains difficult.'

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said: 'It's impossible for shops to take all their staff back on if all their sales pre-crisis are not there. Unless there is an extension [to the scheme] it will result in redundancies.'

Vikas Shah, managing director of Swiscot Group, a textile supplier, said: 'I think it would be tantamount to economic suicide for the Government to halt the furlough programme before businesses have had the chance to recover their trade. And for all businesses, including ours, that would be a catastrophic event.'
Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle on Friday lost the first round of her high court battle against the publishers of a United Kingdom newspaper, which reproduced excerpts of a letter she wrote to her father.

Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images



The 38-year-old former American actress and wife of Prince Harry had filed the claim for alleged breach of privacy and copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the 'Mail on Sunday', in the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

In a ruling on Friday following a preliminary hearing held last week, Justice Mark Warby struck out parts of the claim, including allegations that the newspaper acted "dishonestly" by leaving out certain passages of the letter.



The judge also struck out allegations that the publisher deliberately "stirred up" issues between the royal and her estranged father Thomas Markle, and that it had an "agenda" of publishing intrusive or offensive stories about her.



"I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018," Warby said in his ruling.



"Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form," he said.



Markle's law firm Schillings said in a statement that the ruling did not change "the core elements of this case".



"The Duchess' rights were violated; the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed," a spokesperson said.



"The strong case against Associated will continue to focus on the issue of a private, intimate and handwritten letter from a daughter to her father that was published by the 'Mail on Sunday'.



This gross violation of any person's right to privacy is obvious and unlawful, and the 'Mail on Sunday' should be held to account for their actions," the spokesperson added.



The case is related to the publication of over five articles, two in the 'Mail on Sunday' and three on 'MailOnline' in February last year.



The articles reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her father six months earlier.

Markle's legal team claims that the letter was "private and confidential" and "detailed her intimate thoughts and feelings about her father's health and her relationship with him at that time".



She is seeking damages for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.



The British royal, who is now based in the United States with Prince Harry and their son Archie, has previously said any damages she may be awarded if she wins her case will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.



Associated Newspapers denies the allegations and is contesting the claims on the ground that Markle had no reasonable expectation of privacy and anticipated publication of the letter.



No date has yet been set for any further hearing in the ongoing case.
The United Nations is gearing up for a potentially devastating Covid-19 outbreak in Northeast Nigeria, even as Covid-19 spreads rapidly throughout the country.

Northeast Nigeria has been torn apart by Boko Haram in the past few years, and the UN has expressed concern of the location being unable to withstand the plunder of Covid-19.

Renewed conflict has restricted humanitairan operations. Aid workers jave increasingly been the target of armed groups, according to the UNs official website.

12 aid workers have been killed in the past year, while several humanitarian offices and accommodation have been hit. UN statistics state that only 15% of Borno state is currently accessible to humanitarian agencies.

The UN is however projecting beyond the setbacks and is brainstorming on ways to quell the impending covid _19.

Quarantine shelter construction is a priority, according to the UNs International Organization for Migration.

Despite the instability, the UN and partners are forging ahead with ahead with quarantine shelters construction, which will serve internally displaces people and host communities in the Northeast towna of Gwoza, Pulka, Dikwa and Monguno, said Franz Celestine, IOM Nigeria, chief of mission.

Given the rapidly evolving situation in Nigeria and across the world, we must ensure that the health of displaced and and host communities is a central part of our response, Celestine intimated.
SEATTLEKheper Games, Inc. has debuted its newest edible line, Naughty Gummi Emojis, by donating 150 pounds of the candy to a Seattle food bank in lieu of a more formal launch.

Naughty Gummi Emojis is a set of gummi candies with grape-flavored eggplants, orange-flavored tacos and peach-flavored peaches. Each bag contains a mix of 32 pieces and weighs five ounces (144 grams). An early sample was first shown off at the Adult Novelty Manufacturers Expo (ANME) in Burbank last January and the NY Now show in February.

Yesterday, after curbside pickup, Im processing and packing online orders and Im starved! said Vanessa Fuchs, the owner of Sassy Sensations. (In the sample box) There is the bag of emoji gummies. I ate 3/4ths of the bag. Wonderful ... tastes great. Love them!

Weve been operating as we need to during this past month of lockdown in Seattle, said Kheper Games CEO Brian Pellham. One important thing we did though, was realize we are a food provider, since we have a dozen-plus candies, suckers and gum in our line. A contact I reached from the Ballard Food Bank in Seattle was delighted to accept what we were able to share, as food banks locally and nationally are running out of food. We soon learned that our Naughty Gummi Emojis gave the adults a much-needed laugh without younger kids understanding the adult element of the product.

Pellham added: We were happy that we were able to do our part, by helping donate a candy item. We want to encourage others to do the same. Were thrilled we were able to provide a funny product during such a serious time.

Besides the new gummies, Kheper has a variety of edible products, including: Laid! Gum, Cherry/Strawberry/Cinnamon/Beer Pasties, The F*ck You Sucker, Rainbow Dick Suckers and many others.

Kheper is set to launch next week a limited-edition version of a popular sucker of theirs called The F*ck You Covid-19 Sucker.

Sassy Sensations has three boutique locations: Castle Shannon and Robinson, Pennsylvania; and in Austintown, Ohio. The company is online at SassySensations.com

For more details on the line of candies, gums and edible pasties by Kheper Games, please contact [email protected] or call (877) 426-3755. Kheper Games is online at KheperGames.com.
Cancer treatments continuing where possible

The Manx Government says those with a cancer diagnosis on the Island continue to be assessed by specialist teams.

Individual cases are being reviewed in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to reduce hospital attendance, maintain social distancing and protect patients from the risk of infection.



A surgical panel is assessing Island cancer patients on a weekly basis, with surgeries prioritised on a range of factors, including capacity within the hospital.



Telephone consultations with specialists in the UK are being offered in place of usual clinic appointments where possible, and a video telemedicine link to the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is available for those who need to be seen face to face.



The Oncology Day Unit on Island is also continuing to provide as many cancer treatments as possible, including chemotherapy, during the current period of increased demand on healthcare resources.
An Alan Turing sculpture which is set to be constructed at the mathematician's alma mater could threaten the 'existing character' of the Cambridge College, Historic England has claimed.

The 12ft steel structure, designed by Sir Antony Gormley, will commemorate the Second World War code-breaker, who attended King's College in Cambridge between 1931 and 1934.

Sir Antony's memorial will look over the chapel at the College in a reminder of Turing's achievements, but Historic England has warned the statue 'would be at odds with the existing character of the College.'

It added the memorial could impact the 'striking collection of historic buildings within a sweeping landscape' which made up a 'much-loved view in the city', the Times reported.

The 12ft steel structure, designed by Sir Antony Gormley, will commemorate Second World War code breaker Alan Turing (pictured), who attended King's College in Cambridge between 1931 and 1934

Under plans submitted to Cambridge City Council, the work will consist of 19 steel slabs stacked against each other in the form of an abstract metal figure.

Adam Gardner, deputy Clerk of Works at King's College Cambridge, said in planning documents that the sculpture would be located 'beside a pathway that is constantly flowing with students, fellows and members of the University.'

He added that the artwork is 'inspired by the work and life of Alan Turing himself', explaining it is large enough to 'stand directly on the ground.'

But Historic England fears the plans could severely impact the character of the 15th century college, which is part of the University of Cambridge.

Claire Campbell, from Historic England, said: 'We recognise that the proposal would deliver some enhancement to the significance of the King's College through the introduction of a sculpture by a renowned contemporary sculptor and the visible commemoration of Turing. These could also be considered as public benefits.

'However, we consider the introduction of an eye catching sculpture in a prominent position within the landscape at King's would be at odds with the existing character of the College.

Under plans submitted to Cambridge City Council, the work will consist of 19 steel slabs stacked against each other in the form of an abstract metal figure (Pictured: an artist impression of the memorial)

Sir Antony's memorial will look over the chapel at King's College (pictured) in a reminder of Turing's achievements, but Historic England has warned the statue 'would be at odds with the existing character of the College'

'This would result in harm, of a less than substantial nature, to the significance of the listed buildings and landscape, and by extension the conservation area.'

Sir Antony, who is best known for the Angel of the North near Gateshead, studied archaeology, anthropology and history of art at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge.

In a statement, he said: 'I am in debt to King's College and its committee for giving me an extraordinary opportunity to think about this very particular person who unlocked the door between the industrial and the information ages.

'In honouring Alan Turing and reflecting on his remarkable contribution to the way we live now I do not want to make a statue but the very best sculpture that I can make.'

Turing's code-breaking at Bletchley Park during the Second World War is estimated to have saved more than 14 million lives.

He and his co-workers are thought to have shortened the war in Europe by several years when they cracked the German 'Enigma' cipher.

As well as his success in cryptography, Turing's work formed the basis for the field of artificial intelligence.

Turing's code-breaking at Bletchley Park during the Second World War is estimated to have saved more than 14 million lives

Cambridge City Council has yet to make a decision on the King's College planning application

But in 1953, at the age of 41, he took his own life after being prosecuted for homosexual acts, still considered criminal in the UK at the time.

Turing studied mathematics at King's from 1931 to 1934, and soon after he was elected to be a fellow at the College.

Sir Anthony added: 'Turing was someone who had a strong moral sense and his personal life was extremely difficult.

'He was someone who had a remarkable way of making decisions unaffected by emotional bias but at the same time was highly emotional himself.

'Here at King's I want to see if it is possible to make a monumental work that is nevertheless about human vulnerability and the vulnerability of genius.

'Of all Cambridge's colleges, King's has always been the most advanced and open to the new.'

Professor Nicolette Zeeman, a fellow at King's College Cambridge, said: 'It is hard to overestimate the importance of Alan Turing's contribution to many areas of contemporary intellectual life and culture.

'Turing was by training a mathematician, but was unusually wide-ranging in his interests, and had a distinctive practical orientation.

'He made enduring and fundamental contributions to mathematics, logic, computer science, cryptography, and biology. His place in national history is secured by his pivotal role in war-time code breaking.'

A spokesman for King's College Cambridge said: 'A proposal for a new sculpture has been under consideration for some time.

'The college is conscious of the many distinguished contributions made by its fellows to mathematics and the sciences, and in particular of Alan Turing's achievements in the field of computing.'

The college stressed that any potential 'negative' impact caused by the placement of Sir Antony's sculpture would be outweighed by the significant public benefit it would deliver.

It added: 'The Turing Memorial Sculpture will play an important role in expressing the 20th and 21st century life of King's College and the collective intellectual effort associated with this famous place of learning.'

Cambridge City Council has yet to make a decision on the planning application.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the ongoing lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has badly hit the working class.

She greeted all workers and their families on international workers day and said that all have to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters during this tough times.

On #InternationalWorkersDay, my humble greetings to all workers around the world & their families. The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have hit the working class hard. We have to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters, Banerjee tweeted on Friday.

To stand by the working class during the lockdown, our Govt in #Bangla announced two new schemes - 'Sneher Porosh' for migrant labourers, and 'Prochesta' for workers in the unorganised sector. (2/2)  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 1, 2020

The chief minister referred to the two new schemes announced by her government to help the migrant labourers and those working in the unorganised sector who are badly hit by the lockdown.

Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic

To stand by the working class during the lockdown, our Govt in #Bangla announced two new schemes - Sneher Porosh for migrant labourers, and Prochesta for workers in the unorganised sector, she added.

Under the Sneher Porosh scheme the West Bengal government is providing Rs 1000 financial assistance to migrant works who are stuck in different parts of the country due to the lockdown.

Click here for the latest updates from the coronavirus outbreak

The Prochesta scheme was launched to help daily workers who are affected due to the COVID-19 crisis. Under this scheme the state government would give Rs 1000 financial assistance to daily workers.

May 1 is celebrated as International Workers Day or Labour Day across the world.
Sosei Heptares Notes That Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149) has been Recommended for Approval in the European Union for Treating Uncontrolled Asthma

Details Category: Small Molecules Published on Friday, 01 May 2020 15:11 Hits: 1812

- Positive opinion received from European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)

- Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149) is a once-daily, potential first-in-class inhaled LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for asthma patients in the EU

TOKYO, Japan and LONDON, UK I May 1, 2020 I Sosei Group Corporation ("the Company"; TSE: 4565) notes that its strategic alliance partner Novartis (SWX: NOVN) announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended the approval in the European Union of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149; indacaterol acetate, glycopyrronium bromide and mometasone furoate [IND/GLY/MF]) as a maintenance treatment of uncontrolled asthma in adult patients. Uncontrolled patients are those whose asthma is not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long acting beta 2 agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year.

The European Commission (EC) reviews the CHMP recommendation and usually delivers its final decision in approximately two months. If the EC follows this recommendation and approves Enerzair Breezhaler, it will become the first LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/ICS fixed-dose combination for uncontrolled asthma patients. Additional regulatory filings for QVM149 are currently underway in multiple countries, including Switzerland, Japan and Canada.

The full announcement from Novartis, including data from the clinical trial programs supporting the CHMP recommendation, is available at www.novartis.com.

Glycopyrronium bromide and certain intellectual property relating to its use and formulation were exclusively licensed to Novartis in April 2005 by Sosei Heptares and Vectura Group PLC (LSE: VEC). Novartis is responsible for the development and commercialization of Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149). Under the agreement, Sosei Heptares is entitled to certain development and sales-based milestones, and royalties on net sales upon successful commercialisation of Enerzair Breezhaler.

While the CHMP positive opinion does not trigger a milestone payment, Sosei Heptares will be eligible to receive a $5m milestone on final approval by the EC and thereafter a low-single digit royalty on net sales. The event reported therefore has no immediate impact on the consolidated financial results for the accounting period ending December 2020.

Shinichi Tamura, President and CEO of Sosei Heptares, commented: "The recommendation for the approval of Enerzair Breezhaler is a great step towards it becoming available to the many uncontrolled asthma patients in the European Union. The extensive clinical trial program conducted by Novartis demonstrated robust efficacy and safety data with once-daily IND/GLY/MF showing significant improvements in lung function over a standard-of-care therapy If approved, this novel product would become the first LABA/LAMA/ICS combination therapy for uncontrolled asthma administered using a single inhaler with additional features in-built to support treatment adherence. We look forward to the final decision by the EC in the next two months and further updates in relation to filings in other countries over the coming year."

About Uncontrolled Asthma

Asthma affects an estimated 358 million people worldwide and can cause a significant personal, health and financial burden when not adequately controlled1,2. Despite current therapy, over 40% of patients with asthma at Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Step 3, and over 45% at GINA Steps 4 and 5 remain uncontrolled3,4. Patients with uncontrolled asthma may downplay or underestimate the severity of their disease and are at a higher risk of exacerbation, hospitalization or death5,6,7. Barriers, such as treatment mismatch, safety issues with an oral corticosteroid and ineligibility for biologics, have created an unmet medical need in asthma8,9.

References

1 GBD Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30293-X

2 AAFA. My Life With Asthma Survey Findings Report. Available at: https://www.aafa.org/media/1684/my-life-with-asthma-in-2017-survey-findings-report.pdf . Accessed April 2020.

3 Chung KF et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J 2014;43(2):343-73.

4 Fang J et al. Demographic, clinical characteristics and control status of pediatric, adolescent, and adult asthma patients by GINA Step in a US longitudinal cohort. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018;197:A1903

5 Peters SP et al. Uncontrolled asthma: a review of the prevalence, disease burden and options for treatment. Respir Med 2006;100(7):1139-1151.

6 Katsaounou P et al. Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma. ERJ Open Res 2018;4(4):00076-2018.

7 Price D et al. Asthma control and management in 8,000 European patients: the REcognise Asthma and LInk to Symptoms and Experience (REALISE) survey. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2014;24:14009.

8 Price D, et al. Adverse outcomes from initiation of systemic corticosteroids for asthma: long-term observational study. J Asthma Allergy 2018;11:193-204.

9 Albers FC et al. Biologic treatment eligibility for real-world patients with severe asthma: The IDEAL study. J Asthma 2018;55(2):152-160.

Enerzair and Breezhaler are registered trademarks of Novartis AG.

About Sosei Heptares

We are an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines originating from our proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. We are advancing a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including CNS, immuno-oncology, gastroenterology, inflammation and other rare/specialty indications.

We have established partnerships with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, including Allergan, AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo, Genentech (Roche), Novartis, Pfizer and Takeda; and with innovative biotechnology companies, including Kymab, MorphoSys and PeptiDream. Sosei Heptares is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK.

"Sosei Heptares" is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR are trademarks of Sosei Group companies.

For more information, please visit https://www.soseiheptares.com/

SOURCE: Sosei Heptares
I ts not unusual for something to go up for auction and be described as out of this world  but in this case, the label is very much true.

A chunk of the moon, which was discovered in North Africa two years ago, is expected to fetch around 2m in a sale through London auction house Christies.

The lunar meteorite  known officially as NWA 12691  weighs more than 13.5kg and is thought to be the fifth largest piece of Moon on Earth, according to James Hyslop, head of science and natural history at Christie's.

It will probably be the largest example to ever come to market, Hyslop told the Christies website. Every time I see it in the warehouse the sheer size of it bowls me over. The experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is something you never forget.

The piece of moon rock is thought to have fallen to Earth during a meteor shower hundreds, if not thousands ago, Hyslop added.

Things to do at home over the weekend: May 1-3 1 /6 Things to do at home over the weekend: May 1-3 Join the worlds biggest virtual pub quiz Kiri Pritchard-Mclean, Russell Howard, Nish Kumar and Joel Dommett are among the stars attempting to set the record for the biggest ever pub quiz for charity this Friday. From 8pm, comedy fans can join "Covid Arms Landlady" and stand-up star Pritchard-Mclean as she attempts a Guinness World Record for the most users ever to visit a virtual pub to raise money for pubs and the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus appeal. Kayla Wren Tune in for an all-day Boss fest Hungry Heart, the club night that plays nothing but Bruce Springsteen songs, is hosting a 24-hour DJ set dedicated to the Boss in order to raise money for five different charities. Get involved from 1pm on Saturday. Getty Images Treat yourself This week, restaurants and suppliers across town announced they'd be reopening for delivery, from Five Guys to Nando's. And when's better to treat yourself than at the weekend? It's not all fast food, though; our pick of the deliveries is award-winning salmon from the Secret Smokehouse, which is delivering nationwide. They've also got fish pies for collection, cooked in-house by Wilton's head chef. NHS workers can pick up everything half price. Enjoy Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday concert at the Royal Albert Hall The latest stream in Andrew Lloyd Webber's online series is arriving on Friday evening, with footage of the composers 50th birthday concert from 1998 available to watch from 7pm. Michael Ball, Glenn Close, Sarah Brightman, Elaine Paige, Antonio Banderas and Boyzone are a few of the stars who came together to pay tribute to the musical composer at the Royal Albert Hall. Watch a great movie and raise money for charity Film distributor Lionsgate is supporting a fantastic cause this weekend, launching Lionsgate Live! to raise money for NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal and The Film and TV Charity COVID-19 Emergency Response. Over the next four weeks, therell be a movie streamed for free on YouTube, beginning with La La Land this Saturday at 6pm. Watch and donate this weekend. AP

It is larger than any sample brought back by Apollo astronauts during the 1960s and 70s, and is extremely rare  little more than a tonne of moon rock is known to exist on our planet.

The rock will not go under the hammer at Christies, and will instead be offered for private sale, meaning any potential buyers with the necessary funds can purchase it immediately.
Couples in Michigan can now receive free condoms by mail as part of an effort by the health department to provide free contraception during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services developed the scheme to ensure people have access to contraception amidst the crisis to help prevent unwanted pregnancy and protect against sexually transmitted infections, according to reports.

We feel that it is extremely important during this public health crisis to continue to support our communities in protecting themselves against unintended pregnancy, STIs, and HIV, Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for MDHHS, told MLive.

The department feared that as a result of the financial stress of the pandemic and forced closures of some health centres people may not be able to purchase or access free condoms.

Residents can apply for the service online, filling out their name and address on the health service website.

Condoms will then be delivered straight to the person's house in plain packaging, hand-addressed by staff who are working from home to ensure the service can continue.

"We were really kind of glad to see the state come out with this program," Calhoun County Public Health Department Choices Clinic Nurse Practitioner Michelle Thorne told USA today.

"This has been kind of an ongoing issue since we got into this stay-at-home order."

The package will include 10 condoms and 10 packets of lubrication to help couples have safe and enjoyable sex during the lockdown.

The state has been at the heart of operation gridlock protests against stay-at-home orders and government lockdowns as a result of the coronavirus.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered inside and outside of the Capitol on Thursday to protest stay-at-home order which was extended by governor Gretchen Whitmer until 15 May.

Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations are decreasing across Michigan however, the state has more than 40,000 reported cases and a death toll of over 3,600.
The White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying before an oversight hearing by the House Appropriations Committee, calling it 'counter-productive.'

Word of the order broke Friday afternoon, on a week when Fauci appeared at one White House coronavirus task force briefing but has been absent at others.

'The Appropriations Committee sought Dr. Anthony Fauci as a witness at next week's Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee hearing on COVID-19 response. We have been informed by an administration official that the White House has blocked Dr. Fauci from testifying,' House Appropriations panel spokesman Evan Hollander said in a statement.

BLOCKED: The White House is not allowing Dr. Anthony Fauci to testify before Congress next week

He didn't identify the official who blocked Fauci from appearing at the Wednesday hearing.

Although the House is out of session next week on the recommendation of the Capitol physician, its committees are seeking to resume oversight, including remotely.

White House spokesman Judd Deere confirmed in a statement that the White House opposed his appearance before the powerful subpanel panel, which provides spending for health and labor programs.

'While the Trump Administration continues its whole-of-government response to COVID-19, including safely opening up America again and expediting vaccine development, it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at Congressional hearings,' said Deere.

BUSY SCHEDULE: Dr. Anthony Fauci (L), director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases speaks next to Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards D-LA in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on April 29, 2020

Reporters have sometimes quizzed Fauci on controversial statements by President Trump about the virus

In this image from video, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2020. She chairs the panel that was denied Fauci's appearance

Fauci has sometimes attended White House briefings that have gone on for up to two hours, even speaking to the nation about the virus through early morning television interviews. He has also appeared on podcasts and other platforms to communicate with people about the disease.

The clash comes as Trump called for a 'pause' on coronavirus relief, even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for a trillion dollar effort to aid states and cities.

'I think we want to take a little bit of a pause. But if we do that, we'll have to get something for it,' Trump said Thursday.

Fauci has sometimes contradicted the claims made by President Trump

'We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time,' he said.

Fauci has warned about the risks of lifting social distancing guidelines. At press briefings, reporters frequently try to pose questions that get him to fact-check claims by President Trump  such a statement last week saying people should look at injection of disinfectants as a possible coronavirus cure.

While the Trump Administration continues its whole-of-government response to COVID-19, including safely opening up America again and expediting vaccine development, it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at Congressional hearings  White House spokesman Judd Deere

Trump appeared with Dr. Debbie Birx, who chairs the coronavirus task force on Friday, calling her a leading expert on AIDS.

Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, this week relayed new information about the drug remdesivir. He pointed to 'clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery' of hospitalized coronavirus patients.

Lawmakers are certain to try to grill him under oath about what he believes about the origins of the virus  Trump said Thursday it may have come from a lab in China despite what the Director of National Intelligence announced  as well as the administration's response.

More than 1 million Americans are infected with more than 60,000 deaths due to the coronavirus.

Appropriations Chair Rep. Nita Lowey of New York and subcommittee chair Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut issued a statement that said the nation deserved a 'clear-eyed view' of the way forward but stopped short of bashing the White House for the decision.

'Congress and the American public deserve a clear-eyed view of the path forward for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the short-term, that entails what our federal government is doing on surveillance, testing, contact tracing, quarantining, social distancing, and the production and distribution of personal protective equipment,' they said.

'Over the medium-term, we need to understand the viability of therapeutics and vaccines in development, their dissemination, and how the influenza season could affect the ongoing pandemic in the Fall. And over the long-term, we need ensure lasting investments in our public health infrastructure are made instead of reacting to public health crises when they arise. The people of this country deserve a federal government that is up-to-date, modernized, and prepared to protect lives,' they said.

They will instead hear from Dr. Tom Frieden, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh



Koshyari on Friday said that the biggest challenge before the state government was to free the state from the coronavirus pandemic and improve its economic growth rate.

In his televised address on the 60th foundation day of Maharashtra, Koshyari said the government was doing its best to deal with these two issues.

In his speech made in Marathi, Koshyari appealed to the people to follow the protocol of social distancing, lockdown rules and all safety precautions.

He sought support and cooperation of citizens to achieve the goal of making the state strong and prosperous, and freeing it from the coronavirus pandemic at the earliest.

The governor paid tributes to the martyrs of the Sanyukta Maharashtra movement.

"Maharashtra is stepping into the 61st year of its existence in the backdrop of a different kind of war. The state is fighting this war with strong determination. It has a tradition of fighting against all odds and winning," he said.

"The occasion of 60th year should have been celebrated with pomp and gaiety all over the state. The government had planned several programmes to mark the occasion," Koshyari added.

Several government and semi-government employees, health workers, police personnel are working round-the-clock to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, adding, "I thank them all. The government is doing its best to curb the spread of the virus."



He highlighted the measures being taken by the government to ease the hardships of the people due to the lockdown and permissions given to industries in green zones, where no coronavirus case has been reported, to resume their operations.

"This is necessary to keep the cycle of economic activity moving," he said.

He also greeted the state on the occasion of Labour Day and hailed the contribution of the workforce in nation building and development of the state.

He said the labour force was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on various fronts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BEIJING, April 30 -- China firmly supports the Peruvian government and people in their fight against COVID-19 and will continue to offer support and help within its capability, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Peruvian counterpart, Martin Vizcarra, in a phone conversation on Thursday.

During the conversation, Xi said that, facing the COVID-19 epidemic, the Chinese side has always followed the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, and shared the epidemic-related information with countries as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) in a timely manner to advance international cooperation against the disease.

The Chinese side has provided emergency assistance to multiple countries and international organizations to the best of its ability, shared experience in epidemic prevention and control in various forms without reservation, and facilitated export channels for anti-epidemic supplies to help countries with their containment efforts, he said.

Xi also said that China supports joint international prevention and control efforts, supports the leading role of the WHO and other international organizations, and supports stronger international coordination over macroeconomic policies.

Currently, the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region including Peru, Xi said, noting that China firmly supports the Peruvian government and people in their fight against COVID-19 and will continue to offer support and help within its capability.

Xi said he believes that Peru will prevail over the epidemic at an early date under the leadership of President Vizcarra, adding that the friendship between the peoples of the two countries will be deepened in their joint fight against the epidemic.

Noting that China highly values the development of its relations with Peru, the Chinese president said China is willing to work together with the country to strengthen bilateral communications, promote innovation in bilateral cooperation, jointly build the Belt and Road and boost continous development of the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership so as to mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year with more tangible results.

Vizcarra, for his part, said Peru and China have enjoyed good relations, with their exchanges and cooperation in various fields developing steadily, adding that the investment of Chinese enterprises has promoted infrastructure construction and economic and social development in Peru.

Peru is willing to take the occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year as an opportunity to further bilateral ties, said the Peruvian president.

Noting that China has already brought the novel coronavirus epidemic under control, he said the country's organizational ability and useful experience are worth learning from, and thanked China for extending valuable support and assistance to Peru in fighting the epidemic.

Vizcarra said he fully agrees with Xi that the COVID-19 outbreak has laid bare the importance of building a community with a shared future for mankind, adding that the international community should strengthen solidarity and cooperation, uphold multilateralism and support the WHO in playing a leading role.
By PTI

LONDON: Indians make up one in 10 of all foreign-born doctors in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and therefore face a greater risk from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report published on Friday.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) study, in its report analysing the ethnic variables in the impact of coronavirus, also found that Indians are among the ethnic groups less likely to be impacted by the economic consequences of the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the deadly virus due to their employment in more secure sectors.

"Indian men are particularly exposed to the virus due to their prevalence in healthcare roles," said the report titled 'Are some ethnic groups more vulnerable to Covid-19 than others?' "Indian men are 150 per cent more likely to work in health or social care roles than their white British counterparts.While the Indian ethnic group makes up 3 per cent of the working-age population of England and Wales, they account for 14 per cent of doctors," it said.

ALSO READ| UK lays on more flights to evacuate stranded citizens from India as lockdown 2.0 nears end

The IFS analysis found that among the UK's working age population, those working in health and social care may be at the greatest risk of infection, with Indians facing a high risk due to their sheer numbers. While 37 per cent of the UK's doctors are foreign-born, nearly one in 10 are from India - all currently on the frontline of the coronavirus fightback in hospitals and other care settings.

In reference to its analysis of the economic impact of the pandemic on different ethnic groups, the study found that Pakistani and Bangladeshi households were more vulnerable among the South Asian cohort due to a higher proportion of them in sectors which are undergoing shutdown due to the social distancing rules.

"Ethnic groups also vary substantially in their economic vulnerability under the restrictions currently in place. Indian ethnic groups face lower economic risks and are more comparable to white British in this regard," according to the study.

"Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups, by contrast, appear to be particularly at risk due to the high percentage of either group working in shutdown sectors and/or in self-employment, combined with the prevalence of single-earner households which reduces the potential for income buffers within the household," it added.

ALSO READ| 'We are past the COVID-19 peak, now on downward slope': UK PM Boris Johnson

In its other findings, the IFS study concluded that coronavirus patients from black African backgrounds in England and Wales are dying at more than triple the rate of white Britons, followed by Pakistani men as the next highest category.

Black and South Asian ethnic groups have been found to have much higher rates of diabetes than the population as a whole, and older Pakistani men have been found to have particularly high levels of cardiovascular disease - all considered higher risk factors.

Besides, compared to white British households, minority ethnic groups also tend to be more likely to live in overcrowded accommodation, making social distancing more difficult.

The study concludes: "In sum, there is clear evidence for disproportionality in COVID-19 mortalities thus far for a number of ethnic groups after accounting for their age profiles and places of residence. While it is difficult to say definitively with the data that are currently available, the clustering of some minority groups in key worker occupations - and in health and care key worker roles in particular - alongside greater susceptibility to relevant long-term conditions, are likely to be contributing factors to the observed inequalities"

ALSO READ| Indians, ethnic minority medical workers in UK to be risk-assessed for coronavirus

The analysis focuses on a limited set of risk factors in terms of both infection risk and economic vulnerability in the short term and concludes that more research is required for a better understanding of the disparity in the impact of the pandemic among different ethnicities.

The UK government launched an official review, led by Public Health England, earlier this month as it emerged that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) are affected disproportionately by the deadly virus.
Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, will not be released from prison this week to serve the remainder of his term in home confinement, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The news comes after it was revealed Trump Organization lawyer Charles Harder wrote Cohen to assert that his non-disclosure agreement prohibits him from writing a tell-all memoir as he is intending.

Asked if President Trump intervened to stop Cohen's release, new White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany replied Friday, 'No, absolutely not.'

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had previously informed Cohen that he would be getting out of the federal minimum security prison in Otistville, New York, on Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic, his lawyers said.

Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, will not be released from prison this week to serve the remainder of his term in home confinement, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday

Cohen's prison sentence is due to expire in November of 2021.

Reuters and other media reported last month that Cohen was set to be freed from a minimum-security camp at Otisville, New York on May 1.

He had pressed to be released early due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hammered New York and surfaced in prisons nationwide.

ABC News reported on Friday that Cohen's anticipated release had been 'rescinded.'

Cohen's conviction stemmed from hush money payments he directed to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels

The source said it was unclear now whether Cohen would be released early. The source did not know the reason for the change of plans.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.

Cohen's lawyer, Roger Adler, did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Earlier in the week he told Reuters he 'remained hopeful' that Cohen would be released, but that only BOP could make that decision.

Cohen, 53, pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, among other charges. He began serving his sentence last May.

The charges stemmed from hush money payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed they had affairs with Trump. The president has denied having the encounters.

Cohen maintains he deserves early release for telling investigators about the president's misdeeds.

In court papers, prosecutors say Cohen has offered no evidence that he provided them with substantial assistance of the kind that warrants a significant reduction in sentence. And they say Congressional testimony does not earn a reduction either.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018, abandoning his longtime position of loyalty to Trump.

He later met with federal and state prosecutors in New York and with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, telling them he had lied to Congress to protect Trump.

Prior to Cohen's sentence, Mueller's team of investigators described his help to their probe, but prosecutors in Manhattan made it clear that Cohen wanted to help them only on his terms, unwilling to submit to the demands that he reveal all of his crimes and cooperate fully and honestly.
Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech

PM CARES Fund: No curb on use of PM's name, photo, image of flag, emblem, PMO tells HC

PM Modi reviews in detail potential economic reforms in mines and coal sector

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: A detailed discussion was held by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in which the potential economic reforms in mines and coal sectors were deliberated upon.

The discussions involved ensuring easy and abundant availability of mineral resources from domestic sources, upscaling exploration, attracting investment and modern technology, to generate large scale employment through transparent and efficient processes.

Auctioning of additional blocks, encouraging wider participation in auctions, increasing the production of mineral resources, reducing the cost of mining and cost of transporting, increasing ease of doing business while also reducing carbon footprint with environmentally sustainable development also formed an important part of the discussions.

Open more sectors to revive economy, CMs to urge PM

The issues related to reforms in auction structure, efficient institutional arrangements, participation of private sector in exploration and mining, making public sector more competitive as well as broad-basing the community development activities through the Mineral Development Fund were also deliberated. Expanding and improving evacuation infrastructure for minerals including use of sea-routes for domestic supplies was also considered.

The aspects related to increasing the efficient and environmentally sound first-mile connectivity for coal transport from mines to railway sliding, automatic loading on rail wagons, coal gasification and liquefaction, coal bed methane exploration were also discussed for potential reforms.

PM Narendra Modi reviewed the contribution of Mines sector in increasing employment opportunities and boosting growth.

PM laid special focus on improving country's self-reliance in production of minerals and their in-country processing. He added that the mineral sector should benchmark its operations to international standards and advised them to prepare an action plan.

PM exhorted using modern technologies for efficient mining. He also directed to aim for reducing delays in obtaining clearances and partnering with states to facilitate increase in private investment to boost the economy. He gave directions to target thermal coal import substitution particularly when a huge coal-stock inventory is available in the country this year.
Solution Underwriting Agency spent many months researching and developing this product, prior to COVID-19, Anita Lane (pictured), director at Solution Underwriting, said.

We have chosen to release the product to our broker networks now as we understand it is still a vital, essential service during and beyond COVID-19, and we believe we can assist these providers with their insurance requirements during these difficult times.

Solution Underwritings policy for NDIS service providers incorporates a broad definition of support services including personal care, domestic assistance, social and lifestyle support, home maintenance, assistance with getting out and about, as well as the provision of Allied Health therapy. The cover is also provided regardless of if its an individual or organisation seeking support services.

Offering professional indemnity and general liability under our Solution ONE  Allied&Medical wording, cover can be provided whether the support services are delivered by an individual or an organisation. Our NDIS proposal form captures the services specific to NDIS providers to make the process easy for your client, Lane continued.

In general, the ability to provide support to those who are vulnerable in our community is always an important focus, but even more so during the current COVID-19 crisis.

In addition, Lane also says Solution Underwriting can provide a solution for support coordinators  those who coordinate the activities of the actual support service providers.

Our product provides an avenue for those who are registered NDIS service providers to obtain professional indemnity and public liability insurance as per the requirement of NDIS service provider registration, Lane continued.

We see our role as helping essential service providers meet their NDIS registration requirements for professional indemnity and public liability insurance so they, in turn, can be there for others.

Solution Underwriting, Lane says, prides itself on its servicing ability and is equipped with a team of underwriters ready to respond to enquiries for the professional indemnity and public liability needs of NDIS service providers.

As a general rule we always benchmark our product offerings with the market, Lane added.

We understand and appreciate the income of NDIS service providers may be impacted during the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions and we are committed to working with brokers and their clients to ensure any impact on their business is considered prior to providing a quotation.
NORTHAMPTON  Testing this week at the citys shelter for homeless individuals at Northampton High School indicated minimal presence of COVID-19, the city announced Thursday night.

I am incredibly pleased with these results, said Northampton Health Department Director Merridith OLeary in a statement. Weve seen some shelters in other parts of the state where testing has indicated positive rates as high as 40 to 60 percent. Northampton has succeeded in the main mission of its shelter  to slow the transmission of disease to a near stop among this population.

The news release doesnt give a number of positive results, but described the number of positives as low.

Testing this week of 50 homeless individuals and workers at the Craigs Doors shelter in Amherst showed zero cases of COVID-19, Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said earlier Thursday.

Springfield plans to start testing homeless people at the citys tent triage area on Worthington Street and at Springfield Rescue Missions Taylor and Mill street sites.

Springfield delayed this week its large-scale coronavirus testing for homeless people at the Worthington Street site, saying it needs more protective equipment and consent forms from participants.

Northampton it is keeping its numbers low because of its rapid sheltering of homeless people during a pandemic, the hard work and execution of the citys Emergency Response Team, social distancing and hygiene protocols in place at the high school, and the full cooperation from residents, shelter staff and volunteers, OLeary said.

I am incredibly proud of what the City of Northampton has accomplished with the shelter at Northampton High School," Mayor David Narkewicz said in a news release. We knew early on that we needed this resource for the safety of our most vulnerable residents who lack housing and that we had to move quickly. I am grateful to the Health Department, our Fire Rescue Department, the School Department, the Police Department, Central Services, and other key members of the citys Emergency Response Team for their work on this effort. I am thankful for our strong partners, ServiceNet, for their expert teams assistance in running the shelter, to the many dedicated community volunteers whove given their time, to Cooley Dickinson Hospital for providing tests and expediting the results, and to the many groups who have donated food, materials, and other necessities that made this life-saving resource possible.

Dr. Jessica Bossie, physician for the Springfield-based Health Services for the Homeless, assisted by three nurses, administered tests to all shelter residents on Tuesday. Cooley Dickinson Hospital provided testing supplies, personal protective equipment and created the testing system for the shelter. Results came back Wednesday.

The shelter opened April 1 to replace ServiceNet shelters on Grove Street and Center Street, where quarters were deemed too close to maintain adequate social distancing.

Precautions at the high school shelter include:

medical screening, including temperature checks upon acceptance at the shelter

screening, including temperature-taking, twice a day for residents, volunteers and staff

requirement of hand-washing and sanitizing upon entry

mask requirements in all common areas except at meals

social distancing signs and reminders to keep at least six feet apart

placement of sleeping cots eight feet apart

The high school shelter is being operated cooperatively by the citys Department of Public Health, Medical Reserve Corps coordinator and ServiceNet, with support from Northamptons Fire Rescue and Police Departments and Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

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A Dublin youth, who was refused bail because of a history of bench warrants, when he was charged with repeatedly breaking new covid-19 movement restriction laws, has been further remanded in custody.

Aaron Tyrell, 19, from Woodhazel Close, in Ballymun faces four counts for breaching the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Bill, 2020. He denies the charges.

Mr Tyrell was arrested last Friday after gardai received directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge him with breaking the new laws, aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Bail was denied at Dublin District Court on that date by Judge Grainne Malone who noted the teens history of bench warrants for previously failing to appear in court.

He was due to face his second hearing today at Cloverhill District Court but could not attend the proceedings and a sick note was produced.

He was further remanded in custody in his absence to appear again on May 15 next.

A date for his hearing has yet to be set.

His solicitor Brian Keenan had said his client denies the charges and he was instructed that the youth had been out exercising which was permitted.

The new charge is a summary offence which can result in a six-month sentence and can only be dealt with at district court level.

The offences are alleged to happened twice on April 8, once on April 13 and again April 21.

At his first hearing, gardai alleged the teen did not say he was exercising or going shopping and he had no explanation.

Garda Ross Brierly told the court it was explained to him he could not be away from his home unnecessarily. It was also alleged he had lived with two people believed to have the coronavirus.

The garda had told the bail hearing he feared the accused would continue to cause hardship in his community by spreading the virus.

The district court heard there had been six bench warrants issued for the youth last year.

In her decision on the issue of bail, given last Friday/on April 24, Judge Malone noted garda concerns the accused could commit further similar offences.

However, that was an objection under the Bail Act which did not apply to summary offences, she said, and that objection could not be considered.

She could take into account, however, whether he would turn up for trial, under the OCallaghan principles, she said.

She noted the number of warrants he had taken and held that being young was not sufficient to explain it away. Based on that warrant history she had refused bail.
This time, he followed COVID-19 protocols and wore a mask.

Vice President Mike Pence donned a face covering Thursday as he toured a General Motors/Ventec ventilator production facility in Indiana after coming under fire for failing to wear one earlier this week in violation of Mayo Clinic policy.

The facility in Kokomo had been closed because of the coronavirus but was brought back online in mid-April to produce critical care ventilators for hospitals around the country. General Motors requires workers to wear masks in the plants production area, according to spokesman Jim Cain.

Pence removed the mask, however, for a roundtable with top officials, including General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ventec CEO Chris Kiple. None of the participants wore face coverings.

Pences visit to the factory came hours after his wife, Karen Pence, defended her husbands decision to not wear a mask during a Tuesday visit to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Mrs. Pence told Fox News Channel that he had been unaware of the hospitals coronavirus policy during the visit and that the vice president has been following the advice of medical experts. Pence, like other senior White House staff, is tested for the virus at least once a week.

As our medical experts have told us, wearing a mask prevents you from spreading the disease. And knowing that he doesnt have COVID-19, he didnt wear one, Mrs. Pence said, adding that it was actually after he left Mayo Clinic that he found out that they had a policy of asking everyone to wear a mask.

So, you know, someone whos worked on this whole task force for over two months is not someone who would have done anything to offend anyone or hurt anyone or scare anyone, she said.

The Mayo Clinic had earlier tweeted  then deleted  that it had informed the vice president of its masking policy prior to his arrival.

Mayo shared the masking policy with the VPs office, the health care system later said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as in supermarkets, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed discomfort about mask-wearing, saying he did not intend to wear one when the CDCs recommendations were unveiled. But he said Thursday that he would be open to wearing one when he travels to Arizona next week.

Im going to have to look at the climate, he said, telling reporters, Id have no problem wearing a mask.

Still he queried reporters about whether it would be appropriate to wear one while delivering a speech.

Should I speak in the mask? he asked. Youre going to have to tell me if thats politically correct. I dont know. If it is, Ill speak in a mask. Trumps has openly flouted political norms and taken pride in his political incorrectness.

Footage of Pences tour of the Mayo Clinic earlier this week showed him bare-faced as he met with an employee who had recovered from the virus, even though everyone else in the room appeared to be wearing one. He also participated in a roundtable discussion in which every participant, from Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn to the states governor, wore a mask except for him.

Pence explained his decision that day by stressing that he has been frequently tested for the virus.

As vice president of the United States Im tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus, Pence said. And since I dont have the coronavirus, I thought itd be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health care personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you.

But even with a mask, Pence would have been able to look health care workers in the eye because one only covers the nose and mouth.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who wore a mask while he accompanied Pence on his visit to the Mayo Clinic, said he appreciated seeing that Pence was wearing a mask on his trip to Indiana on Thursday.

The simple gesture of wearing that mask in public goes an awful long ways, Walz said.

People who enter the White House complex have their temperature taken, and those who will be in close proximity to the president and the vice president are given rapid COVID-19 tests to ensure theyre not infectious.

Senior staff also are given tests on a rolling basis so that infections are quickly detected.

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So many people have died in Manaus that coffins are being stacked on top of each other in trenches of a city cemetery.

In Brazils bustling Amazon city of Manaus, so many people have died within days in the coronavirus pandemic that coffins had to be stacked on top of each other in long, hastily dug trenches in a city cemetery. Some despairing relatives reluctantly chose cremation for loved ones to avoid burying them in those common graves.

Now, with Brazil emerging as Latin Americas coronavirus epicentre with more than 6,000 deaths, even the coffins are running out in Manaus. The national funeral home association has pleaded for an urgent airlift of coffins from Sao Paulo, 2,700km (1,677 miles) away, because Manaus has no paved roads connecting it to the rest of the country.

The city  populated by about two million people and carved from the jungle  has been overwhelmed by death in part because it is the main site where those from remote Amazon communities can get medical services, according to Lourival Panhozzi, president of the Brazilian Association of Funeral Service Providers.

As of April 30, Brazils Health Ministry said that there were over 5,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Amazonas state and 425 deaths, although there are concerns that inadequate testing for the virus has meant that the numbers may be much higher.

Before the outbreak, the city of Manaus, the capital of the state, was recording an average of 20 to 35 deaths a day, according to the mayor. Now, it is recording at least 130 a day, data from the states health secretary show.

People in the region also have widely ignored isolation measures.

There also are signs in the much larger cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo that suggest authorities may not be able to handle a huge increase in the death toll. A field of fresh graves that was dismissed in April by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro as excessive has since been filled.

Latin Americas grimmest scenes occurred last month in Ecuadors city of Guayaquil, where residents said they had to leave bodies on the street after morgues, cemeteries and funeral homes were overwhelmed.

Many in Brazil fear the rising deaths will hit hardest in the favelas, the vast neighbourhoods of the poor that are well-known in Rio and Sao Paulo but that also exist in most big Brazilian cities and even in smaller ones.

There is a great fear that uncontrolled contamination will happen there, said Panhozzi, whose group represents Brazils 13,400 private funeral companies.

In Rios Complexo do Alemao cluster of favelas, the body of Luiz Carlos da Rocha, 36, lay untouched for more than 12 hours on Tuesday. Relatives didnt know why he died but said he had epilepsy.

Relatives attending the burial of a person suspected of having died of COVID-19 disease, at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, [Andre Penner/AP Photo] [Daylife]

The states military police, who normally pick up bodies found outside, no longer do so for non-violent deaths, said an officer at the scene who would not give his name. He said without elaborating that the policy change was due to the coronavirus. The military police press office did not respond to requests for comment.

The next day at Rios Hospital Salgado Filho in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood, Clovis de Castro, whose ailing sister Genina had just died, found himself helping out in the hospitals morgue. He waited six hours to sort out death certificate paperwork in what he described as a chaotic scene in the morgue, with grieving relatives arriving to identify bodies and only one worker available to move corpses. At one point, he was asked to lend a hand.

I had to help a person to put a body in a coffin, de Castro said, adding that the experience made him realise that people need help, the hospital needs help, the country needs help.

De Castro left with a death certificate saying his sisters cause of death was undetermined. He was angry that no autopsy was conducted that might have confirmed his suspicion she died of COVID-19 or complications from the disease.

Why hide this stuff? he asked.

Sao Paulo director of ambulance services Francis Fuji blamed a recent surge of deaths in homes on coronavirus patients who were discharged from hospitals with mild symptoms, only to have their conditions deteriorate rapidly.

Paramedics do not have the training to identify COVID-19 as a cause of death, he said, and many relatives have lied about their loved ones symptoms to avoid the corpses being handled as though they were contagious.

They think that if they get that diagnosis, then their loved one will be removed in a sealed plastic bag, theyll never see him or her again, and they wont even have a funeral, Fuji said.

Authorities in Sao Paulo dug hundreds of graves last month in anticipation of a rise in deaths. President Bolsonaro has likened the coronavirus to a little flu, and insists that sweeping state measures to close all but essential business are more damaging than the illness. On April 2, he questioned whether photos by The Associated Press news agency of the new graves were fake news or sensationalism.

By Thursday, all those graves were filled with the dead, as were dozens of other new ones, according to images by the AP photographer who took the original photos and revisited the site on Sao Paulos eastern region. Refrigerated trucks to hold the overflow of bodies are now seen outside hospitals and cemeteries.

In Manaus early Thursday, Raimundo Costa do Nascimento, 86, died of pneumonia in his home. Funeral workers were so swamped that his relatives had to wait 10 hours for someone to retrieve his body.

A week after Panhozzis association appealed for the coffins for Manaus, he said the request is still being considered.

That wont work, he said. I need it now.
NSSA Hotel, which is being used as a quarantine and isolation centre for Beitbridge can accommodate only 400 people, while the two boarding schools, Zezani and Tongwe, which had been proposed to take the other immigrants can accommodate 250 and 280 each.
This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

The Black Lives Matter campaign blocked aid from reaching Hurricane Harvey victims, Bill Gates wants to use vaccines with microchips to control, follow, and reduce the worlds population, the white supremacist that organized the Charlottesville rally is actually a liberal spy. These are all examples of viral misinformation and disinformation stories that have spread across Reddit over the past few years.

Misinformation is rampant on internet platforms, both in user posts and in advertising, and Reddit is no exception. But when it comes to advertising, platform users expect content to be vetted and truthful. As the 2020 election nears, internet platforms are facing renewed pressure to provide transparency and accountability around political advertising on their services, to help safeguard the electoral process. Reddit is the latest platform to try to respond to these demands. On April 13, the company launched a political ads transparency hub and introduced a set of unique changes to its political advertising policies, removing many of the traditional divisions between advertisers and users on social media platforms.

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Reddits changes are valuable as concerns around how political advertising can be used to spread misinformation and disinformation continue to grow. Many lawmakers in the United States, and across the globe, have pressed internet companies to implement stricter policies to crack down on this content. Others lawmakers, however, have pushed back on these efforts, arguing that these efforts infringe on the First Amendment. To navigate the complicated world of online political advertising, companies must walk a fine line. Reddits moves in this spacea combination of those taken by other platforms and some that are unique to itare promising, but it can still do more to provide greater transparency and accountability.



Reddit is a sizable social media platform, with approximately 330 million monthly active users. The companys decentralized subreddit model has made it popular with niche communities, and the platform has gained popularity among politically active users. As a result, Reddit has also become a popular destination for political advertisements. The company has not disclosed how much revenue it generates from political advertising, but its political ads transparency hub indicates that Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris were the primary political candidates who purchased political advertisements since the beginning of 2019. Interestingly, the data suggests that during this period there was also greater progressive spending on issue-focused political ads than conservative spending. Unlike other internet platforms, Reddit only permits political advertisers to run campaigns in the United States, and at the federal level

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Reddits new political ads transparency hub, found on a new subreddit titled r/RedditPoliticalAds, includes information on all political ad campaigns that have run on the platform since 2019. The hub provides data on individual advertisers, including what parameters they chose to identify users to target with their ads, how many impressions (or views) the ads received, the time period during which ads were run, and the advertisers spending on a per-campaign basis. The data related to targeting parameters includes granular information such as which subreddits, regions, countries, and subreddit-based interest groups advertisers chose to focus on, and which regions and subreddits advertisers excluded in their targeting.



For example, an ad run by Kamala Harris for the People for one day on Jan. 30, 2019, stated Im running for President. Together, well build an economy that works for everyone and make health care accessible for all. Add your name to join our campaign. According to Reddits reporting, the advertisement garnered less than 10,000 impressions, it targeted the r/liberal subreddit, it excluded the r/republican and r/conservative subreddits, and was purchased for less than $100.

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In addition, Reddit includes data on ads that it approved in error and clearly designates that these ads were erroneously permitted. This granular data is a positive step toward providing accountability around Reddits advertising review process.

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Reddit has also revamped its broader political ads policies, and will now require advertisers to provide more information to verify their identity. Further, although Reddit already manually reviewed ads for messaging and creative content to ensure they are not deceptive, untrue, or misleading, advertisers will now be required to enable comments on their ads for the first 24 hours of their campaign to promote discussion around the content of the ads. This is a unique approach that enables users to engage with advertisers and their content, rather than having no easy way to challenge ad content. However, advertisers can moderate the comments, so an advertiser could theoretically remove comments they dont want shown under the ad, which could undermine the effectiveness of this feature.

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Reddits latest move indicates it is following in the footsteps of other major internet platforms in providing more transparency around political advertising. Following the 2016 elections, platforms such as Facebook and Google received significant criticism around the ease with which foreign actors could use their advertising platforms to interfere in U.S. elections. Both Facebook and Google now have political ad transparency hubs. Twitter received similar criticism from lawmakers, but instead responded by banning political ads altogether. Given that political ads generated a small portion of the companys revenue, this was likely easier for Twitter to do than it would be for other platforms. Reddit has declined to disclose how much revenue it generates from political ads, but Ben Lee, Reddits vice president and general counsel, has said that its unlikely the platform would ever ban political ads completely. Politics is a central conversation topic on the platform, and the service has proven to be a valuable space for such discussions.

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The debate over whether to fact-check political ads has similarly been difficult for social media companies to navigate. Google has effectively stated that it does review the content of political ads to ensure they are not misleading, whereas Facebook has refused to fact-check this content, sparking controversy. Reddits decision to manually review advertisements for misleading content is a positive method for ensuring that misinformation does not spread through advertising on the platform.

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the political ads conversation has also been consumed by questions around a technique, known as microtargeting, which utilizes user information to enable precise ad targeting. In November, Google announced that it will limit the targeting parameters political advertisers can access to age, gender and location. Facebook, on the other hand, has not made moves to limit the microtargeting of political ads, with supporters of this decision claiming that such limits could harm smaller grassroots campaigns. On Reddit, advertisers have more limitations on targeting, as the company does not collect as much personally identifiable information as Facebook and Google. As a result, microtargeting options are limited, and therefore the harms created by microtargeting are less pronounced.

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Reddits policy changes and efforts are a welcome step. However, as New Americas Open Technology Institute, where I work, outlined in our latest report on ad targeting and delivery, platforms need to do more to provide transparency and accountability around their advertising operations. (New America is a partner with Slate and Arizona State University in Future Tense.) In particular, companies need to provide greater transparency around how they enforce their advertising policies and around how many ads are removed during this process. In its political ads transparency hub, Reddit highlights that over the past two years the accuracy rate of its review process was 92 percent. Helpfully, users can also filter through the political ads subreddit to see all of the ads that were reviewed in error, and each post includes some information on why the ad was eventually removed, such as the ad was for a state-level campaign, the ad lacked clear paid for by disclosures, or the ad violated Reddits advertising policy regarding deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Going forward, Reddit should also publish aggregate information on its ad review process to provide more high-level insight around where, and how often, the review process falls short.



In addition, Reddit and other companies need to expand their political ads transparency reporting efforts further, to include granular engagement and interaction information. In the case of Reddit, this means sharing information such as the number of upvotes and downvotes political ads received, as well as the number of comments users posted on ads now that comments must be permitted for the first 24 hours. Further, the company should redesign its political ads transparency hub so that it is more user-friendly. Currently, the data in the hub is available through an expansive subreddit and through CSV (comma separated values) spreadsheets. The spreadsheet format is valuable for journalists and researchers. However, neither the spreadsheets nor subreddits are easily searchable, limiting how useful the tool can be for a more general audience. Finally, going forward, Reddit should also disclose how much of its revenue comes from political advertisingits an important figure for assessing how prevalent and popular political ads are on the service.

Reddits latest transparency efforts are welcome steps, and hopefully are only the beginning. But they also reveal that when you are browsing through r/science or r/dadjokes, you may be getting more than what you expect.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Low water levels have hit revenue and profit at hydroelectric plants in the first quarter.

In the northern province of Hoa Binh, electricity output at Thac Mo Hydroelectric Joint Stock Company reached 110.84 million kWh, a sharp decrease from 20.92 million kWh in Q1, 2019.Photo tapchicongthuong.vn

Low water levels have hit revenue and profit at hydroelectric plants in the first quarter.

From north to south, the country has been suffering from varying degrees of drought, and experts have recorded lower rainfall and water levels in rivers and streams across this year.

Chau Tran Vinh, deputy head of the Department of Water Resources Management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, told Vietnam News Agency that many reservoirs had fallen to 40-75 per cent of their capacity.

Da Nhim -Ham Thuan -Da Mi Hydropower Joint Stock Company in Lam Dong Province reported a sharp decrease in Q1 revenue and profit compared to the same period in 2019. The firms net revenue reached VND340 billion (US$14.48 million), and gross profit reached VND153 billion, down 40 and 61 per cent, respectively.

In the northern province of Hoa Binh, electricity output at Thac Mo Hydroelectric Joint Stock Company reached 110.84 million kWh, a sharp decrease from 20.92 million kWh in Q1, 2019.

Decreasing output cut the firms net revenue by 19 per cent, while gross profit was down 30 per cent at VND48.3 billion.

As another large-scale hydropower company in the north, Thac Ba Hydroelectricity Joint Stock Company also reported a sharp decrease in revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2020. In the first quarter of 2020, the revenue decreased by 38 per cent from Q1 2019 to stay at VND86.5 billion while the profit after tax also decreased by 55 per cent to stay at VND20.1 billion.

Declining revenues and profits were also reported at the Hua Na, A Vuong, Mien Nam and Su Pan hydropower firms in the first quarter.

Nguyen Quoc Chinh, the deputy head of the technology and manufacturing department at Vietnam Electricity (EVN), said it planned to produce over 260 billion kWh in 2020, of which hydroelectric plants would contribute about 72 billion kWh.

However, data from EVN showed by the end Q1, hydroelectric plants had only produced 8.93 billion kWh, about 20 per cent lower than in previous years. The power generated in the first quarter of 2020 was the lowest in the past five years, said Chinh.

In March, most hydroelectric plants only generated 70-90 per cent of their targets, which had already been adjusted to cope with the situation.

Lai Chau Hydropower Plant in the north of Viet Nam only reached 11 per cent of its target due to a lack of water flowing from Lai Chau Lake.

Despite most firms recording lower revenue and profit in the first quarter, share prices remained stable.  VNS

Kon Tum's river depleted as hydropower plants store water Hundreds of hectares of crops are withering as Dak Snghe River in Kon Ray district in Kon Tum province is being blocked by two hydropower plants.
The Central Railway on Friday



appealed people not to throng railway stations, saying only those passengers who have been permitted to travel by the state government would be allowed to board trains.

The Central Railway (CR) would be running two special Shramik Express trains from Nashik to Lucknow and Bhopal after the Union government said that stranded migrant labourers would be allowed to return to their home states.

Tickets would not be issued to any individual passenger or groups, a CR official said here.

"We will allow only those passengers whom the state government officials will bring to railway stations to board," said the CR spokesperson.

The state government would be the final authority to decide who will travel, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Australian oil and gas giant Woodside has expressed reservations about following major European rivals in committing to diversify away from fossil fuels into the renewable energy industry, despite facing a historic investor revolt on climate change.

In the largest-ever vote for a motion of its kind in Australia, more than 50 per cent of Woodside's shareholders defied the board this week and backed demands for the company to establish hard targets to bring its own emissions and emissions caused by the use of its products globally in line with the Paris agreement to keep global warming below 2 degrees.

Australian oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos have come under mounting investor pressure on climate change. Credit:Aaron Bunch

The push follows moves by some of the world's top oil and gas giants including BP and Royal Dutch Shell that have pledged to reduce their "Scope 3" emissions, meaning they will account for the carbon footprint of the energy products they sell to customers such as power plants and diversify into green energy industries.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman on Friday acknowledged that some of the company's global rivals had made "very bold statements" but so far lacked "concrete plans" as to how they intended to achieve those goals. "They've made very general commitments as to how much capital they think they will need to spend in particular areas," he said.
Campaigners have criticised governor Andrew Cuomo for not acting sooner to release prisoners amid the coronavirus outbreak: REUTERS

A 61-year-old woman has become the first female prisoner in New York state to have died after contracting Covid-19, as Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to begin releasing pregnant inmates.

Darlene Lucy Benson-Seay, who had been held at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, New York, died on Tuesday, according to official records.

She becomes the woman to die from Covid-19 virus in a New York state prison, just days after a 30-year-old woman in Texas became the first female federal prisoner to die in the United States from coronavirus.

In a statement on Thursday, governor Cuomos secretary, Melissa DeRosa, confirmed that pregnant women with less than six months remaining on their sentences for non-violent offences will be released from New York prisons.

The governors office has now directed the New York State Department of Corrections to begin the releases, after weeks of criticism from campaigners to protect women and pregnant prisoners from contracting Covid-19.

"Earlier today, we directed DOCCS (New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision) to begin the release of pregnant non-violent offenders with six months or less remaining on their sentence, said DeRosa on Thursday.

She continued: We will continue to monitor the Covid situation as it impacts every aspect of our state, including prisons, and make adjustments as appropriate.

Advocacy groups on Thursday criticised governor Cuomos decision to not allow more women to be released from the states prison system earlier in the crisis.

The governor's refusal to grant any clemencies led to the first COVID death of an incinerated woman in New York State prisons, said prisoner rights groups in a statement, which included the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Parole Preparation Project, #HALTsolitary Campaign, VOCAL-NY, Worth Rises, and Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.

Darlene Lulu Benson-Seay was effectively sentenced to death because the Governor didnt care enough about her to protect her from this virus by realising her, read the statement.

Story continues

The announcement comes days after the death of Andrea Circle-Bear, who was the first female federal prisoner to die after contracting the coronavirus weeks after she had given birth whilst on a ventilator in Texas.

The death called into question why pregnant women were still imprisoned across the US whilst the virus circulated within prisons.

Her death is a national disgrace, and I hope it is a wake-up call, said Kevin Ring, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, in a statement to the New York Times this week.

New York state authorities permitted the release of non-violent inmates last month who were older than 55 or within 90 days on their release date, amid previous concerns around the spread of Covid-19 with the prison system.

Officials said that the protocol would remove inmates from the prison system who were most at risk from contracting the Covid-19 disease.

At the time, prison advocacy groups in New York warned that the previous measures on early release did not protect other vulnerable inmates - such as pregnant women.

Excluding thousands of people who are most at risk of dying and least likely to come back to prison will not promote public health or safety, read the statement released last month by the same advocacy groups that commented on the death of Benson-Seay.

Whilst accepting that the latest decision to release non-violent women from New York prisons was welcome, the advocacy groups urged governor Cuomo to protect everyone inside the prison system.

They added: Women convicted of violent crimes and pregnant people should not be sentenced to death.

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Indias top-selling smartphone brand, Xiaomi, has reportedly been accused of recording the data of millions of its users, raising privacy concerns.

Cybersecurity researcher Gabi Cirlig discovered that his Redmi Note 8 was watching much of what he was doing on his phone. The smartphone apparently tracked the user behaviour and sent data to remote servers hosted by another Chinese firm, Alibaba, reported Forbes.

While investigating, Cirlig further found that the default Xiaomi browser recorded all the websites that were visited on the device. This also included search activities on Google and privacy-focused DuckDuckGo. Cirlig also noticed that the device tracked his activities even when he was supposedly using the incognito mode  a setting that prevents browsing history or cache from being stored.

Furthermore, the device was also found tracking and recording other tasks and activities like the folders being opened, the various screens that were being swiped, etc. The data was being compiled and sent to remote servers in Singapore and Russia hosted by web domains registered in Beijing.

Another cybersecurity researcher Andrew Tierney found that other Xiaomi browsers  Mi Browser Pro and the Mint Browser  listed on the Google Play Store were collecting similar data.

On further investigation, Cirlig found similar results on other Xiaomi devices like Mi 10, Redmi K20, etc., after he downloaded the firmware of these devices.

Xiaomi, in its response to Forbes, denied the allegations, stating that the research claims are untrue. It noted that privacy and security are of its top concerns and that it strictly follows and complies to the local law and regulations on user data privacy.

However, a Xiaomi spokesperson did confirm that the company was collecting browsing data, claiming the information was anonymised so it was not tied to any identity. They denied collecting user data while browsing using the incognito mode.

To counter the response, Forbes provided Xiaomi with a video shared by Cirlig, that showed how his Google search for porn and a visit to the site PornHub was sent to remote servers, even when in incognito mode. The Xiaomi spokesperson, again, denied the information was being recorded. This video shows the collection of anonymous browsing data, which is one of the most common solutions adopted by internet companies to improve the overall browser product experience through analysing non-personally identifiable information, the spokesperson said.

Xiaomi did not respond to questions raised upon the monitoring of app usage and sending that data to remote servers.

The Chinese manufacturer is the fourth largest smartphone brand in the world, behind Apple, Samsung and Huawei. In India, Xiaomi has been the number one smartphone seller for several quarters. It was reported that the company shipped over 10.3 million devices in India and had a market share of 30.6 percent in Q1 2020.
Karlie Kloss founded Kode With Klossy in 2015 with the intention of 'empowering girls to learn to code one scholarship at a time' in the United States.

And on Thursday, the 27-year-old model announced on Instagram that 'for the first time EVER Kode With Klossy is launching a free two week virtual coding camp.'

The two-week program - aimed at girls between the ages of 13 and 18 - will teach its participants how to 'build real-life apps' whether they are an expert or a novice on the subject.

First time ever: Karlie Kloss announced on Instagram that 'for the first time EVER Kode With Klossy is launching a free two week virtual coding camp'

In conjunction with her post's caption, Karlie also shared a video where she personally addressed her target audience.

The former Victoria's Secret Angel appeared via webcam for the Kode With Klossy advertisement with her blonde hair neatly tied up into a bun.

Karlie kept makeup to a minimum and attached a pair of glistening golden hoops to her ears.

She suited up for the announcement video in a grey blazer layered over a slightly unbuttoned white blouse.

Kode With Klossy: Karlie founded Kode With Klossy in 2015 with the intention of 'empowering girls to learn to code one scholarship at a time' in the United States

Read all about it: The two-week program - aimed at girls between the ages of 13 and 18 - will teach its participants how to 'build real-life apps' whether they are an expert or a novice on the subject

Kloss made sure to remind her 8.7million followers that 'applications are only open for the next 10 days' before signing off.

According to Kode With Klossy's official website, 'the scholarship is for anyone who's passionate and interested in learning a new superpower.'

Earlier in the day, Karlie shared a photo of herself in a Zoom call with some of the program's top scholars.

Getting the word out: The former Victoria's Secret Angel appeared via webcam for the Kode With Klossy advertisement with her blonde hair neatly tied up into a bun

For anyone: According to Kode With Klossy's official website, 'the scholarship is for anyone who's passionate and interested in learning a new superpower'

'Postcards from Home for @voguemagazine (ft. some very special @kodewithklossy scholars on zoom,' wrote Kloss, who beamed in the screen grab.

In an interview with Vogue on Wednesday, Kloss spoke passionately about the Kode with Klossy scholars and the program's mission.

'These amazing young women are staying connected during this difficult time, and I think that kind of community is vital now,' she said.

Scholarly: In an interview with Vogue on Wednesday, Kloss spoke passionately about the Kode with Klossy scholars and the program's mission

Lockdown life: Along with the grab of her Zoom call, Karlie also posted a slew of pics taken in isolation with husband Joshua Kushner, 34, at their home in Westchester County, New York

She also mentioned that her and her team have been 'exploring ways that [they] can help support the fashion community, looking at efforts to help those who have lost their jobs and the designers who are making PPE' amid COVID-19.

Along with the grab of her Zoom call, Karlie also posted a slew of pics taken in isolation with husband Joshua Kushner, 34, at their home in Westchester County, New York.

She wed Kushner back in October of 2018 'despite complications' that the pair had endured.

Doing her part: She also mentioned that her and her team have been 'exploring ways that [they] can help support the fashion community, looking at efforts to help those who have lost their jobs and the designers who are making PPE' amid COVID-19

Come a long way: Kloss rose to fame in the modeling world at the age of 17, where she was quickly labeled by Vogue Paris as one of the 'top 30 models of the 2000s'

Joshua is the brother of White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, 39, and the husband of Ivanka Trump, 38.

Kloss rose to fame in the modeling world at the age of 17, where she was quickly labeled by Vogue Paris as one of the 'top 30 models of the 2000s.'

She established her own signature catwalk and has walked the runway for the likes of Moschino, Chanel, Calvin Klein, and more.

In 2013, the Chicago native was crowned a Victoria's Secret Angel and remained one until 2015.
Robert Redford has spoken out against Donald Trumps response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying the US president failed to embrace or even understand sound scientific consensus.

The actor broached the topic in an opinion piece he signed with his son James Redford, published by NBC News.

Titled Trumps coronavirus failures offer warnings and lessons about future climate change challenges, the piece expresses hope that lessons from the coronavirus pandemic could be used to tackle the climate crisis in the future.

Some lessons have been bitter. Here in the US, we have seen the cost of failed leadership, both Redfords wrote.

As the pandemic began its global march, President Donald Trump failed to act quickly and decisively, likely increasing its toll and worsening our pain and suffering.

As he has done with climate change, Trump failed early on to embrace or even understand sound scientific consensus about what must be done to protect this nation and its people.

The piece goes on to highlight the inspiring power of people doing the right thing, such as frontline workers and millions of Americans [who] have willingly sheltered in place to protect their families and communities.

COVID-19 has shown us the power of sound science, true leadership and early action. We must honour this knowledge if we want to avoid what is coming, Redford and his son note.

This isnt the first time the actor has publicly criticised the US president.

In November last year, he penned a different opinion piece for NBC News, calling Trumps presidency a monarchy in disguise threatening everything this country stands for.
TRADE unions in Limerick and across the nation joined together this week to commemorate the workers who are at the front-line of the Covid-19 fight.

As part of workers memorial day, Limerick Trades Council president was one of many representatives lighting candles.

He journeyed to University Hospital Limerick, where nurses and doctors are fighting the deadly condition around-the-clock.

We want to show our support for these brave and courageous workers, with little option but to continue to work with the public, in order to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. Therefore, it is imperative that we in the trade union movement continue to watch their backs and ensure that when at work they are kept as safe as possible, through the use of proper PPE, strict workplace procedures and a co-operative public to ensure they remain healthy, he said.

Mr McNamara said its not just doctors and nurses who are deserving of praise  the workers of cleaners and retail staff through the lockdown should raise the discussion on improved rates of pay for these workers.

We want to thank workers everywhere for all that they have done and continue to do to ensure that we, and our families, are kept safe and healthy during this pandemic. And how best to thank all our workers than to ensure they are paid a decent wage, enjoy good working terms and conditions, including health and safety protocols, and have access to adequate trade union representation, he said, This will continue to be our focus when the restrictions are eased and we slowly re-emerge into the working world.

Workers memorial day takes place on Tuesday, April 28 each year, its aim to commemorate those who have died or been injured in the course of their work, and this year especially, to highlight the ongoing work of those who remain exposed to the dangers of the current pandemic.

President, Michael D Higgins, supported the day with a speech and wreath-laying ceremony, broadcast from Aras an Uachtarain, followed by a video message from Patricia King, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

People around the country were also encouraged to light a candle and post a picture of it online to remember colleagues, friends and family who have died during this pandemic.
With the recent replenishment of the Paycheck Protection Program , Congress and the Trump administration hope to avert a massive and catastrophic closure of small businesses amid the economic devastation of the COVID-19 crisis. But while the additional funds for the PPP are desperately needed, a successful rebound will require more than a one-time infusion of cash.State and local elected officials will soon find that they are the next  and last  line of defense in protecting their communities (and tax rolls) from a failure of small businesses at a scale unlike any ever seen in this country. A recent study by our organization found that as many as 7.5 million small businesses are at risk in the coming months, especially those employing fewer than 20 people.These businesses urgently need hyperlocal support systems that link businesses to resources that will aid them through the next 18 to 24 months. Fortunately, such support systems already exist in thousands of cities and neighborhoods across the country in the form of Main Street Programs, Business Improvement District associations and other kinds of downtown organizations. The local economic-development leaders who head these organizations are typically well known in their communities as trusted sources of information and as "connectors" to business support resources. They are also extremely knowledgeable about their communities' business environments and the local "players," which is invaluable in helping to broker creative solutions to get businesses through challenging times ahead.And creative solutions will be in high demand. Small-businesses that survive stay-at-home orders, whether aided by the PPP or not, face a long and difficult recovery. Dramatic unemployment figures suggest that many Americans simply won't have the spending power they did before the crisis. Even where consumers are able to spend, their behavior is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic norms anytime soon. After stay-at-home orders are lifted, residual concerns regarding coronavirus transmission are likely to slow the recovery of the restaurants and retail and service businesses that are the heart of communities.Business owners are likely to encounter a confusing patchwork of local, state, federal and philanthropic funding sources, and they are going to need help identifying suitable programs and navigating often-cumbersome application processes. They will also need advocates in their corner to work with property owners and negotiate lower or deferred rents, and they'll need assistance, where feasible, in transitioning some of their business to e-commerce. On this latter point, our research indicates that approximately two-thirds of small businesses have no online presence, a troubling figure given that online sales are likely to be a lifeline in the coming months.The risk as state and local leaders look to trim budgets in the coming weeks and months is that they will cut any program that is not directly tied to health, human services and education. We've seen this before, post-Great Recession, when governments reduced or eliminated dollars for local business-support efforts. Such moves are short-sighted and have painful consequences, largely in the form of lost jobs and reductions to state and local revenue from taxes and fees. Ultimately, elected officials in many places elected to restart these programs, acknowledging that aid to local economic-development programs has a return on investment that far exceeds their cost.In coming budget negotiations, elected officials will be wise to recognize that they are playing the long game in bringing their communities back from COVID-19. We can coax that recovery to a faster and stronger outcome if we can keep the focus of our support as hyperlocal as possible and if we can maintain the connector organizations that help small business on the ground, community by community. Ultimately, modest expenditures to support local economic-development organizations now will deliver a healthier and more stable tax base in the months and years to come.GoverningGoverning
Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has shared an emotional message to mark the death of Rishi Kapoor. The veteran actor died on Thursday, after a two-year-long battle with cancer.

Aishwarya took to Instagram and wrote, So much love for you...and from you my dearest Chintu uncle...ALWAYS... so heartbroken...May your Soul Rest in Peace God Bless. There will never be another... just TOO SPECIAL.. and the memories... Precious... Miss you and Love you Forever.. Aishwarya attached pictures of Rishi and his wife, Neetu, with herself and husband Abhishek Bachchan. In one picture, Rishis granddaughter and Aishwaryas daughter, Aaradhya, are also present.

Aishwaryas post has been liked over 500000 times. Sad to hear that #RishiKapoor is no more. We lost another legend today. An actor who was full of talent and versatility. 2020 is turning out to be a very sad year. My condolences to his family, friends and fans. Rest in peace Chintu ji. You will be greatly missed, one person wrote in the comments section.

Also Watch | RIP Rishi Kapoor: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, family attend funeral in Mumbai

Abhishek represented his family at Rishis funeral, because the coronavirus lockdown didnt make it possible to have a large gathering. He was joined by Rishis son, Ranbir, his girlfriend Alia Bhatt, mom Neetu, and other members of the family such as Kareena Kapoor Khan and her husband, Saif Ali Khan.

Also read: Alia Bhatt mourns Rishi Kapoors death in emotional note, says he is like family. See pics

Alia had written in an Instagram post, What can I say. About this beautiful man... who brought soo much love and goodness into my life. Today, everyone speaks of the legend that is Rishi Kapoor... and though Ive known him like that all my life... for the past two years Ive known him as a friend, a fellow Chinese food lover, a total cinema lover, a fighter, a leader, a beautiful storyteller, an extremely passionate tweeter and a father! In these past two years the love I have received from him is like a warm hug that I will always cherish!

Rishi was diagnosed in 2018 and spent a year undergoing treatment in New York City. His death came a day after that of Irrfan Khan, who had been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Six weeks after a former employee accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when she worked in his Senate office in 1993, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee tried to defuse criticism and reassure supporters by finally addressing her allegations directly in a TV interview Friday.

But even those who found Bidens statement powerful, like San Francisco attorney Christine Pelosi, also said they wished there was a neutral third party to investigate accusations such as the ones Tara Reade has lodged against the former vice president.

I still wish there was a confidential independent investigation for charges like these, with counseling, due process and transparent results, said Pelosi, counsel for WeSaidEnough, which was formed in 2017 in response to sexual harassment cases in the state capital.

However, Pelosi added that it was very necessary for him to speak his truth, look the nation in the eye and express the fact that she has the right to say what she has to say.

After weeks of leaving the responses to his staff, Biden said he unequivocally denied Reades allegations that he pinned her to a wall in a Senate building and penetrated her with his fingers.

Last year, Reade was among several women who said Biden had inappropriately touched them or invaded their personal space. Since Reade made the more specific assault allegations in a podcast interview in March, an acquaintance has come forward and told Business Insider that Reade talked about the alleged incident shortly after she says it happened.

Reade has said she filed a complaint against Biden with the Senate at the time, but that she no longer has a copy.

Im saying unequivocally, it never, never happened, Biden told MSNBC on Friday.

In a statement posted on Medium, Biden requested that the secretary of the Senate ask the National Archives to identify any record of the complaint (Reade) alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document.

Biden said in the TV interview that Im not going to go in and question her motive. Im not going to attack her.

Reade has a right to say whatever she wants to say, Biden said. But I have a right to say, look at the facts, check it out, find out whether any of what she says is asserted or true.

Biden, however, rejected the suggestion that he release the archive of his personal documents, housed at the University of Delaware, so people can look for any record of a complaint from Reade. He said the repository does not contain personnel files, but it does contain potentially sensitive material involving confidential conversations he had with former President Barack Obama and international leaders.

Biden was pressed on comments he made after sexual assault allegations were raised against Brett Kavanaugh during the judges Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Biden said then that people should start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what (a woman is) talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts.

On Friday, Biden said that believing women means taking the womans claim seriously. When she steps forward, then vet it. Look into it. Thats true in this case as well.

They should start off with a presumption theyre telling the truth. And you have to look at the circumstances and the facts, and the facts in this case do not exist, Biden said. They never happened. And theres so many inconsistencies in what has been said in this case.

Amy Oppenheimer, an attorney who was hired by the California Legislature to investigate harassment complaints in Sacramento during the #MeToo scandals, said Biden said some things I wanted him to say. Then he started to argue his own case. And I dont think its smart to argue your case ... and point out the contradictions in her case.

Oppenheimer said, I would love it if there was a way for some sort of independent panel or individual to come forward to interview people or review relevant documents. Do I think thats realistic to happen? Not very.

Pelosi said she looked forward to seeing the National Archives response and hope we can stop weaponizing trauma and promote healing.

And she said she hoped that supporters and detractors of Reade and Biden would follow his lead. We should not cast aspersions on either of them.

Some Democrats responded supportively both to Bidens comments and to Reades right to speak out.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., an early endorser of Bidens presidential bid who hosted a fundraiser for him in her San Francisco home, said that I cant comment on these allegations, but Ive known Joe Biden for almost 30 years. He is trustworthy and a man of integrity and has my full support.

Sen. Kamala Harris, who like Feinstein voted against Kavanaughs confirmation as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast last month that Reade has a right to tell her story.

Harris, who is being mentioned as a possible running mate for Biden, said the case raises a bigger structural issue, frankly, which is that women must be able to speak without fear of retaliation.

The California Democrat did not respond Friday to a request to comment on Bidens latest remarks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said Thursday that she had a great comfort level with the situation as I see it, with all the respect in the world for any woman who comes forward and with all the highest regard for Joe Biden.

The speaker also did not respond to a request for comment Friday on Bidens interview.

Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine (Orange County), called last month on The Chronicles Its All Political podcast for Biden to personally address Reades allegations, but said it may be difficult to determine what happened.

The fact that its more than two decades old reflects potentially the challenges of speaking up about these kinds of situations, Porter said. But it also is going to make it difficult to really get to the bottom of what happened.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
By IANS

MUMBAI: German Ambassador to India Walter J. Lindner took to social media to express his condolence at the demise of Irrfan Khan on Wednesday.

"Very sad news: world-known Bollywood (Slum Dog Millionaire) and Hollywood (Jurassic World) actor #IrrfanKhan died today! An incredible talent and prolific cinema-contributor. Many scenes of Slum Dog Millionaire authentically filmed at Mumbai's Dharavi. Went there recently," Linder tweeted.

Earlier, Indian politicians including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared condolence on social media over the loss of the Padma Shri and National Award-winning actor's family.

"Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Irrfan Khan. A rare talent and a brilliant actor, his diverse roles and remarkable performances will remain etched in our memories. A big loss to the world of cinema and millions of film lovers. Condolences to his family & admirers," President Kovind tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote: "Irrfan Khan's demise is a loss to the world of cinema and theatre. He will be remembered for his versatile performances across different mediums. My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers. May his soul rest in peace."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that 150 hotels have agreed to give deep discounts to health care workers logging long hours in hospitals while dealing with coronavirus outbreak, during his daily news briefing at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Thursday, April 9, 2020.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that the state is "days, not weeks" away from making significant modifications to its shelter-in-place order and could begin reopening parts of the country's largest state economy.

"I feel some confidence over the course of the next week we're going to be able to make some announcements that will give people some more confidence in the ability for California to get back on its economic feet," Newsom said.

He said state officials are "very, very close to making some announcements" that will be very meaningful to people in the retail and hospitality industries, including restaurants, although modifications will be in place.

"If we can hold the line and continue to do good work and just avoid the temptation to get back and congregate with people in ways where we can see an increase in the spread, we'll get there much sooner than many people perhaps think," Newsom said.

He cautioned, however, that the state could set its progress in fighting the coronavirus outbreak back if people congregate and don't adhere to social distancing guidelines, referencing those who congregated on the state's beaches last weekend.

Newsom said ICU numbers were flat on Thursday and hospitalizations have gone down slightly, too. A bigger decrease: Patients who are in the hospital who are believed to have Covid-19 but haven't received results are down 14%. He said, however, that the state now has more than 50,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 2,000 people have died.

California has now conducted more than 655,000 coronavirus tests and averages nearly 25,000 tests per day, Newsom said.

On Thursday, Newsom said he planned to close state and local beaches in Orange County, calling the images of huge crowds that occupied the beaches over the weekend "disturbing."

Orange County officials pushed back on the order later Thursday. The city councils for both Huntington Beach and Dana Point voted that evening to take legal action against Newsom's order to close the county's state and local beaches. Massive crowds also gathered in Huntington Beach on Friday to protest the order.

https://twitter.com/nbcsandiego/status/1256311846123917313

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said that the order unfairly singled out Orange County beaches. Barnes said the order "is wrong and fails to recognize the sacrifice made by our 3 million residents," according to a tweeted statement Thursday.

Newsom said he was not surprised by the lawsuits and that he has confidence in local law enforcement to carry out the order. He added that if huge crowds don't descend on the beaches this weekend, then officials could be in a position as early as Monday or Tuesday to "make some announcements of new strategies and partnerships"to address the large crowds.

"The only thing, I mean it, the only thing that's going to hold us back is a spread of this virus," Newsom said. "And the only thing that is assured to advance the spread of the virus is thousands of people congregated together not practicing social distancing or physical distancing."
By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, April 30 (Reuters) - Health authorities in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul said the new coronavirus has spread to nine local meat processing plants, according to a government epidemiology report sent to Reuters on Thursday.

The report tracked COVID-19 cases between March 20 and April 27 in seven towns of Rio Grande do Sul state, including Lajeado and Passo Fundo, where large meatpackers BRF SA and JBS SA have operations.

The report identified the towns in which nine meat plants with confirmed cases are located, but does not name the companies or specific plants affected by the outbreak.

Some 16,345 people working at those plants have potentially been exposed, the report said.

In recent days, the new coronavirus outbreak has shown signs of accelerating in Brazil with a record jump in confirmed cases on Thursday to 78,162, with 5,466 deaths reported in the country.

There have been 124 confirmed cases of the disease among workers in those meat facilities, and at least one person died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, local health authorities said.

There have been also six deaths of persons related to the meat plant workers, which authorities called "secondary" COVID-19 deaths.

BRF, which has already registered several cases of the illness in Rio Grande do Sul state, did not have an immediate comment.

Last week, BRF signed an agreement with labor prosecutors whereby it commits to improving measures to protect workers nationwide.

JBS did not have an immediate comment.

Last week JBS' Passo Fundo chicken plant, which employs around 2,600 people, was shut down as part of an investigation into an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the facility. (Reporting by Ana Mano; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Friday, 01 May 2020 22:24:16 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

The Chilean Price Distortion Commission (CNDP) will investigate imports of steel grinding balls from China, following a request from local producer Moly-Cop S.A, according to a document decision on April 27.

CNDP hasnt set a specific timeline to decide whether it will impose anti-dumping (AD) duties over imports of the product, but said the analysis period will cover the full-year of 2019, from January 1 to December 31.

The product investigated falls under Chilean HS code 7326.1110.

Moly-Cop S.A argued Chinese imports of steel grinding balls increased 8.9 percent in 2019, year-on-year. However, Moly-Cop S.A said its domestic sales of grinding balls in 2019 fell 16.6 percent, year-on-year.

The Chilean producer argued the Chilean steel grinding ball market has been hit by Chinese imports of the product.
Harpreeet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The total number of coronavirus cases reached 554 in Punjab as 14 more cases were reported today morning from Mohali and Ferozepur. All the 22 districts in the state have now have confirmed COVID-19 cases and 156 among them are of pilgrims who returned from Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra.

The state health department was caught napping as it had no strategy to deal with the pilgrims entering Punjab especially from Maharashtra which is one of the worst affected states of the country. as far as coronavirus cases are concerned. It was on April 27, two days after the first batch of pilgrims entered the state, that the guidelines to quarantine the pilgrims were issued. However, the damage has already been done by then as more than 500 pilgrims had entered the state by April 27 evening.

Blaming the Maharashtra government for not testing the pilgrims at Nanded itself before sending them back, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the Thackeray government also did not share the information on private vehicles being used by pilgrims.

So far, 3525 pilgrims from Nanded and 153 students from Kota (Rajasthan) had returned to Punjab in the last four days, in addition to 3085 labourers received at the Fazilka-Rajasthan border. Raising questions over the state government's actions, Akal Takth (Highest temporal seat of Sikhs) Jathedar (High Priest) Harpreet Singh asked for one and half months the devotees were at Nanded and there was no issue, but once they came into the state how they got affected.

"The Punjab government should have conducted the medical examinations of all these devotees before bringing them back. This is a big lapse on part of the government as the guidelines issued to fight COVID-19 have been violated. Thus now a high-level inquiry should be conducted to bring the truth out, he said.

He also said that the Sikhs are doing community service to fight this pandemic so their grim picture should not be painted as it has been done in case of Tablighi Jamaat as section of society has already started a wilful campaign.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has attributed the infections to three sources  NRIs, Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat and Nanded returnees. While Punjabis returning home were welcome, they had to strictly follow self-quarantine for 21-days, he said, directing the officials to ensure not to allow any unauthorised entry at the borders.

"If we do not control the situation, no industry will open," he warned. These pilgrims belonging to different parts of the state have now returned back in batches as the state government took special permission from the Centre to send 80 air-conditioned Volvo buses to get them back.
Relatives of residents in Clonakilty Community Hospital fear for their loved ones safety after the deaths of nine people there because of Covid-19.

The hospital is one of the deadliest Covid-19 clusters in the country.

But there are fears there could be more deaths among the remaining 86 residents.

A relative, who asked not to be named, told the Irish Examiner: Everybody is very scared about what has happened.

People fear if they are going to be next.

While none of us can fault the care residents get at the hospital, it is an old hospital and there can be up to seven residents in one room sharing the same toilet.

Another relative who also did not want to be named said: It is hard not to fear for the worst.

When the HSE first confirmed Covid-19 had entered the hospital, it announced a raft of measures that were put in place to deal with the situation.

A crack Covid-19 team of experts was drafted in to handle the outbreak.

The HSE has released further information about precautions it took early on in the Covid-19 crisis.

Addressing concerns that someone might have been transferred from an acute hospital with Covid-19 to Clonakilty, they told the Irish Examiner: No one who needed to be in an acute hospital was moved to Clonakilty.

The entrance road to Clonakilty Community Hospital (Mount Carmel). Picture Denis Minihane.

They say that once the first case of Covid-19 in Cork was confirmed on March 5th, strict protocols were introduced around discharges from acute hospitals to all residential facilities.

With very few limited exceptions, the HSE say there has been no visiting at any Cork Kerry Community Healthcare community hospital since March 20.

And they said: Restrictions were in place before that time, including limiting visiting to certain times, reducing the number of visitors permitted and strict controls on hand washing.

The first tests for Covid-19 took place at the hospital in early April, say the HSE.

While they could not comment on how many staff or residents have tested positive for Covid-19, they did say that no staff have passed away related to the virus.

Issues over the number of residents sharing the same room were raised by health watchdog HIQA in January and by independent Cork South West TD, Michael Collins.
The defendants, two Walla Walla attorneys, had good reason to be nervous.

They were facing the charge of failure to wear flu masks in public, which the Washington state board of health had ordered. And one juror showed just how seriously he took the mask requirement: He had a large towel wrapped around his head, with two slits cut out for the eyes.

The debate in Walla Walla -- and throughout the U.S. in the early days of 1919 as the second wave of the deadly flu pandemic rolled through the population -- was about the tradeoff between individual freedoms and the exercise of official power for the public good. The same debate, that is, thats playing out today as communities and states study how to safely reopen with the coronavirus continuing to roam the land.

As the Walla Walla jury weighed their case 100 years ago, the argument over mandated face coverings was also taking place across the border in Oregon.

In January 1919, the Portland City Council considered an emergency ordinance requiring the wearing of face masks in public places -- stores, theaters, churches and so on. The outbreak had just reached a new high point in the city, with 422 reported new cases in 24 hours. The flu pandemic ultimately would kill more than 600,000 Americans.

The debate became exceedingly fiery, The Oregonian reported from the council meeting about the proposed mask-wearing ordinance.

Local attorney W.T. Vaughn declared that he could not be forced to wear a rag over his face, insisting the ordinance was autocratic and unconstitutional. I am a law-abiding citizen, he said, but he objected to the city attempting to muzzle us like a pack of [rabies-afflicted] dogs.

During the 1918-19 flu pandemic, Portland officials encouraged the public to wear masks. (The Oregonian)

Back in October of 1918, Mayor George Baker had closed theaters and schools for six weeks to blunt the initial wave of the flu pandemic. Ever since then, Dr. R.C. Coffey now told the council, wearing masks had been compulsory at Portland Surgical Hospital. As a result, he said, there had been no disease transmission there, whereas the other hospitals are full of it.

Others at the council meeting argued that the strict quarantining of people with influenza, rather than universal mask-wearing, was the way to go, pointing to the success of such isolation in Corvallis, Grants Pass and other Oregon communities.

This debate came just days after the influenza death of one of Portlands most prominent citizens, Oregonian publisher Henry L. Pittock. The 83-year-old Pittock was not quarantined during his illness. In fact, his newspaper reported he had received numbers of old friends and members of his staff as his condition worsened.

Though Portland Commissioner John Mann blocked the mask-wearing ordinances immediate implementation, plans moved ahead for it. The basement of downtowns Hotel Portland was established as the headquarters of a massive mask-distribution operation. The face coverings, made by Red Cross volunteers, would be sold for 10 cents each. City officials said the poor could receive them for free.

As the council debate ran aground (the emergency mask-wearing order never would be put into effect), the discussion inevitably spilled out into the public, spreading faster than the flu.

One anonymous newspaper reader wrote that the ordinance called on all retail staff in the city to wear masks continuously for eight hours each day, which does not seem reasonable, seeing as they are not a menace like the crowds of patrons that jostle each other in the aisles and would seem to be the chief carriers of the disease.

But Dr. E.A. Sommer, who headed up Portlands official response to the epidemic, said all citizens should carry the load.

If everyone will knuckle down and help us, forget the little things and remember that the health of the community and lives are at stake, the battle is won, he said.

That might have been the case, but this being America, the clarion call of liberty proved potent.

Up in Walla Walla, during the trial of the two lawyers who refused to cover their faces in public, the county health officer took the stand wearing a mask. The defense objected, insisting the defendants had the right to face their accuser. The judge agreed. He ordered the health officer to remove his mask.

The prosecutor, however, kept his face covered throughout the trial. I hate this mask as much as anybody, he said.

The jury, including the man wearing a towel on his face, quickly acquitted the men.

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
'Indian artillery fire kills Pakistani soldier, 2 civilians in Kashmir'

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 10:21 AM

A Pakistani army soldier and two civilians have been killed by Indian artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan's military said in a statement that the fatalities took place on Wednesday night when Indian troops initiated an "unprovoked ceasefire violation" in the villages of Kailer and Rakhchikri along the LoC, the de facto border between Pakistan and India in Kashmir.

Reports said Indian troops targeted Pakistan army posts in Kailer with automatic and heavy weapons; however, the Pakistani military responded and inflicted heavy losses on Indian forces.

The statement said a 10-year-old boy and a woman had also been wounded by the Indian fire.

Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, accused Pakistani troops of attacking Indian positions with small arms and mortar shells in at least four places Wednesday evening. Anand called the firing an "unprovoked" violation of a 2003 ceasefire accord between the two neighboring countries.

Despite the ceasefire agreement that was reached between India and Pakistan in November 2003, sporadic skirmishes continue in Kashmir.

India and Pakistan frequently exchange heavy fire across the militarized de facto border in the disputed Kashmir valley.

Kashmir has long been a flash point between India and Pakistan, which have fought three of their four wars over the disputed Himalayan territory. Both countries rule parts of Kashmir while claiming it in full.

Earlier this month, India introduced a new law that would make its citizens eligible to become permanent residents of the Indian-controlled Kashmir, raising fears of demographic change in the Himalayan region.

As part of the Indian government's discriminatory policies against Muslims last year, India's parliament passed a new citizenship law under which migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan will be allowed to claim Indian citizenship  but not if they are Muslims.

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[May 01, 2020] Medical Billing Outsourcing Industry Opportunity & Forecast, 2020-2025 - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Medical Billing Outsourcing Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global medical billing outsourcing market is currently witnessing strong growth. Looking forward, the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 8% during 2020-2025. Complexities in managing reimbursements and claims and the consequent need for simplifying the process is one of the key factors driving the market growth. The medical and healthcare industry is increasingly adopting automated solutions for various operations with the aim to enhance in-house workflow and offer a seamless experience to patients. In line with this, widespread adoption of front-end outsourced medical billing solutions, which primarily include end-to-end patient access, digital order management, central scheduling, quality assurance and patient registration, is providing a boost to the market growth. The implementation of government regulations to employ digital record-keeping solutions is another major growth-inducing factor. Various hospitals, clinics, and healthcare centers are utilizing these solutions for efficient record-keeping of medical bills and risk management against unforeseen circumstances. Other factors, including improvements in healthcare infrastructure, increasing integration of cloud-based services and the Internet of Things (IoT) with the existing technologies and extensive research and development (R&D) activities, are projected to drive the market in the upcoming years. The competitive landscape of the industry has alo been examined with some of the key players being Accretive Health, Allscripts, Cerner Corporation, EClinicalWorks, Experian Information Solutions Inc., GE Healthcare, Genpact (News - Alert), HCL Technologies, Kareo, McKesson Corporation, Quest Diagnostics, R1 RCM Inc., Ltd.



Key Questions Answered How has the global medical billing outsourcing market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the component?

What is the breakup of the market based on the service?

What is the breakup of the market based on the end-use?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global medical billing outsourcing market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered

1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Medical Billing Outsourcing Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Component 6.1 In-House 6.2 Outsourced 7 Market Breakup by Service 7.1 Front End 7.2 Middle End 7.3 Back End 8 Market Breakup by End-use 8.1 Hospitals 8.2 Physician Offices 8.3 Others 9 Market Breakup by Region 9.1 North America 9.2 Asia-Pacific 9.3 Europe 9.4 Latin America 9.5 Middle East & Africa 10 SWOT Analysis 10.1 Overview 10.2 Strengths 10.3 Weaknesses 10.4 Opportunities 10.5 Threats 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 12.1 Overview 12.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 12.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 12.4 Degree of Competition 12.5 Threat of New Entrants 12.6 Threat of Substitutes 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Market Structure 13.2 Key Players 13.3 Profiles of Key Players 13.3.1 Accretive Health 13.3.2 Allscripts 13.3.3 Cerner (News - Alert) Corporation 13.3.4 EClinicalWorks 13.3.5 Experian Information Solutions Inc. 13.3.6 GE Healthcare 13.3.7 Genpact 13.3.8 HCL Technologies (News - Alert) 13.3.9 Kareo 13.3.10 McKesson Corporation 13.3.11 Quest Diagnostics 13.3.12 R1 RCM Inc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4ed2tr View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005260/en/

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The new batch of recreational-marijuana dispensary licenses in Illinois that was supposed to be awarded by Friday, May 1 will not be approved after all. The state has postponed the allocation of as many as 75 new permits, due to delays related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak.

The postponement follows a modified "stay-at-home" order for the state's residents that comes into force on Friday.

The delay will be enshrined in an executive order signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker, according to a statement released by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).

"The requirement will be suspended for the duration of the ongoing Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, or until IDFPR otherwise announces a new date. IDFPR will provide a public notice announcing the new date when licenses will be issued and will seek to do so as soon as feasible," IDFPR wrote in the statement. It did not speculate as to where the reset date might land.

Under the Proclamations, many businesses have been temporarily closed, although dispensaries have been classified as "essential businesses."

News of the licensing postponement will come as a heavy disappointment to potential recreational-dispensary operators. More than 700 applications have been filed for the new licenses.

The delay will likely benefit existing dispensary operators, at least to some degree, given the current constraints on their businesses. Two Illinois-headquartered cannabis companies that have built up relatively wide dispensary networks in their home state are Green Thumb Industries (OTC:GTBIF) and Cresco Labs (OTC:CRLBF). Neither Green Thumb nor Cresco has publicly commented on the licensing postponement.

On Thursday, both stocks slumped more or less in line with the declines recorded by the wider equities market. Green Thumb fell nearly 1% on the day, while Cresco dipped by 1.1%.
BEIRUT - Explosions at a Syrian military base housing a weapons warehouse Friday were the result of human error while moving ammunition, the defence ministry said. Ten civilians outside the base were hurt, a local doctor said.

However, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said the blasts at the base near the central city of Homs were caused by a suspected Israeli rocket attack. The group said Syrian air defences were activated before the explosions, suggesting they were responding to an incoming attack.

The Observatory said the warehouse was used by Lebanons Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the countrys nine-year civil war.

The Israeli military, which declined to comment, has in the past targeted Iranian and Iranian-backed targets in Syria, saying it wont tolerate Tehrans increasing influence along its borders.

There have recently been several reports of suspected Israeli strikes inside Syria, the last on Monday, when the Syrian military and state media said Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon fired missiles toward areas near the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing three civilians. The Observatory said four Iran-backed fighters were also killed.

The divergent accounts for Fridays explosions could not be immediately reconciled. The Syrian government rarely acknowledges Iran and Iranian-backed groups, which have been instrumental in turning the tide of the war in favour of the government, use its military bases and facilities.

After the blasts, which were heard inside the city, smoke could be seen from a distance. The local health director, Hassan al-Guindi, told state media that 10 civilians were injured as they walked by the site.

The provincial governor, Talal Barazi, said the base houses a weapons warehouse. The Observatory said the explosions damaged the base and sent debris flying outside its perimeters.

Separately, Syrian state media reported late Thursday that Israeli helicopters flew over the occupied Golan Heights firing at unidentified targets and causing material damage.

Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes over the years, most aimed at alleged Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. Israeli officials have expressed concerns Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities for precision-guided missiles.

In recent weeks, suspected Israeli attacks included the targeting of Iranian-backed fighters in the desert near the central Syrian town of Palmyra, and an Israeli drone attack on a SUV carrying Hezbollah members close to the border with Lebanon.

In other developments Friday, residents in opposition-held northwest Syria, which is home to 3 million people, rallied against the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, a day after its militants shot at demonstrators and killed a protester.

Thursdays demonstration was called to denounce the militants plan to set up a crossing point between the opposition areas and towns and villages captured by government forces in March. The crossing was to help the militants tax collection from the trade of goods between the areas. Taxation on otherwise smuggled goods are the main source of income for the al-Qaida-linked group.

The shots killed 41-year-old protester Salah Maree, who was buried Friday. Ezzeddin al-Idlilbi, an activist who was at the protest in the town of Maarat al-Nassan on Thursday, said Maree had already lost three of his children in the war and was a former political prisoner of the Syrian government.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the most powerful militant group in Syrias opposition-held areas, said it was saddened by the death and that it would suspend the opening of the crossing.

Although the group has sought to distance itself from the al-Qaida network, the U.S and Turkey have placed it on their list of terrorist groups.

____

Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
Cindy Kimbler knows shes lucky to have a job right now, especially after being furloughed for a week by her employer, a thrift store in Grove City, Ohio. But in mid-March, she noticed something strange. Although she was working her usual hours, putting her health in danger with every shift, she was making one-third less money.

The reduction amounted to about $200 a week and was significant, especially since Kimbler only makes $11 an hour as a cashier. She checked with her payroll department and learned that in mid-March, a creditor had started garnishing her paychecks. Kimbler, 59, hadnt even been aware of the court judgment allowing the wage garnishment to begin. The debt, she says, is from four years ago, when her car broke down and she got a payday loanwith an interest rate of around 26% to fix it.

Even before the coronavirus sent the economy plummeting, Kimbler had been living paycheck to paycheck. Now, suddenly, she was in danger of not being able to make rent and possibly being evicted when the local eviction moratorium lifted. I thought, I am never ever going to be able to pay any of my bills with them taking $200 out of my check, she told me recently.

Though some protections exist for people struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the CARES Act stimulus package signed into law on March 27, they largely ignore those who were already on the edge of financial ruin. The CARES Act has paused federal student loan debt payments and payments on federally-backed mortgages, and various cities and states have suspended evictions. But few states have stopped creditors from moving ahead with wage garnishments, repossessions, and attachments (one-time seizures of bank accounts). This means that in many cases, the pandemic will tip people like Kimbler, who was barely getting by, into an economic abyss from which it will be difficult or impossible to recover. Even the one-time $1,200 stimulus payments promised to millions in the U.S. can be garnished by financial institutions in many states.

Story continues

This is crippling people right now, says Melissa Linville, an attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. Some courts are carrying on as if there is no pandemic.

And with parts of the country starting to reopen to business, sending a message that its time to rev up the economy, legal advocates see little chance of new restrictions to protect the poorest sector of society. That means a likely rise in consumer bankruptcies as individuals see no way to escape their debts.

Things were bad before the COVID emergency, they got worse with COVID, and theyre going to get even worse, says Margot Saunders, senior counsel at the National Consumer Law Center.

***

Garnishments can occur after a creditor obtains a court judgement against someone who owes them money. Some people are not aware of the court hearings, often because they have not been informed by the creditor and dont show up to argue their cases. Kimbler says thats what happened to her. But once a court gives the go-ahead, creditors are free to take a portion of a persons wages from their paycheck. A separate order allows them to seize money from an individuals bank account. Federal law requires that debtors are left with at least $217.50 a week in take-home payfor a family of four, thats less than half the federal poverty level. Some states protect more income from creditors, but creditors arent limited to targeting money. They are free to seize cars, even if a debtor needs a vehicle to get to work to earn the money to pay off their debts.

About one-third of Americans have debts in collection, according to the National Consumer Law Center. Total household debt reached an all-time high in the last quarter of 2019, at $14.5 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Unemployment checks are supposed to be protected from creditors, but even they are at risk of seizure once they are deposited into bank accounts. To protect their benefits, debtors must file a court motion, which is challenging in scores of jurisdictions where the coronavirus has closed most courts. People who do succeed in filing motions are being told they must wait weeks and sometimes months for their cases to be heard. In the meantime, the funds remain frozen. I really worry that these creditors will use this delay to get debtors to pay them money they dont have the right to, says Alex Kornya, litigation director of Iowa Legal Aid. Before the pandemic, Iowa judges would hear exemption cases within a week; now, clients hearings are being scheduled two or three months from now, he says.

Cindy Kimbler outside her place of work, the Volunteers of America store, in Grove City, Ohio on April 25, 2020. Kimbler received help from the Legal Aid Society of Ohio after debt-collectors started garnishing her wages in March. | James D. DeCampJamesDeCamp.com

In Wisconsin, people who receive food stamps can file a document arguing they are exempt from wage garnishment, says Karen Bauer, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee. But creditors are trying to make people go to court to prove they get food stamps, and so the garnishments are continuing. Were seeing a lot of issues with people just trying to protect the money that was supposed to be there to protect them, she says.

Garnishments are also coming from the U.S. Department of Education, even though Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on March 25 that the department would halt collection actions and wage garnishments for 60 days beginning March 30. Andrew Orlandini, 52, a military veteran who works at a hazardous waste disposal company in Milwaukee, has had his wages garnished weekly because of a $13,000 student loan debt, despite the DeVos directive. Orlandini says his employer wont stop garnishing until it receives a letter from the DOE instructing it to do so. (Employers risk violating a state court order if they dont comply with a garnishment). A spokesman for Ascendium, the company that is garnishing Orlandinis wages on behalf of the Department of Education, says the action should have stopped. Its possible the employer or collections agency missed the notice to halt garnishments, he says, and he pledged to look into Orlandinis case.

In mid-April, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, along with 30 colleagues, wrote a letter rebuking the Trump administration for allowing garnishments to continue for federal student loans. And on May 1, the National Consumer Law Center, in partnership with other groups, announced a class action lawsuit against DeVos and the Department of Education demanding an immediate halt to garnishments of student borrowers. The lead plaintiff is a home health aide whose hours have been reduced during the pandemic and who has no money in her bank account, but whose paychecks are still being garnished.

Volunteers distribute eggs from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to needy families at a drive through event on April 17, 2020 in Kissimmee, Florida. | Paul HennessyNurPhoto/Getty Images

Many states and local governments are still garnishing wages and collecting outstanding debts from court fees and fines, including traffic tickets, according to Joanna Weiss, the co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center in New York. Though some states like Delaware and California have suspended the active collection of payment for criminal, civil, and traffic violations, others are still sending collection notices, revoking drivers licenses, and in some cases, jailing people who fall behind on fees.

After Reunca Lewis was pulled over on April 17, a Friday, because her car was missing a license plate, she told me she spent the weekend in a cramped jail cell in Alabama with six other women. Like her, all of them were there for unpaid traffic tickets. Lewis, 23, doesnt deny that shed fallen behind on paying traffic tickets, something the officer who pulled her over quickly discovered, but Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on March 13 had directed law enforcement to issue summons or citations when possible in light of the pandemic. The condition of jails inherently heightens the possibility of COVID-19 transmission, Iveys proclamation read. Nevertheless, Lewis says she was handcuffed as her 6-year-old son watched and taken to jail, where it was too crowded to keep a safe distance from her cellmates.

It was just mind-blowing that all of us were in there for traffic tickets, she says.

A few states have acted to protect indebted consumers. Virginia suspended new garnishment orders and has allowed consumers to attend remote hearings to seek exemptions from previous orders. Illinois suspended wage garnishments while the state is under a gubernatorial disaster proclamation. Texas suspended all service of new garnishments until May 7. Washington, D.C. prevented creditors from initiating, threatening, or acting upon a garnishment. But none of these orders suspend old garnishments, and only Virginia provides a way for clients to quickly file for exemptions.

Twenty-five state attorneys general wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on April 13 asking that the Treasury take action to prevent stimulus payments from garnishment, but the Treasury has not acted. A transcript of a Treasury Department call with financial institutions obtained by The American Prospect indicates that the department told banks that there was no law that prevented them from seizing stimulus payments, which some critics saw as de facto permission to seize the money. The National Consumer Law Center has been advocating for an amendment to the CARES Act that would treat stimulus payments like government benefits such as Social Security, which creditors are not allowed to seize.

***

Even if an amendment were to pass, it would not help the people whove resorted to bankruptcy in the face of persistent debt. Stephania Fredericksen, a 36-year-old artist, took that step after she was served with a debt collection lawsuit on March 26 over unpaid student loans. Fredericksen says she had been catching up on payments until the pandemic hit. Art fairs were canceled and tourism slowed in her hometown, Charleston, SC, and her income dried up. I was just catching up again, just gathering speed, and now this, Fredericksen says.

She went onto Upsolve, a nonprofit website that allows low-income consumers to file for bankruptcy, and filled out the paperwork. Upsolve CEO Rohan Pavuluri says the majority of people coming to Upsolve now are those whose finances were affected by COVID-19.

Upsolve cant help everyoneit is only for people who have simple Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases and who satisfy a host of other requirements. People must answer hundreds of questions to figure out if they qualify. Fortunately for Fredericksen, she did, but Saunders, of the National Consumer Law Center, worries that the increased cost of filing for bankruptcy and the excessive paperwork, the result of a massive bankruptcy reform in 2005, will prevent people from exercising that option. There will also be delays in filing because many courts are still closed.

Many consumers may be waiting to file bankruptcy until they hit bottom and realize the depth of their financial hole. They may also be worried about filing too soon, because of the requirement that eight years pass between Chapter 7 filings. If they fall deeper into debt shortly after one Chapter 7, theyll have to wait a long time before seeking this relief again.

Cindy Kimbler, the Ohio cashier, didnt want to wait. Once the creditor started garnishing her wages, she started calling bankruptcy attorneys to figure out her options. The private lawyers quoted costs starting at $1,500money she didnt haveso she contacted the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, which is now helping her file for bankruptcy. The lawyers there have been able to stop the garnishing of Kimblers wages, and the organization only asked that she pay the $350 in court filing fees.

Im just looking forward to getting my life back on track, says Kimbler. For the first time in a long time, Kimbler is optimistic about her financial future, and that makes her a rarity in America today.
The Government of National Accord (GNA), one of the two major factions in Libya's civil war and the only internationally recognised government, on May 1 declined to suspend fighting following General Khalifa Haftar's offer of a temporary truce amid Ramzan. According to reports, the GNA has said that it doesn't trust the Libyan National Army and its leader Haftar's claim of a ceasefire.

Read: UAE Urges All Libyan Parties To Commit To Political Process, Supports Haftar's LNA

The GNA in a statement said that it will continue conducting self-defense operations and will keep striking terror groups in their hotbeds until they stop killing innocent Libyans. The Government of National Accord is backed by Turkey, while the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army receives support from the UAE and Egypt. Even though the Government of National Accord is Libyas internationally recognised government, it's authority remains unrecognized by the House of Representatives, currently under Haftar's control.

Read: Germany Contemplating Further Ease In Restrictions, May Allow Museums, Zoos To Reopen

Libyan conflict

As of January 2020 the House of Representatives controls the eastern Cyrenaica region and parts of the southern Fezzan and Tripolitania regions and Sirte. The Government of National Accord controls most of the coastal Tripolitania including Tripoli and Misrata. Meanwhile, the southern region is controlled by local tribal forces and militias, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al-Qaeda, among others. The leaders of Libyan National Amry are supporters of deceased Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was assassinated by NTC militants in 2011.

Read: Mike Pompeo Warns North Korea At Risk Of Facing Famine, Says No Sight Of Kim Jong Un

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on April 30 called on all Libyan parties to come to an agreement over the United Nations supervised political process to end the six-year-long civil war in the country, but at the same time renewed its support for the Libyan National Army, commending it for conducting anti-terror operations. Turkey responded by accusing the UAE government of playing two-faced politics in the region.

Read: COVID-19: US Vice President Mike Pence Spotted At A Crowded Hospital Without Face Mask

(Image Credit: AP)


Honey bee colonies from across the UK are increasingly suffering from a viral disease, a new study has shown.

Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Communications, the team led by Professor Giles Budge of Newcastle University, UK, found that the number of honey bee colonies affected with chronic bee paralysis rose exponentially between 2007 and 2017.

Data collected from visits to over 24,000 beekeepers confirmed that while chronic bee paralysis was only recorded in Lincolnshire in 2007, a decade later it was present in 39 of 47 English and six of eight Welsh counties. The scientists also found that clusters of chronic bee paralysis, where disease cases are found close together, were becoming more frequent.

Chronic bee paralysis symptoms include abnormal trembling, an inability to fly, and the development of shiny, hairless abdomens. The disease is caused by a virus known as chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), and infected bees die within a week. This leads to piles of dead bees just outside honey bee hives and whole colonies are frequently lost to the disease.

Study lead, Professor Budge, from Newcastle University's School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, said: "Our analysis clearly confirms that chronic bee paralysis has been emerging across England and Wales since 2007 and that apiaries owned by professional beekeepers are at greater risk of the disease."

The study was completed in association with the Bee Farmers' Association, who represent professional beekeepers in the UK. Rob Nickless, the Chairman of the Bee Farmers' Association, said: "We are pleased to be part of this project and welcome these early results. This is the sort of research that brings practical benefits to the industry - helping bee farmers at grassroots level to improve honey bee health and increase UK honey production."

Professor Budge said: "We do not yet know why colonies of bee farmers are at increased risk from this damaging disease, but many management practices are known to differ significantly between amateur and professional apiarists."

The study also investigated whether disease risk was associated with honey bee queen imports. Honey bee queens head up honey bee colonies and beekeepers use imported honey bee queens to replenish their stocks. The scientists used data from 130,000 honey bee imports from 25 countries to show for the first time that the disease was nearly twice as likely in apiaries owned by beekeepers who imported honey bees.

This work is being completed as a collaboration between Newcastle and St Andrews Universities, the Bee Farmers' Association and the National Bee Unit of the Animal and Plant Health Agency with funding from the BBSRC The researchers highlight the need for further studies focussing on different virus genotypes, which will be completed at the University of St Andrews.

Future work will concentrate on the susceptibility of different honey bee races and comparing the management practices of professional and amateur beekeepers to help discover the reasons behind the current disease emergence. This work will have the potential to reduce or mitigate the damage of this emerging disease to our most important managed pollinator.

###

Reference:

Chronic bee paralysis as a serious emerging threat to honey bees

Giles E. Budge, Nicola K. Simcock, Philippa J. Holder, Mark D. F. Shirley, Mike A. Brown,

Pauline S. M. Van Weymers, David J. Evans & Steve P. Rushton

Nature Communications. DoI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15919-0
The Centre on Friday allowed the movement of students, migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists and others stranded at various places by special trains to be operated by the Ministry of Railways. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, May 1 : The Centre on Friday allowed the movement of students, migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists and others stranded at various places by special trains to be operated by the Ministry of Railways.

The decision was taken two days after the government approved their movement through buses to transport them from one state to another. The order came as lockdown 2.0 is to end on May 3.

These people are those who have been stranded at various places in different states due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown that is in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning of the first phase of restriction from March 24 midnight. After the end of the first 21-day lockdown the restriction was extended for another 19 days till May 3.

Considering the problems being faced by these stranded people, the Home Ministry issued the order mentioning that the Ministry of Railways will designate nodal officers for coordinating with state and Union Territories (UTs) for the movement of the stranded people.

The order issued to all states and the UTs as well as ministries informs that the Ministry of Railways will issue detailed guidelines for sale of tickets and for social distancing and other safety measures to be observed at stations, platforms and within the trains. The rest of the conditions stipulated for movement of persons will continue to apply to such movements, the order said.

In the April 29 order, all the states and UTs were directed to designate nodal authorities and develop standard protocols for receiving and sending such stranded persons. The moving persons will be screened. On arrival at the destination, such persons will be assessed by the state health authorities and put under home quarantine unless the assessment requires keeping them under institutional quarantine.

They would be kept under watch with periodic health check-ups. For this purpose, they are encouraged to use the Aarogya Setu app through which their health status can be monitored.
Washington: The deadly coronavirus originated from a virology lab in China's Wuhan city before it spread across the world and claimed over 233,000 lives and shattered global economies, US President Donald Trump has said.

Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community on Thursday which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

Ever since the virus outbreak came to light in Wuhan in December last, speculation has been rife on whether the viral strain originated from China's premier Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or from its nearby Huanan Seafood Market. The US has launched an investigation into whether the deadly virus "escaped" from the WIV.

At his daily White House briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak in the US on Thursday, Trump was asked by a reporter: "Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?"

"Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump said. The president, however, refused to provide any details, except for saying that investigations are on and it would be out soon.

Asked what gave him a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the WIV, he said, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."

In a rare public statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees US spy agencies, said on Thursday it concurs with the "wide scientific consensus" regarding COVID-19's natural origins.

"The (intelligence community) will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan," the ODNI statement said.

It was the first clear response from American intelligence debunking conspiracy theories - both from the US and China - that the virus is a biological weapon.

The US is the worst affected nation with a death toll of over 63,000 and 1,069,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The economic fallout is huge, with nearly four million more Americans filing for jobless benefits last week.

Some 30.3 million people in the US have now filed for financial aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began in the country.

Trump also blamed the World Health Organisation for the pandemic. "I think the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they're like the public relations agency for China," he said.

Trump, however, did not hold his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping responsible for the global outbreak. "I don't want to say that, I don't want to say that, but certainly it could have been stopped. It came out of China and it could have been stopped and I wish they had stopped it and so does the whole world wish they had stopped it," he said.

China has come under increasing global pressure over lack of transparency in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected over 3,257,000 people and killed 233,400 other across the world.

Besides the US, the UK, Australia and Germany have also called for more transparency from Beijing on the COVID-19 origin.

Reiterating that the coronavirus could have been contained at Wuhan Trump said, "They were either unable to, or they chose not to. And the world has suffered greatly." One of two things happened, he reasoned. "They either didn't do it and you know they couldn't do it from a competent standpoint or they let it spread and I would say probably it got out of control."

"But there's another case that how come they stopped all of the planes and all of the traffic from going into China, but they didn't stop the planes and the traffic from coming into the US and from coming into all over Europe," he said, citing the example of Italy, the hardest-hit European country. The US, he said "is very lucky" as his administration had put the ban on flights coming from China "very early on".

Before holding China accountable, Trump said he wants to find out what happened. "I think we'll be able to get a very good -- a very powerful definition of exactly what happened. We're working on it strongly now and I think it's going to be very powerful," he said. "But they could have stopped it. They are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. It got loose, let's say, and they could have capped it. They could have stopped it, but they didn't,? he said.

"We should have the answer to that in the not-too-distant future and that will determine a lot how I feel about China," Trump said. The entire world has suffered as a result of not stopping the virus outbreak in China, he said.

The WIV, specifically its P4 laboratory, is equipped to handle dangerous viruses.

Though the laboratory has denied the allegation in a statement in February, its director Yuan Zhiming, in his first media interview last month, rejected the allegation that his institute is the original source of the COVID-19. "We know what kind of research is going at the institute and how the institute manages viruses and samples. There is no way that virus came from us. We have a strict regulatory regimen," he told the state-run CGTN TV channel.

Referring to the US allegations, Yuan had said it is unfortunate that some people are "deliberately misleading" people without having any "evidence or knowledge".
Tori Spelling shared two new pinup images for her 1.5M Instagram followers on Friday.

The 46-year-old wife of Dean McDermott was in a dusty pink satin top and a pair of jeans made by Khloe Kardashian's company Good American. The Mystery Girls actress said the jeans were 'comfy' and 'suck me in in all the right places.'

The Beverly Hills, 90210 vet was in the living room of her roomy Hidden Hills, California mansion she and Dean share with their five children.

Fancy: Tori Spelling shared two new pinup images for her 1.5M Instagram followers on Friday. The 46-year-old wife of Dean McDermott was in a dusty pink satin top and a pair of jeans made by Khloe Kardashian's company Good American

The blonde beauty was nicely made up for the image with her hair down and a vampy mauve lip.

The top was low-cut and came in at the waist while the jeans hugged her curves.

And a large Chanel necklace stood out against her tan chest. She added peep-toe heels.

Next to her was a brass tray with a small plant, a candle and several quart crystals creating a Zen atmosphere.

Nice digs: The Beverly Hills, 90210 vet was in the living room of her roomy Hidden Hills, California mansion she and Dean share with their five children

'Finally, having a date night IN during Quarantine with the hubby,' said the Inn Love star in her caption.

'Feeling SO confident in my @GOODAMERICAN The Good Boy jeans and top!

'The fit is so comfy and soft, & sucks me in in all the right places. I love that they are inclusive to all body types, ranging from XS-4X and so many washes and designs.'

Partners: 'The fit is so comfy and soft, & sucks me in in all the right places. I love that they are inclusive to all body types, ranging from XS-4X and so many washes and designs,' said Tori as she did a sponsorship for Koko

She then did a plug for Khloe adding this was a 'sponsorship': 'Excited to offer 20% off at goodamerican.com/torispelling and free shipping on orders over $75 !'

It is not known if Khloe and Tori are pals though they live only 10 minutes away from each other - Tori in Hidden Hills (near Kim and Kylie) and Khloe in Calabasas (near Kourtney).

She added a hashtag for 'body positivity.'

Tori seems to be dealing well during LA's coronavirus lockdown. Last month the star told DailyMail.com how she is coping.

'Everyone in our house was fighting over what to watch on TV, so we just downloaded this new app and got the kids settled Now, we can figure our what we wanna watch!' the Inn Love star said.

Nice backyard: Here Spelling is seen in April on the patio of her mansion which also has a swimming pool

Another look at the grounds: There is another shot from Easter as their lawn looked lush

She then explained what her new app is.

'Have you heard of the app Watchworhy? Its personalized TV, so you can personalize it to your watch list,' the LA native explained.

'You can connect it to your Netflix or Disney+! we just downloaded two episodes of the Muppets, so they are set.'

Comfy quarters: Here the star is seen in her living room with a family portrait above the mantle

Tori married Dean, 53, in 2006 and are parents to Liam, 13, Stella, 11, Hattie, eight, Finn, seven, and Beau, three.

The star has been holed up in her five-bedroom, five-bathroom 3,500 square foot home in Hidden Hills, California.

Tori has also said that she stays busy cooking for her kids and she tries to include them when she makes snacks or bakes.

A big tree by the firelace: The family gathered in their living room in December

This comes after Spelling passed some time by participating in the pillow challenge that's been doing the rounds on social media since earlier in the month.

She posed wearing a pillow made into a dress for a photo taken by daughter Stella, 11, then posted it to Instagram with the caption 'Pillow Talk.'

Tori explained her look, sharing: 'Im a vintage girl. So, mixed vintage fashion with a wink to Donna Martin.'

Family: The former Beverly Hills, 90210 star married Dean McDermott, 53, in 2006 and in addition to Stella, they are parents to Liam, 13, Hattie, eight, Finn, seven, and Beau, three

The star wore a pink and black polka dot blouse and attached the white pillow to her body with a black ribbed camisole top and fastened with a black leather belt.

She added black fishnet tights and black cork-wedge shoes and accessorized with a shiny gold clutch purse and a statement necklace.

And the pinup completed the look by styling her long hair in a high ponytail with pink scrunchie.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Extremely negative and nasty.

Thats how political observer Brian Sanderoff describes the battle between former state Rep. Yvette Herrell and oil and gas executive Claire Chase in their bids to become the Republican challenger in the 2nd Congressional District race.

It seems like they are trying to outdo the other in portraying their loyalty to President Donald Trump, said Sanderoff, president of the Albuquerque-based firm Research and Polling Inc. Its really no surprise, given President Trumps popularity in the district.

The Republican nominee will face off against Democratic incumbent Xochitl Torres Small in November.

Loyalty to the president became an issue shortly after Breitbart published a story about negative comments Chase made about Trump in the months leading up to the 2016 election, including calling the future president an a**hole unworthy of the office. Herrells campaign has been reminding voters of the comments in recently launched ads, labeling Chase as Never Trump.

Chases campaign has run ads claiming Herrell undermined Trumps campaign and stood against the president. Her campaign has cited Herrells attendance at a legislative conference in 2015 in which attendees were asked about supporting Trump, and no one indicated support. The campaign has also pointed out comments made by Herrell on a radio talk show expressing frustration about a lack of leadership under a Republican-controlled Congress during the first years of the Trump administration.

Its gotta be tough being exposed as a fraud, Chases campaign manager, Mike Berg, said in a statement to the Journal. Yvette Herrell is attacking Claire because her weak candidacy, and lies about supporting President Trump are finally being exposed. Its no surprise, given her record as a career politician who voted for massive tax hikes then used taxpayer funds to line her own pocket and take lavish vacations.

But Herrell said she supported President Trump since the beginning, which is why the presidents top allies, like Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan and Mike Huckabee, have endorsed me.

I am staying focused on the issues that matter to the people of New Mexicos Second District such as the critically important energy and ag industries, as well as safely reopening our economy so our small businesses and rural communities can survive, she said in a statement to the Journal.

Sanderoff wonders whether the two candidates are missing an opportunity to attack Torres Small or highlight the presidents policies because they are focusing on each other.

He said the third Republican candidate in the field  Las Cruces businessman Chris Mathys  might also benefit from the other candidates attacks on each other. But Sanderoff still considers Mathys a long shot, based on the money hes raised.

As for Mathys, he has harsher words for Herrell than for Chase.

Yvette started the I am a bigger Trump supporter than my opponents instead of focusing on the issues, he told the Journal. At least Claire has been upfront about her support for Sen. Rubio in the Republican primary. Let me be clear  all three of us will support President Trumps agenda.

Sanderoff said the negative primary campaign could affect the general election. But he doesnt believe the tone of the primary is unusual for what looks to be a competitive race for a congressional seat.

It could cost the nominee some early momentum, he said. I dont believe Republicans will have a problem uniting behind the nominee. But even in the 2nd Congressional District, the race will probably come down to moderate Democrats and independents. It could affect the way they vote.
Yves here. The fact that the Fed isnt giving financiers as much in the way of new juice doesnt change the fact that it threw open the floodgates last month.

By Wolf Richter, editor at Wolf Street. Originally published at Wolf Street

Total assets on the Feds balance sheet rose by only $83 billion during the week ending April 29, to $6.656 trillion. That $83 billion was the smallest weekly increase since this show started on March 15, and down by 86% from peak-bailout in the week ended March 25. This chart shows the weekly increases of total assets on Feds balance sheet:

The Fed is thereby following its playbook laid out over the past two years in various Fed-head talks that it would front-load the bailout-QE during the next crisis, and that, after the initial blast, it would then cut back these asset purchases when no longer needed, rather than let them drag out for years.

On January 1, the balance sheet stopped expanding as the Feds repo market bailout had ended. However, in late February, all heck was breaking loose, and the Fed first increased its repo offerings and then on March 15, started massively throwing freshly created money at the markets, peaking with $586 billion in the single week ended March 25.

But since then, the Fed has slashed its weekly increases in assets, which shows up in the flattening curve of the Feds total assets in 2020:

The Fed cut its purchases of Treasury securities. The balance of its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) actually fell . Repurchase agreements (repos) have fallen into disuse. Lending to Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) has not gone anywhere in five weeks. And foreign central bank liquidity swaps, after spiking in the first two weeks, only rose modestly, with most of the increase coming from the Bank of Japan, which is by far the largest user of those swaps.

Purchases of Treasury securities get slashed.

The Fed added only $62 billion of Treasury securities to its balance sheet during the week, the smallest amount since this show began, down 83% from the $362 billion during peak-Wall-Street-helicopter-money. This chart shows the weekly increases of Treasury securities on the Feds balance sheet:

The chart below shows this effect: The curve of Treasury securities has been flattening over the past few weeks, after the massive frontloading of purchases in March. The total is now $3.97 trillion:

MBS purchases and balances fell.

The Fed has drastically cut its purchases of mortgage-backed securities over the past five weeks, as reported by the New York Fed transaction summary (net purchases, for the weeks ended):

$157 billion (Mar 25)

$145 billion (Apr 1)

$109 billion (Apr 8)

$58 billion (Apr 15)

$56 billion (Apr 22)

$38.5 billion (Apr 29)

MBS trades take weeks to settle. All of the $38.5 billion in MBS the Fed bought this week will settle in May. Since the Fed books the MBS trades only after they settle, the balance sheet lags by some time the actual trades.

In addition, if the Fed buys no MBS at all, the MBS on its balance sheet will decline due to the pass-through principal payments that all holders of MBS receive as the underlying mortgages are paid down or are paid off. There is currently a boom in mortgage refinancing underway, which creates a torrent of these pass-through principal payments. Just to keep its MBS at a steady level, the Fed would need to buy a significant amount of MBS.

This combination of drastically lower purchases, the erratic settlement dates, and the torrent of pass-through principal payments caused the balance of MBS on the Feds balance sheet to fall by $18 billion , to $1.6 trillion:

Repos fall into disuse.

In recent weeks, there has been no demand for the repurchase agreements the Fed offers in the repo market. The repo market itself is running as it normally does, a multi-trillion-dollar affair on a daily basis. But the Feds repos are only being nibbled on every now and then. Whats left on the Feds balance sheet are several term-repos from weeks ago. Repos are in-and-out transactions. When repos mature, the Fed gets its cash back, the counterparty gets its securities back, and the repo balance for that entry goes to zero.

There are $158 billion in repos left on the balance sheet. Ive dug up most of them. Over the next two months, they will all mature and roll off the balance sheet:

From April 29: $2.0 billion, 1-day

From April 13: $14.5 billion, 28-day

From April 6: $6.3 billion, 28-day

From April 3: $1 billion, 84-day

From March 20: $31.2 billion, 84-day

From March 13: $17.0 billion, 84-day

From March 12: $78.4 billion, 84 day

Total repo balance, at $158 million, is down 64% from the peak ($442 billion):

Loans to SPVs & Primary Dealers went nowhere in five weeks.

The Feds alphabet soup of bailout programs are in effect loans to Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that the Fed has set up in conjunction with the US Treasury Department, and to its Primary Dealers (the big broker-dealers and banks the Fed does business with). The Fed in essence lends to them, and they can buy whatever the Fed directs them to buy or lend to entities the Fed directs them to lend to.

This scheme is a way to get around the limits imposed on the Fed by the Federal Reserve Act. Congress could stop these schemes but applauds them.

When the Fed announced the first batch of its alphabet soup of bailout programs, loans on its balance sheet ballooned. But over the five weeks since then, they have remained essentially flat at around $122 billion:

The Fed shows these loans by category:

Primary credit: fell to $32 billion, from $34 billion last week and from $43 billion three weeks ago. This SPV was expanded to be able to buy some fallen angel junk bonds. But the balance has dropped since the expansion and the Fed hasnt bought any fallen-angel junk bonds. Some of the positions have unwound, and the SPV paid the associated loans back to the Fed.

Secondary credit: $0. Designed to purchase corporate bonds, bond ETFs, and even junk-bond ETFs. None were purchased.

Seasonal credit: $0

Primary Dealer Credit Facility: fell to $25 billion, from $36 billion two weeks earlier. Amounts the Fed lent to primary dealers to buy stuff with. After the initial burst, some of the positions have been unwound, and the loans were paid back.

Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility: fell to $46 billion,from $49 billion last week, and from $53 billion three weeks ago. This SPV bought corporate paper and other short-term assets to bail out money-market funds. After the initial burst, the positions have started to unwind, and the SPV paid back some of the loans.

Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility: Jumped to $19billion from $8 billion. This is where the Fed lends to the SPV to buy from the banks the government-guaranteed loans they have issued to small businesses (hahahaha) under the PPP program. This SPV does nothing for small businesses. It just takes some loans off the books of the banks after theyve extracted their fees for processing the PPP loans.

These loans show that the Fed has not done any of the things with SPVs and Primary Dealers over the past five weeks that the markets were drooling and raving about  they didnt buy junk bonds, ETFs, or stocks. The markets just havent figured it out yet.

Central Bank Liquidity Swaps.

The Bank of Japan is by far the biggest user of the Feds dollar liquidity swap lines. Swaps with the BOJ surged by $18 billion from the prior week to $214 billion and now account for 49% of the total swaps on the Feds balance sheet.

The ECB is the second largest user of the swap lines, with balance of $142 billion, 32% of the total. The Bank of England is far behind with $28 billion.

The Fed also has opened swap lines with the central banks of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico. There are no swaps with the central banks of Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and Sweden. And the remaining central banks are small fry (see chart below).

With these swaps  maturities of either 7 days or 84 days  the Fed lends newly created dollars to another central bank, against domestic currency posted at the Fed as collateral. The exchange rate is the market rate at the time of the contract. When the swaps mature, the Fed gets its dollars back, and the other central bank gets its own currency back.

The combined amount of those swaps  the country data is released by the New York Fed  increased by $29 billion from the prior week to $439 billion.

If

Since March 11, the Fed has printed $2.34 trillion to inflate asset prices, restart the chase for yield to where investors would lend to companies with deep-junk credit ratings, already too much debt, and business models that have run aground. It did so to bail out asset holders and Wall Street.

If the Fed had spread that $2.34 trillion equally over the 130 million households in the US, each household would have received $18,031. For many households, this would have gone a long way to helping them through the crisis. But this was helicopter money for Wall Street.

In addition to logistical difficulties of selling a home in the era of social distancing, there is the explosion of a historic unemployment crisis. Read... Mortgage Forbearance Balloons, Home Sales Plunge
Civil liberties may feel to some like a second-order problem when thousands of Americans are dying of a disease with no known treatment or vaccine. Yet while unprecedented emergencies may demand unprecedented responses, those responses can easily tip into misuse and abuse, or can become part of our daily lives even after the immediate threat has passed. For examples, Americans need look no further than the excesses of the post-Sept. 11 Patriot Act.

As the nation starts looking ahead to the next phase of its battle against the coronavirus, we need to have a more honest conversation about the extent to which governments may impose restrictions on their citizens that would not  and should not  be tolerated under normal conditions.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION

Consider the rights to free speech, association and religious exercise under the First Amendment: These freedoms are central to our self-definition, and yet they have all been infringed on to varying degrees across the country, as states ban gatherings where the virus can spread quickly and easily. In Maryland and Iowa, for example, all types of large events and gatherings, including church services, have been prohibited. (Many other states have exempted religious services from their bans, which raises the separate question of whether the government is impermissibly favoring religion.)

Bans like these are legal, as long as they are neutral and applicable to everyone. A state may not shut down only certain types of events, or prohibit speakers expressing only certain viewpoints. Under Supreme Court precedent, any infringement on speech or religion must be incidental to the central goal of the restriction, which in this case is clear: stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

But even if all these bans are legal on their face, what happens as the 2020 election approaches? Speech and association rights are at their peak in the political context, and Americans will be especially wary of any incursions on those rights in the months or weeks before Election Day. What if a state lifts some restrictions on large gatherings, then reimposes them in the days before an election? That may be necessary if there is another wave of the virus, and yet in a highly polarized political environment, citizens might well distrust official motivations behind a crackdown, and that could generate public unrest.

This is why its so important for the authorities to build that trust now, and to rely openly on scientific consensus when imposing  and lifting  bans on gatherings and other events.

SURVEILLANCE AND CELLPHONES

Another area of concern is the governments ability to know where we are and whom were with. In normal times, the authorities generally have to obtain a warrant to search your personal property, like a cellphone, or to retrieve its data to find your location.
Mustafa Mohammed, leader of the gang suspected to have killed a Catholic Seminarian, Michael Nnadi, has said he killed the 18-year-o...





Mustafa Mohammed, leader of the gang suspected to have killed a Catholic Seminarian, Michael Nnadi, has said he killed the 18-year-old because he was always preaching about Jesus Christ.





The Police had last month arrested some armed men who stormed the Catholic Seminary and kidnapped four Seminarians, murdered one of them and released the remaining three on January 31 after they received a ransom from the seminary.





Speaking to the Sun, Mustapha said that as soon as Nnadi was abducted, he started preaching about Jesus.





He said the late Nnadi was not allowing him to have peace as he continued to preach the gospel, despite knowing that he was not a Christian.





According to him, he hated the confidence displayed by Nnadi, so he decided to kill him.





The suspect also revealed that he belongs to a 45-man kidnap gang that has been terrorizing motorists along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway and the Kaduna-Jos road, among other routes and bush roads in the North.





The 26-year-old Fulani suspect stated that they decided to invade the school because they knew they would also make good money.





He said that a commercial motorcycle operator gave them information about the school, adding that they forced the school authorities to purchase recharge cards worth N30,000 and to bring to the spot where they had agreed to collect the ransom.





He said, It took us about five days to conduct proper surveillance on the school before we embarked on the operation.





We used Nnadis mobile telephone number to call the school authorities to demand a N100 million ransom which was later reduced to N10 million that was paid by the school authorities for the release of the three seminarians.
Written by Joni Sweet

Apr 30, 2020

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Whether you're traveling to Jordan to explore the ruins of Petra or go glamping in Wadi Rum, don't overlook the charming city of Amman. The hilly capital of Jordan boasts countless attractions and places to visit that connect tourists with the local culture and get them excited for what else the country has to offer. It's an underrated destination worth at least a few days in your itinerary.

No matter what drove you to come to Jordan, you can get a taste of it in Amman. Looking to play amateur archaeologist? Visiting the Amman Citadel and the Roman Theater will feel like traveling back in time. Interested in getting immersed in Jordanian culture? Amman's many art galleries and museums have you covered, and the people-watching on Rainbow Street can't be beat.

Eager to discover Middle Eastern wellness? Before visiting the Dead Sea, book a treatment at one of Amman's celebrated spas. Plus, the city makes an easy jumping-off point for day trips to other attractions around Jordan.

For ideas on planning your trip to Jordan, check out our list of the top things to do in Amman.

Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues.
After two broke Dadri youths stuck in Tamil Nadus Tiruchirappalli appealed the Haryana government to help them in getting food, deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala came to their rescue.

Chautala spoke to the Tamil Nadu government and ensured arrangements for food and their return.

The youths  Ajay Kumar of Dadris Bhandwa village and Sachin of Surajgarh, had gone to Tiruchirappalli for industrial training ahead of the imposition of the nationwide lockdown.

Both Ajay and Sachin had shared a video in which they urged chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Chautala to make arrangements for food and their return home.

Chautala said that after seeing the video, he contacted the Tamil Nadu government, following which the local administration there provided food to both the youths.

The Tamil Nadu government officials assured to approve movement pass of the youths and we are in touch with the authorities there, said Chautala.

In a generous act, former state agriculture minister and senior BJP leader O P Dhankar have transferred 20,000 in the bank accounts of the stranded youths and assured them of providing more help, if needed.

After receiving food and money, the youths thanked the deputy CM and Dhankar in two separate videos for extending their help to them.

Meanwhile, CM Khattar said the government would bring back its 22 retired army men stuck in Kerala.

The retired army personnel had posted a video on Friday asking the state government for their return. We have been stranded in Kannaur since our retirement from the Army on March 31, the personnel had said in the video message.
In the backstreets of Sydney's inner west lies a molecular diagnostics company which is producing COVID-19 testing kits for use in hospitals and private labs across Australia and Europe.

Genetic Signatures in Newtown usually produces test kits for a range of infectious diseases including respiratory conditions, sexually transmitted infections, common coronaviruses and SARS and MERS.

Genetic Signatures chief executive John Melki knew his technology could be used to diagnose COVID-19 patients. Credit:Peter Braig

But once the sequence for COVID-19 was available in mid-January, Genetic Signatures chief executive Dr John Melki knew the company's 3base technology could be adapted to diagnose the virus.

The technology simplifies the genetic code of the patient's sample from four letters to three, making it easier to determine if someone is COVID-19 positive.
A stats dashboard has been launched in the Western Cape to offer the latest birds-eye view of the pandemic in the province.

This is one of two new tech management tools to have been launched to fight off Covid-19 in the province.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde warned they were expecting numbers to "double every eight days", according to their specialist medical advisors.

To practice transparency and accountability, the Western Cape Government launched a "Covid-19 Dashboard". The dashboard will be updated at 13:00 every day, and is populated with data from various data sources - including both public and private medical institutions.

The address is www.coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard.

The updated records presented on Thursday afternoon included new totals of 46 deaths, 56 new positive cases in the past 48 hours, 2 371 cases thus far, and 35 867 tests conducted.

Screening

Western Cape health department head Dr Keith Cloete explained the province's screening strategy was neither completely random nor volume-based. Instead, their efforts were "focused".

The province was running a highly disciplined "Track-and-Trace" campaign, in which the people potentially linked to positive people were located, screened and tested too.

Winde said another new management tool was now complete - the "Food Map". This allowed for a comprehensive analysis of all food providers and supplies - from NGOs to all three spheres of government.

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This system would allow the authorities to potentially "see the gaps", and address any unavailability of food.

If cases spiked in particular areas - an event known as "bushfires" - Winde said multi-disciplinary teams, comprising medical, law enforcement, social and economic teams, would visit areas to understand and quell the spikes. If necessary, a localised lockdown level could be imposed for an area. An example of a recent spike was in Witzenberg, where the number of cases soared from zero to 106.

In a case such as this, the premier would consult the National Command Centre to motivate for an area-based hyper-local "level" adjustment.

Numbers

"The numbers are going to go up," Winde stressed.

There were two primary priorities: "We just have to make sure they don't get out of control."

And: "We all have a responsibility of making sure we [stop] the curve growing as slowly as possible."

This, to ensure medical facilities were never overwhelmed, "so we can treat every one of you, should you get this virus," Winde said.

He warned the public, ahead of the relaxation of "lockdown" levels from the current Level 5 to Level 4 on Friday: "Don't go crazy. The rules still apply. Don't leave your home without your mask. Practice physical distancing."

News24
Goldberg was one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. He spent 22 years in jail as the only white man to be convicted alongside Mandela.

Anti-apartheid veteran Denis Goldberg has died at the age of 87, his foundation said on Thursday.

A Jewish member of the Communist Party, Goldberg was the only white person to be sentenced to life imprisonment for resisting whitle rule in South Africa in the 1964 Rivonia trials alongside Nelson Mandela.

He died late on Wednesday after having battled lung cancer for over two years.

The fact that he lived on for so long was "a sign of his determination and courage," Debbie Budlender, manager of the Denis Goldberg Legacy Foundation Trust, told dpa.

A life of activism

Goldberg, a trained civil engineer, became involved in the armed struggle by the African National Congress against the apartheid regime in 1961, when he was recruited into Umnkonto we Sizwe, the secret armed wing of the African National Congress. There his engineering skills were useful in devising weapons and explosive materials.

Goldberg recalls his recruitment in a DW interview conducted in January 2020 at his home in Cape Town.

"Nelson Mandela said he's setting up an illegal army. [He said], Denis, you've got the technical training. You know how to build bridges. Can you blow them up. Will you join? And I said, yes of course."

Goldberg was found guilty on charges of treason and sabotage at the Rivonia trials.

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He spent 22 years in jail in Pretoria.

"There are times when I wake up in the middle of the night wondering where I am, Goldberg told DW. "Am I in prison, or am I thinking about prison? Why am I anxious? You know, 22 years are a big chunk of a life. But it was worth it."

When he was released in 1985, aged 52, he followed his wife Esme into exile in London. He represented the ANC at the United Nations in New York and in 2002, after Esme's death, he returned to South Africa.

Throughout his life, Denis Goldberg has remained true to his ideals. In 2009 he was awarded the Albert Luthuli medal for his fight against apartheid and in 2011 the German Federal Cross of Merit first class for his contribution to international understanding.

In the recent DW interview, he warned that South Africa - and the world - must not forget their past and let racism flourish.

"We do have to say, we will take responsibility for putting an end to it as far as we can. And I see day by day, people around the world saying enough of this nonsense, let's move on.

Let's do things together and I like that."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:

Russia is interested in import of Azerbaijani products, Head of Azerbaijan's Trade Representative Office in Russia Ruslan Aliyev said, Trend reports with reference to the trade mission on May 1.

Russia is the main market for Azerbaijans non-oil export. Recently, the volume of export of Azerbaijani goods to Russia has been growing significantly, Aliyev noted.

In 2019, goods worth about $731.8 million were exported from Azerbaijan to Russia, which is 10 percent more compared to 2018. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Azerbaijans export to Russia increased by 12 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019. We see that the potential of Azerbaijans production capabilities and the needs of the Russian market are much higher," said the trade mission head.

The first online event with the participation of the Head of Azerbaijan's Trade Representative Office in Russia Ruslan Aliyev was held on April 30. The discussion was moderated by Editor-in-chief at Russian Business Guide Maria Suvorovskaya. The speakers included representatives of business and government of the two countries, as well as experts and analysts.

The participants discussed the impact of the pandemic on the cargo transportation of Azerbaijani products to Russia, and the logistical support for their delivery to the regional markets of Russia.

It is also planned to hold discussions on agriculture, digital technologies, medicine, pharmaceuticals, tourism, innovation, the financial sector and other segments of the economic interaction between Russia and Azerbaijan in the coming months.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili
A Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, egg farmer is trying to find makeshift solutions to avoid going under due to market disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Farmer Josh Zimmerman explained to The Morning Call that after a major restaurant and hotel supplier that buys from him cut down on its orders, he faced a stark choice: He needed to continue to sell 30,000 eggs per day or destroy 40,000 of his laying hens, which he could no longer afford to feed.

This dilemma was mitigated to some extent when Zimmerman managed to partner with the nearby Nesting Box Farm Market and Creamery, which would allow him to sell eggs directly to the public; yet, like many other U.S. farmers, his business is currently on the brink.

With 80,000 birds to feed every day, Zimmermans costs per week is $15,000, while the margin of error is very slim. In a weeks time, I can lose $31,000 just like that, he explained. Its not something you mess around with. You have to have a plan or it doesnt work.

Zimmerman, who has been raising cage-free hens since 2016, used to depend heavily on a company that bought his eggs and turned them into liquid form for the hospitality industry. Once restaurants and hotels were shut down due to public health restrictions, that demand disappeared.

They said we are going to keep you guys going as long as possible, but its getting harder and harder, Zimmerman admitted. Every time more things get shut down it just compounds the problem.

Food-processing plants themselves, while considered essential businesses, have also been affected in many ways. Speaking of his biggest buyer, Zimmerman said, Their New Jersey plant got quarantined, so they are down to the New York plant and that one is not running at full capacity.

For now, selling his eggs via The Nesting Box is enabling his family business to keep going. Timi and Keith Bauscher, who run the egg outlet, are happy to help a fellow farmer in need. In addition to selling Zimmermans eggs, the Bauschers are washing and cleaning them at their facility.

Its quite an undertaking, but farmers are daily problem solvers, and this was merely figuring out an answer to that problem, Timi Bauscher told Morning Call. We will keep going as long as we have the manpower to do so.

Both Bauscher and Zimmerman hope that these kinds of news stories alert the general public to the disastrous situation faced by the agricultural sector. Without agriculture, there isnt much left, Bauscher asserted. Farmers literally provide food, clothing and alcohol to the world.

Stories of farmers dumping surplus milk they can no longer sell or euthanizing farm animals they cant afford to feed any longer have illustrated just how bad the situation is for many farmers. For those who are used to selling to commercial processors, donating excess to the general public isnt financially or logistically feasible.

Theres a perception among people that farmers have all this free food and they shouldnt just throw it away, but it cost farmers money to produce that food, Allison Czapp of Buy Fresh Buy Local of Greater Lehigh Valley explained.

Describing the situation as terrifying, Czapp underscores how difficult it will be to establish a sustainable business model for farmers in a post-COVID world. What does this mean for the future of our food system if this is happening broadly? Czapp asked. This isnt the only farmer this is happening to. Where does the supply come in once things get back to normal?

Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has created the Farmers to Families Food Box, which will buy up to $3 billion of farm production. As a press release explained, The distributors and wholesalers will then provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need.
Russia: US use of low-yield nukes would still be nuclear attack, draw retaliation

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 9:34 AM

Russia has warned that any attack by the United States involving its low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missiles would still be construed as nuclear aggression and would draw all-out nuclear retaliation.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that any attack with the use of the submarine-launched ballistic missiles, regardless of their characteristics, would be viewed by the Kremlin as nuclear aggression and, therefore, a basis for a retaliatory strike.

Zakharova made the comments following the United States' deployment of its low-yield nuclear warheads, saying the move was a dangerous step that would lead to destabilization.

"We noted the article, published by the US Department of State's official website on April 24 and devoted to the issue of creating W76-2 low-yield nuclear warheads and deploy it on some of its Trident submarines," she said. "As we have already said many times, we view this as a dangerous step. We believe that it carries a certain element of destabilization."

The US State Department argued in a paper released last week that the new warhead "reduces the risk of nuclear war by reinforcing extended deterrence and assurance."

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the US's production of W76-2 missiles lowered the nuclear threshold and increased the risk of a nuclear conflict.

Back in February, the United States announced the deployment of a new long-range nuclear missile aboard its stealth submarines to deter what it called Washington's potential adversaries.

The US Department of Defense claimed in a statement at the time that the low-yield warheads were deployed on the USS Tennessee submarine patrolling in the Atlantic Ocean to deter "potential adversaries, like Russia," and in response to Russian tests of similar weapons.

Low-yield nuclear weapons have less than 20 kilotons of destructive power but still have devastating effect. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, in August 1945, had about the same explosive power.

Washington has been deploying missiles in Eastern Europe and near Russia's western borders, a provocative move denounced by the Kremlin.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington not to deploy weapons systems in the vicinity of Russia.

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Hard times: Shell has suffered as the coronavirus crisis reshapes the energy industry

ROYAL Dutch Shell cut its dividend for the first time since at least World War II as the oil slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic reshapes the energy industry.

The surprise move is the latest illustration of how the international spread of the deadly disease is causing the biggest upheaval for generations. Energy consumption is undergoing a historic plunge, as is GDP growth in many countries.

The global economy that emerges from the other side of the crisis may look very different.

This is a big moment in the history of Shell and the oil industry. The company was by far the biggest payer in the FTSE-100, providing a reliable income to millions of pension fund investors.

The two-thirds reduction in its dividend to 16 cents a share - "much worse" than many investors wanted or expected according to Redburn analyst Stuart Joyner - underscores the gloomy outlook for the year.

"It is of course a difficult day, but on the other hand it's also an inevitable moment," Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said.

The pandemic will result in lasting changes to the world's energy consumption and it's hard to say if oil demand will ever return to levels seen in 2019, Mr Van Beurden said.

Slashing Shell's once-sacrosanct payout is a significant U-turn for Mr Van Beurden.

Only three months ago, he touted the high dividend as a key attraction for shareholders and said he wouldn't cut it.

"I think lowering the dividend is not a good lever to pull if you want to be a world-class investment case, so we're not going to do that," the Shell CEO said on January 30.

Big Oil has long been synonymous with big payouts.

Take that away and it becomes harder to justify investing in an industry whose core business needs to change drastically if the world is to prevent damaging climate change.

The world's top international listed companies have already stopped share buybacks.

Now Shell has reduced a payment that many had come to view almost as an annuity, while also opening the door for other oil majors to do the same.

The move dramatically changed the investment proposition of Shell.

An attractive dividend yield north of 10pc has dropped to 3.8pc - on a par with companies such as retailers that can struggle to attract shareholders and Shell B shares fell as much as 9.2pc on the news.

Bloomberg
An American veteran turned cop traumatized by the horrors of war embarked on a healing journey when he returned to Vietnam in 2005.

His memory of that historic day is vivid, to this day.

Early in the morning on April 30, 1975, Grant Coates, then a 26-year-old New York cop, got home to make something to eat after finishing his shift.

He turned on the news channel and saw images of northern Vietnamese army tanks knocking down the entrance of the Independence Palace in Saigon. The actual event had happened a few hours earlier, at around noon, Vietnam time.

Coates had not been following news of the Vietnam War after he left the army in 1974 after a tour to the war zone. He wanted to forget what hed seen and experienced. So he was "very surprised to see the images of the fall of Saigon. For a moment, all memories about Vietnam suddenly rushed back."

In 1968, a 19-year-old Coates arrived in Vietnam as a member of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, under the 199th Infantry Brigade (Light) unit of the United States Army. The main task of the unit was to use professional dogs to scout and support American troops. The area of work was the provinces of Long An, Tien Giang, Binh Duong, Bien Hoa, Dong Nai and Bac Lieu.

Grant Coates in Long Khanh Town, Dong Nai Province, in 1969. Photo courtesy of Coates.

Once, his unit was hit by a bomb and he saw many people die in front of his eyes. He himself had serious injuries to his chest, abdomen and legs, requiring a month of hospitalization. After a year, Coates ended his mission, returned home and was later sent to an infantry division in Maryland and some other locations.

Vietnam's Reunification Day on April 30, 1975 made Coates realize he was struggling with post-traumatic stress (PTS), which many veterans experienced. He tried not to let himself "drink too much alcohol and abuse drugs" as he tried to forget the past, as many other veterans did.

After he got discharged from the army in 1974, Coates became a police officer for New York Police Department, forcing himself to exert more self-control and show a better sense of responsibility.

Over time, his was able to begin sleeping normally again, and also followed the dictum of "helping other people is also a way I can help myself."

Coatess settled life took a sharp turn in 1983, when a few friends told him about the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) setting up a branch in Oneonta City, New York, where he lived.

He wanted to reconnect with other soldiers who came back from the war and to see if other people had the same problem he had.

"So I decided to join the VVA chapter in my area."

Although he was busy working as a police officer, Coates had a strong interest in information about U.S. soldiers who were allegedly kept as prisoners or had gone missing. This information was being collected under the POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) program of VVA. He spent a lot of time gathering clues from the veteran community trying to bring back those who were still in Vietnam, dead or alive.

"Looking back on my time in Vietnam, I thought I could had died and gone missing. If that had happened, who would be looking for me? So I wanted to carry out the responsibility of a soldier and I set out to find my companions."

From information about the battle and burial sites to photos provided by soldiers' families, Coates and colleagues in VVA gradually drew up a map of showing locations of missing soldiers in Vietnam. VVA transferred the data back to relevant agencies and the Vietnamese Government, requesting assistance in the search, also helping Vietnam identify its troops whod gone missing during the war.

In 2004, Coates stopped working as a police officer after suffering a heart attack, and began devoting all his time to the VVAs POW/MIA Committee. In 2015, he became chairman of this committee.

Coates's first trip back to Vietnam happened in 2005. He joined a delegation that arrived in Hanoi to discuss the POW/MIA program.

"I was so nervous, I didn't know what to expect," he recalled.

His anxieties were dispelled when Coates's met with his Vietnamese counterparts and encountered friendly, polite people.

Coates could no longer "see, hear or smell the war."

He realized then that the soldiers, former enemies, had great empathy in performing their assigned duties, that they also carried wounds on their bodies and in their minds.

Grant Coates standing next to the mother of an Agent Orange victim in the central city of Da Nang in 2018. Photo courtesy of Coates.

From 2005 until now, Coates has made around six working trips to Vietnam. Within the country, he typically travels from Hanoi to Hue Town and Da Nang City in the central region and to Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre Province in the south.

Now, he calls Vietnamese veterans "my old friends" and they spend most of their time talking about their children when they meet. Some show him their grown-up children who are married, some talk about their grandchildren going to college in the U.S. and about to return to Vietnam.

As of July 2019, more than 670 remains of American soldiers had been repatriated and more than 1,580 remains were yet to be found, according to VVA. Meanwhile, VVA has provided more than 300 records, helping Vietnam find part of the 15,000 missing people.

Finding the bodies of missing American soldiers in Vietnam has become more and more difficult with Vietnam going a nation-building spree that has transformed former battlefields into peacetime infrastructure like bridges, roads and other constructions to boost socio-economic development.

Coates said that in the next five years, VVA will mainly rely on the documentation of American families to find information on missing soldiers. "We will still do our best to find as much as we can to bring the remains of American soldiers back home," he said.

But today, each of Coates's trips to Vietnam is not exclusively focused on MIA records. He is also eager to witness Vietnam's day-to-day changes. He is happy to see that Vietnam's agricultural products, mainly from the south where he had once been stationed, account for a large share of exports. He is also happy to see Vietnam heavily invest in transportation and tourism infrastructure.

Coates said he expects Vietnam and the U.S. to maintain strong cooperation momentum in the coming time, as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year.

He said his deep affection for Vietnam is "spread" within the family. His wife has always supported her husband's work since the early days of Coates joining VVA, while his five children and nine grandchildren understand that veterans of both sides are cooperating because they want to put the past behind and look to the future.

His family members always look forward to the gifts he brings back, like ginger tea and Vietnamese coffee.

Today, Coates is at peace. "I love the feeling of making a cup of tea, sitting by the window and thinking about what I'm doing with my friends in Vietnam."
Whats new: Chinas domestic airlines will carry about a third as many passengers over the five-day Labor Day holiday as they did this time last year, despite government efforts to ratchet down some Covid-19 quarantine measures and return to normalcy.

Around 2.9 million people were expected to fly in China from May 1 to 5, down 66.8% year-on-year, aviation regulators said Thursday.

Yu Biao of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told reporters the average passenger load factor was not expected to eclipse 70% during what has traditionally been a peak travel time.

Why you should care: Airline bookings are closely watched because, even though the epidemic that began in China is now well-controlled there, economic recovery efforts are ongoing. The Chinese economy shrank 6.8% year-on-year in the first quarter on official figures.

Yu Biao of the CAAC said the number of people flying to popcities popular with tourists was particularly low, indicating travel for tourism purposes remains depressed.

Civil aviation industry researcher Luo Zhiyu told Caixin quarantine policies that limit visitors movement were a major factor.

Beijing relaxed some measures just ahead of the Labor Day holiday, exempting those who arrive from other low-risk cities from two weeks mandatory self-quarantine, spurring an immediate surge in bookings for flights to and from the capital.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Related: Cooped-Up Beijing Residents Rush to Get Out of Town

Contact reporter Isabelle Li (liyi@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)
As non-essential retailers prepare to reopen next week in North Carolina amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, grocers in the Charlotte area are continuing to make safety changes.

Neither North Carolina nor Mecklenburg County have orders requiring people to wear face coverings. However, the list of grocery stores requiring workers, and customers, to wear masks is growing.

Starting Monday, Costco is requiring all shoppers to wear face coverings, according to the company website.

Amazon-owned grocery chain Whole Foods Market said Thursday it will be giving free masks to customers and requesting that they wear them inside their stores. The company already requires its workers, Prime Now Shoppers and third-party workers to wear masks.

To help protect the safety and health of our team members and communities, we will be requesting customers wear masks in Whole Foods Market stores, Amazon said in a statement to McClatchy, adding that within a week it will start giving free disposable masks to shoppers as they walk in.

Other companies requiring employees at stores and distribution centers to wear face coverings include BJs Wholesale Club, Target, Walmart, Harris Teeter and Publix. Some stores are providing other personal protection equipment like gloves. BJs is also offering safety glasses to workers.

The Fresh Market, based in Greensboro, was the first to require staff and customers to wear face coverings.

More grocery stores are requiring customers to wear masks.

Publix also started selling its own brand of masks and gaiter neck scarfs. However, they are already sold out. The company said on its website it hopes to have more options by June 1.

Other stores, such as Salisbury-based Food Lion, Bi-Lo, Trader Joes, Aldi and Lidl, allow employees to wear coverings and provide non-medical grade face masks for their use.

Express delivery

Walmart announced this week it is expanding Express Delivery. The pilot program launched in mid-April with 100 stores, including some in Charlotte, delivering groceries to customers homes within two hours, the company said.

Story continues

The service, which was accelerated because of the COVID-19 crisis, allows customers to order items such as groceries, essentials, toys and electronics. It comes with a $10 delivery fee.

Pay bonuses and hires

Walmart also announced it was providing $180 million in hourly employee bonuses nationwide, which includes $5.8 million in North Carolina and $3.4 million in South Carolina.

The company gave out $365 million in bonuses in March.

The retail giant also said it has reached its hiring goal, adding 200,000 associates nationwide in six weeks, which included more than 7,000 in North Carolina and 5,100 in South Carolina.

BJs Wholesale Club announced Friday that for the second time in the past months, it is giving managers and key personnel at clubs and distribution centers bonuses from $1,000 to $3,000.

Special hours and limits

Also starting Monday, BJs will open 9 -10 a.m. weekdays for club members ages 60 and older, and for people with disabilities. Costco is temporarily allowing priority access to club members who are health care workers and first responders.

The club also is limiting fresh meat purchases to three items per member for beef, pork and poultry.

Community donations

Harris Teeter announced this week it is donating more than 640,000 pounds of protein and produce with vendor partners to community food banks, which included Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina Charlotte.

Nearly 20 truckloads carrying more than 534,000 meals were distributed to local food banks, according to a company press release.

Many restaurants are closed which means suppliers have a surplus of food service items available. Together, were able to divert this product from our landfills and place it in the homes of hungry families, said company spokeswoman Danna Robinson.

Those suppliers include Sanderson Farms, Tyson, Sol Melons, Ayco Farms, NY Apple, Washington Fruit & Produce Co., Seald Sweet International, Pacific Trellis Fruit and California Giant Berry Farms.

Harris Teeters COVID-19 Relief Round Up campaign started Wednesday. Shoppers can round up their transactions at checkout with donations going to local food banks.
Representative image

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday called on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

The meeting lasted for about 20 minutes, a Raj Bhavan statement said.

Coronavirus India News Live Updates

During the meeting, Thackeray exchanged greetings with the governor on the occasion of the 60th foundation day of Maharashtra state.

The meeting comes a day after Koshyari wrote to the Election commission of India (ECI) requesting it to hold biennial elections to the nine vacant seats of the state Legislative Council at the earliest to facilitate Thackeray's election to the Upper House of the state legislature.

Also read: MLC election in Maharashtra to go through, says Election Commission

The biennial elections for the nine vacant seats have been postponed in view of the coronavirus crisis.

Thackeray was sworn in as the state chief minister on November 28 last year. He has to become a legislator by May 27 as per the constitutional norms.

The state cabinet has recommended to the governor twice to nominate Thackeray to the Council as two out of 12 seats nominated by him (governor) are lying vacant.
China tried to influence European Union efforts to document Beijings disinformation tactics during the coronavirus pandemic, the blocs chief diplomat admitted for the first time on Thursday.

But Josep Borrell dismissed media accusations that the EU bowed to Chinas threats and altered its report, describing diplomats efforts to influence each other to further their own political agenda as commonplace.

The EUs overall position on China, he said, remains the same as the three-fold identity first set out by the European Commission last year: a key partner, a competitor and a systemic rival.

Did China put pressure? Look, its clear and evident that China expressed their concerns when they knew the document that was leaked. They expressed their concerns through the diplomatic channels, Borrell told the European Parliament in Brussels.

I am not going to reveal how it was done because we dont explain publicly this kind of diplomatic context. Yes, [there] was expression of concern by the Chinese diplomacy.

Borrell said the published report very clearly points out state-sponsored disinformation campaigns and very specifically names the actors behind them, including China.

I can assure you that no changes had been introduced to the report published last week to align the concerns of a third party, in this case, China, he added. There is no watering down of our findings. We have not bowed to anyone.

Borrell was summoned to a special sitting at the European Parliament, which he attended via teleconferencing, after his team was accused of bowing to Chinese threats and watering down a disinformation report.

His appearance was the first by a major member of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyens cabinet to address EU-China relations, but several members of the European Parliament said he failed to address their concerns.

Marketa Gregorova, a Czech member of the European Parliament, said that either way, the EUs reputation had taken a hit. The European Union is portrayed as weak and bowing to Chinese influence, she told Borrell.

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Whether true or not, the damage to our reputation is done and we inadvertently communicated to our adversaries that harassing and intimidating our diplomats will work and they should continue.

Borrell dodged several questions, including one by Reinhard Butikofer, chair of the parliaments China delegation, who asked if he would support Swedish and German appeals to China to offer greater transparency into the origin of the virus.

The EU high representative, who is from Spain, also did not respond to questions about whether the EU would show more support for Taiwan, which had been sidelined by the World Health Organisation amid pressure from China despite the islands success in containing the virus.

Beijing has rejected claims that it engaged in any disinformation campaign during the pandemic. It called on other countries to show recognition for its work in curbing the virus and helping others nations.

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Colombo, May 1 : Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided not to reconvene Parliament, despite the request of opposition parties amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to his Secretary.

Rajapaksa's decision was conveyed by his Secretary P.B. Jayasundara in a letter sent to former Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa on Thursday, the Daily Financial Times reported.

According to the Secretary, Rajapaksa also rejected an open letter sent by the Opposition parties requesting the reconvening.

On Monday, the letter signed by all Opposition party leaders was sent to President Rajapaksa, requesting for Parliament to be reconvened, and pledging their support to the government for COVID-19 containment measures.

Sri Lanka has reported 665 coronavirus cases, with seven deaths.
The initial shock of the coronavirus shutdown has eased. Now comes an equally hard part for thousands of business owners: figuring out their next move as Canada crawls toward reopening its economy.

More than 76,000 companies applied for the Trudeau governments 75 per cent wage subsidy in three days, accessing a program that has promised more than $70 billion ($50 billion U.S.) in aid. Businesses have received billions in interest-free loans backed by the government, and some will get help paying their rent.

But before they restart, companies face another unprecedented exercise. Even with all that government help, they must assess how much of their activity will resume and how many people they can afford to bring back.

With depleted finances, some are making calculations about whether they can survive if forced to operate for months at limited capacity or under distancing rules that limit contact with customers. Theyre also looking ahead to when the debts come due.

About 40 per cent of businesses say they could not remain open for more than three months  if they can open at all  amid social distancing, according to a joint survey of more than 13,000 companies by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The same survey showed 41 per cent have laid off staff. Provinces have begun to discuss their reopening plans, but a return to normal is likely months away.

Heres how employers from Fredericton to Calgary are approaching the next phase.

Saskatchewan: A hotels half-open headache

The province of 1.2 million last week became Canadas first to lay out a reopening strategy. That filled Ryan Urzada with hope and trepidation as he works through the head-spinning calculus of how to get his 200-room Atlas Hotel back in business.

Saskatchewan, like many provinces, is ramping back up in stages. Urzada, who had to let go of all but 15 of his 138 staff starting March 12, doesnt expect to be able to reopen his restaurant, pub and water park until June at the earliest. Even then, capacity will probably be restricted until at least the fall.

He will need to bring back workers, but he cant guarantee enough hours at his $12 to $13 hourly rate to compete with the certainty of an emergency benefit that pays the unemployed $500 a week for up to 16 weeks.

Its good for their morale, and their mental well-being, and their bills, Urzada said of the government benefit. It is going to provide a bit of a challenge when it is time to call them back to work.

Everything will come to a head around June 6. Thats when the wage subsidy program, which pays a maximum of $847 per employee, is scheduled to run out. Its also about the time hell have to decide whether to permanently cut jobs. That would mean having to pay out an immense bill for severance and vacation pay which could amount to about $100,000, he said.

Its the first time in my life as entrepreneur and business owner that Ive ever had to rely on the government to save my business and having that out of my hands is a very scary thought.

New Brunswick: One restaurant, two gigs

In the eastern province, which suffered no deaths from COVID-19 and hasnt had a new case in 11 days, the government is starting to loosen restrictions. For Jennie Wilson and her chef husband, Peter Tompkins, that means their 40-seat Fredericton restaurant, called 11th Mile, could start to reopen in two to four weeks.

The couple, who launched the modern Canadian cuisine eatery in 2017, temporarily closed and laid off their eight staff in mid-March. Wilson reckons she may be able to bring back two full-time employees at first to help run a pared-down operation, compliant with social distancing rules.

The restaurant is also likely to continue a curbside takeout offering that Wilson and her husband started recently to keep our lips above the water. The couple took a $40,000, government-guaranteed loan from their bank while continuing to pay rent in full.

As we get into the next few weeks and try to start running a business with about five tables in it, that theres a wage subsidy will be a huge help to us, Wilson said. Were all going to have to play our part to get the wheel turning, and for us that means employing people.

Ontario: A brewer pivots, but worries about the bill

In Kingston, Ont., a government loan and wage subsidies have helped beer maker Josh Hayter keep or re-hire 23 of his 30 employees and produce at full capacity, while his tap room remains closed.

Since Hayter spoke to Bloomberg a month ago, theres also been a twist. The president of Spearhead Brewing Co. struck a deal to package DuPont hand sanitizers, a job that will occupy his staff for two to three weeks and suspend beer production.

Hayter doesnt expect things to look normal upon reopening and is worried about how a second virus wave may affect the economic recovery. Another looming disaster is when taxes, which governments deferred, come due later this year, he said.

The government will have to come up with a payment plan for that repayment, otherwise theyre going to put about 80 per cent of small businesses out of business all at once, he said.

Alberta: Oil price is the bigger problem

In Calgary, Redcap & Truss partner Chris Beaton said his company and many of its clients have tapped government loan and wage programs to help weather the crisis.

For the four-person firm, which provides advice on capital-raising and mergers and acquisitions, the main issue is not reopening. Many of the firms clients are in the oilfield services sector and have been able to keep working. The concern is oil prices that have plunged and forced Canadian energy companies to cancel at least $7.5 billion in planned capital spending.

The virus is seen as a crisis that will pass in the coming months, whereas theres still some structural concern around on whats going to happen with oil prices, Beaton said. Everybody realizes that hopefully were going to get a vaccine soon and that theres going to be some new social norm for a period of time, but its oil prices and the broader economy that everyones worried about.
With the addition of 417 fresh coronavirus cases, the number in Mumbai rose to 6,875 on Thursday, while 20 more patients succumbed to the disease, taking the toll to 290, the city civic body said.

According to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) release, with the detection of fresh cases, the tally jumped to 6,875, while the toll reached 290 in the financial capital with the addition of 20 fatalities, most of them having pre-existing illnesses.

The BMC said it discharged 45 patients from various hospitals on Thursday following their recovery from the disease, taking the number of such people to 1472.

The civic body further informed that 498 new suspected patients of COVID-19 have been admitted in various hospitals in the city.

According to BMC sources, the city has 1459 containment zones, where at least one positive or suspected patient has been found.

The BMC said out of 20 fresh deaths, 16 patients had co-morbidities.

Eight of the deceased were above 60 years and 12 were between 40 to 60 years of age, the release said.

The civic body also claimed out of the 417 new cases, 110 tested positive on April 27 and 28. These patients have already been admitted in isolation wards and they are under treatment.

Meanwhile, in the wake of death of a civic inspector associated with food distribution work in Dharavi due to coronavirus, the BMC has decided to test its assessment staff, bus drivers and community development officers at fever clinics by May 1.

The decision comes after one of the main labour unions warned of tough stand if the BMC did not conduct medical examination of its staff.

In the meantime, an NGO, Watchdog Foundation, has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray claiming that 26 staffers, including a few doctors, of a leading hospital in suburban Vile Parle (West) have tested positive for coronavirus.

However, the hospital has not quarantined its staffers, the NGO claimed. PTI KK NP RSY RSY RSY
Aer Lingus will negotiate with unions about staff cuts of up to 900 jobs at the airline, the airline has announced.

At a briefing this morning, union representatives were told that the company is seeking to reduce its 4,500 strong workforce by up to 20% to cut costs.

It is not yet clear which jobs, routes or services will be targeted in the cutbacks.

The airline is putting together a proposal for a voluntary redundancy scheme, which will then be put to unions.

"Aer Lingus is continuing to communicate directly with our employees and engage with their representative bodies," it said in a statement.

The news comes as Ryanair announced up to 3,000 jobs across pilots and cabin crew could be cut "as a direct result of the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis".

The budget airline group announced that a restructuring programme could also involve unpaid leave and pay slashed by up to 20%, as well as the closure of a number of aircraft bases across Europe until demand for air travel recovers.

Chief executive Michael OLeary, whose pay was cut by 50% for April and May, has agreed to extend the reduction for the remainder of the financial year to March 2021.

Ryanair said its flights will remain grounded until at least July and passenger numbers will not return to 2019 levels until summer 2022 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, flights between Northern Ireland and Britain will continue to operate through 5.7 million (6.5m) of taxpayer funding, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.

The package is being funded by the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure airports and airlines do not axe lifeline services because of the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Aer Lingus and Loganair will be subsidised to maintain London flights to and from Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport respectively.
Amid a sharp spike in the number



of COVID-19 cases in this city, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday appointed senior bureaucrat J Radhakrishnan as Special Nodal Officer for Greater Chennai Corporation to coordinate coronavirus related issues with the civic body chief.

Radhakrishnan will be supported by a team of five senior police officials, including four ADGP-rank officers, a government order from Chief Secretary K Shanmugam said.

Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary/Commissioner, Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, will coordinate with GCC Commissioner G Prakash and other teams constituted for the virus containment activities and "to ensure effective implementation of various guidelines issued by the government," the order said.

Chennai, with 906 positive cases as on April 30, has the highest number of infections in the state, whose cumulative tally is 2323 so far.

ADGPs Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, Abash Kumar, Amaresh Pujari and Abhay Kumar Singh and DIG K Bhavaneeswari will support Radhahrishnan and will be taking care of respective zones in the city, besides its suburbs.

The Tamil Nadu government has already constituted Zonal Special Task Teams and other panels of IAS officials as part of its fight against the spread of the contagion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in the Volta, Oti and Eastern regions has assured industry players of its commitment to 'shepherd' them through challenges posed by COVID19.



A statement signed by Mrs Lucy Tenkorang, Vice Chairperson of the Association for the three regions, said "we are with you...and appeal to management of our various industries in the region to do all they can to put the welfare of their employees a top priority."



The "Workers Day" statement called for unity to fight the pandemic, which threatens to collapse some businesses.



It urged members to take advantage of opportunities presented by the pandemic and revitalise the regions industrial support system by adopting local content strategies that prevented leakage of economic investment.



The statement asked members to go by public health guidelines and sanitary practices as government strives to shield the nation from the impact of the Coronavirus disease.

Source: GNA









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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Three students from the University of the Philippines Diliman and 15 others were arrested Friday afternoon for staging a protest on Labor Day amid the enhanced community quarantine.

The Quezon City police report stated that the protesters held a rally along Maparaan corner Kalayaan Avenue. Some of them shouted along the road and granted interviews with the media while others held placards and tarpaulins.

The protesters are facing a number of charges.

The police had warned against the holding of street protests which violate the ban on mass gatherings and stay at home orders.
A ten-month jail term was imposed on a 28-year-old man who caused a ruckus outside the Mercy University Hospital last month and was found carrying knives during other incidents in Cork city.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the incident outside the Mercy that gave rise to the charges being brought against Edmond OSullivan, of flat A, 90 Shandon St, Cork, occurred on March 3.

Shortly after 3pm that afternoon, the accused was found shouting and roaring and he was verbally abusive to gardai.

At the height of the incident, OSullivan shouted at a guard, You will do nothing, you fucking prick, you wont stop me.

OSullivan pleaded guilty to public order charges arising out of the incident and he also admitted carrying a knife on May 30 last year at Oliver Plunkett St, Cork.

In another incident on St Peter and Paul Place, Cork, on October 15, 2019, he was also found with a screwdriver in his possession. OSullivan claimed he had it for his own protection.

He also admitted stealing 58 worth of property at Elverys on Oliver Plunkett St, Cork, on November 19, 2019.

Sgt Davis said the accused man had 88 previous convictions including some for theft and robbery.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said there was a huge amount of difficulty in the mans background, not least from an addiction point of view, but also concerning his childhood.

Mr Buttimer said the defendant got married and that his partner had been a stabilising influence.

The solicitor said the defendant even managed to get a job in construction in February but when this work came to an end, he fell back into alcohol and drug related activity.

Imposing a total sentence of 10 months, Judge Olann Kelleher said he was concerned about a man with a violent history carrying knives.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo schools will sell the districts radio station to Western Michigan University.

The Board of Education approved the sale of WKDS 89.9 FM to WMUs radio station WMUK 102.1 FM at a virtual meeting Thursday, April 30.

The station is no longer needed for educational purposes, according to the recommendation approved by the board.

The district will receive $125,000 in exchange for the station. They will also enter into a monthly lease of $1,500 for the use of the current radio studio and transmitter facilities at Loy Norrix High School for 24 months for a total of $36,000, the district said.

The sale also includes on-air promotional underwriting on WMUK 102.1 FM for one year valued at $10,000 in trade value and payment of $20,000 to the district to convert WKDS current student station to an internet based radio station, with newly acquired equipment.

WMUK sought to add the second station to divide news programming from classical music, General Manager Stephen Williams said in a previous interview with MLive.

Funding for the additional station came from a $250,000 Irving S. Gilmore Foundation grant, which WMUK received in November 2019, according to the WMUK Master Strategic Plan 2020-2022.

We are deeply grateful to the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation and their gift, which fully funded this purchase," said Tony Proudfoot, WMU vice president for marketing and strategic communications. "Its commitment to enriching our community could not be better exemplified than through this commitment to local classical music listeners.

While the purchase agreement was still in the works, WMUK leased the station from KPS, Williams said. The 102.1 FM station is now dedicated to news and information and the 89.9 FM station is dedicated to classical music, Williams said.

Full programming schedules, coverage maps and more information about the recent changes are available online at WMUK.org/2020.

Also on MLive:

WMUK will focus on news, adding second station for classical music

Kalamazoo Public Schools spends $1.2M on new laptops for students
The bearded man was not intended to be Rasputin, actually. Photo: YouTube

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit. Happy May Day to one and all. New month, new me, am I right? Okay, while Im definitely wrong and nothing of note has changed as we transition from April to May, this week has had more peaks than valleys. A (slightly delayed) 90th birthday concert for my spiritual leader Stephen Sondheim, multiple baby announcements, and a Beyonce-infused Savage remix are all certainly reasons to smile. As we enter [checks notches on bedpost] week six of quarantine, our late-night hosts have continued to churn out the jokes and stay relatively positive in spite of everything. Lets keep the good vibes flowing and see how our late-night hosts chose to close out April.

5. Phoebe Robinson Talks About Tom Hanks on A Little Late With Lilly Singh

Watching comedian and former Vulture blogger Phoebe Robinsons interview from Thursday nights episode of A Little Late With Lilly Singh is like starring in your own science-fiction movie. Filmed well before the global pandemic, the interview is jarring  dare I say triggering  because Singh interviews Robinson in the same room with a live studio audience. Those who have been keeping up with A Little Late know that Singh has been rolling out these pretaped episodes, but what makes Robinsons interview stand out is the subject matter: Tom Hanks. Completely unaware that Hanks would become the Patron Saint of Coronavirus, Robinson tells a delightful story about interviewing Hanks for her podcast Sooo Many White Guys and then getting him to record her voicemail greeting. I wanted to reach into the television, shake her, and scream, The nice man that you speak of is about to fall ill! You too are at risk! Flee this place and find shelter! But, alas, I could not. When Singh and Robinson fist-bumped toward the end of the interview, a chill ran down my spine. What should have been an innocent interview became a horror film before my very eyes, and I? I was powerless to stop it.

4. Josh Meyers Debuts His Governor Newsom Impersonation on Late Night With Seth Meyers

On Thursday, Seth Meyers invited his brother, actor Josh Meyers, on Late Night to debut his totally rad impersonation of California Governor Gavin Newsom. The segment is short and sweet with some totally gnarly surfer-dude jokes (Welcome to the O.C, bitch), but the best part is, despite how much Josh looks like Newsom and Seth, Seth and Newsom somehow look nothing alike. Josh is an eerie facial mixture of Seth and Newsom, and its at once fascinating and deeply unsettling. Obviously, after watching his impersonation I researched Josh Meyers like the good journalist that I am and, according to trusted news source Wikipedia.com, Josh replaced Topher Grace on the eighth and final season of That 70s Show. Ummm  who knew Topher Grace left That 70s Show before the final season? I feel betrayed. Also, Josh was a cast member on MADtv while Seth was on SNL, which is a sibling rivalry I can finally get behind. Watch out, Cuomos: The Meyers are coming for your bag.

3. Samantha Bee Stans the USPS on Full Frontal

All essential workers are incredibly important, hence the name, but Samantha Bee took some time on Full Frontal: Little Show Big Woods to spotlight some essential workers who not only are braving the global pandemic but fighting to save their industry: postal workers. Bee makes a compelling case for postal workers being both a vital part of our country and extremely hot (knee shorts + licking stuff = very horny). However, in entirely unsurprising news, the current administration has a well-documented vendetta against the post office, with Trump calling the postal service a joke. Well, the joke may be on him (finally), because as Bee notes, the next election may need to be conducted by mail due to the coronavirus. Bee went on a great rant about stamps, namely about an old-timey man rapping about zip codes. This is the weirdest person Ive ever been attracted to, Bee says. I want to ruin him by showing him how we have sex now. Like in the 2020 way. Does that make sense? He would snap like a piece of balsa wood. Hes not ready for it. Like what he thinks is crazy is so far from crazy now. Shes  not wrong.

2. Shady Lady Patti LuPone Gets Interviewed by Alyssa Edwards on WWHL

Its only fitting that this, the week of legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheims 90th birthday, Broadway icon Patti LuPone left her basement, laced up her shady boots, and spilled the tea on everything from Bernadette Peters to Cats (2019). If you thought LuPone calling Barbra Streisand too old to play Mama Rose was harsh on Watch What Happens Live, then you might want to take a seat. In a segment brilliantly called The Shady Lady Who Lunches, Patti LuPone gets interviewed by Miss Back Rolls  Alyssa Edwards, dressed as Joanne from Company  and the result is truly breathtaking. Has Patti LuPone seen her former nemesis Andrew Lloyd Webbers flop movie Cats (2019)? I will never watch it. I just saw the revival of it in London and walked out after the first act. I saw the original and hated it, and so Im not surprised. Well, that answers that. How did she really feel about Bernadette Peterss Mama Rose? She never saw it, you see, because director Sam Mendes offered her the role first. I have the letters in my scrapbook. Im sure you do, Patti, Im sure you do. The only reason this isnt No. 1 is because I will not tolerate any Bernadette Peters slander of any kind, even from Patti LuPone.

1. Cartoonist Paul Giamatti Shows Off His Work on The Late Show

Okay, since when is every famous actor also the next Picasso? Yes, Jake Gyllenhaal went on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and baked a loaf of bread this week, but the actor who really stole the show with his hidden talent was Paul Giamatti. Following in the footsteps of Jim Carrey, one of Chance the Rappers favorite character actors stopped by The Late Show to show off the impressive drawings hes made while under quarantine. Giamatti apparently didnt intend to become IMDBs sixth-best character actor of all time (look it up), but rather wanted to be a cartoonist or some kind of illustrator growing up, which totally scans. If I had to imagine what a cartoonist looked like, it would look like Paul Giamatti riding the subway. Holding his sketches up for the camera, Giamatti says, Heres that little guy  Theres that little guy  Theres a little tough guy there. In a piece of meta-commentary about the plight of character actors, Giamatti admits, All I can sort of do is weird little faces, selling himself and his talents short. This segment has led me to believe that every character actor has a secret hidden talent. I bet William H. Macy can juggle knives. Maybe John C. Reilly can play viola with aplomb. Im now certain that Steve Buscemi is an excellent hula dancer. The possibilities are endless.
It worked on monkeys, so researchers at the University of Oxford have high hopes that their coronavirus vaccine will also work on humans.

But they dont expect preliminary results until the middle of June, John Bell, a regius professor of medicine at Oxford, told BBC Radio on Thursday.

Human trials  the first in Europe for a vaccine  began April 23, following successful tests on rhesus macaque monkeys in late March.

PANDEMIC PREP: This survival camp prepares Texans for food shortages, worst-case scenario

The results were so promising that British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca agreed to partner with the Oxford team to help ramp up production of the hAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine once the human trials are completed, according to the BBC.

AstraZeneca isnt the only Big Pharma company betting on the vaccine. Last week, the Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest vaccine maker, announced it would begin mass-producing hAdOx1 nCoV-19 without it being approved or even knowing if it works.

The University of Oxford researchers had projected that human trials would conclude in September, but the Serum Institute decided that was too long to wait. So its using its own funds to produce 40 million units of the vaccine.

Manufacturing a vaccine before its proven effective and before it receives regulatory approval flips the normal development process on its head. Its a huge risk, but one that some companies are willing to take in order to get a jump on deploying a vaccine on the massive scale needed to defeat the pandemic.

TEXAS DEATH TOLL: Texas reports most deaths due to COVID-19 in one day, just hours before stay-at-home lifted

Other drug companies and biotechs are also making progress in developing a vaccine:

 Pfizer and BioNTech injected 12 healthy people in Germany with their experimental BNT162 vaccine.

 Moderna has begun human trials, and is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for its mRNAA-1273 vaccine.

 GlaxoSmithKline and the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi expect their vaccine will be ready for human testing in the second half of 2020.

Whether any vaccine can offer long-term protection against the coronavirus remains to be seen.

SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus. A vaccine will need to induce durable high level immunity, but coronaviruses often dont induce that kind of immunity. Dr. David States, human genetics professor at the University of Michigan, systems biologist and bioinformatics pioneer, wrote in a Twitter thread last week.

They induce an immune response, but it tends to fade so the same virus can reinfect us a year or two later, he stated.

Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate
Officials on Friday reported 3,137 new known cases of COVID-19, the highest daily total since the outbreak began, as well as an additional 105 deaths. That brings the statewide total to 56,055 known cases, as well as a death toll totaling 2,457.

The numbers came as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzkers modified stay-at-home order took effect today, but the Democratic governor is facing multiple legal challenges to the cornerstone of his coronavirus response and political pressure from Republicans in more conservative corners of the state to reopen the economy more quickly.

The new order, which extends Pritzkers directive for people to remain at home as much as possible through May 29, requires all Illinois residents over age 2 to wear a face mask when they cant maintain a 6-foot social distance in public. Heres a look at what else is changing.

Heres a recap of what happened May 1 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

8:39 p.m.: Coronavirus deaths linked to long-term care facilities now over 1,000 mark in Illinois, according to state data

Coronavirus deaths tied to Illinois long-term care facilities crossed a grim threshold this week, with more than 1,000 deaths of residents and staff linked to the virus.

In its weekly update on cases tied to such facilities, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that, as of Friday, it had recorded 1,082 deaths linked to nursing homes, assisting living centers and other long-term care facilities.

Thats nearly double what was reported a week ago, which in turn was more than double reported the week prior.

The number of total cases has also climbed to at least 7,542 cases at 348 facilities across 31 counties. Thats nearly 3,300 more cases than reported a week prior, although the state cautions the data may be undercounting cases because of challenges in tabulating timely data, as a prior Tribune report noted.

Thats perhaps nowhere more evident than a Cicero nursing home, City View Multi-Care Center, which the states Friday update lists with 34 cases and seven deaths.

Three days earlier, the Tribune reported that more than 200 residents and staff had tested positive. In a lawsuit filed Friday against the facility and the state, alleging inaction by both, Cicero officials said the count had grown to 216.

The numbers have exploded after the state began rolling out a new testing protocol that is attempting to test all residents and staff of homes without known cases, and test all staff at homes with cases. The state says it wants to catch the virus early in places without known cases to limit a virus spread, which is difficult to contain once it infiltrates a facility.

The nursing home industry has pushed for much more testing, and, in a statement, a leader of one trade group said she was bracing for higher figures at her members facilities, where staff must often work closely with residents needing basic care. Read more here. Joe Mahr

7:33 p.m.: Illinois health department provides guidance on how General Assembly could get back to work in Springfield

The Illinois Department of Public Health provides a glimpse at measures legislative leaders could take to reconvene at the Capitol, in a document that includes recommendations to limit the number of people entering the statehouse and to require temperature checks upon entry.

Several weeks of the General Assemblys spring session have been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and no timeline for reconvening has been announced, even as a growing number of Republican lawmakers is pushing for the General Assembly to return to the State Capitol in Springfield.

The statewide stay-at-home order considers the state legislature and other governmental bodies essential, and does not bar them from meeting.

A state health department spokeswoman did not return a request for comment on the document, which is undated and marked draft." Titled IDPH Guidance for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19; Illinois General Assembly Returning to Session, it suggests the secretary of states office limit the number of people entering the Capitol, to state employees directly supporting session, which means excluding lobbyist (sic) and the public.

Members of the public can still engage with the democratic process by live steaming, engaging with their legislator by means of communication that include emails, telephone, and by filing an electronic witness slip, the guidance states.

For in-person committee meetings and votes, the document recommends only legislators should be there, witnesses who want to testify must do so by providing written testimony that can be read into the record.

The guidance says any lawmaker who feels ill or has a serious underlying health condition should not to travel to Springfield and suggests members 65 years of age or older should consider not traveling to Springfield for session.

Lawmakers and staff members who attend a session should practice social distancing and isolation for at least seven days post legislative session," under the guidance.

For floor debates and votes, the guidance suggests the number of people let into the chamber be limited to the presiding member, parliamentarian, clerk, the member presenting the bill and one appointee from each caucus to pose questions, as well as essential doormen and sergeant at arms and essential staff support for substantive items.

The department recommends all meetings, including caucuses and negotiation sessions for bills, be conducted on a phone or video conference in advance. Lawmakers have been conducting caucus via teleconferencing over the weeks that session has been canceled.

If the legislature were to hold committee meetings, bills should be agreed upon prior to committee, to avoid unnecessary debate, the guidance states, adding that only necessary staff should be present.

The recommendations also suggest the secretary of state direct the Capitol police to screen all those entering the Capitol for a temperature of 100 degrees or greater, and the presence of other symptoms, and to maintain a robust sanitizing practice for frequently-touched surfaces.

It was not immediately clear how widely the document has been distributed among lawmakers and legislative staffers, although it was clear that legislative leaders were familiar with it. Read more here. Jamie Munks

7:19 p.m.: Town of Cicero sues local nursing home, state of Illinois and Pritzker over deadly COVID-19 outbreak

The town of Cicero filed a lawsuit on Friday against a local nursing home, the state of Illinois, the state health department and Gov. J.B. Priztker, alleging the facility and state officials failed to respond appropriately to the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in a deadly outbreak at the home.

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges that employees at City View Multi-Care Center, 5825 W. Cermak Road, failed to wear personal protective equipment, residents were not appropriately quarantined and patients with respiratory illnesses were not provided protective wear.

According to the lawsuit, there have been 216 COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths connected to City View.

The Town of Cicero has been on this center to get its act together, to follow the directives to minimize the spread of the virus including requiring staff to wear full PPE protections, Cicero Town President Larry Dominick said in a statement.

A City View spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Read more here. Javonte Anderson

6:46 p.m.: United reduces hours for 15,000 airport workers to part-time as coronavirus cost cuts continue

United Airlines plans to slash 15,000 airport workers hours to part-time, the latest cost-cutting move for the airline amid a dramatic decline in demand for travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full-time baggage handlers, customer service agents and reservations agents will go from working 40 hours a week to 30 starting May 24, United executive vice president and chief operations officer Greg Hart said in a letter to employees Friday.

Michael Klemm, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 141, said the union believes the airlines move violates terms of its agreement with the federal government giving United $5 billion in financial assistance to keep workers on the payroll.

The IAM is considering all legal options, including a lawsuit against United to stop this action and protect our membership, Klemm said in a letter to members, calling the airlines decision cruel and selfish. Read more here. Lauren Zumbach

5:16 p.m.: With stay-at-order in place, Latino leaders, groups use caravan in Pilsen to urge households to fill out census

A stream of honking cars blared through the Pilsen neighborhood Friday as community leaders pushed residents to fill out the 2020 census to improve response rates in the area.

Motorists using speakers yelled census," as the caravan snaked around the Latino neighborhood. One car was decorated with pink letters that read Yo Cuento, meaning I count. Another car sign stated, People with disabilities count 2." One woman, wearing a pink crochet mask, came out of her home to look at the caravan.

Since the population tally started in March, Latino neighborhoods in Chicago havent responded as quickly as other communities in the city. And now in May, households in Latino neighborhoods like Back of the Yards and Little Village still arent responding as quickly as other parts of Chicago.

In one part of Pilsen that was part of the caravan route, only 27.7% of households had responded to the census as of Thursday, according to a map of census data compiled by the City University of New York. In other parts of Pilsen, about 30% of households had responded. Read more here. Elvia Malagon

5:14 p.m.: Police issue citation to West Rogers Park homeowner who held wedding party that spilled into street

Chicago police have issued a citation to the homeowner of a West Rogers Park residence who last week held a wedding party that spilled into the street, prompting police to break up the crowd for violating stay-at-home orders for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The homeowner, whose named was unavailable, was ticketed for violating an executive order, Chicago police spokesman Luis Agostini said Friday.

The party, first reported by Block Club Chicago, was recorded on video and showed a few dozen revelers dancing to loud music at a wedding party outside a home at Farwell and Francisco avenues. Some people in the video could be seen wearing masks, but the crowd was too large to allow for following rules on social distancing.

Chicago police have said officers responded to the gathering shortly before 6 p.m. April 23, dispersed the crowd and left the scene without initially issuing any citations.

On Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during an afternoon news conference that enforcement action would be taken in connection with the wedding party in the same fashion that police took action with the owner of a Northwest Side home, where viral video showed dozens of young partygoers in close quarters who also were not practicing social distancing last weekend.

The owner of that home, confirmed by city officials to be a Chicago Fire Department commander, was ticketed for disorderly conduct. Jeremy Gorner

5:04 p.m.: Are employers liable if workers get sick with COVID-19? As businesses prepare to reopen, worker safety is a priority.

Businesses gearing up to return to work as coronavirus lockdowns ease face a minefield of potential liabilities, from age discrimination claims if they hesitate to bring back older employees to disability discrimination claims if they punish anxious workers fearful to come into the office.

But one of their biggest concerns is if employees get sick with COVID-19 and claim they contracted it at work  a costly proposition, employer groups say, at a time businesses are grappling with stalled sales and lost income.

For an employer wanting to get back to normal business, this could be the third crisis facing the nation, said Todd Maisch, head of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. The first being the health crisis, the second being the economic crisis, the third being years of a liability crisis.

As federal lawmakers battle over whether to shield employers from pandemic-related lawsuits, a fight is brewing in Illinois over workers compensation coverage for COVID-19 illnesses.

Illinois was the first state in the nation to change its workers compensation law to presume workers contracted COVID-19 on the job if they work at businesses deemed essential by the states stay-at-home order, such health care, banks and grocery stores.

That made it easier for them to get coverage for medical bills, lost wages, long-term impairment and, if they didnt survive the disease, death benefits for their families.

But business groups concerned about the cost of claims sued, and a judge halted enforcement of the change, saying the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission exceeded its rule-making authority when it approved the emergency amendment. Read more here. Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

4:40 p.m.: Indiana officials refuse to say which nursing homes COVID-19 residents, leaving some families scrambling for answers

Since COVID-19 shut down visiting at nursing homes, many families have been scrambling for information, which can be easily missed from facilities, or left to look on social media for answers as Indiana declines to publicly name where residents and staff are getting sick.

Michelle Wilcox, of Portage, said she received word that her father, who lives in Dyer Nursing and Rehabilitation in Dyer, tested positive for COVID-19 after first testing negative when hed gotten sick in March. The nursing home didnt tell her, though; the news came from her brother, she said. And the only reason her dad knew that he was sick, she said, was because another COVID-19 patient was moved into his room.

After posting her concerns in a social media group devoted to COVID-19 support, two different employees reached out to her privately with news that shook her. One of the messages, of which Wilcox provided to the Post-Tribune, said Dyer had 19 positive COVID-19 patients on its nursing side, and the person who sent the message was about to return to work after being down with the virus.

The second message warned Wilcox to check on her dad every day, which she has. She said hes doing better and that the home has since contacted her stepmom, but she remains concerned.

We werent able to get any answers from the nursing home, and if the whole place is infected, I want him out of there, Wilcox said. My dad has health issues, and were upset because we werent being told anything.

Indiana is alone in surrounding states with its refusal as Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio are publicly disclosing per facility COVID-19 cases and deaths. Read more here. Meredith Colias-Pete and Michelle L. Quinn

4 p.m.: McCormick Place medical facility to wind down, as COVID-19 growth slows

State and city officials are winding down the alternate care facility they set up at McCormick Place, saying the extra space to treat patients is not needed now that the growth of COVID-19 is slowing in Illinois.

McCormick will no longer accept new patients, and after the last of the current patients leaves, officials will take down half of its existing 1,000 beds  those meant for people who are mildly ill. Dr. Nick Turkal, executive director of the McCormick Place alternate care site, declined to say how many patients were at McCormick on Friday.

Officials plan to keep the other 500 beds standing for the time being, though without staff, Turkal said. Those beds were to accommodate sicker patients. Read more here. Lisa Schencker

3:46 p.m.: Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus

They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed.

As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.

On Friday, we posted new profiles of Ronald Newman, 59, of Chicago; Oluwayemisi Yemi Ogunnubi, 59, of Chicago; and Carol DeWitt, 60, of Chicago.

If you know of someone or would like to offer a remembrance of someone please share your information here. To file a death notice, go here.

To read the full details on those we wrote about Friday and the dozens of others weve memorialized, go here. Chicago Tribune staff

3:27 p.m.: He knew what he signed up for, Grubhub says about Chicago Pizza Boss viral receipt

A few days ago, Giuseppe Badalamenti, the owner of Chicago Pizza Boss, posted about his receipt from Grubhub on Facebook. In a photo included with the post you can see that he received $1,042.63 in orders from the online ordering and delivery company, but after all the fees were applied, he only made $376.54.

His post quickly went viral, racking up hundreds of comments and 2,500 shares.

After the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of dining rooms across the country, many people criticized Grubhub for announcing a promotion that was pitched to help restaurants, yet forced any participating restaurant to eat the costs. But in an official statement, Grubhub claims that the restaurateur knew exactly what he had signed up for. Read more here. Nick Kindelsperger

3:02 p.m.: With fewer people on the roads, crashes are down  but some drivers see lack of traffic as excuse to speed

Total car crashes have dropped as more people are staying off the roads during the coronavirus pandemic, but state and local officials say some drivers are using the wide-open spaces as an excuse to speed.

In Illinois, crash rates dropped by more than half statewide April 1 through April 26 compared with the same period last year  to 1,608 statewide and to 688 on Cook County non-Tollway roads, according to the Illinois State Police.

This can be explained by fewer cars on the road, with schools and businesses closed. A national study conducted by INRIX, a provider of travel time information for travelers and shipping companies, found that vehicle miles traveled in Illinois dropped as much as 52% because of the pandemic, with lower travel times on ordinarily jammed expressways like the Eisenhower and Kennedy.

But Chicago has also seen a 14% increase in speeding tickets generated by automated cameras, while Illinois State Police figures show a modest increase in the rate of personal injury crashes in Cook County, which could indicate more reckless driving.

Crashes that involved personal injuries accounted for almost 18% of all Cook County crashes in April 2020, up from just under 11% in the same month a year earlier.

While state police Sgt. Jacqueline Cepeda could not say for sure that the increased rate of injury crashes in Cook County was linked to speeding, she said that when there is less traffic, there is a temptation to step on the gas. Read more here. Mary Wisniewski

2:50 p.m.: Officials report the highest daily total of new known COVID-19 cases since the outbreak began

Officials on Friday reported 3,137 new known cases of COVID-19, the highest daily total since the outbreak began, as well as an additional 105 deaths. That brings the statewide total to 56,055 known cases, as well as a death toll totaling 2,457.

2:43 p.m.: Artisans hit hard as festivals are canceled because of the coronavirus. Its not how I envisioned the year.

The colorful T-shirts Kathy Kelly designs, each of which bears a comical black cat, have become a popular item at the Midwest art festivals where she sets up shop.

But Kelly, from Jefferson Park, said she couldnt find the color she needed for one of this years shirts, holding up the project. Kelly designs four new shirts each year.

In hindsight, the delay turned out to be a blessing, because the COVID-19 health crisis forced organizers to scrap art festivals and street fairs scheduled to take place in the Chicago area in May, June and beyond. But even though she saved money by not creating new shirts, Kelly said shes anxious about what those cancellations will mean for her income. Kelly teaches high school art at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, but makes about 70% of her income selling her work at art festivals.

Nothing compares to this. Weve never gone through anything like this, said Kelly, who has been selling T-shirts, calendars and note cards for 30 years.

For many artisans, their main source of income is selling products at art festivals. Spring and summer festivals filled with vendors selling photographs, jewelry, pottery, clothing, and more attract thousands of visitors during the sunny weather. Several Chicago events were canceled this year including the Old Town Art Fair, Logan Square Arts Festival, the 57th Street Art Fair and Maifest.

Those canceled shows mean lost revenue that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars for some artisans, many of whom dont have a large financial cushion. Read more here.--Abdel Jimenez

2:14 p.m.: R Kelly once again seeks to exit Chicagos federal jail over COVID-19 threat

Will the third time be the charm for R. Kelly?

The indicted singer on Friday once again asked to be released on bond from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, citing a new medical report that his lawyers say shows Kelly is borderline diabetic and has high blood pressure and cholesterol, putting him at serious risk for COVID-19.

Kellys lawyer Steve Greenberg wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York that MCC officials withheld Kellys medical report from them for nearly a month as the coronavirus was spreading in the high-rise jail.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, there had been 74 confirmed cases of the virus among the 650 inmates at the MCC as of Thursday  a dramatic spike from just a few days ago.

Donnelly has twice before denied Kellys request for bond, agreeing with prosecutors that he is a significant flight risk and would have the potential to tamper with witnesses if he was released. At the time of her most recent decision, the MCC had seen only a handful of COVID-19 cases. Read more here. Jason Meisner

1:07 p.m.: Buy a book, make a donation: Longtime indie bookstores struggle to shore up business during pandemic

Sara Paretsky launched the 20th V.I. Warshawski detective novel the same way she did the first book in the series: at an event with Women & Children First. This time, however, she wasnt surrounded by adoring readers in a cozy nook of the Andersonville bookstore. Instead, she sat alone in front of her computer, peering into a camera.

Hello? Are we here? Is anybody here? Is it just me? Paretsky asked. As the author gave her Facebook Live audience five minutes to settle in, she used her iPhone to play a musical fanfare befitting a pause in BBC programming and then proceeded to deliver 45 minutes of lively conversation about writing, Warshawski and the latest book, Dead Land. Read more here. Jennifer Day

12:50 p.m.: Bobbleheads of Lightfoot, Pritzker coming soon as coronavirus collectibles

Depending on how you look at a bobblehead, it can be nodding yes, like a governor asked if he wants more PPE, or shaking no, like a mayor urging people to stay off her citys lakefront. The images come to mind because Illinois most prominent officials in the effort to combat the coronavirus, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, are being memorialized in the mysteriously enduring kitsch format of plastic doll bearing an oversized, spring-mounted noggin.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum of Milwaukee announced Friday it is commemorating the two leaders from the state to its immediate south, with a portion of the proceeds going to fight COVID-19 charities. The $25 Lightfoot and Pritzker dolls (plus $8 shipping) can be ordered now for an expected mid-July arrival.

I think its something to take your mind off all the other craziness going on, said Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the 4,000-square-foot business in the Walkers Point neighborhood. We see these people daily during the news and press briefings, and a lot of people have really been drawn to them in one way or another. Read more here. Steve Johnson

12:33 p.m.: After rural church files federal lawsuit, free exercise of religion is a permitted essential activity under Pritzkers modified stay-at-home order

On the same day a northwest Illinois church filed a federal lawsuit accusing Gov. J.B. Pritzker of religious discrimination, the governors office released a modified stay-at-home order that expressly allows Illinois residents to leave their homes to engage in the free exercise of religion.

According to the executive order signed Thursday, religious practice is now considered a permitted essential activity provided that such exercise must comply with Social Distancing Requirements and the limit on gatherings of more than ten people in keeping with CDC guidelines for the protection of public health.

The governors order encourages religious communities to worship via online or drive-in services in order to follow these rules.

The goal of the new stay at home order is to continue protecting the health and safety of all Illinoisans, while working with medical experts to ensure people throughout the State can continue to participate in worship services, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement Friday.

The governors initial order, which took effect March 21, did not list religious services as an essential activity. Read more here. Antonia Ayres-Brown and Dan Petrella

12:23 p.m.: Chicagos pothole artist blesses the city with coronavirus mosaics in Uptown

Chicagos pothole artist has struck again, this time embedding an Uptown street with tile mosaics inspired by the coronavirus pandemic. You can look for them on Gunnison Street, if you live in the neighborhood, just west of Broadway: a roll of toilet paper, a bottle of Purell and a can of Old Style, each with a halo. Plus a red star from the Chicago flag. Street artist Jim Bachor, known for works that have filled Chicagos cratered pavements with everything from pictures of cats to LIAR spelled out in tile and concrete on Wabash outside of Trump Tower, said he wanted to do something in response to the pandemic.

This is a really weird time, he said. Of course, potholes are universally hated, and with the coronavirus affecting everyone, I thought, what can everyone relate to?

Toilet paper seemed a natural choice. This is not necessarily a time to be funny, he said, but there is some humor there, this human nature of hoarding. Toilet paper? Its like, what? Its not like the virus attacks your digestive system. Then theres our alcohol consumption  and Old Style is Chicagos beer.

Bachor said he does have a couple more coronavirus mosaics in mind. Hes thinking just commands, in black and white: WASH YOUR HANDS and GO HOME. Read more here. Doug George

12:10 p.m.: Illinois spent more than $200 million battling coronavirus: What is the money for?

As if this week, the state has spent more than $200 million battling COVID-19, not including compensation for state workers. The money goes for gloves, masks, ventilators, testing supplies or materials to help set up field hospitals at McCormick Place and across the state. The state is also issuing emergency grants to bars, restaurants and hotels, businesses hard hit.

The state Comptrollers office is tracking the spending. The Tribune took that data and created a tool where you can search for different expenses.

Data from late March and early April showed most spending on PPE, personal protective equipment like gloves and masks, while spending in late April was more focused on materials for coronavirus tests. Read more here. Jonathon Berlin

12:05 p.m.: Protesters demanding Gov. Pritzker end stay-at-home order gather outside Thompson Center

A group of protesters who want Gov. J.B. Pritzker to announce a plan to reopen Illinois and end his stay-at-home order gathered Friday outside the Thompson Center in the Loop.

The midday Friday demonstration is the latest in a series of protests around the country against stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. It follows a Sunday event during which a small group of protesters demonstrated outside the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield and coincided with another demonstration planned in Springfield.

Several dozen people gathered in the plaza in front of the Thompson Center, demanding that the governor reopen the state as a counter-protest by vehicle rolled down Randolph Street.With signs like, The Cure is worst than the disease, the protesters waved American flags.

Lines of cars of counter protesters beeped their horns loudly, with signs on their cars proclaiming: Trump/Pence: Greatest threat to humanity. Read more here. Madeline Buckley

11:21 a.m.: Suspension of civil and criminal court operations in Cook County extended to May 31

An order to suspend most civil and criminal court operations in Cook County has been extended to May 31, according to a statement from Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans.

Court activity has been significantly curtailed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as a way to prevent the spread of the virus.Some emergency matters, including orders of protection, will continue to be heard in person. For example, petitioners appearing in domestic violence court appear via videoconference from a room inside courthouse.

The court has also moved to videoconferencing for other hearings, including bail and bail review. Annie Sweeney

10:55 a.m.: State bar exam postponed until September

The Illinois Supreme Court is postponing the states bar exam until September because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.

The exam, which new graduates must pass in order to begin practicing law in Illinois, was originally scheduled to take place in late July. It will now be administered on Sept. 9 and 10, according to the release.

"This decision was made after careful consideration of the health and safety issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, " Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. The Court would like to thank the Board, the law school deans and other stakeholders for their helpful input. Read more here. Elyssa Cherney

10:17 a.m.: We can have conversations like everything is normal.' At a social distance, students gather in Lane Tech parking lot and talk about the school year they missed

Aiden Cloud is happy to be back at school.

In these times, that means sitting in the trunk of his car, in the parking lot of Lane Tech College Prep, socially distanced from classmates in their own cars.

Its a great way to escape for a little bit, said Cloud, an 18-year-old senior at the North Side school. We can have conversations like everything is normal.

Sometimes they bring take-out from nearby favorites, like Pi-Hi, other times they just sit and talk for three or four hours. About missed goodbyes, idled prom dresses, canceled sports, delayed tests, and even more stress about getting into college  whatever that will look like. Read more here. Sophie Sherry

10:15 a.m.: Chicago announces mask giveaways, local modifications to states revised state-home order: No golfing in city parks

The city on Friday announced local modifications to the states stay-at-home order to ensure Chicago continues to flatten the COVID-19 curve.

Local municipalities are permitted to enact stricter provisions than those in the order, the city said in a release.

The Lakefront Trail and adjacent parks will remain closed through May, and fishing and boating will also be prohibited, although people can access their boats for maintenance and de-winterization, the release said.

Even though golfing was permitted under certain circumstances under Gov. J.B. Pritzkers modified order, it is not yet allowed in the city, recognizing that Chicago still has further to go to bring down the curve, the release said.

Animal grooming services, greenhouses, garden centers and nurseries are now also allowed to open in the city beginning Friday. Retail stores in Chicago that are not designated as essential may re-open for online or phone orders for delivery or curbside pickup.

Businesses are required to supply face coverings, gloves and other protective equipment for employees.

As throughout the state, city residents over 2 are required to wear face coverings in public places when they cannot social distance. The city is distributing 250,000 reusable cloth masks to Aldermanic offices and another 750,000 masks will be distributed to vulnerable populations through the Racial Equity Rapid Response Team. Madeline Buckley

9:57 a.m.: Survey says: Illinois residents give Pritzker thumbs-up, Trump thumbs-down in the middle on handling of coronavirus crisis

Illinois slice of a new national poll shows Gov. J.B. Pritzker is getting good marks and President Donald Trump middling reviews for their handling of the coronavirus. The states residents also already are down with wearing face masks out in public, a requirement in Illinois as of today. Read more here. Rick Pearson

9:23 a.m.: Amid stay-at-home order, summer camps face uncertainty

Come each June, children would flock to Meredith Rogowskis arts and crafts camp to make creative projects with colorful balls of yarn, paint, fabric and other materials.

But when Gov. J.B. Pritzker extended the states stay-at-home order through most of May, Rogowski reluctantly came to the conclusion to cancel the camp this year, a financial and emotional blow for her, the campers and the employees.

Camp DIY, which Rogowski directs with a partner, was sold out at both its Evanston and Wilmette locations with more than 300 enrolled. But the start date is too close to the earliest possible end of the stay-at-home order, she said.

Chicago-area summer camps are trying to decide what to do as the state remains shut down at least through May 30. It is putting them in a tough financial position as they figure out whether they can refund families, and survive beyond this year. Read more here. Madeline Buckley

7:30 a.m.: Mask on one of Art Institute lions cut off, stolen early Friday

An Art Institute of Chicago security guard saw two men early Friday cut off and steal a Chicago flag mask on one of the museums lion statues that was installed Thursday, according to police.

The lions and the Daley Center Picasso statue had the oversize, mock masks put in place Thursday.

The security guard saw the two males, whose ages werent specified by police, get out of a black Chevrolet sedan just before 12:25 a.m. outside the Art Institute, 111 S. Michigan Ave., according to a police media notification.

The two climbed one of the lion statues and cut off and took the lions mask.The two men then fled in the car, according to police.

No one was in custody and police were releasing no further details. Read more here. Liam Ford

A Chicago flag mask on one of the lions at the Art Institute on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (Jos M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

6:20 a.m.: In neighborhoods where it fights violence, GoodKids MadCity raises money for those struggling during pandemic

At 19, Alycia Kamil is a leader of GoodKids MadCity, a group of young people dedicated to fighting violence where they live in Chicago.

Its only natural, she believes, that they also help their neighborhoods deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

We already see ourselves left out of a lot of help thats going around, Kamil said. We always say that if nobody is going to do it for us, (then) we have to do it for us.

Every Friday, the group puts $50 into the hands of nearly two dozen young people of color. So far, the group has reached 100 people between the ages of 18 and 24. Read more here.  Sophie Sherry

5 a.m.: Pritzker says coronavirus contact tracing is a key to reopening Illinois. Public health leaders concede the system isnt ready yet.

One of the key conditions Gov. J.B. Pritzker says must be met before Illinois can lift its stay-at-home order is a comprehensive way to track, warn and quarantine everyone who has had significant contact with newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients.

That is something that were working very hard to spin up, to get going in a large way, the governor said this week. Im pushing hard on the team  they know it  for us to get that going because  that allows us to open up the economy even more.

But state, Chicago and Cook County public health leaders concede theyre not yet ready to fully roll out a coronavirus contact tracing system. The big problems to solve? Finding enough workers and putting technology in place. Read more here. Hal Dardick and Dan Petrella

5 a.m.: Mask sewing project among Chicago refugee groups leads to new career goal: This is my job

From her dining room table in the citys West Rogers Park neighborhood, Sandra Muyumba some nights doesnt even want to sleep because of how focused shes become on making face masks.

Just weeks ago, Muyumba, 48, had never made a face mask but now shes gotten the technique down to 20 minutes, five minutes for cutting and the rest spent sewing. Her husband helps her iron the masks. Muyumba, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who spent time in Namibia, is part of the Sewing Studio group. put together by RefugeeOne, which has made 1,000 masks to be donated to various community groups.

Im starting a bit late, not early in the morning because I need to do the house chores, Muyumba said by phone about her routine. I cook then I cannot stand up to do anything. I have to sit and do my work.

RefugeeOne, a resettlement agency based in Chicago, got a grant from a local church to undertake the project, said Jims Porter, a spokesman for the organization. Theyve delivered masks to groups such as Selfhelp Home and other local organizations, Porter said. Annie Kaufman, manager of the Sewing Studio, said they expect to finish the project by this week, although the studio is also working on other projects related to masks. Read more here. Elvia Malagon

12:01 a.m.: Ravinia cancels entire 2020 season

For the first time since 1935, the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park will fall silent.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this summers festival has been canceled.

Theres not going to be any Ravinia 2020, said Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman in an interview Thursday afternoon.

No festival, no Ravinia Steans Music Institute, no events of any sort. The safety and health piece  it just really comes down to that.

To try to figure that out and make it work, without risk? Theres always risk, but all the various pieces of this  it just doesnt work. And its heartbreaking. Read more here. Howard Reich

April 30

Here are five things that happened Thursday that you need to know:

April 29

Here are five things that happened Wednesday that you need to know:

April 28

Here are five things that happened Tuesday that you need to know:

April 27
The Central Vista Committee, a special advisory group for the controversial project, has given its nod for the new Parliament building even as a request from the panels external members for postponement of a meeting wasnt considered on grounds of national interest.

The fifth meeting, chaired by the CVC on April 23 via video conference, was attended by government officials, including five members from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), two from HCP design, the firm chosen for designing the project, and one member each from the housing and urban affairs ministry, the environment ministry, the town and country planning organisation, and the Delhi Development Authority.

The minutes of the meeting issued on Thursday said a request from the external members to put off the meeting because of the Covid-19 lockdown was overruled in view of the projects importance for the national interest.

It is placed for record herewith that some members, through email, expressed their inability to join the meeting on the grounds of travel restrictions in view of Covid-19 and owing to lack of technical capacity at their end to join online web-based conference facility, the minutes said.

Also submitted that being senior citizens and also on medical grounds they are house bound due to lockdown in place in Delhi. In view of the above they requested postponement of the meeting. However, keeping in view the importance of the project in nations interest and time scale for its implementation, the meeting was held as per issued meeting notice.

The minutes further stated there was no objection from the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), with suggestions that features of the proposed Parliament building be in sync with the existing Parliament.

Balbir Verma, a member of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), said: They went ahead without any external member in attendance. It includes two members from the Institute of Town Planners (ITP) and two from the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA). Only government officials were there.

This is clearly a conflict of interest. Even the Supreme Court on Thursday said there is no hurry to hear the matter on Central Vista. Then what was the urgency in holding this meeting despite our requests to postpone it? We had several concerns, we had informed adequate arrangements should be made for us to attend but we got a notice on April 21 that the meeting will be held.

Verma added, A project of this magnitude must be heard by all parties of the committee. The party involved in its implementation and sanctioning it cannot be the only one to clear it, which is why external members are formed, otherwise it is a conflict of interest. The advisory group was formed in 1962 to advise on projects of this magnitude. People must be present to provide their suggestions or objections.

The environment nod for the project is still awaited. The Centre has sent a revised application for environment clearance for the new Parliament building to the environment ministry, after the issue was deferred last month by the expert appraisal committee (EAC) on infrastructure, Hindustan Times had reported on April 13.

The EAC held a meeting on April 22.

In an application, the Union housing and urban affairs ministrys construction arm, the CPWD, said the project cost for the new Parliament building has increased from Rs 776 crore to Rs 922 crore due to changes in specifications which have been approved after the application submission.

Hindustan Times had also reported on March 9 that the Centres original application for environmental clearance for the new Parliament complex had been deferred by the Union environment ministry.

The EAC on infrastructure had met on February 25 to review the CPWDs proposal seeking green clearance for the building. The EAC cited pending court cases related to the project as one of the reasons for deferring the application.

The EAC also noted the project would provide a larger Parliament building for the nation for better functioning of the legislature but added the CPWD needs to meet a slew of conditions before the proposal could be reconsidered.
Jermaine Johnson could have been another statistic of the drug and gang culture.

He started selling drugs as a teen in Detroit and that led to criminal convictions.

A move to Statesville 14 years ago was the fresh start he needed. He worked to get an education and then worked harder to prove he was a changed man.

Now, he spends his days managing his familys business and spending time with loved ones.

Johnson said that change is due to the hard work he invested in Mitchell Community College, work and currently his mothers cleaning business called Maid 4 U.

Transformation

When Johnson moved to Statesville in 2006, he was just 24 years old. His girlfriend, now his wife, was pregnant with their first son. He had no job prospects. And he only had a fifth-grade education.

He worked in fast food, but his family in North Carolina encouraged him to strive for more.

North Carolina was the best thing for me because everyone I knew in North Carolina pushed me to be better than I thought I was, Johnson said.
Highlights The Samsung Z Flip has nabbed a score of 105 on DxOMark for its rear cameras.

The Z Flip delivers good performance in exposures and white balance.

You can buy the Samsung Z Flip at a price of Rs 1,15,890.

Before the world came to a standstill this year, Samsung announced a brand new smartphone with a folding display, called the Galaxy Z Flip. The focus on this phone was on the folding display and the new form factor, with slightly less-than-ideal other specifications for a flagship phone. The Z Flip ended up with just a dual-camera setup, which seemed more than enough for most Flip users. But how capable is the camera? Well, DxOMark just awarded it a score similar to what it gave to the iPhone XS Max a few years ago.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip has earned a total score of 105, putting it just under the iPhone XS Max in the list and in the top-20 camera smartphones list. The stills performance was awarded a score of 109 whereas the video performance got a score of 96. The Z Flip, like most Samsung cameras, scored high when it comes to the exposure and white balance, although it struggled with low light performance, noise suppression and zoom performance.

Same was the case for the video performance, which saw the Galaxy Z Flip impress the DxOMark judges with superior exposure, white balance and autofocus performance. Video stabilisation on the Z Flip was praised too but the camera struggled with noise and textures.

While the overall performance falls far behind most flagship phones in 2020, the fact that the Z Flip can deliver good performance while exploring a new form factor is impressive. Unlike the glass slab flagships with high scoring cameras, the Z Flip has only got two cameras at the back for taking photos as well as videos. One of them is a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera with F1.8 aperture lens and OIS assistance. The other one is a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 12mm lens.

Currently, the phone that tops the DxOMark list is the Huawei P40 Pro with a score of 128, followed by the Honor 30 Pro+ with a score of 125. The podium place goes to the Oppo Find X2 Pro which nabs a score of 124.

While DxOMark scores give us a fair idea of what to expect from a smartphone's camera, it still shouldn't be the deciding factor while buying a new phone. For a phone like the Galaxy Z Flip, the focus in on experimenting with a new form factor and a foldable OLED display instead of having the best cameras. For a majority of consumers, these cameras will be great for taking photos and videos everyday.

You can get the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in India at a price of Rs 1,15,890, which makes it the most affordable folding phone in India.
Syracuse, N.Y.  The conversation across New York State has shifted over the past week away from social distancing and to the potential re-opening of the economy. While that shift will be a relief to many it has the potential to put parents in a bind, especially since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that schools will be closed through the end of the academic year.

Primary caregivers who are watching children and whose school or child-care facilities are closed are eligible to receive benefits in a variety of ways if they have no other suitable childcare options.

Kristin Small, a lawyer with Empire Justice Center, said the group is fielding calls each day from parents trying to navigate the rules of unemployment and make the best decisions for their families, with one of the common subjects involving unemployment rules and childcare.

The organization is a non-profit that traditionally provides advocacy and legal representation for low-income New Yorkers but has deployed itself during the pandemic to help individuals answer unemployment questions at 1-800-724-0490 (ext. 5827).

While many lawyers have been active in trying to interpret the new rules and regulations for the public, they frequently have noted that many scenarios are new and cautioned that there are many uncertainties to how scenarios will be viewed and rules will be applied.

Here are some things that Small and other experts suggested primary caregivers keep in mind if they are asked to return to work.

1. In Onondaga County, childcare is still free for all workers deemed essential

Parents deemed essential workers by the state (the list is much broader than you would think and is worth looking at if you are working) have the option of utilizing free childcare subsidized by Onondaga County and organized by Child Care Solutions.

The free offer is expected to run through at least May 15, when New York State has announced that it could begin to un-pause and lift restrictions on non-essential work. Workers can call (3150 446-1220.

The offer, put together by Onondaga County, should provide an economical way for any worker deemed essential to perform their job.

Lori Schakow of Child Care Solutions said that the push to encourage everyone to stay in their homes has created an exaggerated fear of childcare facilities. She stressed that licensed childcare facilities have health protocols in place and that the health of the children and the workers are intertwined.

I understand weve said schools are closed and everyone should stay at home and no group mingling and things like that, Schakow said. But the reality is the childcare industry, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, had very robust health and safety plans in place, good infection control policies and procedures, exclusion of sick children policies. ... Theyre doing everything they can to keep children safe because that keeps them safe. Its a much better option than an elderly relative who youre putting at-risk or using an unlicensed program or a high school teacher who is convenient but not as safe.

2. Paid medical leave is available to some

Certain employers are obligated to provide primary caregivers with benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

The employers required to provide those benefits include public and private employers with less than 500 employees with some exceptions. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees can obtain exceptions if the workers absence would jeopardize the viability of the business.

Qualified employers would have to provide all employees with two weeks of paid sick time under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave. Employees are required to inform their HR managers that they plan to utilize that time.

Employees on leave are entitled to two-thirds of their normal pay. They would also maintain their benefits and have job protection while on leave.

Employees who have worked more than 30 days would be entitled to another 10 weeks of Expanded Family and Medical Leave.

Unfortunately for workers, Small noted, many companies are not obligated to provide those benefits.

Really, the FFCRA doesnt even apply to the majority of workers in the United States, Small said. The majority of the workforce works for companies larger than 500 or smaller than 50. Its still available to a lot of people, but weve been talking to a lot of people who arent covered."

3. You can negotiate

One thing that many employment lawyers have noted over the past week is that in many cases both employers and employees are often willing to try and help each other as best they can.

Small said that in cases where a paid medical leave is not available, the two sides might be able to work out an agreement that is partially beneficial for both of them.

An employer might listen to the concerns of an employee and allow a parent to go on unpaid furlough in order to take care of their children until a better option emerges.

For (those who arent covered by the FFCRA), theres not a lot of relief that I can see in terms of paid relief under the law, Small said. Weve been advising people if they dont have anyone suitable to take care of their children, they could try to work something out with their employers. They could work out paid-leave to the extent possible under the employers policy. If theyre not able to do that maybe arrange a furlough or unpaid leave that would make them eligible for the (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) program.

A furlough would allow the employee to maintain their benefits and generate an income through Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, while the employer could save money by not providing a paycheck and retain an employee who is already trained and very appreciative.

4. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Primary caregivers that cant work out an agreement with their employer and have to stay home to take care of their children can take advantage of the Pandemic Unemployment Act if the childs school or childcare facility is closed.

The calculation for the PUA is different than the medical leave. It is based on a workers previous earnings and will provide somewhere between $186 and $504 per week. PUA benefits can only be collected until Dec. 25. The federal government is adding an additional $600 payment through July 31. Individuals collecting benefits through the PUA would not receive healthcare benefits or job protection.

If someone applies for and is collecting PUA, chances are, they have severed the employment relationship, said Lindsey Hazelton, an attorney with Hancock Estabrook. So, no benefits continuation and no job protection. When applying for unemployment benefits an applicant generally must certify that their former employer no longer has work available for them or they are now are unable to work due to COVID19, as authorized by the PUA.

While small business owners have expressed concern that workers will opt to remain unemployed rather than return to work, traditional workers are not supposed to be able to choose to stay on PUA long-term.

In general, workers who are offered their old job at the same wage but refuse to work will not continue to receive unemployment benefits unless they meet stated criteria (such as a primary caregiver with no suitable childcare options).

Anyone utilizing the PUA would also have no promises that they can return to their job and would have to wait to wait receive benefits from a new employer, something Hazelton indicated should be a serious consideration.

If an employee quits or stops working due to COVID-19 related reasons, the employer will likely have to fill that position with someone else, Hazelton said. Employees should not assume an employer will then displace that new hire if and when the employee decides they want to return to work. That is the risk I fear some employees are not considering. The benefits and extra $600 per week sound appealing, but the $600 per week expires at the end of July, the benefits generally expire after 39 weeks, and again, that employment relationship is severed, meaning employees will likely have to find health insurance elsewhere.

5. What if I feel unsafe using group childcare?

With so many new laws and regulations, even legal experts have uncertainties about how to interpret them. They are simply doing the best that they can to interpret the guidance.

When it comes to childcare, one of the key phrases used by multiple lawyers was suitable childcare options.

What might feel suitable to one family might not be suitable to another. Some families, like those with at-risk family members in the house, might be more reluctant to look outside the home for childcare options.

If an employee is eligible for childcare assistance and doesnt take advantage of it, I suspect the Department of Labor will be asking some pretty tough questions, said Sarah Ruhlan an attorney with Satter Ruhlen Law Firm. However, for people who dont qualify for childcare assistance, I dont think theyre going to have to jump through any hoops. I think it will just be a question of whether theres another adult in the house who could care for the children.

Hazelton said its still a little bit unclear who gets to decide what constitutes a suitable option and whether that is completely the parents discretion.

She noted there could even be some small differences in interpretation depending on if a worker was seeking paid leave or PUA benefis.

Best I can tell, that still is a bit unclear, Hazelton said. "I did see that the PUA benefits would be available to an individual whose job allows for telework, but where the provision of care to a child or household member requires such ongoing and constant attention that it is not possible for the individual to perform work at home. This would seem to suggest they are giving parents a fair amount of discretion in terms of what is suitable for that benefit. But again that quote was in connection with PUA benefits, not the Emergency FMLA. A person may not be comfortable sending their child to a daycare center in these circumstances, but have they explored all other childcare possibilities? Like using a home-based day care provider? That seems reasonable, but I also have not seen a directive that they are required to do that. As of right now, its still a bit unclear as to who has the final say in whats suitable.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

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A problem for NY businesses: Workers wont return when they can get unemployment on steroids

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Chris Carlson anytime: E-mail | Twitter | 315-412-1639
A court in Skagit County, Washington, will consider Friday whether the state should impose enforceable emergency safety rules to protect farmworkers from the coronavirus.

The case, which pits the labor advocacy group Familias Unidas por la Justicia and the United Farm Workers of America against the state's labor and health departments, is among the first agricultural labor lawsuits filed in the country since the COVID-19 outbreak began.

Smithfield Foods was sued April 23 in federal court over working conditions at a Missouri pork processing facility.

In the Washington case, the labor groups are seeking adequate social distancing in farm labor housing and transportation and to ensure that protective gear is available at work sites, among other concerns.

"We know as farmworker advocates that farmworkers are living with a threat of retaliation if they speak up for themselves over safety and health issues, constantly," said Andrea Schmitt, the plaintiffs' attorney.

"We knew that workers would have a tough time as opposed to people in other industries saying, 'Hey, I don't think you're observing social distancing.' That would be hard for a farmworker to bring up with his or her employer," she said.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Brionna Aho, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, which is representing the health and labor departments, referred NBC News to the agencies.

Health Department spokeswoman Annie Johnson said in an email: "The Department of Health is working closely with the Governor's Office, other state agencies, growers, community advocates and other stakeholders to address worker and public health safety needs in temporary worker housing."

"We are currently working with other state agencies to draft emergency rules to help keep COVID-19 from spreading among farmworkers," she added.

The Department of Labor & Industries did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Story continues

Skagit County Superior Court Judge Dave Needy is set to hear the motion for injunctive relief Friday morning.

Workers would be unable to pay hospital bills, organizer says

Skagit County (pronounced SKA-jit), between Seattle and the Canadian border, primarily grows strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and tulips. Typically, farmworkers start to move into the berry farms to get ready for the summer harvest, labor organizers say.

Under normal circumstances, many laborers would already be working in nurseries that serve the Skagit County Tulip Festival, an annual monthlong event that was canceled this year because of the virus. Usually, they work in crews of up to 120 workers, but the number has been reduced to 20 to prevent spread.

Farm labor advocates say they are concerned because 13 people in the county have died from COVID-19.

IMAGE: Union organizer (Edgar Franks / Familias Unidas por la Justicia)

"We don't want to wait for the worst thing to happen, so that's why we pursued this lawsuit so these farmworkers are included," said Marciano Sanchez, a union organizer with Familias Unidas.

Because of the cancellation, far fewer people are working than under normal conditions, he said. Some would have moved temporarily to farms in California while they waited for the berry fields to be ready, but that has become difficult because of stay-at-home orders, he said.

"Most of the farmworkers in this community, they're indigenous [Mexican] farmworkers or undocumented  they're not sure if their information is getting released to ICE, if it's going to be used against them," he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "If they go to the hospital, they're going to be getting these hospital bills that they're not going to be able to pay for."

Lawyers representing the state said in their reply to the court that the plaintiffs have "not exhausted administrative remedies" and that the court does not have the power to "determine the substance" of new rules. They said "there is no actual and substantial injury" to the plaintiffs.

The labor groups responded Wednesday, arguing that the agencies must provide "enforceable, specific mandates."

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Jennie Zwagerman, director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, said in an email that the labor groups' arguments may overcome the conventional administrative rule-making hurdle.

"The big unknown here though is what a novel, national emergency situation does when it comes to setting enforceable rules versus guidance, suggested procedures," Zwagerman said. "What is our duty to protect essential workers when there is an executive order requiring these employers to operate?"
New Delhi, Apr 30 (UNI) India added 1,263 fresh cases and 67 more deaths to its Covid tally on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections to 33,050 and fatalities to 1,075.

Union Health Ministry said that a total 8,324 persons have been cured so far with a recovery rate of 25.19 per cent.

If we look at the doubling time of COVID-19 cases, we find that the national average is 11 days now, compared to 3.4 days before lockdown, says Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health.

He also said that the recovery rate has improved from 13.06 per cent 14 days back, to 25.19 per cent and added, this is a very positive sign.

If we look at the deaths so far, fatality rate is 3.2 per cent and 65 per cent of deaths are male while 35 per cent female,"

"As per age distribution, less than 45 years are 14 per cent, 45 - 60 year age group-34.8 per cent, more than 60 years-51.2 per cent, 60-75 years-42 per cent and above 75 years-9.2 per cent, he said.

On the issue of testing, the Health Ministry official said that the country has been scaling up the testing capacity and it is being ensured that all people who need to be tested as per testing protocol are getting tested.

RT-PCR testing facility has been progressively scaled up, now we have 292 government labs and 97 private laboratories across the country for COVID-19 testing. Yesterday, we did as many as 58,686 tests. On an average in last 5 days, 49,800 tests have been done per day, he added.

He further said that the Health Ministry is very clear that people have to make physical distancing a part of the life, as a behaviour change.

Along with that, it is equally important to focus on containment measures, in order to break the chain of transmission, he added.

On vaccine, Mr Agarwal said that multiple organisations in the government are engaged in multiple vaccine trials for COVID-19 and the country is also part of WHOs Solidarity Trial.

Some candidate vaccines have been identified. Nothing conclusive has come up. Multiple stages have to be passed, to conclude safe and efficacious use of a vaccine by human beings. As far as India is concerned, we have identified Hydroxychloroquine to begin with as a prophylaxis treatment, Mr Agarwal added.

Officials also said that a guidance note of Health Ministry has been issued on April 20, to enable the delivery of essential health services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

This includes providing essential services for Reproductive and Child Health (RCH), immunisation, communicable diseases such as TB, leprosy and vector-borne diseases, as well as non-communicable diseases such as cancer and dialysis, they added.

The officials also said that several states, whose doubling rate is better than the national average.

States, Union Territories having doubling rate between 11 days to 20 days include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, they said and added, those having doubling rate between 20 days to 40 days are Karnataka, Ladakh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Kerala.

Officials also said states like Assam, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have a doubling rate of more than 40 days.



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Bahrain has evacuated all its citizens from the US and Canada, who wished to return home but were stranded as countries closed borders and grounded flights to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The latest rescue mission also marks the completion of Bahrains North American evacuation efforts as it brought back all of the 301 citizens requested to return home.

Bahraini authorities repatriated 61 per cent of its citizens from the North American states, as the remaining 39pc expressed their intent to stay. Bahraini citizens signed up for the evacuation through various mediums including Wejhaty app, embassys emergency line, as well as emails from the follow-up office at the Ministry of Further, Bahrains embassy to the United States said it distributed personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves, disinfectants, and medicines to all registered citizens there. As a precautionary measure, the embassy also distributed packages of basic foodstuffs to all citizens to meet shortages in the local markets. The embassy urged all those who are yet to register their names to sign up on Wejhaty app or contact the embassy directly and follow the embassys accounts on social media, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The US has announced sweeping travel restrictions in a bid to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) for foreign nationals who have visited China, Iran, European Schengen area, United Kingdom and Ireland. It was earlier reported that Bahrain brought back 3,800 of its citizens from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Russia, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran following the coronavirus outbreak. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Taskforce to Combat COVID-19, organised the repatriation efforts as part of the International COVID-19 Repatriation Programme (ICRP). At that time, in a briefing, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Shaikha Rana bint Isa Al Khalifa said, The safe return of citizens will continue in line with the Kingdoms established timeline, which ends in mid-May. According to the report of a joint parliamentary-governmental meeting, there are currently 43,699 Bahraini citizens living abroad in various countries, of which more than 3,000 of them want to return home.

Besides, an evacuation plan submitted to rescue stranded Bahrainis in Iran had called for operating 18 flights until the 28th of May. During a meeting of the legislative and executive authorities, the government also agreed not to reject any requests from any of its citizens to return home. Bahraini authorities had also tasked a foundation under the Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry to cover the costs of nationals stranded abroad, Bahrain News Agency said.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has claimed success in his bid to achieve 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April, with official figures released at Downing Street showing 122,347 tests in the UK on Thursday.

But there were accusations that the government had moved the goalposts to achieve the ambitious deadline, by including more than 27,000 home-testing kits at the point they were sent out to members of the public rather than waiting until the test has been completed.

Thursdays figure - on the final day of the deadline - represented a leap of more than 18,000 from the previous days tally of 81,611.

It brought the total number of antigen tests - which show whether an individual currently has the illness - over the course of the outbreak to more than a million, though the UK's 1,023,824 remains well behind Germany, where 50,000 were being tested a day as early as the start of April.

Mr Hancock also announced that he aims to have an army of 18,000 contact tracers in place by mid-May to track down contacts of those shown by tests to be positive for Covid-19.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Mr Hancock revealed that the total UK death toll has risen to 27,510 over the course of the outbreak, with 739 fatalities in all settings on Thursday.

Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Show all 30 1 /30 Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Shoppers observe a minute's silence in Tescos in Shoreham Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Firefighters outside Godstone fire station PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Salford Royal Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute's silence at University College Hospital in London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A school children's poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A man holds a placard that reads "People's health before profit" outside St Thomas hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus University College Hospital, London Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute's silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London An NHS worker observes a minute's silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London AFP via Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Belfast, Northern Ireland NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Plymouth NHS workers hold a minute's silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute's silence Getty Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Mater Infirmorum Hospital People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Waterloo Station, London AP Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus London Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy's Hospital Reuters Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Royal Derby Hospital PA Silence for key workers who lost lives to coronavirus Leicester, NHS workers during a minute's silence outside Glenfield Hospital Getty

The testing total, which was at about 10,000 when Mr Hancock set his target at the start of April and was hovering around 20,000 little more than a week ago, was rapidly increased over the past few days with the expansion of eligibility to wider groups of people and the establishment of 49 drive-through centres and 96 mobile testing units.

More controversially, Thursday's figures were boosted by the 27,497 home testing kits sent to individuals through the online retailer Amazon as well as a further 12,872 sent to "satellite" sites within the health service, which were counted on dispatch rather than after they have been returned to labs and analysed.

Mr Hancock heralded the expansion in testing as an incredible achievement.

He said: I knew that it was an audacious goal, but we needed an audacious goal, because testing is so important for getting Britain back on her feet.

He praised his team for working tirelessly with grit and determination to reach the goal.

The health secretary said he did not recognise the claim that counting practices had been changed to include home-testing kits earlier.

And testing tsar John Newton insisted there had been no change to the way tests are counted, saying that official advice had always been to count kits when they were sent out.

But Liberal Democrat acting leader Ed Davey accused the Government of playing fast and loose with the truth.

The Health Secretarys arbitrary target of 100,000 tests by the end of April was always a hostage to fortune, and the truth is, he missed it, said Davey.

Its extremely disappointing the Government have decided to massage the metrics rather than admit they fell short, as this will only undermine public confidence.

(10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty (10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty)

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: Labour has repeatedly called for more testing, and increasing testing is an important milestone. But many would have expected the 100,000 promise to have been met by actually carrying out testing, not simply because 39,000 kits had been mailed out. Tonights headline figure shouldnt count tests that hadnt been used - or indeed, might never be used - as a completed test. Ministers promised transparency - the public and NHS staff deserve clarity.

In any event, this figure was never a strategy. We need a fully resourced testing, isolation and tracing programme and ministers should be using this lockdown time to put the fundamentals of infectious disease control in place.

Mr Hancock said that the testing capacity now available was crucial to suppress the virus and would help us to unlock the lockdown.

It would be backed up by an initial 18,000 contact-tracers to be in place by the middle of May, with more to be recruited if required.

The combination of contact tracers and new technology, through our new Covid-19 NHS app, will help tell us where the virus is spreading and help everyone to control new infections, he said.

Speaking a day after prime minister Boris Johnson promised a roadmap out of lockdown, Mr Hancock said: In recent weeks weve had to impinge on historic liberties to protect our NHS and our loved ones and yet our goal must be freedom.

Freedom from the virus, yes - and we will not lift measures until it is safe to do so - but also we care about the restoration of social freedom and economic freedom too  each citizens right to do as they please.

For now, were working together to stay home, were impinging on the freedom of all for the safety of all.

With this next mission of test, track and trace, Im seeking a solution that allows us, by each of us participating, to target the measures that are needed with much more precision and so to reassert, as much as is safely possible, the liberty of us all.

Prof Newton rejected suggestions that the UKs slow adoption of mass testing had kept us in lockdown a day longer.

Stay-at-home measures were introduced in March not because of a lack of tests but because of the wide circulation of the Covid-19 virus in the population, he said.

Cases were popping up with no obvious connection to other cases and the infection was entering the exponential growth phase and at that point access to limitless testing even if we had had it wouldve made no difference, he said.

The decision to enter into lockdown would have been the same and wouldve been taken at the same time.

In the same way the route out of lockdown has not been blocked by low levels of testing. We can relax social distancing only when the Governments five tests are met, and that means particularly getting the infection rate right down.

Testing will help to keep it out of control once were out of lockdown but our levels of testing have not kept us in lockdown a day longer.
Two brothers were shot by a family acquaintance after being mistaken for turkeys, authorities said.

The brothers, a 7-year-old and a 20-year-old, were hunting in Camp Creek State Park, in West Virginia on Tuesday, when the accident occurred.

The West Virginia Natural Resources Police said in a Facebook post that the victims were hunting in the same area as a family acquaintance.

The brothers were hunting a section of Camp Creek that borders some private property and encountered a family acquaintance hunting the same area, it read.

The authorities confirmed that in a moment of confusion, the acquaintance mistook the brothers for turkeys.

On a heavily-forested ridge mixed with White Oaks and Pines, the acquaintance mistook movement of the boys as a turkey and fired at the brothers, the authorities said.

Both the brothers suffered gunshot wounds, and the 7-year-old was airlifted to the Charleston Area Medical Centre, whilst the older brother was treated at the scene.

Both are in stable condition, and the authorities added that the shooter assisted in the first aid and rescue of the boys and has been cooperative during the investigation.

Recommended Trump ignores day of disaster in rambling speech featuring turkeys

In their post, they asked local residents to be more careful when hunting, especially when the conditions lead to poor vision.

The excitement of the hunt, poor visual conditions and the hunter not following proper shooting guidelines can turn an enjoyable day a field into a tragedy, the post read.

The WV DNR asks that you please make safety your first concern while outdoors, your wellbeing and the wellbeing of the ones you love depend on it.
(Newser)  North Korean state media say leader Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in 20 days, during which speculation about his health flourished. The Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that he attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertilizer factory in Suncheon, near the capital of Pyongyang, with senior officials who included his sister, Kim Yo Jong. Photos from the ceremony werent immediately released, the AP reports. Kim Jong Un had been last seen during a ruling party meeting on April 11 to discuss coronavirus prevention. Rumors about his health swirled after he missed the April 15 celebration of the birthday of his late grandfather and state founder, Kim Il Sung, the countrys most important holiday.

story continues below

South Korea's government had played down rumors and unconfirmed reports that Kim was in poor health following a medical procedure, saying it had detected no unusual activity in the North. The North Korean government reported Friday that Kim has been writing letters of praise to government departments and leaders, per Newsweek. One commented on the influence the propaganda department is having on the people of North Korea with its "powerful" work. It's not unusual for members of the ruling family to vanish for long periods, an opinion piece in the Washington Post noted. During one official disappearance in 1986, eulogies began and funeral dirges were playing in the demilitarized zone when Kim's grandfather resurfaced, putting a sudden stop to both.

(Read more Kim Jong Un stories.)
No job at all, or a job without enough virus protections millions of workers around the world are marking international labour day trapped between hunger and fear, as more countries and states reopen for business even though the pandemic is far from vanquished.

Beijing's Forbidden City cracked open its doors and shopping malls from Texas to Indiana are set to do the same Friday, as world leaders try to find a way to salvage virus-battered economies without unleashing new waves of infections.

With traditional May Day marches curtailed by confinement, Turkish protesters tried a wildcat protest, California activists plan strikes, Czechs will honk car horns and French workers are singing from balconies to plead their causes: workplace masks, health insurance or more government aid for the jobless.

It's a melancholy May Day for millions of garment industry workers across southeast Asia like Wiryono, a father of two in Indonesia's capital who was laid off last month as retailers slashed orders. His side gig delivering coffee dried up, too, amid the virus lockdown. So he set up a clothing repair business to make ends meet.

I don't earn as much as I got from the clothing factory. But I have to feed my wife and kids every day, said Wiryono, who goes by only one name.

In Bangladesh, production is starting back up even though the number of new confirmed cases of a virus that has infected more than 3.2 million and killed at least 230,000 is continuing to rise.

Either we want people dead, or we want something else. The first priority is to protect, French far-left union leader Philippe Martinez said Friday on France-Inter radio.

He praised France's temporary unemployment measures and state health care system but said that's not enough, warning that teachers could refuse to return to work when French schools start reopening May 11 if their safety isn't guaranteed.

Lockdowns couldn't extinguish the May Day protest spirit in Greece, where demonstrators lined up two meters apart in careful rows in Athens' Syntagma Square. Organizers, wearing masks and gloves, used tape measures to set out exact positions for the protesters to stand, marking the positions with large colored squares.

May Day labor protests started in the 19th century in the U.S., where the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surpassed a staggering 30 million this week. Economists say joblessness in April could hit numbers not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Essential workers will strike around the U.S. on Friday to demand safer conditions during the coronavirus outbreak, while other groups plan rallies against tight stay-at-home orders they say are crippling the U.S. economy.

Lacey Ward, an Omaha hairstylist, said she is worried that the Nebraska governor's decision to let salons reopen on May 4 could put her and her family at risk. She would prefer to collect unemployment until the danger subsides.

I feel like we are literally the guinea pigs in this situation, she said. May Day is a state holiday in many countries, and lockdowns mean this is the first time that Russia whose prime minister has the virus will not hold big demonstrations on Red Square.

In Turkey, police and demonstrators wearing masks and face guards faced off in Istanbul, and 15 people were detained for trying to march to a symbolic square in defiance of a lockdown.

A special noisy protest is planned in the Czech Republic, where people will honk horns, play drums or shout at midday to express anger at the government's handling of the crisis. And hundreds of Czechs who commute to work in Germany and Austria plan to block a border crossing to protest restrictions imposed on them amid the pandemic.

Bulgaria's opposition Socialist Party urged members to share online stories about wages and work conditions, and demand secure income, solidarity and social justice."



A holiday atmosphere enlivened South Africa's streets Friday, as the May Day holiday is also when the country has begun easing its strict lockdown. People were permitted to walk outside for exercise and some are returning to work in small batches.

China's ancient, majestic Forbidden City reopened on Friday with all tickets for the May 1-5 holiday sold out, and a limit of 5,000 visitors a day, down from the earlier maximum of 80,000.

The Chinese capital reopened its parks and museums, with controlled entries, about three months after hundreds of millions of people were ordered into a near lockdown as the coronavirus outbreak erupted in the central city of Wuhan.

Malaysia will allow most business activities to resume Monday but keep schools and houses of worship shut. Thailand was preparing to reopen parks and some retailers, hair salons and restaurants, while keeping a nighttime curfew and a ban on alcohol sales.

In the U.S., Louisiana restaurants will be allowed Friday to add outdoor tables, without wait staff, though hard-hit New Orleans will remain shut.

The biggest U.S. mall operator, Simon Property Group Inc., plans to open 49 shopping centers Friday across 10 states, with mask-wearing workers and a limited number of shoppers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) announced today that its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders has been changed to a virtual meeting in light of public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Stockholders will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person this year. As previously announced, the Annual Meeting will be held on May 12, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., CDT. The items of business are the same as previously announced.

Stockholders of record at the close of business on March 20, 2020, are entitled to participate in the Annual Meeting, as described in the proxy materials previously distributed. Stockholders may vote shares by visiting www.proxyvote.com.

On the day of the Annual Meeting, stockholders must visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AJG2020 to attend and participate in the virtual Annual Meeting, including to vote and submit questions during the meeting. Stockholders will need the 16-digit control number found on their proxy card, voting instruction form or Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials they previously received to submit questions, vote or examine the stockholder list at the virtual Annual Meeting. Stockholders are encouraged to log in to the Annual Meeting website before the Annual Meeting begins. Online check-in will be available approximately 10 minutes before the meeting starts.

Stockholders are encouraged to vote and submit their proxies in advance using one of the methods described in the proxy materials for the Annual Meeting. Stockholders who have sent proxies or voted do not need to take further action. The proxy card or voting instruction form included with the proxy materials previously distributed will not be updated to reflect the change in location and may continue to be used to vote shares in connection with the Annual Meeting.

An electronic list of the stockholders of record as of the record date will be available for examination by stockholders at the Annual Meeting website during the meeting. For information on how to access the stockholder list from May 2, 2020 until the meeting, please contact our VP  Investor Relations (see contact information below).

Additional information regarding the rules and procedures for participating in the virtual Annual Meeting will be set forth in our meeting rules of conduct, which stockholders can view during the meeting at the Annual Meeting website. The proxy statement and Annual Report are available on our Investor Relations website at www.ajg.com/ir.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company has operations in 49 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Contact:

Ray Iardella

VP  Investor Relations

630-285-3661/[email protected]

SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Related Links

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"Today, the International Workers' Day, we pay tribute to men and women on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19," PCM posted on Twitter.

This Workers' Day, the country is facing a fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

???????????????????????????? Gracias al esfuerzo de miles de peruanos nuestro pais afronta con fortaleza esta pandemia.

En el Dia Internacional del Trabajo, rendimos homenaje a los hombres y mujeres que lideran la batalla contra el #COVID?19.#DiaDelTrabajo #1deMayo#PeruEstaEnNuestrasManos pic.twitter.com/qPdKAcGTva
Mumbai, May 1 : Asian Paints has joined growing number of companies looking to manufacture sanitisers to support the government in its various measures towards COVID-19 relief.

The paint company on Friday announced its foray into the hand sanitiser category with the launch of the Viroprotek range of hand and surface sanitisers.

The product is being manufactured at the company's existing plant at Ankleshwar, Gujarat, after obtaining all the necessary statutory approvals and permissions.

Viroprotek range of sanitisers will be available in various pack sizes, addressing the growing concerns surrounding health and hygiene. The products will be available in the market starting next week.

"Asian Paints being a Responsible and Caring Brand has always been proactive in supporting various government initiatives and helping communities around us. We have been working in the health and hygiene space for some time and had introduced earlier Royale Health Shield, a revolutionary product which helps customers in maintaining good standards of hygiene and bacterial protection for their homes. We felt it apt to consolidate our portfolio in the hygiene space and address the growing requirement of hand and surface sanitizers for increased protection and assist the government in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic," said Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints Limited.

In March 2020, Asian Paints had committed Rs 35 crore towards the Central as well as other Emergency Relief State to combat Covid-19 pandemic. It is also working with several NGOs for providing food, masks and sanitizers. It is also providing the necessary support to the painter/contractor communities.

Additionally, the company is also providing free sanitisation of the dealer outlets and free insurance for people at the outlets including shop boys.

With a consolidated turnover of Rs 19,248.45 crore, Asian Paints is the country's leading paint company. Asian Paints along with its subsidiaries have operations in 15 countries across the world with 26 paint manufacturing facilities, servicing consumers in over 60 countries,
President Donald Trump tweeted last week, In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!

Trumps executive order banned all immigration from abroad with few limited exceptions, potentially representing the greatest restrictions on legal immigration since the United States in the Immigration Act of 1924 imposed the first permanent annual quotas, which were heavily weighted in favor of Northern Europeans and banned all immigration from Asia.

The new executive order is more of a political statement than a health or economic policy one. If short term, it may not have any major effect with American consular posts abroad temporarily closed for immigrant interviews due to the coronavirus pandemic. The statement that the executive order is effective only for 60 days provides one with little confidence given the fact Trump said that his original so called Muslim Ban  later re-characterized as a travel ban  would be effective for 90 days and now its been in effect for over three years. Furthermore, the president in his press conference indicated that he couldnt tell when the executive order would be lifted. Stephen Miller, his White House adviser and long-term immigration restrictionist, reportedly said on a phone call that they had achieved their goal of significantly restricting legal immigration on a long-term basis..

The rationale that would-be immigrants are a source of the coronavirus makes little sense. Prior to the issuance of any immigrant visa abroad, the applicant is required to be tested for any contagious disease by a doctor selected by the appropriate American consulate abroad. Furthermore immigrants far from being a burden on the economy have consistently led with the creation of small businesses and technological innovation, being a net plus for the economy.

While the executive order will likely be challenged in one or more U.S. district courts, which may find that the president exceeded his executive authority, the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Trump v. Hawaii upholding the validity of the travel ban gives one little comfort that such litigation will be successful. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for his 5-4 majority, held that the president had the authority to suspend the entry of all aliens into the United States whenever he finds that their entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

The executive order denies entry of most applicants who have qualified for immigrant visas to obtain Lawful Permanent Residency  so-called green card status. The order does not apply so far to non-immigrant visitors, students and temporary workers  but the executive order refers to additional measures being taken within 30 days to restrict the entry of non-immigrant workers. This likely will restrict the very limited H-1B worker program, the primary way that graduates of U.S. universities are able to remain and work in the country after graduation, with over 40 percent having advanced degrees.

The executive order only exempts health care professionals from the ban on employment-based immigration. Furthermore, it also exempts spouses and children of U.S. citizens from the family-based immigration ban, but applies to parents, adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens and spouses and children of lawful permanent residents. Of great concern, the executive order language tracks legislation supported by the president and originally proposed by Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue in their RAISE Act, which would have significantly cut legal family-based immigration, thus achieving through executive action what the Trump administration failed to achieve legislatively.

Since he will not be able to run for reelection on a great economy and stock market, the presidents go-to card has been to blame problems on immigrants and immigration as he did in the 2016 campaign. Better to shift the conversation and debate to immigration rather than the economy or the handling of the coronavirus. However, whatever you think about the president, his political instincts at this time may not be wrong with recent polling showing support for a pause on immigration.

But it will be a true tragedy if immigration retrictionists are able to achieve their long-stated goal of an unprecedented shutdown of our legal immigration system while America is distracted by the coronavirus crisis. If there is anything that will save us, it will be that most Americans still recognize that we are  to quote the title of President John F. Kennedys seminal work  A Nation of Immigrants. About a quarter of all Houstonians are foreign born. Millions of immigrants are already in the United States working day-in and day-out to defeat the coronavirus, mitigating the economic effects by cleaning away germs, delivering needed medical and other supplies and developing cures. Even conservative Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said on C-Span that he doesnt know if Trumps legal immigration ban makes any sense because weve been a welcoming nation and we need people.

Lets hope common sense will prevail.

Foster is the chairman of Foster LLP, past national President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and immigration policy advisor to Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
The Egyptian armed forces said on Friday that their units in North Sinai had killed two dangerous takfiri elements during a raid.

According to the short statement, the raid took place after the military received intelligence about a terrorist cell located on a farm.

The statement added that an automatic rifle, a wireless device and ammunition were found with the terrorists.

On Thursday, ten Egyptian military personnel were killed or wounded when an improvised explosive device was detonated in North Sinais Beir Al-Abd, according to an official statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Marian Gomoh revealed her anguish over the double tragedy of losing her son days after the death of her husband from COVID-19

The heartbroken mother of an NHS worker stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack has revealed her anguish over the double tragedy of losing her son just days after the death of her husband from COVID-19.

Hospital worker David Gomoh, 24, was fatally wounded in a knife attack by masked thugs on Sunday, seconds after leaving his home in Canning Town, east London.

Three days later on Wednesday, the funeral of his father Ken Gomoh took place after he lost a two-week battle against the deadly virus.

Marian Gomoh, 53, who is pictured for the first time, works as a labour ward matron at Newham University Hospital, east London.

She told MailOnline: 'My son was not able to bury his father and we lost them both so close to each other. You cannot imagine how devastated the whole family is.

'For any family one death is bad enough but to suffer two in short a short space of time is so painful that I cannot put it into words. I am devastated, we all are and it's difficult to be strong at this time, but we are trying.'

Only ten mourners were present at Ken's funeral, as per current coronavirus guidelines.

Ken Gomoh, right, passed away from COVID-19 just days before his son David Gomoh, left, 24, was fatally wounded in an unprovoked attack in Canning Town, east London

Ms Gomoh sobbed: 'We were crying for Ken and David, who were the two most important men in my life. Not having all our friends and family there made things much worse.

'David was a good son, he had a lot to look forward to but now we are preparing for his funeral. His life was cruelly taken away from him and we still don't know who did it. All we want is justice.'

David had just left home on Sunday evening and was attacked by a masked gang barely 100 metres away at 10.25pm.

He worked as a supply chain worker for the NHS at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, helping to keep frontline workers treating coronavirus patients supplied with essential equipment.

After being viciously stabbed, he managed to return to his family's terrace home shouting for help and neighbours, hearing the commotion, ran out and administered first aid.

Marian, 53, (above) says that her whole family is devastated by the deaths of the 'two most important men in her life'

Medics arrived a short time later and took over trying to save his life.

Dozens of bouquets of flowers have been placed at the spot right outside the family home where David died.

Ms Gomoh sobbed: 'It was right here, in front of our house. We open the curtains, and this is the first thing that we see. We have a big loving family and a lot of friends who have been very supportive. Without them, we would not be able to get through this.'

She revealed that she will be writing to local council officials at the London Borough of Newham and London Mayor Sadiq Khan to raise concerns about the lack of CCTV and police patrols in the area.

Ms Gomoh said: 'A lot of us feel unsafe in this part of east London. There is a lot of crime and gangs here and the police don't seem to do anything about it. We have been calling for security to be increased for quite a long time.

'If there had been CCTV perhaps the police would have been able to identify David's killers by now. We've had other murders and stabbings in this area too. People were already afraid to go out of their homes before my son's death and now this has made things even worse.'

Police probing David's stabbing have released this picture of a stolen car used by his killers

Police say David, a marketing graduate at London Southbank University, was not doing anything which gives any reason for why he was singled out.

They believe he was 'murdered in a totally unprovoked attack'.

Police have released an image of a stolen car they believe was used by David's killers.

The silver Dodge Caliber was found abandoned minutes after the stabbing, half a mile away in Lincoln Road, Plaistow.

It had fake number plates and have previously been driven through a no entry sign from Cumberland Road.

The car, which was stolen in Dagenham on April 16, was distinctive because it had a temporary wheel on the front passenger side.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw the car or may have dashcam footage of it, before or after the attack, to come forward.

Detective Inspector Tony Kirk of the Met Police Specialist Crime Command said: 'David's family are going through unimaginable torment.

A police car at the scene following the stabbing in Newham, London, on Sunday

Bouquets of flowers have been placed at the spot right outside the family home where David died on Freemasons Road in Newham, East London

'Within days his mother has seen the death of her husband and son; his sister has lost her brother and father, both are now heartbroken.

'David was a young man who had worked hard to put himself through university and, like his mother, worked hard for the community in the NHS.'

DI Kirk added: 'At this time we believe the only thing David did to be murdered was walk down a street.

'He was apparently approached by a group of men wearing masks and stabbed multiple times in a ferocious assault.'

A GoFundMe Page to financially support his mother and help with the cost of David's funeral has been set up and has so far raised more than 17,000.

A spokesman for London South Bank University, where Mr Gomoh graduated in July 2017, said: 'A tragic incident, in which London South Bank University graduate, David Gomoh, was fatally injured, took place in Newham on Sunday 26 April.

'The University would like to extend its sincere and heartfelt condolences, sympathy and support to David's family and friends at this very sad time.'

Police have asked that anyone with information call detectives at the Met Police incident room on 0208 345 3985 or contact via 101 quoting CAD 8371/26APR.
Medical professionals including Dr. Daniel Kombert track data in March at the Hartford HealthCare COVID-19 Command Center in Connecticut. (Kassi Jackson / Hartford Courant )

A middle-aged woman arrived at a tent set up by St. John's Well Child and Family Center for coronavirus testing on April 13, her mother in tow. When both tested positive, clinic staff began to ask more questions.

Can you give us the names of people you have been in close contact with? We need to make sure your family and friends and co-workers are safe, staffers explained. It turned out the women shared their two-bedroom apartment near Figueroa and 50th Street in South Los Angeles with two other families 14 household members total.

Within the next two days, clinic staff were able to contact and persuade other household members to come in for testing, said Jim Mangia, chief executive of the nonprofit, which operates 18 health centers and school-based clinics in Los Angeles and Compton. One other housemate tested positive.

With California and neighboring regions working to relax social distancing restrictions and allowing parts of life to return to normal, health authorities are racing to stop the next wave of infections before it starts. To avoid an explosion of new cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom has stressed the state's ability to trace the trail of people exposed to the novel coronavirus in order to isolate and treat them.

Many have pinned their hopes for a return to normal on a regime of digital contact tracing powered by Google and Apple smartphones. The two rival companies are working with public health authorities and university researchers to build groundwork into mobile devices for apps that would notify people if they were recently in proximity to someone who was infected. They plan to release the system in mid-May. Newsom has praised the rare joint effort, and President Trump has called the technology "an amazing thing" and "very accurate."

But all the attention on the Google-Apple platform has some public health professionals nervous. The job of contact tracing, they say, defies the notion of a sleek tech fix, requiring labor-intensive work by trained individuals. Those who've used it successfully to keep other diseases in check worry that an untested constellation of apps is already being treated as a panacea despite the United States broadly facing an absence of other necessary elements in any successful response: widespread, freely available testing and the hiring and training of tens of thousands of human contact tracers who can explain, cajole and make nuanced judgments.

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The story of the 14 housemates helps illustrate why. The mother who accompanied her daughter to the clinic that day was an undocumented immigrant, putting her in a category of patients who are often wary of having their personal information entered into databases. But as a longtime patient of St. John's, she was comfortable with staff interviewing her, Mangia said. Relationships are key, he said, especially in low-income black and Latino communities that are most vulnerable to the coronavirus, such as those in South L.A.

Ive been doing this for 25 years. I find it hard to believe an undocumented patient would be comfortable with an app that alerts you to someone next to you that has been exposed to COVID, Mangia said. Thats a pretty big stretch.

With many patients who don't speak English or have phones with fast internet connections, St. John's has had limited success in its ability to get them to use new apps for telehealth visits or appointment scheduling, he said.

"Were finding if we use WhatsApp or FaceTime or just a plain old telephone call, it's much, much more effective," he said.

But interviews take time and can tell you only as much as the interviewee knows. The speed of the virus' exponential spread has kindled a demand for new methods to automate and scale contact tracing. With a near-total duopoly in smartphone operating systems, Google and Apple, in theory, have the power to create a vastly comprehensive technology  one that could tell you whether you need to worry about that stranger who stood too close to you at the bus stop. Relying on the short-area Bluetooth radios inside every smartphone, it would be immune to the whims of patients, able to capture interactions they forgot about and encounters with strangers.

"You're never going to remember the people on Subway car 5 on the 5 p.m. train," said Ranu Dhillon, an epidemic-response specialist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. For every person that discovers they have been exposed through the app and reports that to a public health department, thats one more transmission chain that might not have otherwise been discovered, Dhillon said.

But relying on an app is technocratic folly, said Allyson Pollock, a professor and director at the Newcastle University Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science. "It's very superficial. It appeals to the middle classes  to the prosperous  but it's actually no good if you think you can control an epidemic with it," she said.

The bedrock of infectious disease containment, interview-based contact tracing is the tried-and-true strategy health departments must invest in and the public should put its faith in, experts said. Scores of health investigators trained to interview patients, call people they interacted with, knock on doors and flag down strangers in search of those who might have been exposed have been crucial in containing sexually transmitted diseases, measles and tuberculosis, as well as the outbreaks of SARS in 2003 and swine flu in 2009.

Massachusetts was the first state to invest in an ambitious coronavirus contact tracing program, budgeting $44 million to hire an army of 1,000 contact tracers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said April 22 that New York would partner with New Jersey and Connecticut to launch a similar program. On the same day, Gov. Newsom said California was revving up to train as many as 10,000 people.

However, the country overall is woefully unprepared to deploy the estimated 100,000 to 300,000 contact tracers needed to tackle the coronavirus. An NPR survey of all 50 states found that the United States has just 7,602 workers doing contact tracing, with plans to bolster that number to 36,587.

Overconfidence in tech solutions could detract from these needed efforts and provide a false sense of security to justify reopening local and national economies well before it is safe to do so, three experts in technology, law and policy, and epidemiology wrote in a paper for the Brookings Institution. The authors also warned that the apps could be exploited to sow chaos and disinformation and identify infected individuals without their consent.

Apple and Google say the architecture they adopted puts privacy first. To keep users anonymous from each other, and anyone else attempting to keep tabs on them, the data broadcast and collected via Bluetooth will be encrypted, and the phones' identifiers will change every 15 minutes or so.

Explicit user consent will be required before the tool starts collecting data on one's operating system. An individual diagnosed with COVID-19 would enter that information into a health agency app and consent to submitting a record of other phones it has been close to, which would be stored on a remote server for 14 days. Any user whose phone appears on that list will receive a notification with information from health agencies about how to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms.

With these safeguards, the plan has mostly won cautious approval from privacy advocates, including experts at the American Civil Liberties Union, despite widespread concerns about tech giants' hold over people's personal data.

Still, the looming specter of privacy concerns could keep enough people from opting into the system to prevent it from reaching the critical mass required to generate meaningful results. Nearly 60% of respondents to a recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll said they would not participate in digital contact tracing, because of either privacy concerns or technological hurdles.

With such low participation, the likelihood of an infectious contact being flagged by any app would be extremely low, said Farzad Mostashari, a former national coordinator for health information technology at the Health and Human Services Department during the Obama administration.

When two people come into proximity, the chance that both have the app would be like rolling a double six, he said.

The companies have not said how many users would need to opt in for the contact tracing technology to work effectively. But an Oxford University study found that governments need 60% of the population to use a Bluetooth-based app to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

In countries that have successfully used high-tech tools to suppress coronavirus outbreaks, they've generally been paired with widespread, old-school contact tracing methods, and sometimes with notable curtailment of personal privacy and punishments for defying public health edicts.

In South Korea, for instance, cellphones ping with alerts whenever new cases are discovered nearby. Health authorities regularly publish the exact times and routes of infected persons' movements. People ordered into self-quarantine must download an app that alerts officials if they leave isolation; fines for violations could reach $2,500.

There are signs of more countries taking this route. France has urged Apple and Google to weaken privacy restrictions, to no avail, and the United Kingdom's National Health Service has said it will create its own centralized system.

Meanwhile, the limited nature of the data the apps generate will make it impossible for public health departments to centralize information and understand transmission chains and where exactly outbreaks are occurring, or to create a list of a patient's contacts for follow-up.

Users who receive notifications may find it difficult to understand their real level of risk. The result could be a blizzard of false positives  reports of exposure even when the possibility of transmission was very low, said Carl Bergstrom, a professor of biology at the University of Washington who coauthored the Brookings article.

It's the context that lets trained contact tracers zero in on the meaningful interactions, Bergstrom said. "Humans talk you through your day," he said. "Who did you have conversations with? Did you say hi to your neighbor? Where was she standing? You work through that stuff. It allows humans to make nuanced judgments about what is considered an exposure."

An Apple spokesperson said in an email that exposure notification technology is only one element of response to COVID-19, though Apple and Google have heard from public health authorities that it can be a useful instrument. The spokesperson said the companies acknowledged that learning the most effective methods of managing the virus is a constantly evolving process. The companies originally called the system a "contact tracing" tool, but have since rebranded it as "exposure notification."

It's not that technology can't be helpful here, Mostashari said. Tools that directly assist with manual contact tracing efforts, such as training contact tracers, streamlining questions they should be asking and improving public health departments' ability to follow up with patients daily, might be helpful, he said.

San Francisco, which is training librarians, city workers and medical students to do contact tracing, has partnered with Dimagi, a company developing open-source software for underserved communities, to digitize the workflow supporting contact tracing and monitoring those with COVID-19.

But until the technology has proved its merit, Bergstrom said, there is every reason to be skeptical.

"Maybe some tech solution will pass epidemiological muster, but right now, I don't see what that is," he said. "What we're cautioning is, let's not put all our hopes on this. Let's be transparent about what it can do."
Missouri County officials have announced a new testing site for the novel coronavirus available in Fort Bend County.

Free testing for COVID-19 will take place at Thurgood Marshall High School (1220 Buffalo Run) in Missouri City starting May 1.

The site is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. It can process up to 200 tests per day. However, appointments are required.

COVID-19 IN THE SUBURBS: Missouri City emerging as COVID-19 hot spot

To get an appointment, Fort Bend County residents can sign up online at this link or call (281) 238-2363 on weekdays 8 a.m to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. A representative will then contact the resident with a location, date and time for testing, as well as a unique identification code. Residents will not need to leave their cars to get tested.

Anyone in Fort Bend County looking to get tested is not require to show any symptoms and will not be charged. Access Health will perform the tests and results will be given through LabCorp, county officials said in a news release.

Missouri City has emerged as a hot spot for COVID-19. As of April 30, Fort Bend County reported 1,052 active cases in the county.

TRACKING CORONAVIRUS: Interactive maps, charts show spread of COVID-19 across Houston

The county's other two testing sites are in Rosenberg and Sugar Land.
President Trump's bizarre COVID-19 daily briefings, in which he touted quack cures for the virus and ridiculed science, damaged his approval ratings.

The president though does have a core of rock solid supporters, a segment that apparently is the target audience of the White House Gift Shop.

Established by president Truman in 1946 and the uniformed division of the US Secret Service to support law enforcement, the WHGS is memorializing Trump and the White House COVID-19 Task Force for the fight against the "unseen enemy" with a commemorative coin.

One side of the coin features the flag flanked empty White House presidential podium with the names of Trump, VP Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Drs. Jerome Adams, Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx. The reverse side praises the every day heroes and citizens who did their part fighting coronavirus.

The coins, which will begin shipping June 15, can be pre-ordered for the discounted price of $100, compared to the $125 ticket price.

The WHGS does have a following. It boasts 96K "likes" on Facebook.

Let's hope some of the money raised by the Trump COVID-19 coins go to the families of the 66K American victims of the virus.

Trump's scapegoating of China to cover up his failure to take swift action against COVID-19 appears to be paying dividends.

A plurality of Americans (42 percent) blame China's government for the more than 65K US coronavirus deaths, according to an APCO Worldwide survey.

Only about a third (32 percent) blame Trump for his two-month delay in moving against COVID-19, while 20 percent of respondents say nobody is to blame.

Nearly half of Americans (48 percent) view China as "an enemy of the US," while 46 percent are not confident in manufacturers that produce essential goods in China.

Trump's "America First" policy also is taking root, thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, as two-thirds of respondents say the disease will torpedo US relations with China and Russia over the next three years. More than four-in-ten Americans expect the pandemic will trigger mistrust of key American allies in Europe and Asia.

Trump's dream has come true. He is succeeding in walling America off from the rest of the world.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday denied an allegation of sexual assault from Tara Reade, a former staffer who served in Bidens Washington Senate office for a brief period in 1993.

I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They arent true. This never happened. Biden said in a statement Friday morning.

The accusations first surfaced publicly in late March, raised by Reade, 56, a California woman who once served as an entry-level Senate staff assistant. Reade alleged that Biden aides asked her to hand-deliver a gym bag to him in a Senate office building. And when she did, she alleges Biden moved in close, pinned her against a wall, slipped his hand under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers.

Biden campaign officials have vehemently denied the allegations, but this is the first time Biden has directly addressed the claims.

In his statement, Biden also referenced the calls for him to release records that span his 36 year career in the Senate and are currently housed at the University of Delaware, which some believe could potentially contain materials relevant to Reades accusation -- in particular, a written complaint Reade said she filed on the incident.

MORE: At womens event, Biden navigates around lingering sexual assault allegation

In interviews with ABC News, Reade said that the complaint she filed against Biden only contained allegations of sexual harassment, and did not include the allegation of sexual assault she has since leveled against Biden.

Biden said Friday that the only place Reades alleged complaint would be is the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and called on the Secretary of the Senate to make available any record of the complaint she may have filed.

There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be  the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there, Biden said Friday morning.

Story continues

In an interview Friday morning on MSNBC minutes after his statement denying the assault was released, Biden was similarly adamant that there is no merit to Reades claim.

No, it is not true. I'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened. It didn't, it never happened, Biden said.

The former vice president, at times appearing frustrated by the consistent line of questioning, pushed back when pressed for the release of certain records from the collection he donated to the University of Delaware.

First of all, let's get this straight. There are no personnel documents -- you can't do that, Biden said, again pointing to the National Archives as the location where any records about the complaint would be, if they existed.

MORE: Sex assault allegation raises questions for Biden, Democrats

Later on in the interview Biden also said one of the reasons he did not want to release all of his records housed at the University of Delaware is that they contain certain position papers and records of conversations with world leaders that should not be made public, adding that those should not be fodder in his ongoing campaign against President Trump.

The fact is that, there's a lot of things -- speeches I've made, positions I've taken, interviews that I did overseas with people, all of those things relating to my job. And the idea that they would all be made public in the fact, while I was running for public office, they can be really taken out of context, Biden said.

And all of that to be fodder in a campaign, at this time, I don't know of anybody who's done anything like that, he added.

Biden said he was not sure why Reade was coming forward with the allegations after 27 years, but stated he would not speculate about her motive, focusing instead on making sure the allegations were thoroughly vetted.

I don't understand it, but I'm not going to go in and question her motive. I'm not going to attack her. She has a right to say whatever she wants to say, but I have a right to say, Look at the facts, check it out, find out whether any of what she says is asserted is true, Biden said.

This was not the atmosphere in my office at all. No one has ever said anything like this, the former vice president added.

ABC News spoke with several people Reade said she shared her story with, including Reades brother, a friend, and former neighbor of hers who recounted Reade telling them of an incident involving Biden.

Reades brother, Collin Moulton, initially told ABC News he only heard her account of the assault this spring. But after the initial interview in late March, Moulton texted ABC News later that day to clarify his account, saying he remembered his sister telling him in 1993 that Biden had more or less cornered her against the wall and put his hands up her clothes.

While Reade said she spoke with several people in the office about the incident, multiple former staffers to Bide say that they do not remember Reade ever bringing her complaint to them.

"She did not come to me, I would have remembered if she had, and I do not remember her," Ted Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff at the time told ABC News. "I would have well remembered her if she had come to me with this."

MORE: 'Personification of hope and courage': Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Biden for president

Both in his interview and his statement, Biden pointed to his work on the Violence Against Women Act that he spearheaded, saying he was most proud of that accomplishment, and pledging he will continue advocating for women going forward.

I know how critical womens health issues and basic womens rights are. That has been a constant through my career, and as President, that work will continue. And I will continue to learn from women, to listen to women, to support women, and yes, to make sure womens voices are heard, Biden wrote in the statement released Friday.

President Trump responded to Bidens defense against Reades allegations, saying in an interview with the The Dan Bongino Show that aired on Friday that he thought Reade seems very credible but that he could understand Bidens denial.

I guess in a way you could say I'm sticking up for him, Trump said. "I would just say to Joe Biden, just go out and fight it, he added.

Trump has been accused more than a dozen times of sexual assault, allegations he has vehemently denied.

Several prominent Democratic lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have come out in support of Biden in recent days, saying that they are satisfied with the denials from him and his campaign.

I have complete respect for the #MeToo movement. I have four daughters and one son. And there's a lot of excitement around the idea that women will be heard, and will be listened to. There is also due process. And the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden. There's been statements from this campaign, not his campaign, but his former employees who ran his offices and the rest, that there was never any record of this, Pelosi said at a news conference on Capitol Hill Thursday.

ABC News' Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.

Biden denies sexual assault allegation from former Senate staffer originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
AKRON, Ohio  Allegations of racism, sexism and bullying by managers have surfaced at the Akron Art Museum while the institution is closed and under heavy financial strain due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an anonymous 2019 letter addressed to the Board of Directors of the museum, 27 employees detailed what they called unethical actions and decisions made by both the CEO and John S. Knight Director Mark Masuoka and Chief of Staff and Director of Special Projects Jennifer Shipman.

The letter, a copy of which has been obtained by The Plain Dealer, states that Mark and Jennifer have both created and promoted a pervasive culture of race and gender discrimination and bullying which have resulted in a dysfunctional work environment and severely unhealthy turnover rate.

Masuoka, the museums director since 2013, did not immediately return two calls made to his personal cellphone.

In an email late Thursday, Shipman said: "I never served in an HR role at the museum. Institutional decisions such as museum-wide staff trainings were not under my purview. Furthermore, I have never seen the letter that is now in your possession.

"The allegations concerning my name are simply not true and do not accurately represent my professionalism and character.

I wish nothing but a healthy recovery for the museum, post pandemic, as all cultural institutions will need support now more than ever.

Shipman now works at the Los Angeles studio of Akron native Mark Mothersbaugh, a co-founder of the New Wave band, Devo, and a visual artist whose work was the subject of a major 2016 exhibition at the Akron Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

In an email, Malissa Vernon, the museums marketing and communications manager, said that: "In June 2019, an anonymous memorandum of concerned employees workplace issues, some of which were not current even at the time, was directed to the Akron Art Museums Board of Directors.

"The Board took the concerns raised in the memo seriously and retained a third-party employment law firm to conduct a prompt and comprehensive investigation. That investigation was completed shortly thereafter and, where appropriate, actions were taken to address any substantiated concerns. Akron Art Museum does not publicly comment on personnel matters and we will have no further comment on the investigation, its findings or actions taken.''

The email added that, "due to support from the CARES Act that was just obtained this week, the Museum will now be able to reinstate all 25 full-time employees who were deemed essential and who are currently employed by the Museum. Several positions were deemed non-essential due to all public programming being cancelled and the Museum being closed to the public on March 13.''

Vernon also said that, as always, our long-term mission and top priority is to maintain the integrity of one of Akrons most important cultural assets.

The 2019 letter and associated complaints by former Akron museum employees were first reported Thursday by ARTnews.

The magazine reported on its website that of the 27 employees who wrote the letter, only one remains employed  on a part time basis  at the museum.

The others, the magazine said, have either resigned, been fired, or were laid off by the museum during the COVID-19 shutdown.

The museum announced March 30 that it was shutting down at least through June 30 and that it was imposing pay cuts and furloughs on portions of its 35-member staff to make up for a projected $933,000 deficit caused by losses in earned income, memberships and donations related to the pandemic.

Masuoka said at the time that a dozen employees would be reclassified from full-time to part-time, and that several would be furloughed.

ARTnews reported that the museum laid off several employees, rather than putting them on furlough.

The magazine said that decisions about who stays and who goes at American art museums during the economic shutdown have caused many employees to revisit past controversies as examples of what they view as poor leadership that may have exacerbated the stress of coronavirus on the museum world.

The email from Vernon at the museum said that, the actions being taken by Akron Art Museum in response to the pandemic and its economic impact on operations remain consistent with those outlined in our March 30, 2020 Press Release.

"In no way are the actions taken in response to COVID-19 related to last years investigation and to assert a connection is flatly inaccurate. The Board and management of the Museum took these unfortunate and necessary steps to preserve the future viability of the institution and for no other reason.

The 2019 letter details instances in which Masuoka allegedly made derogatory comments about the physical appearance of an employee in a department meeting.

Among several instances of alleged racial discrimination, the letter states that in a 2019 meeting, when staff members suggested using a digital program encouraging visitors to use smartphones to interact with reproductions of artworks put in public spaces, Masuoka said: "I mean, really, how many people in Akron actually have access to a cellphone? And if they do it's probably a gangster throwaway phone."

The letter states that Shipman dismissed requests by staff for implicit bias training, encouraging a racist staff environment to continue.

The letter also states that Shipman dismissed complaints about a male staff member who made associates uncomfortable through unwanted staring and by taking photos of them or loitering and wanting to chat while the employees were trying to work.

The letter alleges that a female exhibition technician had fewer hours of employment, less training and faced an attempted wrongful termination after filing a grievance about sexual discrimination in her department.

Founded in 1922, the Akron Art Museum is one of Northeast Ohios leading visual art institutions, with a permanent collection of roughly 5,000 objects focusing on American 19th-century, modern and contemporary art.

Under Mitchell Kahan, who directed the museum from 1986 to 2012, the museum enjoyed prosperity and growth of its collection and an architecturally dramatic expansion designed by the Viennese firm of Coop Himmelb(l)au.

Its recent exhibitions have included the dance costumes of Chicago artist Nick Cave, contemporary art inspired by video games, and illustrations published by the magazine Hi-Fructose.

Note: This story was updated after initial publication to include responses from the Akron Art Museum and from Jennifer Shipman.
For the first time in the more



than 100-year history of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, its foundation day programme could not take place on Friday due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The foundation day programme is held on May 1 every year at the Belur Math, global headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, in Howrah district and the Balaram Mandir, the house of a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, at Baghbazar in North Kolkata.

"In the wake of the emergent situation due to coronavirus outbreak, there will be no 124th foundation day programme on May 1 either at Belur Math or Balaram Mandir," General Secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Swami Suvirananda, said.

In the past years, devotees attended a special puja held on this day and several other events organised for seven days on the occasion of the foundation day.

Only the usual daily puja has taken place this year, conducted by a handful of monks, a spokesman of the RK Mission said.

The Belur Math authorities had restricted entry of visitors since March 16 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. After the lockdown was announced, the entry of common visitors had altogether been stopped.

Swamy Vivekananda formed the Mission on May 1, 1897 at the house of Balaram Bose, a devotee of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. The house later became Balaram Mandir and the foundation day programme was held there and simultaneously at the Belur Math.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hiking price of biomass power to nearly VND2,000 per kWh proved Vietnamese governments determination in attracting investment in renewable energy including wind power and solar power to solve power problem in the context that fossil fuels are running out and more dependence on energy supplied by foreign countries.



The overreliance on fossil fuel in the energy mix is threatening the energy security of the nation. In addition, Vietnam has been experiencing severe environmental issues related to climate change and local air pollution. All of those issues require the gradual replacement of fossil fuels with green and environmentally friendly energy sources.

Biomass power is carbon neutral electricity generated from renewable organic waste that would otherwise be dumped in landfills, such as scrap lumber, forest debris, and crop residues.

Different from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas, biomass power with large reserve can be recyclable; therefore, it is considered as one of energy sources in the future. In the world, right now biomass power is the fourth source of power behind coal, natural gas, oil accounting for approximately 14-15 percent of the global energy supply while it takes up 35-45 percent of total energy in developed countries.

Being an agricultural country, Vietnam has very good biomass energy potential from forest wood, rubber wood, logging residues, saw mill residues, sugar cane residues, bagasse, coffee husk and coconut residues, and animal excrements with the average amount of waste produced per year around 150 million tons per annum.

Accordingly, if the country doesnt handle the large quantity of forest wood, rubber wood, logging residues, saw mill residues, sugar cane residues, bagasse, coffee husk and coconut residues, and animal excrements, it will pollute ecosystem including soil, atmosphere, heat and light from the sun, water and living organisms.

To a large measure , sugarcane is one of the most promising agricultural sources of biomass energy and only sugarcane biomass can sustainably be produced to meet electrical energy demands. For years, several sugar manufacturers have invested in equipment to make power from sugarcane residues.

According to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), just 175 MW biomass power of three biomass power plants connected to the national grid last year. However, as per the national renewable energy development strategy approved by the Prime Minister, the country targeted biomass power must be 660MW; 1,200MW and 3,000MW in 2020, 2025 and 2030 respectively.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry said that investors showed their indifference in investment in biomass power from forest wood, rubber wood, logging residues, saw mill residues, sugar cane residues, bagasse, coffee husk and coconut residues, and animal excrements because price of power is low.

It is a positive sign when the PM decided to raise in feed-in tariffs (FIT), fixed electricity prices that are paid to renewable energy (RE) producers, from US$5.8 cent per kWh to US$ 8.47 cent per kWh.

It is hoped that biomass power projects will be accelerated more after the decision. Yet, biomass power investors said that the government should have supporting policies for development of the new energy.

By Dung Le - Translated by Anh Quan
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing will lay off about 230 workers from its Melbourne manufacturing plant as part of a worldwide redundancy round in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has wiped out global demand for new aircraft.

The Chicago-headquartered aerospace giant on Friday confirmed the redundancies at its Port Melbourne facility that employs around 1100 people making wing parts and other components for Boeing 787, 777 and 737 aircraft.

Boeing employees working on a wing component at its Port Melbourne factory in 2014. About 230 of the facility's 1100 staff will be made redundant. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

This is clearly a very difficult time for our industry, our customers, and our employees, said Brendan Nelson, president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and former federal Liberal opposition leader.

I deeply regret the impact that this will have on our teammates and their families during an already stressful time."
No tuition. No lab fees. No parking permits. There will be no inconvenience to students whatsoever who want to take classes this summer at Lee College at all campus locations after the Board of Regents on April 23 approved a plan to utilize more than $2 million in funding from the federal stimulus to pay for students tuition.

The money came from the $2 trillion CARES Act approved by Congress and will allow the college to waive tuition, e-books, and fees for the Summer 2020 semester for all students who attended Lee College in Spring 2020, any person in the Lee College service area who has been displaced or suffered a loss of income due to COVID-19 and students who graduated from their service area high schools in the 2019-2020 academic year.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas A&M, UH plan to open colleges this fall

With the fallout of the virus, administrators scrambled to move approximately 5,000 spring semester students to online learning and about another 1,000 have paused their education, the college president reported at the meeting on April 23.

You may not be able to go off to a university and live in a dormitory, and you may not have as much income as you did before the pandemic, but you can afford to go to Lee College, and you cant afford to postpone your college dreams, said President Lynda Villanueva.

The free tuition proposal is part of a comprehensive plan, Lee Cares, designed to meet the needs of Lee College students who have suffered financial hardship due to the impacts of COVID-19.

MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox

Amanda Smoke, a spokesperson for the college, said there are no strings attachedit is free.

No hidden fees and since the classes are online, theres no parking concerns, she said.

She briefly outlined the steps to get started and the first was the completion of a FAFSA form, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The form gives prospective students and colleges their eligibility for student financial aid.

It also allows the college to stretch that $2 million if some of the students already qualify for federal aid.

In addition to the FAFSA form, students qualify if they are in-district, out-of-district residents who attended Lee in Spring 2020, a recent graduate of their service area high schools which include Liberty and Dayton, or have been displaced or suffered a loss of income due to COVID-19. To verify eligibility, contact Financial Aid Director Felipe Leal at fleal@lee.edu for additional options or call

The next step is registration.

Go online to ApplyTexas.org to begin the Lee College application. Current students will not need to complete a new application, she said.

Once the application has been filled out, she points them to an advisor.

MORE FROM DAVID TAYLOR: Beloved Liberty coach Jesse Woods remembered for life of giving

They can discuss your course options and what will transfer to another college, she said.

For advising questions, students can call the Advising office at 281-425-6384.

Once the decision is made, register for classes.

Smoke said that Lee College is not limiting the number of courses waived per student. However, they do have a maximum number of hours allowed to a student to enroll for a given term. Students are limited to 14 semester credit hours for summer. This is a pre-existing policy for all summer sessions at Lee College, not specific to summer 2020.

The savings are real for students who are stretched financially during an insecure economy.

The cost for six credits in-district is $600 and for the same amount of hours out-of-district is $1029.

The first summer class begins May 11.

Another $2 million in CARES Act funds was designated strictly for assisting Lee College students with immediate and urgent needs like childcare, food, and any other essential expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The awards from the Lee Cares Emergency Fund varies and are made on a case-by-case basis. The awards are not considered loans and do not require repayment.

Villanueva, at the April 23 meeting, said students can share their needs by going to our website.

We have provided over 200 Chromebooks, fed more than 100 families, and provided emergency help for food, utilities and other basic needs to our students, she said.

Other than the purchase of the Chromebooks, and emergency financial assistance, the college has also allowed students from the Spring semester the option to convert any or all of the letter grades they earn in their Spring 2020 classes to credit or no credit grading.

BACK TO BUSINESS: Abbott announces which Texas businesses can and can't open May 1

The Lee College Nursing Department donated several medical supplies to the Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital to help with the nationwide shortage of medical supplies.

The Small Business Development Association is assisting with virtual SBA loan application consultations for local businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smoke said the college has hired additional faculty for the summer sessions but encouraged prospective students to enroll quickly before they filled up.

Lee College believes education is the foundation of success in the community, and we want to help people improve the quality of their lives by removing financial and technological barriers for students, Villanueva said.

See more info at www.lee.edu/free

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
The next meteor shower to light up the sky will be the Eta Aquariids and it will see dozens of shooting stars per hour this weekend - ending at the peak on Tuesday.

Eta Aquariids are created from the debris left behind by Halley's Comet and happen every year from the middle of April until the end of May.

They will be visible over the weekend where a dozen meteorites will be visible per hour but on Tuesday night this will go up to 40 or more per hour during the peak.

Astronomers say to watch the shower you should 'get a comfy chair' and be prepared to sit outside for hours - but you won't need binoculars or a telescope.

The next meteor shower to light up the sky will be the Eta Aquariids and it will see dozens of shooting stars per hour this weekend - ending at the peak on Tuesday

The meteors originate from Eta Aquarii  one of the brightest stars in the Aquarius constellation. For people in mid to northern latitudes, the radiant won't be very high in the sky, so you should be able to spot the meteors on the southern horizon

The Eta Aquariids are named after the constellation Aquarius as they fall from that point in the sky and specifically the star Eta Aquarii.

'For the best conditions, you want to find a safe location away from street lights and other sources of light pollution,' according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.

The meteor shower will be best viewed in the southern hemisphere but will be visible in the northern hemisphere - just not as clearly.

The Moon will be in its waxing gibbous phase during the peak of the shower but it will be below the horizon before dawn and shouldn't damper the viewing.

When out watching them don't just stare in on direction as you might miss the brightest and most impressive shooting stars off to the side.

The best way to watch for them, according to NASA, is to lie on your back and look straight up as it gives you the widest view of the sky without getting neck strain.

Meteors are pieces of debris that enter the atmosphere at speeds of up to 148,000 miles per hour - as they do so they vaporise and cause streaks of light.

They are the flashes of dust grains burning in the atmosphere left behind as the Earth passes the path of a comet.

That's the reason they appear on certain dates and return annually - as these comets are on an orbit and leave debris in certain parts of space.

Renowned for their speed the meteors will be entering the earth's atmosphere and will leave a trail of glowing debris following them.

They're best viewed in Australia because they rise to about 50 degrees in the sky, which is the best angle to view them from.

Physicist Clare Kenyon from the University of Melbourne told the ABC the angle is perfect because it's above the horizon and has less of a chance hiding behind trees.

'You're actually best to not have equipment,' Ms Kenyon said.

The Earth experiences a meteor shower when the Earth's orbit coincides with the comet's. Pictured is the Eta Aquarids Meteor shower taken over three nights over Devils Tower in Wyoming

'You don't want a telescope, you don't want binoculars, you don't want to be zooming in on any part of the sky. It's the ideal stargazing activity to begin with because you don't need equipment, except maybe a blanket and a thermos.'

The next major meteor shower will be the Perseids in August with over 100 shooting stars per hour at their peak and showing as bright, fast meteors.

Eta Aqauriids don't produce as many stars per hour as the Perseids but astronomers say they'll be just as bright if not brighter.

According to Royal Museums Greenwich there is no specific peak for the Eta Aquariids, they tend to just plateau at a good rate over a week up to May 7.

It is one of two showers created by the debris from Halley's Comet - the other is the Orionid meteor shower in October with 25 shooting stars per hour.
While Congress haggles over another round of relief to small businesses shuttered at government order to stem the spread of COVID-19, many of those businesses are already doomed. Among the many things we will, or should, learn from the pandemic of 2020 is that most people in government dont have a clue about the realities of the small businesses that employ half of Americas work force.

First, governors of most states, each seemingly following the lead of another, ordered most businesses to close. Maybe that was the right thing to do  we will never know for sure. But what we can know for sure is that no governor issued a closure order accompanied with a plan on how to sustain those businesses until the closure order is lifted.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the economics of most small business would have understood that surviving weeks, not to mention months, without revenue is not possible for most. With that understanding they would have ordered businesses to close and at the same time provided a plan for meeting their payroll and other expenses.

Perhaps the governors did understand the devastating effect of mandated closure and assumed the federal government would deal with the survival problem. If so, that was a big mistake. After considerable political haggling while the weeks passed and the prospects for some small businesses dimmed, Congress enacted a coronavirus relief bill with $350 billion for small business.

Several European governments did the obvious thing  they provided money directly to businesses so they could continue to pay their employees. But not in the United States, where Congress allowed that banks would process the loan requests. No doubt the banks thought this a good idea and, not surprisingly, they made most of their loans to their most valuable clients. Many of those approved for funding are not at risk of financial failure, but they would be fools to forgo low-interest and likely forgivable loans. Now the funds have dried up and most small businesses are at risk of failure if they have not already closed for good.

Illustrative is the hospitality and restaurant business. Corporate chains like Ruths Chris Steak House, Potbelly and Shake Shack received loans totaling $40 million. Even Provenance Hotels, owned by Gordon Sondland who somehow came up with a million dollars to become U.S. ambassador to the European Union, got a loan approved. Meanwhile most local restaurants  the places we all cherish as core members of our communities  have not received even an acknowledgement of their applications.

Now, six or more weeks later, Congress is haggling over more funding for small business. Presumably the banks will again be the intermediary and even if they get around to looking at the needs of small business it will be too late for many.

But its not just an inept delivery of assistance that demonstrates why most of our representatives are in Congress and not in business. Congress has provided for $600 weekly payments on top of unemployment compensation to furloughed workers. As a handful of individuals in Congress warned, the result is that businesses in a position to rehire workers cannot afford to compete with what the now unemployed are receiving for not working.

Entrepreneurs know that there are no guarantees in business. They are people with a vision and a high tolerance for risk. They are at the mercy of the market and natural disasters can put them out of business overnight. But they reasonably assume that if they play by the rules, government will not close them down.

The reason for mandated closures is a pandemic. But the immediate cause of the closures is government. If government takes your property for a public purpose it must pay for it. If government takes your business, even temporarily and for a good reason, it should pay for it. From what we have witnessed thus far, you would think its rocket science to get that done.

Its not. It only requires a little common sense. Sadly that is lacking in much of what our governments have done in their ham-handed closures of the small businesses that employee a majority of Americans.

James Huffman is dean emeritus at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 22:24:26|Editor: huaxia

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A face mask is seen on the ground near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on March 17, 2020. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)

-- "In general terms, this is an almost lost year."

-- Tourism sector will face a gradual return as a "new normal" emerges before a vaccine becomes available on a mass scale.

VIENNA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- From Vienna to Venice, with flights grounded, events canceled, and bars and hotels closed, European tourist hotspots once swamped by global visitors have been quiet and desolate amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism industry, which represents 10 percent of the European Union's (EU) gross domestic product (GDP) and provides jobs for almost 12 percent of all employees in the bloc, is seeing staggering figures of decline, said Croatia's tourism minister Gari Cappelli while chairing a video conference of EU tourism ministers earlier this week.

Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, has also made a gloomy assessment, telling a European Parliament committee that tourism economy, which was the first sector hit by the pandemic, could slump by up to 70 percent and will be among the last to recover.

A seagull stands in front of the Colosseo in Rome, Italy, on April 21, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

"A LOST YEAR"

"In general terms, this is an almost lost year," Yiannis Retsos, the head of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), recently told the local Skai radio. He predicted that Greece might have the ability to recover most of the losses in 2021 and return to the record levels of 2018-2019 in 2022.

A survey by Greece's Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) published in mid-April showed that 65 percent of hoteliers say they are likely or very likely to see their hotels go bankrupt, while 95 percent of respondents estimate revenues to drop by at least 56 percent this year.

In Italy, the country's tourism association Federturismo Confindustria said in a statement published on March 30 that the recovery of the market will not take place before the beginning of 2021, and that the pandemic has ruined "some 60 years of tourism."

A pigeon rests in front of the Notre-Dame Cathedral under restoration in Paris, capital of France, April 27, 2020. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)

In Spain, where data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) showed that tourism in 2018 contributed 12.3 percent to the country's GDP and accounted for 15 percent of the total labor force, all hotels have been ordered to close no later than March 26.

Exceltur, the organization which represents the interest of Spanish hoteliers, predicted that under the worst scenario where lockdown measures cannot be totally lifted before year's end, tourism sector could lose 124.2 billion euros (136 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020.

In France, a general drop in demand, linked to traffic and and event cancellations, forced into standstill the hotel and catering sector (minus 90 percent of activity) and tour operators (minus 97 percent of reservations), according to a trend note published in April by France's national statistic office INSEE.

Beyond the general business support plan, the French government has launched specific measures to help the tourism sector. Still, most professionals see a darkening business climate: 85 precent of them believe that the crisis will last at least six months, while 80 percent do not expect a return to their activity level within eight to 12 months, or even beyond, said the INSEE trend note.

Casa Batllo, a renowned building designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, is closed in Barcelona, Spain, March 14, 2020. (Photo by Zhou Zhe/Xinhua)

PUSH FOR DOMESTIC TOURISM

As the possibility of free travel across Europe at an early stage is remote, tourism in most countries would be dominated by domestic travelers once the lockdowns are loosened, according to experts.

In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro, Didier Arino, director of the tourism consultancy Protourism, predicted that with cross-nation travels not to resume in short term, tourism in this summer will be "Franco-French."

In Austria, there has already been a concrete discussion about when and where to go on a summer vacation. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced at a press conference in Vienna: "For my part, I have already made my decision. I will spend my vacation in Austria if a vacation is possible and I can only recommend that Austrians do the same."

A woman wearing a face mask walks past Fontana di Trevi in Rome, Italy, April 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

Italian Minister of Tourism Dario Franceschini said this week that it was unlikely foreign visitors will return to Italy in large numbers until next year, and that it could be 2023 before the sector recovers completely. The first wave of tourists, Franceschini said, will be Italians staying close to home.

The minister has unveiled several initiatives to help that along, including a holiday bonus of 500 euros per family earmarked for domestic travel and tax credits for vacation-related expenses. Multiple initiatives are in the works to help soften the economic blow to owners of hotels and restaurants.

"We are making a strong investment in domestic tourism," Franceschini said in a statement. "This will be a summer of holidays in Italy."

In Switzerland, the government has so far granted the tourism sector loans and short-time work/unemployment benefits. It is also considering regional promotion programs, which would focus on domestic customers before trying to attract tourists from abroad, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

To promote domestic tourism, Hungary's Tourism Agency (MTU) has produced a short tourism promotional film targeting local public. Greece has also launched a similar promotional campaign titled "Greece From Home."

The empty Grand Place is seen in Brussels, Belgium, April 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

UNCERTAIN "NEW NORMAL"

Tourism sector will face a gradual return as a "new normal" emerges before a vaccine becomes available on a mass scale, according to a statement published by the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) on Thursday.

The new normal would include standards and protocols such as social distancing at airports, masks on board, digital check-in, contactless payment, and rigorous hygiene, among other things.

The WTTC said that it will announce in the next two weeks and share with global governments a set of these new protocols based on "experience from China's initial recovery and new successful standards used by retailers," offering "a safe and responsible road to recovery."

The Manneken Pis (Little Pissing Man) wearing a mask is seen in Brussels, Belgium, April 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

In Austria, where lockdown restrictions have began easing gradually, how the public would adapt to the new normal still remains to be seen. From mid-May, restaurants in the Alpine country can open again with mandatory requirements: a maximum of four adults and their children sit at one table, and face mask-wearing for service personnel.

Protocols such as social distancing or wearing a mask can be hard to follow for some people, on some occasions. In public transport for example, the distance can be less than one meter, according to the Austrian government.

Besides the question of how, there is also the question of when. The pandemic is evolving at a different pace around the world, and "did not affect all countries at the same time," said French president Emmanuel Macron during a videoconference on April 10 with trade unions, suggesting that the external borders remain closed until September.

His remarks came on the heels of a call by EU officials for member states to extend the border closure until mid-May. 
Vietnamese Americans collaborate in Orange County, Calif., on April 30, 2020, as part of the effort to prepare 1,975 meals for frontline workers fighting COVID-19 and commemorate the 45th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. (Courtesy of Nailing It For America)

Businesses Pledge 1,975 Meals to Mark Anniversary of First Vietnamese Refugees in US

SANTA CLARA, Calif.A group of Vietnamese Americans in Southern California are giving back to the community that welcomed them home 45 years ago.

Restaurants, businesses, and organizations collaborated to donate meals and equipment to frontline workers fighting the CCP virus (Chinese Communist Party virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus).

They chose April 30 for the event because this year marks the 45th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Vietnamese refugees fled from the communist country to the United States and created new homes, and the first ones arrived on April 30, 1975.

The collaborative, called Nailing It For America, started with five volunteers who had full-time jobs. It grew to be a loosely organized volunteer group. It has no funding, but it has partnered with Orange County United Way to help with managing donations.

Besides food, they are also donating personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, hand sanitizer, and face shields to healthcare workers.

Vietnamese Americans collaborate in Orange County, Calif., on April 30, 2020, as part of the effort to prepare 1,975 meals for frontline workers fighting COVID-19 and commemorate the 45th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. (Courtesy of Nailing It For America)

Returning a Favor

Ted Nguyen left Vietnam with his family when he was young, and America welcomed him, he said. Now he is in Orange County volunteering with fellow Vietnamese Americans to return the favor.

For me, its personal in that the country embraced us when we had nowhere to turn and provided us with shelter, food, and comfort; and more than anything, provided us an opportunity to succeed, he said.

He said they united with 20 different restaurants in Orange County on April 23 with a goal to prepare, package, and serve 10,000 food items and drinks. They ended up doubling that.

Healthcare workers receive donated meals from Nailing It For America. (Courtesy of Nailing It For America)

Grocery workers and other essential workers have put themselves on the front lines of COVID-19, and they are protecting us by working and providing us the things that we need so that we are able to stay at home safely, he said. It would be our way to thank them for their courage and for their actions during these troubling times, as Vietnamese refugees who came to the U.S. 45 years ago.

Restaurants in Orange County and Los Angeles wanted to do more, so they committed to providing 1,975 meals to signify the year the Vietnamese first arrived in the United States.

Ted Nguyen said they are proud to be Americans serving the frontline workers.

Its giving back to our parents who sacrificed everything for us to be here, he said. Its acknowledging and recognizing, and showing our appreciation for, the ultimate sacrifice that U.S. service men and women gave during the Vietnam War.

Vietnamese Americans show their gratitude to frontline workers with 1,975 meals and PPEs to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Vietnam War in Orange County, California on April 30, 2020. (Courtesy of Nailing It For America)

A National Day of Giving

Tam Nguyen, President of Advance Beauty College, took the initiative and motivated the nail industry across the nation to donate 1.2 million medical-grade masks, gloves, and other PPE to healthcare workers. The total estimated cost of supplies was about $30 million.

A month ago when we gave these all up  we know that theres someone who needs it more than our companies. Peoples lives are more important than profits in our own companies at this time, he said.

His motivation comes from personal contacts who work on the frontlines.

His sister-in-law is a nurse who had to move out to keep her family members safe. His best friend is an ER nurse who has been texting him about COVID-19 situations he encounters on a daily basis and how they lack PPE. His brother-in-law is an ER physician who also expressed the dire need for supplies.

Healthcare workers receive donated meals from Nailing It For America. (Courtesy of Nailing It For America)

In Orange County alone, Nailing It For America has donated over 120,000 medical-grade masks and more than 300,000 gloves over the span of 10 days.

People in New York City, Boston, Dallas, San Jose, and Salt Lake City have followed suit.

Each city has its own setup, said Tam Nguyen. Each volunteer organizer is taking on a lead where they fundraise on their own behalf to support their own local community. So every dollar raised in that city actually stays in that community to serve the people.

He would like his three children to remember April 30 not only as a solemn day, but also a day to show gratitude.

Not only do we honor our parents and grandparents  we also get to rewrite this April 30 and have dual meaning to create a national day of giving, he said.
Its still not clear whether Gov. Kate Brown will allow some beauty treatments to resume as part of her decision to allow medical offices to restart elective procedures as early as Friday after more than a monthlong shutdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

After several days of questioning from The Oregonian/OregonLive, the governors office said Brown didnt intend to allow aesthetician services, medical spas, facial spas, and non-medical massage services to reopen.

But how about doctors or nurse practitioners who provide medical beauty services such as wrinkle reduction?

Spokeswoman Liz Merah said to stay tuned. The state might have additional guidance on opening day, she said.

In a sampling by The Oregonian/OregonLive, some owners believed they werent allowed to reopen, while others were adamant that the governor had given their industry permission to restart anti-aging or aesthetic procedures meant to improve the appearance of the skin or body.

Neighboring governors also have announced the loosening of some restrictions on the medical industry, albeit on a more limited basis than in Oregon.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that some elective or delayed surgeries -- such as those for cancer or heart problems -- can resume. But Newsom specified cosmetic surgeries are still barred for the time being.

Washingtons Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday clarified a previous order restricting nonurgent procedures. He gave health care providers more leeway to resume some of the procedures if delaying them would significantly harm the patient. Inslees direction appears to offer no wiggle room for Botox businesses or other medical spas to reopen.

The confusion in Oregon arose when Brown announced last week that elective, non-urgent medical and dental procedures could restart but didnt offer a specific list of businesses.

She and Dr. Dana Hargunani, the Oregon Health Authoritys chief medical officer, cited examples instead -- including knee surgeries, fertility treatments, dental cleanings, cancer biopsies and hip replacements.

When a reporter asked Hargunani whether cosmetic procedures would be allowed, Hargunani didnt answer directly yes or no. Instead, she left the door open, saying: We are not telling providers exactly what they can or cannot do. But we know that those that are most urgent and necessary are going to be the first on the list.

That might have looked like a green light to many.

Aesthetic Medicine run by Dr. Jerry Darm -- one of the most recognizable faces in Oregons medical beauty industry -- announced his Lake Oswego office will start seeing customers again Monday.

We are reopening May 4th!!!!! Darms Facebook page reads. We are so excited to see our patients and have our staff back. There will be new guidelines for scheduling an appointment but we are feeling very blessed.

The post was met with a flurry of likes and comments such as Awesome!!!! I can wait to see you again and Thats so good to hear the good news.

Darm and the operators of several other medical beauty businesses contacted by the newsroom didnt return messages asking for details about safety protocols and the reason for their decisions to reopen. That includes Key Laser Institute for Cosmetic Regenerative Medicine in outer Southwest Portland, which posted on its Facebook page that its gearing up to see patients again.

Key Laser Institute for Cosmetic Regenerative Medicine's Facebook Post April 27, 2020. (Facebook screenshot)

Some others said its far too soon. Theyre concerned that meager testing means the state doesnt have a handle on the true scope of the problem or the knowledge needed to contain the virus spread through contact tracing.

While Oregon has by far a lower number of known cases and deaths than some other states -- 2,510 positive tests and 103 deaths  it also has tested only about one in every 100 residents.

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Debora Masten, a certified advanced esthetician in Salem, said she wont start offering customers chemical peels, laser hair removals and other treatments Friday because she doesnt think her services are necessary at this stage in the pandemic.

Its supposed to be stuff you cant put off, Masten said. Im anxious to get open again, too, but I think we have to try as best we can to protect the public.

Masten also noted that like many others who perform a range of treatments, shes not a doctor or nurse practitioner and the governor hasnt given her the OK. Thats even though she sees others who also arent medical professionals gearing up to reopen.

Sharon Griffin, a naturopathic doctor who operates Plush Botox Bar in Northeast Portland, wrote the governor this week urging her to end the confusion.

She asked Brown to specifically require the medical beauty industry to remain shuttered, like so many other businesses ranging from clothing stores to hair salons to dine-in restaurants.

No one really needs Botox in May, but as things stand, theyre gonna get it and possibly a whole lot more in the bargain, Griffin wrote.

She said in an interview that she supports restarting necessary procedures, like her husbands CT scan scheduled next week to diagnose a medical problem.

But she has decided to hold off reopening her own business until at least June 1 to see how the spread of the disease continues to play out, even as she sees competitors around her planning to reopen.

Griffin said shes passionate about what she does -- injectables such as Botox and lip fillers -- but doesnt want to risk the health of customers for procedures that arent life or death matters.

Nobody will die from a wrinkle, Griffin said.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Shades are down at Dennys in Eltingville. According to Google as of mid-April, Americas Diner is closed permanently on Staten Island.

A spokesman from Dennys Inc. told the Advance, The unit was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An opening date is unknown at this time.

The Staten Island restaurant has been scrubbed from the company website making the nearest locations to the borough those in Avenel, N.J. and East Brunswick, N.J.

As far as Dennys gift cards are concerned, they are redeemable at any Dennys location, said the corporate spokesperson.

Denny's in Eltingville in the pandemic, April 30, 2020.

Dennys at 4370 Amboy Road opened in early May, 2017. It was the first Dennys franchise in the borough but the fifth to open in New York City at the time.

The 24-hour diner took the place of a long-running Perkins location which, served its final meals on January 29, 2017. Dennys kept the floor plan from its days as Perkins with a side room and larger, main dining room with booth seating and a partially open kitchen.

In July, the restaurant served up comedy with its Grand Slam breakfasts as with comic and actor Kevin McCaffrey. He performed his schtick to random customers as they dined in the Eltingville restaurant, footage that was slated for broadcast on IFC Channel.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
A coronavirus-fueled Rural vs. Urban conflict is raging, and the death toll already surpasses five of the country's most recent armed conflicts.

The body count in what might be called the Second Civil War is now above 62,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Unless world-renowned medical experts like Anthony Fauci  the darling of the mainstream media and American political left, who too often is drawn into and diminished by Donald Trump's outrageous reality show presidency  this increasingly un-civil conflict won't come close to the circa 600,000 American soldiers who died in the first one.

But the Covid-19 pandemic that is fueling America's Rural-Urban war already has felled more Americans than the Vietnam War (58,200), the First World War (53,402), the Korean War (36,574), the 2003 Iraq conflict (4,431) and the Afghanistan misadventure, the longest armed conflict in American history (2,445).

And the body count, the dangerous and misleading metric too many US commanders-in-chief have used to make wartime decisions, is rising on this Rural-Urban battlefield one should probably begin calling the "United" States of America.

The death toll of the first US Civil War is astonishing considering soldiers had rather crude weapons like muskets, which had to be refilled frequently, and bayonets. The Second Civil War is being waged with weapons that are anything but crude: indifference, bitterness, grievance and old-fashioned hate.

Rural America is ready to lock and load. Urban America is cowering in a lockdown.

A heavily armed group of Rural citizens stormed Michigan's State Capitol on Thursday, powerful assault rifles at the ready. But this Second Civil War won't be a shooting war, likely to the chagrin of some on the far right  and, let's be honest, the not-so-far right.

Rather, this war will be  no, already is being  waged with microscopic Covid-19 cells as Republican-leaning Rural America throws open its businesses, schools and sporting venues, ensuring they keep the deadly virus in circulation  at the expense of more densely populated Democratic-leaning Urban areas.

Red vs. Blue.

Rural vs. Urban.

Us vs. Them.

Enter Donald Trump, the Manhattanite who, still almost unbelievably, has become an almost Christ-like figure in three areas of the "United" States: the Sun Belt (South and Southwest), the Midwest and the Mountain West. All are predominantly rural. If one compares a map of the final 2016 presidential election results to one showing which states are reopening amid the still-spreading coronavirus, they'll see an almost mirror image.

The penthouse-dwelling, luxury resort-owning president has the legal authority to run the entire federal government and conduct US foreign policy on behalf of all 50 states. But, let's be clear, he is the true leader of roughly half.

"The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal," Trump tweeted Friday morning.

Liberals have mused for five years that Trump wants to trigger an second armed conflict with Americans shooting at their countrymen. This correspondent has never bought in to such fears, but the president clearly is willing  eager, even as he seems ready to do anything to stay in power  to fan the flames of the growing Rural-Urban divide.

The "very good people" tweet is eerily reminiscent of his August 2017 remark that there was "hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides" of the Charlottesville, Virginia violence spawned by white supremacist protests there that summer that killed one counter-protester.

But, in the president's mind, keeping his mostly Rural base energized heading into November's (scheduled) election is paramount, as this correspondent writes daily. One way, amid stay-at-home orders and a shuttered economy, is by siding with them on what seems their core argument: Government-ordered boredom and a temporary economic downturn is unconstitutional; but citizens have a constitutional right to the option to undertake activities  including commerce  to contract the coronavirus or any other transmittable disease.

To be sure, some Washington conservatives are rightly worried about the economic hit the country is taking over all this. But more often, their argument for this Covid Civil War is that, in the "United" States, no government  local, state or federal  possesses the legal authority to create mass boredom by fiat. Not even during a public health emergency.

Trump, the populist hero of Rural America, doesn't have to make this argument each day. All he has to do is allude to it in his unique style a few days per week and his allies, fearful of his tight grip on conservative and even "establishment" Republican voters, will beat that drum like a Confederate drum major.

"Boy, I'll tell you, people want to get back and they want to get out of their houses, they want to get back to their jobs, they want to open up their businesses," Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott, a former Sunshine State governor, told Fox News. Two Fox & Friends co-anchors quickly said "yes" in unison, reflecting that network's willingness to also fan the Rural-Urban divide. (In some ways, the network is its epicenter.)

"I mean it's, you could, you could see the pent-up interest in, I mean people are tired of being home," the senator added.

One of those Fox personalities, Brian Kilmeade, even used the w-word during the same interview, saying to Scott: "Let's talk about the war you're having now with New York, which really represents the high tax states against the minimal tax states, maybe red and blue."

Like Trump, folks in red (Rural) states feel the victim of larger (Urban) ones. It's been that way since the States became "United." But now, this Second Civil War is creating regional alliances among states, as Playboy magazine White House correspondent Brian Karem has noted, highlighting regional pacts among states to purchase medical equipment Trump initially refused to help them obtain and coordinate economic plans about which the president basically shrugged when asked if he would craft.

"Years from now, if the republic dissolves into many countries where there once was one, historians will take a long look at the regional state pacts created to deal with the coronavirus as the seeds for that outcome," Karem wrote last month.

The Covid Civil War also is, once again, highlighting America's so-far unresolved tensions among white people and people of color.

Senator Kamala Harris, an African-American California Democrat, and other Democrats have introduced legislation intended to address the coronavirus's higher death toll among minorities in the "United" States.

Among other things, it would "require federal agencies to make, again, targeted data-driven investments in these communities to ensure that the allocation of resources such as masks and gowns and test kits, that they are proportionate to the need of those various communities," Harris told reporters this week on a conference call. "Also, again, based on the data, the task force [the bill would create] will make recommendations about how released funds should be distributed."

But Trump's top officers in this Second Civil War appear in no mood to help African-American communities, many of which are in Urban (read: blue) states.

When asked during his own Fox interview about Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's demand for $1 trillion more in federal aid to help cash-strapped states, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, of hard-hit Louisiana, made clear the Covid Civil War will include many a battle over taxpayer funds,.

"Well, did she forget that Congress literally just sent out $150 billion to states just last week? Most of these states just got the money, haven't even started spending it yet and she's talking about giving them more money? For goodness sake, I mean, there are trillions of dollars out the door," an exasperated Mr Scalise said. "We're trying to help families and small businesses hang on right now. And it seems like the only state she's interested in helping are those states that had multi-billion-dollar deficits before Covid-19.

Again, that's code for Urban states like California, Illinois and others with pricey state pension programs.

The battlelines have been drawn. Rural America  always aggrieved  is armed and ready to end its perpetual boredom, AR-15s around their shoulders and "Make America Great Again" t-shirts on their backs. Urban America  always smug  has designer masks to create Instagram selfies and meaty scientific studies to keep it occupied.

Can non-woven fabric defeat the steel core of a .223 Remington rifle bullet? Neither can kill the coronavirus. But with Rural America hellbent on ending its boredom, the now-plateaued number of US coronavirus cases could remain flat  yet high  for some time, as noted by Jeremy Konyndyk, a former director of the US Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

That means the Urban side of the war will continue to see higher death tolls. Trump let us know early on he viewed this as a "war" and was focused on the body count. This Second Civil War is in its early battles. Advantage: Rural America.
E3 agrees with Iran: US is out of JCPOA, cannot push for arms embargo renewal: Reports

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 10:18 AM

Reports say the three European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the E3, appear to be in agreement with Iran's argument that the US is no longer a party to the accord and thus not entitled to push for the extension of a UN arms embargo on Tehran.

European officials told CNN on Wednesday that Britain, France and Germany would not back the US call for renewing the embargo  which is to be lifted later this year under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 2231 that enshrined the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

A European source stressed that the countries still in the agreement cannot support the US proposal because the arms embargo's expiration is a formal and legal part of the treaty.

"You won't see the E3 signing up for that because the arms embargo end is a legitimate part of the JCPOA," he said.

Peter Stano, the European Commission spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement that the "US has not participated in any meetings or activities within the framework of the JCPOA" since unilaterally withdrawing from the agreement in May 2018.

The Europeans, he added, "do not comment on reports of possible positions the US, or other UN members might take, regarding the JCPOA."

The UN arms embargo on Iran  in place since 2006/2007- will be lifted in October 2020  five years after the JCPOA took effect.

With the date looming, the US has shared with some members of the Security Council a draft resolution to prolong the arms embargo indefinitely.

To circumvent China and Russia's veto of the resolution, which are both parties to the JCPOA, the US will argue that it legally remains a "participant state" in the deal only to invoke a "snapback" that would restore the UN sanctions, which had been in place against Iran prior to the JCPOA's inking.

Speaking at the State Department Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was considering "every possibility" to renew the ban on selling conventional arms to Iran.

"We're not going to let that happen," he said, adding that the US administration is urging the E3 "to take action which is within their capacity today."

"We'll work with the UN Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales," he continued.

An Iranian official, whose name was not mentioned, told CNN that "any US claim of being a participant in the JCPOA is basically rejected by the international community. Even every freshman student of international law or relations do not subscribe to the alleged US position."

'No legal argument can justify US role in JCPOA'

Additionally, Iran's UN Ambassador Majid Takht-Ravanchi took to Twitter to respond to Pompeo's claims, saying the US "has NO legal argument" to be a JCPOA participant as President Donald Trump ceased Washington's participation in the deal two years ago.

"@SecPompeo claims that based on UNSCR 2231, the US is a "participant," whereas 2231 refers to "JCPOA Participants." He omits "JCPOA" ref, since on May 8, 2018, his boss declared "ceasing US participation in JCPOA." As such, the US has NO legal argument to be "participant,"" he tweeted.

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The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre for Zone 3 in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province said on April 30 that two of its rescue boats are searching for the remaining Indonesian sailor

whose damaged boat drifted into waters off the coast of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.

Indonesian-flagged JAGAL RAYA washed ashore in Vinh Hai commune, Vinh Chau town, Soc Trang province.

The sailor and six others were on the Indonesian-flagged JAGAL RAYA that was carrying 230 tonnes of rice from My Thoi Port in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to the Philippines. The ship ran aground on April 26 at Buoy No. 3, about 5 nautical miles southeast of Tra Vinh province.

One day later, the ships owner informed authorities that it had a problem with its engine and its cargo area was flooded with water. He requested towage assistance.

From 2.30pm to 5.15pm on the same day, the vessel Bien Dong 7 and pilot vessels searched an area from Buoy No. 0 to Buoy No. 23 but could not locate the Indonesian ship.

Later that day, the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Maritime Administration, and the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre dispatched SAR 413 and SAR 272 vessels to the site.

Six Indonesian sailors had been rescued as of the night of April 28.

On late April 29, after taking two rescued sailors for medical treatment, the SAR 413 returned to the accident scene to coordinate with the SAR 272 and relevant forces in the ongoing search.

According to the sailors, two days after departing the ship experienced a problem in Vietnamese waters due to strong winds and began to sink./.VNA
The independence lets us invest in full-time underwriting support to deliver efficiency and accuracy. It allows us to continuously grow our teams knowledge and keeps us focused on customer experience, said Michael Squeo, business development manager at Rateshop. The model enables agents to spend more time on working closely with clients, while a salaried underwriting team is always available and prepared to answer any questions in real time. It also means that each member of the team has time to really develop their strengths and focus their attention on what they are best at. Because of this regimented process, Rateshop prides themselves on having quicker turnaround times compared to their competitors.

Theres a misnomer in the industry that you have to be a jack of all trades, said Zaid. That doesnt always work best. We are all good at certain aspects of the trade: that might be customer service, sales, or underwriting. When you find it, lean in.

In the mortgage industry, its often a lack of exposure and experience that makes it hard for agents to really break the barrier into a successful career. Zaid says working with an underwriting team helps take care of the details while the agent is still building their skill and confidence. Technology also plays a big role in bringing sales and underwriting together and making sure everything is being done cohesively. Rateshop made huge tech investments last year so their agents could be supported by a robust online platform that helps guide the consumer through every step of the process, from the application all the way to closing.

We saw a 53% jump in agent transfers [to our brokerage], which validated that we were doing something different, and we were doing it right, Squeo told CMP.

With the timelines and true impact of the COVID-19 still not particularly clear, Rateshop is taking the wait-and-see approach before projecting their goals for this year. Right now, Squeo says they are still busy doing deals as the team was able to transition to working primarily online and over the phone.
He said the Clinic was in dire need of the thermal infrared thermometers as it would help to detect, isolate and prevent possible cases of the novel COVID-19.

DSP Latif made the call when the BESSTEL Foundation and Ghana-UK Mental Health Alliance donated some equipment, including gun thermometres, to the Prison Clinic.

He said due to confinement, inmates could not practise social distancing adding that the overcrowding had further heightened the risk level at the facility.

He said the lack of the gadget was hampering efforts by the Clinic to detect symptoms of the virus and ensure the safety of officers and inmates.

DSP Latif said the prison population now is more than the capacity of the facility.

This prison was built to house somewhere around 800 inmates but as it stands today we have about 3,500 inmates in custody, which makes this issue of social distancing very difficult to achieve behind the prison walls.

DSP Latif, however, said Management was doing all it could to protect the inmates from the infection.

One of the ways we are doing that is to screen whoever that comes into contact with the prison. And it is in this direction that we are in desperate need of the thermal guns.

As the virus was transmitted by close contact with infected persons, facilities like the Prison remained a high-risk location for the infection, he said.

---GNA
Polembros Shipping had no idea that its counterparties in this deal were engaging in the conduct set forth in the complaint filed today, and if they had any idea, they never would have done business with these people, said attorney Michael M. Fay of New York City.
Tehran, May 1 : Iran on Friday condemned the German government's decision to ban Lebanon's Hezbollah movement from operating in the country, designating it as a terrorist organization.

"Certain countries in Europe are apparently adopting their stances without considering the realities in the West Asia region," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement.

The German government's blacklisting of Hezbollah "only serves the objectives of Israel and the US", said Mousavi.

Besides, the decision "disrespects" the Lebanese government and nation, as Hezbollah is a "legitimate and official part of the country's government and Parliament", he added.

On Thursday, Germany blacklisted the Hezbollah and banned all activities of the group in the country.

Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Established in 1982 during Lebanon's civil war, Hezbollah is now a major political party in the country.

It fought a war with Israel in 2006.

The group,backed by the Islamic Shia community, has long been designated as a terrorist group by the US and Israel.
James Corden has reportedly vowed to pay the salaries for 60 of The Late Late Show's production staff that face being furloughed.

It's thought the presenter, 41, will cover the wages out of his own pocket, after the staff were informed CBS would no longer pay them.

Production for The Late Late Show was halted in March as the state of California was placed in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, and James has since been presenting the show from his home in Los Angeles.

Kind gesture: James Corden, 41, has reportedly vowed to pay the salaries for 60 of The Late Late Show's production staff (pictured in July 2019)

According to Variety, CBS originally vowed to cover the salaries of Late Late Show's staff for eight weeks, but have now informed them this agreement has come to an end.

James then told staff last week that they would be furloughed going forward, but that he would be covering their wages himself.

The publication added that it's possible the total figure James is paying to cover staff's wages is 'at least mid-five figures a week.'

Big move: A source claimed the presenter, 41, will cover the wages out of his own pocket, after the staff were informed CBS would no longer pay them

It's also been reported that James and his Late Late Show producers have been keeping staff engaged with the show during lockdown through various work-from-home projects and daily talks over Zoom.

It's thought due to the The Late Late Show's simple production, it could be among the first series to resume studio filming as lockdown restrictions are relaxed.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for James Corden and CBS for comment.

Production for the show was brought to a halt in March as fears grew surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Big changes: Since March James has been representing The Late Late Show from his garage in Los Angeles after production was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic

Since then James has been hosting the show in his garage and vowed he will return to the studio in the future when restrictions at lifted.

The star was also forced to take a break from filming this week to undergo a 'minor' eye surgery.

In a statement shared to his social media platform, the former Gavin and Stacey star said: 'Hey all. I had to have minor surgery on my eye yesterday. I am doing well and recovering, but wont be able to film new episodes for a few nights.

'Thank you to everyone who has been watching the Late Late Shows from my garage. Ill be back soon. Stay safe and well everybody. x.' [sic]

'I'll be back soon': This week James also revealed he'd undergone 'minor eye surgery' but assured fans he's 'doing well and recovering'

Earlier this month, the Gavin and Stacey star, who shares children Max, nine, Carey, five, and Charlotte, two, with wife Julia Carey, candidly discussed the life lessons he has picked up during the global coronavirus crisis.

Writing for TIME magazine, the anchor confessed he doesn't want to lose the feeling of gratitude he's developed in the pandemic.

The TV star, who resides in Los Angeles but hails from London, added he's 'never felt so far' from his British relatives and all that matters now is being there for those he loves.

Candid: Earlier this month, the Gavin and Stacey star candidly discussed the life lessons he has picked up during the global coronavirus crisis.

James mused: 'I can see now that Ive taken so many things for granted, things for which Im now acutely grateful. When things do revert to some form of normalcy, whenever that is, I hope I dont forget this feeling.'

Despite launching Homefest, a variety show taped at his home, James confessed: 'Ive never felt less inspired or creative  but the show must go on.

'What matters now is looking after the people you love and being there for them.

'And when all else fails, the power of a good deep breath, a chuckle with a friend and a glass of wine should never be underestimated.'
RIL, however, remains miles ahead of TCS in other financial parameters such as total revenue, operating profit, net worth, assets, and market capitalisation.

IMAGE: TCS CEO and managing director Rajesh Gopinathan. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Reliance Industries (RIL) has lost the tag of India's highest profit-making company to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the March 2020 quarter and the culprit is the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Rs 8,049 crore, TCS reported profit after tax (PAT) during the January-March 2020 quarter was ahead of RILs reported PAT of Rs 6,348 crore during the same quarter.

RIL reported a sharp 39 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit during the quarter, thanks to inventory losses due to a sharp fall in crude oil prices.

In comparison, TCS net profit was down around one per cent on year-on-year during Q4FY20.

For nearly two decades now, RIL has been the most profitable company in the private sector.

The Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate, however, remains miles ahead of TCS in other financial parameters such as total revenue, operating profit, net worth, assets, and market capitalisation (m-cap).

This is the second time that the Tata group company beat RIL in the net profit league table on a quarterly basis.

In December 2014 quarter, TCS net profit was marginally ahead of RILs.

RIL booked an inventory loss of Rs 4,245 crore net of taxes during the quarter due to a dramatic drop in oil prices accompanied with unprecedented demand destruction due to COVID-19.

RIL remains the country's most profitable company on annual basis with net profit of Rs 39,354 crore in FY20, compared with TCS' Rs 32,340 crore.

It is also the first time in 30 quarters that RIL reported YoY decline in net profit on trailing 12-month basis, which also means a decline in the company's earnings per share.

The changing fortune of these companies also reflects in their m-cap.

There has been a game of cat and mouse between the two of the country's most valuable companies in terms of m-cap for nearly a decade now.

RIL at the top of the m-cap for nearly a decade till 2012 when TCS overtook it, thanks to faster revenue and profit growth it posted in the post-Lehman period.

Beginning 2012, TCS was at the top for around five years but RIL went past the technology major in early 2018 as investors cheered the success of its telecom venture  Reliance Jio.

TCS again overtook RIL in m-cap league table in the last quarter of 2018 only to lose as investors bid up RIL's share prices in anticipation of stake sales in oil and gas to Aramco and a reduction in its debt.

At current stock prices, RIL is valued at Rs 9.3 trillion against TCS' m-cap of Rs 7.6 trillion.
Asapp, Inc., a New York-based artificial intelligence research-driven company focused on customer experience, raised $185m in Series B funding.

This brought the companys total funding to $260m.

Backers included John Doerr, John Chambers, Dave Strohm and Joe Tucci, along with Emergence Capital, March Capital Partners, Euclidean Capital, Telstra Ventures, HOF Capital and Vast Ventures.

Led by Founder and CEO Gustavo Sapoznik, Asapp provides customer care and sales agents with a platform to know the right thing to say and the right action to take, in real time. Its machine learning models are continuously learning and predicting from every customer interaction, effectively turning every agent into the best agent without the need for manual programming or extensive training. Many of the worlds largest companies in telecom, financial services, and travel use the solution. The company also has offices in Silicon Valley, Raleigh, London and Buenos Aires.

FinSMEs

01/05/2020
Hong Kongs five-day streak of zero coronavirus infections ended on Friday when two arrivals from Pakistan tested positive, leading health experts to warn that more imported cases were expected and local contagion remained a threat.

As its infected total increased to 1,039, officials said Hong Kong must wait at least two more weeks without recording any new local cases before declaring the community spread under control.

Neither of Fridays new cases showed any symptoms and both were transferred to hospital from the quarantine camp in Chun Yeung Estate in Fo Tan, where all 319 Hong Kong residents previously stranded in Pakistan were taken when they returned to the city on Thursday. Five thousand more Hongkongers stranded in Pakistan and India are trying to return home.

One of the returnees confirmed as infected was a 34-year-old man living in Pakistan with his parents, while the other was a 16-year-old female student from Hong Kong who travelled to the South Asian country to visit family on March 3.

With no new local infections recorded since April 22, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protections communicable diseases branch, pleaded with the public to remain both vigilant and patient.

It is expected that there will be more imported cases in Hong Kong, and we hope the virus will not be transmitted to the community, she told a press briefing.

The incubation period can be as long as 14 days, and for some of the cases it may be longer. Therefore its very difficult to say it is all under control at the moment.

Although we have seen the infection figures drop significantly, we cannot be very confident that the local outbreak is over, or transmission has stopped, as we have to wait for some time.

Indicating May 20 as a potential date when Hong Kong could declare victory over Covid-19s community spread, Chuang said: The last local case was sent to hospital on April 22, so if there are no new cases in two incubation cycles [of 28 days], we can say the local outbreak is under control.

Story continues

She added that she understood people might want to head outdoors during the public holidays, but reminded them to stay vigilant. It was also revealed on Friday that 13 more coronavirus patients had been discharged from hospital.

On arrival in Hong Kong, all of the returnees from Pakistan had their saliva tested for the coronavirus at the AsiaWorld-Expo complex, near the airport.

According to the Immigration Department, 2,000 city residents were trying to leave Pakistan, while another 3,200 were stranded in India.

Hong Kong has been in a state of public health emergency since January 25, four days after reporting its first imported case.

Chuang said the status would likely remain in force for the foreseeable future to tie in with the World Health Organisations global pandemic declaration, which was announced on March 11.

Meanwhile, the government said in a Facebook post that, since February, four people had been jailed for violating quarantine, while another 56 were under investigation over alleged breaches.

More than 14,000 spot checks for home-quarantine compliance were carried out, which accounts for 9 per cent of all arrivals from mainland China and overseas. More than 75,000 wristbands were issued over that period.

As the city marked 100 days since its first coronavirus cases, Chuang said Hongkongers were comparatively more vigilant than others, adding that was probably down to the citys battle with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003.

We have an efficient flow of information, peoples reactions have been quick and members of the general public are patient enough. Its the ultimate effort and testament to the hard work of all people in the city, she said.

Dr Linda Yu Wai-ling, the Hospital Authoritys chief manager of clinical effectiveness and technology management, said the authority had gone through ups and downs in the past few months, referring to a period when there were insufficient isolation wards and supplies of protective equipment.

We are lucky to have a group of sedulous frontline staff and cooperative citizens that stick with social-distancing measures, she said. We hope we will continue these efforts, so that we can win this war together.

With the citys infected tally remaining relatively static, the government has been under pressure to relax border control and social-distancing measures, although Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said that should come gradually.

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A woman who sadly lost three family members to amyloidosis is angry lifesaving treatment is currently being withheld from those in Inishowen and wider Donegal with a similar diagnosis.

Former barrister Rosaline Callaghans aunt, father and cousin, died from Familial Amyloidosis.

All three were from Burt in Inishowen.

Amyloidosis is also known as Donegal Amy, due to its prevalence along a 15 mile stretch of coastline between Carrigart and Burtonport.

It is caused by the build-up of an abnormal protein in the bodys tissues and organs, which affects their shape and function and can lead to organ failure.

Ms Callaghan said Irish people were effectively being left to die of an Irish disease.

Lifesaving treatment for amyloidosis became available in Britain in July 2019 and has been available in the North since October 2019.

It is an absolute scandal this same lifesaving treatment is being denied to people with an amyloidosis diagnosis in the Republic.

There are currently approximately 20 people in the Donegal/Sligo area with an amyloidosis diagnosis and a further 10 to 15 in other counties, urgently waiting to start treatment if only it could be made available to them.

It is a disgrace. Ireland is the only country in Europe where the funding is not available for people with an Amyloidosis diagnosis to receive treatment. It is an Irish disease and Irish people are being left to die, said Ms Callaghan.

She is herself one of the 16 people in the North with a confirmed amyloidosis diagnosis.

Highlighting the treatment disparity between the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, she said an amyloidosis patient she knew in the North was currently receiving lifesaving infusions at home.

Ms Callaghan elaborated: An on-the-ball cardiologist realised in October past this man had Amyloidosis. Due to Covid-19, he was unable to travel to the Royal Free Hospital in London for treatment, so he is now getting lifesaving infusions at home. He sent me through a picture this morning of him walking his first 100 yards.

Compare that with the death of one of us on Christmas Day 2019 in an Irish hospital, because the treatment available everywhere else had not been made available to him. That man may well have lived had the treatments been made available.

Ms Callaghan, who was currently cocooning at her home in Derry due to Covid-19, described amyloidosis as a rare disease.

She said: Most people are running to doctors and consultants for maybe two to three years before a diagnosis is made. Amyloidosis is so rare, for many doctors and consultants its not on their radar at all.

The nature of the disease is that because it hits the whole body. People are going to cardiologists, neurologists, gastroenterologists. There is a whole cluster of symptoms, so patients are being referred to different medical professionals, with nobody realising it is Amyloidosis they are dealing with.

I want raise the awareness about it. My father, Hugh, my aunt, Polly and my cousin, Stephen, all from Burt, all died from amyloidosis.

The thing about our type of amyloidosis is we all come from that 15 mile stretch of Donegal coastline. Im presently speaking with a man in Australia who was recently diagnosed, and his people come from that area too. My great grandmother, and this is the line we believe it came through, is from just outside Carrigart, said Rosaline Callaghan.

Ms Callaghan discovered she had the faulty amyloidosis gene in 2007.

She had travelled to the Royal Free Hospital, the UK Centre of Excellence for genetic testing.

Although, she stressed, not everybody with the faulty gene goes on to develop amyloidosis.

Ms Callaghan recalled: I knew I had amyloidosis. It was one of those mad things, but my fathers voice woke me from my sleep.

He and I had had a conversation about my Aunt Polly in 1982 and he had said to me, Rosaline, they are saying this is hereditary. I think this is going to have implications for us. So, my father was on the ball as well.

Amyloidosis is progressive and ultimately fatal in the absence of treatment. It is a long drawn out process. My father was almost 22 months in the Foyle Hospice getting sicker and sicker.

Basically, Im about 20 months in. The disease manifests in your late 50s and early 60s. Because I knew what I was looking for, I was not one of those people who was running to experts. Once it hit my nervous system, I knew what I was up against, said Ms Callaghan.

Ms Callaghans consultant told her she had received her diagnosis two years earlier than most.

Due to her hard family experience, Ms Callaghan knew what she was looking for.

She added: If I lived in England, I would now be getting my treatment, in spite of the Covid-19 situation. As I live in the North, I have to apply for funding from my local Health Care Trust to enable me to receive the treatment.

I am challenging this because the process causes months of delay and in a progressive illness, as each month goes past, I am getting sicker.

However, my focus is on the 10 to 15 of us in the North, the other people coming behind me, who will actually probably be very sick by the time they are diagnosed. Why should they have to apply for funding for their treatment?

But the real kicker is that the treatment is not even available in the Republic of Ireland. The thing that is keeping me up at night is that Irish patients in Donegal with Amyloidosis are dying. One I definitely know of died on Christmas Day, which I think is a disgrace, said Rosaline Callaghan who is determined to set up an all-Ireland Amyloidosis Patients Support Group.

Rosaline Callaghan felt she was fit to campaign on behalf of other people with an amyloidosis diagnosis because she received her diagnosis two years earlier than most.

She recalled: My father was getting poked and prodded by so many people when he was up in Belfast. He knew amyloidosis was going to kill him and he was in terrible pain. But the doctors asked if they could take biopsies from him, to help with their research.

It cased him incredible pain and he could not have been the only one who did this for medical research. My father said, There is nothing you can do to help me, but this will help the others coming after me.

He was probably thinking of his family because we all have a chance of getting it. So, he went through all that. Other people went through all that. The scientists did all the research. And now there is a treatment, which Irish Citizens are not getting for an Irish disease. I cant understand for the life of me why Ireland does not have the treatment available.

It is another health scandal. Amyloidosis is a long drawn out process. Any of the medical experts you would be speaking to would be saying this is an absolutely horrendous death. My father was a big strong man who went to not being able to walk, to crawling on his hands and knees, to dying in Foyle Hospice for 22 months, said Ms Callaghan.

The treatment for amyloidosis is a gene silencing treatment.

According to Ms Callaghan, the treatment has astounded medical people.

Ms Callaghan said: Treatment in 56 percent of cases not only halts progression, it reverses it.

It is a proven treatment, which is being denied to Irish people. I want to shout that from the rooftops.

How can people sleep at night knowing there are 30 to 35 people in Ireland we know of who are in the stages of dying.

They are going to die when a few miles away, in the North, there are treatments available for specifically Irish origin disease. You wouldnt let an animal die the way these people are going to die. In the North, there is a glimmer of hope. If I lived in Donegal, I would know I was going to die, she said.
Expunged from the cities they helped to build, Bundelkhands migrant labourers are ready to make the journey back again in the hope of regaining livelihood.

A nation of over 522 million workers will celebrate International Workers Day or Antarashtriya Mazdoor Diwas today. Historically, Labour Day or International Workers Day commemorates worker solidarity, the dignity of labour, and the rights of workers to organise and be treated with respect.

However, on its 97th Labor Day, the nation is reeling from the onslaught of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown that has pulled the ground from under the feet of its labour force; dignity, solidarity, and respect seem like hollow tokens to the migrant labourers of the nation.

The mass exodus of migrant labourers from cities back to their hometowns after the nationwide lockdown was announced on 24 March is the biggest forced migration seen since the Partition in 1947. Labourers made the long journey back to their rural homes, braving sub-standard quarantine facilities, relief camps, and the whims of authority figures.

And yet, even in the midst of the turmoil, it seems they are preparing, even if mentally, to return to the city again if things resume to a more BAU (business as usual) status.

The dusty badlands of Bundelkhand testify.

Usha, a labourer from Mahoba says, Of course we will go back to Delhi. Wherever we can earn enough to fill our stomachs, we will go. What will we do here, when we dont have any land or livelihood? There is no work for us here."

Yahan par rozgaar nahi hai or there is no work here has become a common refrain across the region. No employment in Bundelkhand, growing families to feed, extant debt, and inadequate farmlands in their hometowns are cited as common reasons for labourers to migrate to bigger cities. India has roughly 120 million such migrant workers, forming approximately 20 percent of the nations workforce.

Bundelkhand alone accounts for 6 lakh returning migrant labourers. These migrant labourers within the informal sector earn barely enough for their subsistence and have no socio-economic safeguards to help them weather untimely crises. They must go back to work if they want a chance at life.

Further, since the inception of the lockdown, unemployment rates in the country have rocketed to over 20 percent in March, turning over 100 million workers out of jobs.

The Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy has estimated India's unemployment rate at 29.4 percent in rural areas and at 25 percent in urban areas for the week ended 26 April.

In a report by Bloomberg Quint, Mahesh Vyas, the chief executive officer of CMIE was quoted as saying, These are very big variations and are subject to the usual sampling errors. It, therefore, may not be very wise to focus on the magnitude of those movements but on the certainty of the movements.

Consequently, workers are bracing themselves for the long journey back to the cities, here synonymous with sustenance, which unkindly expunged them at the first sign of trouble.

Usha continues, Our feet swelled up, and we kept walking because stopping was not an option. Everyone was leaving, so we left with them. I was being driven out of my accommodation [in Delhi] and pushed towards staying in another house. How would I be able to afford the expenses--of water, electricity--there? Thats why I left.

Birbal, a worker from Banda wryly comments, They can get [Indians in other countries] back from abroad, but they wont even let us walk home. The people stuck abroad were brought home on aeroplanes, and were provided top-notch facilities. But for us domestic citizens, who belong here with our land--we werent provided for.

Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates

I borrowed from the thekedaar (contractor) here and worked to pay that off. Then I had to borrow again, for my rent, and for food, so that was another debt incurred. Then, I stayed in the school [the quarantine facility] for 14 days and still had to pay my expenses. And so, Im now heavily in debt; I have almost Rs 10,000 to 15,000 to pay off. Of course, I need to repay my loans! I need to pay the thekedaar, if not today, then tomorrow! He says he is not responsible for the lockdown or the government, and that if he has loaned me some money, then he needs it to be returned.

While estimates report that any meaningful stimulus would need a minimum of Rs 6 trillion to successfully provide relief to Indias poor and unemployed, the current government stimulus stays at Rs 600 billion, with meagre cash transfer benefits touted as the much-needed support from the Centre.

After the initial lockdown, the Centre mandated that states construct relief camps and quarantine shelters for displaced labourers. However, our previous reportage has highlighted the inhumane conditions of these camps that expose its inmates to further physiological and mental hardships.

As the 3 May deadline for the end of the lockdown approaches, speculation runs rife: Will the lockdown be extended? Will the extension be state-wise or nationwide? How do we return to business as usual when the working populace is suffering insurmountable losses?

Uttar Pradesh is considering further extending the lockdown, given that essential stores and 11 kinds of industries are already being allowed to open in the state after 20 April. However, all further decisions are contingent and subject to change. This much is clear, this Labour Day, the workers of India are fighting for their right to work, and for work as a road back to dignified living.

Khabar Lahariya is India's only grassroots, feminist news and media platform, run by an all-women team of reporters, editors, and media practitioners, reporting on media-dark geographies of the north Indian hinterland.
A Vietnamese producer has used the dried husks of Arabica coffee to turn out a kind of premium tea whose export revenue amounts to US$99 per kilo.

Phan Minh Thong, general director of Phuc Sinh Corporation based in Ho Chi Minh City, announced the information at a product launch event on Tuesday.

This type of coffee cherry tea, also known as cascara, has been shipped to Italy and Middle Eastern countries at $99 per kilo, said Thong.

The tea product that was recently put up for sale in the Vietnamese market was priced even better than high-end coffee products.

Only a few producers around the world are capable of making this type of specialty tea since the product requires strict selection criteria for raw materials, and state-of-the-art technology is needed to produce it, according to the entrepreneur.

Cascara is the sole tea product in the Southeast Asian country which is wholly made from the dried skins of Arabica coffee cherries.

The Arabica coffee is mostly grown in the northwestern mountainous province of Son La.

Coffee beans are picked by hand instead of being plucked from their trees. Only quality beans are chosen to be dried and peeled, thanks to the adoption of Colombian technology at Phuc Sinh.

Thong remarked his company has built up a reputation for its products over the past years, so it is bucking the downward trend in exports, amid disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

This type of cascara is made from the dried husks of Arabica coffee. Photo: Quy Hoa / Tuoi Tre

During the pandemic, our customers are becoming most concerned about safe and reliable supplies, so our orders are actually on the increase, he said.

Since the end of the week-long Lunar New Year, or Tet holiday, his employees have worked overtime to produce sufficient goods for export, according to the businessman.

Founded in 2001, Phuc Sinh Corporation, formerly Phuc Sinh International Ltd., has become a leading Vietnamese exporter of coffee and pepper.

It also offers other agriproducts, such as rice, cashew nuts, and desiccated coconut.

Vietnam is among the worlds largest tea producer.

Given the adverse impacts of the escalating virus crisis, the countrys tea export earnings between January and April dropped by an estimated 14 percent from a year earlier to $53 million, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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Coronavirus may cause an increased risk of blood clots and blockages in the brain and could lead to a stroke, according to a new study by University College London.

The small study focused on six patients with confirmed COVID-19 who had suffered a stroke caused by the sudden loss of blood circulation to the brain.

The team, that included neurologists from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, saw an increase in D-dimer - a blood protein linked to clotting.

The authors say the exaggerated inflammatory immune response known to occur in COVID-19 patients stimulates abnormal blood clotting in the brain.

Coronavirus may cause an increased rick of blood clots in the brain and lead to stroke in some patients, according to a new study by University College London. Stock image

The article, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, couldn't confirm a direct link between coronavirus and stroke as it was a small study.

'It is also possible that the effects of social distancing measures and anxiety about attending hospital might have influenced the spectrum of ischaemic stroke mechanisms in patients seen at our hospital,' the authors wrote.

However, they say there was evidence of raised D-dimer in the blood - that is a production of antibodies created from an abnormal immune system response.

Corresponding author, Professor David Werring and colleagues looked at six patients with acute ischaemic stroke due to blockage of a large brain artery.

Acute ischaemic stroke is caused by the sudden loss of blood circulation to an area of the brain, resulting in loss of neurological function.

The findings suggest early testing for D-dimer in COVID-19 patients, could enable clinicians to prescribe specific treatments at a much earlier stage.

They say this might reduce the number of people subsequently having further strokes or blood clots elsewhere in the body.

Professor Robert Storey, Professor of Cardiology, Department of Infection, Immunity & Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, said finding a link between COVID-19 and stroke isn't surprising as the infection can cause inflammation in the body.

He said inflammation is linked to increased risk of blood clots forming in blood vessels which is the most common cause of heart attack and stroke.

'Inflammation can also accelerate the build-up of fatty deposits in blood vessels supplying the heart and brain, which can eventually lead to blood clot forming and blocking the blood vessels.'

All six patients (aged between 53 and 85) had a large arterial blockage, with markedly elevated blood levels of D-Dimer and confirmed COVID-19.

Researchers say this indicates the presence of abnormally high 'fibrin degradation products' - components in the blood produced when clots break down.

Five of the six ischaemic strokes occurred 8-24 days after COVID-19 symptom onset, and in one patient during the pre-symptomatic phase.

The researchers say this suggests that COVID-19 associated stroke is usually delayed, but can occur both early and later in the course of the disease.

Professor Tim Chico, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, University of Sheffield, said the findings of this study were consistent with other evidence linking COVID-19 to the risk of blood clots.

'Because otherwise healthy people, or people sick with diseases other than COVID-19 often suffer blood clots, it is impossible to say in any individual person that their blood clot was 'caused' by COVID-19,' he said.

'However, the growing numbers of publications, and the experience of doctors treating COVID-19 patients including myself and my colleagues, strongly suggest COVID-19 substantially increases the risk of blood clots in hospitalised patients.

The article, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, didn't confirm a direct link between coronavirus and stroke as it was a small study. . Stock image

Discussing the findings, Professor Werring, said we already know that COVID-19 is not just a disease of the lungs - this proves a link to stroke in some patients.

'Our findings suggest that blockages of large brain arteries in COVID-19 patients are associated with highly abnormal blood clotting,' he said.

'Early use of anticoagulant drugs might be helpful, but this needs to be balanced against their brain bleeding risk, especially soon after a stroke.'

He said clinical studies are needed to find out the best treatment to reduce the disability caused by ischaemic stroke in people with COVID-19.

'Our findings emphasise that even during the lockdown people with suspected stroke must attend hospital immediately to ensure they get the best treatment.'

As well as clinical trials on vaccines and anti-viral drug studies, there are a number of clinical trials examining what level of blood thinning treatment should be used in people hospitalised with COVID-19.

'This study cannot tell us what proportion of patients with COVID-19 suffer blood clots, or whether the risk of this is related to the severity of the disease or can occur even in people with mild or no symptoms,' said Professor Chico.

This requires a comprehensive study including thousands of patients, he said.

There has been a 'worrying reduction in non-COVID-19 admissions of stroke and heart attack', said Chico, adding this could be hiding a bigger problem.

'People who already take blood thinning medication such as aspirin should continue to take these if they develop COVID-19 like symptoms unless otherwise advised by their medical team,' said Chico.

The research 'Characteristics of ischaemic stroke associated with COVID-19' was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.
Development work begins at Iranian gas field abandoned over sanctions

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 April 2020 5:12 PM

Iran has officially embarked on building out a major offshore gas field south of the country where foreign companies abandoned development work because of the American sanctions on the country.

The official IRNA news agency said in a Thursday report that Oil Ministry contractors had loaded a first rig jacket for installation at the site of the Phase 11 of the South Pars Gas Field located in the Persian Gulf waters.

The jacket was loaded to a ship off the Qeshm Island where it has been built by an Iranian EPCI contractor.

The supersize jacket, a towering 76-meter structure weighing nearly 2,200 tons, is expected to arrive at the SPD11B rig in late May. It is one of two rig jackets that will enable Iranian contractors to dig 12 wells at the site of the Phase 11 of the South Pars.

Iran estimates that production from Phase 11, the most important of all 24 phases in South Pars, could top 2 billion cubic feet (nearly 57 million meters) a day once the project comes on line.

The country has totally relied on domestic companies for development of Phase 11, a project which stalled after French energy giant Total and China's CNPC withdrew in 2018 because of increasing American pressure.

Iranian Oil Ministry has almost finished development work for all other phases of South Pars, the world's largest gas field which is shared between Iran and Qatar.

Total production from the sprawling gas field is estimated to exceed 700 million cubic meters per day once all phases come on line.

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India: Tribal animists beat pastor, threaten to destroy vocal cords to halt further evangelism

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After demolishing a pastors house and driving his family into the jungle, tribal animists in central India severely beat the Christian leader, threatening to destroy his vocal cords so he can no longer preach.

Nearly a month after tribal animists expelled the Christian family from Bilood village in Madhya Pradesh state and destroyed their home, tribal animists ambushed Pastor Lalu Kirade as he returned from a grocery store.

Led by a man identified only as Laxman, seven individuals beat, choked, and pelted the pastor with a stone, Kirade told Morning Star News.

They had sprung on me like a pack of wild dogs, the pastor recalled. They told me to call upon my God to come and rescue me.

My head began to spin with the sudden strike. Blood started to ooze out of the injury, and I fell on the ground. I heard the men shouting at Laxmans wife for hitting me with a stone. They said they had planned to hit me in a way that I would not bleed. They scolded the women for not doing as planned.

Laxmans niece put her foot on his throat, choking him, as the others held down his hands and legs so he could not move, he said.

I was gasping for breath and thought that I would die, Kirade said, adding that Laxmans niece said, Call upon your God for help. You pray and preach using your vocal cords, I am going to bring an end to your voice today.

The assailants hit and kicked him, pulled his ears, dragged him by the hair and uttered profanity about Christianity and Christ, the pastor said, besides robbing him of rupees equivalent to $51.

The money was given to me as help during this [new coronavirus] lockdown period  it was all that I and my family had to survive upon, Kirade said.

A passer-by from Bilood village saw the assault and informed local Christians, who arrived at the scene just in time, prompting the assailants to flee, Kirade said.

Following the assault, the pastor was left with severe internal injuries and required stitches on his head wound.

I had swelling on my neck for weeks and could not eat solid food for three days because of pain in my throat, he said.

In March, a group of tribal animists  also led by Laxman  forced the family out of their home and into the nearby jungle.

According to the pastor, animists, who worship gods based on ancestors, spirits, and nature, entered his property a few days earlier and told the Christians they would be expelled unless they abandoned Christianity.

When they refused, tribal animists continued to persecute the family, even threatening to kill the pastors 9-year-old daughter.

Though Kirade initially had refrained from going to the police, fearing it would prompt another attack, local Christian leaders persuaded him to do so. As the animists beat the pastor, they asked him why he had approached police, he said.

They insisted that I immediately revoke my police complaint, he said, adding that they also rebuked him for reporting the attack on his 9-year-old daughter to school authorities.

However, no action followed the complaint he had filed in March at Pandhana police station about the first assault, which led to the assailants having no hesitation to attack him again this month, the pastor said. A second complaint the pastor filed at Jhirniya police station in Khargone District was also ignored, he revealed.

If only the police would have taken action on my previous complaint, Laxman and his family would not have dared to attack me again, he said.

India is ranked 10th on Christian support organization Open Doors 2020 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

In a report released Tuesday morning, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the State Department add India to its list of countries that engage in or tolerate egregious violations of religious freedom.

According to the report, violence against Christians in India increased in 2019 and there were at least 328 reported incidents of Christian persecution in 2019. The commission said attacks frequently targeted prayer services and led to the widespread shuttering or destruction of churches.

Last year, the Christian group ADF India reported that there were at least 1,000 incidents of Christian persecution in India between 2014 and 2015. Thus far in 2020, the United Christian Forum in India reports that there were 56 threats against Christians and 78 incidents of violence between January and March of 2020, including mob attacks on religious leaders, Christians and churches.

India took a sharp downward turn in 2019, the USCIRF report reads.

In addition to the CPC designation, the USCIRF calls on the U.S. to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for violations of religious freedom by freezing their assets and barring them entry into the U.S.

In a statement made available to The Christian Post, the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) thanked the USCIRF for for recognizing the grave downward spiral of affairs in India despite India being a democratic nation.

I am worried that the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities continues even during the Coronavirus lockdown and I am very disappointed with Prime Minister Modi for not condemning such behavior of his party cadre forcefully, FIACONA President Koshy George said.

I thank the USCIRF for recognizing the real state of affairs on the ground in India and Indias downward trend in upholding democratic traditions.
NEW CANAAN  Police are urging residents to be vigilant and lock their vehicles after two unlocked vehicles were stolen from driveways early Wednesday morning.

Around 9 a.m., police got a call about a 2019 Volvo XC90 that was taken from the driveway of a Rosebrook Road home. Police said the vehicle had been left unlocked and the key fob was left inside. The car was later recovered in Waterbury.

Then, around 12:20 p.m., police got a call about a 2016 Ford Edge that was stolen from the driveway of a Parade Hill Road home. Another vehicle in the driveway was entered and cash was taken from it, Police said.

Both of these vehicles were unlocked, police said. The owner does not know if the key/fob was left inside the stolen vehicle, or if the criminal obtained the key by entering through an unlocked mudroom door.

Despite the times that the crimes were reported, police said they happened during the early morning hours Wednesday.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, criminal gangs are active throughout Fairfield County, police said. In the past, some of the vehicles stolen in Fairfield County were used in violent crime.

Police said residents need to be more cautious and practice good crime prevention strategies.

This carelessness is putting our entire town at risk police said.

The department stressed the importance of ensuring a home is well-lit and that vehicles are locked and keys and key fobs taken out of them. Police also urged any residents who could afford it to invest in an alarm system and surveillance cameras.

Any suspicious activity can be reported to New Canaan police at 203-594-3500.
Srinagar, May 1 : Three Indian soldiers were injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri on Saturday, the army said.

According to an army statement, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC in Rampur sector of Uri on Saturday afternoon.

"Three soldiers have been injured in the CFV. Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," the statement said.

This comes a day after a civilian was killed in Pakistani shelling in the Mankote sector of Poonch.

On Thursday, 16-year-old Gulfaraz was killed while 35-year-old Zaffer Iqbal sustained injuries in Pakistani shelling in Poonch.

There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan at the LoC over the last few weeks.

Pakistan has been targeting defence positions and civilian areas at the LoC in the Kashmir valley and Jammu region.

Indian Army says it is giving a befitting response to Pakistani aggressions.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that compels slaughterhouses to remain open, setting up a showdown between the giant companies that produce America's meat and the unions and activists who want to protect workers in a pandemic. Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump's executive order this week requiring American meatpacking plants to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic is raising new questions about massive U.S. meat exports, particularly the export of pork to China. Trump's order was meant to prevent what meat processors have claimed is an imminent breakdown in the nation's food supply chain, resulting from the closure of several major meat processing plants that had become hotbeds for coronavirus infections. The president invoked the Defense Production Act, a law intended for wartime usage, to designate the meatpacking industry as part of the nation's "critical infrastructure." Since it was signed late Tuesday, the order has drawn outcry from workers rights activists and effusive praise from the meat industry. Unions said it gave plant owners a green light to ignore worker safety if it interferes with a plant's ability to stay open and avoid liability if workers get sick or die.

"These are essential workers, they're not sacrificial lambs," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents between 10,000 to 15,000 poultry workers in the South and Midwest. He said states are now stripped of the power to close a plant for deep cleaning, a move that helps stop the spread and keeps workers safe. "People should know when they are going to work, they are working in a safe environment. You have to prioritize the American people, not the product," he said. The order has highlighted a debate inside the White House over whether to limit exports of pork to China, and what the president decides could have major implications for other U.S. exports. Previous DPA orders during the coronavirus crisis have required that makers of essential equipment in short supply to limit exports for the duration of the national emergency. 3M, which makes masks, is the most visible example. When it comes to the meatpackers, there are no such limitations. Through February, pork and pork variety meat exports accounted for 31% of all U.S. production, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Just over one-third of those exports went to China. On Wednesday, Trump held a private call with major meat industry CEOs, where he was asked about the prospect of export limits on meat, given that an imminent shortage for U.S. consumers was the justification for the executive order. The president responded that he is not interested in restricting exports at this time, according to current and former White House officials who requested anonymity to describe a private call. Still, there are some in the White House who are pushing for tighter export restrictions on meat, a former administration official told CNBC. The question comes down to priorities, said Anthony Rapa, a partner in the Washington office of Kirkland & Ellis, where he works on trade and national security issues.

"Do we drive towards maintaining full capacity and keep everything as it is, with the U.S. having a healthy export market?" he said. "Or do we try to strike a different balance because of an emergency, and we only do what's necessary for us domestically?" A decision to restrict meatpackers to serving only the U.S. domestic market during the pandemic could also be the one that best protects workers, advocates say.

Pork politics

The Trump administration's internal debate over meat exports comes at an especially difficult time for the U.S.-China relationship, as the two countries trade accusations over who is responsible for the severity of America's coronavirus epidemic. Trump has recently tried to shift the blame for his administration's slow response to the pandemic onto China, where the novel coronavirus was first identified in December. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that White House aides are debating various ways to punish China for allegedly withholding early reports of the virus's spread through the city of Wuhan. But when it comes to restricting meat exports, Trump faces pressure from an industry that doesn't want its revenue streams restricted. He must also weigh the potential damage an export restriction could do the U.S.-China trade deal Trump signed in January.

A farmer checks on young female pigs at a hog farm in Smithville, Ohio on Thursday, April 30, 2020. Dane Rhys | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Paving the way for more American pork exports to China was a key component of the landmark deal, which remains the crown jewel of Trump's trade-focused foreign policy agenda during his first term. As part of the U.S.-China trade agreement, Beijing agreed to buy $12.5 billion in agricultural goods this year from the United States, and another $19.5 billion in 2021. But the correlation between how much U.S. pork is exported to China, and how much is left for American consumers, is not as clear cut as it seems. Some U.S. pork processing facilities make a product specifically for Chinese consumption, while others export whole hogs, effectively skipping much of the actual processing that goes into producing muscle cuts for grocery stores. Export of U.S. pork to China has soared since the 2018 swine flu epidemic devastated China's domestic pork supply. And a Chinese company owns one of the largest U.S. pork producers, Smithfield Foods, which it acquired through a $4.7 billion deal in 2013. Maintaining America's capacity to process meat for export to China and other countries also has ripple effects all the way down the supply chain. In recent weeks, many of the nation's meat farmers have been forced to euthanize animals after the meatpacking plant closures left them with nowhere to ship their mature livestock. New animals are being born all the time.

Moreover, restricting pork exports to China for the duration of the pandemic would likely be deeply unpopular with both the U.S. meat industry and the Chinese. But if the president does nothing, and continues to permit roughly one-tenth all U.S. pork to be sent to China every month, there could be other pitfalls. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't respond to requests for comment. Friday morning, Trump retweeted a White House tweet from Thursday that touts the order. He also boasted of his efforts on behalf of American farmers. TWEET TWEET 2

How real is the shortage?

Trump's executive order came just days after billionaire John Tyson, chairman of the nation's largest meat processor Tyson Foods, took out a full-page ad in several of the nation's most-read newspapers, warning ominously that "the food supply chain is breaking." "There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed," Tyson wrote. The ad was widely picked up by news outlets that echoed Tyson's alarm, despite monthly reports from the Agriculture Department that showed no real danger to the nation's meat supply. The first time Trump mentioned the issue was on Tuesday, when the president answered a reporter's question by saying, "We're working with Tyson," and adding that he would be signing an executive order that would "solve any liability problems, where they had certain liability problems, and we'll be in very good shape. We're working with Tyson, which is one of the big companies in that world." Tyson temporarily closed five of its plants because of coronavirus infections. A Washington Post investigation found that a number of counties with the highest per capita infection rates in the nation are home to Tyson plants. On Friday, the company said it would reopen its Logansport, Indiana, plant with limited production next week, adding that it is taking "additional precautions to reassure team members that they are returning to a safe work environment."

A Tyson Foods pork processing plant, temporarily closed due to an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen in Waterloo, Iowa, U.S., April 29, 2020. Brenna Norman | Reuters

Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said the company has taken a range of safety measures to prevent the virus's spread. He said it is screening employees' temperatures, installing walk-through thermal body scanners and asking some workers to be social distancing monitors. He said the company has put up tents outside of some facilities to provide more space during breaks. And he said Tyson has worked hard to find and provide surgical masks for workers, even chartering a plane to China to get them. On Thursday, the company said it will open on-site clinics at some plants with a health-care provider, Matrix Medical Network. The clinics will be able to do testing for Covid-19 and help do health screenings and answer questions for employees. With plant closures, he said there "may be some products that become less available, but the government's decision to invoke the DPA will certainly help mitigate that risk." Smithfield, the Chinese-owned pork producer, indefinitely shut down one of its U.S. plants in South Dakota in mid-April. The Sioux Falls facility is one of the largest pork processing facilities in the country and represents 4% to 5% of U.S. pork production, according to the company. The 3,700-worker facility was closed after two workers died and 783 others tested positive for the coronavirus. Around the same time, Smithfield also shut down a plant in Wisconsin for two weeks and another in Missouri indefinitely. The Wisconsin plant processes dry sausage and bacon, and the Missouri plant produces spiral and smoked hams. The company said in a statement that the plants are near urban areas with community spread of Covid-19 and they've had employees who have tested positive. It said the Missouri facility can't run without raw materials from the Sioux Falls plant that's closed. On Friday, Smithfield said it was suspending operations at an Illinois plant after workers tested positive. The company said the Monmouth, Illinois, plant represents about 3% of the U.S. fresh pork supply. But it remains unclear how widespread a potential meat shortage is, or will be. Grocers said they haven't seen signs of a shortage, although they're monitoring the situation closely. Some have taken proactive steps by limiting customers' purchases, working with processing plants to divert what would have gone to restaurants and forgoing certain meat items that require more processing, such as marinated or thinly cut meats. Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain, added purchase limits on ground beef and fresh pork, but a company spokeswoman said "there is plenty of protein in the supply chain." "We feel good about our ability to maintain a broad assortment of meat and seafood for our customers because we purchase protein from a diverse network of suppliers," company spokeswoman Kristal Howard said. This week, Texas grocer H-E-B added new limits for customers' meat purchases to prevent stockpiling. Company spokeswoman Mabrie Jackson told CNBC that the grocer was more concerned that panic-buying, rather than supply chain challenges, might lead to shortages. Target hasn't seen an impact on its supply of meat, spokeswoman Angie Thompson said. "We are in close, daily contact with all of our vendors to understand what is happening with their operations and currently do not have any concerns about material supply issues," she said. At Stew Leonard, a small supermarket chain in the Northeast, meat aisles remain well stocked. CEO Stew Leonard Jr. told CNBC that he does believe there may be some shortages, since meatpacking plants that have cut capacity as they space workers out on the assembly line or have some sick workers.

A woman shops in the chicken and meat section at a grocery store, April 28, 2020 Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images
State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Friday reported an 11 per cent decline in production to 40.38 million tonnes in April.

The company had posted a total production of 45.30 million tonnes (MT) in the corresponding month of the previous financial year, CIL said in a filing to the BSE.

Of the 40.38 MT produced last month, CIL arm Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) produced the highest 11.53 MT, followed by South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) 9.30 MT and Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) 8.73 MT, among others.

Coal India, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal output, is eying 710 million tonnes output in the ongoing financial year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SCHENECTADY - In what he described as a "worse case scenario,"Mayor Gary McCarthy said Thursday the city could be forced to lay off upwards of three dozen police officers if it doesn't get tens of millions of dollars in federal aid threatened by a political stalemate in Washington and the coronavirus pandemic.

And those potential cuts will likely extend to the fire department and other departments.

McCarthy mentioned that Schenectady was slated to initially receive about $11.6 million in the Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) program, which provides state aid to all New York cities other than New York City, and 137 towns and villages. He said that could be cut by about 20 percent.

On the federal side, Schenectady was in line for about $34 million, a figure that then dropped to about $16 million and then nothing for municipalities with a population below 500,000, said the mayor.

If that happens, we're in trouble," added McCarthy, noting that the Electric City has a population in the neighborhood of 67,000. "Now, we're trying to negotiate it back up to some realistic number. "

McCarthy said he broke the news to the rank and fire during a Thursday afternoon meeting with roughly 160-member police department.

"Under the worst-case scenario, if these talks break down, I've directed the police chief to prepare cuts at the level of $3 million, which translates into a reduction of in excess of 30 uniformed police officers," he said.

He said he told the cops that "it's not a position I enjoy being in but we have to be cognizant of the potential impact we're in. "

Asked about the fire department, McCarthy declined to comment, saying that he planned to speak with the fire department Friday .

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"It's similar cuts across the board," added the mayor, adding "everybody would have to share proportionally.

PJ Mullen, president of the Schenectady Police Benevolent Association, said the potential police layoffs could harm the safety of city residents and erase all the gains the department has made over the past few years.

"At this point, if we were to cut staffing more, we wouldn't be able to provide the same service that we've been providing over the last several years, which have been working because the crime numbers are down" he added.

The 2019-20 state budget reduced AIM funding by $59 million, eliminating aid for 1,326 towns and villages determined to be less reliant on AIM.

The economic loss stemming from the coronavirus pandemic will likely mean even more reductions in the 2020-21 federal budget.
The Indian Army has issued an alert to its personnel warning them against the possibility of their phones being hacked by Pakistani agencies using a malware carrying an app similar to Indias Aarogya Setu, two army officers said on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

There have been reports of the malicious app being sent by Pakistani operatives to WhatsApp groups of army personnel and an advisory has been issued to all soldiers to download the contact-tracing Aarogya Setu app only from the government website, the Google Play store or Apples App Store, said one of the officials cited above.

The existing cybersecurity policies on the usage of mobile phones have also been reiterated, said the second official.

The government has been urging citizens to use the Aarogya Setu to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and earlier this week, in a meeting with chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about popularising the app and asked them to ensure downloads in greater numbers.

Apart from reaching out and informing users about their potential risk of infection, this privacy-first by design app also shares safe behaviours and updated medical advisories about Covid-19 containment in 11 languages.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh last week asked Indias top military commanders to ensure that the countrys adversary is not allowed to exploit the Covid-19 situation at a time when the Pakistan army continues to violate the ceasefire on the Line of Control to help terrorists sneak into Jammu and Kashmir.

The neighbouring army has violated the ceasefire around 1,400 times this year. The total number of ceasefire violations by it stood at 3,168 in 2019 and 1,629 in 2018.
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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday asked officials to ensure that Uttar Pradesh's borders remain sealed so that people who maybe "coronavirus carriers" cannot enter the state.

He gave the directions at a review meeting.

"It should be ensured that the borders of the state remain sealed. There should be alertness in border areas. No one should enter the state without permission as there is a possibility that they can be coronavirus carriers," an official release issued here quoted Adityanath as saying.

He said the state government is committed to the welfare of labourers and has initiated a number of measures in their interest.

"The government is taking steps to ensure return of labourers stuck in other states in a phased manner," he said.

The chief minister reiterated that four lakh migrant labourers from Delhi and 12,000 from Haryana have returned to the state safely.

He said directives have been issued to ensure that those coming to the state undergo a health checkup and are sent to home quarantine for 14 days with a ration kit.

Adityanath also gave directions to increase pool testing and procure quality testing kits.

As of Thursday, the number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh stood at 2,211 and the death toll due to the infection was 40.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Queen Elizabeth II named his grandson Prince William and Kate Middleton as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after they became officially married in 2011.

With that, all eyes were on the future king and queen as they took on more responsibilities in the British monarchy.

The Royal Rebel

However, little did the public know that the second in line to the throne broke a royal protocol during his wedding.

Prince William asked his younger brother Prince Harry to be his "best man" for his big day.

Prince Harry served as best man to The Duke of Cambridge at his wedding to Miss Catherine Middleton in 2011. pic.twitter.com/klHGqeAyeb  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 26, 2018

Traditionally, instead of best men, the royal family calls those who are with the groom as "supporters."

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams explained that logically, the royals will choose any of their siblings or closest relatives.

"Royals can pick who they like to be the best man, but it would only be natural to choose a sibling or relative. It depends on the circumstances," Fitzwilliams told The Standard.

In 2011, The Telegraph also cited that when Kate walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey, Prince Harry mentioned a touching statement to his older brother.

"You are alright; she is here now," the younger royal whispered to his brother.

Prince William, on the other hand, had to wait for four minutes before he could turn around to check his bride, who was at the end of the aisle.

Prince Harry -- who was 33-years-old at that time -- also did the same thing and returned the favor.

When he and Meghan Markle married in May 2018, Prince Harry chose the Duke of Cambridge to be his best man for his wedding. It was also confirmed by Kensington Palace.

"Prince Harry has asked his brother The Duke of Cambridge to be his best man at his wedding to Ms. Meghan Markle. Prince Harry served as the best man to The Duke of Cambridge at his wedding to Miss Catherine Middleton in 2011. The Duke of Cambridge is honored to have been asked, and is very much looking forward to supporting his brother at St George's Chapel, Windsor on May 19th," the Palace statement read.

Moreover, in previous reports, as Prince William "wished'' Meghan and his brother on their big day, the Duke of Cambridge made a hilarious revelation about Prince Harry.

"We're very excited, delighted for them both. We're wishing them all the happiness in this very exciting time," he said before adding: "Personally, I hope it means he stays out of my fridge and will stop scrounging my food, which he's done for the last few years."

Conventional Wedding

Contrary to the two royals, their father Prince Charles went for the more conventional type royal wedding and asked his brothers Princes Edward and Andrew to be his supporters when he married the late Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981.

Same goes with Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Prince Edward, when he married Sophie Rhys-Jones in June 1999 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

His "supporters" were his brothers, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York.
The lion sculptures and Daley Plazas Picasso statue were fitted with the masks, emblazoned with the Chicago flag, on Thursday morning, ahead of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers revised stay-at-home-order that went into effect Friday. The order requires people over the age of 2 to wear masks in public places where they cant maintain social distances, as well as in stores and other indoor places.
New Delhi: Friendly relations between India and Gulf countries continue even today. Giving a fresh example of this, the Ministry of External Affairs said that several Gulf countries, including Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, have requested India to send teams of doctors and nurses in the war against the coronavirus scandal.

China installed cameras to monitor corona patients in quarantine

Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Shrivastava said while speaking to the media, "Gulf countries are aware of the importance of the relationship with India and they want to talk prominently about improving the economy after the Corona epidemic." He further said that on behalf of India, the supply of adequate food items to these countries is also being ensured in the month of Ramadan. Top leaders of all these countries have spoken of all possible help to all Indians living there. India is also preparing to expel Indian citizens in these countries.

Tarun Bajaj took over as new secretary of the economic department

According to the information given by the Ministry of External Affairs, PM Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar have been in contact with the Gulf countries for the past few weeks. The PM has discussed the Corona epidemic over the phone with top leaders of countries like Gulf countries Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

Coronavirus released from Wuhan lab, I have evidence: Donald Trump
Sidecar, the first ride-hailing company, got a federal judges OK to proceed with a lawsuit alleging that Uber used anticompetitive practices to dominate the market and force Sidecar out of business.

Im excited that were going to be able to hold Uber accountable for years of reprehensible corporate conduct, said Sunil Paul, Sidecars founder, who has pursued the lawsuit through a successor company, SC Innovations.

Discovery is going to be very interesting because well get to discover things that were going on in secret.

Uber declined to comment.

The case, originally filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in December 2018, alleged that Uber used illegal practices to stifle competition and drive Sidecar, a much smaller rival, out of business.

The original lawsuit was dismissed. Sidecar filed a second, amended complaint on similar grounds, which Uber tried to dismiss.

But a ruling on Friday said the case could proceed, while removing an unfair practices act claim.

At this stage, the Court finds Sidecars allegations of market power to be sufficiently plausible to avoid dismissal, wrote Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero.

While not ruling on the cases merits, Spero wrote that Sidecars allegation that Uber conducted campaigns specifically to harm its only two significant competitors (Sidecar and Lyft) ... are sufficient at the pleading stage  in conjunction with the allegations of market power discussed above  to plausibly allege harm to competition.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Paul patented the idea of mobile ride-hailing over a wireless network in 2002. Sidecar offered rides by ordinary people in their personal cars starting in 2011, a year before Uber and Lyft. It pioneered other innovations such as drivers setting their own prices, passengers sharing rides to similar destinations and drivers doing deliveries.

But Sidecar raised just $35 million from investors, an amount dwarfed by what Uber and Lyft raised, and the small company never gained as much traction as its rivals. It shut down in December 2015.

General Motors bought much of Sidecars intellectual property, which underlies the in-house ride-hailing service that autonomous car company Cruise uses for its employees.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
Indias chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday said that the armed forces will show their gratitude to the countrys Covid-19 warriors on May 3 by performing a raft of activities including fly-pasts, flashing warship lights, and displays by Indian Army bands.

Briefing reporters at South Block in the presence of the three service chiefs, Rawat said military helicopters will shower petals over hospitals dedicated to treat coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients and the armed forces will lay wreath at the police memorial to show support for Covid-19 warriors, including doctors, nurses and police personnel, who have been at the forefront of the battle against the outbreak.

Rawat said the Indian Air Forces fighter jets and transport planes will carry out fly-pasts across the length and breadth of the country, from Srinagar to Thiruvananthapuram and Dibrugarh to Kutch. The United States is also carrying out fly-pasts over several of its cities as a tribute to people leading the fight against the pandemic that has killed at least 235,000 people across the world.

Rawat said the show of gratitude will involve switching on Indian warships lights near the shores and mounted band performances outside Covid-19 hospitals in every district of the country.

General Rawat acknowledged the contribution of health care workers, policemen, home guards personnel, sanitation workers, delivery boys and the media amid the outbreak of the highly contagious disease.

He said: We also cannot forget the people of the nation who have adhered to government guidelines on social distancing, wearing masks, ensuring proper hygiene And when the government gave a call for ringing bells or lighting [candles and lamps], our nation stood together. Rawat added that the country demonstrated the resilience to overcome the public health crisis.

The militarys plan to honour front-line workers on May 3 was finalised at a meeting chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday, a government official said. The meeting was attended by the national security adviser, the CDS and the three service chiefs.

The armed forces are working on a war footing to handle the pandemic -- setting up dedicated hospitals, flying medical supplies, operating quarantine facilities and playing a key role in evacuating Indian nationals from other countries.

Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the government has asked the navy to stay ready to evacuate Indian nationals from Gulf countries. He said warships were ready to carry out the evacuation and will swing into action after getting the go-ahead.

As reported by Hindustan Times on April 29, the navy has kept three warships on standby to bring back thousands of Indian nationals stuck in the Gulf countries as New Delhi works towards implementing a challenging evacuation plan that will also include special flights.
The president of the European Commission backed calls for an investigation into the origin of the new coronavirus and said China should be involved in the process.

Lawmakers in countries like Germany, Sweden and Australia have called for a probe into how the virus started, which has so far infected over 3.2 million people and killed over 230,000.

Speaking to CNBC, Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU's executive arm, said she would like to see China work together with her organization, and others, to get to the bottom of exactly how it emerged.

"I think this is for all of us important, I mean for the whole world it is important. You never know when the next virus is starting, so we all want for the next time, we have learned our lesson and we've established a system of early warning that really functions and the whole world has to contribute to that," she told Geoff Cutmore in an exclusive interview Thursday.

She called for more transparency in the future and said governments needed to learn lessons from the current crisis.

"One of the lessons learned from this pandemic is that we need more robust data, overall, and we need more centralized than an entity that is analyzing those data so that the early warning mechanism is way better," she said.

"For example, at the level of the European Union, we know that we need a more robust data system for such situations as we see it right now with the coronavirus. And for building up a system that is, that you can count on."
Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 in London, England.

London's High Court on Friday threw out part of the privacy claim brought by Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, in her legal action against a tabloid paper for breaching her privacy.

Meghan, wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, is suing publisher Associated Newspapers over articles its Mail on Sunday newspaper printed in February last year which included parts of a letter she had sent to her father, Thomas Markle.

At a hearing last week, the paper's lawyer argued that allegations it had acted dishonestly and had stoked the family rift should be removed from the case along with references to other articles about the royal which Meghan says were false.

The court on Friday agreed to strike out these elements from the claim.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BJs Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) today announced that it entered into definitive agreements to sell $70 million of common stock to Act III Holdings, LLC. and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (collectively the investors).



On behalf of our team members, shareholders, Board of Directors and all BJs stakeholders, we are delighted to announce this new investment by Ron Shaich and Act III, and by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, commented Greg Trojan, Chief Executive Officer. The capital raise announced today, together with other recent actions we have taken, will enhance BJs liquidity and strengthen our ability to welcome back our team members and re-open dine-in service at our restaurants in accordance with the social distancing and safety protocols mandated by state and local governments to ensure the health and safety of our guests and team members. The investment by Act III and T. Rowe Price Associates recognizes the strength of the BJs concept and brand, our long-term focus on sales driving and productivity initiatives, our future growth prospects, and the daily commitment of our valued team members. We are grateful for the confidence expressed by Act III and T. Rowe Price Associates in BJs long-term outlook and look forward to benefiting from their collective experience and resources, which we believe will prove invaluable as we re-open our dining rooms and continue to deliver the delicious food, dining experiences and guest service and hospitality that consumers have come to love and expect from BJs.

Ron Shaich, Managing Partner of Act III Holdings, LLC said, I have long admired BJs differentiated position within casual dining and the quality of its execution. The result is a company that is generating some of the highest average unit sales and guest traffic metrics in the industry. This is a testament to the strength and tenure of BJs management team, from the Restaurant Support Center down to the restaurants themselves. BJs ability to stay ahead of changing consumer trends, while remaining true to its brand heritage, provides a platform to ignite future growth, and the opportunity to more than double its current restaurant footprint. In sum, we have made this investment to help ensure BJs has the resources and capabilities to thrive well into the future.

Story continues

BofA Securities served as exclusive financial advisor and Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP served as legal advisor to BJs Restaurants, Inc. in this transaction. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal advisors to Act III Holdings, LLC.

About BJs Restaurants, Inc.

BJs Restaurants, Inc. (BJs) is a national brand with brewhouse roots and a menu where craft matters. BJs broad menu with over 140 offerings has something for everyone: slow-roasted entrees, like prime rib, BJs EnLIGHTened Entrees including Cherry Chipotle Glazed Salmon, signature deep dish pizza and the often imitated, but never replicated world-famous Pizookie dessert. BJs has been a pioneer in the craft brewing world since 1996, and takes pride in serving BJs award-winning proprietary handcrafted beers, brewed at its brewing operations in five states and by independent third-party craft brewers. The BJs experience offers high-quality ingredients, bold flavors, moderate prices, sincere service and a cool, contemporary atmosphere. Founded in 1978, BJs owns and operates 209 casual dining restaurants in 29 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. All restaurants offer dine-in, take-out, delivery and large party catering. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, dine-in service is currently not available in a majority of our restaurants, menu offerings and hours are limited, and four restaurants have temporarily been closed. For more BJs information, visit http://www.bjsrestaurants.com .

About Act III Holdings, LLC

Act III Holdings is a Boston-based, evergreen investment vehicle formed by Ron Shaich, founder and former chairman and chief executive officer of Panera Bread. Act III invests in restaurant and consumer-facing enterprises that enjoy differentiated positions, benefit from consumer tailwinds, and have the potential to dominate their particular niche. Portfolio investments benefit from the industry specific insights and capabilities of Act III and its partners. Existing Act III investments include Cava/Zoes Kitchen, Tatte, Life Alive Cafe, Clover Food Lab and Level 99. For more Act III information, visit www.act3h.com.

About T. Rowe Price

Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price is a global investment management organization that provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. T. Rowe Price's strategic investing approach is disciplined and risk-aware, focusing on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research. For more T. Rowe Price information, visit http://www.troweprice.com .

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

Certain statements in the preceding paragraphs and all other statements that are not purely historical constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Such statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding expected comparable restaurant sales and margin growth in future periods, total potential domestic capacity, the success of various sales-building and productivity initiatives, future guest traffic trends, construction cost savings initiatives and the number and timing of new restaurants expected to be opened in future periods. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from those projected or anticipated. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (i) the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our restaurant sales and operations, our supply chain and the ability of our suppliers to continue to timely deliver food and other supplies necessary for the operation of our restaurants, the ability to manage costs and reduce expenditures and the availability of additional financing, (ii) our ability to manage new restaurant openings, (iii) construction delays, (iv) labor shortages, (v) increases in minimum wage and other employment related costs, including compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and minimum salary requirements for exempt team members, (vi) the effect of credit and equity market disruptions on our ability to finance our continued expansion on acceptable terms, (vii) food quality and health concerns and the effect of negative publicity about us, our restaurants, other restaurants, or others across the food supply chain, due to food borne illness or other reasons, whether or not accurate, (viii) factors that impact California, Texas and Florida, where a substantial number of our restaurants are located, (ix) restaurant and brewery industry competition, (x) impact of certain brewing business considerations, including without limitation, dependence upon suppliers, third party contractors and distributors, and related hazards, (xi) consumer spending trends in general for casual dining occasions, (xii) potential uninsured losses and liabilities due to limitations on insurance coverage, (xiii) fluctuating commodity costs and availability of food in general and certain raw materials related to the brewing of our craft beers and energy requirements, (xiv) trademark and service-mark risks, (xv) government regulations and licensing costs, (xvi) beer and liquor regulations, (xvii) loss of key personnel, (xviii) inability to secure acceptable sites, (xix) legal proceedings, (xx) other general economic and regulatory conditions and requirements, (xxi) the success of our key sales-building and related operational initiatives, (xxii) any failure of our information technology or security breaches with respect to our electronic systems and data, and (xxiii) numerous other matters discussed in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on current assumptions and expectations, and BJs Restaurants, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information, please contact Greg Levin of BJs Restaurants, Inc. at (714) 500-2400 or JCIR at (212) 835-8500 or at bjri@jcir.com .




Downing Street said today there are 'questions that need to be answered' about the origin of coronavirus after Donald Trump claimed to have seen evidence it came from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The US President made the explosive claim last night but refused to reveal what the evidence was.

Number 10 would not be drawn on the specifics of Mr Trump's comments but again reiterated its desire for an international probe into the start of the outbreak.

UK scientific experts blasted Mr Trump for his claim as they said there is 'no such evidence' and accused the US President of using the 'narrative that best suits his political position'.

They also said the scientific community had 'very much moved on' from the idea the disease may have been created in a lab and that it is 'unhelpful for high-profile individuals to repeat the debunked conspiracy theories'.

It came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it would like to take part in Chinese investigations into the origins of the disease.

The UN agency said it was hoping for an invitation from Beijing to take part in its probe into how the disease originated in animals, then jumped to humans.

President Trump taking questions from reporters after speaking about the coronavirus pandemic in the East Room of the White House in Washington yesterday

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said there are 'questions that need to be answered' about the source of the virus

Mr Trump told reporters yesterday that he had seen evidence that coronavirus started in a Wuhan virology laboratory as he then warned he could impose tariffs of $1 trillion on China in retribution for the pandemic.

But US intelligence has said it had found no evidence the virus was man-made or genetically modified in a lab.

Asked if Boris Johnson agreed with Mr Trump, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: 'There are clearly questions that need to be answered about the origin and spread of the virus, not least so we can ensure that we are better prepared for future global pandemics.

'This work will need to be done with all of our international partners.'

Mr Trump was asked if he had seen proof the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

He replied: 'Yes I have. Yes I have.'

The lab is located near a wet market that has been identified as the likely epicentre of the outbreak that began late last year.

However, the US President would not divulge what the evidence was as he told a reporter: 'I can't tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that.'

Beijing is increasingly angry at Mr Trump's comments relating to China's handling of the outbreak.

A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry hit back at the US on Thursday, warning the 'enemy is the virus, not China'.

Tensions have increased after Mr Trump suggested the White House is exploring potential ways to punish China for the pandemic by imposing trade tariffs.

However, he stopped short of saying he would refuse to pay back US debts which are owed to Beijing.

When asked if he would consider refusing to fulfil US debt obligations to China as punishment, Mr Trump said he 'could do it differently'.

He hinted that could mean imposing swingeing tariffs worth $1 trillion.

'I could do the same thing but even for more money just putting on tariffs,' he said.

'So I don't need to do that. It's approximately a trillion dollars - a little bit more I understand but we can do that in probably a little bit more of a forthright manner.'

UK scientific experts responded with fury to the claims made by Mr Trump.

Dr Jennifer Cole, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said: 'While there continues to be no such evidence, Trump seems to be using this vacuum to fill the gap with the narrative that best suits his political position - that China is somehow responsible for the disease and the deaths it is causing, and is covering up its culpability.

'This is a dangerous political precedent that does nothing to support the international cooperation that is needed at this time to deal with the pandemic as best we can.'

Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said: 'We have good evidence from the genomics research that the virus is not man-made, and the scientific world has very much moved on from this idea.

'It is unhelpful for high-profile individuals to repeat the debunked conspiracy theories, as it undermines the public health response.'

Mystery: The path for the coronavirus getting into human beings remains unclear despite advances in knowledge of the virus itself seen (left) in a simulation and (right) under an electron microscope

Brendan Wren, professor of medical microbiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: 'Having been to Wuhan a number of times and having had infectious disease researchers from Wuhan working in my labs in London I dont believe that there have been any deliberate or nefarious activities with the SARS-Cov-2 virus.'

The WHO said it wants to be part of any Chinese efforts to investigate the source of the virus.

Spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said: 'WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese government to participate in investigation around the animal origins.'

Numerous Tory MPs have demanded an international probe into China's initial handling of the outbreak and for a reset in relations with the communist state.

But Beijing has said it will not accept such an inquiry because it believes it would be politically motivated.

Downing Street sources said previously that the Chinese government faces a 'reckoning' once the pandemic is over.
A Bucks County man on death row for the rape, murder and dismemberment of 14-year-old Grace Packer has died of natural causes, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed Friday.

Jacob Sullivan, 47, died from cardiac-related health issues, the Bucks County District Attorneys office said in a news release. NBC 10 reported Sullivan died of a ruptured aortic aneurism.

Sullivan was housed at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, but was taken this week to Einstein Medical Center, according to the district attorneys office. Sullivan was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon at the hospital.

This defendants crimes remain the worst I have seen in my decades in law enforcement, and for those crimes there is no doubt in my mind he deserved the death penalty, Bucks County DA Matthew Weintraub said in the release. I view this as Sullivans sentence being carried out sooner than we could have hoped, and I take solace in knowing Graces family will not have to endure the pain of the appeals process.

Prosecutors said Grace Packer was killed in 2016 as part of a rape-murder fantasy shared by Sullivan and Packers mother, Sara Packer.

Sullivan reportedly told investigators he and Sara Packer began plotting to murder Grace while she was living with another family member as far back as the fall of 2015.

Grace was raped, drugged, bound and gagged for a dozen hours and finally strangled in July 2016 in the attic of a home outside Quakertown.

Sullivan pleaded guilty to all charges in his case, but the penalty decision went to a Bucks County jury, which sentenced Sullivan to death in March 2019. Sullivan appealed, asking for a life sentence instead.

Sara Packer, who previously worked as a Northampton County adoptions supervisor, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life without parole for plotting Graces death.

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary needs to prepare for a potential second wave of coronavirus cases in October and November after a likely slowdown in the outbreak's infection rate in the summer, the prime minister told state radio on Friday.

Viktor Orban also said restrictions on movement in Budapest and surroundings, where 80% of the country's coronavirus deaths have been recorded, would not be eased until the fatality rate fell in that area.

From Monday, Hungary will lift some curbs in the countryside, where shops and restaurant terraces will be allowed to reopen as the government tries to put the battered economy back on track.

"The virus has not gone away, we have only won some time," Orban told state radio. "We have to prepare for a second wave (of the epidemic) in October-November."

As of Friday, Hungary has reported 2,863 cases of COVID-19, and 323 deaths.

Orban said the focus was on creating as many jobs in the country as had been destroyed by the economic fallout from the virus outbreak.

He said his government would offer paid training and widen the public works programme. The army was also in a recruitment phase.

A phased lifting of restrictions is the government's strategy to head off more lasting damage to the economy, which is expected to shrink by about 4% this year based on a Reuters survey. It expanded by 4.9% last year.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and John Stonestreet)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has lamented a lack of leadership by world powers and a divided international community in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Guterres raised concern about inadequate support for poor countries in his remarks on Thursday which followed US President Donald Trump reigniting his war of words with China a day earlier.

The UN chief told a news conference that the international community was divided when it was more important than ever to be united.

There is  a disconnect between leadership and power. We see remarkable examples of leadership but they are usually not associated with power. And where we see power we sometimes do not see the necessary leadership, Guterres said.

I hope this will be overcome sooner rather than later.

These [US and China] are two absolutely vital countries. Their contribution to fight COVID-19 [and] to all other aspects in the development of international relations is, in my opinion, absolutely essential and I hope that it will become possible in the future, he said.

The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has so far infected more than 3.2 million globally and more than 233,000 people have died, according to a tally by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Insufficient help

The UN Security Council has spent more than a month trying to negotiate a resolution that would emphasise the urgent need for enhanced cooperation among all countries in the fight against the coronavirus.

It has also called for a humanitarian truce in conflicts around the world.

A key sticking point, diplomats said, is how the resolution should reference the World Health Organization.





Trump has halted US funding for the WHO while Washington reviews the agencys handling of the pandemic, and accused it of being China-centric, an assertion the organisation denies.

The US also did not take part in a WHO initiative last week where world leaders pledged to accelerate work on tests, drugs and vaccines against COVID-19.

Guterres said he was particularly worried about insufficient help from the international community for developing countries, both in responding to the pandemic and addressing the economic and social impacts.

He said an appeal for $2bn to help the most vulnerable populations was only half-funded.
Harry stood down as a patron before stepping back as a senior royal. (Getty Images)

Prince Harry has continued to list a UK charity as one of his patronages, despite stepping back as its royal representative before leaving his role as a senior royal.

Harry was tied to Oxford based MapAction, a charity which collects information in the wake of disasters to help other charities and governments understand how they can respond.

The charity has confirmed to Yahoo UK that he stopped being a patron midway through 2019 after the Daily Mirror said the duke stopped being a patron at the end of last year.

However the charity is listed on the Sussex Royal website he and Meghan set up in January when they announced they wanted to step back from their senior roles.

Yahoo UK accessed the Map Action website through an archive site, where the Duke of Sussex can be seen as a supporter.

However he is no longer listed on the same page.

Read more: Prince Harry shares love of Thomas the Tank Engine in introduction to 75th anniversary episode

The website for Map Action as it looked in May last year.

Its believed Harry took on the patronage in 2007.

A MapAction spokesman told Yahoo UK: We can confirm that the Duke of Sussex is no longer a Patron of MapAction after we reached the end of a second five-year cycle of patronage midway through 2019.

The review timeframes were quite loose, as there was no urgency on either side to review the relationship and 2018 was a busy year for Harry and his team.

MapAction is extremely grateful to have had him as our Royal Patron for what were our vital formative years as an organisation.

The charity listed on Harry's section on the Sussex Royal website.

Harry and his team have always been extremely helpful and accommodating and we remain on excellent terms.

The couples website was set up in January when they announced they wanted to carve out a new role which would allow them to make their own money and still represent the monarchy.

Read more: Why are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping back as senior royals?

But that idea was quashed by Buckingham Palace, and they have since agreed to stop using the word royal in any of their work.

Story continues

While they have mothballed their Instagram account, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic means they have not been able to launch a new website for their planned organisation.

Harry carried out a few engagements before he stepped back. (Getty Images)

They have confirmed it will be called Archewell, a named which comes from the Greek word Arche, which means a source of action.

Read more: Meghan Markle loses first ruling in High Court case against Mail On Sunday

Yahoo UK has contacted Prince Harrys representatives for comment.
FLINT, MI - Plans to reopen the state by region are rolling out slowly and it will not be safe to congregate in masses for a while because of COVID-19, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Whitmer addressed residents questions during an hour-long virtual town hall hosted by ABC 12, Mid-Michigan Now and TV5 on Thursday, April 30. Whitmer said it is uncertain when the state will fully reopen and when a sense of normalcy will be felt.

Tough times dont last but tough people do and we are going to get through this, Whitmer said.

Whitmer said opening the states economy is also determined by the strain on an areas health care system. The state wont be opened all at once in order to avoid a second wave of COVID-19 cases, she said.

Michigan has the third highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the nation, Whitmer said.

The worst thing we can do is abandon all social distancing, Whitmer said. We have to incrementally reengage our economy.

Everyone is eager to get back to some sense of normalcy, Whitmer said, but cautioned that group gatherings would remain an issue for now.

The governor rolled out the My Safe Start plan, allowing certain businesses and regions to operate based on data. Businesses like construction are less of a risk to open where as businesses like hair salons are more at risk of spreading COVID-19.

Factories are adapting their operations to meet social distancing guidelines, Whitmer said.

Our workers have to know theyre going to be safe in the workplace, Whitmer said. By and large, people have done the right thing. My hope is we make progress every week until we are fully reengaged.

The state is expecting a $3 billion dollar hit to the general budget, according to Whitmer.

Like states across the nation, our economy has taken a large hit, Whitmer said.

Jeff Donofrio, director of labor and economic opportunity, said 1.3 million people have applied for unemployment in Michigan and 1.1 million people have received benefits. The unemployment office has quintupled the number of peopling working phones, Whitmer said.

The state has come a long way since the crisis began, according to Whitmer. Early on the state was struggling to supply personal protective equipment to workers, it now has a stored amount that would last a couple of weeks.

Whitmer said she is working with Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Pure Michigan Business Connect, so that businesses can get personal protective equipment.

Whitmer said she will not make public health decisions based on politics.

It defies common sense and science. We are still in a state of emergency. We have to take this seriously. If we are smart, we can start to reengage safely, Whitmer said.

Michigans state of emergency is due to expire at the end of the day April 30. The emergency declaration gives the governor additional powers to issue executive orders during an emergency situation.

Whitmer contends she retains emergency authority during the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of what the Legislature does, but Republican lawmakers critical of the administrations COVID-19 response maintain a 1976 law requiring the governor to seek legislative approval for an emergency after 28 days applies in this case.

Read more on MLive:

House adjourns without extending state of emergency order

Michigan coronavirus cases now at 7,615; up 1,117 cases, 75 deaths in one day

Report: Michigan schools could be closed for remainder of year due to coronavirus

8 tips to keep parents and kids sane and safe during Michigans coronavirus outbreak

Were going to get through this,' says Gov. Whitmer as she orders K-12 schools closed over coronavirus

How to talk to your kids about coronavirus
In the last couple days, Red Hat was able to demonstrate that an online technical conference can succeed. The Summit, normally held in Boston or San Francisco, was held online thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic still gripping the world.

The fact that 80,000 people attended the online event warrants a huge applause. By comparison, last years in-person conference broke the record with only 8,900 attendees.

Being there

The experience of attending the conference was in many ways what you would expect when attending a large conference in person. There were keynotes, general sessions and breakout sessions. There were many opportunities to ask questions. And it was often difficult but necessary to choose between parallel sessions. I attended both days and was very impressed.

I also enjoyed some nostalgia about how weve all arrived at the places we are today with respect to Linux. It was clear that many attendees were overwhelmed by the progress that has been made just since last year. Linux, and RHEL in particular, is becoming more innovative, more clever in the ways that it can detect and respond to problems and yet in some important ways easier to manage because of the way the tools have evolved.

Announcements at the conference included Red Hat OpenShift 4.4, OpenShift virtualization and Red Hat Advanced Container Management for Kubernetes.

What was novel about attending a technical conference online was that we didnt have to leave our home or office and that we could review sessions that we missed by selecting them later from the session layout pages. In fact, the sessions are still online and may well be for the coming year. If you didnt participate in Red Hat Summit 2020, you can still sign up and you can still watch the sessions at your convenience. Just go to the summit site. And, did I mention, that it's free?

Catching up

Once youre signed up, you can click on the Watch and Learn at the top of the page and choose General Sessions or Sessions and Labs. The presentations will now all be labeled On Demand though they once displayed upcoming time slots. The individuals presenting information are excellent and the material is exciting. Even if youre not working with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you will learn a lot about Linux in general and how open source has evolved over the decades and is still evolving in important and critical ways.

Topics covered at the conference include OpenShift, open hybrid cloud, future technologies, robotics and automation, advances on the edge and the power of open source. Red Hat Summit also includes joint sessions with both Red Hat and technology collaborators such as Ford, Verizon, Intel, Microsoft and Credit Suisse.

Whats next?

Watching the conference online at a time when I can't leave my home was informative, but also encouraging and comforting. Linux has been an important part of my life for decades. It felt good to be connected to the larger community and to sense the currents of progress through my desktop system.

While theres no way to know at this point whether future Red Hat Summits or other Linux conferences will be held or made available online, the fact that Red Hat Summit 2020 was available online when so many of us are still huddled up at home wondering when our world will reopen was a testament not just to great technology but to the deep-seated conviction that it is critical that we work together and that open source can make that happen in ways that nothing else can.
PRINCETON, N.J., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Letter to Governor Murphy from Dr. David R. Barile:

Dear Governor Murphy:



I am a Geriatrician in active practice in Princeton. I am the founder and Chief Medical Officer of Goals of Care Coalition of NJ, a sixteen-member organization that works to improve Palliative Medicine services across our state.

In addition, I am the Medical Director of Geriatric and Palliative Services, and the Geriatric Section Chief at UPENN Hospital of Princeton. My private medical practice includes making daily rounds in our hospital, as well as local skill nursing and assisted living facilities in our region. I am also in daily close contact with physicians and administrators of such facilities across the state.

For the previous two weeks on my morning rounds in a local nursing home, my tasks include not just listening to breathing and heart sounds but also offering food and water to those suffering from hunger and thirst. Residents are confined to their rooms and many staff members are out sick with COVID. I find myself offering food and drink whenever I'm in a patient's room.

This morning, I was feeding one elderly resident when I heard staff yelling across the hall. In that room I found a patient in cardiac arrest. I administered CPR to no avail, and pronounced her dead at 8:50 am. With no recent fever or illness, I surmise that she died of a sudden blood clot, presumably from COVID or perhaps from being less mobile during her confinement.

I consoled the staff and made that difficult call to her daughter. When I returned to the bedside of my original patient who I was feeding, the food had turned cold and she had dozed off, having eaten very little.

I can only assume, based on the fact that many nursing homes and assisted living facilities remain dangerously understaffed, that your knowledge of their operations is limited.

It's important to understand - nursing aides assist patients with getting out of bed, bathing, dressing and meals. Dining typically occurs around a table, where residents interact, and one aide can assist with meals. However, at this time, every nursing home and assisted living patient is confined to their room, isolated from contact, and dependent upon dwindling staff for basic needs.

As of this letter's date, over 90% of NJ nursing homes have cases of COVID. Approximately 40% of the many deaths in our state occur in nursing homes. NJ nursing home deaths from COVID are consistently high and will continue to rise. It is my estimation that without immediate hands-on assistance in these facilities, NJ will lose 30% of our elder population who reside there. That number will be staggering. Not all deaths will be from COVID. They will also die from bedsores, malnutrition, and other maladies associated with lack of basic care and hygiene.

In this time of crisis, the state of NJ has made three essential decisions that impact nursing homes.

In March, your office suspended all staffing regulations for nursing homes as many staff members would be out sick, and facilities would not be able to maintain state required, patient to staff ratios. This was important, because with so many out, virtually every facility in NJ would have been in violation. Good for avoiding a violation, but unhelpful to our frail elders.

On March 31st, Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli mandated that "no patient/resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the post-acute care (AKA Nursing Home) setting solely based on a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19." This move was likely to maintain throughput for hospitals, out of worry that they would fill up and be unable to discharge people back to nursing homes. Again, helpful to hospitals, but not for nursing homes.

More recently, fearing that families were not getting information from facilities, Commissioner Persichilli pushed for the public release of COVID positive cases and deaths for every nursing home. Again, important and useful information especially if you are a concerned loved one and locked out of your Mom or Dad's home, but how exactly does this help the patients living in those nursing homes?

In these facilities, where today nearly 40% of our COVID deaths occur and where our most vulnerable population resides, state government has made no provision to assist with staffing. This desperate situation needs to be addressed immediately. How could a government and its health department allow a health care business to operate knowing that deaths will increase without staffing support?

As of today, all you have done for our sickest, most frail population is to loosen requirements and turn on the lights so everyone can watch as cases climb, and more people die. Last week, you stated that health care workers from out of state are available and will be coming to help. My understanding from the NJ Emergency Operations Center is that these volunteers are staffing Emergency Field Hospitals (which are not at capacity). Good for the locals, again unhelpful to our elderly population.

I understand that you recently met with President Trump and PPE will soon be sent to NJ Nursing homes. That's good, it will replace trash bags and raincoats that many in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are using. We hope they arrive soon. But is does not address with most pressing issue: the staffing.

On April 16th, I sent a letter to you and Commissioner Persichilli pleading for our National Guard to assist staff in the most threatened NJ nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The Guard has been called out to three facilities in the state overwhelmed by COVID and are currently assisting with testing in the field.

We also need guardsmen. We need them in our vulnerable nursing homes to help with critical staff shortages so residents can be fed, washed, clothed and safely cared for in their rooms. This intervention will save lives and reduce age related complications of remaining bedbound. Guardsmen will help to reduce the spread of COVID by keeping residents with dementia from moving room to room.

The state needs to hear from you regarding this unacceptable situation.

If the National Guard is not available, one solution may be to extend a waiver allowing healthy young adults to volunteer in nursing homes. College students or healthy volunteers may don PPE and help feed  under close supervision of existing staff  elderly residents. Whatever the mechanism, nursing homes have an immediate staffing crisis that is threatening the lives of New Jersey's most vulnerable population.

Without an immediate and compassionate response from you, there is concern that a Title 59 notice of tort claim could be submitted on behalf of families who have lost elderly loved ones in our state. We should work together to prevent this, and quickly come up with innovative and compassionate ways to care for elders in long term care and assisted living facilities.

In our state and across the nation, hospital staffs are regarded as heroes. In my local hospital we receive cards from school children. I pass signs of support on the hospital lawn when I enter each day. We receive salutes from local law enforcement and firefighters, and gratitude from families and patients.

Meanwhile, we shame nursing homes for not doing a good job to contain the virus, and frown upon them as numbers climb. I ask state officials and the general public to not write off NJ nursing facilities. How many deaths will it take before our government intervenes?

Twenty-five years ago, when I was an intern, I shared my interest in geriatrics with a senior educator in my program. He responded dismissively, with a comment that has haunted me ever since. I've tried not to think about those words over the course of my career. I did not want to believe them. Twenty-five years later, it's occurring to me that what he said may be tragically true: "Nobody gives a damn about old people."

Respectfully submitted,

David Barile, MD

CC: Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, George Helmy Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff of Outreach Deborah Cornavaca, Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli, Chief of Staff Andrea Martinez-Mejia, LTC Ombudsman Laurie Brewer, Joseph Vitale, Chair, and Fred Madden, Vice Chair, Health, Human Services & Senior Citizens Committee NJ Senate, Valerie Vainieri-Huttle, Chair, and Shanique Speight, Vice Chair, Aging & Senior Services Committee, NJ Assembly.

SOURCE David R. Barile, MD, LLC
The only certainty is that the future of travel is uncertain.

Some experts predict that things will not return to normal for two to three years, and that many companies will go out of business in the next six months.

We hope this is not the case, but well all have to get used to a whole new travel landscape once restrictions are lifted. So what will it look like? Here we explore some of the possibilities.

New rules at airports

At airports, passengers could see a speedier security process and have their bags 'sani-tagged'

Heathrow Airport has closed one of its two runways and two of its terminals. Passenger numbers in March tumbled by 52 per cent year on year to 3.1 million, and the April figure is expected to be down a whopping 90 per cent or more on the usual figures.

Meanwhile at Gatwick, 90 per cent of staff have been furloughed and authorities expect that it could take four years for passenger numbers to bounce back. BA this week even told staff that it may not return to Gatwick after the pandemic passes.

Other airports across the world have been scaling back, too, with global flight numbers falling by 59.8 per cent between December and April, according to travel analysts OAG. But there is some good news ...

What could happen:

Queues for boarding with two-metre spacing. Passengers may be sent text messages calling them to gates to avoid crowding.

Earlier check-in times. Turning up four hours before flights could be commonplace.

Widespread Covid-19 testing of passengers. Already in Dubai, Emirates is carrying out blood tests. At Hong Kong International, tests with results taking up to 12 hours are in place. This week, Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye called for the Government to set up a common international standard for aviation health screening.

Passengers taking blood tests before boarding an Emirates flight at Dubai Airport last month

Health certificates. Thai authorities already demand that documents showing visitors pose no risk of being infected are issued no more than 72 hours before landing.

Insurance certificates could also come in; Thailand requires Covid-19 cover for up to 80,000.

Walkways to planes with disinfectant tunnels, in which passengers are checked and bags sani-tagged after electrostatic cleansing or UV disinfection.

More facial recognition systems and fewer passport checks, which might make immigration faster.

More sophisticated security machines that do not require you to remove laptops or liquids.

What we think:

New procedures are likely to result in slower progress through airports to begin with, although turning up four hours before flights sounds excessive. Medical screenings and health certificates are possible.

There is a chance that, once systems are well established, which may take years, movements could be smoother than ever.

In the air

On planes, the middle seats could be left empty or reversed

At present, 64 per cent of the worlds passenger jets are grounded, which is nearly 17,000 planes.

This week, Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates European air traffic, showed flights in Britain were 91 per cent down on last year.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warns that the airline industry worldwide is set to lose 250 billion this year, a 55 per cent annual drop with more than 25 million jobs at risk.

British Airways alone says as many as 12,000 employees may be made redundant, with 1,100 pilots due to go, and Ryanair has just announced 3,000 job cuts.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia and Air Mauritius have gone under, and now eyes are on Virgin Atlantic.

What could happen:

Fewer flights as airlines fail, resulting in higher fares.

Middle seats left empty, or filled but facing backwards.

Cabins with inflight dedicated cleaners, or sani-janitors.

Passenger face masks as standard, as already adopted by Lufthansa and Wizz Air.

Cabin crew wearing face masks and gloves.

Sanitising wipes handed out for free to passengers.

Seats with plastic hoods.

Seats with plastic hoods around them may become commonplace on flights

No alcohol served on flights.

No hot meals. Instead, sandwich bags to avoid interaction.

Reductions on hand luggage allowances to stop people reaching over others to overhead bins.

Last few rows on the plane left empty for passengers with Covid-19 symptoms. China has already introduced this.

What we think:

Mandatory masks seem sensible. Pared down meals with sandwiches are likely. Planes will also be spotless. Social distancing by keeping middle seats empty will prove uneconomical and unhelpful, as keeping passengers two metres apart would require 26 economy seats per four passengers, say experts. Ticket prices would soar.

As it is, fares could rise above pre-crisis levels as airlines struggle: the golden age of low-cost tickets may be over, although easyJet and Ryanair appear to have sufficient cash reserves to weather the storm.

It took three years for the industry to recover after the 2008 crash.

Back on track?

Social distancing measures could be introduced in train corridors and passengers given alternate seats on long distance journeys

Trains are virtually empty due to lockdown, although they are still running to provide transport for key workers and volunteers.

Timetables have been reduced. Trainlines in the UK and in Europe  SNCF and Trenitalia  have been quick to offer refunds, according to thetrainline.com.

Franchised UK rail firms, such as Avanti West Coast and Great Western Railway, have been effectively nationalised by the Department for Transport until the autumn. Smaller UK operators, such as Hull Trains and Grand Central Rail, which are not receiving help, have suspended train services.

What could happen:

Passenger numbers could drop by up to a quarter, as fewer people move about post lockdown due to working from home.

Social distancing measures introduced in train corridors.

Those on commuter trains may still be in close contact.

Technology may be brought in to count passengers.

Face mask rules.

On long-distance trains, passengers may be given alternate seats.

What we think:

A requirement to wear masks is possible, but given the crowds on platforms and peak-hour passenger numbers, social distancing could prove impossible, say experts. Investment is needed for more trains, but isnt it always?

On the high seas

To entice passengers back on cruises, health certificates may be required and more cleaning staff hired

Before the coronavirus crisis, the worldwide cruise industry was booming. It was worth more than 93 billion annually, supporting 891,000 jobs, with more than 21 million passengers. Now the picture is quite different, with most ships moored and ports closed.

The story of passengers on the Diamond Princess quarantined in Yokohama in Japan in February did not help the industrys image.

What could happen:

Enticing offers to lure passengers back to cruise ships.

Less choice of stops as countries introduce travel bans.

Checks before boarding and health certificates required.

On-board social distancing.

Buffets replaced by either a meal service or a canteen.

More space for medical rooms.

What we think:

Pre-boarding health checks or requirements for up-to-date health certificates seem inevitable. As on planes, expect a new breed of sani-janitor cleaning staff.

Entry restrictions to some countries may make trips less varied. But bargains are expected, with trips departing from the UK and European river cruises both likely to be popular as they do not require flights.

Insurance impact

Travel insurance premiums could be far higher, especially when the coronavirus is covered and applicants are elderly

Most travel insurance companies are no longer offering Covid-19 cover. Holidaymakers with existing policies may be covered, but they should check with their insurer.

Most insurers are not issuing any new policies  the handful that are, including Saga, Allianz Assistance and Columbus Direct, will not cover coronavirus. The industry expects 400,000 claims at a cost of 275 million from Covid-19 cancellations.

What could happen:

Far higher premiums, especially when the coronavirus is covered and applicants are elderly.

Difficulty finding insurance.

What we think:

Insurance companies will need to recoup losses. They may be wary of offering coronavirus cover until a vaccine is found. It may take some time for the travel insurance world to stabilise. This will be especially true after Brexit, when reciprocal cover within the EU goes.

Going abroad

When going abroad on holiday, social distancing could become de rigueur across the globe

Resorts around the world are empty, and no one knows how long it will be until tourism starts again.

What could happen:

Social distancing will become de rigueur across the globe, some have even suggested plastic booths at restaurants and on beaches for sunloungers and parasols.

Strict limits at attractions.

Phenomenon of overtourism in the likes of Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik will abate.

Touristy cities will have much more of a local feel.

Some destinations may not want tourists.

Quarantine of 14 days for overseas visitors, effectively ending tourism in some places.

What we think:

There will be a bounce-back, eventually.

Our hard-earned holidays are precious and the desire to explore the globe will be as strong as ever.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:13:28|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- One more patient in Fiji has recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of the recoveries in the island nation to 12, Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said on Friday, adding that there are now only six active cases in the nation.

Fiji reported its first confirmed case of the deadly virus on March 19 and it has since recorded a total of 18 patients.

Currently, most of the recovered patients have been sent home for another 14-day self-isolation.

The prime minister reminded Fijians that they must take the virus seriously and comply with the restrictions.

"This progress aside we cannot afford to treat this virus lightly. Gatherings over 20 are still banned. The nationwide curfew remains in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Gyms, nightclubs, swimming pools and cinemas remain closed. Physical distancing should be practiced as much as possible. Every Fijian must act as if the virus is still out there - because it is," said the prime minister.

Fiji imposed the nationwide curfew on March 30 and the prime minister has warned that a 24-hour nationwide curfew is possible if more Fijians fail to abide by the existing restrictions. Enditem
If we focus on the good during this tragic time, thats what will get us through. She is all kinds of good for our family, Beutel said. She has her spay surgery next week. Then after the surgery is complete, she is ours."
The daughter of the ex-president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, was released from prison on special conditions a few days after applying for help to prisoners in the situation with coronavirus, RIA Novosti reported.

Every 30 days she will have to come to a special service and put her fingerprints, she should not leave the city of her residence and should not change it without permission of the authorities.

Earlier, Fujimori published a statement on Facebook that prisoners in Peru urgently need tests for coronavirus, as there are many prisoners with symptoms of the disease. She asked for measures to save prisoners and prison staff.

Fujimori is accused of receiving funds from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in 2011-2016. Since the end of January, she was serving a 15-month period of pre-trial detention.
Though there werent any eggs or bacon, the Midland Business Alliance managed to host its first-ever virtual WakeUp! Midland event on Friday, May 1, complete with a talk show segment and time for networking.

MBA president and CEO Tony Stamas said there were 205 participants who registered for the networking event, which the MBA typically hosts at the Great Hall Banquet & Convention Center on the first Friday of every month, except for July and August. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was hosted virtually via Zoom, which showed there were 160 participants Friday morning.

I thought it went great, you know, based on the chat afterwards, we got really good feedback, Stamas said about the meeting. I think people (want) to connect, and this is a way to do that, and kind of the landscape and environment we have, and we tried to keep a lot of the features weve done in the past and just keep it moving quickly.

The virtual event kicked off promptly at 8 a.m. and featured two sponsors running for Midland County Sheriff, Myron Greene and Laura Lee.

In addition, David Midkiff, operations director at Corteva AgriScience in Michigan, spoke about the state of the agricultural science company and what employees have been doing in the last several weeks in response to the coronavirus pandemic. He said they implemented a five-phase crisis plan and shared some of the ways the company has assisted response efforts locally.

Midkiff said the Michigan Corteva team recently partnered with the Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network and United way, sponsoring a food distribution at Midland High School, and has raised over $10,000 for local relief efforts.

There was also a talk show segment with guests President of MidMichigan Health Greg Rogers, and Chief Nursing Officer Tammy Terrell. Together, they talked about the state of MidMichigan Health and thanked the community for its support over the last several weeks.

Rogers said right now, MidMichigan Medical Center operations are slow. He said back in March, there was a flurry of activity and leaders were having daily meetings and the top priority was the health and safety of patients and staff. However, since halting elective surgeries, procedures and testing, occupancy levels at the hospital went from 200-plus inpatients a day to less than 100.

Even though we did not see the surge that we had anticipated we were going to see, we have seen some patients that we feel like weve been able to take care of them very safely and provide high-quality care, he said.

However, now Rogers said MidMichigan is in the process of starting surgeries and procedures back up.

The things that were maybe not essential a month ago, are becoming more essential now that theyve been delayed a month so, were going to make sure that we are providing services to those patients, he said.

Rogers and Terrell said MidMichigan health continues to struggle with test swab shortages, however, the teams are prepared for surges or an increase of cases that are likely to happen once communities start returning to a normal state and the possibility of a spike in the fall.

We feel like were well prepared, Rogers said. ... From a community perspective, people should feel good about the fact that we feel like were in a really good spot to handle anything that would come up in our community. I mean, this is really what we do.

In addition, Terrell explained some details about the coronavirus tests that MidMichigan can administer  a diagnostic test as well as an antibody test  which can both be done in-house now. However, she warned people about some unreliable antibody tests, which can show whether a person had an infection, but wont specify whether it was coronavirus or not.

The concern is, it doesnt diagnose for acute illness in that case and its not COVID specific so again, just cautioning that you check the reliability of your source because otherwise, there could be treatment thats occurring or a false sense of you know you have it or you done have it and youve been treated. So, just a word of caution on that, she said.

Typically, at WakeUp events, attendees are given time to go around the room and network and that were given a similar opportunity Friday, using a tool for breakout rooms in Zoom. Participants were able to connect in small groups and chat about the current state of the businesses.

The MBA staff also surveyed participants, asking if they would be interested in another virtual WakeUp Midland this summer. According to the survey, which also asked participants if they missed the bacon at WakeUp, 90% said they would like to see another virtual event this summer and 84% said they were interested in more virtual networking opportunities.

Stamas said the MBA team will meet to discuss hosting another this summer, but he said its likely there will be another in June.

Wed love to get everybody back together in person but we also know thats just going to take time, he said.
For the first time since Oct. 28, 2019, when Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazlum Kobane announced an initiative to resolve inter-Kurdish differences, the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) kick-started secret, direct talks. The initiative is seemingly designed to include all the Kurdish parties in the PYD-ruled autonomous administration in northeast Syria, paving the way for the autonomous administration to join the UN-sponsored negotiations in Geneva to end the Syrian conflict.

Despite the stakes involved, success is not guaranteed given the tense political relations between the two negotiating parties following years of political conflict and media spats. The KNC is an official part of the Istanbul-based Syrian opposition in exile, while Turkey views the PYD, which espouses the ideology of the Abdullah Ocalan-led Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as its top foe in Syria. Meanwhile, the PYD is also part of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political arm of the Kurdish-led SDF fighting alongside the US-led international coalition.

Speaking to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity, an informed official source revealed the origins of the negotiations process. The first direct negotiating round between the KNC and PYD was held in early April at a US military base on the periphery of Hasakah, in the presence of the US special adviser to the global coalition forces in Syria, William Roebuck, and SDF commander Mazlum Kobane.

The attempted detente is reportedly taking place under US supervision. Roebuck has had multiple meetings with the KNC in the past three months to discuss developments in the Syrian arena and to support the initiative to unify Kurdish ranks in Syria.

At an April 25 press conference in Qamishli, Kobane said, Remarkable progress is being made in the process to unify the Kurdish ranks. The parties, the PYD and the rest of the political parties are being responsive to the initiative.

Commenting on the agenda for the negotiations, the source told Al-Monitor, The two sides are discussing the adoption of a unified political vision for Syrians future based on discussion of a draft presented by the US side. After holding at least four meetings as part of the negotiations, the two sides agreed on the following: Syria will be a federal, democratic and pluralistic state; the current regime is an authoritarian and dictatorial regime that uses violence against its opponents; the Kurdish areas consist of an integrated political and geographical unit.

He also said that the parties agree on building positive relations with neighboring countries and resolving the Syrian crisis in accordance with UN Resolution 2254. Both sides seek to include recognition of Kurdish national, cultural and political rights in the Syrian constitution as well secure constitutional recognition that Syrian Kurds are an indigenous people. They also agree to advocate for the return of refugees and other displaced persons to their homes and for a democratic opposition.

In Qamishli, SDC spokesman Amjad Othman told Al-Monitor, The motives behind the agreement are much stronger than reasons preventing its conclusion. The parties to the dialogue have the single option of coming to an agreement despite the considerable challenges and difficulties which will only be resolved if the parties are serious.

Othman said the negotiations can only succeed if the parties remain independent. The regional influences and agendas need to be ignored, and priority needs to be given to the public interest and a joint vision to address the situations in Afrin, Ras al-Ain/Sari Kani and Gire Spi/Tell Abyad. The Kurdistan parties agreeing to and supporting the initiative would improve the odds of success.

The KNC is allied with the Kurdish nationalist project led by Massoud Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraq, having been formed in 2011 with the KDP's support. As noted, the PYD bases its political and organizational projects on the PKK's ideology.

Tensions between the PYD and KNC took a turn for the worse when the PYD became the most influential player in northeast Syria in 2012. The KNC viewed the PYD-led autonomous administration as a fait accompli and has refused to apply for a permit to engage in political activity there. The autonomous administration responded by exiling the KNC president, shuttering its offices and arresting dozens of its leaders and members during 2016-17.

Meanwhile, the KNC's affiliation with the Istanbul-based Syrian opposition has served to exacerbate tensions between the two sides following multiple Turkish military operations launched against the Kurds in Syria. In fact, the PYD has accused the KNC of subordination to the Turkish state at the expense of the Kurdish people.

Kamiran Hajo, chairman of the KNCs Foreign Relations Committee told Al-Monitor by phone from Sweden, where he resides, We have always called for the unification of Kurdish ranks. The current circumstances seem to be right for practical steps to be taken in this direction. Following the relatively longstanding feud, the two sides are in need of an agreement that lays the foundations for the Kurds future in Syria.

Hajo fears, however, that any new agreement with the PYD will suffer the same fate as previously ones reached by the two sides under Barzani's auspices: collapse at the implementation stage. Negotiations are not going to be easy, and there will be multiple challenges before an agreement is reached, Hajo said. The agreements implementation phase could be harder than the dialogue and agreement phase in itself. Thats what happened with the previous deals.

Commenting on the US role in the negotiations, Ahed al-Hindi, a Washington, DC-based political analyst, told Al-Monitor by phone, I believe that the US efforts to unify the Kurdish ranks in northeastern Syria are a part of [a broader] project designed to unify the entire Syrian north, namely the northwest controlled by the Turkish-backed [opposition] and the northeast controlled by the US-backed [Kurdish-led forces]. This project aims to build a strong position against the [Bashar] al-Assad regime and deny it the areas wealth, which could be used to revive the regime.

Hindi believes the United States is determined to unify the ranks of the Syrian Kurds. He asserted, The repeated visits Roebuck and his team made lately and his long stays in the region confirm that the US is serious in resolving inter-Kurdish differences and subsequently have the autonomous administration taking part in the Geneva talks to resolve the Syrian crisis and be represented in the opposition delegation.

Over the course of the nine-year Syrian civil war, the Kurds in Syria have paid exorbitant prices in military and social terms. In 2018 and 2019, they lost the regions of Afrin, Ras al-Ain/Sari Kani and Gire Spi/Tell Abyad to Turkey and Turkish-backed militias, resulting in the displacement of most Kurdish residents in these areas. In addition, in the fight against Islamic State, the SDF, whose backbone is the Kurdish People's Protection Units, lost 11,000 fighters and saw 22,000 wounded.

Despite controlling nearly 20% of Syrian territory, the SDF does not have political representation in the Geneva talks because of Turkish opposition to their presence. With Ankara continuing to reject any project that would lead to Kurdish autonomous rule in Syria, unifying to jointly pursue Kurdish interests is the only option the Kurds have left.
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The stunning photo of a golden jackal chasing a magpie is just one of the incredible entries in this year's Glanzlichter Nature Photo Contest.

The competition is open to everyone who practises nature photography either as a hobby or professionally.

There are 10 categories in the competition including Glanzlichter Nature Photographer Of The Year, Junior Award Winner and The Beauty Of Plants.

Entrants had to pay an entree fee equal to about 17.50 but can win cash prizes of up to 10,500.

In one of the most striking images a golden jackal is seen baring its teeth and chasing a magpie at full speed.

Another of the entries shows a gorilla scratching its nose.

MailOnline showcases some of the best pictures in the competition:

Wildlife photographer Maurizio Ferrari captured this stunning image of a jackal closing in on a magpie. The shot was taken in Romania and earned an honourable mention in the Glanzlichter photography contest

Markus Varesvuo, from Helsinki, Finland, captured this unbelievable image of a white-tailed eagle leaving the surface of a body of water with a fish clutched in its claws. It was the overall winning picture in the photo competition

Tomasz Szpila took this photo of a gorilla which spent most of its life at London zoo. The animal scratches its nose in the picture

This photo of birds running from the tide won the Fritz Poelking Award. It was captured by Bart Siebelink in The Netherlands

An incredible fork of lightening crashes into the sea in this picture. Italian Ivan Pedretti came first in the Magnificent Wilderness section for this picture set in Sardinia, Italy

Two Mandarinfish share a kiss in this cheeky close up taken in Indonesia. The photo called The Kiss helped German Tobias Friedrich win first place in the Diversity of all other Animals category

The Beauty Of Plants category was won by this photo of an old oak tree on a misty winter's day. It was taken by Csaba Daroczi, from Hungary

This overhead shot of the Rio Tinto river in Spain claimed first place in the Aerial Views Of Nature category. Florian Smit took the photo called Paintbox
Libya's GNA Continues Fighting LNA Forces Despite Haftar Declaring Ceasefire

Sputnik News

18:30 GMT 30.04.2020

CAIRO (Sputnik) - The Government of National Accord (GNA), one of the two major factions in the Libyan armed conflict, on Thursday declined to suspend fighting following the Libyan National Army, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, declaring a temporary truce amid the holy month of Ramadan.

The GNA says it does not trust Haftar's claims of a ceasefire.

"We will continue conducting legitimate self-defence, continue striking at hotbeds of threat wherever they are, and we will finish off criminal groups that disregard the lives of Libyans across the entire country", the GNA said in a statement, adding that a real ceasefire and an armistice can only be reached via the work of 5+5 commission under international guarantees and control.

After the ouster and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the country was plunged into a brutal civil war. Today, Libya is divided between two centres of power  an elected parliament in the country's east, supported by the Libyan National Army and the UN-backed Government of National Accord in the west, headed by Fayez Sarraj.

On Monday, Haftar announced that LNA is quitting the 2015 Skhirat Agreement that had led to the formation of the GNA and taking control of the country.

The situation in Libya escalated on 13 April when Tripoli-based GNA said that it had launched a rapid offensive west of the country's capital and taken control over the cities of Sabratah and Surman. A day later, an official from the GNA's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Tripoli-based forces had captured the coastal area from the city of Misrata, located to the east of the capital, to the city of Zuwara close to the Tunisian border. On 21 April, Chairman of Libya's High Council of State in Tripoli, Khalid al-Mishri, expressed hope that the LNA would be defeated during the Ramadan.

A Sputnik

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Motorcycles and dogs don't mix! At least that's the message Jan Mcinnis shares with us in her weekly podcast titled Comedian Stories. "My new rule is not to ride the day before I travel," McInnis quips.

This week she talks about the one time in her life where she had to glob on the makeup in order to cover her face from a run in with neighborhood dog while on her motorcycle. Don't worry, McInnis came out on the short end of that one.

Every week, keynote speaker and comedian Jan McInnis shares a story from her comedy career. Her podcast kicks off with a joke, tells a short story under five minutes, and ends with a take-away tip from what she learned. You can listen to her podcasts on stitcher, iHeart, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Srinagar, May 1 : The Jammu and Kashmir government has released 371 prisoners since April 1 that include 72 inmates who were serving detention under Public Safety Act (PSA).

Sources said the decision to release the prisoners was taken after the need to decongest the jails was felt in the wake of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed eight lives in J&K so far.

The Review Committee in J&K headed by Home Secretary Shaleen Kabra took a series meetings to review the cases of prisoners to be released.

Latest figures available with the IANS reveal that 72 PSA detainees were released from April 1 to April 30 that include 19 from Central Jail Kotbalwal, 43 from Central Jail Srinagar, four from Kathua Jail, one from Udhampur and one each from Anantnag, Baramulla and Kupwara prisons.

Figures suggest that 97 undertrials were also released from these jails after a decision by the Under-Trial Review Committee. Besides this, 160 other prisoners were also released over the past one month.

64 detention orders of prisoners from J&K lodged in jails outside the UT were revoked from April 1 to 30 and so far 43 PSA detainees were released.

Figures suggest that 23 prisoners lodged in Agra Central Jail were released while two were released from district jail Bareilly in UP, six each from District Jail Ambedkar Nagar (UP) and Central Jail Varanasi and three each were released from District prison Karnal and District prison Jhajhar in Haryana.
Mayra Beltran, Staff / Houston Chronicle

Texans who become peace officers can now receive up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness under a new state program.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board plans to launch a loan repayment program in September to help recently appointed peace officers with student debt.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 01.05.2020:

 The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 2,148 in Armenia, and one new death has been reported.

According to the latest data, 977 COVID-19 patients have recovered thus far, whereas 33 others have died in Armenia from the disease.

As health ministry spokesperson Alina Nikoghosyan noted, the latest coronavirus casualty in Armenia was a 27-year-old woman who had concomitant chronic illnesses.

In the meantime, deputy health minister Lena Nanushyan noted that Armenia has the capacity to conduct 1,000 COVID-19 tests per day. According to her, everything is being done to increase the testing groups, which already include doctors and patients with pneumonia.

 Under the new package of measures that will enter into force on May 4, restrictions on freedom of movement will be lifted, citizens wont have to fill out a form before going out, but there will still be a ban on public transport, including intercity transport due to the high risk of the COVID-19 spread, Armenian deputy economy minister Varos Simonyan told reporters.

He added that almost all types of economic activities will be permitted, except for retail and wholesale trade at shopping centers.

 Armenian second president Robert Kocharyan will undergo diagnostic surgery, and the respective analyses are currently being conducted, Armen Charchyan, executive director of Izmirlian MC told Armenian News - NEWS.am.

Charchyan added that the surgery can be performed in a few days.

 Within the health-care programs implemented by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to overcome the consequences of COVID-19, medical supplies worth AMD 26 million 500 thousand were presented Thursday to the health ministry.

These medical supplies were acquired thanks to the means of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the donations from its dioceses.

 A shooting took place in Yerevan on Friday.

At around 1 pm, a person with a gunshot wound to his leg was taken to a hospital, shamshyan.com reported.

Several citizens who gathered at the scene said that this man had been previously convicted, was known in the criminal world, and had recently been released on bail by a court decision.

The police are ascertaining the circumstances of the incident.
NJ Transit employees will tested for the coronavirus at the American Dream retail complex in East Rutherford and later at sites elsewhere in Central and South Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday.

The announcement came after unions and a transit advocacy group asked NJ Transit for testing of front line workers such as bus drivers, train conductors, engineers and others who work with the public and have the highest risk of exposure. Two bus drivers and a train conductor are among the five NJ Transit employees who died of COVID-19.

Daily testing will be offered next week on an appointment basis and online registration for appointments opens Sunday. NJ Transit is also working to offer testing at sites to be set up in central and south New Jersey, Murphy said.

Union officials praised the decision to test as a way to protect both riders and employees from the coronavirus.

I am extremely appreciative that Gov. Murphy understands that front line employees must be tested for this deadly virus, said Jerome C. Johnson, Smart-TD Local 60 General Chairman and President, representing conductors. Local 60 members are most susceptible to catch this virus due to the nature of their respective duties.

Expanding COVID-19 testing was called part of the key principles outlined earlier this week for reopening the state, Murphy said, during his regular press briefing. He credited the ability to expand testing to a commitment for 500,000 new COVID-19 test kits and 750,000 swabs made by federal officials during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Murphy earlier Thursday.

This is a tremendous boost to our overall testing capacity, Murphy said. All NJ Transit employees will have access to COVID-19 testing, Murphy said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

As of April 20, the agency has had 256 employees whove tested positive for COVID-19, including CEO Kevin Corbett. There are 1,064 employees who are quarantined and 562 who have returned to work, officials said. NJ Transit has 12,000 employees. Updated figures werent available.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) New Jersey State Council asked for on-site testing of transit workers for COVID-19 symptoms at NJ Transits expense, in addition to hazardous duty pay and N95 masks.

Its great news that NJ Transit will be testing all employees, particularly our members working on the front lines. Its imperative that we identify those individuals who are positive, in order to prevent further spreading of the virus and help those individuals get the care they need, said Orlando Riley, ATU State Council Chairman.

Murphy thanked Riley and Johnson for their hard work to bring about the testing.

The men and women of NJ Transit been an essential part of our COVID-19 response. Theyre the way many of our front-line responders get to their jobs," Murphy said. Ensuring the health and safety of the men and women of NJ Transit will enhance public confidence in mass transit.

That confidence in riding public transit will be part of the larger plan to reopen workplaces and businesses to restore the states economy, the governor said.

We know our overall restart and recovery relies on ensuring residents have greater confidence in public transit to get them to work, Murphy said..

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
As Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on New Hampshire prior to the state's Feb. 11 primary, John Tackeff was busy.

The 27-year-old attended candidate events across the state to raise concerns about a proposed tax on Wall Street financial transactions that much of the field supported. Bespectacled, unshaven and casually dressed, Tackeff wasn't shy about asking questions.

At a December 22 gathering with former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Tackeff introduced a woman he said was his mother. Reuters could not verify her identity. Any tax on stock and bond trades would hurt seniors like her and parents trying to save for their children's college, Tackeff said.

He also raised the issue at meetings hosted by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Tulsi Gabbard and businessman Andrew Yang, according to video of the four New Hampshire political events reviewed by Reuters.

Tackeff told the candidates he was part of a group called the Partnership to Protect Our Retirement Future. He declined to comment for this story.

But he was no ordinary citizen hanging out at campaign events with his mom, rather a professional political organizer, according to his LinkedIn profile. And the Partnership to Protect Our Retirement Future was the creation of a major Washington public relations firm.

That company, Locust Street Group, tried to create the impression of widespread voter opposition to a financial transaction tax as Democratic voters considered which candidate to nominate to face Republican President Donald Trump in this year's presidential election.

Last year, Congressional lawmakers introduced four bills that would impose a tax on financial transactions of one kind or another. Some of those bills have prominent backers, including Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Brian Schatz and Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Depending on how such a tax were structured, it could hit the profits of brokers, hedge funds and high-speed traders which process millions of transactions a day.

Locust Street has presented the Partnership as a group powered by average citizens. In fact, Locust Street has been orchestrating the effort on behalf of a client or clients whose identity has not been made public, according to a Reuters examination of Partnership materials, company records, public filings, social media, emails and interviews with people involved.

A Virginia retiree told Reuters she was approached by a Locust Street employee to become involved as a background person and paid a stipend for her efforts. A South Carolina school counselor said she was recruited to join the Partnership in February and later voiced her opposition to the tax at a campaign event for candidate Tom Steyer. A community organizer hired by Locust Street in December to push the Partnership in Iowa said she quit within weeks because she felt misled about "who we were actually working for."

None of the three were told who is funding the Partnership, they told Reuters.

David Barnhart, founding partner of Locust Street Group, would not discuss the firm's clients or say who is paying for the campaign.

We have various stakeholders who are extremely interested in this issue, they came together and asked us to provide the strategy and the grassroots, Barnhart said. This is a really diverse coalition and it is comprised of stakeholders from all walks of life.

Locust Street's website boasts a suite of "grassroots" services it can provide to corporate clients, including ginning up supporters for their causes. An effort to disguise an orchestrated influence campaign as a spontaneous, grassroots movement while masking its true sponsors is often described as "astroturfing."

Industries have employed the strategy for decades to battle regulation in a variety of areas -- smoking bans in restaurants and bars is one example -- by claiming to represent workers who allegedly would lose jobs or consumers who would be inconvenienced.

But some people familiar with astroturfing say Locust Street's recent efforts were the first time they've seen it used in an attempt to influence a presidential primary.

"Targeting Democratic voters as a wedge issue, that's unique," said Susan Harley, deputy director for the Congress Watch division of Public Citizen, a liberal watchdog group based in Washington D.C. "We haven't seen those voters be a target of this work before."

Locust Street's Barnhart, who worked on presidential campaigns for Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, said he believed campaigns that mobilize everyday people to raise issues with their elected officials are important for public policy.

Strategically, we wanted this to be about the people, and I wanted people to be the face of this, he said, adding: These are issues that affect voters. Without these types of efforts they don't hear about it.

The firm would not discuss its relationship with Tackeff, the Partnership representative in New Hampshire, or say whether he was paid for his efforts.

Locust Street also tried to shape public opinion in Iowa, whose first-in-the-nation caucus was held on Feb. 3. The Partnership attempted to recruit Democratic officials to put their names to op-ed media commentaries declaring their opposition to any financial transaction tax because it allegedly would harm mom-and-pop savers by shrinking their retirement accounts.

Democrat John Norris, past chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party and a former Iowa gubernatorial candidate, showed Reuters an email he received in December from a Partnership representative seeking his help in that effort. Norris declined to participate.

He said it was the second time Locust Street had sought his help to torpedo the financial transaction tax. Norris said that in November, Locust Street contacted his public-policy consulting firm, Iowa-based State Public Policy Group (SPPG), about working on the campaign. Norris said SPPG took a pass because Iowa labor leaders do not oppose higher taxes for Wall Street firms. He said SPPG has performed work for Locust Street in the past.

Barnhart confirmed Locust Street approached SPPG but subsequently "went in a different direction."

'SMOKE AND MIRRORS'

A website touting the Partnership's efforts, retirementtax.org, exhorts readers to provide their personal information and sign what appears to be an online petition: Help Us Defeat The Retirement Tax. The website provides no contact details, address or information about who founded the Partnership. The site champions the interests of plumbers, electricians, teachers and other working people who allegedly would be hurt by a financial transaction tax.

Because Locust Street is a public relations firm, not a full-time lobbying shop, it rarely has to disclose who hires it. Barnhart confirmed that Locust Street did some work for embattled e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc, which had hired the firm to drum up popular support for its product following a rash of vaping-related deaths in the United States. Several media outlets reported on the arrangement last year.

The company also did polling work in 2019 and 2020 for the Partnership for America's Health Care Future, a coalition of hospitals, insurers and pharmaceutical companies that opposes universal health care programs such as Medicare for All, according to a press release issued by the healthcare group.

A spokesman for the Partnership for America's Health Care Future declined to comment. Juul Labs Inc did not respond to requests for comment.

Public Citizen's Harley has been tracking the Partnership since it emerged towards the end of 2019. She said its polished effort is different from that of a true grassroots movement, particularly because its website does not solicit donations or provide any information about the group's founders and backers.

"It really is a smoke and mirrors campaign," Harley said.

ALARM ON WALL STREET

Progressive Democratic candidates Warren and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders were among the earliest and most vocal proponents of a tax on Wall Street to help fund social programs and close yawning deficits created by Republican-led tax cuts under Trump.

But the idea caught on with centrists too. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg put it in his tax plan. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a former investment banker, shocked his former industry by backing the tax.

Even Joe Biden, long seen as a friend to business, has voiced support for taxing trades of stocks and bonds. The former vice president is the presumptive Democratic nominee to face Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

The prospect of a tax on financial transactions has alarmed powerful business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"With the populism that's out there on the campaign trail, I think people are taking this a lot more seriously," Tom Quaadman, an executive vice president focused on financial policy for the organization, said earlier this year. The Chamber opposes the tax but is not affiliated with the Partnership, he said.

Reuters contacted four other groups that have come out publicly against a financial transaction tax: the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Modern Markets Initiative, the Managed Funds Association and the American Retirement Association. All said they had no involvement with the Partnership.

DIRECTOR 'NOT EXACTLY SURE' OF HER ROLE

Brian Parks works as a grassroots advocacy professional for Locust Street. His job is to identify and empower key activists for the company's clients, according to his biography on the Locust Street website.

Virginia retiree Eileen Greenberg said Parks, an acquaintance from her synagogue, approached her last year about becoming the director of a new venture that would fight the so-called retirement tax. Greenberg agreed, she told Reuters.

Company records show the Partnership was formed on Nov. 14 with Greenberg as its director. Greenberg said she had been helping with administrative tasks like going to the post office and collecting paperwork, for which she receives a "small stipend." She declined to say how much.

"They have professionals that are going to be doing all of the political stuff," said Greenberg. "There's more to come but I'm not exactly sure what exactly I'm doing," she told Reuters earlier this year.

Parks confirmed that Greenberg had been paid for her work on the Partnership. He told Reuters that Locust Street hired a handful of staff for the Partnership in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- states whose early Democratic contests gave its voters significant influence in picking the nominee.

In such crucial early races, candidates compete for support at gatherings as small as a few dozen people. These intimate settings allow voters easy access to ask candidates questions and share their concerns with others present.

Tackeff, the face of the Partnership in New Hampshire, said in a Jan. 9 Twitter post that he had attended campaign events for every Democratic candidate. He has worked on a variety of political campaigns in the state, according to his LinkedIn profile.

As Tackeff was voicing his worries about a financial transaction tax in New Hampshire, Michele Dickerson, another political organizer, was airing hers in Iowa with a group called the West Des Moines Democrats. Representing the Partnership, she spoke about a retirement tax at the group's Dec. 21 meeting, according to a post on the organization's Facebook page.

Victor Dutchuk, president of the West Des Moines Democrats, told Reuters he had not heard of such a tax before that meeting. He said Dickerson's presentation raised a lot of concern among members about potential harm to their retirement accounts.

Dickerson said she applied for her paid role as a "community organizer" through an online job advertisement placed by Locust Street. The ad, seen by Reuters, said it was seeking a registered Democrat in Iowa "to inject a key policy issue into the campaign dialogue surrounding the Democratic caucus."

Dickerson said she resigned that contract job within roughly a month after growing suspicious as to the true nature of the Partnership.

"When I began, I felt great about what we were doing," she said. "But the further along I got into the campaign, I became concerned that perhaps we were no longer attempting to influence policy, but rather influence an election outcome."

Barnhart said that Dickerson had not understood that the purpose of the campaign "was to educate candidates on how damaging the tax would be to millions of Americans."

Locust Street also hired Cornerstone Government Affairs to support the Partnership in Iowa by helping it to "navigate" events surrounding the caucus, Parks said.

Cornerstone is a Washington lobbying giant whose clients have included Google Inc, Boeing Co and Exxon Mobil Corp, according to federal lobbying disclosures.

David Adelman, a Cornerstone director at the firm's Iowa office, wrote in an email to Reuters that the company had been working on the tax aas part of a campaign organized by the Partnership. He would not elaborate on his role.

"We've seen a tremendous response here on the ground," Adelman wrote.

RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS

Locust Street's Parks would not say how many citizen volunteers had signed on to work with the Partnership.

In response to a request from Reuters, he provided contact details for a school counselor in her early 20s from Charleston, South Carolina, who asked to be identified only by her first name: Danya.

Danya said she volunteered for the Partnership in February after being recruited by an acquaintance named Matthew Miller whom she met while both were in college. Miller works for a South Carolina PR and advocacy firm called SPEAK Strategic that does work for Locust Street, Parks confirmed.

Neither Miller nor SPEAK Strategic responded to requests for comment.

Danya said she attended several campaign events in her area, including a February gathering for candidate Steyer, the billionaire philanthropist, where she voiced her worries about the financial transaction tax. She told Reuters she had become "passionate" about the issue and was not paid for her efforts.

She said she was not aware of Locust Street's involvement with the Partnership or who was funding it, but acknowledged it would be worthwhile to know that.

"I think it's important to know who is pushing for it for sure," she added.

Parks also provided Reuters with contact details for a Nevada culinary worker named Shamar, who did not return calls.

In Iowa, Norris, the former state Democratic party chair, said a local PR firm also tried to recruit him to the effort.

He said he got a cold call in December from a Des Moines-based firm named LS2Group. Norris said an employee of that firm, Jordan Goode, told him she represented the Partnership and asked him to put his name to an op-ed her firm was drafting in opposition to the financial transaction tax.

In a follow-up email to Norris seen by Reuters, Goode said she hoped they could "work together to make this issue known among Iowans, community leaders, and presidential candidates." The email did not mention Locust Street.

Goode did not respond to a request for comment. Joe Shannahan, Partner at LS2Group, confirmed that Goode approached Norris but did not respond to further requests for information.

Barnhart and Parks confirmed that LS2Group was providing Iowa-level expertise to Locust Street, including identifying people to write op-eds.

Reuters found nine op-eds opposing the tax, including several penned by current and former Democratic officials from Iowa and South Carolina. All echoed the Partnership's talking points about how the tax could hurt retirees and pensioners.

Among them was a Jan. 5 piece by Phil Wise, a former Iowa Democratic state representative, that appeared in The Gazette, a Cedar Rapids newspaper.

Wise said he decided to write the piece after hearing through political colleagues that the transaction tax was stirring up voters in candidate town halls.

"It's bubbling up," he told Reuters in January.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weaken the economy forcing some companies to lay off employees, a labour union has proposed the establishment of an unemployment benefits scheme in Rwanda.

The suggestion comes one day ahead of the International Labour Day on Friday, May 1, 2020.

Through a statement it issued on April 29, the Labour Congress and Workers' Brotherhood in Rwanda (COTRAF) requested the Government to sign the international unemployment provision convention No 44 and implement it.

The move, the Union argued, would prevent adverse effects of other unexpected epidemics or pandemics on labour.

The Convention provides that in cases of partial unemployment, benefit or an allowance shall be payable to unemployed persons whose employment has been reduced in a way to be determined by national laws or regulations.

It stipulates that the right to receive benefit or an allowance may be made subject to compliance by the claimant with the conditions including the fact that they are capable of and available for work.

"This can be executed through setting up a department in charge of social security for workers who have been hit by unemployment," COTRAF's statement reads in part. "Like other schemes such as pension, the plan can get funds from contributions made by employees, employers as well as support from the national budget."

Dominique Bicamumpaka, the president of COTRAF, said; "There is a need to consider how to protect the people who unfortunately lost employment and wages or salary because of this pandemic, yet they do not have other source of livelihoods. People who lost jobs under such circumstances should be entitled to benefits as long as they seek other employment," he said.

Theoneste Ntagengerwa, the Spokesperson of the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (PSF), said the federation was examining the impact of the COVID-19 on the private sector workers countrywide so as to come up with comprehensive data on the issue.

Meanwhile, he said that tourism - one of 10 chambers that make up PSF - reported that 82 per cent of workers in the industry are currently laid off as a result of COVID-19.

"Even the 18 per cent that are still working now, are [mainly] owners of the tourism companies or businesses," Ntagengerwa said.

He said that the most affected businesses were public transport operators, tourism including hotels and tour guides, airlines and international travels.

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Global outlook on COVID-19 labour impact

On April 29, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that as a result of the current economic crisis, almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers, out of the global workforce of 3.3 billion, have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living.

This, ILO pointed out, is due to lockdown measures and/or because they work in the hardest-hit sectors.

The first month of the crisis is estimated to have resulted in a drop of 60 per cent in the income of informal workers globally, ILO revealed.

This translates into a drop of 81 per cent in Africa and the Americas, 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, and 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia.

The UN labour agency warned that without alternative income sources, these workers and their families will have no means to survive.

Losses in working hours in the first half of 2020

According to ILO Monitor dubbed COVID-19 and the world of work, third edition, global working hours in the second quarter are expected to be 10.5 per cent lower than in the last pre-crisis quarter.

This is equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs, which represents a significant deterioration on ILO's previous estimate of 195 million for the second quarter. This has been driven mainly by prolongation and extension of containment measures.
In the days following the capture of an American contractor in Afghanistan earlier this year, Navy commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of a Taliban-linked militant network, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. intelligence agents also tried to track the cellphones of the man and his captors, but the trail went cold, and there has been little public discussion by the U.S. government of Mark R. Frerichs case, even as American negotiators arranged prisoner exchanges as part of their efforts to reach a peace deal with the Taliban.

Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the contractor from Illinois. However, the previously unreported attempts to rescue him were described to AP by multiple American officials over the past month, and shed new light on early efforts to locate Frerichs in the weeks that followed his capture. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the mission.

The new details emerge as violence and political infighting in Kabul threaten to scuttle the peace deal between the Taliban and the U.S. Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced frustrations after a failed attempt to mediate a power struggle between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.

Frerichs father, Art, said in a statement that though he has faith in President Donald Trump and Pompeo, I just need them to tell their people negotiating with the Taliban that America wont lift a finger until my son comes home. Hes a veteran. This is America. We dont leave people behind.

Though no formal demands are known to have been made, U.S. intelligence officials believe Frerichs was captured by members of the Haqqani network, a militant group that is aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan and that was designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.

Though the Haqqanis are known to carry out assassinations and kidnappings for ransom, Taliban leadership has not acknowledged Frerichs capture.

The first 96 hours is crucial, a senior U.S. government official briefed on the case told the AP on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. If theyre not recovered in the first few days, it becomes harder every minute after.

The search area for Frerichs began in Khost and extended south to the province of Kandahar, according to a senior U.S. government official and a second official at the Defense Department.

Bitter winter weather worked against the SEALs operation on the night of Feb. 3. Periods of poor-to-nonexistent visibility ultimately delayed a planned intelligence-gathering operation on a known Taliban location, the senior U.S. government official said.

At the time of Frerichs capture in late January, the SEALs involved in the rescue effort had been working to recover the bodies of two American service members who died when their aircraft crash-landed in Ghazni in central Afghanistan, an operation that had also been complicated by the weather.

Once the weather cleared, the SEALs loaded onto helicopters and flew to the undisclosed location. The senior official declined to disclose the exact location of the province for operational security reasons.

The senior U.S. government official and the Defense Department source with knowledge of the raid, who also requested anonymity, said the SEAL platoon was not met with Taliban resistance and that once at the compound, they detained several alleged Haqqani militants and uncovered a weapons cache.

The suspected Haqqani members were questioned about Frerichs whereabouts and were ultimately turned over to the Afghan government, according to the senior U.S. government official.

On Feb. 4, American intelligence officials received a report that Frerichs had possibly been moved to Quetta, Pakistan, a historical safe haven for the Taliban, the two officials said. But the information was deemed not credible enough to warrant a special operations mission, according to the senior U.S. government official.

The report also conflicted with signals intelligence  information gathered from electronic signals broadcast from devices like portable radios and cellphones  that U.S. officials had at the time.

U.S. intelligence officials continued to receive location pings from the suspected cellphones of Frerichs and his captors, but the trail went cold on Feb. 5, according to the senior U.S. government and Defense Department officials.

Operationally, the reason why time is critical in a kidnapping is because you can close the distance quicker, ideally immediately or by utilizing sources, said the senior U.S. government official. This is not the case right now. He could be two houses down from where he was taken and we would not know.
Ohios governor seems to be confused over giving the right decision on wearing masks. Wearing masks does not protect the mask-wearing individual; it protects others. The mask-wearing individual is protected only if other people in the same environment also wear masks. Mask-wearing cannot be a choice; it should be mandatory, like seat belts in cars. A universal mask policy saves lives!

Gov. Mike DeWine has done a great job so far. But as a physician, I have to warn that reopening is too early: This virus is very virulent. On the day Im writing this, there were 534 new COVID-19 cases and 138 new deaths in Ohio. The numbers are not decreasing; the numbers are increasing. The spike risk is high with early reopening. Federal guidelines require a 14-day trend of decreasing numbers of infections before considering reopening. Ohio is nowhere near that kind of a trend.

A complete lock-down (curfew) for at least two weeks is the only way to control the epidemic in a short period of time. This is how China dealt with it successfully. It might seem to be an extreme measure, but in the long-term, everyone, including businesses, will be much better off with it. The number of new cases and hospitalized cases will come down significantly and much faster.

Ibrahim Sozen,

Millersburg

Dr. Ibrahim Sozen is a doctor of medicine.
Social media allows us to connect with friends and loved ones in meaningful ways even when we arent together in person, which is wonderful. It also allows us to get to know and interact with people in other places, whether thats in the United States or around the world. That, too, is great
Kim Kardashian appeared to put on a show of unity with husband Kanye West amid claims they have been arguing over childcare in lockdown.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Kim, 39, posted a picture of herself and the musician posing on a biggy while in Wyoming.

Captioning the image with a peace sign, Kim sat in the driving seat, wearing a helmet, while Kanye, 42, posed on the side of the vehicle.

All is well? Kim Kardashian shared a new picture of herself with Kanye West on Instagram on Friday and posted a 'peace sign' amid claims they have arguing over childcare duties

Kim was also flashing two peace signs with her hands, while clad in a Yeezy sweater, while Kanye was dressed in a cosy purple plaid jacket.

It's been reported that while Kanye has been busy working on his craft, while in quarantine, Kim has been annoyed that she has been left looking after their four children.

They are parents to North six, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and baby son Psalm, who turns one next month.

'Kanye is really getting on Kims nerves,' a source told Us Weekly, adding that the couple 'have been arguing a lot during the quarantine'.

Family time: It has been reported that Kanye has been getting on Kim's nerves in isolation as he spends his time being creative while she looks after their four children

While Kanye keeps busy 'creating', Kim is being mostly left to take charge of their four children.

Indeed she is said to feel that 'all the parenting duties are falling on her'.

While the couple usually has plenty of paid help - nannies, maids and personal chefs - it is not known if they have been forced to reduce their staffing amid California's Shelter At Home order.

DailyMail.com reached out to a representative of the couple for comment.

Mom's the word: While Kanye keeps busy 'creating', Kim is being mostly left to take charge of their four children; she is seen with Saint on Tuesday

Lazy life: Kim posted the images saying 'most days we don't get out of our pajamas'

Making the most of the situation, Kim has been sharing snapshots of her family time with fans during quarantine.

'Most days we dont get out of our pajamas,' said the Keeping Up with The Kardashians veteran on Tuesday, as she snuggled with son Saint while fully made up.

Over the weekend the star wrote in a caption of a photo with North: 'What's your favorite thing about quarantine? Mine is hanging with my babies 247.'

Kim has shared pictures and video of the elaborate dens the four have created inside the family mansion, which features a huge playroom, home theatre, luxury pool, expansive landscaped grounds and multiple rooms.

Cameo: The KKW Beauty mogul, 39, was in the middle of showing fans how to recreate her at-home look when daughter North, six, wandered in and interrupted earlier this month

Earlier this month Kanye , 42, whisked their youngsters on a three-day trip to Wyoming, so Kim could have a break.

'They have been taking turns caring for the kids,' a source told People on Thursday, adding: 'It's a huge chaos with all the kids at home. Kanye normally escapes to his office for work breaks.'

Kim, 39, has been vocal over the perils of homeschooling and struggling to keep her brood entertained under quarantine, even admitting the enforced time together has ended any plans for a fifth child.

'[The theater room] is the place that has gotten the most use lately,' Calabasas socialite said in the June/July edition of Vogue.

'The whole family has spent the last few nights in there after the kids made it into a fort, with, like, different beds all over the floor. My daughter [North] is the fort police. If you move out of your bed that she designated for you, it's a problem.'

'Hanging with my babies': Kim has enjoyed some parts of the enforced family time

Earlier this month, she seemed overwhelmed by her kids, as she attempted to film a 'Quarantine glam' makeup routine.

After shooing North out of the room, the mother-of-four said: 'I'm hiding in the guest room because my kids will not leave me alone.'

On Friday, Forbes Magazine revealed that Kanye has reached billionaire status.

Despite the massive achievement, the article notes that West was left unhappy with their research and findings - stating that he believes his net worth to be around $3.3 billion, rather than the $1.26 billion they have estimated.

'It's not a billion,' West allegedly texted the publication Thursday night. 'It's $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.'
FREMONT, Calif., May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zosano Pharma Corporation (ZSAN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Christine Matthews as the companys chief financial officer (CFO). Ms. Matthews, who previously served as interim CFO, will be responsible for leading the finance and accounting departments.



We are pleased to appoint Christine to the position of chief financial officer, said Steven Lo, president and chief executive officer of Zosano. Christine has demonstrated strong leadership during her tenure at Zosano and has a proven track record of diligent financial planning and execution. I am confident that her continued contributions will be key in our future success as we head towards possible commercialization.

It is an exciting time to be at Zosano as we enter this next phase of growth, said Christine Matthews, chief financial officer of Zosano. I look forward to continuing my work with the Zosano management team as we prepare for the potential approval of Qtrypta.

Ms. Matthews has over 20 years of broad leadership experience in finance and accounting. She was most recently the interim CFO at Zosano, a position she was appointed to after having served as the companys vice president and corporate controller. Previously, Ms. Matthews was as an accounting and financial consultant with RGP, a professional services company. Her past positions include senior director of financial planning & analysis at Cepheid, a leading molecular diagnostic company (acquired by Danaher), supporting North America commercial operations, as well as group director of finance at Cadence Design Systems. Ms. Matthews began her career with Arthur Andersen, LLP. She holds a B.S. in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

About Zosano

Zosano Pharma Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products where rapid administration of approved molecules with established safety and efficacy profiles may provide substantial benefit to patients, in markets where patients remain underserved by existing therapies. The companys intracutaneous microneedle system technology consists of titanium microneedles coated with drug that are designed to enable rapid systemic administration of therapeutics to patients. Zosanos lead product candidate is Qtrypta (M207), which is a proprietary formulation of zolmitriptan delivered via its intracutaneous microneedle system technology, as an acute treatment for migraine. The company anticipates that many of its current and future development programs may enable the company to utilize a regulatory pathway that would streamline clinical development and accelerate the path towards commercialization.

Story continues

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the potential approval and commercialization of Qtrypta. Readers are urged to consider statements that include the words "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "might," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "continues," "forecast," "designed," "goal," "unaudited," "approximately" or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, and actual outcomes may differ materially. These include risks and uncertainties, without limitation, associated with the Companys ability to obtain additional cash resources to continue operations for the remainder of 2020, the process of discovering, developing and commercializing products that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, risks inherent in the effort to build a business around such products and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Although Zosano believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, Zosano cannot in any way guarantee that the future results, level of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Zosano and Zosano assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Zosano Contact:

Christine Matthews

Chief Financial Officer

(510) 745-1200

PR Contacts:

Sylvia Wheeler

swheeler@wheelhouselsa.com

Alexandra Santos

asantos@wheelhouselsa.com




Kulmeet Makkar, CEO, Producers Guild of India (PGI), died on Friday morning. He was 60.

Makkar suffered a massive heart attack and passed away in Dharamsala, PGI spokesperson told PTI.

In a statement PGI remembered Makkar for his immense contribution in the growth of Indian film and television industry.

Today we lost our pillar of strength. Kulmeet is irreplaceable. His passion, integrity,resourcefulness and commitment were only matched by his deep empathy and unique ability to find a way through the toughest situations.

Today we have lost someone who has played an integral role - always unassumingly and behind the scenes to nurture and grow the Indian film and television industry. Our dearest Kulmeet, you will always be missed. Your legacy will live on, the statement read.

Many from the film industry including filmmakers Karan Johar, Ashoke Pandit, Subhash Ghai and actor Sanjay Suri among others paid tributes to Makkar on social media.

Johar said he tirelessly worked towards advancement of the film industry.

Kulmeet you were such an incredible pillar to all of us at the Producers Guild of India....relentlessly working for the industry and towards its enhancement and advancement... you left us too soon...We will miss you and always Remember you fondly.... Rest in peace my friend," he posted on Twitter.

Sad to know about the sudden demise of our dear friend #KulmeetMakkar CEO- The Film and Television Producers Guild of India due to massive heart attack in Dharamshala (Himachal). Will miss you #Kulmeet. Heartfelt condolences to d family, Pandit said.

Suri wrote, Just heard the terrible of #KulmeetMakkar CEO Producers Guild of India passing away. What a wonderful man and a good friend. Very very sad!



Madhur Bhandarkar tweeted, We will miss you #KulmeetMakkar #OmShanti.

Another shock to Bollywood. Kulmeet Makkar. Passed away coz of heart attack. Our precious friend of Film and TV industry and CEO of @producersguild of india-a dedicated effective voice of industry to govt n various institutions. Loved by all. We will miss you, Ghai said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
GLENS FALLS - Employees represented by New Yorks largest public labor union rallied Thursday outside the offices of three Republican members of Congress calling for their support of more federal aid for state and local municipalities.

Members represented by the Civil Service Employees Association, which is the nation's largest state-level labor union, hosted drive by rallies in Glens Falls, Syracuse and Long Island as part of the unions campaign to get state and local governments unrestricted funding to deal with massive revenue losses amid the coronavirus pandemic.

CSEA Capital Region President Ron Briggs said members rallied outside U.S. Rep. Elise Stefaniks office in Glens Falls. Organizers said union members would maintain social distancing protocols by staying in cars; images from the event show that people were outside their vehicles, but were wearing masks and appearing to distance themselves from others. Stefanik has been supportive of the federal government providing more help to localities.

The CSEA represents about 30,000 state and local government employees in the greater Capital Region and more than 200,000 employees statewide, including workers who plow streets, collect garbage or provide other essential services such as child protective services.

Elise Stefanik has a great relationship with the current regime, and she needs to be more vocal to say: You have to stop playing politics and get the communities the services they desire and need, Briggs said. The federal government seems to understand businesses are hurting, but Im not sure why they dont think the same is happening for local governments that provide essential services.

Stefanik has called for Congress to provide federal funding for state and local governments, and has sent a letter to leaders on the task force urging for the fiscal support that will ensure schools, police, fire and other emergency medical providers are funded.

I fully support state and county funding and local funding from the federal government. I liken this to post-9/11, post-Hurricane Sandy, where the federal government stepped up to provide financial support for New York," Stefanik said during an afternoon phone conference with reporters Thursday. "We are working together as a delegation. We are working across party lines to advocate for increased financial support for New York, which has significant fiscal costs because of COVID I hope they were social distancing!

Mark Kotzin, communications director for CSEA, said Republican lawmakers were targeted in this first round of protests because of the need to put pressure on party leadership. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested states file for bankruptcy rather than the federal government chip in to keep local governments afloat.

We are trying to pressure every single member of the House and Senate to deliver this needed aid to preserve our public services, because at the end of the day, thats what all New Yorkers are going to rely on, Kotzin said. We have gotten assurances from Democratic leadership that they are in support, which is why we are specifically trying to move more Republicans to support this.

Local and state elected officials have also stressed the need for the federal government to step up and provide financial relief for communities that are facing budget holes from lost sales tax revenue and other fiscal impacts from the pandemic and businesses shuttering to help stem the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

State Assembly members recently sent a letter to congressional delegates pushing for the funding as well. Assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes, posted the letter on Facebook on Wednesday noting his support.

To be blunt, we are struggling to find a path forward for our state and local governments to continue to operate without considerable financial assistance from our federal government, the state officials wrote. Without aid, we cannot continue to fund critical services such as healthcare, public safety, transportation and education.

Federal officials continue to discuss a fourth stimulus bill, but the details have yet to be revealed.

Ive had conversations directly with President (Donald) Trump. Ive raised the issue of county and state aid," Stefanik said. "He requested that each member of the (White House Reopening) Task Force send in their top priorities. State and county aid was included from the requests from my office.

Emilie Munson contributed to this report.
A Florida lawyer dressed as the Grim Reaper Friday to protest the reopening of Florida's beaches during the coronavirus outbreak and went on live television to personally deliver his message from the sand.

Daniel Uhlfelder, 47, showed up to protest the opening of Walton County beaches amid the coronavirus pandemic while dressed in the hooded costume.

The Reaper was even able to take his message to the airwaves.

Faith Graham, a reporter for Panama City ABC affiliate WMBB handed the lawyer a microphone during an interview for Friday morning's news broadcast.

Daniel Uhlfelder, 47, showed up to protest the opening of Walton County, Florida, beaches amid the coronavirus pandemic while dressed as the Grim Reaper Friday. He even went on live television while dressed in costume (pictured) to deliver his message for a news segment

'I am here today to try to make a point that I think it's premature to reopen our beaches,' Uhlfelder said, his face under his Reaper's hood.

'I'm a huge proponent of public beaches, and I've been fighting for that for years, but I think that the danger of bringing all the people here to our area, and spreading the virus. I think it's going to prolong the recovery we have,' he added.

The lawyer also tweeted an image of himself as the Reaper on the sand, warning 'Stay home Florida.'

Uhlfelder last week promised he would travel to reopened beaches dressed as the Reaper to stop people breaking social distancing rules.

The lawyer in March had sued Governor Ron DeSantis for failing to issue a statewide closure of beaches and announced he would launch a so-called 'Grim Reaper Tour' starting May 1 in an April 21 Twitter post.

His protest came after the state relaxed its stay-at-home order, with beaches in Jacksonville reopening April 17 and in Brevard County April 21 - triggering a mass of sunbathers flocking to the sands.

The lawyer also tweeted an image of himself as the Reaper on the sand, warning 'stay home Florida'

Uhlfelder announced his so-called 'Grim Reaper Tour' starting May 1 in a Twitter post

On a 'Make my day' donation page set up for the 'Florida grim Reaper Tour', Uhlfelder writes that the campaign will also raise donations for Democrats running for office

'Many of you have asked if I am willing to travel around Florida wearing Grim Reaper attire to the beaches and other areas of the state opening up prematurely. The answer is absolutely yes,' Uhlfelder said in a tweet.

'Beginning May 1 we will hit the road here in state. Please retweet and spread the word.'

He posted a photo of a Grim Reaper, complete with cloak and scythe, sitting on a lifeguard stand on a beach as people walk past.

The image has been borrowed from the 'The Swim Reaper' Instagram account set up by the New Zealand government to warn people about the importance of water safety on the nation's beaches.

Uhlfelder's campaign has a similar message - to draw attention to the preventable loss of life during the coronavirus pandemic if people stay home and practice social distancing.

Uhlfelder said in an April 21 tweet (pictured) that he was to travel to reopened Florida beaches dressed as the Grim Reaper to stop people breaking social distancing rules. The social media post included an image from 'The Swim Reaper' Instagram account

On a 'Make my day' donation page set up for the 'Florida grim Reaper Tour', Uhlfelder writes that the campaign will also raise donations for Democrats running for office.

'THE COVID GRIM REAPER IS COMING TO A FLORIDA BEACH NEAR YOU,' it reads.

'Join us to help raise funds to distribute equally to Democrats running for federal office. They include, but are not limited to: the opponent of Matt Gaetz, Phil Ehr; and Christy Smith, who's running in the special election in CA on May 12 to fill the vacancy caused by Katie Hill.'

Uhlfelder told Business Insider that he loves the state beaches but fears that more lives will be lost by them reopening too soon.

'Our beaches are a big draw. I love our beaches, and I wish could go to them,' he said.

'The progress we're making, though, is going to be diminished with the quick reopening.'

The campaign from the lawyer comes after he filed a suit against DeSantis to pressure him to close the state's beaches.

Uhlfelder donned a Hazmat suit to protest outside the governor's mansion back in March against the beaches staying open.

When he was refused a meeting with DeSantis he filed the lawsuit.

Uhlfelder also began touring Florida beaches wearing a paintball costume to encourage people to social distance.

A family walks through an entrance to Cocoa Beach, Florida, Thursday, on the day it reopened

Sunbathers flocked to Cocoa Beach (pictured) and Satellite Beach in Brevard County Thursday after they reopened to Floridians. The reopened beaches are requiring that sun-seekers still practice social distancing and keep groups to a number smaller than five

In Jacksonville, beaches reopened Thursday. Photos showing scores of residents descending upon beaches sunbathing and ignoring social distancing guidelines have sparked outrage and prompted the hashtag #FloridaMorons to trend on social media

Though his suit was denied, DeSantis did eventually bow to pressure and close Florida's beaches on April 2 - far later than most states.

Just over two weeks later, DeSantis began relaxing lockdown rules and gave the all- clear for some beaches and parks to reopen from April 17.

Sunbathers flocked to Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach in Brevard County April 23 after they reopened to Floridians.

Around 200 miles to the north of Cocoa Beach in Jacksonville, beaches reopened April 17 from 6 to 11 am and 5 to 8pm for residents to walk, swim and fish.

The reopened beaches are requiring that sun-seekers still practice social distancing and keep groups to a number smaller than five.

In Jacksonville, the beaches also have reopened.

Miami, which has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with nearly 15,000 confirmed cases, has kept its beaches closed indefinitely.

Fears are mounting that several states are relaxing lockdown rules too soon as guidelines suggest states should record two weeks of declining cases before reopening.

The trial lawyer in March sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (pictured) for failing to issue a statewide closure of beaches. DeSantis finally relented to pressure and shuttered them on April 2 - much later than most states

DeSantis revealed April 21 that Florida joined a coalition with Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi to ease lockdown measures across the southern states.

As the news broke, public health experts sounded a grave warning that together the six states - which are rife with chronic health conditions and are lagging behind on testing - could trigger a new spike in cases and deaths if they push to reopen too soon.

'If you put these states together, there is a perfect storm for a massive epidemic peak later on,' Jill Roberts of the University of South Florida's College of Public Health told Politico.

There have been 34,728 confirmed cases in Florida of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 1,314 deaths.

Across the US there have been 1,131,876 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for 65,708 deaths.
Sketch: Drinking bleach and the bridge to nowhere

Its very hard to look at the current chaos consuming the world and not find yourself wondering what it might all mean for the bridge to Northern Ireland.

The worry, of course, is that the plan starts to look unrealistic. That with the world in the grips of a deadly pandemic, with transport systems and industry on hold, that the idea of building a 28-mile long bridge across a notoriously stormy body of water, over trenches filled with unexploded bombs, will start to look like a bad idea.

But then, what is this if not the time for bad ideas? From attacking 5G towers to heckling broadband engineers, thats exactly what this is. This is a time for the worst plans. This is a time to inject yourself with bleach.

Or, as US President Donald Trump put it: I see the disinfectant where it knocks it [coronavirus] out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so itd be interesting to check that.

Disinfectant does a tremendous number on the lungs. Well, who can criticise? Hell probably win the next election. Yet Nicola Sturgeon was forced to speak out against the plan  the Scottish Government opposes people drinking bleach  with the FM arguing: It is clearly not the case that ingesting disinfectant in any way shape or form is a good idea. Its a very, very bad idea, and extremely dangerous.

Meanwhile Downing Street too has chosen a different strategy. One that isnt based in injecting deadly poison into your lungs. Or as a spokesperson put it its not something thats being looked at here.

No, instead the UK is apparently considering a flyover from the Red Arrows in an attempt to beat coronavirus, at least if comments from Tobias Ellwood are anything to go by. And the plan does have upsides and downsides - the downside being that it is totally useless, but the upside being that it is better than drinking bleach.

Yet still the FM faced criticism  though not for her refusal to down disinfectants, live on stage. This time it was after she suggested the Scottish Government would look to come out of lockdown separately from the rest of the UK if evidence supported it.

And to the Scottish Tories, this was more worrying than drinking bleach. As Jackson Carlaw put it, in an attempt to continue his partys long-standing commitment to talking about how we shouldnt talk about the constitution, theres no border between Scotland and England.

Its a bold argument, certainly, and not least because there is a border between Scotland and England. In fact, according to Google Maps, there is actually an area called the Scottish borders. There is a Conservative MP for Penrith and The Border, it seems. The Tories are actually in charge of the council in the borders, apparently. It is called the Scottish borders council, or it was, before Carlaw abolished it.

And at times like this you really have to be grateful the Scotland Office is around to mediate. Finally, it was their moment to shine. To govern. To do whatever its role may or may not be. Though sadly, on this one occasion, the office didnt get involved, with Alister Jack instead believed to be occupied with getting the foundations sorted for the upcoming bridge to Northern Ireland.

Staff were probably surprised he is taking such a hands-on role, to be honest. Hes probably somewhere out around Beauforts Dyke at the moment, operating a remote submarine, slowly and single-handedly clearing away the millions of tonnes of unexploded World War Two munitions, chemical weapons and radioactive waste that was dumped there.

Yet people ask what the point of the Scotland Office is.

But to be fair to Trump, he does sort of look like a man who has survived drinking bleach. And at least for his part, he had the sense to claim the decision to suggest the plan was sarcasm, while Alister Jack, even before the pandemic began, was viewing the bridge as a euphemism for a tunnel, in a sentence which raises questions about his understanding of both engineering and euphemisms.

But still, if people believe drinking bleach is a good idea then who are we to judge? We should have a full and honest discussion on the subject. Experts are divided  though not evenly  so lets see how it fares in the old marketplace of ideas. Debate must not be shut down. Maybe we could put it to a referendum.

No, for too long politicians have danced around the subject of whether or not to drink bleach, and finally Trump has addressed it.

Still, regardless, its hard not to miss the days from before all this started. Simpler times, when the dumbest idea we had to contend with was for a euphemistic bridge.
Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) Ezekiel Mutua could not hide his joy after a Nairobi court on Wednesday refused to lift a ban on acclaimed Kenyan film Rafiki which portrays a lesbian romance.

Soon after the verdict was delivered by Justice J.A. Makau, Mutua openly celebrated the court decision.

UNPOPULAR OPINION

"We won against Kenya Breweries on beer adverts during the watershed period. We won against betting companies and now we've won a landmark case against a consortium of gay sympathizers on the gay film Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu. I thank God and all the lecturers who taught me law!" he said.

Justice Makau in his judgement said that the ban does not in any way violate Artistic Freedom of Expression but instead protects the society from moral decay.

"The petitioners failed to prove how the existence of these sections of the law violated the right of expression," he said.

According to Mutua, KFCB went against popular opinion and said no to homosexual content.

"We were labelled as homophobic and ostracized locally and internationally. But we stood for family values and what we believe to be in the best interest of Kenya. Family is the basic unit of society," he said.

DISAPPOINTMENT

On her part, film maker Wanuri expressed he disappointment with the verdict but said she would continue to fighting for freedom of expression in Kenya.

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"We are disappointed of course. But I strongly believe in the constitution and we are not going to give up. I think it is very important for us to define what freedom of expression means in Kenya as per our constitution. We are going to appeal. The ruling today is not a true reflection of what the constitution says," she said.

Wanuri said she plans to take her petition to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, if necessary.

The film Rafiki (friend in Kiswahili) was banned by KFCB in April 2018 on the grounds that it promotes homosexuality in a country where gay sex is a criminal offence.

In banning Rafiki, KFCB relied on the Films and Stage Plays Act (Cap 222), a piece of legislation passed in 1962 by the colonial government to limit artistic post-colonial Kenya.

Rafiki has screened at more than 150 film festivals worldwide and has won more than 20 awards, including six audience choice awards.
Care workers in Wales will each receive a 500 bonus to reflect their 'value' during the coronavirus pandemic, the First Minister has announced.

Mark Drakeford said the payments would be made to around 64,000 care home workers and domiciliary care workers who provide the 'scaffolding' of services across the country.

He told the Welsh Government's daily Covid-19 briefing on Friday: 'This payment is designed to provide some further recognition of the value we attach to everything they are doing.'

The move follows the announcement from the Scottish government last month that all care workers in Scottish care workers are to be given a 3.3 per cent pay rise in recognition of their role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Health and Social Care, nor its counterpart in Northern Ireland, has not announced a similar bonus or pay rise for English or Northern Irish care workers.

This is despite calls last month from union leaders and a leading care home provider for staff to be given a pay rise.

Care workers in Wales will each receive a 500 bonus to reflect their 'value' during the coronavirus pandemic, the First Minister has announced. Pictured: Staff at Morel Court care home in Penarth, South Wales, join in the weekly 'clap for carers' on Thursday

Mr Drakeford added of Welsh care workers: 'This group of people, usually women, often not well paid, are providing the invisible scaffolding of services which support both our NHS and our wider society.

'Without this small army of people, large numbers of others would not be able to continue to live independently at home, or receive everyday support with basic needs by living in a residential care home.'

Mr Drakeford noted some of the social care workforce were among the lowest paid in Wales, and that the picture contrasted with the Welsh NHS where there are pay bands and salaries paid are of the living wage or above.

Mark Drakeford said the payments would be made to around 64,000 care home workers and domiciliary care workers who provide the 'scaffolding' of services across the country

He also called on the UK Government to waive tax and national insurance deductions from the one-off payment, on the basis the country was experiencing 'exceptional circumstances'.

Local authorities are expected to administer the payments but no date was given as to when they will be made.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Northern Irish department of health have been approached for comment.

Last month, St John Care Trust, which operates 70 care homes in the UK, wrote to care minister Helen Whateley to ask the Government to fund a new 11.50 hourly minimum wage for social care workers during the COVID-19 panedmic.

The move follows the announcement from the Scottish government last month that all care workers in Scottish care workers are to be given a 3.3 per cent pay rise in recognition of their role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Pictured: Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

The median pay rate for a care worker in the independent sector is 8.10 per hour, according to Skills for Care.

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 'now is not the moment to enter a pay negotiation' when he was asked by BBC journalist Andrew Marr if nurses should be given a pay rise amid the coronavirus crisis.

He said: 'Well, look, everybody wants to support our nurses right now and I'm sure that there will be a time to debate things like that.

'At the moment the thing that we're working on is how to get through this.

'And so you know I'm very sympathetic to that argument, but now is not the moment to enter into a pay negotiation.

'Now is the moment for everybody to be doing their very best.'

On Wednesday, a leading statistician said more people may be dying of coronavirus in care homes than in hospitals already.

The Department of Health and Social Care, nor its counterpart in Northern Ireland, has not announced a similar bonus or pay rise for English or Northern Irish care workers

The University of Cambridge's Sir David Spiegelhalter made the shocking claim yesterday after the Office for National Statistics released its weekly data showing thousands of people are dying out of hospital and not being counted until weeks later.

The professor, a highly regarded statistics expert and an OBE recipient, said he believes the numbers of care home deaths are still climbing as Government statistics show hospital fatalities are trailing off.

He spoke of a 'massive, unprecedented spikes' in the number of people dying in nursing homes.

The number of residents dying of any cause has almost tripled in a month, from around 2,500 per week in March to 7,300 in a single week in April - more than 2,000 of the latter were confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 'now is not the moment to enter a pay negotiation' when he was asked by BBC journalist Andrew Marr if nurses should be given a pay rise amid the coronavirus crisis

Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports suggest care homes are now seeing around 400 coronavirus deaths each day, on average - a number on par with hospitals in England.

On Friday, the UK announced 739 more coronavirus deaths, taking Britain's official fatality toll to 27,510.

PEOPLE IN POOREST PARTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES ARE DYING FROM COVID-19 AT DOUBLE THE RATE An interactive map which reveals deaths by postcode shows that people living in the poorest parts of England and Wales are dying at more than double the rate of those in affluent areas. The map, included in the latest Office for National Statistics report, found that between March 1 and April 17, the most deprived regions suffered 55 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 25 fatalities in the wealthiest areas. London - the epicentre of Britain's outbreak - had the highest mortality rate, with 85.7 deaths per 100,000 people - more than double the national average of 36.2 fatalities. One in four of all coronavirus victims live in the capital. The London boroughs of Newham, Brent and Hackney were the three worst-hit regions in all of the country, suffering 144, 142 and 127 deaths per 100,000, respectively. Ethnic minority groups - who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 - make up the majority of residents in Newham (71 per cent) and Brent (64 per cent). Advertisement

Officials also recorded another 6,000 cases, with 177,000 Britons having now been infected since the crisis began in February - but a lack of testing means potentially millions of cases have been missed.

Mr Hancock revealed the figures, which include fatalities in all settings, in tonight's Downing Street press conference.

Officials do not provide a daily breakdown of how many COVID-19 deaths occurred in different settings, such as hospitals or care homes.

But at least 352 of the fatalities occurred in hospitals because NHS England reveals new deaths recorded by trusts every afternoon.

Scotland (40), Northern Ireland (18) and Wales (17) all include care home deaths in their daily updates - but their tallies do not necessarily line-up with the official count provided by the Department of Health because of how they are recorded.

Ministers finally caved in to mounting pressure to include COVID-19 fatalities in care homes in the daily updates this week, amid claims thousands of victims were being missed.

The revised count added almost 4,000 more deaths onto the historical toll.

The chief executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green, said the peak of coronavirus-related deaths in care homes could potentially be months away.

Asked how far behind the peak in hospital deaths the care sector is, he said: 'We are a long way behind, because despite what the Health Secretary says, about us being always regarded as a priority, well clearly we werent.'

'Clearly we werent at the centre of this pandemic. So I just think the Government needs to understand that, if they knew in January we were the high-risk area.

'And its quite clear from the very start of this that people with long-term and underlying health conditions were the most vulnerable, where every single person in a care home falls into that category, why wasnt the response quicker?'

Estimating a timescale for the care home peak, he said: 'I think it will probably, hopefully, be weeks, but it could potentially be months.'
The 1970 army mutiny remains one of the biggest scars on our nations history.

Yet every time it is discussed, even as recently as in articles published in newspapers on April 26 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that unfortunate event, the perpetrators are portrayed as being dreamers, standing up in defence of the oppressed, and doing what was best for the country at that time.
A sickening photograph taken inside the Brooklyn funeral home where bodies were found piled up in U-Hauls earlier this week shows bodies lying discarded inside, inches away from a family holding a funeral, three weeks ago.

The photograph was taken by Zeqway Clarke on April 9 while he and his family were at the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home to mourn his grandmother.

He was sitting in the back of the visitation room when he notice a gap in a fabric screen that had been put up behind his grandmother's coffin and saw a human foot.

He told The Daily Beast that he approached the coffin then stuck his hand up over the screen to take a photograph on his phone but did not look beyond it in person.

He was horrified to see there were at least eight naked corpses, piled next to each other with sheets barely covering their faces or bodies, in the image.

The image was taken 22 days before police were called to the funeral home amid complaints about a foul smell.

They found more than 100 decomposing bodies piled up in U-Haul vans outside the home.

No charges have been filed but the state government has revoked Cleckley's license.

The photograph was taken by Zeqway Clarke on April 9 while he and his family were at the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home to mourn his grandmother

A photograph taken from behind the screen, next to Clarke's grandmother's casket, shows the gap in the partition which alerted him to the grim scene on the other side

U-Haul has now banned the home from renting any of its trucks, according to TMZ.

Cleckley said on Thursday that he had been 'jammed up' by the coronavirus crisis but offered no words of comfort to the families of the people who were left in the trucks or inside the home.

'I ran out of space. Bodies are coming out of our ears,' he said, adding that he had taken on bodies from other homes nearby.

'Were all trying to help our clients but were jammed up,' he told The New York Times.

He has not commented on the photo taken on April 9.

Clarke said that he considered reporting it to the police but that he was deterred with the chaos of the pandemic.

'There was so much going on with the pandemic, social distancing, I figured it hell or high water to get in contact with somebody,' he said.

His photographs match one that was publicly shared on the funeral home's own Facebook page.

It appears that on April 9, they divided the large room they would normally use for services.

Andrew Cleckley, the funeral home director, was seen speaking to relatives of people who had recently died, outside the home on Thursday

Cleckley pictured outside the home on Thursday. He said the business was 'jammed up' and had bodies 'coming out our ears'

Relatives of people whose deaths were handled by the funeral home were seen there outside on Thursday

Workers outside the home on Thursday were seen moving caskets inside

Cleckey's funeral home in Flatlands on Friday. The state has now withdrawn his license

On the day he visited, Clarke's family was in one half of the room with his grandmother's casket, and the corpses were in the other.

On Wednesday, dozens of photographs emerged from the funeral home showing bodies being extracted from U-Haul trucks parked outside.

There was no answer at the funeral home on Friday.

No charges have been filed but the Department of Health, which oversees funeral homes, is investigating.

Authorities found two unrefrigerated U-Haul box trucks being used to store the bodies after police responded to 911 complaints from neighbors who had filmed body bags being dragged into the trucks.

Police found the bodies in various stages of decomposition; locals said 'you could smell the death'.

Bosses at U-Haul on Thursday slammed the use of their trucks as 'wrongful, egregious and inhumane'.

Cleckley was seen outside the home again on Friday. He was unhappy about the media presence there

Employees loaded the corpses into refrigerated trucks on Friday after mass outrage

There were crowds of people outside the funeral home on Friday demanding their loved ones' bodies back

Grieving and angry relatives descended on the funeral home after learning of the horrendous treatment their loved ones had received

A mourner on Friday outside the funeral home. Sources said there were issues with the embalming process of one man's funeral and irate relatives did not know whether or not to go ahead with it

People in Hazmat suits transport a deceased body on a stretcher outside the funeral home in Brooklyn following the outrage over the use of the U-Haul trucks

Tamisha Covington, pictured, said she was charged $15,000 for her mother's body to be kept 'in a U-Haul truck for however long' following her death from a heart attack related to COVID 19, aged 60, on April 9

Police found the bodies in the trucks in various stages of decomposition; locals said 'you could smell the death'. Now they are being loaded into refrigerated trucks

A casket covered in a sheet is transported by men wearing hazmat suits outside the funeral home

They told TMZ: 'Our trucks are designed for household moves. Properly caring for the remains of peoples loved ones requires vehicles suited specifically for that purpose.

'Our trucks absolutely cannot be rented for this reason.'

There were as many as 50 corpses being stored in each truck, according to ABC News , as the facility struggled to keep up with the overwhelming surge of bodies due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The owner told city officials that its freezer had stopped working and they were forced to use the trucks as storage while bodies awaited burial or cremation.

One grieving relative said he was told 'the refrigerators were filled and they were going to embalm' his late ex wife.

The man, known only as Paul, said his deceased relative came to the funeral parlor on Friday. He added: 'And now they are saying she was in the refrigerator as soon as they brought her here on Friday, so I dont know.

'Im frustrated. This is ridiculous.'

'For weeks already, there have been trucks constantly outside unloading bodies. You could smell the death,' Jay Fredo told New York Daily News. 'Some of them have been dropped. I know it's a pandemic, but this is crazy. It's sick.'

No criminal charges were brought but the home was cited for failing to control the odors.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Maharashtra government to submit a status report on investigation in the Palghar incident in which two sadhus and their driver were allegedly lynched by a mob on the night of April 16.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna passed the order while hearing, through video-conferencing, a plea which sought a CBI probe in the case. The plea alleged that the incident was a failure on the part of the police as a mob had gathered in the area in violation of the lockdown rules.

Refusing stay on the investigation, the apex court asked the petitioner to serve a copy of the plea to the standing counsel for Maharashtra. "Counsel for the petitioner is permitted to serve a copy of the petition on the standing counsel for the state of Maharashtra, returnable within four weeks. The state of Maharashtra shall submit the report regarding the status of the investigation in the meantime," the bench said in its order.

ALSO READ| Five more arrested in Palghar lynching case, 115 so far

The plea, filed through advocate Rashi Bansal, has sought a direction to the authorities to constitute an apex court monitored SIT or a judicial commission headed by a retired top court judge to deal with the case.

The petitioner, Shashank Shekhar Jha, has also sought registration of FIR against concerned police officials for their failure to prevent the incident.

The three victims, from Kandivali in Mumbai, were travelling in a car to attend a funeral in Surat in Gujarat amid the nationwide lockdown when their vehicle was stopped and they were attacked and killed by a mob in Gadchinchile village on the night of April 16 in the presence of police.

The victims were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushil Giri Maharaj (35) and driver Nilesh Telgade (30). During the hearing, the petitioner referred to media reports and claimed that police was complicit in the incident as they did not use force to prevent it.

"This happened despite of the fact that whole country is under lockdown since March 25 and that no person is allowed to be out of their house and everyone has been asked to follow social distancing which raises a huge suspicion on part of local police," the plea said.

"During this whole incident, police did not take any concrete step to protect these innocent men which could be proved by the fact that they did not use any force to disperse the crowd and one of the video even shows that one of the police official actually pushed saints to the crowd when they were asking for the protection," it claimed.

The plea, which has sought transfer of trial in the case from Palghar to a fast track court in Delhi, has alleged that the whole incident was "pre-planned and there could be police involvement as well". It has alleged that attack on these sadhus was "more like an attack on our society as a whole and could cause social disturbance".

The police has arrested over 100 persons, including nine juvenile, in connection with the case.
U.S. Army leaders are working on a plan to re-start large-scale training in the operational force, but it will likely be up to unit commanders from installation to installation to decide when training will resume again.

"We are ... taking a hard look at how we get back to collective training both at home station and our combat training centers," Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said today during a Pentagon briefing.

"Getting back to collective training is crucial, but we need to make sure we have the right measures in place first. ... It's not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution."

The Army has proposed a "risk-mitigation framework" to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, so that "we can safely return to training," Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said during the briefing.

Related: Here's How the Army Is Planning to Restart Training for Large Combat Units

"The virus did not impact the country uniformly, so we need to tailor our approach to the reopening by developing Army-wide standards and protocols," McCarthy said.

The Army halted rotations to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California and the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, Louisiana in mid-March to limit the spread of the virus.

NTC, JRTC and Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels, Germany, hold brigade-level training exercises for armor, infantry and Stryker brigade combat teams and are a key measurement for the service's combat readiness.

So far, four BCTs have had their combat training center, or CTC, rotations postponed, a senior Army official told Military.com.

"We were able to look into the future and decide we could delay their rotation until a later date," the senior official said.

CTC rotations are important "because it's a deployment of a force to a combat training center, a redeployment of that force back its home station, but it's also a force-on-force [exercise]," the official said.

"While those are important, there is a whole host of training that goes on at our home stations that has to happen in places like Fort Campbell, Kentucky before you go to those combat training centers."

The framework is being designed so commanders can make training decisions based on their capacity for testing, treatment and monitoring, as well as the trends in COVID-19 cases in their area of the country, the official said.

"It will depend on the amount of testing capability and capacity that they have at that installation to say, 'listen this battalion is going to the field for two weeks; they are probably going to want to test that entire battalion before they go to the field,'" the official said. "If the local rate is really bad, then they probably need to do more testing; but if the local rate is better, then maybe they don't need to do as much testing."

The Army recently announced upcoming deployments for several units, including some that will begin this summer. The 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade, stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, is set to deploy to Afghanistan. And the 2nd BCT of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is slated to deploy to Iraq.

The 4th SFAB is currently scheduled to conduct its rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center in June, Army officials maintain.

McConville said he just visited the Joint Readiness Training Center to look at the measures being put into place to receive units.

"We are applying screening, testing, controlled monitoring and tactical dispersion to create safety bubbles so units can train and operate in a protected environment," he said.

"We are looking at the long game. We are not waiting for COVID-19 to go away. We are putting the right procedures in place, so we can protect the force that will train and operate under a COVID-19 environment."

Despite the impacts of the virus, Army officials said that units have displayed high levels of readiness in the last four months.

At the beginning of the new year, paratroopers conducted an emergency deployment to the Middle East as tensions escalated with Iran.

"A battalion of the Army's Immediate Response Force -- the 1st BCT of the 82nd Airborne -- with two C-17 loads of soldiers went wheels up heading to the Middle East within 20 hours of notification; the rest of the brigade was in there within seven days," McCarthy said.

In the U.S., Army North "has set the theater across the United States by providing enabling and foundational capabilities which includes support of the Army Corps of Engineers," McCarthy added.

"We have rapidly deployed four active-duty field hospitals to New York City and Seattle within days," McCarthy said, adding that the Army also deployed 14 newly-formed Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces to reinforce over-burdened hospital staffs across the country.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Read More: Army Deploys Reserve Medical Specialists to Aid Overwhelmed City Hospitals
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Present in 50 countries and territories, Vietnamese dairy producers are step by step building their positions in the world market.

In mid-February Vinamilk signed a contract on exporting dairy products to Dubai, worth $20 million. This is the latest contract of the nations leading dairy brand in the Middle East.





Vinamilk began penetrating the market in 2000 an turned the Middle East into a key market which brings 75 percent of Vinamilks total export turnover.



Besides the Middle East, Vinamilk also sells products to other markets, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China, and it has been present in nearly all Southeast Asian markets.



Prior to that, in mid-October 2019, the first consignment of dairy products of TH True Milk left Vietnam for China.



Five Vietnamese dairy producers received approval from Chinese agencies to export products to the country, namely VInamilk, TH True Milk, Moc Chau Milk, Nutifood and Hanoimilk.



In the race to bring Vietnamese milk abroad, Nutifood signed a contract with Delori in early 2018 on bringing Pedia Plus ready-to-eat powdered milk to over 300 supermarkets belonging to Delori in California.

Present in 50 countries and territories, Vietnamese dairy producers are step by step building their positions in the world market.

In 2019, the producer continued to export bottled pasteurized yogurt to the US. In the Philippines, Nutifood annually earns $1 million. In the US, it hopes to obtain revenue of $100 million in the next five years.



Moc Chau Milk, which has merged with Vinamilk, is also trying to boost dairy exports. The company now exports dairy products across the border gates to China, about 25,000 tons a year.



In an effort to seek and expand export markets, Moc Chau Milk is planning to exploit Southeast Asian market and to export products to China through official channels.



A report shows that Vietnams dairy products have been exported to 50 markets. Vinamilk alone in 2019 saw the export turnover increase by 14.8 percent compared with 2018. Since 1997, the company has exported products to over 50 countries and territories, earning $2.2 billion in turnover.



ASEAN markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, are the potential targeted markets for Vietnams dairy producers, which need to import $500-600 million worth of products each year.



Meanwhile, the Chinese market alone consumes $5 billion worth of dairy products a year. According to Nguyen Quoc Toan from MARD, Vietnamese enterprises target Chinese consumers in both high-end and affordable market segments.



According to Do Thanh Tuan from Vinamilk, in addition to the 13 plants in Vietnam, Vinamilk also has one in Cambodia, one in New Zealand, one in the US and a branch in Europe.



As for TH True Milk, the company in late 2018 started construction of a 1,500 ton per day plant in Russia.

Linh Ha

Vinamilk completes acquisition of Moc Chau Milk Vinamilk completed the purchase of 79.5 million shares in GTNFoods to increase its holdings to 75 per cent in Moc Chau Milk.
Confirmed nursing home deaths accounted for 62.5 percent of the 624 statewide deaths associated with COVID-19 reported from April 22 to 29, according to state figures.

When the number of probable deaths recorded in that week-long period is included that figure jumps up to 77 percent. Overall, nursing home deaths make up nearly 58 percent of deaths reported statewide since March.

Yet none of those numbers takes into account the number of deaths at assisted living facilities across the state, information which has yet to be released.

Nursing home advocates said it will likely take months to determine why the facilities were hit so hard and if protocols needed to be implemented sooner or changed to prevent a similar spike in deaths in the future.

Its way too early to point to a clear definitive reason on what went wrong and what went right, said Matthew Barrett, president of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities and Connecticut Center for Assisted Living. I think that will be evaluated across the nation.

But Barrett and nursing home operators in Connecticut this week have said the state should have prioritized the distribution of test kits and personal protective equipment at their facilities  like it did for hospitals from the start.

As of Friday, 2,339 people across the state had died with COVID-19.

A handful of nursing homes have as many as 50 percent of residents who have tested positive for the disease, state figures showed. At least two homes have had 35 deaths or more. In all, 149 of the states 215 nursing homes have had at least one resident test positive for COVID-19.

It is a trend that prompted officials from the state Department of Public Health a few weeks ago to begin emergency inspections of nursing homes. The DPH has not commented on whether any investigations will lead to fines or sanctions.

This week about three dozen medics, nurses and sanitarians with the Connecticut National Guard were called in to attend the inspections which DPH officials conceded at times took about one hour per facility. Some of the inspections were done by Facetime video, according to Gov. Ned Lamonts chief operating officer Josh Geballe.

Two of the states largest nursing home entities  operating a total of 30 homes combined  told Hearst Connecticut Media on Friday that there needs to be better stockpiling and distribution of PPE for the facilities in the future.

Its a need the New England Health Care Workers Union, District 1199 SEIU, which represents roughly 30 percent of nursing home workers, has been pointing out for weeks. They spoke of having to reuse masks for more than a week and wear johnnies, the garment usually donned by residents, rather than actual protective gowns when dealing with residents.

Barrett calls the union reports allegations that should be investigated.

He said he agrees with the union that PPE is a problem, but its a nationwide problem, he said. It goes across the globe, he said. There was not a readiness for a pandemic that no one could foresee.

He did concede however that effective action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is impossible without a good PPE supply chain.

Factors such as staff working more than one job at multiple homes or working a home care gig in addition to their nursing home job also is likely playing a role in the transmission of the disease, Barrett said.

But nursing home officials contend that more should have been done to protect one of the states most vulnerable populations including giving PPE and testing for the homes a higher priority.

They also noted that resident and staff testing needs to be on par with that at hospitals.

We need adequate PPE reserves, said David Skoczulek, vice president of business development for the iCare Health Network, which runs 11 nursing homes in the state. We need to be able to continue to recruit, retain and pay excellent staff. We need adequate funding to maintain quality care in a safe and dignified environment. And we need to be front of mind and not an afterthought as we care for a million and a half Americans every day.

Ten of the iCare facilities in Connecticut have at least one resident who has tested positive for COVID-19, Skoczulek said. Some of the centers had their first case in the last week to 10 days, he said. Skoczulek declined to specify the number of staff who have tested positive, calling it a personnel matter. But he confirmed that there have been staff cases at every facility where residents have tested positive.

The company has a dedicated team working to secure PPE globally, Skoczulek said. No matter what it takes, he said. And it takes a lot.

Genesis HealthCare, which operates 19 nursing homes in Connecticut, has had 600 out of the 2,800 residents they serve and about 200 staff members test positive for COVID-19, according to the entitys chief medical officer, Dr. Richard Feifer.

The company is now working with the state to designate the Quinnipiac Valley Center as a COVID-positive building to help cohort positive patients from hospitals and nursing homes together away from those who havent contracted the disease, Feifer said.

Even within our nursing homes, we prioritize the cohorting of patients who test positive away from those who may be vulnerable to infection, he said.

Their employees do not move between the locations due to the pandemic, he said. As a large organization, they can shift PPE from location to location if needed and have been following federal guidelines to re-use and extend the use of face masks, he said. However, as this pandemic expands, this is not a sustainable solution, Feifer said.

Moving forward, nursing homes need to be on the same priority level as hospitals when it comes to the distribution and stockpiling of PPE and in terms of testing, Feifer said.
George Poikayil By

Express News Service

KASARAGOD: Bekal police have booked Himdad Pallipuzha (28), a social worker in Pallikkara, for allegedly impersonating as a COVID-19 patient and raising allegations of data leak of patients. He was charged with wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riots (Section 153 of IPC), and causing a nuisance through any means of communication (Section 120 (o) of Kerala Police Act).

In the daily press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Himdad claimed in a video that he was a COVID-19 patient and he and 10 other patients got phishing calls. "He also said that he would approach the High Court over the data leak. However, there is no patient by the name of Himdad in Kasaragod," the chief minister said and added: "Himdad was at the forefront of the fake campaign that data of COVID-19 patients of Kasaragod was leaked".

'Government diverting attention'

Himdad, who holds a diploma in journalism, said the government was trying to divert attention over charges of a data leak. He said he was speaking for his cousin Ajmal Shafad, uncle and aunt, and two friends, who got calls seeking details.

"Shafad's father Mohammed Shafi used to frequently get calls from a psychologist asking the family members to come for blood testing in a private hospital in Kasaragod," Himdad said and added he had the voice recording. Similarly, several patients said they got calls from a private company in Bengaluru. To be sure, district police chief P S Sabu has submitted a report to collector D Sajith Babu that IKONTel, a company based in Bengaluru, contacted patients in Kasaragod. This was confirmed to TNIE by the collector.

On April 25, General Hospital organised an interactive session for COVID-19 survivors and relatives with psychologists and doctors. "In the meeting, we raised the issue and mentioned the calls we got. We were told by the doctors and superintendent not to share any information with anybody," said Himdad. When contacted, superintendent Dr Rajaram said the issue was mentioned in the meeting.

"We had asked the private psychologist to counsel COVID patients and shared a few phone numbers with him. We don't know why he asked them to come to his hospital for testing," he said. On April 27, Himdad emailed a petition signed by seven patients seeking a probe into the data leak to the chief minister. He got a reply to the mail, saying the petition has been forwarded to an ADGP investigating the case. Himdad, who is now out on bail, said the COVID-19 patients were determined to take the issue of the data leak to the high court. "The charges against me will not stand scrutiny," he said.

Meanwhile, a special team under State Crime Records Bureau ADGP took the statements of Himdad's relatives and the hospital superintendent. The special team is investigating the allegation of the data leak.
There was nothing stuffy or formal about John Clarke Mercer, so his obituary wont be either.

Heres what you need to know about John; he was funny, kind, smart, a great co-worker, an amazing mentor, a proud member of this community, he loved everything from Jimi Hendrix to The Beatles, while being a Rockstar himself. He was a talented musician who had a band with his closest friends; Static even took the stage at Riverbend, and hed never let you forget it. More than anything John was a devoted dad to Delaney and Madison who adore their father. He collapsed from a sudden cardiac event and fought to come back to his girls for six days before he went to be with his mom, dad, and sister who preceded him.

John was born in Indiana to Walter and Diane in 1964. John, his parents, and his sister Beth moved to Seattle where John went to high school. John went to college at WASU, the Edward R Murrow School of Journalism. Guess that explains why he was such a good reporter, not just a great anchor. Johns first job as an anchor was at KOBI in Medford, Oregon. He would like you to know its pronounced OR-ih-gun, not or-EE-gone. John found his calling as an anchor in Medford, he had to run the prompter himself and read the words on the teleprompter all while hearing every word that was said in the control room through his ear piece. No wonder he became such an unflappable anchor. In Medford he covered everything from that infamous slow speed chase of a white Bronco in southern California to massive flooding, to the Oregon (if you just said it correctly in your head you made him smile) House of Mystery.

He then spent eight years as an anchor at KTVN in Reno, Nevada, he would like you to know its pronounced Nev-AD-uh not Nev-AH-da. John covered the floods of 1997, working for 48 hours straight, with only short naps on the floor of a conference room only to come home to find out the dog had gotten into the child proofed cupboard and strewn powdered sugar all over the house; the neighbors taking care of the dog werent able to clean up the mess. He regularly spent hours at the anchor desk covering the numerous wildfires. It was while in Nevada (if you just said it correctly in your head you made him smile) that the best thing in his life happened. On a late June afternoon, as yet another wildfire burned, the lights of his life came into this world. John was a devoted father from the moment his twin girls were born, playing his guitar to soothe them, doing anything to hear their sweet baby giggles, boy could he make them laugh, and that never changed in the 20, too short, years they had him.

In 2003 John got a job offer from WDEF in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he immediately fell in love with the lush green that reminded him of Seattle, without the constant rain, and the friendliness of the people in the Tennessee Valley. He wore a lot of hats at WDEF, he was an anchor, a producer, a trainer, a mentor, and most importantly a friend. He gave great advice with kindness and humor. Chattanooga was home and WDEF was his second family. He adopted his dog Reno from Pet Placement Center and rescued two cats who were lucky enough to wander to a house where two little girls who wanted a kitty lived, with their very sweet dad. He helped raise money for countless charities and was giving with his time because he loved nothing more than to make his community smile. John loved covering the education beat, in part because he had two daughters in school.

When the girls were in school John would come to have lunch with them; he was the dad who always came in to read to the class during library time. He came to every performance and kept so many of those little programs. In middle school he made sure their hair was curled for their first dance. When his girls went far away to college, to Loyola and Chapman Universities, he missed them terribly but was so incredibly proud of their confidence and the hard work that earned them the scholarships to make it possible. He called them every day, and would jokingly yell at them when they didnt answer. Though John left much too soon in his life, and theirs, Delaney and Madison are grateful that they got to know him as not just their dad, but as their best friend.

John is still a devoted father, it took less than 24 hours after the girls asked him for a very specific sign, he sent it and in a way they could hold onto forever. Now thats a dad.

Delaney and Madison hope to have a celebration at some point in the future. John would want everyone to come together and share stories, but he would want everyone to be able to come together safely. Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support.

John, you are forever loved and will be forever missed.

Arrangements are by Lane Funeral Home, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, 423 877-3524, Lanefh.com.
- People were banding together in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, including Frances oldest doctor who turned 99 in 2020

- Christian Chenay, who had been a doctor for 70 years said his mission was to help people in the forgotten suburbs of Paris

- He was no stranger to infectious diseases as he treated typhus sufferers during WWII

- Chenay even outstayed his own son who retired at 67 in the profession

Frances oldest doctor has been making weekly trips to a retirement home to provide support to the workers who are overwhelmed by the pandemic.

Christian Chenays whose 99th birthday was nearing said his decision to keep working was partly informed by shortage of local family doctors in France.

READ ALSO: Truly blessed: Pregnant woman in lockdown gets surprise drive-by baby shower

Christian Chenays said his decision to keep working was partly informed by Frances shortage of local family doctors. Photo: BBC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nairobi man emotionally recalls losing eye after being brutally beaten by police

A report by BBC indicated the country's oldest doctor who had over 70 years of experience still wanted to help people in the forgotten suburbs of Paris.

"I am almost 99 years old, I should reduce my activity for many reasons. I work slower than before, I have to take care," Chenay said.

Many of his patients said they struggled to get appointments in the Paris suburb of Chevilly-Larue which had three doctors for a population of 19,000.

READ ALSO: US air force celebrates first female African pilot

According to the medic, the health facility did not have the capacity to identify patients who had contracted coronavirus and a place to isolate people.

We have a disease that is very contagious, that has not affected a lot of people yet. We feel powerless. We do not have a treatment, saidChenay.

I was in contact with quite a few sick people who were probably positive, it would be surprising if I was not positive too, especially as I had the symptoms for a while," he added.

READ ALSO: Middle school teacher dies of coronavirus after being denied test twice

The country's oldest doctor who has over 70 years of experience said he still wanted to help people in the forgotten suburbs of Paris. Photo: BBC

Source: UGC

However, Chenay had to end face-to-face appointments and go into quarantine after he began showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Now, after his self-quarantine was over, he was back to work, holding virtual consultations over the phone and internet.

"I had to give up, I had no protection. I would not have been doing a service if I had stayed open, I would have been a virus hotspot, a centre of infection, it is impossible," said the doctor.

READ ALSO: Twitter couple: Man who met his wife online pens her sweet birthday message

The veteran physician reportedly treated typhus patients during the second world war and began work as a general practitioner in Val-de-Marne almost 70 years ago.

He outstayed his own son, who also worked as a doctor but retired at 67.

I've seen the typhus epidemic coming back from the war, there were very few that caught it amongst the caregivers, we had masks, we actually had gas masks, Chenay said.

READ ALSO: Working from home: Sierra Leone Minister feeds, carries 10-month-old daughter on his back during Zoom meeting

It was difficult to live through, but we did not catch the illness, and we isolated the sick, thank God we had a treatment," he added

Although the country has a reputation for one of the worlds best healthcare systems, the lack of general practitioners has reached a crisis point.

READ ALSO: Babu Owino asema DJ Evolve amepata nafuu ila hawezi ondoka hospitalini kufuatia COVID-19

Before the epidemic, the doctors waiting room on a quiet street in the low-income Paris suburb would be so full that patients spilt over to the pavement.

Related reports showed some from distant areas arrived at the facility as early as 4am to be sure of a place in line.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly looking for a new house in Los Angeles. This time, the royal couple have stepped up their search.

Search For Dream Home

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now in search of a new home in LA, and they are said to be looking at mansions selling within a particular range. According to the report by Gimme Shelter (via New York Post), the royals have stepped up their house-hunting game.

"They are quietly looking at mansions in the $15 million to $20 million range that are both beautiful and secluded, offering the privacy they need," one source said.

The couple, who are parents to an almost one-year-old Prince Archie, has limited their search for the new house though. The source revealed that they are looking at ritzy areas in Brentwood and Beverly Hills.

Prince Harry and Meghan are currently working alongside the "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" broker by the name of Josh Altman. However, when Gimme Shelter approached Altman to confirm negotiations with Harry and Meghan, he declined to give a statement.

Did The Sussexes Find The Perfect Home?

The Sussex couple has reportedly found an interesting home located in Beverly Hills. However, the house is currently off the market.

The property, according to an old listing at realtor.com, is modern in design. It comes with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms that spread over one acre of land.

The photos of the house posted on Realtor.com show an infinity pool with an impressively sleek design and a beautiful view of downtown Los Angeles. The former owner of the mansion listed it for $60 million. However, it was sold for a more palatable price of $38 million in February.

The mansion is off the price range set by the royal couple, a source said. However, the source emphasized that they are still negotiating about the house.

Another Future Home

The mansion in Beverly Hills wasn't the only home Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got their eyes on. In fact, they are looking at another other within the Brentwood neighborhood, an equally famous mansion-filled area.

It is still also off the market. The rather traditional California home sits in more than half an acre of land, but it is hidden behind gates and high hedges. It meets one of the standards set by Harry and Meghan for their future home -- secluded.

According to its old listing in Realtor.com, the house comes with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. It's design also comes with light-filled common areas, stained oak flooring, a theatre with stadium seating, and a lovely wine cellar.

Outside, the home comes with its own spa, pool, and a little room for barbecue nights.

Both Meghan and Harry are looking for a new place they could call their home. While the couple may be used to living in the Frogmore Cottage in Windsor given to them as a wedding gift by the Queen, at least they could call their future home their own.

Moreover, if they find the right property for the price range they have set, Prince Harry might just turn into a Prince of Bel-Air..

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are trying to settle down in Los Angeles since they resigned from their post as senior members of the royal family. While they are still looking for a new house, the couple is also keeping their eyes on Hollywood projects they could do.
Lincoln Military Housing (LMH) team members set up drive-through distribution sites at seven community centers on Camp Pendleton to provide military family residents convenient access to essential items. Resources for the contact-free distribution sites were made possible through a collaboration with Operation Homefront and include essential items such as personal hygiene products and food items.

The initiative was informed by resident feedback and military community surveys such as the most recent Pain Point Survey from Blue Star Families dated 4/19/2020, which found that 60% of military family respondents would like grocery delivery or curbside pickup. The survey also noted that 9% of military family respondents have a member of their household that is at high risk of infection, and the family cannot shop for groceries or medicine for fear of exposure.

"We understand this is a difficult time for everyone, including our residents, and want to do as much as possible to assist our families," said Jill Dorflinger, Regional Vice President of Lincoln Military Housing. "We are committed to working with organizations like Operation Homefront and the Food Bank of San Diego to bring as many resources as possible closer to home and prevent our residents from having to leave their community more than necessary."

Because of the high demand, Operation Homefront can only access the food bank resources once every two weeks. They do, however, receive other donations that are made available to LMH for purchase at a reduced rate. In addition to the food items donated, LMH purchases the additional resources made available by Operation Homefront to provide meals to go and snack pickups for residents throughout the communities on regular rotations.

"We are always excited to receive donations from Operation Homefront for our families. Because sometimes we don't know what we are going to be receiving, we work hard to make sure the bags are full of quality products," said Brooke St. James, Event Coordinator with Lincoln Military Housing.

Additional food resources are also available from the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) located on the Camp Pendleton installation. Held on the 4th Friday of the month, the ASYMCA provides 300 families with food and diapers and have transitioned to a drive-thru option. Military families are encouraged to register as the slots tend to fill up quickly. Feeding San Diego has also set up a meal distribution for children and teens at the San Diego Armed Services YMCA, where meals are available Monday through Saturday. For more information on food assistance programs operating during the Coronavirus Crisis, visit https://lincolnmilitary.com/military-resources/.

About Lincoln Military Housing

Lincoln Military Housing (LMH) was formed in 2001 through a Department of Defense (DOD) contract with parent company Lincoln Property Company. The goal has always been to increase the quality of military housing for our nation's servicemen and women. Since its inception more than a decade ago, Lincoln Military Housing now provides more than 36,000 family homes for military members across the US. Lincoln is much more than a property management company. LMH acts as a support system for military families and offers community-building activities and 24-hour maintenance assistance programs, free, to all of their residents. Services are available for members of all branches of service -- Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, United States Coast Guard, and National Guard. For more information about Lincoln Military Housing, please visit http://www.lincolnmilitary.com for more details.

About Operation Homefront

Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive - not simply struggle to get by  in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America's military families.

Media Contact:

Brooke Scarbrough

(757) 618-6825

bscarbrough@lpsi.com
Any good relationship is built on a foundation of similarities with a dash of differences to keep it interesting. The old adage says that opposites attract, but often couples build their relationship based on something they share. For former couple Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, it turns out that each of them has a similar troubled history with the law that might point to a common personality trait in the pair.

What were they both arrested for doing, and does it have anything to do with why the pair eventually split? Lets take a closer look.

Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian | Vivien Killilea/WireImage/Getty Images

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom got serious fast

View this post on Instagram Soulmate A post shared by Khloe (@khloekardashian) on Mar 6, 2020 at 9:20pm PST

Kardashian and Odom met at a party in 2009. At the time, Odom was a player for the Los Angeles Lakers, and he later confessed he didnt even know who Kardashian was then. He just knew he was attracted to her, and he started up a conversation. Almost immediately, the pair were inseparable, getting serious very fast.

They were married a month later (just nine days after getting engaged), making them one of the fastest-moving celebrity couples. Adding to the dramatic flair of their fast-paced nuptials was the fact that they tied the knot in front of the cameras for Keeping Up with the Kardashians. From the very beginning, the duo was front and center in the reality TV spotlight. They even got their own spinoff show called Khloe & Lamar. Between the different reality TV platforms, fans got an up-close and personal look at this pairs marriage, and things were happy for a while.

The relationship took a turn for the worse

In 2013, Odom faced cheating accusations. He was also caught up in rumors about drug use and other erratic behaviors. The happy marriage  once marked by lavish gifts like a $400,000 Rolls-Royce for Odom  was showing signs of trouble. By the end of that year, Kardashian had filed for divorce.

Kardashian made headlines by rebounding quickly with rapper French Montana. Meanwhile, Odoms downward spiral continued, and in 2015, he was rushed to the hospital after being found unconscious in a brothel in Nevada. Kardashian immediately rushed to his side and called off the divorce process, causing broad speculation that the pair were reuniting. She insisted she was simply trying to look out for his well-being. To help underline her point that she wasnt trying to reconcile with Odom, Kardashian was simultaneously maintaining a relationship with athlete James Harden.

Even so, when Kardashian and Odom appeared together at a fashion show in 2016 (and the divorce still wasnt final), fans were back at their speculation that the pair would make it work. Unfortunately, Odom once again relapsed, and the divorce proceedings were back on. By the end of 2016, the divorce was official.

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom share an arrest record

While Odom was certainly the one portrayed as wild and out of control in the headlines surrounding their divorce, it turns out that he and Kardashian share a past indiscretion. In fact, both Odom and Kardashian were arrested for the same crime: driving while intoxicated.

Odoms charge came in 2013 when arresting officers noted he was driving in a serpentine manner while going 50 miles per hour. He was ultimately sentenced to 36 months of probation and lost his license for a year. This incident was part of the breakdown that led to his eventual divorce from Kardashian and his years in the headlines for bad behavior.

Kardashians arrest came before she and Odom even met. She was arrested in 2007 but only spent a few hours in jail before being released due to overcrowding. Her mugshot, however, has earned prominent display in both her mothers and sister Kim Kardashian Wests houses.
Note: While most shelters have closed their doors to the public for the coming weeks many are still meeting prospective adopters through appointments. Please visit the shelters website or call to get information on adoption or fostering an animal at this time.

Each week, MassLive showcases pets available for adoption at shelters at rescue organizations across Massachusetts. With the participation of the shelters listed below, many animals should be able to find a permanent home. Pets are adopted daily so please contact the shelter directly if you are interested in an animal.

Massachusetts Shelters:

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society

Address: 163 Montague Road, Leverett Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Telephone: (413) 548-9898

Address: 171 Union St., Springfield Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Telephone: (413) 781-4000

Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center Address: 627 Cottage St., Springfield Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; Thursday, noon-7 p.m. Telephone: (413) 781-1484

Westfield Homeless Cat Project Address: 1124 East Mountain Road, Westfield Hours: Adoption clinics, Thursday, 5-7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Westfield Regional Animal Shelter Address: 178 Apremont Way, Westfield Hours: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Telephone: (413) 564-3129

Franklin County Sheriffs Office Regional Dog Shelter and Adoption CenterAddress: 10 Sandy Lane, Turners Falls Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Telephone: (413) 676-9182

Polverari/Southwick Animal Control Facility Address: 11 Depot St., Southwick Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Telephone: (413) 569-5348, ext. 649

Berkshire Humane Society Address: 214 Barker Road, Pittsfield Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Telephone: (413) 447-7878

Animal Rescue League of Boston Address: 10 Chandler Street, Boston, MA 02116 Telephone: (617) 426-9170 Fax: (617) 426-3028

DAKIN HUMANE SOCIETY

There are still pets available for adoption in the Springfield Adoption Center only (Leverett is temporarily closed). People are asked to visit the Dakin webpage first to see what pets we have available, then call us if they are interested in one in particular to set an appointment. The staff will return the call within 48 hours to set an appointment for prospective adopters to come in and see the animal. That will help make the adoption process go more smoothly and prevent unproductive time spent by the lean on-site staff.

Callan - Animals are available for adoption at Dakin Humane Society by appointment only.

Callan

Breed: Domestic Shorthair Cat

Age: 1 Year

Gender: Male

Laura- Animals are available for adoption by appointment only.

Laura

Breed: Budgie/Budgerigar

Age: 10 Months

Gender: Female

Jyn and Rey - Animals are available for adoption at Dakin Humane Society by appointment only.

Jyn & Rey (to be adopted together)

Breed: Degu

Age: 1 Year (both)

Gender: Female (both)

Jessie - Animals are available for adoption at Dakin by appointment only.

Jessie

Breed: Budgie/Budgerigar

Age: 10 Months

Gender: Male

Dill - Animals are available for adoption at Dakin by appointment only.

Dill

Breed: Rat

Gender: Male

Location: Springfield

Myrrh - Animals are available at Dakin Humane Society by appointment only.

Myrrh

Breed: Rat

Gender: Male

Location: Springfield

Marjoram - Animals are available at Dakin Humane Society by adoption only.

Marjoram

https://www.dakinhumane.org/adopt/marjoram-44137763.html

Breed: Rat

Gender: Male

Location: Springfield

MSPCA ANIMAL CARE AND ADOPTION CENTERS

Animals are still available for adoption  you just need to make an appointment! Finding homes for our current population of shelter animals will be vital for our ability to provide temporary housing and increased surrender intake as a result of the outbreak.

Animals in need of immediate surrender will continue to be accepted by appointment . If the need to surrender your pet is not urgent, we ask that you wait to bring in your animal. This will allow us to ensure room for emergency cases and keep traffic low. Rest assured we are here to help if needed. Please visit our website at . If the need to surrender your pet is not urgent, we ask that you wait to bring in your animal. This will allow us to ensure room for emergency cases and keep traffic low. Rest assured we are here to help if needed. Please visit our website at mspca.org/surrender for more information.

Adoption centers will make disaster preparedness supplies available to the public on an as-needed basis in the event of emergency. Supplies include dog crates, water bowls and pet food is available. Please call the MSPCA adoption centers if you are in need of supplies.

Simba - Animals are available for adoption at the MSPCA by appointment only.

Simba - Domestic Shorthair, Male, 5 years old at Nevins Farm.

Oatmen - Animals are available at MSPCA by appointment only.

Oatmen - Holland Lop, male, 2 years old, at Nevins Farm.

Archie - Animals are available at MSPCA by appointment only.

Archie - Mouse, male, 5 months, located at Boston.

Pepper - Animals are available at MSPCA by appointment only.

Pepper - Holland Lop, female, 2 years old, located at Nevins Farm.

War - Animals available for adoption by appointment only at MSPCA.

War - Parakeet, male, 4 months, located at Cape Cod.

BERKSHIRE HUMANE SOCIETY

Shelters will be closed to the public. The main shelter at 214 Barker Road in Pittsfield will still be staffed at r our staff and volunteers and the animals in our care and to support national, state and local recommendations, we are scaling back our op

Adoptions and Surrenders will be by appointment only. You can still surrender a pet or come to see a pet you'd like to adopt at the main shelter, but you'll have to make an appointment to do so. Please call 413-447-7878 to set up a time. Adoptions will not be available through Purradise. If you do come to Pittsfield for an adoption or surrender, please know that BHS has taken extra precautions to keep you safe from the virus.

Cat Boarding will be available at main shelter. Although Purradise will be closed for feline boarding, BHS can board your cat at the main shelter. Please call 413-447-7878 extension 124.

Pet Food Bank and SafePet programs are still available. If you are a food bank recipient, please call 413-447-7878 to set up an appointment. The BHS If you are a food bank recipient, please call 413-447-7878 to set up an appointment. The BHS SafePet program is available for owners of pets through our Participating Partners.

Medical care to shelter animals, including spay and neuter surgeries will continue. BHS will keep the shelter animals healthy and adoptable by continuing to work with local veterinarians.

Low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for cats will still be available to the public . Please call 413-447-7878 extension 124.

Family Dog School is closed

Education Programs are on hold: All meetings of Humane Heroes and Defenders are cancelled until further notice as are tours and community programs.

Ragnar- Animals are available for adoption at Berkshire Humane Society by appointment only.

Ragnar - Terrier/ American Pit Bull Mix, 1 year , male.

Arcade - Animals are available for adoption at Berkshire Humane Society by appointment only.

Arcade - Siberian Husky, 1 year, 5 months old, male.

Gabby - Animals are available for adoption at Berkshire Humane Society by adoption only.

Gabby - Domestic shorthair, 6 months, female.

Wilson - Animals are available for adoption at Berkshire Humane Society by adoption only.

Wilson - Domestic shorthair, 4 years old, male.

Frasier -Animals are available for adoption at Berkshire Humane Society by adoption only.

Frasier - Domestic shorthair, 4 years old, male.

WORCESTER ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE

Animals can be adopted by appointment only. Call (508) 853-0030 or visit www.worcesterarl.org for more details.

Dax- Animals are available at WARL by appointment only.

Dax - Male/Neutered, Mixed Breed, Medium (up to 44 lbs fully grown)/Mix, 1 year, 2 months.

Trunks - Animals are available at WARL by appointment only.

Trunks - Male/Neutered, Shiba Inu/Mix, 10 months.

Cole - Animals are available at WARL by appointment only.

Cole - Male/Neutered, Spaniel, English Springer, 1 year, 5 months.

Iris - Animals available by appointment only at Worcester Animal Rescue League.

Iris - Female/Spayed, Mixed Breed, 3 years.

Alia - Animals are available for adoption by appointment only.

Alia - To be adopted with Mauddib. Female/Spayed, Domestic Longhair/Mix, 5 years old.

Callie - Animals are available for adoption by appointment only.

Callie - Female/Spayed, Domestic Shorthair/Mix, 4 years old.

Maud-dib - Animals are available for adoption by appointment only.

Mauddib - To be adopted with Alia. Male/Neutered, Domestic Longhair/Mix

5 years old.
[May 01, 2020] Ave Maria Mutual Funds Announces Launch of a New Mutual Fund

Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc., a registered investment adviser established in 1980 and manager of the Ave Maria Mutual Funds, has announced the launch of its newest fund, the Ave Maria Focused Fund (Ticker: AVEAX) effective May 1, 2020. The Fund is registered with the Securities Exchange Commission as a non-diversified investment company (a mutual fund). The Ave Maria Focused Fund will invest in companies believed by the Adviser to offer high earnings growth potential with a goal of long-term capital appreciation. The portfolio will be comprised of companies of all sizes and the managers may invest a substantial portion of its assets in a small number of issuers, industries, or business sectors, in essence, a concentrated portfolio. The fund will use the same moral screens as the other Ave Maria Mutual Funds. The lead portfolio manager of the fund is Chadd M. Garcia, CFA, and the co-manager is Adam P. Gaglio, CFA. The two are also portfolio managers of the Ave Maria Growth Fund (Ticker: AVEGX). George P. Schwartz, CFA, Chairman and CEO of Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc., said, "The Ave Maria Focused Fund is geared towards pro-family, pro-life investors desiring a more concentrated and performance-oriented mutual fund. In our opinion, the recent market downturn has created some great opportunities to buy shares of truly great companies at bargain prices, many of which are well below their intrinsic value. Chadd and Adam have proven to be excellent stock pickersand this new fund may appeal to long-term investors with greater tolerance for risk."



About Ave Maria Mutual Funds Ave Maria Mutual Funds is the largest family of Catholic mutual funds in the U.S with over $2.4 billion in assets under management. The six no-load funds invest in companies that do not violate core values and teachings of the Catholic Church. For more information about Ave Maria Mutual Funds, call 1-866-AVE-MARIA (866-283-6274) or visit www.avemariafunds.com.

About Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. is a Registered Investment Adviser. Founded in 1980, the Firm is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan with a branch office in Ave Maria, Florida. In managing the Ave Maria Mutual Funds, investments are made only if companies meet the Funds' financial and moral criteria. As such, returns may be lower or higher than if decisions were based solely on investment considerations. The Funds' method of security selection may or may not be successful and the Funds may underperform or outperform the stock market as a whole. All mutual funds are subject to market risk, including possible loss of principal. For more information about Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc., visit www.schwartzinvest.com. Request a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. The prospectus can be obtained by calling 1-866-283-6274 or it can be viewed at www.avemariafunds.com. Distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors LLC. 10126707-UFD-4/28/2020 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005005/en/

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Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said he was in touch with Railways to ferry migrants to the state and asked district collectors to ready quarantine centres for them.

He directed officials to make arrangements for transportation, quarantine and other facilities for the migrants who would return to the state.

In a video-conference with senior officials late Thursday night, the chief minister reviewed preparations for safe movement of the migrants.

Gehlot directed district collectors to prepare a route chart in coordination with the Railways so that labourers and other migrants could reach their destination without any problem, an official statement said.

Rajasthan has got registered nearly 10 lakh migrants. Of them, 70 per cent are those who want to return to Rajasthan and rest 30 per cent are the migrants of other states.

Prior to the video-conference with the collectors, the chief minister said that arrangement of special trains for ferrying migrants stuck in other states was very much required. He and hoped that the Centre would soon take a positive decision on the matter.

The Centre should arrange special trains for migrant labourers who are stranded in different states. The Railways should release schedule of the trains as soon as possible, Gehlot told PTI before the meeting.

I have been consistently demanding that the Centre operate special trains for migrants who are stuck in various states, he said.

The chief minister asked the officers to prepare short-term and long-term strategies to fight COVID-19. Gehlot said efforts should be made to revive economic activities while containing the spread of coronavirus.

Along with lockdown, it is equally important to run economic activities. If all activities are shut for a long period, it will create a financial crisis and that will make fight against corona more difficult, he said.

Health minister Raghu Sharma informed that the states capacity to test samples has increased to 9,100 per day which will further enhanced to 10,000 testings per day.

Chief Secretary D B Gupta, ACS (Home) Rajeeva Swarup, ACS (Industry) Subodh Agrawal and other senior officials were present in the meeting.
DiBruno Bros., shown here at 1730 Chestnut St.in Center City, relies on special orders of wine that are not readily available to consumers in state stores, but that system was shut down since mid-March. Read more

The specialty fine wines in Pennsylvania that arent available through the State Store system will soon be easier to buy, thanks to a court ruling Friday. But it remains unclear how soon consumers may see a benefit.

Specialty wine dealers last month sued the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to allow direct sales of special order wines to consumers, and to retailers and restaurants that sell wine for takeout. The Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of the dealers Friday.

Zach Morris, owner of the Bloomsday cafe, wine bar, and bottle shop in Old City, said the decision had made it a great day for consumers and a great day for people who love wine and want to get it more easily.

But because theres no timeline on it, we hope the PLCB complies with the judges order," Morris said. "They may have to be compelled.

The opinion, written by Judge P. Kevin Brobson, followed the courts first ever remote video hearing, held on YouTube on April 28. It could shave $1.75 off the price of each special order bottle of wine. That reduction would come because the PLCB will no longer be able to collect a processing fee. Other PLCB fees and taxes  a 10% markup and an 18% liquor tax formerly known as the Johnstown Flood Tax  would remain in place.

The PLCB is reviewing the judges opinion and we are not in a position to offer public comment at this time, an agency spokesperson said.

Previously, the PLCB had required dealers to send their special order wines to a PLCB warehouse for pickup by customers. When the State Store system closed on March 16 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the warehouses were shuttered, too.

That created a big problem for us, said Jason Malumed, an operating partner with MFW Wine Co. of New York, which distributes wines to Di Bruno Bros. and other upscale retailers and restaurants in the Philadelphia region. Our business went to zero. On that day, they said we couldnt deliver directly to the stores.

Retailers were also left high and dry.

During the last six weeks, its been just about impossible to restock, said Emilio Mignucci, vice president of Di Brunos.

The PLCB reopened last week for pickup from the warehouses, making it less difficult to replenish inventories.

But you see inefficiency there," Mignucci said. "We buy it through the State Store system anyway, but [the wine] doesnt need to go the warehouse and sit and wait for us to pick it up. We can remove a layer by just having the distributor deliver to us.

Malumed said a 2016 state law allows for direct deliveries. The PLCB just hadnt put a system in place.

The law not only allowed grocery stores to sell wine to go, but it had a provision for special order products, Malumed said. It said the PLCB shall implement a system to allow the shipment of products by 2017. It never did.

Faced with the possible demise of his business, Malumed filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court on April 18 seeking emergency relief.

Within 14 days, we were having the first ever live-streamed trial in Pennsylvania court history, Malumed said. There were 160 people watching at its peak. The PLCB spent all their time talking about how difficult direct delivery was. Its not difficult."

Judge Brobson did not give the PLCB a deadline to comply. Malumed said the PLCB argued that putting a mechanism in place could take up to 10,000 hours  roughly five years if only one person is assigned to make the fix. Malumed said his IT consultants say it can be done in 48 hours.

If the PLCB doesnt act quickly, though, Malumed isnt concerned.

We still have our claim for damages open, Malumed said. They need to realize that every day that goes by with no direct delivery, damages will continue to accrue.
(Natural News) Internal documents obtained by Business Insider reveal that the Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market grocery chain is using high-tech artificial intelligence (AI) and other Orwellian tech tools to crack down on employee efforts to unionize.

The company is reportedly utilizing an interactive heat map that allows it to monitor all 510 store locations across the United States to keep an eye on employee activity. Based on the data collected, each store is then assigned a unionization risk score using criteria such as employee loyalty, turnover rate and ethnic diversity.

Whole Foods currently employs about 95,000 people nationwide, and many of these people presumably want the same benefits, worker rights and job protections afforded to employees at most other supermarket chains. But because the chain is now owned by Amazon, which has a history of being anti-union, Whole Foods employees face an extremely uphill battle, especially since AI is involved.

A 45-minute employee training video that was sent to Whole Foods team leaders in 2018, and later leaked, reveals that Amazons perspective on unionization is that it is not in the best interest of our customers or shareholders or, most importantly, our associates.

Amazon, in case you are unaware, recently shamed a former employee at its Staten Island facility who had protested unsafe working conditions amid the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Not only was this employee immediately let go, but internal emails later showed that Amazons top lawyer attempted to smear him as not smart or articulate in his efforts to unionize Amazon.

The Whole Foods heat map generally tags store locations in poorer neighborhoods as having the highest risk of unionization, and especially those that have low racial and ethnic diversity, reports indicate.

For more related news about Amazon and Whole Foods Market, be sure to check out Corruption.news.

Banks and other finance businesses are using similar technology to track and punish their employees who try to unionize

Amazon and Whole Foods are not the only companies utilizing these types of draconian measures to keep their employees forever enslaved. Many banks and finance companies are doing the exact same thing, using platforms like Receptiviti.

In case you are not familiar with what this is, Receptiviti uses machine learning technology to analyze keywords in employee communications via email, Slack, Skype, and other messaging platforms. Based on what the technology pulls up, it can determine whether or not a particular office or workplace has a so-called toxic culture.

Amazingly, the technology can also supposedly predict how employees are going to act in the future. Researchers from two different Texas universities published an article in the Harvard Business Review last year that found it can even accurately determine when an employee is about to quit.

We used machine learning to classify each individual as unlikely, less likely, more likely, or most likely to be receptive to new job opportunities, they wrote.

They further explained that they were able to accumulate potential turnover indicators for more than 500,000 workers in the U.S. based on personal factors tied to embeddedness that were in the public domain, such as the number of past jobs, employment anniversary and tenure, skills, education, gender and geography.

As you have probably figured out by now, this is all 1984-like spying on and surveillance of the masses. It is being used not just in the workplace at anti-union operations like Amazon warehouses, Whole Foods grocery stores, and banks, but also on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

To access more stories about how big corporations love to take advantage of their workers while making their CEOs and shareholders filthy rich, be sure to check out Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

BusinessInsider.com

Observer.com

NaturalNews.com
Three pastors have been arrested in Ado-Ekiri, the Ekiti state capital for using a public address system to disturb the public peace in their neighbourhoods.

The clerics, Babatunde Ajayi, Solomon Lawal and Goddey Erichen, appeared before the Environmental Task Force team at the Ekiti State mini pavilion located at the Fajuyi area in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday.

The pastors were arrested at the Owode quarters in Basiri and Surulere areas of Ado-Ekiti, having admitted to flouting the environmental and sanitation provision.

The clerics were said to have been arrested by the COVID-19 Environmental Task Force team, led by Mr Tunde Balogun, the Director of Environmental Services, Ministry of the Environment, during a patrol with his team.

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Balogun disclosed that the offenders contravened the Environmental and Sanitation Law of Ekiti State 2012.

Read Also: Woman Slumps, Dies While Urinating In Ekiti

The pastors were said to have written an undertaking that they would never disturb the peace of their neighbourhoods with a public address system.

Mr Femi Onipede from the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice was directed to ensure the compliance of the undertaking, in line with the law.
Luanda  Angolan minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Manuel Homem, Thursday regretted the death of journalists of National Radio Station (RNA), Juliana Pedro and Alice Marcelino, respectively.

Juliana Pedro, who worked for nearly 20 years for RNA, died on the 24th of this month of illness, while Alice Marcelino, with the same period of service, was murdered on the 29th of the current month.

As RNA professionals, the minister said in a note of condolence reached ANGOP, they always performed their activities with zeal, professionalism, pride and a high sense of patriotism.
Ethical fashion designer Katherine Hamnett has launched two limited edition slogan t-shirts with ASOS, to raise money for care workers and NHS staff.

The CHOOSE OUR CARERS and CHOOSE OUR NHS tees each cost 20, with all net profits going to the Care Workers Charity and NHS Charities Together.

The tees will be exclusively sold on ASOS, which will also make an additional donation to match the profit from each sale.

The tees are the latest edition in a canon of bold slogan tees that Hamnett first starting making back in 1983. Since then her attention-grabbing messages have awareness for everything from anti-war campaigns CHOOSE LIFE (a slogan thats since been appropriated by the US anti-abortion lobby), to supporting the charity Help For Refugees with her 2015 tee CHOOSE LOVE.

Dame Judi Dench

The CHOOSE NHS tees have already garnered a celebrity following, with everyone from Dame Judi Dench, Dermot OLeary, Lena Headey, Suki Waterhouse, Daisy Lowe, Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling, Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac already showing their support for those caring for others during the coronavirus crisis.

These tees are raising vital funds for incredible charities that are supporting these carers and NHS workers at this difficult time. Im wearing mine to show gratitude and appreciation for everyone working so hard to keep us safe... buy one, you'll look great, and will be loved by everyone... guaranteed, comments Dermot OLeary.

Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling

Ellie Orten, Chief Executive of NHS Charities, commented: Weve been overwhelmed by the publics support for the NHS and the Choose Love t-shirts will help raise valuable funds for frontline NHS staff, volunteers and patients at this incredibly difficult time. We must never underestimate the importance of showing our continued solidarity and support to the NHS workforce.

The limited edition Choose Our Carers and Choose Our NHS T-shirts are made from 100% organic cotton and will be available in a range of sizes on ASOS.
The Covid-19 crisis is set to cost the British car industry more than 8billion  even if all the mothballed factories are reopened in just two weeks.

The pandemic could result in 257,000 fewer vehicles rolling off production lines this year, after output plunged by almost 38 per cent last month, an industry report predicted.

This would cost 8.2billion  wiping out a fifth of car makers combined annual turnover.

The pandemic could result in 257,000 fewer vehicles rolling off production lines this year, after output plunged by almost 38 per cent last month

Just 78,767 vehicles left factory gates in March, some 47,428 fewer than the same month a year ago.

Production of engines also slumped 40 per cent last month, according to latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Factories hammered Four in five British manufacturers have been hit by a slump in orders since the Covid-19 outbreak, according to a report. A poll of almost 300 firms found one in five manufacturers have seen their orders fall by more than half since the lockdown. One in five have also furloughed up to a quarter of their staff, with a third of firms waiting for an increase in orders before they take employees off the furloughing scheme. The findings are in a report by manufacturing lobby group Make UK, which has urged the Government to extend the furloughing scheme beyond June.

Car makers began to mothball their factories towards the middle of last month  before the official lockdown was introduced on March 23.

Industry figures published next month will confirm car production was virtually wiped out in April.

The latest estimates of the spiralling costs of the lockdown are based on independent forecasts, and assume mothballed plants are reopened in the middle of next month.

But with no exit strategy in sight, many believe this is optimistic.

The SMMT said the first step must be to reopen car showrooms as soon as possible. As one car executive put it: There is no point in factories starting to make cars if there is nowhere to sell them.

Manufacturers, which have furloughed tens of thousands of workers, are sending in small teams to get their plants Covid-19-ready.

Vauxhall said it has finished preparations at its Ellesmere Port and Luton plants where staff will be supplied with protective gloves, masks and overalls.
The number of people testing positive and being hospitalized for COVID-19 in Virginia has continued to rise over the past three weeks, even as the number of new tests processed each day has continued to fall below the states goal.

The figures show Virginia has not yet begun the 14-day decline in new cases and hospitalizations that state officials have said they would like to see before lifting restrictions on people and businesses for social distancing.

So far this week, an average of 696 people have tested positive for COVID-19 each day, up from 616 each day last week and 425 the week before, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health.

At the same time, daily testing results reported by the Health Department have only inched up. Since Sunday, the state has reported an average of 2,945 test results per day, up from 2,892 last week, when Gov. Ralph Northam announced a task force to focus on ramping up testing.

On Monday, Northam said that the state had come a long way for testing in the past week and that it was approaching 4,000 tests per day. However, data from the Health Department shows that the number of test results reported each day is sporadic, with 5,536 results reported on Thursday but only 2,554 reported on Wednesday.

Experts say that greater testing capacity will be essential for safely beginning to relax restrictions meant to prevent a surge in new COVID-19 cases that could overwhelm hospitals.

According to an analysis by the Harvard Global Health Institute for Stat News released earlier this week, Virginia would need to be able to test 4,791 people a day in order to consider lifting restrictions starting May 1.

And an analysis by Johns Hopkins University & Medicine that compared testing per capita in the United States and its territories ranks Virginia near the bottom nationally, ahead of only Arizona and Puerto Rico.

The World Health Organization has said that areas with adequate testing capacity should see about 10% of all tests coming back positive. Cumulatively, Virginia has had about 17% of its tests return positive results.

Northam announced Wednesday that, starting Friday, he would allow hospitals to resume scheduled surgeries, which had been prohibited by an executive order he issued a month ago to preserve protective equipment and build up hospital capacity in preparation for a wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations have also continued an upward trend, even as the number of people coming into emergency rooms and being hospitalized for other reasons has plummeted, according to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

So far this week, there have been an average of 1,520 people hospitalized for COVID-19 throughout the state each day, compared with 1,355 last week and 1,293 the week before.

At the same time, there are currently 5,099 available hospital beds throughout the state.

Thursday's numbers

The Virginia Department of Health reported Thursday that the state has 15,846 COVID-19 cases, which is an increase of 885 over the 14,961 reported Wednesday.

The 15,848 cases included 15,180 confirmed cases and 666 probable cases. Also, there are 552 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia  543 confirmed and 9 probable. That's an increase of 30 total deaths from the 522 reported Wednesday

The state health department reported Thursday there were 127 cases in the Central Virginia Health District: 53 in Lynchburg, 30 in Bedford County, 20 in Appomattox County, 12 in Campbell County and 12 in Amherst County. Nelson County, located in the Thomas Jefferson Health District, reported eight cases.

Last week, the VDH started including probable COVID-19 cases and probable deaths in the state's overall tally. Probable cases are people who are symptomatic with a known exposure to COVID-19, but have not been confirmed with a positive test.

The VDH said 90,843 people have been tested for the virus in Virginia, and there have been 2,322 hospitalizations.

Fairfax County, the state's most populous locality with more than 1.1 million people, has the most cases with 3,611 and 134 deaths.

There are coronavirus cases in 130 of Virginia's 133 cities and counties. Only these 3 localities  Bath County, Bland County and Dickenson County  don't have cases.

State health officials have said theres a lag in the reporting of statewide numbers on the VDH website. Figures on the website might not include cases or deaths reported by localities or local health districts.
An 18-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by seven attackers as she walked home with her bother in a village in India.

The gang of seven, which reportedly included three minors, threw the victim's brother down a well before launching the sex attack.

She was travelling on the back of her 21-year-old brother's motorbike when the group intercepted them, police said.

The victim was assaulted from 8.30pm on Wednesday until 2am yesterday morning in the village of Padhar in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, according to NDTV.

An 18-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped in village of Padhar, Madhya Pradesh, by a group of seven. Pictured Kotwali Police Station where the suspects were taken

The young woman and her brother were returning to their home after refuelling the motorbike at a petrol pump.

The seven suspects on three motorcycles accosted them while they were checking a faulty headlight, police said.

Both were then forced to a nearby forest and beaten before the gang rape took place.

Five of the alleged attackers have been arrested, while two of the adult suspects are still at large, police said.

According to reports, the man managed to get out of the well and call for help. His sister was found unconscious by family members searching the area.

Officers managed to track one of the suspects after an ID card was discovered at the scene, reports state.

Police said the suspects have been charged with rape, kidnap and attempted murder.

The victim is said to be undergoing treatment in hospital and is in a stable condition.
Vladimir Putin billed Donald Trump nearly $660,000 after sending 60 tons of medical equipment to the U.S. in the midst of the coronavirus crisis  including thousands of pieces hospitals don't usually use.

'The State Department received a final invoice from the Government of Russia for $659,283,' a FEMA spokesperson told ABC News in a report published Friday. 'Once the routing instructions are received, the State Department will remit payment and FEMA will reimburse the State Department.'

The cargo included chemical ware-fare style gas masks, household cleaning gloves and 45 ventilators with incorrect voltage capacities, according to two U.S. officials and government records of the shipment revealed. While U.S. requires 110 volts, Russia uses 220-volt electricity.

Moscow referred to the drop as 'humanitarian aid' for New Yorkers, while touting that Putin's government would be posting half the bill  which, if true, means the cost of the shipment was upwards of $1.3 million.

Russian President Vladimir Putin billed President Donald Trump $659,283 for a shipment of medical supplies last month with chemical ware-fare style gas masks, household cleaning gloves and 45 ventilators with incorrect voltage capacities for the U.S.

The shipment in a Russian Aerospace Forces plane landed at JFK airport April 1 and included 60 tons of equipment, but a lot was rendered useless by hospitals

'If they send things that we need, I'd take it. Sure,' Trump said at an April 2 press conference revealing he would pay Russia for more medical equipment in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. He also did not disclose the bill at the time

Trump spoke with the Russian president on March 30 on a private phone call, where he accepted Putin's offer for medical equipment, and the shipment arrived at JFK airport in New York City April 1.

'President Putin offered President Trump during their conversation Monday,' a senior Administration official told DailyMail.com when asked about the supplies last month.

The administration official also said it was an 'act of goodwill' that Putin sent plane full of medical equipment.

During Trump's April 2 press briefing  a few days after his call with his Russian counterpart  he did not disclose the price tag on the shipment  but said that he would accept more supplies if Russia offered.

'If they send things that we need, I'd take it. Sure,' the president told the press at the time.

New York and New Jersey are the two states most hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak, making up more than 25,000 deaths of the nearly 64,000 total U.S. casualties.

While the federal government said it transferred all of the supplies to state officials in both New Jersey and New York, it is still not clear how useful the April shipment was for area hospitals.

Some have suggested the equipment is still in storage and the act served more as a public relations stunt for the Kremlin.

The supplies supposedly was distributed to ear hospitals in New York and New Jersey  the two states hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak

But Trump said April 2: 'I'm not concerned about Russian propaganda. Not even a little bit.'

'He offered a lot of medical, high quality stuff that I accepted and that may save a lot of lives. I'll take it every day,' he continued at the time of the briefing a month ago.

FEMA provided a full list of the supplies included in the air shipment to ABC News.

It included 4,000 M-95 'full face masks with filters.' These types of masks cover the entire face and are military-grade, usually used to protect against chemical and biological agents. On the contrast, frontline responders and U.S. healthcare workers need 'N95' respirator masks, which only cover the nose and mouth.

Russia also sent 15,000 respirators, 80,000 packs of skin antiseptic, 30,000 surgical gloves and around 400,000 pieces of medical clothing, according to the documents.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

UCLA is one of seven sites participating in a clinical trial investigating whether hydroxychloroquine, a commonly used anti-malarial and autoimmune drug, can prevent infection with COVID-19.

The multi-site study led by the University of Washington in collaboration with six other university centers, is now enrolling 2,000 participants who are close contacts of persons who are confirmed or suspected to be infected with COVID-19. The aim is to determine whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent infection in people exposed to the virus.

"There has been a lot of speculation as to whether hydroxychloroquine can treat or prevent COVID-19," said Dr. Raphael J. Landovitz, professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and principal investigator at the UCLA site. "This study provides an important opportunity for Los Angeles to partner with UW and the other collaborators to help answer this question definitively."

The Food and Drug Administration supports the use of hydroxychloroquine in clinical trials investigating its effectiveness against COVID-19, but has issued a warning against its use outside of the setting of clinical trials or in treating hospitalized patients, where close safety monitoring can be assured.

The $9.5 million trial looking at post-exposure preventive therapy for COVID-19 is part of an initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard to speed development and access to therapies against the respiratory virus that has spread throughout the world. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator is funded by the three organizations and an array of government and private sector donors. The hydroxychloroquine trial is one of many approaches the group is funding.

Hydroxychloroquine has been used since the early 1950s to prevent malaria and treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Hydroxychloroquine has a long track record of safety for these conditions, and is being studied in similar or lower doses for the prevention of COVID-19. The medication is hypothesized to prevent COVID-19 from infecting cells.

Trial participants are randomly assigned to take hydroxychloroquine or a placebo over two weeks, and nasal swab samples are collected and tested daily to confirm new COVID-19 infections across the two groups. Sandoz, a Novartis division, has donated the hydroxychloroquine doses for the study.

All trial participants will be carefully screened to ensure they do not have an allergy to the medication or a condition that could put them at high risk of any adverse side effects. They will also be monitored through telehealth consultations.

The trial is slated to run over eight weeks. The researchers expect to have answers by summer.

"We currently don't know if hydroxychloroquine works, but we will learn in as short a timeframe as possible what the outcome is," said Ruanne Barnabas, the trial's principal investigator and associate professor of global health at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health. "Our goal is to stop transmission of COVID-19 in the community."

If the drug does not work, investigators can put their time and energy into other prevention and treatment interventions, Barnabas said.

Data from the trial will be shared via the open-access COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator website, once the site is active, to ensure scientists everywhere can benefit from its findings.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak




The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has authorised the use of Chloroquine and Zithromax for treating Coronavirus.

The Governor said he is ready to take responsibility for any consequence of approving such drugs.

Governor Bala who was the index case in the state noted that he was treated with chloroquine and Zithromax.

He made this claim while providing an update on COVID-19 in the State at the Government House, Bauchi on Thursday

Our medical team is using their own ingenuity to use chloroquine and Zithromax to treat the patients, even though in some places, they said it is against the protocol, he said.

As the governor, Im taking responsibility for that because I dont want anyone to die.

I have given you the directive that you must use something that I have used to get well, just as you have used for all other cases that got well.

Rather than saying that something is harmful, we should not follow what the white people are saying by not taking anything and die.

We are used to taking chloroquine in Nigeria. We are going to use them. We have taken responsibility and I have taken responsibility.

Zithromax and chloroquine are not harmful to our body, our physiological system has adapted to it. If you are having a fever you take chloroquine, he said.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 05:36:10|Editor: huaxia

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ALGIERS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Algeria reported 158 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total cases to 4,006, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission, Djamel Fourar, said on Thursday.

The total death cases surged to 450 after registering 6 new deaths, and an overall of 1,779 patients have recovered, Fourar said.

A baby of less than a year has recovered after being infected with the COVID-19, private TV channel Echorouk News reported on Thursday.

The baby was discharged from a hospital in Mascara, 380 km west of Algiers, capital of Algeria, the report quoted Issad Khaled, the director of the hospital, as saying. Enditem
More than one million people infected with coronavirus across the world have now recovered, according to figures.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University - which has tracked the pandemic since it began - shows the milestone was hit last night.

More than 3million people have been infected with the virus worldwide, and around 230,000 people have died - meaning there has now been around four times more recoveries than deaths.

Statistics show the US has seen more than 153,000 people recover from the deadly illness, followed by Germany (123,000) and Spain (112,000).

However, the true number of infected patients who have recovered could potentially be millions more because the true size of the pandemic remains a mystery.

Dozens of countries around the world, including the UK, are clueless as to how many people have really been infected because of a lack of testing.

Statistics show the US has seen more than 153,000 people recover from the deadly illness, followed by Germany (123,000) and Spain (112,000)

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE RECORDED THE MOST RECOVERIES? COUNTRY US GERMANY SPAIN CHINA ITALY IRAN FRANCE TURKEY BRAZIL SWITZERLAND RECOVERIES 153,947 123,500 112,050 78,523 75,945 75,103 50,380 48,886 35,935 23,400 Advertisement

The UK does not even keep a daily track of how many patients have recovered from COVID-19.

For example, the most recent toll given by officials for how many infected Brits have recovered is just 859 out of 171,253 cases.

Britain's lack of data suggests that only around 0.5 per cent of patients recover - but that is wildly inaccurate.

Germany, praised for its robust testing regime, has a recovery rate of around 75 per cent, according to the Johns Hopkins website.

Spain's recovery rate is around 52 per cent, while it is closer to 36 per cent in Italy and 30 per cent in France.

Using these percentages, it would suggest that between 50,000 and 130,000 Brits have really recovered.

Of the 1.07 million people in the US who have been diagnosed with coronavirus, at least 128,141 are confirmed to have recovered - double the number of Americans who've died, which is 62,547 (above)

To be considered recovered, patients must have no fever for 72 hours without drugs and two negative tests results taken at least 24 hours apart. Pictured: Phlebotomist Jenee Wilson talks with Melissa Cruz, an ER technician who has recovered from coronavirus, as she finishes donating plasma in Seattle, Washington, April 17

Researchers believe the number of recoveries is likely higher due to the number of people with antibodies who never tested positive for the virus. Pictured: Dr Jan Levora (left) and nurse Kristen Renner (right) wait outside CHI-St Alexius Health in Bismarck, North Dakota, with Gery (left) and Betty DeGreef of Mandan, both of whom recovered from the virus

But because estimates of the outbreak suggest millions of Brits have actually been infected, the true number could well be a seven-figure number.

It comes after it was revealed yesterday that recoveries from the coronavirus in the US are now double the number of total deaths.

At least 128,141 Americans had won their fight against COVID-19 as of last night. In comparison, the death toll was 62,547.

It offers hope for the US, which reports five-figure numbers when it comes to new cases per day - five times as many as China did during its peak.

To be considered recovered, a patient must have no fever without the help of drugs for 72 hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additionally, the person must also show improvement in his or her respiratory health and have two negative tests results taken at least 24 hours apart.

The current numbers are a far cry from the week of March 16 to 22 when 472 people died and 668 had recovered, only about a 41 per cent difference.

But while deaths are increasing exponentially week over week, recoveries are rising at a faster rate.
Keith Lemon and Jack Whitehall will host two of the films (PA)

Keith Lemon and Jack Whitehall are among the stars who will host free film screenings of hit movies on YouTube to raise funds for the NHS and freelancers in the film and TV industry who have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

Lionsgate Live will see four movies streamed over four weeks, with competitions, giveaways, shout-outs from cast, crew and celebrities as well as movie quizzes and other events.

It will start on May 2 with a screening of La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, hosted by Edith Bowman.

We're thrilled to announce #LionsgateLIVE: A Night At The Movies! 4 Saturdays, 4 FREE movies. In support of NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal and The Film and TV Charity COVID-19 Emergency Response. pic.twitter.com/WY4PaxdKce  Lionsgate UK (@LionsgateUK) April 27, 2020

Lemon will host a screening of Eddie The Eagle, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, on May 9, while Whitehall will host Bend It Like Beckham on May 16.

Jonathan Ross will host a screening of The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence, on May 22.

Lionsgate Live will benefit NHS Charities Together and The Film and TV Charity Covid-19 Emergency Response, supporting freelancers in the industry not covered by the Governments furlough scheme.

Zygi Kamasa, chief executive of Lionsgate UK, said: Although there is nothing quite like watching a film on the big screen, Lionsgate Live is a great chance for the UK to come together and celebrate the cinematic experience from home.

This is a fantastic opportunity for us to show our support and raise money for the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 urgent appeal and the Film and TV Charity Covid-19 Emergency Response, who are both doing incredible work during this time.

Join us as we celebrate a night out at the cinema, and bring it on home.

Video of the Day

The films will stream for free on the Lionsgate UK YouTube Channel on Saturday nights at 6pm. Viewers are encouraged to donate at https://lionsgate.live/uk/.
Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech

PM CARES Fund: No curb on use of PM's name, photo, image of flag, emblem, PMO tells HC

Save cost, reduce flying time: PM Modi during meet with Civil Aviation Ministry

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 01: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a comprehensive meeting to review the strategies that could help in making India's Civil Aviation sector more efficient.

It was decided that the Indian Air Space should be effectively used in such a manner that the flying time is reduced benefitting the traveling public and also helping the airlines to save costs in close co-operation with the Department of Military Affairs.

For generation of more revenue as well as to bring in more efficiency at the airports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has been asked to expedite the process of handing over of 6 more airports on PPP basis, by commencing the tender process within three months.

PM Modi chairs key review meet; Amit Shah, Goyal in attendance

The e-DGCA project was also reviewed. This project would bring in more transparency in the DGCA's office and help all stakeholders by reducing the processing time for various licenses/permissions.

It was also decided that all reform initiatives taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the organisations under it should proceed in a time bound manner

The meeting was attended by the Home Minister, the Finance Minister, MoS(Civil Aviation), MoS(Finance) and senior officials of the Government of India.

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Story first published: Friday, May 1, 2020, 18:40 [IST]
A war of words has broken out between the Green Party and Fine Gael over emissions targets.

While the Green Party are still mulling over the offer of government formation from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, deputy leader Catherine Martin has come out swinging against comments from Tanaiste Simon Coveney in today's Irish Examiner.

Mr Coveney told the Examiner that the Green Party's red line of a 7% emissions reduction, would have to be forgotten about if it hurts farmers.

Mr Coveney said: I am not going to put farmers out of business.

Nothing has been ruled out effectively. But, there are some things you simply cant say yes to without figuring out how its going to be done, he said.

If it decimates rural Ireland, were not doing it.

"Lets be very clear on that, we are not going to sign up to a programme for government that decimates rural Ireland. Thatll never happen, even if that means another election, he said.

Ms Martin appeared on RTE's Sean O'Rourke programme today, saying that she found Mr Coveney's comments "quite shocking".

"This is not the Green Party's 7%, this target comes from the Paris Agreement, unless we reduce by 7% we are facing catastrophic damage to the planet.

It was Fine Gael who signed this, it's disturbing, alarm bells are ringing.

"Alarm bells are also ringing over their stances on public housing, direct provision and key social issues."

When debating Fine Gael's Dublin South-West TD Colm Brophy over the target, Ms Martin said his party were being disingenuous about the issue, which has already been debated at a Citizen's Assembly and recommended by an Oireachtas Committee.

Ms Martin said that Mr Coveney was "playing to his voters".

"Fianna Fail and Fine Gael know exactly what needs to be done, they just don't want to do it," Ms Martin said.

"The Tanaiste's intervention today is unhelpful, it's the start of negative framing of what can only be a better quality of life.

It's about doing the right thing, we have to change how we do public transport, they would not commit to that, it's about remote working, it's about changing the costs of congestion, costing from 350m a year, or stopping the import of 6bn a year of fossil fuel imports.

"It's hard to believe you don't know.

"Commit to the 7% and then we'll talk - commit to the 7%.

"Let's be honest, we had farmers protesting on the streets for the last six months, they have more to fear from Fine Gael than the Green Party, they were protesting Fine Gael, not the Greens."

Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin.

Ms Martin that her party are "not a party of opposition" and are giving real consideration to entering government, but made it clear that Mr Coveney and Mr Brophy's statements would be a setback.

The Green Party are to meet again this afternoon for a third day of discussions on Fianna Fail and Fine Gael's letter in which they set out responses to 17 of the Green Party's queries on their priorities for government.

Ms Martin says she remains opened minded, but added that Mr Coveney's comments are likely to cause upset within the parliamentary party and the wider Greens membership, who have already expressed concern about entering government.
Forensic fibres expert, Dr Ray Palmer. Credit:LinkedIn

Dr Palmer has resumed giving evidence via video-link from his home in the UK, where the time is 9am.

He is dressed in a suit and tie and is sitting in a room with family photos hanging on the wall in the background.

Defence lawyer Paul Yovich is continuing his cross-examination.

He has asked Dr Palmer whether he can say for certain that the fibres found in a deceased person's hair would have got there in the hours before their death.

"Most of the fibres you find in head hair relate to the person's home environment, so the majority of fibres in their hair are likely to have been there for some time ... some of them will be from recent contact," he said.

"We're very protective towards our heads ... so the point I'm trying to make is extraneous contacts with your head tend to be much less frequent than with your arms or your body or your legs. Because of that, the majority of fibres in the head hair will relate to fibres from their home environment."

Mr Yovich is also asking about whether the fact one out of the three fibres which make up the Telstra trousers was not found at any of the crime scenes, weakens the state's hypothesis the trousers are the source.

Dr Palmer has agreed if you expect to find a certain fibre, and you don't, it weakens the hypothesis.

Mr Yovich is now asking about whether the fibres recovered from Mr Edwards' former work car are more likely to have come from more recent users.

The vehicle was used by Mr Edwards for personal and professional use from 1996 to the end of 1998, when it was assigned to another Telstra employee before it was sold in 2000.

The vehicle has since had several owners and was seized by police in 2016.

An examination of hard-to-reach areas in the car found 13 blue polyester fibres, alleged to originate from Telstra trousers.

Dr Palmer has agreed fibres found in the car are more likely to be from more recent users.
A man, who deserted his wife and son just 16 months after birth, has been denied the custody of child by the Delhi High Court which said the minor's welfare lies in staying with his mother.

The court noted that the woman has remarried three years after her divorce and resides in Dubai with her nine-year-old son and second husband, who is well paced in life and working in a multinational company there.

There is no reason to direct that his (child) custody be handed over to the appellant (man) on the flimsy excuse that the step-father would be mistreating him or that the respondent (woman) was likely to lose interest in him after she gives birth to a child from the second marriage. These are all surmises and conjectures and are not backed by any evidence, a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Asha Menon said.

The high court dismissed the man's appeal challenging a family court's decision denying him the child's custody.

Children are the first and the most susceptible victims of a shattered inter personal relationship between the spouses. Much as children would love to always remain in the loving care and custody of both the parents, they are torn between the father and mother due to their matrimonial disputes and the battle for their custody, leaving them helpless and devastated, it said.

The bench said it had serious reservations in disturbing the minor's custody as the child was just 16 months old when the man gave 'talaq' to his wife in July 2012 and the boy remained with his mother at his maternal grandparents' place in Hyderabad.

Admittedly, the woman had given birth to the child at her parental home at Hyderabad and ever since then, the child has remained in her care and custody and in all this duration, nothing has been placed on record to demonstrate that the man had established contact with the woman and reached out to the child, except for some self serving bald statements made by him to the effect that he made several efforts to meet the child and that he was better positioned to take care of the needs of the child, the bench said.

The court said it does not find any reason to remove the minor from his mother's custody and direct that he be handed over to the father.

"The guardianship petition filed by the man appears to be more a tool to even out a score with the woman, rather than a genuine means to reach out to the child and take over his custody, purely in his best interest and for his well being, it said.

The man and the woman had married in June 2009 in Delhi and were blessed with a baby boy in February 2011.

The woman had alleged she was harassed for dowry by her husband and in-laws and had to spend most of her time at her parental house. She had lodged a case for alleged harassment against her husband and in-laws.

In May 2013, the man approached a family court here seeking custody of his son and to be declared as his natural guardian. The plea was dismissed by the court after which he moved the high court which also refused to grant him the relief.

The high court was informed that during the pendency of the guardianship petition, the man had got remarried but even the second marriage did not last for too long as he had got divorced.

The court said if it was to accept the man's plea that the family court has erred in refusing him the child's permanent custody even being aware of the fact that the woman had remarried and taken the child to Dubai and there was a possibility of the step-father mistreating the minor, the same argument would apply to the man who also got remarried.

It said there was no guarantee that his second wife would have taken good care of the child from the man's first marriage, as against the biological mother.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Viva Aerobus announces gradual return of flights to and from Cancun starting mid-May

Mexico City, Mexico  Viva Aerobus airlines has announced the gradual return of flights to the Cancun International Airport starting mid-May. The Mexican airline says they will progressively increase their routes and frequencies, prioritizing the well-being and health of all its passengers and collaborators, noting that the city of Cancun is one of its main points of operations.

In a statement, the ultra low cost Mexican airline reported that the routes will increase progressively beginning the middle of the month with the objective of connecting the countrys strategic destinations within this juncture, mainly to and from Cancun, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana, the airlines operating bases.

Consequently, Cancun will be connected with departures and arrivals to and from Mexico City, Reynosa, Puebla, Monterrey, Veracruz and Guadalajara.

Mexico can trust and count on Viva Aerobus for essential trips. We are here to serve all those who require flying for essential reasons and provide them with a safe and pleasant flight with the well-being and health of all our passengers and collaborators as a number one priority, stated the General Director of Viva Aerobus, Juan Carlos Zuazua.

Viva Aerobus assures that it has implemented all the recommendations and sanitary measures issued by the World Health Organization, the Health Secretariat and the Federal Civil Aviation Agency to guarantee optimal hygiene and sanitary conditions during each of its operations.

These flights are designed to meet and adjust to current passenger demand, which has been significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Viva Aerobus says clients should be attentive to their flight itineraries, which may have modifications depending on demand, reiterating the airlines commitment to protect its passengers, according to current legislation in case of any change in their travels.

Today and always, even in challenging contexts like the one we are currently experiencing, Viva Aerobus serves and will serve Mexico, said Juan Carlos Zuazua.
On the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, 10 soldiers suffered as a result of an armored personnel carrier explosion. DW news agency reports with reference to the representative of the Armed forces of Egypt, Tamer al-Ref.

An army spokesman said that 10 soldiers were injured during the incident, but did not specify how many were killed. There was one officer in the group that was traveling in an armored vehicle.

According to Rafai, the explosion occurred south of the small town of Bir al-Abd. He noted that not a single group claimed responsibility for the attack.

At the same time, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sissi expressed his condolences in a post on Facebook, praising the soldiers as heroes and martyrs.

Note that for many years the Egyptian military led a bloody rebellion against Islamic militants in Egypt. Violence intensified in 2013 after the army overthrew President Mohammed Mursi.

In 2018, Egyptian security forces launched a nationwide operation targeting militants, focusing on the troubled area of North Sinai.

According to the army, at least 845 suspected militants were killed in the region, as well as more than 60 security personnel.

As we reported before, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia formed and maintains in Donbas the army corps consisting of over 35,000 people, including over 2,000 regular Russian officers
Moscow: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Thursday that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus, becoming the highest-ranking Russian official known to have gotten infected.

Mishustin told President Vladimir Putin during a video call that he would self-isolate but planned to stay in touch on key policy issues. It wasn't immediately clear when the two men last met.

Since early in the outbreak, the Russian president has minimized meetings and switched to holding daily video calls with officials.

First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov will temporarily perform Mishustin's duties.

Mishustin, a 54-year old former tax chief, was named prime minister in January. During the video call, which was recorded and later televised, he didn't say if he had COVID-19 symptoms or anything about his general condition. He displayed no visible signs of illness and spoke without difficulty.

Putin wished Mishustin a swift recovery and said he hoped the prime minister would continue taking part in drafting policies to shore up the Russian economy, which has been hurt by the virus pandemic.

"What happened to you, could happen to anyone," Putin said. "Along with other Cabinet members and colleagues from the presidential office, you have undoubtedly been in the zone of high risk. No matter how you limit contacts, it's impossible to avoid communication with people while drafting decisions," Putin said.

He asked the prime minister to call him after checking into a hospital.

Russians who have the virus but light or no symptoms of illness are allowed to stay home, and it wasn't immediately clear if Mishustin's hospitalization reflected the gravity of his condition or was an extra precaution.

"I hope you will remain in good physical shape and take an active part in drafting decisions that we discussed today," Putin said in a reference to a call with top officials earlier Thursday.

"Those decisions will not be made without your participation, your input." In Russia, the prime minister oversees the economy and answers to the president.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who leads a government panel tasked with managing Russia's virus oubreak, said Mishustin had undergone regular testing for the virus and strictly observed safety protocols to avoid exposure or spreading the virus.

"It's a signal to all of us - let's drop all that populist talk about lifting restrictions," Sobyanin said in televised comments.

Mishustin himself sent a similar message to the Russian people, saying that his personal situation underlined the need for strictly observing a government-ordered lockdown.

"Please remember, that the date when the country could return to a normal way of living depends on everyone's discipline and will," he said.

Mishustin's spokesman, Boris Belyakov, said the prime minister mostly relied on video calls to communicate during the pandemic and had direct contact with a very narrow circle of people, who are now quarantined and will be tested for the coronavirus.

Russian health officials reported a record daily spike of 7,099 new confirmed cases on Thursday morning, which brought the country's total caseload to 106,498, including 1,073 deaths.

Friday marks the start of long May holidays, a period when Russians flock to country homes, meet with friends and have barbecues.

Earlier this week, Putin extended a partial economic shutdown imposed in late March to run through May 11, the end of the holiday periods.

Regional authorities across vast Russia have similarly prolonged lockdowns obliging most people except those working in a few vital industries to stay home. Only visits to nearby stores and pharmacies and walks with dogs are allowed in most cities.
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Michigan's governor has extended a state of emergency declaration including a stay-at-home order that will keep non-essential businesses closed until at least May 28 - despite armed protesters storming the capitol demanding an end to the shutdown.

Gretchen Whitmer rushed out three executive orders late Thursday just as her previous orders were set to expire, telling a virtual town hall that 'we remain in a state of emergency' while accusing Republican senators of 'burying their heads in the sand and putting livelihoods at risk' by opposing the moves.

Hours earlier, the House and Senate had voted to approve legislation that would allow them to sue Whitmer over her emergency declarations as armed protesters stormed the state capitol.

They also voted on another bill that would extend some of her emergency measures, but crucially not the stay-at-home order. Their bill would also allow restaurants, bars and gyms to reopen. Whitmer said she will not sign it.

Amid the chaos Democrat Senator Sylvia Santana was pictured wearing a bulletproof vest and surgical mask while at her desk, as colleague Dayna Polehanki tweeted an image of rifle-wielding men on a balcony above her.

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Michgan's governor issued three new executive orders Thursday extending a state of emergency and stay-at-home order until at least May 28, despite armed protesters storming the capitol as Senator Sylvia Santana was pictured wearing a bulletproof vest while sitting at her desk

Protesters were demanding an end to the state's stay-at-home order which has barred bars, gyms, casinos and cinemas from opening while limiting services at restaurants to takeout and delivery only (pictured, armed demonstrators inside the capitol)

Rifle-wielding protesters pictured inside Michigan's capitol building demanding and end to the shut-down - hours before the state's Democrat governor issued three new orders extending it

A protester is seen yelling at Michigan State Police while holding a gun after storming the Capitol Thursday afternoon

Armed men are seen inside the Michigan State Capitol after they stormed inside during a rally on Thursday

Protesters tried to enter the Michigan House of Representatives chamber and were being kept out by the Michigan State Police during the American Patriot Rally organized by Michigan United for Liberty

Demonstrators were seen arguing with officers from the Michigan State Police as they tried to enter the capitol building

Protesters tried to enter the Michigan House of Representatives chamber but were being kept out by the Michigan State Police

Trump supporters wearing 'Make America Great Again' hats are seen crowding inside the state Capitol building

People protest against the governor's coronavirus lockdown inside the Capitol on Thursday

One protester wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat is seen selling at officers inside the Capitol building

Matt Maddock a Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, speaks with protesters inside the Capitol

Whitmer said that 700 people in Michigan had died from coronavirus in the last 72 hours, and accused Republicans of 'burying their heads in the sand' by opposing stay-at-home orders (file image)

Whitmer's three new executive orders cancelled her previous orders, asserted that Michigan remains in a state of emergency, and then extended her emergency powers until at least May 28.

With lawmakers passing a bill that allows them to sue Whitmer - which she is unable to veto - the issue looks destined to end up in court, though no lawsuit had been filed late Thursday, M-Live reported.

The governor is claiming authority to rule by executive order under two pieces of legislation - the 1976 Emergency Management Act and a similar 1945 law that allows a governor to declare a state of emergency and assume emergency powers.

Arguments center around the fact that the 1976 law says governors must go to the Legislature if they want to extend the state of emergency past 28 days. The 1945 act says governors decide when the emergency is over.

Whitmer's extended order bans gyms, theaters, bars and casinos from opening, and also limits restaurants to carry-out and delivery orders only.

Restaurants and allow up to five people inside at a time to pick up orders, but only if they follow social distancing guidelines by staying six feet apart.

The restrictions do not apply to office buildings, grocery stores, markets, food pantries, pharmacies, drug stores, medical equipment/supplies providers, health care facilities, residential care facilities, juvenile justice facilities, warehouse and distribution centers, or industrial and manufacturing sites

'Although we are beginning to see the curve flatten, we are not out of the woods yet. We must all continue to be diligent, observe social distancing and limit in-person interactions and services to slow the spread of COVID-19,' she said as the order was issued.

'Michigan now has more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more Michiganders than we lost during the Vietnam war. Extending this order is vital to the health and safety of every Michigander.

'If we work together and do our part, we can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.'

Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters - some carrying rifles - descended on the state capitol to oppose the shutdown, many of whom were waving pro-Trump banners after the President had earlier tweeted to 'LIBERATE MICHIGAN'. He posted similar tweets about Virginia and Minnesota.

Most of them appeared to be ignoring state social-distancing guidelines as they clustered together within six feet of each other. Few people wore masks.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Michigan's state Capitol in Lansing on Thursday to protest Governor Gretchen Whitmer's request to extend the state of emergency to combat COVID-19

Protesters rally outside of the state capitol building before the vote on the extension of Whitmer's emergency stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus outbreak

Armed protesters provide security as demonstrators take part in an 'American Patriot Rally', organized by Michigan United for Liberty

A protester wears an upside down flag painted on her face as she stands at an American Patriot Rally on Thursday

One demonstrator held a sign that has Gov Whitmer depicted as Adolph Hitler during the rally on Thursday

Ryan Kelley, a protest organizer for the American Patriot Rally, is seen speaking to attendees on Thursday

A woman wearing a Trump 2020 hat is seen holding a sign that reads: 'Every job is essential. Get workers back to work safely now'

Demonstrators hold a banner with the word 'freedom' during Thursday's protest against the governor's stay-at-home directive

In the United States, more than 1 million people have been infected with the virus. The death toll increases each day and as of Thursday afternoon it surpassed 62,000. In Michigan, more than 3,600 people have died from the virus and more than 40,000 people have contracted the illness.

But nonetheless protests to open governments have erupted across the United States, with Thursday's rally occurring just a day after a Michigan judge sided with Whitmer in a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs who claimed her stay-at-home order violated their constitutional rights.

Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray disagreed, saying that the plaintiffs' arguments were not strong due to the severity of the pandemic.

Murray wrote in the court order: 'Although the Court is painfully aware of the difficulties of living under the restrictions of these executive orders, those difficulties are temporary, while to those who contract the virus and cannot recover (and to their family members and friends), it is all too permanent.'

During Thursday's protest, Mike Detmer, a Republican US congressional candidate running for the state's 8th district spot held by Democrat Elissa Slotkin, told the crowd: 'Governor Whitmer, and our state legislature, it's over with. Open this state.

'Let's get businesses back open again. Let's make sure there are jobs to go back to.'

Other speakers at the rally questioned the deadliness of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

They also said Whitmer's stay-at-home order violated constitutional rights, and urged people to open their businesses on May 1 in disregard of her order.

Thursday's rally began around 9am under steady rainfall with some protesters chanting 'USA' and 'lock her up,' referring to Whitmer, but alluding to a refrain often chanted at 2016 Trump rallies directed at Hillary Clinton.

Hoisting American flags and handmade signs, protesters denounced Whitmer's stay-home order and business restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic while lawmakers met to consider extending her emergency declaration hours before it expires

Protesters hold Trump 2020 banners during the rally at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on Thursday

Armed protesters provide security as demonstrators take part in an 'American Patriot Rally,' organized on Thursday

One woman held a sign that called the coronavirus a 'hoax' despite the deaths of more than 62,000 people across the US, with at least 3,670 of those in Michigan

Another protester held a sign with a heart in front of Trump's name during the rally outside of Michigan's State Capitol

Demonstrators were clearly violating the recommended six-feet apart social distancing order as they protested on Thursday

A man is seen holding an American flag with a sign that reads: 'I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees'

A woman is seen holding a sign demanding the governor 'unlock us now' during Thursday's rally

State authorities have warned that protesters could be ticketed for violating social-distancing rules.

Judge: Stay-at-home order does NOT infringe on constitutional rights Michigan's stay-at-home order imposed during the coronavirus outbreak does not infringe on constitutional rights, according to a judge's ruling that threw out a lawsuit filed against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray denied granting an injunction of the governor's March 24th order requested in the lawsuit filed by five state residents. Judge Murray, however, said the residents' claims that the order infringed on their constitutional rights were not strong enough due to the severity of the pandemic. Reversing the order 'would not serve the public interest, despite the temporary harm to plaintiffs' constitutional rights,' wrote the judge in the court ruling. Advertisement

The mayor of Lansing, Andy Schor, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was 'disappointed' protesters would put themselves and others at risk, but recognized that Whitmer's order still allowed people to 'exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of speech'.

Whitmer has acknowledged that her order was the strictest in the country.

Protesters, many from more rural, Trump-leaning parts of Michigan, have argued it has crippled the economy statewide even as the majority of deaths from the virus are centered on the southeastern Detroit metro area.

Organizers of a mid-April protest in Michigan took credit when Whitmer recently rolled back some of the most controversial elements of her order, such as bans on people traveling to their other properties.

Whitmer's stay-at-home order is set to continue through May 15, though she has said she could loosen restrictions as health experts determine new cases of COVID-19 are being successfully controlled.

On Wednesday, she said the construction industry could get back to work starting May 7.

The rally saw attendees bring their children who also held signs in protest of the stay-at-home order

Some people held American flags while others wrapped themselves with Trump 2020 banners

Some people used their trucks and boats (pictured) to display demands during the rally on Thursday

'Set us free from tyranny,' one protester's display read as demonstrators chanted during the rally

A woman wore a mask that reads: 'Whitmer lied and people died.' She was one of very few people wearing protective gear on Thursday

There was at least one counter-protester near the rally on Thursday who held a sign that reads: 'Go home! Covidiots!'

Thursday's protest appeared to be the largest in the state since April 15, when supporters and allies of President Donald Trump organized thousands of people for 'Operation Gridlock,' jamming the streets of Lansing with their cars to call out what they said was the overreach of Whitmer's strict stay-at-home order.

That was one of the country's first major anti-lockdown rallies, and helped sparked a wave of similar events nationwide.

The slow reopening of state economies around the country has taken on political overtones, as Republican politicians and individuals affiliated with Trump's re-election promoted protests in electoral battleground states, such as Michigan.

Many states, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska, South Carolina and Ohio, have already moved to restart parts of their economies following weeks of mandatory lockdowns that have thrown nearly one in six American workers out of their jobs.

Public health authorities warn that increasing human interactions now without appropriate safety measures may spark a fresh surge of infections.

Regardless of the warning, people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against lockdown orders.

There are more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States with at least 62,547 deaths

Earlier this week, hundreds of lockdown rebels attended the 'Reopen North Carolina' rally despite the group's leader, Audrey Whitlock, testing positive for the coronavirus.

The group, which has been campaigning for government officials to reopen the state and relax coronavirus restrictions, were seen gathered outside the North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh.

Many waved American flags while others held signs that read: 'Set our people free.'

Hardly any of the protesters were wearing masks or other protective gear as they clearly violated the social distancing order to remain six feet apart.

The demonstrators called on Gov Roy Cooper to ease the stay-at-home orders for the state where there are more than 9,900 confirmed cases and 354 deaths.

ReOpen NC is promising to hold rallies in Raleigh every Tuesday until the governors restrictions are lifted. His stay-at-home order has been extended until May 8.
"We're so pleased to welcome Amanda Renteria as Code for America's new CEO," said Code for America Board Chair John Lilly. "As the current crisis has shown, it is critical for government services to be designed and delivered with people at the center. Amanda will lead Code for America at a moment when the need to transform government could not be clearer. We're confident that she has the vision, experience, and leadership to fulfill this mission and lead this organization as it enters its second decade."

"Amanda is a trailblazer, who has opened doors for women, the Latinx community and people of color. Over the last 25 years, she's risen to the highest levels of government and politics. She will be a game-changer for Code for America."

Renteria has more than two decades experience working in government and politics. She served as the Chief of Operations at the California Department of Justice under California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. She was an economic policy advisor for Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and, while working for Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, became the first Latina Chief of Staff in the history of the United States Senate. Earlier in her career, Renteria served as a budget analyst for the City of San Jose.

On the political front, Renteria served as National Political Director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for President. Most recently, Renteria has helped guide Emerge America, an organization that recruits and trains women to run for elected office at all levels of government.

"I'm honored and humbled to join this incredible organization," said Renteria. "Over the last decade, Code for America has set the standard for reimagining government service delivery in partnership with public servants across the country. As a result, those in desperate need are better able to obtain food assistance, safety net benefits, conviction relief and so many other services.

"Now, at this moment of crisis, the mission of transforming government for the digital age is more important than ever. I look forward to working with the entire Code for America team, the volunteers who make up the National Brigade Network, and all those engaged in the broader civic tech community to help make government work for the people it serves."

Ms. Renteria is the daughter of former farmworkers. She grew up in the small agricultural community of Woodlake, California where she began her career in public service as a high school math and economics teacher. Through a lifetime of personal and professional experiences, she's built a unique perspective of understanding the important impact of government services that work for all families, especially those most in need. She holds Bachelor's degrees in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and their two children.

"Finally, on behalf of the Board, I want to thank Jennifer Pahlka for her years of visionary leadership as Founder and Executive Director," added Lilly. "Jen means so much to Code for America and the civic tech community, and I look forward to continuing our work together on the Code for America Board, and in her future endeavors.

"I would also like to thank Zeryn Sarpangal and Lou Moore for their service as interim Co-CEOs. They were instrumental in moving this organization forward at a critical moment and ensured continuity while the CEO search was finalized. Thank you, and we look forward to working with you in this next chapter."

In January, Code for America founder Jennifer Pahlka stepped down as executive director, and Zeryn Sarpangal and Lou Moore were named interim Co-CEOs. Pahlka will continue her service on Code for America's board. Sarpangal will resume her role as Chief Financial and People Officer, and Moore will return to his position as Chief Technology Officer.

About Code for America

Code for America believes government must work for the people, and by the people, in the digital age, starting with the people who need it most. We build digital services that enhance government capabilities, and we help others do the same across all levels of government. We organize thousands of volunteers across nearly 80 chapters nationwide who improve government in their local communities. Our goal: a 21st-century government that effectively and equitably serves all Americans. Learn more at codeforamerica.org.

Contact: Scott Gerber, [email protected], 408-202-4255

SOURCE Code for America

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https://www.codeforamerica.org/


Austin Lattana (pictured in mugshot) was arrested for allegedly opening fire on an Amazon delivery driver

A Las Vegas man is arrested for allegedly shooting several bullets at an Amazon delivery driver's van after mistaking him for a late-night burglar.

The Las Vegas Metro Police Department revealed Austin Lattana, 26, was taken into custody after he reportedly opened fire at an unidentified Amazon worker.

Lattana has been charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a weapon where a persons can be endangered and discharging a weapon on an occupied vehicle/residence.

The April 25 incident began around 11:30pm that night when authorities received a call from the Amazon driver.

He told dispatchers that that a resident, later identified as Lattana, confronted him while he was delivering a package to a neighbor's home, according to police report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The driver, who was wearing an official Amazon vest at the time, said Lattana shined a flashlight in his face.

'(The driver) advised that he delivers packages for Amazon and is tasked with deliveries during certain time frames,' the report said, adding that the package was supposed to be delivered before midnight.

Lattana continued to reportedly shine the flashlight at the Amazon driver and followed him back to the delivery truck.

The driver also said a woman took a photo of his license plate.

'(The driver) advised that he is an Amazon delivery driver and entered his vehicle to leave,' the report said.

As the driver was preparing to leave the cul-de-sac, Lattana allegedly fired multiple bullets into the Amazon truck and shattered the rear view mirror.

The Amazon delivery driver claimed he was leaving a Las Vegas neighborhood when Lattana began shooting at his van

'(The driver) heard a firearm discharging and his vehicle was hit by bullets. (His) rear view mirror shattered,' the report said.

A front passenger window and the front driver's window were also struck by bullets, as were four nearby homes and some cars.

The driver was not injured in the shooting, but quickly called 911 to alert police of the incident.

Lattana told authorities that the driver was trying to burglarize his home and did not believe the man was actually an Amazon worker.

He claimed that he began shooting when the driver reached for something inside his vehicle.

'Lattana said that a guy was walking around the cul-de-sac,' the report said.

'Lattana confronted him, and the guy said he works for Amazon. Lattana did not believe him. When the Amazon driver entered his vehicle, Lattana said he observed him reaching for something, so he began shooting at him.'

A witness told police that Lattana threatened to shoot the driver if he did not leave the neighborhood.

Authorities found 14 shell casings in Lattana's driveway. A search warrant of his home uncovered additional weapons, including a loaded AR-15 rifle and a loaded .45-caliber handgun.'

Lattana was taken to the Clark County Detention Center (pictured) with a bail set to $10,000

An Amazon spokesperson told Las Vegas Review-Journal that the company is investigating the incident.

'This is a terrible incident and we are thankful the delivery driver is safe,' said Timothy Carter.

Lattana was taken to Clark County Detention Center with bail set to $10,000.

He was reportedly not able to appear in court on Monday because he was at a local hospital. It's unclear what Lattana was being treated for.

Amazon has been criticized throughout the pandemic as several employees across the United States joined together in protests.

Workers have reported a lapse in protective gear, warehouse sanitation, transparency and people ignoring social distancing orders.

Former staffers like Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa claimed they were sacked in retaliation for speaking out against Amazon's practices.

An Amazon spokesperson told DailyMail.com that it vehemently denied any allegation of mistreatment towards employees.

'I believe those criticisms are unfounded. Nothing is more important than the safety of our teams,' they wrote.

'Amazon has implemented a broad suite of new benefits changes for employees in our operations and logistics network throughout this unprecedented pandemic event including an additional $2 per hour, 2X pay for overtime and paid time off (PTO) benefits for regular part-time and seasonal employees.

A message painted by activists on the street outside of one of the personal residences of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in Washington DC yesterday

Amazon employees at a fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York, are seen above during a protest on March 30. Thousands of warehouse staff are expected to take part in a work stoppage on Friday to protest conditions that they say put them in danger of getting sick

'We are encouraging those who are unwell to stay home and taking extreme measures to keep people safe in our buildings.'

On May 1, thousands of Amazon staffers staged a strike over the company's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

'This is a matter of life or death,' Christian Smalls, a former Amazon employee who was fired from his job at a Staten Island warehouse in March after he helped organize a demonstration, told The Washington Post.

'The virus is killing some of our employees.'

Amazon activists vandalized the road outside Jeff Bezos' million dollar home in Washington D.C., the day before.

Protesters scrawled 'Protect Amazon Workers' in giant red, yellow and white paint in the middle of a street, with the hashtag '#ForUsNotAmazon' alongside.

On Monday, CEO Jeff Bezos was subpoenaed to appear before Congress over perjury claims.

Bezos is facing allegations that the online retailer uses data from its own third-party sellers to create competing products.






Bollywood lost a talented actor today. Irrfan Khans sudden demise has shocked one and all and the entire nation is in a lull after the news broke out this morning. Irrfan worked with several directors during his glorious journey in Bollywood and impressed millions of hearts with his effortless performance. Director of Irrfan Khan starrer Gunday (2014), Ali Abbas Zafar, spoke to Filmfare about the demise of the actor.







He said, It's very sad. I also got to know about it in the morning. And I'm not in Mumbai. I'm in Dehradun but very very sad. He is gone just too soon. What I can say is just that the industry has lost a phenomenal talent too early and I don't think so only India, I think internationally people will miss him as an actor. My memories with his are very dear to me. He was a great guy. Loved conversation, had great stories to say, loved food, was super entertaining and yes, master of his craft. One thing he always used to tell me, Ali on camera less is more, the better you are restrained as an actor, the better your performance is and who better does subtle work than him. I'm too fortunate to work with him and that too so early in my life. It was my second film. Yes, very very sad to know and one small thing that I always remember working with him is I always used to tell him that sir, your eyes are too big and too expressive and he used to laugh like a child and he used to say, chashma pehen loon kya? Should I cover it? Give me nice goggles, cool lagunga (Laughs). So yes he was funny. I miss him and I think the whole film industry will miss him a lot. RIP Irrfan Khan!
GREENWICH  A new testing site for the coronavirus will be open for one day on Friday in Wilbur Peck Court in Greenwich.

The testing site will be in the housing complexs clinic, which is run by Family Centers. The area nonprofit is running the pop-up testing site. The tests will be done at no cost to the patient.

To be tested, a person must either be showing symptoms or have been exposed to a positive case of coronavirus.

The tests will be done between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday and will be by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling 203-717-1760.

The test results will be known quickly, said Dennis Torres, vice president of Health Care Programs at Family Centers. Positive results for coronavirus can be determined within three minutes, and negative results within 15 minutes.

The mobile testing van can do 60 tests a day, and Torres said he expects all the slots to be filled.

The testing is done through the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, which is working with the state Department of Public Health as a pilot program in Greenwich and other communities to provide more access to tests.

It is a one-day testing site, but Torres said Family Centers is hoping for more.

Were going to see how it goes, he said. We want to bring additional testing to the community because there still isnt enough of it.

Family Centers is also trying to educate residents through the clinic about the need for testing, how to access the test and symptoms of the virus, Torres said.

Some people cannot return to work without a clean test, he said, but it is hard to get tested. The more availability of testing there is, the better it is.

We are making this a priority, Torres said.

The goal of the clinic in housing complex, which is owned by the Housing Authority of Greenwich, is to meet the needs of low-income and underserved residents in town who might not otherwise have access to health and dental care.

Greenwich Hospital has been operating a testing site in its employee parking lot since last month. As of Wednesday, the hospital reported that 4,732 people have been tested, with 1,646 coming back positive. That number includes people from all over the region and not just from Greenwich.

The town Department of Health reported that as of Wednesday, 673 residents have tested positive for coronavirus.

Symptoms of coronavirus include a cough and shortness of breath, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as any two of these symptoms: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and/or a loss of taste or smell.

Symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus. Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions such as heart or lung disease and diabetes appear to be at higher risk of developing more serious complications from coronavirus.

Children can also exhibit similar symptoms to adults and generally have mild illnesses.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
Europes biggest budget airline has said that it will not be running more than a skeleton service until July  and even then, only around half the expected passengers will travel.

Ryanair says it will cut up to 3,000 jobs, mainly pilots and cabin crew, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It will also impose unpaid leave and pay cuts of up to 20 per cent, and close some bases, until traffic recovers.

The airline is currently flying around 1,700 passengers a day on a much-reduced network of Irish Sea and continental services.

Between July and September, it expects to fly no more than half of the planned service of almost half-a-million passengers per day.

In a market update, the Dublin-based carrier said: When scheduled flights return in Europe, sometime in July, Ryanair believes it will take some time for passenger volumes to return.

Consumer confidence will be impacted by public health restrictions, such as temperature checks at airports and face coverings for passengers and staff on the aircraft.

Ryanair has also said it will challenge what it says is 30bn (26bn) of public funds paid to rivals including Air France and Lufthansa of Germany  describing the hand-outs as selective state aid doping for flag carriers.

The chief executive, Michael OLeary, said the money would push down air fares: Prices are going to be incredibly low, which is good for consumers but bad for airlines.

He described Air France and Lufthansa as subsidy junkies and said Ryanair would have to compete against these airlines with both hands tied behind its back.

Mr OLeary also dismissed the notion of social distancing on board aircraft. He told Sky News: Taking out the middle seat in an aircraft achieves no social distancing.

Theres less than two feet between the aisle and the window seats.

What we are recommending, and what the aviation industry is moving towards, is temperature checks on passengers at the airport  so that anybody who has a temperature of 38 degrees is asked to go home and self-isolate.

Ryanair believes traffic will not return to pre-coronavirus levels for at least two years. The airline is in talks with Boeing about reducing aircraft deliveries in the next 24 months.

Brian Strutton, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), said: Ryanair seems to have done a U-turn on its ability to weather the Covid storm. Aviation workers are now facing a tsunami of job losses. The UK government has to stop daydreaming and keep to the promise made by the chancellor on 17 March to help airlines or this industry, vital to the UK economy, will be devastated.

British Airways has announced up to 12,000 job cuts, representing 29 per cent of its staff, and has warned unions that it may close its base at Gatwick airport completely  consolidating all its flights at Heathrow.

Meanwhile Heathrow airport has said it expects passenger numbers in April to decline by 97 per cent.

The airports chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said: When we have beaten this virus, we will need to get Britain flying again so that the economy can recover as fast as possible.

That is why we are calling on the UK government to take a lead in setting a common international standard for safe air travel.
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Protesters brought May Day into the age of coronavirus today by keeping their distance at a rally in Greece - but authorities in Germany were bracing for extremists to hijack protests in Berlin by rallying against the lockdown.

The International Workers' Day protests on May 1 typically attract thousands of people across Europe, but many events have been cancelled or banned this year because of the pandemic.

Greece urged unions to delay their protests by a week, but hundreds of students and workers nonetheless gathered outside the country's parliament in Athens today - keeping their distance and wearing masks.

Police in Paris were arresting wildcat demonstrators after the usual May 1 events were cancelled because of the virus, with unions encouraging people to chant from their windows and balconies instead.

In Berlin, the usual left-wing protesters have vowed to observe social distancing, but others are plotting a 'hygiene demo' which typically attracts conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers who scorn the lockdown.

GREECE: Members of the Greek Labour Union (PAME), respecting a safety distance to guard against the spread of coronavirus, hold a demonstration in front of Greece's parliament in Athens today

FRANCE: A woman holding a protest sign is arrested by French police in Paris today as the country braces for wildcat demonstrations, in a city where the May Day protests usually attract thousands of people

GERMANY: People holding flags and placards keep their distance at a protest on Berlin's Alexanderplatz today. Authorities fear there are more unruly protests to come

Greek workers and students wore masks and gloves as they lined up outside the parliament in Athens today, waving flags and holding placards for International Workers' Day.

Using colourful plastic markers placed on the ground to help them observe the safety distance, hundreds of protesters joined a rally organised by the Communist-affiliated group PAME.

The protesters waved flags, chanted slogans and held banners reading 'No sacrifice for the bosses'.

Meanwhile, Portugal's main CGTP trade union confederation is planning a gathering of union leaders on the vast esplanade where their traditional May Day parade ends each year.

The group said they would stand four metres (13ft) from each other and waved flags and placards.

In Finland, labour rallies are traditionally preceded by huge communal picnics in the largest public gathering of the year.

But only a handful of revellers congregated around the Manta statue in the market square, the traditional epicentre of the festival that was this year boarded up and patrolled by police enforcing the ban on groupings of more than ten people.

Authorities have instead encouraged Finns to celebrate online this year, with several restaurants across the capital offering live streams of wine tastings or cocktail lessons.

Protesters from a Communist-affiliated union in Greece observe social distancing measures as they wave flags in a May Day protest in Athens today

A musician wears a protective mask while demonstrators stand at a distance behind him during a rally in Athens on Friday

Members of the Greek Labour Union (PAME), wearing protective masks and respecting social distancing guidelines, wave flags in front of the country's parliament today

Berlin is set to deploy 5,000 police officers to enforce the lockdown rules amid fears that the protests will cause a surge in infections.

The city's interior minister Andreas Geisel said this week that 'May 1 must not become another Ischgl', referring to an Austrian ski resort which became a hotbed of infections earlier this year.

'I don't want demonstrations to lead to health dangers... the police will be firmly implementing the rules,' he warned.

The city's radical left groups, whose demonstration is usually the focal point of May 1 festivities, have changed their strategy this year to avoid the risk of infection.

Although they have promised to 'flood the streets with anti-racist, anti-patriarchal and anti-capitalist content', the organisers have also urged demonstrators to keep their distance from one another and cover their nose and mouth.

'We take the protective measures seriously... and will act responsibly,' they said in an online statement.

However, protesters at the 'hygiene demos' in Berlin and around the country may not take such precautions. Extremists from left and right have attended the rallies and declared a 'democratic resistance' to the lockdown.

The 'democratic resistance' has been gathering at Berlin's Rosa Luxemburg Platz since the end of March in a weekly rally against the lockdown.

The protesters, who include anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, claim that the restrictions are an illegal attempt to curtail civil liberties by an authoritarian state.

A handful of protesters hold up anti-capitalist signs in Paris today, with unions calling for people to chant from their balconies or windows instead

A man wearing a mask and cap is arrested in a scuffle with police officers in Paris, as France braces for rogue demonstrations today

Organisers play down the dangers of coronavirus, which has killed nearly 6,500 people in Germany, and call for an end to the restrictions.

Their last demonstration on April 25 saw around 100 people arrested for ignoring a ban on public gatherings. More than 500 people attended the protest.

Some charged that Chancellor Angela Merkel had imposed a 'ban on living', while others raged against the 'pharmaceutical lobby' and the Bill Gates Foundation, which runs vaccination campaigns in Africa.

Anti-Semitic blogger Nikolai Nerling was also present, while other protesters wore T-shirts claiming 'Rockefeller and Rothschild' had 'invented the coronavirus'.

The protesters have been assembling in front of Berlin's Volksbuehne theatre, prompting a furious reaction from director Klaus Doerr, who has dismissed them as a 'provocateurs and veritable liars'.

Polls show extremely limited support for such positions. A recent Kantar poll showed that 74 per cent of Germans were in favour of the restrictions.

One YouGov poll even found that 49 per cent of Germans believed the lockdown was being lifted too quickly.

Yet the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus has led to a boom in conspiracy theories on social media, according to the Amadeu-Antonio anti-racism foundation.

The number of people joining conspiracy theory groups on the messaging app Telegram has 'exploded', foundation member Miro Dittrich said.

A person is arrested for flouting social distancing rules in Berlin last night ahead of demonstrations today which will see 5,000 police deployed

People light flares from the balcony of a house in Berlin's Friedrichshain district last night, ahead of May 1 protests today

Germany's daily number of new infections, shown on this graph, has fallen from its peak but crept up again in recent days, rising to 1,639 today

This chart shows the number of daily deaths in Germany, which has never reached the same unwanted heights as in Italy, Spain or the UK

Common conspiracy theory topics included vaccines, contactless payment and 5G masts, he said.

'People are currently isolated from their social circles and are spending a lot of time online,' he added, which could help 'fuel belief in conspiracy theories'.

Germany yesterday announced plans to re-open churches, playgrounds and museums, but delayed a decision on hotels and restaurants. Some shops and schools have already re-opened.

Politicians have warned that Germany would have to re-impose lockdown measures if the rate of infection rises again when restrictions are eased.

The closely-watched rate of transmission (R) briefly rose back to 1.0 this week before falling again. It is currently at 0.76.

Germany's new infection count has risen for the last four days, reaching 1,639 today to take the total from 159,119 to 160,758.

The death toll rose by 193, bringing the overall tally from 6,288 to 6,481. Experts warn that the easing of the lockdown will take time to show its effects.

People keep their distance at a church service in Kevelaer in western Germany today as the country continues to take cautious steps out of lockdown

A woman is escorted away by police at a protest on Rosa Luxemburg Platz in Berlin last week, where demonstrators have gathered for anti-lockdown rallies

Elsewhere, Italy is also struggling to maintain order after some regions lost patience with the central government and began opening bars and restaurants ahead of schedule.

Prime minister Giuseppe Conte said the rogue loosenings were 'illegitimate' after Veneto and Calabria both moved ahead of schedule.

'We cannot allow the efforts made to be in vain because of rashness at this delicate stage,' Conte raged.

'Moving from the policy of 'let's close everything' to 'let's reopen everything', would risk irreversibly compromising these efforts,' he said.

Italy has been under lockdown longer than any other European country, since March 9, but measures are due to start being lifted next week.

In Spain, prime minister Pedro Sanchez has laid out a four-step plan to end the lockdown, beginning with some bars and restaurants on May 11.

Schools will start to re-open on May 18, while all shops will open with limited capacity in stage three before travel restrictions are lifted in stage four.

However, Spanish media says Sanchez is facing a battle to get his plan through parliament.

Regional leaders are said to be angry that they have not been consulted on the plans, which they say are being dictated by central government and do not reflect local concerns.
A senior SRPF official in



Maharashtra's Hingoli, where 42 jawans from the force have tested positive for the coronavirus so far, on Friday said there was some inkling about such a situation and that is why those coming back after deployment in hotspots were directly sent to isolation facilities.

A majority of these cases are from two State Reserve Police Force companies that served in Mumbai, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases for any city in India, and Malegaon, which accounts for a vast majority of infection in Nashik district.

"The number of SRPF jawans deployed in Mumbai was 87 and in Malegaon was 107. We had an inkling about this situation and what would be the result if proper care was not taken. So we sent these jawans directly to quarantine facilities, comprising 50 rooms, after they returned," Hingoli SRPF Commandant Manchak Ipper told PTI.

"The number of jawans who got infected after being on duty in Mumbai was just eight as the virus was widespread in the metropolis and everyone took utmost care. However, in Malegaon, the jawans did duty at fixed points and 33 got infected," he said.

He said the number of infected SRPF jawans stood at 42 in Hingoli now, and four of them have been hospitalised in Aurangabad, over 200 kilometres away.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is the largest private biomedical research institution in the nation, and funds research in human health, biology and science education.

Rose succeeds Kurt L. Schmoke, president of the University of Baltimore and former dean of the Howard University School of Law, who advised HHMI last year that he would step down after serving as chair for a decade. Schmoke, who served three terms as mayor of Baltimore, will remain an HHMI trustee.

Rose brings his extensive experience in finance, education, and leadership into play in his service as an HHMI trustee. Prior to becoming president of Bowdoin in 2015, he served on the faculty of Harvard Business School. Rose joined HHMI as a trustee in 2009. Over the past 11 years, he has served on the Finance and Nominating and Governance committees and as chair of the Audit and Compensation Committee.

Clayton is the ideal leader to take HHMI forward as chair. He shares our values of scientific discovery, inclusive academic environments, and stewardship of HHMIs mission and resources. He also brings unique perspective and skills, reflecting a successful career in both business and education and a deep commitment to working with integrity. I look forward to our good work together ahead.



Erin OShea, HHMI President

OShea describes Schmokes tenure as chair as a time of growth for HHMI, including new efforts to recruit and retain early career scientists, engage the public through popular films, and improve the way undergraduates experience science. I want to thank Kurt for his steady, strong leadership, and for his continued commitment to our board and mission. With his oversight, the Institute has grown and matured, and we are well positioned for the future.

Reflecting on the appointment, Rose notes: Kurt has been an exceptional board chair over the last decade, and I am honored to be succeeding him. HHMI plays a critical leadership role in the creation and development of basic scientific knowledge, science education, and the development of the next generations of scientistswork that has never been more important. I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow trustees and with Erin and the leadership at the Institute to further this mission.

Originally from San Rafael, California, Rose earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA at the University of Chicago. After a 20-year leadership and management career in finance he earned a PhD with distinction in sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment as president of Bowdoin in 2015, Rose was a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, where he wrote and taught on managerial responsibility, ethics, and the role of business in society.
Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) has filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court asking for the deployment of paramilitary forces in the state after reports of lockdown violations imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The petition was filed on Thursday by the West Bengal BJP legal cell convenor and senior Advocate, Partha Ghosh. The hearing date is yet to be announced by the court.

Speaking to the News18, Ghosh said, It is unfortunate that the West Bengal not following the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) in ensuring all necessary steps which are required to contain Covid-19.

He said it is worrisome that large numbers of people come out daily at public markets amid the crisis. Other incidents of clashes reported from across the state are not a good sign said the advocate.

Calling the Bengal government to have completely failed to tackle the situation he said it was necessary to file the petition asking for assistance from the armed forces under Section 35 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Apart from the deployment of the paramilitary forces, BJPs legal cell also requested the court to interfere and ask the state government to ensure death certificates with accurate information regarding the cause of death of the patients. Reports have suggested that healthcare officials are trying to suppress information relating to the deaths, amid the coronavirus outbreak in the state.

We have requested the court to ban the audit committee formed by the state government to ascertain the exact cause of patients death. Other provisions, such as allowing mobile phones in the quarantine facilities, which was ban by the state government, have also been appealed, Ghosh added.

BJP leaders including Amit Malviya, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Dilip Ghosh, Rahul Sinha, Babul Supriyo have criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees leadership amid the health crisis in Bengal.

However, Mamata has maintained that her state has performed well ahead of all the metros in containing the virus. She has also requested the BJP leaders not to indulge in politics and asked to fight a united battle against the crisis.

This is not election time. Please dont do dirty politics and come forward to work with us in containing the Covid19, the chief minister said.
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Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul, referring to how its people resisted top-down rule, famously called India the land of a million mutinies. Apparently for many of the 1.3 billion people there, laws were thought of as suggestions, and obedience as negotiable.

The era of COVID-19 seems to be an exception. The New York Times recently reported, that Indians arent just dutifully following Prime Minister Modis lockdown order, but are going above and beyond it. The sudden outbreak of rule-following means that for many Christians, there is a break from the persecution that has escalated since Prime Minister Modi took power in 2014.

Religious freedom shouldnt be as precarious in India as it has proven to be. While the Preamble to their Constitution declares India a secular state, this doesnt imply the elimination of religion from the public square or even the non-involvement of government in religious matters. The secularism decreed by Indias law is that no religion can enjoy privileged status over others, which in a country that is 80 percent Hindu, guarantees religious freedom and tolerance.

For the first five decades after independence, it worked for India. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and other minorities played major roles in Indian society. Prime Minster Modis predecessor, in fact, was a Sikh. Five presidents of India have been Muslims. Indian Christians have been instrumental in creating the countrys space program and have served with distinction in the Armed Forces.

During the late 1980s, however, Hindu nationalism, known as Hindutva, made a comeback. Hindutva rejects religious pluralism, aiming instead for India to become a Hindu state. In the view of Hindutvas founder, a non-Hindu in India should be considered at best a guest, and at worst the bastard child of foreign invasion.

The political manifestation of Hindutva is the BJP, which is the party of Prime Minister Modi. The BJP has shock troops, known as the RSS, a paramilitary volunteer organization with an estimated 5 million members. The primary targets of Hindu nationalists, so far, have been Indias 200 million Muslims. Thousands have been killed, including dozens that were murdered just a few weeks ago in Delhi by mobs that were egged on by both the BJP and RSS leaders.

Christians are also considered bastard children of foreign invasions and targeted by Hindu nationalists. In fact, the single deadliest modern attack on Christians took place, not somewhere in the Middle East, but in the Indian state of Orissa. In 2008, an anti-Christian pogrom there killed more than 500 people and caused another 12 thousand to flee their homes. In 2017 and 2018, nearly 900 instances of violence against Christians and churches were reported in India.

At the same time, Christian activities have been targeted and limited. At least six states now have laws making conversion to Christianity (or Islam) from Hinduism either difficult or impossible. Similar laws make it difficult for Christian nonprofits to operate within India. In 2017, Compassion International was forced to close its operations there.

That such laws primarily hurt children, nearly 40 percent of whom are malnourished, doesnt matter to Hindu nationalists. All that matters to them is building India into a Hindu state.

The growth of this ideology in both numbers and power are why, under the BJP, India has skyrocketed into the top ten of Open Doors World Watch List. In other words, India has now joined religious persecutors such as North Korea and Iran, and even rank ahead of China and Saudi Arabia.

Since people who cannot leave their homes also cannot victimize their Christian neighbors, at least not as easily, Christians are the unlikely beneficiaries of COVID-19 lockdowns. At the same time, as weve seen already in China and other nations, governments like Modis rarely miss opportunities like this one to advance their agendas. And, of course, the lockdowns across India will eventually lift, and then attacks there will likely resume.

So, lets keep our brothers and sisters in India, as well as the vulnerable members of other religious minority populations, in our prayers. They need it.

They also need us to pay attention, and then to advocate on their behalf with our leaders. The decline of religious freedom in one of the most populous nations in the world is something we must not ignore.

Originally posted at breakpoint.org
Unidentified gunmen have critically injured a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist in an attack in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal district.

Sardar Arif Wazir, one of the leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was traveling by car in the city of Wanna when gunmen opened fire from another vehicle, RFE/RLs Radio Mashaal reported late on May 1.

He was rushed to a hospital in the city of Dera Ismail Khan.

The attack comes after Pakistani police arrested Wazir on April 17 for delivering an "anti-Pakistan" speech during a recent visit to Afghanistan. He was released on bail two days before the attack.

Mohsin Dawar, a member of Pakistans lower house of parliament and a prominent figure in the PTM, accused state-sponsored militants of carrying out the attack.

The masters of the attackers should know that bullets, injuries, and prisons can't weaken our resolve, he wrote on Twitter.

There was no immediate response from the government. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The PTM has campaigned for civil rights for Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic minority, since 2018.

The group has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army's heavy-handed operations against militants in tribal regions that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and forced millions more to abandon their homes since 2003.

The PTM has been calling for the removal of military checkpoints in tribal areas and an end to "enforced disappearances," in which suspects are detained by security forces without due process.

Pakistan's government rejects allegations that its security forces and intelligence agents are responsible for forced disappearances.

Since the movement was formed in January 2018, international rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. Some members have also faced charges of sedition and cybercrimes.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said the authorities have made allegations of anti-state activities an expedient label for human rights defenders, particularly those associated with the PTM."
(JTA)The nominating committee of US Jewrys foreign policy umbrella has tapped as its next chair the immediate past chairwoman of the lead Jewish immigration advocacy groupone that has clashed repeatedly with the Trump administration.

Dianne Lob of HIAS is the pick of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the umbrella group announced Friday. The chair is the lay leader of the Presidents Conference.

HIAS and the Trump administration have clashed repeatedly over the administrations restrictive immigration policies and has been among the lead plaintiff in lawsuits seeking to inhibit the presidents initiatives.

The Presidents Conference, which was established in the 1950s as the communitys liaison to the executive branch, usually seeks out lay leaders whose views are in sync with a sitting president. Its leaders are chosen from among past lay leaders of constituent groups.

Lob, a New Yorker and an executive at an investment management firm, will run unopposed in the full vote by the Presidents Conferences 50-plus members on April 28. A daughter of German Jewish refugees, she would be the third woman to lead the organization.

Lob, 65, would succeed Arthur Stark, a past chairman of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

William Daroff, the organizations CEO, and Malcolm Hoenlein, its vice chairman, noted the pandemic crisis in the statement announcing Lobs nomination.

During this unique time in Jewish life, as we all struggle with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis, Dianne Lob brings a unique and valued outlook from her leadership position as the chair of one of the most storied organizations in American Jewish life and from her senior positions in the financial industry, they wrote.
DUBLIN, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Telefonica's FastData Platform Case Study, 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Telefonica's FastData platform is a key enabler of its data-driven approach to operations, which enhances the customer experience and supports new channel partnerships



Telefonica has built a customer-experience-enhancing intelligent data lake from open-source technologies, which delivers 90% faster API-driven responses to queries and supports 35 times more concurrent users than traditional IT approaches. Telefonica's FastData platform is cutting costs and speeding up decisionmaking in support of internal transformation and business growth.

This case study provides:

an overview of the FastData platform and Telefonica's business objectives in developing it

information about the FastData architecture and drivers for using open-source components

a list of Telefonica's achievements in creating cloud-native implementations of TM Forum Open Digital Architecture and its proposal for their standardisation across operators

a FastData platform roadmap and plans for AI-based enhancements

the business benefits of the FastData platform

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fhlzj1

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

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Global smartphone production could drop by up to 16.5 percent in Q2 2020, according to the latest data forecast by market research firm TrendForce. This drop would mark the largest ever year on year (YOY) decline for a given quarter.

TrendForce reports the global smartphone production to have fallen 10 percent YoY to around 280 million units in the first quarter of this year. This drop was caused by COVID-19-induced disruptions across the supply chain, as most of the factories remained shut for several weeks.

Although production is slowly resuming, the global economy has gone into a recession because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the demand for smartphones is likely to remain affected in the second quarter as well.

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TrendForce predicts the production volume to come in at around 287 million units in Q2 2020, marking a record 16.5 percent YoY decline.

Global smartphone demand hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has already started making its effects felt on the smartphone industry. Samsung, the largest smartphone vendor in the world, is struggling to move its Galaxy S20 flagships off the store shelves.

The South Korean company has now scaled down its smartphone production in April. It reportedly made just 10 million units instead of the monthly average of 25 million units. The company is also reducing order for components by up to 50 percent across the board.

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According to the data forecast by TrendForce, Samsung manufactured 65.3 million smartphone units in Q1 2020. The numbers are expected to drop further to 58.3 million units in the second quarter, as the companys smartphone assembly lines in India have remained shut since late March due to the imposition of a national lockdown.

Apple has also fallen victim to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the US. The companys iPhone production fell 8.7 percent to about 38 million units in the first quarter. TrendForce expects a further drop of 2 million units in the second one.

Apple has slashed prices of its iPhone 11 in China in order to boost sales. It also recently launched a $399 iPhone SE.

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Huawei, the second-largest smartphone vendor globally, on the other hand, is likely to have a better second quarter than the first. China has weathered the COVID-19 storm and demand for smartphones has started to recover.

Since China is Huaweis main market, it may see a surge in sales this quarter. TrendForce expects the companys smartphone production to come in at approximately 48 million smartphone units in Q2 2020. It made 46 million units in the first quarter.

Other Chinese OEMs, such as OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi are also likely to see some improvements this quarter. However, the smartphone market would still find it difficult to recover fully this year. Overall, TrendForce forecasts a total yearly production volume of 1.24 billion units this year, down 11.3 percent from 2019.
United Nations, May 1 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appeal for global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic should be observed along the Line of Control (LoC), according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Replying to a question about the killing of an Indian teenager in shelling by Pakistani troops in the Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, Dujarric said, "The Secretary-General's appeal for global ceasefire is exactly that. It is global and it should be applied everywhere." He added that he didn't get any updates about the situation there from the United Nations' Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan which monitors the situation along LoC.

Gulfaraz, 16, was killed in the shelling on Thursday in the Mankote area, while Zaffer Iqbal, 35, was injured and was taken to the hospital, according to reports.

After Pakistan Army started unprovoked firing and shelling at Indian positions on the LoC in Hajipeer sector of Uri Tehsil on Friday, exchanges took place between India and Pakistan in Kashmir's Baramulla district, according to police sources.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)
A 30lbs piece of the Moon - larger than anything returned to Earth by NASAs Apollo astronauts - is up for sale and it could fetch as much as 2 million.

Christie's auction house have the rare rock up for sale and they say it is the fifth largest lunar meteorite in existence that is up for private sale.

The rock was blasted from the surface of the Moon by an asteroid or comet colliding with the lunar surface - this sent it hurtling through space to land on Earth.

It was found in the Sahara desert two years ago and with only 1433lbs of lunar meteorites known to exist - it's one of the most valuable substances on the planet.

Christie's auction house have the rare rock up for sale and they say it is the fifth largest lunar meteorite in existence that is up for private sale

This particular meteorite, named NWA 12691, was part of a large meteorite shower straddling the Western Saharan, Algerian and Mauritanian borders.

The exact date is unknown but the shower was responsible for nearly half of all known lunar meteorites discovered on Earth.

Approximately 30 different meteorites were collected, analysed, classified and assigned different NWA numbers from that shower.

This was in the belief they might be from different events and represent different lunar samples but it's now thought they all came from the same lunar impact event.

James Hyslop, Christies Head of Science & Natural History said the sheer size of this rock 'bowls him over' every time he sees it in the warehouse.

'It is so much larger than anything else that has ever been offered before. The experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is something you never forget,' Hyslop said.

Scientists identify Moon rocks by their specific textural, mineralogical, chemical and isotopic signatures.

The rock was blasted from the surface of the Moon by an asteroid or comet colliding with the lunar surface - this sent it hurtling through space to land on Earth

Many of the common minerals found on Earth are rare or absent on the Moon, while some lunar minerals are unknown on Earth.

In addition, Moon rocks contain gases captured from the solar wind with isotope ratios very different from the same gases found on Earth.

"It is an order of magnitude larger than any other lunar meteorite we've sold," Hyslop said.

"All previous examples would have been able to fit in your hand, but this is over 10 times larger."

The largest lunar rock brought to Earth by Apollo astronauts was a specimen nicknamed 'Big Muley' - it was returned by Apollo 16 in 1972 and weighted 26lbs.
OMAHA, Neb., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jennifer Hamann, chief financial officer of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), will address the following investor conferences in May:

Wells Fargo 2020 Virtual Industrials Conference

May 6, 2020 , at 8:35 a.m. ET

, at

View presentation and listen to live webcast at www.up.com/investor



Alternatively, the audio portion can be accessed directly through the following webcast link

BofA Securities 2020 Transportation and Industrials Conference

May 12, 2020 , at 8:40 a.m. ET

, at

View presentation and listen to live webcast at www.up.com/investor



Alternatively, the audio portion can be accessed directly through the following webcast link

Replays of the audio webcasts will be available shortly after the conclusion of the live events on Union Pacific's Investors website.

ABOUT UNION PACIFIC

Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. The railroad's diversified business mix is classified into its Bulk, Industrial and Premium business groups. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.

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NASA Awards US Companies Contracts for Human Moon Landing

By VOA News April 30, 2020

The U.S. space agency NASA has awarded contracts to three American companies to develop spacecraft to land humans on the moon by 2024.

In a remote news conference Thursday, NASA announced it had selected Blue Origin, the space exploration company owned by Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, and owner and founder of Amazon; Dynetics, a subsidiary of research company Leidos that is based in the city of Huntsville, Alabama; and SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, and owned by businessman Elon Musk.

NASA says the companies will compete to design and develop systems for the agency's Artemis program, which has the goal of landing men and women on the surface of the moon for the first time since the 1970s. The project would also develop systems by 2028 that could be used for people to explore the solar system.

NASA's statement says the three commercial partners will refine their moon lander concepts through February 2021. The agency will evaluate which of the contractors will perform initial demonstration missions, and from those missions, NASA will select the final lunar lander.

The Washington Post reports both NASA and the White House must still convince Congress to fund the program, which is projected to cost $35 billion through 2024.

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Many people know that making it in Hollywood is no easy feat. While some stars today might make the process seem rather effortless, even the biggest names have a story or two about the hurdles they had to overcome.

Salma Hayek is one successful actress who has been very open about how things were not always easy for her. As a Latina woman, her road to Hollywood fame was fraught with even more challenges. Read on below to find out what Hayek went through before she made it as a household name.

How Salma Hayek became popular

Salma Hayek | Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Hayek was born in Veracruz, Mexico, to a wealthy family. After graduating from college, she ventured into acting and landed the role of the title character in the Mexican telenovela Teresa. The show was a success and gave Hayek recognition as an actress.

In the early 1990s, Hayek moved to Hollywood and got her start by appearing in a few Spanish-language movies. Later on, she was able to appear alongside famous stars in films like From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and Wild Wild West (1999). Other Hollywood movies Hayek was involved in include Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Grown Ups (2010), and Puss in Boots (2011).

In 2000, Hayek started her own production company called Ventanarosa. Hayek was able to produce and star in the 2002 film Frida, which went on to win two Academy Awards. She also was a force behind the hit show Ugly Betty.

More recently, Hayek has been slated to play Ajak in Marvels The Eternals, which is expected to be released in 2021.

Salma Hayek was told to sound dumber while preparing for past roles

Hayek is clearly a capable actress who can accomplish many things in Hollywood. However, casting directors did not always appreciate her talent, especially when she was still starting out.

In a recent interview with Total Film, the 53-year-old recalled that she was sometimes asked to sound dumber and speak faster for some previous roles.

Unfortunately, I never had a lot of chances to do parts where I could use a lot of the things I learned (in acting classes), Hayek shared. Or you learn them and they dont let you. Ive had directors say to me, Dumber and faster. Sound dumber and speak faster.'

Salma Hayek also struggled as a Latina actress

Aside from dealing with challenges that many women face in Hollywood, Hayek struggled even more as a woman of color.

A few years ago, she revealed in an interview with BET that she felt it was not possible to make it as a Latina actress. Hayek said: They would laugh at you. They were laughing at me for wanting to act here because I was a soap star in Mexico and I had to start again as an extra because there was really nothing.

In another instance, Hayek shared that she once tried to audition for a lead role in a movie only to be treated rudely by the director.

I was screen-testing for the lead in a film and they said that it was not written Latin, but they wouldnt mind changing it. I learned the script but when they sent me the pages [for the audition] there was none of the things I had learned, it was another role, Hayek said. So my agent called them and they said, Are you crazy? Shes Mexican. We can change [the race of] the bimbo, but not the lead.'

Although they were insistent in not letting her audition, Hayek decided to show up anyway, but they kept her waiting for five hours. As expected, Hayek did not get the part. However, she did receive an apology from the director, Ivan Reitman, years later.
Gov. JB Pritzkers office said he plans to revive efforts to ensure front-line workers receive workers compensation insurance if they get sick with COVID-19, either through administrative rule-making or in the legislature. The Illinois AFL-CIO, a federation of unions representing 900,000 workers in the state, including grocery store workers, bus drivers and manufacturing employees, called the opposition by the business groups shameful and vowed to fight for workers compensation protection for front-line workers as a way to push their employers to provide safe workplaces. Dozens of workers at grocery stores, meat and food processing plants, public transit facilities and other businesses have died as the virus spreads.
BANGKOKSomewhere in turquoise waters, perhaps where the Bay of Bengal meets the Andaman Sea, wooden boats filled with Rohingya refugees are listing, adrift now for more than 10 weeks.

They were prevented from docking in Malaysia, their preferred destination, and Bangladesh, their port of origin. As of this week, rights groups that had been trying to track the boats by satellite lost sight of them. Each boat  there were at least three  carried hundreds of Rohingya Muslims desperate for sanctuary and at the mercy of human traffickers.

I feel like crying, realizing the situation of my brothers and sisters who are still floating in the deep sea, said Mohammad Yusuf, a chief imam in one of the refugee camps in Bangladesh, where about one million Rohingya have taken refuge after fleeing waves of persecution and violence in neighbouring Myanmar.

The boats had been caught in what the United Nations has called a dangerous game of human Ping-Pong. The Bangladeshi government balked at accepting them, arguing that it has already taken in many Rohingya and borne a far greater share of the burden in the refugee crisis than any other nation.

But with Malaysia refusing to allow the boats to dock amid a national coronavirus lockdown, and a xenophobic mood sweeping the region, the boats had nowhere else to go.

Bangladesh has shouldered very heavy responsibilities for the Rohingya refugees and must not be left alone to deal with these challenges, said Steven Corliss, the U.N. refugee agencys representative in Bangladesh. But turning desperate people away cannot be the answer.

The deadly results of such a rejection became clear on April 15 when another Rohingya boat that had been prevented from docking in Malaysia was rescued by the Bangladeshi coast guard. Nearly 400 malnourished and dehydrated figures, many of them children, emerged from the hold, where they had been kept by human traffickers.

The U.N. refugee agency, which assessed the refugees condition, did not quantify how many Rohingya perished on the journey, saying simply that many died and were tossed overboard. A significant number had suffered physical abuse at the hands of the traffickers, the agency said.

The Rohingya who survived that journey are now in quarantine for the coronavirus at a temporary camp in Bangladesh.

The human traffickers who smuggle the Rohingya from internment camps in Myanmar, or refugee camps in Bangladesh, prey on some of the most vulnerable people on earth. Mostly stateless and traumatized by decades of persecution by the Myanmar military, many Rohingya are desperate to get to Malaysia, where they can find work as undocumented labourers. About 100,000 are registered with the U.N. refugee agency, and many more live in the margins of society with no paperwork at all.

A trade in Rohingya women and girls supplies wives to the Rohingya men, ensuring that an already disenfranchised community continues to suffer in another country.

Hundreds of Rohingya have died trying to get to Malaysia. Some were thrown overboard from overloaded boats when the journeys lengthened because countries refused them safe harbour. Others were buried in mass graves in the jungle when their families could not afford trafficking fees that suddenly increased during the trip, a common tactic by human smugglers to squeeze more money out of the trade.

Yusuf, the imam in the Bangladeshi refugee camp, said that he and other clerics have advised families against the perilous sea expeditions.

But the sense of hopelessness in the camps, where hundreds of thousands of people are chronically underemployed, has propelled the Rohingya to put their lives in the hands of smugglers.

Punishment should be given to human traffickers, not these innocent Rohingya, Yusuf said.

Conditions on the boats have been likened to those of modern day slave ships, with Rohingya women and children packed together so tightly in the darkened hold that they can barely stretch out.

When coast guards and navies in Thailand and Malaysia have intercepted the boats, they have sometimes thrown packets of instant noodles and cases of drinking water aboard the vessels. But in refusing to give them shelter, the Southeast Asian authorities condemn many Rohingya to death, rights groups say.

In interviews, survivors said they got used to the daily rhythm of bodies being tossed overboard.

In 2015, police in Malaysia uncovered nearly 140 graves and cages made of branches at jungle camps for trafficked Rohingya and Bangladeshis who were trying to make their way from Thailand to Malaysia.

Authorities in both countries have been accused of complicity in the trade and of impeding efforts to eradicate it. While Thailand eventually convicted nine officials of participating in human trafficking schemes, no Malaysians have been held accountable.

The persecution of the Rohingya intensified in 2017 when the Buddhist-majority military in Myanmar unleashed what U.N. officials have described as a campaign with genocidal intent. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya poured across Myanmars border with Bangladesh, bringing with them stories of executions and mass rape.

Many Rohingya now live in refugee camps spread across denuded hills once thick with bamboo and fruit orchards in eastern Bangladesh. Conditions that were crowded and hot even before the coronavirus epidemic are now even more dire, according to humanitarian organizations.

No Rohingya have been confirmed to have contracted the virus in the camps, although testing is limited. Worried about the spread of the virus among the refugees, the Bangladeshi government has banned most aid workers. With certain social distancing rules in effect, some Rohingya have lost the few low-paying jobs they had.

Now that roughly 80 per cent of aid workers have been barred from the camps, important medical campaigns, like measles vaccines, have been halted. Latrines are flooding while there is not enough water for showers, residents said. A mobile internet ban instituted by the Bangladeshi government has made conditions worse.

Despite the dangers of the journey, some camp residents said, the perilous passage to Southeast Asia might still be worth it.

One refugee who fled to Bangladesh in 2017 said if he could afford it, he would send his sons to Malaysia. Another cursed the money he had lost from a failed trip in an earlier sailing season.

People are always looking for a safe and better life, said Sirajul Mustafa, who lives in the Kutupalong camp, the worlds single largest refugee settlement. Brokers keep luring them. They are taking risks without knowing the consequences.

From his bamboo shack in Kutupalong, Mohammed Noor summed up the Rohingya condition.

No big hope before, he said, but now zero hope.
Workers of the world scaled back their traditional May Day demos Friday with coronavirus lockdowns forcing many to rally online while a determined few hit the streets in face masks. There were arrests in the Philippines, Russia, Chile and Turkey, a riot in Indonesia and pepper spray in Hong Kong as some broke confinement rules to hold public assemblies. But from Havana to Helsinki and beyond, most gatherings on this unusual Labor Day were small and without incident. Cuba's celebrations were muted after the ruling Communist Party urged people to celebrate at home. Around a million workers and their families normally take part in the annual May Day march, but on Friday, the iconic image of Che Guevara gazed down on an eerily silent Revolution Square in Havana. Elsewhere in Latin America, labor unions in Honduras called for an end to the country's "monstrous corruption" and workers carrying a banner reading "No Quarantine with Hunger" marched on government buildings in Buenos Aires. In Chile, police arrested dozens after protesters assembled in Santiago's Plaza Italia in defiance of a prohibition on public gatherings of more than 50 people. With strict social distancing rules in most countries, many union leaders opted to delay gatherings or move events online because of the COVID-19 outbreak that has killed more than 233,000 people worldwide. May Day carried extra significance this year after the epidemic sent the global economy into a tailspin, put unprecedented numbers of people out of work, and cast some of the world's lower-paid workers -- nurses, garbage collectors, shop tellers and delivery drivers -- in the role of modern-day heroes. "It is thanks to the labor we celebrate on this day that the nation perseveres," said President Emmanuel Macron of France, where workers celebrated the popular holiday by banging pots, singing, displaying banners from their balconies and taking part in online demonstrations. - Covered mouths have a voice - In Turkey, some two dozen mask-wearing protesters including a senior union leader were arrested for taking part in a small march in Istanbul in violation of lockdown measures, an AFP photographer witnessed. Hundreds of Greek workers rallied outside parliament, wearing red scarves over their faces or masks bearing messages of solidarity with health workers. "Covered mouths still have a voice," read some. In the Philippines, police detained at least three people as small groups of protesters banged on empty pots and held up placards demanding government aid and safe working conditions, in defiance of a ban on public gatherings. Some 23 million people -- nearly a quarter of the population -- faced hunger due to "no work, no pay" provisions in their employment contracts, Jerome Adonis of the May First Movement labor movement told AFP. A riot broke out in Indonesia's North Maluku province when employees of a nickel processing plant were barred from entering the compound to stage a protest demanding better working conditions, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. The company's canteen building was set on fire as hundreds of workers clashed with security guards. - 'We've had to get creative' - In Finland, traditional communal picnics were replaced by restaurants offering livestreams of wine tastings or cocktail-making lessons, and serving up traditional May Day food for home delivery. "We've had to get creative and try and find new ways that we can still interact and create togetherness," Helsinki restaurateur Filippo Phoumsavanh told AFP. Italians too greeted May Day in unusual fashion. A traditional concert on Rome's San Giovanni Square was replaced with a virtual performance broadcast live on public television for four hours until midnight. In Hong Kong, meanwhile, riot police deployed with rubber bullets and tear gas after democracy activists threatened to defy a ban on gatherings to hold pro-democracy protests. The streets remained largely empty, but hundreds did gather in a shopping mall in the town of Shatin, chanting slogans and waving protest flags. Riot police used pepper spray to disperse them. Police also deployed in large numbers in Germany to enforce a prohibition on gatherings of more than 20 people. Zaragoza in northern Spain was the scene of an unusual rally -- May Day demonstrators formed up in a long line of cars, each with a single occupant sporting gloves and a mask. In Vienna, a few hundred people standing one meter (a little over three feet) apart gathered at the chancellery to demand an end to the coronavirus lockdown, bearing signs reading: "We don't want dictatorship." Three far-right activists were arrested on a bridge near the Kremlin in Moscow where they tried to mount a protest, according to the Left Front movement, critical of President Vladimir Putin. Several hundred people gathered on Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Lebanon, where economic hardship has fueled public anger at the government. "I came because I am hungry, I am tired of this life," said Mohamed Ali, 25, who lost his job and said he has not a cent to his name. A vast and empty Revolution Square on May Day in Havana after the Cuban government suspended celebrations and urged the population to stay home over coronavirus fears The head of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, Marta Parra, holding a poster of ex-president Raul Castro as she decorates her block to celebrate Workers' Day in Havana A man walks in front of the Interior Ministry building with the image of legendary guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara at Havana's Revolution square, on May 1, 2020 Two dozen protesters were arrested in Istanbul after trying to march toward Taksim Square in defiance of the lockdown Workers wear face masks during a May Day protest in Guatemala City Members of Polo Obrero social organization march towards Plaza de Mayo square holding banners during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Honoring the rich history of the American Red Cross rapid response to the Spanish flu, a new project has launched to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by making face coverings for veteran and military hospitals and military bases across the world. Currently, crafters all over the globe are putting needle to thread to honor this 100-year-old tradition of supporting military families through sewing.

Faced With a Shortage

Early in the 20th century, the United States found itself in dire circumstances, juggling the effects of World War 1 and the Spanish Influenza. As the virus surged through the country, the Red Cross was at the forefront of the response. The Production Corps of the Red Cross, one of the most popular volunteer units in Red Cross history, manufactured and provided millions of surgical dressings and articles of clothing for soldiers, veterans and refugees during its years of operation, also making gauze face coverings to prevent the spread of influenza. Over 8 million women came together to produce more than 260,000 face coverings.

Topstitch for Troops

Flash forward to the 21st century and the eerily similar times we now face. Another strong parallel that can be drawn is the resilience and ingenuity of the former and modern-day volunteers. One great example of a modern-day volunteer is Dr. Rosemary Eskridge. Her Oklahoma City Red Cross Sewing Circle is sewing every day to support veteran patients and medical staff in their local community. She is even using video chat technology to teach others how to create these coverings.

Growing up as the child of a former marine and disabled veteran, Dr. Eskridge is sensitive to the needs of her community. She started volunteering at Veterans Administration hospitals as a kid and has kept on going. Now she wants everyone to understand the impact you can make.

Our veterans served for us, to protect our rights and our freedoms, but now they need us; it is our time to serve them, said Dr. Eskridge. This service to them is especially important right now during the pandemic because they cannot receive visitors at the hospitals or veterans homes. Our veterans need to know that even though friends and family cannot visit them, they are not alone and they are not forgotten. By sending these items, they know someone, somewhere is thinking about their needs and made that item especially for them. To date, Dr. Eskridge and team have made over 1,700 face coverings.

Selvage Operation

Across the pond, people are also putting their talents to tremendous use. Red Crosser and skilled seamstress Selina Parker wears many volunteer hats on base in Bahrain, including working with her colleagues to make face coverings for the U.S. military community. With the demand extending beyond Bahrain, they are also shipping them out to other installations all over Europe.

Currently, there is also a need for face covering materials. According to Kathleen Pagano, another Red Crosser in Bahrain, you dont have to be a skilled sewer to get the job done. Do not let lack of sewing skills prevent you from volunteering with this initiative. Assembling face masks is a multi-step process and sewing is just one of those steps. There is a need for individuals who can iron, cut out patterns, wash the finished mask, and then disinfect and package.

Face Time

In Japan, the Red Cross is answering the call for face coverings as well. Volunteers and employees are filling requests made from the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa and quarantined service members. Leaving no stone unturned, theyve taken to Facebook Live to call for all people to help in this effort. Using this video platform, they explained the need and showed examples of cut fabric. They are requesting completed face coverings or materials.

Calling on You

If you would like to take part in this historic effort, we encourage you to reach out to your local Red Cross chapter to see if there is a need in your community. If so, the chapter will let you know what is needed. The Red Cross asks everyone to follow CDC face covering guidelines when creating. Once finished sewing, the completed products or materials can be dropped off at your local Red Cross for their distribution.

Become a Volunteer

In the face of disasters like COVID-19, the American Red Cross and global Red Cross Red Crescent network join together to ease peoples suffering. Find out how you can volunteer at home and across the globe at redcross.org.

For more information about American Red Crosss work around the world, visit redcross.org/international.
Mogadishu  Somalia's Health minister announced on Wednesday evening that the country's number of coronavirus cases had risen to 582.

In a press briefing, Dr Fawzia Abikar Nur said that over the past 24 hours, the central laboratory in Mogadishu had recorded 54 positive cases, 40 of the patients being male and 14 female.

"We have no new deaths as a result of Covid-19. Thus, our past record of 28 deaths stands," she said, adding that two patients recovered.

"I urge you to adhere to orders and advice given by State institutions," the minister also said, noting that it was possible to contain the spread of the virus.

The federal government has provided facilities to help infected people in Mogadishu and delivered equipment and other supplies to some member states with a promise for the same for the rest.

MINISTER SICK

Meanwhile, a minister in Jubbaland State announced on Thursday that he had contracted the virus.

Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation Mahdi Mohydin Mohamed said he registered the symptoms on April 21 and had been self-isolating.

He said he received the positive test results on Wednesday.

"I have been talking to people through the window of my room, even keeping away from family members," he said and urged the people not to undermine the "damaging powers" of Covid-19.

On April 12, Mr Khalif Mumin Tohow, the State Minister For justice of Hirshabelle, succumbed to the virus in Mogadishu
ALBANY  State corrections officials, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, said they will begin releasing incarcerated women who are pregnant or postpartum, if they have not committed a violent felony or sex offense and are within six months of release.

"The department will conduct an individualized review and re-entry plan for each eligible person to ensure suitable housing and health care for these expectant and current mothers, as well as their children," the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said in a statement.

Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a women's prison in Westchester County, has had 38 inmates test positive for COVID-19. One of those women died and 23 others have recovered.

The decision by DOCCS to release pregnant inmates came after 40 New York legislators signed a letter sent to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo this week urging him and top state corrections officials to improve conditions in prisons and release more inmates whose poor health may put them at risk if they contract COVID-19.

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision on Thursday listed that 211 of its more than 41,100 inmates are currently positive for the infectious disease, and that there have been 10 fatalities. More than 1,000 of the department's 29,000 employees have tested positive, and two have died, the agency reported.

The figures from DOCCS place the rate of infection and deaths among inmates below the general population of New York.

But Dave George, associate director of Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, who helped organize the lawmakers' letter-writing effort, said there is not enough testing of inmates to present an accurate assessment and that the information they are receiving from inmates indicates it is a much more serious situation behind prison walls.

"Way more people have it than they are saying," George said, noting that prison infrastructure makes it difficult to quarantine and contain the spread of the virus. "We are really really scared  really nervous that that number jumps to hundreds, if not thousands. ... It's going to hurt a lot a lot of people if the governor doesnt act swiftly."

The letter's signatories include Assembly Majority Leader Crystal People-Stokes, Albany Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, Manhattan Sen. Brad Hoylman and Queens Sen. Jessica Ramos.

"Deplorable, unsanitary and inhumane conditions in our state correctional facilities guarantee that the spread of coronavirus will be rapid and lethal," the letter asserts. "Practices like frequent hand-washing, social distancing and self-quarantine are nearly impossible inside our prisons."

Cuomo has resisted calls for him to grant clemencies although he has been pressured by inmate advocates to consider using that power to release inmates at higher risk of complications from infection, including those who are elderly, pregnant or that have compromised immune systems.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

A 2017 state comptroller's report confirmed that New York's prison population, like other states, is aging rapidly. From 2007 through 2016, the inmate population fell 17 percent  11,000  but the number of inmates aged 50 or older rose 46 percent.

Inmate visitations were suspended in mid-March, when Cuomo's administration announced that inmates would be provided with five free postage stamps per week, two free secure messages via electronic tablets, and one free telephone call.

The letter signed by the lawmakers says that's not enough. They called on Cuomo to make coronavirus testing and medical treatment more readily available to all inmates, end solitary confinement, and to provide inmates unlimited access to phone calls, emails and mail, among other measures.

Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, D-Brooklyn, said New York should be doing "everything we can to protect New Yorkers - and that includes our most vulnerable in prison."

"It is difficult to think of any place more susceptible to the spread of COVID-19 than within our prisons where we know that social distancing can be particularly difficult," Lentol said. "These measures will go a long way to protect our vulnerable in addition to prison staff and their families."

DOCCS officials, in response to the pandemic, have taken steps to release parolees incarcerated on technical violations and granted early release to inmates age 55 and over who are within 90 days of release and do not pose a danger to the public.

"Hes been the national leader on the response to this virus," George said of Cuomo. "But he is doing far, far less than many other governors have done in other states."
Exxon Mobil reported a $610 million loss during the first quarter that was capped by the oil collapse and the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The companys earnings fell 126 percent in the first quarter ended March 31, down from the $2.4 billion profit it reported a year ago. Revenue fell by $7.4 billion, or nearly 12 percent, to $56.2 billion, down from $63.6 billion in the first quarter of 2019.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted near-term demand, resulting in oversupplied markets and

unprecedented pressure on commodity prices and margins, Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods said in a statement. While we manage through these challenging times, we are not losing sight of the long-term fundamentals that drive our business. Economic activity will return, and populations and standards of living will increase, which will in turn drive demand for our products and a recovery of the industry.

RELATED: Exxon Mobil slashes capital spending by $10 billion because of oil crash

Exxons first quarter was largely over before oil prices crashed March 9 in the wake of a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and before U.S. states began issuing stay-at-home orders on March 19 to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The company said that loss was driven by a $2.9 billion write-down of the value of its businesses in the face of lower prices for crude oil and petroleum products.

Exxon has been pumping billions of dollars into oil production from Guyanas coastal waters and West Texas Permian Basin, while other companies were cutting back on production. The company on Friday said it produced 4 million barrels per day of oil, up 2 percent from the first quarter of 2019, and said it made its 16th oil discovery in offshore Guyana, which the company estimates is capable of producing more than 8 billion barrels of oil.

The company faces increased investor skepticism as oil markets have collapsed in the wake of the global pandemic, which has depressed demand for oil and gas globally. The U.S. benchmark crude was trading at about $20 a barrel Friday morning.

FUEL FIX: Now more than ever, you need our energy news in your inbox

The Texas oil major has responded to the oil collapse by cutting its 2020 capital budget by 30 percent to $23 billion, down from its previously announced plans to spend $33 billion on oil exploration and production. The company also said it will reduce its operating expenses by 15 percent.

The company has also increased production of isopropyl alcohol and polypropylene, used in the production of hand sanitizer and protective masks, gowns and wipes, which are critical in the fight against the global pandemic. It has also shifted manufacturing operations in Louisiana to produce medical-grade hand sanitizer, which will be donated to response efforts in Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Our company remains strong and we will manage through the current market downturn as we have for decades, Woods said.Todays circumstances are certainly unique, but our people have the experience, our business has the scale, and we have the financial strength to see us through and emerge stronger than ever.

Exxon stock was down 2.1 percent to $46.47 per share in early Friday trading. U.S. benchmark crude was trading at $20.24 on Friday morning.
Over 3.3 million cases of COVID-19 have been officially reported across the world, with over 234,000 deaths and 1.05 million recoveries.

Over 3.3 million cases of COVID-19 have been officially reported across the world, with over 234,000 deaths and 1.05 million recoveries. Here are the latest developments.

Russias PM has the virus

Mikhail Mishustin, the Russian Prime Minister, informed President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. He is the highest-ranking Russian official to have the disease so far. Mishustin will now self isolate, and the deputy PM, Andrei Belousov will take over for the time being.

Russia initially downplayed the virus but now has close to 115,000 cases and they are rising fast; close to 7,950 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours - a daily record for the country.

South Africa relaxes restrictions after a 5-week lockdown

Five weeks after issuing one of the toughest lockdowns wherein only essential businesses were running, the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced some relaxations. Textile, packaging and clothing are some of the industries that have been allowed to reopen and people are allowed to leave their houses for exercise - but only during three hours in the mornings.

Restaurants will remain closed, but takeout is permitted.

Most businesses in Malaysia to reopen on the 4th of May

The Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address that most businesses will be reopened on the 4th of May - with some physical distancing restrictions in place. Cinemas, marketplaces and crowded businesses will remain closed for now.

Head of US COVID-19 response says Remdesivirs clinical trial results are a positive sign

A trial consisting of 1,063 participants conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious disease (NIAID) showed that the drug speeded recovery times by four days on average compared to those on placebo. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, said that the results are a "very important proof of concept" but not a "total knockout". However, he said that it will help the response to the pandemic by freeing up hospital beds faster and reducing stress on healthcare infrastructure. More comprehensive studies are awaited.

PM Boris Johnson says the UK has crossed the peak

In his first press conference since his recovery, Johnson said that for the first time the government could say with confidence that the virus has peaked in the country and that cases will likely go down now. The UK has still reported 674 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total to over 26,771 cases.

The PM added that the government will release a comprehensive plan next week regarding the loosening of restrictions, as it is still too early to lower the guard and any missteps can be costly.

Armed protesters enter Michigan statehouse

Hundreds of protesters, some carrying guns and forgoing masks, stormed the state capitol in the US state of Michigan. Michigan has over 41,000 infections and close to 3,800 deaths. Governor Gretchen Whitmer had extended stay of emergency until May 28 on Thursday, April 30.

The protesters demanded businesses to open on May 1 in defiance of government orders. While it is legal to carry arms into the state capitol, police stopped protesters who tried to enter the legislative chamber.

Earlier, on the 15th of April, protesters had caused a traffic jam outside the state capitol. President Trump had tweeted saying LIBERATE MICHIGAN and supported the protest.

For more information, read our article on Remdesivir clinical trials for COVID-19.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.
Pais is the Chilean name for the mission grape, brought to the New World by Spanish missionaries and colonists in the mid-1500s. Recent DNA analysis identified it as listan prieto, an old Spanish variety. So it is perhaps fitting that this delightful, refreshing sparkling rose is made by the Chilean outpost of Spains famous Torres winery. Bright flavors of red berries and wild herbs seem to carry history with them. Heres an opportunity to taste wine from the first European vinifera grape variety planted in the Western Hemisphere. Forgive me, but all I am saying is give pais a chance. Certified vegan and fair trade. ABV: 12 percent.
Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Health officials in Germany, the UK and the US are looking at antibody testing to figure out when and how their countries could open back up. Some authorities are even considering issuing immunity passports that would help key workers safely and quickly return to their jobs.

But some early Covid-19 antibody tests, and the research that hinges on them, have been deeply flawed. Infectious disease experts warn that while reliable antibody tests could eventually reveal much about how the disease spreads and how deadly it is, it is too early to draw any definitive conclusions from screening studies.

What is an antibody test?

PCR tests, the diagnostic tests most commonly used to determine whether someone is currently infected with the coronavirus, looks for the viruss genetic material in samples collected from patients throats or noses.

Antibody tests, or serology tests, rather than looking for the virus itself, detect antibodies or proteins in the blood that our bodies develop in order to fight it off. These tests tell you that youve been exposed to the virus, said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at the Yale school of medicine. Antibody tests can basically give us a history of the infection.

Related: 'We hope to be a model': the California town testing every resident for coronavirus

What exactly are these antibodies that were testing for?

An antibody is a bespoke weapon that our bodies develop to fight off a pathogen. Our bodies may make several types of antibodies uniquely engineered to fight off the coronavirus over the course of one or two weeks.

Think about those pictures of the coronavirus youve mostly commonly seen, said Diane Griffin, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. You know those big, blobby spikes on the surface of the coronavirus? Thats the part of the virus particle that attaches to healthy cells to invade and infect them.

Antibodies to these spikes on the coronavirus glom on to them and coat them  leaving them unable to hijack our cells. Other types of antibodies may mark infected cells, so other cells can destroy them before the infection spreads further. Some of these antibodies will stick around in our blood long after the virus is gone, protecting us from future infections.

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We know that antibodies against certain pathogens  such as smallpox  can provide protection for a lifetime. Antibodies for other infections tend to fade: Antibody levels in people who had recovered from Sars and Mers declined over the course of one or two years.

Scientists are still trying to figure out how much of which antibodies give people immunity to the new coronavirus. Once they do, really good lab tests could tell patients with a certain antibody level that theyre safe from infection. The ideal antibody tests would give you value  similar to how people are used to getting a cholesterol value, or a sugar level, explained Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at the Harvard TH Chan school of public health.

How do the tests work?

There are two main types of antibody tests: rapid tests that take a finger prick of blood and reveal whether a person has antibodies, and tests that use a lab technique called Elisa and indicate the quantity of antibodies present.

And are they accurate?

In a preliminary study published this month, a team of researchers sought to verify the 14 coronavirus antibody tests currently available in the US and found that only three delivered consistently reliable results. Four of the tests produced false positive rates from 11% to 16%. Others produced false positives about 5% of the time.

The ideal tests would be highly sensitive  meaning they can pick up on the presence of antibodies in the blood of those who have infections  and specific, meaning they detect the right antibodies. Tests that arent specific might light up positive after picking up on antibodies to other infections, giving people the false sense that theyre immune.

Both types of tests have shown issues. The rapid yes-no tests, which Boris Johnson gushed were as simple as a pregnancy test, turned out to be much more complicated, said Alexander Marson, an immunologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who has led the effort to test the tests.

The Elisa tests are generally considered to be more reliable, but none of the tests studied by Marson and his team had perfect specificity.

I understand that theres an urgency during this unprecedented time to move things along, to understand whos been infected and who is immune, said Marson. But before we race to get information from these tests, we need to actually have evidence that they work.

Last week, the World Health Organization warned that the detection of antibodies alone shouldnt serve as a basis for an immunity passport. Photograph: David J Phillip/AP

Why are there so many faulty tests?

In the US, federal agencies were criticized for initially dragging their feet in allowing private and academic labs to develop their own versions of the PCR tests used to diagnose Covid-19. When it came to antibody testing, the government may have swung too far in the other direction, lawmakers and public health experts have said.

The US isnt the only country to have been duped by companies selling faulty test kits. This month, British officials realized they may have jumped the gun by ordering 2m at-home antibody test kits that researchers at the University of Oxford found to be unreliable.

The Food and Drug Administration allowed about 90 companies, many based abroad, to sell antibody tests that havent been vetted and validated by federal scientists. The FDA has since warned that some of these tests are inaccurate.

So, when can I get an immunity passport?

Not for a while, it would appear. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that the detection of antibodies alone shouldnt serve as a basis for an immunity passport  because scientists dont know how much of which antibodies will protect people from reinfection.

To get there, we need to collect lots of data over time from lots of people who have had the infection and developed antibodies, explained Yales Iwasaki  and track who gets reinfected, and who remains immune.

Does it still make sense to test everyone for antibodies?

Germany is planning to conduct nationwide antibody testing. In California, researchers have sought to test nearly everyone in the small town of Bolinas, and in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, administering both PCR and antibody tests.

By using blood samples to conduct lab tests, scientists will be able to try more than one antibody test on the blood, verifying and validating their results, Griffin said. Eventually, these large-scale testing efforts could provide more information about how many people within a community have had the coronavirus. Tallying the number of infections and the levels of antibodies and tracking these communities over time could answer critical questions about how widely the virus has spread, who has immunity and how long that immunity lasts.

Once we know the answers to these key questions, maybe then we can issue immunity passports, Iwasaki said. Until then, we need to be patient.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Skeena Resources Limited ( TSX.V:SKE)(OTCQX:SKREF) ("Skeena" or the "Company") is pleased to report the completion of the asset purchase agreement, announced February 4, 2020, to sell 100% of the Company's interest in the GJ Copper-Gold Property (the "GJ Property") to Newcrest Red Chris Mining Limited ("Newcrest") for C$7.5 million of cash.Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement with Newcrest, dated February 3, 2020, Skeena sold 100% of Skeena's interest in the GJ Property in consideration for:A cash payment of C$7,500,000 to Skeena; andThe assumption by Newcrest of future payment obligations and royalties on the GJ Property, including those outlined in the Company's October 6, 2015 news release.The transaction is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary consents and approvals, including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.About SkeenaSkeena Resources Limited is a junior Canadian mining exploration company focused on developing prospective precious metal properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company's primary activities are the exploration and development of the past-producing Eskay Creek mine and Snip mine.On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,Walter Coles Jr.President & CEOCautionary note regarding forward-looking statementsCertain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "future", "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "could" or "would". Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: Skeena Resources Limited
India has stepped up as a leader in the fight against coronavirus, an influential American lawmaker said Thursday applauding, New Delhi for providing the US with vital supplies such as mass quantities of Hydroxychloroquine.

"The Republic of India is one of America's closest and most important allies, and our relationship has always enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington, D.C.. I am thankful that India has stepped up as a leader in the fight against coronavirus, and am glad that our special partnership remains strong during this pandemic," Congressman George Holding, the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said.

In a statement, the influential Republican lawmaker from North Carolina also appreciated the role being played by Indian-American non-profit organizations and community organizations in the pandemic relied work in the US.

"On the US soil, Sewa International (an India-based service organization) has been working tirelessly to donate masks, provide meals to first responders, and ensure vulnerable populations have access to food and medicine throughout the country," Holding said.

Sewa has also provided support systems by hosting informative conference calls, while Indo-American hoteliers have stepped up and donated temporary housing to Indian international students in the United States, he added.

Holding said the Indian government has been hard at work both in their country and in the United States to help the international community fight COVID-19. "It's amazing to see how one of our closest and most important partners can have such an impact in our country from nearly ten thousand miles away," he said.

Together, the Indian and US governments have been able to identify measures necessary to propel us forward in the fight against this pandemic, Holding said.

India has shown that they are committed to keeping key supply and logistics chains open for pharmaceutical and medical products benefitting both the United States and India's own regional neighbors, he added.

"In early April, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President Trump worked together to overcome the challenges that international trade faces amidst national lockdowns. Since then, India has provided the United States with vital supplies such as mass quantities of Hydroxychloroquine," said the Republican lawmaker.

Observing that the US-India partnership has also directly impacted the lives of many Americans, he said as of April 16th, more than 1,500 American citizens have returned home to the United States from India thanks to the facilitation of Indian authorities.

"It prides me to see that the sense of community supersedes borders and cultures during a time of international crisis," Holding said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man from New York City was arrested for stealing at least nine stimulus checks, credit cards, and other items from mailboxes.

Police officers arrested the man on Tuesday after he was seen looking in mailboxes and a medical collection bin in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The 31-year-old man accused of stealing stimulus checks from mailboxes was identified as Feng Chen. According to the complaint filed, police officers saw Chen looking inside the medical collection bin in the nearby closed medical office early in the morning on April 28.

The police officers searched Chen after they saw his bulging pocket. While searching, they found stimulus checks worth more than $12,000, stolen credit cards, bank checks, open envelopes, and various letters with different names and addresses.

Police officers started to tail Chen after a resident in the neighborhood reported his illegal activities. He was charged with possession of stolen property.

However, the charges were aggravated since he stole a couple of federal checks. The Federal prosecutors said that they are charging Chen with federal mail theft because of the postal-related nature of the scheme. The Treasury checks or stimulus checks were stolen were meant for workers who are in financial constraints amid COVID-19.

If Chen is convicted, he will face five years imprisonment. U.S. Attorney Richard Donohue said: "For many families, these stimulus checks are a lifeline in these difficult times, and anyone who tries to cut that lifeline will face the full weight of the law."

Philip Bartlett, the inspector-in-charge at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's New York Division, also said: "The COVID-19 crisis has placed tremendous stress on underserved communities across this country. The Economic Impact Payments are, in many cases, the lifeline needed by these individuals to stay afloat during this crisis."

Barlett added that when Chen stole the stimulus checks, he robbed recipients of the much-needed funds they need to meet their daily needs. Additionally, the Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement are not tolerating illegal activities such as Chen, most especially in this time of the global pandemic.

He commended the New York Police District for their efforts, outstanding work, and service amid COVID-19 and in this challenging time. He concluded: "This Office will vigorously prosecute all those who seek to take advantage of the public health crisis."

In the developing report, Police officers believed that Chen has been stealing checks for more than a week before his arrest. Police authorities are now reaching out to the families who were victimized by Chen and explained to them why they did not receive their stimulus checks.

Chen made an appearance through a via videoconference before the U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak. Jan Rostal, Chen's federal public defender, declined to give comments about the charges filed against his clients.

Meanwhile, Donoghue is urging the people to report any suspicious or fraud-related COVID-19 activities to the National Center for Disaster Fraud.



Read related posts:
INDEPENDENCE  The Primitive Peddler was forced to shut its doors last month as part of a statewide effort to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Melissa Thoma, who operates the antique and home decor store in downtown Independence, is going to keep them closed for awhile longer despite Gov. Kim Reynolds proclamation allowing many stores, restaurants and gyms to reopen for business Friday.

Im going to stay closed, just for my safety and the safety of the employees and the shoppers, Thoma said. Im just not real comfortable about it.

Ive talked to some other business owners in town too, and I think its kind of a 50-50 split, she added. Financially wed all like to be open. Its not a decision you want to make.

Thoma will continue offering curbside service to customers who order through her website but isnt certain when shell fully reopen.

Independence is in Buchanan County, one of 77 Iowa counties allowed to reopen many businesses at 50 percent capacity. Black Hawk, Bremer and Tama counties nearby are among the 22 counties where closures have been extended at least through May 15.

Website posts by various Independence stores and restaurants show opinions remain split on whether its time to open back up.

Due to the governor we are able to have dine in limited to 50% capacity plus we do carry-out orders, owners of Ariannas Kitchen posted on their Facebook page, noting the restaurant will be open Friday. Remember to wash your hands, practice social distancing, and stay safe. We cant wait to see our customers!

But the owners of First Street Deli said they will continue limiting service to carry-out orders only.

After much consideration (we) have decided that First Street Deli will NOT open up for sit down dining on Friday, First Street Deli said on its Facebook site. We feel the health and safety of our community, family and friends is most important and believe this is the best way for us to help that along.

Eschens Clothing in downtown Independence took a hit when it was forced to close and a number of wedding postponements and events cut into formal wear sales and rentals.

Were going to unlock our doors and open  and were going to get people in the store if we can, said Dan Eschen. We will practice the social distancing.

Eschen is hoping customers return and other stores in the Independence business district can get back to business soon.

We need as many businesses that can open to be open, he said. We all feed off each other.

At least two Independence fitness centers  Iowa Strength and Rivers EDGE Sports and Fitness  will reopen Friday. Both have indicated they will enforce social distancing requirements on the number of individuals allowed in.

The governors order also allows libraries to reopen at 50 percent capacity Friday. But City Manager Al Roder said the Independence Public Library, as well as City Hall, will keep doors shut for now.

I believe they will be opening on Tuesday to curbside service, said Roder, noting even that practice had stopped earlier.

Decisions about whether to reopen are being made along many of Iowas Main Streets this week, including restaurants and stores in Winneshiek County.

I cant speak to a percentage but its mixed here as well, said Andrea Watson of the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce.

I know that there are some folks who are trying to open up, maybe by letting one person in a store at a time, she said. There are others that are not comfortable opening at this time.
Last week, Corden informed some staffers that they would be furloughed as of May 4 and that he would cover the salaries going forward out of his own pocket. The total cost to Corden is unclear, but is likely to be at least mid-five figures a week.
The Irish Government has outlined its road map for reopening society and businesses across the country.

It will reopen the economy and society in a slow and phased way, beginning on May 18.

The plan sets out five stages for unlocking restrictions, at three week intervals.

As the restrictions are eased, the rate of the virus in the community will be monitored by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and the Government.

There are five phases in the road map to ease restrictions.

Phase 1 begins on May 18.

 Allow outdoor meetings between people from different households

 Open up childcare for healthcare workers

 Phased return of outdoor workers

 Open retailers which are primarily outdoor or those which were open during the first level of restriction (eg opticians)

 Open certain outdoor public amenities

Phase 2

 Allow visits to households

 Develop plans and supports to open up business with consideration for safety of staff and customers

 Open small retail outlets and marts where social distancing can be observed

 Open public libraries

Expand Close Libraries will be opened in phase three of the plan (Ben Birchall/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Libraries will be opened in phase three of the plan (Ben Birchall/PA)

Phase 3

 Allow small social gatherings-

 Open creches, childminders and pre-schools for children of essential workers in phased manner

 Return to work for those with low levels of interaction

 Open non-essential retail outlets with street level entrance and exit

 Open playgrounds

Phase 4

 Open creches, childminders and pre-schools for children of all other workers on a gradually increasing basis

 Return to work for those who cannot work from home

 Gradual easing of restrictions for higher risk services (eg hairdressers)

 Open museums, galleries, places of worship

Phase 5

 Allow larger social gatherings

 Return to work across all sectors

 On a phased basis, commencing at the beginning of the academic year 2020/2021, opening of primary and secondary schools and 3rd level institutions

 Further easing of restrictions on high risk retail services
Hundreds of rainbow lorikeets have been paralysed and killed by a mysterious disease that is spreading at an alarming rate.

The disease, known as lorikeet paralysis syndrome or clenched-foot syndrome, has left birds immobile on the sidewalks of suburban Brisbane where they die horrific deaths.

Darryl Jones from Griffith University told Daily Mail Australia the disease spreads similar to coronavirus through close contact in the community.

Experts said the newly discovered lorikeet paralysis syndrome has killed hundreds of birds this season. Pictured are some of the 24 birds found dead under a single tree in Brisbane

'They fight each other like crazy and when they are biting and breathing on each other they spread the virus,' he said.

'It's very much like the coronavirus itself, it's brand new and we don't know much about it and it seems to be happening where the birds are gathering in large numbers.'

Professor Jones said lorikeet paralysis syndrome slowly spreads through the body of the beloved Australian bird until their lungs seize and they suffocate.

'It starts in the feet so when they try and land on a branch they can't hold on and then they just fall to the ground and within an hour they die,' he said.

Professor Jones said initially experts feared lorikeets were being devoured alive by ants and predators but in most cases paralysis has killed the bird beforehand.

He said Brisbane was currently the 'epicentre' for the new disease that was only discovered three years ago.

Darryl Jones from Griffith University said the disease spreads similar to coronavirus through close contact in the community

'The largest number seems to be in Brisbane but I've had about ten emails from people in Melbourne, Sydney and Rockhampton all describing exactly the same thing so it really might be much more widespread,' Professor Jones said.

'It's incredibly alarming there are hundreds of birds dying in a horrible way right no - I've been sent images of 24 birds under one tree all dead.'

Although there is little research on why the birds have been dying, veterinary reports have pointed towards foreign plants mutating in certain climate conditions.

'The vets have put it down to foraging resources and strangely it seems the African Tulip Tree may be one of the things responsible,' Professor Jones said.

Professor Jones encouraged people not to feed lorikeets for the foreseeable future as it would increase the spread of the disease by gathering the birds close together.

'There is a vast amount of natural food available so the lorikeets do not need our food so,' he said.

'I would recommend not feeding them right now for the welfare of the bird -at least for the moment.'
A teenager is his late teens is due in court this morning charged in connection with a serious assault in Newbridge, Co Kildare, on Tuesday evening.

A man in his 60s was injured and remains in a critical condition at Naas General Hospital.
V ictory in Europe Day, or VE Day, marked the end of the Second World War in Europe, when Germany surrendered to the Allied armies.

Many European countries - including the UK - usually celebrate the day with commemorative events and military parades.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Celebrations would have been even larger than usual but for the coronavirus lockdown and a ban on gatherings of any kind.

Here we look at VE Day, its history and how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected celebrations in the UK.

Huge crowds gather at Trafalgar Square celebrate VE (Victory in Europe) Day in London, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe / PA

When is VE Day?

The UK celebrates VE Day on May 8, when Germany, led by the Nazi Party, unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces. The Allies were made up of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, among several other countries.

Russia and other former Soviet countries celebrate Victory Day a day later on May 9.

This is because the surrender was finally agreed late in the evening in Western Europe, which made it early morning the next day in Moscow time.

VE (Victory in Europe) Day celebrations in the East End of London, marking the end of the war in Europe / PA

Why has the May Day bank holiday changed dates this year?

The May 8 VE Day celebrations have been given their own bank holiday this year, as the 75th anniversary is considered particularly significant.

This has replaced the May Day bank holiday - which usually falls on the first Monday of the month.

The Spring bank holiday remains on May 25.

Queen Elizabeth serving in the war / PA

What is the history of VE Day?

The original VE Day on 1945 was declared a national holiday late the night before, via a BBC radio broadcast.

The day saw huge celebrations and gatherings on the streets all across the country.

Crowds flocking to landmarks like Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace - which was damaged in the war - where King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Winston Churchill greeted them from the balcony.

Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen) and her sister Princess Margaret joined the crowds in front of the palace in the evening.

The Queen, who was 19 at the time, later described VE Day as a "wonderful sunburst of glory" after the "black and gloomy" years of war.

St Paul's Cathedral held ten back-to-back services to give thanks for peace.

Commemorating VE Day, VJ Day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1 /13 Commemorating VE Day, VJ Day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses the crown in Whitehall, 8 May 1945 Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall from the balcony of the Ministry of Health as he broadcasts to the nation that the war with Germany has been won.  IWM (H 41849) Crowds in Westminster at the moment Prime Minister Winston Churchill speaks to the nation, 8 May 1945 The crowds in Westminster as Big Ben strikes 3pm, the moment when Prime Minister Winston Churchill made his statement from Whitehall, broadcast to the nation, declaring that the war in Europe is over  IWM (HU 92005) The mushroom cloud produced by the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, 9 August 1945 An atomic bomb was dropped by United States Air Force B-29 "Bock's Car" on 9 August 1945 on Nagasaki, three days after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The Japanese Supreme War Council agreed later that day to accept the Potsdam Declaration of 26 July 1945 which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan.  US Public Domain (IWM MH 2629) Crowds dancing in Oxford Circus in VJ Day celebrations, 15 August 1945 Victory over Japan Day was celebrated around the world on 15 August 1945, over three months since the end of hostilities in Europe.  US Public Domain (IWM EA 75898) Ground crews of No.356 Squadron RAF on hearing the news of the surrender of Japan The end of the Second World War was celebrated throughout the world. No.356 Squadron RAF, based in the Cocos Islands, celebrate in front of one of their Consolidated Liberator Mark B VIs  IWM (CI 1557) Celebrations in London to mark VE Day, 8 May 1945 Pictured with two British sailors in a fountain in Trafalgar Square are Joyce Digney (left) and Cynthia Covello, members of the Land Army, who travelled to London to celebrate VE Day. They were identified in 2015 following an IWM-led campaign on social media.  US Public Domain (IWM EA 65799) The aftermath of the atomic bomb, Japan, 1945 Three civilians, including a young child, walk down a street amid the debris and devastation caused by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan. In the background, there are a few buildings which are still standing.  IWM (MH 29433) The B-29 'Enola Gay' which dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and her pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets On 6 August 1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The detonation of these weapons, the first and only time they have been used in conflict, changed peoples understanding of the potential consequences of conflict forever.  IWM (HU 44878) Celebrations in London to mark VE Day, 8 May 1945 A truck of revellers passing through the Strand in London following the announcement of Germanys surrender and the end of hostilities in Europe  IWM (HU 41808) News of victory in Europe reaches London, 7 May 1945 Eager soldiers pulling copies of "Stars and Stripes" from the press of the London Times at 9 pm on 7 May 1945. An extra edition was put out to announce the news of Germany's surrender. The headline reads "Germany Quits".  IWM (EA 65948)

But many people did not celebrate, according to English Heritage.

More than 400,000 people from Britain and its colonies had died, and for some the celebrations were upsetting. Many were still waiting for friends and relatives to come home.

And the war was not completely over, although fighting in Europe had finished.

Japan did not surrender until August 15 - more than three months later - after the US dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in huge loss of life.

King George VI and the Queen Mother standing amid the bomb damage at Buckingham Palace / PA

How will coronavirus lockdown impact this year's celebrations?

The Queen will lead celebrations with a televised speech this year.

Many other events were organised to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day this year, including street parties and a mass toast to the people who fought in the war on the cliffs at Dover.

But VE Day 75, which was coordinating celebrations, has told events organisers to cancel their plans in line with Government orders for the coronavirus lockdown.

But all is not lost. The toast will go ahead but people will take part from home.

Pipers, who play the traditional "Reveille" to commemorate those who died in the war, are still allowed to play, as long as they keep to social distancing rules.

And special bunting is available to download from the BBC's website.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced the new plans: "We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the greatest generation that served in combat and on the home front during the Second World War.

"Whilst we now need to celebrate VE 75 in our homes and on our doorsteps, rather than in parades and street parties, I know the nation will come together to mark this historic occasion.

"In these difficult times, acts of remembrance are even more poignant and I am sure that millions will want to join me to remember and give thanks to those who gave so much to secure peace, freedom and prosperity in Europe."
Craig Hartley/For the Chronicle

The Houston Association of Realtors told its members late Thursday that it would continue to block open house notices on HAR.com until the state's second phase of openings takes effect May 18. The association removed open house advertisements in most of its Texas markets two weeks ago and encouraged agents to show houses online and through video platforms.

Some agents, however, are already planning open houses for this weekend. An email advertising a house for sale in Kingwood says the property would be open for one hour on Saturday for potential buyers. The email said the house was vacant, the doors would be open and the lights would be on. Sanitizer would be provided.
Reuters

As part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day D.C. Peace Walk, the King family and more than 100 national and local civil rights groups strode across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge calling on President Joe Biden's Democrats to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate. The march followed a disappointing week for Biden, who went to the Capitol to urge Senate colleagues to change filibuster rules so they could overcome Republican opposition to the bill, only to be forcefully rejected by two conservative Democrats who effectively hold veto power in the evenly split chamber. In a separate speech livestreamed to the late Rev. King's Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Vice President Kamala Harris also urged the Senate to act, warning that efforts to restrict voting in some U.S. states could make it more difficult for millions of Americans to vote.
A North Korean defector claims he is '99 per cent sure' that Kim Jong Un is dead, saying that Pyongyang could announce the news this weekend.

Ji Seong-ho told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that he had been 'informed that Kim died last weekend' after cardiovascular surgery.

The defector said Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong was in line to succeed her brother but said the secretive state was 'grappling with a complicated succession issue'.

Kim has not been seen in public since April 11 and his absence has sparked a wave of speculation about his health, but Seoul and Washington have played down claims that he is seriously ill or dead.

State-controlled media in North Korea has not provided any definitive proof that Kim is alive, beyond reports of letters sent in his name.

However, there was one sign of life today as Daily NK reported that the regime had issued a directive signed by Kim himself, the first in two weeks.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (pictured in March this year) has not been seen in public since April 11 - prompting rumours that he is gravely ill or dead

Experts have suggested that Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong (pictured together in Pyongyang in September 2018) could be in line to succeed her brother if necessary

Ji, a defector who was elected to the South's parliament earlier this year, is the latest to suggest that Kim might have died after heart surgery.

'I've wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. I've been informed that Kim died last weekend,' he said.

'It is not 100 per cent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99 per cent. North Korea is believed to be grappling with a complicated succession issue.'

Pyongyang has never made any succession plans public, but experts say Kim's sister has been the most visible presence around the dictator in recent years.

She was named an alternate member of the ruling Workers Partys powerful Central Committee Politburo last month.

North Korea is the world's most secretive country and reports about Kim and his family, including the suggestion that he recently had heart surgery, are nearly impossible to verify.

However, other defectors have cast doubt on whether such sensitive information would ever leak out from Kim's inner circle.

Senior party and government officials celebrate the 108th anniversary of founder Kim Il-Sung's birth in Pyongyang on April 15 - a ceremony which Kim Jong-un inexplicably missed

Some defectors say that their relatives in North Korea did not know that Kim had been missing from public view for three weeks.

One said people had been talking about Kim's whereabouts in very private circles after he failed to appear at a ruling party showpiece on April 15.

Kim's unprecedented absence from the Day of the Sun ceremony honouring his grandfather Kim Il-Sung prompted major speculation about his welfare.

'I talked to my sister and my niece this morning and they had no clue about these reports and rumours about Kim Jong Un's health,' said one defector, Lee Soon-hee.

'When I told them, they were so cautious about discussing it. North Koreans have a very limited knowledge of these things.' Lee defected to the South in 2009.

North Koreans are keenly aware that they could face punishment for discussing the Kim family, said Sokeel Park, of Liberty in North Korea, a group that works with defectors.

'That doesn't mean people don't take that risk, some people do,' Park said. 'But it's still a super sensitive issue.'

'It's a little like the pope not showing up for Christmas,' he said of Kim's absence from the April 15 celebrations.

A 250-metre-long train belonging to the dictator has been spotted near to his Wonsan holiday compound as recently as Thursday in satellite photos

South Korean officials say they have not detected any 'unusual movements' north of the DMZ.

The South's minister in charge of North Korean affairs said on Tuesday that fear of coronavirus could have kept Kim away from the April 15 ceremony.

US President Donald Trump said last yesterday: 'I understand what is going on, I cannot just talk about him right now, just hoping that everything will be fine. But I do understand the situation very well'.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said he was aware of reports on Kim's health and he was was paying close attention to developments.

Still, experts say it is strange that North Korea would not release a picture of a healthy-looking Kim if there was no truth to the rumours.

Official media has not provided any verifiable proof of life since April 11, other than reporting that he had sent messages to North Korean workers and to South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Another defector-turned-politician, Thae Yong-ho, has warned that only a small handful of people would know the full story.

He also cautioned that clues about Kim's whereabouts - such as an apparent sighting of his personal train in the city of Wonsan - could be deliberate diversion tactics.

Pyongyang officials know that the train can be seen from satellites and have previously sent it around the country to confuse outsiders, Thae said.

The sighting of the train was followed by further satellite images from Wonsan showing boats often used by Kim and his entourage.
WASHINGTON - House lawmakers investigating Amazon for antitrust violations demanded on Friday that Jeff Bezos, the company's chief executive, agree to testify at an upcoming hearing or face a potential subpoena that would force him to appear.

The dramatic escalation between members of Congress and the e-commerce giant follows reports that Amazon employees tapped data from third-party sellers in its marketplace to make decisions about launching its own competing products, despite initially telling Democrats and Republicans it did not engage in such practices.

Lawmakers on the House's top competition-focused panel specifically pointed to statements that Amazon made starting last July, when officials explicitly told Congress that "we do not use any seller data to compete with them." Lawmakers raised the potential that Amazon might have committed perjury during its earlier testimony on Capitol Hill.

"In light of our ongoing investigation, recent public reporting, and Amazon's prior testimony before the Committee, we expect you, as chief executive officer of Amazon, to testify before the committee," said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., the chairman of the antitrust subcommittee. He was joined by Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the House Judiciary Committee's Democratic chairman, and F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., the second most senior member of the House, indicating the early, wide support such a hearing has garnered in Congress.

"Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis," lawmakers continued, "we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary."

In a tweet, Cicilline later added he is "considering whether a perjury referral is warranted," citing federal law that makes it illegal to knowingly falsify evidence to Congress. "Powerful companies are not above the law," he said.

Amazon did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Bezos owns The Washington Post.

The bipartisan nature of the ultimatum Friday only amplifies the political pressure on Bezos, whose appearance on Capitol Hill could evolve into a wide-ranging review of Amazon's vast operation - from its interactions with rivals to the way it treats its workers. Similar congressional scrutiny has greeted Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Google leader Sundar Pichai, whose inaugural appearances before Congress emboldened some lawmakers and regulators in their attempts to rein in the tech industry.

Members of Congress have been scrutinizing Amazon as part of a wide-ranging probe announced last year that has also explored whether Apple, Facebook and Google and other massive tech companies have become too big and powerful. The panel has issued wide-ranging requests for company records, including communications between Bezos and other Amazon executives. On Friday, though, House investigators said the company has not made "an adequate production in response to this request, and - seven months after the original request - significant gaps remain."

Many shoppers think of Amazon as a store like most others, where it acquires and sells products on its own. But Amazon also has emerged as one of the world's most powerful marketplaces, running an online bazaar of more than 2.5 million third-party sellers who hawk their products on its platform.

Those sellers sometimes compete with Amazon's more than 100 private-label brands. The company's private-label goods include everything from batteries to vitamin supplements and diapers to nicotine gum. To develop its products, Amazon has acknowledged drawing generally on sales data from goods on its site to help determine which markets to target.

Last month, though, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon used data from specific product sales from third-party sellers. That was something an Amazon lawyer testified to Congress that it specifically did not do. In subsequent statements, Amazon said it does not use sellers' "individual data when we're making decisions to launch private brand."

Amazon doesn't break out the sales of its third-party business in financial documents, but Bezos offered insight in his letter to shareholders in last year. In 2018, he wrote, third-party sellers accounted for $160 billion in merchandise sales on the site worldwide, or 58% of all physical merchandise sold. Bezos used the data to make the point that third-party sellers can effectively compete against Amazon in the company's own marketplace.

"Third-party sellers are kicking our first party butt. Badly," Bezos wrote.

There's no doubt that Amazon's massive marketplace has created opportunities for millions of small and midsize retailers globally. But that size has also given Amazon enormous clout because third-party sellers can't reach the same size audience on rival platforms such as eBay and Etsy.

Some sellers have complained to Cicilline's committee and to regulators that there have little alternative but to list their items on Amazon if they hope reach enough online shoppers to have a viable business. That provides Amazon the opportunity to undercut them on price, critics contend, or introduce a similar product based on the copious amount of data it collects.
Throughout history, women and their achievements and contributions to society have often been overlooked and underappreciated. History books used in schools often narrow down female accomplishments to short chapters on womens suffrage or one-sentence recognitions in place of proper acknowledgment. Oftentimes, when womens achievements are celebrated and documented, they tend to focus on white women, excluding the accomplishments and historical contributions provided by women of color.

Recently, there has been more of an effort to emphasize the importance and significance of female creators, innovators, and changemakers. From books documenting these womens various achievements to movies and shows giving women their moment in the spotlight, there is an ever-increasing catalog of women-first narratives being produced for consumption. One of these said projects is an anthology written by award-winning author and womens rights activist Nina Ansary.

Published on March 8, 2020, the collection of biographical essays titled Anonymous Is a Woman covers a vast 4,000-year history of gender inequality and includes 50 profiles on female innovators from across the globe, including the Jewish-Portuguese Dona Gracia Mendes, one of the wealthiest people in Renaissance Europe who was a significant political figure in the Ottoman Empire, and Indian educationalist, social reformer, and poet Savitribai Phule.

Honoring these womens groundbreaking contributions to humankind, Ansary is seemingly rescuing many of these women from obscurity, giving their stories the documentation they deserve  all the while exposing the egregious repercussions of sexism and inequality. The book, which is named in honor of the famed quote in A Room of Ones Own by British writer Virginia Woolf: Indeed, I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.

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With an effort to bring these womens stories to life, helping them escape societys long-held restriction on celebrating female accomplishments, Ansary delves into the complexities of being a female innovator during times in which society so often overlooked, neglected, and silenced such people.

Keeping with the anthologys efforts to expose and dismantle institutionalized gender discrimination and historical bias, Ansary is donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of Anonymous Is a Woman to several nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations, in addition to organizations dedicated to uplifting and aiding female scholars and activists.

Below, Teen Vogue spoke with Ansary more about her upcoming book and why a collection of stories about powerful women throughout history is so important, especially now.

Editors Note: This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Teen Vogue: Can you tell me more about your decision to donate all the proceeds from your book  and about the nonprofits you chose and what they mean to you?

Nina Ansary: The primary recipients of the books proceeds are the Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based organization where I am a board member and the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace, and Security where I am a Visiting Fellow. My decision to donate stems from my passion and dedication to women and human rights, and as someone who is directly involved with both, I have seen the impact of their work when it comes to the promotion and protection of human rights and addressing issues related to women in conflict-affected situations. Philanthropy has always been an essential component of my work as raising awareness and creating and sustaining a solid infrastructure that can enact meaningful change requires long term core funding.

TV: As a champion for womens equality, why was this so important for you to write? What inspired you to write this book?

N.A.: Womens full and equal participation in all sectors of society is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future. Yet worldwide women and girls are largely underrepresented in practically every sector, facing multiple forms of discrimination.

What inspired this book was my advocacy work as a UN Women Global Champion for Innovation, my academic work as a scholar, and the countless women and girls who have corresponded with me via email, social media, and in-person at numerous womens conferences both nationally and internationally throughout the years - all of whom have relayed the countless obstacles and barriers preventing them from succeeding at a level commensurate with their aptitude and skills. The fact is we cannot reach our collective potential if we continue a destructive cycle of holding back half the population. Unfortunately, while this is an issue of critical importance, it doesnt seem to be a priority for policy-makers. Therefore my hope is that increased awareness combined with collective action will eventually lead to transformation.

TV: How is gender discrimination still affecting women today? What can be done about this?

N.A.: Gender discrimination is not a new problem and has been an issue for thousands of years. A few facts: Over 2.7 billion women are still legally barred from having the same job choices as men. Around the world, women are given only three-quarters of the legal rights that men enjoy, constraining their ability to get jobs, start businesses and make economic decisions that are best for them and their families. Discriminatory policies, laws, and practices will not end without targeted action and this requires solidarity and building bridges with the international community, including the collective action of women and human rights defenders, political will, and tools such as gender budgeting and quotas.

TV: What can women today learn from the women in your book? Is there a particular lesson you hope people take away from your book?

N.A.: While global statistics continue to reflect the repercussions of discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, the biographical profiles of the women counter centuries of bias and refute gender-based stereotypical assumptions that continue to limit opportunities for women and girls in the 21st century. The extraordinary accomplishments of these women in diverse fields reflect not only their courage and resilience but also their determination to overcome formidable challenges despite the odds. Illuminating their stories not only points to the historical eclipsing of womens accomplishments but also provides young girls with role models to inspire their pursuit of goals and aspirations. A recent study by Stanford University found if young girls received as much exposure to female innovators as boys do to male innovators, the rate of female innovation would rise by as much as 164%. The most important lesson to take away from the book is that gender equality is not a woman problem but a human problem and to understand the magnitude of economic, cultural and social benefits we squander in perpetuating the ongoing myth of womens inferior status.

Related: Cassandra Clare's "Chain of Gold" Is a Lesson In Friendship and Secrecy

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
Niche bike manufacturer Royal Enfield on Friday said it sold 91 units last month due to suspension of production activities amid coronavirus pandemic.

Due to complete halt in operations, Royal Enfield has reportedsales of 91 units for the month of April, the company said in a statement.

The company, a part of Eicher Motors, said it suspended operations and production across its factories, technology centres in Indiaand the UK, all company offices and dealerships in the country starting March 23, 2020.

For the month of April, Royal Enfield's manufacturing facilities across Tiruvottiyur, Oragadam and Vallam Vadagalin Chennai and the entire supply chain including the company's dealerships across India, remained closed in compliance with the government directives, it added.

The company will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as per the regulatory andadministrative guidance, it noted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Singapore on Friday said it has shut the operations of Changi Airport Group's Terminal 2 for 18 months to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic.

"After 30 years of operations, Terminal 2 has closed her doors today for an expansion and transformation. A new experience awaits you in 18 months, according to a tweet from CAG's Twitter handle.

The T2 closed for 18 months from Friday (May 1) as the airport cuts costs during the coronavirus outbreak and start early on the planned upgrade works.

Singapore has so far reported 17,101 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 16 deaths, the health ministry said.

Airlines operating out of T2 have been reallocated to Terminals 1 and 3.

Operations at CAG's Terminal 4 could be suspended as well, The Straits Times reported.

In general, international flights out of Changi has been suspended by airlines to check the spread of coronavirus as well as closures of many international airports.

"The suspension of operations will allow the T2 expansion works announced earlier to be accelerated. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the project can possibly be finished earlier by up to one year," the CAG said.

Acknowledging a steep decline in passenger traffic, which is likely to last for a while, CAG said it will consolidate operations in fewer terminals and save on running costs.

Except for offices and car parks in the public areas, all passenger processing facilities such as check-in, immigration, arrivals and so on will be suspended, as will retail and catering operations.

Changi Airport is Singapore's main civilian airport and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. It has four terminals.

In 2015, the airport recorded 3.44 million passenger movements on the Singapore-India sector which is served by 220 of one-way weekly flights.

For the first quarter of the year, 11 million passengers passed through Changi Airport, a decline of 32.7 per cent year-on-year. Aircraft landings and takeoffs fell 20.1 per cent to 75,900, while airfreight throughout fell 8 per cent to 453,000 tonnes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
San Antonio, TX, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Biglari Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BH.A; BH) announced today that its 2020 Annual Shareholders Meeting will be held in San Antonio on Thursday, June 25, at 1:00 p.m. Central Time. Shareholders will be able to attend the meeting in person. We plan to file the proxy statement on May 21, which will contain further information regarding the annual meeting.

About Biglari Holdings Inc.

Biglari Holdings Inc. is a holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of diverse business activities, including property and casualty insurance, media and licensing, restaurants, and oil and gas. The Company's largest operating subsidiaries are involved in the franchising and operating of restaurants.

SOURCE Biglari Holdings Inc.

Related Links

http://www.biglariholdings.com


Washington, May 1 : With no effective remedy or vaccination available yet to fight the coronavirus epidemic, the American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has written to President Donald Trump, state governors and lawmakers to launch a plasma drive, it was reorted.

As convalescent plasma appears to be a possible treatment for COVID-19 patients, AAPI itself has launched a plasma drive from patients who have been cured of the disease, the American Bazaar reported on Thursday citing an official statement as saying.

"There is enormous anxiety and numerous questions among general public about the pandemic and the havoc it's creating," said Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, the largest ethnic medical organization in the US.

"In the past few week, AAPI has taken several initiatives to educate its members and the public, and to provide much needed help and support through helping obtain much needed PPEs and distributing them to medical institutions around the country," he said.

AAPI has created three separate committees on convalescent plasma treatment.

"An official letter of recommendation on convalescent plasma therapy from AAPI has been sent to President Donald Trump, state governors and to all members of US Congress and senators," said Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI.

Responding to the national/world-wide shortage of masks and other personal protective equipment, AAPI, has raised funds, donated money, purchased and donated masks to several medical institutions across the US, reports the American Bazaar.

"We urge the authorities to provide the much needed equipment, testing and facilities enabling patients with covid-19 to be isolated and treated, which will reduce our healthcare workforce at precisely the time we need them to be healthy and treating patients," Reddy added.
TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Mitsui & Co Ltd. (MITSF.PK, MITSY.PK) reported that its profit attributable to owners of the parent for the year ended March 31, 2020 was 391.5 billion yen, a decline of 22.7 billion yen from the previous year, citing impact caused by a drop in commodity prices such as crude oil price, and impact to a part of trading businesses due to the spread of COVID-19. On a per share, earnings declined to 225.98 yen from 238.15 yen in the prior year. Revenue for the year was 6.89 trillion yen, a decrease of 72.5 billion yen from the previous year. The company aims to quickly return to a growth trajectory by implementing the strategies of the Medium term Management Plan 2023, despite a fall in profit is unavoidable in the present turbulent business environment. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
(Newser)  A levee will be built on a river in Missouri where police have previously searched for the body of a missing Chinese woman. Columbia police announced Wednesday that a levee will be extended into the Lamine River near Boonville to help in the search for the body of Mengqi Ji Elledge, who was reported missing on Oct. 10. Her husband, Joseph Elledge, is charged with first-degree murder in her death, the AP reports. Divers have searched the river before without success.

story continues below

Columbia Assistant Police Chief Jeremiah Hunter said the levee will give searchers access to a key part of the river where cadaver dogs detected human decomposition. The levee project will begin once the police force has received all the necessary approvals, which could be as early as next week, Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones said. Joseph Elledge has pleaded not guilty to child abuse and domestic assault charges related to the case but has not entered a plea to the murder charge. His trial is scheduled for June.

(Read more missing woman stories.)
The London-based rights group Amnesty International says feminist and labor activist Li Qiaochu, who has been incommunicado since February, is at risk of torture or inhumane treatment.



"No contact has been made with [Li] since she was taken away by Beijing police," the group said in a call for urgent action on its website.



It said Li is being held under "residential surveillance at a designated location [RSDL]," in an unknown location, and has been denied contact with family, friends, or a lawyer.



"There are grave concerns that Li Qiaochu is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment as she is still without access to her family or a lawyer of her choice," the group said.



It called on its members to write to the Beijing municipal police department calling for Li's immediate and unconditional release.



Amnesty International's warning came after Li's lawyer went to her local Dongxiaokou police station on April 21 to try to find out more about her case.



"Her lawyer still does not know anything about her whereabouts, wellbeing, or even the charges against her," Amnesty said, adding that there is no way of knowing if Li has prompt, regular, and unrestricted access to medical care.



"As she has suffered from depression since June 2019, [we] worry about her mental and physical wellbeing if she is not getting the appropriate care," Amnesty said in a suggested letter for campaigners to use.



Illegal behavior by police



Beijing-based rights activist Hu Jia said Li's case has been marked by illegal behavior by police since the beginning.



"It is actually the state security police in charge of the case, but they are hiding in the background and won't show their faces," Hu said. "They don't want the lawyer to meet with their client."



"The police at Dongxiaokou police station are blatantly preventing any information from getting to the lawyer," he said. "We don't know where she is being held."



"The police just issued a notice of RSDL and had the family sign it."



Li's detention came after she commented via her Twitter account on Jan. 24 on the attempted cover-up by authorities in the central province of Hubei of the emerging coronavirus epidemic.



"Please can we remember those who suffered, died, and those who died before they even had time to become a statistic," she wrote.



"We shouldn't be singing anyone's praises during this time of disaster; rather we should collectively participate in chasing those who were so careless with people's lives."



Helped workers, women



Li worked to find accommodation for thousands of migrant workers forcibly evicted from their homes by authorities in Beijing during a bitterly cold winter in 2017.



She also played an active role in China's #MeToo movement, collating and publishing reports of sexual harassment and abuse online.



After the epidemic struck, Li joined a volunteer team that handed out free masks to sanitation workers in Beijing, and helped pregnant women in quarantine areas to find doctors.



She also worked to support victims of domestic violence, which saw a nationwide spike after hundreds of millions of people were placed under draconian quarantine lockdowns in central China.



Li was summoned by police and held for questioning for 24 hours on Dec. 31 as part of a nationwide operation targeting a group of activists who met in the southeastern port city of Xiamen on Dec. 13.



As well as being a prominent feminist and labor activist, Li is the partner of detained New Citizens' Movement founder Xu Zhiyong, who is also being held by state security police on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" after he called on President Xi Jinping to resign.



Xu, who has already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign, penned an open letter to Xi while in hiding following an earlier meeting in Xiamen, calling on him to step down.



A source close to Xu said he is also being held incommunicado under RSDL, a status that allows police to hold anyone they say is suspected of crimes linked to national security without contact with family or a lawyer for up to six months.



Reported by RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 2.5% to US$331 in the week after its latest quarterly results. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$8.6b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 5.6% to hit US$5.15 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Northrop Grumman

NYSE:NOC Past and Future Earnings May 1st 2020

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Northrop Grumman's 15 analysts is for revenues of US$35.3b in 2020, which would reflect an okay 3.0% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to surge 69% to US$22.53. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$35.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$22.95 in 2020. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$392. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Northrop Grumman, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$455 and the most bearish at US$300 per share. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

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Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Northrop Grumman's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues next year expected to grow 3.0%, compared to a historical growth rate of 8.4% over the past five years. Compare this to the 81 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 2.8% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Northrop Grumman's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, there were no real changes to sales forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Even so, be aware that Northrop Grumman is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Tanzanias main opposition party, Chadema, has told its MPs to self-isolate for at least a fortnight and stay away from parliamentary buildings in the capital Dodoma and main commercial city of Dar es Salaam.



Chadema has also been urging the Speaker to suspend sessions as a safety precaution during the pandemic.



Three MPs have died in less than a fortnight, though their deaths have not been linked to coronavirus.



However the government has been criticised for downplaying the virus and not imposing strict measures to curb its spread.



There are now 480 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Tanzania, 16 of whom have died.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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"We are very happy to support WeChat's initiative to help digitalize the museum experience, as it also connects to the American Alliance of Museum's vision of building 'A world informed and enriched by thriving museums,'" said Arthur Affleck, the Vice President of Development of AAM. "The museum Mini Programs will enable Chinese audiences to tour American museums remotely from across the ocean, and help in bringing the world closer together under this special timing."

These 11 museums are among the first partners to join WeChat's travel solutions initiative - WeChat go. The partner museums span the East and West Coasts of the U.S. and include the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Autry Museum of American West, Guggenheim, Museum of the City of New York, Brooklyn Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Walt Disney Family Museum, Telfair Museums, Aquarium of the Pacific and Lowell Observatory. From modern to ancient arts, aquariums to observatories, the participating museums run the gamut of curated collections.

Aimed at Chinese visitors, the Mini Programs being launched by the museums offer free public resources such as guided audio tours, video materials, introductions of pieces in the collections and interactive games. It is hoped that these resources will help Chinese museum-goers better understand the collections and offer them a more engaging experience, while allowing them to strengthen cross-cultural understanding even during social distancing.

MoMA Shows Users the Cream of the Collection

The MoMA Mini Program developed by the New York Museum of Modern Art, offers Chinese language explanations and audio guides for some of the museum's finest pieces. Anna Temkin, MoMA's Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, even takes it upon herself to relate precious works such as Van Gogh's Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Monet's Water Lillies to digital visitors.

Aside from these more practical functions, the MoMA Mini Program has two other bonus functions  "Find Your Match" and "Rewards". "Find Your Match" was developed taking inspiration from dating software. Works of art pop up and users can swipe left or right depending on whether they like the piece or not.

Meanwhile, "Awards" encourages user engagement by giving them tasks to complete, through which they can win prizes such as exclusive wallpapers, MoMA postcards and membership draws.

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco Turns Users into Collectors

In order to offer users a more engaging experience, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco equips three other functions, including introductions of the collections, museum guides and fun, interactive achievements for users to complete. After opening the Mini Program, users are led around the museum on a Private Tour by Dr. Jay Xu, Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. No matter how far users are from the museum geographically, they can feel like they're right in the museum.

If a certain piece of the collection catches users' eyes during their tours, they can add it to "My Display Case" and take a brief quiz. If the user answers successufully, they can obtain a "Collection Certification" from the Asian Art Museum and become an "Expert Collector."

"The world is changing," notes Dr. Xu. "But one constant is the desire for connection. WeChat serves as one of the Asian Art Museum's most important portals24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across oceans and continentsfor engaging our global communities to 6,000 years of art and culture. WeChat empowers us to creatively embrace change, inspire new audiences with new ideas, and share our most compelling stories from the past to the present, stories that spotlight our common humanity and connect art to life."

The other 9 museum Mini Programs also being launched have incorporated museum introductions and basic visitor information like opening hours, pricing and reminders. The applets will also offer Chinese language explanations of key exhibit pieces and collection files, along with unique photo frames designed exclusively for the various museums. These digital portals will provide Chinese users and tourists real-time services and a rich "Museum in the Cloud" experience.

In addition to these Mini Programs, all-Mandarin arts and cultural platform Move the Mind (MTM) is also unveiling its own Mini Program to provide a one-stop outlet for the Chinese cultural tourist. MTM's Mini Program will collate key information on arts and cultural institutions, and connect to other museum applets to encourage users to explore deeper and further. Accessible through MTM's WeChat account, the Mini Program will add value to its readers' viewing experience, encouraging them to actively engage with global arts and culture.

A Digital Escape to the Museums in the Cloud

Even though museums are temporarily unable to open and public gatherings have been restricted during the pandemic, WeChat is supporting the AAM to help 11 US museums bring a brilliant historical and cultural experience to users by opening the doors to the "Museum in the Cloud". At the same time, it also helps to show other museums and cultural institutions how they can give themselves a "modern makeover" to create a more engaging and personalized experience that attracts new visitors, both digitally and offline.

Interested in collaborating with WeChat go? Send us emails at wechatgo@tencent.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1162241/Screenshots_MoMA_Mini_Program.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1162242/Screenshots_San_Francisco_Asian_Art_Museum_Mini_Program.jpg

SOURCE WeChat
Mumbai: There is an indication that the Maharashtra government is mulling reopening of liquor shops in the state to open with strict observation of lockdown restrictions and social distancing being followed. Although an official confirmation on the same remains awaited, according to sources, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is keen that economic activities are also taken care of along with measures to control the spread of coronavirus infection.

An expert panel of the Maharashtra government has reportedly stated in its recommendation that the sale of alcohol in the state should be permitted, under strict social distancing guidelines.

In Maharashtra, on an average, excise revenue of Rs 1,500 crores used to come from the sale of liquor every month. However, due to the lockdown, the excise department has been hit by huge revenue loss. It is to be noted that after the Centre imposed a nation-wide lockdown on March 24, a strict ban has since then been enforced on the sale and manufacturing of liquor in the state.

Recently, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had written to CM Uddhav Thackeray requesting him to allow the reopening of wine shops so that the state can generate revenue to deal with the ongoing financial crisis. He had also called for allowing hotels and kitchens providing affordable foods to run saying that as a big chunk of Maharashtras population is dependent on them.

The cash-strapped Maharashtra government is facing a massive revenue loss estimated around Rs 40000 crore in March-April on account of lockdown. The expert panel was tasked with making suggestions to help the economy recover from a worsening state due to the coronavirus. The panel, consisting of 11 retired and serving bureaucrats, also recommended in its report that the government should allow the real estate, construction, agriculture, IT sector to open in a phased manner.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, however, mocked the MNS chief for demanding to reopen liquor shops in the state to boost revenues and sought to know whether he was really concerned about the state's treasury. "You don't get revenue just by starting the shops. The government gets revenue in the form of excise and sales tax when a distributor purchases the product from the factories. In order to start these units, workers are required. Besides, if the shops re-open, no social distancing will be followed," the party had said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Earlier on April 25, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesperson Punya Salila Srivastava had clarified that liquor shops in markets/market complexes and shopping malls will not be allowed to open during the lockdown. The Ministry clarified that sale of liquor and other items continue to be prohibited as specified in the national directives for COVID-19 management.
US President Donald Trump Thursday said the World Health Organization should be ashamed of itself, as he likened it to a public relations agency for China.

The Trump Administration has launched a probe into the role of the WHO on coronavirus, and has temporarily suspended the US financial assistance to it. I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they are like the public relations agency for China, Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House.

Follow latest updates on coronavirus here

The United States, he reiterated, pays the WHO almost $500 million a year and China pays them $38 million a year. Whether its a lot more, it doesnt matter. They shouldnt be making excuses when people make horrible mistakes, especially mistakes that are causing hundreds of thousands of people around the world to die. I think the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves, said the President.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged the WHO failed to deliver and misled the world on coronavirus. The World Health Organization simply failed to respond in this case, he told Scott Sands of The Scott Sands Show in an interview.

Also read: Donald Trump says evidence ties China lab to coronavirus, threatens tariffs

With respect to the WHO, we know that they had one job, right? A single mission: To prevent the spread of a pandemic. We know that the leader of that organization travelled to China and then declined to declare it a pandemic until everyone in the world knew that was already true, Pompeo told Fox news in another interview.

Its unfortunate, but this is not the first time there has been a virus go around the world from inside of China, and its not the first time the WHO has failed in its mission. We have an obligation to the American people to do our best to make sure that we fix that, that we prevent those things from ever happening again, he said.

Meanwhile, several Republican lawmakers demanding a Congressional hearing alleged that the WHO parroted the Chinese regimes disinformation on multiple occasions, including denying human-to-human transmission of the virus.

They alleged the WHO prolonged declaring Covid-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, chastised efforts to restrict travel, and continued to praise China as a global leader in public health despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

The WHOs inaction and delay undoubtedly cost American lives. For these reasons, we commend the Presidents decision to temporarily pause the WHOs funding, the lawmakers said.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

Congressman James Comer, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on The Environment, said it would be an utter failure of the Committee to not investigate the WHOs failures to address the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on the American people. Congressman Glenn Grothman, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, said that like many international organizations, it appears that the WHO has been infected by anti-Western bureaucrats. Had they stood up to the Chinese and their wet markets at some point in the last 10 years, I believe hundreds of thousands of people would be alive today, he said.

Also read: Coronavirus not manmade, still studying lab theory, says US intel

The WHO deserves a thorough congressional investigation for its alleged mis-handling of the coronavirus response, and for accepting and promulgating a communist Chinese propaganda, said Congressman Chip Roy, a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Rishi Kapoor's tragic passing has left us all shocked. The actor's funeral was held on Thursday afternoon, and was attended by his wife Neetu Kapoor, son Ranbir Kapoor and his girlfriend Alia Bhatt, brother Randhir Kapoor and a few other family members and colleagues. However, his daughter Riddhima Kapoor could not make it as she was in Delhi.

Rishi Kapoor:  Riddhima Kapoor   Neetu        | FilmiBeat

Riddhima has been permitted to travel across the country and so she is currently on her way to Mumbai, to mourn with her family. Riddhima took to her Instagram story to say that she is driving home and that she is en route Mumbai.

A heartbroken Riddhima shared a picture of her car window and wrote, 'Driving home ma. Enroute Mumbai'. She has also been posting how much she misses her dad and wishes she had had the chance to say goodbye to him.

Alia, who was at the funeral, is said to have connected Riddhima to the final rites through a video call. In pictures of the funeral that are being shared on the internet, Alia can be seen holding up her phone like she is capturing what is going on. While many trolled her for it, others defended her saying that she is on video call with Riddhima.

Rishi Kapoor breathed his last on Thursday morning (April 30) at 8:45 am IST. The actor was admitted to the HN Reliance Foundation Hospital on Wednesday night after his health deteriorated. The actor had been battling leukemia for two years, and had received treatment for it in New York City, where he spent almost a year.

Rishi was last seen in The Body, a thriller film which also starred Sobhita Dhulipala, Emraan Hashmi and Vedhika.

ALSO READ: Rishi Kapoor's Funeral: Alia Bhatt Held Up Her Phone During The Final Rites For This Reason?

ALSO READ: RIP Rishi Kapoor: From PM Narendra Modi To Shashi Tharoor, Politicians Mourn Actor's Death


April 28 marked Canadas National Day of Mourning. Proposed by union members and officially recognized in 1990, this national observance commemorates workers who have been killed or injured on the job. The Canadian flag flies at half-staff on all government buildings to recognize these losses.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

April 28 marked Canadas National Day of Mourning. Proposed by union members and officially recognized in 1990, this national observance commemorates workers who have been killed or injured on the job. The Canadian flag flies at half-staff on all government buildings to recognize these losses.

This occasion was particularly important in 2020, because the National Day of Mourning fell right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Organizers emphasized the ongoing sacrifices of front-line health-care workers during the pandemic.

Once the coronavirus had breached Canadas unguarded borders, governments mandated social distancing and shut both schools and businesses in the hope that doing so would prevent our health-care system from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. But doctors, nurses and other health-care workers were always going to be more exposed  and thus at greater risk of infection  than other Canadians.

Thats turned out to be true. Up-to-date data are difficult to find, given how quickly the situation is changing, but by now it is clear that hundreds of Canadian health-care workers have been exposed to and infected with the virus. Analysis published at the beginning of April found that just under 10 per cent of Ontarios confirmed COVID-19 cases were among doctors, nurses, paramedics, support workers, care home staff and others in the health-care sector.

This tracks with the experience of countries that grappled with the coronavirus before Canada. At least 3,300 health-care workers have been infected in China (like all other numbers related to the virus that are reported by the Chinese government, that is likely lower than is really the case). In Spain, roughly 14 per cent of those infected have been workers from the health-care sector.

Canadians know the heightened risk health-care workers confront and have struggled to find ways to express their appreciation. In a densely populated Vancouver neighbourhood, for example, residents stand on their decks to cheer and bang pots and pans at 7 p.m. to support health-care workers during shift change at a nearby hospital.

Concern for the welfare of health-care workers has also informed outrage over apparent shortages of protective personal equipment (PPE) during the pandemic in Canada. On the same day that it was reported that Ontario health-care workers were asked to ration their PPE during shifts, it was also reported that the Canadian government had donated 16 tonnes of PPE to the Chinese government in January.

Why, it was asked, would the government give away precious equipment when it would inevitably be needed by Canadian health-care workers in the near future?

Indeed, concern for health-care workers, particularly related to PPE, has been prominent throughout the pandemic in Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump provoked anger when he threatened to block the export of N95 masks to Canada. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney earned headlines by donating a portion of Albertas PPE stockpile to other provinces that were experiencing shortages. The Canadian government has continued to struggle to procure PPE for Canada medical staff, particularly from China.

Indeed, Toronto recently recalled more than 65,000 faulty surgical masks imported from China, and the possibility that the caregivers using them were exposed to the coronavirus as a result is being investigated.

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Underlying all this is an uneasy awareness that health-care workers are at risk while at their jobs, and a concern for their welfare.

Health-care workers have been prominent political actors during the pandemic as well. This was most notably the case in Hong Kong. In February, thousands of hospital staff in Hong Kong joined a strike that was designed to pressure the government to close the border to travellers arriving from mainland China in order to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Residents of Hong Kong were (rightly, as it turned out) wary of claims from the Chinese government and the World Health Organization that, for example, the virus could not be spread between humans. But the Hong Kong government hesitated to fully shut down the border, lest it anger Beijing.

Nevertheless, the threat of an escalating strike forced further border restrictions. Now, Hong Kong is considered a COVID-19 success story, having avoided the explosive growth that has overwhelmed medical systems in countries such as Italy. Early travel restrictions played a role in slowing the coronavirus, and those restrictions would have been much weaker without the actions taken by Hong Kongs health-care workers.

Whether working in the emergency room to save lives or on the picket line to bring about changes designed to protect us, health-care workers all deserve our gratitude.

Royce Koop is head of the political studies department at the University of Manitoba.
ALBANY  Mayor Kathy Sheehan again vetoed a Common Council ordinance restricting where blood plasma centers could open in the city.

The council approved the ordinance for a second time on April 20 after Sheehan pointed out a number of procedural flaws in the first vote, including failure to hold a public hearing before a Feb. 20 vote.

In her veto, Sheehan noted some of those same flaws still existed in her view, including the fact that the council did not initiate the amendment through the citys planning officer.

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While I understand many of you voted to approve this ordinance with the best of intentions, I have been advised by Corporation Counsel it is an unconstitutional zoning action with no rational basis in law, Sheehan wrote in a message to the council on Thursday.

Sheehan wrote that the move was effectively retroactive zoning and would send a message to developers that they couldnt trust the citys zoning code when they went to present new projects.

The council's ordinance would prevent any blood plasma centers from opening within 1,000 feet of a church, school or park, among other restrictions.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Previously the city's Zoning Board of Appeals had set those limits at 500 feet.

As in her previous veto message, Sheehan warned the council that the city could face legal action from the company behind the project or the developers.

CSL Plasma, a Florida-based company that operates over 230 plasma collection centers around the world, proposed opening a center at 900 Central Ave., near the Hannaford supermarket, soon after the city approved a new zoning map in 2017.

Residents near the proposed project have complained, arguing the center could lead to loitering and parking issues.
Boris Johnson has briefed the press on the fight against coronavirus, following his own battle with the disease.

The United Kingdom could well become the European nation with the highest death toll from the coronavirus, according to the latest government figures.

Daily statistics released on Thursday evening reported a further 674 people had died in the UK after contracting the virus, giving a total, according to Downing Street, of 26,711.

Only Italy has a higher toll in Europe, with 27,967 deaths officially attributed to the coronavirus. Daily death tolls in Italy are now declining, with 285 announced on Thursday and 323 the day before, while new cases are also falling fast.

But the UK is past the peak, or at least the first peak, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Thursday, as he warned against lifting lockdown measures too quickly.

Weve come under what could have been a vast peak, as though weve been going through some huge Alpine tunnel  and we can now see the sunlight and the pasture ahead of us, the prime minister said at his first briefing since being taken ill with the virus.





And so it is vital that we do not now lose control and run slap into a second and even bigger mountain.

Avoided catastrophe

Johnsons administration has been fiercely criticised for its handling of the pandemic, with accusations ranging from a failure to quickly institute a test-and-trace programme, to not introducing lockdown restrictions early enough and failing to provide front-line healthcare workers with adequate personal protective equipment.

But the prime minister, returning to the podium a day after his partner gave birth, compared the nations death toll with the much larger estimates envisaged when the scale of the crisis first began to emerge.

Its thanks to that massive collective effort to shield the [National Health Service] that we avoided an uncontrollable and catastrophic epidemic, where the reasonable worst-case scenario was 500,000 deaths, he said.

He added that comparisons with other countries was a fruitless exercise, but his comments sparked fury online.

Please don't shout, Helen. I listened to every word and I'm objecting to the stone deaf insensitivity of characterising a shattering death toll, with all the grief & pain that entails, as somehow "not" a tragedy because it's below 500k deaths.  Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) April 30, 2020

Concrete measures to ease the lockdown that has devastated the economy are unlikely to be unveiled soon, but the first steps of a strategy will be announced next week, said Johnson.

And while the governments target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of the month looks a lot more feasible than it did when it was announced, with more than 80,000 tests carried out on Wednesday, many Britons will be relieved to have been given some degree of clarity as to the future.

Johnson said next week would see a comprehensive plan  a road map explaining the conditions needed for schools to begin reopening and businesses to resume trading.

Itll be a menu of options, he said. The dates and times of each individual measure will be very much driven by where we are in the epidemic, and what the data is saying  and were getting a lot more data every day.

The next step in Britains fight against the pandemic will be all about keeping the R number  that is, the number of people that one infected person infects  as low as possible, officials said on Thursday.
Garissa residents wade through floods after the River Tana burst its banks following days of torrential rain.

The Federal government of Somalia has announced Thursday it donated one million USD to help the flood-hit Somali families in Qardo town under Puntland state.

Somali PM Hassan Ali Khaire said in a tweet: "The government of Somalia has delivered $1M to Puntland as humanitarian aid for flood victims in Qardo."

The donation came after Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni who visited the town following the flash floods has appealed for immediate aid for the local residents.

At least six people lost their lives in the flooding in Qardo district after many houses and commercial buildings were destroyed by the heavy downpour.
US workers plan May Day Peoples Strike to demand safer workplaces

Workers at some of the biggest corporations in the United States are planning an unprecedented wave of strikes on May 1, International Workers Day.



Employees of Amazon, Whole Foods, Walmart, FedEx, Target and Instacart will walk off the job demanding compensation for unpaid time off work, hazard pay, sick leave, personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies at workplaces.



Many of the workers are part of a growing coalition that will join a May 1 Peoples Strike launched by worker cooperatives in Mississippi. This is Kali Akuno, co-director of Cooperation Jackson.



Kali Akuno: Were asking everybody to start with these basics: no work, no shopping, no rent, no mortgage, no school, no borders, no prisons. Right? Let us all take joint action together.

Theme(s): Others.
With assertive and generally effective management of the coronavirus crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom has in many respects met the moment, to use an overused Newsomism. While his expansive emergency powers and success so far might allow him to ignore boundaries observed in less extraordinary times, he should resist the temptation lest his accumulated goodwill prove, well, momentary.

The governors billion-dollar contract for protective masks from Chinese automaker BYD, which has a plant in Southern California, is a case in point. Promising the state 200 million N95 and surgical masks per month, it would be a coup at a time when governments are scrambling to secure equipment for health care workers. And yet while the governor splashily announced the deal to MSNBC host Rachel Maddows audience nearly a month ago, he has yet to disclose the details to the press or the Legislature, where members of both parties have criticized the administrations secrecy.

The announcement of the contract presented Newsom as a competent foil to President Trump, whose administration has been embarrassed by its failure to procure crucial health care supplies. But Newsoms apparent disregard for legitimate legislative and public oversight of the contract has disturbingly Trumpian overtones.

An administration official told legislators last month that the details would be forthcoming once we have assurances the supply is going to be arriving, which didnt exactly inspire confidence in the deal. Newsom said this week that the equipment had begun to trickle in, with 3 million surgical masks arriving last weekend, but the contract had yet to be made public as of Thursday afternoon.

The administration has spent about $2.1 billion on its coronavirus response to date and issued dozens of executive orders at a time when the Legislature has been hard-pressed to do its job, which typically requires the sorts of large assemblies now regarded as life-threatening. The press has been hamstrung, too, with tightly controlled briefings offering less opportunity for questioning than the more traditional format employed by Newsoms counterpart in New York, Andrew Cuomo.

Newsom deserves credit for following the lead of officials in the Bay Area and other regions and making the state the first with a shelter-in-place order, heading off the sort of explosive growth in infections that New York suffered. While we have already lost too many Californians  with more than 2,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths probably representing a substantial underestimation of the toll  his administrations response has likely saved many lives.

And while Newsom has wisely avoided gratuitously antagonizing Trump during a crisis when he needs all the help he can get, he has benefited from the low standard set by the president, who makes other executives look good just by doing their jobs with a degree of coherence and responsibility. The governor should further this healthy contrast by recognizing that his power has limits even in extraordinary times.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
MIAMI, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zevuloni and Associates, a leading Florida based Public Adjusting firm, launched a fully equipped field kitchen this week in conjunction with Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital. The kitchen provides 1000 hot, fresh, healthy and kosher meals per day for frontline healthcare providers. Zevuloni and Associates created the kitchen as a salute to the healthcare heroes battling on the frontline against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zevuloni and Associates Salute the Healthcare Heroes Healthcare Heroes Receiving their meals from Zevuloni and Associates

Joe Zevuloni, President and CEO of Zevuloni and Associates said: "Our goal is that everyone who works in the hospital protecting us receives a delicious meal as a gift from us. We won't stop until that's accomplished."

The field kitchen was launched at Jackson Memorial Hospital, which serves as the center in the fight against COVID-19 in Miami-Dade County. Zevuloni and Associates inaugurated the project on April 29 in honor of Israel Independence Day. Zevuloni and Associates sponsors an annual Israel Independence Day celebration with thousands of participants; however, given the current prohibition on large public gatherings, Zevuloni looked for another meaningful way to celebrate the holiday.

Added Zevuloni: "I am a proud Israeli - American and have dedicated my life to strengthening both countries and the unbreakable bond between them. In honor of Israel's 72nd Independence Day, we wanted to show love to the amazing healthcare providers who have inspired us all during these challenging times. Israel and America have consistently shown, it is during times of adversity that we see the best in people as we pull together to help each other. It has been an honor to work with the Jackson Memorial leadership and staff - I already feel like a member of the Jackson Memorial family."

Zevuloni and Associates's catastrophe team assists policyholders recover their economic loss from their insurance company in the aftermath of major disasters in 20 states across the country.

Joe Zevuloni is also the Founder and President of MyWish4U.org, a nonprofit organization specializing in granting wishes for little heroes battling cancer and other life threatening illnesses. Among its projects, MyWish4U.org organizes and funds an annual week long dream trip for pediatric oncology patients and their families from Israel and the US to Orlando theme parks.

Name of Press Contact: Joe Zevuloni

Phone: +1 (954) 742 8248

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.florida-pa.com

SOURCE Zevuloni and Associates
North Korea's Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks, state media reported Saturday, following intense speculation that the leader of the nuclear-armed nation was seriously ill or possibly dead. State television showed Kim walking, smiling broadly and smoking a cigarette at what the North said was the opening of a fertiliser factory on Friday in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang. Rumours about Kim's health have been swirling since his conspicuous no-show at April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather, the North's founder -- the most important day in the country's political calendar. His absence triggered a series of fevered rumours and unconfirmed reports over his condition, while the United States and South Korea insisted they had no information to believe any of the conjecture was true. Seoul's unification ministry reacted to Saturday's report by saying "groundless" speculation about Kim had caused "unnecessary confusion", calling for more careful consideration in future. Kim's sudden death would have left Pyongyang facing an unplanned succession for the first time in its history and raised unanswered questions over who would succeed him and take over the North's nuclear arsenal. China, the North's key diplomatic ally and main provider of trade and aid, is keen to maintain stability in its neighbour and avoid the possibility of an influx of refugees. North Korea is "at the epicentre of an extremely tense security crisis", involving "a nuclear standoff where tens of millions of lives are at stake," Henri Feron, Senior Fellow at the US Center for International Policy, told AFP. "This raises legitimate concerns about the domestic and international instability that his death could cause." Footage showed Kim in his trademark black suit, waving to hundreds of workers who cheered his appearance and released balloons. He was flanked by senior officials -- including his sister and close adviser Kim Yo Jong -- and showed no outward signs of ill health. At one point Kim sat in front of a sign that described the event as a factory opening ceremony for May 1, 2020, but his appearance could not be independently verified. As with previous public appearances during the global coronavirus pandemic, Kim and his entourage were not wearing masks, unlike the crowd of workers at the ceremony. Analysts said Kim could not appear in public wearing a mask as it would make him appear vulnerable to the North Korean people. The North has insisted that it has not seen a single case of coronavirus, although experts say that is unlikely. Kim's repeated appearances without a mask had led some to speculate that he may have caught the virus. Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on matters relating to its highly secretive leadership. - Rumours of ill health - The North Korean leader had not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported that he had inspected fighter jets. Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, had reported that Kim was undergoing treatment after a cardiovascular procedure last month. Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim -- who is in his mid-30s -- had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. CNN then reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery, quoting an anonymous US official. Officials in Seoul had consistently downplayed the reports and a presidential security advisor said that Kim was "alive and well" and staying in the eastern resort town of Wonsan. US President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that Washington believed Kim to be alive and declined to immediately comment on Kim's apparent re-emergence. Trump and Kim have met three times, although talks on the North's nuclear capabilities have long been stalled with no sign of them resuming. Analysts say Kim is likely to make another public appearance in the coming days that will be reported by state media. But Pyongyang "probably won't explain Kim's recent absence given the secrecy around the leader's health and schedule," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul. Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have also prompted speculation about his health. Kim's father and predecessor had been dead for two days before anyone outside the innermost circles of North Korean leadership was aware. In 2014, Kim Jong Un dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.
Virgin Australia's administrators have told creditors that federal and state governments are critical to the collapsed airline's revival plans, raising the prospect taxpayers' money could yet be used to ensure its survival.

Deloitte partner and lead administrator Vaughan Strawbridge told the first meeting of creditors on Thursday that his team was working with the federal and state governments "on a daily basis" about restructuring and recapitalising Virgin.

Virgin's administrators hope to lock down a buyer within two months. Credit:Chris Hopkins

They are very important in respect to the voluntary administration, the recapitalisation process and the speed with which we want to come out of voluntary administration," Mr Strawbridge said, according to a transcript of the closed creditors' meeting seen by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Mr Strawbridge said Deloitte and the governments were working to "explore all options... to ensure we maximise the chances of a successful recapitalisation".
Disclosure: Most companies mentioned are clients of the author.

HP briefed us on its updated HP Elitebook Dragonfly laptop, the first laptop thats gone through a design revision with an eye on our new post-pandemic world. The relevant change: a finish that can survive being wiped by a disinfectant with high alcohol content. These disinfectants, which can kill the coronavirus, tend to ruin the finish on laptops with anything but a metal finish. The Dragonfly has significant improvements to its noise cancellation capabilities for virtual conferences (and for blocking outr other folks kids or pets). And it has an extremely bright screen (1,000 nits for outdoor use) with privacy options for those of us going insane at home and working outside as a claustrophobia remedy.

This got me thinking about what other changes we need to make to laptops to fully pivot to a world where we travel less and primarily work from home. Ive written before that screen size should grow significantly because we rarely move now from office to plane to remote location; were reduced to just moving around the home.

So lets get to it.

A better camera solution

Dell, some years back, made an XPS with a camera below the screen even though, then, most of us rarely video conferenced on our laptops. (The camera was broadly trashed as a nose hair camera because that was the view it provided.) Dell fixed the design, thankfully, but cameras in general  even though at the top of the screen  remain too low.

There are at least five ways to fix this. One is to find a way to raise the camera in the notebook. With the Motorola Smartphone I have, the camera is motorized and lifts out of the phone. A similar technology with a far longer arm could work, though I worry about robustness and complexity and think it would be too fragile. Another option would be to make the camera removable and use a magnetic extension that would easily break off at the magnet  protecting the camera, laptop and arm in case of mishaps. This solution is more robust, but users will still likely lose the camera and arm at a high rate. (This could be a revenue opportunity like the AirPods are for Apple.)

A third method would be to provide a wireless or wired connection to your smartphone, which you could sit on a stand and use as a better-positioned camera. This approach might only work for a company like Apple or Lenovo who make smartphones (and could better integrate the designs), but Dell and Microsoft have built smartphone-linking software; this could simply extend that.

A fifth way would be a portable laptop stand or extendable legs that raise the laptop itself. While this could be relatively cheap, it would be inelegant and make the laptop harder to use while in the conference.

The most elegant way is to digitally change the image so it looks as if you are looking right into the camera. This capability was demonstrated back in 2013 using Microsoft Kinect and could be just a software overlay applied to the device without changing the camera location. The is a product in the market (that I havent yet used) called Catcheye that appears to address this problem.

Better virtual background options

If you use Zoom, you have likely discovered both how easy it is to add a virtual background and how bad the results look. It does get much better if you have either a green screen or a more capable external camera like the Logitech Brio, which is arguably the best webcam in the market that supports Microsoft Hello. (I should note there have been complaints regarding drivers for this camera over the years.)

I expect the solution will require a tighter focus on graphics performance and a camera like the Brio that can better cut out, by range, the existing background  allowing a more seamless integrated solution.

Since well all be doing more videoconferences in the months ahead, and many of us arent the best at keeping home offices clean, a better virtual background is no longer a cute feature. Its a must-have.

Laptop tracking

The HP Dragonfly is the first laptop with a built-in Tile. Now, Ive never misplaced my laptop. But I use a series of desktop computers when I work from home, so losing them hasnt been a problem. But those without dedicated resources are moving around their home as they take care of pets, kids, and spouses. This in-home mobility  and having kids (and sometimes pets) who like to play with laptops  means these things can become surprisingly good at hiding.

I do misplace my tablet and phone from time to time, and having a locater on them that works has saved me a lot of time. The same thing should be more common in laptops because, while we are less mobile across large areas, we are more mobile in small areas and, thus, more likely to leave our laptop and forget it.

Kid proofing is a must

While security with the HP Dragonfly is arguably market-leading, it doesnt consider children. Sure, it will protect against a child gaining access, depending on the settings. But there still is a chance that a child could, when mom or dad goes to the bathroom, get access before the security software kicks in.

BlackBerrys Cylance division does have a product called BlackBerry Persona that will rapidly detect if someone is on your keyboard. Ive heard stories of kids using their parents laptops and doing some funny things  funny, that is, if you arent on the wrong side of things. For instance, one CEO,who will go unnamed came back to his laptop just before a stockholder meeting and found all his presentation files with backup were gone. His son, the scamp, had renamed and moved all of them.

I also look forward to a future laptop with a keyboard lock so kids cant break the thing, pour liquids on it, or try to hack into it. Years ago, Dell had an Adamo XPS laptop with a magnetic lock that might offer a path. Even in this case, the lock would need to be far more robust because kids are surprisingly good at problem-solving.

Wrapping up

I think post-COVID-19 laptops will need to change because studies now indicate most firms are planning to have work at home be a policy, not an exception. They need an improved camera for better placement and more realistic virtual backgrounds; better tracking similar to what HP is doing with Tile; better security to fend off unauthorized users and better ways to protect the hardware. These are on top of what HP has demonstrated with the Dragonflys disinfectant-resistant surface, outdoor viewable privacy display, and noise cancellation technologies.

I expect the laptops well see in the market in 2021 will be dramatically different than what we have today. And while it may not make your kids happy, these kinds of changes should reduce PC-related work stress substantially.
A Pakistani soldier was killed in Indias retaliatory fire late on Wednesday as the neighbouring country continued with firing and shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district.

The soldier was identified as Lance Naik Ali Baz by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani armys online publicity wing. ISPR claimed that two Pakistani civilians were also killed in the Indian firing.

Indian Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) in Kailer & Rakhchikri Sectors along LoC. In Kailer Sector, Indian troops targeted Pakistan Army posts with automatics and heavy weapons, ISPR said.

Pakistan Army responded effectively, it added.

Reports of heavy losses to Indian troops in men and material. During exchange of intense fire, Lance Naik Ali Baz, age 34 years, resident of District Karak, embraced shahadat (died), it said.

In Rakchikri Sector, Indian Army troops deliberately targeted civilian population. Due to indiscriminate fire in Kirni village, a girl age 16 & a woman age 52 years were martyred while a 10 years old boy & 55 years old woman got injured, claimed ISPR.

However, an Indian Army officer said India neither targets civilians nor uses them as human shields on the LoC.

We can confirm the elimination of at least one of their soldiers but we dont target hapless civilians as they do, he said.

Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said, There was unprovoked firing and shelling by Pak troops in Shahpur and Kirni sectors late Wednesday prompting us to respond in equal measure.

Col Anand said Pakistan resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Krishna Ghati sector of Mendhar sub-division in Poonch district on Thursday. The violation occurred at around 4.30am and the exchanges last for half an hour, he added.

The neighbouring army has violated the ceasefire around 1,400 times this year. The total number of ceasefire violations by it stood at 3,168 in 2019 and 1,629 in 2018.

News agency PTI reported that Pakistan on Thursday summoned the Indian charge daffaires to lodge its protest over the alleged firing by the Indian troops across LoC that allegedly resulted in the death of a Pakistani soldier and two civilians.

Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri director-general (South Asia & Saarc) ) registered Pakistans strong protest over the alleged ceasefire violations by the Indian forces in Rakhchikri Sector on April 29 with Gaurav Ahluwalia, Pakistans Foreign Office (FO) said.

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P olice have released an image of a man they are hunting after a fatal hit-and-run in east London.

Police were scrambled just after 6am on Tuesday to reports of a two-car crash on Heathway, Dagenham, at the junction with Oxlow Lane.

A 57-year-old man, who was driving a white Ford B-Max, was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed.

The occupants of the other car, a white Mercedes C220, ran away on foot and have not been found.

The man police are trying to identify, who was spotted running away from the crash / Met Police

Scotland Yard are appealing for anyone who knows the man in the images, who witnessed the collision, or has dashcam footage to get in touch with police.

Detective Sergeant Mark Palmer said; I am appealing for anyone who can name the man pictured to give us a call. The footage shows him leaving the area immediately following the collision and we believe he can assist with our enquiries.

He added: We know that another car, possibly a dark coloured BMW was in the immediate vicinity of the incident when the collision happened and I appeal for the driver of that car to come forward and tell us what you saw.

Anyone with information is urged to call 101 quoting reference CAD957 of April 30, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
(Newser)  Canada is banning the use and trade of assault-style weapons immediately. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday justified the move by citing numerous mass shootings in the country, including an attack in Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19. He announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, including two weapons used by the gunman, as well as the AR-15 and other weapons that have been used in mass shootings in the US. "Canadians need more than thoughts and prayers," Trudeau said. The Cabinet order doesnt prohibit owning any of the military-style weapons and their variants, the AP reports, but it does ban their use and trade. He said the order has a two-year amnesty period for current owners, and there will be a compensation program that will require a bill passed in Parliament.

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In the meantime, they can be exported, returned to manufacturers, and transported only to deactivate them or get rid of them. In limited circumstances, they can be used for hunting. But "you do not need an AR-15 to take down a deer," Trudeau said. He said the weapons were designed for one purpose: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. Police have said the gunman in Nova Scotia used a handgun that was obtained in Canada and long guns that he obtained in the US, but they have not specifically said what guns he used. Opposition Conservative leader Andrew Scheer accused Trudeau of using the "immediate emotion of the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push the Liberals' ideological agenda." (New Zealand did something similar after a mass shooting there.)
As the far-reaching coronavirus pandemic ushers in staggering death tolls, halts the economy and makes retail politicking all but impossible, House Democrats are readying their virtual organizing strategy, outlining a roadmap for campaigning in the digital sphere ahead of November.

With Democrats mostly on defense this cycle, after flipping 43 seats in the 2018 midterm elections and securing the majority, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is beginning an early virtual blitz - unveiling a "Virtual Action Center" on Friday it says is designed to enlist an online volunteer army for the 2020 elections.

"We knew the fight was not going to be a predictable one...But we didn't obviously expect to be in the middle of a pandemic right now," DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos told ABC News in an interview Thursday. "The Virtual Action Center is our way of mobilizing our base of supporters while regularly scheduled campaign activity is suspended."

MORE: Focusing on health care, House Democrats target Trump's response to COVID-19 in new ads

"This is the first access point for volunteers to get involved and be able to do that from their own home," she continued. "Battleground races often come up to the last few hundred voters on election day...These campaigns typically depend on door-to-door efforts to turn out those key voters. So we still need to be able to reach them anyway we can during this time."

PHOTO: The Virtual Action Center is a new organizing platform from the DCCC launching on May 1, 2020. (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee)

The impetus for the organizing platform was a conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said Bustos, who has represented Illinois 17th congressional district since 2013 and now leads the caucuss campaign efforts.

Within the last three to four weeks, Bustos said, Pelosi told her, "I want to challenge the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee with finding a way that we can harness all this [grassroots] energy" while the country is under lockdown.

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Bustos, who represents a Trump-won district in northwestern Illinois, said Democrats are using this technology, which they "built from the ground up" to achieve their "electoral goals" this cycle.

The hub, billed as a "one-stop shop" for virtual organizing, allows Democrats to sign up for phone-banks, voter registration drives, and house parties - all online - for a host of campaigns, either near them or in competitive races across the country.

The site, which is available in English and Spanish, also includes a fundraising component, with "donate" links prominently displayed to drive traffic to their contribution page on ActBlue, the Democrats' online fundraising juggernaut, particularly for the partys "Red to Blue" candidates, the slate of challengers who are seen as top-tier recruits to unseat Republican incumbents and expand their majority.

In the first quarter of the year, some of House Democrats most vulnerable members, dubbed "Frontliners," brought in a more than $31.3 million haul, closing out the quarter with nearly $100 million in the bank - a massive sum for the mostly freshman class. At least 17 Democratic challengers outraised GOP incumbents or open seat challengers over the first three months of the year.

Democratic hopes of building on their strong fundraising prowess are up against the reality that the rate of incoming campaign funds will likely slow in the coming months due to the ongoing economic fallout from the coronavirus.

"It's clear that we have people all across the country who are going through very difficult times and I think it's going to affect fundraising. We expect to see some dip in the quarter we just started," Bustos said, before adding, "Our members and our candidates have put in the work early."

MORE: Down-ballot candidates forge ahead as coronavirus reshapes 2020 campaign

With a dedicated hub, the DCCC will allow campaigns and volunteers to actively engage in races as the outbreak continues to isolate voters and keep social distancing and stay-at-home measures in place.

Underscoring the delicate balancing act for candidates between drawing political distinctions and responding to a public health crisis, at the top of the website is a link to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on COVID-19.

On Friday, coinciding with the launch, the DCCC is hosting a National Day of Action, a push targeting their email list to sign up and volunteer.

At the center of the day of action is the upcoming special election in Californias 25th congressional district, with a feature on the site encouraging Democrats to "join the CA-25 special election team," which brings users to a list of virtual campaign events for Christy Smith, the Democratic state lawmaker seeking to replace former Congresswoman Katie Hill, who resigned last year.

PHOTO: The Virtual Action Center is a new organizing platform from the DCCC to allow volunteers to sign up for variety of virtual phone banks, voter registration drives and house parties anywhere in the country. (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee)

Hills seat was a top target for Democrats in 2018, and after she flipped a longtime GOP-held district covering northern Los Angeles County, Democrats are hoping to retain their control. But standing in their way is Republican Mike Garcia, a former U.S. Naval officer who aims to take the seat back. The special election is on May 12.

The early turn in strategy by House Democrats is reflective of the radically uncharted terrain that is the campaign trail this cycle, with much of the changes happening on the fly.

"To me, the big uncertainty about planning right now is that we just don't know how long social distancing is going to be in place," Hahrie Han, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News. "So I think the real uncertainty, from a strategic standpoint, is what are the right investments for a campaign to make right now, not knowing what August is gonna look like."

Han, who is an expert in political organizing, said the current political climate does offer an opportunity for campaigns to connect with potential voters, if they have the adequate infrastructure in place.

"I actually think this is an opportunity for campaigns to do a lot of grassroots mobilizing in a way," she said. "If they have the right kind of volunteer base and field infrastructure, this is a great opportunity to reach out and make contact with a bunch of potential supporters."

Before the country found itself deep into the coronavirus crisis, House Democrats were gaming out how to expand their majority, seeing 2020 as an opportunity to broaden their battlefield.

Bustos remains adamant that the virus does not change the battlefield.

"Nobody could have predicted that we would be in the middle of a world-wide pandemic. Nobody could have predicted that we would be in this lockdown state," she said. "Those are things that are out of our control. You have to take control of what you can."

"We had a strategy from from day one...I don't see that we're going to change our battlefield," she added.

As it became clear that candidates would be sidelined and campaigns and parties would be forced to quickly adapt to the new reality, the campaign arm for the House majority adjusted its best-laid plans. The committee isnt just moving out front in the digital space - shifting their focus on engaging volunteers who are confined to their homes - but they are also actively pursuing litigation to expand mail voting in key states.

"We have invested major financial resources in making sure that we're protecting people's voting rights and we're opening up the opportunities for people to vote, not throw up barriers like they did on the other side of the aisle," Bustos said.

The DCCC, along with other Democratic groups, are investing resources to expand vote-by-mail efforts as coronavirus looms over the November general election.

The committee is bringing suits to challenge some aspects of vote-by-mail in Nevada and South Carolina amid the crisis, part of a broader trend among several voting rights groups around the country, which are all looking to alter the mechanisms of voting as COVID-19 wreaks havoc on the countrys electoral system. The DCCC has committed more than $10 million along with Senate Democrats campaign arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, on voting rights lawsuits.

MORE: Congress pours $400 million into boosting states' election efforts amid coronavirus crisis, experts say its 'not enough'

Across various lawsuits, the groups argue that voters should not have to choose between their health and casting a ballot. But meeting the demands requested via litigation is not cheap or easy for most states, though, since it includes updating voter registration infrastructure, and undertaking quick changes to election staffing and protocol.

But for their part, the campaign apparatus for House Republicans, too, is helping steer their candidates through the uncertain political landscape, adapting their tactics to meet the unprecedented moment.

Last month, in a memo from Congressman Tom Emmer, Bustos counterpart at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the committee sought to guide GOP members and candidates through the "unique challenge" the coronavirus is presenting.

PHOTO: Rep. Tom Emmer participates in the press conference following the House GOP leadership elections in the Longworth House Office Building, Nov. 14, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images, FILE)

The NRCC chairman outlined some advice for members including holding call time to reach out to constituents and check in on them, text solicitations for contributions via GOP Envoy, a peer-to-peer texting solution, hosting events over teleconference or videoconference, and bringing on colleagues to be "special guests," and shifting more heavily to online fundraising, among other guidelines.

The NRCC is also working with campaigns through the new reality "on a one-off basis" and on "conference calls," according to a spokesperson for the party committee.

Both the NRCC and the DCCC are prioritizing the threat of the pandemic above all else.

"Everyones priority should be the health and safety of their constituents and supporters, but being in touch with your supporters and fundraising can go hand-in-hand," Emmer writes in the memo.

Democrats say they are hoping to use the difficult time to highlight the work many of their members are doing in their communities to help their constituents cope with the crisis.

"We're not only adapting to this moment in history, we are embracing it from a campaign perspective," Bustos said. "Our campaigns are becoming relief organizations."

Some of the examples Bustos singled out to highlight those efforts include Congressman Josh Harder, of Californias 10th congressional district, using his campaign to organize a PPE drive, collecting more than 30,000 masks for doctors, nurses and first responders, and Max Rose, of New Yorks 2nd congressional district, re-joining the National Guard to support efforts in Staten Island as New York remains the epicenter of the crisis.

House Democrats ready virtual organizing as coronavirus derails ground games originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that he had "no information" about the health of Kim Jong Un, amid unconfirmed reports that the North Korean leader is unwell.

Guterres was responding to a question on whether any UN official had spoken to any North Korean official about the health and whereabouts of Kim.

"We have no information about the situation of Kim Jong Un," Guterres said during a virtual press briefing.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Kim is not in good health. The rumours began after he missed the April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim II Sung.

North Korea has not dispelled the rumours of ill health of its ruler.

According to reports, citing satellite images, a train likely belonging to Kim has been parked in his compound on the country's east coast for a week.

US President Donald Trump has said he has a "very good idea" about the status of Kim but he cannot talk about it.

"I can't tell you exactly - yes, I do have a very good idea but I can't talk about it now. I just wish him well," Trump told reporters at a White House news conference Monday.

The UN chief also said the US and China were "absolutely vital" countries in the international community and their contribution to fight the COVID-19 as well as in development of international relations was "absolutely essential", amid mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing in the wake of the pandemic.

"It is clear for me that the US and China are two extremely important elements in the international community both from the economic dimension, from the political dimension, from the military dimension. These are two absolutely vital countries," he said

The contribution of China and the United States to fight the COVID-19, and all other aspects in the development of international relations is "absolutely essential", he said.

Trump has lashed out at China over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far killed 229,447 people across the world and infected more than three million people.

In a interview on Wednesday, Trump said he believed China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic was proof that Beijing "will do anything they can" to make him lose his re-election bid in November.

Slamming Beijing for failing to contain the novel coronavirus at its origin, Trump said the virus outbreak "should have been stopped at the source, which was China. It should have been stopped very much at the source, but it wasn't. And now we have 184 countries going through hell."

The US has also accused China of covering up the extent of its coronavirus outbreak.

China has denied it and accused the US of attempting to divert the public attention by insinuating that the virus originated from a Wuhan lab.
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan handed down a 15-year jail term to a journalist who made critical comments on social media, just days ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.



Guiyang County People's Court sentenced journalist Chen Jieren to 15 years' imprisonment on April 30 after finding him guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," "extortion and blackmail," "illegal business activity," and "bribery."



The outspoken Chen had been fired from various state newspapers including Southern Weekend, China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and Peoples Daily.



He then took to social media platforms WeChat and Weibo, where he published online commentaries and investigative reports.

According to the court, Chen "used the internet to publish false or negative information, maliciously exaggerate certain mass incidents, attack and vilify the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party and the government, judicial organs and their staff, instigate troubles, and extort public and private property."



The overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said Chen had been deprived of a fair trial. It said Chinese state media had launched a smear campaign accusing Chen of various crimes and quoting police as saying that his online speech "sabotaged the reputation of the Party and the government and damaged the governments credibility" as early as August, while his formal arrest didn't come until November.

State media also published Chens confession while he was incommunicado in a secret detention facility, under "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL), CHRD said.



"Chens heavy punishment sends a chilling signal to online independent commentators and citizen journalists," the group said.



Threats of arrests, beatings



International press freedom groups also warned of growing curbs on media workers by China ahead of World Press Freedom Day.



International Press Institute executive director Barbara Trionfi said journalists around the world have found themselves confronted not only with the risk of infection, "but also with the threat of arrest, beatings or physical assault by security forces or criminal charges due to reporting on the virus."



"It is crucial that extraordinary restrictions on media imposed during the crisis do not become normalized and outlive the immediate health crisis, especially when it comes to lack of transparency by governments, lack of access by media to decision-makers and any form of surveillance hindering the press," Trionfi said.



The IPI said the situation is worsening in China.



"In already heavily censored China, the Communist Party further ramped up policing of the internet, suppressed unofficial media reporting and persecuted citizen journalists reporting on social media about the reality of the situation," the group warned in a report for World Press Freedom Day.



Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked China 177th out of 180 countries in an annual global press freedom index earlier this month.



Global disinformation campaign



RSF has also warned that Beijing has been running a "global disinformation campaign" ever since the start of the pandemic that has killed 150,000 people and infected more than two million others worldwide.



The campaign is designed to drown out critics who blame Beijing for the spread of the virus on the grounds that its censorship of early warnings delayed adoption of the necessary public health measures, RSF said in a statement on its website.



It cited claims by Chinese officials that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was brought to the central Chinese city of Wuhan by the U.S. army, or that it might have been circulating in parts of Italy before doctors were aware of the outbreak in China.



Publishing its annual Press Freedom Index, RSF said the Asia-Pacific region saw the greatest rise in press freedom violations in the past year, as China tries to export its system of information hyper-control beyond its own borders.



More than 100 journalists and bloggers are currently detained in China, in conditions that pose a threat to their lives, RSF said.



Hong Kong, which was promised press freedom under the terms of the 1997 handover to Chinese rule but which is seeing the ruling Chinese Communist Party take increasingly direct control of the city, also fell seven places because of its treatment of journalists during pro-democracy demonstrations, the report said.



The city's police force have threatened to pursue government broadcaster RTHK for allowing a commentator to accuse police of brutality and abuse of power on air.



Pro-democracy publisher arrested



The IPI meanwhile condemned the recent arrest in Hong Kong of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who founded the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper.



Lai was arrested along with 14 other pro-democracy figures on April 18 on charges of joining an anti-government protest in 2019.



"Alarm bells should be ringing loudly over the arrest of Jimmy Lai," IPI deputy director Scott Griffen said in a recent statement.



"His detention is a sign that while the world is distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, China is moving to clamp down on independent media in Hong Kong in the wake of the territorys pro-democracy movement."



"The arrest of Jimmy Lai is a threat to free press in Hong Kong from an undemocratic government," Mark Simon, spokesman for Lai's Next Media, said. "The real goal is to shut down the Next Media, in which Jimmy is the largest shareholder."



The IPI said that journalists were increasingly targeted by police as the anti-extradition and pro-democracy protests escalated in 2019.



"As the violence against journalists continued, several of them suffered injuries, including one who was splashed with corrosive liquid and another who was permanently blinded in one eye after being shot in the face with a police projectile," the group said.



"The incidents prompted some media outlets to partially recall their reporting crews from the front-line."



Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese and by the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Drug dealers are using food delivery drivers to smuggle their products around during coronavirus lockdowns, Interpol has warned.

The international policing organisation said on Thursday it had received reports of the tactic from countries including the UK, Ireland, Spain and Malaysia.

Cocaine, marijuana, ketamine and ecstasy were among the drugs identified as being transported by delivery drivers, who have become an even more common sight during the Covid-19 pandemic as restaurants have switched to become takeaways.

As well as actual delivery drivers working on the side for drug gangs, Interpol also said in some cases the drivers were unwittingly transporting illegal substances.

There have also been instances of dealers disguising themselves as food delivery workers wearing fake or stolen branded clothing.

How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Show all 6 1 /6 How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Milan, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities North Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Jakarta, Indonesia REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Venice, Italy REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities New Delhi, India REUTERS How coronavirus lockdowns changed the world's most polluted cities Islamabad, Pakistan REUTERS

In one case last month in Spain, the national police arrested seven people dressed as delivery drivers in Alicante and Valencia, after they were caught delivering cocaine and marijuana hidden in food takeaway backpacks.

In Ireland, officers discovered 8kg of cocaine and two handguns hidden inside pizza boxes supposedly on their way to be delivered to a family in lockdown.

Senior anti-narcotics officials have warned large Latin American drug cartels have sent larger than usual cocaine shipments across the ocean to Europe in recent weeks, including one hidden inside a legitimate load of squid, Reuters news agency reported.

Ironically, there have also been examples of drug dealers turning to food distribution. In South Africa, one church pastor has corralled drug gangs which rule the informal shanty town settlements in Cape Town into delivering food parcels to families struggling under the lockdown.

Some British police forces have reported the quiet streets during the pandemic have assisted their crackdown against drug dealers, as they are now easier to identify on the empty pavements and street corners.

 Violent gangs in South Africa call a truce to help people during pandemic

Detective Superintendent Jo Banks, from Sussex Police, said last month her officers were making far more arrests than normal because drug activity now stands out.

Other forces have seen drug dealers dress up as postal delivery workers, joggers, and even nurses to give them an excuse to be out and about during the lockdown, according to Vice.

In Liverpool, some dealers have reportedly even taken to carrying a box of groceries in their car at all times so they could claim they were on their way to help out a grandparent if pulled over by police.

As well as complicating the situation for drug dealers, the pandemic has had a significant impact on those battling drug addiction.

The strict lockdowns imposed across Europe in particular have caused problems for those who rely on regular treatment and support services to combat their addictions, Politico has reported.

Those who use methadone as an opioid substitute have in some places been forced to regularly travel far from their homes despite the lockdown, even though they are considered by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control as particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 because of the likelihood of pre-existing health problems such as HIV infections or hepatitis.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday invoked a rarely used state law, putting Gallup on lockdown for three days in an attempt to slow the coronavirus outbreak that has been running rampant across northwest New Mexico.

The emergency order under the states Riot Control Act closed all roads going into Gallup for most non-residents and directed Gallup residents to stay at home unless its absolutely necessary to go outside.

It took effect at noon Friday and will last until Monday, though some Gallup civic leaders said they expect Lujan Grisham will end up extending it.

In issuing the order, Lujan Grisham said a COVID-19 outbreak in one part of New Mexico poses a problem for the entire state.

The spread of this virus in McKinley County is frightful, the governor said, and it shows that physical distancing has not occurred and is not occurring. The virus is running amok there. It must be stopped, and stricter measures are necessary.

In addition to closing roads, the three-day emergency order mandates that all businesses in Gallup be closed from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. during the lockdown, with the exception of medical facilities, and that no more than two people travel together in a vehicle.

The drastic order is aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus in one of northwest New Mexicos largest cities  and a shopping destination for many members of the Navajo Nation and other outlying areas.

Gallup is the seat of McKinley County, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, with 1,064 confirmed cases and 20 deaths, as of Friday.

That means more than 1 out of every 100 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19, based on 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

New Mexicos total death toll from the coronavirus hit 131 on Friday, with state health officials reporting eight additional deaths due to complications from COVID-19.

The most recent deaths included three from nursing homes in San Juan County  a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 80s who were residents at Life Care Center in Farmington, and a woman in her 90s who was a resident of Cedar Ridge Inn in Farmington.

In all, the state now has 3,513 confirmed cases of the virus, though infection rates have slowed in other parts of the state.

As of Friday, there were 159 people hospitalized in New Mexico due to COVID-19 and state officials have designated 785 people as having recovered from the disease  or about 22.3% of those infected.

Drastic measures needed

Bill Lee, CEO of the Gallup McKinley County Chamber of Commerce, said Gallups usual population of roughly 22,000 can swell to 100,000 people or more on weekends and paydays when people from around the area come to do their shopping.

That role as a regional trade center has made it difficult to enforce social distancing guidelines and the outgoing mayor of Gallup asked Lujan Grisham on Thursday to put the city on lockdown.

The order could have an economic impact and Lee said in an interview: If I told you the business community was happy about it, I would not be telling you the full truth.

But he said most business owners were hopeful the emergency order would be a positive development  if it ends up reducing person-to-person contact.

We have to take some drastic measures to flatten the curve and slow the virus  so that we can get our economy rolling again, Lee told the Journal.

Elected officials in the city  and in nearby tribal areas  have also backed the governors action.

Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, a Gallup Democrat and chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, said she hopes limiting traffic in and out of Gallup provides some relief.

Were keeping our fingers crossed out here that this thing will turn around, Lundstrom said.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez also applauded the restrictions imposed by Lujan Grisham and urged tribal members to stay home as much as possible to restrict the spread of COVID-19.

A crisis of the highest order

Shortly after Fridays emergency order was announced, the state Department of Transportation said it had set up roadblocks to restrict traffic going into Gallup from all directions.

Interstate 40, which passes through Gallup, will remain open, as will nearby truck stops and rest areas, DOT spokeswoman Marisa Maez said.

But checkpoints were set up on all I-40 exits and off-ramps, and message boards alerting drivers to the lockdown were posted along roadways on the outskirts of Gallup, Maez added.

Only residents of Gallup, those who work in the city and members of the media will be able to pass through the checkpoints, which are being manned by State Police and New Mexico National Guard members.

Under the state Riot Control Act, local leaders, including mayors and sheriffs, can ask the governor to proclaim a state of emergency in an affected area.

While Lujan Grisham issued the emergency order, she did not prohibit the sale of alcohol or ban possession of guns or other weapons outside personal residences, also allowable actions under the law.

I recognize this request is unusual and constitutes a drastic measure, and the emergency powers set out under the Riot Control Act should be invoked sparingly, new Gallup Mayor Louis Bonaguidi said Friday. However, the COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Gallup is a crisis of the highest order.

Gallup civic leaders say the coronavirus outbreak has stretched the citys medical facilities and resources to their capacity.

And even before the lockdown order, Gallup city officials and area legislators had asked the New Mexico National Guard to help enforce social distancing guidelines at grocery stores.

Roughly 50 National Guard members were deployed for the purpose last month.

Journal staff writers Dan McKay and Elise Kaplan contributed to this report.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the number of Covid-19 cases in the national Capital is high because his government has scaled up testing for the disease and said there is nothing to rumours that say plasma therapy trials in Delhi could be stopped.

The CM added that the trials are going on in full swing and that the government has identified over 1,000 more donors.

In a digital address to the media, Kejriwal said Delhi is conducting as many as 2,300 Covid-19 tests per million population, which is higher than the national average of around 500 tests per million. At present, Delhi has conducted over 50,000 tests, of which about 7,000 are in the containment zones.

Delhis dashboard on Friday stood at 3,738 positive cases. The city-state has 96 containment zones, spread across all 11 districts that have been marked as red zones.

When we see that Delhi has recorded over 3,500 cases till now, the number may appear to be very high. But, this is because we are testing aggressively. That is also why we are setting up so many containment zones so that the detected cases can be isolated and the chain of transmission can be broken, Kejriwal said.

He also said that analysing the national data, Delhi has more recoveries and fewer deaths than other states.

As per ICMR data until April 30, Delhi had the lowest fatality rate, 1.7% of total cases, among the five states with the highest number of cases. The national average is 3.3%.

Rajasthan, however, had the highest recovery rate, of 34.4%, followed by Delhi, at 31.1%. The national average 25.19%.

PLASMA THERAPY TRIAL

Asserting that initial results of the plasma therapy trials have been positive, the chief minister said that these will not be discontinued. A few days ago, the Central government had made some remarks (about the use of the therapy) after which many people asked me if Delhi is discontinuing the trials. No, we are not. In fact, trials are going on in full swing, he said. His reference is to the health ministrys clarification that the experimental treatment can only be done as a trial, and with requisite regulatory approval.

Kejriwal also said that almost all the 1,100 people who recovered in Delhi are willing to donate plasma.

We got permission from the Centre to conduct plasma trials at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. The first patient to have recovered has been discharged. He was very serious and was in the ICU (intensive care unit). So, the initial results are very promising, the chief minister said.

MORE RATION FROM THIS MONTH

On the occasion of the International Labour Day, Kejriwal announced that the Delhi government will be increasing the free ration quota to every cardholder from this month.

We are increasing the quantum of ration from 7.5kg to 10kg per person from this month and it will continue to be free. Usually, ration cardholders were entitled to 5kg of ration at subsidised rates. Last month, we had made it free and increased it by 1.5 times to 7.5kg. So, this month we have doubled peoples ration quota from what it was during non-Covid times, he said.

The chief minister also said that the government will soon begin distribution of kits having oils, rice, chillies, salt, soap, etc. He also urged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers to help the needy people in their respective areas.

MOVEMENT OF STUDENTS AND MIGRANT WORKERS

The Delhi government on Friday sent 45 buses from Delhi to Kota, to ferry back students stranded in the Rajasthan town. Senior government officials said that at least 800 students are expected to return to the Capital.

I am hoping that by tomorrow, these buses will come back, Kejriwal said.

The Centre, last week, allowed inter-state movement of students, migrant workers, tourists, pilgrims and others, said Kejriwal, adding that the Delhi government is in talks with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand to facilitate the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims and others who want to go return to their home town.

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Jammu: India and Pakistan troops on Friday (May 1) exchanged gunfire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Hajipeer sector of Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. According to an official, Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire and resorted to heavy shelling on Indian Army post in Uri after which the Indian Army gave a befitting reply.

Locals reports said that panic gripped in the area on Friday morning after heavy shelling took place between troops of both sides.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla, Abdul Qayoom also confirmed the shelling along LoC, saying no loss of life or injury was reported during shelling in the area.
International navy ships perform a controlled breakaway during a photo exercise off the coast of Hawaii for the Rim of Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2018, on July 26, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan M. Kinee/Released)

Large-Scale Pacific Maritime Exercises Get Green Light, Despite Pandemic

The worlds largest maritime exercises have been given the green light again this year despite the CCP virus pandemic, but will be pushed later into the summer with a compressed time frame.

Sailors involved in the RIMPAC exercises will also not be heading ashore for free time in Hawaii, with the biennial exercises this year limited to an at-sea-only event, according to the U.S. Navy.

After several weeks of speculation that the event may be canceled due to COVID-19, the Navy on April 28 announced that it would be hosting the event from Aug. 17-31less than half the usual time.

RIMPAC (or Rim of Pacific Exercise) has been running every other year since 1971.

RIMPAC is designed to foster and sustain cooperative relationships, critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, said the Navy in a statement. The exercise, which takes place in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian islands, is a unique training platform designed to enhance interoperability and strategic maritime partnerships. In 2018, 26 nations participated in and around Hawaii.

China was disinvited from those 2018 exercises and is unlikely to be included on this years final roll call.

In these challenging times, it is more important than ever that our maritime forces work together to protect vital shipping lanes and ensure freedom of navigation through international waters, said Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. John Aquilino. And we will operate safely, using prudent mitigation measures.

The exercises will not include social events ashore where there will be only a minimal footprint of staff ashore for command and control, logistics, and other support functions.

Some other joint military exercises have been cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19.

Such joint exercises arent just geopolitical chest-beating, but a key ingredient of military power, according to Sidharth Kaushal, research fellow in sea power at the Royal United Services Institute.

Under a wartime scenario, troops are operating almost on autopilot, Kaushal previously told The Epoch Times. That constant drumbeat of exercises is critical, particularly if you are operating with allies that dont always work with you all year round. [Its] that readiness that allows things to move like clockwork in wartime.

While missing one round of exercises wouldnt degrade effectiveness much, he says, in the longer term, the effect would be more pronounced.

The U.S. military has emphasized in recent weeks that readiness remains high, despite the CCP virus pandemic.

The USS Nimitz CVN 68, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, arrives at a naval base in the South Korean port city of Busan, southeast of Seoul on Feb. 28, 2008. (Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.S. Navy has been adapting to the challenges of the pandemic, taking lessons from the outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is now reembarking sailors after being sidelined for over a month.

The Pentagon is prioritizing making sure crews are virus-free when they head out on deployment, which means concentrating testing and quarantine in the time window just before deployment.

The carrier USS Nimitz set sail for training on April 27but only after a 27-day quarantine period and testing all of the crew.
The news can be disheartening these days, but there are always good things happening too. From coronavirus recoveries to community members doing good deeds and more, here are 12 pieces of news from this week in Connecticut that might lift your spirits.
Global Health Officials Warn of Second or Third Wave of COVID-19

'COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon,' says senior WHO official

A senior official at the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that people in countries across the globe must be prepared for a second or third wave of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, until a vaccine is available.

Dr. Hans Kluge, the head of the WHO in Europe, said in an April 30 statement in Copenhagen, Denmark, that Europe remains very much in the grip of the pandemic, despite positive signs it was passing the peak.

Tragically, 129,344 people in Europe have now lost their lives. My thoughts and deepest sympathy are with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, Kluge said.

Every country is mapping out its route to a new normal, and every country is at a different place, he said.

The COVID-19 death count in the United States on Friday hit 63,927, according to a Worldometers tally, while the number of infections neared 1.1 million.

Kluge called on countries to prolong strategies to curb the spread of the virus.

We must maintain the full arsenal of measures we have to suppress transmission, Kluge said, adding, COVID-19 is not going away any time soon.

The WHO officials remarks echo a warning by Americas top infectious disease expert and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said the virus is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Fauci said in an interview with the Economic Club on Tuesdaythe same day the number of infections in the United States topped a millionthat he is almost certain there will be repeated outbreaks because of how contagious it is and how widely it has spread across the globe.

In my mind, its inevitable that we will have a return of the virus or maybe it never went away, he added.

Key to keeping the death count down in the United States as states begin to lift lockdowns and reopen economies are COVID-19 testing, isolating the sick, and contact tracing.

If by that time we have put into place all of the countermeasures that you need to address this, we should do reasonably well, Fauci said. If we dont do that successfully, we could be in for a bad fall and a bad winter.

Speaking at a White House briefing on April 22, Fauci described what he said was a successful formula for containment and mitigation.

We were starting to see some turnaround, some flattening, and some coming down, he said of infection and death counts nationwide.

So what has happened is that the mitigation that we put in with the first 15 days and then the 30-day mitigation program of physical distancing worked, he said. So it got us to where we are today. It is a successful formula. It is the basis for our being able to say that we can now think seriously about reopening America.

There are certain checkpoints before you can even think about going into a phase one, and then things relax a little as you go into phase two, and relax a little and you go into phase three, he said, speaking of conditions outlined in the administrations plan for a phased approach to reopening.

Although I know one has the need to leapfrog over things, dont do that. Do it in a measured way. This is a successful formula. The problem is if we dont do that, there is a likelihood that well have a rebound, Fauci said.
Dr Auguste Rollier (centre) examines a patient at the heliotherapy Clinique Miremont, Leysin, Switzerland. Credit: Clinique Miremont postcard

The suggestion from the US president, Donald Trump, that COVID-19 could be treated with light was rightly criticised by scientists and clinicians, but sunlight has long been seen as a cure for disease, leading to a boom in "heliotherapy" 100 years ago.

In the 19th century, when industrialisation and urbanisation had drastically reduced the amount of time people spent in the sun, concerns about the effects of lack of sunlight became widespread. In 1903, Niels Ryberg Finsen (18601904) earned a Nobel Prize in medicine for his pioneering work in the field of phototherapy. Light therapies that involved exposure to both natural and artificial lamps became popular, and there was a proliferation of theories about the best way to administer light.

At the same time, nudism and naturalism were gaining in popularity, and the sight of tanned skin began to be associated with health and beauty. Medical theories praised the benefits of sun exposure through the practice of taking "sunbaths".

The Swiss doctor Auguste Rollier (1874-1954) was the most prominent sun advocate at the time. In numerous publications and at international congresses, he argued that the sun could heal a wide variety of lesionssyphilitic ulcers, all kinds of burns and fracturesas well as rickets and tuberculosis, the "white death". Sun exposure could also have a positive effect on one's mood and overall outlook.

But strict discipline and expert supervision were indispensable for the treatment to be effective. Rollier conceded that one could sunbathe anywhere and obtain some benefit. But he felt picking the proper climate was essential. If too hot, the sun "depresses and congests"if too cold, it could be dangerous.

He also argued that the proper technique should be followed, and for this reason he was critical of those who attempted sunbathing without medical supervision. He decried their "snobbism"as he saw it, they deemed it unnecessary to seek expert advice. He scorned their goal of merely "acquiring in record time a tan darker than their neighbour's", and emphatically listed the possible medical consequences, from erythema (redding of the skin) and sunburns, vertigo and palpitations, to lung and brain congestion.

The proper technique eliminated all barriers between the sun's radiation and the body, and managed exposure in carefully timed increments. He used a specific chart that indicated the exact number of minutes each body part required, starting by revealing only the feet and extending the amount of the body and the length of time exposed to light with each day. All reactions, including headaches or lack of appetite, had to be carefully monitored so as to be able to adjust the therapy. Hats and sunglasses were recommended, as was moderate exercise.

By 1930, Rollier ran 37 heliotherapic clinics housing a total of 1,100 patients of all social classes. The Swiss town of Leysin where he was based became home to 80 treatment centres, hosting 3,000 patients, 50 doctors, and 300 nurses.

A lasting effect

Before antibiotic treatments became available, time in a solar sanatorium was effective for treating tuberculosis, and the associated conditions which could develop in long-term and untreated cases. Scientists later discovered that UV rays could destroy the bacteria that caused the disease. It was also effective at curing rickets by helping the patients' bodies develop vitamin D through sun exposure.

But heliotherapy also contributed to a much deeper holistic healing process. Rollier treated the "whole patient" (malade tout entier), paying attention to both physical and emotional health. Each person arrived with "a heart heavy with pains, preoccupations and inquietudes". The sunlight, warmth and calm of the sanatorium may have encouraged the body to create endorphins and boosted the patient's sense of wellbeing and positivity.

Many of his patients came from poor backgrounds and lived in very unhealthy conditions. In Leysin, some people would work in an agricultural colony or on machinery especially installed by their bed (notably at the Clinique Manufacture Internationale), where they could benefit from sun exposure while reducing the cost of their treatment. Rollier believed the "joy" of being in the open air, together with the pride and satisfaction of supporting oneself, would do much for the overall improvement of the patients' morale, spirit and, ultimately, physical health.

Rollier's all-encompassing approach sought to treat not just the physical but the psychospiritual aspects of the patient, without which he felt his treatments would not progress. Despite the absence of formal transcendent elements, his approach had a quasi-religious quality that sought to give life meaning, purpose and a vision to guide both present and futurean approach he felt would benefit not just individuals but the world as a whole. Rollier thought of his clinics as a forum where patients from various countries could meet and interact in a friendly environment. He saw them as a workshop to build international cooperation and peace.

Newly developed antibiotics as well as cancers and other pathologies caused by overexposure to the sun's rays have since robbed the sun of its status as a entirely beneficial source of health (although phototherapy is still used for certain conditions such as psoriasis). But Rollier's humane and holistic approach still resonates in our time, as he sought to address issues ranging from mental health to conflict to social inequalitywhich remain far from being solved a century on.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
An email from an infectious disease specialist in Utah has drawn scrutiny to the accuracy of coronavirus tests provided by a private company contracted to roll out the same test kits in Nebraska.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Thursday the tests provided by Nomi Health may require a higher limit of detection to return a positive result, meaning some people who may have contracted COVID-19 would show up as negative.

Only 2% of the tests conducted at Test Utah sites  the public-private partnership that served as a template for Test Nebraska  were positive since April 1, the newspaper reported.

That's compared to a 5% return of positive tests from other testing sites in Utah.

Dr. Bert Lopansri, an infectious disease specialist at Intermountain Healthcare, wrote April 14 that he worried about tests in Utah being routed to a small community hospital lab with little experience testing for viruses, particularly when using "a test from an unknown company without much in vitro diagnostic experience."

But CEO Mark Newman of Nomi Health, which is contracted to provide up to 540,000 test kits as part of the Test Nebraska initiative, said the Test Utah program targets a different population than other tests done in the state, and that an "apples-to-apples" comparison wasn't possible.

Still, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, state health officials are exploring the discrepancy.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the $27 million partnership with Nomi Health, which is providing the tests produced by Co-Diagnostics; Qualtrics, which designed the online health assessment more than 100,000 Nebraskans have used since the program was announced; and Domo Inc., which provides data analytics, on April 22.

According to the state's contract with Nomi Health, the test kits "must be capable of producing accurate results a majority of the time when properly conducted or administered."

Speaking at his daily news briefing Thursday afternoon, Ricketts said he scanned the Salt Lake Tribune article about the accuracy of the Test Utah results, but had not seen any actual data about their validity.

Ricketts said the technology used by Nomi Health to process the tests, polymerase chain-reaction machines that scan the nasal swabs used to collect samples, is not new technology and that the state vetted the company and spoke with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds before engaging with the three Utah-based companies.

A major draw was the ability to set up a turnkey testing regimen, Ricketts said. Health care professionals from Nebraska will be setting up, calibrating and operating the lab that processes the Test Nebraska kits when they are deployed in Omaha and Grand Island in the coming days.

"We'll know what the accuracy is when we get it up and running," he said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS
Karisma Kapoor has shared a family portrait on Instagram, a day after her uncle Rishi Kapoor breathed his last at a Mumbai hospital after a two-year battle with leukaemia. The picture includes Neetu Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Babita Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rima Jain, Armaan Jain, Aadar Jain and Kunal Kapoor, among other members of the family.

The photo left fans emotional, with many of them saying in the comments section that they will miss Rishi. We will miss you, one user wrote. Miss you dear Rishi Kapoor sir. Aap bhot yad aavoga (You will be missed a lot). Love you sir. Aap Dilma rhoga hmara (You will live on in our hearts), another wrote.

Rishi died on Thursday morning after a long battle with illness. His family said in a statement that he continued to be jovial throughout his cancer treatment. He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him, the statement read.

He was grateful for the love of his fans that poured in from the world over. In his passing, they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears, it added.

Also read | Rakesh Roshan says Ranbir Kapoor consoled him after Rishi Kapoors death: Instead of me consoling him, he comforted me

Rishi is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, son Ranbir Kapoor and daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni. His last rites were performed at the Chandanwadi Crematorium on Thursday evening.

Riddhima could not make it to the funeral in Mumbai from Delhi, due to the coronavirus lockdown. She has received special permission to travel by road and shared an emotional message on Instagram stories, wishing that she could say goodbye to Rishi one last time.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Which makes it feel all the more special when something, amazingly, does happen  when the old fun imperative kicks in and a plan is spun into motion. The Saturday night dreamscape has contracted to fit the contours of our apartments and our screens; our social circles have shrunken to comprise just our families, our partners, our roommates, our cats, ourselves. But there are still adventures to be pursued on Saturday night, even if they are now rendered in miniature. The billions of people around the world who are in various states of lockdown are improvising new rituals, reinventing ways to make the night feel distinct from every other night.
Around 4,000 stranded persons, mostly migrant workers, registered with the Punjab government on Friday stating they intend to return home.

The registrations were done online after the state government started the exercise through Cova App, a central app for all covid-19 related information and management, to allow them to return to their home states. The registration will remain open till May 3 and we expect another 96,000 to register in the next 48 hours, said a senior officer. Lakhs of migrant labourers have been stranded in different parts of the state without work since the imposition of curfew on March 23.

A large number of migrants in the state are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Another 1,000 persons have registered to return to Punjab from other states. Additional chief secretary, home, Satish Chandra also wrote to divisional railway managers (DRMs), Ambala and Ferozepur, on Friday for making arrangements for the movement of stranded persons, stating that over 1 lakh of them are expected to get themselves register by May 3.

As a pre-emptive measure, adequate arrangements must be made by the railways to create adequate facilities at Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Bathinda railway stations in order to ensure smooth travel, he wrote, urging them to appoint nodal officers at each of these railway stations to monitor and coordinate the travel arrangements.

Once the registration is completed, the state government will intimate the exact number of railway stations and place with specific indents for passenger trains on a point-to-point basis. All necessary arrangement to ensure smooth movement of stranded persons, including issuance of medical certificates, security social distancing norms will be made by the district authorities, Chandra added. Though the railways have also agreed to run special trains to take the stranded migrants, students and others home, the first such train is unlikely to leave the state before May 5.
President Donald Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington on June 24, 2019. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

Trump Says He Would Certainly Consider Bringing Flynn Back Into His Administration

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would consider bringing Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, back into his administration in a different role.

Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017, to one count of lying to FBI agents during a Jan. 24, 2017 interview. However, documents released Wednesday fuel assertions from the president that Flynn was tormented by the FBI and that the bureau tried to intentionally frame him.

I would certainly consider it, yeah. I think hes a fine man, Trump told reporters, without specifying which role he might give to Flynn. I think its terrible what [the FBI] did to him.

Trump added that he believes Flynn will be fully exonerated based on the emergence of new evidence in his criminal case.

It looks to me like Flynn would be fully exonerated based on everything I see. Im not a judge but I have a different type of power, Trump told reporters Thursday.

The internal FBI documents turned over by the Justice Department on Wednesday show that the FBI concluded there were no more leads to follow in the Flynn probe nearly three weeks before Peter Strzok, then-head of the bureaus counterintelligence operations, and another agent conducted the January 2017 interview.

Whats our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? an FBI official wrote, dating the notes Jan. 24, 2017, and signing with initials EP, reportedly standing for Edward William Priestap, then-FBI head of counterintelligence.

If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act, give facts to DOJ & have them decide. Or, if he initially lies, then we present him [redacted] & he admits it, document for DOJ, & let them decide how to address it.

If were seen as playing games, WH will be furious. Protect our institution by not playing games, the note reads.

The notes were handed over to Flynn as a result of an ongoing review of his case by Jeffrey Jensen, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, who was directed in January to perform the review by Attorney General William Barr.

In January, Flynn had asked Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was presiding over the case, to allow him to withdraw his original guilty plea, saying he only entered it because his former lawyers hadnt represented him effectively at the time.

What happened to General Michael Flynn, a war hero, should never be allowed to happen to a citizen of the United States again!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2020

Trump blamed Flynns predicament on dirty cops and said the documents show Flynn, who was ousted from his position in February 2017, was a victim.

They were trying to force him to lie, Trump added.

Hes in the process of being exonerated. If you look at those notes from yesterday, that was total exoneration, the president said Thursday.

The unsealing of the documents come after the president last month said that he was strongly considering pardoning Flynn.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence said during a trip to Indiana on Thursday that Flynns actions may have been unintentional.

Im deeply troubled by the revelations of what appeared to have been investigative abuse by officials in the Justice Department. And were going to continue to look into that very carefully, Pence said.

My respect for General Flynn personally for his service to the country is undiminished. And I am inclined more than ever to believe that what he communicated to me back during the transition leading to our inauguration, that was unintentional and notand that he was not attempting to misrepresent facts, he added.

Petr Svab and Reuters contributed to this report.
A crowd of about 150 people defied stay-at-home orders in San Francisco Friday afternoon to gather and protest the ongoing shelter-in-place orders in the state of California.

Those in the crowd in Civic Center argued for reopening businesses in California despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and the looming threat of contagion. There are currently 1,523 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in San Francisco, as of Friday morning.

Some protesters held signs reading "Isolation and mass unemployment will cause more death than COVID-19" and "Give me liberty, or give me a 0.02% chance of death." Other protesters held signs expressing a false belief that the global coronavirus pandemic is a hoax.

The protest was organized by Clint Griess, whom SFist reports is also working on the campaign for Nancy Pelosi's Republican challenger John Dennis. A site advertising the gathering outlines talking points for those speaking to the media, advising protesters to say they are demanding Newsom "fully reopen California now."

The sample statement also says the shelter-in-place strips people "of their rights to freedom of religion," referring to the temporary closures of churches.

The protest page also includes instructions for protesters to follow CDC guidelines and remain six feet away from each other. Many in attendance at the protest did not appear to comply with that guidance, though many were wearing cloth face masks.

In California, many non-essential businesses remain closed while the state remains in "Phase 1" of its easing of social distancing guidelines. Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday, however, that the state is "very close to making very meaningful augmentations to that stay-at-home order," adding that it will be "many days, not weeks" before California moves towards Phase 2.

Simultaneously elsewhere in Civic Center, another protest demanded Newsom "cancel rent" during the shelter-in-place.

SFGATE has reached out to the San Francisco Sheriff's Office for more information.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira


Top Indian actor Rishi Kapoor, a scion of Bollywoods most famous Kapoor family, has died. He was 67 and had leukemia.

Indias Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan tweeted on Thursday Rishi Kapoor gone.Just passed away I am destroyed.

Kapoor was hospitalized in Mumbai on Wednesday and died on Thursday, according to a family statement.

He returned to India last September after undergoing treatment in the United States for almost a year. He was hospitalized twice in February.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Kapoor was a powerhouse of talent. I will always recall our interactions, even on social media. He was passionate about films and Indias progress.

His father Raj Kapoor and grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor were doyens of Bollywood, the vast Hindi-language film industry based in the western coastal city of Mumbai.

He received the National Film Award for his debut role as a child artist in his fathers 1970 film Mera Naam Joker. He acted in more than 90 films.

His wife, Neetu Singh, co-starred in several of his films. His son Ranbir Kapoor is a current top Bollywood actor.

In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by a daughter.

Rahul Gandhi, a Congress party leader, said this was a terrible week for Indian cinema as another top actor Irrfan Khan died on Wednesday, also of cancer. He said Kapoor had a huge fan following across generations.

Film star Priyanka Chopra said Kapoors death was the end of an era. #Rishisir your candid heart and immeasurable talent will never be encountered again.

Born September 4, 1952 into the prolific Kapoor dynasty  which has produced four generations of actors including his son, Ranbir  he made his debut in the 1970s epic Mera Naam Joker (My Name is Joker).

He received Indias National Award for best child actor for his performance in the film, which his father Raj produced, directed and starred in.

But it was his later persona as a romantic lead that won him legions of fans.

They flocked to cinemas to see him sing, dance and charm his way into their hearts in films such as the 1973 superhit Bobby and the 1975 thriller Khel Khel Mein (While Playing).

 Bollywood royalty 

His trademark look  a sweater tied around his shoulders as he courted chiffon sari-clad leading ladies in the Swiss Alps  became shorthand for stylish Bollywood romance.

He was frequently cast opposite Neetu Singh  who he later married and raised two children with  jewellery designer Riddhima and Bollywood heart-throb Ranbir.

Bona fide Bollywood royalty, Kapoor churned out hits as a solo hero, playing a lovelorn youth in the 1976 romance Laila Majnu and a rockstar in the 1980 musical thriller Karz (Debt).

But he also felt secure enough to take second billing in blockbusters such as the 1977 comedy Amar Akbar Anthony  starring Bachchan and Vinod Khanna  although hed frequently steal the show.

He enjoyed an easy chemistry with male and female co-stars, playing Bachchans younger brother in the 1981 melodrama Naseeb (Destiny) and his son in the 2018 film 102 Not Out.

 Versatile star 

As Kapoor grew older the romantic roles dried up, allowing him the opportunity to display greater versatility.

He terrified audiences as a human trafficker in 2012s Agneepath (Path of Fire) and won applause for his portrayal of a cantankerous porn-watching grandfather in 2016s Kapoor & Sons.

His forays behind the camera were less successful.

A 1999 directorial debut Aa Ab Laut Chalen (Come, Lets Go Back Now) was panned by critics, becoming the last movie produced under the R.K. Films banner established by his father.

In a 2016 interview with talk show host Simi Garewal, he praised members of Bollywoods younger generation for taking more chances with their work.

We in our times never got a chance to (do) one film at one time we survived, he said.

He was never afraid to speak candidly, whether about his movies  most of which deserved to be forgotten, he joked to Garewal  or about his struggles with alcoholism.

In recent years he won a legion of new and younger fans with his frank, and often funny, tweets.

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2018 he sought treatment in New York, but was looking to resume work shortly with plans to film a remake of the 2015 Hollywood production The Intern.

He was forced to return to hospital this month, where, his family said, the doctors and medical staff said he kept them entertained to the last.

He was grateful for the love of his fans they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears.View reactions (2)

SOURCE: AFP AND AP
Canadas opposition leader recently said the country needs to rethink its relationship with China. So how are China-Canada relations and whats the significance during the pandemic?

In the early morning of Oct. 8, 1970, as Chinas Communist leader Mao Zedong learned that China and Canada were establishing diplomatic relations, he reportedly laughed and said, we now have a friend in Americas backyard!

In the decades that followed, Canada helped China secure a seat on the United Nations General Assembly and become a member of the World Trade Organization. It also gave tens of millions of dollars in aid to China and sold it nuclear reactors.

Canada invested 250 million canadian dollars ($181 million) into the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), an institute launched by China to raise funds for its global expansion campaign, the Belt and Road initiative.

But as the CCP virus emerged from China in late 2019, the regimes Canadian friend was kept in the dark just like every other country.

Ottawa refused to restrict travel from China until March, even though over 50 countries implemented some restrictions at their borders in early February. Ottawas move was praised by Beijing.

In February, Canadas Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, an adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), argued against blocking travel from China, citing guidelines by the WHO.

The reason the World Health Organization doesnt recommend something like this is that, in general, it may do more harm than good., Tam said at a parliament hearing. Having measures that very negatively affect a certain country thats trying very hard to do its best can impede whether this country in the future will ever share anything transparently with others. China posted the virus genome very fast. What are they getting out of it? I think the idea is to support China.

Canadian physician and WHO adviser Bruce Aylward repeatedly praised Chinas response to the outbreak, but refused to recognize Taiwans efforts, despite the islands few cases given its proximity to China.

If you ever had any doubt about the Chinese communist party's influence over the @WHO, this short, crazy clip, an @rthk_news (#HongKong) interview on #CCPvirus with WHO official Dr. Bruce Aylward will clear that up. Deeply troubling.pic.twitter.com/itf9RNV7yl  Jan Jekielek ???? (@JanJekielek) March 28, 2020

The WHO has blocked Taiwan from joining the organization under pressure from China.

As of Friday, over 50,000 Canadians have been infected with the CCP virus and nearly 3,000 have died.

Calls are now growing in Canada to rethink the countrys relationship with the Chinese regime. Many Canadians have called for the rethink since before the outbreak. Chinas reaction to the arrest of Huaweis CFO was the wake-up call.

In December 2018, at the request of the United States, Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the companys founder Ren Zhengfei, who is a former member of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

The United States charged Meng and Huawei with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

NTD previously obtained group chat messages between former Huawei employees. One said he can prove that Huawei was selling sanctioned goods to Iran. The employee was later arrested by Chinese authorities.

After Mengs arrest, China arrested two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a former diplomat and a businessman, respectively. The incident was seen as retaliation for Mengs arrest.

Meng is out on bail and living in her multi-million dollar Vancouver home. The two Canadians, however, are still jailed in China.

Last week marked 500 days since their detention. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had been working extremely diligently on the issue.

The Chinese Communist Party does not believe in the rule of law, Jonathan Manthorpe, Canadian journalist and author told NTD in a previous interview. I mean, if your first reaction, when you have a problem with Canada is you kidnap two senior Canadians, we cant, we cant work with a government like that.

But some dont see it this way.

After Mengs arrest, Canadas former foreign affairs minister John Manley criticized the Canadian government for arresting the Huawei CFO, saying they should have exercised a little bit of creative incompetence.

According to Canadian public media CBC News, Manley sits on the board of Telus, which, like many Canadian telecommunication companies, has business relations with Huawei.

Another of Mengs sympathizers is the former Canadian Ambassador to China John McCallum. Last January he spoke in front of Chinese media, including state media CCTV and Xinhua, and listed out three arguments Meng can make before a judge to avoid extradition to the United States.

One, political involvement by comments from [President] Donald Trump in her case. Two, theres an extraterritorial aspect to her case, and three, theres the issue of Iran sanctions which are involved in her case, and Canada does not sign on to these Iran sanctions. So I think she has some strong arguments that she can make before a judge, McCallum reportedly said.

Critics say McCallum undermined the independence of Canadas judicial process by basically offering legal advice to Meng. A former ambassador to China called the comments mind-boggling.

McCallum was eventually forced to resign by Trudeau.

Canadian media The Globe and Mail reported that when McCallum was a member of parliament for the opposition Liberal party, he reportedly began to travel extensively to China at the expense of Beijing-friendly groups. He took trips valued at $73,300 from China or pro-Beijing business groups.

The whole story of John McCallum ought to be a warning to Canadian politicians and the Canadian government, that they have to be very careful in how they deal with the Chinese Communist Party and Beijing, and the people they appoint to positions in that relationship, Manthorpe said.

Trips like this are commonly used by Beijing to develop relationships with politicians. The guests are often treated to lavish dinners and luxury hotels. They are also arranged to meet with Communist Party officials.

In 2006, Sam Sullivan, the mayor of Vancouver at the time, told the Vancouver Sun: When I go to China, they treat me like an emperor.

After coming back from China, Sullivan pursued court action to shut down a long-running protest site outside the Chinese consulate in Vancouver. The site is run by practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice persecuted in China.

With deep coffers and the help of Western enablers, the Chinese Communist Party uses money, rather than communist ideology, as a powerful source of influence, creating parasitic relationships of long-term dependence, Canadas parliamentary security and intelligence committee said in their 2019 annual report.

Years of Canadian appeasement may have emboldened China. The regime started to take actions that surprised even longtime Canadian allies.

The same week China arrested the two Michaels, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a former Canadian official and China affairs expert, discovered her locked suitcase had been searched in her Shanghai hotel room.

This despite the fact that she had worked for decades to help China build up its economic institutes.

McCuaig-Johnston was also told by a Chinese national that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a list of 100 Canadians it could pick up at any time.

Canadian newspaper The Star reported that after going back to Canada, McCuaig-Johnston started to challenge the regimes abusive behaviors. She was one of only a few longtime ally of China to do so.

According to the report, she encouraged Canada to pull out of the Beijing-centered AIIB and to use the Global Magnitsky Act to punish Hong Kong officials who abuse human rights. She also urged the country to pay more attention to Chinas actions in the Indo-Pacific.

And shes not alone.

Last November, veteran Chinese-Canadian politician Richard Lee came forward and said that in 2015, he was detained for eight hours in Shanghai. He said he was forced to hand over his phone and passcode. Chinese authorities then viewed confidential government information stored on it.

Lee said he was targeted by the CCP for joining the commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre in front of Vancouvers Chinese embassy which takes place every year on the fourth of June.

Lee kept silent for years. He said he didnt want to cause troubles for the Canada-China relationship, but the Chinese regimes growing infiltration into Canadian politics compelled him to speak out.

In a recent interview with American Thought Leaders, J. Michael Cole, a China scholar and senior fellow with Canadas Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said that the COVID-19 outbreak should serve as a moment of reckoning for democracies like Canada.

He said countries need leadership who are more willing to challenge China.

That probably signifies a bit more confrontation, he said, Theres going to be costs, but the problem is that, especially countries like Canada, we never tested the waters. The moment Beijing threatens something or expresses displeasure, we back away, we back off, and Beijing gets what it wants. But leaders oftentimes forget, especially countries like Canada, China needs our natural resources. China wants access to certain technologies that its own people still cannot produce. So it needs us at least as much as we need it. So that should give us the ability to push back on fundamentals and values that are dear to us.

In a recent parliament hearing on Canada-China relations, the same question was also raised. When challenging the Chinese regimes abusive behaviors, what should Canada do when China retaliates?

China affairs expert David Shambaugh, who testified remotely, said Retaliation is greater. It will happen. You have to enter into it with expectation that there will be Chinese retaliation. So thats the big choice. Do we go public and confront China on these issues, despite the retaliation or not?

I noticed your previous diplomats who testified say we are working very hard behind closed doors to press the case of the Two Michaels and other issues, he said, Well, thats exactly where China wants to keep it, behind closed doors. I think, personally, going public about Chinas egregious behavior in a wide range of issues whether its Tibet, the Uygurs, the Two Michaels, Liu Xiaobo, you name it  China just hates being internationally called out publicly.

Bonnie Glaser, an expert on Asia-Pacific affairs, who was also at the hearing, said Canada is not alone in facing economic coercion from China. She said right now may be a good opportunity for many middle-power countries to come together.

What it would signal to Beijing is that countries that are targeted by this economic coercion by China are willing to work together. They are willing to stand up to China. she said.
Following Gov. Charlie Bakers announcement this week that he would be looking into whether the states coronavirus death toll is underreported, health officials in the commonwealth are now changing the way they are counting COVID-19-related fatalities.

The news comes as data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown a significant increase in the number of overall deaths in seven states, including Massachusetts, that have been hit particularly hard by the viral respiratory infection.

The spike in preliminary deaths totals - information that is based on death records processed by the National Center for Health Statistics - has led some experts to believe that the number of fatalities due to the coronavirus may be much higher than what is currently being reported.

On April 5, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists recommended that states adopt a standardized case definition for COVID-19. The nonprofit organization stated that uniform, nationwide coronavirus surveillance is needed to measure the potential burden of illness, detect community transmission and inform the public health response to the outbreak.

Following the groups advisory, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced it is now reviewing the death certificates of people who were not tested for COVID-19 but who may have met the symptom criteria to look into whether they should be included in the states death toll due to the virus.

The agency will look at deaths from March 1 onward, and the department is expected to include any newly determined coronavirus-related fatalities on its daily COVID-19 dashboard.

The Department of Public Health is actively focused on tracking and monitoring the virus to guide public health decision-making, officials said.

The Boston Globe reported that DPH also issued new directives last week to hundreds of municipal boards of health on how to classify cases of the viral respiratory infection. Individuals who likely were infected but were not officially diagnosed will now be classified as having had the disease, according to the Globe.

To date, 62,205 coronavirus cases have been reported in Massachusetts. DPH has identified 3,562 deaths connected to the disease, 2,101 of which were from long-term care facilities.

Authorities have recognized most known COVID-19-related fatalities took place in care facilities and noted that the commonwealths Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has, since March 3, been taking swabs from sudden and unattended deaths that met the CDCs criteria for exposure.

As of Friday, OCME has taken 67 samples, seven of which tested positive for the virus. It was not until March 29 that the state reported its first positive post-mortem coronavirus test. The second fatality to show a positive result was more than a week later.

While OCME does not routinely collect nasopharyngeal swabs unless necessary for a medicolegal investigation, swabs would not be necessary for death certificate review," officials said. Future lab testing of past OCME cases would depend on several factors, including the availability of samples suitable for testing, the supply of resources for retrospective testing, and the input of public health professionals.

The CDC started to include in its case and death counts both confirmed and probable cases and deaths after the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologistss guidelines were issued in early April.

According to the CDC, a probable coronavirus case or death needs to meet both clinical criteria and epidemiological evidence if no testing was done. If testing was done, the case needs to meet either one of the criteria.

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Weeks ago, 7-year-old Gavin Brennan was battling the coronavirus while undergoing treatment for lymphoma. Today, he is both COVID-19- and cancer-free.

A parade of roughly 100 people, organized by the Dedham Police and Fire departments, gathered outside the first graders home Thursday to celebrate Brennans homecoming as well as his birthday, according to a spokesperson for the family.

Brennan was one of the first children in the United States to be diagnosed with the coronavirus after he tested positive for the viral respiratory infection twice while undergoing chemotherapy, once in late March and then again in April.

7 yo Gavin Brennan gets a welcome home and birthday celebration he wont soon forget! A parade of blaring fire trucks & police cars drove by Gavins home in #Dedham. He was just released from @BostonChildrens Hospital after battling cancer & #coronavirus. #COVID__19 pic.twitter.com/qxrhYqhhQB  Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) April 30, 2020

He was locked down in his room for several days after each diagnosis, during which time he was being treated at Boston Childrens Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, according to the family spokesperson.

Thanks to the great joint medical team at Childrens and Dana Farber, Gavin is coming home with a highly favorable prognosis for his cancer and no COVID-19 symptoms, the spokesperson said.

The 7-year-old boys treatment for COVID-19 and lymphoma has been an emotional roller coaster for his parents, April and Tim, according to the spokesperson. During Gavins recovery, his mom was also diagnosed with the virus.

But Thursday was a day of celebration as neighbors and friends flocked to support the first grader. In videos of the parade captured by WBZ, fire engines can be seen rolling past the Brennan familys home as Gavin waves.

.@DedhamPD & @DedhamFire give 7 yr old Gavin Brennan a birthday celebration & welcome home fit for a king! Gavin was just released from @BostonChildrens Hospital after battling cancer AND #coronavirus. Gavin says if he can do it, anyone can. pic.twitter.com/YpAXS8z6JF  Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) April 30, 2020

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With social distancing and strict lockdowns around the world showing some success in flattening the curve of the coronavirus pandemic, leaders are starting to make tough decisions regarding when and how to reopen. But those decisions are even harder due to the lingering uncertainty around COVID-19, says a new Event Brief from Karen Clark & Co. (KCC).

Until there is more widespread testing, it is impossible to calculate the true infection rate of COVID-19, KCC said, which also makes it impossible to determine the fatality rate of those infected. Also in question is why certain locations have become hotspots while others have been much less impacted.

KCC said its analysts are collecting data from the Centers for Disease Control and state health departments and will be releasing monthly Event Reports. Since the term fatality rate has a specific meaning with respect to pandemics and cannot yet be reliably calculated, KCC is instead looking at fatalities relative to population. The Event Brief presents data collected as of April 27, 2020.

KCCs data for April shows wide variation by geography. While the United States has experienced the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 (1,003,974 cases and 52,428 deaths of as April 30, according to the World Health Organization), the country only comes in at No. 9 when the numbers are looked at relative to population. By population, Belgium has seen the highest death rate from COVID-19, with around 600 deaths per million people as of April 26 compared to the U.S. at around 150.

Within the U.S., there is also a wide variation between states, with seemingly no correlation between how early a state lockdown was imposed and the fatalities per population. As expected, New York is by far the state with the highest death rate, with around 900 deaths per million people, followed by New Jersey (between 650-700 deaths per millions) and Connecticut (approximately 550). The majority of states have death rates below 200 per million, with eight states (Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming) having less than 20 deaths per million.

KCC noted that no attempt has been made to adjust for potential inconsistencies due to the variations in how countries and states collect and report their data.
The Ministry of Health released a report this Tuesday that said the number of deaths related to COVID-19 in Brazil was 5,017. Authorities reported 474 deaths, an increase in the total toll by 10.4%. Brazil recorded more deaths in the last 24 hours than Italy, France, and Spain.

China reported 4,643 thus far, but Hong Kong researchers estimated that this number was at least four times greater than was being reported in local media.

Mortality and Miracles

During an interview with Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, one of the reporters was asking for the president's input on how the death count in Brazil exceeded the reported toll in China.

"'E dai?" he replied. This meant, 'and so?' He added, "I'm sorry. What do you want me to do [about it]?"

In the same interview, Bolsonaro said he sympathized with the families of the dead, who were mostly the elderly.

"Mas e a vida," he said, which roughly translates to "that is life." His attitude towards the impact of the pandemic on the nation was noncommittal.

He said that the virus was estimated by health experts to infect 70% of the country's population. He added, "Unfortunately, that is the reality. ...Nobody ever denied that there would be deaths."

The far-right president is known for downplaying the pandemic. Bolsonaro even attended an anti-lockdown protest with a crowd of a hundred supporters earlier this month.

He called them "patriots," who also demanded Congress and the Supreme Court to be shut down, preferring the military take their place in handling the crisis caused by the pandemic.

Currently, estimates of the fatality rate in Brazil are at 6.9%, according to data by John Hopkins University.

"I am Messiah," Bolsonaro told the journalists, referring to his name, Messias. "But I can't do miracles."

Check these out!

Pandemic a "Trick" by Media

Bolsonaro was every bit convinced that the pandemic was just a product of media "hysteria," and that this was a ploy against his administration. He accused opposing political parties and the press of tracking Brazilians about the coronavirus when he asserted that they should be concerned about the economic consequences of the pandemic.

On TV program Domingo Espetacular, Bolsonaro justified the federal government against criticisms about downplaying the pandemic, which he believed no reason to panic over.

In the same show, he called out governors from states like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo for costing the economy millions of jobs through imposing quarantines and home isolation. Bolsonaro said these were exaggerated measures to a seemingly harmless virus.

The previous month, at the height of the pandemic, Bolsonaro encouraged people to keep working. States have implemented their measures to combat the coronavirus, even against direct orders from the federal government.

The president warned that the time would come for Brazilians to finally see that they were "tricked" by their governors and the media. He claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was little more than a shameless, humongous, and absurd campaign against him.

Bolsonaro claimed, "They want to force me out however possible."

While Brazilians are obeying quarantine orders, some residents have taken to pot banging in their own homes to protest Bolsonaro's administration.
The coronavirus is having a profound impact on government, politics and elections. Its forced the postponement of the 2020 primary elections in Pennsylvania to June 2, and some are worried it could lead to a lower turnout.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar joins PennLives Coronavirus Q & A at noon Friday to discuss the upcoming elections and how COVID-19 has impacted them.

Well also hear from Battleground PA political analysts Rogette Harris, Democrat, and Jeffrey Lord, Republican on their questions about how the state will manage elections during the coronavirus crisis, which is still a very real threat to thousands of older voters, as well as to those with underlying health problems.

The state is allowing mail-in voting, but some fear many voters wont take the time to mail in the ballots, and some wont have money to even pay for a stamp.

Join us today at noon for the Coronavirus Q & A on PennLives Facebook Live to discuss the elections and COVID-19.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

And please subscribe to Battleground PA to stay abreast of the issues in the 2020 elections!
A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 reports that lockdowns in South Africa may not flatten the curve as expected.

The study investigated the effect of the various interventions in South Africa on the outbreak, analyzing trends in South Africa before and after the national lockdown, which started on March 27, 2020. Africa has so far reported over 38,000 cases, a small number compared to the 3.25 million global cases as of April 30, 2020. South Africa has reported over 5,600, with Egypt and Morocco close behind.

At the time of the study, the case numbers in Africa were about 20,000, with 3,034 of those in South Africa.

Cape Town, South Africa. 27 April 2020. Cape Town's busiest street is empty during one of the world's strictest national COVID-19 (coronavirus) lockdown. Image Credit: Micha Serraf / Shutterstock

Locking down to flatten the curve

When the signs of the coronavirus pandemic appeared in Africa, many of its countries, especially South Africa, were quick to recommend global social distancing measures, enforcing lockdowns and bringing economic, educational, and leisure activities to a standstill. They also reduced transportation options.

However, the harsh socio-economic conditions posed a significant challenge to compliance with these interventions - the hand-to-mouth lifestyle of a large group of individuals meant that economic lockdown would only meet with limited cooperation.

The researchers point out, "African countries are under particular pressure due to economic constraints on both national and personal levels. Besides strong repercussions on national economic productivity expected for any large-scale lockdown, a large fraction of the population is unable to fully comply with severe lockdown measures due to their personal financial situation."

Slower but continuing exponential growth threatens Africa

The researchers performed a quantitative analysis of the dynamic changes in case numbers, as reported by both the World Health Organization and Johns Hopkins University through April 18, 2020.

2 April 2020 - Cape Town, South Africa: Aerial view of empty streets in Cape Town, South Africa during the Covid 19 lockdown. Image Credit: fivepointsix / Shutterstock

Initially, case numbers were growing exponentially, with a doubling time of about 2.5 days. After lockdown, the number of cases continued to double, albeit over a more extended period of 18 days, showing that the growth in case numbers remained exponential. This was in contrast to Hubei (China), which reported an arrest in case growth rates after enforcing a massive lockdown.

The study points out several risk factors for a rebound in cases if the lockdown is to be removed. "Across the African continent, national economic constraints, individual poverty, low health literacy rates, weaker health care systems, and cultural practices lead to reduced option spaces on personal and governmental levels and may all contribute to more severe consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and negatively influence containment as well as recording, testing, and medical treatment."

Why the slowing occurred

A switch to a slower growth rate on the date of the official lockdown could be attributed to several largely unknown factors, researchers say. These include an increase in the number of people being tested per day, small fluctuations that normally occur at the onset of an epidemic, and individual efforts to practice social distancing measures even before the lockdown was officially announced. In addition, the early cases were probably detected after the onset of symptoms in contrast to pre-emptive testing of contacts and detection of asymptomatic cases.

The decline in South African cases is reflected in the statistics for the whole continent because South African cases comprise such a large share of the whole. However, the time and case trends are extremely uneven across the continent, as is case reporting and testing rates.

The movement simulator results

The study also included a movement simulation model for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, where well over a million people stay. The computational model suggests that even if the current lockdown measures are kept in place until the end of April, with current compliance levels, they would be unsuccessful in achieving the aim of preventing case overload on the fragile healthcare system with a highly limited capacity for intensive care.

The risk of COVID-19 to South Africa is immense, with its 7.7 million HIV patients and over 320,000 tuberculosis patients, which is 20 times that in Europe. The persistence of exponential growth could signal the potential for an Italy-like situation in the country.

Researchers comment, "A large-scale outbreak and massive ICU overload may have drastic consequences for the country as a whole, including societal and economic but also psychological, and ethical issues. "

In contrast, the study showed that if the lockdown was entirely lifted on May 1, the number of infected cases would immediately rise, and the number of critical cases would accumulate and overwhelm the ICU capacity of the state.

Even if the lockdown was lifted by 25% two weeks later on May 15, case numbers would still rise sharply, and ICUs would be overloaded by early June.

If current lockdown conditions were maintained, the outbreak would be slowed. Yet, if a certain percentage of the population refused to comply, the epidemic would not be contained long-term, and risk of ICU overload would be present, although by a small margin.

The way ahead

The answer could be to impose stronger, more specific, and more long-term measures while simultaneously boosting compliance through education. The study says that these could "constitute a viable option for interventions for regions in South Africa and potentially for large parts of the African continent."

This will help flatten the curve such that the total number of patients who develop very severe or critical COVID-19 is less than the total capacity of local intensive care units, and perhaps contain the epidemic by June 2020.

Such measures should be adopted only after a careful analysis of the data and the use of predictive models that can throw up answers about how long and at what level the lockdown measures should continue.

Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation of Bank Hapoalim B.M. (BKHYY) on Behalf of Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Bank Hapoalim B.M. ("Hapoalim" or the "Company") (OTC: BHKYY) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

On March 7, 2019, Hapoalim issued a press release announcing that the bank was increasing its provision "in relation to the exposure stemming from the investigations of the U.S. authorities, by approximately USD 246 million" for an aggregate total provision of $611 million.

On this news, the price of the Company's American depositary receipts ("ADR") fel $1.09 per ADR, or over 3%, to close at $33.16 per ADR on March 11, 2019, thereby injuring investors.







Then, on April 30, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced that the Company "agreed to pay approximately $874.27 million" as part of its deferred prosecution agreement for criminal misconduct.

On this news, Hapoalim's ADR price fell during intraday trading.

If you purchased Hapoalim ADR's, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200501005455/en/
A special court in Mumbai on Friday extended the CBI custody of DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj, accused in a corruption case against former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor, till May 8, officials said.

The court had earlier sent Kapil and his brother Dheeraj, who was the promoter of RKW Developers, to CBI custody till April 1 for questioning in the case, they said.

The Wadhawan brothers were arrested on April 26 from Mahabaleshwar, a hill station near Mumbai, nearly 50 days after they were booked in the multi-crore-rupee scam also involving Kapoor, former Yes Bank CEO and its co-founder.

The agency sought extension of their remand on Friday, which was granted by the court, the officials said.

"Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan were absconding since the beginning of the investigation and had evaded joining it," Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Spokesperson RK Gaur had said after their arrest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
tech2 News Staff

Update: Xiaomi India head, Manu Kumar Jain has released a video and a statement reiterating that the claims in the Forbes report are untrue.

A cybersecurity researcher claims that he found that his Xiaomi phone was tracking his behaviour and usage patterns while also harvesting various kinds of device data.

The researcher was reportedly using Xiaomi's Redmi Note 8 and he claims that the device was recording his web browsing history (even in incognito mode), tracking what he was viewing on the device's News Feed feature, and even recording the folders he opened on the device, including every time he opened the status bar and the settings page. This was first reported by Forbes.

The researcher further claims that the recorded data is then sent to "remote servers in Singapore and Russia, though the Web domains they hosted were registered in Beijing."

The researcher also says that he tested few other Xiaomi devices  Xiaomi Mi 10, Xiaomi Redmi K20 and Xiaomi Mi MIX 3  and found that they are also similarly recording user data.

Xiaomi has roundly refuted all claims stating that the only data that is collected:

is collected with user consent is completely anonymised and only used for analytical purposes passes through servers compliant with local law secured by third-party certified, industry standard security practices.

Xiaomi, in its statement, also notes that other internet companies also collect data and that Xiaomi's data collection is no different from that collected by other companies. Xiaomi also claims to have reached out directly to the researcher and that the reports are a misrepresentation of Xiaomi's data collection and privacy practices.

This video shows the collection of anonymous browsing data, which is one of the most common solutions adopted by internet companies to improve the overall browser product experience through analyzing non-personally identifiable information, Xiaomi told Forbes.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sal Forte suspected that when the ambulance took his father away with symptoms of the coronavirus that it would be the last time he would see him, but didnt expect the same for his mother.

Suffering from emphysema, Arthur Forte fit into the group of older adults with preexisting conditions being ravaged by the virus, but Sal said he expected his mother, Helen Forte, to pull through, because she was healthy.

Arthur, 80, died April 2, and Helen, his wife of 57 years, died two days later. Both died at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze from COVID-19. Now Sal and the rest of the family are working to process the loss.

He had been living with his parents, Staten Island residents for 27 years, since the severity of the outbreak became apparent. Sal closed his Bay Ridge store and restaurant, HoM -- pronounced home, -- and moved to their house in Annadale hoping to help them make their way through the pandemic.

Its been a long ride, Sal said. Its rough. I havent gone into their bedrooms. I cant. I have to. I just cant.

His parents are two of the more-than 700 Staten Island COVID-19 victims. New York, particularly the five boroughs and the surrounding counties, has become the hardest-hit state in the U.S. with more than 18,000 dead.

The disease has taken a significant toll on other older populations, but has affected people across age groups and demographics.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Sal described his parents as the typical Italian-American married couple. He said that family members would jokingly compare them to the Costanzas -- a reference to the sitcom Seinfeld.

Arthur and Helen, 79, were both born in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn -- where they met -- and raised their two sons, Sal and Robert, there before moving to Staten Island 27 years ago.

In addition to Sal and Robert, they also leave behind a grandson whos also named Robert after his father.

Sal said the grieving process has been difficult, but that his family and members of the community. Like many small business owners, Sal has taken a financial hit after closing his business, so a friend in the Bay Ridge community set up a GoFundMe that has raised more than $15,000 as of Thursday.

The outpouring of people from the community and family members -- Im so taken aback by it, Sal said. Its amazing.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday rejected the opposition's allegation of mismanagement in the fight against coronavirus, and asked the SAD and AAP not to indulge in petty politics, rather work unitedly in these testing times of the pandemic.

In a televised address to the people, the chief minister said there was neither mismanagement of the crisis nor widespread infection in the state, as being alleged by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"Most of the cases being reported now are those arriving from other states," he said, adding of the new cases only seven were related to local infection while 93 were Punjabis who returned from other states.

Singh said this was not the time to indulge in petty and appealed to the opposition parties "not to trigger panic among people by spreading misinformation" about the respiratory disease in the state, but to work along with his government to overcome this unprecedented crisis.

According to a statement issued by the government, the chief minister urged people not to be worried about sudden spike in numbers that could be expected over the next few days as more people return home from other states following the Centre's decision to allow the movement of stranded people.

Punjab has witnessed a spike in the number of coronavirus cases primarily in the past few days because many of the pilgrims who returned from Nanded in Maharashtra tested positive for the virus.

In an apparent reference to the opposition's criticism of his government's handling of the COVID-19 situation, the chief minister said nobody wants to hear negative things at this critical time. "People are already going through very negative times, and want to hear positive things and good "



Urging the opposition to join hands, and work shoulder to shoulder with his government in the interest of Punjab, Singh said, "We have a war at our hands, and it is not the time to score political brownie points, but to show unity."



Warning people of a possible escalation in the number of cases as stranded Punjabis return home, he appealed to people not to be afraid of quarantine, which is just a means to ensure that the returnees do not spread infection.

"Quarantine is a way to keep those coming back to Punjab in isolation while they are tested and given a clean chit by doctors," Singh said, making it clear that every person returning to the state would be kept in institutional quarantine as a preventive measure.

Amid reports of certain people sneaking through the state borders to get back home, the chief minister appealed to all not to resort to such dangerous measures but to come in through proper channels, with due screening, testing and quarantining.

This was imperative to keep the COVID-19 situation in Punjab under control, he said, adding, "Nobody will be allowed to go to their home without the mandatory quarantine and doctor's clearance."



On the return of people of other states stranded in Punjab, Singh said the states concerned would have to make arrangements or the Centre should arrange special trains, given that people are returning home in large numbers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sam Rodriguez, Christian college president urge Calif. to reopen churches

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Hispanic evangelical leader and Sacramento megachurch pastor Samuel Rodriguez and a Christian college president have called on California leaders to allow churches to reopen their doors as places of worship as the pace of new coronavirus cases has slowed down in recent days.

We are mindful of our nations proud heritage of religious liberty, established from its founding as a place of refuge and respect for people of faith, the leaders wrote in an open letter.

Today, we join together respectfully urging Californias governor, county supervisors, mayors and other civic leaders to support the reopening of church gatherings in ways that are sensitive to public health concerns as well as providing for the fundamental freedoms so richly encouraging to personal and societal well-being and ensconced in our founding documents.

Rodriguez, the head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and pastor of New Season Church, along with William Jessup University President John Jackson published the letter Wednesday to provide an outline for how churches across the state should slowly start to reopen to full capacity once they are able.

The letter comes as countless churches in California and across the nation have halted in-person services and moved services online in recent weeks to obey social distancing orders aimed at combating the spread of the virus.

Some churches in the state have filed lawsuits over California Gov. Gavin Newsomes stay-at-home order banning large gatherings and similar county-level orders that are preventing them from gathering for worship.

We are grateful to our governmental leaders and have been in increased corporate and personal prayer for them throughout these days, the letter from Rodriguez and Jackson says. We understand that various counties in California have different circumstances and are mindful that state, county, and local guidance will provide varying public health frameworks that church leaders can utilize in addition to any national guidelines that are provided.

In the letter, Rodriguez and Jackson say they want to work with the state, county and local leaders. They add that they are mindful of the importance of doing so with mutual respect in alignment with our convictions around Romans 13 and other appropriate biblical passages calling on Christians to obey government authorities.

We believe that churches can and will be responsible as members of our community utilizing the following guidelines here in California, the leaders contend.

The letter suggests that churches utilize drive-in resources for the first part of May as well as minimize public gatherings for the first two weekends of the month. The letter advises churches to move to 50% of building capacity in the last two weeks of May.

We advocate that churches consider, if they gather in auditoriums, expanding their sanitizing procedures and encouraging the wearing of masks where appropriate, Rodriguez and Jackson wrote.

Starting in June, the Christian leaders encourage churches to develop procedures allowing them to reconvene in public worship and classroom settings at 75% of room capacities in addition to maintaining proper sanitizing protocols and deferring to government safety guidelines when necessary.

By July, the leaders say churches should be able to amp up to 100% of building capacities depending on public health guidelines provided leading up to this time period.

The Scriptures tell us that hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12 NIV), the letter concludes. A return to worship, teaching, shared service, compassion and generosity is in the heart of the people. We believe together that people of faith across the state of California will experience a rebirth of joy, hope and life with these measured and responsible steps in our state.

Their letter comes after the Christian conservative legal group Liberty Counsel launched a campaign last week calling on churches nationwide to resume live in-person and drive-in services on May 3.

The day has been deemed ReOpen Church Sunday and falls on the Sunday before the National Day of Prayer takes place next Thursday. While the campaign calls on churches to resume services, it also advises them to follow appropriate safety protocols when doing so.

We chose May 3 because it is part of that phase one of the Opening America Again [proposal] that President [Trump] issued as guidelines, Liberty Counsel founder and attorney Mat Staver told The Christian Post. That actually begins on May 1 and that is the first phase of the three-phase program and churches are included in that phase.

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairman Tony Perkins, who was previously critical of churches holding in-person services, told CP at the time that he also thinks it is time.

I think we are seeing the curve flatten out in most places. But there are still a few hotspots, Perkins said. I am hesitant because we need to be careful that we are not drawing a line, saying this is the day and everybody needs to be back in their churches.

Jeffrey J. Barrows, the senior vice president of bioethics and public policy for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, told CP last week that churches that choose to ignore government social distancing orders during the pandemic are placing their congregants at risk.

We recommend that all churches follow the guidance provided by their government officials during this unprecedented outbreak, Barrows explained.
The Calcutta University on Thursday made its archive, including rare records dating back to the 19th century, available online for the public.

Vice-chancellor Sonali Chakraborty Bandyopadhyay told PTI that the archive can be accessed by anyone through the Calcutta Universitys official website.

There are two major reasons behind the decision, she said.

The first is our responsibility to the students and faculty, whose education and research are getting hampered as they cannot physically access the library collections due to the restrictions.

The second is our responsibility as a public institution to the citizens as well as the world at large.

Necessity and value of academic research should be felt by the society, she said.

The universitys library resources, including the digital collections, were accessible so far to users within the campuses.

As a public university, we feel that it is our responsibility to make CUs digital collections part of the global academic commons, to facilitate the pursuit of knowledge beyond borders, the vice-chancellor said.

The list of digital resources include convocation addresses (1861-2018), Tagore Law Lectures (1870-1986), University Commission reports (1917-1919), minutes of the senate, provisional committee, syndicate & and council (1857- 1988), The Calcutta Review (1844-1966).

Besides, the universitys old question papers (1891- 1980), old syllabi (1955-1977), full text of theses (PhD/DLitt/DSc) (1960-2018) and medical dissertations (1956- 2005) have also been made available.

The vice-chancellor said teachers of the university have initiated online teaching as regular classes are suspended due to the lockdown and they have also been regularly uploading study materials on the website.

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'West Bengal is hiding COVID-19 death toll', says Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

Kolkata, May 01: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has on Friday said that more than 105 people died due to COVID-19 till now in the state and the actual number has been concealed.

The Guv has questioned that why to hide the number of demises when people should have to warned more about the virus infection and its precautions.

Dhankar said, "105 people died due to COVID19 in West Bengal but this number is more than that. Why do we want to hide the actual number of deaths? People will be more careful when they would realise that situation is grim".

Mamata vs Centre again: Bengal calls fresh categorisation of 10 districts as Red Zones 'erroneous

It can be seen according to the state govt the death toll of the state out of coronavirus currently is 33.

"West Bengal is the only state where the Inter-Ministerial Central Team faced problems in carrying out their work. When entire country is fighting against #COVID19 & IMCT team came to assess the situation, we should have received it with red carpet", said the Guv.

Recently, Guv Dhankhar has accused Mamata Banerjee of having "abjectly failed" in combating the crisis emanating from the coronavirus pandemic.

As per the State Govt, 105 people died due to #COVID19 in West Bengal but this number is more than that. Why do we want to hide the actual number of deaths? People will be more careful when they would realise that situation is grim: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar pic.twitter.com/zFIoeLgD0d  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2020

It can be seen that the central team on a visit to West Bengal to assess the COVID-19 situation had flagged non-cooperation on the part of the state government over providing logistical support and other relevant information.

The inter-ministerial central team led by senior bureaucrat Apurba Chandra sought to know details about steps taken by the Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation to identify and quarantine those who returned from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.

Chandra said the team it has yet to received any response from the state government to the letters it has written.

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Story first published: Friday, May 1, 2020, 19:34 [IST]
The pioneering women photographers who helped shape their art

How Anne Brigman, Imogen Cunningham, Berenice Abbott, Dorothea Lange and Ilse Bing forged a path for others to follow in Pictorialism, documentary and avant-garde photography. Illustrated with works offered online until 13 May

The first half of the 20th century was a time of extraordinary change in the field of photography. By 1940, the Museum of Modern Art had established the first department of photography in an American museum, cementing the importance of the art form in the eyes of the world. The names of many male photographers have been written into the history of the period as important drivers of change. But the women who worked alongside them were just as significant, establishing careers in their own right and creating images that redefined how modern photography might look.

These five photographers developed powerful voices that helped to shape the history of the medium across a 50-year period

Taken together, the work of Anne Brigman, Imogen Cunningham, Berenice Abbott, Dorothea Lange and Ilse Bing tells an important story. Working in a range of styles from Pictorialism to documentary and avant-garde photography, these five photographers developed powerful voices that helped to shape the history of the medium across a 50-year period. From 30 April to 13 May, a collection of their remarkable works will be offered for sale in From Pictorialism into Modernism: 80 Years of Photography, with estimates ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. Anne Brigman (1869-1950) Anne Brigman was a San-Francisco based Pictorialist photographer known for her mysterious and poetic compositions of female figures in natural landscapes. One of the first women to photograph nudes in such settings, she made images that emphasised the universality of nature.

Brigmans prints, particularly those made with the platinum printing process, lend her images a softness and an ethereality  a choice she made with a view to capturing the spirit of her subjects. Brigman was recognised early on for her successes in photography: she was a founding member of Alfred Stieglitzs Photo-Secession group, and five of her images were published in the January 1909 issue of Stieglitzs sumptuous quarterly publication, Camera Work. Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) Imogen Cunningham was a true master of the photographic medium, capturing a variety of subjects  from botanical studies and nudes, to industrial landscapes and portraits  in images that were praised for their evocative use of light and attention to detail.

From the 1920s, Cunningham shifted her focus from her early Pictorialist style to in-depth studies of plant life: her photographs of magnolia flowers, which she explored for two years, are among her best-known works. In 1932, she joined the West Coast group f.64 and devoted herself to straight photography that emphasised clarity in unmanipulated images. Yet throughout her career, Cunninghams pictures retained a subtle romanticism and sensitivity that set her work apart. Today, she is regarded as one of Americas greatest female photographers. Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) The photographic output of Berenice Abbott represents a culmination of her experiences in Paris and New York in the 1920s and 30s. The relationships she forged here with avant-garde artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray helped her to master her art and refine her personal aesthetic.

It was at Man Rays studio in 1925 that she first discovered the photographs of one of her most important influences, Eugene Atget. Following Atgets example, she returned to New York in 1929 and began to document the built landscape of the city. With support from the Works Progress Administration, she produced a travelling exhibition and publication called Changing New York, which helped to cement her career as a pioneering and influential documentary photographer. Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) At the height of the 1930s Depression, Dorothea Lange began to look outside her successful portrait studio and photograph the world outside, producing images that were less about creating art than effecting social change.

The photographs she captured for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a Depression-era government agency created to raise awareness about and provide support for struggling farmers, are among her most celebrated, chiefly for the way they humanised the plight of rural Americans. Lange received widespread recognition for her achievements during her lifetime. In 1941 she received the first Guggenheim Fellowship ever awarded to a woman, and in 1954 she joined the staff of Life magazine, which allowed her to travel to Asia, South America and the Middle East as a freelance photographer.

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Ilse Bing (1899-1998) Ilse Bing initially set out to be an art historian, but in the 1920s she abandoned her studies at the University of Frankfurt and began to teach herself photography. Influenced by her association with members of the Bauhaus and the Parisian photographer Andre Kertesz, her work exemplified formalist techniques.
While many New Yorkers may be missing the rhythms of their daily subway commute during the coronavirus pandemic, dozens of high-powered public officials in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasios administration probably cant relate. Thats because there are at least 59 public servants in city government who are assigned private, chauffeured cars at all times.

Thats according to a list provided by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, or DCAS, in response to a request from City & State. The full list hasnt been made public before, though some of the details provided had already been publicly reported. For example, New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza doesnt hide his use of a chauffeured car, and the New York Post reported in February that Department for the Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, who de Blasio recently tapped for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, gets chauffeured rather than take the train.

But other positions that get a chauffeur may come as a surprise. The executive director of Gracie Mansion, Roxanne John, who also serves as chief of staff to first lady of New York City Chirlane McCray, gets access to a private car and driver. So does Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Chairwoman Sarah Carroll and the mayors press secretary, Freddi Goldstein.

The list, however, isnt comprehensive. DCAS Director of Media and Public Relations Nick Benson said his agency only tracks information about drivers for agencies that are a part of the official citywide fleet . That includes the big-name agencies  Education, Parks, etc.  but not various other semi-independent organizations like the Conflicts of Interest Board or the Public Design Commission. At least one such agency, the Office of the Actuary, reportedly provides a chauffeur to the citys chief actuary. The New York Post caught the agencys chauffeur idling the car in a no standing zone last year. The Office of the Actuary didnt respond to a request for comment.

It also wasnt clear how many people get chauffeured by members of the NYPD. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea is known to be driven by his security detail, but DCAS couldnt confirm whether other high-ranking members of the NYPD also get driven around. The NYPDs Executive Protection Unit chauffeurs a number of high-ranking elected officials as part of their security detail, but it was not clear exactly how many people in the city get that privilege. City & State confirmed that de Blasio, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson all get NYPD drivers. De Blasios immediate family members  McCray and their kids Dante and Chiara  have all been known to be chauffeured by the NYPD at times, but it wasnt clear how often they get the service. The NYPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Jeff Coltin While the total number is somewhat clouded, there isnt reason to think that the amount of positions getting full-time chauffeurs has changed much in the last 20 years. Benson said that DCAS only started privately tracking the number of full-time drivers near the start of de Blasios first term, in 2014. From then until now, the total number of chauffeurs employed by DCAS rose by just three, from 58 to 61. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2014 that nine officials in the mayors office had assigned chauffeurs. Today, that number appears to be just one higher, with the addition of the counsel to the mayor, Kapil Longani. Six other officials under the wider umbrella of the mayors office also get drivers, including Census Director Julie Menin and Mayors Office of International Affairs Commissioner Penny Abeywardena.

While hard numbers arent available for Mayor Michael Bloombergs administration, Benson and other DCAS employees said that, anecdotally, the number didnt change much with the new mayor. A former Bloomberg City Hall staffer agreed, but spoke on background due to a lack of hard evidence.

Not all commissioners get a full-time driver, but they can request a chauffeur from DCAS on an as-needed basis. But officials who want their titles added to the coveted full-time list have to prove they need one, explained Loree Sutton, who served as veterans services commissioner from 2014 to 2019, and is now running for mayor. Sutton didnt get a chauffeur when she first took the job, but I was going to hundreds of events all over the five boroughs and DCAS just got tired of requesting transportation. Getting a driver made all the difference, Sutton said. Its absolutely essential to doing the job right.

Frequent subway riders may squawk with jealousy at such a comment  or possibly a righteous rage. De Blasio has long been criticized for his windshield perspective and the way his transportation policies seem to be shaped by someone who primarily moves around the city in a car. De Blasio,still has a very car-oriented mindset on many (urban transportation) issues, the then-executive director of Transportation Alternatives Paul Steely White told City & State in 2018. You cant have a car city and a public transportation city. You really have to choose.

Just 27% of workers in the city commute by automobile, so anybody who drives to work is in the minority. Anybody who gets driven, even more so. High-level city officials gain something by getting driven place to place, but do they lose some perspective in the process?

City Hall is quick to defend the practice. "Our senior administration officials are dedicated public servants who work 24/7 to keep New York City running, said de Blasio spokeswoman Laura Feyer. Commissioners and agency heads have had drivers going back multiple administrations, and there is nothing new about this policy.

The former Bloomberg City Hall staffer, who had a full-time driver, argued that chauffeurs allow high-level officials to be more efficient. Do you want them driving, or do you want them working while driving, and not looking for parking? the staffer said. Its a perk, but its also a tool. Officials can work constantly, and expectations are increased. An on-call chauffeur is also another benefit that could help lure top talent into public service when they could be making more money elsewhere.

Of course, not everyone eligible for a driver takes advantage of the service. Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg is said to often decline her chauffeured ride to work. Similarly, Dan Doctoroff, a former deputy mayor under Bloomberg, was said to have added a bike rack to his city vehicle. Sometimes hed be chauffeured to work, then ride his own bike home.

And some people in government turn down the service entirely  most often elected officials, who may prefer to project the image of an everyman or everywoman. De Blasio now rides in the backseat of a Chrysler Pacifica, but as public advocate, he declined a chauffeur and drove himself. Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo has never had a driver, according to his office, and drives his own Jeep around the borough. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Brooklyn Borough Eric Adams are driven in city cars by employees sometimes, their offices explained, but they dont have full-time chauffeurs.

The practice has earned relatively little scrutiny over the years, with a full list of chauffeured officials not being released until now. One of the citys most prominent good government groups, the New York Public Interest Research Group, hasnt analyzed the citys use of city drivers, executive director Blair Horner told City & State, but he was pleased to hear the city was forthcoming with the information. One area where he had concern, though, was government officials using public resources on personal time. When does the public officers life as a public officer end and his or her role as a political figure begin? he asked. Theres a certain level of vagueness in the whole system.

That issue has been raised before  just one of many scandals that city chauffeurs have found themselves in the middle of. In 2006, then-Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum had to repay the city thousands of dollars for taking her driver on personal trips, including shopping at Costco and visiting friends in the Hamptons. The chauffeur for Bloombergs Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan got a speeding ticket in 2008 as she raced up to Albany to make the case for congestion pricing. More recently, chauffeurs for both de Blasio and McCray have gotten into car crashes.

Of course, who gets driven and what happens on those trips is private by design. A 2016 job posting for a chauffeur attendant for the buildings commissioner laid out the jobs duties. Among them: complete trustworthiness and discretion.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg joined other leaders from around the country on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" on Thursday night.

Chris Cuomo, the show's host who battled COVID-19 last month, brought on Nirenberg, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer via video conference to discuss reopening efforts amid and the pandemic.

READ MORE: The latest news and features about coronavirus in San Antonio

While Texas businesses like restaurants, retail stores, malls and theaters are allowed to reopen Friday under Gov. Greg Abbott's 25 percent occupancy limit, San Antonio and Bexar County's new stay-at-home orders were extended through May 18 after a city council vote earlier this week.

Cuomo asked Nirenberg how he is handling pandemic response at a local level amid conflicting orders from the state government.

"First, it's a recognition that the engine of our American economy is our cities. If we're going to have a healthy economy, it starts with healthy people," Nirenberg said. "We've really tried to be as clear and transparent as possible with our health data and the guidance from our public officials about when it's safe to reopen."

Nirenberg told Cuomo the "mixed messages" from state government is "challenge" and "defies" guidance from public health officials.

He said San Antonio has seen "tremendous success in flattening the curve." The mayor isn't crediting mandates in local success, but public confidence built through transparency.

"The citizens of our community are still minding the public health guidance," Nirenberg said. "We need to spread more truth in this process."

Before the conversation ended, Nirenberg also addressed the inequity in San Antonio communities. He said the focus is to getting through the crisis, but the pandemic has brought to light many disparities that need to be evaluated.

"What keeps me up at night is this rush to get back to normal  a normal where we had 60,000 families a week that were getting food from the food bank line," he said. "We have to work on establishing a more resilient, stronger, more durable economy that reaches everyone. Equity has become a huge issue that's come to light in this whole pandemic response."

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
SMITHFIELD, Va., May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. today issued the following statement underscoring its ongoing positive and constructive partnership with its team members across the country:



Media and other reports pitting the company against its employees are flat out wrong. There is no such division. The company and its team members all want the same thing, namely, to protect employee health and safety while also safeguarding Americas food supply.

Demands for things like 100% compliance with all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance; access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and handwashing stations; robust communication in multiple languages; generous paid leave policies, including full bonus eligibility; and priority access to voluntary COVID-19 testing are totally and completely reasonable. The company agrees!

At the core of the companys COVID-19 response is an ongoing focus on employee health and safety and continued adherence with  at a minimum  the CDC and OSHA guidance. Across all its facilities, the company is providing its team members with PPE, including masks and at least temporary face shields. The company believes that the recent executive order will provide priority assistance in securing an ongoing supply of enhanced PPE, most critically permanent face shields, as well as aid the company in securing broader COVID-19 testing for its employees.

The company has implemented mass thermal scanning and installed physical barriers on its production floors and in break areas. It also continues to explicitly instruct employees not to report to work if they are sick or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms and that they will be paid, including any and all bonuses, when they are quarantined. These measures remain mandatory and nonnegotiable conditions for the company to operate.

Photos of the companys protective measures are available here .

About Smithfield Foods, Inc.

Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Our 40,000 U.S. employees are dedicated to producing Good food. Responsibly. and have made us one of the worlds leading vertically integrated protein companies. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including many industry firsts, such as our ambitious commitment to cut our carbon impact by 25 percent by 2025. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our neighbors in need. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield, Eckrich and Nathans Famous, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com , and connect with us on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Instagram .
FILE PHOTO: Larry Kudlow participates in coronavirus economic "relief update" virtual event at the White House in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's top economic adviser said on Thursday the administration was not considering cancelling some debt held by China as a way to strike at Beijing for perceived shortfalls in its candidness on the coronavirus pandemic.

The Washington Post, citing two people with knowledge of internal discussions, reported on Thursday that some administration officials had discussed the idea.

"The full faith and credit of U.S. debt obligations is sacrosanct. Period. Full stop," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Reuters.

"Similarly is the reserve currency status of the U.S. dollar," Kudlow said. "The story's completely wrong."

Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that he was looking at different options in terms of consequences for Beijing over the virus. "I can do a lot," he said.

The president has shown increasing frustration with China in recent weeks over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the United States alone, sparked an economic contraction and threatened Trump's chances of re-election in November.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Hopes have been expressed before the High Court that the jobs of some of those employed with the Irish arm of fashion retailer Laura Ashley can be saved following the acquisition of its UK parent.

Today, Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds confirmed the appointment of joint liquidators to Laura Ashley Ireland Ltd, which formed part of the Laura Ashley group and employed over 70 people in Ireland.

The liquidators are Ken Tyrell and Declan McDonald of PWC, who last month were appointed to act in a provisional capacity.

The Irish firm sought the appointment of liquidators arising out of its UK parent decision to enter administration, after Covid-19 effectively ended a proposed sales process.

As a result the parent company ceased providing the Irish company with any further financial support.

Without that support the Irish company, which had seen a decline in revenue in recent years, could not survive as it has a balance sheet deficit of over 563,000.

When the matter returned before the High Court today, Rossa Fanning SC said while the Irish company was seeking to have the liquidators confirmed there was room for optimism.

Counsel said that in recent days the Laura Ashley brand had been bought in administration by the US investment firm Gordon Brothers.

Counsel said the Gordon Brothers had engaged in a process of due diligence, with a view to streamlining the business in Ireland and the UK.

That process may result in some of the Irish stores and some of the jobs being retained, counsel said.

Ms Justice Reynolds, noting the cautious optimism expressed to the court in regards to the hope that jobs in the business could be saved, confirmed the liquidator's appointment on the basis the company is clearly insolvent.

There were no objections to the application.

Previously the court heard that in recent years both the UK parent and the Irish firm had also been experiencing financial difficulties.

The Covid-19 outbreak has had a catastrophic impact on the entire group's financial position. In line with all other retailers the five Irish stores closed in late March.

The Irish company has liabilities of 3.3m, 80% of which was owed to other companies within the group.

Other creditors of the Irish company include Revenue, trade creditors and landlords.
Vinny Guadagnino prepared for a showdown with Jenni 'JWoww' Farley on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

His old pal was seeing red after he 'downplayed' an incident in which her boyfriend Zack '24' Carpinello, 24, hit on her old roommate, Angelina Pivarnick, 33.

The entire incident was caught on film, and when it aired on a recent Jersey Shore episode, Jenni, 34, realized it had been much worse than Vinny, 32, let on.

Ready or not: Vinny Guadagnino prepared for a showdown with Jenni 'JWoww' Farley on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation

She apologized to Angelina, but was gunning for Vinny, who spent most of Thursday's show asking his friends how to defend himself and worrying about how angry she'd be.

Unaware that there was a storm brewing, Vinny, DJ Pauly D, 39, and Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, 37, had all flown to Angelina's bachelorette party in New Orleans.

Jenni had gone back to New Jersey to be with her kids, but was due to return to the party in two daysand she had no idea the boys were there.

Vinny tried to defend himself to Angelina, Deena Cortese, 33, and Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, 32.

'I thought the whole time I was being her friend,' he reflected, as he thought back to why he hadn't said more. 'I don't know why she's mad at me and wants to apparently rip my head off.'

Not happy: Jenni was seeing red after he 'downplayed' an incident in which her boyfriend Zack '24' Carpinello, 24, hit on her old roommate, Angelina Pivarnick, 33

Hypocritical? Mike had been backhanded by Jenni years before, above

Clueless: Unaware that there was a storm brewing, Vinny, DJ Pauly D, 39, and Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, 37, had all flown to Angelina's bachelorette party in New Orleans

'Vinny, it's all your fault, don't breathe,' Angelina joked as the gang sat in their hotel room.

She acknowledged that Vinny had been 'tiptoeing around' Jenni, trying to keep her from getting upset, but Deena pointed out that Jenni had been upset anyway by his actions.

'I don't know what she's mad at me about,' Vinny said. 'One second I didn't say enough to her, one second I said too much. Does she want me to talk about him or not? Does she want me to talk more s*** about 24, like he did her dirty or does she not want me to poke fun at him?'

Deena said Jenni just wanted Vinny to tell her what really went down, as she'd primarily been hurt by the fact that he was far more straightforward with Angelina.

Whoops: 'I thought the whole time I was being her friend,' he reflected, as he thought back to why he hadn't said more. 'I don't know why she's mad at me and wants to apparently rip my head off'

Get together: Angelina acknowledged that Vinny had been 'tiptoeing around' Jenni, trying to keep her from getting upset, but Deena pointed out that Jenni had been upset anyway by his actions

Give it to her straight: Deena said Jenni just wanted Vinny to tell her what really went down, as she'd primarily been hurt by the fact that he was far more straightforward with Angelina

When the guys were alone again, Pauly said, 'Bro, for real though, she gonna f*** you up.'

Mike, who'd been backhanded by Jenni years before, taught Vinny how to defend himself.

His tips included 'Always keep your head on a swivel,' and 'You gotta keep your hands up.'

The men then donned funky glasses and sashes that said 'Hot mess' as they headed out into the city for what they were calling the 'ratchelorette' party.

After boarding a party bus, the gang went to dinner, then headed to a prearranged ghost tour.

Dukes up! Mike taught Vinny how to defend himself. His tips included 'Always keep your head on a swivel,' and 'You gotta keep your hands up'

Fun, fun, fun: The men then donned funky glasses and sashes that said 'Hot mess' as they headed out into the city for what they were calling the 'ratchelorette' party

Deena, who'd organized it, got drunk because she was so nervous about seeing 'ghosties.'

'Can you punch ghosts, or does it just go right through their face?' Pauly asked their tour leader.

'I just got out of prison,' Mike considered. 'I fought addiction. I don't need any more issues. I ain't about that ghost life.'

After the tour, everyone went to get some frozen 'grenade' drinks, and the men joked about how they used to avoid grenades, their nickname for unattractive women.

Deena was falling asleep, so Mike took her back to the hotel, calling himself 'The Designation.'

Fun! Deena organized a party bus, dinner, annd a prearranged ghost tour, but admitted the spirits may be making her nervous so she got drunk

Bottom's up! After the tour, everyone went to get some frozen 'grenade' drinks, and the men joked about how they used to avoid grenades, their nickname for unattractive women

Uh oh: Deena got a little too sloshed and had to go home

There to help: Mike took her back to the hotel, calling himself 'The Designation'

In Deena's absence, Snooki and Angelina got so drunk that the bride-to-be tried to blow into the penis of a blow-up doll and pretended to perform 'reverse cowgirl' on him.

'The guys need to take over and show these girls how to party,' Pauly said the next day.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, 32, then showed up to the hotel, fresh off an arrest on seven charges for fighting with his ex-girlfriend Jen Harley, 32.

The guys filled him in on the 'ratchelorette' and Jenni's beef with Vinny.

'When Jenni's mad, anything that happens is going to be your fault,' Ronnie told his pal. Take it from me.'

Oh my: In Deena's absence, Snooki and Angelina got so drunk that the bride-to-be tried to blow into the penis of a blow-up doll and pretended to perform 'reverse cowgirl' on him

Legal troubles: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, 32, then showed up to the hotel, fresh off an arrest on seven charges for fighting with his ex-girlfriend Jen Harley, 32

Lots on his plate: Ronnie was dealing with his own issues, but listened to Vinny's situation like a pal

I get it: As Vinny recounted what he'd told Jenni, Ronnie began to understand why she was mad at him

As Vinny recounted what he'd told Jenni, Ronnie began to understand why she was mad at him.

Mike had been waiting to talk to Ronnie, and when the two of them were by themselves, he said that he could call on him 'at any time.'

'I remember when I was going through my own thing, to be honest with you, I put one foot in front of the other, got back to the basics,' Mike said. 'And that's where it all happens.'

Ronnie offered that 'the one thing I love about my addictive personality is if I focus on something positive, it becomes you become obsessive about it.'

Mike told Ronnie that he'd been insecure 'for the first time in [his] life' when he started working with the cast again in Miami in 2018.

One on one: Mike had been waiting to talk to Ronnie, and when the two of them were by themselves, he said that he could call on him 'at any time'

Tough: Mike told Ronnie that he'd been insecure 'for the first time in [his] life' when he started working with the cast again in Miami in 2018

'I had to come back in with you savages,' he remembered. 'I didn't know if you guys were going to like me, if I was going to fit in, if America was going to like me.'

He'd also grappled with the fact that he didn't have his trademark six-pack any longer, and barely knew who he was, but he found 'a different version of myself,' he noted.

'I don't want to be the old Ron,' Ronnie affirmed.

'We wanna see the best Ron,' Mike emphasized. 'And if you continue to move forward in life, put one foot in front of the other, we will find the best Ron. You will find the best Ron.'

'I'm rooting for the comeback,' he added.

Yum: The guys headed off to get beignets at the Cafe du Monde, blowing their powdered sugar all over each other

Anxious: Vinny started to get nervous as Jenni was due to arrive at the hotel soon, but he blew off steam by sprinkling powdered sugar over Deena and Angelina

The guys headed off to get beignets at the Cafe du Monde, blowing their powdered sugar all over each other.

They took some back to the girls' hotel room, where Snooki asked Ron if he was okay.

'Everything's great,' he affirmed. 'Today's a good day.'

Vinny started to get nervous as Jenni was due to arrive at the hotel soon, but he blew off steam by sprinkling powdered sugar over Deena and Angelina.

'How do you deal with a mad Jenni?' he asked Ron, who'd fought with Jenni for '10 years.'

Can't win: 'She's already f***ing upset at you, so anything you say is gonna make her more upset,' Ron acknowledged

Worried: 'Is she gonna flip out?' Angelina wondered privately, as Jenni's car approached. 'I got make sure no wine bottles are around. I literally do not know what to expect right now'

'She's already f***ing upset at you, so anything you say is gonna make her more upset,' Ron acknowledged.

'I'm f***ed, is what you're saying,' Vinny replied, laughing.

'Is she gonna flip out?' Angelina wondered privately, as Jenni's car approached. 'I got make sure no wine bottles are around. I literally do not know what to expect right now.'

'Never did I ever imagine I would be giving my boy a funeral on this vacation,' Pauly said.

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns next week on MTV.
U.S. social distancing guidelines for coronavirus quietly expired Thursday night as the White House shifts its focus to a three-phase plan for reopening the economy. But what does that mean?

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would not extend the federal governments 30 Days to Slow the Spread strategy, which initially began 45 days ago and was scheduled to end April 30. The Presidents Coronavirus Guidelines for America encouraged people to stay home; avoid social gatherings and discretionary travel; practice good hygiene; and follow directions from state and local authorities.

Theyll be fading out because now the governors are doing it, Trump told reporters Wednesday.

Trump has encouraged states to reopen non-essential businesses after 30 million Americans lost their jobs and the U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter, but the decision on when and how is being left up to states.

In other words, nothing has changed unless your state or local government has said so.

According to CNN, at least 31 states have opened or will partially reopen over the next few days. Florida is allowing restaurants and retail stores to let customers inside at reduced capacity, but not in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties; Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp allowed some businesses, including salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors, to open last week but said businesses must continue social distancing until May 13; Texas is reopening all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls at 25% capacity Friday; and West Virginia is allowing restaurants, churches and other businesses to resume Monday.

New York state remains under a stay-at-home order through May 15, which includes wearing a mask when in public spaces where people are not able to stay six feet apart. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has outlined a plan to reopen the state on a regional basis when they meet 12 criteria necessary to protect public health, including a 14-day decline in hospitalizations. The Un-PAUSE plan includes a phased reopening of priority industries; testing and tracing (at least 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 people); and redesigned workplaces that allow social distancing or telecommuting wherever possible.

Fox News reports a draft proposal of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a phased reopening of the economy includes specific guidelines for each sector, including schools, child care centers, restaurants, bars, churches and public transportation. White House officials are reportedly reviewing it before releasing a final proposal.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration gave governors a three-phase plan that largely reinforced the states plans already under development. Phase one, which encourages strict social distancing in public and discourages social gatherings larger than 10 people, is not recommended until states see a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases over 14 days.

But not all states that have begun reopening have seen cases decline for two weeks, and some have said they still dont have enough testing. As of Friday morning, the U.S. has more than 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 63,000 deaths, including more than 5,000 new deaths nationwide over the last three days.

Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, still remained optimistic that life would be back to normal this summer.

I think what youll see in May, as the states are reopening now, is May will be a transition month, he told Fox News on Wednesday. And I think youll see by June, a lot of the country should be back to normal and the hope is that ... by July the country is really rocking again.

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In 2002, ICANN granted the Public Interest Registry, another nonprofit, the right to run the dot-org domain. Part of the rationale was that the domain should not be managed on a purely commercial basis  unlike dot-com and dot-net, for example.

The Public Interest Registry, in turn, is controlled by the Internet Society, a nonprofit that helps develop internet standards, education programs and policy. The registry holds a contract to manage dot-org, which was renewed last year for 10 more years.

But under the rules governing the registry, ICANN must approve major changes in its practices and ownership.

The Internet Society saw the sale to Ethos Capital as a way to gain an endowment to fund its operations and get out of the business of operating dot-org, which it wanted to do for some time.

In an interview this week, Andrew Sullivan, chief executive of the Internet Society, said the Ethos Capital bid was one of several proposals it had received  and one that appeared to combine people who had internet experience with the financial resources to help dot-org grow and prosper.

We viewed it as a good transaction and that would be good for everyone, Mr. Sullivan said.

If ICANN rejected the Ethos Capital deal, the Internet Society had no immediate backup plan, Mr. Sullivan said, adding that dot-org would be run as before. We will not neglect dot-org, he said.

The opposition to the Ethos Capital bid took a number of forms, including an alterative proposal made in January by a group of internet veterans and nonprofit leaders called the Cooperative Corporation of .ORG Registrants. Among the cooperatives initial seven directors are Esther Dyson, who was the first chair of ICANN, and Mike Roberts, ICANNs first president. The Internet Society, Mr. Sullivan said in the interview this week, has not yet had talks with the cooperatives founders.
- A supposed cure for the deadly coronavirus was developed by a group of Nigerian Catholic priests

- The drug is called Pax CVD Plus, and it is said to be solely for the treatment of coronavirus

- The constituents of the drug are antiviral and immunomodulatory agents which help to stimulate antibodies

A group of Nigerian Catholic priests claim they have developed a supposed cure for the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, a drug called Pax CVD Plus.

The disclosure was made in a statement released and signed by Father Anselm Adodo OSB on Wednesday, April 29, on the official page of the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, Outcome News reported.

READ ALSO: Mutahi Kagwe says no COVID-19 cent will be stolen under his watch

The constituents of the drug are antiviral and immunomodulatory agents which help to stimulate antibodies. Photo credit: Outcome News

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Baboon Josephine: Elgeyo Marakwet man abandoned by wife, children after adopting ape

The cleric said the drug was solely for the treatment of coronavirus.

Father Anselm said that plant-based drug was seemingly the best approach for coronavirus because it was easily produced, stored and distributed and could be handled by medical and non-medical personnel as it posed a low contamination risk.

He said the constituents of the drug are antiviral and immunomodulatory agents which help to stimulate antibodies.

The cleric said: The Pax CVD PLUS contains herbs and active phytoconstituents with documented scientific evidence based on clinical reports of their efficacy and safety.

According to Father Anselm, the research was a joint effort of experts from University of Lagos and University of Benin, a tertiary health institutionIrrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo state and experts sent by Prof Tunde Salako and Prof Catherine Adeyeye.

Professor Salako is the head of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, while Professor Adeyeye is the director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

READ ALSO: Firefighters to the rescue: New mom shares touching moment first responders helped deliver her baby

TUKO.co.ke recently covered a story of 98-year-old doctor seeing patients despite being vulnerable to COVID-19.

Frances oldest doctor has been making weekly trips to a retirement home to provide support to the workers who are overwhelmed by the pandemic.

Christian Chenays whose 99th birthday was nearing said his decision to keep working was partly informed by a shortage of local family doctors in France.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
One more person from Balasore



district tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of cases in Odisha to 143, officials said on Friday.

With the fresh case, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Balasore district reached 20. The new case is a 58-year-old male having a travel history to Kolkata. He was asymptomatic, they said.

All the 20 COVID-19 cases in Balasore district are active, officials said.

Contact tracing of the new patient and follow up action is underway, the Health and Family Welfare department said.

Two patients in Bhubaneswar have recovered from COVID-19, the department said. Of the 47 cases in Khurda district, 27 persons have so far recovered, they said, adding that one person from the state capital had died of coronavirus on April 6.

Of the total 143 COVID-19 cases, Bhubaneswar tops the list with 47, followed by 36 in Jajpur, 20 in Balasore district, 19 in Bhadrak district, 10 in Sundergarh district, two each in Kendrapara and Kalahandi districts, one each case in Cuttack, Puri, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Keonjhar and Koraput districts.

As more than 90 per cent of cases in Balasore, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts have West Bengal link, the Health and Family Welfare department appealed to the people not to hide their travel history.

The people who have returned from West Bengal recently must come forward for testing. They may seem healthy but they could be infected and also spread infection, the department said, adding that they are advised to contact local BDO/Tahasildar/Sarpanch and remain in isolation at home. Testing is free, the department added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the wake of the pandemic, the Health Ministry has classified districts across all states and Union Territories as Red, Orange and Green zones with 130, 284 and 319 such zones respectively across the country, as on April 30.

All four major metropolitans - Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and - have been classified as red zones. The other major cities which are under the red zone are - Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Indore, Bhopal, Patna, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune and Nagpur among others.

Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan has written to Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs delineating the above classification.

According to the data shared by the ministry, Uttar Pradesh has the maximum 19 red zones followed by Maharashtra which has 14 red zones. Tamil Nadu comes next with 12 red zones followed by which has 11 red zones. West Bengal is in fifth place with 10 red zones.



Uttar Pradesh also has the highest number of orange zones at 36. It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 24 orange zones. Bihar comes in third place with 20 orange zones.

The maximum green zones are in Assam at 30 followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with both states having 25 green zones. Madhya Pradesh comes next with 24 green zones.

"The districts were earlier designated as hotspots/red-zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate. Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria," the Union Health Secretary wrote.

"This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration the incidence of cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing, and surveillance feedback to classify the districts. A district will be considered green zone if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case in the last 21 days in the district," she added.

Clarifying the classification of districts, the Health Secretary said: "For districts having 1 or more municipal corporations, corporations and other areas of districts may be treated as separate units. If 1 or more of these have reported no cases for the last 21 days, they can be considered 1 level lower in zonal classification, if the district is in Red/Orange zone."

"In buffer zones, extensive surveillance for cases through monitoring of ILI/SARI cases in health facilities has to be taken up. States are requested to delineate the containment zones and buffer zones in the identified red and orange zone districts and notify the same," she added.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated sectors of the economy dominated by immigrant labor: Restaurants, hotels, office cleaning services, in-home childcare and hair and nail salons, among others, have seen businesses shuttered as nonessential. The Migration Policy Institute found that 20% of the U.S. workers in vulnerable industries facing layoffs are immigrants, even though they only make up 17% of the civilian workforce.
Elite Ladies Club USA today has fulfilled their year-long commitment to the Nwamasi Community Clinic in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

At their inauguration in the USA last year, the group raised funds for the Nwamasi Community Clinic to support them with hospital beds and other lifesaving medical equipments.

With overwhelming support from their members and the North American Community, the group raised substantial funds to enable them acquire the equipments needed at the clinic.

On Wednesday, April 29th, representatives of the Elite ladies club USA presented assorted hospital mattresses, beds, and lifesaving equipments worth thousands of dollars to the Nwamasi Community clinic to support them in their health delivery activities.

The team led by Gifty Sarponmaa, Nana Yaa Boateng and Joanna Afriyie made the presentation on behalf of Elite ladies Club USA to Madam Juliana Akomeah Opoku, Principal Physician In Charge of Nwamase clinic

Madam Juliana Akomeah Opoku expressed her profound appreciation to the group for the effort and expressed her desire to put the items to good use.

Elite Ladies Club USA is a nonprofit voluntary organization of highly skilled, selfless, dedicated, and self-motivated young ladies committed to promoting opportunities to support and connect women in the community and other endeavours through mentoring, networking, developing and recognizing excellence.

The group has over the years been engaged in community development and support initiatives.

They have donated clothing to some homeless shelters in the past and embarked on outreach programs at assisted living facilities in Pennsylvania USA.

The core values of the group are to support women and share in their communities both Ghana and the US. By building a strong network connecting women to women in North America and Ghana.

Their initiatives have been successful in strengthening the community through donations and community service. They also play a role in mentoring women in leadership positions in various organizations and entrepreneurship. Ms Patricia Kumah (Lady Smart), Bernice Fynn-Addo, Jemima Hagan, Natasha Osei, Gloria Adu, and Nana Ama Eleonu have been at the forefront in steering the affairs of the Association
See also: Increasingly looks like Biden is toast

It is neither novel nor a hot take to say president Donald Trump will be re-elected. While 2020 is far from a redux of 2016, one similarity prevails: Trump has no rival.

Despite an economy in shambles from the CCP COVID-19 economic nuclear freeze with 20% unemployment, ushering a Great Depression II, Trump is the only candidate positioned to lead the nation out from the bottom.

Will Trump be blamed for the unnecessary nationwide lockdowns, and resulting carnage? Of course, but who would have done it differently, and do a better and more timely job of restoration? Joe Biden, or some other Democrat?

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the Democrats inherited the Great Recession in 20089. They engineered the most flaccid "recovery" from a major downturn in history.

In eight years Obama/Biden doubled the national debt and couldn't budge GDP growth much above 1%, while presiding over some of the worst functional jobless numbers and workforce participation levels; zero wage growth overall, depressed wages and job losses for those displaced by illegal aliens; manufacturing decimated; China ascendant.

In three years, Donald Trump reached full employment with six million unfilled job openings, record workforce participation, and the lowest black and Hispanic unemployment rates since such data were tracked fifty years ago. His policies provoked sharp wage growth and put an end to the China subversion of U.S. interests.

Despite the extreme hardships, abject suffering, and unresolved anxiety, voters know that the best chances for alleviating their stress and despair is Trump, because he has done it once already. The Democrats have never done it. A Democrat in the White House would prolong the pain for at least four years, with no hope on the horizon.

The voters, having tasted the bitter lockdown/stay-at-home menus, also know that more repression and totalitarian tendencies from the Democrat command-and-control petty tyrants, would become an astronomical tidal flood, sweeping away aspirations forever.

There are other reasons Joe Biden won't be president. Dementia is foremost, accompanied by his inability to be coherent even when alert. Biden's Ukraine, China, and other lifelong corrupt dealings will be fully exposed.

Biden will likely be implicated for at least his oblique assent in the forthcoming DOJ indictments in the multi-tiered criminal conspiracies to deny Trump the nomination in 201516, to derail his election versus Hillary Clinton, and then to subvert his presidency. And how many times will Trump quote from the memoirs of former sec. of defense Robert Gates? "Biden has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."



Photo credit: Gage Skidmore.

Would odds-makers take a bet on Biden in the ring with Trump in a general election? After five minutes in a presidential debate, the moderators will feint a broadcast equipment failure as an act of mercy for a disoriented and humiliated Joe Biden. So why won't the Democrats replace him with someone who at least has a puncher's chance?

Because the Democrats know that Trump can't be displaced. Trump's base isn't going anywhere; indeed, those people are supercharged, and independents are disgusted with the Dems' Russia collusion nonsense, impeachment distraction, and more recently the cavalier and cynical approach to the CCP COVID-19 relief and recovery legislation that won't be forgotten.

Yet Biden, despite all his fatal defects  including vacating the so-called moral high ground due to his sexual assault debacle  will survive as their nominee. Why?

Because there is no one to replace him. If Bernie Sanders is the replacement, the Democrat Party will be finished. If someone other than Bernie is the substitute for Biden, Bernie-supporters will riot, if not stay home or vote for Trump.

None of the Dem U.S. senators, erstwhile presidential aspirants, could compete with Biden. How would they take down Trump?

None of the Dem governors would be able to defend their brutal record in killing their economies and quashing civil liberties in handling the CCP COVID-19 panic. Nonetheless, the best of that bad lot need to be preserved for a better day.

And so, Joe Biden will survive to be the Dem ballot champion, as he is the necessary sacrificial zinc. If Democrat Party captains want to salvage any bronze fittings, prop shafts, aluminum, iron, and other metals from destructive electrolysis, they need Joe Biden as their political anode.

Better to forfeit today, even if humiliated, rather than face disintegration, with no hope to rescue anything that floats, for a voyage later.
People are hesitating to call an ambulance in time due to fear of coronavirus, and due to the drivers' hesitation. (DC Photo by SSR)

Hyderabad: The Covid-19 pandemic is having some unforeseen effects on non-Covid-19 patients, a survey has found.

Carried out by emergency specialists in private hospitals, the survey found that in 15 top hospitals in Hyderabad reported a 45 per cent increase in the number of brought dead non-Covid-19 patients in April. The number was 157 in March and surged to 229 in April. In fact, seven of the hospitals had 70 such cases in March and 127 in April, an increase of 80 per cent.

The doctors discerned two reasons feeding this phenomenon: there is fear of going to hospitals as they may be hotspots of Covid-19; and there are difficulties in getting ambulances these days.

Even if an ambulance does turn up, there is a delay in getting to hospital as the drivers have first to screen for coronavirus markers--fever, cough and breathlessness. But then breathlessness can not only be because of Covid-19 but also due to lower functioning of heart, kidneys, or panic and anxiety attacks and severe shock to the body.

Dr Sateesh Kumar Kailasam, director of Medicover Institute of Emergency Medicine, said we are in a vastly changed situation. Earlier, people knew the symptoms and came in early. This helped doctors in containing paralytic attacks, brain strokes and heart attacks within the golden hour. Now it is different. It is very disturbing as lives are being lost due to fear.

Simply put, Covid-19 has expanded the time between distress signal and medical attention for non-Covid-19 patients. In one case recently, a 32-year-old male software engineer felt a tingling sensation for three days at a stretch but did not consult a doctor. His family took him to a hospital only after he had suffered a paralytic stroke.

Then, a 45-year-old male with low sugar levels consulted a doctor on the phone but did not call back for an update, and suffered a major heart attack three days later.

In consultations with family members, doctors have found that reluctance on the part of ambulance drivers to rush to patients, police questioning and fear of the virus are all making them wait rather than act.

Dr A Sai Ravishanker, a senior interventional cardiologist at Continental Hospitals, said, Fear of Covid-19 is justified but it does not mean that people must not seek help. Telemedicine consultations are possible. The survival of patients prone to strokes who come late will require high intervention in terms of medicines, longer hospital stay and higher costs. We are seeing a reverse cycle now where there is a major delay and that is a worry.

Earlier, every gastric pain was considered a heart attack and people rushed to hospitals but the reverse is being observed now.

In the suburbs of Hyderabad, people used to rush to hospital after thorn pricks, bee stings and insect bites but now would rather not. This can aggravate such minor cases, leading to sepsis and shock deaths. A thorn prick led to sepsis in the case of a 20-year-old woman as she was brought in too late and the infection had spread.

These are preventable deaths. Losing patients to preventable diseases is worrying the medical community and they have urged the government to create confidence by educating ambulance drivers to ferry those with medical conditions to hospitals without delay.
New Delhi: Indian cinema's legendary actor Rishi Kapoor breathed his last on Thursday, April 30, 2020, at 8.45 am. The actor was admitted to Mumbai's Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital the day before. He was 67. On his shocking demise, film fraternity and fans across the globe expressed grief and extended condolences.

Megastar Dilip Kumar's wife and actress Saira Banu Khan, through former's Twitter handle, mourned Rishi Kapoor's demise. She tweeted: Met loving #RishiKapoor hale and hearty recently.He always made it a point to affectionately come personally in our old traditional ways to give any invitation to family functions. Rishi always kept in touch n kept alive the bond of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. RIP SairaBanuKhan

Met loving #RishiKapoor hale and hearty recently.He always made it a point to affectionately come personally in our old traditional ways to give any invitation to family functions. Rishi always kept in touch n kept alive the bond of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. RIP SairaBanuKhan  Dilip Kumar (@TheDilipKumar) May 1, 2020

Both Dilip Kumar and late legendary filmmaker-actor Raj Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor's father) were great friends and shared a close bond.

Rishi Kapoor suffered from Leukemia for two long years and underwent treatment for it in New York where he stayed for almost a year. He is survived by wife and actress Neetu Kapoor, children Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and actor Ranbir Kapoor.

The last rites were performed on April 30, Thursday evening at the Chandanwadi Electric Crematorium in Mumbai. Rishi Kapoor's wife Neetu Kapoor, sister Rima Jain, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor along with other relatives and friends paid a tearful adieu with a heavy heart to the man who brought charm alive to the silver screens.

Family members and close friends reached the venue to pay their last respects. Rishi Kapoor's mortal remains reached the crematorium in a flower-decorated ambulance from Sir HN Reliance Foundation hospital as the legendary actor truly deserved a befitting farewell on his final journey.

Here's wishing the family strength and positivity to sail through these tough times.

May his soul rest in peace!
NEW BEDFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Blue Harvest Fisheries is committed to the safety and well-being of its employees, and to the safety and quality of its seafood products, above all else. In addition to existing precautions the company initiated, which were in compliance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and other Federal agencies, Blue Harvest has implemented a series of comprehensive new precautionary measures. Additionally, although there is no evidence that any employees have contracted the COVID-19 virus on the job, Blue Harvest will offer its hourly workers an additional $1.00-per-hour hazard pay for the duration of the state of emergency as declared by the Governor of Massachusetts.

When Blue Harvest learned that two employees had tested positive for COVID-19 over an 11-day period, having apparently contracted the illness outside of the workplace, Blue Harvest voluntarily reported this information to the New Bedford Board of Health. Prior to this, Blue Harvest had already created and began implementing a 25-point protocol for COVID-19 based on emerging best practices, and had arranged for an independent company to conduct deep cleaning and disinfecting even before the anticipated closure order arrived.

The company closed at the end of the workday last Thursday. Working around the clock over the weekend, Blue Harvest staff built 3-sided plexiglass separations to improve social distancing measures on the plant floor. Operations resumed as normal on Monday.

The plexiglass barriers are just one of the steps Blue Harvest has taken to improve safety and minimize potential COVID-19 exposures. The company is regularly disinfecting common surfaces, and now does regular deep cleans of the entire facility. All employees are required to wear facemasks and face shields on the production floor, and the company takes the temperature of all employees twice a day, before entering in the morning and before leaving at night. Common areas have been rearranged to observe proper social distancing measures.

The company has established a dedicated COVID-19 team that meets twice a week to review the latest information, ensure all safety protocols and best practices are in place, and to update plans as new information becomes available.

The full list of safety precautions implemented at Blue Harvest is included below:

Hiring individuals to continuously wipe down all common touch points;

Propping open all non-critical doors so there is less need to touch surfaces;

Installing a covered exterior hand washing sink at plant entrance points with soap, hand sanitizer and paper towel dispensers;

Installing additional hand sanitizer pumps throughout the facility;

Marking the appropriate social distancing lines at the punch clocks, cafeterias and exterior handwashing stations, etc.;

Opening up a second cafeteria along with one-way entrance and exit flows to minimize contact;

Staggering breaks and lunch times to minimize the number of employees in the cafeterias and restrooms at one time and to increase physical space;

Arranging seating in the cafeterias so there is one chair per table;

Taking the temperatures of employees prior to entering the building and again at the end of the day;

Eliminating the food trucks that visit other workplaces and adding an additional vending machine with meal availability;

Requiring masks be worn in all locations and face shields are required on the production floors;

Establishing a procedure for wiping down/sanitizing hand jacks and fork trucks;

Upgrading production lines with 3-sided plexiglass partitions to create separation between workers and prevent droplet migration;

Posting signage throughout the plant in multiple languages;

Fogging and deep cleaning the building with anti-viral cleaners, in addition to the regular daily sanitation.

The company has also provided each employee with outside-of-the-workplace safety guidance, based on CDC guidelines, to help keep themselves and their families safe.

About Blue Harvest Fisheries

Blue Harvest Fisheries is a leading supplier of premium quality seafood sustainably harvested from MSC certified fisheries in the U.S. The company operates its own fleet of scallop and groundfish vessels as well as offload facilities in Newport News, VA and Fairhaven, MA and an SQF certified waterfront manufacturing facility in New Bedford, MA. The Blue Harvest Fisheries product line features sea scallops, Pacific cod, haddock, ocean perch (Acadian redfish) and Atlantic pollock (saithe). The company also offers swordfish and tuna from approved third-party vessels. Blue Harvest Fisheries products are sold fresh and frozen under the Blue Harvest brand to leading restaurants, wholesalers and distributors across the U.S. and abroad. The company also offers custom processing and is a supplier of private label products to retailers and food service distributors. For more information visit www.blueharvestfisheries.com.

Press Contact

Robert Vanasse

Stove Boat Communications

(202) 333-2628

bob@stoveboat.com

SOURCE: Blue Harvest Fisheries

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/588029/Blue-Harvest-Implements-Comprehensive-New-COVID-19-Protection-Measures-Offers-Employees-Hazard-Pay
Mondelez India, one of the countrys leading snacking companies, has today launched a limited-edition Cadbury Dairy Milk Thank You bar in recognition of the generous spirit of the countrys unsung heroes during these difficult times. It is the first time since the nations favorite chocolate bar hit the shelves in India over 70 years ago, that Cadbury Dairy Milk has replaced its logo with the words Thank You.

These bespoke chocolate bars will spread the spirit of gratitude across the country to each and everyone who are tirelessly and generously continuing to work, to support us all during this unprecedented time.

Mondelez India commit part proceeds from Limited-Edition Thank You Bar sale towards health insurance policies of the daily wage earners, via a partnership with Nirmana, an NGO that works with the unorganized sector.

Commenting on the launch of the limited-edition Cadbury Dairy Milk Thank You bars, Anil Viswanathan, Director  Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India said, Cadbury Dairy Milk as a brand, believes that if theres one thing that can shine a beam of light, in tough times like these, it is Generosity. As Indias most trusted brand, we understand the special role Cadbury Dairy Milk plays in the lives of our consumers. We felt a sense of duty as we created a pack innovation that represents the nations sentiment. The current unprecedented situation has made us all realize the value of the ones that run our cities, societies and lives. This launch serves as a small tribute for their enormous efforts and only begins to express our collective thanks to these unsung heroes.

To celebrate the linguistic diversity across India, the Cadbury Dairy Milk Thank You bars will be launched in eight different languages - English, Hindi/Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, to deliver the message of gratitude and support from each and every one of us.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Thank You bar will be priced at Rs 40 for 50 grams and will be available as a choice alongside other Cadbury Dairy Milk price points across all retail channels.
Geneva, May 2 : The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the COVID-19 outbreak still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

"Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern," he said at a virtual press conference from Geneva, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tedros declared a PHEIC, WHO's highest level of alarm, over the novel coronavirus outbreak on Jan. 30, when there were 82 cases outside China. Later the disease caused by the virus was named COVID-19.

Under the International Health Regulations, the WHO director-general has the authority to determine that an outbreak constitutes a PHEIC when certain conditions are met, and the decision should be reviewed every three months.

"WHO will continue supporting all countries with technical and logistical support, especially those that need it most," Tedros said at the press conference.

"As we have done clearly from the beginning, we will continue to call on countries to implement a comprehensive package of measures to find, isolate, test and treat every case, and trace every contact," he added.

The WHO chief also said that in accordance with the International Health Regulations, he will reconvene the COVID-19 emergency committee again in 90 days, or sooner if needed.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
When asked Friday what he would say to Tara Reade, who has accused him of sexual assault, Joe Biden looked into the camera and said, "This never, ever happened."

Biden, who was on Morning Joe to address the allegations for the first time, spoke for more than 20 minutes about the allegations in a wide-ranging interview.

"This, never, ever happened," Biden said. "I don't know what is motivating her. ... But it's irrelevant. It never happened. It never happened. Period. "

In his first statement since Reade alleged he assaulted her when she was a Senate staffer in 1993, Biden also called on the National Archives to release "any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there."

In the lengthy statement released before his MSNBC appearance, Biden said "responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both big and small ways."

More: Read Joe Biden's full statement on Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation

During remarks on MSNBC, Biden said, "I'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened."

Former Vice President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, on March 12, 2020.

When asked by "Morning Joe" co-host Mike Brzezinski if his campaign had reached out to Reade, Biden said, "No, I have not reached out to her, it was 27 years ago. It never happened."

What Reade says happened in 1993

Reade told the Associated Press that while she was bringing a gym bag to Biden in a Capitol Hill office building in 1993, Biden pushed her against a wall, groped her and digitally penetrated her without consent.

She said she recalled him looking surprised when she pulled away and that he told her, "Come on, man, I heard you liked me."

Multiple people have said they remember her telling them about an assault or harassment and retaliation well before she went public with her story, including a former neighbor who said this week that Reade told her about the assault in 1995 or 1996.

Story continues

"This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it," Lynda LaCasse told Business Insider.

What we know: Former staffer Tara Reade says Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993. Is there proof? And why now?

Reade's claim comes amid the first presidential election since the surge of #MeToo, which has championed the importance of listening to women and holding powerful abusers to account. Biden is among the many Democratic figures who has been a supporter of the movement.

The movement has ensnared former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, media personalities like former "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer and politicians alike. President Donald Trump has been accused of sexual assault or unwanted advances by more than a dozen women. He has claimed he's been victim to "false accusations."

Trump weighed in on the allegation against Biden on Thursday, suggesting that it could be false. His campaign has amplified Reade's claims numerous times on social media recently.

"I don't know anything about it, I don't know exactly. I think he should respond, you know? It could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations. I've been falsely charged numerous times," Trump said.

Senate papers housed at university, but Biden says not personnel files

Biden noted that papers from his time in the Senate, such as speeches, policy proposals, position statements and the writing of bills, were donated to the University of Delaware, as "it is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document their public record." He added that the papers donated do not include personnel files.

Biden reiterated that any complaint would be kept at the National Archives.

I am not worried about it at all. If there is a complaint, thats where it should be," Biden said on MSNBC. "And if it's there, put it out. But I've never seen it.

In his statement ahead of the TV appearance, Biden said, "As a Presidential candidate, Im accountable to the American people. We have lived long enough with a President who doesnt think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. Thats not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth."

Reade has repeatedly said that the complaint she made does not detail the alleged assault, but mentions that Biden mader her uncomfortable.

The University of Delaware is not releasing documents donated from Biden's Senate office in 2012, as the school is still "curating the collection" and the process is not expected to end until well into 2021, according to CNN.

A spokeswoman from the University of Delaware told CNN that the school would not release the papers until two years after Biden retires from public life.

The university announced last year that 1,850 boxes of archival records from Biden's Senate career arrived at their library on June 6, 2012. The records are set to be accessible no sooner than two years after Biden retired from "public office" or no sooner than Dec. 31, 2019, according to the university.

Brzezinski pressed Biden multiple times about his response to Christine Blasey Ford's allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh, which came to light during Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court.

Why is it real for Dr Ford, but not for Tara Reade? Brzezinski asked.

Women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt, as they come forward and say something that is that they said happened to them," Biden said. "They should start off with a presumption they're telling the truth. Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts. And the facts in this case do not exist. They never happened. And there's so many inconsistencies.

Report: Biden accuser spoke to neighbor about alleged assault

Reade among women who accused Biden of inappropriate affection

Reade was one of a group of women who came forward a year ago with stories about Biden displaying inappropriate signs of physical affection, but didn't mention her claim went further until speaking with podcast host Katie Halper in March and in subsequent interviews.

Reade told AP she didn't bring up her assault allegation a year ago because "already I was being threatened and kind of smeared, and I just I wasnt ready." At the time, Biden acknowledged the claims and said publicly he would be more "mindful and respectful" going forward.

'A person of great integrity': Prominent Democratic women are standing by Joe Biden amid Tara Reade's sexual assault claim

After voicing her complaints about sexual harassment, but not assault, to supervisors in Biden's office in 1993, Reade says she was retaliated against and ultimately told to find another job. She says she reported harassment to a Senate personnel office, but news investigations haven't found such a record and multiple former Biden employees say they don't recall conversations about it, The New York Times reported.

Biden's campaign previously denied the allegation in a statement to media, highlighting his past work against violence toward women and encouraging news organizations to investigate further.

"He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard  and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: It is untrue. This absolutely did not happen," said deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield.

Biden echoed those sentiments Friday.

From the very beginning I've said, believing women means taking the woman's claim seriously, Biden said on MSNBC, adding that after allegations are made, they must be vetted. That's true in this case as well ... but in the end, in every case, the truth is what matters. In this case, the truth is the claims are false.

Reade's motivation and credibility have been under the microscope for several weeks, with detractors pointing to the way her story evolved and her support for former 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, among other things.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the 2019 Democratic women's leadership forum, Oct. 17, 2019, in Washington.

A lifelong Democrat, Reade has said her motive for coming forward was not political. She told The Intercept's Ryan Grim she didn't speak about it when Biden was in office during the Obama administration because she didn't want to hurt her then-teenage daughter and she liked former President Barack Obama. She also noted that was before the rise of the #MeToo era that empowered more women to tell their stories.

Several prominent Democratic figures have stood by Biden despite the claims, including some of the women who have been rumored as potential running mates. Reade said the response has been "devastating" and that she is now "politically homeless."

"I cried for a while because they're important in my life. They've been figures that I looked up to," she told BuzzFeed News.

USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll: Nearly 1 in 4 Sanders supporters not on board yet with voting for Biden

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden denies Tara Reade allegation, asks that records be released
T he Government has exceeded its 100,000-a-day coronavirus testing target, Matt Hancock has declared.

Addressing this afternoons Downing Street press briefing, the Health Secretary hailed an "unprecedented expansion" in the country's testing capacity, saying it would help "unlock the lockdown."

He said 122,347 Covid-19 tests were carried out in the 24 hours up to 9am on Friday.

The deadline for hitting the target passed on Thursday but a time lag in reporting meant results were not known until today.

Of the 122,347 tests processed, 27,497 were kits delivered to people's homes, National testing co-ordinator Professor John Newton confirmed.

He said a further 12,872 tests were delivered through the Governments satellite process  where test kits are delivered to centres such as hospitals and NHS sites.

Over the course of the entire testing process to date 1,023,824 tests have been carried out, Mr Hancock said.

The Health Secretary celebrated hitting the target as an incredible achievement, adding: I knew that it was an audacious goal, but we needed an audacious goal, because testing is so important for getting Britain back on her feet."

He continued: This unprecedented expansion in British testing capability is an incredible achievement, but it is not my achievement, it is a national achievement.

The Health Secretary praised his team, along with health and other organisations, for working tirelessly to fulfil the Government's ambitious aim.

This is how we did it  because everybody worked together, with grit and determination, to reach a shared goal, he said.

The positive moments during the coronavirus pandemic - in pictures 1 /54 The positive moments during the coronavirus pandemic - in pictures Captain Tom Moore after finishing his charity back garden 100 laps walk and raising millions of pounds Jeremy Selwyn Himalayan mountain range seen for first time in 30 years due to drop in air pollution caused by coronavirus lockdown. @parasrishi An emotional dress from the Queen. "We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again." Reuters Sophie and Emily Ward pose for a photograph with their hand-drawn picture of rainbows and a message on their window in St Helens Reuters NHS staff during a photocall as they pose with 'Thank You' messages at St Thomas' hospital Jeremy Selwyn Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli performs during ''Music for hope'', a streamed live event intended as a symbol of love, hope and healing amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on Easter Sunday, at an empty Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy. Via Reuters View of the illuminated statue of Christ the Redeemer that reads "Thank you" as Archbishop of the city of Rio de Janeiro Dom Orani Tempesta performs a mass in honor of Act of Consecration of Brazil and tribute to medical workers amidst the Coronavirus (COVID - 19) pandemic on April 12, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Getty Images Joe Wicks gets the world on their feet every weekday morning for a workout at 9am. Getty Images Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport. Reuters A medical worker from China's Jilin Province (in red) embraces a colleague from Wuhan as she prepares to return home at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. AP Susan Crawford checks the community food larder in Muthill, near Crieff in Perthshire, which was set up by local residents using the old village phone box as a food collection and donation point as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Tower Bridge and The Shard skyscraper are seen illuminated blue in support of NHS and other key workers. Reuters Postman Jon Matson who cheers up people with his character outfits during his rounds. @jon_the_viking_ Princes George (right), Louis (centre) and Princess Charlotte joining in a national applause for the NHS as people across the country showed their appreciation for all NHS workers who are helping to fight the coronavirus. Kensington Palace The staff on Nason Ward at the George Eliot Hospital with their get well sign for Boris Johnson. George Eliot Hospital The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge talking with staff during a visit to the London Ambulance Service 111 control room. PA Neighbours cheering on the actor as she performed Romeo and Juliet from her window to cheer up neighbours during lockdown. PA An image of The Queen and quotes from her broadcast on Sunday to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus. PA Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno, north Wales. @AndrewStuart via PA Olive and Mabel's viral video bringing a bit of light lockdown laughter to the world @MrAndrewCotter/Twitter Janet Woodcock holds a social distance dancing event with the residents of Springbourne in Frodsham, Cheshire. PA A screenshot of the NHS GoodSAM on a phone on the day that thousands of volunteers have reported for duty to help the NHS through the coronavirus crisis. PA David Beckham, one of more than 70 stars of the stage, screen and sports field who have joined forces to thank the NHS in a series of videos shared on Twitter. PA A teddy bear dressed as a Highlanders Super Rugby fan is seen in a window. Inspired by the Michael Rosen childrens book Were Going on a Bear Hunt, teddy bears and other cuddly toys are popping up in windows across New Zealand to give children something to look forward to on their neighbourhood walks during the lockdown. Getty Images Images using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, of the average Nitrogen dioxide concentrations over Spain in March 2019 (L) and during the March 14-25, 2020 period following a strict lockdown in Spain aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 . AFP via Getty Images Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh. AFP via Getty Images Jo Martin looks out of a window as a person in a dinosaur costume runs along the main street in Callander, Perthshire. PA Ben Jackson and Sophie Austin of the school sweethearts holding their wedding cake as they get married over Zoom video chat. PA Lilly Davenport poses for her dad infront of a mural in tribute to the NHS painted by artist Rachel List on the wall of the Horse Vaults pub in Pontefract. Reuters Say hello to Punk Sanitiser! To help with the shortages, BrewDog has started working on making hand sanitiser at its distillery in Scotland. BrewDog A man plays the guitar from a balcony to raise morale on the sixth day of an unprecedented lockdown across of all Italy imposed to slow the outbreak of coronavirus in Milan, Italy. Reuters The water pollution improves in Venice Italy with shoals of small fish and crabs now visible. Planet Labs via AFP Personal trainer Antonietta Orsini carries out an exercise class for her neighbours from her balcony while Italians cannot leave their homes due to the coronavirus outbreak. Reuters Empire State Building's 'Heart of America' light up. Empire State Building Even though bans on gatherings and social distancing have become the norm during the coronavirus pandemic, a New York City couple still found a way to celebrate their love with a surprise wedding. Reilly Jennings/Katie Kaufman-Gibbons A combination of two animated images show the fluctuation of nitrogen dioxide emissions across Europe from January 2020 until March 11, 2020. via Reuters An overview of air traffic across the European Union on March 25, 2020 made available by Flightradar24. The European Environment Agency says that air quality is improving. AP A combination image shows NO2 emission readings for Milan, Italy from 5-25 March 2019 versus the same period in 2020, based on European Space Agency Sentinel-5 satellite data. via Reuters Two people dance on the roof of their house in Madrid Getty Images A herd of fallow deer graze on the lawns in front of a housing estate in Harold Hill in east London AFP via Getty Images

They thrived because the team contained diversity of perspectives, background and, critically, diversity of thought.

And when things went wrong, which they did every single day, believe me, we didnt ask who we could blame, we asked how we could fix it.

To my team, I want to say you toiled tirelessly night and day and Im so proud of what you have achieved. To all of you, on behalf of Government, on behalf of the whole country, thank you.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health tweeted a video in celebration of the news, stressing: "This has been a huge national effort and we want to thank every individual, organisation, and business involved.

"However, this is only the beginning."

The announcement came as doubts were cast over how the country's tests have been counted.

Guidance on the official Government website appears to have changed in the days before the testing deadline.

In the days prior to April 28, there was no reference to how tests were counted.

But on April 28, the guidance said the count included: (i) test conducted with a result and (ii) test posted to an individual at home.

On April 30, the page stated that the number of tests includes tests processed through our labs (and) tests sent to individuals at home or to satellite testing locations.

The Lib Dems accused the Government of having decided to massage the metrics over the testing target, accusing ministers of playing fast and loose with the truth.

Acting co-leader Sir Ed Davey said: The Health Secretarys arbitrary target of 100,000 tests by the end of April was always a hostage to fortune, and the truth is, he missed it. Its extremely disappointing the Government have decided to massage the metrics rather than admit they fell short, as this will only undermine public confidence.

Everyone wants the country to succeed in beating this awful disease but the British public wont be so easily fooled by manipulation.

Its deeply regrettable but were still miles off the large-scale testing programme that will be an essential part of any plan to ease out of lockdown through a test, trace and isolate approach.

However, Prof Newton insisted there had been no change to the way tests are counted.

"As weve developed new ways of delivering tests weve taken advice from officials as to how this should be counted," he told the Downing Street press conference.

The tests that are within the control of the programme  which is the great majority  are counted when the tests are undertaken in our laboratories.

But any test which goes outside the control of the programme, theyre counted when they leave the programme, so that is the tests that are mailed out to people at home and the tests which go out in the satellite," he explained.

So that is the way they are counted, have always been counted, and the way we were advised to count them by officials.

Prof Newton said reaching the testing goal "so quickly" was an extraordinary achievement.

However, he added: Theres an area of consolidation required now, we need to move towards a more sustainable footing.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

Were very pleased with what weve done so far, but it really is only a start and we do need to apply what weve done now to the challenges of the future.
Your example is an inspiration, Macron told 99 year old Dr. Christian Chenay, who has continued to visit his patients in a retirement home during the Coronavirus epidemic, even though he himself is in a high-risk age group.

France's oldest practising doctor cares for the 60 residents at a home for elderly priests in Chevilly Larue, southeast of Paris.

President Macron and his wife Brigitte hosted Dr. Chenay on Friday in one of the elegant reception rooms at the Elysee Palace, where social distancing is easily observed.

Hearing about you makes people feel so optimistic, Macron told him. That's why I wanted to thank you. You understand the risks you are taking and yet you go ahead.

Dr. Chenay told the French president that no one had died in the retirement home where he worked, since the beginning of the epidemic.

Macron paid homage to all doctors in France, describing them as unbelievable.

He also remarked that the French people have adapted really well, stating that the government had tried to build on a certain public spiritedness.

Who will replace him?

The president also alluded to the difficulties he faced steering the country through the crisis, saying at one point: Sometimes it seems as though we're really being punished.

As well as visiting the retirement home, Dr. Chenay also advises other patients in the town, conducting consultations by phone or virtually. He has had to close his surgery because the waiting room is too small for people to respect social distancing regulations.

He didn't start work as a family doctor until the age or 93, having first trained as a hospital psychiatrist but he now says he intends to retire once the Covid 19 emergency is over.

But he worries about finding someone to replace him as many doctors reach retirement age and there is a shortage of younger practitioners ready to replace them.

There are only 3 family doctors in the town which has a population of 19,000 people.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made for a quieter political season. Rallies are off, primaries have been delayed or canceled, once heated ideological debates have temporarily cooled. It may not be the run-up to the elections some hoped for, but it may be one more conducive to contemplation. Forthcoming political books give readers much to think about. They include memoirs by controversial figures, studies of leading politicians, and examinations of the countrys recent, turbulent political past.

In their own words

The memoir offers a dreamlike scenario to politicians: plenty of space to make ones case without interruptions from opponents or inquisitive reporters. This seasons political memoirs come from new and established figures on both sides of the aisle, including Stacey Abrams, John Brennan, and two former Trump White House officials.

Dare to Fly

Martha McSally. Dey Street, June

The Republican senator from Arizona, who is facing a challenge from Democrat Mark Kelly (husband of former congresswoman Gabby Giffords), offers life advice culled from her noteworthy career with the U.S. Air Force: McSally was the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat.

Grounded

Jon Tester. Ecco, Sept.

Drawing on rural bona fidesTester grew up on his familys farm and today manages it with his wifethe Democratic senator from Montana makes a case for how Democrats can win over voters in red states such as his own.

Honor

John Brennan. Celadon, Sept.

Former CIA director Brennan is known for his willingness to confront President Trump. In this memoir, which is embargoed, he reflects on career milestones and life lessons, according to a statement made by Celadons president and publisher at acquisition.

Our Time Is Now

Stacey Abrams. Holt, June

Abrams, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia in 2018 and who is frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for Joe Biden, draws on research and personal experience to argue for stronger voter protections, increasingly a topic of debate as the 2020 elections near.

The Room Where It Happened

John Bolton. Simon & Schuster, June

The former national security advisors book about his 519 days working for the Trump administration promises to make headlines, and in fact already has: the New York Times reported in January that, in the book, Bolton confirms Trump wanted to freeze aid to Ukraine until its government assisted with investigations into the Bidens.

She Will Rise

Katie Hill. Grand Central, Aug.

Since resigning from Congress in late 2019 amid reports that shed had an affair with a campaign staffer, former California Democratic representative Hill has been outspoken about misogyny in U.S. politics, which she believes shaped the narrative around her scandal. Here she reflects on the events that led to her resignation and offers advice to women seeking to effect political change.

Speaking for Myself

Sarah Huckabee Sanders. St. Martins, Sept.

The former White House press secretary details her time working for President Trump and the challenges she faced during her tenure, some public and some private: among the topics she discusses are her faith and the difficulty of being a working mother.

This Is What America Looks Like

Ilhan Omar. Dey Street, June

Omar, a progressive Democratic representative from Minnesota and a member, along with congressional colleagues Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, of The Squad, chronicles her struggle as a refugee from Mogadishu, her experience as an immigrant in the U.S., and her historic election: she is the first Somali-American and among the first Muslim women to serve in Congress.

Use the Power You Have

Pramila Jayapal. New Press, July

Subtitled A Brown Womans Guide to Politics and Political Change, this memoir by the Democratic congresswoman from Washington Statethe first Indian-American woman to serve in the House of Representativesdescribes her decades advocating for immigrants and pressing for progressive platforms.

Dramatis personae

As long as American politics remain a melodrama, readers will crave character studies. Three books about Trump and two about women who fiercely oppose him are among this seasons political portraits.

Defender in Chief

John Yoo. All Points, Aug.

Yoo, a constitutional scholar and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is known as the author of the so-called torture memos, which provided a legal framework for the torture of prisoners during the war on terror. Here, in what PWs review called a sober-minded yet myopic account, he asserts that Donald Trump is not despoiling the Constitution but rather fulfilling its vision of presidential power.

Liars Circus

Carl Hoffman. Custom House, Sept.

A former contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler and Wired and the author of Savage Harvest, Hoffman applies his experience reporting on extreme situations in far-flung locales (a deathly ferry in Indonesia, cannibalism in New Guinea) to Trump rallies here in the U.S. The author embeds himself in the MAGA community and explores the gatherings, and their figurehead, from a sociological perspective.

Pelosi

Molly Ball. Holt, May

Ball, a national political correspondent at Time, presents the speaker of the House as an underappreciated and resilient figure, taking readers on a tour of her legislative accomplishments and the political battles shes waged. Even readers who dont entirely agree with Pelosis agenda, PWs review said, will gain respect for her accomplishments and tenacity.

Reclaiming Her Time

Helena Andrews-Dyer and R. Eric Thomas. Dey Street, Oct.

Washington Post features reporter Andrews-Dyer and Elle.com senior staff writer Thomas offer an illustrated celebration of longtime Democratic California congresswoman Maxine Waters. The book covers her childhood in St. Louis, highlights of her legislative career, and her high-profile disputes with President Trump.

White House, Inc.

Dan Alexander. Portfolio, Aug.

A Forbes senior editor looks at the ethical issues raised by Donald Trumps insistence on maintaining control of his businesses while in the White House. Alexander trains his eye on those in Trumps circle as well; Jared Kushner and Wilbur Ross, for instance, also have what the author sees as problematic business interests.

Varied visions

The November elections are likely to sharpen debates about the major forces driving American politics, including immigration, nationalism, and religion in politics. Forthcoming books by journalists and academics address these issues.

Dare to Speak

Suzanne Nossel. Dey Street, Aug.

The CEO of PEN mounts a defense of free speech thats attuned to the contemporary, increasingly fraught discourse environment. Weighing rights as well as respectfulness, she considers the ethical complexities inherent in internet trolls, cancel culture, college protests, and career-ending Tweets.

Empire of Resentment

Lawrence Rosenthal. New Press, Oct.

Xenophobic nationalism is only the latest face worn by the adaptable force that is right-wing populism, says Rosenthal, chair and lead researcher at the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies. The author proposes that right-wing populism is not an emergent phenomenon but a flexible one that molds itself to the reactionary cause of the moment.

The Hispanic Republican

Geraldo Cadava. Ecco, June

Cadava, a professor of history and Latino and Latina Studies at Northwestern University, offers essential context on a voting bloc with an outsize influence on American politics, PWs review said. He takes readers back to the Cold War, when Republican politicians worked to woo Cuban emigres, and considers the relationship between Latinos and the GOP at a time when the latter has become increasingly hostile to immigration.

In Defense of Populism

Donald T. Critchlow. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Sept.

Populist has, for many, become a pejorative in recent years, but Critchlow, founder of the Institute for Political History and a professor of history at Arizona State University, makes the case that citizen-led, grassroots movements are essential to party renewal, for the left as well as the right.

It Was All a Lie

Stuart Stevens. Knopf, Aug.

Stevens, a Republican political consultant who worked on Mitt Romneys 2012 campaign, asserts that the Republican party, in embracing President Trump, has called into question its commitment to family values, fiscal prudence, and intellectual rigor, PWs review said.Readers hoping that the post-Trump GOP charts a new path will savor this thoughtful expose.

One Billion Americans

Matthew Yglesias. Portfolio, Sept.

To prevent its decline and to stave off competition from other global powers, the United States needs massive population growth, Vox cofounder Yglesias proposes. The author explains how the U.S. can grow through family and immigration policy, how it can manage the increased strain on its education and housing systems, and why a population boom would be an advantage.

Rise Up

Al Sharpton. Hanover Square, Sept.

The activist, minister, and founder of the National Action Network looks back to the Obama presidency and considers the Trump era, highlighting figures who have emerged to oppose the current president.

Say It Louder!

Tiffany Cross. Amistad, July.

Despite voting restrictions and other forms of suppression, African-American voters form an essential Democratic constituency, says Cross, a political analyst and Harvard Institute of Politics resident fellow. She also looks at the political opportunities and continued hurdles African-American voters face.

Unholy

Sarah Posner. Random House, June

Posner, an investigative journalist whose work has appeared in the American Prospect, Rolling Stone, and numerous other publications, explores white evangelicals embrace of Trump, who, she suggests, has not always lived his life in a Christly manner. She paints a picture of a religious right that is pursuing a racist, xenophobic, and anti-democratic political agenda, in what PWs review said will be a must-read for those interested in the connections between the Trump presidency and evangelicalism.

Correction: A previous version of this article listed the incorrect imprint for Liar's Circus.

Return to the main feature.
Geneva, the small lakefront city where both the 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the World Wide Web were born, also is the birthplace of the Swiss watch industry.

And that place at the heart of horology will only be enhanced next year, when the hometown brands Rolex and Patek Philippe join with Chanel and others to create a new watch trade show there.

The April 14 announcement made headlines. But so did the tally that day of 4,438 cases of Covid-19, and 172 deaths in the canton, which includes the city and 44 surrounding municipalities.

The city is a little scary right now, said Fanny Marmorat, an executive at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues. Its like being in a ghost town in a horror movie with no one around.
Photo: The Canadian Press Ambassador of China to Canada Cong Peiwu speaks as part of a panel at the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence in Ottawa, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

China's envoy in Ottawa says that while the United States is "smearing" his country over COVID-19, the People's Republic appreciates Canada's "cool-headed" co-operation on battling the pandemic.

Ambassador Cong Peiwu also says he wants Canadians to know that Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are healthy and getting good treatment in Chinese custody.

The two Canadians have been detained for more than 500 days and China cut off their visits from Canadian diplomats earlier in the year as part of its efforts to limit access to prisons during the pandemic.

In an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press, Cong said he has heard nothing new about a proposal by Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to allow diplomats to conduct a "virtual" visit using the internet to check on Kovrig and Spavor.

They were imprisoned in December 2018 after Canada arrested Chinese high-tech executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant, plunging Sino-Canadian relations to a new low.

Cong says Canada and China are working closely to fight the pandemic, and that he is awaiting a report from the Canadian government on how a million face masks that Canada imported from China were found to be inadequate for health-care workers.

"China attaches high importance to export quality control. The competent departments have recently written out more rigorous regulatory measures," said Cong.

The legal issues in the Kovrig-Spavor-Meng dispute remain unchanged: China says Canada's arrest of Meng, who faces bank-fraud charges in the United States, is unjust; Canada says Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, an entrepreneur, were picked up arbitrarily.

But Cong positioned Canada as an important partner for China in the continuing battle against COVID-19 and he used the interview to unleash a counterattack against the U.S., which has temporarily suspended all funding to the World Health Organization.

Cong didn't mention President Donald Trump by name, but he referred to his administration's accusations that the WHO covered up early aspects of the outbreak and that China initially withheld information about it from the organization.

More recently, Trump and his supporters have also been putting forth a conspiracy theory that an infectious disease laboratory in Wuhan, China was the source of the pandemic. A U.S. intelligence statement released Thursday says the virus that causes COVID-19 was not deliberately engineered, but work is continuing to determine whether it might have escaped the Wuhan lab while being studied.

"China is sharing experience while the U.S. is smearing China," said Cong. "China has actively shared epidemic information and anti-epidemic experience with the WHO and many other countries including Canada." That co-operation has extended to 150 countries and international organizations, including on recent video conferences, he added.

"To shift the blame, some U.S. politicians try to launch a stigmatization campaign against China. Attacking and discrediting other countries will not save the time and lives lost."

Cong was also asked about Conservative politicians in Canada, who are demanding answers directly from the WHO and are questioning whether China has undue influence on the organization.

"It's a time to focus on the fight against the pandemic. Unfortunately, some politicians have greatly politicized the COVID-19 issue. Actually, we don't think it's the time for accusations and political manipulation," he replied.

Champagne and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said that now is not the time for finger-pointing with the pandemic still a threat, but have suggested a reckoning could come later.

"I believe that Canada has adopted a cool-headed approach," Cong said.

"We appreciate that. The most important task, currently, is to focus our energy on fighting the pandemic."

He said China is committed to helping Canada receive all the medical equipment and supplies it needs during the pandemic. He also said China is grateful for Canada's shipping medical supplies to China early on.

Trudeau said Friday that Canada has been making efforts to stockpile essential medical equipment because there weren't enough supplies available federally or to the provinces as the pandemic unfolded.

"We should have had more. We needed to have more," said Trudeau.

"We have largely been successful in meeting the need of Canadians right across the country. But it took an awful lot of scrambling, an awful lot of effort that ideally wouldn't have had to happen."

China is preparing to ship 32 tons of diagnostic kits, N95 masks, isolation gowns and other equipment soon, Cong said.

China is also trying to smooth the passage of Canadian goods through Shanghai's crowded airports, he said, and added it currently has no restrictions on how long the ground crews of chartered cargo planes can wait on the ground to be loaded up.

China and Canada disagreed recently on whether that was a factor in two Canadian planes' returning from China without the medical supplies they were sent to pick up.

"Our two countries have a tradition of supporting each other in trying times," said Cong.

"As the pandemic is spreading in Canada right now, we relate to the hardship the Canadian people are going through."

The status quo remains for Kovrig and Spavor, who are in Chinese prisons facing accusations of espionage. The Canadian government calls their arrests arbitrary. China continues to call for Meng's release, and Canada says her extradition case will have to be heard by the B.C. courts. The pandemic has all but halted those legal proceedings for the time being.

Cong said Kovrig was allowed a phone call to his father in March who was "seriously ill at the time," but he offered no other details. Kovrig and Spavor, along with other prisoners are all being given better food, and they are both being allowed a "higher frequency" of parcels and letters.

"They're in good and sound health," said Cong. "That's a message I would like to share with you."
Phones are to be allowed in cells for prison inmates with drug issues and who are also quarantining due to Covid-19 from next Tuesday.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed that latest measure introduced in the country's jails in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which has already seen the introduction of videocall visiting and other initiatives.

One issue is ensuring continuing supports for inmates with drug problems, with those suspected of or confirmed to have Covid-19 facing particular difficulties.

A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said a national phone helpline had been set up to support access for prisoners to IASIO (Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities) Resettlement, Chaplaincy, Psychology and Merchants Quay Ireland.

Merchants Quay Ireland have a regular presence in all-bar-one prison in the country to offer support, advice and addiction counselling to particularly vulnerable prisoners.

According to the Prison spokesperson: "With effect from Tuesday, May 5, the MQI counselling service will be available to prisoners who are having to isolate or who are in quarantine. An in-cell phone will be available within the cell from which the prisoner can contact MQI."

Mark Kennedy, head of recovery services for MQI, said the latest initiative would be of huge assistance to those who need it.

He said phone and video conferencing to facilitate social separation has been up and running for a few weeks and "seems to be working quite well", allowing prison counsellors to maintain contact with their clients and meet people who have trouble with addiction.

"Prisoners isolating can be very hard to access, even for video conferencing, so what they are doing is putting a phone into the cell and then connecting it for a fixed amount of time each day and the person in isolation can get help from ourselves [and others]," he said.

"We are there, we are prepared.

"We are still doing socially distant face to face work in many of the 12 prisons we work in  so not all is by phone / video  our goal is to continue with face to face where practical and safe for as long as we can."

Regarding family video link visits the Prison spokesman said if an officer notices suspicious activity or activity that may breach prison rules, the officer may terminate the call.

Mark Kennedy said the Irish Prison Service was going "going above and beyond" in its efforts but warned that with some residential rehab centres having closed, it meant longer waiting times to access those that remained open for anyone leaving the prison system.

"The wait is going to be that bit longer unfortunately," he said.

"Our view on it would be with residential settings we are taking all the precautions, but equally you are trying to balance Covid risks with the risk over overdose and those in need of treatment not getting it."
In rural Bangladesh, farmers are suffering severe losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus and the protective measures taken to stop the illness spread are affecting every part of the countrys food system. Market closures, trade disruptions, and skyrocketing prices for non-perishable essentials have created price-hikes that ensure that the poor cant buy what they need and that farmers have nowhere to sell their goods. Its so bad that, in some cases, producers are letting their crops rot in the fields and are pouring out fresh milk because they have nowhere to store it. Or they sell their goods at drastically discounted rates.

The demand for fresh food has plummeted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown has made it nearly impossible for small-scale farmers to sell their produce.

One such farmer is Saad Mia who grows and sells bitter melons. Unfortunately for Mia, the demand for perishable food in Dhaka, Bangladeshs capital, has plummeted. A Heifer Bangladesh correspondent found Mia on his land in Haripur village separating rotten vegetables from fresh ones. Mia reported that, though he has heavily discounted his bitter melons, no one is buying them. I am offering these vegetables at Tk 60 (70 cents) per kilogram which is half of its production cost. Still, I do not have customers, he said. Ultimately, Mia was forced to sell his harvest at Tk 40 (about 47 cents) per kilogram. In addition to the financial cost of the plummeting market, Mia also risked his health to cultivate the bumper crop amid the COVID-19 outbreak. All for nothing. "I am ruined. I will lose over Tk 1 lakh this season," Saad said, tearfully.

Low-income workers are also being affected during the lockdown. Goat farmer and Heifer project participant Nazma Begum once relied on her husband's income as a rickshaw puller to help cover household expenses. She said, " My husband's regular income has been disrupted and I can't go out and graze my goats because of the pandemic. That's why we are facing difficulties to meet regular family expenses, especially food."

A recent survey by BRAC Bangladesh revealed that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a 60 percent increase in extreme poverty across the country. In a group of 2,614 households across 64 districts, 14 percent of households have no food in their homes. Before the pandemic these same families each earned an avg monthly income of BDT 14,599 (or $172) and are, today, earning a mere BDT 3,742 (or $44) per month.

Low-income workers like rickshaw pullers are suffering during the pandemic. Quarantine has made business almost nonexistent.

The pandemic is also affecting harvesting of staple crops like boro rice, potatoes, onions and maize. Because of the lockdown, there are few laborers to help during the harvest. Even as people go hungry, crops remain unharvested, unsold, and unpreserved. Monowara Begum, a member of the Borogachi Womens Develepment Group and a Heifer project participant, earns a living growing and selling vegetables. She and her husband are unable to earn income at this time. Begum said,  I am staggered  I cannot sell my vegetables and my husband also cannot earn anything from his vegetable business because of the invisible pandemic, the coronavirus. Begum also mentioned that her vegetables are rotting in the field due to the labor crisis and plummeting market. For now, theres nothing for her or her husband to do but live off of their savings and try to eat the vegetables they cannot sell. There is no money to buy chicken, eggs, or other forms of protein.

Social protection programs must be increased if the most vulnerable are to be protected. In order to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic we must meet the immediate food needs of the poor. We can meet this emergency demand for food by distributing food to the most vulnerable families  beggars, day laborers, rickshaw pullers, transport workers, roadside tea stall owners and others who earn little income. In order to recover from this pandemic, we must continue to determine the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on nutrition, food security and agriculture. Its high time to determine the risks and take proactive measures.
Teachers of a government school in a non-descript village of Rajasthan's Nagaur district have set a precedent amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown by educating the stranded and quarantined migrant workers.

About 19 migrants from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan's Baran district, quarantined in the Government Senior Higher Secondary School, Dodiyana in Nagaur have benefitted from daily classes during the quarantine and they can now read and write their names and understand counting from 0 to 10.

Following imposition of the country-wide lockdown, the workers had undertaken long march to their homes, but they were stopped by the authorities and quarantined in the school, school teacher Sushil Kumar told PTI.

We thought of giving akshar gyan' to them during their quarantine. Except a few, all workers learnt to read and write their names and counting from zero to ten and have now become able to at least search, dial and save numbers in their mobile phones, added Kumar.

The quarantined workers had become a trifle anxious and agitated to go back to their homes at the earliest, so we decided to encourage them to put their idle time to constructive use and learn a life-time skill, he said.

It was not the sole case of migrant workers putting their quarantine period to constructive use.

Earlier a group of 74 migrant workers, stopped midway their long march to their villages in Madhya Pradesh and quarantined in a school building in Kotputli near Japipur mended, plastered and painted the building walls to express their gratitude for being taken good care of during quarantine.

Dodiyana school teacher Kumar, who played an active role in imparting akshar gyan' to workers in his school, said those having their homes in Madhya Pradesh have been sent after the government allowed their transportation.

Those hailing from Rajasthan too will soon be sent to their homes, he added.

Manoj, 18, one of the stranded workers and a class 8 pass-out, said, I did not know how to write names of my relatives in English. But the school teachers taught it to me. They used to take classes everyday. They also helped us learn a bit of mathematics, besides making others at least learn read and write their names.

Manoj returned to his home in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh on April 29 along with his family members.

Entire Rajasthan is under lockdown since March 22. About 61 people have died of COVID-19 in the state, while a total of 2,642 people have been taken ill due to the pandemic disease.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A ceremonial Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) between Indian and Chinese armies scheduled to be held on Friday on the occasion of the May Day has been called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The meeting was to be hosted by the Chinese military in five designated locations along the nearly 3,500-km border between the two countries.

A decision has been taken to call off the meeting in view of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The two sides hold Border Personnel Meetings at five points --Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh, Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh, Chusul in Ladakh, Bum-La near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and Nathu-La in Sikkim.

The Chinese side hosts ceremonial BPM on the occasion of Chinese National Day on October 1 and on May 1 while India organises it on January 26 and August 15.

Usually, both sides resolve various operational issues at the BPMs.
Native bee in Yosemite National Park's Illilouette Basin. Credit: Lauren Ponisio / UCR

Native bees that boost food crops are in decline but changing fire management policies could help them.

Most flowering plant farms employ honeybees, a non-native species originally imported from Europe and managed by beekeepers. However, research shows that farms surrounded by natural bee habitat have higher crop yields.

UC Riverside entomologist Lauren Ponisio explains that native bees are increasingly important to food growers. They pollinate crops on the fringes of a farm and could potentially also be used for agricultural purposes.

"The non-native honeybees currently used for crops are having problems, and we're in trouble if native bees can't replace or supplement them on our farms," Ponisio said. "Relying on one species of bee to pollinate all our crops is unsustainable."

Ponisio led a study to be published this month in the journal Ecology and Evolution that examined environmental factors affecting the health of native bees. There are thousands of bee species that live in the wild, many of which are found in California.

Ponisio found that these native bees are better able to survive harsh climate events, like drought, in areas where naturally occurring fires are allowed to burn.

Yosemite's Illilouette Basin, where fires are allowed to burn out. Credit: Lauren Ponisio / UCR

Small fires consume dry brush that would otherwise fuel megafires, like 2018's deadly Camp Fire, which occur with increasing frequency in California. In addition to eliminating fuel for megafires, smaller mixed-severity burns also trigger positive changes in the environment. They remove unhealthy and dead trees, allow sunlight to reach a forest floor, and create a better environment for native plants and their pollinators to thrive.

To compare bees from areas where fires are allowed to burn with bees from areas where they aren't, Ponisio and her team headed to Yosemite National Park. Near park buildings and tourist hotspots, fires are fought immediately. In other areas of the park, like the Illilouette Basin, fires are allowed to burn naturally as they have for centuries.

The team sampled bees in 2013 and 2014, a two-year period of severe drought in California. In 2014, there was no summer rainfall, there was little snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and flowers were not blooming.

A majority of the 164 bee and 71 flowering plant species Ponisio sampled during the study period declined. However, where natural fires had created a diversity of habitats, bees were able to find alternative flower species to visit, and therefore their populations did not decline as much as when the same species were in areas without a diversity of natural fires. There was only a single species of bee that not only survived but increased as a result of the droughtthe European honeybee.

"The honeybee is a hyper generalist," said Ponisio. "There's not a plant they won't try out, which is why they're great for agriculture, and are so successful when they invade wild ecosystems."

Boosting native plants would provide ample food resources both for native and the non-native European honeybees that spread into wild environments. This way, all of them could feed and not compete for pollen resources. One of the best and most immediate ways to encourage this scenario would be to reconsider fire management policies.

"Smokey the Bear was wrong," Ponisio said. "We actually don't need to prevent forest fires when they are not endangering people."

Explore further Flower faithful native bee makes a reliable pollinator

More information: Lauren C. Ponisio. Pyrodiversity promotes interaction complementarity and population resistance, Ecology and Evolution (2020). Journal information: Ecology and Evolution Lauren C. Ponisio. Pyrodiversity promotes interaction complementarity and population resistance,(2020). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6210
Canada is implementing an immediate ban on the use and trade of assault-style weapons, less than a month after one of its deadliest mass shooting in history killed 22 people. Today we are closing the market for military grade assault weapons in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as he announced the decision that covers 1,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons. These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada.

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The order would not forbid people from owning any of the 1,500 models or variants of the military-style weapons, but it does forbid their use and prohibits their trade. And as of today, the clock starts ticking as owners have a two-year amnesty period to dispose of their weapons while lawmakers work on a bill that would amount to a compensation program. Anyone who has not gotten rid of their weapon by 2022 could face sanctions. There is a possibility that owners will be able to apply to keep the weapon, but the details are still under discussion.

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Trudeau said the measure would be implemented by regulation and would not require approval from lawmakers . That raised the ire of some in the opposition who said the government was unveiling a big policy change when the coronavirus has caused Parliament to pretty much shut down.

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Trudeau justified the measure by citing several mass shootings, ending with the one in Nova Scotia last month, when a 51-year.old gunman shot 13 people to death and set fires that killed nine others. Assault-style firearms designed for military use have no place in Canada, Trudeau said. By removing them from our streets, we will limit the devastating effects of gun-related violence and help make our country safer. Authorities have not specified what guns were used in the Nova Scotia rampage but officials said two of the long guns that were used are now banned. As of today the market for assault weapons is closed, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said. Enough is enough. Banning these firearms will save Canadian lives.

Trudeau had vowed to approve stricter gun control measures during the federal election last year. And on Friday he said that the new rules had been slated to be announced in March but it ended up being delayed due to the coronavirus. Although Trudeau acknowledged most firearm owners are responsible, You dont need an AR-15 to bring down a deer. Andrew Scheer, the interim head of the opposition Conservative Party, accused Trudeau of using the immediate emotion of the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push the Liberals ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes.
Crawley is facing crisis after Gatwick Airport has furloughed 90 per cent of its staff with reports that half of the town's population facing being laid off.

The airport employs 3,500 people directly, although a further 21,000 people work for 250 different firms based at the campus.

Also, the airport supports a further 12,000 jobs indirectly and pumps 1.6 billion into the UK economy.

Gatwick Airport, pictured, has 3,500 people directly, although a further 21,000 people work for 250 different firms based at the campus. Also, the airport supports a further 12,000 jobs indirectly and pumps 1.6 billion into the UK economy

Gatwick is the biggest employer in Crawley which is seeking government help to cope with the Covid-19 crisis

However, the coronavirus lockdown and the impact it has had on aviation is predicted to have a long term blow for Crawley, with British Airways threatening to pull its services from the airport as part of major cost-cutting programme.

British Airways is looking to loose 12,000 staff in response to the current crisis claiming it could take several years for demand to return to 2019 levels.

More than 50 per cent of jobs in Crawley are at risk of being lost or furloughed, according to a recent report.

There are fears the West Sussex town, close to Gatwick Airport, could experience an 'employment catastrophe' as the economy 'most affected' by the Covid-19 lockdown.

It comes as councils are facing a 5billion cash shortfall caused by the ongoing pandemic.

Liverpool City Council yesterday joined Windsor and Maidenhead Council in warning it may file for bankruptcy and Highland Council in Scotland reported an 80million hole in its finances.

More than 50 per cent of jobs in Crawley (pictured on Friday) are at risk of being lost or furloughed, according to a recent report

Crawley borough council leader and the town's MP called on the Government to take rapid action and ensure the town's 'amazing economic success is not lost in a matter of weeks'.

The letter states: 'It is quite clear that the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the national economy and indeed the world economy is unprecedented.

'However, due to the business sectors located within the town, and the proportion of local jobs and economic output from these sectors, Crawley is undeniably being hit far harder than any other part of the United Kingdom.

'These sectors include aviation, transportation, retail/wholesale, leisure and hospitality, all of which are likely to continue to struggle long after the lockdown is lifted.'

It is feared up to 57 per cent the town's workforce could be made unemployed, the letter says, referring to a recent Centre for Cities report.

There are fears the West Sussex town (pictured on Friday), near Gatwick Airport, could experience an 'employment catastrophe' as the economy 'most affected' by the lockdown

The letter continues: 'It is critical that the Government takes urgent action, working with Crawley Borough Council and other local and regional stakeholders, to draw up, fund and implement a programme of targeted economic relief and investment in the town.'

Peter Lamb, leader of Crawley Borough Council, said the town generates 124 million in business rates each year for the Government.

He added: 'We've been helping the public purse for decades - it's now time for the Government to repay that help.'

Local Tory MP Henry Smith said: 'The Crawley and Gatwick economy has been an undoubted success story for many years but the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to negatively impact the area perhaps more than any other UK-wide.'

Crawley (pictured on Friday) borough council leader and the town's MP called on the Government to take rapid action and ensure the town's 'amazing economic success is not lost in a matter of weeks'

Critics have said local authorities should look to make cuts to 'sky-high' council boss salaries before going to the government to plug the 5billion black hole.

Data seen by the Guardian showed public services are in a financial mess and a number of councils in England are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Analysis compiled by the largest 44 authorities in the country showed by the end of the financial year they will be 2.2billion in the red.

If spending and losses at all councils continue to mount the predicted shortfall will be 5billion.

This is despite Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick previously announcing 3.2billion in additional funding for local authorities.

Liverpool Council got 34million from the government but said yesterday its expenses have gone up by 78million due to extra spending to support residents amid the crisis.

It is the second council to warn of bankruptcy after Windsor and Maidenhead Council on Wednesday said it is considering issuing a section 114 because of the loss in tourism money this year.

When a section 114 is issued it means councils cannot spend money on anything except safeguarding vulnerable people and statutory services.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: 'We simply will no longer have enough income to meet what we are spending.'

He claimed Liverpool is in the dire situation because the government has allocated money to councils based on population instead of need.

Liverpool Council (pictured) got 34million from the government but said yesterday its expenses have gone up by 78million due to extra spending to support residents in lockdown

Highland Council in Scotland is another to announce a budget shortfall, saying there will be a 80million hole in its finances due to the pandemic.

Earlier this year it formed plans to tackle a budget gap of 20.5million, but top brass warned the shortfall could quadruple due to the economic uncertainty of Covid-19.

Budget leader Alister MacKinnon outlined the areas where the council is losing money, citing planning and building standards applications, council tax revenue, income from events, loss of car park payments and licensing income among others.

The Dingwall and Seaforth representative said officers are preparing a full impact analysis to figure out exactly how much cash will be lost.

Highland economist Tony Mackay said there was no doubt the council's finances will take a hit - but he believes the 80million figure 'seems very high'.

He said: 'The actual deficit will obviously depend on how long the coronavirus epidemic lasts.

'Council tax losses are understandable because many local residents who have lost their jobs/incomes will understandably have great difficulty paying their taxes. I expect the Scottish Government to compensate the council for these losses.'

Opposition councillors demanded Mr MacKinnon explain how he arrived at the 80million estimate.

Ness-side councillor Ron MacWilliam said he had no idea 'how that size of budget shortfall could even be conceivable' as he accused the administration of hiding behind red tape to avoid scrutiny.

He said: 'I am outraged at the secrecy, and the public statements coming out of resilience meetings.

'I have strong reason to suspect that the people making these decisions are in breach of the Local Government Act.'

Independent councillor Andrew Baxter also demanded more information, saying most councillors were 'in the dark as to the real state of council finances'.

He said: 'We've received no more detail than the few figures dropped into a council press release and the platitudes spouted during a weekly virtual briefing.

'We are told the council is preparing for recovery and renewal but we are provided with no information.

'Decisions that will impact the Highlands for years to come must be questioned,' added Mr Baxter.

From the Tory opposition group, Thurso and Northwest Caithness member Struan Mackie said: 'Very little information is available, fuelling an increasing number of members pressing for greater transparency.'
Rishi Kapoor's leading ladies from Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar to Simi Garewal paid tributes to their "outspoken yet warm" co-star, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

Kapoor, who acted in over 150 films during his five decade long career, died on Thursday at HN Reliance hospital here on Thursday. He was cremated at the Chandanwadi crematorium in the evening.

Actor Padmini Kolhapure said for her Rishi Kapoor was the ideal hero.

Padmini worked with Kapoor in five films in the 80s - "Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai", "Prem Rog", "Yeh Ishq Nahin Aasaan", "Rahi Badal Gaye" and "Pyar Ke Kabil".

The actor said she was in "disbelief" when she first learnt about Kapoor's battle with cancer and then his death.

"I remember meeting him socially after he came back from America after his treatment. I was so happy to see him in his jovial self, the same old Rishi Kapoor laughing and the way he talks."

"I was very pleased and relieved to see that he was fine, thinking what he went through is all in the past. I didn't expect this to happen so suddenly. I am in disbelief," Padmini told PTI.

Madhuri, Kapoor's co-star in "Yaraana" and "Prem Granth", remembered the veteran actor as "outspoken yet so warm" artiste.

"I've had the honour of working with Rishi ji. A larger than life person, so outspoken yet so warm. We have lost a brilliant actor today. Still can't believe it.. absolutely heartbroken. My prayers are with the family during this tough time," she tweeted.

Juhi is among the few actors with whom Kapoor has extensively worked in the 1990s. The two starred in movies such as "Bol Radha Bol", "Eena Meena Deeka", "Daraar" and "Luck By Chance".

She posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, saying that she was "shocked" and "devastated" by Kapoor's death.

"I feel really really sad. I have many many memories of him. I started working with him soon after 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' (QSQT) in Kalpataruji's film 'Ghar Ghar KI Kahani'. 'Ghar Ki Izzat' was another of our films. At that time, being a newcomer, I would be overawed by his presence on the sets, as he was such a big star.

"He was always such an effortless actor he barely rehearsed and the director was always happy with his very first take of a shot," Juhi wrote.

She revealed that she was working with Kapoor on a film, titled "Sharmaji Namkeen", before his death.

Actor and popular TV personality, Simi Garewal, and Tina Ambani, who worked with Kapoor on Subhash Ghai's 1980 blockbuster "Karz", also paid tributes to the star.

"#RishiKapoor My Chintu darling has gone.. My dearest friend..my costar..my playmate. The one who used to make me laugh till I cried! Now there are only tears... No last goodbye. No funeral. No consoling embraces. Silence. Emptiness. Grief," Garewal tweeted.

Ambani said she felt "devastated" after Kapoor's demise.

"Devastated that you're gone Chintu. Thank you for the movies, the memories, the sheer joy of knowing you for a lifetime. Love always. Om shanti," the former actor wrote.

Poonam Dhillon took to Instagram to mourn the demise of Kapoor, who featured with her in 1982 movie "Yeh Vaada Raha" and a number of other films.

"Feeling a huge sense of loss and my heart goes out to the grief stricken family Neetu, Ranbir, Riddhima, Daboo, Rima and Chimpu at their tremendous loss," she posted alongside a photo with Kapoor.

Hema Malini, a Bollywood veteran and BJP MP from Mathura, recalled working with Kapoor on 1986 movie "Ek Chadar Maili Si" as well as 2011 directorial "Tell Me O Kkhuda".

"Unbelievable that such a warm human being -- Rishi Kapoor is no more! Recall all my movies with him 'Ek Chadar Maili Si', 'Naseeb' etc & under my direction, 'Tell Me O Kkhuda'.

"Such a lively interaction with him always!My heart goes out to dear Neetu, Ranbir & all his family. God be with them," she tweeted.

Actor Urmila Matondkar also condoled the death of her co-star of "Bade Ghar Ki Beti" (1989) and "Shreemaan Aashique" (1993).

"With tears in my eyes I bid this adieu..to an actor who played my brother, father and also my hero eventually..whose songs I grew up loving n dancing to..my most favourite n versatile actor..what a pity never got to meet him after his return n now never will. RIP Rishi kapoor," she said.

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Help.org, a trusted online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones, has announced the Best Rehab Facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for 2020. The informational guide recognizes the top 10 rehab facilities based on cost, treatment options, location, accompanying services and more.

According to recent studies, drug overdose is the leading cause of death among people under age 50. In Oklahoma City, deaths related to opioid abuse increased significantly from 2011 to 2015. Substance abuse among adolescents is also escalating in Oklahoma City with 55 percent of high school students reported using alcohol, 38 percent reported using marijuana, 8 percent reported using prescription drugs without a valid prescription, and 2 percent reported using heroin. With the growing need for accessible and high-quality rehab programs, Help.org has developed a unique ranking process to help connect individuals with treatment providers that meet their needs.

The Help.org research team analyzed thousands of facilities across the country and then identified the most cost-effective and highest rated programs in larger cities like Oklahoma City. Each facility was evaluated based on rehabilitation services, treatment approaches, cost, special programs for unique demographics and ancillary services. The website also provides information about drug use and side effects as well as educational articles. For a detailed listing of the Best Rehab Facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma please visit https://www.help.org/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-centers-in-oklahoma-city-ok/

2020 Best Rehab Facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (in alphabetical order)

Catalyst Behavioral Services Community House

1501 NE 11th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73117

405-230-1138

NorthCare of Oklahoma City

2617 General Pershing Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73107

405-858-1700

The Recovery Center (TRC)

1215 NW 25th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73106

405-525-2525

Community Action Agency Turning Point

1607 SW 15th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73109

405-634-0508

Southwest Youth and Family Services, Inc.

198 East Almar Drive Chickasha, OK 73018

405-222-5437

The Enrichment Center (Reach for the Light, Inc.)

1418 Linwood Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73106

405-601-0295

Gateway to Prevention & Recovery, Inc. Lincoln County Clinical Office

710 Manvel Street Chandler, OK 74834

405-240-5333

Cornerstone Counseling & Consulting, Inc.

4001 North Classen Boulevard, Suite 225

Oklahoma City, OK 73118

405-231-3150

Community Adolescent Rehabilitation Effort (C.A.R.E.) for Change, Inc.

3621 Kelley Avenue, Suite 100 Oklahoma City, OK 73111

405-524-5525

A Chance to Change

2113 West Britton Road Oklahoma City, OK 73120

405-840-9000

ABOUT HELP.ORG

Help.org is an online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones. The website provides the latest research through scientifically proven methods, community recovery resources as well as information about local financial assistance. Help.orgs team of researchers, activists and writers work together with addiction counselors and other professionals to offer useful and accurate resources to help individuals seeking recovery. To learn more, visit https://www.help.org/.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has rejected allegations made by certain officials and politicians in the United States, United Kingdom and European Parliament relating to an April 18 arrest operation and other security matters.

In a statement today, the Hong Kong SAR Government said such allegations were totally unfounded and amounted to a serious intervention in Hong Kong's affairs.

The SAR Government strongly disagreed with the grossly irresponsible remarks and expressed deep regret about them.

It pointed out that since its return to the Motherland, the HKSAR has maintained stability and prosperity under the principle of "one country, two systems", exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law (BL).

"The Central Government has time and again reiterated that it will unswervingly implement the policy of one country, two systems' and make sure that it is fully applied in Hong Kong without being bent or distorted.

How to implement the policy in the HKSAR - an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China (BL Article 1) and a local administrative region of the People's Republic of China which shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People's Government (BL Article 12) - are entirely internal affairs of the People's Republic of China.

No other state has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, in those internal affairs.

The statement noted Hong Kong people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Basic Law. Basic Law Article 4 states that the HKSAR shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents and of other persons in the region in accordance with law.

In addition, human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation, and underpinned by an independent judiciary."

The SAR Government said it always respects and protects human rights and freedoms. Any allegation that there has been an erosion in freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people is unfounded.

However, these rights are not absolute. As pointed out by the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal at the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2020: "It is important to understand that the enjoyment of these rights has limits so as not to affect adversely to an unacceptable level the enjoyment by other members of their community of their rights and liberties."

There are clear limits in the law as to the exercise of these rights. When the law is broken, action will be taken in accordance with the criminal justice system.

"We therefore take great exception to comments made by officials and politicians in foreign countries concerning the recent arrests and prosecution of a number of persons for organising and participating in unauthorised assemblies in Hong Kong.

The allegation by some that those arrests amounted to an attack on Hong Kong's freedoms and a breach of the BL is absurd and can hardly stand the test of any law-abiding jurisdiction," the statement emphasised.

It also pointed out that Basic Law Article 63 provides that "The Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall control criminal prosecutions, free from any interference."

Prosecutors have always been discharging this constitutional duty independently and professionally, without fear or favour. Prosecutorial decisions are based on an objective assessment of all admissible evidence and applicable laws, made strictly in accordance with the Prosecution Code which is available to the public.

Cases will not be handled any differently owing to the political beliefs or background of the persons involved.

When law enforcement agencies have completed their investigation, they would seek legal advice from the Department of Justice. The prosecutors would carefully consider the investigation reports and relevant materials submitted. A prosecution would only be commenced if the prosecutor is satisfied that there is sufficient admissible evidence to support a reasonable prospect of conviction.

In short, the well-established procedures of Hong Kong's criminal justice system include the independent investigations by law enforcement agencies, the independent prosecutorial decisions based on the objective assessment of evidence, applicable laws and in accordance with the Prosecution Code, and finally, open trials by an independent judiciary.

"The guarantee of judicial independence is explicitly set out in the BL and the quality of the judgments of our courts contributes to the much respected judiciary and rule of law in the HKSAR.

"We therefore note with abhorrence certain overseas politicians' request that the HKSAR Government should drop the charges against the arrested individuals. If we were to accede or to be seen to yield to such unreasonable demands, we would not only be unfair and unprofessional but would also act in violation of the spirit of the rule of law  a core value in Hong Kong," the statement added.

The SAR Government remains steadfast to uphold the rule of law. The latest Rule of Law Index 2020 released by the World Justice Project, in which Hong Kong maintains its ranking as No. 5 in the East Asia and Pacific Region and No. 16 globally, several places ahead of the United States, has clearly affirmed Hong Kong's commitment.

On legislating for Basic Law Article 23, the statement said, "The HKSAR Government has the constitutional duty to ensure that the necessary legislation is in place to safeguard national security.

Having laws in place to protect national security is common in many jurisdictions, and we do not see how any defence of sovereignty and security by a jurisdiction would impact on its local and overseas investment.

Coincidentally, it is relevant to note security issues arising from the social unrest last year were part of the causes affecting Hong Kong's score under 'Investment Freedom' according to the US-based Heritage Foundation 2020 Index of Economic Freedom."

As regards enquiries about the role of the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO) and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR, they represent the Central People's Government to which the HKSAR comes directly under pertaining to Basic Law Article 12.

These offices have the power and responsibility over the proper and full implementation of the Basic Law and "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.

It is therefore clearly legitimate for the HKMAO and LOCPG to recently express their concerns over the prolonged paralysis of the Legislative Council House Committee, thereby hindering LegCo's performance of its legislative functions under the Basic Law.

"Any suggestion that those legitimate remarks by the HKMAO and the LOCPG amount to interference only illustrates an ignorance of the constitutional order of the HKSAR and its relationship with the Central Authorities," the SAR Government added.
Democrats, expanding the contest to once safe seats, within reach of regaining control from Republicans in November.

The battle for control of the United States Senate, the upper chamber of Congress where Republicans now rule, suddenly looks competitive as Democrats gain ground against President Donald Trump.

The coronavirus, a teetering US economy, and President Trumps uneven response to the pandemic combined with Joe Bidens emergence as the presumptive Democratic nominee appear to have put the Senate in play, key political analysts are now predicting.

Old GOP assumptions about the political climate are totally upside-down GOP pollster Neil Newhouse told the Associated Press news agency. Republicans have to be prepared for an all-out battle, and its going to be a challenge.

Although much can change by Election Day, favourable signs for Democrats are evident. Analysts point in particular to two Republican senators whose re-elections were once considered safe  Lindsey Graham in South Carolina and Steve Daines in Montana  but now face credible Democratic challengers.

The race for control of the Senate has gotten more competitive, said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

At the start of the cycle, Republicans were favoured to hold a majority. At this point, its more of a 50-50 game, Kondik told Al Jazeera.

Democrats were already mounting tough challenges against four incumbent Republicans and positioning themselves for potential wins against others with strong fundraising and viable candidates.

The Senate is currently controlled 53-47 by Republicans over Democrats and independents, meaning Democrats would need to win four more seats than Republicans in November to take back a majority.

Gaining control of the Senate and defeating Trump for the White House while holding on to the House of Representatives is key to Democrats hopes for enacting their policy agenda.

The four most vulnerable Republicans are Martha McSally in Arizona, Cory Gardner in Colorado, Susan Collins in Maine, and Thom Tillis in North Carolina.

US Senator Martha McSally questions David Marcus, head of Facebooks digital wallet service during testimony before a Senate committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC [File: Erin Scott/Reuters]

McSally is a former US Air Force fighter pilot who was appointed to her seat in 2018 to fill the term of John McCain, a popular senator who died while in office. She faces a former astronaut, Mark Kelly, who leads her in fundraising and public opinion surveys.

Mark Kelly has a very good shot of winning, said Jessica Taylor, a Senate analyst at the Cook Political Report.

Trump plans to visit a Honeywell International Inc aerospace factory in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday that has converted to making face masks for the COVID-19 outbreak.

President Trump going there next week shows how important it is to his re-election chances. Its a state that he is in real danger of losing, Taylor told Al Jazeera.

In Colorado, former Governor John Hickenlooper appears to be leading Gardner, the incumbent Republican senator. Colorado is a state Trump lost by 5 percentage points in 2016 and its demographics have been trending towards Democrats.

The president is probably going to lose Colorado again, Kondik said, meaning Gardner would have to run ahead of the president, an unlikely prospect.

US Senator Susan Collins surrounded by reporters as she rushes to a vote at the Capitol in Washington, DC. [File: J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

Meanwhile, Senator Collins in Maine is facing the political battle of her career in a race that has drawn national attention. Collins had crafted a moderate image as a legislator but has struggled with the hyper-partisanship of the Trump era.

She faces a well-known, up-and-coming state politician in former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Sara Gideon.

Already out-fundraising Collins by a 3:1 ratio, Gideon will also draw on a $4m war chest assembled by national Democrats angry at Collins for her vote to confirm the controversial, conservative US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Collins further alienated independent-minded voters in Maine by supporting Trump in his impeachment trial.

All of these senators, they fear if they break with Trump, you turn off his base, but then you cant moderate to try to win independent swing voters and that has been Collins bread and butter, Taylor said.

North Carolina also is shaping up as a key presidential battleground, with both parties reserving expensive television advertising early on.

The Republican, Tillis, crossed Trump in 2019 over the presidents plan to use an emergency declaration to shift military funds to his border wall project. Under political pressure from the White House, Tillis flip-flopped and sided with the president. But it cost him some standing with voters at home.

Tillis has had to consolidate his right flank which will be fine if Trump wins the state again, but he may not, Kondik said.

North Carolina is a Republican-leaning state but is changing in ways that are good for Democrats. Its going to be a big, expensive, toss-up kind of race, he said.

The Lincoln Project, a political action committee formed by eight Republican political operatives who oppose Trump, is targeting the four vulnerable senators with a new television advertisement accusing them of spineless servility to Trump.

This fall, the Lincoln Project will help several Republican senators on their way to forced retirement, the video advertisement says.

 NEW VIDEO @SenatorCollins, @CoryGardner, @MarthaMcSally, and @ThomTillis put @realDonaldTrump before their voters, every time. So lets help force these Trump sycophants into retirement later this year. pic.twitter.com/nU8od6b7rC  The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) April 30, 2020

Meanwhile, the emergence of strong Democratic candidates in Montana and South Carolina has turned what should have been easy wins for Republicans into real contests.

Grahams slippage is particularly notable. The Senator from South Carolina had been a sharp critic of Trump before he became president, but has turned into one of the presidents most valuable allies and defender. He faces an increasingly strong challenge from the states former Democratic Party chairman, Jaime Harrison, an African American who will appeal to the states sizeable Black vote

Grahams embrace of Trump has hurt him with white Republican women in the states growing suburbs.

What Democrats have succeeded in doing is expanding beyond traditional battlegrounds to put other states in play with strong candidates, and South Carolina is one of those, Taylor said.
By PTI

AZAMGARH: Once famous for its Banarasi sarees, Mubarakpur in Uttar Pradesh has got a new identity as a coronavirus hotspot, making lives difficult for the town's weavers and their families.

Looms here were shut since March 22 to check the spread of coronavirus, however, after COVID-19 cases were found in Chaksikathi locality an April 11, the entire town was sealed, a weaver said.

Left with no means to earn a livelihood, thousands of weavers are scraping the bottom of the barrel as their meagre savings have almost exhausted.

"Fights are increasing as people are getting frustrated. Businessmen are taking sarees from us without paying. The businessmen are happy but weavers are not," Javed, a local weaver, said in a video that he recently posted on social media to seek help from the government.

In the 2.45 minute video, Javed complained that the weavers were sitting idle and becoming financially weak with each passing day following which the local MLA approached district magistrate N P Singh for help.

According to another weaver, Masood Akhtar, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had put the industry under 'one district, one product' scheme of the state government but due to the coronavirus outbreak, nothing concrete could be done to improve their financial condition.

Taking note of the plight of the weavers, MLA Shah Alam wrote a letter to the district magistrate and sent him a list of 27,000 weavers seeking help for them.

Acting on it, the DM held a meeting with weavers' committees and public representatives and directed that assistance of Rs 1,000 be given to each weaver according to the list.

"We have met the locals and public representatives. As Mubarakpur area is sealed, we are ensuring the people here do not have any problems and we are giving relief to them," Singh said.

The weavers, however, are still awaiting the help and praying for their condition to improve.
Imran Khan Accuses 'Hindu Supremacist' Modi Gov't of Changing Demography by Genocide in Kashmir

Sputnik News

09:26 GMT 30.04.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): Pakistan has proactively raised the issue of "human rights violations" in India-administered Kashmir at multiple international forums, especially after the Narendra Modi-led government scrapped the special status of the region and converted it into a federally administered territory.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused India of "continuing war crimes" on the Indian side of Kashmir and attempting to change the demography of the region, branding the Narendra Modi government "fascist Hindutva Supremacist".

Khan tweeted: "Under cover of COVID19 global pandemic, the Modi government with its fascist Hindutva Supremacist RSS-driven ideology continues its war crimes in IOJK as it violates the Fourth Geneva Convention by continuing its genocide of Kashmiris and by attempting to change the demography in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir - a territory recognised as disputed by UN".

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) chief also called upon the international community to take note of it and act against "these war crimes by India" in violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and international humanitarian laws.

The Fourth Geneva Convention aims to protect civilians in time of war and stipulates the international law and standards that, in an internal armed conflict, govern the conduct of the parties, including government forces.

Pakistan's scathing remarks against the Indian government over alleged human rights violations in Kashmir come months after the country scrapped Article 370 of the Indian constitution

in August last year. This ended the autonomous status of the region and merged it with the Indian Union. Both India and Pakistan govern the disputed territory of Kashmir in part but claim it in full.

The Modi government was recently subjected to heavy criticism for introducing new domicile rules on the Indian side of Kashmir by opening up high-category government jobs in the Jammu and Kashmir administration for every citizen of the country, in contrast to the previous norm that reserved state jobs only for locals. Succumbing to pressure from local and opposition parties, the government reversed the order and made the jobs out of bounds for non-residents.

In another development, the federal government has also decided to undertake a delimitation exercise in Kashmir, which would facilitate the re-organisation of electoral constituencies in the state. Speculation is rife that it would alter the balance of power towards the Jammu region of the state, which is dominated by Hindus.

The two South Asian rivals have fought three wars over the disputed territory since 1947, when both received independence from British rule.

 Sputnik

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Ever since Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry made the unprecedented and shocking announcement that they were stepping down from royal duties, theyve been a dividing force. Public opinion on the issue tends to fall into one of two camps with one side rooting for the pair to find their happily ever after away from the cruel headlines of the British media and another crossing their fingers for a stumble that will put the pair in their place. Fans and critics on both sides of the equation can now use some expert analysis of the couples body language to help support their viewpoint.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are building a new life

Initially, Meghan and Prince Harry relocated to Canada when they moved out of their royal housing. That didnt last for long, however.

The pair appear to be settling down in Malibu, and the Californian home makes sense for this pair of well-connected celebrities. The luxurious location puts Meghan and Prince Harry close to the action without being right in the heart of busier, more prying Los Angeles.

Since they have officially left their roles for the royal family, the two are figuring out their new life together. While we know that part of that life is staying out of the spotlight and protecting their privacy as they raise their son, Archie, we also know that theyll be looking for ways to stay relevant and connected to the work that matters to them.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been helping in the crisis

Both Meghan and Prince Harry are used to living a very public life and have been praised for their humanitarian efforts. It makes sense, then, that this couple would find their footing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pair have been spotted delivering meals to LA residents in need. Theyve been working alongside Project Angel Food to help make sure that LAs most vulnerable residents are able to stay safe and get meals.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have certainly been busy. Between settling down in a new home, volunteering to help during the crisis, and finding their place in activist organizations like WellChild, its clear that the pair has no intention of stepping away from their duties to society even if they have stepped down from their official duties to the throne.

Body language experts weigh in on new photographs

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a reception for young people at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on February 13, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland | Andrew Milligan  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Of course, being out and about on the streets of LA means that there are new photographs surfacing of the pair. This has given body language experts fresh material to draw conclusions about how things are going for the couple.

Experts overwhelmingly see the pair as happy and in love. Expert Judi James notes that [t]heres an air of the rom-com in the way that the two carry themselves. They seem light, happy, and free.

Another conclusion that many experts have come to is that Meghan is the one calling the shots. Shes the one in the lead as they pick out the homes to visit, clutching the address and often walking ahead, one expert notes while analyzing photos of their house hunting excursions.

Prince Harry, in the meantime, is a little harder to read: His splayed chest and the way his arms are held away from his sides as he walks does suggest a level of confidence and enthusiasm, but overall he looks like a man being tentatively shown the ropes by his wife.

Those who are looking for a villain to blame for the couples departure will surely use this new analysis as evidence that Meghan is controlling Prince Harry and forcing him away from his duties. However, those who are rooting for the pair will be quick to point out that both seem happy, loving, and confident. Meghan may be leading the way, but shes doing so with a true and dedicated partner by her side.
Help India!

Suman Devathiya is a senior Dalit activist from Rajasthan who has been at the forefront of fighting for Dalit womens rights and taking Dalit history to grassroots in the state, NAZISH HUSSAIN reports.

RAJASTHAN: In Rajasthan, which is one of the worst five states in India when it comes to atrocities against Dalits, Suman Devathiya, a senior Dalit rights activist has emerged as a leader overcoming not only the entrenched casteism in the state but deep-seated patriarchy as well.

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Suman is a part of Dalit Women Fight, a movement led by Dalit women to strengthen their voices for justice.

Commenting on the importance of Dalit History Month, Suman says that it is very important to know ones correct history.

In the mainstream, there is no Dalit history. There are youth who are collecting Dalit history. Maybe our future generation will benefit from our small contributions, she told TwoCircles.net.

The Twitter handle of Dalit Women Fight is full of inspirational stories of Dalit women.

Talking about the social media campaign for Dalit History Month Suman says that their objective was to acknowledge and take inspiration from the contributions of Dalit sisters and mothers who have contributed positively towards the society.

Dalit History Month was launched in 2013 by Sanghapali Aruna and Thenmozhi Soundararajan. The idea was to celebrate Dalit contribution to history and the month of April was dedicated for this.

Incidentally, April is a significant month among Dalits as two great Dalit leaders  Dr BR Ambedkar and Jyotirao Phule were born in April. Dalit History Month is dedicated to bringing out stories from marginalized communities and acknowledge their experiences to change the existing dominant narratives.

Suman says she feels happy that there are many great personalities from the Dalit community who have done inspiring work. Why cant we do the same. The sharing of these stories gives us motivation and we feel strong, she says.

Suman grew up in a humble family in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. She was married at the age of 15, while still being in 10th standard.

Despite being married at an early age, Suman had only one thing in mind: to complete her education. Determined, she completed her Bachelors in Arts from Rajasthan University.

Soon after graduation, Suman started working for the education of girls in the backward regions of Rajasthan.

Suman is proud of her education, which she completed against all odds.

According to Suman, Dalit women in Rajasthan are not able to attain education. Casteism and patriarchy are the major obstacles in the path of Dalit women to attain education. The economic backwardness of the Dalit community is another barrier for Dalit women, Suman says.

As a Dalit rights activist, she has become an agent for the advocacy of the Dalit community.

Over the years, Suman has been instrumental in bringing forth the issues of Dalit women in Rajasthan before the government.

Suman attributes her work to the larger Dalit movement in the country.

When I got involved with this movement I got to know about the history of our forefathers. If there was no movement, I would never have known about our history. As I am a part of this movement, I have the opportunity to help my fellow sisters, she says.

In Rajasthan, Suman is regarded and known as one of the prominent Dalit women leaders.

In her 17 years of working for Dalit rights, she has worked with multiple organizations.

An abiding interest for her has been her close work with women survivors of domestic abuse and rape survivors.

There have been many women who lost hope and suffered from low morale. We gave them confidence and we helped them, she says.

Suman has also been taking up Dalit women issues which are ignored by the mainstream feminist movements and also by the larger Dalit movement.

As part of these efforts, Suman has independently led Dalit Women self-respect marches across more than 20 districts of Rajasthan.

The fight against casteism and patriarchy has not been without challenges. In my working experience, I have observed that casteism or patriarchy work together. Patriarchy is not ready to accept a womans leadership. And if you look at Rajasthan, it is because of patriarchy and casteism that we have not seen any women leadership, she says.

Suman says that every time she had to fight for her rights as a Dalit woman she looked up to Ambedkar for moral support and strength.

We Dalit women have no one other than Ambedkar. He is the only one we look up to. When we read him we feel that safe space, she says.

Suman believes that Ambedkar is not only a Dalit leader but he also has a feminist viewpoint.

While in school, Suman would read very little about Ambedkar or the Constitution.

It is only after connecting with Dalit movements that I came to know about Dalit personalities, she says.

At home either, Suman didnt receive any education about the great Dalit personalities. She ascribes this to lack of education and awareness among the older generation.

These personalities always inspire me as my forefathers, says Suman, who is now conscious and aware of her history.

Other than Ambedkar, Suman is inspired by Savitribai Phule, Indias first social reformer who established a school for girl children. You must read Savitribai Phule and how she gave importance to education and Jyotiba Phule supported her, she says.

Suman believes that there is a lack of consciousness and knowledge of Dalit history in the remote villages of Rajasthan. The women in the remote areas are not formally educated or aware of the Dalit movement, she says.

Suman has been working relentlessly to change this scenario.

She does this by sharing her knowledge with them. She has become a link to disseminate the Dalit history among women who are not conscious or aware of their rights. I think when I have learned so much, I should bring this knowledge to the larger Dalit community and I take pride in doing it, she says.

Her journey has not been smooth.

During difficult times, Suman says, it was my mother who remained by inspiration and gave me strength.

We Dalit women have each other only. We have to be there for each other and support each other, she says.
A dad believes he has found the world's biggest chip - measuring a jaw-dropping seven-inches long.

Oliver Dale was making tea of chicken, chips and salad for his family when he found the whopping crinkle cut.

The dad-of-two, 37, who bought the bag of McCain oven chips from Asda, said: 'I opened the bag of crinkle cuts and it was absolutely massive.

Father-of-two, Oliver Dale, believes he's found world's largest chip during the lockdown

Dale found the giant chip while making a tea of chicken, chips and salad for his family

'I turned to the misses and said 'Have you seen the size of this?'

'We were both laughing. I measured it just for a laugh. It was seven inches long. It pretty much filled me up that one chip.'

The 37-year-old says he was left dumbfounded after finding the chip inside a bag of McCain's

The pension manager, of York, revealed his big chip to lift spirits during coronavirus lockdown.

He said: 'The reason I've done it is a bit of light hearted fun in grim times.

'I did it more of a conservation starter so for people who may be suffering with mental health.

'It's rather that than waking up every day and listening to the grim numbers of people dying.

'Whether its positive or negative comments around it, yes its only a chip but it gets people talking.

'It's boring times in lockdown so if people are comparing longest chips, so be it. It's to get Britain talking.'

He is now hoping to raise money for York Hospital.

A Guinness World Records spokesman said: 'What an amazing thing to find when cooking your dinner.

'We love that people are thinking about breaking records whilst on lockdown here at Guinness World Records.

Dale even got his measuring tape out, which showed the chip was a staggering seven inches

'We encourage members of the public to get in touch if they think they have a talent or discover something with record breaking potential.'

The Guinness World Records states the largest chip was made on 7 October 2018 by Chandresh Bayad in Gujarat, India, and it weighed 11kg.

But, unlike Oliver's, that chip was moulded and not from a packet.

There is no known record for the longest chip from a single potato.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Friday announced a slash of the salaries of all his senior political appointees by 50 per cent. He said that was their contribution to the fight against COVID-19 in the state.

Mr Makinde said the cut takes immediate effect.

He disclosed this while addressing workers at a Workers Day event at the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Secretariat in Ibadan, the state capital.

He also announced that the states lawmakers had agreed to cut their salaries by 30 per cent.

The governor, however, assured the workers that the cut would not affect them and that their salaries would continue to be paid regularly by the 25th of every month.

While noting that the next couple of months would be difficult, especially because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Makinde said his government is working hard to mitigate the shock of the pandemic on the states economy.

He said his administration has also approved the second phase of the light up Oyo project to improve the infrastructure of the state.

When I was taking over the affairs of government on May 29, 2019, I never envisaged that our first Workers Day celebration would happen without the usual pomp.

No one would have thought at that time, that in just about a year, the world would be thrown into confusion as they struggle to understand a new strain of the Coronavirus disease. But as the saying goes, you have to take the bad with the good.

Let me start by commending every worker in Oyo State as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Not just the health workers who are leading the charge and risking daily exposure to this disease, but the volunteers from various sectors who are working in little ways and big ways to ensure that we prevent, contain and control the spread of COVID-19 in our state.

The next couple of months are going to be difficult ones, but we are working hard to mitigate the shocks to our economy.

We salute the workers who have had to sacrifice their earnings at this time, those whose businesses have been affected by the partial lockdown in Oyo State. Private schools cannot operate at this time. Event planners are also badly hit; you cant run your operations when there are no gatherings.

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Night clubs have lost income; the curfews seem to be targeted at your business. Cinemas are facing huge losses. Transporters are taking cuts; they have been directed to operate at 60% capacity. The principles of social distancing have also affected the income of many more businesses and individuals who rely on their daily income. Many of you have lost your jobs. But as our people say,  Ile oba tojo, ewa lo busi.

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck. It is now the responsibility of us all to build something out of this pandemic that will make generations to come proud. Post COVID-19, we will be left with an economy which must be grown and sustained. This is why I ran for governor, for a time like this. I will make the tough decisions so that our economy can thrive.

We want to get our economy back on track. This is why we have started opening up the system while keeping an eye on the reports from the Oyo State COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre.

NLC Chairman, Adebayo Titilola-Sodo, in his address, had warned that the union would not accept any reduction in the salaries of workers, adding that the labour leaders believe that Governor Makinde will not join those planning to execute pay cut for workers.

TUC Chairman, Emmanuel Ogundiran, said in this difficult time, labour leaders expect the government not to focus on profit but on sustaining livelihood of people such that all will survive the pandemic.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The Department of Health is looking into reports that the coronavirus disease may be causing stroke among patients, as observed in other countries.

Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire in an online briefing said the department, along with experts from the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, is conducting the study.

"Pinag-aaralan po... kung itong stroke or blood clotting maging ang nababalitang ring rashes ay maaring sintomas ng COVID," Vergeire said, without going into details.

[Translation: We are studying if stroke or blood clotting and even the reported ring rashes may be symptoms of COVID.]

She noted that COVID-19 is an "evolving disease," and that the department will release new recommendations and guidelines whenever necessary.

According to the World Health Organization, stroke or the sudden death of some brain cells due to lack of oxygen, is the second leading cause of death globally, next to heart disease.

CNN earlier reported that doctors in New York observed a seven-fold increase in sudden stroke cases among coronavirus patients under the age of 50. They say blood clotting, which leads to stroke, appears to be a widespread problem among infected patients.

The United States has the most number of COVID-19 cases with over a million of the 3.2 million infections worldwide.

In the Netherlands, a study of 184 patients in the intensive care unit for COVID-19-related pneumonia found that more than 20 percent were having clotting issues, CNN reported, while another study in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak began in December 2019, found 25 percent of cases having clotting problems.

There has been no such reports in the Philippines, although one case in Baguio City, a 77-year-old man, is a stroke patient.

Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases rose to 8,772 on Friday, with 579 deaths and 1,084 recoveries. Majority of the patients have mild symptoms, the DOH has said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend:

The draft contracts, which will be signed with Saudi Arabias ACWA Power and the UAE's Masdar companies, have been prepared, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy.

The discussions are underway with the corresponding structures in connection with these documents, the message said. The third meeting of the commission created upon the Azerbaijani presidents order dated December 5, 2019 #1673 on measures to implement pilot projects in the field of the use of renewable energy sources was held. The issues related to the implementation of pilot projects were discussed at the meeting chaired by Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov.

"The use of renewable energy sources was determined by the president as one of the priority spheres for the development of the energy industry. The president focuses on the implementation of pilot projects for the construction of wind power plants with a capacity of 240 Megawatts and solar power plants with a capacity of 200 Megawatts in accordance with the agreements signed with ACWA Power and Masdar companies on January 9, 2020, Shahbazov said at the meeting.

Despite the difficult conditions which are observed at the global level, heads of ACWA Power and Masdar companies have recently reiterated their commitment to the signed documents, which testifies again to the confidence in Azerbaijan and President Aliyev," Shahbazov stressed.

According to the ministry, a report on the work conducted by the working groups created to fulfill the tasks set for the commission was heard at the meeting.

Much work on the allocation of the corresponding land plots has already been carried out for the implementation of the projects, the message said. The need for the speedy completion of the remaining work was emphasized.

The discussions were held with the companies to strengthen the network and integration into the network, technical specifications and schemes were considered, the message said. The need was expressed to continue discussions on a number of issues.

The information on the conducted work on legal and institutional issues was also provided, said the ministry. Together with the consulting companies, the draft contracts that will be signed with ACWA Power and Masdar companies, have been prepared. The discussions are underway with the relevant structures.

A decision was made during the meeting to complete this work as soon as possible, to submit draft contracts to the investors and start discussing these contracts with them, the message said. The need for studying the international experience in connection with the guarantees which are given to the investors was also touched upon and a proposal was made to use the services of a consulting company.

The views on upcoming tasks and other upcoming work were exchanged, and a decision was made to hold more often the meetings of working groups with consulting companies and the companies that will implement the project, the ministry added.

Seven working groups, consisting of representatives of the structures such as the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Justice, the Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture, the State Service on Property Issues, the State Tax Service, Central Bank, Azerenergy OJSC, Azerishig OJSC and other agencies, are operating to implement the presidents order.

---

Follow the author on Twitter:@IsmailovaNargis
Another quarantine centre has been established at Cooperative Training College Sargodha Road to accommodate corona suspects

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Apr, 2020 ) : Another quarantine centre has been established at Cooperative Training College Sargodha Road to accommodate corona suspects.

A spokesman for the district administration said here on Thursday that two quarantine centres were already working in Faisalabad including University of Agriculture (UAF) Postgraduate Agricultural Research Station (PARS) Campus Jhang Road and Government College (GC) University New Campus Jhang Road, where 667 pilgrims returning from Iran and 499 passengers including overseas Pakistanis returning from Dubai and Bahrain had been lodged.

He said that 261 more overseas Pakistani had reached Faisalabad from Abu Dhabi in two flights and they had been shifted to Jhang Road quarantine centres and local hotels, which were reserved for the purpose.

However, the third quarantine centre was established at Cooperative Training College Sargodha Road and all necessary arrangements had been completed there to accommodate overseas Pakistanis if their number increases against the capacity of Jhang Road quarantine centres.

Divisional Commissioner Ishrat Ali, along with Regional Police Officer (RPO) Riffat Mukhtar Raja and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Ali, visited the Cooperative Training College and held a meeting with its principal. He also reviewed arrangements at the third quarantine centre and directed its administration to provide all necessary facilities for corona suspects there.
(Natural News) Two California doctors who published a video to YouTube stating that the chances of dying from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Golden State are slim-to-none have had their content censored by the Google-owned platform.

In the nearly one-hour video, which is no longer available on YouTube because it supposedly violated community guidelines, Drs. Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi contend that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) has proven to be less deadly than anticipated. They state that the number of deaths is next to nil compared to Californias overall population number.

We have 39.5 million people, they explain. If we just take a basic calculation and extrapolate that out, that equates to about 4.7 million cases throughout the state of California, which means this thing is widespread, thats the good news.

Weve seen 1,227 deaths in the state of California with a possible incidence or prevalence of 4.7 million, they add. That means you have a 0.03 (percent) chance of dying from COVID-19 in the state of California.

For making these claims, however, YouTube quickly removed the video because it disputes the efficacy of local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance. In other words, the videos content breaks the official narrative, and thus had to be censored by YouTube.

From the very beginning of the pandemic, weve had clear policies against COVID-19 misinformation and are committed to continue providing timely and helpful information at this critical time, YouTube further explained about the reasoning behind this censorship.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, makes the case that this type of big tech censorship is an act of treason:

Even if you dont agree with what people have to say, they should still be allowed to say it

As you are probably noticing, YouTubes explanation for this act of censorship is about as flimsy as it gets. The data and figures presented by these two doctors are not necessarily false, but rather they offer a different perspective on the situation than the one being propagated by the likes of YouTube.

If YouTube was truly a bastion of free speech, it would have allowed the video to stand and let viewers be the judge as to the merit of its content. But instead, YouTube decided to simply pull the video and stop people from seeing it.

If the platform can do this to doctors offering their own perspective on the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, then it can also do this to doctors who talk about the merits of nutrition for keeping the body healthy and virus-free.

As you may recall, YouTube recently announced that it would be placing fact check labels next to videos that talk about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki also flat-out admitted that any content contradicting World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the pandemic will simply be removed from the platform entirely.

There is no room for alternate points of view, in other words. You either toe the line of what YouTube believes is true about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), or you will be relieved of your ability to post videos there.

YouTube even went so far as to remove a video talking about how Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles has developed a new ultraviolet (UV) light treatment for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) that could become a powerful weapon in the fight against it.

Apparently some tech yutz now knows more about medicine than a doctor, wrote one Breitbart News commenter about the censorship situation at YouTube. Guess theyre only heroes  [if] they parrot whats politically convenient.

To keep up with the latest Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) news, be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
Roseland Community Hospital Logo The Tell Health Platform has enabled Roseland Hospital to halve the time and effort spent getting results to patients and when compared to traditional patient portals, it has increased patient engagement 6-fold.

The New Roseland Community Hospital announces a partnership with Tell Health, a mobile healthcare communication platform, that enables providers to securely communicate via video, voice or text directly with patients and their families.

This app allows the hospital to provide testing results and other patient information quickly and efficiently, says Tim Egan, CEO of Roseland Community Hospital. The platform has enabled Roseland Hospital to halve the time and effort spent getting results to patients and when compared to traditional patient portals, it has increased patient engagement 6-fold, he added.

The Tell Health service is a very effective and efficient way of communicating with patients in real time, said Dr. Terrill Applewhite, chairman of the hospital COVID-19 task force.

Victoria Brander MD is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University Medical School and has worked with the app. I have tried several other communication tools, but none is as easy and efficient as Tell Health. Its practical and clinically oriented," she added.

The ability to get my healthcare results directly on my phone through the Tell Health app is so easy and comforting, said John Poulos, a patient.

About Tell Health

Tell Health is a Chicago-based startup that has developed an advanced patient communication platform. Integrating with Providers Electronic Healthcare Record systems, the HIPAA-compliant platform facilitates engaging healthcare conversations. Tell Healths mission is to get people back in control of their healthcare, to be fully informed and in possession of their medical records, and empowered to take care of themselves and their family.

About The New Roseland Community Hospital

The New Roseland Community Hospital is the communitys integrated and coordinated healthcare choice, where professional caregivers provide guidance on the path to recovery and overall wellness. The hospital opened in 1924 with a mission to provide care to residents of Roseland and surrounding communities. For more information about services offered, visit http://www.roselandhospital.org

For More Information:

Susie Dorantes, 773-995-3015

2020sdorantes@roselandhospital.org
Paramilitary police officers wear face masks and goggles amid concerns of the COVID-19 CCP virus as they march outside the Forbidden City, the former palace of China's emperors, in Beijing, China, on May 1, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese Journalist Jailed for 15 Years for Vilifying the Communist Party and Government

Honest News Straight to Your Home. Try the Epoch Times yourself, and get a free gift.

A former Chinese state media journalist turned anti-corruption blogger has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Chen Jieren was detained in mid-2018 after he published two articles on his personal blog claiming corruption by Hunan party officials. On April 30, a court in the southern province jailed him for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, blackmail and bribery, in what one human rights group said was an attempt to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms.

Chen, the court said, attacked and vilified the Communist Party and government by publishing false information and malicious speculation.

A resident brings a bouquet of flowers to pay tribute to Dr. Li Wenliang at Lis hospital in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 07, 2020. (Getty Images)

China is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and tightly controls the press at home while censoring most foreign media outlets via the Great Firewall, its vast online censorship and surveillance apparatus.

In March, China expelled journalists from the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, in an unprecedented move against the foreign press. Beijing said the move was a response to recent restrictions by Washington on how Chinese state media operates in the US.

A pro-democracy activist (C) from HK Alliance holds a placard of missing citizen journalist Fang Bin, as she protests outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong on Feb. 19, 2020. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images)

While Chens case is unrelated to the countrys CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak, his jailing comes as its censors reassert their control over the Chinese media and internet following criticism over the initial handling of the situation in Wuhan.

In a statement, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Hong Kong-based NGO, said Chens sentence sends a chilling signal to online independent commentators and citizen journalists.

Speaking to CNN Business last week, RSF spokeswoman Rebecca Vincent said that if there had been a free press in China, if these whistleblowers hadnt been silenced, then this could have been prevented from turning into a pandemic.

Sometimes we can talk about press freedom in a theoretical way, but this shows the impact can at times be physical. It can affect all of our health, she said.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
With the coronavirus outbreak, we have all had to adapt to new ways of doing things. The majority of you are adjusting to online or remote learning from your homes, faculty are transitioning to virtual classrooms from their homes, and staff are supporting you through the use of technology from their homes. Even though our physical campuses may be closed, we are open for business and focused on helping you finish this semester.

The uncertainties and challenges related to COVID-19 may have us feeling anxious and isolated. We understand the temptation for you to simply not finish the semester, perhaps thinking you will return when things get back to normal. We encourage you to think about it differently.

This is the perfect time to dig back into your studies and focus like never before, using new tools in new and exciting ways. Your priorities may have changed, and you are likely facing different pressures, but the time you are afforded now is a gift when it comes to the ability to concentrate on your studies. You can set a positive example for others by committing to your studies and experiencing success.

You are over half-way through the semester already, and are well down the path to finishing your degree or credential. Stay on track. Dont let the challenges caused by the coronavirus derail you; instead, let them motivate you. Your higher education is more important today than ever.

Having a college degree matters, especially in times like these. Individuals with higher levels of education have higher earning capacity throughout their lifetime and are less likely to be unemployed. Your degree will not only set you up for future opportunities, it will help you weather times of uncertainty like these we are experiencing today.

Furthermore, staying on track to complete this semester and ultimately finishing your degree or credential is essential to the recovery for our entire State. Having an educated workforce will be key to Wyoming weathering this storm, and more importantly, to our ability to thrive afterward.

We implore you to continue to invest in your future. Your Wyoming Community Colleges have been working hard to ensure you have the support and resources you need. We are here for you. We need you to engage and let us know if you are in need. We believe that all of our students can be successful in their classes, even while juggling personal demands and dealing with the challenges brought on by these uncertain times.

Things may feel very different right now, but your faculty members and their commitment to you are the same. The staff ready to help you are the same people that have always cared about your success.

We know you have the courage and resilience to do this. We have seen it in you on our campuses. We know you can not only finish this semester, but finish strong.

Youve got this!

Darren Divine, President

Casper College

Brad Tyndall, President

Central Wyoming College

Lesley Travers, President

Eastern Wyoming College

Joe Schaffer, President

Laramie County Community

College

Walter Tribley, President

Northern Wyoming

Community College District

Stefani Hicswa, President

Northwest College

Kimberly Dale, President

Western Wyoming

Community College
The European Unions foreign policy chief admitted Thursday that China expressed their concerns over an EU report on Chinese disinformation regarding coronavirus, after allegations that his team had watered down their initial findings to appease the Chinese Communist Party.

Speaking to the European Parliament in Brussels, Josep Borrell denied that Beijing had coerced him to soften the reports verdict. Drafts of the report showed that language condemning China for a global disinformation campaign was removed, while an analyst in the EU administration warned her superiors of self-censoring.

I can assure you that no changes had been introduced to the report published last week to align the concerns of a third party, in this case, China. There is no watering down of our findings. We have not bowed to anyone, he said.

But Borrell admitted that it was clear and evident China was unhappy with the leaked report, first reported by the New York Times, stressing that the Chinese expressed their concerns through the diplomatic channels.

The admission did not satisfy some lawmakers. Thierry Mariani, a French politician, told Borrell that his team had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, while a Beligan member, Hilde Vautmans, demanded further answers. Who interfered? Which Chinese official put pressure? At what level? What means of pressure? she asked. I think Europe needs to know that. Otherwise youre losing all credibility.

Borrell did not go into details over his contact with China over the report. The Chinese were not happy, he stated. They were not happy at the beginning and they are still not happy now.

More from National Review
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America's mounting meat crisis has been laid bare in pictures showing empty store shelves across the country after processing plants were forced to slow production or close amid outbreaks of coronavirus.

Two dozen meat processing plants across America have been forced to close at some point in the last two months while many others have been forced to slow output after workers got sick.

Shortages of poultry, beef and pork have continued despite stores limiting how many products each person can buy in order to prevent hoarding which has exacerbated the problem.

The crisis is also set to get worse despite Donald Trump using the Defense Production Act to force plants to stay open and will not peak until the end of this month, unions have warned, with shortages likely to continue even for months after that.

So far around 20 workers have died and another 6,500 have fallen ill as cramped working conditions with employees often standing shoulder-to-shoulder on production lines has caused coronavirus to run rampant.

Nearly 900 workers - or 40 percent of the workforce - at a single Tyson facility in Logansport, Indiana, have tested positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, 126 workers at the Triumph Foods beef plant in St Joseph, Missouri have now tested positive for coronavirus. The local health department started testing all of the more than 2,200 workers at the plant after 92 asymptomatic employees tested positive. A further 32 employees who were experiencing symptoms have now tested positive and they are waiting for results for 1,500 others.

Cases at a JBS beef facility in Greeley, Colorado have doubled from 120 to 245 in just three days after it reopened this week following a two-week shutdown after an outbreak.

Shortages of poultry, beef and pork have continued despite stores limiting how many products each person can buy in order to prevent hoarding. Pictured above is a Keyfoods Supermarket in Brooklyn, New York

Holes have continued appearing on meat shelves across America as the country faces a supply crisis after dozens of processing plants were forced to close or reduce capacity after coronavirus outbreaks among workers (pictured, a refrigerated meat section at a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York)

Meat prices have soared and store owners have limited the number of products each customer can buy in order to keep products on the shelves, but stocks have still run empty (pictured, a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York)

Shoppers in Dallas, Texas stock up with meat as concern over shortages in the supply chain due to COVID-10 grows

IS MEAT FROM AFFECTED FACTORIES SAFE TO EAT? Experts agree that there is little to no risk of contracting coronavirus from food, even from meat packing plants affected by worker outbreaks. Coronavirus is transmitted mostly through close contact with contagious individuals. 'Currently there is no evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 associated with food,' the USDA said in a statement. The FDA says: 'We want to reassure consumers that there is currently no evidence of human or animal food or food packaging being associated with transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.' As well, coronavirus is known to be quickly killed at temperatures above 135 degrees. Cooking meat according to instructions should kill any harmful pathogens present. Advertisement

President Donald Trump took executive action this week when he ordered meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing infections and the impact on the nation's food supply.

The order uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves that are already being stripped bare across the country.

The executive order, released Tuesday, said the closure of just one large beef processing plant could result in 10 million fewer individual servings of beef in a day.

The move has been welcomed by industry bosses who see it as providing protection from liability is workers get sick on the job. But union bosses have accused him of putting lives at risk while workers say they will continue to stay at home until safety measures are improved.

The order came soon after a lawsuit accused Smithfield Foods of not doing enough to protect employees at its plant in Milan, Missouri. A federal judge in that case ordered Smithfield to follow federal recommendations.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union said it would appeal to governors for help, asking them to enforce rules that workers be kept 6 feet apart and that employees be provided with N95 masks and access to virus testing.

'Does it make sense to have meat in the markets if it takes the blood of the people who are dying to make it every day?' asked Menbere Tsegay, a worker at the Smithfield Foods plant in South Dakota, where more than 800 workers have confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Two people have died, and the plant has been shut down since mid-April.

The threat of the virus has caused workers like Tsegay, a 35-year-old single mother of four children, to weigh whether to risk their health by working. Tsegay said she's not willing to do that.

'I'd rather starve and wait this out than go back to work,' she said.

Some of the largest slaughterhouses and processing plants across the United States have been forced to close in recent weeks due to outbreaks among workers. Others plants have slowed production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick

Despite the order from the White House many meat workers say they will refuse to go back to work unless their safety can be guaranteed after 20 died and 5,000 required hospital treatment for coronavirus (pictured, a Walmart in Florida)

Shoppers browse empty shelves at a Stop & Shop supermarket in Woburn, Massachusetts, after meat supplies began running low when coronavirus interrupted supply chains

Shelves were almost stripped bare at a Keyfoods Supermarket in Brooklyn, New York this week

The crisis is set to get worse despite Donald Trump using the Defense Production Act to force processing plants to keep going, with supplies running lowest in late May (pictured, a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York)

Many stores - including this Ralphs in California - have brought in policies limiting the number of products each customer can buy to prevent hoarding and keep stocks up, but still gaps have appeared on shelves

Shortages of poultry, beef and pork have continued despite stores limiting how many products each person can buy. Pictured above is a Costco in Chicago

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said earlier this week that 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the US have died of the virus.

An estimated 6,500 are sick or have been exposed while working near someone who tested positive, the union said.

A slew of new cases of the virus were reported at a beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, which started operating last Friday after it was closed for about two weeks following an outbreak among workers.

'The uptick in cases in a matter of days shows how serious this crisis is and the dangers that workers are facing every day just trying to do their jobs,' Kim Cordova, leader of the local United Food and Commercial Workers International Union chapter, said in a news release.

Confirmed cases among workers at the plant rose from 120 on Sunday to 245 on Wednesday evening, a union spokeswoman told Reuters, citing numbers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Testing at Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Logansport, Indiana has revealed that 890 workers out of a total of 2,200 have caught the virus.

The pork processing plant has been shut for 14 days in a bid to curb the spread after employees started testing positive. County officials are working with bosses to try and reopen it again in the wake of Trump's order.

Meat industry bosses have welcome Trump's executive order forcing plants to stay open, but unions and workers say staff are still being put at risk by a lack of safety measures (pictured, empty shelves at Walmart in Dallas, Texas)

At least 900 workers at a single meat-processing facility in Indiana have tested positive for coronavirus while cases at another facility in Colorado doubled in a week after it reopened (pictured, empty store shelves in Texas)

A sign informing customers they can only buy two packs of meat each is seen at a Target store (left), while empty shelves of lunchmeat are seen at a Walmart store (right), both in Dallas

Empty meat shelves are seen at a Walmart store in North Miami, Florida, as the country suffers through a shortage

Sparse shelves are seen at an Aldi store in North Miami, Florida, as supplies of poultry including chicken run low

The world's biggest meat companies, including Smithfield Foods and Tyson Foods, have halted operations at about 20 of its slaughterhouses and processing plants as the pandemic continues.

It is unclear how soon meat processing plants may reopen.

The companies say they are checking workers' temperatures, working with local health officials and taking other steps to prevent the spread of the virus.

Following various outbreaks at its facilities, Tyson has temporarily suspended operations at its pork plants in Waterloo and Perry in Iowa and in Logansport, Indiana. It has also idled its beef facilities in Pasco, Washington and Dakota City, Nebraska.

The company is completing cleaning at those facilities and screening its workers for the virus.

Virginia-based Smithfield, which is owned by China's WH Group Ltd, has closed its plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, indefinitely after an outbreak infected 853 workers there.

The company has also temporarily shuttered plants in Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Companies have already sought changes to reduce risks by providing personal protective equipment, installing plexiglass shields between workers and reducing congestion by staggering shift start times, among other reforms.

The union said plexiglass barriers should not be used as a substitute for putting workers at a safe distance from one another. Union officials also want to slow down meat processing, including getting rid of waivers that allow plants to operate at faster speeds.

Empty spots on shelves greet shoppers in the meat department at a Star Market in Cambridge, Massachusetts

A shopper looks over bare spots in the meat department at a Star Market in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as supply chains break down due to coronavirus

Sparsely stocked shelves greet shoppers in the meat department at a Whole Foods market in Medford, Massachusetts

Gaps in the lunchmeat section of a Ralphs supermarket in Calabasas, California, as the country suffers through a shortage

Gaps appear on shelves stocking pork products at a Ralphs supermarket in West Hollywood, California

A Gelsons store in Encino, California, runs low on beef products as nationwide shortages bite

Smithfield Foods, which is working on a plan to reopen the Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant, said in a statement welcoming Trump's order that it should make for easier access to protective equipment and testing for employees.

Faced with thinning workforces as workers become infected or stay home in fear, meatpacking companies have also put millions of dollars towards boosting pay and giving workers bonuses to encourage healthy workers to stay on the job.

But Jim Roth, director of the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University, said meatpacking plants will likely continue to have problems finding enough workers operate at full capacity.

'There's a shortage of workers to begin with, and then with the illnesses and the need to self-quarantine for 14 days after exposure, I'm not clear where the workers come from to keep the plants open,' Roth said.

Trump's order called on the Department of Agriculture to ensure that plants stay open.

The USDA said in a statement Wednesday that a team including the Department of Labor and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would review companies' mitigation plans 'and work in consultation with the state and local authorities to resume and/or ensure continuity of operations at these critical facilities.'

Trump promised Wednesday that a report on protecting workers would be coming soon.

Federal agencies have already issued recommendations for operating plants that largely track with steps many companies say they have already taken.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The total number of coronavirus-infected people in Uzbekistan has reached 2,046, Trend reports on May 1 with reference to the Ministry of Health.

To date, 1 133 patients have fully recovered in the country, nine have died.

On April 30, Uzbekistan's Special Republican Commission for the preparation of a program of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country introduced new measures with the quarantine regime.

From 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM, and from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, the citizens are allowed to go out without special permission for the purposes of going to and from work and purchase of medicines and necessities.

Citizens are also allowed to walk directly in front of their houses, observing a social distance (intermediate distance of two meters) and wearing masks.

In addition, the heads of higher education and research institutions, as well as professors, are allowed to continue their scientific work and other activities.

Recently, quarantine in Uzbekistan was extended until May 10.

The first case of coronavirus infection in Uzbekistan was detected on March 15 in the laboratory of the Research Institute of Virology; it was an Uzbek woman who returned from France. The Ministry of Health later announced that her son, daughter, husband and grandson also tested coronavirus-positive.

The outbreak of the coronavirus began in the Chinese city of Wuhan (an international transport hub), at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

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Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
Tensions on the key M4 highway in Syrias rebel-held province of Idlib have climbed to new levels, creating dilemmas for both the jihadis dominating the region and Turkish forces seeking to reopen the road under a deal with Russia.

Efforts to reopen the M4  a key requirement of the deal that Turkey and Russia sealed March 5 in Moscow  led to deadly unrest April 26 as Turkish forces took on a crowd that barricaded the highway outside a village near al-Nayrab. In the wake of the killing of two Turkish soldiers in a March 19 attack in the area, the Turkish forces opened fire on the crowd, which pelted the soldiers with stones after an initial attempt to disperse it with tear gas. Two people were killed and several wounded in the confrontation, which was followed by a mortar attack on a Turkish outpost in al-Nayrab that left several soldiers injured. In response, Turkish drones hit two emplacements of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the radical group dominating Idlib, and a vehicle. HTS lost two men.

The Moscow deal calls for joint Turkish-Russian patrols along M4. Since March 15, five attempts to conduct them have failed.

Following the latest flare-up, Turkish military and intelligence officials met with a HTS delegation in a bid to defuse the tensions and talk the group into a peaceful reopening of the M4. The delegation was reportedly told that attempts to block the road would play into the hands of the regime and that continued tensions would raise the risk of territorial losses for rebel groups in the region. The Turkish military reinforced its observation posts and airdropped leaflets to residents, in which it described its goal as preventing military action in Idlib, facilitating the return of displaced civilians and reviving economic activity by reopening the M4 and M5 highways. Do not believe  those who want to deceive you and spread sedition among brothers, the text read.

HTS has put on appearances of willingness to cooperate with Turkey, while raising the prospect of opening commercial crossings to regime-held areas at Saraqeb, Atarib, Maarat al-Nasan and Miznaz. Yet such crossings are not directly related to the reopening of the M4 and HTS remains involved in the resistance on the road, which its media arm calls honor protests.

Armed groups allied with Turkey accuse HTS of undermining the Moscow deal. Syrian National Army (SNA) leader Mustafa Sejari, for instance, blamed HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani for the latest confrontation on the M4. Turkey has been coordinating its moves with the revolutionary forces, he tweeted, adding that Turkeys actions aimed to protect millions of civilians and prevent losing more areas in Idlib because of Golanis military dominance. Some other rebels, meanwhile, accuse HTS of playing a double game, acquiescing to the reopening of the road and betraying the revolution. In short, the situation on the rebel front is highly complex.

The rifts among the rebels have to do not only with their fears of losing control in liberated areas, but also with changes in the economic status quo. Many believe that the reopening of M4 would advance Russian strategies to expand the control of the Syrian army, pointing to how the Astana process, which shaped the Russian-Turkish partnership, has been marked by opposition defeats on key fronts such as eastern Aleppo, eastern Gouta, Quneitra and Daraa. The armed oppositions waning grip over M4, atop its loss of the M5 in February, has been changing the balance of power, both military and economically, although the economic debate has drawn less attention.

According to an HTS associate responsible for crossings, 95% of the goods that currently enter Idlib are from Turkey and only 5% from government-controlled areas, compared to 35% from Turkey and 65% from government-held areas three years ago. Idlib has a certain production surplus, particularly in agriculture, but only 10% of those products are being sold to Turkey, according to the official. The opening of commercial crossings would enable the shipment of Idlibs products to other regions, reviving trade and reducing dependence on foreign aid.

Though traders and producers are eager to see commercial crossings open, others oppose such moves, arguing that Idlibs products, grain in particular, would go to regime areas, leading to an increase in prices. HTS has tried to separate the debate on commercial crossings from the issue of reopening the M4 and has said the matter could be set aside in case of any adverse developments. Still, the debate shows that HTS has recognized it will sooner or later lose control of the M4, its main source of revenues, and is already seeking to set up customs points on routes leading to Idlibs towns to preserve its revenues.

The resistance on the M4 also has to do with how armed groups see their future in battlefield arrangements controlled by Turkey. Turkeys plan is to merge rival factions into a joint army and turn the M4 into a new barrier for Damascus forces. The plan would require HTS to disband and join the new force.

Once the M4 is reopened, the Turkish military will control the northern side of a security belt with a depth of six kilometers (nearly four miles) on either side of the road, while Russian forces will be in charge of the southern section. For HTS, such a setup means a major setback on the ground. The group is unwilling to confront Turkey, but at the same time, it is averse to accepting the control of the Turkish military or the SNAs entry into Idlib. Such concessions, HTS fears, could lead the group to split up and eventually lose all control on the ground.

In 2018, HTS defectors who quit over what they saw as concessions to Turkey gathered under the banner of Hurras al-Din. A fresh rift has now emerged between pragmatist and radical wings and some prominent HTS figures have already left the group. The rift might grow in the coming days, much to the delight of the SNA, which sees the reopening of the M4 as an opportunity to wipe HTS from the battlefield.

The showdown presents dilemmas for Turkey as well. If the onus eventually falls on Turkey to uproot the jihadis by force, the Turkish military might face greater risks in securing the areas it controls. Moreover, a much-feared boomerang scenario might come true  that is, the factions that Ankara has backed or turned a blind eye to in the nine-year Syrian war might turn against Turkey. Hence, Ankara is now seeking to make the most of its persuasive power while dangling the option of force.
Failure to vaccinate everyone will give rise to new variants, says UN chief

Faith vs safety in burials: COVID-19 remains in dead bodies for 9 days says Centre

COVID-19 patient dies after consuming toxic liquid in UP

India

pti-PTI

Kanpur (UP), May 01: A coronavirus patient died at a hospital on Friday allegedly after consuming some toxic liquid at the community health centre he was admitted to in Sarsaul in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat district, a health official said.

Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) hospital's Chief Medical Superintendent, Dr RK Maurya, confirmed the victim was COVID-19 positive and shifted to the facility on Thursday night. He, however, refused to share any further details regarding the patient's death.

It was not immediately clear whether the patient attempted suicide.

Chief Medical Officer (Kanpur Dehat), Dr Rajesh Katiyar, said the man, a resident of Jharkhand, along with other labourers were travelling in a truck that was intercepted by police in Pukhrayan on April 23.

"The victim was kept at the district hospital where he was screened. He tested positive for COVID-19, following which he was taken to an isolation ward of the CHC in Sarsaul on Wednesday night," the CMO added.

CHC's Superintendent, Dr SL Verma, said the patient allegedly drank something after which his condition started deteriorating. He was also a patient of epilepsy and might have been suffering from mental illness as well, the CMO added.

He held Kanpur Dehat authorities responsible for the patient's death, claiming there was no such protocol to shift any COVID-19 positive patient at CHCs of any other district.
Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital Nurse Sarah Scheaffer became a nurse to help people who are going through difficult times. With health care professionals around greater Houston working on the front lines to usher COVID-19 patients into recovery, nurses like Scheaffer are needed more than ever.

National Nurses Day on May 6 marks the start of National Nurses Week, an annual recognition of nurses vital contributions to their communities.

Scheaffer discussed her own experience as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic and how she and her fellow nurses and doctors have been collaborating to help patients in need.

What is your position with the hospital and what are your usual duties?

Scheaffer: I am a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department. I am a staff nurse, charge nurse and preceptor within the department. My work consists of direct patient care, facilitating patient flow through the department and helping my team members whenever I can.

Why did you become a nurse/enter the healthcare industry?

Scheaffer: I became a nurse to help others during their hardest times. I love that I get to be a small part of saving someones life.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Texas is open, but what does that mean?

How have you personally been handling the pandemic?

Scheaffer: I have been handling the pandemic just like any other day I would handle the Emergency Room. I go with the flow and deal with whatever is given to me in the best way possible. I am still going to work like normal so the only thing that has changed for me is that I have taken up online shopping a bit more on my days off from work.

How often have you been working?

Scheaffer: I have been working my normal schedule which includes 3 twelve-hour shifts per week.

How have you and the staff been working together during this time?

Scheaffer: We collaborate as a team during each shift and have always done that prior to Covid-19 as well. We are very fortunate to have an amazing group of nurses and leadership that give us the best resources to provide exceptional patient care.

How could the public help you do your job? What do you need?

Scheaffer: The public can help by continuing to follow their specific state and county guidelines. I always tell all my patients to wash their hands and do what keeps them safe!

What kind of help do you need personally?

Scheaffer: Personally, I feel thankful to have a job and healthy family that I love and that is all I can ask for during this pandemic.

chevall.pryce@chron.com
Pakistan has reported a record 990 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 17,439 with 391 deaths so far in the country, the health ministry said on Friday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said Punjab reported 6,340 cases, Sindh 6,675, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 2,627, Balochistan 1,049, Islamabad 343, Gilgit-Baltistan 339 and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir reported 66 cases.

"Another six people died in the last 24 hours, taking the total death to 391," an statement issued by the ministry said.

Among the high profile politicians tested positive for the deadly virus include Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, apart from Governor of Pakistan's southern Sindh province Imran Ismail, a very close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan



The health ministry said that so far 182,131 tests had been conducted, including 7,971 on April 30.

"There were 3,706 patients admitted in 717 hospitals with COVID-19 facilities across the country. The rest of the patients were isolated at homes," according to the ministry.

Advisor on Health Zafar Mirza said that either the end of May or middle of June could be the peak period for coronavirus in the country.

"But it can be different also as we are not sure and monitoring the situation closely, Mirza had told media on Thursday.

The health ministry said that infection was taking toll on the health professionals, as 191 more healthcare providers had tested positive.

Earlier data shared on April 23 showed that 253 healthcare workers were infected, while the new figure showed that the number increased to 444, registering 75 per cent jump.

Those infected include 216 doctors, 67 nurses and 161 other healthcare staff. So far 94 patients have recovered from the virus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Friday in early May would typically see Ryanairs planes stuffed with sunseekers and stag dos. Instead they sit grounded with the airline in crisis.

The budget Irish carrier saw its shares sink as it admitted losses had hit 100 million in the first quarter and said worse was to come. It expects to run just 1% of its flying schedule over the next two months.

The company said it will take two years for demand and pricing to recover to pre-Covid levels and plans to kick off a restructuring in July. This will put up to 3000 jobs, mainly pilots and cabin crew, under threat and set up pay cuts of up to 20% for remaining staff. Boss Michael OLeary, who today extended his 50% pay cut until the end of the financial year, also claimed Ryanair would be hurt by 30 billion of state aid doping by European governments for their flag carriers. Ryanair shares fell 4% to 9.88 and rival easyJet was dragged down 7% to 562p.

IAG, the owner of British Airways, also slid. The UK airline this week announced 12,000 redundancies including 1100 pilots. Today it said it had secured 880 million in combined loans for its Iberia and Vueling brands backed by the Spanish government but the stock dropped 3% to 215p.

Almost all of the FTSE 100s weekly gain was wiped out, as the blue chip index fell 140.94 points to 5,760.27. The Footsie had risen sharply on signs the global lockdown was easing but today stock markets were in retreat as US president Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs against China as retaliation over its handling of the outbreak.

Oil companies were among the biggest fallers as Brent Crude dipped below $26. Shell, which cut its dividend yesterday, fell a further 5% to 1219.3p with BP off 4% at 301p.

Being too popular is rarely a problem for a retail brand, but Greggs  which had seen sales surge in part due to its vegan sausage roll  was off 5% to 1737p. Analysts at Peel Hunt cut their rating on the stock to Sell from Reduce after it abandoned plans to trial social distancing-friendly practices by reopening 20 stores in Newcastle.

The news sparked a wave of excitement on social media, sparking fears of overcrowding.

Small-cap spotlight

Shares in medical technology firm Inspiration Healthcare were on the charge as it cheered the arrival of its first consignment of ventilators. The AIM-listed company won a 4 million NHS contract to supply the equipment in March and today told investors the first shipment had arrived from the US. The stock, which has spiked since the virus spread, rose 4% to 62.5p.
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2020 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando in August.

For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award, said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last years recipient was Dick Weiner. Former recipients have included Stuart Farb (2010)), Burt Chasnov (2008), and Bob Yarmuth (2004).

According to Gaeser, Each recipient chose their own path, but made considerable and long-lasting contributions to the Jewish community. Nominees for the 2020 award are individuals who do not look for recognition, but perform tikkun olamrepairing the worldout of internal motivation.

Nominations should be emailed to news@orlandoheritage.com with the subject Human Service Award, or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and sent by mail to Heritage Florida Jewish News, Human Service Award, 207 OBrien Road, Suite 101, Fern Park, FL 32730. Included should be the name and phone number of the nominee, a documented list of his or her accomplishments, and the name and phone number of the nominator(s).

The Heritage is accepting nominations until Friday, June 26.




United States presidential candidate Joe Biden has emphatically debunked the alleged sexually assault leveled against him by one of his former staffs assistant Tara Reade

According Biden who is also a one time the vice president of American nation said it never happened

They arent true. This never happened, Biden said of the accusations made by Tara Reade, a former staffer in his US Senate office.

Biden, who broke a month of silence on the accusations with his statement, said Reades then-supervisor and former senior staffers in his office have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues.

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A day after registering the biggest single-day spike with 48 cases, Ludhiana detected 22 fresh cases on Friday. With this, the districts tally has risen to 99.

Sharing the information at 11.30pm, information officer Prabhdeep Singh stated that 22 fresh cases were reported from the city even as an evening bulletin mentioned no new cases.

Deputy commissioner Pradeep Agrawal said that people should take the lockdown seriously and the sudden spurt in Covid-19 was a matter of concern.

17 INMATES QUARANTINED

As many as 17 elderly inmates, who came in contact with an inmate in the womens jail who tested positive on Thursday, were today rushed civil hospital, said DC Agrawal.

Besides, five personnel of the jail staff have been sent into home quarantine.

Due to the heavy rush of people visiting the hospital for sampling, the swab samples of the inmates could not be collected.

20-DAY-OLD GIRL RUSHED TO HOSPITAL

Seven members of a family, including a 20-day-old girl child were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance on Friday night. The group that consisted of five-year-old boy, her patents, grandparents and a paternal aunt was rushed to the hospital after the newborns father developed Covid-19 like symptoms. He had been working at an automobile store in Jalandhar.

DC URGES RESIDENTS TO STAY INDOORS

Agrawal has appealed to Ludhiana residents to stay indoors to win the battle against Covid-19.He said there is a need to break the chain and that can be done only if residents follow the governments instructions. Thanking residents for their support so far, he said if any person feels that he or she is developing symptoms of Covid-19, they should visit their nearest health centre for checkup.
Punjab continued to witness a steep rise in coronavirus cases as the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 585 on Friday after 105 more people, mostly pilgrims, tested positive for the virus.

The state saw a jump of more than 100 confirmed coronavirus cases on the second consecutive day.

On Thursday too, 105 people tested positive for COVID-19.

According to a medical bulletin, there are 457 active cases in the state.

Maximum coronavirus cases were reported from Amritsar with 48 people contracting the infection, the medical bulletin said.

Sixteen were reported from Jalandhar, followed by fifteen from Ferozepur, thirteen from Ludhiana, six from Mohali, four from Fazilka and one each from Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala and Moga, it said.

Out of 105 fresh cases on Friday, 91 are pilgrims who returned to Punjab from Nanded in Maharashtra, a health official said.

Over 3,500 pilgrims from Hazur Sahib in Nanded in Maharashtra returned to Punjab in the last few days. As of now, a total of 197 Sikh devotees have tested positive for COVID-19, the official said.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has asked people not to worry about the sudden spike in cases and said that most of the new cases were those coming from other states.

The Punjab government has already ordered a 21-day quarantine for people coming from outside.

All 22 districts of the state now have COVID-19 cases.

Jalandhar continued to lead the COVID-19 tally as it has so far reported 105 cases, followed by 92 from Mohali, according to the medical bulletin.

Ninety were reported from Amritsar, 76 from Ludhiana, 65 from Patiala, 25 from Pathankot,23 from SBS Nagar, 17 from Ferozepur, 14 from Tarn Taran, 13 from Mansa, 12 from Kapurthala, 11 from Hoshiarpur, six each from Faridkot, Sangrur and Moga, five from Rupnagar, four each from Gurdaspur, Fazilka and Muktsar, three from Fatehgarh Sahib and two each from Barnala and Bathinda, the bulletin said.

Of the total 585 COVID-19 cases, 20 have died while 108 patients have fully recovered, it said.

According to the bulletin, one coronavirus patient is critical and is on ventilator support.

A total of 23,176 samples have been taken so far in the state. Out of these, 18,222 samples tested negative and reports of 4,369 samples are still awaited.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Election Commission of India will hold elections for the nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the upper house of the state assembly, on May 21, poll officials said on Friday.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray needs to be elected from one of the nine seats by May 28 to retain his post at the helm of the state. The 288-members of the Maharashtra assembly will vote to elect the members to the upper house.

Elections for the post of nine MLCs have been cleared, a senior poll official said while speaking to HT.

The commission has decided to hold the election on May 21. Normally, the counting is done on the same day. The results will also be declared then, a second official added.

Also read: Maha guv asks EC to hold polls to 9 seats

The first official cited above said several political parties, including the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress had written to the Commission requesting them to hold the elections.

The chief secretary has assured us that the situation is better and under control. MHA and health ministry guidelines will be followed and all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the conduct of the polls, the first official said.

Since the election is to the upper house and 288 members will be voting, the management will be easier, the official added.

Sanjay Raut, senior Shiv Sena leader, tweeted to thank the poll panel for its decision to hold the elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has allowed elections to the Legislative Council (MLC) in Maharashtra. I hope the uncertainty that was created it will end now. I am grateful to the central government and the Election Commission of the country. Satyameva Jayate! Raut tweeted in Hindi.

Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had asked the commission on Thursday to hold the polls at earliest. In a letter issued by Raj Bhavan, the governor said the elections to the vacant will help end the uncertainty prevailing in the state.

The seats have been lying vacant since April 24.

Koshyari had urged the commission to take note of the fact that the Centre had allowed for various relaxations in the second phase of the lockdown.

Also read: Guv shuts nomination route for Thackeray, holds out hope with letter to EC

As such the elections to the Council seats can be held with certain guidelines, Koshyari said in his letter.

The commission had earlier decided to defer the elections on April 3 in light of the public health emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A Perth family claims they have been refused social visits to their elderly relative by a nursing home, despite repeated calls by the state and federal governments to stop locking out visitors.

Doug Warnock said he had not been able to visit his 84-year-old mother-in-law, who lives at Aegis Aged Care's facility in Hilton and suffers from severe dementia, for nearly two months.

The elderly relative suffers from severe dementia and relies on social visits from family and friends. Credit:Stock

He said the family had made numerous requests but had only been allowed one visit in more than six weeks, despite rules allowing social visits to residents struggling with isolation twice a week.

"The treatment we were given by people up there was despicable," he said. "Dementia patients need supportive care and you should be able to go and give emotional support to the residents."
The Gujarat government did not hold any event in celebration of the 60th foundation day of the state on Friday in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

In his video message, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani urged the people to take a pledge on the state's foundation day that they will wear masks, practice social distancing and wash hands regularly to keep coronavirus at bay. He urged the people to celebrate the day at home and called upon them to come together to defeat the virus.

Rupani also asked the people to upload their videos of taking pledge to fight COVID-19 on social media and share it with the hashtag 'VijaySankalp'.

In a video message, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel urged the people to come together and free Gujarat from the pandemic by observing social distancing norms and wearing masks. Among many other leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the people of state on the occasion.

"Many congratulations to the people of Gujarat on the Foundation Day. People of Gujarat are known for their determination. Gujaratis gave their special contribution in many fields. I wish that Gujarat keeps achieving new milestones in the future too. Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat," he said. Gujarat was carved out of Bombay State on this day in 1960.

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: Govt identifies Delhi, Mumbai, all metros as red zones post May 3

Also read: Coronavirus India live Updates: Lockdown 3.0! PM Modi chairs meet on COVID-19; cases-35,043, deaths-1,147
The predictions by WHO are truly shocking and must serve as a wake-up call to show that action is needed to tackle the global melanoma epidemic.

Two leading organizations have come together to launch a global public awareness campaign in the fight against melanoma. In the 2020 Melanoma Skin Cancer Report: Stemming the Global Epidemic, the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy and Euromelanoma identify three key battlegrounds for fighting melanoma: the need to improve public awareness of melanoma risk factors; reducing intentional tanning; and making skin self-examinations a regular habit.

Figures gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that in 2018, there were 71,434 cases of melanoma diagnosed in the United States. This translated to 9,491 deaths from melanoma. WHO predicts that by 2025, the number of cases of melanoma will rise by 14% to 81,538 with deaths increasing by 18% to 11,193. By 2040, nearly 100,795 people will be diagnosed with melanoma, a 41% increase on 2018 figures, while 15,349 will die from the disease (62% increase).

Globally, the incidence of melanoma was found to have reached epidemic proportions. Cases of melanoma are predicted to rise from 287,723 in 2018 to 340,271 in 2025, an increase of 18%. By 2040, cases will reach nearly half a million (466,914), an increase of 62%. Deaths will rise 20% from 60,712 in 2018 to 72,886 in 2025 and will reach 105,904, a 74% increase, in 2040.

As well as summarizing findings from third party research, the report includes commentary from leading dermatologists.

The first section of the report uses hard facts and figures to quantify the scale of the problem now and how this is likely to increase. The predictions by WHO are truly shocking and must serve as a wake-up call to show that action is needed to tackle the global melanoma epidemic, said Kyleigh LiPira, MBA, CEO of the Melanoma Research Foundation, the founding member of the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy.

Despite a widespread understanding of the link between UV exposure and melanoma, third party research shows that knowledge is not translating into action. 92% of people recognized that sun exposure can cause health problems, but only 18% always protect their skin from the sun.* Whats more, 61% of people believe having tanned skin is attractive and 49% cannot imagine coming back from a vacation without a tan.* Shockingly, more people develop skin cancer from indoor tanning than develop lung cancer because of smoking.** Only 11% of people have their moles checked by a dermatologist and only 33% have checked their own skin annually,* despite dermatologists recommending that skin examinations should be carried out every four weeks.

Kyleigh LiPira added: Melanoma is one of the few cancers where we can definitively identify its cause and that means it is largely preventable. Predictions are just that, predictions; but to stop them becoming a reality, we need worldwide action  now.

In the 2020 Melanoma Skin Cancer Report we set out the definitive actions needed to change mindsets and behaviors. Its important that people translate their knowledge into preventative sun-safe action and its time to abandon beauty standards that say having a tan is sexy. It can also be deadly. We want to encourage everyone to check their skin on a monthly basis, so we asked ourselves what happens every four weeks that could serve as a reminder. Something that everyone could see, wherever they are in the world. The answer, of course, is the full moon, the concept for our 2020 campaign.

The publication of the 2020 Melanoma Skin Cancer Report: Stemming the Global Epidemic coincides with the launch of a public awareness campaign by the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy and Euromelanoma. The campaign will run in over 50 countries worldwide, and consists of leaflet distribution, posters and social media activity.

Visit http://www.melanoma.org to download the report and learn how to spot the signs of skin cancer.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL COALITION FOR MELANOMA PATIENT ADVOCACY

The Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy was formed in 2014 by the Melanoma Research Foundation in response to the global need to bring the patient voice to the melanoma space.

The group has grown to include organizations from 27 different countries and is enthusiastically supported by its partners around the world, as well as the global patient, healthcare and pharmaceutical communities. The Coalition meets the vital needs of the worldwide melanoma community through three working groups, which each specialize in a unique area that addresses globally relevant issues for melanoma patients, encompassing:



Melanoma Awareness and Patient Resources

Patient Advocacy and Access to Treatment

Collaboration and Recruitment

The Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy meets annually and is determined to make the deadliest skin cancer curable through its worldwide partnership. For more information or with questions about the Global Coalition, email global@melanoma.org.

ABOUT EUROMELANOMA

Euromelanoma is Europes leading skin cancer awareness group. It is run by a network of European dermatologists who give up their time to promote and share information on skin cancer prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. It focuses on public awareness of skin cancer, including an annual Euromelanoma Screening Day; sharing knowledge and best practices with the healthcare community; and working with policymakers to ensure the treatment of skin cancer is fully recognized and supported in healthcare systems and policies.

Euromelanoma is a registered charity and is active in 33 countries.

http://www.euromelanoma.org
UN Has No Information on North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un's Health, Guterres Says

Sputnik News

18:10 GMT 30.04.2020

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Thursday that he has no information regarding the state of health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"We have no information about Chairman Kim Jong-un", Guterres said when asked whether he discussed with North Korean officials the health and whereabouts of Kim.

The North Korean leader had disappeared from public life in the past several weeks and his absence fueled rumours that he is gravely ill or has died.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said he has "a very good idea" about Kim's status, but cannot publicly disclose it. Trump also said he wishes Kim well.

After South Korean online newspaper Daily NK reported last week that Kim, aged 36, was undergoing treatment following a heart-related surgery, numerous reports have been emerging in international media about alleged problems with the North Korean leader's health, with many outlets citing anonymous sources. This has even sparked rumours about Kim's death.

South Korean government officials have denied these reports saying that Kim is "alive and well" and that no credible proof indicating that Kim has had health problems was seen. Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul on Tuesday rejected these unconfirmed reports as "fake news" and part of an "infodemic".

A Sputnik

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A judge has added claims from two Ohio counties against pharmacies to the growing list of trials on governments claims that the drug industry should be held liable for the U.S. opioid epidemic.

U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster ruled Thursday that Lake and Trumbull counties should be the plaintiffs in a test case to be tried in his Cleveland courtroom in May 2021. At issue will be both pharmacy chains roles in distributing powerful prescription painkillers to their own stores and dispensing them to patients.

Both pharmacy roles were set to be included in a trial scheduled for November 2020 regarding claims from two other Ohio counties  Cuyahoga and Summit. But an appeals court sided with pharmacy chains and found Polster improperly included the drug dispensing role in that one.

Polster responded by adding that the companies will face an additional trial with a broader range of claims. Its not certain yet which companies would be defendants, but those involved in the suits so far are CVS, Discount Drug Mart, Giant Eagle, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart.

Prescription opioids such as OxyContin and Vicodin and illicit versions such as heroin and illegally produced fentanyl have been linked to more than 430,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000.

So far, there has been just one trial in the U.S. to test the liability of the drug industry for the epidemic. In that one, a judge last year ruled Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries had to pay the state of Oklahoma $465 million. The company is appealing.

Companies have settled other claims before they reached trial, including one that was scheduled before Polster last year.

The next trial in line could be a case in New York state case that was scheduled to start this month but was delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak. A federal trial is also scheduled for August on claims from local governments in West Virginia.

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and generic drugmaker Mallinckrodt are in bankruptcy proceedings as efforts to settle lawsuits theyre facing.

Other companies, including the nations three largest drug distribution companies, have also been negotiating nationwide settlements.
As migrant workers continue to be the worst-hit owing to the Covid-19 lockdown, the call for re-imagining migrant lives post the pandemic grew louder on May 1, International Labour Day.

Various organisations working with migrant communities demanded immediate measures to address questions regarding the livelihood of the workers.

Sending them back home is not addressing the problem. It is a band-aid solution, said Roshni Nuggehalli, executive director at Mumbai-based NGO Yuva.

The government has to work with the unions and organisations to plan both, short-term and long-term solutions that will help the migrant population live with dignity, she said.

Aajeevika Bureau, an organisation that works in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, chartered a pathway for migrant-inclusive urban governance that can be adopted by the government.

In its report Unlocking the Urban: Re-imagining Migrant Lives in Cities Post Covid-19 released on Friday, it stressed on various measures, including enumeration of migrant settlements, legislation to fix employer responsibility, and migrant inclusive public health care.

Divya Varma from Aajeevika Bureau, in a webinar on Friday, said, Migrant communities are left unenumerated, which excludes them from urban planning as their settlements are not recognised. Plus, there is a sedentary bias as they migrants cannot claim domicile.

The organisation stated that post-Covid-19, one can expect migrants to be forced to work for even lower wages and in more exploitative conditions in urban areas.

Sitaram Shelar, from the organisation Pani Haq Samiti, which has been demanding universal access to clean water, said, Providing universal social security and legislating minimum wages is a must for them to live with dignity. Another major demand that we have been talking about is providing some sort of shelter or a habitation centre for the migrants, who live in deplorable conditions.

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This holiday is celebrated in 142 countries around the world

On May 1, Ukraine celebrates an international holiday - Labor Day, which was originally called the International Workers' Day.

This holiday is celebrated in 142 countries and territories of the world. It commemorates the working protests in Chicago which began on May 1, 1986. On that very day, hundreds of thousands of the biggest working industrial centers in the USA demanded the implementation of the 8 hours working day.

That is why this day is believed to be The Day of the national fight for the rights of the workers.

For the first time, Labor Day was celebrated in 1980 in many countries of the world, in particular in Lviv. The mass demonstrations and protests took place in Vienna, Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Paris, and Milan.
Like any other high schooler with a fresh drivers permit, Ethan White does not need to look far for a reason to get behind the wheel.

His is rather unique, though.

White now rides around delivering freshly made gear from a group of 3D printers to help nurses and essential employees during the fight against coronavirus.

He has two 3D printers of his own at home, one of which actually helped build the other, and saw an opportunity.

I looked into it and I found there was actually a lot of stuff we could make that could help people, he said. I had my 3D printer sitting around, not doing anything, so I plugged it in and got to work.

The junior at Northern Burlington High School in Mercer County has not been alone though. Classmates Daniel Vail, Sucheth Seethalla and Krish Shah have joined the battle. Teacher Dave Potts also hopped on board, as has Joe McGarvey, a friend of the White family.

For such an ambitious undertaking, White reached out to every filament manufacturer in the U.S. and finally heard back from Toner Plastics based in Massachusetts. Thanks to a discount, he is able to supply filament to everyone else on his team to use the printers.

To start, White and the group made face shields. Frames were printed and holes were punched in acetate sheets for the visors.

Roughly 200 have already been donated to the SEWA International, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing civic engagement is the U.S. to volunteer and promote volunteering.

Next up were ear guards to protect cartilage from the surgical masks that nurses are required to wear for most, if not all, of their 12-hour shifts.

This group, which goes by the name of 3DCaresNJ, has already printed over 1,000 ear guards, which White will personally deliver to Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

The fact that White even has his permit is a stroke of luck.

His driving test got pushed up two weeks thanks to an opening in his instructors schedule. Had he taken his test when he was originally scheduled to, he would not have his permit because of the precautions surrounding the spread of coronavirus.

All of this delivering filament to friends and picking up donations is like a dream come true, he said. I have an excuse to drive.

Over the past few days, though, White has been preparing something else.

The thing Im most excited about is were working on switching over to making powered air-purifying respirators, which are orders of magnitude better than face shields and N-95 masks, he explained. On Thursday, when I go down to Cooper, Im also bringing samples of those that theyre going to then approve, and were going to start supplying them with.

As the operation continues to grow, so does the amount of filament needed. As a result, a GoFundMe was started almost a week ago and more than $2,200 has already been raised.

The entire 3DCaresNJ team is diligently working to print equipment for use at hospitals around New Jersey.Photo courtesy of Krish Shah

Im actually incredibly surprised by the support Ive received, he said. I wasnt really expecting any of it, but its been absolutely incredible how much people are willing to help.

In total, White spends between six and eight hours a day with the printers and enjoys nearly every aspect of it.

Its not like working, its like playing, he said. I get to see all of these people that Im helping. Its really good.

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Brian Bobal may be reached at bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianBobalHS.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The coronavirus may mercifully pass over the very young, but of all the age groups that emerge from this crisis, they will be most marked by it. The longer schools are closed, the deeper those marks will be. Yet reopening is both urgent and fraught, because theres no simple way of going back to the way it was.

Even if this particular pandemic is novel, history has taught us that the effects of interrupting education can be profound. During World War II, the last crisis that is remotely comparable to todays, bombing damaged about one in five schools in London, while another two-thirds were requisitioned for government use. Millions of children were sent to the countryside for safety. There were shortages of books and stationary supplies; rural schools had to share classrooms with evacuees, so groups of students were staggered between morning and afternoon learning sessions. By January 1940, only a quarter of children in London were receiving full-time education.

The war had an impact not only on education quality but on childrens future career paths and earnings. One study compared two cohorts of students who reached the age of 10 during or immediately after the war  one in Austria and Germany, the other in Sweden and Switzerland, where civilians faced far less disruption. It found educational attainment lagged in children whose learning was interrupted by war.

Nobody had Zoom or ShowMyHomework during the Blitz, its true. The world of learning has changed dramatically over the past several decades, but not all children are benefiting from that in the same way. Some happy homes are buzzing with video learning, homework scanning and board game-playing industriousness. For students from less privileged backgrounds, however, the routine and structure of classroom learning is difficult to replicate at home.

Its not just a matter of equipping children with laptops or tablets and internet access. Having a dedicated work space, family stability and support, and good nutrition and sleep habits can be the difference between children who maintain some level of productive learning and those who fall further behind or lose interest in schooling altogether.

Story continues

In homes where abuse, alcoholism, depression, disability or marital breakdown  not to mention unemployment and Covid-19 illness  are prevalent, concentrated learning becomes almost impossible. The interruption can also have a devastating effect on children with mental health issues and those with special education needs.

Teachers at Marlborough Science Academy, a well-run state-funded senior school in a largely middle-class part of Hertfordshire, had one week to prepare for the move to digital teaching. Jo Bustin, who has taught at the school for 22 years and has a senior leadership role in safeguarding, figures that most of the children in her school will be fine, but its already apparent that those who are in unsupportive or unstable homes lose out.

The school remained open for students of front-line workers and students seen as vulnerable, but most of those invited to attend in person dont. This is one of the greatest experiments Ive ever seen in education, because we are basically saying, Here it all is, and its up to you to decide whether you want to engage, she told me.

The level of affluence seems to make a difference on students experiences as well. An April report by the U.K. charity Sutton Trust found an alarming gap in remote learning experiences, with privately schooled kids twice as likely as publicly schooled (in the American sense of state-run) students to receive daily remote instruction.

Even those teachers who have adapted to digital instruction say they cant connect with students in quite the same way. One former teacher explained that once you get a group of kids on Zoom, one will always misbehave  it doesnt matter how privileged the family. Sometimes kids just dont want to learn or stay on task. Some councils advise against live video teaching because of the potential for inappropriate dress, language or other problems, so classes are recorded. And teachers say its hard to enforce assignments; they cant exactly hand out detentions.

For Britain, school closures compound preexisting problems. The U.K. education system is a hodgepodge of schools running the gamut from failing to first rate. Deprivation is more common than many realize. About a fifth of children between the ages of four and 15 are entitled to free school meals, generally because their families receive some kind of income support.

A 2017 analysis found that pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were on average 18.9 months behind the rest of their peers at the end of secondary school. This education gap  which translates into outcomes such as poorer health, lower average earnings and a greater propensity to be involved in crime  is often cited as a major contributor to Britains stagnant productivity and low levels of mobility.

The public health implications of restarting school amidst the coronavirus crisis have been much debated, but the weight of evidence is now leaning toward finding a path to reopening sooner rather than later. Schools are not major vectors for the virus spreading  as a recent study from University College London researchers, as well as research in Iceland and experience in Asia, suggests. And much of the labor force returning to work depends on parents being able to send their kids to school.

That doesnt mean schools can return to their pre-virus normal. Denmark started with primary schools and kindergartens. Desks are placed further apart. Pupils are separated by the requisite two meters (though how that works for very young children isnt clear), drop-offs and pickups are staggered, parents are not allowed in the building and toys are all rigorously washed.

More new guidelines will surely be needed, along with plans to help close the educational gaps that widened during this period. For children in homes with vulnerable adults  those with underlying health conditions who have been told to continue self-isolation, for example, even after some businesses reopen  alternative provisions may need to be made. Schools also have what U.K. law calls a duty of care to provide safe working conditions for teachers, and teachers unions have threatened strikes if schools reopen against medical advice.

The longer it takes to work out a way back to school, the greater the risk that inequalities that have long bedeviled Britains education sector will widen. Families that stretched to afford private education may be unable to do so, putting additional strain on an already resource-poor state sector and forcing private schools to lay off staff. The demands on the U.K. Treasury are great, and education could lose out as the economy contracts.

If so, this virus is likely to have a very long tail indeed.

Elaine He contributed graphics to this piece.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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The coronavirus lockdowns have hit Melbourne harder than any other property market, new data showed.

Victoria has been tougher than the other states in enforcing stage three restrictions, with police there even fining a learner driver for being in a car with her mother.

Median house prices in Melbourne fell by 0.4 per cent in April, making it the only Australian mainland state capital to suffer a decline after open-home inspections and public auctions were banned, CoreLogic data showed.

By comparison, equivalent prices for a detached home rose by 0.3 per cent in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth as values also increased in Adelaide (0.4 per cent), Canberra (0.1 per cent) and Darwin (1.1 per cent).

The coronavirus lockdowns have hit Melbourne (Flinders Street station during lockdown pictured) harder than any other property market, new data showed. Median house prices fell by 0.4 per cent in April, making it the only Australian mainland state capital to suffer a decline, CoreLogic data showed

Apart from Melbourne, Hobart was the only other capital city to see a fall in mid-point values, with house prices down 0.2 per cent as Tasmania became an island state with its borders closed to the rest of Australia.

How COVID-19 has affected house prices Melbourne: DOWN 0.4 per cent to $818,806 Sydney: UP 0.3 per cent to $1,026,418 Brisbane: UP 0.3 per cent to $558,372 Adelaide: UP 0.4 per cent to $476,249 Perth: UP 0.3 per cent to $465,521 Hobart: DOWN 0.2 per cent to $512,688 Darwin: UP 1.1 per cent to $473,984 Canberra: UP 0.1 per cent to $702,861 Source: CoreLogic Home Value Index for April based on median house price changes Advertisement

CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said the closure of Australia's border on March 20 to everyone but citizens and permanent residents was likely to hit Sydney and Melbourne more than any other state capital city.

'Sydney and Melbourne arguably show a higher risk profile relative to other markets due to their large exposure to overseas migration as a source of housing demand, along with greater exposure to the downturn in foreign students, stretched housing affordability and already low rental yields that are likely to reduce further on the back of rising vacancy rates and lower rents,' he said.

Doug Driscoll, the chief executive of real estate agent Starr Partners, said investor interest had waned for inner-city apartments in the Sydney market where he operates, over concerns there would be fewer international students in the rental market.

'The inner-city apartment market is partly fuelled, underpinned by investors,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Friday.

By comparison, equivalent prices rose by 0.3 per cent in Sydney and Brisbane (pictured are two men practising social distancing at the Mount Coot-Tha lookout)

CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said the closure of Australia's border on March 20 to everyone but citizens and permanent residents was likely to hit Sydney (a near deserted Opera House pictured) and Melbourne more than any other state capital city

'We have seen investor numbers during the COVID crisis come back by 60, 70 per cent - falling demand, that will have an impact on prices.'

Apartments weather coronavirus crisis so far Sydney: UP 0.6 per cent to $777,940 Melbourne: UP 0.1 per cent to $588,204 Brisbane: UP 0.5 per cent to $388,729 Adelaide: UP 0.7 per cent to $334,240 Perth: DOWN 0.2 per cent to $359,306 Hobart: UP 0.5 per cent to $404,021 Darwin: UP 3.1 per cent to $286,248 Canberra: DOWN 0.4 per cent to $445,169 Source: CoreLogic Home Value Index showing movements in median apartment prices in April Advertisement

Banks could also be more reluctant to provide investor loans for inner-city units.

'If we're seeing a bit of a "rental crisis" - a lot of that is caused by things like students,' Mr Driscoll said.

'If we've got fewer overseas students at the moment, then there are fewer people to rent properties and that has an impact on vacancy rates.'

In April, median apartment prices rose by 0.6 per cent in Sydney but fell by 0.2 per cent in Perth and by 0.4 per cent in Canberra.

Darwin had the biggest increase in median apartment prices of 3.1 per cent, as the Northern Territory recorded the fewest COVID-19 cases and flagged reopening pubs in just a fortnight from now.

Mr Driscoll said outer suburban homes in general were likely to hold their value better during the COVID-19 pandemic as owner-occupier buyers with families continued to need a house.

'Houses are going to sell better and maintain prices better than inner-city apartments through all this,' he said.

'They're more families, they're expecting another child, the people that we're seeing and speaking to at the moment and dealing with, they're the ones moving through necessity.'
A drive-through COVID-19 screening site in Yorba Linda, California. Photo: MediaNews Group via Getty Images

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In February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the United States should brace for a domestic coronavirus outbreak. Just one month later, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and President Trump announced a national state of emergency. Over the past nine months, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has risen dramatically, with more than 71.1 million across the globe. But the U.S. has suffered the largest outbreak in the world. As of December 13, more than 16.2 million people across every state; Washington, D.C.; and four territories have tested positive for the disease, and nearly 300,000 people with the virus have died.

It is hard to overstate the severity of the national trajectory: Across the U.S., coronavirus cases are surging to terrifying, unprecedented levels, with nearly every state suffering what one trusted tracker has characterized as uncontrolled spread. The U.S. recorded over 4 million new cases in November, more than double Octobers record of 1.9 million. Per the New York Times, there are almost no hopeful signs in the data, although the approval of a vaccine does present a bright spot.

Heres everything to know about the spread of the virus in the U.S.

How many new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S.?

As of December 13, there have been at least 16,262,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., and the death toll is now at least 298,649.

Back in May, President Trump predicted that the U.S. would see anywhere from 75,000, 80,000, to 100,000 fatalities from the virus. Now, the U.S. has reported more deaths from COVID-19 than any other country, and is seeing the highest single-day increases of any country in the world. Though the U.S. accounts for 4 percent of the worlds population, it has had around 20 percent of the worlds coronavirus deaths  by far the largest gap of any affluent country. Still, many public-health experts believe that the official numbers significantly underestimate the pandemics true toll.

Though cases had been on a downward trajectory after the widespread lockdowns in March and April, the virus spread rapidly throughout the summer  especially in regions of the country that were early to reopen, including the South and West. Now, the New York Times reports, the U.S. is averaging roughly six times as many new cases per day and thrice as many deaths. Over the past week, the country has reported an average of 208,097 new cases per day, a 28 percent increase from the average just two weeks earlier. Throughout late October and early November, the nation also broke new records for daily cases almost as soon as it set them: Just one day after the daily tally surpassed 90,000, on October 30, the country reported more than 99,000 new cases. On November 4, the country clocked over 100,000 new cases for the first time since the pandemic began. On November 10, the tally was 139,855. On November 13, more than 181,000 new cases were reported in a 24-hour timespan. As of November 29, more than 170,000 people were testing positive across the country on an average day. The numbers have continued to trend upward this month, with a record-breaking 3,000-plus deaths recording on December 9. One epidemiologist recently warned the Times: The worst is yet to come in the next week or two or three.

Texas became the first state to surpass 1 million total cases on November 10, and now counts 1,473,706 total cases. Texas has had the nations largest outbreak for weeks, but has now been surpassed by California, which just became the first state to add more than 30,000 new cases in a single day, and counts 1,558,275 total. In comparison, New York, the early epicenter of the pandemic, has recorded a total of 770,804 cases. For weeks, the worst outbreaks have been occurring in rural areas within the Upper Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Mountain West, although the situation is dire across the country, and case counts have recently begun climbing in mid-sized and large cities. With numbers rising in almost every state across the board  Hawaii continues to be an exception  many officials are considering stay-at-home measures and other precautionary measures to mitigate the spread, which shows no sign of abating.

Public-health experts expected a situation like this. On October 18, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told NBC that the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic. Thanksgiving and the holiday season have been particularly concerning lately, as public-health experts say that small indoor gatherings are driving new COVID-19 outbreaks. You get one person whos asymptomatic and infected and then all of a sudden, four or five people in that gathering are infected, Fauci said during a recent livestreamed interview. To me, thats the exact scenario that youre going to see on Thanksgiving.

On November 19, CDC officials gave the agencys first public briefing since August, advising the country against Thanksgiving travel, and gatherings outside their immediate households. Nonetheless, the Transportation Security Administration says it screened more airline passengers  1,070,967 of them  the day before Thanksgiving than it has on any day since March. The week leading up to the holiday reportedly saw 6.8 million people filter through the nations airports. The travel, the congregate setting, not wearing masks  the chances are that you will see a surge superimposed upon a surge, Fauci said of holiday gatherings. What were doing now is going to be reflected two, three weeks from now. Now, that prediction appears to be proving true.

The largest COVID-19 outbreaks have been in nursing homes, correctional facilities, and meat-processing plants. Additionally, federal data shows that Black and Latino people in the U.S. have been three times as likely to contract the virus as white people and that they have been nearly twice as likely to die from it. While elderly and immunocompromised people accounted for a large share of COVID-19 infections at the start of the pandemic, in recent months, younger people have been testing positive more than any other age group, and many outbreaks have been linked to schools and universities that have resumed in-person classes. As of November, roughly 1.2 million children have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported.

How has the Trump administration responded to the pandemic?

In March, President Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, effectively freeing up to $50 billion in federal funds to help states and territories fight the spread of the virus. He also signed a $2 trillion stimulus plan, the largest in modern American history, which sent direct payments of around $1,200 to millions of Americans who earn less than $99,000, along with an additional $500 per child. Negotiations on a second, scaled-back aid proposal bill were ongoing until, in early October, the president ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to put everything on hold until after the election. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which could take away health-insurance access from as many as 23 million Americans.

President Trump has repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the current outbreaks and told his supporters at a rally in Ohio in September that the virus affects virtually nobody. He has previously, falsely, claimed that 99 percent of cases are totally harmless  despite the fact that he told journalist Bob Woodward in early February that he knew the virus was airborne and more deadly than even your strenuous flus. On October 1, Trump announced that he and Melania had tested positive for the coronavirus. Although he reportedly worried he could be one of the diers, after being treated with several different drugs, Trump was back to holding large public events one week later, repeating his claim that the coronavirus is disappearing. (Meanwhile, infections within the presidents orbit still continue to climb.)

What is Bidens coronavirus-response plan?

Days after winning enough electoral votes to secure the presidency, President-elect Joe Biden announced his coronavirus task force, which was met with widespread praise  namely because, unlike Trumps task force, Bidens includes an impressive slate of epidemiologists and infectious-disease experts. Whereas Trumps team was led by Vice-President Mike Pence, who fueled an HIV outbreak in Indiana while he was governor, Bidens will be led by Vivek Murthy, surgeon general under Obama. Additionally, the president-elect has pledged to reverse Trumps withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and spoken about his plans to enforce mask mandates and expand testing infrastructure. On December 4, Biden said he would ask the country to commit to wearing masks for 100 days. He has also said he wants to distribute 100 million vaccines in that time.

But none of this will be simple. Biden has inherited a public-health crisis that is all but certain to get much, much worse before he is inaugurated. And, if Republicans maintain control of the Senate, hell likely meet resistance in implementing all of his plans.

When will we get a coronavirus vaccine?

Researchers worldwide have been working around the clock to develop a safe and effective vaccine and get it on the market as soon as possible, a process that can sometimes take up to a decade. On November 9, we received a much-needed bit of promising news: Pfizer, one of the four U.S. drug companies with a vaccine in late-stage trials, announced that its two-dose vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in an ongoing trial, according to an early analysis. Now, the company believes its product to be 95 percent effective. Shortly thereafter, Moderna announced that late-stage trials of its vaccine also showed a 95 percent efficacy rate.

On December 11, the FDA authorized Pfizers vaccine for emergency use, and the first round of vaccinations  for health-care workers at high risk of exposure to the virus  will begin Monday, December 14. Modernas vaccine could be distributed starting December 21.

However, as epidemiologists have long warned, distributing a vaccine to the public is logistically challenging, so its unlikely well have widespread distribution until early-to-mid-2021. Meaning, we wont be abandoning masks or social-distancing precautions anytime soon. The Pfizer vaccine, in particular, presents a shipping puzzle: It must be stored at negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit in special, deep-freeze suitcases, and those can only be opened two times a day for 180-second intervals, at best. Modernas option can be stored at temperatures between 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, other potential coronavirus treatments are undergoing clinical studies to determine their efficacy. On October 22, the Food and Drug Administration formally approved the countrys first treatment for COVID-19, the anti-viral drug remdesivir, which the FDA commissioner called an important scientific milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic. The FDA also recently issued emergency authorization to an antibody therapy called bamlanivimab. And on November 21, the FDA granted emergency authorization for the experimental antibody cocktail made by Regeneron, which Trump touted as a miracle cure, for treating COVID patients.

What should I do to minimize my coronavirus risk?

The two best ways to protect yourself and others from the coronavirus, according to public-health experts, is to wear a face mask and practice social distancing. (38 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, require residents to wear masks in public settings when social distancing is not possible.) Also, maybe consider lowering the decibel of your voice, as some research shows that speaking quietly instead of yelling  which sends an abundance of respiratory droplets and aerosols out into the air  can lower the rate of virus transmission.

If you have symptoms associated with coronavirus  particularly coughing, fever, respiratory issues  call your doctor before showing up at their office: The virus is highly contagious and you want to limit the possibility of spreading it. If you are sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home and self-isolate, confining yourself to one room as much as possible and wearing a mask when you have to interact with others. Wash your hands frequently  soap and water and at least 20 seconds of scrubbing  and avoid touching shared household items, cleaning high touch surfaces (like your phone) regularly.

Regardless of whether or not you have symptoms, though, keep your hands clean, and seriously, stop touching your face and just stay home.

This post is being regularly updated with new developments.
Former councillor Sean Doyle with the purple and gold scarf he knitted while cocooning at his home

The man who would have created history this year by becoming the first Grand Marshal of the Enniscorthy St Patrick's Day parade has appealed to people to adhere to cocooning guidelines as laid down by the Government and health authorities

Sean Og Doyle was selected as the Grand Marshal to this year's parade but sadly that didn't materialise as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, speaking to this newspaper Sean, who is a former healthcare worker, is urging everyone over 70-years-of-age to keep on cocooning.

He was part of the team in St Senan's Hospital for many years and spent 40 years involved in local politics, having been first elected to Enniscorthy Town Council in 1973.

Sean was the Cathaoirleach of the local authority on seven occasions, including during the 1798 bicentennial, and he also served for many years on Wexford County Council.

Sean is very well known and respected in Enniscorthy and across the county and has played leading roles in community organisations such as the Enniscorthy Tidy Towns Committee and the Strawberry Festival, in addition to being a lifelong member of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.

He served as treasurer on the local committees that staged the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Enniscorthy on three occasions: 1967, 1999 and 2000.

While he is originally from Rathnure, he is synonymous with Enniscorthy and was President of the committee that commemorated the centenary of the Easter Rising in 1916.

Speaking to this newspaper he said it's important that people adhere to the guidelines.

'It's important for everyone's safety and people just need to be responsible,' he said.

He said he's been using his cocooning time in a very productive way.

Seans father taught him to knit from when he was six-years-old and he has it's a craft he's pursued all his life.

During his current 'down time' he's increased his output and has crafted hats, scarves and other items including a large scarf in the Wexford county colours.

Because of his own association with the health services he said he is 'very proud' of those who are putting themselves in the 'bearna baol' while caring for those who are affected.

'I am urging those of my generation to bear in mind that a little sacrifice on the part of older people can deliver a great result at a time when Ireland faces a major challenge,' said Sean.

'It's hard for people my age, especially where we miss being out in the community,' he added.

However, he also said that what is being asked of his generation is in some ways 'very simple'.

'There is a public health emergency and it is for ours - and society's - good that we remain at home while it continues,' he said.

Wexford County Council, in association with the South East Community Healthcare and other agencies, have a Community Response Forums helpline in place that anyone can access through 053 9196000 if they need help of any kind.

Meanwhile, Sean is looking forward to when life gets back some semblance of normality.

'I look forward to the other side of this, when we can all get out and around our local areas,' he said. 'After we all have played our part in ensuring public safety the meantime.'
Paraguay Coronavirus Update - Coronavirus cases climb to 266, Total Deaths reaches to 10 on 01-May-2020

In Paraguay total confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) have increased to 266, while 10 people died due to the growing infection in the country.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) update from around the world:

United States, 29-April-2020: U.S. Covid-19 Deaths is more than the the deaths during Vietnam War. During Vietnam War US lost 58,220 lives, now due to Covid-19 infection total deaths reached over 60,000 in the country.

Mexico, 29-April-2020: In Mexico 1,223 new cases of Covid-19 identified raising the total count to 16,752 in the country.

China, 29-April-2020: China reported over 22 new cases Covid-19 raising the total cases to 82,858 cases in the country.

West Bengal (India), 29-April-2020: West Bengal reported 33 new cases of Coronavirus while total active cases reached to 550 in the state.

Punjab (India), 29-April-2020: Total number of Covid-19 cases in Punjab reached 375. In the state more than 60 fresh cases of Coronavirus reported today.

Dharavi (India), 29-April-2020: Dharavi reported 14 new cases raising the total cases to 344 in Dharavi. No new deaths are reported from Dharavi Today.

Maharashtra (India), 29-April-2020: Maharashtra reported 597 fresh Covid-19 cases today while total cases of Covid-19 infection rises to 9,915 in the state. Over 432 people died so far due to Covid-19 infection in the state.

India, 29-April-2020: Coronavirus hotspots in India decreased from 170 to 129 in a fortnight.

Andhra Pradesh (India), 29-April-2020: An 11-baby among 73 new cases in Andhra Pradesh. In past 24 hours 73 new cases of Covid-19 reported from Andhra Pradesh raising the total Covid-19 patient count to 1,332 in the state.

France, 29-April-2020: Total fatalities due to Covid-19 infection surpasses 23,000 mark in France.

Gujarat (India), 28-April-2020: Gujarat reported 226 new cases of Covid-19 infection raising total count to 3,774 in the state. Over 181 people died so far with Covid-19 infection in Gujarat.

India, 28-April-2020: Total confirmed cases in India have risen to 29,435 while Covid-19 outbreak is spread in 185 counties of the world. India is under nationwide lockdown and today is the 35th day of the lockdown.

India, 28-April-2020: One new case of Covid-19 is reported from Bihar raising total cases to 360 in the state.

India, 28-April-2020: Delhi confirmed cases crosses 3,000 mark with 2,177 active cases in the city. Delhi Government in its bulletin on Monday revealed that the total confirmed cases in the state rises to 3,108, while there are 21,132 active cases of Covid-19 in India.

World, 28-April-2020: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General said "The pandemic is far from over." Which means the Covid-19 infection will stay for the longer period of time in the world.

Nigeria, 27-April-2020: In Nigeria the lockdown has been extended in three major states Abuja, Lagos and Ogun. Now the lockdown will be imposed till May 4. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari announced the extension of lockdown today.

India, 27-April-2020: The Tamil Nadu government announced on April 27 to return 24,000 rapid test kits imported from China. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) after their test asked the states to stop using COVID-19 rapid antibody kits developed by two Chinese companies. These COVID-19 rapid antibody kits were imported earlier for the testing of suspected patients. But now India will not use these kits because it is not giving satisfactory results, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

France: France is reporting higher number of deaths but but slightly fewer people with severe conditions were admitted into ICU in past fourth day. France reported 315 deaths last day as compared to 345 deaths the day earlier. In France 133,670 confirmed cases and 14,412 deaths reported so far.

Here are the latest cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in Paraguay:

Sr. No. Date Total Cases New Cases Total Deaths Deaths 1. 26-Apr-2020 228 5 9 0 2. 27-Apr-2020 228 0 9 0 3. 28-Apr-2020 230 2 9 0 4. 29-Apr-2020 239 9 9 0 5. 30-Apr-2020 249 10 9 0 6. 01-May-2020 266 17 10 1

TOP 10 Deaths by country due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:



1. Europe (135,481)

2. North America (69,676)

3. USA (63,871)

4. Italy (27,967)

5. UK (26,771)

6. Spain (24,543)

7. France (24,376)

8. Asia (18,659)

9. South America (8,811)

10. Belgium (7,703)

Total Deaths Worldwide (234,392)

Globally till now over 234,392 people died due to the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19). The new infection and death cases are increasing fast. Authorities in the Paraguay and other countries are taking proper measures to contain the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19).

As of now Europe is the worst affected country in the world with over 135,481 deaths and 1,382,622 confirmed cases.

Check latest update: Coronaviurs Covid-19 cases around the world
(Photo : REUTERS/Andrew Boyers) A McDonald's logo is pictured at a branch that is being used as a Test Centre to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Leicester, Britain, April 25, 2020.

In a statement sent to employees on Friday, May 1, as reported by The Sun, McDonald's will initially reopen in 15 branches across the United Kingdom on May 13 with a reduced menu and is available only via Uber Eats delivery.

READ ALSO: [UPDATE] Uber's CTO Steps Down; 5,400 Employees Might Lose Their Jobs Because of 20% Layoffs

The memo has not yet identified the 15 branches that will reopen. It focuses more on instructions on safety measures that the fast-food giant will apply once it reopens.

The company is encouraging contactless payments to ensure the safety of its staff. Hence, they will only accept orders from Uber Eats. It is not clear, though, why the McDonald's app will not work.

Uber Eats charges a delivery fee depending on the distance between the restaurant and the client's house, so this cost should be considered.

Safety first

The stores will be operating with less staff to ensure social distancing is followed.

Breakfast will not be available as the store will open only on limited time from 11 am to 10 pm. This is to avoid crossing other's workspace during the switching to the regular menu as well as to reduce complexity since they only have limited staff.

To ensure safe transactions, perspex screens will be installed, while floor markers are set up to lead customers to practice social distancing.

All employees will be asked to confirm they are fit to work. Their temperatures will be taken using contactless thermometers before their shift.

Also, they will be provided with non-medical grade masks, while customer-facing employees will also have gloves.

READ ALSO: Beware! New iPhone Text Bomb Freezes Device Once You Open Emoji Messages; Here's How to Fix It

The shutdown

McDonald's fans were upset after the temporary closure of all the 1,350 branches on Mar. 23 due to coronavirus.

Before the closure, the fast-food restaurant still offers takeaway and drive-thru services while the dining and children's play areas closed to help keep staff and customers safe.

It also used sticky tape to mark out boxes on floors for safe distancing.

"In March we took the decision to temporarily close our restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland for the safety of our employees and customers," said Paul Pomroy, McDonald's CEO for the U.K. and Ireland.

Pomroy also stated that they have been working on the possibility of reopening their business on come of their branches, which he also shared with franchisees and 135,000 employees Friday.

"As part of our reopening planning, we have been listening to you and our employees, and we have worked closely with the U.K. and Irish governments and trade bodies to help ensure we do this responsibly," said Pomroy adding that they "deliberately taken [their] time" because they "want to get this right".

Anticipating the comeback

Indeed fans have been waiting for the return of the fast-food giant. In New Zealand, customers were queuing after midnight after the lockdown was relaxed to Level 3 on Apr. 30. While there were long lines, the customers still applauded the staff's fast and incredible service.

Meanwhile, in France, McDonald's fans lined up to three hours when few branched reopened their drive-through lane last week. This resulted in long tailbacks and heavy traffic jams near these reopened outlets.

Read also: What Will Happen After COVID-19 Ends? Here Are the Sad Possible Facts

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As Texas prepares to reopen under the threat of COVID-19, there finally might be reason to take heart  at least in San Antonio.

Bexar County could be over its peak of infections, officials say. Among the signs: a sustained decline in demand for tests.

While the countys public and private health providers have the capacity to test about 1,600 people a day  and even as local officials pursue a goal of being able to test 3,000 a day  only 690 residents sought a test for the highly contagious coronavirus Tuesday. Earlier in the epidemic, more than 1,000 people a day sought tests.

On Thursday, Metro Health Director Dawn Emerick told the City Council that less than 1 percent of the countys population of nearly 2 million is estimated to have COVID-19, a figure based on the number of positive cases: 1,374 on Thursday.

It looks pretty good, Emerick said in an interview. We still havent had that classic 14-day consecutive decrease in cases yet. Thats the only (reason) Im a little cautious to say, Yes, theres no disease. But the indicators clearly show that perhaps we are over the peak.

Emerick added, I dont want to speculate, but what I can tell you is that the downward trend in testing is happening across the entire state.

Even as Texas reported 50 deaths Thursday  the states highest daily toll yet  there were other heartening signs that Bexar County, at least, was past its peak.

Beyond numbers of new cases, another figure thats critical to watch as the state reopens, experts say, is the test-positivity rate: the number of tests for the virus that come back positive. While not the same as the proportion of COVID-19 cases in a population, the rate can suggest the size of an epidemic.

On Thursday, the positivity rate in the county had fallen from more than 10 percent in previous weeks to 6.6 percent.

Thats actually a pretty good indicator that theres not that much disease out there, said Cherise Rohr-Allegrini, an infectious disease epidemiologist serving on the COVID-19 Health Transition Team, a panel helping the city and county navigate a gradual reopening.

A high positivity rate is a warning that a community is not testing enough because doctors are testing only those with a high probability of infection. That was true here last month, when only hospitalized patients and health care workers were being tested for the virus.

The positivity rate for the United States is 17 percent, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Driving that number are staggering rates in places such as New Jersey, where nearly half of all people who get tested are positive.

In Texas, about 8.5 percent of tests for the virus are positive. Yet the state has tested only 1 percent of its population. Likewise, Bexar County had tested 1 percent of its population, or 21,672 people, as of Thursday.

Dr. Vince Fonseca, former chief epidemiologist for the state, said the lack of widespread testing is exactly why officials should keep a close eye on the positivity rate.

About the only thing we have to go on is the test-positivity rate, Fonseca said, adding that 6.6 percent still was too high.

Thats clearly in the right direction, he said. Not good enough. We want it to go down, continually go down.

Dr. Jimmy Perkins, former dean of the UT School of Public Health, noted some limitations to relying on the positivity rate to produce a picture of the epidemic.

For one, theres the likelihood of false negatives  as high as 30 percent, he said.

On the flip side of that, were not testing everyone who needs to be tested, Perkins said. Im talking about people who just have symptoms. Getting a free test is not the easiest thing to do, especially if youre not a person of means or you dont have transportation.

Despite the apparent drop in demand, Emerick said her department is trying to expand the countys capacity to test and hire more people to trace contacts before an expected second wave of the disease hits in the fall.

We know the wave is going to come, Emerick told council. We just dont know how bad its going to be.

Metro Health aims to boost its testing capacity to 3,000 tests a day by June 30. District 9 Councilman John Courage said thats not fast enough, given that businesses already are gearing to reopen and the city isnt testing residents to see if theyre asymptomatic carriers of the disease.

Without the knowledge of what the general spread is of this, Im afraid were walking around blindfolded, Courage said.

Metro Health is planning to look for people who may be infected with the virus but arent showing symptoms and may be spreading the disease unwittingly, Emerick said. The plan is to pick 385 households at random and test them for the virus.

We just dont know the prevalence of asymptomatics in our community, Emerick said.

The city also plans to expand access to testing with walk-up mobile testing sites in low-income parts of the city. The Texas Military Department is expected to add three more testing sites.

Now Playing: Mayor Nirenberg answers the question: "What keeps you up at night?" Video: mySA

One idea is to retrofit a mobile unit used to test for sexually transmitted diseases to instead test people for the virus. The city also will expand testing for all nursing home residents and employees, the homeless and those with chronic kidney disease  whether theyre showing symptoms or not.

In general, local testing still is limited to residents who have symptoms of the virus, such as a cough, a fever or shortness of breath. One reason for imposing those limitations, Emerick said, is the continued scarcity of testing supplies.

We cant draw blood out of a turnip, Emerick said. And then when we do get the testing supplies, our first priority must be the symptomatic so we can control the outbreaks. We are not going to test the asymptomatic in a broad spectrum until we know the prevalence of that.

To get a test, people who believe they have symptoms may call 311 and select option 8, or use Metro Healths self-screening tool at sanantonio.gov. The COVID-19 test is free. The wait for results can take 24 hours to seven days.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
Singapore's government outlined a plan to expand healthcare facilities for foreign workers as coronavirus cases in the city-state jumped, reversing a downward trend.

The Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed an additional 932 cases, the vast majority of whom are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Five are Singaporeans or permanent residents. That brings total confirmed cases to almost 17,000.

The increase comes as Singapore has more than doubled its daily testing capacity since early April and scaled up medical facilities by adding capacity at isolation wards and intensive care units. On Friday, officials unveiled a suite of additional measures including onsite medical facilities at all 43 purpose-built dormitories, medical posts that will serve factory-converted dormitories housing around 65,000 workers, and 12 mobile medical teams made up of more than 50 medical personnel.

Ministry of Manpower Permanent Secretary Aubeck Kam said it will be "some weeks yet" before workers can return to the community. Singapore's construction industry is powered by foreign labor.

Once touted as an early success story in containing the spread of covid-19, Singapore now has among Asia's highest number of cases. The surge in infections has been driven by hundreds of new cases every day from migrant worker dormitories. The conditions in those facilities, which nationwide house more than 300,000 people, can often be cramped, with 10 or more workers to a single unit.

While new cases at the dormitories remain high, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an address on Thursday that there were only about 10 to 15 new community cases each day after the government earlier this month imposed a partial lockdown that closed schools and most offices. That so-called circuit breaker has been extended until June 1.

Lee, in his annual speech to mark May Day, said when the government does move to open the economy, some industries will restart earlier than others, including those that are critical to the economy and global supply chains. Other sectors "will have to wait," he said.

"Significant structural changes to our economy are likely," he said. "Some industries will be disrupted permanently. Companies will have to change their business models to survive. Some jobs will simply disappear."

Officials said Friday more than 18,000 beds have been set up for isolation and care, with a further 23,000 in the pipeline. To date, more than 25,000 foreign workers have been tested.

Over the past four weeks, more than 10 million meals have been delivered to cater to different nationalities and food preferences and workers have been given avenues to purchase items online from mini-marts.

Access to remittance services is also now available at the 43 purpose-built dormitories and over 410,000 care packs containing items such as thermometers and hand sanitizers have been distributed, the government said at Friday's briefing.

The Singapore Tourism Board said earlier in a Facebook post that cruise ship SuperStar Gemini has started receiving foreign workers who have recovered from the coronavirus. A second ship, SuperStar Aquarius, has passed assessment by authorities and is ready to bring in migrant workers.
Bishop says the fires of last summer brought up a lot of tension and the visceral smell of smoke would take her back to 11 years ago. She was not at the family home in Christmas Hills in the Yarra Valley on the day of the fires ("I was working in a crappy retail shop in Spencer Street") but her father was, watching for updates from the CFA that, because of a communication breakdown, never came. When the dogs barked and the fire roared in, he managed to get away in the nick of time before the house was consumed by the conflagration. Bishop's mother, a nurse, had already been called out to help people who had been displaced by the fires. Bishop started on the stories about a year after the fires: "I felt a big drive to write about how I didnt see my story or my mums story or the women in my communities reflected in the news stories." She went back to Melbourne University, took a masters of creative writing, went into a lot of debt and began A Constant Hum as a thesis. There were many years to be spent on the stories before they were published last year.

The 47 stories range from only a few lines to more than 10 pages. They are populated by real, distinctive characters and in turn are characterised by their power and their empathy. Some are more observational than others, and one, the last story, is deeply personal. The judges commented: "The weaving of abstract prose-poetry with traditional character-driven stories render A Constant Hum at once restrained and emotional ... Bishops flawless, expansive technique and startling turn of phrase herald a debut fiction writer of extraordinary depth and capability." Bishop says short fiction has always been important to her and credits fellow BYAN Josephine Rowes work as having a significant impact on her writing. Another, perhaps less obvious, influence was the "simple, often political storytelling of the music my parents have always played - John Prine, Archie Roach, Lucinda Williams and Guy Clark". Loading Now, however, her thoughts are turning to a novel. "I always thought writing a novel was something Ive never wanted to do. But Ive had a recent hunger for it." She has just read Canadian novelist Claudia Deys Heartbreaker and was fascinated about the way she writes about place and people.

"I want it to be set out here again, in the outer eastern suburbs. I dont think theyre written about a whole heap. Thats all Ive got, but I know it might have more of a crimey feel about it." A Constant Hum is published by Text. A short story from the collection, Teeth, is on page 15. JOSEPHINE ROWE

Three years ago, Josephine Rowe was chosen for this award for her novel A Loving, Faithful Animal. That book, about the intergenerational effects of the Vietnam War, grew out of a short story originally intended to be included in Here Until August, which is her third collection of short stories after Tarcutta Wake and How a Moth Becomes a Boat. The collection took her seven years to write. But she laughs when she says this and points out that the novel overtook it. "When I started out, there was a driving theme of place, place-based mythologies and urban legends that I wanted to run with. You still see that in some of the layers, traces that have a charged mythology about them  drowned towns, certain islands  but that got metabolised in the collection over the years."

Josephine Rowe's Here Until August was overtaken by her novel that grew out of one of the stories. Credit:Derek Shapton The judges said Rowes stories were poetic, tender and nuanced, and "cut across geographic and emotional borders. Here Until August introduces us to a complex cast of characters, all perched on the precipice of personal or societal change. Accomplished and stylistically sure, the short fiction in this collection cements Rowes reputation as a must-read master of the short form." What brings the 10 stories together  "not everything that was a contender went into it," Rowe points out  is the sense of place. "But often the place is in the hind glance of the protagonist. Its about leaving or returning  that adage of never being able to step in the same river twice." The stories are set around the world, reflecting perhaps Rowes lived experience: Western Australia, Montreal, unnamed towns and cities in America, Melbourne. "If I didnt move around so much, my fiction would still have that kind of wanderlust about it. I think more and more I do feel the need to go to a place to write about it. The sense of place in these stories came out of my need to orient myself in new circumstances and new surrounds, new modes of living."

And further from the geographical sense of place, there is an existential sense that her characters are all uncertain about their place in their own lives. Credit: The collection was originally to take the title of one of the stories, Horse Latitude, "which I think got to the crux of a lot of the stories". An old shipping term, it refers to the area either side of the equator where sailing vessels could get becalmed, and if they were stuck for long periods, the crew would push horses overboard to conserve water. "Its the idea of outward stasis but even in those moments of our life that we think of as being interludes or pauses, things happen. We are still living our lives within that." For her stories, the most important element is getting a voice. "I dont always necessarily mean a human voice or a style of speaking," she says. "I dont feel Im ever really in a story or have cracked it until Ive found that particular mode and style, that voice pattern that Im trying to depict.

"Sometimes it comes very swiftly and easily and it wont leave you alone  its a sort of character, albeit an invented one  and you kind of wake up hearing their voice and you write it as a way of making them stop talking. It sounds a bit Joan of Arc." Here Until August is published by Black Inc. JOEY BUI

One of the many distinctive elements of stories in Joey Buis first book, Lucky Ticket, is that they feature strongly realised characters. In fact, for some of the protagonists, she constructed past and future lives that didnt feature in the stories. Joey Bui is becoming a lawyer but that doesn't mean she's turning her back on writing. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui At some stage, she says, she might want to reconnect with characters such as the crippled lotto-ticket seller in the title story: "I can see what their lives are like beyond the story I wrote," she says in an email from the US, where she is studying at Harvard Law School.

"I will be a lawyer in a years time. What I like about law is its high-stakes, real-life consequences. It confronts a lot of the same hard questions that literature does  what is the value of life, what deserves punishment, how should society be structured  and then it has to make a decision for people right then and there." Bui is the child of refugees who came from Vietnam to Australia by boat in 1981. She was born in Melbourne, which she still considers home although when she was 18, she went to study literature at the Abu Dhabi campus of New York University. Her four years there had a profound effect on her. Credit: There were students from about 80 different countries there. "Living and studying with people who grew up from so many different places in the world constantly pushes me to learn different perspectives," she said. "In my writing, I also pushed myself to write from different perspectives. I saw it as a limitation of myself if I could only write about people like me." Commenting on Lucky Ticket, the judges said it was a collection filled with the grit, atmosphere and the smells of the streets  of city and rural people living hand to mouth. "At times devastating, and at others humorous, Lucky Ticket traverses the full range of human emotion. Buis characters are loveable and infuriating, generous and selfish, but always relatable."

Bui started the collection during her last year at university and says it developed organically, although it eventually dawned on her that most of the stories had something to do with "war or displacement". She has been to Vietnam, where several of her stories are set, many times since she was a child, often with her family to visit relatives, but also on her own to research for the book. "I travelled by road from the south to the north of Vietnam. I started getting to know Vietnam outside of the way that my family sees it. Sometimes refugees conception of Vietnam is a little frozen in the 70s and very centred on southern, anti-communist politics," she says. "My research trip helped me see how many Vietnamese in Vietnam have moved on from the war, in complicated and diverse ways. My quasi-foreignness (being Vietnamese Australian and second generation) helped me take on a kind of position of neutrality, and I spoke with as many different people as I could. "I really like being on the ground and interviewing as a way to research for fiction. It makes me question and expand myself, and therefore my writing, too."
Jobs are precious during a pandemic; predictably, bus operators returned to their shifts Tuesday.

Bus service operated normally through Thursday, said GRTC spokeswoman Carrie Rose Pace. But in an uneasy coda, GRTC announced that there could be significant service disruptions or cancellations Friday while bus drivers took paid leave to be tested for COVID-19.

Right now, I guess they feel like the environment is a little hostile ... because of the threat that was made Monday, Maurice Carter, local chapter president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said Thursday.

Im fielding a lot of calls from operators, and were just trying to get through this COVID thing.

Its doubtful that GRTC is awash in cash as it provides free rides. The transit system has taken other steps to protect its drivers, requiring passengers to board the bus at the rear entrance and supplying operators with cloth masks and hand sanitizer. But whatever contract the union and GRTC agreed to, bus operators didnt sign up to put their lives on the line.
Tharaka traditional herbalists have performed a ritual that they say will "protect" their community against the invasion of Covid-19 pandemic that continues to wreak havoc globally.

The past childbearing age elders who are the custodians of the traditions of Tharaka community held the ceremony at a shrine in Kibingo village in Tharaka South Sub-County.

They later visited all the entry points to the community and planted twigs to "block" the disease from entering their territory.

During the ceremony led Nderi Kiobe, the elders sang traditional songs and prayed facing Mount Kenya Forest while holding some herbs that are traditionally believed to have powers to heal diseases and even protect the community from calamity.

To bless the ritual, the old men and women also drank raw gruel made from millet and finger millet prepared by a 90-year-old woman.

Deaths

Speaking to the media after the exercise, Mr Kiobe said they believe that with the ritual, the disease that has no cure and that has already claimed lives of 218, 371 globally and 14 in Kenya will come to an end.

He said traditionally, Muriira ceremony was performed by Tharaka people to protect themselves from a pandemic such as locusts invasion and diseases including smallpox and leprosy.

"The ritual ceremony is meant to protect our people and Kenya at large against Covid-19 that is a global pandemic," he said.
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Journalist Mykola Semena speaks on World Press Freedom Day. A contributor to RFE/RL's Ukraine Service, Semena was arrested in April 2016 by Crimeas Russia-imposed authorities for "acting against the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation." His record was recently expunged.
TRENTON, N.J., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the governors of the Tri-State area soon to announce a more detailed reopen plan, two of New Jersey's leading firms, EFK Group and JL Media, have joined forces to help prepare regional businesses on how to reboot in an uncertain market. Titled "Biz Reboot 2020," the program will launch on May 1, offer deferred fees, and provide businesses of all sizes with a comprehensive and customized approach to remarketing themselves in a changing environment.

"Unprecedented times call for unprecedented thinking. This is not the same environment it was two months ago. We wanted to offer area businesses exactly what we felt they might needaccess to professional marketing support, without the worry of furthering cashflow disruption," said Eleanor Kubacki, President & CEO of EFK Group, a socially-responsible Trenton, NJ-based business. "In my 22 years of business I'd thought I'd seen it all, but COVID-19 takes the cake," she added.

The Biz Reboot program defers all agency service fees for qualified new clients for 60 days. Fees deferred include, among other things, creative and digital development, community or public relations programs, media planning and buying services. Interested businesses may call 1-888-BIZ-REBOOT to apply or visit bizrebootnow.com.

Glenn Dennis, Managing Partner of JL Media shares Kubacki's sentiment. "Despite the economic blow COVID-19 has caused, together our companies can help brands raise customer engagement, both now and when purchase behaviors return to their new normal. This simple fact makes being involved in this program exciting and rewarding for us."

About EFK Group :

EFK Group, headquartered in Trenton, NJ, is an award-winning, privately held branding and marketing communications firm. Founded in 1996, EFK is fully certified including small business (SBE) certification by the Small Business Administration, Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, GSA-certified by the federal government and HUB-zone certified.

About JL Media :

JL Media ("JL") started 38 years ago by Jerry Levy in Union, NJ. JL Media is an integrated agency that consists of industry leaders dedicated to delivering clear communications and transparency. From day one, JL Media has been driving increased brand recognition and revenue growth for clients, both locally and nationally.

Contact: Eleanor Kubacki at 609-915-9164

[email protected]

SOURCE EFK Group
The Union Health Security Secretary Preeti Sudan on Friday gave important information by writing a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories. In this, the districts covered under these states have been classified under the Red, Orange and Green zones. The Health Secretary wrote that there has been an increase in the number of people getting healthy due to novel corona virus and according to this now all the districts have been classified again.

In its statement, further written information by Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said that 130 districts have been kept under Red Zone, 284 districts under Orange Zone and 319 Districts under Green Zone in the country. It will be assessed every week and the zone will change according to the infected cases. The Health Secretary said, those districts are being counted under the Green Zone where there is no case of infection now. Under this, the records of the last 21 days of the district coming under are checked.

According to the report released by the Ministry of Health regarding this case, the total number of infected cases in the country till 35 am has reached 35,043. At the same time 8000 people have been able to get rid of infection and they have been discharged from the hospital. The Center has said that currently the health rate in the country is 25.19 percent, which was just 13 percent two weeks ago. Under the new order issued by the Center, all the six metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad have been kept in the Red Zone.

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WAKISO  The Minister for Security, Gen Elly Tumwine, has commended the Inter-Agency task force taking part in relief food distribution in Kampala Metropolitan Area for a job well done.

Tumwine said this on Friday, May 1, 2020 while visiting the field teams at Kasokoso slums under Wakiso District.

He hailed them for being in service of humanity and putting a smile in their service.

The Minister urged the civilian counterparts in the teams to persevere the challenges they may encounter in the process of executing their duties adding that the exercise provides an opportunity for them to train in important survival skills and make them better people.

Furthermore, he said the government is committed in ensuring that the teams are properly sustained and facilitated to do their work. He promised that all those participating in the food distribution would be given an allowance.

There was a bit of delay but money has now been approved and released. Allowances are now being worked on as well as protective gears, said Gen Tumwine.

The General particularly thanked the drivers who were pooled from different ministries for accepting to be detached from their family to camp at Shimoni Demonstration School and East Kololo Primary School through the period of the food distribution.

We appreciate that you have been able to stay away from your families for this work, said Gen Tumwine.

Tumwine also said that there are relief arrangements for the troops who have been taking part in the distribution and that there is already a fresh force identified to that effect. He noted that the teams had covered over 50% of the intended beneficiaries in Kampala District and gradually rolled out to selected areas of Wakiso and Mukono Districts.

We have not rushed to go to Mukono. We started with Kampala and into the neighbourhoods of Kampala on the Wakiso and Mukono sides because all the people are hungry, said General Tumwine.

He added that there had been delays in food supplies that have now been resolved and the available food is adequate to handle areas beyond Kampala District. He also noted that government has been very keen on ensuring the best quality of food for the distribution and that is why the National Bureau of Standards examines all the foods in the stores before issuance to the public.

He thanked the local leadership for their vigilance on the fight against COVID-19 and urged them to continue the routine of registering all people around their areas of affluence and ensuring adherence of the guidelines on prevention of the spread of COVID-19.

The minister was accompanied by among other people Brig Gen Julius Biryabarema who is the Commander of the distribution teams and Col DR Lumumba the in-charge of the security of the teams.

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The Justice Department is probing the communications of Vladimir Zelenko, a New York doctor who has promoted hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment and has been touted by Fox News host Sean Hannity, the Washington Post reports.

How it happened: Jerome Corsi, a Roger Stone associate and former Infowars employee who had been under scrutiny in the Mueller investigation, accidentally emailed federal prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky instead of Zelenko about the drug.

Zelinsky, who investigated Corsi during the Mueller probe, now investigates coronavirus-related fraud crimes for the U.S. attorney's office in Maryland. Corsi told the Post that Zelinsky then emailed Corsi's lawyer to request all of his communications with Zelenko.

In the email, Corsi wrote that Zelenko had "an FDA-approved randomized test of [hydroxychloroquine] underway."

Corsi told the Post that Zelinsky found that Zelenko had no such approval from the FDA  and that he believes Zelenko was not trying to defraud anyone, but simply misunderstood the FDA's guidelines.

What they're saying: Corsi said that he and Zelenko have not broken the law and added that he plans to cooperate with Zelinsky's request.

"I did nothing wrong. Zelenko made a mistake. He's got no case and we're following all the rules," Corsi told the Post.

Corsi's attorney confirmed what happened to the Post, while an attorney working with Zelenko said he had not been contacted by federal prosecutors.

The big picture: President Trump has repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential "game-changer" for treating the coronavirus, though public health experts caution that the drug's efficacy has not been proven.

Fox News' Sean Hannity discussed Zelenko's hydroxychloroquine work during a March panel on his show. During that show, he also mentioned a letter from "a doctor in the New York area" about hydroxychloroquine during an interview with Vice President Mike Pence.

Earlier that day, Hannity had interviewed Zelenko on his radio show, saying he believed his hydroxychloroquine claims were "just amazing."

Rudy Giuliani also discussed Zelenko's work during an appearance on Laura Ingraham's show in March.

Be smart: While it's unclear how seriously DOJ is scrutinizing the matter, the Post notes that "even passing interest from federal authorities into efforts to promote the anti-malarial is likely to chafe the president and his allies, particularly given the involvement of a former member of Muellers team."

Editors note: This story has been corrected to reflect the fact that Zelenkos claims about hydroxychloroquine have been touted by Fox News Sean Hannity. Zelenko has not directly appeared on the network.
The Supreme Court Friday directed the Maharashtra government to submit a status report on investigation in the Palghar incident in which two sadhus and their driver were allegedly lynched by a mob on the night of April 16.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna passed the order while hearing, through video-conferencing, a plea which sought a CBI probe in the case.

The plea alleged that the incident was a failure on the part of the police as a mob had gathered in the area in violation of the lockdown rules.

Refusing stay on the investigation, the apex court asked the petitioner to serve a copy of the plea to the standing counsel for Maharashtra.

"Counsel for the petitioner is permitted to serve a copy of the petition on the standing counsel for the state of Maharashtra, returnable within four weeks. The state of Maharashtra shall submit the report regarding the status of the investigation in the meantime," the bench said in its order.

The plea, filed through advocate Rashi Bansal, has sought a direction to the authorities to constitute an apex court monitored SIT or a judicial commission headed by a retired top court judge to deal with the case.

The petitioner, Shashank Shekhar Jha, has also sought registration of FIR against concerned police officials for their failure to prevent the incident.

The three victims, from Kandivali in Mumbai, were travelling in a car to attend a funeral in Surat in Gujarat amid the nationwide lockdown when their vehicle was stopped and they were attacked and killed by a mob in Gadchinchile village on the night of April 16 in the presence of police.

The victims were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushil Giri Maharaj (35) and driver Nilesh Telgade (30).

During the hearing, the petitioner referred to media reports and claimed that police was complicit in the incident as they did not use force to prevent it.

"This happened despite of the fact that whole country is under lockdown since March 25 and that no person is allowed to be out of their house and everyone has been asked to follow social distancing which raises a huge suspicion on part of local police," the plea said.

"During this whole incident, police did not take any concrete step to protect these innocent men which could be proved by the fact that they did not use any force to disperse the crowd and one of the video even shows that one of the police official actually pushed saints to the crowd when they were asking for the protection," it claimed.

The plea, which has sought transfer of trial in the case from Palghar to a fast track court in Delhi, has alleged that the whole incident was "pre-planned and there could be police involvement as well".

It has alleged that attack on these sadhus was "more like an attack on our society as a whole and could cause social disturbance".

The police has arrested over 100 persons, including nine juvenile, in connection with the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Members of the family were tested for coronavirus after the funeral in Mandya district of Karnataka.

Mysuru: Four people who brought a dead mans body from Mumbai for cremation in his native place in Mandya district in Karnataka have tested positive for Covid-19 virus, and now the administration is trying to find out if the man himself had been an undetected positive.

According to Mandya district deputy commissioner M V Venkatesh, the deceased man was a 53-year-old native of B Kodagalli of Pandavapura taluk, Melkote hobli in Mandya district. He died after suffering a heart attack at the U N Desai government hospital in Mumbai on April 23.

The cremation took place outside the man's native village after the local administration refused to allow it inside the village.

Wanting the final rites performed in his native place, the mans family got the body embalmed and procured all the medical records and certificates from the hospital and brought it in an ambulance belonging to the Desai government hospital.

When they reached Pandavapura taluk in Karnataka on the evening of April 24, the local administration did not allow the body to enter the village but allowed the relatives to cremate it outside the village.

And since the family had come from Mumbai, the district administration quarantined all seven of the mans relatives, and their samples were sent for testing on 28 April.

The results showed that the deceased mans 25-year-old son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and two-year-old grandchild are positive for Covid 19. All of them have been admitted at the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences although they have no symptoms.

Deputy commissioner Venkatesh said that in the Desai hospital records in Mumbai there was no mention whether or not the man had been tested for Covid-19. We are writing to Desai hospital to clarify if the deceased person was tested for Covid 19. It is also possible that the family got infected by the mans son who works in the loan department of ICICI Bank in Mumbai and visits several offices in different areas of Mumbai, he said.

The mans ancestral B Kodagalli village now has been sealed off. Though tests done on other members of the family have come back negative, the Mandya administartions plans to repeat their tests.

So far 26 people have tested positive for Covid 19 in Mandya district.
Gov. Greg Abbott moved Friday to open up parts of the Texas economy, but he continues to get pressure from many Republicans to move faster even as Democrats have warned him to slow down.

Several conservative legislators began a letter-writing campaign calling on Abbott to reopen other sectors of the economy  notably hair salons, barbershops and bars.

It is confusing to Texans that they have been allowed to congregate en masse at grocery stores and other big box stores since this crisis began, yet they are barred from patronizing a local barber shop or salon, for example, where they are served individually by professionals trained in sanitation and where they can social distance from other customers, state Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, wrote in a letter to Abbott on Thursday.

Shes not alone. Other lawmakers from around the state have been sending letters as well and taking to social media to prod the governor to open more businesses.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, took to Facebook to post a story about a Dallas salon that tried to open in defiance of Abbotts orders to remain closed but was later forced to shut down.

Greg Abbott Respectfully, ENOUGH!!! You are the only one that can STOP this!!! ENOUGH!!! White wrote.

Abbott has said he, too, wants to see barbershops and hair salons open as quickly as possible. In an interview on KSAT in San Antonio on Thursday, he said hes working with health officials to determine when those businesses can reopen safely. He said that in those settings, workers and customers are in such close contact that they have to get the precautions right to prevent a flare-up of coronavirus infections.

The decisions we make are based upon data as well as input from doctors, Abbott said.

TOO SOON?: Texas reported most deaths in a day from COVID-19 as Gov. Abbott dropped stay-home order

Abbott is so far sticking with his plan for a phased reopening plan in Texas. On Friday, restaurants, retail stores, malls and theaters were allowed to open at 25 percent capacity. Phase two would occur around May 18, and Abbott hopes that will be when barbershops, hair salons, bars and gyms would be able to open.

The pressure from Republicans comes as Democrats have increased their criticism of Abbott, saying hes moving too fast to reopen Texas.

Im not convinced it was time to open, certainly not here in the Houston region, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said Thursday.
Kim Jong Un has been seen in public for the first time since 11 April, according to North Korean state media.

KCNA reported that the North Korean dictator attended the completion of a fertiliser plant in a region north of Pyongyang, the country's capital city.

It comes after speculation that Mr Kim, who is obese and a heavy smoker, was gravely ill after surgery last month.

According to the state media's report, the 36-year-old had expressed satisfaction about the factory's production levels, cut a ribbon, and was met with "thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!'".

He was with several senior officials, including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, who is expected to take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

In comments reported by South Korean news agency Yonhap, KCNA said: "All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader who has brought about a new change in the development of Juche-based fertiliser industry and has led the grand revolutionary advance for strengthening self-supporting economy to a victory with his outstanding leadership."

Juche is the idea of self-reliance.

It was also reported that Mr Kim was undertaking official duties in private - sending official notes to the leaders of Syria, Cuba, South Africa, and expressing thanks to workers building tourist facilities in the coastal town of Wonsan.

There were questions about his health after he missed the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung on 15 April.

This is a major holiday in North Korea and he would usually visit the mausoleum where his grandfather lies in state.

Instead, he was absent for the first time since taking power in 2011.

It is not known why he has been absent from public view for so long, but he did a similar thing in 2014 - disappearing for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane.

South Korea said at the time that he had been recovering from the removal of a cyst from his ankle.
Moy Park, one of our main food producers, said that it has approximately 5,500 people working in factories every day

The increase in traffic in recent days has led to questions about why more people are on the move in Northern Ireland.

For some, it may be a visit to the shops.

For others, it will be a journey to work.

Apart from essential workers, people have been told only to leave their homes for limited reasons, such as essential journeys or for daily exercise.

The broad range of essential workers means many people will not be able to work from home.

For some of Northern Ireland's leading companies, it is a mixed picture.

Moy Park, one of our main food producers, said that it has approximately 5,500 people working in factories every day. Bombardier has 550 people on site and expects to bring a further 550 to 600 in from next week.

They are spread across six Northern Ireland sites, and across a range of shifts.

Around 400 Bombardier staff are working from home.

The construction sector is estimated to be operating at 20% of usual capacity, mostly in support of health and emergency services or logistics and retail, or home safety maintenance.

Based on the usual construction job numbers of 34,320, that would equate to around 6,860 workers operating normally.

Danske Bank said that some 80% of its staff are working from home.

It is estimated that this would leave 260 of its approximately 1,300 staff still travelling to work, most likely in its branches.

Allstate, Northern Ireland's largest IT company, said all its 2,400 employees have been working from home since March 16.

Most of Belfast City Council staff are now working from home.

Essential frontline service staff at the council, including its bereavement services team, refuse and cleansing crews, and park attendants, continue to carry out their duties while observing social distancing measures.
South African activist Denis Goldberg, one of Nelson Mandela's closest colleagues in the struggle against apartheid, has died aged 87, his foundation announced on Thursday. Tributes poured in from all sectors of society, many acknowledging Goldberg's humanity and fight for justice. Goldberg was among the African National Congress leaders and others sentenced to jail for sabotage along with Mandela in what became known as the Rivonia treason trial. He was the only white man among many 150 people arrested in a police raid on their hideout in Rivonia, north of Johannesburg, in 1963. "Somehow I understood that what was happening in South Africa with its racism was like the racism in Nazi Germany that we were supposed to be fighting against," Goldberg said last year. "You have to be involved one way or another. That's what I grew up with." In 1961, a 28-year-old Goldberg joined the ANC's military wing, where he made use of his technical skills as an engineer to manufacture bombs and explosives. He died just before midnight on Wednesday after battling lung cancer and a heart condition. "His was a life well-lived in the struggle for freedom in South Africa," his family and foundation said in a statement. A life of activism meant Goldberg's family was a constant target and his wife Esme Bodenstein -- also a political activist -- was subjected to solitary confinement. Goldberg spent 22 years in a whites-only jail after his arrest with Mandela and other activists including Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Andrew Mlangeni. He joined his family in London after his release, where he continued working for the ANC until white minority rule ended in 1994. After the fall of apartheid, Goldberg founded the Community Health Education and Reconstruction Training organisation to help improve the livelihoods of black South Africans. His first wife died in 2000 and Goldberg returned to South Africa two years later, where he remarried and served as a government adviser. His second wife Edelgard Nkobi-Goldberg died in 2006. - 'Fallen giant' - The Nelson Mandela foundation called the octogenarian "a true patriot". The foundation's chief officer Sello Hatang described Goldberg as a friend and "constructive critic" with a "naughty sense of humour". Goldberg became a vocal critic of former president Jacob Zuma, publicly challenging the cronyism and corruption that tarnished his nine-year administration. President Cyril Ramaphosa said Goldberg's "ethical leadership was unflinching" and key to a "movement of veterans of the struggle calling for reassertion of moral centre in society". Anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu hailed Goldberg's "pragmatic human values". His "natural compassion shone like a candle, attracting and connecting like-minded individuals and institutions wherever he went," the Desmond Tutu foundation said in a statement. "A giant has fallen," said the South African Communist Party (SACP), recalling the ingenuous way in which Goldberg used wind to distribute pamphlets from the roof of his car during the 1950s. "That is the creativity of a communist engineer," the SACP said. "A revolutionary has breathed his last breath." Receiving a high-profile honour in London in 2016, Goldberg said there was "a long way to go" on race relations in South Africa. "The racial segregation was burnt into the minds of every South African," he said.
Celebrate VE Day at home with classic teatime treats, from crunchy macaroons to succulent sausage rolls and these delicate little sponges.

These mini Victoria sponges are a delightful treat that can be decorated however you like

Makes 12 individual sponges or 1 sandwich cake

200g (7oz) butter, at room temperature

200g (7oz) caster sugar

4 eggs, beaten

200g (7oz) self-raising flour

For the buttercream

150g (5oz) butter, softened

250g (9oz) icing sugar

3tbsp strawberry jam

A few strawberries, halved

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. To make the sponge, cream the butter and caster sugar in a bowl, then gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the flour if the mix begins to curdle.

Fold in all the flour until combined, then divide the mixture between a 12-hole bun tin (or 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed tins if making one large sandwich).

Bake for 12-15 minutes (30 minutes if making the sandwich) until golden and just firm to the touch. Let cool. To make the icing, beat the butter, icing sugar and 1tsp boiling water until light and fluffy.

If youre making individual cakes, cut 6 of them in half so you can spread a little buttercream and jam in the middle, then dust with icing sugar.

For the other 6, place the remaining icing in a piping bag with a small star nozzle and pipe a ring of icing on top of each, then add strawberries. (If making one big cake, sandwich your layers together with buttercream and jam, and decorate as liked.) The cakes will keep for 3 days in a tin.
New Mexico Governor Seals Off Roads in Hard-Hit City

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sealed off all roads to nonessential traffic in the city of Gallup to curb the spread of the CCP virus.

A problem in one part of our state, with a virus this contagious, is a problem for our entire state, the governor told reporters.

Grisham invoked the states Riot Control Act on Friday to close roads to nonessential travel. That also means all roads into the city are closed, and businesses will have to close from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m., according to a news release posted on Friday.

The order also stipulates that a maximum of two people can be inside a vehicle, and residents of Gallup have to shelter-in-place unless there is an emergency.

COVID-19 UPDATE Effective noon today I am enacting further temporary restrictions to slow the spread of #COVID19, temporarily locking down the city of Gallup at the mayors request. pic.twitter.com/ThtMmZgieo  Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) May 1, 2020

Gallup police, the McKinley County Sheriffs Office, and the New Mexico State Police will enforce the emergency order and road closures. The New Mexico National Guard will be deployed to support in a non-law enforcement capacity.

Anyone who violates the order can face misdemeanor criminal charges. A second offense could garner fourth-degree felony charges, according to the governors office.

McKinley County, where Gallup is located, has reported over 1,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. That is more than 30 percent of New Mexicos CCP virus cases.

Lujan Grisham said the spread of the virus in McKinley County is out of control, saying that social distancing has not occurred and is not occurring.

The virus is running amok there. It must be stopped, and stricter measures are necessary. A problem in one part of our state, with a virus this dangerous and this contagious, is a problem for our entire state, she added. The imperative for all of us to remain home and physically distant has not changed. It is even more crucial for New Mexicans in the northwestern region. But what is happening in the northwest could happen in any part of our state. We must remain vigilant.

The city had requested that the governor declare a state of emergency under the riot act, reported The Associated Press.

Any state of emergency proclaimed under the Riot Control Act, along with any restrictions imposed for control of that emergency, terminates automatically at noon on the third day after it becomes effective unless sooner terminated by proclamation of the governor. The Gallup emergency is effective immediately and will expire at noon on Monday, May 4, the news release said.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Western Michigan University announced Thursday they will lay off employees and implement wage reductions to offset the financial losses from the coronavirus pandemic.

The university will lay off 240 AFSCME employees and is reducing wages by 2.25% for all benefits-eligible, non-bargaining staff, President Edward Montgomery said in a message to the campus community Thursday, April 30.

AFSCME is a union that represents about 370 employees working in facility management, dining services, custodial and other campus services.

Related: Michigans universities and colleges bleeding revenue amid coronavirus closures

The university has lost more than $45 million due to the crisis this year so far, Montgomery said during a WMU Board of Trustees meeting last week. The school could lose another $45 to $85 million next fiscal year, Montgomery said.

The pay reduction for non-union employees will take effect July 1 and remain for at least the upcoming fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2021, Montgomery said. University leaders will also meet with union representatives for other university employees to begin the collective bargaining process and discuss additional cost-cutting measures.

Montgomery said the university does not know if or when the employees who were sent home in March may be recalled to come back to work  pointing to the uncertainty of when statewide restrictions might be lifted.

However, it is unlikely that this portion of our workforce will return to the current level in the near future, Montgomery said.

These employees have served our students and institution well, allowing us to advance the common good, Montgomery said. We understand the weight of these unavoidable decisions that none of us ever wanted to make.

A representative from AFSCME declined to comment Thursday.

The pandemic has put thousands of Michiganders out of work and closed schools, universities and businesses across the state. At WMU, non-essential employees, including students who previously worked on-campus jobs, were sent home after the campus closed and students moved to distance learning.

Related: Western Michigan University employees face uncertain future during coronavirus closure

The university previously asked all non-essential employees to use leave in lieu of working during the closure, a decision met with harsh criticism from the WMU faculty union and others in the community.

Students at WMU moved to distance learning on March 11 after the first cases of coronavirus were reported in Michigan. Since then, the university has closed residence halls and decided to extend distance learning through the first session of summer courses.

As a result, (the facilities) have little to no revenue, and the university cannot afford to continue to pay employees under these circumstances, Montgomery said.

Also taking a pay cut are the universitys senior executives, including the president and seven vice presidents, who each took a 10% salary cut. In addition, all associate and assistant vice presidents, associate provosts and vice provosts and deans will take a 5% pay reduction, the university said.

Also on MLive:

Critics blast Western Michigan University over treatment of employees during coronavirus closure

No increase to tuition, room and board at Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo hospitals adapt to new normal after coronavirus brings uncertain future

Coronavirus death toll rises to 13 in Kalamazoo County, with 364 total cases
90 Years of Neighborhood Credit Union

On April 18, 2020, Neighborhood Credit Union officially turned 90 years old.

Neighborhood Credit Union is honored to achieve 90 years of service in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Celebrating the milestone all year long, Neighborhood CU is offering multiple promotions and special content for members. You can keep up with everything on the dedicated webpage.

History of Neighborhood Credit Union

The Dallas-based credit union opened their doors just months after the U.S. stock market crashed in 1930. During the Great Depression, when American confidence in financial institutions was at an all-time low, Dallas Postal Credit Union worked hard to earn trust and loyalty of its charter members. The first decade came with its own unique set of problems just as any company would, but Dallas Postal CU continuously grew with $151,119.76 (equal to over $2.8 million today) and 655 members. From 1940 to 2000, Dallas Postal CU continued to grow its membership and embrace the changes with technology, new products were introduced, and assets continued to increase. In 2001, the credit union officially changed its name to Neighborhood Credit Union, a name that more accurately defines the diverse base of members from all over the Dallas area.

Neighborhood Credit Union Today

Neighborhood Credit Union is fast growing with over 56,000 members and has assets that now top $850 million. Neighborhood Credit Unions ongoing effort to offer members convenient services in their communities with 13 branch locations and two more opening soon in the North Texas communities of Anna and Prosper, a freshly designed website, and an award winning mobile access wherever they go has made them a top-rated credit union in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The accounts available at Neighborhood Credit Union benefit a member at any stage of life. Get free checking and cash back rewards with Kasasa Cash Back! The Fresh Start account is great for those needing to get back on their feet with a low opening deposit. You can earn more while using Kasasa Cash, a free and high yield interest checking account earning 2.05% Annual Percentage Yield* - the only account like it in North Texas.

The High Yield Savings account allows the ease of 24/7 access while growing your savings. If youve got some time, using one of our Certificate of Deposit accounts for an extended time will pay off big.

We cannot thank our members enough for allowing us to be a staple part of the North Texas community," said Chet Kimmell, president and CEO of Neighborhood Credit Union. When you join a credit union, you become a stakeholder of the organization and are the key players in how we operate. We would not exist if it werent for our dedicated members. We look forward to continuing our work to keep our members happy and financially successful for another 90 years. Thank you.

Birthday Wish

To celebrate their birthday, Neighborhood Credit Union is asking for everyone to contribute to an ongoing fundraiser for the North Texas Food Bank. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), millions are living in uncertainty and have lost their only source of income. Food banks all across the United States are struggling to keep up with the sudden shift in our society. This is exactly why we have pledged to donate dollar for dollar up to $25,000. If we successfully reach our goal, we can collectively donate over $50,000 to the North Texas Food Bank. You can donate today by visiting the Neighborhood Credit Union Facebook page.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 15:50:52|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

DAMASCUS, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Explosions took place in a Syrian military base east of the central city of Homs on Friday, wounding five civilians who were passing near the base, the state TV reported.

Citing Talal Barazi, the governor of Homs, the TV said the explosions were caused by an unknown attack on the base. It said smoke rose over the base and shells fell on its surroundings.

Barazi said the attack is not the first to hit the base as it was attacked before. Enditem
At least 48 employees at the Amazon fulfillment center in Edison have contracted the coronavirus, making it the largest reported outbreak of any of the companys facilities in New Jersey, according to employees there.

In the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon texted employees specific numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, employees have said. But by mid-April, employees began to receive text message notifications almost daily, saying only there were "additional confirmed cases.

Two workers at the Edison fulfillment center told NJ Advance Media that based on their tallies, there was a minimum of 48 confirmed cases of the virus, making it the largest outbreak at an Amazon facility in the state. Both workers spoke on the condition of anonymity, for fear of losing their jobs.

Amazon has not confirmed the number of cases in any of its warehouses. On Thursday, an Amazon spokesperson declined to confirm the number of cases at the Edison facility, but said that 48 was inaccurate. The spokesperson did not immediately clarify if the actual number of cases at Edison was higher or lower.

As people continue to self-isolate, the demand for online sales and home delivery has reached an all-time high. As essential workers, employees at Amazon facilities have worked around the clock, often in 12 hour shifts, to fulfill a near relentless stream of orders.

Since mid-March, when the coronavirus began to spread through New Jersey, employees at Amazon facilities have complained of a lack of sufficient protective equipment and lackluster safety protocols to protect them against the coronavirus.

The two employees criticized Amazons coronavirus policies as reactive."

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Last week, it was reported that the Carteret fulfillment center had more than 30 cases of COVID-19. A company spokesperson later told NJ Advance Media it never confirmed that number.

The outbreak at the Carteret facility sparked outrage by local officials and advocacy groups, including Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman, who called for the facility to shut down and disinfect. An inspection prompted by reports of the outbreak revealed what Middlesex County health officials said were health deficiencies at the facility that could have led to a large spread of the virus.

Several other Amazon fulfillment centers in New Jersey, including Teterboro and Carteret, have also had employees test positive for the coronavirus. Employees of Amazon, along with those of Instacart, Target and Whole Foods, plan to hold a nationwide strike Friday demanding changes in hazard pay, sick time pay and protective equipment provided.

In previous communication and in a phone call and email Thursday, Amazon representatives have reiterated the enhanced cleaning protocols implemented by the company since the advent of the pandemic, including 150 process updates" and an anticipated more than $800 million spent on COVID-19 safety measures this year.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to say if the company would close the Carteret or Edison facilities to disinfect. The spokesperson said Amazon is in constant communication with local and state health officials and said that employees may not see every cleaning protocol implemented.

For example, the Edison facility undergoes fogging, where a back-mounted machine is used to spray clouds of disinfectant spray that spreads through the facility, said a company spokesperson. The cleaning happens regularly, the spokesperson said.

We encourage anyone interested in the facts to compare our overall pay and benefits, as well as our speed in managing this crisis, to other retailers and major employers across the country, said Rachael Lighty, a spokeswoman for Amazon.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.
Sadiq Khan has repeatedly butted heads with Downing Street - Getty

A week after Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour party, Sadiq Khan launched a blistering attack on the Marxist MP for Islington North over his refusal to sing the National Anthem.

Ill be my own man and work closely with a Tory Government if it is in Londons interest, insisted the then Labour MP for Tooting in 2015 as he campaigned to become Boris Johnsons successor as the capitals Mayor.

A Brownite on the soft left of the party, the former lawyer took pride in presenting himself as the everyman candidate - a Muslim bus drivers son who vowed in his election speech in 2016: I promise to always be a mayor for all Londoners.

Yet Mr Khans approach to running London over the past four years has proved to be rather more politicised than he pledged.

First the staunch Remainer pitted himself against Downing Street over Brexit. Then he openly criticised President Donald Trump, causing a diplomatic row between the UK and the US. And now it seems his coronavirus strategy is putting him at odds with the Government once again.

Only this week, the 49-year-old politician was once again stoking controversy by attacking Number 10 for not implementing a mask policy - insisting that non surgical face coverings should be used on public transport contrary to the official scientific advice.

Yet Mr Khan himself has resisted repeated calls by the unions to provide personal protective equipment for Londons transport workers. His reason? Government guidance stating that PPE should only be worn by carers.

As Shaun Bailey, his Tory rival for the London mayoralty, put it: Hes taken Government advice when its suited him and briefed against it when it hasnt.

Mr Bailey is the Conservative candidate hoping to become the next Mayor of London - Ian Forsyth/Getty

Yet in recent days, the war of words appears to have worsened, with Mr Khan reported to have praised Iran for their handling of the crisis, telling Mayor of Tehran Pirouz Hanachi he would lobby the British Government on their behalf to remove sanctions.

Story continues

Little consideration appeared to have been given to the fact that Iran has experienced the worst Covid-19 outbreak in the Middle East - not to mention that the tyrannical regime is still holding British-Iranian mother of one Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe prisoner under seemingly false pretences.

A source close to the Mayor later claimed his words had been taken out of context, and rather than implying that Tehran was ahead of London in terms of its response to the virus - he was in fact referring to the rate of infection.

The Mayor also took the opportunity to raise the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe, said a spokesman, pointing out that the video conferencing call was set up by the Foreign Office.

It came after a report by the UKs leading transport watchdogs blamed Mr Khans decision to cut Tube services on overcrowding during the lockdown, following a war of words over the issue with Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

While Mr Khans allies deny he has been playing party politics with Covid-19, he has been outspoken in his criticism of the Governments response to the global pandemic ever since he was excluded from the original Cobra line up as the crisis deepened in early March.

Described as unhappy not to be invited to be on the committee that responds to emergencies from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR), Mr Khan convened his own pow wow at City Hall, before briefing the discussions to reporters.

Just a day later on March 3, the Mayor appeared on Good Morning Britain insisting that there was no risk of catching the virus on public transport before ruling out an outright ban.

I dont foresee a situation where were advising people not to use the Tube or public transport, but we review this each day, he said.

A week later, he unveiled an "enhanced cleaning regime" on rail and bus services - but still he insisted that people should not change their transport habits, despite the number of cases in the UK continuing to rise.

Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing, but by this time Mr Khan finally had a seat at COBR meetings so was witness to the mounting evidence leading to the unprecedented measures imposed by the Prime Minister on March 23.

Indeed, he even briefed the contents of one meeting to Radio 4s Today programme - suggesting that schools might be shut before Easter.

The leak angered Department for Education chiefs who had not yet finalised the Governments policy - let alone announced it.

Eager to be across the airwaves, the Mayor then left a COBR meeting on March 24 and promptly disclosed that he had argued construction workers should not be classified as key workers - only to be overruled by Mr Johnson.

Despite the confidential nature of the discussions, he complained to LBC host James OBrien: Every one of the government ministers who spoke overruled me. Mr Khans spokesman insisted no confidences had been breached, saying: Sadiqs job is to stand up for Londoners interests. It is common knowledge and entirely unsurprising that the Mayor and some ministers have disagreed on some things.

By March 30, Mr Khan was calling for a public enquiry or reckoning into the Governments handling of coronavirus in an interview with the Joe Politics website.

There was a similar whiff of partisanship to his demands for the Government to extend Universal Credit during the outbreak, despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak having announced an unprecedented set of measures to help unemployed and struggling workers and a dedicated task force to ensure vulnerable people received support. Critics pointed out that the Government had already announced such a scheme.

Last night, there were suggestions the Mayor's team is in talks with developers over making unsold homes in London available for extra tenures to meet extra housing need arising from the crisis

Yet while he has been making such public protestations, behind the scenes an almighty row was brewing between Mr Khan and Mr Bailey over PPE.

Mr Bailey went on Talk Radio on April 14 revealing he has sourced enough masks to keep transport workers protected for a month - but despite sending all the information to the Mayors office, he claims he never even received a reply.

I went so far as finding him a supplier, said Mr Bailey. I had a supplier who could provide him with 600,000, K-95 masks immediately and then more in the future, and he didn't take us up on that.

I was trying to say to him, Look Sadiq this isn't about politics, you and I could argue about politics after Covid. This is about saving the lives of drivers.

Mr Bailey - whose leadership contest against Mr Khan has been postponed until next year due to the virus, accused the Mayor of trying to deflect blame for his own failings.

Citing the example of Mr Khan furloughing 7,000 TfL staff and begging for more Government cash, he said: The decision to close the Tube was nothing to do with Covid, it was about the financial state of TfL and the fact that he could then go to the Government for the bailout. A spokesman for Mr Khan vehemently denied the claim.

Referring to the video call with the Mayor of Tehran, Mr Bailey added: Hes now speaking to the UKs enemies abroad and using them to attack our Government suggesting they have done a better job. What he really needs to look at is what job has he done? Its a fig leaf to cover the fact that he had already destroyed TfLs finances.

Of course as the Torys candidate to replace Mr Khan, Bailey would say that.

But it is certainly a curious state of affairs for Red Ken Livingstones outspoken successor stand accused of failing to do enough to protect the capital's transport workers.
Kim Jong Un Makes First Public Appearance in Weeks, North Korea State Media Claims

Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in weeks, according to North Korean state-run media.

The development was first reported by Reuters and AFP, citing state news agency KCNA on Friday evening.

Kim, 36, attended the completion of a fertilizer plant north of the capital, Pyongyang, which is the first report of his public activity since April 11, the report said.

The report could not be independently verified, and KCNA or other news outlets didnt publish any photos of the despot attending the event.

Over the past month, there has been frequent speculation about his health after he missed the April 15 commemorative event for his grandfather, North Koreas founder Kim Il Sung. Kim had attended every one of those annual celebrations since he took power in 2011.

Over the weekend, reports about Kims demise were published in several Asian news outlets. South Korean officials denied the claims, saying that he is alive and well, and hes still in control of the communist country.

However, the speculation has triggered concern that there could be a possible power vacuum at the top of the regimes leadership, exacerbated by the fact that North Korea is known to possess weapons of mass destruction.

This picture taken by North Korean news agency KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) and his wife Ri Sol-Ju (2nd R) visiting the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang to plant trees with its students on a tree planting day on March 2, 2017. (AFP/Getty Images)

Earlier in the week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States has not seen any reports about Kims whereabouts.

We havent seen him. We dont have any information to report today, were watching it closely, Pompeo said on Wednesday, according to a State Department transcript.

The secretary said the White House is monitoring the situation more intensively in North Korea, noting that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a coronavirus that emerged in neighboring China, will pose a problem for the country despite it not having reported any cases of the disease.

There is a real risk that there will be a famine, a food shortage, inside of North Korea too, he added. Were watching each of those things closely, as they have a real impact on our mission set, which is to ultimately denuclearize North Korea.

The United States will pursue the mission of denuclearization in North Korea regardless of who is in charge.

I dont have anything to add to the status of Chairman Kim, Pompeo told Fox News. He added, We did have the opportunity to interact with a number of North Korean officials, including Kims sister Kim Yo Jong and others.
An Australian street artist has reignited his feud with 50 Cent after painting a giant mural of the rapper's image combined with that of pop star Taylor Swift.

Melbourne-based graffitist Lushsux, who has been described as Australia's answer to Banksy, took aim at the rapper on Thursday with the unveiling of his latest work of art, 'Swifty Cent.'

The giant mural, painted somewhere in Melbourne, shows the American rapper's face painted onto Taylor Swift's head.

'Smash or pass? I might turn 50 week into 50 month and turn this war on 50 into some Iraq type quagmire', the artist said in an Instagram post.

Melbourne street artist Lushsuh took aim at 50 Cent again on Thursday after unveiling a massive mural of the rapper's face on Taylor Swift's head, called 'Swifty Cent'

The American rapper reacted to the painting on Friday threatening to bash the artist

50 Cent (pictured in 2019) was not impressed with the painting and threatened to bash the artist

50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, reacted to mural on Friday threatening to bash the artist.

'Man look at this s**t, TF is wrong with this guy he won't stop', he said after sharing the image on Instagram.

'Swifty cent, I'd like to hit this MF right in the back of his head while he doing this s**t'.

The post drew comments from other celebrities including fellow rapper Fat Joe who wrote: 'They gotta stop lol'.

American actress Nia Long chimed in: 'Ok but his one is kinda funny. You gotta laugh at this one. SMH'.

Lushsux, who has made headlines in recent years over his controversial paintings, responded to 50's threats shortly after.

'Ok so ima start wearing a motorcycle helmet while painting now', he quipped.

Lushsux on Sunday had declared this week, '50 week' , producing a painting of the rapper as different people every day. Pictured above are murals of 50 as Donald Trump and Chinese Chariman Mao f

It's not the first time the street artist has trolled the rapper with his artwork as he previously painted a mural of 50 Cent with rainbow dreadlocks and teeth to resemble controversial rapper Tekashi 6ix 9ine.

The rapper was not impressed with that mural either, hitting back in a 2018 post saying: 'Man of all the s*** you could have painted on the wall, you paint this s***. What the f*** you n****s play too much, get the strap'.

Lushsux on Sunday had declared this week, '50 week', producing a painting of the rapper nearly every day as different people.

Lushsux had earlier unveiled his mural of 50 Cent as fellow rapper Post Malone, further incensing the rapper

A fed up 50 Cent complained about the mystery artist's painting

Lushsux first trolled the rapper in 2018, by painting a giant mural of 50 with rainbow dreadlocks and teeth to resemble controversial rapper Tekashi 6ix 9nine, leaving 50 unimpressed.

On Sunday the artist revealed his first masterpiece of the week, painting 50 as Chinese Chairman Mao, followed by a more flattering mural of the rapper in his trademark Yankees cap.

Earlier, he also painted him as US President Donald Trump and as fellow rapper Post Malone, further incensing 50 Cent.

'Who the f**k keep painting these murals of me all over the place,' he said. 'This is f**ked up man. That's 3 now 69, Trump & Post Malone.'

Lushsux first rose to infamy in 2016 when he painted then-US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dressed in an American flag swimsuit.

He also ruffled some feathers when he painted a mural of US President Donald Trump locking lips with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Melbourne-based street artist, who has been called Australia's answer to Banksy, has made headlines in recent years for his controversial and provocative paintings.




Researchers from City University of Hong Kong, Texas A&M, and University of North Texas published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the effects of contract ambiguity on interorganizational governance.

The study forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing is titled "Effects of Contract Ambiguity in Interorganizational Governance" and is authored by Xu (Vivian) Zheng, David Griffith, Ling Ge, and Uri Benoliel.

Being sued damages the brand. There was no positive development for 7-Eleven in February 2020 when Mitoshi Matsumoto, who owned a 7-Eleven outlet in Higashiosaka, Japan received international press coverage by filing suit against the chain. Nor was there any joy at Domino's Pizza Australia in January 2020 when Australian fast-food veteran Frederick Aloysius Mario White filed suit against the chain. Franchisors want to minimize litigation in business relationships. A new study in the Journal of Marketing explores which steps can be taken to do that.

While best practice suggests business contracts should be written to be clear so that there are no misunderstandings (which could lead to contract disputes and litigation), franchise contracts often contain ambiguous terms. For example, contracts frequently use terms such as "good faith effort" and "reasonable costs." The fact that a term such as "good faith effort" is open to multiple interpretations might be cause for concern. Zheng says, however, that "Contract terms that are ambiguous in relation to the franchisor's obligations enhance collaboration, minimize franchisee-initiated litigation, and enhance franchisor financial performance."

Specifically, the researchers find that in a franchise setting, where the franchise agreement is written by the franchisor, contract ambiguity of franchisor obligations is used as a strategic tool to enhance joint problem solving and collaboration with franchisees as well as to deter franchisee-initiated litigation. The ultimate outcome for the franchisor is enhanced financial performance of the franchise system. For instance, the study's findings indicate that a one unit decrease in franchisee-initiated litigation leads to a 7% (i.e., $45,285.38) increase in franchisor net income. These findings extend beyond franchise systems because contracts predominate in interorganizational governance, often with similar power differences, where one party is the contract drafter and the other is the contract taker, such as a powerful manufacturer writing contracts offered to less powerful suppliers.

The written contract is only one aspect of interorganizational governance and the researchers point out two other significant aspects that managers should consider. As Griffith explains, "We find that franchisor training programs, when combined with contract ambiguity of franchisor obligations, serve as a buffer against franchisee-initiated litigation. Our results highlight the importance of franchisors not only viewing training programs as vehicles for increased franchisee efficiency, but also viewing investments in these efforts as important mechanisms that can aid in socializing franchisees, thereby facilitating the management of the franchise system." The study recommends that franchisors invest in building strong and expansive training programs that develop shared values with franchisees in order to enhance cohesion. This can be extended to the broader interorganizational governance context. For example, a powerful retailer should use supplier training programs to build esprit de corps and as a context for the clarification of misunderstandings that may arise from the contract, thus facilitating joint problem solving and collaboration.

Second, the study cautions franchisors about the potential negative consequences related to franchisee associations and the importance of carefully managing relations with an association. Consider the case of Denny's. In 1988 Denny's formed the Denny's Franchisee Council as a way for franchisees to communicate with the corporate office. However, in 1997 the Denny's Franchisee Council became independent from corporate sponsorship and reformed as the Denny's Franchisee Association. This may be an example wherein the franchisor-sponsored association stimulated bonding between franchisees (instead of bonding with the franchisor), thus creating a countervailing power to the detriment of the franchisor. Similar suggestions may extend to other network governance situations, cautioning that the increased connectivity and bonding among multiple business partners could work counter to a firm's governance efforts.

###

Full article and author contact information available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920910096

About the Journal of Marketing

The Journal of Marketing develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions useful to scholars, educators, managers, policy makers, consumers, and other societal stakeholders around the world. Published by the American Marketing Association since its founding in 1936, JM has played a significant role in shaping the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline. Christine Moorman (T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University) serves as the current Editor in Chief.

https://www.ama.org/jm

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A mother and her children have been reunited after a harrowing experience involving a parental kidnapping and police chase.

Police were notified of the incident on Wednesday at around 11:30 a.m.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said his department received a call from a 30-year-old mother, who resides in the 2000 block of Waltz Street, stating that her estranged boyfriend and the father of her 3-year-old and 5-month-old children took their kids along with her 2018 Ford Fusion, at approximately 9 a.m. without her permission.

She stated that the childrens 26-year-old father, allegedly a crack cocaine and heroin addict recently released from jail, asked if he could visit the children. She allowed him, as she stated she believed he was clean. She left the room to take a shower, leaving the children with their father, and when she returned he was gone, as were the children and her car.

After Warren Police Detective Frank Kuron obtained a search warrant to ping the fathers phone, it was determined that he and the children were in the area of John R Road and the State Fair Grounds in Detroit.

Detective Lt. John Barnes assembled a team of investigators and directed them to search the area for the suspect, police said.

They located the vehicle at approximately 4:30 p.m. The suspect and the children appeared to be inside. Investigators then notified the Detroit Police Special Operations Unit, who moved in to assist. Both Detroit and Warren police attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled the area, and police terminated the pursuit. After several more phone pings, investigators again located the suspect at Jefferson and Chalmers, tucked into a grassy alley. A Detroit police helicopter unit (AIR 1) located the vehicle, and police again attempted to apprehend the suspect.

He again fled in the vehicle, said police.

After another pursuit covering several miles, Warren and Detroit police were able to stop the vehicle and take the suspect into custody at Forest Avenue and Conner Street. Officers recovered the children and transported them to Ascension St. John hospital in Detroit  soiled but apparently unharmed  where they were reunited with their mother.

Charges are pending. Detectives hope to present a warrant request to the Macomb County Prosecutors Office on Friday.

I applaud the detectives involved in this case for their tireless efforts in bringing this suspect to justice and rescuing the two innocent children involved, Dwyer said. I also thank the Detroit Police Department for their assistance. The collective efforts of the two agencies prevented what could have prolonged an already horrific experience for the mother, as well as the children.
4:00 p.m.

The names of all six individual on the CH148 cyclone helicopter during the crash have been revealed:

The five Canadians confirmed missing are:

Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, Pilot, originally from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

Captain Kevin Hagen, Pilot, originally from Nanaimo, British Columbia

Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, Air Combat Systems Officer, originally from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec

Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, Naval Warfare Officer, originally from Truro, Nova Scotia

Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator, originally from Guelph, Ontario

Department of National Defence

Rear-Admiral Craig Baines, commander of Maritime command component with the Canadian Armed Forces, said the helicopter and the HMCS Fredericton ship were taking park in training with Italian and Turkish allies. It was on the completion of the training that the helicopter crashed.

Four ships, including the HMCS Fredericton, two Italian ships and one Turkish ship continue to search with shipborne helicopters and fixed-wing patrol aircrafts from Italy, the U.S. and Greece.

During this time, it is comforting to know that we have support from the international community, Colonel James Hawthorne said in Thursday afternoons press conference.

Rear-Admiral Baines said search conditions are good but the search area is much larger. They are in approximately 3,000 metres of water, which makes thing difficult. This search has been going on for over 24 hours, assisted by the terrific work of Canadas allies. A fight safety team will depart Canada shortly to investigate the circumstances of the accident as well.

Debris has been found but it is too early for search crews and Canadians officials to determine what caused the crash.

Events like this remind us of the dangers that come with our call to service, Colonel Hawthorne said.

This is a time of agony

Prime minister Justin Trudeau addressed Canadians following a military helicopter crash with six members of the Canadian Armed Forces on board Wednesday night.

Story continues

Trudeau confirmed one casualty, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, a member of the navy, was recovered and five are still missing. The RCAF cyclone helicopter flying from the HMCS Fredericton.

The helicopter crashed off the coast of Greece, in the Ionian Sea, while being deployed with a NATO naval task force, Operation Reassurance. At approximately 6:52 p.m. the HMCS Fredericton lost contact with the helicopter and shortly after, flares were seen in the water.

This is a time of agony, General Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, said. There is nothing worse than sending your shipmates over the horizon and losing contact.

General Vance said 240 Canadian Armed Forces members were deployed in January for Operation Reassurance, scheduled return in July. At the time of the accident, the group was conducting training.

Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, said ships, aircrafts and helicopters were engaged in search and rescue efforts overnight.

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time but the flight data and voice recorder have been recovered, and are being analyzed. The families of the individuals on the helicopter have been notified.

General Vance explained that the recorder broke away from the helicopter and floated, and search teams were able to find the beacon to recover it. He added that there is a pretty sizeable debris field.

Each of them will leave a void that cannot be filled, Trudeau said. They do what they always do, step towards danger so the rest of us can stay safe.

General Vance said he doesnt have any concerns about the helicopter but all helicopters are going on an operation pause to allow the flight safety team to determine if there is an issue with these aircrafts.
Traditionally, blood samples have been provided at low cost by Britains largely centralized public health system to labs and clinics. In contrast to the private market in the United States, the British system is not set up to distribute samples to a large network of labs and test manufacturers, leaving many of them now to fend for themselves.

Strict rules govern the collection and use of human samples in the country, banning the payment of donors (past a small expense fee) and prohibiting third parties from making a profit from blood samples sourced from the National Health Service.

But that has not stopped businesses from trying to make a profit by selling blood donated in other countries to Britain and elsewhere, which they can do legally.

Documents, emails and price lists obtained by The New York Times show that Cantor BioConnect is one of several companies throughout the world offering to sell Covid-19 blood samples to labs and test manufacturers at elevated prices. The higher the level of antibodies in the blood, the higher the price.

From March 31 to April 22, prices asked by Cantor BioConnect for its cheapest samples  always sold by the milliliter, the equivalent of less than a quarter of a teaspoon  rose more than 40 percent, to $500 from $350. In addition to the $40,000 sample, the company also increased the amount of blood samples for sale for $3,000 and introduced new prices of $1,000 to $2,000 for other premium stock.

Ive never seen these prices before, said Dr. Joe Fitchett, the medical director of Mologic, one of the British test manufacturers that was offered the blood samples. Its money being made from peoples suffering.

Stymied by the soaring prices, scientists in Britain say they have been forced to turn to personal connections and word-of-mouth to procure the blood donations they need.
Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that evidence he had seen had given him a "high degree of confidence" that COVID-19 started in a Wuhan laboratory. (AP)

Donald Trumps suggestion coronavirus could have originated in a Chinese laboratory has been labelled dangerous by scientists in the UK.

The US president said on Thursday he had seen evidence the virus came from an infectious disease laboratory in Wuhan, and suggested its release was a mistake.

When asked if he had seen evidence that gave him a "high degree of confidence", Trump replied: "Yes, yes I have. When pressed further, the president declined to give specifics, saying "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."

UK scientists have been highly critical of his comments, insisting there have not been any deliberate activities around the misuse of COVID-19 - and that they believe virus is not man-made.

Medical workers in protective suits are seen at a coronavirus detection lab in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. (AP)

Dr Jennifer Cole of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said:"Whenever there is a new disease outbreak, be it AIDS, Ebola, Zika or now SARS-Cov2, there are always conspiracy theories about deliberate bioengineering or laboratory escapes, and a jump to apportion 'blame' for the disease.

There is often particularly a push to point the finger of blame at actors with whom the accuser has existing tensions: political rivals, for example.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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She continued: The danger in his approach is that it very hard to prove a negative - if there is evidence that the virus was ever present in the Wuhan laboratory, which as far as we know is not the case, it would 'prove' Trump's claim.

While there continues to be no such evidence, Trump seems to be using this vacuum to fill the gap with the narrative that best suits his political position - that China is somehow responsible for the disease and the deaths it is causing, and is covering up its culpability.

This is a dangerous political precedent that does nothing to support the international cooperation that is needed at this time to deal with the pandemic as best we can."

Story continues

Dr Joshua Moon, research fellow in sustainability research methods in the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex Business School, said mistrust between nations would hamper the global effort to beat COVID-19.

Donald Trump suggested the release of the virus was a mistake during a White House press briefing on Thursday. (AP)

If countries are unable to trust one another to contain the spread of the disease, then we will see hoarding of PPE, races for vaccines, and competition between countries for resources that will harm the most vulnerable populations, he said

Prof Brendan Wren, Professor of Medical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, added: Having been to Wuhan a number of times... I dont believe that there have been any deliberate or nefarious activities with the SARS-Cov-2 virus. It is generally accepted that the virus has mutated naturally. Pandemics happen naturally and it is unnecessary to invoke a conspiracy theory.

In his comments, Trump suggested the pandemic was a mistake.

Its a terrible thing that happened, he said.

Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose. Certainly it could have been stopped.

They either couldnt do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread. It got loose, lets say, and they could have capped it.

US intelligence agencies examined the notion put forward by the president and his aides.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said claims the virus was made at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were "fabricated out of nothing". (AP)

On Thursday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a statement from the intelligence community saying that it concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified.

Responding to Trumps claims, the Chinese government say the notion that coronavirus was released from a laboratory are unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals.

He also criticised those in the US who say China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on better controlling the epidemic situation at home.

Coronavirus: what happened today

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Britain's financial watchdog will ask the courts to rule on a series of disagreements between businesses and insurers who are refusing to pay out over coronavirus hits.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it hopes a court ruling on some relevant cases can provide more clarity, both to the insurance sector and to customers, over whether businesses can claim compensation for disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A national lockdown to fight the pandemic has forced many companies to temporarily suspend operations and furlough staff.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) hopes a court ruling on some cases can provide more clarity over whether businesses can claim compensation for disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic

Though a majority of business interruption insurance policies are unlikely to pay out during a pandemic, there are 'widespread concerns' about the lack of clarity on some policies, the FCA said.

'We have been clear that we believe in the majority of cases business interruption insurance was not purchased to, and is unlikely to, cover the current emergency,' said interim FCA chief executive Christopher Woolard.

'However, there remain a number of policies where it is clear that the firm has an obligation to pay out.'

Mr Woolard said the court action is intended to resolve key issues as fast as possible in cases 'where firms may consider there is no doubt about wording and decline to pay a claim but customers may still consider there is genuine uncertainty about whether their policy provides cover'.

The watchdog said court action would not determine how much is payable under individual policies but will provide the basis for doing so.

Lloyd's of London insurer Hiscox is among firms that have come under pressure from small businesses to pay out for business interruption, along with FTSE 100 insurer RSA, French insurer AXA and Australian firm QBE.

FCA interim chief executive Christopher Woolard acknowledged that in the majority of cases business interruption insurance was not purchased to cover the current emergency

The insurers did not immediately respond to comment but have previously said they seek to pay valid claims quickly.

The FCA said it had written to 'a small number of firms' to ask if they were declining business interruption claims. It said it would seek a response by May 15 and would then 'consider which firms to ask to join the court process'.

The Association of British Insurers welcomed the FCAs plans, adding that the sector would work closely with the regulator and would 'support any process that will provide clarity and certainty for the minority of customers who are disputing whether they should be covered'.

It said the vast majority of business interruption policies did not cover pandemics and the UK government had confirmed it would not seek to retrospectively change contracts.

The financial watchdog said court action would not determine how much is payable under individual policies but will provide the basis for doing so

In the United States, eight states have introduced legislation which would require insurers to pay claims, mainly to small businesses, despite exclusions.

The FCA also set out measures to support consumers and businesses who hold insurance products and who are facing other issues as a result of coronavirus.

The package sets out the watchdog's expectations that insurers should consider whether their products still offer value to customers in the pandemic and whether they can be doing more for those suffering a financial impact because of coronavirus, the FCA said.

The watchdog said that insurers should grant premium payment holidays to customers, if requested, for a rolling period of up to three months. The measures come into effect on May 13.
BEIJING, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Grin Natural - a NZ natural oral care brand who has recently entered the US, has launched "We Are One" - a Share One, Give One initiative to all of its online community.

In the lead up to Mother's Day, Grin is calling on people in the US and from around the world to share a message of love, hope and togetherness during this extraordinary time we're currently living in.

Every message created using the tag #Shareagrin, Grin will donate one eco-friendly toothbrush to a child in need, so every message provides a tangible benefit to those that need it most.

Social good is part of Grin's ethos and just one of the reasons why they've generated so much support in their five years of offering modern oral care. Recently, Grin joined forces with twelve other consumer brands in New Zealand to donate nearly US $200,000 worth of Care Packs to the local front-line healthcare workers, taking just one week to initiate.

Mark Hitchhook, General Manager at Grin Natural shares the purpose behind their latest We Are One campaign "It is very simple and pure, we want to do social good that makes a difference," Mark says.

"We believe that a brand can exist in the world and prove that it is needed by everyone, because it can create value for society, and not just provide a good product. When we founded Grin, we proposed to do 'better for you, better for the community, and better for the environment'. Otherwise, what we do is meaningless."

To ensure the donated brushes reach the ones most in need, Grin is proud to announce that they have partnered with UNICEF New Zealand who will be working to distribute the donated product to individual and communities most in need.

[QUOTE FROM UNICEF ABOUT COMING ON BOARD FOR THIS INITIATIVE]

Grin stated that one of the contributing factors for this initiative, was sparked by two high school students.

"When we first entered the US market two months ago, we received a letter from two middle school students, Claire and Elva, about their public welfare project-share a grin, and what they hoped to do for the children in the global epidemic situation. We were deeply moved and decided to immediately respond to the call of this welfare project with our 'We Are One' project," says Mark.

For further information please visit www.grinnatural.com/weareone

A Bit About Grin:

Grin Natural is a New Zealand oral care brand that believes everyone deserves access to safer and more sustainable oral care.

At Grin, we live by the principle of "better for you, better for the community, and better for the environment". This is the fifth year of Grin's development, and we are thrilled to already have a strong group of supporters who are known as "grinners". We are excited to have launched in the US market and can't wait to meet all of you. We hope to pass all of the happiness and positive energy of Grin to our American friends.

We are also grateful that we have partners supporting us along the journey. For instance our digital partner Yeahmobi provides helps Grin launched to the United States in a very short period of time. Without their help, we can not say hi to our grinners in the U.S. so quickly.

Grin Natural Online:

Instagram: @grinnatural #grinnatural | Facebook: @grinnatural #grinnatural | Website: grinnatural.com

SOURCE Grin Natural

Related Links

http://www.grinnatural.com/


The Nigerian government is demanding records of 60 companies and individuals from 10 banks in the United States as part of its efforts to overturn the controversial $9.6 billion P&ID fine.

Among the individuals whose bank records are being sought are a former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan; his wife, Patience Jonathan; among others.

Earlier in the week, a Bloomberg report showed how Nigeria was seeking documents from banks, including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., in a bid to overturn a $9.6 billion arbitration award.

Nigeria has asked a federal court in New York for permission to subpoena information about transactions involving government officials, including Mr Jonathan and his wife. The politicians were in office when the state signed a contract with Process & Industrial Developments Ltd., and later became involved in a costly dispute with the company.

There is good reason to believe that ministers at the highest level were involved in a corrupt scheme to steal money from Nigeria, Attorney General Abubakar Malami said in court filings submitted on March 24.

Nigerias chances of annulling the giant penalty lie on proving the 2010 gas supply arrangement was a sham designed to fail by P&ID and government officials.

The saga became a full-blown crisis for Nigeria last August when a U.K. judge ruled P&ID could enforce an arbitration tribunals 2017 ruling, now totaling $9.6 billion including interest, which found the country breached the agreement.

PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained a copy of the subpoena filing detailing names of the banks, the companies and the politically exposed Nigerians whose bank records are being sought.

Subpoena

The filings were done by Alexander Pencu, a partner of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP, attorneys for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria.

Abubakar Malami [Source  The Guardian, Nigeria]

Mr Pencu listed the banks involved to include Citibank, N.A. (Citibank) , Allied Irish Banks plc (Allied Irish), HSBC Bank USA (HSBC), Standard New York, Inc. (Standard New York), Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas (Deutsche Bank), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPMorgan), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Bank of Cyprus, Fortis Private Banking Singapore Limited (Fortis), and Standard Chartered International (USA) Ltd. (Standard Chartered).

Details of the information being sought are meant for use in ongoing foreign criminal investigations and criminal proceedings in the Federal Republic of Nigeria (the Nigerian Proceedings), the filing, dated March 25, reads in part.

The requested discovery will assist Applicants in the Nigerian Proceedings to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities that participated in, and were enriched by, P&IDs fraudulent scheme, it added.

In the testimony of the subpoena filing addressed to Citibank, for instance, the applicant sought the intervention of the bank or any of its officers to testify in the case.

YOU ARE COMMANDED to appear at the time, date, and place set forth below to testify at a deposition to be taken in this civil action. If you are an organization, you must designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or designate other persons who consent to testify on your behalf about the following matters, or those set forth in an attachment, it stated.

You, or your representatives, must also bring with you to the deposition the following documents, electronically stored information, or objects, and must permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the material

Similar requests were made in the case of the other banks involved.

According to the U.S. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 (c), (d), (e), and (g) (Effective 12/1/13), for a Trial, Hearing, or Deposition, a subpoena may command a person to attend a trial, hearing, or deposition only as, first, within 100 miles of where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person; or within the state where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person, if the person is a party or a partys officer; or is commanded to attend a trial and would not incur substantial expense.

In terms of Command to Produce Materials or Permit Inspection, the rule states that appearance is not required. Details showed that a person commanded to produce documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or to permit the inspection of premises, need not appear in person at the place of production or inspection unless also commanded to appear for a deposition, hearing, or trial.

Similarly, a person commanded to produce documents or tangible things or to permit inspection may serve on the party or attorney designated in the subpoena a written objection to inspecting, copying, testing, or sampling any or all of the materials or to inspecting the premisesor to producing electronically stored information in the form or forms requested. The objection must be served before the earlier of the time specified for compliance or 14 days after the subpoena is served, with stipulated rules.

However, according to the rule, the court for the district where compliance is requiredand also, after a motion is transferred, the issuing courtmay hold in contempt a person who, having been served, fails without adequate excuse to obey the subpoena or an order related to it.

The Companies

The companies whose bank records are needed include Process & Industrial Developments Limited; Process & Industrial Developments (Nigeria) Limited; Industrial Consultants (International) Limited; Lismore Capital Limited; VR Advisory Services Limited; VR Advisory Services (USA), LLC and VR Capital Group.

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Others include Marshpearl Nigeria Limited; Kristholm Limited; Trinitron Nigeria Limited; Albion Marine Company Limited; Marshpearl Nigeria Limited; Holgate Limited; Lurgi Consults Limited; Lurgi Consults West Africa Limited; Rotary Nigeria Limited; Goidel Resources Limited and Kent Marine Limited.

Also listed in the subpoena are Ecophoenix Limited; Lir Resources Limited; Niric Nigeria Limited; Hobson Industries Limited; MICAD Project City Services Limited; Babcock Electrical Projects Limited; NWMAS Nigeria Limited; Sabiex International Limited; Robey Oil & Gas Limited; Capinero Structures Limited; Pan African Drilling Company Limited; Panceltica Nigeria Limited; Marqott Nigeria Limited; Jamisaq Development Services Limited; Dbrite Imaging Nigeria Limited; Hexing Technical Services Limited; Pinimi Limited; Primetake Limited; Armcon Limited; Defthec Limited; Marshpearl Limited and SES FTF Progress Limited; ICIL Limited; Trinity Biotech; Kore Holdings Limited; Onmipol S.A. and Eastwise Trading Limited.

Individuals

Among the politically-exposed persons named in the subpoena are a former oil minister who is now late, Rilwanu Lukman; President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience Faka Jonathan; Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former petroleum minister during the tenure of Mr Jonathan; and Allison Amaechina Madueke.

Nigerias Former Minister of Petroleum Diezani Allison-Madueke

Others named in the subpoena are Taofiq Tijani; Grace Taiga; Mohammad Kuchazi; one Michael Quinn, who died in 2014; James Nolan; Adam Quinn; and Ibrahim Dikko.

Also listed is former attorney general and minister of justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke. The request includes all documents concerning any transactions to, from, or for the benefit of the aforementioned individuals and companies.

Bloomberg quoted a spokesman for P&ID as denying wrongdoing, arguing that Mr Malami has manufactured a claim of fraud and bribery to evade the states legal obligation to pay what amounts to about 30% of the countrys foreign reserves. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the case, while JPMorgan and UBA didnt respond to emails and calls.

In his reaction on Tuesday, Mr Jonathan said that he has no account or property abroad.

Our attention has been drawn to international media reports to the effect that the Federal Government of Nigeria has subpoenaed bank records for former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan in the United States of America, a statement, signed by Ikechukwu Eze, spokesman to Mr Jonathan, said.

Dame Patience Jonathan

We aver that the Federal Government of Nigeria did not contact Dr. Jonathan or his wife before issuing these subpoenas. If they had, we would have advised them of the fact that you cannot subpoena what does not exist.

We also remind the public that on March 5, 2014, during the swearing in of new ministers, then President Jonathan said I am loyal to Nigerias economy. I dont have accounts or property abroad.

Mr Jonathans spokesperson said Tuesday that the efforts to check the former presidents accounts were needless because Mr Jonathan had no such accounts in the United States.

He has no accounts in the United States of America, and encourages US authorities to cooperate fully with the Federal Government of Nigerias subpoena, the statement said.

We would also like to state that during his tenure as President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan extended every courtesy to former Presidents and Heads of state, because he believed and still believes that promoting, projecting and protecting Nigerias sovereignty and image is the paramount duty of her government, because it is not possible to belittle Nigerians without belittling Nigeria.

Finally, we state that the signing of the P&ID contracts preceded the Jonathan administration, and that that government gave appropriate counsel to the incoming government in the handover notes of 2015, which advice, if carried out, would have prevented the current unfortunate circumstances.
Kolkata, May 1 : Amid the state-wide lockdown, hundreds of angry villagers gathered and staged protests in various districts of West Bengal on Friday against irregularities in ration distribution.

Incidents were reported from Narayanpur area of Kakdwip, Birbhum's Labhpur and Murshidabad's Jalangi, where villagers came in hoards and alleged that the ration dealers were not giving essential food grains as per the allotment guidelines set by the state food department.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had promised to give 5 kg of ration to each card holder free of cost.

"We have received complaints from various districts. Our food inspectors have examined the issues. We have taken action against as many as 283 ration dealers across Bengal for irregularities in the ration distribution system. In some cases, we have terminated their licences al well," West Bengal Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick said.

He said there are over 21,000 ration dealers across Bengal and about 9.96 crore people of the state are getting direct benefits of the public distribution system in the time of Covid-19 crisis.

"We are keeping a close eye on the situation. If any ration dealer is found guilty, we will take stringent against him. They will be charged with penalty, cancellation of licence and, if necessary, they might be arrested also," Mallick added.

West Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose said: "We had informed the Chief Minister about such ration distribution irregularities earlier, but that time she had denied the allegation. We told her that it was taking place in coordination with a section of local Trinamool Congress leaders in various districts. Now the state food department has started noticing it. It's better late than never."
Photo credit: Oleg Golovnev / EyeEm - Getty Images

From Runner's World

Another unusual symptom of the Coronavirus has surfaced: discoloured toes that look swollen and feel painful to the touch.

Dubbed 'COVID toes,' the rare symptom presents mostly in younger patients.

Doctors explain what COVID toes look like, plus when to seek treatment.

Doctors have identified another unusual symptom of the novel coronavirus: purple or blue toes that look swollen and feel painful to the touch. Dubbed COVID toes by dermatologists, experts say the lesions have been popping up in younger peoplesometimes as their first or only sign of COVID-19.

'Its not uncommon, when theres a viral process, to have skin manifestations,' explains Amy Paller, M.D., department chair of dermatology at Northwestern University and one of the first dermatologists to link the symptom to COVID-19. 'This is not just in older children, although Im seeing it particularly between age 11 and college age.'

Dr. Paller emphasises that this is an 'early observation,' meaning theres no conclusive research on the symptom and that evidence is purely anecdotal at this point. And not everyone with the symptom has tested positive for the virus, so its not totally clear how or whether these lesions are directly related to COVID-19.



'Are we just catching it too late, and maybe in the first few days, in some individuals, there is active virus?' Dr. Paller says. 'Or is it really a sign of [gradual recovery]? We really dont know that yet.'



This isnt the first skin issue linked to COVID-19. One small report from March, compiled by dermatologists who worked with 88 coronavirus patients in Italy, found that 20% of those people had skin-related symptoms. The most common skin condition among these patients was a red, patchy rash.

'We know that theres more of this, and we suspect it may be related to COVID-19,' Dr. Paller says, but more testing is necessary before any definitive link can be established. Heres everything doctors know about COVID toes so farand what to do if this symptom arises.

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What do COVID-toes look like?

Photo credit: DR. AMY PALLER / NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

COVID toes look a lot like frostbite or pernio, an inflammatory skin condition that causes sores. This leaves the area looking puffy and discoloured, often red or purple, says Dr. Paller. Toes may also feel sensitive, itchy, or painful, and perhaps even like theyre burning. As the symptom runs its course, the affected skin may start to crack and peel as it heals.

Lesions appear on the bottoms or tops of toes, and can also manifest on the fingers, although this is less common, explains Ebbing Lautenbach, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine.

Whats more, patients often experience COVID toes without other telltale signs of the novel coronavirus, like a fever, dry cough, or shortness of breath. 'Almost all of the individuals who are reporting [COVID toes] have no symptoms that we would relate to COVID-19, or very mild ones,' Dr. Paller explains.

Why might the novel coronavirus cause COVID toes?

Its a bit of a question mark right now, Dr. Lautenbach explains. But experts suspect the skin issue could be a result of both the bodys natural inflammatory response to the virus or 'blood clotting issues in people with COVID-19 infections,' he says.

Because COVID toes is more common in young people, that may serve as clue. 'We know that the immune response, in general, gets less robust as we get older,' Dr. Lautenbach explains. In turn, COVID toes might be a sign of a 'brisk immune response' to the virus, but more research is needed to know for sure.

Dermatologists suspect a similar link in COVID-19 patients who are developing skin rashes, though. 'We dont understand exactly why, but many viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infections also causes rashes in the skin known as exanthems,' Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, recently told Prevention. 'Perhaps these are the result of our immune system reacting the virus or the virus may have a direct effect on the skin itself.'

What should you do if you think you have COVID toes?

The good news: COVID toes could be a sign that the body is on the mend. 'We have very little information about whether theres any contagion with this disorder,' Dr. Paller explains. 'We dont have strong evidence that there is active virus in those people.'

Plus, the symptom will likely resolve itself. 'They usually clear up, on average, after about seven to ten days,' Dr. Lautenbach explains. If there's uncomfortable pain or swelling, Dr. Paller recommends nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory meds (NSAIDs), like Advil or Aleve. For itchiness, topical corticosteroids like Cortizone work well.

Because doctors dont know exactly when the lesions could be appearing during the diseases progression, it never hurts to get a second opinion from a dermatologist if OTC remedies arent helping. Skin issues can be caused by various irritationsand its possible these patients may be dealing with something else entirely. Dr. Paller also says its crucial to talk to a doctor if any other symptoms of COVID-19 are present. From there, they should be able to guide you on the next best steps.

Its important to remember that COVID-19 is caused by a new virus, and theres a lot experts dont know about it yet, including all of the ways it impacts the body. Dr. Lautenbach says that discovering some symptomsoutside of respiratory issues and feverwill take time. 'As we learn more, as we see more patients, and as more [symptoms] get described, we learn about a variety of other things that seem to be related to the disease course,' he says. 'This is just the latest in those examples.'

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Audio Attachment: Listen to President Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has extended the closure of Ghanas borders for a month.



" . . government has taken the decision to extend further the closure of our borders for a month effective 1 am on Monday 4th May until Sunday 31st May," he said.



The President who was addressing workers in a virtual May Day celebration on Friday, held at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) indicated that "we have no option than to keep our borders closed until we are confident that we have put in place measures to prevent travellers from importing the virus. These restrictions cannot and will not be a permanent feature of our lives but they are for now essential features of our lives".



Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has applauded workers for their contributions towards nation-building.



We recognize and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices they have made towards the construction of the happy and prosperous Ghana we seek, and, on this day, I say Ayekoo to each one of you...We recognize and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices they have made towards the construction of the happy and prosperous Ghana we seek, and, on this day, I say Ayekoo to each one of you, he added.



Ghana's Covid-19 case count



Ghana on Thursday recorded 403 more cases of Covid-19, taking the tally to 2,074.



According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) 212 people have recovered from the disease and 17 have passed away.



Greater Accra still has the highest cases of the disease with 1,795 infections.



Ashanti has 99, Eastern 70, Central 21, Oti, 19 and Upper East 19.



Volta region has 16 cases, Northern 13, Upper West, 10, Western 9, North East 2, and Western North 1.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Ford Motor Co on Thursday outlined the safety measures it will institute to restart its most profitable U.S. plants amid the coronavirus pandemic, expanding on similar efforts by General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler to convince leaders of the United Auto Workers union to send members back to work.

The UAW so far has not agreed to endorse reopening U.S. auto plants, even as workers in Europe and Asia are going back to their jobs. Virtually all U.S. automotive production ground to a halt in March as the number of COVID-19 infections grew rapidly.

Billions of dollars in revenue and profits are riding on how quickly Ford and its U.S. rivals can convince the UAW and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer that it is safe to return to work. The UAW declared that early May was too soon to reopen, and since then has not agreed to a date.

Without Michigan, the Detroit Three and other automakers operating in the United States cannot build vehicles. Ford executives highlighted that the U.S. auto sector accounts for 6% of U.S. economic output.

Ford has the largest unionized workforce in the United States with about 56,000 UAW members. The F-series pickup trucks UAW workers build account for $50 billion in annual revenue, Ford said.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

"It's just really now getting the clarity from our government leaders because we're ready," Ford Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said on a conference call with reporters.

Farley added he would "absolutely" be comfortable having his family work in a Ford plant given the steps the company has taken to ensure employee safety.

UAW President Rory Gamble said the union is negotiating with the Detroit automakers about safely reopening their U.S. plants. Among the issues on the table are what types of protective gear workers should have, how fast assembly lines should move and how much testing should be done.

"The UAW is asking for as much testing as is possible to prevent exposure to the virus," Gamble said in a Thursday statement.

Ford's human resources chief Kiersten Robinson said the automaker will not have a "reliable and scalable testing solution" for COVID-19 for several weeks if not months and the company was forming a task force to see how it can move faster to achieve that.

"Longer term, we think it will be critical," she said. "Hopefully, in coming weeks or months, it will be part of our protocol."

Ford manufacturing chief Gary Johnson said any worker who worried they had been exposed would be sent to a hospital for testing and the UAW had agreed to that process.

Johnson said the company was not planning to provide workers with N95 respiratory masks, which are designed to filter 95% of airborne particles, as the regular face masks and shields were good enough.

Slowing the speed of production lines in plants would be too complex, he added. Some union leaders have suggested lines could be slowed to allow for greater physical separation between workers.

What Ford will do in its plants is no-touch doors, require use of personal protective equipment like face masks and shields, install barriers where employees must work closely together, use thermal scanning to screen employees for fevers and do heavy sanitizing of work areas.

Ford executives said they have been using the same safety protocols already in China, where production restarted in late February.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based company did not provide a date for restarting U.S. factories. Ford did say white-collar workers would likely return to their offices in late June or early July.

Officials in Whitmer's office could not immediately be reached to comment on Thursday. She extended the state's stay-at-home order through May 15 but has lifted restrictions for some businesses other than manufacturing. Neighboring Ohio is allowing manufacturing to resume on Monday.

In its restart playbook, GM's strategy relies heavily on many of the same approaches as Ford, but does not address assembly line workstations. The No. 1 U.S. automaker has not provided a target for a U.S. restart.

FCA has retreated from its plan to restart North American operations on May 3 given Michigan's extended stay-at-home order. It is using similar measures to Ford. Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk was highly critical on Wednesday of the various states' stay-at-home orders, which have idled the electric carmaker's California plant. He called the policies "fascist."
01.05.2020 LISTEN

Four royals of the Akuapem traditional area in the Eastern Region have been arrested by the police for flouting the ban on public gatherings as well as failing to adhere to social distancing protocols amidst the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

The Akuapem North Municipal Assembly has said the four spearheaded the enstoolment ceremony and customary rites of the paramount Chief of the Akuapem Traditional area on Friday.

Some Ghanaians took to social media to criticize the action by the traditional area for breaching the President's ban on all forms of public gatherings .

Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Akuapem North, Dennis Edward Aboagye, has told Citi News the police have commenced investigations to arrest more perpetrators.

I got a call around that there was a crowd at Akpropong around the palace. So we quickly dispatched our information Services Department vans to announce to the people that the ban on social gatherings was still in force and the need for social distancing. Our focus is on the fact that there is a breach of the social distancing rule and the directives of the President.

That is what the police are investigating now. We have been able to identify four people now and they are with the police. They are still being questioned and if from the polices point of view they believe that there are more people to be picked up, they will take it from there.

Government still considering critical steps on public gatherings ban'  Nana Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has said some circumstances and conditions have to be carefully considered before the ban on public gatherings is lifted.

He says he is aware of the impact of the closure of schools, churches and mosques.

The President said he is however still holding consultations with key stakeholders including members of the Council of State to conclude on the next line of action as far as the ban is concerned.

There are still very important measures in place that are impacting the daily lives of our people. How long can we keep the churches closed? How long can we keep the mosques closed? What about our schools? When are they going to be able to resume? What are the circumstances and conditions that we have to see being satisfied before those measures can be taken?

There are very critical steps that we all have to think about. The present situation, the emergency cannot be a permanent feature of our national life. We have to at some stage confront the future and how we will address that future. I think at all those critical points, you have an important input to make. There are some amongst who have been reaching out to me on an individual basis but I have not had the opportunity for this collective meeting between the President and his Council of State, he said.

The ban on social gatherings is still in force, despite the lifting of the partial lockdown on Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Kasoa.

For the avoidance of doubt, President cited conferences, workshops, funerals, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities and sporting events as part of activities still banned in Ghana.

Though all educational facilities are also to remain closed, the President said: businesses and other workplaces can continue to operate, observing staff management and workplace protocols with the view to achieving social distancing and hygiene protocols.
In case of victory, Trump's presumptive challenger will not move the US embassy back to Tel Aviv; however, he would reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem. For Rabbi Milgrom, Biden does not want to lose Jewish votes. The embassy is a secondary issue; annexation of the territories is the heart of the matter.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  Joe Biden, Donald Trump's democratic rival in the November 2020 presidential election, said that if he is elected, the US embassy in Israel would remain in Jerusalem.

During a virtual townhall with supporters in Boston yesterday evening, he said he did not agree with President Trumps controversial decision to move the US diplomatic legation from Tel Aviv, but now that it is done, he would not reverse it.

The move shouldnt have happened in the context as it did, Biden explained. It should happen in the context of a larger deal to help us achieve important concessions for peace in the process.

For the former vice president, Moving the embassy when we did without the conditions having been met was short-sighted and frivolous. However, now that is done, I would not move the embassy back to Tel Aviv.

Asked by AsiaNews Jeremy Milgrom, an Israeli rabbi and member of the NGO Rabbis for Human Rights, noted that "the democratic party has two different souls at its base, one more conservative and the other more progressive".

We must see which of the two will have the most influence" both during the election campaign and in case of victory. However, "support for Biden by the more reformist and progressive wing is not a given now, he believes. For this reason, Trump is likely to win and get a second term.

For the rabbi, yesterday's statement shows that the democratic candidate does not want to lose the Jewish vote. At the same time, "the issue of the embassy in Jerusalem" is certainly not the central point of the discussion. Other issues will dominate the campaign, including regional issues.

The presumptive Democratic candidate in the presidential election of 3 November also said that he intends to reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem to engage the Palestinians.

As one of his aides noted the previous day, Biden is against the unilateral annexation of the occupied territories in the West Bank, a move that Benjamin Netanyahu plans to complete by July with the support of his new government ally Benny Gantz.

Ive been a proud supporter of a secure, democratic Jewish state of Israel my entire life, Biden said, adding My administration will urge both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive.

For Biden, any "unilateral" decision would make a deal less likely and this should me rejected as should any annexation plans.

For Rabbi Milgrom, the heart of the matter is precisely that, the annexation, which represents "the most important issue" in Israel today. The US election in November can be an element of change, perhaps for the worse, he added, with unilateral actions expected to continue in the region. For now, nothing suggests the situation can improve.
The Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi on Thursday killed seven Islamic State (IS) militants in an operation in Salahudin province in north of Baghdad, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

A force of the Hashd Shaabi, backed by the Iraqi army's helicopter gunships, launched an operation to hunt down the IS militants in several areas near the Himreen mountain range in the province, the Hashd Shaabi said in a statement.

The troops found five IS hideouts and killed seven IS militants, as well as seizing the militants' weapons and explosives, it added.

Despite repeated military operations against the IS remnants, IS militants are still hiding in the Himreen mountain range which cover three provinces of Diyala, Salahudin and Kirkuk.

Earlier, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement that a total of 135 IS militants have been killed in Iraq during the period from Jan. 1 to April 15, during 1,060 anti-IS operations by the Iraqi security forces.
David Carlson (Trades, Portfolio), manager of Elfun Trusts, disclosed this week that his fund's top five buys in the first quarter included an increased bet in Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) and new holdings in four companies: Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW), Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN), Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:TXN) and Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ).





The fund, which is part of State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT) subsidiary State Street Global Advisors, seeks long-term capital appreciation through investments in U.S. companies that have potential to pay good dividends in the future.

A former manager of the General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) Pension Trust portfolio, Carlson selects equity securities from a wide range of industries based on the merits of individual companies. As of quarter-end, Elfun Trusts' $2.38 billion equity portfolio contains 43 stocks, with a turnover ratio of 11%. The top-three sectors in terms of weight are technology, health care and financial services, with weights of 24.11%, 18.57% and 17.37%.

Facebook

Elfun Trusts added 182,392 shares of Facebook, increasing the stake 61.27% and the equity portfolio 1.28%. Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based social media giant averaged $196.62 during the first quarter.

Facebook announced this week that although the company's daily active user growth and monthly active user growth increased over 10% during the quarter, advertising revenues tumbled in March as government measures aimed to slow the spread of the coronavirus resulted in a significant decline in advertising demand over the final three weeks of the quarter. Further, the company did not release specific guidance for the second quarter or the full year due to the uncertainty regarding the virus.

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GuruFocus ranks Facebook's profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include expanding operating margins and a return on assets that outperforms 85.83% of global competitors in the interactive media industry.

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Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) also boosted his position in Facebook during the first quarter, increasing his holding 1,141.79%.

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Lowe's

The fund purchased 625,949 shares of Lowe's, giving the holding 2.26% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $109.88 during the quarter.

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The Mooresville, North Carolina-based company operates a network of home improvement stores that offer products for home decorating, maintenance, repair and remodeling. GuruFocus ranks the company's profitability 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and a return on assets that outperforms 90.45% of global competitors.

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Activist investor Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio) has not released his firm's March-quarter portfolio update as the deadline is 45 days after the quarter ends. As of the December 2019 portfolio update, Pershing Square owns 8,613,212 shares of Lowe's.

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Biomarin

The fund purchased 406,691 shares of Biomarin, giving the position 1.44% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $86.22 during the quarter.

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The San Rafael, California-based company manufactures therapies for the treatment of rare diseases. According to GuruFocus, the company's financial strength ranks 6 out of 10, driven by a strong Altman Z-score of 6.29 and a moderately strong Piotroski F-score of 6 despite debt ratios underperforming 68% of global biotech competitors.

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Texas Instruments

The fund purchased 289,561 shares of Texas Instruments, giving the holding 1.21% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $120.51 during the quarter.

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The Dallas-based company produces analog chips and well-known calculators like the TI-89 graphing calculator. GuruFocus ranks the company's profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a three-star business predictability rank and operating margins that have increased approximately 6% per year on average over the past five years and are outperforming over 98% of global competitors.

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Mondelez

The fund purchased 367,883 shares of Mondelez, giving the position 0.77% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $54.28 during the quarter.

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The Deerfield, Illinois-based company produces a wide range of snack products, including well-known brands like Chips Ahoy and Oreo. GuruFocus ranks the company's profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include expanding operating margins, a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and a Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) return on capital that outperforms 88.43% of global competitors.

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Disclosure: No positions.

Read more here:

5 Retail Companies to Consider as Coronavirus Shuts Down Malls

4 Media Companies With Outstanding Profit Margins

Leith Wheeler Canadian Equity Fund's Top 5 Buys in 2nd Half of 2019







Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






North Korean leader Kim Jong Un cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory, KCNA reported Saturday -- the first time state media has reported him making a public appearance since speculation about his health began last month.

Kim "attended the ceremony" on Friday and "all the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!'" when he appeared, the Korean Central Agency said.

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported on him inspecting fighter jets at an air defence unit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
KYODO NEWS - Apr 28, 2020 - 15:05 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

The Tokyo metropolitan government has clarified Gov. Yuriko Koike's statement that all pachinko parlors in Tokyo have complied with requests to suspend business as of Tuesday morning, after at least four were found to still be operating in the afternoon.

"Of the 156 parlors we visited, zero of them are still open," a government official said, adding they are still investigating the roughly 600 other pachinko parlors in the capital.

Koike, who had initially planned to release the names of pachinko parlors refusing to comply after Tuesday, told reporters earlier in the day that there were currently "zero" pachinko parlors in Tokyo still open.

As of Sunday, 156 still remained open, but the number dropped to 22 on Monday, with all agreeing to comply on Tuesday, after 60 metropolitan government officials in 15 teams directly visited noncompliant businesses and requested they close, she said.

But after media investigations revealed some parlors were still open as of Tuesday afternoon, the metropolitan government amended its statement.

The city will deliver a written closure request to those businesses and is expected to publicize the names of those who are noncompliant after Wednesday.

Several officials have already called on and delivered a written closure request to a pachinko parlor in Katsushika Ward found to be operating on Tuesday afternoon. The officials also informed the business that it would be named should it refuse to comply.

Under the nationwide state of emergency, effective through the last day of the Golden Week holidays on May 6, prefectural governments do not have the legal power to force compliance with requests for nonessential businesses to close, but they are allowed to publicly name noncompliant companies in an effort to shame them for not being socially responsible during the crisis.

With many businesses and services asked to close through the holidays, some pachinko parlors remained open and continued to attract customers.

Residents had complained it was unfair the businesses continued operating even after closure requests, and expressed concerns about the virus spreading as people were still gathering there.

The Osaka prefectural government on Friday revealed the names of six pachinko parlors defying its request to shut, marking the first such move under Japan's state of emergency declaration.

This was followed by Hyogo Prefecture, with other prefectures now also taking similar name-and-shame measures.

Kanagawa Gov. Yuji Kuroiwa at a press conference Tuesday released the names of six noncompliant pachinko parlors. The prefecture, which borders Tokyo to the south, has received numerous calls from people notifying them that pachinko parlors are still operating.

In Wakayama Prefecture, where 11 pachinko parlors and sex-related establishments remained open as of Tuesday, Gov. Yoshinobu Nisaka said he will reveal their names as early as Wednesday should they continue to defy requests to shut.
CALGARY, Alberta and MUNICH, Germany, May 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eavor is pleased to announce Enex Power Germany GmbH ("Enex") and Eavor Technologies Inc. ("Eavor") have entered into a letter of intent to form a geothermal project development company to construct Eavor-Loop heat and power projects within Enex's existing geothermal license area in Bavaria, Germany.



Under the arrangement, Enex will contribute existing geothermal assets to the new development entity, including:

rights to utilize Enex's existing geothermal lease for the development of Eavor-Loops;

an existing surface lease and drill pad strategically located in an industrial development zone;

access rights for the interconnection and delivery of electricity to the local distribution grid;

an opportunity to potentially sell heat produced by the project to the town of Geretsried for district heating.

Additionally, Enex will continue to provide certain management and project continuity services, based on their local relationships and knowledge obtained over the last 10 years conducting their own local geothermal activities.

Electricity produced by the project will be eligible for payments under the German EEG 2017 Act. The EEG is a form of Feed In Tariff under which the German government augments the electricity price received for a period of 20 years from the date the project is first commissioned. Based on a 2022 commissioning date, the EEG payment will result in a fixed power price of 227/MWh (approx. CAD $344/MWh) until 2042.

Eavor and Enex have been working on the arrangement since January. Front end engineering and design (FEED) of the Project is expected to be completed this summer. Pending regulatory approvals and project financing, construction is planned to commence in early 2021.

Background to the Arrangement

The geothermal concession/lease was initially granted in 2004 to Enex. Since 2004 two exploratory geothermal wells were drilled at a cost in excess of 30 million, with the latest well drilled in 2017. Neither of the two wells were able to deliver enough hot hydrothermal water to enable economic development of a traditional geothermal project. However, both wells confirmed a geothermal gradient or formation temperature well suited for the commercial development of Eavor-Loops and the production of electricity and commercial heat suitable for district heating and industrial processes.

Given the long history of the project, the extensive prior community engagement, the existing regulatory approvals, the existing infrastructure, and the excellent reputation and relationships of Enex in the community this project is an ideal candidate for the rapid deployment of Eavor-Loop.

About Eavor and Eavor-Loop

Eavor (pronounced "Ever") is a technology-based energy company led by a team dedicated to creating a clean, reliable and affordable energy future on a global scale. Eavor's solution (Eavor-Loop) represents the world's first truly scalable form of green baseload power. Eavor achieves this by mitigating or eliminating many of the issues that have hindered traditional geothermal solutions. As a completely closed-loop system, Eavor has the advantage of no fracking, no GHG emissions, no earthquake risk, no water use, no produced brine or solids, and no aquifer contamination. Eavor instead circulates a benign working fluid which is completely isolated from the environment in a closed-loop, through a massive subsurface radiator. This "radiator" simply collects heat from the natural geothermal gradient of the Earth via conduction, at geologically common and drilling accessible rock temperatures. Unlike traditional geothermal, Eavor is not burdened with exploratory risk or limited to niche geographies through the need for highly permeable aquifers at volcanic-like temperatures. Unlike wind and solar, Eavor-Loop is not intermittent, but instead produces much-needed reliable baseload power. Eavor-Loop plus solar provides a way to offset the intermittency and daylight profile of solar without the need for batteries. With Eavor-Loop, Earth is your Battery, and it comes pre-charged for 30+ years of zero emission, clean, dispatchable generation.

In Canada, Eavor has been operating a $10 million pilot/demonstration project since 2019 which is available for customer or investor tours.

About Enex

Enex is 100% owned by the Hormann Group of companies. Having been established for over 60 years, the Hormann Group's worldwide activities have a total turnover (sales) of approx. 600 million. Hormann is active in a wide field of engineering services comprising automotive parts production, warning and alerting systems for industrial and civil defense purposes, production plant engineering, communication and traffic services, laser and sensor technology as well as renewable energies. Enex is focusing on photovoltaic and geothermal energy project development and has worked for 10 years on the Geretsried geothermal project.

Quotes:

Dr. Robert Straubinger, Chief Executive Officer, Enex Power Germany GmbH stated "After two failed attempts to find sufficient hydrothermal water at the given location, we are absolutely enthusiastic to be working with this new innovative technology that overcomes this prerequisite for an economically viable exploitation of geothermal heat. As originally intended, we are moving forward with our plan to deliver both heat and power to the region. In the attempt to lower their CO 2 footprint, this is highly appreciated and supported by the neighboring communities. The cooperation with Eavor and their local Eavor GmbH team is excellent both in the technical expertise as well as in the overall perception of the project goals; it is fun to commonly realize this project."

Bailey Schwarz, Lead Engineer for Eavor, noted "This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the unique elements of how Eavor-Loop technology can complement traditional geothermal development. Enex is a strong supporter of the Geretsried communities' ambition to harness geothermal energy for their community. The Enex team of professionals, with their passion for the project, has made Enex the ideal partner for Eavor to work with. Together we combine Eavor's technical expertise with Enex's over 30 years of experience in renewable energy project development in Germany."

Related Information

www.eavor.com

How Eavor Works Video on YouTube - https://youtu.be/8erbvqFZ9M8

Media Contacts

Eavor Technologies Inc.

John Redfern - President and CEO, Director

650-269-2501

info@eavor.com

www.eavor.com




The name John Deere brings tractors and other heavy machinery to mind. However, for Cox Health employees, the name is bringing peace of mind.

The iconic American manufacturer has switched gears to produce personal protection equipment (PPE) for front line workers across the country. John Deeres plant in Moline, Illinois crafted the face shields on its production line. With a design from the University of Wisconsin, the plant cranked out thousands of face shields.

John Deere Springfield branch General manager, Jena Holtberg-Benge said this is the time more than ever for everyone to come together to step up. She said John Deere felt it was important to support, approach, and act on the urgent needs of medical workers across the country.

"They're on the frontline, they're battling this every day, and there's a shortage," said Holtberg-Benge. "Whether we're hit hard as a community or not, there is a shortage of this PPE that is required to support our community."

John Deere donated 2,500 face shields to Cox Health in Springfield. At least 200,000 more will end up in eight other states.

"We're giving back to the community through these face shields, but we do it all year long, and we're just so excited this is one more way we can help out," explained John Deere HR representative, Becky Yeargan

Cox Health Foundation president, Lisa Alexander said in a single day-- they can go through 1,000 N95 masks, and 8,000 surgical masks and other PPE. That's why donations like the face shields better prepare front line workers for the ongoing fight.

"Until we know what tomorrow brings, these are going to continue to be important to us at Cox health and all health care providers across the country," said Alexander.

John Deere also donated 1000 face shields to the Office of Emergency Management.
We have a lot of clients calling. They want to be here, they miss it, Zaranski said. We are concerned about the community, and were not trying to be cavalier. Were doing this because people need help. They are stressed, they are hurting and they need help.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are still looking for the body of a person who jumped Thursday morning from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

Patrol units on the bridge observed an unattended vehicle midspan on the Brooklyn-bound upper level at about 10:45 a.m., according to Meredith Daniels, an MTA spokeswoman.

The vehicle, 2019 Hyundai Sante Fe, was found and towed to the NYPDs 68th Precinct, the MTA said.

The vehicle belonged to the person who jumped, an NYPD spokeswoman said.

A body has not yet been recovered, according the spokeswoman.

TREND CONTINUES

The incident marks the fifth suicide or attempted suicide that has taken place on a Staten Island span in April.

On April 1, a woman described to be in her 40s jumped from the Bayonne Bridge and was pronounced dead after the NYPDs Harbor Unit transported her to shore, authorities said at the time.

On April 14, members of the NYPDs Emergency Services Unit pulled a man from the ledge of the same bridge.

On April 17, a 38-year-old man died after jumping off the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The man was identified by his lawyer as Marc Lamparello, a New Jersey native who allegedly attempted to burn down St. Patricks Cathedral in Manhattan a year ago.

And on April 26, Kristy Shi, 19, of Brooklyn jumped from the span. Police found Shis body on the shore line at Weehawken Avenue and Bayside Parkway in Middletown, N.J., the NYPD said.

The Advance/SILive.com previously reported that witnesses saw the woman exit a vehicle in which she appeared to be a passenger. A source said that Shi received a cab ride and exited the vehicle on the lower level of the bridge.

The MTA has installed a prototype of safety fencing along about 100 feet of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with plans to ultimately install 28,000 feet of fencing.

The stainless-steel prototype fencing includes two, 50-foot sections on the upper and lower Staten Island-bound sides of the bridge adjacent to the Staten Island anchorage.
The Supreme Court Friday sought Delhi government's reply on a plea by JNU student and anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs levelling sedition charges against him for allegedly making inflammatory speeches.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna, hearing the matter through video conferencing, sought response from the Delhi government within 10 days on Imam's plea.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Imam, said that there are five FIRs registered against him in different states in connection with two speeches given in Delhi and in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

The bench said that there is nothing wrong in registration of FIR by police, if they come to know about some cognizable offence.

Dave referred to the recent order of the apex court in the case of senior journalist Arnab Goswami in which court had stayed the multiple FIRs against him except for one and said that similar relief can be granted to him.

He said that FIRs are lodged against Imam in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and he has been booked under sedition charges.

Recently, Delhi Police has booked Imam under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), he said.

The bench asked Dave to serve the copy of petition on the standing counsel of Delhi government and posted the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

Imam in his plea had sought clubbing of all five FIRs lodged in different states and transferring them to Delhi for probe by a single agency.

On April 24, the top court had stayed three FIRs and 11 complaints except for one lodged in different states against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami over his alleged defamatory statements against Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi during shows on the recent Palghar lynching incident in Maharashtra.

On January 28, Imam was arrested by Delhi Police's crime branch from Bihar's Jehanabad in a sedition case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh.

The PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) Centre for Historical Studies has been booked on sedition and other charges after purported videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) were circulated on social media.

An FIR was registered against him by Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

"Two videos came to light, one was on December 13 at Jamia Milia Islamia and other was on January 16 at Aligarh, where it was noticed that Imam had delivered very inflammatory speeches in opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens and such comments can potentially affect religious harmony and weaken the unity and integrity of the country," police had said.

A graduate in computer science from IIT-Mumbai, Imam had shifted to Delhi for pursuing research at the Centre for Historical Studies at the JNU.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Algiers, Algeria (PANA) - Algeria has expressed concern at the never-ending political and military crisis in Libya and called for an inclusive and lasting political solution through dialogue
U.S. trade associations and members of Congress are pushing to delay the July 1 launch date of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Business leaders argue the coronavirus pandemic has diverted resources needed to ensure a smooth transition from the previous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the USMCA.

John Murphy, senior vice president for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, recently told Politico that "companies will need time to adapt to the new regulations" because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

"Industry wants the administration to show flexibility in the months before and after entry into force so they can focus on making payroll and avoiding layoffs," Murphy said.

Lindsay Meyer, co-chair of Venable LLP's international trade group, said she has mixed feelings about delaying the start of USMCA.

"On the one hand, given the pandemic, there are challenges in the supply chain, which from a North American perspective are most pronounced in the order by Mexican President Manuel Obrador to halt manufacturing operations in Mexico," Meyer told FreightWaves. "That has been a pinch for some U.S. manufacturers who rely on Mexican-made parts and components."

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Mexican government suspended all non-essential activities  including the closure of hundreds of factories along the U.S.-Mexico border  on March 30.

Meyer added that "it is going to take some time for North America to get opened up in light of what we are learning about our new social distancing requirements, which I think are most challenging in manufacturing capacities."

Other U.S. trade and advisory groups also recently urged President Trump to delay the start of USMCA.

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), a private sector group created by Congress to advise Customs and Border Protection (CBP), sent a letter to the Trump administration recommending not to implement the USMCA for at least another six months

Story continues

"Now is not the time to implement a trade agreement that contains so many important and meaningful changes that will impact certain industries in a significant financial manner," concluded COAC during its quarterly meeting on April 15.

Members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee also recently expressed concern that businesses across the nation do not have the information they need to adjust to the new rules in the USMCA.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted governments, businesses, workers, and farmers globally, leaving little, if any, time and resources to prepare for a smooth transition to USMCA," the committee members said in a statement. "Entry into force should only happen after all necessary regulations are in place and our industries have had an opportunity to understand and implement them effectively."

A trade association in Canada said the USMCA could cost dairy farmers across that country more than $100 million in lost revenue if it goes into effect July 1.

"We're talking adjustment to products, portfolios  the product mix of my members, so that means that it requires plants retooling, new products, you have to find a new market. Now we're left to do all of this basically within 30 days," Mathieu Frigon, president and CEO of the Dairy Processors Association of Canada, told the CBC on Tuesday.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that USMCA will begin as planned on July 1, according to an April 24 statement.

"The crisis and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that now, more than ever, the United States should strive to increase manufacturing capacity and investment in North America," Lighthizer said.

Meyer said the USMCA will most likely begin on July 1, but certain industries will be given a grace period.

"The Trump administration can claim a win by that effective date (July 1), yet the industries that will be most significantly impacted  automotive and manufacturing  perhaps they'll have a little bit of a grace period to see the implementation," Meyer said.

See more from Benzinga

 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Rocket Lab's first Electron booster at its Virginia launch site makes its debut at the pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island.

Rocket Lab has rolled out its Electron rocket to the company's new Virginia launch pad for the first time and aced a number of tests ahead of their first U.S. launch, which is scheduled for late 2020.

The space technology company's new pad, called Launch Complex 2, is located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island. The Rocket Lab team completed a short static-fire test with the rocket's nine first-stage engines and also completed tests to verify that all systems on the rocket and on the ground at the launch site were integrated correctly, the company said in an April 29 statement.

Rocket Lab also raised the Electron rocket to vertical on the pad, and completed power and communication checks.

Related: Rocket Lab and its Electron booster (photos)

These tests were successfully completed ahead of the company's first U.S. launch, which slipped from the second quarter of 2020 and is now set to take place "no earlier than the third quarter of 2020," the company said in the same statement. This launch, which will be coordinated by the U.S. Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center , will loft a micro-satellite from the Air Force Research Laboratory's Monolith program.

"We're proud to be partnering with the U.S. Space Force for the first mission from Launch Complex 2 and we're honored to be working with them again following previous STP [Solar Terrestrial Probes - missions that study the sun and Earth] missions out of Launch Complex 1," Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive, said in the statement. "For more than two years, Rocket Lab has been providing responsive, dedicated and reliable access to space for government missions, and now we're proud to be building on that strong heritage with our first mission from the United States."

Rpcket Lab's Electron rocket aced tests at the company's new Virginia launch facility, they reported in an April 29 statement. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

One of the reasons why Rocket Lab delayed this launch was delayed is because they wanted to have its autonomous flight termination system (AFTS), an automated system that controls launch range, certified by NASA. This launch will be the first to use an AFTS at Wallops. In the statement, Rocket Lab said in the statement that the company expects NASA to complete the certification in time for the launch.

Rocket Lab clarified in the statement that their activities are continuing within the guidelines of the statewide order issued in Virginia which has closed all non-essential businesses. They added that they continue to maintain only critical infrastructure on-site and only essential on-site work is performed.
Britain

Ambulance driver who died of coronavirus in the UK 'was 100pc dedicated to his job and wanted to help'

The wife of an ambulance worker who died after being diagnosed with coronavirus said "he wanted to help out and do his bit".
An Airbus SE A321 aircraft, operated by American Airlines Group, flies into the San Diego International Airport (SAN) in San Diego, California, U.S., on Monday, April 27, 2020.

Three of the largest four U.S. airlines said Thursday they will require passengers to wear facial coverings on U.S. flights, joining JetBlue Airways Corp in taking the step to address the spread of the coronavirus and convince reluctant passengers to resume flying.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines Group, along with the smaller Frontier Airlines, which is owned by private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC, announced they will require facial coverings next month.

Delta and United's new rules start May 4, while Frontier's start May 8 and American's requirements begin May 11. The policies exempt young children from wearing masks or other facial coverings.

Many U.S. airlines are also requiring pilots and flight attendants to use facial coverings while on board aircraft.

Airlines in the United States have seen a nearly 95% drop in U.S. passengers and have slashed flight schedules. They are now working to reassure customers about the safety of air travel by instituting new cleaning and social distancing procedures.
Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for NYLON

Her new album good to know isnt the JoJo you listened to in middle school, never mind your mothers JoJo. Her first full album of new material since leaving Atlantic Records in 2017 and releasing rerecordings of her first two releases in 2018 is polished pop-R&B in every sense. Yes, there are syrupy smooth vocal runs, but its also the sexiest thing youll hear all week. According to a recent interview in People, JoJo didnt have sex at all during the albums ten-month recording period. And on top of that, shes spending quarantine single with her mom and dog. Somehow, through that solitude, shes given us by far the horniest album of quarantine yet, just when unlucky singles cant do much about it. Im just learning about the chakras now, but our creativity and our sexuality is in the same place in our bodies, and its the energy center, she told People. She taps into both on good to know, so lets run through it. Heres a breakdown of the albums five steamiest tracks.

So Bad

JoJo comes in hot on the opening track of the album, addressing a guy shes with. Or maybe exposing is the better word. She asks if she, presumably said lovers girlfriend, knows that you like it in the morning, you cum without a warning, or you smile when youre performing. So much for keeping secrets. Does she need to know that? she wonders, although we clearly did.

Pedialyte

This may be a song about a hangover (bless Pedialyte for all it does), but dont think JoJo would miss a chance to get sexual in the outro:

I forgive all my exes And my sex be the best It was love, it was fast Put in work, just get it back Sixty-nine, lock it down Tear it up, make it bounce Say your name, say it loud

Gold

The albums third track is when JoJo gets to what a good R&B sex bop should be: a celebration of a miracle. Youre bringin it out of me, from my head to my toes / I call that anatomy, just the way that shit goes, she sings. You movin inside of me, speakin so heavenly / I call that divinity, we already know. Sure, you dont have to learn new things in quarantine, but no one ever said you couldnt.

Man

You know me, I just dont stop, JoJo sings at the beginning of this song and if theres one thing this album has taught us about Jojo so far, its that. Man isnt as sexual as some other songs on the album  but JoJo does set up what she wants in a partner. First, of course, she needs a fuckin man. And what is that? Someone who want me like a fan, she sings, and later adds, He ride for me like he a stan. Let JoJo spell it out for you one more time: She wants somebody who can love me like I love me / Love me like I can. Its what she deserves.

Comeback

Somehow, the second to last song on good to know is the first time JoJo sings the word dick. So fuckin good boy, its disgusting, she sings, and shes not wrong. Tell me its mine or Ima lose my fuckin mind / I need that dick all the time. Album closer Dont Talk Me Down is more internal, so consider Comeback the climax of JoJos musical horniness. Hit them splits like an acrobat, she sings, later adding, You make me cum so fast. With that, we officially know more about JoJo than we expected to half an hour ago, and were left feeling like Too Hot to Handle contestants.
Her most recent concert was at the University of Northern Colorado in early March. Once she was home in California, the cancellations began, including a planned performance at the Centre Pompidous location in Metz, France. She was hardly alone among musicians who spent much of March watching concerts, festivals and residencies be postponed or canceled  with an attendant, often devastating loss of income.

It was fortunate timing, then, when Ms. Fullman was named a Guggenheim fellow in early April. The prestigious award will provide financial support over the coming year, as she works on a new composition for the JACK Quartet and her Long String Instrument.

For the foreseeable future, her collaboration with the quartet will be online. Once there is a vaccine developed, I will go to New York  maybe in two, maybe three years, Ms. Fullman said. I dont feel safe traveling, personally. Im in that over-60 crowd, so I wouldnt want to take a chance.

But Ms. Fullmans music is predicated on travel, and on the kind of immersive, in-person experience that is currently  and for at least the coming months  forbidden. Since she developed it in 1980, her instrument has thrived on live presentations, and she has reimagined it for the particular acoustics of each venue. A typical performance requires four or five days of laborious installation and tuning to adjust to spaces that have included a Romanesque cathedral in Cologne and a museum in Tasmania, as well as the Church of St. Merri in Paris and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
Kathmandu, May 1

Nepals Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is apparently losing his popularity inside and outside the party, has once again criticised mass media and social media users, claiming they made efforts to push the country towards instability.

Olis statement comes around a week after his government issued two controversial ordinances that forcefully kicked off a new round of political debate in the country. Whereas the media and social media users had warned that the ordinances would lead the country towards a crisis, Oli had justified their rationale at first. However, he was forced to withdraw them after four days owing to pressures inside his party.

In his video address on the occasion of International Labour Day (May Day) on Friday, Oli says, Today, some media of Nepal and social media (users) are engaged in disseminating news and other discussions that push the country towards instability, against stability, permanence, and development. On the one hand, the entire citizenry, along with the world, is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic; but on the other, there are efforts of instability taking advantage of this situation. It is sad.

The prime minister says he, his government and his party will not tolerate such efforts and foil them.
A knifeman was shot dead after stabbing at least five people in a shopping centre rampage in Australia today.

Witnesses said an attacker wearing a high-vis jacket and armed with a carving knife stabbed one person in a McDonald's car park before bursting into the mall and attacking several others.

The knifeman was killed by a gunshot after police had initially tried to Taser him at the shopping centre in South Hedland, Western Australia.

Five people are being treated in hospital for stab wounds including two in a serious condition, police said. The motive for the attack is unclear.

Esther Brooks (pictured showing her bloodied shirt in hospital, with her stab wound shown right) was one of several people stabbed at a shopping centre in Australia today

The knifeman was killed by a gunshot after police had initially tried to Taser him at the shopping centre in South Hedland, Western Australia

One of the victims was revealed to be Esther Brooks, a customer who was buying iced coffees and was stabbed in the back by the unknown attacker.

Speaking from hospital, her boyfriend David Derschow said he had 'no idea' why she had been attacked.

He said Ms Brooks 'didn't know' the knifeman and was in such a state of shock that she did not initially realise she had been stabbed.

'She's good now, she didn't know she was stabbed until she asked if she was stabbed,' he added.

Mr Derschow said he heard screaming coming from the shopping centre and walked there to find the carnage.

'A Good Samaritan, within minutes of walking out, offered to take us to the emergency room,' he said.

Five people are being treated for stab wounds at Hedland Health Campus. Three are in a stable condition and two in a serious but stable condition.

One of those in a serious condition is believed to have been stabbed in the neck.

Witnesses said police had initially tried to restrain the man with a Taser before eventually shooting him dead.

A police van is seen outside South Hedland Square (pictured) where multiple people were stabbed by a man wielding a carving knife on Friday morning

The aftermath of the stabbing at a north Western Australian shopping centre on Friday morning (pictured) which left five in hospital and the attacker dead

A shop owner, known only as George, said the Taser seemed to have no effect on the man.

'This guy pushed a police lady against the window and then she fell over,' he told 6PR radio.

'The cops tried to tell him to stop. He wouldn't stop.

'They tasered him four or five times. Nothing happened. It didn't have any effect whatsoever on him.'

The female officer was nearly stabbed in the neck while her colleagues tried to restrain him to stop the carnage, before shooting him in the chest.

'I saw the man run past being chased by two officers,' a witness said.

'They were trying to stop him with their tasers, but he wasn't stopping. He then ran towards the female officer and swiped towards her neck.

'It was at that point I took my daughter behind the counter and then heard the gun shot. They immediately asked for medical support.

'Once I knew it was safe, I was helped to get out the back door to shield my daughter from it.

David Derschow (pictured) said his girlfriend Esther Brooks (pictured together left) had been stabbed by the knifeman on Friday morning. Her shirt was left covered in blood (right)

The terrifying incident took place at South Headland Square shopping centre in Western Australia (pictured)

'I can not thank the police officers enough and just hope the others hurt will be OK.

'The police deserve a medal, they were heroes. If it weren't for them, more people would have been hurt or even killed.'

Port Hedland Commissioner Fred Riebeling says one of the victims is a council employee who works at a local theatre.

'It's all really upsetting,' he said. 'If there's five or half a dozen people injured, half the town will probably know someone involved.'

A St John Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed multiple people were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.

Western Australia Police said the attack was under investigation.

'As per normal protocols, Major Crime Division and Professional Standards Division will investigate the circumstances surrounding the police shooting,' a statement said.

'There is no ongoing concern regarding public safety in South Hedland.'

WA Police Union president Harry Arnott said a team had been deployed to assist members involved in the incident and their colleagues.

'Our information indicates our members acted to protect the community and themselves, and without their intervention this incident would be significantly more tragic for the Hedland community,' he said in a statement.

'This incident again highlights the unique and dangerous job that police officers do.'
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Cultured sugar/ Vinegar is a food additives used in variety of food products, from meat, poultry products to salad dressing, and it is used to extend shelf life. Vinegar is often used as a natural preservative in poultry items and processed meat. Processing of different types of meats for feeding the global population has paced up speedily because of the rapid increase in globalization. Demand for high protein food and trend for ready to eat meat products are driving the global cultured sugar/vinegar market.in developing countries rise in the income of middle class consumers is growing the demand for convenience foods and ultimately driving the cultured sugar/vinegar market. To increase the consumer appeal many food producers are preferring the use of cultured sugar/ vinegar for obtaining food safety and prolonged shelf life. This application of cultured sugar/vinegar is good for consumers and extended shelf life in such products will optimize the supply chain efficiency and costs too. Increase in beverage industry across the globe is also anticipated to drive the cultured sugar/vinegar market as it prevents microbial spoilage in beverages.

Get Sample Copy Of This Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12229

Rising popularity of bakery products due to changing food consumption trends will benefit the cultured sugar/vinegar market as cultured sugar is used for a function of mold inhabitation in baked goods. Also growth in market for culinary such as dressing and dips, sauces, salad and sandwich spreads etc. is likely to drive the cultured sugar/ vinegar market in near future. Cultured sugar/vinegar is used as agent which helps in suppressing bacteria and pathogens in food. However lack of awareness about the processing technology and modern methods in developing countries are the main hindrances in the growth of global cultured sugar/ vinegar market. in addition to this economic crises faced by many countries of the world and health risk associated with the processed foodstuffs are the factors which act a restraints for cultured sugar/vinegar market.

Based on the end use industry type the global cultured sugar/vinegar market is segmented into:

Meat and poultry products

Baked goods

Beverage

Others

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In terms of geography, the global cultured sugar/vinegar market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The global cultured sugar/vinegar market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. North America is anticipated to be the dominant market for global cultured sugar/vinegar market followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The market in Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at highest CAGR over the forecast period.

Some of the key players in the global cultured sugar/vinegar market are 

Corbion

PROTERIA



The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections done using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, type, machine size and end use.
Home  Just In  Chinese envoy meets Oli, Dahal and Nepalone after another

Kathmandu, May 1

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, has met three top leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party separately on Thursday and Friday.

As internal disputes in the ruling party are at their peak, the Chinese ambassadors separate meetings with key power players have received significant attention. Earlier last year, the party was criticised for embracing Chinese President Xi Jinpings thoughts.

Hou had met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Thursday afternoon at his residence in Baluwatar. On Friday, she first went to the partys executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahals residence in Khumaltar for a one-on-meeting. Immediately, she went to Madhav Kumar Nepals residence in Koteshwar for a similar meeting.

Dahals secretariat says the leader thanked the ambassador for Chinas support to Nepals Covid-19 response, expecting further support. Likewise, the envoy discussed with Nepal various dimensions of the bilateral ties, according to Bishnu Rijal, the deputy chief of the partys foreign affairs department.
"Show me the man and I'll show you the crime." Lavrentiy Beria (head of Stalin's secret police)

Under America's criminal law system, an investigation cannot begin unless there's a crime. After that, one seeks the probable criminals. These alleged criminals, in turn, are given myriad due process protections so the government, which is judge, jury, and executioner, does not violate their inherent civil rights. Under Stalin's totalitarian system, the state targeted people for destruction, invented crimes against them, and then led them through a sham investigative and prosecutorial process that led to an inevitable conviction.

Newly released documents establish that beginning in the waning days of Obama's presidency, high-level FBI officials inflicted Soviet-style "justice" on General Mike Flynn. It's also possible that both Obama and Biden were part of this plot.

The newest batch of documents reveals that, by January 4, 2017, the FBI had ruled Mike Flynn out as a possible suspect in its investigation into whether Trump or his associates had colluded with the Russians. The agent reviewing the evidence against Mike Flynn wrote a memorandum explaining that there was no "derogatory" evidence against Flynn either in house or through an outside agency.

The investigating team concluded, therefore, that Flynn was no longer a viable candidate as part of the larger [Russia investigation] umbrella case. A review of logical [redacted] databases did not yield any information on which to predicate further investigative efforts. [snip] The FBI is closing this investigation.

If the FBI knew as of January 4 that Flynn was innocent, why then did agents sneak into the White House and interview Flynn with an eye to getting "him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired"?

That was Peter Strzok's doing. Immediately after receiving notice that the FBI intended to close the file, Strzok texted, "Hey if you haven't closed RAZOR [Flynn], don't do so yet."

(You can review all of the documents here.)

Strzok's conduct is interesting, but it still raises the question of why he wanted it open. Sundance, at the Conservative Treehouse, looked at the chronology and thinks this peculiar conduct might have involved Obama and Biden trying to wipe out Trump's presidency from the get-go.

On January 4, case agents wanted to close the file on Flynn because he was innocent, but Strzok still wanted the file kept open. That same afternoon, Strzok noted that the "7th floor [was] involved," which meant that Comey had inserted himself into the Flynn affair.

On January 5, Obama, Biden, Susan Rice, Sally Yates (who'd been focusing on Flynn), and Comey met in the White House. Two weeks later, Rice emailed herself to say of that meeting that Obama stressed that everything should be "by the book." Her email looked like "cover your a--" retrofitting, as did Obama's statement (assuming he made it).

On January 6, Comey went to Trump Tower to tell Trump about the Steele dossier, thereby giving the Deep Staters a justification for getting the Steele dossier to the media. On that same day, Steele deleted all his files relating to the dossier.

At this point, everyone involved knew or should have known that Flynn was an innocent man. By the end of the month, though, the FBI was entrapping Flynn, the DOJ was hell-bent on prosecuting Flynn, and Obama and Biden, who knew that Flynn was innocent, said and did nothing while that Soviet-style kangaroo process proceeded. All had the same plan: destroy Flynn, whose policies they disliked, and undo the results of the November 2016 election.

Kimberly Strassel sums up nicely what happened to Flynn:

Money is not enough to compensate Gen. Flynn for what the Deep State did to him. When these conspirators, who stomped on his civil rights and attempted to overthrow an elected government finally land in prison, Flynn needs a day pass so he can go visit them every day and spit in their faces.
Fifteen militants have been killed and 10 have been wounded in Afghanistan's eastern province of Logar, the local authorities said on Friday

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2020) Fifteen militants have been killed and 10 have been wounded in Afghanistan's eastern province of Logar, the local authorities said on Friday.

According to a statement by Deedar Lawang, a spokesman for Logar's governor, the militants planned an attack on security posts in the province's Baraki Barak district but were repelled by the security forces.

"Fifteen insurgents were killed and 10 others were wounded in air and artillery strikes by the Afghan forces, and the bodies of several others remained on the battlefield," the statement read.

Lawang added that three Afghan National Army soldiers had been killed in the operation and two others had been wounded.

The Taliban movement has not yet commented on the incident.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Some senators have issued appeals for quicker distribution of financial aid to workers affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Ngayong nasa ilalim pa tayo ng Enhanced Community Quarantine at General Community Quarantine, pabilisin natin ang ayuda at apurahin na ang pagkilos upang makabangon ang ating mga manggagawa mula sa kahirapan at pagdurusa, detained Sen. Leila de Lima said in a statement.

[Translation: Now that we are under the enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine, let us aim for faster aid distribution so we can help them pick themselves up from misery.]

Dont start with proposals that will not carry through and will just end up giving our workers false hopes, added de Lima, who chairs the Senate Committees on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development

Meanwhile, Senator Win Gatchalian urged his fellow public officials to work with employers so help in the form of aid and incentives could be brought to workers quickly, stressing that no one should be left behind.

Gatchalian noted in a statement that many lost their jobs and some were left with no assurance if they can get their jobs back.

Senator Nancy Binay also appealed to the Labor Department to come up with a better social amelioration program for workers who lost their jobs or are in a no-work, no-pay situation.

We urge the Department of Labor and Employment to continue and improve its programs for displaced workers; its emergency fund for OFWs; and its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) for those in the informal sector, Binay said.

Earlier this week, DOLE said the COVID-19 lockdown displaced over two million Filipino workers. But due to its limited funds, DOLE said it could only provide aid to 650,000 workers. The department added that more than 500,000 affected employees have received a one-time financial assistance worth P5,000.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joel Villanueva, chairman of Senate Committee on Labor, said employers must ensure the safety of all workers since the gradual reopening of businesses in parts of the country have been allowed.

Kailangan po na handa ang lahat ng industriya sa pagsisiguro ng kaligtasan ng mga manggagawa laban sa maaari o muling pag-usbong ng COVID-19, Villanueva said.

[Translation: Industries need to make sure precautionary measures are in place to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19.]

General community quarantine is implemented in all parts of the country except for National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Central Luzon (except for Aurora), Pangasinan, Benguet (including Baguio City), Iloilo, Cebu (including Cebu City), Bacolod City, and Davao City. This will last until May 15.
To the editor:

Despite protests in Lansing and falling rates of infection for COVID-19, I am concerned that there still seems to be little to no plan to get Michigan back to work. Instead, the governor has now proposed a free education plan for "frontline workers." Setting aside the fact that nothing is ever free, the strange timing of this program, and the question of who exactly qualifies as "frontline," our leaders should work on helping the many instead of the few. Over 1 million people have filed for unemployment in Michigan and many businesses are hurting because they cannot operate. Our leaders should develop a plan to get as many people back to work as safely as possible. Furthermore, our government should be finding ways to make it easier for people and businesses to work, without spending money it does not have, by lowering taxes and reducing or eliminating barriers that prevent new entrepreneurship. It was once famously said that "rising tides lift all boats." A healthy and thriving economy will provide more opportunities for our "frontline" workers (and all Michiganders) than any "free" government program.
Rio de Janeiro: In Brazil's bustling Amazon city of Manaus, so many people have died within days in the coronavirus pandemic that coffins had to be stacked on top of each other in long, hastily dug trenches in a city cemetery. Some despairing relatives reluctantly chose cremation for loved ones to avoid burying them in those common graves.

Now, with Brazil emerging as Latin America's coronavirus epicentre with more than 5900 deaths, even the coffins are running out in Manaus. The national funeral home association has pleaded for an urgent airlift of coffins from Sao Paulo, 2700 kilometres away, because Manaus has no paved roads connecting it to the rest of the country.

A backhoe buries coffins in a common pit at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus. Credit:AP

The city of about 2 million people carved from the jungle has been overwhelmed by death in part because it's the main site where those from remote Amazon communities can get medical services, according to Lourival Panhozzi, president of the Brazilian Association of Funeral Service Providers.

As of April 30, Brazil's Health Ministry said that there were more than 5200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Amazonas state and 425 deaths, although there are concerns that inadequate testing for the virus has meant that the numbers may be much higher.
DUBLIN, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Catheters Market 2019-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

China catheters market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 9.8% during the forecast period.

The growing penetration rate of PTCA balloon catheter and Central Venous catheter is considered as a major driving factor for Chinese catheter market. PTCA is a minimally invasive procedure used to remove the blockage of coronary arteries, thereby permitting blood flow to the heart muscles. The procedure involves the placement of the PTCA balloon catheter to compress and clear the blockage by widening the artery. PTCA balloon catheter was first of its kind used in the field of cardiology. It is also used to position stents in angioplasty. Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic, Terumo, Microport scientific and Boston scientific are major key vendors in the market.

Chinese coronary stent manufacturers have sharpened the edge in the production of the PTCA balloon catheter. Lepu Medical, Microport and Beijing Fuji Sunshine Technology are well known coronary stent suppliers in china. Rising prevalence of CVD is contributing to the adoption of catheters in the country. As per the estimation by the World Heart Federation, one in 5 adults in China has a CVD.

China government is also taking positive steps to improve healthcare infrastructure by reducing the prevalence of heart diseases. The government is increasing access to healthcare by broadening the reach of its health insurance schemes and spending on training hospital staff. Phillips is working with Chinese society of Cardiology to build China National Cardiovascular Data Repository, which enables doctors to conduct clinical research, product development and provide better healthcare facilities to China's 270 million heart patients. Such kinds of initiatives are boosting the demand for minimally invasive treatment alternatives for patients and thereby will accelerate the market.

The major companies operating in the region include Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., and Medtronic plc. To survive in the market, these players are adopting crucial strategies, such as mergers and acquisitions, product launches, and partnerships and collaborations. This enables the company to increase its competitiveness and attract significant share in the market. For instance, in September 2016, Intuitive Surgical and Fosun Pharma established Joint Venture with the purpose to research, develop and manufacture advanced, robotic-assisted catheter-based medical instruments. This move aimed to deliver advanced healthcare solutions in China and across the globe.



This report covers:

A comprehensive research methodology of the China catheters market.

catheters market. A detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.

Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.

Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the China catheters market.

catheters market. Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the China catheters market.

catheters market. Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecast revenues.

Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.

Key Topics Covered



1. Report Summary

1.1. Research Methods and Tools

1.2. Market Breakdown

1.2.1. By Segments



2. Market Overview and Insights

2.1. Scope of the Report

2.2. Analyst Insight & Current Market Trends

2.2.1. Key Findings

2.2.2. Recommendations

2.2.3. Conclusion

2.3. Rules & Regulations



3. Competitive Landscape

3.1. Company Share Analysis

3.2. Key Strategy Analysis

3.3. Key Company Analysis

3.3.1. Overview

3.3.2. Financial Analysis

3.3.3. SWOT Analysis

3.3.4. Recent Developments



4. Market Determinants

4.1. Motivators

4.2. Restraints

4.3. Opportunities



5. Market Segmentation

5.1. China Catheters Market by Product Type

5.1.1. Cardiovascular Catheters

5.1.2. Urological Catheters

5.1.3. Intravenous Catheters

5.1.4. Specialty Catheters

5.1.5. Neurovascular Catheters



6. Company Profiles

6.1. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

6.2. Becton Dickinson and Co.

6.3. Boston Scientific Corp.

6.4. Edwards Lifesciences Corp.

6.5. Integra Lifesciences Corp.

6.6. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.

6.7. Koninklijke Philips N.V.

6.8. Medtronic plc

6.9. Stryker Corp.

6.10. Terumo Medical Corp.



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sbjynt

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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Donbas conflict Open source

Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the help of an anti-tank missile system destroyed a militant vehicle that transported ammunition to the position. The message of the press center of the Joint Forces Operation headquarters on the page on Facebook stated this.

According to headquarters, the incident occurred on April 29 in the Luhansk region. A few days ago in this area, as a result of enemy shelling, a Ukrainian soldier was killed.

Also, as previously reported, the militants opened fire on residential areas of Zolote-4 and damaged several civilian houses.

"With a well-aimed shot, our defenders once again reminded the enemy of the inevitability of punishment for their criminal actions," the report said.

The combined forces continue to reliably control the line of contact.

As we reported early, on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, 10 soldiers suffered as a result of an armored personnel carrier explosion

An army spokesman said that 10 soldiers were injured during the incident, but did not specify how many were killed. There was one officer in the group that was traveling in an armored vehicle.
Twenty-two people died of Covid-19 and 326 more cases were reported in Gujarat on Friday, as the government of chief minister Vijay Rupani came to grips with the task of sending home migrant workers stranded in the state.

The new deaths and cases took to 236 the number of fatalities claimed by the coronavirus disease and 4,721 the number to have tested positive for Covid-19 in Gujarat to date. Ahmedabad, the principal city of Gujarat, bore the brunt, reporting 267 new cases.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health), said 26 new cases were reported from Surat, 19 from Vadodara and the remaining from other districts. On Friday, the worst five affected districts of were Ahmedabad (3293 total cases), Surat (640), Vadodra (308), Rajkot (58) and Bhavnagar (47).

The health staff in Gujarat is on their toes 24x7 to cure Covid-19 patients, especially those with co-morbid conditions. In such a scenario, the health experts are provided online guidance to treat crucially ill patients. Around 24 children, three pregnant women and 68 senior citizens who were critically ill due to Covid-19 have availed of the benefits of tele mentoring program and recovered successfully, Ravi said.

With 49 positive cases reported from Gandhinagar and 21 from Botad, chief minister Rupani appointed two senior civil servants to supervise measures being taken for curbing the transmission of the virus in the two districts and guide their administrations.Rajeevkumar Gupta, additional chief secretary (forest and environment), and Sanjeev Kumar, managing director, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, have been appointed to oversee Gandhinagar and Botad, respectively, said a government statement.

Ashwani Kumar, secretary to the CM, said the process of sending back stranded labourers from other states had started with launch of a helpline number --- 1070. The stranded people are required to file an online application on Digital Gujarat Portal, he said.

The CM has made it clear that only asymptomatic people will be allowed to enter the state. All those with cough, fever, cold and other such symptoms will not be permitted to enter Gujarat. Similarly, all those who are completely healthy will be allowed to return to their home state from Gujarat, Kumar said.

He added that all the migrants wishing to return home from Gujarat will undergo a medical examination and those who are healthy will be provided a certificate to that effect. The CM directed district collectors to use primary and community health centres for conducting the medical examinations.
WILLIAMSPORT  A third individual has been charged in what state police describe as a murder-for-hire scheme in Lycoming County.

Annette Marie Kriner, 22, of Williamsport, was arraigned Thursday and committed to the county prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.

She is accused of being an intermediary in the plot allegedly hatched by Dillan Mikel Weaver, 19, and Angelina Grace Peluso, 16, to kill Pelusos stepfather Howard Blackburn.

The plot failed because an individual contacted to help carry out the killing went to state police.

It resulted in a sting operation in which Weaver, not knowing he was being recorded, outlined his plan to have Blackburn killed, the charges state.

Kriner admitted her role in the scheme when interviewed by state police, according to the arrest affidavit that states:

Weaver came to her house April 22 and the following day they communicated for three hours via Facebook. He was angry because Blackburn had raped his girlfriend two nights earlier and he wanted him dead.

She told him she would help out by contacting an individual. Because that person did not get back to her she told Weaver they should communicate directly.

The affidavit continues:

Weaver made contact with the individual, told him he was serious and that I just need him gone and no questions asked.

The individual first told Weaver he was waiting to hear from a buddy who has access to a gun that can be used and tossed. He later told him that person wanted to meet with him to go over the details.

Unbeknownst to Weaver, the individual had gone to police, who arranged for an undercover trooper to go with him last Friday to Weavers residence in Williamsport.

Weaver got into the car and was recorded outlining his plan to have Blackburn killed. He then was arrested.

When Pelsuo was interviewed she admitted Blackburn had not sexually assaulted her but had lied to Weaver to make him angry at her stepfather.

She claimed it was Weavers idea to kill her stepfather but she was on board with it, the affidavit states. She later claimed she did not want him killed, just injured, the document states.

The plot, according to what Peluso told police, was hatched after Blackburn slapped and punched her when he discovered her in bed with Weaver in the Trout Run area house.

Weaver, Peluso and Kriner are charged with criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and criminal use of a communication device.

Peluso, who has been charged as an adult, and Weaver are being held in lieu of $1 million bail each.

This is not the first time Peluso had an encounter with police. In August 2018 the then 14-year-old ran away and was found in Mississippi.

Court records state she arranged through text messages for a then 18-year-old Maryland male she had met on vacation to pick her up.

After the two spent several nights in a vacant house in Maryland the teen drove her to Mississippi, documents state.

Police in Mississippi said she did not have any identification and claimed to have a birth certificate proving she was 18 but never produced it.

Investigators said the homeowner let Peluso stay because she claimed she had been abused at home and it was all right with her mother.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
A Cataldo EMS team transports a suspected Covid-19 patient from Chelsea to Massachusetts General Hospital on April 23, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts United States. David Degner | Getty Images

Medical researchers are testing whether inhaled nitric oxide could help treat patients with the coronavirus. A range of studies and clinical trials underway at Massachusetts General Hospital aims to find out if the familiar treatment can help save those who are sick, prevent people from being intubated and potentially even keep health care workers infection-free. As of Friday, more than 3.25 million people had contracted Covid-19 worldwide, with 233,439 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. alone is grappling with roughly one-third of all reported coronavirus cases, having surpassed the milestone of 1 million infections earlier this week. The outbreak of the virus, which first emerged in late 2019, has meant countries around the world have effectively had to shut down. Confinement measures have been implemented in 187 countries or territories in an effort to try to slow the spread of the pandemic. There are no known vaccines or specific antiviral medicines against Covid-19. But, scientists across the globe are trying to fast-track work on effective treatment. U.S. health officials say developing a vaccine will take at least 12 to 18 months.

What is nitric oxide?

Nitric oxide is a colorless, tasteless and short-acting gas which widens blood vessels in the lungs when inhaled. It is frequently used as the first line of treatment for oxygen-deprived premature babies. The compound simply consists of one-part nitrogen and one-part oxygen  the two most common gases in the atmosphere. In 1998, pharmacologist Louis Ignarro shared the Nobel Prize for uncovering nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. It was subsequently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1999 and physicians have used the compound for a wide range of medical conditions ever since.

Viagra pills on display. Raupach | Getty Images

It was in the 90s that nitric oxide also played a central role in the development of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, as the blue pill's main ingredient, sildenafil, makes the relaxing effect of the nitric oxide in the body more potent and increases blood flow.

How does it work?

Stuart Harris, an attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, told CNBC via telephone that four studies were underway to explore whether inhaled nitric oxide could be harnessed to treat the coronavirus. In each of the studies, Harris said the hospital was looking at a few different outcomes, including trying to keep people alive in the intensive care unit, working to prevent people from being intubated and seeking to ensure health care workers do not get the disease. "The lungs you can think of as a marketplace bringing together air and blood," Harris said. The way that Covid-19 is "most likely" to be fatal is it impairs that marketplace and prevents the blood from providing the body with enough oxygen. "Nitric oxide is a smooth muscle relaxer. So, the typically very low-pressure blood vessels in the lungs, it relaxes (them) and it helps get blood to places that the nitric oxide is going to. Essentially, it produces an efficient marketplace so the lungs can do their job," he explained. Preliminary data has suggested that inhaled nitric oxide could have a virus-killing effect on the coronavirus, Massachusetts General Hospital says in an online statement. It is due to the genomic similarities between Covid-19 and those that caused the SARS and MERS outbreaks. Studies during the SARS outbreak in 2004 to 2005 demonstrated that nitric oxide was effective in killing that virus. To be sure, the effectiveness of nitric oxide in treating the new coronavirus has not been studied before.
By Ofeliya Afandiyeva

A court in Baku arrested former head of Executive Authorities of Bilasuvar District on embezzlement, abuse of power and bribery charges on April 30.

Sabail District Court chose preventive measures against Mahir Guliyev in the form of arrest for a period of four months.

Mahir Guliyev was dismissed from the post of head of the Bilasuvar district Executive Power upon presidential decree on the same day.

In the meantime, the State Security Service reported that it revealed documents related to Guliyevs case and other material evidence during a special operation carried out on April 29.

In a statement published in its official website on May 1, the State Security Service said that Mahir Guliyev, with the help of his deputy Khanlar Mammadov, embezzled funds allocated for people needing social assistance due to the quarantine regime, as well as other funds at the disposal of the Executive Authorities, under the pretext of allocating social assistance.

In addition, Mahir Guliyev took bribes under various pretexts from officials of local executive authorities and other government agencies, as well as from individuals engaged in individual entrepreneurial activities in the district.

Furthermore, the State Security Service established that Guliyev embezzled salaries transferred to the cards of the unemployed and low-income citizens involved in community service. He also embezzled funds allocated for repair and construction, landscaping works in the district, and repeatedly asked for bribes on the basis of documentation and purposes, the statement reads.

Mahir Guliyev was prosecuted under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan for abuse of office, repeated bribery and embezzlement, and was remanded in custody by a court decision.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
SALEM, Ore. - Oregon is planning to allow its famed microbreweries and wine tasting rooms to reopen when it starts loosening stay-home orders, rejecting a federal recommendation that bars remain closed.

Oregonians will be able to hoist a glass at their neighbourhood watering holes under Gov. Kate Browns draft plan released on Thursday for the states first phase of reopening.

That puts this Pacific Northwest state, which is among two dozen states that have thus far resisted President Donald Trumps entreaties to reopen now, in the position of going beyond his recommendations when it eventually decides to do so.

The Opening Up America Again Guidelines released by Trump on April 16 recommends that while restaurants open with strict distancing and sanitation protocols, bars remain closed.

But the draft plan published by Browns office says restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, wineries and tasting rooms can reopen in Phase 1.

In reviewing the White Houses guidelines and developing Oregons reopening plan, we have been working with stakeholders to tailor our approach to fit Oregons situation and needs, said Liz Merah, a spokeswoman for the governor. She noted the draft is subject to change.

No date has been announced for Phase 1 to begin. Brown first wants evidence Oregon has turned the corner on the pandemic.

The financial impact of the shutdown on the states wineries, which feature top-notch pinot noir, has been immense, said Greg Jones, a wine expert and director of the Evenstad Center for Wine Education at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

Not having restaurants and other off-premise outlets open shuts down a lot of wine sales. Also, Oregon wineries are known for personal connections and winery visits, and without being open to foster those connections and visits makes it hard to keep sales going, Jones said.

Oregon wineries that were surveyed lost an average of $44,000 in March, and as much as $700,000 for one winery, the industry group WineAmerica said.

Breweries in Oregon, including Deschutes Brewery of Bend, have laid off thousands of workers.

Breweries have struggled mightily because of the pandemic, partially because their physical spaces have closed, but also because independent craft breweries really rely on draft beer sales for a pretty big part of their revenue, and the draft market has essentially evaporated overnight, said Tony Roberts, co-executive director of the Oregon Brewers Guild.

Under the Oregon draft plan, restaurants and watering holes will be allowed a maximum occupancy of 50% of normal capacity if social distancing can be maintained. Employees and customers would be strongly encouraged to wear face masks, though customers would not need to wear them at a table.

Businesses that plan to require wearing masks should consult with their attorneys to determine whether that can be enforced, the guidelines say.

An establishment must restrict seating to ensure theres at least 6 feet (2 metres) of physical distance between people not in the same party and must use menus that are either single-use, cleanable and laminated, online or posted on a whiteboard.

A working group focused on jump-starting the restaurant and food service segment included wine industry representatives.

For Phase 1, guidelines for wine tasting rooms include limiting personal interactions in glass pours by having a server pour an entire flight of wine at one time rather than requiring repeated visits for each selection.

Small groups could be offered a carafe of each selection, the guidelines say.

Merah said the draft guidelines will keep employees and patrons safe from COVID-19 as we work to gradually and safely reopen Oregon.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
A national child rights advocacy agency is urging the federal and Manitoba justice ministers to investigate embattled Winnipeg fashion mogul Peter Nygard for alleged crimes against children.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/5/2020 (626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A national child rights advocacy agency is urging the federal and Manitoba justice ministers to investigate embattled Winnipeg fashion mogul Peter Nygard for alleged crimes against children.

"This is not a matter which should be left only to foreign jurisdictions to consider," David Matas, lawyer for Beyond Borders ECPAT Canada, wrote in a letter dated April 30 to federal Justice Minister David Lametti and Manitoba Justice Minister Cliff Cullen.

"Canada and Manitoba need to show initiative and leadership in this file."

A U.S.-based class action lawsuit first filed in February now includes allegations from 46 woman accusing Nygard of sex crimes spanning five decades. Twelve claim they were minors when Nygard raped them; the accusers include 18 Canadians and multiple Winnipeggers.

Nygard, 78, has repeatedly denied the allegations through his lawyers, claiming hes the target of people with a personal vendetta against him.

The U.S. lawsuit is a civil  not criminal  proceeding. If found guilty, Nygard would be subject to financial damages, not jail, Matas said in an interview Friday.

Beyond Borders is the Canadian representative of ECPAT International, a global network of more than 90 anti-exploitation organizations in 84 countries.

"The allegations, if they are true, allege criminal activity and, as far as were concerned, when it comes to the sexual abuse of children, a monetary penalty through a civil suit isnt really sufficient to deal with the problem," Matas said.

"Its a sufficiently grave problem that really does require criminal prosecution."

An investigation of wrongdoing would have to support criminal charges before any extradition proceedings (if needed) could commence. Matas acknowledged Friday he didnt expect justice officials to confirm whether Nygard was under investigation for any alleged crimes in Canada.

"Typically, police will not tell you if they are investigating someone for something," the lawyer said. "I dont think police should make public statements about who they are investigating and for what If there is (an investigation) already going on, fine, but if there isnt one, our view is there should be one."

Nygard's lawyer, Jay Prober, said Friday there "is no evidentiary basis for charges," making any talk of extradition irrelevant.

"Any investigation would reveal nothing," Prober said. "They can investigate all they want, they wont find any evidence of wrongdoing."

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Nygards whereabouts have not been confirmed by any source.

"I dont know where Peter Nygard is," Matas said. "I dont know if he is in the U.S., the Bahamas, or Winnipeg. For all I know, he could be having lunch with my neighbour."

Nygard has a home in the Bahamas, and his fashion company has headquarters in New York, Winnipeg and Toronto.

In March, the Nygard Group of companies was ordered into receivership after a judge found it had not acted in good faith with its lenders and an insolvency trustee.

On Wednesday, Queens Bench Justice James Edmond approved a request by receiver Richter Advisory Group to liquidate Nygard Groups assets and inventory. A start date for the sell off has not been set.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
01, May, 2020  Accra: Standard Chartered Bank Ghana has today donated PPEs to the Ga-East Municipal Hospital in Kwabenya. This is keeping in line with the Banks brand promise to be Here for Good, particularly in times of adversity and its commitment to support emergency relief and aid those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana to the tune of GHS 1 million.

The PPEs comprising N95 masks, disposable coveralls and surgical gloves have been donated as the country marks the celebration of International Workers Day and in appreciation of the continued sacrifice of all frontline workers.

Asiedua Addae, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana Limited, while presenting the items said, We are extremely grateful to our health and frontline workers for their dedication towards the fight against COVID-19. Today, we decided to join the country in commemorating International Workers Day by ensuring theyre adequately resourced through the provision of PPEs so they can continue to play the all so important role of tackling this pandemic from the frontline.

At Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited, we live up to our brand promise Here for Good, and more so, delight in all those who do good for our country. We hope the PPEs will continue keeping you safe as you fight against COVID-19, she added.

Receiving the items, Dr. Oduro Mensah, Chief Medical Officer, said, Today being May Day, and as we celebrate workers, what we are most in need of is equipment. These PPEs come in handy and will be put to good use.

In previous weeks, as part of its GHS1million commitment to support the fight against COVID-19 in Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank has donated 1000 PPEs and a portable Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) equipment to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and Nogouchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research respectively.

The PCR is to assist Nogouchi to conduct widespread testing and detection of COVID-19 in Ghana.

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited is Ghanas premier bank established in 1896. We are part of a leading international banking group, with presence in more than 60 of the worlds most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.

The Bank is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and has been one of the leading stocks over a sustained period. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

For more stories and expert opinions please visit www.sc.com/gh

Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Standard Chartered Ghana Limited on Facebook.com/StandardCharteredGH
Police identified a family found dead Tuesday after a house fire in Sweet Home and said the relatives may have been shot or injured before the fire.

Investigators found evidence of gunshot wounds and sharp blunt force trauma, Sweet Home Police said Thursday in a Facebook post.

Police identified the four who died as John Shobert, 63, Tiffany Shobert, 41, and their children Johnathon Shobert, 15, and Charlotte Shobert, 2. Police said all four lived in the home.

The Oregon State Medical Examiners office conducted autopsies Thursday, and coroners have identified the causes of death, police said. But officers said they would not disclose that information until they had contacted certain family members and the investigated the case further.

Police first responded to the manufactured home, at 1530 Tamarack St. in Sweet Home, a little before 7 a.m. Tuesday and found flames and smoke coming from the center of the home.

Sweet Home Sgt. Ryan Cummings wouldnt discuss the circumstances of the case, but confirmed police werent immediately seeking any other suspects in the familys deaths. He said investigators found a firearm, a blunt-force object and a torch-style lighter inside the house. He said he didnt know exactly where in the house the fire was started. Fire investigators believe someone used gasoline to start the fire, police said.

He said police are still talking to neighbors and relatives and still need to review electronic evidence, such as phone records, that might tell them more about what had happened.

Police asked anyone with more information to call Detective Keenan Martin at 541-367-5181.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Jim Ryan contributed to this story.

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declined a request from the opposition parties to reconvene the dissolved Parliament, saying they are trying to make a political gain at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the country.

Rajapaksa on March 2 dissolved the Parliament, six months ahead of schedule, and called a snap election on April 25 to elect a new 225-member house.

However, the election commission in mid-April postponed the parliamentary elections by nearly two months to June 20 due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected 665 people and claimed seven lives in the island nation.

The new date clashed with the constitutional imperative that the new Parliament has to meet within three months since its dissolution.

On April 27, seven opposition parties urged President Rajapaksa to summon the dissolved Parliament while pledging cooperation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We urge the president to respond positively to this offer of responsible cooperation by us at this critical time and revoke the proclamation dated 2 March 2020 dissolving parliament so that all of us can jointly fight to eradicate this virus," said a joint statement issued by the opposition parties.

Rajapaksa rejected the opposition call to reconvene the House, according to a press statement released by the President's office on Thursday.

The president claimed the opposition is trying to make a political gain at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the country, it said.

The opposition parties argued that Rajapaksa has no power to draw public finances after April 30, the date till which the dismissed Parliament had approved expenditure by the president.

"Getting appropriate and new legislation passed in order to meet the public health crisis and obtaining parliamentary sanction to the utilization of monies from the consolidated fund are some such important and urgent functions of parliament," the opposition had claimed in the joint statement.

In a letter sent to opposition leaders on Thursday night, Rajapaksa maintained that he still has the power to draw money from the consolidated fund.

The joint statement was signed by United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan, All Ceylon Makkal Congress leader Rishard Bathuideen, Jathika Hela Urumaya's (JHU) Patali Champika Ranawaka and former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nanavati Hospital, one of the major hospitals dedicated to Covid-19 treatment in the city, is overcharging patients, said patients rights activists in a complaint to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). While the hospital has denied the allegations, BMC officials are set to inspect the hospital on Saturday.

BMC health officials have received several complaints regarding the matter. Bills issued by the hospital, made available to HT, show several discrepancies, including charging over 8,000 for one unit of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Activists have highlighted the case of a 31-year-old man who got admitted at the hospital on April 11 after testing positive. He was first admitted to the general ward and was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) on April 13. When he was discharged on April 15 the hospital bill amounted to 2,39,379; of which 66,699 was for medicines and 67,400 was for Covid care. As per the bill, which is available with HT, the hospital has charged him 8,900 for each unit of PPE.

There is no fixed rate for PPE at the hospital. For some patients, they charge 6,500 while for others it goes up to 9,500 per unit. The hospital, however, is procuring the same for only 750 each unit, said Jitendra Janawale, a local politician who has filed a complaint against the hospital with BMC.

Vishwas Mote, municipal ward officer, said, We have received the complaints, and will conduct an inspection on Saturday. As it was a public holiday today, we had to postpone it.

In another case, a 60-year-old male patient from Versova, who was admitted at the hospital on April 8, was charged 5,51,607.

A 69-year-old Covid positive woman, who has a medical history of Parkinsons Disease, was admitted at the hospital on April 7 and was discharged on Friday with a bill of 6,97,756. Her daughters said while shifting the patient from Wockhardt Hospital, which closed after cases of Covid-19 among medical staff, to Nanavati Hospital, the hospital asked for a deposit of 50,000. The daughters further said, My mother was in ICU but was kept only on oxygen support. I dont know how the bill shot up so much. We had to take help from my cousin to pay the bill amount. The government needs to provide concession to elderly patients.

Health advocates have criticised the hospital for making unreasonable claims. According to the bills, the hospital is charging 2,000 per day as staff management charges, and 800 for Covid-biomedical waste disposal. It is also claiming 1,000 as nursing charge, 2,000 for resident medical officers and 2,600 for Covid consultations per day.

Dr Abhijit More who works with Jan Aarogya Abhiyan said, PPE is used for several patients in Covid wards, but hospitals do not split the bills and charge patients individually. Same with waste disposal system, the staff use the same gloves and bio waste bags. Patients are responsible for paying for their treatment, not for staff management.

The hospital has also been pulled up for not providing adequate safety gears to staffers with 26 employees contracting the infection.

Kirit Somaiya, a politician, has written a letter to BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi seeking action against the hospital. The hospital is not only looting patients but is also being negligent about the care of the patients. They are discharging in-house staff within five days, while outside patients are kept for 10-12 days, he said.

Manpreet Sohal, chief operating officer (COO) of the hospital, has denied the allegations. He said, We have already submitted our clarifications to BMC and are coordinating with them. The hospital has refused to make any comment on the email sent by HT. However, a source from the hospital said though the bill mentions one quantity of PPE, it represents per day usage of PPE.

Despite repeated calls, Pardeshi didnt respond.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Central government after hearing a petition seeking regulation of Covid-19 treatment costs across private and corporate hospitals in the country.
A man and a teenage boy have been stabbed in east London, amid a spate of knife crime in the capital in recent weeks.

Police were called just after midnight on Thursday to reports of a stabbing in Goresbrook Road, Dagenham.

Officers and paramedics rushed to the scene where they found a boy, 14, and a 33-year-old man with stab injuries.

Both were taken to hospital.

Their injuries are not life-threatening, police said.

Enquiries into the circumstances continue.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-01 05:05:28|Editor: huaxia

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DAMASCUS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Six Syrian soldiers were killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb planted by the Islamic State (IS) targeted their bus in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported.

One officer was among the soldiers, who were killed when a roadside bomb ripped through their passenger bus in the Hmeimeh area in the remote eastern countryside of Homs province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the area witnesses a growing activity of IS militants.

The attack is the latest in a string of IS attacks in eastern Syria.

The Observatory said 502 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters have been killed since March 2019 in the desert region in the remote eastern countryside of Homs and Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria.

It said 179 IS militants have been killed within the same period of time. Enditem
Gireida  On Wednesday, the police in Gireida in South Darfur detained 12 young women and men after they protested the Zakat Chamber's decision to claim a part of the food meant to be distributed to displaced people living in the locality.

The activists are all members of the resistance committees volunteering in the neighbourhoods and villages in Gireida locality.

The group, headed by Mohamed Mousa, Coordinator of the Gireida resistance committees, was detained, after a complaint was filed against them by officials of the Joghana administrative unit.

The activists had protested "the unjust distribution of food bags during Ramadan" (bags with food items for the breaking of the fast during Ramadan which began in Sudan on Saturday).

The distribution was carried out by committee members of the Zakat (Muslim alms) Chamber in the camps for the displaced in the locality. The distributors took "their share" of the bags with them to the Joghana unit.

Radio Dabanga's editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as 2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.
This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine Company Limited's (HKG:3613) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine has a P/E ratio of 16.29, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 6.1%.

See our latest analysis for Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine

How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine:

P/E of 16.29 = HK$10.820  HK$0.664 (Based on the year to December 2019.)

(Note: the above calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each HK$1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future.

How Does Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (10.6) for companies in the pharmaceuticals industry is lower than Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine's P/E.

SEHK:3613 Price Estimation Relative to Market May 1st 2020

Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So further research is always essential. I often monitor director buying and selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Story continues

Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine saw earnings per share decrease by 4.2% last year. But it has grown its earnings per share by 14% per year over the last five years.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

Is Debt Impacting Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine's P/E?

With net cash of HK$2.0b, Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 21% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio.

The Verdict On Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine's P/E Ratio

Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine has a P/E of 16.3. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 9.5. The recent drop in earnings per share would make some investors cautious, but the relatively strong balance sheet will allow the company time to invest in growth. Clearly, the high P/E indicates shareholders think it will!

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

You might be able to find a better buy than Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
According to him, it becomes clear why Kyiv negotiators in the Minsk trilateral contact group are hindering the development of an updated mine clearance plan

112 Agency

OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) observers noticed anti-personnel mines at the Armed Forces of Ukraine checkpoint in Donbas, although a representative of Kyiv announced their destruction. This was announced by Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich, at online meeting of the Permanent Council of this international organization in Vienna, NewsOne reports.

The respected Permanent Representative of Ukraine, speaking in the Permanent Council, repeatedly assured that the Armed Forces does not use anti-personnel mines in Donbas, and indeed Kyiv supposedly destroyed all their stocks. As the SMM reports show, the reality is different. On April 24, on the outskirts of Popasna in the Luhansk region, SMM observers noticed four boxes with MON-90 anti-personnel mines, Lukashevich informed.



According to him, it becomes clear why the Kyiv negotiators in the contact group are hindering the development of an updated mine clearance plan, thereby disrupting the corresponding decision of the Normandy Summit in Paris on December 9, 2019.

Related: Day in Donbas: No casualties among Ukrainian servicemen



"Analysis of the data from the mission reports shows that a formal participation in the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention does not prevent Kyiv from using them in the Donbas. By the way, participants in the convention repeatedly pointed out Kyivs non-compliance with the obligation to destroy mines," the Russian ambassador said.

Earlier, we reported that district administrations of the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions hide information about the incidence of Covid-19: hospitals are overcrowded, and health workers are obliged to not disclose information about the epidemiological situation on the receipt. This was stated by the commander of the Joint Forces Volodymyr Kravchenko in an interview with Ukrinform.

He said the vast majority of cases that had similar symptoms to coronavirus were qualified by doctors as pneumonia or SARS.

"Administration of occupied territories is trying to hide the real state of the situation with epidemic... Directly in the health care area, the situation in the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is characterized by the fact that the infectious wards in hospitals are overflowing with patients with flu and pneumonia, there are virtually no medical supplies, medications, lack of specialized medical staff and necessary equipment. In this case, the current medical staff was obliged to not disclose information about the epidemiological situation," Kravchenko said.

As we reported earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry urged Russia, as the state-occupant, to provide the protection of life and health of the population in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and annexed Crimea in terms of Covid-19 pandemic.
Any objective analysis of a long-winded essay, COVID-19: Can Africa Afford Lockdowns?, by Chukwuma Soludo, would wonder if the renowned economist is suddenly cast with a voodoo spell.

Mr. Soludo needs no introduction. A distinguished professor of economics, with advanced degreesboth academic and honoris causafrom the prestigious University of Nigeria, he was a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and currently a member of President Muhammadu Buharis Economic Advisory Council. It is not surprising, therefore, that his voice roars in some quarters as a bullet-proof solution to the countrys myriad of problems.

However, in a seemingly attempt to employ novel theories to rubbish plausible anti-COVID-19 measures that have produced good results in many developed and developing economies, including Nigeria, Soludo succeeded in doing nothing but use delusive ideas to create more problems than solutions.

In short, the essay depicted the former CBN Governor as a poor imitation of Donald Trump, a nescient narcist who never hesitates to spew nonsense just to be in the news. Though Soludo raised some salient points, quite alright, he was going off on tangents, rambling, clearly ducking the truth about COVID-19 and, in the process, peddled fallacies as facts.

The most disingenuous is that, while discrediting lockdowns by African nations, Soludo claimed that, China isolated Wuhan, and kept Shanghai, Beijing, and other major economic engines open, and today, China supplies the world with medical equipment, face masks, etc., and is raking-in hundreds of billions of dollars). That is sheer fallacy.

The fact is that major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, experienced lock downs until the virus plateaued. The following account from a practical observer, as reported in the Washington Post of March 16, 2020, is instructive: Six weeks earlier, I had watched China shut itself down as the coronavirus epidemic first exploded in Wuhan, and then spilled across the country and beyondI saw Chinas whole economic machinery, from the curbside noodle shops to sprawling tech campuses, clank to a halt as the government pulled out every stop to contain the viruss spread.

The import is that, even as the lockdowns in Africa may not have been backed with adequate palliatives, the strategy is widely proven to be effective. The situation could have been worse in Nigeria, if President Buhari had not locked down Lagos and Abuja as at the time he did. After all, as Lagos and Abuja go, so goes the rest of the country.

In the same swoop, Soludo wrote that, In the Western societies from where we copied the lockdown/border closure, their citizens are literally paid to stay at home The U.S. Senate just passed a bill for $484 billion More Small-Business Stimulus, including a $320 billion Paycheck Protection Program to enable small businesses pay their staff salaries for two months. The example with the United States is misleading and only serves to fuel anger among the Nigerian masses.

Anybody but Professor Chukwuma Soludo! A simple scan of the internet readily reveals the harsh realities of lockdowns and the extent of the so-called stimulus package in the United States. Reports abound about the over 30 million Americans who have lost their jobs the last 45 days and millions more who have no money to pay for food or shelter. The life in America had always been better before Coronavirus and remains better while battling the disease, but the current situation is a far cry from the picture the professor was painting.

This is not the time for inflammatory innuendoes. Unlike in America which has become the COVID-19 global epicenter, lockdowns in China succeeded because the people had a coherent message and the mental discipline to execute the agenda. Therefore, Soludo must not ignore science and security to confuse Nigerians by copying and pasting the COVID-19 visions of Donald Trump, whose every medical idea has cost more lives than it has saved lives.

Instead of lampooning lockdowns, without tested alternatives, the former CBN governor should deploy the energy towards increasing the palliatives needed to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus, efficient management of the palliatives, and the life after. Instead of careless conjectures, he should defer to medical opinions and adhere to directives from relevant authorities.

The most blatant is Soludos admonition that African countries should urgently dismantle the border closures. This was not unexpected, though. The idea stems from a voodoo economic theory that gained currency in the eighties under US President Ronald Reagan but ended up paralyzing the American manufacturing base and turned China into a global powerhouse. It is similar to the open border policy promoted by Nigeria at the time Soludo reigned as CBN Governor that pauperized the countrys productive capacity and, consequently, produced a multitude of overnight billionaires while subjecting millions to abject penury.

On no account should Nigeria relapse to open border economy, as being canvassed by Soludo. This goes without saying that a level of protectionism is vitally essential for true Nigerian independence. Imagine what could have been, if the country still depended on imported rice and chicken during the COVID-19 experience!

The piffle presumptions did not stop at lockdowns and border closures. The economist equally poked insult on the philanthropists, who donated money to the COVID-19 campaign, labeling them photo charity. The statement in and of itself is uncharitable, to say the least. The programs flaws notwithstanding, he ought to have reasoned that, besides the politicians, these donors include innocent Nigerians and even the poor Samaritans. Their efforts, no matter how small, have touched lives from the villages to the larger society.

Finally, to answer Soludos central question: Can Africa Afford Lockdowns?. YES, Africa has already been able to afford the lockdowns in a significant way or even better. The continent clearly contained COVID-19 more than their counterparts, thanks to the African exceptionalism of good weather, nutrition, and timely interventions, such as the lockdowns, selfless healthcare workers, photo charity, family support systems, and a resilient populace. The economic forecast is gloomy, like elsewhere, but Africa will soon re-open, probably faster than many developed economies.

Best of all, the Coronavirus lockdown scheme is a historic equalizer and thus has a silver lining for Africa. Our leaders ought to have learned that the African economy will skyrocket by investing at home and patronizing local products and facilities. Nigerian leaders, for instance, might have learned to lead by example, matching words with action in all facets of the national economy, particularly in the Power, Aviation, Automobile, Steel, Healthcare, and Education sectors.

SKC Ogbonnia, 2019 APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Awgu, Enugu State

Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia


The Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is reopening its gates this weekend, allowing guests to experience its drive-thru safari with some restrictions.

The wildlife sanctuary announced the news Thursday on its Facebook page, writing that it's "excited" to have visitors return to its 450-acre safari at 26515 Natural Bridge Caverns Road in Comal County.

The safari was temporarily closed for more than a month to comply with local and state orders that were issued to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Gates reopened Friday after Gov. Greg Abbott allowed the statewide stay-at-home order to expire on April 30.

READ MORE: The latest news and features about coronavirus in San Antonio

Although business is back, the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch has changed some of its operations to ensure the safety of its visitors and staff. Instead of receiving a usual bag of food to feed the animals, the safari will provide each vehicle with a complimentary adventure guidebook, according to the sanctuary's website. Only the staff can feed the animals, the facebook post said.

The gift shop and petting barnyard will remain temporarily closed to eliminate unnecessary areas of person-to-person contact. The restaurant will be open for carry-out only. Visitors are allowed to sit and eat their food outside on picnic tables that have been intentionally spread apart to meet social distancing requirements.

Tickets will be at a discounted rate ($22 for adults, $13.50 for children under 11 and $20 for seniors 65 and older) until May 22. For more information visit wildlifetexas.com.

Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
EvoShare, a microsavings oriented FinTech startup based in Berkeley, CA, announced today that they are bringing on Scott Revare as their Chief Operating Officer (COO), a new position for the company. Mr. Revare will work closely with EvoShare co-founders, CEO Eugeny Prudchyenko and CTO Dan Tseytlonok, to expand and strengthen the companys position as the leading retirement micro-savings solution.

As weve continued to expand, the complexities of the business have only grown. Were happy to have Scotts depth of experience and knowledge to help guide us through this expansion, said Eugeny Prudchyenko, CEO of EvoShare.

Revare has co-founded and served as CEO of two financial services software companies that were acquired in the past 10 years, including when The Center for Fiduciary Management (CFFM/FiRM) was acquired by Fi360 in 2018. He served as Managing Director at Fi360 until Fi360 was acquired by Broadridge in late 2019.

Im very excited to work with EvoShare as their growth accelerates, Revare said. He continued, EvoShares model of increasing 401(k) savings based on cash back from employees spending is a no-brainer for employers to adopt  especially in the environment were in now with COVID-19.

EvoShares proprietary system turns a percentage of every dollar spent at over 10,000 partnered local and online stores into additional contributions for a financial savings account like a 401(k), IRA, 529 College Savings Plan or HSA.

About EvoShare:

EvoShare is a financial platform that enables employees to save for their 401(k) or 403(b), IRA, 529 College Savings Plan, or HSA while shopping online and locally at stores, bars, and restaurants. The service allows employees to spend at their favorite businesses, and receive up to 20% cash-back toward their retirement plan through their employer.

EvoShare is the premiere cash-back retirement savings program that is giving employees a new, automated way to save for their 401(k). EvoShare provides employers with a set it and forget it experience where plan participants can spend as usual at over 12,000 participating businesses and receive up to 20% cash back toward a financial account; 401(k) or 403(b) plan, IRA, HSA, student loan, or 529 plan. EvoShare has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The Huffington Post. It won the 2019 DC Genie Award from 401(k) TV for Best Financial Technology and was a finalist for KNect365s 2019 Finovate Award for Top Emerging Tech Company.
Beijing, May 1 : The Chinese health authority said on Friday that it received reports of 12 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Chinese mainland on Thursday, of which six were imported.

The other six new cases were domestically transmitted, including five in Heilongjiang Province and one in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said in a daily report, Xinhua reported.

Three suspected cases imported from abroad, all in Shanghai, were reported.

No deaths were reported on Thursday in the mainland, according to the commission.

Altogether 32 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on Thursday, while the number of severe cases dropped by three to 38.

As of Thursday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,874, including 599 patients who were still being treated and 77,642 people who had been discharged after recovery, the commission said.

Altogether 4,633 people had died of the disease, it said.

By Thursday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,670 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,165 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 505 were being treated with seven in severe conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said that nine people, including seven from abroad, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

According to the commission, 7,761 close contacts were still under medical observation after 882 people were discharged from medical observation on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, 25 new asymptomatic cases were reported on the mainland. Six asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 36 people, 11 of whom were from abroad, were discharged from medical observation, according to the commission.

The commission said 981 asymptomatic cases, including 115 from abroad, were still under medical observation.

By Thursday, 1,037 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 429 in Taiwan including six deaths.

A total of 846 patients in Hong Kong, 35 in Macao and 322 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Rose McGowan has branded the Democrats and the media a cult in the wake of Joe Bidens assumed nomination as the partys presidential candidate.

The actor, who was a leading figure in the #MeToo movement, shared a picture of herself crying to Twitter on Wednesday night, captioned: Im really sad, and Im really tired. I normally share thoughts, but tonight its emotion.

In the accompanying text post, McGowan wrote: I used to be a proud Democrat. I used to be a proud American. I would have died for this damned country and its ideals, she wrote.

I thought democracy meant I had a right to choose those who lined up with my value system. But what if theres no one? Now I know too much. And I feel really quite a sense of loss tonight.

She continued: I am not a cynical person, but America goddamn. Republicans have always been painted as the bad guys, and Ive always seen them more as a cult, but now I realise so are the democrats and the media. Macro and Micro.

This is deeper than a cover-up. And Im sad because theres death around all corners & shadows in the daytime. It hurts.

It comes after McGowan branded her Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano a fraud for endorsing Joe Biden in the wake of sexual assault allegations against the Democratic candidate by former staffer Tara Reade.

You are a fraud, McGowan tweeted. This is about holding the media accountable. You go after Trump & Kavanaugh saying Believe Victims, you are a lie. You have always been a lie. The corrupt DNC is in on the smear job of Tara Reade, so are you. SHAME.

Speaking to Bevy Smith on SiriusXM, the actor explained: I dont like sacred cows. I dont like people that are held up to be better than other people and I dont like people that dont really do the right thing and behind the scenes are aiding and abetting alleged criminals. I just dont and I wont stand for it.